to support herself and Tom and Susy;
but it was a scraping along all the time. She had to count every penny,
and, above all things, to avoid going in debt. She was only in debt for
the one hundred pounds, which had been lent to her by an aunt of her
husband's, an old woman of the name of Church, who lived in a
neighboring village about four miles away.

Mrs. Church was quite rich, according to the Hopkinses' ideas of wealth.
She lived alone and hoarded her money. She had not been at all willing
to lend Mrs. Hopkins the hundred pounds; but as she had really been fond
of Mr. Hopkins, and had at one time meant to make him her heir, she had
listened to Mrs. Hopkins's lamentations, and desired her to send Tom to
her to inspect him, and had finally handed over the money, which was to
be paid back by monthly installments within the space of three years.

Mrs. Hopkins was so relieved to get the money that she never thought at
all of the terrible tax it would be to return it. Still, by working hard
morning, noon, and night--she added to her gains by doing fine
needlework for several ladies, who said that no one could embroider like
Mrs. Hopkins--she managed to make two ends just meet together, and she
always continued to send Mrs. Church her two pounds fifteen shillings
and sevenpence on the first of every month. Tom was the one who
generally ran across to the old lady's with the money; and so fond was
she of him that she often gave him a piece of cake, and even on one or
two rare occasions kept him to dinner. Tom enjoyed his visits to Mrs.
Church, and Mrs. Hopkins was sure to encourage him to go to her, as she
hoped against hope that when the old lady died Tom would be left some of
her money.

It was on a Wednesday that Susy sat in the parlor and forgot all about
the interests of the shop; it was on that very night that the tramp had
come in and helped himself to a ten-shilling-piece and some silver out
of the till; and it was on the following Saturday that Mrs. Hopkins, for
the first time since she had borrowed the hundred pounds from Aunt
Church, as she called the old lady, found that she could not return even
a portion of what had just fallen due. She called Tom to her side.

"Tom," she said, "you must go and see Aunt Church this afternoon as soon
as ever you come in. You must go, and you must tell her."

"Of course I'll go, mother," answered the boy. "I always like going to
Aunt Church's; she is very kind to me. She sa