alie.

Juno merely tossed her head, but vouchsafed no answer. Rosalie's Western
_gaucherie_ was beneath her notice. Juno's home was at the Hotel Astor
in New York City. At least as much of "home" as she knew. Her mother
had lived abroad for the past five years, and was now the Princess
Somebody-or-other. Her father kept his suite at the Astor but lived
almost anywhere else, his only daughter seeing him when he had less
enticing companionship. A "chaperon" did duty at the Astor when Juno was
in the city, which was not often. Consequently, Juno's ideas of domestic
felicity were not wholly edifying; her conception of anything pertaining
to home life about as hazy as the nebula.

"Perhaps if you ever know Tanta you'll be able to form your own
opinion," answered Polly quietly, looking steadily at Juno with those
wonderfully penetrating gray eyes until the girl shrugged and colored.

Stella laughed a low, odd little laugh and came over to drop upon the
rug beside Polly, saying as she slipped her arm around her and
good-naturedly dragged her down upon her lap:

"You are one funny, old-fashioned little kid, do you know that? Some
times I feel as though I were about twenty years your senior, and then
when I catch that size-me-up, read-me-through, look in your eyes, I make
up my mind _I'm_ the infant--not you. Where did you and Peggy catch and
bottle up all your worldly wisdom?"

"Didn't know _I_ had so much," laughed Polly, "but Peggy was born with
hers, I reckon. If I have any it has been bumped into my head partly by
mother, partly by Aunt Janet, and the job finished by the boys Juno has
been referring to. It doesn't do to try any nonsense with _that_ bunch;
they see through you and call your bluff as quick as a flash. We were
pretty good chums and I miss them more than I could ever miss a lot of
girls, I believe. Certainly, more than I missed the Montgentian girls
when I left them."

"Nothing like being entirely frank, I'm sure," was Juno's superior
remark:

"That's another thing the boys taught us," replied Polly imperturbably.
Just then the bell rang for "rooms."

"There's Tattoo!" cried Polly. "If I get settled down at Taps tonight
I'll be doing wonders. Miss Allen has bandaged up my arm as though
Tzaritza had bitten half of it off. Come on, 'Ritza. Peggy, you'll have
to get me out of my dudds tonight. Good-night, girls. Sorry we didn't
get our fudge made. Maybe if I'd let Helen alone you would have had it,"
and