"In any case," he said, "I cannot afford to go this spring. We never were so short of funds. I almost begrudged the railroad fare I paid to go to the Institute."
"I have agreed to agree with you regarding the matter of hiring more help on the farm if you need it," she said; "for it is easily possible to lose by saving. There are some things which should never be influenced by financial considerations. It is more than three years since your Eastern trip. You need a rest and a change. It would be entirely commonplace for you to spend the Easter time in Virginia. You ought to see the country in the spring; and you ought especially to be interested in Mr. West's sixty acres of alfalfa. Expectations are always followed either by realization or by disappointment, either of which my noble son can bear."
Her fingers passed through his hair as she kissed his forehead.
"The only question is, whether you would enjoy a visit to Westover," she continued. "You have insisted that the Winterbine deposit remain in my name, but I have written and signed a check against that reserve for $100, and you have only to fill in the date and draw the amount at the County Seat whenever you wish. If you go, express my regards to the ladies, and especially remember me to the grandmother."
CHAPTER XLI
THE KINDERGARTEN
HEART-OF-EGYPT, ILLINOIS,
November 9, 1909.
Hon. James J. Hill,
Great Northern Railroad Company, St. Paul, Minnesota.