er heard
of such doings. Now do warm your feet."

"I should have been home sooner, only something happened," said Hilda.

"Oh!" Mrs. Lessways exclaimed indifferently. She had in fact no
curiosity as to the affairs of Dayson and Company. The sole thing that
interested her was Hilda's daily absence and daily return. She seemed
quite content to remain in ignorance of what Hilda did in the mysterious
office. Her conversation, profuse when she was in good spirits, rarely
went beyond the trifling separate events of existence personal and
domestic--the life of the house hour by hour and minute by minute. It
was often astounding to Hilda that her mother never showed any sign of
being weary of these topics, nor any desire to discover other topics.

"Yes," said Hilda. "Miss Gailey--"

Mrs. Lessways became instantly a different creature.

"And does he know?" she asked blankly, when Hilda had informed her of
Janet's visit and news.

"Yes. I told him--of course."

"You?"

"Well, somebody had to tell him," said Hilda, with an affectation of
carelessness. "So I told him myself."

"And how did he take it?"

"Well, how should he take it?" Hilda retorted largely. "He _had_ to take
it! He was much obliged, and he said so."

Mrs. Lessways began to weep.

"What ever's the matter?"

"I was only thinking of poor Sarah!" Mrs. Lessways answered the implied
rebuke of Hilda's brusque question. "I shall go and see her to-morrow
morning."

"But, mother, don't you think you'd better wait?"

Mrs. Lessways spoke up resolutely: "I shall go and see Sarah Gailey
to-morrow morning, and let that be understood! I don't need my daughter
to teach me when I ought to go and see my friends and when I
oughtn't.... I knew Sarah Gailey before your Mr. Cannon was born."

"Oh, very well! Very well!" Hilda soothed her lightly.

"I shall tell Sarah Gailey she's got to reckon with me, whether she
wants to or not! That's what I shall tell Sarah Gailey!" Mrs. Lessways
wiped her eyes.

"Mother," Hilda asked, when they had gone upstairs, "did you wind the
clock?"

"I don't think I did," answered the culprit uncertainly from her bedroom
door.

"Mother, how tiresome you are! Night before last you wouldn't let me
touch it. You said you preferred to do it yourself. And now I shall be
waiting for it to strike to-morrow morning, to get up--lend me that
candle, do!"

She tripped down to the lobby gladly, and opened the big door of the
clock, and put h