CHAPTER XLI

HOW IT ALL ENDED.

GREAT was the joy at the farm-house over Jack’s return. Mrs. Chatford shed motherly tears on his neck; little Kate hugged him as high up as she could reach; while Mrs. Pipkin, and Mr. Pipkin and Mose, who had just come in to dinner, looked on with faces shining with delight and sympathy. Only Phin appeared not altogether enchanted with the turn affairs had taken; and the envious, hypocritical expression of his grinning face changed to genuine alarm as Mr. Chatford said, “Jack has come just to say good by, and to get his dog.”

“His dog?” cried Phin. “Our dog! He can’t have our dog!”

“It is his dog, and nobody else’s,” said the deacon, sadly. “And though I don’t want to part with either of ’em, especially since Jack has shown himself such a man, we can’t detain him; and of course he can take his dog, if he chooses. Sellick has made him an offer.”

“But you haven’t accepted it, have you, Jack?” said Mrs. Chatford.

“Not yet, but—”

“What does he go for?” demanded Phineas, disturbed at the prospect of losing Lion.

“Because you’ve lied about him, and he can’t live in the house with you!” said the deacon, with extraordinary sternness.

“I didn’t lie,” whimpered Phin. “I remember now I did say something to him like what he said.”

“Then own up that it was a lie!”

“I didn’t mean it; I wanted him to get back his money, and I thought you said _something_ of the kind.”

“You thought no such thing! O Phineas! Phineas!” And the deacon almost wept with sorrow over his son’s meanness and untruth.

“I hope you’ll forgive me; I hope he will,” whined Phin.

“I do,” said Jack, frankly, “now that you have owned up.”

“And you’ll let Lion stay?”

“Lion is all he cares for!” said Moses, with angry contempt, as Phin slunk away out of sight.

“O, here comes cousin Annie!” cried little Kate.

Jack ran eagerly to meet his dear friend, but started back on seeing at her side his new acquaintance, Percy Lanman.

The beautiful schoolmistress kissed him openly, in right sisterly fashion, and rejoiced over the good news. Percy pressed his hand warmly, and said, with that bright, good-humored look of his, “I was out botanizing, and stopped at the school-house to get news of you; and as Miss Felton was just starting to walk home, I walked with her.”

“I’m glad you did,” said Jack. “Here is the money I owe you.” Percy took it with a smile. “There! now I’ve paid all my debts, I’m even with the world, and ready to begin again!—Yes, Kate, dear Kate! I’ll stay; I’ve nothing to go for now.—Old Lion! get down, you good fellow! you silly boy’s dog!” And Jack dashed away a tear. “You are all so good to me! I never was so happy in my life!”

And yet it gave him a curious feeling, something that was not quite unclouded joy, to see his two friends, Percy Lanman and Annie Felton, standing there, smiling, side by side. Though what there was in that to trouble him I cannot precisely say; can any one guess?

Still a happy boy indeed was Jack. His great trouble had passed by; and he had no more dread of the jail, of trial and sentence. His brief experience of the cares and snares of riches had taught him wisdom, and the upright course he resolved upon at last had developed a conscious strength and manliness in his heart, richer than any fortune. He was once more in his dear home, with his dearest friends around him, their confidence in him restored, and their love for him increased. And now, not selfishly as before, but very gratefully, very lovingly, he felt that he had for the first time in his life, rightly and truly,

A CHANCE FOR HIMSELF.

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Cambridge: Electrotyped and Printed by Welch, Bigelow, & Co.

● Transcriber’s Notes: ○ Missing or obscured punctuation was corrected. ○ Typographical errors were silently corrected. ○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant form was found in this book. ○ Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).

End of Project Gutenberg's A Chance for Himself, by J. T. Trowbridge