as not satisfied. She hated old clothes, no matter how
well they looked. And Harriet Hamlin was rarely beautiful in an imported
gown of pale, yellow crepe.

After receiving for an hour, Bab slipped quietly into a chair near a
window. She wished to examine the guests at her leisure. Mollie and Ruth
were deep in conversation with Mrs. Post and Hugh. Grace was talking to
Dorothy and Gwendolin Morton.

Barbara's eyes wandered eagerly over the throng of people. Suddenly some
one touched her on the shoulder.

"You do not remember me, do you?"

Bab turned and saw a young woman.

"I am Marjorie Moore," said the newcomer. "I am the girl who came to ask
you for your pictures. Perhaps you think it is strange for me to come to
Harriet Hamlin's reception when she was so rude to me last night. But I
am not a guest. Besides, newspaper people are not expected to have any
feelings. My newspaper sent me to find out what people were here this
afternoon. So here I am! I know everybody in Washington. Would you like
me to point out some of the celebrities to you? See that stunning woman
just coming in at the door? She has the reputation of being the most
popular woman in Washington. But nobody knows just where she comes from,
or who she is, or how she gets her money. But I must not talk Washington
gossip. You'll meet her soon yourself."

"How do you do, Miss Moore?" broke in a charming contralto voice.
"You are the very person I wish to see. I can give you some news for
your paper. It is not very important, but I thought you might like
to have it."

"You are awfully good, Mrs. Wilson," Marjorie Moore replied gratefully.
"I have just been talking to Miss Thurston about you. May I introduce
her? She has just arrived in Washington, and I told her, only half a
second ago, that you were the nicest woman in this town."

Mrs. Wilson laughed quietly. "I know Miss Thurston's sister and her
friend, Miss Carter. Mr. Hamlin let me help chaperon them at a reception
yesterday afternoon. But Miss Moore has been flattering me dreadfully. I
am a very unimportant person, though I happen to have the good fortune to
be a friend of Mr. Hamlin's and Harriet's. I am keeping house in
Washington at present. Some day you must come to see me."

Bab thanked her new acquaintance. She thought she had never seen a more
unusual looking woman. It was impossible to guess her age. Mrs. Wilson's
hair was snow-white, but her face was as young as a girl's and her eyes