Toward the end of the fourth act Annie was startled by a child dashing
itself against her knees, and breaking into a gurgle of shy laughter as
children do.
"Why, you little witch!" she said to the uplifted face of Idella Peck.
"Where is your father?"
"Oh, somewhere," said the child, with entire ease of mind.
"And your hat?" said Annie, putting her hand on the curly bare
head--"where's your hat?"
"On the ground."
"On the ground--where?"
"Oh, I don't know," said Idella lightly, as if the pursuit bored her.
Annie pulled her up on her lap. "Well, now, you stay here with me, if you
please, till your papa or your hat comes after you."
"My--hat--can't--come--after--me!" said the child, turning back her head,
so as to laugh her sense of the joke in Annie's face.
"No matter; your papa can, and I'm going to keep you."
Idella let her head fall back against Annie's breast, and began to finger
the rings on the hand which Annie laid across her lap to keep her.
"For goodness gracious!" said Mrs. Savor, "who you got there, Miss
Kilburn?"
"Mr. Peck's little girl."
"Where'd she spring from?"
Mrs. Gerrish leaned forward and spoke across the six legs of her children,
who were all three standing up in their chairs: "You don't mean to say
that's Idella Peck? Where's her father?"
"Somewhere, she says," said Annie, willing to answer Mrs. Gerrish with the
child's nonchalance.
"Well, that's great!" said Mrs. Gerrish. "I should think he better be
looking after her--or some one."
The music ceased, and the last act of the play began. Before it ended,
Idella had fallen asleep, and Annie sat still with her after the crowd
around her began to break up. Mrs. Savor kept her seat beside Annie. She
said, "Don't you want I should spell you a little while, Miss Kilburn?" She
leaned over the face of the sleeping child. "Why, she ain't much more than
a baby! William, you go and see if you can't find Mr. Peck. I'm goin' to
stay here with Miss Kilburn." Her husband humoured her whim, and made his
way through the knots and clumps of people toward the rope enclosing the
tennis-court. "Won't you let me hold her, Miss Kilburn?" she pleaded again.
"No, no; she isn't heavy; I like to hold her," replied Annie. Then
something occurred to her, and she started in amazement at herself.