r seat by the window. As she went down she looked askance at
the tall dark clock which, even as she passed, chimed the half hour
melodiously. Certainly her important grandfather lived in a wonderful
house. She paused to hear the last notes of the bells, but catching
sight of the figure of Mrs. Forbes waiting below, she started and moved
on.

"That's right. Come along," said the housekeeper. "Mr. Evringham likes
everybody to be punctual in his house."

"Oh, has grandpa come home?" inquired Jewel eagerly.

"No, he won't be home for hours yet. Come this way."

The little girl followed to the dining-room, which she thought quite as
wonderful as the clock; but her admiration of all she saw was no longer
unmixed. Mrs. Forbes seemed to cast a shadow.

One place was laid at the table, one handsome chair was drawn up to it.
Jewel longed to call Anna Belle's attention to the glittering array on
the sideboard and behind the crystal doors of cabinets, but something
withheld her.

She looked questioningly at the housekeeper. "I think I'll draw up
another chair for Anna Belle," she said.

Mrs. Forbes had already decided, from small signs of assurance, that
this Western child was bold. "Give her an inch, and she'll take an ell,"
she had said to herself. "I know her sort."

"Do you mean the doll?" she returned. "Put it down anywhere. You must
never bring it to the table. Mr. Evringham wouldn't like it."

In silence Jewel seated the doll in the nearest chair against the wall,
and as she slid up into her own, a neat maid appeared with a puffy and
appetizing omelet.

Mrs. Forbes filled the child's glass with water, and the maid set down
the omelet and departed.

Jewel's heart sank while Mrs. Forbes presented the souffle.

"I'm sorry," she began hesitatingly, "I never--I can't"--then she
swallowed hard in her desperate plight. "Isn't it pretty?" she said
rather breathlessly.

"It's very good," returned the housekeeper briefly, misconstruing the
child's hesitation. "Shall I help you?"

"I--could I have a drink of milk? I don't--I don't eat eggs."

"Don't eat eggs?" repeated the housekeeper severely. "I'm sorry you
have been allowed to be notional. Children should eat what is set before
them. Taste of it."

"I--I couldn't, please." Jewel's face was averted.

Mrs. Forbes touched an electric bell. The maid reappeared. "Remove the
omelet, Sarah, and bring Miss Julia a glass of milk."

That was the order, but oh, the tone