Eben took all the pains possible in accommodating the horse, and hastened back to the mill with a foreboding heart, stopping at the post-office on his way, where, as he expected, he found Mr. Francis's letter.
"It came last night," said. Mr. Badger, "and I had a great mind to send it up, seeing you didn't come for it. I believe I should, only I was so uneasy about the baby. Do you know what your ma thinks about him?"
"Oh, she doesn't despair of him, by any means," replied Eben, trying to speak cheerfully. "She says she never gives a baby up to die as long as the breath of life is in it. I dare say she is up at your house now. Never mind about the letter, Mr. Badger; it was my fault, and not yours."
Eben carried the letters into the office, and then busied himself with putting everything in the nicest order, while Mr. Francis and Mr. Antis were inspecting the upper part of the building. Jeduthun's department was pretty sure to be all right, yet he heard the old gentleman's voice growling in the distance, as though some one were getting a scolding.
"What is he blowing up Jeduthun for, I wonder?" he thought as he brushed up the stove and dusted the chairs and desks. "There! I think it looks pretty nicely now, and in good time, for here they come. Now it will be my turn, I suppose. Never mind; I deserve it, that's one thing."
Mr. Francis presently entered the office with Mr. Antis and Jeduthun, Mr. Antis looking as though he did not quite know whether to be vexed or amused, Jeduthun's dark face as inscrutable as a bronze mask, save that there was a little spark in his eye and just the slightest twitching about the corners of his mouth.
"Have you brought the letters, Eben?" asked Mr. Antis.
"Yes, sir; they are on your desk."
"And may I ask, young man, why you did not bring them to Mr. Antis instead of laying them there on his desk?" asked Mr. Francis, in a tone calculated to make the meekest boy double up his fists in the privacy of his own pocket. "I suppose that was too much trouble for a young gentleman like Mr. Fairchild?"
Eben's blood tingled a little, but he remembered Jeduthun's advice and answered, respectfully: