use with her latch-key and stood
confronted in the hall with Ludlow, who was giving some charge to the
maid. "Oh, Miss Saunders," he said, and he put the card he held into
his pocket, "I'm so glad not to miss you; I was just leaving a written
message, but now I can tell you."

He hesitated, and Cornelia did not know what to do. But she said,
"Won't you come in?" with a vague movement toward the parlor.

"Why, yes, thank you, for a moment," he said; and he went back with
her.

"I hope I haven't kept you waiting," she said, with a severity which
was for her own awkwardness.

He did not take it for himself. "Oh, no! I've just come from Mrs.
Westley's, and she's charged me with a message for you." He handed
Cornelia a note. "She will call for you and Miss Maybough at the
Synthesis rather earlier than you usually leave work, I believe, but I
want you to have some daylight on my Manet. I hope half-past two won't
be too early?"

"Oh, no," said Cornelia, and while she wondered how she could make this
opening of assent turn to refusal in the end, Ludlow went on:

"There's something of my own, that I'd like to have you look at. Of
course, you won't get away with the Manet, alone; I don't suppose you
expected that. I've an idea you can tell me where I've gone wrong, if I
have; it's all a great while ago. Have you ever been at the County Fair
at Pymantoning since----"

He stopped, and Cornelia perceived that it was with doubt whether it
might not still be a tender point with her.

"Oh, yes, I've forgiven the Fair long ago." She laughed, and he laughed
with her.

"It's best not to keep a grudge against a defeat, I suppose. If we do,
it won't help us. I've had my quarrel with the Pymantoning County Fair,
too; but it wasn't with the Fine Arts Committee."

"No, I didn't suppose you wanted to exhibit anything there," said
Cornelia.

"Why, I don't know. It might be a very good thing for me. Why not? I'd
like to exhibit this very picture there. It's an impression--not just
what I'd do, now--of the trotting-match I saw there that day."

"Yes," said Cornelia, letting her eyes fall, "Mrs. Burton said you had
painted it, or you were going to."

"Well, I did," said Ludlow, "and nobody seemed to know what I was
after. I wonder if they would in Pymantoning! But what I wanted to ask
was that you would try to look at it from the Pymantoning point of
view. I hope you haven't lost that yet?"

"Well, I haven't been away such a grea