Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by Google Books (Harvard University) Transcriber's Notes: 1. Page scan source: http://books.google.com/books?id=RdIMAAAAYAAJ (Harvard University) 2. The diphthong oe is represented by [oe]. A SOVEREIGN REMEDY A Sovereign Remedy By FLORA ANNIE STEEL _Author of "On the Face of the Water," "The Hosts of the Lord," "Voices in the Night," etc_. New York Doubleday, Page & Company 1907 Copyright, 1906, by Flora Annie Steel Published, January, 1907 _All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign languages, including the Scandinavian_ A SOVEREIGN REMEDY A SOVEREIGN REMEDY CHAPTER I "Oh! Dash it all!... I'm so sorry...!" "Oh! Dash it all!... I'm so sorry...!" The coincident exclamations and their sequent apology were separated by a crash, followed by a pause, during which the two cyclists who had collided picked themselves out of the dust unhurt and looked quickly at their machines; finally turning to each other with a smiling _bienveillance_ born of relief--for there was no denying that the affair might have been serious, and they were both conscious of sin. "It was my fault; I was looking at the view," said one of the two young men candidly. He was a trifle the taller, the broader, and distinctly the better looking; but they were both excellent specimens of clean, wholesome-looking British manhood; curiously alike also, not only in feature, but in resolute adherence to the conventional type. "But so was I!" returned the other. His voice was the pleasanter, not perhaps so resonant, but with more modulation in it. "Besides, your machine is damaged, and mine isn't--Oh! by George! I hadn't noticed the pedal," he added, following the other's look. He bent for closer inspection, then gave a laugh which was but half rueful; in truth, he was not altogether dissatisfied with this justice of Providence. "About equal--so we'll cry quits," he said. "It means walking for us both," said the other with a shrug. "Are you going my way?" He nodded towards the blue depths of the valley, which, from this gap in the wavy outline of rolling hill where they stood, dipped down to the distant sea that lay half-way up the sky like a level pale-blue cloud. The gap was the summit level between east and west; as such, a meeting-place for much water, and many roads.