Page:Leo Tolstoi - Life Is Worth Living and Other Stories - tr. Adolphus Norraikow (1892).djvu/148



one year's absence Euthymus finally reached his home in safety. He returned in the evening, and was surprised to find that his son was not at home. He had been in the tavern drinking, and he soon entered the house in an intoxicated condition.

Euthymus quickly realized that his son had gone astray, that his money had been squandered, and that his business affairs were in a disgraceful state. He scolded the young man for his misconduct, and was answered in a very rude manner. He said to his father:

"You should conduct your own business yourself, and ought not to go away, taking all the money with you—to come home and find fault with me."