as had his trial and
he has to go; there's no appeal."

George could imagine the thoroughness with which his host had
undertaken his task. Grant would be just, deciding nothing without the
closest test. George felt that the man he meant to punish must be
guilty. For all that, he looked at Flora.

"Have you been consulted?" he asked.

"I understood," said Flora. "And I agreed."

Her face was as hard as her father's and George was puzzled.

"I should have thought you would have been inclined to mercy."

Flora colored a little, but she looked at him steadily.

"Langside deserves the punishment he has so far escaped. He's guilty
of what my father thinks, but there's another offense that I'm afraid
will never be brought home to him."

George admired her courage as he remembered a very unpleasant story he
had heard about a pretty waitress at the settlement. As a matter of
fact, he had doubted it.

"Flora went to see the girl at Regina. They found her there pretty
near dying," Grant explained quietly.

Recollecting a scene outside the Sachem, when Flora had accompanied
Mrs. Nelson, George realized that he had rather overlooked one side of
her character. She could face unpleasant things and strive to put them
right, and she could be sternly just without shrinking when occasion
demanded it. This, however, was not an aspect of hers that struck one
forcibly; he had generally seen her compassionate, cheerful, and
considerate. Then he told himself that there was no reason why he
should take any interest in Flora Grant's qualities.

"I suppose Langside will be sold up," he said.

"Open auction, though I guess there won't be much bidding. Folks round
here don't know the man as I do, but they've good reason to believe the
money will go to his creditors, and there'll be nothing left for him."

"The foreclosure won't meet with general favor," George said pointedly.

"That doesn't count. It strikes one as curious that people should be
ready to sympathize with the slouch who lets his place go to ruin out
of laziness, and never think of the storekeepers' just claim on the
money he's wasted. Anyway, there's nothing to stop people from
bidding; but, in case they hold off, we have fixed up how we'll divide
the property."

It was obvious to George that the position of Grant's associates was
unassailable. If any friends of Langside's attempted to run prices up,
they would only put the money into his creditor's poc