r sheer love of the woman who
lived in that little garden.

And so Fanny went flying to Grandma now, perfectly, childishly
confident that Grandma would and could fix up everything. She began to
talk as soon as she opened the door. But what she saw in Grandma's
kitchen sent the words tumbling down her throat.

For there sat little Alice, eating a late breakfast with Grandma. She
looked a little scared around the eyes but smiley round the mouth and
there was a gold ring on her left hand.

When Grandma caught sight of Fanny she smiled.

"Come right in, Fanny. I've been expecting you. But first let me make
you acquainted with Mrs. Tommy Winston. That rascal of a boy run away
with her last night as far as Spring Road, where Judge Edwards married
them. And then Tommy brought her here to me to spend the night while
he went and rented that funny little box of a house just back of that
stylish Mrs. Brownlee. And that's where the wedding supper's going to
be to-night. Of course you're invited. I'm going right now to see
Milly Sears about what we must cook up and bake. I was going over to
get you too to help out. The little house'll need overhauling but I
know I can depend on you, Fanny. Do your very best and there'll be--"

But by this time Fanny found her voice and began to tell about how
Sears was going on. But Grandma only smiled and said, "Yes, of course,
I know. But don't worry about that. I'll attend to Will Sears. You
two just skip along now to the house and start the wedding."

Grandma walked over to the Sears cottage without any show of worry or
hurry. But she wasn't smiling. Those gray eyes of hers were sparkling
with something very different. And when Will Sears saw her coming in
the gate he was both relieved and uncomfortably uneasy.

She came right in and just looked at that desolate couple for a few
seconds. Then:

"Will Sears," she asked briefly, "what are you aiming to do about this?"

Sears, who couldn't do anything, didn't know how to do anything about
it but swear, said pompously:

"What any decent, respectable, hard-working man would do,--bring back
the girl and horsewhip that whippersnapper."

Then Grandma, who knew just how much this sort of bluster was worth,
let herself go.

"Will Sears, if you honestly have an idea that you are a decent,
respectable, hard-working man, hold on to it for the love of heaven,
for you're the only human in this town that has any such notion."