of what or of a part of what Mrs. Stringham had,
with all the rest, been reduced to. She had almost
the sense of tracking her young friend as if at a
given moment to pounce. She knew she shouldn't
pounce, she hadn't come out to pounce; yet she
felt her attention secretive, all the same, and her
observation scientific. She struck herself as hover
ing like a spy, applying tests, laying traps, conceal
ing signs. This would last, however, only till she
should fairly know what was the matter; and to
watch was, after all, meanwhile, a way of clinging
to the girl, not less than an occupation, a satisfac
tion in itself. The pleasure of watching, more
over, if a reason were needed, came from a sense
of her beauty. Her beauty hadn't at all originally
seemed a part of the situation, and Mrs. Stringham
had, even in the first flush of friendship, not named
it, grossly, to any one; having seen early that, for
stupid people and who, she sometimes secretly
asked herself, wasn't stupid? it would take a great
deal of explaining. She had learned not to mention
it till it was mentioned first which occasionally
happened, but not too often; and then she was
there in force. Then she both warmed to the per
ception that met her own perception, and disputed
it, suspiciously, as to special items; while, in gen
eral, she had learned to refine even to the point of
herself employing the word that most people em
ployed. She employed it to pretend that she was
also stupid and so have done with the matter; spoke

[[131]]

p130 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p131w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p132

v?