“It’s—­all right now,” he comforted.

“Yes—­of course!”

How futile were the words, but they opened the way for truth to flood in.

Joan, her hands still in Cameron’s, her eyes clinging to his, murmured again, “Yes; of course—­now!”

Then she turned to the two silent, amazed people in the doorway and, by some magic, they were making her realize that she was facing her Big Chance.  Hers!

She must not be afraid.  Fear was the only thing that could harm.

Where they had been weak, she must be strong; where they had been blinded, she must—­see!

Why, that was what her life and Cameron’s meant, and the two, standing apart, together—­but alone—­had made it possible.

She, like Nancy, must “carry on,” not mistakenly, not held on leash, but with a freedom born of choice and understanding; of failures, and the learning of the true from the false.

To her—­and again Joan turned to Cameron—­and to him, was given the glorious opportunity of making the real, ideal.

It was then that Joan threw her head back and laughed that laugh of hers that meant but one thing:  An acceptance of life; a faith in its freedom; a conviction that it could be lived gladly and without fear.

THE END

* * * * *

BOOTH TARKINGTON’S NOVELS

May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset & Dunlap’s list

SEVENTEEN.  Illustrated by Arthur William Brown.

No one but the creator of Penrod could have portrayed the immortal young people of this story.  Its humor is irresistible and reminiscent of the time when the reader was Seventeen.

PENROD.  Illustrated by Gordon Grant.

This is a picture of a boy’s heart, full of the lovable, humorous, tragic things which are locked secrets to most older folks.  It is a finished, exquisite work.

PENROD AND SAM.  Illustrated by Worth Brehm.

Like “Penrod” and “Seventeen,” this book contains some remarkable phases of real boyhood and some of the best stories of juvenile prankishness that have ever been written.

THE TURMOIL.  Illustrated by C. E. Chambers.

Bibbs Sheridan is a dreamy, imaginative youth, who revolts against his father’s plans for him to be a servitor of big business.  The love of a fine girl turns Bibb’s life from failure to success.

THE GENTLEMAN FROM INDIANA.  Frontispiece.

A story of love and politics,—­more especially a picture of a country editor’s life in Indiana, but the charm of the book lies in the love interest.

THE FLIRT.  Illustrated by Clarence P. Underwood.

The “Flirt,” the younger of two sisters, breaks one girl’s engagement, drives one man to suicide, causes the murder of another, leads another to lose his fortune, and in the end marries a stupid and unpromising suitor, leaving the really worthy one to marry her sister.