"Ah," he said, "is that there? I haven't seen it for many a year, but now I remember putting it there."
He took the short brown lock of hair in his hand, and looked at it with almost a tender interest.
"He saved my life when I was a boy, Hal."
"Who, uncle?"
"The one who wore this curl."
"Oh, tell me all about it; come, do, Uncle Dud;" and Hal laid his hand coaxingly on his uncle's arm. "Was he one of your playmates?"
"Yes."
"How old was he when he did it?"
"I didn't know exactly his age. Ten or twelve, perhaps, or thereabouts. But there is the tea-bell. I'll tell you about it after tea."
Uncle Dudley found his audience increased by four or five expectant boys and girls, who gathered around him on the broad piazza, attracted by the rumor that "one of Uncle Dud's stories" was in prospect. Little Elsie crept into his lap as he began: