intently.

"Yes, kid," he said with utmost corroboration, "yes, kid, she stopped
you, but I can't see that it was necessary literally to scare the life
out of you till she had you at the point where you were thinking of
taking off from a mountain or into the sea. Did you really mean that,
Linda?"

Linda relaxed suddenly. She sank back into the deeply padded seat of the
Bear Cat. A look of fright and entreaty swept into her dark eyes.

"Yes, Peter, I did mean it," she said with finality. "I couldn't have
lived if I had hurt Marian irreparably. She has been hurt so much
already. And, Peter, it was awfully nice of you to wait about reading
these letters. Even if she only did it for a joke, I think Marian would
rather that you had not read them. Now I'll go back home and begin to
work in earnest on the head piece of 'How to Grow Good Citizens.' And I
quite agree with you, Peter, that the oath of allegiance, citizenship,
and the title to a piece of real estate are the prime requisites. People
have no business comma to our country to earn money that they intend to
carry away to invest in the development and the strengthening of some
other country that may some day be our worst enemy. I have not found out
yet how to say it in a four-by-twelve-inch strip, but by the time I have
read the article aloud to my skylight along about ten tonight I'll get
an inspiration; I am sure I shall."

"Of course you will," said Peter; "but don't worry about it, dear; don't
lose sleep. Take things slower. Give time for a little more flesh to
grow on your bones. And don't forget that while you're helping Donald to
keep at the head of his classes it's your first job to keep at the head
of your own."

"Thank you," said Linda. "How is the dream coming?"

"Beautifully," said Peter. "One of these days you're going to come
rushing around the boulders and down the side of the building to find
all this debris cleared away and the place for a lawn leveled. I am
fighting down every possible avenue of expertise on the building in the
effort to save money to make the brook run and the road wind where you
have indicated that you want them to follow you."

Linda looked at Peter while a queer, reflective light gathered in her
eyes. At last she said soberly: "Well, I don't know, Peter, that you
should make them so very personal to me as all that."

"Why not?" asked Peter casually. "Since there is no one else, why not?"

Linda released the clutch and sta