Yup. He as much as hinted that to me; wondered if you'd take the
nomination provided he could fix it for you. Sim Eldredge and Alvin and
some more all said they'd vote for you if they got a chance. ARE you
figgerin' to charge toll on the Lane?"

"Toll? What put that idea in your head?"

"Nothin', only some of the fellers wondered if you was. You see, you
won't sell, and so--"

"I see. That's a brilliant suggestion, Lute. When I adopt it I'll
appoint you toll-keeper."

"By time! I wish you would. I'd make Thoph Newcomb pay up. He owes me
ten cents; bet it one time and never settled."

Yes, my position in Denboro had changed. But I took no pride in the
change, as I had at first; I knew the reason for this sudden burst of
popularity. The knowledge made me more cynical than ever--cynical, and
lonely. For the first time since I came to the Cape I longed for a real
friend, not a relative or an acquaintance, but a friend to trust and
confide in. Some one, with no string of his own to pull, who cared for
me because I was myself.

And all the time I had such a friend and did not realize it. The
knowledge came to me in this way. Mother had one of her seizures, one
of the now infrequent "sinking spells," as the doctor called them, on an
evening when I was alone with her. Dorinda and Lute had gone, with the
horse and buggy, to visit a cousin in Bayport. They were to stay over
night and return before breakfast the next morning.

I was alone in the dining-room when Mother called my name. There was
something in her tone which alarmed me and I hastened to her bedside.
One glance at her face was enough.

"Boy," she said, weakly, "I am afraid I am going to be ill. I have tried
not to alarm you, but I feel faint and I am--you won't be alarmed, will
you? I know it is nothing serious."

I told her not to worry and not to talk. I hurried out to the kitchen,
got the hot water and the brandy, made her swallow a little of
the mixture, and bathed her forehead and wrists with vinegar, an
old-fashioned restorative which Dorinda always used. She said she felt
better, but I was anxious and, as soon as it was safe to leave her,
hurried out to bring the doctor. She begged me not to go, because it
was beginning to rain and I might get wet, but I assured her it was not
raining hard, and went.

It was not raining hard when I started, but there was every sign of
a severe storm close at hand. It was pitch dark and I was weary from
stumbling th