touches you there you will draw back and go no further, though by
being willing to risk a little you may be the means of saving this
man, and of giving succor to his wife and helpless children. I
think, James, looking at it in this light, you should give him a
trial for a month or two if you can agree as to terms."

She had grown quite eloquent, ere she was through, for her heart
was enlisted, and she was determined, if possible, to save this
man. And, as she had listened to his description of his wife and
children, she felt as if she almost knew Mrs. Ashton, and was
certain she should esteem her very highly. So, she brought all her
powers of persuasion to bear upon her husband, that she might
persuade him to her way of thinking.

Mr. Gurney had listened to his wife attentively until she waited
for an answer, and then he scarcely knew what to say in reply. He
had, in fact, as we have stated, been also touched by Ashton's
graphic story, and he felt he would be willing to sacrifice a
great deal to save him; he also felt the force of her logic when
she argued if he were a true temperance man he would be willing to
make great sacrifice in order to rescue one of the victims of the
rum traffic, but he thought he would be running almost too much
risk to employ him under the circumstances. It was under the
influence of these counter currents of thought he made his reply:

"Well, Martha," he said, "I should like to engage the man, and I
have concluded, if he did not drink, he would just suit me, but,
according to his own statement, he has not only fallen once, but
several times, and we have no guarantee that he will not fall
again. The fact is, judging from almost universal experience, he