"We've struggled, we've suffered," his wife went on; "but you've

made him so your own that we've already been through the worst of
the sacrifice."

Morgan had turned away from his father - he stood looking at
Pemberton with a light in his face. His sense of shame for their

common humiliated state had dropped; the case had another side -
the thing was to clutch at THAT. He had a moment of boyish joy,

scarcely mitigated by the reflexion that with this unexpected
consecration of his hope - too sudden and too violent; the turn

taken was away from a GOOD boy's book - the "escape" was left on
their hands. The boyish joy was there an instant, and Pemberton

was almost scared at the rush of gratitude and affection that broke
through his first abasement. When he stammered "My dear fellow,

what do you say to THAT?" how could one not say something
enthusiastic? But there was more need for courage at something

else that immediately followed and that made the lad sit down
quietly on the nearest chair. He had turned quite livid and had

raised his hand to his left side. They were all three looking at
him, but Mrs. Moreen suddenly bounded forward. "Ah his darling

little heart!" she broke out; and this time, on her knees before
him and without respect for the idol, she caught him ardently in

her arms. "You walked him too far, you hurried him too fast!" she
hurled over her shoulder at Pemberton. Her son made no protest,

and the next instant, still holding him, she sprang up with her
face convulsed and with the terrified cry "Help, help! he's going,

he's gone!" Pemberton saw with equal horror, by Morgan's own
stricken face, that he was beyond their wildest recall. He pulled

him half out of his mother's hands, and for a moment, while they
held him together, they looked all their dismay into each other's

eyes, "He couldn't stand it with his weak organ," said Pemberton -
"the shock, the whole scene, the violent emotion."

"But I thought he WANTED to go to you!", wailed Mrs. Moreen.
"I TOLD you he didn't, my dear," her husband made answer. Mr.

Moreen was trembling all over and was in his way as deeply affected
as his wife. But after the very first he took his bereavement as a

man of the world.
End

• clutch [klʌtʃ] v.抓住 n.爪子；控制 (初中英语单词)
• violent [´vaiələnt] a.强暴的；猛烈的 (初中英语单词)
• instant [´instənt] a.立即的 n.紧迫；瞬间 (初中英语单词)
• gratitude [´grætitju:d] n.感激，感谢 (初中英语单词)
• affection [ə´fekʃən] n.友爱；慈爱 (初中英语单词)
• sprang [spræŋ] spring 的过去式 (初中英语单词)
• horror [´hɔrə] n.恐怖；战栗 (初中英语单词)
• dismay [dis´mei] n.惊慌 vt.使惊慌 (初中英语单词)
• hurried [´hʌrid] a.仓促的，慌忙的 (高中英语单词)
• boyish [´bɔiiʃ] a.少年的；幼稚的 (英语四级单词)
• holding [´həuldiŋ] n.保持，固定，存储 (英语六级单词)