"but sometimes we feel he must be dead or he would write to poor
mother."

"Now dry your tears, dear, or you will have a headache," said
Mrs. Minturn, and Nellie soon recovered her composure.

"You see," she began, "we had such a nice home and father was always
so good. But a man came and asked him to go to sea. The man said
they would make lots of money in a short time. This man was a great
friend of father and he said he needed someone he could trust on this
voyage. First father said no, but when he talked it over with mother,
they, thought it would be best to go, if they could get so much money
in a short time, so he went."

Here Nellie stopped again and her dark eyes tried hard to keep back
the tears.

"When was that?" Mrs. Minturn asked.

"A year ago," Nellie replied, "and he was only to be away six months
at the most."

"And that was why you had to leave school, wasn't it?" Mrs. Minturn
questioned further.

"Yes, we had not much money saved, and mother got sick from worrying,
so I did not mind going to work. I'm going back to the store again as
soon as the doctor says I can," and the little girl showed how anxious
she was to help her mother.