The boy shook his head. "Because you came down out of the sky?" he questioned.
"No, it is just because you took care of Miss Melody; because you put those letters underneath her door."
Pete's face crimsoned with happiness. "I helped her—I—I helped her get away," he said.
"Yes, and she will never forget it, and neither will I."
"You—you—asked me if I loved her," said Pete, his mind returning to the day of the motor-cycle visit.
"Yes, and you did, didn't you?"
"Yes, and—and when she was gone up to—to heaven, I wanted to die till I—I remembered that she—she wanted to go."
"Yes, wanted to go just as much as you did, and more. Now that life is all over, Pete. Just as much gone as those old clothes of yours that we left to be burned. You've been a faithful, brave boy, and Miss Melody and I are going to look after you henceforth."
Pete couldn't speak. Ben saw him bite his lip to control himself. The roadster started and moving slowly out of the town sped again along a country road.