ceiling, and began to think of Ruth.

"Mr. Bannister," announced George Pennicut at the door.

Kirk was on his feet in one bound. The difference, to a man whose mind
is far away, between "Mr. Bannister" and "Miss Bannister" is not great,
and his first impression was that it was Ruth who had arrived.

He was acutely conscious of his costume, and was quite relieved when he
saw, not Ruth, but a severe-looking young man, who advanced upon him in
a tight-lipped, pop-eyed manner that suggested dislike and hostility.
The visitor was a complete stranger to him, but, his wandering wits
returning to their duties, he deduced that this must be one of Ruth's
relatives.

It is a curious fact that the possibility of Ruth having other
relatives than Mrs. Porter had not occurred to him till now. She
herself filled his mind to such an extent that he had never speculated
on any possible family that might be attached to her. To him Ruth was
Ruth. He accepted the fact that she was Mrs. Porter's niece. That she
might also be somebody's daughter or sister had not struck him. The
look on Bailey's face somehow brought it home to him that the world was
about to step in and complicate the idyllic simplicity of his wooing.

Bailey, meanwhile, as Kirk's hundred and eighty pounds of bone and
muscle detached themselves from the couch and loomed up massively
before him, was conscious of a weakening of his determination to
inflict bodily chastisement. The truth of Steve's remark, that it made
a difference whether one's intended victim is a heavyweight, a middle,
or a welter, came upon him with some force.