The Washington times., 1921-02-02

ner with mer ta.s
The rector regretfuily declined
II hear the bishop has returned.
said Mr.. Bentley, smiling.
Holder was surprised. He had
never heard Mr.. Bentley speak OF
the bishop. or course ne must
know him.
Il have my talk with him to-
morrow"
Mr.. Bentley said nothing. but
pressed his hand again.
On Tower street, from the direc-
tion of the church. he beheld
young man and a young woman sp-
preaching him, absorbed In conver-
sation. Even at a distance both
seemed familiar. and presently he
Identified the 1.-THE and dainty figure
In the blue dress as that OF the
daughter of his vestrymen, Francis
Ferguson. Presently she turned
her face, aIight with animation,
from her companion, and recog-
nized him. .
"It's Mr.. Holder" she exclaimed,
and! was suddenly overtaken with
crimson shyness. The young man
seemed equally embarrassed as they
stood facing the rector.
I'm afraid you don't remember
me, Mr.. Holder" he said. 81 met
you at Ferguson's last spring"
Then II came to him. This was
the young man who had made the
faux pas which had caused Mrs.
Ferguson so much CONSERVATION,
and who had so manfully apologized
afterward. His puzzled expression
relaxed into a smile. and he took
the young mans hand.
81 wes going to write to you" said
Nam, as she looked up at the rector
from under the wide brim OF her
hat. "Our engagement Is to be an
nounced Wednesday,"
Holder congratulated them. There
was brief silence. when Nan said
tremulously:
A COMPENSATING MOMENT.
"We're coming to st. Johnsw
I'm very glad" Holder replied
graveIy. 1t was one Of those COM
pensating moments, for him, when
his tribulations vanished; and the
tributes Of the younger generation
were those to which his heart most
freely responded. But the situation.
in view OF the attitude OF Francis
Ferguson, was too DELICATE to be
dwelt upon.
II came to hear you last Sunday,
Mr.. Holder" the young man volun-
teered. with that mixture of awk-
wardness and straightforwardnes
which often characterize his sex
and age in referring to such mat
ters. "And i had an idea Of writ
ing to you, too, to tell you how
much liked what you said. But I
know you must have had many let
ters: You've made me think"
He flushed. but met the rector's
eye. Nan stood regarding him with
pride.
you've made me think, too" she
added. And we intend to pitch
in and help you. if we can be of any
use"
He parted from them, wondering
And it was not until he had reached
the parish house that it occurred to
him that he was as yet unenlight-
ened as the the young mans
His second reflection brought
back to his mind Kate Marcy, for
1t was with a portion of Nan Fer
guson's generous check that her
board had been paid. And he re-
called the girls hope. as she had
given it to him, that he would find
some one in Dulton street to help.
There might, to the mundane eye,
have been an element of the ridicu-
lous in the spectacle Of the rector
of St. Johns counting his gains.
since he had chosen-with every in
dication of insanity-to bring the
pillars Of his career crashing down
on his own head. BY no means the
into his lap was the tie which now
bound him to Philip Goodriches
which otherwise would never have
been possible.
And as he made his way thither
on this particular evening re-
newed sense came upon him Of his
emancipation from the dreary, use
less hours he had been wont to
spend at other dinner tables. That
existence appeared to him now as
the glittering feverish unreality of
a nightmare, filled with 4 restless
and tired men who drank
champagne, thus gradually achiev-
ing. by the time cigars were reached
an artificial vivacity.
AT THE GOODRICHEs.
The caprice and superficiality OF
the one sex, the inability to dwell
upon or even penetrate serious
subject, the blindness to what was
going on around them: the ma
teriaIism. the money standard of
both. were nauseating in the retro
spect.
How. indeed, had life once ep-
peared so distorted to him, a pro-
fessed servant of humanity. as to
lead him in the name of duty into
that galley?
ITO he Continued ToMorrow).