ng if they looked entirely
natural and accidental; then, shaking his head, he gathered up the socks
and gloves and returned with them to Aunt Ruth.

She looked them over. "For pity's sake," said she, "you wear out your
things in queer ways! How did you ever manage to get holes in your heels
right on the bottom, like that? All the folks I ever knew wear out their
heels on the back or side."

Richard examined a sock. "That is rather odd," he admitted. "I must have
done it dancing."

"I shall have to split my silk to darn these places," commented Aunt
Ruth. "These must be summer socks, so thin as this." She glanced at the
trimly shod foot of her companion and shook her head. "You young folks!
In my day we never thought silk cobwebs' warm enough for winter."

"Tell me about your day, won't you, please?" the young man urged. "Those
must have been great days, to have produced such results."

The little lady found it impossible to resist such interest, and was
presently talking away, as she mended, while her listener watched her
flying fingers and enjoyed every word of her entertaining discourse. He
artfully led her from the past to the present, brought out a tale or two
of Roberta's visits at the farm, and learned with outward gravity but
inward exultation that that young person had actually gone to the
lengths of begging to be allowed to learn to milk a cow, but had failed
to achieve success.

"I can't imagine Miss Roberta's failing in anything she chose to
attempt," was his joyous comment.

"She certainly failed in that." Aunt Ruth seemed rather pleased herself
at the thought. "But then she didn't really go into it seriously--it was
because Louis put her up to it--told her she couldn't do it. She only
really tried it once--and then spent the rest of the morning washing her
hair. Such a task--it's so heavy and curly--" Aunt Ruth suddenly stopped
talking about Roberta, as if it had occurred to her that this young man
looked altogether too interested in such trifles as the dressing of
certain thick, dark locks.

Presently, the mending over, the Grays were taken, according to promise,
back to the Christmas celebrations in the other house, and Richard,
returning to his grandfather, proposed, with some unwonted diffidence of
manner, that the two attend service together at St. Luke's.

The old man looked up at his grandson, astonishment in his face.

"Church, Dick--with you?" he repeated. "Why, I--" He hesitated. "Did t