"Just wait a minute," said Georgietta, trying to frame her excitement
into words.

"Yesterday I invited the Le Fevres and the Le Counts, and a Northern
lady they had stopping with Mrs. Le Fevre, to dine with us. To-day I
told Ellen to have the servants all cleaned up, and looking as well as
possible; and so I distributed around more than a dozen turbans, for I
wanted Mrs. King to see how much better and happier our negroes looked
here than they do when they are free in the North, and what should Ellen
do but dress up her little minx in her best clothes, and curl her hair
and let her run around in the front yard."

"So she overdid the thing," said Le Grange, beginning to comprehend the
trouble.

"Yes, she did, but she will never do it again," exclaimed Mrs. Le
Grange, her dark eyes flashing defiantly.

Le Grange bit his lip, but said nothing. He saw the storm that was
brewing, and about to fall on the head of the hapless child and mother,
and thought that he would do nothing to increase it.

"When Mrs. Le Fevre," continued Georgietta, "alighted from the carriage,
she noticed the child, and calling the attention of the whole party to
her, said, 'Oh, how beautiful she is! The very image of her father.'
'Mrs. Le Grange,' said she, after passing the compliments of the day, 'I
congratulate you on having such a beautiful child. She is the very image
of her father. And how large she is for her age.' Just then Marie came
to the door and said 'She's not my sister, that is Ellen's child.' I saw