Page:Bound to Succeed.djvu/123

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A BOY WITH A MYSTERY
115

tween mother and son were over. He stepped a little timidly forward, as he heard Frank say:

"Mother, I have brought a friend home with me. This is my mother, Markham."

Mrs. Ismond received the homeless boy with a sweet, welcoming smile that won his heart entirely. She told Frank to take him into the sitting room while she herself hustled about the kitchen. Frank left Markham long enough to join his mother and tell her what he owed to his new companion.

"It's late," said Mrs. Ismond a few minutes later, "but you must eat a good meal after your long, busy day, and I positively will wake up nobody in this house until nine o'clock in the morning."

There were only two beds in the house. Frank shared his with Markham. The latter wore a happy smile on his face as he stretched himself out luxuriously.

"That supper!" he said, in a rapturous sort of a way. "This nice comfortable bed! I've got to shut my eyes for fear it will all turn out a dream."

Frank was glad to lie thinking for a spell undisturbed. His companion fell into a profound, exhausted slumber. Mrs. Ismond retired, and the house was all quiet at last.

Like a panorama all the varied events of the