CHAPTER X.
AUNT HANNAH As soon as possible after breakfast William went to see Aunt Hannah.
Hannah Stetson was not really William's aunt, though she had been called Aunt Hannah for years.

She was the widow of a distant cousin, and she lived in a snug little room in a Back Bay boarding-house.

She was a slender, white-haired woman with kind blue eyes, and a lovable smile.
Her cheeks were still faintly pink, and her fine silver-white hair broke into little kinks and curls about her ears.

According to Bertram she always made one think of "lavender and old lace." She welcomed William cordially this morning, though with faint surprise in her eyes.
"Yes, I know I'm an early caller, and an unexpected one," began William, hurriedly.

"And I shall have to plunge straight into the matter, too, for there isn't time to preamble.