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But Mr Laurie said: ‘Oh, let him have his fling; he’s been dependent
and repressed long enough. He can’t go far with the money he has, and
I’ve no fear of his getting into debt. He’s too timid and too honest
to be reckless. It is his first taste of freedom; let him enjoy it,
and he’ll work the better by and by; I know–and I’m sure I’m right.’

So the warnings were very gentle, and the good people waited
anxiously to hear more of hard study, and less of ’splendid times’.
Daisy sometimes wondered, with a pang of her faithful heart, if one
of the charming Minnas, Hildegardes, and Lottchens mentioned were not
stealing her Nat away from her; but she never asked, always wrote
calmly and cheerfully, and looked in vain for any hint of change in
the letters that were worn out with much 9L0-827 Exam reading.

Month after month slipped away, till the holidays came with gifts,
good wishes, and brilliant festivities. Nat expected to enjoy himself
very much, and did at first; for a German Christmas is a spectacle
worth seeing. But he paid dearly for the abandon with which he threw
himself into the gaieties of that memorable week; and on New Year’s
Day the reckoning came. It seemed as if some malicious fairy had
prepared the surprises that arrived, so unwelcome were they, so
magical the change they wrought, turning his happy world into a scene
of desolation and despair as suddenly as a transformation at the
pantomime.

The first came in the morning when, duly armed with costly bouquets
and bon-bons, he went to thank Minna and her mother for the braces
embroidered with forget-me-nots and the silk socks knit by the old
lady’s nimble fingers, which he had found upon his table that day.
The Frau Mamma received him graciously; but when he asked for the
daughter the good lady frankly demanded what his intentions were,
adding that certain gossip which had reached her ear made it
necessary for him to declare himself or come no more, as Minna’s
peace must not be compromised.

A more panic-stricken youth was seldom seen than Nat as he received
this unexpected demand. He saw too late that his American style of
gallantry had deceived the artless girl, and might be used with
terrible effect by the artful mother, if she chose to do it. Nothing
but the truth could save him, and he had the honour and honesty to
tell it faithfully. A sad scene 9L0-827 Braindump followed; for Nat was obliged to
strip off his fictitious splendour, confess himself only a poor
student, and humbly ask pardon for the thoughtless freedom with which
he had enjoyed their too confiding hospitality. If he had any doubts
of Frau Schomburg’s motives and desires, they were speedily set at
rest by the frankness with which she showed her disappointment, the
vigour with which she scolded him, and the scorn with which she cast
him off when her splendid castles in the air collapsed.

The sum placed at his disposal for expenses and such simple pleasures
as his busy life could command seemed a fortune to Nat, though it was
smaller than generous Mr Laurie first proposed. Professor Bhaer
wisely counselled prudence, as Nat was unused to the care of money,
and the good man knew the 9L0-624 Braindump temptations that a well-filled purse makes
possible at this pleasure-loving age. So Nat enjoyed his handsome
little apartment immensely, and insensibly let many unaccustomed
luxuries creep in. He loved his music and never missed a lesson; but
the hours he should have spent in patient practice were too often
wasted at theatre, ball, beer-garden, or club–doing no harm beyond
that waste of precious time, and money not his own; for he had no
vices, and took his recreation like a gentleman, so far. But slowly a
change for the worse was beginning to show itself, and he felt it.
These first steps along the flowery road were downward, not upward;
and the constant sense of disloyalty which soon began to haunt him
made Nat feel, in the few quiet hours he gave himself, that all was
not well with him, spite of the happy whirl in which he lived.

‘Another month, and then I will be steady,’ he said more than once,
trying to excuse the delay by the fact that all was new to him, that
his friends at home wished him to be happy, and that society was
giving him the polish he needed. But as each month slipped away it
grew harder to escape; he was inevitably drawn on, and it was so easy
to drift with the tide that he deferred the evil day as long as
possible. Winter festivities followed the more wholesome summer
pleasures, and Nat found them more costly; for the hospitable ladies
expected some return from the stranger; and carriages, bouquets,
theatre tickets, and all the little expenses a young man cannot
escape at such times, told heavily on 9L0-827 the purse which seemed
bottomless at first. Taking Mr Laurie for his model, Nat became quite
a gallant, and was universally liked; for through all the newly
acquired airs and graces the genuine honesty and simplicity of his
character plainly shone, winning confidence and affection from all
who knew him.

Among these was a certain amiable old lady with a musical
daughter–well-born but poor, and very anxious to marry the aforesaid
daughter to some wealthy man. Nat’s little fictions concerning his
prospects and friends charmed the gnadige Frau as much as his music
and devoted manners did the sentimental Minna. Their quiet parlour
seemed homelike and restful to Nat, when tired of gayer scenes; and
the motherly interest of the elder lady was sweet and comfortable to
him; while the tender blue eyes of the pretty girl were always so
full of welcome when he came, of regret when he left, and of
admiration when he played to her, that he found it impossible to keep
away from this attractive spot. He meant no harm, and feared no
danger, having confided to the Frau Mamma that he was betrothed; so
he continued to call, little dreaming what ambitious hopes the old
lady cherished, nor the peril there 9L0-827 Dump was in receiving the adoration of
a romantic German girl, till it was too late to spare her pain and
himself great regret.

Of course some inkling of these new and agreeable experiences got
into the voluminous letters he never was too gay, too busy, or too
tired to write each week; and while Daisy rejoiced over his happiness
and success, and the boys laughed at the idea of ‘old Chirper coming
out as a society man’, the elders looked sober, and said among
themselves:

‘That, now, is satisfactory and comfortable. I felt that Nat had
unsuspected power in him before he went away; he was so manly and
full of excellent plans,’ said Mrs Jo, in a satisfied tone.

‘We shall see. He will doubtless get his lesson and be the better for
it. That comes to us all in our young days. I hope it will not be too
hard for our good Jungling,’ answered 9L0-624 the Professor, with a wise
smile, remembering his own student life in Germany.

He was right; and Nat was already getting his lesson in life with a
rapidity which would have astonished his friends at home. The
manliness over which Mrs Jo rejoiced was developing in unexpected
ways, and quiet Nat had plunged into the more harmless dissipations
of the gay city with all the ardour of an inexperienced youth taking
his first sip of pleasure. The entire freedom and sense of
independence was delicious, for many benefits began to burden him,
and he longed to stand on his own legs and make his own way. No one
knew his past here; and with a well-stocked wardrobe, a handsome sum
at his banker’s, and the best teacher in Leipzig, he made his debut
as a musical young gentleman, presented by the much-respected
Professor Bhaer and the wealthy Mr Laurence, who had many friends
glad to throw open their houses to his protege. Thanks to these
introductions, his fluent German, modest manners, and undeniable
talent, the stranger was cordially welcomed, and launched at once
into a circle which many an ambitious young man strove in vain to
enter.

All this rather turned 9L0-624 Dump Nat’s head; and as he sat in the brilliant
opera-house, chatted among the ladies at some select coffee-party, or
whisked an eminent professor’s amiable daughter down the room, trying
to imagine she was Daisy, he often asked himself if this gay fellow
could be the poor homeless little Street musician who once stood
waiting in the rain at the gates of Plumfield. His heart was true,
his impulses good, and his ambitions high; but the weak side of his
nature came uppermost here; vanity led him astray, pleasure
intoxicated him, and for a time he forgot everything but the delights
of this new and charming life. Without meaning to deceive, he allowed
people to imagine him a youth of good family and prospects; he
boasted a little of Mr Laurie’s wealth and influence, of Professor
Bhaer’s eminence, and the flourishing college at which he himself had
been educated. Mrs Jo was introduced to the sentimental Frauleins who
read her books, and the charms and virtues of his own dear Madchen
confided to sympathetic mammas. All these boyish boastings and
innocent vanities were duly circulated among the gossips, and his
importance much increased thereby, to his surprise and gratification,
as well as some shame.

But they bore fruit that was bitter in the end; for, finding that he
was considered one of the upper class, it very soon became impossible
for him to live in the humble quarters he had chosen, or to lead the
studious, quiet life planned for 9L0-624 Exam him. He met other students, young
officers, and gay fellows of all sorts, and was flattered at being
welcomed among them; though it was a costly pleasure, and often left
a thorn of regret to vex his honest conscience. He was tempted to
take better rooms in a more fashionable street, leaving good Frau
Tetzel to lament his loss, and his artist neighbour, Fraulein
Vogelstein, to shake her grey ringlets and predict his return, a
sadder and a wiser man.

Then waiting for no answer the good man prayed heartily, and Dan
listened as he never had before; for the lonely hour, the dying
message, the sudden uprising of his better self, made it seem as if
some kind angel had come to save and comfort him. After that night
there was a change in Dan, though no one knew it but the chaplain;
for to all the rest he was the same silent, stern, unsocial fellow as
before, and turning his back on the bad and the good alike, found his
only pleasure in the books his friend brought him. Slowly, as the
steadfast drop wears away the rock, the patient kindness of this man
won Dan’s confidence, and 9L0-623 Dump led by him he began to climb out of the
Valley of Humiliation towards the mountains, whence, through the
clouds, one can catch glimpses of the Celestial City whither all true
pilgrims sooner or later turn their wistful eyes and stumbling feet.
There were many back-slidings, many struggles with Giant Despair and
fiery Apollyon, many heavy hours when life did not seem worth living
and Mason’s escape the only hope. But through all, the grasp of a
friendly hand, the sound of a brother’s voice, the unquenchable
desire to atone for the past by a better future, and win the right to
see home again, kept poor Dan to his great task as the old year drew
to its end, and the new waited to turn another leaf in the book whose
hardest lesson he was learning now.

At Christmas he yearned so for Plumfield that he devised a way to
send a word of greeting to cheer their anxious hearts, and comfort
his own. He wrote to Mary Mason, who lived in another State, asking
her to mail the letter he enclosed. In it he merely said he was well
and busy, had given up the farm, and had other plans which he would
tell later; would not be home before autumn probably, nor write
often, but was all right, and sent love and merry Christmas to
everyone.

Then he took up his solitary life again, and tried to pay his forfeit
manfully.
‘I don’t expect to hear from Emil yet, and Nat writes regularly, but
where is Dan? Only two or three postals since he went. Such an
energetic fellow as he is could buy up all the farms in Kansas by
this time,’ said Mrs Jo one morning when the mail came in and no card
or envelope bore Dan’s dashing 9L0-623 Exam hand.

‘He never writes often, you know, but does his work and then comes
home. Months and years seem to mean little to him, and he is probably
prospecting in the wilderness, forgetful of time,’ answered Mr Bhaer,
deep in one of Nat’s long letters from Leipzig.

‘But he promised he would let me know how he got on, and Dan keeps
his word if he can. I’m afraid something has happened to him’; and
Mrs Jo comforted herself by patting Don’s head, as he came at the
sound of his master’s name to look at her with eyes almost human in
their wistful intelligence.

‘Don’t worry, Mum dear, nothing ever happens to the old fellow.
He’ll turn up all right, and come stalking in some day with a
gold-mine in one pocket and a prairie in the other, as jolly as a
grig,’ said Ted, who was in no haste to deliver Octoo to her rightful
owner.

‘Perhaps he has gone to Montana and given up the farm plan. He seemed
to like Indians best, I thought’; and Rob went to help his mother
with her pile of letters and his cheerful suggestions.

‘I hope so, it would suit him best. But I am sure he would have told
us his change of plan and sent for some money to work with. No, I
feel in my prophetic bones that something is wrong,’ said Mrs Jo,
looking as solemn as Fate in a breakfast-cap.

‘Then we shall hear; ill news always travels fast. Don’t borrow
trouble, Jo, but hear how well Nat is getting on. I’d no idea the boy
would care for anything but music. My 9L0-623 Braindump good friend Baumgarten has
launched him well, and it will do him good if he lose not his head. A
good lad, but new to the world, and Leipzig is full of snares for the
unwary. Gott be with him!’

The Professor read Nat’s enthusiastic account of certain literary and
musical parties he had been to, the splendours of the opera, the
kindness of his new friends, the delight of studying under such a
master as Bergmann, his hopes of rapid gain, and his great gratitude
to those who had opened this enchanted world to him.

Good and evil fought for Dan that night as did the angel and the
devil for Sintram, and it was hard to tell whether lawless nature or
loving heart would conquer. Remorse and resentment, shame and sorrow,
pride and passion, made a battle-field of that narrow cell, and the
poor fellow felt as if he had fiercer enemies to fight now than any
he had met in all his wanderings. A little thing turned the scale, as
it so often does in these mysterious 9L0-062 Exam hearts of ours, and a touch of
sympathy helped Dan decide the course which would bless or ban his
life.

In the dark hour before the dawn, as he lay wakeful on his bed, a ray
of light shone through the bars, the bolts turned softly, and a man
came in. It was the good chaplain, led by the same instinct that
brings a mother to her sick child’s pillow; for long experience as
nurse of souls had taught him to see the signs of hope in the hard
faces about him, and to know when the moment came for a helpful word
and the cordial of sincere prayer that brings such comfort and
healing to tried and troubled hearts. He had been to Dan before at
unexpected hours, but always found him sullen, indifferent, or
rebellious, and had gone away to patiently bide his time. Now it had
come; a look of relief was in the prisoner’s face as the light shone
on it, and the sound of a human voice was strangely comfortable after
listening to the whispers of the passions, doubts, and fears which
had haunted the cell for hours, dismaying Dan by their power, and
showing him how much he needed help to fight the good fight, since he
had no armour of his own.

‘Kent, poor Mason has gone. He left a 9L0-062 message for you, and I felt
impelled to come and give it now, because I think you were touched by
what we heard today, and in need of the help Mason tried to give
you,’ said the chaplain, taking the one seat and fixing his kind eyes
on the grim figure in the bed.

‘Thank you, sir, I’d like to hear it,’ was all Dan’s answer; but he
forgot himself in pity for the poor fellow dead in prison, with no
last look at wife or child.

He went suddenly, but remembered you, and begged me to say these
words: “Tell him not to do it, but to hold on, do his best, and when
his time is out go right to Mary, and she’ll make him welcome for my
sake. He’s got no friends in these parts and will feel lonesome, but
a woman’s always safe and comfortable when a fellow’s down on his
luck. Give him my love and good-bye for he was kind to me, and God
will bless him for it.” Then he died quietly, and tomorrow will go
home with God’s pardon, since man’s came too late.’

Dan said nothing, but laid his arm across his face and lay quite
still. Seeing that the pathetic little message had done its work even
better than he hoped, the chaplain went on, unconscious how soothing
his paternal voice was to the poor prisoner who longed to ‘go home’,
but felt he had forfeited the right.

‘I hope you won’t disappoint this humble friend whose last thought
was for you. I know that there is 9L0-623 trouble brewing, and fear that you
may be tempted to lend a hand on the wrong side. Don’t do it, for the
plot will not succeed–it never does–and it would be a pity to spoil
your record which is fair so far. Keep up your courage, my son, and
go out at the year’s end better, not worse, for this hard experience.
Remember a grateful woman waits to welcome and thank you if you have
no friends of your own; if you have, do your best for their sake, and
let us ask God to help you as He only can.’

The Sunday before Thanksgiving, as he sat in chapel, Dan observed
several guests in the seats reserved for them, and looked anxiously
to see if any familiar face was there; for he had a mortal fear that
someone from home would suddenly confront him. No, all were
strangers, and he soon forgot them in listening to the chaplain’s
cheerful words, and the sad singing of many heavy hearts. People
often spoke to the convicts, so it caused no surprise when, on being
invited to address them, one of the ladies rose and said she would
tell them a little story; which announcement caused the younger
listeners to pack up their ears, and even 9L0-008 Braindump the older ones to look
interested; for any change in their monotonous life was welcome.

The speaker was a middle-aged woman in black, with a sympathetic
face, eyes full of compassion, and a voice that seemed to warm the
heart, because of certain motherly tones in it. She reminded Dan of
Mrs Jo, and he listened intently to every word, feeling that each was
meant for him, because by chance, they came at the moment when he
needed a softening memory to break up the ice of despair which was
blighting all the good impulses of his nature.

It was a very simple little story, but it caught the men’s attention
at once, being about two soldiers in a hospital during the late war,
both badly wounded in the right arm, and both anxious to save these
breadwinners and go home unmaimed. One was patient, docile, and
cheerfully obeyed orders, even when told that the arm must go. He
submitted and after much suffering recovered, grateful for life,
though he could fight no more. The other rebelled, would listen to no
advice, and having delayed too long, died a lingering death, bitterly
regretting his folly when it was too late. ‘Now, as all stories
should have a little moral, let me tell you mine,’ added the lady,
with a smile, as she looked at the row of young men before her, sadly
wondering what brought them there.

‘This is a hospital for soldiers 9L0-062 wounded in life’s battle; here are
sick souls, weak wills, insane passions, blind consciences, all the
ills that come from broken laws, bringing their inevitable pain and
punishment with them, There is hope and help for every one, for God’s
mercy is infinite and man’s charity is great; but penitence and
submission must come before the cure is possible. Pay the forfeit
manfully, for it is just; but from the suffering and shame wring new
strength for a nobler life. The scar will remain, but it is better
for a man to lose both arms than his soul; and these hard years,
instead of being lost, may be made the most precious of your lives,
if they teach you to rule yourselves. O friends, try to outlive the
bitter past, to wash the sin away, and begin anew. If not for your
own sakes, for that of the dear mothers, wives, and children, who
wait and hope so patiently for you. Remember them, and do not let
them love and long in vain. And if there be any here so forlorn that
they have no friend to care for them, never forget the Father whose
arms are always open to receive, forgive, and comfort His prodigal
sons, even at the eleventh hour.’ There the little sermon ended; but
the preacher of it felt that her few hearty words had not been
uttered in vain, for one boy’s head was down, and several faces wore
the softened look which told that a tender memory was touched. Dan
was forced to set his lips to keep them steady, and drop his eyes to
hide the sudden dew that dimmed them when waiting, hoping friends
were spoken of. He was glad to be alone in his cell again, and sat
thinking deeply, instead of trying to forget himself in sleep. It
seemed as if those words were just what he needed to show him where
he stood and how fateful the next few days might be to him. Should he
join the ‘bad lot’, and perhaps add another 9L0-062 Dump crime to the one already
committed, lengthen the sentence already so terrible to bear,
deliberately turn his back on all that was good, and mar the future
that might yet be redeemed? Or should he, like the wiser man in the
story, submit, bear the just punishment, try to be better for it; and
though the scar would remain, it might serve as a reminder of a
battle not wholly lost, since he had saved his soul though innocence
was gone? Then he would dare go home, perhaps, confess, and find
fresh strength in the pity and consolation of those who never gave
him up.

There were others more dangerous than he, because older in crime and
ready for any desperate outbreak to change the monotony of long
sentences. These men soon divined Dan’s mood, and in the mysterious
way convicts invent, managed to convey to him before a month was over
that plans were being made for a mutiny at the first opportunity.
Thanksgiving Day was one of the few chances for them to speak
together as they enjoyed an hour of freedom in the prison yard. Then
all would be settled and the rash attempt made if possible, probably
to end in bloodshed and defeat for most, but liberty for a few. Dan
had already planned his own escape and bided his time, growing more
and more moody, fierce, and rebellious, as loss of liberty wore upon
soul and body; for this sudden change 9L0-008 from his free, healthy life to
such a narrow, gloomy, and miserable one, could not but have a
terrible effect upon one of Dan’s temperament and age.

He brooded over his ruined life, gave up all his happy hopes and
plans, felt that he could never face dear old Plumfield again, or
touch those friendly hands, with the stain of blood upon his own. He
did not care for the wretched man whom he had killed, for such a life
was better ended, he thought; but the disgrace of prison would never
be wiped out of his memory, though the cropped hair would grow again,
the grey suit easily be replaced, and the bolts and bars left far
behind.

‘It’s all over with me; I’ve spoilt my life, now let it go. I’ll give
up the fight and get what pleasure I can anywhere, anyhow. They shall
think me dead and so still care for me, but never know what I am.
Poor Mother Bhaer! she tried to help me, but it’s no use; the
firebrand can’t be saved.’

And dropping his head in his hands 9L0-008 Dump as he sat on his low bed, Dan
would mourn over all he had lost in tearless misery, till merciful
sleep would comfort him with dreams of the happy days when the boys
played together, or those still later and happier ones when all
smiled on him, and Plumfield seemed to have gained a new and curious
charm.

There was one poor fellow in Dan’s shop whose fate was harder than
his, for his sentence expired in the spring, but there was little
hope of his living till that time; and the coldest-hearted man pitied
poor Mason as he sat coughing his life away in that close place and
counting the weary days yet to pass before he could see his wife and
little child again. There was some hope that he might be pardoned
out, but he had no friends to bestir themselves in the matter, and it
was evident that the great Judge’s pardon would soon end his patient
pain for ever.

Dan pitied him more than he dared to show, and this one tender
emotion in that dark time was like the little flower that sprung up
between the stones of the prison yard and saved the captive from
despair, in the beautiful old story. Dan helped Mason with his work
when he was too feeble to finish his task, and the grateful look that
thanked him was a ray of sunshine to cheer his cell when he was
alone. Mason envied the splendid health of his neighbour, and mourned
to see it wasting there. He was a 9L0-008 Exam peaceful soul and tried, as far as
a whispered word or warning glance could do it, to deter Dan from
joining the ‘bad lot’, as the rebels were called. But having turned
his face from the light, Dan found the downward way easy, and took a
grim satisfaction in the prospect of a general outbreak during which
he might revenge himself upon the tyrannical warden, and strike a
blow for his own liberty, feeling that an hour of insurrection would
be a welcome vent for the pent-up passions that tormented him. He had
tamed many a wild animal, but his own lawless spirit was too much for
him, till he found the curb that made him master of himself.

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