Not by the sash door, but round again by another way they came upon the little company. Mrs. Stoutenburgh had been in before, and her reappearance had not made much change in the order of things; but when Faith came in every boy rose to his feet, and the admiring looks were only bounded by the number of eyes. They fell back right and left as she came on towards the fire; and once seated there in an easy chair, those who knew her came up to pay their respects--those who did not stood still and paid them at a distance, whispering and touching each other with, "My! ain't she handsome!"-- All of which amused at least two of the lookers-on. One or two of the boys Mr. Linden brought up and presented. Faith however was presently out of her chair of state and wound in and out among them, speaking to those whom she knew or remembered at Neanticut. She was in a little gale of good-fellowship by the time Mr. Linden with Miss Essie returned to the room. "Well!" said Miss Essie. "Now what's the first order of things? Mr. Linden, these are all your boys, I suppose?" "These are all and not all, Miss Essie." "Yes. Do they always do what you tell them?" "They are extraordinary boys!" said Mr. Linden. "Not one of them has a will of his own." "Oh!" said Miss Essie. "What has become of their wills? Have you stolen them? Now I am going to put that to the proof. Sam Stoutenburgh--you are not twenty years old yet, your mother says; have you a will of your own?" "Mother says I have," replied Sam. "Ah!--you see!" said Miss Essie. "_You_ sir,--I know you but I don't remember you,--your teacher says you haven't a will of your own--now is it true? I want to know." "A will of my own, ma'am?" Reuben repeated, looking doubtfully from Miss Essie to Mr. Linden. "Against whose, if you please?" "Well--" said Miss Essie, a little surprised, and laughing--"upon honour, will you tell the truth?" "I'll try, ma'am." "Against Mr. Linden's. Now upon honour!--I'll go bail for you." The bail was not needed. Reuben's quiet "No, ma'am, and don't want to have," was very forcible. "I declare!" said Miss Essie turning to Mr. Linden,--"you're a wonderful man!--For of course Sam's word is _his mother's_ word, and that's nothing in the circumstances. I wish I had been so happy as to be a boy and go to school to you, Mr. Linden! All my life my trouble has been a will of my own; and I never found anybody that could deprive me of it." "Nor yourself ready to give it up?" "Of course! but I never could, you know. It was stronger than I." "I'll tell you what," said Mrs. Stoutenburgh, coming up, "if you two people want to talk any more, you've got to stand out of the way,--Faith and I are going to have a game with these boys." "What sort of game?" "Why blind man's buff," said Mrs. Stoutenburgh. "Sam--go to my room and fetch that plaid ribband that lies on the bed."