her husband, "that this little girl may
be the daughter of my old friend Dick Warner; you remember him, Frank?
He died about a year ago, somewhere abroad. As bright and
sweet-tempered a fellow as ever lived! I must look into it."

Uncle William usually had his own way about things, for the reason
that no other way was so pleasant. No one could resist his bright face
and cordial manner. He carried around with him an atmosphere of such
hearty goodwill that it was next to impossible to be cross or gloomy
in his presence. People sometimes wondered how he happened to marry
Mrs. Hazeltine, but the reason was plain enough to him. He regarded
her with the greatest admiration, feeling that a harum-scarum fellow
like himself was most fortunate in having such a wife to keep him
straight. He was very proud and fond of her, and quite blind to what
others called her managing propensities. Sometimes, indeed, he
wondered how she could be so severe in her judgment of the children,
but then someone must be firm. And though she was often annoyed by his
friendliness with all sorts of odd people, and wished William would
draw the line somewhere, she always ended by saying leniently that he
would never be anything but a boy.

He had a warm love for children. No matter how ragged and forlorn they
might be, they interested him. The newsboys and bootblacks felt that
he was their friend, and many were the treats they received at his
hand. By his young relatives and their many friends he was looked upon
as a sort of every-day Santa Claus. One of his peculiarities was a
love for surprising people. He sent mysterious parcels, left candy
about in unexpected places, or took the children out for a walk, and
then whisked them off on some delightful excursion.

Promptness was another of Uncle William's good qualities. Having
determined to make inquiries about his old friend, he did it at once,
and so it happened that Dora and her mother were called down to the
parlor one day to see a tall gentleman with kindly dark eyes and
iron-gray hair, who won them at once by his simple, cordial manner.

Mrs. Warner was a thoroughly saddened woman since the death of her
husband, but even she could not resist his friendliness, and Dora was
altogether captivated.

The children were surprised and delighted when they heard that their
uncle had been to see the Warners, and that Dora was really the
daughter of his old friend.

"So of course we _ought_ to be friend