the people who lived around him.

One reason for this was that they held little in common with him. The
neighboring farmers were honest, thrifty souls, and among them were many
both shrewd and thoughtful; but they naturally would not force
themselves upon the society of the one really rich man in their
community, especially as that man had shown no desire to know them.

Kenneth was the subject of much speculation among them, and opinions
widely differed concerning his character. Some called him a "prig" and
declared that he was "stuck up" and conceited. Others said he was a
"namby-pamby" without brains or wit. But there were a few who had
occasionally talked with the boy, who understood him better, and hinted
that he might develop into "quite a man" in time.

Kenneth surprised himself this morning by greeting several of his
neighbors with unusual cordiality. He even stopped a man who was driving
along the highway to inquire about his horse, which he perceived was
very lame. The boy knew something about horses and suggested a method of
treatment that he thought would help the nag; a suggestion the farmer
received with real gratitude.

This simple incident cheered Kenneth more than you might suppose, and he
was actually whistling as he rode through the glen, where the country
road wound its way beside the noisy, rushing stream.

Pausing in front of the picturesque "table rock" that he had come to
inspect, the boy uttered an exclamation of chagrin and disappointment.
Painted broadly upon the face of the rock, in great white letters, was
the advertisement of a patent medicine. The beauty of the scene was