Well，I’lltellyou。JustnowIwantitforTommyDunn，andtheGreggorysifIcangetthem，andmaybeoneortwoothers。There’llalwaysbesomebody。Yousee，IhadthoughtI’dhavethemattheStrata。’
　　TommyDunn——attheStrata!’
　　Billylaughedagainruefully。
　　Odear!YousoundjustlikeBertram，’shepouted。Hedidn’twantTommy，either，noranyoftherestofthem。’
　　Therestofthem!’
　　Well，Icouldhavehadalotmore，youknow，theStrataissobig，especiallynowthatCyrilhasgone，andleftallthoseemptyrooms。_I_gotrealenthusiastic，butBertramdidn’t。Hejustlaughedandsaid`nonsense!’untilhefoundI
　　wasreallyinearnest；thenhe——well，hesaid`nonsense，’then，too——onlyhedidn’tlaugh，’
　　finishedBilly，withasigh。
　　AuntHannahregardedherwithfond，thoughslightlyexasperatedeyes。
　　Billy，youare，indeed，amostextraordinaryyoungwoman——attimes。Surely，withyou，abodyneverknowswhattoexpect——excepttheunexpected。’
　　Why，AuntHannah!——andfromyou，too!’
　　reproachedBilly，mischievously；butAuntHannahhadyetmoretosay。
　　OfcourseBertramthoughtitwasnonsense。
　　Theideaofyou，abride，fillingupyourhousewith——withpeoplelikethat!TommyDunn，indeed!’
　　Oh，BertramsaidhelikedTommyallright，’
　　sighedBilly；buthesaidthatthatdidn’tmeanhewantedhimforthreemealsaday。OnewouldthinkpoorTommywasabreakfastfood!SothatiswhenIthoughtofkeepingupthishouse，yousee，andthat’swhyIwantyouhere——totakechargeofit。Andyou’lldothat——forme，won’tyou？’
　　AuntHannahfellbackinherchair。
　　Why，y-yes，Billy，ofcourse，if——ifyouwantit。Butwhatanextraordinaryidea，child!’
　　Billyshookherhead。Adeepercolorcametohercheeks，andasofterglowtohereyes。
　　Idon’tthinkso，AuntHannah。It’sonlythatI’msohappythatsomeofithasjustgottooverflowsomewhere，andthisisgoingtobetheoverflowhouse——asortofsafetyvalveforme，yousee。I’mgoingtocallittheAnnex——itwillbeanannextoourhome。AndIwanttokeepitfull，always，ofpeoplewho——whocanmakethebestuseofallthatextrahappinessthatIcan’tpossiblyusemyself，’shefinishedalittletremulously。Don’tyousee？’
　　Oh，yes，I_see_，’repliedAuntHannah，withafondshakeofthehead。
　　But，really，listen——it’ssensible，’urgedBilly。First，there’sTommy。Hismotherdiedlastmonth。He’sataneighbor’snow，butthey’regoingtosendhimtoaHomeforCrippledChildren；
　　andhe’sgrievinghisheartoutoverit。
　　I’mgoingtobringhimheretoarealhome——
　　thekindthatdoesn’tbeginwithacapitalletter。
　　Headoresmusic，andhe’sgotrealtalent，Ithink。
　　Thenthere’stheGreggorys。’
　　AuntHannahlookeddubious。
　　Youcan’tgettheGreggorysto——touseanyofthathappiness，Billy。They’retooproud。’
　　Billysmiledradiantly。
　　IknowIcan’tgetthemto_use_it，AuntHannah，butIbelieveIcangetthemto_give_it，’
　　shedeclaredtriumphantly。IshallaskAliceGreggorytoteachTommymusic，andIshallaskMrs。Greggorytoteachhimbooks；andI
　　shalltellthemboththatIpositivelyneedthemtokeepyoucompany。’
　　Oh，butBilly，’bridledAuntHannah，withpromptobjection。
　　Tut，tut!——Iknowyou’llbewillingtobethrownasalittlebitofasoptotheGreggorys’
　　pride，’coaxedBilly。YoujustwaittillIgettheOverflowAnnexinrunningorder。Why，AuntHannah，youdon’tknowhowbusyyou’regoingtobehandingoutallthatextrahappinessthatIcan’tuse!’
　　Youdearchild!’AuntHannahsmiledmistily。Theblackshawlhadfallenunheededtothefloornow。Asifanybodyeverhadanymorehappinessthanone’sselfcoulduse!’
　　Ihave，’avowedBilly，promptly，andit’sgoingtokeepgrowingandgrowing，Iknow。’
　　Oh，mygriefandconscience，Billy，don’t!’
　　exclaimedAuntHannah，liftingshockedhandsofremonstrance。Raponwood——do!Howcanyouboastlikethat？’
　　Billydimpledroguishlyandsprangtoherfeet{。？？}
　　Why，AuntHannah，I’mashamedofyou!
　　Tobesuperstitiouslikethat——you，agoodPresbyterian!’
　　AuntHannahsubsidedshamefacedly。
　　Yes，Iknow，Billy，itissilly；butIjustcan’thelpit。’
　　Oh，butit’sworsethansilly，AuntHannah，’
　　teasedBilly，witharemorselesschuckle。It’sreally_heathen!_Bertramtoldmeoncethatitdates’waybacktothetimeoftheDruids——
　　appealingtothegodoftrees，orsomethinglikethat——whenyouraponwood，youknow。’
　　Ugh!’shudderedAuntHannah。AsifIwould，Billy!HowisBertram，bytheby？’
　　AswiftshadowcrossedBilly’sbrightface。
　　He’slovely——onlyhisarm。’
　　Hisarm!ButIthoughtthatwasbetter。’
　　Oh，itis，’droopedBilly，butitgetsalongsoslowly，anditfretshimdreadfully。Youknowhenevercandoanythingwithhislefthand，hesays，andhejusthatestohavethingsdoneforhim——thoughPeteandDongLingarequarrelingwitheachotherallthetimetodothingsforhim，andI’mquarrelingwithbothofthemtodothemforhimmyself!Bytheway，DongLingisgoingtoleaveusnextweek。Didyouknowit？’
　　DongLing——leave!’
　　Yes。Oh，hetoldBertramlongagoheshouldgowhenweweremarried；thathehadplentymuchmoney，andwasgoingbacktoChina，andnotbeMelicanmananylonger。ButIdon’tthinkBertramthoughthe’ddoit。WilliamsaysDongLingwenttoPete，however，afterweleft，andtoldhimhewantedtogo；thathelikedthelittleMisseeplentywell，butthatthere’dbetoomuchhen-talkwhenshegotback，and——’
　　Why，theimpudentcreature!’
　　Billylaughedmerrily。
　　Yes；Petewasfurious，Williamsays，butDongLingdidn’tmeananydisrespect，I’msure。
　　Hejustwasn’tusedtohavingpetticoatsaround，anddidn’twanttotakeordersfromthem；that’sall。’
　　But，Billy，whatwillyoudo？’
　　Oh，Pete’sfixedallthatlovely，’returnedBilly，nonchalantly。YouknowhisniecelivesoverinSouthBoston，anditseemsshe’sgotadaughterwho’safinecookandwillbegladtocome。Mercy!Lookatthetime，’shebrokeoff，glancingattheclock。Ishallbelatetodinner，andDongLingloathesanybodywho’slatetohismeals——asIfoundouttomysorrowthenightwegothome。Good-by，dear。I’llbeoutsoonagainandfixitallup——abouttheAnnex，youknow。’Andwithabrightsmileshewasgone。
　　Dearme，’sighedAuntHannah，stoopingtopickuptheblackshawl；dearme!Ofcourseeverythingwillbeallright——there’sagirlcoming，evenifDongLingisgoing。But——but——
　　Oh，mygriefandconscience，whatanextraordinarychildBillyis，tobesure——butwhatadearone!’sheadded，wipingaquicktearfromhereye。AnOverflowAnnex，indeed，forher`extrahappiness’!Nowisn’tthatjustlikeBilly？’
　　SeptemberpassedandOctobercame，bringingwithitcooldaysandclear，crispeveningsroyallyruledoverbyagorgeousharvestmoon。AccordingtoBillyeverythingwasjustperfect——except，ofcourse，poorBertram’sarm；andeventhefactthatthatgainedsoslowlywasnotwithoutitsadvantageagainaccordingtoBilly，foritgaveBertrammoretimetobewithher。
　　Yousee，dear，aslongasyou_can’t_paint，’shetoldhimearnestly，oneday，why，I’mnotreallyhinderingyoubykeepingyouwithmesomuch。’
　　Youcertainlyarenot，’heretorted，withasmile。
　　ThenImaybejustashappyasIlikeoverit，’settledBilly，comfortably。
　　Asifyouevercouldhinderme，’heridiculed。
　　Oh，yes，Icould，’noddedBilly，emphatically。
　　Youforget，sir。Thatwaswhatworriedmeso。Everybody，eventhenewspapersandmagazines，saidI_would_doit，too。TheysaidI’dslayyourArt，stifleyourAmbition，destroyyourInspiration，andbeanuisancegenerally。AndKatesaid——’
　　Yes。Well，nevermindwhatKatesaid，’
　　interruptedtheman，savagely。
　　Billylaughed，andgavehisearaplayfultweak。
　　Allright；butI’mnotgoingtodoit，youknow——spoilyourcareer，sir。Youjustwait，’
　　shecontinueddramatically。Theminuteyourarmgetssoyoucanpaint，Imyselfshallconductyoutoyourstudio，thrustthebrushesintoyourhand，fillyourpalettewithallthecolorsoftherainbow，andorderyoutopaint，mylord，paint!
　　But——untilthenI’mgoingtohaveyouallI
　　like，’shefinished，withacompletechangeofmanner，nestlingintothereadycurveofhisgoodleftarm。
　　Youwitch!’laughedtheman，fondly。
　　Why，Billy，youcouldn’thinderme。You’ll_be_
　　myinspiration，dear，insteadofslayingit。You’llsee。_This_timeMargueriteWinthrop’sportraitisgoingtobeasuccess。’
　　Billyturnedquickly。
　　Thenyouare——thatis，youhaven’t——I
　　mean，you’regoingto——paintit？’
　　Ijustam，’avowedtheartist。Andthistimeit’llbeasuccess，too，withyoutohelp。’
　　Billydrewinherbreathtremulously。
　　Ididn’tknowbutyou’dalreadystartedit，’
　　shefaltered。
　　Heshookhishead。
　　No。Aftertheotheronefailed，andMr。
　　Winthropaskedmetotryagain，Icouldn’t_then_。
　　Iwassotroubledoveryou。That’sthetimeyoudidhinderme，’hesmiled。Thencameyournotebreakingtheengagement。OfcourseIknewtoomuchtoattemptathinglikethatportraitthen。Butnow——_now_——!’Thepauseandtheemphasiswereeloquent。
　　Ofcourse，_now_，’noddedBilly，brightly，butalittlefeverishly。Andwhendoyoubegin？’
　　NottillJanuary。MissWinthropwon’tbebacktillthen。IsawJ。G。lastweek，andItoldhimI’daccepthisoffertotryagain。’
　　Whatdidhesay？’
　　Hegavemylefthandabiggripandsaid：
　　`Good!——andyou’llwinoutthistime。’’
　　Ofcourseyouwill，’noddedBilly，again，thoughstillalittlefeverishly。AndthistimeIsha’n’tmindabitifyoudostaytoluncheon，andbreakengagementswithme，sir，’shewenton，tiltingherchinarchly，forIshallknowit’stheportraitandnotthesitterthat’sreallykeepingyou。Oh，you’llseewhatafineartist’swifeI’llmake!’
　　Theverybest，’declaredBertramsoardentlythatBillyblushed，andshookherheadinreproof。
　　Nonsense!Iwasn’tfishing。Ididn’tmeanitthatway，’sheprotested。Then，ashetriedtocatchher，shelaughedanddancedteasinglyoutofhisreach。
　　BecauseBertramcouldnotpaint，therefore，BillyhadhimquitetoherselftheseOctoberdays；
　　nordidshehesitatetoappropriatehim。Neither，onhispart，wasBertramloathtobeappropriated。