"I will go and see the gentlemen I work for, and if they will let me, I will go with you to-morrow morning."
"Better take the stage; you will get there so much quicker."
"I will do so, then."
Harry returned home to ascertain of Edward where Mr. Wake lived, and hastened to see him. That gentleman, however, coldly assured him if he went to Rockville he must lose his place—they could not get along without a boy. In vain Harry urged that he should be gone but two days; the senior was inflexible.
"What shall I do?" said he to himself, when he got into the street again. "Mr. Wake says she is no relation of mine, and he don't see why I should go. Poor Julia! She may die, and I shall never see her again. I must go."
It did not require a great deal of deliberation to convince himself that it was his duty to visit the sick girl. She had been a true friend to him, and he could afford to sacrifice his place to procure her even a slight gratification. Affection and duty called him one way, self-interest the other. If he did not go, he should regret it as long as he lived. Perhaps Mr. Wake would take him again on his return; if not, he could at least go to work in the stable again.
"Edward, I am going to Rockville to-morrow," he remarked to his "chum," on his return to Mrs. Flint's.
"The old man agreed to it, then? I thought he wouldn't. He never will let a fellow off even for a day."
"He did not; but I must go."
"Better not, then. He will discharge you, for he is a hard nut."