he lived alone in a weather-beaten log-cabin built on the roadside at the edge of a rocky, sterile field, with a few stunted peach-trees growing around it, and a wild grape-vine half covering the one slender oak shading the front yard. the house consisted of only one room, with a wide, deep fireplace in the north end, and a wide window to the south. the logs had shrunk apart, leaving airy cracks in the walls, and the front door creaked on one hinge, the other having rusted away.

but 'zeki'l morgan's ambition seemed satisfied when he came into possession of the house, the unproductive clearing around it, and the narrow strip of woodland bounding the richer farm beyond. from the cabin door could be seen the broken, picturesque hills marking the course of the etowah river, with the blue ridge mountains far beyond, and the long swamp range rising in the foreground.

very little of 'zeki'l's past history was known in zion hill settlement. he had walked into mr. davy tanner's store one spring day, a dusty, penniless tramp, his clothes hanging loosely from his stooping shoulders, a small bundle in one hand, a rough walking-stick in the other. mr. davy tanner was a soft-hearted old man, and the forlorn, friendless stranger appealed strangely to his sympathy, in spite of his candid statement that he had just finished a five-years' term in the penitentiary for horse-stealing.

"i tell you this, not because i think it's anything to boast of, but because i don't want to 'pear like i'm deceivin' folks," he said in a dejected, melancholy tone, his face twitching, his eyes cast down. it was a haggard face, bleached to a dull pallor by prison life, every feature worn into deep lines. evidently he had suffered beyond the punishment of the law, though how far it had eaten into his soul no man would ever learn, for after that simple statement of his crime and his servitude as a convict, he did not again, even remotely, touch upon his past, nor the inner history of his life. no palliative explanations were offered, no attempts made to soften the bare, disgraceful truth.

mr. davy tanner was postmaster as well as merchant, and his store was the general rendezvous for the settlement. the women came to buy snuff, and thread, and such cheap, simple materials as they needed for sunday clothes; the men to get newspapers and the occasional letters coming for them, besides buying sugar and coffee, and talking over the affairs of the county and of zion hill church.

they looked on 'zeki'l morgan with distrust and contempt, and held coldly aloof from him. but at last a farmer, sorely in need of help, ventured to hire him, after talking it over with mr. davy tanner.

"i tell you there ain't a mite o' harm in him."

"s'pose he runs away with my horse, mr. tanner?"

"i'll stand for him ef he does," said mr. davy tanner, firmly. "i don't know any more th'n you about him, but i'm willin' to trust him."

"that's the way you treat most o' the folks that come about you," said his neighbor, smiling.

"well, i ain't lost anything by it. it puts a man on his mettle to trust him—gives him self-respect, if there's any good in him."

all the year 'zeki'l filled a hireling's place, working faithfully; but the next year he bought a steer, a few sticks of furniture, and, renting the cabin and rocky hillside from mr. davy tanner, set up housekeeping, a yellow cur and an old violin his companions. then he managed to buy the place, and settled down. on one side he had the biggers place, a fine, rich farm, and on the other mr. davy tanner's store and zion hill church. he attended the church regularly, but always sat quietly, unobtrusively in a corner, an alien, a man forever set apart from other men.

as the years passed, openly expressed distrust and prejudice died out, though he was never admitted to the inner life of the settlement. he did not seem to expect it, going his way quietly, and ever maintaining an impenetrable reserve about his own private history. not even mr. davy tanner could win him from that reticence, much as he desired to learn all about those long years of penal servitude and the life concealed behind them. he seemed to be without any ties of kindred or friendship, for the mail never brought anything to him, not even a newspaper.

"a dusty, penniless tramp."

"a dusty, penniless tramp."

but he seemed a kindly natured man, with a vein of irrepressible sociability running through him, in spite of his solitary ways of life. there were glimpses of humor occasionally, and had it not been for that cloud of shame hanging forbiddingly over him, he would have become a favorite with his neighbors.

across the road, opposite his house, he set up a small blacksmith shop, and much of his idle time he spent in there, mending broken tools, sharpening dull plows, hammering patiently on the ringing red-hot iron. the smallest, simplest piece of work received the most careful attention, and the farmers recognized and appreciated his conscientiousness.

one summer afternoon, as he was plowing in his cotton-field, a neighbor came along the road and, stopping at the fence, hailed him. he plowed to the end of the row, and halted.

"good evenin', 'zeki'l," said the man, mounting to the top of the fence, and sitting with his heels thrust through a crack in the lower rails.

"howdy you do, marshall? what's the news down your way?" 'zeki'l inquired, drawing his shirt-sleeve across his face, and leaning on the plow-handles.

"i don't know as there's much to tell. billy hutchins an' sary ann mcnally run away an' got married last night, an' old mis' gillis is mighty nigh dead with the ja'nders. a punkin couldn't look yallerer." he opened his knife, and ran his fingers along the rail in search of a splinter to whittle. "old man biggers has sold his place at last."

"has he?"

"yes; i met him down at the store, an' he said the trade had been made."

"he's bound to go to texas."

"yes; so he 'lows."

"well, old georgy is good enough for me," 'zeki'l remarked, with a pleased glance at his sterile fields.

"an' for me," said marshall, heartily. "wanderin' 'round don't make folks rich. biggers owns the best place in this settlement, an' he'd better stay on it. it won't do to believe all the tales they tell about these new states. i had a brother go to louisiany before the war. folks said, 'don't take anything with you; why, money mighty nigh grows on bushes out there.' his wife took the greatest pride in her feather beds, but what would be the use o' haulin' them beds all the way across the mississippi, when you could rake up feathers by the bushel anywheres? well, they went, an' for the whole endurin' time they stayed they had to sleep on moss mattresses, an' my brother 'lowed it was about the meanest stuff to kill he ever struck. if you didn't bile it, an' bury it, an' do the lord only knows what to it, it would grow an' burst out of the beds when you was sleepin' on 'em." 'zeki'l's attention did not follow those reminiscent remarks. "who bought the biggers place?" he inquired, as soon as marshall ceased speaking.

"a man he met in atlanta when he went down the last time, a man from one of the lower counties, an' his name—why, yes, to be sure, it's morgan, same as yours—'lijy morgan. may be you know him?" with a sharp, questioning glance.

but the momentary flush of emotion that the stranger's name had called to 'zeki'l's face was gone.

"i don't know as i do," he slowly replied, staring at a scrubby cotton-stalk the muzzled ox was making ineffectual attempts to eat.

"i 'lowed may be he might be some kin to you," said marshall, in a baffled tone.

"i don't know as he is," said 'zeki'l, still in that slow, dry, non-committal tone, his eyes leaving the cotton-stalk to follow the swift, noiseless flight of a cloud-shadow across a distant hillside. "morgan isn't an uncommon name, you know."

"that's so," reluctantly admitted marshall.

"when does mr. biggers think o' goin' to texas?"

"oh, not until after crops are gathered."

"the other family, isn't to come, then, right away?"

"no; not till fall."

after marshall had whittled, and gossiped, and gone his way, 'zeki'l stood a long time with his hands resting on the plow-handles, his brows drawn together in deep thought. some painful struggle seemed to be going on. the crickets shrilled loudly in the brown sedge bordering a dry ditch, and a vulture sailed majestically round and round above the field, his broad black wings outspread on the quivering air. the cloud-shadows on the river-hills assumed new form, shifted, swept away, and others came in their places, and the vulture had become a mere speck, a floating mote in the upper sunlight, before he turned the patient ox into another furrow, murmuring aloud:

"i didn't go to them, an' if they come to me, i can't help it. i am not to blame; the almighty knows i'm not to blame;" and his overcast face cleared somewhat.

that night when mr. davy tanner closed his store and went home, he said to his wife:

"'zeki'l morgan must be lonesome, or pestered about somethin'. you'd think that old fiddle o' his could talk an' cry too, from the way he's playin'."

the season advanced; crops were gathered, and the shorn fields looked brown and bare. a sere, withering frost touched the forests, and the leaves fell in drifts, while the partridge called to his mate from fence and sedgy covert. a light snowfall lay on the distant mountains when the biggerses started to the west and the new family of morgans moved into zion hill settlement.

it was the third day after their arrival. 'zeki'l leaned over the front gate with an armful of corn, feeding two fat pigs, when 'lijy morgan passed along the road on his way to mr. davy tanner's store. he was a strong-looking, well-built man, with rugged features and hair partly gray. he looked curiously at the solitary, stooping figure inside the gate, his steps slackened, then he stopped altogether, a grayish pallor overspreading the healthy, ruddy hue of his face.

"'zeki'l!"

'zeki'l dropped the corn, and thrust open the gate.

"howdy you do, 'lijy?"

"howdy you do, 'lijy?"

"howdy you do, 'lijy?"

their hands met in a quick, close grip, then fell apart.

"i like not to have known you, 'zeki'l, it was so unexpected seein' you here," said 'lijy, huskily, scanning the worn, deeply lined face before him with glad yet shrinking gaze.

"an' twelve years make a great difference in our looks sometimes, though you are not so much changed," said 'zeki'l quietly. he had been prepared for the meeting, and years of self-mastery had given him the power of concealing emotion.

"twelve years? yes; but it has seemed like twenty to me since—since it all happened. why didn't you come home, 'zeki'l, when your time was out?"

"i 'lowed the sight o' me wouldn't be good for you, 'lijy; an'—an' the old folks were gone."

"yes; it killed them, 'zeki'l, it killed them," in a choked voice.

"i know," said 'zeki'l, hastily, his face blanching; "an' i thought it would be best to make a new start in a new settlement."

"do the folks here know?"

"that i served my time? yes; but that's all. when i heard that you had bought the biggers place i studied hard about movin' away, but i like it here. it's beginnin' to seem like home."

'lijy stared at the poor cabin, the stunted, naked peach-trees, so cold and dreary-looking in the wintry dusk.

"is it yours, 'zeki'l?"

"yes; it's mine, all mine. come in and sit awhile with me, an' warm. it's goin' to be a nippin' cold night."

he turned, and 'lijy silently followed him across the bare yard and into the house. a flickering fire sent its warm glow throughout the room, touching its meagre furnishing with softening grace, but a chill struck to 'lijy morgan's heart as he crossed the threshold—a chill of desolation.

"do you live here alone?"

"yes; all alone, except rover and the fiddle."

the cur rose up from the hearth with a wag of his stumpy tail, and gave the visitor a glance of welcome from his mild, friendly eyes.

there were only two chairs in the room, and 'zeki'l placed the best one before the fire for his guest, then threw on some fresh pieces of wood. outside the dusky twilight deepened to night, the orange glow fading from the west, and the stars shining brilliantly through the clear atmosphere. the chill wind whistled around the chimney-corners and through the chinks in the log walls.

between the men a constrained silence fell. the meeting had been painful beyond the open acknowledgment of either. the dog crept to his master's side and thrust his nose into his hand. the touch roused 'zeki'l. from the jamb he took a cob pipe and a twist of tobacco.

"will you smoke, 'lijy?"

"i believe not; but i'll take a chew."

he cut off a liberal mouthful, and then 'zeki'l filled and lighted his pipe. it seemed to loosen his tongue somewhat.

"is marthy ann well enough?"

"she's tolerable."

"how many children have you?"

"three; the girls, cynthy an' mary—"

"i remember them."

"an' little zeke."

'zeki'l's face flushed.

"named him for me, 'lijy?"

"yes; for you. cynthy's about grown now, an' a likely girl, i can tell you."

his face softened; his eyes grew bright with pride and tenderness as he spoke of his children. 'zeki'l watched him, noting the change in his countenance, and perhaps feeling some pain and regret that he had missed such pleasure. 'lijy reached out his hand and laid it on his knee. "'zeki'l, you must come live with us now. i'll tell these folks we are brothers, an'—"

"i don't know as i would," said 'zeki'l, gently. "it would only make talk, an' i'm settled here, you know."

his unimpassioned tone had its effect on his brother. he protested, but rather faintly, finally saying:

"well, if you'd rather not—"

"that's just it. i'd rather not."

they both rose, and 'lijy groped uncertainly for his hat.

"your life ain't worth much to you, 'zeki'l, i know it ain't," with uncontrollable emotion.

"it's worth more 'n you think, 'lijy, more 'n you think."

he knocked the ashes from his pipe, and cleared his throat as though to speak again, but his brother had reached the door before he called to him.

"'lijy."

"well?"

"what became o' 'lizabeth?"

"she's still livin' with us."

he peered into the bowl of the pipe.

"she's never married?"

"no. she had a fall about ten years ago which left her a cripple, an' she's grayer than i am. you 're not comin' to see us, 'zeki'l?"

"i reckon not, 'lijy." and while 'lijy stumbled through the darkness home—his errand to the store forgotten—'zeki'l stood before the fire, one arm resting against the black, cobwebby mantel. "crippled an' gray! o 'lizabeth, 'lizabeth!" he groaned, and put his head down on his arm, the twelve years rolling backward upon him.

"where have you been, 'lijy?" exclaimed mrs. morgan when her husband returned. "we waited an' waited for you, till the supper was spoiled."

"i met a man i used to know," he said, evasively, casting a wistful, troubled glance toward the corner where 'lizabeth, his wife's sister, sat knitting, a crutch lying at her side.

cynthia, a rosy, merry-eyed girl, laughed.

"pa is always meetin' a man he knows."

mrs. morgan began hastily removing the covered dishes from the hearth to the table.

"well, where is the sugar you went over to the store to get?" she demanded with some irritation.

"i forgot it, marthy. i'll go for it in the mornin'," in a confused, propitiatory tone.

she stared at him.

"i never! forgot what you went after! you beat all, 'lijy morgan; you certainly do beat all."

"the man must 'a' sent your wits wool-gatherin', pa," cried cynthia, jocosely.

'lizabeth leaned forward. her face was long, thin, and pale, and the smooth hair framing it glinted like silver in the firelight; but her dark eyes were wonderfully soft and beautiful, and her mouth had chastened, tender lines about it.

"are you sick, 'lijy?" she inquired, in a gentle, subdued voice, a voice with much underlying, patient sweetness in it.

morgan gave her a grateful look. "n—no; but i don't think i care for any supper," he said slowly. "i'll step out an' see if the stock has all been fed."

when he returned mrs. morgan sat by the fire alone. he looked hastily about the room.

"where is cynthy?"

"gone to bed."

"an' 'lizabeth?"

"she's off, too."

he drew a sigh of relief, and stirred the fire into a brighter blaze.

"marthy ann, it was 'zeki'l i saw this evenin'."

she dropped the coarse garment she was mending.

"'zeki'l!"

"hush! yes; he lives up on the hill between here an' the store;" and then he went on to tell her about their meeting and conversation. her hard, sharp-featured face softened a little when he came to 'zeki'l's refusal to live with them or to have their kinship acknowledged.

"i'm glad to see he's got that much consideration. we left the old place because folks couldn't forget how he'd disgraced himself; an' to come right where he is! i never heard of anything like it. why didn't he leave the state if he wanted to save us more trouble?" wiping tears of vexation from her eyes. "you spent nearly all you had to get him out of prison, an' when he had to go to the penitentiary it killed his pa an' ma, an'—"

"be silent, woman! you don't know what you are talkin' about!" he said sternly, writhing in his chair like a creature in bodily pain. "god a'mighty forgive me!" he paused, smote his knee with his open palm, and turned his face away.

"well, if i don't know what i'm talkin' about, i'd like to know the reason!" she cried, with the same angry excitement. "you ain't been like the same man you were before that happened, you know you ain't. i'll never be willin' to claim kin with 'zeki'l morgan again, never! folks may find out for themselves; an' they'll do it soon enough—don't you be pestered—soon enough."

but not a suspicion of the truth seemed to occur to zion hill settlement. the morgans were welcomed with great friendliness, and 'zeki'l alone failed to visit them. children sat around his brother's fireside, a wife ministered to him; but he had forfeited all claim to such homely joys. the girls had evidently been informed of his relationship to them, for they looked askance at him as they passed along the road, pity and curiosity in their eyes. once he came out of the blacksmith shop, and, meeting his sister-in-law in the roadway, stopped her, or she would have passed with averted head.

"you needn't be so careful, marthy ann," he said, without the slightest touch of bitterness in his calm tone.

"it is for the children's sake, 'zeki'l," she said, her sallow face flushing with a feeling akin to shame. "i must think o' them."

he gave her a strange glance, then looked to the ground.

"i know; i thought o' them years ago."

"it's a pity you didn't think before—"

"yes, so it is; but some deeds aren't to be accounted for, nor recalled either, no matter how deeply we repent."

"we sold out for the children's sake, but, lord! i'm pestered now more than ever."

"because i'm here?"

"well, it ain't reasonable to think we can all go right on livin' here, an' folks not find out you an' 'lijy are brothers."

"what would you like for me to do, marthy ann?"

she hesitated a moment, then drew a little nearer to him.

"couldn't you go away? you've got nobody but yourself to think about, an' i know in reason 'lijy would be glad to buy your place," with a careless, half-contemptuous glance at the cabin.

a dull flush passed over his face; his mouth twitched.

"does 'lijy want me to go?"

"he ain't said so; but—"

"i'll think about it," he said slowly, turning back to the smithy, where a red-hot tool awaited his hammer.

but thinking about it only seemed to bind his heart more closely than ever to the arid spot he called home. he had looked forward to spending all the remaining years of his broken, ruined life there, far from the world and from those who had known him in the past. then a great desire had risen within him to remain near 'lizabeth. he shrank from the thought of meeting her, speaking to her, and felt rather glad that she did not appear at church. a few times in passing he had caught a glimpse of her walking about the yard or garden in the winter sunshine, leaning on her crutch, and the sight had sent him on his way with downcast face. he had just sat down before the fire to smoke one evening when there came a timid knock on the door. it was just between daylight and darkness, and he supposed it to be some neighbor on his way to or from the store who wished to drop in to warm himself and gossip a little.

"come in," he said hospitably, and, reaching out, drew the other chair nearer the fire.

the latch was slowly lifted, the door swung open, and then he started to his feet, pipe and tobacco falling to the floor, while his face flushed and paled, and his breath came in a sharp sigh. it was 'lizabeth, her bonnet pushed back, her shawl hanging loosely around her shoulders.

"i've be'n to the store for marthy ann, i wanted to go to get out away from the house a little while, and i thought i'd step in for a minute, 'zeki'l, to see you."

"you are tired; come an' sit down," he said huskily, and led her to the chair.

"do you think your lameness would make any difference?"

"do you think your lameness would make any difference?"

what emotion those simple, commonplace words covered! they looked at each other, silently noting the changes time and sorrow had wrought. they had never been openly declared lovers, but words were not needed for them to understand each other, and they knew that they would marry when she had finished her term as teacher in the county school, and he had built a house on the lot of land his father had given him. but that shameful, undenied accusation of horse-stealing, followed swiftly by trial and conviction, had put an end to all hopes, all plans.

"you see i'm a cripple now, 'zeki'l," she said, to break the silence.

"an' i've grown old," he replied, and their eyes met again in a long, eloquent, steadfast gaze, and they knew that neither age, nor affliction, nor shame, nor separation had wrought any change in their love. it had only grown stronger and deeper. her thin face flushed, her trembling fingers gathered up a fold of her gown.

"why don't you come to see us, 'zeki'l?"

"i can't, 'lizabeth; i can't. it wouldn't be right. don't you know i've been longin' to come, an' hungerin' an' hungerin' to see you?" he flung himself on the floor at her feet, his face hidden against her knees. "you don't know all! you don't know all!" the words were wrung from him by an almost uncontrollable desire to tell her the story of his sufferings. she had not turned against him nor forgotten him. it was almost more than he could bear, to read in her eyes her faith and her pardon. he felt the touch of her hand on his bared head, and tears gushed from his eyes.

"can't you tell me?" she whispered, her face, her eyes, illumined by a pity and tenderness divine in their beauty.

"no, honey; it's somethin' i must bear alone, i must bear alone."

he rose to his feet again, brushing his sleeve across his eyes, and she stood up also, leaning on her crutch, the transient glow of color fading from her face.

"you shouldn't bear it alone if i didn't have this lameness. you—"

"hush!" he said, and, taking her hand, pressed it against his breast. "do you think your lameness would make any difference? wouldn't i love you all the more, take care o' you all the better, for it? it's the disgrace, the shame, standin' between us. i'll never outlive it—get rid of it—an' i'll never ask any woman to share it. i couldn't."

her physical infirmity held her silent. she would be a care and a burden to him rather than a help. she drew up her shawl.

"the almighty comfort you, 'zeki'l."

"an' take care o' you, 'lizabeth."

he took her hand in a grasp painful in its closeness, then he turned and leaned against the mantel, and she went softly out of the room.

winter passed. the frost-bound earth sent up faint scents and sounds of spring in fresh-plowed fields and swelling buds. 'zeki'l wandered about his fields in idleness, striving to make up his mind to go away. it would be best, yet the sacrifice seemed cruel.

"it is more than i can bear," he cried aloud one night, and strained one of the violin-strings until it snapped asunder. he laid the instrument across his knees and leaned his head upon it. the candle burned dimly, and a bat flew in through the open door, circled around the room, at last extinguishing the feeble light with one of its outspread wings. but the unhappy man did not heed the gloom. why should he care to have a light for his eyes when his soul was in such darkness? he groped his way to the bed, and fell down upon it. rover came back from a nightly prowl, barked to let his master know of his presence, then lay down on the doorstep.

the sound of music vibrated through the air, and 'zeki'l remembered that the young people of the settlement were to have a "singing" at his brother's that evening. he raised his head and listened. they were singing hymns, and many of them were associated with recollections of his own youth. a line of tom moore's "come, ye disconsolate," once a special favorite when sorrow seemed far from him, was borne to his ears:

earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

he lay down and slept.

at dusk the next evening, as he was heating a piece of iron in the blacksmith shop, a man stopped at the wide-open door.

"will you give me a night's lodging? i have walked far to-day, and i'm a stranger in this part of the country."

'zeki'l wheeled, the light from the forge shining across his face. it brought out the stranger's face and form in bold relief also. "why, it's zeke morgan!" he cried, walking into the shop.

"yes: i thought i recognized your voice, miller," said 'zeki'l, slowly, and without much pleasure at the recognition.

they had been in prison together, and 'zeki'l had left miller there. he had never felt any liking for the man, and less now than ever, as he looked at his ragged clothing and dissipated face. he had evidently been steadily sinking in vice, and its repulsiveness was impressed upon his outward being. but a certain pity stirred 'zeki'l's heart. he remembered his own friendlessness when he entered that settlement. could he show less mercy than had been shown to him?

"sit down, won't you?" he said kindly, blowing up the coals in the forge to a glowing heat.

"that i will. i'm footsore, and hungry as a bear. i'm in luck to meet with you, comrade," chuckling.

'zeki'l winced. the man's familiarity grated upon him.

"where are you goin'?" he inquired.

"oh, nowhere in particular. i'm jest out."

"why, i thought your time would be up in two years after i left."

miller shrugged his shoulders. "yes; but i made so many attempts to escape that they kept adding extra time to my term."

he sat down while 'zeki'l finished his work.

"you seem to be getting on pretty well," he continued, his restless eyes scanning the surroundings.

"only tolerable."

two or three of the neighbors dropped in, one to leave a broken plow, another to tell a bit of gossip. they stared curiously at 'zeki'l's disreputable companion, who jocosely informed them that morgan had once been his chum.

'zeki'l felt annoyed, and, closing up the shop, invited his guest into the house. they had supper, then sat down and smoked. miller talked a good deal, and asked many questions about the neighborhood and the store; but at last he fell asleep, huddled up on the bed, and 'zeki'l lay down on a bench, recollections of his prison life keeping him awake far into the night. when he awoke the next morning his guest was gone. he was glad of it. the man's presence oppressed him—brought a sense of degradation. but what were his feelings when he heard that mr. davy tanner's store had been robbed, the mail-box rifled, letters torn open, and various articles of wearing apparel taken!

he grew so pale, seemed so agitated and confused, that the man who had come up to tell the news stared wonderingly, half-suspiciously at him. he had brought the plow to the shop the evening before, and he now looked around for the stranger.

"where is your friend?" he inquired.

"he is no friend of mine."

"but he 'lowed that he knew you."

"yes."

"where?"

"in prison," said 'zeki'l, quietly, though he flushed with shame.

"aha! i lowed so, i jest 'lowed so, last night."

'zeki'l tingled all over. he had never felt the degradation of being a convict more keenly than at that moment. he suspected miller of the theft: this man's tone implied that he suspected them both. it showed how slight a hold he had upon the trust of his neighbors if they could so readily believe that he would rob the best friend he had in the settlement. he went into the house, and sat down by the hearth, his head leaned between his hands.

news of the robbery spread, and men left their work to go over to the store—stirred up, pleasantly excited. it was not often that zion hill settlement could boast of having anything so important as this robbery take place within its limits, and it must be made the most of.

'zeki'l held aloof from the store, where he knew a large crowd had collected, but later in the day a small delegation came up to interview him. he read suspicion in every face, indignation in every eye. his quiet, honest life among them had been forgotten; they remembered only that he had been a convict.

"once a thief, always a thief, i say!" one man cried loudly.

'zeki'l clenched his hands, but what could he say in self-defense? he made a clear, straight-forward statement of all he knew about miller, earnestly denying all knowledge of the robbery, but he felt the slight impression it made on their doubting minds. they did not openly accuse him, but they asked many questions, they exchanged knowing glances, and when they went away he felt that he had been tried and condemned. the sheriff had gone in pursuit of miller, and all day groups of men sat or stood about the store whittling sticks, chewing tobacco, and talking. it was a most enjoyable day to them. it afforded excitement, and gave an opportunity to air opinions—to bring forth old prejudices. there was almost universal condemnation of 'zeki'l. he had entertained the thief, had given him all the information necessary, and the more bitter ones wagged their heads and said that no doubt he had shared in the spoils. even mr. davy tanner looked sad and doubtful, though he defended the unfortunate man.

"we've no right ever to accuse a person without evidence o' guilt. we don't know even that this other man had anything to do with it—though circumstances do all p'int that way—let alone 'zeki'l morgan. it's best to hold our peace till we find out the truth."

"but it looks mighty suspicious ag'in' 'zeki'l."

"because he's been in the penitentiary, an' we think he's got a bad name by it."

"well, ain't that enough to set honest men ag'in' him?"

"yes; but it ain't best to always judge a man by his misdeeds in the past, but rather by his good deeds in the present, an' what they promise for the future."

"why not, when it's accordin' to scriptur'?"

so the talk went on, while 'zeki'l sat by his fireless hearth or walked aimlessly up and down the yard. at dusk his brother called, looking almost as haggard as he did.

"it's a bad thing, 'zeki'l."

"yes," said 'zeki'l, listlessly.

"they are fools to think you had anything to do with it, plumb fools."

"it's natural they should, 'lijy."

"i can't stand it, 'zeki'l! lord! i can't stand it!"

he fell into a chair and covered his face with his hands.

"chut, man! what does it matter?" said 'zeki'l, bracing himself up and forcing a smile. "don't let 'lizabeth believe it, that's all i ask."

"she'll never believe it."

"it's all right, then; i'll not care what the rest o' the world thinks."

"but i do," cried 'lijy, starting up, "an' i'll put an end to it by—"

"you'll not do anything rash, 'lijy," said 'zeki'l, firmly, quietly, and laid his hand on the other's shoulder. "recollect your family."

he looked slight and insignificant by the side of his brother, but his face had a strength and calmness which seemed to give it a power the other lacked. 'lijy groaned, and turned tremblingly away.

a week passed, but zion hill settlement could not go back to its every-day vocations until somebody had been arrested for the robbery. the man miller seemed to be wary prey, eluding his pursuers with the crafty skill of an old offender. it was a solitary week to 'zeki'l. he had been completely ostracized by his neighbors. they openly shunned him, and no more work came to his forge. he stood in the empty shop one day, wondering what he should do next, where he should go, when 'lizabeth walked slowly, quietly in.

he flushed painfully.

"you see i'm idle," he said, pointing to the dead coals in the forge. "they don't think i'm worthy o' doin' their work any longer."

"i wouldn't mind," she said, tenderly, laying her hand on his arm. "they'll see they are mistaken after a while, and be glad enough to come back to you."

"the sheriff, two deputies, and miller.

"the sheriff, two deputies, and miller."

"i don't know," with a heavy sigh. "it's the injustice that hurts me, an' the lack o' faith in my honesty. the years i've lived here count for nothin' with them."

"i have faith in you, 'zeki'l."

he laid his hand over hers.

"if i had you, 'lizabeth, if i only had you to help me bear it!"

"that's what i've come for, 'zeki'l. i'm crippled. it may be that i'll turn out to be more of a burden than a comfort to you, but i can't sit down there any longer, knowin' you are here slighted and sufferin' all alone. 'zeki'l, have pity on me, if you've none on yourself, and let me bear this trouble with you."

he trembled before the future her words conjured up.

"could you, would you, be willin' to bear my disgrace, share it, be shunned like a plague, have no company, no friend, but me?"

"what are friends to the one we love, or company? i'd give up all the world, 'zeki'l, willin'ly, willin'ly, for you."

he looked into her deep, earnest eyes, realized the full truth of her words, and drew her closer to him.

"it's a great sacrifice, 'lizabeth, an' i'm wrong to let you make it; but—the lord forgive me! i can't hold out alone any longer. my will an' my courage are all broke down. i need help; i need you."

after a momentary silence he dusted a bench, and they sat down to talk over their plans for the future. the shop, black with charcoal and iron dust, was a queer place for such a conversation; but they paid little heed to their surroundings.

"marthy ann will never get over your marryin' me," said 'zeki'l.

"then she can make the best of it."

the next day was saturday, and the beginning of the regular monthly "meetin'" at zion hill church. everybody in the settlement who could, attended services that day. the morgans were all there, even 'lizabeth, and 'zeki'l sat in his accustomed place, apparently unmindful of the cold, hostile glances and whispers around him. through open doors and windows shone golden sunlight, floated spicy odors from the woods surrounding all but the front of the church, which faced the public road; and vagrant bees mingled their lazy hum with the champing of bits and the stamping of iron-shod hoofs in the thickets, where the mules and the horses were tied.

it was a quiet but alert congregation. a kind of expectancy—of suspense—filled the air. no telling what might happen before the day was over. the preacher made the robbery the theme of his discourse, and there were nods and approving looks when he referred to the punishment laid up for those who persisted in doing evil. it was a fitting finale that just before the benediction was pronounced a small cavalcade rode up to the church door—the sheriff, two deputies, and miller. a thrill ran through the church, a rustle, a whisper, and the preacher cried aloud to the sheriff:

"what do you want, brother mangum?"

"'zeki'l morgan."

"here he is! here he is!" cried more than one voice, and men rose to their feet and laid eager hands on the unresisting 'zeki'l.

"what do you want him for?" cried 'lijy morgan, rising from his seat in the deacons' corner. "what's he done?"

"helped to rob the store."

"we've said so, we've said so, ever since it happened!" a chorus of stern but triumphant voices exclaimed.

"bring up the witness ag'in' him, the man that says he did it," said 'lijy, advancing to the open space before the pulpit.

"no man has said out an' out that he helped to do it, but miller—"

"it's a lie," cried 'lijy, loud enough to be heard beyond the church door.

'zeki'l's eyes were fixed anxiously, warningly, on his brother, and once he tried to throw off the hands holding him.

"prove it, then!" a taunting voice cried out.

"i will," said 'lijy, though he grew pale, and trembled strangely. "a more honest man than 'zeki'l morgan never lived."

"what do you know of him?"

again 'zeki'l strove to free himself, but failed.

"'lijy!" he called imploringly, "'lijy, 'lijy, mind what you say!"

'lijy looked across at him.

"i will mind the truth, 'zeki'l." he turned to the congregation.

"i come here with good recommendations, brethren; i am a deacon o' the church; you have faith in my integrity, my honor." an approving murmur went up. "if a dozen thieves were to stop at my house there'd be no suspicion against me." he paused, passed his hand over his face, then looked up again. "years ago there were two brothers in this state who grew up together happy and contented. the elder one was always a little wild, and would get drunk sometimes, even after he'd married and had a family to look after, but the younger was the steadiest, best boy in the settlement. one night the elder brother, in a fit of drunken recklessness, stole a horse from the camp of a kentucky drover, an' nobody found it out but his brother, who undertook to return the horse, an' was arrested. he took the guilt, he stood the trial, an' went to the penitentiary. he lost his good name, the girl he loved, his home, everything in the world an honest man values. he served his time, an' instead o' comin' home to be a reproach to his cowardly brother, he, when free, went away into a strange settlement to live. an' by an' by his brother moved there too, an' his conscience hurt him more an' more as he saw what a sad, lonesome life the convict lived. he was prosperous, he enjoyed the confidence of his fellow-men, while the other was shunned, and regarded with distrust." emotion checked his utterance for a moment; then he turned and pointed to 'zeki'l. "brethren, look at that man; look without prejudice or suspicion, an' you'll not see guilt in his face nor on his conscience. there never lived a truer hero than 'zeki'l morgan. nobody should know it better than i, for i am the brother whose crime he suffered for."

then he walked across the floor to 'zeki'l's side in the midst of the deepest silence which had ever fallen upon a congregation in zion hill church.