"And me!" echoed Rose.
Even Lenore, in the happiness of her father's return, was not proof against the wonder and promise of those many bundles.
They all went within, through a hall to a great, cozy living-room. Mrs. Anderson's very first words, after her welcoming smile, were a half-faltered:
"Any—news of—Jim?"
"Why—yes," replied Anderson, hesitatingly.
Suddenly the three sisters were silent. How closely they resembled one another then—Lenore, a budding woman; Rose, a budding girl; and Kathleen, a rosy, radiant child! Lenore lost a little of her bloom.
"What news, father?" she asked.
"Haven't you heard from him?" returned Anderson.
"Not for a whole week. He wrote the day he reached Spokane. But then he hardly knew anything except that he'd enlisted."
"I'm sure glad Jim didn't wait for the draft," replied the father. "Well, mother an' girls, Jim was gone when I got to Spokane. All I heard was that he was well when he left for Frisco an' strong for the aviation corps."