Illustration in a book Wade was always pestering her to read aloud.

"All he needs is earrings and a cutlass between his teeth," she

thought. "Well, pirate or no, he's not going to cut my throat

today if I can help it."

As he came up the walk she called a greeting to him, summoning her

sweetest smile. How lucky that she had on her new dress and the

becoming cap and looked so pretty! As his eyes went swiftly over

her, she knew he thought her pretty, too.

"A new baby! Why, Scarlett, this is a surprise!" he laughed,

leaning down to push the blanket away from Ella Lorena's small ugly

face.

"Don't be silly," she said, blushing. "How are you, Rhett? You've

been away a long time."

"So I have. Let me hold the baby, Scarlett. Oh, I know how to

hold babies. I have many strange accomplishments. Well, he

certainly looks like Frank. All except the whiskers, but give him

time."

"I hope not. It's a girl."

"A girl? That's better still. Boys are such nuisances. Don't

ever have any more boys, Scarlett."

It was on the tip of her tongue to reply tartly that she never

intended to have any more babies, boys or girls, but she caught

herself in time and smiled, casting about quickly in her mind for

some topic of conversation that would put off the bad moment when

the subject she feared would come up for discussion.

"Did you have a nice trip, Rhett? Where did you go this time?"

"Oh--Cuba--New Orleans--other places. Here, Scarlett, take the

baby. She's beginning to slobber and I can't get to my

handkerchief. She's a fine baby, I'm sure, but she's wetting my

shirt bosom."

She took the child back into her lap and Rhett settled himself

lazily on the banister and took a cigar from a silver case.

"You are always going to New Orleans," she said and pouted a

little. "And you never will tell me what you do there."

"I am a hard-working man, Scarlett, and perhaps my business takes

me there."

"Hard-working! You!" she laughed impertinently. "You never worked

In your life. You're too lazy. All you ever do is finance

Carpetbaggers in their thieving and take half the profits and bribe

Yankee officials to let you in on schemes to rob us taxpayers."

He threw back his head and laughed.

"And how you would love to have money enough to bribe officials, so

you could do likewise!"

"The very idea--" She began to ruffle.

"But perhaps you will make enough money to get into bribery on a

large scale some day. Maybe you'll get rich off those convicts you

leased."

"Oh," she said, a little disconcerted, "how did you find out about

my gang so soon?"

"I arrived last night and spent the evening in the Girl of the

Period Saloon, where one hears all the news of the town. It's a

clearing house for gossip. Better than a ladies' sewing circle.

Everyone told me that you'd leased a gang and put that little plug-

ugly, Gallegher, in charge to work them to death."

"That's a lie," she said angrily. "He won't work them to death.

I'll see to that."

"Will you?"

"Of course I will! How can you even insinuate such things?"

"Oh, I do beg your pardon, Mrs. Kennedy! I know your motives are

always above reproach. However, Johnnie Gallegher is a cold little

bully if I ever saw one. Better watch him or you'll be having

trouble when the inspector comes around."

"You tend to your business and I'll tend to mine," she said

indignantly. "And I don't want to talk about convicts any more.

Everybody's been hateful about them. My gang is my own business--

And you haven't told me yet what you do in New Orleans. You go

there so often that everybody says--" She paused. She had not

intended to say so much.

"What do they say?"

"Well--that you have a sweetheart there. That you are going to get

married. Are you, Rhett?"

She had been curious about this for so long that she could not

refrain from asking the point-blank question. A queer little pang

of jealousy jabbed at her at the thought of Rhett getting married,

although why that should be she did not know.

His bland eyes grew suddenly alert and he caught her gaze and held

it until a little blush crept up into her cheeks.

"Would it matter much to you?"

"Well, I should hate to lose your friendship," she said primly and,

with an attempt at disinterestedness, bent down to pull the blanket

closer about Ella Lorena's head.

He laughed suddenly, shortly, and said: "Look at me, Scarlett."

She looked up unwillingly, her blush deepening.

"You can tell your curious friends that when I marry it will be

because I couldn't get the woman I wanted in any other way. And

I've never yet wanted a woman bad enough to marry her."

Now she was indeed confused and embarrassed, for she remembered the

night on this very porch during the siege when he had said: "I am

not a marrying man" and casually suggested that she become his

mistress--remembered, too, the terrible day when he was in jail and

was shamed by the memory. A slow malicious smile went over his

face as he read her eyes.

"But I will satisfy your vulgar curiosity since you ask such

pointed questions. It isn't a sweetheart that takes me to New

Orleans. It's a child, a little boy."

"A little boy!" The shock of this unexpected information wiped out

her confusion.

"Yes, he is my legal ward and I am responsible for him. He's in

school in New Orleans. I go there frequently to see him."

"And take him presents?" So, she thought, that's how he always

knows what kind of presents Wade likes!

"Yes," he said shortly, unwillingly.

"Well, I never! Is he handsome?"

"Too handsome for his own good."

"Is he a nice little boy?"

"No. He's a perfect hellion. I wish he had never been born. Boys

are troublesome creatures. Is there anything else you'd like to

know?"

He looked suddenly angry and his brow was dark, as though he

already regretted speaking of the matter at all.

"Well, not if you don't want to tell me any more," she said

loftily, though she was burning for further information. "But I

just can't see you in the role of a guardian," and she laughed,

hoping to disconcert him.

"No, I don't suppose you can. Your vision is pretty limited."

He said no more and smoked his cigar in silence for a while. She

cast about for some remark as rude as his but could think of none.

"I would appreciate it if you'd say nothing of this to anyone," he

said finally. "Though I suppose that asking a woman to keep her

mouth shut is asking the impossible."

"I can keep a secret," she said with injured dignity.

"Can you? It's nice to learn unsuspected things about friends.

Now, stop pouting, Scarlett. I'm sorry I was rude but you deserved