“Bless my dear, good mother! she has set the lamp in the south window, sick as she is, to guide me home, and it shows me that I was a trifle off my course.” On sped the little craft, held firmly to her work until she ran in under the shelter of a lofty overhanging cliff. The sail was quickly lowered, the painter made fast, and springing ashore, his arms full of the purchases he had made, Mark Merrill hastened to climb a steep path leading to the cliff above. Here stood a large stone mansion, dark and gloomy, except in one end, where there was a light, the one which had flashed over the waters as a beacon to guide the brave boy to a haven of safety. Entering the wing the lad passed into a large room where a woman lay upon a large old-fashioned bed. Her face was a sad one, and her eyes were sunk with suffering, but she smiled as she beheld her son, who advanced and, bending over, kissed her forehead. “The doctor will be down to-night, mother, for he knows the way well, having attended the Vanloo family when they lived here.” “Heaven bless you, my noble boy; but what a rough night it is, and my anxiety for you has made me feel better, for I forgot myself.” “Oh! you’ll soon come round all right, mother,” was the hopeful reply. “But Mark, how can you pay the doctor, for my illness has kept you from making any money of late.” “I sold my little model, mother, for I was tired of it, you know.” “No, I don’t know anything of the kind, Mark, for you prized it most highly, and it took you a long time to make it.” “Why, mother, it was no use, and I got a good price for it, so paid the doctor and bought some things we needed, and old Peggy will be back to-morrow, so that I can take a cruise and make some money.” “I hope so, my son, and Peggy never overstays her time; but I hear wheels without.” “It is the doctor,” joyously said the lad. It was the doctor, and he found the patient suffering from a general breaking down. He prescribed what he deemed best, left the medicines, and as the youth followed him to his carriage, said: “Your mother has some sorrow to bear, my young friend, and she must have perfect rest, the best of care, and good food.” “My old nurse, sir, Peggy, will return to-morrow, for she has been absent for a few weeks on a yearly visit to her son, and my mother has overworked herself, I fear.” “Well, I will see her again, and I understand your situation exactly--nay, do not get angry, for I will have my way, and all your mother needs she shall have, and when you make money you can repay me, for I shall keep an account of expenditures. “But your mother has some heartache, and you must brighten her life all you can. “I visited the Vanloo’s when they dwelt here--where is the heir to this property?” “I do not know, sir; but the agent gave us permission to occupy one wing of it to care for the place.” “He might well do so, for money would buy no one else to live here after the tragedies this old mansion has seen.