dinner time. Tom got into a tangle with our heroine about one o'clock,
and said he would get the lunch by way of relaxation. I presume he
relaxed sufficiently without attending to the plates. At least, I found
them untouched when I went out to look after the dinner.

I discovered, also, that the lavish Tom had exhausted the commissary to
achieve the lunch. I was obliged, therefore, to go at once to the
grocery, and on the way made up a mental list of the things easiest to
prepare. I would get canned things, I said, as many of these were ready
for the table, and some of them could be eaten out of the can. This
would save dishes. I do not recall now just what I had planned as my
bill of fare, but I suppose I must have forgotten some of it when I
learned that our grocer was closing out his stock of wet goods very
cheap, for Tom looked at the stuff when it came and asked if I thought
of running a bar. I said I had bought with a view to saving dishes. Then
he hunted up the cork-screw and we dined.

In spite of my superior management, however, the dish pile in the
kitchen sink grew steadily.

On the morning of the third day the china closet was exhausted, and we
took down the Little Woman's Crown Derby and blue India plates from
their hangers in the parlor.

On the evening of the fourth day Tom got our work into an inextricable
tangle, and took a reflective stroll out into the kitchen. He came back
looking hopelessly discouraged. On the fifth morning we followed Ann's
example.

The atmosphere suddenly cleared now. We reached conclusions by amazingly
short cuts, and our troubles vanished like the dew of morning. The next
day would be Sunday. We would go into the country for recreation.
To-night we would put a line in the paper and on Monday morning we would
have another servant. It seemed hardly worth our while to attempt to
camp out permanently.

I will pass over Sunday without further comment. The recollection is
weird and extravagant. I remember being surprised at finding certain
stretches of pavement perpendicular, and of trying to climb them. Still
we must have got a line in the paper on Saturday night, for on Monday
the bell began ringing violently before we were up. Tom either did not
hear it, or was wilfully unconscious. Finally I got up wretchedly and
dragged on some garments. There was no ice, so I pressed my head for a
few minutes to a marble-topped center table.

I suppose it was because I did not feel ver