nd her real estate, which was a sixth interest in a cemetery lot?
But Tillie stuck it out and he wouldn't take her without."

"It isn't quite the same, Minnie," she said, sitting down on the floor
to put on her stockings.

"The principle's the same," I retorted, "and if you ask me--"

"I haven't," she said disagreeably, "and when you begin to argue,
Minnie, you make my head ache."

"I have had a heartache for a week," I snapped, "let alone heartburn,
and I'll be glad when the Jennings family is safely married and I can
sleep at night."

I was hurt. I went out and shut the door behind me, but I stopped in the
hall and went back.

"I forgot to say," I began, and stopped. She was still sitting on the
floor, trying to put her heavy boots on, and crying all over them.

"Stop that instantly," I said, and jerked her shoes from her. "Get into
a chair and let me put them on. And if you will wait a jiffy I'll bring
you a cup of coffee. I'm not even a Christian in the morning until I've
had my coffee."

"You haven't had it yet, have you?" she asked, and we laughed together,
rather shaky. But as I buttoned her shoes I saw her eyes going toward
the blue letters on the bed.

"Oh, Minnie," she said, "if you only knew how peculiar they are in
Europe! They'll never allow a sanatorium in the family!"

"I guess a good many would be the better for having one close," I said.

Well, I left her to get dressed and went to the kitchens. Tillie was
there getting the beef tea ready for the day, but none of the rest was
around. They knew the housekeeper was gone, but I guess they'd forgotten
that I was still on hand. I put a kettle against the electric bell that
rings in the chef's room so it would keep on ringing and went on into
the diet kitchen.

"Tillie," I said, "can you trust me?"

She looked up from her beef.

"Whether I can or not, I always have," she answered.

"Well, can I trust you? That's more to the point."

She put down her knife and came over to me, with her hands on her hips.

"I don't know what you're up to, Minnie," she said, "and I don't know
that I care. But if you've forgotten the time I went to the city and
brought you sulphur and the Lord only knows what for your old spring
when you'd run short and were laid up with influenza--"

"Hush!" I exclaimed. "You needn't shout it. Tillie, I don't want you
to ask me any questions, but I want four raw eggs in a basket, a pot of
coffee and cream, some fruit if you