WE were sitting at dinner Monday night, all of us wondering why Ellery Sibthorp had not come. We had heard the whistle of the train on which he was to have come, and we had allowed more than time for the livery team to come up, but it was now seven, and we had given him up. “I’m afraid he missed the train in New York. I wish I’d walked down to the station.” “Will you please tell me,” said Ethel, “how your going down to Egerton would have prevented his missing the train in New York?” “Well, I was thinking that perhaps he missed the hackman at Egerton.” “It’s too perfectly awful of him,” said Cherry, “seeing that I stayed over just to meet him.” “The disappointment will be his when he sees you,” said I, and at this both of them asked me what was the matter with my wits. “Have you had an infusion of Irish blood?” asked Ethel. “I’m thinking of how inhospitable I was not to go down to the train.” There was a knock at the kitchen door, and Minerva, who had been removing the soup plates, went out to open it. A light-keyed, pleasant voice said to her, “Can you tell me where the Vernons live?” “Right here, sir. Come in won’t yer?” In through the kitchen came a light step, following Minerva’s heavy one, and as she opened the door into the dining room she said to us informally, “I guess this is the man you was lookin’ for.” “Oh, I didn’t know you had company,” said Sibthorp, setting down his grip and removing, or trying to remove his hat. His hand hit it and it fell to the floor, and when he stooped to pick it up he felt flustered, and put it on again, his face turning the colour of a peony. Ethel rose from her seat and said, “Mr. Sibthorp, you surely haven’t walked up? May I present you to Miss Paxton?” “Certainly,” said the poor fellow. “That is, I did, and I’m happy to meet everybody.” He had taken off his hat again, and I now found his hand and gave it a hearty shake. “This is your house for the time being, Ellery, old man,” said I, “and Miss Paxton is one of the family, also. We call her Cherry, but it isn’t obligatory. Now hang your hat up in the hall, and I’ll show you where you can find a pitcher and basin, and nobody’s the least bit stiff in this house, so you can feel as happy as if you were by yourself.”