lled her. She ran
her fingers over the steering wheel, worn bright by the touch of her
father's and her own hands, and with the buoyancy of youth, found
comfort. Once more she mechanically went through the motions of starting
the car, then she stepped down, closed the door, and stood an instant
thinking.

"You're four years behind the times," she said slowly. "No doubt there's
a newer and a better model; I suspect the tires are rotten, but the
last day I drove you for Daddy you purred like a kitten, and ran like
a clock, and if you were cleaned and oiled and put in proper shape,
there's no reason in the world why I should not drive you again, as I
have driven you hundreds of miles when Daddy was tired or when he wanted
to teach me the rules of good motoring, and the laws of the road. I can
do it all right. I have got to do it, but it will be some time before
I'll care to tackle the mountains."

Leaving the cover on the floor, she locked the door and returned to the
kitchen.

"All right, Katy, what is the programme?" she inquired as lightly as she
could.

Katy had been cook in the Strong family ever since they had moved to
Lilac Valley. She had obeyed Mrs. Strong and Eileen. She had worshiped
the Doctor and Linda It always had been patent to her eyes that Mrs.
Strong was extremely partial to Eileen, so Katy had joined forces with
the Doctor in surreptitiously doing everything her warm Irish heart
prompted to prevent Linda from feeling neglected. Her quick eyes saw the
traces of tears on Linda's face, and she instantly knew that the trip
the girl had made to the garage was in some way connected with some
belongings of her father's, so she said: "I am serving tonight but I
want you to keep things smoking hot and to have them dished up ready for
me so that everything will go smoothly."

"What would happen," inquired Linda, "if everything did NOT go smoothly?
Katy, do you think the roof would blow straight up if I had MY way about
something, just for a change?"

"No, I think the roof would stay right where it belongs," said Katy with
a chuckle, "but I do think its staying there would not be because Miss
Eileen wanted it to."

"Well," said Linda deliberately, "we won't waste any time on thinking
We are going to have some positive knowledge on the subject pretty
immediately. I don't feel equal to starting any domestic santana today,
but the forces are gathering and the blow is coming soon. To that I have
firmly made