"Did he say anything else?"
"Yes—cousin."
"Let me take you right in. I guess it would make a sensation if I—here, Mamie, just hug Miss Enid good and hard for me, will you?"
Whilst the children waited in the hall, he accompanied the girl up the stairs and threw open the door of the sitting-room.
"Here is somebody you want to see, uncle?" he cried, and rejoined the little ones.
"Hoo-roosh!" he yelped. "Now let's buy a toy-store."
Enid and her father faced each other for some seconds in silent bewilderment. Then Mr. Traill rose and came near to her. She did not know what to do or say. This tall, stately man was one who should be dearer to her than anyone else in the world. She was his daughter, yet they were strangers one to the other.
"I—I—" How could she utter conventional words in such a moment? Her lips quivered and tears trembled in her eyes. Then he knew. The lace around her white neck was fastened with a little gold brooch bearing a four-leafed shamrock in emeralds. He looked at her with a profound reverence, and caught her by the shoulders.
"My dear," he murmured, "you are very like your mother."
"I am glad," she said, and kissed him.