ight. If you'll help me knock my things together after a while, I'll be
grateful. I guess I'll take a--walk--now." His voice broke a little at
the last.

He did not wait for an answer, but walked hurriedly away. Jane gazed
after him, undecided whether to follow or not. Dr. Morton divined her
thought. "I wouldn't, dear. Let him have it out alone first--you can
comfort him later on. I want you to help me persuade him not to rush off
before he receives his mother's letter. I must say I don't blame Sherm
for resenting his mother's attitude. I think she is making a big
mistake."

Dusk came and the darkness closed round while Chicken Little strained
her eyes in vain for Sherm. It was almost ten before he came back. She
was standing at the gate watching for him. The rest of the family had
gone to bed. "Chicken Little can comfort him better than any of us," Dr.
Morton had told his wife. "He will be glad not to have to face any of
the rest of the family to-night."

"You shouldn't have stayed up, Chicken Little," Sherm called, as soon as
he caught sight of her. "I forgot I asked you to help me--I'd have come
home sooner if I'd remembered. The duds can wait till morning--I can get
up early." He spoke quietly.

"Do you think you ought to go, Sherm?"

Sherm's eyes smouldered. Jane could not see him very distinctly, but she
could fairly feel his determination.

"It's no use talking, I'm going!"

They went up the walk in silence. The lilacs and the white syringia in
the borders were in bloom. She hoped Sherm did not notice the heavy
fragrance--it was so like a funeral. He did not say anything till they
got to the foot of the stairs.

"Thank you, Jane, for--for waiting." His voice broke pitifully.

When Dr. Morton discovered the next morning that Sherm was not to be
moved from his purpose, he decided to go into town early and see if by
any chance there might be another telegram or a letter. Letters from the
east sometimes came down by a branch line from the north. There was
nothing, and he finally resolved to telegraph Mrs. Dart as to Sherm's
state of mind. Sherm was to come later in the day with Frank in time to
catch the evening train, which was the only one that made close
connections at Kansas City. It was late afternoon before he received a
reply. The message was emphatic. "Sherm _must_ await letter."

"Mrs. Dart evidently knows her own mind," thought the Doctor. He drove a
little way out of town and waited for Frank a