第24章

　　Ef&iacute；mhadbeenawayjustayear，anditwasspringagainwhenhereachedhomeoneevening。Hissonwasnotathome，buthadgonetothepublic-houseandwhenhecameback，hehadhadadroptoomuch。Ef&iacute；mbeganquestioninghim。Everythingshowedthattheyoungfellowhadbeenunsteadyduringhisfather’sabsence。

　　Themoneyhadallbeenwronglyspent，andtheworkhadbeenneglected。Thefatherbegantoupbraidtheson；andthesonansweredrudely。

　　’Whydidn’tyoustayandlookafterityourself？’hesaid。’Yougooff，takingthemoneywithyouandnowyoudemanditofme！’

　　Theoldmangrewangry，andstruckhisson。

　　InthemorningEf&iacute；mwenttothevillageEldertocomplainofhisson’sconduct。AshewaspassingElisha’shouse，hisfriend’swifegreetedhimfromtheporch。