“Oh, I’m so glad,” she began, and then, with a sudden change of tone and in a shocked voice, “Why, Myles Manning, what is the matter? I never saw any one look so dreadfully in all my life.”
“Probably you never met anybody who had such cause for feeling dreadfully as I have,” replied Myles, as he placed a chair for his sister and leaned gloomily against the mantel-shelf that nearly filled one side of the little room.
[Illustration: HE LEANED GLOOMILY AGAINST THE MANTEL SHELF THAT NEARLY FILLED ONE SIDE OF THE ROOM. (_Page 248._)]
“What do you mean, Myles? Sit down there on the bed and tell me all about it at once,” commanded Kate, nervously pulling off her gloves as she spoke.
Then Myles sat down and told her the whole miserable story, beginning with the day he went to Mountain Junction and ending with the moment of his present disgrace and wretchedness.
“You poor, poor, dear boy!” exclaimed Kate, as he finished, and with her eyes full of sympathetic tears. “I never in my life heard of so much trouble coming to one person all at once. There is one splendid thing about it all, though.”
“Is there?” asked Myles, doubtfully. “What is that?”
“Why, after such a terrible experience you never, never, so long as you live, will touch another drop of liquor; will you, dear?”
“There! Now I am really glad it has all happened. But how splendidly you saved that train! Why didn’t you tell Mr. Haxall about it? If you had he couldn’t possibly have done more than to reprimand you. He would never have dismissed you in the world.”
“He knew all about it,” replied Myles. “It’s all in the paper. Haven’t you read the _Phonograph_ this morning?”
“No, I haven’t had a moment’s time to look at the papers to-day. Do you mean that what you did is in the paper, with your name and all?”
For answer Myles handed her his copy of the _Phonograph_, and she read eagerly at the place he pointed out. Her cheeks flushed as she read, and when she finished she sprang up, and, throwing her arms about her brother’s neck, exclaimed:
“It is simply wonderful, Myles! wonderful! And I should think you’d be the proudest boy in New York City at this minute. Why, just because I am your sister I am the proudest girl in it.”
“I suppose I was just a little proud before I went to the office this morning,” said Myles, gently disengaging himself from his sister’s embrace; “but I guess it was the sort of pride that goeth before a fall. At any rate, I got my fall, and a pretty serious one it was too.”