"I presume Anthony receives a small pension from some source, and went up to collect it."
"I think it very likely," said James, thinking of what he had seen in the forest. "I presume it isn't much."
"Probably not."
"I shouldn't think he'd have gone to the expense of taking Mark."
"The old man looked dazed. I presume he doesn't feel safe in going alone."
"Very likely Mark asked to go. He's fastened himself on the old man, and means to get all he can out of him."
It is wonderful how prejudice colors our opinion of others.
CHAPTER XXIII.
MARK'S MISSION.
Three days later, two things puzzled the good people of Pocasset. One was the removal of old Anthony from his lonely cabin to the small but comfortable cottage of Mrs. Manning. It was voted by the village people a very sensible move, but they were at a loss to understand how the recluse had been persuaded to change his mode of life. It was generally supposed that he was quite poor, but the two or three dollars a week he would be able to pay the widow would be a help. A room on the second floor was appropriated to old Anthony, where he spent much of his time. Every day, however, he wandered off to the woods, which had been his residence for several years. Though he said little, he was soon convinced that he had bettered himself by his removal. Mrs. Manning provided plain, well-cooked meals, which were far more attractive than the extemporized lunches with which he had thus far been content.