"'No doubt you misunderstood and resented my going without coming to explain, and bid you good-bye in person, but Shelley, _I_ SIMPLY DARED NOT. You see, it was this way: I got a cable about the case I was always talking of, and the only man who could give the testimony I MUST HAVE was dying!'" "For land's sake! The poor boy!" cried mother, patting Shelley's shoulder. "'An hour's delay might mean the loss of everything in the world to me, even you. For if I lost any time, and the man escaped me, there was no hope of winning my case, and everything, even you, as I said before, depended on him----'" "Good Lord! I mean land!" cried Leon. "'If I could catch the train in an hour, I could take a boat at New York, and go straight through with no loss of time. So I wrote you a note that probably said more than I would have ventured in person, and paid a boy to deliver it.'" "Kept the money and tore up the note, I bet!" said May. "'I wrote on the train, but found after sailing that I had rushed so I had failed to post it in New York. I kept on writing every day on the boat, and mailed you six at Liverpool. All the time I have written frequently; there are many more here that this envelope will not hold, that I shall save until I hear from you.'" "Well, well!" said father. "'Shelley, I beat death, reached my man, got the testimony I had to have, and won my case.'" "Glory!" cried mother. "Praise the Lord!" "'Then I scoured England, and part of the continent, hunting some interested parties; and when I was so long finding them, and still no word came from you, I decided to come back and get you, if you would come with me, and go on with the work together.'" "Listen to that! More weddings!" cried Leon. He dropped on his knees before Shelley. "Will you marry me, my pretty maid?" he begged. "Young man, if you cut any capers right now, I'll cuff your ears!" cried father. "This is no proper time for your foolishness!" "'Shelley, I beg that you will believe me, and if you care for me in the very least, telegraph if I may come. Quick! I'm half insane to see you. I have many things to tell you, first of all how dear you are to me. Please telegraph. Robert.'" "Saddle a horse, Leon!" father cried as he unstrapped his wallet. "Laddie, take down her message." "Can you put it into ten words?" asked Laddie. "Mother, what would you say?" questioned Shelley. Leon held up his fingers and curled down one with each word. "Say, 'Dear Robert. Well and happy. Come when you get ready.'" "But then I won't know when he's coming," objected Shelley. "You don't need to," said Leon. "You can take it for granted from that epistolary effusion that he won't let the grass grow under his feet while coming here. That's a bully message! It sounds as if you weren't crazy over him, and it's a big compliment to mother. Looks as if she didn't have to know when people are coming--like she's ready all the time."