“Shall I give you a piece of pie, Mr. Walton?” said Mrs. Ferguson.

“Thank you.”.

“Me too,” said Willie, extending his plate.

“Willie is always fond of pie,” said his father, “In a printing office pi is not such a favorite.”

When supper was over, Mr. Ferguson showed Harry a small collection of books, about twenty-five in number, neatly arranged on shelves.

“It isn’t much of a library,” he said, “but a few books are better than none.  I should like to buy as many every year; but books are expensive, and the outlay would make too great an inroad upon my small surplus.”

“I always thought I should like a library,” said Harry, “but my father is very poor, and has fewer books than you.  As for me, I have but one book besides the school-books I studied, and that I gained as a school prize—­The Life of Franklin.”

“If one has few books he is apt to prize them more,” said Ferguson, “and is apt to profit by them more.”

“Have you read the History of China?” asked Harry, who had been looking over his friend’s books.

“No; I have never seen it.”

“Why, there it is,” said our hero, “In two volumes.”

“Take it down,” said Ferguson, laughing.

Harry did so, and to his surprise it opened in his hands, and revealed a checker-board.

“You see appearances are deceitful.  Can you play checkers?”

“I never tried.”

“You will easily learn.  Shall I teach you the game?”

“I wish you would.”

They sat down; and Harry soon became interested in the game, which requires a certain degree of thought and foresight.

“You will make a good player after a while,” said his companion.  “You must come in often and play with me.”

“Thank you, I should like to do so.  It may not be often, for I am taking lessons in French, and I want to get on as fast as possible.”

“I did not know there was any one in the village who gave lessons in French.”

“Oh, he’s not a professional teacher.  Oscar Vincent, one of the Academy boys, is teaching me.  I am to take two lessons a week, on Tuesday and Friday evenings.”

“Indeed, that is a good arrangement.  How did it come about?”

Harry related the particulars of his meeting with Oscar.

“He’s a capital fellow,” he concluded.  “Very different from another boy I met in his room.  I pointed him out to you in the street.  Oscar seems to be rich, but he doesn’t put on any airs, and he treated me very kindly.”

“That is to his credit.  It’s the sham aristocrats that put on most airs.  I believe you will make somebody, Walton.  You have lost no time in getting to work.”

“I have no time to lose.  I wish I was in Oscar’s place.  He is preparing for Harvard, and has nothing to do but to learn.”

“I heard a lecturer once who said that the printing office is the poor man’s college, and he gave a great many instances of printers who had risen high in the world, particularly in our own country.”