'He's the office boy--an imp of the devil he is; but he is sharp and
clever as a needle; and then he is cheap.'

'Are cheap things always good, Uncle Abel?' Gladys asked. 'I have heard
papa say that cheap things are so often nasty, and he has spoken to me
more than once of the sin of cheapness. Even genius must be bought and
sold cheaply. Oh, he felt it all so bitterly.'

'Mary Graham, your foolish father was his own worst enemy, and I doubt
he will prove yours too, if that is all he has taught you. You had
better get tea at once.'

Thus rebuked, Gladys retired to the kitchen, and, to the no small
concern of the little landlady, she sat down on the low window-seat,
folded her hands on the table, and began helplessly to weep.

'My dear, my dear, don't cry! He hasn't been good to you, I know he
hasn't. But never mind; better times will soon dawn for you, and he will
not stay. I hope he will go away this very night,' she said very
sympathetically.

'No, he will stay till to-morrow, then I must go with him. He has
offered me a home, and I must go. There is nothing else I can do just
now,' said Gladys. 'I can't believe, Miss Peck, that he is papa's
brother. It is impossible.'

'Dear Miss Gladys, there is often the greatest difference in families. I
have seen it myself,' said Miss Peck meditatively. 'But now you must
have something to eat, and I suppose he must be hungry too'--