ne to the teacher.

"Look-ahere, Tillie. If Teacher there wants to keep comp'ny with one of
yous girls, it ain't to be you, mind. He ain't to be makin' up to you!
I don't want you to waste your time that there way."

Apprehensively, Tillie darted a sidelong glance at the teacher to see
if he had heard--for though no tender sentiment was associated in her
mind with the idea of "keeping company," yet intuitively she felt the
unseemliness of her father's warning and its absurdity in the eyes of
such as this stranger.

Mr. Fairchilds was leaning against the table, his arms folded, his lips
compressed and his face flushed. She was sure that he had overheard her
father. Was he angry, or--almost worse--did that compressed mouth mean
concealed amusement?

"Well, now, I must be goin'," said Mr. Getz. "Be a good girl, mind.
Och, I 'most forgot to tell you. Me and your mom's conceited we'd drive
up to Puntz's Sunday afternoon after the dinner work's through a'ready.
And if Aunty Em don't want you partic'lar, you're to come home and mind
the childern, do you hear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now, don't forget. Well, good-by, then."

Again he bent to kiss her, and Tillie felt Fairchilds's eyes upon her,
as unresponsively she submitted to the caress.

"Good night to you, Teacher." Mr. Getz gruffly raised his voice to
speak to the pair by the table. "And to you, Doc."

They answered him and he went away. When Tillie slowly turned back to
the table, the teacher hastily took his leave and moved away to the
stairway at the other end of the room. As she took up her sewing, she
heard him mount the steps and presently close and lock the door of his
room at the head of the stairs.

"He was, now, wonderful surprised, Tillie," the doctor confided to her,
"when I tole him Jake Getz was your pop. He don't think your pop takes
after you any. I says to him, 'Tillie's pop, there, bein' one of your
bosses, you better make up to Tillie,' I says, and he sayed, 'You don't
mean to tell me that that Mr. Getz of the School Board is the father of
this girl?' 'That's what,' I says. 'He's that much her father,' I says,
'that you'd better keep on the right side of him by makin' up to
Tillie,' I says, just to plague him. And just then your pop up and
sayed if Teacher wanted to keep comp'ny he must pick out 'Manda or
Rebecca--and I seen Teacher wanted to laugh, but his manners wouldn't
leave him. He certainly has, now, a lot of manners, ain't, Tillie?"

Tilli