The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-11-30
THEIR MUTUAL CFIILD,'' By P C. Wodehouse

 object in that room which is not carefully sterilized night and morning with weak solution of boric acidp
 "Even Mamie?" inquired Kirk.
 "Certaiuly. Have you any idea, Kirk, of the number of germs there are oa the sur face of the human body? It runs ito .bil- steely eye-Nyou are at the present moment one mass of microbes"
 ''I sneaked through quarantine, all right" ''To the adult there issnot 80 much danger in these microbes. provided he or she main tains a reasonable degree of personal clean illness. That is why adults may bepermittsd to mix with other adults without prelisni- nary sterilization. But in the case of growing child it is entirely different. No precaution is excessive. So-
 From below at this point there came the sound of the front-door bell. Ruth went to the landing and looked over the banisters.-
 "That ought to be Bill and Mamie back from their drive" she said
 The sound of child's voice came to Kirk as he stood listening: and as he heard it all fhe old feeling of paternal pride and excite ment, which had left him during his wan derings, swept over him like wave. You're looking well!'
 Mamie greeted him with the shy smile which was wont to cause such havoc in Steve,s heart.
 "And who's this you've got with you? Mamie, you know you've no business going about with young men like this. Who is he?"
 He stood looking at William Bannister, him. Watch that busy brain working" said Kirk. "He's tryin" to place me. It's all right, Bill, old man; it's my fault. I had no right to spring myself on you with eight feet of beard. It isn't giving you square deal. Never mind it's coming off in few minutes, never to return, and then, perhaps, you'll remember that you've father"
 'Fa-a-a-ar!' shrieked William Bannister triumphantly, taking the cue with admira- ble swiftness.
 He leaped at Kirk, and Kirk swung him up in the air. It was quite an effort. for William Bannister had grown astonishingly in the past year.
 At this moment he was aware that he had become hs.e center of small group. Look ing round, he found himself gazing into a face so stiff with horror and disapproyal that he was startled almost into dropping William.
 What on earths the matter?" he asked. "What has hapepned?"
 Are you mad, Kirk?" demanded Mrs. Porter in a tense voice.
 Kirk turned helplessiy to Ruth.
 You had better let me explain, Aunt Lora," she said. "Of course Kirk couldn't be expected to know, poor boy. YoI seem to forget that he has only this minute come into the house."
 Ruth put her arm in Kirk's and led him off to the smoking-room.
 ''You may smoke a cigar while tell you all about Bll," she said
 Poor old boy" Ruth went on, "you cer- tainly are thin. But about Bill. l am afraid you are going to be little upset about Bill, Kirk. Aunt Lora has no tact, and she will make speech on every possible occasion; but she was right just now. 1t really was rather dangerous, picking Bill up like that and kissing him."
 Kirk stared. ."I don't understand. Did you expect me to wave my hand to him? Or would 1t have been more correct to bowl"
 Don't be so satirical, Kirk; you witNer me. No, seriously, you really mustn't kiss Bill I never do. Nobody does"
 "Whatv
 "I dare say it sounds ridiculous to you, but you were not here when he was so. III and nearly died. You remember what was telling you at the dock? About giving Whis- kers away? Well, this is all part of it. After what happened feel, like Aunt Lora, that we simply can't take too many precau- tions. You saw his nursery. We'll it would be simply waste of money giving him nursery like that if he was allowed to be- exposed to infection when he was out of it."