“Oh, I can’t be partial, you know,” said Evelyn, smiling as she recovered a dropped stitch. “Geo’ge and Pehcy ah in the same company, and if I send one a sweatah I must send the otheh one, too. I did think that I would send this one to Cousin Francis,—I used to be engaged to him, you know. We ah only thi’d cousins.”
“Which one are you engaged to now, Evelyn?” asked Isabel, adding hastily, “You need not answer that, of course. It is rude of me to ask.”
“O, I don’t mind,” said Evelyn, putting her hand on one side to survey the sweater which she held up to view. “Do you think that is big enough to go over the head?”
“It looks pretty small to me,” said Cathalina. “Is he big or little?”
“My head just comes to his shoulder. Yes, he is pretty big, Pehcy is.”
“I wonder if that is my answer,” remarked Isabel to Cathalina.
“No telling.”
“Well, girls,” said Hilary, “I’d like to visit longer, but I have to get to work. I see a hectic evening before me. I don’t know when I’ve been so behind with everything. I’ve been doing too much knitting and letter-writing, I am afraid. However, under the circumstances, I can’t regret it. Patriotism before everything!”
“Are you sure that it was all patriotism, Hilary?”
“Quite sure,” laughed Hilary.