CHAPTER XVIII.WADDIE’S MISTAKE.I hastened into the house, and told my mother that father was coming. She bestowed upon me a glance so full of anxiety that I comprehended the question she desired to ask, and I added that he walked tolerably well.“Was it he that made the noise we heard?” she inquired.“No; some of the students have been around here, and I think I saw Waddie,” I replied.“What do they want?”“I don’t know; but I suppose they wish to see me.”“Do be careful, Wolfert.”“I’m not afraid of them, mother. I think I can take care of myself in the face of the whole crowd.”My father came in at the back door, interruptingthe conversation. His step was unsteady and his movements uncertain. He stayed a long time in the entry putting away his hat, but at last he entered the kitchen. He made desperate struggles to conceal his condition; but he failed to do so. I could see my poor mother’s bosom bounding with emotion as the days of evil came back to her from the past. There was a tear in her eye; but she spoke not a word of reproach. My father walked across the room to his accustomed chair, and dropped heavily into it.“Wolf!” said he in a tone which was intended to be sharp, but which was very thick from the effects of the liquor.“I am here, father,” I replied, as little able to control my feelings as my mother.“You have been a bad boy!” he added, fiercely. “You have disgraced your father!”I thought not, but I did not deem it advisable to say so, or to utter a word that would irritate him.“I used to think you were a smart boy; but now I think you are a fool,” he continued, with anoath, which I had never before heard him use. “With a pistol in your hand you let Christy carry off all my money. I wouldn’t say anything about that, but you came home, insulted and abused Colonel Wimp’ton and his son. You hadn’t done your worst yet; so you went over to Middleport, and turned traitor to the friends that feed and clothe you. I know all about it!”It was no use to talk about these things while he was in his present condition, and I held my peace.“I’ve seen Colonel Wimp’ton, and he ztold me all about it,” my father went on, rapping the table violently with his fist. “I won’t have my boy behave zo. I’ll lick him first.”“Why, father, Wolfert has not done anything bad,” interposed my mother.“I zsay he has!” replied my father furiously. “He’n Waddie blowed up the canal boat. Then Wolf denied it, and insulted his best friends. Then he went off and run that dummy.”“Don’t say anything, mother,” said I to her, in a low tone.“What’s that?” demanded my father, suspiciously.“What did you say, Wolf? Do you mean to insult me, as you did Colonel Wimp’ton?”But I will not follow this unpleasant scene any further in detail. It was evident that my father had seen the magnate of Centreport, and that the great man had won him over. He was stormy, violent, and suspicious. He was angry with me, and then with my mother for speaking a word in my defence. Finally he wept like a child, declaring that his family had turned against him; and, overwhelmed by this maudlin grief, he went upstairs and threw himself upon my bed. I think he intended to occupy the spare chamber on the other side of the entry, for he was so angry with my mother and me that he was intent upon getting away from us.We decided that it would be best to let him alone. He lay sobbing on the bed for a time, and then dropped asleep. My mother went in, and, having assured herself that he was in a comfortable position, took away the lamp. She and I sat up till midnight, talking over the bitter prospect before us. In his cups my father was another man. Mymother told me with tears in her eyes, that he had abused her when he used to drink before. In his intoxication he seemed to hate the family he loved so well when he was sober.At midnight he was still sleeping off the effects of his debauch, and we retired, hoping for better things in the morning. I was so tired that I went to sleep very soon. I occupied the spare chamber on the second floor, while my mother’s room was downstairs. I do not know how long I had slept, but I was awakened by a violent noise in the opposite side of the house, which seemed to come from the apartment where my father was. I was startled, and immediately leaped out of bed, lighted a lamp, and hastily put on my clothes. Hearing my father’s voice in excited tones, I rushed to the room with the lamp in my hand. I feared that the liquor hehad drunkhad in some manner affected his brain, and induced a delirium.I opened the door. I saw my father standing over the prostrate form of Waddie Wimpleton. The window was wide open, and I heard voices outside, as of other boys effecting a hasty retreat. Waddielay still upon the floor, and his face was covered with blood.“What is the matter, father?” I asked, terrified at the strange sight which I beheld.“Don’t you see what the matter is?” replied my father; but he seemed to be very much confused.“What has happened?”“I hardly know,” answered he, gazing at the form of Waddie.My father had slept several hours, and he appeared to be quite sober.“This is Waddie Wimpleton,” said I, bending over the fallen youth.“I see it is. I felt a hand upon me, and I started up from the bed. Some one caught hold of me, and I struck right and left, till I heard some one fall,” answered my father, rubbing his eyes, as if to stimulate his bewildered senses. “I thought it was some one who had come to rob me, and I couldn’t help believing it was Christy Holgate.”“What in the world is the matter?” cried my mother, who now came into the room, pale and trembling with terror.I explained, as far as I could, the circumstances of the affair. My father said nothing, but went to the window and looked out.“There is a ladder under the window,” said he.“But Waddie is not a robber,” added my mother, kneeling on the floor at his side. “His face is cut, and he seems to be stunned.”My father and I lifted him up, and placed him on the bed. My mother went to work upon him, sending me down to assure my sisters that no harm could come to them. I brought up some water and the camphor bottle. On my return my father seemed to be quite like himself, and was assisting in the restoration of the injured boy.“He isn’t badly hurt, I think,” said my mother. “One of his front teeth is knocked in, and the blood on his face comes from a mere scratch. What in the world was he doing here?”“I understand it now,” I replied. “Waddie and the other fellows were after me. I saw them around the house about eight o’clock.”“What do they want of you?” asked my father, whose head had been filled with the other side of the story.“They were going to punish me, I suppose, for what I said to Waddie and his father, though I apologized to both of them for it.”“What is to be done with this boy?” interposed my mother, anxiously, as Waddie opened his eyes, and looked wildly around the room. “I think the doctor had better see him.”I went for the doctor, and came back with him, for he had just returned from a night visit to a distant patient, and his horse was harnessed at the door. When we arrived, Waddie was sitting up in the kitchen. The physician examined his head, and declared that he had sustained no injury that he could perceive. My father, who had been alarmed for the consequences of the blow he had struck, breathed easier after this announcement.“I’m going home,” said Waddie, rising from the chair, after the doctor had finished his examination. “I’ll bet you haven’t theen the latht of thith thcrape. I thall”—The scion put his hand up to his mouth, and wondered why he could not speak without lisping. He had fully recovered his senses, under the vigoroustreatment of my mother, and with them came back the evil spirit which controlled him.“What were you doing in my house, Waddie?” asked my father.“What wath I doing? I wath going to give Wolf fitth for being a traitor and calling me a liar. And I’ll do it yet, if it coths me my life!” replied Waddie, vigorously, as he held one hand on his mouth.“I didn’t think you’d break into a man’s house in the night,” added my father.“Wolf ith going to work on the other thide, and that’th the only time we could catch him. What did you hit me for?” demanded the scion, rubbing his sore head with his hand.“I did not know it was you, Waddie,” answered my father, meekly. “You came into my room in the dark, when I was asleep.”“It wathn’t your room. It wath Wolf’th room. What were you doing in there?”“It’s my own house, and I have a right to occupy any room I please,” said my father, with more spirit than before.“You were boothy latht night and didn’t know what you were about.”My father’s brow contracted, and his lips were compressed. To be told that he was intoxicated galled him sorely. Waddie declared that he had struck him on purpose, and that he should suffer for it. The doctor then took him into his chaise, and conveyed him to his home. My father was not satisfied with the situation. He went to the pump, and drank a large mug of water. He walked up and down the kitchen in silence for a moment, and then said he must see Colonel Wimpleton at once. He went, and by going through the grove he could reach the house as soon as the doctor.I did not see him again that night, and he did not come out of his room till eight o’clock the next morning. I was very anxious to know how he would regard me, after the hard words he had spoken the night before. I was also curious to learn what had passed at Colonel Wimpleton’s during his visit. Our relations with the magnate were certainly very singular and perplexing. As nearly as I could judge, my father stood exactly in my ownposition in regard to him. Neither of us had intended to insult or injure the great man or his son, but both had incurred his displeasure; for it would be impossible for the colonel to forgive the unwitting blow my father had struck.“Wolf,” said my father, after he had eaten his breakfast, “your mother tells me you have an offer on the other side.”“Yes, sir.”“You may accept it, and go to work to-day, if you wish.”“I should be very glad to do so,” I replied. “Did you have any trouble with Colonel Wimpleton?”“I did. He discharged me, and ordered me out of his house,” he answered, gloomily.Of one thing I was sure—my father was not angry with me.
WADDIE’S MISTAKE.
I hastened into the house, and told my mother that father was coming. She bestowed upon me a glance so full of anxiety that I comprehended the question she desired to ask, and I added that he walked tolerably well.
“Was it he that made the noise we heard?” she inquired.
“No; some of the students have been around here, and I think I saw Waddie,” I replied.
“What do they want?”
“I don’t know; but I suppose they wish to see me.”
“Do be careful, Wolfert.”
“I’m not afraid of them, mother. I think I can take care of myself in the face of the whole crowd.”
My father came in at the back door, interruptingthe conversation. His step was unsteady and his movements uncertain. He stayed a long time in the entry putting away his hat, but at last he entered the kitchen. He made desperate struggles to conceal his condition; but he failed to do so. I could see my poor mother’s bosom bounding with emotion as the days of evil came back to her from the past. There was a tear in her eye; but she spoke not a word of reproach. My father walked across the room to his accustomed chair, and dropped heavily into it.
“Wolf!” said he in a tone which was intended to be sharp, but which was very thick from the effects of the liquor.
“I am here, father,” I replied, as little able to control my feelings as my mother.
“You have been a bad boy!” he added, fiercely. “You have disgraced your father!”
I thought not, but I did not deem it advisable to say so, or to utter a word that would irritate him.
“I used to think you were a smart boy; but now I think you are a fool,” he continued, with anoath, which I had never before heard him use. “With a pistol in your hand you let Christy carry off all my money. I wouldn’t say anything about that, but you came home, insulted and abused Colonel Wimp’ton and his son. You hadn’t done your worst yet; so you went over to Middleport, and turned traitor to the friends that feed and clothe you. I know all about it!”
It was no use to talk about these things while he was in his present condition, and I held my peace.
“I’ve seen Colonel Wimp’ton, and he ztold me all about it,” my father went on, rapping the table violently with his fist. “I won’t have my boy behave zo. I’ll lick him first.”
“Why, father, Wolfert has not done anything bad,” interposed my mother.
“I zsay he has!” replied my father furiously. “He’n Waddie blowed up the canal boat. Then Wolf denied it, and insulted his best friends. Then he went off and run that dummy.”
“Don’t say anything, mother,” said I to her, in a low tone.
“What’s that?” demanded my father, suspiciously.“What did you say, Wolf? Do you mean to insult me, as you did Colonel Wimp’ton?”
But I will not follow this unpleasant scene any further in detail. It was evident that my father had seen the magnate of Centreport, and that the great man had won him over. He was stormy, violent, and suspicious. He was angry with me, and then with my mother for speaking a word in my defence. Finally he wept like a child, declaring that his family had turned against him; and, overwhelmed by this maudlin grief, he went upstairs and threw himself upon my bed. I think he intended to occupy the spare chamber on the other side of the entry, for he was so angry with my mother and me that he was intent upon getting away from us.
We decided that it would be best to let him alone. He lay sobbing on the bed for a time, and then dropped asleep. My mother went in, and, having assured herself that he was in a comfortable position, took away the lamp. She and I sat up till midnight, talking over the bitter prospect before us. In his cups my father was another man. Mymother told me with tears in her eyes, that he had abused her when he used to drink before. In his intoxication he seemed to hate the family he loved so well when he was sober.
At midnight he was still sleeping off the effects of his debauch, and we retired, hoping for better things in the morning. I was so tired that I went to sleep very soon. I occupied the spare chamber on the second floor, while my mother’s room was downstairs. I do not know how long I had slept, but I was awakened by a violent noise in the opposite side of the house, which seemed to come from the apartment where my father was. I was startled, and immediately leaped out of bed, lighted a lamp, and hastily put on my clothes. Hearing my father’s voice in excited tones, I rushed to the room with the lamp in my hand. I feared that the liquor hehad drunkhad in some manner affected his brain, and induced a delirium.
I opened the door. I saw my father standing over the prostrate form of Waddie Wimpleton. The window was wide open, and I heard voices outside, as of other boys effecting a hasty retreat. Waddielay still upon the floor, and his face was covered with blood.
“What is the matter, father?” I asked, terrified at the strange sight which I beheld.
“Don’t you see what the matter is?” replied my father; but he seemed to be very much confused.
“What has happened?”
“I hardly know,” answered he, gazing at the form of Waddie.
My father had slept several hours, and he appeared to be quite sober.
“This is Waddie Wimpleton,” said I, bending over the fallen youth.
“I see it is. I felt a hand upon me, and I started up from the bed. Some one caught hold of me, and I struck right and left, till I heard some one fall,” answered my father, rubbing his eyes, as if to stimulate his bewildered senses. “I thought it was some one who had come to rob me, and I couldn’t help believing it was Christy Holgate.”
“What in the world is the matter?” cried my mother, who now came into the room, pale and trembling with terror.
I explained, as far as I could, the circumstances of the affair. My father said nothing, but went to the window and looked out.
“There is a ladder under the window,” said he.
“But Waddie is not a robber,” added my mother, kneeling on the floor at his side. “His face is cut, and he seems to be stunned.”
My father and I lifted him up, and placed him on the bed. My mother went to work upon him, sending me down to assure my sisters that no harm could come to them. I brought up some water and the camphor bottle. On my return my father seemed to be quite like himself, and was assisting in the restoration of the injured boy.
“He isn’t badly hurt, I think,” said my mother. “One of his front teeth is knocked in, and the blood on his face comes from a mere scratch. What in the world was he doing here?”
“I understand it now,” I replied. “Waddie and the other fellows were after me. I saw them around the house about eight o’clock.”
“What do they want of you?” asked my father, whose head had been filled with the other side of the story.
“They were going to punish me, I suppose, for what I said to Waddie and his father, though I apologized to both of them for it.”
“What is to be done with this boy?” interposed my mother, anxiously, as Waddie opened his eyes, and looked wildly around the room. “I think the doctor had better see him.”
I went for the doctor, and came back with him, for he had just returned from a night visit to a distant patient, and his horse was harnessed at the door. When we arrived, Waddie was sitting up in the kitchen. The physician examined his head, and declared that he had sustained no injury that he could perceive. My father, who had been alarmed for the consequences of the blow he had struck, breathed easier after this announcement.
“I’m going home,” said Waddie, rising from the chair, after the doctor had finished his examination. “I’ll bet you haven’t theen the latht of thith thcrape. I thall”—
The scion put his hand up to his mouth, and wondered why he could not speak without lisping. He had fully recovered his senses, under the vigoroustreatment of my mother, and with them came back the evil spirit which controlled him.
“What were you doing in my house, Waddie?” asked my father.
“What wath I doing? I wath going to give Wolf fitth for being a traitor and calling me a liar. And I’ll do it yet, if it coths me my life!” replied Waddie, vigorously, as he held one hand on his mouth.
“I didn’t think you’d break into a man’s house in the night,” added my father.
“Wolf ith going to work on the other thide, and that’th the only time we could catch him. What did you hit me for?” demanded the scion, rubbing his sore head with his hand.
“I did not know it was you, Waddie,” answered my father, meekly. “You came into my room in the dark, when I was asleep.”
“It wathn’t your room. It wath Wolf’th room. What were you doing in there?”
“It’s my own house, and I have a right to occupy any room I please,” said my father, with more spirit than before.
“You were boothy latht night and didn’t know what you were about.”
My father’s brow contracted, and his lips were compressed. To be told that he was intoxicated galled him sorely. Waddie declared that he had struck him on purpose, and that he should suffer for it. The doctor then took him into his chaise, and conveyed him to his home. My father was not satisfied with the situation. He went to the pump, and drank a large mug of water. He walked up and down the kitchen in silence for a moment, and then said he must see Colonel Wimpleton at once. He went, and by going through the grove he could reach the house as soon as the doctor.
I did not see him again that night, and he did not come out of his room till eight o’clock the next morning. I was very anxious to know how he would regard me, after the hard words he had spoken the night before. I was also curious to learn what had passed at Colonel Wimpleton’s during his visit. Our relations with the magnate were certainly very singular and perplexing. As nearly as I could judge, my father stood exactly in my ownposition in regard to him. Neither of us had intended to insult or injure the great man or his son, but both had incurred his displeasure; for it would be impossible for the colonel to forgive the unwitting blow my father had struck.
“Wolf,” said my father, after he had eaten his breakfast, “your mother tells me you have an offer on the other side.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You may accept it, and go to work to-day, if you wish.”
“I should be very glad to do so,” I replied. “Did you have any trouble with Colonel Wimpleton?”
“I did. He discharged me, and ordered me out of his house,” he answered, gloomily.
Of one thing I was sure—my father was not angry with me.