ghters wished.

Jack's aunt, who, a widow herself, made her home with her widowed
sister-in-law, came to the door, for some reason or other. Perhaps the
negro servants still went home at night, as had been the case before Jack
went to the war. She looked surprised and anxious as soon as she saw that
the caller was a stranger, and evidently an aviator from his dress.

"This is Mrs. Parmly, I believe?" the visitor hastened to say.

"Mrs. Job Parmly. Mrs. Parmly's sister-in-law."

"I see. Mrs. Parmly, my name is Beverly, Lieutenant Beverly of the United
States Aerial Corps, just over from France. I am a good friend of your
nephew, Jack, who has entrusted a message to me to deliver to his mother.
May I come in for a short time, Mrs. Parmly?"

He was immediately warmly greeted and drawn into the sitting-room where
he met Jack's mother. The two outside could peep under the drawn shade
and watch all that went on, Jack quivering with emotion as he looked on
the beloved faces of his own people once again.

Beverly knew how eager the boy must be, and hence he lost little time in
getting down to the main fact, which was that he wished them not to do
anything to arouse curiosity in the neighborhood; but that Jack was near
by, and all would be soon explained; also that they must not be troubled
thinking he, Jack, had done anything really wrong.

When he had drawn down the shades fully, that being the signal to those
outside, Jack could restrain himself no longer. Opening the front door
he rushed into the house and quickly had his mother and then his aunt
in his arms.

The story was told at length, with the family clustered around Jack and
Tom, hanging on every word as though it were the most thrilling thing
they had ever heard, which in truth it must be.

Then Tom had to be considered. Lieutenant Beverly volunteered to go over
to the Raymond house, which could easily be pointed out to him, and bring
back the startled family, so they could greet their boy, whom they, of
course, supposed to be at that very moment still overseas, risking his
life in his perilous calling.

It seemed to Tom that the delight of once more greeting these loved
ones well repaid him for all he had passed through in making that
wonderful flight. The story had to be all gone over again, and scores
of questions answered.

By degrees the scope of Jack's plan was grasped by his family, who of
course knew about the strange conditions of Joshua Kinkaid's