had chosen to embrace the saintly instead of
the heroic virtues. I confess that I could find it in my heart to prefer
less of David and more of Job."

"How can you?" remonstrated Betty. She pressed her hands together and
looked wistfully up at him. "But what are you going to do about it?" she
demanded.

For a moment his eyes dwelt on her.

"Betty, Betty, how you care!" he exclaimed.

"Care?" she laughed impatiently. "Oh, I care, but what good does that do?"

"Would you care as much for me, I wonder?" She smiled up at him and shook
her head.

"No, I shouldn't, Champe," she answered honestly.

He turned his gaze away from her, and looked through the dim old window
panes out upon the clustered elm boughs.

"Well, I'll do this much," he said in a cheerful voice. "I'll ride to the
tavern this morning and find out how the land lies there. I'll see Beau,
and I'll do my best for him, and for you, Betty." She put out her hand and
touched his arm. "Dear Champe!" she exclaimed impulsively.

"Oh, I dare say," he scoffed, "but is there any message?"

"Tell him to come back," she answered, "to come back now, or when he will."

"Or when he will," he repeated smiling, and went down to order his horse.

At the tavern he found Jack Hicks and a neighbouring farmer or two, seated
upon the porch discussing the raid upon Harper's Ferry. They would have
drawn him into the talk, but he asked at once for Dan, and upon learning
the room in which he lodged, ran up the narrow stair and rapped upon the
door. Then, without waiting for a response, he burst into the room with
outstretched hand. "Why, they've put you into a tenpin alley," were his
words of greeting.

With a laugh Dan sprang up from his chair beside the window. "What on earth
are you doing here, old man?" he asked.

"Well, just at present I'm trying to pull you out of the hole you've
stumbled into. I say, in the name of all that's rational, why did you allow
yourself to get into such a scrape?"

Dan sat down again and motioned to a split-bottomed chair he had used for a
footstool.

"There's no use going into that," he replied frowning, "I raised the row
and I'm ready to bear the consequences."

"Ah, that's the point, my dear fellow; Aunt Molly and I have been bearing
them all the morning."

"Of course, I'm sorry for that, but I may as well tell you now that things
are settled so far as I am concerned. I've been kicked out and I wouldn't
go back again if they came f