She was tall and dignified, and David had to stoop but little to bring his eyes level with hers.
"David, I'm here, too." A hand was laid on his arm, and he released his mother to turn and look into two warm brown eyes.
"And so the little sister is grown up," he said, embracing her, then holding her off at arm's-length. "Five years! When I look at you, mother, they don't seem so long—but Laura here!"
"You didn't expect me to stay a little girl all my life, did you, David?"
"No, no." He took her by the shoulder and shook her a little and pinched her cheeks. "What roses! Why, sis, I say, you know, I'm proud of you. What have you been up to, anyway?" He flung himself on the sofa and pulled her down beside him. "Give an account of yourself."
"I've gone in for athletics."
"Right."
"And— Oh! lots of things. You give an account of yourself."
David glanced at his mother. She was seated opposite them, regarding him with brimming eyes. No, he could not give an account of himself yet. He would wait until he and his mother were alone. He lifted Laura's heavy hair, which, confined only by a great bow of black ribbon, hung streaming down her back,