ee from the road, but had never dared to venture near,
as it was too close to Captain Josh's house. He knew now where the
lunch had come from, and it made him so excited that for awhile he
forgot to eat as he sat there thinking it all over.

When Rod went home from school, Mrs. Royal noticed the crimson mark
upon his cheek where the whip had struck him. She asked no questions,
however, for she wanted Rod to tell of his own free will how it
happened. It was after he was in bed, that the boy looked up
inquiringly into Mrs. Royal's face, as she stood by his side before
bidding him good-night.

"Grandma," he began, "what is a pauper?"

"Oh, it is a person who has no home, and no money, and has to live upon
others," was the reply.

"Am I a pauper, grandma?" and the boy's face flushed.

"You a pauper!" Mrs. Royal exclaimed, as she sat down upon a chair by
the side of the bed. "What makes you ask such a question, dear?
Whoever put such an idea into your head?"

"Tom Dunker said that I am a pauper."

"He did! When did he tell you that?"

"To-day, just before he hit me with his whip and made the mark upon my
cheek."

"Oh!"

It was all that Mrs. Royal could say. She had become suddenly aroused,
feeling sure that something of a serious nature had happened that day.

"Why did he call you a pauper, dear?" she at length asked as calmly as
possible.

"'Cause I told him I didn't scare his horses, and make them jump. He
got mad, and said I was a pauper, and should be in the Poor House
instead of living with decent people. And he said that I didn't know
who my father and mother are, and that I would be ashamed of them if I
did, that's what he said."

Into Mrs. Royal's eyes came an expression of deep concern, mingled with
indignation.

"You poor boy," she soothed, taking his little left hand in hers. "You
have had great troubles to-day, have you not?"

"But am I a pauper, grandma?" the boy insisted.

"No, you certainly are not, dear."

"And I shouldn't be in the Poor House?"

"No, no. You are just where you should be, with grandad and me."

"And my father and mother are not bad, and I wouldn't be ashamed of
them if I saw them?"

"No, not at all. I never heard of your father, so I think he must be
dead. But I believe that your mother is a good, noble woman."

"Why doesn't she come to see me, then?"

"I do not know, dear. But she says that she will come some day. She
longs to see you, and in every