You--you are not acquainted with them?"
"I never saw 'em. But I've heard a lot about 'em," said the
stranger, with a light laugh. "They are sort of relations of mine."
"You are a relative?" asked the girl. Even then she had no thought
of who this newcomer was. "Cap'n Ira's relative? Or Mrs. Ball's, if
I may ask?"
"Well, I guess it is the old woman's. But I'm kind of curious to see
'em first, you know, before I make any strong play in the
relationship game. Gee! Is this the parlor furniture?"
"Some of it," was the wondering rejoinder.
"Looks like the house, don't it? Down at the heel and shabby. Say,
have they got much money, after all--them Balls? You're a neighbor,
I suppose? You must know 'em well."
"I live here," said the other girl rather sternly.
"Huh? You mean around here?"
"I live here with Cap'n Ira and Mrs, Ball," was the further
explanation.
"You _do_? You?"
Her voice suddenly became shrill. It rose half an octave with
surprise. Her gaze, which had merely been insolent, now became
suspicious. She scrutinized Sheila closely.
"I didn't know the Balls had anybody living with 'em," she resumed
at length. "You ain't been here long, have you?"
"Oh, for some time," was the cheerful rejoinder.
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