esitated and got redder still--"I didn't steal it,
anyway," he said. "It's mine all right. I mean it's yours."

"Of course you didn't steal it!" cried John Henry. "But where did you
get it? You haven't had more than a few cents at a time for weeks and
weeks, so you can't have saved it!"

"I didn't beg it either," Newton answered.

"Or borrow it, my boy?"

"No! I wasn't going to borrow money I couldn't pay! I'd rather not tell
you, all the same, father! At least, I earned twenty cents of it. That's
the odd twenty, that makes the three seventy. I don't mind telling you
that."

"Oh, you earned twenty cents of it? Well, I'm glad of that, anyhow. What
did you do?"

"I sort of hung round the depot till the train came in, and I carried a
man's valise across to the hotel for him. He gave me ten cents. Some of
the boys do that, you know, but I thought you wouldn't care to have me
do it till I had to!"

"That's all right. It does you credit. How about the other ten cents?"

"Old Bangs saw me pass his shop, and he asked me to come in and said
he'd give me ten cents if I'd do some sums for him. I guess he's pretty
busy just now. He said he'd give me ten cents every day till Christmas
if I'd come in after school and do the sums. His boy's got mumps or
something, and can't. There's no harm in that, is there, father?"

"Harm! I'm proud of you, my boy. You'll win through--some day!"

It was the first relief from his misery the poor man had felt since he
had read the letter about the overdraft in the morning.

"What I can't understand is the rest of the money," said Overholt.

Newton looked very uncomfortable again, and moved uneasily on his chair.

"Oh well, I suppose I've got to tell you," he said, looking down into
his plate and very busy with his knife and fork. "Say, you won't tell
mother, will you? She wouldn't like it."

"I won't tell her."

"Well"--the boy hesitated--"I sold some things," he said at last, in a
low voice.

"Oh! There's no great harm in that, my boy. What did you sell?"

"My skates and my watch," said Newton, just audibly. "You see I didn't
somehow feel as if I were going to skate much this winter--and I don't
really need to know what time it is if I start right by the clock to go
to school. I say, don't tell mother. She gave me the watch, you know,
last Christmas. Of course, you gave me the skates, but you'll
understand better than she would."

Overholt was profoundly touched, for he knew wh