Dart’s letter is an unusual one, spurred in part by the note Cathie wrote inside the envelope of Dot’s recent letter. The contents apparently pleased Dart greatly, leading him to think (or hope) that Dot had something to do with their authorship. If she didn’t, he’s keeping her – and us – guessing.

Then, in response to Dot’s query about how he writes such interesting letters, he launches into a long, mostly tongue-in-cheek discourse about the mechanics of letter-writing.  My favorite part was “Often the train of thought is sidetracked to let a carload of dreams, reminiscences, or amorous thoughts and phrases go by…After all irrelevant thoughts are given mute appearance on the paper, the day’s news is set forth.”

He confesses he is intrigued by the letters Dot has written that he cannot read until she’s 21, and he signs the letter “All the love in the world.”

Here’s a quick note fired off before Dot begins her homework. The gist of it is a celebration of spring. “In the spring, a young man’s fancy turns to what the girls have been thinking about all winter!”

She warns that with school work piling up, her letters may thin out for a few weeks, but her thoughts of him are constant.