Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-14
A Good Dinner

a
red glow over the hearth, and the
white-aproned cook sitting in front of
ii with her hands folded and a stony
glare in her eyes,
"How is the dinner getting on?'
asked Mrs. Calender nervously.
There amt no dinner" said the cook.
mo dinner! What do you mean,
Catherine?"
mot the sign of a thing has come
this whole blessed day, mann; and me
a-waitin' here with my ironin' half
done, in the middle of the week. Not
an egg nor potato is there in the
house, even."
Mrs. Calender stopped. confounded.
The shops were all closed at that hour
"Why, 1 saw Jack Rand myself after
he had given the order" she exclaimed
and then-she knew; like lightning her
association with the sheet of blue writ
ing paper was revealed to her; on the
other side of it was written the ad-
dress of a newcomer who lived across
the track at the other end of the VII
lage. The marketing had gone there!
"Well, never heard of such thing!"
she commented blankly, and, as usual,
laughed.
It was but a brief ten minutes later
that her husband was presenting his
guests to her-they had come! She had
been hoping against hope that they
would not.
Cynthia. I want to introduce Mr.
Warburton and Mr.. Kennard. 1 have
persuaded them to dine with us to-
night"
"It was awfully good of your hus-
band to invite u.s." said Mr.. Warbur-
ton, who was the elder, pleasant faced
and gray haired, with the refined ac-
cent and accustomed manner of gen
tleman. II hope We'll not Inconvenience
you Mrs. Calender"
mo, hope we're not inconveniencing
you" murmured the other, who looked
19 and was 20, who spoke from some
where down in his throat and blushed
with every word.
lender, Immediately and intrepidly ris-
ing to the occasion. She was stanch-
ly hospitable little soul, and to have re-
fused a welcome to the guests foisted
on her would have been as Impossible
to her at any time as to the proverblal
Arab There was an inscrutable de-
fiance in her eyes, however, when they
met her husbands which puzzled him
uncomfortably.
''Mr. Nichols wished us al to dine at
the Waldorf-Astoria," he explained
Mr.. Nichols was the senior partner Of
the firm. But 1 found, accidentally
that these gentlemen were extremely
tired of living at hotels and longed
for little home-like dinner, by way OF
variety"
1--WE have been so much In your big
hotels" said Mr.. Warburton apollo
getically "It makes one very dull
after a time, 1 think. You can't
imagine, Mrs. Calender. our joy when
Mr.. Calender so kindly offered to take
us in. It's so uncommonly jolly OF
you both to treat us in this way"
IT remembered that you said we
were to have a particularly good din
ner tonight, so l didn't telegraph you
when 1 found that they could come"
said Mr.. Calender when the party had
separated to dress and he and his
wife were alone in their own room.
"Nichols is very anxious to have them
pleased-I told you that before, 1
think. They're looking at machines,
and If they take the London agency
for us it will make a big difference
Why on earth did you look at me that
way downstairs? Is there anything
wrong?"
mo; nothing is wrong" said his
wife ironically, except that We
haven't any dinner-to speak Of. Oh
dear, If you make me laugh I'll never
be able to hook this gown. No, 1t
isn't the least bit tight; it's almost too
loose, in fact-but l can't hook it when
1 laugh. Chauncey, the order went
wrong in some way this morning, and
the marketing never came at all. Just
stand and take that in. If you had
only helped me at breakfast when 1
asked you to, it wouldn't have hap
pened. 1 was away all the afternoon