I said,--

"I have mapped seven forties; have you finished one?"

"I have not," she said. "Mine is of more importance than all of yours; I
will give you a sketch this evening. This bit of woods is better than I
thought. How much of it do you suppose there is?"

"About seven acres, I reckon, by hook and by crook; enough to amuse you
and furnish a lot of wild-flower seed to be floated over the rest of the
farm."

"You may plant what seeds you like on the rest of the farm, but I must
have wild flowers. Do you know how long it is since I have had them? Not
since I was a girl!"

"That is not very long, Polly. You don't look much more than a girl
to-day. You shall have asters and goldenrod and black-eyed Susans to
your heart's content if you will always be as young."

"I believe Time will turn backward for both of us out here, Mr. Headman.
But I'm as hungry as a wolf. Do you think we can get a glass of milk of
the 'farm lady'?"

We tried, succeeded, and then started for home. Neither of us had much
to say on the return trip, for our minds were full of unsolved problems.
That evening Polly showed me this plat of the home forty.

[Illustration:]