“We shall see,” the mother would say. Well, she must be shown. The only question was how to go about it.
“Mother,” Geraldine began resolutely, “what are you going to do about Walter?”
“Aren’t you well, my dear?”
“Yes, mother.”
“You really look quite knocked out, Geraldine. Why don’t you go to bed early to-night? You know we’ll have a bad day to-morrow landing. You know what the New York customs is. I’ve had such a good nap this afternoon that I think I’ll just sit here and moon. You go down, that’s a good girl. I’ll be dropping along soon.”
“You haven’t answered my question, mother.”
“Eh? What question? I beg your pardon, dear.”
“I asked you what you were going to do about Walter.”
“My dear, you are obsessed about Walter. He’s a care, I’ll admit; and it’s bad enough that I have to have him on my soul, but I do wish you would be happy and not concern yourself about him. Even I don’t wish to have him in my mind all the time. When we get back to ‘Red Jacket’ I shall bring all the force of my will to bear upon him. I shall force him into good habits as I’ve done many a-time with a hunting dog. He’ll ‘charge’ or ‘heel’ at my command.”
“But he hates it, and he has threatened to do away with himself,” the girl implored.