Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from scans of public domain material produced by Microsoft for their Live Search Books site.) NOVELS BY ANNA CHAPIN RAY THE DOMINANT STRAIN BY THE GOOD STE. ANNE ON THE FIRING LINE HEARTS AND CREEDS ACKROYD OF THE FACULTY QUICKENED THE BRIDGE BUILDERS OVER THE QUICKSANDS A WOMAN WITH A PURPOSE THE BRENTONS [Illustration: Catia put her elbows on the table and clasped her hands around her cup. Frontispiece. _See Page_ 84] THE BRENTONS BY ANNA CHAPIN RAY Author of "A Woman with a Purpose," "The Bridge Builders," etc. WITH FRONTISPIECE BY WILSON C. DEXTER BOSTON LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 1912 _Copyright, 1912,_ By Little, Brown, and Company. _All rights reserved_ Published, January, 1912 THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A. Transcriber's Note: Beginning with Chapter 19 the spelling of Kathryn inexplicably changes to Katherine. The Table of Contents is not contained in the original book. It has been generated for the convenience of the reader. CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER TWENTY CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER THIRTY CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO THE BRENTONS CHAPTER ONE However archaic and conventional it may sound, it is the literal fact that young Scott Brenton was led into the ministry by the prayer of his widowed mother. Furthermore, the prayer was not made to him, but offered in secret and in all sincerity at the Throne of Grace. "Oh, my dearest Lord and Master," she prayed, at her evening devotions upon her knees and with her work-roughened hands clasped upon the gaudy patchwork quilt; "guide Thou my son. Bring him to feel that his perfect happiness can come only from going forth to preach Thy word to all men."