upon the waxing extravagance of Congress? By
dint of repetition these things attained wide currency.

Shelby was untroubled.

"Millions, to be sure," he replied to a query of his wife's. "The
commercial supremacy of a state is perforce a question of millions."

"But they're saying you risk your presidential chances," she lamented.
"Do take every care to strengthen yourself. It's the fondest dream of
my life to see you President. You must let nothing stand between you
and the nomination."

"Thank heaven I'm not stung that badly!" the governor ejaculated.

"But for my sake! If I should ask you--beg you on my knees?"

"I'd say you should be in better business."

He answered her lightly, and playfully pinched her ear, but she saw
that no word of hers could sway his purpose, and hated him. For the
hour, however, even this teasing vision of herself as first lady of the
land paled before the very present topic of Milicent's debut. Despite
Shelby's advice and her own pleadings, the girl had not been allowed to
return to her school in the autumn; for when they met at the summer's
end, the revelation of her daughter's good looks and unconscious
girlish charm, by her mother called manner, revived a shadowy project
of Cora's for an elaborate coming-out ball which had enticed her in the
early days of life in Albany. Neither Milicent's reluctance nor her
stepfather's protest against the launching of so young a girl availed.

"Only last week I saw her playing with a doll," said Shelby, routed at
every turn.

"What an argument! I played with dolls after I was married to Joe. If
you postponed a woman's debut till she tired of dolls, you would
conflict with her funeral."

This sally displayed such unexpected humor that Shelby laughed, and his
wife seized the favoring moment to end discussion.

"It's my duty to my child," she declared; "and of that, a mother is the
best judge."

Although the event was to be deferred till late February, as the
crowning glory of the season which Lent would close, Cora's plans were
on foot by Thanksgiving Day. Among her earliest preliminaries was the
enlisting of Mrs. Van Dam, whose friendship for Milicent she had
determined to exploit as soon as she learned of its existence. This
was not difficult. Of the wisdom of the thing Mrs. Van Dam said
nothing,--she had had her fill of advising Mrs. Shelby,--but her
sympathy for Milicent was keen, and it drew her into a rather
distasteful