The Argosy — page 149: what you’re looking at

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

Madge's Sacrifice. 139 In her generous impulsiveness, she had not considered, as she should have done, the duty she owed her parents before taking so decided a step. Perhaps the fact of working for herself so early had made the girl of eighteen more independent in her feelings than became her age. And though no further word of blame came from either father or mother concerning her deed, she thought she could detect 2 shade of disappointment and distrust in their faces, which her troubled fancy, dwelt on and exaggerated. As for Tom, generally so full of life and fun at holiday times, and Madge’s devoted admirer, a change had come over the youth; his sister declaring that he was sulky from morning till night, and always railing against the unpoetical, money-making spirit of the age. But worst of all was Kit—Kit, for whom all this annoyance had been encountered. Instead of thanking her when she put the /10 note into his hand, thinking that here at least would be a ray of pleasure, he crumpled it up almost savagely, and said, with as much temper as such an easy-going lad was capable of: “I’ve a mind to toss the dirty bit of paper into the fire, Madge. I call it uncommon hard hnes on a fellow to be made out such a brute as all that !” ‘ Asall what, Kit?” “ Why, to take the very hair off his sister’s head to pay his beggarly bills. I wish all those books had been at the bottom of the sea, and my best suit into the bargain |” ‘That would have been a pity, as the fishes wouldn’t have appreciated them,” said Madge, trying to laugh. ‘¢ Now don’t chaff, Madge. I am awfully put out, I can tell you. I wouldn’t have had it happen for twice the money. Why, I thought I might have had you up to Oxford this comem., if I pinched a bit. But I couldn’t have the face to lionise you now.” “Oh! Kit, don’t bother like all the rest!” said poor Madge, driven to speak out at last. And therewith the tears overflowed. Kit couldn't stand that, so he strode off with the hardly-earned money. The next day he walked into the town again to receive another ten-pound note from the bookseller, on the receipt of the huge box of books sent from Oxford by the lad’s order. On his way home he met Tom Helston, and paid him the remainder of his debt. But Tom was wngracious too. “If you were so flush of money, Kit, wny couldn’t you have given your sister what she wanted? I’d have waited gladly.” It was on the tip of Kit’s tongue to tell the tale of the hair, only Madge had: bound him over to keep the peace, fearing his friend’s refusal to take the money so earned. Thus Kit could but shrug his shoulders, and say, somewhat enigmatically : “ I tell you what it is, Tom, I don’t know about intellectual equality and all that tall-talk ; but as to (GO) CORNICE OOS