Already the country people, dressed in their holiday garb, bright-faced,
eager for the long looked for pleasures, were coming in for the fair.
Many of them catching sight of the physician hailed him gaily, shouting
good natured remarks in addition to their salutations, and laughing
loudly at whatever he replied.

It may be that the good Lord had made days as fine as that day, but the
Doctor could not remember them. His roses so filled the air with
fragrance, the grass in the front yard was so fresh and clean, the
flowers along the walk so bright and dainty, and the great maples, that
make a green arch of the street, so cool and mysterious in their leafy
depths, that his old heart fairly ached with the beauty of it. The Doctor
was all poet that day. Dan was coming!

It had worked out just as the Doctor had planned it on that fishing trip
some three months before. At first Martha was suspicious when he broached
the subject. Mostly Martha is suspicious when her husband offers
suggestions touching certain matters, but the wise old philosopher knew
what strings to pull, and so it all came out as he had planned. Sammy had
written him expressing her gladness, that her boy in the beginning of his
work was to be with the friend whose counsel and advice they valued so
highly. The Doctor had growled over the letter, promising himself that he
would "stand by" when the boy needed him, but that was all he or an angel
from heaven could do now. And the Doctor had written Dan at length about
Corinth, but never a word about his thoughts regarding the boy's choice,
or his fears for the outcome.

"There are some things," he reflected, "that every man must find out for
himself. To some kinds of people the finding out doesn't matter much. To
other kinds, it is well for them if there are those who love them to