"No, he's not," said Mamie. "He's awful. He's not a bit like Mr. Duncan. And I like your Aunt Annie too. She plays so nice, just as if she were a little girl herself; and she helps everybody if they don't know how, or fall down, or anything."
"Are we not having a real nice time, Bessie?" asked Gracie Howard.
"Yes," said Bessie; "but I do wish my soldier and Mrs. Yush could come to our party."
"What makes you care so much about Colonel Rush?" asked Gracie. "He's such a big man."
"He isn't any bigger than my father," said Bessie; "and I love my father dearly, dearly. We can love people just as much if they are big."
"Oh, I didn't mean that," said Gracie; "I meant he's so old. You'd have to love your father, even if you didn't want to, because he is your father, and he takes care of you. But Colonel Rush isn't anything of yours."
"He is," said Bessie; "he is my own soldier, and my great, great friend; and he loves me too."
"I know it," said Gracie. "Mamma says it is strange to see a grown man so fond of a little child who doesn't belong to him."
"I think it is very good of him to love me so much," said Bessie, "and I do wish he was here. I want him very much."