"I can afford it. I wanted to—"
"I know." Ellie patted her brother's hand. "We had to trick her so that you could do for her. It's too bad but that's the way it had to be. We could never have given her the luxuries you provided."
To Ada the voices had a metallic sound, like the tinkle of silverbells. So Howard was the one! He had taken care of her after all! No, if she had known, her stubborn pride would not have allowed it. Somehow, pride did not figure now. She knew that she had lost a lot through false pride. The anger she had felt toward Howard was not there now—only regret.
Ellie's voice went on. "I'm sorry mother was so far gone. I thought she might rally and know you at the end."
"I came as soon as I got your wire," said Howard, sadly. "I'm glad I was in this country. It's just as well she didn't know me. She didn't want to see me." Then he brightened. "I'm so anxious to see your boys. How old did you say they are?"
"Carl is twelve and Alfred is fourteen."
"Are they doing well in school?"
"Fair. Enough to get by. Like average boys. But Alfred—I don't know."
"What about Alfred?"
"He has a talent for sketching. Wants to go into commercial art. It's funny, neither Ted nor I can draw a straight line. Ted wants Alfred to learn a trade. He says we can't afford to give the boys extra advantages. We still have a mortgage on this house. Ted had an operation and lost a lot of time at the factory. It's always something."