The Clever Woman of the Family

"Will you allow me a seat?" asked Captain Keith, when he had disposed

of his sister's goods; and on Rachel's assent, he placed himself on the

back seat in his lazy manner.

"If you were good for anything, you would sit outside and smoke," said

his sister.

"If privacy is required for swearing an eternal friendship, I can go to

sleep instead," he returned, closing his eyes.

"Quite the reverse," quoth Bessie Keith; "he has prepared me to hate you

all, Miss Curtis."

"On the mutual aversion principle," murmured the brother.

"Don't you flatter yourself! Have you found out, Miss Curtis, that it is

the property of this species always to go by contraries?"

"To Miss Curtis I always appear in the meekest state of assent," said

Alick.

"Then I would not be Miss Curtis. How horribly you must differ!"

Rachel was absolutely silenced by this cross fire; something so unlike

the small talk of her experience, that her mind could hardly propel

itself into velocity enough to follow the rapid encounter of wits.

However, having stirred up her lightest troops into marching order,

she said, in a puzzled, doubtful way, "How has he prepared you to hate

us?--By praising us?"

"Oh, no; that would have been too much on the surface. He knew the

effect of that," looking in his sleepy eyes for a twinkle of response.

"No; his very reserve said, I am going to take her to ground too

transcendent for her to walk on, but if I say one word, I shall never

get her there at all. It was a deep refinement, you see, and he really

meant it, but I was deeper," and she shook her head at him.

"You are always trying which can go deepest?" said Rachel.

"It is a sweet fraternal sport," returned Alick.

"Have you no brother?" asked Bessie.

"No."

"Then you don't know what detestable creatures they are," but she

looked so lovingly and saucily at her big brother, that Rachel, spite of

herself, was absolutely fascinated by this novel form of endearment.

An answer was spared her by Miss Keith's rapture at the sight of some

soldiers in the uniform of her father's old regiment.

"Have a care, Bessie; Miss Curtis will despise you," said her brother.

"Why should you think so?" exclaimed Rachel, not desirous of putting on

a forbidding aspect to this bright creature.

"Have I not been withered by your scorn!"

"I--I--" Rachel was going to say something of her change of opinion with

regard to military society, but a sudden consciousness set her cheeks

in a flame and checked her tongue; while Bessie Keith, with ease and

readiness, filled up the blank.

"What, Alick, you have brought the service into disrepute! I am ashamed

of you!"