other."

The light in Rosie's eyes went out. "Why do you say that, Danny?"

"You won't be able to help them in their schoolin' and they'll probably
all turn out poor ignur'nt b'ys and girls, with no opportunity to rise
in the world. And if they do get on in school, they'll soon be scornin'
their poor mother and lookin' down on her because she hasn't had the
education she might have had. And when their father sees how they feel,
I'm afeared he'll begin feelin' the same and thinkin' he'd made an awful
mistake marryin' such an ignur'nt woman."

"Oh, Danny, stop! Stop!" Tears of self-pity already filled Rosie's eyes.

"So I say to you, Rosie, if I was a little girl, I'd want to keep on
going to school even if I didn't expect to be a teacher. And for that
matter, darlint, isn't a mother the greatest teacher in the world?
Aren't you yourself Geraldine's teacher every day of your life?"

Rosie's eyes stretched wide in surprise. "Danny, I believe you're right!
A mother is a teacher, isn't she?"

"Sure she is, Rosie. And the better her own education is, the better
chance she has of being a good teacher. That stands to reason, don't it
now?"

Rosie nodded slowly. "Do you know, Danny, I never thought of that
before." She ruminated a moment. "Really and truly it just seems like
every girl in the world ought to have a good education. I always did
think that ignorant mothers were awful and they are, too."

"You're right, Rosie, they are. They're a hindrance to their children
instead of a help."

Rosie took a deep breath. "Wouldn't it just be wonderful to have a baby
really and truly your own?" She gazed off into space. Then her
expression changed. "But, Danny, I'll never marry."

"Is that so?" Danny started to laugh, then checked himself.

"You see, Danny, it's this way: Maybe you're right. Maybe I am in love
with Jarge. Anyway, I know I'll never love anybody else half as much as
I love him."

"If that's the case," Danny remarked casually, "the only thing for you
to do is to marry Jarge."

"Danny!" Rosie looked at him reproachfully. "I don't think it's kind of
you to make fun of me that way. I know I'm only a kid."

"I didn't mean to marry him this minute," Danny explained. "I expected
you to take your time about it--after you had finished school and were
grown up and all that."

"Oh!" Rosie sat up very straight. She spoke a little breathlessly. "But,
Danny, won't Jarge be too old then?"

Danny drew a long face. "