y life," Maida said, her eyes
shining with enjoyment. "Oh, Laura how I wish I could dance like
that. How did you ever learn? Do you practice all the time?"

"Oh, it's not so very hard--for me," Laura returned. "Of course,
everybody couldn't learn. And I suppose you, being lame, could never
do anything at all."

This was the first allusion that had been made in Primrose Court to
Maida's lameness. Her face shadowed a little. "No, I'm afraid I
couldn't," she said regretfully. "But--oh--think what a lovely dancer
Rosie would make."

"I'm afraid Rosie's too rough," Laura said. She unfolded a little
fan and began fanning herself languidly. "It's a great bother
sometimes," she went on in a bored tone of voice. "Everybody is
always asking me to dance at their parties. I danced at a beautiful
May party last year. Did you ever see a May-pole?"

"Oh, yes," Maida said. "My birthday comes on May Day and last year
father gave me a party. He had a May-pole set up on the lawn and all
the children danced about it."

"My birthday comes in the summer, too. I always have a party on our
place in Marblehead," Laura said. "I had fifty children at my party
last year. How many did you have?"

"We sent out over five hundred invitations, I believe. But not quite
four hundred accepted."

"Four hundred," Laura repeated. "Goodness, what could so many
children do?"

"Oh, there were all sorts of things for them to do," Maida answered.
"There was archery and diabolo and croquet and fishing-ponds and a
merry-go-round and Punch and Judy on the lawn and a play in my
little theater--I can't remember everything."

Laura's eyes had grown very big. "Didn't you have a perfectly
splendiferous time?" she asked.

"No, not particularly," Maida said. "Not half such a good time as
I've had playing in Primrose Court. I wasn't very well and then,
somehow, I didn't care for those children the way I care for Dicky
and Rosie and the court children."

"Goodness!" was all Laura could say for a moment. But finally she
added, "I don't believe that, Maida!"

Maida stared at her and started to speak. "Oh, there's the clock
striking four?" was all she said though. "I must go. Thank you for
dancing for me."

She flew into her coat and hat. She could not seem to get away quick
enough. Nobody had ever doubted her word before. She could not
exactly explain it to herself but she felt if she talked with Laura
another moment, she would fly out of her skin.