IX
THEAreachedMoonstoneinthelateafternoon，andalltheKronborgsweretheretomeetherexcepthertwoolderbrothers。GusandCharleywereyoungmennow，andtheyhaddeclaredatnoonthatitwould\"looksillyifthewholebunchwentdowntothetrain。\"\"There’snousemakingafussoverTheajustbecauseshe’sbeentoChi—
cago，\"Charleywarnedhismother。\"She’sinclinedtothinkprettywellofherself，anyhow，andifyougotreatingherlikecompany，there’llbenolivinginthehousewithher。\"Mrs。KronborgsimplyleveledhereyesatCharley，andhefadedaway，muttering。Shehad，asMr。Kronborgalwayssaidwithaninclinationofhishead，goodcontroloverherchildren。Anna，too，wishedtoabsentherselffromtheparty，butintheendhercuriositygotthebetterofher。SowhenTheasteppeddownfromtheporter’sstool，averycreditableKronborgrepresentationwasgroupedontheplatformtogreether。Aftertheyhadallkissedher（GunnerandAxelshyly），Mr。Kronborghurriedhisflockintothehotelomnibus，inwhichtheyweretobedrivenceremoniouslyhome，withtheneighborslookingoutoftheirwindowstoseethemgoby。
Allthefamilytalkedtoheratonce，exceptThor，——
impressiveinnewtrousers，——whowasgravelysilentandwhorefusedtositonThea’slap。OneofthefirstthingsAnnatoldherwasthatMaggieEvans，thegirlwhousedtocoughinprayermeeting，diedyesterday，andhadmadearequestthatTheasingatherfuneral。