e.

"I beg your pardon," he said, abruptly, as if she had been following his
whole train of thought. "Of course one is bound to study the question
fairly, but we have done that, and all that remains for us is to live as
usefully as we can and as creditably to the cause as may be."

They had turned down one of the dingy little streets leading to the
river, and now stood outside Professor Gosse's door. Erica did not
reply. It was true she had heard arguments for and against Christianity
all her life, but had she ever studied it with strict impartiality? Had
she not always been strongly biased in favor of secularism? Had not Mr.
Osmond gone unpleasantly near the mark when he warned her against
being prejudiced by the wrong-doing of a few modern Christians against
Christianity itself! She was coming now for special instruction in
science from one who was best calculated to teach; she would not have
dreamed of asking instruction from one who was a disbeliever in science.
Would the same apply in matters of religious belief? Was she bound
actually to ask instruction from Charles Osmond, for instance, even
though she believed that he taught error--harmful error? Yet who was to
be the judge of what was error, except by perfectly fair consideration
of both sides of the case. Had she been fair? What was perfect fairness?

But people must go on living, and must speak and act even though their
minds are in a chaos of doubts and questionings. They had reached
Professor Gosse's study, or as he himself called it, his workshop,
and Erica turned with relief to the verifiable results of scientific
inquiry.

CHAPTER XI. The Wheels Run Down

Great grace, as saith Sir Thomas More,
To him must needs be given,
Who heareth heresy, and leaves
The heretic to Heaven. Whittier.

The clock in a neighboring church tower was just striking five on a warm
afternoon in June. The pillar box stood at the corner of Guilford Square
nearest the church, and on this particular afternoon there chanced to be
several people running at the last moment to post their letters. Among
others were Brian and Erica. Brian, with a great bundle of parish
notices, had just reached the box when running down the other side of
the square at full speed he saw his Undine carrying a bagful of letters.
He had not met her for some weeks, for it happened to have been a busy
time with him, and though she had been very good in coming to read to
old Mrs.