, the God Who made and controlled all
the swirling worlds, and yet, in His infinite compassion, cared for
every living creature that moved. Yes, it was stupendous; and if it
were true, then---- But, again, he brooded over his wrongs, and his
heart became closed and bitter.

And so the days passed by and lengthened into weeks, and the weeks into
months, and at last Paul found himself free again. It was ten o'clock
in the morning when he was set at liberty, and he realised that during
the time he had been in prison the winter had passed away. It was
early in November when he had been committed, and now it was the
beginning of May. And so Lancashire was looking at its best. The sun,
even through the smoke-begrimed atmosphere, was shining almost
brightly, and the twitter of birds welcomed him as he left the prison a
free man. To his surprise, he found outside the prison gates a number
of men awaiting him, who, on his appearance, raised a shout of welcome.
Paul had hoped to have escaped without notice. As we have said, he was
keenly sensitive to the disgrace which he had suffered, and hated the
thought that questioning eyes would be upon him. Therefore, when he
saw that the crowd of men who had come from Brunford to give him a
welcome had also attracted a number of people in the district, he was
almost angry at their coming, and yet he could not help feeling
grateful. After all, it showed a kind spirit, and he appreciated their
presence accordingly.

"Come on, lad," said one of the men. "We'll just have a drink and then
we'll catch the train for Brunford. We've ordered a rare dinner for
thee at 'The Black Cow,' and to-night there's goin' to be a meeting in
the Primitive Methodist schoolroom in honour of thy return."

"Is the strike all over?" asked Paul.

"Ay, the strike's all over. The matter's been patched up, and we are
making fair brass i' Brunford now."

"And what has become of the other chaps?" asked Paul.

"You mean the chaps as wur tried with thee? Two on 'em are still i'
Brunford; the rest have gone to Canada. We've summat to tell thee
about that."

"What?" asked Paul.

"Weel, you see, they confessed as 'ow 'twere not thee who set 'em on to
smashing Wilson's machinery, but that thou didst thy best to stop them,
so, I tell thee this, thou art a sort of hero i' Brunford now. It's
all over th' place that thou art a sort of martyr, and that thou
suffered in their stead, instead of letting on an