jacket.

After he had gone Mrs. Hunt asked, thoughtfully, "How long have you
known that boy, Nan?"

"I never saw him until yesterday," answered the girl. "He was good to
me then."

"Yes, I know, an' of course you don't want to forget that, but, Nan,
I'm afraid he's a bad boy. Dick says he is. He says he lies and
steals and swears. I guess you don't want to have much to do with
him."

Nan looked troubled. She answered, slowly,

"I guess he hasn't had much of a chance, Mrs. Hunt. He can't remember
anything about his father and mother, and he says he's never had any
home except the street. Do you s'pose 'twill hurt for him to come here
sometimes to see Little Brother? 'Seems as if it might help him to be
a better boy. He likes Little Brother."

For a moment Mrs. Hunt was silent. She was thinking how hard she tried
to bring up her children to be good boys and girls, and yet they were
not always good. She wondered what kind of a boy her Dick would have
been if he, like Tode, had had no home and no one to keep him from
evil ways.

"If that's so, there's some excuse for him," she said, in response to
Nan's plea for Tode.