Well，byGeorge!’murmuredtheman，weakly，adawningamazementdrivingthefrownfromhisface。
　　Spgggh——oo——wah!’gurgledtheboy，holdingouttwotinyfists。
　　Aslowsmilecametotheman’sface。
　　Well，I’ll——be——darned，’hemutteredhalf-
　　shamefacedly，whollydelightedly。Iftherascaldoesn’tactasifhe——knewme!’
　　Ah——goo——spggghh!’grinnedtheinfant，toothlessly，butentrancingly。
　　WithalmostastealthytouchCyrilclosedthedoorbackofhim，andadvancedalittledubiouslytowardhisson。Hiscountenancecarriedamixtureofguilt，curiosity，anddoggeddeterminationsoludicrousthatitwasapitynonebutbabyeyescouldseeit。Asiftomeetmorenearlyonalevelthisbafflingnewacquaintance，Cyrilgottohisknees——somewhatstiffly，itmustbeconfessed——andfacedhisson。
　　Goo——eee——ooo——yah!’crowedthebabynow，thrashinglegsandarmsaboutinatransportofjoyattheacquisitionofthisnewplaymate。
　　Well，well，youngman，you——youdon’tsayso!’stammeredthegrowingly-proudfather，thrustingaplainlytimidandunaccustomedfingertowardhisoffspring。Soyoudoknowme，eh？Well，whoamI？’
　　Da——da!’gurgledtheboy，triumphantlyclutchingtheoutstretchedfinger，andholdingonwithatenacitythatbroughtagleefulchuckletothelipsoftheman。
　　Jove!butaren’tyouthestronglittlebeggar，though!Needn’ttellmeyoudon’tknowagoodthingwhenyouseeit!SoI’m`da-da，’amI？’
　　hewenton，unhesitatinglyacceptingasthepuregoldofknowledgetheshamelessimitationvocabularyhissonwasfoistinguponhim。Well，I
　　expectIam，and——’
　　Oh，Cyril!’Thedoorhadopened，andMariewasintheroom。Ifshegaveastartofsurpriseatherhusband’sunaccustomedattitude，shequicklycontrolledherself。Juliasaidyouwantedme。Imusthavebeengoingdownthebackstairswhenyoucameupthefront，and——’
　　Please，Mrs。Henshaw，isitDotyouhaveinhere，orDimple？’askedanewvoice，asthesecondnurseenteredbyanotherdoor。
　　BeforeMrs。Henshawcouldanswer，Cyril，whohadgottohisfeet，turnedsharply。
　　Isit——_who_？’hedemanded。
　　Oh!Oh，Mr。Henshaw，’stammeredthegirl。
　　Ibegyourpardon。Ididn’tknowyouwerehere。
　　ItwasonlythatIwantedtoknowwhichbabyitwas。WethoughtwehadDotwithus，until——’
　　Dot!Dimple!’explodedtheman。Doyoumeantosayyouhavegivenmy_sons_theridiculousnamesof`_Dot_’and`_Dimple_’？’
　　Why，no——yes——well，thatis——wehadtocallthemsomething，’falteredthenurse，aswithadespairingglanceathermistress，sheplungedthroughthedoorway。
　　Cyrilturnedtohiswife。
　　Marie，whatisthemeaningofthis？’hedemanded。
　　Why，Cyril，dear，don’t——don’tgetsowroughtup，’shebegged。It’sonlyasMarysaid，we_had_tocallthemsomething，and——’
　　Wroughtup，indeed!’interruptedCyril，savagely。Whowouldn’tbe？`Dot’and`Dimple’!
　　GreatScott!Onewouldthinkthoseboyswereacoupleofkittensorpuppies；thattheydidn’tknowanything——didn’thaveanybrains!
　　Buttheyhave——iftheotherisanythinglikethisone，atleast，’hedeclared，pointingtohissononthefloor，who，atthisopportunemomentjoinedintheconversationtotheextentofanappropriateAh——goo——da——da!’
　　There，hearthat，willyou？’triumphedthefather。WhatdidItellyou？That’sthewayhe’sbeengoingoneversinceIcameintotheroom；Thelittlerascalknowsme——sosoon!’
　　Marieclappedherfingerstoherlipsandturnedherbacksuddenly，withaspasmodiclittlecough；
　　butherhusband，ifhenoticedtheinterruption，paidnoheed。
　　DotandDimple，indeed!’hewentonwrathfully。Thatsettlesit。We’llnamethoseboysto-day，Marie，_to-day!_NotonceagainwillIletthesungodownonaDotandaDimpleundermyroof。’
　　Marieturnedwithaquicklittlecryofhappiness。
　　Oh，Cyril，I’msoglad!I’vesowantedtohavethemnamed，youknow!AndshallwecallthemFranzandFelix，aswe’dtalked？’
　　Franz，Felix，John，James，Paul，Charles——
　　anything，soit’ssaneandsensible!I’devenadoptCalderwell’sabsurdBildadand——er——
　　Tomdad，orwhateveritwas，ratherthanhavethosepoorlittlechapsinsultedadaylongerwitha`Dot’anda`Dimple。’GreatScott!’And，entirelyforgettingwhathehadcometothenurseryfor，Cyrilstrodefromtheroom。
　　Ah——goo——spggggh!’commentedbabyfromthemiddleofthefloor。
　　ItwasonaverywindyMarchdaythatBertramHenshaw’sson，Bertram，Jr。，arrivedattheStrata。BillywentsofarintotheValleyoftheShadowofDeathforherbabythatitwassomedaysbeforesherealizedinallitsimportancethepresenceofthenewmemberofherfamily。Evenwhenthedayshadbecomeweeks，andBertram，Jr。，wasamonthandahalfold，theextremelassitudeandwearinessofhisyoungmotherwasasourceofever-growinganxietytoherfamilyandfriends。Billywassounlikeherself，theyallsaid。
　　Ifsomethingcouldonlyrouseher，’
　　suggestedtheHenshaw’soldfamilyphysicianoneday。Acertainsortofmentalshock——ifnottoosevere——woulddothedeed，Ithink，andwithnoinjury——onlybenefit。Herphysicalconditionisinjustthestatethatneedsastimulustostiritintonewlifeandvigor。’
　　Asithappened，thiswassaidonacertainMonday。TwodayslaterBertram’ssisterKate，onherwaywithherhusbandtoMr。Hartwell’soldhomeinVermont，stoppedoverinBostonforatwodays’visit。ShemadeherheadquartersatCyril’shome，butverynaturallyshewent，withoutmuchdelay，topayherrespectstoBertram，Jr。
　　Mr。Hartwell’sbrotherisn’twell，’sheexplainedtoBilly，afterthegreetingswereover。
　　Youknowhe’stheonlyoneleftthere，sinceMotherandFatherHartwellcameWest。WeshallgorightonuptoVermontinacoupleofdays，butwejusthadtostayoverlongenoughtoseethebaby；andwehadn’teverseenthetwins，either，youknow。Bytheway，howperfectlyridiculousCyrilisoverthoseboys!’
　　Ishe？’smiledBilly，faintly。
　　Yes。Onewouldthinktherewereneveranybabiesbornbefore，tohearhimtalk。Hethinksthey’rethemostwonderfulthingsintheworld——
　　andtheyarecunninglittlefellows，I’lladmit。
　　ButCyrilthinksthey_know_somuch，’wentonKate，laughingly。He’salwaysbraggingofsomethingoneortheotherofthemhasdone。
　　Thinkofit——_Cyril!_MariesaysitallstartedfromthetimelastJanuarywhenhediscoveredthenurseshadbeencallingthemDotandDimple。’
　　Yes，Iknow，’smiledBillyagain，faintly，liftingathin，white，veryun-Billy-likehandtoherhead。
　　Katefrowned，andregardedhersister-in-lawthoughtfully。
　　Mercy!howyoulook，Billy!’sheexclaimed，withcheerfultactlessness。Theysaidyoudid，but，Ideclare，youlookworsethanIthought。’
　　Billy’spalefacereddenedperceptibly。
　　Nonsense!It’sjustthatI’mso——sotired，’
　　sheinsisted。Ishallbeallrightsoon。Howdidyouleavethechildren？’
　　Well，andhappy——’speciallylittleKate，becausemotherwasgoingaway。Kateismistress，youknow，whenI’mgone，andshetakesherselfveryseriously。’
　　Mistress!Alittlethinglikeher!Why，shecan’tbemorethantenoreleven，’murmuredBilly。
　　Sheisn’t。Shewastenlastmonth。Butyou’dthinkshewasforty，theairsshegivesherself，sometimes。Oh，ofcoursethere’sNora，andthecook，andMissWinton，thegoverness，theretoreallymanagethings，andMotherHartwellisjustaroundthecorner；butlittleKate_thinks_
　　she’smanaging，soshe’shappy。’
　　Billysuppressedasmile。BillywasthinkingthatlittleKatecamenaturallybyatleastoneofhertraits。
　　Really，thatchildisimpossible，sometimes，’
　　resumedMrs。Hartwell，withasigh。Youknowtheabsurdthingsshewasalwayssayingtwoorthreeyearsago，whenwecameontoCyril’swedding。’
　　Yes，Iremember。’
　　Well，Ithoughtshewouldgetoverit。Butshedoesn’t。She’sworse，ifanything；andsometimesherinsight，orintuition，orwhateveryoumaycallit，ispositivelyuncanny。Ineverknowwhatshe’sgoingtoremarknext，whenItakeheranywhere；butit’ssafetosay，whateveritis，it’llbeunexpectedand_usually_embarrassingtosomebody。
　　And——isthatthebaby？’brokeoffMrs。
　　Hartwell，asacooinglaughandawoman’svoicecamefromthenextroom。
　　Yes。Thenursehasjustbroughthimin，I
　　think，’saidBilly。
　　ThenI’llgorightnowandseehim，’
　　rejoinedKate，risingtoherfeetandhurryingintothenextroom。
　　Leftalone，Billylaybackwearilyinherreclining-chair。ShewonderedwhyKatealwaystiredherso。Shewishedshehadhadonherbluekimono，thenperhapsKatewouldnothavethoughtshelookedsobadly。Bluewasalwaysmorebecomingtoherthan——
　　Billyturnedherheadsuddenly。FromthenextroomhadcomeKate’sclear-cut，decisivevoice。
　　Oh，no，Idon’tthinkhelooksabitlikehisfather。ThatlittlesnubbynosewasnevertheHenshawnose。’
　　Billydrewinherbreathsharply，andpulledherselfhalferectinherchair。FromthenextroomcameKate’svoiceagain，afteralowmurmurfromthenurse。
　　Oh，butheisn’t，Itellyou。Heisn’tonebitofaHenshawbaby!TheHenshawbabiesarealways_pretty_ones。Theyhavemorehair，andtheylook——well，different。’
　　Billygavealowcry，andstruggledtoherfeet。
　　Oh，no，’spokeupKate，inanswertoanotherindistinctsomethingfromthenurse。I
　　don’tthinkhe’snearasprettyasthetwins。Ofcoursethetwinsareagooddealolder，buttheyhavesucha_bright_look，——andtheydidhave，fromtheveryfirst。Isawitintheirtiniestbabypictures。Butthisbaby——’
　　_This_babyis_mine_，please，’cutinatremulous，butresolutevoice；andMrs。HartwellturnedtoconfrontBertram，Jr。’smother，manifestlyweakandtrembling，butnolessmanifestlyblazing-eyedanddetermined。
　　Why，Billy!’expostulatedMrs。Hartwell，asBillystumbledforwardandsnatchedthechildintoherarms。
　　Perhapshedoesn’tlookliketheHenshawbabies。Perhapsheisn’tasprettyasthetwins。
　　Perhapshehasn’tmuchhair，anddoeshaveasnubnose。He’smybabyjustthesame，andI
　　shallnotstaycalmlybyandseehimabused!
　　Besides，_I_thinkhe’sprettierthanthetwinseverthoughtofbeing；andhe’sgotallthehairIwanthimtohave，andhisnoseisjustexactlywhatababy’snoseoughttobe!’And，withasuperbgesture，Billyturnedandborethebabyaway。
　　CHAPTERXXIII
　　BILLYANDTHEENORMOUSRESPONSIBILITY
　　WhenthedoctorheardfromthenurseofMrs。
　　Hartwell’svisitandwhathadcomeofit，heonlygaveadiscreetsmile，asbefittedhimselfandtheoccasion；buttohiswifeprivately，thatnight，thedoctorsaid，whenhehadfinishedtellingthestory：
　　AndIcouldn’thaveprescribedabetterpillifI’dtried!’
　　_Pill_——Mrs。Hartwell!Oh，Harold，’reprovedthedoctor’swife，mildly。
　　Butthedoctoronlychuckledthemore，andsaid：
　　Youwaitandsee。’
　　IfBilly’sfriendswereworriedbeforebecauseofherlassitudeandlackofambition，theywerealmostasworriednowoverheramazingalertnessandinsistentactivity。Daybyday，almosthourbyhour，sheseemedtogaininstrength；andeverybitsheacquiredshepromptlytestedalmosttothebreakingpoint，soplainlyeagerwasshetobewellandstrong。Andalways，frommorninguntilnight，andagainfromnightuntilmorning，thepivotofherexistence，aroundwhichswungallthoughts，words，actions，andplans，wasthesturdylittleplump-cheeked，firm-fleshedatomofhumanityknownasBertram，Jr。EvenAuntHannahremonstratedwithheratlast。
　　But，Billy，dear，’sheexclaimed，onewouldalmostgettheideathatyouthoughttherewasn’tathingintheworldbutthatbaby!’
　　Billylaughed。
　　Well，doyouknow，sometimesI’mostthinkthereisn’t，’sheretortedunblushingly。