Page:Anna Chapin--Half a dozen boys.djvu/120

104 “Don’t worry, Robin, the house is plenty large enough for two boys, and I’ll not let Fred  cut you out.”

Mr. Allen’s note was the perfection of tact. He spoke of his invalid son, whose happiest hours were spent with the friend that had done  so much to brighten his dark life; he regretted  the pressing business which called him abroad  just then, but Mrs. Allen’s health, much shaken  by sorrow for her son, demanded a change and  freedom from care. He went on to suggest very delicately that it would be a great  accommodation if Fred might board with them;  that Mary would be at hand to wait on him, to  free them from any restraint, while she could  either board with them or come in at certain  hours; and, finally, that he should expect them  to call on his coachman with perfect freedom,  during his absence.

“What do you think of it, Bess?” asked her mother again.

“Why, mother, you must decide. I am not the one.”

“Yes, you are,” replied her mother, “for it will make more difference to you than to the