ourse my Eddie
wouldn't!" and Bruno, whom he was petting and stroking with his chubby
hands, giving a short, sharp bark, as if he too had a word to say in
defence of his young master.

"Is that your welcome to visitors, Bruno?" queried a young man of
eighteen or twenty, alighting from his horse and coming up the steps
into the veranda.

"You must please excuse him for being so ill-mannered, Cousin Cal,"
little Elsie said, coming forward and offering her hand with a graceful
courtesy very like her mamma's. "Will you walk into the drawing-room?
our mammas are all there."

"Presently, thank you," he said, bending down to snatch a kiss from the
sweet lips.

She shrank from the caress almost with aversion.

"What's the use of being so shy with a cousin?" he asked, laughing, "why
Molly Percival likes to kiss me."

"I think Molly would not be pleased if she knew you said that," remarked
the little girl, in a quiet tone, and moving farther from him as she
spoke.

"Holding a levee, eh?" he said, glancing about upon the group. "How
d'ye, young ladies and gentlemen? Holloa, Ed! so you're the brave fellow
that shot his father? Hope your grandfather dealt out justice to you in
the same fashion that Wal and Dick's did to them."

Eddie could bear no more, but burst into an agony of tears and sobs.

"Calhoun Conly, do you think it very manly for a big fellow like you to
torment such a little one as our Eddie?" queried Elsie, with rising
indignation.

"No, I don't," he said frankly. "Never mind, Eddie, I take it all back,
and own that the other two deserve the lion's share of the blame, and
punishment too. Come, shake hands and let's make up."

Eddie gave his hand, saying in broken tones, "I was a naughty boy, but
papa has forgiven me, and I don't mean ever to disobey him any more."

Chapter Sixth.

"So false is faction, and so smooth a liar,
As that it never had a side entire."
--DANIEL.

By the first of December Mr. Travilla had entirely recovered from the
ill effects of his accident--which had occurred early in November--and
life at Ion resumed its usual quiet, regular, but pleasant routine,
varied only by frequent exchange of visits with the other families of
the connection, and near neighbors, especially the Lelands.

Because of the presence among them of their northern relatives, this
winter was made a gayer one than either of the last two, which had seen
little mirth or jovialty among the older ones,