You should see him gaze at Sherm. Marian says it makes her want to cry, and Mother says it is the most wonderful manifestation of Providence she has ever known. It seems to me Providence would show more sense not to muddle things up so in the first place. Sherm is as pleased as can be to find he really is somebody, and he's awfully fond of the Captain, but you see he'd got so used to loving the Darts as his own folks that he can't get unused to it all of a sudden. He choked all up when he tried to call Captain Clarke 'Father,' and the Captain told him not to. There's heaps more to tell, but Mother has been calling me for the past three minutes." * * * * * "No wonder Sherm feels dazed," said Dr. Morton two evenings later, watching the boy, who was making a vain pretense of playing checkers with Chicken Little. He was so heedless that she swept his men off the board at each move, to Chicken Little's disgust. Sherm usually beat her when he gave his mind to the game. Presently, she picked up the board and dumped the checkers off into her lap. "A penny for your thoughts, Sherm." "I was just wondering if Captain--Father--would find out anything more in New York." "How long will he be gone?" "I guess that depends on whether he gets track of anything new. After he comes back we're going to Chicago to see--Mother." "Oh, I am so glad. It will make you feel a lot better to have a good visit with them all." "Yes, and he told me I might buy back the old home for her if she wants it--if I'd only known last week, she needn't have sold the place. And the Captain--Father--says he will give me some money to put out at interest so she'll have enough to live on comfortably. He says he owes her and Father a debt he can never repay for bringing me up." Chicken Little was thoughtful. "Sherm, he seems to have plenty of money, maybe you can go to college and to the Beaux Arts, too." "He said I could have all the education I wanted." "Will you go to college next year?" "Yep." "O dear, it will be awful here unless Mother lets me go to Centerville." "Don't fret, she is going to." "How do you know?" "She told Marian so last night." Chicken Little got to her feet and shot two feet into the air with a whoop of joy. "Goody! Goody!! Goody!!!" "Save a little breath, Jane. I know something better than that. Promise you won't tell--your mother would skin me if she knew I were giving away her cherished plans." "Don't be afraid, she just wants me to act surprised, and I can do it a lot better if I know about it before hand." "Well, she's coming on at Christmas time for a visit in Centerville, and she's going to take you on to visit Ernest." "Sherm, truly?" "That's what she said." Chicken Little gave an ecstatic hop. "Sherm," she exclaimed presently, a new idea striking her, "I can go to that hop with Carol!" "Carol?" Sherm sat up a little straighter. "What do you mean?"