"I am not worrying, my dear," he replied, "but only thinking, and I wonder whether that which I think, will please you." "What pleases you," Mrs. Bradley said, "always pleases me. We are two of a kind, and I am sure I am going to agree to what you say. Pray, now tell me what troubles you." "The matter pertains to another little youngster in our home," he replied; "though the youngster is not so very young any more. He is a year older than Fred, and I think, he would prove a good companion to him." Fred listened with much interest, and also Agnes laid aside her book. "What about the young lad?" Mrs. Bradley asked. "Is he the son of a poor family in the Colony?" "His case is worse," the husband replied. "Yesterday when the good ship 'Hope' came into port, the authorities found a stranger in the band of immigrants. He was a stowaway, though some of the people discovered him during the voyage and supported him with food. Otherwise the poor fellow would have starved." "And what are they going to do with the lad?" Mrs. Bradley inquired. "That is the trouble," her husband said. "According to the law the boy must be returned to England. But he has begged the authorities not to send him back. He comes from a poor family, and his father is dead. In England there are no opportunities for him; So he decided to go to America. And now he is here." "And you decided to take him into your home!" the woman said smilingly. "That looks just like you." "Well," the man answered, looking at Fred and Agnes, "you were lucky to find these, so I must make another contribution." "Nor do I object," consented the woman. "The Lord has blessed us abundantly with all good things, and we can surely give him a good home. Only, I would ask, is he worthy of it?" "That we must see," Mr. Bradley said; "but he seems to be a good pious boy, and he knows his Catechism well. I hardly blame him for leaving England." "Then the matter is settled," Mrs. Bradley said; "but where is the boy now?" "Governor Winthrop has provisionally taken him into his home," the man said; "though he cannot very well adopt the lad. But when he spoke to me about it, I promised to ask you, and I have guaranteed the ship company to pay his fare." "What a fine Samaritan you are!" Mrs. Bradley said, as she kissed him. "Surely, the Lord will bless you for it, and we shall be the richer for having taken him in." Fred who had listened eagerly, could no longer restrain himself. Stepping up to his foster-father he asked: "And what is the boy's name?" "His name is Matthew Bunyan," Mrs. Bradley said; "but what about you, Fred? Do you want to have the new brother? And will you treat him kindly?" "That I will," Fred responded gladly. "I have always wished for a brother, who could work and play with me. And Matthew Bunyon is such a fine name! When can I see him?" "You may this very evening, if you care to go to the Governor's house," said the kind father.