for he had bright brown hair and
merry hazel eyes.

'Now,' said Aunt Mattie, 'now, dear, you see them all-- Ger, you have
shaken hands with, or rather, kissed. Ger is three and three quarters,
and his real name is Gervais. Hector is--let me see--six and a half--no,
seven, just struck. Shake hands, Hec, if you're too big to be kissed.'

'I'm not,' said Hec, and he stretched up his rosy mouth to Miss Mouse,
and then, like Ger, he stroked her chinchilla muff softly.

'And Archie,' Aunt Mattie proceeded. Archibald is nearly ten,' and
Archie held out a rather grimy paw and shook hands heartily. 'Next comes
Patrick, eleven past.' Pat's mouth was shut tight, and he only just
touched the little girl's fingers. '_And_, last and eldest, Justin, who
is thirteen and----' she hesitated.

'Thirteen and a quarter,' said Justin cheerily.

'Then,' said Miss Mouse, speaking almost for the first time, '_I_ come
between Pat and Archie. I'm nine--nine past, my birthday was last
Christmas.'

'Are you staying with Aunt Mattie?' asked Justin. 'When did you come?
You weren't there on Sunday.'

The little girl turned to the young lady with a puzzled look.

'Don't they know?' she said in a half whisper.

Aunt Mattie smiled and shook her head slightly.

'Didn't your mother tell you that I was expecting a visitor, Justin?'
she asked, turning to the eldest boy, who was now employing the time of
waiting for his question to be answered by tilting another unfortunate
chair as far back as he could get it to go without tumbling over.

'Expecting a visitor,' he repeated. 'Oh yes, she said something
about--about--a girl, but I thought she meant somebody like you used to
be, auntie, before you were married--a grown-up girl. And I forgot about
it with her being away. Papa and mamma went away yesterday, you know,
and----' Over went the chair, its patience at an end, with a good
clatter. The chairs in the playroom were pretty stout, as they needed to
be.

'O Justin,' said Aunt Mattie, 'do be quiet for a minute and leave the
chairs alone. How is it that you and Pat and Archie aren't at school
this afternoon?'

'Half-holiday,' said Justin.

'Of course-- I forgot,' Aunt Mattie replied, thinking to herself that if
she had remembered what day it was, she would have chosen some quieter
time for introducing her little guest to the Herveys. She had expected
only to find the two younger ones with their nursery governess. 'Where
is Miss Ward?' she went