As the writer of this book takes no special joy in heart-breaking scenes
with fathers, the painful and somewhat violent scene with Mr. Laflin is
here omitted, and left to the imagination of any reader with a taste for
such unnatural collisions. Any one over thirty will agree that all the
reason was on Mr. Laflin's side, as all the instinct was on his son's.
Luckily for Mike, the instinct was to prove genuine, and his father to
live to be prouder of his rebellion than ever he would have been of his
obedience.
This scene over, it was only a matter of days--five alone were
left--before Mike must up and away in right good earnest.
"Oh, Mike," said Esther, "you're sure you'll go on loving me? I'm
awfully frightened of those pretty girls in ----'s company."
"You needn't be," said Mike; "there's only one girl in the world will
look at a funny bit of a thing like me."
"Oh, I don't know," said Esther, laughing, "some big girls have such
strange tastes."
"Well, let's hope that before many months you can come and look after
me."
"If we'd only a certain five pounds a week, we could get
along,--anything to be together.
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