nds in his pockets and
turned to his wife.

"I guess dinner's more'n ready," he said. "We better go sit down."

But she shook her head at him fiercely, "Wait!" she whispered.

"What for? For Walter?"

"No; he can't be coming," she returned, hurriedly, and again warned him
by a shake of her head. "Be quiet!"

"Oh, well----" he muttered.

"Sit down!"

He was thoroughly mystified, but obeyed her gesture and went to the
rocking-chair in the opposite corner, where he sat down, and, with an
expression of meek inquiry, awaited events.

Meanwhile, Alice prattled on: "It's really not a fault of mine,
being tardy. The shameful truth is I was trying to hurry papa. He's
incorrigible: he stays so late at his terrible old factory--terrible new
factory, I should say. I hope you don't HATE us for making you dine with
us in such fearful weather! I'm nearly dying of the heat, myself, so you
have a fellow-sufferer, if that pleases you. Why is it we always bear
things better if we think other people have to stand them, too?" And she
added, with an excited laugh: "SILLY of us, don't you think?"

Gertrude had just made her entrance from the dining-room, bearing a
tray. She came slowly, with an air of resentment; and her skirt still
needed adjusting, while her lower jaw moved at intervals, though not
now upon any substance, but reminiscently, of habit. She halted before
Adams, facing him.

He looked plaintive. "What you want o' me?" he asked.

For response, she extended the tray toward him with a gesture of
indifference; but he still appeared to be puzzled. "What in the
world----?" he began, then caught his wife's eye, and had presence of
mind enough to take a damp and plastic sandwich from the tray. "Well,
I'll TRY one," he said, but a moment later, as he fulfilled this
promise, an expression of intense dislike came upon his features, and
he would have returned the sandwich to Gertrude. However, as she
had crossed the room to Mrs. Adams he checked the gesture, and sat
helplessly, with the sandwich in his hand. He made another effort to
get rid of it as the waitress passed him, on her way back to the
dining-room, but she appeared not to observe him, and he continued to be
troubled by it.

Alice was a loyal daughter. "These are delicious, mama," she said; and
turning to Russell, "You missed it; you should have taken one. Too
bad we couldn't have offered you what ought to go with it, of course,
but----"

She was interrupted by