"
It was a blue swallow-tail, with bright brass buttons. As worn by Winn
the tails hung nearly to the floor, the cuffs were turned back over his
wrists, and the collar rubbed against his ears.
"A pretty costume in which to appear before a strange girl," thought
poor Winn, who was noted at home for being fastidious concerning his
dress and personal appearance. "I know I must look like a guy, and she
can't help laughing, of course; but if she does, I'll never speak to
her as long as I live, and I'll leave this craft the very first chance
I get."
While these thoughts were crowding fast upon one another, the boy was
being dragged into the dining-room by Cap'n Cod, and formally presented
as "Mr. Winn, of Massachusetts," to "my grand-niece Sabella, sir."
[Illustration: Winn's introduction to Sabella.]
Winn will never know whether the girl laughed or not, for at that
moment Don Blossom, who had been seated on the floor daintily nibbling
a sweet biscuit, sprang chattering to her shoulder and buried his face
in her hair, as he had done upon the boy's first appearance. This
episode formed such a seasonable diversion that by the time the girl
succeeded in freeing herself from the clutches of her pet, Winn was
seated at the table with the most conspicuous portion of his absurd
costume concealed beneath its friendly shelter.
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