oin him once more in the hall, and what he said
required but a moment. An instant later, and old Brooks had hurried down
the stair. A part of his words to Don had been overheard by old Silas,
but the latter could only wonder what it all might mean.

"Aaron," said he, "I ain't no detecative, and don't claim to be, but
now, some day if anything should happen--well, I ain't sayin', but I
know what I know, and some day, some day, Aaron, I may have to tell."

Brooks joined Aurora Lane and Miss Julia and walked with them along the
shady street. They walked in silence, Aurora Lane still staring straight
ahead, icy cold. It was not until they three halted at her little gate
that she could find voice.

"How can we thank you?" said she. "How can we pay?"

The deep color came into the big man's moody face once more. He waved a
hand. "You mustn't talk of that," said he. "I reckon I owe you that much
and more--a lot more. I'm not done yet. I've done what I thought was
right. But as for the case, I didn't fight it, and I didn't win it--the
Judge and I, we just didn't make any fight at all, that's all. We
settled it out of court, on terms that suited him, anyhow. I'm sorry for
Blackman,--he was just honing to soak that boy the limit! _Your_ boy,
Aurora--that ought to have stayed dead, I'm afraid, but didn't.

"But peace and dignity," he added--"listen to me--we'll make a Sabbath
school out of this town yet! I can't talk very much more now."

With a great uproarious laugh, somewhat nervous, very much perturbed, he
raised his hat clumsily, turned upon his heel clumsily, and would have
walked off clumsily. An exclamation from Miss Julia stopped him.

"Where's Don?" asked she. "And what's that over yonder--what does the
crowd mean?" She pointed down to the corner of the courthouse square,
where indeed a closely packed group was thrusting this way and that,
apparently about some center of interest.

"Oh, that?" said Hod Brooks, carelessly, turning his gaze thither;
"that's nothing. Pray don't be excited--it's only my--my client,
carrying out the last of my legal instructions to him."

"But what does it mean?" demanded Aurora Lane in sudden terror--"what's
going on there? Is there more trouble?"

Hod Brooks broke off a spear of grass from its place between the
sidewalk and the fence, and meditatively began to chew it.

"Oh, no, I think not," said he gently. "I don't think the boy will have
much trouble. He's doing what I counsele