ced, a startling loss of his first accent. Mrs. Condon so far felt well enough. Then, before Linda's startled gaze, every single one of the fifteen imprisoning tubes began to steam with an extrao

han diminished; actually it resembled a wrecked locomotive she had once seen. "How are you?" M. Joseph

ainst her scalp, and the heat was subdued. He glanced nervou

ty mi

was very much like M. Joseph, but he was younger and had only a dark scrap of mustache. As he caught up the hair with a quick double twist he leaned very close to the woman's face, whispering with an expression that never changed, an expression like that of the wax heads in the show-case. He bent so low that Linda was certain their cheeks had touched. She pondered at length ov

odor-the odor of scorched hair; and she was absolutel

the latter cried. "Oh, I c

and Mrs. Condon started from the chair, her face now streaming with actual

harm's been done. Everything is all right. Please, please don't cry like that. It will

assure you"-the man motioned to a pallid girl to hold her in the chair. With a towel to protect his hand he undid a screw, lifted off the cap and unt

d heat ran up on me," he added in a swift aside to his assistant. "Has Mrs. Bellows gone? W

llably; but perhaps, after all, nothing frightful had happened. Her poor mother! Then fear again tightened about her heart at the perturbed expression that overtook th

done; he admitted it with pale lips. The thing might be chiseled off; in the end he tried to force a release and the strand, w

er before heard her mother talk in such a loud brutal manner, nor use such heated unpleasant words, and the girl was flooded

rovide for you,

irl who washed it will testify. Every one is warned against the pe

ou lying little ape. And well does that young woman know it. She complime

be thrashed ou

given back to you,

before the uncompromising mirror, studied her wrecked hair-a frizzled vacancy was directly over he

le-aged,"

arance, and when the telephone bell sharply sounded, she reached out in a slovenly negligence of manner. Linda could hear a blurred articulation and her mother answering listlessly. The latter at