the board and dumped the checkers
off into her lap.

"A penny for your thoughts, Sherm."

"I was just wondering if Captain--Father--would find out anything more
in New York."

"How long will he be gone?"

"I guess that depends on whether he gets track of anything new. After he
comes back we're going to Chicago to see--Mother."

"Oh, I am so glad. It will make you feel a lot better to have a good
visit with them all."

"Yes, and he told me I might buy back the old home for her if she wants
it--if I'd only known last week, she needn't have sold the place. And
the Captain--Father--says he will give me some money to put out at
interest so she'll have enough to live on comfortably. He says he owes
her and Father a debt he can never repay for bringing me up."

Chicken Little was thoughtful. "Sherm, he seems to have plenty of money,
maybe you can go to college and to the Beaux Arts, too."

"He said I could have all the education I wanted."

"Will you go to college next year?"

"Yep."

"O dear, it will be awful here unless Mother lets me go to Centerville."

"Don't fret, she is going to."

"How do you know?"

"She told Marian so last night."

Chicken Little got to her feet and shot two feet into the air with a
whoop of joy. "Goody! Goody!! Goody!!!"

"Save a little breath, Jane. I know something better than that. Promise
you won't tell--your mother would skin me if she knew I were giving away
her cherished plans."

"Don't be afraid, she just wants me to act surprised, and I can do it a
lot better if I know about it before hand."

"Well, she's coming on at Christmas time for a visit in Centerville, and
she's going to take you on to visit Ernest."

"Sherm, truly?"

"That's what she said."

Chicken Little gave an ecstatic hop. "Sherm," she exclaimed presently, a
new idea striking her, "I can go to that hop with Carol!"

"Carol?" Sherm sat up a little straighter. "What do you mean?"

"Don't you remember that letter I got from Carol? You don't remember a
single thing about it, do you? He wrote to ask me if I wouldn't come on
some time and go to a Navy hop with him. He said he was asking me in
time so I couldn't promise anybody else."

"It strikes me Carol is getting mighty fresh."

Chicken Little stole a surprised glance at Sherm.

"I don't see anything fresh about that--I think it nice of him to
remember me so long. My, I used to think Carol was the most wonderful
thing. I hung a May basket to hi