Page:Arthur Stringer-The Loom of Destiny.djvu/52

The Loom of Destiny the angels in the church windows that always filled her with a mysterious veneration, and also because her Aunt Frankie liked Ali Baba. Ali Baba he had always been called, ever since he told Peggy the stories of the Forty Thieves, though his right name was Dr. Thomas Etherington, which did n't count with Peggy.

Now, Ali Baba had been wise in his generation and had realised that he must have Peggy as his friend at court.

When candies and boxes of flowers came to the house they were always for Miss Peggy. The candies she gorged herself upon, and the flowers she flung away, not knowing they were afterwards surreptitiously gathered up by her Aunt Frankie, for reasons poor little Peggy could never know and perhaps never understand.

To make sure of such a powerful ally, Ali Baba made open and uninterrupted love to Peggy, who in return daily soiled his collars, rumpled up his hair, went through his pockets, climbed on his shoulders, and in time even forgot to think of her long-lost Teddie. 40