“I wish somebody was with me,” he said to himself.
As if in answer to his wish a boy rather older than himself stopped in front of the bench and greeted him in a surprised voice. “Why, Ben, how came you here?”
Looking up he recognized his cousin Adelbert Bruce, who lived, as he remembered, in a town not far from Boston.
“Adelbert!” exclaimed Ben joyfully, rising and grasping his cousin’s hand. “I never thought of seeing you.”
“I have come to Boston to buy some clothes,” said Adelbert, “but what brings you here?”
“I have left home,” answered Ben.
“But why?”
“Wait till you have a stepfather, and then you will know.”
“Are you trying to find a place in Boston?”
“No; I am going to New York.”