The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1900-10-06
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4 n lLN 81 R@BERT LOUIS STEVENSON. N I-117
CHAPTER II1.-i C,oNrINuIEp.ll
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.ssE5 CHAPTER H. - CoNTINuED.l
#5# 81 do not think, e said Mr.. Nicholson
ut last, that am an ungenerous tat h
Ell have never grudged you money
within reason, for any allowable pur ".
pose; you had just to come to me and.
speak. And now l find that you have t
forgotten all decency and all natural
feeling, and actually paw,ned-pa'W'Gn1'te'tdi
your mothers watch. You must have
had some temptation; / will do you
the justice to suppose 1t was q strong
ono. What did you do with this
money ~ 5s. NJ +. s5E rs.
'*I would rather not tell you, SIR
said John. ut will only make you
angry" 5s. 8 % n S.si. 81: . .=4
81 will not be fenced with" cried his
father. There must be an end Of dis
ingenious answers. What did you
want with this money!" {. a. .
$ *..To lend it to Houston, SIR says
John. t5s555 q a. i rs 5ssys ~ ID
81 thought I had forbidden you to
speak to that young mani" asked the
father. .gsE,$ ii *:;:. 2ss. g.
t.s$ eyes, sir" said John; "but only met
him.'' - Id ..Es&g ss25 4: -. s.ss. ~ .
ttWhere?" came the deadly question.
And s'In a billiard room was the
damning answer. .zz5ss.
Thus had Johns single departure
from the truth brought instant pun
ishment. For no other purpose but to
see Alan would he have entered bill
Hard room; but he had desired to pail
Hate the fact of his disobedience, and
now it appeared that he frequented
these disreputable haunts upon his own
account. -, T., 4 T. VI - y
Once more Mr.. Nicholson digested the
vile tidings in silence; and when John
stole a glance at his fathers counter
ance he was abashed to see the marks
of suffering. f. = ;. e e ~
WELL" said the old gentleman at
Hast, 81 can not pretend to be simply
bowed down. T rose this morning
what the world calls a happy man
happy, at least, in a son of whom i
thought l could be reasonably proud"
But it was beyond human nature to
endure this longer; and John interrupt
ed him almost with scream. "Qh,
swheest!' he cried, that's not all, that's
not the worst of Tits nothing! low
could tell you were proud of me? OH!
I wish, wish that had known; but
you always said was such disgrace!
And the dreadful thing is this: We
were all taken UP last night, and we
have to pay Colette's fine among the
six, OF; We'll be had up for evidence
shebeening it is. They made me swear
TO tell you; but for my part. he cried,
bursting into tears, II just wish that I
was dead" And he fell on his knees
before chair and hid his face. &
Whether his father spoke, and wheth-
ler he remained long in the room or
at once departed, are points lost to his
tory. "A hOrrid turmoil of mind and
body; bursting sobs; broken, vanish
ing thoughts, now of indignation, now
of remorse; broken elementary whiffs
OF consciousness, of the smell of the
horsehair on the chair bottom, of the
jangling of church bells that now be-
gan to make day horrible throughout
the confines Of the city, of the hard
door that bruised his knees, of the
taste Of tears that found their way into
his mouth; for period of time, the
duration OF which I can not guess,
while I refuse to dwell longer on it's
agony, these were the whole of Gods
world for John Nicholson. s.:
+ When at last as by the touching of
a spring, he returned again to clear
ness of consciousness and even meas
'ure Of composure, the, bells had just
done ringing, and the Sabbath silence
was still marred by the patter of be-
aated feet. BY the clock above the fire,
as well as by these more speaking signs
the service had not long begun; and the
unhappy sinner, If his father had really
gone to church, might count on near
two hours Of only comparative unhap-
piness. With his father the superla-
tive degree returned infal1ibly. He
knew it by every shrinking fiber in his
4 body, he knew it by the sudden dizzy
whirling Of his brain, at the mere
thought Of that calamity. An hour and
a half, perhaps an hour and three-quar-
ters. il the doctor was long Winded, and
theh would begin that active agony
from which, even in the dull ache of
the present, he shrunk as from the bite
of fire. He saw in vision, the fam
lily pew, the somnolent cushions; the
Bibles, the psalm books, Maria with her
smelling salts, his father sitting spec
tacled and critical; and at once he was
struck with indignation, not unjAstly.
r. VI