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"SMILES"

A ROSE OF THE CUMBERLANDS

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By ELIOT H. ROBINSON

"SMILES": A Rose of the Cumberlands . . . $1. 90

SMILING PASS: Being a Further Accountof the Career of "Smiles": A Rose of theCumberlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1. 90

MARK GRAY'S HERITAGE . . . . . . . . . . $1. 90

THE MAID OF MIRABELLE: A Romanceof Lorraine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1. 90

MAN PROPOSES; or, The Romance ofJohn Alden Shaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1. 90

GO GET 'EM! The True Adventures of anAmerican Aviator of the Lafayette FlyingCorps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1. 50By Eliot H. Robinson and LieutenantWilliam A. Wellman. 

WITH OLD GLORY IN BERLIN; or, TheStory of an American Girl's Life andTrials in Germany and Her Escape fromthe Huns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2. 00By Eliot H. Robinson and JosephineTherese. 

THE PAGE COMPANY

53 BEACON STREET, BOSTON

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[Illustration: "A MAN AND A WOMAN--AS IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING" (SeePage 374)]

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"SMILES"

A ROSE OF THE CUMBERLANDS

BYELIOT H. ROBINSONAuthor of "Man Proposes"

ILLUSTRATED BYH. WESTON TAYLOR

THE PAGE COMPANYBOSTON--PUBLISHERS

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Copyright, 1919, byThe Page Company

Entered at Stationers' Hall, London

All rights reserved

First Impression, May, 1919Second Impression, June, 1919Third Impression, July, 1919Fourth Impression, August, 1919Fifth Impression, September, 1919Sixth Impression, October, 1919Seventh Impression, December, 1919Eighth Impression, February, 1920Ninth Impression, September, 1920Tenth Impression, August, 1921

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TO MY BOYSThis Story of a GirlWho Loved ChildrenIS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED

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The Keynote of Life is Love--Lacking it, naught is worth while--The Symbol of Service, the CrossAnd the Sign of Courage, A Smile. 

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AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I wish to acknowledge, most gratefully, the valuable assistance renderedto me, in the preparation of the chapters dealing with the medical andhospital incidents, by Robert W. Guiler, M. D. ; by Alonzo J. Shadman, M. D. , to whom I am indebted for my description of the unusual operationin Chapter XXI; and by Miss Elizabeth E. Sullivan, Superintendent ofNurses at the Boston Children's Hospital. And, above all, I desire tomake acknowledgment of the debt of gratitude that I owe to Mr. HenryWightman Packer for his helpful criticism throughout the writing of thisstory. 

ELIOT HARLOW ROBINSON. 

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

 I. DONALD MACDONALD, M. D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

 II. ENTER BIG JERRY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

 III. AN INNOCENT SERPENT IN EDEN . . . . . . . . . . . 25

 IV. "SMILES" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

 V. GIVING AND RECEIVING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

 VI. AN UNACCEPTED CHALLENGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

 VII. "SMILES'" GIFT AND THE "WRITING" . . . . . . . . . 66

 VIII. SOME OF SEVERAL EPISTLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

 IX. THE HIGH HILLS, AND "GOD'S MAN" . . . . . . . . . 91

 X. "SMILES'" CONSECRATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

 XI. ADOPTION BY BLOOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

 XII. THE THREE OF HEARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

 XIII. GATHERING CLOUDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

 XIV. SOWING THE WIND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

 XV. REAPING THE WHIRLWIND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

 XVI. THE AFTERMATH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

 XVII. THE PARTING PLEDGE AND PASSING DAYS . . . . . . . 171

 XVIII. THE ADDED BURDEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

 XIX. "SMILES'" APPEAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

 XX. THE ANSWER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

 XXI. A MODERN MIRACLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

 XXII. VICARIOUS ATONEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

 XXIII. TWO LETTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

 XXIV. NEW SCENES, NEW FRIENDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

 XXV. THE FIRST MILESTONE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

 XXVI. THE CALL OF THE RED CROSS . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

 XXVII. THE GOAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

 XXVIII. "BUT A ROSE HAS THORNS" . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

 XXIX. AN INTERLUDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

 XXX. DONALD'S HOMECOMING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

 XXXI. THE VALLEY OF INDECISION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

 XXXII. THE STORM AND THE SACRIFICE . . . . . . . . . . . 341

 XXXIII. WHAT THE CRICKET HEARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350

 XXXIV. A LOST BROTHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

 XXXV. THE HALLOWED MOON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE

"A man and a woman--as it was in thebeginning" (See Page 374) . . . . . . . . . . . . Frontispiece

"One dusty, but dainty, foot was heldbetween her hands" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

"She was kneeling beside a low, rounded mound" . . . . . . 48

"Read the brief article twice, mechanically, and almost without understanding" . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

"Holding the girl in clinging white close to him" . . . . . 347

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CHAPTER I

DONALD MACDONALD, M. D. 

The man came to a stop, a look of humiliation and deep self-disgust onhis bronzed face. With methodical care he leaned his rifle against theseamed trunk of a forest patriarch and drew the sleeve of his huntingshirt across his forehead, now glistening with beads of sweat; then, andnot until then, did he relieve his injured feelings by giving voice to ashort but soul-satisfying expletive. 

At the sound of his deep voice the dog, which had, panting, dropped athis feet after a wild, purposeless dash through the underbrush, lookedup with bright eyes whose expression conveyed both worship and aquestion, and, as the man bent and stroked his wiry coat, rustled thepine needles with his stubby tail. 

The picture held no other animate creatures, and no other sounddisturbed the silence of the woods. 

By the hunter's serviceable nickeled timepiece the afternoon was notspent; but the sun was already swinging low over the westernmountaintop, and its slanting rays, as they filtered through the leafynetwork overhead, had begun to take on the richer gold of early evening, and the thick forest foliage of oddly intermingled oak and pine, beechand poplar, was assuming deeper, more velvety tones. There was solemnbeauty in the scene; but, for the moment, the man was out of tune withthe vibrant color harmonies, and he frankly stated the reason in hisnext words, which were addressed to his unlovely canine companion, whosesagacity more than compensated for his appealing homeliness. 

"Mike, we're lost!"

City born and bred though he was, the man took a not unjustifiable pridein the woodcraft which he had acquired during many vacations spent inthe wilds; hence it was humiliating to have to admit that fact--even tohis dog. To be sure, the fastnesses of the border Cumberlands were newto him; but his vanity was hurt by the realization that he had trampedfor nearly an hour through serried ranks of ancient trees and crowdingthickets of laurel and rhododendron--which seemed to take a personaldelight in impeding the progress of a "furriner"--and over craggy rocks, only to find, at the end of that time, that he was entering one end of ashort ravine from the other end of which he had started with the vaguepurpose of seeking the path by which he had climbed from the valleyvillage. 

Moreover, a subtle change was taking place in the air. Faint breezes, the sighing heralds of advancing evening, were now beginning to stealslowly out from the picturesque, seamed rocks of the ravine and frombehind each gnarled or stately tree, with an unmistakable warning. 

There was clearly but one logical course for him to pursue--headstraight up the mountainside until he should arrive at some commandingclearing whence he could recover his lost bearings and establish somelandmarks for a fresh start downward. With his square jaw set in adecisive manner, the man picked up his gun, threw back his heavyshoulders, and began to climb, driving his muscular body forciblythrough the underbrush. 

The decision and the action were both characteristic of DonaldMacDonald, in whose Yankee veins ran the blood of a dour and purposefulScottish clan. Aggressive determination showed in every lineament of hisface, of which his nearest friend, Philip Bentley, had once said, "TheGreat Sculptor started to carve a masterpiece, choosing granite ratherthan marble as his medium, and was content to leave it rough hewn. "Every feature was strong and rugged, which gave his countenance anexpression masterful to the point of being almost surly when it was inrepose; but it was a face which caused most men--and women overthirty--to turn for a second glance. 

To-day, the effect of strength was further enhanced by a week's growthof blue-black beard. But his eyes, agate gray and flecked with the greenof the "moss" variety, were the real touchstones of his character, andthey belied the stern lines of his mouth and chin and spoke eloquentlyof a warm, kindly heart within the powerful body, a body which, to thecity dweller, suggested the fullback on a football team. Indeed, such hehad been in those days when great power counted more heavily than speedand agility. Not but that he possessed these attributes as well, in adegree unusual in one who tipped the scales at one hundred and ninety. 

To some it seemed an inexplicable anomaly that a man of his type shouldhave selected, as the work to which he had dedicated his life, theprofession of medicine, and still more strange that he had become aspecialist in the diseases of children. Yet such was the case, and manya mother, whose heartstrings were plucked by the lean fingers ofDespair, had cause to bless the almost uncanny surgical skill which hishighly-trained brain exercised through the medium of his big, spatulate, gentle fingers. 

As "Mac" had, in the old days, smashed his way through the opposing lineof blue-jerseyed giants on the football field, and as he now plowedthrough the laurel and rhododendron, so had he won his way to theforefront of the younger generation of his profession until, at the ageof thirty-five, he had become recognized as one of the most ablechildren's specialists in America. A "man's man, " blunt of speech to thepoint of often offending at first the cultured women with whom hislabors brought him into contact, he was worshipped in hundreds of homesas an angel of mercy in strange guise, and was the idol of hundreds oflittle folk to whom he had brought new health and happiness. 

The toilsome upward climb brought its reward at length, and Donald's eyecaught sight of a clearing, and unmistakable signs of near-bycivilization, if a scattering mountain settlement of primitive dwellersin that feudal country which lies half in West Virginia, half inKentucky, may be so designated. 

No sooner had he stepped into the partially cleared land, and caughtsight of a small, isolated cabin beyond, so toned by wind and weatherthat it seemed almost an integral part of its natural surroundings, thanhis own presence was detected, as the sharp and surly barking of anunseen dog evidenced. Mike made answer to the challenge, and instantlyother, more distant, canine voices joined in the growing clamor. 

As man and dog advanced across the clearing, not one, but half a dozengaunt curs, summoned to the spot by a warning which meant the approachof a stranger, much as their clannish masters might have been in otheryears, mysteriously appeared from all sides and rushed forward, theirlips drawn back from threatening teeth, their bristling throats rumblingominously. 

Donald sharply commanded the likewise bristling Mike to keep to heel, threw his rifle to hip and backed hastily toward the cabin. He had nowish to employ his weapon, and as retreat was the other alternative, forhis companion's sake, if not his own, indeed, discretion seemed to be, by all odds, valor's better part. 

A noisy and exciting moment brought him to the cabin's door, still faceto the enemy. Fumbling behind him with his left hand, Donald found andlifted the latch. The door swung suddenly open under his weight, Mikescurried between his legs, and the combination resulted in his downfall, precipitate and sprawling. 

Simultaneously came a startled exclamation in a treble voice, theclatter of a fallen kettle and then a quick cry of pain. 

In an instant Donald had scrambled ungracefully to his feet and foundhimself face to face with a picture that he was destined never toforget. 

Backed by a big stone fireplace, in which the embers were glowingruddily, stood a young girl clad in a simple one-piece dress, which leftneck, arms and legs bare. One dusty, but dainty, foot was held betweenher hands, while she balanced on the other. A tumbling mass of richbrown curls, shot with gleaming threads like tiny rays of captivesunshine, fell, unbound, over her shoulders, and partly veiled achildlike face, tanned to an Indian brown and now twisted with pain, butnevertheless so startlingly sweet and appealing that the man gasped inastonishment. 

[Illustration: "ONE DUSTY, BUT DAINTY, FOOT WAS HELD BETWEEN HERHANDS"]

As it is with many who wear bluntness like a cloak, Donald possessed adeep-seated appreciation of the beautiful, without being capable ofexpressing it. But now he vaguely realized that here, where he wouldlast have looked for it, he had blundered upon a child whom MotherNature had designed lovingly and with painstaking care, perhaps in orderto satisfy herself that, in the bustle of creation which nowadays lefther little time for attention to fine detail, her hands had not whollylost the cunning which was theirs when the world was young and womenwere few and fair. 

Her face had the qualities of a sweet wild-flower, delicate of form yethardy enough to stand up under the stress of a storm. A critic mighthave declared the sensitive mouth a shade too broad for the taperinglines which formed the firmly rounded chin; he might have said that theupper lip, against which its companion was now tightly pressed to checkits trembling, was too short for classic beauty; but he would hardlyhave been able to find a flaw in the molding of the straight, slendernose or the broad forehead, or the cheeks which curved as symmetricallyas the petals of a damask rose, or--if he were human--with the faintshadows at the corners of the lips which were not dimples, butfascinatingly suggested them. But, above all, it was the child's eyes, heavy with a sudden rush of unshed tears that merely added to theirappealing charm, which left the strongest impression on the man. Theywere remarkable eyes, long of lash and of a deep blue with limpidpurple shadows and golden highlights. 

Her form, untrammelled by confining clothing and bending naturally, wasslender and lithesome, but full of curves which told that the bud ofchildhood was just beginning to open into the blossom of earlymaturity--about fifteen or sixteen years old, Donald guessed her to be. 

At her feet lay an overturned kettle the contents from which, a simplestew, was sending up a cloud of steam from the rough floor, andexplained the reason for the misty eyes and tenderly nursed ankle. 

The whole picture was graven on his mind in a single glance; but, thenext instant the sunniest, most appealing of smiles broke through thegirl's pain-drawn tears. 

"Yo' ... Yo' looked so funny a-fallin' over thet thar dawg, an'a-rollin' on the floor, " her words bubbled forth. 

"I'm glad that you have something to laugh about, but dev ... Deucedlysorry that I made you burn yourself, child, " answered Donald, awkwardly. "It must hurt like the ... The mischief, " he added, as he steppedforward to examine the injury with a quick return to his professionalmanner. 

"Wall, hit _do_ burn, kinder. But taint nothin'. " She sniffed bravely, but a tear overflowed its reservoir and made a channel through a smudgeon her cheek. 

"Well, I happen to be a doctor--when I'm not on a vacation--so I can doa little toward repairing the damage I caused. " He was alreadyunfastening the small first-aid kit which experience had taught himnever to go without. 

"Taint nothin', sir, really. I'll jest put some lard on hit, an' ... "began the girl, timidly backing away. 

Donald did not stop to argue, but placed his strong hands on either sideof her slender waist and lifted her lightly to the homemade table, whileshe gasped and again the wonderful smile, more shy this time, transformed her tear-stained face. In silence, and with flying, experienced fingers, the physician applied a soothing salve to theblotchy red, fast-swelling burn on the ankle, and deftly bandaged it. 

"There, " he said. "You won't know, in a few minutes, that anything hashappened. "

"Thank ye, sir, " said the girl, as he lifted her again and allowed herto slip gently to the floor. "Yo' shore knows how ter do up a foot. "

She hopped gingerly over to the fireplace, and began to clear up thewreck of supper, first calmly lifting the dog away from the steaming hotmeat which his quivering nose was inquisitively approaching. 

"Be careful. Mike might ... "

"Oh, he won't bite _me_. " She broke into his warning, and gave a playfultug at the coarse hair on the animal's neck. Somewhat to Donald'ssurprise, the dog wiggled ecstatically at the friendly advances and paidhis lowly homage by licking her bare foot. 

"Never mind that mess, I'll clean it up if you'll get me a shovel. Andof course I mean to pay for it, " said Donald hastily. 

"In course yo' won't do no sech thing. We-all's got plenty uvpertaties, --I growed 'em myself, --this yere meat haint hurt a mite, an'water's cheap, " she responded. "Yo' jest take a cheer, mister, an' yo'kin hev supper along with us as soon as grandpap comes, which'll beright soon, I reckon. We-all don't see stranger folks much up yere, an'he'll be plumb glad thet ye drapped in. " She tossed a morsel of meat tothe expectant Mike; then added shyly, "An' so be I. "

"Well, I certainly 'drapped, '" laughed Donald. "It looked as though allthe dogs south of the Mason-Dixon line had gathered to give Mike and mea warm, if not cordial, welcome, so we didn't stop to knock beforecoming in. "

"Lucky fer ye thet yo' struck a cabin whar the latch string air allusout, " she answered, her silver laughter echoing his. "I hadn't a' oughtter hev been so skeered, but I warn't payin' no attention ter all thebarkin', fer I jest allowed thet the dawgs hed treed a coon, er somep'n. Yo' see they haint exactly fond o' strangers, an' they be powerfulfierce. I reckon they'd hev gobbled Mike right up. "

Donald glanced affectionately at the wiry mass of bone and sinew whichwent to make the police dog every inch a warrior, and doubted it. Thechild had finished her task, and started the stew to heating again overthe fire, and now she turned, swept back the mass of curls from herheated face with a graceful motion of her shapely arm, and stoodregarding him with frank curiosity. Donald had no intention ofremaining longer, or accepting the hospitable invitation, but therewas a touch of romance in the adventure, and a strong appeal in thegirl herself, which caused him to hesitate, and linger to ask a fewquestions about the neighborhood and her life. When he did regretfullypick up his cap and rifle, and call the dog, who turned protestinglyfrom her-who-dispensed-savory-pieces-of-meat, he found that he hadsuffered the fate of all who hesitate, for a glance through the windowshowed him that, although the glowing, iridescent reflection from thewestern sky still lingered in the mountain top, embroidering its edgewith gold, it was fast fading, and already Night had spread her duskymantle over the eastern slope. Already darkness had blotted out thelower reaches. 

CHAPTER II

ENTER BIG JERRY

As Donald stopped, uncertain, there came the sound of measured, heavyfootfalls on the beaten dirt path outside the cabin. The girl's facelighted up joyfully; she hopped to the door, flung it open, and aslightly stooping, but gigantic, form stepped in out of the darkness, caught her up in his huge arms and submitted with a quizzical smilewhile she pulled his face toward hers by tugging at his long beard, andkissed him. 

Across the tumbled masses of her hair the newcomer's still piercing darkeyes, blinking a little under their shaggy brows as the fire leaped inthe draft from the open door, caught sight of Donald as he stood backamong the shadows. He straightened up suddenly, and his brows drewtogether in a suspicious scowl. 

The city man knew enough of the primitive code of the mountain people tounderstand that the presence of a man, --especially a strange man, --alonein the house with a young woman, was fraught with unpleasantpossibilities. But, before he could speak, the child-woman had launchedinto a vivacious, if ungrammatical, explanation and story of what hadoccurred. In substantiation she now raised her short skirt and liftedthe bandaged foot, with utter freedom from embarrassment, and laugheddeliciously until an answering smile crept slowly into the eyes of theold mountaineer. 

With a simple courtesy, which seemed to hold something of innatemajesty, he stepped forward, and extended a weatherbeaten hand, severalsizes larger than Donald's, and boomed out in a deep voice that matchedhis physical proportions, "Yo're suttinly welcome, stranger. Whathappened warn't no fault o' yourn, and I'm plumb obleeged ter ye ferfixin' up my granddarter's hurt. Draw up a cheer fer the stranger, Smiles, he'll jine us in a bite er supper. The fare's simple, but I warraised on't, and 'pears ter me thet I top ye some. "

"I should say that you did. You make me feel small, and it's not oftenany man does that ... Physically, I mean. "

The two clasped hands, and Donald winced as his own powerful fingerscracked under the crushing pressure of those of the older man, whoseemed to take a boyish delight in this display of his tremendousstrength. 

"What a colossus he is, " thought Donald, as he gritted his teeth to keepback the involuntary exclamation of pain, for, although the massiveshoulders and Jovian head of the mountaineer were stooped forward, hetowered fully three inches above the six foot city athlete, and hisiron-gray beard, rusted with tobacco juice about his mouth, swept overhis chest almost to his waist. 

"Thanks for the invitation, " he said aloud, as he covertly nursed hisright hand. "It's mighty kind of you, but I don't want to impose longer, and, besides, I'd better start back to Fayville before it gets darkaltogether. If you'll just tell me the most direct way, ... "

"Wall, I reckon the most _dee_rect way air ter go straight through thewoods thar a piece, an' then jump off'n a four hundred foot cliff, " theold man chuckled titanically. "But I likewise reckon taint pra'tical;leastwise, not onless yo' happen ter be one o' them new-fangledaviationeers I've hearn tell on. However, here ye be, an' here yo'regoin' ter stay twill atter supper. Come, child. Sot on another plate ferthe doctor man. "

"Donald MacDonald's my name, sir. "

"Peers like yo'r paw stuttered when he give yo' thet name, " laughed thegiant. "Mine's Jerry Webb--'Big Jerry, ' they mostwise calls mehyarerbouts. " There was simple pride in the nickname evident in hisvoice. 

"Of course, if you really want me to stay, I'd be glad enough to do it, Mr. Webb, although I don't like to cause any more trouble for Miss ... "

"'Rose' air the given name of my leetle gal, but folks gener'ly callsher Smiles, fer short. " The old man spoke with a noticeable tendernesstoning his big voice. 

"And there's no need of explaining the reason, " answered Donald in a lowaside so that the child, who was busy over the stewing kettle on itsprimitive crane, might not hear. "I never expect to see another to equalhers. "

His host sent a sharp glance at him, then, softening, it travelled tothe graceful form of the girl silhouetted against the ruddy glow of theopen fire, whose reflection outlined her warm flesh with a tint ofburnished copper. 

"Yes, " he responded simply. "Seems like, when thet leetle gal's sweetface lights up with a smile, hit's like a sunbeam a-breakin' through theleaves an' playin' on a waterpool in the quiet woods. "

"Oh, " interrupted Rose with a cry. "I done plumb ferget ter git the milkfrom Uncle Perly's, but 'twon't take more'n a minute. Kin I take Mike?"she added, pleadingly, as she buried her slim fingers in the rough hairon the dog's neck, while he stood sniffing acquaintance with the hugeboots and homespun pantaloons of the giant. 

"Sure; that is if you're not still afraid that the neighbors' dogs willmake a meal of him, " smiled Donald, and the object of the conversation, who seemed to sense its meaning, sprang eagerly erect and placed hisforepaws on the girl's breast. 

"No dawg haint a-goin' ter tetch him whilst he's with me, " she respondedwith quiet assurance. "Come, Mickey. "

"Which air a fact, " supplemented her grandfather, as girl and dogdisappeared with a rush and a bark. "Dumb beasts an' children worshipsSmiles--an' hit haint scarse to be wondered at, fer she love 'em all. An' she's more rememberful than her grandpappy. Yo' see, we don'tgener'ly hev milk fer our coffee, 'ceptin' when company comes. "

In some distress at this frank announcement, Donald said, "But I don'tlike to have you put yourselves out for me. I wouldn't have stayedif.... "

"Now, don't let thet idee disturb ye a mite. We're glad ter hev ye withus, an' what fer air friends ef hit haint ter be an excuse fer a leetleextry celebration? Set down, set down thar. "

Donald obeyed, and, while his host moved ponderously about, depositingthe contents of a bundle which he had brought, studied his surroundingscuriously. It was his first experience within a real "feud country"cabin, and he was interested to see how closely its appearance coincidedwith what his imagination had painted from reading fiction woven aboutthem. To his quiet delight he found that it might almost have served asan illustration for such a book, as, one by one, he mentally checked offthe salient features. There were the hand-hewn timbers of wall andunsheathed ceiling; the yawning rough stone fireplace with its wroughtiron crane, and, above it, a rifle whose unusual length proclaimed itsownership; the strings of dried herbs and red pepper pods--few, to besure, and dusty with age--suspended from the rafters; and, in onecorner, a crude ladder leading into the loft. 

Only one thing was missing, the wall-beds or bunks, for the hand ofcivilization had pointed to one improvement, and doors, obviously not apart of the original simple structure, opened into a small addition, roughly partitioned into two sleeping rooms. They were of equal size, but there was no need of labels to proclaim their occupants, for one wasso nearly filled with a bed which would have served for Golden Locks'biggest bear, that the rough clothing which was suspended from woodenpegs on the opposite wall hung against it, whereas the other contained, besides a narrow bed, a small chest of drawers with a cheap mirror aboveit, and a chair. The one window was draped with a daintily-floweredmaterial, which Donald decided was calico, a cover of the same materiallay across the chest, and on it--in the place of honor between an oldcomb and brush stood a small blue-and-white jar, whose cheaply glazedsurface caught the flicker of the fire and winked at him as though itwere aware of the absurdity of anything so trivial being held in suchhigh esteem. More of the "calico, " which really was an inexpensive buttasteful chintz, hung against the wall and served to hide from pryingeyes the child's meagre wardrobe, and a bow of it was perkily tied tothe back of the chair. 

Donald smiled his amusement and caught an answering grin on Big Jerry'sface. "She haint like we-all, " he said. "Wants ter hev bright an' purtythings erbout, an' ... " he lowered his voice, "durned ef she didn't makeme a _necktie_ of thet thar stuff--seen one on a 'furriner' once. " Thevisitor felt a warm satisfaction over the thought that his own costumedidn't include such excess adornment. 

"I put hit on ... Once, ter please her, but I reckon hit didn't makemuch of a showin' under _this_. " He ran his fingers reflectively throughhis heavy beard for a moment; then, with his voice still a fortewhisper, he added, "Say, stranger, I've got a leetle drap o' whiteliquor hid out in the woodshed whar Smiles kaint find hit, an' ef yo'ddelight ter wet yo'r throat afore she comes back, why ... "

The door flew open with a bang, and Rose and Mike tore in, panting anda-glitter with diamond drops of rain. Instantly the expression of simpleguile on the old man's face changed so ludicrously to one of overdoneinnocence that it was all Donald could do to keep from laughing. 

"Storm's a-comin', " cried the girl, gayly, while the dog rushed madlyaround the room, with his nose to the floor and barking hilariously, until his master seized him by the back and held him, squirming. A flashof distant lightning substantiated the announcement, and a few secondslater their ears caught the crescendo reverberations of thunder as itechoed down the valley. 

Mike growled uneasily and crouched close to his master's legs, but Roseran again to the door and stood, heedless of the rain which beat inupon her wind-whipped skirt, peering out with evident delight. A stillmore vivid, zigzag flash rent the serried masses of black storm-cloudswhich were rolling up over the mountain's top, edging the nearer onewith fire, and she laughed merrily and clapped her hands like a child. 

"Shet thet door, yo' young vixen, " bellowed Big Jerry, plainlydisturbed. The girl obeyed, and gave him a kiss, and the whining dog areassuring pat, as she hurried back to finish setting the table--asimple matter, for there was no spotless damask, glittering silver andcut glass to deck the white-scoured top of the plain slab which formed asubstantial table for many purposes. 

In a moment she had announced, quite informally, that supper was served;but, just as the two men arose to take their places, there came a long"hulloo-oo" above the sound of wind and rain. Again Rose dashed to thedoor, with the cry, "Why, thet's Judd Amos; I knows his call. "

Without reason or warning Donald experienced a quick tightening abouthis heart, the absurdity of which caused him to smile. What on earth wasit to him if this mountain child's color heightened a shade at afamiliar call in a masculine voice?

The next instant a tall youth, as lean and sinewy as an Indian, stumbledinto the room, with his rough coat about his head, and water streamingfrom his drenched clothing and the barrel of a gun, which was every whitas modern and efficient as Donald's own. 

"Gosh a'mighty, " he said. "Thought I'd be drownded, shore. Hit's a-goin'ter be a rip-snorter ... Worst storm er the summer, by the way hit'sstarted. " Then, as he dashed the rain from his eyes, and, for the firsttime caught sight of the visitor, he stopped short in none too pleasedsurprise, if the black look which went toward Donald from beneath hislowering brows meant anything. 

"Make ye acquainted with Donald MacDonald, a doctor man from the city, Judd, " boomed the giant's hearty voice. "Doc, shake hands with aneighbor uv ourn, Judd Amos. "

As Donald stood up he managed to silence Mike's throaty growl with awarning shove with his foot. The men formally clasped hands, their eyeslooking steadily into each other's from the same level, and this time, primed by his earlier experience, the city man exerted all of hisstrength, and felt a glow of childish satisfaction as the other winced. 

"Set ye down, Judd. Draw a cheer up by the fire, yo're soaked, " said BigJerry. "Honey-rose, " he added, addressing the girl in a wheedling tone, "Judd 'pears ter be powerful soaked an' cold. Kaint he ... Kaint we-allhev jest a drap o' white liquor?"

He stroked his beard and pushed aside his drooping mustache inanticipation, but to no avail, for her answer, uttered firmly and withno suggestion of a smile in her deep eyes this time, was, "'Deed yo'kaint; nary a drap. Yo' know, an' Juddy, _he_ knows ... " to Donaldthere seemed to be some special significance in her words, "thet tharhaint a-goin' ter be nary a drap o' thet devil's brew in house o' mine. Why, I be plumb s'prised at ye, grandpap. "

The tremendous old man rubbed his whiskers faster and hemmedapologetically. "In course I haint got none ... In the cabin ... " heglanced quickly at Donald, "an' I didn't mean nothin', Smiles. Come, swing yo'r cheer erround ter the table, Judd, we'll jest fergit theeeliments, an' enjoy a dry celebration in the doctor's honor ... All'cept Judd, he air plenty wet, " he added, in a jocose attempt to turnhis mistake into a jest. "Rose hurted her foot, an' doc, he done hit upfer her real nice. "

More bashfully than before, the girl extended the injured member in itsnow mud-bedraggled bandage for the newcomer's inspection. 

Donald had been watching the scene with quiet amusement over the child'sassurance, and had noticed not only the look of sorrowful resignation onher grandfather's face, but the dull flush which mounted the swarthycheeks of the younger man. Judd's mouth retained the straight line forsome time, but a quick burst of light-hearted song on Smiles' lips, asshe turned to dish up the savory stew, showed that the incident wasforgotten by her as soon as it was ended. 

"Better let me lift it down for you, " said Donald, as she swung thecrane with its heavy iron kettle from the fire. "We don't want any moreburns here to-night. "

He jumped up and acted on the words without giving the matter a thought, but it seemed to him that the girl's pleased, "Thank ye, sir, " was a bitembarrassed, and that the men regarded him with blank surprise. Not fora minute did it dawn upon him that his act had not been according to thecode of the mountains. 

They were all seated at last, but yet another surprise was in store forthe visitor, for Rose folded her hands, bent her head until the curlsveiled the glowing face, and began a simple blessing. Big Jerry sat boltupright with his eyes screwed up ludicrously, and, although Judd benthis head the merest fraction, it was with obvious embarrassment, and hisflashing optics kept sending suspicious glances at the "furriner" asthough to discover if he were laughing at them all. In fact, nothing wasfurther from Donald's mind. It had been long since he had partaken of ameal at which grace was said, but the simple, homely words touched achord of memory and made it vibrate to a note which brought both painand pleasure. 

The host's stentorian "Amen" was the signal for attack, and for a timethe business of satisfying the demands of healthy hunger was paramountto all things else. It was no feast of wit and wisdom, but of something, for the time being, more desirable, and the application of the otherthree gave Donald an opportunity to study covertly the unusual group ofwhich he had so unexpectedly become a part. 

Although he was essentially a man of action, his brusqueness of mannerwas, in part at least, a pose which had become unconscious, and, deepwithin his heart, in a chamber carefully locked from the gaze of hisfellow men, dwelt Romance and Imagination--the spirit gifts of a mother, whose death, five years before, had brought him his first black grief. Had this visioning power been lacking in him he could never haveaccomplished the modern miracles which he had already wrought many timesin constructive and restorative surgery. Now, the spirit of imagery inhis soul was stirred by something in the romantic unreality of hissurroundings--the rude, yet interesting room which served all familypurposes save that of slumber; the mellow radiance from a crude lamp andthe ever-changing light of the open fire; the long, wavering shadowswithin the cabin; and, without, the banshee wailing of the storm windaround the eaves, the occasional crash of thunder, the creaking of limbsand fitful dashes of rain. He found himself leaning back in his chairand mentally attempting to dissect and study not the bodies, but thepersonalities, of the three who were the representatives of a type, inmanners and customs at least, new to him. 

In his boyhood, and before the pressing demands of his profession hadenslaved him, Donald had been an insatiate reader, and now heendeavored to recall to memory some of the stories which he had readabout this strange people, whose dwelling place was within the limits ofthe busy, progressive East, yet who were surprisingly isolated from itby natural barriers, and still more so by traditions slow to perish. Pure of stock he knew them to be, for their unmixed blood had had itsfountain source in the veins of some of America's best and earliestsettlers; primitive in their ideals, strong in their simple purposes andpassions, the products of, and perhaps even now factors in, blood feudswhose beginnings dated back generations. And, although he laughed athimself for his imaginings as he remembered that the twentieth centurywas ten years old, he found himself assigning both the men places in hismemory picture. 

Big Jerry, slow of speech, patriarchal in looks and bearing, powerful inbody, became, to his mind's eye, the venerable chieftain of a mountainclan. Judd, with his aquiline face, which was undoubtedly handsome in adark, brooding way, beneath its uncombed shock of black hair which sweptlow over his forehead, sinewy with the strength, quickness and muck ofthe natural grace of a panther, was the typical outlaw of the hills. 

CHAPTER III

AN INNOCENT SERPENT IN EDEN

Donald turned his appraising gaze upon the child, and here the illusionyielded to another, quite different. 

Even her primitive dress, her unbound hair, her crude forms of speechand soft, drawling intonation--such as the throaty, unvaryingpronunciation of "the" as though it were "ther, " and "a" like"er"--which sounded so deliciously odd to his New England ears, couldnot erase from his mind the impression that she did not belong in thepicture. To be sure he had, during his tramps, already seen many a wildmountain flower so delicately sweet that it seemed out of place amid itsstern environment. But Rose affected him differently, although thedifference was subtle, indefinable. 

In the company of the men he was conscious of the reserve which one ofhis type instinctively feels when first in the presence of people ofanother race or class. With her he was already wholly at his ease. Donald finally attributed this to the fact that she was, after all, merely a child--one of a class which is akin the world over, and whichhe understood better than any other. 

As the simple meal progressed, Big Jerry began to ply the visitor withquestions, and press him to talk on many subjects connected with thewide world of men; and, as Donald's natural reticence yielded to thenaïve interrogations, he answered with a readiness which somewhatsurprised even himself. The child ate little; but sat with her elbows onthe table, her firmly rounded chin resting on her clasped hands, anddrank in his words. Her luminous eyes were fixed on his face, andexpressions of wonder and delight chased each other across her owncountenance, like wavering light and shade on a placid pool. 

Judd, too, remained silent, ill at ease, and his dark, morose eyes evershifted from the face of the man to that of the girl. Once, while Donaldand his host were engaged in an animated discussion, he awkwardlyattempted to draw Rose into personal conversation; but he relapsed againinto moody silence when he received a frank, though smiling, rebuff. Clearly the meal was not an enjoyable one for him. 

All things of human invention come to an end, and at last Big Jerrylifted his towering frame from his chair to indicate that the supper wasover. With obvious relief Judd crossed to the door and, opening it, announced that the storm had nearly passed. It was still raining, however. 

"Ef yo' air goin' back ter the village, stranger, I'll be pleased tersot ye on yo'r way, " he announced as he drew on his coat, and toDonald's mind the sentence carried an unmistakable _double entente_. 

Nevertheless he answered promptly, "Thanks, I'd be much obliged if youwould. Perhaps Mr. Webb can spare me a lantern, too, since these pathsare unfamiliar to ... "

"Sho, yo haint a-goin' out er this house ter-night, friend, " broke inthe old man. "Leastwise, ef yo'r willin' ter put up with sechaccommodations as the loft room offers ye. Thar haint no sense of yertakin' er five-mile walk through them drenched bushes, an' gittin'soaked yerself. "

"In course yer goin' ter stay, " echoed the girl, with childlike delight. "Besides, I wants ter hear lots more erbout the city an' city folks. "

"But I have already imposed enough on your hospitality, " protestedDonald, hesitatingly, since the invitation held a strong appeal for him. 

"Yo' haint imposed at all. Set yo'rself down. I shore appreciates yo'rcompany. "

Judd scowled from the doorway, then flung back over his shoulder ashort, "Wall, I reckon I'll be startin' home now, " and, without furtherwords, he went out, closing the door behind him with unnecessaryviolence. Donald said nothing, but he was frankly amused; for it wasvery apparent that the young mountaineer felt that he had a proprietaryinterest in Rose, and was undisguisedly jealous of the stranger who washeld in such high favor. 

Rose, however, lost no time thinking of her lover, --if lover she regardedhim, --but flew about the final household duties, humming happily, andnow and then breaking into unfinished snatches of song like a wild woodbird. Evidently the slight burn no longer troubled her and was alreadyforgotten. 

Her work finished, she joined the two men, who were smoking their pipesbefore the blazing fire, and seated herself crosslegged at hergrandfather's feet. Mike got up leisurely from his post beneath hismaster's chair, stretched forward and back, yawned prodigiously, andthen lay down with his shaggy head on the girl's bare legs. As Donaldtalked, Rose played with the dog, rolling him over and rubbing hisunderbody until his mouth opened in a grotesque animal imitation of herown wonderful smile, which constantly flashed to her lips like a ray oflight, only to vanish as swiftly, and leave its slowly fading afterglowin her deep eyes. 

"Dr. Mac, " said the child timidly, during a moment of contented silence, her natural use of his intimate nickname, both startling and pleasingDonald, "yo-all allowed thet yo' doctored children mostly. I lovesbabies more'n anything else in the world, 'ceptin' only grandpap;they're so purty an' sweet an' helpless-like, thet I reckon the Lordloves 'em powerful, an' the' haint nothin' finer then takin' keer of'em. "

Donald nodded with pleasure, and the girl continued, dreamily:

"I allows thet, when God made people an' put the breath o' life interthem, he hadn't quite got outer his mind what he done on an earlier day, an' was jest improvin' on hit; fer hit sorter seems ter me thet big menan' women air like growin' trees, fashioned fer ter stand up agin thereliments an' storms most times; but babies air like tiny leetleflowers--so weak an' tender thet we hev ter take mighty good keer of'em. Don't yo' never feel, somehow, like yo' was tendin' a gyarden ofpurty flowers, an' a-drivin' away the grubs an' bugs what would make 'emwilt an' die?"

"To be sure I do, my child, " he answered, wondering if she realized howapt was her simile, since most disease is, indeed, caused by "bugs an'grubs. " "And many people, with imaginations like yours, have feltexactly the same. Did you ever read a poem called 'The Reaper'? No, Isuppose not, " he added, as the girl shook her curls, while a wistfullook crept into her eyes. 

"It was written by Longfellow, a very famous poet who used to live nearmy home city of Boston, and no man ever loved little children betterthan he did. I had to learn the verses years ago when I was a schoolboy, and I remember the first of them still:--

 "'There is a Reaper, whose name is Death, And, with his sickle keen, He reaps the bearded grain at a breath, And the flowers that grow between. '

"For--he has the Reaper say--the Lord has need of the pretty flowers tomake his garden in Heaven more bright and fair. "

"I never thought er thet, " said the girl seriously, "but I reckon hit'sso. Grandpap's bearded like the grain, but somehow he 'pears ter me morelike er big pine tree, fer grain bends before ther wind, an' he haintnever bent ter no storm. "

"And I? Am I a tree, too, " queried Donald with amusement. 

She studied him judiciously and then answered with quiet assurance, "Yo're the oak. Hit don't bend, neither. "

"And yourself?"

"Why, " she laughed, "I'm jest a rose like my name. A rose jest growrn'inter er bush. "

"To be sure you are. Except that roses have thorns. "

"I hev thorns, too, " she said with conviction, and Donald doubtedit--then. 

"I should plumb love ter take keer of babies an' make 'em well an'strong like yo' do, " she went on pensively. 

"Perhaps you may, someday. You'll have babies of your own. "

"Yes, " was her simple reply, "I shall have babies ter love an' keer for, but I meant thet I wanted ter help all little children. "

"A children's nurse, perhaps, like those who work with me, " and he wenton to tell her graphically of the wonderful things done at theChildren's Hospital, upon the staff of which he was. 

Rose listened, as enchanted as a child with a fairy story, --and indeedsuch it was, a modern fairy tale wherein medicine was a magic potion, and the merciful knife a magic wand. Told in simple language which shecould understand, his story of the work in which his very life was boundup seemed to her like an epic, and, when he paused, she drew her breathwith a sigh of keen delight, and cried, "Oh, granddaddy. Haint thet awonderful thing fer ter do? I shorely wants ter be a trained nurse likethet when I grows up. "

"Perhaps you will, some day, who knows?" said Donald thoughtlessly. 

"An' what would this hyar old pine do without the rosebush blossomin'close beside him? What would the leetle wild mountain flowers hyaraboutsdo without thar Smiles ter take keer o' them?" asked the old mantenderly, but with a hidden undercurrent of distress. 

"But ef I could larn ter take _better_ keer o' them ... " began the girl. 

The old man moved uneasily, then said, "Wall, yo're only a leetlerosebud yerself now, an' hit's more'n time yo' closed up fer the night. Run erlong ter bed, hon. "

Obedient, but a little rebellious, Rose got up slowly, kissed thestrong, weather-scarred cheek of the old man and turned toward the doorof her room. 

"Good night, Smiles, " called Donald. She hesitated a moment, then ranback to him with childish impetuosity, flung her slender arms about hisneck and kissed him, too, whispering, "I loves ye, Dr. Mac, fer thet yo'loves little children. "

The frank embrace embarrassed him a little, and he felt the thrill of analmost unknown glow in his heart. Many a time his patients--even thoseas old as Rose--had kissed him thus; but something in her act left a newimpression. Judged by the standards of the mountain folks she was almosta woman, and he knew it. 

Mike pattered to her door as it closed, scratched upon it with a lowwhine, and then lay down close against it. 

There was a moment's silence in the room as the men, each busy with hisown thoughts, puffed steadily. Then Big Jerry carefully knocked theashes from his pipe and remarked, "Hit haint no fault er yourn, stranger; but I haint altergether pleased at ther thoughts yo'r comin'hes placed in my leetle gal's head. She won't easy ferget what yo' donetold her, an' ... An' I couldn't bear fer ter lose her. "

"I'm sorry. I spoke without thinking that it might result in herbecoming discontented, " answered Don. "To-morrow I'll try to make herunderstand--what is a fact--that although her loving heart might be everso eager, her ways and those of the city are so utterly different thatshe couldn't possibly hope to go there and become a nurse such as Idescribed. You understand what I mean. "

"Yes, an' I'd be powerful obleeged ter ye, friend, " replied the old manwith evident relief. "Hit's es yo' say. Rose air er mountain gal bybringin' up, ef not by birth, an' 'tis hyar thet she rightfully belongsnow. "

CHAPTER IV

"SMILES"

"'Not by birth?'" echoed Donald, in surprise. "But I thought that shewas your granddaughter?"

"An' so she be--or perhaps my darter, " hastily answered Jerry, realizinghis error too late. "I reckon I shouldn't hev told ye, " he added indistress. 

"Don't let any such idea worry you, Mr. Webb. Where she came from isnothing to me, and, indeed, after to-morrow I shall probably never seeher again. I've got to admit, though, that you have aroused mycuriosity, and I'd like to hear the story that's behind her presencehere, if you are willing to tell it. "

The giant hesitated, then said slowly, "Wall, I kaint think of no reasonwhy yo' shouldn't hyar hit. Hit happened this erway. 

"Twar one mornin', thirteen summers ergone, an' I war ergunnin' down inther woods er piece, not fur from ther Swift River. I rekerlect hit warer purty mornin', with ther dew still er-clingin' ter ther grass, an'sparklin'--like jewels, an' ther wood birds war singin' like they warspecial happy. I clumb erround er big rock, an' all of er sudden Iseen--I seen er leetle mite of er gal, standin, thar, jest es still esstill. She warn't more'n three year old, I jedged, an' she suttinlycome from ther city, fer her leetle dress warn't like none I'd everseen--hit hed sorter loose panterloons ter hit, an', although her legswar bare--an' all scratched an' bleedin'--thar war tiny socks an' shoeson 'em. Thar war tears in her big blue eyes an' on her purty cheeks, butshe warn't cryin' none, then. No, sir; she war jest erstandin' an'erlookin' up ter whar a robin war singin' in an oak tree, an' her leetlemouth war open fer all ther world like a rosebud. Wall, es I stood thar, erwatchin' like I'd seen er fairy, she smiles--yo' know thet smile ofher'n, like a rainbow breakin' fer er minute through the rain, an' thenfadin' erway slow?

"I calls ter her sorter soft-like, an' dang me ef she didn't comewalkin' right up ter me, not a mite erfeered. She made a funny leetlebow, held out her chubby hand an' says, 'How do ye do, big man. Hev yeseen my pappa an' mamma?'

"I tuck her on my knee, an' leetle by leetle--fer she couldn't talkmuch--she told me thet they come from a great, big city whar war'lectric and steam cyars an' policemen, fer ter play in the woods, an'thet her pappa an' mamma hed gone out on the water in a boat ter ketch afish fer baby's breakfast. Thar boat hed runned erway with her pappa an'mamma, she said, an' they war settin' in hit cryin'. 

"I reckoned what hed happed ter them, fer tharerbouts the Swift Riverair a most deceevin', treetcherous stream, what looks innocent, but hesa powerful swift current what don't show. City folks haint no businesster go campin' in woods thet they don't know nothin' erbout, " heinterpolated. 

"Wall, I left the leetle gal ersettin' on the rock, an' runned es fastes ever I could down stream ter the rapids. Her folks warn't nowhar terbe seen, but I found part of thar canoeboat, smashed ter splinters, an'I guessed the rest. " He paused, and smoked steadily for some time beforecontinuing. 

"In course the baby couldn't tell us much, 'ceptin' thet her name warRose. She didn't remember the name of the city whar they come from, butshe said thet erfore they come inter the woods, she slept all night on atrain. 

"We found ther campin' outfit of her paw an' maw, an' whar hit stood Ibuilt up a leetle mound with a sorter cross on hit, in thar memory. 

"In course, I tried ter find out arterwards whar they come from, but hitwarn't no sorter use. Thar war no address on anything in the tent orthar spare-close, and no one hed seen them in Fayville or tharerbouts, so I reckoned thay come clar ercross the mountains from Kentuck. Mebbe, ef I hed hed more money, I mought hev found out erbout them; but us warpowerful po'r them days. An'--mebbe, again, hit war wrong--but maw an'me couldn't holp thinkin' thet the leetle gal war sent us by the goodLord, fer we didn't hev no children, hevin' lost a leetle gal jesterbout es old es Smiles, ten years back. "

"I don't think that you have any cause for reproaching yourself, Mr. Webb, " broke in Donald, reassuringly. "It seems to me that you did allyou could do, under the circumstances. Certainly the child wasfortunate, for you have been very kind to the little waif. "

"We war mostly kind ter ourselves, " was Big Jerry's simple rejoinder. "She shorely hes been a ray of sunshine in this hyar cabin--'speciallysince maw died three years ergone, since when Rose hes taken keer ofhit, an' me. She air a leetle mite of a tyrant, et times, but I reckonI'm ther better fer hit. 

"Wall, we brung her up like our own flesh an' blood, but altho' shecalled my woman 'Maw', she allus called me 'Grandpappy. ' An' we didn'tnever try ter make her fergit her real paw an' maw, an' everybirthday--leastwise we calls ther day she come ter us her birthday--sheputs wild flowers on the mound I made. She's growed up like the otherchildren hyar, and 'twar them what fust called her Smiles; but 'twarntlong erfore maw an' me sorter got inter the habit of doin' hit too, ferhit suits her right well. "

The speaker became silent, his memory dwelling in scenes of the dimmingpast, while Donald's thoughts were busy with the story which he had justheard. The inherent difference between _her_ personality and that of theaverage mountain girl was explained. The curtsy which she--athree-year-old baby--had made Big Jerry, seemed to indicate that shehad been a flower of city hothouse culture before being transplanted tothe wilds, and there growing up, in outward semblance at least, inconformity with her environment. But, Donald felt, within the child layan ineradicable strain of breeding, making her different from theseothers, an inherited fineness of soul of which her peculiar charm wasevidence. 

A little later his host arose, and said with native courtesy, "I reckonyo're tired enough ter want ter go ter bed, stranger, an' I'll show yeter yo'r loft room. "

The pair bade each other good-night, and Donald climbed the homemadeladder to his resting place beneath the roof, on which the rain wasstill keeping up a continuous patter. He felt that he was weary enoughso that no rocking was needed to induce slumber, but it was neverthelesssome time before he really fell asleep. And when he did it was with themental picture of the child's smile, like a quickly vanishing sun-riftin the mist, before his closed eyes. 

 * * * * *

Donald was awakened the next morning by the sound of laughing voices, and Mike's hilarious barking, outside his little window. Looking throughit he beheld a delightful picture. On the dew-sprinkled grass of thelittle clearing about the cottage were merrily romping the dog, Rose anda small child. Beyond, lay the mountain's wooded descent, rich invariegated greens and seemingly rising like an island shore from a seaof pearly vapor, tinted with delicate mauve, rose and amber by the sun, which had itself not yet risen above the valley mist. Scrambling intohis outer garments, the man ran down to join them in their game. 

"Look out, er yo'll git yo're feet wetted, Mr. Doctor man, " cried Rosegayly, as she drew her own bare foot through the grass and held itforward shining with dew. 

"Do you think a little thing like wet feet would stop me from gettinginto the game?" he answered. "And you called me a sturdy oak! Who is thelittle buttercup?" he added, looking at the child whose shock of brightgolden curls made his nickname an apt one. 

"She's Lou, Judd's leetle sister, an' her house air jest over tharbeyond ourn. Yo' guessed rightly, she _air_ one er my flower children, ain't ye, honey-sweet?" Rose dropped to her knees in the wet grass, andgathered the bashful child against her tenderly. The baby buried herface in her friend's neck without speaking, and in a moment Rose stoodup, saying, "We-all thinks a heap er Lou, 'specially Judd. "

"I've got a little niece at home just about Lou's age. Her name isMuriel. Would you like to hear about her and her playthings? She's got atiny pony and cart, " he said, and soon the child was sitting in his lap, listening wide-eyed to the description of dolls who opened and shuttheir eyes, and wonderful mechanical toys which walked and turnedsomersaults, monkeys which climbed poles and other equally incrediblethings. 

"He air a funny man, an' he tells funny stories, " giggled the child, when Donald had exhausted his memory and imagination. "In course tharhain't no sech things. "

"Indeed thar _air_, ef he says thar air, " chided Rose with implicitfaith in her friend. 

"What, doll babies thet open an' shet thar eyes, an' say 'maw' an' 'paw'like weuns, Smiles?" asked the baby, unconvinced. 

"Wait until I go back home, and I'll send you one that can do every oneof those wonderful things, " laughed Donald. "I mean to send Rose apresent, too. "

"Oh, " cried the latter, "I shall be more'n obleeged ter ye. "

"What would you like best, " he asked. 

She thought seriously a moment, then said, "I reckon I should like besta white dress an' cap, like the nurses wear. "

Donald experienced a pang of regret, but responded lightly, "Very well, that shall be yours, and I'm also going to send you a little book ofpoems called 'The Child's Garden of Verses', written by another man wholooked on babies as flowers, too. "

At this moment the sound of quick footsteps caused them to look up. JuddAmos was coming around the side of the cottage, and the night hadapparently not taken the black look from his countenance. 

"Oh, Juddy, " cried the baby, wriggling free of Donald's arms. "Thet manthar air er goin' ter send me er doll baby thet opens an' shets hitseyes, Juddy. "

"We're obleeged ter ye; but I reckon thet I kin buy Lou all the presentsshe needs, " said Judd gruffly. "Yo' maw wants ye ter come ter breakfast, sis, " he added, and picked the baby up in his long arms, giving her anundoubtedly affectionate hug as he saw that the tears had sprung to hereyes. 

"That's nonsense, " snorted Donald angrily, as Judd disappeared with hisburden. "I'll send the doll to you--along with the dress and book--andhe can't stop _you_ from giving it to her. "

"I reckon he _kaint_, " Rose responded with eyes flashing. "I kin makeJudd Amos do jest whatsoever I tells him. " And Donald thought that sheprobably spoke the truth. 

"Haint we a-goin' ter hev no breakfast this mornin'?" came Big Jerry'sdeep voice, toned to assumed anger, as he appeared with an armful ofwood, and, laughing merrily, Rose blew him a kiss and disappearedwithin-doors. 

During the morning meal, which was quickly prepared, the girl talkedcontinually of the delights of being a children's nurse, and as heobserved the look of worry on the old man's face, Donald determined toput an end to the child's rosy, but impossible, dream as soon aspossible. His duty was plain enough, even if he had not given hispromise to Rose's grandfather; yet the more he saw of her the strongergrew the unbidden thought of what a wonderful woman she would make ifshe could be taken to the city and given the advantages of education. 

His opportunity came when, breakfast over, Big Jerry started for thedoor, announcing that he would be back in a few moments. 

"I'll wait for you to return before I go, and talk to the child as Iagreed, " said Donald, in an undertone. The old man nodded hisunderstanding. 

Hardly knowing how to commence, Donald turned to the girl and saidhesitatingly, "Little Rose, I've got to go along in a few moments, butfirst I must tell you something which I'm afraid will cause youdisappointment. "

Smiles stepped close to him, with her large eyes filled with a surprisedquestion. 

"It is this. I wish, indeed, that you might grow up to be a nurse forlittle children, such as my story last night set you to dreaming ofbeing, but, although I'm sure you would be a splendid one, it isimpossible, you know, dear. "

"Why haint hit possible?" she demanded. 

"Well, you see, dear child, nurses of that sort have to study and knowalmost as much as doctors. They have to train--go to school in thehospital, that is--for three years. "

"But I haint erfeered ter work. I _wants_ ter study, an' larn, " shecried eagerly. 

"Yes, I know, but ... Well, it costs a lot of money in the first place;nurses don't get any pay while they're learning, and they have todeposit three hundred dollars before they can take the course, onehundred each year. Besides that, they have to have a good education tostart with. Probably you don't know what is meant by a 'High School, 'but a girl must have gone through one--studied steadily for twelve orthirteen years--or at least have an equivalent amount of education, before she can hope to enter the Children's Hospital. "

"Wha ... What do 'equivalent' mean?" she asked, with her lips beginningto tremble a little from disappointment. 

"It means that you would have to know as much as though you had gonethrough a High School, and be able to pass an examination proving thatyou do. "

Very slowly Rose turned back to recommence her work, and Donald sensed, rather than saw, that the tears were very near to the surface. Anotherroseate dream of childhood had been ruthlessly shattered, and he hatedhimself for having witlessly engendered it in her mind, since it couldonly be born to die unrealized. 

When she spoke again, it was to say with a telltale quaver in hersubdued voice, "I reckon thet us mountain folks kaint never doworthwhile things, fer all sech take er mighty lot er larnin'. "

"There are two kinds of learning in this world, Rose, one of the mind, and the other of the heart. And without the benefits which come from thelatter, the things of the former would be of little use. You may be surethat helping one's neighbors, as you are always helping yours; beinghappy yourself and making others contented and happier, and bringingsmiles to the lips of friends by the example of your own sweet smile;are things very much worth while, " said Donald, haltingly, but withsincerity. He placed his arm about her slender shoulder, with thehalf-hope that she would accept his comfort, and perhaps cry out thelast of her disappointment with her head on his breast. Instead, sheturned sharply away and went on with the work she had started, and theman followed her grandfather outside, realizing that hers, like mostbattles within the soul, must be fought out alone. 

In a few moments, and while he was still talking to Big Jerry, Rosejoined them on the stoop. A quick glance at her flowerlike face toldDonald that her childish--but none the less real--grief was banished, for a smile of victory curved her lips. 

"Ef ye haint a-goin' ter the city right away, doctor, " said his host, "we would be downright pleased ter hev ye come up ergin. I've come terlike ye right well. "

"Indeed I shall--come every day if I may, for you and little Rose seemlike old friends of mine already. And, when I do go back next week, youmay be sure that I shall not forget either of you, or your hospitality. "

He picked up his rifle regretfully, whistled to Mike, who came boundingto him, but whose tail drooped ludicrously when he understood by canineinstinct that the call meant separation from his new comrade, and with afinal good-bye wave, struck off into the woods. 

CHAPTER V

GIVING AND RECEIVING

The call of the Jungle Folk, "Good hunting, " was not fulfilled duringDonald's day in the forest. Game there was aplenty, but he made clumsywork of following the fresh tracks in the wet wood mould, and missed theone wild creature that he saw, for he shot at it rather by instinct thandesign, and was not sorry that his bullet went wide. Indeed, love of theout-of-doors and the thrill of the chase, rather than the wish to slay, drew him into the woods for his brief respites from work and forrecreation each summer. He seldom killed except for food; the convulsivepain-drawn death struggle, the cry of mortal agony, and the despairinglook in the glazed eyes of dumb, stricken animals held no fascinationfor him. He saw too much of such things among human beings. 

The day, truly, was a glory. The storm of the previous night had clearedand revivified the air, which, for many days, had been oppressivelysultry; the irregular patches of sky, glimpsed through the branches, were a transparent blue; the springy ground was bright with wildblossoms and colorful berries, --dogwood and service berry, --adder'stongue, bleeding heart and ferns in rich profusion. His subconscioussenses drank in the manifold beauties, but his active mind was otherwiseengaged. 

To-day the solitude, usually so appealing, so restful after fiftywork-filled weeks amid the noisy turmoil of the city's life, lackedsomething of its customary charm and satisfaction. The man found himselfwith a real longing for the companionship of the simple old man and theintimate appeal of the child, whose acquaintance he had enjoyed for afew hours only. It was on them, rather than on his present occupation, that his thoughts were bent. 

At last approaching night found him safely back in the valley village, where the keeper of the primitive boarding house expressed hersolicitation over his prolonged absence, as she handed him severalletters which had arrived the day previous. One epistle, from hisassociate physician, Dr. Bentley, carried a pressing plea that he returnto Boston as soon as possible, and perform a difficult operation. Thecall was so urgent that Donald regretfully concluded that duty demandedhis compliance. 

He determined, however, not to leave without paying a final visit to hisnew friends, and, soon after sun-up the following morning, set forth forBig Jerry's cabin, carrying, as a present for Rose, a woven sweetgrassbasket filled with such simple confections as the general storeafforded. Nor had he forgotten a generous supply of pipe tobacco for hergrandfather. 

Donald plunged into the woods and headed for Swift River, whose broken, winding course he followed upward until he reached the rapids of rushingmolten silver and the low, but dangerous, fall which marked the spot ofthe early tragedy in the child's life. As he stood there, cap in hand, the sound of a low treble voice in song fell on his ears, coming from aplace not far distant. 

Some one, alone under the cathedral arches of the forest, was softlychanting the words of the simple, familiar hymn, "Nearer, My God, toThee, " and, impelled by the unusualness of the thing at such an hour andin such a place, Donald moved quietly forward until the solitary singerwas in view. 

It was Rose. She was kneeling beside a low, rounded mound covered withfresh-gathered forest vines, and sprinkled with wild flowers. 

The meaning of the picture flashed at once into the man's mind. This wasthe "birthday" of little Smiles--the anniversary of her advent to a newlife--and this her yearly pilgrimage of love and filial homage to thosebarely remembered two who had given her being. 

Donald waited in silence, leaning against a concealing tree trunk, untilthe child had ended her act of simple devotion by throwing an unaffectedkiss from her finger tips, not towards the dead earth, but upwards tothe spirit world above. 

[Illustration: "SHE WAS KNEELING BESIDE A LOW, ROUNDED MOUND"]

Then, as she arose and moved slowly away, her light step barelydisturbing the grass, Donald followed and overtook her. The girl'sgreeting, although more subdued than on the morning before, was none theless delighted, and, with her hand snuggled warmly in his, they madetheir way to the cabin. 

"I bids ye welcome, doctor, " sang out Big Jerry, as he caught sight ofthem. "Hit shor' air a fine day fer ter spend in ther woods. "

"And I cannot spend it there, " answered Donald, ruefully. "I've beencalled back to the city to attend a little sick patient, and leaveFayville on the noon train. "

"Wall, now, thet air too bad, an' hit's mighty kind er ye ter come wayup hyar erfore yo' left, " said the old man, while the girl's newdisappointment, caused by the announcement, was evident enough withoutverbal expression. 

"I brought you a package of tobacco, a little token of my appreciationfor your kindness to me night before last, Mr. Webb; and Rose a'birthday' gift, just a few sweets in a basket which I found at thestore, and which struck me as pretty. "

Jerry stumblingly expressed his gratitude for the present, and Roseunconsciously curtsied, much as she must have thirteen years before. Herlips and eyes smiled her shy thanks, but it appeared to Donald thatmischievous amusement struggled with appreciation in her look. 

"Something seems to be amusing you, little lady. Let me into thesecret, " said Donald. 

Her silvery laughter broke from her lips, as she answered, "I'm shor'obleeged fer the compliment yo' paid thet basket. I made hit myself. "

"_You_ did? Why, it's wonderful, but it looks as though I'd beencarrying coals to Newcastle. Newcastle is the name of a town in Englandwhere a great deal of coal comes from, " he hastened to add, inexplanation. 

"Like kerryin' water ter the river. I makes them leetle baskets oddtimes, an' sells 'em ter the storekeeper in Fayville, but I never hevnone fer myself, somehow, an' I haint never a-goin' ter part with thishyar one, leastwise ef I kin keep hit. "

"Of course you may. It's my present to you just the same; but don't beafraid that it is meant to take the place of the other things I havepromised you. "

While he had been talking to the child, Big Jerry had picked up Donald'srifle, and now stood caressingly running his hand down the blue-blackbarrel, and over the polished black walnut stock. 

Its owner watched him with inward amusement, yet fully understanding thewoodman's love for a perfect weapon. As an ordinary man would lift achild's airgun, the giant tossed the rifle to a firing position, snuggled the butt against his shoulder, and leaned his gray-beardedcheek on it affectionately. Finally he lowered it regretfully to theground, and remarked, with the suggestion of a sigh, "This hyar shor'air a mighty purty weepon, doctor. I reckon she'll drap a bullet purtynigh whar hit's aimed ter go. "

"Try it, " encouraged Don, catching a look of almost boyish delight crossthe old man's face. 

"Air she loaded? I haint right familiar with these hyar repeatin' guns, with thar leevers an' sich. "

The other threw a cartridge into the breech, and handed the weapon over, with the remark, "She shoots a trifle high, compared with the averagerifle, I've found--perhaps an inch at a hundred yard range. "

"Thank ye, sir, " replied Jerry, and added simply, "I reckon I'll jestchip the top off'n thet big rock erfore the oak tree, yonder. " With thelast word came the gun's flash, and to Donald's amazement he saw a tinycloud of white dust rise from the peak of the boulder. 

Rose was already running lightly towards the target accompanied by theexcited Mike, and her twinkling legs held such fleetness that thetrained athlete barely caught up with her as she finished the dash, andtriumphantly laid her finger on a leaden mark across the stone. 

"Good Lord, " gasped Donald, as Big Jerry approached more sedately, "Ithought that I could shoot some, but that ... That beats anything I eversaw in the West, or on the stage. And with an unfamiliar gun, too. "

"She shoots erbout ther same ter the left, too, " commented the marksmanjudiciously. "But et thet she air a moghty fine rifle-gun, an' I shor'would be pleased ter own her, only I reckon yo' haint anxious ter sell. "

"I'd as soon think of selling Mike, or any other of my good friends, "promptly responded Donald, whereat a quick shadow of disappointmentcrossed the old man's countenance. 

"I erpreciates the feelin' thet ye hev fer hit, " he said as he handed itback. "Er gun air mighty nigh like blood kin ter a hunter. "

"But we sometimes part even with certain of our kindred when the rightman comes along whom we can trust to love, honor and cherish them, "laughed the younger man. "And, since I feel that I would be insultingthat gun to fire it again after the way _you_ fired it, I'm going tohonor it by giving it to you. "

"Why ... Why, in course I'm mightily obleeged ter ye, doctor; but I jestcouldn't think of acceptin' hit from ye, " stammered Big Jerry, struggling between the dictates of honor and insatiate desire. 

"Don't say another word, my good friend; she's yours and I have severalothers at home. Only please don't use it in any shooting feuds--if thereare such things still in existence nowadays. Since my profession is tosave human lives, I mustn't have a part in the taking of them even byproxy, you know. " Don's eyes were laughing. 

"Yo' hev no cause fer worriment erlong thet line, " earnestly answeredJerry, as he patted the rifle, cradled in the crook of his arm like achild. "My fightin' day air over, praise ter Gawd. Thar war a time whenI war sorter proud of ther notch thet's cut in the stock er my fust gun;but now ... Wall, I'd give a good deal ef 'twarn't thar. I figgers, nowerdays, thet hit haint the Lord's purpose thet humans should spilleach other's blood, leastwise onless thar's somethin' bigger et stakethen spite er revengement. "

"Tell him erbout the shootin' matches at the County Fairs whar yo' usedallus ter bear erway the prize, grandpap, " interposed Smiles hurriedly, with the obvious design of changing the current of the old man'sthoughts. 

The latter seated himself on the rock, his face lighting withreminiscence, as he complied, with the words, "Wall, ef I does say hit, thar warn't many in Kentuck er West Virginny could handle a shootin'iron with Big Jerry in them days, an', come County Fair time, I mostwiseallus kerried off the money prize an' the wreath give by ther queen. 'Twarn't fancy shootin', like they hes on the stage yo' war er-speakinof, p'raps, but hit took a stiddy hand an' a clar eye ter do the trick. Gener'lly the spo't ended with the pick er the rifle shooters a-tryingter cut down ten weighted strings et a hundred paces, an' more timesthen once I done hit in as many shots. "

Then, as though somewhat ashamed at the boastfulness in his words, headded hastily, "But I take no credit fer thet Gawd give me the skillter do hit, an' I might hev used hit ter better purpose then ofttimes Idid, fer I was overproud er my skill. 

"I shor' thanks ye fer this hyar rifle-gun, an', come Thanksgiving time, I hopes ter send ye a wild turkey bird killed by hit. "

"If you do that I shall be more than repaid, " responded Donald. "Well, good friends of mine, I must be on my way; but don't think that you haveseen the last of me. I've found the ideal spot in which to spend avacation, and next summer I'll be back here again, D. V. "

"What's 'D. V. '?" asked the girl, curiously. 

"It stands for _Deo Volente_--Latin words which mean, 'God willing. '"

"I hopes thet yo' _does_ come back, an' we-all will be here ter welcomeye, D. V. " said Rose; then added, shyly, "I hev a gift fer yo' ter takeback home ter leetle Muriel, ef yo're willin'. Hit's in the cabin, an', ef yo'll wait, I'll run an' git hit fer ye. "

"Of course I'll be glad to take it to her, my child, and I know thatshe'll be delighted both with it and the stories I shall tell her aboutSmiles. But wait, I will go with you, for there is one thing more I wantto do before I leave, if you can find me a piece of string. "

With a question in her wide-eyed glance, Rose led him back to the littlemountain homestead and, as soon as they were inside, hurried to producethe desired article. 

"Now then, hold up your arms, " commanded Donald lightly. 

Rose obeyed, and, slipping the string about her yielding waist, he drewit taut and tied a knot to mark the resultant measurement. Following thesame procedure, he took the circumference of her chest, the length ofher arm, and from her neck to a few inches above her slender ankle. Suddenly her puzzled expression gave place to one of understanding, andthe starry smile broke over her countenance. 

"You've _guessed_, " cried Donald with feigned disappointment. 

"Ef hit's a secret, I won't even whisper hit ter no one, " the childresponded gayly. 

"Good. It _is_ a secret, but not a dark one. "

"I reckon thet hit's all white, " she gurgled. "An' now I hev a secretfer _yo_' ter keep--leastwise till ye gits ter the city. Yo' promise, too?"

"I solemnly swear, " said Don, and, breaking away, the girl ran into herown room and bashfully brought out a paper bundle through the top foldsof which protruded the twisted reed handle of a basket, somewhat similarto the one of her own manufacture which he had given her. "This hyarbasket's fer the little girl; but, inside hit's something fer yo' terremember leetle Rose by. Also thar's a writin', askin' ye ter dosomething fer me an' ef yo' kin do hit I will shor' be mightily obleegedter ye. "

"I can't guess what on earth it is, but you may be sure that I will doit if it can be done, " he answered earnestly. "Good-by, Smiles. Evenwithout your gift as a reminder I shouldn't have forgotten you, and Ishall not think of the Cumberlands without seeing your dear littleface. "

Donald took both her small hands in his big ones, and, yielding to asudden impulse, bent down and drew her towards him. For just an instantshe held back slightly, and the color swiftly mantled her cheeks. Then, as he was on the point of releasing her, a little ashamed of hisintention, she freed her hands and, flinging them about his neck, kissedhim warmly again. 

With the fresh, childlike pressure of her young lips on his, Donald wenthurriedly out, and, after a last hearty handclasp from Big Jerry, turnedtowards the woods, an unaccustomed song in his heart. 

CHAPTER VI

AN UNACCEPTED CHALLENGE

"I wants ter hev speech with ye, stranger. "

The words, spoken in a harsh voice, fell gratingly on Donald's ears, andbrought to an abrupt end the happy thoughts with which his mind wasoccupied. He stopped, forcing the growling Mike behind him, as Juddstepped out from the bushes, squarely across his path. 

"I would be glad to stop and talk with you, Judd, but I'm due inFayville before noon, and have already stayed too long at Big Jerry's. "

"Yo' hev, " was the prompt and surly reply. 

"What the devil do you mean by that?" snapped Donald, with rising ire. 

"What I says, goes, " was the reply. "This hyar place air a powerful goodone fer yo' ter keep erway from, stranger. "

"Indeed? Well, you don't own it. "

The younger man's color heightened, and his lean jaws clamped together. 

"I warns ye fair, " he said, after a brief pause. 

"And I don't accept such a warning from any one, " shot back Donald, momentarily growing more angry. "It's no business of yours, whether I goor stay. "

"I makes hit my business, " replied the other sullenly. "Big Jerry airgrowin' old an' foolish, I reckon; but I seen what I seen, an' tharhaint no city man ergoin' ter come up hyar an' make trouble fer a gal uvour'n. "

"Judd, it's you who are the fool. I don't admit your right to discussthis, or any matter, with me, but Rose is nothing to me but a very goodfriend. Besides, she's only a child. "

"She's nigh onter old ernough ter wed, " was the uncompromising answer. "An' ef she haint nothin' ter ye, the more shame on ye fer tryin' termake her love ye, an' mayhaps break her heart. "

"But I haven't tried to make her love me, " broke in Donald impatiently. 

"Then fer what did yo' put yer arms erbout her an' kiss her, like I seenye through the winder awhile back, I wants ter know?" demanded theother, as he hastily frustrated Donald's attempt to step by him. 

The man felt his own face flush hotly, and was angry over this visibledisplay of feeling. 

"I tell you she's only a child. I kissed her as I would any little girlof whom I was fond. "

"Yo' love her, an' yo' haint the man ter say hit. "

"Very well, then. Supposing I admit that I love her, what is it to you?"replied Donald, with a flash of heat. 

"I loves her, too. I've loved her since she come ter these hyarmountains, a leetle baby; an' I don't calkerlate ter hev yo', er anycity man, make a plaything uv her. Hit's man ter man, now. Air yo', erhaint yo', a-goin' ter leave hyar, an' keep erway?"

"As I told you before, it's none of your business, " replied Don shortly. 

"An' es I told ye before, hit air. Now I tells ye thet yo' hainta-comin' back. "

"That ... Remains to be seen, " Donald answered wrathfully as he steppedpast Judd, this time unimpeded. 

He had not gone more than a score of swinging strides, keeping thebristling dog close beside him, when he heard the staccato crack of arifle, and simultaneously the high-pitched whine of a bullet past hishead. 

Once before, in the Maine woods, he had been an unwilling target, onthat occasion for an overanxious deer hunter. Then he had sprung up, waving his arms and shouting a warning, but now instinct told him thatthe opposite procedure was the proper one, and he threw himselfprecipitately into the enveloping rhododendrons. As he did so, from thepath above him came a derisive laugh which set his blood boiling. 

It awakened in Donald all the blind, fighting spirit which, in gridirondays, had driven him with clinched teeth into the thick of the batteringmêlée. He sprang into a crouching posture, face turned toward thetaunting sound, every muscle taut, every nerve tingling, and with butone thought surging through his brain--the desire to charge back andattack Judd, barehanded. 

Slowly the red demons of primitive passion vanished before the returninglight of wisdom, born of maturity and the restraining power ofcivilization. He quickly realized that he had no right to make a fool ofhimself for the sake of such a cause, and in such a childish manner. Hisduty was paramount to the satisfaction of an atavistic impulse, and, placing a strong mental grasp upon his nerves, which cried for drasticaction, Donald turned downward into the footpath again, and broke into arun. 

Haste was doubly essential, for little time remained before the hour forthe departure of his train, and, even in Virginia, it _might_ leaveaccording to schedule. As he crashed impetuously through a bush whosebranches blocked the path, he heard again the laughter from above himand caught a new note therein--that of exultation. 

Donald stifled an oath, while an additional reason for returning to themountain burned its way into his heart. 

 * * * * *

On the path above, Judd deliberately blew the fouling smoke from hisrifle barrel, turned about, and, with a satisfied smile mingling withthe expression of hate on his lips, climbed back towards Jerry's cabin. 

In its doorway stood Rose. The happy flush still lingered delicately onher cheeks, and her limpid eyes were full of a soft, dreamy light. 

"What war yo' ershootin' at, Judd?" she cried, as the man came intoview, carelessly swinging his long weapon. 

"Et a pole-cat, " was his brief reply, as he removed his broad straw hatand sank with the unconscious grace of a wild animal onto the stoop ather feet. 

Neither broke the silence for several minutes, but the man scarcely tookhis burning gaze from the child's lovely face. At length she sighed everso gently, and, seating herself beside him, dropped her firm chin intoher cupped hands. 

"Smiles, " began Judd, with all the harshness gone from his voice, "Idon't enjoy fer ter hear yo' sigh thet erway, er ter see ther fur-offlook in yo'r purty eyes, 'cause I fears thet hit means thar's some oneelse then me in yo'r heart. "

Instantly she sat up straight, and turned her eyes, full of surprise, upon him. "Why, Juddy!" she said. 

"Ef hit's thet doctor man, I likes hit least uv all, Smiles, " the mancontinued, speaking bitterly. "He haint come fur no good, leetle gal, an' I don't want fer yo' ter think on him. "

"I reckon I thinks on whom I likes, " she responded briefly. 

"Don't go fer ter git angry with me, Rose gal. Hit aint thet I wants terbe selfish er onreasonable, but ... " Judd stopped. Words of passionatelove trembled on his lips, but were held there by a barrier ofinherited reticence in matters of the heart. Iron reserve and laconicspeech were essentially typical of his breed; but, at length, the eagerutterances strained against the fetter of his will, and broke them. 

"I kaint speak as I desires to, Smiles. I fears I kaint make yeunderstand what's in my heart; but I've keered mightily fer ye, dear, ever since yo' war a smilin' leetle baby gal, an' now ... Now yo'r mosta woman grown, an' I love ye, want ye more come each new day an' eachnew night. Thar haint one ef them passes but thet I make excuse fer tersee ye, an' jest ther sight o' yo'r sweet face somehow kindles a lightinside me that burns, 'thout scarcely dimmin', till I sees ye agin. Thet's ther reason I said what I done, a moment back. 

"I jest kaint bear fer ter think uv yo' lovin' some one else then me. I... I keers so much thet I believes I'd rather see ye dead then thet, Rose gal. "

Fairly trembling with the sweep of his unloosed emotion, the reserved, strong-willed man paused, and, as the girl stood up hastily, she wastrembling, too. 

"Why, Juddy, " she cried softly, distress in her voice, "I didn't rightlyunderstand thet yo' felt thet erway. I likes ye, in course, but I'm onlya leetle gal, an' I haint keerin' fer any one ... Thet erway. I ... Idon't enjoy fer ter hyar yo' say sech words ter me now, Juddy. "

"I reckon yo'r right, an' I shouldn't hev told ye yet, Rose, " answeredthe man, almost humbly. "I kin bide my time, but I wants ye ter knowthet I feels es I does. I'm a-goin' ter keep right on lovin' ye more an'more, and, when yo'r older, I plans ter ask ye ter marry with me. "

"I likes ye ... Indeed I likes ye, Judd, but ... Oh, please don't evergo fer ter do that. I kaint never marry ye, Judd. "

The man stiffened, and his face grew black again. "I believes thet yo'air in love with thet doctor man, atter all, " he shot out. 

"I haint neither, " cried the girl, angrily stamping her bare foot, "Idoes love him, but I haint _in_ love with nobody, 'ceptin' grandpap. "

"Yo' submitted ter his takin' ye in his arms an' kissin' ye, " burst outthe mountaineer. 

"Judd Amos, yo'r a mean, spyin' sneak, an' I hates ye!" stormed Rose, while her eyes filled with angry tears. 

"I didn't go fer ter spy on ye, Smiles, " he protested, "I seen ye bychance. But, whether yo' love him er not, yo' might jest as well fergithim. He keered fer ye jest because yo' air er purty mountain flower, an'he haint never ercomin' back hyar ergin. "

"He air, too, " contradicted the girl rebelliously. "He air ercomin' backan' he's promised ter help me git edercation. "

Judd laughed shortly. 

"I warned him fair ter keep erway, an' p'inted my warnin' with a rifleball. "

Rose's eyes widened in horror. 

"Yo' ... Yo' means yo' shot him, Judd?" she whispered, with both handspressed to her breast. 

"Shot him? No. I didn't aim fer ter hurt him, an' 'twarn't in nowisenecessary. I jest put a bullet past his head an' he run like a skeeredrabbit. "

"Taint so. He never run from no one, " she cried staunchly. 

"Wall, hit shor' appeared like hit ter me, " was the gloating answer. 

Feminine instinct gave Rose an intuitive insight into the real reasonswhich underlay Donald's apparent flight; but pride sealed her lips, justas she was on the point of explaining triumphantly that the doctor hadbeen called back home that day, and that it was the following summerwhen he would return. 

"Juddy, " she said gently, after a moment, "yo' hed no reason fer doin'what yo' done. Hit war mighty wrong, but I fergives ye. I wants terstill be friends with ye. I wants ye ter help me, Juddy. "

The last words were breathed softly, and the naïve appeal in her voicebrought the hostile man quickly back to submissive and worshipfulfealty. 

"Yo' know thet I'd do enything in the world fer ye, Smiles, " he answeredsimply. 

"I believes thet yo' _think_ yo' would, Judd, but I wonders ef, deep inyo'r heart, yo' really keers ernough fer me ter ... I kaint scarcelyexplain what I means. I reckon I air powerful ignerrant inspeecherfyin'. "

"I don't rightly know what yo' means, Smiles, but I give ye my promiseter do whatsoever yo' wants, ef hit takes my life, " he declaredearnestly, his former selfish desire to bend her will into compliancewith his own for the moment yielding to his blind eagerness to prove hislove. 

Youthful and unsophisticated in worldly wiles as she was, the eternalfeminine in Rose sensed her victory and power, and, still maintainingher half commanding, half tenderly appealing tone, she outlined herplan, for the accomplishment of which his aid was all essential. 

Judd protested, pleaded and stormed--all to no avail. He felt himselflike a man caught in a snare of his own weaving--a snare strengthened byfair, yet unbreakable, silken threads added by the child. 

Finally, miserable at heart, he yielded, and departed with his handtingling from the impulsive affectionate pressure of Smiles' fingersupon it. But, as the conscious thrill which it caused in his beinglessened, his thoughts became immersed in gloom, through which noencouraging light made its way. He realized that he had lost the firstbattle for her heart, and the loss brought closer the dark spectre ofultimate defeat. 

CHAPTER VII

"SMILES'" GIFT: AND THE "WRITING"

"Now, my boy, let us hear an account of your trip. Did you enjoy it, andfind anything of especial interest in the mountains of the feudcountry?"

The doctor's father lighted his after-dinner cigar, and leaned back withthe indolent satisfaction which a man ripe in useful years may feel whensurrounded by his family. Since the death of his wife, he and hischildren had been more inseparably attached one to another than ever, and each drew a full measure of happiness from these all-too-infrequentreunions, when Donald could be with them. Even little Muriel was notleft out of the group, for she had been granted the exceptionalprivilege of sitting up an extra hour, and listening to the wonderfulhunting tales told by her beloved Uncle Don, upon whose lap she was nowcontentedly curled. Her mother and father sat near by. 

"Yes, to both questions, " responded Donald. 

"Did you shoot any bears?" queried his little niece, expectantly. 

"No bears this trip, although I almost scalded to death a bare-leggedlittle girl, " was the reply. And with Rose thus made the central figureof his recital at the very outset, Donald proceeded to tell of hisexperiences and new friendships; but consciously refrained frommentioning the unpleasant incident with which his trip ended, andSmiles' parting embrace. 

His faithful reproduction of the soft mountain dialect brought frequentsmiles from his listeners, and filled the child with delightedamusement. 

"I just love Smiles, " she cried, as he finished his story. 

"Indeed, so does every one who knows her. _You_ do, don't you, Mike?"added Donald, and the dog beat a tattoo on the rug with his stumpy tail. 

"Witchery, " laughed his father. "Even your clumsy description hasstrangely stirred my youthful blood, and 'I longs fer ter see this hyarwonderful child dryad of ther primeval forest. ' If you ever go backthere, you had better wear magic armor as protection against thatillusive smile which seems to have cast a spell of enchantment over yourcivilized senses. "

"Pshaw, you needn't be concerned about my feelings for her. She's nosiren, but a very real little person. I'll admit that she's amazinglyattractive; but she's merely a child. "

"Children grow up, " teased his sister. 

"I'm aware of that natural phenomenon, " answered Donald, somewhatcurtly. "But ... Great Scott, can't I describe a fifteen--no, sixteen-year-old little savage, without all you people imagining thatI'm going to be such a fool as to fall in love with her?"

"Sometimes it isn't what one says, but the way he says it, thatincriminates, " put in his brother-in-law, adding his voice to thegeneral baiting which had apparently disclosed a tender spot. 

"Hang it all, I believe that I'll go back and ask Smiles to marry me, ifonly to put an end to your teasing, " cried Don with a laugh not entirelynatural. "At least I might perhaps succeed in frustrating _your_ obviousdesigns, Ethel. Oh, I'm not blind!"

"I've almost concluded that you _are_--or hopeless, " answered hissister. "However, I'm perfectly willing to admit that I would like tosee you married to Marion Treville--she's my closest friend, and wouldcertainly make you a perfect wife. "

"Too perfect, by far. Can you imagine me hitched with that proud andclassic beauty? I should go mad. "

"But I want my pretty basket that little Smiles made for me, " broke inMuriel, to whom the present remarks held no interest, and who emphasizedher demand by seizing his cheeks. 

"To be sure you do, and I want to see my present, too. I'll bring themright down. "

Not at all ill pleased at this opportunity to escape from his family'sjesting, which, for some indefinable reason, aroused his belligerency, Donald jumped up hastily and departed for the sanctuary of his bedroom, to get the bulky bundle with its mysterious enclosure. Minutes slippedby, and he failed to return to the group downstairs. 

At last his absorption was broken into by the arrival of Muriel, whoseentrance into the room, with the traces of tears on her cheeks, broughthim back to the present with a remorseful start. 

"You didn't come down, an' you _didn't_ come down, Uncle Don, an' nowmother says it's bedtime, an' I want Smiles' basket to take with me. "

"Why, I'm terribly sorry that I've been so long, sweetheart-mine. Istopped to read the letter she wrote to me, and, I'm ashamed to say, forgot that you were waiting for me. But see, here's your present. Little Rose made it all herself for you. Isn't it pretty?"

With a cry of delight the child gathered the simple basket into herchubby arms and bent her head over it. "Oh, don't it smell sweet, UncleDon. Does Smiles smell like that?"

"Perhaps not exactly, " he replied, chuckling. 

"Now please show me what she sent to you. Was it a basket, too?"

"No, not a basket. It's a very great secret; but, if you'll promise notto tell a soul, no matter how they tease, I'll show it to you. "

"Cross my heart, an' hope to die, " said the child earnestly, makingacross her pinafore the mystic sign, so potent to the childish mind. 

Donald opened a drawer in the chiffonier and took out a small andobviously cheap glazed blue-and-white vase. The child took itwonderingly and, removing the cover, sniffed audibly and deeply. 

"My. _This_ smells like Rose, " she said with conviction. 

"You're right, it does, indeed, because it _is_ roses--dried wild rosepetals which she gathered and preserved herself. I saw it in her littlecabin, and know that it was her most precious possession, yet she gaveit to 'Uncle Don' as a keepsake, so that he might remember her wheneverhe smells of it. "

"Wasn't she just _too_ sweet to do that. My, how I would like to seeher, Uncle Don. "

"Well, perhaps you may, some day. "

The sentence echoed out of the past, carrying his recollection back tothe night when he had heedlessly spoken the identical words to Smiles, and there entered his mind the sudden realization of what amazingpotentialities for good or evil often lie hidden in the simplestutterances. 

The sound of his sister's light tread in the hallway caused Donald toreturn his homely gift to its hiding place hurriedly, and little Muriel, with roguishly twinkling eyes, imitated his action as he laid his fingeron his lips as a seal of secrecy. 

"Well, you _two_ kids, " laughed Ethel, as she caught sight of thepicture framed by the doorway. 

"I'm glad that I haven't wholly forgotten how to be one, " answered herbrother, as he kissed first his little niece, and then the basket whichshe held up with the demand that it be paid similar homage, and badethem good-night. 

Rejoining the diminished group in the living-room, Donald waspreoccupiedly silent, until his father asked, "Well, have you read your little friend's 'writing'? I confess to a mildcuriosity as to what sort of a letter a girl like her would write, andwhat sort of a request she would be likely to make of you. "

Don drew from his pocket the letter, painfully scrawled on cheap, andnot overclean paper, and handed it over. Adjusting his eye-glasses theolder man read aloud:--

 Dear Dr. Mac, Truly I want to be a nurse like you told me about some day. 

"Well, " commented the reader, "at least she starts right off with thebusiness in hand, without any palavering. 

 And I reckon that even a little mountain girl like me can be one if she wishes hard enough and works hard, too. 

"Why, " he interpolated again, "there doesn't seem to be any evidence ofyour weirdly wonderful spelling and grammar here. "

"Go on, " answered Donald, smiling slightly. 

 I reckon it will take me a long, long time to get education and earn all that money, but I can do it, Dr. Mac. I am sure I can do it. I told my grandfather all that I mean to do, and he won't try to stop me none. Of course he does not want for me to go away from him, but I explained that I _had_ to, and of course that made it all right. 

 When you was telling us what those nurses done, something seemed like it went jump inside my heart, and straightways I know that the dear Lord meant for me to do it, too. I read a story once about a girl in france named Jone of Ark and I reckon I felt like she done when she see the angel. 

 I know I can do it, Dr. Mac, if you will help me a little bit like you promised. Most of all I figures I need a heap of book learning, and it is books I wants for you to get me. You know the books I need to have, Dr. Mac, and in this letter I am going to put $10. 

 It is an awful lot of money; but I reckon books cost a good deal, and you can bring me the change next summer, for I have not got no use for money here. Don't be afeared. It is my own money. It was in my father's pocket among the camp things granddaddy found, and there was some more. Grandfather, he kept it for me until I was a big girl and now I am keeping it for a rainy day, like the copy book says, although I don't think money would be much use to keep off the rain. 

 Their is a preacher man who lives on our mountain winters, when he can not travel about none, and I know I can get him to help me learn if I help his wife with her work, and I can read pretty well now and write pretty well when I have a spelling book to study the words out of, although I have to go sorter slow, for they do not allus spell words like they sound, and sometimes I cannot find them at all. I guess my book is not a very good one. 

 I reckon it will take me a long while to earn more than $300; but I am going to work awful hard, making baskets and other things, and I am going to get Judd Amos, our naybor, to sell them for me at the village store, for he goes down their trading every week, and he will do anything I ask him, like I told you. 

 This is a pretty long letter and it has taken me all the evening to right. I hope that you can read it. Well, I guess that is all now from your loveing little friend. 

 I most forgot to say please give my love to Mike. 

 ROSE WEBB. 

"Well, I've got to admit that I have seen many a letter, written by agrown-up, that fell a long ways short of that one in clarity of thoughtand in accomplishment of a definite object, " said Mr. MacDonald, as hehanded it back. "Do you suppose that her eagerness to become a nurse isjust a passing childish whim, or has she really got sand enough to puther almost impossible plan through?"

"Clairvoyancy was not included either in the Harvard or Medical Schoolcurriculum, " responded Donald, with a shrug. 

"Meaning that the things of the future are in the laps of the gods. Ofcourse, but I was merely asking for your personal opinion. I'm notjesting now; that letter really aroused my interest in the child. "

"Well, then, I believe that Smiles really possesses the strength ofpurpose to go through with even so difficult a task as she has set forherself. Remember, she comes of city stock, and hasn't the blood ofthose unprogressive mountaineers in her veins. "

"And you? Are you going to help her as she asks? What about your promiseto Big Jerry?"

"I lived up to both the spirit and letter of that, when I tried toexplain to the child the almost unsurmountable difficulties which laybetween her and the accomplishment of her dream. Besides, I know thatshe has told the truth in her letter, and has somehow managed actuallyto win over the old man. I can't help feeling mighty sorry for him, ifthe foster birdling is really going to fly away from his nest after hehas reared and loved her so tenderly, but, after all, it is only thehistory of the human race. Still, I can't blame him if he looks on me asa serpent who stole into his simple Eden, carrying the apple ofdiscontent. "

"There have been, of course, plenty of cases similar to this, where theadventurer's spirit was really big enough and the vision strong enoughto carry him or her through to victory, " mused Donald's father. "Such aone was the immortal Abe Lincoln, who came from just such surroundings. But the task is doubly hard for a young girl, and the experiment of thusbreaking away from the ties and traditions of many years, and seeking aplace in a wholly new, wholly dissimilar life, cannot but be fraughtwith dangers. There, in that simple environment she naturally appealedto you as not only an attractive child, but as a somewhat unusualpersonality. Tell me, lad, how will, or would, she measure up, iftransplanted a few years hence into city life, where the standards ofcomparison are so utterly different; so much more exacting?"

"Frankly, I don't know, " responded Donald. "Since I read her letter Ihave been asking myself that question, and the answer worries me, sinceI feel in a way responsible for having opened the gates before heruntrained feet. Somehow I cannot disassociate little Rose from herpresent environment, and, although she certainly _has_ an unusual charmfor such a child, I must admit that, in part, at least, it was theresult of--no, not that, but made more obvious by--her surroundings. "

"Well, she has apparently decided to take the moulding of her life intoher own hands and, without knowing the quotation, determined to be 'themaster of her fate and captain of her soul. ' However, a little moreeducation can scarcely hurt her, and, if she succeeds in saving up somemoney, it will come in handy enough as a 'dot, ' in case she marries yourfriend, Judd Amos, and raises a family of mountain brats. "

Donald's reply was unnecessarily positive. 

"I'll wager that she'll never do that. " And with that the conversation, as far as it concerned Smiles, ended. 

 * * * * *

During purloined hours in the next few days the eminently successfulyoung physician might have been seen engaged in strange errands, whichtook him into such places as a dressmaker's establishment, and severalstores which sold textbooks. It was also a noteworthy fact that thedecidedly soiled and crumpled ten-dollar bill, with which he had beencommissioned to purchase the means through which education might beacquired, was never taken from the special compartment in his billfolder. 

Then the flood of fall practice engulfed him, and gradually the memoryof little Smiles faded from his busy mind, although it never quitevanished, and from time to time fresh breezes from the distantCumberlands fanned it to life like a glowing ember. 

CHAPTER VIII

SOME OF SEVERAL EPISTLES

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 I

 Commonwealth Avenue Boston, Massachusetts. September 15, 1912. 

Dear little Smiles:

If you had been able to look inside of my heart when I opened yourpresent and read your letter, you would have beheld as many differentlights and shadows there as you can see in your own eyes when you lookin the glass over your bureau. 

The sight of that little jar, and the scent of the spiced rose-petals, brought you so near to me that I thought I could almost see you by justclosing my eyes--which may seem to you a funny way of "seeing" a person. It made me very happy. 

The letter, too, pleased me a great deal; but I must tell you that italso troubled me. That is when the shadow fell on my thoughts of you. 

The reason? I will tell it to you, because I feel that I should, although please do not think that I want to croak like an old black crowin one of your pine trees. 

If you have really set your whole heart upon becoming a nurse when yougrow up, and your granddaddy has consented, it is not for me to say thatyou cannot do it. But I _do_ know the path which you must travel. Iknow that it is much steeper, much more rocky and full of briary bushesthan any one your feet have ever climbed on your mountain, and you willhave to keep a very brave little heart inside you, if you hope to reachthe summit. And then, if you succeed, instead of finding a fairy castlefilled with all sorts of pleasant things, you will only discover anotherlong and weary road which must be traveled until your tired little body, and heart, made heavy by the sufferings of little children, long for thequiet restfulness of your dear old mountain home. 

Am I still trying to discourage you? I suppose that I am, for, you see, _I_ can look back along that road which lies _before_ you, and I canremember the rocks I had to climb over, and the bushes I had to strugglethrough, and yet I know that it was far easier for me than it will befor you. 

You have read parables in the Bible. Well, I am preaching a modernparable. "Book learning" is a sword and buckler--or perhaps it would bebetter to say that it is a suit of strong hunting clothes and thickleather knee-boots, and I was pretty well clad like that when I startedmy trip, while you are dressed only in thin gingham, with your legs andfeet bare--as I first saw you. Please shut your eyes, dear child, andtry to see the parable picture I have drawn for you. 

Have you done it? The picture is not as pretty as the one I painted thenight I told about how fine it was to be a nurse, is it? But it is morenearly true to life. 

Now, think hard before you make up your mind as to whether or not youreally mean to go ahead, for--after all, little Smiles--each boy andgirl has soon to decide, all alone, what he or she is going to do withthat strange thing which we call life. 

If your courage is really as strong as that of the wonderful Joan ofArc, I, too, believe that you can succeed and make your dream cometrue, and of course I will help you, gladly--in every way that I can. 

Now I am all through preaching. It is out of my line, and I promise notto do it again. Within a few days you will, I hope, get a boxful of thebooks which I have sent you as you asked me. Most of them are just whatyou wanted--school books--but on my own hook I added one or two notstrictly for study--like plums in a dry bread pudding. And, of course, there is something else in the box and _I_ guess that _you_ can guesswhat it is. 

This, little Smiles, is the longest letter I ever wrote to anybody, Ithink. Don't you feel proud? It must end now, however; but not before Iask you to give my best regards to your kind granddaddy. 

Don't let the cold winter that is coming, chill your warm affection for

 Your sincere friend, Donald MacDonald. 

P. S. I told Mike what you wrote to him, and he wigwagged a message oflove back to you with his tail. 

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 II

 Big Jerry's Cabin in Webb's Gap, Virginia. Sep't. 20, 1912. 

Dear Doctor Mac:

Oh, dear doctor, can you ever forgive me for waiting two whole daysbefore I wrote you back to thank you with all my heart for the manywonderful things which came in that box? It was like a fairy's treasurechest. And most of all I am obliged for that letter you wrote me. It wasthe first letter I ever got from any one and I shall keep it as long asI live. I think, of all the things I got, I like that the best. Thoseothers you could _buy_, but you had to _make_ that yourself, and it seemed like I could almost hear you talking the words in yourstrong voice, like the sound of the falls in the Swift River. 

When I looked inside that box I could not make up my mind what I likedbest. The many books kind of scared me when I opened them and rememberedI had got to know all that much; but the book of beautiful poetry I justlove. I have read all of the poetrys and know some of them to speakalready. 

Then there is that nurse's dress. O how I love it, and how I wish foryou to see me in it. I plans to put it on a little while everyday andpretend that I am a real nurse _like I am going to be_. I done ityesterday, and somehow when I shet my eyes and run my hands over itscrackely stiff whiteness, it seemed to me that the room was full ofsweet little babies for me to take keer of. 

And now, doctor, I must tell you that I done what you said for me to do. I closed my eyes up tight like granddaddy does when I say prayers, and Isaw little Smiles acliming that rough path, and walking along that roughroad you wrote about, but by the side of that long road I kept aseeingbeautiful little flowers what were fading and drooping and calling outin tiny voices like baby chickens for Rose to keer for them. So doctor, the picture did not scare me none. 

The Lord give Joan of Arc (I know how to spell it now) a silver armor toprotect her, and I reckon the white nurse's dress that you give me is myarmor. 

Now doctor I must tell you about little Lou and the wonderful doll yousent to her. She was so funny when I give it to her that I got a chreekin my side laughing. First thing, she held it up tight against her andwhen it went Ma-a-a-like a calf, she dropped it quick and run and hideunder the bed. But pretty soon she crep out again and I showed her howto make it shut its eyes. 

Then she jumped around and cried. 'O Smiles, hit _kaint_ do them thingsbut hit _does_ do them. ' Well, pretty soon, Judd Amos, her brother, comein and, when he saw it in Lou's arms, his face got as black as a stormcloud and he went for to take it away from her. 

I just stepped in front of him, and said, 'Judd Amos, if you ever go forto take that doll baby away from her, or even _touch_ it, I won't neverspeak to you again. '

He was powerful mad with me, but he seen that I meant like I said, soLou can keep her doll. And what do you think she has named it? She hasnamed it Mike. Even Judd had to laugh a little when she said that wasthe doll baby's name. 

I am making baskets as fast as ever I can and Judd is going to take themto the store at Fayville for me. I went down with him and seen thestorekeeper man myself last week, and he promised me to buy all that hecan from me. 

Granddaddy shoots with your rifle gun most every day. He can hit astring like he used to, but he would not shoot a apple off my head likea man did in the book that had about Joan of Arc in it, although Iwanted him to. 

I have ritten a piece of poetry like Mr. Eugene Fields did, and this isit

 The cold may make my lips turn blue, But it can't freeze my love for you. 

Your happy and loving little friend

 Smiles. 

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 III

 Commonwealth Avenue Boston, Massachusetts. October 24, 1912. 

Proprietor of the General Store, Fayville, ---- County, West Virginia. 

Dear Sir:

I am informed that you are occasionally purchasing, through one JuddAmos, of Webb's Gap, sweetgrass baskets made by a little mountain girlof that settlement. 

I am interested in her work, and herewith enclose a money order in thesum of ten dollars ($10. 00) with which I will ask you to purchase at arate reasonably in advance of the one you are now paying, all thebaskets which she sends to you. You may express them to my address eachmonth, and I will forward further funds upon request. 

Please do not mention my name in connection with this transaction; but, if any questions are asked, merely say that you have obtained a citymarket for them. 

 Very truly yours, (Dr. ) Donald MacDonald. 

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 IV

 Webb's Gap. Vir. November 24, 1912. 

Dear Dr. McDonald:

How many letters do you guess I have written to you so far this month?24. Yes, I have written you a long letter every day, telling you all thethings I did, and thought, but of course I did not mail them, for I knewthat you would get tired of reading them. 

But this one I am going to send, for grandfather has asked me to let youknow that he has shot that wild turkey bird for your Thanksgiving--whichis Thursday--and has sent it to you by express package from Fayville. Iwas with him when he did it. 

Evenings come right early now and we went into the woods just before sundown. It was right beautiful, and I wished that you could have been withus. I will try and tell you what I saw like I do in my daily lettersthat my teacher says are practice themes. (I could not have spelled thatto save my life a month ago. )

Well, except for the big pine trees which never seem to change, justlike granddaddy, all the tall forest people and the half grown-upchildren-bushes, had put on bright new dresses in honor of Thanksgivingtime. They were red, made of many colored patches like Bible Joseph'scoat, --yellow green and brown, some as bright as God could paint thecolors, some soft, like they had been washed and washed. 

Granddaddy thought it was beautiful too--although he called it "purty. "But he did not like the brown grass and fallen pine needles, and calledthe marsh near the river an ugly mudflat; but _I_ thought it wasbeautiful, for that oozy mud was deep purple (the reverend told me theword), and the little pools of water were all gold. Those are the colorsthat kings dress in, yet that old mudflat wore them, too. 

Well, finally, when it began to grow dusk, we found a wild turkey birdroosting on a tree limb and granddaddy said, 'Hush, I aims ter shoot hitright thru ther head. ' When you get it look where the bullet went. 

Now perhaps you would like to hear about what I have been doing. Well, Ihave been doing many things, but most of all I have been studying. 

The minister, whose name is Reverend John Talmadge, came back to ourmountain when it began to get cold, for he is in not very good healthand can't go about much, although he sits out doors most of the time. 

He is my very good friend, and I have found out a lot about him. Onething is that he went to college like you did, and he knows a great dealmore than there is in all those books, even. So you see he can help me agood deal. He is even going to teach me some Latin, _D. V. _ I think thatGod must have sent him to our mountain. 

Every day I study the books you sent, first with him and then at home, and I am getting along so nice that last week, when the teacher in ourlittle school was away, they let me be the teacher. 

And who do you think was one of my pupils? It was Judd Amos. He hasbought some books and is learning, too. I reckon he does not want a girlto be smarter than he is at book learning, which he says is nonsense forgirls. But I know that it is not nonsense. Why, I can travel in far-offlands and see things that I did not even know _were_, by just readingbooks, and the reverend has lent me some to read. 

Then I am still making my baskets, and what do you think? The storemanis buying all I can send him, and paying me more than he used to forthem! He says that city folks like to buy them for they smell so sweetand like the woods. I am saving all my money and, with what I had, havenearly $75 already, and, by next summer, will have over $100. Isn't thatwonderful? Granddaddy pays me 10 cents a week for keeping house for him, too. Isn't he good?

Don't you think I ought to be a very happy little girl? Well, I am, andI guess my face is getting all out of shape, I find so many things tosmile about. 

 Your affectionate friend, Rose. 

P. S. Please give my love and a turkey drumstick to Mike. 

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 V

 Commonwealth Avenue Boston, Massachusetts. December 23, 1912. 

Dear little Smiles:

Although I am very busy, for the Winter has given colds to many littlefolks here, I can not let Christmastide go by without writing a letterto you, little forest friend. It was very dear of you to send me thatbasket of holly, which I found waiting for me when I returned, tiredout, last night. 

Its dark green leaves and bright red berries looked up at me when Iundid it, almost as though they were your personal messengers and weretrying eagerly to say, "Smiles wishes you a Merry Christmas through us. "The basket was indeed a work of art, but to me it seemed even more thanthat--a labor of love. 

I could almost imagine you tramping through the snow-covered mountainwoods and gathering the holiday berries, and the picture which my mindpainted was so attractive that I heartily wished I might have beenthere, too. 

I am delighted with the accounts of the progress you are making in yourstudies, and your all-too-infrequent letters themselves tell the story. I'm afraid that I shall not know you next summer. Write me just as oftenas you feel like doing so, dear, and if I do not always reply you mayknow that it is only because I am so very busy. 

Now I have two pieces of news to tell you. I am sure that you will bevery much pleased with one of them and I hope will be with both. 

First, Muriel's mother had a wonderful present just a little ahead ofChristmas day--not from Santa Claus, but from Old Father Stork. It is afine baby boy, whose eyes are almost the color of yours, and his name isto be "Donald MacDonald Thayer. " I suppose I have now got to be extragood in order to set my namesake the right example. 

Knowing how dear all little ones are to your heart, I am sure that youwill be almost as pleased as we are over this happy event, and I canalmost see your sweet face light up with its wonderful smile as you readthis. 

Second, I am engaged to be married some day, if I can ever find time. _Her_ name is Marion Treville and she is very good and kind, and everyone thinks she is very beautiful, too. 

I hope that you have by this time received the little friendship boxwhich I sent to you and your grandfather. The dress is a present fromMuriel, who loves your basket more than any of her toys, and continuallyspeaks of you as her "dear friend Smiles"; the hair ribbon is from Mikeand the book from

 Your sincere friend, Donald MacDonald. 

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 VI

 Webb's Gap January 7, 1913. 

Dear Dr. MacDonald:

When I tell you that there has been a great deal of trouble here, youwill understand why I have not written you long before this, to thankyou for those lovely Christmas presents. 

Grandfather was delighted with his tobacco, although he has not smokedit yet, and all my gifts made me very happy. The dress dear littleMuriel sent me is so lovely that I don't believe I shall ever dare towear it, especially as, when grandfather saw me in it, he looked sosorrowful as he said, 'Hit's powerful purty, but hit haint my Smiles nomore, ' that he almost made me cry. I wonder if I can really ever leavehim? He needs me very much now. 

Oh, I was so happy for all of you when I read about Muriel having a dearlittle baby brother. I sat right down and wrote a verse. The reverendhelped me with some of the words, but still I'm afraid that it is notvery good and I am afraid you will laugh at it. It is the best I can donow, and I guess I will send it to you in this letter. 

Now I must tell you that your friend, my grandfather, has been very sicksince Christmas. The doctor from Fayville has been to see him severaltimes and he says the trouble is--I know that you will laugh at me now, but I can only write what it sounds like to me--'Aunt Jina pecks herwrist. ' He has pains in his heart and has to keep very still, which hedoes not like to do, so I am the nurse and, whenever I feed him, or givehim the medicine that the doctor left, I put on my nurse's dress. 

Of course I have not been able to go to the reverend's for my lessons, and I have not been able to study much, except when grandfather isasleep; but he--the reverend, I mean--comes to our house as often as hecan, and we take turns in reading aloud to grandfather, sometimes fromthe book you sent me, but most times from the Holy Bible, which he likesbest. 

The reverend says that it is better than medicine to sooth a troubledheart, and I reckon it must be so, for it almost always puts grandfatherto sleep, and the trouble is with his heart, like I told you. 

Then, beside that, a little wild mountain flower was born to a neighborof ours last week. We tried--oh, so hard--to make it live, but the coldwas so bitter here that God took pity on it and took it back to hisgarden in Paradise. 

At first I could not help crying, and I came home and tore up the versesthat I wrote, but then I remembered what you told me about the Reaper, and I went back to the poor, sorrowful mother and told her. And Iremembered what you said about making people smile by smiling myself, soI did that, too. 

This is not a very happy letter, but grandfather is getting better everyday, and summer will soon be here now. The new year seems to me like thetop of a snow covered mountain. When we have climbed over it, it is notlong before we can hurry down into the valley where the sun is warm andthe flowers bloom. 

 Your affectionate friend, Rose Webb. 

P. S. I am very glad that you are going to be married. 

(The Enclosure)

 Deep the world with snow was covered, Cold and barren was the earth, Low the Christmas angels hovered As a little babe had birth. 

 Just a tender little flower, Dropped upon the world below Out of God's eternal bower-- Pink as sunrise, white as snow. 

 But the little blossom stranger, As its earthly life it starts, Need fear neither cold nor danger, For 'tis planted _in our hearts_. 

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 VII

 "Thayerhurst" Manchester-by-the-sea. August 15, 1913. 

My dear little Smiles:

This is going to be a very short letter, and can you guess why? Earlynext month I am going to run away from my work and everything here, andhurry down to your mountain for two whole weeks of wonderful vacation. So the next time you hear from me the words will come from my lipsinstead of my pen. 

I have been very glad indeed to hear that Big Jerry has been so wellthis summer, and I am sure that he has many more years of virile healthahead of him. I am keenly looking forward to seeing him cut a stringwith the new rifle. 

The weather has been terribly hot in Boston this month and caused muchsuffering, but it is quite cool and very pleasant here by the ocean. 

Every night that it is possible, I spend here with my sister's family, partly because I love to see my little namesake, even for a moment, partly to escape the city's heat and obtain some really refreshing rest. It makes me almost ashamed sometimes, when I think how comfortable I am, and how uncomfortable are the little children in the crowded city, mostof whom have no woods, fields and streams like yours to play in, andmany of whom never see anything out of doors except dirty, paved streetswhich get so hot that they burn the feet, even though the fire enginemen frequently send rushing streams of water through them. 

But I know that a fighter must always keep in the best possiblecondition, and we doctors _and nurses_ have declared war on an enemy whohas killed millions and millions, and never takes a day off. 

I wonder how you will like the ocean when you see it. Very much, I amsure, it is so immensely big--like the sky--so beautiful, and more fullof ever-changing colors than even your mountains. 

They tell me that little Muriel plays beside it all day long on the finewhite sand and over the rocks, while baby brother lies near by on ablanket, kicking and gurgling, and holding long, wordless conversationswith the white clouds and sea birds high overhead. 

This has been a much longer letter than I expected it to be, and now Imust chop it off short with just five more words, Your affectionate friend, Donald MacDonald. 

CHAPTER IX

THE HIGH HILLS, AND "GOD'S MAN"

 Sun hath sunk in radiant splendor, Now the colors fade away And the moon, with light more tender, Sheds its silver on the bay. 

 Eventide is softly casting O'er the earth a magic spell, And a love-song, everlasting, On the night wind seems to swell. 

 Deeper grow the lengthening shadows, Darkening the heaven's blue, One by one the stars are gleaming, Night is nigh, would you were, too. 

Donald hummed the words in his not unmelodious baritone, as he climbedup the forest path down which, twelve months before, he had rushedheadlong, in blind anger. 

The spell of the high, forest-clad hills, and the new-born night was uponhis spirit. Pleasant anticipations filled his heart, and left no roomfor painful recollection as he hastened over the needle-strewn pathwayon which the white radiance of the full moon, shining through thebranches, made a tracery of silver and black. 

Let men whose minds are governed wholly by cold commonsense, and whosesouls hold no spark of vitalizing imagination, scoff at moon-witcheryand lunar madness. Let them declare that the earth's haunting satelliteis merely a dead world which cannot even shine with its own light. Magicit _does_ wield. And, just as it distorts and magnifies all commonplace, familiar objects, so it twists the thoughts of men; just as it stealsaway the natural colors from the things of earth, and substitutes forthem those of its own conception, so it alters the hues of man'smeditation. 

The usually exuberant Mike trotted in silence, close to his master'sheels, and now and then cast suspicious glances aloft at the tallspectre things which he knew to be trees. 

Donald knew that it was rather absurd of him to be toiling up thefive-mile mountain path that night, when the next morning would havedone just as well; but he had thankfully thrown off the shackles ofcivilization along with its habiliments. For two free, full weeks hemeant to live like a child of the out-of-doors, and to draw a brimmingsupply of new energy from Mother Nature's never-failing breasts. Everymoment was precious. 

As he neared the Gap, his winging thoughts flew ahead to Big Jerry'scabin and to the child-woman who had so attracted him a year before. Once more he told himself that she was nothing to him, and that now, especially, he had no right to allow her, child though she were, to holdso large a place in his heart. Yet what chance has reason incompetition with moonlight?

The clearing, with the cabin beyond it, came into view. The little housewas likewise a victim of the prevailing necromancy, for its rough, hand-split and weatherbeaten shingles were now a shimmeringolive-silver. 

Mike gave voice to a joyful yelp, and tried to crowd past his owner'slegs, for he had seen, or sensed, Rose even before the latter becameaware of the presence of their little friend. She was standing, alone, on the outer edge of the tiny stoop, whose darkened doorway formed ablack background, against which her figure appeared, cameo-like. Theflooding brightness lifted her form and face, seen in profile, intosharp relief, and the shadow which it cast on the grass made her appearthe more tall and slender. Grown and subtly altered she undoubtedly was, thought Donald. The girlish curves and lithesomeness had not departed;but they carried a suggestion of approaching maturity. Her wavy hair nolonger hung unbound about her face, but was dressed in two braids, oneof which had fallen forward across her breast. Shoes and stockingscovered her legs; but the simple dress still left her neck and armsbare, and the flesh was robbed of its color and made alabaster, thegolden threads stolen from the dark hair and replaced by a silver sheen, so that there was something ethereal, but startlingly beautiful, in thepicture. 

Holding the violently wriggling Mike in check, one hand on his collar, the other grasping his jaws, Donald stole silently forward until he hadpassed the corner of the cabin, and his own shadow had crept forward, and laid itself at the girl's feet. 

Suddenly she perceived it, and turned with a question in her shadowyeyes. Her lips parted, then curved into the familiar magic smile, as shecried, "Oh, Doctor MacDonald. You've _come_. "

Mike twisted free, and, with a mad bound and wiggle, threw himself onthe girl, who caught him in her arms. Then, holding him against her, shesomehow succeeded in extending one hand, shapely and slender, to meetthe man's two eager ones. 

"Oh, grandpap, " she thrilled through the doorway. "Hurry out hyar. Dr. Mac hes come fer ter see ye. "

A sense of vague disappointment possessed Donald as he heard her lapseinto the musical, but provincial, dialect; but, seeming to read histhought that the year of study had not been able to alter it, shewhispered, "I always talk like I used to, to him, for he likes it best. "

"I see, and you're quite right, too, " was his low-voiced reply, as heheard the old man's heavy tread crossing the bare floor within. 

"Wall, wall, stranger. We air shor'ly powerful pleased fer ter welcomeye ergin, " came in Big Jerry's deep and hearty voice, as he emerged fromthe darkness, and caught Donald's hand in the old, crushing vise. 

For a few moments they all chatted happily, and then Jerry said, "ErforeI fergits hit, us wants ye ter stay up hyar this trip. Ther loft-roomair yourn, an' leetle Rose hes fixed hit up special fer ye--curtains etther window, er rag rug on ther floor, an' ther Lawd knows what else. "

"Do you really want me to?" cried the newcomer in pleased surprise. 

"Of course we really want you, " answered the happy girl. 

"Then, by Jove, I'll be only too glad to, although I had not thought ofsuch a thing. "

"I allows thet yo' kin regard this hyar cabin as yo'r home wheneveryo're hyarerbouts, an' we wants fer ye ter feel thet hit _air_ home, "said the giant with simple courtesy. 

"I can't tell you how much that means to me--real hospitality likethat, " began Donald, hesitatingly. "You know I ... I haven't any realhome and haven't had ... Since mother left us, and my sister wasmarried. Of course, " he added hastily, "my rooms are pleasant andcomfortable, and all that; but they're only a place to work, sleep andeat in, and there isn't any of that indefinably vital something--a soul, perhaps--which makes a _real_ home a sacred spot, no matter how big orhow small it may be. I get frightfully lonely there, sometimes. "

"I didn't allow thet a man could git lonely in the city, " replied Jerry. 

"'In the city?' My dear man, one can be _twice_ as lonely there as anyplace I know of. The very life makes for shut-inness, in mind as well asbody, and there are thousands and thousands of men, and women, too, there, who know scarcely a soul outside of the very few with whom theirdaily work brings them in contact; and _they_ are mere acquaintances, not friends. They see only the four walls of the rooms in which theywork and sleep, and the walled-in streets between the two. 

"These very streets seem to me to typify the city's life--so hard, sofilled with hurrying, jostling crowds of people, all equally intent upontheir own narrow, selfish affairs, people who would think a fellow crazyif he spoke to them pleasantly, as you did to me the first time I sawyou. There are thousands who never even lift their eyes to the narrowstrips of sky between the tall buildings. _They_--and they only--knowwhat real loneliness is. 

"Of course I'm not one of those unfortunates, " he added quickly, "for Ihave many friends, and am making new ones daily; but that is theatmosphere I live in fifty weeks of the year. Do you wonder that it getson my nerves at times, and that I long to run away from it all and getinto the big, open spaces in the warm heart of friendly nature?

"Do you think that I can ever feel lonesome in the forest and fields, with living things always about me which are ready to share themselveswith me?"

"I reckon I haint never thought uv thet. This hyar mountain countryair's whar I hev lived in contentment all my life, an' I allows thethit's good ernough fer me ter keep on livin' in, twill I dies. "

Rose remained silent, although obviously disturbed by Donald's words;but, before she could voice her thoughts, another figure quietly joinedthe group--a tall, stooping man, clean shaven, and with an æstheticcountenance seemingly out of its natural environment. 

"Why, it's my minister man, " cried Rose joyfully. "Wherever did you comefrom?"

"My wanderings brought me close home, and I could not pass by withoutcalling on my two good friends in Webb's Gap. "

"An' we air downright glad fer ter see ye, reverend, " answered the host. "This hyar air the doctor man from the city, what leetle Rose hes toldye so much erbout. "

Donald already felt drawn to the strange divine, their common interestin the girl acting as a lode-stone, and he clasped his hand withfriendly pressure. The other returned it less vigorously, but no lesssincerely, and Donald experienced a peculiar mesmeric thrill whichstartled him a little. 

"Perhaps I should apologize, " began Mr. Talmadge in a low voice, thetimbre of which still retained the resonance of early culture. "I cameon this happy scene--or at least to the corner of the house--while youwere speaking of life in the city, and I could not very well helppausing and listening. 

"I know your feelings only too well, Dr. MacDonald. I was born, bred andworked in New York until my health became undermined by just suchinfluences as you mentioned; and I was forced to run away, too, and seekthe hills 'whence cometh my help. '"

"And deep in your inner consciousness you don't regret the change, doyou?" asked Donald. 

"No. Perhaps I am selfish--a shirker--and there are times when the oldcall to get back where I know that the need is greatest comes like aclarion. But for myself, the disaster--which once seemed like acurse--has turned out to be a blessing, as is so often the case. I havelearned a great lesson, doctor. "

"What lesson?" queried Rose. 

"God's, " responded the minister, quietly. "It may seem strange to you, my dear, but, although I was reared in a religious family, went througha great theological school, and was the rector of a city church for tenyears, I never fully knew Him until I came here. "

"Why, Mr. Talmadge!" gasped the girl in astonishment, while Donald saidbluntly, "Do you really believe that you know Him, now?"

"I do. Not, of course, in all the fullness of His mysterious majesty, but as a friend whose ways are no longer hidden from my eyes. "

"Frankly, I wish I might say as much, " said the doctor. "I, too, wasbrought up in a religious household, but small good it did me, for, whenI became old enough to think for myself, the glaring errors andinconsistencies in my childhood belief became so apparent that I becamehopeless of ever understanding the truth which might lie within thatastonishing maze. I quit going to church long ago. "

"Doctors are generally regarded as an atheistic lot, " smiled theminister. 

"That's slander. We may--in the aggregate--be agnostic.... I supposethat I am. "

"I ... I don't understand, " said Rose in distress, "but I don't like forto hear yo' say that, Dr. Mac. "

"It may not be as bad as it sounds, my child, " laughed Mr. Talmadge. "Anatheist is indeed a terrible person, who doesn't believe in our heavenlyFather, but an agnostic is only one who confesses that he doesn't know... But may be quite willing to learn. "

"Oh, learn ... I mean teach him, then, " she said earnestly. "You areGod's man and know everything about Him, Mr. Talmadge. "

"Indeed I don't--far from it, and I imagine that your friend doesn'twant to hear a sermon on the mount. "

"_I_ do, " she cried, "there's lot of things I want to hear about, butI've always been afraid to ask you, till now. "

Rather gruffly Donald added his word, "I hope that I am broad-mindedenough not only to receive, but to welcome, any light on a subject whichis, I imagine, the most vitally important one in life. "

"Well, then, suppose we hold a little spiritual clinic for our Rose'sbenefit primarily, remembering that where two or three are gatheredtogether in His name, God will be with them. And, after all, what timecould be more fitting than this silent, holy night; what place moresuitable than this great temple of the out-of-doors, for us simplechildren of His to seek understanding?"

CHAPTER X

"SMILES'" CONSECRATION

If, half an hour previous, Donald had been told that, during the firstevening of his long anticipated visit to his forest of enchantment, hewas to play the part of patient in a spiritual clinic, conducted by awandering backwood preacher for the instruction of a seventeen-year-oldmountain girl--as well as for his own enlightenment--he would havescoffed at the idea; yet, oddly enough, he felt no sense of displeasureor antagonism. 

In the company of this unaffected man of God, the simple old mountaineerand the equally simple girl only, vanished all the self-consciousreserve and reticence which usually attacks the modern city dweller whencalled upon to speak of things spiritual and eternal, and which had sooften bound Donald's tongue, even when his inner being cried aloud forexpression. 

"I hardly blame you for your attitude of mind, doctor, " began Mr. Talmadge. "Although it is certain that the knowledge of God starts fromHimself a ray of pure white light, the dogmas, creeds andtheologies--invented by many men of many minds--have raised between itand our spiritual eyes a glass clouded with earthly murkiness, throughwhich we now see darkly. Only as mankind grows in spiritual stature, andlifts his head above the clouds, can he hope to see the ray in all itspurity and glory. "

"Yes, I suppose that's so, " assented Donald. "But I'm afraid that mydifficulties lie deeper than the unessential differences in dogma. However, since our little friend is the one who has questions to ask, let her conduct the catechism. "

Rose was speechless with embarrassment, but finally managed to say, "Ireckon I'm so ignorant, that I can't say the things that are in myheart. Please, Dr. Mac, you ask the reverend the questions and let mejust sit and listen. Only don't use too big words, for I want tounderstand. "

"All right, I'll be cross-examiner, but please believe, Mr. Talmadge, that what I may say is not intended to be argumentative, but ratherhonestly inquisitive. I really would like to find out if any one canreasonably explain some of the many things in religion to the acceptanceof which I have been unable to reconcile myself. "

"I'll do it gladly, if I can. But, before you begin, let me apologizefor what I said in ill-timed jest about doctors being atheists. Isuppose that, in one sense, there isn't a more truly religious class ofmen in the world. "

"I can't agree to that, either, " said Donald. 

"Perhaps not, but tell me this. Isn't the structure and functionings ofthe human body infinitely more wonderful to you, who have made anintimate study of it, than it can be to us who have not?"

"Undoubtedly. It's the most marvellous thing on God's earth, " answeredDonald, unthinkingly employing an expression heard in childhood. 

"There!" cried Mr. Talmadge. "He's convicted out of his own mouth, isn'the, Rose? 'God's earth', he says. "

"A mere figure of speech, " the physician laughed. 

"A statement of fact, sir. There are mighty few of you doctors who willnot, within your hearts of hearts, agree that a Supreme Being must havedesigned this earthly temple which we call our body, the world we dwellin, and established the laws that govern both. And, knowing, as noneothers can, _how_ wonderfully the former is constructed, is not adoctor's appreciation of the Almighty's power bound to be sincere?"

"Granted. But that isn't being religious, " Donald protested. 

"It is the foundation of all true religion, " was the quiet answer. 

The physician was still dubious. "Well, perhaps. Still, I doubt if manyministers would agree that merely because a man may believe in asuperhuman creative power, he is religious, if, at the same time hesays--as I must--that he doesn't and can't subscribe to many of thethings which we were taught as children to believe as 'gospel truth. '"

There was the sound of a shocked and troubled "Oh, " from Rose, but theminister's composure was in no wise ruffled. 

"The trouble is, I imagine, that you have mentally outgrown thewillingness to accept certain statements blindly, as children andprimitive minds do, and yet have made no really earnest endeavor to liftthe veil and look behind it with the intent of finding out if a simpleand understandable truth may not lie hidden there. "

"But how is one going to get behind a plain statement of what isapparently meant to be fact, such as the description of the creation inGenesis?" demanded Donald, somewhat impatiently. "Science is absolute, and I, for one, know that the Darwinian theory of life, or onesubstantially like it, is true. Why, a study of human anatomy proves it, even if we did not have conclusive evidence in anthropology and geology. So, in the very first words of the Bible, we start off with a conflictbetween its tenets, and what human learning shows us to be anindisputable fact. "

"Do we?" smiled the minister. 

"Don't we?" answered Donald. 

Rose sat looking first at one, then at the other, with a puzzled look inher eyes, for it was all Greek to her. 

Noticing this, Mr. Talmadge said, "I guess that we've started a bit toostrongly for our little listener, but we want her to accompany us fromthe start, " and he briefly, in simple words, outlined the Darwiniantheory, which brought an outraged grunt from Big Jerry. Then he turnedback to Donald, and said, "Take the story of ... Well, say the prodigalson, for an example. Was that the account of real happenings, thinkyou?"

"Of course not. Merely a parable. " The other's mind reverted to the onewhich he himself had preached by letter to little "Smiles. "

"The Bible is filled with parables, " said Mr. Talmadge, simply. "Whyshould we regard certain stories as allegories merely, and others ashistorically accurate statements of fact when they are difficult tocredit as such? Especially why should we do so in the face of theobvious fact that the earlier part of the Old Testament is simplytradition, handed down, orally at first, by an intensely patriotic andrather vain race? _Sacred_ tradition it is, to be sure; but that shouldnot deter us from endeavoring to analyze it in the light of reason. Besides, hasn't it ever occurred to you that in a translation from theoriginal Hebrew, some of the finer meanings of the old words are sure tohave been lost or distorted?"

"Yes, I suppose that is so. "

"As a matter of fact, the Hebrew word '_Yom_, ' which, in the story ofthe Creation, has been translated 'day, ' also means 'period. ' And it isa rather interesting thing, in this connection, that the biblicalaccount mentions an evening to each of the first six 'days, ' but not tothe seventh, which shows that _it_ isn't finished yet. Science tells usthat this last period, since the creation of mankind, has alreadylasted many thousands of years--although the length of time ascribed toit varies greatly--and this gives us some idea of how long those other'days' might have been. Besides, in this case, we do not have to be'finicky' about the meaning of the ancient word, for in the Psalms thereis a verse which says that a thousand years in _His_ sight are ... "

"Are but as yesterday, " Rose completed the quotation in her gentlevoice. "You see, those were God's days, not ours. "

"Well, I'll be ... Blessed, " said Donald. "It is logical enough, isn'tit? The trouble in this case, at least, was that I never consciouslytried to reconcile what I regarded as the old and new beliefs. "

"But, Mr. Talmadge, " Smiles' perplexed voice broke in. "If human beingsjust developed from a kind of monkey ... "

"The anthropoid ape wasn't exactly a monkey, although he may have lookedand acted like one, " laughed Donald. 

"Well, but how could the Good Book say that God created man in His ownimage?"

"Do you remember what Paul said, in his wonderful epistle to theCorinthians? He answered your question when he wrote, 'There is anatural body, and there is a spiritual body ... And as we have borne theimage of the earthly, so shall we also bear the image of the heavenly. 'What does the Bible say that God is, Rose?"

"'God is a spirit, '" whispered Smiles, reverently. 

"Exactly. And Dr. MacDonald will tell you that 'spirit' comes from aLatin word which means 'breath. ' When God perceived that some of theearth creatures had, according to His plan, developed sufficiently inmind so that they could rule the world, He breathed into them some ofHis own spirit, and thus created them in His own image--for of course aspirit hasn't form and shape like beings of flesh and blood. "

"Hasn't He?" gasped the girl. "Why, there is a picture of Him, like agreat big man with long beard, in my Bible. "

"Merely symbolic, dear child, and I have always felt that it was a vainsymbolism, in both senses of that word. You look them up in your newdictionary to-morrow. In trying hard to picture God, men have made Himin the likeness of the most wonderful things their eyes had everseen--themselves--and just increased His size. As for the beard, that issupposed to be a sign of power and strength. 

"Of course, in fact, God isn't a man or even a super-man, but a spirit, combining the spiritual elements of both male and female. "

"I reckon I jest hev ter think of er somebody fer ter worship, " broke inthe hitherto silent Jerry. "Jest something like ther wind air er bit tooonsartain fer me. "

"And for millions of others, " answered the minister quickly. "Of coursethere isn't the slightest bit of harm in people thinking of Our HeavenlyFather as a Being with a form which our eyes might see if they were onlygiven the power to behold heavenly, as well as earthly, things. Theconception of the Omnipotent as a physical embodiment has in the pastbeen of incalculable advantage in making an appeal to an aboriginal typeof mind, since it really requires some sort of material personification, which it can at least visualize, the conception of which serves as anincentive for well-doing, and a deterrent from evil doing. It istherefore infinitely preferable as a working basis to an unembodiedforce. "

Big Jerry brought a smile to the lips of the other two men by burstingout, "Durned ef I understand. Them words air too powerful ederkated ferme. "

"But, " said Rose, "what you say kind of frightens me, Mr. Talmadge. Ifwe can't ever see God, even in Heaven, how can we be sure that He _is_?"

"Have you ever seen ... Love?" queried the minister softly. 

"No, sir. "

"Yet you know that _it_ is. You've never seen, tasted, touched orsmelled thought, but you know that it exists. In the same mysterious waywe know, and we shall know more perfectly hereafter, that the GreatSpirit--I've always loved that beautiful Indian expression--_is_. "

"Yes, " she said, somewhat uncertainly. "I _think_ that I understand. Butit's powerful hard to understand how I can be His little child if Heisn't a person. "

"I don't wonder that it puzzles you, dear. It is hard for even theoldest of us to try to imagine something entirely different from what wehave actually seen with our mortal eyes, and we can hardly conceive of aspirit, or even a ghost, as something without some sort of a form, eventhough it be a very misty one. But the _real_ you isn't the flesh thatwe can see and touch, but the spirit that dwells inside, and, just assome of your earthly father and mother is in your body, so you havesomething of God within you, which was given you at birth. We call it... "

"My soul. "

"Yes. And as that was part of Him you are His child ... So are weall--spiritual children. "

"And Jesus? Was He His son in the same way?" whispered the girl. 

"Exactly, only to a far greater degree than we can hope to be, for toHim the Heavenly Father gave His spirit in fuller measure than He everhad before to mankind, so that He might set an example to the world andteach us the way we should try to live. "

There was silence for a moment, and then Smiles spoke the thought thathad been troubling her. "But, Mr. Talmadge, if God hasn't any body andour spirits are like him, why heaven ... "

Mr. Talmadge sent a glance of smiling appeal at the doctor as though tosay, "Now I'm in for it. How can I explain heaven as a spiritualcondition?" Aloud he said, "I won't pretend to know just what heaven islike, but, of course, our spirits won't need an earth like this to walkon. "

"But, " persisted the child, "the Good Book says that there are manymansions there, and golden streets, and also that it is a land flowingwith milk and honey. "

"So it does, and very likely there are, in the realms of the spirit, things which correspond to those that we have known on earth, but I amquite sure that they are not _material_ things. "

"Ef thar haint no real heaven, thar haint no real hell, " broke in BigJerry, whose mind had been slowly grasping the meaning of the minister'swords. "I reckon thar must be a place uv punishment fer sinners. "

Painstakingly, as though explaining to a child, Mr. Talmadge answered, "Mr. Webb, did you ever do something wrong, because of which yourconscience troubled you later?"

"Reckon I hev. Reckon I suffered the torments uv the damned fer hit. "

"Did you ever burn your hand?"

"Yes, I done thet, too; powerful bad. "

"Which caused you the most suffering, your conscience or your hand?"

"I erlows thet my conscience done hit. "

"That is the answer to your implied question. God doesn't need to giveus new bodies, and send them into a place of fire and brimstone topunish us for our sins. If the soul suffers, it is in hell, even thoughit may still be in our mortal bodies. That it must suffer, when we dowrong, we know. But, Mr. Webb, I do not think that it is meant to bepunishment in the sense of retribution--getting even--so much as it isfor correction. You know that men put gold through the fire to purge itof the dross that makes it dim and lustreless. That is what the fires ofthe spirit are for; that is why the Bible speaks of Hell as a place offire. It is another parable. "

"Yes, I see, " said Rose, but the old man shook his head, unconvinced. Then the girl asked suddenly, "But why was God so good as to give uspart of Himself and let us make it impure and suffer, Mr. Talmadge?"

"Ah, now you are getting into the depths of religion and I'd rather notdiscuss that until you have had a chance to think over what we havetalked about already. All that I wanted to do to-night was to get bothyou, and the doctor, to thinking for yourselves. Come and see me, doctor, if you want to continue this discussion. I've got theories onany subject that you may mention, I guess, " he laughed. "But I won'tcount the evening wasted--even leaving out the pleasure I have had--if Ihave helped to open your eyes, ever so little, to the light. "

"Oh, you have ... And mine, too, " answered Rose. "I mean to think_hard_, but if I get very puzzled, I'll come to see you about it. But, anyway, I mean to be God's little child all my life--as well as atrained nurse. And I mean to help Dr. Mac, always, to be a child of ourheavenly Father, too, " she added, simply. As Donald arose to bid theminister good-night, his eyes were a little misty, for the girl'sunaffected declaration had moved him more deeply than he had ever beenmoved in his life. 

CHAPTER XI

ADOPTION BY BLOOD

For a little while Donald lay awake under the eaves in his loft room, but his sleeplessness was the result neither of worry or nervoustension. His mind, indeed, was unusually contented. None of thedisturbing thoughts of difficult tasks on the morrow assailed it; hefelt only an unwonted peace and contentment. The impressions left by theevening's talk still swayed and uplifted his soul. Yet, deep within hisconsciousness, there was a vague realization that it would be long, ifever, before he could hope to pattern his life by the precepts of theman of God who had so stirred him. Happily, he could not foresee howsoon mortal passions were to repossess him wholly, to blot out the newspiritual light which was his. 

In her little room below, Rose, too, lay awake, her youthful mindteeming with wonderful, new ideas garnered from the seeds sown by the"reverend"; but the insistent call of slumber to her tired, healthy bodyin time lulled her busy thoughts to rest. 

 * * * * *

"Oh, Doctor Mac, come _quick_! Grandpappy's hurted. "

Sound asleep, and even then visioning the girl whose terrified voicesuddenly wove itself into the figment of his dream, when the first wordfell upon his ears, Donald was wide awake, and he was half out of bedbefore the last was spoken. 

He paused only long enough to draw on his hunting breeches and thrusthis bare feet into their tramping boots--which left a hiatus ofunstockinged muscular calf--hurriedly dropped down the ladder, and intwo strides was out of doors. 

Near the wood pile stood the old mountaineer, on his countenanceexpression of mingled pain and chagrin, the latter dominating. His righthand still grasped the keen-edged axe, while Rose stood beside him, clasping his brawny left forearm with both of her small but sinewyhands. 

As Donald approached them on the run he noticed that the girl hadsacrificed her treasured hair ribbon to make a tourniquet halfway up theold man's arm, and that blood was running down his hand and falling fromthe finger tips with slow, rhythmical continuity. 

"Hit haint nothin' et all, Smiles, " Big Jerry was rumbling forth. "Hitair jest er scratch. I don't know how I come fer ter do hit an' I reckonI ought ter be plumb ershamed. Why, Smiles, I been erchoppin' wood fernigh onter fifty year, an' I haint never chopped myself erfore. Hit warthet tarnation knot. But hit haint nothin', this hyar haint. "

"Come over to the well where we can give it a wash, " was Donald's curtcommand, and Big Jerry followed him obediently, while the girl hastenedahead and drew up a bucket full of pure, sparkling, ice-cold springwater. The doctor tipped it unceremoniously over the giant's arm, and, as the already coagulating blood on the surface was washed away, made ahasty examination of the slanting, ugly gash beneath. 

"Superficial wound. No artery or major muscle severed, " he announced, asthough addressing a class. "Still, you were right in taking theprecaution of applying that tourniquet, Rose. I suppose it was bleedingpretty merrily at first. "

"Hit war spoutin' powerful, " she answered, in her stress of excitementlapsing into the language of childhood. 

"Yes, I suppose so. That is in a way a good thing in such cases, however. It automatically cleanses the wound of any infectious matter. Look, Rose, " he added, as though explaining to a clinic, "see how theblood is thickening up into a clot? That is chiefly the work of what wecall 'white corpuscles'--infinitely tiny little organisms whose solepurpose in life is to eat up disease germs which may get into the veins, and to hurry to the surface when there is a cut, cluster together anddie, their bodies forming a wall against the wicked enemies who arealways anxious to get inside the blood for the purpose of makingtrouble. "

"I told ye 'twarnt nothin', " said Big Jerry, not without a note ofrelief in his voice, however. "A leetle blood-lettin' won't do me nohurt. I'll jest wind a rag eround hit, an' ... "

"Not so fast, " laughed Donald. "In all probability 'a rag just woundround it' would do the business, for your blood is apparently infirst-class condition, with its full share of the red corpuscles; butyou might just as well have the benefit of the hospital corps since weare on the ground. The red corpuscles, " he added, addressing Smiles, "are the other good little chaps who continually go hurrying through thebody, feeding it with oxygen and making it strong. Run into the houseand get my 'first aid' kit, from my knapsack, child. You'll remember itwhen you see it, for I had to dig it out the very first time that I sawyou. "

The girl hurried cabinwards, fleet as the wind, and, as the two men satdown on a woodpile to wait for her, Donald had an opportunity to takenote of his ludicrously inadequate costume. 

It seemed little more than a minute before Rose returned with his kit, but it was not brought by a mountain maid. In that almost incrediblyshort time the child had changed her gingham dress for the immaculatecostume of a trained nurse, and the transformation in apparel had beenaccompanied by one in mien no less noticeable. Dainty and fair as awhite wild rose she was, yet seriously businesslike in expression. Donald was startled for a moment. It came to his mind that he waslooking upon a vision of the years to come, and the picture caused hisheart to beat a little faster; but, although the light of appreciationshone in his eyes, his only comment was, "Are your hands as clean asthat dress?"

"Yes, doctor. "

"Now how the deuce did she come to use that stereotyped response?" hewondered; then said, aloud, "Then undo that roll of gauze bandage andtear off a piece about six feet long ... Be careful! Don't let it touchthe ground. "

Then he immediately gave his attention to Big Jerry, and smiled withprofessional callousness as he caught the giant's wince when theantiseptic fluid which he poured on the wound started it smarting. 

"Now for your first lesson in the scientific application of a bandage, Smiles, " he said. 

Very carefully she followed his directions, and at length the split endwas tied with professional neatness. But, as his fingers tested theknot, the girl seized one of his hands and exclaimed, with solicitude, "Why, you're hurt, too, Doctor Mac!"

She indicated on one of his fingers a small jagged tear from which theblood was slowly oozing. 

"How the dickens did I do that?" he demanded in surprise. 

"Sliding down the ladder from the loft-room, I reckon. See, there's apiece of splinter in it still. "

"Right-o, Miss Detective. " He turned to the old man and remarked, "Itlooks as though your blood and mine had been mixing, this morning. Whynot complete the ceremony and make it an adoption by blood; the way theyused to do in some of the Indian tribes, you know?" he added, halfjestingly, and acting on a sudden impulse. "You can take me into theclan as ... Well, as your foster-son. "

"Thar haint no clan nowadays, I reckon, but ef yo' wants fer ter be myfoster-son I'd shor' be pleased fer ter hev ye es such, lad. "

"Great. I feel like 'one of the family' already, and if you _will_ adoptme as a new son--with all the privileges and obligations of one--I'llappreciate it, no joking. "

As a pledge of their compact the city and mountain man clasped handssolemnly, while Rose stood by, delightedly smiling her benediction upontheir act. "Why, " she cried, "that makes me your little foster sister, Doctor Mac. Oh, I'm so glad!"

"Yes, so it does. " Donald answered with a cheery voice, but no soonerwere the words spoken than a sense of rebellion took possession of him. "Idiot!" he muttered, shaking off the feeling with an effort of hiswill. 

"But haint ... Aren't you going to do up your hurt finger, too?" shequeried anxiously. 

The man seized the broken sliver with his fingers and jerked it out, examined the tiny incision and then thrust the wounded member into hismouth. "Don't ever tell any of my patients that you saw me do this, " helaughed, with a return to good humor, "but that is my way of treating aminor injury ... Then I forget it. It's a fearful secret, " he added, lowering his voice, "but nature, aided by sun and air, are wonderfulhealers, and just ordinary saliva, if a person is healthy, is bothcleansing and healing. "

"Thet air the way anumals cures thar hurts, " remarked Jerry. 

"Yes, it is nature's way, and if the blood is pure, and the cut not sodeep as to make infection likely, there isn't a much better one, afterall. However, Miss Nurse, you may practice your art on my finger, too, if you want. "

He held his hand out, and, flushing with childish happiness, Rose boundup the little scratch painstakingly, answering Donald's brief word ofcommendation with a flashing smile. Indeed, experience with many nursesof many grades of ability made him aware that her untrained fingers heldan unusual degree of natural knack which augured well for the future. 

During a simple breakfast, leisurely eaten, the trio talked over indetail the varied happenings of the year that had passed, and Donald wasas astonished as he was pleased to discover what diligent applicationthe girl had exercised in her studying, and what results she hadattained, despite the manifold handicaps under which she had labored. Her ministerial friend and mentor had truly guided her feet far alongthe lower levels of learning. Yet the old and well-remembered childishcharm had been in no wise lessened, and the unaffected simplicity withwhich she dropped into the mountain tongue, when speaking to hergrandfather, caused Donald to glow with sympathetic appreciation. 

As they finished eating, Big Jerry remarked, "Hit air a powerful finemornin' fer ter spend huntin', my boy. I reckon yo'll wish ter git interthe woods right smart, an' ef yo' desires ter make a day uv hit, Smiles'll fix ye up er leetle lunch ter take erlong. "

"Oh, I'm not exactly sure what I shall do, " answered Donald, with slighthesitation. "Perhaps what I need most, to start with, is just plainrest, and I rather guess I'll laze around this morning, and maybe godown to Fayville to get my grip this afternoon. "

"Wall, thet air a good idee. Jest make yo'rself ter home. I've got aleetle bizness ter attend to up the mountain a piece, an' I allows yo'kin git erlong 'thout me fer a while. " He departed, disappearing withsurprising rapidity, and left the man and girl together. 

Donald sank onto the doorstep, leaned against the side post, and suckedaway at his pipe with lazy contentment, alternately watching Rose as sheflew busily about her simple household duties, and sending his gaze outover the broad stretch of peaceful mountainside, which lay dozing in thewarm morning sun. 

CHAPTER XII

THE THREE OF HEARTS

At length Donald said, abruptly, "You haven't asked me anything aboutMiss Treville, Smiles. "

There was a perceptible pause in the girl's dish-drying, and the simplemountain ballad that she was happily humming broke off in the middle ofa minor cadence. The man regarded her with curiosity as she slowlyapproached him, saying, "I didn't mean to be so forgetful, doctor, andI'm plumb ashamed. I should be pleased to have you tell me all abouther. "

"Why, I don't know as there is much to tell, " he replied, a littlenonplussed by the unexpectedness of the implied question. "Of course sheis very nice and very lovely, as I wrote you. "

"What does she look like?"

"I am afraid that I cannot hope to give a very accurate description ofher, Rose. It would perhaps be easier if you had ever visited an artmuseum, and seen statues of some of the Greek goddesses, for people saythat she looks like one of them. You see she is quite tall for awoman--almost as tall as I am myself--and ... Well, her form and the wayshe carries herself is queenly. Then she has hair darker than yours, and ... Her eyes are gray, I guess, although, come to think of it, Inever noticed particularly. She isn't pretty like a wild-flower, butvery beautiful, more like a stately cultivated bloom. When you have seenconservatory blossoms you will know better what I mean. She is veryserious, too. Even when she is quite happy it is sometimes a bit hard totell it, for she seldom really smiles.... I wish she would, " he added, as though to himself, "she has wonderful teeth. "

"Oh, she must be very lovely, " mused Rose, and added with slighthesitancy, "I reckon you must love her powerful. "

"Yes, of course, " Donald answered, and then added, as though a logicalreason for his affection was necessary, "You see, I have known Marionall her life. She is my sister's closest friend, and almost grew up inour house. "

"I wish I had, " said Rose, the note of envy in her voice beingoutweighed by the childlike sincerity which her words carried. "Whatdoes she do?"

"Do? Why, I don't know, exactly--what all society girls, with plenty ofmoney at their disposal, do, I suppose. Of course she has clubs whichshe belongs to, and she goes to dances and theatres and ... I think sheis interested in some sort of charity, too. " He had an uncomfortablefeeling that he was failing to make out a very strong case for the womanto whom he was engaged, and at the same time wondering why anyvindication of her should seem necessary, since he had always regardedher as a bit too perfect, if anything. 

"Oh, that is lovely, for the Bible says that the greatest of all ischarity, " cried Rose, her eyes sparkling. "And does she go about helpingpoor, lonesome city people, and the dear little poor children? It mustbe wonderful to have lots of money, so that you can do all sorts ofthings to make them happier and better. "

"Confound the child, " thought Donald, although his exasperation wasdirected rather at himself, than at her. "It's positively indecent theway she gets inside one. Judged by the standards of her class, Marion isa splendid girl--head and shoulders above the average--yet theseunconsciously searching questions of Smiles' are ... Hang it all, I wishI had had sense enough not to open the subject. "

Aloud he said non-committally, "Yes, of course it is wonderful and Iknow that you would do it if you were able. "

"I _shall_ do it, " was the confident answer. "I can't give money but Ican give myself. " There was a moment of silence; then Rose added softly, "I guess she loves you a lot, too, you are so good to ... To people, anddo such wonderful things. When do you calculate to get married to her, Doctor Mac?"

"Married?" he repeated in a startled voice, "Oh, some day, of course;but you know how terribly busy I am, and ... " He stopped, visualizinghimself at that moment as he lolled indolently in the doorway of thatmountain cabin, and wondering if the same thought were in her mind aswas in his. At the same time came a welcome interruption in theappearance of a small child, brown as the proverbial berry, and bearingin her arms a large and rather dilapidated appearing doll. For aninstant Donald failed to recognize her, and said, "Hello, here comes oneof your little friends to see you, Smiles. Why, I do believe ... Yes, it's Lou. Come along. You're not afraid of the doctor man who sent youthat doll. "

Lou advanced, one finger in her mouth, the corners of which were liftingin a shy smile. Sensing the approach of another old friend, Mike boundedout of the doorway where he had lain panting in the shadow, and soenergetic was his greeting that the child was very nearly upset by it, although as soon as she could regain her equilibrium she flung herlittle arms around the roughly coated neck, without a trace of fear. 

"Mike's got er broken leg, " she announced. The words gave Donald a startuntil he saw that she was holding out to him her doll, one of whoselimbs flapped about in piteous substantiation. "Kin yo' make hit wellergin?"

Examining the injured member, whence the sawdust blood had issuedthrough a deep incision in the cloth, Donald replied seriously, "It willrequire a rather serious operation, but I guess that I can mend it withthe assistance of Nurse Smiles. We will have to sew up the wound and putthe leg in splints. "

"Hit haint ergoin' ter hurt her much, air hit?" begged Lou, with allthe solicitude of a young mother. 

"No. We'll give her an anesthetic--something to put her soundasleep--and I guess that she won't know anything about it. " Rose joinedthem laughingly, bringing a threaded needle and some bits of cloth forstuffing and in a few minutes the operation was complete, even to theapplication of splints, roughly shaped by Donald's jack-knife. Throughout the process the physician explained each step to Rose, whocried as they finished, "Oh, I love to do it. It's lots more fun thanbook studying or weaving baskets. "

"Well, we might have a real lesson in 'first aid' this morning, if Loucan stay and be your little patient. Bring out that roll of bandagesagain. "

What a merry hour they spent, helped by Mike, who insisted in doing hisshare by licking the patient at every opportunity. The air was so warmthat Lou's little dress could be taken off, and as she giggled orscreamed with merriment, Donald and Rose treated her for everyconceivable fracture, sprain or injury, the former all the whileexplaining in the simplest language at his command the major facts ofhuman anatomy. 

Rose proved to be an astonishingly apt pupil, and after eachdemonstration insisted on going through both the procedure andexplanation alone. 

Finally, in the course of demonstrating an unusually intricate piece ofbandaging, Donald put his arms about Smiles, the better to guide herhands, and impulsively drew her close against him. He could not see herface, but he perceived that a quick flush mantled her neck anddelicately rounded cheek. She moved away hastily, saying in a low voice, "I reckon you oughtn't do like that, Doctor Mac. "

"Why, Smiles!" came his response in a hurt tone. 

"I don't mean for to hurt you, and of course I cares for you like I usedto, but I guess it ain't ... Isn't ... Just right for you to put yourarms around me ... That way now. I'm most grown up now, and ... And ... You're pledged to ... To some one else. " During her speech the color hadflamed brighter and brighter. 

The man was both surprised and chagrined. He realized, of course, thatin many respects Rose was indeed, 'most a woman now'--that she was farmore mature in certain ways than city-bred girls of the same age; for, while they might be infinitely more sophisticated in worldly ways thanshe, they are still children, whereas she had already entered into theproblems of life and for several years had not only been in full chargeof a home, but in intimate touch with the issues of life and death inthe little community. Understanding all this, he nevertheless lookedupon her as a child because of the childlike simplicity whichcharacterized her still. 

"I see, " he answered slowly and a little ashamed, then added lightly, "but you have apparently forgotten that you adopted me as afoster-brother this morning. "

For a moment she said nothing; then the old misty smile touched herlips, and she replied, "I shor' most forgot that, and it makes it allright. Please, Doctor Mac, don't think that I didn't enjoy for you to doit. "

There succeeded another brief, awkward silence. Then Smiles slipped herarm about Donald's neck with frank, childlike affection, and leanedclose to him, her young, warm being thrilling his senses, as he fullwell realized Marion's infrequent embraces never had. 

Shocked and distressed by his own emotions, Donald was the first towithdraw his encircling arm, with an intent to continue the lesson. Butit was ended. 

During the brief interlude Lou had stood regarding the man and girluncomprehendingly. Now she piped up, "Smiles loves ye er heap, I reckon, doctor man, an' so does I. Ef she don't marry with ye, I'll do hit whenI gits bigger. "

"My, but I'm a fortunate man to have _three_ fair ladies love me, and Iwon't forget your promise, " Donald laughed merrily. 

"But my brother Juddy don't love ye none, " said the child, innocentlybringing a cloud over the friendly sunshine in her hearers' hearts. Donald looked at Rose uneasily as he answered. 

"Oh, I hope he will like me some day. We should be the best of friends, for we both care for the same two dear girls. "

"Where _is_ Juddy?" came Smiles' somewhat troubled query. 

"Oh, he air away ergin; up in ther mountain. "

The shadow deepened on Rose's face and Donald caught the sound of adistressed, "Oh. "

"What's the matter?" he asked without special thought. 

"It haint ... It isn't anything ... Leastwise it isn't anything that Ican tell you about, doctor Mac. I ... I just don't like for him to go upthere. "

A feeling closely akin to jealousy stirred Donald's heart. Did thatuncouth young mountaineer really mean something to her after all?

CHAPTER XIII

GATHERING CLOUDS

Despite Smiles' ingenuous proffer of a sister's affection, Donald wastroubled with an unreasonable dissatisfaction over the course which theevents of the morning had taken, and he knew that it was unreasonable, which made it worse. Now he suddenly announced that he guessed he wouldnot wait until the afternoon before going down to Fayville to get hissmall amount of baggage. 

The girl was troubled, also, without knowing just why, and she watchedhis departure with an unhappy feeling that somehow the changes which theyear had made in both their lives had raised a misty barrier betweenthem--intangible, but not easily to be swept away. Furthermore, young asshe was, she intuitively sensed that hers was the necessity ofreconstructing their friendship on a new foundation, because she was awoman. The man could not do it. 

Meanwhile Donald performed his downward journey with none of thelightness of heart which makes a long walk a pleasure, rather than atask. Going down the wooded descent, where the dew still lay wet beneaththe heaviest thickets, was not so bad; but, when he had obtained hisgrip and gun, and started on the back trail, his discomforts commenced. As the main street of the little village changed its character, first toa road and then a cart path through the fields, it grew deep with dust, and, although no air stirred, it seemed to rise, as water does bycapillary attraction, until his clothing was saturated and his mouth andnose overlaid with a film of it. Overhead the sky burned, and from thebrown fields, which stretched to the wooded base of the mountain, heatwaves rose as though the dry earth were panting with visible breath. Aninsect chirped half-heartedly in the grass, and then left off as thoughthe effort were too great, and a small striped snake leisurely wove asinuous path through the dust ahead of him, and vanished with a fainthiss. 

It was better when he struck the woods, for there was shade; but the airwas more sultry and the added exertion of climbing started theperspiration and turned the coating of dust to sticky grime. Still thebreeze delayed, and the fragrant odors of the woods were cloying. Hisluggage grew heavier and yet more heavy; his arm and back began to achepainfully. 

When physical discomfort is accompanied by morose introspection, theresult is certain to be unpleasant, and Donald's thoughts were in dismalgrays and browns, which ill-matched the radiant colors of externalnature. 

Certainly Smiles was not to blame, he thought, as he trudged up and up. The fact still remained that they lived on utterly different planes, andthat he had not the slightest idea of falling in love with her, or, evenmentally, violating his pledge to Marion. Pshaw, she was nothing but achild! It was foolish, absurdly so, yet somehow he felt that his worldwas out of joint, and, since he could not, or would not, determine justwhat the trouble was, he could not take active measures to bring about areadjustment. 

With a conscious effort of his will he put the mountain child out of histhoughts, and attempted to analyze his real feelings for the city girl, to whom he was betrothed. He could assign no reason to the vague, butpersistent, feeling which frequently possessed him, when he was apartfrom her, that she was not his natural mate. Her poise and reserve, which sometimes irritated him, he knew to be really virtues, in a way asdesirable as they were rare in women, even of her class; her unusualbeauty fully satisfied his eye; she was a reigning queen, the desired ofmany men and he had won her, although he hesitated a little over theword "won. " Finally, he was certain that she loved him, after herfashion. Why should he, a man as reserved as he was, and one who hadlittle time to spend on the romantic embellishments of life, ask formore? Yet there was mute rebellion in the depths of his heart, and eventhe memory of that milestone night, eight months before, when the spiritof Christmastide had added its spell to the influences of life-longpropinquity, and they had, almost without spoken words, crossed theborder and pledged themselves to one another, brought no thrill. 

"I _know_ that she is a wonderful woman, and a real beauty, " musedDonald, half aloud. "The trouble must be ... Yes, _is_, with me. She'stoo wonderful for my simple tastes; that's the truth, as I told Ethel. Oh, well, perhaps I can learn to live up to her ... But I hate thissociety stuff. "

 * * * * *

Donald's return to the cabin, weary and uncomfortable in body and mind, found Big Jerry sitting heavily in a chair, with Smiles hovering about, and, from the expression on the face of each, he sensed at once thatsomething was wrong. The old man was saying, somewhat laboriously, "Hitdon't pain me ... Much, Rose, gal. Hit haint nothin' ... Ter mention. I'll jest set still hyar erwhile, an' ... "

As the girl caught sight of Donald's big form in the doorway, her facebrightened momentarily; but it clouded again with swift pain when hetouched his heart with a significant gesture, accompanied by aquestioning look. She nodded, then said aloud, "Here's our Doctor Macback ergin, grandpappy. I reckon he kin do somethin' fer ter help ye. "

The newcomer attempted a cheery laugh, and said, "Well, I'm not muchgood unless we can turn Time's flight backward, and make him a childagain temporarily. Kiddies are my specialty, you know, and although I'vea few grown-up patients, left over from the time when I took whatevercame, and was thankful, I am killing them off as fast as I can. "

He spoke facetiously, with the design of instilling a lighter element inthe conversation; but, although Jerry smiled wryly, the girl looked soshocked that Donald hastened to add, "Please don't be alarmed, dear, ofcourse I didn't mean that literally. And you know that I will doanything in my power to help. I only wish that I knew more abouttroubles affecting the heart, " he added. 

"Reckon the doctor down in Fayville hed ought ter say the same thing, "interposed the old man. "I erlows he didn't do me no good, fer I gotbetter es soon's I quit takin' the stuff he left me. "

"Don't be too hard on him, foster father. After all, what you probablyneeded most was to give that big heart of yours a rest, and that is whatdid the business then, and will now. Well, I'll look you over anyway. Iguess professional ethics won't be outraged, with the other physicianfive steep, uphill miles away. "

While he talked he had been opening his suitcase, and now took out acompact emergency bag which experience had taught him never to go awaywithout, and at whose shining, unfamiliar contents Smiles' eyes openedwith fascinated amazement. Taking out a stethoscope, Donald bade thegiant open his soft, homemade shirt, and planted the transmitting diskagainst the massive chest, padded with wonderful, bulging muscles. 

"O-ho, " he said under his breath, as he finally laid the instrumentaside; for his intently listening ears had caught the faint, but clearlydiscernible sound of a systolic murmur, deep within. 

"Air the trouble 'Aunt' ... What the other doctor said hit was?"questioned Rose. 

"Angina pectoris? He may have had a touch of that last winter of course, but my guess is that it's something a bit different now. "

"I haint erfeered ter hyar the truth, " rumbled Jerry, straightening uplike a soldier before the court martial. 

"Well, " answered the doctor, "I should say that you have a touch ofanother jaw-breaking Latin phrase, namely, an aneurism of the thoracicaorta. "

"Hit shor' sounds powerful bad, " grunted Jerry. "But then I reckon thetdoctors likes ter use big words. "

"Right. For instance, we prefer to call an old-fashioned cold in thehead, 'Naso-pharyngitis. ' The worse it sounds, the more credit we getfor curing it, you see. Well, 'sticks and stones may break our bones, but _words_ will never hurt us, ' so don't let that Latin expressionworry you. Just take things a bit easy, don't overdo physically or getoverexcited, and you'll be good for many a moon yet, " he added lightly. 

Jerry fastened up his shirt with big, fumbling fingers and walked slowlyoutside, while Rose, tears of pity shedding a misty luminousness overher eyes, stepped close to Donald and laid her hand appealingly on hisarm, "Is it something pretty bad, Doctor Mac?" she breathed. 

"Well, it's apparently a mild case ... So far. "

"But the trouble ... Is it ... Is it dangerous?"

He hesitated an instant, then responded quietly, "Nurses have to knowthe truth, of course, and I am sure that you have a brave little heart, so I'm not afraid to tell you that it _is_ bad. It is almost sure to befatal, in time, but not necessarily soon. If he will take things easy, as I told him to, he'll live for a considerable time yet; but we mustn'tallow him to get very greatly excited, or do any very heavy work. "

Suddenly very white, but calm and tearless, Smiles answered, "I reckon Ican help him better if I know all about it, doctor. I _got_ to help him, you know. He's all I have now in the whole world. "

"Of course you're going to help him--we both are--but ... You have me, little sister, and your life work, " he answered with awkward tenderness. "Now let us see if I can make you understand what I believe the troubleto be. In its incipient--that is, its early stages, it would be ratherhard to tell from angina pectoris, for the symptoms would be much thesame--pain about the heart and shortness of breath. But one can getover the latter, and feel perfectly well between attacks. "

He picked up from his open suitcase a folded newspaper which he hadtossed in half read, on leaving the city, and drew for her a crudediagram of the heart and major arteries. 

"This biggest pipe which goes downward from the heart is called thegreat artery, and it and its branches--just like a tree's--carry theblood into all parts of the body, except the lungs. Another name for itis the descending thoracic aorta, and that is where grandfather'strouble is. If you knew something about automobile tires I would explainit by saying that he had a blow-out, but it's something like this. Thepipe has an outer surface and an inner lining. At one time or anothersomething happened to injure and weaken the former--disease does itsometimes--perhaps it may have been a severe strain or crushing blow onhis chest. "

"A big tree fell on him early last winter, " cried Rose, with suddenenlightenment. "His chest is so big and strong that he didn't think thatit hurt him, 'cept to lame him considerable. "

"That may have caused the trouble. Well, what happens is this. The bloodis pumped by the heart through that weakened pipe, and, little bylittle, it forces the lining out through the weakened spot, makingsomething like a bubble filled with blood. In time that might grow untilyou could actually see the swelling, and all the time, the containingtissue is getting thinner and thinner. Now you can yourself guess thereason why he mustn't do anything to over-exert his heart. Hard work, orgreat excitement, makes our hearts beat faster, and sends the bloodthrough that big artery with extra force and ... "

"The bubble might ... Break, " whispered "Smiles, " with a frightened lookon her young face. 

"Yes. We call it a rupture of the aneurism, and when that happens mortallife ends. "

"Oh, " she shuddered slightly. "I must keep him very quiet, Doctor Mac. Iam strong and can do all the work. You tell him that he mustn't doanything, please, doctor. "

"I'm not sure that that would be the wisest plan, Rose. He has been sostrong and active all his life it would break his great heart to be tieddown like an invalid. I'm sure that he would be happier doing things, even if as a result he didn't live quite so long. Don't you think so, yourself?"

She nodded, and he continued, "Of course he is so big and strong he cando common, simple tasks without anything like the amount of exertionrequired by an ordinary man, and, so long as he doesn't strain himself, or get very much excited, we may reasonably expect him to live for agood while yet. Besides, as the aneurism progresses there will come asteady, boring pain and increased shortness of breath, which willthemselves help to keep him quiet. "

"But can't I give him some medicine?"

"The best medicine that he can possibly have will be your happy, comforting smile and tender love, my child. "

She furtively wiped a stray tear from her cheek and smiled bravely upinto his face, in a wordless pledge that to the administration of thistreatment she would devote herself without stint. 

"May I ... May I have that paper, " she answered appealingly, as hestarted to crumple it up, preparatory to tossing it into the fireplace. "We don't often have city papers to read, you know. "

"Why, of course; I didn't think, " he answered, smoothing it out andhanding it to her. She took it eagerly, and had read barely a minutebefore she cried, delightedly, "Why, Doctor Mac. _You're_ in this paper. Oh, did you read what it says?"

"Hang it, " thought Donald, "I forgot all about that fool story, or Iwouldn't have given it to her. " But she was already reading the briefarticle aloud, slowly but with appreciatory expression. 

 EXCEPTIONAL FEE PAID BOSTON DOCTOR

 Dr. Donald MacDonald Operates on Multi-Millionaire's Child

 What is rumored to have been one of the biggest fees paid to a physician in recent years, was received lately by the brilliant young children's specialist of this city, Dr. Donald MacDonald. 

 A few weeks ago he was summoned to Newport in consultation with local and New York physicians over the five-year-old daughter of J. Bentley Moors, the millionaire copper king, and finally saved the child's life by performing successfully one of the most difficult operations known to surgery--the removal of a brain tumor. 

 The child had already totally lost the power of speech, and had sunk into a comatose state, the operation being performed at Dr. MacDonald's suggestion as a final desperate resort. 

 His associates on the case are unstinted in their praise of his skill, and declare that few other surgeons in America could have carried it through with any hope of success. 

 The child was completely cured, and in his gratitude her father sent the young doctor a check which--it is said--represented an amount larger than many men earn in a lifetime. 

"What does 'comatose' mean, Doctor Mac?" asked Smiles. 

"It means a condition during which the body appears to be lifeless. Atumor is a growth--in that particular case here, inside the skull, whichpressed on the child's brain, paralyzing, or shutting off, all thesenses. "

"Oh, wasn't it wonderful to do what you did ... It was almost like themiracles our dear Lord performed, for you gave sight to the blind andraised up one who was _almost_ dead. I am so glad for that little childand her dear father, and I don't wonder that he gave you a lot of money. Was it ... Was it as much as a ... A thousand dollars?" she asked in anawed tone. 

"Yes, indeed, much more than that, in fact. "

"Not five thousand?"

Donald laughed. "The newspaper men, who had somehow or other got wind ofthe story--goodness knows how--tried mighty hard to get me to tell themhow much, but I wouldn't. However, since I know that you can keep asecret, I will tell you. It was just ten times the amount of your lastguess. "

"Oh!" she gasped, as the result of the multiplication dawned upon her. "Why, it was a fortune, and ... And _I_ know you. "

"Of course it pleased me, " was his answer, "but not half as much as theresult of the operation, dear. If a doctor is really in earnest, andbound up in his work, he never thinks whether the little suffererstretched before him in bed, or on the operating table, has a fatherworth a million dollars, or one in the poorhouse. That is the reason whywe have to charge for our services by a different standard from men inalmost any other kind of work. The rich man has to help pay for the poorman, whether he wants to or not. I meant to charge that very rich manenough so that I could give myself to a great many poor children withoutcharging them anything, perhaps; but he had a big heart and sent me thatcheck for several times what I should have charged without even waitingfor me to make out a bill. And his letter, which came with it, said thateven fifty thousand dollars was poor compensation for a life worth moreto him than all the money in the whole world. "

"A little child's life _is_ more precious than all the gold that everwas, " said Smiles seriously, "for only God can give it. "

CHAPTER XIV

SOWING THE WIND

The noonday meal was a rather quiet, constrained affair. None of thethree was in a talkative mood, Donald was still distrait, Big Jerryobviously in physical and mental distress, and Rose too full of troubledsympathy for conversation. Frequently Donald caught her gaze fixed onthe old man's face with an expression of unutterable love; and as often, when she saw him watching her, her face lighted for a moment with atender, compassionate smile. 

The eagerly anticipated vacation and reunion had truly begun badly, andit was with a sense of relief that Donald finished the simple dinner, and announced that he guessed he would go for a little tramp in thewoods, while Rose was performing her household tasks. 

"Hain't yo' ergoin' ter tote yo'r rifle-gun?" queried Big Jerry, as henoticed that the doctor was leaving the house without a weapon. 

"No, not this trip. I'm not in a mood for hunting. All I want is awalk, --and a stout club and Mike will be protection enough againstanything in these woods. Good-by, Smiles. I'll be back beforesupper-time, hungry as a bear. "

He left the clearing for the virgin woods at random, striding alongbriskly and with rising spirits, and at first unmindful of the directionthat he was taking. 

In fact he had, subconsciously--even in his recreation--refused tofollow the easiest way, and had struck out on the up-mountain trail. 

 * * * * *

For a while Donald walked on, regardless of whither. Then theconsciousness of the fact that he was in a--to him--unknown part of themountain, and nearing the summit, brought with it a recollection of thewords spoken that morning by little Lou, "Judd air erway ergin ... Up inthe mountain. "

Still, he kept on, for, although he told himself that he had not theslightest intention of seeking the mountaineer, or the solution ofSmiles' troubled look, and most certainly was not courting trouble, purposeless curiosity impelled him higher and higher into the hithertounexplored fastnesses. Now the timberlands lay beneath him, for, although the hardy laurel continued in profusion, albeit somewhat driedand withered, the trees were thinning out and becoming more scraggly, and more frequently the naked rocks, split and seamed, thrust themselvesup through the baked soil, "like vertebræ in the backbone of themountain, " thought Donald. Now they were toned and softened by moss andlichen; now barren of vegetation, rugged and gaunt, split asunder by theancient elements. In the distress which had come like a cloud over thesunlight of his spirits, so gayly anticipative a few hours previous, they flung a wordless challenge to the battling instinct in the man, andhe accepted it with the thought that the best balm for troubled minds isstrenuous bodily action. 

Eager and joyous over the new game, Mike tore about, panting, anddashing from side to side through the underbrush on real, or imaginary, scents, now stopping to dig madly for a moment, then racing on to catchup with his master, who frequently had to haul him over the precipitouscrags by the shaggy hair on his muscular back. 

The air was cooler here, and as invigorating as wine; the sky was atransparent blue. 

At last, somewhat tired of pushing his way over rocks and through virginunderbrush with no objective, he was on the point of turning to retracehis footsteps, when Mike stopped short with nose a-quiver and bristleslifting on his neck. 

"What's up?" asked the man. As usual he addressed the dog as though hewere a sentient being. "Trouble ahead? Some wild animal there, old boy?"

But, instead of retreating, he grasped his cudgel more firmly, andcautiously parted the thick bushes in front of him. 

To his surprise, Donald found that he was almost on the edge of a sharpdeclivity leading down into a natural bowl-like hollow, so shut in withhigh rocks and underbrush that it was, in effect, a retreat almost asgood as a cave for concealment. And that it was so used, or had been atsome time, was made evident by the presence of a rude hut, little morethan a lean-to since one end was wholly open, which snuggled against thefurther bank. 

With growing curiosity and caution, he worked his way along the edge, for now a faint odor of wood-smoke reached his nostrils, and there cameto his ears the sound of some one, or something, moving within theshelter, a presence which the dog had apparently detected much soonerthan had his master. 

At length he reached a point of vantage, partly hidden by a cleft rock, from which he could look fully into the interior of the shack. It wasobviously not a habitation, although a fire was burning briskly withinit. Near by stood a small keg or two, what appeared to be a large tub orvat, and, over the fire, was a queer metal object, the shape of whichcaused Donald to wonder for a brief instant if necromancy still existed, and he had stumbled upon the retreat of a mountain wizard. Almostimmediately, however, the true explanation flashed through his mind. 

It was a crude illicit distillery--the hidden "still" of a mountainmoonshiner! At the same moment a tall man in typical mountain costumemoved into view and bent over the fire. 

In his interest Donald had forgotten Mike; but, at the appearance of theman, his companion gave voice to a sharp and hostile challenge. 

The furtive toiler turned like a flash, and, seizing the rifle whichleaned against the wall near at hand, sprang out and levelled it at theintruder whose head was visible above the rock, for he had been too muchsurprised to move. 

"Put up yo'r hands!" he cried, and Donald complied with the orderwithout perceptible hesitation, at the same time pushing into fullsight. The man below was Judd!

For a moment neither spoke, and the silence was pregnant with seriouspossibilities. Then Donald regained partial control of his shakenself-possession, and with his hands still held above his head, slidawkwardly down into a sitting posture on the edge of the bank. 

"Do you know, Judd, " he remarked at last, with an assumption ofcoolness. "I thought _that_ sort of thing had ceased to exist, even inthese wild mountains, " and he nodded toward the distillery. 

"I allows thet yo' hev er habit of thinkin' wrong, " was the surlyresponse. "You haint no doctor man. Thet's er blind. Yo' be er revenuer, I reckon, an' es sich I've got ter put er bullet inter ye. "

"Don't be a fool, " snapped Donald, even in this dangerous predicamentunable to resort to conciliatory words when addressing Judd. "I'mnothing of the sort, and you know it. "

There was another spell of nerve-racking silence. Then the outlaw saidslowly, "I reckon yo' speaks ther truth. Yo' haint smart ernough fer errevenuer. One er them wouldn't come er still-huntin' 'thout errifle-gun, an' _with_ er barkin' dawg. "

"Well, I'm glad that's settled, " answered Donald, uttering a forcedlaugh. "My arms are getting tired, held up like this, and, as you have arifle and I haven't, I suggest that I be allowed to resume a morenatural position. "

Without waiting for the permission, he dropped his hands to the bankbeside him. 

Donald's action placed Judd in an obviously unpleasant dilemma. He knewit, and therein lay the intruder's best chance. 

"I haint never shot er man in cold blood erfore, but I reckon I've gotter do hit now, " he said sullenly. "Yo' know too damned much erboutsartain things what don't consarn ye. "

"If they don't concern me--as I am willing to admit--why waste abullet?" answered Donald, mentally sparring for time. "As a law-abidingcitizen I might reasonably feel that you still ought to be put out ofexistence; but, it's no hunt of mine, since I'm not a federal officer. Ihaven't any particular desire to get a bullet through me, and I knowperfectly well that you don't care for the thought of adding the crimeof murder to the misdemeanor of illicit liquor making. "

"I haint erfeerd ter shoot ye, " blustered Judd, and added significantly, "Yo're body wouldn't never be found, and yo' wouldn't be ther firstpryin' stranger what got lost in these hyar hills, and warn't neverheard of more. "

"Admitted. But what's to be gained in taking the chance? I'm ready--yes, anxious--to give you my word of honor that I'll forget what I'vestumbled on here this afternoon. Come, be reasonable, Judd. "

"Wall, ef you'll swa'r thet ... " began the mountaineer dubiously. 

"I do, " broke in Donald with undisguised eagerness. "I solemnly swearnever to tell a soul about the existence of this still, so help me God. There, I hope that satisfies you. You need not be afraid of my notkeeping my oath, but just the same, I think you're a fool to do this. You're almost sure to be caught at it, sooner or later, and a federalprison isn't a particularly pleasant place. "

"I don't reckerlect hevin' asked any advice from _yo'_, " was Judd'ssurly reply. 

"Well, I don't expect that you'll follow it, " answered the other, as hescrambled to his feet. "And since we don't seem to hit it off very welltogether, I guess I'll be starting along. "

"No yo' won't ... Leastwise not yet!" Judd's words came with crispfinality, and were reinforced by a quick movement of his rifle to thehip. "I haint through with ye yet, stranger. Last year I warned ye fairthet this hyar mountain war an on-healthy place fer ye. 'Pears like yo'didn't believe hit, but I means thet ye should this time. Erfore yo'goes I'll hear ernother sworn promise from ye, an' I reckon yo' kinguess what hit air. "

"I can. And you're not going to get it. No, by God, not if you put acoward's bullet into me for refusing, " burst out Donald, with hispent-up anger breaking its bounds at the other's dictatorial demands. "Iagreed that what you did with your time wasn't my business, but what Ido with mine, is. And I don't take orders from you in the matter, understand?"

The mountaineer's lips drew back, his body quivered, and the finger onthe rifle's trigger trembled. 

Above him, Donald stood equally tense and pale. He felt that he shouldbe praying as he had never prayed before, but wrath possessed his spiritwholly, and his mind was completely concentrated on that leanforefinger, whose slightest tension meant death. Moments like these comebut once in the lifetime of the average man, if, indeed, they ever comeat all; but, when they do, when he suddenly finds himself face to facewith some cataclysmic upheaval in human or external nature thatthreatens to rend the thin but impenetrable curtain which separates himfrom eternity, the salient characteristic of his being is unmasked andstands forth, naked. If he be at heart a coward, even though he mayhonestly never have suspected himself of cowardice, he will try to flee, or cringe and grovel for mercy; if his soul is stayed upon the immortaland everlasting truths, he will face what Fate may hold with theresigned fortitude which was the martyrs'; but, if he is merely a man, strong with the courage of the beast, refined and strengthened in thefires of intellect, he will be more likely to stand his groundunflinchingly and cast his defiance in the teeth of the danger whichthreatens, wrathful, but unafraid. 

Donald was of the latter breed. He made no move; but the cords and veinsin his muscular neck and hands swelled visibly, and his dark gray eyestook on a steely glint, as they bored steadily into Judd's gloweringblack ones. 

Suddenly, with a deep oath, the mountaineer dropped the butt of his gunto the ground. Both men breathed a deep sigh, and the latter said: "No, I kaint shoot an unarmed man, even ef he _air_ a skunk. But hark ye. Iwarns ye now fer the last time. Clar out uv this hyar mountain terday, er go armed an' ready, fer, by Gawd A'mighty, I aims ter shoot ye deadthe next time I meets ye. Hit's yo' er me now. "

When the other dropped his weapon, Donald had almost decided to make anattempt to clear the atmosphere by telling him again that his suspicionswere utterly groundless and that, so far from having any intention ofstealing the affections of the mountain child whom Judd loved, he wasbetrothed to another. But, at the challenge to fight, something, whichhe could neither explain afterwards nor control then, swept away thehalf-formed resolve, and the heat of primal hate sent a burning flushthrough him and drove cool reason utterly from its throne. 

"If you didn't have that gun, you damned coward, I'd come down therethis instant, and thrash you within an inch of your worthless life, " heshouted, heedless of consequences; too angry to care what might happen. And simultaneously, spurred on by his own blind passion, he slid downthe bank and, with fists clenched, advanced on Judd. A yard ahead of himbristled Mike, a canine fury with gleaming teeth bared and musclestensed for a spring. His master's quarrel was his also. 

"Call off thet damned dawg, ef yo' don't want fer him ter git shot, "raged the other, white with anger. "I reckon thet the time _hes_ comefer me ter teach ye a lesson; p'raps then a rifle bullet won't be nowisenecessary. Yo' tie up thet devil, an' I'll hev it out with ye, now. "Wrath robbed him, too, of all caution and he flung his gun far to oneside as Donald, with hands that trembled so violently that he couldbarely tie the knots, slipped his handkerchief through Mike's collar andfastened him securely to a stout bush. Then he faced the infuriatedmountaineer. 

"Hit's yo' er me, " panted the latter, assuming a pantherlike crouch. 

"Let it go at that, " answered the city man, dropping naturally into afighting position. 

The veneer of our vaunted civilization is, at the best, thin, and everyman, in whose veins runs red blood, has within him pent-up volcanicforces which require but little awakening to produce a soul-shatteringupheaval. Donald knew that his being shouted aloud for battle--why, hedidn't pause to analyze. Judd knew full well what _he_ was fightingfor. It was the woman whom his heart had claimed as his mate, regardlessof what his chances of winning her were. 

In college days, Donald had been a trained athlete, and he was stillexceptionally powerful, although city life and his confining work hadrobbed his muscles of some of the flexibility and strength which hadonce been theirs, and were now possessed by those of his opponent. Inweight, and knowledge of the science of boxing, he far surpassed Judd;but these odds were evened by the fact that _his_ mind--thoroughlyaroused though it was--held only a desire to punish the other severely, whereas Judd's passion burned deeper; blood-lust was in his heart and hesaw red. Nothing would satisfy him short of killing the man who seemedto be the personification of his failure to win Smiles. 

The mountaineer opened the fight with a furious rush. Donaldinstinctively side-stepped, and met it with a jolting short-arm blow tothe other's lean jaw, which sent the aggressor to the ground. 

Like a flash he was up again, wild to close with his rival and get hisfingers about his throat. There, in the little natural amphitheatre, with only the ancient trees as silent witnesses, was staged again theoft-fought fight between the boxer and the battler, but the decision wasnot to rest on points. No Marquis of Queensberry rules governed, nowatchful referee was present to disqualify one or the other for unfairtactics. 

CHAPTER XV

REAPING THE WHIRLWIND

It was not long before Donald realized that, whatever had been Judd'sprimary purpose, he was now fighting to kill, and he sought desperatelyto drive home a blow which would knock him out. But, with all hisgreater skill, it was not easily to be accomplished. The mountaineer wastough, agile and actuated by a rage which mere punishment onlyincreased. And punishment he took aplenty; while Donald remained almostunscathed, as he met rush after rush, and a storm of wildly flailingblows, with an unbroken defence. 

Nor was it long before the other realized that absolute necessity calledfor him to break through that guard, and clinch with his opponent, if hewere to hope to be successful in carrying out his design. Gathering hisphysical forces for a final desperate assault--which right and left handblows on his already battered, bleeding face could not check--he brokethrough Donald's defence, and flung his sinewy arms about his rival. 

For a moment both men clung desperately to one another, their breathcoming in labored gasps. 

Then, suddenly, the mountaineer twisted his leg about one of Donald's, catching him off his guard, and they went heavily to the groundtogether. 

Whatever had been the city man's advantage when they were on their feet, he shortly discovered that the woodman's great agility and crude skillin wrestling gave him the upper hand in this more primitive method ofcombat. Over and over they rolled, gasping for breath, and, althoughDonald exerted his great, but now rapidly failing, strength, more thanonce he felt the clutch of the other's lean, powerful fingers grippinghis throat and shutting off his breath, before he could tear them free. 

The end came suddenly. 

During a deadly grapple--with first one man, then the other, ontop--Donald called into play the last of his nervous reserve force, and, with a mighty effort, broke free, and flung Judd face downward on theground. The latter's right arm was extended, and, grasping the sweatywrist, he drew it up and back, at the same instant crowding his kneeinto the spine of the prostrate man. 

Judd cursed and wriggled frantically; but only succeeded in grinding hisbattered face into the torn turf. It was some seconds before theconqueror could gain breath enough to speak. At last he panted out, "NowI've got you. If you move I'll dislocate your shoulder like _this_!" Aninvoluntary shriek of agony was wrung from the defeated man's bleedinglips. 

"I'll let you up when ... "

"Oh, ooooh!" came a startled, terrified cry from above him. Donaldlifted his eyes, and saw Rose standing on the bank where he had stood. 

For an instant he remained as though turned to stone, staring at thegirl with growing dismay. Finally he got slowly to his feet, instinctively gave partial aid to Judd as he too struggled up, hisburning eyes also fixed on Smiles. It seemed as though the twodishevelled, dirt-covered and bleeding men typified the brute in nature, and stood arraigned there before the spirit of divine justice, for theslender girl's white dress, and no less white face, against thebackground of dark green, made her appear almost like an ethereal being. 

Her breast was rising and falling rapidly as was indicated by thepalpitating movement of her hand pressed close against it; her lips wereparted and her large, shadowy eyes filled with uncomprehending fear andpain. 

"What ... What do hit mean?" she whispered. 

As Judd made no answer Donald finally succeeded in summoning up anunnatural laugh and lied reassuringly, "It ... It isn't anythingserious, Smiles. Judd and I got into a dispute over ... Over which wasthe better wrestler, and I have been showing him a few city tricks. "

"Thet air a lie!" The mountaineer's words lashed out like a physicalblow, and the crimson flamed into the other's cheeks--and those ofSmiles as well. 

"Hit air er lie, " he repeated with a rasping voice, as he dashed theblood and dirt from his lips. "We war fightin' ter kill, an' I reckonyo' kin guess what hit war erbout, " he added, flinging the last words upat the girl. 

Once again Donald attempted to save her still greater distress by awhite lie. "I chanced to stumble on his hidden still, Smiles, and hethought that I would betray him. "

"Oh, Juddy, " cried the girl wringing her hands, "I've been erfeerin'this. In course I knowed erbout hit, fer yo' showed me the stillyerself, but I've been worryin', and hit war ter warn ye ... Ter beg yeter quit fer leetle Lou's sake erfore hit war too late thet I came. Yo'must quit, oh _please_, Judd. " In her eagerness she ran down the bankand toward him. "_I_ knows thet Doctor Mac wouldn't tell, but hit's awarnin'. "

As though hypnotized, Judd gazed into her pleading face, with hispassion for her overwhelming that other one, which had so short a timebefore swayed him. He stepped to meet her with a gesture ofhopelessness, and, realizing that he was for the moment forgotten, Donald moved softly to the mountaineer's rifle, ejected the cartridgesfrom the magazine and pocketed them unobserved. 

"I _kaint_ quit, Rose, " answered Judd, looking into her face with ahungry expression. "I kaint stop. Hit's my work, an' hit pays betterthen ever hit done. I wants ter make money ... Fer yo'. Besides, ef hithadn't ha' been fer the white liquor what I sell ter the storeman downin Fayville, I wouldn't have been able ter sell yo'r baskets for ye. Iwouldn't hev had no money ter give ... "

He checked his impetuous, unconsidered words too late. The girl's quickmind delved into his unspoken thought. She started and stepped back, crying, "'To give?' Judd Amos, war hit yo' thet paid me ther extry priceon them baskets?"

Confused and distressed, the other remained silent until she repeatedher question insistently. Then he answered pleadingly, "I loves ye, Smiles. Yo' know hit, an' so does _he_. I wanted ter holp ye, an' 'twarther only way. "

Even while Donald--rejoicing in the opportunity to regain hisself-possession--had stood apart from the other two, none of theconversation had escaped him. With his wrath now fanned to flame afreshby Judd's apparent falsehood, he, too, burst into hot words withoutpausing to consider the effect of them on the girl, "What? You dareattempt to curry favor with her by lyingly claiming credit for theadditional money her work brought, you cur? You didn't know that I heldthe cards to call that outrageous bluff, too, did you? You didn't knowthat I bought every one of those baskets, and told the storekeeper whatprice to pay for them, did you?"

No sooner had the anger-impelled words left his lips than Donald feltheartily ashamed of himself, and wished that he might unsay them. Halfafraid, he turned his eyes toward the girl to find his fears realized. Her eyes were flaming from her deathly white face, and a mingled lookof hurt pride and bitter scorn struggled for supremacy on her lips. 

"Yo' ... Yo' think I would accept yo'r charity?" she cried. "Yo' think Iwould take money gifts from any man? I allows ter pay ye both every centuv thet money; and I hates ye ... I hates ye both. "

For an instant she stood trembling with anger and mortification, thenturned and sped up the bank and away into the woods. 

Judd sank down with a muffled groan, but Donald, shocked at the resultof his ill-advised and hasty words, forgot his late adversary and sprangin pursuit, crying, "Smiles. Dear child, wait. I want to talk with you, to explain.... "

He ran over rock and crag blunderingly into the forest in the directionshe had taken, and, as he disappeared, Mike, who, during the combat, hadcontinually raged at his leash in futile frenzy, made a last desperateeffort, snapped the leather collar, although the effort drew a yelp ofpain from him, and tore after him. 

He passed his master and overtook the fleeing girl, sagaciously sensingthe situation; but, as she paid no heed to his appealing barks and tugsat her skirt, but merely ran the faster, he turned back to await hislord. Body-weary and discomforted, Donald likewise gave up the chase asthe sound of Smiles' flight grew more distant and died away. 

Eventually she too dropped into a walk, and finally stopped altogether, with a deep, gasping sob. Throwing herself down at the foot of anancient tree, she pressed her flushed face hard against the rough bark, her mind in a wretched turmoil. 

For the first time in Smiles' young life her eyes had been opened, andshe had looked upon the brute passions of men, had tasted the bittergall of trust abused, had felt an anger which brought with it the desireto hurt another as she herself had been hurt. 

Stabbed to the quick of her soul, she lay on the moss-bedded roots ofthe impassive tree, her body quivering with soundless, shuddering sobs. 

She hated herself, the two men--and Judd less than Donald, for she hadknown and excused his shortcomings, while in her childish eyes Dr. MacDonald had been all that was noble, a super-man, an idol whose feetwere now clay. She hated the world where such things were possible. 

For a long time Rose lay as she had fallen, hardly moving, andwhen--pale and dry-eyed--she did arise to return to the cabin throughthe twilight shadows, something beautiful, but indefinable, which hadgone to make up the fresh, childlike charm of her face, had vanished. 

Meanwhile, Donald walked heavily on with bowed head, heedless of thedirection he took. The sound of rushing waters finally struck upon hisear, and his heated, dirt-covered body turned instinctively in theirdirection. A few minutes brought him to the river at a point where ittore through a narrow ravine of rock, in dashing cataract and noisyrapid. Donald, with increasing lameness, made his way painfully alongthe craggy bank until it descended to the river's edge, and, kneelingbeside the leaping waters, he plunged his bruised, aching hands and faceinto them gratefully. 

As he stood up again at last, his ears caught faintly above the river'stumult the distant crack of a rifle, followed immediately by anothersound nearer at hand on the bank above him. 

It was the agonized yelp of pain from a dog. Donald sprang erect, hisheart seeming to lift with a convulsive action, and crowd his throat. Hewell knew that canine cry, now filled with mortal agony. 

Almost blind with reborn rage and fear, Donald sprang up the steep bank, scrambling, stumbling, heedless of boughs which lashed across his face, and rocks which bruised his legs. He reached the top, and, parting thebushes, found what he had sought--and feared to find. On the stubblygrass lay little Mike, whining and biting at a spot on his side wherethe tawny hair was already matted and dark with flowing blood. 

Made speechless by the clutching pressure in his throat, and suddenlydizzy from a mist which rose before his eyes, the man bent and liftedthe panting animal--his bosom friend and faithful companion through manydays and nights--in his trembling arms. 

Mike painfully turned his head and licked his master's drawn face. Thenext instant came the sound of crashing underbrush, and, throughvistas, Donald saw a man approaching them on a lumbering run. It was BigJerry. His beard and clothing were dishevelled, and, as he drew near, his deep, gasping breaths became audible. From his ghastly gray andworking face his deep eyes looked forth with an expression which speltpain of body and wrack of mind. 

Donald stood up, with the dog clasped to his breast, and a terribleexpression on his countenance. 

"Mike ... My friend ... Shot ... He is dying, " came his words, in anunnatural voice. "God have mercy on the man who did it. I shall not!"

The giant's frame seemed to collapse visibly; two big tears started fromhis eyes and ran down the furrows of his cheeks as he moved closer andlaid his big, shaking hand on the dog's head. 

"_I_ done hit, " he answered dully. 

Mike licked the wrinkled hand which moved in slow caress over his jaws. 

"You?" whispered Donald in amazed unbelief. 

"Gawd help me, yes. I shot him ... I wish hit hed er been myself, "returned the old man, between breaths which came in deep, body-shakinggasps. 

Slowly the doctor bent, laid his chum back on the ground, and kneltbeside him until the fast glazing eyes--which never wavered fromhis--closed forever, and the pain-tortured little body lay still. BigJerry, too, sank down and dropped his massive head onto his hands, while his frame rose and fell with convulsive heaving. 

"Hit war this erway, " he began to speak at last, and told his story inbroken, laboring sentences. "I war erhuntin' with ... With yo'rrifle-gun in the woods thar beyond ther ravine. Jest es I war startin'fer the cabin, I seen ... I seen a man erstandin' hyar on the bank, erpeerin' down towards the river, thar. I looked whar he war erlookin', an' seen ye down thar, bathin' yo'r face in ther water. The man warertotin' a rifle-gun, an' uv a sudden he drapped ter his knee an' raisedhit, an' I knowed he war kalkerlatin' ter shoot ye. 

"I tried fer ter shout, ter cry out a warnin' ter ye, but my voice hedsomehow lost hits power, an' wouldn't kerry above the noise of thefalls. Thar war but one thing fer ter do, an' hit called fer powerfulquick action. 

"Yo' war my foster-son, an' ef 'twar yo'r life er his'n I allowed Iknowed whar my duty lay. But I didn't aim fer ter kill him.... I wishter Gawd I hed. 'Taint boastin' none fer me ter say ter ye thet I aimedonly fer ter shoot the arm what war holdin' the gun. 

"In course hit takes time fer ter tell ye all this, but I acted like Ithought. Then ... " he paused, and went on only with a supreme effort, "then, jest as I started the trigger-pull, I seen ... I seen leetle Mikespring out o' the bushes straight at ... At the man. I _seen_ him, Itells ye, erfore I fired. My mind told me not ter pull thet trigger, an' ... An' I done hit. My aim war true, but ... " he stopped altogether. 

"The man, " asked Donald at length, through clenched teeth. "Whathappened to him?"

"He turned et the crack of my gun. He ... He seen me, and run off interthe wood thar. "

There ensued a long silence. Then Donald's hand stretched out andgrasped that of the sorrowing giant. 

"Jerry, " he said steadily. "Don't feel so bad, it wasn't your fault. Youdid all that man could do. You were trying to ... To save my life, justas ... As Mike was, God bless the little dog. He must have realized thatJudd was following me by the exercise of a sense beyond our knowledge, and rushed back to attack him--for my sake. "

"Yo' said ... Yo' said ... 'Judd. ' How did yo' come ter know 'twar him?"

With new and deepened remorse, Donald sadly outlined the chief incidentsof the quarrel, without, however, mentioning the discovery of the still, or the immediate cause of the combat. 

"Gawd help us all ef er new feud hes broken out hyar, " said Jerrysolemnly, as he finished. "But yo' air my friend, enjyin' therhospitality of my roof, an' from this day Judd Amos air my mortal enemy, even though he be my next neighbor. "

Donald sadly removed his coat, and, wrapping it around the body of hischum, arose, and the silent, painful journey home was begun. 

CHAPTER XVI

THE AFTERMATH

Supper was over. With kindly hands night had laid her deep purple mantleover the new-made mound back of the cabin, hiding it from the grievinggaze of the three who sat before the door in painful silence beneath thestar-pierced dome of heaven. In the poignancy of her own sorrow, and heroverwhelming sympathy for Donald, when she had come to a realization ofthe meaning of the bundle which he brought out of the woods and laid sotenderly down on the grass before the cabin's stoop, every vestige ofSmiles' anger had instantly vanished. 

"Oh, the pity, the uselessness of it, " cried Donald's heart, as histhoughts again and again turned back to the tragic series of eventswhich had made the afternoon a thing of horror. The bitterculmination, --the death of Mike, poor, courageous, self-sacrificinglittle Mike--was the most needless of all, for, although he had notmentioned the fact to Big Jerry, Donald knew that in all humanprobability Judd's rifle was empty of cartridges. And, although Jerryhimself uttered no word of complaint, the physician knew, only too well, that the gripping excitement, against which he had warned the old manonly a few hours earlier, had brought its inevitable aftermath. Thegiant's breath came with labored, audible gasps, and his very appearancetold the story of the increased pain within his breast. For thesedisasters--as well as the mortal enmity of the young mountaineer and theheart-ache of the innocent girl--he, and he alone, was to blame. Donaldgroaned under his breath. 

The silence was finally ended by Smiles crying out bitterly, "Oh, DoctorMac, I can't understand why grandfather pulled that trigger, and shotdear little Mike. He saw him spring at Judd. "

"It wasn't in any wise his fault, dear heart. He could not possibly havehelped it. You see our brains are telegraph stations from which thenerves run like wires, carrying messages to all the different parts ofour bodies. Big Jerry had sent a command to his finger, ordering it topull the trigger, and the muscles had started to obey. The secondmessage countermanding the first--quick as it was--came too late to haltthe purely muscular action; that is all. "

"Another good evening, my friends, " came a cheery voice, and themountain minister approached out of the shadows, and joined them. "I amjust back from a journey into the wilderness, like John the Baptist's, and ... Why, what's wrong? Do I see the ghost of a sorrow sitting amidthis group, which should be so happy?"

"Oh, Mr. Talmadge, " cried Rose, jumping up and stepping to his side ashe paused. "Many ghosts are here to-night. I think that you took Godaway with you on your journey, for His spirit has not been in Webb's Gapthis afternoon. "

"Tell me, what has happened, my dear?" he answered quietly, as he seatedhimself within the circle. 

Then, step by step, the whole unhappy story was haltingly poured intohis ears, save only that Smiles consciously refrained from mentioningthe cause which Judd had--by implication--given for the quarrel andDonald kept his promise and made no allusion to his finding of thestill. Since the minister asked no questions and made no commentconcerning the cause, it is fair to assume that he guessed the truth andwisely held his own counsel. When he had brought the patchwork recitalto an end, the doctor laughed with a bitter note. 

"You see how much good the brief glimpse which I had last night of theeternal light did me! Before one full day has elapsed, I sound a lowerdepth in primitive, brutal passion then I ever had before in my life. Iam sick at heart when I think how quickly and easily I could forgeteverything which goes to make up civilization. There was no excuse forit--that's the worst part. I was infinitely more to blame than Judd, even leaving out of consideration the fact that a greater degree ofself-restraint and forbearance should reasonably have been expected ofme, a city-bred man, than of him, a more primitive son of the hills. "

Donald placed his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his handswith a stifled sound, which might have been groan or curse, and verygently Smiles' hand stole up in the darkness and stroked his tumbledhair, until the man's own fumblingly sought and held it close, to findmute comfort in her warm clasp. 

"Perhaps I understand better than you think the reasons which underliethese most unhappy events, " answered the old man slowly. There was norebuke in his quiet voice. 

"Although it is true, doctor, that the deeper we get into the heart ofprimal nature, the closer we get to the heart of nature's God, it isequally true that the nearer we also get to the primal in man. 

"I cannot help feeling that the city's laws and conventions trammel thespirit in its free exercise of self, which is ill; but yet the inbredrealization of those very laws and conventions, and the fear ofconsequences if they are broken, act as a salutary check on theprimitive passions inherited by every one of us from our savageancestors. 

"Of course, I know that, in places where men are crowded together, suchman-made laws and conventions are wise and necessary; but the life whichresults is not--cannot be--full and natural as it may be in an isolatedplace like this, when honest obedience is paid to the still higher lawsof God--and it is for _that_ obedience which all of us must striveconstantly. 

"You failed in the test to-day; but, believe me, there are many inthese mountains who, lacking all the advantages of training andeducation which are yours, meet it. Their lives are lived under nature'shigher laws in perfect sincerity, and, although they might not conformto the standards of so-called civilization, they are surely purer inGod's sight than those of millions who pattern theirs by printedprecept. "

"I reckon, " murmured Smiles, "that St. Peter had to put many black markson three books to-day ... Yes, mine too, for I was wickedly angry. Itwas hate that made me run away from Doctor Mac, and if I hadn't done it, M ... M ... Mike wouldn't have been shot. " She leaned her head againstDonald's arm, and cried softly. 

"'The wages of sin is death, '" said the minister. "And he paid thepenalty for you, Dr. MacDonald, sacrificing himself because of his greatlove. Poor little Mike. Such faithful animals as he must have souls, andhis is now in its own paradise. "

No one spoke for a little, and then Mr. Talmadge continued to musealoud. 

"Mere repentance, such as the doctor now feels, is not enough. Youremember the parable of the woman who drove the evil spirit from herfleshly temple, and swept it clean, but failed to fill its place withanother guest, and seven other devils came and repossessed it? So it isalways with human life, Dr. MacDonald. Nature abhors a vacuum, and sodoes the spirit. If a man does not fill his soul--swept free of pastevil by repentance--with that which is actively good, the repentance isof little avail. "

"Yes, yes, I can readily understand that, for it has a parallel inbodily illness, " answered Donald, somewhat impatiently. "We all knowthat, when the sick physical being is freed of its disease, it is leftweak and an easy prey for new troubles. We can bring back to it thestrength to resist by giving nerve-and tissue-building food and tonics, but how is the spirit to be ... "

"How persistently the earth-man kicks against the pricks, " cried Mr. Talmadge. "Child, your friend will not lift his eyes from the maze ofdoubt. You pledged yourself to help him. Help him now. "

Her face suddenly glowing with light, Rose turned to Donald eagerly, andsaid without hesitation, "Oh, Doctor Mac, don't you see? The answer isso clear, so simple that even I know it. The dear God spirit iseverywhere, just waiting for you to call it to your aid. Please pray toHim to give you new strength so that you may not be weak again, and Iwill pray, too. "

"Yes, " supplemented the minister, "'Whence cometh my help? My helpcometh even from the Lord, which hath made heaven and earth. '"

Donald was strongly moved at the eager interest in him which these twodisplayed. Shifting uncomfortably he replied, "I need His help, I know;but ... But I guess I have forgotten how to pray for it. "

"Open your heart with sincerity, and He will enter and bestow thestrength you need in order to take up your task anew, and carry on untilyour purpose here on earth has been accomplished. That is all thatprayer need be, for He is ever more ready to give than we to receive. Verbal petitions are vain and empty things; honest communion with Him_is_ prayer. "

He arose, content to say no more, and to leave the sorely troubledspirit of the stranger to Smiles' tender ministrations. "I am deeplysorry for you in your distress, Dr. MacDonald, but although there issmall comfort in the remark, I cannot help but feel that what hashappened was ordained to complete your lesson, so that you may leavethese hills with a new understanding and higher purpose in life. Goodnight, and God be with you all. "

CHAPTER XVII

THE PARTING PLEDGE AND PASSING DAYS

"Doctor Mac, " began Smiles timidly, at length. "I'm sorry for what Isaid to you this afternoon, and I want to take it back. I guess whenyou're angry you don't see things as they are, and I'm sure that youwere only being very, very kind to me when you ... You bought thosebaskets. I love you for it, really I do, and if ... If you want me tokeep the money, and it would hurt your feelings if I.... "

"Of course I want you to keep it, dear. Yesterday you took me for afoster-brother, and I hope that you will always let me do for you as Iwould for a real flesh-and-blood sister. "

"I promise, and I will always do the same for you if I can, dear Don, "she whispered softly, adding, "but somehow to-night--oh please don'tlaugh at me now--somehow to-night I feel more like ... Like a mother, than a sister to you. "

"And I truly think you are--a spiritual mother, little woman. I need youmuch more than you need me, I guess. "

"Do you know, " he went on, after a moment, "I am beginning to believethat I was wrong this afternoon when I said that ... That Judd liedabout adding to the money he received for your baskets. Of course Ihave no way of making sure, unless you have kept accounts, but Iactually begin to think that he did. "

"I _know_ it, " she replied promptly; but with a troubled voice. "Juddhas been very wicked, but he doesn't lie. I think that he meant it theway ... The way you did, too; but he's different and I mean to give itall back to him. " There was another pause, and then Smiles said gently, "Donald, it makes my heart ache like, to tell you this, but I've got tonow. I want that you should go away early to-morrow morning. "

"What?" he burst out angrily, springing to his feet. "And have himbelieve that I ran away from him again? No, how can you ask it, Rose?"

"It isn't that. We know, and _he_ knows now, that you're not afraid ofhim. But this mountain is his home, and, if you stay here, there is sureto be more trouble, and I couldn't bear that, Don. Even if one of youwasn't ... Wasn't hurt in the body, wicked thoughts would hurt yoursouls. I know it is so, and you _must_ go ... But, oh, how I am going tomiss you. "

For a moment Donald stood tense; then his body relaxed weakly and heanswered, "Yes, you are right, Smiles. It _is_ up to me to go; but Iknow that some day these clouds are going to be lifted somehow, and weshall see each other again and be happy together. "

"I know it, too, " she answered, with a sob catching her breath. As shespoke, the clouds, which had been covering the moon for some time, broke, letting the cool, white light flood the mountain side like apromise, and her face lit up with the old wondrous smile. "Of course wewill, " she cried. "Why, I mean to be your own special nurse some day, and help you always. Good-night, dear Don. "

She turned and ran quickly into the cabin, so that he should not see thetears which followed the smile. 

"Rose war right erbout yo'r goin', --I reckon she air allus right, " cameBig Jerry's voice. "Yo' hev got ter go; but I'm ergoin' ter miss yepowerful, likewise, lad. "

"But I'll see you again, too, before long. I've got some of my senseback, and I mean to write Judd that I am engaged to a girl in thecity--not that I want his friendship after what has happened, however--and I will be down here again, for a few days at least, whenthe atmosphere has cleared--perhaps early this winter. "

"Taint likely yo'll ever see me ergin on earth, son, " Jerry saidheavily. "Reckon I'm most done fer. "

"Your heart? Is it very bad?" queried Donald. 

"I allows hit's nigh ter bustin', " was the steady response. "But mebbeI'll last some while yet--I hopes so, fer leetle Smiles' sake. I haintblind ter what hes happened, an' I knows thet the time air comin' whenshe's es plumb sartain ter fly erway from this hyar mountain es ahomein' dove; fer she hes heard the call uv her city blood, an' hithaint ter be denied. But I reckon she haint ready ter leave the old nestyet, so I aims ter stay on erwhile longer ... Fer her, though hit haintgoin' ter be in no wise easy fer ter do. "

The younger man knew not what answer to make to this affectingdeclaration; but the necessity of a reply was forestalled, for Big Jerrystepped closer and continued earnestly, "Since yo' wished fer ter be ason ter me, I air ergoin' ter treat ye es sich, an' tell ye somethingthet I've done fer the leetle gal, an' thet she don't yet know erbout. 

"Back in the spring when I seen thet her mind war made up ter be anurse, an' I knowed thet my own time war comin', I sold the timberrights ter these hyar woods ter a city lumber company fer a thousanddollars. They haint ergoin' ter cut fer some years yet, an' by thet timeI won't be hyar ter grieve, an' Smiles won't neither. 

"Thet money, an' a leetle more what I hev saved, air ter be hern ... Hit's in er savin' bank down ter the city now. But thet haint all Iwants ye ter know. The reverend drawed a last will an' testiment fer me, leavin' this hyar land ter her--she haint blood kin of mine, yo' know, nor adopted by law-an' I reckons hit will be val'able some day, fer acity stranger told me oncet thet thar's coal on hit. So my leetle galhaint ergoin' ter start her new life penniless, an' ... An' now I wantster name ye ter be her guardeen till she air growed up. I hopes yo'llaccept ther charge, fer I trusts ye, son. "

"Accept? Indeed I will, and it makes me mighty happy to realize that Imean something to both of you. I've been playing that she was my sister, but now she will really be as much to me as though she were. "

The two men clasped hands again in full understanding, and as a symbolof a trust bestowed and accepted. 

 * * * * *

At sunrise the following morning Donald once more turned his face towardthe valley, whence he had climbed lightheartedly less than two daysprevious. He had come with a beloved companion. He went alone, save forcrowding memories--some bright, but far more black as storm-clouds andshot with malignant flashes of lightning. 

His vacation--a travesty on the name--was ended; the castle which hisdreams had built on this remote mountain was a shattered ruin. Yet, through the dark series of crowding events, ran a fine thread ofgleaming gold, and Donald felt that it had not been broken by hisdeparture. No, it was spun by Destiny to stretch on and on into theunseen future, at once for him a guide-line to a higher manhood, and atie binding his life to that of the girl whose pathway--starting so farremoved from his--had so strangely converged with it. 

To continue his hunting trip in another location, with Mike no longerhis companion in it, was unthinkable. The empty spaces made the void inhis heart unbearable, and he at once returned to Boston and joined hisfamily at their summer home, to their amazement and delight. 

But the man now returned to them after little more than a week's absencewas vastly different from the one who had left. All marked thealteration in him, and over and over in family council tried, vainly, toaccount for it, for Donald had withheld far more than he told of hisexperiences, and minimized what he did tell. 

But he knew, as well as they, that a new chord had been struck withinhim, and by its vibrations his whole life was being tuned anew. Something of the old boyishness and impetuosity was gone, a newpurposefulness--not of the will but rather of the spirit--had supplantedit and engendered an unwonted serenity. Was it born of the words of thestrange mountain prophet, or the impelling appeal of the no-less-strangemountain child, whose mysterious smile, though seen less frequently thanon his first visit, still cast a spell over his senses, even in memory?He could not say. 

Whatever uncertainties had disturbed his heart before, when his thoughtshad turned upon her, none now remained. The die was cast. Smiles hadmade her place in his life, and would always occupy it, but merely as adear charge and comrade. Half-child, half-woman, she still appealed tohim in both capacities as perhaps none other ever had; yet he could nowadmit that fact frankly, and at the same time tell himself that therewas, there could be, nothing else. 

With the mists of uncertainty dispelled, and his mind purged of thepassions which had, so unexpectedly, possessed it, Donald's lifereturned to its old ruts. His work absorbed him as before, he acceptedMarion as more fully a part of his life than she had previously been, and, in so doing, found an unexpected contentment. If, at times, hestill felt that she was not all that he might desire, at least she wasof his class and he understood her thoroughly. 

"My work furnishes enough of romance for me, " he sometimes thought. "And, if I want to remain a civilized human being, I had better stick tothe life in which I was brought up. I never suspected how much of a'cave man' I was until I got into the heart of the primitive. Whew!Supposing I had killed Judd that afternoon! There were a few momentswhen it would have been a pleasure to have done it. Or supposing he hadkilled me! He wanted to, right enough. Puck was right. "

And so, while the months passed, Fortune smiled on the brilliant youngphysician, and daily laid new tributes of wealth, honor and affection athis feet. 

 * * * * *

In the mountain cabin it was otherwise. 

Changes, born of the travail of tragic happenings, cast theirever-lengthening shadows over Smiles' life, blotting out the goldensunlight of childhood, and overlaying it with the deeper tones ofwomanhood. 

Judd, her companion since baby days, she no longer called "friend, " andhe, for his part, steadily avoided her and the cabin which had once beena second home to him. Big Jerry, uncomplaining ever, day by day grewmore feeble and pain-wracked, and so became more and more a dear burdento her. Only Mr. Talmadge, of her real intimates, remained unchanged inhis relations with her, unless it was that in his deep and understandingsympathy he brought her greater spiritual and mental comfort than ever. The other neighbors were kind always, in their rough, well-meaning way;but he was her chief guide and comforter, and in him, and the bookswhich Donald conscientiously sent to her every few weeks, she found thestrength to carry forward. 

So, in the never-ending tasks which her daily life provided, and whichshe performed with distress in her heart, but a smile on her lips, Rosesaw the weeks come and go, bringing in their slow-moving, butinexorable, train, autumn, fall and another winter. 

CHAPTER XVIII

THE ADDED BURDEN

It was mid-winter. The twilight sky--cold and pale, more green thanblue--brought the thought of new-made ice. Stripped long since of theirverdure, the wooded Cumberlands lay, like naked, shivering giants, across whose mighty recumbent torsos the biting winds sweptrelentlessly. 

In contrast with the desolation without, inside Big Jerry's cabin allwas as bright, warm and homelike as a merry fire, the soft glow of theevening lamp and the presence of the heart of the spot--the girlherself--could make it. 

Thankful for the blessings of the cheery home and her grandfather'spresence in it still, and softly humming an old ballad which he loved, Rose was busily engaged in preparing an early supper, when she wasinterrupted by the sound of a low, uncertain knock on the door. 

She opened it, wonderingly, and the firelight leaped out into the nightand disclosed the unshaven face and gaunt form of Judd. 

Save on rare occasions, and then at a distance, she had not seen himsince that fateful day on the mountain's summit, when his passionatelove and hate, intermingled, had driven him to commit the great offenceagainst the unwritten laws of the feudal clan, by attacking one uponwhom the sacred mantle of hospitality had been placed, by which act hehad incurred Jerry's enmity, and made himself love's outlaw. 

The months had dealt harshly with him. Not only was his clothing frayedand soiled; but his face was so unnaturally pale that the deep-set eyesbeneath their lowering black brows seemed to burn like embers, and therewere many new lines on his countenance not graven there by wind andweather. 

Shocked at the change in him, and suddenly filled with womanlycompassion which sounded the knell of anger, Rose called, gently, "Judd!Why, Judd! Come in. "

He shook his head. "I reckon I haint welcome in this hyar cabin, Smiles, an' taint on my own ercount thet I comes ter ye. "

"Why, what is the trouble?" was her startled inquiry. 

"Hit ... Hit air leetle Lou. I erlows she's sick er somethin'. "

"Lou? Tell me quick, Judd. What is the matter with her?"

"I don't rightly know. " The answer was made with obvious distress. "Shehaint been her sunshiny self fer quite some time, an' ter-night ... Wall, she air actin' so sorter ... Queer, thet I got skeered. "

"I'll go over home with you at once, " said Rose, as she hastily caughtup and drew a shawl about her head and shoulders. "Grandpap, " she calledsoftly through the door to the old man's bedroom, "I'm ergoin' out ferer leetle time. One of ther neighbors air sick. Don't fret, fer I'll beback right soon, dear. "

There was a brief, rumbled reply; and, closing the door behind her onthe warm comfort within, the girl joined the mountaineer in the crispyevening, now almost dark. She shivered a little, and he marked theinvoluntary act, and drew back a step. 

In silence they walked rapidly up the narrow path, slippery from arecent fall of light snow. Once Rose slipped, and instantly Judd'ssinewy arm was about her waist, steadying her. Then, as she regained herbalance and started forward, it tightened and drew her suddenly to himin a passionate, crushing embrace. She made no effort to struggle free, or voice her heart's protest against this outrage, but stood with herbody rigid and unyielding within the circle of his arm until he slowlyreleased her, mumbling, "I reckon I air plumb ershamed of myself, Smiles. I didn't go fer ter do hit, an' I knows thet I haint deservin'ter tetch so much es ther hem of yo'r skirt. "

She did not answer, and neither spoke again until his cabin was reached. 

When the door was opened, Smiles caught sight of the child sittingmotionless on a stool near the fireplace. Her lips were parted and inher eyes was an odd look of semi-vacuity. 

"Lou!" cried Rose, pausing in alarmed astonishment. 

A light of recognition sprang into the child's eyes, she stood up atrifle unsteadily, and said, with a low throaty laugh of delight, "Hitair my Smiles. I awful glad ter see.... " She started toward her friend;but her course suddenly veered to the left, waveringly, and herwandering gaze fell upon the now sadly battered doll lying in onecorner. "To see ye, Mike, " was the ending of her sentence, as shetrotted to Donald's gift and began to cuddle it. 

"Yo' haint erbeen ter see Lou fer er long, long ... " The piping voicetrailed off into silence. 

"Why, Lou, sweetheart. What is the matter? Don't you know your ownSmiles?" pleaded the deeply distressed girl, as she gathered the childto her breast. 

The baby's hands dropped the doll unceremoniously and sought herfriend's cheeks. Looking up with big eyes into the face drawn close toher own, she replied in a strangely slow, hesitant manner. "In course Iremembers ye, Smiles. Yo' air the nurse what lives with ... With thetthar doctor man ... In the big city, whar air monkeys thet ... Clumbsticks an' ... An' doll babies what close thar eyes ... An' say ... An'say ... My head hurts me, Smiles, hit do. "

She lay still in the loving arms for an instant, and then wriggled freeand, sliding to the floor, picked up and began to rock the doll again, the while crooning a wordless lullaby. 

With anxiety growing akin to terror, Smiles felt the irregular pulse, asDonald had taught her how to do, and pressed her hand to the pale cheekand forehead. 

"She _is_ sick, Judd, and I'm kind of frightened, too. You can't takecare of her here, and I mean to take her home with me, right now. Ireckon you had better go down to the village and get Dr. Johnston, quick. "

The man had started, with words of protest trembling on his lips; but, as his look turned on his little sister, as she now leaned drowsilyagainst the girl's knees, he stifled them unspoken, while a spasm ofpain crossed his worn face. With a dull nod of acquiescence he held outhis arms to receive the child, whom Rose had lifted and wrapped in ablanket from her little bed that had been brought in near the fire. 

The return journey was quickly and silently made, and, delivering theslight bundle to Smiles when her cabin was reached, Judd set off intothe night, concern lending wings to his feet. 

"Grandpap, hit's Smiles back ergin', " called the girl softly. "An' I'vebrought leetle Lou Amos. She haint feelin' right well, an' I allows Ihev got ter take keer of her here. "

The old man uttered a low growl of protest, which caused Rose to run tohim and tenderly lay her hand on his lips, with the words, "Hush, grandpap. The baby haint in nowise ter blame fer ... Fer what Judddone. In course we hev got ter keer fer her. "

Big Jerry nodded an abashed assent, and said no more. 

Smiles undressed her new charge, who struck uncertain terror to herheart by drowsily talking on and on, in snatches of unrelated sentencesrunning the gamut of her limited experiences and with the childish wordsoften failing, half formed. She put the baby in her own bed, and, afterthe belated supper had been eaten and cleared away, and the old man madeas comfortable as possible for the night, Smiles lay down beside thebaby, whose silence and more regular breathing indicated that she was atlast asleep. 

The morrow's sun was well above the valley horizon before Judd returnedwith the country doctor, and again the former refused to enter thecabin. While the physician remained, he paced back and forth, back andforth, with weary, nervous strides; but even in his stress of mind heunconsciously kept out of view from the window in Big Jerry's room. 

At last Rose and Dr. Johnston reappeared, and, breathing hard, Juddhastened to join them. 

"It's brain fever, the doctor says, Judd, " said Smiles at once. "He'sleft some medicine for me to give her, and you know that I'll nurse herfor you like she was my own baby. "

"Air hit ... Air hit _bad_, doctor?" asked the mountaineer, with a catchin his voice. 

"Well, of course it ain't an ... Er ... Exactly easy thing to cure, butI reckon she'll get well of it. By the way, Amos, how long has she beena-goin' on like that?"

"I kaint rightly say, doctor. She hes acted kind er strange-like ferquite er spell, now thet I comes ter think on hit; but I didn't pay nopertickler attention to hit ontil er day er two back, " answered the mancontritely. 

"Hmmm, " said the doctor. "Oh, I guess we can pull her through all right, and I will get up here as often as I can. Well, I reckon I'll bestepping along back. "

 * * * * *

But little Lou did not fulfil the country practitioner's optimisticprophecy. The change in her condition, as day after day crept by, growing longer and colder, was almost imperceptible; but it was steadilyfor the worse. The mountain winter closed in with unusual rigors, andSmiles' cabin continued to be a hospital where she passed her hoursministering equally to the keen-minded, but bodily tortured oldman--whose heart pained constantly and with growing severity, and whosebreathing became daily more labored--and the child whose mind steadilybecame more clouded and her physical functions more weak. 

Like a gaunt, miserable dog which had been driven from his home, Juddhaunted the cabin. When she stole out one morning, to speak with himabout Lou, Smiles cried, "Oh, if Doctor Mac were only here now! _He_would know what to do, I'm sure. "

Judd's hands, blue with cold, clenched so violently that the knucklesgrew a bloodless white, and the look of pain, lying deep down in hiseyes, changed to a flash of burning hate. 

"Don't never speak thet man's name ter me, gal. "

The words were spoken in a harsh voice and he strode abruptly away. 

At more and more infrequent intervals, the village doctor made histoilsome way up the slippery mountain side, sat regarding the littlepatient with a hopelessly puzzled look, and finally departed, shakinghis head; but he never failed to leave behind him another bottle ofobnoxious medicine on the chance that if one did not produce animprovement, another might. Even to the girl it was all too apparent, however, that he was aiming blindly into the dark. 

There came a time when the child spoke scarcely at all, save to moanpiteously something about the pain in her head; her emaciated legsbarely carried her on her uncertain course; her vague, sweet eyes turnedinward more and more; and it was with the greatest difficulty, and onlyby the exercise of infinite patience that Smiles could feed her. Thelittle mountain blossom was wilting and fading slowly away. 

On the afternoon of the first day of January Dr. Johnston spent a longtime at the cabin, striving against the impossible to solve the problemwhich confronted him like an appalling mystery, far too deep to bepierced by the feeble ray of science at his command. 

At last he arose with a gesture of finality, and announced to theanxiously waiting girl, "I reckon I'm done. I won't go so fur as to saythat a city specialist might not be able to help her; but hanged if _I_can. The trouble is too much for me, and I guess Lou is just a-goin' todie. "

Sudden tears welled into Smiles' luminous eyes, and ran unheeded downher cheeks, now unnaturally thin and wan. 

"Hit haint so, " she cried in a choked voice. "Lou haint ergoin' ter die, Dr. Johnston!"

Suddenly she stopped, as her thoughts flew backward on the wings ofmemory. Her eyes grew larger, a strange light came into them. Then, speaking slowly, almost as though the words were impelled by a willother than her own, she added with a tone of absolute certainty:

"Yo' allows _yo'_ don't know what the trouble air, but _I_ does. "

The doctor was startled and looked as though he thought that he wasabout to have another patient on his hands. 

"Hit air a brain tumor thet she hes got, I knows it, an' I knows one ofthe few doctor men in this hyar country what kin cure hit. He air_ergoin'_ ter cure hit fer me, an' leetle Lou haint _ergoin'_ ter die. "

Uncertain what to make of this outburst, the doctor departed ratherhastily. Smiles caught up her shawl and ran immediately to Judd'slonely, cheerless abode, which she entered without a thought ofknocking. She found the man sitting dejectedly before a feeble fire. 

He sprang up, voiceless terror apparent in the look which he turned uponher white face, but, without pausing for any preliminaries, Rose said, "The doctor, he's been ter see our little Lou again, Judd. He allowsthet he can't do anything more for her, and thet she has got ter die. "

The man--whose whole world was now centred in the child to whom he had, for a year, been father and mother as well as brother--sank down on hischair and buried his face in his hands. 

"I knowed hit, " he muttered in a dead voice. 

"Hit haint so, " cried the girl, who had by this time wholly relapsedinto the mountain speech, as she frequently did still, when laboringunder the stress of emotion. "Hit haint so, Judd. We kin save her. Wehev _got_ ter save her. "

"Thar haint no way. " The words were tuned to despair. 

"Thar _air_ a way. Thar's one man who kin save Lou's life fer ye, an' wemust get him ter do hit. ". 

She had mentioned no name, but Judd sprang swiftly erect, fists clenchedand shaking above his head. "Do yo' think thet I'd be beholden ter_thet_ man, after what I done ter him? Do yo' think thet I'd accepteven my sister's life et his hands? I hates him like I does the devilwhat, I reckon, air ergoin' ter git my soul!"

"Judd!" cried the girl, "yo' don't know what yo'r ersayin'. Hit'sblasphemy. Ef Doctor Mac kin save Lou's life--an' he _kin_--yo'd be amurderer, --yes, a murderer uv yo'r own flesh an' blood, ter forbid him. "

Spent by the force of his previous passionate outburst, the man sanktremblingly back into the chair again. 

"I kaint do hit, Smiles, " he answered piteously. "I kaint do hit, an'hit's a foolish thought anyway. He wouldn't come hyar. Hit takes moneyfer ter git city doctors, an' I haint got none. "

"He will come ef I asks him, an' I hev money, Judd, " she said with apleading voice. 

"No, no, no. Ef Lou dies, I reckon I'll kill myself, too; but I forbidsye ter call the man I wronged, an' hates. "

Slowly the girl turned away, with a compassionate glance at the bent, soul-tortured youth, went out of the cabin, and softly closed the door. 

CHAPTER XIX

"SMILES'" APPEAL

It was snowing when she stepped outside, --a soft, white curtain ofclosely woven flakes rapidly dimming the early evening glow and bringingnightshades on apace. The wind, too, was rising; its first fitful gustsdrove the snow sweeping in whirling flurries across the open spaces, andthen whistled off through the leafless trees. 

Rose shivered. The wind greeted her boisterously. It clutched her shawlin hoydenish jest, tore one end of it free from her grasp, and ran itsinvisible, icy fingers down her neck. 

The cabin of the nearest neighbor--Pete Andrews--was only a few rodsdistant; but, before the girl reached it in the face of the momentarilyincreasing storm, she was panting, and her face, hair and clothing wereplastered with clinging flakes. 

"Mis' Andrews, I hates ter ask er favor of ye such er powerful meannight; but I needs help, " said Smiles, as soon as the door had beenopened, letting her in, together with a whirl of snow which spreaditself like a ghost on the rough floor. 

"Yo' knows thet I'd do enything in ther world fer ye, Rose gal. I reckonI owes ye my life since when ... When Gawd Almighty tuck my baby backter thet garden er His'n in Paradise, " answered the frail, weary-lookingwoman, whose eyes quickly suffused with tears. 

"Hit haint repayment I'm askin' of ye, but er favor, Mis' Andrews. Iwants ye ter help me save ther life of another mountin flower, what'snigh faded plum erway. "

"Lou Amos?" asked the woman. She had already turned to get her ownshawl. 

"Yes, hit's leetle Lou. She air powerful sick, an' I wants fer ye terstay ter-night with her an' grandpap, ef yo' will. Thar haint nothingter do but stay with them. "

"In course I'll do hit fer ye, Smiles, " was the ready answer, and herlank, slouching husband nodded a silent assent, as she turned to him. 

"But what air yo' reckonin' ter do? Yo' kaint go nowhar in this hyarstorm. I don't recollect hits like on the mountain, no time. "

The girl did not answer; but held the door open while the other steppedout, only to catch her breath and flatten herself against the cabin'swall as a sheet of mingled sleet and snow struck her. By continuallyassisting one another, the two made their way slowly over to Jerry'shome; and, when they paused within its shelter, Rose held hercompanion's arm a moment, and said, "Thar haint no use tryin' terprevent me, Mis' Andrews, cause I'm ergoin' ter do hit. I'm ergoin' downter Fayville, an' send a telegram message fer er city doctor thet Iknows, ter come hyar an' make Lou well. Don't go fer ter tell grandpapwhar I've gone er he'll worry erbout me, an' thar haint no cause ter. The storm's et my back, an' hits all down hill goin'. I hates ter tell alie ter him, but I allows I've got ter, this one time. "

In sudden terror over the mad plan, the older woman began to protest;but Rose shook off her detaining hand, and put an end to the sentence byleading the way hastily into the cabin. 

"Thar's a leetle child what needs my help, an' I've got ter take keer ofher fer er while, grandpap, " Smiles said at once. "Mis' Andrews hes comeover fer ter stay with ye and Lou, now haint thet kind uv her? I'll gitback es soon es ever I kin, but don't yo' fret ef hit haint erfore yo'goes ter bed ... Or even till mornin' time. "

She furtively obtained a few bills from her precious store, kissed theold man's haggard, wrinkled cheek, and the white forehead of the babywho lay on the bed, almost inert save for the restless moving of herhead from side to side, and the low moans which came with almost everybreath, and hurried out into the storm. 

In later years Rose could be induced to speak only with the greatestreluctance of that journey down the snow-swept mountain path--for theblizzard was as fierce as it was rare--and even the recollection of itbrought a look of terror into her eyes. 

There was flying horror abroad that night, and the demented treesquivered and tossed their great arms so wildly that they cracked andbroke, to fall crashing in the path. Yet, accomplish the five mile long, perilous descent, in the midst of lashing sleet and snow, over aslippery, tortuous path, she did. With her clothing torn by flayingbranches and clutching wind, and drenched by icy water as the snowmelted; with her hands and lips blue, and her feet numb; with her wavyhair pulled loose from its braids and plastered wetly against hercolorless cheeks; she eventually stumbled into the rude building whichcontained the railroad and telegraph office at the terminus of thebranch line at Fayville. Then she fell, half unconscious, into the armsof the astonished agent, who came to the door when he heard her stumbleweakly against it. 

"Good God, child, where did you come from?" he cried. 

Smiles' lips moved faintly, and he caught an echo of the words which shehad been repeating mechanically, over and over, "She haint ergoin' terdie!"

"I reckon she ain't, if human will can save her ... Whoever _she_ is, "muttered the man, as he laid the exhausted girl on a rude waiting bench, poured between her bruised lips a few drops of smuggled whiskey from apocket flask, and then unceremoniously cut her shoe lacings and removedher sodden, icy boots. 

After a moment, she sat weakly up, and--punctuated by gasps drawn byexquisite pain--managed to pant out, "I've got to send a telegram ... To-night ... Now. Oh, _please_, Mister, don't wait for anything. "

"There, there. We'll take care of your message all right. Don't worry, little woman, " he answered, reassuringly. "But I ain't a-goin' ter send atick till you're thawed out. My missus lives upstairs, an' she'll fixyou up. "

He half-carried, half-helped the weary girl up the narrow stairs, and, having surrendered her into the charge of a kindly and solicitous woman, hastened to rekindle the wood fire in the stove. As its iron top beganto regain the ruddy glow which had scarcely faded from it, Rose creptnear, holding out her bent, stiffened hands. 

"Now, take it easy, little girl, " cautioned the agent. "Not too close atfirst. "

"And take off your dress and stockings, dear, " said his wife. "Don'tgive no thought to him, --we've got three daughters of our own, mostgrowed up. "

The agent departed, with a heavy clamping of feet on the stairs, andgratefully--but with hands which were so numb that she had to give up infavor of the woman--Rose obeyed; and soon her teeth stopped theirchattering, and the red blood of youth began once more to course throughher veins, while her drenched, simple undergarments sent up vaporouswhite flags which indicated that the watery legions of the storm kingwere fast surrendering to their ancient enemy--Fire. 

The older woman wrapped a blanket about the girl, as her husband cameupstairs again with a pad of telegram blanks, and said, "Now, I'll writeout the message you've got to send for you, if you want me to. "

"Thank you, sir. I'm obliged to you and your missus. I reckon you canput the words better than I can, for I haint ... I have never sent onebefore. It's for Dr. Donald MacDonald, who lives on Commonwealth Avenue, up north in Boston city. And I want to tell him that little Lou Amos ismost dying from a brain tumor. And tell him that she is nearly blind and'comatose'.... "

"That word's a new one to me, how do you spell it?" interrupted theagent, with pencil plowing through his rumpled hair. 

"I ... I guess I've forgotten. Spell it like it sounds, and he'll know. And tell him that I will pay him all the money I've got, if he'll onlycome quick. "

"How shall I sign it? It has to have your name, you know. "

"Say it's from his foster-sister, Rose. "

Laboriously the man wrote out the message, and the floor was litteredwith discarded attempts before he was satisfied; but in time thedistant, slow clicking of the telegraph key below was sending not onlythe child's eager appeal to its destination many hundred miles north, but a message of renewed hope into the heart of Smiles. 

"It will cost you more'n a dollar, " said the man, as he appeared again. "But if you haven't got that much, why ... "

"I've got it right here, " responded the girl, turning on him for aninstant a glowing smile of gratitude for his halting offer. "I'm trulymore'n obliged to you, sir ... And your wife. I reckon God meant thatyou should be here to-night to help save the life of a dear littlechild, " she added simply. 

"Now I'll just put on my things and be startin' back home. "

"Startin' home? Well, I reckon not. You're a-goin' to stay right hereto-night, and let my woman put you straight to bed. That's what you'rea-goin' to do. "

Smiles' protests were all in vain, and soon the weary body and mind wererelaxed in the sleep which follows hard on the heels of exhaustion. 

 * * * * *

It was close on to midnight when Dr. Donald MacDonald reached hisapartment after a rare theatre party with his fiancée. His day's workhad been exacting, and he was doubly tired. The thought of bed held analmost irresistible appeal. 

As he inserted his latch key in the lock, he heard the telephone bell inhis office ringing insistently; his heart sank, and cried a rebelliousanswer. 

Combined force of habit and the call of duty caused him to hasten to theinstrument, however, without stopping to remove hat or coat, and to hisear came a small, distant voice saying, "A telegram for Dr. DonaldMacDonald. Is he ready to receive it?"

"Yes ... Hold on a minute until I get a pencil.... All right, go ahead. "

"It is dated from Fayville, Virginia, January 1, 1914. 8:30 P. M. Are yougetting it?"

"Yes, yes. Go on, " cried the man, with increasing heart pulsations. 

"'Dr. Donald MacDonald, Commonwealth Ave. , Boston, Mass. Lou Amos dyingof brain tumor almost blind and 'k-o-m-o-t-o-s-e'"--she spelt itout--"'Come at once if possible I will pay. ' It is signed, 'Yourfoster-sister Rose. ' Did you get it? Yes? Wait a moment, please, thereis another one dated and addressed the same. The message reads, 'Girlcame alone down mountain in howling blizzard. Case urgent. Signed, Thomas Timmins, Station Agent. ' That is all. "

"Thank you. Good-night, " said Donald mechanically, as he replaced thereceiver. 

Through the partly open folding door he could dimly see that enticingbed, with his pajamas and bath robe laid across it. It seemed to him asthough it were calling to his weary body with a siren's voice, or hadsuddenly acquired the properties of the cup of Tantalus. He hesitated, and moved a step toward it. Then the vision of Rose as he had last seenher, with the ethereal smile trembling on lips that struggled bravelyto laugh, and in deep misty eyes, came between it and him. 

Still clad in hat and overcoat, he seated himself at the desk and calledup first the information bureau of the South Terminal Station, then hisyoung associate, Dr. Philip Bentley, in whose charge he was accustomedto leave his regular patients when called away from the city for anylength of time; and finally a house used as a semi-club by trainednurses. 

When his last call was answered he asked, "Is Miss Merriman registeredwith you now? This is Dr. MacDonald speaking. "

After a wait of several minutes, during which he felt himself nodrepeatedly, a sleepy voice spoke over the wire, "This is Miss Merriman, Dr. MacDonald. I'm just off a case. "

"Good. I'm lucky ... That is if you're game to take another oneimmediately. "

"Yes, doctor. Do you want me to-night?"

"No, to-morrow ... This morning, that is, will do. I shall want you tomeet me at the South Station, New York train, at seven o'clock. "

"Yes, doctor. What sort of a case is it?"

"Same as the last you assisted me in--brain tumor. But we're goingfurther this trip ... The jumping-off place in Virginia. It's up in themountains, so take plenty of warm clothes. "

"Very well, doctor. " Then there came a little laugh, for these two wereexcellent friends now, and the query, "Another record-breaking fee?"

"I'll tell you to-morrow, " he replied. "Don't forget, seven o'clocktrain for New York. Good-night. "

"Good-night, doctor. "

Donald turned away from the desk, and for a moment stood motionless. 

"God bless her brave, trusting, little heart, " he said half aloud. 

And he was not thinking of Miss Merriman. 

CHAPTER XX

THE ANSWER

More than once Rose caught herself wondering if, after that day wasdone, she would ever be able to smile again. In obedience to thedoctor's prescription for Big Jerry, which it was ever her first duty tofill, she never looked towards him--as he sat bent over before the fire, eyes heavy with pain, breath coming in deep rasps, but lips set firmlyagainst a word of complaint--without sending him a message of love andcompassion through the intangible medium of that smile. Yet, as theweary hours dragged on with plodding feet, it seemed to her as thougheach new one was not an interest payment on a fund of happiness storedwithin her heart, but a heavy dipping into the principal itself. 

Before she had taken her early morning departure back up to the mountainover the sodden, slippery path, she had received a telegram that Donaldhad sent off as his last act before yielding to the lure of bed, andwhich brought her the hope-engendering word that he would be with her assoon as swift-speeding trains could bring him. 

But that was yesterday. By no possibility could he reach them before thecoming evening, and surely never had the sun taken so long to make hiswintry journey across the pale blue sky. 

Hour after hour Rose sat by the bedside of little Lou, and tenderlystroked her cold small hands while she hummed unanswered lullabies, eachnote of which was the chant of a wordless prayer. The sufferer lay sowhite, so utterly still, save for the periods when her every breath wasa faint moan or she suddenly shook and twisted in a convulsive spasm, that time and again the girl started up with a cry of terror frozen onher lips but echoing in her heart, and bent fearfully over to press herear close against the baby's thin breast. As often it caught the barelydiscernible beat of the little heart within. 

The baby's eyes, now piteously crossed, had turned upward until thestarlike pupils were almost out of sight. There were long periods whenonly the occasional twitching of the bloodless, childishly curved andparted lips, or the uneasy moving of the golden crowned head on thepillow, betrayed the fact that the spark of life still glowed faintly. Could she, by the power of will and prayer, keep that spark alight untilthe one on whom she pinned her faith should arrive, and fan it back to aflame by his miraculous skill? That was Smiles' one thought. 

The violet shadows of evening began at last to tinge the virginwhiteness of the out-of-doors, and Rose caught herself starting eagerly, with quickened pulse, at every new forest sound. The crunching tread ofJudd, who paced incessantly outside the window, grew almost unbearable. She counted the steps as they died away, and listened for them toreturn, until her nerves shrieked in protest, and it was only by aneffort that she curbed their clamoring demand that she rush to the doorand scream at him; bid him stand still or begone. 

 * * * * *

Through the shadows Donald was once again making his way up the nowfamiliar mountain side. To have climbed up the footpath with MissMerriman and their essential baggage would have been impossible, and hehad, after much persuasion, finally succeeded in hiring a man inFayville to drive them up in a springless, rickety wagon. This hadnecessitated their taking a much more circuitous route, and what seemedlike an interminably long time. 

During the railway journey from the Hub, he had told his companion allof the relevant facts, and much of the story of Rose, and the nurse'ssympathetic interest in the recital had made her almost as anxious asthe man himself to arrive at their destination and answer the girl's cryfor aid. 

Once she had voiced a doubt as to the wisdom of leaving his urgentpractice and taking such a trip on so slender grounds. 

"But how do you know that it _is_ brain tumor, doctor, or that there iseither any chance of saving the child's life, or any real need of asurgeon? At the most you have only the conclusion of a country doctorwho can hardly be competent to determine such a question. "

"I have considered all that, Miss Merriman, " he had replied, shortly, and then added, as though he felt that an explanation were due, "Frankly, when I made up my mind to go, I wasn't thinking of the patientso much as I was of my foster-sister. Perhaps she won't appeal to you asshe has to me; but I really feel a strong responsibility for her future, and I don't want her faith in m ... In physicians to be shattered. Yousee, I have held up the ideal of service, regardless of reward, as ourmotto. " He sat silently looking out of the car window for a moment, while the nurse studied his serious, purposeful face and mentallyrevised her previous estimate of him. Then he went on, with anapologetic laugh, "Besides--Oh, I know that it sounds utterlypreposterous, but there are times when a man's groundless premonitionsare more real to him than any logical conclusions of his own. This isone of those times. "

The subject dropped. 

Donald had, in addition to a fortnight's compensation in advance, givenMiss Merriman a return ticket and sufficient money to cover allnecessary disbursements, and told her that she must, of course, look tohim for any additional salary. Under no circumstances, he said, was sheto accept what Rose was sure to try and press upon her. 

At length the plodding horse turned into the little clearing beforeJerry's cabin, and, as it appeared, the watcher outside, his facetwitching, slunk silently away into the forest, where his racked soulwas to endure its hours of Gethsemane. 

Rose heard them. She hastened to the door, and her white lips uttered alow cry which spoke the overwhelming measure of her relief. 

"I just _knew_ you'd come!" she said, as the man, numbed with cold, swung his companion to the ground. The girl gave her a quick glance ofsurprise; but her eyes instantly returned to the doctor's face with anexpression which Miss Merriman decided was as nearly worship as she hadever seen. 

Donald did not return her greeting in words at first; but, after he hadpaid the driver, so liberally that the latter was left speechless, andthey had entered the cabin, he held out his strong arms to her. Smilesswayed into them and pressed her face against the thick fur of his coatwith an almost soundless sigh that told the whole story of anxiouswaiting and the end of the tension that had left its mark on herchildlike face. 

"This, Miss Merriman, is my little foster-sister, Rose. And MissMerriman is a nurse who has come to help us, " said he, as he releasedher, and passed on to greet the old giant, who had slowly pulled hisshattered, towering frame from his chair, and now stood with a gaunthand held out in welcome, while a ghost of his one-time hearty smileshadowed his lips. Big Jerry's flowing beard was now snow-white, andDonald was shocked at the change which had taken place in him. 

Their greeting was brief and simple, as between men whose hearts arecharged, and, as soon as he had eased him back into his seat, Donaldspoke with a quick assumption of his professional bearing. 

"Now, about our little patient. How is she, Rose?"

"Close to the eternal gates, I'm afraid, " whispered the girl, with acatch in her voice. "Oh, Donald, we cannot let her ... " she turnedabruptly and led the way to the door of her tiny bedroom. The doctorstepped inside and looked briefly, but searchingly, at the child who laythere, silent, and the semblance of Death itself. With her lips caughtby her teeth, and her hands clasped tightly together to still hertrembling, Rose watched him. 

His next words, spoken as he stepped back into the cabin and shookhimself free of his greatcoat, were brusquely non-committal. "And thedoctor? Where is he?"

"The doctor? Why, he ... He isn't here; he hasn't been here for days. Hedoesn't even know that you were coming ... That I had sent for you. "

"What? But I don't understand, child. Of course he ought to be here. "Donald's voice was so sharp that it brought the tears, that were so nearthe surface, into Smiles' eyes, perceiving which, he hastened to addmore gently, "There, there, of course you didn't know; but I can hardlyhope to diagnose ... To determine what the trouble really is, or wherethe growth, if there is one, is located, unless I get a full history ofthe case from him and his own conclusions to help me. "

"But ... But, Donald, he didn't _have_ any conclusions. He said it was... Was brain fever, first, and then he gave up trying and told us thatLou had just got to die. Besides, _I_ know the ... The history.... " Shestopped, with a little wail of distress. 

"'Brain _fever_!' Then who ... The telegram certainly said 'tumor. '"

"Yes, yes. _I_ said that. Oh, I can't tell you why; but I just _know_that it is, Donald, for little Lou has been exactly like you told methat baby up north was--the one you saved by a ... A miracle. Oh, don'tyou remember? It was in the paper. "

Her sentences had become piteously incoherent; but their significanceslowly dawned upon him. To Miss Merriman the conversation was somewhatof an enigma, and she stood aside, regarding Rose with an expressionhalf bewildered, half frightened. Had this strange child summoned sofamous a physician, whose moments, even, were golden, to the heart ofthe Cumberlands on her own initiative and on the strength of her ownchildish guess, merely? It was incredible, a tragic farce. 

Perhaps something of similar import passed swiftly through the man'smind, for he placed his large hands upon the girl's slender shoulders, and, for an instant, sent a searching gaze deep into her eyes, nowluminous with unshed tears, as he had first seen them. They looked up athim troubled, but frankly trusting. 

"Do you mean, Rose, " his words came slowly, "that you sent for mewithout a doctor's suggestion and advice; that you did it on your ownhook?"

She nodded. "I just couldn't bear to have her die. She is all that ... That Judd has got in the world, now, and I knew that you could save herfor him. "

His hands felt the controlled tension of her body, and he impulsivelydrew her close to him. When he answered, his voice was strangely gentle. 

"It's all right, little doctor. I'm glad that you did, and only hopethat I can help. Now, let's all sit down here before the fire--how goodit feels after that bitter ride, doesn't it, Miss Merriman?--and youwill tell me all that you can about the baby's trouble--every singlething that you have noticed from the first, no matter how little it is. You see, that only by knowing exactly how the patient has acted can thesurgeon even hope to guess where the trouble has its seat. Once before Itold you that a nurse has got to face the truth, understandingly andbravely, and I may as well tell you about some of the difficulties whichlie in the path that we must tread to-night. Your faith has beenalmost--sublime, dear. I wonder if it would have failed if you hadknown how like a child in knowledge--a child searching in the dark--is asurgeon at such a time as this?"

"I ... I don't believe that I understand, and you kind of frightened me, Don. I thought that all you would have to do would be to ... To cut outthat awful thing that is stealing away Lou's precious life. Wasn't thatwhat you did for that other little child?"

"Yes, but ... How am I going to explain? If there is a tumor, as wethink, I'll do my best to take it away; but, in order to do that, Ihave, of course, got to go inside of her skull right to the brainitself, and the trouble might be here, or here, or here. " He touched hernow profusion of curls at different cranial points. "That is the riddlewhich you and I must solve, and I have got to look to you for the key. The human brain is still a book of mystery to us. Some day, physicianswill be able to read it with full understanding; but so far, we have, after thousands of years, barely learned how to open its covers andguess at the meaning of what lies hidden within. "

Rose had edged close to Miss Merriman on the rough bench before thefire, and, with the older woman's arm about her, now sat, wide-eyed andwondering, while Donald talked. As he kept his gaze fixed on the glowingheart of the fire, he seemed, in time, to be musing aloud rather thanconsciously explaining. 

"This much we have learned, however; that certain parts of the braincontrol all the different actions or functions of the body--I've calledit a telegraph station once before.... " he paused, and both thought oflittle Mike in his last home under the snow ... "with different keys, each sending its message over a separate wire. So you see that, if wecan learn exactly what the message has been, I mean by that just howcertain parts of the body have been affected--Miss Merriman would callthem the 'localizing symptoms'--we can often tell almost exactly whichkey is being disarranged by the pressure of a foreign growth, such as atumor. Do you think that you can understand that, Rose?"

She nodded slowly. 

"That is the first, the great and most difficult thing for us to do. Therest depends, in part, upon the mechanical skill of the surgeon, but farmore upon Fate, for there are certain kinds of growths which may beremoved with a fair chance of success--it is only that, at present--andothers ... But we won't consider the others. Lou is young, and in oneway that is in our favor. If there _is_ a tumor, there is lesslikelihood of infiltration, " he added, glancing at the nurse. 

Rose opened her lips as though to ask a question, and then decided notto, but her expression caused Donald to say, "Come child, don't look sofrightened. "

"But I didn't know ... It's so ... So terrible. How can any one live ifhis head is cut open like that?"

"It sounds desperate, doesn't it, " he answered, lightly, "But with ouranesthetics, which put the patient quietly to sleep, and our new, specially made instruments, the trained and careful surgeon can performthe operation quite easily--as far as the mechanical part goes, I mean. But, you can see how all-important it is for you to tell me just how Louhas been affected. I know what a good memory you have; make it countto-night. "

With her breathing quickened, and eyes shining from pent-up excitement, Rose began. Simply and painstakingly she recounted everything which shehad observed about the baby's strange behavior from that painful nightwhen she had brought her from Judd's lonely cabin, through the long daysin which she had steadily weakened and failed, to the time when theinvisible hand of Death seemed to have begun to pluck at the thread oflife itself. 

Donald listened intently, without a word of interruption, until shesuddenly broke off her recital with the words, "Oh, I can't think ofanything more, truly I can't; and I'm so afraid ... Afraid that ithasn't been enough to help. "

Miss Merriman's encircling arm closed comfortingly about the girl, andshe patted the head which turned and burrowed into her shoulder, but shesaid nothing, waiting for the man to speak. He mused for a moment, andthen his words came with the crisp incisiveness of a lawyer incross-examination. 

"As she lost control of her legs and began to waver and stumble when shetried to walk, did she seem to turn, or fall, to one side more than tothe other? Think!"

The anxiety deepened in Smiles' eyes; but she answered withouthesitation, "No, I don't think so. It was more as though her little bodywas plumb tuckered out. "

"And her hearing? Did that fail?"

"No, not until just toward the last, anyway. Even when she couldn't seemto answer me, somehow I was quite sure that she understood, when Ispoke, or sang, to her. She would kinder smile, but, oh, it was such apitiful smile that it 'most broke my heart. "

"She seemed to understand, eh?" He paused, and the room was very still, except for Big Jerry's stentorian breathing. "Can you say quitecertainly--don't be afraid to answer just exactly what you think--canyou say, then, that, aside from the general weakness of all the powersof her little body and mind, the headache and occasional sickness, themost noticeable thing in all her strange behavior was that she wasn'table to talk clearly, and this increased until she wholly lost the powerof speech which happened before she became as ... As I see her now?"

"Yes, doctor. "

Donald turned abruptly to the nurse. "Barring the use of technicalphraseology, and a possible expression of his own, probably valueless, conclusions, could any doctor, such as is likely to be practising inFayville, have given me any more information, or told it better?"

"No, doctor. "

At these unexpected words of praise the girl's smile appeared mistilyfor a moment, and then quivered away. 

There was silence again in the cabin, while the man turned histhoughtful gaze back to the fire, which had now turned to glowing orangeembers. A far-off look, alien to his keen, masterful face crept into it. Finally he seemed to shake off his new mood, and spoke with a queerlaugh. 

"I told you on the train that I was the victim of an uncannypremonition. I guess that Horatio was right about there being manythings outside the ken of our limited philosophy. What psychic whisperfrom a world whose existence we men of 'common sense'"--he spoke thewords sarcastically--"are loath to credit; what inspiration, born of thememory of that story of the case of the Bentley Moors' child in NewYork, which I told her in words of one syllable six months ago, was itthat brought the light of truth to this girl's mind, when the villagedoctor utterly failed to catch so much as a glimmer of it?"

"Then you think, doctor ... ?" began Miss Merriman. 

"My diagnosis coincides with Smiles', --a tumorous growth on the brain, probably upon the third left frontal convolution ... Right here, " hesaid in explanation, as he touched his forehead between the left eyebrowand the hair. "Rose, you have done excellently. Now we, too, will dowhat we can, and we shall need your help in full measure to-night. Iknow that it is going to be bitterly hard for you, perhaps the hardestthing that you will ever be called upon to do in all your life; you'vegot to be a woman, and a brave one. I'd spare you if I could, but.... "

"But I don't want to be spared, Donald, " she interrupted, eagerly. 

"I know, and I trust you more than I could any grown-up woman here inthe mountains. It's hardly necessary to tell you again, that a nurse isa soldier, and must be not only brave, but obedient. If we decide to ... To go ahead I will be, not your friend, but your superior officer for awhile, and, if my orders seem harsh and even cruel, you must nothesitate, or feel hurt. You understand that, don't you, dear?"

"Yes, doctor. I understand. "

She spoke bravely, but her voice trembled a little. 

"Good. Before I make my final examination, Miss Merriman and I have gotto change our clothes. She will use your room and I the loft; but firstlet us bring Lou's bed out here by the fire. "

It was done. 

"Now, " he continued, "while we are getting ready, there are a number ofthings which you have got to do, and you will have to work fast. First, make grandfather comfortable in his room, and build up this fire. Thenheat up as much water as the big kettle will hold, and see that asmaller one is scoured absolutely clean. Start some water heating inthat, too. Finally, undress Lou completely, and wrap her in a blanket. Can you remember all that?"

"Yes, Donald ... Yes, doctor. "

Donald smiled, and added, "One thing more. Partly fill a pillow-casewith sand, or dirt, if it is possible to get any. Perhaps the ground inthe wood-house isn't frozen so hard but that you can get it. "

She nodded wonderingly. 

In a quarter of an hour her duties were completed and Miss Merriman andDonald had appeared, clad in their spotless white garments of service. Rose, likewise, was in her play uniform, which was now considerably toosmall for her, and her appearance in it would have caused a smile if ithad not been more provocative of tears. 

Six months earlier the doctor and nurse, assisted by others of the mostskilled and highly trained that the metropolis afforded, had prepared toperform the same desperate service in humanity's cause, within theperfectly appointed operating room of a modern city hospital. Howdifferent was the setting now!

In the rude, but homey room of the mountain cabin, lighted only byold-fashioned lamps and lanterns and the pulsating blaze of the fire inthe cavernous fireplace, whose colorful gleam touched with gold thescoured copper of pot and kettle, the three workers, in the immaculategarments of a city sickroom, bent intently over the naked form of thenearly insensible child, to whose alabaster body the leaping flamesimparted a simulated glow of warm tones. 

The general examination was brief, and made in silence. Then Donald drewthe covering over the little body as a sculptor might the cloth over hisstatue, and straightened up with a look in his gray eyes that was new toRose. 

He spoke in curt sentences. "Of course the case is far more desperatethan our last, Miss Merriman. It's the proverbial 'one chance in athousand. ' On that single thread hangs the child's life. "

Suddenly he startled Rose by giving a short, mirthless laugh, and, turning away, he began to speak in an undertone, as though unconsciousof the presence of the other two, for, despite his previous calm, thethought of what was in prospect had keyed up his nerves to a pitch wherethey quivered like the E string of a violin. 

"Good God, what a colossal nerve a man is sometimes called upon to havein this world. Of course she'll die in twenty-four hours if I _don't_operate; but only a fool--or a genius--would tackle _this_ operationunder such impossible conditions. Practically none of the things herethat science says are necessary. 'A fool, or a genius. '"--He suddenlysmote his hands together, and said, "I hope that I'm a fool forto-night. God takes care of them ... And drunkards. I wish I had astrong slug of Judd's white whiskey, it might steady my nerves. 

"Where _is_ Judd?" he snapped out, aloud, turning to Rose. 

CHAPTER XXI

A MODERN MIRACLE

"I don't know. He was here when you came, but I saw him going up themountain into the woods. But I'll answer for him; I'll take that chance, doctor. She is nearly as dear to me as she is to him, and I know thatshe is going to die, unless ... Unless ... "

"I knew you'd say it. Well, we'll operate, Miss Merriman. "

Donald's voice was calm, impersonal again, and his tone had a steelyquality, as though his lancet or scalpel had become endowed with avoice, and spoken. 

Silently, and with practised hands, the nurse began to unpack his bagand lay out upon a sheet, which she obtained from Rose and spread overthe rough table, the many strange instruments, bottles, rolls ofbandages and sponges in their sterile packages. 

"Have you any baking soda--saleratus, Rose?"

She nodded. 

"Good. Put about a teaspoonful in the smaller kettle, and boil theseinstruments for ten minutes, while we are making the final preparations. I want some hot water, too. "

He turned away, and for a moment stood looking up at the calm heavens inwhich the stars made openings for the white eternity beyond to shinethrough. Something in the scene bore his thoughts back to that summerevening when the mountain man of God had tried so earnestly to ministerto his own disease. Snatches of sentences re-echoed in his memory. Thenhe stepped back to Smiles' side and his voice was soft, as he said, "Isuppose that, whenever a surgeon begins an operation like this one, hehas an unformed prayer deep in his heart, though he may not realize towhom he prays. There was never more occasion for one than to-night, Rose. I know that the Great Healer is nearer to you than to me. Ask Himthat my hand may not falter. "

She nodded again, sweetly serious. 

Once more his accustomed bluntness of manner returned, and he snapped, "Oh, why in the devil didn't I have sense enough to bring anotherassistant?"

"I am here, doctor, " answered the girl. 

"Yes, yes, I know. " He regarded her with the old, searching look. Then, to the nurse, "It's only one of the many chances we have got to take. When you put the patient under the anæsthetic you will show Rose exactlyhow it is administered, for she will have to keep her unconsciouswithout any further aid from you after I begin to operate. We have _got_to trust her, Miss Merriman, " he added shortly, as he caught theexpression of grave doubt which the nurse could not keep from appearingon her countenance. "See that she washes and sterilizes her handsthoroughly. That hot water, Rose. I want a basinful. "

She supplied it, then departed to do the rest of his bidding, and forsome moments was kept so busy that she did not realize what the othertwo were doing at the bedside, other than to note that Donald had raisedthe head of the bed by blocking up the legs with firelogs, and coveredit with a rubber sheet such as she had never seen before. 

When she did, however, return to the side of the little sufferer, whoseface was far whiter than the clean, but coarse, sheet which covered theemaciated body, a low cry of protest and grief was wrung from her lips. Already most of the lovely ringlets of spun gold, which had won for thebaby Donald's characterization of "Little Buttercup, " gleamed on therough floor, and the ruthless but necessary sacrifice was beingcontinued. 

There were tears on her cheeks as she aided the doctor to scrub theshorn scalp, until the child moaned and turned her head from side toside. 

"He is my commanding officer. He told me that I must always rememberthat, and obey, " whispered Rose to herself, as Donald, in hisabstraction, began to snap forth his orders in a manner and tone which, for a moment, made her shrink and quiver. His words were oftenunintelligible to her, until Miss Merriman, silent-footed and efficient, translated them into action, as, before the wide eyes of the mountainchild, there began to unfold the swift drama of modern surgical scienceat its pinnacle, amid that fantastic setting. 

Strange words, indeed, were those which now fell on her attentive ears, many of them far outside the bounds of her limited vocabulary; yet, stranger still, she soon began to grasp their meaning intuitively, andher quick native perception, keyed high by emergency, led her often toanticipate the physician's wish, and act upon it. More than once she wona look of surprise from the older woman. 

Donald's directions to Miss Merriman were curt and incisive; but soon hedid not limit his speech to them. Rather he seemed to be uttering histhoughts aloud; the old habit of making a running explanation for thebenefit of a clinic or the better understanding of an assistant wassubconsciously asserting itself, and it was to Rose as though she werelistening to the outpouring of a fountain of knowledge, whose watersengulfed her mind and made it gasp, yet carried her along with them. Itwas all a dream, a weird, impossible nightmare to her; the familiar roombegan to assume a strange aspect, and the man's words came to her as dothose heard in a sleeping vision--real, yet tinctured with unreality. 

"In this case the elastic tourniquet will stop the blood flow aseffectively as the Heidenhain backstitch suture method, I think, MissMerriman, and it will be much simpler. I'm glad I brought it. Have youthe saline solution, and the gauze head-covering ready?"

"Yes, doctor. "

"Then you may administer the ether--use the drop method, and don'tforget to show her just how to regulate it. 

"No blood-pressure machine, " he muttered. "Oh, well, we've just got totrust to her being able to stand it, and ... "

"And to God, " whispered Rose. 

He glanced quickly up, as though he had already forgotten her presence, and added, gently, "Of course. "

The small pad of gauze, which Miss Merriman laid over the baby's face, grew moist; a strange, pungent odor began to fill the room. As she bentover to watch intently what the nurse was doing, Rose suddenly foundherself beginning to get dizzy. 

"Stand up, Smiles, " came the sharp command. "Here, hold thishandkerchief over your mouth and nose. Now, take the bottle yourself ... So ... A drop on the pad ... Now. Yes, that's right, just as MissMerriman has been doing. Little Lou is wholly unconscious, we must keepher so. 

"Remember, now your test is beginning, and I expect you not to fail me. A great deal depends on you, Rose. You are a soldier on the firing-linenow, and you are going to keep up, whatever happens. It may be for halfan hour, but you will keep up, for me, for Lou, whatever happens. Remember! _Whatever happens!_"

He looked fixedly into the unnaturally big eyes which were turned up tohis like two glorious flowers, and she nodded. With a pang of regret henoticed how thin her face was, and how white, --so pale that the colorhad fled even from the sweet, sensitive lips which smiled ever sofaintly at him, and then at the nurse, as the latter made the quietsuggestion that she try to keep her eyes always fixed on the pad ofgauze, and not let them be drawn away from it if she could possibly helpit. 

But at first she could not, and so she saw the pitiful little head, stripped of its golden crown, first covered with a clinging veil of wetcloth, over which, from behind the ears to the top of the forehead, acircular band of rubber tubing was adjusted and drawn tight into theflesh--"to stop the blood, like I did for grandpappy when he cut hisarm, " she thought. Then the head was gently raised and settled intoposition on the sand-filled pillow, which cradled it firmly. 

Only the gurgling breath of the mercifully unconscious baby, and thecrackling of the fire, broke the silence as the surgeon adjusted andposed his patient's head, as an artist would his model's. 

A piercing light flashed before the girl's eyes, and she saw that nowMiss Merriman held a strange-looking black tube, which shed a circle ofconcentrated sunshine on the gauze-covered head. It was her firstexperience with a flashlight, and she marvelled at its power. 

Now there came another dart of light, thin and fleeting, and she knewthat a knife was poised in mid-air. Involuntarily she closed her eyestight; a shudder ran through her. Donald's voice spoke impersonally, andsteadied her. 

"I shall expose the third left frontal convolution of the brain throughthe fronto-parietal bone, and, in making the osteoplastic flap, I intendto leave a wide working margin above the size of the opening which mayactually be necessary in order to reach the growth. It has got to befully exposed at once. I can't afford to delay, under thecircumstances. "

The gleam of the scalpel held her unwilling gaze with the fascination ofhorror; she drew her breath with a sound between a shudder and a sigh asit descended.... 

"I _must_ keep my eyes on the ether pad, " came the command from herwhirling brain. 

Many nights thereafter, Rose was to start up from troubled sleep withstrange sounds and stranger words echoing in her brain--words like"bevelled trephines, " "Hudson forceps, " "elevators, " "Horsley's wax, ""rongeurs, " "clips" and "sponges, "--but during the actual operation shewas scarcely conscious of them, and her principal feeling was one ofdumb rebellion which grew until she found herself almost hating _this_Donald, who could speak with such unconcern and apparent callousness, atsuch a time. As well as she could, she willed her swimming gaze toremain fixed on the pad which she must keep moist. The difficulty of thetask had suddenly become increased, for the pad seemed to become ananimate thing. Now it appeared to retreat into the distance, and againit came floating back until it seemed about to smother her. There was adroning note in her ears; the words spoken by the other two soundedmixed and indistinct. 

Of only one sentence, repeated monotonously in Miss Merriman's clearvoice, was she really conscious. "Rose, a drop of ether ... A drop ofether ... A drop of ether. "

She wanted to speak, to ask them if the room were not frightfully hot;but she could not. 

Rose had never fainted in her life, but she had once seen a neighborswoon, and she realized vaguely that, as the minutes passed, herconsciousness was slowly slipping from her. The air was close and heavywith strange smells. She felt as though she were swaying like apendulum. The old, familiar objects grew grotesquely large and hazy; thedeep shadows in the corners multiplied, and began to dance a solemnminuet, advancing, retreating; advancing, retreating.... 

"Another drop of ether. "

She took a fresh mental grasp on herself, and held Duty, like a visiblething, before her eyes. 

Again that queer, far-away voice. 

"Look, Miss Merriman. Can you see that neoplasm under the membrane? Ah... Now the flat dissector ... No, the blunter one ... "

The voice trailed away into nothing, and another recalled her failingsenses, with the battle cry:

"Rose, another drop of ether. "

Then it began again, "Thank heaven, there is no infiltration, the growthis well localized and encapsulated. Steady, steady.... Ah, very pretty. "

The word caught her flickering thoughts, and angered her. How could anyone use it about anything so awful?

There was another misty moment. Then, "The operation is, in itself, asuccess, I think.... Now if the child's vitality ... I never did abetter one ... Another sponge ... Excellent ... Are the suturesready?... Quick, take the ether bottle, Miss Merriman!"

Suddenly the girl felt a painful grasp on her arm. Some one was shakingher roughly. 

"Rose, " came the same strange voice, "we need some more wood for thefire. Go out to the woodpile, and get some. "

CHAPTER XXII

VICARIOUS ATONEMENT

In happy ignorance of the fact that the order had been given merely toget her outside, Smiles stumbled to the door with blind thankfulness, and, as soon as she had closed it behind her, crumpled up in anunconscious heap on the snow. 

Within doors, the nurse was saying, "I think she's fainted, doctor. Iheard her fall. "

"Probably, " was the callous response. "Don't worry about her, the coldwill bring her around. We've got to get these sutures in. But, say, hasn't she been a brick?"

Donald's prophecy was correct. Rose came to her senses a moment later, and, trembling and sobbing uncontrolledly, stumbled through the darknessto the woodpile, and sat down on it. For a time she was powerless tomove, but when, at length, she did re-enter the cabin, with an armful ofwood, although her face was drawn and white, her self-control was fullyrestored. 

Already the surgeon and nurse were bathing off the sewn wound withantiseptic fluid, and it was not long before the little injured head waswrapped in the swathing bandages which covered it completely, down tothe deathlike, sunken cheeks. 

The period of coming out from under the merciful anæsthesia ended, thedrooping flower was restored to its freshly made bed, the evidences ofwhat had occurred removed, and then Smiles turned to her beloved friendwith a pleading, unspoken question in her eyes. 

"I can't tell you yet, dear. I have ... All of us have done our mortalbest and now the issues are in higher hands than ours. I hope ... Butcome, tell me, Rose, what made you feel so sure that the trouble _was_ atumor on the brain. Was it merely a guess, based on what I had explainedto you?"

"No. I ... I just _knew_ it. I reckon that God told me so, " was herreply. 

"Well, God was certainly right, then, " smiled Donald, glad of any chanceto relieve the tension. "Do you want to see the growth? See, it is aslarge, nearly, as a walnut. Do you wonder that, with this thing pressingmore and more into her brain, Lou was robbed of her power to talk andact?"

The girl broke down at last and wept hysterically, which caused Donaldto look as uneasy as any mere man is bound to in such a circumstance;but Miss Merriman came to his rescue with comforting arms, and thewords, "There, there, dear. Cry all you want to now. It's all over, andDr. MacDonald will tell you that if she gets well--as we believe thatshe will--little Lou will be as healthy and happy a baby as she everwas in her life. He's taken out that wicked growth, kernel and all, andit will never come back again. Will it, doctor?"

"Almost certainly not. Rose, we couldn't have done without you to-night. You have been the brave little soldier that I told you to be; but I'mafraid that it has been a terrible strain for you. Of course, it was anexceptional operation, rare and dangerous; but it has given you a prettyvivid idea of what trained nurses have to go through frequently. Has itchanged your mind? Do you still think that you want to go ahead and giveyour life to such work?"

"Would you ask a real soldier if he wanted to quit, or keep on fighting, after he had been in one battle, and seen men killed and wounded? It'sgot to be done, hasn't it, if the poor sick babies and grown-up peopleare to be made strong and well again? And I've just _got_ to help do it, Donald. "

He gave Miss Merriman a significant look; but his only response was, "Well, unless you want another job--that of bringing back to life peoplewho have starved to death--you had better get us a bite to eat and someof your strong coffee. My internal anatomy ... "

"Oh, I plumb forgot. You haven't had a thing to eat--nor poorgranddaddy, either. I'm so ashamed I could _die_. "

 * * * * *

Two hours later, after she had finished making the old man ascomfortable as possible for the night, Rose rejoined the other two inthe main cabin. She came just in time to catch Donald in the act ofhalf-heartedly trying to conceal a deep yawn. 

As he, in turn, caught sight of her sympathetic smile, he said, "We havegiven our patient a mild sleep inducer; and now, Rose, I want you to goup into my loft room right away, and get a long night's sleep yourself. You've been under a mighty heavy strain to-day; there are many otherhard days coming, and we can't have another patient on our hands. "

The girl nodded, sleepily; but she had not taken one weary step before adifferent thought struck her, and she turned back to cry, contritely, "But you ... And Miss Merriman. There won't be any place for you tosleep, or for her either. Oh, what can we do?"

"Just forget about us, my child. I shan't undress to-night, anyway, andcan roll myself in my big fur coat and camp out in your little room, since Lou must stay out here where it is warmer. And as for MissMerriman ... If I catch her so much as closing her eyes for one minute, to-night, I'll wring her neck. "

The nurse laughed; but Smiles' lips set, purposefully. "I forgot again. Of course some one has got to sit up with little Lou, and I'll do it. Why, Donald, poor Miss Merriman has been traveling and working all daylong, and she's just tired to death--she must be. Of course she has gotto get some rest. You go right up into the loft room, dear ... " and shebegan to push the nurse gently toward the ladder. 

"Rose, " cut in the doctor, sternly, although his eyes held a pleasedtwinkle, "you're apparently forgetting one thing--that I'm boss here forthe present, and that my nurses must learn to do as they are told, without arguing. I'm sorry for Miss Merriman, too; but she knows justwhat to do if anything happens, and you don't--yet. Besides, it won't bethe first time that she has stayed up twenty-four hours at a stretch, will it?"

"No, indeed--nor forty-eight, " answered the nurse, as she smoothed thepillow under the little patient's head. "I shall want you fresh andstrong to help me with the 'day shift, ' Smiles dear. And, as the doctorsays, orders are orders. "

The girl's tired eyes suddenly filled again, this time, with hurt, rebellious tears, and a pout, almost like a child's, appeared on herlips as she turned and moved slowly toward the ladder in the far corner. Donald watched her with sympathetic understanding and the thought, "Shemust think me a brute"; but, before he could speak the word ofconsolation which was on his tongue, she whirled about, just as she hadwhen sent to bed on the first night of their acquaintance, and runningback, threw herself into his arms. As she clung to him passionately, sobbing without restraint from weariness and the break in the tensionwhich had kept her up for so long, she whispered, "Oh, I love you so, dear Don. You have been so good, so good to me, and I'm so very happy. "

"Well, well, " answered the man huskily, as he patted her shoulder, "youcertainly have a funny way of showing it; but, after all, women arequeer creatures. I'm happy, too, dear--happy to be here and to have beenable to help you. And now, " he concluded, lightly, "my happiness will becomplete if you will just let me see that sunny smile on your face, asyou obey that order which I have had to give you three times already. "

The tired girl, for the moment more child than woman, leaned back in hisarms and looked up at him with an expression so transcendently appealingthat it was only by the exercise of all his moral force that he was ableto restrain the impulse to crush her to him. He saw that the nurse wasregarding him with a peculiar expression, and as she, in turn, caughthis eye and turned hastily away with a little added color in her cheeks, Donald recovered himself, lightly kissed the forehead so close to hislips, and said, "Now for the fourth, and last, time, '_go to bed_. 'Good-night, little sister. "

This time Rose actually departed, and, after the physician had givenMiss Merriman a few final directions, and bidden her call him instantly, if anything appeared to be going wrong, he said good-night to her also, and stepped toward the little room which he was to occupy. On reachingit he paused, for there had come a low, uncertain knock on the cabindoor. 

Lest it be repeated more loudly, and disturb the quiet into which theroom had finally settled, Donald forestalled the nurse's act, hurriedsoftly to the door, and opened it a few inches. 

He started. There, leaning dejectedly against one of the pronged cedarposts on the tiny stoop, was a spectre figure, ghastly ofcountenance--Judd's. The doctor read in it the awful anguish ofuncertainty which had driven the mountaineer, against his will, back tothe cabin which held for him either hope or blank despair--and the manhe hated. 

Donald slipped outside, and closed the door softly behind him. Hetouched the inert form on the shoulder, and said in an undertone, "Comewith me away from the house, Judd. "

The other followed him, with dragging feet and sagging shoulders, hisobedience being like that of a whipped dog. As he reached the rockbefore the gnarled oak, which, in happier days, had been the target forBig Jerry's first practice shot with the rifle that was later to play apart in the tragedy of Mike's death, Donald stopped and faced the manwho had sworn himself his mortal enemy. The sight of the rock hadre-awakened bitter memories; but they perished still-born as his gazeturned on the dimly seen figure beside him. 

"Judd, " he began, almost kindly, "you know why I came here this time?"

The other made an indistinct sound of assent. 

"I ... I operated on your little sister's brain, to-night. Wait. It wasabsolutely necessary, if she were to have even a single chance for life. She was dying, Judd. The operation was a desperate one--a last resort. Ican't promise you anything certainly, but she's still alive, and Ihonestly believe that she is going to live--and get well. "

For an instant the listener stood motionless. Then his pent-up emotionsbroke their bounds in one deep, shuddering breath, and he sank downbeside the boulder, flung his tensed arms across it, and buried his faceon them. 

At last he spoke, hoarsely, and without raising his head. "I done mydamnedest ter kill ye, an' now yo' ... Yo' saves Lou's life fer me. Ireckon I don't know how ter thank ye, er repay ... But ... My life airyourn ter take hit, ef yo' likes. "

"Nonsense, " was the sharp response. "And as for thanks, why I don't wantany. I did it for Smiles' sake. "

The kneeling body quivered once; but, when the answer came, it wasuttered in even tones. "Yes, I reckoned so. Yo' hev the right ter dothings fer her, an' I ... I haint. She ... She warnt fer me ... Never. Iwarnt never worthy uv her. "

"She isn't for me, either, " said Donald. "And besides, I'm no moreworthy of her than you, Judd. I should have told you long ago--I was afool not to have done so--I'm going to marry another girl, --a girl athome whom I have known all my life. "

"Do Rose know hit?" came the mountaineer's quick, suspicious query. 

"Of course she does; she's known it for a year. Judd ... " he seatedhimself beside the younger man. "I want to tell you that I wasaltogether to blame for ... For what happened up there last summer. Ishould have told you then, and ... And I'm sorry. "

"No, hit war I who war ter blame. "

"Well, let's both try to forget it, now. You owe me nothing forto-night; but you owe Rose a debt of gratitude that you can never hopeto pay in full, my boy. "

"I knows hit. I kaint never pay even part uv hit. "

"I think that you can. "

"How kin I?"

"I don't pretend to be much of a preacher, but I can say this as a man, Judd. By trying to live the kind of a life she would have you live. Shewants to be your friend. "

"I haint fit ter be named friend uv her'n, after what I done, " hereplied, dully. 

"But _we're_ going to forget all about that, and certainly she won'thold it against you, lad. I heard your Mr. Talmadge talking about ... About religious things, once, and I think that, if he were here now, hewould tell you that Smiles and little Lou, together, have made what ... What the Bible calls 'atonement' for what ... For what you did. Smiles'love and your baby sister's suffering have brought us together; each hashad a chance to realize and confess that he was wrong and had beenwicked; and now the way is clear for us to be ... Friends. At least I'mwilling, if you are, to shake on that. "

Judd sprang to his feet, and his lean hand shot out to grasp the onewhich Donald held out to him in the darkness. And their firm clasp was aseal to the bond that the quarrel between them was ended for all time. 

"Rose will be glad, Judd. I can't let you see Lou to-night; but cometo-morrow morning ... Come early before I leave, and we'll tell them allabout it, and start things all over again. Good-night, my boy, " saidDonald, heartily. 

And there was a new light on the face of each man, as one returned toJerry's cabin, and the other strode, with restored hope, to his ownabode, which had been once so cheerless. 

CHAPTER XXIII

TWO LETTERS

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 THE FIRST

 Big Jerry's Cabin, January 15, 1914. 

My dear Dr. MacDonald, Although this is theoretically only my semi-weekly report, made inaccordance with your instructions, I feel in the letter-writing mood, for a wonder, so I _may_ overstep professional bounds, and becomeloquacious--if one can do that with pen and ink. 

Rose talks about you so continually that I am actually myself beginningto regard you as an intimate friend, instead of an austere and somewhatawe-inspiring "boss. " I should probably not be brave enough to say thatto your face; but I find that my courage rises in adverse ratio to mynearness to you. 

First, however, for my report. The little patient is still convalescingin a highly satisfactory manner, and with a rapidity which speaksvolumes both for her own strong constitution and this mountain as ahealth resort. 

The wound remains perfectly healthy and is healing without suppurationor parting--which "speaks volumes" for your skill. I am quite certainthat the scar will be merely a thin white line, and not in the least adisfigurement. The silk stitches are ready to be removed and the othersnearly dissolved. 

Yesterday that funny, countrified doctor, from down in the village, cameup to see her--fame of your operation having spread. He "reckoned" thatthe child's recovery was nothing less than a miracle, and that he takeshis hat off to you. I told him that most physicians did. 

He also "allowed" that, if I wanted him to take out the stitches, hecould do it, but I "reckoned" that I could attend to that a littlebetter than he. Was that _lèse majesté_?

I did my best to be very humble, and said, "Yes, doctor" constantly, andhe tried to appear very professional; but I think he stood a little inawe of me. You don't know how I enjoyed the feeling. 

But, to return to our report. Lou is gaining strength rapidly; I let herget up and play about longer each day, and have reduced the bandages tothe minimum. It was most affecting when they were removed from her eyes. I forgot that I was a nurse, and cried with Smiles until the childcried, too, without having the slightest idea why. She is such a sweet, merry little imp that I do not wonder that you felt more than mereprofessional interest in her case. Every one here loves her. 

Indeed, I am enchanted with the place and people, and have made up mymind to stay on a week or ten days after I call myself off the case, andtake a vacation which I really owe to myself. 

Poor Big Jerry is wonderful--so pathetically patient under hissuffering, which is now acute. I am afraid that he cannot last manyweeks longer, and, more than once, I have had to give him a hypodermicto deaden his pain. Somehow he reminds me of a huge forest tree that hasbeen struck and shattered by a lightning bolt. 

Then there is Judd. Rose says that he has been very, very wicked; butthat only adds to his fascination in my eyes, and if he should decidesome day to snatch me up and carry me off bodily to a cave, I don'tthink that I should struggle or scream _very_ hard. However, I'm afraidthere is no chance of that, as he apparently doesn't know that I exist. 

He puts me in mind of a mountain eagle, with those overhanging brows andpiercing, coal-black eyes of his; but I must admit that he isdisappointingly tame when he looks at Smiles--as he does most of thetime, to my furious jealousy. Alas, the eagle then becomes a suckingdove. _She_ is apparently oblivious to the obvious fact that he is madlyin love with her. Poor Judd!

Last, but by no means least, there is Smiles herself. I wish that Icould adequately express my thoughts about her, but I can't. However, Ino longer wonder how a mountain child like that could have captivatedyou so, as I did when you first described her to me. 

She is adorable. For the life of me I can't understand how a girl, bredin this wilderness, could have such a fine soul and personality--not tospeak of her intellect, which daily startles me more. But, of course, she is of cultured stock--she _must_ be--and I have always believed thatthe forces of heredity are paramount to those of environment. Do I soundlike a school-mar'm? Well, that is what I am. 

It may surprise you to learn, as much as it does me to realize, that Ihave turned back to schooldays with an enthusiasm which I never feltwhen I was going through them, and that I spend more time as a teacherthan as a nurse. Smiles simply _absorbs_ education--I never knewanything like it--and I am as confident as she that her dream of goingthrough the "C. H. " and becoming a trained nurse, will come to pass. Andwon't she make a wonderful one? Be warned that when she _does_ go northI intend to dispute with you the right to regard her as a protégé. 

I couldn't love her as I do, already, if she were not so completelyhuman, and it amuses me immensely the way she wheedles the natives andkeeps them in good humor by using that comical mountain lingo--althoughshe can speak as grammatically as any one, when she wants to. She justsmiles at one of them, and says, "Now haint thet jest _toe_ sweet ofye, " and they fall down and worship. 

Don't be surprised if you hear me say some day, "Wall, doctor, thet airshor' er powerful preety operation, an' I air plumb obleeged ter ye ferthet yo' let me holp ye with hit. " I'm catching it, too. 

I hope that you will forgive the liberties which I have taken in writinglike this, but I had to do it. 

 Sincerely yours, Gertrude Merriman. 

P. S. You were right in your conjecture. Since you would not accept thewhole, or any part of Smiles' precious savings--and your refusal nearlybroke her heart until I made her understand that physicians nevercharged _members of their family_--she wanted me to take it. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 THE SECOND

 Webb's Gap, Jan. 22, 1914

Dearest Doctor Mac, My heart is broken. Dear granddaddy died last night. Of course I knowthat it had to be, and that he is so much happier now in the spiritbody, and with Ma Webb (he talked about her all yesterday, and I reallythink that his soul was speaking with hers); but he was so dear to methat I can hardly bear to think that he has gone away. 

Wasn't he a splendid man, Don? I am sure that there could not have beenany better, nobler men, even in the city, and I know that you loved him, too. 

Before he died he told me all the wonderful things that he had done forme, although I did not deserve it--how he had left me all that money andmade you my guardian. I am so glad for that. 

He was in terrible pain toward the end, and I don't know what I shouldhave done without dear Miss Merriman who stayed on purpose to help me. Ithink that God sent her here special. And she has helped me in so manyother ways too--especially with my studying. She is sure that I will beable to pass that awful examination, although it frightens me. Oh, if I_can_, I can take that hospital training and be a nurse at last, for Iam rich now. Just think, dear granddaddy left me _more than a thousanddollars_--and I have my basket money, besides!

And so, dear Donald, the first part of my great dream is really comingtrue. It isn't just the way I dreamed it, for I didn't mean forgranddaddy to be dead; but I guess things never happen just as we plan. When we look forward to something pleasant, which we want very much tohappen, we never think that there may be unhappiness mixed withit--perhaps it is better that way, for if we did we wouldn't work sohard to make it come to pass. 

I am afraid that I have not said that very well; but I feel that it isso, now. I am going to Boston; I will be near you, and will learn to dothe work I love; but now I realize that I could never, never have doneit until granddaddy went away. So that is the shadow on my golden dream. 

And last night there came the great sorrow that I have been dreading somany months; and yet I know that he is happier, and I have you and MissMerriman, and the work I am going to do, to make me forget--not him, butmy sorrow--and take the pain from my heart. 

Little Lou is almost well again, and both she and Judd are going to staywith Mrs. Andrews the rest of the winter. And, oh, Doctor Mac, he haspromised me never to make white liquor again. 

I have saved the best news for the last. _Miss Merriman is going to takeme to Boston with her. _ She says that her family have taken an apartmentin the city, and that I may live with them until I get into thehospital. This makes me very happy, and I hope that you will be pleased, too. 

I know that everything is going to be very different there in Boston, and that you are so busy that I cannot see you very often, and, besides, when I do get into the hospital I must be careful to remember that youare a very great doctor and I am only one of many probationers (MissMerriman told me the word). But, although we cannot be chums like wehave been, you must never forget that I am always

 Your loving foster-sister, Smiles. 

CHAPTER XXIV

NEW SCENES, NEW FRIENDS

So another leaf was turned in the Book of Fate, and Smiles' lifeunderwent another metamorphosis as complete as the one fifteen yearsprevious. 

There was a sudden severance of all old ties, save that of memory, anabrupt entrance into a new existence, so utterly different from the onethat she had known that it could scarcely have seemed stranger to her ifshe had actually been translated into another sphere. 

Yet that same Fate, which had tried her heart in its crucible fires, andfound its gold as unalloyed as her smile, now smiled, in turn, and Rosewas deeply appreciative of that fact. She knew that in Gertrude Merrimanshe had found a friend who was a blessed comforter for her in her daysof trial; in truth, the nurse was destined to be more than that, a wisecounsellor as well. Herself a girl of breeding, a college graduate, anda product of the same mill through which the mountain child had set herheart and fixed her mind upon going, she would be able to smooth many arough spot from that path which Donald had pictured in his allegory, draw the thorns from many a bramble. 

For the first time Rose parted from the friends whom she had knownpractically all her life, and from the rugged, picturesque mountainwhich had been home to her, and turned her face toward a new life. Likea child venturing into the fairyland of dreams, she journeyed with hercompanion through the teeming cities of the East, Miss Merriman soarranging it that they should spend a day in each, for--with wisdom bornof experience--she realized that such travel was in itself a broadeningeducation, and that, moreover, in the new wonders and new delights whicheach hour held, Smiles' grief would find its best assuagement. 

There was another reason in Miss Merriman's mind for making the trip aleisurely one. She knew that the girl was as far from being ready tostep into the new existence, without material readjustment in hermanners, as she was already mentally removed from the old. To be sure, she possessed a natural grace of manner which could not but charm anyone who met her; but she was almost as free from external conventions asone of her own wild birds, except for the few which she hadunconsciously acquired by her association with the older woman, and withDonald; and, in her love for, and pride in, her protégé, Miss Merrimanwanted Rose to be able to fit, without embarrassment, into whatevercompany she might find herself. 

Hers was a comparatively easy task, for Smiles took to "manners" asreadily as a chameleon adapts its exterior to suit the color of itssurroundings. In the woods she had learned to mimic the note of thebirds or the chattering of the squirrels; in the hotel dining-room shecopied the behavior of her companion just as faithfully, and if, onoccasion, she found herself perplexed as to the proper use of somestrange implement of eating, she frankly, and without a thought ofembarrassment, sought information on the subject. People regarded herwith open amusement, sometimes; but more often their gaze speltadmiration, and Rose was happily unconscious of both kinds of glances. 

Furthermore, in obedience to instructions from Donald, contained in aspecial delivery letter which reached her just before they startedNorth, and in which he purported to be speaking and acting as thechild's guardian _ipso facto_, Miss Merriman fitted her charge out witha simple, but complete, wardrobe, to Smiles' never-failing surprise anddelight that so many pretty things should be all her own. 

When the two were ready to leave the metropolis--whose size, splendorand feverish bustle left Smiles mentally gasping--the nurse sent atelegram to Donald, and one raw February evening found him impatientlypacing the South Terminal Station, awaiting the arrival of the trainfrom New York. 

Six months before, the prospect of some day being Smiles' guardian hadseemed vaguely pleasant. Now it was an immediate fact, and theresponsibilities engendered, the possible difficulties attendant on it, lay heavily upon his mind. He, too, thanked Heaven for Miss Merriman. 

The train gates were opened at last, and Donald hastened down the longplatform, his eyes searching eagerly for those whom he sought. They fellfirst upon the nurse, just descending the steps, then turned and stayedupon the graceful, slender figure which followed her. Was it reallyRose? Could that young woman, clad in a simple black traveling dressand long coat which, even to his masculine perception, appeared modishlystylish and amazingly becoming, be the mountain child whom his memoryclothed in homemade calico? Her face was unwontedly pale beneath thesmall, close-fitting black hat, yet it was so utterly sweet that Donaldfelt his pulses start again with the old strange thrill. 

If his mind harbored any idea that she might run into his embrace, itwas doomed to disappointment, for, with the habiliments of citycivilization, Smiles had acquired its reserve. Her greeting was a verydemure and somewhat weary one, --it both pleased and irritated him, somehow. Indeed, she spoke scarcely a word, and it was not until theyhad finished dinner in the quiet, homelike hotel, whither Donald hadtaken them, that her new shyness began to yield to his presence. Thenthe story of the marvels which her eyes had beheld came pouring forthwith all the old-time childlike eagerness. 

When they were nearly ready to leave, Miss Merriman said, with a halfreal, half assumed show of firmness, "Now, Doctor MacDonald, since I amoff duty I can speak my mind plainly, and I mean to. I know that you areSmiles' guardian; but you can't have her. She's mine, and she's going tolive with my family until she enters the hospital. So there. "

Donald breathed a mental sigh of relief, and responded, laughingly, "AndI, apparently, haven't anything to say about it! Oh, very well. I'velived long enough to learn that there is no use arguing with a woman, soI yield gracefully, although I'm afraid that it is establishing a badprecedent. If I begin to take orders from you like this, it is going tobe hard to put you back in your place and to act the rôle of sternsuperior myself. I warn you, though, that I mean to get even with you onour next case, so prepare yourself to be bullied frightfully. 

"You see what a horrible disposition I really have, little sister, " headded, smiling at Rose, who informed him that she was not in the leastfrightened, and to prove it, slipped her hand into his for a moment withthe childlike confidence that he loved. 

So it was arranged; a taxicab bore them to the homey little apartment inthe Fenway, where Smiles was taken to Mrs. Merriman's maternal bosom, and, after humbly begging his ward from them for the next afternoon, when he meant to introduce her to his family, Donald departed, whistling. 

Tired, but strangely contented, Rose was at last shown to her daintypink and white bedroom, with its inviting brass bed, beside which sheknelt for a long time in thankful prayer. Nor was it strange, perhaps, that her pillow was moist with tears of gratitude and happiness beforeshe fell asleep. 

Smiles awoke early. The air in the room was very cold, but during hertrip northward she had learned the mysteries of steam radiators, and shesprang up, closed the windows, and turned on the heat with a littlesilent laugh as her thoughts travelled back to the rude cabin on themountain. In memory she saw herself crawl shiveringly from her bed, inthe cold gray of a Winter daybreak, clad only in a plain nightgown, tobuild a blaze in the big stone fireplace so that the room might be warmfor Big Jerry when he awoke. The smile faded from her lips, and theytrembled slightly as she whispered his name. Poor grandpap, he hadsuffered sadly from the cold during those last few months when he couldnot keep the circulation up in his massive body by accustomed exercise. 

Below her lay the still sleeping city. Snow covered the untenantedportions of the Fens, and hid its ugly nakedness with a soft mantle, which seemed to hold a silken sheen, as the first flush of morningtouched it. How strange all her surroundings appeared. Gone was the farsweeping expanse of forest-clad mountain side, stretching off to thesunrise; in its place lay a level space closed in by substantialbuildings of marble, granite and brick--the Art Museum, Latin School andclustered hospitals, --their walls changing from ghostly gray to growingrose and gold. She drew a comfortable dressing gown--the gift of her newfriend--about her girlish form, and sat down by the window in thefamiliar posture with her chin on her cupped hands. By Miss Merriman'sdescription of the view which the window gave upon she recognized thecreamy brick building of the Children's Hospital, snuggled like a gentlesister by the side of the impressive marble walls of its big brother, the Harvard Medical School, and, as the light grew and gave definitionto its outlines, she felt as though it were actually drawing nearer toher. In imagination she went to meet it; she entered its doors and tookher place among those who toiled there with loving hearts and skillfulhands; and thus Miss Merriman found her, half an hour later, when she, similarly clad, came to bid her little guest good morning. With silentunderstanding, which is born of true companionship, she drew the girlinto her arms. 

"I'm not going to let you do a single thing but rest this morning, " shesaid at length. "You look pale and tired still--like a very whiterose--and I want you to appear your very sweetest when you go to meetDr. MacDonald's family this afternoon, dear. Come, let's decide what youshall wear. The black silk that we bought in New York?"

Smiles hesitated. "I think that ... Would it be all right if I wore thatpretty white woollen one?"

"Why, yes, if you like, but it is very plain and simple. "

"And so am I, " laughed Rose a bit unsteadily. "I want them to see mejust as I am, and ... Oh, how I hope that they will like me!"

"Never fear. They will, " answered Miss Merriman, giving her a reassuringkiss. 

Nevertheless, it was a very quiet and timid Smiles who sat beside Donaldin his coupé at four that afternoon, as he drove to the richly sombrehome on Beacon Street, where had dwelt many generations of Thayers. He, too, although he attempted to be jovial, was strangely uneasy. 

"You chump!" he said to himself. "You're more disturbed about whetherthis child will make a good impression, than you would be overperforming a major operation. Supposing that Ethel _doesn't_ go wildabout her, what of it?"

A trim maid ushered them into the drawing room, where softly shadedlights were already burning, for the afternoon was dull and gray, andthey gave a mellow homelike appearance to the mahogany furniture, richtapestries, oriental rugs and costly paintings. Ethel, Mr. MacDonald, Senior, and little Muriel were in the room when Donald entered with thegirl's slim hand held tightly in his, for she had slipped it thereimpulsively, just as he stepped through the broad doorway. 

"This, " he said simply, "is Smiles. "

They all arose, and Ethel stepped quickly forward with outstretchedhands. She had told herself that she meant to be very kind to the littlesavage to whom her brother had taken such an astonishing fancy; butnow, something in the slender form and the half-frightened expression inthe pale, sweet face caused her to forget everything else except thatthe stranger was alone and ill at ease. Both her arms went out to Rosewith a motherly gesture, and, as she drew her within them, she said, "Why, my dear child. "

"Yes, she _is_ a child, " broke in Muriel, eagerly seizing one of Smiles'hands. "I thought that she was a grown-up woman; but see, she wears herhair down on her neck just like a school girl. "

Let it be said that Miss Merriman had caught the note struck by Rosethat morning, and had arrayed her to appear as young and simple aspossible. 

"A child? Of course she is, " echoed Mr. MacDonald in a hearty voice. "Mydear, Donald has told us so much about you that I feel almost as thoughI had known you all your life. But, " he added with little wrinklesforming at the corners of his kindly gray eyes, "I would like to haveseen you, as my son did first, in that one-piece calico dress. Hedescribed the picture that you made very graphically. "

"Oh, look, mother. She's going to _smile_. Remember how pretty Uncle Dontold us she looked when ... "

Rose's shyly budding smile changed to silvery laughter in which all therest joined, and with it was sealed the bond of an enduring friendship. Then baby Don was brought down from the nursery for inspection and, before he had been contentedly curled in the newcomer's arms manyminutes, he was actually trying to lisp "Mileth, " which Ethel proudlypronounced to be the first articulate word in his vocabulary, if thoseuniversal sounds, which doting parents have ever taken to mean Motherand Father, be excepted. He liked it so well that he insisted uponrepeating it over and over, with eyes screwed up tight and mouth openedvery wide, which gave him so comical an expression that every onelaughed, including himself. 

Manlike, Donald had planned to get all the meetings over with at once, and had asked his sister to invite Marion in for afternoon tea and tomeet his "protégé and prodigy"--as Ethel had phrased it in herinvitation. He had, however, purposely refrained from mentioning thefact to Rose, and when Miss Treville entered, stately as a goddess, verybeautiful and a trifle condescending in manner, as she extended herwhite-gloved hand and said, "So this is little Rose, " the girl felt asudden chill succeed the warmth of hospitality which had served tobanish all her timid reserve, had brought a glow of happy color to hercheeks and a sparkle to her luminous eyes, and had made her as whollynatural as she would have been at home among her simple neighbors of themountains. 

Donald felt the psychological change, and sensed the reason for it; butalthough, in a clumsy manner, he did his best to restore the atmosphereof comradeship, he knew that he was failing. Marion also tried, andtried sincerely, to bring Rose into the conversation; but the girl hadbecome embarrassed and silent, and to her own surprise the society womanvaguely realized that she, too, was embarrassed and not at her best. Shetried to shake off the feeling with the thought that it was absurd thatone who had been at ease in the presence of royalty should feel so inthat of a simple mountain girl; but she could not wholly banish thefeeling or the impression that the girl's deep, unusual eyes werelooking down beneath the surface, which she knew was perfectlyappointed--had she not, for no reason at all she told herself, takenspecial pains in dressing?--and that, although there was something ofawed admiration in her frank gaze, it also held a suggestion ofsomething which was not entirely approval. Donald felt it, too, and itirritated him; so much so that he was frankly glad when his fiancéeannounced that she must depart to attend a social engagement. Perhaps itwas because he was ashamed of such a feeling that he kissed her withunusual warmth, as he handed her into the waiting motor car, and hefound himself flushing deeply, without reason, when he returned to thedrawing room and saw Rose standing by one of the windows, looking out atthe departing limousine with its two liveried attendants. 

"She is very beautiful, " the girl whispered to him, as he joined her. 

There was another guest that afternoon, who came in, unexpectedly--ayoung man, in appearance Donald's antithesis, for, although he was ofmore than medium height, he was slender and almost as graceful as awoman. Wavy light hair crowned a merry, boyish face which, with itsremarkably blue eyes, was almost too good looking for a man, althoughsaved from a hint of weakness by a firm, well-rounded chin. 

"Called at your office and learned that you were loafing on the jobagain, and that I might find you up here, visiting a baby--for achange, " he ran on, as he entered after the manner of one who feelshimself perfectly at home. Then he caught sight of Rose, blushed like agirl himself and stammered, "Oh, I beg pardon. I didn't know that I was... "

"You're not, " laughed Donald, seizing the newcomer's hand with avicelike grasp. "Come in. I've told you about my little mountain rose, and now is your chance to meet her, for here she is. Smiles, this is myclosest friend and associate, Dr. Philip Bentley--the man who steps intomy shoes when I am summarily ordered to board the next train for theCumberland Mountains, or elsewhere. "

"Who steps into his practice, perhaps, but not into his shoes, MissRose, " added the other. "I could not fill _them_, figuratively orphysically. "

"Go ahead, make all the fun of me that you like, " answered Donald. "I'mnot ashamed of having a broad understanding. "

"You would not think Dr. Donald's boots large if you could have seen myGranddaddy's, " interposed Smiles, pretending to think that reflectionwas being cast upon her idol. "I could get _both_ my feet inside one ofthem--really I could. "

"I don't wonder, " answered Philip with a return to seriousness. And thegirl hastily tucked her diminutive shoes underneath her chair, as shesaw the man's gaze fastened upon them. 

For nearly an hour she lived in unaccustomed delight, as she listened tothe merry badinage of this group of educated city dwellers and, althoughit was something new to her, her quick mind soon realized that Philipwas a most entertaining conversationalist, with a wit like a rapierwhich flashed and touched, but never hurt, and that Donald, in hisslower way, possessed a dry humor which she had not suspected. At theend of that time a telephone call came for Donald which sent him forth, pretending to grumble over the lack of consideration of modern children, who insisted upon getting sick at the most inconvenient times, and oftheir parents, who permitted it. 

"Your loss, my gain, " chuckled Philip. "I'll be only too pleased to takeMiss Rose home. "

"Indeed, I'll not allow such a thing, " promptly responded Ethel. "Rosestays here for dinner, and _you're_ not invited. This is to be strictlya family party. "

"'Family?' Is Don going to be a Mormon, then?" challenged Philip. 

It was Rose, who--blushing prettily--answered, "I hope not, for he ismy brother, too, by blood adoption. " And she told the story. 

"Then why can't _I_ be? I'm ready, nay, anxious, to shed quarts andquarts of blood to attain a like relationship, " persisted Philip. Andthus the conversation ran on through dinner, for Ethel relented andallowed Dr. Bentley to remain, and, as Donald was again summoned away, it was he who, after all, took Rose to the Merriman apartment. 

"Oh, " she cried, in telling Gertrude all about it, "I think that it wasthe happiest evening I ever spent, or it _would_ have been if Big Jerrymight only have been there, too. "

A slight suggestion of a smile passed over the face of the older womanas she pictured the mountaineer in a Beacon Street drawing room. Rosesaw, and interpreted it. 

"Grandpap would not have been out of place there, or in a king's palace. He _was_ a king, Miss Merriman. "

"Yes, dear, he truly was, " the other responded seriously. 

There was a pause. 

"Isn't Dr. Bentley nice, " said Smiles, softly. "He must be splendid, forDr. Donald likes him a lot. "

"He likes _you_ a lot, too! My, aren't we vain?" smiled Gertrude. 

"Oh, I didn't think how that was going to sound!"

Rose's distress was real and the other hastened to say, "Yes, Dr. Bentley is splendid. We used to call them 'David and Jonathan, ' forthey were always together, and, before Dr. McDonald become engaged, wesaid that neither would ever marry, since they couldn't marry eachother. Now I suppose that Dr. Bentley will be looking around forconsolation. Perhaps.... "

"Don't be silly, " laughed Smiles. But she became suddenly silent again. 

CHAPTER XXV

THE FIRST MILESTONE

Three months sped by and were gone like a dream. 

Day after day, until should come that longed-for, yet dreaded test, Rosestudied with a diligence that delighted the private tutor whom Donald, through Miss Merriman, had secured for her--a young woman who foundherself astonished by her pupil's avidity in seeking knowledge. 

The passing days were not, however, wholly dedicated to the books whichheld for Smiles the key to the citadel she sought to possess. 

Other doors and other hearts were open to her, and, because of hersimple charm, Donald's family welcomed her as a visitor whose everyadvent in the city home seemed to bring a fresh breath from the hillsand open spaces. Little Muriel, who had loved her unseen, worshipped heron sight, and Ethel, happy in Donald's betrothal to Marion Treville, would have been glad to have had her with them far more often than shewould consent to come. 

Long walks she took, too, regardless of weather, swinging freely alongon voyages of discovery; losing herself often in Boston's impossiblestreets, only to find her way back home with the instinct for directionof one bred amid forests, trackless, save for infrequent blind andtortuous paths. And soon the historic, homey city cast its strange spellover her heart, and claimed her for its own. 

Spring came at last, not the verdant, glorious, festal virgin of theSouthland, but the hesitant, bashfully reserved maiden so typical of NewEngland, and Miss Merriman finally reported to Donald that their jointprotégé seemed to be fairly prepared for the test which she had come sofar to take. 

There are no rules, born of reason, which cannot yield to reasonableexceptions, and, although the entrance requirements of the trainingschool were as exacting as its course, and as strict as its standard, astandard which had long since made it the peer of any in all America, some of the purely technical ones were waived upon the request of theidolized chief junior surgeon on the staff, for Donald went personallyto the Superintendent and explained the case to her, and she agreed toallow Rose to take a special examination; but she shook her head when hementioned the girl's age. 

"Of course you know what the requirements are in that respect, doctor, "she said. "We make exceptions, yes; but, if she enters now, she will beby far the youngest girl in the school. I think that, before I give youmy decision, I shall have to see and talk with her. "

Accordingly, that afternoon he took the rather frightened Smiles to theSuperintendent of nurses, and left them closeted together. 

"Dr. MacDonald has told me about you, and your ambition, Miss Webb, "said the Superintendent kindly. "You have been very courageous; but youare very young, even younger than I thought. Now I want you to tell mefrankly just what your life has been, so that I may judge as to yourother qualifications, before deciding whether it is wise for you to takethe examinations. "

Rose began hesitatingly; but, as the other drew her out withjudicious questions, she told her story with simple directness, and, before long, the Superintendent had come to a realization that thelittle mountain girl--whose life had, for so long, been one of unusualresponsibilities--had already acquired an uncommon maturity ofjudgment. Although she was still some eighteen months below theprescribed age for entering, she received the other's hesitatingpermission to make the essay. 

It would be difficult to decide who felt the greater nervousness duringthe period of Smiles' written examination, and the time which had toelapse before word came as to the result--Rose, Miss Merriman or Donald. It was the last who heard first. The Superintendent invited him into heroffice, as he was passing through the hospital corridor one day, andsaid, "I am sure that you will be pleased to hear that Miss Webb haspassed her tests with flying colors, doctor. "

A warmth of pleasurable relief passed through Donald; but he managed toreply formally, "I _am_ pleased; but I hope that you didn't ease up anybecause of anything ... Er ... On my account. "

"No, we didn't, " was the response. "I'll admit that both your account ofwhat Miss Webb had done, and the girl herself, appealed to me so that Iwas prepared to mark a bit leniently, if necessary; but it wasn't. Ireally don't see how she managed to garner so much education in so shorta time. "

"'Where there's a will, '" quoted Donald, with inward satisfaction overthe fact that his ward had fulfilled his prophecy, and he stole a fewminutes out of the busy morning to motor to the Merrimans' apartment tobear the joy-bringing tidings personally to little Rose, whose eyesshone happily and whose lips smiled their thanks, but who--perversely, it seemed to him--gave Miss Merriman the reward which he felt shouldhave been his. 

Dreams do come true sometimes, if they _are_ true, and so at lastarrived a bright May morning when Smiles folded away her little playuniform forever, and--by right of conquest--donned the striped pink andwhite gingham dress and bibless apron of a probationer, within the doorsof the newly built home of that old and worthy institution which had hadits inception, more than sixty years before, in the loving heart ofNursing Sister Margaret. 

There Rose entered into a new life, as different from that of the oldphysical freedom of the hills, and personal freedom from restraint, ascould well be imagined, for, as Donald had told her, she was nowmustered, as an untrained recruit, into a great modern army; anddiscipline is the keynote in war, whether the battle be against evilnations or evil forces. 

From half after six in the morning until ten at night, when withmilitary precision came "lights out, " her life was drawn to pattern. Itwas not a hardship for her, as with some others, to arise at the earlyhour; and the brief prayer and singing of the morning hymn, in companywith her fifty-odd sister-probationers and pupil nurses, impressed herstrongly the first time in which she had part in it, and never failed tostrengthen and uplift her for the day's toil. Times were to comeaplenty, to be sure, when the old call of untrammelled freedom stirredher senses to mute rebellion; but, as often, her all-absorbed interestin the work silenced it speedily. 

Right at the outset Rose experienced the same shock which hundreds ofother would-be nurses have had. She, mistress of a home for years, wasobliged to learn to clean, to scrub, to make a bed! For two whole monthsof probationary training she had to labor at the bedside or in theclassroom, doing the commonplace, practical tasks which, to many, seemedmerely unnecessary drudgery; but, if she occasionally felt that Donald'sprophecy was coming true with a vengeance, more often her level littlehead held a prescient understanding of how important this unlovelyfoundation was to the structure which should some day be built upon it. 

And, although the Superintendent said nothing to Smiles, she noted withsecret appreciation that her new pupil possessed, in addition to hersustaining enthusiasm, a no less valuable thing--the innate ability touse her hands by instinct and without clumsy conscious effort. Had notthis girl, who was scarcely more than a child in years, for a long timebeen both a homemaker and an ever-ready nurse to all those who becameill within the confines of the scattered mountain settlement?

The second milestone was reached at last. Rose was one day summonedalone into the Superintendent's sanctum, and the door was closed to allothers. A little later she came out with tears adding new lustre to hershining eyes, for the talk had been very earnest and heart-searching;but they were tears of happiness, for upon her gleaming curls now satthe square piqué cap which was the visible sign that she had safelytraversed the first stretch of the long, hard road. To be sure, she knewwell that even this, the so dearly desired cap and pale blue dress whichwent with it, did not make her fully a pupil nurse, yet that afternoonit seemed that life could never hold for her an honor more precious. 

The afternoon on which this momentous event occurred was one of libertyfor Rose, and she hastened with the news to her dear Miss Merriman, theprecious cap smuggled out under her coat; but, after they had rejoicedtogether, and she had admired its reflection in the glass, she suddenlybecame doleful, and wailed in mock despair, "Oh, doesn't it seem asthough I'd never, _never_ be a real nurse. Why, now I've got to _leavethe hospital_"--the tragedy in her tone almost caused her friend tobreak into laughter--"and study all sorts of awful Latin things. Sheopened a catalogue and read aloud, 'Physiology, bacteriology, chemistry, dietetics, ' and goodness knows what else over at SimmonsCollege, for _four whole months_. I shall simply die, I just know that Ishall!"

Miss Merriman gently explained the necessity for each of them; butwisely refrained from further frightening her by adding that a fullyear's course was to be crowded into those sixteen weeks. 

In due time these, too, were over, the awe-inspiring examination passed, and Smiles was accepted as worthy of a place among the pupil nurses. Like an athlete she had finished her preliminary training, and was readyfor the long, gruelling race toward the goal, two and a half yearsdistant. 

Hard work though it was, Rose found all her days sunny ones, and onlyone cloud partly obscured their brightness. Donald she saw on rareoccasions only, as the demands upon his time doubled and redoubled, andof course their brief meetings at the hospital demanded strict formalityof intercourse. Deeply as he felt for her, he was a physician first, last and all the time, and as uncompromising in his own ethics as he wasin his requirements of the nurses. 

Yet, if she saw him seldom, there was another whom she saw increasinglyoften. Dr. Bentley's attitude towards Rose was also strictlyprofessional; but he never failed to bow and speak pleasantly when hemet her in the corridors or wards, and she instinctively felt that inhim she had found another real friend. 

Rose was too much a child of nature to be given to thinking much aboutmen; but there were minutes, just before sleep came at night, when hermind would visualize Donald's strong, kindly face, which seemed to lookdown at her with an expression almost fatherly, and she would whisper alittle prayer that she might help him as she had resolved to, that nighton the mountain top. And at such times another face, light, where hiswas dark, came, not to supplant, but to supplement it. 

CHAPTER XXVI

THE CALL OF THE RED CROSS

Despite the enthralling interest of her new work and surroundings, itseemed to Rose, during the year after she gained entrance to the templeof her desire, that her life was standing still, while all things elsewere speeding by her at a breakneck pace. 

It had never been so before. Even in the isolation and simplicity of herformer home she had felt that she was a part of it all. It had seemed toher, somehow, as though her existence had been patterned after her ownturbulent mountain stream, which danced along through sunshine andshade, with here and there a ravine and cataract, here and there a rapidor impeding boulder in its course; but always moving, moving. Then, suddenly, it was as though that swift little river had fallen into abroad, quiet basin, walled in, where it moved forward almostimperceptibly. True, it was daily gaining greater depth and fulness asit gathered to itself the tributary waters of knowledge and experience, and Smiles was not insensible to this fact. But it was difficult toremember it always, for the outer world of events was moving forward sofast. 

The very day upon which her probationary period came to an end and, witha smile on her lips, a song in her heart, she placed the cherished capupon her gold-brown curls, there came, from the heart of the swiftlypiled up, lowering clouds, the blinding flash which shattered the peaceof the world and started the overwhelming conflagration into theseething, bloody-tongued vortex into which nation after nation wassucked irresistibly. The world had become the plaything of the Gods ofWrath. 

Black days passed, shuddering things of horror to Rose, when she hadtime to allow her mind to dwell upon them, and her keen imagination topicture the atrocities which the fiend was committing upon the helplessbabies of Belgium and France. 

Then, in answer to the cries and lamentations from overseas, the bannerof the Red Cross was shaken forth anew, like a holy standard, and, likecrusaders of old, doctors and nurses flocked beneath it for the battle. From her own hospital home went physicians and graduate nurses todedicate themselves afresh to service. The call reached and wrung theheart of Rose. She could not go as a nurse, she knew; yet the need wasso great that it seemed to her that somehow she must answer; but sheresolutely closed her ears to it and fixed her eyes the more steadfastlyupon the rocky, shut-in path which she had set forth to climb. 

It was a raw, bleak evening in late November when she made her finalresolve. At noon Donald had met her in one of the corridors and stoppedto speak with her. His face, she thought afterwards, had appearedunusually serious and determined, even for him, as he said, "This isyour afternoon and evening off duty, isn't it, Rose? I want to talk withyou, if you haven't made any other plans. "

As it chanced, she had been eagerly anticipating a visit to the theatrewith Miss Merriman, who was home for a few days between cases; butsomething about his manner caused her to tell a white lie withouthesitation. 

"Good, " he said. "I'll call for you in my car and take you to Ethel'sfor dinner. Be ready at six o'clock. "

All the rest of the day Donald's presence had been strangely close toher, and she found herself wondering what it portended; but not untilthe pleasant family meal was over, and he was taking her home, did shelearn. 

When they came out of the house they found a baby blizzard sending thefirst snow of the season, as light and dry as tiny particles of down, whirling and eddying through the broad street. As Rose stood in surpriseat the top of the brownstone steps, a dry vagrant, left from one of thetrees which was tossing its gaunt arms protestingly, came tumbling downto become stem-entangled in her hair. With a laugh, she dashed for themotor car and, when she had sprung inside it, she was panting a little, for the thieving wind had taken advantage of her lips being open inlaughter to steal away her breath, so that Donald was sensible of herquickened heart beats as she leaned against him while his big but deftfingers removed the leaf almost tenderly from its imprisoning mesh. 

"Doctor Bentley would make a pretty speech about getting caught in myhair, " challenged Rose with a teasing pout. 

The next instant she drew quickly back, for Donald's arms were almostabout her. He as quickly recovered himself, with the words, "But youcan't expect pretty speeches from a brother. "

"You have been a dear big brother; I don't know why you have been sogood to me, Donald. Do you know what this snow reminds me of? That awfulnight on the mountain when I went down to Fayville to telegraph foryou--and you came. " For a moment they both sat in silent memories, thenRose added, "Dear little Lou, I wonder how she is getting along now ... And Juddy, too. Isn't it a strange thing, Donald, that one can forgetthe old things so quickly--no, not forget, either; but have them forcedinto the background of the mind by new surroundings and new friends. Sometimes, all those years on the mountain seem to me like a dream. Iused to see the people there, Grandpap, Mr. Talmadge, Judd and all therest, every day, they were a part of my life, and now they have beencompletely withdrawn and who knows if I shall ever see any of themagain? They hardly seem real to me. "

"Yes, strange, perhaps, but it happens many times in the course of alife. " He paused, then added hurriedly, "I suppose that in a few monthsyou will be saying the same thing about me--'I used to see him everyday, he was a part of my life, but now he is only in the background ofmy memory, and doesn't seem real. '"

There was a note almost of bitterness in Donald's voice; but Rose wastoo stunned by his words to notice or attempt to analyze the manner oftheir utterance. 

"Donald, what ... What do you mean? You're not ... " She gasped, and laidher hand with an impulsive clutch on his arm. 

"Look out! Don't interfere with the motorman, " he laughed morenaturally, as the car swerved almost into the curbing. "Yes, I am. I'mgoing away ... Almost immediately. "

"Away? Where?"

"To France. "

"Oh, Don, you mustn't; you can't. You're needed here so much. "

"They need me over there more, little Smiles. I've realized it, and feltthe pull, for days; but it didn't become insistent until yesterday, whenI received a letter from a chap whom I have known for years. He's alwayshad a good deal more money than was good for him, and been a sort ofsocial butterfly. I liked him, although I didn't believe that he had aserious thought in his head, didn't think that he was capable of one, but ... Here, read what he has written me, " he concluded abruptly, as atemporary block forced their car to a stop beneath an electric light onMassachusetts Avenue. "The first page doesn't matter; it merely containsa description of how he happened to be caught in Paris by the outbreakof the war, and got mixed up in volunteer rescue work through a spiritof adventure. "

Rose turned to the second sheet and, holding the pages close to theglass in the door, through which came enough snow-filtered light toillumine them, read. 

 "I am beginning to understand, now, something of what you meant when you used to talk so enthusiastically about your confining, and, as it seemed to me, often thankless work. I never knew what real satisfaction was until I began to get mixed up with this volunteer Red Cross work. Coming from the source that it does, you will probably be surprised and amused at the statement that, when I look back on the old, superficial, utterly useless life that I formerly led, I actually thank God for the foolish whim that brought me to Paris in the fall, and the equally whimsical decision that led me to volunteer my services as an auto driver. The work has stirred something inside of me that I didn't know existed, and, if I come through this scrape (we're working in villages pretty close to the front a good deal of the time), I'll come home 'poorer, but wiser. ' Yes, they've touched my pocketbook as well as my heart. 

 I suppose the papers give you some idea of conditions here; but no verbal description can begin to do it justice; the need is simply overwhelming and hourly growing greater. Think of it, old man, there are thousands upon thousands of babies and little kiddies of Belgium and northern France homeless, many of them orphaned, most of them sick and all helpless and with their lives--which have every right to be carefree and happy--filled with sorrow and suffering. 

 France has been glorious in the way she has met the staggering, almost insuperable difficulties which everywhere confront her, but how could she be expected to meet this incidental problem when she was so overburdened with the crushing pressure of the battle for her very existence. It has been a mighty lucky thing for her that the Red Cross was ready to take it off her shoulders, and she has turned to _us_ (How does that sound? Can you imagine me doing anything useful?) with tears of appeal and gratitude. That isn't a figure of speech. I have actually seen the Prefect of this Province, who would rank with the governor of one of our states, and who is a brave, capable man, cry like a woman over the seeming hopelessness of the ghastly problem. I have heard him say that he--that France--was helpless, and beg us in the name of common humanity to do what we could. 

 Believe me, we're doing it, and I'm proud of my countrymen and women who have gone into this thing with the typical Yankee pep; proud of the American Red Cross and just a bit proud of myself. You used to make fun of my vaunted ability to stay up half the night, and be fresh as a daisy the next morning. It's serving me in good stead now. I can't begin to tell you about the work we have done already and are doing; it is a task to overwhelm the courage, but we are 'carrying on, ' as the Tommies say. 

 New children, by the scores and hundreds, are brought into the hospital bases daily, and many of them have been living for weeks, and even months, filthy in cellars of Hun-shattered villages which are almost continually under fire. They are generally sick, naturally, indescribably dirty and, in fact, mere wraiths of childhood. God, Don, it gets me when I imagine my own nephews and nieces in their places!

 We clean 'em up, give them help and something to live for. We have already established hospitals, schools and nurseries in ---- and ---- and our ambulances and 'traveling baths' go out daily to give aid to the less needy in the neighborhood. Can you picture _me_ acting as chauffeur for a magnified bath tub for Belgian babies? That's what I'm doing, now!

 Get into the game, old man. We need you over here, and the kids of the disgustingly rich at home will be the better for not having a doctor to give them a pill every time their little noses run a bit. Pack up your saws, axes and other trouble-makers in your old kit bag and climb aboard a ship bound for France. "

Donald saw that there were tears in Smiles' deep eyes as she silentlyfolded the pages, and replaced them in their envelope. 

"Of course you ought to go, " she said simply. "I spoke selfishly. Butoh, Don, I don't know what I shall do without you; you're the only'family' I've got. I don't see you very often; but I know that you arehere in Boston, and I guess that I have got the habit of leaning on youin my thoughts. You know I called you a tree, years and years ago. "

"Yes, I remember, an 'oak, ' wasn't it? I thought that you meant that Iwas tough, " he laughed. "The idea of _you_ leaning on any one is funny, Rose. " Then he added, with some hesitancy, "I've been thinking ... Would you like to go over there, too, Rose? I could take you ... Thatis, I am quite sure that I could arrange for you to do so, not as a RedCross nurse, of course, for they have to be graduates; but as avolunteer helper in one of those base hospitals. It would be a wonderfulexperience, and you would be performing the kind of service that youlike best. It would not be time wasted, by any means. "

She started, and her lips parted eagerly; then the light slowly fadedfrom her eyes and she shook her head slowly. 

"I would love it. It would be glorious, Don, and I should be workingwith you, perhaps, but ... No, I must keep on doing as I have planned. Ican't falter or fail now, Don. There is going to be greater need everyday, not for helpers, but for trained workers. When this awful war isended and the weary, weary world turns back to peaceful pursuits, itshope and salvation will lie in its babies. Won't it, Don? I would liketo help those babies over in France; sometimes I dream of being a RedCross nurse and helping the poor, wounded soldiers; but I am sure thatit is better for me to keep on making myself ready to serve the cominggenerations to the best of my fully trained ability. Don't you think so, too, Don?"

Her words had rung firm and true until the last question, when therecrept in a note which seemed to his ears to carry an appeal for him todisagree, and argue with her; but the man answered, "Yes, dear. You aredead right, and I felt certain that you would say what you have said. You have got to stay until you are trained; I have got to go, because Iam. You see that, don't you?"

"Yes. Oh, I shall miss you awfully, Don; I can't tell you how much. ButI want you to go. And I mean to pray for you, and the poor little babiesover there, too. I'll write you as often as I can; as often as you wantme to. "

"That's fine, " he answered heartily. "But, as I told you once before, don't feel hurt if I answer only occasionally. I have a suspicion thatthere will be plenty of work for me to do over there. "

"Yes, I'll understand. Besides, you will have to write to ... To MissTreville more than to me. Are you ... Are you going to get marriedbefore you go?"

"Married? Good Lord, no ... That is, I hadn't even thought of it, " hesaid with a forced laugh. "Why, I haven't even told her yet that I amgoing. "

"You haven't? You told me, first?"

"Well ... Er ... You see I had to tell you, because ... Because I ... Ihold a position of trust in respect to you, and have got to makearrangements for your future. Big Jerry told me to use my own judgmentabout your money, and I believe that you are fully competent to takecare both of yourself and of it. 

"Here, " he drew a small package from his side pocket, "is a bankdeposit and check book, for I have already had the account transferredfrom my name, as trustee, to you individually. Now it is up to you toprove that you are a careful little business woman. With more than athousand dollars in the bank you may feel quite like an heiress, but Iwarn you that a big city is a glutton and its avaricious maw is alwaysopen for money. Be warned by one who knows. If you need any advice ofany nature that a man can give better than Miss Merriman, I want you topromise to call on Phil ... Dr. Bentley, that is, for I mean to put youin his charge. You can trust him just as you do me. "

"I know that, " answered Rose frankly. 

"Well, here we are, little sister. Don't tell any one what I have justtold you, for I want to make all my preliminary arrangements before Iastound the world with the announcement of what I am going to do. "

"You needn't laugh, " answered Rose. "I guess that it will dismay plentyof Back Bay families who have babies. "

There was a catch in her voice as she bade him good-night, and she wasnot sorry for an excuse for running into the hospital, offered by themellow notes of a distant church clock tolling the hour of ten. It wasthe signal for "lights out" in the bedrooms, and this was appreciated, too, for it made it possible for her to undress in the dark, and thepale moonlight which came in through the window, as the moon playedhide and seek behind the broken masses of storm clouds--for the blizzardhad ended as quickly as it had come on--was reflected on two glisteningtear drops on her flushed cheeks. In the darkness her roommate could notsee them and be led to ask questions. 

The two girls, one the self-educated, unknown child of the southernmountain side, the other the college-bred daughter of one of NewEngland's oldest families, had become fast friends and generallyexchanged whispered confidences until the sleep which comes of physicalexhaustion speedily claimed them; but to-night Rose was in no mood forconversation. 

The last thread which bound the old life to the new was soon to bebroken, and she felt lonelier, more nearly homesick, than she had sinceleaving Webb's Gap. 

"Perhaps I shall never see him again, " she half whispered. "But I shallnever, _never_ forget him, he has been so good and meant so much to me. And I shall always love him. " She saw that her roommate was asleep, softly raised the window-shade to let in the moonlight that she loved, and, clad in her simple nightdress, short sleeved and cut low at theneck, seated herself before the mirror to brush her wavy mass of hair, and, as she leaned forward, and it fell about her face, tear bedewed andmade almost childlike again by its frame of tumbling curls, she smiledfaintly in recollection. "I look the way I used to in my homemade, one-piece dresses, " she breathed. "Just as I did that afternoon when hefirst saw me. 'Yo' looked so funny a-fallin' over thet thar dawg, an'a-rollin' on the floor. ' What a way to greet a famous physician--only Ididn't know it then. "

For a moment she sat like this, her thoughts far away from the northerncity; then a faint blush mantled her face, and she hastily jumped up andshut out the soft light by pulling down the shade. 

CHAPTER XXVII

THE GOAL

 You cannot, by a bridge of sighs, attain the future's golden years, But try a bridge of rainbow hopes erected on substantial piers Of honest work, and you will find it leads you surely to the goal. 'Tis God that gives the dreamer's dreams, as radiant as the morning, But, if the will to work is weak, they often die a-borning. 

If this were a romance, instead of the simple account of the pilgrimageand development of a girl from childhood to womanhood, it would bepermissible to say, "three years pass by in swift flight, " or "drag byon weary feet, " as the case may have been, and then resume the action. 

But in everyday life, character is built out of everyday incidents, bigand little, all of which have place in the moulding of it, and, sincethe years of Smiles' training within the Children's Hospital were vitalones for her, it is essential to touch briefly upon some of theoccurrences which filled them. 

On the other hand, it is by no means necessary to describe that periodat length. It is doubtful if, in later life, she will herself look backupon the many days so filled to repletion with exacting, thoughinteresting, tasks, as other than a dead level, for constant repetitionof a thing, no matter how gripping it may be, produces a monotony. Butthere were special incidents--sometimes trivial in comparison with theimportance of her sustained labor--which formed the high lights in thepicture, and the memory of which will endure through all the afteryears. By recounting a few of these, and letting our imaginations fillin the interims, we can accompany Rose on her journey to the goal of herdesires. 

 * * * * *

The day after Donald had taken her into his confidence regarding hisplans, Rose made up her mind to keep a diary. 

"Even though he may be thousands of miles away, I mean to keep myself asclose to him as possible by writing him as I would talk to him, about_all_ the things which happen in my life, and, unless I set them down asthey happen, I shall forget, " she told Miss Merriman, after the seal ofsecrecy had been removed from her lips. 

"Perhaps _you_ can succeed in keeping one. _I_ never could, " laughed herfriend. "Each January First I start a new one, and register a solemn vowto keep it up longer, at least, than I did the one the previous year. IfI follow that system until I am three hundred and fifty years old, Iwill complete just one before I die. "

Smiles accepted the implied challenge, and, day by day, with fewomissions, the dated pages bore new testimony to her application inperforming a self-appointed task. The plan bore fruit, too, for Donald, in his rare replies to her confidential letters, which went to him eachfortnight, was able to praise her as the best of correspondents, writingonce, "You have an exceptional gift for making incidents seem real andpeople alive, in your letters, and of realizing that, with us who are sofar away from home, it _is_ the little things which count. Ethel, alas, is hopeless in this respect. She writes me faithfully; but invariablysays that nothing has happened except the usual occurrences of everydaylife, and thereby utterly misses the great fact that it is just thosevery things that the lonely exile most longs to hear about. I wouldactually rather have her write that they had baked beans on Saturdaynight than that so-and-so had given a charity whist at the Vendome. "

Yet many a sentence went into the diary that was never copied orembellished for Donald's eyes. Some of them had to do with him, or herthoughts of him; some were too intimate for another to see. 

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 December 6th, 1915. 

"My dear Donald has gone. I think that I have not felt so utterlylonesome since granddaddy died. And I could not get away to saygood-by to him--I could have cried, only I didn't have time even todo _that_. It doesn't seem right, when he has been so dear to me, that I should have had to part from him in the hospital corridorwith others around, so that all I could do was press his hand aninstant and wish him a commonplace, 'Good luck and God-speed. 'Still, it probably wouldn't have been any different if we had beenalone. I couldn't have done what my heart was longing to do, everything is different now. I don't believe that I enjoy being'grown-up. ' What an unpleasant thing 'convention' is. Why, Iwonder, must we always hide our true feelings under a mask? Isuppose it is lest the world give a wrong meaning to them; but if I_had_ kissed him, the way I used to, I'm sure that Donald wouldhave understood. He knows that I love him as dearly as though Iwere truly his sister, instead of a make-believe one. "

Here the page bears a number of meaningless hieroglyphics, and then thewords, stricken out, "I wonder. "

"He looked so manly in his uniform, and so distinguished, althoughI suppose that he isn't really _handsome_--at least, not like Dr. Bentley. _He_ isn't so wonderful as Don; but I think that he ismore understanding. He seemed to realize just how I felt thismorning, and he was as sweet and considerate as a woman when Ibungled things awfully in the operating room. The head nurse gaveme a deserved call down, however, and it was perhaps just as wellthat she did, for my mind needed to be 'brought back. ' Only my bodywas in the hospital, and the _real me_, as Mr. Talmadge said, wasback in the cabin, helping Donald operate on Lou, all over again. Icried like a little fool--the first time I have done it here--butmy tears weren't for the poor baby on the operating table. Theywere memory tears.... 

"Poor little thing, he had to die, and he was the first one whom Ihave seen pass on to the eternal garden of God's flowers since Ihave been in the hospital. Oh, it hasn't been a happy day atall.... 

"I wonder if Donald could have saved him? My brain answers, 'No. 'Dr. Bentley did all that lies within the power of science, I amsure. But somehow ... "

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 Christmas night. 

"If Donald might only have been here in person to-day, it would have beenperfect. I think that he must have been, in spirit, for I 'felt' hispresence quite near me several times; I confided as much to Dr. Bentleyand he made an atrocious pun on the word 'presents. ' I wish he wouldn't;it is the only thing about him that I don't like, but he will make them. Wasn't Donald thoughtful and dear to have bought a Christmas gift for meduring those overcrowded days before he went away?--a whole set ofbooks, beautifully bound, but better still, beautiful within. Books arethe same as people, I think. We like to see both attractively clothed, but in each it is the soul that counts.... 

"What a lot of presents I received--from Miss Merriman and her mother, Mrs. Thayer and little Muriel, and, oh, so many of the girls here. Idon't know why they are all so good to me--because I am looked upon as alonely little savage, I suppose. And then there was that one from Dr. Bentley. The idea of a simple mountain girl from Webb's Gap having fivewhole pounds of candy at once!

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"The funniest thing happened to-day, and I must not forget to writeDonald all about it. He is sure to remember little red-headed Jimmy, whohas to spend so much of his time in the hospital. Has he imaginationenough, I wonder, to picture him sitting up in bed in the snow-whiteward, with his flaming auburn hair and bright red jacket calling namesat each other? I love the old custom to which the hospital still clingsof putting all the little patients into those red flannel jackets oncold days, for it makes the wards look so cheerful--like Christmasfields dotted with bright berries. Jimmy is a dear, and so imaginativethat I believe he _lives_ every story that I tell him of theCumberlands--certainly he likes them better than fairy stories. Thisafternoon, I had finished telling him about how grandpappy shot theturkey for Dr. MacDonald, and I found him looking up at me with his bigblue eyes, which can be as serious as a saint's or as mischievous as animp's. 'Your face is most always laughing, Miss Webb, ' said he. 'I thinkI shall have to call you Nurse Smiles. ' My roommate, Miss Roberts, happened to be in the room and heard him, and now it's all over thehospital. Everybody is calling me it, unless the superintendent or someof the older doctors are around. How odd it is that he should havestruck on it, and given me my old nickname again.... 

"Dr. Bentley called me Smiles when he left after his evening visit. "

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 May 17th, 1916. 

"This has been a day of days for me. First I received a long andwonderful letter from Donald. It seemed like old times, for it was askindly and simple, too, as those which he used to write to me at Webb'sGap. I wonder if he regards me as still a child? I suppose that I reallyam one, but somehow I feel very grown up, and much older than many ofthe girls who are years older than I. They constantly surprise me byacting so young when they are off duty ... But I love it in them. 

"To-day I entered into the second year of my training. I wish that I hadthe power to set down on paper my feelings when I received that firstnarrow black band for my cap. I suppose that I had some of the same'prideful' sensations that dear granddaddy did when he was very young, and cut the first notch in the stock of his rifle-gun. But how muchbetter _my_ notch is! It means that I am fast getting able to savelives, not to take them. I must always remember that--it will give adeeper meaning to the symbol. And now my room is going to be moved downa story--I'm so glad that Dorothy Roberts is to be with me still--and Ican move in one table nearer the front wall in the dining room. Thatwall sometimes seems to me like a goal that I have got to reach before Iwill be safe, just as in a children's game of tag, and, when I get tiredand discouraged--for I do, at times, little diary--it seems as thoughthere were many, many things stretching out invisible hands to catch mebefore I get to it. Donald was right about the path being no road ofroses.... Come, this will never do; I'm supposed to be happy to-night, and besides, now I've got to live up to my nickname again. 

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I wonder how much I really have changed in the year? a good deal, I'msure. I remember that at first I used to laugh to myself over the 'classdistinctions, ' such as I have just been writing about; that was when Iwas fresh from the mountain, where every one called every one else byhis or her first name--and also when I was in the lowest class myself. Once I was even bold enough to tell Dr. Bentley that I thought they werefoolish, but he reminded me--as Donald had--that we are an army here, and that in an army a private can't eat and sleep with a captain, or acaptain with a general. Now I don't mind the rules and regulations atall, for I have learned the lesson of discipline, and I know that, evenif we do have to be strict in our conduct toward the older nurses andthe doctors, we are all--from the senior surgeon down to the lowliestprobationer--really one in a great spiritual fellowship, as theprayerbook says, and all working together in the same great cause. "

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 August 19th, 1916. 

"Little diary, I have been neglecting you lately, but now you and I mustcollect our thoughts, for we have got to write a long, long letter toDonald and tell him all about the vacation--the first that I ever had. 

It was the first time that I was ever really at the seashore, too, except that one afternoon in June when Dr. Bentley took me down toNahant in his car. Weren't the Thayers dear to have me as their guest atbeautiful Manchester-by-the-Sea? Ethel (I wonder if Donald will bepleased to know that his _real_ sister has asked me to call her by herfirst name?) insisted that they did it for my own sake, but I know thatit was really on his account. They were two weeks of wonder for me; butI wish that he might have been there. How they all miss him--even Dr. Bentley. I think that there is nothing finer than such a friendshipbetween two men. Why, he even calls on Donald's family still. He came toManchester twice in the fortnight that I was there. Dr. Bentley wants meto call him 'Philip, ' when we are not in the hospital, and I do ... Sometimes. It seems perfectly natural, even though he is much older thanI--he is over thirty; but I suppose that is because at home we calledalmost every one by his first name. (We are rambling, little diary. Idon't believe that Donald would be particularly interested in the factthat I call Dr. Bentley, 'Philip. ')

He _will_ be interested to know how the sea impressed me, though, andagain I find myself wholly at a loss for words to express my feelings. It was so overwhelming in its grandeur and far-stretching expanse; sobeautiful in its never-ending procession of colors; so terrible in itsmight, when aroused. I have seen it asleep as peacefully as one of mybabies (all the hospital babies are children of my heart), and I haveseen it in anger, like a brutal giant. I wish that I had not seen itslatter mood, for, when it caught up the little boat that had been tornfrom the moorings, and hurled her again and again against the rocksuntil there was not a plank of her left unbroken--while the windshrieked its horrid glee--my growing love for it was turned to fear. No, I can never care for the ocean as I do for my mountains. I cannot forgetthat it was the waters which stole my dearest treasures from me. 

Still, the memory of that storm is nearly lost in the aboundinghappiness of those two weeks, and the third one which I spent with myGertrude Merriman, who stole it from her many cases to be with me. WhenI set down each little incident of them in black and white, as I mean toin my letter to Don, they will appear commonplace enough, I'm afraid;but I shall tell him that their story is written on my heart in lettersof gold and many colors. 

He pretends to be interested in every foolish little thing that I havedone, but I don't suppose that he would care to read about all the newdresses I have bought. I never realized before that a girl could get somuch pleasure out of buying pretty things, and I am afraid that he wouldscold me if he knew how many leaves I have used out of my checkbook. Notthat they have been all for clothes, little diary. I did not realize howmuch I had given to war charities, and I was a little frightened thismorning when I made up my balance. 

But I cannot help giving for the poor French and Belgian babies. Itsomehow seems as though I were giving the money to Don to spend for me. "

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There follow many entries, in the course of which the name of Donaldappears, and many more in which that of Philip, from which one mightreasonably draw the conclusion that the latter was conscientiouslyperforming his part as _ad interim_ guardian for Rose. There are alsoseveral mentions of impish, lovable Jimmy--he of the red hair, presumably--and of visits, on her afternoons off, to the cheap andsomewhat squalid apartment where he lived with his thin, tired, butpitifully optimistic mother, and a stout, florid-faced father, who woreshabby, but very loud-checked, suits and was apparently a highlysuccessful business man of big affairs, but frequently "temporarily outof funds. " Indeed, it would seem as though there were times when thefamily--which included six other children from one to ten yearsold--would actually not have had enough to eat if Rose had not "loaned"the wherewithal to purchase it to the father of the household. 

Under date of May 15th, 1916, appears the following. 

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"_Two_ black bands on the little white cap! One round table nearer thewall! Materia medica, orthopedia, medical analysis, general surgery, bacteriology, therapeutics and anæsthesia no longer mere words, whosevery sound made me weak with dismay; but terms descriptive of new waysin which I can help weak and suffering babyhood. It has been hard, butsoul-satisfying, work. I love it all, and have never regretted thedecision made, centuries ago it seems, on the mountain. I have just beenre-reading Donald's first letter to me--the one in which he franklywarned me of the hardships which would be mine to face, if I shouldattempt to carry out my plan. It was, I think, the only time that he wasever wrong ... No, I had forgotten that afternoon at Judd's still. Workmay be hard, and yet entail no hardship, especially when it brings thesatisfaction of winning against odds. I know that he did not really meanwhat he said in that letter. It was written merely as a test of myresolve; to deter me, if it wasn't strong enough to carry me through. There have been times when I have myself wondered if it would, but, thanks to dear old Mr. Talmadge, and his 'sermon on the mount' I havealways been able to find the help that he told us about. I wonder ifDonald has, too? Surely he must have, he has been doing such wonderfulwork 'over there. ' It is like him to say so little about it in hisletters, but Dr. Roland gave us a talk about what they have been doingin Toul and Leslie, when he returned from France, and he sang Donald'spraises _fortissimo_. I was so happy, and so proud. 

"They all tell me that the coming year is the hardest of all with itspractical training at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and in theManhattan Maternity in New York. I have a feeling that I am not going toenjoy the former. Nursing 'grown-ups' does not appeal to me as thecaring for the little flowers does. But I shall love the other. Motherhood is sacred and beautiful.... 

"I shall have to be very economical this year, little diary, andespecially careful when I get to New York. When I paid the finalinstallment on my tuition fee, I was frightened to find how littleremained of what granddaddy left me, and what I had saved, myself. Nearly thirteen hundred dollars looked like a huge fortune to me inthose days, but it is nothing at all in a city, where there is so muchpoverty, and there are so many appeals to one's heart. I know thatDonald--or Philip--would lend me a little money until the time when Iget to earning it for myself, if I should ask them. But of course Icannot do that. Perhaps I can earn a little during my afternoons andevenings off duty. The girls say that I can shampoo and manicure as wellas a professional. Yes, I will try to do that this year. "

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 January 15th, 1917. 

"Thank goodness my worries about finances are almost over!

"The last few months have been simply terrible, and the hardest part ofall, I think, has been my not being able to give anything to the numberof splendid causes which so touch the sympathies these dark days. Perhaps I gave too much before; but I am not a bit sorry, especially nowthat some of the seed which I cast upon the waters is soon to beargolden fruit for me. I never believe the pessimistic people who say thatthose who receive charity are never really grateful, and now I _know_that they are wrong. Jimmy's father has been so appreciative of mypitifully small presents to them, that sometimes he has cried over them, and I knew that he was in earnest when he promised to repay me as soonas he possibly could. Now the chance has come. I was there yesterday andhe said that he had been thinking about me just before I appeared. 

"It seems that he sells stock, and has just obtained a wonderfulposition as agent, or whatever they call it, for a new copper mine whichhe says is better than the 'Calumet and Hecla. '

"He explained to me all about that one and showed me in the paper howhigh it was selling now--for $550 a share. He is the sole representativefor all of New England, and he says that the company is at presentselling its stock only to special friends in order to 'let them in onthe ground floor. ' The shares are only ten dollars apiece and are sureto be worth a hundred, or more, very soon, because of the war. It seemsalmost impossible! I told him that I had only about a hundred dollars inthe world, but that, if he really felt that he wanted to do me a favor, I _might_ 'invest' it (that word sounds quite impressive, doesn't it?)but that I should have to think it over, first. I remembered what Donaldhad told me about asking a man's advice--especially Philip's--in moneymatters. Perhaps it would have been wiser if I had done so before. 

"I asked him this afternoon if he knew anything about the King KopperKompany, and he said that it was a 'get rich proposition' and that hehad sunk a good deal of his own money into some just like it. I wantedto ask him more, but we were interrupted. However, I know that he isvery well-to-do, so he must have made money in them and certainly I needto get rich quick. I'm going to make the investment to-morrow. "

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 March 11th. 

"Stung! I hate slang, but sometimes nothing else is quite so expressive. I thought that I was getting to be very wise, but, oh, what a littleignoramus I have been. And to think that I thought I was followingPhilip's advice, and did not realize what he really meant until I reada story about a man who was called 'Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford. ' Now I'drather die than tell him that I have lost practically all of my worldlygoods!"

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Finally, late in May, is an entry, longer than any of its predecessors, and the last for many a day. Rose made it seated in the soft moonlightwhich came through the window of her hospital room, after her roommatehad fallen asleep. 

"I am in a strange mood to-night, little diary, and not quite surewhether I want to laugh or cry--indeed, I think that my heart hasdone both to-day. I don't feel like going to sleep, but perhaps Iwill be able to if I get the many thoughts out of my mind and downon paper--now they are like so many little imps beating against mybrain with hammers. 

"Surely I _should_ be happy at the thought that to-morrow is tocarry me to my goal at the top of the mountain path which Donalddescribed. In twelve hours I shall (D. V. ) be a graduate nurse;but, now that the journey is almost an accomplished fact, Ipositively shiver when I think of the nerve of that child who was Ifive years ago and who, blessed with ignorance, made up her mind tobecome one, or 'bust'--that is the way I put it, then. Friends havesometimes told me that they didn't see how I had the courage toattempt it; but I tell them, truthfully, that it isn't courage whenone tackles a thing which she--or he--doesn't know is difficult todo, and that few things are insurmountably difficult which shetackles with confidence (which is as often the result of ignoranceas of faith in one's own power). So how can I take any credit forsucceeding?

"It _has_ been hard work, of course, and I know that I must havefailed if every one had not been so good to me, and, above all, ifGod had not meant me to succeed. I have never forgotten that nightwhen the 'reverend' opened my eyes to the knowledge that I am Hispartner in working out my life. Dear Mr. Talmadge! I am ashamedthat I stopped writing to him, so long ago, yet I know that he isstill my friend, although we do not see each other. That is thebeauty of true friendship--it is a calm and constant star, alwaysin its place against the time when we want to lift our eyes to seekits light. I know that it is the same with Donald. 

"When I think of him to-night, and realize that he cannotbe near me in my little hour of triumph to-morrow, it is hard for meto keep back the tears. Dear God, bless him and bring himhappiness--with Miss Treville. 

"I cannot help feeling worried about Donald, for, although hisletter makes light of his illness, I have a troublesomepresentiment that he is worse than he will acknowledge. He is thekind to spend every ounce of his wonderful vitality without thoughtof self, and the two and a half years during which he has beenlaboring so hard, and so effectively, must have drained even hisgreat strength. Slight, wiry people are like the willows that bendeasily, but return to normal quickly, after the stress of storm hasended; but, when big ones--like Donald--break, it is like the fallof a mighty oak. 

"Still, this cloud, like all clouds, has its bright lining. _He iscoming home_, just as soon as he is able to make the trip, so, although I shall miss him dreadfully to-morrow, it will not be manyweeks before I shall see him again. 

"But this is not all that is troubling me, diary, and if I were notquite sure that no one but I would ever look inside your covers, Iwould not confide it even to you. 

"I have a present, a wonderful present, --and I do not think that Iought to keep it. Help me make up my mind. When P. Gave it to methis afternoon, he said that it was just a little remembrance formy graduation and that he hoped I would accept it as the gift of asemiofficial guardian, just as I would if Donald himself weregiving it to me. I did take it in that spirit; but, when I found amoment to steal away and open the wrapper, and beheld a beautifulmorocco case containing a _gold watch_ with my initials engraved onthe case, my heart almost stopped beating. This was his 'littleremembrance. ' Of course it is something that I shall need in mywork, for it has a second hand, but he must have guessed that Iwould be troubled by such an expensive gift, for he tried to makelight of it by enclosing a foolish little rhyme, which I must copyso that I shall not forget it. 

 'When it is _time_ to take _hour_ pulse You'll find a use for what is in it, [A] (On _second_ thoughts, I'd like to add I wish you'd take mine every _minute_. )'

"Conventions are _so_ puzzling, little diary, that I don't knowwhat I ought to do. Somehow, I feel quite sure that theSuperintendent wouldn't approve, for a doctor should not be makingpresents to a pupil nurse; yet P. Has been so kind that I hate tothink of hurting his feelings by giving it back. Besides, I love it... And it is engraved R. W. Then, too, if I should return it, hemight think that I didn't credit him with having done it whileacting in Donald's place as my guardian, and if it was not thatthought which prompted him, why ... Oh, I don't know what to do!

"Worse still, Dorothy Roberts came up unexpectedly and saw thewatch. Of course she wanted to know from whom it came and Ianswered, on the impulse, 'From my guardian. ' I'm sure that shebelieves that it was a present from Donald and therefore perfectlyproper, for I have told her all about his relationship to me, andit hurts me to think that I have been guilty of a lie. Of course itwasn't one in actual words, perhaps; but I had the spirit todeceive, and now I can't confess without involving P. And she mightthink that he is in ... Oh, I can't write it, for of course heisn't. How could he be? No, it was just a natural act of hisgenerous heart, because he knew that I was without relatives togive me a graduation gift. 

"I hope that I sleep my uncertainties away, for to-morrow must holdnothing but sunshine and smiles. "

[Footnote A: Poetical license--meaning 'what is in the box. ']

CHAPTER XXVIII

"BUT A ROSE HAS THORNS"

The May day, the day of fulfilment for Smiles' dreams and the fruitionof her work, had come. Her healthy, mountain-bred body had enabled herto keep well and strong; she had gone through the full three years withscarcely a day's illness, and she was ready to graduate with the class, some of whom would have to stay longer to make up time lost by illness. 

Rose awoke early to a sense of something unusual in prospect. On thewindow of her room the rain was pattering merrily. All nature was one toher, and she loved the showers as much as the sunshine, but, when shebegan to realize what day it was, they brought a feeling of vaguedisappointment. Surely _this_ day, which meant so much in her life, might have dawned fair! The glimpse of a leaden sky colored her thoughtsfor a moment, as she lay still in the drowsy relaxation ofhalf-awakening, when dreams beckon from _dolce far niente_ land, and thewhispering voice of slumber mingles with the more stirring call of thebrain to be up and doing. The recollection that Donald was far away, andcould not be with her to witness her triumph, brought a sense of bitterdisappointment to her over again. "I must write him everything thathappens to-day. He will be happy in my happiness, I know, " she murmured, half aloud, and her roommate awoke and answered with a sleepy, "What, dear?"

"Nothing. I guess that I must have been talking in my sleep, " laughedRose, as she now sat up energetically, fully awake. By their own requestDorothy Roberts and she still occupied one of the few double roomsreserved for third-year student nurses, who preferred to share theirquarters. 

The other followed, more drowsily. 

"Look, " called Rose, from the window. "It's going to clear. Oh, see thatwonderful rainbow. I don't believe I ever saw one in the morningbefore. "

"'Rainbow at morning, sailors take warning, '" quoted Dorothy. 

"I don't believe in that, or any other _unpleasant_ 'stupidstition'--asmy reverend used to call them, " Rose retorted, as she hastily began todress, for the last time, in the blue striped costume which had beenhers for nearly three years, but was, in a few hours, to change to onepure white, like a sombre chrysalis to a radiant butterfly. "No matterwhen a rainbow appears it is always an omen of fair promise. It's MotherNature smiling through her tears. "

She caught, in the mirror, a reflection of her friend's affectionateglance; her own cheek began to dimple and her lips to curve as she said, "I can tell by your expression just what you're going to say, and.... "

"Egoist, " mocked the other. "I hadn't the slightest idea of comparingyour own smile to a rainbow, so now. "

"I can't help it, really. " Rose spoke with unfeigned distress in hervoice, and began angrily to massage the corners of her mouth downward. "There's something wrong with the muscles of my face, I think, andsometimes I get worried for fear people will think that it'saffectation. I get frightfully tired of seeing a perpetually forced grinon other faces--it reminds me of Mr. William Shakespeare's remark that'a man may smile and be a villain still. '"

"Not with your kind, dear. 'There's a painted smile on the lip thatlies, when the villain plays his part; and the smile in the depths ofthe honest eyes--and this is the smile of the heart. '"

"Or of the cheerful idiot, " supplemented Rose. "Do you really think thatI'm ... Shallow? Sometimes it seems to me that the truly wise, thoughtful people, who search the deeps of life and are themselvesstrongly stirred, are always serious looking. "

"Pooh. It's generally pose, and a much easier one to get away with. Ialways discount it about ninety-nine per cent. "

"But, at least, others must think that I am always happy, and I'mnot--sometimes I wish that I might be; but not often, for one would haveto be utterly selfish and unsympathetic in order to be so, when there isso much suffering everywhere. "

"I know, and feel the same way, Rose. But it seems to me that asmile--at least one like yours--isn't so much the visible expression ofjoy, as it is a symbol of cheer for others ... Like a rainbow. There, Ivowed that I wouldn't, and now I've 'gone and went and done it. '"

Miss Roberts spoke lightly, to cover a suspicious huskiness in hervoice, for she worshipped the girl who had been so close to her forthree years, and whose way and hers would necessarily diverge after thatmorning. 

"Don't you _dare_ to forget how to smile. We all love it, " she added, with an assumption of a bullying tone; and then the two held each othervery close and laughed and cried, both together, for a moment. Theyfinished dressing in unusual silence, for the thoughts of each were busywith the things which the day and the future might bring forth for them. 

Contrary to custom, Dorothy finished first, and preceded Rosedownstairs. 

When the latter reached the little assembly room, she found a smallgroup of pupil nurses standing in the doorway. One was reading somethingfrom a page of a sensational afternoon newspaper, dated the dayprevious, and, as Smiles joined them, she hastily slipped it out ofsight behind her. All of them appeared so self-conscious, that the newarrival stopped with a queer tightening about her heart. 

"Show it to her, " said Dorothy, quietly. "She's bound to hear of itsooner or later. "

The sinking sensation within Rose's breast increased, and she steppedforward, saying faintly, "What is it, Dolly? Not ... Not Dr. MacDonald?Nothing has happened ... ?"

"No, dear. That is ... Well, it concerns him; but I think that, ifanything, he is to be congratulated. It is something to find out.... Here, read it yourself. "

She took the paper from the owner, and handed it to Rose. 

It was the page devoted to happenings in society, and from the topcentre looked forth a two-column cut of Marion Treville's strikinglybeautiful face. Beneath was a stick of text, which read:

 "Back Bay society is buzzing with the rumor, which comes from an apparently unimpeachable source, that the beautiful Miss Treville of Beacon Street, who, since her début seven years ago, has been one of the leaders of Boston's smartest set, is about to announce her engagement to Stanley Everts Vandermeer, the well-known New York millionaire sportsman. Miss Treville was formerly betrothed to Dr. Donald MacDonald, the famous children's specialist of this city, who has been in France for more than two years. No previous intimation had been given that this engagement had been broken. "

Rose read the brief article twice, mechanically, and almost withoutunderstanding. Then a wave of hot anger, akin to that which hadpossessed her on the mountain on the afternoon when her eyes had firstbeen opened to the duplicity of human nature, swept over her. It wasonly by a strong effort that she refrained from crushing the sheet, andspeaking aloud her denunciation of the woman whose behavior so outragedher sense of justice. 

[Illustration: "READ THE BRIEF ARTICLE TWICE, MECHANICALLY, AND ALMOSTWITHOUT UNDERSTANDING"]

The call came for the morning prayer, and she handed the paper backwithout a word; but for once the simple exercises, which, on thismorning, should have meant so much more than usual, wholly failed tobring their customary peace. Her lips formed the words of the prayer, and joined in the singing of the hymn, but her mind was far away inFrance, and her heart rebellious within her. 

Her thoughts did not harbor a doubt of Donald's love for the woman, who, it was said on "apparently unimpeachable" authority, had now discardedhim for another and wealthier suitor. To be sure, he had not marriedher, as he might have, before he went away; but this was not strange, under the conditions; indeed, she thought it to his credit, since he hadleft to be away so long in the performance of a hard and hazardous duty. And surely Donald had remained true! Anything else was unthinkable, and, besides, Ethel often spoke of her sister-in-law-to-be, and of themarriage which would quickly follow her brother's return. That MissTreville had apparently remained so faithful, also, had helped to banishsome of Smiles' uncertain feelings concerning her, and she had begun tohope that some day she might succeed in finding the key to the citywoman's heart and enter the fold of her friendship, for she could notbear the idea that Donald's marriage might result in Donald's beingestranged from her, or cause a break in their wonderful friendship. Nowher thoughts railed against the woman who had been so unstable, at atime when keeping faith with those who went, perhaps to die, had becomea nation's watchword. This thought completely superseded the one thathad sometimes been hers--that the woman was not worthy the love of theman whom she, herself, worshipped. It was like a mother, suffering forher hurt child, and her lips quivered with suppressed hate. It passed, and left her almost frightened. 

"I guess that I'm still a mountaineer at heart, " she whispered, as shemechanically bowed her head with the others. "I almost feel as though Icould kill her. Poor Donald! He has always been so blindly trustingwhere his heart was concerned.... Perhaps Dorothy is right, perhaps heis better off, if it is true; but if this embitters him, if it spoilshis faith in womankind, I shall hate her as long as I live. " Then camethe reflection that the report might not be true. "I shall go and askher, myself, this afternoon!"

Smiles arose from her knees, aged in soul. 

She had looked forward to this morning with all the eager anticipationof a child; but now, as she donned the white uniform of a graduatenurse--the costume which represented the full attainment of the hard-wongoal, --no smile greeted her as she looked at her own reflection in theglass. 

"Donald was right, " she murmured. "I am just beginning to realize thateven this fulfilment of my dream is not going to bring me happiness. Itis born of the heart, or not at all. " And her mind travelled back to theletter which she had tearfully penned him after Big Jerry's death. "Things never happen just as we plan. When we look forward to somethingpleasant which we want very much to happen, we never stop to think thatthere may be unhappiness mixed with it. " A solitary tear ran down hercheek, and made a moist spot on the front of her new uniform. 

The smile, usually spontaneous, had to be forced to her lips when shewent to take her place, with the score of other happy graduating nurses, in the amphitheatre of the Harvard Medical School, next door, where theexercises were to be held. 

"What is the matter with my Rose?" wondered Miss Merriman, who hadmanaged to be present. And, "What is the matter with _my_ Rose?" thoughtDr. Bentley. He had seen her for just a moment that morning, and, through the warm, lingering pressure of her hand, received the thankswhich she could not speak. 

It was, in truth, a very sober Smiles who only half-heard the words ofthe impressively simple exercises, during which the newly made laborersin the Lord's vineyard received the diplomas which bore the seal of thehospital--a Madonna-like nurse, holding a child. Its original, cast inbronze--the work of a famous modern sculptor--hung in theadministration building of the hospital, and she had often stood beforeit with tender dreams. And it was a very sober Smiles upon whose dresswas pinned the blue and gold cross, the emblem alike of achievement andservice. 

Miss Merriman spoke her thought aloud, as she took the girl into herarms, afterwards. "You looked too sweet for words, dear. But, tell me, why that woe-begone expression on this, of all days? One would thinkthat all the worries of the world lay on your young heart. "

"Perhaps they do, " was the non-committal answer. And Rose pleaded aprevious engagement when the older nurse begged her company for theafternoon, and Dr. Bentley for the evening. 

The happy laughter, the parting words, both grave and gay, which werespoken by those who had been her companions during the long journey, fell on ears which heard, but transmitted them to her mind vaguely, andher answers were inconsequential, so much so, that more than one friendregarded her with troubled surprise and whispered to another that Rosewas either not well, or was dazed with happiness. And when Dorothyventured to hint at the latter alternative, the girl acknowledged itwith a strained imitation of her usual smile, and straightway found herthoughts scourging her because of this new deception. 

It seemed to her that the day, for which she had builded so long, wastumbling about its foundations, and yet, when she now and again broughther runaway thoughts up with a round turn, she could not assign anylogical reason for her feeling as she did. 

"After all, what is it to me?" she would ask herself, logically, onemoment. And at the next her heart would reply, "Everything. He is allthat you have in the world in the way of 'family, ' for he _is_ more thanfriend to you. " "Yes, " Rose would admit, "I am afraid for him, I couldnot be more so if he were really my brother. She isn't worthy ofhim--I've known that, somehow, since the first day that he tried to tellme about her. But that isn't the point. Love is blind, and, if herfaithlessness hurts him, I will hate her always. I hate her _now_. Shehas spoiled my day, and I know that I have hurt Gertrude and Philip, forthey can't understand what the trouble is. "

The idea passed over and over through the endless labyrinth of her brainand found no escape, while she ate the noonday meal, and later changedfrom her white uniform to a plain blue serge walking dress, and blacksailor hat. Ever with it went the accompanying thought, "I _must_ seeher. " To what end she did not know or seriously attempt to analyze. Rosewas not the first to take up cudgels in a lost cause, spurred thereto bya purpose which was incapable of receiving any logical explanation. Itwas the "mother spirit, " fighting for its own. 

 * * * * *

A maid opened the door on Beacon street in response to her ring, and, onentering the hall, Rose found herself face to face with MarionTreville. She was clad for the street and was at that moment in the actof buttoning a long white glove. As she recognized the visitor, a deepflush mounted quickly on the patrician face of the older woman and, foran instant, her teeth caught her lower lip. 

Smiles' face was very pale, so pale that her large eyes by contrastappeared almost startling in their depth and color. There was a gossamerfilm of dust on her shoes and the bottom of her skirt, for she hadwalked all the way from the hospital, and she realized this fact with asense of chagrin, when she saw Miss Treville's eyes travel to her feet, and mentally contrasted her own appearance with that of the perfectlyappointed daughter of wealth before her. 

Neither spoke for an instant. It was as though each were trying to readthe thoughts of the other. Then Miss Treville said in a cool, even tone, "You may go, Louise. "

The maid vanished silently, with one curious backward glance as shepassed through the door at the end of the hallway. 

"Miss ... Webb, isn't it? You wished to see ... ?"

"Tell me that it isn't true, " broke in Rose, her voice trembling alittle in spite of her effort at self-control. 

"Tell you it isn't ... True?" echoed the other, with lifted eyebrows. "I'm afraid that I don't quite underst ... "

"But you _do_ understand, Miss Treville, why do you say that you don't?It is in the paper. "

"Perhaps I meant to say that I do not understand why you should comehere to ask such a question, Miss Webb, " was the icy response. 

Rose was silent. What answer could she make to this pertinent question?She felt the hot tears starting to her eyes; but, even as she was on thepoint of turning toward the door, with a little choked sob of bitterchagrin, the other continued. Curiosity had unloosed her tongue. 

"Well? May I be so bold as to inquire what interest you may have in mypersonal affairs, Miss Webb? Frankly, I am at a loss to understand themeaning of this unexpected, and--I might say--somewhat unusual visit. "

"I ... I don't know as I _can_ explain, " began Rose, hesitantly. "I ... I felt that I had to see you, because ... I had a letter yesterday from... From Dr. MacDonald.... "

"Ah. "

"Of course he writes to me, you _know_ that he is my guardian, " sheanswered the interruption with a flash of spirit. "He said in it that hewas coming home just as soon as he was able to ... To get well and ... Be married, and then that paper.... Oh, Miss Treville, surely it isn'tso. You wouldn't throw him over, when he is so far away, and ... Andsick?"

The other's voice was not quite as steady as before, when she answered, "I don't see why I am called upon to explain my ... To explain anythingto you, Miss Webb. "

"Then it _is_ true. " The sentence rang out sharply. "And he doesn'tknow. He thinks that you are waiting, and ... "

"We need not discuss the matter, in fact I doubt if the doctor wouldappreciate your ... Shall we say 'championage'? The matter is betweenhim and me, wholly. "

"No, it is not, Miss Treville, " flared Rose, with the angry color atlast flooding her cheeks. "I have heard people say that, if that storyis true, he is lucky to have escaped marrying you; but, just the same, those of us who _really_ love him--you needn't look like that, of courseI love him--don't want to have him hurt, as any man would be who wascast off like an old glove while he was far away and had no chance tospeak for himself. That is why I hoped it wasn't true, and that youhadn't, perhaps, killed his faith in my kind. And that is the onlyreason. "

Once started, her words had poured out as hot as lava which had brokenfrom a pent-up volcano. 

"So, that is the reason, the only reason, for your coming to me withyour impertinent question?" Miss Treville laughed oddly. "Really! Do youknow, I have always suspected that the little savage whom he broughtfrom somewhere in the backwoods regarded him as rather more than aguardian, or a brother ... That _was_ the pretty fiction, wasn't it?"she added, with honey coating the vinegar in her speech. 

Under the lash of the words Rose grew white again. Her hands clenched;but, before she could answer, Miss Treville continued:

"It really seems to me that you ought to thank me for stepping aside soobligingly. "

The occupation of a high level in the civilized world, or in society, isno proof of the Christian virtue of self-control, --that has beendemonstrated, in the case of a nation, all too clearly these last years;and individuals are like nations, or vice versa. The feline that liesdormant, as often in the finished product of city convention as in thebreast of the primeval woman, was now thrusting out its claws from thesoft paws of breeding. And Miss Marion Treville, leader of Back Baysociety, was rather enjoying the sensation. She had passed not a fewuncomfortable hours in company with her conscience, even while she wasyielding to the glamorous flame which surrounded her new suitor. It wasa real relief for her to be able to "take it out" on some one else, anda victim had offered herself for the sacrifice, most opportunely. 

Rose shrank back as though she had been struck; then steadied herselfand said with an effort--for her throat and lips were dry, "I think thatperhaps you were right when you called me a 'little savage. ' I know thatI feel like one in my heart now, and I think, too, that it would be areal pleasure for me to ... To ... "

The other stepped hastily back, and Rose laughed, bitterly. 

"Oh, please don't be frightened, I'm not going to scratch you. We woodpeople don't fight with your kind of animal, they're too unpleasant atclose range. " She paused, and then went on more steadily. "I came here... I didn't know just why I was coming, --perhaps to plead with you forDonald's sake. That doesn't look much as though I loved him ... In theway you insinuate, does it? No, if I had, I should have won him awayfrom you, long ago. It would not have been difficult, I think. "

She spoke so coolly, and with such perfect confidence, that the otherwinced. 

"There isn't anything more to be said, is there?"

Was this the simple mountain girl, whose voice was now so suave and whowas smiling so icily?

There was a pause, during which Miss Treville's trembling hand soughtbehind her and found the servants' bell cord. 

"I am really glad that I called, Miss Treville, for you have succeededin convincing me that I have no occasion to be disturbed--on Donald'saccount. "

"Miss Webb is going, " said Miss Treville, formally, as the maidappeared. 

CHAPTER XXIX

AN INTERLUDE

 All things by immortal power, Near or far, Hiddenly. To each other linked are That thou canst not stir a flower Without troubling a star. 

 A. QUILLER-COUCH. 

Life is so largely a thing of intermingling currents, of interwoventhreads, of reacting forces, that it is well-nigh impossibleunderstandingly to portray the life story of one person withoutoccasionally pausing to review, at least briefly, incidents in the livesof others with which it is closely bound up. 

So it is with the story of the pilgrimage of Smiles. 

While, following her graduation, she was taking a course in districtnursing, giving freely of her new powers to the poor and suffering of agreat city, and taking, and passing, the State examination which gaveher the right to place the epigrammatic letters "R. N. " after her name, something was happening more than three thousand miles away, of whichshe had no inkling, and yet which was closely linked with herexistence. 

Donald had, indeed, written in a manner to minimize his illness, whichhad been a prolonged and serious one; so much so that he had, greatlyagainst his will, finally come to realize the necessity of his taking arest from his unremitting toil, and he had agreed to return home for avacation as soon as he should be well enough to make the long trip. 

Depressed by his wholly unaccustomed weakness the doctor sat, aconvalescent in his own hospital in Toul, one stifling July day. To hisphysical debility was added the dragging distress of mind which comes attimes to those who are far away and receive no word from home. Noletters had reached him for weeks. Removed from the sphere of theabnormal activity which had been his, and with nothing to do but sit andthink, Donald had, for some time, been examining his own heart with anintrospective gaze more searching than ever before. He felt that he hadbeen, above the average, blessed with happy relationships, deepfriendships and a highly trained ability to serve others--and he knewthat he could honestly say that he had turned this to full account. 

Besides, he was betrothed to a beautiful woman whom many coveted. Whenhis mind reached Marion Treville in its consideration, it stopped tobuild a dream castle around her, a castle not in Spain, but in America. He had earned the right to rest beside the road awhile, and enjoy thegood things of life. Marion was waiting for him at home, and whateverdoubts had, at one or another time, entered his mind as to theirperfect suitability, one for the other, they had long since beenbanished. Distance had lent its enchantment, and he had supplied herwith the special virtues that he desired. His was a type of mind whichheld to one thought at a time, and he had always possessed a fixednessof purpose of a kind well calculated to carry through any plan whichthat mind conceived. Combined, these characteristics made a form ofegotism, not one which caused him to overrate himself, but to ploughahead regardless of the strength of the possible opposition. When hereturned to America he would marry Marion Treville immediately. No otheridea had seriously entered his mind since they had plighted their troth;they had not been quite ready before, that was all, he told himself. 

It was in such a frame of mind, and with a growing eagerness for the daywhen he might start for home to claim his reward, that he received herlong-delayed letter. What it said does not matter; but one paragraphsummed up her whole confession. "You cannot but agree with me that ourswas never the love of a man and woman whose hearts were attuned to oneanother, and sang in perfect unison. We really drifted into anengagement more because of propinquity than anything else. I am adrone--the product of society at its worst--and you are one of theworkers, Donald. I feel quite sure that you will always gain your truesthappiness in your work. Although I know how you love children (and Idon't), I cannot think of you in the rôle of a married man, so I donot, deep in my heart, believe that this is going to hurt you verymuch--certainly I hope not. Indeed, I have a somewhat unpleasantsuspicion that some day you are going to bless me for having given youback your freedom. "

Donald read the letter through, without allowing his expression tochange. Then he started to reread it, stopped, and suddenly crumpled itup in his big fist. A low curse escaped his lips. It was heard by apassing nurse, who hurried to him with the question, "Did you call, doctor? Are you in pain?"

"No. Let me alone, " was his harsh answer, and the patient girl movedaway, with a little shake of her head. The great physician had not beenhis cheerful, kindly self for some time. Perhaps she surmised, too, thatthe mail which she had laid in his lap had not been all that he hadanticipated. 

With scarcely a move, he sat, staring in front of him, until the eveningshadows had turned the landscape to a dull monotone. Then he slowlyarose, and, with his mind so completely bent upon one subject that hisbody was a thing apart and its weakness forgotten, stepped out into thedarkening city. 

Time had ceased to exist for him, as he walked the almost desertedstreets of Toul like a flesh-and-blood automaton. But the physicalexercise brought a quota of mental relief at last, and the cool nightair soothed his first burning pain and anger with its unconscious balm. At length he was able to face the truth frankly, and then he suddenlyknew that all the time it was not his heart, so much as his pride, whichhad been hurt. 

An hour earlier he would not have admitted a single doubt of his reallove for Marion Treville. Now he could not but admit that the initialstab of bitterness was being healed by a real, though inexplicable, sense of relief. He could even say that she had been right. Hisaffection for her had, indeed, been merely the outgrowth of life-longintimacy. It was never the mating call of heart to heart; he had neverfelt for her the overwhelming passion of a lover for the woman in whom, for him, all earthly things are bound up. 

His walk became slower; he stopped. The deep blue-black sky had, of asudden, become the background for a softly glowing mind picture, andthere seemed to appear before him the glorious misty eyes, andbewitchingly curved lips of ... Smiles. 

Her memory swept over him like a vision, and, even while he felt like atraitor to self, came the wonderful realization that in his home city, toward which his thoughts had so lately been bent, still lived the girlwhom he had loved--and had held apart within a locked and closelyguarded chamber of his heart--for years. It was as though scales, placedbefore them by his own will, had dropped from his eyes. He almost criedaloud his self-admission that he had loved her all the years from thefirst moment when he saw her, a barefoot mountain girl, in Big Jerry'srude cabin. 

And he was _free_! Free to be honest with his own soul, free to tell hisRose of his love, and throw aside the masquerading cloak of adoptedbrotherhood. How strange it was! The woman whom he had thought to marrywas gone from his life like a leaf torn from the binding, and the onewhom he had pretended to regard as a sister would become his mate. Thatsuch would be the case he did not doubt now, even for an instant. Thatshe had always loved him, he was certain, and, with the warmth of hiswooing, he would fan that steady glow of childish affection into theflame of womanly love which should weld their hearts together forever. 

 * * * * *

The days which followed before he was strong enough to journey toBordeaux, there to embark for America, seemed to drag by like eternity;but Donald was Westbound at last. He was going home, home to a new life, made perfect by a great love. The deadly submarines of the world'soutlaw, lurking under the sea like loathsome phantasies of an evil mind, held no terrors for him, nor could the discomforts caused by the tightlyclosed hatches and enshrouding burlap, which made the ship a pent-upsteambox, until the danger zone was passed, depress his spirits. 

The steamer crept as had the days on shore; but there came an afternoonwhen she made port at last, and, spurred by a consuming eagerness, hehastened to his apartment. 

He had cabled the news of his departure, and in the mail box were manyletters awaiting him. Feverishly, he looked them over for one in _her_dear handwriting. To his unreasonable disappointment there was none, butthere were several which required immediate reading--among them one fromhis sister Ethel, and one from his old friend, Philip Bentley. 

The first contained disquieting news. His little niece, Muriel, had beenvery ill with typhoid fever and, although Dr. Bentley had pulled herthrough the sickness successfully, she was still far from well, andapparently not gaining at all. 

He opened the other, expecting it to concern the case. But the note didnot mention it. It was only a few lines and read:

 "Dear old Don:

 I hear that you are 'homeward bound. ' Bully! As soon as you reach Boston, and can spare me a moment, I want to talk to you about an important matter. 

 Call me by telephone, like a good fellow, and I'll run over to your apartment at once and tell you what is on my mind. 

 Yours, P. B. "

CHAPTER XXX

DONALD'S HOMECOMING

"By the Lord Harry, but I'm glad to see you back again, safe and sound, you good-for-nothing old reprobate. "

True to his written statement, Philip had come to Donald's apartment asfast as a taxicab could bring him, after he had heard his old friend'svoice over the wire. Now the two men gripped hands, hard, and then--forjust a moment--flung their arms around each other's shoulders in a rareoutward display of their deep mutual affection. 

Then Philip held his senior away at arms' length and said, withmasculine candor but with a look of sympathy in his eyes, "Don, you poordevil, you've been killing yourself over there. Don't tell _me_. I've amind to appoint myself your physician and order you to bed for a month. "

"Good Lord, do I look as bad as that?" laughed the other. "If I do, looks are deceitful, for I feel fit as a fiddle. I need only one thingto make a complete new man of me. "

"And that is ... ?"

"A secret, at present. "

The two seated themselves opposite each other, and Philip continued, "I've managed to keep myself pretty well posted on the work that you'vebeen doing, without knowing any of the details of your life--you're arotten correspondent. Come, did you have any 'hairbreadth' 'scapes ormoving accidents by field and flood?"

"Nary one. My life has been one dead, monotonous waste. "

"Like ... The deuce it has. Come, I've got just ten minutes to stay;tell me the whole detailed history of your two years and a half. Knowingyour natural verbosity, I should say that it would take you just abouthalf that time, which will leave me the balance for my own few remarks. "

"Five minutes? I could tell you the whole history of my life in thattime. But, before I start, I want to ask you about my little niece, Muriel? I've just been reading a letter from Ethel, which seems toindicate that they are rather worried about her; but, when I called herby long distance, she either couldn't, or wouldn't tell me anythingdefinite. "

"I don't think that there is any real occasion for being disturbed, "answered Philip, quietly. "Although I'll confess frankly that thingshaven't been going just right, and I'm not sorry to have you back and incharge of the case. Muriel made the acquaintance of a typhus bug--theLord knows how--and, although I succeeded in getting the best of thefever fairly quickly, thanks to the able assistance of that nurse whomyou swear by ... "

"Miss Merriman?"

"Yes, she's a wonder, isn't she? Well, as I said, we took care of thefever, all right; but the cerebral affection has been more persistent, and she hasn't convalesced as you would expect in a twelve-year-oldchild. She seems to be laboring under a sort of nervous depression, notso much physical as mental ... In fact, a psychos. It's common enough inolder people, of course; but hanged if I ever saw anything just like itin a perfectly normal, and naturally happy child. "

"H-m-m-m. What are the symptoms?"

"Psychological, all of them. She mopes; seems to take no healthyinterest in anything, and, as a result, has no appetite; bursts outcrying over the most trivial things--such as the chance of you're beingblown up by a submarine on the way home--and frequently for no cause atall. Of course I packed the family off to the shore, as soon as she wasable to be moved, in the belief that the change of scene and the sea airwould effect a cure, but it hasn't. I can't find a thing wrong with her, physically, nor could Morse. I took him down on my own hook, inconsultation, one day. It's a rather unusual case of purelypsychological depression, and in my opinion all she needs is ... "

"A generous dose of Smiles, " interrupted Donald. 

"By thunder, you've struck it, " cried Philip, as he gave the arm of hischair a resounding thump. "What an ass I've been not to have thought ofthat before, particularly as she has been so constantly in my thoughts. It's another case of a thing being too close to one for him to see it. "

Donald stiffened suddenly. He held the match, with which he was about tolight a cigar, poised in mid-air until the flame reached his fingers, and then blew it out, unused. 

"In fact, it was about her, Don, that I was so anxious to see you, " theother went on. His own nervousness made him unconscious of the effectwhich his words had produced on Donald. "Of course, she's practically oflegal age now; but I know that she still regards you as her guardian andthat in a sense you stand _in loco parentis_ toward her. Certainly sheregards your word as law. So I thought that, as she is practically alonein the world, it would be the only right and honorable thing to ... Tospeak to you, first. "

"To speak to me ... _first_?" echoed Donald, a trifle unsteadily, as hestruck another match and watched its flame, with unseeing eyes, untilit, too, burned his fingers. 

"Yes. Great Scott, can't you guess what I'm driving at? The plain factis ... Is that I love her, Don. I ... I want to marry her. "

The words smote the older man's senses like a bolt from a clear sky, andthey reeled, although he managed, somehow, to keep outwardly calm. 

"You ... You haven't told her ... Yet ... That you love her?" he managedto say, after a moment. 

"No. At least, not directly; but I guess that she knows it. I wanted, first, to be sure that you would approve ... Perhaps even sponsor mysuit, for, although I mean, of course, to stand or fall on the strengthof my own case, I know that she worships you, as a brother, and might beinfluenced by your attitude. You understand, don't you, old man?"

Donald nodded, then asked slowly, "Does ... Does Smiles love you, Phil?"

"Yes, I think that I can honestly say that I believe she does. Of courseno word of love has ever passed between us, but ... Well, you know howit is. "

With a mighty effort of his will, Donald conquered the trembling thathad seized upon his body, and--on his third attempt--calmly lit thecigar. But his thoughts were running like a tumultuous millrace. "Blind, egotistical, self-confident fool, " they shouted. "That something likethis should have happened is the most natural thing in the world, and ithas been farthest from your mind. "

He remained silent so long that Philip was forced to laugh, a bituneasily. 

"I know well enough that I'm not half worthy of her--no man couldbe--but I hope that I'm not altogether ineligible, and I'm sure that Ilove her more than any one else could. " At his words Donald winced. "I'll do my best to make her life a happy one, if she'll have me--youknow that, old fellow. Well, " he laughed again, "say something, can'tyou? I should almost get the idea that you were jealous, if I didn'talso know that that is absurd. Your engagement to Marion Treville ... Isuppose that you don't want to talk about that, but you know how deeplyI feel for you. "

Donald shook himself together, mentally, and made an effort to respondwith convincing heartiness, although he found that his words soundedunnaturally, even to his own ears. 

"Of course, you have my consent, if it's worth anything. If our littleRose does love you, I am sure that you can make her happy--you're asplendid chap, Phil, and I--and I appreciate what you have done for herwhile I was away. She wrote me all about it. "

He stretched out his hand, and the other started from his chair, andwrung it heartily. 

"Thanks, old man. You give me an added quota of courage, and I wish thatI might go to her this minute; but I've been called out of town on animportant case. I really shouldn't have taken the time even to stophere, but I simply had to see you to-night. Love is an awful thing, isn't it?"

"Yes, " he answered, dully. "Love is always impatient ... I know thatmyself. Perhaps I ... That is, if I can get her ... Rose, I think that Iwill take her down to Ethel's with me, to-night, and you can ... Can seeher there. Where is she staying now?"

"With Miss Merriman's family, if she hasn't been called out on a casesince morning. She's been doing district nursing, principally; butshe's already had two private cases, you know. "

Donald did not, and the realization of how far he had drifted away fromhis old, intimate association with Smiles' affairs, brought his heart anadded stab of pain. 

"The number is Back Bay, 4315. " He glanced at his watch and thenexclaimed, "Heavens, I've got to catch a train at the Trinity Placestation in five minutes. Be ready to furnish bail for my chauffeur assoon as he is arrested for over-speeding. 'Night. I'll see you atManchester in a few days ... That is if ... "

His words trailed off down the corridor, the front door closed andDonald was alone. No, not alone. Philip had gone, but the room waspeopled with a multitude of ghosts and haunting spectres which he hadleft behind. The doctor had only to close his eyes in order to see them, gibbering and dancing on his hopes, which had been laid low by hisfriend's eager disclosure. Another loved her, another wanted to marryher, and that other could truthfully say that he believed she cared forhim. No spoken words of love may have passed between them, but Donaldknew well how unessential these were when heart called to heart. 

This was his homecoming!

It were as though the eyes of his soul had been permitted, for a brieftime, to behold a dazzling celestial light, which had suddenly failed, leaving the darkness blacker than before. The words which he hadplanned to utter had turned to bitter ashes in his mouth. He had to facethe truth squarely. Rose was not, had never been, for him. It had beenmere madness for him even to dream of such a thing. Had she not acceptedhim as a brother, and given him the frank affection of suchrelationship, which precludes love of the other sort?

His heart hurt and he felt old and weary again. Somewhere, hidden in acabinet, was a bottle of whiskey, he remembered, and he sought it outand poured himself a generous glassful. But, when he raised it to hislips, the vision face of Smiles, as she had looked that first night onthe mountain, when she told Big Jerry and Judd that "nary a drap o' thetdevil's brew would ever be in house of hers, " appeared before him, and, with a groan, he set it down, untasted. 

Returning to his living-room, he sat a long time in mental readjustment, which was brought about with many a wrench at his heart; and when, atlast, his old iron will--which had been weakened a little by illness andfurther softened by love--had once again been tempered in the crucibleof anguish, the lines on his prematurely seamed face were deeper, and inhis dark gray eyes was a new expression of pain. 

 * * * * *

In compliance with his telephoned request, Rose had packed her suitcase, and was all ready to accompany him when he arrived at theMerrimans' apartment in a taxicab, to take her with him to the NorthStation to catch the nine o'clock train. She was irrepressibly thechild, for the time being, and in her cheeks bloomed roses so colorfulthat Gertrude Merriman accused her of painting, while knowing wellenough that joy needs no artistry. 

"I'm almost _too_ happy, " she cried after hearing his voice over thewire, and proceeded to dance around the room, to the impromptu chant, "Donald, dear, is here, is here. Donald, dear, is here. "

"Are you going to kiss him?" laughed her friend. But Rose was not to beteased, and answered, "Kiss him? I'll smother him with kisses. Isn't hemy brother, and isn't he home again after being away two and a halfyears?"

When the apartment bell rang, it was Rose who ran to answer it, andwhose sweet young voice, saying, "Oh, come up _quick_, " Donald heardthrilling over the wire. His heart leaped, but his will steadied itsincreased pulsations. It leaped again when he reached the third floor, and the girl of his dreams threw herself upon him with laughter whichwas suspiciously like weeping, and with the smother of kisses, which shecould not restrain nor he prevent, although each burned and seared hisvery soul. 

She backed into the room and pulled him after her by the lapels of hiscoat; but, as the brighter light struck upon his face, she stopped withwidening eyes, through which he could read the troubled question in hermind. 

"Oh, my poor big brother. I didn't realize ... I mean, how you must havesuffered. Poor dear, you don't have to tell me how ill you have been, sofar away from all of us who love you. "

Her pitying words drove the last nail in his crucified hopes. Not onlywere they, all too obviously, merely those of a child who loved him witha sister's love, but they told him how changed, wan and aged he was; onewho was, in fact, no longer fitted to mate with radiant youth. 

"'Old, ain't I, and ugly?'" He imitated Dick Deadeye with a laughingvoice, but the laugh was not true. 

"Old and ugly?" she repeated, in horror. "Donald, how _can_ you? You'retired out, that is all; and as for this--" she lightly touched the sheenof silvery gray at his temples, where the alchemy of Time and stress hadmade its mark--"it makes you look so ... So distinguished that I amashamed of my frivolously familiar manner of greeting you. But I justcouldn't help it, and I promise not to embarrass you again. Yes, you_were_ embarrassed. I could read it in your face. "

There was but a moment for conversation with the others, and they werewhirled off to catch the train for the North Shore resort. 

When they were seated, face to face, in the Pullman chair car, therecame a moment of silence, during which each studied the other covertly. Donald decided that, physically, the girl had not greatly changed fromthe picture of her which he had borne away in his heart. The passingyears had merely deepened the charm of the soft, waving hair, whose richand glinting chestnut strands swept low on her broad forehead andnestled against the nape of her neck; the slender patrician nose andwonderfully shadowed eyes; the smooth contour of cheek and rounded chin;and the tender glory which still trembled, as in the old days, on hersensitive lips. But, in her poise and speech, after the first rush ofimpetuous childlike eagerness had spent itself, he discovered a newmaturity, and he realized that, where he had left a child, he found awoman, whose heart was no longer worn upon her sleeve. True, hergratitude and affection for him were unaltered. They showed in everyword and look, and once the thought came to him that he might yet winthe castle of Desire, if he should only determine to enter the listsagainst Philip. The primal man in him cried out against, and might haveovercome, his better nature, which whispered that this would betreachery to a friend who had played fair, and was worthy, if there hadnot always been before his mind the consideration that the fight wouldbe hopeless. Rose was not for him; she loved another. 

And the girl? She cheered him with her smile, and loved him for thedangers he had passed as he, in the hope of in that subject finding avent for his emotions, told her of the work he had been doing. But inher heart she was deeply disturbed. The tired, drawn look on his strongface would pass away, she felt; but the sight of the expression of painin his eyes gave her thoughts pause. Had Marion Treville's faithlessnessstruck so deep? At the memory of her interview with the woman, Smiles'own eyes changed, and lost their quiet tenderness. 

 * * * * *

Morning had come, and the sunlight danced like a myriad host of tinysprites, clad in cloth of gold over the broad blue bosom of the Atlanticand into the windows of little Muriel's cheerful bedroom. The dooropened softly, and Rose, in trim uniform and cap, with its three blackbands, slipped into the room, silently motioning the man in the halloutside to keep back out of sight. The child, thin and pale on her snowybed, turned her head listlessly and looked at the intruder. 

Suddenly the suggestion of a smile touched her colorless lips, andlighted her unnaturally heavy eyes. She sat up with a glad cry ofsurprise and welcome, "Why, it's my own Smiles! Wherever did you comefrom; are you going to make us a visit? Oh, I'm so glad. "

"Yes, darling. I got so tired and grumpy up in the hot city that I justhad to come down here to be cheered up. Will you help do it?"

"'Course I will. Why, just _seeing_ you makes me want to cheer. " Shequickly swung her slender legs over the bedside. "Oh, now if dear UncleDon were only safe home again it would be perfect. I've worried andworried about his getting hit by a bomb or being blown up by asubmarine. I wish ... "

"And, presto! your wish is granted, " laughed Donald, as he ran into theroom and caught his small niece up in an old-time bear hug. 

"Oh, oh, oh. It's better than a fairy tale. I'm so happy I could die, but instead I'm going to get well right off. I'm well _now_; where aremy clothes?"

The little bare feet sought for bedroom slippers, and the light curlsbobbed energetically as she enunciated, "Now that I've got you two Imean to keep you forever and ever. If you, Uncle Don, would only mar... "

The man made haste to clap his hand over the offending mouth; but he wastoo late. Rose had heard, and, with glowing cheeks, replied quickly, "But you forget that Uncle Don adopted me as a little sister, long ago. "

She slipped her hand through his arm and pressed it close to her for amoment, before laughing gayly, "Run along, man. Milady is about to dressand this is no place for you. "

CHAPTER XXXI

THE VALLEY OF INDECISION

Early evening it was, several days later, evening of a sultry, stiflingday, which had escaped the bounds of longitude and invaded even theNorth Shore. The open ocean, itself, seemed to have forgotten itshabitual unrest and yielded to the general languor. From the Thayers'summer home--a glorified bungalow, broad of veranda and shingledsilvery-olive, atop a long, terraced bank--it had the appearance of alimitless mirror, reflecting the unblemished blue infinity of the sky. Only the never-ceasing series of vague white lines which ever crept upthe shelving beach, to vanish like half-formed dreams, showed that, although the mighty deep slept, its bosom rose and fell as it breathed. 

The sky was a hazy horizon blue, unblemished save for a few vaporousclouds far in the west; the sun, well toward the end of its journey, washazy, too, a thing of mystery; in the far eastern distance the broadAtlantic softened to a hazy violet-gray which, in turn, blended, almostwithout a line of demarcation, into the still more distant heavens. 

Far out, above the waters, a solitary gull circled with slow, sweepingcurves, and now and again planed to the surface of the sea and struckfrom it a faint white spark. 

On the screened-in veranda, the members of the family, which nowincluded Rose, sat or reclined, in attitudes of indolence, the men innegligee shirts and white flannels, the women in light dresses. Rose--who had, the day before, officially declared herself "off" thecase; but had stayed on, a guest, at the general solicitation--wore awhite dimity faintly sprinkled with her favorite rosebuds. 

Her ex-patient sat on a little stool close by her side, a book of fairystories resting on her elevated bare knees. The companionship of herbeloved Smiles had already brought the warm color of health back to hercheeks and banished the listless look from her eyes. Her mother and Mr. MacDonald, Senior, were reading. Rose, chin resting on her cupped palm, was gazing seaward with a dreamy, far-away expression in her eyes, asblue as the sea itself. Donald sat back of her, and scarcely turned hisgaze from the even contour of her cheek and neck and the shimmeringglory of her hair, as he pulled leisurely at his cigar. 

Only little Don showed signs of activity; for, with the boundless energyof four-and-a-half years, he was skidding and rolling industriously fromone end of the porch to the other on a kiddie-car--a relic of the yearbefore, and now much too small for him. With more or less dexterity hewas weaving his way in and out among the various obstacles, animate andotherwise. 

After looking for many silent minutes at the girl he loved, Donald said, tritely, "A penny for your thoughts, Smiles. "

"Sir, you value them too high. I was thinking about you, " she laughed. 

"A likely story! I know well enough that your mind was far away from thepresent spot--the far-off expression on your face is indication enoughof that. Furthermore, I'll wager that I can guess pretty nearly wherethey were. "

It was a random shot, but he was disquieted to observe that it brought afaint blush in her cheeks. The added color, soft and lovely in itself, was darkly reflected on his heart. 

Jumping up, Smiles cried, with a mock pout, "I shan't stay here to bemade the subject of a demonstration of clairvoyancy. My thoughts are myown, and I mean to keep them so, sir. "

As she ran into the house Donald's eyes followed her, moodily. And if hehad, indeed, possessed the power of divination which he had laidpretence to, the expression in them, and the shadow on his spirit, wouldhave been justified. 

Rose ran lightly upstairs, and, as she approached her room, drew fromwithin her waist a letter. There was something both mysterious andchildlike in the manner that she next opened one of the drawers of herdressing table and, taking out a box which held almost all of her modesttreasures, started to place the letter with them. 

Instead, however, she paused to lift out a neat little packagecontaining a score or more of other epistles, tied together with a whiteribbon. For a moment she hesitated, as though she were both mentally andphysically weighing the objects held in either hand. A shadow of strangeuncertainty came into her eyes, the outward expression of an inwarduncertainty foreign to her nature. Slowly, she turned from herreflection in the mirror and dropped down on the edge of the daintilycounterpaned bed. With hesitating fingers she untied the ribbon from thepackage and began to glance through the unbound letters, pausing atintervals to read stray paragraphs from them. Each one began and endedalmost the same--"Dear little Smiles" and "Affectionately your friend, Donald. "

There was the one which contained the allegory of the steep path--whichnow lay behind her; the one in which he told her of little Donald'sadvent into the world and of his own betrothal to Marion Treville, andas she read that sentence which held so much of import in the lives ofboth of them, she sighed, "Poor Don. He hasn't mentioned her; but herfaithlessness must have struck deep, for he is, oh, so changed and morereserved. " There were other letters filled with the spirit of_camaraderie_, and then the later ones, strong, simple, with theirstories of others' sacrifice in the great cause of humanity. 

When the last one was read and laid upon the others, she sat with themin her lap for a moment, musing. The suspicion of tears shone in hereyes as she finally shook her head, and, evening them carefully, retiedthem. 

"No, " she whispered, half aloud, "I mustn't be foolish. He's just mybrother, that is the way he cares for me. It has always been like that. And I ... I mustn't be foolish. "

Almost angrily she brushed away the single tear which had started itsuncertain course down her cheek. 

With a gesture of resolution, she stood up and placed the package in itsbox. The other letter was about to follow; but, as she started to lay itdown, she changed her mind, and, with the flush again mounting hercheeks, took it from the envelope, which bore a special delivery stamp, postmarked in Boston that very morning. 

Opening it, she read:

 "My dearest Smiles:

 Will you be the bearer of a message from me to your kind hostess? As you know, she has invited me down to Manchester-by-the-Sea for the week-end, as a surprise for Donald, and I have heretofore been unable to give a definite answer. Now I have banished everything else from my mind and shall arrive about seven-thirty. 

 You wonder, perhaps, why I haven't written this direct to her? In answering my own question I have a confession--yes, _two_ confessions to make. A poor excuse is better than none, and I have sent the message to Ethel, through you, merely as an excuse for writing you. 

 To my own surprise I have discovered that I have suddenly become a moral coward, and am obliged to descend to subterfuges in order to bolster up my courage. This isn't a usual thing with me, I think, but neither is the occasion. I've been wanting and planning to tell you something, face to face, for a long time; but at the crucial moment my courage has failed each time. I could not nerve myself to bear the possibility of the wrong answer. 

 Now I cannot put it off any longer and I am forced to tell you that 'something' in this manner. It is a simple message, dear, but it has meant more than any other to the world through all ages, and it means more to me than all the world, now. I love you, Rose, --I want to marry you. 

 There is not anything more that need be said; you can imagine all the rest that I would say if I were with you in person, as I shall be with you in spirit as you read those words. I suspect that even they were not necessary. You must have guessed my love, which has grown steadily during these past three years, and have understood why I could not speak it before. It was not merely that the ethics of our relation forced me to keep silent; but I have felt, since you are situated as you are, and Donald is still morally, if not legally, your guardian and protector, I should speak to him first. I have done so. My love for you was almost the first thing that he heard about, on reaching home. And Smiles, dearest, he has gladly given his consent to my suit and wished me luck. 

 Now that I have written the fateful message, my courage is restored, in part at least, and I want to hear the answer from your own sweet lips. I can scarcely wait to hear it, for presumptuous as it is--I cannot help hoping that it will be the one I so desire. I cannot help believing that you do care for me. 

 Please don't run away, dear. I want to see you, alone, as soon as I reach Manchester. 

 With all my heart and soul I am Your lover, Philip. "

Smiles slowly replaced the note, her first love letter, in its envelope, laid it in the box and locked this in the drawer. With her hands restingon the dresser she leaned forward and looked searchingly into her owneyes, as though trying to read her very heart. Her lips moved and formedthe words, "He cannot help hoping that the answer will be the one hedesires. He knows that I _do_ care for him. Yes, he cannot help knowingit; I am too simple to hide my feelings, and he has been so sweet that Icould not help ... But ... Oh, I wish that I hadn't got to tell him ... To-night. "

Meanwhile Donald had been sitting for many minutes in the silence bornof laboring thoughts. He had guessed Smiles' secret in part, but not inits entirety, and the bitter unhappiness, which had had its inception inPhilip's disclosure, lay over his soul like a pall. 

His father was the first to speak, and his words caused Donald to start, for they seemed to be the result of telepathic communication. 

"You told us, once, that she wasn't a witch, but, by Jove, there's bothwitchery and healing in that smile of hers, Don. Look at Muriel now. It's nothing less than a miracle what the very presence of Rose has donefor her. "

"I was wrong, " answered Donald, shortly, whereupon Ethel laid aside herbook and joined in the conversation in a low voice, so that the absorbedMuriel might not hear. 

"You love her, Don, it's perfectly obvious. What are you waiting for?Now that Marion has behaved so shamefully, it is my dearest hope thatyou will marry Rose. I didn't mean to speak of it; but, really, you arechanging, Donald, and I don't want to think of your becoming aself-centred old bachelor. "

"Ethel's right, " supplemented his father. "I'm only surprised that youhaven't asked her before. You've been in the same house with her for awhole week. Don't let one ... Er ... Unfortunate experience discourageyou. "

Donald carefully knocked the ashes from his pipe, got up, walked to therailing, and stood with his back toward them. 

Then he laughed, a trifle bitterly. 

"Thanks for the advice. I won't pretend that I don't ... Care for her;but I can't ask her to marry me, as you suggest--that is, not now. "

"Why not, I should like to know?" demanded his sister, impatiently. 

"I can't explain, either; but there is a reason. I am bound in honor. Please don't say anything more about it. "

But Ethel was not to be silenced so easily. 

"I don't know what you are talking about; but it's nonsense, anyway, "she answered. "Why, she worships you. Any one can see that. "

"Worships me!" echoed Donald, with sarcastic inflection. "What's thesense in exaggerating like that, Ethel? I suppose that she is fond of mein a way; the way you are, but ... "

"I never suspected you of lacking courage before, " interrupted theother. "If you haven't the nerve to ask that child yourself, _I_ will. Iguess that I'm a better judge of feminine nature than you, Donald. "

"You failed to prove it once before, " he retorted, and instantly added, with a tone of unusual contrition, "I am sorry I said that. It wasunnecessary and unworthy. But, really, I can't allow you to play Mrs. John Alden to my Miles Standish. There is a reason ... "

"Oh, you men. You're all alike, when you climb on some sort of a highhorse and become mysterious. I don't know what you are talkingabout--perhaps you are deluding yourself with an absurdly chivalrousnotion about being her guardian--but I tell you this. A normal girl, whois as full of life as Rose, can't be expected to be like the wishy-washyheroines of some murky novel, remain faithful unto death to her firstunrequited love, and turn into a sweetly spiritual old maid, waiting forthe hero to come and claim her. ''Tain't accordin' ter huming nater, ' asCaptain Jim says. The mating call is too strong, and she is sure torespond to the love note of another sooner or later;--don't flatteryourself that you are the only man in Smiles' creation. She's as sweetand pure as any girl could be, but she's human, like the rest of us ... That's what makes me love her so, and, unless 'you speak for yourself, John' ... "

"I can't, Ethel, I ... S-s-sh. "

The girl's light footsteps on the descending stairs caused him to breakoff with a low note of warning, and hardly had he resumed his seatbefore she was sitting on the arm of the chair and rumpling his wavyhair, as naturally as a child, or a sister. 

Watching him closely, Ethel saw the veins begin to swell on the back ofhis muscular hand, as his fingers gripped the other arm of the chair. She sighed, and then a look of wondering distress came into her face asthe thought flashed unbidden through her mind, "I wonder if it ispossible that he made some unfortunate, entangling alliance in France, after he heard from Marion? It isn't impossible. Men are often caught onthe rebound like that. "

Donald was the first to make an effort to introduce a new subject intothe thoughts of all, by saying, "Doesn't the _Water Witch_ look prettyin this light?" as he pointed to a trim little eighteen-foot race-about, whose highly polished mahogany sides, free from paint, reflected thewater which reflected them. "I don't know as I have properly thanked youfor having her put in commission for me, Ethel. "

"I thought that it would please you, and I had them overhaul and rig heras soon as I learned that you were coming home. "

"Please me! Well, I should say 'vraiment. ' Come, Smiles, let's run awayfrom all the world beside, and I'll show you my skill as a skipper. "

Ethel sent a meaning glance in the direction of her father, but he waslaughing; "'Skill as a skipper, ' indeed, on such an evening as this! Hewould be an amateur, for certain, who couldn't steer with one arm free. Whew, there isn't a breath. "

"There is going to be, and not many minutes from now. Unless I miss myguess we'll have a thunderstorm, and a west wind which will make shortwork of this humidity. There, feel that breeze? Ouch, you little devil, get off my foot. It may be large but it wasn't built for a kiddie-carracetrack. "

The obstacle had caused an upset, and baby Don, more angry than hurt, tobe sure, set up a howl and ran to Smiles' arms for comfort. 

"You'll spoil that baby, " growled his uncle. "Well, what do you say, areyou coming?"

He stood up, and stretched his powerful frame in anticipation of theexercise that he loved. 

"If you don't mind, Donald, I'd ... I'd rather not ... To-night, "answered Rose. 

"I'm afraid that you don't like the ocean; I rather thought that youwouldn't, " he responded gently, for he had in mind the fact that both ofher parents had met their death by drowning. The girl sat silently for alittle while, with her eyes fixed upon the waters, here and there uponthe surface of which had begun to appear shadowy streaks of varyingtones, as though the Master Painter were deftly sweeping a mighty, invisible brush across the pictured surface. Interblending shades ofsoft green, gray and violet came and disappeared. 

Without turning her head, she answered, pensively, "It is very, verybeautiful and I love it--in a way. But I am afraid of it, too. Yes, Ilike the lordly mountains better, Don. To me there is always somethingsinister about the sea, even when it is in as peaceful a mood as this;storms come upon it so swiftly, and it has taken so many preciouslives. "

Donald laid an understanding hand upon her shoulder for a brief moment. 

"I won't urge you, " he said. "Let's go for a little walk, then. "

"I ... I can't do that, either, Donald. It was meant to be a surprise, but ... Dr. Bentley is coming down from Boston to-night, and I promised... That is, he has asked me to ... To go somewhere with him. " Rose wasblushing again. 

"Oh, I see. I didn't know that Phil was coming, although, of course, hehas a standing invitation, and knows that I'm always delighted to seehim, " answered Donald, in a tone which he made natural with an effort. 

"I invited him especially, " broke in Ethel. "And he accepted in a letterto Rose. "

CHAPTER XXXII

THE STORM AND THE SACRIFICE

Baby Don put an end to the moment of strained silence which succeeded. He laid hold of two of Smiles' fingers and began to pull at her, whilesaying insistently, "Come down to the beach with me, Aunty Smiles, andhear the waves ro-er. " This was a favorite pastime with him. 

His grandfather smiled. "The waves are 'ro-ering' as gently as anysucking dove, to-night. "

But the baby was not to be turned from his design, and tuggedpersistently until Rose was obliged to rise, laughing. Muriel alsostarted up. 

"I'll go down with you and try out the _Water Witch_ alone--unless, thatis, either of you want to come along, " said Donald. 

His father and Ethel refused, with a show of indignation over thebegrudging form which the invitation had taken, and he was not sorry. Neither man nor girl could find anything to say as they walked side byside to the beach, and the former launched the dory tender. As he putoff she waved him a cheery good-by, and sent her low voice across thebroadening water:

"Come back to us soon. And be careful. It is beginning to get roughalready. "

With a note in his voice which she did not understand, he called back, "Perhaps I'll sail straight over to France. You wouldn't care. "

"Foolish man. You know that I would, " she cried, and then turned to jointhe children in their game of skipping pebbles. 

Donald sent the skiff through the choppy waves with vigorous strokes andshot her around at the last moment for a perfect landing. The mainsailand jib went up with rapid jerks while the rings rattled their protest. The strenuous physical exercise brought him temporary relief; but, whenhe had cast off, taken the tiller and after a few moments of idlejockeying back and forth in the light puffs, squared away for the runseaward before the rising wind, his gloomy thoughts returned, to settlelike a flock of phantom harpies and feast on his brain. 

Out of nothing grew a vision of Judd's chalky, troubled face, and hefelt a sudden rush of sympathy for the crude mountaineer, who hadlikewise loved and lost. "Smiles wasn't to blame then. She isn't toblame _now_. She never led either of us on, " he said aloud; but hisclenched teeth cut through the end of his cigar, nevertheless. With onlyhis moody thought to bear him company, Donald steered seaward. 

Starting slowly, the racing craft was momentarily given new impetus byswelling wind and following wave; but the man paid no heed to the thingswhich should have served him as a warning--the higher heaving of thewaters, now as gray and as cloudy green as a dripping cliff, and touchedwith flecks of milky spume; and the uneven tugging of the sail. When hedid become aware of the swift change which had taken place, hardly fiveminutes had passed from the time he had started out, yet a quick glancebehind him disclosed a new heaven and a new earth and sea; the old hadpassed away. 

Where else is nature's stupendous power so evident as in the sinisterspeed with which the armies of the tempest make their swift advance, company on company, regiment on regiment, division on division?

In the moments which had passed unmarked by him in his absorption, thewhole western sky had become overcast and blackened by the vaporous armyof invasion, whose forecoursing streams of cavalry skirmishers werealready high over his head. The earth had lost its laughing colors, andseemed to lie cowering, with its head covered with a dull mantle, andthe sea had accepted the challenge of the storm clouds and was beginningto leap forward in swirling, gloomy waves. 

With a strong steady pull on the tiller, Donald brought the little craftaround in a sweeping curve and headed into the wind, which had suddenlybecome chill and moist. The boat tilted sharply, and a dash of sprayleaped the bow and, changing back to water, ran down the leeward side ofthe cockpit. A drop of rain splashed on his bared forearm, and thenanother and another. Through the dark, serried clouds came a daggerthrust of fire, to be followed by a distant detonation which bore hisheart back to the shuddering fields of France. 

The new picture was impressed on his mind as on the sensitized film of acamera, and simultaneously the action of distant figures were registeredupon it. Toiling up the steep bank to the cottage was a marionette maderecognizable as Muriel by a tiny dash of red at the waist and on thehead. For an instant he wondered if Smiles and his little namesake hadalready reached the house. Then he caught sight of them, still on thebeach. There was fully a quarter of a mile of water between him and theshore, but the distance was being cut down bravely by the race-about, whose specialty was going to windward in a blow. Steadied by her racingkeel, she cut through the waves like a knife. 

The child, a mere gray dot, was apparently fleeing as fast as his sturdylittle legs could carry him from the pursuing girl. 

In spite of his bitterness of soul, Donald's lips curved into a smile asthey formed the words, "Ah, the battle is on, once more. Rose hasinsisted that they hurry up to the house and Don has said, 'I won't. 'Jerusalem, look at him kite it!"

At that instant a tremulous curtain of light was let down from heaven, momentarily, and the two tiny figures were disclosed as clear as by day. He saw the baby dodging adroitly under Smiles' outstretched arms, andheading out onto the narrow pier, to which was attached a float forrowboats. 

"He's got his 'mad' up, " thought the man, as he veered off a point so asto get a better view. "He isn't afraid of thunder, lightning or ofrain--or anything else, and it would be just like him to run right offthe ... Great God in heaven, he's done it!" he shouted aloud and sprangto his feet, and almost lost his grip on the straining tiller. Even ashe had been thinking, the light had grown again, and he saw the child, halfway down the pier, with a rebellious jerk tear himself loose fromthe clutching grasp on his blouse, lose his balance, stumble and rollfrom the incline into the now surging water. 

The _Water Witch_ luffed sharply, and her sail snapped with a reportlike a pistol shot. Without taking his horrified gaze from the unrealpicture which the ghastly lightning illumined, Donald instinctivelysteadied the boat, and, with his powerful body strained forward asthough he were urging the craft to greater effort. "God, God, God. " Thewords came through his clenched teeth, half prayer, half curse at theFate which held him helpless to act--and the wind snatched them from hislips and bore them away, shrieking in malicious madness. 

The darkness fell, blotting out the scene. Then the lightning flaredagain, and, in the brief white second that it lasted, he saw Rose climbonto a bench against the railing of the pier, and leap into the water. 

"God, she can't swim a stroke, " groaned the man, as he pounded his lefthand against the gunwale until the blood came through the abraded skin. Plunged in darkness again, the man, whom Rose had called unimaginative, suffered all the untold agony of soul which had been hers during themoment in which she had been forced to make up her mind and carry outthe act, only his anguish was the more intense, for hers was the quickaction and his the forced inaction of a man bound to a stake, withinfull sight of a tragedy being enacted upon a loved one. The distancebetween the boat and shore was not so great but that he could seeeverything that was occurring; but, with the wind dead ahead and blowingviciously, he might as well have been in another world for aught that hecould do. 

The spell of darkness, doubly black after the flash, seemed like aneternity to Donald. In reality it was as brief as the others, yet, whenthe light came, it disclosed other forms in action. A youth, whom he hadvaguely noticed working around a rowboat on the beach as he put out, wasplunging into the water, and down the steeply terraced bank, withleaping strides, was running a tall, slender figure clad in light gray. Minute as it was, seen from that distance, Donald recognized it. It wasPhilip, and his bursting heart gave voice to a cry of welcome and hope. Philip would save Smiles!

[Illustration: "HOLDING THE GIRL IN CLINGING WHITE CLOSE TO HIM"]

True, he would save her for himself. He could not keep the thought outof his surge of hope; but the erstwhile bitterness was swept away. Nothing else mattered, if Rose could be saved. Measured by the tickingof a clock, the action was taking place with dramatic speed; but, to hisquivering mind, it dragged woefully, and the periods when the lightfailed caused him to cry aloud. 

Suddenly the searchlight of the sky was turned on, dazzlingly, and hesaw the unknown youth wading ashore, bearing in his arms a tiny formwhose animated arms and legs told the story of baby Don's timely rescue;he saw Ethel running wildly toward them, to gather her offspring intoher outstretched arms; he saw Philip on the float, in the act of castinghimself prone. Then the picture faded once more and he railed at theensuing blackness as though it had been a wilful, animate thing. Thistime it lasted longer, and the man's deep breath came in rasping sobsbefore the scene was again revealed. Now there were two forms standingunsteadily on the float; two forms that were almost one, for the man ingray was holding the girl in clinging white close to him. Still, shecould stand; Smiles was alive, she was saved! And the watcher's lipsgave vent to a shout of relief and joy, a shout which ended in a groan. All the power of his masterful will was not enough to make him do thatwhich he longed to--turn his tortured eyes from the picture which speltlife to Rose, and death to all his golden dreams. 

Now he saw them moving slowly up the pier, the girl still leaningheavily against the man, and supported by his encircling arm. Theypaused, and Rose half turned, and slowly waved her hand toward the seain a reassuring gesture, and Donald whispered, "God bless her. She knowsthat I have been a witness to the whole thing, and she remembers, thinksof me, even at ... At this time. I cannot see her face, but I know thatshe is smiling. "

The lingering effulgence from a final wave of light vanished; the twoforms toiling up the shore blended into the returning shadows; thecurtain of darkness fell, and the drama was ended. 

"Why could it not have been I?" groaned Donald. The wind, already spentfrom its brief fury, chortled softly among the shrouds as though it waslaughing at him, another mortal made the victim of capricious Fate. Surely it knew that he would have served as well as its agent and wouldonly too gladly have given his very life for Smiles, but it had wilfullysent him away and sent Opportunity to Philip. 

Heroes and martyrs; what are they, after all, but the creatures of thatwhimsical goddess? Most men and most women have within them the courageto dare all things if the occasion comes, but to a few only, chosen, itoften seems, by chance, is that occasion granted. Yet, how often has thehistory of life, both racial and individual, been changed by such anevent!

Donald knew his star had sunk below the far horizon and that Philip'shad been carried to its zenith. The lover was likewise the rescuer. Itwere as though the play had been written and the stage set for no otherpurpose than to bring the romance to its culmination, and, now that thishad been accomplished, the useless properties were being removed. Thestorm was over, ending as quickly as it had begun; the cloud-legionswere hurrying eastward overhead to form the setting of another tragedyor farce somewhere else, or to return to the nothing which had giventhem birth. A few faint flashes and a distant rumble or two marked theirpassing. 

Along the western edge of the world appeared a narrow streak of ruddylight, like burnished copper beneath the blackness above. Blazing forthwith the glory of a conqueror, the sun appeared within it, and seemed topoise immovable for an instant 'twixt heaven and earth, while itsdazzling rays turned the living waters to molten gold. Then it slowlysank from sight, and, like wraiths of the dying day, the night-shadowsbegan to creep out from the shore, deeper and deeper, nearer and nearer, until they engulfed the little craft and its owner. 

With a sudden decision, Donald played out the sheet and put the tillerover. The boat swung around into the path of the wind and fled seawardagain. He could not go home, now. He must fight out the battle withself, as it is always fought, alone, and what place could be morefitting than out there in the darkness, on the face of the troubledwaters?

CHAPTER XXXIII

WHAT THE CRICKET HEARD

Two hours later Donald stumbled, like a strong man physically playedout, up the path to the cottage. 

Ethel saw him coming, and ran part way down the steps to meet him. Withher arms around his neck, she half-sobbed out the words in a chokedvoice, "Oh, Don. Do you know what has happened? Could you see from yourboat? Little Donny? Smiles? Could you see, Don?"

He nodded, dumbly; but his sister kept on, "She couldn't swim, but yetshe jumped, instantly, to save him. You see, she thought that she wasalone, she didn't know about that boy. Oh, Donald, we must do somethingfor him, something splendid. He saved my baby's life. "

Ethel was crying now, and the man forgot his own misery in comfortingher. 

"But why didn't you come, Donald? You didn't know.... "

"Yes, I knew that everything ... Was all right. Rose waved to me andcalled. I ... I _couldn't_ come, Ethel. I can't make you understand. "

With the light of understanding breaking in upon her mind, and bringinga flood of sympathy with it, his sister once more drew close andencircled his neck with her arms. 

"Where ... Where is she?" he asked, as though the words were wrung fromhim against his will. 

"Smiles has gone for a little walk with ... Dr. Bentley, dear, " answeredEthel in a manner which she strove to make commonplace. She felt hisframe quiver, and, with a motion that was almost rough, he shook off hercomforting arms, and mounted the steps, holding to the rail as he didso. He went directly indoors, and to his room, with the instinct of awounded creature to seek its cave or burrow. Save for a cold, cheerlesspatch of moonlight on the floor it was dark, and he felt no desire toturn on the lights. For a while he sat, silent and motionless, on theedge of the bed. But he could not stand the closed-in solitude. Theplace seemed filled with the fragrant presence of the girl who was notthere; would never be there. He wanted to smoke, and went to the bureauto fumble blindly for a pipe which he remembered he had left on it. Hishand touched something small and glazed, and he drew it sharply away. The something was the little rose jar. Smiles' first gift to him, whichhad travelled far since that morning on the mountain side, five yearsbefore. 

The thoughts which would not be stilled repossessed his mind, and drovehim out-of-doors again, --through a side door, so that he would not haveto speak to his father and Ethel, whose voices he heard in lowconversation on the front porch. They ceased for a moment, as thoughthe speakers had heard the sound of his footsteps, and paused to listen. The night was still, so still that the chirp of a cricket under thepiazza sounded loudly. It was a cheerful little note, and Donald hatedit for its cheer, and started hastily away toward the beach. 

High above, to the south, the moon was sailing through a sea of clouds, in silent majesty. Moonlit nights he had seen aplenty since that one inthe Cumberlands, four summers previous, when he had climbed themountain, impatient to see once more the strange, smiling child who hadso stirred his imagination. In the old days he had loved the soft andmajestic radiance. Now he hated it. Had he not lived long in war-riddenFrance, where every clear night illumined by that orb, which once hadbeen the glory of those who loved, had meant merely the advent of theHunnish fiends, whose winging visits brought death and devastation tothe sleeping towns below?

He had fled from the darkness of his room, but now he craved thedarkness again, for, perchance, it might blot out the memory of othernights, beautiful as golden dreams, or hideous as nightmares, when themoon had shone as it did now. 

As he made a quick turn about a rocky obstruction in his rapid path, hecame almost full upon two others, a man and a woman. On the yieldingsand his footfalls had made no sound, and they were unaware of hissudden approach. Donald stopped, and stepped hastily back out of sight;but not before he had seen the man's arms gather the slender form of thegirl in close embrace, and seen her lift her sweet youngface--tear-bejeweled, but smiling with the tenderness of love--for hiskiss. 

With the rocks put between him and the two, Donald stood for a momentwith clenched fists pressed brutally against his eyes as though to grindout the picture recorded there. Then, with blind but nervous strides, hefled from the spot which, at the one time, held such happiness and suchdespair. 

It was close to midnight when his steps bore him instinctively back tothe unlighted house; but this time the exercise and the cool night airhad failed to bring relief to his heart. He could not face the idea oftossing for hours on a sleepless bed, and so passed the front door andseated himself within the dark shadows of a corner of the piazza. 

"Chirr-r-p, chirr-r-p, chirr-r-p, " began a pleasantly shrill littlevoice beneath him. Over and over it repeated the sound, until the man'sfeverish imagination had made it into "cheer-up, " and he cursed thecricket for its silly advice. So busy was his mind with introspectionthat he did not hear the door open gently, and the first intimation thathe was not alone was brought to him by the sound of a light footstepdirectly behind him. He turned his head, and saw a dim, ethereally whitefigure, --Rose. 

"I thought that you would never come, Donald, " she whispered, as shesank down close by his side on Muriel's little stool, and laid her coolhand on his fevered one. "I have been watching from my window for anhour. I couldn't go to sleep until I had told you something. "

With an effort he answered evenly, "I ... I think that I know what itis, Rose. "

"You know? But how ... ?"

"I saw you ... And Philip, on the beach, " he replied, dully. 

"You saw ... Oh! And you heard what ... ?"

"No. I went away at once, of course. But I did not need to hear. I ... Iam glad if you are happy, Smiles. "

She was silent for a long moment; then whispered with a note of joy inher low voice that wrung his heart, "Yes, I am very happy, Donald. "

"Philip is a splendid fellow. "

"You wanted me to ... To marry him, Don?"

"I _wanted_ you to?" He barely succeeded in checking, unspoken, theburning words on his tongue; but this time his voice betrayed him, and, if he had not been resolutely keeping his face turned away from her, hemight have seen, even in that dim light, an odd change come into theexpression of her lovely face, and seen a wonderfully tender andsomewhat mischievous smile touch her lips. All that he did know, however, was that she gave a low, happy laugh, which was like aknife-thrust to his soul. 

"Don, " she said at length, "I have told no one else of my great secretyet, for I wanted to tell you, first of all. I couldn't go to sleepwithout telling you, for you have been such a dear confidant and fatherconfessor to me that it seems as though I must tell you everything. I... I've just got to tell you what has happened. May I?"

The man barely smothered a groan. Must he hear this girl, in hersimplicity, talk on and on about the man she loved, and had promised tomarry? It struck him, too, as strange that she should be willing to laybare anything so sacred in a woman's life, but then she was her naturalself, and quite different from most girls, in her attitude toward him. 

But Rose was speaking quietly, and as though to herself, "Philip hasbeen so sweet and good to me while you were away. You remember that you, yourself, told me that you meant him to take your place as my unofficialprotector, and that I should go to him with my perplexities. It wouldhave been better for me if I had followed your advice closer, but now Ican laugh at spilt milk. "

Rose had already confessed to Donald about her "investment" and been byhim cross-examined into an admission of her little charities, which, intheir aggregate, had so nearly wiped out her bank account. She couldlaugh about them now, for she had won to her goal, and already begun toearn a livelihood, but she had carefully hidden in her heart the storyof the bitter struggle in which she had engaged to make both ends meetduring the last few months of her course, when her mysterious refusalsto accept any invitations from Ethel, Miss Merriman or Philip for herfree afternoons and evenings, had left them wondering what on earth shewas doing. No one guessed that they were spent in earning the few sadlyneeded dollars which her pride forbade her to borrow from any of them. 

"Now I can laugh at spilt milk, " Smiles' words echoed in Donald's brain, and hurt. He knew that Philip was fairly well-to-do, and, of course, Rose would want for nothing when she married him. This was the thoughtwhich brought the poignant stab. 

"It was not strange that I began ... That he became very dear to me, wasit, Donald?"

The man shook his head dumbly. He could not answer her in words. 

"Perhaps I should not say it; but some time ago I began to guess that... That he loved me. Not that he said a word, Donald, that is, notuntil to-day, --and then he didn't say it, " she laughed a little. "He_wrote_ it and he ... He asked me to marry him. He said, besides, thathe had spoken to you, first, and that you had given your brotherlyconsent. It was a very sweet letter, Don; the first real love letterthat I ever received, think of that!"

Only by clinching his teeth and gripping the arms of the chair could theman repress a groan. 

"It was after he had ... Had saved my life that ... " She stopped, andbroke into her thought with the words, "Oh, Donald, I can never, neverforget to-night, and the awful feeling that I had when little Don wentinto the water. You see, you were far away, and I didn't know about thatbrave boy on the beach, so I thought that I had got to save him if Icould, and I didn't know _how_ I could. And then those black, cold wavesgoing over my head! I was quite sure that I was going to die, and Ialmost hoped so for ... For I couldn't find Donny. "

She leaned her head against his knee and cried a little; but, when hetried to speak, and tell her what had been in his heart, she interruptedhastily with, "Oh, please, let's not speak of it, ever again. I know howyou felt, too. 

"It was after that that Philip asked me for my answer. I knew what itwas going to be, but ... "

Donald could not stand it any longer. "I know. You love him, you aregoing to marry him, Smiles. It's all right, he is a splendid fellow, dear, " he repeated mechanically. 

"Yes, he is, and I do love him, " she replied quietly; but she could notcontain her secret any longer and added, "But a girl can't marry her_brother_, Donald. "

"Her brother? Please, Rose, don't joke. "

"It's true!"

"You! Philip's sister? It's impossible, unbelievable!" Yet a surge ofmad, uncontrollable joy swept over him, and his heart burst into song. 

"Unbelievable, yes. But it's _so_, Donald, although I can hardly creditit yet, myself. "

"But how? Tell me how you found out. What happened?"

"Don't, you're hurting my hand, Donald. I'll tell you all about it assoon as I can, but please don't ask so many questions all at once, andplease tell me first that you are glad, that my great secret makes youhappy, as it does me. "

"Happy? Oh, great heavens! But you? Are you really pleased? You saidthat you loved him!"

"And so I did, and do ... Dearly. But, you see, Donald, although I havecared for him for a long, long while, there was something about myaffection that I could not explain, even to myself. It was ... Wasdifferent, somehow, from what ... From what I felt it must be for theman whom I might marry. Now I know that it was the subconscious call ofthe blood, the love of a sister for a brother, and never anything else. "

Lifted and swayed by a great happiness and reborn hope, Donald laughedaloud. 

"Oh, you're a strange little girl, Smiles. I had not realized that youwere fully grown up until to-night; but now I know that you are awoman, --a child no longer. My little Rose would never have tried to beso dramatic, nor would she have tried to analyze her love, and label itthe call of kin, rather than that of a mate. I used to think that youwere a clear crystal in which I might see reflected your very heart andsoul, but now you have become a woman and therefore a mystery. Oh, woman, what do you know about love? Not the kind that Philip inspired inyou; but the name which burns unquenchable--which purifies andstrengthens, or consumes the one who ... " he stopped, surprised at hisown rush of words, --and abashed. 

The hand, which she had slipped unconsciously into his, trembled andthrilled him. 

"Perhaps ... I do ... Know it, Donald, " came the words, barely audible. 

"Smiles! It isn't possible that you ... That I ... Oh, my dear one, don't say anything to make me hope anew, after what I have enduredto-night unless ... "

"Do you really care, Don? In that _other_ way, I mean. "

He stood unsteadily up; things had become unreal and he could not speak. Smiles, still holding his hand, rose also. The top of her head came justbelow the level of his eyes; the moonlight across it set her wavy hairto shimmering. She could not lift her eyes to his, but with a brave, lowvoice, she went on, when she saw that he would not answer. 

"All this past week I have been the most brazen of girls, anddeliberately given you a hundred chances to tell me, if it were so. Iwas quite sure that it couldn't be, and besides, you told Philip.... "

"I know; but I thought ... You see he told me that he loved you, andthat he was sure that you cared for him. "

"I did, just as I do now. Oh, man, you have been so blind, or so noble. Have I got to _ask_ you to marry me?"

For the barest instant she looked up at him, and he saw that the smilehe loved was whimsical as well as madly appealing. 

"No, " almost shouted Donald. "I won't hear of such a thing as your beingone of these 'new women. ' You're a siren out of the olden days of mysticlegend, and I have kept my ears stopped up against your witching song, which I was afraid to hear. But now I want to hear it, day and night, through eternity. Wait, not yet. First ... Smiles, will you marry me?"

"Oh, what an anticlimax! Why did you have to become so practical andunromantic, after such a splendid start, " she laughed happily. "No loveris supposed to ask that question with such brutal bluntness. Come, Iwill teach you the romance of love. "

It was dark on the veranda. The moon had suddenly slipped out of sightbehind one of the laggards in the retreating cloud army; but Donaldneeded no earthly light in order to realize that Rose was holding outher arms to him, as simply and frankly as she had five years before. 

"Chir-r-r-p, chir-r-r-p, chir-r-r-p, " thrilled the cricket underneaththe porch. 

CHAPTER XXXIV

A LOST BROTHER

How long it may have been before the man, eager as he was to hear thefull explanation of the seeming miracle through which his happiness hadbeen made possible, was ready to urge Rose to tell the story which shehad promised, and what whispered words the cricket heard in the interim, concern only the three of them. 

When, at last, he was able to bring his winging thoughts down from theclouds to earth, it was to discover still another unsuspected trait inthe woman who had become his all; for Smiles, eager and excited, wasstill dwelling in a world of romance, and she insisted upon recountingwhat had happened, almost verbatim, and in a dramatic manner quiteunlike the simplicity which naturally characterized her speech. 

Nor could Donald's commonplace interruptions, during the course of whichhe affirmed that fact _was_ stranger than fiction and that the world_was_ a small place after all, check her narrative. 

"I don't know whether I can make you understand why I acted as I did, when Philip asked me for my answer, dear. Indeed, I hardly know, myself, " she began. "It wasn't that I didn't know what I had got totell him, for I had made up my mind long ago--at least, it seems longago, although it was only this morning, when I got his letter. Much as Icared for him, my heart knew that there was only one man in the worldfor me--even though he appeared not to want me!"

The digression caused a further and wholly natural delay. 

"Perhaps it was because I hated to hurt him, and wanted desperately topostpone the evil moment; but, at any rate, I begged him to wait, andsaid that he didn't know all the facts about me. I told him that Iwasn't sure that I ought to marry any one. And that was true, Donald. I've often worried about it, for I didn't know anything about myparents, and heredity counts for so much, doesn't it?

"Of course he replied, just as I might have expected, that he didn'tknow what I meant, but that nothing else could possibly matter to him, if only I ... I cared. 

"But I said that I had to explain, --I guess that I was a littlepanic-stricken, he seemed so deadly in earnest, --and then I told himthat I wasn't Big Jerry's grandchild really, but only a little waif whomhe had taken in. 'So, you see, I am a nameless girl, Philip, ' I said. 'Idon't mean it in a bad sense, for I know that I had a dear father andmother, whom I just barely remember, but.... '

"I don't know exactly what I was going to add, but he broke in with, 'What earthly difference do you think that could make to me, dear?' Andthen he told me that he _knew_ I was ... Was good and pure, that _anyone_ who was acquainted with me could see that I must have come fromsterling stock, even if my parents were simple mountaineers. 

"'But they weren't, Phil, ' I answered. 'I was a poor little city waif, who had lost her parents and didn't know where she came from, or evenher name. ' And then I told him the story which Big Jerry told you thatfirst night on the mountain. 

"And then, Donald, then it was my turn to be surprised, for Philipgrasped my arm until he hurt me, and cried, 'I can't believe it, Rose. I_won't_ believe it!'

"I didn't know what to say, and somehow I felt both hurt and a littleangry that it should make any difference in his love--yes, I did, inspite of the fact that I couldn't marry him anyway. Yet, at the sametime, I had an impression that it wasn't that, but something quitedifferent, which was troubling his heart. So I said, 'What is it, Philip? I do not understand why you are acting so strangely. '

"His only reply was to ask me, in an odd voice, when it happened; howlong ago. 

"I told him 'eighteen years, when I was a baby about three years old. 'Don, I can't tell you how I felt then, for he looked so peculiar--almostas though he were stunned. And he could not seem to say anything. I wasfrightened. I begged him to speak to me, and told him that he looked asthough he had seen a ghost. 'I have ... At least I have if my suspicionis true. But it can't be; oh, it is unbelievable, impossible, ' he brokeout. 

"I didn't know what to say or do, he looked almost as though he were ... Were not in his right mind; and, when I put my hand on his arm andbegged him to tell me what the trouble was, he shook it off, and beganto speak ... Oh, I cannot tell you how. It sounded as though some oneelse were speaking, and uttering the words hesitatingly. 

"'Try and remember, Smiles. Call on your memory of the long ago, ifthere is a single spark of it still lingering in your mind. Oh, it meansso much, dear, so much that I am almost afraid to ask the question, butI have got to, I have got to!'

"He waited until I thought I should go mad, Don, and then said, inlittle more than a whisper, 'Did you ever, back in your babyhood, hearthe name, Anna Rose Young? Think, Smiles, think hard. '

"Perhaps you will not believe it; but it seemed as though something longforgotten were actually stirring in my heart, and as though it weregroping blindly in the mists of memory. I could not be sure, yetsomething forced me to answer, uncertainly, 'Yes, I think, I believethat I do remember that name; but I don't know where I could have heardit. What do you mean, Philip?'

"His answer surprised me as much as the first question, for he said, 'Was it in ... Louisville?'

"'Louisville? I have never been there, Philip. And yet.... ' There wasthe strange stir in my memory again. Oh, it was all so puzzling. 

"'Anna Rose Young, ' he repeated insistently. 'They called her Rose, because ... Because her mother's name was the same. '

"'They called _her_ ... Philip, I do remember, now. It's my own name!Oh, Philip, you know who I am! But how, Phil?' I was clinging to him asthough I must draw the truth from him physically; but he went on, almostmechanically, and his breath came hard, I could feel him tremble, Don. "

Now her own low voice was trembling excitedly. 

"'A tall, slender man, who stooped a little, Smiles, ' he said. 'His facewas thoughtful and kindly. He had a close-clipped, pointed beard, andwore gold-rimmed spectacles, and his eyes were very blue, as blue asyour own, Rose. Tell me, does the picture mean anything to you?'

"I tried to visualize it, Don, and I could, as though it were some onefar, far off whom I could see through the mist. 

"'My daddy, Philip, ' I whispered; I could hardly speak at all, for mythroat was aching and I was crying. "

She was crying, now, but did not realize it. 

"'A sweet-faced woman, with wavy brown hair in which were golden glintslike yours, ' he went on, monotonously; but this time I could not answerat all. "

Smiles stopped, and, for an instant, sobbed without restraint, with herhead against Donald's arm, and he ran his hand tenderly and unsteadilyover her hair. 

Then she lifted her face, bathed in tears, and whispered, "Youunderstand, don't you, Don? After all the years, to remember, ever sovaguely; but, still, to remember my former life, and to know my ownname! Oh, I can't help it ... I couldn't when he told me. "

"Yes, yes. I understand, dearest. "

"Philip went on, desperately, it seemed to me. 'Another picture, Smiles. Can you see a spindle-legged, mischievous boy of ten, who loved hislittle sister dearly; but teased her from morning until night. His namewas ... '

"'Tilly! Oh, I remember. At least, that was what baby Rose called him. '

"'Yes, she called him Tilly. She called him that because ... Because shecouldn't say ... "Philip. " Oh, little Rose, don't you understand? I cameto find a wife, and I have found ... A sister!'"

"But, his name ... " interrupted Donald. 

"I know. I will tell you. But first, Donald, my poor father and mother. I thought that perhaps I was to find them, too; but God willedotherwise. Big Jerry was right. They ... They were both drowned. "

Eager as he was to hear the rest of the story, the man could not butkeep silent, in understanding sympathy, until she was ready to proceedof her own accord. It was once more as Smiles herself had written in herletter to him, after Big Jerry's death. Happiness was tinged with grief, for the night's strange disclosures had re-opened an old wound, longsince closed. 

Finally she went on. 

"I won't try to tell you the explanation in Philip's words; but it seemsthat we used to live in Louisville. Philip's own father was a well-to-dophysician, named, of course, Dr. Bentley. He died when Phil was a baby, and, when he was seven years old, mother married Mr. Robert Young, amining engineer. I was born a year later--I am really his half-sister, you see. "

"But, " interrupted Donald, "I should think that the name Philip Bentleymight have stirred a responsive chord in your memory before this--no, Idon't suppose that it would have, after all, for you were so small thatyou didn't remember your own last name. "

"Yes, and not only that, but Philip was always called 'Young'--when hewas a boy, anyway. Well, it seems that, when he was ten, and I wasthree, he was sent all alone to visit an uncle, a brother of his ownfather, who lived in Richmond. It was while he was away for the summerthat my dear father was sent into the Cumberland Mountains betweenKentucky and Virginia, prospecting for coal on behalf of the company inthe employ of which he was. He took mother and me with him for acamping vacation, and ... And you know as much as I about the tragedywhich separated us, and made such changes in our lives. "

Rose paused again, a prey to memory. 

"And then?" prompted Donald, gently. 

"Then, Philip said, when no word came from his parents for severalweeks, his uncle left no stone unturned to find them, and at length theFederal Revenue authorities located the bodies of my dear mother andfather, and part of their wrecked canoe, in the swift river, almost atthe foot of the mountains. Of course every one assumed that I had ... Had been drowned, too. "

"Oh, thank God that you were not, my dear, " breathed Donald, so softlythat she could not hear him. 

"Then Philip went to live permanently with his uncle, who raised andeducated him as one of his own sons. Of course he took his real nameagain. Oh, Donald, isn't it too wonderful?"

"Yes, dear heart, wonderful, indeed. " There was a long silence. ThenDonald asked, softly, "And Philip? How does he feel?"

"He ... He is happy, too, " came her reply, somewhat haltingly. "Ofcourse, just at first ... Oh, please don't ask me, Don. But now he iscontent, for he knows that I ... I couldn't ever have been anything elseto him, because I loved ano.... I loved _you_. "

"He knows that? Rose, you didn't tell him?"

"Yes, I did, " she answered, bravely. "And let me tell _you_, sir, thatit is lucky for you that ... That you asked me; for, if you hadn't, youwould have had my big brother to deal with!"

And what the cricket heard _then_, has nothing to do with this story. 

CHAPTER XXXV

THE HALLOWED MOON

They were to be married early in September--just a month from the daywhen Smiles so nearly gave her life to save another's. 

During the days which must pass before she became Donald's inthe full trinity of body, mind and soul, his family kept her atManchester-by-the-Sea and each hour bound her more closely to the heartof each. 

For her, Ethel planned and purchased, sewed and supervised, putting asmuch loving thought into the making of her simple outfit as though itwas she herself who was to be wedded. The days were busy ones, theevening hours rich in love and contentment, for Donald came down fromthe city each night, and the two learned the way to many a secretchamber in each other's heart. 

Early in the week which was to bring to a close the separate stories ofthe man and maid, and write the first chapter in the single history ofman and wife, Donald left them to make a brief, but important, tripwhich, he said, could not be postponed; and oh, how empty life seemed toSmiles during those few days. 

But they were ended at last, and the marriage evening came, --still andmellow, with the voices of both shore and sea tuned to soft nightmelodies. 

Below in the hall, hidden within a bower of palms, an orchestra ofBoston Symphony players drew whispering harmonies from the strings ofviolins, harp and cello, and, at the signal, swept into the dreamy, enchanted notes of Mendelssohn's marriage song. 

Little Don, very proud and important--and somewhat frightened--picked upthe train which he was to bear as page, and down the winding stairway, by the side of her new-found brother, moved Rose, gowned in traditionalwhite, made with befitting simplicity, her shimmering hair no longercrowned with the square of a nurse cap, but by a floating, misty veiland the orange-blossom wreath of a bride. Never had her warm coloringbeen so delicate and changeful, her expressive eyes so deep, or thefleeting sweetness of her translucent smile so wonderful. 

At the foot of the stairs stood Muriel, and three other girl companions, each with a woven sweetgrass basket--made years ago by little Smilesherself--filled with rose petals to be strewn in her path, and thebride's lowered eyes rested tenderly for a moment upon the child thatshe so loved. Then she started, and paused. One of them, as tall asMuriel and more slender, had hair of spun gold, and she was looking upwith an eagerness which she could hardly restrain. 

With a low, surprised cry, Smiles hurried downward, drawing her handfrom Philip's arm and extending both her own. 

"Little Lou. Can it really be you? Oh, my dear. "

And, heedless of the cluster of waiting friends beyond, she caught theflushing, bashful, happy child into her arms. 

"Oh, Smiles, haint hit all too wonderful. Hit's like dreamy-land, an'I'm plumb erfeered thet I'll wake up an' find hit haint real. But_yo're_ real, my Smiles, an' oh, how I loves ye. "

There was a suspicious moisture in more eyes than those of Rose, as shereleased the child and moved forward again, following the flower girlsinto the room where waited the man who was all in all to her. 

Donald stood just to one side of a canopied altar made of white rosesand interwoven ferns, and before it was a tall, slender man in thevestments of the Episcopal Church, whose thin, saintlike face was toppedby hair of the purest silver-white. 

Smiles felt her heart swelling almost painfully with a great newhappiness; her lips parted, and she wanted to draw her hand across hereyes and brush away the sudden tears which she knew were there. For therector was her own dear Mr. Talmadge. 

Now Donald was at her side, and his strong fingers were returning thegrateful, loving pressure of her own. _He_ understood how full ofgratitude was her heart, and was repaid. 

The low, clear voice, tuned to the winds of the forest, began the wordsof the beautiful service. It was, indeed, all a dream, and she felt theunreality of it until the benediction had been spoken, and the hiddenorchestra struck the first joyous chords of the triumphant march fromLohengrin. Then, from her husband's arms she turned to the embrace ofthe mountain minister, and of Philip, and little Lou, and GertrudeMerriman, and Dorothy Roberts, and of all those other friends, old andnew, who were so dear to her. 

No explanations were possible for many minutes to come; but at lengthshe heard the story of the secret trip "which could not be postponed, "of how "the reverend"--now well and strong at last--had gladly consentedto leave his beloved mountain home, for the first time in many, manyyears, and come north on this sacredest of missions; of how Judd hadyielded to the request that Lou accompany them, too; and finally of howher mountain lover of the old days was now himself married--to noneother than the youngest daughter of the kindly agent at Fayville. 

And when this news was told, Donald cried, "Why, Smiles, for shame! Iactually believe that you are jealous, " and she replied, "Of course I am... Horribly. " Whereupon every one laughed at her, and her husbandpunished her with a kiss. 

It was ended at last, the lights, merry voices and laughter; and, as thetwo ran the ancient gantlet, the orchestra, prompted thereto by Mr. MacDonald, struck up a lively popular air, and the guests caught up thewords. 

They paused a moment on the path below the veranda, to quiet theirhurried breathing, and look into each other's happy eyes. 

"Where do we go from here?" _They_ knew. There had been but one spot inall the world whose name both their hearts had spoken, when Donald firstmentioned the honeymoon to be. 

 * * * * *

Evening again--twilight on the Cumberland mountains. The moon had notyet risen; but, through the black lacework of the forest trees whichstretched above Big Jerry's cabin to the mountain's summit, shone thebeaming radiance of the evening star. 

Within the soft shadow of the doorway stood two figures, closetogether--one tall, broad of shoulder and heavily built, the other ofmedium height, slender and very graceful--and their arms were about eachother's waists. A man and a woman, --as it was in the beginning. 

For a long time they stood thus, without speaking, --there was no need ofspeech, for their thoughts were one. 

"So old and well remembered; yet so new and strangely beautiful, "whispered the woman, as she let her gaze travel over the broken, far-stretching skyline of the forest-clad mountain side, now fadinginto the sky, where a memory of the sunset's afterglow still lingered, as though loath to depart and leave the world to darkness. 

"Like love: as old as the hills, yet ever new, " answered the other. 

"Yes. I cannot yet understand, Don, how this new life can be sostrangely natural to me. We have been married only three all-too-shortdays, yet I can scarcely think of the other life as real. Some peoplespeak of their honeymoon as a golden dream. To me it is the sweetreality, and all that went before the dream. Isn't it odd?"

"All of nature's laws are inexplicable, dear heart. But we should notforget that the Almighty's plan for the world did not deal with man andwoman as separate entities, but man and woman as counterparts of asingle unit, in which His laws should find full expression, if the twowere truly mated--not merely married. You remember what Mr. Talmadgesaid that night. "

"I know. We have found, not each other, but the other part ofourselves--ourself. Dear, when did you first realize that it was so?"

"My mind, not until it was free to face the truth; my subconscious soulthe first moment that I saw you, I think. "

"I know I loved you from that moment too, " she answered simply, liftingher lips for his kiss. 

There followed another spell of enchanted silence, broken only by thelow lullaby of the night wind in the trees, and then the man spokeagain. 

"Smiles, are you still greatly afraid of the sea?"

"No, dear, I should not be, if you were with me. It is strange; but Ilost most of the old, unreasoning fear the moment that I made up my mindto jump into it that afternoon. But, why do you ask that now, Donald?"He did not reply at once, and she continued, "I think that I know, andthe same thought was in my own mind. Is it that you want to go to Franceagain, to renew the saving work there, --and want me with you?"

He nodded slowly. 

"If you hadn't suggested it, I should have, Don; for now I am doublyprepared for the work I began to long to do, so many years ago. I am notonly trained for it, but I have you beside me, to comfort and strengthenme, always. 

"Yes, dear, " she went on softly. "Some day, God grant, we shall havelittle ones of our own to care for; but, until that beautiful timecomes, there are no less precious babies throughout all the world--andthere, especially--crying for us to help them. We must give of our bestto them, for, weak, tender and helpless as they are, the hope of theworld is in its babies. "

Through the dark tree-tops the new-born moon appeared on the breast ofnight, around it a misty halo like that about the head of the Infantwho came nineteen centuries ago, typifying the hope of all mankind. 

"Look, " said Donald. "Our honeymoon wears a halo. "

"Because it is a hallowed moon, " answered Rose. 

The soft white radiance floated in, flooding the little porch andilluminating the wife's sweet face as she lifted it again, now touchedwith a smile, more meaningful and more ethereal than ever before. 

For, to the smile of courage, hope and love, had been added the qualityof rich, deep contentment. 

THE END

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MARK GRAY'S HERITAGE

A Romance

By Eliot Harlow Robinson

Author of "Smiles: A Rose of the Cumberlands, " "Smiling Pass, " "TheMaid of Mirabelle, " etc. 

Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $1. 90

"What is bred in the bone will never come out of the flesh. "

Mr. Robinson's distinguished success came with the acclaim accredited tohis novel, SMILES, "The Best-Loved Book of the Year, " and its sequel, SMILING PASS. With delicate humor and a sincere faith in the beautifulside of human nature, Mr. Robinson has created for himself a host ofenthusiastic admirers. In his new book he chooses a theme, suggestedperhaps by the old proverb quoted above ("Pilpay's Fables"). His settingis a Quaker village, his theme the conflict between grave Quaker idealsand the strength and hot blood of impulsive Mark Gray. 

Here is a book that is worthy of the reception accorded SMILES by allreaders who appreciate a story of deep significance, simply yetpowerfully built upon fundamental passions, wrought with a philosophythat always sees the best in troubled times. 

The enthusiastic editor who passed on MARK GRAY'S HERITAGE callsit--hardly too emphatically--"A mighty good story with plenty ofentertainment for those who like action (there is more of that in itthan in any other of Mr. Robinson's novels). The reading public willunquestionably call it another courage book'--which they called theSMILES books, you know. The language is both strong and smooth. Thestory has a punch!"

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POLLY THE PAGAN

Her Lost Love Letters

By Isabel Anderson

With an appreciative Foreword by Basil King

Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1. 90

Isabel Anderson, who heretofore has confined her literary talents towriting of presidents and diplomats and fascinating foreign lands, contributes to our list her first novel, POLLY THE PAGAN, a story ofEuropean life and "high society. " The story is unfolded in the livelyletters of a gay and vivacious American girl traveling in Europe, andtells of the men whom she meets in Paris, in London or Rome, herflirtations (and they are many and varied!) and exciting experiences. Among the letters written to her are slangy ones from an Americancollege boy and some in broken English from a fascinated Russian Prince(or was he disillusioned, when after dining at a smart Parisian caféwith the adorable Polly he was trapped by secret police?); but the chiefinterest, so far as Polly's _affaires d'amour_ are concerned, centersaround the letters from a young American, in the diplomatic service inRome, who is in a position to give intimate descriptions of smart lifeand Italian society. 

The character drawing is clever, and the suspense as to whom thefascinating Polly will marry, if indeed the mysterious young lady willmarry anybody, is admirably sustained. 

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UNCLE MARY

A Novel for Young or Old

By Isla May Mullins

Author of "The Blossom Shop" books, "Tweedie, " etc. 

Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1. 75

Since the great success of POLLYANNA there have been many efforts toachieve the "GLAD BOOK" style [Trade Mark] of fiction, but none sosuccessful as Mrs. Mullins' UNCLE MARY. 

Here is a story, charming in its New England village setting, endearingin its characters, engrossing in its plot, and diverting in its style. The PAGE imprint has been given to many books about beautiful charactersin fiction, --Pollyanna, Anne Shirley, Rose Webb of "SMILES, " and LloydSherman of the "LITTLE COLONEL" books. To this galaxy we now add "Uncle"Mary's protégé, Libbie Lee. 

Mrs. Mullins is an author gifted with the ability to appeal to the youngin heart of whatever age. Her characters are visually portrayed. Hersituations have the interest of naturalness and suspense. The reader ofUNCLE MARY will become in spirit an inhabitant of Sunfield; willunderstand the enjoyment of the sudden acquisition of wealth, alimousine, and--an adopted child (!), by the sisters, "Uncle" Mary and"Aunt" Alice; will watch with interest the thawing and rejuvenation of"Uncle" Mary, the cure of Alice, and the solving of the mystery of thewealth of sweet little Libbie Lee. 

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THE RED CAVALIER

Or, The Twin Turrets Mystery

By Gladys Edson Locke

Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1. 90

Here is a mystery story that is different! The subtlety and strangenessof India--poison and daggers, the impassive faces and fierce hearts ofPrince Bardai and his priestly adviser; a typical English week-end houseparty in the mystery-haunted castle, Twin Turrets, in Yorkshire; a vividand contrasting background. 

And the plot! Who is the mysterious Red Cavalier? Is he the ghost of theancestral portrait, that hangs in Sir Robert Grainger's strange library?Is he flesh and blood, and responsible for the marauding thefts in theneighborhood? Is he responsible for Prince Kassim's murder? Or is itonly coincidence that one of the guests at the masked ball happened towear the costume of the Red Cavalier?

Miss Locke has been able to weave a weird and absorbing tale of moderndetective romance, the strangeness of India in modern England. 

There is Lady Berenice Coningsby, a bit _déclassé_; Ethelyn Roydon, moreso; Princess Lona Bardai, "Little Lotus-Blossom, " sweet and pathetic;Mrs. Dalrymple, the woman of mystery; Miss Vandelia Egerton, thespinster owner of Twin Turrets. There is dashing Max Egerton and theimpeccable Lord Borrowdean; Captain Grenville Coningsby; Prince KassimBardai, with the impenetrable eyes, and Chand Talsdad, his venerableadviser. Which of them is the Red Cavalier?

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Selections from The Page Company's List of Fiction

WORKS OFELEANOR H. PORTER

POLLYANNA: The GLAD Book (510, 000)Trade Mark Trade Mark

Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1. 90

Mr. Leigh Mitchell Hodges, The Optimist, in an editorial for the_Philadelphia North American_, says: "And when, after Pollyanna has goneaway, you get her letter saying she is going to take 'eight steps'to-morrow--well, I don't know just what you may do, but I know of oneperson who buried his face in his hands and shook with the gladdest sortof sadness and got down on his knees and thanked the Giver of allgladness for Pollyanna. "

POLLYANNA: The GLAD Book. Mary Pickford editionTrade Mark Trade Mark

Illustrated with thirty-two half-tone reproductions of scenes from themotion picture production, and a jacket with a portrait of Mary Pickfordin color. 

Cloth decorative, 12mo, $2. 25

While preparing "Pollyanna" for the screen, Miss Pickford saidenthusiastically that it was the best picture she had ever made in herlife, and the success of the picture on the screen has amply justifiedher statement. Mary Pickford's interpretation of the beloved littleheroine as shown in the illustrations, adds immeasurably to theintrinsic charm of this popular story. 

POLLYANNA GROWS UP: The Second GLAD BookTrade Mark (253, 000) Trade Mark

Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1. 90

When the story of POLLYANNA told in The _Glad_ Book was ended, a greatcry of regret for the vanishing "Glad Girl" went up all over thecountry--and other countries, too. Now POLLYANNA appears again, just assweet and joyous-hearted, more grown up and more lovable. 

"Take away frowns! Put down the worries! Stop fidgeting anddisagreeing and grumbling! Cheer up, everybody! POLLYANNA has comeback!"--_Christian Herald_. 

MISS BILLY (93rd thousand)

Cloth decorative, with a frontispiece in full color from a painting byG. Tyng, $1. 90

"There is something altogether fascinating about 'Miss Billy, ' someinexplicable feminine characteristic that seems to demand the individualattention of the reader from the moment we open the book until wereluctantly turn the last page. "--_Boston Transcript_. 

MISS BILLY'S DECISION (78th thousand)

Cloth decorative, with a frontispiece in full color from a painting byHenry W. Moore, $1. 90

"The story is written in bright, clever style and has plenty of actionand humor. Miss Billy is nice to know and so are her friends. "--_NewHaven Leader_. 

MISS BILLY--MARRIED (86th thousand)

Cloth decorative, with a frontispiece in full color from a painting byW. Haskell Coffin, $1. 90

"Although Pollyanna is the only copyrighted glad girl, Miss Billy isjust as glad as the younger figure and radiates just as much gladness. She disseminates joy so naturally that we wonder why all girls are notlike her. "--_Boston Transcript_. 

SIX STAR RANCH (95th thousand)

Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated by R. Farrington Elwell, $1. 90

"'Six Star Ranch' bears all the charm of the author's genius and isabout a little girl down in Texas who practices the 'PollyannaPhilosophy' with irresistible success. The book is one of the kindliestthings, if not the best, that the author of the Pollyanna books hasdone. It is a welcome addition to the fast-growing family of _Glad_Books. "--_Howard Russell Bangs in the Boston Post_. 

CROSS CURRENTS

Cloth decorative, illustrated, $1. 50

"To one who enjoys a story of life as it is to-day, with its sorrows aswell as its triumphs, this volume is sure to appeal. "--_Book NewsMonthly_. 

THE TURN OF THE TIDE

Cloth decorative, illustrated, $1. 50

"A very beautiful book showing the influence that went to thedevelopment of the life of a dear little girl into a true and goodwoman. "--_Herald and Presbyter, Cincinnati, Ohio. _

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NOVELS BY

ELIOT HARLOW ROBINSON

Each one volume, cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1. 90

A book which has established its author in the front rank of Americannovelists. 

SMILES, A ROSE OF THE CUMBERLANDS (29th thousand)

E. J. Anderson, former managing Editor of the Boston _Advertiser_ and_Record_, is enthusiastic over the story and says:

"I have read 'Smiles' in one reading. After starting it I could not putit down. Never in my life have I read a book like this that thrilled mehalf as much, and never have I seen a more masterful piece of writing. "

SMILING PASS: A Sequel to "SMILES, " A Rose of the Cumberlands

The thousands who have read and loved Mr. Robinson's earlier story ofthe little Cumberland mountain girl, whose bright courage won for herthe affectionate appellation of "Smiles, " will eagerly welcome herreturn. 

"Applied sociology, mixed with romance and adventure that rise to realdramatic intensity. But the mixture is surprisingly successful. Thepicture impresses one as being faithfully drawn from the living modelswith sympathetic understanding. The book is effective. "--_New YorkEvening Post_. 

THE MAID OF MIRABELLE: A Romance of Lorraine

Illustrated with reproductions of sketches made by the author, and witha portrait of "The Maid of Mirabelle, " from a painting by Neale Ordayne, on the cover. 

"The spirit of all the book is the bubbling, the irrepressiblyindomitable, cheerful faith of the people, at their very best, againstthe grave Quakerism from the United States standing out grimly butfaithfully. The tale is simply, but strongly told. "--_Montreal FamilyHerald and Weekly Star_. 

MAN PROPOSES; Or, The Romance of John Alden Shaw

"This is first of all a charming romance, distinguished by a finesentiment of loyalty to an ideal, by physical courage, indomitableresolution to carry to success an altruistic undertaking, a splendidwoman's devotion, and by a vein of spontaneous, sparkling humor thatoffsets its more serious phases. "--_Springfield Republican_. 

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THE ROMANCES OF

L. M. MONTGOMERY

Each one volume, cloth decorative, 12mo, $1. 90

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES (364th thousand)

Illustrated by M. A. And W. A. J. Claus. 

"In 'Anne of Green Gables' you will find the dearest and most moving anddelightful child since the immortal Alice. "--_Mark Twain in a letter toFrancis Wilson_. 

"I take it as a great test of the worth of the book that while the youngpeople are rummaging all over the house looking for Anne, the head ofthe family has carried her off to read on his way to town. "--_BlissCarman_. 

ANNE OF AVONLEA (259th thousand)

Illustrated by George Gibbs. 

"Here we have a book as human as 'David Harum, ' a heroine who outcharmsa dozen princesses of fiction, and reminds you of some sweet girl youknow, or knew back in the days when the world was young. "--_SanFrancisco Bulletin_. 

CHRONICLES OF AVONLEA (45th thousand)

Illustrated by George Gibbs. 

"The author shows a wonderful knowledge of humanity, great insight andwarmheartedness in the manner in which some of the scenes are treated, and the sympathetic way the gentle peculiarities of the characters arebrought out. "--_Baltimore Sun_. 

ANNE OF THE ISLAND (68th thousand)

Illustrated by H. Weston Taylor. 

"It has been well worth while to watch the growing up of Anne, and theprivilege of being on intimate terms with her throughout the process hasbeen properly valued. The once little girl of Green Gables should have apermanent fictional place of high yet tender esteem. "--_New YorkHerald_. 

FURTHER CHRONICLES OF AVONLEA (20th thousand)

Illustrated by John Goss. 

Nathan Haskell Dole compares Avonlea to Longfellow's Grand Pre--andsays, "There is something in these continued chronicles of Avonlea likethe delicate art which has made Cranford a classic. "

"The reader has dipped into but one or two stories when he realizes thatthe author is the most natural story teller of the day. "--_Salt LakeCity Citizen_. 

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES: The Mary Miles Minter Edition

Illustrated with twenty-four half-tone reproductions of scenes from themotion picture production, and a jacket in colors with Miss Minter'sportrait. 

Cloth decorative, 12mo, $2. 25

"You pass from tears to laughter as the story unfolds, and there isnever a moment's hesitation in admitting that Anne has completely wonyour heart. "--Joe Mitchell Chapple, Editor, _The National Magazine_. 

"Mary Miles Minter's 'Anne' on the screen is worthy of Mark Twain'sdefinition of her as the 'dearest and most moving and delightful childsince the immortal "Alice. "'"--_Cambridge Tribune_. 

KILMENY OF THE ORCHARD (52d thousand)

Illustrated by George Gibbs. Cloth decorative, 12mo, $1. 90

"A purely idyllic love story full of tender sentiment, redolent with theperfume of rose leaves and breathing of apple blossoms and the sweetclover of twilight meadow-lands. "--_San Francisco Bulletin_. 

"A story born in the heart of Arcadia and brimful of the sweet andsimple life of the primitive environment. "--_Boston Herald_. 

THE STORY GIRL (46th thousand)

Illustrated by George Gibbs. Cloth decorative, 12mo, $1. 90

"It will be read and, we venture to predict, reread many times, forthere is a freshness and sweetness about it which will help to lift theload of care, to cheer the weary and to make brighter still the life ofthe carefree and the happy. "--_Toronto, Can. , Globe_. 

"'The Story Girl' is of decidedly unusual conception and interest, andwill rival the author's earlier books in popularity. "--_Chicago WesternTrade Journal_. 

THE GOLDEN ROAD (28th thousand)

Illustrated by George Gibbs. Cloth decorative, 12mo, $1. 90

In which it is proven that "Life was a rose-lipped comrade with purpleflowers dripping from her fingers. "

"It is a simple, tender tale, touched to higher notes, now and then, bydelicate hints of romance, tragedy and pathos. Any true-hearted humanbeing might read this book with enjoyment, no matter what his or herage, social status, or economic place. "--_Chicago Record-Herald_. 

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NOVELS BY

ISLA MAY MULLINS

Each, one volume, cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1. 75

THE BLOSSOM SHOP: A Story of the South

"Frankly and wholly romance is this book, and lovable--as is a fairytale properly told. "--_Chicago Inter-Ocean_. 

ANNE OF THE BLOSSOM SHOP: Or, the Growing Up of Anne Carter

"A charming portrayal of the attractive life of the South, refreshing asa breeze that blows through a pine forest. "--_Albany Times-Union_. 

ANNE'S WEDDING

"Presents a picture of home life that is most appealing in love andaffection. "--_Every Evening, Wilmington, Del_. 

THE MT. BLOSSOM GIRLS

"In the writing of the book the author is at her best as a story teller. It is a fitting climax to the series. "--_Reader_. 

TWEEDIE: The Story of a True Heart

"The story itself is full of charm and one enters right into the verylife of Tweedie and feels as if he had indeed been lifted into anatmosphere of unselfishness, enthusiasm and buoyant optimism. "--_BostonIdeas_. 

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NOVELS BY

DAISY RHODES CAMPBELL

THE FIDDLING GIRL

Cloth decorative, illustrated $1. 65

"A thoroughly enjoyable tale, written in a delightful vein ofsympathetic comprehension. "--_Boston Herald_. 

THE PROVING OF VIRGINIA

Cloth decorative, illustrated $1. 65

"A book which contributes so much of freshness, enthusiasm, and healthylife to offset the usual offerings of modern fiction, deserves all thepraise which can be showered upon it. "--_Kindergarten Review_. 

THE VIOLIN LADY

Cloth decorative, illustrated $1. 65

"The author's style remains simple and direct, as in her precedingbooks. "--_Boston Transcript_.