"I wonder, Fred, would Mrs. Rayburn lend you money enough to pay Henley? Then you could stay here, where you are known, and—" "Janet, Janet, do you not yet understand that to go where I am not known is my only chance? But certainly if I could quiet Henley, it would be a great thing, and I know she has money. I'll go and ask her; she is very good-natured." "And I will pack your things. You will go to-night, and leave me to sell the furniture and follow you with the children." "You forget—the greater part of the furniture belongs to the house. My father bought a few things after his second marriage, and there is your piano. But we'll settle all that when I have spoken to grandma. I'll go to her now. It is partly her doing, so she may well help me," he muttered as he left the room. "What a good girl Janet is!" he thought. "Half the women I know would have cried and scolded; not one word of reproach from her! Oh, I have been a fool! And we were so happy." It was easier to make his confession to Mrs. Rayburn than to Janet; but Fred little knew how near he was to learning more of dear, good-natured grandma's true character than he had learned in all these years! Her one consolation had been, that she still had her comfortable home; now, in a moment, she learned that she must look out for some means of earning her bread. In her sudden anger, she sat up in her bed and began— "You don't mean to tell me that you—" But she was very weak, having been seriously ill, and here the words died away on her lips, and she fell back, buried her face in the pillow, and burst into tears. And before she could speak again reflection had come to her aid. Fred was a young man still, and might yet be a useful friend again. So she told him sadly how things stood with herself, and that she regretted it more for his sake than for her own. For she had long thought that she would have money enough to help him to educate the darling boys, and put them into good professions. Now, alas! that would never be, for she had lost every penny; she was literally a beggar! Fred, quite touched by her kindness, told her that they were all in the same boat, and must stick together. He looked upon her just as if she were his mother. She must come out to him with Janet. "I couldn't think of it, Fred. You have your wife and children to care for; I must work for my own bread. I shall write to Lord Beaucourt; he had a great liking for my mother, and may help me to a situation. You have mouths enough to fill without me."