precious work and come here to help look after you? I never heard of her
losing any time over anyone else. It's because she loves you. And why
does Mr. McLean turn all of his valuable business over to hired men and
watch you personally? And why is he hunting excuses every day to spend
money on you? My father says McLean is full Scotch-close with a dollar.
He is a hard-headed business man, Freckles, and he is doing it because
he finds you worthy of it. Worthy of all we all can do and more than we
know how to do, dear heart! Freckles, are you listening to me? Oh! won't
you see it? Won't you believe it?"

"Oh, Angel!" chattered the bewildered Freckles, "are you truly maning
it? Could it be?"

"Of course it could," flashed the Angel, "because it just is!"

"But you can't prove it," wailed Freckles. "It ain't giving me a name,
or me honor!"

"Freckles," said the Angel sternly, "you are unreasonable! Why, I did
prove every word I said! Everything proves it! You look here! If you
knew for sure that I could give you a name and your honor, and prove
to you that your mother did love you, why, then, would you just go to
breathing like perpetual motion and hang on for dear life and get well?"

A bright light shone in Freckles' eyes.

"If I knew that, Angel," he said solemnly, "you couldn't be killing me
if you felled the biggest tree in the Limberlost smash on me!"

"Then you go right to work," said the Angel, "and before night I'll
prove one thing to you: I can show you easily enough how much your
mother loved you. That will be the first step, and then the remainder
will all come. If my father and Mr. McLean are so anxious to spend some
money, I'll give them a chance. I don't see why we haven't comprehended
how you felt and so have been at work weeks ago. We've been awfully
selfish. We've all been so comfortable, we never stopped to think what
other people were suffering before our eyes. None of us has understood.
I'll hire the finest detective in Chicago, and we'll go to work
together. This is nothing compared with things people do find out. We'll
go at it, beak and claw, and we'll show you a thing or two."

Freckles caught her sleeve.

"Me mother, Angel! Me mother!" he marveled hoarsely. "Did you say
you could be finding out today if me mother loved me? How? Oh, Angel!
Nothing matters, IF ONLY ME MOTHER DIDN'T DO IT!"

"Then you rest easy," said the Angel, with large confidence. "Your
mother didn't do it! Mothers of