Knight,
do by me as I did by you!'
'Don't "Mr." me; you are as well in the world as I am now.'
'First love is deepest; and that was mine.'
'Who told you that?' said Knight superciliously.
'I had her first love. And it was through me that you and she
parted. I can guess that well enough.'
'It was. And if I were to explain to you in what way that
operated in parting us, I should convince you that you do quite
wrong in intruding upon her--that, as I said at first, your labour
will be lost. I don't choose to explain, because the particulars
are painful. But if you won't listen to me, go on, for Heaven's
sake. I don't care what you do, my boy.'
'You have no right to domineer over me as you do. Just because,
when I was a lad, I was accustomed to look up to you as a master,
and you helped me a little, for which I was grateful to you and
have loved you, you assume too much now, and step in before me.
It is cruel--it is unjust--of you to injure me so!'
Knight showed himself keenly hurt at this. 'Stephen, those words
are untrue and unworthy of any man, and they are unworthy of you.
You know you wrong me. If you have ever profited by any
instruction of mine, I am only too glad to know it. You know it
was given ungrudgingly, and that I have never once looked upon it
as making you in any way a debtor to me.'
Stephen's naturally gentle nature was touched, and it was in a
troubled voice that he said, 'Yes, yes.
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