Captain was merciful; he changed the subject.

"Isn't the middle of May a little early to close school?"

"No, it is the usual time. You see the older children have to help at
home as soon as the weather gets warm."

"Of course. What are you going to do this summer?"

"Wish Ernest was home," Jane answered pertly, but there was a wistful
look in her eyes.

Before the Captain could reply, Wing came to the door to announce a man
to see him. The Captain was gone some time. When he returned, he
explained that it was a buyer from Kansas City after his corn, and he
should have to leave them to entertain themselves for a while.

"I'll tell you what you can do," he paused in the doorway as the idea
occurred to him. "You two may rummage in the drawers of the cabinet.
Take out anything you like the looks of. I think you will find a lot of
interesting stuff there. Make yourselves at home."

They lingered, discussing the room for several minutes after his
departure, then Jane went over to the cabinet.

"Come on--there are heaps of wonderful things here. He showed me some of
them the day I ran off and came to see him on my own hook. That's a year
ago! My, I feel as if it were a dozen--it seems as if I were just a
little girl then."

"And now?" Sherm adored to set Jane off.

"None of your sarcasm, Mr. Dart." Then soberly: "Truly, Sherm, I know
I'm a lot older. Things seem so different to me."

"I know you are, too, Lady Jane. I was only teasing you."

They had a beautiful half hour among the Captain's treasures. Sherm
gloated especially over the prints--their wonderful composition and soft
color.

"Say, the Japs know a thing or two, don't they? That wouldn't be my idea
of what to put into a picture, but it's awfully satisfying." He held the
print off and closed one eye to see the outlines more vividly.

"Sherm, you surely were intended for an artist." Chicken Little had gone
on to the drawer below. "Oh, Sherm, I believe this is the drawer the
Captain didn't show me before. Do you suppose he wants us to go through
it?"

"He said all of them. What's in it?"

"Oh, sashes and scarfs and things. I thought maybe they used to belong
to his wife."

Sherm lifted a Roman scarf of crimson and yellow and rich blue, and
examined it admiringly. "It doesn't look as if this had ever been worn.
I guess he wouldn't have told us to go ahead if there had been anything
here he didn't want us to find. Say, Chicken Little, this would l