"Indeed I do, Stephen."

For an instant only their eyes met. For an instant there was silence. But
in that instant, that mere atom of time, there opened up to Stephen a new
meaning of life. A virile energy rent the old husk of indifference, and a
yearning, startling in its intensity, stabbed his heart, to "make good,"
to recover lost ground and to do something of which Nellie should be
proud.

It was love--the golden key which had at last opened to the young man the
mystic door of life's great responsibility.




Chapter IX

Beating the Devil


"Father, I am becoming uneasy about Dan."

Parson John and Nellie were walking slowly along the road from the neat
little parish church. It was a Sunday morning. Not a breath of wind
stirred the balmy and spring-like air. A recent thaw had removed much of
the snow, leaving the fields quite bare, the roads slippery, and the ice
on the river like one huge gleaming mirror.

"Why, what do you mean?" asked the parson. "What makes you uneasy about
Dan?"