e nice?" she suggested.

"Oh, yes," he agreed, "the worst criminals are often very pleasant
people when you see their right side."

"Yes, that's true," said Patty. "It's mainly chance that makes people
bad--I know it is in my own case. This morning for instance, I got up
with every intention of learning my geometry and going to the
dentist's--and yet--here I am! And so," she pointed a moral, "you always
ought to be kind to criminals and remember that under different
circumstances you might have been in jail yourself."

"That thought," he acknowledged, "has often occurred to me. I--we--that
is," he resumed after a moment of amused meditation, "Mr. Weatherby
believes in giving a man a chance. If you have any convict friends, who
are looking for a job, this is the place to send them. We used to have a
cattle thief taking care of the cows, and a murderer in charge of the
orchids."

"What fun!" cried Patty. "Have you got him now? I should love to see a
murderer."

"He left some time ago. The place was too slow for him."

"How long have you been working for Mr. Weatherby?" she asked.

"A good many years--and I've worked hard!" he added, with a slight air
of challenge.

"I hope he appreciates you?"

"Yes, I think on the whole that he does."

He knocked the ashes from his pipe and rose.

"And now," he suggested, "should you like me to show you the Italian
garden?"

"Oh, yes," said Patty, "if you think Mr. Weatherby wouldn't mind."

"I'm head gardener. I do what I please."

"If you're head gardener, what makes you plant onions?"

"It's tiresome work--good for my character."

"Oh!" Patty laughed.

"And then you see, when I have a tendency to overwork the men under me,
I stop and think how my own back ached."

"You're much too nice a man to work for him!" she pronounced
approvingly.

"Thank ye, Miss," he touched his hat with a grin.

The Italian garden was a fascinating spot, with marble steps and
fountains and clipped yew trees.

"Oh, I wish Conny could see it!" Patty cried.

"And who is she?"

"Conny's my room-mate. She's awfully interested in gardens this year,
because she's going to get the botany prize for analyzing the most
plants--at least, I think she's going to get it. It's between her and
Keren Hersey; all the rest of the class have dropped out. Mae Van
Arsdale is working against Conny, to spite me, because I wouldn't stay
in an old secret society that she started. She gets orchids from the