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THE BROTHERS JOURNEY HOMEWARD 2^^

"John is forty-three to-night/' he said huskily, his finger pointing to the family record.

"God be with him till we meet again!" was the sighing response as the mother struggled to thread her needle by the flickering light.

"Mary is a year younger than John; and Joseph came to us two years later than Mary," said the patriarch, his finger still pointing to the cherished page.

"Oh, father!" cried the wife, "do you think I shall ever hold my Joseph in my arms again?"

"God knows best," was the sad reply.

A cat purred contentedly at the woman's feet, and crickets sang upon the hearth. Outside, the wind sighed dolefully.

"Wonder what's the matter with Rover?" said the old man, rising to his feet, after repeated efforts, and hobbling toward the door. "He's acting strangely tonight."

"Don't open the door, father," pleaded the wife. " The whole country is infested with tramps and robbers. We'd better be cautious. I 'm sure I saw faces at the window a while ago."

"Rover knows what he's about, wife. He never speaks like that to an enemy. I will open the door."

It seemed to the men outside that the door was long in opening. "My fingers are all thumbs!" they heard the old man exclaim, after a fruitless effort to withdraw the bolt.

"Good-evening! "exclaimed Joseph, in a husky voice. " We are a pair of belated travellers, and seek a night's lodging. Can we be accommodated?"

"We 're not used to keeping travellers," said the patriarch, "but it is late, and another storm is brewing. Come right in. Wife can fix you a shake-down somewhere, I reckon; and we always have a bite on hand to eat."

"We have two sons of our own out in the world some