His old grin robbed the question of insult. Joe knew there would be something in the pantry. Judy had a whole turkey stowed away, as well as the pot of soup. By the time mother had come down and hugged Joe and hurried anxiously back upstairs Judy had another table spread and they all sat down to it, even forgiven Tillytuck, whom Cuddles haled in from the granary.

“Ah, this is worth coming home for,” said Joe. “Cuddles, you’re almost grown up. Any beau yet, Pat?”

“Oh, oh, ye’d better be asking her that,” said Judy. “Don’t ye think it’s time we had another widding at Silver Bush? She snubbed Elmer Moody last wake so bad he wint off vowing he’d niver set foot in Silver Bush agin.”

“He breathes through his mouth,” said Pat airily.

“Listen at her. Some fault to find wid ivery one av the poor b’ys. And what about yersilf, Joe? Do ye be coming home to find a wife?”

Joe blushed surprisingly. Pat only half liked it. She had heard rumors of several girls Captain Joe had been writing to occasionally. None of them were quite good enough for Joe. But it was the old story…change…change. Pat hated change so. And little, cool, unexpected breaths of it were always blowing across everything, even the jolliest of times, bringing a chill of foreboding.

“And you’re not tattooed after all, Joe,” said Cuddles, half disappointedly.

“Only my hands,” said Joe, displaying a blue anchor on one and his own initials on the other.

“Will you tattoo mine on mine?” asked Cuddles eagerly.

Before Joe could answer an indignant old man suddenly erupted into the kitchen, wrapped in a dressing gown. It was Cousin Nicholas and Cousin Nicholas was distinctly in a temper.

“Cats!” he snarled. “Cats! I had just fallen into a refreshing slumber when a huge cat jumped on my stomach…on my stomach, mark you. I detest cats.”

“It…must have been Bold-and-Bad,” gasped Pat. “He does so love to get into the spare room bed. I’m so sorry, Cousin Nicholas…”

“Sorry, miss! I never can get to sleep again after I am once wakened up. Will your sorrow cure that? I came down to ask you to find that cat and secure him. I don’t know where the beast is…probably under the bed, plotting more devilment.”

“Peevish…very peevish,” muttered Tillytuck quite audibly. Cuddles meowed and Cousin Nicholas glared at her.

“The manners of Silver Bush are not what they were in my day,” he said crushingly. “I had a very hard time to get to sleep at all. There was too much going and coming upstairs. Is anybody sick?”

“Yes…but it don’t be catching,” said Judy reassuringly.