“You know,” the elder David said with great animation, “you have converted me entirely. You have opened my eyes. I am not asking you to come back to the city to live. On the contrary, I discovered that there are thousands of acres of the best land on earth lying idle right in our own country. I did not know it before, because living in the cramped city made me blind and narrow to the beauty and possibilities of the great outdoors. We are all going away from the dust and the grime of the crowded metropolis. We, too, want to see the blue sky overhead and feel the green grass under our feet. What do you say? I will get as much land as you want and put you in full control.” “That’s too wonderful to be true.” David spoke softly. “We can talk it over and decide just how much we need and where it must be. But Mr. Rice has asked me to stay, and to tell the truth I haven’t even started yet to learn. You can get the land and hold it, because so far I’m not capable of taking charge of anything. I’ve been drifting from one thing to another, neither doing nor learning anything of consequence. So I must stay until the purpose for which I came is accomplished. When I am sure enough of myself to drop my anchor I’ll come back to you, and then we can begin the real life and the only one that’s worth while.” THE END Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: I am sorrry, but Wellman=> I am sorry, but Wellman {pg 5} Para=> Pará {pg 30 x 3} He approached cautionsly=> He approached cautiously {pg 211}