'Well I suppose it is; but do you want to keep it a secret; if you do, I won't ask.'
'Why no, not exactly,' said Frank; 'it is something my mother gave me, the night before I left home.'
'Well, what is it, I say?'
'It is a talisman,' said Frank, rather hesitatingly.
'A talisman; what is that?'
'Have you never read of talismans in fairy tales? it is a charm which protects you from danger, as long as you keep it and consult it.'
'I know that is the description of them, in genii and fairy tales; but you do not believe in such things do you?'
'No, but this is real; it has a charm for me, to keep me from doing wrong; this is the danger which my mother expected it would secure me against.'
'If it has that sort of power, I wish I had had it this afternoon; then I should have let alone that horse and chaise. Was it the talisman which made you turn away, when your foot was on the step, and you were just ready to jump in?'