I did not go downstairs for a long time after that, and then, to my
relief, I found Uncle Keith alone; for men are less sharp in some
matters than women, and he would never find out that I had been crying,
as Aunt Agatha would; but I was a little taken aback when he put down
his paper, and asked, in a kind voice, why I had stayed so long in the
cold, and if I had not finished my packing.
"Oh, yes," I returned, promptly, "everything was done, and my trunk was
only waiting to be strapped down."
"That is right," he said, quite heartily, "always be beforehand with
your duties, Merle; your aunt tells me you have made up your mind to
leave us in the morning. I should have thought the afternoon or early
evening would have been better."
"Oh, no, Uncle Keith," I exclaimed, and then, oddly enough, I began to
laugh, and yet the provoking tears would come to my eyes, for a vision
of sundry school domestics arriving towards night with their goods and
chattels, and the remembrance of their shy faces in the morning light
seemed to evoke a sort of dreary mirth; but to my infinite surprise and
embarrassment, Uncle Keith patted me on the shoulder as though I were a
child.
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