Holidays at Roselands | Page 7

you on my knee until then."
Elsie's face grew very bright, and she hastened to do his bidding.
"And may I talk, papa?" she asked, as he pushed away his writing,
wheeled his chair about toward the fire, and then took her on his knee.

"Yes," he said, smiling, "that is exactly what I want you to do. Tell me
what you have been doing all day, and how you are enjoying your
holidays; or talk to me of anything that pleases, or that troubles you. I
love to be made the confidant of my little girl's joys and sorrows; and I
want her always to feel that she is sure of papa's sympathy."
"I am so glad that I may tell you everything, my own papa," she
answered, putting her arm around his neck, and laying her cheek to his.
"I have enjoyed this day very much, because I have been with you
nearly all the time; and then, I had that nice letter from Miss Rose, too."
"Yes, it was a very pleasant letter," he said; and then he asked her what
she had been doing in those hours when she had not been with him; and
she gave him an animated account of the occurrences of that and
several of the preceding days, and told of some little accidents that had
happened--amongst them that of the broken doll; and spoke of the
sorrow it had caused her; but she did not blame either Flora or Enna,
and concluded her narrative by saying that, "good, kind Mrs. Brown
had mended it, so that it was almost as good as ever."
He listened with evident interest to all she said, expressed sympathy in
her little trials, and gave her some good advice.
But at length he drew out his watch, and with an exclamation of
surprise at the lateness of the hour, told her it was half an hour after her
bedtime, kissed her good-night, and dismissed her to her room.
CHAPTER II.
"There comes Forever something between us and what We deem our
happiness."
BYRON'S SARDANAPALUS.
It was quite late when the young party returned, and the next day all
were dull, and more than one peevish and fretful; so that Elsie, on
whom fell, almost entirely, the burden of entertaining them, had quite a
trying time.

She noticed at breakfast that Arthur seemed in an uncommonly bad
humor, preserving a sullen and dogged silence, excepting once when a
sly whisper from Harry Carrington drew from him an exclamation of
fierce anger that almost frightened the children, but only made Harry
laugh.
Presently after, as they were about dispersing, Arthur came to her side
and whispered that he had something to say to her in private.
Elsie started and looked extremely annoyed, but said at once that he
might come to her room, and that there they could be quite alone, as
mammy would be down-stairs getting her breakfast.
She led the way and Arthur followed. He glanced hastily around on
entering and then locked the door and stood with his back against it.
Elsie became very pale.
"You needn't be _afraid_" he said, sneeringly, "I'm not going to hurt
you!"
"What do you want, Arthur? tell me quickly, please, because I must
soon go to papa, and I have a lesson to look over first," she said,
mildly.
"I want you to lend me some money," he replied, speaking in a rapid
and determined manner; "I know you've got some, for I saw your purse
the other day, and it hadn't less than five dollars in it, I'm sure, and
that's just the sum I want."
"What do you want it for, Arthur?" she asked in a troubled voice.
"That's none of your business," he answered, fiercely. "I want the
money; I must have it, and I'll pay it back next month, and that's all you
need to know."
"No, Arthur," she said gently, but very firmly, "unless you tell me all
about it, I cannot lend you a single cent, because papa has forbidden me

to do so, and I cannot disobey him."
"Nonsense! that's nothing but an excuse because you don't choose to do
me a favor," returned the boy angrily; "you weren't so particular about
obeying last summer when he made you sit all the afternoon at the
piano, because you didn't choose to play what he told you to."
"That was because it would have been breaking God's command; but
this is very different," replied Elsie, mildly.
"Well, if you must know," said he, fiercely, "I want it to pay a debt; I've
been owing Dick Percival a dollar or so for several weeks, and last
night he won from me again, and he said if I didn't pay up he'd report
me to papa, or