ayed too long in the presence of her penitent son; but Zack
could not, unhappily, know this. He could only see that she left him
abruptly, after delivering an ominous message; and could only place the
gloomiest interpretation on her conduct.

"When mother turns against me, I've lost my last chance." He stopped
before he ended the sentence, and sat up in bed, deliberating with
himself for a minute or two. "I could make up my mind to bear anything
from my father, because he has a right to be angry with me, after what
I've done. But if I stand old Yollop again, I'll be--" Here, whatever
Zack said was smothered in the sound of a blow, expressive of fury and
despair, which he administered to the mattress on which he was sitting.
Having relieved himself thus, he jumped out of bed, pronouncing at last
in real earnest those few words of fatal slang which had often burst
from his lips in other days as an empty threat:--

"It's all over with me; I must bolt from home."

He refreshed both mind and body by a good wash; but still his resolution
did not falter. He hurried on his clothes, looked out of window,
listened at his door; and all this time his purpose never changed.
Remembering but too well the persecution he had already suffered at the
hands of Mr. Yollop, the conviction that it would now be repeated with
fourfold severity was enough of itself to keep him firm to his desperate
intention. When he had done dressing, his thoughts were suddenly
recalled by the sight of his pocket-book to his companion of the past
night. As he reflected on the appointment for Thursday morning, his eyes
brightened, and he said to himself aloud, while he turned resolutely to
the door, "That queer fellow talked of going back to America. If I can't
do anything else, I'll go back with him!"

Just as his hand was on the lock, he was startled by a knock at the
door. He opened it, and found the housemaid on the landing with a letter
for him. Returning to the window, he hastily undid the envelope. Several
gaily-printed invitation cards with gilt edges dropped out. There was
a letter among them, which proved to be in Mr. Blyth's handwriting, and
ran thus:--

"Wednesday.

"MY DEAR ZACK--The enclosed are the tickets for my picture show, which I
told you about yesterday evening. I send them now, instead of waiting to
give them to you to-night, at Lavvie's suggestion. She thinks only
three days' notice, from now to Saturday, rather shor