“we’re in an awful hole,” gasped bella, pulling grace off to the farthest corner of the dressing-

room. “er—do get away from that maid; you don’t want her sharp eyes all over you. no, we don’t

either of us want any help;” over her shoulder at that functionary. “now, grace, er—angela,

you’ve gone and got me into this scrape, and i shall never hold up my head again in all this

world.”

poor grace’s head couldn’t droop any more than it did, as she mumbled miserably, “i know it. oh,

dear me!”

this was worse than all, and bella took fresh alarm. “for mercy’s sake, hold up your head and

look big, as if you were somebody.” it was now her turn to pinch grace.

“i can’t; because i’m not somebody,” sighed grace. the frizzes even seemed to droop miserably

on her brow; and she looked like a wilted flower, all her smart hired glory gone suddenly out of

her.

“what a horrible scrape!” cried bella between her teeth. “oh, dear me, grace, you must behave!

dear, dear!” as some ladies hovered near.

“i think your mother wants to go down now,” said one; “she is trying to signal you. introduce your

young friend to me, will you?”

“oh, i can’t go down-stairs!” cried grace in a spasm of terror, and catching bella’s arm in a way

to make her faint, as that young lady looked over to the knot of ladies by the door, one of whom

was waving her fan frantically.

the lady who had requested the introduction, extending her hand in a winning way, bella twitched

away from the clutch, and said quickly, “miss grace strange—i mean miss angela tupper. oh,

dear me! i don’t feel very well, and mamma wants me. come on.” she fairly hauled grace out

through the ranks of elegant women, regardless of their dismay at her haste. “see what you have

done,” her black looks said when at last she permitted grace a glimpse of her face.

“you young ladies must attend to my movements, and not expect me to signal you,” said mrs.

drysdale, her face only sweetly black, like a becoming thunder-cloud, as miss willoughby’s

parlor boarder was one of the offenders. she could scold bella easier at home. just then a stout

lady trying to get by, with a good deal of jet trimming about her person, sent out one of the

octopus threads, and hooked mrs. drysdale in the most vulnerable point,—the choice old lace on

her sleeves.

“excuse me,” panted the stout lady, pulling at the entanglement. “there, break it, i’m sure i don’t

care.”

“i’ll get it out,” cried mrs. drysdale in a terror, laying a quick hand on it.

“step out of the doorway, please,” said some one. and the stout lady and mrs. drysdale edged off

as one person, and everybody in the vicinity fell to helping; even grace was brought out of her

misery enough to take her turn. as she bent over her task, some one’s elbow gave her french

bonnet a knock. out fell a hair-pin from her frizzes, and she felt rather than saw the curious eyes

of the lady next to her upon her hair. so she deserted the jet and lace, making mrs. drysdale say

with some asperity, “i think you have not bettered it any, miss strange.” then she looked up into

the face of her next neighbor. she was the lady who had asked bella to introduce her.

grace darted behind a tall fern, and hid her hot, distressed face.

grace fled out into the wide upper hall, fragrant with its wealth of blossoms, and darted behind a

tall fern, where she hid her hot, distressed face, and tried to stop the throbbing of her heart.

“well, now get miss strange,” mrs. drysdale was saying as she emerged into the hall. “it is the

last time i shall ever allow you to ask a friend to go with you, bella. where in the world is she?”

peering about.

bella flew back into the room. “grace, grace,” she cried in a loud voice.

“here i am,” said grace miserably, and creeping out from behind the fern. “i was so hot, and it’s

cool out here,” feeling the necessity for words with the audience that now hung on the scene, and

the throng of ladies coming and going to the dressing- room, and whose passage they were

blocking up.

mrs. drysdale did not vouchsafe a word, only gave her one look, stepped back, and called her

daughter in a tone that scared bella more than all the rest, and the three sailed down-stairs. that is,

the lady sailed; but bella went with the tread of an angry young lion, while the parlor boarder at

miss willoughby’s slipped after as best she could.

the next thing she knew, she was being introduced to a radiant vision, and feeling the warm touch

of a kind hand, and looking into clear brown eyes, and hearing mrs. jasper king say, “i am very

glad to see you, miss strange.” and then, despite the crowd pressing her, and that bella was

picking her by the sleeve, the kind hand retained her trembling one, “i want to see more of you.

come up and speak to me later,” said mrs. king, and she smiled; and that cut deepest of all.

grace broke away from her friends, and made a dive for oblivion. anywhere—perhaps behind a

sheltering palm, till the drysdales were ready to go home; she could watch and slip out then.

instead, however, of reaching such a haven, she ran against a tall young man in the hall, and not

stopping to beg pardon, rushed on.

“hello!” exclaimed mr. charley swan startled out of his politeness, and following her after the

rebound, “anything i can do for you, miss strange?”

the sound of this name only added to grace’s terror, and he had some difficulty in gaining her

side.

“if you please, i’d advise you to stop. people don’t run about in this way, you know, at receptions;

knocking folks down, and all that. now, what’s the trouble?” he stood squarely in front of her,

and between annihilating with his looks a curious youth who was taking this all in, and preserving

a calm exterior for the rest of the throng surging through the hall, he still gave her a penetrating

glance.

“oh, i’m so wretched!” gasped grace, all caution thrown to the winds, and clasping her hands.

“not altogether festive,” said charley swan, “that’s a fact. well, now that orchestra’s going to

play, thank heaven for that. you just take my arm—miss—miss strange, and we’ll get out of this

mob.”

he had to slip grace’s hand himself within his arm. there it lay, and shook like a leaf. charley

piloted her into the large conservatory opening into the library, and somehow she found herself in

a quiet corner with just room enough for another person on the rattan seat.

“now, that’s what i call comfort,” he said, not looking at her, to give her time to recover herself.

“mrs. king is a perfect marvel in the flower line, and her music. did you know that all these

orchids are given her by mr. king the father? gracious! don’t i wish some old gentleman would

take a fancy to me, and pet me with bank-notes and smother me in orchids. look around a bit,

miss strange.”

“i can’t,” said grace in a low voice; “i’ve no right to.”

“hush! here comes a perfect old harpy for news, i know by her pinched-up nose, and the way she

sets her lorgnette. hold your tongue, miss strange,—beg your pardon, but it’s a desperate case,—

till she gets away. yes, as i was saying, these orchids are surely the rarest specimens i’ve ever

seen.”

the “old harpy” drew near, and levelled her glances behind her lorgnette at grace. it was the lady

who had asked bella to introduce her young friend.

“are you ill, miss”—she hesitated, and then laughed unpleasantly, “tupper—or—strange?” she

asked sweetly, and drawing near till she stood over the two.

charley swan surveyed her coolly as grace stammered out something.

“thanks,” he drawled. “miss strange was faint; but as she is a great friend of our family and came

with us, i believe i can take care of her. anything i can do for you, miss—” he hesitated, just as

she had done, looking her squarely in the face; so that, without supplying the name, she murmured

something about the beauty of the flowers, and moved off.

“are you ill, miss tupper—or—strange?” and she laughed unpleasantly.

“old reptile,” said charley between his teeth.

“oh, don’t!” protested grace, with a little shiver; “she’s right. she sees i’m a humbug.”

mr. swan did not seem to be at all surprised at this confession, but stood up suddenly.

“look here,” he said; “you keep your seat. don’t say a word; she won’t come back, and you don’t

know any one else, i’ll be bound. anyway, don’t talk. i’m going to get you an ice.”

“no, no,” cried grace, the color flooding her face; “not a single thing; i won’t take it. i can’t.

why, i’ve come here all dressed up as one of mrs. willoughby’s parlor boarders. i’m only grace

tupper—you don’t know. it would choke me.”

“it’s pretty bad, i’ll not deny,” said charley, sitting down; “but if everybody told how they got to

receptions, you wouldn’t be alone in humbuggery, i’ll venture to say.”

“but i’ve disobeyed my au—aunt ath—atherton,” said grace, battling with her sobs, and

twisting her fingers to keep from crying like a baby, “and—i—hired this bonnet, and—and”—

“and you’ve spoiled yourself with those horrid eyebrows,” finished charley; “and if i were you,

i’d take off that monstrosity of a frizz, and put the thing in your pocket.”

“oh, i can’t!” gasped grace, raising her blue eyes in terror to his face; “why, aunt will know me

then.”

“is she here?” demanded charley with a whistle. he couldn’t help it; this last was too much even

for him.

“yes — that is, she was coming. oh, dear me! and i suppose i’ll be expelled from miss

willoughby’s school, and i’ll go home, and it’ll kill father and mother and jimmy and the baby. i

never thought of that.”

“at least i believe we’ll save jimmy and the baby,” said charley in a tone of encouragement.

“and mrs. king smi—smiled at me.” grace broke down, and cried into her handkerchief, so that

charlie jumped up. “see here,” he said abruptly, “i want to take you down to see some of the

greenhouses; they’re wonders.” he made her get up, and take his arm again, while he hurried her

off over the grounds. but they hadn’t gone far, when she saw a lady in advance walking with two

gentlemen.

“there’s aunt!” she cried; and before charley could say anything, she broke away from him, and

rushed down a side path.

it was worse than useless to follow her, as the attention thus drawn to her would be disastrous. so

charley sauntered along, first getting a good view of “aunt” in her lavender bonnet, so he would

know her again, and then hastening to the mansion, if perchance he might befriend grace once

more.

“charley swan!” exclaimed bella, running up, “where is—er—angela strange?”

“miss tupper has just left me,” said charley gravely, and pausing abruptly.

“miss tupper? oh, my good gracious!” cried bella with a little laugh, “you mean miss strange.”

“she says her name is tupper,” said charley. “i really suppose she ought to know.”

“oh, dear, dear! then she has told you,” said bella with a long sigh. “well, i’m glad. such an

afternoon as i’ve had!”

“see here, bella,” said charley. “you get her; she’s run down that path,” nodding in the direction

of grace’s flight; “and you and i will take her home. she took fright because she saw her aunt. be

lively now.”

“dear, dear!” cried bella in vexation and alarm. “well, i’m sure, precious little comfort i’ve had at

this reception!”

“hurry up, now. i’ll go in and make our excuses to aunt isabel.”

but when bella reached a turn in the shrubbery, she found a little heap on the ground, a group of

people bending over it, conspicuous in the front being the lady who had asked her to introduce

grace, now using a lorgnette most vigorously.

what happened next, bella never could tell. she only knew that the gardeners lifted grace, and

carried her into one of the back doors, giving her up to the care of the housekeeper, whom they

called mrs. higby, and that some of the ladies and gentlemen followed, proposing various

remedies, the lady with the lorgnette pressing after most assiduously.

“she tripped on her gown and fell just as we were coming along,” said this lady sweetly. “she

seems somehow unused to a long gown. let me bathe her face.”

“here comes miss phronsie,” said mrs. higby. “now that blessed dear has heard of the accident.

make way for miss phronsie.”

phronsie came softly up in her beautiful white gown. she laid down her bunch of lilies-of-the-

valley on the table, and bent over the young girl, laying a quiet hand on the cold one. “poor thing,”

she said, and she dropped a kiss on the white cheek.

to everybody’s surprise, two tears gushed out and rolled down the white face. “leave her to me,”

said phronsie gently. “now, if everybody will please go out, mrs. higby and i will take care of

her.”

“you would better let me stay,” the lorgnette lady had the temerity to say.

“we do not need you,” said phronsie, coolly regarding her. “will you please go out with the

others?”

when charley swan came stalking in by the back door, it was to see miss phronsie pepper with

her arms around grace as they sat on the lounge in the housekeeper’s dining-room, and bella

drysdale crouched on the floor, with her hands clasped in phronsie’s lap.