broken the rules, ignored warnings,
incurred gambling debts, and, crowning indignity of all, that he should
have been sent down, even for the last week of the term--that stabbed
the honest old countryman to his heart.

He said very little on the subject of his own feelings; such men are not
given to talk of themselves, but the tone of his voice was eloquent, and
Ralph winced before it. It was a new experience for the spoilt son and
heir to hear any accents but those of love and appreciation from a
member of his own family, and the experience was unexpectedly bitter.
Who could have believed that the Governor would cut up so rough--could
deliver himself of such sledge-hammer judgments? The card debts would
be paid, there was no question of that--every debt should be paid--and
Ralph should return to college with a clean sheet so far as money was
concerned, and with his handsome allowance undiminished--_for the
present_. He himself must decide what would happen in the future. The
Squire asked for no promises; he had had experience of the uselessness
of promises (the listener winced again at the significance of those
words); but Ralph must understand that any debts would be subtracted
from his own future allowance. He must also understand that he was
expected to take his pass the following May. There had been too much
shirking and running loose--now he must work for a change. For his
parents' sake, his sisters' sake, he must make amends for the pain and
shame of the last weeks.

It was a painful scene for both father and son, but the charm of manner
which was the great secret of Ralph's popularity did not forsake him,
even in this hour of humiliation. He made an ideal penitent--abashed,
yet manly, subdued and silenced, yet when the right moment came ready
with a few apt, quietly spoken words.

"Thank you, sir. You are always generous. I've made a beastly poor
return. I hope this year may end better than it has begun."

Poor Ralph! How little he guessed at that moment all that the year held
in store! How little the father dreamed of the altered conditions with
which he would face another New Year's Day! But so long as they both
lived it was good to remember that the interview had ended peacefully
and with a renewed sense of harmony, with a firm hand-grip and an
affectionate glance.

Ralph took his candle from a table in the hall and made his way quietly
up the oak staircase, and his father stood below and