The Dominant Strain

Anna Chapin Ray (1865-1945) was a prolific American author. Her works include: Half a Dozen Boys (1890), Half a Dozen Girls (1891), Phebe: Her Profession (1900), The Dominant Strain (1903), On the Firing Line (with Hamilton Brock Fuller) (1905), Hearts and Creeds (1906) and The Brentons (1912). "Beatrix smiled a little wearily. Intimate friends are sometimes cloying, and she felt a certain irritation rising within her, as she watched Sally's bright face under her French toque, and listened to the easy stream of chatter which issued from Sally's lips. Sally had never faced such a crisis as the one confronting Beatrix, that day. Moreover, she had dimples, and it was impossible to believe in the sympathy of a person whose dimples insisted upon coming into sight, even in the midst of serious discussion. "