"I just love to whistle, too. Ned says I can pipe higher and carry a tune better than anyone he knows!" declared Ruth, and aunt and grand-niece felt a common bond of unity.
Ruth was about to demonstrate her accomplishment to Aunt Selina, when her face puckered into a funny expression and her shoulders hunched up about her ears as they usually did when some secret thought gave her a surprise. She leaned over the couch and confidentially whispered, "Aunt Selina, I'll tell you what! We both love to whistle, don't we? Then, you shall be christened with my other name! You shall be 'Flutey,' eh?"
"Oh, dear child, it would be sarcasm to name me that now! Why, the only claim I have to that name would be because of my fluted skin. Just look at my neck and face!" said Aunt Selina.
"No such thing!" retorted Ruth. "I never saw any flutes on your face until this very minute when you made me see some little wrinkles. Your skin is soft and white, so don't you ever tell folks what you said to me, 'cause they won't see anything but a nice face."
Of course, Aunt Selina felt elated to hear such comforting words, but Ruth gave her no time to meditate.
"Do you like the name I, as your god-mother, give you?" laughed the merry little girl.
"Yes, indeed, it is fine, but we must keep it a secret. Just fancy Sally or Abe, or any of the servants, calling me 'Miss Flutey!'" And Aunt Selina laughed aloud just as the door opened and Sally popped her head through the aperture. Seeing the happy faces and hearing the unusual laughter, she immediately closed the door, without having been seen or heard. Out in the wide hall she lifted both arms high toward the ceiling and rolled her eyes devoutly upward as she murmured, "Praise be to the Lud, dat dat little tree is come wif healin' in its leaves." After this strange remark, Sally hurried out to tell Abe of the miracle.
Aunt Selina, in spite of her age, felt a childish delight in having a secret with Ruth, and after a few moments said, "I shall have to call you Fluff, and you must call me Flutey, I suppose, if we are to belong to the same Nest."
"Yes, that's the way," replied Ruth, clapping her hands softly. "Now, let me tell you all the wonderful things we did this summer."