companied Mrs.
Stendahl to the door, and shook hands with her. "I'm so glad to find
you so charming," observed Mrs. Stendahl frankly.

"Oh, thank you," said Jennie flushing a little. "I'm sure I don't
deserve so much praise."

"Well, now I will expect you some afternoon. Good-by," and she
waved a gracious farewell.

"That wasn't so bad," thought Jennie as she watched Mrs. Stendahl
drive away. "She is very nice, I think. I'll tell Lester about
her."

Among the other callers were a Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael Burke, a
Mrs. Hanson Field, and a Mrs. Timothy Ballinger--all of whom left
cards, or stayed to chat a few minutes. Jennie found herself taken
quite seriously as a woman of importance, and she did her best to
support the dignity of her position. And, indeed, she did
exceptionally well. She was most hospitable and gracious. She had a
kindly smile and a manner wholly natural; she succeeded in making a
most favorable impression. She explained to her guests that she had
been living on the North Side until recently, that her husband,
Mr. Kane, had long wanted to have a home in Hyde Park, that her father
and daughter were living here, and that Lester was the child's
stepfather. She said she hoped to repay all these nice attentions and
to be a good neighbor.

Lester heard about these calls in the evening, for he did not care
to meet these people. Jennie came to enjoy it in a mild way. She liked
making new friends, and she was hoping that something definite could
be worked out here which would make Lester look upon her as a good
wife and an ideal companion. Perhaps, some day, he might really want
to marry her.

First impressions are not always permanent, as Jennie was soon to
discover. The neighborhood had accepted her perhaps a little too
hastily, and now rumors began to fly about. A Mrs. Sommerville,
calling on Mrs. Craig, one of Jennie's near neighbors, intimated that
she knew who Lester was--"oh, yes, indeed. You know, my dear,"
she went on, "his reputation is just a little--" she raised her
eyebrows and her hand at the same time.

"You don't say!" commented her friend curiously. "He looks like
such a staid, conservative person."

"Oh, no doubt, in a way, he is," went on Mrs. Sommerville. "His
family is of the very best. There was some young woman he went
with--so my husband tells me. I don't know whether this is the
one or not, but she was introduced as a Miss Gorwood, or some such
name as that, when they were l