who own the house and live in the lower part. I
have constituted myself a sort of guardian for Bettina--the mother
requested it, and I couldn't refuse."

"I see." Justin asked no more questions, but settled himself back in a
cushioned corner, and as the two men rode on in silence, their thoughts
were centered on the single vision of a shadowy room, and of a slender
golden-haired, black-robed figure against a background of glowing flame.

All that night and the next day the doctor battled with Death, and came
out triumphant. By four o'clock in the afternoon the old man with
pneumonia showed signs of holding his own.

Worn out, Anthony drove back toward the sanatorium. The rain was over,
but a heavy fog had rolled in, so that the doctor's little car seemed to
float in a sea of cloud. Now and then another car passed him,
specter-like amid the grayness. Silent figures, magnified by the mist,
came and went like shadow pictures on a screen. From the far distance
sounded the incessant moan of fog-horns.

Anthony stopped his car in front of a small shop, whose lights struggled
faintly against the gloom.

Crossing the threshold, he went from a world of dampness and chill into
the warmth and cheer of an old-fashioned fish house.

For fifty years there had been no change in Lillibridge's. The floor of
the main room was bare and clean, and, in the middle, a round black
stove radiated comfort on cold days. Along one side of the room ran
three stalls, in which were placed tables for such patrons as might
desire partial privacy. On the spick and span counter were set forth
various condiments and plates of crackers. A card, tacked up on the
wall, tempted the appetite with its list of sea foods.

Anthony wanted nothing to eat. He ordered coffee, and went into one of
the stalls to drink it.

But a man at one of the tables in the main part of the room wanted more
than coffee. He was a little man in a blue reefer, but he had,
evidently, more than a little appetite. As Anthony sat down, he was just
finishing a bowl of chowder, and was gazing with eyes of hungry
appreciation upon various dishes of fried fish and fried potatoes, of
hot rolls and pickles which were being set before him.

"You'd better have some, doctor," was his hoarse invitation.

"Too tired," said Anthony. "I'll wait till I've had a bath and rub-down
before I eat----"

"What you need," said the little man, between large mouthfuls, "is a
good day's fishin'. You