"Yes."

"Pretty good, live town?"

"First-class, and not too critical, I suppose, to accept your business,"
said Dr. Elliot dryly. "I'm on my way there now for a visit. Well, I
must get my little girl."

The itinerant opened the door, looked, and beckoned. The boy lay on his
pillow, the girl was curled in her chair, both fast asleep. Their hands
were lightly clasped.

Dr. Elliot lifted his ward and carried her away. The itinerant,
returning to the Hardscrabbler girl, took her out to arrange the night's
accommodation for her. So, there slept that night under one roof and at
the charge of Professor Andrew L. Certain, five human beings who, long
years after, were destined to meet and mingle their fates, intricate,
intimate strands in the pattern of human weal and woe.




CHAPTER II

OUR LEADING CITIZEN


The year of grace, 1913, commended itself to Dr. L. André Surtaine as an
excellent time in which to be alive, rich, and sixty years old.