Danny and his father walked on ahead, going home at last. The others came more slowly, taking turns carrying the lady table leg. It was badly in need of refinishing and yet, somehow, when it was placed beside the other three table legs, Judy liked it best.
“I think I’ll leave that tooth mark in the lady’s face,” she decided. “It gives her more character. The other three faces are too quiet and patient, but this one looks as if she’d lived. Do you think Dad will mind?”
“Mind!” exclaimed Horace. “He’ll be delighted.”
Before another week had passed, a great many pieces that belonged to Dr. Bolton were found. Among them was his fruitwood bench, but that was located in one of the exclusive shops in Mr. Truitt’s chain. The shop was over the state line in Wellsville.
Donna Truitt and Hank Lawson, the FBI agent she had dated, were both invited to Judy’s party. The house was still filled with babies as Judy and Peter had agreed to keep them until Mr. and Mrs. George Anderson returned from their honeymoon.
It would be a strange honeymoon, the crowd at the party agreed, as they had taken Danny with them on a cruise to some romantic island and would return to turn their house into another orphans’ home, complete with chicken farm.
“Danny will find plenty of wild things to watch, but I don’t think he’ll see any beavers on a tropical island,” Peter commented as he handed around Judy’s beaver pictures. Some of them had appeared in the Farringdon Daily Herald to illustrate Horace’s news stories. The picture of the man with the lady’s face had caused a real sensation.
“The mistakes you make are better than the things some people do on purpose,” declared Holly, whose interest in writing had waned only to flare up again when her typewriter was returned. Now she was writing notes to Roger and tearing them up before he saw them.
Judy met Roger for the first time that evening. She could see why Holly was attracted to him. He had brought his banjo to the party and knew all the song hits.
“Come on, everybody,” he said. “Sing along with Roger. Have you got the beat?”