Mrs.Forbes was on the porch next morning when Mr.Evringham returned from his canter.
"Fine morning，Mrs.Forbes，"he said，as he gave Essex Maid into Zeke's hands.
"Very fine.A regular weather breeder.It'll most probably rain to-morrow，and what I wanted to speak to you about，Mr.Evringham，is，that the child hasn't any rubbers.""Indeed？What else does she need？"
"Well，nothing that I can see.Her things are all good，and she's got enough of them.The trouble is she says she has never worn rubbers and doesn't want to，and if she gets sick I shall have to take care of her；so I hope，sir，you'll say that she must have them.""Not wear them？Of course she must wear them，"returned Mr.Evringham brusquely."Get them to-day，if convenient，Mrs.Forbes."The housekeeper looked relieved.
"I hope she's not making you any trouble，eh？"added Mr.Evringham.
"Not any more than she can help，I suppose，"was the grudging reply.
"She's a smart child，and being an only one，she's some notional.She won't eat this and that，and doesn't want to wear rubbers，but she's handy and neat，and is used to doing for herself；her mother hasn't had time to fuss with her，of course，and that's lucky for me.She seems very well behaved，considering."Jewel had made heroic efforts while Mrs.Forbes assisted at her morning toilet，and this was her reward.
"Well，we mustn't have you imposed upon，"returned Mr.Evringham，feeling guilty of the situation."The child must obey you implicitly，implicitly."So saying he passed into the house，and after making a change in his toilet，entered the dining-room.There he was seated，deep in his newspaper and waiting for his coffee，when the door opened，light feet ran to him，and an arm was thrown around his neck.He looked up to meet a happy smile，and before he could realize who had captured him，Jewel pressed a fervent kiss upon his cheek.
"Oh，grandpa，how nice and cold your cheek feels！Have you been out doors already？"Mr.Evringham could feel the said cheek grow hot in surprise at this onslaught.He held himself stiffly and uncomfortably in the encircling arm.