which, but it was something bad,
and Aunt Clara cried," added Jamie all in one breath, for he possessed a
fatal gift of making malapropos remarks, which caused him to be a terror
to his family.

"Do you want to go on the box again?" demanded Prince with a warning
frown.

"No, I don't."

"Then hold your tongue."

"Well, Mac needn't kick me, for I was only..." began the culprit,
innocently trying to make a bad matter worse.

"That will do," interrupted Charlie sternly, and James subsided, a
crushed boy, consoling himself with Rose's new watch for the indignities
he suffered at the hands of the "old fellows" as he vengefully called
his elders.

Mac and Charlie immediately began to talk as hard as their tongues could
wag, bringing up all sorts of pleasant subjects so successfully
that peals of laughter made passersby look after the merry load with
sympathetic smiles.

An avalanche of aunts fell upon Rose as soon as she reached home, and
for the rest of the day the old house buzzed like a beehive. Evening
found the whole tribe collected in the drawing rooms, with the exception
of Aunt Peace, whose place was empty now.

Naturally enough, the elders settled into one group after a while, and
the young fellows clustered about the girls like butterflies around two
attractive flowers. Dr. Alec was the central figure in one room and Rose
in the other, for the little girl, whom they had all loved and petted,
had bloomed into a woman, and two years of absence had wrought a curious
change in the relative positions of the cousins, especially the three
elder ones, who eyed her with a mixture of boyish affection and manly
admiration that was both new and pleasant.

Something sweet yet spirited about her charmed them and piqued their
curiosity, for she was not quite like other girls, and rather startled
them now and then by some independent little speech or act which made
them look at one another with a sly smile, as if reminded that Rose was
"Uncle's girl."

Let us listen, as in duty bound, to what the elders are saying first,
for they are already building castles in air for the boys and girls to
inhabit.

"Dear child how nice it is to see her safely back, so well and happy and
like her sweet little self!" said Aunt Plenty, folding her hands as if
giving thanks for a great happiness.

"I shouldn't wonder if you found that you'd brought a firebrand into the
family, Alec. Two, in fact, for Phebe is a fine girl, and the la