周六中午，露易丝和她的丈夫亚瑟·威尔登的到来令所有人兴奋不已。就在这一天早晨，他俩才决定搬到这里来居住一段时间，因为他们所有的邻居都在冬天离开当地了，这令他们感到异常孤独。饭桌上，帕齐一直凝视着一位非常漂亮的女孩。这个女孩究竟是谁呢？
On Saturday they were treated to a genuine surprise，for when the omnibus drew up before the hotel entrance it brought Arthur Weldon and his girl—wife，Louise，who was Uncle John's eldest niece.It also brought "the Cherub"，a wee dimpled baby hugged closely in the arms of Inez，its Mexican nurse.
Patsy and Beth shrieked in ecstasy as they rushed forward to smother "Toodlums，"as they irreverentlya called the Cherub，with kisses.Inez，a handsome，dark—eyed girl，r e l i n q u i s h e db her burden cheerfully to the two adoring "aunties，"while Uncle John kissed Louise and warmly shook the hand of her youthful husband.
"What in the world induced you to abandon your beloved ranchc ？"inquired Mr.Merrick.
"Don't ask me，sir！"replied Arthur，laughing at the elder gentleman's astonishment.He was a trim young fellow，with a clean—cut，manly face and frank，winning manners.
"It's sort of between hay and grass with us，you know，"he explained."Walnutsd all marketed and oranges not ready for the pickers.All our neighbors have migrated，this way or that，for their regular winter vacations，and after you all left，Louise and I began to feel lonely.So at breakfast this morning we decided to flite.At ten o'clock we caughtthe express，and here we are—in time for lunch.I hope it's ready，Uncle John."It was；but they must get their rooms and settle the baby in her new quarters before venturing to enter the dining room.So they were late for the midday meal and found themselves almost the only guests in the great dining hall.
As they sat at table，chatting merrily together，Arthurasked：
"What are you staring at，Patsy？"
"A lovely girl，"said she."One of the loveliest girls I have ever seen.Don't look around，Arthur；it might attract their attention.""How many girls are there？""Two；and a lady who seems to be their mother.The other girl is pretty，too，but much younger than her sister—or friend，for they do not resemble one another much.They came in a few minutes ago and are seated at the table in the opposite corner.""New arrivals，I suppose，"remarked Uncle John，whofrom his position could observe the group.
"No，"said Patsy；"their waitress seems to know them well.But I've never before seen them in the hotel.""We are always early at meal time，"explained Beth，"and to—day these people are certainly late.But they are pretty girls，Patsy.For once I concur in your judgment.""You arouse my curiosity，"said Arthur，speakingquietly，so as not to be overheard in the far corner."If I hear more ecstatic praises of these girls I shall turn around and stare them out of countenance.a""Don't，"said Louise."I'm glad your back is towardthem，Arthur，for it preserves you from the temptation to？irtb.""Oh，as for that，I do not need to turn around in order to see pretty girls，"he replied.
"Thank you，Arthur，"said Patsy，making a face at him."Look me over all you like，and ？irt if you want to.I'm sure Louise won't object.""Really，Patsy，you're not bad to look at，"he retorted，eyeing her critically."Aside from your red hair，the pug nose and the freckles，you have many excellent qualities.If you didn't squintc—""Squint！""What do you call that affection of your eyes？""That，"she said，calmly eating her dessert，"was a glance of scorn—burning，bitter scorn ！""I maintain it was a squint，"declared Arthur.
"That isn't her only expression，"announced Uncle John，who loved these little exchanges of good—humored banter."On Monday I will show you Patsy as a terror—stricken damsel in distress.""Also Beth，still more distressful，"added Patsy；and then they told Louise and Arthur about the picture.
"Fine！"he cried."I'm deeply gratifieda that my ownrelatives—""By marriage.""I am grati？ed that my secondhand cousins have been so highly honored.I'd rather see a good moving picture than the best play ever produced.""You'll see a good one this time，"asserted Patsy，"forwe are the stars.""I think that unscrupulousb Mr.Werner deserves a reprimandc，"said Louise.
"Oh，he apologized，"explained Beth."But I'm sure he'd take the same liberty again if he had the chance.""He admits that his love of art destroys his sense of propriety，"said Patsy.
