Will is heartbroken. He wants me to break it to Linnet; but I
didn't see how I can. Your mother will have to do it. The letter can go
to his mother; Miss Prudence will see to that.
"But Marjorie," said Hollis slowly.
"Yes, poor little Marjorie!" said the old man compassionately. "It will
go hard with her."
"Linnet or her mother can tell her."
The captain touched his horse, and they flew past the laughing
sleighload. Linnet waved her handkerchief, Marjorie laughed, and their
father took off his hat to them.
"Oh, _dear_," groaned the captain.
"Lord, help her; poor little thing," prayed Hollis, with motionless lips.
He remembered that last letter of hers that he had not answered. His
mother had written to him that she surmised that Marjorie was engaged
to Morris; and he had felt it wrong--"almost interfering," he had put it
to himself--to push their boy and girl friendship any further. And,
again--Hollis was cautious in the extreme--if she did not belong to
Morris, she might infer that he was caring with a grown up feeling, which
he was not at all sure was true--he was not sure about himself in
anything just then; and, after he became a Christian, he saw all things
in a new light, and felt that a "flirtation" was not becoming a disciple
of Christ. He had become a whole-hearted disciple of Christ. His Aunt
Helen and his mother were very eager for him to study for the ministry;
but he had told them decidedly that he was not "called."
"And I _am_ called to serve Christ as a businessman.
Pages:
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331