he does keep us
stepping. She has to fall down once in a while, and she fell hard when
she hired me and took me in as a boarder."

Mary flushed. "I try to make you do your share," she began, "and----"

"I ought to pay more board," Trudy giggled at her own audacity. "But I
won't. You're too decent to make me. You know I'm such a funny fool
I'd go jump in the river if I got blue or things went wrong, and you
like me well enough to not want that. Don't worry about our Mary, Mrs.
Faithful. Just let her manage Luke and he won't wander from her apron
strings like he will if you and I keep him in tow."

Luke made a low bow, scraping his chair back from the table. "I'll go
ahead and get reserved seats and mother can come when she's ready," he
proposed.

Mrs. Faithful beamed with triumph. "That's my son! Get them far enough
back, the pictures blur if I'm too close."

"I'll do the dishes," Mary said, briefly. "Go and get ready."

"I'd wipe them only Gay is coming so early," Trudy explained, glibly.

"I'd rather be alone." Mary was piling up the pots and pans.

"Now, deary, if you don't feel right about mother's going," her mother
resumed a little later as she poked her head into the kitchen, "just
say so. But I certainly want to see that town burnt up; and besides,
it's teaching Luke history. Dear me, your hair is dull. Why don't you
try that stuff Trudy uses?"

"Because I'm not Trudy. Good-bye."

"You're all nerves again. I'd certainly let someone else do the
work."

"I need a vacation."

"That means you want to get away from us. Well, I try to keep the home
together. Leave that coffeepot just as it is, I'll want a drop when I
get back." Waddling out the door Mrs. Faithful left Mary to assault
the dishes and long for Steve's return.

"I wonder why the great plan did not make it possible for all folks to
like their relatives?" she asked herself as she finally hung the tea
towels on the line; "or their star boarder?"

Then she became engrossed in the way the newly set out plants had
taken root. Bending over the flower beds she was hardly conscious that
darkness had fallen over the earth--a heavenly, summer-cool darkness
with veiled stars prophetic of a blessed shower. She repaired to the
porch swing to dream her dreams of fluffs and frills, arrange a dream
house and live therein. It should be quite unlike the Gorgeous Girl's
apartment--but a roomy, sprawling affair with old furniture that was
used and loved and s