"We'll take them both over," decided Jack, "and let her choose one, then we won't have to quarrel any more over them, for that will settle it."
They started off each with a wee, mewing kitten, and were duly announced as Miss Jacqueline and Miss Jean Corner, though this time their Aunt Helen was at home and they were not ushered into the drawing-room but into the library, and from thence were conducted up-stairs to their grandmother's room.
"Well, young ladies," said Mrs. Corner, "I am glad to see you. So this is Jean. She looks more like the Lees than Nancy and Jack. What have you there, my dears?"
"We have brought you a kitten," spoke up Jack. "We brought two so you could take your choice, for it is really very hard to tell which of them all is the prettiest. We let Phil take his choice first and we left the ugliest for Mitty, though that one is really very pretty, but not quite so lovely as these."
"It is very kind of you to want me to have the best," said Mrs. Corner. "Which do you consider the prettier?"
"I like this one," said Jack, displaying a furry gray ball from which issued a protesting mew as Jack held it up.
"And I like this," said Jean, more discreetly holding her kitten in her lap. "It has white feet and a white shirt front. Jack's is all gray. Mine is named Rubaiyat; we call it Ruby."
"And mine," said Jack gravely, "is Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. It's a Bible name. Baz ought to be very good."
"What extraordinary names!" exclaimed Mrs. Corner.
"Ruby is named after the 'Rubaiyat of a Persian Kitten,' for Lady Gray is a Persian, you know. Ran named them and he said we could call Jean's, Ruby, and mine Baz. He says that Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz just suits a cat for he found out what it means and it means 'the spoil hastens; the prey speeds.'"