Stafford started, and his face grew a trifle hard; and Sir Stephen saw

it and made a despairing, appealing gesture with his hand.

"For God's sake don't turn away from me, my boy; don't judge me

harshly. You can't judge me fairly from your standpoint; your life has

been a totally different one from mine, has been lived under different

circumstances. You have never known the temptations to which I have

been subjected. Your life has been an easy one surrounded by honour,

while mine has been spent half the time grubbing in the dust and the

mire for gold, and the rest fighting--sometimes with one hand tied

behind me!--against the men who would have robbed me of it. I have had

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to fight them with their own weapons--sometimes they haven't been

clean--sometimes it has been necessary to do--to do things!--God!

Stafford, don't turn away from me! I would have kept this from you if I

could, but I am obliged to tell you now. Ralph Falconer knows all the

details of my past, he knows of things which--which, if they were known

to the world, would stain the name I have raised to honour, would make

it necessary for me to hide my head in a suicide's grave."

A low cry burst from Stafford's lips, and he sank into a chair, and

bowed his head upon his hands.

Sir Stephen stood a little way off and looked at him for a minute, then

he advanced slowly, half timidly and ashamedly, and laid a trembling

hand on Stafford's shoulder.

"Forgive me, Stafford!" he said, in a low, broken voice. "I was obliged

to tell you. I'd have kept it from you--you would never have known--but

Falconer has forced my hand; I was bound to show you how necessary it

was that we should have him as friend instead of foe. You are

not--ashamed of me, my boy; you won't go back on me?"

In the stress and strain of his emotion the old digger's slang came

readily to his lips.

Stafford took one hand from his face and held it out, and his father

grasped it, clinging to it as a drowning man clings to a rock.

"God bless you, my boy!" he said. "I might have known you wouldn't turn

your back upon me; I might have known that you'd remember that I wasn't

fighting for myself only, but for the son I'm so proud of."

"I know, I know, sir," said Stafford, almost inaudibly.

Sir Stephen hung his hand, released it, and paced up and down the room

again, fighting for composure, and facing the situation after the

manner of his kind. Like all successful adventurers, he was always

ready to look on the bright side. He came back to Stafford and patted

him gently on the shoulder.




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