azy about him."

"Terence O'Brien, have ye no manners to be takin' the words out of yir
own mother's mouth! Now hold yir tongue while I explain to Rosie."
Terence subsided and Mrs. O'Brien started in afresh: "Well, as I was
saying, this Finn fella took a great fancy to Ellen and was coming
around every night to see her. He took her to the movies and gave her
ice-cream sodas and they were getting on fine. Then last week he was
going to take her to the Twirler Club's Annual Ball."

"The Twirlers' Ball!" Rosie looked at her mother questioningly.

That lady waved a reassuring hand. "Oh, the ball was all right this
year--perfectly nice and decent. Ellen found out about it beforehand.
Not like last year! No drunks was to be allowed on the floor and none of
them disgraceful dances. Oh, if it had been like last year, I'd never
have consented to Ellen's going! You know that, Rosie!"

"Huh!" grunted Terry.

His mother paid no heed to him. "As I was saying, Rosie, the night
before the ball, Larry had to come excusing himself because they had
just told him he would have to stay working till all hours the next
night. So there was poor Ellen, who might have had her pick a week or
two earlier, left high and dry at the last moment. I tell you, Rosie, it
would have wrung your heart to see the poor girl's disappointment. A
girl of less spirit would have given up, but not Ellen. Ellen was going
to that ball and you know how firm Ellen is once she makes up her mind.
So she just asked Jarge Riley to take her."

"Ma! Do you mean to say she had the cheek to ask poor Jarge after the
way she's been treating him all these months!"

"Ah, ah, don't look at me that way, Rosie! Of course I mean it. Why
shouldn't she ask him? He's a nice fella and, besides that, he's a
friend of the family."

"Say, Terry, what do you know about that?" Rosie appealed to her brother
sure that he, at least, would understand the humiliation she felt both
at Ellen's manoeuvre and at their mother's calm acceptance of it.

Terry did understand and gave her the sympathy of a quick nod and a
short laugh. "What do you expect? You know Ellen."

"Well, all I got to say is: it's a shame!" Tears of indignation stood in
Rosie's eyes. "She treats him like a dog and then, when it suits her,
she makes use of him. It's an outrage--that's what it is! I suppose he
went, of course. Poor Jarge is so easy."

Mrs. O'Brien nodded her head. "Sure he went. He didn't want to at first