diff options
Diffstat (limited to '41797-h/41797-h.html')
| -rw-r--r-- | 41797-h/41797-h.html | 11171 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 11171 deletions
diff --git a/41797-h/41797-h.html b/41797-h/41797-h.html deleted file mode 100644 index e0e242f..0000000 --- a/41797-h/41797-h.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,11171 +0,0 @@ -<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?> -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC '-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN' 'http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd'> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<head> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> -<meta name="generator" content="Docutils 0.8.1: http://docutils.sourceforge.net/" /> -<style type="text/css"> -/* -Project Gutenberg common docutils stylesheet. - -This stylesheet contains styles common to HTML and EPUB. Put styles -that are specific to HTML and EPUB into their relative stylesheets. - -:Author: Marcello Perathoner (webmaster@gutenberg.org) -:Copyright: This stylesheet has been placed in the public domain. - -This stylesheet is based on: - - :Author: David Goodger (goodger@python.org) - :Copyright: This stylesheet has been placed in the public domain. - - Default cascading style sheet for the HTML output of Docutils. - -*/ - -/* ADE 1.7.2 chokes on !important and throws all css out. */ - -/* FONTS */ - -.italics { font-style: italic } -.no-italics { font-style: normal } - -.bold { font-weight: bold } -.no-bold { font-weight: normal } - -.small-caps { } /* Epub needs italics */ -.gesperrt { } /* Epub needs italics */ -.antiqua { font-style: italic } /* what else can we do ? */ -.monospaced { font-family: monospace } - -.smaller { font-size: smaller } -.larger { font-size: larger } - -.xx-small { font-size: xx-small } -.x-small { font-size: x-small } -.small { font-size: small } -.medium { font-size: medium } -.large { font-size: large } -.x-large { font-size: x-large } -.xx-large { font-size: xx-large } - -.text-transform-uppercase { text-transform: uppercase } -.text-transform-lowercase { text-transform: lowercase } -.text-transform-none { text-transform: none } - -.red { color: red } -.green { color: green } -.blue { color: blue } -.yellow { color: yellow } -.white { color: white } -.gray { color: gray } -.black { color: black } - -/* ALIGN */ - -.left { text-align: left } -.justify { text-align: justify } -.center { text-align: center; text-indent: 0 } -.centerleft { text-align: center; text-indent: 0 } -.right { text-align: right; text-indent: 0 } - -/* LINE HEIGHT */ - -body { line-height: 1.5 } -p { margin: 0; - text-indent: 2em } - -/* PAGINATION */ - -.title, .subtitle { page-break-after: avoid } - -.container, .title, .subtitle, #pg-header - { page-break-inside: avoid } - -/* SECTIONS */ - -body { text-align: justify } - -p.pfirst, p.noindent { - text-indent: 0 -} - -.boxed { border: 1px solid black; padding: 1em } -.topic, .note { margin: 5% 0; border: 1px solid black; padding: 1em } -div.section { clear: both } - -div.line-block { margin: 1.5em 0 } /* same leading as p */ -div.line-block.inner { margin: 0 0 0 10% } -div.line { margin-left: 20%; text-indent: -20%; } -.line-block.noindent div.line { margin-left: 0; text-indent: 0; } - -hr.docutils { margin: 1.5em 40%; border: none; border-bottom: 1px solid black; } -div.transition { margin: 1.5em 0 } - -.vfill, .vspace { border: 0px solid white } - -.title { margin: 1.5em 0 } -.title.with-subtitle { margin-bottom: 0 } -.subtitle { margin: 1.5em 0 } - -/* header font style */ -/* http://dev.w3.org/csswg/css3-fonts/#propdef-font-size */ - -h1.title { font-size: 200%; } /* for book title only */ -h2.title, p.subtitle.level-1 { font-size: 150%; margin-top: 4.5em; margin-bottom: 2em } -h3.title, p.subtitle.level-2 { font-size: 120%; margin-top: 2.25em; margin-bottom: 1.25em } -h4.title, p.subtitle.level-3 { font-size: 100%; margin-top: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; font-weight: bold; } -h5.title, p.subtitle.level-4 { font-size: 89%; margin-top: 1.87em; margin-bottom: 1.69em; font-style: italic; } -h6.title, p.subtitle.level-5 { font-size: 60%; margin-top: 3.5em; margin-bottom: 2.5em } - -/* title page */ - -h1.title, p.subtitle.level-1, -h2.title, p.subtitle.level-2 { text-align: center } - -#pg-header, -h1.document-title { margin: 10% 0 5% 0 } -p.document-subtitle { margin: 0 0 5% 0 } - -/* PG header and footer */ -#pg-machine-header { } -#pg-produced-by { } - -li.toc-entry { list-style-type: none } -ul.open li, ol.open li { margin-bottom: 1.5em } - -.attribution { margin-top: 1.5em } - -.example-rendered { - margin: 1em 5%; border: 1px dotted red; padding: 1em; background-color: #ffd } -.literal-block.example-source { - margin: 1em 5%; border: 1px dotted blue; padding: 1em; background-color: #eef } - -/* DROPCAPS */ - -/* BLOCKQUOTES */ - -blockquote { margin: 1.5em 10% } - -blockquote.epigraph { } - -blockquote.highlights { } - -div.local-contents { margin: 1.5em 10% } - -div.abstract { margin: 3em 10% } -div.image { margin: 1.5em 0 } -div.caption { margin: 1.5em 0 } -div.legend { margin: 1.5em 0 } - -.hidden { display: none } - -.invisible { visibility: hidden; color: white } /* white: mozilla print bug */ - -a.toc-backref { - text-decoration: none ; - color: black } - -dl.docutils dd { - margin-bottom: 0.5em } - -div.figure { margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 3em } - -img { max-width: 100% } - -div.footer, div.header { - clear: both; - font-size: smaller } - -div.sidebar { - margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em ; - border: medium outset ; - padding: 1em ; - background-color: #ffffee ; - width: 40% ; - float: right ; - clear: right } - -div.sidebar p.rubric { - font-family: sans-serif ; - font-size: medium } - -ol.simple, ul.simple { margin: 1.5em 0 } - -ol.toc-list, ul.toc-list { padding-left: 0 } -ol ol.toc-list, ul ul.toc-list { padding-left: 5% } - -ol.arabic { - list-style: decimal } - -ol.loweralpha { - list-style: lower-alpha } - -ol.upperalpha { - list-style: upper-alpha } - -ol.lowerroman { - list-style: lower-roman } - -ol.upperroman { - list-style: upper-roman } - -p.credits { - font-style: italic ; - font-size: smaller } - -p.label { - white-space: nowrap } - -p.rubric { - font-weight: bold ; - font-size: larger ; - color: maroon ; - text-align: center } - -p.sidebar-title { - font-family: sans-serif ; - font-weight: bold ; - font-size: larger } - -p.sidebar-subtitle { - font-family: sans-serif ; - font-weight: bold } - -p.topic-title, p.admonition-title { - font-weight: bold } - -pre.address { - margin-bottom: 0 ; - margin-top: 0 ; - font: inherit } - -.literal-block, .doctest-block { - margin-left: 2em ; - margin-right: 2em; } - -span.classifier { - font-family: sans-serif ; - font-style: oblique } - -span.classifier-delimiter { - font-family: sans-serif ; - font-weight: bold } - -span.interpreted { - font-family: sans-serif } - -span.option { - white-space: nowrap } - -span.pre { - white-space: pre } - -span.problematic { - color: red } - -span.section-subtitle { - /* font-size relative to parent (h1..h6 element) */ - font-size: 100% } - -table { margin-top: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; border-spacing: 0 } -table.align-left, table.align-right { margin-top: 0 } - -table.table { border-collapse: collapse; } - -table.table.hrules-table thead { border: 1px solid black; border-width: 2px 0 0 } -table.table.hrules-table tbody { border: 1px solid black; border-width: 2px 0 } -table.table.hrules-rows tr { border: 1px solid black; border-width: 0 0 1px } -table.table.hrules-rows tr.last { border-width: 0 } -table.table.hrules-rows td, -table.table.hrules-rows th { padding: 1ex 1em; vertical-align: middle } - -table.table tr { border-width: 0 } -table.table td, -table.table th { padding: 0.5ex 1em } -table.table tr.first td { padding-top: 1ex } -table.table tr.last td { padding-bottom: 1ex } -table.table tr.first th { padding-top: 1ex } -table.table tr.last th { padding-bottom: 1ex } - - -table.citation { - border-left: solid 1px gray; - margin-left: 1px } - -table.docinfo { - margin: 3em 4em } - -table.docutils { } - -div.footnote-group { margin: 1em 0 } -table.footnote td.label { width: 2em; text-align: right; padding-left: 0 } - -table.docutils td, table.docutils th, -table.docinfo td, table.docinfo th { - padding: 0 0.5em; - vertical-align: top } - -table.docutils th.field-name, table.docinfo th.docinfo-name { - font-weight: bold ; - text-align: left ; - white-space: nowrap ; - padding-left: 0 } - -/* used to remove borders from tables and images */ -.borderless, table.borderless td, table.borderless th { - border: 0 } - -table.borderless td, table.borderless th { - /* Override padding for "table.docutils td" with "!important". - The right padding separates the table cells. */ - padding: 0 0.5em 0 0 } /* FIXME: was !important */ - -h1 tt.docutils, h2 tt.docutils, h3 tt.docutils, -h4 tt.docutils, h5 tt.docutils, h6 tt.docutils { - font-size: 100% } - -ul.auto-toc { - list-style-type: none } -</style> -<style type="text/css"> -/* -Project Gutenberg HTML docutils stylesheet. - -This stylesheet contains styles specific to HTML. -*/ - -/* FONTS */ - -/* em { font-style: normal } -strong { font-weight: normal } */ - -.small-caps { font-variant: small-caps } -.gesperrt { letter-spacing: 0.1em } - -/* ALIGN */ - -.align-left { clear: left; - float: left; - margin-right: 1em } - -.align-right { clear: right; - float: right; - margin-left: 1em } - -.align-center { margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto } - -div.shrinkwrap { display: table; } - -/* SECTIONS */ - -body { margin: 5% 10% 5% 10% } - -/* compact list items containing just one p */ -li p.pfirst { margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0 } - -.first { margin-top: 0 !important; - text-indent: 0 !important } -.last { margin-bottom: 0 !important } - -span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 1 } -img.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.5em 0 0; max-width: 25% } -span.dropspan { font-variant: small-caps } - -.no-page-break { page-break-before: avoid !important } - -/* PAGINATION */ - -@media screen { - .coverpage, .frontispiece, .titlepage, .verso, .dedication, .plainpage - { margin: 10% 0; } - - div.clearpage, div.cleardoublepage - { margin: 10% 0; border: none; border-top: 1px solid gray; } - - .vfill { margin: 5% 10% } -} - -@media print { - div.clearpage { page-break-before: always; padding-top: 10% } - div.cleardoublepage { page-break-before: right; padding-top: 10% } - - .vfill { margin-top: 20% } - h2.title { margin-top: 20% } -} - -</style> -<title>THE STORY BOOK GIRLS</title> -<meta name="PG.Rights" content="Public Domain" /> -<meta name="PG.Title" content="The Story Book Girls" /> -<meta name="PG.Producer" content="Al Haines" /> -<link rel="coverpage" href="images/img-cover.jpg" /> -<meta name="DC.Creator" content="Christina Gowans Whyte" /> -<meta name="DC.Created" content="1906" /> -<meta name="PG.Id" content="41797" /> -<meta name="PG.Released" content="2013-01-06" /> -<meta name="DC.Language" content="en" /> -<meta name="DC.Title" content="The Story Book Girls" /> - -<link href="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" rel="schema.DCTERMS" /> -<link href="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators" rel="schema.MARCREL" /> -<meta content="The Story Book Girls" name="DCTERMS.title" /> -<meta content="girls.rst" name="DCTERMS.source" /> -<meta content="en" scheme="DCTERMS.RFC4646" name="DCTERMS.language" /> -<meta content="2013-01-07T01:09:58.894697+00:00" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.modified" /> -<meta content="Project Gutenberg" name="DCTERMS.publisher" /> -<meta content="Public Domain in the USA." name="DCTERMS.rights" /> -<link href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41797" rel="DCTERMS.isFormatOf" /> -<meta content="Christina Gowans Whyte" name="DCTERMS.creator" /> -<meta content="2013-01-06" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.created" /> -<meta content="width=device-width" name="viewport" /> -<meta content="EpubMaker 0.3.20a5 by Marcello Perathoner <webmaster@gutenberg.org>" name="generator" /> -<style type="text/css"> -.pageno { position: absolute; right: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.pageno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.lineno { position: absolute; left: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.lineno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.toc-pageref { float: right } -pre { font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.9em; white-space: pre-wrap } -</style> -</head> -<body> -<div class="document" id="the-story-book-girls"> -<h1 class="center document-title level-1 pfirst title"><span class="x-large">THE STORY BOOK GIRLS</span></h1> - -<!-- this is the default PG-RST stylesheet --> -<!-- figure and image styles for non-image formats --> -<!-- default transition --> -<!-- default attribution --> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="align-None container language-en pgheader" id="pg-header" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the </span><a class="reference internal" href="#project-gutenberg-license">Project Gutenberg License</a><span> -included with this eBook or online at -</span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license">http://www.gutenberg.org/license</a><span>.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container" id="pg-machine-header"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>Title: The Story Book Girls -<br /> -<br />Author: Christina Gowans Whyte -<br /> -<br />Release Date: January 06, 2013 [EBook #41797] -<br /> -<br />Language: English -<br /> -<br />Character set encoding: UTF-8</span></p> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-start-line"><span>*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>THE STORY BOOK GIRLS</span><span> ***</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-produced-by"><span>Produced by Al Haines.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span></span></p> -</div> -<div class="align-None container coverpage"> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 45%" id="figure-10"> -<span id="cover"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="Cover" src="images/img-cover.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">Cover</span></div> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<div class="align-None container titlepage"> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="x-large">The STORY -<br />BOOK -<br />GIRLS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">CHRISTINA -<br />GOWANS -<br />WHYTE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">LONDON -<br />HENRY FROWDE -<br />HODDER & STOUGHTON -<br />1906</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">THE GIRLS' NEW 1/- NET. LIBRARY.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="medium">(Crown 8vo. Cloth, with Coloured frontispiece.)</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="medium">A Girl of the Northland . . . BY BESSIE MARCHANT -<br />The Story Book Girls . . . . . BY CHRISTINA G. WHYTE -<br />Dauntless Patty . . . . . . . BY E. L. HAVERFIELD -<br />Tom Who Was Rachel . . . . . . BY J. M. WHITFELD -<br />A Sage of Sixteen . . . . . . BY L. B. WALFORD -<br />The Beauforts . . . . . . . . BY L. T. MEADE</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">HENRY FROWDE AND HODDER & STOUGHTON.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="large">CONTENTS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER I</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#elma-leighton">ELMA LEIGHTON</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER II</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#miss-annie">MISS ANNIE</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER III</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#the-flower-show-ticket">THE FLOWER SHOW TICKET</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER IV</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#cuthbert">CUTHBERT</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER V</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#the-story-books-call">"THE STORY BOOKS" CALL</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER VI</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#the-mayonnaise">THE MAYONNAISE</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER VII</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#visitors-again">VISITORS AGAIN</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER VIII</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#the-party">THE PARTY</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER IX</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#at-miss-grace-s">AT MISS GRACE'S</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER X</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#compensations">COMPENSATIONS</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XI</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#the-split-infinitive">THE SPLIT INFINITIVE</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XII</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#the-burglar">THE BURGLAR</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XIII</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#a-reconciliation">A RECONCILIATION</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XIV</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#the-first-peal">THE FIRST PEAL</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XV</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#the-arrival">THE ARRIVAL</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XVI</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#the-thin-edge-of-the-wedge">THE THIN EDGE OF THE WEDGE</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XVII</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#a-reprieve">A REPRIEVE</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XVIII</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#love-of-our-lives">"LOVE OF OUR LIVES"</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XIX</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#herr-slavska">HERR SLAVSKA</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XX</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#the-shilling-seats">THE SHILLING SEATS</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XXI</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#at-lady-emily-s">AT LADY EMILY'S</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XXII</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#the-engagement">THE ENGAGEMENT</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XXIII</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#holding-the-fort">HOLDING THE FORT</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XXIV</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#the-ham-sandwich">THE HAM SANDWICH</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XXV</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#the-wild-anemone">THE WILD ANEMONE</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XXVI</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#under-royal-patronage">UNDER ROYAL PATRONAGE</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XXVII</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#the-home-coming">THE HOME-COMING</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XXVIII</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#adelaide-maud">ADELAIDE MAUD</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XXIX</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#mr-symington">MR. SYMINGTON</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XXX</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="reference internal smaller" href="#now-here-there-dawneth">"NOW HERE THERE DAWNETH----"</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="elma-leighton"><span class="large">CHAPTER I</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">Elma Leighton</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>In a pink and white bedroom where two beds, Elma's -and Betty's, seemed the only pink and white things -unspotted by multitudinous photographs, Elma -Leighton sought sanctuary. Pursued by a tumultuous -accusing conscience, which at the same time gracefully -extended the uncertain friendliness of hope, for who -could say--it might still be "embarr*ass*ment," she -opened her little own bright red dictionary.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She prayed a trifling prayer that her self-esteem -might be saved, as she turned shakingly the fine India -paper of the 50,000 word compressed edition of the -most reliable friend she at that moment possessed in -the world. Parents commanded. Relations exaggerated. -Chums could be spiteful. But friends told the -truth; and the dictionary--being invariably just--was -above all things a friend.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She wandered to "en," forgetting in the championship -of her learning that "m" held priority. She -corrected herself with dignity, and at last found the word -she wanted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was emb*arr*assment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Woe and desolation! A crimson shameful blush -ran up the pink cheeks, her constant anxiety being -that they were always so pink, and made a royal -progress there. The hot mortification of despair lent it -wings. She watched the tide of red creep to the soft -curls of her hair as she viewed herself in her own little -miniature cheval between creamy curtains, and she -saw her complexion die down at last to an unusual -but becoming paleness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She had said "embarr*ass*ment."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nothing could have been more fatal. It was like -a disease with Elma, that instead of using the -everyday words regarding which no one could make a -mistake--such as "shyness" in this instance--she should -invariably plunge into others which she merely knew -by sight and find them unknown to herself as talking -acquaintances. Cousin Dr. Harry Vincent, Staff -Surgeon in His Majesty's Navy, eyeglass in eye, merry -smile at his lips ("such a dashing cousin the Leightons -have visiting them" was the comment), the sort of -person in short that impressed Elma with the need of -being very dashing herself, here was the particular of -all particulars before whom she had made this -ridiculous mistake.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now," had said Dr. Harry in the drawing-room -when visitors arrived, "come and play something."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Any other girl overcome by Elma's habitual fright -when asked to play, would have said, "I'm too shy." Elma -groaned as she thought how easy that would -have been.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Dr. Harry's single eyeglass fascinated her as -with a demand for showing some kind of culture.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She blinked her eyelids nervously and answered, -"My embarr*ass*ment prevents me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dr. Harry never moved a muscle of his usually -mobile and merry countenance. But the flaming -sword of fear cut further conversation dead for Elma. -She became subtly conscious that the word was wrong, -and fled to her room.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"While I'm here," she said dismally, "I may as -well look up 'melodramic.'" This was a carking -care left over from a conversation in the morning.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It proved another tragedy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Being really of a cheerful sunny nature, which never -for long allowed clouds to overshadow the bright -horizon of her imagination, she acquainted herself -thoroughly with the right term.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"One consolation is, I shall never make that -mistake again as long as I live. Melodramatic," she -repeated with the swagger of familiarity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then "emb, emb--Oh! dear, I've forgotten again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Concluding that embarrassment was a treacherous -acquaintance, she decided to drop it altogether.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"After this I shall only be shy," she said with a -certain amount of refined pleasure in her own humour.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She regarded her figure dismally in the cheval. Her -chubby face had regained its undistinguished pink. -She was sorry she could not remain pale, it was so -much more distinguished to be pale.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How long I take to grow up--in every way." She -sighed in a reflective manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>What she was thinking was how long she took to -become like one of the Story Book Girls.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It is probable that she would never have run to -long words, had it not been her dearest desire to grow -up like one of the Story Book Girls. It was the desire -of every sister in the Leighton family. Each worked -on it differently however. Mabel, the eldest, now -seventeen, in the present delights of hair going up -and skirts letting down, took her ideas of fashion -straight from "Adelaide Maud" the elegant one. -"Adelaide Maud" wore her hair in coils and sat under -heliotrope parasols. Mabel surreptitiously tried that -effect as often as five times a day with the family -absent.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean threw all her ambitions on the sporting carriage -of "Madeline" who was a golfer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Betty determined to wear bangles and play the -violin because "Theodora," the youngest of the lot, -did that. And Elma based her admiration of -"Hermione" on the fact that she had "gone in" for -science. Long ago they had christened their divinities. -It did not do to recognize latterly that the Dudgeons -were known in society by other names altogether. -One can do these dreamy, inconsequent things with -the most superb pleasure while one's family remains -between certain romantic ages; in the case of the -Leightons at the moment when Elma ran to her -bedroom--between the ages of ten and seventeen. Betty -was ten, Elma twelve, Jean fifteen and Mabel -seventeen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was an axiom with the girls that their parents -need not know how they emulated the Story Book -Girls. Yet the information leaked out occasionally.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was also considered bad form to breathe a word -to the one elder brother of the establishment. Yet -even there one got into trouble.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why on earth do you call her Adelaide Maud -when her name is Helen?" asked Cuthbert one day -bluntly. "Met her at a dance--and she nearly slew -me. I called her Miss Adelaide!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"O--o--o--oh!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It is impossible to explain the thrill that the four -underwent. Cuthbert had met Adelaide Maud!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did she talk about us?" asked Elma breathlessly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Doesn't know you kids exist," said Cuthbert.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Here was a tumbling pack of cards.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>However the idylls of the Story Book Girls soon -were built up again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Four girls at the west end of a town dreamed dreams -about four girls at a still further west. They lived -where the sun dropped down behind blue mountains -in the sunny brilliant summer time. The Story Book -Girls were grown up, of "county" reputation, and -"sat in their own carriages." The others invariably -walked. This was enough to explain the fact that -they never met in the quiet society of the place. But -one world was built out of the two, and in it, the -younger girls who did not ride in carriages, created -an existence for the Story Book Girls which would -have astonished them considerably had they known. -As it was, they sometimes noticed a string of large-eyed -girls with a good-looking brother, going to church -on Sunday, but it never dawned on one of them that -the tallest carried a heliotrope parasol in a manner -familiar to them, nor that another exhibited a rather -extraordinary and highly developed golfing stride. -Grown-up girls do not observe those in the transition -stages, and just at the fiercest apex of their admiration, -the Leightons were certainly at the transient stage. -They reviewed their own growing charms with the -keenest anxiety. Everybody was hopeful of Mabel -who seemed daily to be shedding angularities and -developing a presence which might one day be -compared with Adelaide Maud's. The time of her -seventeenth birthday had drawn near with the family -palpitating behind her. Mrs. Leighton remembered that -delicious period of her own youth, and was indulgently -friendly, "just a perfect dear."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We are going to make a very pretty little woman -of Mabel," she informed her husband. He was a tall -man, with a fine intellectual forehead, and handsome, -clear-cut features. He stooped slightly, giving an -impression of gentleness and great amiability. He -answered in some alarm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You don't mean that our little baby girl is growing up."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Elma declares that Mabel reaches her 'frivolity' in -May," said Mrs. Leighton sedately. A quiet smile -played gently over a face, lined softly, yet cleared of -care as one sees the mother face where happy homes -exist.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton groaned sadly and rubbed his finger -contemplatively along the smoothed hair which made -a gallant attempt at hiding more than a hint of baldness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why can't we keep them babies!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Betty thinks we do," said his wife.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"One boy at College, and one girl coming out! -It's overwhelming. We were only married yesterday, -you know," said poor Mr. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It troubled Mrs. Leighton that Mabel insisted on -wearing heliotrope. She had white of course for her -coming out dress, and among other costumes the -choice of colours for a fine day gown. The blue eyes -of the Leightons were gifts handed down by a beneficent -providence through a long line of ancestors, and -one wise mother after another had matched the heavenly -radiancy of these wide orbs as nearly as possible in -sashes and silks for the children. Therefore -Mrs. Leighton begged Mabel to have at least that one day -gown in blue.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I begin to be sorry I said you might have what -you liked," she said dismally. "Heliotrope will -make you look like your grandmother."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh no it won't," clamoured Jean. "It will only -make her look like Adelaide Maud."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Traitor," was the expression on three faces.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sporting Jean had really rather a dislike to the -garden-party smartness of Adelaide Maud, and -occasionally prejudice did away with honour.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm joking," she said penitently. "Do let her -wear heliotrope, mummy."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton sighed amiably yet disappointedly, -but at last gave Mabel permission to wear heliotrope. -They had patterns from Liberty's and Peter Robinson's -and Woolland's in London, and a solid week of rapture -ensued while Mabel saw herself gowned in a hundred -gowns and fixed on none.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They sat over the patterns one day with Mrs. Leighton -in attendance. Mabel's choice lay between fifteen -different qualities of heliotrope.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shall have this," she said one minute, and "No, -this" the next.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Patterns not returned within ten days will be -charged for," quoted Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Just then a certain rushing sound of light wheels -could be heard. Each girl glanced quickly out of the -window. The clipity-clop of a pair of horses might -be clearly distinguished; and through the green trees -skirting the bottom of the garden, appeared patches -of colour.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Two Story Book Girls drove past, Adelaide Maud -and Theodora. Theodora was sitting in any kind of -costume--what did </span><em class="italics">her</em><span> costume matter?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud was in blue.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The girls gazed breathlessly at one another.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think you must really now make up your mind," -said Mrs. Leighton patiently, whose ears were not -attuned so perfectly to distinction in carriage wheels.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel glanced round for support.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, mummy," said she very sweetly, "I do -believe you were right. I shall have blue after all."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That was a few weeks before the great day when -Mabel attained her "frivolity" and put up her hair. -Cousin Harry's being with them gave an air of festivity -to the occurrence, and curiously enough, Mrs. Leighton's -drawing-room filled with visitors on that afternoon -as though to celebrate the great occasion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Throughout her life Elma never forgot to link the -delight of that day, when for the first time they all -seemed to grow up, with the despair of her sallies in -Cousin Harry's direction.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When she did trail back to the drawing-room, crushed -yet educated, she found Mabel with carefully coiled -hair standing in a congratulatory crowd of people, -looking more like Adelaide Maud than one could have -considered possible.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Such excitement," whispered Jean, "Mrs. Maclean -has brought her nephew and he knows the Story Books."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It put immediate thoughts of having to explain to -Cousin Harry out of Elma's mind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, do you know," she said excitedly to him, "I -want one thing most awfully. I want to know -Mr. Maclean so well in about five minutes as to ask him a -fearfully particular question."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dr. Harry, who, as he always explained to people, -was continually nine hundred and ninety-nine days -at sea without meeting a lady, could be counted on -doing anything for one once he had the chance of being -ashore. Even a half-grown lady of Elma's type.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Maclean shall stand on his head inside of three -minutes," he promised her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma noticed a new twinkle in his eye. It enabled -her to take her courage in both hands and confess to him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm always trying to use long words, Cousin Harry. -It's like having measles every three minutes. It was -awfully nice of you not to laugh. I went to look it -up, you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nothing pleased Elma so much as the naturalness -with which she made this confession. She felt more -worldly and developed than she could have considered -possible.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cousin Harry roared.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Try it on the Maclean man," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Mr. Leighton had that guest in tow, and they -talked art and politics until tea appeared. Elma -did all she could in connection with the passing of -cups to get near him, but Cuthbert and Harry and -Mr. Maclean were too diligent themselves. She saw -Mr. Maclean's eyes fixed on Mabel when she at last -gained her opportunity. Mabel had gone in a very -careful manner, hair being her chief concern, to play -a Ballade of Chopin, and this provided an excellent -moment for Elma to sidle into a chair close to -Mr. Maclean. It was pure politeness, she observed, which -allowed anyone to stare as much as one liked while a girl -played the piano. Mr. Maclean was quite polite.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel had the supreme talent which already had -made a name for the Leighton girls. She could take -herself out of trivial thoughts and enter a magic world -where one dreamed dreams. Into this new world she -could lift most people with the first touch of her fingers -on the keys of the piano.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma's thoughts soared with the others, and Mabel -played till a little rebellious lock of the newly arranged -plaits fell timorously on her neck. She closed with a -low beautiful chord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Maclean sighed gently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma leant towards him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You know the--er--Dudgeons, don't you? Do -you know the eldest?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He nodded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is Mabel like her?" she asked anxiously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mabel," said Mr. Maclean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, Mabel. Is she--almost--as pretty, do you think?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mabel is a thousand times more pretty than Miss -Dudgeon," said Mr. Maclean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Mr. Maclean!" said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He could not have understood her sigh of rapture if -he had tried to. At that moment his thoughts were -not on Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was quite content.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She sank back on the large easy chair which she had -appropriated, and she felt as though she had brought -up a large family and just at that moment seen them -settled in life.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I do feel heavenly," she whispered to herself. -"Mabel is prettier than Adelaide Maud."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I beg your pardon?" asked Mr. Maclean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, nothing--nothing," said Elma. "I don't even -care about emb--emb--Do you mind if I ask you?" -she inquired. "Is it embarr*ass*ment or emb*arr*assment?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Emb*arr*assment," said Mr. Maclean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank you," said Elma. "I don't care whether -I'm embarrassed now or not, thank you."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="miss-annie"><span class="large">CHAPTER II</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">Miss Annie</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Of course one had to go immediately and tell all this to -Miss Annie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Annie lived with her sister in a charming -verandahed house, hidden in wisteria and clematis, and -everything was delightful in connection with the two sisters -except the illness which made a prisoner of Miss Annie. -Miss Annie lay on a bed covered with beautiful drawn -thread work over pink satinette and wore rings that -provoked a hopeless passion in Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Whenever she considered that one day she might -marry a duke, Elma pictured herself wearing Miss Annie's -rings.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>From the drawn thread work bed Miss Annie ruled -her household, and casually, her sister Grace. It never -appeared that Miss Annie ruled Miss Grace however; -nothing being more affectionate than the demeanour -of the two sisters. But long ago, the terrifying nature of -Miss Annie's first illness made such a coward of poor, -sympathetic Miss Grace, that never had she lifted a -finger, or formed a frown to reprove that dear patient, -or prevent her having her own way. The nature of Miss -Annie's illness had always been a source of great mystery -to the Leighton girls. It was discussed in a hidden -kind of way in little unintelligible nods from grown up -to grown up, and usually resolved itself into the -important phrase of "something internal." Old Dr. Merryweather, -years ago, had landed himself into trouble -concerning it. "A poor woman would get on her feet -and fight that tendency of yours," he had said to Miss -Annie. "Money simply encourages it. You will die -on that bed if you don't fight a little, Miss Annie." Miss -Annie had replied that in any case her bed was -where she intended to die, and forthwith procured -quite sweetly and pathetically, yet quite determinedly, -another doctor. That was over twenty years ago; -but Miss Grace still passed Dr. Merryweather in the -street with her head down in consequence. She did -all she could to provide the proper distraction for Miss -Annie, by encouraging visitors and sacrificing her own -friends to the leadership of her sister. Miss Annie had -always shone in a social sense, and she let none of her -talents droop merely because she was bedridden. It -was considered a wonderful thing that she should manage -the whole household, to the laying down or taking up -of a carpet in rooms which she never saw. Gradually, -on account of this wonderful energy of Miss Annie's, -Miss Grace acquired a reputation for ineptitude to -which her sister constantly but very gracefully alluded. -"Poor Grace," she sighed. "Grace takes no interest -in having things nice."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was Miss Grace however who, in her shy -old-fashioned manner, showed interest in the blue-eyed, -fair-haired Leighton children, and introduced them -to her sister when they were practically babies. She -decoyed them into the house by biscuits covered with -pink icing, which none of them ever forgot, or allowed -themselves to do without. Even Mabel, with her -hair up, accepted a pink biscuit at her first tea there -after that great occasion. They always felt very small -delicious children when they went to Miss Annie's. -They had acquired, through Miss Annie, a pleasant -easy manner of taking the nervous fussy attentions of -Miss Grace. It was astonishing how soon they could -show that in this establishment of magnificence, Miss -Grace did not count. She was immaterial to the general -grandeur of the verandahed palace belonging to Miss -Annie. They were always on their best behaviour in -the house where not only a footman, but an odd man -were kept, and Elma, at the age of seven, had been -known to complain to Mrs. Leighton when a housemaid -was at fault, "We ought to have a man to do this!" Indeed -there seemed only one conclusion to it with Elma: -that after knowing exactly what it was to call on people -who had men servants, in her youth, when she grew up -she should be obliged to marry a duke. The duke always -met her when she waited for Miss Grace in the -drawing-room. He had a long curling moustache, and wore his -hair in waves on either side of a parting, very clamped -down and oily, like Mr. Lucas, the barber. It was -years before she sacrificed the curling moustache to a -clean-shaven duke, and shuddered at the suggestion of -oil in his hair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The despair of her life stood in the corner of the white -and gold drawing-room. It was an enormous Alexander -harmonium. Once, in an easy moment, on conversing -affably with her duke in a whisper, she had suggested -to him that Miss Grace might let her play on this -instrument. Miss Grace, coming in then, was in time to see -her lips moving, and considered that the sweet child -worked at her lessons. Elma was too sincere to deceive -her. "I was talking to myself and wondering if you -would let me play on the harmonium."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She should never forget the frightened hurt look on -Miss Grace's face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Never ask me that again, dear child. It was hers--when she -was able to--to----" Miss Grace could go -no further.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The blue eyes filling with frightened tears in front of -her alarmed the gentlest soul in the world.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But, my pet," she said very simply, "there's my -own piano."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Could one believe it? Off came all the photograph -frames, and the large Benares vases on China silk, -brought years ago from the other side of the world by -Miss Grace's father, and Elma played at last on a -drawing-room grand piano. Mrs. Leighton's remained under -lock and key for any one below a certain age, and only -the schoolroom upright belonged to Elma. What -joy to play on Miss Grace's long, shiny, dark, ruddy -rosewood! She must have the lid full up, and music -on the desk. Miss Grace made a perfect audience. -Elma regretted sincerely the fact that her legs stuck -so far through her clothes, so that she could not trail -her skirts to the piano and arrange them as she screwed -herself up on the music stool. However, what did a -small thing like that matter while Miss Grace sat with -that surprised happy look on her face, and let her play -"anything she liked"? Anything Elma liked, Miss Grace -liked. In fact, Miss Grace discovered in her gentle, -amiable way, a wonderful talent in the child. It formed -a bond between the two which years never broke. Miss -Grace would sit with her knitting pins idle in her lap, -and a far-away expression in the thin grey colour of -her eyes. Elma thought it such a pity Miss Grace -wore caps when she looked so nice as that. She would -think these things and forget about them and think of -them again, all the time her fingers caressed the creamy -coloured keys, and made music for Miss Grace to listen -to. Then exactly at four o'clock, Miss Grace seemed to -creep back to her cap again, and say that tea would -be going in and they must "seek Miss Annie."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Annie poured tea from the magnificent teapot, -which the footman carried in on a magnificent silver -tray. She reclined gracefully in bed, reaching out a -slender arm covered with filmy lace to do the honours -of the tea table. Crumpets and scones might be passed -about by Miss Grace. In a very large silver cake -basket, amongst very few pieces of seed cake (Miss -Annie took no other) Elma would find a pink biscuit. -After that the ceremony of tea was over. It was -wonderful to see how Miss Annie poured and talked and -managed things generally. Elma could play to Miss -Grace, but politeness somehow demanded that she -should talk to Miss Annie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma had always, more than any of the Leighton -children, amused Miss Annie. The little poses, which -Miss Grace, with wonderfully sympathetic understanding, -had translated into actual composition in music, the -poses which caused Elma to be the butt of a robustly -humorous family, crushing her to self-consciousness and -numbness in their presence, Miss Annie had the supreme -wisdom never to remark upon. Had not Miss Grace and -she enjoyed secretly for years Elma's first delightful -blunder?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My father and mother are paying a visit to the -necropolis. They are having a lovely time. Oh! is -that wrong? I'm sure it is. It's London I mean."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They had known then not to laugh, and they never -did laugh. The little figure, with two fierce pigtails -tied radiantly with pink bows, the blue eyes, and very -soft curling locks over the temples, how could they -laugh at these? Instead they took infinite pains over -Elma's long words. Miss Annie herself invariably -either felt "revived" or "resuscitated" or polished -things of that description. It pleased her that such -an intensely modern child should be sensitive to -refinement in language. For a time Elma became famous as -a conversationalist, and was known in her very trying -family circle as Jane Austen or "Sense and Sensibility." The -consequences of her position sent her so many -times tearful to bed, that at last she put a severe curb -on herself, and never used words that had not already -been sampled and found worthy by her family. The -afternoons at Miss Annie's, however, where she could -remove this curb, became very valuable. The result -was that while things might be "scrumptious" or -"awfully nice" or "beastly" at home, they suddenly -became "excellent" or "delightful" or "reprehensible," -in that cultured atmosphere. Only one in the world -knew the two sides to Elma, and that was her dear and -wonderful father. She was never ashamed of either -pose when completely alone with that understanding -person. Her mother could not control the twitching at -the lips which denotes that a grown-up person is taking -one in and making game of one. Elma's father laughed -with the loud laugh of enjoyment. It was the laughter -Elma understood, and whether or not a mistake of hers -had caused it, she ran on to wilder indiscretions merely -that she might hear it again. Oh! there was nobody -quite so understanding as her father.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He invariably sent his compliments to Miss Annie, -and one day, to explain why she went there continually, -she told him how she played on Miss Grace's piano. -He was greatly pleased, delighted in fact, and -immediately wanted her to do the same for him. Elma's -sensitive soul saw the whole house giggling at herself, -and took fright as she always did at the mere mention -of the exhibition of her talents.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't, when Miss Grace isn't there," she had -exclaimed, and neither she nor anybody else could -explain why this should be, except Mr. Leighton -himself, who looked long and with a new earnestness -at his daughter, and never omitted afterwards in sending -his compliments to the two ladies to mention Miss Grace -first.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel was entirely different in the respect of playing -before people. She played as happily and easily to a -roomful as she did alone. She blossomed out with the -warmth of applause and admiration as a rose does at -the rising of the sun.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mabel is prettier than Miss Dudgeon," said Elma to -Miss Annie on the day when she described the great -"coming out" occasion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Annie arrested the handsome teapot before -pouring further.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What! anybody more pretty than Miss Dudgeon?" -she asked. "That is surely impossible."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Maclean said so," said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And who is Mr. Maclean?" asked Miss Annie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh--Mr. Maclean--Mr. Maclean is just Mrs. Maclean's -nephew. But he knows Miss Dudgeon, and -he looked a long time at Mabel and said she was -prettier."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You must not think so much of looks, Elma," said -Miss Annie reprovingly. "Mabel is highly gifted, that -is of much more consequence."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is it?" asked Elma. "Papa says so, though he -won't believe any of </span><em class="italics">us</em><span> can be gifted. He thinks there's -a great deal for us to learn. It's very de--demoralizing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Demoralizing?" asked Miss Annie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, isn't it demora-lizing I mean, Miss Annie?" -Elma begged in a puzzled manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Annie daintily separated half a slice of seed cake -from the formal pieces lying in the beautiful filigree -cake basket.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I do not think it is 'demoralizing' that you mean, -dear. 'Demoralizing' would infer that your father, -by telling you there was a great deal to learn, kept you -from learning anything at all, upset you completely as -it were."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Annie was as exact as she could be on these -occasions, when she took the place of the little bright red -dictionary.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This time her information seemed to please Elma -immensely. Her eyes immediately shone brilliantly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Miss Annie," she said, "it must be 'demoralizing' -after all. That's just how I feel. Papa tells -me, and I see the great big things to be done, and it -doesn't seem to be any use to try the little things. Like -Mozart's Rondos! They </span><em class="italics">are</em><span> so silly, you know. And -when you see people like Mr. Sturgis painting big -e--e--elaborate pictures, I simply can't draw at school -at all."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace leant forward on her chair, pulling little -short breaths as though not to lose, by breathing properly, -one word of this. She considered it marvellous that -this young thing should invariably be expressing the -thoughts which had troubled her all her life, and never -even been properly recognized by herself, far less given -voice to. It enabled her on many occasions to see -clearly at last, and to be able, by the light of her own -lost opportunities, to give counsel to Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Annie's eyes only looked calmly amused. It -was an amusement to which Elma never took -exception, but to-day she wanted something more, -to prevent the foolishness which she was afraid of -experiencing whenever she made a speech of this nature. -Miss Annie only toyed with a silver spoon, however, -looking sweet and very kindly at Elma, and it was Miss -Grace who finally spoke.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She had recovered the shy equanimity with which -she always filled in pauses for her sister.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You must not allow the fine work of others to -paralyze your young activities," Miss Grace said gravely. -"Mr. Sturgis was young himself once, and no doubt -at school studied freehand drawing very diligently to -be so great as he is now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, no," said Elma, "that's one of the funny parts. -Mr. Sturgis doesn't approve of freehand drawing at -all. He says it's anything but freehand, he says -it's--it's--oh! I mustn't say it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Say it," said Miss Annie cheerfully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He says it's rotten," said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was something of a pause after this.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And it's so funny with Mabel," said Elma. "Mabel -never practises a scale unless mamma goes right into -the room and hears her do it. But Mabel can read off -and play Chopin. And papa takes me to hear Liszt -Concertos, and I can't play one of them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You can't stretch the chords yet, dearie," said Miss -Grace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, but it's very demor--what was it I said?" she -asked Miss Annie anxiously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Demoralizing," said Miss Annie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And there's paralyzing too," said Elma gratefully. -"That's exactly how I feel."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She sat nursing one of her knees in a hopeless manner, -until it struck her that neither Miss Annie nor Miss -Grace liked to see her in this attitude. Nothing was -ever said on these occasions, but invariably one knew -that in order not to get on the nerves of Miss Annie, -one must sit straight and not fidget. Elma sat up -therefore and resumed conversation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mabel says it is nothing to play a Liszt Concerto," -said Elma hopelessly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is Mabel playing Liszt?" asked Miss Grace in -astonishment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mabel plays anything," sighed Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is much better than being prettier than Miss -Dudgeon," said Miss Annie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She took up a little book which lay near her. It was -bound in white vellum and had little gold lines tooled -with red running into fine gold clasps. Two angel -heads on ivory were inserted in a sunk gold rim on the -cover. Miss Grace saw a likeness in the blue eyes there -to the round orbs fastened on it whenever Elma had -to listen to the wisdom of the white book. The title, -</span><em class="italics">The Soul's Delineator</em><span>, fascinated her by its vagueness. -She had never cared to let Miss Annie know that in -growing from the days when she could not even spell, the word -"delineator" had remained unsatisfactory as a term to -be applied to the soul. There was The Delineator of -fashions at home--a simple affair to understand, but -that it should be applied to the "ivory thoughts" of -Miss Annie seemed confusing. Miss Annie moved her -white fingers, sparkling with the future duchess's rings, -in and out among the gilt-edged pages. Then she read.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The resources of the soul are quickened and enlivened, -not so much by the education of the senses, as by the -encouragement of the sensibilities, i.e. these elements -which go to the making of the character gentle, chivalrous, -kind; in short, the elements which provoke manners -and good breeding."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Annie paused. Her voice had sustained a rather -high and different tone, as it always did when she read -from the white book.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mabel has very nice manners, hasn't she?" asked -Elma anxiously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you know that you have said nothing at all -about the Story Book Girls to-day, and everything -about Mabel," said Miss Annie. "I quite miss my -Story Books."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma's eyes glowed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Annie had marked the line where the dream life -was becoming the real life. Elma, in two days, had -transferred her </span><em class="italics">mise en scene</em><span> of the drama of life from -four far-away people to her own newly grown-up sister. -It was a devotion which lasted long after the days of -dreaming and imagining had passed for the imaginative -Elma, this devotion and admiration for her eldest sister.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In case she should not entertain Miss Annie properly, -she ran back a little, and told her how it was that Mabel -had got a blue gown after all. It was delightful to feel -the appreciation of Miss Annie, and to watch the wrinkles -of laughter at her eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Exactly at five o'clock however Miss Grace began to -look anxiously at Miss Annie, and Miss Annie's manner -became correspondingly languid.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You tire your dear self, you ought not to pour out -tea," said Miss Grace in the concerned tone with which -she always said this sentence at five o'clock in the -afternoon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Saunders came noiselessly in to remove, and Elma -bade a mute good-bye.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You tire yourself, dear," said Miss Grace to Miss -Annie once more, as she and Elma retired to the door.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I must fulfil my obligations, dear," said Miss Annie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She nodded languidly to Elma, and Elma thought -once again how splendid it was of Miss Annie to be -brave like this, and wondered a trifle in her enthusiastic -soul why for once Miss Grace did not pour out tea for -her sister.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-flower-show-ticket"><span class="large">CHAPTER III</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">The Flower Show Ticket</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"I call it mean of Mabel."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean sat in a crinkled heap on her bedroom floor, -and pulled bad-temperedly with a wire comb at straight -unruly hair. It had always annoyed Mabel that Jean -should use a wire comb, when it set her "teeth on edge -even to look at it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel however was out of the way, well out of it, -they decided, and Elma and Betty had invaded the -room belonging to the elder two in order to condole -with Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mabel could easily have got another ticket--and -said she didn't want it! Didn't want it, when we're -dying to go! And then off she goes, looking very -prim and grown-up, with Cousin Harry."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean threw her head back, and began to gather long -heavy ends in order for braiding.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Just wait till I grow up! I shall soon take it out -of Mabel," she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, girls, girls!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton's voice at the door was very accusing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, mummy, it was mean. We've always -gone together before, and now Mabel won't go with -one of us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not if you behave in this manner," said Mrs. Leighton. -"I do not like any of my girls to be spiteful, -you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Spiteful!" exclaimed Jean. She ran rapid fingers -in and out the lengthening braid of hair, till long ends -were brought in front. She put these energetically in -her mouth, while she hunted for the ribbon lying by her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Jean," said Mrs. Leighton, "I've asked you so -often not to do that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sorry, mummy," said Jean, disengaging the ends -abruptly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton sat down rather heavily on a chair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You didn't say you were sorry for being spiteful," -she remarked gravely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, mummy, are we spiteful, that's the question?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma sat on a bed, looking specially tragic.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's </span><em class="italics">awful</em><span> to be left out of things now by Mabel," -she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Betty looked as though she meant to cry.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I never," said Mrs. Leighton. "You must -take your turn. You don't come wherever your father -and I go, or Cuthbert. You know you don't."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think that Cuthbert might occasionally take us, -however," said Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We all went to the flower show last year," wailed Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, with the parasols papa brought us from -London," said Betty. "And Mabel said it was like -carrying four bassinettes in a row, and snapped hers down -and wouldn't put it up till she got separated from us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She was growing up even then," said Jean in a -melancholy manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Come, come, girls," interrupted Mrs. Leighton. -"You may be just the same when you grow up. I -won't allow you to be down on poor Mabel. Especially -when she isn't here to speak for herself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When we grow up there will always be one less to -tyrannize over," said Jean. "Honestly, mother, I -never would have thought that Mabel could be so -priggish. Do you know why she wouldn't have us? -I'm too big and gawky, and Elma is always saying -silly things, and Betty is just a baby. There you are."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, it isn't very nice of Mabel, but you mustn't -believe she means that," said Mrs. Leighton. "And -after all, Mabel must have her little day. She was very -good, let me tell you, very sweet and nice when you were -babies and she just a little thing. She nursed you, -Elma and Betty, often and often, and put you to -sleep when your own nurse couldn't, and she has looked -after you all more or less ever since. You might -let her grow up without being worried."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's hateful to be called a nuisance," said Jean, -somewhat mollified.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why do you waste time over it, I wonder," said -Mrs. Leighton. "Instead of moping Jean might be -golfing, and Elma and Betty having tea at Miss Annie's; -with nobody at all being nice to your poor old mother."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It dawned on them how selfish they might all be.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, mummy," cried three reproachful voices.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, Elma likes Miss Grace much better than she -does me, and Betty likes her rabbits, and Jean despises -me because I don't play golf. I lead a very lonely -life," said Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, mummy!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My idea, when I came into your room," said -Mrs. Leighton, "was to propose that we might walk into -town and get Jean's new hat, and take tea at Crowther's, -and drive home if my poor old leg won't hold out for -walking both ways. But we've wasted so much time -in talking about Mabel----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, mummy--Your bonnet, your veil, and your -gloves, and do be quick, mummy," cried Elma. "We're -very sorry about Mabel."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They flew in self-reproachful manner to getting her -off to her room and making their own things fly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"After all, we are a beastly set of prigs," called out -Jean to Elma. "And I think I ought to have a -biscuit-coloured straw, don't you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was one of a series of encounters with which -the new tactics of Mabel invaded the family. Mrs. Leighton's -gentle rule was sorely tried for quite a long -time in this way. Although she reasoned with the -younger girls on the side of Mabel, she took Mabel -severely to task for her behaviour over the flower show.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It wasn't nice of you," she told her, "to cut off -any little invitation for your sisters. You must not -begin by being selfish, you know. There are few enough -things happening here not to spread the opportunities. -Jean wouldn't have troubled you. She may be at the -gawky stage, but she makes plenty of friends."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton could be very impartial in her judgments.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Mabel was hurt. She preserved a superior air, -which became extremely annoying to the girls.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The greatest crime that she committed was when -Jean, amiably engaging her in conversation in the old -way, asked, "And how was Adelaide Maud dressed?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel turned in a very studied manner and stared -past Jean and every one.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't think I observed Adelaide Maud," she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This was more than human beings could stand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think it's most ir--ir----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, find the word first and talk afterwards," said -Mabel grandly. "You kids get on one's nerves."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Kids--nerves," cried Jean faintly. "I think Mabel -is taking brain fever."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma left the room abruptly, much on the verge of -tears, and she tried to find solace in her dictionary. -The word was "irrelevant"--yet did not seem to fit -the occasion at all. What would Miss Annie or Miss -Grace do, if a sister had turned old and strange in a -few days like that? What would mother have done? -Mother's sisters always complimented each other when -they met. They never quarrelled. Of course they never -could have quarrelled. "Forgive and forget," Aunt -Katharine once had said had always been their motto. -Forgiving seemed very easy--but forgetting with -Adelaide Maud in the question--what an impossibility! -Miss Annie had an axiom that when you felt worried -about one matter the correct thing to do was to think -about another. Elma thought and thought, but -everything worked round to the traitorous remark of Mabel's -about Adelaide Maud. It seemed as though her head -could hold nothing else but that one idea about -Adelaide Maud, until suddenly it dawned on her that -it was really rather fine and grand of Mabel that she -should talk in this negligent manner of any one so -magnificent. This reflection gave her the greatest -possible comfort. To be condescending, even in a -mere frame of mind, to the Story Book Girls seemed -like the swineherd becoming a prince. Elma began -to think how jolly it would be to hear Mabel saying, -"You know, my dear Helen, I don't think you ought -to wear heliotrope, it hardly suits you." There was -something very delicious in having Mabel starchy and -proud after all. Elma heard her coming upstairs to -her bedroom to dress for dinner just then. The fall -of the footsteps seemed to suggest that some of the -starchiness had departed from Mabel. Much of the -quality of sympathy which had produced such a person -as Miss Grace, was to be found in Elma. Jean and -Betty had hardened their two little hearts to the -consistency of flint over the behaviour of Mabel, but the -mere fact that Elma thought her footsteps seemed to -flag and become tired roused her to chivalrous eagerness -towards making it up. She went into Mabel's room -and sat on the window seat. It was a long, low, pleasant -couch let into a wide window looking on the lawn -and gardens at the front of the house. The sun poured -in on Elma, who forgot the habits of upright behaviour -which she exhibited at Miss Annie's, and sprawled -there with her fingers on the cord of the blind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel drew her hatpins out of fair braids in an -admiring yet disconsolate manner. She took a hand -glass and had first a side view, then a back view of the -new effect, patted little stray locks into place, and -ruffled out others.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What's up, Mabs? You don't look en--thusiastic," -asked Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's papa. After my lovely day too. He wants me -to play that Mozart thing with Betty to-night. Mozart -and Betty! Isn't it stale? I hate Mozart, and I -hate drumming away at silly things with Betty." A -very discontented sigh accompanied these remarks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I really don't see why I should always be tacked -on to Betty or to Jean or you. I haven't a minute to -myself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Mabs, you've had a lovely day!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The words broke out in an accusing manner. Elma -had certainly intended to comfort Mabel, yet -immediately began by expostulating with her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel turned round, with her seventeenth birthday -present, a fine silver-backed brush, in her hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">Have</em><span> I had a lovely day, have I?" she asked. -"I've had simply nothing of the kind. Jean went on -so about not going that Cousin Harry seemed to -think I had injured her. He made me feel like a criminal -all afternoon. These navy men like lots of girls round -them. One or two more don't make the difference to -them that it makes to us. At least it's a different kind -of difference. A nice one. I think it was abominable -of him. My first chance--and to spoil it, all because of -Jean! It wasn't fair of her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma began to feel her reason rocking with the sudden -justice of this new argument.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A minute ago, I thought it wasn't fair of you," -she said reflectively. "I can see it will be awfully -hard to get us all peacefully grown up. Betty will -have the best of it. I shall simply give in to her right -along the line. I can see that. I really couldn't stand -the worry of it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I suppose you wouldn't have gone to the flower -show without Jean?" asked Mabel in rather a scornful way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Good gracious, no," said Elma simply. "I should -have presented her with the one and only ticket, just -for the sake of peace."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's a rotten, weak way to behave," said Mabel, -with a touch of Cuthbert's best manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I know. I don't mean that you should have given -her the ticket. You weren't made to be bullied. I -was. I feel it in my bones every time any one is horrid -to me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm getting tired of giving up to others," said Mabel, -still on her determined tack. "You can't think what -it has been during these years. I mustn't do this and -that because of the children. It's always been like -that. And now when I'm longing to go to dances and -balls, I've got to go right off after dinner and play -Mozart with Betty. It's all very well for papa, he -hasn't had the work I've had. If I play now, I want -to play something better than a tum-tum accompaniment."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mozart isn't tum-tum," said Elma, "and papa -has been listening to us all these years. It must have -been very trying."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, all I can say is that, at his time of life, he -ought to be saved from hearing Betty scrape on her -fiddle every night as she does nowadays. Instead, -you would think he hadn't had one musical daughter, -he's so keen on the latest."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Miss Annie says it never does to be selfish," said -Elma gravely. "I think that's being selfish, the -way you talk."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel stopped at the unclasping of her waist-belt.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Miss Annie! Well, I like that! Don't you know -there isn't so selfish a person in the world as Miss Annie. -I've heard people say it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She nodded with two pins in her mouth, then released -them as she went on.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Miss Annie made up her mind to lie on a nice bed -and have Miss Grace wait on her. And she's done it. -There's nothing succeeds like success." Mabel nodded -her head with the wisdom of centuries.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Mabs, how can you?" Elma was dreadfully -shocked. A vision of poor martyred Miss Annie, with -"something internal," being supposed to like what -was invariably referred to in that household as "the -bed of pain," to have conferred on herself this dreadful -thing from choice and wilfulness, this vision was an -appalling one.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How can you say such things of Miss Annie? Who -would ever go to bed for all these years for the pleasure -of the thing?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I would," said Mabel. "Yes, at the present moment, -I would. I should like to have something very pathetic -happen to me, so that I should be obliged to lie in bed -like Miss Annie, and have somebody nice and sympathetic -come in and stroke my hand! Cousin Harry, for -instance. He can look so kind and be so comforting -when he likes. But, oh! Elma, he was a beast to-day."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The truth was out at last. Mabel sat suddenly -on the couch beside Elma, and burst into tears.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think I hate being grown up," she said, "if people -treat you in that stiff severe way. Nobody ever did -it before--ever."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma stroked and stroked her hand. "The Leighton -lump," as they interpreted the slightly hysterical -quality which made each girl cry when the other began, -rose in riotous disobedience in her throat, and strangled -any further effort at consolation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why don't you say something," wailed Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm trying not to cry too," at last said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then they both laughed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I should go right to Cousin Harry and tell him all -about it," Elma managed to counsel at last. "I -thought you were a beast--but it's awfully hard on you. -It's awfully hard on all of us--having sisters."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, isn't it," groaned Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Harry is very understanding. Almost as -understanding as papa is."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Papa! </span><em class="italics">Do</em><span> you think papa understands?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Papa understands everything," said Elma. Then -a very loyal recollection of the afternoon they had -spent in the cheery presence of Mrs. Leighton beset -her. "Also mamma, I think she's a duck," said Elma.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="cuthbert"><span class="large">CHAPTER IV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">Cuthbert</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>There was a tremendous scurry after this to allow -of the four getting ready in time for dinner. Mabel -and Elma regained high spirits after their confidences, -and everybody seemed in a better key.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton came in to inquire of Mabel why -Cuthbert had not returned. Cuthbert, by some years -the eldest of the family, had attained great brilliance -as a medical student, and now worked at pathology -in order to qualify as a specialist. His studies kept -him intermittently at home, but to-day he had been -down early from town and had gone out bicycling -with George Maclean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cuthbert!" exclaimed Mabel. "Why, I can't -think--why, where's Cuthbert?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, yes, where's Cuthbert?" said Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Their minute differences had engaged their minds -so fully, that no one had really begun to wonder about -Cuthbert until that moment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He is always in such good time," said Mrs. Leighton -in a puzzled way. "Didn't he say to any one that he -would be late?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>No one knew anything about him. They speculated, -and collected at the dinner-table still speculating. -Even Cousin Harry knew nothing of him, but that, -of course, was because of the flower show. While -the meal was in progress, Mr. Maclean appeared quietly -in the room. He had prepared a little speech for -Mrs. Leighton, but it died on his lips as he saw her face. -It was a curious thing, as they afterwards reflected, -that Mr. Maclean went on speaking to Mrs. Leighton -as though she knew of everything that had happened -to Cuthbert.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He is all right, Mrs. Leighton, but he wouldn't let -me bring him in until I told you that he was all right."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bring him in----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It seemed to the Leightons that Mr. Maclean had -been standing all his life in their dining-room saying that -Cuthbert was all right, but wouldn't be "brought in."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton put down his table napkin in a methodical -manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You'd better come with me and see him, Lucy," -he said to his wife.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nothing could have more alarmed the girls. On -no occasion had Mr. Leighton ever referred to his -wife as Lucy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Cuthbert must be dead," cried Betty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nonsense," said Mr. Leighton, with a white face. -"Where is Harry?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Harry had slipped out after a direct glance from -Mr. Maclean, and was at that moment assisting two -doctors to lift Cuthbert from a carriage.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Look here, you kids," sang out Cuthbert, "I've -only broken a rib or two. You needn't look scared. -I shall allow you to nurse me. You won't be dull, I -can tell you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton gave a sharp little gasp. Her face -looked drawn and only half its size.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Cuthbert," she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I won't move," said Cuthbert, "till you stop -being anxious about me. Maclean, you are a bit of -an idiot--look how you've frightened her!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma found Betty in partial hysterics in the dining-room -with Jean hanging over her in a corresponding -condition.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I say, you two," she said in a disgusted manner. -"You'll frighten mother more than ever. Get up, -and don't be idiots."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You're as pale as death yourself," cried Jean hotly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh--am I," said Elma in almost a pleased voice. -She longed to go and see the effect for herself, but the -condition of Betty prevented her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, it's our first shock," she said in an important -manner. "I never felt </span><em class="italics">awful</em><span> like this before."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm sure Cuthbert will die," cried Betty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, don't." Elma turned on her fiercely. "Why -do you say such dreadful things."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you think he will die, Betty, he will die," sobbed -Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Jean, Jean, do brace up," said Elma. "I -don't want to cry, and every minute I'm getting nearer -it. Harry says it's just a knock on the ribs, and the -navy men don't even go to bed for that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Liar," sobbed Betty, "Cuthbert isn't a softy."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, of course, if you want him to be bad, I can't -help it," said Elma. "I'm off to see where Mabel is."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel--well, this was just where the magnificence -of Mabel asserted itself. She had done a thing which -not one of the people who were arranging about getting -Cuthbert upstairs and into bed had thought of. At -the first sight of his white face and some blankets -with which he had been padded into a carriage, after -the accident which had thrown him from his bicycle -and broken three ribs, Mabel turned and went upstairs. -She put everything out of the way for his being carried -across the room, and finally tugged his bed into a -convenient place for his being laid there. She dragged -back quilts and procured more pillows, so that when -Cuthbert finally reclined there he was eminently comfortable.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You'll have to haul out my bed, it's in a corner," -he had sung out as they carried him in, and there -was the bed already prepared for him, and Mabel with -an extra pillow in her arms.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Good old Mabs," said Cuthbert. "I promote -you to staff nurse on the spot."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel was more scared than any one, not knowing -yet about the ribs or Cousin Harry's tale of the navy -men who went about with broken ones, and rather -enjoyed the experience. She was so scared that it -seemed easy to stand quiet and be perfectly dignified.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Come, Mabs dear, and help me to look for bandages. -The doctor wants one good big one," said the recovered -voice of Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton went about stirring up everybody -to doing things. He was very angry with Betty and -Jean. "Any one can sit crying in a corner," he declared, -"and we may be so glad it's no worse."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's our first shock," said Betty, who had rather -admired the sentiment of that speech of Elma's.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton could not help smiling a trifle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," he exclaimed kindly, "we don't want to -get accustomed to them. I should really much rather -you would behave properly this time. You might -take a lesson from Mabel."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nobody knew till then what a brick Mabel had been. -To have their father commend them like that, the girls -would stand on their heads. Lucky Mabel! There -was some merit after all in being the eldest. One -knew evidently what to do in an emergency. The -truth was that Mabel's temperament was so nicely -balanced that she could act, as well as think, with -promptitude. She had always admired dignity and -what Mr. Leighton called "efficiency," whereas Jean -and Betty believed most in the deep feelings of people -who squealed the loudest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nobody knows the agony this is to me," Jean -exclaimed in a tragic voice. "Feel my heart, it's -beating so."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go and feel Mabel's," said Elma. "I expect it's -thumping as hard as yours. And she got Cuthbert's -bed ready. She really is the leader of this family. -There's something more in it than putting up one's hair."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The doctors came down much more merrily than -they went up, and joined in the dining-room in coffee -and dessert while Harry stayed with the patient.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton seemed very deeply moved. The thing -had hurt him more than he ventured to say. A -remembrance of the white look on his son's face, the -appearance of the huddled figure in the cab, and the anxiety -of not knowing for a few moments how bad the injury -might be, had given him a great shock. His children -were so deeply a part of his life, their welfare of so much -more consequence than his own, that it seemed -dreadful to him that his splendid manly young son had -been suddenly hurt--perhaps beyond remedy. Mrs. Leighton -used to remark that she had always been -very thankful that none of her children had ever been -dangerously ill, her husband suffered so acutely from -even a trifling illness undergone by one of them. Now -she gazed at him rather anxiously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Maclean told them at last how it had happened. -Cuthbert had done something rather heroic. Mr. Maclean -recounted it, it seemed to Elma, in the tone -of a man who thought very little of the reckless way -in which Cuthbert had risked his life, until she -discovered afterwards that he as well as Cuthbert had -made a dash to the rescue.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a case of a runaway bicycle, with no brakes -working, and a girl on it, terror-stricken, trying to -evade death on the Long Hill. Cuthbert had rushed -down to her. Cuthbert had gripped the saddle, and -was putting some strength into his brakes, and actually -reaching nearly a full stop, when the girl swayed and -fainted. They were both thrown, but the girl was -quite unhurt. Something had hit Cuthbert on the -side and broken three ribs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel stared straight at Mr. Maclean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Where were you?" she asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Maclean looked gravely at her. "I was somewhere -about," he said with unnecessary vagueness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then you tried to save the girl too," said Elma -with immediate conviction. She greatly admired -Mr. Maclean, and resented the manner of Mabel's question. -"How beautiful of you both," she exclaimed enthusiastically.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Maclean seemed a little annoyed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I nearly ran into them," he growled. "Cuthbert -was the man who did the clean neat thing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel stirred her coffee with a dainty air, and then -she looked provokingly at Mr. Maclean. In some -way she made Elma believe that she did not credit -that he could be valorous like Cuthbert.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think it was most grand-iloquent of you," Elma -said to Mr. Maclean by way of recompense.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The word saved the situation. Where doctors' -assurances had not cleared anxiety from the brow of -Mr. Leighton, nor restored the placidity which with -Mrs. Leighton was habitual, the genuine laugh which -followed Elma's effort accomplished everything.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shall go right up and tell Cuthbert," said Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, you won't! Cuthbert mustn't laugh," said -Mrs. Leighton hurriedly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, mummy," said poor Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nobody laughed later, however, when all four girls -were tucked in bed and not one of them could sleep. -Betty in particular was in a nervous feverish condition -which alarmed Elma. She would have gone to her -mother's room to ask advice, except for Mabel's great -indication of courage that afternoon, and the certainty -that Mabel and Jean were both sensibly fast asleep -in the next room. She took Betty into her own bed -and petted her like a baby. On windy nights Betty -never could sleep, and had always gone to Elma like -a chicken to its mother to hide her head and shut out -the shrieking and whistling which so unnerved her. -But to-night, nothing could shut out the fear which -had suddenly assailed her that everybody died sooner -or later, and Cuthbert might have died that day. She -lay and wept on Elma's shoulder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last the door moved gently and Mrs. Leighton -came in. The moon shone on her white hair, and made -her face seem particularly gentle and lovely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've been scolding Mabel and Jean for talking in -bed," she said, "and now I hear you two at it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, mummy," replied Elma, "I'm so glad you've -come. You don't know how empty and dreadful we -feel. We never thought before of Cuthbert's dying. -And Betty says you and papa might die--and none -of us could p--possibly bear to live."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She began to cry gently at last.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't have four girls in one house all crying," -said Mrs. Leighton; "I really can't stand it, you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What--are Mabel and Jean crying?" asked Elma -tearfully, yet hopefully. "Well, that's one comfort -anyway."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton sat down by their bed. Long years -afterwards Elma remembered the tones of her mother's -voice, and the quiet wonderful peace that entered her -own mind at the confident words which Mrs. Leighton -spoke to them then.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I thought you might be feeling like that," she -said; "I did once also, long ago, when my father turned -very ill, until I learned what I'm going to tell you -now. We aren't here just to enjoy ourselves, or that -would be an easy business, would it not? We are here -to get what Cuthbert calls a few kicks now and again, -to suffer a little, above all to remember that our father -or our mother isn't the only loving parent we possess. -What is the use of being taught to be devoted to -goodness and truth, if one doesn't believe that goodness -and truth are higher than anything, higher than human -trouble? If you lost Cuthbert or me or papa, there -is always that strong presence ready to hold you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, mummy," sobbed Betty, "there seems -nothing like holding your hand."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton stroked Betty's very softly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Would you like a little piece of news?" she asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We would," said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The only person who is asleep in this household--last -asleep, is--Cuthbert."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"O--oh!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma could not help laughing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And another thing," said Mrs. Leighton. "Didn't -you notice? Not one of my girls asked a single -question about the girl whom Cuthbert saved."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How funny!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Betty's sobs became much dimmer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you know who she was?" asked Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," chimed both.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I don't know her name," said Mrs. Leighton. -She rose and moved towards the door. "But I know -one thing." She opened the door softly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma and Betty sat up dry-eyed in bed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Remember what I said to you to-night," Mrs. Leighton -said, "and don't be very ungrateful for all -the happiness you've known, and little cowards when -the frightening time comes. Promise me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They promised.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She prepared to draw the door quietly behind her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She is staying with the Story Books," whispered -Mrs. Leighton. Then she closed the door.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-story-books-call"><span class="large">CHAPTER V</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">"The Story Books" Call</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Mabel was sitting with Cuthbert when the Story Books -called.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They really did call.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And nothing could have been more unpropitious.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>First, they called very early in the afternoon, just -when Betty, with her arms full of matting for her rabbits, -rushed out at the front door. She nearly ran into -them. The matting slipped from her arms, and she -stood spell-bound, gazing at the Story Books. -Mrs. Dudgeon was there, looking half a size larger than any -ordinary person. An osprey waved luxuriantly in a -mauve toque, and her black dress bristled with grandeur. -She produced a lorgnette and looked through it severely -at Betty. Betty became half the size of an ordinary -mortal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud was with Mrs. Dudgeon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud was in blue.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud seemed stiff and bored.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is your mamma at home?" Mrs. Dudgeon asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Betty kicked the matting out of the way in a -surreptitious manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, please come in," she said shyly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was tragic that of all moments in one's life the -Dudgeons should have come when Betty happened to -be flying out, and they had not even had time to ring -for Bertha, who, as parlour-maid, had really -irreproachable showing in manners.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Betty tripped over a mat on her way to the -drawing-room. Betty showed them in without a word of -warning. Jean was singing at the piano--atrociously. -Jean might know that she oughtn't to sing till her voice -was developed. Elma was dusting photographs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nothing could have been more tragic.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The girls melted from the room, and left Mrs. Dudgeon -and Adelaide Maud in the centre of it, stranded, staring.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What an odd family," said Mrs. Dudgeon stiffly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud never answered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Leightons rushed frantically to other parts of -the house.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The second tragedy occurred.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton utterly refused to change her quiet -afternoon dress for another in which to receive -Mrs. Dudgeon. She went to the drawing-room as she was.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They ran to Cuthbert's room to tell him about it. -Cuthbert seemed rather excited when he asked which -"Story Book." Elma said, "Oh, you know, </span><em class="italics">the</em><span> one," -and he concluded she meant Hermione, who did not -interest him at all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why couldn't you stay and talk to them?" he -asked. "They wouldn't eat you. Who cares what -you have on? The mater is quite right. She is just -as nice in a morning costume as old Dudgeon in her war -paint. You think too much of clothes, you kids."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yet you like to see us nicely dressed," wailed Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course I do. Mabel in that blue thing is a dream."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel looked at him gratefully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, if only Mabel had been sitting there embroidering, -in her blue gown, and Bertha had shown them -ceremoniously in! How lovely it would have been!" -said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I couldn't have worn my blue," said Mabel with a -conscience-stricken look. "You know why."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Mabel--the rucking! How unfortunate!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It never dawned on us that we should ever know them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert looked from one to another.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What on earth have you been up to now?" he asked -suspiciously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mabel got her dress made the same as Adelaide -Maud's," said Betty accusingly. She rather liked -airing Mabel's mistakes just then, after having been so -sat upon for her own.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, it's a good thing that Adelaide Maud, as you -call her, won't ever come near you," Cuthbert remarked -in a savage voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But it's Adelaide Maud who's in the drawing-room," -said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert drew in his breath sharply.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Cuthbert, you aren't well."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's the bandage," he said. "Montgomery is a -bit of an idiot about bandaging. I told him so. Doesn't -give a fellow room to breathe."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He became testy in his manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You oughtn't to have all run away like that, like a -lot of children. Old Dudgeon will be sniffing round to -see how much money there is in our furniture, and -cursing herself for having to call."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Adelaide Maud was awfully stiff," sighed Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Our furniture can bear inspection," said Mabel with -dignity. "The Dudgeons may have money, but papa -has taste."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, thank goodness," said Cuthbert. "They -can't insult us on that point. This beastly side of -mine! Why can't we go downstairs, Mabel, and tell -them what we think of 'em?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm longing to, but terrified," said Mabel. "It's -because we've admired them so and talked about them -so much."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Adelaide Maud wouldn't know you from the furniture," -said Jean. "You may spare yourself the agony -of wanting to see her. I think they might be nice -when we've been neighbours in a kind of way for so long."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well--they're having a good old chat with the -mater at least," said Cuthbert.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I haven't confidence in mummy," said Jean. "I -can hear her, can't you? Instead of talking about the -flower show or the boat races, or something dashing of -that sort, she will be saying----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I know," said Mabel. "When Elma was a -baby--or was it when Betty was a baby--yes, it was, -and saying how cute Cuthbert was when he was five -years old----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If she does," shouted Cuthbert. "Oh, mother mine, -if you do that!" He shook his fist at the open door.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A sound of voices approaching a shut one downstairs -came to their ears. Each girl stole nimbly and silently -out and took up a position where she could see safely -through the banisters. First came the mauve toque -with its white osprey quite graciously animated, then -a blue and wide one in turquoise, which from that -foreshortened view completely hid the shimmering gold of -the hair of Adelaide Maud. Mrs. Leighton was weirdly -self-possessed, it seemed to the excited onlookers. She -had rung for Bertha, who held the door open now in -quite the right attitude. Good old Bertha. -Mrs. Dudgeon was condescendingly remarking, "I'm so -sorry your little girls ran away!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Little girls!" breathed four stricken figures at the -banisters.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud said, "Yes, and I did so want to meet -them. I hear they are very musical."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Musical!" groaned Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She just said that to be polite--isn't it awful?" -whispered Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hush."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Once more, our best thanks to your son."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton answered as though she hadn't minded -a bit that Cuthbert had been nearly killed the day -before.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So good of you to call," said she.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," cried Elma, with her head on the banister -rail, after the door shut, "I hate society; don't you, -mummy?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think you're very badly behaved, all of you, -listening there like a lot of babies," said Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Come and tell your little girls all about it," cried -Jean sarcastically.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton smiled as she toiled upstairs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It ought to be a lesson to you. Haven't I often -told you that listeners hear no good of themselves," -she exclaimed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, mummy, we are musical," reminded Mabel, -softly. "Think of that terrific compliment!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Their mother seemed to have more on her mind than -she would tell them. She puffed gently into Cuthbert's -room.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"These stairs are getting too much for me," she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, mater?" asked Cuthbert in an interrogating way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, Cuthbert, they are very grateful to you," -she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He lay back on his pillows.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't I know that patronizing gratitude," he said. -It seemed as though they had all suddenly determined -to be down on the Dudgeons. His face appeared hard -and very determined. He had the fine forehead which -so distinguished his father, with the same clear-cut -features, and a chin of which the outline was strong and -yet frankly boyish. He had a patient insistent way of -looking out of his eyes. It had often the effect of -wresting remarks from people who imagined they had -nothing to say.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This time, Mrs. Leighton, noting that familiar appeal -in his eyes, was drawn to discussing the Dudgeons.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mrs. Dudgeon was very nice; she said several very -nice things about you and us. She says that Mr. Dudgeon -had always a great respect for your father. -He knew what he had done in connection with the -Antiquarian Society and so on. Miss Dudgeon was -very quiet."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Stiff little thing," said Jean, with her head in the air.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She was very nice," said Mrs. Leighton. There -was a softness in her voice which arrested the flippancy -of the girls. "I don't know when I have met a -girl I liked so much."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Good old Adelaide Maud," cried Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A flush ran up Cuthbert's pale determined face. It -took some of the hardness out of it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did she condescend to ask for me?" he asked -abruptly. "Or pretend that she knew me at all?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She never said a word about you," said his mother; -"but----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But--what a lot there may be in a but," said Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She looked most sympathetic," said Mrs. Leighton -lamely. Cuthbert moved impatiently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What silly affairs afternoon calls must be," said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Miss Steven--the girl you ran away with--isn't well -to-day, and they are rather anxious about her. She is -very upset, but wanted to come and tell you how much -she thanked you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, lor," said Cuthbert, "what a time I shall have -when I'm well. I shall go abroad, I think."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma gazed at him with superb devotion. He seemed -such a man--to be careless of so much appreciation, and -from the Story Books too! Cuthbert appeared very -discontented.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, these people!" he exclaimed; "they call and -thank one as they would their gardener if he had -happened to pull one of 'em out of a pond. It's the same -thing, mummy! They never intend to be really friendly, -you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma slipped downstairs and entered the drawing-room -once more. A faint perfume (was it "Ideal" -or "Sweet Pea Blossom"?) might be discerned. A -Liberty cushion had been decidedly rumpled where -Mrs. Leighton would be bound to place Mrs. Dudgeon. -Where had Adelaide Maud, the goddess of smartness and -good breeding, located herself? Elma gave a small -scream of rapture. On the bend of the couch, where the -upholstering ran into a convenient groove for hiding -things, she found a little handkerchief. It was of very -delicate cambric, finely embroidered. Elma's first -terror, that it might be Mrs. Dudgeon's, was dispelled by -the magic letters of "Helen" sewn in heliotrope across -a corner. It struck her as doubtful taste in one so -complete as Adelaide Maud that she should carry heliotrope -embroidery along with a blue gown. She held her prize -in front of her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now," said she deliberately, "I shall find out -whether it is 'Ideal' or 'Sweet Pea.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She sniffed at the handkerchief in an awe-stricken -manner. The enervating news was thus conveyed to -her--Adelaide Maud put no scent on her handkerchiefs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This was disappointing, but a hint in smartness not -to be disobeyed. Mrs. Dudgeon must have been the -"Ideal" person. Elma rather hoped that Hermione -used scent. This would provide a loophole for herself -anyhow. But Mabel would be obliged to deny herself -that luxury.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma sat down on the couch with the handkerchief, -and looked at the dear old drawing-room with new eyes. -She would not take that depressing view of the people -upstairs with regard to the Story Books. She was -Adelaide Maud, and was "reviewing the habitation" of -"these Leighton children" for the first time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Dear me," said Adelaide Maud, "who is that sweet -thing in the silver frame?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said Mrs. Leighton, "that's Mabel, my eldest."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then Adelaide Maud would be sure to say with a -refined amount of rapture, "Oh, is that Mabel? I -have heard how pretty she is from Mr. Maclean."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then mother--oh, no; one must leave mother out of -this conversation. She would have been so certain to -explain that Mabel was not pretty at all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma sat with her elbows out and her hands -presumably resting on air. "Never lean your elbows on -your hips, girls," Miss Stanton, head of deportment, -informed them in school. "Get your shoulder muscles -into order for holding yourself gracefully." One could -only imagine Adelaide Maud with a faultless deportment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma carried the little handkerchief distractedly to -her lips, then was appalled at the desecration.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Oh--and yet how lovely! It was really Adelaide -Maud's!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She tenderly folded it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>How distinguished the drawing-room appeared! How -delightful to have had a father who made no -mistakes in the choice of furniture! Cuthbert had said -so. She could almost imagine that the mauve toque -must have bowed before the Louis Seize clock and -acknowledged the Cardinal Wolseley chair. It did not -occur to her to think that Mrs. Dudgeon might size up -the whole appearance of that charming room in a request -for pillars and Georgian mirrors, and beaded-work -cushions. It is not given to every one to see so far as -this, however, and Elma--as Miss Dudgeon for the -afternoon--complimented her imaginary hosts on -everything. As a wind-up Miss Dudgeon asked Mrs. Leighton -particularly if her third daughter might come -to take tea with Hermione.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So sweet of you to think of it," said the imaginary -Mrs. Leighton, once more in working order.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Out of these dreams emerged Elma. Some one was -calling her abruptly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Coming," she shrieked wildly, and clutched the -handkerchief.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She kept it till she got to Cuthbert. It seemed to -her that he, as an invalid, might be allowed a bit of a -treat and a secret all to himself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Adelaide Maud left her handkerchief," she said. -"We shall have to call to return it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He gazed at the bit of cambric.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Good gracious, is that what you girls dry your eyes on?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He took it, and looked at it very coldly and critically.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank you," he said calmly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Cuthbert," she exclaimed with round eyes, -"you won't keep it, will you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shall return it to the owner some day, when she -deserves it," said the hero of yesterday, with a number -of pauses between each phrase.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't say a word, chucky, will you not?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I won't," said Elma honourably, yet deeply puzzled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Imaginary people were the best companions after all. -They did exactly what one expected them to do.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It seemed rather selfish that Cuthbert should hang on -to the handkerchief. But of course they would never -have even seen it had it not been for the accident.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She surrendered all ownership at the thought, and -then gladly poured tea for the domineering Cuthbert.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are a decent little soul, Elma," said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you are very extraasperating," said Elma.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-mayonnaise"><span class="large">CHAPTER VI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">The Mayonnaise</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The girls gave a party to celebrate the recovery of -Cuthbert. They were allowed to do this on one -condition, that they made everything for it themselves.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This was Mr. Leighton's idea, and it found rapturous -approval in the ranks of the family, and immediate -rebellion in the heart of Mrs. Leighton. It was her -one obstinacy that she should retain full hold of the -reins of housekeeping. Once let a lot of girls into the -kitchen, and where are you?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Once let a lot of girls grow up with no kind of -responsibility in life, and where are you then?" asked -Mr. Leighton. "I don't want my girls to drift. No -man is really healthy unless he is striving after -something, if it's only after finding a new kind of beetle. -I don't see how a girl can be healthy without a definite -occupation."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They make their beds, and they have their music," -sighed Mrs. Leighton. "Girls in my day didn't -interfere with the housekeeping."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've thought about their music," said Mr. Leighton. -"I'm glad they have it. But it isn't life, you -know. A drawing-room accomplishment isn't life. I -want them to be equipped all round. Not just by -taking classes either. Classes end by making people -willing to be taught, but the experiences of life make -them very swift to learn. We can't have them sitting -dreaming about husbands for ever. Dreams and -ideals are all very well, but one scamps the realities -if one goes on at them too long. Elma means to marry -a duke, you know. Isn't it much better that in the -meantime she should learn to make a salad?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The servants will be so cross," said Mrs. Leighton. -She invariably saw readily enough where she must -give in, but on these occasions she never gave in -except with outward great unwillingness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, perhaps not," said Mr. Leighton. "They -have dull enough lives themselves. I'm sure it will -be rather fun for them to see Mabel making cakes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mabel can't make cakes," exclaimed Mrs. Leighton. -Her professional talents were really being -questioned here. Throughout the length and breadth of -the country, nobody made cakes like Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton grew a little bit testy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You know, my dear, if this house were a business -concern it would be your duty to take your eldest -daughter into partnership at this stage. As it is, you -seem to want to keep her out for ever."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton sighed heavily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's just it, John," said she; "I want to keep -her out for ever. I want them all to remain little -children, and myself being mother to them. Since -Mabel got her hair up--already it's different. I feel -in an underhand sort of way that I'm being run by -my own daughter--I really do."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"More like by your own son," said Mr. Leighton. -"The way you give in to that boy is a disgrace."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Cuthbert's different," said Mrs. Leighton -brightly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Poor Mabel," smiled Mr. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was an old subject with them, thrashed out again -and again, ever since Cuthbert as a rather spoiled child -of seven had had his little nose put out of joint by the -first arrival of girls in the imperious person of Mabel. -Mrs. Leighton had always felt a little grieved with -the absurdly rapid manner in which Mr. Leighton's -affections had gone over to Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In any case, try them with the party," said he. -"The only thing that can happen is for the cook to -give notice."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And I shall have to get another one, of course." -Mrs. Leighton's voice dwelt in a suspiciously marked -manner on the pronoun.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now there's another opportunity for making use -of Mabel," said her husband.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton let her hands fall.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Engage my own servants! What next?" she asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I don't know," said he. "Cuthbert does -heaps of things for me. You women are the true -conservatives. If we had you in power there would -be no chance for the country."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, you might have persuaded Cuthbert to -succeed you as Chairman of your Company, with a -steady income and all that sort of thing," she exclaimed, -"instead of rushing him into a profession which keeps -him tied night and day, and gives him no return as -yet for all his work."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I should never stand in the way of enthusiasm," -said her husband. "Cuthbert has a real genius for -his profession."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then why not find a profession for Mabel?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have thought of that. It seems right, however, -that a man ought to be equipped for one profession, -and a girl for several. I can always leave my girls -enough money to keep the wolf from the door at least. -I have an objection to any girl being obliged to work -entirely for her living. Men ought to relieve them of -that at least. But we must give them occupation; -work that develops. Come, come, my dear; you must -let them have their head a little, even although they -ruin the cakes. A good mother makes useless daughters, -you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, it's a wrench, John."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There, there," he smiled at her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And the servants are sure to give notice."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She regretted much of her pessimism, however, when -she gave the news to the girls. Not for a long time -had they been so animated. Each took her one -department in the supper menu prepared under the guidance -of Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>First, chicken salad inserted into a tomato, cut -into water-lily shape, reposing on lettuce leaves--one -on each little plate, mayonnaise dressing on top.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The mayonnaise captured Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But you can't make it, it's a most trying thing -to do--better let cook make it," interjected Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What about our party?" asked Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Very well," said an abject mother.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So that was settled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then fruit salad, immediately claimed by Jean, who -knew everything there was to be known of fruit, inside -and out, as she explained volubly. Mrs. Leighton's -quiet face twitched a trifle and then resolved itself -into business lines once more.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meringues! they must have meringues! Nobody -seemed to rise to that. Elma felt it was her turn.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They look awfully difficult," said she, "but I -could try a day or two before. I'll do the meringues."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This cost her a great effort. Mother didn't appear -at all encouraging, She snipped her lips together in -rather a grim way, and it had the effect of sending a -cold streak of fear up and down the back of the meringue -volunteer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Are they very difficult, mummy?" she asked -apologetically.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, no," said Mrs. Leighton airily. "After -mayonnaise, one may do anything."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can whip cream--beautifully," explained Elma. -"It's that queer crusty thing I'm afraid of."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shall be ruined in eggs, I see that very distinctly," -said Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After this, there seemed to be no proper opportunity -for Betty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Couldn't I make a trifle?" she asked modestly. -"A trifle at ten." Mrs. Leighton looked her over. -"Oh! very well--Betty will make trifle."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Betty looked as though she would drop into tears. -Elma put her hand through her arm and whispered -while the others debated about cakes, "I can find -out all about trifles. Miss Grace knows. She made -them cen--centuries ago, and Miss Annie never lets -the new cooks try."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Betty turned on her a happy face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Elma, you're most reviving," she said gratefully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then they had cakes to consider. Now and again -they had been allowed to bake cakes, and they felt -that here they were on their own ground. Betty revived -in a wonderful manner, and immediately insisted on -baking a gingerbread one.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nobody eats gingerbread at parties," said Mabel -in a disgusted voice. "This isn't a picnic we're arranging, -or a school-room tea. It's a grown-up party, and we -just aren't going to have gingerbread."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yet I've sometimes thought that gingerbread at -a party tasted very well," remarked Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, mummy!" Mabel seemed very sorry for her mother.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Betty had regained her confidence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shall bake gingerbread," she exclaimed in her -most dogged manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There are always the rabbits, of course," said Jean, -with her nose in the air.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Girls, girls," said Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Gingerbread one, walnut cream cake another. -What will you bake, Jean?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Orange icing," quoth Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And sponge cake cream for Elma," she added in -a thoughtful way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I do like the way you fling all the uninteresting -things at me," exclaimed Elma. "I think sponge -cake cream is the moistest, flabbiest, silliest cake I -know. We're putting cream in everything. Everybody -will be sick of cream. Why can't I bake a coffee cake?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why can't she?" asked Mrs. Leighton severely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Coffee cake, Elma," said Mabel. She had taken -to paper and pencil. "I only hope we shall know -what it is when it appears!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you'd better all begin as soon as you can," -said Mrs. Leighton; "so that we find out where we -are a few days before the party occurs."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She still looked with foreboding on the whole -arrangement.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cook preserved a hauteur on the subject of the -invasion, through which the girls found it very hard to -break.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Never seed such a picnic," she informed the -housemaid. "My, you should have been here when -Miss Betty burned her gingerbread!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That was a sad occasion, and after all, there was -nothing for it but the rabbits. Betty moaned over -the lost raisins, the "ginger didn't count." "I stoned -every one of them," she sighed. Mr. Leighton found -some brown lumps in the rabbit hutches. "That's -not the thing for these beasts," he said; "what is -it?" And Betty explained that it would be quite safe for -them, for (once more) hadn't she stoned every raisin -herself?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm glad you're a millionaire, John," said -Mrs. Leighton grimly when she heard about it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma made Betty try again. Elma's heart was in -her mouth about her own performances, but she hung -over Betty till a success was secured to the -gingerbread. Then she couldn't get the kitchen for her -coffee cake, because Mabs, in a neat white apron and -sleeves, was ornamenting a ragged-looking structure -of white icing with little dabs of pink, and trying to -write "Cuthbert" in neat letters across the top. She -had prepared a small cake--"just to taste it." They -all tasted. It seemed rather crumply.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Isn't there a good deal of walnut in it?" asked -Mrs. Leighton humbly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's nearly all walnut," said Mabel. "I like walnut."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean worried along with her piece.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nobody will survive this party," said she.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last Elma's coffee cake got its innings. She was -so nervous after the gingerbread fiasco that only the -ultimate good humour of Cook saved her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't hurry over it, Miss Elma; it's coming nicely. -I'll tell you when to stop beating."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nothing else would have guaranteed the existence -of the cake. Cook also saw to the firing. This gave -Elma such a delightful feeling of gratitude that she -opened out her heart on the subject of meringues. -Cook said that of course it was easy for them "as -had never tried" just to rush in and make meringues -the first thing. The likes of herself found them -"kittlish" things. You may make meringues all your -life, and then they'll go wrong for no reason at all. -It was "knack" that was wanted principally.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you think I've got knack, Cook?" asked Elma -humbly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cook gave her a clear night in the kitchen for the -meringues, as a reward for her humility. It was -marvellous that nearly all of them came fairly decently. -Cook found the shapes "a bit queer," but "them as -knew" who was providing the party wouldn't think -they were "either here or there."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll make it up with the cream," quoth Elma -happily. A great load was off her mind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She now devoted herself to Betty's trifle. As a -great triumph they decided to provide a better trifle -than even Cook knew how to prepare. Miss Grace -entered heartily into the plan. They were allowed to -call one morning when she was ensconced in the parlour. -Saunders brought in solemnly, first, several sheets of -white paper. These were laid very seriously on the -bare finely-polished table. Then came a plate of -sponge cake in neat slices, a thin custard in a glass -jug, several little dishes, one of blanched almonds -cut in long strips, another of halved cherries, one of -tiny macaroon biscuits, and so on. Miss Grace set -herself in a high chair, and proceedings began. Elma -wondered to the end of her days what kind of a cook -Miss Grace would have made if she had been paid for -her work. Everything was prepared for Miss Grace, -but she took an hour and a quarter to finish the trifle. -She added custard in silver spoonfuls as though each -one had a definite effect of its own, and she several -times measured the half glassful of cordial which was -apportioned to each layer of sponge cake. The -ceremony seemed interminable. Elma saw how true it -was what her father often said, that one ought always -to have a big enough object in life to keep one from -paying too much importance to trifles. She -immediately afterwards apologized to herself for the pun, -which, she explained in that half world of dreaming -to which she so often resorted, she hadn't at all -intended.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma and Betty, however, to the end of their days, -never forgot how to make trifle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Betty's trifle was a magnificent success.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean engaged a whole fruiterer's shop, as it seemed, -for her salad, and found she made enough for forty -people out of a fourth of what she had ordered. This -put Mrs. Leighton back into her old prophetic -position. Had she not told Jean a quarter of that fruit -would be enough?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel arranged everything in good order for her -chicken concoction, and at last had only the mayonnaise -to make. That occurred on the afternoon of the -party. Cuthbert and Harry and Mr. Maclean were -all about--supposed to be helping. May Turberville, -Betty's great friend, and her brother Lance, a boy of -fourteen, brought round various loans in the way of -cups and cream and sugar "things." The -table in the dining-room was laid for supper with a -most dainty centre-piece decked with roses and -candelabra. Most of their labours being over, the -company retreated to the smoke-room, where "high jinks" -were soon in process. Lance capered about, balancing -chairs on his nose, and doing the wild things which -only take place in a smoke-room.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the midst of it appeared Mabel, wide-eyed and -distressed, at the door. The white apron of a few -days ago was smeared with little elongated drops -of oily stuff. She held a fork wildly dripping in her -hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh--oh, isn't it awful," she cried, "the mayonnaise -won't may."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was the last anxiety, and, in the matter of the -pints of the Leighton girls, quite the last straw. Just -when they had begun to be confident of their party, -the real backbone of the thing had given out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dr. Harry removed a cigarette from his lips.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hey--what's that?" he asked. "Mayonnaise--ripping! -I knew an American Johnnie who made it. -Bring it here, and we'll put it right."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel spread her hands mutely. "In this atmosphere?" -she asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Oh! They had soon the windows open. Harry -insisted he could make mayonnaise. "You don't -meet American men for nothing, let me tell you," he -said. It was fun to see him supplied with plate, -fork and bottles. He looked at Mabel's attempt at -dressing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Good gracious!" he said, "where's the egg?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel turned rather faint. "I put in the white," said -she.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dr. Harry roared. Then he explained carefully -and kindly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mayonnaise is an interesting affair--apart from -the joys of eating it. A chemical action takes place -between the yoke of an egg and the oil and vinegar. -You could hardly expect the white to play up."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It was Cook," exclaimed Mabel. "She said -something about yokes for a custard and whites -for--for----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Meringues, you donkey," said Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dr. Harry made the mayonnaise.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lance Turberville cut the most shameful capers -throughout. He decorated Harry with paper aprons -and the cap of a chef, and stuck his eyeglass in the -wrong eye while Harry worked patiently with a fork -in semicircles. He was sent off with Betty and May, -only to reappear later dressed out as a maid-servant. -Nobody except Dr. Harry could take the mayonnaise -seriously while Lance was about. At that moment -the outdoor bell rang. With the inspiration born of -mischief, and before any one could stop him, Lance -rushed off and opened it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Three ladies stood on the doorstep.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He showed them solemnly into the drawing-room, -tripping over his skirt merely a trifle, and nearly giving -Bertha, who had primly come to attend to the door, -hysterics. He advanced to the smoke-room, where -the mayonnaise was nearly completed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mrs. and Miss Dudgeon and Miss Steven are in -the drawing-room," said Lance.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="visitors-again"><span class="large">CHAPTER VII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">Visitors Again</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>By itself an occurrence like this would have been -unnerving enough. Visitors on the afternoon of a party, -and such visitors! But that the Leightons should all -be more or less in a pickle in regard to the mayonnaise -and Lance's foolery seemed to take things altogether -over the barrier of ordinary life, and land everybody -in a perfect fizzle. The Dudgeons must have called to -see Cuthbert, who had never been down yet on these -occasions when Mrs. Leighton and Mabel and Jean -with perfect propriety had received them. Mabel had -had her innings as the eldest of the house, but had -retained an enormous reserve when speaking to Miss -Dudgeon. Not so Jean, who believed in getting to -know people at once. Elma and Betty had never -ventured near them since that dreadful day when they all -did the wrong thing at the wrong moment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Anyhow, the drawing-room is a perfect dream -with flowers. They can look at that for a bit," said -Jean, as they began to remove the regiment of bottles. -Dr. Harry's mayonnaise was creamy and perfect, and -Mabel was in high fettle correspondingly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you know," she said, "I don't care tuppence -for the Dudgeons just now. Let's go in and give -them a decent reception for once." It reflected the -feeling of all, that nothing could disturb their gaiety -on this day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma was reminded again how right her father was -in declaring that once one had an absorbing object -in front of one, trifles dwindled down to their proper -level. Why should any of them be afraid of the Story -Books? Certainly not at all, on a day when they -were about to have a ripping party, and the -mayonnaise at last had "mayed." Cuthbert gave a big jolly -laugh at Mabel's speech.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Come along, all of you," he said. "What about -those oily fingers of yours, Harry? What a jewel -of a husband you'll be! You, Lance, get off these -togs and behave yourself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lance promised abjectly to be an ornament to the -household for the rest of the afternoon. Something -in his look as he went off reminded Mabel of other -promises of Lance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Be good," she called out to him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, mother," exclaimed Lance, evidently at work -already tearing off the skirt, and looking demure and -mournful. He seemed very ridiculous still, and they -went off merrily to the drawing-room.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cuthbert," whispered Elma, "I'm so frightened. -Take me in."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm frightened too," whispered Cuthbert.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This made her laugh, so that as she held on to his -arm she approached Adelaide Maud in admirable -spirits. The party invaded the drawing-room as a -flood would invade it--or so it seemed to the Dudgeons, -who were talking quietly to Mrs. Leighton. The whole -room sprouted Leightons. Mrs. Dudgeon resorted -entirely to her lorgnette, especially when she shook hands -with Cuthbert. He stood that ordeal bravely, also -the ordeal of the speech that followed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You see the two very shy members of the family," -he said, bowing gravely and disregarding some sarcastic -laughter from the background. "May I introduce -my young sister Elma."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Here was honour for Elma. She shook hands with -crimson cheeks. Then came Adelaide Maud. She gave -her hand to Cuthbert without a word, but when Elma's -turn came she said with rather sweet gravity, "This is -the little lady, isn't it, who plays to Miss Grace?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma was thunderstruck; but Cuthbert, the magnificent, -seemed very pleased.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh--Miss Grace didn't tell you?" asked Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, I heard you one day, and Miss Annie told me -it was you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud sat down on a low chair, and drew -Elma on to the arm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What was it you were playing?" she asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"One is called 'Anything you like,' and one is 'A -little thing of my own,' and the others are just -anything," said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud laughed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The room was filled with chattering voices, and -Mrs. Dudgeon had claimed Cuthbert, so that it became a -very easy thing for them to be confidential without any -one's noticing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's quite stup--stup----" Elma stopped.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Stupid?" asked Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, stup-endous," said Elma thankfully, "for -me to be talking all alone with you." Her fright had -run away, as it always did whenever any one looked -kindly at her. The sweet eyes of Adelaide Maud -disarmed her, and she worshipped on the spot. "I've -always been so afraid of you," she said simply. "It -ought to be Hermione, but I know it will always be you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who is Hermione?" asked Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma suddenly woke up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I daren't tell you," said she.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud looked about her in a constrained way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wish you would play to me, dear," she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Was this really to be believed!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I could in the schoolroom," said Elma, "but not here."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Take me to the schoolroom," said Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma placed her hand in that of the other delicately -gloved one without a tremor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't let them see us go," she begged.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Three people did, however: Cuthbert with a -bounding heart, Mabel with thankfulness that the house -was really in exhibition order, and Jean with blank -amazement. Elma had walked off in ten minutes -intimately with the flower that Jean had, as it were, -been tending carefully for weeks, and had not dared to -pluck. There was something of the dark horse about -Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were much taken up with Miss Steven however. -She was very fair and petite, and had pretty ways of -curving herself and throwing back her head, and of -spreading her hands when she talked. She seemed to -like to have the eyes of the room fixed on her. Quite -different from the Dudgeons, who in about two ticks -stared one out of looking at them at all. Mr. Leighton -came in also, and what might be called her last thaw -was undergone by Mrs. Dudgeon in the pleasure of -meeting him. If she had her ideas on beaded cushions, -she had certainly no objections to Mr. Leighton. In -five minutes he was explaining to her that sea trout -are to be discovered in fresh water lakes at certain -seasons of the year.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Unfortunately, just then Mrs. Dudgeon happened -to look out of the windows. There were three long -ones, and each opened out on that sunny day to the -lawn at the side of the house. If Mrs. Dudgeon had -kept her eye on the Louis Seize clock or the famous -Monticelli, all might have gone well, but she preferred -to look out of the window. In spite of the general -hilarity of the party around her, her action in -looking out seemed to impress them all. Everybody except -Mr. Leighton looked out also, and then came an ominous -silence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Maclean giggled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This formed a link to a burst of conversation. Jean -turned to Miss Steven and engaged her in a whirlwind -of talk. Cuthbert vainly endeavoured to move the -stony glance of Mrs. Dudgeon once more in the direction -of his father. Dr. Harry wildly asked Mabel to play -something.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel never forgave him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Dudgeon immediately became preternaturally -polite, said she had often heard of the musical -proclivities of the Misses Leighton, and Mabel had really -to play.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Harry," she exclaimed, "I never played with -a burden like this on my mind, never in all my life. -The party to-night--and that mayonnaise (it will -keep maying, won't it?)--and Elma goodness knows -where with Adelaide Maud, and those kids in the -garden--couldn't Cuthbert go and slay them?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She dashed into a Chopin polonaise.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The kids in the garden were what had upset -Mrs. Dudgeon. There were two--evidently playing "catch -me if you can" with one of the maid-servants--the -one who had shown them in. She rushed about in a -manner which looked very mad. This exhibition -on the drawing-room side of the house! Really--these -middle class people!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Dudgeon extended the lorgnette to looking at -them once more.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A horizontal bar was erected in a corner of the lawn. -Towards this the eccentric maid-servant seemed to be -making determined passes, frantically prevented every -now and again by the two young girls. The chords of -the "railway polonaise" hammered out a violent -accompaniment. Mabel could play magnificently when in a -rage. Little Miss Steven was enchanted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nearer came the maid-servant to the horizontal bar. -At last she reached it. May and Betty sat down -plump on the lawn in silent despair. Lance pulled -himself gently and gracefully up. Not content with getting -there, he kissed his hand to the unresponsive drawing-room -windows. To do him justice, there was little -sign for him that any one saw him, and Mabel's piano -playing seemed to envelop everything. He did some -graceful things towards the end of the polonaise, -but with the last chords became violently mischievous -again. With a wild whirl he turned a partial -somersault. Mrs. Dudgeon shrieked. "Oh, that woman," -said she. Just then Lance stopped his whirlings and -sent his feet straight into the air. His skirts fell -gracefully over his face. Dr. Harry laughed a loud -laugh, and at last Mr. Leighton asked what was the -matter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's Lance," said Jean. "He has been playing -tricks all the afternoon."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Everything might have been forgiven except that -Mrs. Dudgeon had been taken in. She had screamed, -"That woman."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She began to look about for Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Will you be so kind as to tell my daughter that we -must be going," she said to Mr. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert volunteered to look for her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dr. Harry really did the neat thing. He went out -for Lance and brought him in with Betty and May. -He hauled Lance by the ear to Mrs. Dudgeon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Here you see a culprit of the deepest dye."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lance looked very rosy and mischievous, and Miss -Steven, who had been immersed in hysterical laughter -since his exploit on the bar, was delighted with him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am so sorry," said Lance gravely, encouraged by -this appreciation, "but I promised mother that I should -be an ornament to the company this afternoon."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Lance," said May, "how can you!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"By 'mother,' of course I mean Mabel," said Lance -to Mrs. Dudgeon in an explanatory fashion. "She -has grown so cocky since she put her hair up."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Dudgeon determined to give up trying to unravel -the middle classes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Maclean broke in. "Everybody spoils Lance, -Mrs. Dudgeon. It isn't quite his own fault; look at Miss -Steven."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Steven, always prompt to appreciate a person's -wickedest mood, had made an immediate friend of -Lance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They are a great trial to us, these young people," -said Mr. Leighton gently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The speech wafted her back to her gracious mood, -and for a little while longer she forgot that she had sent -for Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meanwhile Cuthbert endeavoured to discover what -had happened to that "delicious" person.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With swishing skirts, and gleam of golden hair under -a white hat, Elma had seen herself escort Adelaide -Maud from the drawing-room to the schoolroom. -Adelaide Maud sat on a hassock in the room where -"You don't mean to say you were all babies," and -Elma played "Anything you like" to her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud's face became of the dreamy far-away -consistency of Miss Grace's--without the cap, and Elma -felt her cup of happiness run over.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Does your sister play like that?" asked Adelaide -Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Far better," said Elma simply.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They heard the bars of the railway polonaise, and the -schoolroom, being just over the drawing-room, they had -also the full benefit of Lance's exploit.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud laughed and laughed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, what will Mrs. Dudgeon say?" asked Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She told Adelaide Maud about the party, a frightful -"breach of etiquette," as Mabel informed her later. -Adelaide Maud's face grew serious and rather sad.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What a pity you live in another ph--phrase of -society," sighed Elma, "or you would be coming too, -wouldn't you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Would you really ask me?" asked Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ask her?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Did Adelaide Maud think that if the world were made -of gold and one could help one's self to it, one wouldn't -have a little piece now and again! She was just about -to explain that they would do anything in the world to -ask her, when Cuthbert came into the room. Adelaide -Maud got so stiff at that moment, that immediately -Elma understood that it would never do to ask her to -the party.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert explained that Mrs. Dudgeon had sent -him to fetch Miss Dudgeon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She did not make the slightest move towards leaving, -however.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She looked straight at Cuthbert, and Elma could -have sworn she saw her lip quiver.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I believe I have to apologize to you," she said in -a very cold voice. "I cut out a dance, didn't I--at the -Calthorps'!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did you?" asked Cuthbert.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma wondered that he could be so negligent in -speaking to Adelaide Maud. She never could bear -to see Cuthbert severe, and it had the effect of terrifying -her a trifle and making her take the hand of Adelaide -Maud in a defensive sort of manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud held her hand quite tightly, as though -Elma were really a friend of some standing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I didn't intend to, but I know it seemed like it," said -Adelaide Maud in perfectly freezing tones.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert looked at her very directly, and seemed to -answer the freezing side more than the apologizing one.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh--a small thing of that sort, what does it matter"? -he said grandly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud turned quite pale.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank you," said she. "It's quite sweet of you to -take it like that," and she marched out of the -schoolroom with her skirts swishing and her head high. -No--it would never do to invite Adelaide Maud to the -party.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma however had seen another side to this very -dignified lady, and so ran after her and took her hand -again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You aren't vexed with me, are you?" she whispered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud at the turn of the stairs, and just at -the point where Cuthbert, coming savagely behind, -could not see, bent and kissed Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What day do you go to Miss Grace's?" she asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To-morrow at three," whispered Elma, with her -plans quite suddenly arranged.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't tell," said Adelaide Maud, "I shall be there."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Dudgeon departed with appropriate graciousness. -The irrepressible gaiety of the company round -her had merely served to make her more unapproachable. -She greeted Adelaide Maud with a stare, and -strove to make her immediate adieus. Mr. Maclean, -always ready to notice a deficiency, remembered that -Mr. Leighton had never met Adelaide Maud, and -forthwith introduced her. Adelaide Maud took this -introduction shyly, and Mr. Leighton was charmed with -her. With an unfaltering estimate of character he -appraised her then as being one in a hundred amongst -girls. Adelaide Maud, on her part, showed him gentle -little asides to her nature which one could not have -believed existed. Mrs. Dudgeon grew really impatient -at the constant interruptions which impeded her exit.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Leighton has just been telling me," she said by -way of getting out of the drawing-room, "that a little -party is to be celebrated here to-night. I fear we detain -you all." Nothing could have been more gracious--and -yet! Mabel flushed. It seemed so like a children's -affair--that they should be having a party, and that -the really important people were actually clearing out -in order to allow it to occur.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Steven said farewell with real regret.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know when I have had such a jolly afternoon," -she said. "I think I must get knocked over oftener. -Though I don't want Mr. Leighton to break his ribs -every time. Do you know," she said in a most -heart-breaking manner, "I've been hardly able to breathe -for thinking of it. You can't think how nice it is to see -you all so jolly after all."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When they had got into the Dudgeons' carriage, and -were rolling swiftly homewards, she yawned a trifle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What cures they are," she said airily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud, in her silent corner of the carriage, felt -her third pang of that memorable afternoon.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-party"><span class="large">CHAPTER VIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">The Party</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Nobody knew how anybody got dressed for the party, -and certainly nobody took any dinner to speak of. It -was laid in the morning-room, and Mr. Leighton said -throughout that roystering meal that never again, no -matter how many ribs Cuthbert broke or how much -sympathy he excited, would he allow them to have a -party.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The occasion became memorable, not only because -of Cuthbert or the mayonnaise, or the Dudgeons, but -because on that night Robin Meredith appeared. Mabel -and Jean lately had already in quite a practical manner -begun to wonder whom Mabel would be obliged to marry. -Jean was getting very tall, and showed signs of being so -near the grown-up stage herself, that she was anxious -to see Mabel disposed of, so as to leave the way clear.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The eldest of four ought to look sharp," she declared; -"we can't allow any trifling."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This seemed rather overwhelming treatment of -Mabel, who was only seventeen. But viewed from -that age, even a girl of twenty-one is sometimes voted -an old maid, and Mabel was quite determined not to -become an old maid.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There seems to be only George Maclean," she had -sighed in a dismal way. She was quite different from -Elma, who continually dreamed of a duke. George -Maclean would do very well for Mabel, only, as Jean -complained, "George Maclean is a gentleman and all -that kind of thing, but he has no prospects." So they -rather disposed of George Maclean, for immediate -purposes at least. Then came Mr. Meredith. After that, -in the language of the Leightons, it was all up with -Mabel. She would simply have to get engaged and -married to Mr. Meredith.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Meredith was of middle height, with rather a -square, fair face, and a short cut-away dark moustache. -He spoke in a bright concise sort of way, and darted very -quick glances at people when addressing them. He -came in with the Gardiners, and after shaking hands -with Mrs. Leighton he darted several quick glances -round the room, and then asked abruptly of Lucy -Gardiner "Who was the tall girl in white?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Here was the point where the fortunes of the Leighton -girls became at last crystallized, concrete. It is all -very well to dream, but it is much pleasanter to be sure -that something is really about to happen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>None of this undercurrent was noticeable, however, -in the general behaviour of that imaginative four. They -began the evening in a dignified way with music. Every -one either sang or played. Jean in her usual hearty -fashion dashed through a "party piece." Even Elma -was obliged to play the Boccherini Minuet, which she -did with the usual nervous blunders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As Dr. Harry placed the music ready for her, she -whispered to him, "Whenever I lift my heels off the -floor, my knees knock against each other."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Keep your heels down," said Dr. Harry with the -immobile air of a commanding officer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma found the piano pedals, and in the fine desire -to follow out Dr. Harry's instructions played Boccherini -with both pedals down throughout.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How you do improve, Elma!" said May Turberville politely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And Elma looked at her with a mute despair in her -eyes of which hours of laughter could not rid them. -If only they knew, those people in that room, if only -they knew what she wanted to play, the melodies that -came singing in her heart when she was happy, the -minor things when she was sad! All she could do when -people were collected to stare at her was to play the -Boccherini Minuet exceedingly badly. The weight of -"evenings" had begun already to rest on Elma. Her -undoubted gifts at learning and understanding music -brought her into sharp prominence with her teachers -and family, but never enabled Elma to exhibit herself -with advantage on any real occasion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was all the more inexplicable that Mabel could at -once dash into anything with abandon and perfect -correctness. Technique and understanding seemed born -in her. In the same way could she, light-heartedly -and gracefully, take the new homage of Mr. Meredith, -who made no secret of his interest in her from the first -moment of entering the drawing-room. Mabel received -him as she received a Sonata by Beethoven. With fleet -fingers she could read the one as though she had practised -it all her life; with dainty manners she seemed to -comprehend Mr. Meredith from the start, as though she -had been accustomed to refusing and accepting desirable -husbands from time immemorial. It put her on a new -footing with the rest of the girls. They felt in quite -a decided way, within a few days even, that the -old, rather childish fashion of talking about -husbands was to be dropped, and that no jokes were to -be perpetrated in regard to Mr. Meredith. It began -to be no fun at all having an eligible sister in the -house.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On this night, however, they were still children. -About forty young people, school friends of themselves -and Cuthbert, sustained that gaiety with which they -had begun the afternoon. Even the musical part, -where Mr. Leighton presided and encouraged young -girls with no musical talents whatever to play and -sing, passed with a certain amount of lightness. Before -an interlude of charades, a strange girl was shown in. -She giggled behind an enormous fan, and made a great -show of canary-coloured curls in the process. She -seemed to have on rather skimpy skirts, and she showed -in a lumbering way rather large shiny patent shoes with -flat boys' bows on them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a moment of indecision before Betty broke -out with the remark, "You might have had the sense to -hide your feet, Lance."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The canary-coloured curls enabled Lance to look -becomingly foolish. In any case, Mr. Leighton could -not prevent the intellectual part of the evening from -falling to bits. They had no more real music. -Instead, they fell on Lance and borrowed his curls, and -made some good charades till supper time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't help feeling very rocky about that supper," -whispered Jean to Mabel. "Yet we've everything--sandwiches, -cake, fruit and lemonade, tea and coffee. -What can go wrong now?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh! the thing's all right," said Mabel, who was -in a severely exalted mood by this time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They trooped into the dining-room, where girls were -provided in a crushy way with seats round the room, -and boys ran about and handed them things. Mrs. Leighton -gave the head of the table to Mabel, who sat -in an elderly way and poured coffee. The salad was -magnificent. Aunt Katharine had come in "to look -on." Mrs. Leighton told her how Mabel had arranged -forty-two plates that morning, with water-lily tomatoes -cut ready and chopped chicken in the centres, and -had nearly driven Cook silly with the shelves she used -for storing these things in cool places.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Wherever you looked--miles and miles of little -plates with red water lilies," said Mrs. Leighton. "It -was most distracting for Cook. I wonder the woman -stays."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What a mess," said Aunt Katharine. "You spoil -these girls, you know, Lucy."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh--it's Mr. Leighton," said she sadly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't think mayonnaise is a very suitable thing -for young people's parties," said Aunt Katharine -dingily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By this time the white cake with "Cuthbert" in pink -was handed solemnly round. Every person had a -large piece, it looked so good.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Every one said, "Walnut, how lovely," when they -took the first bite.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Every one stopped at the second bite.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cuthbert," called out Mrs. Leighton after she had -investigated her own piece, "I notice that your father -has none of the cake. Please take him a slice and see -that he eats it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton waved it away.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I do not eat walnuts," said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton went to him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"John, this is not fair, this is your idea of a party," -she said. "You ought to eat Cuthbert's cake."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He can't," cried Jean; "nobody can. It's only -Mabel who likes iced marbles."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You will all have to eat gingerbread," said the voice -of Betty hopefully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean started up in great indignation with a large -battered-looking "orange iced cake" ready to cut.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Betty always gets herself advertized first," she -complained. "Please try my orange icing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They did--they tried anything in order to escape -Mabel's walnuts. It occurred to the girls that Mabel -would be quite broken up at the wretched failure of -her wonderful cake--the Cuthbert cake too. It was -such a drop from their high pedestal of perfection. -Even mummy, who had been so much on her own high -horse at all their successes, now became quite feelingly -sorry about the cake. She gave directions for having -the loose pieces collected and surreptitiously put out -of sight, but the large dish had to remain in front of -Mabel. Mabel was still charmingly occupied over her -coffee cups. She poured in a pretty direct way and -yet managed to talk interestedly to Mr. Meredith. He -was invaluable as a helper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And now, at last," said she in a most winning -manner, "you must have a slice of my cake. I baked -it myself, and it's full of walnuts. Don't you love -walnuts?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I do," said Mr. Meredith.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>May Turberville nudged Betty, and Lance stared -open-mouthed at the courage of Mabel. He would do -a good deal for the Leighton girls, but he barred that -particular cake. An electric feeling of comprehension -ran round the company. They seemed to know that -Mabel was about to taste her own cake and give a large -slice to Mr. Meredith. They made little airy remarks -to one another in order to keep the conversation going, -so that Mabel might not detect by some sudden -pause that every one was watching her. One heard -Julia Gardiner say in an intense manner to Harry -Somerton that the begonias at Mrs. Somerton's were -a "perfect dream." And Harry answered that for -his part he liked football better. Even Mr. Leighton -noticed the trend of things, and stopped discussing -higher morality with Aunt Katharine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel seemed to take an interminable time. She -gave Mr. Meredith a large piece, and insisted besides -on serving him with an unwieldy lump of pink icing -containing a large scrawly "e" from the last syllable of -Cuthbert's name.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"E--aw," brayed Lance gently, and Betty exploded -into a long series of helpless giggles.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What a baby you are, Lance," said Mabel, amiably -laughing. She bit daintily at the walnut cake.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Meredith bit largely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was an enormous pause while they waited to -see what he would do.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert and Ronald Martin were near, aimlessly -handing trifle and fruit salad. Mr. Meredith helped -with one hand to pass a cup.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You know, Leighton," he said, "I have a great -friend, he was one of your year--Vincent Hope--do -you remember him?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert stared. One mouthful was gone and -Mr. Meredith was cheerfully gulping another.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What a digestion the man has," he thought, and -next was plunged politely in reminiscent conversation -regarding his College days.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel sat crunching quite happily at the despised -walnut cake.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lance approached her timidly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"For Heaven's sake," he said, "give me a large cup -of coffee for the ostrich. The man will die if he isn't -helped."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who on earth do you mean, Lance?" asked Mabel -innocently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Meredith. Don't you see he has eaten the cake."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel looked conscience-stricken. Her own slice -had not dwindled much.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is rather chucky-stoney, isn't it?" she asked -anxiously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's terrific," said Lance sagely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel looked quite crushed for a moment, so crushed -that even Lance's mischievous heart relented.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Never mind, Mabel," he comforted her. "If Meredith -can do that much for you without a shudder, he -will do anything. It's a splendid test."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A golden maxim of Mrs. Leighton's flashed into -Mabel's mind, "You never know a man till he has -been tried." It made her smile to think that already -they might be supposed to be getting to know -Mr. Meredith because of her villainous cake.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The piece we tested wasn't so bad," she explained -to Lance, quite forgetting that she had skimmed that -quantity in order to get plenty of chopped walnuts into -the "real" cake.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A few people in the room seemed fearfully amused, -and poor Mabel in an undefined manner began to feel -decidedly out of it. Lance went about like a -conspirator, commenting on the appearance of "the -ostrich." He approached Cuthbert, asking him in -an anxious manner how long the signs of rapid poisoning -might be expected to take to declare themselves after -a quadruple dose of walnut cake. Mr. Meredith -unruffled, still handed about cups for Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean was in a corner with her dearest friend Maud -Hartley.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Isn't it wonderful what love can do?" she remarked -quite seriously. It was a curious thing that Elma, who -dreamed silly dreams about far-away things, and was -despised for this accordingly by the robust Jean, did -not become romantic over Mr. Meredith at all. She -merely thought that he must be fearfully fond of walnuts.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The supper was hardly a pleasure to her--or to -Betty. Every dish was an anxiety. They could almost -count the plates for the different courses in their desire -to know whether each had been successfully disposed of. -There was no doubt about the trifle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What a pity Mabel didn't make it," sighed Jean. -After all, Mabel had only inspired the chicken salad, -and even there Dr. Harry had made the mayonnaise.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It isn't much of a start for her with Mr. Meredith," -she sighed dismally, "if only we hadn't told anybody -which was which."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Meredith took a large amount of trifle, praising -it considerably.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This alarmed Lance more than ever.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"One good thing does not destroy a bad thing," he -exclaimed. "The first axiom to be learned in chemistry -is that one smell does not kill another. It is a popular -delusion that it does. Meredith seems to have been -brought up on popular lines."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He posed in front of Cuthbert with his hands in his -pockets.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We are running a great risk," said he. "To-morrow -morning Meredith may be saying things about -your sisters which may prevent us men from being -friends with him--for ever."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Above the general flood of conversation, Aunt -Katharine's treble voice might now be heard.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mabel," she said in a kind manner, "I must -compliment you. When your mother told me about this -ridiculous party, I told her she was spoiling you as she -always does. In my young days we weren't allowed -to be extravagant and experiment in cooking whenever -a party occurred. We began with the 'common round, -the daily task.'" Aunt Katharine sighed heavily. -"But I never knew you could make a trifle like this."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel had been sitting like the others, trying to -subdue the merriment which Aunt Katharine's long -speeches usually aroused. The wind-up to this tirade -alarmed her however. She would have to tell them -all, with Mr. Meredith standing there, that the trifle -was not her trifle. She would have to say that it -was Betty's.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Before she could open her mouth however, the whole -loyal regiment of Leightons had forestalled her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Isn't it a jolly trifle!" they exclaimed. Mabel -could even hear Betty's little pipe joining in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, but I must tell you," she began.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert appeared at the doorway.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Drawing-room cleared for dancing," said he. -"Come along."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That finished it, and the girls were delighted with -themselves. But one little melancholy thing, for -all her partisanship, disturbed Jean considerably. -Mr. Meredith, on giving his arm to Mabel for the first -dance, was heard distinctly to remark, "You make -all these delicious things as well as play piano! How -clever of you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And Mabel looking perfectly possessed floated round -to the first waltz as though she had not made a -complete muddle of the walnut cake.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean did not regret their generosity, but she was -saddened by it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It all comes of being the eldest," she confided to Maud, -"We may stand on our heads now if we like, but if -anything distinguished happens in the family, Mabel -will get the credit of it."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="at-miss-grace-s"><span class="large">CHAPTER IX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">At Miss Grace's</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Miss Grace sat crocheting in her white and gold -drawing-room and Elma played to her. Then the -front door bell rang.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh please, Miss Grace," said Elma with crimson -cheeks, "that is Adelaide Maud."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She isn't coming, I hope, to disturb our afternoons, -and your playing," asked Miss Grace anxiously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Miss Grace, she has eyes like yours and listens -most interrogatively," said Elma in the greatest alarm. -The fear that Miss Grace might be offended only now -assailed her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Intelligently, dear," corrected Miss Grace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I never did truly think she would come," said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then, dear, it was not very polite to invite her." Miss -Grace could not bear that Elma should miss any -point in her own gentle code of etiquette.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In justice to little Elma, I invited myself." The -full-throated tones of Miss Dudgeon's voice came to -them from the door. "And what is more, I said to -Saunders, 'Let me surprise Miss Grace, I do not want -to disturb the music.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And then of course the music stopped," said Miss -Grace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She kissed Adelaide Maud in a very friendly way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, but it will go on again at once, if neither of -you are offended," said Elma. She was much relieved.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You must not be so afraid of offending people," -said Miss Grace. "It is a great fault of yours, dear."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As Adelaide Maud bent to kiss her, Elma was -struck with the justice of this criticism.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I believe I might be as fascinating as Mabel if -only I weren't afraid," she thought to herself. The -reflection made her play in a minor key.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Just let me say a few words to Miss Grace," had -said Adelaide Maud. "Play on and don't mind us -for a bit."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud spoke to Miss Grace in an undertone. -Elma thought they did it to let her feel at ease, and -correspondingly played quite happily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have seen Dr. Merryweather," said Adelaide -Maud to Miss Grace. "He says you must go off for -a change at once."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Dr. Merryweather!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace turned very pale.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Exactly. I did it on my own responsibility. He -was most concerned about you. He said that what -Dr. Smith had ordered you ought to carry out."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He was always very hard on Annie," said Miss -Grace, who saw only one side to such a proposal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud bent her head a trifle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You ought not to think of Miss Annie, at present," -said she. "It isn't right. It isn't fair to her either, -supposing you turn really ill, what would become of -her?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Neither noticed the lagging notes on the piano. -Instead, in the earnestness of their conversation, they -entirely forgot Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace shook her head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't help it," she said. "Whatever happens -to me, I must stay by my bed-ridden sister. Who -would look after her if I deserted her? What is my -poor well-being compared to hers!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The notes on the piano fell completely away. Elma -sat with the tears raining down her face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Miss Grace," she said brokenly, "are you -ill? Don't say you are ill."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The sky had fallen indeed, if such a thing could be -true, as Miss Grace in a trouble of her own--and such -a trouble--ill health--when Miss Annie required her -so much.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud looked greatly discouraged.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, Elma," she exclaimed abruptly, "Miss Grace -is only a little bit ill, and it's to keep her from getting -worse that I'm talking to her. We didn't intend you -to listen. Miss Annie will wonder why the piano has -stopped. Be cheerful now and play a bit--something -merrier than what you've been at."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She pretended not to see that Miss Grace wiped her -eyes a trifle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I make you an offer, Miss Grace. I shall come -here every day and stay and be sweet to every one. I -shall take Miss Annie her flowers and her books -and her work, and I shall bark away all nasty -intruders like a good sheep dog. I shall keep the -servants in a good temper--including Saunders who -is a love, and I promise you, you will never regret -it--if only you go away for a holiday--now--before -you have time to be ill, because you didn't take the -thing at the start!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>(Could this be Adelaide Maud!)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma flung herself off the music stool, and rushed -to Miss Grace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And oh, please, please, Miss Grace, let me go with -you to see that you get better. You never will unless -some one makes you. You will just try to get back -to Miss Annie." Thus Elma sounded the first note -of that great quality she possessed which distinguished -the thing other people required and made her anxious -to see it given to them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A break in Miss Grace's calm determination occurred.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh that, my love, my dear little love, that would -be very pleasant." She patted Elma's hand with -anxious affection.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud looked hopeful.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Won't you leave it to us?" she asked, "to Dr. Smith -to break it to Miss Annie, as a kind of command, -and to me to break it to Mr. Leighton as an abject -request? Because I believe this idea of Elma's is -about as valuable as any of mine. You must have -some one with you who knows how self-denying you -are, Miss Grace. You ought to have Dr. Merryweather -with you in fact, to keep you in order."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My dear, how can you suggest such a thing," said -Miss Grace. She was quite horrified.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Dr. Smith," she turned to Elma, "has ordered -me off to Buxton, to a nasty crowded hotel where -they drink nasty waters all day long."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They don't drink the waters in the hotel, and -the hotels are very nice," corrected Miss Dudgeon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It will be very hot and crowded and dull," wailed -Miss Grace. It was astonishing how obstinate Miss -Grace could be on a point where her own welfare was -concerned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma clasped and unclasped her hands.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A hotel! Oh, Miss Grace, how perfectly lovely!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There, you see," said Miss Dudgeon, wonderfully -quick to notice where her advantage came in, "you -see what a delightful time you will confer on whoever -goes with you. Some of us love hotels."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Perhaps nobody ever knew what a golden picture -the very suggestion opened out to Elma. Already -she was in a gorgeous erection with gilt cornices and -red silk curtains, like one she had seen in town. People -whom she had never met were coming and going and -looking at her as though they would like to speak to -her. She would not know who their aunts or cousins or -parents were, and she shouldn't have to be introduced. -They would simply come to Miss Grace and, noticing -how distinguished she looked, they would say, "May -I do this or that for you," and the thing was done. -She herself would be able to behave to them as she -always behaved in her daydreams, very correctly -and properly. She would never do the silly -blundering thing which one always did when other people -were well aware of the reputation one was supposed -to bear. Didn't every one at home know, before -she sat down to play piano for instance, that she -invariably made mistakes. Jean would say, "Oh, Elma -gets so rattled, you know," and immediately it seemed -as though she ought to get rattled. Nobody in the -hotel would know this. She saw herself playing to -an immense audience without making a single mistake. -Then the applause--it became necessary to remember -that Miss Grace was still speaking.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace sat with her hands folded nervously. -She was quite erect in a way, but there was invariably -a pathetic little droop to her head and shoulders which -gave her a delicate appearance. A very costly piece -of creamy lace was introduced into the bodice of her -grey gown, and on it the locket which contained Miss -Annie's portrait and hair rose and fell in little agitated -jerks. Miss Annie wore a corresponding locket -containing Miss Grace's portrait and hair, but these always -lay languorously on her white throat undisturbed -by such palpitation as now excited Miss Grace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, my dear," she said to Miss Dudgeon, "you -don't understand. The gaiety of the place is nothing -to me. It's like being here--where my friends say -to me how nice it is to have windows opening on to -the high road, where so many people pass. I tell -them that it isn't those who pass, it is those who -come in who count. You passed for so long, my dear."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She put her hand mutely on that of Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was true then. Miss Grace hadn't known her -all these years when the Leighton girls talked about -the Story Books so much, but only recently! The -Dudgeons must really be coming out of their shell.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma's eyes grew round with conjecture.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Why was Adelaide Maud so friendly now?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It was really Dr. Merryweather," said Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A faint flush invaded Miss Grace's pallor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is most kind of Dr. Merryweather. Years ago, -I am afraid we rather slighted him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh well, he keeps a very friendly eye on you, Miss -Grace, and he says you are to go to Buxton."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It became the first real trouble of Miss Grace's own -life, that she should have to go to Buxton. Adelaide -Maud arranged it for her, otherwise the thing would -never have occurred. It was she who persuaded -Dr. Smith to put it this way to Miss Annie that it would -be dangerous for her to have the anxiety of Miss Grace's -being ill at home, and most upsetting to the household. -It was better that the excursion should be looked upon -as a holiday graciously granted by Miss Annie, the -donor of it, than an imperative measure ordered by -the doctor for the saving of Miss Grace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace wondered at the ready acquiescence of -Miss Annie. She seemed almost pleased to let her -sister go. In a rather sad way, Miss Grace began to -wonder whether, after all, she might not have -released herself years ago. Would Annie have minded? -The progress of this malady which now asserted itself, -she had quietly ignored for so long, that only a darting -pain, which might attack her in the presence of Miss -Annie, had compelled her to consult Dr. Smith. He was -astonished at what she had suffered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You do not deserve to have me tell you how -fortunate it is that after all we have nothing malignant -to discover," he told her. "But you will become -really ill, helpless occasionally, if you do not take this -in hand now." Just after he had gone, Adelaide -Maud called. She came to ask for money in -connection with the church, but she stayed to talk over -Miss Grace's symptoms. The grey shadow on Miss -Grace's face had alarmed her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Aren't you well, Miss Grace?" she asked sympathetically. -Then for the first time since Miss Annie -had gone to bed, Miss Grace had given way and -confessed what the trouble was to Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It became astonishing to think how rapidly things -could happen in so tiny and so slow a place.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Here they were now, in a happy confidential trio, -the moving inspirator that smart, garden-party person, -Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Leighton girls could not believe it. They had, -with the exception of Elma, reached a hopeless -condition with regard to the Story Books. The Dudgeons -had so palpably shown themselves, even although -graciously polite throughout, to be of so entirely -different a set to the Leightons. None of the girls except -Adelaide Maud had called. And after what Cuthbert -had done! Elma certainly felt the difference that -might occur where Miss Grace and Miss Annie were -concerned. "Why haven't we a footman and an odd -man?" asked Jean viciously. "Then it would be -all right."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now came the invitation for Elma to go with Miss Grace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Both Mr. and Mrs. Leighton were greatly touched. -Mr. Leighton put his hand on Elma's shoulder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When you can make yourself indispensable to -your best friends, that is almost as great a thing as -playing the Moonlight Sonata without a mistake," -said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But both Mrs. Leighton and he refused to let Elma -go. They called on Miss Grace to explain. The fact -that they had left Elma in a state of despair that -bordered on rebellion made them more firm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Elma is so young," said Mrs. Leighton, "and so -highly strung and sensitive, I can't let her go with an -easy mind. She has visited so seldom, and then -invariably lain awake at nights with the excitement. -It wouldn't be good for you, Miss Grace. I should -have you both very much on my mind."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud was there.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I see your point, Mrs. Leighton," she said brightly. -"But Elma knows Miss Grace so well, wouldn't it be -just like going with you or Mr. Leighton."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton interposed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's more for the sake of Miss Grace. She must -have some one regarding whom she does not require -to be anxious. Elma is a dreamy little being, and -might turn home-sick in an hour, or frightened if Miss -Grace were a little ill--anything might occur in that -way."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But she is nearly thirteen. Some day she must -be cured of home-sickness, and Miss Grace will take -her maid," said Adelaide Maud. "Oh, Mr. Leighton, -don't hold in your daughters too much! It's so hard -on them later."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud looked quite pathetic.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It isn't so with all of them," said Mrs. Leighton. -"Jean is quite different. Jean can go anywhere."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Underneath Mrs. Leighton's kind, loving ways lay -a superb respect for the domineering manners of her -second daughter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I should never be afraid of Jean's lying awake at -night, or turning home-sick. She is much too sensible."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace became impressed with the virtues of Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then Jean might come," she proposed apologetically.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud could not forgive her. After having -awakened that radiant look in Elma's eyes, to weakly -propose that she might take the robust Jean!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton's eyes wandered to her husband.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Jean grows so fast. Perhaps a change would do -her good," she suggested vaguely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I should feel much more confident of Jean," said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So it was arranged.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma never forgot it. She wept silently in her -room, and accepted comfort from no one, not even her -mother.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There is one thing, Jean oughtn't to have said -to mother she would go. She put that in her mind -before mother went out. I knew it was all up then. -Jean will always get what she wants, all her life, and -I shall have to back out. Just because I can't play -sonatas without mistakes they think I cannot do anything."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma found Betty's shoulder very comforting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A remark of Adelaide Maud's rankled in Mr. Leighton's -mind. He was not altogether happy at having -to act the dragon to Elma in any case. Adelaide Maud -had got him quietly by herself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't let little Elma begin giving up things to -those sisters of hers too soon, Mr. Leighton. -Unselfishness is all very well. But look at the helpless -thing it has made of Miss Grace."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then she relented at sight of his face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm almost as disappointed as Elma, you see," -she said radiantly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton tried to put it out of his mind, but -Elma, sobbing in her bedroom, had at last reached a -stage where she couldn't pretend that nothing had -hurt her, a stage where the feelings of other people -might be reckoned not to count at all. It was an -unusual condition for her to be in. She generally -fought out her disappointments in secret. Her father -came to her finally, and began smoothing her hair in -a sad sort of way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You aren't looking on your own father as your -worst enemy?" he asked her kindly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma's sobs stopped abruptly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I was," she said abjectly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was part of the sincerity of her nature that she -immediately recognized where the case against -herself came in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm sorry about Jean," said Mr. Leighton. "It -didn't strike me at the time that it would be such a -treat to either of you, you see. And we chose the one -who seemed most fitted for going with Miss Grace."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mabel might have gone," wailed Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel! Not for a moment had the claims of -Mabel been mentioned. Mr. Leighton was completely -puzzled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma in an honourable manner felt that probably -she might be giving away Mabel to an unseeing -parent. Mabel wanted, oh very much, to stay at home -just then.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But of course Jean wanted to go," she said hurriedly. -"more than Mabel did."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Some day you will all have your turn," said Mr. Leighton -consolingly. "I know it's very dull being -at home with your parents! Isn't it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma laughed a little.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It isn't that," she said, "but it would be -lovely--in a hotel--with a maid, you know--of your own! -Such fun--seeing the people. And Miss Grace wanted me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton stroked her hair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I liked her wanting you. I shall never forget that," -said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh!" Elma gave a little gulp of pleasure. This -was worth a great deal. There was really nothing on -earth like being complimented by one's father. She -sidled on Mr. Leighton's knee and put her arms round -his neck. He still stroked her hair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You must remember that it isn't only in hotels -that you see life," he said, "or on battle-fields that -you fight battles. It's here at home, where one -apparently is only sheltered and dull. It's always easy to -get on for a day or two with new, or outside friends. -But it's your own people who count. Don't make -it disagreeable for Jean to go with Miss Grace." His -voice came in the nature of a swift command. After -all, her mother and father had arranged it, and the -consciousness came down on her of how she slighted -those two, dearer than any, in being so rebellious.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I won't," said Elma. Quite a determined little -line settled at her quivering lips, "But I never felt -so bad in my life."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh well, we shall see what can be done about that," -said Mr. Leighton. And it pleased him more than a -battle-field of victories could have done to see Elma -come into her own again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you think you could try the Moonlight Sonata -now?" he asked abruptly, looking at his watch.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was his hobby that he must keep at least one -girl at the piano in the evenings.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not without a lot of mistakes," said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But she played better that night than she had ever -done.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="compensations"><span class="large">CHAPTER X</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">Compensations</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Miss Grace brought home a delicate silver purse and -a silver chain set with torquoise matrix from Buxton -for Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton shook his head over the pretty gift.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bribery and corruption," said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But by that time Elma's soul had soared far above -the heights or depths of triumph or pettiness in -connection with the sojourn of Miss Grace. Life had been -moving swiftly and wonderfully. Jean indeed came home -from hotel life, full of stories of its inimitable -attractions; and nobody, although longing to be, had really -been much impressed. Jean served to mark the -milestone of their own development, that was all. She -had left at one stage and come back at another. Where -she had imagined their standing quite still, they had -been travelling new roads, looking back on their -childish selves with interest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel and Elma had been thrown much together, -and Mabel had grown to depend on the silent loyalty -with which Elma invariably supported her in the -trying time now experienced in connection with -Mr. Meredith. Where Jean, bolt outright, complained that -already Mabel had known him for a month or two, -and yet no hint of an engagement could be discovered, -Elma sympathized with Mabel's horror of any -engagement whatever.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It would be lovely to have a ring, and all that kind -of thing," Mabel had confided. "But fancy having -to talk to papa and mamma about it!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It did not impede her friendship with Mr. Meredith -however. He had found a flower which he intended -to pluck, and he guarded it to all intents and purposes -as one from which he would warn off intruders. But -the reserve which made Mabel sensitive in regard to -anything definite, her extreme youth, above all the -constant espionage of her parents and sisters, led him -to a tacit understanding of his privileges, a situation -appalling to the business-like Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If I had had my hair up, I should have had two -proposals at Buxton," said she, and the remark became -historic.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert put it in his notebook. Whenever he -wanted to overcome the authority of Jean he produced -and read it. She found her family a trifle trying on -her arrival. She wanted to be able to inform them -how they should dress, and had a score of other things -ready to retail to them. Yet most of them fell quite -flat, just as though she had had no special advantages -in being at Buxton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. and Mrs. Leighton talked this over together.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It makes me think," said Mrs. Leighton, "that -you are not altogether wrong in crowding them up at -home here. Jean got variety, but she seems to have -lost a little in balance."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Still, that is just where experience teaches its -lesson," said Mr. Leighton. "To get balance, one must -have the experience. Yet Mabel, in an unaccountable -manner, seems to be perfectly balanced before -she has received any experience at all."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! I expect she will still have her experiences," -said Mrs. Leighton in her pessimistic way. "No girl -gets along without some unpleasant surprise. Betty -is longing for one. Betty complains that in story books -something tragic or something wonderful happens to -girls whenever they begin to grow up, but that nothing -happens in this place. Nobody loses money--if you -please--and nobody gets thrown out on the world in -a pathetic manner to work for a living, for instance."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do they want to work for their living?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They do want to be sensational," said Mrs. Leighton -with a sigh, "and as Elma says, 'We are neither -rich enough nor poor enough for that.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank providence," said Mr. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His girls were much more of a problem to him than -the direct Cuthbert, who had shown a capacity for -going his own way rather magnificently from the -moment he had left school. Mr. Leighton was determined -to give his girls an object in life, besides the ordinary -one of getting married. "There is great solace in -the arts," he had often affirmed, making it seem -impossible that a girl should look on the arts as ends in -themselves, as a man would. "A girl must be trained -to interruptions," he used to declare. He made rather -a drudge of their music in consequence of these theories -in connection with a career, but the hard taskmaster -in that direction opened a willing indulgence in almost -any other. It alarmed him when Mr. Meredith -appeared so conspicuously on the scene, when Mr. Meredith's -sister called and invited Mabel to dine, when -invitations crossed, until the Merediths and themselves -became very very intimate. Elma had the wonderful -pleasure of being allowed to accompany Mabel. In the -absence of Jean, she fulfilled that sisterly position in a -loyal way, loving the exaltation of going out with Mabel, -becoming very fond of the Merediths in the process. -They had only recently come from town to live near -the Gardiners, and the whole place did its duty in -calling on them. There were only Mr. Meredith and his -sister, and both were of the intensely interesting order -rather than of the frank and lively nature of the like -of the Leightons. Mr. Meredith sang, and Miss -Meredith's first words to Mabel were to the effect that he -no longer wanted his sister to play for him after having -had the experience of Mabel as an accompanist.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Aren't you glad papa made us musical?" asked -Betty of Mabel after that compliment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel was glad in more ways than one. But it -seemed a little hard that just then Mr. Leighton should -insist on her going in for a trying examination in the -spring.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When she ought to be getting the 'bottom drawer' -ready," complained poor Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nothing moved for Jean in the family just as she -expected. She began to wonder whether she shouldn't -go out as a governess. </span><em class="italics">Jane Eyre</em><span> had always enthralled -her. It was one way of seeing life, to be very -down-trodden, and then marry the magnificent over-bearing -hero.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As a companion to Miss Grace, she had been a great -success. Indeed, even Adelaide Maud was bound to -confess that Jean had been just the person to go with -Miss Grace. Jean, in spite of her Jane Eyre theories, -was so down on self-effacement. Her frank direct -ways were the best tonic for a lady who had never at -any time been courageous. Miss Grace wrote -continually to Elma, "Jean has been very good in doing -this--or that," until Elma, swallowing hard lumps -of mortification, had at last to believe that she never -could have done these determined, cool-hearted things -for Miss Grace in the same capable manner. She often -wondered besides whether, even to have had the delight -of being at Buxton, she could have dropped the glamour -of finding a new sister in Mabel, and of being the daily -companion of Adelaide Maud. For the time had -now come, when, on being shown into Miss Annie's -drawing-room, her duke, clean-shaven and of modern -manners, had ceased to be really diverting, and in -fact often forgot to attend to her in the pause when -she awaited the coming of Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud kept her word. She reigned as -vice-queen over Miss Annie's household, indulging that lady -in all her little whims, for Miss Grace's sake, and never -omitted a single day for calling and seeing that Miss -Annie was comfortable. Adelaide Maud had theories -of her own. She said that every one in Ridgetown -attended to the poor, but that she believed in -attending to the rich.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now who would ever have looked after Miss Grace -if we hadn't?" she asked Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Dudgeon imagined she had other reasons for -being so devoted to Miss Annie, and considered that -Helen wasted her time in applying so much of it to -a bedridden invalid.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Whom do you see there?" she asked stonily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Principally Saunders," said Helen, whose good -temper was unassailable. "Saunders is a duck."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The "duck," however, was a trifle worried with -these changes, "not having been accustomed to sich -for nigh on twenty-five years, mum," as he explained -to Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the great boon lay in the restored health of Miss -Grace. She came home shyly as ever, but with a fresh -bloom on her face. What withered hopes that trip -recalled to life, what memories of sacrificial days gone -by, what fears laid past--who knows! She was very -gentle with Miss Annie, and boasted of none of her -late advantages as Jean did. Indeed, one might have -thought that the events of the world had as usual -taken place in Miss Annie's bedroom. But, with a -courage born of new health and better spirits. Miss -Grace called one day on Dr. Merryweather. In a -graceful manner, as though the event had only occurred, she -apologized to him for the slight offered by Miss Annie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I hope you know that you still have our supreme -confidence," she said. "It was your kind interest -which persuaded me to go to Buxton."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dr. Merryweather seemed much affected. He shook -her hand several times, but his voice remained gruff -as she had always remembered and slightly feared it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You must be exceedingly careful of yourself, Miss -Grace," he said bluntly, "Miss Annie has had too much -of you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Too much of her. Ah, well, she could never reproach -herself for having spared an inch of her patience, an -atom of her slender strength.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Remember," said Dr. Merryweather, "courage -does not all lie in self-sacrifice, though"--and he looked -long at the kind beautiful eyes of Miss Grace--"a -great deal of it is invested there."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He held her hand warmly for a second again, and -that was the end of it. Miss Grace went home fortified -to a second edition of her life with Miss Annie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud gave up her semi-suzerainty over the -masterful Saunders with some real regret. It was fun -for her to be engaged in anything which did not entail -mere social engagements. Miss Annie liked her -thoroughly, liked the swirl of her tweed skirts, the -daintiness of her silk blouses, the gleam of her golden hair. -Adelaide Maud had straight fine features, pretty mauve -eyes ("They are mauve, my dear, no other word -describes them," she declared), very clearly arched -eyebrows, and "far too determined a chin." "Where -did you get your chin?" asked Miss Annie continually.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My father had the face of an angel. It wasn't -from him," said Adelaide Maud. "I have my mother -to thank for my chin."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, Heaven help the man who tries to cross you, -my dear," said Miss Annie, who had a very capable chin -of her own, as it happened. The tired petulant look of -the invalid only showed at the droop to the corners of -her mouth.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma could no longer interest Adelaide Maud in -Cuthbert. It seemed as though he had no further -existence. Until one day when she told her that Cuthbert -had an appointment which would last throughout -the summer, and keep him tied to town. Then the -chin of Adelaide Maud seemed to resolve itself into less -chilly lines.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, won't you miss him?" she suddenly asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud was the most comprehending person. -She pulled Elma to her and kissed her when Elma said -that it wasn't "missing," it simply wasn't "living" -without Cuthbert.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm so sorry you quarrelled with him," she said to -Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud grew stonily angry.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Quarrel with him?" she asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It reminded Elma of the Dudgeon's first call</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, please don't," she cried in alarm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then I won't," said Adelaide Maud, "but will -you kindly inform me when I quarrelled with your -brother Cuthbert."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was exactly in the tone of one who would never -think of quarrelling with the Leighton set. Elma -grew quite pale, then her courage rose.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He thinks such a lot of you, and you don't think -anything of him. Just as though we weren't good -enough!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Elma," said Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And he likes you, and keeps things you drop, and -you won't even speak to him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Keeps things I drop!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The murder was out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I promised not to tell, how awful."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud grew very dignified.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What did I drop? Oh! I think I remember--my -handkerchief!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Dudgeon had reflected openly on the fact that -it had never been returned to Helen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wanted to keep it till we saw you again, but he -said he would give it to you when you were nice to him, -or something like that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Till I was nice to him!" The chin dimpled a trifle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Somehow, I would rather he kept it," said Adelaide -Maud dreamily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Shall I tell him that?" asked Elma anxiously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tell him--what nonsense! You mustn't tell him -a syllable. You mustn't say you've told me. It -would be so ignominious for him to hear that I knew -he had been thieving! Thieving is the word," said -Adelaide Maud. Although she talked in a very -accusing manner, her voice seemed kind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mayn't I tell him you didn't mean to quarrel?" -asked Elma anxiously. "You don't know what you -are to all of us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Here she sighed deeply.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Adelaide Maud, "you mustn't tell him -anything. I think he must just wait as he suggested, -until I am nice to him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Until you deserved it, he said," cried Elma, -triumphantly, remembering properly at last. "I knew -it was something like that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then he may wait until he is a hundred," said -Adelaide Maud with her face in a flame.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was difficult after this ever to talk to Adelaide Maud -about Cuthbert with any kind of freedom or pleasure.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma went home that evening in the bewilderment -of an early sunset. Bright rays turned the earth golden, -the leaves on the trees laid themselves flat in heavy -blobs of green in yellow sunlight, the sky faded to a -glimmering blue in the furthermost east. A shower -of rain fell from a drifting cloud and the drops hit in -large splotches, first on Elma's hat, on her hand, and -then in an indefinite manner stopped. As she turned -into her own garden, the White House seemed flooded -in a golden glow of colour.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then at last they heard thunder in the distance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma never forgot that shining picture, nor the -thunder in the distance. It seemed the picture of -what life might be, beautiful and safe in one's own -home, thunder only in the distance. The threatening -did not alarm her, but the remembrance of it always -remained with her. When thunder really began to -peal for the Leighton family, she tried to be thankful -for the picture of gold.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-split-infinitive"><span class="large">CHAPTER XI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">The Split Infinitive</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Guests at the Leightons' were divided into two classes. -There were those who were friends of Mr. Leighton, -and who therefore were interested in art, or literature, -or science, or public enterprise, but were not expected -to go further; and there were those who came in a -general way and who might be expected to be interested -in anything from a game of tennis to a tea party. Of -the first might be reckoned the like of Mr. Sturgis, who -painted pictures in a magnificent manner, and who, -at the end of a large cigar, would breathe the heresies -on the teaching of art which for ever paralyzed the -artistic abilities of Elma. Mr. Sturgis was quite young -enough for an Aunt Katharine public to quote his -eligibility on all occasions.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You don't understand, Aunt Katharine," Mabel -told her once. "Nobody seems to understand that -a man, even a young man, may adore papa without -having to adore us at the same time. Mr. Sturgis is -quite different from your kind of young man."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Different from Robin, I suppose," sighed Aunt -Katharine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, quite different from Robin," said Mabel -sedately. Robin had certainly from the first put -Mr. Leighton into the position of being his daughter's -father. Mr. Sturgis, on the other hand, found his first -friend in Mr. Leighton because he had such a nice -discriminating and most sympathetic enthusiasm for -Art. Besides which Mr. Leighton had the attributes -of an exceptional man in various respects.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The girls put Mr. Sturgis on the same high plane -as their father and admired him openly accordingly. -But there were others whom they put on this plane by -reason of their accomplishments and yet did not admire -at all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Amongst these was the "Split Infinitive."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The first call on the part of Professor Theo. Clutterbuck -was one never to be forgotten. He found a roomful -of people who, so far as his own attitude to them -was concerned, might have been so many pieces of -furniture. Mr. Sturgis had at least the artist's -discrimination which made him observe one's appearance, -and he also allowed one to converse occasionally; -but Dr. Clutterbuck rushed his one subject at -Mr. Leighton from the moment of his entrance, and after -that no one else existed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What more or less could you expect from the father -of the Serpent?" asked Betty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lance was responsible for the nickname.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Serpent, the elf-like daughter of the Professor, -staying next to the Turbervilles, had introduced -herself in a violent manner long ago to Betty and Elma. -Sitting one day, hidden high in the maple tree, she -cajoled her cat silently over the Turberville wall and -from a wide branch sent him sprawling on a tea table. -From the moment that the black cat drew a white -paw from the cream jug, and a withering giggle from -the maple tree disclosed the wicked little visage of the -Serpent, war had been declared between the Clutterbucks -and the Turbervilles. Lance occasionally -removed the barrier and met the Professor in company -with his own father.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"An awful crew," his verdict ran. "The Past -Participle (Mrs. Clutterbuck) can't open her poor -little timid mouth but the Split Infinitive is roaring -at her. Consequently she keeps as silent as the grave."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Will you kindly explain?" said Mrs. Leighton -patiently. "It's a long time since I studied grammar -in that intimate way. What is the Split Infinitive -and why the Past Participle?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's like this, Mrs. Leighton, simple when you -know--or when you are married to a brute like Clutterbuck," -said Lance mischievously. "I beg your pardon. -I know I ought to say that he is a genius and all that -sort of thing. But 'brute' seems more explicit."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go on with your story," said Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well--Clutterbuck married Mrs. Clutterbuck."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's generally the end of a story, isn't it?" asked Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lance was not to be interrupted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Trust a boy for gossip," exclaimed Betty. "Fire -away, Lance."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My aunt knew them," said Lance. "She, Mrs. C., -was a little dear, awfully pink and pretty you -know, and Clutterbuck, a big raw thin thing with wild -sort of hair and dreamy manners. Well, they were -awfully proud and pleased with themselves, and started -off for their honeymoon like two happy babies."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Will you kindly tell me how you knew this?" asked -Mrs. Leighton helplessly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I heard my aunt telling my mother," said Lance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There's a gleam in your eye which I don't quite -trust," Elma remarked sedately. "Go on."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Everything went well," exclaimed Lance, "until -one morning when Mrs. C., all rosy and chiffony -you know, said 'My dear Theo, I don't remember -to ever have been so happy.' Clutterbuck rose from -the table, as pale as death. She cried, 'Theo, Theo, -tell me, what is wrong?' 'Wrong,' cried Professor -Clutterbuck, 'you have used the Split Infinitive!' -Gospel, Mrs. Leighton," said Lance as a wind-up. -"She's been the Past Participle ever since."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was this amount of truth in Lance's story: -that Dr. Clutterbuck was distinguished in his own -career as Professor of Geology, that his English was -irreproachable; and that Mrs. Clutterbuck had -practically no English, since she was hardly ever known to -speak at all. She shunned society; and the same -introspective gaze of the Professor, which had skimmed -the Leighton drawing-room and found there only the -striking personality of Mr. Leighton, skimmed his -own home in a like abstracted manner, and took no -notice of the most striking personality in -Ridgetown--Elsie, his daughter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was the black cat episode which precipitated -the nickname of "The Serpent." Lance had always -declared that this girl had an understanding with -animals which was nothing short of uncanny. He -happened to read </span><em class="italics">Elsie Venner</em><span>, and the names being -alike, and temperament on similar lines, he -immediately christened her the Serpent. He caught her -out at numberless pranks which were never reported -to the diligent ears of Betty and May. One was that -she had climbed to his bedroom and purloined a suit -of clothes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no end to what might be expected of -this lonely little person.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Years ago, Betty and May had turned their backs -on her in the cruel haphazard manner of two friends -who might easily dispose of an outsider. Betty and -May despised the Serpent because she "had a cheap -governess," "couldn't afford to go to school," and -"wore her hair in one plait."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lonely little Serpent never properly forgave -these insults.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton did not wholly encourage Lance in -his tale.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I do not think I approve of your being so down -on these people," she said: "and if there is any truth -in what you say, it is very tragic about poor -Mrs. Clutterbuck, though she does not strike me as being -a very capable person."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Capable," asked Lance. "Who could remain -capable, Mrs. Leighton, with a cold tap continually -running freezing remarks down one's back. Don't -you think it's a miracle she's alive?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton preferred to remain on her smooth -course of counsel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It never does to judge people like that," she -exclaimed. "You do not know. To put it in a selfish -manner, one day you may find the Clutterbucks being -of more service to you than any one on earth."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She pulled at her knitting ball.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You girls talk a great deal of romance and -nonsense about people like the Dudgeons. Why don't -you think something nice about that poor little -Serpent for a change?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The girls remembered not very long afterwards the -prophetic nature of these remarks. That they should -cultivate the Clutterbucks for any reason at all, -however, seemed at that moment impossible.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dr. Merryweather called the same afternoon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was one of the coincidences of life that he should -immediately talk of the Clutterbucks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Know them?" he asked. "I think your husband -does, doesn't he? Do you call on the wife at all?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," answered Mrs. Leighton. "I never feel -that I could get on with her very well either. -Mr. Leighton meets the Professor and they talk a lot -together, but it's quite away from domestic matters."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It would be a bit of a kindness, I think," said the -old Doctor, "your calling, I mean. There's too little -public spirit amongst women, don't you think?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, wouldn't it be a little impertinent perhaps -to call, in that spirit?" asked Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I don't know. The child is running wild. -The parents are a pair of babies where healthy -education is concerned. Result, the child has no friends, -and expends her affection, she has stores of it, on her -animals. A dog gets run over and dies. What do -you get then? She never squeaks. Not a moan, -you observe. But she sits up in that tree of hers -with a cat to do any comforting she may want--and -her hair begins to come out in patches."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton's knitting fell to her lap.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Her hair is coming out in patches?" she asked in -a horrified voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes. What else would you have when a child -is allowed to mope. Something is bound to happen. -Clergymen are of use when a child's naughty. But -when it mopes itself ill, we are called in. Yet it's a -clergyman's task after all. This child, on the way -to being a woman, has never had one friend. Her -mother is too timid to be really friendly with any one, -and the husband is wrapped in his dry-as-dust -philosophy--and where are you with a tender child like -that?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But if Mrs. Clutterbuck can't be friendly with -any one, why should I call?" asked Mrs. Leighton -hopelessly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Your girls might become friendly with the child," -said he. "I'm afraid I don't make a very good clergyman."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They call her the Serpent, you know," said -Mrs. Leighton, "very naughty of them. I shall do my -best, Doctor. I didn't know her hair was coming -out in patches."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dr. Merryweather might be complimented on his -new profession after all. It had been a master stroke -to refer to the patches. Mrs. Leighton had known -of its happening after illness or great worry. That -a child should suffer in this quiet moping manner -seemed pathetic.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yet, I don't think I'm the person to do a thing -of this sort," Mrs. Leighton said hopelessly to Miss -Meredith later in the day. "I do so object to intrude -on people. I should imagine it indelicate of any one -else to do the same to myself, you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Very awkward, certainly," replied Miss Meredith -primly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, mummy," said Elma, "you know how kind -Miss Grace is or Miss Annie. They say 'Isn't Betty -a little pale at present?' and you get her a tonic. -You think nothing of that. It's just the same with -the Clutterbucks. Betty ought to behave herself -and go and call with you, and get the Serpent to come. -I think she looks a jolly little thing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma was quite alone in that opinion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Jolly!" said Jean, "you might as well talk of a -toadstool's being jolly. Still, Betty isn't a child. -She shouldn't be squabbling. Betty ought to call."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You know Dr. Clutterbuck, wouldn't you call -on his wife?" asked Mrs. Leighton of Miss Meredith.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I'm afraid I don't know him well enough. -Robin rather dislikes him--and, well, we have no -young people, you see."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Meredith was lame but definite.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then the sooner the better. Betty and I call -to-morrow," said Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They did, and to their astonishment found Mrs. Clutterbuck -dimly but surely pleased. Nobody remained -timid very long in Mrs. Leighton's kind presence, and -the mutual subject of days long ago when it was no -crime to talk of babies, broke the ice of years of -reserve in Ridgetown with Mrs. Clutterbuck. The -Serpent, after many pilgrimages on the part of the -one maid to the garden, finally appeared. Mrs. Clutterbuck's -restraint returned with the evident unwillingness -of Elsie's attitude. Both retreated to the dumb -condition so trying to onlookers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Serpent indeed paid Betty out for many months -of torture. Her calm, disconcerting gaze never wavered, -as she watched every movement of that ready enemy. -Mrs. Leighton made her only mistake in showing -definitely that she wanted to be kind to Elsie. That -little lady's pale visage looked fiercely out at her and -chilled the words that were intended to come.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was as Betty described it a most "terrifying -interview."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the midst of it came a telegram to Mrs. Clutterbuck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, you will excuse me," said she nervously. "We -are expecting a friend."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>During the interval of opening the envelope Elsie -disappeared. It had the effect of warming -Mrs. Clutterbuck to confidences once more.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is a great pleasure to me," said she. "My -young cousin is coming. He is quite a distinguished, -man. All Dr. Clutterbuck's people are distinguished, -but my family are different. Except Arthur, whom -Dr. Clutterbuck is quite pleased to meet. He is -coming to-night."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She called the maid.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tell Miss Elsie it is the 5.40 train. Mr. Symington -comes then."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She had a halting, staccato way of picking her small -sentences, as though insecure of their effect.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"People enjoy coming to Ridgetown," said Mrs. Leighton -lamely, in the endeavour to keep the wheels -of conversation oiled more securely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do they," asked the Professor's wife. Then she -stammered a trifle. "A--a--that is--I have never -had a visitor in Ridgetown till now. Dr. Clutterbuck -does not care for visitors. Arthur is different -from what others have been, I hope."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She seemed full of anxiety.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I gave up long ago trying to please Mr. Leighton -with my visitors," said Mrs. Leighton heartily -and quite untruthfully. "Husbands must take their -chance of that, you know." She rose to go.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Please tell Dr. Clutterbuck he is never again to -come to see us without you," she said, "and won't -Elsie come to tea one day?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On their departure Mrs. Clutterbuck turned to find -a blazing little fury in the doorway.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mother," cried Elsie, "Mother! How could you! -I shall never go to tea with Betty Leighton."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her mother turned two eyes full of light on her. -The light slowly died to dull patience again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We shall go down together to meet cousin -Arthur," she said quietly. It seemed as though her -bright thoughts must turn to drab colour -automatically where either her husband or child was -concerned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was characteristic of Elsie that, although blazing -with wild anger and wicked little intentions, she should -be unable to give voice to them at that moment. The -inevitable obstinacy of her mother where the routine -of the house was concerned, the drab colour of the -one day which was invariably like the other, the cruel, -cruel sameness of it all! It was impossible that -Cousin Arthur should not be drab colour also.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'd rather remain here," she said at last. There -was even some pleading in her tone.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Your father said we had better meet Cousin Arthur," -said her mother.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That was the remorseless end and beginning to -everything. "Your father said" meant days and -weeks and years of drab colour.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, let us go then," said Elsie. There was a -drowning hopelessness in her voice, so great an -emptiness that it was hard to believe she had merely used -the words--"Let us go then."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her mother accepted the answer without the sigh -which burned in her heart because it had no outlet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They proceeded to get ready to go out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton and Betty by this time were chatting -easily enough at the Merediths'. Mrs. Leighton had -the feeling of an inexperienced general after a very -indefinite victory.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I do not possess the talent of inflicting myself -gracefully on people," she said, "and the child is quite -extraordinary. However, I liked the mother; she -is a dear little woman."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Meredith was only partially interested.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She arranged to walk home with them, and they set -out in rather a slow manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can quite believe the child would be different in -other surroundings," said Mrs. Leighton. "What a -fine-looking man!" The one remark ran into the -other automatically. In later days it seemed -prophetic that the two people should be mentioned in one -breath.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton was passing the station where arrivals -from the train occurred. A cab was drawn up, and -into this a sunburned, athletic-looking young man -put some traps. Then he handed in Mrs. Clutterbuck -and Elsie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Betty was greatly impressed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It must be Mr. Symington," said she.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, for a timid lady, she has a very man-like -cousin," exclaimed Mrs. Leighton. "I don't wonder -she was allowed that one visitor at least."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Meredith turned her head carefully to a more -slanting angle, when she clearly saw the carriage drive -past.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you know, Mrs. Leighton," she said quite -nimbly and happily, "it seems very hard that she -should not have all the visitors she wants. Dr. Merryweather -is quite right. None of us have any public -spirit. I think I shall call on her to-morrow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So Miss Meredith also called on Mrs. Clutterbuck.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-burglar"><span class="large">CHAPTER XII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">The Burglar</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>That Miss Meredith should turn in a moment from -being freezingly uninterested in the Professor's wife, -to being more friendly than any one else, seemed from -one point of view very noble and distinguished, from -another puzzling and peculiar.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's a little dis-disconcerting," said Elma at Miss -Grace's. "We were so pleased at first when Miss -Meredith pointed out our talents to us. Now she is -pointing out Mrs. Clutterbuck's. And you know, -last week, we didn't think Mrs. Clutterbuck had any -talents at all."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah--that is one of our little tragedies," said Miss -Grace simply. "That we are obliged to outlive the -extravagance of new friends."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you think Miss Meredith won't keep it up -where we are concerned?" asked Elma anxiously. "It -would be a little sad if she didn't, wouldn't it? Like -deceiving us to begin with; and now she may be -deceiving Mrs. Clutterbuck."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I don't know. She may work wonders with -the Professor. It must be pure goodness that prompts -her, dear."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She must be used to being taken coldly," said -Elma. "The Professor glares at her, and Elsie charges -straight out to the back garden every time she calls."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is Mr. Symington there now?" asked Miss Grace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, he left in two days. Papa was charmed with -him. He and the Professor and papa had an evening -together when we were all at the Gardiners, and -Mrs. Clutterbuck came too. Papa says Mr. Symington -will make a name for himself one day. He is coming -back to Ridgetown for a summer, some time soon, he -liked it so much."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>If only for the sudden interest taken by the -Merediths in the Clutterbucks, it seemed necessary that -they should become very much a part of the Leightons' -life just then. But nothing could thaw the demeanour -of Elsie. Dr. Merryweather found her improved slightly, -but there were signs that she fretted inordinately. -Nothing she did was what other girls did, and she -was quite beyond the abstracted influences of her -parents.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud met the Professor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I hear you have a perfect little duck of a daughter," -said she airily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ha, hm," exclaimed the Professor, quite irresponsible -in the matter of English for the moment. He -had no real words for such a situation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Aren't you awfully proud of her?" asked Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Professor recovered. That word "awfully!" It -made him forget this new version of his daughter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So you are also in this conspiracy," whispered -Lance afterwards to Adelaide Maud. "It's no good. -A bomb under that fanatic is all that will move him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But in the meantime Elsie made some moves for herself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Leightons were interested in their own affairs. -Cuthbert was away, and Mr. Leighton had to make -a run to London. He took Mabel with him and that -occurrence was exciting enough in itself. As though -to show up the helplessness of a family left without -a man in the house, however, one night the maids -roused every one in alarm. A burglar, it seems, was -trying to get in at the pantry window. The girls, -who were getting ready for bed, went quaking to -their mother's room. Very frightened and most -carefully they made their way to the vicinity of -the pantry. There was certainly to be heard a faint -shuffling.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"See'd him as plain as day, Miss, leaning up against -the window. He moved some flower pots, and stood -on 'em."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lock the kitchen door, telephone for the police, -and light the gas," said Jean in a strained whisper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She immediately obeyed her own orders by telephoning -herself in a quick deep undertone, "Man at the pantry -window trying to get in."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then she took the taper from the shaking hands of Betty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've read in </span><em class="italics">Home Notes</em><span> or somewhere that when -burglars appear, if you light up they get frightened and -go away."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They had roused Aunt Katharine who had come as -company for a night or two and had gone to bed at -half-past nine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What's the good of frightening them if you've -sent for the police?" asked Aunt Katharine. "Better -let them get caught red-handed." She invariably -objected to being roused from her first sleep.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh goodness," wailed Betty. "It sounds like -murder." She felt quite thrilled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The maids cowered shivering in the passage.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I heard them flower pots again, Miss. 'E's either -got in or--'e's----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They distinctly heard the pantry window move.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, the door between is locked," said the quiet -voice of Mrs. Leighton, "and the police ought to be -here very soon now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean took the curlers out of her hair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wish they would hurry up," said she.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma got under Aunt Katharine's eiderdown.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I may as well die warm," she remarked with her -teeth chattering.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was not much inclination to jokes however, -and Elma's speech was touched with a certain abandonment -of fear. The situation was very trying. When -the police did arrive and ran at a quick, stealthy run -to the pantry window, they waited in terror for the -expected shuffle and outcry.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's really awful," whispered Betty, clinging in -despair to her mother.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't think why they are so quiet," said -Mrs. Leighton. "I think I must open the kitchen -door."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, ma'am, please, ma'am." Cook at last became -hysterical. "Don't move that door, ma'am; we've -had scare enough. Let 'em catch 'em themselves."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Betty sat down on the stairs and leant her head on -her hands.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They must be arresting them," she said, "with -handcuffs. And papa said they always have to read -over the charge. They must be reading over the charge -now, I think."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In the dark!" said Aunt Katharine with a certain -eloquent sniff.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They have lanterns, dark lanterns. Isn't it -beautiful?" said Betty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She rose in her white dressing-gown.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Listen," said she.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The door-bell suddenly clanged. Every one screamed -except Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I do wish you would keep quiet," said she. "The -police will think we are being murdered." She moved -to the door. But again she was arrested by piercing -directions.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Talk to them at the window, mummy. They -might be the burglars themselves. How are we to -know? Do talk at the window."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm extremely cold," said Mrs. Leighton, "and -I'd rather ask them in whoever they are, than talk to -them at an open window."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By the time she had finished, however, Jean, the -valiant, had the window open and had discovered a -policeman. They had "scoured the premises," he -said, and no thief was to be found. Mrs. Leighton -wrapped herself in an eiderdown quilt.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Will you come in, please, and open my kitchen -door? Cook thinks they may be there," she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With deep thankfulness they let in the policeman. -A sergeant appeared. He was very sympathetic and -reassuring. "Best not to proceed too quickly," he -said in a fat, slow way. "I have a man still outside -watching. So if 'e's 'ere, Miss, we'll catch 'im either -way. A grand thing the telephone."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He unlocked the door, and thoroughly investigated -the kitchen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No signs," said he, "no signs."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Leightons recovered some of their lost dignity -and crowded in. Only Jean however had the satisfaction -of hair in order and curlers discarded. How -brave of Jean to remember at that dreadful moment of -burglars in the house!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The sergeant had gas lighted and looked extremely -puzzled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'E 's been 'ere right enough," said he. "Window -open right enough. Was it fastened?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He turned about, but the chief evidence had departed. -With the advent of the policeman, cook and retinue -had suddenly remembered their costumes. Like -rabbits they had scuttled, first into the larder for -cover, then into their own rooms, where they donned -costumes more suitable for such impressive visitors. -Mrs. Leighton's eye twinkled when she found cook -appear in hastily found dress.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did you leave the window unfastened, cook?" -she asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cook was sure. "It was a thing as 'ow I never -forgot, ma'am, but this one night----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, there seemed to be some uncertainty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma's eyes during this were straying continually -to a piece of notepaper lying on a table. First she -thought, "It is some letter belonging to the maids." Then -an impelling idea that the white paper had some -other meaning forced her to pick it up. Every other -person was engaged in watching the search of the -sergeant and listening to his words.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Some one has been right in this 'ere kitchen. It's -the doors and windows unlatched that do it. Many -a time since I've been here as sergeant, I've said to -myself, 'We'll 'ave trouble yet over these unlatched -windows.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We have been so safe," complained Mrs. Leighton. -"The poor people here too--so respectable and hard-working!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Drink, ma'am, drink," said the sergeant dismally, -"you never know what it will do to a man."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He turned his lantern in his fat fingers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said Aunt Katharine with a sudden gasp, -"I could stand a plain thief, hungry, may be, but -master of himself. But a drunk man--it's dreadful."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She shivered and looked into corners as though one -of the thieves might be asleep there. The sergeant -and his companion made a thorough search of the house.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>None of them noticed Elma who sat as though cast -in an eternal shiver and who surreptitiously read the -scrap of notepaper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Trail." That was all that was written in words -but nimbly drawn on a turned back corner was a snaky, -sinuous serpent. It had the eyes and the accusing -glare of the expression of Elsie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma wondered how far she might be right in -keeping that document while the fat sergeant followed -up his cues, and described the burglar. He was -six feet at least it seemed, to have got in at the -window where he did. "Flower pots or no flower -pots, no smaller man could have done it." "Fool," -thought Elma. "Elsie, who can climb a drain pipe, -drop from a balcony, skim walls. Elsie had a way of -which he doesn't know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One thought that ran through her mind was the -wickedness of any one's having called Elsie by such a -name as the Serpent, and the tragedy of her having -found it out. There was some excuse for this latest -wickedest prank of all. The daring of Elsie -confused her. What girl would be so devoid of fear as -to move out at eleven at night and act the burglar? -None of their set had the pluck for it, to put it in the -baldest way. The idea that she might have been -caught by the fat sergeant appalled Elma. She saw -the scornful, wilful eyes of the Serpent dancing. Would -she care? Yet she was the girl who had moped for -the death of her dog till "her hair came out in patches."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was still staring at the trail of the Serpent when -the sergeant had finished his "tour of safety." After -all, it might not have been a prank of Elsie's. It -might have been a six-foot burglar. This accusing -serpent--well, one couldn't go on a thing of that sort. -It would be so amusing too that they were had practically -out of bed in such a panic. Aunt Katharine looked -very worn and disturbed. She would never forgive a -practical joke. Elma held the paper tight, and down -in her sympathetic, plaintive little soul felt she could -never accuse a fly, far less a sensitive wicked little -mischief like Elsie Clutterbuck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She could not help laughing at themselves. But -after all, who was looking after that wild child now? -She nearly asked the sergeant to make his way home -by the side lane by which she now knew Elsie had come. -Then the certainty that this self-satisfied person with -his six-foot burglar would never make anything of this -slippery fearless little elf burglar kept her silent.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The sergeant finished his tour with great impressiveness. -They were informed they might safely go to bed. -A man or two would be about to see that no one was -hanging round at all. It was very ridiculous to Elma. -"After all," remarked the sergeant, "you are very -early people. It is only eleven o'clock now. Hardly -the dead of night, ma'am!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We are generally less early of course," said -Mrs. Leighton, "but we were alone to-night. Mr. Leighton -and my son are away."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah, bad," remarked the sergeant. "It looks as -though our friend had an inkling to that effect."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma thought the interview would never be over.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was best to say nothing, or Mrs. Leighton would -have had the town searched for Elsie. It was best in -every way to crumple tight that incriminating paper -and wonder why in the wide world Elsie had done it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She met the Serpent the following day. There was -an impish, happy look of mischief on that usually savage -little face. Miss Meredith had been retailing to her -mamma the terrific alarm which the Leightons had -experienced on the previous evening. She met Elma -full face and the smile on her lips died.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why did you do it?" asked Elma bluntly as though -she had known the Serpent all her life. The Serpent -glared blandly at Elma, then fiercely resumed her -ordinary pose.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You came to my house, or your mother did, to -take me out of myself--charity-child sort of visit, you -know. I heard of that, never mind how. I came to -you to take you out of yourselves. I rather fancy I -did it--didn't I?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The ice of reserve had been broken at last and the -Serpent was stinging in earnest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma could only gaze at her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You think I'm a kind of 'case,' I suppose. Some -one to feel good and generous over. Just because my -hair is coming out in patches. Well, it's stopped -coming out in patches but I still have a few calls -to pay."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Weren't you afraid last night?" asked Elma in -complete wonder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They had moved into a shadow against the wall.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Afraid," blazed the Serpent, and then she trembled -as though she would fall.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't," cried Elma sharply, "don't faint."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I nearly did--last night. I nearly did. It was -dreadful going home. Who knows that it was I who -was there?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I do," said Elma, "that's all."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't tell a soul," wailed the burglar. "You -won't, will you? I know it was awful of me, but -such fun up to the moment, when--when I heard them -moving inside. Then my legs grew so weak and it -was like a dream where you can't get away. You -shouldn't have called me the Serpent."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We didn't," said Elma. "Not in the way you -mean. But because you seemed to know about animals -in a queer way--like Elsie Venner. Lance said she -was half a snake, but just because she knew about -snakes. It's difficult to explain."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lance?" asked the Serpent.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, why don't you speak to Lance now and then?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I pay him a higher compliment," said the queer -little Serpent. "I wore his clothes last night."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said Elma. "Oh! yet you could faint to-day--or -nearly so."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Isn't it wicked," said the Serpent. "A boy wouldn't -have given in. They do much worse, and don't give -way at the knees, you know. I only opened the window -and threw in the note. It was nothing. I meant you -just to be puzzled. I was there early and couldn't -find a suitable window or a door, so I waited till the -maids went to bed. They left a little window half open."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mamma ought to dismiss cook," said Elma primly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a streak of the sunlight of confidence which -did not illuminate the Serpent again for many days -to come. Elma, however, at the time, and until she once -more met the scornful glare of reserve habitual to that -person, felt as though she had found a friend. They -said good-bye in fairly jocular spirits, and Elma -rushed home to give at least her "all-to-be-depended-upon" -mother the news.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When she entered the drawing-room, however, Jean -was describing the burglary to a company of people. -Little shrieks and "Ohs" and "Oh, however did you -do it?" "I should have died, really I should," were -to be heard.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean's burglar was six feet two by this time and he -had an "accomplice."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma thought she would choose another occasion on -which to give her news to Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-reconciliation"><span class="large">CHAPTER XIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">A Reconciliation</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Mr. Leighton was very sympathetic over the burglar. -He heard of the occurrence in two ways, first in the -fiery excited recital of Jean, and then in confidence -from Elma. Mrs. Leighton was there also.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I never!" she said. "That poor little lonely -soul stealing about at night! it's dreadful." She never -thought for a moment of how foolish it made the rest -of them seem.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She isn't at all afraid of the dark, or the woods, or -storms, or anything of that kind," said Elma. "She -loves being out with her black cat when it's pitch dark. -But she's terrified now of policemen, and I don't think -she will ever call properly on us all her life. She's -perfectly savage with us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton stroked his hair in a preoccupied manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"One has to beware of what I should call professional -goodness," he said mildly. "It's pleasant, -of course, to feel that one does a nice action in being -kind to the like of that stormy little person. But -when she detects the effort at kindliness! Well, one -ought sometimes to think that it must be humiliating -to the needy to be palpably helped by the prosperous. -There are various kinds of wealth, not all of them -meaning money. This child has had no affection. Naturally -she scorns a charitable gift of it. It's almost a slight -on her own parents, you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There," said Mrs. Leighton in a dismal way, "I -told Dr. Merryweather I disliked intruding. It was -an intrusion."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, it will be all right," replied Mr. Leighton. -"Don't plague the child over this romp of being a -burglar, that's all. And don't patronize her," he said -to Elma. "Give her a chance of conferring something -herself. It's sometimes a more dignified way of -finding a friend."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma felt some of her high ideas of reclaiming the -serpent topple. Miss Grace had advised differently. -"Be kind and helpful," she had declared. Now her -father seemed to think that it was the serpent's task -to be the generous supporting figure. It made Elma -just a little wild with that blazing little serpent Elsie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For a year and a half their friendship with the serpent -existed over crossed swords. She recovered in health, -but the routine of her life never wavered. The force -of habit in connection with her mother, that the -Professor's tempestuous irritable habits should rule the -house and that she should be kept quaking in a silence -which must not be broken, could not be dispelled even -by the diligent visits of Miss Meredith. Adelaide -Maud drew off after the first encounter with the Professor. -"I'm afraid that there will just have to be a tragic -outburst every time Mrs. Clutterbuck says 'a new pair -of shoes' instead of 'a pair of new shoes,'" said she, -"nothing can save her now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Soon the efforts of Dr. Merryweather were forgotten -in the impenetrable attitude of the whole family.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the end of eighteen months, most of Ridgetown -was collected one day for a river regatta at a reach -a few miles up from the town. Every one of any -consequence except Lance, as Betty put it, was present. -They rowed in boats and watched the races, picnicked -and walked on the banks. One wonderful occurrence -was the presence of Mrs. Clutterbuck and the Serpent. -Mr. Symington had appeared once more and done something -this time to penetrate the aloofness of their existence. -He had come once or twice to the Leightons' -with the Professor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The girls put this friend of their father's on a new -plane.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He could be engrossed in talk with their father and -the Professor, and yet not gaze past the rest of the family -as though they were "guinea pigs."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They now knew Mr. Sturgis well enough to tell him -that he thought nothing more of them than that they -were a land of decorative guinea pig. Mr. Symington, -however, who had not seen them grow out of the childish -stage, but had come on them one memorable evening -when the picture of them, for a new person, was really -something rather delightful to remember--Mr. Symington -was immediately put on a pedestal of a new order. -The difference was explained to Robin, who growled -darkly. "It's perfectly charming to be received with -deference by the man who is splendid enough to be -received with deference by our own father," explained -Jean. "Don't you see?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Robin saw in a savage manner. He had never been -on this particular pedestal. With all his sister's -enthusiasm for Mr. Symington, he could see little to like in -that person.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Symington studied in lonely parts of the world -the wild life an ordinary sportsman would bring down -with his gun. He was manly, yet learned. Delightfully -young, yet stamped with the dignity of experience. -Robin in his presence felt a middle-aged oppression -in himself, which could not be explained by years.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was particularly galled by his sister's persistence -in keeping near the Clutterbuck party on the Saturday -of the river regatta.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There were exciting moments of boat races, duck -races, swimming competitions, and so forth. Then -came the afternoon when everybody picnicked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Leightons had a crowd of friends with them, -and took tea near the pool by the weir.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>May undertook to teach Betty how to scull in an -outrigger, which one of the racers had left in their care -for the moment. Betty was daring and rather skilful -to begin with. It seemed lamentable that with so -many looking on, she should suddenly catch a real -crab. May, standing on the bank, screamed to her, as -Betty's frail little boat went swinging rather wildly -under the trees of an island.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Look here," cried Jean to May sharply. "What -made you two begin playing in such a dangerous part? -Sit still," she shouted wildly to Betty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It seemed as if no one had understood that there was -any danger in these little pranks of Betty's, till her -boat was swept into mid-stream, and ran hard into -certain collision on the island. Jean called for some -one to take a boat out to Betty. Then the full danger -of the situation flashed on them. Just a few minutes -before, a detachment had gone up to the starting point, -and no boat was left in which one might reach Betty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sit still," shouted Jean again, "hold on to the -trees or something."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It had occurred in a flash. Betty in the quiet water -was all very well, but Betty, the timid, out alone on a -swirling river with a weir in the very near distance, -this Betty lost her head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean's scream, "Sit still," had the effect of frightening -her more than anything. "It was what one was advised -to do when horses were running off, or something -particularly dreadful was about to happen," thought Betty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She first lost an oar, then splashed herself wildly in -the attempt to recover it. The sudden rocking of her -"shining little cockle shell," as she had called it only -a minute before, alarmed her more than anything. -She was being swept on the island, deep water everywhere -around it. With a gasp of fear she rose to catch -the tree branches, missed, upset the cockle shell at last, -and fell into the river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Those on the bank, for a swift moment, "or was it -for centuries," stood paralysed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh!" cried Jean, "oh!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a swift sudden rush behind them, "like a -swallow diving through a cornfield," said May later. -A tense, victorious little figure, flinging off hat and a -garment of sorts; a splash; a dark head driving in an -incredibly swift way through water impatiently -almost trodden upon by two little wildly skimming -hands, then a voice when Betty rose: "Lie on your -back, I'll be with you in a minute," and the valiant little -Serpent was off to the saving of Betty. It was -sufficiently terrifying on account of the weir. If Elsie -reached Betty, would she have the strength to bring -her back. If Elsie did not reach Betty, Betty could -not swim. It was dreadful. Jean, second-rate swimmer -as she was, would have been in herself by this time, but -that Elma held her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She's got her," she whispered with a grey face. -They shouted when the Serpent turned slightly with -Betty. She was like a fierce little schoolmistress. -"Don't interfere with me, he on your back. Keep lying -on your back," and Betty obeyed. At the supreme -moment the Serpent had come into her own, and -displayed at last the talent which till then had only been -expended on her cats and dogs. "Lie still," she growled, -and obediently, almost trustingly, Betty lay like a -little white-faced drowned Ophelia. Then "Come along -with that boat," sang out the Serpent cheerily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Round the bend of the river above, at sound of their -cries had come "Hereward the Wake, oh how -magnificent," sobbed Jean. It was Mr. Symington.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Serpent, with hard serviceable little strokes, -piloted Betty lightly out of the strength of the current. -Mr. Symington was past and gently back to them -before a minute had elapsed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Grip the gunwale," he said cheerily to Elsie. It -was the tone of a man addressing his compatriot.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>(Oh! how magnificent of the Serpent.)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now," he said. "Keep a tight hold on her still. -I must get you into quiet water." He pulled hard. -Immediately he had them into the backwater. It -was rather splendid to see him get hold of a tree, tie -the boat, and be at the side of the Serpent before one -could breathe. He had rowed in with the full strength -of a strong man, and in a minute he was as tenderly -raising Betty. He had never properly removed his -eyes from her face. "She was just faulting. You -held on well," he said approvingly. "Don't let her -sisters see her at present." He lifted Betty to the bank.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Quick, open your eyes," he said commandingly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Look here," called the Serpent. She had scrambled -neatly out by herself, "Betty, Betty Leighton, oh! -Betty, open your eyes." There was an answering quiver. -"Quick, Betty, before your sisters come. Don't frighten -them. Open your eyes, Betty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Symington rubbed Betty's hands smoothly in -a quick experienced manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Betty opened her eyes and looked at the Serpent.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Elsie," she said, "Elsie, you sweet little -Serpent!" It was an end to the crossed swords feud. -Elsie took her in her arms and cried.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the girls arrived panic-stricken they found -Mr. Symington trying to get a coherent answer to -his orders from two bedraggled girls, who could do -nothing but weep over each other. The brave little -Serpent had lost her nerve once more.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh!" she said, "it's very wicked to be a girl. Boys -wouldn't give way like this."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean looked at her narrowly, "Do you always go -about in gymnasium dress, ready to save people?" -she asked, with the remains of fear in her voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The brave little Serpent looked down on her costume, -and the red which glowed in her cheeks only from -mortification ran slowly up and dyed her pale face crimson. -"Oh!" she said, "oh!" and sat speechless.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Betty sat up shivering. "I do call that presence of -mind, don't you? She flung off her skirt, didn't you, -dear?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Serpent would have answered except that the -"dear" unnerved her. She faded to tears once more.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Come, come," said Mr. Symington.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And at that, as they afterwards remembered, Mabel "came."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She came through the trees in a white dress, and -the sunshine threw patches of beautiful colour on her -hair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, little Betty!" she cried.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then she saw the Serpent.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She took Elsie right up against the beautiful white -dress and kissed her. Mabel could not speak at all. -But her eyes glowed. She turned them full on -Mr. Symington. "We must take these children home at -once," she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Symington looked as though he had been rescuing -an army. "Yes," said he gravely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Robin had trailed in looking somewhat dissatisfied.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Jean would go, wouldn't she?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh no, I don't want mummy to know," said Mabel. -"She is up there with Mrs. Clutterbuck. These two -must go home, and get hot baths, and be put to bed and -sat upon, or they won't stay there. Where can we -get a cab, I wonder?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Here," said a voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud now came through that beautiful -pathway of sun-patched trees with Elma. "I've heard -all about it," said she, "and we have the carriage. -Borrow wraps from every one and tuck them in. We -shall keep Mrs. Clutterbuck employed till Mr. Symington -comes back."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It seemed that they all took it for granted that -Mr. Symington would go.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Robin showed signs of losing his temper. Mabel -as a rule, when these imperious fits descended on him -began to investigate her conduct and wonder where -she might alter it in order that he might be appeased. -This time, however, she was too anxious and concerned -over Betty, and while Jean might be quite -whole-hearted in her manner of looking after people, one -could not depend on her for knowing the best ways -in which to set about it. In any case, the two could -not be kept there shivering.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud was a trifle indignant at the -interruption. "Quick," she said to Mr. Symington, "get -them in and off."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh you are the fairy princess, always, somehow, -aren't you," sighed Betty, happily, as on their being -tucked in rugs and waterproofs, Adelaide Maud gave -quick decided orders to the coachman.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Isn't she just like a story book," she sighed -rapturously. They drove swirling homewards, in a damp -quick exciting way until they pulled up at the door of -the White House.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, mine was nearer," said the Serpent nervously. -She had never entered the portals of the White House -in this intimate manner, and suddenly longed for -loneliness once more.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Mabel sweetly and nicely, "you will -just have to imagine that this is as near for to-day -at least. Because I am going to put you to bed."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They laughed very happily because they were being -put to bed like babies.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If only Cuthbert were here," said Mabel anxiously -and in a motherly little way to Mr. Symington, afterwards, -"he would tell me whether they oughtn't to have a hot -drink, and a number of other things they say they won't -have."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I should give them a hot drink," said Mr. Symington -with his grave eyes dancing a trifle. "And keep -them in blankets for an hour or two."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was he who found Mr. Leighton and told him a -little of what had happened. ("Oh the conspiracies -which shield a parent!") For days Mr. and -Mrs. Leighton, the Professor and Mrs. Clutterbuck, had an -idea that the two girls had merely fallen in and got very -wet. In any case, Elsie often came home in considerable -disrepair. When one found, however, that neither -was the worse for the fright, Elsie was made a real -heroine. It changed her attitude completely. The -Leightons liked her now whether they felt charitable -or not. It was a great relief. And one day her own -father focussed his far-away gaze on her, as though he -had only then considered that there was anything on -which to look at her particular place at table.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They tell me--ahem--that you can swim," he -exclaimed. "Very excellent exercise, very."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To an outsider it did not sound like praise, but his -sentence set Elsie's heart jumping in a joyous manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, papa," she said. "I was very frightened -afterwards."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hem," said he, "an excellent time in which to be -frightened."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Clutterbuck congratulated herself on his having -said it (she would have made it "time to be frightened -in," and the Professor in such good humour, too!)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Happier days had really dawned in that grim household however.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The growing up of the courage of Elsie became a -wonderful thing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meanwhile other events had occurred than the saving -of Betty. Robin had had to go home alone, and Lance -had the benefit of some of his ill-humour on meeting -him on the way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who shot cock Robin to-day?" reflected Lance -with speculative eyes on that retreating person. He -nearly ran into a very athletic figure coming -swinging round on him from the Leightons'.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Hereward the Wake was in his most magnificent -mood and his eyes shone with the light of achievement. -He was speaking when he turned, and the words dropped -automatically even before the impish gaze of Lance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Knew you and named a star," quoted Mr. Symington.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now what on earth has that to do with the boat -race?" asked Lance.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-first-peal"><span class="large">CHAPTER XIV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">The First Peal</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Mabel was twenty-one when her cousin Isobel Leighton -came to make her home at the White House. Isobel's -mother had died ten years before, and since the more -recent death of her father, she had stayed for a year -or two with her mother's relations. Now, suddenly, -it seemed imperative that Mr. Leighton should offer -her a place in his own family, since various changes -elsewhere left her without a home. It was the most -natural thing in the world that everybody should be -pleased. The girls got a room ready for her, and -took pains towards having it specially attractive. -They even made plans amongst their friends for Isobel -to be suitably entertained. "Though how we are -to manage about dance invitations and that sort of -thing, I can't think," said Jean. "It's bad enough -with two girls, and sometimes no man at all. It will -be awful with three."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma herself was on the verge of being eligible for -invitations. Mabel looked as though she did not -mind much. Worrying thoughts of her own were -perplexing her, thoughts which she could not share -with any one just then. The spring of her life had -been one to delight in. Tendrils of friendship had -kept her safely planted where Jean, the revolutionist, -tore everything by the roots. What was not good -enough for Jean immediately was had up and cast -away. What had not been good enough for Jean -had been their own silly enthusiasm for the Story -Books. Jean in her own mind had disposed of the -whole romance of this by beating Theodora at golf. -She now patronized Theodora, and ignored the -others. Adelaide Maud she already considered entirely -</span><em class="italics">passé</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The confidences of long ago were shaken into an -unromantic present. The Dudgeons called -ceremoniously twice a year, and invited the girls to their -dances. Mabel and Jean went, occasionally with -Cuthbert "cut in marble," and were inexpressibly -bored in that large establishment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It doesn't seem to make up for other things that -one sits on velvet pile and has a different footman for -each sauce," Mabel declared. "We have to face the -fact that the Dudgeon establishment is appallingly ugly."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So much for Mrs. Dudgeon's beaded work cushion effect.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's only a woman who would make you leave -an early Victorian drawing-room for a Georgian hall, -and get you on an ottoman of the third Empire, and -expect you to admire the mixture," growled Cuthbert. -It was this sort of talk that was to be had -out of him after he had been to the Dudgeons' balls.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma still prized her meetings with Adelaide Maud -at Miss Grace's, but recognized where her friendship -ceased there. There seemed no getting further into -the affections of Adelaide Maud than through that -warm comradeship at Miss Grace's, or through her -outspoken admiration for Mr. Leighton. And -"Adelaide Maud had grown </span><em class="italics">passé</em><span>" Jean had declared.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The world seemed very cold and unreal at this juncture.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel came into Elma's room one day looking very -disturbed. There was a fleeting questioning look -of "Are you to be trusted?" in her eye.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You know I'm to be trusted, Mabs," said Elma, -as though they had been discussing the iniquity of -anything else. "You aren't vexed at Isobel's coming -are you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, no," said Mabel quickly, "it isn't that, it's -other things." She threw herself languidly on a -couch.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Haven't you noticed that the Merediths haven't -been here for a fortnight?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma brushed diligently at fair, very wavy hair. -It fell in layers of soft brown, and shone a little with -gold where the light touched the ripples, diligently -created with over-night plaiting. She had grown, -but in a slender manner, and was admittedly the -</span><em class="italics">petite</em><span> member of the family. There was a wealth -of comprehension in the glance she let fall on Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mabel, you don't mean to quarrel with them do you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It seemed that the worst would happen if that happened.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't suppose I shall have the chance," said -Mabel. She took a rose out of a vase of flowers, and -began to pluck absently at the petals.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think I should love to have the chance."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Mabel," said Elma distractedly, "how dreadful -of you! And how fatal it might be! I shouldn't mind -quarrelling a little. I think indeed it would be lovely, -if one were quite sure, perfectly convinced, that one -could make it up again. That's why I enjoy a play -so much. Every one may be simply disgusting, but -they are bound to make it up. If only one could be -absolutely safe in real life! But you can't. I don't -believe Mr. Meredith would make it up."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am sure he wouldn't." Mabel plucked at a pink -leaf stormily. "That's why I should like to quarrel -with him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mabs, don't you care for him now?" Elma's -eyes grew wide with trouble. It was not so much that -Mabel had given any definite idea of having cared for -Mr. Meredith. It had been a situation accepted long -ago as the proper situation for Mabel, that there should -be an "understanding" in connexion with Mr. Meredith. -It established limitless seas of uncertainty if -anything happened to this "understanding" except -the most desirable happening. Mabel leaned her head -on her hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You see, dear," she exclaimed, "this is how it is. -Long ago, papa so much disliked our talking about -getting married, any of us, even in fun you know, that -it was much easier, when Mr. Meredith came, just to -be friends--very great friends, you know, but -still--friends. Papa always said he wouldn't let one of -us marry till we were twenty-three. That was definite -enough. And he has been quite pleased that we haven't -badgered him into getting engaged. Still, I always -think that Robin ought to have said to him, once at -least, that sometime he wanted to marry me. He -didn't, I just went on playing his accompaniments, -and being complimented by his sister. Now--now, -what do you think? He has grown annoyed with -papa for being so kind to Mr. Symington. Fancy -his dictating about papa!" Mabel's eyes grew round -and innocent.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But that's because Mr. Symington is nice to you, -perhaps," said Elma, as though this burst of -comprehension was a great discovery on her part.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Exactly," said Mabel calmly. "But if you leave -unprotected a cake from which any one may take a -slice, you can't blame people when they try to help -themselves. Robin should be able to say to Mr. Symington, -'Hands off--this is my property,' and then -there would be no trouble. As it is, he wants me to -do the ordering off, papa's friend too!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What did you say to him, Mabel?" Elma asked -the question in despair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I said that when Mr. Symington had really got -on--then would be the time to order him off."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel fanned herself gently. Then her lip quivered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't think papa ever meant to let me in for an -ignominious position of this sort--but here I am. If -Robin won't champion me, who will?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, but surely," said Elma, "surely Robin -Meredith would never----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's the trouble. He would," said Mabel. -"And once you've found that out about a man--you -simply can't--you can't believe in him, that's all."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma sat in a wretched heap on her bed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think it's horrid of him to let you feel like that," -she said. "Other men wouldn't. Cuthbert wouldn't -to any one he cared for."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lots wouldn't," said Mabel. "That's why it's -so ignominious, to have thought so much of this -one all these years!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Maclean wouldn't," said Elma. She had -always wondered why Mabel had ignored him in her -matrimonial plans.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, I don't believe he would," said Mabel. "But -that's no good to me, is it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Symington wouldn't," said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Elma!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel's eyes grew frightened. "That's what scares -me. I sit and sit and say, Mr. Symington never would. -It makes Robin seems so thin and insignificant. He -simply crumples up. And Mr. Symington grows -large and honourable, and such a man! And I'm -supposed in some way to be dedicated to Robin. It's -like having your tombstone cut before you are dead. -Oh, Elma, whatever shall I do!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma was quite pale. The lines of thought had -long ago disappeared with the puckerings of wonder -on her face. Here indeed was thunder booming with -a vengeance, and near, not far off like that golden -picture of years ago. Mabs was in deep trouble.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You see what would happen if I told papa? He -would order off Mr. Symington in a great fright, because -he has never thought somehow that any of us were -thinking of him except that he is an awfully clever -man! I think also that papa would turn Robin out -of the house."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I believe he would," said Elma in a whisper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And then--how awful! All our friends, their -friends! Everywhere we go, we should meet Sarah -Meredith! What a life for us! I should like to -quarrel--just because I'm being so badly treated, but the -consequences would be perfectly awful," said Mabel. -She took it as though none of it could be helped.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma was quite crumpled with the agitation of her -feelings.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You must tell papa, Mabel," she said gently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Elma, I can't--about Mr. Symington. Imagine -Mr. Symington's ever knowing and thinking--'What -do I care for any of these chits of girls!' Robin has -always got wild--if I smiled to my drawing master -even. What I hate, is being dictated to now. And -his sulking--instead of standing by me if there is any -trouble. He isn't a man."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A sharp ring at the bell, and rat-tat of the postman -might be heard. Somebody called up that a letter had -come for Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma went for it and produced it with quaking heart. -The writing seemed something very different to any -of the letters which came to Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was from Mr. Symington.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It explained in the gentlest possible way that he -had learned from Miss Meredith that his presence in -Ridgetown caused some difficulty of which he had -never even dreamed. He wrote as a great friend of -her dear father's, and a most loyal admirer of her family, -to say the easiest matter in the world was being effected, -and that his visit to Ridgetown had come to an end.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The paper shook gently in Mabel's fingers, and fell -quivering and uncertain to the floor. She looked up -piteously and quite helplessly at Elma, like a child -seeking shelter, and then buried her head on the couch. -She cried in long, strangled sobs, while Elma stood -staring at her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma pulled herself together at last.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mabel dear, I'm going to read it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel nodded into her bent arms.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh but," said Elma after shakingly perusing that -document, "but he can't--he can't do this. It's -dreadful. It's like blaming you! What can Miss -Meredith have said? Oh! Mabel! Mabel, I shall cut -that woman dead wherever and however I meet her. -Oh, Mabel--what a creature! Don't you cry. Papa -will explain to Mr. Symington. He will believe papa. -Papa will explain that you had nothing to do with -it, that you don't mind whether he goes or stays--that----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But I do mind," said Mabel in cold, awe-struck -tones. "That's the awful part. And it's nothing -but the smallness of Robin that has taught me, -Mr. Symington is the only man worth knowing in the whole -earth."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She clasped her hands in a hopeless way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And he has been sent away, banished, by the very -man who should have made it impossible for me -to see any good quality in any one else except himself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who will play Mr. Meredith's accompaniments -now?" Elma asked. "Why they can't get on without -you, dear." She still believed that just as plays -were arranged, so should the affairs of Mabel come -back to their original placidity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shall never play another note for Robin Meredith," -said Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma could not yet doubt but that Robin would come -directly he knew how satisfactorily he had disposed -of his rival. One hoped that Mr. Symington had only -explained so far to Mabel. That afternoon they were -to meet Isobel, so that every one was more or less -occupied, and always on this same evening of the -week, Friday, the Merediths were at an open "at -home" which the friends of the Leightons attended -at the White House. The question was, would the -Merediths come?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel did not seem to care whether they came or -not. She sat, crushing the letter and not looking at -Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Elma dear," she said at last, "I can't stand this. -I shall tell papa. Mamma will only say 'I told you -so' for our having been such friends with the -Merediths. But I can't bear that she shouldn't know -I'm not ashamed of anything," she caught her -breath with a slight sob. "But I'm done with Robin."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It seemed magnificent to Elma that for her own -honour she should jeopardize so much. Men like -Mr. Meredith were so rare in Ridgetown. Yet when -she asked her, couldn't she still admire Robin, Mabel -said very truthfully then "No."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma would have liked to say that it didn't matter -about Mr. Symington.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Robin will never enter this house again," Mabel -said with quivering lip.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But he came--several times.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-arrival"><span class="large">CHAPTER XV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">The Arrival</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The 4.50 train hammered and pounded in a jerkily -driven manner to Ridgetown. It was hot, and most -of the windows lay open in the endeavour to catch any -air that had escaped being stifled in smoke and the -dust of iron. Miss Meredith occupied a first-class -carriage together with two people. One, an old -gentleman who travelled daily and who did not count, -the other a dark-eyed girl of pale complexion. She -wore irreproachably fitting tweeds, and as though to -contradict the severity of their trim appearance, a -very flamboyant red hat. It was tip-tilted in a smart -way over her nose, and had an air of seeming to make -every other hat within eyeshot scream dejectedly, "I -come from the country."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The red hat came from the town, London presumably. -The dark girl seemed in a petulant mood, as though the -atmosphere of the carriage stifled her in more ways -than by its being uncontrollably hot. It was out of -gear with the smooth, madonna-like appearance of her -features, that she should be petulant at all. There -was an indescribable placidity about her carriage and -expression which contradicted her movements at this -moment of nearing Ridgetown. She caught Miss -Meredith's eye on her, and seemed annoyed at the -interest it displayed. Miss Meredith was much -impressed by her appearance. As a rule, she confined -her ideas of people in Ridgetown either to their being -"refined" or "rather vulgar." This girl had not -the air of being either of those two. She was a type -which had never been dissected in Ridgetown. It -was as evident that one would neither say of her that -she was the complete lady, nor yet that she was -un-ladylike. One could say that she was good-looking, -adorably good-looking. Calm, lucid eyes, containing -a calculating challenge in their expression, milky -complexion framing their mysterious depths of -darkness, red lips parting occasionally with her breathing -over startlingly white teeth, this was all very different -to the rosebud complexions, the rather shy demeanour -of Ridgetown.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Meredith could act as a very capable little -policeman when she became interested in any one. -She determined to act the policeman now that she -was aware this must be a visitor to Ridgetown. They -had passed the last slow stopping-place, and were -nearing what must be her destination. Each station -without the name of Ridgetown had evidently annoyed -the dark girl.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The next station is Ridgetown," said Miss Meredith -pleasantly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The dark girl stared.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, ah, is it?" she asked negligently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An old gentleman rose from the corner and began -collecting his belongings.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"May I help you?" he asked, and lifted down her -dressing case.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She became radiant.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank you so much," she said very gracefully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Meredith felt in an annoyed manner that her -own overtures had been unrecognized in favour of -these. She could be an abject person, however, -wherever she intended to make an impression, and -decided not to be non-plussed too soon. Doubtless -the dark girl was about to visit some friend of her -own. She rose at her end of the carriage to get a -parasol from the rack. It allowed the new arrival to -swing out on the platform even before the train was -stopped.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Meredith saw Isobel being received by the -Leightons.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This was enough to allow of Miss Meredith's slipping -away unnoticed before a porter came to find the -neglected dressing bag. But she went unwillingly, and -in a new riot of opinion. The truth came forcibly -that the new cousin would be a great sensation in -Ridgetown. It was strange that she had never dreamed -that the dark girl might be the Leightons' cousin. No -occasion would be complete without her. A few weeks -ago, and she might have had her first reception at the -Merediths', where they should have had the distinction -of introducing her. Now, owing to late events, -relations might be rather strained between themselves -and the Leightons.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Meredith had grown more ambitious each year -with regard to her brother. She was the ladder by -which he had climbed into social prominence in -Ridgetown. Her diligence overcame all obstacles. At first, -she had deemed it delightful that he should be attached -to Mabel, now it seemed much more appropriate that -he should make the most of the Dudgeons. Through -the Leightons they had formed a slight acquaintance -there, which had lately shown signs of development. -It became necessary to sow seeds of disaffection in -the mind of Robin where the Leightons were -concerned. He had become too much of their world. -He was a man not easily influenced, and he had had -a great affection for Mabel. But the constant wearing -of the stone had invariably been the treatment for -Robin, and lately a good deal of wearing had been -necessary on account of Mr. Symington.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She began to recall just how much she had said to -Mr. Symington. Her face burned with the recollection -that he had shown how much he thought of Mabel. -She had put the matter from Mabel's point of view. -While Mr. Symington was there, Mabel's happiness -with Robin was interfered with. Miss Meredith had -intended to infer that it was his constant attendance at -the White House which was being called in question. -Whereas, he had already, unknown to her, settled -on it as meaning Ridgetown. He had interrupted her -abruptly, with stern lips, "Pardon me, but will you -let me know distinctly,--is Miss Leighton engaged to -your brother?" Miss Meredith saw her chance and -took it at a run. "Yes," she said. It was hardly a -lie, considering how Robin and Mabel had been linked -for so many years in a tacit sort of manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That--I had not understood," said Mr. Symington. -Whereupon he immediately wrote his letter to Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Meredith had always had her own ideas of -Mr. Symington. He was not the companion for these very -young girls. He was not old, on the other hand, but -he possessed a temperament which put him on another -plane than that of the rather boisterous Leighton family. -On the Meredith plane, if one would have the words -spoken.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Robin," she said that evening, after the arrival -of Isobel, "let us go down to the Leightons' as though -nothing had happened."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Robin turned a reserved mask of a countenance in -her direction.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You women can do anything," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The weariness of being without these kaleidoscopic -friends of theirs had already beset him. They were -still in time to find the old level again. It would -certainly be a freezing world without the Leightons. -Everybody knew that one might get social advantages -with the Dudgeons, but one had always a ripping -time with the Leightons.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Meredith, on her part, began to wonder, now that -Mr. Symington was warned and would keep Robin -from feeling the desirability of the girl whom two men -were after, whether Robin himself might be more gently -weaned than by thus being borne away on an open -rupture. Robin was in the position of a man who -had been brought up by mother and sister. Practically, -whatever he had touched all his life had remained -his own, sacred and inviolate. It seemed that Mabel -ought to have remained his own merely because he had -once stretched out his hand in her direction. Then, -he began to find that he reckoned with a family -which had been taught unselfishness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Isobel, to do her justice, always imagined that Mabel -from the reserve of her welcome on the occasion of -her arrival, resented her presence at the White House. -She noticed that of all the girls to welcome her, -Mabel kept a constrained silence. This she immediately -put down to a personal distaste of herself, and -controlled her actions accordingly. From the first -moment of greeting her aunt and uncle, and sitting -down to table, she upheld a sweetness of character -which was unassailable, and which put Mabel's -distrait manner into rather wicked relief. Isobel's was -a nature, formed and articulate, entirely independent -of the feelings and sympathies of others, a nature -which could thrive and blossom on any trouble and -disappointment, so long as these were not her own. -She had learned in the mixed teaching of her rather -stranded life, that very little trouble or disappointment -came in the way of those who could see what -they wanted and grab with both hands accordingly. -She determined to grab with both hands every benefit -to be derived from being leader in the Leighton family. -She had come there with the intention of being leader. -Before the meal was over, she had gained the good -opinion of all except Mabel, an intentional exclusion -on her part. Mabel had received her without effusion. -Here was rivalry. In the most methodical and -determined manner, she began a long siege of those rights -and privileges which Mabel, as head of the Leighton -girls, had never had really questioned before. She -supplied a link in their musical circle, incomplete -before. She could sing. Her methods were purely -technical and so highly controlled, that the rather -soulful playing of the Leighton girls shrank a little into a -background of their own making. Isobel's voice was -like a clear photograph, developed to the last shred of -minuteness. One heard her notes working with the -precision of a musical box. The tiring nature of her -accomplishments was never evident at a first performance. -These only appeared to be ripplingly brilliant. -She had the finished air and mechanical mannerisms -of the operatic artist, and they became startlingly -effective in a room where music only in its natural and -most picturesque aspect had been indulged. Mr. Leighton -endeavoured to reconcile himself to a person -who was invariably at top notes, and Isobel deceived -herself into thinking that she charmed him. She -charmed the others however, and Jean especially was -at her feet. It struck her that probably she would -be able to get more of the fat of life out of Jean than -out of any one. She noted that Jean ordered a good -deal where others consulted or merely suggested. -Ordering was more in her line.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of Mrs. Leighton she took no account whatever, -except that she was invariably sweet in her presence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It dawned on no one that a very dangerous element -had been introduced into the clear heaven of the -wise rule of the White House.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel's mind at the start, it is true, was in a -subconscious condition of warning. The particular kind of -warning she could not recognize, but, long after, attached -it to the attitude of Isobel. In a month or two, she -found that while her family still remained outwardly -at one with her, a subtle disrespect of any opinion -of hers, a discontent at some of her mildest plans, seemed -to invade the others. It came upon her that her ideas -were very young and crude with Isobel there to give -finer ones.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ah! that was it. Isobel was so much better equipped -for deciding things than she was. It affected Mabel's -playing when she imagined that her family found it -at last not good enough. She never could play for Isobel. -On the first night of arrival, Mabel was most -concerned, however, on how she was to give certain news -to her father and mother. Mr. Leighton had heard -from Mr. Symington--only that he had been called away. -Mabel took the news in public with a great shrinking -Her heart cried out in rebellion, and instead of indulging -that wild cry, she had to be interested in the arrival -of Isobel. She caught Isobel's keen darkness of gaze -on her, and shifted weakly under its influence to -apparent unconcern and laughter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the worst of it, when they were taking tea in the -drawing-room after dinner, Robin and his sister came -in. Miss Meredith's </span><em class="italics">coup</em><span> was worth her fear and -distrust in experimenting with it. Robin became -genuinely interested in Isobel. This made him almost -kind to Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It concentrated all Mabel's wild rush of feelings to a -triumph of pride. Where she would willingly have -gone to her room and had it out with herself, she waited -calmly in the drawing-room and heard Isobel's first song.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Meredith's heart glowed feebly. She had won -her point. But Mabel's face heralded disaster.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma too would not look at her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma trembled with the weight of what she would -like to say to Sarah Meredith, and could not. Feebly -she determined not to shake hands with her, then found -herself as having done it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton talked quite unconcernedly about the -departure of Mr. Symington. "Can you tell me why -he leaves us so suddenly?" he asked of Miss Meredith.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She had always made a point of liking to be asked -about Mr. Symington. This time she seemed afraid -of the subject, certainly of Mr. Leighton's airy manner -of handling it. Robin's face flushed hotly in an enraged -sort of manner. Mabel's grew cold.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With all their experience of each other, and their -knowledge of what had been going on, none in the room -knew the nature of the crisis at hand, except the actors -in it, and Elma. But, by the intuition of a nature that -scented disaster easily and wilfully, Isobel, without a -word from one of them, saw some of these hearts laid bare.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Meredith, ill at ease, interested her immensely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Meredith at last answered that she knew -nothing of the reason why Mr. Symington had left -so abruptly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma rose shaking in every limb.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is not true," she said. Her voice, more that -her words carried effect.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She could go no further, she could only say, "That -is not true."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton looked very surprised, and then -helplessly bewildered. Miss Meredith had a talent for -seeing her chance. She saw it here. She turned in a -rather foolish way, as though they intended some -compliment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Indeed," said she, "you all over-rate my influence -with Mr. Symington. It is nothing to me whether -he goes or stays."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel pulled Elma into a corner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh shut up dear, for Heaven's sake shut up!" she -whispered, and that incident was closed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Isobel began to play with a loud triumphant -accompaniment and sang in a manner which might -have shown every one the thing which she thought -she had just discovered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Instead, they all declared they had never heard such -clear top notes.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-thin-edge-of-the-wedge"><span class="large">CHAPTER XVI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">The Thin Edge of the Wedge</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It seemed to Mabel that Isobel's proposals, kindly -worded and prettily mentioned, were always impossible -of acceptance. She did nothing but refuse these -overtures to friendship for the next week or so. This -was the more awkward since she was particularly -anxious to make everything nice for Isobel. But the -proposals and the overtures seemed continually to -occur in connexion with the Merediths. It was a -ridiculous thing of course that Isobel should be proposing -anything in connexion with the Merediths.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean had now found some one after her own heart, -one who did not wait for invitations, but thought -immediately on a plan for making one's self known to -people. Isobel had already called on the Dudgeons. -Her progress was a royal one, and Mabel hated herself -for the way she alone, though often with the backing -up of Elma's companionship, kept out of things. She -ventured to tell Jean why Robin no longer was a friend -of hers. Jean seemed then to think him all the more -eligible for Isobel. This hurt more than one dared to -believe. But Jean always had been for a direct way -of dealing with people, sentiment not being in her -nature at all. She considered it stupid of Mabel to -bother about a man to whom she had not even been -engaged.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel, rather morbidly clung to her pride after this, -and refused Elma's repeated pleadings to tell her mother -and father. If one's own sister called one a donkey, -it wasn't much encouragement to go on to more criticism. -Mabel would rather see Isobel married to Robin than -say a word more on her own account. Elma worried -about it as much as Mabel did, and nothing would -induce her to go near the Merediths. Mr. and -Mrs. Leighton noted the difference, but had to confess that -changes of a sort must come. Above all, Mabel was very -young, and they did not want to press anything serious -upon her just then. Robin's behaviour remained so -gentlemanly that no one could convict him of -anything except a sudden partiality for Isobel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They are all children of a sort," said Mr. Leighton, -"and children settle their own differences best."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Isobel felt the difficulty of the number of girls in the -place. It appalled her to think of Elma's creeping -up next, and making the string lengthen. She looked -with positive disapproval on Elma with her hair up. -In a forlorn way, Elma felt the great difference between -her seventeenth birthday, and that glorious day when -Mabel entered into her kingdom.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel was in trouble, Jean engrossed with her own -affairs, and Isobel sweetly disdainful when Elma turned -up her hair. She put it down again for three weeks, -and nobody seemed to be the least pained at the difference.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At every visit to Miss Grace, she wondered whether -or not it would be quite loyal to tell her about Mabel. -Miss Annie and she were, however, so uncomprehending -about anything having gone wrong, so interested -in the new cousin, that invariably Elma's confidences -were checked by such a remark as, "How very sweet -Isobel looked in that pink gown to-day," and so on. -Then one had to run on and be complimentary about -Isobel. It seemed to Elma that her heart would break -if Miss Grace, along with every one else, went over to -Isobel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was not to know that Adelaide Maud had been -there before her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't quite explain," said Adelaide Maud to Miss -Grace one day, "I can't explain why I feel it, but this -new cousin isn't on the same plane with the Leightons. -There's something more--more developed, it's true, but -there's also something missing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Something that has to do with being a lady?" -asked Miss Grace in her timid way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Exactly. I know my London types, and this isn't -one I should fasten on to admire, although she makes -rather a dashing brilliant appearance in her present -surroundings."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm a little concerned about that," said Miss Grace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In spite of her uniform courtesy where Isobel was -concerned she had quite a talk with Adelaide Maud -regarding her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I should fancy it's this," said Miss Grace finally, -"that while she stays with the Leightons she has all -the more income on which to look beautiful. I can't -help seeing an ulterior motive, you observe. I sometimes -wonder, however, what she will do to my little girls -before she is done with them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The first thing Isobel did was to inflame Jean with a -desire to sing. There was no use trying to inflame -Mabel about anything. After Jean had discovered that -she might have a voice there was nothing for it but that -she should go to London. She begged and implored -her father and mother to let her go to London. She -was the only member of the family who had ever had -the pluck to suggest such a thing. They had a familiar -disease of home-sickness which prevented any daring -in such a direction. Mabel had twice come home a -wreck before she was expected home at all, and -invariably vowing never to leave again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And now Jean, the valiant, asked to be allowed to -go alone to London in order to study.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's Isobel who has done it," wailed Betty. "She's -so equipped. We seem such duffers. And it will be -the first break."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton groaned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why can't you be happy at home," he asked Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, it will be so lovely to come back," said Jean, -"with it all--what to do and how to do it--at one's -fingers' ends."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You don't keep your voice at your fingers' ends, -do you?" asked Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It seemed superb nonsense to her that Jean should -not take lessons at home. Isobel marvelled to find that -the real difficulty in the way of Jean's getting was -this mild obstinacy of Mrs. Leighton's.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can tell Jean of such a nice place to live--with -girls," said Isobel. "And I know the master she -ought to have."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And we can't all vegetate here for ever," said -poor Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nothing ever cost Mr. Leighton the wrench that -this cost him, but he prepared to let Jean go.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel and Elma would rather anything than that -had happened just then. It had the effect of making -Isobel more particular in being with Mabel rather -than with Jean. Had she sounded the fact that with -all Jean's protestations, Mabel was the much desired--that -people were more keen on having the Leighton's -when Mabel was of the party! Elma began to -speculate on this until she was ashamed of herself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They played up for Jean at this juncture as though -she were going away for ever. One would have thought -there was nothing to be had in London from the manner -in which they provided for her. Even Lance appeared -with a kettle and spirit lamp for making tea.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You meet in each other's rooms and talk politics -and mend your stockings," said he, "and you take turns -to make tea. I know all about it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Maud Hartley gave her a traveller's pincushion, and -May Turberville a neat hold-all for jewellery.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean stuck in her two brooches, one bangle, a pendant -and a finger ring.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then she sighed in a longing manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If I use your case, I shall have no jewellery to wear," -she said to May.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At that moment a package was handed to her. It was -small, and of the exciting nature of the package that is -first sealed, and then discloses a white box with a rubber -strap round it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, and it's from Bulstrode's," cried Jean in great -excitement. "The loveliest place in town," she -explained to Isobel. "What can it be?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a charming little watch on a brooch clasp, -and it was accompanied by a card, "With love to dear -Jean, to keep time for her when she is far away. -From Miss Annie and Miss Grace."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Jean, with her eyes filling, "aren't -they ducks! And I've so often laughed at Miss Grace."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They are just like fairy godmothers," said Elma. -"Jean! It's lovely."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She turned and turned the "little love" in her hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Where so many were being kind to Jean, it appeared -necessary to Aunt Katharine that she also must make -her little gift. She gave Jean a linen bag for her boots, -with "My boots and shoes" sewn in red across it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't approve of your trip at all," she said to -Jean, "but then I never do approve of what your -mother lets you do. In my young days we were making -jam at your age, and learning how to cure hams. The -stores are upsetting everything."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I want to sing," said Jean, "and your bag is -lovely, Aunt Kathie. Didn't you want very badly -to learn the right way to sing when you were my age?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Aunt Katharine sang one Scotch song about Prince -Charlie, and it was worth hearing for the accompaniment -alone, if not for the wonderful energy with which -Aunt Katharine declaimed the words. Dr. Merryweather, -in an abstracted moment, once thanked her -for her recitation, and this had had the unfortunate -result of preventing her from performing so often as -she used to.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, my dear," she said in answer to Jean's remark, -"I had no desire to find out how they sang at one -end of the country, when my friends considered that I -performed so well at the other end. The best masters -of singing are not all removed from one's home. Nature -and talent may do wonders."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then she sighed heavily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The claims of home ought to come first in any case. -Your mother and father have given you a comfortable -one. It is your duty to stay in it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, papa has inflamed us with a desire to excel -in music. It isn't our fault," said Jean. "And one -can't get short cuts to technique in Ridgetown."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I quite see that your father places many things -first which ought to come last," said Aunt Katharine -dismally. "Oh, I beg your pardon," she exclaimed, -for four girls, even including Jean with her boot bag, -had risen at her, "I forgot that I am not allowed free -expression in regard to my own brother-in-law."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Aunt Katharine could always be expected to give in -at this point, but up to it, one was anxious.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert came down to bid farewell to Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are a queer old thing," he said to her. "Living -in rooms is a mucky business, you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I shall be with twenty other girls," said Jean; -"a kind of club, you know. Isobel says it's lovely. -And then we get so </span><em class="italics">stuck</em><span> here!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert admitted that it wasn't the thing for them -all to be cooped up in Ridgetown.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Couldn't stand it myself, without work," said he. -"And then, it's ripping, of course."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was lovely to have Cuthbert back, and he made -a new acquaintance in Isobel. She had been a queer -little half-grown thing when he had last seen her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In an indefinite way he did not approve of her, but -finding her on terms of such intimacy with every one, he -only gave signs of pleasure at meeting her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma was in dismay because there were heaps and -heaps of things for which she wanted Cuthbert, and -he only stayed two days. An idea that he could put -a number of crooked things straight, if he remained, -made her plead with him to come again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert promised in an abstracted manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Give me one more year, Elma, and then you may -have to kick me out of Ridgetown," he said. "Who -knows? At least, I shall make such a try for it, that -you may have to kick me out."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Everybody nice seemed to be leaving, and Adelaide -Maud was away.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was rather trying to Elma that Isobel should about -this period insist on visiting at Miss Annie's. Isobel -seemed to be with them on every occasion, from the -moment that Jean arranged to go to London.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean got everything ready to start. With Isobel's -help she engaged her room from particulars sent to -her. It was the tiniest in a large house of small rooms, -but Jean, rather horrified at a detached sum of money -being singled out by her father from the family funds, -was determined to make that sum as small as possible. -Mr. Leighton saw these preparations being made and -was helpful but dismal about them. Mrs. Leighton -presented her with a travelling trunk which would -cover up and be made a window-seat, no doubt, in -that room where the tea parties were to occur. -Everything was ready the night before her departure, and -exactly at 7.15, when the second dressing bell rang -for dinner, as Betty explained afterwards, Jean broke -down.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This was an extraordinary exhibition to Isobel, who -had travelled, and packed, and always moved to a new -place with avidity. She said now that she would give -anything she was worth at that moment to be flying -off to London like Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said Jean, "it's like a knife that has cut -to-day away from to-morrow, and all of you from that -crowd I'm going to. Do you know," she said, as though -it were quite an interesting thing for them to hear -about, "I feel quite queer--and sick. Do you think -that perhaps there is something wrong with me?" She -even mentioned appendicitis as a possible ailment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are getting home-sick," said Mabel, who knew -the signs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean was much annoyed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You don't understand," she said. "I'm not silly -in that way. I don't feel as though I could shed a tear -at going away. I'm just over-joyed at the prospect. -But I'm so wobbly in other ways. I'm really terrified -that I'm going to be ill."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Poor Jean ate no dinner. Jean didn't sleep. Jean -perambulated the corridors, and thought of the night -when Cuthbert got hurt. She wished that she were -enough of a baby to go and knock at her mother's -door, as they had done then, and get her to come and -comfort her. She hoped her father wasn't vexed that -she had asked to go, and hadn't minded leaving him. -Then she remembered how she intended coming home--a -full-blown prima donna sort of person--one of whom -he should really be proud. This ought to have set her -up for the night, but the thought of it failed in its -usual exhilarating effect.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The sick feeling returned, with innumerable horrors -of imaginary pain, and a real headache.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean saw the dawn come in and sincerely prayed that -already she had not appendicitis.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-reprieve"><span class="large">CHAPTER XVII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">A Reprieve</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The first two letters from Jean were so long, that one -imagined she must have sat up most of the night to -get them off.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't mind telling you that I felt very miserable -when I got to my rooms," she said among other things. -"I drove here all right, and the door was opened by a -servant who didn't seem to know who I was. Then -she produced a secretary who looked at me very closely -as though to see whether I was respectable or not. She -took me up to my room, and it's like a little state-room, -without the fun of a bunk. There's one little slippy -window which looks out on the gardens, and across -the gardens there are high houses, with occasionally -people at the windows. One girl with a pink bow in -her hair sits at a window all day long. Sometimes -she leans out with her elbows on the sill, and looks -down, and then she draws them in again and sits looking -straight over at me. She's quite pretty. But what -a life! It must be dreadful only having one room and -nothing to do in it. My piano hasn't come, and until -it arrives, it's like being the girl with the pink bow. -At home it's different, we can always pull flowers, or fix -our blouses or do something of that sort. The girls -here don't seem to mind whether one is alive or dead. -I think they are cross at new arrivals. I sat last night -at dinner at a little table all by myself, on a slippery -linoleum floor, and thought it horrid. Then it would -have been fun to go to the drawing-room ('to play to -papa,' how nice that sounds), but the girls melted off -by themselves. I looked into the drawing-room and -thought it awful, so I ran up to my room and stayed -there. The girl with the pink bow was at her window -again, and I really could have slain her, I don't know why."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then "I'm to have my first lesson to-morrow. I'm -so glad. Because I can't practise, even although my -piano has come. A girl who writes made the others -stop playing last night in the drawing-room because it -gave her a headache. It makes me think that no one -will want to hear me sing. I suppose they think I'm -very countrified.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think the real reason why I can't practise is because -I'm not very well. London food doesn't seem so nice as -ours, and I still have that funny feeling that I had when -I started. I suppose you are all having jolly times. -You would know that girls lived in this house. It's -all wicker furniture, and little green curtains, and vases -of flowers. I've only gone out to see about my lesson, -except to the post and quite near here. I don't like -going out much yet. Isobel's directions were a great help."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This letter stopped rather abruptly. So much so -that Mr. Leighton was far from happy about Jean. -He bothered unceasingly as to whether he should have -allowed her to go. Mrs. Leighton enlarged his anxiety -by her own fears. Jean's growing so much faster and -taller than any one else had been a point in her favour -with her mother a few years before, and Mrs. Leighton -had never got over the certainty that Jean must be -delicate in consequence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I hope she won't have appendicitis," said she mournfully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, mummy," said Mabel, "Jean is only home-sick."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean wrote another desponding letter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Home-sick or not home-sick, if Jean is ill, she has -got to be nursed," said Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Jean has never been ill in her life," Mabel pointed -out. "She hasn't even felt very home-sick. It will -pass off, mummy dear."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But it didn't.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean sat, in dismal solitude, in the room looking over -to the girl with the pink bow, and she thought she should -die. She did not like the words of encouragement -which came from home. Every one was trying to -"buck her up" as though she were a kid. No one -seemed to understand that she was ill.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the fifth day of taking no food to speak of and -not sleeping properly, and with the most lamentable -distaste of everything and every one around possessing -her, she detected at last an acute little pain which she -thought must be appendicitis.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She went out, wired home "I am in bed," and came -back to get into it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Once the girls in the house heard that she was ill, -they crowded into her room with the kindest expressions -of help and sympathy. They brought her flowers -and fruit, and one provided her with books. Then -they came in, as Lance had promised, and made tea for -her. Jean took the tea and a good many slices of -bread and butter, and felt some of the weight lifted. -It might not be appendicitis after all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And she never dreamed of the havoc which her -telegram might create. Towards the evening, she got -one of her effusive visitors to send off another telegram. -"Feeling better," this one declared.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She did not know that just before this point, Mr. Leighton -had determined to fetch her home from London. -The whole household was in despair. Mrs. Leighton -wanted to start with him in the morning. Mr. Leighton -was not only anxious, he was in a passion -with himself for ever having let Jean go.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Madness," he said, "madness. I cannot stand -this any longer."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Isobel hated to see people display feeling, and this -excitement about a girl with a headache annoyed her -infinitely. She was invited out to dinner with Mabel, -and Mabel would not go.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Papa is in such a state," Mabel said, "I could not -possibly go out and leave him like this. Let us -telephone that we cannot come."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Isobel checked the protest that rose to her calm lips. -She was ready in a filmy black chiffon gown, and her -clear complexion looked startlingly radiant in that -framing. She had quite determined to go to the dinner -party.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let me telephone for you, Mabel," she said with -rather a nice concern in her voice. "Then it won't -take you away from your father."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel abstractedly thanked her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Say Jean is ill please, and that papa is in fits about -her. The Gardiners will understand."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Isobel telephoned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She came back to Mabel with her skirts trailing in -little flaunting waves of delicate black.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They beg me to come. It's so disorganizing for a -dinner party. What shall I do?" she asked in an -interrogative manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton said, "Oh, do go, Isobel," politely. -"Why should anybody stay at home just because we -were so foolish as to let Jean go off to London alone?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, well," said Isobel lightly, "when you put it like -that, I must."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She went to telephone her decision.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was nearly four weeks afterwards when, in quite -an unexpected manner, Betty discovered that she never -telephoned that second time at all. Isobel had arranged -her going from the start, adequately.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel was left alone with the anxious parents when -Jean's second telegram came in. It opened Mabel's eyes -to the fact that perhaps for once Jean was really -homesick. It was so much like the way she herself would -have liked to have acted on some occasions and dared -not. Jean had never been ill or been affected by nerves -before, and had therefore no confidence in recoveries. -No doubt her interest in the new experience had made -her imagination run away with her. She disliked London -and wanted to get out of it--that was clear enough. -But after just six days of it--with everybody laughing -at her giving in! The thing was not to be thought of.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It seemed to Mabel that her own difficult experiences -lately, all the hard things she had had to bear, -culminated in this sudden act of duty which lay before -her. She must clear out--go to Jean and help her -through.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, papa," she said, "please let me go."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton jumped as though she had exploded a bomb.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What, another," asked he; "isn't one enough! No, -indeed! I've had quite enough of the independence -of girls by this time. There's to be no more of it. Jean -is coming home, and you will all stay at home--for ever."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He never spoke with more decision. Mrs. Leighton -had reached the point where she could only stare.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel sat down to her task of convincing them. -She looked very dainty--almost fragile in the delicate -gown of the particular colour of heliotrope which she -had at last dared to assume. A slight pallor which -Mrs. Leighton had noticed once or twice of late in Mabel -had erased the bright colour which was usual with her. -She spoke with a certain kind of maturity which her -mother found a little pathetic.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You see, papa, it's like this. If you go to Jean -now, in all probability whenever she sees you she will -be as right as the mail, just as the rest of us are when -we've been home-sick. Then she will be awfully -disgusted that she made so much of it when she finds -out what it is, and it won't be coming home like a -triumphant prima donna for her to come now, will it? -She will fall awfully flat, don't you think? And -Cuthbert and Lance and you, papa, will go on saying that -girls are no good for anything. You will take all the -spirit out of us at last."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She mustn't go on being ill in London," said -Mrs. Leighton. "We can't stand the anxiety."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let me go up for a week or two, and see her started," -pleaded Mabel. "I've been there, you know, and know -a little about it, and she would have time to feel at -home. If I find her really ill, I could send for you. -Jean wouldn't feel an idiot about it if I went up just to -see her started."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then Mabel fired her last shot.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It would be good for me, mummy. I've been so -stuck lately. Won't you let me go?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Something in Mabel's voice touched her mother very much.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Won't Robin miss you?" she asked in a teasing, -but anxious way. "You don't tell us, Mabel, whether -you want Robin to miss you or not. And that's one -of the main things, isn't it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel started, and her eyes grew wide with a fear of -what they might say next.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's all right, Mabs! Don't you worry if you don't -want to talk about it," said her father cheerily. There -was a reserve in all of them except Jean which kept -them from expressing easily what they were not always -willing to hide.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said Mabel, "I think I did want to, but -n-never could. I don't think I want to be c-coupled -with Robin any more. It was fun when I was rather -s-silly and young, but it's different now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She looked at her father quite sedately and -quietly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think Robin thinks a good deal more of Isobel -and I'm glad," she said quite determinedly. "The fact -is, I was sure I would be glad if something like that -happened. I was sure before Isobel came."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton patted her shoulder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank you, my dear, for telling us. You're just to -do as you like about these things. Difficult to talk -about, aren't they? Remember, I don't think much -of Robin now, or that sister of his. They could have -arranged it better, I think. Never mind. I shall be -glad to have you find worthier friends." He patted -her shoulder again, and looked over at Mrs. Leighton. -She was surreptitiously wiping her eyes. Mabel sat -strong and straight and rather radiant as though a -weight were lifted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't think," said Mr. Leighton to his wife in a -clear voice, "I don't think that either you or I would -be of greater service to Jean than Mabel could be! -Now, do you, my dear, seriously, do you?" He kept an -eye on her to claim the answer for which he hoped.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't think so, John," said Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then could you get ready for the 8.50 to-morrow -morning?" asked Mr. Leighton of Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel hugged him radiantly for answer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know how I can live without two of you, -even for a week," he said. "But then, I won't be -selfish. Make the most of it and a success of it, and -I shall always be glad afterwards that you went."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was no joke to have to prepare in one evening for a -visit to London. Elma's heart stopped beating when -she heard of the arrangement.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Mabs, and I shall be left with that--bounder!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The word was out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Never had Elma felt so horrified. Years she had -spent in listening to refinements in language, only to -come to this. Of her own cousin too!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Mabs, it's shameful of me. And it will be so -jolly for Jean. And you too! Oh, Mabs, shall I ever -go to London, do you think?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You go and ask that duck of a father of ours--now--at -present--this instant, and he will promise you -anything in the world. No, don't, dear. On second thoughts -he needs every bit of you here. Elma! Play up now. -Play up like the little brick you are. You and Betty -play up, and I'll bless you for ever. Don't you know -I'm skipping all that racketing crowd. I'm skipping -Robin. I'm skipping Sarah! Think of skipping the -delectable Sarah!" She shook her fist in the direction -of the Merediths' house. "And what is more, dear -Elma, I am skipping Isobel."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She said that in a whisper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They had all the feeling that Isobel was a presence, -not always a mere physical reality.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma had not seen Mabel in such a joyous mood for -weeks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And it's also because I feel I can soon square up -Jean, and make her fit," said Mabel; "so that I'm of -some use, you see, in going. I'm quite sure Jean is only -home-sick after all."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She trilled and sang as she packed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Won't you be home-sick yourself, Mabel?" asked -Elma anxiously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have to get over that sooner or later. I shall -begin now," said Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Won't it be beastly in that girls' club?" wailed -Betty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I'm sure it will," quivered Mabel. She sank -in a heap on the floor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Whatever possessed Jean to go off on that wild -chase, I can't think," cried Betty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I know," said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Isobel."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The gate clicked outside and there were voices. -Betty crept to the window-sill and looked over. Mabel -and Elma stood silent in the room. Crunching -footsteps and then Isobel's voice, then Robin's, then -"Good-night."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel, with a smothered little laugh, flung a blouse -into her trunk.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Isn't it ripping, I'm going to London," said she.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="love-of-our-lives"><span class="large">CHAPTER XVIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">"Love of our Lives"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Elma in the privacy of her best confidences had called -Isobel a bounder. The iniquity, viewed even only in -the light of a discourtesy, alarmed her, and made her -more than anything "buck up" to being "nice" -to her cousin.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Isobel had been quite taken aback by the news of -Mabel's departure. She had bargained for almost -anything rather than that. Jean had continually -rubbed it in that Mabel was no use for going anywhere -away from home. And now she was being sent to -succour Jean. Isobel had gone out with the news -for everybody that Mr. and Mrs. Leighton would be -leaving in the morning. She had even made some -plans. Now, what she looked upon as the tutelage -of Mr. and Mrs. Leighton remained, and Mabel, whom -she already regarded as the most useful companion -where her own interests were concerned, was going -off to London.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She could not avoid looking very black about it. -To be left there with two children, Elma and Betty, -chained hand and foot to that kindergarten! One -could hardly believe that so dark a cloud could sit on -so clearly calm, so immobile a countenance. Mabel -detected the storm, and it had the effect of making -her the more relieved and willing to be off.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She had many thoughts for Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't be hustled out of your rights, dear," she -whispered. "Remember, you are the head."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma had to remember almost every hour of the -day. The rule of Isobel was subtle, and it was most -exceedingly sure. She did not take the pains to hide -her methods from Elma and Betty, as she had done -from Mabel and Jean. She openly used the telephone, -not always with the door shut. It brought her plenty -of engagements. When a dull day offered itself, Isobel -invariably was called up by telephone to go out. She -never dreamed of inviting Elma. Mrs. Leighton she -looked after in a protecting way which was very nice -and consoling to that lady stranded of her Jean. Many -plans were made for Mrs. Leighton's sake, which Elma -considered must have often surprised her. It did not -seem necessary that Mrs. Leighton should attend tea -at the golf club for instance, but Isobel insisted on -seeing her go there. Everybody congratulated the -Leightons on having such a charming girl to keep them -company while Mabel and Jean were away. Isobel -had certainly found a vocation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She came in to Mrs. Leighton and Elma in the -drawing-room one day in her prettiest tweeds with rather -fine furs at her throat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hetty Dudgeon has just rung me up, asking me -to go to see her this afternoon," she said calmly. "I -don't suppose you care for the walk," she asked -Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton roused herself from the mental somnolence -of some weeks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Miss Hetty! Why, I was speaking to her half -an hour ago. She wanted to send an introduction -to Jean. She--she, why, it's very strange that she -didn't tell me she wanted you to come. And you've -dressed since. In fact, she said----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton got no further.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She must have changed her mind," said Isobel in -a careless manner. "Well, good-bye, everybody, I'm off."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton sat a little speechless for the moment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't think I quite like that of Isobel," she said. -"Miss Hetty did not want any one this afternoon. -She told me why--she's so frank. Vincent is coming."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma sat debating in her mind, should she tell her -mother or should she not. It was hardly right that -Isobel should drag in the telephone, anything, under -her mother's unsuspecting eyes, for her own ends. -It was wildly impertinent to her mother.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mummy, Isobel knew that Vincent was going -and she made up her mind to go too!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Made up her mind!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes--she almost half arranged it with Vincent at -the golf club the other day."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then--then what about telephoning!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She never telephoned at all," said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton would willingly have had that unsaid.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is dreadful to think that any one would take -the trouble to do such a thing for the sake of going -to the Dudgeons," she said. "Are you sure you are -not mistaken?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Miss Meredith is happy for a week if she can -squeeze in an excuse for going to the Dudgeons," -replied Elma. "The Dudgeons are such 'high steppers,' -you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't like it," said Mrs. Leighton, "I really don't. -None of you were brought up to go your own way -like that, and I don't admire it in other people."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Isobel believes in grabbing for everything one wants -with both hands. She doesn't mean to do anything -wicked. She simply means to be on the spot," said -Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But what about loyalty, and friendship, and--and -honour?" said poor Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, when you are grabbing with both hands for -other things you haven't time for these."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My precious child! What in the wide world -are you saying!" Mrs. Leighton was quite horrified.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nothing that I mean, or believe in, mummy. Only -what Isobel believes in. She thinks we are fools to -bother about loyalty and that kind of thing. She -hasn't had any one, I think, who cared whether she -was honourable or not. And it must be distracting -to know that all the time she can be perfectly beautiful. -It must make you think that everything ought to come -to you, no matter how."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma was really scourging herself now for that -iniquity of "the bounder."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why didn't you tell me before?" said Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, mummy, I'm almost sorry I told you now. -Except that it lifts the most awful weight from my mind. -I've been so afraid that while Isobel went on being so -sweet and graceful that we should all get bad-tempered -if you believed in her very much. She countermands -my orders to the servants often and often, and they -never think of disobeying her. That's one thing I -want to ask you about. If I insist on their obeying -me, will you back me up? I simply crinkle before -Isobel, I hate so to appear to be against her in any way. -But Mabel told me I'm to play up as head of the house, -and I'm not doing it while Isobel upsets any order of -mine with a turn of her little finger. It's awfully weak -of me, but I've always said I was made to be bullied, -I do so hate having rows with people."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The murder was out then.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel had been gone four weeks, and the housekeeping -which had gradually drifted into her hands was now -of course in the command of Elma, or ought to be. -Mrs. Leighton saw at last where Isobel had been getting -hold of the reins of government.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You must not be jealous of Isobel's attractions," -she said. "And you know, Elma, any little squabble -with your cousin would be a rather dreadful thing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Awful," said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Your father would never forgive us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He would understand, though," said Elma. There -was always such a magnificence of justice about her -father.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He is feeling being without the girls so much," -said Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Elma. "But, oh! mother, he is so -pleased now that they are getting on. And isn't it -magnificent of Mabel! That's what makes me think -I must play up here. Miss Grace says it's very weak -to give in on a matter of principle. She says that -whether I'm wrong or right, the servants ought to -obey me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton debated for a long time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I quite see your difficulty," she said. "But above -all things, we must never let Isobel think she hasn't her -first home with us. You understand that, don't you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, mummy," said Elma. "If only you will back -me upon the servant question once. Then I don't -believe we shall have any more trouble with Isobel. I -don't mind about whom she telephones to or whom she -doesn't, but I do mind about the housekeeping. She -thinks I'm such a kid, you know. And I mustn't for -the credit of the family remain a kid all my days."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a far stronger motive to account for Elma's -determination than any mere slight to herself. It was -that Isobel had known about Robin and yet -appropriated him as though he were a person whom one -might make much of. The treatment of Mabel turned -her from a child into a woman blazing for justice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As they sat down to dinner that night, she noticed -that her own little scheme for table decoration had been -changed. At dessert she asked, with her knees trembling -in the old manner, "Who changed my table centre?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nobody answered till Isobel, finding the silence -holding conspicuously, said in a careless way, "Oh, I found -Bertha putting down that green thing." Elma flushed -dismally. (If she could only keep pale.)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She simulated a careless tone, however.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Isobel," she said, "I wish you wouldn't. When -I give directions to the servants, it's very difficult for -me if some one else gives them others." It was lame, -but it was there, the information that she was in control.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Very distracting for the servants, too," said -Mrs. Leighton calmly, and ratified Elma's venture with -her approval.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She ate a grape with extreme care.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Isobel did not answer. She froze in her pink gown -however, and a storm gathered kindling to black anger -in her eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She looked Elma over, her whole bearing carrying -a threat. It was a pose which generally produced -some effect.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Elma was fighting for something more than her -own paltry little authority. She was bucking up "for -Mabel's sake."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She pretended to treat it as a joke now that Isobel -"knew."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So after this I'm in undisputed authority," she -exclaimed, and wondered at herself for her miraculous -calmness. "And if you, Betty, endeavour to get -more salt in the soup or try on any other of your -favourite dodges, I shall--"--she also ate a grape quite -serenely--"I shall half kill you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Betty," she said afterwards, "I feel as though -I had gone in for a bathe in mid-winter. Did you -see her eye!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I did," said Betty. "So did papa. You'll find -it will be easier for us now. How calm you were! -I should have fainted."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My knees were knocking like castanets," said Elma. -"If I had had them japanned, you would have heard -quite a row. But it's very stimulating." It occurred to -her that now she could write in a self-respecting manner -to Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Isobel after this entirely blocked off Elma from -any of her excursions. Even the visits to Miss Grace -were over so far as Isobel was concerned, and Elma -once more had that dear lady to herself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She would not tell Miss Grace how it had happened -that her cousin no longer accompanied her. Occasionally, -however, Isobel stepped in herself and found her -former audience in Miss Annie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>None of it affected Elma as it might have done. -Isobel hardly spoke to her, certainly never when they -were alone. It alarmed Elma how she could light up -when anybody was present, any one who counted, -and be quite companionable to Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This all faded before the success of Mabel and Jean, -who were now writing in the best of spirits.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And oh! "Love of our lives," Adelaide Maud, -who was now in London, had called on them. It -opened up a fairyland to both, for she took them to -her uncle's house, and fêted them generally. -Good old Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no one like her for bringing relief to the -rich, and helping the moderately poor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So Elma described her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It seemed odd that it should be difficult to know -Adelaide Maud except in an emergency. Elma, on -the advice of Miss Grace, merely had to send her -one little note when in London, with Mabel's address, -and Adelaide Maud had called.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There were great consolations to the life she now led -with Isobel. Cuthbert vowed he would come down to -Elma's first dance. How different it was to what -she had anticipated! She would go with Isobel and -Isobel would be sweetly magnificent, and Elma would -feel like a babe of ten. She longed to refuse all -invitations until Mabel came home. Then the unrighteousness -of this aloofness from Isobel beset her, and they -accepted an invitation jointly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Isobel ordered a dream of a dress from London. -Elma was in white. Mabel and Jean sent her white -roses for her hair, the daintiest things. Cuthbert played -up, and George Maclean found her plenty of partners. -Isobel was quite kind. Mr. Leighton had looked sadly -on Elma on seeing her off.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Another bird spreading its wings," said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She looked very small and delicately dainty. Whereas -Isobel, "Isobel was like a double begonia in full -bloom," said Betty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The begonia bloomed till a late hour effulgently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma simply longed all the time for Mabel and Jean, -and oh! "Love of our Lives," Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was Lance who christened her "Love of our Lives."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What's that idiot going on about," asked Cuthbert, -as he swung Elma off on the double hop of a polka.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He is talking about Adelaide Maud. I'm so dull -because she isn't here."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are?" asked Cuthbert.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a curious inflection on the "you" as -though he had said, "You also?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Elma, "though it's so often 'so near -and yet so far' with Adelaide Maud, she is really my -greatest friend."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert seemed impressed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She doesn't need to make so much of the 'so far' -pose," he said gruffly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh yes, she does," replied Elma. "It's her -mother. She withers poor Adelaide Maud to a stick. -It's a wonder she's such a duck. Adelaide Maud, I -mean. Cuthbert, when are you coming home for a -long visit?" she asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Next summer. I shall tell you a great secret. -I think I am to get a lectureship, quite a good thing. -Can you keep it from the pater until I'm sure?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Rather," said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then," he said, "if it isn't all roses here next -summer, you'll only have one person to blame."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"One?" asked Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Visions of Isobel cut everything from her mind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is it Isobel?" she asked mildly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Isobel!" Cuthbert looked so disgusted that she -could have kissed him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She saw Isobel at that moment. She was swaying -round the room in the perfection of rhythm with -no less an old loyalist than George Maclean. Ah, well--all -their good friends might drift over there, but she -still had Cuthbert. The joy of it lent wings to her little -figure. It always had been and always remained -difficult for her to adapt her small stride to men of -Cuthbert's build. This night she suddenly acquired the -strength and ease--the knowledge which really having -him gave her, to make dancing with him become a -facile affair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Cuthbert, this is ripping," she sighed at last. -"If it isn't Isobel, who is it?" she asked him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, Elma, you are a little donkey! Who could -it be, but 'Love of our Lives,' Adelaide Maud?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He swung her far into the middle:--where the floor -became as melted wax, and life opened out to Elma -like a flower.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Cuthbert dear, how ripping," said little Elma.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="herr-slavska"><span class="large">CHAPTER XIX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">Herr Slavska</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Mabel had discovered that a woman with a mission -hasn't such a bad time of it. She set out on her journey -to Jean without one of her usual misgivings. It was -jolly to think that she might be able to be of some -use in the world. The tediousness of a long journey -of changes till she reached the main-line and thundered -direct to London did not pall on her as it had done -before. Throughout she thought, "I'm getting nearer -to Jean, and I shall put her on her feet."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She prepared to hate the girls' club, but to be quite -uninfluenced by it. She would take Jean out, till -neither of them cared what the club was like at all. -She forgot Robin and Isobel and everything except one -thing which she would never forget, and Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She drove up to the door of the club in the most -energetic and independent mood she had ever experienced. -She didn't care whether the secretary looked -her up and down or not. She merely went straight -to Jean's room. Jean didn't at all pretend that it -was a downcome. She simply wept with delight at -the sight of Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And I never shed a tear, not one, till you came," -said she. "I'm so glad you came just when I began -to get better."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel did not dare to tell her that she had only been -home-sick.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If I tell her that, she will lie in bed to convince me -that she is really ill," she thought.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Girls' voices were heard screaming volubly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What's that?" asked Mabel, thinking that some -accident had occurred.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh nothing. They call out for each other from -their different rooms. I thought it was a parrot house -when I came, but I'm getting accustomed to it. They've -been so decent, you can't think, Mabel. I never knew -girls could be so comforting."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Poor Jean," said Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You'll stay, won't you," said Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course I shall. Just imagine, papa wanted -to come and take you home. It would have been so -stale for you after you got there, with those little -presents people gave you and all that kind of thing, if you -had gone right back home again, wouldn't it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Imagine Aunt Katharine alone," said Jean solemnly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So, if you possibly can, Jean, get up as soon as -you feel able to crawl. So that I can say you are all -right. Papa says I may stay for a week or two if you -are."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Mabs, I wish you would stay right on!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Where's my room?" asked Mabel. "What rickety -furniture!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The room is next door, isn't it nice? And the -furniture's bought for girls. They think we like -rickets."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Wickets," corrected Mabel. "You could use that -chair at a match."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Mabs, how jolly it is to have you here to laugh -at it. Mabs, I do feel better."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel saw her up in three-quarters of an hour.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean had still to be treated seriously however.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You know, Mabs, I had the most dreadful feeling. -I could quite understand how poor girls without friends -go and drown themselves."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's more like depression than appendicitis," -Mabel ventured.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I hadn't been sleeping," explained Jean with dignity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel thought of some sleepless nights.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The best cure is always to believe that it can't last," -said she. "Do you remember papa's telling us how -Carlyle comforted Mrs. Carlyle when she had -toothache? He said it wouldn't be permanent."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What a brute," said Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, it sent me to sleep once or twice when I -remembered that," said Mabel. "But you never were ill -like this before. You couldn't believe in getting well, -could you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I was sure I was going to die," said Jean in a hushed -voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel's heart had ached. Could she tell Jean of -that ache and how she had been obliged to cover it up -by making herself believe that it could not possibly be -permanent.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Jean, do you know, I think it's so jolly being here, -getting to know the best way of doing things, and all -that sort of thing, I think I shall ask papa to let me -stay longer. Do you think they would let me?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, they let me--and then I didn't want to," -said Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And I didn't want to and now I do," said Mabel. -"Let's try it for a week or two anyhow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A great depression had been lifted from her shoulders. -She found herself in the midst of girls who had all -something to do in the world. They got up in the morning -and came tearing down to breakfast and made off to -various definite occupations, as though they had nineteen -parties in one day to attend. Some were studying, -others "arrived" and working, only a few playing. -Yet even the last had some excuse in the way of a -problematical career in front of them. Here one saw -where the desire to be something has quite as hygienic -an effect on one, as the faculty of attainment. Mabel -had not been three days in the house till she was as -feverish as any to be getting on. Going with Jean for -her first lesson finished her. Jean was still of the -opinion that she was an invalid, and she certainly was -overwrought and nervous. She would have backed -out of her lesson, except that Mabel accompanied her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They found a magnificent man, well groomed and -of fierce but courtly manners. He shook hands with -the air of an arch-duke.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And which is the fortunate mademoiselle?" he -asked. "Not that I prefer 'fortunate' because that -she happens to be about to be taught by myself, but -she has a voice? Hn?" It was a sound that had -only the effect of asking a question, but how efficiently!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He glared at Mabel, who produced Jean, as it were, -by a motion of the hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is my sister who wants lessons," she said. -This sounded like something out of a grammar book, -and both girls saw the humour of it. But timidly, -because Herr Slavska then invited them to sit, while -he turned to the piano. He threw some music aside -from the desk and cleared a place at the side for his -elbow, as he sat down for a moment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They do not all have voices! No. But som, they -have the sōll. You have the sōll? Hn?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It did not seem necessary to inform Herr Slavska. -He was walking up and down now, flinging out more -sentences before they had time to answer the last.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"For myself. I had the voice and I had the sōll. -That is why I ask 'and who is the mademoiselle who is -so fortunate?' I am a voice, and look at me! I am -a drudge to the great public. I gif lessons to stupids -who do not love music. For what! For money to -keep the stomach alive! Yes, that is it. And yet I -say--which is the mademoiselle which is fortunate? -For vit a voice and vit the sōll, and vit the art which I -shall gif her, what does it matter about the stupid -public? or the stomach?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Herr Slavska waited for no answers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"For years I was wrong. I had no art. None. I -sang to the stupids and they applauded. At last I -make great discovery, I find the art. Now I sing to -the few."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Herr Slavska paused for a moment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My sister has had no training at all, except as a -pianist," said Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hn? Then I haf her, a flower, a bud unplucked!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Herr Slavska grew excited.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No nasty finger mark, no petal fallen. Ah! it -is luck, it is luck for mademoiselle. Come, mademoiselle."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He struck a note.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Will you sing ze!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean sang "ze." She sang "zo." Then he ran -her voice into the top and bottom registers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You have the comprehension. It is the great -matter," said Herr Slavska.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then he blazed at her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His "the," quite English when he remained polished -and firm, degenerated into a "ze" at times such as these.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You haf not ze breath, none," said he, as though -Jean had committed an outrage.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean, however, had begun to glow with the ardour -of future accomplishment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's what I came to learn," she said promptly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Aha, she has charac*tere*."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Herr Slavska was delighted, but Jean found this -constant dissection of herself trying.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the real work began. Herr Slavska breathed, -made Jean breathe, hammered at her, expostulated, -showed his own ribs rising and falling while his voice -remained even, tender, beautiful.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel sat clasping her hands over one another.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Herr Slavska, what a beautiful voice you have," -she burst out at last.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He looked at her with the greatest surprise.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! You are her sister? Hn? And you sit -there listening to us?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had forgotten her existence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you are not of the stupids, no! You say I -haf a beautiful voice? Hn? It is ze art, mademoiselle, -zat you hear now. Sixty-five, I am zat age! And I -still fight for ze stomach wit my beautiful voice. But -you are of ze few, is it not? I vil sing to you, -mademoiselle, just once. Your sister goes. Ten minutes, -mademoiselle--only ten minutes. Zen a rest. And -every day to me for two weeks! Hn? Is it not so?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then he cast up his arms in despair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Helas! It is my accompaniste. He </span><em class="italics">is</em><span> not!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean the direct stepped in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Mabel will play," she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Herr Slavska took one of his deepest breaths.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I say I shall sing to you--I Herr Slavska. Ant -you say 'Mabel will play.' Hn? Mabel? Who is -dis grand Mademoiselle Mabel?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The humour of it suddenly appeared to come upper-most, -and Herr Slavska became wickedly, cunningly suave.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah yes, then if mademoiselle will," he said blandly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He produced music.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel was rooted with fear to the couch. Never in -her life before had she been nervous.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Jean, how could you," whispered she.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Oh, fortune and the best of luck! He turned to a -song of Brahms'. How often had Mabel tried to drum -that song into the willing but uncultured Robin! That -Robin in his lame way should help her now seemed -the funniest freak of fate. She played the first bars -hopefully, joyfully. She </span><em class="italics">knew</em><span> she couldn't do -anything silly there.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But what!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Herr Slavska had caught her by the shoulders, and -looked in her eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mademoiselle Mabel! From ze country! Mademoiselle -plays like zat! Hn?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He bowed grandly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My apologies, Mees Mademoiselle Mabel. We vill -haf a rehearsal."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He sang through part of his programme for a concert. -Mabel energetically remarked afterwards to Jean -that she had never really felt heavenly in her life -before.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Jean," she said, "</span><em class="italics">Jean.</em><span>"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What would you," said Herr Slavska. "You -must also study a little Mees Mademoiselle Mabel. You -have great talent. Ah, if you could study in ze Bohemian -school, Mees Mademoiselle. Hav I not said for years -to these stupids stupids public, there is no school like -to that of Prague? Now all ze violinists tumble tumble -over ze one another to Sevcik to go. See, it is ze fate. -If you could go to Prague, mademoiselle. Prague would -make a great artiste of you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Here was living, wonderful life for Mabel! If Herr -Slavska thought so much of her, why should she not -have lessons in London?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton never received such a letter as he had -from her next day. If was full of thanks for his having -made her play so much and go to concerts when she was -young. "Now I really know the literature of music. -It's the little slippy bits of technique that I'm not up -in. I saw every one of them come out and hit me in -the eye when I played for Herr Slavska. Do you think -I could really stay and take lessons, dear papa? It -would prime me for such a lot. I've often thought -about Cuthbert for instance, that it must be so jolly -for him to feel primed. And after knowing life here, -I'd only be more contented at home. It isn't that one -can't be bored in London. I think you can far far more -than anywhere. If you saw that girl with the pink -bow! She only dresses and dresses, one costume for -the morning, another for the afternoon and so on. I -suppose she has been taught to be a perfect lady. The -girls in our house aren't the crowd that believe in being -like men or anything of that sort. They want to get -married if they meet a nice enough husband. But -nobody wants to get left, and it's so nice to be primed -for that. I've sometimes felt I might one day be 'left,' -and it's awful. I shouldn't mind so much if I had a -profession. Jean is like a new girl. She's full of -breathings and 'my method' and all that kind of thing. And -she has to have an egg flip every morning at eleven if -you please. I'm longing to have a master who orders -me egg flip, but they don't do that for piano, do they?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, please, papa, say you don't care for us for six -months, and let us do you some credit at last. We were -just little </span><em class="italics">potty</em><span> players at Ridgetown...."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton took a mild attack of influenza on the -strength of this, but he was infinitely pleased at the -enthusiasm of Mabel. Mrs. Leighton got into the Aunt -Katharine mood, where such "goings on" seemed -iniquitous.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't see why you should pay so much money to -keep them out of their own home," said she.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By next post, she sent a hamper of cakes to the girls.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then came a letter from Mr. Leighton, which Mabel -locked in a little morocco case along with some other -treasures, "to keep for ever."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am to stay, and I'm to have lessons from any -Vollendollenvallejowski I like to name," she cried to -Jean. The two rocked on a bamboo chair in happy -abandonment till some explosive crackling sounds -warned them that joy had its limits.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Every girl in the house was invited into the tea "with -cakes from home."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What a love of a father and a duck of a mother -we've got," said the convalescent homesick Jean.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-shilling-seats"><span class="large">CHAPTER XX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">The Shilling Seats</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Jean owed a great debt to Isobel for having told her -of Slavska, and acknowledged it extravagantly in every -letter. Now there was the difficulty of finding a piano -teacher; but here Mabel explained to Jean as nearly -as she could why she could not seek the advice of Isobel. -Isobel, if they knew, already lamented that she had given -away Slavska, it was such an opening to the girls for -being independent of her experience. Herr Slavska -would recommend no one in London.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They all play for the stupids," he declared. At -last in a better mood, he remembered a certain -"Monsieur, Monsieur--Green."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel laughed at the drop to a plain English name.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah no! Smile not," said Herr Slavska. "His -mother, of the Latin race, and his father, mark you, a -Kelt! What wonder of a result! I will introduce -you to the Sir, Herr, Monsieur Green. He is young, -but of Leschetitzky. I recommend him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There seemed nothing more to be said, except that -two girls in the club knew Mr. Green's playing and said -that no one else really existed in London. A great deal -underlay Herr Slavska's "I recommend him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel met one of the keenest enthusiasts of her life -when she met Mr. Green.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Isn't it queer," said Jean afterwards, who, in spite -of egg flips and methods, was in a dejected mood that -day, "isn't it queer that an old boy like Herr Slavska -and a young one like Mr. Green should both have the -same delusions. About music, I mean, being so keen -on it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You can't call that voice of Herr Slavska's a -delusion."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel had been much impressed by what Mr. Green -had said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mark you, at such an age, there is no voice like -Slavska's in existence. Your sister is fortunate in -learning his method."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's what Mr. Slavska said," Jean had answered -amiably, and it had started Mr. Green off on his lessons -with Mabel in a cheerful mood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Herr is not sparing of his compliments when -it is himself that is concerned," he said, laughing loudly. -"But he can afford to tell the truth."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It seemed lovely to Mabel, this tribute from one man -to another.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"More than your old Slavska said of my man," she -told Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Green was a distracting teacher. He pulled -Mabel's playing down to decimals. Where she had -formerly found her effects by merely feeling them, he -subtracted feeling until she imagined she could not -play piano at all. Then he began to build up her -technique like a builder adding bricks to a wall.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You must imagine that you have eaten of the good -things of life until you are a little ill, so that good or -bad taste very much alike. Then you come to me for -the cure. I diet you with uninteresting things, which -you do not like, and you imagine I am hard because I -do not allow you to eat. Then one day I give you a -little tea and toast. Now, Miss Leighton, you have -worked to curve the third finger a trifle more than you -did. Will you play that study of Chopin which you -once performed to me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel had practised dry technique and had kept -cheerfully away from all "pieces" as directed. She -played the study.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bravo," said Mr. Green. It was his first encouragement.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why," said Mabel, "how nice it is to be able to -play it like that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is your tea and toast," said Mr. Green.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Into their hard-working life came delightfully Adelaide -Maud. Their enthusiasm carried her into scenes she -had never visited. She attended concerts in the shilling -seats, and took tea once at an A.B.C. The shilling -seats fascinated Adelaide Maud. The composite crowd -of girls, with excited interest; of budding men musicians, -groomed and ungroomed, the latter disporting hair -which fell on the forehead in Beethoven negligence, the -dark, lowering musician's scowl beneath--what pets -they all were! Pets in the zoological sense some of -them, but yet what pets! She caught the infection of -their ardour when a great or a new performer appeared. -Had any crowd ever paid such homage to one of her set, -never! Fancy inflaming hearts to that extent. Adelaide -Maud could feel her pulses responding.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," she said after one of these experiences when -they were in Fuller's and ate extravagantly of walnut -cream cake, "it's as much fun to me to go to these -concerts, as it would be for you to--to.----" It dawned -on her that any comparison might not be polite.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To go to court," said Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, </span><em class="italics">have</em><span> you ever been presented?" asked Jean -of Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel stared at her. All their life they had followed -Adelaide Maud's career, and Jean forgot that she had -been presented. Adelaide Maud herself might have -been a little hurt, but she was only amused.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I was--in Queen Victoria's time. I'm an old stager, -you know," she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Wasn't it lovely," asked Jean, who had once called -her past.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't think so," said Adelaide Maud. "At least -I happened to enjoy the wrong part, that was all. I -loved going out with the sunshine pouring into the -carriage and everybody staring at us. It was very hot -and the windows had to be down, and I heard things. -One girl said 'Oh, lollipops, look at 'er 'air. Dyed that -is.' Another quite gratified me by ejaculating in an -Irish voice, 'Oh, the darlint.' 'You mustn't,' said her -friend, 'she'll 'ear you.' 'I mean the horses, stupid,' -said the girl. She had her eye on the Life Guards. -Mamma was disgusted. But in the palace it was not -nearly so distinguished. Nobody admired one at all, -just hustled one by. I think we were cross all the -time."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think it would be lovely to be cross in Buckingham -Palace," sighed Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They all laughed. Adelaide Maud in particular -seemed to be thinking about something which -interested her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Would it be fun for you to see some of the people -who are going to the great ball," she asked. "I don't -mean to go to the ball, but Lady Emily is to be at home -for the early part of that evening and some people are -coming in on the way. I asked her if I might have -you to dinner--and she's quite pleased about it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel and Jean sat in a blissful state of rapture. -("Lady Emily! The gorgeous and far-away Lady Emily!")</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said Jean, "Elma would say, 'I should be -terrified.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And I should say we'll be perfectly delighted," -said Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It cost her no tremor at all to think of going. This -reminded Adelaide Maud of Miss Grace's prophecy -that there was no sphere in life which Mabel could -not enter becomingly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Put on that pretty pink thing you wore in -Ridgetown, lately," she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The name of Ridgetown brought them closer to -realities. This was Miss Dudgeon of The Oaks with -whom they ate cream cake. Jean said, "I'm sure -to give the wrong titles. You don't mind I hope."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Adelaide Maud. At the same time she -was dying with the desire that they should do her -infinite credit. Carefully she thought over the matter -and then spoke. "In any case it's so much a matter -of one's manner in doing it. I remember when Lady -Emily was ill once, she had a very domineering nurse, -who tossed her head one time and said to me, 'I -suppose she wants me to be humble and "my lady" her, -but not a bit of me.' Then one of the most -distinguished surgeons in England was called in, and his -first words were, 'And how d'ye do, my lady.' He -called her 'my lady' throughout, quite unusual you -know, and yet in so dignified and kind a manner, -as though he were saying, 'I know, but I prefer my -own way in the matter.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What a drop to the nurse," said Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean looked reflective.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you know, you've told me something I didn't -know," she said. "I never quite knew how one ought to -address Lady Emily. It's so different at Ridgetown," -she exclaimed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud seemed a little confused, but -answered heartily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, none of it's a trouble when you really meet -people. They are so much simpler than one would -think."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel saw that Adelaide Maud had given them her -first tip. It was sweetly done, but then----! Anyhow, -they had given Adelaide Maud plenty of tips about -getting in early to seats in the Queen's Hall and minor -affairs of that sort. Why shouldn't the benefits work -both ways?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was about the time of Elma's ball, when they -sent the white roses, and Adelaide Maud said she would -help them to choose.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I should like to send little Elma a crown of pearls, -but I daren't," said she with a sigh. "She's such a -pet, isn't she!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Timorous, but a pet," said Jean with a broad smile.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She is holding the fort just now at any rate," -responded Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They thought it would be all right to tell Adelaide -Maud something of what Elma had written.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I trembled, of course," Elma had said; "but the -thing had to be done. I wouldn't for a moment let -you think that you couldn't come home and slip in -to the places that belong to you. Isobel would have -possessed the whole house if I hadn't played up. I -don't know why she wants to. It must be so much -nicer not to have to bother about servants and table -centres. But she has never squeaked since I spoke -about it. In fact, she won't even speak to me unless -some one is about, passes me without a word."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Poor darling," said Adelaide Maud; "what a -worm your cousin must be."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, I don't think she's that," said Mabel; "it's -just that she simply must rule, you know. She must -have everything good that is going."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"H'm," answered Adelaide Maud. "Why doesn't -that brother of yours go slashing about a little, and -keep her from bullying Elma."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Elma would never tell Cuthbert. Don't you -see it mightn't be fair to prejudice him against Isobel. -Isobel thinks such a lot of Cuthbert."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A long clinging silence depreciated the conversational -prowess of Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," she said, in a conventional voice, "We've -had a lovely day. Let me know when you are going -to another concert. And I shall send you full -particulars about Lady Emily."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were walking along Regent Street to find -their shop for the flowers. It seemed that Adelaide -Maud was about to desert them. She beckoned for -a hansom and got inside. Mabel and Jean felt that -they said good-bye to Miss Dudgeon of The Oaks. In -another second they had gone on and Adelaide Maud -had had her hansom pulled up beside them again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Jean, Jean," she called, quite radiant again. "I -forgot the most important thing. It's about lessons. -Do you think that your Splashkaspitskoff would -condescend to give me some?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was rather mad of Adelaide Maud, but she got -out and paid off the hansom.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It isn't so late as I thought it was," she said lamely. -But Mabel knew that she came to make up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean only thought of the lessons.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You will find him so splendid," she said, "and such -a gentleman."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I like that," said Mabel. "Why--he talks about -the most revolting things."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's his manners that are so wonderful," said Jean -in a championing manner. They had found their -shop by this time and were looking at white roses. -When Mabel said, "Do you think these are nice?" Jean -might be heard explaining, "It's the method you -know that is so wonderful."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And when at last they had decided about roses and -arranged about the lessons, Adelaide Maud thought -she must immediately buy a hat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I quite forgot that I wanted a hat," she said -gravely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They went to one of the best shops, and sat in three -chairs, with Adelaide Maud surrounded by mirrors. -Tall girls sailed up like swans and laid a hat on her -bright hair and walked away again. Adelaide Maud -turned and twisted and looked lovely in about a dozen -different hats. After looking specially superb in one, -she would say. "Take that one away, I don't like it -at all."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Occasionally the swans would put on a hat and sail -about in order to show the effect. Then Adelaide -Maud would look specially languid and appear more -dissatisfied than ever. At last she fixed on one which -contained what she called "a dead seagull."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why you spoil that pretty hat with a dead bird, -I can't think," she exclaimed to the attendant. "Look -at its little feet turned up."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then, "You must take this bird out, and give me -flowers."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She began pinning on her own hat again. In a -second the bird was gone, and the swanlike personages -sailing over the grey white carpet, brought charming -bunches of which they tried the effect "for modom."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, do get heliotrope," said Mabel. "It's so -gorgeous with your hair."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud swung round.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And I've been making up my mind to white for -the last half-hour. How can you, Mabel!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She chose a mass of white roses, "dreaming in velvet."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud rose, gave directions about sending, -and prepared to leave.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't you want to know the price?" asked Mabel -in great amazement.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, of course."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud asked the price.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The total took Mabel's breath away.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You must never marry a poor man," said she as -they passed out. Adelaide Maud stopped humbly in -a passage of grey velvet and silver gilt.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I never," she said. Then walking on, she -asked in a very humble, mocking tone, "Will you -teach me, Mabs, how to shop so that I may marry a -poor man."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel laughed gaily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank you," said she. "That sounds as though -you think that I ought to know. Am I to marry a -poor man?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud laughed outright, and took her -briskly by the arm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I didn't mean that. I believe you will marry a -duke. But you see--you think me so extravagant, and -I might have to be poor."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That dead seagull going cost you a guinea alone," -said Mabel accusingly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And they kept the seagull," said Adelaide Maud. -"How wanton of me!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've had a very nice hat for a guinea," said Mabel, -with a smirk of suppressed laughter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And yet you won't marry a poor man," said -Adelaide Maud. "How unjust the world is."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They parted in better form than they had done an -hour earlier.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Wasn't she queer," said Jean, "to go off like that?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Queerer that she came back," said Mabel. "Do -you know what I think? I believe Adelaide Maud -bought that hat simply--simply----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To kill time," said Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No. To stay with us a little longer," said Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's more than any of the Dudgeons ever thought -of doing before--if it's true!" said blunt, robust Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But I don't believe it is," said she. "Let's scoot -for that bus or we'll lose it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So they scooted for the bus.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="at-lady-emily-s"><span class="large">CHAPTER XXI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">At Lady Emily's</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Adelaide Maud found herself possessed of quite a -fervid longing. She wanted to see Mabel and Jean -disport themselves with dignity at Lady Emily's. -What had always remained difficult in Ridgetown -seemed to become curiously possible at Lady Emily's, -where indeed the highest in the land might be met. -That she might make real friends of the two girls at -last seemed to become a possibility. It was not merely -the fact of Lady Emily's being a "complete dear" -that constituted the difference. It was more the -absence of the Ridgetown standards. There were -never upstarts to be found at Lady Emily's. Her -own character sifted her circle in an automatic manner. -That which was vulgar or self-seeking had no response -from her. Racy people found her dull, would-be -smart persons quite inanimate. She could no more -help being unresponsive to them than she could help -being interested in others whom she respected. It -was a distinguished circle which surrounded her, and -those who never pierced it, never understood how -easily it was formed, how inviolately kept. Occasionally -Lady Emily's "tact" was upheld as the secret -of her power.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And I have absolutely no tact at all," she would -moan. "I simply follow my impulses as a child would."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was the unerring correctness of her impulses which -made Adelaide Maud believe that she would welcome -the Leightons.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lady Emily had married a brother of Mr. Dudgeon's. -Adelaide Maud's devotion to her father's memory put -her uncle into the position of a kind of patron saint -of her own existence. She sometimes thought that -his character supplied a number of these impulses -which made Lady Emily the dear she was. Lady -Emily was the daughter of a Duke, and had none of the -aspirations of a climber, her family having climbed -so long ago, that any little beatings about a modern -ladder seemed ridiculous. Her brother was the present -duke of course, and "made laws in London," as Miss -Grace used to describe it. This phantom of a duke, -intermarried in a way into her family, had prevented -Mrs. Dudgeon from knowing any of the Ridgetown -people--intimately that is. Yet the duke never called, -and Lady Emily wore her dull coat of reserve when -in Mrs. Dudgeon's company. Lady Emily's heart -went out, however, to the "golden-haired girls" who -spent their seasons with her in London.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was perfectly sweet about the Leightons, and -called at the girls' club in state. What an honour!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The girls found their ideas tumbling. Lady Emily -was much more "easy" than any one they had met.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They prepared for the dinner quite light-heartedly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After all, it could only be a dream. London was a -dream. London in the early winter with mellow air, -only occasionally touched with frost, glittering lights -in the evenings, and crowds of animated people. So -different from the dew dripping avenues of streets at -Ridgetown.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They "skimmed" along in a hansom to Lady -Emily's and thought they were the most dashing -persons in London.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But it's only a dream, remember," said Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They went in radiantly through wide portals. Footmen -moved out of adjacent corners and bowed them -on automatically.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel loved it, but Jean for a few agonizing seconds -felt over-weighted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then "it's only a dream!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They dreamed through a mile of corridor and ran -into Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The dream passed and they were chatting gaily at -shilling seat gossip, and that sort of thing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud made the maids skim about. They -liked her, that was evident. Mabel and Jean were -prinked up and complimented.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are ducks, you know," said Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They proceeded to the drawing-room.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Here the point was marked between the time when -the girls had never known Mr. Dudgeon and the time -when they did. Mabel never forgot that fine, spare -figure, standing in a glitter of gilt panelled walls, of -warm light from a fire and glimmering electric brackets, -of pale colour from the rugs on the floor. He had -the grey ascetic face of the scholarly man brought -up in refinement, and his expression contained a great -amount of placidity. He had dark, scrutinizing eyes, -and a kind mouth, where lines of laughter came and -went. Jean approached tremblingly, for now it -suddenly dawned on her that she had never been informed -why the husband of Lady Emily should only be plain -"Mr. Dudgeon." Was this right, or had she not listened -properly? Then Adelaide Maud said distinctly, -"Mr. Dudgeon." Jean concluded that it was their puzzle, -not hers, and shook hands with him radiantly. Mabel -only thought that at last she had met one more man -who might be compared to her father.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They sat down on couches of curved legs and high -backs, "the kind of couches that make one manage to -look as magnificent as possible," as Jean described it. -Mr. Dudgeon said Lady Emily was being indulged -with a few moments' grace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's the one thing we have always to do for Lady -Emily," said he, "to give her a few minutes' grace." He -began to talk to them in a quick, grave manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean again informed herself, "It is a dream."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One would have thought that Mr. Dudgeon was -really interested in them both. And how could he -be--he--the husband of the daughter of a duke! He -asked all about how long they had known Adelaide -Maud and so on.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel was not dreaming, however. She sat daintily -on the high-backed couch and told Mr. Dudgeon about -the Story Books.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There they were, only ten minutes in the room, and -Mr. Dudgeon, who had never seen Mabel or Jean before, -was hearing all about the Story Books.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And Adelaide Maud, who had begun to imagine -she knew the Leightons, heard this great fable for the -first time in her life.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Uncle," she said, "uncle, isn't this sweet, isn't -this fame?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is," said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you wonder that I don't go to the ball?" she -asked. "And you've done this ever since you were -children?" she asked. "Made fairies of us! And I'm -'Adelaide Maud,' am I? Who once called me -Adelaide?" She looked puzzled. "Dear me, if only we -had known. And not even Miss Grace to tell me!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, we bound them over," said Mabel, "and no -one else ever heard of it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She doesn't tell you all," said wicked Jean. "She -doesn't tell you that we sat behind you once at a -concert, and Mabel saw, properly you know, how your -blue dress was made."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Jean, Jean," said Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, and had hers made just like it," said Jean. -She spread her hands a little.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Rucked down the front, you remember."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I remember," laughed Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And when you came to call--Mabel couldn't put -on her prettiest gown, because it was just like yours."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Jean," cried Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the midst of some laughter came in Lady Emily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," she said in a gentle way, "you people are -enjoying yourselves, aren't you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud knew then that the day was won -for Mabel and Jean. Mr. Dudgeon was always a -certain quality, but Lady Emily--well, she had seen Lady -Emily when people called her "dull." It was wonderful -with what grace Lady Emily adapted herself to -the interests of two girls almost unknown to her. The -effect might be gleaned from what Jean said afterwards.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lady Emily was so sweet, I never bothered about -forks or anything. There was such a love of a -footman! I believe he shoved things into my hands just -when I ought to use them. It always worries me to -remember--when I'm talking--just like the figures -at lancers, you know, but here they did everything for -one except eat."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lady Emily had on a beautiful diamond ornament -at her throat, and another in her hair, and they scintillated -in splendour. She wore a dress of white chiffon -for the ball.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You insist on dragging me there?" Mr. Dudgeon -asked several times. Whenever a pause occurred -in the conversation he said, "You insist on carrying -me off to this ball, don't you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lady Emily also pretended that she had to go very -much against her will. Mabel and Jean had never -seen people set out to balls in this way before. They -themselves had always their mad rush of dressing -and their wild rush in the cloakroom for programmes, -and a most enervating pause for partners and then -the thing was done. But Lady Emily and Mr. Dudgeon -tried to pan out the quiet part of the evening as far -as it would pan out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then came a trying time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the drawing-room, quite late, very gorgeous people -arrived. Jean was endeavouring to remember whether or -not she took sugar with tea when the first of them came -in. The spectacle made her seize three lumps one after -another, to gain time, when as a fact she never took -more than one. They fell in a very flat small cup of -tea and splashed it slightly in various directions. She -was always very pleased to remember that she didn't -apologize to the footman.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The gorgeous people seemed only to see Lady Emily -and to talk to the electric light brackets. They said -the ball was a bore.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A rather magnificent and very stout personage settled -himself near Mabel. He wore shining spectacles which -magnified his eyes in a curious manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hey, what, what," he said to Mabel. "And you -aren't a Dudgeon! Hey! Thought you were one. -Quite a lot of 'em, you know. Always croppin' up. -Golden hair, I remember. And yours is brownish. -Ah, well. You're a friend, you say. Quite as good, -quite as good. Not going to the ball. Consider -yourself in luck. Not a manjack but says the same. Why -they make it a ball, Heaven knows. Never dance, you -know. Hey what! None of us able for it. Not so -bad as levees though. There, imagine Slowbeetle -in white calves. There he is, that old totterer. Yet -he does it. Honour of his country, calls of etiquette -and that sort of thing. You're young, missed a lot -of this, eh! Well, it's mostly farce, y'know. We -prance a lot. Not always amusin'. Relief to know -Lady Emily. No prance about her. Hey, what!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud approached.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah, here we are. Thought you had dyed it. Golden -as ever, my dear. Pleasant to see you again. Why -aren't you and this lady goin'? We could stay. -Instead of prancin', eh!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The ill humour of having to go to the ball was on -all of them evidently. But this spectacled benignity -fascinated Mabel. He again was a "complete dear."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm going to steal her," said Adelaide Maud, -indicating Mabel, darkly; "you wait."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hey, what! I'll report. Report to Lady Emily, -y'know. Ye've taken my first partner. Hey, what! -Piano? Ah, well. Not in my line, but I'm with you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He actually accompanied them to a long alcove where -a piano stood half shrouded in flowers. Here Adelaide -Maud had withdrawn the little party of Jean, Mabel -and herself, that they might look and play a little -and enjoy themselves.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Simpkins, more tea," she whispered. "We didn't -have half enough."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was an admirable picnic. Mabel played "any -old thing," as Adelaide Maud called it, ran on from -one to another while they joked and talked and watched -the "diplomatic circles" gathering force in the -drawing-room. The spectacled gentleman sat himself down in -complete enjoyment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"D'ye know," he said to Jean in the same detached -manner and without any kind of introduction, "no -use at that kind of thing," indicating the piano, "but -the girl can play. Fills me with content. Content's -the word. Difficult to find nowadays. She doesn't -strain. Not a bit. She smooths one down. A real -talent. And a child! Hey, what, quite remarkable."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lady Emily came slowly in. Two people talked to her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The spectacled gentleman rose, and they listened to him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't interrupt, Lady Emily. She's got the floor, -y'know. I've heard prima donnas. Here too. And -they didn't smooth me down. Catch a note or two of -this. It gives its effect, hey? Gets your ear. Hey, -what--if we had her in the House there might be hope -for the country, hey, what!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lady Emily was pleased.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She laid her hand on Mabel's shoulder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you liking this?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, it's such a dream, and you are so lovely, Lady -Emily, and it doesn't seem real. So it's very easy to -play, you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I should make them stop talking, but they came -for that, you know. And you are playing so well, it's too -pretty an interlude. Helen didn't tell me that you -could play like this."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And my new master makes me believe I can't play -a note," said Mabel. "I shall tell him he is quite -wrong, because you said so."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Aunt Katharine's words came to her mind--playing -at one end of the country no better than the other! -Ah, well, it was newer, fresher, or something--taking -it either way!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of course it came to an end. The girls slipped out -with Adelaide Maud and found the long corridor with -the white room containing their wraps and two attentive -maids. They were covered up in their cloaks, and -watched one or two leave before them, as they stood -looking down on them from the staircase.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nobody will miss us," said Adelaide Maud. "They -are 'going on,' you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was something rather sad in her voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They all go on to something or somebody, even -that dear old Earl Knuptford, he will pick you -at the same place next year that he found you at -to-night, and say, 'Hey, what,' and never think that -both he and you have dropped twelve months out of -your lives. It's different at Ridgetown, isn't it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, there's nothing to go on to at Ridgetown, is -there?" said Jean grimly. "And nobody to forget -or to say, 'Hey, what,' even if they had never met you -before."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her world was full of shining diplomats and she had -chatted with an earl.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud looked softly after them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nothing to go on to at Ridgetown," she murmured. -"And no one to forget."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She smiled softly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! well, it's nice that there's no one to forget."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-engagement"><span class="large">CHAPTER XXII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">The Engagement</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The night at Lady Emily's was by no means a first -step into a new and fashionable world. Mabel and -Jean never doubted for a moment that they were -anything but spectators of that brilliant gathering. Even -Adelaide Maud was only a spectator. Lady Emily -and her husband were different from the world in -which they moved because they had hobbies and minor -interests which they occasionally allowed to interfere -with the usual routine. Mr. Dudgeon had been known -to skip a state banquet for a book which he has just -received. And Lady Emily would make such calls -and give such invitations as resulted in that wonderful -little dinner party. But as for any of her set being -interested, why, there was no time for that. Place -something in their way, like Mabel sitting on a couch, -part of which Earl Knuptford desired to make use -and one met a "belted Earl." He became interested -and dropped sentences pell-mell on Mabel's astonished -head. For days, Jean dreamed of large envelopes -arriving--"The Earl and Countess of Knuptford -request," etc.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>("You donkey, there's no countess," interjected -Mabel.) The Earl would as soon have thought of -inviting the lamp post which brought his motor to a -full stop and his Lordship's gaze on it correspondingly. -Bring these people to a pause in front of something, -and they might delay themselves to interview it. But -while one is not part of the machinery which takes -them on, there is no chance of continuing the acquaintance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud told them as much. It seemed to -Mabel that Adelaide Maud wanted them to know that -though she lived in this world, she was by no means -of it. She enjoyed herself often quite as much in the -shilling seats. Her view of things did not prevent -Mabel and Jean from participating in benefits to be -derived from the acquaintance of Lady Emily. There -ensued a happy time when they had seats at the Opera, -of which an autumn season was in full swing, of -occasional concerts and drives, and once they went with -Lady Emily and Mr. Dudgeon far into the country on -a motor. For the rest, friends of their own looked -them up, and they had hardly a moment unfilled -with practising which was not devoted to going about -and seeing the world of London. The Club improved -with acquaintance, and it was wonderful how the very -girls who annoyed Jean so much on her arrival became -part of their very existence. "We are so dull," she -would write home, "because Violet has gone off for the -week end," or "We didn't go out because Ethel and -Gertrude wanted us to have tea with them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud left for home. That was the -tragic note of their visit. Then Cousin Harry turned up -with his sister and her husband and offered to run them -over to Paris for Christmas. Here the cup overflowed. -Paris!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a new wrench for Mr. Leighton, who meant to -get them home for Christmas and if possible keep them -there. But he knew that a trip with Mrs. Boyne would -be of another "seventh heaven" order, and once more -he gave way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Can you hold the fort a little longer?" wrote Mabel -to Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma held the fort.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She held it, wondering often what would come of it -all. She was in the position of a younger sister to one -she did not love. Isobel chaperoned her everywhere. -They had reached a calm stage where they took each -other in quite a polite manner, but never were -confidential at all. Mr. and Mrs. Leighton saw the -politeness and were relieved. They saw further, and lamented -Isobel's great friendship with the Merediths. It seemed -to Mr. Leighton that although he would much rather -leave the affair alone, that Isobel was in his care, that -she was a handsome, magnificent girl, and that she -ought not to be offered calmly as a sort of second sacrifice -to the caprices of Robin. He spoke to her one evening -very gently about it when they were alone.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I thought I ought to tell you," said Mr. Leighton, -"that in a tacit sort of manner, Mr. Meredith attached -himself very closely to Mabel. She was so young that -I did not interfere, as now I am very much afraid I -ought to have done. It is a little difficult, you see, for -your Aunt in particular, who is asked on every side, -'I had understood that Mabel was to marry Mr. Meredith.' I -want you to know of course that Mabel never -will marry him now. I should see to that myself, if -she had not already told me that she had no desire to. -He is not tied in any way, except, as I consider, in -the matter of honour. I did not interfere before, but -at present I am almost compelled to. I'm before -everything your guardian, my dear. I should like you to -find a man worthy of yourself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had done it as kindly as he knew how.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Isobel sat calmly gazing past him into the fire. There -was no ruffling of her features. Only a faint suggestion -of power against which it seemed luckless to fight.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I knew a good deal of this, of course," she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh." Mr. Leighton started slightly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes. But of course there is a similar tale of every -man, and every girl--wherever they are boxed up in -a place of this size. Somebody has to make love to -somebody. I don't suppose Mr. Meredith thought of -marriage."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It seemed as though Mr. Leighton were the young, -inexperienced person, and that Isobel was the one to -impart knowledge.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In justice to Mr. Meredith, I do not know in the -slightest what he thought. That is where my case -loses its point. I ought to have known. I certainly, -of course, think that I ought to know now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said Isobel. She rose very simply and looked -as placid as a lake on a calm morning. "That is very -simple. Mr. Meredith intends to marry me whenever -I give him the opportunity."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton was thunderstruck. At the bottom -of his mind, he was thankful now that "his girls" were -away. Memories of the stumbling block which the -existence of Robin's sister had before occasioned made -him ask first, "Does Miss Meredith know?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He spoke in quite a calm manner. It frustrated -Isobel for the moment, who had expected an outburst. -She wavered slightly in her answer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know," she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton moved impatiently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is just it," he said. "This young man makes -tentative arrangements and leaves out the important -parties to it. Miss Meredith is quite capable of upsetting -her brother's plans. Do you know it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It seemed that Isobel did. It seemed that Miss -Meredith was the one person who could ruffle her. -From that day of negligently answering and partly -snubbing her in the train, Isobel had showed a side -of cool indifference to Miss Meredith.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I want you to know, Uncle, that I shall not consider -Miss Meredith in the slightest."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Could this be a young girl?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you know what Mabel, what all of you did? -You considered Miss Meredith. What were the -consequences? She gave Mabel away with both hands. -She wants her brother to marry Miss Dudgeon. He -won't marry Miss Dudgeon. He will marry me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She rose slightly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And Miss Meredith won't have the slightest possible -say in the matter."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton looked rather pale. He flicked quietly -the ash from his cigar before answering her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's a different way of dealing with people than -I am accustomed to. Will you keep your decision open -for a little yet?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shall, till summer, when we mean to be married."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There seemed to be no altering the fact that she was -to be married.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I should be so sorry if, while here with me--with -all of us, you did not find a man worthy of you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I won't change my mind," she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And Robin?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had returned to the old term.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He didn't change his mind before. Miss Meredith -did it for him. I am quite alive to the fact that if -Miss Meredith hadn't interfered, and I hadn't come, -he would now be engaged to Mabel."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton appeared dumbfoundered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you care very much for him?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, yes." Isobel looked almost helplessly at him. -"He isn't the man I dreamed of, but he is mine, you -know. It has come to that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She sank on her knees beside him, her eyes blazing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Isn't it an indignity for me, as much as for Mabel, -to take what she didn't want? You say she doesn't -want him. At first--oh! I only desired to show my -power. I always meant to marry a wealthier man. -But it's no use. He is a waverer, don't I know it. I -see him calculating whether I'm worth the racket. I -see that--I! Isn't it deplorable! But I mean to -make a man of him. He never has been one before. -And I mean to marry him, Uncle."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton smoked and smoked at his cigar. He -was beginning at last to fathom the nature that took -what it wanted--with both hands.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Isobel," he said gently, "let us drop all this -question of Mabel. It isn't that which comes -upper-most, now. It's the question of what you lose by -marrying in this way. Don't you know that this dropping of -Miss Meredith, this way of 'paying her out,' you know, -well, it may give you Robin intact; but have you an -idea what you may lose in the process? I don't admire -the girl, but--she is his sister. I have never known"--he -threw away his cigar--"I have never yet known of -a happy, a really happy marriage, where the happiness -of two was built on the discomfiture of others. Won't -you reconsider the whole position of being down on -Miss Meredith, and paying everybody out who was -concerned in Robin's affairs before you knew him? -Won't you try to make your wedding a happiness to -every one--even to Miss Meredith?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said Isobel, "I don't know that the average -bride thinks much of the happiness of relations. She -has her trousseaux and the guests to be invited, and -all that sort of thing." She turned over a book which -was lying near. "I don't think I should have time -for Miss Meredith," she said coldly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton sat quite quietly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Will you be married here?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A gleam came to Isobel's eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That would be nice," she said. There was the -feeling of an answer to an invitation in her voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's at your disposal," he said, "anything we can -do for your happiness."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is that to show that I do nothing for anybody -else's?" Isobel was really grateful.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Perhaps." He said it rather sadly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I might make an endeavour over Sarah," she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You know, from the first, the day you came in the -train, you told us you had ignored her, hadn't you? -She nursed Robin through a long illness. Saw him -grow up and all that kind of thing. Never spared -herself in the matter of looking after him!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well?" asked Isobel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Mr. Leighton, "it's rather pathetic, -isn't it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The day was won in a partial manner; for Isobel -promised she would try to "ingratiate Sarah."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's the wrong way of putting it, but it may make -a beginning," said Mr. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He further insisted on seeing Robin. That was a -bad half-hour for every one, but for no one so -particularly as for Robin. He had evaded so many things -with Mr. Leighton, and for once he found that gentler -nature adamant.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nothing went quite so much against this gentler -nature as having to arrange matters for Isobel. So -Robin discovered. Yet already it made what Isobel -called "a man of him." He was a man to be ruled, -and Mabel had placed herself under his ruling. Here -was the real mischief. Isobel would take him firmly -in hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The girls were greatly mystified, Elma horrified. -They had orders to take the news of Isobel's -engagement as though it might be an expected event, and -certainly no sign was given that it was in the nature of -a surprise. Jean could not understand Mabel when -the news arrived. She laughed and sang and kissed -Jean as though the world had suddenly become happy -throughout.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I thought you would have been cut up," said Jean -disconsolately.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cut up! Why they are made for one another," -cried Mabel. "Isobel, calm and firm, Robin, -wavering and admiring, nothing could be better. But -oh--oh--I want to see how Sarah takes it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They had a particular grind just then, for now they -were getting into spring, and it would soon be time for -making that triumphant passage home of which they -had so often dreamed. They lived for that now, but -none lived for it more devotedly than Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Isobel's engagement cut her further and further -away from enjoying anything very much. She had -always the feeling of cold critical eyes being on her. -She often congratulated herself on having got over the -stage where she used long words in quite their wrong -sense. Isobel's proximity in these days would have -been dreadful.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace also seemed downhearted. It had been -a trying winter for her, yet no actual evidence of -ill-health had asserted itself. She was concerned about -Elma too, who seemed to be losing what the others -were gaining by being away, that just development -which comes from happy experience. Elma plodded -and played, but her bright little soul only came out -unfledged of fear at Miss Grace's.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last one day Miss Grace's face lit.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My dear, your gift is composition."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nobody ever had thought of it before. Elma's -expression lightened to a transforming radiance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I wonder if I ever could get lessons," she cried.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They discovered a chance, through correspondence. -So Elma held the fort, and tried to grapple single-handed -with musical composition.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If only I could compose an anthem before Mabel -and Jean get home," she said one day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Heavens, Elma, you aren't going to die?" asked Betty.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="holding-the-fort"><span class="large">CHAPTER XXIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">Holding the Fort</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Miss Meredith took the news of her brother's engagement -in a dumb manner. An explosion of wrath would -have helped every one. Robin might have appeared -aggrieved, and had something of which to complain, -and Isobel's immobility beside some one in a rage was -always effective. Miss Meredith would not rage -however. She had met a match for her own -resourceful methods, and at bottom she feared the reserve -of power which prompted Isobel. Under cover of a -fine frown she accepted the situation as Isobel had -said she would. What hopes were overthrown by the -engagement, what schemes upturned, no one but Miss -Meredith herself would ever have an inkling. She -began to regret her manner of ejecting Mabel, especially -since the London reports told of a Mabel many cuts -above Ridgetown. Miss Dudgeon had opened their -eyes. She had come back in armour, the old Ridgetown -armour, and talked in the stiffest manner of Mabel -and Lady Emily, as though all were of a piece. Miss -Meredith ventured to say to her later on that she -understood that Mabel was quite a success in "Society."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She always was, wasn't she?" asked Adelaide -Maud very simply, as though she imagined society -had really existed in Ridgetown.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Meredith was a trifle overcast.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh yes, yes, of course," she said. "But Mabel, -of course, Mabel----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mabel would shine anywhere you mean. That is -true. She possesses the gift of being always divinely -natural."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud could play up better than any one. -Miss Dudgeon ran on to congratulate Miss Meredith -on her brother's engagement.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah yes, such a charming girl," said Miss Meredith. -"He is very fortunate. We both are, since it relates -us to so delightful a family. We have always been -such friends."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a stiff pause. Adelaide Maud could never -bring herself to fill in the pauses between social -untruthfulnesses.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She is very courageous, we think," ran on Miss -Meredith. "Robin will not be able to give her very -much of an establishment, you know. But that does -not grieve her. She has a very even and contented -disposition. I often tell Robin--quite a girl in a -hundred! Not many would have consented so sweetly -to an immediate marriage under the circumstances."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ah, then, this might explain to the public the -defection of Mabel. Mabel had expected an -"establishment." Miss Dudgeon began to see daylight.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, on the contrary," she said, rising, "we have -always looked on Mr. Meredith as being so well off in -respect of being able to get married. Didn't you tell -me once--but then I have such a stupid memory!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Meredith recognized where a great slip had -taken place. These had been her words before, "Not -many young men are in so easy a position for marrying!" And -to Miss Dudgeon of all people she had just -said the reverse.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There is a pit formed by a bad memory wherein social -untruths sometimes tumble in company. There they -are inclined to raise a laugh at themselves, and occasionally -make more honest people out of their perpetrators.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Meredith knew there was no use in any longer -explaining Robin's position, or want of it, to so -clear-headed a person as Miss Dudgeon. The best way -was to retire as speedily as possible from so difficult a -subject.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton found the whole affair very trying. -She never indulged in any social doctoring where her -own opinions were concerned, and it was really painful -for her to meet all the innuendoes cast at her by curious -people.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Mr. Leighton and I always think young people -manage these things best themselves. They are so -sensitive, you know, and quite apt to make mistakes -if dictated to. A critical audience must be very trying. -Yes, everybody thought Robin was engaged to Mabel--but -he never was."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well then," said Aunt Katharine, with her lips -pursed up to sticking-point, "if they weren't engaged, -they ought to have been. That's all I've got to say."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was not all she had got to say, as it turned out. -She talked for quite a long time about the duties of -children to their parents.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton at last became really exasperated.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You know, Katharine," she said, "if you are so -down on these young people, I shall one day--I really -shall, I shall tell them how you nearly ran away with -James Shrimpton."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My dear," said Aunt Katharine. She was quite -shocked. "I was a young unformed thing and father -so overbearing----" She was so hurt she could -go no further.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Exactly," said Mrs. Leighton. "And my girls -are young unformed things, and their father is not -overbearing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Aunt Katharine grunted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah well, you keep their confidence. That's true. -I don't know a more united family. But this marriage -of Isobel's does not say much for your management."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That was it--"management." Mrs. Leighton -groaned slightly to herself. She never would be a -manager, she felt sure. She offered a passive front to -fate, and her influence stopped there. As for manoeuvring -fate by holding the reins a trifle and pressing backward -or forward, she had not the inclination at any time -to interfere in such a way at all. She leaned on what -Emerson had said about things "gravitating." She -believed that things gravitated in the right direction, -so long as one endeavoured to remain pure and noble, -in the wrong one so long as one was overbearing and -selfish. She had absolutely no fear as to how things -would gravitate for Mabel after that night when she -talked about Robin and went off to succour Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She placidly returned to her crochet, and to the -complainings of Aunt Katharine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert came down that evening, and Isobel, Elma, -Betty and he went off to be grown-ups at a children's -party at the Turbervilles. The party progressed into -rather a "larky" dance, where there were as many -grown-ups as children. All the first friends of the -Leightons were there, including, of course, the -Merediths. Cuthbert took in Isobel in rather a frigid manner. -He endeavoured not to consider Meredith a cad, but his -feelings in that direction were overweighted for the -evening. He danced with the children, and "was no -use for anybody else," as May Turberville put it. But -then Cuthbert was so "ghastly clever and all that sort -of thing," that he could not be put on the level of other -people at all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert had got his summer lectureship. He told -Elma, and then Mr. and Mrs. Leighton, and then Betty, -and Isobel could not imagine what spark of mischief -had lit their spirits to the point of revelry as they -ambled along in their slow four-wheeler. Elma had only -one despair in her mind. Neither Miss Grace nor Miss -Annie were well. Miss Annie particularly seemed out -of gear, so much so and so definitely, that for the first -time for nearly thirty years Miss Grace spoke of having -in Dr. Merryweather.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert asked lots of questions.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know," Elma generally answered. "She -just lies and sickens. As though she didn't care."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She raised her hand to her head at the time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Dr. Smith says it's the spring weather which -everybody feels specially trying this year."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert grunted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>George Maclean came to Elma for the first dance. -He seemed in very good spirits. Elma found herself -wondering if it were about Mabel. Well, one would see. -Mabel had always been tied in a kind of a way, and now -she was free! Mr. Maclean anyhow was the best, -above all the best. Even Mr. Symington! When she -thought of him, her mind always ran off to wondering -what now might happen to Mr. Symington.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She had a long, rollicking waltz with Mr. Maclean. -They rollicked, because children were on the floor -and steering seemed out of fashion. Yet he carried -her round in a gentle way, because Elma, with -her desire to be the best of dancers, invariably got -knocked out with a robust partner. He carried her -round in the most gentle way until the music stopped -with the bang, bang of an energetic amateur. Elma -found the floor suddenly hit her on the cheek in what -seemed to her a most impossible manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now what could make it do that?" she asked Mr. -Maclean. He was bending over her with rather a white -face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert came up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why didn't you tell Maclean that you were giddy?" -he said. "He would have held you up."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But I wasn't giddy," said Elma. "I'm not giddy now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was standing, but the floor again seemed at a slant.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Steady," said Cuthbert. "You're as giddy as the -giddiest. Don't pretend. Take her off to get cool, -Maclean."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cool!" Elma's fingers seemed icy. But there was -a comforting, light-headed glow in her cheeks which -reassured her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Every one said how well she was looking, and that -kept her from wondering whether she was really going -to be ill. George Maclean tried to get her to drink tea, -but for the first time in her life she found herself -possessed of a passion for lemonade.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You will really think that I am one of the children," -she said, "because I am simply devoured with a longing -for iced lemonade."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, you shall have iced lemonade, and as much -as you want," said George Maclean. "How I could -let you fall, I can't think." There was a most ludicrous -look of concern on his face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shall grab all my prospective partners for this -evening at least," said Elma. "You can't think how -treacherous that floor is."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She did not dance nearly so much as she wanted to. -George Maclean and Lance and Cuthbert, these three, -at least, made her sit out when she wanted to be -"skipping."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Isobel looked her up on hearing that she had fallen. -Cuthbert said, "She doesn't look well, you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, Elma--Elma is never ill," said Isobel. "Look -at her colour too!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Towards the end of the evening, they began to forget -about it, and Elma danced almost as usual. Three -times she saw the floor rock, but held on. What her -partners thought of her when she clung to a strong arm, -she did not stop to think. It was "talking to Miss -Annie in her stuffy room" that had started it, she -remembered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was in an exalted frame of mind about other -things. The world was turning golden. Cuthbert -was coming home, Mabel and Jean would soon be -with them, Adelaide Maud was already on the spot. -And Isobel would be gone in the summer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Robin Meredith came to ask her for a dance. He -seemed subdued, and had a rather nervous manner of -inviting her. So that it seemed easy for her to be sedate -and beg him to excuse her because she had turned giddy. -Anything! she could stand anything on that evening -except dance with Robin Meredith. Her training in -many old ways came back to her, however.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shall sit out, if you don't mind," she said. "Isn't -it silly to have a headache when all this fun is going -on?" She found herself being quite friendly and -natural with him. The children were having a great -romp in front of them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Have you a headache?" he asked rather kindly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Oh yes, she had a headache. Now she knew. It -seemed to have been going on for years. She began to -talk about May Turberville's embroidery, and how -Lance had sewn a pincushion in order to outrival her. -When May had run on to sewing daffodils on her gowns, -Lance threatened to embroider sunflowers on his -waistcoats. Had he seen Lance's pictures? Well, Lance -was really awfully clever, particularly in drawing -figures. Mr. Leighton wanted him to say he would -be an artist, but Lance said he couldn't stand the clothes -he would have to wear. Mr. Leighton said that wearing -a velveteen coat didn't mean nowadays that one was -an artist, and Lance said that it was the only way -of drawing the attention of the public. He said that -one always required some kind of a showman to call -out "Walk up, gentlemen, this way to the priceless -treasures," and that a velveteen coat did all that for -an artist. Lance said he would rather be on the Stock -Exchange, where he could do his own shouting. She -said that frankly, with all the knowledge she had of -Lance and his manner of giving people away, she should -never think of entrusting him with her money to invest. -She said it in a very high voice, since she observed just -at that minute that Lance stood behind her chair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, you are a little cat, Elma," he said disdainfully. -"Here am I organizing a party in order to let -people know that some day I shall be on the Stock -Exchange, and here are you influencing the gully public -against me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I object to the term 'gully,'" said Robin in a -laboured but sporting manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well--gulled if you like it better," said Lance. -"Only that effect doesn't come on till I'm done with -you. You are to go and dance lancers, Meredith, while -I take your place with this slanderer." It was Lance's -way of asking for the next dance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma gave a great sigh of relief after Robin had gone.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He never heard me say so much in his life before," -said she. "He must have been awfully surprised."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How you can say a word to the fellow--but there, -nobody understands you Leightons. You ought to have -poisoned him. Or perhaps Mabel is only a little flirt."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He wisped a thread of the gauze of her fan.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma smiled at him. She was always sure of Lance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I say, Elma, what are we to do with Mother Mabel -when she comes back? Does she mind this business, -or are we allowed to refer to it in a jovial way?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Jovial, I think," said Elma. "I believe Mabs is -awfully relieved."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She bent over and whispered to Lance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I should myself you know if I had just got rid of -Robin."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lance laughed immoderately.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He's a rum chap," he said, "but he's met a good -match in Isobel. Great Scott, look at the stride on her. -She could take Robin up and twist him into macaroni -if she wanted to. I'm sorry for him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What are you going to do for Sarah?" he asked -abruptly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sarah?" asked Elma with her eyes wide.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, you'll have to marry the girl or something. -It's hard nuts on her. Why don't you get Symington -back and let him make up the quartette?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Symington?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes. It would be most appropriate, wouldn't it? -Robin and Isobel, and Symington and Sarah. It's quite -a neat arrangement. You've provided one husband, -why not the other." Several demons of mischief -danced in Lance's eye.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Lance, don't say that," said Elma; "it's so -horrid, and--and common."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, it's common, is it," said Lance, "common. -And I'm going to be your stockbroker one day, and -you talk to me like this."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Look here, Lance, I'd trust you with all my worldly -wealth on the Stock Exchange, but I won't let you joke -about Mr. Symington."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Whew," said Lance, and he looked gently and -amiably into the eyes of Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When you look good like that, I know you are -exceedingly naughty. What is it this time, Lance?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nothing, Elma, except----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Except----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That I have found out all I wanted to know about -Symington, thank you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are just a common, low little gossip, Lance," -said Elma with great severity. "Will you please get -me a nice cool glass of iced lemonade."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-ham-sandwich"><span class="large">CHAPTER XXIV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">The Ham Sandwich</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Elma lay on her bed in the pink and white room. The -first warm spring sunshine in vain tried to find an -opening to filter through partly closed shutter and -blinds. A nurse in grey dress and white cap and apron -moved silently in the half-light created by drawn -blinds and an open door She nodded to Mrs. Leighton -who had just come in and who now sat near the -darkened window. The nurse pointedly referred her to -the bed, as though she had good news for her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma opened her eyes. Their misty violet seemed -dazed with long sleep.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, mummy, you there?" she asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Mrs. Leighton quietly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma looked at her inquiringly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is there anything you want?" asked Mrs. Leighton -in answer to that expression. How often had they -asked the same question uselessly within the past -weeks!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma looked up at the white walls.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, mummy, there's one thing. I should like a -large ham sandwich."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There," said Nurse emphatically. "That's it. -Now the fight is really going to begin."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I should like to have plenty of butter on it and -quite a lot of mustard," said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mustard?" said Mrs. Leighton helplessly. "Do -you know what's been wrong with you all these weeks?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma moved her eyes curiously, there being not -much else that she could move. It had never dawned -on her till that moment to wonder what had been -wrong with her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, mummy," she said, "I haven't a notion."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton looked for instructions to the nurse.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She'd better know now, Mrs. Leighton," she said, -"now that she begins to ask for ham sandwiches."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You've had typhoid fever, Elma," said her mother.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma sighed gently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Dear me," she said, "how grand. But you don't -know how hungry I am or you would give me a ham -sandwich. You ought to be rather glad that I'm so -much better that I want to eat."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then an expression of great cunning came into her -eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I ought to be fed up if I've had a fever," she -informed them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We shall get the doctor to see to that," said the -nurse.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She came to her and held her hand firmly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you know," she said, "you have been very ill -and you are ever so much better, but nothing you've -gone through will worry you so much as what you've -got to do now. You've got to be starved for ten days, -when you are longing to eat. You will lie dreaming -of food--and----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ham sandwiches?" asked Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And we shall not be allowed to give them to you," -said Nurse.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Isn't she nice, mummy, she's quite sorry. And -people say that nurses are hard-hearted," said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've had typhoid myself," said Nurse briefly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma looked at her, her own eyelids heavy with sleep -still to be made up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, barring the sandwich, what about lemon -cheese cakes," she asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton let her hands fall.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Elma," she said, "what a thing to choose -at this stage."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Or sausages," remarked Elma. "I'm simply longing -for sausages."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She endeavoured to throw an appealing look towards Nurse.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This isn't humour on my part, mummy dear," -she said. "I just can't help it. I can't get sausages -out of my mind," she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you would think of a little steamed fish or a -soaked rusk, you'd be a little nearer it," said Nurse, -"you'll have that in ten days."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma looked at her in a determined way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've always been told that a simple lunch, a very -simple lunch might be made out of a ham sandwich. -Why should it be denied to me now?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Elma," said Mrs. Leighton, "I never knew you were -so obstinate."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You know, mummy," said Elma, "I'm not dreaming -now. I'm wide awake, and I'm awfully hungry. -I'm sorry I ever thought of sausages, because ham -sandwiches were just about as much as I could bear. -Now I've both to think of, and Nurse won't bring -me either."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't mind her, Mrs. Leighton," said the nurse. -"It's always the same, and, without nurses, generally -a relapse to follow. You aren't going to have a -relapse," she said to Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She gave her some milk in a methodical manner, and -the down-dropping of Elma's eyelids continued till she -fell asleep once more.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So she had slept since the fever had begun to go -down. Probably she had had the best of the -intervening weeks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was the slow stupor of a fever gaining ground. -It began with the headache of the Turberville's dance, -a headache which never lifted until Elma returned to -her own again, weak and prostrate in bed. The stupor -gradually cut her off from common affairs. It sent -her to bed first because she could no longer stand up, -and it crowded back her ideas and her memory till at -last she was in the full swing of a delirium. What -this illness cost Mr. and Mrs. Leighton in anxiety, -probably no one knew. Elma had always covered up her -claims to sympathy and petting, always been -moderately well. Here she was with blazing cheeks and -wandering eyes talking largely and at random about -anything or every one.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton used to sit by her and stroke her hair. -Long years afterwards, she was to feel the touch of -his fingers, hear the tones of his voice as he said, "Poor -little Elma."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She faded gradually into the delirium which seemed -to have cut her illness in two, the one illness where she -lay with dry mouth and an everlasting headache, the -other where she was merely hungry.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton was appalled by the worrying of Elma's -mind. She went through some of her wild dreams with -her, calling her back at places by the mere sound of -her voice to a kind of sub-consciousness in which Elma -grew infinitely relieved.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, is that you, mummy? Have I really been dreaming?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She dreamt of Mabel and she dreamt of Adelaide -Maud. But more than any one, she dreamt of -Mr. Symington. Here is where the deceptiveness of a -fever comes in. Elma pleaded so piteously with her -mother to bring back Mr. Symington that Mrs. Leighton -awoke to an entirely new and wrong idea of the state -of Elma's affections.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's quite ridiculous, John," said she, "but that -child, she was only a child, seems to have filled her -head with notions of Mr. Symington."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What! More of it?" asked poor Mr. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She begs and begs to have him back," said Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've never made out why he left as he did," said -Mr. Leighton. "There was always the idea with me -that he cleared out for a reason. But this small child, -why, she hadn't her hair up."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She will soon be eighteen," said Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He went into her room a little later. Elma lay -with unseeing eyes staring at him. He could hardly -bear it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Elma," he said vaguely, trying to recall her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," she answered promptly, but still staring, -"is that you, Sym--Sym--Symington!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her father choked down what he could of the lump -that gathered, and moved quietly away.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>These were dark days for every one. Elma had the -best of it. She left the Symington groove after a day -or so, and worked on to Isobel. Isobel invaded her -mind. It was a blessing that Isobel was barred by -real distaste to the business from going in to help -with the nursing of Elma. What she said of her pointed -to more than a mere dislike. It revolved into fear as -the delirium progressed. Then a second nurse arrived, -and between them the two began really to decrease the -temperature. The first good news came, "Asleep for -ten minutes," and after that there was no backward -turn in the illness for Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Throughout this time there had been the keenest -inquiries made as to what had caused the illness. -Cuthbert was down and "made things hum" in the matter -of wakening up the sanitary authorities and so on. -But no flaw in the arrangement of the White House -or anything near it could be discovered. Then -Dr. Merryweather called one day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have another patient in Miss Annie," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Annie! This gave a clue.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Typhoid at her age is unusual," he said, "but she -has not developed the power of resisting disease like -ordinary people. She has been in a good condition -for harbouring every germ that happened to be about. -I'm afraid we cannot save her." He turned to -Mrs. Leighton. His kind old face twitched suddenly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, dear, dear," she exclaimed. "What will -Miss Grace do? What will little Elma do?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Miss Grace is all right," said Dr. Merryweather. -"I've seen to that. Elma must not know, of course."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This looks like contraction from a common cause," -said Cuthbert. "I'll be at it whatever it is. We -don't want any one else sacrificed."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dr. Merryweather looked at him gravely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have just been getting at the tactics of the local -government," said he. "You couldn't believe they -could be so prompt in Ridgetown. Three weeks ago, -a gardener living near Miss Annie complained of an -atrocious stench coming from over the railway. It -was so bad that when the local government body at -his demand approached it, they had to turn and run. -An open stream had been used as a common sewer and -run into the railway cutting, where it had stagnated. -Can you imagine the promptness of the local -government? Evans, the gardener, threatened to report -to you, Mr. Leighton, since your daughter was so ill and -had visited so much at Miss Annie's. They managed -to keep his mouth shut, and they have removed the -sewer. Too late for Miss Annie."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Too late for my little girl," said Mr. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It seemed an extraordinary thing that the two -daughters who had gone away, and given them so much -anxiety, should be coming home radiantly independent, -and Elma, sheltered at home, should be lying just lately -rescued from death.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The same thought seemed to strike Dr. Merryweather -in another connection.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah, well," he said, "we would save some gentle -souls a lot of suffering if we could. It's no use evading -life, you see, and its consequences. Death has stolen -into Miss Annie's beautiful bedroom, from an ugly -sewer across the way. Nothing we could do for her -now can save her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Annie died on a quiet morning when Elma -lay dreaming of ham sandwiches. Elma never forgot -that, nor how dreadful it seemed that she had never -asked for Miss Annie nor Miss Grace, but just dreamed -of what she would eat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You had had a lot to stand," Nurse told her a week -or two afterwards when she heard about Miss Annie -for the first time, "and it's a compensation that's -often given to us when we are ill, just to be peaceful -and not think at all."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dr. Merryweather had wakened up Miss Grace finally -in a sharp manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There's that poor child been ill all this time and -you've never even seen her. Take her along some -flowers and let her see that you are not grieving too -much for Miss Annie. She won't get better if she worries -about you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then to Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cheer up Miss Grace when she comes. You have -your life before you, and she has had to put all hers -behind her. Don't let her be down if you can help it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In this wise he pitted the two against one another, -so that they met with great fortitude.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, my dear, how pretty your hair is," Miss -Grace had burst out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma was lying on a couch near the window by this -time. She looked infinitely fragile.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Miss Grace, it is a wig," she replied.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace laughed in a jerky hysterical sort of -manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then I wish I wore a wig," said she.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma smiled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you know, that's what they all say. They -come in and tell me in a most surprised manner, "Why, -how well you are looking!" and say they never saw -me so pretty and all that kind of thing. And then I -look in my mirror, and I see quite plainly that I'm a -perfect fright. But I don't care, you know. Mabel -and Jean know now how ill I've been. I'm so glad they -didn't before, aren't you? It would have spoiled Jean's -coming home like a conqueror. They say she sings -beautifully. And oh, Miss Grace, I've such a lot to -tell you. One thing is about Mr. Symington. You -know I never said why he went away. It was because -Miss Meredith made him believe that Robin was engaged -to Mabel, and she wasn't at all. It made her appear -like a flirt, you know. Didn't it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace nodded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I've been thinking and thinking. I can't tell -you how I've been dreaming about Mr. Symington. -Well, now, I've been thinking, 'Couldn't we invite him -to Isobel's wedding?'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace's eyes gleamed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fancy Mr. Symington at breakfast at some -outlandish place. A letter arrives. He opens it. -'Ha! The wedding invitation. Robin Meredith, the -bounder!' I beg your pardon, Miss Grace. 'Robin -Meredith to Isobel--what--niece of--why what's -this?' What will he do, Miss Grace?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Come to the wedding, sure," said Miss Grace laughingly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, if I've to send the invitation myself, one is -going to Mr. Symington."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma had not passed her dreaming hours in vain.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Besides, Miss Grace had got over the difficult part of -meeting Elma again, and was right back in her old part -of counsellor, evidently without a quiver of the pain -that divided them. Yet, they both felt the barrier that -was there, the barrier of that presence of Miss Annie -which had always entered first into their conversations, -and now could not be mentioned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma thought of the visits that Miss Grace would -have to make to her. She saw that Miss Grace had -been warned not to agitate her. This was enough to -enable her to take the matter entirely in her own hands -with no agitation at all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think you know, Miss Grace, that when one has -been so near dying as I've been, and not minded--I -mean I had no knowledge that I was so ill, and even -didn't care much--since it was myself, you know, -except for the trouble it gave to people----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma was becoming a little long-winded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I want to tell you that you must always tell me -about Miss Annie, not mind just because they say I'm -not to be agitated, or anything of that sort. I won't -be a bit agitated if you tell me about Miss Annie."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My dear love," Miss Grace stopped abruptly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Dr. Merryweather said----" and she stopped again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, Dr. Merryweather said the same to me, he -said that on no account was I to speak to you of Miss -Annie. Dr. Merryweather simply knows nothing about -you and me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace shook her head drearily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are a bad little invalid," said she.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But it broke the ice a little bit, and one day -afterwards Miss Grace told her more than she could bear -herself. Dr. Merryweather was right, Miss Grace broke -down over the last loving message to Elma. She had -a little pearl necklace for Elma to wear, and fastened it -on without a word.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then came Mrs. Leighton looking anxious.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"See, mummy, Miss Grace has given me a beautiful -little necklace from Miss Annie."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All trace of Elma's childish nervousness had departed -with her fever. She had looked right into other worlds, -and it had made an easier thing of this one. Besides, -Miss Grace must not be allowed to cry.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace did not cry so much as one might have -expected. Miss Annie's death was a thing she had -feared for twenty-eight years, and Dr. Merryweather -had given her no sympathy. He had almost made -her think that Annie ought not to consider herself an -invalid. How she connected typhoid fever with the -neurotic illness which Dr. Merryweather would never -acknowledge as an illness, it was difficult to imagine. -Certainly, she had the feeling that Annie in a pathetic -manner had justified her invalidism at last. It was a -sad way in which to recover one's self-respect, but in -an unexplained way she felt that with Dr. Merryweather -she had recovered her self-respect. She could refer to -Miss Annie now, and awaken that twitching of his -sympathies which one could see plainly in that rugged -often inscrutable face, and feel thereby that she had -not misplaced her confidence by giving up all these -years to Annie. Indeed, the death of Miss Annie -affected Dr. Merryweather far more than one could -imagine. As also the sight of Elma, thinned down -and fragile, her hair gone and a wig on.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He teased her unmercifully about the wig.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So long as I look respectable when Mabel and Jean -come home! Oh! Dr. Merryweather, please have me -looking respectable when Mabel and Jean come home."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dr. Merryweather promised to have her as fat as -a pumpkin.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-wild-anemone"><span class="large">CHAPTER XXV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">The Wild Anemone</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Mabel and Jean had been successfully deceived up to -a certain point in regard to Elma's illness. They were -told the facts when the danger was past. It was made -clear to them then that the fewer people at home in -an illness of that sort the better, while skilled nurses -were so conveniently to be had. Mabel pined a little -over not having been there to nurse Elma, as though -she had landed her sensitive little sister into an illness -by leaving too much on her shoulders. The independent -vitality of Jean constantly reassured her however.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She would just have been worse with that scared -face of yours at her bedside," Jean would declare. -"Every time you think of Elma you get as white as -though you were just about to perform in the Queen's -Hall. You'll have angina pectoris if you don't look out."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean had made a great friend of a nurse who never -talked of common things like heart disease or -toothache. "Angina pectoris" and "periostitis" were -used instead. When Jean wrote home in an airy -manner in the midst of Elma's illness to say that she -was suffering from an attack of "periostitis," -Mrs. Leighton immediately wired, "Get a nurse for Jean if -required."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What in the wide world have you been telling -mother?" asked Mabel with that alarming communication -in her hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean was trying to learn fencing from an enthusiast -in the corridor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, well." Her face fell a trifle at the consideration -of the telegram. "I did have toothache," said Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel stared at the telegram. "Mummy can't be -losing her reason over Elma's being ill," she said. "She -couldn't possibly suppose you would want a nurse -for toothache. That's going a little too far, isn't it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel was really quite anxious about her mother.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, well," said Jean lamely, "Nurse Shaw said it -was periostitis."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you--"--Mabel's eyes grew round and -indignant--"you really wrote and told poor mummy -that you had perios--os----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Titis," said Jean. "Of course, I did--why not?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was a trifle ashamed of herself, but the dancing -eyes of the fencing enthusiast held her to the point.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's the worst of early Victorian parents," said -this girl with a bright cheerful giggle. "One can't -even talk the vernacular nowadays."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She made an unexpected lunge at Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," cried Jean, "I must answer that telegram. -Say I'm an idiot, Mabel, and that I've only had -toothache."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel for once performed the duties of an elder sister -in a grim manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Am an idiot," she wrote, "only had toothache -an hour. Fencing match on, forgive hurry. Jean."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She read it out to the fencers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I say," said Jean with visible chagrin, "you -are a little beggar, Mabel."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Send it," cried the fencing girl. "One must be -laughed at now and again--it's good for one. Besides, -you can't be both a semi-neurotic invalid and a good -fencer. Better give up the neurotic habit."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean stepped back in derision.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm not neurotic," she affirmed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You wouldn't have sent that message about your -perio--piérrot--what's the gentleman's name? if you -hadn't been neurotic."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel had scribbled off another message.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Jean gratefully, "my own family don't -talk to me like that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, no," said the fencing girl coolly, "they run -round you with hot bottles, and mustard blisters. All -families do. They make you think about your toothache -until you aren't pleased when you haven't got it. -That's the benefit of being here. Here it's a bore to -be ill."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She went suddenly on guard.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said Jean, in willing imitation of that attitude, -"if you only teach me to fence, you may say what you like."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was more the importance of Jean's estimate of -herself than any real leanings towards being an invalid -which made her look on an hour's depression as a -serious thing, and an attack of toothache as an item -of news which ought immediately to be communicated -to her family. She criticized life entirely through -her own feelings and experiences. Mabel and Elma -had enough of the sympathetic understanding of the -nature of others, to tune their own characters -accordingly. But Jean, unless terrified, or hurt, or joyous -herself never allowed these feelings to be transmitted -from any one, or because of any one, she happened -to love. It kept her from maturing as Mabel and even -Elma had done. She would always be more or less -of the self-centred person. It was a useful trait in -connexion with singing for instance, and it seemed -also as though it might make her a good fencer. But -the flippant merry fencing enthusiast in front of her -was right when she saw the pitfall ready for the Jean -who should one day dedicate herself to her ailments. -In the case of Mabel this very lack of sympathy in -Jean helped her in a lonely manner to regain some of -her lost confidence in herself. It never dawned once -on Jean that Mabel was fighting down a trouble of -her own. Mabel had bad nights and ghostly dreams, -and a headache occasionally, which seemed as though -it would put an end to any enthusiasm she might ever -have had for such an occupation as piano playing. But -in the morning one got up, and there were always the -interests, the joys or troubles, or the quaint little -oddities of other girls, to knock this introspection and worry -into the background, and make Mabel her companionable -self once more. It was better, after all, than the -scrutiny of one's own family, even a kind one. Jean -was merely conscious of change in any one when they -refused a match or a drive or a walk with her. The -world was of a piece when that happened--"stodgy"--and -the interests of Jean were being neglected--a great -crime.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel despatched the telegram, and the fencing -was resumed with vigour. The corridor at this end -of the house contained a bay window, seated and -cushioned, and more comfortable as a tea-room than -many of the little bedrooms. They had arranged -tea-cups, and were preparing that fascinating and -delightful meal when a girl advanced from the far end of -the corridor, in a lithe swinging manner. The fencing -girl drew back her foil abruptly. "Who is that?" -she asked, staring. The girls were conscious of a most -refreshing and invigorating surprise. Elsie Clutterbuck -stood there, with the wild sweetness of the open -air in her bearing, her hair ruffled gently, her eyes -shining in a pale setting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You beautiful wild anemone!" breathed the -fencing girl in a whisper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel and Jean heard the soft words with surprise. -It was a new light through which to look on Elsie. -They had never quite dropped the pose of the -benignant girls who had taken Elsie "out of herself." To -them she was rather a protégé than a friend; much -as Mabel at least would have despised herself for that -attitude had she detected it in herself. She -acknowledged an immediate drop in her calculations, when -the fencing girl did not ask as most people did, "Who -is that queer little thing?" It was difficult in one -sudden moment to adjust oneself to introducing Elsie -as "You beautiful wild anemone!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean, however, merely summed up the fencing -girl as rather ignorant. "Why," she said frankly, -"I declare it's Elsie!" and in a whisper declared, -"There's nothing beautiful about Elsie."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They welcomed her heartily, curiously, and wondered -if Lance's latest news of the family was true.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mother Buttercluck," he had written, "has come in -for a little legacy. It's she who clucks now (grammar -or no grammar) and the Professor chimes in as the -butter portion merely. May heard about it. Can -you imagine Mrs. C. saying, 'I'd love to have some one -to lean on,' and the Buttercluck, who would have -declared before--'On whom to lean. Pray do be more -careful of your English,' not having a cluck left! Though -I do think Elsie had knocked a little of the cluck out -before the legacy arrived."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elsie did not seem to be bursting with news. She -sat in rather a grown-up, reliable way, opening her -furry coat at their orders, and drawing off her gloves. -Her hair was up in loose, heavy coils on her neck, and -it parted in front with that restless rippling appearance -which made one think of the open air. The tip-tilted -nose, which had seemed the principal fault in the face -which had always been termed plain in childhood, -seemed now to lend a piquancy to her features. These -were delicately irregular, and her eyebrows were too -high, if one might rely on the analysis of Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The fencing girl sat and stared at her with her foil -balanced on a crossed knee. If one wanted to do the -fencing girl a real kindness, to make her radiantly happy, -then one introduced her to some one in whom she might -be interested. Life was a garden to her, and the friends -she made the flowers. She was not particular about -plucking them either. "Oh, no indeed," she would -say, "I've seen some one in the park to-day who is -more sweet and lovely than any one human ought to -be. I should love to know her, of course, but she was -just as great a joy to look at. Why should you want -to have everything that's beautiful? It's merely a -form of selfishness."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel and Jean imagined that it was more a pose on -the part of the fencing girl than any talent of Elsie's -which immediately impressed her on this afternoon. -They were later to discover that a thrill of expectancy, -of interest, was Elsie's first gift to strangers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, no," breathed the fencing girl to herself, "you -are not beautiful, really; you are a personality--that's it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elsie sat pulling her gloves through her white hands.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lance says Mrs. Clutterbuck has a legacy," said -Jean bluntly. "I suppose it's true, but we are never -sure of Lance, you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She passed a cup and some buttered toast.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, yes, it's true," said Elsie. "I do so envy mamma."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why? Doesn't she--haven't you the benefit of -it too?" asked Mabel in surprise.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, yes. It isn't that, you know." Elsie swept -forward, with a little furry cape falling up to her ears -as she recovered a dropped glove. "It's giving papa -a holiday. I've thought all my life how I should love -to grow up and become an heiress, and give my papa -a holiday."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You thought that," asked Jean accusingly. "Come -now--when you were climbing lamp-posts and skimming -down rain-pipes----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, and breaking into other people's houses," said -Elsie slowly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did you do that too?" asked Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Once," said Elsie dreamily, "only once. I was a -dreadful trial to my parents," she explained to the -fencing girl.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You weren't spanked enough," said Mabel, shaking -her head at her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My papa was too busy, and mamma too concerned -about him to attend to me," smiled Elsie. "Poor -mamma! She knew if I told my father what I did, -it would disturb his thoughts, and if his thoughts -were disturbed he couldn't work, and if he couldn't -work the rent wouldn't be paid."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said Mabel with memories heaping on her, -"had you really to worry about the rent?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The fencing girl began to talk at last.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It makes me tired," said she vigorously, "the way -in which you people, brought up in provincial and -suburban places, talk. Because you can't afford to -be there unless your fathers have enough money to -take you there, you think there's no struggle in the world. -You ought to live a bit in towns where people are -obliged to show the working side as well as the -retired and affluent side. You poor thing, stuck in -suburbia, among those Philistines, and thinking about the -rent! I suppose they only thought you were bad tempered."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The fencing girl had landed them into a conversation -more intimate than any they had attempted together.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said Elsie, and she looked shyly at Mabel -and Jean. "I was a tiny little thing when I got my -first lesson. A lady and her daughter called on mamma -the second week we were in Ridgetown. I came on -them in the garden afterwards. They were going out -at the gate, and they didn't see me coming in. This -lady said to her daughter, quite amiably: 'It's no -use, my dear; I suppose you observed they have only -one maid.' They never called again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The fencing girl bit her lip with an interrupted laugh.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Isn't that suburbia?" she asked. "Now, isn't it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It made me a little wild cat," said Elsie. "Everybody -in Ridgetown had at least two maids, except -ourselves."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you know," said Jean, "I know the time when -we would have wept at that if it had ever happened -to us. It isn't a joke," she told the fencing girl.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elsie gave a long, quiet laugh. "If I ever have -children," she said, "I hope I may keep them from -being silly about a trifle of that sort."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's one of the jokes of life though. You won't -have children who need any support in that way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Won't I?" asked Elsie with round eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, they'll all be quite different. They'll be -giving you points on the simple life, and advising you -to dispense with maids altogether," said the fencing -girl. "I'm not joking. It's a fact, you know, that -children are awfully unlike their parents. Are you -like your mother?" she asked Elsie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not a bit," said Elsie laughing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't study yourself merely in order to know -about children. You may just have been a selfish little -prig, you know," said the fencing girl cheerily. "Study -them by the dozen, be public-spirited about it. Then -some day you may be able to understand the soul of a -child when you get it all to yourself. You won't just -sit and say in a blank way, 'In my day children -were different.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," cried Jean. "Now don't. If there's anything -I hate, it's when Evelyn begins to preach about -children."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, well," said the fencing girl with a shrug, "if -Mrs.----, whatever your mother's name is, had known -as much about their little ways as I do, she would never -have let you worry about that one maid. We are all -wrong with domestic life at present. The one lot stays -in too much and loses touch with the world, and the -other lot are too busy touching the world to stay in -enough. We are putting it right, however," she said -amiably. "We are----" She spread her hands in -the direction of the company collected. "We are -getting up our world at present. After that we may be of -some use in it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elsie looked at her rather admiringly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My father would love to hear you talk," she said -amiably.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Talk," said the fencing girl in a fallen voice, "and -I hate the talkers so!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nevertheless," said Mabel, "given a friend of -ours in for tea--who does the talking?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Evelyn," said Jean, "and invariably her own -subjects too."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It seems that this girl was not always fencing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She controlled the collecting of rents and practically -managed the domestic matters in three streets of -tenements of new buildings recently erected in a working -part of London. She was also engaged to be married.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Doesn't this sort of independent life unsettle you -for a quiet one?" she was often asked by her friends.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And it's quite different," she would explain. "Knowing -the stress and the difficulties of this side of it make -me long for that little haven of a home we are getting -ready at Richmond. I would bury myself there for ever, -from a selfish point of view that is, and probably -vegetate like the others. But I've made a pledge never -to forget--never to forget what I've seen in London, -and never to stop working for it somewhere or somehow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What about your poor husband?" asked Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He isn't poor," said the fencing girl with a grin. -"He is getting quite rich. He fell in love with me at -the tenements. He built them. I should think he -would divorce me if I turned narrow-minded."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She gazed in a searching way at Elsie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You have the makings of a somebody," she said -gravely, "more than these two, though they are -perfectly charming."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I want to go to the Balkans," said Elsie. She turned -to Mabel. "Cousin Arthur declared he really would -take me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is Mr. Symington there now?" asked Jean. Mabel -thanked her from the bottom of a heart that couldn't -prompt a single word at that supreme moment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, but he said he was going some day," said Elsie. -That was all. Mabel had seen a blaze of sunshine and -then blackness again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said the robust, unheeding Jean, "what -do your people say to that?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Papa says he won't have me butchered," said Elsie -with a radiant smile.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Look here," said the fencing girl, with her eyes -still searching that "wild flower of a face" of Elsie's. -"Will your father come and see my tenements?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The answer of Elsie became historic in the girls' club.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think he will," said she. "He was up the Ferris -wheel last night."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="under-royal-patronage"><span class="large">CHAPTER XXVI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">Under Royal Patronage</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Mrs. Leighton made use of the fact of the Clutterbuck's -being in London to write to the Professor's wife.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We have been so anxious about Elma, who now -however is picking up. But we have the saddest -news of Miss Annie. It seems as though she would -not live more than a day or two. If I have bad news -to send to Mabel and Jean, may I send it through -you? It would be such a kindness to me if I knew -you were there to tell them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Clutterbuck responded in that loving tremulous -way she had of delighting in being useful. She could -not believe in her good fortune with the Professor. -After all, it had been worry, concern about material -things, which had clouded his affection for a time. -He had never been able to give himself to the world, -as he desired to give himself, because of that grind -at lectures which he so palpably abhorred. Now -even the lectures were a delight, since he had leisure -besides where he did not need to reflect on the -certainty of "the rainy day." He was once more the -hero of her girlish dreams. How magnificent not -to lose one's ideal! They both rejoiced in the young -ardour of Elsie, whose courage made leaps at each new -unfolding of the "loveliness of life."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was very delightful now that the two Leightons -should come under those gently stretching wings of -the reinvigorated Professor's wife.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the time of a call from Mrs. Clutterbuck, Mabel -and Jean had just received tickets from Lady Emily -for a concert at a great house. The concert, to those -who bought guinea tickets, was not so important as -the fact that royal ears would listen to it. Herr -Slavska disposed of the affair in a speech which could -not be taken down in words. His theme was the -rush of the "stupids" to see a royal personage, and -the tragedy of the poor "stars" of artists who could -hardly afford the cab which protected their costumes. -Yet some members of his profession, he averred, would -rather lose a meal or two than lose the chance of seeing -their name in red letters and of bowing to encores -from royalty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And why not?" asked Jean. "I think it would -be lovely to bow to royalty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Where is ze art?" he asked as a wind-up. "Nowhere!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's nonsense, you know," Jean confided -afterwards. "I think there must be a lot of art in being -able to sing to kings and queens. Besides, why -shouldn't they wave their royal hands, and produce -us, as it were--like Aladdin, you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean already saw herself at Windsor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel merely concerned herself with the fact that -Mr. Green was to play. He had not the scruples -of Herr Slavska. "Although it's an abominable practice," -said he. "It is the artists who make the sacrifice. -Everybody else gets something for it. The crowd -gets royalty, royalty gets music, charities get gold. -We get momentary applause--that is all."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's what I'm living for," declared Jean, "just -a little, a very little momentary applause. Then I -would swell like a peacock, Mabel, I really should. -The artists don't get nothing out of it after all. They -get appreciation."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Clutterbuck was intensely interested in the -concert. "Do you mean to say there's to be a prince -at it?" she asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There were to be princesses also, it seemed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said Mabel, "how lovely it would have -been for Elsie and you to go."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She saw the experience that it would be for a little -home bird of the Mrs. Clutterbuck type. She -considered for a moment--"Couldn't she give up her -ticket for one of them?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Clutterbuck saw the indecision in her face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, my dear, no," said she, "I know the thought -in your mind. I have a much better plan."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The pleasure of being at last able to dispense -favours--transformed her face. She turned with an expectant, -delighted look to Elsie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If we could go together," said she, "and it wouldn't -be a bore to both of you to sit with two country cousins -like ourselves, I should take two tickets. It would -be charming."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This plan was received with the greatest acclamation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We ought to have a chaperon anyhow," said Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It seemed the funniest thing in the world to Mabel -that they should be about to be chaperoned by -Mrs. Clutterbuck. In some unaccountable way it drew -her more out of her loneliness than anything she had -experienced in London. On the other hand, she was -constantly reminding herself how much amused some -people in Ridgetown would be if they only knew.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They drove to the concert on a spring day when the -air had suddenly turned warm. The streets were -sparkling with a radiance of budding leaves, of -struggling blossom; and all the world seemed to be -turning in at the great gates of the house beyond St. James'.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was not to be expected that one should know -these people, though, as Jean declared, "Every little -boarding-house keeper in Bayswater could tell you -who was stepping out of the carriage in front of you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a great crowd inside; heated rooms and -a wide vestibule, and a hall where a platform was -arranged with crimson seats facing it and denoting -royalty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Clutterbuck's timidity came on her with a -rush. She could hardly produce her two tickets. It -was Mabel who saved the situation and piloted them -in as though she understood exactly where to go. There -was a hush of expectancy in the beautifully costumed -crowd within. Everybody looked past one with craning -neck. Mabel began to laugh. "It's exactly as though -they were built on a slant," she declared.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the end they found seats on the stairs beside -the wife of an ambassador.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My dear," said Mrs. Clutterbuck in rather a breathless -way to Mabel. "My dear, just think of it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel immediately regretted having brought her there.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But everybody is sitting on the stairs," she said -gravely. "It's quite all right. Lady Emily told me -she once took a seat in an elevator in somebody's house -because there was no room elsewhere. She spent an -hour going up and down, not having the courage to get out."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Clutterbuck smiled nervously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It isn't that, my dear. It's the gown, that one -in front of you. Every inch of the lace is hand-made."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Clutterbuck was quite enervated by the discovery.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said Mabel in quite a relieved way, "was -that it? I began to blame myself for bringing you -to the stairs."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Isn't it fun?" said Elsie. "Much funnier looking -at these people than it will be looking at royalty. I -never saw so many lorgnettes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A sudden movement made them rise. A group of -princesses with bouquets appeared and took their -seats on the red chairs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said Jean with a sigh, as they sat down again. -"Think of the poor artists now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She had grown quite pale.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't think I shall ever be able to perform," -she said. "My heart simply stops beating on an -occasion of this sort."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The crowd parted again, and a singer, radiant in -white chiffon with silver embroidery, and wearing a -black hat with enormous plumes, ascended the platform. -She curtseyed elaborately to the princesses, and casually -bowed in the direction of the applause which reached her -from other sources. She began to sing, and in that hall of -reserved voices, of deferential attitudes, of eager, -searching glances and general ceremonious curiosity, her voice -rang out a clear, beautiful, alien thing. It danced into -the shadows of minds merely occupied with staring, -it filled up crevices as though she had appeared in an -empty room. One moment every one had been girt -with a kind of fashionable melancholy which precluded -anything but polite commonplaces. The next minute -something living had appeared, a liquid voice sang notes -of joy, mockery and despair; it lit on things which -cannot be touched upon with the speaking voice, and -it brought tears to the eyes of one little princess.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean was shrouded in longing. Nothing so intimately -delicious had ever come near her. She might as -well shut up her music books and say good-bye to Herr -Slavska. Elsie sat beside the lady in real lace. She -was in the woods with the fresh air blowing over her; -buttercups and daisies at her feet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is she not then charming?" asked a voice at her -side. The real lace had spoken at last. That was how -they discovered afterwards that she was the wife of an -ambassador. The lady had her mind distracted first -by the sheer beauty of a famous voice which she loved, -next by the delicate profile of the face beside her--a -type not usual in London.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elsie turned her eyes with a start.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's like summer, the voice," she said simply.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's like the best method I've ever heard," said -Jean darkly. (Oh, how to emulate such a creature!)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah, yes. But she returns. And now, while yet -she bows and does not sing--a leetle vulgar is it not?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The ambassador's wife could discount her favourite -it seemed. That was just the difficulty in art. To -remain supreme in one art and yet recognize other forms -of it, that was the fortune of few. The singer had -enormous jewels at her neck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She would wear cabbage as diamonds," said the -lady, "but with her voice one forgives."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thereafter there was a procession of the most talented -performers at that moment in London. Magicians -with violins drew melodies in a faultless manner from -smooth strings and a bow which seemed to be playing -on butter. Technique was evident nowhere, only the -easy lovely result of it. In an hour it became as facile -a thing to play any instrument, sing any song, as though -practice and discouragement did not exist in any art at all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Green played decorously and magnificently," -said Elsie. "They are all a little decorous, aren't -they?" she asked, "except that wonderful thing in -the white and silver gown."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nothing had touched the daring beauty of that voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Clutterbuck leant forward to Elsie eagerly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I was right, Elsie," said she. "You know I was right."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Right?" asked Elsie. Her eyes shone with a. -dark glamour. "You mean about it's being so nice -here, romantic and that sort of thing?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Mrs. Clutterbuck. She sometimes had -rather a superb way of treating Elsie's little imaginative -extravagances. "I mean about mauve--mauve is the -colour this year, don't you see?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mamma," she said radiantly, "I quite forgot. I -was simply wondering how long all this would last, -or whether they'd suddenly cut us off the way Jean says -they do."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They do," said Jean, "at these charity concerts. -One after another runs on and makes its little bow. -And some are detained, you know, and then the -programme just comes to an end."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They seem to be going on all right," said Mrs. Clutterbuck -placidly, "and mauve is the colour, you see."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Another singer appeared, and Jean's heaven was -cleared of clouds by the evidence in this performer of a -bad method. Now, indeed, it seemed an easy matter -to believe that one could triumph over anything.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That first, victorious, delicious voice had trodden on -every ambition Jean ever possessed. But the frailty of a -newcomer set her once more on her enthusiastic feet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I should say it would be easy enough to get appearing -at a concert like this," she said dimly to Elsie. Her -eye was on the future, and the platform was cleared. -At the piano sat Mr. Green, grown older a little, and -more companionable as an accompanist; and in the -centre, in radiant silver and white, and--and diamonds, -sang Jean, the prima donna, Jean!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was startled by the sudden departure of the -ambassador's wife.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"For the leaving of the princess I wait not," said this -lady. With a cool little nod to Elsie, she descended -the crowded stairs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her remarks on the vulgarity of the singer rankled -with Jean. The costume seemed so appropriate to -that other fair dream.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I didn't think her vulgar, did you?" she asked Elsie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not on a platform, perhaps," said Elsie vaguely. -Her thoughts invariably strayed from dress. "But in -a drawing-room she would look, look----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, what Elsie?" asked Jean impatiently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elsie's dreamy eyes came down on her suddenly. "In -a drawing-room she would look like a lamp shade," -she blurted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It really was rather a tragedy for them that the -golden voice should have been framed in so doubtful -a setting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elsie's eyes were on the princesses.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They have eyes like calm lakes," said she. "How -clever it must be to look out and feel and know, only to -express very often something entirely different. Don't -you wonder what princesses say to themselves when -they get alone together after an affair of this sort?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I know," said Mabel. "They say, 'I wonder -what girls like these girls on the stairs say of us after -we are gone; do they say we are charming, as the -newspapers do, or do they say----' But they couldn't -think that, for they are charming, aren't they?" asked -Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Elsie sadly. "But I never could keep -a bird in a cage. It must be like being in a cage -sometimes for them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was an abrupt movement among the royal -party. The last of the illustrious performers had -appeared, and it was time to go. Everybody rose -once more. Then there was a hurried fight for a -tea-room where countesses played hostess.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Clutterbuck, now finally in the spirit of the thing, -moved along blithely. She spoke, however, in low -modulated whispers as though she were attending some -serious ceremony.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm sure your mother would have enjoyed this," -she said, as they sat down to ices served in filagree boats. -"The countesses and, you know, the general air of the -thing--so different to Ridgetown."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ridgetown!" The girl laughed immoderately. -"We couldn't sit on the stairs at Ridgetown, could -we?" Mrs. Clutterbuck was getting away from her subject.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Take some tea, my dear," she said to Mabel in the -tone of voice as one who should say, "you will need it." "It's -invigorating after the ice," said the Professor's wife.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel took tea.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now that the great event of the concert was over, -they were a little tired, and glad of the idea of fresh air.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Miss Grace, dear--have you heard from Miss Grace -lately?" asked Mrs. Clutterbuck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No. It's a funny thing," said Mabel. "We supposed -it was because of Elma's illness, you know. Miss -Grace would be in such a state. Shall we go now?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They got out and arranged to walk through St. James' -Park together.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I had a message," said Mrs. Clutterbuck quietly, -"about Miss Grace. I am to have another when I -get back just now. Will you come with me? It's -about Miss Annie. She has been very ill."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was impossible for her to tell them that the same -illness as Elma's had done its work there. They seemed -to have no suspicion of that.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, poor Miss Annie!" said Mabel. "If I had -only known!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That was just it; they couldn't tell you that too -with all you had to hear about Elma. Elma is very -well now, you understand, but Miss Annie--well, Miss -Annie is not expected to live over to-night."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The news came to them in an unreal way. It was -the break-up of their childhood. That Miss Annie -should not always be there, the charming beautiful -invalid, seemed impossible.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, but," said Mabel, "she has been so ill before, -won't she get better?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She was never ill like this before," said Mrs. Clutterbuck. -"We will see what the message says."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They found a wire at home. At the end of a sparkling -day, it came to that. While they had listened to -these golden voices, Miss Annie had----</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The telegram lay there to say that Miss Annie had died.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-home-coming"><span class="large">CHAPTER XXVII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">The Home-Coming</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Mr. Leighton departed from his first feelings of hurry -where Mabel and Jean were concerned, and delayed -their home coming till Elma was in a condition not to -be retarded by any extra excitement.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They drove away at last from the club early in the -morning, so that they had the entire house to see them -off. It was very nearly as bad as leaving Ridgetown.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shall not be able to walk past your door for some -days," said one red-haired girl. "Oh, don't I know that -feeling?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was compelled to stay in London, with only a -fortnight's holiday in summer time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shall send you forget-me-nots by every post," -said Jean. "You'll be in love with the new girl in a -week."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I won't," said the red-haired girl.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They had gifts from all of the girls stowed away -somewhere. What a morning! Even the hall porter showed -signs of dejection at their going.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It will never be the same without you, miss," he -said to Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One's own family were not so complimentary.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel and Jean left in a heaped-up four-wheeler.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I feel quite sick, you know," said Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a historic statement, and Mabel had her own -qualms. They left a houseful of good little friendly -people, a dazzling, hard-working London, and they -were going back--to the wedding of Isobel. Mabel had -not got over the feeling that drama only exists in a -brilliant manner in London, and that life in one's own -home, though peaceful, was drab colour. It wouldn't -be drab colour, it would be radiant of course, if happy -unexpected things happened there. How it would -lighten to the colour of rose, oh gorgeous life, if such a -thing could ever happen now! But it wouldn't. All -that would happen would be that Robin would marry -Isobel and that she should keep on playing piano. Ah -well, in any case, she could play piano a long way better -than she ever did. And Jean could sing with a certain -distinction of method. Not nearly ripe, this method, -as Jean informed every one, but on the way. Her -voice would be worth hearing at twenty-five.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Much of the effect they would make on Ridgetown -was invested in the boxes piled above them. All their -spare time lately had been taken up in spending their -allowance in clothes and panning things neatly out to -London standards. It gave them an amount of reliance -in themselves and in their return which was very -exhilarating. Though what did it all matter with Miss Annie -gone?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It terrifies me to think of Ridgetown without Miss -Annie. What shall we do there?" asked Jean mournfully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, that's it," replied Mabel. "No one dying in -London would make that difference. I shall think, -as we are driving home, Miss Annie isn't there. Won't you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And here they would only have a little more time -for somebody else," said Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They drove through the early morning streets with -a tiny relief at their heart. On their next drive they -would know everybody they passed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, how deadly I felt when I came here!" said -Jean. "Knowing no one, and thinking that if I died -in the cab no one near me would care!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They reached Ridgetown in the afternoon. A carriage -was drawn up at the station gates. In it were -Mrs. Leighton, Miss Grace and Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel stood transfixed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Elma," she said, "Elma!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma knew it. She wasn't as fat as a pumpkin -after all. And every one had kept on saying that she -was fatter than any pumpkin. Mabel was the only one -who had told the truth. She leaned over the folded -hood of the carriage and hugged her gently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I should like to inform you Mabs, I'm as fat as a -pumpkin."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Mabel hung on to the carriage with her head -down. No one had told her that Elma had been so -ill as this.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma had the look of having been in a far country--why -hadn't some one told her? Miss Grace, who -had been away for some weeks with Adelaide Maud and -had just got back in fairly good spirits, did some of the -conversing which helped Mabel to recover herself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert and Betty came hurrying up from the -wrong end of the train.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, and we missed you," wailed Betty, "and I -wanted to be the first."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One could hug indiscriminately at Ridgetown Station. -Jean was the next person to melt into tears. She had -tried to tell Miss Grace how sorry she was.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert began to restore order.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You'd better take two in that carriage, crowded -or not," said he. "There are boxes lying on the -platform which will require a cab to themselves."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's our music," said Jean importantly and quite -untruthfully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's my new hat," said Mabel, with a return of her -old dash.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She had gone round the carriage seeing each occupant -separately, and there seemed to be no hurry for -anything, merely the pleasure of meeting again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Just then there was a whirl of wheels in the distance. -A certain familiarity in the sound made four girls look -at each other. Mrs. Leighton, who had no ear for wheels, -stared in a surprised way at her daughters.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," she said, "what are we all waiting for? -We must get home sometime."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," asked Cuthbert lustily, "what in the wide -world are we waiting for?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A high wagonette and pair of horses drove up, and -turned with a fine circle into line behind them. In -the wagonette sat Adelaide Maud. Adelaide Maud -was dressed in blue.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That," said Elma, with a sigh of great contentment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The three girls dashed at Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma laid her hand on Cuthbert's.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go and say how do you do to Adelaide Maud," -said she.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For a minute or two she was left with Mrs. Leighton -and Miss Grace. Then Cuthbert came to her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Get up," said he to Elma. "Get up. You're to -go with Adelaide Maud."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who is this Adelaide Maud who interferes with -every plan in connection with my family?" asked -Mrs. Leighton. She had a resigned note in her voice. "Shall -we ever get home," she kept asking.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A voice behind them broke in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I didn't tell him to be impolite, Mrs. Leighton," -said Adelaide Maud. "I only asked to have Elma in -my carriage."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma looked provokingly at Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm so sorry," said she, "but I'm driving home -with Cuthbert."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's not true," said Cuthbert. "She's doing nothing -of the kind."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then I shall get in here," said Adelaide Maud -calmly, and proceeded to step in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Several people tried to stop her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I want to drive home with mummy," said Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And I mean to take Elma," said Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton leant back in the carriage.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I should like to mention," she said, "that this -is not a royal procession, and that we only take about -two and a half minutes to get home in any case. What -does it matter which carriage we go in?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Every second is of value," said Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, here you are, Jean, get in beside your mother," -said Adelaide Maud. "And, Elma and Mabel, you -come with me. And, Mr. Leighton, you look after Miss -Grace. What could be more admirable?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They did it because it seemed the simplest way out, -except Cuthbert, who backed into the station and came -up on a cab with the luggage. He looked vindictively -at Adelaide Maud as he descended, as though he would -say, "This is your doing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The three conveyances were blocking the wide sweep -of gravel in front of the White House.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud patted one of the horses' heads in an -unnecessary manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I must congratulate you on your professorship," -said she.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank you," said Cuthbert.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So nice for your family too, to have you here all -summer."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Excellent," said Cuthbert.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't see how you can run a lectureship when -you say so little." Adelaide Maud spoke very crisply, -and in a nice cool manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert looked stolidly at the men carrying in luggage.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The students will respect me probably," he said grimly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud laughed a clear ringing laugh. Then -she looked at Cuthbert once "straight in the eye" and -ran indoors. Cuthbert began pulling boxes about with -unnecessary violence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They had tea in the drawing-room amidst the roses, -for the tables were covered with them. Mabel did -nothing but wander about and say, "Oh, oh, and isn't -it lovely to be home."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Jean sat right down and in a business-like manner -began to describe London. Also, she was very sorry for -Elma, because now she, Jean, knew what it was to be -ill. She began to detail her symptoms to Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Jean, you little monkey," said Mabel. "Don't -listen to her, she wasn't ill a bit." It was the only -point on which Mabel and Jean really differed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Isobel came sailing in. Nothing could have been -nicer than the way she greeted them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Isobel, aren't you dying to hear me sing?" -asked Jean. It never dawned on her but that Isobel, -who had been so keen to get her off to a good master, -put art first and everything else afterwards.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton would never forget the way in which -Mabel received her. Mabs had developed into a finely -balanced woman. There was no sign of her wanting -to detract in the slightest from Isobel's happiness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do let me see your ring. How pretty! And how -it fits your hand, just a beautiful ring. Some -engagement rings look as though they had only been made for -fat Jewesses. Don't they? I love those tiny diamonds -set round the big ones. Where are you going for your -honeymoon?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm going first for my things," said Isobel. "I've -got no further than that. Miss Meredith and I are -taking a week in London next week."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That was her triumph, that she had "squared" Miss -Meredith. Miss Meredith had really a lonely little -heart beating beneath all her paltry ambitions. Always -she had been stretching for what was very difficult of -attainment. She had stretched for a wife for Robin, -and she had stretched in vain. Then suddenly one day -this undesirable Isobel had asked her to go to London -to help with her trousseaux. No one perhaps knew -what a strange and unlooked-for delight filled her heart, -what gates of starchy reserve were opened to this new -flood of gratitude rising within her. Robin had always, -although influenced by her in an intangible way, treated -her as though she were a useful piece of furniture. He -so invariably discounted her services; it had made her -believe that her only chance of keeping him at all was -in imposing on him her hardest, most unlovable traits. -That Isobel, of her own accord, should seek her advice, -out of the crowd who were willing to confer it, really -agitated her. From that moment she was Isobel's -willing ally.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Isobel saw here the result of incalculable goodness -as encouraged by Mr. Leighton. His words had stung -her to an exalted notion of what she might do to show -him that she could confer as well as receive. She should -"ingratiate Sarah" in a thorough manner. The result -of it surprised her more than she would confess. There -were other ways of receiving benefits than by grabbing -with both hands it seemed. Isobel began to think that -unselfish people probably remained unselfish because -they found it a paying business. Nothing would -ever really relieve her mind of its mercenary element.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The funniest experience of her life was this new -friendship with Sarah. Mr. Leighton noted it, and she saw -that he noted it. She went one day to him in almost a -contrite mood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've begun to ingratiate Sarah," said she, "I believe -I'm rather liking the experience."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton knew better than to lecture her at all. -He thought indeed that signs of relenting would not -readily occur between either of them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Goodness is an admirable habit," he said lightly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She thanked him for having fallen into her mood by -this much.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, anyhow, a little exhibition of it on my part -has evidently been a welcome tonic to Sarah," she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel and Jean found her easier than of yore. Only -Elma carried the reserve formed by what she had gone -through into the present moment of rapture. They -made Mabel play and Jean sing, and Adelaide Maud -and Jean performed a duet together.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert pranced about and applauded heavily, and -Adelaide Maud swung her crisp skirts and bowed low -in a professional manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If I can't sing," said she, "I can bow. So do you -mind if I do it again?" So she bowed again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was quite different to the old Adelaide Maud, -who aired such starchy manners in their drawing-room.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lance came in by an early train.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Heard you were home," said he, "and ran in to -see if you'd take some Broken Hills, or Grand Trunks, -or Consolidated Johnnies, you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He produced a note-book.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now Mrs. Leighton promised to buy a whole mine -of shares the other day, and she hasn't done it. How -am I to get on with my admirable firm, if my best clients -fail me in this way?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean exploded into laughter. Lance as a stockbroker, -what next!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You needn't laugh," he said. "I made twenty-five -pounds for the mater last week. Not your mater, mine!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't listen to Lance's illegal practices," said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lance struck an attitude in front of Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, mother," he said, "how you've growed. I'm -afraid of you. Wait till you see what Maclean will say!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Maclean?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes. Now, Elma, don't pretend to look blank about -it. It was you who told me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma groaned. (If it only were Mr. Maclean!)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I told you nothing," she said. "You are not to -be trusted, I've always known that, in Stock Exchange -or out of it, I'd never tell you a single thing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, it was Aunt Katharine," said Lance with -conviction. She had just appeared in the doorway.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, well," she said in a fat, breathless way. "Well, -you're home, and I am glad. Dear, how tall you both -are! And is that the latest?" She looked at Mabel's -hat. "Well, well. We've had enough trouble with -you away. Elma will be ready for none of that nonsense -for a year or two, that's one comfort. Jean, you are -quite fat. Living in other people's houses seems to -agree with you. Not the life we were accustomed -to. Young people had to stay at home in my day."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, Aunt Katharine," said Lance, who was a -privileged person, "are they your girls, or Mrs. Leighton's, -that you lecture them so?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Look here, Lance," said Elma, "Aunt Katharine -isn't a Broken Hill, or a con--consolidated Johnnie. -You just leave her alone, will you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Elma's become beastly dictatorial since she was -ill," said Lance savagely. "What's that confab in the -corner?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton was sitting with Adelaide Maud, and -in the pause which ensued, everybody heard her say, -"When Jean was a baby--no, it was when Elma was a -baby, and Cuthbert, you know----" just as the girls -were afraid she would five long years ago.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said Cuthbert from the other end of the room, -"my dear mother, if you go on with that----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't imagine why they never want to know what -they did when they were babies," said Mrs. Leighton, -in an innocent manner. She disliked being stopped -in any of these reminiscences. Adelaide Maud's eyes -danced. "They were so much nicer when they were -babies," sighed Mrs. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then she turned round on them all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You two girls have been home for an hour or more, -and you never asked after your dear father."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel giggled. Jean looked very serious.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma said suddenly, "They are hiding something, -mummy," and the secret was out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton had met them pretty nearly half way. -He had travelled with them, and in town had seen them -into the train for Ridgetown.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And he told me," said Mrs. Leighton, "that he -had an important meeting which would keep him -employed for the better part of the day."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So he had," said Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's just like John," said Mrs. Leighton to Aunt -Katharine. "One might have known he wouldn't -stay away from these girls."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She smiled largely as she remembered his protestations -of the morning.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, well," said Aunt Katharine dingily, "it would -have been nicer of him to have told you. You never -were very firm with John."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Robin Meredith came in the evening when they were -assembled with Mr. Leighton in the drawing-room and -the girls were playing once more. They played and -sang with a fine new confidence and abandonment which -made up to Mr. Leighton for long weary months of -waiting. Mabel, mostly on account of her father's -commendation, was quite composed and cheerful as she -shook hands with Robin. Robin would not have minded -the composure, but the cheerfulness wounded him a -trifle. Mr. Leighton considered that his future life had -more promise in it now that he saw Robin unnerved. -If it were not for the beautiful ease of Mabel's -manner, he should have felt uncertain as to the -consequences of all that had happened. But Mabel was -so serenely right in every way that his last fear -melted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel herself began to wonder at her own placidity. -She looked with thankfulness on the scene before her, -all her family and Elma given back to her, every one -loyal, untouched by the influence which she had so -feared before, Isobel going to be married to a man from -whom she was glad to feel herself freed, her home intact. -Yet a bitter mist gathered in her mind and obliterated -the joyousness. How wicked of her--to complain with -everything here so lovely before her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>No, not everything.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel, in the darkness that night before falling asleep, -held her hand to her eyes. No, everything had not -come back to her yet.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="adelaide-maud"><span class="large">CHAPTER XXVIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">Adelaide Maud</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Leighton's had been writing off the invitations -for the wedding, and Elma was in her room with -Adelaide Maud. This had been converted into a -sitting-room so long as Elma remained a convalescent.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma had asked Isobel if she might have just one -invitation for a special friend of her own. Now who -was this friend, Mrs. Leighton wondered? She was -surprised when Elma asked her, without any -embarrassment for Mr. Symington's address.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And don't tell who it is, please, Mummy, because -I have a little plot of my own on hand."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She sealed and addressed this important missive -quite blandly under her mother's eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton could not make it out. She was -inclined to fall into Aunt Katharine's ways and say, -"In my young days, young people were not so blatant."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton shook his head over her having allowed -the invitation to go.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You can't tell what net she may become entangled -in," he said, "and Symington cleared out in a very -sudden manner, you know." He could not get that -out of his mind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton harked back to the old formula. -"Elma is only a child," she said, "with too much of -a superb imagination. She will have a lot of fancies -before she is done."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma saw her letter posted, with only Mrs. Leighton -and Miss Grace in the secret. She felt completely -relieved and happy. Nothing had pleased her so -much for a long time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, Elma, your cheeks are getting pink at last," -said Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She had come in to spend the afternoon with Elma -while the others went to the dressmaker for the -all-important gowns. Adelaide Maud had said she would -come if Elma were to be quite alone. And Elma -meant to be quite alone until Cuthbert came down -by an early train. Then, after Adelaide Maud was -announced, she rather hoped that Cuthbert might appear.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you sure they are pink," she asked Adelaide -Maud, "because I used to be so anxious that I might -look pale."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You must have thought yourself very good looking -lately then," said Adelaide Maud. "Elma," she -asked suddenly, "why don't you girls sometimes call -me Helen? I think you might by this time."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I would rather call you Adelaide Maud," said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But I can't be a Story Book for ever."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shouldn't want to call you Helen when you looked -like Miss Dudgeon. Mrs. Dudgeon wouldn't like it, -would she?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ridgetown traditions still hampered their friendship -it seemed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud's head fell low.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you know, Elma, in five minutes, if I just had -one chance, in five minutes I could get my mother -to say that it didn't matter whether you called me -Helen or not. But I never get the chance."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I did one lovely and glorious thing yesterday," -said Elma. "Couldn't I do another to-day?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know what you did yesterday, but you -can't do anything for me to-day," said Adelaide Maud -stiffly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert came strolling in. Adelaide Maud looked -seriously annoyed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You told me you would be quite alone," she said -to Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, you don't mind about Cuthbert, do you?" -asked Elma anxiously. "Besides, Cuthbert didn't -know you were coming."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I did," said Cuthbert shortly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud had risen a little, and at this she sat -down in a very straight manner, with her head slightly -raised. She and Elma were on a couch near a -tea-table. Cuthbert took an easy chair opposite. Then -Adelaide Maud began to laugh. She laughed with a -ringing bright laugh that was very amusing to Elma, -but Cuthbert remained quite unmoved.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud looked at him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, please laugh a little," she said humbly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert did not take his eyes away from her. He -simply looked and said nothing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How are the invitations going on?" he asked -Elma as though apparently proving that Adelaide -Maud did not exist.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma clasped her hands.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Beautifully. I've been allowed to ask all my -'particulars.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Am I to be invited?" asked Adelaide Maud simply.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mrs. and Miss Dudgeon," said Elma in a hollow -voice. "Do you think Mrs. Dudgeon will come?" -she asked in a melancholy manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not if Mr. Leighton looks like that," said Adelaide -Maud. She turned in a pettish manner away from -him and gazed at Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma burst out laughing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Cuthbert, I do think you are horrid to Adelaide Maud."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud sat up again looking perfectly delighted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now there," she said, "I have been waiting for -years for some one to say that about Mr. Leighton. -Thank you so much, dear. It's so perfectly true. For -years I have been amiable and for years he has been--a----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A brute," said Elma placidly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Adelaide Maud. "And I've got to -go on pretending to be a girl of spirit with a mamma -who won't understand the situation, and--and--I get -no encouragement at all. It's a horrid world," said -Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert rose from the easy chair, with a look in -his eyes which Elma had never seen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All I can say is," he pretended to be speaking -jocularly, "will the lady who has just spoken -undertake to repeat these words, in private--in----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, she won't," said Adelaide Maud in a whisper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma sat shaking in every limb. The one thought -that passed through her mind was that if she didn't -clear out, Cuthbert might kiss Adelaide Maud, and -that would be awful. She crawled out of the room -somehow or other. What the others were thinking -of her she did not know. She wanted to reach something -outside the door, and sank on a chair there. Oh, -the selfishness of lovers! Adelaide Maud and -Cuthbert were "making it up" while she sat shaking with -her face in her hands in the long corridor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton found her there some little time afterwards.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sh! mummy. Speak in a whisper, please."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I never. Who is ill now, I should like to know?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Adelaide Maud and Cuthbert."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She pulled her mother's head down to her and -whispered in her ear.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I didn't know it was coming, they were so cross -with one another. And then I knew it was. And I -just slipped out. And I'm shaking so that I'm afraid -to get off this chair. I should never be able to get -engaged myself--it's so--en--enervating."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I never," said Mrs. Leighton; "well, I -never. Turned you out of your own room, my pet. -Just like those Dudgeons."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, mummy, it's lovely. I don't mind. It's -just being ill that made me shake. Aren't you glad -it's Adelaide Maud?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well--it never was anybody else, was it?" asked -Mrs. Leighton blandly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, mummy! You knew!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma's whispers became most accusing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton might have been as dense as possible -in regard to her daughters, but Cuthbert's heart had -always lain bare.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Know?" asked she. "What do you think made -Adelaide Maud run after you the way she did?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, mummy. It wasn't only because of Cuthbert, was it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I sometimes thought it was," she said with -a smile at her lips.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She looked at the shut door.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But I can't have you stuck on a hall chair in the -corridors for the afternoon, all on account of the -Dudgeons," said she. "Besides, they'll be bringing up tea."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She knocked smartly on the door.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mamma, I never saw anything like your nerve," -said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert opened the door. He stood with the fine -light of a conqueror shining in his eyes, the triumph -of attainment in his bearing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton's nerve broke down at the sight of -him. It was true then.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Cuthbert, what is this you have been doing?" -wailed she. Her son was a man and had left her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Without a word he led her into the arms of Adelaide -Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And remember, please, Mrs. Leighton," said that -personage finally, "that I would have been here long -before if he had let me, and that I had practically to -propose before he would have me. Surely that is -humiliating enough for a Dudgeon."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cuthbert wanted to give you your proper position -in life, dear, if possible."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When all I wanted was himself--how silly of him," -said Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Would you mind my telling you that that poor -child of mine who has just recovered from typhoid -fever is sitting like a hall porter at your door, -trembling like an aspen leaf," said Mrs. Leighton. "Won't -you get her in?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They laughed, but it really was no joke to Elma. -She had known something of the sorrows of life lately, -and had borne up under them, even under the great -trial of Miss Annie's death; but because two people -were in love with one another and had said so, she took -to weeping. Cuthbert carried her in and petted her -on his knee, and Adelaide Maud stood by and said -what a selfish man he was, how thoughtless of others, -and how really wicked it was of him to have allowed -this to happen to Elma. She stood stroking Elma's -hair and looking at Cuthbert, and Cuthbert patted -Elma and looked at Adelaide Maud. Then Cuthbert -caught Adelaide Maud's hand and she had to sit -beside them, and then tea came and Elma was thankful.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I know what it will be," she said. "You will -never look at any of us again, just at each other."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton regarded the tea table.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It appears," said she, "as if for the first time for -years I might be allowed to pour out tea in my own -house. You all seem so preoccupied."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mrs. Leighton," said Adelaide Maud, "you are -perfectly sweet. You are the only one who doesn't -reproach me, and I'm taking away your only son."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"May I ask when?" asked Cuthbert sedately, -but his eyes were on fire.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't you tell him, Helen," said Mrs. Leighton. -"It's good for them not to be in too great a hurry."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She called me Helen," said Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, Elma! Elma--say Helen, or you'll spoil -the happiest day of our lives."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Say Helen, you monkey!" cried Cuthbert, giving -her a large piece of cake and several lumps of sugar.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma took her cup and the cake in a helpless way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You just said that to get accustomed to the name -yourself," she declared. "And if you don't mind, I -would rather have toast to begin with."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud giggled brightly and her hair shone -like gold. Cuthbert stood looking, looking at her till -a piece of cake sidled off the plate he was carrying.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mummy dear, do you like having tea with me all -alone?" asked Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That was what came of it in many ways. Cuthbert -and Adelaide Maud had not a word for any one. But -then they had been so long separated by social ties -and an unfriendly world and "pride," as Helen put -it, and various things. Mrs. Dudgeon took the news -"carved in stone," and her daughters as something -that merely could not be helped. Helen had always -been crazy over these Leightons. Mrs. Dudgeon -unbent to Mr. Leighton however. He was a man to -whom people invariably offered the best, and for his -own part he could never quite see where the point of -view of other people came in where Mrs. Dudgeon was -concerned. Cuthbert was already sufficiently -established as rather a brilliant young university man, and -a partnership in a large practice in town was being -arranged for. Mrs. Dudgeon could unbend with -some graciousness therefore, and, after all, Helen was -the eldest of four, and none were married yet. "Time -is a great leveller," said Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All the love and enthusiasm which had been saved -from the engagement of Isobel were showered on the -unheeding Cuthbert and Adelaide Maud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It isn't that I don't appreciate it," said Adelaide -Maud. "I know how dreadful it would be to be without -it, but oh! somehow there's so little time to attend -to every one who is good to me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Isobel, in a certain measure, was annoyed at the -interruption to her own arrangements. In a day -things seemed to change from her being the centre of -interest, to the claims of Adelaide Maud coming -uppermost. She looked on the engagement as a -complete bore. Robin seemed depressed with the news. -She often wondered how far she could influence him, -and turned rather a cold side to him for the moment. -Then her ordinary wilfulness upheld her serenely. -After all, once married to Robin, she would be -independent of the domestic enthusiasms of the Leighton -crowd. She was tired of the pose where she had to -appear as one of them, and longed to assert herself -differently as soon as possible.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As for the girls themselves--what had London or -anything offered equal to this?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They could not believe in their luck in having -Adelaide Maud as a sister.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma went in the old way to give the news to Miss Grace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I'm so pleased, my dear, so pleased," said -poor lonely Miss Grace. "It makes up for so much, -my dear, when one grows old, to see young people -happy. We are so inclined to be extravagant of -happiness when we are young. Some one ought always -to be on the spot to pick up the little stray pieces we -let drop and enable us to regain them again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Weren't you ever engaged to be married, Miss -Grace?" Elma asked quite simply.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace was not at all embarrassed in the usual -way of old maids. She gazed over the white and gold -drawing-room, and one saw the spark of flint in her eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not engaged, dear, but all the inclination to be. -Ah, yes, I had the inclination. And he invited me, but -affairs at that time made it unsuitable."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Miss Grace, only unsuitable?" Elma's heart -went out to her. Beneath everything she knew it -must be Miss Annie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, dear. And the others found him different -to what I did. Selfish and dictatorial, you know. -Nothing he did seemed to fit in to what they expected. -He grew annoyed with them. I sometimes hardly -wonder at that. It made him appear to be what they -really thought him. And in the end I asked him to go."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Miss Grace!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma's voice was a tragedy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It was not fair, it was not fair to him or to you. -He didn't want to marry the others. What did it -matter what they thought?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If he could have married me then, it wouldn't -have mattered," said Miss Grace. "I knew that he -was good and true, you see; so that I never doubted -him. But he was poor, and they worried me nearly -to my grave. I was very weak," said Miss Grace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And I suppose he went and married some one else -in a fit of hopelessness," said Elma tragically. "What -a nice wife you would have made, Miss Grace!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace started a trifle, and looked anxiously at -Elma. She did not seem to hear the compliment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, we all have our little stories," she said. "But -don't be extravagant of your beautiful youth, my dear."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't feel youthful or beautiful in any way," -said Elma. "I think it's the fever. I feel as though -I had been born a hundred years ago. I wish I could -keep from shivering whenever anything either exciting -or lovely happens. Now, I never was so happy in -my life as I was yesterday over Cuthbert and -Adelaide Maud, and I was so shaky that I simply burst -into tears. What's the good of being youthful if one -feels like that?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Wait till you have a holiday, dear, you will soon -get over that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace did her best to cheer her up. Elma's -thoughts ran back to the story she had heard.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Miss Grace," she asked, "this man that you were -engaged to, was he----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The door opened and Saunders appeared.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Dr. Merryweather," said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace rose in a direct manner. She controlled -her voice with a little nervous cough.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This is just the person to tell you that you ought -to be off for a change," she said as they shook hands -with Dr. Merryweather.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace told him about Elma's shakiness as though -it were a real disease. Mrs. Leighton had never looked -upon it as anything more than "just a mannerism," -as Miss Grace put it. Dr. Merryweather ran his keen -eye over Elma's flushed face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You mustn't have too many engagements in your -family," he said, "while you remain a convalescent."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had been only then arranging with Mrs. Leighton -that she should take Elma off for a trip.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Leighton will go too," he said kindly. "I -don't think any of you realize how much your parents -have suffered recently."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, but when?" asked Elma in a most disappointed -voice. "Not at once, I hope."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Almost at once," said Dr. Merryweather. "Before -this first wedding at least."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma's face fell a trifle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, well, I suppose I must," she said. "But so -much depends on my being just on the spot--up to -Isobel's wedding, you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I said, 'No more engagements,'" said Dr. Merryweather -with his eye still on her flushed face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This isn't exactly an engagement," said Elma -with a sigh. "I wish it were."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no explaining to Dr. Merryweather of -course. There was even not much chance of enlightening -Miss Grace. One could only remain a kind of petted -invalid and await developments. Now that Adelaide -Maud was really one of them and Cuthbert in such a -blissful state, it would seem as though nothing were -required to make Elma perfectly happy. But there -was this one trouble of Mabel's which only she could -share. For of course one couldn't go about telling -people that Mabel had set great store by the one man -who had run away.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If only George Maclean would play up," sighed Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But almost every one played up except George Maclean.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="mr-symington"><span class="large">CHAPTER XXIX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">Mr. Symington</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Mabel and Jean were to be bridesmaids at Isobel's -wedding. Ridgetown had only one opinion for that -proceeding. "It was just like the Leightons."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Aunt Katharine was more explicit.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's hardly decent," she said. "Do you want -the man to show how many wives he could have had."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To show one he couldn't have, more likely," said -Mrs. Leighton shortly. She herself could not reconcile -it to her ideas of what should have been. Mr. Leighton -was adamant on the question, however. Isobel had -set her heart on this marriage and the marriage was -to be carried out. She was their guest and their -responsibility. It would be scandalous if they did not uphold -her as they would have done had there been none of -this former acquaintance with Robin. It would seem -as though they had attached unnecessary importance -to what now was termed "nothing more than a -flirtation." It was a pity they could not all like Robin as -they ought to, or have been extremely fond of Isobel; -but under the circumstances, they at least must all -"play the game."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Isobel took the information tranquilly. It seemed -to her that she might have been allowed to arrange -her own bridesmaids, then she recognized where the -wisdom of Mr. Leighton asserted itself on her side. There -was much less chance of conjecture where she and -Mabel showed up in friendly manner together with -one another. She had one friend from London as her -first bridesmaid, and after this the question of dresses -obliterated everything.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean, it is true, had still a soul for other things. She -moaned for her Slavska on every occasion. She rushed -to mirrors in agony lest her chin or throat muscles -were getting into disrepair, and she talked already -of having to renew her lessons.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are just like a cheap motor," said Betty at -last, "always having to be done up. Why don't -you keep on being a credit to your method like the -expensive machines? They don't rattle themselves to -bits in a week."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Betty was getting a little out of patience with life.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've had a ghastly time of it," she admitted to -Mabel. "All the spunk is out of Elma, you know, and -what with her being ill and Isobel engaged, I've led a -lonely life. And now Jean can't talk of anything -but her Slavska. I hate the man."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When Jean was not talking about Slavska, she was -sending boxes of flowers to the club girls. Reams of -thanks in long letters came by the morning posts. -There was no doubt of the popularity of Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I should never be in deadly fear now of having to get -on alone in life," she said. "There's such comfort in -girls, you can't think."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel had always remained a little more outside that -radiantly friendly crowd, yet had quite as admiring -a following. Mr. Leighton unendingly congratulated -himself for letting them both have the experience. -"Though never again," he declared, "never again, -will I allow one of you away from home."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then occurred Cuthbert's engagement. In a curious -way it comforted Mr. Leighton. He was acquiring -another daughter. Adelaide Maud loved that view -of it best of all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If Mr. Leighton had been against me, I should -have refused you," she explained to Cuthbert.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You mean that I should," he corrected her. "Now -what I am about to propose----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you really going to propose, dear?" asked -Adelaide Maud innocently. Cuthbert grinned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are to be married to me in the autumn," said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adelaide Maud cogitated.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, failing a real proposal, a command of this -sort may take its place. I shall endeavour to be ready -for you in the autumn."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They are the funniest pair," said Jean; "Helen is -so cool and Cuthbert so domineering! And I used to -be so stuck on engagements," she sighed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All the girls were in Elma's room, where Isobel tried -on some of her finery. Elma lay on the couch at the -window. She had had her trip with Mr. and -Mrs. Leighton, and had come home with some colour and a -good deal more vitality. Yet still there was much to -be desired. Dr. Merryweather thundered out advice -about the wedding.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She is not to be excited," he kept hammering at -every one. Elma felt a culprit in this respect. Nothing -excited her except the one fact which evidently could -not be altered. She had sent an invitation to -Mr. Symington which he had not acknowledged in any -shape or form. It seemed so ignominious. One could -imagine that rather splendid and cultured person -saying, "Oh, these young Leightons again! Don't -trouble me with their children's weddings," or -something to that effect. She grew cold as she thought of -what Mabel's disgust would be when she heard of the -flag she had held out (what more definite signal to -"come on" could any one have given;) and of his utter -disregard of that mild overture. She grew more and -more troubled about it. So much so that Mrs. Leighton -remarked to her husband as each list of acceptances -came from home, and no word of Mr. Symington, "I -believe that child is moping because he does not answer."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton was all for the righting that time would -accomplish. "She may forget this, whatever it is, in -a day," said he. He said to Elma, however, "I hear -Symington was asked. Shouldn't wonder if he were -so far away that he hasn't had the letter."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That possibility gladdened her heart immediately. -Perhaps after all he had not yet made his slighting remarks -about the Leighton children. The Clutterbucks also -were abroad, so that there seemed no chance of any of the -connection being present.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma finally came home, and they had reached the -Saturday afternoon before the wedding on the following -Tuesday. A very finished example of the London girl -had appeared as Isobel's first bridesmaid, and -everybody was chatting incontinently. Jean ran on with -her own views of things, since she usually found these -of more interest than anything else.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I feel now as though I wouldn't be engaged for a -ransom," she said. "I think of all the men we know -and how nice they are, but I don't want to be married to -them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I should hope not," said Isobel. "Why should you!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All right, Isobel, I won't poach. But I'd rather -give a concert than have a wedding."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was her latest desire to give a concert in the -Bechstein or Eolian Hall, when her voice was "ripe." She -had even consulted an agent.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If only papa would see it," she said, "it would cost -£60, but I should get it all back again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, one of these private concerts," said the London -girl.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," broke in Mabel. "Where you pay £60 to -an agent and he looks after everything including the -people with whom you appear. You fill one part of the -hall with your friends, and they fill up the rest. Free -tickets, you know. Then each portion applauds like -mad whatever you do. It all depends on who has -most friends who gets the most encores. It is the duty -of the rival crowd to remain silent when their own friend -isn't performing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Mabel," said Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's true," said the London girl. "And if a critic -comes you treasure him, oh! you treasure him! There -are seats and seats waiting for critics. This one poor -man puts it as neatly as he can, Miss So-and-So sang -"agreeably," then he rushes off to the most adjacent -hall, and does the same for the next aspirant to musical -honours."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you immediately buy a book for press cuttings," -quoth Isobel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And only that poor one goes in."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are the most depressing crowd I ever met," -said Jean despairingly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's not all," said the London girl. "After -paying for the other performers, you may happen to -find that they have already paid the agent in order to -appear with you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I believe a lot, but I won't believe that," said -Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You may just as well," said the London girl, "because -it happened to me. And it's very good business for -the agent."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh dear," cried Jean. "Do be silent about it then. -With you in the house, do you think my father would -ever allow me to give that concert."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I sincerely hope he won't," said the London girl -heartily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Betty sat looking very glum.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why we should all be here discussing Jean's career, -when there are far more important things to think about, -I can't imagine. Jean, you might stop talking of your -own affairs for once and help with Isobel's. Here's -another box to be opened."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jean stood pulling at the string.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Still," she said obstinately, "if you have a voice and -a fine method, and a man behind you like Slavska----"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, put her out," wailed Betty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A chorus of "Put her out" ensued. Cuthbert, coming -in in the midst of this, without asking for particulars, took -Jean in his arms, and carried her off.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think it's perfectly miraculous the strength that -comes to engaged people," said Betty simply. -"Cuthbert couldn't have moved Jean a few weeks ago."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They both returned at that moment, looking warm but -satisfied.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The pater is growling downstairs that he can't get -one of you to play to him nowadays," said Cuthbert. -"There are to be no more weddings he says."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, there never is to be no more anything," wailed -Betty. "And I'm only half grown up. You've -exhausted papa before one of you have done anything."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, let Jean go and rehearse her concert," remarked -Isobel calmly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I require a good accompanist," said Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma had been looking out at the window. She -heard the gate open, to four minor notes, containing -the augmented fourth of the opening to the Berlioz -"King of Thule," which they all loved. Somebody -had said "Oil that gate," and Mr. Leighton had objected -because it reminded him of the "King of Thule." When -Elma heard the magic notes, and looked out at -the window, she could have dispensed with minor intervals -for the rest of her existence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Symington was coming up the drive.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Oh, Love of our Lives, and now this! She could at -last recover from typhoid fever.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't think any of you need go down to papa," -said she. "There's an old johnny come to see him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The bell rang at that moment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert approached her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I should fancy," said he, "that with all the good -training you have had from Miss Grace, you would -have known better than to talk of old johnnies. Who's -the josser, anyway?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cuthbert, my darling boy, you are just a little -bit vulgar. Cuthbert, I've never been so happy in my -life as I am at the present moment."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So long as you don't weep about it, I don't mind," -said Cuthbert.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma got up. "I think I could dance," said she.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do," said Cuthbert, and put his arm round her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To the dismay of the girls, he swung Elma into the -midst of the wedding trousseaux. Boxes were snatched -up, tissue paper sent flying in all directions. Every girl -in the room screamed maledictions on them both. This -was quite unlike Elma, to be displaying her own feelings -at the risk of anything else in the world. They stopped -with a wild whirl.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Elma wanted to dance," said Cuthbert coolly, -"and as she hasn't had any exercise lately, I thought it -would be good for her. Have some more?" he asked her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A demon of delight danced in Elma's eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, certainly," she said politely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no holding them in at all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma had her first real lecture, from Mabel of all people.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think it's very inconsiderate of you, Elma--just -when we are so busy. You might arrange to stop fooling -with Cuthbert when these things are lying about. It -isn't fair of you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Mabs," said Elma, "you don't know! I've -been under the clouds so long--thunder clouds, with -everything raining down on me, and hardly any sunshine -at all. And just at the present moment I'm on top -of the clouds, treading on air; I can't describe it. But -even although you are so solemn, and Isobel is so vexed, -and Jean is so haughty, and Betty is simply vicious, why, -even in spite of that, I'd like another dance with Cuthbert."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her eyes shone. (Oh, what--what was taking place -down stairs?)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert said "Come on," in a wild way. These -spirits had been natural with him just lately.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But this time five girls intervened.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not if I know it," said Isobel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And "Get you to your Adelaide Maud," cried -Betty. So there was no more dancing for Elma just then.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"However," said she, "for the first time in my life, I -think, I'm really looking forward to Tuesday night." They -were to have a dance in honour of Isobel's wedding. -"I think that whether Dr. Merryweather is alive or -dead, I shall dance the whole evening." She began to -adopt Jean's manner. "Do you know," she said to her, -"I feel so inspired. I think I could go and compose -an anthem!" (What were they saying downstairs?)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said Betty. "She said that just before she -took ill, you know. And I lay awake at night thinking -she would die. Because I asked you, you know, just in -fun, were you going to die because you wanted to write -an anthem."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"On the contrary," said Elma, "I now want to -write an anthem because I'm about to live."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Look here, Elma," said Mabel sedately, "if you don't -sit down and keep yourself quiet, I shall get Dr. Merryweather -to come."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If he has time," said Isobel drily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Time?" asked Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, before he gets married to Miss Grace."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That bomb burst itself to silence in the most -complete pause that had fallen on the Leighton family for a -long time. They began to collect their scattered senses -with difficulty. Elma thought, "Mr. Symington in the -drawing-room and Miss Grace going to be married! Am -I alive or dead?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Didn't you notice?" said Isobel's calm voice. -"Haven't you seen that Dr. Merryweather's heart is -with Miss Grace? You could tell that from the colour -of his gloves. Lemon yellow ever since Miss Annie died."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Isobel," said Mabel gravely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma remembered her asking, "And Miss Grace, -this man, was he----" and Saunders opening the door -and announcing, "Dr. Merryweather." Was this -something more than a coincidence, and was Isobel -right? Surely Miss Grace would have let her know. -Then the certainty that Miss Grace would far more -easily let an alien like Isobel know, by reason of her -own embarrassment, than a friend like Elma through -frank and easy confidence, began to convince her. She -heard the gate sing its little song of warning again at -that moment. Miss Meredith tripped in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Meredith!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma put her head out at the open window.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Miss Meredith, do come upstairs, we've such a -lot to show you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sarah came safely up. (Oh the relief!) What if she -met Mr. Symington, and this new castle of cards came -tumbling down to more interference from that quarter. -Besides, they were soon going to tea, and Mabel was -still unwarned. Elma discreetly hoped that Mabel -would not faint. As for herself, her shakiness seemed -gone for ever. She was a lion, defending Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Meredith floated about the room. "Perfectly -sweet," she said one minute, and "Isn't it a dream?" -the next. (What was Mr. Symington saying in the -drawing-room?)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It came alarmingly near tea-time. Elma made -everybody prink up a little. "We are all such frights," -she said, "and there's some old johnny with papa in -the drawing-room."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I do believe you know who it is," said Betty, "and -won't tell us." She was in a suspicious mood with -society in general.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I do," said Elma simply. "It's Mr. Symington."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel did not faint. She was providentially with her -back to the others, packing a tulle dress in tissue paper -just then, and one has to be very particular with tulle. -She was quite collected and calm when she finished. -Miss Meredith was the colour of the Liberty green screen -behind her. Her energy did not fail her in this crisis -however.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, it's nice Mr. Symington comes back," she said. -"Is he coming to the wedding?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He is," said Elma. "He was my 'particular.' I -asked Isobel if I might invite him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who is he anyway?" asked Isobel, patting her -hair gently in front of a mirror.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>("Oh, Isobel, my friend, if you only knew that," -Elma conferred with herself, "you wouldn't perhaps -be the centre of attraction to-day.")</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He's a man who's great friends with the pater," -said Jean unconcernedly. "He goes abroad a lot and -writes up things and develops photos and has a place -in Wales."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A place in Wales, how nice!" said the London girl. -"But it isn't the great Mr. Symington, is it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, yes, I suppose it must be," said Jean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course it is," said Miss Meredith, socially active -once more. "Mr. Symington is a very famous young man."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Good gracious," said the London girl, "my curling -tongs at once, please. These surprises are very -demoralizing. Look at my hair."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They all made themselves beautiful for "the great -Mr. Symington."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel turned a pair of wide eyes on Elma. Elma -nodded like a little mother, with a wealth of smiles at -her lips. (Oh, Mabel, play up!)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cuthbert had found his mother coming out of the -drawing-room.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, you seem in good spirits," said she,</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who is in there?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Symington."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, it's he, is it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why do you ask?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, for no particular reason," said Cuthbert. -"Only Elma saw him coming in and called him an old -johnny. I knew something was up."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Elma?" asked Mrs. Leighton anxiously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes. And she's in great form about something. -Haven't seen her so gay for an age."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton's eyes dropped. "Poor little girl," -she said to herself. She thought it best to proceed -upstairs, and break some of the surprise of -Mr. Symington's arrival.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She found them in a room where boxes were piled in -every direction. It was like her that in her present -dilemma she should immediately begin to reprove them -for their untidy habits.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This room is really a disgrace," she said. "Just -look at all these boxes! And it's tea-time and not one -of you in the drawing-room with your father, the only -afternoon he has too! Elma, what have you been doing -to make your hair so untidy?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My hair is only a wig, and this is my room," said -Elma firmly. "For the last ten minutes I have been -trying to get to my own mirror. We are prinking -ourselves up for the great Mr. Symington."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said Mrs. Leighton. "So you know. Well, -he only got the invitation a few days ago, when he was -buried in Servia or some outlandish place. He came -right on."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"For my wedding?" asked Isobel in cool surprise.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Meredith gazed in a rather frightened manner -at every one.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Elma. "Not altogether. There were -others reasons." She determined to cut all the ground -from under the feet of Sarah. "I arranged it with -Mr. Symington," she said in an important voice. Then, -with the airy manner of the London girl, she patted down -the turbulent wig, which had so annoyed Mrs. Leighton. -"He is a perfect duck," she said lightly.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="now-here-there-dawneth"><span class="large">CHAPTER XXX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">"Now here there dawneth"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The organ in the Ridgetown church pealed in a stately -manner the wedding music from </span><em class="italics">Lohengrin</em><span>. Isobel, -the bride, moved with exactitude slowly down the aisle -with her three bridesmaids. Mr. Leighton, presumably -leading her, was compelled to delay himself several -times. Who could have known that the arm lying -on his was manipulating matters so conscientiously! -It was inimitably done. Isobel's </span><em class="italics">entourage</em><span> arranged -itself in perfect order, and knowing that everything -was properly completed, she raised her eyes to those -of Robin just as the last chord sounded. This had -been rigorously rehearsed, but nothing could have -been better carried out. The ceremony of marriage -commenced.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There were more dramas played out that day than -what Ridgetown called "the drama" of Mabel's acting -bridesmaid to Isobel. Ridgetown was delightfully -curious in noting that Robin, for instance, looked -nervous and disturbed. The darting glances which had -so unnerved the Leighton family long ago, dwelt on -Isobel only occasionally. Robin would not be at his -happiest till the ceremony was over.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Whether by accident or design, Miss Grace, who -was unable to join the wedding party on account of -her mourning, came in quietly to church with -Dr. Merryweather. Here was drama enough if one liked -to look further as Isobel had done. Then Mr. Symington -had been ordered to be an usher. The groomsman, -a Mr. Clive, a friend of the Merediths, was, of course, out -of the usher part of the business. So Cuthbert and -George Maclean and Lance and Mr. Symington were -requisitioned. They had to show in the guests and -give the cue to the organist, and take the bridesmaids -out afterwards. Miss Meredith had been of opinion -that they did not require so many ushers. The girls -insisted on four at least.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma was not in the seventh heaven which she -had inhabited a few days before. There was something -still unravelled about Mr. Symington's attitude.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was not to know, of course, that he had immediately -placed himself in Mr. Leighton's hands in regard -to Mabel. That much-startled person only thought -of another complication--Mabel, when Elma had set -her heart on him! In a disturbed manner he had -endeavoured to let Mr. Symington know that he might -find difficulties in the way. He begged, above all things, -that he might not rush matters.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Give us time to think a little," he pleaded. "We -have had so much of this sort of thing lately."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Symington would have preferred to have had it -out then and there. "You understand," he said, "that -I left this unsaid before, because I thought, in fact I -was led definitely to understand that she was engaged -to Meredith, and that my presence here was a trouble -to her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah, that's it--perhaps," said Mr. Leighton. "It -was not because of Meredith. There may be other -reasons."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Symington's hopes went down at a rush.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the girls crowded into the room for tea, his -greeting and Mabel's consisted of a mere clasp of the -hand on either side with no words spoken at all. But -Mabel felt suddenly as though she could face the world. -Was it strength he had given her by the mere touch -of his hand? She could not raise her eyes to let him -or anybody else see what was written there.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The deadlock puzzled the triumphant Elma. Miss -Grace comforted her a little. "These things always -come right--sooner or later."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>These two good friends had not the firmness to probe -that remark further, though Elma was dying to ask -about Dr. Merryweather.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'd like to help them," said Elma instead, "but I -should feel like the 'tactful woman' that Mr. Maclean -was laughing at. He says that when tactful women -write novels they are always making people drop handkerchiefs -in order to help the heroine, or having a friend -outside or something of that sort at the right moment. -It made me feel so silly over sending the invitation -to Mr. Symington. Especially," continued she sadly, -"since he doesn't seem to be making much use of it. -It's very enervating to be tactful, especially when your -tact doesn't come off."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace looked at her long and kindly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't bury your sympathies in the cause of others -too much, dear," she said. "With some of us, with -you and me for instance, it might become more of a -weakness perhaps than a real virtue."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma immediately thought, "There is something -in what Isobel said after all."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Instead of giving voice to it, she said, "I have -bothered about Mabs, I know. But then, I haven't -any affairs of my own, you see."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, dear child, never be sure, never be too sure -about that," said Miss Grace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A delightful feeling stole over Elma. Could it be -possible that anything exciting could ever happen to -herself. But no--how could it?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think it's papa always telling us no woman ought -to be married until she's twenty-three that de--demoralizes -me so," she said. "And lately, since Mabs is -nearly that age, he is actually running it on to twenty-five."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, but they never really mean it," said Miss Grace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, one thing I intend to see to is that Mr. Symington -takes Mabel out of church after the wedding. -Sarah wants him. And Sarah is not going to have him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think you are quite right there," said Miss Grace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma got hold of Mr. Symington herself. "I want -you to do me a great favour," she said. "I want you -to escort Mabel on Tuesday."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It isn't a favour," he said. He pulled his big -shoulders together and looked magnificent. He was -browned and tanned with the sun. Only a slight frown -between the eyes to be cleared away and then he would -be the old Mr. Symington.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, please do it like this. Ask Mabel if you may."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now?" asked Mr. Symington.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you like," said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were on the lawn after dinner, and Mr. Symington -in two days had hardly had a glimpse of Mabel, -far less any conversation with her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was talking to Isobel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He walked straight up to her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"May I escort you out of church on Tuesday?" -he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel looked up in a puzzled way, then her eyes lit -with shyness and something much more brilliant than -had been seen in them for a long time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," she said simply.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>(Could he know how her heart thumped to that quiet "yes"?)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>(Oh, after all, after all, could the sun shine after all!)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Isobel broke in coldly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I had understood from Robin that Mr. Symington -would take Miss Meredith."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel turned cold. She could not help it, for the -life of her, she could not help it, she turned an -appealing glance on Mr. Symington. This he had hardly -required, but it helped him to a joyous answer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, no, Miss Leighton. Some mistake. I'm bound -to Miss Mabel."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma strolled up. "It's all because of Cuthbert's -insisting on taking Helen. Cuthbert ought to have -taken Mabel. Mr. Clive takes the first bridesmaid; -Mr. Symington, Mabel; George Maclean, Jean."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who takes you?" asked Mr. Symington.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I'm not in the procession," said Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, you are." Mabel was quite animated now. -"The whole family trails out in pairs with somebody -or another."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>George Maclean strolled up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shall take Elma," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, you won't! You take Jean."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I won't be taken by George Maclean," cried Jean. -"He's always horrid to me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Wire for Slavska," interpolated Betty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is this my wedding, or whose is it?" asked Isobel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They settled everything once more. The real result -lay in Mr. Symington's determination about Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He came to Elma afterwards.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is there anything under the sun you want, which -you haven't got?" he asked her. "Because I should -like to present it to you here and now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That cleared up things incalculably for the wedding. -Elma sitting in front saw only Mabel, and Mabel's face -was the colour of a pink rose. Mr. Symington took her -out of church after the wedding, next to the first bridesmaid.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Aunt Katharine followed them with her lorgnette.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They're a fine couple," she said to Elma. "It's -a pity Mabel spoiled herself with this Meredith man. -Mr. Symington might lead her out in earnest. I always -told your mother what it would be."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no squashing of Aunt Katharine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel had begun to see land after having tossed on -what had seemed an endless sea. She had been without -any hope at all, but it was necessary to appear -throughout as though she had some safe anchor holding her in -port. The joy of delivery was almost more than she -could bear. She became afraid of looking at Mr. Symington. -After the arrival of the guests at the White -House, she managed to slip out and disappear upstairs. -Her own room had people in it helping to robe Isobel. -She stole into the schoolroom. Too late of making -up her mind, since Mr. Symington, seeing a trail of -pale silken skirts disappear there, tried the only door -open to him on that landing. He found Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," said she blankly. "I wanted to get away--away -from downstairs for a little."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had some difficulty in replying.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So I noticed," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They lamely waited. Mabel caught at a window -cord and played with it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We ought to go downstairs," she whispered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Why she spoke in a whisper she could not imagine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Symington came close to her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mabs," he said, "just for three minutes I mean to -call you Mabs. And after that--if you are offended--you -can turn me off to the ends of the earth again. -You know why I left before."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She bent her head a little.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You didn't want me to go? You didn't want me -to go! Say that much, won't you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She could not answer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I know what it means if you do," he said. "Oh -don't I know what it means? Mabs, I'm going to make -you care for me--as I do for you--can you possibly -imagine how much I care for you--why won't you -speak to me?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel never spoke to him at all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He happened to take her hand just then, and the same -confidence which had so strangely come to her a few -days ago on his arrival, came to her once more. He -took her hand, and time stood still.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Somebody outside, a vague time afterwards, called -for Mabel. It dawned on them both that they were -attending Isobel's wedding.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We ought to go downstairs," whispered Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her conversation was certainly very limited. They -both smiled as they noticed this, a comprehensive, -understanding, oh! a different smile to any they had -ever allowed themselves.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We will, when you've just once--Mabs--look up -at me. Now--once."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Time stood still once more, but it took the last of -the frown from between the eyes of Mr. Symington.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now for Isobel's wedding party," cried he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton was stunned a little with the news. -"Only one stipulation," said he. "I want to tell -Elma myself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mabel was terribly disappointed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, papa--of all people--I wanted to tell Elma."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was adamant however, even when Mr. Symington -added his requests.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You've interfered seriously enough between me and -one of my daughters," Mr. Leighton said severely. -"Leave me the other."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So nothing was mentioned until Mr. Leighton should -tell Elma. Mrs. Leighton was nervous about the -whole thing, yet in an underhand way very proud of -Mabel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't see that any of you are at all suited to be the -wife of a man like Mr. Symington," she said to Mabel -pessimistically. "But your father thinks it is all -right." She had had rather a long day with Aunt Katharine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma saw that the clouds had lifted where Mabel was -concerned, and Mr. Symington was in magnificent spirits. -She thought they might have told her something, but -she was sent to lie down with no news at all until the -dance in the evening. Isobel left regally. There was -not much of the usual scrimmage of a wedding-leave-taking -about her departure. Her toque and costume -were irreproachable. Miss Meredith attended her -dutifully, as though she were a bridesmaid herself. But -with Robin she had felt too motherly for that. Indeed, -some new qualities in Miss Meredith seemed to be -coming uppermost.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dancing was in full swing in the evening when -Mr. Leighton methodically put on an overcoat and took -Elma to sit out in the verandah. "It is to prevent your -dancing too much," he told her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma had the feeling of being manipulated as she had -been when she was ill. What did all this mystery mean? -She tucked in readily enough beside her father. The -night was warm, with a clear moon, and the lights from -the drawing-room and on the balcony shed pretty patches -of colour on her white dress and cloak.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton began to talk of Adelaide Maud of all -people. She was there, with her sisters. They had at -last dropped the armour of etiquette which had -prevented more than one from ever appearing at the -Leightons.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't suppose any of you really know what that -girl has come through," said Mr. Leighton. "All these -years it has gone on. A constant criticism, you know. -Mrs. Dudgeon found out long ago about Cuthbert, and -what Cuthbert calls 'roasted' her continually. Adelaide -Maud remained the fine magnificently true girl she is -to-day. That is a difficult matter when one's own family -openly despises the people one has set one's heart on. -She never gave a sign of giving in either way--did she?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not a sign," said Elma. "Adelaide Maud is a -delicious brick, she always has been. The Story Books -have come true at last."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It does not sound like being in battle," said Mr. Leighton, -in a pertinacious way. "But a battle of that -sort is far more real than many of the fights we back up -in a public manner. One relieves the poor, and you -girls give concerts for hospitals, but who can give a -concert to relieve the like of the trouble that Adelaide Maud -has gone through? She never wavered."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma thought of another fight--should she tell her father?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We talk about Ridgetown being a slow place, but -what a drama can be lived through here!" went on -Mr. Leighton. "Isobel, for instance, thinks there's nothing -in life unless one attends fifty balls a month. Yet she -lived her little drama in Ridgetown. And she has learned -to be civil to Miss Meredith. There's another fight for -you. It cost her several pangs, let me tell you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>("What did it all lead to?" thought Elma.)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, there were other fights too, papa, but one I -think is over. Have you seen Mabel's face to-night?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton started.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma required some sort of confidant, "or I shall -explode or something," she explained. She told her -father about Mr. Symington.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And I've been worrying so because it seemed so sad -about Mabel. And she never gave it away, did she? -And when you all thought so much of Isobel when she -first came, and Mabel was getting dropped all round, -she never said a word, did she?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Mr. Leighton, with a long-drawn impatient -sort of relief in his voice. "No, but you did. You -talked so much about the man all through your illness -that your mother thought you were in love with him -yourself. Ridiculous nonsense," he said testily. "And -here have I been trying to brace you up to hearing that -Mabel is engaged to him, and the scoundrel wishes to -marry her at once."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dr. Merryweather, who had said that Elma was not -to be excited, ought to have been on the spot just then. -She sat on her father's knee and hugged him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, papa, papa, how glorious," said she. "Never -mind, I shall always stay with you, I shall, I shall."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, will you?" said Mr. Leighton dismally. "Mabel -said the same thing not so long ago."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton and Aunt Katharine came on the -balcony, and behind them, Mabel and Mr. Symington.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Isn't this a midsummer's night's dream?" sighed -Elma, after the congratulations were over. "I shall -get up in the morning ever afterwards, and I shall say, -'Now here there dawneth another blue day'--even -although it's as black as midnight."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, now that we're rid of Mabel," said Aunt -Katharine placidly, "when will your turn come along?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Elma is going to stay with me," said Mr. Leighton.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"H'm. Well, she always admired Miss Grace," -said Aunt Katharine. "There's nothing like being -an old maid from the beginning."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Elma stirred herself gently, and laughed in the moonlight.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Miss Grace is to be married to Dr. Merryweather," -she said with a smile. It was her piece of news, reserved -till now for a proper audience.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace had told her anxiously in the course of -the afternoon. "Oh," Elma had said, "how nice! -Dr. Merryweather is such a duck!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you think so?" had asked Miss Grace seriously. -"Miss Annie used to think he was a little loud in his -manners."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Grace would ever be loyal to Miss Annie. -Adelaide Maud came out just then with Cuthbert. -"How much finer to have been loyal to the like of -Cuthbert!" Elma could not help the thought. -Ah, well, there were fights and fights, and no doubt Miss -Grace had won on her particular battlefield.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A new dance commenced indoors, and some came -searching for partners.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Leighton," said the voice of George Maclean, -"won't you spare Elma for this dance?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They turned round to look at him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Elma wants to stay with me," said Mr. Leighton -gravely, putting his arms round her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hph!" said Aunt Katharine in an undertone. -"It's another Miss Grace, sure enough."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why don't you go and dance?" asked Adelaide -Maud of Elma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There were her two ideals, Miss Grace and Adelaide -Maud, crossing swords as it were with one another. -And there was George Maclean waiting at the window -of the drawing-room. A Strauss waltz struck up inside, -one which she loved. Ah, well, there were several -kinds of fights in the world. She felt in some inscrutable -way that it was "weak" to stay with her father.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She went in with George Maclean.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Leighton pulled up a chair for his wife, as the -others, including even Aunt Katharine, faded from -the balcony.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I take this as an omen, they are all leaving us," -he said in a sad manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Leighton sighed gently. "We did the same -ourselves, didn't we, John?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And with a Strauss waltz hammering out its joyous -commanding rhythm, a son and daughter engaged, and -Elma just deserted, Mr. Leighton replied very dismally -indeed, "I suppose so."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hush," said Mrs. Leighton. "Who knows? This -may be another."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was Jean with a University acquaintance of Cuthbert's.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He placed her carefully in a chair and bent in a lounging -manner over her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You see," said Jean in a high intense voice, "it's -the method that does it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ha," said Mr. Leighton joyously. "Herr Slavska -may yet save me a daughter."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="small">Butler and Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome, and London.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 6em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><em class="italics medium">BOOKS BY</em><span class="medium"> -<br /></span><em class="italics medium">CHRISTINA GOWANS WHYTE</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="x-large">Nina's Career -<br />Uncle Hilary's Nieces -<br />The Five Macleods</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">ILLUSTRATED IN COLOUR BY -<br />JAMES DURDEN.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="small">Crown 8vo. Cloth. Price 6/- each.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"We have been so badly in need for writers for girls who -shall be in sympathy with the modern standard of intelligence, -that we are grateful for the advent of Miss Whyte, who has not -inaptly been described as the new Miss Alcott."--</span><em class="italics">Outlook</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The characters are such as one may see and meet almost -any day, and the writer has the happy knack of making them -live in her pages."--</span><em class="italics">Morning Post</em><span>.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">LONDON -<br />HODDER & STOUGHTON, 20, WARWICK SQUARE, E.C. -<br />HENRY FROWDE, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">BOOKS FOR GIRLS.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">By BESSIE MARCHANT</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="large">A Girl of the Northland</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Illustrated in Colour, by N. TENISON. Crown 8vo, -cloth, olivine edges. 5s.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The scene of this story is the Stikine country of Western America, and -the contrast between the small mining town at a time of boom, and the same -town when the boom is over, is very vivid. Mr. Scarth, an inhabitant of -this town, learns of the whereabouts of what is alleged to be a valuable gold -find. He starts to make his fortune, and in his absence his family have -great difficulty in making ends meet. One day an empty canoe is brought -down the river, which is quickly recognized as the one in which Mr. Scarth -went away; and in it is a packet of what appears to be gold, but which -an Alaskan miner pronounces to be "false hope." Finally word is brought -by an Indian runner that Mr. Scarth is in dire straits in the ice and snow; -and it is only after many exciting adventures that one of his daughters -manages to rescue him.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">By MARJORY ROYCE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="large">The Unwilling Schoolgirl</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Illustrated in Colour by JAMES DURDEN. Large crown -8vo, cloth, olivine edges. 5s.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ethne St. Ives passes the first dozen years of her life in luxury at the house -of a maiden aunt; but on the death of the latter she is sent to school, -very much against her will. At school, she rebels against authority, and is -in danger of being universally disliked for her airs and affectations. She -makes up her mind that she will not learn anything; that she will not -make friends with anybody. At length, however, she learns to appreciate -the joys of friendship and the value of corporate spirit, and develops into -a very lovable character.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We enjoyed every word of it."--</span><em class="italics">Nation</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A capital story for girls."--</span><em class="italics">Manchester Guardian</em><span>.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">By J. M. WHITFELD</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="large">Gladys and Jack</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>An Australian Story for Girls. Coloured Illustrations -by N. TENISON. Large Crown 8vo, cloth, olivine edges. 5s.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Gladys and Jack are sister and brother, and, up to the point when the -story opens, they have been the best of friends. Then, however, Gladys -puts on a superior air, and adopts a severely proper attitude towards Jack. -She goes to spend a holiday up-country, and here, too, her icily-regular line -of conduct seems bound to bring her into conflict with her free-and-easy-going -cousins. After some trying experiences, Gladys finds herself in a position -which enables her, for the time being, to forget her own troubles, and -exert all her strength on behalf of the rest. She comes worthily through the -ordeal and earns the affection of her cousins, and Jack rejoices in the -recovery of a lost sister.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">By J. M. WHITFELD</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="large">Tom who was Rachel</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A Story of Australian Life. Illustrated in Colour by -N. TENISON. Large crown 8vo, cloth, olivine edges, -5s. also cloth, 3s. 6d.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In "Tom who was Rachel" the author has described a large family of -children living on an up-country station; and the story presents a faithful -picture of the everyday life of the bush. Rachel (otherwise Miss Thompson, -abbreviated to "Miss Tom," afterwards to "Tom ") is the children's step-sister; -and it is her influence for good over the wilder elements in their nature -that provides the real motive of a story for which all English boys and girls -will feel grateful.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="large">The Colters</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>An Australian Story for Girls. Illustrated in -Colour by GEORGE SOPER. Large crown 8vo, cloth, -olivine edges. 5s.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This book deals with a merry family of Australian boys -and girls. The author seizes upon the everyday occurrences -of domestic life, turning them to good account; and -she draws a charming picture of a family, united in heart, -while differing very much in habit and temperament.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">By WINIFRED LETTS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="large">The Quest of the Blue Rose</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Illustrated in Colour by JAMES BURDEN. -Crown 8vo, cloth, olivine edges. 5s.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After the death of her mother, Sylvia Sherwood has to -make her own way in the world as a telegraph clerk. -The world she finds herself in is a girls' hostel in a big -northern city. For a while she can only see the -uncongenial side of her surroundings. In the end, however, -Sylvia, contented at last with her hard-working, hum-drum -life, finds herself the successful writer of a book of -children's poems.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="large">Bridget of All Work</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Illustrated in Colour by JAMES BURDEN. -Crown 8vo, cloth, olivine edges. 5s.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The scene of the greater part of this story is laid in -Lancashire, and the author has chosen her heroine from -among those who know what it is to feel the pinch of want -and strive loyally to combat it. There is a charm about -Bridget Joy, moving about her kitchen, keeping a light -heart under the most depressing surroundings. Girl though -she is, it is her arm that encircles and protects those who -should in other circumstances have been her guardians, -and her brave heart that enables the word Home to retain -its sweetness for those who are dependent on her.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">By E. L. HAVERFIELD</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="large">The Ogilvies' Adventures</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Illustrated in Colour by JAMES DURDEN. Large -crown 8vo, cloth, olivine edges, 3s. 6d.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Hester Ogilvie and her elder, but less energetic, sister, -daughters of a Canadian who is unable to support the whole -of his family, are invited to spend a few years with their -English uncle, Sir Hubert Campion. Hester is unable to -please her uncle in any way. At length she runs away to -London to make her own living, but is taken back, and -through a great service she does her uncle, he agrees to -help her to carry out her original plans. Finally, he -arranges that the Canadian and English branches of the -family shall live together.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A most delightful story, which is admirably suited to the average -school-girl of to-day."--</span><em class="italics">Lady's Pictorial</em><span>.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="large">Audrey's Awakening</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Illustrated in Colour by JAMES DURDEN. -Crown 8vo, cloth, olivine edges. 3s. 6d.; picture -boards, cloth back, 2s. 6d.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Audrey is a girl without ambitions, unsympathetic, and -with a reputation for exclusiveness. Therefore, when -Paul Forbes becomes her stepbrother, and brings his free -and easy notions into the Davidson's old home, there begins -to be trouble. Audrey takes a dislike to Paul at the outset; -and the young people have to get through deep waters and -some exciting times before things come right. Audrey's -awakening is thorough, if painful.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">By MRS. HERBERT STRANG</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="large">The Girl Crusoes</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>A Story of Three Girls in the South Seas. With -Colour Illustrations by N. TENISON. 3s. 6d.; -decorated picture boards, cloth back, 2s. 6d.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In these days of women travellers and explorers there -are countless instances of women displaying a courage and -endurance in all respects equal to that of the other sex. -Recognizing this, Mrs. Herbert Strang has written a story -of adventure in which three English girls of the present -day are the central figures, and in which the girl reader -will find as much excitement and amusement as any boy's -book could furnish.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"For sheer excitement the book is equal to any boys' -volume."--</span><em class="italics">Black and White</em><span>.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 6em"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="backmatter"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst" id="pg-end-line"><span>*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>THE STORY BOOK GIRLS</span><span> ***</span></p> -<div class="cleardoublepage"> -</div> -<div class="language-en level-2 pgfooter section" id="a-word-from-project-gutenberg" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<span id="pg-footer"></span><h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><span>A Word from Project Gutenberg</span></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>We will update this book if we find any errors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This book can be found under: </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41797"><span>http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41797</span></a></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one -owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and -you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set -forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to -protect the Project Gutenberg™ concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge -for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you do not -charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the rules is -very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as -creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. -They may be modified and printed and given away – you may do -practically </span><em class="italics">anything</em><span> with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is -subject to the trademark license, especially commercial -redistribution.</span></p> -<div class="level-3 section" id="the-full-project-gutenberg-license"> -<span id="project-gutenberg-license"></span><h3 class="level-3 pfirst section-title title"><span>The Full Project Gutenberg License</span></h3> -<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">Please read this before you distribute or use this work.</em></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at -</span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license">http://www.gutenberg.org/license</a><span>.</span></p> -<div class="level-4 section" id="section-1-general-terms-of-use-redistributing-project-gutenberg-electronic-works"> -<h4 class="level-4 pfirst section-title title"><span>Section 1. General Terms of Use & Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works</span></h4> -<p class="pfirst"><strong class="bold">1.A.</strong><span> By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by -the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person -or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.B.</strong><span> “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.C.</strong><span> The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the -Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is in the public domain in the United -States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a -right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting free -access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ works -in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project -Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily comply with -the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format -with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when you share it -without charge with others.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.D.</strong><span> The copyright laws of the place where you are located also -govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most -countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the -United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms -of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.E.</strong><span> Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.E.1.</strong><span> The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work -on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the -phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed:</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org">http://www.gutenberg.org</a></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><strong class="bold">1.E.2.</strong><span> If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is -derived from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating -that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work -can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without -paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing -access to a work with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with -or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements -of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of -the work and the Project Gutenberg™ trademark as set forth in -paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.E.3.</strong><span> If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is -posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and -distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and -any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works posted -with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of -this work.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.E.4.</strong><span> Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project -Gutenberg™ License terms from this work, or any files containing a -part of this work or any other work associated with Project -Gutenberg™.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.E.5.</strong><span> Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute -this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg™ License.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.E.6.</strong><span> You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format other -than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ web site -(</span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org">http://www.gutenberg.org</a><span>), you must, at no additional cost, fee or -expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a -means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original -“Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include -the full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.E.7.</strong><span> Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.E.8.</strong><span> You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works provided -that</span></p> -<ul class="open"> -<li><p class="first pfirst"><span>You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from -the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method you -already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to -the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has agreed to -donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 -days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally -required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments -should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, -“Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation.”</span></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first pfirst"><span>You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies -you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he -does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ -License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all -copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue -all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ -works.</span></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first pfirst"><span>You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of -any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the -electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of -receipt of the work.</span></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first pfirst"><span>You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free -distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.</span></p> -</li> -</ul> -<p class="pfirst"><strong class="bold">1.E.9.</strong><span> If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and -Michael Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact -the Foundation as set forth in Section 3. below.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.F.</strong></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.F.1.</strong><span> Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend -considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe -and proofread public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg™ -collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic -works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain -“Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or -corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual -property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a -computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by -your equipment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.F.2.</strong><span> LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES – Except for the -“Right of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the -Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the -Project Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a -Project Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.F.3.</strong><span> LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND – If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.F.4.</strong><span> Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set -forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS,’ WITH -NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.F.5.</strong><span> Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.F.6.</strong><span> INDEMNITY – You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, -the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any -Defect you cause.</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-4 section" id="section-2-information-about-the-mission-of-project-gutenberg"> -<h4 class="level-4 pfirst section-title title"><span>Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™</span></h4> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™'s -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will remain -freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future generations. To -learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and -how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the -Foundation web page at </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.pglaf.org">http://www.pglaf.org</a><span> .</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-4 section" id="section-3-information-about-the-project-gutenberg-literary-archive-foundation"> -<h4 class="level-4 pfirst section-title title"><span>Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation</span></h4> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at -</span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf">http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf</a><span> . Contributions to the -Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to -the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. -S. Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are -scattered throughout numerous locations. Its business office is -located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) -596-1887, email </span><a class="reference external" href="mailto:business@pglaf.org">business@pglaf.org</a><span>. Email contact links and up to date -contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.pglaf.org">http://www.pglaf.org</a></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For additional contact information:</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>Dr. Gregory B. Newby</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Chief Executive and Director</span></div> -<div class="line"><a class="reference external" href="mailto:gbnewby@pglaf.org">gbnewby@pglaf.org</a></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -</div> -<div class="level-4 section" id="section-4-information-about-donations-to-the-project-gutenberg-literary-archive-foundation"> -<h4 class="level-4 pfirst section-title title"><span>Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation</span></h4> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without wide spread -public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing -the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely -distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest array of -equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to -$5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status -with the IRS.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate">http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate</a></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate">http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate</a></p> -</div> -<div class="level-4 section" id="section-5-general-information-about-project-gutenberg-electronic-works"> -<h4 class="level-4 pfirst section-title title"><span>Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works.</span></h4> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg™ -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the -U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Each eBook is in a subdirectory of the same number as the eBook's -eBook number, often in several formats including plain vanilla ASCII, -compressed (zipped), HTML and others.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Corrected </span><em class="italics">editions</em><span> of our eBooks replace the old file and take over -the old filename and etext number. The replaced older file is -renamed. </span><em class="italics">Versions</em><span> based on separate sources are treated as new -eBooks receiving new filenames and etext numbers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility:</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org">http://www.gutenberg.org</a></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg™, including -how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe -to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.</span></p> -</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> -</body> -</html> |