The screen door of the house slammed, and a figure approached, then down the garden walk, strangely burdened.
“Hang around,” said Captain Bill, starting up. “This is going to be interesting.” He hurried down the path and met Bob’s mother, whose strange burden turned out to be a tray with glasses and a covered dish. He took the tray from her. “You can’t go now,” he called to Hal. “Look what we’ve got.” He set the tray down, and lifted the napkin from the plate. “Home baked cookies,” he said, and took one. “You should have joined our group sooner,” he said to his sister, between bites.
“Because I brought cookies, I suppose, if for no other reason,” she said with a laugh.
“Why, Meg, you know that you’d be welcome even without cookies. You should have been here to hear your son and my nephew tell a grand story in a grand way.”
Bob felt himself blushing in the dark. Praise from Bill was rare and much sought after. “Aw,” he said, “it wasn’t anything.”
“It was a good yarn,” said Bill, emphatically.
“If it was a good yarn, then he’s your nephew, all right,” said Mrs. Martin. “There was never anybody like you for yarning. And good ones, too.”
Captain Bill laughed, and took another cookie. “If I can tell stories the way you bake cookies—”
He didn’t finish his sentence. Hal had been standing nervously at the edge of the group, waiting for a chance to break in. Now he broke in, chance or no chance. “I’ve got to go, really I do,” he said. “My mother will be worried. Thanks a lot for everything. Goodnight.” He broke into a run, and disappeared into the darkness.
Captain Bill looked after him. “Say, what’s the matter with Hal? What was his hurry?”
Bob was a little embarrassed. He hated to talk disloyally about his friend, but he felt that Bill ought to know. “I guess he’s afraid to be out so late alone. You see, Hal’s pretty much of a baby yet. He’s afraid of a lot of things he oughtn’t to be afraid of, and he’s always afraid that his mother’s worrying about him.”
“I think that it’s his mother’s fault,” said Mrs. Martin. “She’s pampered him and spoiled him until he can’t do a thing or think for himself. She just didn’t know that the best way to rear a boy is to give him plenty to eat and a place to sleep and let him take care of himself.”