Produced by Audrey Longhurst, Mary Meehan, and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team.
1911
"Give me where I may stand, a lever long enough, and a fulcrum strongenough, and I will move the world."—ARCHIMEDES.
The girl leaned forward impulsively from the leisurely moving victoriaand looked back at the automobile which whizzed by the carriage, alongthe maple-lined road leading from Washington to Chevy Chase; then she assuddenly resumed her former position when she discovered that the youngman, who was the only occupant of the motor-car, had slowed down and wasgazing back at her.
"How impertinent!" she exclaimed, flushing, addressing herself ratherthan the older woman beside her. "Of course, it couldn't be Allen; butif it wasn't, why was he looking back at me? Did you recognize him,Eleanor?"
"Who's impertinent?" queried Patricia, who sat between them andexercised a ten-year-old sister's prerogative.
Mrs. Gorham was quietly amused. "Which question shall I answer first,
Alice—and who is 'Allen' supposed to be?"
It was the girl's turn to sense the situation. "How ridiculous!" shelaughed. "Of course you wouldn't know. Allen Sanford and I used to playtogether when we were children in Pittsburgh. I haven't seen him since wemoved away after mamma died; but that really looked like him. I wonder ifby any chance it could be?"
"Oh, Alice, he's coming back," announced Patricia from her point ofvantage on her knees, and a moment later the same automobile, driven ata speed at which the most conscientious of traffic guardians could notcomplain, passed them slowly at the left. The young man made an effortto conceal the fact that he was surveying the girl in the victoria, butAlice cut short his suspense.
"It is! it is!" she cried, eagerly; and with the recognition madecertain the boy shut off his power, and, springing out of the car, wasbeside her before even the discreet coachman could draw up to the curb.
"I thought I couldn't be mistaken—" he began.
"But you weren't sure," Alice finished for him. "You were trying toremember a little girl with a pigtail down her back and horrid frecklesall over her face—now, weren't you?"
"If that's the way you really looked, I evidently wasn't as fussy aboutsuch things then as I am now," he laughed. "All I remember is that youwere the dandiest little playmate I ever had."
The unexpected compliment caused Alice to turn quickly to Mrs. Gorham.
"This is Allen Sanford, Eleanor; and this, Allen, is my mother, sister,and dearest friend all in one."
"And my name's Pat," added the child, refusing to be ignored and holdingout her hand cordially.
The boy was even more embarrassed by the unexpected meeting with thesecond Mrs. Gorham than to find Alice developed into so lovely andfascinating a young woman. He had always t