up noiselessly
over the snow. 'Also,' continued the new-comer, 'it would be possible to
find a warmer and more comfortable seat than that mile-stone.'

'I was waiting opposite the gates, trying to make up my mind whether I
would go in or not,' answered the boy, 'and I was laughing because I did
not think it would make any real difference whether I went in or stayed
outside.'

'That depends, I suppose, on what you want there! If I might ask, what
is it?'

'I want the Squire to give my mother a little time to get together her
rent; but since Mr. Harold ran away, ten years ago to-day, the Squire
has never been the same man. That nearly broke his heart, and now he
takes no interest in anything; he has turned us all over to an agent,
who does just what he likes with us.'

'Then Mr. Harold was---- '

'His son. My father said he would have run away too if he had been Mr.
Harold, though the Squire wasn't as bad in those days.'

'And who was your father?'

'Peter Green, the carpenter.'

'Well, Peter Green's son,' said the stranger, with a queer laugh, 'if
you will go in and see the Squire, and come out and tell me in what sort
of temper he is, I will give you my last shilling,' and he spun a coin
in the air. 'You must go in by the front door, and I will wait for you
in the drive.'

'Right you are,' said the boy, jumping off the mile-stone. 'I'll risk it
for a shilling.'

Side by side they tramped up the snowy drive till they saw the light
shining through the glass in the front door. Then the tramp drew aside,
and John went boldly up the steps. The clang of the bell had scarcely
died away before the door was opened by an elderly butler.

'Can I see the Squire?' asked John, in as brave a voice as he could
muster.

'Show him in at once, Williams; show him in at once,' called out an
impatient voice at the back of the hall.

The butler stepped back. 'I don't think, sir,' he said, 'that this is
the gentleman you are expecting.'

'How do you know what gentleman I am expecting? 'Show him in at once, I
tell you.'

'You'd better come straight in,' said the butler, shrugging his
shoulders. He led the way across the hall, and ushered John into a
comfortably furnished library. An old gentleman was sitting by the fire,
enveloped in rugs. He leant forward and peered into John's face. Then he
fell back wearily into his cushions. 'Dear, dear! another
disappointment,' he groaned. 'Take him away, Williams.'

But John, havin