 No sooner had he changed into fresh linens and had listened to Laura's tale of how she had become widowed recently, than he became that weekend her star boarder. And in turn, Laura and Mama were so taken with his quips and twinklings that they followed him to San Francisco. They took a house on Knob Hill and there tatted and waited for a proposal of marriage. They understood the delay. They comprehended that Mr. Crittenden's wife was of a peculiar mold.