of the whole colony, but especially the reputed
wealth of the bride, who, it was well known, had been saving with
careful economy her wages at the New West Hotel for the past three years,
would most certainly create a demand for a feast upon a scale of more
than ordinary magnificence, and Anka was determined that in providing
for the feast this demand should be fully satisfied.

For a long time she was torn between two conflicting desires:
on the one hand she longed to appear garbed in all the glory of the
Western girl's most modern bridal attire; on the other she coveted
the honour of providing a feast that would live for years in the
memory of all who might be privileged to be present. Both she could
not accomplish, and she wisely chose the latter; for she shrewdly
reasoned that, while the Western bridal garb would certainly set
forth her charms in a new and ravishing style, the glory of that
triumph would be short-lived at best, and it would excite the envy
of the younger members of her own sex and the criticism of the
older and more conservative of her compatriots.

She was further moved to this decision by the thought that inasmuch
as Jacob and she had it in mind to open a restaurant and hotel as
soon as sufficient money was in hand, it was important that they
should stand well with the community, and nothing would so insure
popularity as abundant and good eating and drinking. So to the
preparation of a feast that would at once bring her immediate glory
and future profit, Anka set her shrewd wits. The providing of the
raw materials for the feast was to her an easy matter, for her
experience in the New West Hotel had taught her how to expend to
the best advantage her carefully hoarded wages. The difficulty was
with the cooking. Clearly Paulina could not be expected to attend to
this, for although her skill with certain soups and stews was
undoubted, for the finer achievements of the culinary art Paulina
was totally unfitted. To overcome this difficulty, Anka hit upon the
simple but very effective expedient of entrusting to her neighbours,
who would later be her guests, the preparing of certain dishes
according to their various abilities and inclinations, keeping
close account in her own shrewd mind of what each one might be
supposed to produce from the materials furnished, and stimulating
in her assistants the laudable ambition to achieve the very best
results. Hence, in generous quantities she distributed flour