much through
his conspiracy. But, allowing for the folly of his attempt to make his
people free and independent, we must admire his lofty philanthropy, his
self-sacrifice, his dogged perseverence in promoting the cause so near
and dear to his heart. Let some other federal officer arrest him, if he
dares; it's no work for an O'Gorman."

Josie had encountered many surprises during her brief career as an
embryo detective, but this revelation was the crowning astonishment of
her life. All her carefully prepared theories concerning Hezekiah Cragg
had been shattered by her father's terse disclosure and instead of
hating Old Swallowtail she suddenly found sympathy for his ideals
welling in her heart. Josie O 'Gorman was Irish, too.

She pondered deeply the skilled detective's assertions and tried to fit
them to her knowledge of old Cragg's character. The story seemed to
account for much, but not all. After a time she said:

"But this mysterious business of his, which causes him to write so many
letters and to receive so many answers to them--what connection can it
have with the Champions of Irish Liberty?"

"Very little," said her father, "except that it enables Cragg to earn
more money to feed into the ever-hungry maw of the Cause. Cragg's
'business' is one of the most unique things of the sort that I have
ever encountered. And, while it is quite legitimate, he is obliged to
keep it secret so as not to involve his many customers in adverse
criticism."

"What on earth can it be?"

"It pertains to heaven, not earth, my dear," said O'Gorman dryly.
"Cragg was educated for the ministry or the priesthood--I can't
discover whether he was Catholic or Protestant--but it seems he wasn't
fitted for the church. Perhaps he already had in mind the idea of
devoting his life to the land that gave him birth. Anyhow, he was a
well versed theologian, and exceptionally brilliant in theses, so when
his money gave out he began writing sermons for others to preach, doing
a mail-order business and selling his products to those preachers who
are too busy or too lazy to write their own sermons. He has a sort of
syndicate established and his books, which I have examined with
admiration and wonder, prove he supplies sermons to preachers of all
denominations throughout the United States. This involves a lot of
correspondence. Every week he writes a new sermon, prints a large
number of copies and sends one to each of his clients. Of course he
furn