human
By jinks, what a jolly story,
gpt
I must go back and finish the dishes, Mary Rose announced suddenly.
human
Mrs. Bracken won't like it if I stay away any longer. I'm sorry I bothered you, she smiled tremulously.
gpt
But I just had to find Jenny Lind. Thank you for your trouble. Good-by.
human
Come and see us again?
gpt
Is that an honest and true invitation? she asked doubtfully.
human
Aunt Kate said I mustn't ever be a nuisance to the tenements because children aren't allowed here. I'm not a child, she said, because I'm going on fourteen, but I had to promise to be careful of the tenements.
gpt
Bless the baby,
human
I thought children were barred?
gpt
I thought pets were barred, too. She's a quaint little thing. I suppose she is homesick. A city apartment house is not like a home in a small town,
human
It is not! He agreed with her emphatically. He had come from a small town himself and he knew.
gpt
I think I'll make a little story out of this. I'm a newspaper man, you know, and there isn't anything a city editor likes better than he does a human interest story. I have a hunch that there is a lot of human interest in that kid.
human
I fancy you are right. I'm a librarian myself, and I should be at my library this blessed moment. I'd far rather go down and help Mary Rose,
gpt
If you feel that way you surely aren't under the spell of that wicked witch Independence that Mary Rose talks of.
human
Independence! she shrugged her shoulders.
gpt
I learned long ago that independence is just another word for loneliness. My friend, Miss Thorley, doesn't agree with me. We have very warm arguments over it.
human
They haven't been warm enough to disturb me. You're very quiet neighbors. Doesn't the very quiet get on your nerves sometimes? It's something just to hear people, when you are alone and have no one to talk to.
gpt
Lonely! You? She was astonished.
human
I don't see how a young man could be lonely.
gpt
A man can be lonely for exactly the same reason a girl can, he asserted.
human
I've lived here for three months, and this is the first time I've spoken to you.
gpt
I suppose I shouldn't be talking to you now but--Mary Rose--and we are neighbors. One does get so suspicious living with suspicious people,
human
Please don't be suspicious of me. I'm the most harmless man in Waloo. I'm too busy hanging on to my job to be dangerous. I propose a vote of thanks to Mary Rose for bringing us together. All in favor say aye. The ayes have it.
gpt
It is pleasant to be able to speak to one's neighbors,