about her neck. Pressing his own soft cheek against hers, he
asked brokenly:

"Are you very unhappy, Granny?"

"No," she answered placidly, "not when you are willing to give me a
kiss."

"All right," he said without enthusiasm as he complied with her
request. At the same time he recalled suddenly that he had not played a
single game with his tin soldiers that whole morning.



XII

The boy had a logical mind. He knew that Granny's story had not been
finished, and he wanted all of it. At the first opportune moment he
asked his mother:

"Was Granny a little girl when she came to Stockholm?"

"No," said his mother unsuspectingly, "she was already a young woman."

"What did she do before?"

"I told you," the mother replied, now on her guard.

"You told me what she did as a little girl, but not afterwards. I want
to know."