Jim was dazed by the unexpected blow.

It became the privilege of Tom Gordon to act as his comforter, but it was a long time before the little fellow came out from the valley of shadow into the life-giving sunlight again.
But here was the solemn situation: Tom Gordon and Jim Travers were orphans, with no near relatives, and with only their own hands to earn their daily bread.

What was the best thing for them to do?
This was the grave question which the two boys sat down to answer in the gloom of a wintry evening, when they were about fourteen years of age.
They had received plenty of counsel, and much of it was excellent.

The teacher, the minister, and numerous good neighbors had been as kind as they could possibly be, and the youths knew no real hardship could come to them as long as they stayed in or near the place where they were born.
But they were not satisfied to do so.

They felt they ought to strike out for themselves, and Briggsville was not the place to do it.