mnable glibness of speech of others which he had to contend with and
which seemed to be as silly as unattainable.

"Now, dear, run back to my room and take off your wrap," Miss Teasdale
said to Tilly. "I'll show Mr. Trott the men's room."

"He has nothing but his hat," Tilly lingered to say, "and he can leave
that anywhere."

"Yes, if you like," his hostess said, leading him to a spot on the
veranda where many men's hats were hanging on nails driven into the
weather-boarding. He hung up his and immediately felt Sally clutch his
arm.

"Tilly says you don't dance," she ran on. "What a pity! It is great fun,
and a good way to get acquainted. I suppose you are a member of the
church. Which one?"

"None at all," he heard himself saying, as if in a dense fog and from a
great distance.

"How funny that you don't dance, then?" she went on, leaving an opening
for him which he did not enter. He did not like her. She was too tall
and angular, too harsh of voice and fluent of talk and irritating
suggestion. He had the sense of being managed when he wanted above all
to be unmolested. Besides, she had sent Tilly away, and without Tilly he
felt lost.

"I must introduce you to my father," Sally said. "He is old-fashioned
and wants his way about everything. He would scold me if I didn't
introduce you at once. He is inside. Come on. My stepmother is busy in
the kitchen fixing refreshments."

CHAPTER XIII

He wormed his way after her through the surging throng to the parlor,
where a fat man in dark trousers and a white-linen coat stood vigorously
cooling himself with a palm-leaf fan and talking to some middle-aged men
and women.

"Glad to make your acquaintance, Mr. Trotter--I mean Trott," he said,
extending a clammy hand. "I've seen you about the court-house several
times but you were always busy and I didn't want to climb up those
rickety planks to you. How is it moving along?"

"All right," John said, bluntly. He was not awed by the man, for he was
used to men of all types. Besides, John could not descend to empty
platitudes for the sake of making conversation, and he half resented the
unnecessary question about a matter that was obvious to every passer-by.

"Come in here with me." The old man took a large grasp on his arm and
began to fan lazy waves of warm air into his face as he drew him into an
adjoining room, which was evidently a sleeping-apartment from which the
bed had been removed. There was a table aga