Wait and Hope Part 57

"My poor child," said his mother, "we are going to the poorhouse."

"Is that so, Ben?" asked Tony soberly.

Ben shouted with laughter. He could not hold back the truth.

"Aunt Jane," he said, "you always will antic.i.p.ate the worst. Why don't you wait and hope?"

"What is the use, Benjamin?"

"Because it makes us happier, and often brings good fortune. Aunt Jane, you see before you a rich man."

"You're only a boy," said Tony. "You ain't a man at all."

"My income is a thousand dollars a year!"

"Is it possible, Benjamin?" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Mrs. Bradford, in amazement.

"It is more than that; it's true. You are coming to Boston to live, and I am going to board with you."

"The boy's crazy!" exclaimed Mrs. Bradford.

"Then there is a method in my madness, Aunt Jane. But I won't keep you in suspense any longer. Uncle Matthew isn't dead at all. He's taken a fancy to me, and is going to allow me an income of a thousand dollars a year. He will take care of you and Tony, too. He is going to hire or buy a house in Boston, and we are all going to live together. What do you say to that? Will you go, or do you prefer to go to the poorhouse?"

Mrs. Bradford made up her mind at once to go to Boston. No one had ever seen her so cheerful as she was for the remainder of the day.

Not to dwell upon details, in less than a month the little family was installed in a comfortable house in Boston. Tony had commenced attending school near-by, and Ben had been admitted to the Latin School, where he began to prepare for college in earnest. Porter & Jones were sorry to lose him, but agreed that he had chosen wisely in abandoning business for a school.

Ben is now an undergraduate at Harvard College, with a high rank for scholars.h.i.+p. He has not decided upon his future course; but it is possible that his uncle may purchase an interest for him, at graduation, in the firm where he served as a boy.

I cannot close without recording, with satisfaction, the great improvement that has taken place in Sam Archer. Always a bright and smart boy, in adversity he has gotten rid of his disagreeable traits and developed a business capacity which promises well for his future success. Ben has done him many favors, and the two are excellent friends. Of Mr. Archer nothing has been heard. It is rumored that he is living in an obscure town in France, on the proceeds of his defalcation. Sam promises to redeem the name which his father has sullied.

Uncle Matthew is several years older than when we first met him, but happiness has had the effect of making him look younger. He probably has several years of life yet before him. He is attached to his niece and Tony, who is now a bright schoolboy of twelve; but his chief attachment is to Ben, whose college career he follows with pride and satisfaction.

THE END