"I'm lucky to be home for Sunday," remarked Deforrest. "I was afraid the case wouldn't close before day after tomorrow. But the jury came in last night, and everything was quickly closed up."
"We read about it in the paper," said his sister sympathetically. "It must have been a harrowing thing to go through."
"It certainly was! But the acquittal helped. The woman is very young and without friends, and I was glad to get it for her."
"But she's bad!" cut in Waldstricker. "Every paper said she was guilty."
"But the jury pronounced her innocent," exclaimed the lawyer, "so that puts an end to the argument!"
Ebenezer fingered the leaves of the book he held.
"I've the happenings of a week to tell you, Deforrest," he stated deliberately, as if dismissing the former subject.
Professor Young bent down and slipped off his overshoes.
"I'm awfully tired, old chap," said he. "Won't they keep till morning?
I'd like a bite to eat, and then--then bed." He smiled at his sister.
"How about something to eat, sis, dear?"
"Helen, go see about supper for your brother," ordered Ebenezer.
Mrs. Waldstricker, seemingly glad to escape, left the room quickly.
"Fire ahead, Eb," said Young. "I suppose I might as well hear it now as any time."
"You sent Parson Griggs a letter for me to vote in your name?"
"Of course," responded Young. "I knew Helen was interested in the Christmas festival, and I thought you'd do as well as I."
"And so I did, brother," replied Ebenezer, pompously, "and your vote turned the tide into the channel God wanted it. Some members allowed their human feelings to run away with 'em."
Ebenezer's mysterious words suddenly awakened Deforrest's interest.
"Has something out of the ordinary occurred?" he queried.
"Yes," assured Eb, "but I've attended to it all right!"
Professor Young sighed.
"That's good! There, now, I'll sit by the grate and warm up while you tell me about it."
He dropped into a large chair, and extended his feet to the cheerful blaze. Waldstricker paused before making his explanation. At length:
"We put a member out of the church last Wednesday," said he, steadily.
Deforrest Young turned completely around and stared at his brother-in-law.
"Put a member out of the church!" he repeated, thunder-struck. "Why church a member?... That _is_ out of the ordinary, I should say. What'd he do?"
"It wasn't a man, 'twas a woman."
"Well, for God's sake!" Deforrest's voice was low, deep, and filled with disgust. "I hope you men didn't make a mess of yourselves.... What happened?... Some girl kissed her sweetheart under the pine trees?"
The elder glanced over the top of his brother-in-law's head.
"Worse than that!" said he. "Much worse than that!... We churched a Magdalene!"
It took an appreciable length of time for Young's tall figure to rise from the chair. He turned around and stood with his back to the fire.
"I didn't know we had a Magdalene in the church," he commented drily, and then more impetuously, "Oh, Lord, why don't you spit it out and not beat all around the bush telling me?"
There was something about Ebenezer's slow manner of approaching the point that made Young impatient. In the meantime his mind was rapidly running over the women in the Hayt's congregation.
Waldstricker got up, too, drawing his big frame to its full height.
"We churched--Well, the fact is,--We churched Tessibel Skinner."
When the name fell upon Deforrest Young's ears, every muscle in his body became rigid, making him taller by inches.
"Tessibel Skinner?" he repeated mechanically, as if he'd heard awry.
"Did you say Tessibel Skinner?"
Waldstricker took a long breath. Deforrest was receiving the action of the church with better grace than he had anticipated.
"Yes, Tessibel Skinner!" he repeated. "She's with child."
In the awful minute after the torturing words had fallen from the other man's lips, Deforrest Young felt as if he must tear the lie from the speaker's throat. For it was a lie! God! What a lie! A lie told against Heaven's best--the best girl in all the world. Without a word, he reached for his overcoat.
"What're you going to do?" demanded Ebenezer, a little perturbed. "You needn't see her.... She's been justly dealt with."
There was no answer from the tall lawyer. Only one thing was in Deforrest Young's mind--to go to Tessibel Skinner. He gave no thought to the wild night, no care for his own fatigue and hunger. Disdaining another glance at Ebenezer, he whirled to go. Helen's pale face appearing in the doorway made him pause.
"Deforrest," she quivered. "Deforrest, dear, oh, don't go out tonight!
Stay and let Ebenezer tell you about it, do please! The church has done all it could--it must be all right if the church did it, Forrie."
Then Young's wrath broke loose....
"All right? All right?" he thundered. "The church has done all it can, eh? Well, by God!" He turned a livid face from one to the other. "What a cursed outrage!"
Waldstricker cried out, horrified.
"Man, man, what are you saying!... How _dare_ you provoke the wrath of God!... How dare you question the decision of the church! Besides, I tell you she's a Magdalene. She's been justly punished. I attended to it myself."
Then Young saw clearly that the church action had but expressed his brother-in-law's will. He knew his implacable hatred of the squatters and particularly of Tessibel. He recognized that revenge had prompted him. Pushing the protesting elder aside, he ejaculated:
"You pious hypocrite! Get out of my way," and was gone.
The bitter winter wind nipped at Young as he strode down the steps and battled his way to the stables. Waldstricker's words were pounding at his brain like a hammer. What had they done to Tess? He remembered Ebenezer had said that his vote--his own delegated vote--had turned the tide against his pretty child!