"Don't think of that, father. I am young and strong--I can earn my
living in some way."

"I hoped to live long enough to give you an education. I wanted you to
have a fairer start in the world than I had."

"Never mind, father," said Paul, soothingly, "Don't be uneasy about me.
God will provide for me."

Again there was a silence, broken only by the difficult breathing of the
sick man.

He spoke again.

"There is one thing, Paul, that I want to tell you before I die."

Paul drew closer to the bedside.

"It is something which has troubled me as I lay here. I shall feel
easier for speaking of it. You remember that we lived at Cedarville
before we came here."

"Yes, father."

"About two years before we left there, a promising speculation was
brought to my notice. An agent of a Lake Superior mine visited our
village and represented the mine in so favorable a light that many of
my neighbors bought shares, fully expecting to double their money in a
year. Among the rest I was attacked with the fever of speculation. I had
always been obliged to work hard for a moderate compensation, and had