And Middleford had been her home where she and her husband had spent their few precious years together, where her child was born, where, after her brother came, she had watched his rise to success and the apparent assurance of a brilliant future.

She had begun to be happy once more.

Then came the crash, and shame and disgrace instead of pride and confidence.

Jed's imagination, the imagination which was quite beyond the comprehension of those who called him the town crank, grasped it all--or, at least, all its essentials.

He nodded slowly.
"I see," he said.