cheerfully, and thundered colorfully off toward the next farm. In a minute he disappeared over the hill, but it took longer for the noise of his machine to diminish in the distance.

“Golly, he could take half the State over the border in that bus,” Bob declared, then added as he saw the foreign boy coming from the garden, “Here’s our friend. Hello,” he called. The boy stopped, eyed them keenly, then smiled and showed a set of teeth so perfect that any dentist would have given half his kingdom to use his picture in an advertisement.

“Old Top, so long.”

“Guess that will hold you for a while,” Jim roared. “You are dismissed, my brother, Old Top.”

“Aw I say, that’s wrong. Hello!”

“Aw,” the boy repeated—“Aw, hello.”

“That’s more like it.” He pointed to his step-brother. “Jim.” The boy looked at Jim, who flushed under the scrutiny. “Jim,” Bob said again.

“Jimmm?”

“You got it. Jim.”

“Aw, Old Top; Jim, so long; hello.”

“Will you listen to the vocabulary. Ain’t that marvelous!”

“It ain’t,” Jim scowled, then he pointed to Bob. “Bob,” he explained. The boy seemed to understand that it was some sort of introduction.

“It ain’t Bob?”

“Yes it is,” Bob insisted, pointing to himself. “Bob.”

“Bob? Jim?”

“Great,” they both nodded gleefully. “You’re a regular chatterbox.”

The boy repeated the words he had learned and seemed to enjoy the sound of them. Then he stood a moment, straight as a young sapling, the expression on his face changed to a sober one, and into his deep, fine eyes, came a thoughtful look, which seemed to be habitual to them. As they met his gaze, any desire they might have had to have fun with him, disappeared, and the step-brothers felt a strong urge inside them to 

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