Her eyes danced. She fairly coursed about the room on her nimble crutches.
"My!" she said, "it will seem good to have my girl to feed again."
*
The house opened in September, full of eager girls with large appetites long unsatisfied. The place was new-smelling, fresh-painted, beautifully clean. The furnishing was cheap, but fresh, tasteful, with minor conveniences dear to the hearts of women.
The smallest rooms were larger than hall bedrooms, the big ones were shared by friends. Martha and her mother had a chamber with two beds and space to spare!
The dining-room was very large, and at night the tables were turned into "settles" by the wall and the girls could dance to the sound of a hired pianola. So could the "mealers," when invited; and there was soon a waiting list of both sexes.
"I guess I can make a livin'," said Mrs. Joyce, "allowin' for bad years."
"I don't understand how you feed us so well—for so little," said Miss
Podder, who was one of the boarders.
"'Sh!" said Mrs. Joyce, privately. "Your breakfast don't really cost more'n ten cents—nor your dinner fifteen—not the way I order! Things taste good 'cause they're cooked good—that's all!"
"And you have no troubles with your help?"