"But don't you love him more than the rest of us?”

I pondered this question for awhile and when I finally started to an- swer it, I heard Betty's breathing change into the deep, slow breathing of sleep so I said softly into the darkness, "Yes, Betty, I do love Bert very, very much.”

The next morning my own hair had grown long enough to cover my ears, so I combed it into a feminine style and left my wig on its block. I put on a short sleeved pink housedress and flats and helped Nancy prepare breakfast. There was still a lot of housework to do before the cabin was really 'living clean'. We girls did all the housework, cooking, etc., while the boys took care of all the outside chores.

Every evening, we bathed and changed clothes before dinner. We didn't dress formally — just prettily. Usually, we would wear a dinner dress and heels and proper makeup, together with jewelry. The men would wear suits or sport clothes but always wore their coats at the dinner table. We soon settled into a relaxed, pleasant routine and everybody was as happy as mortals can be. I may be jumping the gun a little - but we didn't have one argument all summer. We were truly one, big, HAPPY family.

At the end of a week, my hair was about an inch below my shoulders, but Betty talked me (Not too hard to do) into letting it grow as long as hers would be. Hers had grown faster than I had anticipated and we 'finished' our growth together. Nancy's was as long as she wanted it and had started putting it in rollers three days before we did. Sam helped her style it until she could manage by herself. Her hair was a beautiful gray and she made a most attractive matron.

The boys went to town together one afternoon and came back with CREWCUTS! Bert said, "I sure hope that stuff of yours works on us when we move back to town.” I assured him it would.

The next morning, Nancy asked if I'd like to go into town with her. She had made an appointment at a beauty shop for a permanent and would like some company. I agreed and when we walked into the shop, I suddenly decided to have my hair done, too. I asked the manager if she had any free time and explained what I wanted done.

"Of course, Miss Alcott," she said, "we can take you right now. What shade of blonde would you like to be?"