"Now whom shall we get?" questioned William again. "We must think."

Unattached gentlewomen of suitable age and desirable temper did not
prove to be so numerous among the Henshaws' acquaintances, however, as
to make the selection of a chaperon very easy. Several were thought of
and suggested; but in each case the candidate was found to possess
one or more characteristics that made the idea of her presence utterly
abhorrent to some one of the brothers. At last William expostulated:

"See here, boys, we aren't any nearer a settlement than we were in the
first place. There isn't any woman, of course, who would exactly suit
all of us; and so we shall just have to be willing to take some one who
doesn't."

"The trouble is," explained Bertram, airily, "we want some one who will
be invisible to every one except the world and Billy, and who will be
inaudible always."

"I don't know but you are right," sighed William. "But suppose we settle
on Aunt Hannah. She seems to be the least objectionable of the lot,
and I think she'd come. She's alone in the world, and I believe the
comfortable roominess of this house would be very grateful to her after
the inconvenience of her stuffy little room over at the Back Bay."

"You bet it would!" murmured Bertram, feelingly; but William did not
appear to hear him.

"She's amiable, fairly sensible, and always a lady," he went on; "and
to-morrow morning I believe I'll run over and see if she can't come