He did not respond immediately, although his heart moved
him to utterance. The force of his friend's argument was, however,
conclusive. He saw the whole subject in a new light. After a brief
but hard struggle with himself, he answered:
"And I shall follow in your footsteps, my friend. I never thought of
the lost time you mention, of the thirty children unblessed by the
good act I purposed doing. Can I leave them to vice, to suffering,
to crime, and yet be innocent? Will not their souls be required at
my hands, now that God shows me their condition? I feel the pressure
of a responsibility scarcely thought of an hour ago. You have turned
the current of my thoughts in a new direction."
"And what is better still," answered Mr. Erwin, your purposes also."
"My purposes also," was the reply.
A week afterwards the friends met again.
"Ah," said Mr. Erwin, as he took the hand of Mr. Steel, "I see a new
light in your face. Something has taken off from your heart that
dead, dull weight of which you complained when I was last here. I
don't know when I have seen so cheerful an expression on your
countenance."
"Perhaps your eyes were dull before." Mr. Steel's smile was so
all-pervading that it lit up every old wrinkle and care-line in his
face.
"I was at the school yesterday," said Mr. Erwin, in a meaning way.
"Were you?" The light lay stronger on the speaker's countenance.
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