each room and a clear glass vase at that. The beds had iron frames
and good springs and mattresses, for I punched them to see. Aren't
you proud to think I knew enough to do that?" Fran interrupted her
story.

"Two bedrooms had the furniture painted white and the rest had
some old mahogany," she went on.

"How many rooms were there?" inquired Mrs. Thayne, attracted by
Fran's enthusiasm and interested by the pleasant picture she was
describing.

"On the first floor is the drawing-room, which will be at our
disposal," began Frances, evidently quoting "Sister." "It's pretty
and sweet, Mother dear, very simple with a little upright piano
and quite a number of books and a fireplace. Just behind is a room
where we can have our meals. We can use as many bedrooms as we
like; there are five and Sister said if we wished, one could be
made into an up-stairs-sitting-room. The bathroom was really up-
to-date, and looking _very_ clean."

"And how much does Sister expect for all this?" inquired her
mother.

"Well," admitted Frances, "I asked and she smiled so sweetly and
said it depended upon how much service we required and whether we
wanted to do our own marketing and perhaps it would be better to
discuss the terms after you saw whether you liked the rooms. I
told her we were Americans and she said yes, she had thought so. I
don't see why," Frances ended reflectively.