oon found, however, that exercising was a difficult matter. Her
ankle was badly swollen, and began to ache when she moved it, nor did
Mrs. Biggs's assurance that "it would ache more until it didn't ache so
bad" comfort her much. She managed, however, to get into a chair, and
took the coffee, and submitted to have her ankle bathed and bandaged and
her foot slipped into an old felt shoe of Mrs. Biggs's, which was out
at the toe and out at the side, but did not pinch at all.

"Your dress ain't dry. You'll catch your death of cold to have it on.
You must wear one of mine," Mrs. Biggs said, producing a spotted calico
wrapper, brown and white,--colors which Eloise detested.

It was much too large every way, but Mrs. Biggs lapped it in front and
lapped it behind, and said the length would not matter, as Eloise could
only walk with her knee in a chair and could hold up one side. Eloise
knew she was a fright, but felt that she did not care, until Mrs. Biggs
told her of the hat which the lady from Crompton Place had sent her, and
that Sarah had said the young gentlemen would probably call.

"I've been thinking after all," she continued, "that it is better to be
up. The committee man, Mr. Bills, who hired you, will call, and you
can't see him and the young men here. I'm a respectable woman, and have
boarded the teachers off and on for twenty years,--all, in fact, except
Ruby Ann, who has a home of her own,--and I can't have my character
compromised now by inviting men folks into a bedroom. You must come down
to the parlor. There's a bed-lounge there which I can make up at night,
and it'll save me a pile of steps coming upstairs."

"How am I to get there?" Eloise asked in dismay, and Mrs. Biggs replied,
"It'll be a chore, I guess, but you can do it. I did when my ankle was
bad. I took some strong coffee, same as I brought you, had my foot done
up, and slid downstairs, one at a time, with my lame laig straight out.
I can't say it didn't hurt, for it did, but I had to grin and bear it.
Christian Science nor mind cure wasn't invented then, or I should of
used 'em, and said my ankle wasn't sprained. There's plenty of nice
people believes 'em now. You can try 'em on, and we'll manage somehow."

Eloise was appalled at the thought of going downstairs to meet people,
and especially the young men from Crompton, clad in that spotted brown
and white gown, with nothing to relieve its ugliness, not even a collar,
for the one she had worn the