His firm asked him to go to Rio de Janeiro that spring to take charge of their new branch there . It was too good a chance to lose , for father was a poor man and it meant promotion and increase of salary ; but it also meant the temporary breaking up of our home . Our mother had died before either of us was old enough to remember her ; father could not take us to Rio de Janeiro . In the end he decided to send us to Uncle Alec and Aunt Janet down on the homestead ; and our housekeeper , who belonged to the Island and was now returning to it , took charge of us on the journey . I fear she had an anxious trip of it , poor woman ! She was constantly in a quite justifiable terror lest we should be lost or killed ; she must have felt great relief when she reached Charlottetown and handed us over to the keeping of Uncle Alec . Indeed , she said as much . `` The fat one is n't so bad . He is n't so quick to move and get out of your sight while you 're winking as the thin one . But the only safe way to travel with those young ones would be to have 'em both tied to you with a short rope -- a MIGHTY short rope . '' `` The fat one '' was Felix , who was very sensitive about his plumpness . He was always taking exercises to make him thin , with the dismal result that he became fatter all the time . He vowed that he did n't care ; but he DID care terribly , and he glowered at Mrs. MacLaren in a most undutiful fashion . He had never liked her since the day she had told him he would soon be as broad as he was long . For my own part , I was rather sorry to see her going ; and she cried over us and wished us well ; but we had forgotten all about her by the time we reached the open country , driving along , one on either side of Uncle Alec , whom we loved from the moment we saw him . He was a small man , with thin , delicate features , close-clipped gray beard , and large , tired , blue eyes -- father 's eyes over again . We knew that Uncle Alec was fond of children and was heart-glad to welcome `` Alan 's boys . '' We felt at home with him , and were not afraid to ask him questions on any subject that came uppermost in our minds . We became very good friends with him on that twenty-four mile drive . Much to our disappointment it was dark when we reached Carlisle -- too dark to see anything very distinctly , as we drove up the lane of the old King homestead on the hill .
Behind us a young moon was hanging over southwestern meadows XXXXX spring-time peace , but all about us were the soft , moist shadows of a May night .
about as by in lest of on over that to