The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-10-04

his mind not been full of Bycliffe at the moment he might have passed her by without particular notice, but as 1t was, her features and expression and manner of walking showed him Byclffe in flash.
 With quick determination he called on MT. Lyon and succeeded in learning the minister's secret. He left after warning MT. Lyon to keep everything in future from MT. Jermyn. Then he cudgled his brain to discover the hidden connection of all the threads that he held. He could find no way to do so unaided, and at last decided to hunt up the man Johnson. who had been mentioned by Trounsem.
 Johnson was present in Little Treby, as it happened, having been appointed one | of the managers of Harold Transome's campaign. These two birds got together without difficulty, and found that their feathers matched well. They exchanged information and agreed to work together.
 While all this was going on a great change had come into Esther Lyon views of life. Her ideas of romance and ideals had changed at the very time when
 
 about to be made true.
 The fiery zeal of Felix Holt that had begun by diverting her had ended by con verting her. In the light of her new Knowledge she saw her father as he was not as the absent-mnided, smoky, short-sighted little man, but as the H. lumined, strong soul that he really was though enveloped in so queer a body. She saw Felix, too, not as vulgar la- , borer, not as a creature devoid of man. ners because he despised cravats and etiquette, but as a dreamer who was de- termined to make his ideals square with his practice if all the world did other wise and sneered at him.
 So when MT. Lyon, shaken by the knowledge that Christian shared his se- cret, determined to tell Esther at once. the revelation, which seemed to him a confession of his own miserable weak l ness and sin, seemed something else to her. She saw a vision of passion and struggle, of delight and renunciation. That which once would have been of the keener interest to her-that her parents l had higher rank than that of the poor dissenting preacher-was nothing to her now. She threw her arms around the | old mans neck and sobbed: Father! | Father! Forgive me if I have not loved | you enough. I will will!'
 | She saw little of Felix in these later days. He had thrown himself heart and soul into the work of bringing some un- | derstanding of their duties and oppor- l tunities into the minds of the dull, | apathetic mine and field laborers who lived around Little Treby. This work 1 brought him into collision with MT. Tran l some and his agents, for though he was radical himself he objected to the 1 electioneering methods of MT. Jermyn and 1 MT. Johnson, which consisted largely of the time-honored device of bribing the ] rough and ready non-voters to appear 1 at the polling places and intimidate the | other side.
 He appealed to Harold Transome. who agreed with him, though somewhat l haughtilyNthat these methods would have to stop. The two went to Jermyn and Johnson and warned them. But Jermyn and Johnson did not pay much attention I to the warnings. The result was that on election day the town was filled with men l who were treated freely to liquor at the radical expense and who soon showed a desire to pass from hoots and jeers to more material steps against the votes on the opposite side.
 1 Felix, unable to prevent the bribery and l the deliberate indictment to drunken vo- , lence remained away from the polling l places He visited Esther in the morning | and spoke to her about the danger to riot that lay in the situation, sparing no words 1 in denouncng his own party for thus de- 1 grading the easily tempted workingmen.
 Then he went home. but late in the afternoon call came that he could not refuse. The people had begun riot, and 1 foremost among them were the mine | workers and laborers among whom 1 Felix had been busy teaching their chil-
 dren and otherwise trying to elevate their
 condition.
 He rushed out and made his way into
 the crowd. The constables were gather
 ing with swords and guns. and the mot was ugly. It had already attacked ons