“He’ll always slave at something,” Susan said, cheerfully, “but that’s another funny thing about all this fuss—­the boys were simply wild with enthusiasm when they heard about old Wallace and the ‘Protest,’ trust Clem for that!  And Clem assured me seriously that they’d have him Mayor of San Francisco yet!—­However,” she laughed, “that’s way ahead!  But next year Billy is going east for two months, to study the situation in different cities, and if he makes up his mind to go, a newspaper syndicate has offered him enough money, for six articles on the subject, to pay his expenses!  So, if your angel mother really will come here and live with the babies, and all goes well, I’m going, too!”

“Mother would do anything for you,” Anna said, “she loves you for yourself, and sometimes I think that she loves you for—­for Jo, you know, too!  She’s so proud of you, Sue—–­”

“Well, if I’m ever anything to be proud of, she well may be!” smiled Susan, “for, of all the influences of my life—­a sentence from a talk with her stands out clearest!  I was moping in the kitchen one day, I forget what the especial grievance was, but I remember her saying that the best of life was service—­that any life’s happiness may be measured by how much it serves!”

Anna considered it, frowning.

“True enough of her life, Sue!”

“True of us all!  Georgie, and Alfie, and Virginia!  And Mary Lou,—­ did you know that they had a little girl?  And Mary Lou just divides her capacity for adoration into two parts, one for Ferd and one for Marie-Louise!”

“Well, you’re a delicious old theorist, Sue!  But somehow you believe in yourself, and you always do me good!” Anna said laughing.  “I share with Mother the conviction that you’re rather uncommon—­one watches you to see what’s next!”

“Putting this child in her crib is next, now,” said Susan flushing, a little embarrassed.  She lowered Josephine carefully on the little pillow.  “Best—­girl—­her—­mudder—­ever—­did—­HAB!” said Susan tenderly as the transfer was accomplished.  “Come on, Nance!” she whispered, “we’ll go down and see what Bill is doing.”

So they went down, to add a score of last touches to the orderly, homelike rooms, to cut grape-fruit and taste cranberry sauce, to fill vases with chrysanthemums and ferns, and count chairs for the long table.

“This is fun!” said Susan to her husband, as she filled little dishes with nuts and raisins in the pantry and arranged crackers on a plate.

“You bet your life it’s fun!” agreed Billy, pausing in the act of opening a jar of olives.  “You look so pretty in that dress, Sue,” he went on, contentedly, “and the kids are so good, and it seems dandy to be able to have the family all here!  We didn’t see this coming when we married on less than a hundred a month, did we?”

He put his arm about her, they stood looking out of the window together.

“We did not!  And when you were ill, Billy—­and sitting up nights with Mart’s croup!” Susan smiled reminiscently.