Produced by Brendan Lane, Josephine Paolucci and PG Distributed Proofreaders HELEN OF THE OLD HOUSE BY HAROLD BELL WRIGHT 1921 CONTENTS BOOK ONE THE INTERPRETER CHAPTER I. THE HUT ON THE CLIFF II. LITTLE MAGGIE'S PRINCESS LADY III. THE INTERPRETER IV. PETER MARTIN AT HOME V. ADAM WARD'S ESTATE VI. ON THE OLD ROAD VII. THE HIDDEN THING VIII. WHILE THE PEOPLE SLEEP IX. THE MILL X. CONCERNING THE NEW MANAGER XI. COMRADES XII. TWO SIDES OF A QUESTION BOOK TWO THE TWO HELENS XIII. THE AWAKENING XIV. THE WAY BACK XV. AT THE OLD HOUSE XVI. HER OWN PEOPLE XVII. IN THE NIGHT BOOK THREE THE STRIKE XVIII. THE GATHERING STORM XIX. ADAM WARD'S WORK XX. THE PEOPLE'S AMERICA XXI. PETER MARTIN'S PROBLEM XXII. OLD FRIENDS XXIII. A LAST CHANCE XXIV. THE FLATS XXV. McIVER's OPPORTUNITY XXVI. AT THE CALL OF THE WHISTLE XXVII. JAKE VODELL'S MISTAKE XXVIII. THE MOB AND THE MILL XXIX. CONTRACTS BOOK FOUR THE OLD HOUSE XXX. "JEST LIKE THE INTERPRETER SAID" BOOK I THE INTERPRETER "_Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields_." CHAPTER I THE HUT ON THE CLIFF No well informed resident of Millsburgh, when referring to the principal industry of his little manufacturing city, ever says "the mills"--it is always "the Mill." The reason for this common habit of mind is that one mill so overshadows all others, and so dominates the industrial and civic life of this community, that in the people's thought it stands for all. The philosopher who keeps the cigar stand on the corner of Congress Street and Ward Avenue explained it very clearly when he answered an inquiring stranger, "You just can't think Millsburgh without thinkin' mills; an' you can't think mills without thinkin' _the_ Mill." As he turned from the cash register to throw his customer's change on the scratched top of the glass show case, the philosopher added with a grin that was a curious blend of admiration, contempt and envy, "An' you just can't think the Mill without thinkin' Adam Ward." That grin was another distinguishing mark of the well informed resident of Millsburgh. Always, in those days, when the citizens mentioned the owner of the Mill, their faces took on that curious half-laughing expression of mingled admiration, contempt and envy. But it has come to pass that in these days when the people speak of Adam Ward they do not smile. When they speak of Adam Ward's daughter, Helen, they smile, indeed, but with quite a different meaning. The history of Millsburgh is not essentially different from that of a thousand other cities of its class.