Bess giggled helplessly.

Belle, with her self-confidence, peculiar to this particular
occasion, took her place over by the window in a huge,
straight-back chair - the kind built with "storm doors at the
back."

The sad-eyed woman smiled with her lips, but her eyes "remained at
half mast," as Clip put it.

"It is so delightful to meet a lot of healthy young ladies," began
the woman, betraying a certain culture and unmistakable education.
"I have a little daughter, who is not healthy of body, but her
mind is the joy of our lives in this isolated place. She will ask
to see you directly, and that is why I tell you of her infirmity.
We never speak of it to her - she almost thinks herself in health.
I am glad you came - for her sake."

Without waiting for a reply the woman opened a small door and
disappeared:

"Now!" gasped Clip. "Now be prepared! We will be fed piece by
piece, one by one, to the yellow dwarf - "

"Will you hush!" insisted Belle. "I am sure you ought to
respect-"

"Oh, I do, Belle, dear! I respect your pretty self, and shall
hate terribly to see you torn limb from - "