in after communing with God.

Julia Cloud stood at the window of her rose-and-gray room one Sabbath
evening after such an afternoon, watching the four children walk out
into the sunset to their Christian Endeavor meeting, and smiled with a
tender light in her eyes. She had come to call them her _four_
children in her heart now, for they all seemed to love and need her
alike; and for many a month, though they seemed not yet openly aware
of it, they had been growing more and more all in all to one another;
and she was glad.

She watched them as they walked. Allison ahead with Jane, earnestly
discussing something. Jane's sweet, serious eyes looking up so
trustfully to Allison, and he so tall and fine beside her; Leslie
tripping along like a bird behind with Howard, and pointing out the
colors in the sunset, which he watched only as they were reflected in
her eyes.

CHAPTER XXVI

Howard Letchworth settled himself comfortably by an open window in the
5.12 express and spread out the evening paper, turning, like any true
college man, first to the sporting page. He was anxious to know how
his team had come out in the season's greatest contest with another
larger college. He had hoped to be there to witness the game himself,
and in fact the Clouds had invited him to go with them in their car,
but unfortunately at the last minute a telegram came from a firm with
whom he expected to be located during the summer, saying that their
representative would be in the city that afternoon and would like to
see him. Howard had been obliged to give up the day's pleasure and see
his friends start off without him. Now, his business over, he was
returning to college and having his first minute of leisure to see how
the game came out.

The train was crowded, for it was just at closing time and every one
was in a rush to get home. Engrossed in his paper, he noticed none of
them until someone dropped, or rather sprawled, in the seat beside
him, taking far more room than was really necessary, and making a lot
of fuss pulling up his trousers and getting his patent leather feet
adjusted to suit him around a very handsome sole-leather suitcase
which he crowded unceremoniously over to Howard's side of the floor.

The intruder next addressed himself to the arrangement of a rich and
striking necktie, and seemed to have no compunctions about annoying
his neighbor during the process. Howard glanced up in surprise as a
more strenuous knock t