"It is hard for me to get away, Alonzo. I have two boys to look after and I cannot well be spared."
"Come whenever it is convenient, then. I can't promise to make your visit as lively as mine has been, unless my friend the burglar manages to escape from jail."
"I will go with you to the cars, Mr. Crane," said Gerald.
"I wish you would," said the blacksmith, warmly. "If you ever find it in your way to come to Hillsdale, I will give you the best room in the house."
"Shall I bring Abel with me?" asked Gerald, smiling.
"I'm not at all particular about seein' him. You seem a good deal nearer to me than he does, even if he is a blood relation. When do you go to work?"
"On Monday."
"You won't stay in the grocery long—I'll predict that. If you ever have a notion of becomin' a blacksmith, I'll take you into my employ, and be glad to do it."
"I'll bear it in mind, Mr. Crane."
When the train had started and his new friend was fairly on his way home, Gerald could not help thinking soberly of his own unpromising future. If Mrs. Lane had been more like her brother, rough and uneducated as he was, he felt that he could like her better. He at least had a good heart.