his face.

Aunt Mattie felt troubled. Of all the boys, Pat, she well knew, was the
most difficult to understand, but during the years that her home had
been with her sister, Mrs. Hervey, she had come to be like a second
mother to the children, and Pat, every one said, was more manageable by
'Miss Mattie' than by any one else. And now he was as sulky and
disagreeable to her as ever he had been to old nurse, whom he was
always fighting with, or to any one.

'Pat,' she said suddenly, 'come over here. Hec, you and Ger can go back
to your own corner,' for there was one specially counted 'the kids','
where the old toy cupboard stood, and where the elder ones were not
allowed to interfere with them, on the principle that an Englishman's
house is his castle, I suppose.

'Us diddun want to play with Jus and Pat,' said Ger, 'but they made us
be "'orses."'

'Never mind,' said Hector, 'Aunt Mattie won't let us be teased any more.
We was tidyin' the cupboard,' he went on; 'it wanted tidyin' awful bad.'
Hec was that very uncommon thing, a neat little boy.

So Mrs. Mattie and her nephew were as good as alone.

'Pat,' she began again, 'why are you so surly to me?'

Pat got red and mumbled something about 'not meaning.'

'But you must mean the words you say,' said his aunt. 'It wasn't kind or
nice to tell me you hated--or "didn't like"--girls, when I had brought
my little niece to make friends with you all.'

Pat stood silent, but his face had softened a little.

'She'd not make friends with me,' he said,' nobody does. She can make
friends with Jus and Archie. Besides, what does it matter--she's not
going to live here.'

'No, not exactly. But we have been thinking of planning for her to come
here every day to have lessons with Miss Ward. And of course it would be
nice for her to be friends with you all if she was so much here. On
half-holidays, for instance, Justin and you could sometimes let her be
with you and take part in your pleasures. There are lots of things that
a little girl can join in, and she is a very sensible little girl as
well as a sweet one.'

Pat shuffled about, first on one foot, then on the other. He did not
want to vex his aunt, and he was rather pleased by her talking to him in
this way, but he did not care to make friends with Miss Mouse, and he
wanted to get back to his book.

'I'm not going to hurt her,' he said. 'I don't want to be rude to her,
but it's no good humbugging. I don't like girls and