"Ye-e-es?" says I, smotherin" a groan.
"Why couldn"t we call him after you?" she asks.
"Not--not Richard Junior?" says I.
"Well, after both of us, then," says she. "Richard Hemmingway. It--it is what I"ve wanted to name him all along."
"You have?" says I. "Well, for the love of----"
"You didn"t ask me, that"s why," says she.
"Why--why, so I didn"t," says I. "And say, Vee, I don"t know who"s got a better right. As for my part of the name, I"ve used it so little it"s almost as good as new. Richard Hemmingway Ballard it shall be."
"Oh, I"m so glad," says she. "Of course, I did want you to be the one to pick it out; but if you"re satisfied with----"
"Satisfied!" says I. "Why, I"m tickled to pieces. And here you had that up your sleeve all the while!"
Vee smiles and nods.
"We must have the christening very soon," says she, "so everyone will know."
"You bet!" says I. "And I"ve a good notion to put it on the train bulletin down at the station, too. First off, though, we"d better tell young Richard himself and see how he likes it. I expect, though, unless his next crop of hair comes out a different tint from this one, that he"ll have to answer to "Young Torchy" for a good many years."
"Oh, yes," says Vee; "but I"m sure he won"t mind that in the least."
"Good girl!" says I, movin" round where I can express my feelin"s better.
"Don"t!" says Vee. "You"ll spill the coffee."
KATHLEEN NORRIS" STORIES
MOTHER. Ill.u.s.trated by F. C. Yohn.
This book has a fairy-story touch, counterbalanced by the st.u.r.dy reality of struggle, sacrifice, and resulting peace and power of a mother"s experiences.
SAt.u.r.dAY"S CHILD. Frontispiece by F. Graham Cootes.
Out on the Pacific coast a normal girl, obscure and lovely, makes a quest for happiness. She pa.s.ses through three stages--poverty, wealth and service--and works out a creditable salvation.
THE RICH MRS. BURGOYNE. Ill.u.s.trated by Lucius H. Hitchc.o.c.k.
The story of a sensible woman who keeps within her means, refuses to be swamped by social engagements, lives a normal human life of varied interests, and has her own romance.
THE STORY OF JULIA PAGE. Frontispiece by Allan Gilbert.
How Julia Page, reared in rather unpromising surroundings, lifted herself through sheer determination to a higher plane of life.
THE HEART OF RACHAEL. Frontispiece by Charles E. Chambers.
Rachael is called upon to solve many problems, and in working out these, there is shown the beauty and strength of soul of one of fiction"s most appealing characters.
GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
BOOTH TARKINGTON"S NOVELS
SEVENTEEN. Ill.u.s.trated by Arthur William Brown.
No one but the creator of Penrod could have portrayed the immortal young people of this story. Its humor is irresistible and reminiscent of the time when the reader was Seventeen.
PENROD. Ill.u.s.trated by Gordon Grant.
This is a picture of a boy"s heart, full of the lovable, humorous, tragic things which are locked secrets to most older folks. It is a finished, exquisite work.
PENROD AND SAM. Ill.u.s.trated by Worth Brehm.
Like "Penrod" and "Seventeen," this book contains some remarkable phases of real boyhood and some of the best stories of juvenile prankishness that have ever been written.
THE TURMOIL. Ill.u.s.trated by C. E. Chambers.
Bibbs Sheridan is a dreamy, imaginative youth, who revolts against his father"s plans for him to be a servitor of big business. The love of a fine girl turns Bibb"s life from failure to success.
THE GENTLEMAN FROM INDIANA. Frontispiece.
A story of love and politics,--more especially a picture of a country editor"s life in Indiana, but the charm of the book lies in the love interest.
THE FLIRT. Ill.u.s.trated by Clarence F. Underwood.
The "Flirt," the younger of two sisters, breaks one girl"s engagement, drives one man to suicide, causes the murder of another, leads another to lose his fortune, and in the end marries a stupid and unpromising suitor, leaving the really worthy one to marry her sister.