There is a light in the window of the Blue Ball. He sees it. It is very bright. Is his mother at work now that she is nearly blind?
He dismounts. He passes close to the old window. His father is not in the room; he never will be there again. But an aged man is there. Who is he?
The man is reading—what? The most popular pamphlet or little book that ever appeared in the colonies; a droll story.
He knocks at the door. The old man rises and opens the door; the bell is gone.
"Abiah, there's a stranger here."
"Ask him who he is."
"Say that he used to work here many years ago, and that he knew Josiah Franklin well, and was acquainted with Ben."
"Tell him to come in," said the bent old woman with white hair.
The stranger entered, and avoided questions by asking them.
"What are you reading to-night, my good friend?" he asked.