le larger.

"You better come on," Adams said, moving to the door.

"Just ONE more second, papa." She shook her head, lamenting. "Oh, I wish
we'd rented some silver!"

"Why?"

"Because so much of the plating has rubbed off a lot of it. JUST a
second, papa." And as she spoke she hastily went round the table,
gathering the knives and forks and spoons that she thought had their
plating best preserved, and exchanging them for more damaged pieces at
Russell's place. "There!" she sighed, finally.

"Now I'll come." But at the door she paused to look back dubiously, over
her shoulder.

"What's the matter now?"

"The roses. I believe after all I shouldn't have tried that vine effect;
I ought to have kept them in water, in the vase. It's so hot, they
already begin to look a little wilted, out on the dry tablecloth like
that. I believe I'll----"

"Why, look here, Alice!" he remonstrated, as she seemed disposed to turn
back. "Everything'll burn up on the stove if you keep on----"

"Oh, well," she said, "the vase was terribly ugly; I can't do any
better. We'll go in." But with her hand on the door-knob she paused.
"No, papa. We mustn't go in by this door. It might look as if----"

"As if what?"

"Never mind," she said. "Let's go the other way."

"I don't see what difference it makes," he grumbled, but nevertheless
followed her through the kitchen, and up the back stairs then through
the upper hallway. At the top of the front stairs she paused for a
moment, drawing a deep breath; and then, before her father's puzzled
eyes, a transformation came upon her.

Her shoulders, like her eyelids, had been drooping, but now she threw
her head back: the shoulders straightened, and the lashes lifted over
sparkling eyes; vivacity came to her whole body in a flash; and she
tripped down the steps, with her pretty hands rising in time to the
lilting little tune she had begun to hum.

At the foot of the stairs, one of those pretty hands extended itself at
full arm's length toward Russell, and continued to be extended until it
reached his own hand as he came to meet her. "How terrible of me!" she
exclaimed. "To be so late coming down! And papa, too--I think you know
each other."

Her father was advancing toward the young man, expecting to shake hands
with him, but Alice stood between them, and Russell, a little flushed,
bowed to him gravely over her shoulder, without looking at him;
whereupon Adams, slightly disconcerted, put his ha