.

"I give it up!" she said. "Somebody will have to marry you and take care
of you. I'd better be the person."

* * * * *

"But why was the detective watching Hutchins?" said Charlie Sands. "Was
it because he had heard of my Aunt Letitia's reckless nature? I am still
bewildered."

"You remember the night we got the worms?"

"I see. The detective was watching all of you because you stole the
worms."

"Stole nothing!" Tish snapped. "That's the girl's house. She's the Miss
Newcomb you read about in the papers. Now do you understand?"

"Certainly I do. She was a fugitive from justice because the cat found
dynamite in the woods. Or--perhaps I'm a trifle confused, but--Now I
have it! She had stolen a gold-mounted traveling-bag and given it to
McDonald. Lucky chap! I was crazy about Hutchins myself. You might tip
her the word that I'm badly off for a traveling-case myself. But what
about the P.T.S.? How did she happen on the scene?"

"She was engaged to the detective, and she was camping down the river.
He had sent her word where he was. The red flag was to help her find
him."

Tish knows Charlie Sands, so she let him talk. Then:--

"Mr. McDonald was too wealthy, Charlie," she said; "so when she wanted
him to work and be useful, and he refused, she ran off and got a
situation herself to teach him a lesson. She could drive a car. But her
people heard about it, and that wretched detective was responsible for
her safety. That's why he followed her about."

"I should like to follow her about myself," said Charlie Sands. "Do you
think she's unalterably decided to take McDonald, money and all? He's
still an idler. Lend me your car, Aunt Tish. There's a theory there;
and--who knows?"

"He is going to work for six months before she marries him," Tish said.
"He seems to like to work, now he has started."

She rang the bell and Hannah came to the door.

"Hannah," said Tish calmly, "call up the garage and tell McDonald to
bring the car round. Mr. Sands is going out."

MY COUNTRY TISH OF THEE--

We had meant to go to Europe this last summer, and Tish would have gone
anyhow, war or no war, if we had not switched her off onto something
else. "Submarines fiddlesticks!" she said. "Give me a good life
preserver, with a bottle of blackberry cordial fastened to it, and the
sea has no terrors for me."

She said the proper way to do, in case the ship was torpedoed, was to go
up on an up