George Leatrim | Page 8

slandering the son of his friend and
benefactor? I am so certain of his fidelity, that I know he would rather
bear the brand of shame than bring dishonour upon me and mine."

'"It is strange," mused George, unconsciously uttering his thoughts
aloud, and half repenting the harsh language he had used to the old
servant. "If he has not plotted this accusation against me to hide his
own guilt, he has made a grievous mistake."
'"It is no mistake!" cried Ralph indignantly. "I saw you take the money.
You can't persuade me out of my senses. I have borne an honest
character all my life. It is not a beardless boy that can rob me of it in
my old age."
'"It may be possible, Ralph, that you were mistaken," said Dr. Leatrim,
after a long and painful silence, in which he had been summing up the
evidence on both sides. "The boy's account of himself is very clear.
George, I will give you one trial more. If I find that crown piece in the
box, I will believe that Ralph is in error, that some villain unknown to
us has been the robber."
'"Most joyfully, dear father!" exclaimed George, springing from his
knees beside the Rector, and bringing him the box. "God will attest my
innocence, and prove to you that I have spoken the truth."
'A gleam of hope shot through the thick gloom that had gathered round
Dr. Leatrim. With a steady hand he unlocked the box. The crown piece
was not there!
'"Liar!" he cried, in a tone of mingled contempt and horror. "What have
you to say for yourself now?"
'George uttered a sharp and bitter cry of disappointment. He pressed his
hands tightly over his breast, as he murmured in a hollow, broken voice,
"Nothing."
'"You plead guilty?"
'"I should prove myself a liar, sir, if I did."
'"Liar and thief! Base hypocrite! Kneel down and ask pardon of that
worthy man for the injurious language you have used towards him."

'"Never!" George Leatrim fixed his brow like iron. "I will die first."
'"You deserve death, sir," cried his father, rising in great anger; "and I
would inflict upon you the utmost penalty of the law were it not for
your poor mother."
'"Oh, my mother!" said George, in a low, heart-broken voice; "this
disgrace will kill her."
'Dr. Leatrim was too much overcome by passion to hear that despairing
moan, his pride too deeply wounded to pity and forgive; and he
continued, with the utmost severity of look and manner: "Ay, wretched
boy, you should have thought of that before; but not even to spare her
feelings can I neglect my duty. I cannot demean myself by touching a
thing so vile. Ralph, whom you have calumniated, shall inflict upon
you a punishment suited to the baseness of your crime. Wilson, you
will find a light cane in that corner; bring it here."
'"You do not mean to chastise me like a dog, father?"
'"Never address me by that title again, sir, until deep repentance and a
long-continued course of well-doing restore you once more to my love
and favour--though never, never can you again occupy the place you
once held in my heart. You have acted like a felon, and shall receive a
felon's reward."
'"Beware what you do, sir," cried George, frowning in his turn. "Get
your menial to punish me in this degrading manner, and you will repent
it to the last day of your life."
'"Oh, monstrous depravity! Do you dare to threaten me? Take off your
jacket, sir.--Ralph, give him twenty lashes, and don't spare the whip."
'The man drew back. "I cannot strike my master's son."
'"Do as I bid you."
'The boy stood firm as a rock, his lips compressed, his brow rigid, and

his face livid in its ghastly pallor. Turning from his stern parent to the
old man, he said, with an air of calm indifference:
'"I am ready; perform your task. I am not the first victim who has
suffered wrongfully. My Saviour endured a harder scourge; I will learn
patience from His cross."
'"What barefaced wickedness!" groaned the Doctor. "God grant him
repentance, and save his miserable soul."
'"Amen," said Ralph, as he turned to his abhorrent task with an energy
equal to the guilt of the criminal.
'George bore the severe castigation without a murmur. When it was
over, Doctor Leatrim told him to go to his own room, and pray to God
to soften his hard and impenitent heart.
'As the boy passed his father on his way out, he gave him a look full of
love and compassion, and said, in a firm voice:
'"Sir, I pity and forgive you. If you have erred, it was under the full
conviction that