interest.

Only two men remained behind, the tall New England youth and the Mexican
on the farther side of the street sitting motionless on his horse. A
moment later he was gone, and the street was empty save for the
pale-faced invalid who had come over to the doorway where Mat and
Beverly and I waited together.

"Why don't you youngsters stay home with your mother, or is she going
with you?" he asked, a gleam of interest lighting his dull face as he
looked at Mat Nivers.

"We haven't any of us got a mother," Mat replied, timidly, lifting her
gray eyes to his.

"Mother! Ain't you all one family?" the young man questioned in
surprise.

"No, we are three orphan children that Uncle Esmond has adopted all our
lives, I guess." Beverly informed him.

A wave of sympathy swept over his face.

"You poor, lonely, unhappy cubs! You've never had a mother to love you!"
he exclaimed, in kindly pity.

"We aren't poor nor lonely nor unhappy. We have always had Uncle Esmond
and we didn't need a mother," I exclaimed, earnestly.

The young man stared at me as I spoke. "What's he, a bachelor or married