Her devotion to me has been wonderful--but wonderful," she added on a defiant note.
"A mother's devotion, particularly to a girl of your sort, does not make any call upon my exclamation points.

But here we are." * * * * * The car rolled up the graded driveway Gwynne had built for the old San Francisco house that before his day had been approached by an almost perpendicular flight of wooden steps.

They were late and the company had assembled: the Thorntons, Trennahans, and eight or ten young people, all of whom would be chaperoned by the married women to the dance at the Fairmont.
Russian Hill had escaped the fire, but Nob Hill had been burnt down to its bones, and the Thorntons and Trennahans had not rebuilt, preferring, like many others, to live the year round in their country homes and use the hotels in winter.
The moment Helene entered the drawing-room it was evident that the ruby was to make as great a sensation as the soul of woman could desire.

Even the older people flocked about her and the girls were frank and shrill in their astonishment and rapture.
"Helene! Darling! The duckiest thing--I never saw anything so perfectly dandy and wonderful! I'd go simply mad! Do, just let me touch it! I could eat it!" Mrs.Thornton, who at any time scorned to conceal envy, or pretend indifference, looked at the great burning stone with a sigh and turned to her husband.
"Why didn't you manage to get it for me ?" she demanded.

"It would be far more suitable--a magnificent stone like that!--on me than on that baby." "My darling," murmured Ford anxiously, "I never laid eyes on the thing before, or on one like it.