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Miss Billy — Married by Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter
page 41 of 420 (09%)
long ago dubbed the home of his boyhood--
been prepared for the coming of Billy, William's
namesake: once, when it had been decorated
with guns and fishing-rods to welcome the ``boy''
who turned out to be a girl; and again when
with pink roses and sewing-baskets the three
brothers got joyously ready for a feminine Billy
who did not even come at all.

The house had been very different then. It
had been, indeed, a ``strata,'' with its distinctive
layers of fads and pursuits as represented by
Bertram and his painting on one floor, William
and his curios on another, and Cyril with his
music on a third. Cyril was gone now. Only
Pete and his humble belongings occupied the top
floor. The floor below, too, was silent now, and
almost empty save for a rug or two, and a few
pieces of heavy furniture that William had not
cared to take with him to his new quarters on
top of Beacon Hill. Below this, however, came
Billy's old rooms, and on these Pete had lavished
all his skill and devotion.

Freshly laundered curtains were at the windows,
dustless rugs were on the floor. The old
work-basket had been brought down from the
top-floor storeroom, and the long-closed piano
stood invitingly open. In a conspicuous place,
also, sat the little green god, upon whose
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