“When can I see you?” she asked.  “I’ll only be here to-day and to-morrow.”

“Now, if you like,” Stella responded.  “I’m free until two-thirty.”

“I’ll be right over,” Linda said.  “I’m only about ten minutes drive from where you are.”

Stella went back to her room both glad and sorry:  glad to hear a familiar, friendly voice amid this loneliness which sometimes seemed almost unendurable; sorry because her situation involved some measure of explanation to Linda.  That hurt.

But she was not prepared for the complete understanding of the matter Linda Abbey tacitly exhibited before they had exchanged a dozen sentences.

“How did you know?” Stella asked.  “Who told you?”

“No one.  I drew my own conclusions when I heard you had gone to Seattle,” Linda replied.  “I saw it coming.  My dear, I’m not blind, and I was with you a lot last summer.  I knew you too well to believe you’d make a move while you had your baby to think of.  When he was gone—­well, I looked for anything to happen.”

“Still, nothing much has happened,” Stella remarked with a touch of bitterness, “except the inevitable break between a man and a woman when there’s no longer any common bond between them.  It’s better so.  Jack has a multiplicity of interests.  He can devote himself to them without the constant irritation of an unresponsive wife.  We’ve each taken our own road.  That’s all that has happened.”

“So far,” Linda murmured.  “It’s a pity.  I liked that big, silent man of yours.  I like you both.  It seems a shame things have to turn out this way just because—­oh, well.  Charlie and I used to plan things for the four of us, little family combinations when we settled down on the lake.  Honestly, Stella, do you think it’s worth while?  I never could see you as a sentimental little chump, letting a momentary aberration throw your whole life out of gear.”

“How do you know that I have?” Stella asked gravely.

Linda shrugged her shoulders expressively.

“I suppose it looks silly, if not worse, to you,” Stella said.  “But I can’t help what you think.  My reason has dictated every step I’ve taken since last fall.  If I’d really given myself up to sentimentalism, the Lord only knows what might have happened.”

“Exactly,” Linda responded drily.  “Now, there’s no use beating around the bush.  We get so in that habit as a matter of politeness,—­our sort of people,—­that we seldom say in plain English just what we really mean.  Surely, you and I know each other well enough to be frank, even if it’s painful.  Very likely you’ll say I’m a self-centered little beast, but I’m going to marry your brother, my dear, and I’m going to marry him in the face of considerable family opposition.  I am selfish.  Can you show me any one who isn’t largely swayed by motives of self-interest, if it comes to that?  I want to be happy.  I want to be on good terms with my