aking a paper like his own from Frank's envelope. He handed it
over and Frank unfolded and read it. Reluctantly, but seeing no way out
of it, he handed it over to Bill.

"Frank," said the letter, "Lawton is a dead one. Nuthing in it for
boys except rattles and guns and pink silk shirts and stick pins.
But your dad wouldnt let you have the pins and your mothers
wouldn't see you found dead in them shirts, and the pins was sort
of advansed, so I want you to spend this money on something you
like when you get to whatever it is.

"Just a present from your friend
"LEE."

"P. S. Say, Frank, lets take a fresh start me and you. I wouldnt
believe you would lie or steal even if some do do such. So you must
take it from me that a good indian is a good indian just as a good
white man is good.

"So that all we want to bother about that.

"Your true friend
"LEE."

"Well, this beats all!" said Bill, handing back the letter. "Isn't Lee
the _peach_ though? I wish I was sure Mom would let me keep this. Isn't
it great--all new fives! I suppose he thought it would be handy that way
for us to spend."

"What does he mean about not believing that I lie or steal?" said Frank,
scowling.

"Why, just what he says, you nut!" exclaimed Bill. "Can't you read? He
means he knows _you_ wouldn't do anything wrong, and so you must believe
in _him_. I bet he has overheard some of the things you have said about
him. Anyhow, it is just as he says. You must keep his present, and make
a new start. He wants to be good friends with you and wants you to like
him. And I should say he deserves it."

Frank said very little about the present but Bill didn't notice. He was
too busy voicing his own surprise and gratitude. Before he finally slid
down into his own berth he had spent the crisp new fives twenty times
over. He thought he was too excited to sleep, but after he had pinned
the present back in his coat pocket, and had carefully laid himself down
on that side, and tied all the curtains shut, and balanced his suitcase
on end at the front of the berth so a possible robber would tip it over
on him, he was asleep in two seconds. It would have worked all right at
that, only by-and-by in the middle of a dream where Bill was batter in a
baseball nine that used ice-cream cones ins