marting under the sting of what his opponent had said, burst forth,
"Honour and fair play! Was it honour and fair play to besmear my
mother's name, to throw reflections upon my birth? Was it honour and
fair play to speak of me as an atheist? Was it honour and fair play to
send out a circular, unsigned and untraceable, which threw out
innuendoes about my financial position? And, more than all, was it
honour and fair play to seek to ruin me?"

"I never once referred to the circular!" replied Mr. Bolitho.

"You never condemned it!" cried the young man. "You allowed the poison
to work, and took advantage of it! And more than that, you know as
well as I that the whole thing was arranged for. In order to win this
election, you stopped at nothing, even my ruin!"

Paul had barely ceased speaking when he saw that Mary Bolitho stood
immediately behind her father and had heard all he said. He saw, too,
that Mr. Bolitho's face had become pale as ashes, and he felt sure that
his words had wounded him.

"I did nothing to ruin you," he said at length.

"But were glad when you heard of it!" replied the young man. "And you
did not hesitate to drag in the religious business. That, at all
events, you cannot deny!"

At this the older man's face cleared, except that the mocking smile
remained on his lips.

"That, of course, was inevitable," he replied. "We had to deal with
the question of education, of religious education. How could I keep,
then, from dealing with personal matters? You believe in a mere
secular education, and proclaim your views with no uncertain voice. I,
who am convinced that a mere secular education would ruin the country,
had to oppose you, and had to deal with your personal attitude to the
whole matter. You cannot deny that! Have the courage of your
convictions, man, and stand by them!" And Paul noted the taunt in his
voice.

"I have!" he replied. "I deny nothing of what I have said, and your
attitude has made me believe less in your religion than ever.
Why"--and his voice became tense and bitter--"I'm willing to allow my
religion to be tested by this election. I have not uttered one wrong
word about you. I have done nothing to defame your character, in spite
of what has passed. And yet you have sneered at my 'ignorant atheism
and blatant unbelief.' Is that religion? Is that playing the game?
You, who profess to be a gentleman! You, who have had all the
advantages of education! You, w