I want to be an architect."

"Do, eh," grunted Roger. He, too, looked up at that thing in the stars, and
there was a tightening at his throat. "All right," he added, presently,
"why not start in and be one?"

"How?" asked John alertly.

"Well, my boy," said Roger, "I'd hate to lose you in the office--"

"Yes, sir, and I'd hate to go." Just then the big clock in the tower began
to boom the hour, and a chill struck into Roger.

"You'd have to," he said gruffly. "You haven't any time to lose! I mean,"
he hastily added, "that for a job as big as that you'd need a lot of
training. But if it's what you want to be, go right ahead. I'll back you.
My son-in-law is a builder at present. I'll talk to him and get his advice.
We may be able to arrange to have you go right into his office, begin at
the bottom and work straight up." In silence for a moment John hobbled on
by Roger's side.

"I'd hate to leave your place," he said.

"I know," was Roger's brusque reply, "and I'd hate to lose you. We'll have
to think it over."

A few days later he talked with Bruce, who said he'd be glad to take the
boy. And at dinner that night with Deborah, Roger asked abruptly,

"Why not let Johnny come here for a while and use one of our empty
bedrooms?"

With a quick flush of pleased surprise, Deborah gave her father a look that
embarrassed him tremendously.

"Well, why not?" he snapped at her. "Sensible, isn't it?"

"Perfectly."

And sensible it turned out to be. When John first heard about it, he was
apparently quite overcome, and there followed a brief awkward pause while
he rapidly blinked the joy from his eyes. But then he said, "Fine, thank
you. That's mighty good of you, Mr. Gale," in as matter of fact a tone as
you please. And he entered the household in much the same way, for John had
a sense of the fitness of things. He had always kept himself neat and
clean, but he became immaculate now. He dined with Roger the first night,
but early the next morning he went down to the kitchen and breakfasted
there; and from this time on, unless he were especially urged to come up to
the dining room, John took all his meals downstairs. The maids were
Irish--so was John. They were good Catholics--so was John. They loved the
movies--so did John. In short, it worked out wonderfully. In less than a
month John had made himself an unobtrusive and natural part of the life of
Roger's sober old house. It had had to stretch just a little, no more.