alf
is the 'drag.' When they have drawn the patterns, they will lock the two
halves together and the mould will be ready for the pouring. You ought
to come some afternoon while we are pouring; it would interest you if
you've never seen it."

"Oh, may I? I shall remember that, when I come back from Florida."

"You are going away?" he said quickly.

"Yes; for a few weeks."

"Wahaska will miss you."

"Will it? I wish I could believe that, Mr. Raymer. But I don't know.
Sometimes----"

"You mustn't doubt it for a moment. When you drove up a few minutes ago
I was thinking that you were the one bit of redeeming color in our
rather commonplace picture."

She let him look into what she wished him to believe were the very
ultimate depths of the velvety eyes when she said: "You shouldn't
flatter, Mr. Raymer. For one thing, you don't do it easily; and for
another, it's disappointing."

They were passing out of the foundry on their way back to the office and
he held the weighted door open for her.

"A bit of honest praise isn't flattery," he protested. "But supposing it
were a mere compliment--why should you find it disappointing?"

"Because one has to have anchors of some sort; anchors in sincerity and
straightforwardness, in the honesty of purpose that will say, '_No-no!_'
and slap the best-beloved baby's hands, if that's what is needed. That
is your proper role, Mr. Raymer, and you must never hesitate to take
it."

It was the one small lapse from the strict conventionalities, but it
sufficed to cut out all the middle distances. The tour of the works
which had begun in passing acquaintance ended in friendship, precisely
as Miss Grierson had meant it should; and when Raymer was tucking her
into the cutter and wrapping her in the fur robes, she added the
finishing touch, or rather the touch for which all the other touches
had been the preliminaries.

"I'm so glad I had the courage to come and see you this morning. We have
been dreadfully remiss in church matters, but I am going to try to make
up for it in the future. I'm sorry you couldn't come to us last evening.
Please tell your mother and sister that I _do_ hope we'll meet,
sometime. I should so dearly love to know them. Thank you so much for
everything. Good-by."

Raymer watched her as she drove away, noted her skilful handling of the
fiery Kentuckian and her straight seat in the flying cutter, and the
smile which a day or two earlier might have been mildly sat