h a thing.
If your father thinks that, he has wronged me. But I believe he
always does wrong me. And about the building, and the trees, and the
leases, and the house, he might do just as he pleased for me. I have
never said a word, and never shall. I must say I sometimes think he
has been hard upon me. In fourteen years he has never asked me to set
my foot upon the estate, that I might see the place which must one
day be mine."

This was an accusation which the Squire's son found it very difficult
to answer. It could not be answered without a reference to his own
birth, and it was almost impossible that he should explain his
father's feelings on the subject. "If this were settled, we should be
glad that you would come," he said.

"Yes," said Ralph the heir; "yes,--if I consented to give up
everything that is mine by right. Do you think that a fellow can
bring himself to abandon all that so easily? It's like tearing a
fellow's heart out of him. If I'll do that, my uncle will let me come
and see what it is that I have lost! That which would induce him to
welcome me would make it impossible that I should go there. It may be
that I shall sell it. I suppose I shall. But I will never look at it
afterwards." As it came to this point, the tears were streaming down
his cheeks, and the eyes of the other Ralph were not dry.

"I wish it could be made pleasant for us all," said the Squire's son.
The wish was well enough, but the expression of it was hardly needed,
because it must be so general.

"But all this is rot and nonsense," said Ralph the heir, brushing
the tears away from his eyes, "and I am only making an ass of myself.
Your father wants to know whether I will sell the reversion to Newton
Priory. I will. I find I must. I don't know whether I wouldn't sooner
cut my throat; but unless I cut my throat I must sell it. I had a
means of escape, but that has gone by. When I wrote that letter there
was a means of escape. Now there's none."

"Ralph," said the other.

"Well; speak on. I've about said all I've got to say. Only don't
think I want to ballyrag about the money. That's right enough, no
doubt. If there's more to come, the people that have to look to it
will say so. I'm not going to be a Jew about it."

"Ralph; I wouldn't do anything in a hurry. I won't take your answer
in a hurry like this."

"It's no good, my dear fellow, I must do it. I must have L5,000 at
once."

"You can get that from an insurance office."