"You were very kind to my little girl when she was in trouble," said the gentleman.
"Oh, that, sir? Who could help it? And that was a very tiny seed to bring forth such a harvest as this."
"It was 'bread cast upon the waters,'" said Mr. Bradford, "and to those who give in the Lord's name, he gives again 'good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.'"
But the policeman had not even yet gathered in the whole of his harvest.
VI.
UNCLE RUTHVEN.
hristmas brought no Uncle Ruthven, but Christmas week brought Miss Elizabeth Rush, the sweet "Aunt Bessie" whom all the children loved so dearly. And it was no wonder they were fond of her, for she was almost as gentle and patient with them as mamma herself; and, like her brother, the colonel, had a most wonderful gift of story-telling, which she was always ready to put in use for them. Maggie and Bessie were more than ever sure that there were never such delightful people as their own, or two such happy children as themselves.