as any house I ever saw!"

"Why?"

"Why?" George repeated. "Did you ask me why?"

"Yes."

"Well, for one thing--" he paused--"for one thing--well, just look at
it! I shouldn't think you'd have to do any more than look at it if you'd
ever given any attention to architecture."

"What is the matter with its architecture, Mr. Minafer?"

"Well, it's this way," said George. "It's like this. Well, for instance,
that house--well, it was built like a town house." He spoke of it in the
past tense, because they had now left it far behind them--a human habit
of curious significance. "It was like a house meant for a street in the
city. What kind of a house was that for people of any taste to build out
here in the country?"

"But papa says it's built that way on purpose. There are a lot of other
houses being built in this direction, and papa says the city's coming
out this way; and in a year or two that house will be right in town."

"It was a bum house, anyhow," said George crossly. "I don't even know
the people that are building it. They say a lot of riffraff come to town
every year nowadays and there's other riffraff that have always lived
here, and have made a little money, and act as if they owned the place.
Uncle Sydney was talking about it yesterday: he says he and some of
his friends are organizing a country club, and already some of these
riffraff are worming into it--people he never heard of at all! Anyhow, I
guess it's pretty clear you don't know a great deal about architecture."

She demonstrated the completeness of her amiability by laughing. "I'll
know something about the North Pole before long," she said, "if we keep
going much farther in this direction!"

At this he was remorseful. "All right, we'll turn, and drive south
awhile till you get warmed up again. I expect we have been going against
the wind about long enough. Indeed, I'm sorry!"

He said, "Indeed, I'm sorry," in a nice way, and looked very strikingly
handsome when he said it, she thought. No doubt it is true that there
is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner repented than over all the
saints who consistently remain holy, and the rare, sudden gentlenesses
of arrogant people have infinitely more effect than the continual
gentleness of gentle people. Arrogance turned gentle melts the
heart; and Lucy gave her companion a little sidelong, sunny nod of
acknowledgment. George was dazzled by the quick glow of her eyes, and
found himself at a loss f