Little by little I discovered the
truth; I kept the knowledge of the injury to myself; I quickly got
rid of the money which had so cursed me, and brought my wife to
this, the loneliest and dreariest place in the neighborhood, where
I forced upon her a life of poverty. I thought it was a just
revenge, but I was unjust. She really loved me: she was, if not
quite without blame in the matter, ignorant of the worst that had
been done (I learned all that too late), and she never complained,
though the change in me slowly wore out her life. I know now that
I was cruel; but at the same time I punished myself, and was
innocently punishing my son. But to HIM there was one way to
make amends. `I will help him to a wife,' I said, `who will
gladly take poverty with him and for his sake.' I forced him,
against his will, to say that he was a hired hand on this place,
and that Susan must be content to be a hired housekeeper. Now that
I know Susan, I see that this proof might have been left out; but
I guess it has done no harm. The place is not so heavily mortgaged
as people think, and it will be Jacob's after I am gone.
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