One, two, three, four--there were eleven! And among them was one of her own, appropriated by her mother through sheer inexcusable inadvertence.

They had probably been lying under the shawl for weeks, months! Still, she did not allow herself to be vexed.

Since the singular hysterical embrace in the twilight of the kitchen, she had felt for her mother a curious, kind, forbearing, fatalistic indulgence.

"Mother is like that, and there you are!" And further, her mood had been so changed and uplifted by excitement and expectation that she could not be genuinely harsh.

She had been thrilled by the audacity of the visit to Mr.Cannon.And though she hoped from it little but a negative advantage, she was experiencing the rare happiness of adventure.