"No—lease it, cheap. It's an old place, but we put all we could afford into freshening it up."
"Cook a permanent one?"
The form of the question perplexed Tom for an instant, but it presently resolved itself, and he was grinning as he replied: "Sure she is. It's my mother. Do you like her cooking?"
"A-1."
Ah, Tom would tell his mother that! The young man flushed slightly in the darkness of the porch. It was almost the first compliment that had been paid her, and she worked like a slave, too.
"Little waitress your sister?"
"Yes. Sue's young, but we think she does pretty well."
"Delivers the goods. Housekeeper a member of the family, too?"
"Yes—and Tim's my brother. Oh, it's all in the family. The only trouble is——" he hesitated.
"Lack of patronage?"