And the Indians love me for my old nurse's sake! But human nature is
weak and what you tell me makes me very happy, sir."
The men glanced at each other and smiled.
"Suppose, Miss Allen," said the President, "that you had the means to
outfit an expedition. How long would it take you to complete the
entire collection you have in mind?"
Diana's eyes widened. "Why, I could do nothing at all with an
expedition! I simply wander about canyon and desert, sometimes with
old nurse Na-che, sometimes alone. The Indians have always known me.
I'm as much a part of their lives as their own daughters. I--I believe
much of their inner hidden religion and so--oh, Mr. President, an
expedition would be absurd, for me!"
"Well, then, without an expedition?" insisted the President.
Diana sighed. "You see, I'm not able to give all my time to the work.
Mother died five years ago, and father is lonely and, while he thinks
his little income is enough for both of us, it's enough only if I stay
at home and play about the desert with my camera, cheaply as I do, and
keep the house. It does not permit me to leave home. It seems to me,
that working as I have in the past, it would take me at least ten years
more to complete my work.
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