Dallas, with a gentle gesture, took the hand that was hanging by her side and raised it to his lips.
She blushed with pleasure at this grown-up caress, and taking a rose from the bowl she fastened it in the lapel of the boy's coat.
"Pretty, pretty," I heard the juncos say.
"Very kind," observed Biddy, and then the whole family of boys and girls came trooping to the veranda.
"Family," said Mrs. Devering, "come here and be introduced."
I could see that their names made no impression on my young master. He was staring at their faces. These were his cousins, his real cousins, though they did not know it, and in spite of the cool wind blowing, a line of perspiration sprang to his upper lip. Would they like him, oh! would they like him?
They all looked very smart, the girls in thick white dresses, the boys in navy blue belted cloth suits like that of my young master.
There was a family resemblance—I could see it, though these children were robust and rollicking, while my young master was refined and delicate in appearance.
Their table manners were very good, but they were so full of life that they had hard work to keep still.
It was a charming sight to see this happy, clean, and well-bred family sitting at this long table with no walls between them and the lovely lake that was shining and beautiful as the sides of the big silver soup tureen from which Mrs. Devering was ladling a delicious dark liquid that smelt like beans. I thought the Deverings' supper table was like a dinner table until I saw what a wonderful lot of things they gave those happy children to eat in the middle of the day.