"No, Luke. It seems like a message from the dead, and shows me how good and thoughtful your poor father was to the last. He meant to leave us comfortable."
"But his plans were defeated by a rascal. Mother, I should like to meet and punish this Thomas Butler."
"Even if you should meet him, Luke, you must be prudent. He is probably a rich man."
"Made so at our expense," added Luke, bitterly.
"And he would deny having received anything from your father."
"Mother," said Luke, sternly and deliberately, "I feel sure that I shall some day meet this man face to face, and if I do it will go hard if I don't force him to give up this money which he has falsely converted to his own use."
The boy spoke with calm and resolute dignity hardly to be expected in one so young, and with a deep conviction that surprised his mother.
"Luke," she said, "I hardly know you to-night. You don't seem like a boy. You speak like a man."
"I feel so. It is the thought of this man triumphant in his crime, that makes me feel older than I am. Now, mother, I feel that I have a purpose in life. It is to find this man, and punish him for what he has done, unless he will make reparation."
Mrs. Walton shook her head. It was not from her that Luke had inherited his independent spirit. She was a fond mother, of great amiability, but of a timid shrinking disposition, which led her to deprecate any aggressive steps.