l that Dr. Lanham was now
about to send Susan; Harvey Collins and Henry Weathervane had already
entered the school. But for poor boys like Jack, and Bob Holliday, and
Columbus, who had no money with which to pay board, there seemed no
chance.

The evening on which Susan's class broke up, there was a long and
anxious discussion between Jack Dudley and his mother.

"You see, Mother, if I could get even two months in Mr. Niles's school,
I could learn some Latin, and if I once get my fingers into Latin, it is
like picking bricks out of a pavement; if I once get a start, I can dig
it out myself. I am going to try to find some way to attend that
school."

But the mother only shook her head.

"Couldn't we move to Port William?" said Jack.

"How could we? Here we have a house of our own, which couldn't easily be
rented. There we should have to pay rent, and where is the money to come
from?"

"Can't we collect something from Gray?"

Again Mrs. Dudley shook her head.

But Jack resolved to try the hardhearted debtor, himself. It was now
four years since Jack's father had been persuaded to release a mortgage
in order to relieve Francis Gray from financial distress. Gray had
promised to give other security, but his promise had proved worthless.
Since that time he had made lucky speculations and was now a man rather
well off, but he kept all his property in his wife's name, as scoundrels
and fraudulent debtors usually do. All that Jack and his mother had to
show for the one thousand dollars with four years' interest due them,
was a judgment against Francis Gray, with the sheriff's return of "no
effects" on the back of the writ of execution against the property "of
the aforesaid Francis Gray." For how could you get money out of a man
who was nothing in law but an agent for his wife?

But Jack believed in his powers of persuasion, and in the softness of
the human heart. He had never had to do with a man in whom the greed for
money had turned the heart to granite.

Two or three days later Jack heard that Francis Gray, who lived in
Louisville, had come to Greenbank. Without consulting his mother, lest
she should discourage him, Jack went in pursuit of the slippery debtor.
He had left town, however, to see his fine farm, three miles away, a
farm which belonged in law to Mrs. Gray, but which belonged of right to
Francis Gray's creditors.

Jack found Mr. Gray well-dressed and of plausible manners. It was hard
to speak to so f