. . `` Do great boys like great girls , to , ` Fessor ? '' Like young Washington , Mr. Bhaer ` could n't tell a lie ' , so he gave the somewhat vague reply that he believed they did sometimes , in a tone that made Mr. March put down his clothesbrush , glance at Jo 's retiring face , and then sink into his chair , looking as if the ` precocious chick ' had put an idea into his head that was both sweet and sour . Why Dodo , when she caught him in the china closet half an hour afterward , nearly squeezed the breath out of his little body with a tender embrace , instead of shaking him for being there , and why she followed up this novel performance by the unexpected gift of a big slice of bread and jelly , remained one of the problems over which Demi puzzled his small wits , and was forced to leave unsolved forever . CHAPTER FORTY-SIX UNDER THE UMBRELLA While Laurie and Amy were taking conjugal strolls over velvet carpets , as they set their house in order , and planned a blissful future , Mr. Bhaer and Jo were enjoying promenades of a different sort , along muddy roads and sodden fields . `` I always do take a walk toward evening , and I do n't know why I should give it up , just because I happen to meet the Professor on his way out , '' said Jo to herself , after two or three encounters , for though there were two paths to Meg 's whichever one she took she was sure to meet him , either going or returning . He was always walking rapidly , and never seemed to see her until quite close , when he would look as if his short-sighted eyes had failed to recognize the approaching lady till that moment . Then , if she was going to Meg 's he always had something for the babies . If her face was turned homeward , he had merely strolled down to see the river , and was just returning , unless they were tired of his frequent calls . Under the circumstances , what could Jo do but greet him civilly , and invite him in ? If she was tired of his visits , she concealed her weariness with perfect skill , and took care that there should be coffee for supper , `` as Friedrich -- I mean Mr. Bhaer -- does n't like tea . '' By the second week , everyone knew perfectly well what was going on , yet everyone tried to look as if they were stone-blind to the changes in Jo 's face . They never asked why she sang about her work , did up her hair three times a day , and got so blooming with her evening exercise . And no one seemed to have the slightest suspicion that Professor Bhaer , while talking philosophy with the father , was giving the daughter lessons in love . Jo could n't even lose her heart in a decorous manner , but sternly tried to quench her feelings , and failing to do so , led a somewhat agitated life . She was mortally afraid of being laughed at for surrendering , after her many and vehement declarations of independence . Laurie was her especial dread , but thanks to the new manager , he behaved with praiseworthy propriety , never called Mr. Bhaer ' a capital old fellow ' in public , never alluded , in the remotest manner , to Jo 's improved appearance , or expressed the least surprise at seeing the Professor 's hat on the Marches ' table nearly every evening . But he exulted in private and longed for the time to come when he could give Jo a piece of plate , with a bear and a ragged staff on it as an appropriate coat of arms . For a fortnight , the Professor came and went with lover-like regularity .
Then he stayed away for three whole days , and made no sign , a proceeding which caused everybody to look sober , and XXXXX to become pensive , at first , and then -- alas for romance -- very cross .
Amy Bhaer Dodo Jo Meg Professor Washington day evening hour