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gri IF Miss Gurdon’s appearance at Geof frey’s office was a surprise to him and | a cause for embarrassment to her it was more like a thunderbolt from a clear sky to Hunter when without a word of warning after his own conference with the prisoner, Col. Garland carried her back to the corridor of the jail where as a “trusty” be cause of his good behavior, the erstwhile preacher paced back and forth impatiently, awaiting his trial with little hope of freedom until he had paid the full price of his sin. Col. Garland on the way out had given Miss Gurdon what information was necessary as to her hack and best way to reach Mrs. Arm strong’s, consequently all personal obligation was finished an dwith the air of a Chesterfield he bade her a very dignified adieu. Hunter’s face crimsoned then paled to a deathly pallor as he leaned against the door of one of the cells in utter astonishment and fairly gasped out the question: “In heaven’s name Miss Gurdon where did you come from and why do you come here to gloat over me in my misery,” and then with a swift change to fear he added, “Is your broth er here too?” Miss Gurdon had been too shocked at Hun ter’s unkempt and emaciated appearance to do more than stare in open eyed wonder, had he given her an opportunity to speak and now that he was waiting with evident anxiety for her answer more to the last question she knew than the first; grasping one of the iron bars to the same door on which he leaned, for support, because she felt a stiffling dizziness coming over her. Miss Gurdon said, with em barrassment that was really painful, “No! No! Br — Mr. Hunter my brother is not here, I —er came alone,” and then realizing all in a moment how far she was from the Ozarks and that he might think her presence there very strange, her confusion increased and she fairly stammered out the answers to the other two questions as hurriedly as possible, telling him that she had stood those mountaineers, * ‘just as long as she could,” and was on her way back to dear old England. “And I-er-want you to know Br —er —Mr. Hunter” she fairly blurted out, “I didn’t come to ‘gloat over your misery,’ I learned where you were through Mr. Garland, Mr. Geoffrey Garland I mean, and in asking about you he suggested that his father would bring me over if I eared to come, and I—er —thought I might help in some way.” She hesitated, and then added, “I suppose Mr. Garland has told you how terribly things have turned out in the mountains?” “Nothing more than that Tom and Miss Isa bel were married,” said Hunter, “he seemed not to care to talk about any of them nor to believe anything I told him and I was too sick and out of heart to do anything after he told me he couldn’t help me.” Well that’s strange, I can’t quits understand him, said Miss Gurdon to be so good to one and so unkind to another, who is in trou ble.” And then, she remembered Geoffrey had said, •“The one I have an utter contempt for while I sympathize with the impulsive creature of (Continued.) CHAPTER XXVIII. THE GOLDEN AGE FOR WEEK OF JULY 23, 1914 A GIRL OF THE OZARKS By ELIZABETH MONTGOMERY SUMMERS passion.” “Sin is sin,” she thought to her self, and I see no difference in yielding to one weakness more than another. To plot and plan to kill, whether under the influence of jealousy or whatever the motive, must be, is obliged to be, worse in the sight of God than to deceive without the awful purpose of tak ii. g a life, being in the heart and if it was right for Lucy and Geoffrey to try to help Charles, then of course it was right for her to help Mr. Hunter and she was going to and she had no time to waste, she reasoned. Miss Gurdon had been gazing dreamily at the floor as these thoughts ran through her mind and Hunter remembering her hobby for tracts, fully expected to see her reach in to her large traveling pocket for them and telling him of the “wrath to come” leave him more miserable than before He was therefore very much surprised when she turned and with an interest and effort at tenderness that was for eign to the Miss Gurdon he had known, she said, “Mr. Hunter, Mr. Garland said you had a ‘hard luck story’ that he wouldn’t listen to; would you mind to tell me about it and how it is that after you preached so strongly of the ‘wrath of God and his just judgment,’ you should with your eyes wide open go into so much sinful deception?” There was no harshness in her voice when she asked this, but anxious wonder and some thing in her manner made him feel that she really meant to befriend him and going over to a chair he sat down, a deep sigh giving expres sion both to his weakness and to his despon dency. “Yes, indeed, it is a ‘hard-luck story,’ and I am afraid longer than you will care to lis ten to,” he added dejectedyl. “No, Mr. Hunter,” some how the “Brother” didn’t fit here inside these criminal filled walls, and she dropped it unconsciously to his great relief, “I came here to hear the story for I can’t believe you are quite so bad as some of them seem to think.” Hunter lifted his eyes quickly with a grate ful expression that meant more than words, as he said, “Well, I don’t know perhaps you will think I am a great deal meaner than ‘they’ even do when I tell you that I am not and never have been a preacher and “Why Mr. Hunter surely— Why what can you mean?” exclaimed Miss Gurdon incredulously. “Why you know I have heard you preach time and again—you —are you taking leave of your senses?” “No, not at all Miss Gurdon and it seems to me I have suffered enough in these almost three months to pay for every sin that could be crowded in the whole of a long life.” “I meant what I said, I was not a preacher,” he added emphatically. /‘Then for heaven’s sake why were you mas querading so? What were you doing in those heathenish mountains? What on earth—” “There I know what you are going to say, but listen till I am through said Hunter, “and just as rapidly as I can I will tell you who and what I am for my work now is done for, in that line”—Miss Gurdon was listening in speechless amazement, her attitude becoming more tense every moment. “I was not such an impostor after all, Miss Gurdon, as I saw it, for I did not believe in any of it; I was an avowed Unitarian and argu ed that it made no difference, I could do no one any harm by preaching to them. I learned my sermons well, none of them guessed they were some one else’s, and it was quite amus ing to see those rough mountaineers wince un der the promise of hell-fire and the judgment, that I often threw in extra, as a reward for their illictit distilling, and they little dreamed who it was that was giving the government so much information.” Miss Gurdon sprang to her feet in utter as tonishment, “You don’t mean that you—” “Yes, I was a revenue officer going out from Little Rock, that’s exactly what 1 was.” “Why I thought you came from New Or leans, Mr. Hunter, I am dumbfounded. What on earth else am I going to learn?” cried Miss Gurdon excitedly. “And you pretending to be a preacher! It’s a wonder the Lord didn’t strike you down in your tracks,” she said deeply moved. “Why I couldn’t have slept in the house if I had even thought of such a thing.” A bit of a twinkle came into his eyes “and I expect there were others that couldn’t have slept if they had suspected,” he added signifi cantly. And she knew Hunter had known about her brother all the time. Her face flushed, “then why didn’t you re port him,” she asked as though his name had been spoken. “Frankly, Miss Gurdon, for the sake of you ladies on whom I was dependent for what relief I got front the strain of my double life—and then I came to think I might er-win—but there that doesn’t effect the rest of the story, let me hurry on— “ When I found Mr. Gurdon was going to investigate the lie about my money—you see I speak plainly, which was in the beginning a part of my disguise; my reason for staying where there was no salary, and later a part of the plan through which I hoped to win Miss Isabel, I knew I had to leave — “I had gathered all the information I wanted so I hurried as fast as possible toward my mother’s humble home in the suburbs of Lit tle Rock, only to drop down exhausted and desperately sick at her door. (Continued on page 11.) GENEROUS WORDS FROM THE OZARKS. Your paper is such a delight to my wife and mvself that we feel that we can not afford to do without it. It fills a unique place, sup plied by no other paper I know of. Your inspirational articles concerning men, cities, and movements are a joy forever. Your un daunted and unconquerable faith in the final triumph of the right over the wrong is a mighty tonic to the Southland. You are an embodi ment of the doctrine of the “perseverance of the saints.” For nearly twenty years have had my eyes upon you and have rejoiced in vour every good work. Go on in the battle, and may the Lord himself go with you. Yours in His service, L. 0. VERMILLION. Mountain View, Ark. 3