Yet old loyalties die hard. It was the Judge and Mrs. Paine and Becky
and Randy who stood first in the hearts of the dusky folk who served at
the long tables. The boarders were not in any sense "quality."
Whatever they might be, North, East and West, their names were not
known on Virginia records. And what was any family tree worth if it
was not rooted in Virginia soil?

"Effen the Jedge was a king and wo' a crown," said Mandy's John to
Daisy, "he couldn't look mo' bawn to a th'one."

Daisy nodded. "Settin' at the head o' that table minds me o' whut my
old Mammy used to say, 'han'some is as han'some does.' The Bannisters
_done_ han'some and they _is_ handsome."

"They sure is," John agreed; "that-all's whut makes you so
good-lookin', Daisy."

He came close to her and she drew away. "You put yo' min' on passin'
them plates," she said with severity, "or you'll be spillin' po'k gravy
on they haids." Her smile took away the sting of her admonition. John
moved on, murmuring, "Well, yo' does han'some and yo' is han'some,
Daisy, and that's why I loves you."

There were speeches after dinner. One from Randy, in which he thanked
them in the name of his mother, and found himself quite suddenly and
unexpectedly being fond of the boarders. Major Prime was not there.
He had been summoned back to Washington, but would return, he hoped,
for the week-end.

It was after lunch that Randy and Becky walked to the woods. Nellie
Custis followed them. They sat down at last at the foot of a hickory
tree. Becky took off her hat and the wind blew her shining hair about
her face. She was pale and wore an air of deep preoccupation.

"Randy," she asked suddenly out of a long silence, "did you ever kiss a
girl?"

Her question did not surprise him. He and Becky had argued many
matters. And they usually plunged in without preliminaries. He
fancied that Becky was discussing kisses in the abstract. It never
occurred to him that the problem was personal.

"Yes," he said, "I have. What about it?"

"Did you--ask her to marry you?"

"No."

"Why not?"

He pulled Nellie Custis' ears. "One of them wasn't a nice sort of
girl--not the kind that I should have cared to introduce to--you."

"Yet you cared to--kiss her?"

Randy flushed faintly. "I know how it looks to you. I hated it
afterwards, but I couldn't marry a girl--like that----"

"Who was the other girl?"

For a moment he did not reply, then he said with someth