With the appearance of young Carter Ritchie, the neighbors arrived at the decision that Parker Willett would not return, and that eventually this cousin of his would take his clearing. Indeed, Carter himself gave this impression, for it was not long before he knew the whole country-side, and had taken his place as a resident. His first visit, after seeking out Dod Hunter, was to the Kennedys, and though the questions which Agnes put were few, Carter was not reticent, and being always glad of listeners, he chatted on, revealing many things, and not hesitating sometimes to draw somewhat upon his imagination so that his stories might be the more effective. He was a bright, attractive young fellow, nineteen or twenty years of age, with a fresh, boyish face, pleasant manners, and a soft Southern voice. He was not slow in finding out the prettiest girls in the neighborhood, and his gallantries were soon the cause of many heartburnings. He greeted the Kennedys as old friends. “Oh, I’ve heard about you all from Park,” he said, “and I don’t feel a stranger at all. When is Park coming back? I don’t know. Never, I reckon; there are too many things to keep him at home. He is at Colonel Southall’s every day, and the colonel has two pretty daughters. Blest if I don’t think Nell is prettier than Alicia; she is not of your touch-me-not kind, like Alicia, and is always ready for a good time. The colonel’s fond of Park; he has no sons, you know, and I shouldn’t wonder if Park found it a good thing to settle down right there; that is what everybody thinks he will do.” The color which had dyed Agnes’s cheeks a crimson at the hearing of Parker’s name now retreated, and she was very pale. “Aunt Lucy seems a little better since Parker came,” Carter went on, “but she can’t live very long, a year maybe at the longest; she’s in a consumption, you know.” He talked on, answering questions and giving information, till the listeners knew more of Parker’s family and his affairs than they had learned in all their acquaintance with him. “Say, Miss Agnes,” the lad said as he arose to go, “you and I will have real good times. Park told me he had a boat, and I am in for rowing or any kind of sport. Do you like to ride? Have you a saddle-horse? Never mind, I can get one, I reckon.” And before she knew it, Agnes found herself promising to go riding, boating, walking, or anything else of the kind that Carter proposed. “That young man’s not goin’ to wear out his sowl by greetin’ for his home,” said Polly; “it’s aye grist ’at comes to his mill, an’ he’ll be dancin’, whoever pipes.” “He certainly seems to have a flow of spirits,” Mrs. Kennedy agreed. “An’ pleasant manners, an’ he’s pleasant spoken. I’ll be tachin’ him a rale Irish jig before the year’s out, ye’ll see. I foretell he’ll make friends, but, to my mind, his cousin Park’s more the man. I’d be sorry not to see him again.” “I think you will,” returned Mrs. Kennedy.