"Seems to me," said Harvey, dropping his voice and speaking with the assurance of an old family friend, "that if I had two girls like your Elsie and Patience, I'd see that they helped out with the washing." "How can they help me?" replied Mrs. Welcome. "Patience is up early every morning and off to Mr. Price's store and Elsie is at the mill all day." "That's so," said Harvey, "I didn't think, but surely they might--" "Oh, they help a lot," broke in Mrs. Welcome, hurriedly. "They do all their ironing at night. And that's all anyone could ask of them after they come home tired from their work." "Well, I'm glad to hear it. Your two girls always do look nice." "Thank you, Harvey." "But Mrs. Welcome--" "Yes, Harvey?" "Don't you think--" Harvey stopped and looked about hesitatingly,--"Ah, don't you think it would be just as well if Elsie didn't see quite as much of this Chicago fellow?" "Do you mean Mr. Druce?" inquired Mrs. Welcome. "I do. Of course, he's all right--" Harvey again hesitated and puckered his lips thoughtfully. "He wears fine clothing, patent leather shoes, sports a diamond ring, but it seems to me Elsie's different somehow since that Martin Druce began to hang around." Mrs. Welcome laughed softly. There was a glint of humor in her eyes. "I guess you're jealous, aren't you, Harvey?" "Well, say I am," agreed Harvey. "Never mind that. Is it a good thing for Elsie?" "Elsie's a good girl," replied Mrs. Welcome. "She sure is, Mrs. Welcome. That's why I want her to be Mrs. Harvey Spencer." Mrs. Welcome opened her eyes wide at this statement and looked kindly at the stout young man before her. "You mean it, Harvey?" she demanded. "I'm so much in earnest," he replied, fumbling in his pocket, "that I've got the ring right here." He produced a plain gold wedding ring nestling in a white velvet case. Mrs. Welcome uttered a little cry of gladness. She believed in Harvey, who, incidentally, was all he pretended to be. "O, I know I ain't much," went on Harvey, "just a clerk in a small town store, but I've got ambitions. Look at all the great men! Where did they begin? At the bottom." Harvey paused. Then he looked all about him carefully and, satisfied with this survey, leaned confidentially toward Mrs. Welcome and whispered: "Say, can you keep a secret, Mrs. Welcome?" "I guess so," replied Mrs. Welcome smiling. "Try me, Harvey." "All right, I'm going to be a detective," Harvey announced proudly. "You are, Harvey?" was the astonished reply. "Just watch me," Harvey went on. "I'm taking a correspondence school course. Here are some of my lessons." He took some closely typewritten sheets of paper from his pocket. "Ever notice how broad I am between the eyes?" he demanded. "I can't say that I have," said Mrs. Welcome. "Well, I am, and it's one of the signs, so they say, of the born detective. Listen here a moment." He unfolded the bulky pages and read grandly: