"You must break the bonds of that slavery. No slave can be God's servant. His servants are all free men. But we will come to that presently. You must not try to call God your Father, till _father_ means something very different to you from what it seems to mean now. Think of the grandest human being you can imagine--the tenderest, the most gracious whose severity is boundless, but hurts himself most--all against, evil, all for the evil-doer. God is all that and infinitely more. You need not call him by any name till the name bursts from your heart. God our Saviour means all the names in the world, and infinitely more! One thing I can assure you of, that even I, if you will but do your duty in regard to this thing, will not only love--yes, I will say that word--will not only love, but honor you far more than if I had known you only as a respectable youth. It is harder to turn back than to keep at home. I doubt if there could be such joy in heaven over the repenting sinner if he was never to be free of his disgrace. But I like you the better for having the feeling of eternal disgrace now." "I will think God is like you, sir. Tell me what I am to do." "I am going to set you the hardest of tasks, one after the other. They will be like the pinch of death. But they _must_ be done. And after that--peace. Who is at the head of the late Mr. Boxall's business now?" "I suppose Mr. Stopper. He was head-clerk." "You must go to him and take him the money you stole." Thomas turned ashy pale. "I haven't got it, sir." "How much was it, did you say?" "Eleven pounds--nearly twelve." "I will find you the money. I will lend it to you." "Thank you, thank you, sir. I will not spend a penny I can help till I repay you. But--" "Yes, now come the _buts_," said Mr. Fuller, with a smile of kindness. "What is the first _but_?" "Stopper is a hard man, and never liked me. He will give me up to the law." "I can't help it. It must be done. But I do not believe he will do that. I will help you so far as to promise you to do all that lies in my power in every way to prevent it. And there is your father; his word will be law with him now." "So much the worse, sir. He is ten times as hard as Stopper." "He will not be willing to disgrace his own family, though." "I know what he will do. He will make it a condition that I shall give up Lucy. But I will go to prison before I will do that. Not that it will make any difference in the end, for Lucy won't have a word to say to me now. She bore all that woman could bear. But she shall give me up--she has given me up, of course; but I will never give her up that way." "That's right, my boy. Well, what do you say to it?" Tom was struggling with himself. With a sudden resolve, the source of which he could not tell, he said, "I will, sir." With a new light in his face he added, "What next?" "Then you must go to your father." "That is far worse. I am afraid I can't."