rely commercial valuation upon Crothers'
interference, for the look on Sandy's face the night he bade Cynthia
good-bye haunted the little doctor and would to the last day of her
life. Before it her eyes had fallen, and whenever she recalled the
scene a silence fell upon her. No thought or word could express what
she, too late, surmised, and her lips guarded the sanctity of Sandy's
secret.

When Levi confided Marcia Lowe's interpretations to his sister she was
very unresponsive. She listened but made no comment other than:

"Sandy works too hard. He looks real peaked to me. It don't count to
your credit, Levi, or his either, for that matter, if he feels he's got
to pay you back in bone and muscle past a certain point."

"Now, 'Tilda," Levi put in, "what do you mean by that?"

"I mean----" Matilda condensed her impressions: "I think he looks real
pinched and peaked."

This put Markham on a new track, and the next day he fell upon Sandy
with the one weapon which, more than any other, caused Sandy to love
and honour him.

"See here, son,"--it was oftener "son" than "boy" now--"don't get any
fool idea in your head that you owe me more than an eight hour day's
work."

They were going over the plans of the Home-school as Levi spoke, and
Sandy laughed lightly. "You are my agent, my--my promoter, son, and,
as such, you hold a responsible position at--at good pay!"

"Thank you, sir. I understand that and I am anxious to carry out your
wishes. I am eager to get this thing running, not for you, sir, alone,
but my people. Crothers seems hell-bound just now in frightening them
into signing contracts for themselves and their children for years to
come. Of course the contracts are not worth the paper they are written
on, but a general belief is spreading that our works cannot be relied
upon and, in order to benefit The Hollow, Crothers is offering to
protect the people against us by securing positions for them if they
will agree to stand by him. When I think of the baby-things, sir, and
the long, deadly hours of toil that lead to no preparation for
betterment, my soul sickens. Now this, sir"--Sandy pointed to a
particularly high and open space on the blue print--"is the hospital
room."

"The--the what?" Levi put on his glasses.

"The hospital room, sir, I'm going to put Miss Lowe in control; I'd
like to have another physician too, sir, and a few nurses. Right up
there"--Sandy's eyes gleamed as they followed