"
"Did either one of you do anything to prevent it?"
We had to admit that we had done nothing.
The old Squire regarded us a moment or two in silence.
"In one of the oldest narratives of life that have come down to us," he
said at last, "we read that there were once two brothers living
together, who did not agree and who often fell out. After a time one of
them disappeared, and when the other--his name was Cain--was asked what
had become of his brother, he replied, 'Am I my brother's keeper?'
"In this world we all have to be our brothers' keepers," the old Squire
continued. "We are all to a degree responsible for the good behavior and
safety of our fellow beings. If we shirk that duty, troubles come and
crimes are committed that might have been prevented. Especially in a
family like ours, each ought to have the good of all at heart and do his
best to make things go right."
That was a great deal for the old Squire to say to us. Addison and I saw
just where we had shirked and where we had let temper and resentment
influence us. Scarcely another word was said at table. It was one of
those times of self-searching and reflection that occasionally come
unbidden in every family circle.
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