ind was far away from that part of their interests which she
put first. Into her comments on the wonderful courage displayed by Mr.
and Mrs. Masterman he broke, abruptly:

"They've arrested Fay."

What came next was as nearly of the nature of a vow as a man could
venture on without melodramatic eloquence. All his energies, all his
money, all his time, were to be dedicated to securing Fay's acquittal.
For Claude's death one man, and one man only, was to blame. It was
probable enough that Fay had actually struck the blow; it was probable,
too, that he had done it not to avenge himself primarily on Claude, but
on Claude's father. To Thor that was secondary, almost of no importance.
Had he not allowed himself to become a prey to whatever was most
ferocious and malignant in human nature, the crime would never have been
committed. Granting that Fay would have lain in wait for Claude in any
case, an agile young man would have been more than a match for so
enfeebled an antagonist even when armed with a knife, had not some
preceding struggle exhausted him.

To Thor it was so clear that he was beyond the reach of argument. He was
likewise beyond the reach of anything that could be called a purpose or
a wish but that of seeing that another man shouldn't suffer in his
stead. From the region into which this absorption and consecration
carried him Lois found herself and her claims on him thrust out. Whether
he went back to her or whether he did not was, for the time being at any
rate, of so little moment in his eyes that apparently no thought of this
aspect of their situation had occurred to him. It was more stinging to
her pride that he should not consider it than that he should consider it
and refuse. She was fully aware that her irony was thrown away when she
said, in a tone kept down to the matter-of-fact and colloquial:

"And, Thor dear, if they ask you to stay on at the other house, don't
think of me. I've got papa and mamma again. They'll keep me company as
long as"--she was obliged to think of an expression that would imply a
term--"as long as I may need them."

In response to these words he merely nodded. "Very well." The assent was
given as if, whatever the arrangement, it would be a matter of
indifference to them both.

So he went his way and she went hers. Monstrous as it was, monstrous as
she found him, as she found herself, she could hardly conceive of their
doing anything else. If she was unhappy, her unhappiness