"As the boxes were to be exposed simply in their living-rooms, I am surprised at the results," said the teacher in an aside to Julia; "I'm afraid that some one must have been stirring up the dust. What does your family think of these experiments?" she continued, turning to a bright-eyed American girl.
"Oh, they're so interested," the girl replied. "You've no idea how they've watched it; and since the bacteria have begun to develop,"—she said this with an important air—"they show it to company. Why, you may like to know that our visitors consider it more entertaining than the family album."
Miss Soddern herself did not dare to smile at this remark, but Julia and Brenda hastily excused themselves.
"Audible smiling," said Brenda, "is more excusable out here than it would be in the school-room," and then both laughed outright.
"I never did care for family photograph albums," said Julia, "and now I see how easy it would be to have a scientific substitute."
XVII
IDEAL HOMES
The triangular quarrel between Concetta, Haleema, and Angelina had reached such a state that the three spoke only when actually under the eyes of their elders. Even as Maggie had felt jealousy at first, did Angelina now feel jealousy of Concetta.
On pleasant spring Sundays when Angelina walked out with John she would tell him her griefs, and so far as he could he would sympathize with her; but when she talked of running away, he would simply laugh.