After making a mess of an elopement, I could hardly expect much sympathy from my father; his letters were all very cold, business-like, short, sharp, and to the point. I believe he was more annoyed at my failure than he would have been if I had successfully carried Muriel off. To him I wrote long and carefully thought-out explanations of my hopes and desires, which, together with my successful efforts to be a useful person at the mill, softened him to a great extent. Things were thus beginning to come to a peaceful level, when one day I received from my father a peremptory command to be in Montreal, at a certain hour of a certain day.
The unusual tone of his letter was disquieting and set me wondering what could be in store for me. I strongly suspected that the fact of the daily correspondence between Muriel and me had been discovered and that Mrs. Joseph was behind some move to give me trouble. My suspicion proved correct. When I arrived at the house, it was early evening and the drawing-room was lighted up. I found mother, father, and Doctor Joseph awaiting me. As I walked in I observed that all three looked anything but good-natured.
Even mother looked very much put out. Doctor Joseph was a very plain-spoken man, and I judged that he had been making remarks which were more to the point than exactly pleasing. I never heard what had occurred before my entrance on the scene, and never had enough curiosity to ask what it was.
“Well, sir,” said the Doctor, addressing me, and taking me in from top to toe, with a very unfriendly eye; “a nice young reprobate you are. What have you to say for yourself?”
I sat down without replying.
“I want you to discontinue annoying my daughter,” he continued.
He was a large, masterful man. I was young, and he put me very ill at ease. I stammered and blushed and remained dumb.
“Well, well!” he said, stamping his heavy cane on the floor impatiently, “what have you to say? Do you intend to stop annoying us?”
“What do you want me to do?” I asked tremblingly.
“I want you to write to my daughter, now, before us three, that all this silly love business is ended. Write what you like, give what reasons you please, but make it plain to her that all is over between you and her,” and he laughed a mirthless, cynical laugh.