“Sure can, uncle,” returned the young man.
Joanne waved her cousin a greeting and then rushed off to where her grandmother sat forlornly, if patiently, on a trunk. “Gradda! Gradda,” cried Joanne, “Cousin Ned Pattison is here. He came down to meet us. Isn’t that fine?” Her excitement and pleasure at the new arrival completely chased away the tears which had attended her parting with the Marriotts.
In due course of time the customs were done with and Cousin Ned was permitted to join his relatives. “Well, Ned, my boy,” said his uncle, “it’s mighty good of you to give us this surprise.”
“Thought I’d combine business with pleasure and run on to New York for a few days. Had some matters to look up and made it convenient to time it so as to be here when you all got in. Going right on to Washington, uncle, or do you linger in this mad city for a while?” He smiled down at Joanne.
“Well,” returned Dr. Selden, “the trouble is that I’m tied up in the matter of a boy and a pony.”
His nephew stared. “What?”
“Fact. I’ve got to find a place for them. Queer sort of dunnage, but they were forced upon me,” and Dr. Selden proceeded to tell the story of Chico and Pablo to which Mr. Pattison listened with close attention.
“Why don’t you ship them right on to my place?” he said at the conclusion of the tale.
Dr. Selden laughed. “Where would you put a pony in an apartment house? In the dumb-waiter?”
It was his nephew’s turn to laugh. “Pshaw! I forgot that you didn’t know that I was a landed proprietor, that I had acquired a farm.”