oke of the
pleasure it had been to him to hear from his little daughter, of
how her accounts of her daily life had taken him back to his own
childhood, and of how often he thought of her and longed to see her.
"If I thought it best, my dear little daughter," he said, "I should
not let the ocean roll between us, though some day I hope you can
come to me if I may not go to you." There were many more things,
entertaining descriptions of the places to which he had lately been,
accounts of his doings and his friends, the whole ending with a
request that Marian would write as often as she could. As she
finished the closing lines Marian held out the letter to Miss
Dorothy. "Do read it," she said. "I know he would not care. There
isn't anything in it that you mustn't see. I'd like you to read it
out loud to me, Miss Dorothy; I can't quite get the sense of it
myself." So Miss Dorothy did as she was requested and agreed with
Marian that it was a very nice letter, that her father did love
her, and that the reason he did not come home was because he felt
he would not be welcome.

After this it was an all-important matter to get the photographs
ready to send and to write a letter in answer to the one Marian had
just received. Patty was very much interested in the photographs,
for besides those taken in Greenville of Marian and the cats in
the garden, of Marian at school, in the sitting-room with her
grandparents, in her own room and in Mrs. Hunt's kitchen, there
were a number taken in Revell where various members of the Robbins
family appeared and where Patty herself was always a conspicuous
figure. But the very last one was of Marian alone with arms
outstretched and face upheld for a kiss. Under it was written,
"A hug and kiss for you, dear papa, when you come back to your
little Marian." This was the child's own idea, and Miss Dorothy
carried it out as well as she could.

"Just think," Marian said to Patty, "how much better I know my papa,
and I shall keep on knowing him better and better."

"Shall you show your grans the photographs, and the one of him?"
asked Patty.

"Yes," returned Marian thoughtfully, "Miss Dorothy thinks I ought
to, and that I shall have to tell about my writing to him. I think
grandma will be glad, and maybe grandpa will be, too, though he
won't say so."

Miss Dorothy overhearing this wise remark, smiled. She quite
believed that both Mr. and Mrs. Otway would be glad.

As the days were getting both