"I have not conferred this promotion on you, Derison, without having very serious doubts as to the wisdom of doing so," said Mr. Avison, toying with a paper-knife and staring the young man straight in the face. "I trust, however, that you will give me no cause to regret having taken such a step; but, in order that you may not do so, it will be needful for you at once to turn over a fresh leaf. For one thing, you must wholly give up frequenting the 'Crown and Cushion,' or any other tavern, and if you continue to play billiards, it must be at private houses only. I have made it my business to ascertain in what way you are in the habit of passing your evenings, and the result, I am sorry to say, is one which is far from creditable to you. It is not, however, too late for you to reform, but I need scarcely tell you that the reformation must be both thorough and sincere, and I must have ample proof that it is so. And now, to turn to another matter. You are a frequent visitor, I believe, at the house of John Brancker. I am also given to understand that Brancker has a niece--a more than ordinarily attractive young woman. Is there any engagement, may I ask, between yourself and the person in question?"
There was a momentary hesitation before Frank spoke. Then he said in low, but distinct tones: "There is no engagement whatever, sir, between me and the young lady you refer to."
"I am glad, for reasons of my own, to have your assurance of the fact. If you will be advised by me, you will be a less frequent visitor at Brancker's house in time to come. I don't know that I have anything more to say to you just now, unless it be to impress upon you the fact that your future rests entirely in your own hands, either to make or mar."
When Frank reached home that evening he made haste to tell his mother all that had passed between himself and Mr. Avison.
"To think that he should have set someone to play the spy on me! I call it mean and contemptible in the extreme," concluded the young clerk in a fine burst of indignation.
"You look at the matter from an erroneous point of view, my son," replied Mrs. Derison, in her unemotional way. "You may rely upon it that Mr. Avison would not have been at the trouble to act as he has unless your future were a matter of some concern to him. He has warned you and told you what he expects at your hands, and you may rest satisfied he has not done it without having a certain end in view. That your future will be a brilliant one I think you need not doubt, if only you will be guided by him. He has put you on your trial, and the result rests entirely with yourself."
"All the same, it was a mean thing to set a spy to dog my footsteps," said Frank, sullenly.
"I do not doubt that you will live to see the wisdom of the step which you now denounce so pettishly. And now, as to Miss Rivers?"
"Well, what about her? I consider it a piece of unwarrantable impertinence on Mr. Avison's part to ask me whether I am engaged to Hermy, as also to advise me to visit less frequently at John Brancker's house. What can it possibly matter to him how often I go there?"
"Oh! Frank, Frank! when will you be able to see an inch further than your nose? Cannot you comprehend that Mr. Avison's interference in your affairs is dictated by a strong desire for your ultimate good? Do not his actions say as plainly as words, 'Only do as I want you to do, and I will set you on the high-road to fortune?' You ought never to forget that Mr. Avison's nearest relatives are all of my sex, and that in view of the delicate state of his health, as well as of the fact that he is no longer young, the question of a possible successor at the Bank, especially now that Mr. Hazeldine is no more, is one which must inevitably be much in his thoughts. I am glad you were able to assure him that there is no engagement between yourself and Miss Rivers."