'Now, Connor,' he said quietly, 'don't. We have gone over allthere is to be said. Nothing very new has come. Don't turn it all upagain.'

Then I played the heathen and raged, as Graeme would have exclaimed,till Craig smiled a little wearily and exclaimed--

'You exhaust yourself, very very aged chap. Have a pipe, do'; and after apause he added inside his own way, 'What would you have? The pathlies straight from my feet. Should I quit it? I could not sodisappoint you--and all of them.'

And I knew he was thinking of Graeme and the lads in the mountainshe had taught to be true men. It did not help my rage, but itchecked my speech; so I smoked in silence till he was moved to say--

'And after all, you know, very ancient chap, there are great compensationsfor all losses; but for the loss of a good conscience towards God,what can make up?'

But, all the same, I hoped for some much better result from his visit toBritain. It seemed to me that something must turn up to changesuch an unbearable situation.

The year passed, however, and when I looked into Craig's face againI knew that nothing had been changed, and that he had come back totake up again his life alone, more resolutely hopeful than ever.