nd fro upon the shanty floor; and
when he began to chant in a low, sweet voice that old, old precious
hymn, "Rescue the Perishin';" Tess cried out again. Andy Bishop, the
dwarf, was impressing upon Tessibel Skinner's heart that mysterious
faith she'd known so long, that same sense of God's love which she'd
taught him in those days when the dark doors of Auburn Prison yawned
wide for him.

The state had branded him a murderer, but here, with glistening eyes, he
preached the Christ and Him crucified. In the solitude of the garret, he
had learned his lesson well ... by the dim attic light, he had studied
the story of the forgiveness of sin. Suddenly, he ceased his song, and
as he trotted back and forth, swaying the little child in his arms,
Tessibel caught murmured words, "'Nuther do I condemn thee," said Jesus.
"Nuther do I condemn thee," said he.

And in that next pulsing minute through the eyes of her soul, the
watching girl saw above the squat dwarf the shadowy image of the smiling
Christ, and unspeakable peace descended upon her like a benediction. The
lines of suffering vanished from about her pursed mouth. The hurt within
her heart gave way to the "still waters."

"'Nuther do I condemn thee,' said Jesus Christ," whispered Andy over the
boy's face, and "neither do I condemn thee" sank into the very being of
the squatter girl as warm rain sinks to the heart of a parched flower.

She followed the waddling figure, a gleam of gratitude beaming in her
eyes. Surely, the bread Tessibel Skinner had cast upon the waters of
Andy Bishop's stormy life was returning after many weary days!

"Andy," she called. "Andy, dear, bring me my baby."

The dwarf laid the sleeping child within its mother's arms.

"The man on the cross, your man an' mine, brat," he whispered, "said,
'If ye have burdens, come an' I'll rest ye.' Didn't he say it, kid?"

"Yes, yes, Andy," whispered Tessibel. "Everything'll be all right
fer--you an' me an' the baby," and she ended, ... "Get back in the
garret an' pray for my brat's daddy, too, Andy. He air needin' it
worser'n me an' you."

Then the squatter girl turned her face to the wall, drew the baby under
the coverlet, and the dwarf scuttled up the ladder.

CHAPTER XXXVI

DEFORREST DECIDES

Deforrest Young sat alone in his bachelor apartments, which he'd
obtained after the quarrel with Waldstricker over the churching of
Tessibel Skinner. He was in Ithaca in response to a letter from Mrs