thrilled him. Something new and vivifying sprang to life in his
breast. The thought flashed into his consciousness that here with this
embodiment of intellectual purity he could master the cloying vices of
his life. He could put them behind him--turn over a new leaf, be a new
man in body and spirit. Perhaps he could kill the temptation to gain
by sordid business methods; perhaps he could subdue the reluctant
intention to marry for ulterior motives regardless of the magnitude of
the temptation. It really was not too late. He couldn't remember
having said anything to Mitchell or his daughter which would bind him
in any absolute sense. Yes, the ideal was the thing. Providence had
rescued him from his recent financial danger, and meant this encounter
as a chance for redemption. He could make some sort of compromise with
old Jefferson Henderson--a reasonable sum of money to one so hard
pressed for funds would not only silence the too active tongue, but
win his gratitude and the approval of all business men. Then there was
the other thing--the thing he scarcely dared think of in the presence
of this pure young girl--the disagreeable case of Marie--but there was
no use reflecting over what could not be helped. A man ought to be
pardoned for mistakes due to uncontrollable natural passion. The woman
is generally as much to blame as her companion in indiscretion,
especially one of the sort to whom his mind now reverted. She had
shown her lack of character, if not her prime motive, by accepting and
using the money he had offered her. She had been troublesome, and more
so of late than before, but she might be persuaded to let him alone.
His conscience was clear, for he had made no promises to her. He
remembered distinctly that he had made no effort actually to win her
affections. How different was this pure mountain flower from such a
soiled and degraded creature!

"There," Dolly was speaking again, and the soft cadences of her voice