"You must have some plan for me in your mind, papa," she said at
last very quietly; "please tell me what it is."

"Well, dear, there are three ways out of it. You must either go to
school, have some one come and live with you here, or go to live
in the family of some one we know."

"I've always thought I should just love to go to boarding-school,"
said Ruth thoughtfully, "but now it seems to me I should hate it.
And I should simply die if you left me in this house, for I should
miss you and mamma every minute."

"That's just what I feared," said Mr. Shirley, "and as to the
boarding-school plan, there are several reasons why I should prefer
to give that up for this year. That leaves plan number three to
be considered, and today I've had what I think is a brilliant idea
regarding it."

"What is it, papa?" asked Ruth, beginning to get interested.

"It seems to me that if I leave you with any of our friends here
in Chicago you will be constantly reminded of mamma and me and will
miss us more than you would if you were in some place where we had
never been together. Just as I was thinking this all over for the
hundredth time this morning a letter came from my old college chum,
Henry Hamilton. It was largely a business letter, but at the end
he inquired for you, and said that they wished very much that they
had a daughter growing up in their family."