didn't do for y'r comfort &
happiness you had only to ask & here you go and make us a
laughing stock in Saserkopee, we had told everyone you would be
at our party & suddenly you up & disappear & it has taken us
months to get in touch with you, such a wicked, untruthful lie
about friend sick in Boston & all. Harris heard from a traveling
salesman, & he agreed with Harris how thoughtless and wilful you
are, & he told Harris that you are at this place Lipsittsville,
so I will address you there & try & see if letter reaches you &
tell you that though you must be ashamed of your conduct by now,
we are willing to forgive & forget, I was never one to hold a
grudge. I am sure if you had just stopped and thought you would
have realized to what worry and inconvenience you have put us,
& if this does reach you, by now I guess you will have had
enough of being bums or pedestrians or whatever fancy name you
call yourself, and be glad to come back to a good home and see
if you can't show a little sense as you ought to at your time of
life, & just think of what the effect must be on Harry when his
very own grand-parents acts this way! If you will telegraph me,
or write me if you have not got enough money for telegraphing,
Harris will come for you, & we will see what can be done for
you. We think and hope that a place can be found for you in the
Cyrus K. Ginn Old People's Home, where you can spend your last
days, I guess this time you will want to behave yourselves, and
Harris & I will be glad to have you at our home from time to
time. After all my love & thoughtfulness for you--but I guess I
need not say anything more, by this time you will have learned
your lesson.

Your loving daughter,
LULU.

Father and Mother had sat proudly on their porch the night before, and
they had greeted passers-by chattily, like people of substance, people
healthy and happy and responsible. Now they shrank on the swing; they
saw nothing but Lulu's determined disdain for their youthful
naughtiness; heard nothing but her voice, hard, unceasing, commenting,
complaining; and the obese and humorless humor of Mr. Harris Hartwig.

"She can't make us go back--confine us in this here home for old folks,
can she, legally?" It was Mother who turned to Father for reassurance.

"No, no. Certainly not.... I don't _think_ so." They sat