"I am content to leave them to you. Wait till you see whether I am worth anything."
"No, the risk is mine, as I have said. Will six pounds a week and board and lodging suit you?"
"It is too much."
"You will be satisfied with it for the first month?"
"More than satisfied."
"It is arranged, then. If we continue together you shall have an advance at the end of the month, and I shall bind you down not to leave me without a month's notice."
"On my part, I will be so bound. You are free to discharge me without notice."
"It shall be the same to both of us. As you are to commence to-morrow you might think of a subject for a 'leader' in Tuesday's paper. By Wednesday your bedroom will be ready, and you can live with us as long as you are on the staff. We shall have reason to congratulate ourselves on the arrangement we have made."
[CHAPTER XXVI.]
Certainly neither Basil nor his employer had reason to be otherwise. It led to important results in Basil's career, and in years to come he often thought of the child, the chance meeting with whom in the churchyard conducted him, by both straight and devious paths, to a goal which he had not dared to hope he would ever reach. Between him and Edith loving links were soon firmly forged which time was never to sever. This sweet and human bond was of inestimable value to Basil; it raised him from the slough of despond into which he had sunk; the hand of a little child lifted him to a man's height. He was profoundly grateful; he had now a happy home, he had congenial work to do. The doubts he had entertained of his fitness for the position were dispelled in a very short time. He threw himself with ardour and animation into his new duties, which he performed in a manner that more than justified the confidence reposed in him. Nominally sub-editor, but really editor of the paper, he infused into its columns a spirit of intelligence which made it more popular than ever. It was talked of as an example of what a newspaper should be, and Basil's opinions upon colonial matters were quoted in the more influential journals in the colonies as those of a man of far-seeing judgment. A classical allusion now and then added to the value of Basil's writings, and all Princetown was proud of him because of the vicarious distinction conferred, through him, upon its inhabitants. "A clever fellow that," said John Jones, of the Only Beehive, appreciating Basil the more because of his own utter ignorance of the classics. There was a talk of Basil's representing the division in the Legislative Assembly, but he promptly set that aside by emphatically declaring that he had no desire for public life or parliamentary honours. Thus six months passed by, when a revelation was made to him which caused him to carry out a resolve deplored by all Princetown.