age, as was Terence McShane, of Ballymahone? I came on me own r-r-responsibility.”
Lorison had also advanced to the boy’s bedside. He was fond of children; and the wee fellow, laying himself down to sleep alone in that dark room, stirred his heart.
“Aren’t you afraid, little man?” he asked, stooping down beside him.
“Sometimes,” answered the boy, with a shy smile, “when the rats make too much noise. But nearly every night when sister goes out, Mother Geehan stays a little while with me, and tells me funny stories. I’m not often afraid, sir.”
“This brave little gentleman,” said Father Rogan, “is a scholar of mine. Every day from half-past six to half-past eight—when sister comes for him—he stops in my study, and we find out what’s in the inside of books. He knows multiplication, division, and frac-
