as a
singularly saintly woman."

"You are quite right, Sir," said Jack quickly, "and I suspect you rather
mean that I am the one that should feel condemned."

"Not at all! Not at all, Jack! I am thinking, as every man must, of my
own responsibility, though, doubtless, you have yours as well. Of course
I know quite well you have stuck by him splendidly in his fight for a
clean and self-controlled life, but one wonders whether there is not
something more."

"There is, Sir!" replied his son quickly. "There undoubtedly is! But
though I have no hesitation in speaking to men down in the Settlement
about these things, you know, still, somehow, to a man of your own
class, and to a personal friend, one hesitates. One shrinks from what
seems like assuming an attitude of superiority."

"I appreciate that," said his father, "but yet one wonders to what
extent this shrinking is due to a real sense of one's own imperfections,
and to what extent it is due to an unwillingness to risk criticism, even
from ourselves, in a loyal attempt to serve the Master and His cause.
And, besides that, one wonders whether from any cause one should
hesitate to do the truly kind and Christian thing to one's friend. I
mean, you value your religion; or, to put it personally, as Rob would,
you would esteem as your chief possession your knowledge of the Christ,
as Friend and Saviour. Do not loyalty to Him and friendship require that
you share that possession with your dearest friend?"

"I know what you mean, Sir," said Jack earnestly. "I shall think it
over. But don't you think a word from you, Sir--"

His father looked at his son with a curious smile.

"Oh, I know what you are thinking," said his son, "but I assure you it
is not quite a case of funk."

"Do you know, Jack," said his father earnestly, "we make our religion
far too unreal; a thing either of forms remote from life, or a thing of
individualistic emotion divorced from responsibility. One thing
history reveals, that the early propagandum for the faith was entirely
unprofessional. It was from friend to friend, from man to man. It was
horizontal rather than perpendicular."

"Well, I shall think it over," said Jack.

"Do you know," said his father, "that I have the feeling of having
accepted from Rob responsibility for our utmost endeavour to bring it
about that, as Rob puts it, 'somehow he shall get back'?"

It was full twenty minutes before train time when Rob, torn with anxiety
lest