--have you come to see
my father?"

"I wrote to him last week," the officer said--"from France. It's Miss
Linton, isn't it? I'm in your brother's regiment. My name is
Garrett."

"Oh--I've heard Jim speak of you ever so many times," she cried. She
put out her hand, and felt it taken in a close grasp. "But we haven't
had your letter. Dad would have told me if one had come."

Captain Garrett frowned.

"What a nuisance!" he ejaculated. "Letters from the front are apt to
take their time, but I did think a week would have been long enough.
I wrote directly I knew my leave was coming. You see--your brother
told me----" He stopped awkwardly.

Intelligence suddenly dawned upon Norah.

"Why, you're a Tired Person!" she exclaimed, beaming.

"Not at all, I assure you," replied he, looking a trifle amazed.
Norah laughed.

"I don't mean quite that," she said--"at least I'll explain presently.
But you _have_ come to stay, haven't you?"

"Well--your brother was good enough to----" He paused again.

"Yes, of course. Jim told you we wanted you to come. This is the
Home for Tired People, you see; we want to get as many of you as we
can and make you fit. And you're our very first in the house, which
will make it horribly dull for you."

"Indeed, it won't," said Garrett gallantly.

"Well, we'll do our best for you. I'm so very sorry you weren't met.
Did you leave your luggage at the station?"

"Yes. You're quite sure it's convenient to have me, Miss Linton? I
could easily go back to London."

"Good gracious, no!" said Norah. "Why, you're a godsend! We weren't
justifying our name. But you _will_ be dull to-day, because Dad has
gone to London, and there's only me." Norah's grammar was never her
strong point. "And little Geoff Hunt was coming to lunch with me.
Will it bore you very much to have a small boy here?"

"Rather not!" said Garrett. "I like them--got some young brothers of
my own in Jamaica."

"Well, that's all right. Now come in, and Allenby will show you your
room. The car will bring your things up when it goes to meet Dad."

Norah had often rehearsed in her own mind what she would do when the
first Tired Person came. The rooms were all ready--"in assorted
sizes," Allenby said. Norah had awful visions of eight or ten guests
arriving together, and in her own mind characterized the business of
allotting them to their rooms as a nasty bit of drafting. But the
first guest had tactfully