ad shown its unerring direction, even in the
spirit which had prompted him to help them, which involved the
selling of his farm.

Then he saw its bitter irony. It had done its work by bringing Joan
into contact with Buck, and, with cruel derision, had shown him how
unnecessary his sacrifice had been. Then had come all those other
things, moving so swiftly that it was almost impossible to count each
step in the iron progress of the moving finger. It had come with an
overwhelming rush which swept him upon its tide like a feather upon
the bosom of the torrent. And now, caught in the whirling rapids below
the mighty falls, he could only await the completion of the sentence
so long since pronounced.

The smile broadened, spreading gently across his face. He realized he
was admitting all he had denied to Joan. But the thought brought him
no weakening. The wisdom of years had taught him much that must not be
communicated to a younger generation. Life would teach them in their
turn; they must not learn the truths which lay before them before
their time. It was better to lie than to destroy the hope of youth.

His conscience was clear, his resolve perfect in its steadiness. The
happiness of two people was at stake. For Buck he would give up all.
There was no sacrifice too great. For Joan--she was the fair daughter
of his oldest friend. His duty was clear by her. There was one course,
and one course only that he could see for himself. To remove the last
shadow from these young lives he must face the ordeal which lay before
him. What its outcome might be he could not quite see, but he was not
without hope. There were certain details surrounding the death of his
friend which did not fit in with his guilt. He had no weapon upon him
in that house. Nor was there the least reason for the crime. He knew
he would be confronted by the evidence of a woman who hated him, a
woman capable of manufacturing evidence to suit her own ends. But,
whatever else she might do, she could not produce a weapon belonging
to him, nor could she invent a reason for the crime that could not be
disproved. At least this was the hope he clung to.

However, he knew that he could not leave the shadow of his possible
guilt to cloud the lives of these two, just setting out on their long
journey together. The possibilities of it for harm were far too great.
The ocean of hot, youthful love was far too possible of disaster for
an unnecessary threat to overshadow it