referred the ugly old house in which she had always
lived, with its scaling gray paint and no pretensions to fineness. At
least it was softened by age, and had a look of experience which saved
its ugliness from being crude, and gave it the dignity of time.

And now Julia Cloud's heart began to beat rapidly. All at once she
felt that she had done a most foolish thing in allowing the children
to overrule her and bring her here. Ellen would not be dressed up nor
have the children ready for inspection, and she would be angry at her
sister for not having given warning of their coming. She leaned
forward breathlessly to suggest turning back; but Allison, perhaps
anticipating her feeling, said:

"Now don't you get cold feet, Cloudy Jewel. If Aunt Ellen is sore,
just you talk up to her, and smile a lot, and we'll back you up.
Remember everything's, going fine, and the whole thing's settled. It's
too late to change it now. Is this the place? We'll turn right in,
shall we?" And with the words he swept up under the elaborate wooden
porte-cochere, and, swinging down, flung the door open for Julia Cloud
to alight.

Leslie gave a quick, disdainful glance about, fluttered out beside her
aunt, and, catching the look of apprehension on her face, tripped up
the steps and rang the bell, poising bird-like on the threshold and
calling in a sweet, flute-like voice:

"Aunt Ellen! O Aunt Ellen! Where are you? Don't you know you've got
company all the way from California?"

It was just like taking the bull by the horns, and Julia Cloud paused
on the upper step in wonder. How winning a child she was! and how she
had known by intuition just how to mollify her unpleasant relative!

What would Ellen say? How would she take it?

Ellen Robinson bustled frowning into the hall, whetting her sharp
tongue for an encounter. She had seen the big blue car turn in at the
gate, and knew from Mrs. Perkins's description who it must be. Julia
Cloud had well judged her state of mind, for her four children could
not have been caught in a worse plight so far as untidiness was
concerned, and there had barely been time to marshal them all up the
back stairs with orders to scrub and dress or not to come down till
the visitors were gone. They were even now creeping shufflingly about
overhead on their bare feet, hunting for their respective best shoes
and stockings and other garments, and scrapping in loud whispers.

But Leslie, little diplomat that she was, wa