The Price He Paid — page 305: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

298 |," _ REJOICING AT MAX’S HOME. mind. His former irritability had vanished, and had given place to a sort of dull apathy which but rarely kindled with a gleam of the old passionate fire. Agnes, on the other hand, had developed into a blooming young woman, uniting with all her own gentleness of aspect a certain new dignity of look and bearing. <A boy of about two years was play- ing at his mother’s feet. Directly he caught sight of the gentlemen, he rose to his feet, and, still with a rather tottering gait ,ran forward to meet his father. Max cleared the steps at a bound, and threw the child high in the air. “Look at this young man,” he cried, with pater- nal pride, holding the sturdy, rosy-cheeked youngster toward his friend. Then he turned to his wife: “George will stay with us to-day, dear,” he said. “He must set out on his journey again to-morrow, I am sorry to say, but until then he will be our guest. Will you see that all is made ready for him?” - The young wife was indeed charming in her man- ner, as she turned, and in gracious words expressed to her husband’s friend the pleasure his visit gave her. Then she rose, wishing, she said, to make sure that the spare room was in perfcet order. “T will take the boy with me,” she observed. “He is accustomed to have an hour’s nap at noon. You will carry him up to his bedroom for me, Max, will you not?” “T must stay with George,” replied her husband. “The young one must learn to get up stairs by him- self. He is big enough.” “As you like, dear,” said Agnes, with sweet and ready acquiescence; “but Rudolph is so used to be- ing carried by you. He will cry, if you won’t do as | he wants.” “He has that from his mother,” said Max. With unruffled serenity the young wife stooped and took the childin herarms. He was a strong, vigorous boy, but no very great weight. His mother, however, seemed to find him too heavy for her, for she had to stop at the door to take breath, Gomicbooks (E(0)