Scott followed his cousin upstairs. Loammi opened the door and led the way into a large chamber about eighteen feet square, very neatly and comfortably furnished.
There was a bookcase in one corner containing over a hundred volumes. Near it was an upright writing desk. Through a half-open door Scott saw a closet well filled with suits of clothes. Certainly, there was a great contrast between this apartment, with its comforts and ample accommodations, and his own small, stifling room on the floor above. Scott could not quite suppress a feeling of envy.
"You have a fine room."
"Haven't I? My room is as nice as pa's."
Alongside of it was another room, not as large, but perhaps two-thirds the size.
"Who occupies that room?" asked Scott.
"No one. We have two spare rooms on this floor."
It naturally occurred to Scott to wonder why he had not been given one in place of the poor room that had been assigned him.
He found afterward that Mrs. Little had proposed giving him the room next to Loammi, but the latter had objected, saying that it was too good for a penniless boy. In this he had been backed up by Ezra Little, whose ideas agreed with those of his son.