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“Jill, you take my breath away,” I said, and she did. My imagination couldn’t travel as fast as that. But after I had thought the idea over a bit I liked it. It was a good deal like a book; and, besides, a minister is a respectable thing to have in a family.

“We must help them all we can,” said Jill.

“What can we do?” I asked.

“We must praise Dick to Aunt Tommy and Aunt Tommy to Dick and we must keep out of the way–we mustn’t ever hang around when they want to be alone,” said Jill.

“I don’t want to give up being chums with Dick,” I grumbled.

“We must be self-sacrificing,” said Jill. And that sounded so fine it reconciled me to the attempt.

We sat there and watched Dick and Aunt Tommy for an hour. I thought they were awfully prim and stiff. If I’d been Dick I’d have gone over and hugged her. I said so to Jill and Jill was shocked. She said it wouldn’t be proper when they weren’t even engaged.

When Dick went away Aunt Tommy came out to the verandah and discovered us. She sat down between us and put her arms about us. Aunt Tommy has such cute ways.

“I like your minister very much,” she said.

“He’s bully,” I said.

“He’s as handsome as a prince,” Jill said.

“He preaches splendid sermons–he makes people sit up in church, I can tell you,” I said.

“He has a heavenly tenor voice,” Jill said.

“He’s got a magnificent muscle,” I said.

“He has the most poetical eyes,” Jill said.

“He swims like a duck,” I said.

“He looks just like a Greek god,” Jill said.

I’m sure Jill couldn’t have known what a Greek god looked like, but I suppose she got the comparison out of some novel. Jill is always reading novels. She borrows them from the cook.

Aunt Tommy laughed and said, “You darlings.”

For the next three months Jill and I were wild. It was just like reading a serial story to watch Dick and Aunt Tommy. One day when Dick came Aunt Tommy wasn’t quite ready to come down, so Jill and I went in to the parlour to help things along. We knew we hadn’t much time, so we began right off.

“Aunt Tommy is the jolliest girl I know,” I said.

“She is as beautiful as a dream,” Jill said.

“She can play games as good as a boy,” I said.

“She does the most elegant fancy work,” Jill said.

“She never gets mad,” I said.

“She plays and sings divinely,” Jill said.

“She can cook awfully good things,” I said, for I was beginning to run short of compliments. Jill was horrified; she said afterwards that it wasn’t a bit romantic. But I don’t care–I believe Dick liked it, for he smiled with his eyes I just as he always does when he’s pleased. Girls don’t understand everything.

* * * * *

But at the end of three months we began to get anxious. Things were going so slow. Dick and Aunt Tommy didn’t seem a bit further ahead than at first. Jill said it was because Aunt Tommy didn’t encourage Dick enough.

“I do wish we could hurry them up a little,” she said. “At this rate they will never be married this year and by next I’ll be too big to be a flower girl. I’m stretching out horribly as it is. Mother has had to let down my frocks again.”

“I wish they would get engaged and have done with it,” I said. “My mind would be at rest then. It’s all Dick’s fault. Why doesn’t he ask Aunt Tommy to marry him? What’s making him so slow about it? If I wanted a girl to marry me–but I wouldn’t ever–I’d tell her so right spang off.”

“I suppose ministers have to be more dignified,” said Jill, “but three months ought to be enough time for anyone. And Aunt Tommy is only going to be here another month. If Dick could be made a little jealous it would hurry him up. And he could be made jealous if you had any spunk about you.”