"He will be at home soon, I should think," added Ash.
"It does not make much difference whether he comes or not: he does me no good, and I have to feed him. I wish something might be done with him, for he is a bad boy."
The boys departed much impressed by the confessions of the poor woman; and they wished they were rich, like Captain Gildrock, that they might help her. But Ash Burton was willing to go a point beyond wishing that he was rich, and he decided to apply to some of the wealthy people of the town for assistance in clothing and food for her. But the boys had not gone ten rods from the house before they met the carriage of the rich man of the Beech-Hill estate. Dory and his mother were with the captain; and, as he stopped his horses in front of the cottage, Dory took a large basket from the carriage. He carried it into the house, and then returned to take care of the horses while his uncle and his mother went in. They never heard of a case of distress within ten miles of their home without doing all they could to relieve it.
Mr. Sankland had been a laborer who worked on the farms in the vicinity. He was not a thrifty man, and he drank too much whiskey for his reliability. He had died less than a year before, leaving nothing at all; though his wife had saved enough from her own earnings to bury him. When she could get work, she did tolerably well, especially washing that she could take home with her. In summer there were people boarding in the town, and at the farmhouses in the vicinity, who gave her their work; but in winter it had been almost a starving time with her. In the spring an agency for a laundry had been established in the place, and Mrs. Sankland lost most of her customers.
Mrs. Dornwood presented her with the contents of the basket, which consisted mainly of meats and vegetables brought from the provision store, and groceries from another establishment. The poor woman was glad to get these things, and she soon told the history of her miseries. She repeated what she had said to the young firemen about her son, and it ended in the captain's asking her if she was willing to put the boy in his care. She was willing and glad to do so.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE BEGINNING OF THE TROUBLE.
Captain Gildrock drew from his pocket a paper he had drawn up for the widow to sign. He read it to her, explaining its meaning as he proceeded. It was a contract by which, in consideration of her son's board, clothing, and tuition, she surrendered to the principal the entire charge of the boy for three years. Mrs. Sankland was entirely satisfied with the document, and signed it without any hesitation.
"He shall be as well treated as the rest of the boys in the institution, but he must obey orders; and he will have no time to roam about the streets and fields," said the principal. "It is necessary that he should be subjected to strict discipline; and no violence will be used unless he shows fight, or refuses to obey an order."
"He needs a good whipping more than any thing else," added his mother, as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "He has done nothing for me; and I cannot afford to support a great fellow like him in idleness, when he will not even take care of the children while I am at my work."