al twinge and growing a little weak; in fact, it was feeling
rather numb. Nothing to be alarmed about, she told herself. What else
could she expect? It was sure to be hurting before she reached her
destination.

Something struck her knee and she found that it was one of the
doughnuts. She went on, munching the food she had brought along. The
doughnuts were very dry. The cheese was hard, too; but it was old
cheese that nipped the tongue, the kind she liked.

Time dragged. The girl plodded on painfully. There was no use in
trying any longer to deceive herself into the belief that the injured
ankle was holding out; it was not! She was hobbling now, as she had
done the other night; but there was no strong arm to lean on now.

She would get there all right. That station could not be so very much
farther on and she simply had to succeed. It was not that the "story"
would be a feather in her own cap, nor yet was it the success of her
paper which was at stake; not even the restoration of her father to his
place in the financial world--not even that was the main result that
hung in the balance. But the prevention of a great wrong, the meting
out of rogues' deserts, the saving from suffering of the "every-day"
people, thousands of them, to whom life meant little more than a grind
for bread--these were the things that mattered; for chiefly upon these
poor people whose all was entrusted to the keeping of the
Interprovincial Loan and Savings would fall the disaster of the
company's failure if it were forced to close its doors because of a
swindle of trust funds.

Faces began to float about in the darkness--faces of careworn clerks;
of factory workers, lined and lean; child faces with great gaunt eyes;
old men, old women--she MUST not fail!

The fitful drizzle settled down steadily, blotting them out. The girl
dropped the stones she had been carrying and struggled on bravely,
fears lessened by discomfort. She was wet through and began to feel
chilly, shuddering as she stumbled forward. Perhaps after all it might
have been better to wait--but she cried aloud in anger at the thought.
This had been the only way and she must do what she had set out to do.
Time was everything. She wondered what time it was now. Surely the
station could not be much farther away!

Her mind wandered back to this strong, broad shouldered young man who
had shared with her all the strange experiences of the last few days.
Three days? Fo