"
"I don't think those others are very nice-looking men, and I was
awfully afraid until I saw you. Then I knew it must be all right."
"It is all right, little one, and there is nothing for you to be afraid
of. No harm shall come to you so long as I am here, and I promise to
see you safe with your friends again before leaving you. You see, I am
making believe that you are my own little girl, and I want you to feel
just as safe and happy as she would if she were here in your place."
"Of course I feel safe now," answered Sabella, promptly. "I have, ever
since I found out it was you who had borrowed the _Whatnot_. For a
minute, though, I was afraid those disagreeable--" Here the child
hesitated. She did not want to hurt her new friend's feelings. "I
mean," she added, hastily, "that those other gentlemen had stolen it.
And I will make believe I am your own little girl, for I haven't any
papa, and only one uncle in the world. I wish you would tell me your
name, though. I don't think I ever knew any one so well before without
knowing his name."
The man hesitated, and looked curiously at the sweet face upturned to
his. Then, as though arrived at a sudden conclusion, he said,
"My name is Gresham, William Gresham, but my little girl calls me 'Papa
Billy.'"
"Then we'll make a bargain!" exclaimed Sabella, joyfully.
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