The Squirrel-Cage   By: Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1879-1958)

THE SQUIRREL CAGE

By DOROTHY CANFIELD

With Illustrations By JOHN ALONZO WILLIAMS

New York HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 1912

Copyright, 1911, 1912, By THE RIDGWAY COMPANY

Copyright, 1912, By HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY

Published March, 1912

CONTENTS

BOOK I

THE FAIRY PRINCESS

CHAPTER PAGE

I An American Family 3 II American Beauties 12 III Picking up the Threads 22 IV The Dawn 32 V The Day Begins 42 VI Lydia's Godfather 55 VII Outside the Labyrinth 61 VIII The Shadow of the Coming Event 78 IX Father and Daughter 88 X Casus Belli 99

BOOK II

IN THE LOCOMOTIVE CAB

XI What is Best for Lydia 115 XII A Sop to the Wolves 122 XIII Lydia Decides in Perfect Freedom 131 XIV Mid Season Nerves 139 XV A Half Hour's Liberty 154 XVI Engaged to be Married 165 XVII Card Dealing and Patent Candles 177

BOOK III

A SUITABLE MARRIAGE

XVIII Two Sides to the Question 193 XIX Lydia's New Motto 207 XX An Evening's Entertainment 215 XXI An Element of Solidity 226 XXII The Voices in the Wood 233 XXIII For Ariadne's Sake 244 XXIV "Through Pity and Terror Effecting a Purification of the Heart" 261 XXV A Black Mile stone 270 XXVI A Hint from Childhood 277 XXVII Lydia Reaches Her Goal and has Her Talk with Her Husband 289 XXVIII "The American Man" 307 XXIX ".........In Tragic Life, God Wot, No Villain Need be. Passions Spin the Plot" 318 XXX Tribute to the Minotaur 328

BOOK IV

BUT IT IS NOT TOO LATE FOR ARIADNE

XXXI Protection from the Minotaur 337 XXXII As Ariadne Saw It 342 XXXIII What is Best for the Children? 351 XXXIV Through the Long Night 359 XXXV The Swaying Balance 365 XXXVI Another Day Begins 369

ILLUSTRATIONS

Paul stood by her, looking down into her eyes, bending over her, smiling, pressing, confident, masterful (Page 96) Frontispiece

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