uld not touch ours. Soil
mighty poor pickings. And the business--say! Those fellows don't
know--and, say, the hotels! Don't say foreign hotel to Ninian.

He regarded all the alien earth as barbarian, and he stoned it. He was
equipped for absolutely no intensive observation. His contacts were
negligible. Mrs. Plow was more excited by the Deacons' party than Ninian
had been wrought upon by all his voyaging.

"Tell you," said Dwight. "When we ran away that time and went to the
state fair, little did we think--" He told about running away to the
state fair. "I thought," he wound up, irrelevantly, "Ina and I might get
over to the other side this year, but I guess not. I guess not."

The words give no conception of their effect, spoken thus. For there in
Warbleton these words are not commonplace. In Warbleton, Europe is never
so casually spoken. "Take a trip abroad" is the phrase, or "Go to
Europe" at the very least, and both with empressement. Dwight had
somewhere noted and deliberately picked up that "other side" effect, and
his Ina knew this, and was proud. Her covert glance about pensively
covered her soft triumph.

Mrs. Bett, her arm still circling the child Monona, now made her first
observation.

"Pity not to have went while the going was good," she said, and said no
more.

Nobody knew quite what she meant, and everybody hoped for the best. But
Ina frowned. Mamma did these things occasionally when there was
company, and she dared. She never sauced Dwight in private.

And it wasn't fair, it wasn't _fair_--

Abruptly Ninian rose and left the room.

* * * * *

The dishes were washed. Lulu had washed them at break-neck speed--she
could not, or would not, have told why. But no sooner were they finished
and set away than Lulu had been attacked by an unconquerable inhibition.
And instead of going to the parlour, she sat down by the kitchen window.
She was in her chally gown, with her cameo pin and her string of coral.

Laughter from the parlour mingled with the laughter of Di and Jenny
upstairs. Lulu was now rather shy of Di. A night or two before, coming
home with "extra" cream, she had gone round to the side-door and had
come full upon Di and Bobby, seated on the steps. And Di was saying:

"Well, if I marry you, you've simply got to be a great man. I could
never marry just anybody. I'd _smother_."

Lulu had heard, stricken. She passed them by, responding only faintly to
their g