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"He struck me as a little morbid, not to say morose Has he had trouble in his church?"

Her ansas deep-toned and affectedly sole "No, but his wife passed out last year"

"Passed out? What do you mean by that?"

"I mean she died"

"Oh, I see!" His inflection checked her confidence, and they rode for a little way in silence

Serviss was thinking The situation is now clear Clarke is working upon this sweet and charirl in order to have her take the place of his dead wife A sorrowful thing to think of, but not so bad as I have been ith he asked: "What else can you tell me about this Mr Clarke? Is he a native of the West?"

"Oh no, he is froave out and he was forced to leave it He came here for the baths and the air He is much better now"

"He retains all his intellectual diseases, however What irl's startled glance, he hastened to add: "I beg your pardon, I was just wondering if he were as morbid when he came as he now seems"

"Oh no! He was quite cheerful till his ent away That changed hireatly For months he hardly left his study He reads too much even now That is why he looks so pale His house is packed with books"

"He seeet on with him?"

"Not at all well"

"I inferred that Your father is a man of deeds--of open air--I take it"

"Mr Lambert isn't my own father," she took this opportunity to explain "My own father passed to the other side when I was eleven"

"Pardon my curiosity, Miss Lambert, but you've used a phrase once or thich I've heard the people of a certain faith use Is your mother a spiritualist?"

She looked at him with timid eyes, then turned quickly away "She--she used to be; she's studying theosophy now"

"And theto convert you all to his especial theory! I can iirl's whole face, voice, and ed--became bitter, passionate "Oh, I hate it! I hate it! I want to be free of it all!"

The intensity of her utterance amazed Serviss, and he studied her profile in silence before he answered "I think I knohat youto be troubled by the doubts and dismays of men like Clarke He is preposterous in the face of a landscape like this Let us forget hihtened in his saddle and lifted his eyes towards the height before them "Isn't that superb!"