"Mercy, Wally, are you sick?" she inquired; "it's barely nine o'clock."
"Yes. I fired old Wilder and I've got to get a new victim for our offspring. Where do you get 'em?"
"Poor Wally," laughed his wife. "I advertise, or go to teachers' agencies, or any old way. Telephone in, and they'll send you something."
He turned as the door opened and Isabelle came in. She was booted and hatted.
"Well, I thought I'd better take her. She has to live with 'em, you know, and she has ideas on the subject."
"Come on, Wally," urged Isabelle, taking her father by the hand.
"My word, Wally! You're becoming a wonderful parent!" exclaimed Mrs. Bryce; and they fled before her laughter.
Wally was surprised to find the trip to town shorter than usual. His daughter conducted herself with great dignity, and never missed a thing. An unbroken stream of conversation flowed from her lips, to the amusement of the people in the seats near by.
There was one difficult moment, when in hurrying for their seats, Mrs. Page spied them out.
"For goodness sake, Wally, where are you going?"
"I have a governess, not a nurse," protested Isabelle, indignantly.
"Oh, excuse me," laughed Mrs. Page. "Where's Max?"
"Home in bed," replied Isabelle, before Wally had formed an excuse.
"I hear your infant introduced an Adam-and-Eve scene into her party," Mrs. Page continued.
"This is Tommy Page's mother," he explained.
"I know. He's a horrid boy," she answered, feelingly.
Mrs. Page retired after this, and Wally undertook to argue with his daughter about unbecoming frankness.
"You don't have to tell everything you know."
She thought that over, and he wondered what she would make of it. The little monkey seemed to remember every word that was said to her.
"Let's have a punkin coach taxi," she said when they arrived in town.
"Make them get us one," urged the young arrogant.
He laughed and they went out into the street and waited until a yellow taxi came. As they took their seats in the coach, Isabelle gazed at her father speculatively.
"I am Cinderella, an' you've got to be the Fairy God-mother, I s'pose, but you don't look like her."
"Couldn't I be the Prince?" inquired Wally.
"No. Besides, he didn't ride in the coach," she corrected him, scornfully.