Octoberprovedtobeunusuallymild，andaboutthemiddleofthemonth，Bertram，aftermuchunselfishurgingonthepartofBilly，wenttoafriend’scampintheAdirondacksforaweek’sstay。Hecamebackwithanangry，lugubriousface——andabrokenarm。
　　Oh，Bertram!Andyourrightone，too——
　　thesameoneyoubrokebefore!’mournedBilly，tearfully。
　　Ofcourse，’retortedBertram，tryinginvaintogiveanairofjauntinesstohisreply。Didn’twanttobetoochangeable，youknow!’
　　Buthowdidyoudoit，dear？’
　　Fellintoasillylittleholecoveredwithunderbrush。But——oh，Billy，what’stheuse？I
　　didit，andIcan’tundoit——more’sthepity!’
　　Ofcourseyoucan’t，youpoorboy，’
　　sympathizedBilly；andyousha’n’tbetormentedwithquestions。We’lljustbethankful’twasnoworse。
　　Youcan’tpaintforawhile，ofcourse；butwewon’tmindthat。It’lljustgiveBabyandmeachancetohaveyoualltoourselvesforatime，andwe’lllovethat!’
　　Yes，ofcourse，’sighedBertram，soabstractedlythatBillybridledwithprettyresentment。
　　Well，Ilikeyourenthusiasm，sir，’shefrowned。
　　I’mafraidyoudon’tappreciatetheblessingsyoudohave，youngman!DidyourealizewhatIsaid？Iremarkedthatyoucouldbewith_Baby_
　　and_me_，’sheemphasized。
　　Bertramlaughed，andgavehiswifeanaffectionatekiss。
　　IndeedIdoappreciatemyblessings，dear——
　　whenthoseblessingsaresuchtreasuresasyouandBaby，but——’Onlyhisdolefuleyesfixedonhisinjuredarmfinishedhissentence。
　　Iknow，dear，ofcourse，andIunderstand，’
　　murmuredBilly，alltendernessatonce。
　　TheywerenoteasyforBertram——thosefollowingdays。Onceagainhewasobligedtoacceptthelittleintimatepersonalservicesthathesodisliked。Onceagainhecoulddonothingbutread，orwanderdisconsolatelyintohisstudioandgazeathishalf-finishedFaceofaGirl。’
　　Occasionally，itistrue，drivennearlytodesperationbythehauntingvisioninhismind’seye，hepickedupabrushandattemptedtomakehislefthandservehiswill；butabarehalf-dozenirritating，ineffectualstrokeswereusuallyenoughtomakehimthrowdownhisbrushindisgust。
　　Henevercoulddoanythingwithhislefthand，hetoldhimselfdejectedly。
　　Manyofhishours，ofcourse，hespentwithBillyandhisson，andtheywerehappyhours，too；buttheyalwayscametoberestlessonesbeforethedaywashalfover。Billywasalwaysdevotionitselftohim——whenshewasnotattendingtothebaby；hehadnofaulttofindwithBilly。Andthebabywasdelightful——hecouldfindnofaultwiththebaby。Butthebaby_was_
　　fretful——hewasteething，Billysaid——andheneededagreatdealofattention；so，naturally，Bertramdriftedoutofthenursery，afteratime，andwentdownintohisstudio，wherewerehisdear，emptypalette，hisorderlybrushes，andhistantalizingFaceofaGirl。’Fromthestudio，generally，Bertramwentoutontothestreet。
　　Sometimeshedroppedintoafellow-artist’sstudio。Sometimeshestrolledintoacluborcafwhereheknewhewouldbelikelytofindsomefriendwhowouldhelphimwhileawayatiresomehour。Bertram’sfriendsquiteviedwitheachotherinrenderingthissortofaid，somuchso，indeed，that——naturally，perhaps——Bertramcametocallontheirservicesmoreandmorefrequently。
　　Particularlywasthisthecasewhen，afterthesplintswereremoved，Bertramfound，asthedayspassed，thathisarmwasnotimprovingasitshouldimprove。Thisnotonlydisappointedandannoyedhim，butworriedhim。Herememberedsundrydisquietingwarningsgivenbythephysicianatthetimeoftheformerbreak——warningsconcerningtheprobableseriousnessofarepetitionoftheinjury。ToBilly，ofcourse，Bertramsaidnothingofallthis；butjustbeforeChristmashewenttoseeanotedspecialist。
　　Anhourlater，almostinfrontofthelearnedsurgeon’sdoor，BertrammetBobSeaver。
　　GreatScott，Bertie，what’sup？’ejaculatedSeaver。Youlookasifyou’dseenaghost。’
　　Ihave，’answeredBertram，withgrimbitterness。I’veseentheghostof——ofevery`FaceofaGirl’Ieverpainted。’
　　Gorry!Sobadasthat？Nowonderyoulookasifyou’dbeendisportingingraveyards，’
　　chuckledSeaver，laughingathisownjokeWhat’sthematter——armonarampagetoday？’
　　Hepausedforreply，butasBertramdidnotansweratonce，heresumed，withgayinsistence：
　　Comeon!Youneedcheeringup。SupposewegodowntoTrentini’sandseewho’sthere。’
　　Allright，’agreedBertram，dully。Suityourself。’
　　BertramwasnotthinkingofSeaver，Trentini’s，orwhomhemightfindthere。Bertramwasthinkingofcertainwordshehadheardlessthanhalfanhourago。Hewaswondering，too，ifeveragainhecouldthinkofanythingbutthosewords。
　　Thetruth？’thegreatsurgeonhadsaid。
　　Well，thetruthis——I’msorrytotellyouthetruth，Mr。Henshaw，butifyouwillhaveit——
　　you’vepaintedthelastpictureyou’lleverpaintwithyourrighthand，Ifear。It’sabadcase。
　　Thisbreak，comingasitdidontopoftheseriousinjuryoftwoorthreeyearsago，wasbadenough；
　　but，tomakemattersworse，thebonewasimperfectlysetandwronglytreated，whichcouldnotbehelped，ofcourse，asyouweremilesawayfromskilledsurgeonsatthetimeoftheinjury。We’lldothebestwecan，ofcourse；but——well，youaskedforthetruth，youremember；soIhadtogiveittoyou。’
　　Bertrammadeuphismindatoncethat，forthepresent，atleast，hewouldtellnoonewhatthesurgeonhadsaidtohim。Hehadplacedhimselfundertheman’scare，andtherewasnothingtodobuttotaketheprescribedtreatmentandawaitresultsaspatientlyashecould。
　　MeanwhiletherewasnoneedtoworryBilly，orWilliam，oranybodyelsewiththematter。
　　BillywassobusywithherholidayplansthatshewasonlyvaguelyawareofwhatseemedtobeanincreaseofrestlessnessonthepartofherhusbandduringthosedaysjustbeforeChristmas。
　　Poordear，isthearmfeelinghorridto-day？’
　　sheaskedonemorning，whenthegloomonherhusband’sfacewasdeeperthanusual。
　　Bertramfrownedanddidnotanswerdirectly。
　　LotsofgoodIamthesedays!’heexclaimed，hismoodyeyesonthearmfulofmany-shaped，many-sizedpackagesshecarried。Whatarethosefor-thetree？’
　　Yes；andit’sgoingtobesopretty，Bertram，’
　　exultedBilly。And，doyouknow，Babypositivelyactsasifhesuspectedthings——littleasheis，’shewentoneagerly。He’sasnervousasawitch。Ican’tkeephimstillaminute!’
　　Howabouthismother？’hintedBertram，withafaintsmile。
　　Billylaughed。
　　Well，I’mafraidsheisn’texactlycalmherself，’sheconfessed，asshehurriedoutoftheroomwithherparcels。
　　Bertramlookedafterherlongingly，despondently。
　　Iwonderwhatshe’dsayifshe——knew，’
　　hemuttered。Butshesha’n’tknow——tillshejusthasto，’hevowedsuddenly，underhisbreath，stridingintothehallforhishatandcoat。
　　NeverhadtheStrataknownsuchaChristmasasthiswasplannedtobe。Cyril，Marie，andthetwinsweretobethere，alsoKate，herhusbandandthreechildren，Paul，Egbert，andlittleKate，fromtheWest。OnChristmasDaytherewastobeabigfamilydinner，withAuntHannahdownfromtheAnnex。Then，inconcessiontotheextremeyouthoftheyounghostandhistwincousins，therewastobeanafternoontree。Theshadesweretobedrawnandthecandleslighted，however，sothattheremightbenolossofeffect。
　　Intheeveningthetreewastobeoncemoreloadedwithfascinatingpackagesandcandy-bags，andthistimetheGreggorys，TommyDunn，andalltherestfromtheAnnexweretohavethefunalloveragain。
　　FromgarrettobasementtheStratawasaflamewithholly，andaglitterwithtinsel。Nowheredidthereseemtobeaspotthatdidnothaveitsbitoftissuepaperoritstrailofredribbon。Andeverything——holly，ribbon，tissue，andtinsel——
　　ledtothemysteriouslycloseddoorsofthegreatfrontdrawing-room，pastwhichnonebutBillyandheraccreditedmessengersmightventure。
　　Nowonder，indeed，thatevenBabyscentedexcitement，andthatBaby’smotherwasnotexactlycalm。Nowonder，too，thatBertram，withhishelplessrightarm，andhisheavyheart，feltpeculiarlyforlornandoutofit。’Nowonder，also，thathetookhimselfliterallyoutofitwithgrowingfrequency。
　　Mr。andMrs。HartwellandlittleKateweretostayattheStrata。Theboys，PaulandEgbert，weretogotoCyril’s。Promptlyattheappointedtime，twodaysbeforeChristmas，theyarrived。AndfromthathouruntiltwodaysafterChristmas，whenthelastbitofholly，ribbon，tissue，andtinseldisappearedfromthefloor，Billymovedinawhirlofanxiousresponsibilitythatwasyetfilledwithfun，frolic，andlaughter。
　　Itwasagreatsuccess，thewholeaffair。
　　Everybodyseemedpleasedandhappy——thatis，everybodybutBertram；andheveryplainlytriedtoseempleasedandhappy。EvenCyrilunbenttotheextentofnotappearingtomindthenoiseonebit；andSisterKateBertramsaidfoundonlytheextraordinarilysmallnumberoffourdetailstochangeinthearrangements。Babyobliginglylethisteeth-gettinggo，fortheoccasion，andheandthetwins，FranzandFelix，weretheadmirationanddelightofall。LittleKate，tobesure，wasatrifledisconcertingonceortwice，buteverybodywastooabsorbedtopaymuchattentiontoher。Billydid，however，rememberheropeningremarks。
　　Well，littleKate，doyourememberme？’
　　Billyhadgreetedherpleasantly。
　　Oh，yes，’littleKatehadanswered，withawinningsmile。You’remyAuntBillywhatmarriedmyUncleBertraminsteadofUncleWilliamasyousaidyouwouldfirst。’
　　Everybodylaughed，andBillycolored，ofcourse；butlittleKatewentoneagerly：
　　AndI’vebeenwantingjustawfullytoseeyou，’sheannounced。
　　Haveyou？I’mglad，I’msure。Ifeelhighlyflattered，’smiledBilly。
　　Well，Ihave。Yousee，Iwantedtoaskyousomething。Haveyoueverwishedthatyou_had_
　　marriedUncleWilliaminsteadofUncleBertram，orthatyou’dtriedforUncleCyrilbeforeAuntyMariegothim？’
　　Kate!’gaspedherhorrifiedmother。I
　　toldyou——Yousee，’shebrokeoff，turningtoBillydespairingly。She’sbeenpesteringmewithquestionslikethateversincesheknewshewascoming。Sheneverhasforgottenthewayyouchangedfromoneuncletotheother。Youmayremember；itmadeagreatimpressiononheratthetime。’
　　Yes，I——Iremember，’stammeredBilly，tryingtolaughoffherembarrassment。
　　Butyouhaven’ttoldmeyetwhetheryoudidwishyou’dmarriedUncleWilliam，orUncleCyril，’interposedlittleKate，persistently。
　　No，no，ofcoursenot!’exclaimedBilly，withavividblush，castinghereyesaboutforadoorofescape，andrejoicinggreatlywhenshespiedDeliawiththebabycomingtowardthem。
　　There，look，mydear，here’syournewcousin，littleBertram!’sheexclaimed。Don’tyouwanttoseehim？’
　　LittleKateturneddutifully。
　　Yes’m，AuntBilly，butI’dratherseethetwins。Mothersays_they’re_realprettyandcunning。’
　　Er——y-yes，theyare，’murmuredBilly，onwhomtheemphasisofthethey’re’hadnotbeenlost。
　　Naturally，asmaybesupposed，therefore，BillyhadnotforgottenlittleKate’sopeningremarks。
　　ImmediatelyafterChristmasMr。HartwellandtheboyswentbacktotheirWesternhome，leavingMrs。HartwellandherdaughtertomakearoundofvisitstofriendsintheEast。ForalmostaweekafterChristmastheyremainedattheStrata；anditwasonthelastdayoftheirstaythatlittleKateaskedthequestionthatprovedsomomentousinresults。
　　Billy，almostunconsciously，hadavoidedtte-
　　-tteswithhersmallguest。Butto-daytheywerealonetogether。
　　AuntBilly，’beganthelittlegirl，afterameditativegazeintotheother’sface，you_are_