“Why,” said the old mother, looking into his face, “I have seen him before.”

And Tony lifted his eyes—­large, lustrous, black—­to the old lady’s face rimmed with silver hair, and said, ingenuously,

“I don’t think you ever did.  I have never been here.”

“But I have seen you, and I want to see you again; and you will come when you can, won’t you?  Where do you live?”

“At Mr. Badger’s, and I came from New York with a Mr. Blanco.”

“Where is your father?”

“He is in Italy.”

“And that is over the sea, over the sea!” she murmured, as she returned to her sitting-room.  There she stood looking at the picture of a ship, and, glancing up at the church vane, which could be seen from her window, she wondered if the weather would be easterly and rainy that day.

When they were alone, Tony said to Mr. Walton, “Do you see Tim Tyler often?”

“Pretty often.”

“And they are real poor?”

“O yes.”

On his way home Tony met Charlie.

“Mr. Walton says they are real poor at Tim Tyler’s, Charlie.  I wish I had some money to give him.”

Charlie thought a minute, and then he spoke up, eagerly, “I say, Tony, let’s get up a fair for him.”

“That’s the very thing I wanted to ask you about.  Now it’s strange we should both think of it.”

“That’s so.”

“Let’s shake hands on it, Charlie.”

Tony and Charlie, standing on the sidewalk, shook hands cordially.  “What next?  The shaking of hands would not bring a fair.

“Let’s go and see Miss Barry,” suggested Charlie.  This was in accordance with the boys’ custom to refer all their troubles to this sympathetic teacher.

“We want to get up a fair for Tim Tyler,” said Charlie, enthusiastically.

“Yes, yes!” cried Tony.  Miss Barry looked down into the boys’ eager faces.

“Tim Tyler, that boy burned at the fire?”

“Yes,” said Charlie.

“That would be splendid.”

“But—­but,” said Tony, “we want you to help us.  Could—­could you?”

“Yes, I’ll help.”

The boys were in raptures.

“Have you asked the other boys?” asked the teacher.

“No,” replied Charlie; “but there go Sid Waters and Rick Grimes down street now.  We might ask them.”

“You tell them, please, I want to see them.”

When Sid and Rick arrived, their assent, at first, was readily given to the teacher’s proposition for a fair by the boys in behalf of Tim Tyler.

“Only,” said Rick, “won’t it go to old Tim, his uncle, for rum?  I don’t believe in that.”

“O, Tim’s mother wouldn’t allow that.”

“But, you see, Tim had a fuss with Charlie Macomber, and imposed on him,” exclaimed Sid.

“Charlie is willing, for he has said so,” replied Miss Barry.  “You are not going to hold on to an old grudge.  Your name is ‘Up-the-Ladder Club,’ and not down the ladder.  You go down when you hold on to a grudge, boys.”