One evening, soon after, Jack lingered in Mr. Hill's office after the other errand boys had been paid and had gone away.
"My three years are up tonight, sir," he said.
"Yes, they are," said Mr. Hill, looking at him as if he had remembered it.
"Will you give me a recommendation to some one else, sir?"
"Well, I will, if you are sure that you want to leave me."
"I did not know that you wanted me to stay, but"—he hesitated, and then went on—"my mother is a widow, and I feel as if I ought to do the best I can for her, and Mr. Lang told me to call on him."
"Has Mr. Lang ever made you an offer?"
Jack told him what Mr. Lang had said nearly two years before.
"Why didn't you go then?" asked Mr. Hill.
"Because I had promised to stay with you; but you wouldn't blame me for trying to better myself now?"