to make the request,
because it would require politic treatment to get John in the mood. If she
became vexed or upset by his opposition she would lose her opportunity.
Elizabeth was weaker than John when her feelings were ruffled. She had
planned and waited till the last moment, afraid of herself and afraid of
her husband. She looked at him as he paced back and forth, back and forth,
with a torrent of longing swelling up in her and threatening to bring her
tears. She must find a way to get his ear.

"Let me take Jack," she said, hoping that something in the conversation
would give her a natural opening for what must come.

"Poor little chap," John replied, releasing the child.

Elizabeth was bathed in perspiration from the hurry of having late
breakfast and the fact that she would never dare to ask to be taken before
all the work was done and the kitchen ready for close inspection, and she
thought indignantly of the scrubbed floors of yesterday and wondered how
the child could be expected to be well when he was fed on overheated milk
day after day. Instantly she put the thought away from her. She must be
cool and careful if she were to get to Aunt Susan's to-day.

"I'll sponge him off with soda in his bath and he'll be all right. I told
Aunt Susan we'd take dinner with them to-day, and it's nearly half-past
ten now. They have dinner at noon on Sunday as well as other days; so run
and hitch up, and I'll be ready with baby. I'll have your things laid out
so you can jump right into them when you come in."

She looked down at the baby so as not to meet his eye, but the offhand
assumption of his readiness to go seemed to her to be encouraging.

"With that child?" was the astonished exclamation.

"It won't hurt him as much as for me to stand over the stove and cook a
dinner at home," Elizabeth answered firmly, "and, besides, John, I
promised Aunt Susan we'd come. Now don't be cross. I've got to go, and
that's all there is about it."

John Hunter was actually astonished now. He had started out with his usual
pretenses, but this was something new. Elizabeth had promised without
consulting him! What was happening?

"You may be willing to take that child out in his condition--I'm not," he
said severely. "I don't understand what you're thinking about."

"_I'm_ thinking there'd be less harm to him in a day of rest for his
mother than anything else," she said bitterly, "and I am not allowed to
get a minute of it in this ho