" Did she? he wondered. Did she
love Jack as he (Warrington) wanted some day to be loved?
"As you say," the mother went on, "how can she help loving him? He is
a handsome boy; and this alone is enough to attract women. But he is
so kind and gentle, Richard; so manly and strong. He has his faults;
he is human, like his mother. John is terribly strong-willed, and this
would worry me, were I not sure that his sense of justice is equally
strong. He is like me in gentleness; but the man in him is the same
man I loved in my girlhood days. When John maps out a course to act
upon, if he believes he is right, nothing can swerve him--nothing. And
sometimes he has been innocently wrong. I told Miss Challoner all his
good qualities and his bad. She told me that she, too, has her faults.
She added that there was only one other man who could in any manner
compare with John, and that man is you."
"I?" his face growing warm.
"Yes. But she had no right to compare anybody with my boy," laughing.
"There isn't any comparison whatever," admitted Warrington, laughing
too. "But it was very kind of Miss Challoner to say a good word for
me.
Pages:
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121