“How old would you say she was?”

“Not over twenty-six.”

“Twenty-six.” A suspicious glint darkened Wanza’s blue eyes. “Pretty?”

“Yes.”

The eyes glowered.

“Thirty a month would be a help, now, Wanza, wouldn’t it?” I wheedled.

Wanza threw out both arms, dropped back on the grass and lay with closed eyes. Presently she murmured faintly: “Did you say thirty a month?”

“I said thirty a month,” I repeated firmly.

One eye opened. Wanza kicked a pine cone into the river, opened the other eye, and stared at the tips of her copper-toed shoes fixedly.

“Thirty a month added to twenty-four—Mm! I could go to school next year, Mr. Dale.”