"And will I be a little boy angel?"
"Yes."
"And do little boy angels have stomachs?" was the next unexpected question.
"I don't know. Why?"
"'Cause then I can have all the pieces of cake I want," he answered, with a vengeful recollection of the angel cake forbidden the night before.
Since Theodora's visit to New York, there had been no fresh excitement in the McAlister household, and the young people had settled down into the peaceful routine of work and play which had preceded Archie's coming. To be sure, it was never quite the same as in past years, for their circle had been widened to admit Billy Farrington, and, moreover, Archie's letters created a new interest for them all, for Hope more than for the others, since to her they were more personal than to the rest, and on her devolved the necessity of answering them. Mrs. McAlister used to smile quietly to herself, at times, and she had even spoken of the matter to the doctor, who nodded approvingly, even though there was no actual thing to which he could give his assent.
"Say, Hu," Theodora asked abruptly, one night; "wouldn't it be funny if Archie married Hope?"
Hubert stopped whistling and stared at his sister in surprise.
"What an idea, Ted! Your brain must be 'way off, to think of such a thing."
"Stranger things than that have happened, Hu," Theodora said shrewdly. "Just wait a few years and see."