"You needn't preach," snapped Tony, in reply. "Haven't you told me more than once that you left home because you were not happy there?"

"I have told you that I left Texas because I was not safe there," answered George.

"Well, it was your home, wasn't it?"

"It used to be."

"You lived in the same house that you lived in while your father was alive?"

George said he did.

"And your father's only brother was your guardian and had charge of the house?"

George said that was so, too.

"Then it was your home," said Tony, triumphantly; "and to be consistent, you ought to have stayed there, whether you wanted to or not."

"But haven't I told you that I couldn't stay?" asked George.