ng pretty nice."

Her mother stared at her speechless, and it was such an unusual thing
for Mrs. Quincy to be struck dumb that Lena was correspondingly elated
as she rattled on.

"Such dresses! I'd give anything to have such clothes and wear them with
that kind of an every-day, don't-care air. My, but Mrs. Lenox is a
stunner! But the Lenoxes are just rolling in money; and they say Mr.
Lenox hadn't a red cent when she married him and gave him his start.
It's lucky I have another check coming from the _Star_. I'll need more
things than ever it will buy to go out there. I must begin to get ready
right away."

The mention of expenditure brought Mrs. Quincy back to her normal state
of mind, and she resumed her rocking. Lena's means and extremes in
shopping were her standard grievance.

"I might know that 'ud be the next thing. Of course you'll be spending
every penny you can rake and scrape on clothes, so's to look fine for
your new fine friends. It's no matter about me. I can go without a
decent rag to my back, so long as you've got feathers and flummery."

"Well, I earned the money. I don't see why I shouldn't spend it. I'm not
robbing you," said Lena sulkily.

"You might contribute a mite to your own board."

"I'll save you my board for a week," snapped the girl.

Mrs. Quincy changed her tack. "And leave me shut up in town," she
resumed. "I should think you'd think twice, Lena, before you went off
gallivantin' and left your poor old mother here alone. Nobody seems to
think I need any pleasure."

"I'll write and ask Mrs. Lenox if she won't take you instead of me."

"Take me! I should think not! I wouldn't be hired to leave my own place
and go off like a charity case among a lot of rich people who looked
down on me because I was poor. I've got too much self-respect to jump at
an invitation, like a pickerel at a frog. But there! You never think
twice about things."

"Suppose I did refuse. You'd fly out at me for not making the most of my
chances," said poor Lena, on the verge of tears.

Mrs. Quincy was temporarily silenced by the truth of this reply, and
Lena pursued her advantage.

"Come now, mother, do you want me to get out of it?"

"Oh, I suppose you'll have to go, or I won't have no peace to my life,"
Mrs. Quincy grudgingly responded.

"Yes, you shall. If you say so, I'll give it up now and never say
another word about it."

"And _act_ injured to death," said her mother. "No, you go!"

"After you'v