undissolved
soda in them."

There were other sentences, but Bertram's eyes chanced to fall on the
opposite page where the "Things to Remember" had been changed to "Things
to Forget"; and here Billy had written just four words: "Burns," "cuts,"
and "yesterday's failures."

Bertram dropped the book then with a spasmodic clearing of his throat,
and hurriedly resumed his search. When he did find his wife, at last, he
gave a cry of dismay--she was on her own bed, huddled in a little heap,
and shaking with sobs.

"Billy! Why, Billy!" he gasped, striding to the bedside.

Billy sat up at once, and hastily wiped her eyes.

"Oh, is it you, B-Bertram? I didn't hear you come in. You--you s-said
you weren't coming till six o'clock!" she choked.

"Billy, what is the meaning of this?"

"N-nothing. I--I guess I'm just tired."

"What have you been doing?" Bertram spoke sternly, almost sharply. He
was wondering why he had not noticed before the little hollows in his
wife's cheeks. "Billy, what have you been doing?"

"Why, n-nothing extra, only some sweeping, and cleaning out the
refrigerator."

"Sweeping! Cleaning! _You!_ I thought Mrs. Durgin did that."

"She does. I mean she did. But she couldn't come. She broke her
leg--fell off the stepladder where she was three days ago. So I _had_
to do it. And to-day, someway, everything went wrong. I burned me, and I
cut me, and I used two sodas with not any cream of tartar, and I should
think I didn't know anything, not anything!" And down went Billy's head
into the pillows again in another burst of sobs.

With gentle yet uncompromising determination, Bertram gathered his
wife into his arms and carried her to the big chair. There, for a few
minutes, he soothed and petted her as if she were a tired child--which,
indeed, she was.

"Billy, this thing has got to stop," he said then. There was a very
inexorable ring of decision in his voice.

"What thing?"

"This housework business."

Billy sat up with a jerk.

"But, Bertram, it isn't fair. You can't--you mustn't--just because of
to-day! I _can_ do it. I have done it. I've done it days and days, and
it's gone beautifully--even if they did say I couldn't!"

"Couldn't what?"

"Be an e-efficient housekeeper."

"Who said you couldn't?"

"Aunt Hannah and K-Kate."

Bertram said a savage word under his breath.

"Holy smoke, Billy! I didn't marry you for a cook or a scrub-lady. If
you _had_ to do it, that would be another matt