She found them sitting on the side piazza, being abundantly entertained by Jack.
"Sister!" he called, excitedly, as she came up the steps to meet them; "this one is Aunt Harry—that's what she told me to call her—and the other one is Aunt Carrie; and they've both been around the world together, and both ridden on elephants."
There was a general laugh at the unceremonious introduction.
Miss Caroline took Bethany's hands in her own little plump ones, and stood on tiptoe to give her a hearty kiss. Miss Harriet did the same, holding her a moment longer to look at her with fond scrutiny.
"Such a striking resemblance to your dear mother," she said. "Sister and I hoped you would look like her."
"They are homely little bodies, and dreadfully old-fashioned," was Bethany's first impression, as she looked at them in their plain dresses of Quaker gray. "But their voices are so musical, and they have such good, motherly faces, I believe they will prove to be real restful kind of people."
"Sister and I have been such birds of passage, that it will seem good to settle down in a real home-nest for a while," said Miss Harriet, as they were going over the house together.
"When one has lived in a trunk for a decade, one appreciates big, roomy closets and wardrobes like these."
They went all over the place, from garret to cellar, and sat down to rest beside an open window, where a climbing rose shook its fragrance in with every passing breeze.
"Mrs. Marion thought you might not be ready for us before next week," sighed Miss Caroline; "but these cool, airy rooms do tempt me so. I wish we could come this very afternoon." She smiled insinuatingly at Bethany. "We have nothing to move but our trunks."