Willie the Waif Part 3

"Yes, dear, He did," was the reply; "and if you talk to Him, He will hear you too. But now it is getting late and you must take this little chap home. Will you come again another night, and hear some more about Jesus?"

"We'd like to, wouldn't we, Willie?"

Willie nodded. He could hardly take his eyes off the beautiful face of the lady, and for once he felt too shy to say much, but when he was outside the door his tongue became unloosed.

"Wasn't she a pretty lady, Bob? Shall we go and see her again?"

"'Course we will," was the decided answer. "But, Willie, wouldn't yer like to go an' see that kind man wot the gent told us about?"

"Yes," said Willie; "but where is 'e, Bob?"

"I dunno," said Bob; "but the lady said as 'ow 'e would 'ear us if we spoke to 'im. P'raps Mrs. Blair will tell us."

When the children arrived, at the house they found Mrs. Blair becoming very anxious about them, for it was not often they were so late now that the evenings were dark and cold.

"Why, laddies!" she exclaimed, "I thought you were lost.

Wherever 'ave you been?"

"Mrs. Blair," said Willie eagerly, "can you tell us the way to Jesus?"

"Bless the child!" she said, looking at Bob. "What on earth does he mean?"

"'Ain't you ever 'eerd about 'im?" asked Bob, looking very disappointed.

"We've bin to a place where a lot o' children were singing about 'Suffer little children,' and then a man talked about one as was called Jesus, and 'e said 'e wanted all little boys like Willie an' me to be good so's we could go and live with 'im some day; and Willie and me wants to find the way, and now you can't 'elp us!" sadly and wistfully.

"No, child," she said huskily, "I'm afraid I can't. Be quick and get your suppers, for it's awful late, an' that little 'un ought to be in bed."

"Bob," whispered Willie, "yer'll speak to Jesus afore we go to bed, won't yer? The lady said 'e would 'ear."

So the two little waifs knelt in their corner with their eyes tightly shut, and Bob prayed in a low voice---

"Please, Sir, me an' Willie wants to find Yer. Make us good boys, an' show us the way."

"Say 'men, Bob," said Willie, "like the lady did."

And Bob said "'men."

CHAPTER IV

A VISITOR FOR WILLIE

What made Mrs. Blair sit up late that night, watching the fire, instead of going to bed quickly as she usually did? Willie's question had taken her back in thought to the time when she was a little girl. She remembered the lovely village where she was born; she fancied herself a girl again, running about the sweet-scented lanes and the green fields. She could see the honeysuckle all out in bloom, as it climbed over the cottage door and peeped in at the windows; but, most of all, she thought of her mother and the prayer she taught her to say every night as she knelt at her knee.

But her mother was dead, and she had not been near the village for many years. In that time she had forgotten all the lessons her mother had tried to teach her, and now when little Willie wanted her to show him the way to Jesus she was not able to do so. It was many years since she had taken the name of Jesus upon her lips. She had been a hard-working woman all her life, and she had no time to think about Him. But now she wished she had. She would have been glad if she could have told little Willie what he wanted to know.

From this time the boys never forgot to speak to Jesus, as Willie called it, every morning and evening. They went to the mission services regularly every week, and Miss Elton and her brother began to take a great interest in the children. The boys listened eagerly to every word that was said, and carried it faithfully home to Mrs. Blair, for she, poor woman, seemed quite as anxious to find Jesus as the children had been.

Willie's "pretty lady" had quite won the children's hearts, so that Willie had lost all his shyness with her; and as for the lady herself, she delighted to bear him chatter. Bob told her all about their life in Primrose Place, and on the streets since, and what a good friend Mrs. Blair had been to them.

"Why, you see," she said, "Jesus has been taking care of you all the time; only you did not know it."

"'As 'e?" said Bob wonderingly.

"Of course He has," was the reply. "Don't you see how He has let you take care of Willie? All the kind, loving thoughts that you have about are put into your mind by Jesus. It was He made Mrs. Blair so kind to you.

She wouldn't have looked after you so well if He had not put the thoughts into her head."

So, little by little, the minds of the children began to open, and they understood something of the way in which Jesus loved them.

In spite of the new clothes that Bob's careful saving up had procured for him, little Willie seemed to feel the cold very keenly, and Bob often felt very anxious about him. He caught cold, and that left him with a bad cough. Several times Bob had to leave him at home while he went to his crossing alone. But these were miserable days for the elder boy.

He always declared that people took no notice of him when Willie was not there, and it was very little he could earn. Had it not been for Mrs.

Blair, the children would often have had to spend the night out of doors.

One very wet evening in December Bob turned into the mission-room alone.

Willie had been too ill to go out with him in the morning, and he wanted to go straight home; he thought Willie would be so lonely.

But Willie would not hear of it. "No, Bob," he said; "go an' see my pretty lady, so's yer can tell me wot she says when yer come 'ome."

Miss. Elton saw him come in at the door, and quickly missed her little favourite.

"Why, Bob," she said, "where's Willie?"

"Please'm," he answered, "'e ain't well. 'E couldn't come out with me to-day."

"Poor little chap!" said the lady kindly. "I hope he isn't very bad.

I must come and see him. Do you think he would like me to?"

"I should jist think 'e would," answered Bob.

"Very well, then, you must tell me the way, and I will come to-morrow."

Bob did so as clearly as he could, then went to his seat. But it was very little that he heard of the address that evening, for his head was so full of the visit that was to be paid that he couldn't take in anything else.

Directly the meeting was over he flew off as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Willie, Willie!" he burst out, as soon as he got into the room.

"Guess wot I've got to tell yer!

"Can't," said Willie. "Do tell me, Bob."

"Some one's comin' to see yer to-morrer."

"To see me!" repeated Willie. "Who, Bob?"

"Who should it be," said Bob, "but yer lady!"

"Truth, Bob? Do yer mean it?" for it seemed almost too good to be true.

"My pretty lady!"