Chapter 83
Nat was so excited that Mrs Jo indulged in a laugh to calm him, and
both went on more quietly.
'I told my sister all that and it pleased her. I am sure if you do
well these next few years that she will relent and all be happily
settled, unless that wonderful change, which you don't believe
possible, should occur. Now, cheer up; don't be lackadaisical and
blue. Say good-bye cheerfully and bravely, show a manly front, and
leave a pleasant memory behind you. We all wish you well and hope
much for you. Write to me every week and I'll send a good, gossipy
answer. Be careful what you write to Daisy; don't gush or wail, for
sister Meg will see the letters; and you can help your cause very
much by sending sensible, cheery accounts of your life to us all.'
'I will; I will; it looks brighter and better already, and I won't
lose my one comfort by any fault of my own. Thank you so much, Mother
Bhaer, for taking my side. I felt so ungrateful and mean and crushed
when I thought you all considered me a sneak who had no business to
love such a precious girl as Daisy. No one said anything, but I knew
how you felt, and that Mr Laurie sent me off partly to get me out of
the way. Oh dear, life is pretty tough sometimes, isn't it?' And Nat
took his head in both hands as if it ached with the confusion of
hopes and fears, passions and plans that proved boyhood was past and
manhood had begun.
'Very tough, but it is that very struggle with obstacles which does
us good. Things have been made easy for you in many ways, but no one
can do everything. You must paddle your own canoe now, and learn to
avoid the rapids and steer straight to the port you want to reach. I
don't know just what your temptations will be for you have no bad
habits and seem to love music so well, nothing can lure you from it.
I only hope you won't work too hard.'
'I feel as if I could work like a horse, I'm so eager to get on; but
I'll take care. Can't waste time being sick, and you've given me
doses enough to keep me all right, I guess.' Nat laughed as he