The Wreck of the South Pole and Other Strange Tales — page 120: what you’re looking at

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

Why He Took Him Along. II3 never would have thought of that! Why is it? Has his religious education been so much better than mine? Hardly. It must be that I have lived a worldly life so long these things have dropped out. But when I asked him 1f he was ready to row across and out into the infinite beyond, his boyish nature asserted itself over the spiritual, and he shook his head. “No; not until our vacation is over.” Alas? school is not paradise to boys! The twilight and the moonlight made us confidential, and, while resting out there, I told him my story of Fran- cesca. Not as having any connection with myself, though! I have too much desire to keep his respect to place myself before his eyes in the light of a deceived man. So I told him of my trust and her deceit as if it had been the story of some third party I had met in my wanderings. But I can’t help feeling that those boyish eyes changed during the story, and that, if not fully con- fident, he has a pretty good idea of who the hero was. I must take steps to-morrow to relieve him of any such ideas. Oh, yes, one more item. When I had finished I looked at him, lying back in the stern of the boat, and asked: “Well, what do you think of her?” and that boy said: “I think Daisy Dalrymple wouldn’t have done so?” Confound the boy! I believe he really loves that girl. We have been here a week. Roy is developing a new trait. He is becoming affectionate! Actually he has laid his head upon my shoulder twice in the last two ECORNIEOOOKS (EO)