out Mother Bab!
My life was different, somehow, after she allowed me to adopt her."

"She's great, isn't she?"

"Wonderful! I have many friends, many new ones, many dear ones, but
there is only one Mother Bab."

The man's hands trembled among the arbutus--did the admiration touch
Mother Bab's son? Could the dreams of his heart ever come true?

"You know," Phoebe went on, "if I could always have her near me, in the
same house, I'd be less unworthy of calling her Mother Bab."

It was well that she bent over the dry leaves and blossoms and missed
the look that flooded the face of the man for a moment. She wanted to be
with Mother Bab--should he tell her of his love? But the very fact that
she spoke thus was evidence that she did not love him as he desired. And
the war must change his most cherished plans for the future, change them
greatly for a time. If he went and never returned it would be harder for
her if he went as her lover. As it was he was merely her old comrade and
friend; he could read from her manner that no deeper feeling had touched
her--not for him, but he wondered about the musician----

The spell was broken when Phoebe spoke again: "Do you know, Davie, I
read somewhere that arbutus can't be made to grow anywhere except in its
own woods, that the most skilful hand of man or woman can't transplant
it to a garden where the soil is different from its native soil."

"I never heard that before, but I remember that I tried several times
and failed. I dug up a big box of the soil to make it grow, but it
lasted several months and died. Let us go along this path and find a
new bed; we have almost cleaned this one."

"See"--she raised her bunch of flowers--"I didn't take a single root, so
next year when we come we shall find as many as this year. They are too
altogether lovely to be exterminated."

They moved about the woods, finding new patches of the fragrant flowers,
until they declared it would be robbery to take another one.

"Let's eat," she suggested; "I'm hungry as a bear."

"Race you to that big rock," cried David and began to run. Phoebe
followed through the brush and dry leaves, but the farmer covered the
distance too quickly for her.

"Now I'm hungry," she said, panting; "I'll eat more than my share of the
lunch."

She climbed to the top of the boulder and they sat side by side, the
lunch box resting on David's knees.

"Now anything you want ask for," said he.

"I will not!" She delved i