me for all they was worth, I
starts towards the livin' room. We was right in the midst of the
scrimmage when in walks Vee, with her hat and furs all on, lookin' some
classy, take it from me. But the encouragin' part of it is that she
smiles friendly, and I smiles back.

[Illustration: We was right in the midst of the scrimmage when in walks
Vee.]

"Well, you found someone, didn't you, girls?" says she.

"Oh, Vee, Vee!" sings out Peggy gleeful. "Isn't this Torchy?"

"Your Torchy?" demands Jane.

I tips Vee the signal for general denial and winks knowin'. But, say,
you can't get by with anything crude on a pair of open-eyed kids like
that.

"Oh, I saw!" announces Jane. "And you do know him, don't you, Vee?"

"Why, I suppose we have met before?" says she, laughin' ripply.
"Haven't we, Torchy?"

"Now that you mention it," says I, "I remember." And we shakes hands
formal.

"Came to see the baby, I hear," says Vee.

"Oh, sure!" says I. "Maybe you could tell me about him first, though,
if we could find a quiet corner."

"Oh, we'll tell you," chimes in Peggy. "We know all about Baby. He
has a tooth!"

"Say," says I, wigglin' away from the pair, "couldn't you go load up
someone else with information, just for ten minutes or so?"

"What for?" says Jane, eyin' me suspicious.

"We'd rather stay here," says Peggy decided.

I catches a humorous twinkle in Vee's gray eyes as she holds out her
hands to the girls. "Listen," says she confidential. "You know those
hermit cookies you're so fond of? Well, Cook made a whole jarful
yesterday. They're in the pantry."

"I know," says Jane. "We found 'em last night."

"The Glue Sisters!" says I. "Now see here, Kids, I've just thought of
a message I ought to give to Miss Vee."

"Who from?" demands Peggy.

"From a young chap I know who thinks a lot of her," says I. "It's
strictly private too."

"What's it about?" says Jane.

Which was when my tactics gave out. "Say, you two human question
marks," says I, "beat it, won't you?"

No, they just wouldn't. The best they would do for me was to back off
to the other side of the room, eyes and ears wide open, and there they
stood.

"Go on!" whispers Vee. "What was it he wanted to say?"

"It was about a couple of notes he wrote," says I.

"Yes?" says Vee. "What happened?"

"They came back," says I, "without being opened."

"Oh," says Vee, "those must have been the ones that----"

"Vee, Vee!" breaks