Keith never tried for a scholarship, and if he had, Isaac would have drawn the line at a university education, as tending towards an unholy leisure and the wisdom of this world.
Otherwise he had spared no expense, for he had grasped the fact that this was an investment, and he looked to have his money back again with something like fifty per cent.interest.And the boy, the boy was to come back, too, with a brain as bright as steel, all its queer little complicated parts in working order; in short, a superb machine; and Isaac would only have to touch a spring to set it going.
But the question was, what spring?
And that, unfortunately, was what old Rickman never could lay his finger on.
Still it went, that machine of his, apparently of its own accord.

It went mysteriously, capriciously, but fairly satisfactorily on the whole.

And Isaac was wise; his very respect for the thing that had cost him so much prevented him from tampering with it.
It was in accordance with this policy of caution that they lived apart.

Isaac loved the suburbs; Keith loved the town, and it was as well for one of them to live in it, near to their place of business.
Isaac had married again, and though he was proud of his boy and fond of him, he contrived to be completely happy without him.

He loved his little detached villa residence at Ilford in Essex, with its little flower-garden showing from the high road, its little stable for the pony and little paddock for the cow.