you know, Father, what I've been thinking--what I thought right away
when I read that letter? I thought, suppose that girl was the one
Stephen would have loved and wanted to marry if he had lived. And
suppose he had brought her home here, what a fuss we would have made
about her, and all! And I'd just have loved to fix up the house and make
it look pleasant for her and love her as if she were my own daughter."

Father's eyes were moist, too. "H'm! Yes!" he said, trying to clear his
throat. "I guess she'd be com'ny for you, too, Mother, when I have to go
to town, and she'd help around with the work some when she got better."

"I've been thinking," said Mother. "I've always thought I'd like to fix
up the spare room. I read in my magazine how to fix up a young girl's
room when she comes home from college, and I'd like to fix it like that
if there's time. You paint the furniture white, and have two sets of
curtains, pink and white, and little shelves for her books. Do you think
we could do it?"

"Why, sure!" said Father. He was so pleased to see Mother interested
like this that he was fairly trembling. She had been so still and quiet
and wistful ever since the news came about Stephen. "Why, sure! Get some
pretty wall-paper, too, while you're 'bout it. S'posen you and I take a
run to town again in the morning and pick it out. Then you can pick your
curtains and paint, too, and get Jed Lewis to come in the afternoon and
put on the first coat. How about calling him up on the 'phone right now
and asking him about it? I'm real glad we've got that 'phone. It'll come
in handy now."

Mother's eyes glistened. The 'phone was another thing Stephen insisted
upon before he left home. They hadn't used it half a dozen times except