rdyce was concerned,
to look across the table at the grave, watchful face of the girl who
unfolded her husband's napkin or cut up his roast with deft hand--always
careful not to interrupt his talk.

As he thought of the quiet Quaker neighborhood from which he came, and
contrasted these singular and powerfully defined personalities with the
"men of weight" and the demure maidens of his acquaintance, Ben's blood
tingled with a sense of the bigness and strangeness of the greater
America. The West was no longer a nation; it was a world. To be in it at
last was a delight as well as an education.

Bertha, on her part, felt no strangeness in her position. Her marriage
was a logical outcome of her life and surroundings. The incomprehensible
lay in the shining women about her. Their ideas of life, their comment,
puzzled her. Their clothes were of a kind which her own money could buy,
but their manners, their grace of speech, their gestures, came of
something besides money. Mrs. Crego was especially formidable, and made
her feel the inadequacy of the black gown which she had thought very
fine when she selected it, ready made, in a Denver store. She did not
know that Mrs. Crego had dressed "very simply," at the suggestion of her
hostess; but she did feel a certain condescension of manner, even in
Alice, and was glad the Captain absorbed so much of the table-talk.

Her time of trial came when the ladies rose and, at Mrs. Congdon's
suggestion, returned to the porch, leaving the men to finish their
cigars. Not one of Ben's little courtesies towards the women escaped
her. His acquiescence, Congdon's tone of exaggerated respect, Crego's
compliments, were all new to her, and in a certain sense she resented
them. She doubted their sincerity a little, notwithstanding their
grateful charm.

Alice took her to herself and this was a great relief; for she feared
Mrs. Crego's sharp tongue, and was not entirely sure of her hostess.

Laying a slim hand on her arm, the Eastern girl began: "I am fascinated
by you, Mrs. Haney. You have had such an interesting life, and you have
such an opportunity for doing good."

Bertha looked at her in blank surprise. "What do you mean?"

"With your great wealth you can accomplish so much. Had you thought of
that?"

"No, I hadn't." The answer was blunt. "I've been so busy getting settled
and looking after the Captain, I haven't had time to think of anything
else."

"Oh, of course; but by and by you'll