Page:Anna Chapin--Half a dozen boys.djvu/316

282 quietly at the funny adventures they had had with him, but more often dwelling with a boyish  pride on the courage and manliness that showed  in his every act. It was always, “Sam is,” Sam does;” never the dreadful “was” and  “did,” that past tense which seems to separate  our friends from us by an impassable barrier. Bess encouraged this feeling of nearness, for she loved to have the boys feel that their friend  had only left them as if for a little journey,  and they would soon meet him again. It was the first time they had learned the real meaning  of death, and it had been a terrible blow to  them all, but the tender, loving memory, and  the thought that their friend was always watching over them, had a sweet, helpful influence  on their young lives. No one had been asked to fill his place in the club, but instead, when  the lads were discussing the details of their  open meeting, Sam’s tastes and wishes were  followed as closely as if he had been still  among them.

Saturday evening found the Carters’ large rooms well filled, and at exactly half-past seven  Bess, followed by the five boys, took her place