e shown the house; she had not seen it for a long
time, she said, and was much interested. Annette suddenly remembered
that, she also was "mad" to see it. So Serena led a tour of inspection,
in which Mr. Hapgood officiated as assistant pilot and superintendent of
lighting.

After the tour was at an end, and just before the party descended to the
drawing-room, Mrs. Fenholtz turned to Serena and said:

"Mrs. Dott, are you interested in club matters; in women's clubs, I
mean?"

Serena's answer was a prompt one.

"Indeed I am," she said. "I have always been interested in them. In
fact, I am president of the Trumet Chapter; that is, I was; of course, I
resigned when I came here."

Mrs. Fenholtz looked puzzled.

"Trumet Chapter?" she repeated.

"Why, yes, the Chapter of the Guild of the Ladies of Honor. The order
Mrs. Black belongs to."

"Oh!" in a slightly different tone. "Oh, yes, I see."

"I'm terribly interested in THAT," declared Serena enthusiastically. "If
you knew the hours and hours I have put in working for the Guild. It is
a splendid movement; don't you think so?"

"Why--why, I have no doubt it is. I don't belong to it myself. I was
thinking of our local club, our Scarford women's club, when I spoke. I
thought perhaps you might care to attend a meeting of that with me."

"I should love--" began Serena, and stopped.

Mrs. Black, who was standing behind Mrs. Fenholtz, was shaking her head.
The last-named lady noticed her hostess' hesitation.

"But of course," she went on, "if you are interested in the Ladies of
Honor you would no doubt prefer visiting a meeting of theirs. In that
case Mrs. Black could help you more than I. She is vice-president of
the Scarford Branch, I think. You are vice-president, aren't you, Mrs.
Black?"

Annette colored slightly.

"Why--why, yes," she admitted; "I am."

Serena was surprised.

"Vice-president?" she repeated. "Vice-president--I--I--must have made a
dreadful mistake. I introduced you as president at that Trumet meeting.
I certainly thought you were president."

Now, as a matter of fact, if Mrs. Black had not specifically said that
she was president of the Scarford Chapter, she had led her acquaintances
in Trumet to infer that she was; at all events, she had not corrected
Serena's misapprehension on the night of the meeting. She hastened to do
so now.

"Oh, no!" she said. "I noticed that you made a mistake when you
introduced me, but, of course, I could har