“Let’s put on our thinking-caps, honey, and try for it. Only two days more.”
“And if we win it, shall we divide the coat between us?”
“No, we’ll cast lots for it,” said Amy seriously. “It is a be-a-utiful coat!”
That evening after dinner Jessie climbed upon the arm of her father’s big chair in the library, sitting there and swinging her feet just as though she were a very small child again. He hugged her up to him with one arm while he laid down the book he was reading.
“Out with it, daughter,” Mr. Norwood said. “What is the desperate need for a father?”
“It is not very desperate, and really it is none of my business,” began Jessie thoughtfully.
“And that does not surprise me. It will not be the first time that you have shown interest in something decidedly not your concern.” 87
“Oh! But I am concerned about her, Daddy.”
“A lady in the case, eh?”
“A girl. Like Amy and me. Oh, no! Not like Amy and me. But about our age.”