Eileen to make him unhappy with her. He might have been if he had known
all there was to know, but for his own sake I was not the one to give
her away, though she constantly made him think that I was extravagant
and wasteful in me work." Linda's eyes came back from the mountains and
met Katy's straightly.

"Katy," she said, "did you ever see sisters as different as Eileen and I
are?"

"No, I don't think I ever did," said Katy.

"It puzzles me," said Linda slowly. "The more I think about it, the
less I can understand why, if we are sisters, we would not accidentally
resemble each other a tiny bit in some way, and I must say I can't see
that we do physically or mentally."

"No," said Katy, "ye were just as different as ye are now when I came to
this house new and ye were both little things."

"And we are going to be as different and to keep on growing more
different every day of our lives, because red war breaks out the minute
Eileen comes home. I haven't a notion what she will say to me for what
I did last night and what I am going to do in the future, but I have a
definite idea as to what I am going to say to her."

"Now, easy; ye go easy, lambie," cautioned Katy.

"I wouldn't regret it," said Linda, "if I took Eileen by the shoulders
and shook her till I shook the rouge off her cheek, and the brilliantine
off her hair, and a million mean little subterfuges out of her soul.
You know Eileen is lovely when she is natural, and if she would be
straight-off-the-bat square, I would be proud to be her sister. As it
is, I have my doubts, even about this sister business."

"Why, Linda, child, ye are just plain crazy," said Katy. "What kind of
notions are you getting into your head?"

"I hear the front door," said Linda, "and I am going to march straight
to battle. She's going up the front stairs. I did mean to short-cut up
the back, but, come to think of it, I have served my apprenticeship
on the back stairs. I believe I'll ascend the front myself. Good-bye,
darlin', wish me luck."

Linda swung Katy around, hugged her tight, and dropped a kiss on the top
of her faithful head.

"Ye just stick right up for your rights," Katy advised her. "Ye're a
great big girl. 'Tain't going to be long till ye're eighteen. But mind
your old Katy about going too far. If ye lose your temper and cat-spit,
it won't get ye anywhere. The fellow that keeps the coolest can always
do the best headwork."

"I get you," said Linda, "and that