ound her irritating; now, to his
astonishment, he discovered in her worship of Felicity her attractive
side. When they finally left the shop with their accumulated
purchases, she insisted that he follow her into the sleigh and go to
her home for a cup of tea.

"People are so inconsiderate during the Christmas season," she
chattered. "Now I never have my things sent home at this time of year,
when the delivery men are so overworked; and I don't even bother the
boys to carry them out to the sleigh for me, unless I positively have
to. John and I do our shopping together, don't we, John?"

The coachman touched his hat with his whip in acknowledgement of the
copartnership in humanitarianism, and deftly steered his horses into
the open street. "I belong to a league of women," she went on, "who
have agreed not to go shopping in the late afternoons, and not to have
the things they can carry sent by the delivery waggons. I don't know
how many printed slips I have sent out requesting shoppers to use the
same consideration. We looked up nearly every name in the directory.
This is the third year we 've done it."

"That's why I did n't receive a copy of your communication," he
remarked. "My name 's not in the directory yet."

"You would n't believe what fun Felicity always makes of us," she said.
"She pretends that we are trying to excuse people from doing what they
are paid to do."

He was able to see how the virtue of the league could appeal to
Felicity's sense of humour, even though she might accept its suggestion.

"There 's that man!" she cried, suddenly stiffening. "It seems to me I
can never go down-town without meeting the horrid creature somewhere,
strutting along as if he owned the town, just because a lot of ruffians
have made him mayor. But I believe Felicity has won you over to her
strange point of view."

"Emmet is n't at all a bad mayor," he returned. "I happen to know that
he has refused to have anything to do with Bat Quayle, the political
boss of the worst element of his party. What do you say to that?"

"That you have been misinformed," she answered implacably, "or that he
has gone back on his word, and now refuses to pay his political debts."

"In either case you don't leave him a leg to stand on. Still, I can
only reiterate my conviction in regard to his political honesty, and
wait for developments."

"I notice you don't make any claims for his private character," she
retorted, giving him