* * * * *
The boy seemed deathly tired as they crossed the dim lawn at Silverside.
Once, on the veranda steps he stumbled, and Selwyn's arm sustained him;
but the older man forbore to question him, and Gerald, tight-lipped and
haggard, offered no confidence until, at the door of his bedroom, he
turned and laid an unsteady hand on Selwyn's shoulder: "I want to talk
with you--to-morrow. May I?"
"You know you may, Gerald. I am always ready to stand your friend."
"I know. . . . I must have been crazy to doubt it. You are very good to
me. I--I am in a very bad fix. I've got to tell you."
"Then we'll get you out of it, old fellow," said Selwyn cheerfully.
"That's what friends are for, too."
The boy shivered--looked at the floor, then, without raising his eyes,
said good-night, and, entering his bedroom, closed the door.
As Selwyn passed back along the corridor, the door of his sister's room
opened, and Austin and Nina confronted him.
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