“Doyouhaveabandhere？“Nat’seyessparkled。
“Guesswedo；ajollyband，allboys；andtheyhaveconcertsandthings。
Youjustseewhathappensto-morrownight。“
Afterthispleasantlyexcitingremark，Tommyreturnedtohissupper，andNatsankintoablissfulreverieoverhisfullplate。
Mrs。Bhaerhadheardalltheysaid，whileapparentlyabsorbedinfillingmugs，andoverseeinglittleTed，whowassosleepythatheputhisspooninhiseye，noddedlikearosypoppy，andfinallyfellfastasleep，withhischeekpillowedonasoftbun。Mrs。BhaerhadputNatnexttoTommy，becausethatroly-polyboyhadafrankandsocialwaywithhim，veryattractivetoshypersons。Natfeltthis，andhadmadeseveralsmallconfidencesduringsupper，whichgaveMrs。Bhaerthekeytothenewboy’scharacter，betterthanifshehadtalkedtohimherself。