The white whiskers looked whiter as the florid face became more florid.
"H--um! So! I thought then that it was a mere passing fancy of yours, and that it would soon go. As you have asked for no more money than the small--yes, very small--allowance I settled on, I began to think--yes, I began to believe, that you had more of the Henning family spirit--yes, more of the real family spirit--than at first I gave you credit for. So far, so good. So you are determined, if possible, to become a priest?"
"Now tell me, my boy, how you have passed through the tests I set."
Roy was silent. He thought of the many times he had experienced more or less bitterly rebellious thoughts against these tests.
"Don't be afraid, Roy. Speak plainly. Have you failed?"
"No, father," he answered emphatically; "I have not."
"That is good. I am very glad to hear that."
"I confess that it was very hard. Frequently I felt like writing to you about the prohibition of sports and of my--my shortness of cash."
"So most of your troubles came from lack of cash, eh?"
"Oh, no! Really the greatest test of obedience I have ever had was to follow your instruction strictly when you declared that I should engage in no sports except enough to keep a sound mind in a sound body."
"That, sir, was a hard blow to me. All the unpleasantness of the year has arisen from trying to be faithful to your command."
"As you know, I am an enthusiastic and pretty good ball-player."
"Yes, I have heard enough about that to be well acquainted with the fact."
"And I am a good all-round athlete as well. As a consequence, I stood high in the councils of the college athletic circles. When I announced my intention of retiring from the football eleven, and the baseball nine there was a good deal of disagreeable talk. I must confess, father, this was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my whole life."
"Yes, and the worst of it was I was made miserable by insinuations and innuendos that I had betrayed the college teams. I was disloyal. I was acting out of pique or spite. This was all very hard to bear because I was actuated by the very best intentions. I wanted to prove to you that I was a dutiful and obedient son."
"I never doubted that, my boy, never for a moment doubted that!"