CHAPTER XVIII

The kitchen wasn't _redd up_ that day nor the next. It remained,
indeed, a sight to make a good housekeeper weep, and closets,
cupboards, clothes-presses, and the celebrated servants' parlor
remained untidy conglomerations of rubbish; but the general appearance
of the place continued to improve. Kate's gratitude for the regular
receipt of her wages was continual and practical. A chance visitor now
could enter any room in the front of the house at any hour, and there
was much comment among the people upon the change.

It was generally agreed that Elsie Moss must have been very carefully
trained by her stepmother to bring about such a marvel. And presently
some of the creditors of the household began to wonder if her influence
couldn't be extended. One and another began to drop hints to Elsie
which became so broad that even one quite unaccustomed to any such
thing could not fail to understand. The butcher's wife, the grocer's
sister, and the draper's head bookkeeper had all but informed her in so
many words that unless their respective relatives or patrons were paid
in full by the 1st of November, they would present their bills to Mr.
Middleton, if they had to do so in the vestibule of the church.

And they were only three out of a number that seemed legion. Others
spoke more plainly to Kate, and Elsie began to dread seeing certain
people enter the library during her hours there. The days being
shorter, the Howe baby went to bed at five o'clock, and little Mattie,
who had taken a violent fancy to Elsie, used to run to the library the
moment he was off her hands, remaining until six to walk home with her.
And Elsie, who was devoted to the child and never tired of her company,
was also relieved because her presence protected her from any but
veiled hints.

The situation wore upon her, and finally she decided to have a frank
talk with Mrs. Middleton. She wasn't, it is true, on terms of
frankness with her, and in a sense it wasn't her place to interfere.
But she knew that Mrs. Middleton wouldn't want the bills presented to
her husband any more than Kate did--nor, indeed, than Elsie herself.
Not that she would have cared, except for Mr. Middleton's sake. It
would serve Mrs. Middleton right to be brought up short, but she
dreaded the thought of his being so distressed; she didn't want him to
give up the few little comforts he allowed himself, and she knew it
would hurt him cruelly to have to retre