“Yes, my son; I’ve told Robberts that you shall come up in the morning,” replied Mrs. Ellis.  Then turning to Robberts, she inquired, “How is Aunt Rachel?”

At this question, the liveried gentleman from Mrs. Thomas’s shook his head dismally, and answered:  “Don’t ask me, woman; don’t ask me, if you please.  That old sinner gets worse and worse every day she lives.  These dinners we’re ’spectin to have has just set her wild—­she is mad as fury ’bout ’em—­and she snaps me up just as if I was to blame.  That is an awful old woman, now mind I tell you.”

As Mr. Robberts concluded, he took his hat and departed, giving Charlie the cheering intelligence that he should expect him early next morning.

Charlie quite lost his appetite for supper in consequence of his approaching trials, and, laying aside his books with a sigh of regret, sat listlessly regarding his sisters; enlivened now and then by some cheerful remark from Caddy, such as:—­

“You’ll have to keep your feet cleaner up there than you do at home, or you’ll have aunt Rach in your wool half a dozen times a day.  And you mustn’t throw your cap and coat down where you please, on the chairs or tables—­she’ll bring you out of all that in a short time.  I expect you’ll have two or three bastings before you have been there a week, for she don’t put up with any nonsense.  Ah, boy,” she concluded, chuckling, “you’ll have a time of it—­I don’t envy you!”

With these and similar enlivening anticipations, Caddy whiled away the time until it was the hour for Charlie to retire for the night, which he, did with a heavy heart.

Early the following morning he was awakened by the indefatigable Caddy, and he found a small bundle of necessaries prepared, until his trunk of apparel could be sent to his new home.  “Oh, Cad,” he exclaimed, rubbing his eyes, “how I do hate to go up there!  I’d rather take a good whipping than go.”

“Well, it is too late now to talk about it; hurry and get your clothes on—­it is quite late—­you ought to have been off an hour ago.”

When he came down stairs prepared to go, his mother “hoped that he was going to behave like a man,” which exhortation had the effect of setting him crying at once; and then he had to be caressed by the tearful Esther, and, finally, started away with very red eyes, followed to the door by his mother and the girls, who stood looking after him for some moments.

So hurried and unexpected had been his departure, that he had been unable to communicate with his friend Kinch.  This weighed very heavily on his spirits, and he occupied the time on his way to Mrs. Thomas’s in devising various plans to effect that object.

On arriving, he gave a faint rap, that was responded to by Aunt Rachel, who saluted him with—­

“Oh, yer’s come, has yer—­wipe your feet, child, and come in quick.  Shut the door after yer.”

“What shall I do with this?” timidly asked he, holding up his package of clothes.