Clinton by Walter Aimwell

While Clinton is on his way home from school, after the discovery of / his offence, let us look in a moment upon his parents.

"After six o'clock, and Clinton has not made his appearance yet," said / Mrs. Davenport, who had the smoking tea and toasted bread upon the / table, in readiness for the evening meal. "Really, husband, I begin / to feel uneasy about Clinton. He is away from home a great deal more / than he used to be, and when he is here, he seems like a different boy / from what he was a year or two ago. You say you don't notice anything / unusual about him, but that only shows that a mother's eye is more / quick to read the heart than a man's. _I_ see a change in his conduct. / He is more reserved than he used to be; is less affectionate in his / manners, takes less interest in his work and books, and often seems / absent-minded, as though he was thinking of something that he meant to / conceal from us. I don't like that Jerry Preston, and I'm afraid he is / doing Clinton no good."