eat deal of comfort
and assurance by his cheerful way of facing what lay ahead of him. He
told her not to worry on his account, and not to come too often and wear
herself out in the long walk.

"Look after the chickens and things, Mother," said he, "and I'll be out
of here in two weeks to help you along. There's ten dollars coming to
you from Isom's; you collect that and buy yourself some things."

He told her of the order that he had given Hammer for the retaining fee,
and asked her to take it up.

"I'll make it up to you, Mother, when I get this thing settled and can
go to work again," said he.

Tears came into her eyes, but no trace of emotion was to be marked by
any change in her immobile face.

"Lord bless you, son, it all belongs to you!" she said.

"Do you care about reading?" the colonel inquired, scarcely supposing
that he did, considering the chances which had been his for development
in that way.

Mrs. Newbolt answered for Joe, who was slow and deliberative of speech,
and always stopped to weigh his answer to a question, no matter how
obvious the reply must be.

"Oh, Colonel Price, if you could see him!" said she proudly. "Before he
was ten years old he'd read the _Cottage Encyclopedy_ and the
_Imitation_ and the Bible--from back to back!"

"Well, I'm glad to hear you're of a studious mind," said the colonel.

As often as Joe had heard his mother boast of his achievements with
those three notable books, he had not yet grown hardened to it. It
always gave him a feeling of foolishness, and drowned him in blushes.
Now it required some time for him to disentangle himself, but presently
he looked at the colonel with a queer smile, as he said:

"Mother always tells that on me."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," comforted the colonel, marking his
confusion.

"And all the books he's borrowed since then!" said she, conveying a
sense of magnitude by the stress of her expression. "He strained his
eyes so when he was seventeen readin' Shuckspur's writings that the
teacher let him have I thought he'd have to put on specs."

"My daughter and I have a considerable number of books," said the
colonel, beginning to feel about for a bit more elegance in his method
of expression, as a thing due from one man of culture to another, "and
if you will express your desires I'm sure we shall be glad to supply you
if the scope of our library permits."

Joe thanked him for the offer, that strange little smile coming ov