Miss Dexie | Page 5

other treasures were duly inspected by the shy Louie, who
soon entered heartily into the games started for her amusement.
The twin girls were delighted with their walk. They had viewed the city
from Citadel Hill, and had extended their walk to other spots of interest,

but it seemed to them that they had moved nearer the seat of war,
instead of away from it, for the sword and gun-bearing officers and
soldiers whom they met in different parts of the city seemed more
warlike than those who had passed through the streets of their old home,
as they journeyed toward headquarters.
In a short time the family settled down to the routine of home-life that
comes natural in all households, and having secured competent help,
Mrs. Sherwood was able to order her household without much exertion
on her part; in fact, she began to feel that she might now take life
comparatively easy, and, little by little, the duties of housekeeper were
laid upon Aunt Jennie.
Dinah found the burden and exactions of her small charges quite
bearable, so the not-over-anxious mother was relieved from trouble in
that quarter also. But Dinah seemed well satisfied. Her love for the
little ones placed under her care had been strong enough to silence the
superstitious dread that had filled her heart when she first learned the
destination of the family; but in spite of her efforts to please everyone,
Dinah could not overcome the strong dislike which Biddy openly and
emphatically expressed for all "nagers." Consequently, a wordy warfare
spiced the day's doings occasionally, but, thanks to Aunt Jennie's tact
and kindness, even this grew less and less, as occasion for them
vanished.
A few weeks later, Mr. Sherwood accompanied Mr. Nelson to Prince
Edward Island, on a horse-buying expedition, but we will not follow
them, as our story has to do with those in Halifax; it is sufficient to say
that they secured a number of valuable animals for the New York
market, at a price that surprised Mr. Sherwood until he understood that
the Island farmers were ready to dispose of all products "cheap for
cash."
As might be supposed, the friendly intercourse between the members of
the two families grew stronger as the taste of each became more
apparent.
Dexie and Elsie were "chums" at once, though each possessed an

opposite nature; one supplied what the other lacked, so they agreed
charmingly.
Gussie was older in appearance than her twin, Dexie, and preferred the
society of a "grown-up" young lady, and Cora Gurney found her a
pleasant companion.
Launcelot Gurney, or Lancy, was the musical genius of the Gurney
family, and this soon caused a feeling of friendship to spring up
between him and Dexie Sherwood, and few days passed in which they
did not spend considerable time in each other's society. But the closest
observer could find no fault with this intimacy. It sprang from the
similarity of tastes, and the frank, straightforward manner which
marked their intercourse denied the existence of any foolish
sentimentality. Though younger than Cora, Lancy seemed by his steady
ways and manly behavior to be the eldest of the family. Perhaps the
fact that his father talked so much with him, and interested him in
matters that seldom claim the attention of youths of his age, had
something to do with his manner, but behind his usual calm exterior
there was an amount of conceit not always apparent to others, a conceit
that placed himself above the ordinary High School boys who had been
his daily associates. This they had felt intuitively, and with his precise
habits and nicety of dress had caused him to be dubbed "the dandy."
Another member of the Gurney household must also be mentioned, for
Hugh McNeil belonged to the family almost as much as Lancy himself,
seeing that he had been cared for by Mrs. Gurney before Lancy was
born. He was the son of a strange marriage, a marriage that had turned
out disastrously. His father had been valet to Mr. Gurney's eldest
brother, and, while attending his master in Paris, had fallen in love with
a pretty French waitress, and secretly married her. On returning to
England with his master, the French wife followed him and revealed
the marriage, and this so enraged McNeil's master that he discharged
him on the spot. Whereupon McNeil, after securing a comfortable
lodging for his wife, left for Australia, intending to send for her as soon
as he obtained permanent employment. Before he had done so, the
French wife died in giving birth to little Hugh; and the matter coming

to the knowledge of Mrs. Gurney, she had pitied the motherless babe
and had him placed in a comfortable home. As he grew older, Mrs.
Gurney became so fond of her