And for an hour after that the picture lay in a hand which had never touched it before, and the bright laughing eyes looked up and met the tearful eyes of a father!


Chapter Thirty Three.

How Several Visitors Called at our Lodgings.

Billy arrived punctually as we were dressing next morning in great good-humour.

“What cheer, covies?” cried he before he was well in the room. “She’s come back!”

“Who—your mother?” said Jack.

“Yaas,” said Billy; “worn’t she jolly neither? She give me a wipin’ last night same as I never got.”

And when we came to look at our queer visitor he bore about his face and person undoubted marks of the truth of this story.