candy, an'--an' lob-ster!"

Whether it was the smacking of his lips as he dwelt on the last word,
or whether it was merely the fact that their fright was passing,
matters little; anyhow, the cries of the twins died out as suddenly as
they began, and their eyes, big and round, gazed wonderingly up at
Sunny's unkempt face.

"Who's you, ugly man?" asked Vada at last, her brain working more
quickly than her brother's.

"'Ess--ug'y man," added Jamie unmeaningly.

Sunny's hand went up to his face, and he scratched amongst his sparse
beard as though to test the accuracy of the accusation. Then he
grinned sheepishly.

"Guess I'm jest an ugly fairy that wants to be kind to two lonesome
kiddies," he beamed.

"O--oh! You'se a fairy?" said Vada doubtfully.

"'Ess," nodded Jamie, thrilling with wonderment, and eyeing him
critically.

Elated with his success, Sunny went on warmly--

"Yep. Jest a fairy, an' I bro't a heap o' good grub fer you kiddies t'
eat."

But Vada's small brain was following out its own train of thought, and
passed the food question by.

"Awful ugly," she said, half to herself.

"'Ess," muttered Jamie abstractedly.

"Mebbe," said Sunny, with a laugh. "Wal, if you crawl right out o'
there an' git around, I got things fixed so we'll hev' a bully time."

But his proposition hadn't the effect he hoped. Instead of moving,
Jamie suddenly beat his head with his little clenched fists.

"Me wants yaller pup," he cried, and forthwith howled afresh.

Again Sunny realized his helplessness, and, glancing about for further
inspiration, caught sight of an inquiring yellow head peering
furtively in through the doorway.

"Why, ther' he is," he cried, vainly hoping to pacify the child. Then
he began at once a clumsy encouragement of the dog. "Here, you yeller
feller," he cried, flicking his fingers coaxingly. "Come along! Gee,
you're a pretty feller. Hi! come along here."

But the dog made no attempt to move, and Sunny began to lose patience.
"Come along, pups," he cried, with increasing force. "Come on, you
miser'ble rat. Don't stan' ther' waggin' your fool tail like a
whisk-broom. Say, you yaller cur, I'll--" He started to fetch the
creature, but in a twinkling it had fled, to the accompaniment of a
fresh outburst from Jamie.

"I tho't you was a fairy," protested Vada. "Fairies ken do most
anything. You're jest an ugly ole man."

Sunny stood up and drew the back of his hand across his perspiring
foreh