as a child's cot.
The furniture was all of the plainest, not matching either in style or
in material, but looking very much as if it had been purchased piece by
piece, at different times and places, as the means of the owners had
permitted. The whole was as unlike as possible to the beautifully
furnished room in which the greater part of the boy's evenings had been
passed, but it was a great deal pleasanter in his eyes at the moment.

"I have had jolly times here, better than I shall have at home, unless
they let me read again--which I don't believe they will, though I am so
much better. I am very glad I came. I like Uncle and Aunt Inglis.
There is no `make believe' about them; and the youngsters are not a bad
lot, take them all together."

He sat upon the rug with his hands clasped behind his head, letting his
thoughts run upon many things. David had gone to the window, and was
gazing out into the stormy night again, and his brother Jem sat with his
face bent close over his book, reading by the fire-light. Not a word
was spoken for a long time. Violet laid the sleeping little Mary in her
cot, and when her mother came in, she said:

"Don't you think, mamma, that perhaps papa may stay all night at the
Gore? It is so stormy."

"No, dear; he said he would be home. Something must have detained him
longer than usual. What are you thinking about so earnestly Francis?"

"Since you went up-stairs? Oh! about lots of things. About the chapter
David was reading, for one thing."

The chapter David had read was the tenth of Numbers--one not very likely
to interest young readers, except the last few verses. It was the way
with the Inglises, at morning and evening worship, to read straight on
through the Bible, not passing over any chapter because it might not
seem very interesting or instructive. At other times they might pick
and choose the chapters they read and talked about, but at worship time
they read straight on, and in so doing fell on many a word of wonderful
beauty, which the pickers and choosers might easily overlook. The last
few verses of the chapter read that night were one of these, and quite
new to one of the listeners, at least. It was Moses' invitation to
Hobab to go with the Lord's people to the promised land.

"I wonder whether the old chap went," said Frank, after a pause. "What
are you laughing at, Jem?"

"He thinks that is not a respectful way to speak of a Bible person, I
suppose," sai