The Iron Woman

nnie; "I've invited David and Elizabeth, an

you mean to have th

t 'supper'; I c

n't like it; it will

have it in the parlor. Harris says he can manage perfectly well. We'll

in there, and on Mamma in the

after Harris has given mother her su

said

" Blair coaxed; "she'll

cted by Blair, she hin

er surprise consen

ed. Now clear out! Clear out! I must go to work." A week later she issued her orders: "Mr. Ferguson, I'll be obliged if you'll come to supper to-mor

e boy doesn't want me; he has

th; however, I don't mind. I'll go the whole hog. He can have a dozen, if he wants to. As for his not wanting you, what has that got to do

air's party? Don't let her be vain about it, but have her look right." And on the night of the great occasion, just before they started for Mrs. Maitland's, he called his niece into his library, and knoc

e three dancing steps, dipped him a great courtesy, then ran to him, and before he knew it

to his cheek, as if the unwonted touch h

dashed out into the garden, through the green gate in the wall, and bursting into the house next door, sto

is first white tie, came out of his room and looked over the banist

d, quivering and radiant, all h

David said

ng dr

nd twisting and preening herself in the dark hall like so

dened. "I don't see

e a little gi

it; I'm nearly sixteen." She gathered her skirt o

ack to try a new tie; b

a daisy," he

a "good woman," he was turning out an honest young cub, of few words, defective sense of humor, and rather clumsy manners. But under his speechlessness and awkwardness, David was sufficiently sophisticated to be immensely proud of his pretty mother; only a laborious sense of propriety and the shyness of his sex and years kept him from, as he expressed it, "blowing about her." He blew now, however, a little,

itland a

aghast; "Materna, you don't s

so, considering

ully; and added, under his breath, "I'm bet

silver-chest in the garret; among them was a huge center ornament, called in those days an epergne-an extraordinary arrangement of prickly silver leaves and red glass cups which were supposed to be flowers. It was black with disuse, and Blair made Harris work over it until the poor fellow protested that he had rubbed the skin off his thumb-but the pointed leaves of the great silver thistle sparkled like diamonds. Blair was charmingly considerate of old Harris so long as it required no sacrifice on his own part, but he did not relinquish a single piece of silver because of that thumb. With his large allowance, it was easy to put flowers everywhere-the most expensive that the season afforded. When he ordered them, he bought at the same time a great bunch of orchids for Miss White. "I can't invite her," he

one occasion when he had waited at a policemen's ball; and he laid down the law so dogmatically that Blair assented to every suggestion. The result was a humoro

," he began. "Did you hear what I said?" Blair said, icily-and the leaf was polished! Blair looked at it critically, then laughed and tossed the old man a dollar. "There's some sticking-plaster for you. And Harris, look

, and I've seen them at swell hotels. Most people don't ea

ed tucked under one arm. There was a sort of grim amusement, tempered by patience, in her face. To have supper at seven o'clock, and call it "dinner"; to load the table with more food than anybody could eat, and much of it stuff that didn't give the stomach any honest work to do-"like that truck," sh

l those flowers? A supper table is a

ther, who think of something else than filling their stomachs." Mrs. Maitland's eye had left the dinner table, and was raking her son from head to foot. He was ve

his shoulder. "Turn round here till I look at you! Well, well! I suppose you're enjoying those togs you've got on?" Her voice was suddenly raucous with pride;

h a trembling hand; put it down again, and turned to look at her. Yes; she was all dressed up! He groaned under his

" Mrs. Maitland asked, looki

ould be willing to come

said, kindly; "I'll st

live up to the standards of the policemen's ball-came shuffling across the hall, and his aghas

rs. Maitland said. "Blair, have you counted n

other, and there was some consolation in the fact that she would see that he knew how to do thi

, sitting a little sidewise, with one foot round the leg of her chair; she looked about impatiently, striking th

ed the situation. Harris, stumbling with agitation, had retreated to his pantry, so Mrs

pleasure, she tramped into the front room to say how do you do and shake hands with two very shy young men, who were plainly awed by her presence. As the others came in, it was she who received them, standing

avid? And so you have a swallowtail, too? Glad to see you, Mrs. Richie. Who's this? Harry Knight? Well, H

, but David was red with wrath, and Elizabeth toss

y carving or helping, or, with the hospitable insistence of her generation, urging her guests to eat. Blair sat at the other end of the table in black silence. Once he looked at Mrs. Richie with an agonized gratitude in his beautiful eyes, like the gratitude of a hurt puppy lapping a friendly and helping hand; for Mrs. Richie, with the gentlest tact, tried to help him by ignoring him and talking to the young people

s astonishingly patient with all the stuff and nonsense. Once she did strike the call-bell, which she had bidden Harris to bring from the office table, an

bbing his thumb on the shiny seam of his trouser

'em out of

tested, "I clean forgot; is it with th

under his breath. And the finge

ort, she picked up a finger-bowl and looked at it, cocking an amused eyebro

Mrs. Maitland, however, did her duty as she saw it; she asked condescending questions as to "how you children amuse yourselves," and she made her crude jokes at everybody's expense, with side remarks to Robert Ferguson about their families: "That Knight boy is Molly Wharton's stepson; he looks like his father. Old Knight is an elder in The First Church; he hands round the hat for othe

terrible thirty minutes

through all Blair's e

came to t

ur room, and leave the young people to amuse themselves?" And Mrs. Maitland's qu

e turned his back on her. David, with a carefully blase air, said, "Bully dinner, old man." Blair gave him a look, and David subsided. When the guests began a chatter of relief, B

uld all sing-"And then let's dance!" cried Elizabeth-Blair disappeared. Out in the hall, standing with clenched hands in the dim

, and was wildly happy; but she had missed Blair, and had come, in a dancing whir

shell, the soft hair's bronze sheen, the amber darkness of

hat is th

usting, the

as disg

awful

r went to in all my life; and look: six-button gloves! What do you think of that? Uncle told Cherry-pie I could have whatever was proper, and I got these lovely gloves. They are awfully fashionable!" She pull

heek burned against his, and he could smell the rose in her bro

ould not speak. "Come right straight back!" Elizabeth said; "please! Everybody will have a perfectly splendid

air whispered,

id faintly, and swerved away from him. Blair came a step nearer. They were both silent. El

e, a little

the parlor," she sai

beth,

-Bl

and putting his arms round her

le cry. In an instant he caught her violently to him and kissed her-kissed the scar on her upraised, fending arm, then her neck, her eyes, her mouth, holding her so that she cried out and struggled; and as he let her go, she burst out crying. "Oh-oh-oh-" she said; and darting from him, ran up-stairs, stumbling on the unaccustomed length of her skirt a

her; in that one hot instant boyish