“Are they as good as those?” asked Sidney. “Oh, no; they’re just a pair of wooden strap skates. They--they do very well, though.” “Pshaw, a fellow can’t skate with straps around his foot,” said Sidney contemptuously. “You just see how much better you’ll get along with those. If you’d rather have a pair like these, though, you can have them; can’t he, Mumsie?” “I’d rather keep these,” said Tom shyly, “because--because they’re the ones you give--gave me.” And he looked gratefully at Mrs. Morris. She clapped her hands softly. “Oh, we do like you, Tom!” she cried. “That was a perfect thing to say, wasn’t it, Sid?” Sidney grinned. “He’s gone on you, Mumsie.” “Sidney!” “He is, though.” He laughed across at Tom. “All the fellows fall in love with my mother, Tom. You can’t help it.” Tom blushed hotly, and Mrs. Morris said reprovingly: “Sid, you shouldn’t say such awful things, dear. Tom may not understand your fun.” “I can understand what--what he said,” muttered Tom boldly, and Sidney applauded by rattling the skates he held. Mrs. Morris blushed a little herself then. “You’re both rather awful,” she said. “And it’s about time for you to be thinking of bed, Sid. Come, Tom, we’ll leave him to consider his sins. I’ll be up again, Sid, in a few minutes.” Tom said good night to Sidney, repeating his promise to return to-morrow evening, and followed Mrs. Morris downstairs. At the door she held out her hand to him and Tom took it awkwardly. “Good night, Tom,” she said. “Thanks for coming. Sidney enjoyed your visit very much. And so did I. And don’t forget to come again.” “No’m, thanks. Good night, Mrs. Morris.” “Good night. And, Tom!” Tom was outside now and the door was slowly closing. “_Please_ don’t worry about your hair!” CHAPTER VII TOM GAINS PROMOTION That was the beginning of the friendship. Sidney, who had begun being nice to Tom to please his mother, continued being nice to him because he liked him. There was an earnest, downright quality to Tom that the older boy was attracted by. Then when Sidney found that, in spite of an inclination toward unusual seriousness in one of his age, Tom had a perfectly good, if somewhat repressed, sense of humour, Sidney took to him in earnest. The boys were quite unalike in many ways. Sidney was small-boned, lithe, graceful, and dark. Tom was heavier, less finely built, and light. Sidney was impulsive, Tom deliberate. Both were capable of deep enthusiasms, but Tom’s were of slower birth and, perhaps, of longer duration. It is not unusual for boys to form friendships for those quite opposed to them both physically and mentally. In such a partnership what one lacks the other supplies. This explains to some extent the friendship that sprang up between Sidney Morris and Tom Pollock. For a week Tom believed that when Sidney was once more off the invalid list and free to seek the companionship of his old acquaintances he would see very little of him. The reverse, however, proved to be the case.