Octoberprovedtobeunusuallymild，andaboutthemiddleofthemonth，Bertram，aftermuchunselfishurgingonthepartofBilly，wenttoafriend’scampintheAdirondacksforaweek’sstay。Hecamebackwithanangry，lugubriousface——andabrokenarm。
Oh，Bertram!Andyourrightone，too——
thesameoneyoubrokebefore!’mournedBilly，tearfully。
Ofcourse，’retortedBertram，tryinginvaintogiveanairofjauntinesstohisreply。Didn’twanttobetoochangeable，youknow!’
Buthowdidyoudoit，dear？’
Fellintoasillylittleholecoveredwithunderbrush。But——oh，Billy，what’stheuse？I
didit，andIcan’tundoit——more’sthepity!’
Ofcourseyoucan’t，youpoorboy，’
sympathizedBilly；andyousha’n’tbetormentedwithquestions。We’lljustbethankful’twasnoworse。
Youcan’tpaintforawhile，ofcourse；butwewon’tmindthat。It’lljustgiveBabyandmeachancetohaveyoualltoourselvesforatime，andwe’lllovethat!’
Yes，ofcourse，’sighedBertram，soabstractedlythatBillybridledwithprettyresentment。
Well，Ilikeyourenthusiasm，sir，’shefrowned。
I’mafraidyoudon’tappreciatetheblessingsyoudohave，youngman!DidyourealizewhatIsaid？Iremarkedthatyoucouldbewith_Baby_
and_me_，’sheemphasized。
Bertramlaughed，andgavehiswifeanaffectionatekiss。
IndeedIdoappreciatemyblessings，dear——
whenthoseblessingsaresuchtreasuresasyouandBaby，but——’Onlyhisdolefuleyesfixedonhisinjuredarmfinishedhissentence。
Iknow，dear，ofcourse，andIunderstand，’
murmuredBilly，alltendernessatonce。
TheywerenoteasyforBertram——thosefollowingdays。Onceagainhewasobligedtoacceptthelittleintimatepersonalservicesthathesodisliked。Onceagainhecoulddonothingbutread，orwanderdisconsolatelyintohisstudioandgazeathishalf-finishedFaceofaGirl。’
Occasionally，itistrue，drivennearlytodesperationbythehauntingvisioninhismind’seye，hepickedupabrushandattemptedtomakehislefthandservehiswill；butabarehalf-dozenirritating，ineffectualstrokeswereusuallyenoughtomakehimthrowdownhisbrushindisgust。
Henevercoulddoanythingwithhislefthand，hetoldhimselfdejectedly。
Manyofhishours，ofcourse，hespentwithBillyandhisson，andtheywerehappyhours，too；buttheyalwayscametoberestlessonesbeforethedaywashalfover。Billywasalwaysdevotionitselftohim——whenshewasnotattendingtothebaby；hehadnofaulttofindwithBilly。Andthebabywasdelightful——hecouldfindnofaultwiththebaby。Butthebaby_was_
fretful——hewasteething，Billysaid——andheneededagreatdealofattention；so，naturally，Bertramdriftedoutofthenursery，afteratime，andwentdownintohisstudio，wherewerehisdear，emptypalette，hisorderlybrushes，andhistantalizingFaceofaGirl。’Fromthestudio，generally，Bertramwentoutontothestreet。
Sometimeshedroppedintoafellow-artist’sstudio。Sometimeshestrolledintoacluborcafwhereheknewhewouldbelikelytofindsomefriendwhowouldhelphimwhileawayatiresomehour。Bertram’sfriendsquiteviedwitheachotherinrenderingthissortofaid，somuchso，indeed，that——naturally，perhaps——Bertramcametocallontheirservicesmoreandmorefrequently。
Particularlywasthisthecasewhen，afterthesplintswereremoved，Bertramfound，asthedayspassed，thathisarmwasnotimprovingasitshouldimprove。Thisnotonlydisappointedandannoyedhim，butworriedhim。Herememberedsundrydisquietingwarningsgivenbythephysicianatthetimeoftheformerbreak——warningsconcerningtheprobableseriousnessofarepetitionoftheinjury。ToBilly，ofcourse，Bertramsaidnothingofallthis；butjustbeforeChristmashewenttoseeanotedspecialist。
Anhourlater，almostinfrontofthelearnedsurgeon’sdoor，BertrammetBobSeaver。
GreatScott，Bertie，what’sup？’ejaculatedSeaver。Youlookasifyou’dseenaghost。’
Ihave，’answeredBertram，withgrimbitterness。I’veseentheghostof——ofevery`FaceofaGirl’Ieverpainted。’
Gorry!Sobadasthat？Nowonderyoulookasifyou’dbeendisportingingraveyards，’
chuckledSeaver，laughingathisownjokeWhat’sthematter——armonarampagetoday？’
Hepausedforreply，butasBertramdidnotansweratonce，heresumed，withgayinsistence：
Comeon!Youneedcheeringup。SupposewegodowntoTrentini’sandseewho’sthere。’
Allright，’agreedBertram，dully。Suityourself。’
BertramwasnotthinkingofSeaver，Trentini’s，orwhomhemightfindthere。Bertramwasthinkingofcertainwordshehadheardlessthanhalfanhourago。Hewaswondering，too，ifeveragainhecouldthinkofanythingbutthosewords。
Thetruth？’thegreatsurgeonhadsaid。
Well，thetruthis——I’msorrytotellyouthetruth，Mr。Henshaw，butifyouwillhaveit——
you’vepaintedthelastpictureyou’lleverpaintwithyourrighthand，Ifear。It’sabadcase。
Thisbreak，comingasitdidontopoftheseriousinjuryoftwoorthreeyearsago，wasbadenough；
but，tomakemattersworse，thebonewasimperfectlysetandwronglytreated，whichcouldnotbehelped，ofcourse，asyouweremilesawayfromskilledsurgeonsatthetimeoftheinjury。We’lldothebestwecan，ofcourse；but——well，youaskedforthetruth，youremember；soIhadtogiveittoyou。’
Bertrammadeuphismindatoncethat，forthepresent，atleast，hewouldtellnoonewhatthesurgeonhadsaidtohim。Hehadplacedhimselfundertheman’scare，andtherewasnothingtodobuttotaketheprescribedtreatmentandawaitresultsaspatientlyashecould。
MeanwhiletherewasnoneedtoworryBilly，orWilliam，oranybodyelsewiththematter。
BillywassobusywithherholidayplansthatshewasonlyvaguelyawareofwhatseemedtobeanincreaseofrestlessnessonthepartofherhusbandduringthosedaysjustbeforeChristmas。
Poordear，isthearmfeelinghorridto-day？’
sheaskedonemorning，whenthegloomonherhusband’sfacewasdeeperthanusual。
Bertramfrownedanddidnotanswerdirectly。
LotsofgoodIamthesedays!’heexclaimed，hismoodyeyesonthearmfulofmany-shaped，many-sizedpackagesshecarried。Whatarethosefor-thetree？’
Yes；andit’sgoingtobesopretty，Bertram，’
exultedBilly。And，doyouknow，Babypositivelyactsasifhesuspectedthings——littleasheis，’shewentoneagerly。He’sasnervousasawitch。Ican’tkeephimstillaminute!’
Howabouthismother？’hintedBertram，withafaintsmile。
Billylaughed。
Well，I’mafraidsheisn’texactlycalmherself，’sheconfessed，asshehurriedoutoftheroomwithherparcels。
Bertramlookedafterherlongingly，despondently。
Iwonderwhatshe’dsayifshe——knew，’
hemuttered。Butshesha’n’tknow——tillshejusthasto，’hevowedsuddenly，underhisbreath，stridingintothehallforhishatandcoat。
NeverhadtheStrataknownsuchaChristmasasthiswasplannedtobe。Cyril，Marie，andthetwinsweretobethere，alsoKate，herhusbandandthreechildren，Paul，Egbert，andlittleKate，fromtheWest。OnChristmasDaytherewastobeabigfamilydinner，withAuntHannahdownfromtheAnnex。Then，inconcessiontotheextremeyouthoftheyounghostandhistwincousins，therewastobeanafternoontree。Theshadesweretobedrawnandthecandleslighted，however，sothattheremightbenolossofeffect。
Intheeveningthetreewastobeoncemoreloadedwithfascinatingpackagesandcandy-bags，andthistimetheGreggorys，TommyDunn，andalltherestfromtheAnnexweretohavethefunalloveragain。
FromgarrettobasementtheStratawasaflamewithholly，andaglitterwithtinsel。Nowheredidthereseemtobeaspotthatdidnothaveitsbitoftissuepaperoritstrailofredribbon。Andeverything——holly，ribbon，tissue，andtinsel——
ledtothemysteriouslycloseddoorsofthegreatfrontdrawing-room，pastwhichnonebutBillyandheraccreditedmessengersmightventure。
Nowonder，indeed，thatevenBabyscentedexcitement，andthatBaby’smotherwasnotexactlycalm。Nowonder，too，thatBertram，withhishelplessrightarm，andhisheavyheart，feltpeculiarlyforlornandoutofit。’Nowonder，also，thathetookhimselfliterallyoutofitwithgrowingfrequency。
Mr。andMrs。HartwellandlittleKateweretostayattheStrata。Theboys，PaulandEgbert，weretogotoCyril’s。Promptlyattheappointedtime，twodaysbeforeChristmas，theyarrived。AndfromthathouruntiltwodaysafterChristmas，whenthelastbitofholly，ribbon，tissue，andtinseldisappearedfromthefloor，Billymovedinawhirlofanxiousresponsibilitythatwasyetfilledwithfun，frolic，andlaughter。
Itwasagreatsuccess，thewholeaffair。
Everybodyseemedpleasedandhappy——thatis，everybodybutBertram；andheveryplainlytriedtoseempleasedandhappy。EvenCyrilunbenttotheextentofnotappearingtomindthenoiseonebit；andSisterKateBertramsaidfoundonlytheextraordinarilysmallnumberoffourdetailstochangeinthearrangements。Babyobliginglylethisteeth-gettinggo，fortheoccasion，andheandthetwins，FranzandFelix，weretheadmirationanddelightofall。LittleKate，tobesure，wasatrifledisconcertingonceortwice，buteverybodywastooabsorbedtopaymuchattentiontoher。Billydid，however，rememberheropeningremarks。
Well，littleKate，doyourememberme？’
Billyhadgreetedherpleasantly。
Oh，yes，’littleKatehadanswered，withawinningsmile。You’remyAuntBillywhatmarriedmyUncleBertraminsteadofUncleWilliamasyousaidyouwouldfirst。’
Everybodylaughed，andBillycolored，ofcourse；butlittleKatewentoneagerly：
AndI’vebeenwantingjustawfullytoseeyou，’sheannounced。
Haveyou？I’mglad，I’msure。Ifeelhighlyflattered，’smiledBilly。
Well，Ihave。Yousee，Iwantedtoaskyousomething。Haveyoueverwishedthatyou_had_
marriedUncleWilliaminsteadofUncleBertram，orthatyou’dtriedforUncleCyrilbeforeAuntyMariegothim？’
Kate!’gaspedherhorrifiedmother。I
toldyou——Yousee，’shebrokeoff，turningtoBillydespairingly。She’sbeenpesteringmewithquestionslikethateversincesheknewshewascoming。Sheneverhasforgottenthewayyouchangedfromoneuncletotheother。Youmayremember；itmadeagreatimpressiononheratthetime。’
Yes，I——Iremember，’stammeredBilly，tryingtolaughoffherembarrassment。
Butyouhaven’ttoldmeyetwhetheryoudidwishyou’dmarriedUncleWilliam，orUncleCyril，’interposedlittleKate，persistently。
No，no，ofcoursenot!’exclaimedBilly，withavividblush，castinghereyesaboutforadoorofescape，andrejoicinggreatlywhenshespiedDeliawiththebabycomingtowardthem。
There，look，mydear，here’syournewcousin，littleBertram!’sheexclaimed。Don’tyouwanttoseehim？’
LittleKateturneddutifully。
Yes’m，AuntBilly，butI’dratherseethetwins。Mothersays_they’re_realprettyandcunning。’
Er——y-yes，theyare，’murmuredBilly，onwhomtheemphasisofthethey’re’hadnotbeenlost。
Naturally，asmaybesupposed，therefore，BillyhadnotforgottenlittleKate’sopeningremarks。
ImmediatelyafterChristmasMr。HartwellandtheboyswentbacktotheirWesternhome，leavingMrs。HartwellandherdaughtertomakearoundofvisitstofriendsintheEast。ForalmostaweekafterChristmastheyremainedattheStrata；anditwasonthelastdayoftheirstaythatlittleKateaskedthequestionthatprovedsomomentousinresults。
Billy，almostunconsciously，hadavoidedtte-
-tteswithhersmallguest。Butto-daytheywerealonetogether。
AuntBilly，’beganthelittlegirl，afterameditativegazeintotheother’sface，you_are_