That Chalmers girl can have anybody she wants. She’s good looking and wealthy.”

“Well,” said Mrs. Harmon, “Paige Madison is very handsome, of course, and that goes a great way with a girl. With almost any girl. I guess if she wants him, she can have him. He certainly seems to have landed on his feet.”

“Well, it’s all as you look at it,” said the dressmaker dubiously. “I’m just afraid his mother won’t look at it that way.”

“She’d be an awful fool if she didn’t,” said the neighbor. “Now, about this dress. When do you think you can have it done? I’m thinking of going away next week, and I’d like to take it with me.”

And so the talk drifted to other matters, and presently the dressmaker took herself away with the big bundle she was supposed to finish in two days. But Mrs. Harmon stood by the window and looked out across the two lawns that separated her from her neighbor’s windows.

“Yes,” she mused to herself, “if this is really so, they will presently be important people. I’ll keep a sharp lookout and see whether the young man really gets—and keeps—that job. I’ve always supposed they were very commonplace people. They never seem to go anywhere except to church, and not a very important church either. They’re awfully quiet, of course, and respectable, but if the Chalmerses are taking them up, it might be worthwhile to begin to cultivate them, now before it would be obvious. I might go over and call, make a pretense of borrowing something—or—no—that would be almost humiliating after all these years of ignoring her. I must think up something better than that. I wonder how she would react if I were to suggest asking her to go with me to our bridge club? Of course, she doesn’t likely play bridge, but I might say I’d teach her. It would likely be an awful bore, for quiet women like that who haven’t been used to playing. Well, at least it might be a gesture. It would show I was friendly. And of course if the Chalmerses take her up, why, it wouldn’t be hard to get the ladies to vote for her. There’s one thing, she’s an awfully good cook and makes lovely salads and things like that. It would be good to have someone who could take over the refreshment part, now Mrs. Powers has moved away. Of course, she might wonder why I never asked her before, but I could tell her I knew she wouldn’t feel like getting into social affairs while her son was away, but now he was home I thought it was a shame she couldn’t be in our group, especially when she lives so near me and it would be so handy for us to go to the meetings together. Anyway, let her think what she wants to. She likely has been envious of me all these years for belonging to everything, when she never goes out except to church. Well, I’ll think it over and keep a watch out for the young man. If the story seems to be true, I better get in some good work before things get going and somebody else gets hold of her.