Linda had laid out for herself something of a task in deciding to be the mental leader of her class.
There were good brains in plenty among the other pupils.

It was only by work, concentration, and purpose, only by having a mind keenly alert, by independent investigation and introducing new points of view that she could hold her prestige.

Up to the receipt of her letter containing the offer to publish her book she had been able rigorously to exclude from her mind the personality and the undertakings of Jane Meredith.

She was Linda Strong in the high school and for an hour or two at her studies.
She was Jane Meredith over the desert, through the canyons, beside the sea, in her Multiflores kitchen or in Katherine O'Donovan's.

But this book offer opened a new train of thought, a new series of plans.