mother," said
Mrs. Hamilton kindly.

"We have our troubles," answered Ben. "We are in danger of having our
house taken from us."

"How is that?"

"A rich man in our village, Squire Davenport, has a mortgage of seven
hundred dollars upon it. He wants the house for a relative of his
wife, and threatens to foreclose at the end of three months."

"The house must be worth a good deal more than the mortgage."

"It is worth twice as much; but if it is put up at auction I doubt if
it will fetch over a thousand dollars."

"This would leave your mother but three hundred?"

"Yes," answered Ben despondingly.

"Have you thought of any way of raising the money?"

"Yes; I came up to the city to-day to see a cousin of mother's, a Mr.
Absalom Peters, who lives on Lexington Avenue, and I had just come
from there when I got into the stage with you."

"Won't he help you?"

"Perhaps he might if he was in the city; though mother has seen
nothing of him for twenty years; but, unfortunately, he just sailed
for Europe."

"That is indeed a pity. I suppose you haven't much hope now?"

"Unless Mr. Peters comes back. He is the only one we can think of to
call upon."

"What sort of a man is this Squire Davenport?"

"He is a very selfish man, who thinks only of his own interests. We
felt safe, because we did not suppose he would have any use for a
small house like ours; but night before last he called on mother with
the man he wants it for."

"He cannot foreclose just yet, can he?" asked Mrs. Hamilton.

"No; we have three months to look around."

"Three months is a long time," said the lady cheerfully. "A good deal
can happen in three months. Do the best you can, and keep up hope."

"I shall try to do so."

"You have reason to do so. You may not save your house, but you have,
probably, a good many years before you, and plenty of good fortune may
be in store for you."

The cheerful tone in which the lady spoke some how made Ben hopeful
and sanguine, at any rate, for the time being.

"In this country, the fact that you are a poor boy will not stand in
the way of your success. The most eminent men of the day, in all
branches of business, and in all professions, were once poor boys. I
dare say, looking at me, you don't suppose I ever knew anything of
poverty."

"No," said Ben.

"Yet I was the daughter of a bankrupt farmer, and my husband was clerk
in a country store. I am not going to tell you how he came to the