The voice seemed reassuring--its quality and the an-nunciation of the words bespoke for its owner consider-able claim to refinement. The youth had halted again,but he now crouched to one side fearing to reveal hispresence because of the bloody crime he thought he hadcommitted; yet how he yearned to throw himself uponthe compassion of this fine voiced stranger! How hisevery fibre cried out for companionship in this evening ofhis greatest terror; but he would have let the invisibleminstrel pass had not Fate ordained to light the sceneat that particular instant with a prolonged flare ofsheet lightning, revealing the two wayfarers to one an-other.

The youth saw a slight though well built man inragged clothes and disreputable soft hat. The image wasphotographed upon his mind for life--the honest, laugh-ing eyes, the well moulded features harmonizing so wellwith the voice, and the impossible garments whichmarked the man hobo and bum as plainly as though hewore a placard suspended from his neck.

The stranger halted. 0nce more darkness envelopedthem. "Lovely evening for a stroll," remarked the man. "Running out to your country place? Isn't there dangerof skidding on these wet roads at night? I told James,just before we started, to be sure to look at that the chainswere on all around; but he forgot them. James is somewhattrying sometimes. Now he never showed up this eveningand I had to start out alone, and he knows perfectlywell that I detest driving after dark in the rain."

The youth found himself smiling. His fear had sud-denly vanished. No one could harbor suspicion of theowner of that cheerful voice.