apparently simple act, and the position in which it would soon
place him, he would certainly have refused to take charge of the
box. And yet in so doing it might have happened that he had made a
mistake. The consequences of even our simple acts are oftentimes
far-reaching and beyond the power of human wisdom to foreknow.

Luke thought little of this as, with the box under his arm, he
trudged homeward.



CHAPTER V

LUKE RECEIVES AN INVITATION


"What have you there, Luke?" asked Mrs. Larkin, as Luke entered the
little sitting-room with the tin box under his arm.

"I met a man on my way home, who asked me to keep it for him."

"Do you know the man?" asked his mother, in surprise.

"No," answered Luke.

"It seems very singular. What did he say?"

"He said that he was obliged to leave the neighborhood at once, and
could not conveniently carry the box."