The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-12-01
CHAPTER XXVIII-Continued.


Il do not ne sid. deal out blame
nor pretend TO decide legal bubbles. But
do say that the men who are responsible
for falling 10 provide a way Of escape fol
these men are responsible for the loss o.
sixty-three lives. and for this they shall
one day answer at the bar OF God"
Whereupon Mr.. and Mrs Hector Nc
XIII hastily seized their hymn books and
hurried from the Kirk of the Valley
And two mornings afterward John Fowler
found on his manse table letter from
the solicitor of Incubus, Romer & Co.
The letter informed him that he had laid
himself open TO an action for libel. and
requested the name of his law agent.
John Fowler had none. but he made an
answer with his pen, and the answer ran
as follows:
Il specially declared in my sermon that
1 took nothing 10 do with apportionng
blame before human tribunals. And as
for the others, l shall be wholly satisfied
10 meet your clients at the bar which
alone l named. on the great day when all
wrongs shall be righted and all crimes
punished"
John Fowler heard no more of the ac-
ton for libel
When Vic elbOwed his way outside the
throng he found Janet Fowler looking for
her father. She was a plain-faced girl
with beautiful eyes. and she always had
on her shoulders the burden of the valley
madse. Generally Vic Morris his head
fun of Vida Bryan. paid little attention
to Janet She was. Of course full Of
questions as 20 her father
Yes Vic answered. Mr. Fowler was
well-Mr Fowler would be up in few
minutes. The men in the West work
ings were saved How did he know?
Wal, he, Vic Morris had been down"
Then Janet Fowler began to cry. not
noisily. but. as heI litt.e' sister Violet
said, severely. Janet Mackaposh Fowler
ackapOsh-McIntOsh), what for does
the water run down your cheeks into your
neck2 You'll take the starch out of your
lace collar-and them"
But as soon as Janet Fowler knew that
it had been TO bring up Vida Bryan that
Vic had risked his life she stopped cry
ing quite suddenly. and went home drag
ging after her the most unwilling Miss
Violet, who thought that it was lust
Iuvvly TO see so many people, an the
lamps al lighted, an the carts. an ALL
father Neither Were Tim, and Aft. and
Raft They were much excited. on the
contrary, TO see Mr.. Morris. They hur-
iahed as he came up the garden. where
Tlm-of the age of nine who had his
head filled with The Gallant Acts of
British Soldiers" CLEANED out Of a prize
book Of Raft S-deCOra ed him on the spot
with the capsule Of a ginger beer bottle
by way Of Victoria Cross They were all
disappointed, however. when Vic Morris
went TO his own room TO escape their at
tentions. 1t was mean of him not 10 stop
and tell them all about H. But when Vic
Morris got there. he went to his window
AMI looked away up into the CORN woods
through long. greer alleyway OF trees
His chamber at the Valley Manse was so
high that ne could see right over the
houses of Kirktown, through the valley
of the CORN water as through a teIe-
scope, and SO across where it turned at
right angles, 20 a little cottage on the
edge Of wood In the gable-end of il a
light had begun to burn.
So he had saved Vida and sent her
home, and she had never even thanked
him for it,
But he did not know-he had come
away before the wonder happened. AN
his thoughts were now bent on getting
away. It was time. Vic Morris had held
Vida in his arms. He had saved her life.
Yet he knew that she did not love him
ne felt she never would. But having
had her life saved it might seem only
reasonable to the girl that she should
show her gratitude to her preserver. in
some way-perhaps even by the gift OF
herself
Now. Vic Morris detested gratitude. He
would accept no ''preserver" business-or
so he told himself. That girl should
look the more kindly upon him because
she was grateful for his having done any
thing so ordinary as saving her life was
annoying. He would as
readily have done 1t for a pony-boy or a |
door-tender. So he said. and there is rea- |
son to believe that be believed this him !
self
That very night he began his prepara- |
lions for quitting Kirktown They had |
oeen long expecting him at Rio Tinto. |
not TO count the extra offer he had had |
from the new mines at Bilbao. He /
would have look at them as he passed |
through
But what he did not know was that a
lerce-eyed, naughty old man had di |
'ected the carefully wrapped bod, OF the /
rescued girl TO be placel in his comfort
ible carriage. old Dick by her side. while /
le himself took his place with the coach
nan
It was when they entered the cottage
md the wife Of the nearest gamekeeper
lad been walked from her sIumbers 10
lelp Vida TO bed, that Vic Norris saw
he light start out of the somber blur of
ne CORN woods. in the exact place
where he knew the lodge TO be. BY
light or day he could fix il as well as II
le had laid It down by chart and COM
ASS.
All night long Janet Fowler. the plain
'iri with the beautiful eyes, kept those
yes open. She heard the bunln-bump
4 Vic's leathern trunks. as each was
liled and up-ended to be out Of the way
n the corner
somehow, there came into her heart
piutul sense Of desertion. With a
ciear-sightedness in that which
oncerns only her own sex. she knew
nat Vic Morris was going because of
ida Bryan, and believed that he did
OF think Of her even little bit.
Yes, ! suppose she is beautiful" she
aid to herself. moving a nttle-a very
'ttle-in her bed so as not to awake