The outside air was full of sweet , wholesome springtime sounds that drifted in fitfully . There were voices and whistles in the barnyard , and now and then faint laughter . A bird alighted for a moment on a cherry bough , and twittered restlessly . Naomi knew that white mists were hovering in the silent hollows , that the maple at the gate wore a misty blossom red , and that violet stars were shining bluely on the brooklands . The room was a small , plain one . The floor was bare , save for a couple of braided rugs , the plaster discolored , the walls dingy and glaring . There had never been much beauty in Naomi Holland 's environment , and , now that she was dying , there was even less . At the open window a boy of about ten years was leaning out over the sill and whistling . He was tall for his age , and beautiful -- the hair a rich auburn with a glistening curl in it , skin very white and warm-tinted , eyes small and of a greenish blue , with dilated pupils and long lashes . He had a weak chin , and a full , sullen mouth . The bed was in the corner farthest from the window ; on it the sick woman , in spite of the pain that was her portion continually , was lying as quiet and motionless as she had done ever since she had lain down upon it for the last time . Naomi Holland never complained ; when the agony was at its worst , she shut her teeth more firmly over her bloodless lip , and her great black eyes glared at the blank wall before in a way that gave her attendants what they called `` the creeps , '' but no word or moan escaped her . Between the paroxysms she kept up her keen interest in the life that went on about her . Nothing escaped her sharp , alert eyes and ears . This evening she lay spent on the crumpled pillows ; she had had a bad spell in the afternoon and it had left her very weak . In the dim light her extremely long face looked corpse-like already . Her black hair lay in a heavy braid over the pillow and down the counterpane . It was all that was left of her beauty , and she took a fierce joy in it . Those long , glistening , sinuous tresses must be combed and braided every day , no matter what came . A girl of fourteen was curled up on a chair at the head of the bed , with her head resting on the pillow .
The boy at the window was her half-brother ; but , between Christopher XXXXX and Eunice Carr , not the slightest resemblance existed .
Holland Naomi afternoon braid brooklands counterpane day paroxysms whistles years