so," agreed the other, heaving a sigh as though he felt
somewhat relieved in his mind to have his comrade point out a solution
to the problem. "Of course, he's imposing on his relatives something
shameful, and the least he could do was to toe the scratch when an
emergency came along. But he did the thing up brown, I must admit."

"And then again, how do we know that five dollars was every cent he
had in the world?" asked Hugh, insinuatingly.

"He said as much," declared Thad, instantly; and then laughed as he
hastened to add: "though for that matter what would one little white
lie mean to a fellow as case-hardened as an old hobo? There's another
thing I'm thinking about, Hugh."

"I can guess it," the second boy immediately told him. "You're
wondering what it was Brother Lu meant to buy with his little fortune,
eh?"

"Well, five dollars isn't so _very_ much when you come to think of it,
Hugh, but to a tramp it might seem a pile. But didn't he tell us he
and Brother-in-law Andrew had some sort of a little scheme hatched
up to give Matilda a surprise on her birthday, tomorrow, Saturday?"

"Just what he did," admitted Hugh. "They've been plotting how to
spend five dollars recklessly, so as to get the most for their money.
Such men are apt to find heaps of enjoyment in blowing in their money
a dozen times, and changing off just as often. I wouldn't be
surprised a bit if they even calculated whether they could run
across a nice little home that they could buy and present to Matilda
for a birthday present---faithful, big-hearted Matilda."

"What! for five dollars!" ejaculated Thad, and then he laughed;
"but, of course, you're joking, Hugh. Still, it looks like a big
sum to men who've seldom handled as much at a time; and I guess a
confirmed tramp never does. I hope, though, he didn't steal that
money."

"What makes you say that, Thad?"

"Oh! I don't know, but it looked so nice and fresh and new. Great
Jupiter! Hugh, you don't think for a minute, do you, that it might
have been a counterfeit bill?"

Hugh shook his head.

"Lots of things may turn out to be counterfeit, Thad, men as well as
bank bills, but that one was perfectly good. I could even see the
colored threads of silk fiber that the Government uses in the paper
to protect the currency. So don't let that bother you again."

"I'm glad to hear you say so, because it would be terrible if poor
Matilda should get into more trouble on account of pas