It's time somethin' was done, an', by Jerry,
I'm the one to do it!'
"An' without another word he slammed out with those grinnin' imps that was
makin' all the trouble followin' at his heels. Well, there isn't very much
more to tell."
Here she paused, the animation left her face and she looked pityfully old
and weary. Betty reached over and patted her hand, and finally she resumed
her story.
"Abner kept his word and brought the sheriff around that same afternoon,
but they couldn't find Willie--he was gone. He'd left a note for me--full
o' love--but sayin' that he couldn't bear to bring disgrace on me an' so
he'd gone away. When he'd done what his pa wanted him to, he said, he'd
come back an' then we could live in the big house an' be happy.
"An' from that day to this, I've never heard a word from my little boy."
"Oh," cried Betty, pityingly, "what a terrible thing! I should think he
could have written. But maybe he did, and his letters never reached you."
"That old Abner must have been a beast," cried Mollie, clenching her hands
belligerently. "And those boys! Wouldn't I like to put them behind the
bars?"
"You see," the old lady went on tonelessly, "it was only a little while
after Willie ran away that they found out that tramps started the fire. Of
course Abner was sorry then, but it was too late. My boy was gone."
"But you'll find him yet," cried Betty hopefully, springing to her feet.
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