“Then I’ll tell you what to do, Syd,” said Jan, coming over to where the boy was sitting, moodily jerking the shade cord at the window. “Ask Gwen to lend you the money. She has quite a good deal—nearly fifty dollars—left from Christmas presents, and allowance, and so on, and it would be better for you to let her help you out, as I can’t.”
“I don’t want a girl’s money, either hers or yours,” said Sydney.
“Well, I suppose you don’t want it, but you need it dreadfully,” said Jan with some subtleness of distinction. “And I want to tell you, Syd, that I think it would be real kindness to talk to Gwen about your troubles, and get her interested in something. She isn’t better, and I heard the doctor say that if she couldn’t be aroused she’d have a serious illness. Get her to think of something besides her poor eyes, and it would be good for her. Gwen would be glad, too, to think you trusted her.”
“I wonder!” said Sydney doubtfully.
“Well, I know!” said Jan emphatically. “And then, after she’s lent you the money to square up, tell your father all about it, and get him to put you in the way of earning something. He ought to know. I don’t feel right to think I know and he doesn’t. It is wrong to help you have secrets from him. I wouldn’t have done it if I could have coaxed you to tell at first.”
“Maybe I will talk to Gwen,” said Sydney slowly. “I don’t see any other way unless I do talk to father, and he’d make it pleasant for me if I did that!”
“He might take you away from that school and those extravagant boys, but you’d find he wouldn’t be hard on you. And I should think you’d like to get out of that crowd,” said Jan.
Sydney flushed with sudden eagerness. “Say, Jan,” he cried, “I’d give my head to be let off from college! There’s no college in me—I’m crazy to live out of doors. I don’t even want to go into business! If I thought daddy would give me a start civil engineering I’d work hard, but he won’t. What I’d like is to go out on a ranch. I’d rather study men and beasts than books. But there’s no use talking—he’s made up his mind to college for me, and to college I must go.”
“Isn’t that silly! To say there’s no use talking, when you haven’t tried talking!” exclaimed Jan impatiently. “I never saw a family that knew one another so little! Why, Uncle Howard isn’t an ogre! How do you know he wouldn’t let you do what you like best? ’Tisn’t likely he wants you to be spoiled! Come home with me when I go,” she added with sudden inspiration. “Fred talks of ranching, and we’d make a man of you in Kansas.”
Sydney swallowed the implication that he was not wholly manly now with fairly good grace. “Well,” he said, “it’s pretty hard for a fellow to be different from all around him. I haven’t had to rough it, and I suppose I got extravagant without knowing it. I’m disgusted enough with myself to find myself in debt, goodness knows! I’ll see Gwen to-day, and if the poor old girl wants to lend me her ducats I’ll brace up and make a clean breast to father. You deserve to have your advice followed, for you’ve been a trump to me, and to us all, down to this fellow.” And Sydney affectionately twitched Drom’s tail.