The Argosy — page 144: what you’re looking at

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

130 A Crisis in his Lrfe. That same night, when Tod and I were in our room alone, Mr. Bran- don walked in. It was pretty late, but Tod was about to depart cn his visit to High Street. As if the entrance of Mr. Brandon had been the signal for him to bolt, he put on his trencher and turned to the docr. Quick as thought, Mr. Brandon interposed himself. “If you go out of this room, Joseph Todhetley, it shall be over my body,” cried he, a whole hatful of authority in his squeaky voice. ‘I have come in to hold a final conversation with you; and I mean to do it.” : I thought an explosion was inevitable, with Tod’s temper. He con- trolled it, however ; and after a moment’s hesitation put off his cap. Mr. Brandon sat down in the old big chair by the fire; Tod stood on the other side, his arm on the mantelpiece. In a minute or two, they were going at it kindly. Old Brandon put Tod’s doings before him in the plainest language he could command ; Tod retorted insolently in his passior. “T have warned you enough against your ways and against that woman,” said Mr. Brandon. “1 am here to do it once again, and to bid you for the last time give up her acquaintanceship. Yes, sir, did you: I stand in the light of your unconscious father.” “1’d not do it for my father,” cried Tod, in his fury. ‘‘ She is leading you into a gulf of—of brimstone,” fired old Brandon. ‘‘ Day by day you creep down a step lower into it, sir, like a calf that is being wiled to the shambles. Once fairly in, you’ll be smothered: the whole world won’t be able to pull you out again.” Tod answered with a torrent of words. The chief burden of them was—that if he chose to walk into the bnmstone, it was not Mr. Brandon who should keep him out of it. “Ts it not?” retorted Mr. Brandon—and though he was very firm and hard, he gave no sign of losing his temper. ‘‘ We'll see that. I am in this town to strive to save you, Joseph Todhetley ; and if I can’t do it by easy means, I'll do it by hard ones. I got you out of one scrape, thanks to Johnny here, and now I’m going to get you out of another.” Tod held his peace. That past obligation was often on his conscience. “You ought to take shame to yourself, sir,” continued old Brandon. ‘<- You were placed at Oxford to study, to learn to be a man and a gen- tleman, to prepare yourself to fight well the battle of life, not to waste the talents God has given you, and fritter away your best days in sin.” ‘In sin?” retorted Tod, jerking his head fiercely. ‘Yes, sir, in sin. What else do you call it—this idleness that you are indulging ine The short space of time that young men spend at the University must be used, not abused. Once it has passed, it can never again be laid hold of. What sort of example are you setting my ward here, who is as your younger brother ?—Stay where) you ‘are, Johnny Ludlow. I choose that you shall be present at this.” OMNIG OOOLKS (CO) —_) |