"Oh, Nolan, you are clever. I never thought of that."

At the evident delight in her voice, Nolan stared.

"Not to me, goosey, he would never consent, for I have a dimple and he
does not approve of them. So far I have kept it on the off side, and he
has not noticed, but I couldn't always turn the left side to a husband,
could I?"

"Well, then--"

"Marry him to somebody else, of course. I can't just decide who--but
there will be some one. You are such a help, Nolan. Now let's not bother
with the duties of our neighbors, but have a good time. To-morrow I shall
find him a wife." Then she leaned toward Nolan, refilling his cup, and
said gurglingly, "Was he working awfully hard at the stupid old office?"

"Eveley, just one thing, while we are on our duties," he said, catching
her hand. "You have made one exception, always, but you have never told
me what it is. And it is so unlike you to except anything when you get
started. What is the one duty that is justified and necessary?"

Eveley promptly pulled her hand away. "That," she said, "is purely
personal. It will not do any one any good to talk about it. So it is all
sealed up on the inside."

"And I shall never know what your one duty in life is?" he asked, with
mock pleading, but real curiosity.

"It may hit you sometime--harder than anybody else," she said, laughing.
"But in the meantime let's talk of other things."

As soon as Mr. Severs had started to work the next morning, without the
tender farewells, for the presence of Father-in-law placed an instinctive
veto on such demonstrations--Eveley kicked briskly on the floor as a
summons, and Mrs. Severs answered.

"Eveley?" she called up to the ceiling.

And Eveley shouted down to the floor of her room, "Come up--I've got it."

At that Mrs. Severs fairly flew up the stairs.

Eveley caught her on the landing, and whirled her around the room in a
triumphant dance, stopping at last so abruptly that Mrs. Severs was
almost precipitated to the floor.

"Now listen. I've got it. The proper adjustment, that will make you all
happy and prove my theory."

"Yes, yes, yes," chanted Mrs. Severs ecstatically.

"He must get married."

"But--"

"Now don't interrupt. Let me finish. Of course he has no notion of such a
thing, but leave it to me. We shall marry him off before he knows it. We
must find the woman first. Out at Chula Vista there are a lot of
beautiful elderly ladies in the Home who are all alone and would b