voice caught, and her words
stumbled.

The two men looked at each other blankly. Then Hitt reached out and
took her hand. "Tell us," he said, "about the trouble there to-day."

Carmen shook her head. "No," she said, "we will not talk about evil.
You--you have the money? A thousand--"

"I have that much on deposit in the bank now, Carmen," he replied
gravely. His thought was on the mortgage which he had signed that
morning.

"Then write me a check at once, and I will deposit it in the Avon bank
when I get there to-morrow. I must go home now--to see mother."

"But--let me think about it, Carmen. Money is--well, won't less than
that amount do you?"

"No, Mr. Hitt. Write the check now."

Hitt sighed, but made no further protest. If the Express must founder,
then this money were well spent on the stricken people of Avon. He
took out his book, and immediately wrote the check and handed it to
the girl.

"Hitt," said Haynerd, after Carmen had left them and he had exhausted
his protests over the size of the check, "something's killing that
girl! And it isn't only the trouble at Avon, either! What is it? I
believe you know."

Hitt shook his head. "She's no longer in this world, Ned. She left it
two days ago."

"Eh? Say! News about that Rincon fellow?"

But Hitt would say nothing to further illuminate his cryptic remark,
and Haynerd soon switched to the grim topic of the industrial war in
progress at Avon.

"What are we coming to?" he cried. "What's going to be the end? A
social and industrial system such as ours, which leaves the masses to
starve and consume with disease under intolerable burdens, that a
handful may rot in idleness and luxury, marks us in this latest
century as hopelessly insane!"

"Well, Ned, whence came the idea, think you, that it is divine justice
for a majority of the people on earth to be poor in order that a few
may be rich? And how are we going to get that perverted idea out of
the minds of men? Will legislation do it?"

"Humph!" grunted Haynerd. "Legislation arouses no faith in me! We are
suffering here because, in our immensely selfish thought of ourselves
only, we have permitted the growth of such men as Ames, and allowed
them to monopolize the country's resources. Heavens! Future
generations will laugh themselves sick over us! Why, what sane excuse
is there for permitting the commonest necessities of life to be
juggled with by gamblers and unmoral men of wealth? How can we ask to