getting away. It began back there in
grandfather's day--it's settled on us-all like a death grip."

Sandy listened as if already he was far and apart from all the sordid,
little hampering things that made up the life of Lost Hollow.

"What did--grandfather do?" he asked, like one who had no special
interest in the matter.

"It was my grandfather, he was the friend of Lansing Hertford. They
said he betrayed his friend--but they-all lied. First it was a
whisper, then in your grandfather's time they-all spoke louder. The
lie took away the faith of men from us-all and--that ended it! The lie
slinks low till some Morley raises his head and then it springs up and
strikes him down."

"It will not strike me down!" Sandy, weak and forlorn, straightened
against the tree with the darkness almost blotting him from the eyes
fastened tenderly on his face, spoke firmly. "I'll kill the lie
whatever it was! What did they say, Dad?"

Never before had Sandy cared. He knew there was something lurking in
the past that caused his father to slink from the mountain people,
caused the men and women to avoid and shun him, but it had always
existed. It was part of Lost Hollow and the Morley fate.

Then, alone with the last of his race, Martin Morley told the old story
that had sapped the vitality of his family. Such a small, mean thing
it seemed to have downed the once good stock! But in a place where
tradition thrives on starvation, lack of ambition and misunderstanding,
it had done its work. As Morley drawled the ancient wrong to light, as
he eased his soul of the burden and so shared it with his boy, his eye
brightened and he sat straighter upon the fallen log for--at its
completion--Sandy laughed!

"It was this--er--way. In them days us-all and the Hertfords was
equals. The plantation lying off to the east of the old Hertford home
place belonged to us-all"--many and many were the quarts of berries and
bushels of nuts Sandy had gathered from there!--"but it slipped
away--it's all gone years past. My grandfather and Lansing Hertford
was close friends--none closer. They fought and loved side by side
till Hertford--he got some kind of government order to go to furrin'
parts a mighty distance from Lost Hollow. Some time after he went my
grandfather followed on a pleasure trip--a pleasure trip, Sandy, think
of that! He went away for pleasure! His pockets full of money and him
right well fixed! On his travels he stopped