“Your fair mountain range,” Lena replied, affecting a light mockery. “Of course you didn’t know she’s home again! Innocent old Dannie!” “I heard she was to get here to-day, so I suppose she’s here; but I haven’t seen her. What about it?” “Oh, nothing!” Lena returned, continuing her archness. “Do you suppose she can stand it?” “Stand what?” “Why, the sight of us—of her old sweetheart married to me,” Lena explained. “She’s stayed away till she thought she could bear it, but do you suppose she _will_ be able to?” “Yes, I think she’ll bear it,” he said gruffly and went on with his lathering. “How about you? Do you think _you’ll_ be able to contain yourself when you——” “I expect so.” “Why don’t you ask me how she looks?” Lena inquired, still affecting to rally him gaily. “I know you’re dying to. I’ve seen her; I was looking from my window and saw her go out and walk up the street this afternoon. I laughed so!” “What about?” “She was such a perfect picture of a big Western woman! Absolutely typical!” “You mean like mother, for instance?” “No; your mother’s a dear thing who’d be lovely anywhere; I never think of her as Western at all,” Lena said. “She isn’t.” “She is as much as Martha is—or anybody else. She was born here and——” “Not at all!” Lena interrupted airily. “The real Western woman is like your mountain girl. They _love_ to be huge; that’s why they live in the prairie country—so they’ll look even bigger. One reason I laughed was because your friend was just exactly as much the typical Western woman after all this time abroad as she was before she went. She was wearing all kinds of expensive clothes, and I haven’t a doubt she’d got them in Paris, but on her they looked perfectly as Western as if she’d just bought ’em and put ’em on downtown at Kohn & Sons! Do you suppose you’ll be able to control your raptures at all when you meet her again, old innocent Dannie?” “See here,” he said, “I wish you’d let me get fixed for dinner. I had a pretty hot day’s work and I’d like to——” “Of course you would!” Lena said. “You’d like to make yourself beautiful because you’re going to hurry over there to her just as soon as you’ve finished your dinner, aren’t you? That’s what you have been planning, isn’t it?” “Why, yes; certainly,” he answered. “I’d like to have you go with me. She’s an old friend of mine and all our family; she’s been away a long time, and it wouldn’t look very cordial not to——” “Why, no; so it wouldn’t!” Lena mocked, but now her mockery was openly acrid. “It wouldn’t look _cordial_ and naturally you’d hate to have her think you lacked cordiality—a woman you were so cordial with you wanted your child to grow up to be like her instead of like its mother!—a woman you were so cordial with you had to hold her hand the very day you brought your bride home! It would be _terrible_ to have her think——”