Lakeside was a pleasant little town of five or six thousand inhabitants, and a rather pretty one, too, as towns go in the Far West. It had church accommodations for thirty-five thousand, which is the way of the Far West and the South, where everybody is religious, and where each of the Protestant sects¹ is represented and has a plant of its own. Rank was unknown in Lakeside--unconfessed, anyway; everybody knew everybody and his dog, and a sociable² friendliness³ was the prevailing⁴ atmosphere.

Saladin Foster was book-keeper in the principal store, and the only high-salaried man of his profession in Lakeside. He was thirty-five years old, now; he had served that store for fourteen years; he had begun in his marriage-week at four hundred dollars a year, and had climbed steadily⁵ up, a hundred dollars a year, for four years; from that time forth⁶ his wage had remained eight hundred--a handsome figure indeed, and everybody conceded that he was worth it.

His wife, Electra, was a capable helpmeet, although--like himself-- a dreamer of dreams and a private dabbler⁷ in romance. The first thing she did, after her marriage--child as she was, aged⁸ only nineteen-- was to buy an acre of ground on the edge of the town, and pay down the cash for it--twenty-five dollars, all her fortune. Saladin had less, by fifteen. She instituted a vegetable garden there, got it farmed on shares by the nearest neighbor, and made it pay her a hundred per cent. a year. Out of Saladin's first year's wage she put thirty dollars in the savings-bank, sixty out of his second, a hundred out of his third, a hundred and fifty out of his fourth. His wage went to eight hundred a year, then, and meantime two children had arrived and increased the expenses, but she banked two hundred a year from the salary, nevertheless, thenceforth. When she had been married seven years she built and furnished a pretty and comfortable two-thousand-dollar house in the midst of her garden-acre, paid half of the money down and moved her family in. Seven years later she was out of debt and had several hundred dollars out earning its living.

Earning it by the rise in landed estate; for she had long ago bought another acre or two and sold the most of it at a profit to pleasant people who were willing to build, and would be good neighbors and furnish a general comradeship for herself and her growing family. She had an independent income from safe investments of about a hundred dollars a year; her children were growing in years and grace; and she was a pleased and happy woman. Happy in her husband, happy in her children, and the husband and the children were happy in her. It is at this point that this history begins.

The youngest girl, Clytemnestra--called Clytie for short-- was eleven; her sister, Gwendolen--called Gwen for short-- was thirteen; nice girls, and comely⁹. The names betray the latent romance-tinge¹⁰ in the parental¹¹ blood, the parents' names indicate that the tinge was an inheritance. It was an affectionate family, hence all four of its members had pet names, Saladin's was a curious and unsexing one--Sally; and so was Electra's--Aleck. All day long Sally was a good and diligent¹² book-keeper and salesman; all day long Aleck was a good and faithful mother and housewife, and thoughtful and calculating business woman; but in the cozy¹³ living-room at night they put the plodding¹⁴ world away, and lived in another and a fairer, reading romances to each other, dreaming dreams, comrading with kings and princes and stately lords and ladies in the flash and stir and splendor¹⁵ of noble palaces and grim and ancient castles.

湖滨镇是一个有五六千人口的小镇，生活舒适，在远西部的镇子里算得上挺漂亮的一个。小镇的教堂总共能容得下三万五千人；这是远西部和南方的规矩：那里人人都信教，新教的各个教派都有信徒，也都有自己的一块地盘。湖滨镇里没有高低贵贱之分——反正没有人接受等级观念；镇子里的每一个人，每一条狗大家都认识，人人都沉浸在融融友情之中。

萨拉丁·福斯特是镇上最大一家商店的会计，在湖滨镇上干这一行的人里面，他拿的薪水最高。他今年三十五岁，在这家店里干了十四个年头；他从成亲的那个星期干起，当时的年薪是四百块，以后慢慢地往上加，每年加一百块钱；四年后加到年薪八百块，就一直保持了下来——这笔钱数目可观，大家也都觉得他应该拿这么多。

他的妻子伊莱克特拉是个贤内助，只是和丈夫一样，爱幻想，喜欢背着人看点儿闲书。她结婚以后——那时她十九岁，还像个孩子——做的第一件事，就是付了二十五块现钱——她的全部积蓄，在镇子边上买了一英亩地。那时萨拉丁的积蓄比她还少十五块钱。伊莱克特拉把这块地做了菜园，让隔壁的邻居照管，一年向她交的钱就还了本。她从萨拉丁头一年的薪水里攒出三十块钱存到储蓄所，第二年攒了六十，第三年攒了一百，第四年攒了一百五十。那时萨拉丁的年薪加到了八百，与此同时，孩子也生了两个，开销大了起来。尽管如此，她还是每年从丈夫的薪水里面拿出二百块钱来存上。结婚七年以后，她在那片菜地中间盖了一幢又漂亮、又舒适的房子，造价两千块钱。她先付了一半的钱搬了进去。再过七年，她还清了债，还剩下几百块钱的结余，用来当本钱赚钱。

伊莱克特拉赚钱靠的是地价上涨。多年以前，她还买过一两英亩地，后来这些地大都卖给了想建房的人，赚了钱。买她地的那些人脾气不错，能当好邻居，和她以及她不断扩大的家庭处得不错，相互有个照应。从这些稳妥的投资中，她每年都有大约一百块钱的额外进项。她的孩子们一年年长大，越长越可爱；她也成了一个快快乐乐的女人。丈夫和孩子给她欢乐，她也把欢乐给了丈夫和孩子。故事就是在这个节骨眼上开始的。

最小的女儿克莱藤内斯特拉——就叫她克莱蒂吧——十一岁了，她的姐姐格雯德伦——就叫她格雯吧——十三岁，姐俩都是文文静静的好女孩。这姐俩的名字都透着父母天性中隐含的浪漫气质，而父母的名字说明这种气质又是从前辈传下来的。这是一个其乐融融的家庭，家里的四口人全都有爱称。萨拉丁的爱称很少见，听不出是男是女——他叫萨利；伊莱克特拉也是这样，她叫艾莱柯。白天，萨利是个好会计、好商人，工作兢兢业业；艾莱柯是个尽职尽责的好母亲、好主妇，也是一个深谋远虑、有生意头脑的妇女。一到晚上，他们就在温馨的起居室里撇开了单调乏味的尘世，倘样在一个更完美的世界里。他们轮流朗读小说，神游四方，在目眩神迷的华丽宫殿中、在阴森恐怖的古堡里与王公贵族、名媛高士为伍。