Thatalwaysseemstomeromanticandwasteful。Youneverhearfromitinanydefiniteway。Theysaythemissionarieshavedoneagooddealtoopenthewayfortrade；perhaps——buttheyhavealsogottenusintocommercialandpoliticaldifficulties。YetIgivetothem——alittle——itisamatterofconsciencewithmetoidentifymyselfwithalltheenterprisesoftheChurch；itisthemainstayofsocialorderandaprosperouscivilization。Butthebestformsofbenevolencearethewell-established，organizedoneshereathome，wherepeoplecanseethemandknowwhattheyaredoing。"
　　"Youmeantheonesthathavealocalhabitationandaname。"
　　"Yes；theyofferbyfarthesafestreturn，thoughofcoursethereissomethinggainedbycontributingtogeneralfunds。Apublicmancan'taffordtobewithoutpublicspirit。ButonthewholeIpreferabuilding，oranendowment。Thereisamutualadvantagetoagoodnameandagoodinstitutionintheirconnectioninthepublicmind。
　　Ithelpsthemboth。Rememberthat，myboy。Ofcourseatthebeginningyouwillhavetopractiseitinasmallway；later，youwillhavelargeropportunities。Buttrytoputyourgiftswheretheycanbeidentifiedanddogoodallaround。You'llseethewisdomofitinthelongrun。"
　　"Icanseeitalready，sir，andthewayyoudescribeitlooksamazinglywiseandprudent。Inotherwords，wemustcastourbreadonthewatersinlargeloaves，carriedbysoundshipsmarkedwiththeowner'sname，sothatthereturnfreightwillbesuretocomebacktous。"
　　Thefatherlaughed，buthiseyeswerefrowningalittleasifhesuspectedsomethingirreverentundertherespectfulreply。
　　"Youputithumorously，butthere'ssenseinwhatyousay。Whynot？
　　Godrulesthesea；butHeexpectsustofollowthelawsofnavigationandcommerce。Whynottakegoodcareofyourbread，evenwhenyougiveitaway？"
　　"It'snotformetosaywhynot——andyetIcanthinkofcases——"
　　Theyoungmanhesitatedforamoment。Hishalf-finishedcigarhadgoneout。Heroseandtosseditintothefire，infrontofwhichheremainedstanding——aslender，eager，restlessyoungfigure，withatouchofhungerinthefineface，strangelylikeandunlikethefather，atwhomhelookedwithhalf-wistfulcuriosity。
　　"Thefactis，sir，"hecontinued，"thereissuchacaseinmymindnow，anditisagooddealonmyheart，too。SoIthoughtofspeakingtoyouaboutitto-night。YourememberTomRollins，theJuniorwhowassogoodtomewhenIenteredcollege？"
　　Thefathernodded。Herememberedverywellindeedtheannoyingincidentsofhisson'sfirstescapade，andhowRollinshadstoodbyhimandhelpedtoavoidapublicdisgrace，andhowaclosefriendshiphadgrownbetweenthetwoboys，sodifferentintheirfortunes。
　　"Yes，"hesaid，"Irememberhim。Hewasapromisingyoungman。
　　Hashesucceeded？"
　　"Notexactly——thatisnotyet。Hisbusinesshasbeengoingratherbadly。
　　Hehasawifeandlittlebaby，youknow。Andnowhehasbrokendown，——
　　somethingwrongwithhislungs。ThedoctorsayshisonlychanceisayearoreighteenmonthsinColorado。Iwishwecouldhelphim。"
　　"Howmuchwoulditcost？"
　　"Threeorfourthousand，perhaps，asaloan。"
　　"Doesthedoctorsayhewillgetwell？"
　　"Afightingchance——thedoctorsays。"
　　Thefaceoftheoldermanchangedsubtly。Notalinewasaltered，butitseemedtohaveadifferentsubstance，asifitwerecarvedoutofsomefirm，imperishablestuff。
　　"Afightingchance，"hesaid，"maydoforaspeculation，butitisnotagoodinvestment。YouowesomethingtoyoungRollins。
　　Yourgratefulfeelingdoesyoucredit。Butdon'toverworkit。
　　Sendhimthreeorfourhundred，ifyoulike。You'llneverhearfromitagain，exceptintheletterofthanks。ButforHeaven'ssakedon'tbesentimental。Religionisnotamatterofsentiment；
　　it'samatterofprinciple。"
　　Thefaceoftheyoungermanchangednow。Butinsteadofbecomingfixedandgraven，itseemedtomeltintolifebytheheatofaninwardfire。Hisnostrilsquiveredwithquickbreath，hislipswerecurled。"Principle！"hesaid。"Youmeanprincipal——andinteresttoo。Well，sir，youknowbestwhetherthatisreligionornot。
　　Butifitis，countmeout，please。Tomsavedmefromgoingtothedevil，sixyearsago；andI'llbedamnedifIdon'thelphimtothebestofmyabilitynow。"
　　JohnWeightmanlookedathissonsteadily。"Harold，"hesaidatlast，"youknowIdislikeviolentlanguage，anditneverhasanyinfluencewithme。IfIcouldhonestlyapproveofthispropositionofyours，I'dletyouhavethemoney；butIcan't；
　　it'sextravagantanduseless。ButyouhaveyourChristmascheckforathousanddollarscomingtoyouto-morrow。Youcanuseitasyouplease。
　　Ineverinterferewithyourprivateaffairs。"
　　"Thankyou，"saidHarold。"Thankyouverymuch！Butthere'sanotherprivateaffair。Iwanttogetawayfromthislife，thistown，thishouse。
　　Itstiflesme。YourefusedlastsummerwhenIaskedyoutoletmegouptoGrenfell'sMissionontheLabrador。Icouldgonow，atleastasfarastheNewfoundlandStation。Haveyouchangedyourmind？"
　　"Notatall。Ithinkitisanexceedinglyfoolishenterprise。
　　ItwouldinterruptthecareerthatIhavemarkedoutforyou。"
　　"Well，then，here'sacheaperproposition。AlgyVanderhoofwantsmetojoinhimonhisyachtwith——well，withalittleparty——tocruiseintheWestIndies。Wouldyoupreferthat？"
　　"Certainlynot！TheVanderhoofsetiswildandgodless——Idonotwishtoseeyoukeepingcompanywithfoolswhowalkinthebroadandeasywaythatleadstoperdition。"
　　"Itisratherahardchoice，"saidtheyoungman，withashortlaugh，turningtowardthedoor。"Accordingtoyouthere'sverylittledifference——afool'sparadiseorafool'shell！Well，it'soneortheotherforme，andI'lltossupforitto-night:heads，I
　　lose；
　　tails，thedevilwins。Anyway，I'msickofthis，andI'moutofit。"
　　"Harold，"saidtheolderman（andtherewasaslighttremorinhisvoice），"don'tletusquarrelonChristmasEve。AllIwantistopersuadeyoutothinkseriouslyofthedutiesandresponsibilitiestowhichGodhascalledyou——don'tspeaklightlyofheavenandhell——remember，thereisanotherlife。"
　　Theyoungmancamebackandlaidhishanduponhisfather'sshoulder。
　　"Father，"hesaid，"Iwanttorememberit。Itrytobelieveinit。
　　Butsomehoworother，inthishouse，itallseemsunrealtome。
　　Nodoubtallyousayisperfectlyrightandwise。Idon'tventuretoargueagainstit，butIcan'tfeelit——that'sall。IfI'mtohaveasoul，eithertoloseortosave，Imustreallylive。Justnowneitherthepresentnorthefuturemeansanythingtome。Butsurelywewon'tquarrel。