d of certain
things which he had only vaguely entertained so far.

In the first place he began to have a feeling that his father did care
for him tremendously after all. Paul's absorption in politics for the
last year had been so deep that, as has been said, he had neglected the
boy's interests and had not paid attention to his frequent complaints
and appeals. But now that the matter was squarely met, Louis knew from
what he caught of the telephone dialogue that his father was neglecting
a very important political affair to spend the entire evening with him.
The thought added to the feeling he began to have of his father's real
character. Then Louis had all his life had the greatest respect for his
father's intellectual life and regarded it with admiration. He was fond
of quoting him and there was no one in Milton who read Douglas's
editorials more regularly and carefully than Louis.

And added to all the rest that influenced him that night was the shame
he began to feel that his father knew his real motive for wanting to
leave the school and make money. He had become fascinated and led away
by a certain set in the High School and he wanted to go with them, wear
expensive clothes, frequent society functions and spend freely and get
the reputation of a generous and even lavish giver. This he could not do
with the allowance his father gave him, and he chafed under it
foolishly. He had not supposed his father would detect his underlying
motive in his longing to quit school and go into business. Now that he
realised his father did understand he felt ashamed to continue his plea
as he had first made it. At the end of the evening together, a certain
definite agreement was reached between father and son.

Louis agreed to continue his studies for another year and do his best
with those branches he found most difficult where he was not allowed to
choose electives. His father agreed to study with him in a regular
course, helping him through hard places, practically being his tutor and
agreeing to give him all the time he needed in the evening. "And why
not?" Paul kept asking almost with a sob as he noted the glow that was
creeping back into Louis's eye, the glow of a new interest in study.
"Why not? What shall it profit the reformer if he reforms the whole
state and loses his own children? I don't believe that even high-flown
Patriotism requires such a sacrifice as that."

When Louis went up to bed tears were on his cheeks and