He rather prided himself on being a student of physiognomy , and he felt quite sure that this man was no ordinary Lindsay farmer of the genial , garrulous type with which he was familiar . Long after the old wagon , with its oddly assorted pair , had gone lumbering up the hill , Eric found himself thinking of the stern , heavy browed man and the black-eyed , red-lipped boy . CHAPTER IV . A TEA TABLE CONVERSATION The Williamson place , where Eric boarded , was on the crest of the succeeding hill . He liked it as well as Larry West had prophesied that he would . The Williamsons , as well as the rest of the Lindsay people , took it for granted that he was a poor college student working his way through as Larry West had been doing . Eric did not disturb this belief , although he said nothing to contribute to it . The Williamsons were at tea in the kitchen when Eric went in . Mrs. Williamson was the `` saint in spectacles and calico '' which Larry West had termed her . Eric liked her greatly . She was a slight , gray-haired woman , with a thin , sweet , high-bred face , deeply lined with the records of outlived pain . She talked little as a rule ; but , in the pungent country phrase she never spoke but she said something . The one thing that constantly puzzled Eric was how such a woman ever came to marry Robert Williamson . She smiled in a motherly fashion at Eric , as he hung his hat on the white-washed wall and took his place at the table . Outside of the window behind him was a birch grove which , in the westering sun , was a tremulous splendour , with a sea of undergrowth wavered into golden billows by every passing wind . Old Robert Williamson sat opposite him , on a bench . He was a small , lean old man , half lost in loose clothes that seemed far too large for him . When he spoke his voice was as thin and squeaky as he appeared to be himself . The other end of the bench was occupied by Timothy , sleek and complacent , with a snowy breast and white paws . After old Robert had taken a mouthful of anything he gave a piece to Timothy , who ate it daintily and purred resonant gratitude .
`` You see we 're busy waiting for you , Master , '' said old XXXXX .
Eric Lindsay Robert Timothy West Williamson Williamsons paws rest splendour