y Taliaferro. Charlotte felt that
it was almost improper of Sophy to look so like her former self, so
"unmarried," as it were, "after all she had been through." But Sophy was
Sophy. The most that they could hope was by great "tactfulness" to
persuade her to be "reasonable" on certain points.

The Judge cleared his throat. Sophy had her hands clasped about her
knee, one slim, brown-shod foot was dangling. It was a disconcertingly
"unmatronly" attitude. The Judge glanced nervously at Charlotte. Her
eyebrows said: "Go on." He cleared his throat a second time:

"_A-rrrum!_"

Sophy turned her head and looked inquiringly at him.

"Yes?" she said.

The Judge flushed as his eyes met hers. Good man ... it embarrassed him
to meet the eyes of one of his own womenkind whose wedded husband had
actually embraced an "abandoned minx" under their own roof. Charlotte
had termed Belinda Horton an "abandoned minx." The Judge considered the
term apposite. So Belinda figured thus in their thoughts from that
moment. But all this came too perilously near to mentioning the seventh
commandment in "the presence of a lady" not to cause the dear,
old-fashioned man acute discomfort.

"Well, Joe?" said Sophy again, as he hesitated.

"It's ... it's all ... mighty involved, Sophy," he stammered, looking
down at the snowstorm paper-weight which he had picked up and was
turning nervously round and round.

"Yes, Joe. I know that," she said gravely. "That's what I want you to
help me about."

"Divorce is a mighty serious--er--ugly thing...."

"But not as ugly as marriage that is no marriage, Joe."

The Judge rumpled his smoky wreath the wrong way.

"Yes ... I know how you must feel...." he admitted unhappily.

"No, Joe. Nobody but a woman can know how she feels," put in Charlotte,
reddening in her turn.

"Well ... I reckon I can give a mighty shrewd guess at it," said the
Judge.

"It's very simple," Sophy said. "I want to be free. I don't think I've
any false vanity about it. I did have at first. But then, you see, _I_
was mistaken, as well as Morris. I don't feel hard to Morris. It really
isn't all his fault...."

"Oh!" said Charlotte. She was quite crimson now.

"No, Chartie, it is not," Sophy persisted. "But I can't enter into all
that...."

"I should think not!"

"I only want to get free and to set him free, as soon as possible."

"_He_ oughtn't to be free--the idea!" cried Charlotte indignantly.

Sophy shook her head at her