resistance of the people of the
hills had been in vain: Jeffrey had merely led them into a bitter and
useless fight against a power with which they could not cope. They
would have to leave their homes, taking whatever a corrupted board of
condemnation would grant for them. It would be hard on all, but it
would fall upon Jeffrey with a crushing bitterness. He would have to
remember that he had had the chance to make his mother and himself
independently rich. He had thrown away that chance, and now if his
fight had failed he would have nothing to bring back to his mother
but his own miserable failure.

Ruth remembered that day in the Bishop's house in Alden when Jeffrey
had said proudly that his mother would be glad to follow him into
poverty. And she smiled now at her own outburst at that time. They had
both meant it, every word; but the ashes of failure are bitter. And
she had seen the iron of this fight biting into Jeffrey through all
the summer.

She, too, would lose a great deal if the railroad had succeeded. She
would not be able to go back to school, and would probably have to go
somewhere to get work of some kind, for the little that she would get
for her farm now would not keep her any time. But that was a little
matter, or at least it seemed little and vague beside the imminence of
Jeffrey's failure and what he would consider his disgrace. She did not
know how he would take it, for during the summer she had seen him in
vicious moods when he seemed capable of everything.

She saw the speck which he made against the horizon as he came over
Argyle Mountain three miles away and she saw that he was riding fast.
He was bringing good news!

It needed only the excited, happy touch of her hand to set Brom Bones
whirling up the road, for the big colt understood her ways and moods
and followed them better than he would have followed whip or rein of
another. Half-way, she pulled the big fellow down to a decorous canter
and gradually slowed down to a walk as Jeffrey came thundering down
upon them. He pulled up sharply and turned on his hind feet. The two
horses fell into step, as they knew they were expected to do and their
two riders gave them no more heed than if they had been wooden
horses.

"How did you know it was all right, Ruth?"

"I saw you coming down Argyle Mountain," Ruth laughed. "You looked as
though you were riding Victory down the top side of the earth. How did
it all come out?"

"Here's the paper,"