"I should say so!" said Bob, heartily. "Why, I'm getting fat! I was weighed today, and——" "Don't say any more, Bob! We'll rent the house and take to boarding! If you get fat——" "No boarding-houses for mine! Not after your cooking, Bettina! I had enough of boarding before I was married. Say—how long ago that does seem." "Has the time dragged as much as that? Well, I'll change the subject. Dad, how do you like my Japanese garden? I think it's pretty, don't you?" "I certainly do, my dear. What are those feathery things?" "Why, don't you know that, Father? And when you were a boy, you worked on a farm one summer, too! There's a parsnip and a horse radish, and a beet. Then there are a few parsley seeds and grass seeds on a tiny sponge! And see the little shells and stones that Bob and I collected for it." "Yes, we found that pink stone up the river on a picnic a year ago last May, before we were engaged, or were we engaged then, Bettina? And the purple one ——" "Oh, you needn't reminisce," Bettina interrupted hastily. "Eat your dinner." "Every little stone Has a meaning all its own, Every little shell—— But it wouldn't do to tell." "I composed that poem just this minute," said Bob, undisturbed. "Will you help me get the dessert now, Robert? Are you ready, Mother? And Father?" "Yes, indeed. A very fine dinner, Bettina. We never have steak fixed this way at home; do we, Mother? Can we try it some day soon?" "I have something for dessert that you like, Dad. Guess what!" "What is it? Oh, lemon pie! That is fine, I can tell you! But I know already that it won't be as good as your mother's! Still, we'll try it and see!" That evening for dinner, Bettina served: Devilled Steak New Potatoes in Cream Baking-powder Biscuits Jelly Cucumber and Radish Salad Lemon Pie Coffee BETTINA'S RECIPES (All measurements are level)
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