atly told him she would
not stay in the house another day with him in it. Then she ran out,
slamming the door behind her. Lane remained awake all night, in the
hope that she would return. But she did not. And then he knew he must
make a choice.

He made it. Lorna must not be driven from her home. Lane divided his
money with his mother and packed his few effects. Mrs. Lane was
distracted over the situation. She tried to convince Lane there was
some kind of a law to keep a young girl home. She pleaded and begged
him to remain. She dwelt on his ill health. But Lane was obdurate; and
not the least of his hurts was the last one--a divination that in
spite of his mother's distress there was a feeling of relief of which
she was unconscious. He assured her that he would come to see her
often during the afternoons and would care as best he could for his
health. Then he left, saying he would send an expressman for the
things he had packed.

Broodingly Lane plodded down the street. He had feared that sooner or
later he would be forced to leave home, and he had shrunk from the
ordeal. But now, that it was over, he felt a kind of relief, and told
himself that it was of no consequence what happened to him. All that
mattered was for him to achieve the few tasks he had set himself.

Then he thought of Mel Iden. She had been driven from home and would
know what it meant to him. The longing to see her increased. Every
disappointment left him more in need of sympathy. And now, it seemed,
he would be ashamed to go to Mel Iden or Blair Maynard. Such news
could not long be kept from them. Middleville was a beehive of
gossips. Lane had a moment of blank despair, a feeling of utter, sick,
dazed wonder at life and human nature. Then he lifted his head and
went on.

Lane's first impulse was to ask Colonel Pepper if he could share his
lodgings, but upon reflection he decided otherwise. He engaged a small
room in a boarding house; his meals, which did not seem of much
importance, he could get anywhere.

This change of residence brought Lane downtown, and naturally
increased his activities. He did not husband his strength as before,
nor have the leisure for bad spells. Home had been a place of rest. He
could not rest in a drab little bare room he now occupied.

He became a watcher, except during the stolen hours with Bessy Bell.
Then he tried to be a teacher. But he learned more than he thought. He
no longer concentrated his vigilance on hi