ochter. My Gott, oh, I go crazy
bretty soon, I guess. I cen't hellup you. I cen't ged you noddings to
eat, noddings, noddings. Hilda, we gowun to die togedder. Put der arms
roundt me, soh, tighd, leedle babby. We gowun to die, we gowun to vind
Popper. We aindt gowun to be hongry eny more."

"Vair we go now?" demanded Hilda.

"No places. Mommer's soh tiredt. We stop heir, leedle while, end rest."

Underneath a large bush that afforded a little shelter from the wind,
Mrs. Hooven lay down, taking Hilda in her arms and wrapping her shawl
about her. The infinite, vast night expanded gigantic all around them.
At this elevation they were far above the city. It was still. Close
overhead whirled the chariots of the fog, galloping landward, smothering
lights, blurring outlines. Soon all sight of the town was shut out; even
the solitary house on the hilltop vanished. There was nothing left but
grey, wheeling fog, and the mother and child, alone, shivering in a
little strip of damp ground, an island drifting aimlessly in empty
space.

Hilda's fingers touched a leaf from the bush and instinctively closed
upon it and carried it to her mouth.

"Mammy," she said, "I'm eating those leaf. Is those good?"

Her mother did not reply.

"You going to sleep, Mammy?" inquired Hilda, touching her face.

Mrs. Hooven roused herself a little.

"Hey? Vat you say? Asleep? Yais, I guess I wass asleep."

Her voice trailed unintelligibly to silence again. She was not, however,
asleep. Her eyes were open. A grateful numbness had begun to creep over
her, a pleasing semi-insensibility. She no longer felt the pain and
cramps of her stomach, even the hunger was ceasing to bite.

*****

"These stuffed artichokes are delicious, Mrs. Gerard," murmured young
Lambert, wiping his lips with a corner of his napkin. "Pardon me for
mentioning it, but your dinner must be my excuse."

"And this asparagus--since Mr. Lambert has set the bad example,"
observed Mrs. Cedarquist, "so delicate, such an exquisite flavour. How
do you manage?"

"We get all our asparagus from the southern part of the State, from one
particular ranch," explained Mrs. Gerard. "We order it by wire and get
it only twenty hours after cutting. My husband sees to it that it is
put on a special train. It stops at this ranch just to take on our
asparagus. Extravagant, isn't it, but I simply cannot eat asparagus that
has been cut more than a day."

"Nor I," exclaimed Julian Lambert, who p