Molly Make-Believe

er began quite as coolly as the interview with the Doct

that Stanton received a formal, starchy little note

own he did not feel over-anxious to postpone the necessary meeting. In the immediate emergency at hand strong courage was infinitely more of an asset than strong knees. Filling his suitcase at o

nd her mother were already sitting there waiting for him with a dreadful tight lipped expression on their faces which seemed to

ies and candies and theater-tickets he had strutted across that erstwhile magic threshold and fairly lolled in the big deep-upholstered chairs while waiting for the silk-ru

st behind his left ear where the barber had clipped him too short, to the edge of his right hee

eaving town?"

h Cornelia herself; and even then if the house had been a tower ten stories high, Cornelia's mother,

room to Stanton's side and proffer him her hand. The hand was very cold, and the manner of offering it was very cold, but Stanton was

tional groove either of word or deed, C

he asked thoughtlessly.

any presents!" said

r strained mouth a smile began to flicker faintly. "

ly," laugh

laughed a li

t no possible time in

s whom he had seen in other people's houses, he unbuckled the st

vement of his hand with va

hole unique adventure with the Serial-Letter Co. his heart could not help giving a little extra jump on this, the verge of the astonishing revelation that he was about to make to Cornelia. "Here," he stammered, a tiny bit out of breath,

med expression showed sudden sig

Then kneeling cautiously down on the floor with all the dignity that characterized every

his suitcase and turned the

esults'?" she

gs I didn't have room to bring. There was a blank

bly. "A girl-whom you didn't know at all-s

whom I knew-very well-seemed to care a

nge, new puzzled expression in them like the expression of a perso

Stanton, "when I'm really trying so hard to explain everything perfec

able to understand exactly ho

orringer, the intimate-looking scrap of unfinished fancy-work. One by one Stanton explained them to her, visualizing by eager

letters Cornelia's ha

te you?" she asked

ostal-card," said Stanto

Cornelia toyed with the envelope for a second. "Would i

tanton. "I think y

he laid down the lett

t for me to read anot

hem all. Let's read them together. Only,

course I wouldn't think of showing these letters to any one ordinarily; but after all, these particular letters represent on

o have eluded his astonishing memory. Letter by letter, page by page he annotated: "That was the week you didn't write at all," or "This was the stormy, agonizing, God

a looked up and faced him squarely. "How could

swered, as the expression in his

tingly. "But I like it," he sa

ave given you anything lik

ouldn't," said St

ully into his face. Then suddenly the very gentleness o

h, you mean that really after all it wasn't your lette

," said

face flamed suddenly int

light upon the matter," she exclaim

scowly-looking wrinkles out of her skirt with

estly believe that I care more for you this moment than I ever cared before, but-" glancing with acute dismay at th

ciation Stanton proceeded then and there to

e threshold Cornelia's

re looking rather sick. I hop

yet the very shortest possible route to the particular home that, as yet, doesn't even exist. I'm going hunting, Cornelia