ull of affection she took his hand and pressed
it against her pink cheek. At the sight a stab of pain and a thrill of
fear went through the doctor's perplexed thoughts. He suddenly realized
that the girl's life was closely bound up with this man's. He felt that
any distrust of him must wound her, and although he still knew nothing
of the bond between them, he saw that there could be no question of its
being very close and strong. His first impulse was to try to persuade
himself that the suspicion against Philip Alston might be unfounded; as
it was certainly unproven. And then, finding himself unable to do this,
he felt tempted to put the whole problem of the man's guilt or innocence
aside, as no concern of his own. It is always the lover's temptation to
shut his eyes when he must choose between the neglect of duty and the
wounding of the woman he loves. And alas! this is a choice that comes
sooner or later, in one form or another, to all who love. The woman
sometimes can find an invisible thread leading through the labyrinth of
the feminine conscience which may help her to follow a middle course.
The man never has any such subtle resource and he knows, from first to
last, that he must do what is wrong if he does not do what is right.

Paul Colbert's troubled perplexity grew deeper as he continued to look
at Philip Alston and to listen as he talked. The softness of his voice,
the culture that every word revealed, the intellectual quality of each
thought, the clear, calm, steady gaze of his fine eyes, the noble shape
of his distinguished head--all these things taken together almost made
the young doctor feel that Philip Alston was the victim of monstrous
calumny. And yet some unerring intuition told him that the terrible
things which he had heard were true. His gaze wandered from Philip
Alston to Ruth, and he grew sick. A sudden cold dampness gathered on his
forehead under all the mellow warmth of the sun. He began to wish that
he could get away long enough to clear his mind--to think. It was rather
a relief when Philip Alston suggested that William Pressley should lead
Ruth out for the next dance. Paul Colbert's gaze followed them as they
walked away across the sun-lit grass, but he scarcely knew that he was
looking at them till Philip Alston spoke.

"They are a handsome, well-matched young couple, are they not?" he said
with a smile, and with his eyes on the young doctor's face. "You know,
of course, that they are to be