Page:Ned Wilding's Disappearance.djvu/45

Rh boys learned, was Jane, was placing some of the things aside. Her mother helped her, while Mary, the younger daughter, seemed, from mere astonishment, unable to stir. She sat gazing at the pile of good things as if they might suddenly vanish.

The boys brought in more wood and began to help with the meal. In a little while they had a good one ready, using some of the camp food, while the turkeys and rabbits were put away for the next day.

The boys told something of themselves, and, in turn, Mrs. Perry related how her husband had died a few years before, leaving her with a small farm, and three children, a boy and the two girls. The farm, she said, had been taken because they could not pay the interest on the mortgage, and there had been nothing left for them.

The town gave them the use of the little cabin, and they managed to make something of a living, for Mrs. Perry did sewing; for women in the village, which was about three miles away. They had a little garden patch, and raised some fruit.

"You said you—you had a son?" asked Ned gently. "Is he—"

"No, he isn't dead," replied Mrs. Perry sadly. "Poor boy, I wish I knew where he was. He tried to help us, as much as he could," she went