l. John Jardine wanted to think of
everything, and succeeded fairly well. It seemed to Kate that he could
invent more ways to spend money, and spend it with freer hand, than any
man she ever had heard of, but she had to confess that the men she had
heard about were concerned with keeping their money, not scattering it.

"Did you hear unusual sounds when John came to bid me good-night?"
asked Mrs. Jardine of Kate.

"Yes," laughed Kate, "I did. And I'm sure I made a fairly accurate
guess as to the cause."

"What did you think?" asked Mrs. Jardine.

"I thought Mr. Jardine had missed Susette, and you'd had to tell him,"
said Kate.

"You're quite right. It's a good thing she went on and lost herself in
New York. I'm not at all sure that he doesn't contemplate starting out
to find her yet."

"Let Susette go!" said Kate. "We're interested in forgetting her.
There's a little country school-teacher here, who wants to take her
place, and it will be the very thing for your mother and for her, too.
She's the one serving us; notice her in particular."

"If she's a teacher, how does she come to be serving us?" he asked.

"I'm a teacher; how do I come to be dining with you?" said Kate. "This
is such a queer world, when you go adventuring in it. Jennie had a
small school in an out county, a widowed mother and a big family to
help support; so she figured that the only way she could come here to
try to prepare herself for a better school was to work for her room and
board. She serves the table two hours, three times a day, and studies
between times. She tells me that almost every waiter in the dining
hall is a teacher. Please watch her movements and manner and see if
you think her suitable. Goodness knows she isn't intended for a
teacher."

"I like her very much," said John Jardine. "I'll engage her as soon as
we finish."

Kate smiled, but when she saw the ease and dexterity with which he
ended Jennie Weeks' work as a waiter and installed her as his mother's
maid, making the least detail all right with his mother, with Jennie,
with the manager, she realized that there had been nothing for her to
smile about. Jennie was delighted, and began her new undertaking
earnestly, with sincere desire to please. Kate helped her all she
could, while Mrs. Jardine developed a fund of patience commensurate
with the need of it. She would have endured more inconvenience than
resulted from Jennie's inexperienced hands because of the