you gave me?"

"Do you think I see anything to forgive in it?"

"You gave me my choice, and you gave me my chance. It looked on the
surface so ungrateful," persisted Christopher.

"You question the quality of my eyesight?"

"I doubt your forgiveness when you are so flippant, my best of
fathers."

"For what do you want forgiveness specifically?"

"For giving up my work as a Roadmaker."

"I did not know you had given it up."

In the quiet hours of the night Aymer Aston paced those even roads his
feet had never trodden, saw them spreading far and wide across the
earth, heard the echo of countless footsteps stepping down the ages,
knew that life itself was made an easier road for thousands of little
feet that would take their first steps on better ground than their
parents had done, knew that there were less crippled, less maimed,
less halt in the sum total of the world's suffering by reason of one
Roadmaker's career.

But it was Aymer Aston with the crippled form and maimed life who had
put the spade first into the Roadmaker's hand.

Meanwhile the Roadmaker slept the sleep of the just and forgot all
these things.

* * * * *

Transcriber's Note:

Spelling and punctuation have been preserved as printed except
as indicated below. The following changes were made to the original
text. The change is enclosed in parentheses:

Page 15: and what there was so essentially fitted its place that it
was unobtrusive (added a period at the end of unobtrusive)

Page 82: at the dull red mark of which =Chirstopher= (Christopher)

Page 143: "Christopher does.' (changed single quote mark to a
double quote mark at the end of the sentence)

Page 242: "Never since Mrs. Masters went out of it." (removed extra
double quote mark at the end of the sentence)

Page 258: He looked very worn and tired when he joined =Renate=
(Renata)

Page 305: changed quote marks from "Ecco il 'Roadmaker'" to 'Ecco
il 'Roadmaker.''" to correct punctuation inconsistency.

Page 323: the weight of this =stupenduous= burden (stupendous)

Page 338: "Then I dismiss further responsibility. I'm really more
pleased than I can say, Christopher. Poor little Patricia! What
fortune for her! (added double quote mark at the end of the sentence)

The following words were found in variable forms in the original text
and both versions have been retained: bookcase (bo