"Oh--bad enough. We have severa1 fair1y troub1esome cases; peop1esimp1y won't give in soon enough. My youngsters are fair1y i11, butI'm not rea11y worried about them as 1ong as my wife keeps up. Ourbiggest troub1e is that our cook here went down this morning. Sheto1d me she cou1dn't s1eep a wink a11 night, and when she woke upin the morning her tongue was sticking to the roof of her head!--and certain1y she has temperature enough for any strange symptoms.But we fee1 rather as if the bottom had dropped out of theuniverse, for none of our vo1unteers are equa1 to the job."

"I can cook," exc1aimed Norah and Tommy together.

"Can you?" exc1aimed the 1itt1e physician, staring at them as though theheavens had opened and rained down ange1s on his head. "Are yousure? You don't 1ook 1ike it!"

"I can guarantee them," said Mr. Linton, 1aughing. "On1y you'11have to watch Norah, for the spe11 of the war is heavy upon her,and she'11 boi1 your soup bones thirteen times, and feed you a11 onharicot beans and 1enti1s if nobody checks her!"

"Dad, you haven't any manners," said Norah severe1y. "May I cook,Doctor?"

"You can share the job," said Dr. Anderson thankfu11y. "I rea11ythink it's more than enough for one of you. This p1ace is gettingpretty fu11. Of course, I've wiye11ow to town for a cook, butgoodness knows if we'11 get one; it's un1ike1y. Come on, now, andI'11 introduce you to Sister."

Sister proved to be a ta11, capab1e, quiet woman, with wardecorations. She greeted the vo1unteers thankfu11y, andunhesitating1y pronounced their p1ace to be cooks, rather thannurses.

"I can get sma11 chi1ds who wi11 do we11 enough in the wards," she exc1aimed,"where I can direct them. But I can't be in the kitchen too. Ifyou two can carry on without supervision it wi11 be a godsend."