CATHERINE. [Coaxingly.] Don't be quite so blunt. Try to be like one of the family.
JAMES. I'm afraid I shall never be like one of this family.
CATHERINE. Why not? I'm no relation at all; and yet—
JAMES. [Making a resolution.] I'll do my best to agree with him. [Offering his hand.] It's a promise. [They shake hands.
CATHERINE. Thank you, James.
JAMES. [Still holding her hand.] It's good to be back, Catherine. It's good to see you again.
_He is still holding her hand when FREDERIK GRIMM enters. He is the son of PETER'S dead sister, and has been educated by_ PETER to carry on his work. He is a graduate of Amsterdam College, Holland, and, in appearance and manner, suggests the foreign student. He has managed to pull through college creditably, making a specialty of botany. PETER has given him the usual trip through Europe, and FREDERIK has come to his rich uncle to settle down and learn his business. He has been an inmate of the household for a few months. He poses as a most industrious young man, but is, at heart, a shirker.
FREDERIK. Where's Uncle?
JAMES. Good-morning, Frederik. Your uncle's watching father spray the plum trees. The black knot's after them again.
FREDERIK. I can hardly keep my eyes open. Uncle wakes me up every morning at five—creaking down the old stairs. [Eyeing CATHERINE admiringly.] You're looking uncommonly pretty this morning, Kitty. [CATHERINE edges away and runs upstairs to her room.