Sara Ware Bassett

The Story of Leather Sara Ware Bassett

Book Excerpt: ...consequence of misspent, wasted time it is, to be sure, a punishment; none of us can escape the direct results of our own actions. In another sense, however, it is merely a fresh opportunity--a chance to substitute success for failure, to make good at a different kind of work. It is in this light that you must try and regard it, son. I want to make a man of you if I can. I must make a man of you. You are the only child I have, and if I stand by and allow you to make a fizzle of your life I shall be quite as much to blame as you. Remember that unhappy as you are this affair is costing me something, too."There was a break in Mr. Coddington's voice. As the boy raised his head and looked into the face bending over him he read in it an expression quite new--a softness and sympathy that he had never before caught in the gray eyes which, but a moment previous, had regarded him so sternly. As a result when Peter answered much of the bitterness had crept out of his tone."I suppose all the...