One of the many virtues that belong to country people is that they come on time. At eight o’clock the fiddles were tuning up, the skating rink lights were on and already Main Street was crowded with a varied assortment of vehicles—automobiles, buggies, wagons, surreys, rockaways and even a large hay wagon that had brought a merry party of young folks from Clayton.
Buck Hill arrived, three automobiles strong, besides Miss Ann Peyton’s coach. Behind them came Judith Buck and her mother, the little blue car brave from a recent bath and Judith’s eyes shining and dancing like will-o-the-wisps.
“Mumsy, listen! They are tuning up! I’m going to dance every dance if I have to do it 146 by myself. I don’t know any of the new dances, but it won’t take me a minute to learn. It’s the golden slippers that make me feel so like flying.”
“Now, Judy, don’t take on so. It ain’t modest to be so sure you’ll be asked to dance. Besides, you must save your dress and slippers and not wear them out this first time you wear them.”
Judith laughed happily. “Oh, Mumsy, what a spendthrift you are with your breath! I’m going to dance my dress to a rag. Did you ever think that Cinderella may have just danced her dress to rags by twelve o’clock and after all the fairy godmother had nothing to do with it? Cinderella danced every dance with the prince and perhaps he was an awkward prince and tangled his feet in her train. In fact, I am sure he was awkward or he would have caught up with her when she tried to run away, and she with one shoe off and one shoe on like ‘Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John!’”
“Let me help you out, Mrs. Buck.” It was Jeff Bucknor, leaning over the little blue car. He had heard every word of Judith’s foolishness and seemed to be much pleased with it, considering he was a learned young lawyer getting ready to hang out his shingle, and 147 supposed to be above fairy stories and nursery jingles.
Jeff had noticed, as he passed Judith’s home, that the little blue car was parked in front and his surmise was that the girl was going to the ball but had not yet gone. He registered the determination to hurry his own crowd into the skating rink and wait and speak to Judith. This decision had come immediately after his promising himself that he wasn’t even going to think any more about the girl, and that if she happened to be one of the guests at the debut party he was going to spend the evening being pleasant to his sisters’ friends and not even ask her to dance.
Mrs. Buck accepted his offer of assistance with shy acquiescence. The blue car was not easy to get out of, as the seat was low and there was no step, so Jeff must swing the lady out, lifting her up bodily and jumping her to the curbing. She came down lightly but flustered.
Unreasoning anger filled Jeff Bucknor’s heart when he released the blushing Mrs. Buck to find Tom Harbison had pushed his way in between the sidewalk and the blue car and was insisting upon helping Judith to alight.
“Thanks awfully, but I am accustomed to 148 getting out by myself,” she said.