“But, in that case, I shouldn’t be to blame for doing as I did, should I?” inquired Clinton.
“Yes, you would be to blame, unless you could give a good excuse for not knowing better,” replied his father. “But, are you sure that you gave the subject proper reflection, and acted according to the best of your knowledge?”
“Yes, sir; I thought I did,” replied Clinton.
“Your promise to Dick was the only reason for your silence, was it not?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Why did you make such a promise? Supposing his story was true about the debt, was it right for you to shield him from justice?”
“But he said he couldn’t pay.”
“Then you regarded him as an honest but unfortunate debtor, and thought it would be an act of mercy to stand between him and his cruel creditor, did you?”
Clinton could not answer that question, but looked perplexed. He finally evaded it by saying:
“But he looked so ugly, that I didn’t dare to refuse him.”