o marry Henrietta. I hope she won't; he seems rather a
gross type of person."

"Oh, he's just one," Mildred said. "I don't know that he and Alice Adams
were ever engaged--she never told me so. She may not have been engaged
to any of them; she was just enough among the other girls to get talked
about--and one of the reasons I felt a little inclined to be nice to
her was that they seemed to be rather edging her out of the circle. It
wasn't long before I saw they were right, though. I happened to mention
I was going to give a dance and she pretended to take it as a matter
of course that I meant to invite her brother--at least, I thought she
pretended; she may have really believed it. At any rate, I had to send
him a card; but I didn't intend to be let in for that sort of thing
again, of course. She's what you said, 'pushing'; though I'm awfully
sorry you said it."

"Why shouldn't I have said it, my dear?"

"Of course I didn't say 'shouldn't.'" Mildred explained, gravely. "I
meant only that I'm sorry it happened."

"Yes; but why?"

"Mama"--Mildred turned to her, leaning forward and speaking in a lowered
voice--"Mama, at first the change was so little it seemed as if Arthur
hardly knew it himself. He'd been lovely to me always, and he was still
lovely to me but--oh, well, you've understood--after my dance it was
more as if it was just his nature and his training to be lovely to me,
as he would be to everyone a kind of politeness. He'd never said he
CARED for me, but after that I could see he didn't. It was clear--after
that. I didn't know what had happened; I couldn't think of anything I'd
done. Mama--it was Alice Adams."

Mrs. Palmer set her little coffee-cup upon the table beside her, calmly
following her own motion with her eyes, and not seeming to realize with
what serious entreaty her daughter's gaze was fixed upon her. Mildred
repeated the last sentence of her revelation, and introduced a stress of
insistence.

"Mama, it WAS Alice Adams!"

But Mrs. Palmer declined to be greatly impressed, so far as her
appearance went, at least; and to emphasize her refusal, she smiled
indulgently. "What makes you think so?"

"Henrietta told me yesterday."

At this Mrs. Palmer permitted herself to laugh softly aloud. "Good
heavens! Is Henrietta a soothsayer? Or is she Arthur's particular
confidante?"

"No. Ella Dowling told her."

Mrs. Palmer's laughter continued. "Now we have it!" she exclaimed. "It's
a game of gossip