It never occurred to them
to doubt him in any way or to question the final outcome.
"Yes, Doctor," came the deep voice of the father. "We have had Dan's
letters of course, but the lad's not one to put all of his fight on
paper. Let's have it as you saw it."
So the Doctor told them--told of the causes that had combined to put Dan
on the rack, that had driven him in spite of himself to change his views
of the church and its ministry; told of the forces that had been arrayed
against him, how the lad had met these forces, and how he had battled
with himself--all that the Doctor had seen in the months of watching; all
that he knew of Dan, even to the time when Dan declared his doubt of
everything, and to the chastising of Judge Strong. He omitted nothing
except the declaration he had heard Dan make to the Judge.
Several times the narrator was interrupted by the deep-voiced, hearty
laugh of the father, or with exclamations of satisfaction. Sometimes the
Doctor was interrupted by a quick, eager question from the mother, that
helped to make the story clear. Many times they uttered half-whispered
exclamations of wonder, distress or indignation.
"When he left Corinth," said the Doctor in conclusion, "he told me that
he had no clearly-defined plans, though he hinted at something that he
had in mind."
"But, Doctor, haven't you forgotten a very important part of your story?"
the mother asked.
"What have I forgotten?" he questioned.
Pages:
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322