"I suppose it will be very disagreeable for you to enter Mr. Tubbs's store, Gerald?"
"Yes, sir. I am not afraid of work, but that is about the last position which I should have selected for myself."
"No doubt. Mr. Tubbs is an ignorant and illiterate man, and your education will be thrown away in his store. I have a great mind to call on your stepmother and protest against her treatment of you."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Nugent; but I don't think it would do any good. I have sometimes thought I would leave Portville and try to make my own way in the world."
"Shall I offer you some advice, my young friend?"
"I wish you would, sir. I am too young to decide what I ought to do."
"Then enter Mr. Tubbs' store for a time, even if it is disagreeable to you. Try the experiment, and see how your stepmother treats you. I shall be glad if you will call on me after a time and report. I was your father's friend, and I have reason to be yours. You have done me a great service to-day which I am not likely to forget."
The old gentleman spoke warmly. Gerald was surprised, for until to-day he had scarcely spoken a word to Mr. Nugent, who had made himself a recluse, and was, perhaps, less known to his neighbors than any man in the village. Now it seemed that he had a good heart and warm sympathies for others.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Nugent," said Gerald. "It's a comfort to me to think I have one friend who was also a friend of my father."
"You can rely upon my friendship, Gerald," said the old man, kindly.