Not moving his sympathetic eyes from her Checking Page back In,
Please Wait ... to town again, and his own pleasure in their visit
was talking of Nancy; how wise, how sweet, how infinitely
desirable she was. Dorothy had wanted Cousin Albert to come to her
for Thanksgiving. No, a thousand thanks--but Miss Barrett was so
much alone now. He must be near her. Dorothy kept her thoughts on
the subject to herself, but he so far impressed his mother that
her own hopes came to be his, she dreaded the thought of what
might happen to her boy if that southern girl did not chance to
care for him.

But the southern girl cared. She locked the lace-clad arms about
his neck, on this memorable Christmas night and laid her cheek
against his. "Are you sure you want me, Bert?" she whispered.

They had not much altered their positions when Mrs. Venables came
back half an hour later, and a general time of kissing, crying and
laughing began.




Chapter Three


It was a happy time, untroubled by the thought of money that was
soon to be so important. Bert's various aunts and cousins sent him
checks, and Nancy's stepmother sent her all her own mother's linen
and silver, and odd pieces of mahogany on which the freight