"I know," said Rob, quietly, "but I don't want any."

"Are you ill, Robert?" asked his mother.

"Never felt better in my life," answered Rob, truthfully.

Yet Mrs. Joslyn looked worried, and when Rob refused the roast, she
was really shocked.

"Let me feel your pulse, my poor boy!" she commanded, and wondered to
find it so regular.

In fact, Rob's action surprised them all. He sat calmly throughout
the meal, eating nothing, but apparently in good health and spirits,
while even his sisters regarded him with troubled countenances.

"He's worked too hard, I guess," said Mr. Joslyn, shaking his head sadly.

"Oh, no; I haven't," protested Rob; "but I've decided not to eat
anything, hereafter. It's a bad habit, and does more harm than good."

"Wait till breakfast," said sister Helen, with a laugh; "you'll be
hungry enough by that time."

However, the boy had no desire for food at breakfast time, either, as
the tablet sufficed for an entire day. So he renewed the anxiety of
the family by refusing to join them at the table.

"If this goes on," Mr Joslyn said to his son, when breakfast was
finished, "I shall be obliged to send you away for your health."