He was so faithful that evening in reminding her of her short-comings that their tete-a-tete over the little table in the ice-cream saloon, which usually was so cosey and delightful, was quite spoiled.  She went to sleep regretting that she had taken Mr. John into her confidence and made it necessary for him to treat her as a boy.

She did not see him again for several days:  and meanwhile she had taken her lessons in book-keeping, practiced the writing hours on heavy masculine strokes, learned to walk without dancing little whirligigs on her tiptoes every other minute, and made some progress in the art of whistling.  She felt that she had done much to earn his commendation, and was anxious for a meeting.

On the way home from school, one afternoon, she saw his sister’s baby at the window—­the roundest, fattest, whitest and sweetest of all the babies that had taken up an abode in Mollie’s heart, where babies innumerable were enshrined.  There it was, being danced in somebody’s hands before the window, and reaching out its ten dear little fingers to beckon her in.

She was quickly in, regardless of her gait.  In a moment from the time the tempting vision appeared she was cuddling it in her arms, glibly talking the nonsense that it loved to hear, and kissing and petting it to her heart’s content.  She was so absorbed that she did not hear Mr. John come in; and he was close by her when she looked up and saw his face—­not the genial, welcoming look she had been in the habit of meeting since he became her friend, but one of grave disapproval.

“I am ashamed of you, Mollie,” he said.  “Boys of your age don’t pet babies in that way.”

Mollie dropped it—­she hardly knew whether on the floor or the stove—­and flew.  When she got home, she ran into the little back room that used to be her play-room.  She was all ready for a good cry, and she closed the door.  Then she thought, what if Mr. John were to see her crying like a girl-baby!—­and she marched to the window, and through the dimness in her eyes tried to see something cheering.  Her nature was very social, and her need of companionship great at that moment; so she turned to the friend who had been brother, sister and child to her through most of her little girlhood—­her big doll Helena, who sat in a chair in the corner beholding her agitation with fixed, compassionless gaze.

“Come here, you dear,” said Mollie, folding her tenderly in her arms and finding comfort in the contact of her cold china cheek.  She had loved her so long that she had given her a soul; and to Mollie’s heart the doll was as fit for loving as if she had had breath and speech.  She did not play with her any longer, but Helena was still her dear old friend—­an almost human confidant and crony.

As she held her closely, suddenly she thought of Mr. John.  If he had objected to the petting of babies, what would he say to dolls?  She gave her a frantic kiss, put her away, and turned her back on her to reflect; for she did not mean to shirk the most disagreeable reflections in the new line of duty she had chosen to follow.