had you and Dad and Grandfather Holiday and the rest of them to go by.  They have lived all their lives in the Holiday tradition of what a man should be.  Alan has had nobody, nothing.  Nobody ever helped him to see the difference between right and wrong and why it mattered which you chose.  He does see now.  He is trying to begin all over again and begin right.  And I’m going to stand by him.  I have to—­even if I have to go against you, Uncle Phil.”

There was a quiver—­almost a sob in Tony’s voice Her uncle drew her into his arms.

“All right, little girl.  It is not an easy thing to swallow.  I hate to have your shining whiteness touch pitch even for a minute.  No, wait, dear.  I am not going to condemn your lover.  If he is sincerely in earnest in trying to clean the slate, I have only respect for the effort.  You are right about much of it.  We can none of us afford to do over much judging.  We are all sinners, more or less.  And there are a million things to be taken into consideration before we may dare to sit in judgment upon any human being.  It takes a God to do that.  I am not going to ask you to give him up, or to stop writing or even seeing him.  But I do want you to go slow.  Marriage is a solemn thing.  Don’t wreck your life from pity or mistaken devotion.  Better a heart-ache now than a life-long regret.  Let your lover prove himself just as you have set him to do.  A woman can’t save a man.  He has to save himself.  But if he will save himself for love of her the chances are he will stay saved and his love is the real thing.  I shall accept your decision.  I shan’t fight it in any way, whatever it is.  All I ask is that you will wait the full year before you make any definite promise of marriage.”

“I will,” said Tony.  “I meant to do that any way.  I am not such a foolish child as maybe you have been thinking I was.  I am pretty much grown up, Uncle Phil.  And I have plenty of sense.  It I hadn’t—­I should be married to Alan this minute.”

He smiled a little sadly at that.

“Youth!  Youth!  Yes, Tony, I believe you have sense.  Maybe I have under-estimated it.  Any way I thank the good Lord for it.  No more secrets?  Everything clear?”

He lifted her face in his hands and looked down into her eyes with tender searching.

“Not a secret.  I am very glad to have you know.  We all feel better the moment we dump all our woes on you,” she sighed.

He smiled and stroked her hair.

“I had much rather be a dumping ground than be shut out of the confidence of any one of you.  That hurts.  We all have to stand by Larry, just now.  Not in words but in—­well, we’ll call it moral support.  The poor lad needs it.”

“Oh, Uncle Phil!  Did he tell you or did you guess?”

“A little of both.  The boy is in a bad hole, Tony.  But he will keep out of the worst of the bog.  He has grit and chivalry enough to pull through somehow.  And maybe before many weeks the mystery will be cleared for better or worse.  We can only hope for the best and hold on tight to Larry, and Ruth too, till they are out of the woods.”