For  my  lately  acquired  motive  was  strong  enough  to  compel
me  to  restrict  myself  socially,  and  the  evenings  I  spent  at
home  were  given  to  study,  usually  in  my  own  room.  Once
I  was  caught  with  a  Latin  grammar:  I  was  just  "looking
over  it, "  I  said.  My  mother  sighed.  I  knew  what  was  in
j  her  mind ;  she  had  always  been  secretly  disappointed  that
)il  had  not  been  sent  to  college.  And  presently,  when  my
father  went  out  to  attend  a  trustee's  meeting,  the  impulse
to  confide  in  her  almost  overcame  me ;  I  loved  her  with  that
affection  which  goes  out  to  those  whom  we  feel  understand
us,  but  I  was  learning  to  restrain  my  feelings.  She  looked
at  me  wistfully.  .  .  .  I  knew  thatshe  would  insist  on  telling
my  father,  and  thus  possibly  frustrate  my  plans.  That  I
was  not  discovered  was  due  to  a  certain  quixotic  twist  in


76  A  FAR  COUNTRY

my  father's  character.  I  was  working  now,  and  though  not
actually  earning  my  own  living,  he  no  longer  felt  justified
in  prying  into  my  affairs.     ,

When  June  arrived,  however,  my  tutor  began  to  show
signs  that  his  conscience  was  troubling  him,  and  one  night
he  delivered  his  ultimatum.  The  joke  had  gone  far  enough,
he  implied.  My  intentions,  indeed,  he  found  praiseworthy,
but  in  his  opinion  it  was  high  time  that  my  father  were  in-
formed of  them ;  he  was  determined  to  call  at  my  -father's
office.
