Forbearance and patience were not among Mr. Naseby's
qualities.
'I called her your mistress,' he shouted, 'and I might have
called her a - '
'That is an unmanly lie,' replied Dick, slowly.
'Dick!' cried the father, 'Dick!'
'I do not care,' said the son, strengthening himself against
his own heart; 'I - I have said it, and it is the truth.'
There was a pause.
'Dick,' said the old man at last, in a voice that was shaken
as by a gale of wind, 'I am going. I leave you with your
friends, sir - with your friends. I came to serve you, and
now I go away a broken man. For years I have seen this
coming, and now it has come. You never loved me. Now you
have been the death of me. You may boast of that. Now I
leave you. God pardon you.'
With that he was gone; and the three who remained together
heard his horse's hoofs descend the lane. Esther had not
made a sign throughout the interview, and still kept silence
now that it was over; but the Admiral, who had once or twice
moved forward and drawn back again, now advanced for good.
'You are a man of spirit, sir,' said he to Dick; 'but though
I am no friend to parental interference, I will say that you
were heavy on the governor.' Then he added with a chuckle:
'You began, Richard, with a silver spoon, and here you are in
the water like the rest. Work, work, nothing like work. You
have parts, you have manners; why, with application you may
die a millionaire!' Dick shook himself.
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