Page:G. B. Lancaster-The tracks we tread.djvu/202

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Chapter XIII

For a week there were men who said hard things of Ted Douglas: men who suggested that he had cause to know why Junmie Blaine had disappeared utterly and beyond power of Murray's searching. But they did not know that Murray was not searching very particu- larly, although Lossin grumbled over it one day, whilst Tod and two more from Mains sat on the edge of Blake's horse trough and watched the teams drink. Father Denis had told Murray the truth that morning before breakfast, and when thfr Court sat at midday, Ted Douglas had been publicly cleared with apology. Then he went to see Jimmie's mother, with Father Denis at his side, and the rest of the township sifted the story through their fingers in the limch hour. They called Jimmie by some names that do not look well in print; they shied from much talk of Ted, because the prick of shame was on them that had doubted him, and then they talked of Murray. Tod gave his opinion first.

"If ut was Murray as he used to be he would

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