cooings of applausive laughter. "What a funny
thing weather is!" the girl ran on. "Yesterday it
was cool--angels had charge of it--and to-day they
had an engagement somewhere else, so the devil saw
his chance and started to move the equator to the
North Pole; but by the time he got half-way, he
thought of something else he wanted to do, and went
off; and left the equator here, right on top of us! I
wish he'd come back and get it!"

"Why, Alice dear!" her mother cried, fondly.
"What an imagination! Not a very pious one, I'm
afraid Mr. Russell might think, though!" Here she
gave Gertrude a hidden signal to remove the soup;
but, as there was no response, she had to make the
signal more conspicuous. Gertrude was leaning
against the wall, her chin moving like a slow pen-
dulum, her streaked eyes fixed mutinously upon
Russell. Mrs. Adams nodded several times, in-
creasing the emphasis of her gesture, while Alice
talked briskly; but the brooding waitress continued
to brood. A faint snap of the fingers failed to dis-
turb her; nor was a covert hissing whisper of avail,
and Mrs. Adams was beginning to show signs of
strain when her daughter relieved her.

"Imagine our trying to eat anything so hot as

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