Aunt Jane's Nieces
"
"You bore me, Silas," she answered, coldly. "The boy is the most
impossible of all."
It was the old protest and the old reply. He had hardly expected
anything different.
After a period of thought he asked;
"What is this I hear about John Merrick having returned from the
West?"
"He came yesterday. It was a great surprise to me."
"I never knew this brother, I believe."
"No; he had gone away before I became acquainted with either you or
Tom."
"What sort of a man is he?"
"Honest and simple, hard-headed and experienced."
"Is he independent?"
"I believe so; he has never mentioned his affairs to me. But he has
worked hard all his life, he says, and now means to end his days
peacefully. John is not especially refined in his manner, nor did he
have much of an education; but he seems to be a good deal of a man,
for all that. I am very glad he appeared at Elmhurst just at this
time."
"You had believed him dead?"
"Yes. He had passed out of my life completely, and I never knew what
became of him."
"He must be an eccentric person," said Mr. Watson, with a smile.
"He is." she acknowledged. "But blood is thicker than water, Silas,
and I'm glad brother John is here at last."
A little later the lawyer left her and picked his way through the
gardens until he came to Kenneth's wing and the stair that led to
his room. Here he paused a moment, finding himself surrounded by a
profound stillness, broken only by the chirping of the birds in the
shrubbery. Perhaps Kenneth was not in. He half decided to retrace
his steps, but finally mounted the stair softly and stood within the
doorway of the room.
The boy and a little stout man were playing chess at a table, and both
were in a deep study of the game. The boy's back was toward him, but
the man observed the newcomer and gave a nod. Then he dropped his eyes
again to the table.
Kenneth was frowning sullenly.
"You're bound to lose the pawn, whichever way you play," said the
little man quietly.
The boy gave an angry cry, and thrust the table from him, sending the
chess-men clattering into a corner.
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There was once a king who was very powerful. He had great influence over the wild beasts and animals. Now the tortoise was looked upon as the wisest of all beasts and men. This king had a son named Ekpenyon, to whom he gave fifty young girls as wives, but the prince did not like any of them. The king was very angry at this, and made a law that if any man had a daughter who was finer than the prince's wives, and who found favour in his son's eyes, the girl herself and her father and mother should be killed.
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