k sat still.

"Come on, Kate," said Wesley, reaching his hand.

"I'm not going anywhere," said Mrs. Comstock, settling comfortably back
against the cushions.

All of them begged and pleaded, but it was no use. Not an inch would
Mrs. Comstock budge. The night was warm and the carriage comfortable,
the horses were securely hitched. She did not care to see what idiotic
thing a pack of school children were doing, she would wait until the
Sintons returned. Wesley told her it might be two hours, and she said
she did not care if it were four, so they left her.

"Did you ever see such----?"

"Cookies!" cried Billy.

"Such blamed stubbornness in all your life?" demanded Wesley. "Won't
come to see as fine a girl as Elnora in a stage performance. Why, I
wouldn't miss it for fifty dollars!

"I think it's a blessing she didn't," said Margaret placidly. "I begged
unusually hard so she wouldn't. I'm scared of my life for fear Elnora
will play."

They found seats near the door where they could see fairly well. Billy
stood at the back of the hall and had a good view. By and by, a great
volume of sound welled from the orchestra, but Elnora was not playing.

"Told you so!" said Sinton. "Got a notion to go out and see if Kate
won't come now. She can take my seat, and I'll stand with Billy."

"You sit still!" said Margaret emphatically. "This is not over yet."

So Wesley remained in his seat. The play opened and progressed very much
as all high school plays have gone for the past fifty years. But Elnora
did not appear in any of the scenes.

Out in the warm summer night a sour, grim woman nursed an aching heart
and tried to justify herself. The effort irritated her intensely. She
felt that she could not afford the things that were being done. The old
fear of losing the land that she and Robert Comstock had purchased and
started clearing was strong upon her. She was thinking of him, how she
needed him, when the orchestra music poured from the open windows near
her. Mrs. Comstock endured it as long as she could, and then slipped
from the carriage and fled down the street.

She did not know how far she went or how long she stayed, but everything
was still, save an occasional raised voice when she wandered back. She
stood looking at the building. Slowly she entered the wide gates and
followed up the walk. Elnora had been coming here for almost four years.
When Mrs. Comstock reached the door she looked inside. The wide hall was
li