my dear boy; but

our

thoughts, at least, are set on higher things,

and I trust we can afford to despise the merely temporal blessings of

life, and I entreat you to remember that our humble dwelling is always

open to the son of my old, old friend, and that there is always a jug

of good whiskey in the cupboard."

Thus in the shadow of the Eagle babbled the woman whom--for all her

absurdities--Margaret had loved as a mother.

Billy thanked her with an angry heart.