circumstances I
suppose I ought to say nothing against her.

"I have been thinking of this for some time, ever since you told me your
name, but of course there may be nothing in it. I only thought if you
might like to meet this Yvonne Fleury--you see she came here to the farm
and is living with us--I will speak first to Aunt Patricia and together
you can decide."

In reality Sally was not so unsympathetic or so childish as at present
her words and manner suggested. During her long speech she had been
watching the young officer narrowly. She had arrived at her present
conclusion by putting certain facts together in a practical and
commonsense fashion. There was more than a possibility that she might be
wrong, so there was no reason for working oneself up into a state of
hysteria or of heroics. Moreover, Sally had been entirely frank. She
understood that the French officer would be overjoyed if Yvonne should
prove to be his sister, but Sally herself would have felt no enthusiasm
over the same discovery. As a matter of fact, she had no particular
interest in Yvonne's opportunity for happiness through her aid.

She was worried, however, because her former patient suddenly appeared
so white and shaken by her words, when only a few moments before he had
looked so remarkably well.

Sally moved slowly backwards toward the door.

"I'll go and find Aunt Patricia; perhaps I should have spoken to her
first of my idea. Then after you have talked with her if you would like
me to find Yvonne and ask her to come to you----"

With these words, having managed to reach the half closed door, Sally
disappeared.

CHAPTER XVIII

THE EXPECTED HAPPENS

Miss Patricia Lord was on her way to the French village only a few miles
from their farm house. Unless the call were urgent, rarely did Miss
Patricia bestow her activities outside the environments of the farm,
which of course included the house, garden, barns, fields, really a
sufficient large sphere of activity even for her.

It is true she had been an extremely practical benefactress to the
entire neighborhood, yet her gifts had been made largely through other
persons; Mrs. Burton or one of the Camp Fire girls reporting a special
need among their neighbors, as promptly as possible Miss Patricia had
seen that need supplied.

So, as she took her walk on this summer afternoon, had she liked she
might have given a good deal of credit to herself for the change in the
appearan