seen you fellows
rigged out the way we used to. And there was a pond back in the
Christmas Tree Lot like this one. Ridge and I built a raft out there
and stayed all day on it. It was something out of Clark Russell's
books, and Win pushed a barrel out and rescued us. She was a wonder,
that girl."

He chuckled softly to himself.

"We tried to stock that pond with oysters once, and Ridge and I
printed invitations for a clambake on our handpress, on the strength
of them, but it was a dreadful waste of money. When we found it
wasn't working, Ridge nearly killed himself diving for 'em, so we
could get some good out of 'em. There they lay at the bottom,
showing just as plain as possible, but it was no use--Poor fellow,
he'll never dive any more."

"Is he--did he--" Caroline had crawled along till her head lay
almost on the young man's knee; her eyes were big with sympathy.

"Lost his leg," he told her briefly. "Philippines. Above the knee.
He ran away from college to go. He had the fever badly, too, and
he'll never be fit for much again, I'm afraid. But he's just as
brave about it--"

"Oh, yes," Brother burst out eagerly, "I bet you he is!"

"We had such plans," he said softly, "all of us, you know, for
coming back to the old place and ending up there. Win says her kids
shall stay there if she can't."

"Where is she?"

"Oh, she's 'most anywhere. Her husband's in the Navy--Asiatic
Squadron--and she hangs about where he's likely to strike the
country next. She was in Honolulu the last I heard. So she's not
likely to do much for the place, you see."

"Where's Thea?" Miss Honey inquired.

"Wha tee?" mimicked the General, with an astounding similarity of
inflection.

The young man threw his light cap at the baby's head; it landed
grotesquely cocked over one eye, and the General, promptly sitting
upon it to protect himself from further attacks, fell into
convulsions of laughter as the young man threatened him.

"Thea's out West, on a ranch just out of Denver. She was married
first, and her boys have ponies now--broncos. Of course it's fine
for them out there, but she says she won't be happy till they can
get East for a year or two. She wants them to see the place and grow
up a little in it. She wants 'em to see the attic and poke about the
barn and the stable and climb over the rocks. You see they're on the
ranch all summer and in school in Denver all winter, and Thea says
they don't know the look of an old stone w