joined the church, they did this
of their own accord and with firm convictions.

Thus six years passed by with rapidity, and before he realized it, Fred
was fourteen years old, while Agnes was thirteen.

Their life had been very happy, and in mind and body they had matured
so, that they appeared to be much older than they really were. Mr.
Bradley could trust Fred with almost any task that he would assign to
a man, while Agnes was a regular little tom boy, who was skilled not
only in the duties of a good young lady, but also in those of young men.
Whether she was in the house, or outside, she could always be depended
upon.

There was not a better rider in the whole community than she, and she
handled every sort of weapon with great skill.

Life in the Colony was pleasant indeed!

CHAPTER III

A NEW BROTHER

One evening when Mr. Bradley and his happy family were gathered around
the fire-side, he seemed to be in a very meditative mood. The family
had just finished its evening devotion and the open Bible lay upon the
huge table which stood near the hearth.

"Why are you musing so intently?" Mrs. Bradley asked. "It seems your
forehead is more wrinkled with furrows than ever, and you are altogether
too young a man to look so worried." This she said with a smile, and as
she said it, she lovingly stroked his cheeks.

"I am not worrying, my dear," he replied, "but only thinking, and I
wonder whether that which I think, will please you."

"What pleases you," Mrs. Bradley said, "always pleases me. We are two
of a kind, and I am sure I am going to agree to what you say. Pray,
now tell me what troubles you."

"The matter pertains to another little youngster in our home," he
replied; "though the youngster is not so very young any more. He is a
year older than Fred, and I think, he would prove a good companion to
him."

Fred listened with much interest, and also Agnes laid aside her book.

"What about the young lad?" Mrs. Bradley asked. "Is he the son of a
poor family in the Colony?"

"His case is worse," the husband replied. "Yesterday when the good
ship 'Hope' came into port, the authorities found a stranger in the band of
immigrants. He was a stowaway, though some of the people discovered him
during the voyage and supported him with food. Otherwise the poor fellow
would have starved."

"And what are they going to do with the lad?" Mrs. Bradley inquired.

"That is the trouble," her husband