“I should say I could,” was the answer. “There he is near the foot of the hill, hopelessly entangled in his drawbacks. It isn’t hard to find that young man here.”
Sure enough, there he was and Bess’s face grew very red as she saw all the strings behind him. She was glad Granny had gone to sit down so that she wouldn’t see him. Perhaps she could read what some of his drawbacks were, for he was quite near. There was, “Too much money,” “Lazy,” “Unkind to his mother,” “Little schooling,” “Drinks and smokes and swears,” “A friend of careless girls”....
Oh, dear! Bess didn’t want to read any more. What a list he had! There were one or two good strings but they could not do much against so many others to pull him back.
Up there very near to the top, George, her old friend, was moving on and his face was so earnest. How different it looked as she compared him with Henry at the foot! She had never known before that he was so handsome. What were the strings that were pulling 37 him forward? She leaned far forward to see. Just then she heard Granny’s voice close at her elbow.
“Were you trying to look at George, Bess? He is a long way toward manhood, isn’t he? Suppose you use my little glass to help you.”
“Oh, now I can see,” she answered. There is “A good mother,” “A keen mind,” “A strong body,” “Love of right and truth,” “A good girl friend”....
“But, Granny dear,” said Bess, “one of his helps is ‘A good girl friend.’ Has George a girl? I thought he didn’t care for girls.”
“This is the House of Truth, dear,” said the old lady. “I think perhaps that good girl friend means you, for you have been a good friend to him. You know our family have always been proud of their education and their habits of life. I am sure it must have been a good thing for George to grow up all these years with a good chum like you. He must be a gentleman if he would be fit to play with the daughter of a lady like your mother. When I was here before, George had several other pull-backs, but I see he has conquered them. But come, dear, it is time we were going if I am to help you out of your difficulty.
“Let me see, you wanted to ask Henry Mann to take you to a party at the beach. Did you find him there? Do you think your mother will change her mind when we tell her the truth about the new friend whom you wish to make? If so, I am ready to try, even though I am not at all sure that a lady does those things. But things change—things change very much and perhaps you are right. What said the House of Truth? Shall we invite him?”
“Oh, Granny, never, never!” cried the girl. “I could never ask any one who was known as the friend of careless girls. He has so many drawbacks—oh, no, never.” 38