e than I could leave you. I have arranged with
Matthews to set about house-hunting at once. As soon as rural England is
ready for us, we shall be ready for it. After all, what difference does
it make? I was ordered to get fresh experience. I might as well get it
by becoming keeper of a sanitarium as any other way."

Hephzy looked at me. She rose from her chair.

"Hosy," she cried, "what--a sanitarium?"

"We'll keep it together," I said, smiling. "You and I and Little Frank.
And it is likely to be a wonderful establishment."

Hephzy said--she said a great deal, principally concerning my generosity
and goodness and kindness and self-sacrifice. I tried to shut off the
flow, but it was not until I began to laugh that it ceased.

"Why!" cried Hephzy. "You're laughin'! What in the world? I don't see
anything to laugh at."

"Don't you? I do. Oh, dear me! I--I, the Bayport quahaug to--Ho! ho!
Hephzy, let me laugh. If there is any fun in this perfectly devilish
situation let me enjoy it while I can."

And that is how and why I decided to become a country gentleman
instead of a traveler. When I told Matthews of my intention he had been
petrified with astonishment. I had written Campbell of that intention. I
devoutly wished I might see his face when he read my letter.

For days and days Hephzy and I "house-hunted." We engaged a nurse to
look after the future patient of the "sanitarium" while we did our best
to look for the sanitarium itself. Mr. Matthews gave us the addresses
of real estate agents and we journeyed from suburb to suburb and from
seashore to hills. We saw several "semi-detached villas." The name
"semi-detached villa" had an appealing sound, especially to Hephzy, but
the villas themselves did not appeal. They turned out to be what we, in
America, would have called "two-family houses."

"And I never did like the idea of livin' in a two-family house,"
declared Hephzy. "I've known plenty of real nice folks who did live in
'em, or one-half of one of 'em, but it usually happened that the folks
in the other half was a dreadful mean set. They let their dog chase your
cat and if your hens scratched up their flower garden they were real
unlikely about it. I've heard Father tell about Cap'n Noah Doane and
Cap'n Elkanah Howes who used to live in Bayport. They'd been chums all
their lives and when they retired from the sea they thought 'twould be
lovely to build a double house so's they would be right close together
al