nce indicated alarm and apprehension.

"Why, Hannah!" exclaimed Thankful. "Why, Miss Parker, what's the
matter?"

Hannah's glance swept the group before her; then it fastened upon
Imogene.

"Where's my brother?" she demanded. "Have you seen my brother?"

Captain Bangs broke in.

"Your brother? Kenelm?" he asked. "Why, what about Kenelm? Ain't he to
home?"

"No. No, he ain't. And he ain't been home, either. I left a cold supper
for him on the table, and I put the teapot on the rack of the stove
ready for him to bile. But he ain't been there. It ain't been touched.
I--I can't think what--"

Imogene interrupted. "Your brother's all right, Miss Parker," she said,
calmly. "He's been havin' supper with me out in the kitchen. He's there
now. He's the company I said I had, Mrs. Thankful."

Hannah stared at her. Imogene returned the gaze coolly, blandly and with
a serene air of confident triumph.

"Perhaps you'd better come out and see him, ma'am," she went on.
"He--we, that is--have got somethin' to tell you. The rest can come,
too, if they want to," she added. "It's nothin' we want to keep from
you."

Hannah Parker pushed by her and rushed for the kitchen. Imogene followed
her and the others followed Imogene. As Thankful said, describing her
own feelings, "I couldn't have stayed behind if I wanted to. My feet had
curiosity enough to go by themselves."

Kenelm, who had been sitting by the kitchen table before a well-filled
plate, had heard his sister's approach and had risen. When Mrs. Barnes
and the others reached the kitchen he had backed into a corner.

"Kenelm Parker," demanded Hannah, "what are you doin' here, this time of
night?"

"I--I been eatin' supper," stammered Kenelm, "but I--I'm through now."

"Through! Didn't you know your supper was waitin' for you at home?
Didn't I tell you to come home early and have MY supper ready? Didn't--"

Imogene interrupted. "I guess you did, ma'am," she said, "but you see I
asked him to stay here, so he stayed."

"YOU asked him! And he stayed! Well, I must say! Kenelm, have you been
eatin' supper alone with that--with that--"

She was too greatly agitated to finish, but as Kenelm did not answer,
Imogene did, without waiting.

"Yes'm," she said, soothingly. "It's all right. Kenelm and me can eat
together, if we want to, I guess. We're engaged."

"ENGAGED!" Almost everyone said it--everyone except Hannah; she could
not say anything.

"Yes," replied Imogene. "We