confidential tone, "That nice little Orbison girl,--the blonde one, I
mean, who's visiting here from Elwood,--I wish you'd take good care of
her; I'm afraid she isn't having a wildly exciting time."

"This is what I call being real comfortable and cozy," she remarked to
Fred as they disposed themselves on one of the lower steps.

Below and near at hand were most of the members of her family. She saw
from the countenances of the three aunts that they were displeased with
her, but the consciousness of this did not spoil life for her. She
humanly enjoyed their discomfiture, knowing that it was based upon the
dinginess of Fred's clothes and prospects. Their new broad tolerance of
the Holtons did not cover the tragic implications of Fred's raiment.
They meant to protect Phil in every way, and yet there was ground for
despair when she chose the most undesirable young man in the county to
sit with in the intimacy of the refreshment hour at her own coming-out.
Mrs. Fosdick leaned back from her table to ask Amzi in an angry whisper
what he meant by allowing Phil to invite Fred Holton to her party.

"What's that? Allow her! I didn't allow her! Nobody allows Phil!
Thunder!" And then, after he had picked up his fallen napkin, he turned
to add: "There's nothing the matter with Fred that I know of!"

The comparative quiet that now reigned was much more to Fred's liking
than the gayety of the dance. Phil treated their companionship as a
matter of course and his timidity and restraint vanished. Nothing in his
experience had ever been so agreeable and stimulating as this. That
Phil, of all humankind, should have made this possible was to him
inexplicable. It could not be that when this was over, he should be
hurled back to Stop 7.

Phil, who had disposed of Charles's confession of adoration to her own
satisfaction, now seemed bent upon winning some praise from the halting
tongue of Charles's brother. To make conversation she directed attention
to her new trinket, holding out the chain for Fred to admire the pearls.
In doing this he saw the pulse throbbing in her slim throat, and this in
itself was disturbing. Her nearness there on the stairway affected him
even more than on the orchard slope where he had experienced similar
agitations. When she laughed he noticed an irregularity in one of her
white teeth; and there was a tiny mole on her neck, just below her left
ear. He did not know why he saw these things, or why seeing them
incre