So the tears of many of our humble, friendless neighbors mingled with our
own as we waited for the end.
But there was one on whom the blow fell more terribly than on any one of
the rest of us, for it was a bitter mixture of remorse and shame that Louis
had to bear. When he arrived at the house after being summoned from our
uncle's place, and came to a full realization of what had happened, for an
instant he seemed turned to stone. Then a sharp cry came from him. In that
short moment he seemed to change from a careless, selfish boy to a man--a
man awakened at last to his terrible need of a change and with a
transforming purpose in his life from that day forward.
Louis demanded that I tell everybody present what had happened that
afternoon. When I refused, he poured out the whole sorry, sordid story of
his selfishness without one word of excuse, saying as he finished, "So you
see, it was I who killed her, for there was no need of her stirring from
the house." Then he turned to my father imploring him to punish him
severely. He said he could ask no pardon, for he had done what he
considered unpardonable. For answer my father took him in his arms; and I
knew that at that moment my father and Louis came to understand each other
better than they had ever done in their lives before.
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