"You can't blame me for feeling mad. But I know it was an accident, and I forgive you. You know it's your duty to come back."
"I don't know about that," said John.
"Your stepmother made the arrangement for your good, and it's your duty to obey her."
"Mrs. Oakley has not treated me as I had a right to expect," said John. "There was no reason for her sending me away from home."
"She thought it best for you," said Mr. Huxter, condescending to reason with the boy, who was beyond his reach.
"She took me from school, though she knew that my father wished me to remain there, and get ready for college."
"She thinks you know enough already. You know more than Ben."
"Ben doesn't care for study. He could have prepared for college if he had wished."
"Well, perhaps you're right," said Mr. Huxter, with wily diplomacy. "I didn't see it in that light before. If your father wanted you to go to college, it's all right that you should go. I'll write to my sister as soon as we get home, and tell her how you feel about it. So just come ashore, and we'll talk it over as we go home."
Mr. Huxter's words were smooth enough, but they did not correspond very well with his tone, when the conference began. John detected his insincerity, and understood very well the cause of his apparent mildness.