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"I'll run right up to town and get him," I says.

"No you won't," she says. "You'll stay right wher' you are; one's enough

to be lost at a time. If he ain't here to supper, your uncle 'll go."

Well, he warn't there to supper; so right after supper uncle went.

He come back about ten, a little bit uneasy; hadn't run across Tom's track.

Aunt Sally was a good deal uneasy; but Uncle Silas he said there warn't no occa-

sion to be -- boys will be boys, he said, and you'll see this one turn up in the morning,

all sound and right. So she had to be ssssssssss

satisfied. But she said she'd set up for ssssssssss

him a while, anyway, and keep a light ssssssssss

burning, so he could see it. ssssssssss

And then when I went up to bed

she come up with me and fetched her ssssssssss

candle, and tucked me in, and ssssssssss

mothered me so good I felt mean, and ssssssssss

like I couldn't look her in the face; ssssssssss

and she set down on the bed and ssssssssss

talked with me a long time, and said ssssssssss

what a splendid boy Sid was, and didn't ssssssssss

seem to want to ever stop talking about ssssssssss

him; and kept asking me every now ssssssssss

and then, if I reckoned he could a got ssssssssss

lost, or hurt, or maybe drownded, and ssssssssss

might be laying at this minute, some- ssssssssss

wheres, suffering or dead, and she not ssssssssss

by him to help him, and so the tears would drip down, silent, and I would tell

her that Sid was all right, and would be home in the morning, sure; and she

would squeeze my hand, or maybe kiss me, and tell me to say it again, and keep

on saying it, because it done her good, and she was in so much trouble. And when

she was going away, she looked down in my eyes, so steady and gentle, and says:

"The door ain't going to be locked, Tom; and there's the window and the

rod; but you'll be good, won't you? And you won't go? For my sake."

ssssssssss

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