Page:Waylaid by Wireless - Balmer - 1909.djvu/29

Rh by. This particular descendant was devoid of a mustache; but either the founder must have worn one, or mustaches must have been prevalent somewhere in the direct line, for whenever he was absent-minded or annoyed, an hereditary habit seemed to hold this Dunneston; he brushed his shaven upper lip with his finger-tips and carefully twisted and arranged the atmosphere about an inch from his face.

Once in a while, as when with sudden interest in the column he was reading he involuntarily tipped his teacup too high, he was startled out of his ancestral expression. But, having wiped his lips and carefully dried his imaginary mustache, he regained his lineal sternness at once, and met the young American's gaze severely.

Preston laughed again with the delight of his irresponsibility. He was young, in most excellent health, and decidedly well looking. For three hard years, since graduating from his university in Massachusetts, he had been working without rest or vacation in the West. 11