like it; I
wonder why."

The long-distance call was a request from Mr. Rogers to come to
Pittsburgh. He left the next morning on the early train, without seeing
Dorothy, and was detained ten days. When he returned she had gone home.
He wrote an almost formal letter explaining his sudden departure and
expressing regret that upon his return he had not found her in Harlan.
She answered, acknowledging the receipt of his letter and expressing the
hope that when he came to Louisville he would call upon her.

As a business proposition, the trip to Pittsburgh had been a complete
success. The company had contracted to purchase some valuable mining
property in West Virginia and had sent for John to make a careful
re-examination of the title and check up the abstract furnished by the
vendor. This work required more than a week and when completed the
company found it so satisfactory they paid him a bonus of $250.00 above
his expenses and salary and informed him of a raise of his salary on the
first of the month, when his first year would be completed, to two
thousand dollars. This, with his practice, assured an income of four
thousand dollars a year.

CHAPTER VII.

MARY AND JOHN PROGRESS.

The experiences of Mary on her trip East to Wellesley and the first few
months of college life were such as to try her courage and earnestness
of purpose. Her traveling experience, until the family moved to Madison
County, had been limited to trips to Pineville, Middlesboro and Harlan.
Since moving, she had been to Richmond, Winchester and Lexington.

A week or so before she went East, she and her mother had gone to
Lexington to purchase her clothing. Her father had given her one hundred
and fifty dollars for the purpose, to which she had added fifty dollars
of her own money.

Before she bought anything she insisted on sitting an hour in the hotel
parlor and then walking about the street for the purpose of noting the
costumes of girls her own age. She had gone to church at Paint Lick and,
sitting near the pew of the Clays, had seen Bradley Clay and his sister,
Rosamond, come in. Watching the girl, she had thought what a becoming
costume she wore. It was a dark blue dress, very simply, though
carefully, made. With this limited experience, when she began
purchasing, going to a neatly dressed clerk and asking that she show her
some costumes, and such as she herself fancied; her purchases, when
completed and fitted, were appropriate