bed, went sobbing to sleep.

Old Gabe went back to his pipe, and while he smoked, his figure
shrank slowly in his chair. He went to bed finally, but sleep would
not come, and he rose again and built up the fire and sat by it,
waiting for day. His own doctrine, sternly taught for many a year,
had come home to him; and the miller's face when he opened his
door was gray as the breaking light.

IV

THERE was little peace for old Gabe that day at the mill. And
when he went home at night he found cause for the thousand
premonitions that had haunted him. The lad was gone.

A faint light in the east was heralding the moon when Isom
reached Steve Marcum's gate. There were several horses hitched to
the fence, several dim forms seated in the porch, and the lad
halboed for Steve, whose shadow shot instantly from the door and
came towards him.

Glad ter see ye, Isom," he called, jubilantly. I was jus' about to sen'
fer ye. How'd ye happen to come up?"

Isom answered in a low voice with the news of Crump's "blind,"
and Steve laughed and swore in the same breath.

"Come hyeh!" he said, leading the way back; and at the porch he
had Isom tell the story again.