bit countrified and
odd. He is a dear good boy, and it would never do to let him feel
slighted or unwelcome."

When A.O. read that, much as she liked Jimmy Woods, she wished that the
ground would open and swallow him before he could get to Washington, or
else that it had opened and swallowed her before she drew such a picture
of him for Elise to admire. There were only two ways out of the dilemma
that she could see: confession or a persistent refusal to let her see
him. She must not even be allowed to hang over the banister and watch
him pass through the hall, as she had proposed doing.

The more she persisted in her refusal the more determined Elise was to
see him. A.O. imagined she could feel herself growing thin and pale from
so much lying awake of nights to invent some excuse to circumvent her.
If she only knew what day Jimmy was to be in Washington she could
arrange to meet him there. So she could plan a trip to the dentist with
Miss Gilmer, the trained nurse, as chaperon. She wouldn't have minded
introducing him to Elise if she had never painted him to her in such
glowing colours as her hero. She wished she hadn't told her it was Jimmy
who was coming. She could have called him by his middle name,
Gordon--Mr. Gordon, and passed him off as some ordinary acquaintance in
whom Elise could have no possible interest.

It was a relief when Elise turned her attention to Mary's affairs, and
when she saw that her turn was coming again, she set her teeth together
grimly, determined to make no answer.

Presently, to her surprise, Elise relapsed into silence, and stood
looking out of the window, tapping on the kettle with her spoon in a
preoccupied way. Then she laughed suddenly as if she saw something
funny, and being questioned, refused to give the reason.

"I just thought of something," she said, laughing again. "Something too
funny for words. I'll have to go now," she added, as if the cause of her
mysterious mirth was in some way responsible for her departure.

"Thanks mightily for the candy, Mary. It's the best ever. You're going
to be overflowed with orders, I'm sure. Well, farewell friends and
fellow citizens, I'll see you later."

"What do you suppose it was that made her laugh so," asked A.O.,
suspiciously. "There's always some mischief brewing when she acts that
way. I don't dare leave her by herself a minute for fear she'll plot
something against me. I'll have to be going, too, Mary."

Left to herself, Mary