“Thank you,” she said, quietly. “I know you understand!”
“I will put it in the place where it belongs. That's all!”
And when he kept his broad back to her she went out of the office, her feet making no sound on the thick carpet.
XXXIII
ALL THE WORLD OUTSIDE
A good lawyer can accomplish much when men are willing to listen to reason and to accept the proffer of reparation!
“All going to show,” declared the Honorable Archer Converse to his young protege, after they had parted at last from Morgan Bristol in the Western city, “that a thistle doesn't hurt much, after all, if you grab it with all your might and vim. We have found honest gentlemen here, thank God! It has been made plain to me, my boy, that they all knew you better than you knew yourself and that's why they waited so patiently. But, oh, that folly of yours!” However, he patted Thornton Bristol's shoulder when he said it. “It's a good thing for a young man to have a healthy debt when he starts out—a debt that's a joy to pay. Just look on it as an incentive, boy! You simply mortgaged your future!”
“I am glad that I have been called on to pay for what I wasted,” declared Bristol. “And I am not sorry, Mr. Converse, that my folly led me out into the byways of this world. I'll know how to appreciate the rest of life more highly.”
“Needs a hot fire to make good steel—that's so,” agreed his mentor. “And speaking of fire—I reckon we're going to find it almighty hot when we get back to the place where we're expected. Now that we're leaving affairs all serene behind us, you must let me do a little careful thinking about how to meet the situation that's ahead of us.”