Take two of the best black
men with you,--they will take care of you and the money, too," he added,
with his easy-going laugh. And then he grew suddenly sobered with a
touch of shame. "I wouldn't give you the money to-night, my boy," he
said hesitatingly, "but--I am hard to wake in the morning. I am afraid
you couldn't wake me early enough for me to give you the money in time
to get you off by dawn. And my client will be here with his boat,
waiting for the cargo, if you are any later in starting. But you can
take just as good care of the money as I could. You are not so likely to
lose it."
"I will do my best, sir," said the boy, quietly.
He took the money and put it away in his safest pocket. When he had
eaten supper with the family, he went back to his shadowed corner under
the stairs. But he could not read his book; his mind was too full of
thoughts which were fast becoming a purpose. Ruth looked at him and at
his book now and then, while she talked to the others, and her teasing
glances hastened his decision. She would never laugh at him again for
dreaming over romances, if he could prove that he was able to do an
earnest man's part in the world.
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