What Mrs. Hampton said in reply she did not know.  Her brain was in a tumult as she made her way into the kitchen.  How could she explain?  What should she say?  John knew about the one hundred dollars they had in the house, and what reason could she give for spending it?  And he wanted it the next day!

When supper was ready she called John and tried to be as bright and cheerful as possible as they both sat down to the table.  It was a cosy dining-room, and through the open window drifted the delicate fragrance of field and garden.  But Mrs. Hampton was oblivious to this now.  Amidst scenes of peace and beauty she was living in a world of misery, for a heavy heart makes the most beautiful surroundings a wretched mockery.

John was in excellent spirits and ate heartily.  So intent was he upon his own affairs that he did not notice Mrs. Hampton’s absent-mindedness.

“I may be away all night, mother,” he told her, “so do not be uneasy.  In fact, I might not be home until to-morrow night.  You can get along, can you not?  I know it isn’t fair to leave you all the work to do, but I shall make up for it when I come back.”

“It must be very important business, John, that will keep you at the quarry so long.  Is it a secret?”

“It is for the present.  There is a surprise in store for you.”  The young man’s face coloured as he spoke, and this the woman silently noted.

“Agreeable?” she asked.

“I hope so.  Just you wait.”  His boyish laugh rang out as he rose from the table.  He suddenly ceased, however, and turned to his mother.

“Oh, about that money order!  It must go to-morrow.  If I should not be back in time, would you mind sending it?  But, no, perhaps I had better take the money with me now, and get it at the store on my way to the quarry.  There will be time, and I don’t want to give you all the trouble.  You will have enough to do without anything extra.”

“No, no, John, it won’t trouble me one bit,” Mrs. Hampton hastened to assure him.  “I have to go to the store in the morning, and can get the money order as well as not.  Leave it to me.  It’s the Empire Garage, I think you said, where it is to be sent.”

“Yes, that’s the place.  And thank you very much, mother.  There’s the bill.  It’s quite large, I know, but it’s the first I’ve had to pay for some time.”

He laid the paper upon the table, and was about to leave the room, when a heavy step was heard upon the verandah.  In another minute an excited woman stood before them.  She was panting heavily, and her hair was in much disorder.

“Why, Mrs. Tobin, what’s the matter?” Mrs. Hampton asked, alarmed at her visitor’s agitation.

“They’ve left me!  They’ve left me!” she wailed, sinking down exhausted in the nearest chair.  “Oh, to think that I have come to this!”

“Who have left you, Mrs. Tobin?” John asked.  “What do you mean?”