All the residents of Lilac Valley had to do to entrance strangers with the location was to show any one of a dozen vantage points, and let visitors test for themselves the quality of the sunshine and air, and study the picture made by the broad stretch of intensively cultivated valley, walled on either side by mountains whose highest peaks were often cloud-draped and for ever shifting their delicate pastel shades from gray to blue, from lavender to purple, from tawny yellow to sepia, under the play of the sun and clouds.
They had not been seated three minutes before Linda realized from her knowledge of Eileen that the shock had been too great, if such a thing might be said of so resourceful a creature as Eileen.

Evidently she was going to sulk in the hope that this would prove that any party was a failure at which she did not exert herself to be gracious.

It had not been in Linda's heart to do more than sit quietly in the place belonging by right to her, but when she realized what was going to happen, she sent Marian one swift appealing glance, and then desperately plunged into conversation to cover Eileen's defection.
"I have been told," she said, addressing the author, "that you are looking for a home in California.

Is this true, or is it merely that every good Californian hopes this will happen when any distinguished Easterner comes our way ?" "I can scarcely answer you," said Peter Morrison, "because my ideas on the subject are still slightly nebulous, but I am only too willing to see them become concrete." "You have struck exactly the right place," said Linda.

"We have concrete by the wagon load in this valley and we are perfectly willing to donate the amount required to materialize your ideas.