William, with great tact, instantly assumed an appearance of preternatural solemnity on his brother’s entrance. “What is all this mystery? What are you doing in here?” asked Harry, crossly. “I am helping William with his studies,” said Annie. Upon this her promising pupil grew blue with suppressed laughter, and Harry’s manner got more and more unpleasant. “Oh, I should have thought you had had enough of schoolroom work! However, since you haven’t, and I’m not too proud to take a lesson, you shall give me one, too,” and he flung himself into a chair with an uncompromising surliness which was not encouraging to a teacher. Taking no further notice of him, Annie proceeded with her dictation. “Lorsque Telemaque et ses compagnons--virgule----” “Oh, confound your French!” growled Harry. And William burst into a roar of laughter; while Annie, seeing that her amiable husband had started up with evil intentions toward her pupil, made signs to the latter to leave the room, which he did, exploding again as soon as he got outside the door. “Why do you encourage that donkey to take up your time?” asked Harry, when he had exhausted all the offensive epithets at his command on his youngest brother. “I am very fond of William,” said Annie, quietly. “It was I who first encouraged him to study; and now it is a great pleasure to me to help him.” “A fine lot of study you get through, I have no doubt! You were studying very hard when I came in, weren’t you?” “Now look here, Harry; you are absurdly unreasonable,” said Annie, wearily. “Of course William and I don’t sulk through a long morning’s work, as if I were a snuffy old professor of fifty who didn’t care a straw about his pupil except as a mere learning-machine. I couldn’t care for William more if he were really my brother. You never used to complain when he and I were out in the fields and woods together all day long. He was my constant companion when I was very miserable and lonely; and am I to snub and sit upon him, now that he has taken to reading so that he may be more of a companion to me than ever?” “What do you want with his companionship? I can’t think what you can see in a great, clumsy gawk like that. He isn’t even clever.” “He is good-tempered, and--he is fond of me.” “Much you care about anybody’s being fond of you! You are the coldest woman I ever saw, and all your pretty--I mean all your affected little ways are just acting. Yes, that is what they are--just acting!” repeated Harry, as if struck by a happy idea. “Very well, Harry. Then why don’t you let me go and act on the stage, where I shall get applauded instead of worried about it?” “Because I don’t choose to let you go,” said he doggedly. “And I don’t choose to see myself slighted and treated as if I were nobody at all, just for that great ignorant, ill-mannered boy. And I won’t allow any more of these humbugging lessons--do you hear?” “I hear you certainly,” answered Annie softly.