“Oliver Sands.”
“Indeed? How came——”
“It’s a long story, Cousin Betty. Wouldn’t we better wait till morning?”
“Don’t you know how much curiosity I have? Do you want to keep me awake all night?” demanded the lady. But she believed that her old friend had some deep perplexity on his mind and that it would be a comfort to him to share it with her. “Is it something Dorothy may hear?”
“Certainly, if you wish. Already she knows part. Has she told you how the twins came here?”
“Somebody told, I forget who. All of the young folks talked at once, but I learned that they had been dropped on our premises, like a couple of kittens somebody wished to lose.”
“Exactly; and though he did not personally ‘drop’ them, the man who most heartily wishes to lose them is miller Oliver Sands. They are his most unwelcome grandchildren.”
“Why, Cousin Seth!” “Why, Master!” cried the hearers, amazed.
“True. Their mother was Rose Sands, whom her father always believed—or said—was ruined by the foolish name her mother gave her. His sons were like himself and are, I believe, good men enough, though tainted with their father’s hardness.”