ster, in
spite of the doubts which assailed him at times as to the wisdom of
his career, was invariably kind and considerate, and he seemed to
enjoy his home life.

"Everything all right?" she would ask when he came in of an
evening.

"Sure!" he would answer, and pinch her chin or cheek.

She would follow him in while Jeannette, always alert, would take
his coat and hat. In the winter-time they would sit in the library
before the big grate-fire. In the spring, summer, or fall Lester
preferred to walk out on the porch, one corner of which commanded a
sweeping view of the lawn and the distant street, and light his
before-dinner cigar. Jennie would sit on the side of his chair and
stroke his head. "Your hair is not getting the least bit thin, Lester;
aren't you glad?" she would say; or, "Oh, see how your brow is
wrinkled now. You mustn't do that. You didn't change your tie, mister,
this morning. Why didn't you? I laid one out for you."

"Oh, I forgot," he would answer, or he would cause the wrinkles to
disappear, or laughingly predict that he would soon be getting bald if
he wasn't so now.

In the drawing-room or library, before Vesta and Gerhardt, she was
not less loving, though a little more circumspect. She loved odd
puzzles like pigs in clover, the spider's hole, baby billiards, and
the like. Lester shared in these simple amusements. He would work by
the hour, if necessary, to make a difficult puzzle come right. Jennie
was clever at solving these mechanical problems. Sometimes she would
have to show him the right method, and then she would be immensely
pleased with herself. At other times she would stand behind him
watching, her chin on his shoulder, her arms about his neck. He seemed
not to mind--indeed, he was happy in the wealth of affection she
bestowed. Her cleverness, her gentleness, her tact created an
atmosphere which was immensely pleasing; above all her youth and
beauty appealed to him. It made him feel young, and if there was one
thing Lester objected to, it was the thought of drying up into an
aimless old age. "I want to keep young, or die young," was one of his
pet remarks; and Jennie came to understand. She was glad that she was
so much younger now for his sake.

Another pleasant feature of the home life was Lester's steadily
increasing affection for Vesta. The child would sit at the big table
in the library in the evening conning her books, while Jennie would
sew, and Gerhardt would read his int