"How old is she now?" asked Marian.
"Just about your age. She can write very well, but you can distance her in spelling and arithmetic."
"I'll catch up with her in writing," decided Marian, "and maybe she will catch up with me in the other things."
"I'll tell her what you say," said Miss Dorothy; "that will be an incentive to you both. I should like you to know our Patty. She is our baby, and is a darling."
"I should like to know her," returned Marian warmly.
"I'll tell her to write to you," promised Miss Dorothy.
"Oh, good! I never have letters from any one but papa, and he writes only once a year. I wish he would write oftener, for his letters are so nice, and I do love him, though I haven't seen him since I was a baby."
"Perhaps if he knew you really cared so much to hear, he would write. Why don't you send him a letter and tell him?"
"Oh, but just see what a fist I make at writing. I will tell him as soon as I can write better, although," she added with a sigh, "that seems a long time to wait."
Miss Dorothy was thoughtfully silent for a few minutes. "I will tell you what," she said presently. "I have a small typewriting machine which I will teach you how to use. It is very simple, and you spell so nicely that it will be no time before you could manage a perfectly legible letter to your father."