Joe, whose conscience had troubled him ever since the fatal moment when his unopened letter had been returned to him from Rugby, broke the profound silence that prevailed in the room after the judge’s revelation as to his identity, by asking the one question ever supreme in his mind.  He wished to know if his newly found brother Donald could not tell them their mother’s present address, so he and Jim could hasten to her and beg her pardon for all the trouble their running away from their home must have caused her.

Tears were welling into the judge’s eyes when he pointed to the lady at the table, and then with his voice choking with emotion he said:  “This lady is not a reporter, but is our own dear mother, and I am sure that she will gladly forgive you for your thoughtless boyish prank, for you plainly show how grieved and repentant you are, and how anxious you will henceforth be to atone by true filial devotion in the future for the nameless woe you have brought upon her life in the past.”

As if spurred on by a common impulse, Joe and Jim humbly knelt before the sweet faced lady in whose careworn face they readily recognized the countenance of their own once so happy mother, and pleaded for her forgiveness.  While they were still waiting for the words which would end a penance stretching over twenty weary years, she arose from her chair, and trembling with emotion lifted her withered arms high above her head, and with a face that bespoke the joy which had at last blessed her life, she pronounced this benediction: 

“Oh, Henry McDonald, my dear departed husband, how I wish that at this happy moment you were standing beside me to assist me in blessing those who have come home, and praising the good Lord above us from now until my children bury me, for having this day, after so many sorrowful years, mercifully answered my tearful prayers.”

This maternal blessing was followed by a most affectionate greeting and then the happy family repaired to Judge Donald McDonald’s stately mansion where they further celebrated their reunion.

When some weeks later Joe and Jim and the latter’s family returned to the Buena Vista ranch they not only had their sister Helen accompany them, but had persuaded their beloved mother to take a pleasure trip to their Colorado home, and according to the latest reports the judge is having the time of his life trying to induce the happy mother to return to her home in Canada.

This was Canada Joe’s story.

[Illustration:  The End]

[Illustration:  A tramp]