fine house, sick at heart, impotent, hoping against hope that the boy

would come back. The boy never came.

No, the boy never came, because he was what the old man had made

him--headstrong, and wilful, and obstinate. Billy had been thoroughly

spoiled. The old man had nurtured his pride, had applauded it as a

mark of proper spirit; and now it was this same pride that had robbed

him of the one thing he loved in all the world.

So, at last, the weak point in the armour of this sturdy old Pharisee

was found, and Fate had pierced it gaily. It was retribution, if you

will; and I think that none of his victims in "the Street," none of