deling
of her hands that at some time in her life she had occupied a very
different position from the one she was now filling. But whatever that
past might have been he gained no inkling of it either from her or from
her son. Bravely, patiently, happily, she made a home for her boy--such
a home that Peter Coddington visited it with the keenest pleasure and
came away with a vague wonder what it was that those three wee rooms
possessed which was lacking in his own richly furnished mansion.

Perhaps if it had not been for the encouragement of Nat and his mother
Peter might not have had the grit to master his work at the beamhouse.
A wholesome spur these two friends were to his flagging spirits. There
was some subtle quality in Nat's mother that made a fellow want to do
his very best--to be as much of a man as he could. And yet she said
little to urge either of the lads to their task. It was just that she
was so proud and so pleased when they did win any good fortune through
their own endeavors. And so Peter forged bravely on, prodded by an
unformulated desire to do well not only for the sake of his own parents,
but that he might not disappoint the faith that Nat and Nat's mother had
in him.

Even Mr. Coddington remarked one evening at dinner (and there was a
twinkle in his eye when he said it) that he was highly gratified by the
reports he heard of "young Strong."

But as the summer advanced and the days grew hotter Mrs. Coddington
watched her boy with anxious care and dropped more than one suggestion
that it was time they all were off to the shore. None of her suggestions
bore fruit, however, and by and by when she saw that Mr. Coddington had
no intention of leaving Milburn she ceased to remonstrate further and
Peter settled down to work and to keep as comfortable as he could during
the hot weather. What a haven his home, with its green lawns and wide
verandas, became, after those long, breathless hours in the tannery!
Never before had he half appreciated his surroundings. Most of the
houses where the men at the factory lived were huddled closely in that
dingy part of the town where Nat Jackson's rooms were, and Peter soon
discovered that after supper many of the workmen and their families came
and sat in the ball field opposite Factory 1 where there was more air,
and where some of the men actually slept when the nights were very hot.
It was a blessing--that great open space! Peter wondered what they would
have done wi