Page:Georgie by Dorothea Deakin, 1906.djvu/165

"Georgie" enough. Diana slipped between them, and took poor frightened Taffy into her arms, casting a look at the Goddess Girl which ought to have withered that young woman. Then she sat down on a little stool at the corner of the brass fender, and Taffy cuddled up against her soft white gown, glancing ferociously at the rest of us. He even made a remark in his native tongue which sounded like a wizard's curse—or a heathen incantation. The Goddess Girl smiled amiably.

"Guess you're fond of children," said she. "Those sticky little paws will crush your chiffon some."

"Oh!" Diana's gray eyes were absurdly indignant. "I've got brothers of my own, and I don't know how you can!"

But Georgie's mother, with amazed eyes, demanded explanations, and Georgie, driven to it, told his story. With the deepest interest, everybody listened. When he had finished, his mother sat down and laughed till the tears came into her eyes. Everybody laughed, and Georgie, scarlet 149