"Bessie is a good girl, father," said Alick. "What happened before she was born wasn't her fault, Sir."
"So you've come to bring us the news and to ask me to double your allowance?
"If you please, Sir. You couldn't wish your son and his wife...."
"His wife! There you are, Bella! That's what I've been working day and night thirty years for—to see my son throw half my earnings—all that I can't will away from him—into the hands of a man like Dan Baldromma!"
"But Alick will be reasonable," said Mrs. Gell. "He'll give the girl up."
"He'll have to do that, and quick too, or I'll cut off his allowance altogether."
"Do you mean it, Sir?" said Alick—he was pushing his chair back.
"Do I mean it? Certainly I mean it. You'll give the girl up or never another penny of mine shall you see as long as I live!"
"All right," said Alick, rising from the table, "I'll earn my own living."
The Speaker broke into a peal of scornful laughter. "You earn your living! That's rich!"