He kept the Parents guessing. He had been Exposed to
Matrimony so often without being Taken Down, that he was generally
regarded as an Immune.
Clara got Busy with herself and hatched a Scheme. When all the Smart Set
got ready to pike away for the Heated Term, Clara surprised her Friends
by guessing that she would remain at Home. It was a Nervy Thing to do,
because all the Social Head-Liners who could command the Price were
supposed to flit off to a Summer Hotel, and loiter on the Pine Veranda
and try to think they were Recuperating.
Clara told her Mother to go, as usual, but she would stay at Home and be
a Companion to poor lonesome Papa. So all the Women went away to the
Resorts with their Cameras and Talcum Powder and Witch Hazel, and Clara
was left alone in Town with the Men.
[Illustration: CLARA]
It is a Traditional Fact that there is no Social Life in Town during the
Dog Days. But there is nothing to prevent a Bright Girl from Starting
Something. That is what Clara did.
She stocked up the Refrigerator, and hung a Hammock on the Lawn with a
few Easy Chairs around it.
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