And now joining us on the program tonight is the former chairman of IPAC, Chief Amir Peter. Good evening Chief. Now the news is everywhere talking about the president's forged certificate and of course the release of the certificate from the Chicago State University. In a post on X, the minister, talking about the minister of evasion, Alexis Kayamo said Attico was holding on to every single straw that resembles a live line, you know, having, when he said Chicago State University had confirmed Tinibu attended the institution. What's your take on this and what does it portend for the PDP and Attico Abubakar going into the Supreme Court? I think the best of all, I want to commend the intention of Attico Abubakar to UNELD, the certificate I got that I've been on for over 30 years. If we want to look at the background in 1999, Tinibu submitted a few reforms to INEC and later said it was not Chicago State University, Chicago State University. I was trying to... What was going on? Sorry. What was going on? By 223, when he was going to submit an under-built document that he would have submitted the original, authenticated certificate from Chicago State University. That didn't happen. The certificate again became a controversy in the election and people were really worried about what has happened and if you look at what happened in Chicago State University, the facts that are on ground now is the fact that what Tinibu submitted in 1998, it does not tell you what has been on it in the discovery in the Chicago State University. So, one of the grounds for this publication of an election is that when it can be submitted for a certificate to the Independent National Electric Commission. So, it's so far so good that people have done what is right. Tinibu has made me to pursue this theological conclusion because one, it is the best instance of our country. It is even the best interest of the electoral process for us to finally know what are the discrepancies between what has been submitted and what is now currently being given the position in the United States of America because we cannot build our nation on the 40th foundation. And people have done what they needed to do. Nigerians have seen the facts. Nigerians are examining the facts. They are going through it and trying to make sure that whatever is brought into them, there are proper information to be able to look at issues. Where did the Supreme Court? These matters were already brought before the appeal court and it was well-delibrated and discussed. So, I don't think it's just like introducing more evidence. So, it's a positive evidence to prove that what is the Independent National Electric Commission is not what was found in the file in Chicago State University. Chief, the Chicago State University's office of the registrar actually affirmed that you know, Bola Tinibu indeed attended the university from August 1977 through June 1979 and was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with honors on June 22, 1979.  You know, talking about the Southwest College transcript that Tinibu used to get admitted to Chicago State University belongs to a female. And a lot of people question the authenticity of the transcript because of the many errors in it such as date and social security number. And we also know that section 463 of the criminal code stipulates a three-year imprisonment sentence for forgery. Y section 362 to 364, you know, of the Penal Code address forgery offenses with penalties reaching up to 14 years of imprisonment. Does this mean that Atticu can get justice at the Supreme Court once more? Well, we don't want to claim the court. We don't want to say what the court will do. But what we know, what is on the graph, is the fact that I don't want to look at the transcripts that was done that they are still going to Chicago State University. I don't want to look at the state of the college that I attended in Lagos because those details are as mentioned in controversies and I don't want to look at all of these things. What I'm looking at, what Atticu wanted to prove was the fact that the term that was submitted to IEC is not the product of Chicago State University. Even if you attended the university, what Atticu is going to prove is the case of forgery. So it's going to bring, and there are cases, there are judgments from like many of the cause of the, how they call it, the confidentiality, to say that if you have proven a forgery that they can get justice for, you must put the forgery one and the one submitted side-by-side. The forgery one and the ratio side-by-side, that's the only way you can move what is forgery and what is not forgery. What he's trying to prove, Atticu here has got to know what he has got to know. Whatever any how people want to tell the story, any how people want to be able to keep the information, that is not Atticu's problem. What Atticu wants is that whatever that was submitted in 1999, whatever that was submitted in 2020-3, we're not going to be able to prove that that really came from Chicago State Press. So as the former chairman of, you know, Interparty Advisory Council, IPAC, what would be your message, your personal message to INAIC on this issue? You said what, as a former chairman? As a former chairman of IPAC, what would be your submission where you said that Atticu had just made his own, he just talked about, made it clear that it was not beyond, beyond getting justice from Supreme Court, it's just to show that the certificate submitted by the president is not in alignment with what he was, that he submitted to INAIC. Now for you as a former chairman of IPAC, what would be your message going forward to INAIC? My memory, the message is that we must build a country, one of the clean IPACs of things, was to look at how to build credit book, fair and transparent electoral process for elections. And I must be clear that the, like what IPAC did in the States to get involved in interparty activities of two parties that are just in power, but not how the essence of what IPAC was for. IPAC was best to make an electoral process transparent, to make it present the truth of the people. For me, going forward on this issue, it's better this issue is played to reference Supreme Court. That is, we could probably look at these issues and look at where, you know, the right, because we can't tell you what to do, but one thing we will not know, because the public opinion is key, and whatever Supreme Court is doing, over $14 million out of those who voted, you know, voted for politics, and Supreme Court might look at the views and look at the document presented before them, and then put it side by side, in the best interest of Nigeria, for us as a country to continue to progress in Europe. We cannot continue to progress in Europe when we have generation yet to come born, and generation of growing up, to be able to keep them directive on what direction, on what to do, to make sure that our country works. Because we can't be bad example, or try to create an example for those who are coming, and then make it feel like it's on moral grounds that we have no authority to be able to tell them what to do. So my mind is that the facts should speak for itself. And when those documents are brought in, they will bring the satisfactory copy of what Mola and Akmei to submit it to Aidek, and then put it side by side, because the court doesn't just take up the decision on the ground of law. The court must also take the decision based on morality, people's truth, and based on facts. And if the facts are together, and if what's submitted, you know, are procedural flaws, and contradictory markings that are not in line with the board, the document that has been given the authentication, then the decision must be taken also by Nigerian camp people, so that we can start to talk about how to build the economy and build a society that will respect the right and interest of our people. Thank you so much. Hi, Chief Amei there. We were talking to the former chairman of Interparty Advisory Council, Chief Amei. Thank you so much for your contribution on the show tonight. Thank you for having me. Thank you. Thank you very much.


Welcome back to another episode of the growth 40 a podcast in this episode You mean learning how to scale your coaching business like a rock star and make money like Anthony Robbins But before we get into this episode today, if you missed last week's podcast I had my good friend Nicholas Kuzmich on and we talked about the latest trends in Facebook marketing So if you're looking to expand and scale your business on a paid acquisition level I highly recommend you check out last week's episode with Nicholas Kuzmich So today's special guest on the podcast is my dear friend Jeremy Balotti. Now Jeremy Balotti helps entrepreneurs live a high-performance lifestyle He's a TEDx speaker author and founder of fit life entrepreneur and one of the top leadership in entrepreneurial peak performance trainers for innovative startup Multi-million-dollar businesses and he's a thought leader around the world.  Good man. How are you? I'm good. I'm good, man It's crazy. We were talking about like half an hour before the actual podcast started. I felt like I was interviewing you man It's good for a change, right? I've been like away. I had it like hiatus on a podcast. It's been like six months So I'm happy to be back and especially with this new format, which is like short suite right to the point Which is a great segue into what we're gonna talk about today is like you've been killing it lately and I'd love to know exactly the two different aspects of What it took to grow your online business from the high-level strategy thinking all the way down to the tactics so if you can kind of quickly run us through, you know What was kind of like the inception of your idea and what was a high-level thinking into like how did he actually execute this on a Day-to-day basis? Yeah, no, and I absolutely love the structure So thank you for putting this together because there's nothing worse that I hate then listen to an hour-long podcast And I learned one thing So like the 95% of them out there.  This is awesome So yeah when it came to strategy bottom line is my idea was probably very similar to people that are listening Which is I just want to help people I want to serve people Entrepreneurs in particular who are really looking to create something impactful and you know serve others in a really big way And so I wanted to I knew that I had something within me to truly be able to make a massive impact and being able to do that and By all means, you know, I've gone to the conferences I went to you know, all these things trying to figure out and trying to get my ideas validated from other people and What ends up happening and most of the people caught listening this probably know this What ends up happening is that you go share your idea and what do they say? Oh, it's too broad You know that you're not going to be able to do that There's some things you might need to work on and all this just it just ends up it doesn't validate anything It just the only thing it validates is that you need to continue working on all these other different, you know Things that don't really make any difference to the the one thing that matters which is growing your business and You know driving revenues so that you can help more people. So one of the most tangible things that I did was Stopped doing that. I stopped looking for validation from anyone else and really looked at what is what is the tangible thing that? I can offer right now this second that adds value to someone else and Once I started looking at that I found solutions Because what you're doing when it comes to you know, oh find your niche find your avatar Find that person that one person in this world out of seven billion that just fits the perfect person You want to work with that's all in many ways It's just bullshit in terms of how it's presented because niches are not, you know This guy Jeff that goes to his job, you know It's not this one person that wears khakis like niches are necessary solutions to specific challenges or problems So what's that one constant with those you typically work with that you are? Solving for them and so I really started diving into that and really started understanding who I was the value that I brought to the table and I finally it was so clear once you have that conversation with yourself That it's like okay. I'm really passionate about x y and z. Let's say you're passionate about fitness. Okay. I'm passionate about fitness What do I love about fitness? I love the fact that I'm able to transform somebody's body from being You know morbidly obese to being able to start moving and being active and start getting involved with things that they haven't typically been involved with Awesome. Guess what you're gonna focus on weight loss and you're gonna focus on a community that would love to be able to transform their life it's it's very simple and one of the things that I learned throughout this process was Success is innately simple It has to be what does Bruce Lee says simplicity is the key to brilliance. Seriously. Well, if you think about it if you reverse engineer that Success has to be simple because if you over complicate shit, you're never going to be successful So just start re-engineering this stuff and it's very simple going back to the seminar stuff If you re-engineer the the strategy of getting verification from everybody else You're never going to get verified because everybody else has their own damn opinion So then once you discover this what was the next crucial steps to actually launch this Dude, the next crucial steps of finally discovering what the solution is that I solve was understanding that I really needed To get support in doing that. I think that's another thing and what I mean by support is again not validating and all that other junk It's actually Okay, I found the solution now. I'm writing a plan Of how to execute that solution. I have a solution. I know where I want to go Let's say for example, you have a goal of making $10,000 a month and earning six figures, you know, uh in your business Okay, awesome. Now you have a goal. What is re-engineering that goal? What is go working backwards the steps that you would need to take and I'm talking about tangible steps Meaning, okay, I would definitely need a website. I would definitely need a funnel and a way to Bring in money. I would definitely need so what do you say? That's the first thing that you did you started creating your website and may like made a basic funnel Um, so actually no I actually even went one step before that which I think a lot of people overlook Because they get stuck in that creation phase of funnel of funnels and of websites There's actually a step before that which is Actually driving revenue and and we kind of Like seriously, we actually you you mentioned it at the end of us talking just before which is You have to validate your freaking idea You have to validate your business if you're creating a business just to create a business and hope that people are Going to show up and hope that people are going to come. It's not going to happen You have to validate that marketing. It's the best form. I just hope Seriously, I see so many people are Spending six months to a year Building a website, you know building funnels and doing all of this stuff and it's like, okay Have you have you asked your market what they want? Uh, no Um, have you gotten any sales at all during that time? Uh, no Okay, so you don't have a business if you are just creating and not bring if you're not bringing in revenue You don't have a business and I know that can be hard for a lot of people to take because oh, well I'm not starting this business to make, you know, it's not about the money Um, yeah, it is about the money your your relationship with the money Might be all fucked up But that doesn't mean that it's not about the money the money is energy flow into your business that allows you To guess what create more energy to help more people So the money is absolutely the end game It's just you need to reshape your relationship with what money represents in the equation Because money is not this evil tangible thing that you're going after Money is the formula. Let me ask you this Jeremy. What did he do to start pre-selling it? To pre-sell it. I ended up just talking to people Awesome take us through like what did he do? You just called up people? Hey, I got this program or product What do you think 100% so I ended up mapping it out, right? So I have my solution I have what I know what I'm going to do for someone And therefore I called them and so I literally put down a list of people in my network Who I also let's pause there. So that was key right there. You went huge to your network first. Yes. Yes went to the network first. That's the first thing I looked at because You know, I mean bottom line is businesses about relationships, right? So that's that should always be the first place you look at and again You might have a very messed up relationship with going to your network because maybe you got involved with a network marketing company and they told you to make a list and Go hound all over your friends about how to how great your product is. Well Just because the strategy was flawed doesn't mean the method is is not correct So for example, if if you've gotten, you know screwed in investing But Warren Buffett tells you you need to invest It the method is not the problem. It's just the way that you were possibly doing it in the strategy you employed So I you have to make a list those are customers. Those are potential buyers I made a list of the people that were relevant to the solution I was providing meaning there was a very educated guess or educated Assumption that those people were suffering from the problem that I helped solve So you're not just putting friends and family and going to them and just you know starting a conversation This is I mean seriously, you know, you're you're putting down a list of people who you believe has this Problem now, what's a great way to find out a list of people that have the problem Going out asking if people have the problem. I mean one of the best ways one of the easiest things you could do Right now today It's free. It takes five seconds Go start a facebook group go start on meetup.com a meetup group Based around that problem say hey, is anybody suffering from this problem? Or let's say you go start a facebook group that has to do with a specific form of fitness like weight loss People are going to join that group Because they're they're they're interested in that topic or something And so let's say this like once you get them on the phone like how would you actually start the dialogue? So once I was able to let's say get them in a group somewhere or get the conversation going in a wider setting Whether it's on meetup or whether it's in a facebook group Yes, you start asking questions and very simple. You're going to find people who are needing in need of your solution What do you do you ask them to get on the phone with you right? So you ask say hey, I would love to speak with you about solving that problem Or you know about what you're struggling with you get on the phone with them and the first thing you say is hello They put the oh, yeah, you put on Adele's new song. Hello The next thing you say Is not hey, I have this amazing product or hey I know this really you know great guy that I want to speak to you that I want to put you on the phone with Who is like my mentor and I you know, you don't do that shit You ask them what they're struggling with and how They have tried overcoming it to this point Actually talk to them Actually care about what they're going through And through that conversation You're going to be able to one you're going to be able to validate That your solution is the right thing for them And you might even find some new things out about the problem that you're trying to solve Maybe there's some nuances That are really critical for you to recognize and to understand And you can you're so you're doing a couple of things right on that phone call You're one you're speaking to a potential client. So number one, that's a potential sale right there number two If anything the worst thing that happens in that conversation is you have extremely valuable data To be able to now go back into the marketplace and speak to So that call is is so valuable And literally I mean bottom line is if you're talking to somebody like that who you've reached out to this community You have a very clear assumption and a very clear understanding that they're most likely suffering from a problem because they're in this group You get on the phone with them. You verify that problem If you if you present to them, hey, I have the solution to that. I would love to help you solve it Are you interested in that? Most people are one going to say yes to that question And then they're going to say yes to your service obviously if it's priced correctly and all that other stuff so Doing that you're going to get the number one thing that you need to grow a business and that's momentum If you don't I'm glad he talked about that, you know getting the momentum, you know getting and it's also gratification in your end You were going to feel because you exactly. Yeah But why why do you feel amazing? And I think this is really key. Why do you feel amazing because You actually generated what not revenue not money into your business you generated energy Flow into your business meaning someone actually believed in you and your product enough to say yes, I will hand you the monetary form or monetary symbol of Energy that's that's what it is. They extended that trust in you To provide them a service and I'll tell you right now That is the momentum that grows your business But you have to start with that first if if you spend all that time Trying to build a website, which is what most people do What are you doing? All you're doing is just giving all of your energy To doing something that has no major no guarantee of return on investment.  I was working as one company.   That's who's gonna come to your website but if you actually Revolve your business the foundation of your business around Speaking to people getting answers Tangible answers from people You're going to inevitably build the character traits of who your target market is is going to be By the solution you provide around specific problems That's what you start. You also hit something on that's very important over here Uh specifically if you are on the online space whether it's a membership website e-commerce or sass Is people are too Over ups uh over indulging these days in the world of automation. You're talking about funnel automation Traffic automation automation this automation that when in reality what trumps all of this and I I'm going to tell you right now I'm going to put my uh, I'm going to double down on this Way on the double down on this prediction over here I predict in the future the best ROI that you're going to get from an online marketing perspective or online platform Is having an in-house sales team or in-house customer relationship customer happiness center where you can actually talk physically with a human being I completely agree with you and What's interesting about that is that I think it's going to be a curve, right? So the curve is is going to look like a u-shape, right? So right now we're kind of at like the the mixture point where it's it's still extremely valuable But you're right most people are going automation automation automation And so probably you know for the next little while whether it's a year whether it's five years It's going to be kind of the lower half of that u-shape where you know the interaction goes down The automation is kind of going uh kind of the the the high point But um the the the connection is kind of going down But it's going to shoot back up for a couple of reasons number one because Again, business is built upon relationships But just think of it in the next few years Like you said most people are going to be going in one direction And just like Warren Buffett and and these people talk about when when you see the crowd Going all in one direction run the other way and that's what that's exactly what's going to happen People are going to be going all towards this automation and they're not going to have any freaking connection or relationship with their audience Well, guess what you're going to be on the other side of that Speaking to your audience connecting with them building relationships that are actually going to be tangible and sustainable And you're going to win out in the long run and you're going to you're going to grow a freaking huge business So after you had that success with uh Pre-selling it going to your network getting a list of people that Yep may benefit from your product closing some deals. What was the next thing you did? The next step was reinvesting that and again, I think this is a mistake that a lot of people make is that they want to They they think they're making money And they brought in like five thousand dollars And you know that might be seeing baby dude seriously They're thinking dude. I'm like another grand away or two grand or three grand away from making six figures Boom, I just made it and it's like dude. No, you need to reinvest almost all of that into Now Growing your business maybe creating some funnels maybe doing some things that are relevant to your business now what I did Was I took you know, I kind of I was like, hey, I can make sales talking to people Let me just do as much of that as I possibly can and build my price up to a point where I feel comfortable So I honestly I was doing that for a good little bit. Maybe you know A couple of months Now what was I selling most people into I was doing courses. I was doing training So I would use a like a like a go-to webinar or like a service where I could speak to a group of people You know, so I was leveraging I was using technology in that sense But to be able to drive revenue It was hustling man and talking to people And so but once I got that and once I knew that I could consistently bring revenue into the business at At any moment when I decided to meaning okay, if I if I want to go make You know a few thousand dollars today. I know exactly how many people I need to talk to I know exactly how many people I need to reach out to whatever Once I had that consistently known Then I reinvested into growing the systems Building out the systems that would allow me to scale the already proven model that I had and so And so when you mean by systems, can you give us like a quick quick little kind of glimpse of what it is? Yeah, absolutely. No, that's a good question. So the first thing I ended up doing was You know, definitely rein I invested into like a website, but even that was I mean maybe 30 bucks a month for like a hosting or for hosting and for if like a theme or whatever um, and then um, that included like some some Like opt-in pages and things like that where I could start like reaching out to people That was honestly the first step and you don't even need Like a In-depth website So again, don't don't think that you once you go to the website Okay, now it's time to create all the blogs be able to have like just this huge information site Really, honestly, all you need is a landing page That tells people what you do What's the problem you're solving? Who are you? Why are you the credible person to be able to solve this problem? And then just here do you want more information about this and then get them on your list? You know build out the email list build out the list That you started driving traffic to adopt and pages. So it's typically the way that I did it was um, was through facebook and through um, some other channels In terms of the people that I had in my network. So for example, I did a couple of speaking engagements You know, I've I've done a TED talk. So I I really I love speaking. I love being in front of people I love doing workshops like that and so I ended up Doing some speaking engagements with some people that were relevant to my to my audience And we just kind of it was like an affiliate ship But I didn't do that until I validated through the sales So the two things that I reinvested in just to be clear I reinvested in Um in my network So I I reached out to someone who I could kind of partner with do some speaking engagements Kind of reach some more people and and build my email list And then second was I got a pretty much a landing page type site So like literally one scrolling page on on your site No links to like your blog or no links to all these other different pages Literally one page. What's the problem you solve? Who are you?  Here's my website You know get on my email list. I give great content on a regular basis through email And and that was it It's simple.  With purpose and presence Hmm How can I simplify it? I love it simplify and optimize with with very strategic purpose And very conscious Like being very very conscious on what I want to create And being present to that So yeah, I think most that's where most people again just kind of go wrong It's like they're trying to over complicate things. They're trying to build out all these websites They're trying to do all these things Before They do the one thing that would actually Allow them to have a business which is just Generate revenue sell sell seriously people are scared of sales and I gotta talk to another human being. Oh no god forbid Yeah, the thing is I don't I I people are on the surface scared of sales Um, but it's more so I think they're scared of The ostracization that comes from Miscommunication and rejection, right? They're they're afraid of what's gonna happen If you miscommunicate selling selling can be I mean, there's actually there's a there's a really good, um, I think it was from awesomeness fest a really good talk from somebody who talks about how you can really Um See selling as an act of like one of the greatest acts of love that you could possibly imagine because what are you selling people? You're selling people a solution to help them get better like what the how can you think of that in any other Way than just positive and amazing I mean you're not it's not like you're selling unless you're selling them like freaking You know peanuts or or like, you know something That that has no massively intrinsic value beyond maybe like a few bucks I mean Yeah, well on that notion. Do you recommend any uh sales book or any books on communication to help people out? Dude, that's I love that question. That's a good question because there's so many good resources to be honest with you It's hard to it's like saying pick your favorite movie. Um, I know I would say, you know one guy that I I honestly I I really like a lot just in terms of the way that he You know delivers his message. I think he's just entertaining and and at least gets my attention Um, Grant Cardone. I think he I think Serious, I think he's awesome with selling obviously But in terms of his you know the way he delivers everything. It's just it's really good. Um, so I think uh seller be sold Seller be sold is his book on his primary book on selling. Um, is a good one Cool, awesome. Well, let's start wrapping up things. Jeremy. I just want to thank you so much for being really open about your journey in growing your business and scaling your business and sharing all your Very very insightful pieces. Where can people find more information about you and your business? Yeah, absolutely. So they can go to um, jeremybalotti.com and um, it's also jeremy balotti across all social media So at jeremy balotti, um instagram facebook youtube You know, um What is it Instagram instagram, what's a periscope and twitter? Yeah, twitter all that stuff So you're on periscope like crazy. You're crushing that. Yeah periscopes going well and then also dude blab, man I think I think blab is where it's at. I think that's going to be the next one that's going to blow up really? Yeah Yeah, because I mean just think of what periscope is And you're able to actually bring people on and communicate with them and like interaction again It's just it's that level of connection Um, so I think that's definitely a good one too Yeah, so and also another thing in terms of lead generation. I think is really important to understand everything is value So everything is value. So even even sending someone to For example your facebook group If you are if you were going to invite somebody on into your facebook group like let's say you send an email to you to um Or i'm sorry not an email a uh, let's say you're promoting to get into this facebook group That's going to add a lot of value for someone Why not send them to an opt-in page first and collect their email and say hey this this is you're going to get Part of a community that's going to help you that's going to grow with you That's going to you know, we're going to be doing some amazing stuff And you know join this community and I'll also send you this amazing gift as a as a thank you to your inbox there's just so many ways to communicate differently That allows people to really see the value that you offer and that's how you do it and that's how you grow your list That's how you grow your connections Awesome. Well, thank you so much. Jeremy. Absolutely brother. Thanks. Hi man. Have a great day. You too, man This has been the growth 48 podcast. Thanks for listening


doing is just running the thing. They're the one with the vision. They're the one with the implementation of it. But the larger the company gets when you get a large company with different types of departments, of course, then it's too big for one person to just come up with the budget. The departments have to come up with the budget because they're the ones that are running in the numbers. It has to be decentralized in some kind of way. So when we get a larger company, we've got to go from the bottom up type of budget. We got to go and get the numbers from the people in the departments that are there. And then I'll put those together in a bottom to top kind of structure. So final answer B, budget figures are developed B from the bottom up. Next question, preparing budgets for each of several feature periods and then revising those budgets as each period is completed is either a participatory budgeting B adjustable budgeting C strange budgeting D continuous budgeting and E master budgeting. Alright, let's go through this again using the process of elimination preparing budgets for each of several future periods and then revising those budgets as each period is completed is so we've got the full budget and then we're going to revise them basically as we go a participatory budget. I mean it might sound reasonable. I'll keep that for now. B says adjustable budget that sounds kind of reasonable like what we're doing. C says strange budget. It does sound strange, but I doubt we named it the strange budget. So that's probably not and then D says continuous budget. Again, that kind of sounds like what we're doing. It's kind of like a continuous thing and E says master budget and that's kind of what we've been looking at. So I'll keep all of these and go through this again preparing budgets for each of several future periods and then revising those budgets as each period is completed is now of those note that the participatory budget doesn't sound reasonable. I think all budgets are going to be kind of participatory because they're going to try to communicate with the company, but I don't think that's what it's going to be called. E is the master budget and this one seems to be some type of deviation from the normal master budget that we've been talking about. So I don't think it's E and then the other kind of unusual budget names we would have adjustable budgeting, continuous budgeting. Those both kind of indicate just by the name of it what we're doing here in some way. The continuous budgeting is actually the term that possibly we recognize that's the one that it's actually called. Final answer, preparing budgets for each of several future periods and then revising those budgets as each period is completed is D, continuous budget.


And now, stay tuned for the mystery program that is unique among all mystery programs. Because even when you know who's guilty, you always receive a startling surprise at the final curtain. In The Whistler. Many things for I walk by night. I know many strange tales hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak. Yes, friends, it's time for The Whistler. Rated by independent research, the most popular West Coast program in radio history. The Whistler's strange story. Till death do us part. There's in the cheap boarding house where anything but inviting. And from where he sat on the edge of the sagging brass post-event, Roy's view of the outside world was a dismal one. The assortment of unopened bills and collection notices in the nearby wastebasket held their grim message too. They told him that he'd have to be moving on soon. Change his address. The one that he wanted but had given up hoping for wasn't there. Never would be he reasoned. And the knock on the door, rousing him from his mental fumblings, could mean only one thing. The landlady and her oft-repeated demand. I'm back again, Mr. Layton. To ask you once and for all, do you have... The rent money, I know, I know. You know that the minute I hear from my uncle... You've been saying that for months now. The minute you hear from your uncle Morton in Mexico. Well, I'm tired of that too. Tired of hearing of an uncle that, for all I know, might not even exist. Oh, you're so sweet. A real doll. I'm sorry about the rent. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going out to get a breath of air. Good night, Mrs. Pizzacchelli. I'd appreciate it if you'd fix the latch while I'm out. I'll fix the latch. Oh, well, it's sharp. That's what I'll do. As you leave the house and start walking toward Vermont Avenue, you're pretty sure that this time your landlady means what she says. It's tough, isn't it, Roy? Things never seem to go right for you. You'd like a drink, then decide you'd better skip it. Conserve the few dollars you have left in case your landlady carries out a threat to lock you out. Then you remember Angelo's, a second-rate cocktail lounge a couple of blocks away. Whereas late as yesterday, your credit was still good. But once there, you find things have changed Angelo's too. Mac, the bartender, is even slower than usual in coming over to you. Sorry, kid. And when he does... No dice. What are you talking about, Mac? I didn't even order. Well, I thought I'd save you the trouble. Angelo's has no more stuff on the cuff. But, Mac, I haven't run up a bill on him, at least not a big one. Yeah, Angelo knows that, but he wants to keep it that way. I'm sorry, kid. I just work here. I want to keep on working here. In that case, you better get busy and fix my friend a drink. Huh? You don't mind, do you, Roy? Roy? Roy Layton. That is your name, isn't it? Sure. Funny how did you know him? I know quite a little about you. Been checking up. Um... Oh, Mac? Mac, yes. Mac, you better get started before all your ice melts. A pair of scotch and sewers. Oh, sure, lady. Sure. Say, now, wait a minute. Why should a good-looking strange gal... No, Roy. Don't go saying things you don't mean. Besides, I don't have to be a strange gal. Not if you know my name. It's Linda. Linda McKelvie. So? So, uh... Don't you think it's kind of pretty? Maybe. Anyway, these drinks are... Set them down easy, Mac. Yeah. And since I'm drinking with a lady, try out a couple of cocktail napkins. Okay, okay. Thank you, Mac. Skip it. To us, Roy. Hmm? Sure. To us. Mmm. Mmm. I think it's okay. It's very good for a place like this. You look like you could afford better. What brought you around? You. Me? Oh, sure. Now look, lady. Linda. Hey, Linda. Look, I'm just sitting here minding my own business. But unable to do any, huh? So that's my business, too. And mine. Roy. Roy, I've been checking up on you. Quite a while. And you fit my picture very nicely. And, uh, you do need $5,000. Yeah. I need $5,000. Oh, I get it. Santa Claus finally got my letter and he sent you to bring it. Nothing like that. It's nothing altruistic. Big word. You are out of place here. So are you, Roy. I've got $5,000 that says you are. I'm going to listen to you. How can I help it? Go ahead. Roy. Roy, I'm... Well, I'm used to nice things. To be crass, I like money. My share, I mean. Maybe even a little bit more. I guess I'm just not a very nice person. Not many of my friends are. But I'm still listening. Fair enough. Oh, how about going somewhere else, huh? Hmm? My cause park outside. Okay, lady. Linda. And you better get used to it. It's as bewildering to you as it was to Mac, isn't it, Roy? This girl, Linda McKelvie, dropping into your life from nowhere. Talking in circles and buying rounds of drinks. You wonder when the dream will turn into a nightmare. When she is going to give you the name of the bank she once held up. But it's nothing like that, is it?  It's a little fantastic. You want her to repeat part of it. And then it's all quite clear. You really mean it? You want me to marry you and you'll pay me five thousand bucks. Now is it such a difficult assignment? No, no, but... But you still can't see why, huh? All right, I'll run through it again. As many times as you want to hear it, Roy. I've got to have a husband. A legal, honest to goodness man about the house. And you've got to have him, me, by this certain date you mentioned. My 25th birthday, two months from now. It's all simple enough. My late uncle was eccentric, narrow-minded, opinionated. And rich. Very rich. According to his will, if I marry on or before my 25th birthday, I inherit over a quarter of a million dollars. And if I don't, everything goes to charity. And you are your favorite charity? I certainly am. You can have lots of guys. I don't want lots of guys. Now wait a minute, you don't know me from Adam. All right, Roy. I'll tell you the truth. I love someone else, but... I made the mistake of falling for a married man. And his divorce won't be final for six months. It's too late to meet the demands of the inheritance. Oh, that's different.  Well, something like that. Well, Roy? I marry you, we make it look good, and then later we get a quiet divorce. Exactly. You're $5,000 richer and nobody's the wiser. Once I've got the money, there's nothing anybody can do about it. What do you say, Roy? I say I wish I had a rich uncle. Mine, he doesn't even answer my letters. Yours leaves you a quarter of a million bucks. Well, that $5,000 will give you a new start in life, Roy. And until we're divorced, you'll dress well and live quite comfortably in Mr. and Mrs. Roy Layton's apartment. Well, must I unbended me? Find a preacher, honey. I'll do anything for money. Flatterer. The wedding a few days later isn't what every boy and girl dreams about, is it, Roy? But the hollow words the pair of you speak are just as binding in a legal sense. And you drive off swiftly as Mr. and Mrs. Roy Layton. You even have a sense of ventilation in the new clothes you're wearing. And returning to Linda's top floor apartment. 12 floors up in the best part of town makes it complete.  For as you step from the elevator and she opens the door to let you in. Congratulations, ladies and gentlemen. Well, what's the devil? No, no, Linda, dear, don't come in. He must carry you. Carry you across the threshold. Oh, yes. Well, Roy. Oh, of course. Oh, great, great. That's better, much better. And now we'll all just scoot right along, Mrs. Layton. We just didn't want you two to arrive without any reception at all. Oh, that's awfully nice of you, Mr. Knowles and Mrs. Prentice. Not at all, and I enjoyed it. Oh, so romantic. This is Roy, my husband. Nice to meet you. You'll forgive us, won't you, Mrs. Layton? We just wanted you to know your neighbors are happy for you. Well, of course. It was nice of you all to think about it. Well, we'd be running along. Good night. Good night. Good night. And drop in and see us any time, Mr. Knowles. Good night. How does that get in here? Mr. Knowles manages the apartment. Oh. Well, incidentally, it's some layout.  Yeah, yeah. You know that, Mrs. Prentice? We'll have to watch her. She's an inquisitive type. But wait, she can help us in a way. Her balcony adjoins this one. It won't hurt a bit to let her see us out there once in a while looking over the city. My arm's around you. A few fervent kisses. That the idea? Um, just for Miss Prentice, yes. Well, anyway, this beats stevedoring in Frisco. Working in the Oklahoma oil fields. Digging around Mexico when Uncle Mort was wild-capping. Well, make yourself at home, Mr. Layton. Okay, Mrs. Layton. I'll do just that. It's all going smoothly, isn't it, Roy? Just as Linda planned it. As the weeks go by, you meet other people in the apartment. People Linda had met before she married her. They seemed to like you. And most of all, they approve of the match. Linda assures you there'll be no trouble in having her uncle's lawyer accept it all as completely genuine. As the weeks pass, both play your roles well. And then late one afternoon, you hear some excitement in the hall and rush to the door. Oh, you poor dear. You might have been killed. I'm all right now. Really, I am. You'd better lie down, dear. As soon as you get inside. Who? He wasn't even looking where he was going. What is it? What's happening? I'm all right now, Roy. It was nothing at all. She was backing out of the garage. Another car hit her. Well, thanks very much, you two. But please don't bother anymore. Roy can take care of her. I'll carry you into the bedroom. Now, you don't have to carry me, Roy. I'll be all right. Oh, dear. Maybe I better call a doctor. No, Roy. I'm not hurt. I'm just shaking up. I don't think it's bad. It's only... Well, it could have been so much worse. Just think, Mr. Hitton. What would you have left if anything really happened to her? Yes. Yes, what would I have?  Terrible. Now, back to the whistler. Miss Prentiss' question planted an interesting thought in your mind. When she asked you what you'd have left if anything happened to Linda, didn't it, Roy? In the days follow Linda's near accident, you often ask yourself the same question. What would you have if anything fatal happened to Linda? Then the answer is very attractive, isn't it, Roy? You'd have a quarter of a million dollars. As Linda's husband, you'd inherit her money. But there's an easier way than murder, isn't there, Roy? A safer way. If you can make Linda fall in love with you, you'll be able to share her money. It's worth a try. You plan your campaign very carefully. Carry it out with all the charm at your command. Then one evening while the two of you are out dancing, you suggest a breath of air and lead Linda from the dance floor to the beautiful terrace outside. May I have a cigarette, Roy? Why, sure, Roy. There you are. Thanks. Thanks again. Oh, isn't it a beautiful night? I just love it out here. Linda. Yes? Linda, I've been thinking about us. This little act would put it on. You've been doing splendidly, darling. Uh-huh. Yes, the happy devoted husband head over heels in love with his pretty bride. Yes, yes. Only now, Linda. Now it's no longer a night. What? What do you mean? Isn't it quite obvious? You're, you're in love with me? Oh, so much in love with you, Linda. No, wait, Roy. I know, I know, it wasn't in the bargain to fall in, fall in love, but I have fallen in love, Linda. I couldn't help it. Roy. Look, I'm really not such a bad guy. I'm a good dancer. I wear my clothes well in perfect health. Oh, I do have a few faults. That's true, but... Roy, I'm not in love with you. But you... you could be, darling. No, Roy, please don't. Linda, darling. Let me go, Roy, please. I shouldn't have kissed you. I know that, but Linda... Look, we made a bargain. Now let's keep it that way. Oh, but Linda, please. I mean it, Roy. I'm sorry, but... that's the way it's got to be. Yeah. I'm sorry, too. Very sorry. It means it, doesn't it, Roy? And you're certain there's nothing you can do to make her change your mind about the divorce. There isn't time. Linda has told you the money from her inheritance is already deposited to her credit at her bank. And in a week or so, the two of you will be on your way to Reno and that quiet divorce. No, there isn't time to make her fall in love with you, Roy. But you decide there is time for something else. Today, Linda leaves before lunch and the spend the afternoon at her lawyer's office, fishing up her affairs.  Early that afternoon, you're in the bedroom, looking around when... Hello? Roy? Yes? This is Amelia Fleming. Oh, Mrs. Fleming, how are you? I'm splendid, thank you. Oh, is Linda home? I don't know if she isn't. I don't expect her back until after five or so. I see. Well, I'm sure she'll be back around five. Why don't you call her then? Well, you better have probably called while she was in the bathtub. Oh, don't you worry about that. Linda generally takes the phone right... Roy? Oh, yes, yes, Mrs. Fleming. I'll tell Linda you called and have her phone you. Oh, that's fine.  Then slowly you replace the receiver. Walk back into the living room. A plan has suddenly emerged, hasn't it, Roy? A telephone. A loose wire.  You've read of it happening and you're sure there's no reason why it can't work. And by the time Linda returns shortly after five, you've arranged everything. You wait until you hear the bathwater running. Then you call out to her in the bedroom. Linda? Yes? I'm going out for a few minutes. Fresh out of cigarettes. Can I get you anything? Not a thing, Roy. I'll be back soon. No, hurry. I'm going to soak in the tub for a while. You walk down to the corner drugstore. Wait over a cup of coffee for five minutes. Then you step to the phone booth. But there's someone inside. You look at your watch and return to the counter. Five minutes go by and then ten. And then the booth door opens and the woman who had been monopolizing the phone walks away. There's still time, isn't there, Roy? You're certain of that. Linda will still be in the tub. The phone on the stand within easy reach. When she answers it, the loose wire will pull away from the receiver. You fall into the tub of water. You walk back to the apartment. But instead of going on up to your apartment on the 12th floor, you stop at the manager's apartment and ring the bell. Yes? Oh, Mr. Lakin. Mr. Knowles, I wonder if you'd do something for me. Of course, of course. Our refrigerator's been acting up a bit lately. I'd like you to have a look at it if you don't mind. Me glad, Mr. Lakin. I hope I'm not taking you away from your dinner. No, nothing like that. Come on, let's go up and have a look at it, eh? It seems like it's been running a lot more than it should. That so? Well, we just see what's wrong. Yes, come in, come in. Linda! Linda, you home, darling? That's funny. She shouldn't be around. Linda! Yes, ma'am? What's the matter, Roy? Oh, nothing, nothing. Just that you answered so suddenly, that's all. Oh, good evening, Mr. Knowles. Good evening, ma'am. I asked Mr. Knowles up to have a look at our refrigerator, Linda. You know it hasn't been acting right. Oh, hasn't it? No, no, it hasn't. Well, I'm awfully glad you're here, Mr. Knowles. I was about to come downstairs to ask you to call a telephone company. Something rather startling just happened. It scared me to death. What's that, ma'am? Well, I'd just gotten out of my tub when the phone rang. It was on the stand in the bathroom, and I picked up the receiver and, by the way, I just slipped out and fell into the tub. Say, we'd better see about that right away. Good thing you weren't in the tub when it happened, Mrs. Layton. Well, I should say so. I might have been electrocuted. It didn't work, did it, Roy? And Linda is still very much alive. Somehow you managed to cover your disappointment. Properly concerned over the near tragedy. You've got to find another way now, and there isn't much time left. It's after dinner that the idea comes to you. Perfect, isn't it, Roy? And this time you'll make certain. While Linda is busy in the kitchen, you slip out onto the balcony, take a wrench, and loosen the bolts on the handrail. If Linda leans against the rail, your problem is solved. Not a light push. Just the slightest jar will accomplish your purpose. And Linda's money will belong to you.  What are you doing, Roy? Oh, nothing. I'm just looking for my cuff link. I must have dropped it here somewhere. Oh. Oh, Roy, I meant to tell you. While I was downtown today, I made plane reservations for tomorrow. We'll be leaving in the afternoon, four o'clock. Oh, I see. So this is our last evening here. I'm afraid so. Well, I'm going to miss all this, Linda. You won't change your mind, I suppose. I mean, about us. No, Roy. I won't change my mind. Well, say, how about a drink out here on the balcony, huh? One last look at the city of Los Angeles together. Well, Roy, I think that's a wonderful idea. All right, you just stay right here, Linda. I'll get the drinks. I'll farewell drink. The whistler will return in just a moment with a strange ending to tonight's story. And now back to the whistler. There's little question of the suspect's guilt. To police lieutenant Cosgrove, it was a clear case of murder. The victim had been deliberately pushed off the 12th story balcony. Lieutenant Cosgrove knew that. And before long, he'd know the motive, too. As he paced slowly back and forth in the small room at police headquarters, he felt certain that a full confession was close at hand. Finally, he stopped pacing, sat down in a chair facing the suspect, who was sitting rigid and tense, trying to avoid the lieutenant's gaze. Look, you might as well break down and tell us what this is all about.  All right. All right. Why, Mrs. Layton? Why did you do it? It's a long story. All right, take your time. Sir, perhaps it isn't such a long story at that. You see, I was born in Los Angeles, lived here until a few years ago when I took a job in Mexico, and up to six months ago, I was secretary to a man named Morton Layton. Layton? Any relation to the deceased? Yes. Yes, he was Roy's uncle. He died about six months ago. Before that, he'd been trying to find Roy. Roy wrote him several letters before he died that Morton Layton never knew about them. I... I destroyed them. Why? Because I didn't want them to get together. And then when... when old man Layton died, I came back to Los Angeles, where I knew I'd find Roy and marry him. And married him because you thought... Well, I never knew it. He never knew that he was a Missing Earth. You see, his uncle struck it rich in Mexico. He left him a quarter of a million dollars. I was trying to get that money for myself, as Roy's widow.


CHAPTER 38. THE BANNED IN THE ROAD Marella went to town the next day and returned in the evening. Anne had gone over the orchard slope with Diana and came back to find Marella in the kitchen, sitting by the table with her head leaning on her hand. Something in her dejected attitude struck a chill to Anne's heart. She had never seen Marella sit limply in earth like that. Are you very tired, Marella? Yes, no, I don't know, said Marella verily looking up. I suppose I'm tired, but I haven't thought about it. It's not that. Did you see the Oculus? What did he say? Asked Anne anxiously. Yes, I saw him. He examined my eyes. He says that if I give up all reading and chewing entirely, and any kind of work that strains the eyes, and if I'm careful not to cry, and if I wear the glasses he's given me, he thinks my eyes may not get any worse, and my headaches will be cured. But if I don't, he says I'll certainly be stoned blind in six months. Blind. Anne, just think of it. For a minute, Anne, after her first quick exclamation of dismay, was silent. It seemed to her that she could not speak. Then she said briefly, but with a catch in her voice. Marella, don't think of it. You know, he has given you hope. If you are careful, you won't lose your sight altogether, and if his glasses cure your headaches, it will be a great thing. I don't call it much hope. Said Marella bitterly. What am I to live for if I can't read or see or do anything like that? I might as well be blind, or dead. And as for crying, I can't help that when I get lonesome. But there, it's not good talking about it. If you'll give me a cup of tea, I'll be thankful. I'm about done out.  I can't be a bit fox. She'll come here to question, sympathize, and talk about it. When Marella had eaten her lunch and persuaded her to go to bed, then Anne went herself to the east gable and sat down by her window in the darkness alone with her tears and her heaviness of heart. How sadly things had changed since she had last sat there the night after coming home. Then she had been full of hope and joy and the future had looked rosy with promise. Anne felt as if she had lived here since then, but before she went to bed there was a smile on her lips and peace in her heart. She had looked to duty courageously in the face and founded a friend, a duty ever is when we meet it frankly. One afternoon, a few days later, Marella came slowly in from the front yard, where she had been talking to a caller. A man whom Anne knew beside the settler from comedy. Anne wondered what he could have been saying to bring that looked Marella's face. What did Mr. Settler want, Marella? Marella sat down by the window and looked at Anne. There were tears in her eyes in defiance of the Oculus's prohibition and her voice broke as she said. He heard that there was going to sell Cran Gables and he wants to buy it. Buy it? Buy Cran Gables? Anne wondered if she had heard right. Oh, Marella, you don't mean to sell Cran Gables? Anne, I don't know what else is to be done. I have thought it all over. If my eyes were strong I could stay here and make out to look after things and manage with a good hired man, but as it is I can't. I may lose my sight altogether in any way I will not be fit to run things. Oh, I never thought I'd live to see the day when I'd have to sell my home, but things would only go behind verse and verse all the time till nobody would want to buy it. Every cent of our money went in the bank and there are some notes M.G. gave last fall to pay. Mrs. Linn advises me to sell the farm and bought somewhere with her, I suppose. It won't bring much. It's small and the buildings are old, but it will be enough for me to live on, I reckon. I am thankful you are provided for with that scholarship, Anne. I am sorry you won't have a home to come to on your vacations. That's all, but I suppose you'll manage somehow. Marilla broke down in Webbiterly. You mustn't sell Crain Gables, said Anne Resoluzzi. Oh, Anne, I wish I didn't have to, but you can see for yourself. I can't stay here alone. Let go crazy with trouble and loneliness, and my sight would go. I know it would. You won't have to stay here alone, Marilla. I'll be with you. I am not going to Redmond. Not going to Redmond? Marilla lifted her worn face from her hands and looked at Anne. Why? What do you mean? Just what they say. I'm not going to take the scholarship. I decided to deny it after you came home from town. You surely don't think I could leave you alone in your trouble, Marilla, after all you have done for me? I've been thinking and planning. Let me tell you my plans. Mr. Berry wants to rent the farm for next year, so you won't have any border over that, and I'm going to teach. I have a blight for this school here, but I don't expect to get it if I understand the trustees have promised it to Chilbert Blight. But I can have the Kamudy School. Mr. Blair told me so last night at the store. Of course, that won't be quite as nice or convenient as if I had to ever loan a school. But I can board home and drive myself over to Kamudy and back, in the warm weather at least. And even in winter, I can come home Fridays. We'll keep a horse for that. Oh, I have it all planned out, Marilla. And I'll read to you and keep you cheered up. You shan't be dire lonesome, and we'll be real cozy and happy here together. You and I. Marilla had listened like a woman in a dream. Oh, Anne, I could get on real well if you were here. I know. But I can't let you sacrifice yourself for me. It would be terrible. Nonsense. Anne loved Marilly. There's no sacrifice. Nothing could be worse than giving up Crane Gables. Nothing could hurt me more. We must keep that here old place. My mind is quite made up, Marilla. I am not going to Redmond, and I am going to stay here and teach. Don't you worry about me a bit. But you're ambitious, and I'm just as ambitious as ever. Only I've changed the object of my ambitions.  Besides, I mean to study at home here and take a little college course over myself. Oh, I have dozens of plans, Marilla. I've been thinking them out for a week. I shall give life here my best, and I believe it will give its best to me in return. Death Queens, my future, seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road. I thought I could see along it for many a milestone. Now there's a bend in it. I don't know what lies around the bend, but I'm going to believe that the best does. It has a fascination of its own, the bend, Marilla. I wonder how the road beyond it goes. What there is of Crane Glory and Soft, checkered light and shadows. What curves and hills and valleys further on. I don't feel as if I ought to let you give it up, said Marilla, referring to scholarship. But you can't prevent me. I am sixteen and a half. Obstinate as a mule, as Mrs. St. once told me. Laugh then.  I don't like to be pitted, and there's no need for it. I am hard-clad over the very thought of staying at Dear Crane Gables. Nobody could laugh at it as you and I do, so we must keep it. You blessed girl, said Marilla yielding. I feel as if you've given me new life.  But I know I can't, so I ain't going to try. I'll make it up to you, Anne. And it became noise to brought an ever-loaner that Anne Shirley had given up the idea of going to college and intended to stay home and teach. There was a good deal of discussion over it. Most of the good folks, not knowing about Marilla's eyes, thought she was foolish. Mrs. Ellen did not. She told Anne in so approving words the poor tears of pleasure to the girl's eyes. Neither did good Mrs. Lind. She came up one evening and found Anne and Marilla sitting at the front door in the warm, centered summer dusk. They liked to sit there when the twilight came down, and the white moss flew about in the garden and the odor of the mint filled the teary air. Mrs. Rachel deposited her substantial purse upon the storm bench by the door, behind which grew a row of tall, pink and yellow hollyhocks with a long press of mingling weariness and relief. I declare I'm getting glad to sit down. I've been on my feet all day, and 200 pounds is a good bit for two feet to carry around. It's a great blessing not to be fat, Marilla. I hope you appreciate it. Well, Anne, I hear you've given up your notion of going to college. I was real glad to hear it. You've got so much education now as a woman can be comfortable with. I don't believe in girls going to college with a man and cramming the heads full of Latin and Greek and all that nonsense. But I'm going to study Latin and Greek just the same, Mrs. Lind. Said Anne, loving, I'm going to take my arts course right here at Crane Gables and study everything that devoted college. Mrs. Lind lifted her hands in holy horror.  Not a bit. I shall strive on it. Oh, I'm not going to overdo things. As Josiah Anne's wife says, I'll be medium. But I'll have lots of spare time in the long winter evenings, and I have no case of offensive work. I'm going to teach over at Carmody, you know. I don't know it. I guess you're going to teach right here in Avalona. The drasties have decided to give you the school. Mrs. Lind, cried Anne, springing to her feet in surprise. Why, I thought, they promised it to children applied. So they did. But as soon as Gilbert heard that you applied for it, he went to them. They had a business meeting at the school last night, you know, and told them that he was through his application and suggested that they accept yours. He said he was going to teach at White Sands. Of course, he knew how much you wanted to stay with Marilla, and I must say, I think it was real kind and thoughtful in him. That's what. Real self-sacrificing too, for he'll have his point to pay at White Sands, and everybody knows he's got to earn his own way through college. So the drasties decided to take you. I was tickled to death when Thomas came home and told me. I don't feel that they ought to take it, murmur at the end. I mean, I don't think I ought to let Gilbert make such a sacrifice for, for me. I guess you can't prevent him now. He signed the papers with the White Sands drasties, so it wouldn't do him any good now if you were to refuse. Of course you'll take the school. You'll get along all right. Now that there are no pies going, there's been some pie or other going to Avalona's school for the last 20 years, and the guest's mission in life was to keep schoolteachers reminded that Earth isn't their home. Bless my heart. What does all that winking and blinking at the Bear Gable mean? Diana is signaling for me to go over. Love, Anne. You know we keep up the old custom. Excuse me while I run over and see what she wants. Anne ran down the clover slope like a deer and disappeared in the fiery shadows of the haunted wood. Mrs. Linn looked after her indulgently. There's a good deal of the child about her yet in some ways. There's a good deal more of the woman about her in others, retorted Marella, with a momentary return of her old Christmas. But Christmas was no longer Marella's distinguishing characteristic, as Mrs. Linn told her Thomas that night. Marella Caspett has got mellow. That's what. Anne went to the Little Avalona Grave the next morning to put fresh flowers on Mrs. Grave and water the scotch rosebush. She lingered there until dusk, liking the peace and calm of the little place. With its poplossous rustle was like low friendly speech and its whispering grass is growing at will among the graves. When she finally left it and walked down the hill that sloped to the lake of the shining waters, it was past sunset and all Avalona lay before her in a dream like after light. A haunt of ancient peace. There was a freshness in the air as of a wind that had blown over honey-sweet fields of clover. Home lights twinkled out here and there among the homestead trees. Beyond lit a scene, misty and purple, with its haunting and seizing murmur. The west was a glurry of soft-mild views and the pond reflected them all in still softer shadings. The beauty of it all hurled Anne's heart and she gratefully opened the gates of her soul to it. The old world, she murmured, you are very lovely and I am glad to be alive in you. Half way down the hill a tall lad came whistling out of the gate before the blind homestead. It was Chelbert and the whistle died on his lips as he recognized Anne. He lifted his cap courteously, but he would have passed on in silence if Anne had not stopped and held out her hand. Chelbert, she said with scarlet cheeks, I want to thank you for giving up the school for me. It was very good of you and I want you to know that I appreciate it. Chelbert took the offered hand eagerly. It wasn't particularly good of me at all, Anne. I was pleased to be able to do you some small service. Are we going to be friends after this? Have you really forgiven me my old fault? Anne laughed and tried unsuccessfully to withdraw her hand. I forgave you that day by the pond landing, although I didn't know it.  I've been, I may as well make a complete confession. I've been sorry ever since. We are going to be the best friends, said Chelbert jubilantly. We are born to be good friends, Anne. You have tried the destiny enough. I know we can help each other in many ways. You are going to keep your studies up, aren't you? So am I. Come, I'm going to walk home with you. Narella looked curiously at Anne and the latter entered the kitchen. Who was that came up the lane with you, Anne? Chelbert blight, answered Anne, wakes to find herself blushing. I met him and bear his hair. I didn't think you and Chelbert blight were such good friends that you'd stand for half an hour at the gate talking to him, said Narella with a dry smile. We haven't been. We've been good enemies. But we've decided that it will be much more sensible to be good friends in the future. Where we rallied there for half an hour, it seemed just like a few minutes. But you see, we have five years' lost conversations to catch up with Narella. Anne said long had her windowed at night companion by a clad content. The wind part softened the cherry boards and the mint press came up to her. The stars twinkled over the pointed furs in the hollow and Diana's light gleamed through the old gap. Anne's horizons had closed in since the night she had set their after-coming home from Queens. But if the past set before her feet was to be narrow, she knew that flowers and quiet happiness were bloom along it. The chore of sincere work and versey aspiration and congenial friendship were to be hers. Nothing could help her for birthright of fancy and her ideal world of dreams, and there was always a bend in the road. God's in His heaven, all's right in the world, whispered Anne softly, softly. End of Chapter 38, recording by Ellie, November 2009. End of End of Green Gables, by Lucy Mod Montgomery.