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Up we trudged a few yards more and my father merely sniffed.

"Yes," he said at last, "yes, I quite understand. Well—well—you may learn engineering eventually. And engineering needs education. And engineering can take a man to the ends of the earth if he wants to go."

Of course I jumped at that idea—anywhere, anywhere out of the world of crowds!

Up we came to the farm and my father handed over the mail that had come for my mother.

"Has Will had no letter?" asked my mother, as she took the bundle.

My father smiled and shook his head. Then he prepared to give her a surprise with the newspaper, sniff-sniffing and glancing at it to get his finger on the place to spring it on her. She liked what she called "pleasant surprises," and he liked to surprise her pleasantly.

She opened a certain letter first, curious, womanlike, because she did not know the handwriting.

"I don't know this writing," she said, turning it over and over.

"Well, bless my heart, my dear, why not open it?" said my father. "Eh? What?" and sniffed, and got his finger to the list of Bursary winners.