Bill looked like a man about to choke.
"What!" he shouted.
"Certainly," said his aunt. "He's a Stearns, I know; but what else is there to do? Even a bad name is better than none."
"Aunt Caroline, you're crazy!"
"I was never more sane in my life. William. The poor child must marry him. I'm sorry, of course; but it is better than not marrying him at all."
"Marry Pete Stearns?" Bill resembled a large and ferocious animal, perhaps a lion. "Marry him? Not in a million years will she marry him!"
Aunt Caroline studied her nephew in astonishment.
"Would you deny her the poor consolation of a name?" she demanded. "Of course she will marry him. I shall personally attend to it."
"You'll do nothing of the kind," said Bill savagely. "You'll keep out of it."
"Order the boat back to Larchmont at once," was Aunt Caroline's answer.