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suspicious inflection.
    “Yes,” said the girl with dignity.
    “What all you want done?”
    “Oh, cleaning and putting to rights—”
    The woman looked her over with a meaningful grunt, growing comprehension in her eyes. Finally she agreed to come and bring her daughter at half past two.
    Elsie was hastening on her way when the woman called after her.
    “Say, aren’t you Elsie Hathaway? ’Cause I worked for your mother once. She was a mighty nice lady, Mis’ Hathaway.”
    Something warm and disturbing sprang up in the girl’s heart and made her smile an assent at the old woman as she hurried on her way again. She seemed to have dropped back years and to be made suddenly aware of the personality of her own dear mother. For a little her life in the city at her aunt’s and at the school fell away from her, and she became a child again, interested in this spot that her mother had left. The symphony concert was entirely forgotten now. She had but one object to attain, and that was to put that dreary house into some sort of homelike state before its inhabitants should return. To that end she sought a telephone booth and called up a friend of her aunt’s in a large department store.
    “Mr. Belknap,” she said, “I don’t want to make you any trouble, but I’m having a rather strenuous day, and I can’t carry out my plans without some help. I’m out at my father’s in Morningside, putting the house in order; and I find that a number of things need replenishing since my last visit. Father isn’t here, and I haven’t much money with me. I’m wondering if you can manage it for me that they can be sent out special and let me pay on Monday? I could send the money to you as soon as I get home this evening.”
    “Sure!” came the hearty response. “I can fix that up for you, Miss Elsie. You want the things out this afternoon before you leave? I see. Well, I’ll have them run out for you. Just tell me what you want. Blankets, sheets, pillowcases, bedspreads, towels, tablecloths, napkins. Well, now suppose I just look up what we have and report to you in fifteen minutes, say. How will that do? You give me the number of your phone, and I’ll let you know styles and prices. Oh, it’s no trouble whatever. I’ll send the buyer around. She’ll fix you up all right. You say you don’t want very expensive things, just plain, good, substantial. All right. You stay where you are, 364 Morningside, you say. I’ll call you up in about fifteen minutes.”
    Elsie hung up the receiver, and emerged into the outer world from the telephone booth, looking around her almost dazed. Life had gone so rapidly the last three hours that she seemed to have been whirled through things without any ability to stop or think. Now she suddenly realized she was tired and hungry.
    She looked at her watch. It was twenty minutes to two. It seemed ages since she left her aunt’s house for that tennis game after breakfast. In less than an hour the women would be at the house ready for work and she would have to be there. She must get something to eat.
    The soda fountain offered a suggestion. She went over to investigate. Hot tomato bouillon, crisp crackers, and a sundae seemed a menu pleasant enough. She sat down to refresh herself while she awaited her telephone call.

Chapter 4
    A s she ate her lunch, Elsie’s mind went back to the desolate house she had left, and gradually the thought took form, how pleasant it would be to set the dining-table and prepare a simple meal before she left.
    She toyed idly with the idea, and put it from her many times, telling herself it would be impossible, for there was enough to do just to make things clean and get the beds ready for sleeping; and after she had finished her sundae she resolutely took out her pencil and note-book from her handbag, and began to figure out just what things she must have for the house and how much she could afford for each, that she might be ready to decide quickly when the prices