, gently:

"Do you remember the motto, Frank: 'Quit you like men, be strong'?"

Frank heaved a heavy sigh. "But how can I go about it, Mr. Lloyd?" he
asked.

Mr. Lloyd thought a moment.

"I have an idea, Frank," he said, presently. "Suppose you were to start
family prayer in the mornings. I believe it would be the means of doing
your father good."

At first Frank could not be persuaded that such a thing was possible as
his presuming to conduct family prayer in his father's presence, but
they talked long and earnestly about it, and finally he went away
promising to think it over very seriously.

As he turned the matter over in his mind, however, little by little his
courage strengthened until at length he felt himself equal to the
undertaking. It was a Sunday morning that he chose upon which to make
the venture. So soon as breakfast was finished, and his father had
moved away from the table, wishing to himself that there was a paper
published on Sundays as well as upon other days, for he had time to read
it comfortably, Frank took up his Bible, and said, very hesitatingly:

"Father, do you mind if we have family prayers?"

"Eh! What's that? What do you mean?" asked Mr. Bowser, looking up as if
he could hardly believe his ears.

"Why, father," answered Frank, timidly, "you know they have prayers at
Mr. Lloyd's every morning, and I thought perhaps you wouldn't mind our
having them, too."

Mr. Bowser scanned his son's face with a hard searching gaze, but Frank
looked back at him with so much love and respect in his clear, brown
eyes, that all suspicion was banished from his mind, and his heart
melted not a little.

"Who's going to have the prayers? You don't expect me to, do you?" he
asked, gruffly.

"Well, father, if you don't care to, I'll try, if you've no objection,"
replied Frank, modestly.

Mr. Bowser was silent for a moment. He had noted a change in Frank of
late, and had been impressed by the increased interest he took in church
and Sunday school as proven by the regularity and punctuality of his
going off to the services. Had Frank become a Christian like Mr. Lloyd?
He would not be sorry if he had, although it was rather a pity that he
had not waited until he had had his fling first, sowed a few wild oats,
seen something of the world, and then settled down. Here was a good
chance to find out. So with some relaxing of his gruffness, Mr. Bowser
said:

"All right, my boy. I've no objections so long