merry one was named
Harriet. To my great astonishment they were of the same age, being
twins.

It seemed as if I were to be left out altogether, but Harriet looked
across at me and asked demurely if I were going to be a minister, too.

She was making fun of me, of course, and that is what I do not allow
any girl to do. Only Elsie, and she is really too serious to abuse the
privilege--not like this Harriet. I could see in a minute that she was
a regular magpie--a "clip," as they say in Breckonside.

Meanwhile, Constantia did not say very much. She gave Mr. Ablethorpe
her hand as if she were doing him a valuable kindness. And at this I
could hear her sister gurgle. The next minute, Harriet was on her
feet, and, taking me by the shoulder, she said: "Come on, Joe--Joe is
your name, isn't it? That's good, for it's just the name I like best
of all boys' names. Come on and help Susan Fergusson to get tea."
That was the way she spoke of her grandmother--off-hand and kindly,
with a glint of fun more in the manner than in the words.

"What's your other name?" I asked, because I did not like to call her
Harriet so suddenly. Besides, I did not know how Elsie might take to
all this. I was sure they would like one another no end. Because they
were both the same kind of girl--jolly, so that almost any boy could
get on with them. At least, that was what I thought at the time, not
knowing any better.

"Caw," she said; "that is my name; same as a crow says 'Caw--Caw--Caw!'
You needn't be surprised, I couldn't help it being my father's name.
But it's short, and if you should forget it, you have only to go out
and stand beneath a rookery, and you'll remember it in a minute. That
is, unless you are deaf."

Then I told Harriet Caw my name, Joseph Yarrow, which she thought
funny. And she gave me bread to cut while she stood by me and buttered
it--doing everything so quickly, and talking all the time, that indeed
it was very nice. And I wished Elsie had been there to laugh at
Harriet's jokes, which seemed very funny to me then. But, oh, how
stupid and feeble they seemed when I came to tell them to Elsie after!
And Elsie wasn't a bit amused, as I had hoped. Girls hardly ever seem
to get on with other girls as a fellow thinks they will. It is
different with men. Now I got on first-class with Mr. Ablethorpe, even
when I thought--but it's no matter about that now.

Well, it was a tea! The table was loaded from one end