Annabel by L. Frank Baum

Will Carden was quite surprised to receive another invitation to confer with Mr. Williams. This time, however, he was asked to call at the Williams house in the evening "on a matter of great importance," and while this was less formal than the previous appointment it was also more mysterious. Wondering greatly why he was summoned, the boy dressed himself with care, kissed his mother good-night, and walked down the road toward the village, filled with impatient eagerness.

Will's fortunes were quite prosperous at this juncture; or, as he reflected in his boyish fashion: "Things seem to be coming my way. " But he was too wise to attribute it to "luck," know-full well how much he owed to the kindness of good Doctor Meigs, backed by his own sturdy labor and a strict attention to the details of his business.