Molly Make-Believe

k from the drug-store just around the corner appeared with a perfectly huge hot-water

groaned Stanton out of hi

me in the last mail this evening. 'Kindly deliver largest-sized hot-

ains against the blessed, scorching heat. "Most girls," he reasoned with surprising interest, "would have sent ice cold violets

Planting himself firmly on the rug in the middle of the room, with the faintest gleam of saucy pink tongue showing between his teeth, the little beast sat and defied

didn't I!-Well, my last name and the dog's first name are just the same.

th

ol

in the morning and he'll go hom

appeared dragging an exceedi

little beggar, isn't it?" said Stanton. "Come here, sir!" Only a suddenly pointed ear acknowledged the summons. The dog himself did not budge. "Come here, I say!" Stanton repeated with harshperemptoriness. Palpably the little dog winked at him. Then in succession the little dog dodged adroitly a knife, a spoon, a

said. "Won't you mind unless

ntonation, he had quite completely exhausted the alphabetical list as far as "K." and the little dog was blinking himself to sleep on the far side of the room. Something about the dog's nodding contentment started Stanton's mouth to yawning and for almost an hour he lay in the lovely, restful consciousness of being at least half asleep. But at ten o'clock he roused up sharply and resumed the task at hand, which seemed suddenly to have assumed really vital importance. "Laban-Lorenzo-Marcellus," he began again in a loud, clear, compelling

as a tiny, inconspicuous tag that said "That was easy! The pup's nam

nswers were always prompt

at I have deceived you absolutely concerning my own name. Will you forgive me utterly if I hereby promise never to deceive you again? Why what could I possibly, possibly do with a great solem

Molly Mak

lay if you wou

ne here's a

re true are a

, don't you? Then th

Molly Mak

wear it al

lips are fram

that your he

broke'! Then there's th

Molly Mak

mist or make

DREAM stays f

ly what do

st the same," vowed Stanton, "and she's probably

at something unique was practically guaranteed to happen every single, individual night of the six weeks' subscription contract. Like a youngster's joyous dre

Serial-Letter Co. did not please Stanto

himself on the foot of Stanton's bed when an expressman also arrived with two large pasteboard hat-boxes which he stra

me!" gasped Stant

t, very fluffy, inordinately jaunty with a blush-pink rose nestling deep in the fur. Out of the other box, twice as large, twice as

t!" said

tiny note. The handwriting at least

ried the lawye

hoved his right fist into the brown hat and his left fist i

looking-hats,

ed the lawyer with

, Stanton rolled his eyes fran

and can't get out on the streets to see the styles for myself.-And I've got to choose be

er, surprisingly, slapping his

atched his visitor, then "Well, which one would

ed them carefully. "Let-me-see" he

red!" snap

owed his mistake. "Oh, excuse me," he

," groaned Stanton. "I

the lawyer coolly. He himself ha

until midnight the sense of relief comforted him utterly. But some time after midnight, his hungry mind, like a house-pet robbed of an accustomed meal,

im fairly clutch the special delivery letter out of the postman's hand.

tember frost-lights, I'm going to sit up by my white birch-wood fire and read aloud to you. Yes! Honest-I

ave that littl

a background

o

net-sing you

house you wou

o

nter who ca

to all I

thing at

n, or hat

r

cap

ve

lo

I, and yo

all this Big City, sitting up and thinking about each o

wled Stanton, "if I'm goin

o his face. Unmistakably, up from the paper ro

I'm going to be strung by any boy!" Out of

ast," Stanton most peremptorily ordered the janitor to display the bouquet as ornately as possible along the narrow window-sill of the biggest window that faced the street. Then all through the night he lay dozing and waking intermittently, with a lovely, scared feeling in the p