eard the sound of laughter, and seeing that
even Mrs. Farron herself was down, he exclaimed quickly:

"What, am I late?"

Every one laughed all the more at this.

"That's just what Mr. Farron said you would say at finding that Mama was
dressed in time," exclaimed Mathilde, casting an admiring glance at her
stepfather.

"You'd suppose I'd never been in time for dinner before," remarked
Adelaide, giving Wayne her long hand.

"But isn't it wonderful, Pete," put in Mathilde, "how Mr. Farron is
always right?"

"Oh, I hope he isn't," said Adelaide; "for what do you think he has just
been telling me--that you'd always hate me, Pete, as long as you lived.
You see," she went on, the little knot coming in her eyebrows, "I've been
telling him all the things I said to you yesterday. They did sound rather
awful, and I think I've forgotten some of the worst."

"_I_ haven't," said Pete.

"I remember I told you you were no one."

"You said I was a perfectly nice young man."

"And that you had no business judgment."

"And that I was mixing Mathilde up with a fraud."

"And that I couldn't see any particular reason why she cared about you."

"That you only asked that your son-in-law should be a person."

"I am afraid I said something about not coming to a house where you
weren't welcome."

"I know you said something about a bribe."

At this Adelaide laughed out loud.

"I believe I did," she said. "What things one does say sometimes! There's
dinner." She rose, and tucked her hand under his arm. "Will you take me
in to dinner, Pete, or do you think I'm too despicable to be fed?"

The truth was that they were all four in such high spirits that they
could no more help playing together than four colts could help playing in
a grass field. Besides, Vincent had taunted Adelaide with her inability
ever to make it up with Wayne. She left no trick unturned.

"I don't know," she went on as they sat down at table, "that a marriage
is quite legal unless you hate your mother-in-law. I ought to give you
some opportunity to go home and say to Mrs. Wayne, 'But I'm afraid I
shall never be able to get on with Mrs. Farron.'"

"Oh, he's said that already," remarked Vincent.

"Many a time," said Pete.

Mathilde glanced a little fearfully at her mother. The talk seemed to her
amusing, but dangerous.

"Well, then, shall we have a feud, Pete?" said Adelaide in a
glass-of-wine-with-you-sir tone. "A good feud in a family can be made
ver