once a wavering man does that, the good in him gets a chance. But come,
this doesn't look like supper. I didn't think I was one bit hungry; but
now I'm fairly ravenous."

"And the splendid news has taken my desire to eat away," Mrs. Fenton
said; but she immediately started to get the meal on the table, her
face radiant with the new happiness that had come.

At the table Fred was seized with a sudden thought, pursuing which he
turned to his sister to ask a few questions.

"Do you remember who gave the letter to you at the office, Kate; was it
that red-headed clerk, Sam Smalling?"

"Why, to be sure; he always hands out the mail at the General Delivery
window," she replied, without hesitation.

"He's an inquisitive sort of a fellow, I've found," Fred went on; "and
I've even seen him reading post cards that pass through. Stop and
think, Kate, did he mention the fact to you that you were getting a
_foreign_ letter this time?"

"Why, yes, that is just what he did, Fred," Kate answered quickly; "how
could you guess such a thing now?"

"Oh! I just remembered hearing him make remarks to several persons when
they came for mail, which told me Mr. Sam Smalling kept tabs on about
all that went on in Riverport. It must keep his brain working all the
time, trying to remember when Susie Green expects a letter from her
aunt away up in Basking Ridge; and if Eph Smith has written home to his
ma regularly once a month. But joking aside, sis, what did he say to
you about it?"

"Why, as near as I can remember, Fred, he only remarked that he noticed
our far-away cousin in Hong Kong had finally taken a notion to write to
us. I thought he was trying to be smart, you know; and to carry the
joke along I laughed, and said it was too mean for anything the way
Cousin Jim had treated us for a long time; and that it was about time
he wrote."

"Splendid!" exclaimed Fred, laughing. "And what did he say to that,
Kate?"

"I didn't wait to hear," she replied; "but when I went out of the door
I looked back, and saw Mr. Smalling patting himself, as if he thought
he had the greatest mind ever, to be able to just guess everything."

"Well, I reckon you've spiked his guns, then," Fred went on. "You see,
he has a younger brother who trains with that crowd of Buck's; and I
didn't know but that Sam might make some mention of the mysterious
letter we got to-day from the other side of the world. And then, in
some way, it might get around to the ears