rudence rather than impulse.

"Bear ye one another's burdens," saith the Scripture; but Bobby was not
old enough or astute enough to realize that Mr. Hardhand's burden was
his wealth, his love of money; that it made him little better than a
Hottentot; and he could not feel as charitably towards him as a
Christian should towards his erring, weak brother.

Setting his pole by the door, he entered the room where Hardhand was
abusing his mother.

CHAPTER IV.

IN WHICH BOBBY GETS OUT OF ONE SCRAPE, AND INTO ANOTHER.

Bobby was so indignant at the conduct of Mr. Hardhand, that he entirely
forgot the adventure of the morning; and he did not even think of the
gold he had in his pocket. He loved his mother; he knew how hard she
had worked for him and his brother and sisters; that she had burned the
"midnight oil" at her clamps; and it made him feel very bad to near her
abused as Mr. Hardhand was abusing her. It was not her fault that she
had not the money to pay him. She had been obliged to spend a large
portion of her time over the sick beds of her children, so that she
could not earn so much money as usual; while the family expenses were
necessarily much greater.

Bobby knew also that Mr. Hardhand was aware of all the circumstances of
his mother's position, and the more he considered the case the more
brutal and inhuman was his course.

As our hero entered the family room with the basket of fish on his arm,
the little crusty old man fixed the glance of his evil eye upon him.

"There is that boy, marm, idling away his time by the river, and eating
you out of house and home," said the wretch. "Why don't you set him to
work, and make him earn something?"

"Bobby is a very good boy," meekly responded the widow Bright.

"Humph! I should think he was. A great lazy lubber like him, living on
his mother!" and Mr. Hardhand looked contemptuously at Bobby.

"I am not a lazy lubber," interposed the insulted boy with spirit.

"Yes, you are. Why don't you go to work?"

"I do work."

"No, you don't; you waste your time paddling in the river."

"I don't."

"You had better teach this boy manners too, marm," said the creditor,
who, like all men of small souls, was willing to take advantage of the
power which the widow's indebtedness gave him. "He is saucy."

"I should like to know who taught you manners, Mr. Hardhand," replied
Bobby, whose indignation was rapidly getting the better of his
discretion.

"What!"