a long voyage. Remember about writing to me, won't you?"
"Yes, mother," said he; "I 'll write on board, and mail it the first time we land."
"Lee said he would," she continued sadly; "and it's been ten years now without a word beyond hearsay. But you 're not like Lee, dear."
"Lee!" cried the younger son in a hard voice. "Lee! O mother, if ever I meet him!—No, no, o' course I must n't—I would n't"—
"No, dear, you must n't. Lee meant—he's different. He's more like— Some men don't think much about such things!" She paused, and sighed. "When a boy goes out into the world, and to sea— Dear, you must never, never forget what I warned you against. It was so hard to tell you, but your father—poor John, I'm afraid he was n't always a good man."
"Always!" cried Marden, his cheeks glowing and his gray eyes flashing in the twilight. "Good! See where we are now, through him and Lee. Poor, and half-starved, and ragged.
