It fell into shape about her, a miracle of cut and fit. The little satiny underskirt was heavy with beads, the misty cloud of gauze that floated above it was hardly heavy enough to hold its own embroideries. Little beaded straps held it to the flawless shoulders, and Norma made her two attendants laugh as she jerked and fussed at the gold lace and tiny satin roses that crossed her breast. "Leave it alone!" Miss Slater said. "Oh, but it seems so low!" "Well, you may be very sure it isn't--Lenz knows what he's doing when he makes a gown.... Here, now, what are you going to do with your flowers?" "Oh, I'm going to wrap the paper round them, and carry them until just before I get to Aunt Annie's. Wouldn't you?" "Wouldn't I? I like that!" said Miss Slater, settling her eyeglasses on the bridge of her nose with a finger and thumb. Norma had a momentary pang of sympathy; she could never have been made to understand that a happy barnyard duck may look contentedly up from her pool at the peacock trailing his plumes on the wall. "Norma--for the love of Allah!" Chris shouted from downstairs. Norma gave a panicky laugh, snatched her fan, wrap, and flowers, and fled joyously down to be criticized and praised. On the whole, they were pleased with her: Alice, seizing a chance for an aside to tell her not to worry about the lowness of the gown, that it was absolutely correct she might be very sure, and Mrs. Melrose quite tremulously delighted with her ward. Chris did not say much until a few minutes before they planned to start, when he slipped a thin, flat gold watch from his vest pocket, and asked speculatively: "Norma, has your Aunt Kate ever seen you in that rig?" "No!" she answered, quickly. And then, with less sparkle, "No." "Well, would you like to run in on her a moment?--she'd probably like it tremendously!" said Chris. "Oh, Chris--I would love it!" Norma exclaimed, soberly, over a disloyal conviction that she would rather not. "But have we time?" "Tons of time. Annie's dinners are a joke!" Norma glanced at the women; Mrs. Melrose looked undecided, but Alice said encouragingly: "I think that would be a sweet thing to do!" So it was decided: and Norma was bundled up immediately, and called out excitedly laughing good-byes as Chris hurried her to the car. "You know, it means a lot to your own people, really to see you this way, instead of always reading about it, or hearing about it!" Chris said, in his entirely prosaic, big-brotherly tone, as the car glided smoothly toward the West Sixties. "I know it!" Norma agreed. "But I don't know how you do!" she added, in shy gratitude. "Well, I'm nearly twice your age, for one thing," he replied, pleasantly. And as the car stopped unhesitatingly at the familiar door he added: "Now make this very snappy!"