"Charlie," said his mother, as they sat eating their mid-day meal alone one day--the mother being, as we have said, a widow, and Charlie an only child--"what do you think of doing, now that you have left school? for you know my income renders it impossible that I should send you to college."
"I don't know what to think, mother. Of course I intend to do something. If you had only influence with some one in power who could enable a fellow to get his foot on the first round of any sort of ladder, something might be done, for you know I'm not exactly useless, though I can't boast of brilliant talents, but--"
