"No, only--yes, there was a little something, but it doesn't CHANGE
things any, for it was only a 'supposing.' She said: 'Just supposing,
after long years, that the Princess found out about how the boy felt
long ago, and suppose he should look up at the tower some day, at the
old time, and see a ONE--TWO wave, which meant, "Come over to see me."
Just what do you suppose he would do?' But of course, THAT can't do any
good," finished David gloomily, as he rose to go to bed, "for that was
only a 'supposing.'"

"Of course," agreed Mr. Jack steadily; and David did not know that only
stern self-control had forced the steadiness into that voice, nor that,
for Mr. Jack, the whole world had burst suddenly into song.

Neither did David, the next morning, know that long before eight
o'clock Mr. Jack stood at a certain window, his eyes unswervingly fixed
on the gray towers of Sunnycrest. What David did know, however, was
that just after eight, Mr. Jack strode through the room where he and
Jill were playing checkers, flung himself into his hat and coat, and
then fairly leaped down the steps toward the path that led to the
footbridge at the bottom of the hill.

"Why, whatever in the world ails Jack?" gasped Jill. Then, after a
startled pause, she asked. "David, do folks ever go crazy for joy?
Yesterday, you see, Jack got two splendid pieces of news. One was from
his doctor. He was examined, and he's fine, the doctor says; all well,
so he can go back, now any time, to the city and work. I shall go to
school then, you know,--a young ladies' school," she finished, a little
importantly.

"He's well? How splendid! But what was the other news? You said there
were two; only it couldn't have been nicer than that was; to be
well--all well!"

"The other? Well, that was only that his old place in the city was
waiting for him. He was with a firm of big lawyers, you know, and of
course it is nice to have a place all waiting. But I can't see anything
in those things to make him act like this, now. Can you?"

"Why, yes, maybe," declared David. "He's found his work--don't you
see?--out in the world, and he's going to do it. I know how I'd feel if
I had found mine that father told me of! Only what I can't understand
is, if Mr. Jack knew all this yesterday, why did n't he act like this
then, instead of waiting till to-day?"

"I wonder," said Jill.

CHAPTER XXV

THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD

David found many new songs in his violin those ea