IX

The second form was
more self-revelatory;
a full-length female
figure in a smart
wire skirt with
a trim metal
waist line.
It had no legs,
as one could see
all too well, no
viscera behind its
glistening ribs, and
its bosom resembled
a strong wire bird-
cage. But St. Peter
contended that it had
a nervous system.

When Augusta left it clad for the night in a new party dress for Rosamond or Kathleen, it often took on a sprightly, tricky air, as if it were going out for the evening to make a great show of being harum-scarum, giddy, folle. It seemed just on the point of tripping down-stairs, on tip-toe, waiting for the waltz to begin. At times the wire lady was most convincing in her pose as a woman of light behaviour, but she never fooled St. Peter. He had his blind spots, but he had never been taken in by one of her kind!

--Willa Cather, The Professor's House