my word of honor
to keep any secret you confide to me."

Linda produced her letter. She opened it and without any preliminaries
handed it and the cheque to the banker. He looked at the cheque
speculatively, and then laid it aside and read the letter. He gave every
evidence of having read parts of it two or three times, then he examined
the cheque again, and glanced at Linda.

"And just how did you come into possession of this, young lady?" he
inquired. "And what is it that you want of me?"

"Why, don't you see?" said Linda. "It's my letter and my cheque; I'm
'Jane Meredith.' Now how am I going to get my money."

For one dazed moment Mr. Worthington studied Linda; then he threw back
his head and laughed unrestrainedly. He came around the table and took
both Linda's hands.

"Bully for you!" he cried exultantly. "How I wish your father could see
the seed he has sown bearing its fruit. Isn't that fine? And do you want
to go on with this anonymously?"

"I think I must," said Linda. "I have said in my heart that no Jap, male
or female, young or old, shall take first honors in a class from which
I graduate; and you can see that if people generally knew this, it would
make it awfully hard for me to go on with my studies, and I don't know
that the editor who is accepting this work would take it if he knew
it were sent him by a high-school Junior. You see the dignified way in
which he addresses me as 'madam'?"

"I see," said Mr. Worthington reflectively.

"I'm sure," said Linda with demure lips, though the eyes above them
were blazing and dancing at high tension, "I'm sure that the editor
is attaching a husband, and a house having a well-ordered kitchen, and
rather wide culinary experience to that 'dear madam.'"

"And what about this book proposition?" asked the banker gravely. "That
would be a big thing for a girl of your age. Can you do it, and continue
your school work?"

"With the background I have, with the unused material I have, and with
vacation coming before long, I can do it easily," said Linda. "My school
work is not difficult for me. It only requires concentration for about
two hours in the preparation that each day brings. The remainder of the
time I could give to amplifying and producing new recipes."

"I see," said the banker. "So you have resolved, Linda, that you don't
want your editor to know your real name."

"Could scarcely be done," said Linda.

"But have you stopped to think," said the banker