When her father had gone to have his shoes changed for slippers and before her mother came down from her bedroom, where she was apparently dressing for supper, Fanny slipped her arm around me and I kissed her lips and eyes
A chuckle rang out somewhere near by. Standing in the doorway of the back parlor, Mefisto-like, was Mary, Fanny's twelve-year-old sister
"Shame!" she said, gloatingly
"The nasty thing!" Fanny exclaimed, half gaily, half in anger
"You're nasty yourself," returned Mary, making faces at her sister
"Shut up or I'll knock your head off."
"Stop quarreling, kids," I intervened. Then, addressing myself to
Mary, "Can you spell 'eavesdropping'?"
Mary laughed
"Never mind laughing," I insisted. "Do you know what eavesdropping means? Is it a nice thing to do? Anyhow, when you're as big as Fanny and you have a sweetheart, won't you let him kiss you?" As I said this I took Fanny's hand tenderly
"She has sweethearts already," said Fanny. "She is running around with three boys."