"I don't think I shall ever be happy again!" declared Billy.
The young soldier was silent for several minutes, evidently not quite knowing what to say.
"Look here," he said at length, "there's just one thing I should like to ask you. Are you a Christian? Do you believe in Jesus Christ?"
"Why, yes," was the surprised answer, "of course I do."
"Well, then, you ought to know that you're only separated from your mother for a time. 'The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.' You'll be with your mother through all Eternity."
Billy looked at Tom Turpin with a brightening countenance. Why had he not thought of this before?
"I'd forgotten," he murmured, "quite forgotten."
"Thought you had!" said Tom. "Ah! Here's actually a gleam of sunshine, and very welcome it is, too. We shall soon reach Exeter now! You stick by me till you see your grandfather."
This Billy was very glad to do. When, the train having slackened speed gradually and stopped, he and Tom Turpin alighted on the platform at Exeter, he kept close to his new-found friend, whilst he looked about him anxiously. There were not a great many people on the platform, and in a minute he noticed a middle-sized man of about sixty, with a ruddy, good-tempered countenance and grizzled hair, who was clad in corduroy breeches and thick leggings, going from carriage to carriage, apparently in search of someone. The instant Tom Turpin caught sight of this individual he stepped up to him and clapped him on the shoulder, whilst he exclaimed—
"I'm back again like a bad penny, you see! How are you, Brown?"