from one of a broad justice and equity. And not only that. I should
have it an important part of the duties of this board to discover for
themselves other claimants who may not, for various reasons, come
forward. In the case of the Consolidated Tractions, for instances there
are doubtless many men like Garvin who invested their savings largely on
the strength of your name. You cannot bring him back to life, restore
him to his family as he was before you embittered him, but it would be a
comparatively easy matter to return to his widow, with compound interest,
the sum which he invested."

"For the sake of argument," said Eldon Parr, "what would you do with the
innumerable impostors who would overwhelm such a board with claims that
they had bought and sold stock at a loss? And that is only one case I
could mention."

"Would it be so dreadful a thing," asked Hodder, "To run the risk of
making a few mistakes? It would not be business, you say. If you had
the desire to do this, you would dismiss such an obsession from your
brain, you would prefer to err on the aide of justice and mercy. And no
matter how able your board, in making restitution you could at best
expect to mend only a fraction of the wrongs you have done."

"I shall waive, for the moment, my contention that the Consolidated
Tractions Company, had it succeeded, would greatly have benefited the
city. Even if it had been the iniquitous, piratical transaction you
suggest, why should I assume the responsibility for all who were
concerned in it?"

"If the grace were given you to do this, that question would answer
itself," the rector replied. "The awful sense of responsibility, which