rce conflict with the elements in which
they must gain or lose centuries of life. The rain now began to fall
heavily, and William abruptly told the boy to come in the house till the
storm was over. In yielding thus far, he was not influenced by Ruth's
threat to appeal to his uncle. He had scarcely heard what she said, and
he was never in awe of the judge's opinion, and never looked for
opposition from any source, because he could not anticipate an opinion
different from his own. He merely dropped the argument for the moment
because he saw the urgent necessity of bringing an undignified scene to
a speedy close, and could not see any other or better way of doing it.

When they had gone indoors and had gathered around the fire, so that
their damp clothes might dry, he was by far the most composed of the
three. The boy was deeply agitated and suffering as only the
supersensitive can suffer from harshness, whether merited or not. Ruth
was still quivering with excitement and distress, and very soon her
tender conscience also was aching. She could not recall very distinctly
all that she had said, but she knew how bitter her words must have been,
and was already wondering how she ever could have uttered them. How they
came in her mind and heart she could not comprehend. She had always
thought William a good man, and worthy of all respect, and she now felt
that there had been much truth in what he had said. David was a dreamer,
poor boy, and it would be well if he could be taught to remember, to be
practical and useful like other people. She still could not think it
right for him to have been forced to go back through the storm to
correct an error; but she now thought that William had not really
intended to send him. It seemed suddenly plain that William's sole
intention must have been to impress him with the necessity of doing what
he was told to do. She had scolded the boy herself about that very thing
many a time. The fault was hers, she had been too hasty, too excitable,
too impetuous. Ah, yes, that was always her fault! She looked at William
with everything that she thought and felt clearly to be seen on her
transparent face. But a ray of comfort shone through the cloud which
darkened her spirits. Surely this and everything else would be well when
she had told him how sorry she was, and how plainly she saw her mistake.
They had been such good friends as far back as she could remember; the
bond between them had been such a cl