"Ettie," he said, "I am a hard man, a danged hard man,
and as you say I've never given away much, but I am not
so low down yet that I have to reach up to touch bottom,
and the old woman will not go to the poor house if I have
money enough to keep her out!"
Sam Motherwell was as good as his word.
He went to Winnipeg the next day, but before he left he
drew a check for one hundred dollars, payable to Polly's
mother, which he gave to the Church of England clergyman
to send for him. About two months afterwards he received
a letter from the clergyman of the parish in which Polly's
mother lived, telling him that the money had reached the
old lady in time to save her from the workhouse; a
heart-broken letter of thanks from Polly's mother herself
accompanied it, calling on God to reward them for their
kindness to her and her dear dead girl.
CHAPTER XXII
SHADOWS
One morning when Tom came into the kitchen Pearl looked
up with a worried look on her usually bright little face.
"What's up, kid?" he asked kindly. He did not like to
see Pearl looking troubled.
"Arthur's sick," she said gravely.
"Go on!" he answered, "he's not sick. I know he's been
feeling kind of used up for about a week, but he worked
as well as ever yesterday. What makes you think he is
sick?"
"I went out last night to be sure I had shut the henhouse
door, and I heard him groanin', and I said, knockin' on
the door, 'What's wrong, Arthur?' and he said, 'Oh, I
beg your pardon, Pearl, did I frighten you?' and I said,
'No, but what's wrong?' and he said, 'Nothing at all,
Pearl, thank you'; but I know there is.
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