are and the love and
understanding that now lay between her and the girl whose high honour
could, indeed, be trusted.

But she realized that this son of hers was not the kind of man whose
need could be supplied by replacing a loss with a possible gain. He
had been dealt a cruel blow and must react from it sanely. The time
was not yet come for the telling of the King's Forest story.

Northrup needed comfort, Heaven knew, but it must come from within,
not without.

At that instant Helen Northrup gripped the arms of her chair and sent
a quick prayer to the God of mothers of grown sons.

"The storm seems to be passing," she said quietly.

"Yes, and the air is cooler." Northrup stood up and his face was no
longer hopeless. "Are you going to stay in town all summer?" he
asked.

"I was waiting for you, dear. As soon as you get settled I must take a
short trip. Business, you know. I do enjoy the short trips, the
comings home; the feeling of moving along; not being relegated to an
armchair."

"Mother, how _did_ you do it?"

"Oh! it was easy enough, once I threw off my own identity. Identities
are so cramping, Brace; full of suggestions and fears. I took my
mother's maiden name--Helen Dana. After that, I just flew ahead."

"Well, I won't hold you back. You're too good for that, Mother. I've
kept the old tower room. I'm going to try to finish my book, now.
Somehow I got to thinking it dead; but lately I've sort of heard it
crying out for me. I hope the same little elevator devil is on the job
yet. Funny, freckled scamp. He kissed me when I went away--I thought
he was going to cry. Queer how a fellow remembered things like that
over there. The little snapshots were fixed pictures--and some rather
big-sized things shrank."

They bade each other good-night. Mother and son, they looked
marvellously alike at that moment. Then:

"I declare, I almost forgot Manly. How has this all struck him,
Mother?"

Helen's face was radiant.

"Gave up everything! His hard-won position, his late comfort and ease.
He will have to begin again--he is where he says he belongs--mending
and patching."

"He'll reach the top, Mother. Manly's bound for the top of things."

CHAPTER XXIII

Northrup found his tower room but little changed. The dust lay upon
it, and a peace that had not held part during the last days before he
went away greeted him. More and more as he sat apart the truth of
things came to him; he accepted the grim fa