"That's a pretty girl," she found herself saying involuntarily as
her absent eyes were suddenly arrested by the face and figure of
one of the guests. "I wonder who that is?"

The brown eyes she was watching met hers at the same second, and
smiling a little question, their owner came toward her.

"Hello, Rachael," the girl said. "How are you after all these
years?"

"Magsie Clay!" Rachael exclaimed, the look of uncertainty on her
face changing to one of pleasure and welcome. "Well, you dear
child, you! How are you? I knew you were here, and yet I couldn't
place you. You've changed--you're thinner."

"Oh, much thinner, but then I was an absolute butterball!" Miss
Clay said. "Tell me about yourself. I hear that you're having a
baby every ten minutes!"

"Not quite!" Rachael said, laughing, but a little discomposed by
the girl's coolness. "But I have two mighty nice boys, as I'll
prove to you if you'll come see me!"

"Don't expect me to rave over babies, because I don't know
anything about them," said Magsie Clay, with a slow, drawling
manner that was, Rachael decided, effective. "Do they like toys?"

"Jimmy does, the baby is rather young for tastes of any
description," Rachael answered with an odd, new sense of being