reptitiously wiping her eyes. "I was looking for you all over."

"Oh, just around," Lucile answered, waving her hand vaguely,
"congratulating everybody. Did you ever see such a wonderful time in all
your life, Jessie? One little chap over there, who is crazy to see his
father, asked what the noise was all about. 'Is it because I'm going to
see Daddy?' he asked, and when his mother couldn't answer him, she was
crying so, he put his little face against hers and begged her not to.
'It's just because I'm happy, little lad; so happy,' she said,
and--and--oh, why is it that when you're happiest, you have to go and
cry?" And she dashed the tears away fiercely.

Some hours later the crowd again assembled on deck, everything in
readiness to land. The beautiful city towered, majestic and imposing,
before them, and the lofty buildings, with the sun full upon them, stood
out clear and gleaming against the gray-blue of the sky.

The girls, who had been standing close together, drew a sigh and turned
to each other with tear-wet eyes and bursting hearts.

"Well, girls, have you got any luggage?" came in Phil's matter-of-fact
voice. "If you have, hand it over."

"I'll take Lucile's," said Jack, and, as she suited the action to the
word, he cried joyfully, "We're home, Lucile; we're home!"

And Mr. Payton, regarding the little group with loving eyes, added, very
reverently, "Thank God!"

Transcriber's Notes:

Illustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are not
in the middle of a paragraph.

Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved as
printed, along with the author's punctuation style, except as
noted below [the correction is enclosed in brackets].

Minor punctuation errors have been corrected without note.

Pg. 10: she had reigned supreme in the girl's [girls'] warm hearts

Pg. 19: had set the spring world-free.[world free.]

Pg. 21: cried Evelyn, hugging Lucile so esctatically [ecstatically]

Pg. 21: All right; wait a minute," same [came] the voice

Pg. 26: You have probably as much as any of us, and you can [can't]

Pg. 42: themselves on the floor at her feet, while other [others] were

Pg. 75: Why, its [it's] just as complete and comfortable

Pg. 84: But I trangress, [transgress,] "he interrupted himself,

Pg. 87: The chauteau [chateau] where she lived

Pg. 88: while I was still stunned and stupified [stupefied]

Pg. 90: know far too much for your pie