d?" he returned. "What did she wake you up for?"

"Because it was time to get ready for dinner," returned Jewel. "It
reminded me of the story of Golden Hair, when she had gone to sleep on
the bear's bed, the way Mrs. Forbes said, 'This is your grandfather's
chair!'"

She looked around the table, expectant of sympathy. Only Mrs. Evringham
seemed to wish to laugh, and she was making heroic efforts not to do so.
Lovely Eloise kept her serious eyes downcast.

"Ha!" ejaculated Mr. Evringham, after a lightning glance of suspicion
at his daughter-in-law. "I think I remember something about that. But
Golden Hair tried three beds, I believe."

"Yes, she did, but you see there wasn't any little bear's chair on the
piazza."

"Very true. Very true."

"Golden Hair was a great beauty, I believe," suggested Mrs. Evringham,
looking at the child oddly. "She had yellow hair like yours."

Jewel put up a quick hand to the short tight braid which ended behind
her ear. "Oh no, long, lovely, floating hair. Don't you remember?"

"It's a good while since I read it," returned Mrs. Evringham, laughing
low and glancing at Eloise. Her father-in-law sent her a look of
displeasure and turned back to Jewel.

"Dr. Ballard found you on the train, I suppose?"

"Yes, grandpa. We had a nice time. He is a very kind man." The child
glanced across at her cousin again. She wished cousin Eloise would lift
her eyes and not look so sorry. "I wonder," she added aloud, "why Dr.
Ballard called cousin Eloise a little girl."

No one spoke, so Mrs. Evringham broke the momentary silence. "Did he?"
she asked.

"Yes, he said that my cousin Eloise was a very charming little girl."

Jewel wondered why Eloise flushed and looked still sorrier, and why aunt
Madge raised her napkin and turned her laugh into a cough. Perhaps it
teased young ladies to be called little girls. Jewel regretted having
mentioned it.

"I guess he was just April-fooling me," she suggested comfortingly, and
the insistence of her soft gaze was such that Eloise looked up and met a
smile so irresistible, that in spite of herself, her expression relaxed.

The softened look was a relief to the child. "I've heard about you, of
course, cousin Eloise," she said, "and I couldn't forget, because your
name is so nice and--and slippery. Eloise Evringham. Eloise Evringham.
It sounds just like--like--oh, like sliding down the banisters. Don't
you think so?"

Eloise smiled a little. "I hadn't though