y, bearing the ignominy and shame and the
cold looks of those who had been his friends, till his character for
truth and honesty was re-established. He was calm and peaceful now. Once
more he heard sweet music as he lay upon his bed. Through the night the
winds, the waterfall, the crickets, seemed to be saying with Azalia, "We
are still your friends,--still your friends--your friends--your
friends!"

CHAPTER VII.

IN A TRAP.

A kind word, a look, a smile, a warm grasp of the hand by a friend in
time of trouble,--how they remain in memory! Sometimes they are like
ropes thrown to drowning men. The meeting between Paul and Azalia upon
the bridge was a turning point in his life. He felt, when he saw her
approaching, that, if she passed him by, looking upon him as a vile
outcast from society, he might as well give up a contest where
everything was against him. He loved truth and honor for their own sake.
He remembered the words of his grandfather, that truth and honor are
better than anything else in the world. Many a night he had heard the
winds repeating those words as they whistled through the cracks and
crevices of his chamber, rattling the shingles upon the roof, saying
over and over and over again, Truth and honor, truth and honor. He had
tried to be true, honest, and manly, not only to make himself better,
but to help everybody else who had a hard time in life; but if Rev. Mr.
Surplice, Judge Adams, Colonel Dare, and all the good folks looked upon
him as a thief, what was the use of trying to rise? There was one who
was still his friend. Her sweet, sad smile followed him. He saw it all
the time, by day and by night, while awake and while asleep. He felt the
warm, soft touch of her hand, and heard her words. He remembered that
God is always on the side of truth, and so he resolved to go right on as
if nothing had happened, and live down the accusation.

But he couldn't go on. "After what has happened, it is expedient that
you should leave the choir till your innocence is established," said
Deacon Hardhack, who was chairman of the singing committee,--a good,
well-meaning man, who was very zealous for maintaining what he
considered to be the faith once delivered to the saints. He carried on
an iron foundery, and people sometimes called him a cast-iron man. He
believed, that it was the duty of everybody to do exactly right; if they
did wrong, or if they were suspected of doing wrong, they must take the
conseq