, with sparkling eyes. "Oh, I thought he never would
write. How jolly! And I see his writing, that's my letter."

He held out his hand eagerly but Mrs. Hawthorn laid her hand on his
shoulder gently.

"Yes, that was a letter he wrote to you before the fighting. Your aunt
has heard since--from a nurse who nursed him."

Something in her tone frightened Roy.

"Has he been wounded? He is well again, isn't he?"

"He is quite well now," she said, in a hushed voice.

For a minute Roy gazed at her, with horror and doubt dawning in his dark
eyes, then snatching the letters out of her hand he rushed out of the
room; and seizing hold of Dudley in the hall he exclaimed almost
frantically:

"Dudley, something awful has happened to Rob, let us get away from the
house and read these letters."

He held them tightly in his hand, and would not let Dudley take them
from his grasp, till they reached the beach.

Then sitting down and leaning against an old weather-beaten rock, Roy,
with trembling fingers, first unfolded Rob's letter to himself.

"MY DEAR MASTER ROY:

"We are going up to the mountains to-morrow
to fight. The men say it will be stiff
work, driving an old chief from his stronghold.
Some of them don't like it, but I am
ready. I am a better writer now, I hope, so
want to tell you what I never have yet. I do
thank you with all my heart for being so kind
to a homeless lad and taking him in and giving
him a happy home. And I thank you
much more for teaching him to read and write
and giving up your playtime to get him on.
But if I was to thank you for a hundred years,
I couldn't thank you enough for telling me
about my Saviour and showing me the way to
heaven. Every word you ever said is sticking
to me. I mind all our talks, and if I may
have had some rough times in trying to serve
God first, I have been as happy as a king.
And I have found that the Lord has kept me
through the worst times, and I love Him with
all my heart. When I get to heaven I shall
be able to thank you proper. I do feel thankful
to you and Master Dudley. And now
good-bye and God bless you.

"Your faithful ROB forever."

Roy read this through.

"He's all right, Dudley. What did she mean? Why did she look so funny?"

Dudley shook his head.

"I don't know, read what Aunt Judy says."

Roy spread out his aunt's letter, and read it in unfaltering tones to
the end