“Dear Sir,
“Yours gratefully,
“THADDEUS P. WALDRON.”
“Cobbler” Horn read this gratifying letter over and over again, with a secret joy. But it was not till the next day that he could bring himself to comply with the invitation of its closing sentence, and pay a visit to the writer. He found the young man, who was far on his way to recovery, full of thankfulness to him and of gratitude to God. It seemed that, previous to the accumulation of troubles beneath which his faith had given away, the young fellow had been a zealous Christian. “Cobbler” Horn found him sincerely penitent; and, during this, and succeeding interviews, he had the joy of leading him back to the Saviour.
CHAPTER XXV.
COUSIN JACK.
As “Cobbler” Horn was leaving the vessel at New York, he witnessed the meeting of Thaddeus P. Waldron and his wife. Mrs. Waldron had come on board the steamer. She was a wholesome, glowing little woman, encumbered with no inconvenient quantity of reserve. She flung her arms impulsively around her husband’s neck, and kissed him with a smack like the report of a pistol.
“Why, Thad,” she cried, “do tell! You’ve completely taken me in! I expected a scarecrow. What for did you frighten me with that letter I got last week? It might have been my death!”
Then, with a little trill of a laugh, the happy woman hugged once more the equally delighted “Thad,” and gave him another resounding kiss.