Under Fire: A Tale of New England Village Life

l right?" asked the

inquiry, "I want you to tell me if I lost

r work. Had you never got into that drunken scrape, though, I probably should not have

istrust, for when a boy once gets a stain upon his character it is almost impossible to utterly efface it. It may be forgotten for a time, but if any untoward circumstance afterward arises, the remembrance of the old

would have retained the good opinion of the people of Mapleton; he would not have forfeited a certain very desirable friendship;

an insight into a business, the knowledge of which, he hoped, would some day enable him to become

gone. The villagers would now lose all faith in him, he would have no friends, and even his father and mother might doubt his honest

a chance for an honest, ambitious, and determined boy to succeed by careful thought, patient endurance, and hard work. Sometimes, to be sure, one can see very little ahead to encourage him to push on and h

ring a most dejected look,

gs you home so early? I

her, but I'm tired of try

laimed the mother, with an a

Rexford, on suspicion of havi

rents simultaneously, as they g

ugh I know nothing about the missing mone

all that had taken place between himself and the merchant-all save that which

istfully into the blaze that burned brightly in the open grate, as if they might discover there the secret o

broke the sil

Though I never had reason to suspect you of wrong doing, yet that voluntary act upon your part proved to me that you had the courage to do right and own the truth. Now something has taken plac

words to Fred, he was much

all believe me guilty when they see I am out

uilty, when you are conscious of your innocence, than that the wh

we can show that I di

er, as it does almost everything. Don't expect that we can ac

we do, the

e can see how

, now this is added to the other disgrace; and to think that I a

e, to a certain extent, for

De Vere led me into it, an

bar at all. You should not have been inf

t respect, but I had no reason to sup

is being led on to do some w

revenge in some other way, if he ha

guilty party; whereas now it would seem that you were the author of your own misfortune

e friends with me, so I t

f people, and not trust them too far, simply because they smile upon you once and seem friendly. I don't think that your judgment was very keen, o

upted Mrs. Worthington, who saw that Fred wa

ll enable him to make the most of this experience. I want to teach him to avoid such errors in the future; for this is an alm

er?" inquired Fred, in

you could build yourself up, and, in course of time, go into business for yourself. You showed an aptitude for the work, and Mr. Rexford assured me that you were one of the very best clerks that ever worked for him. This, however, was before he was led to suspect you becau

place in Boston, o

d, I should not be willing to

better than for me to stay here

where you would have no one to look after you, and

probably my friends will not speak to me," ad

ou guilty. No, no, my son! You must stay here, where circumstances have conspired against you, and show by yo

I get any

ed his father, "by going to work tomorrow mor

o do in this dull t

st look it up. The important thing with you now is to find something to d

th you in the

ever hard he works. You will have to give up the idea of being a merchant, for the present, at least, and perhaps forever; so I want you to engage in something where your opportuniti

urther conversation with his father and mother, in which

ainst me, because I was a poor man's son, I made up my mind that I would push ahead harder than ever; but now"-he spoke