"Thank 'ee, mother," said Jim, with a pleasant nod, as he cut an
enormous slice from the loaf, trowelled upon it a mass of the yellow
butter, and pushed in his cup for more tea.

"It was good of ye, Jim," said the old woman, "to leave all yer fine
friends and come straight away here to see your mother."

"Good o' me!" ejaculated Jim, with his mouth full--too full, we might
say--"what goodness is there in a feller goin' _home_, eh? Who's finer,
I should like to know, than a feller's mother?"

"Well, you _are_ a good boy, Jim," said the old woman, glancing at a
superannuated clock, which told of the moments in loud, almost absurd
solemnity; "but if you don't stop talkin' and go on wi' your eatin',
you'll lose the train."

"True, mother. Time and tide, they say, wait for no man; but trains is
wuss than time or tide, they won't even wait for a woman."

"But why go at all to-day, Jim; won't to-morrow do?"

"No, mother, it won't do. I didn't mean to tell 'ee till I came back,
for fear it should be a mistake; but I can't keep nothin' from you, old
lady, so I may as well ease my mind before I go. The fact is, I've just
heard of the whereabouts of John Shanks--Stumps, you know--my old mate,
that I've told you bolted with all our treasure from Bombay. Ah!
mother, if I'd only brought that treasure home wi' me, it's a lady you'd
have bin to-day. I had all sorts o' plans for you--a coach an' six
was--"

"Never mind your plans, Jim, but tell me about poor Stumps."

"Well, mother, a tramp came past here, an' had a bit of a talk wi' me
yesterday. You know I ginerally have a bit of a chat wi' tramps now,
ever since that city missionary--God bless him--pulled me up at the
docks, an' began talkin' to me about my soul. Well, that tramp came
here early this mornin', sayin' he'd bin in a poor woman's house in the
city, where there was a man dyin' in a corner. While he was talkin'
with some o' the people there he chanced to mention my name, an'
observed that the dyin' man got excited when he heard it, and called to
the tramp and asked him about me, and then begged him, for love and for
money, which he offered him, to come and fetch me to him as fast as he
could, sayin' that his name was Stumps, and he knew me. So, you see, as
the next train is the first that--you needn't look at the clock so
often, old lady; it's full ten minutes yet, and I'll back my legs to do
it in three."

"Don't forget to take your Bible wi' you,