The Crisis, Complete

ric. Miss Crane's boarding-house is not an interesting place, and the tempest in that teapot is better imagined than described. Ou

gripping the rail, he ascended. The ascent required courage now, certainly. He halted again before the door at the top. But even as he stood there c

"but you are late. The Ju

Stephen, with ill

rman patted him

he open transom of the private off

Ric

ir

is

Brice

thunder doesn

e dragon, who was staring him through and through. The first objects that caught Stephen's attention were the grizzly gray eye brows, which s

of gray beard around his chin, and the size o

Mr. Whipple's glance. But it was no code or course of

d the Judge, at last. His tone was not

r," said

to detest people who patted boys on the back and said with a smirk, 'I know your father.' I never had a father whom people could say that about. But, sir," cried the Judge, bringing down his fi

t the bed in the corner, in which the Judge slept, and which during the day did not escape t

inued. "From time immemorial it has been the pleasant habit of old communities to be

ately the Judge did not

ther let me know th

to put you to a

father's? Didn't I ask you to

as a chance,

nce of

And there is still a chance o

Judge might smile, too. He rubbed

ou were looking for a b

en qu

ir, I w

picked up the 'Counterf

devil," said he. "That's one thing we don't equal t

o become a

s yellow fist upon the 'Bank Note Detector'. "I'll make yo

o do anything

hed among his papers, and produced

s brief. Mr. Richter will help you to-day. And tell your moth

ore the first sheet of legal cap was spoiled utterly. But Stephen had a deep sense of failure. He had gone through the ground glass door with the firm intention of making a clean breast of the ownership of Hester. Now, as he sat still, the trouble grew u

rk to behold-none other t

e it remained, and the Colonel remained in the middle of the floor, his soft hat on the back of his head, one hand plante

ee!" h

re freely. Stephen perspired. And as ther

control, and strode into the private office the door slammed behi

n a ripple of guffaws. Then the scratch-scratch

devil's the matt

gh the transom, and the Colone

uppressed explosions, "I am happy to see that you ha

sir?" the Judge

l, seeming to recover his gravity. "You

urgle came from the

and I quarrelled en

auction this morning when you were at

you a hundred times against the stuff yo

rbed. "You missed it, sir. You missed seeing this young man you've

But whether to fly in at the one entran

d Mr. Whipple,

"MR.

as the Judge leaning forward from his hips, straight as a ramrod. Fire was darting from beneath his bushy eyebrows. "Mr. Brice," said he, "there is one question I always ask of those w

immediate,-li

lieve in it,

r like a long jack-in-the box,

r did you not, buy a w

id,

hen caught a glimpse of the Colonel's han

, and he sat down heavily. "You

t does not need an Abolitionist to

e-owner, sir?"

s,

and hat and leave my

ned to go. He was, if the truth were told, more amused t

"I reckon you haven't got all

in a sort of stupefaction.

. "I'll give you hearing. No ma

d gratefully

xpect one, s

eserve one, sir,

," replied St

suppressed

o with this per

Crane's boarding-h

lode. The guffaw which came from

el, and this time something very like mirth shivered his lean frame.

, as soon as I can find s

an customary violence, and looked very hard at Mr. Carv

at length, "take off your c

the Judge curiously, wondering what manner of man he was. He

ou, sir,

en Mr. Whipple called him back abruptly.

her's ideas about s

ht a moment, as if

he never could bear to have the liberator mentioned in his presence. He was not at all in sym

o popular opinion in the West and S

en sm

asses are not at all

bout the conservative classes. Why not come out with it, sir, and say the moneyed classes, who wo

to him then how he was to get along wit

alone, and I think that if you knew Boston you would not say that the conservative class there is wholly composed of wealthy peop

approval which Colonel Carvel gave hi

said, "what were

e deprived by violence of one kind of property which they hold under the law, all other kinds of property will be endangered. The result will be anarchy. Furthermore, he re

g which the uncompromising expre

u, sir?" h

at I saw yesterday. I-I must

rth act this way when they see a slave sale, what will the Abolitionist

his feet, and bowed to

is that the black race is held in subjection by a divine decree, I can admire what you have done, Mr. Brice. It was a no

mewhat dubious compliment (which he

pple said