Spanish circular which he
dropped in the hall. The younger man might have been eighteen or twenty.

Ben was waiting on the door. He announced "Mr. Bounett and Mr. Eugene
Bounett."

"We hardly expected to find any of the gentlemen at home," began the
elder guest. "We are cousins, in a fashion, and my son has met the
doctor----"

"Father is at home," said Margaret in the pause. "Hanny, run down-stairs
and call him."

"Miss Underhill, I presume," exclaimed the young man. "I have seen your
brother quite often of late. And do you know his chum, Phil Hoffman?
Doctor, I ought to say," laughingly.

"Oh, yes," and Margaret colored a little.

Then her father came up. These were some of the Bounetts from New
Rochelle, originally farther back from England and France in the time of
the Huguenot persecution. Mr. Bounett's father had come to New York a
young man seventy odd years ago. Mr. Bounett himself had married for his
first wife a Miss Vermilye, whose mother had been an Underhill from
White Plains. And she was Father Underhill's own cousin. She had been
dead more than twenty years, and her children, five living ones, were
all married and settled about, and he had five by his second marriage.
This was the eldest son.

They talked family quite a while, and Mrs. Underhill was summoned. The
young man went out in the back parlor where the table stood in its
pretty holiday array, and was introduced to Margaret's friends. They
hunted mottoes, which was often quite amusing, ate candies and almonds
and bits of cake while the elder people were talking themselves into
relationship. Eugene explained that his next younger brother was Louis;
then a slip of a girl of fifteen and two young cubs completed the second
family. But the older brothers and sisters were just like own folks;
indeed he thought one sister, Mrs. French, was one of the most charming
women he knew, only she did live in the wilds of Williamsburg. Francesca
was married in the Livingston family and lived up in Manhattanville.
How any one could bear to be out of the city--that meant below Tenth
Street--he couldn't see!

"Is that little fairy your sister?" he asked. "Isn't she lovely!"

Margaret smiled. She thought Mr. Eugene very flattering. Then the others
came out, and Mr. Bounett took a cup of black coffee and a very dainty
sandwich. He left sweets to the young people. And now that they had
broken the ice, he hoped the Underhills would be social. They, the
Bounett