So they filed downstairs, and took their seats at the table. Mr. Crawford sat at the head, opposite his sister, while Roy and Andy occupied the sides. When dinner was nearly over, Mr. Crawford remarked: "I believe, Andy, you are in the employ of Mr. Flint, the jeweler." "I was," answered Andy. "Surely you have not left him?" exclaimed Mrs. Mason. "No, I have been discharged." "I am surprised to hear it. I thought you were a favorite with Mr. Flint." "So I was. He does not know I have been discharged." "You puzzle me." "Mr. Flint is in Colorado, and Mr. Rich, his head salesman, has taken the opportunity to discharge me, and put his nephew in my place." "But surely he would not venture to do this without some pretext." "He claims that I took a watch from the case, and pawned it." "Of course that is untrue." "Yes, and I am in a position to prove it when Mr. Flint returns." Andy told the story of his visit to the pawn shop, and the discovery he made there. "This is a shameful plot!" said Mrs. Mason, indignantly. "I am afraid you are in trouble, deprived of your income." "Fortunately I have no board to pay. That is paid by the gentleman who procured me the situation." Presently they went upstairs. "Roy," said his mother, "we will excuse you for an hour while you are getting your Latin lesson." "I don't like Latin, mother," grumbled Roy, "at least not to-night. I am afraid I can't fix my thoughts on the lesson. I want to be with Andy." "What are you studying in Latin, Roy?" asked Andy. "_Caesar_." "If you wish, I will help you." "Can you?" asked Roy, joyfully. "I have been through _Caesar_, and _Virgil_, also. When I left the academy I was studying _Cicero_." "Roy will be glad of your help, Andy," said his mother. "I did not know you were such a scholar." "I was getting ready for college, but my father's losses required me to break off." Andy proved such an efficient helper that Roy found himself at leisure in half an hour. In the meantime Mrs. Mason asked her brother: "What do you think of my protege?" "He seems a manly and attractive boy." "Can't you find something for him to do?" "I will talk with him presently, and then decide." CHAPTER XXI. NEW PROSPECTS. After Roy, with Andy's assistance, had prepared his lesson in _Caesar_, John Crawford began to converse with him with a view of forming a judgment of his business qualifications. "Are you especially interested in the jewelry line?" he asked. "No, sir. It was merely chance that led me to Mr. Flint's store." "I see you are a Latin scholar. What career did you expect to follow if your father's misfortune had not interrupted your education?" "I don't think I should care for a profession. I prefer a life of business." "You have had no special business in view?" "No, sir. I think I could adapt myself to any that I had an opportunity to follow." "What pay did you receive from Mr. Flint?" "Five dollars a week."