Page:The Strand Magazine (Volume 2).djvu/563

 general or field-marshal I might have made, if only I had been a man!

"Well, time passed on, until between six and seven years had elapsed since my father and brother had separated in anger. A reconciliation seemed as far off as ever, and I was almost beginning to lose courage, when one day at a dinner-party given by a high functionary of that period, at which my father and I were present, an incident occurred that unexpectedly revived my drooping hopes.

"Amongst other subjects of dinner-table conversation, an allusion was made to a recent railway accident in which, it was stated, a young civil engineer who chanced to be a passenger in the train, had saved many lives by his coolness and intrepidity. The gentleman who described the event was a stranger, seated just opposite to my father. He related how the engine-driver had been suddenly seized with illness, and the locomotive left ungoverned to rush on at full speed, when the young man spoken of had crawled along the footboards of the carriages, and, at the risk of his life, succeeded in stopping the train just in time to prevent a terrible catastrophe.

And who was the brave young fellow?' inquired my father.

"For a moment there was an embarrassed silence; then our host said quietly

Well, Colonel Norton, I am pleased to tell you it was your own son!'

I am not surprised,' said my father, simply. 'My son only did his duty.

"But at the same moment I stole a glance at him, and saw in his face the quick glow of pride which even he could not suppress.

"Women, my dear children, are not so dull of apprehension as some learned folks pretend they are. It struck me instantly that the cause I had so deeply at heart had that instant made a giant's stride, and I was not long in devising a plan to take advantage of the situation.

"I need scarcely say that my brother and I had always kept up the most affectionate communications with each other, and, during the years which followed his marriage, we had often met, though I carefully concealed the fact from my father's knowledge.

"I was well aware that my brother had made his way in the world by his own unaided exertions, and that he was highly esteemed by all who came into contact with him, socially or professionally. I knew too, that in the helpmeet he had chosen he had happily found a most excellent and devoted wife, admired and respected by all who were acquainted with her good qualities.

"On the night of the memorable dinner-party, I went to bed with a serene and contented mind, firmly convinced that a very short time would suffice to bring my plans to a successful issue. I was determined that the enemy should surrender at discretion, arms and baggage.

"We were just then at the beginning of Christmas week, and the greatest festival of the year fell on a Wednesday. On the previous day, my father, who was always most punctilious in the observance of the old-fashioned English Christmas, including