the same worthless old
heart at your dear little feet!"

"And the worthless old feet will have to kick the dear, big heart
aside," said Eileen sadly. "Oh, Peter," she exclaimed, suddenly
contrite as she saw the look of pain that came into his face, "you know
I wouldn't hurt you for anything in the world! But I am in earnest,
deadly in earnest, Peter! I refuse positively to have you consider me
any longer as a poor, helpless, clinging little thing, made only to be
petted and protected! I'm not like that, Peter! If you'd only
written, I would have told you. You're not afraid of anything in the
world; nor am I! I love adventure quite as much as you do, Peter, and
the moment you told me, back there in Shanghai, that I must hurry home
because it wasn't safe, I made up my mind that I would equip myself to
go into some of those wonderful adventures with you! Professor
Hodgson, the Chinese language professor, is an expert shot with a
revolver, and I've wheedled him into giving me lessons. That's for
self-protection. Then the Japanese woman who is general chambermaid in
my rooming-house is teaching me jiu-jitsu.

"In addition to that, I'm studying for a doctor's degree. When the
course is finished I am going to join you in China. We'll invade that
dreadful mining city alone, just you and I, and we'll make it the most
wonderful place in China! You see, Peter, I intend to be a medical
missionary; and you won't have to worry your dear old brain about me
the least bit. If you won't take me, I'll go by myself!"

"Sweetheart," Peter declared with difficulty, "you are talking through
your hat!"

She shrugged and smiled. "Won't you take me?"

"You know I'd fetch you the man in the moon if you wanted him badly
enough!"

"And you'll get that silly old notion of a bungalow for two out of your
head?"

"I'll try. It will be a hard job. And, Eileen----"

"Yes, Peter?"

"You don't care about this Professor Hodgson, do you?"

"Oh, no, Peter! Once or twice he's tried to make love, and you could
see, couldn't you, how furious he was when we left him?"

"I thought my goose was cooked," sighed Peter.

"Silly old goose!" said Eileen, squeezing his thumb.

With shaken but immeasurably higher notions of this girl, whose
appealing gray eyes suffocated him with longing, Peter helped his
charge to alight when the end of the car line was reached, and at her
suggestion they tramped through the blossoming California fields