uld be.

To my astonishment I found, on entering the room, that the visitor was
no other than my uncle!

Whatever had brought him here?

Jack looked as if his _tete-a-tete_ had not been a very cheerful one,
for he jumped up at my arrival with evident joy, and cried, "Oh, here
you are at last! Here's your uncle, Fred, come to see you. He was
afraid he would have to go before you got back."

This, at least, was a comfort. My uncle was not going to stay all
night.

I went up in a most dutiful manner to my relative, and hoped he was
well.

"Yes," he replied, in his usual frigid way. "You seem surprised to see
me. But as I had business in town I found out this place, and came to
look you up."

"It was very kind of you," said I.

"You shouldn't say that when you don't mean it," said my uncle. "And as
I am going in a few minutes you need not look so alarmed."

"I hope you will have a cup of tea before you go," said I, hoping to
change the subject.

"No, thank you. Your friend here asked me that already. Now, what
about your debts, Fred?"

"Oh," said I, "they are all paid by this time. An old schoolfellow
advanced me the money, kindly, and I have all but repaid him out of my
weekly allowance."

"Humph!" said my uncle. "That scrape will be a lesson to you, I hope.
Boys who make fools of themselves like that must suffer the
consequences."

"I had been very foolish I know," I replied, humbly.

"But Fred's as steady as a judge now," said Jack, interposing for my
relief.

"It's nearly time he was," replied my uncle, "unless he has made up his
mind to ruin himself. He's given up all his wild friends, I hope?"

"Oh yes, every one," said I; "haven't I, Jack?"

"Yes, he's nothing to do with them now," said Jack.

"And he spends his evenings in something better than drinking and
gambling and that sort of thing?"

This was pleasant for me. As the question appeared to be addressed to
Jack, I allowed him to answer it for me.

"Well," said my uncle, after a few more similar inquiries had been
satisfactorily answered, "I hope what you tell me is true. It may seem
as if I did not care much what became of you, Fred. And as long as you
went on in the way you did, no more I did. You had chosen your friends,
and you might get on the best you could with them. But now, if you have
done what you say you have and given them up--"

At that moment there was a sudden tumult on the stairs outside, which
made u