against it. He
would wait and hope for some way out, without the sacrifice of all
that he had longed for. His hand fell nerveless to his side. He still
stood waiting on the step in the beating rain.

But then, it was wrong to keep silent, wrong! wrong! wrong!

The word went echoing through his mind like the stern sentence of
some high court; conscience again pushed her way to the front, and
the struggle in the boy's heart went on with a fierceness that was
terrible.

Suddenly the door was opened from the inside, and Bachelor Billy
stood there, shading his eyes with his hand and peering out into the
darkness.

"Ralph," he said, "is that yo' a-stannin' there i' the rain? Coom in,
lad; coom in wi' ye! Why!" he exclaimed, as the boy entered the room,
"ye're a' drippin' wet!"

"Yes, Uncle Billy, it's a-rainin' pirty hard; I believe I--I believe I
did git wet."

The boy's voice sounded strange and hard even to himself. Bachelor
Billy looked down into his face questioningly.

"What's the matter wi' ye, Ralph? Soun's like as if ye'd been
a-cryin'. Anything gone wrong?"

"Oh, no. Only I'm tired, that's all, an'--an' wet."

"Ye look bad i' the face. Mayhap an' ye're a bit sick?"

"No, I ain't sick."

"Wull, then, off wi' the wet duddies, an' we'll be a-creepin' awa' to
bed."

As Ralph proceeded to remove his wet clothing, Bachelor Billy watched
him with increasing concern. The boy's face was white and haggard,
there were dark crescents under his eyes, his movements were heavy and
confused, he seemed hardly to know what he was about.

"Has the lawyer said aught to mak' ye unhappy, Ralph?" inquired Billy
at last.

"No, I ain't seen Mr. Sharpman. He wasn't in. He was in when I first
went there, but somebody else was there a-talkin' to 'im, an' I went
out to wait, an' w'en I got back again the office was locked, so I
didn't see 'im."

"Ye've been a lang time gone, lad?"

"Yes, I waited aroun', thinkin' maybe he'd come back, but he didn't. I
didn't git started for home" till just before it begun to rain."

"Mayhap ye got a bit frightened a-comin' up i' the dark?"

"No--well, I did git just a little scared a-comin' by old No. 10
shaft; I thought I heard a funny noise in there."

"Ye s'ould na be oot so late alone. Nex' time I'll go wi' ye mysel'!"

Ralph finished the removal of his wet clothing, and went to bed, glad
to get where Bachelor Billy could not see his face, and where he need
not talk.

"I'll wai