ng the kitchen in perfect order during
the two minutes in which Great-aunt Eliza was crossing the yard.

"Fortunately the sitting-room is tidy and there's plenty in the pantry,"
said Felicity, who could face anything undauntedly with a well-stocked
larder behind her.

Further conversation was cut short by a decided rap at the door.
Felicity opened it.

"Why, how do you do, Aunt Eliza?" she said loudly.

A slightly bewildered look appeared on Aunt Eliza's face. Felicity
perceived she had not spoken loudly enough.

"How do you do, Aunt Eliza," she repeated at the top of her voice.
"Come in--we are glad to see you. We've been looking for you for ever so
long."

"Are your father and mother at home?" asked Aunt Eliza, slowly.

"No, they went to town today. But they'll be home this evening."

"I'm sorry they're away," said Aunt Eliza, coming in, "because I can
stay only a few hours."

"Oh, that's too bad," shouted poor Felicity, darting an angry glance at
the rest of us, as if to demand why we didn't help her out. "Why, we've
been thinking you'd stay a week with us anyway. You MUST stay over
Sunday."

"I really can't. I have to go to Charlottetown tonight," returned Aunt
Eliza.

"Well, you'll take off your things and stay to tea, at least," urged
Felicity, as hospitably as her strained vocal chords would admit.

"Yes, I think I'll do that. I want to get acquainted with my--my nephews
and nieces," said Aunt Eliza, with a rather pleasant glance around our
group. If I could have associated the thought of such a thing with my
preconception of Great-aunt Eliza I could have sworn there was a twinkle
in her eye. But of course it was impossible. "Won't you introduce
yourselves, please?"

Felicity shouted our names and Great-aunt Eliza shook hands all round.
She performed the duty grimly and I concluded I must have been mistaken
about the twinkle. She was certainly very tall and dignified and
imposing--altogether a great-aunt to be respected.

Felicity and Cecily took her to the spare room and then left her in the
sitting-room while they returned to the kitchen, to discuss the matter
in family conclave.

"Well, and what do you think of dear Aunt Eliza?" asked Dan.

"S-s-s-sh," warned Cecily, with a glance at the half-open hall door.

"Pshaw," scoffed Dan, "she can't hear us. There ought to be a law
against anyone being as deaf as that."

"She's not so old-looking as I expected," said Felix. "If her hair
wasn't