live to be an old woman!"

"That depends upon one's point of view," I told him firmly. "Now,
I'm glad I'm a woman because I shall never live to be an old man.
Old ladies are far, far nicer. Have you ever known an old lady who
thought herself captivating? Have you ever known any old man who
didn't think he could be if he wished?"

"Yes," shouted the doctor, "and no!--in both cases! There is no sex
in fools. There is no age limit, either."

"The Talmud says: 'An old woman in the house is a blessing; but an
old man is a nuisance.'"

"I don't give a bobtailed scat what the Talmud says. I know what I
know.--Miss Gaines, I leave it to you."

"Why, I like them both, when they're nice; and I'm sorry for them
both when they're not." And she added, with a naïve air of
confidence: "But I think I like young men better than either, as a
rule."

The doctor removed his hat again, and sat down. His eyebrows went
up, his eyes crinkled.

"Miss Alicia Gaines," he said genially, "I perceive you are a
girl-child of fine promise.--As for us, Miss Smith, what have we to
do with age and foolishness, who, as yet, have neither? Let's get
down to business. What are you going to do about the lane behind
Hynds House? We had the use of that lane this hundred years and