Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) THE BUILDERS BY THE SAME AUTHOR ANCIENT LAW, THE THE BATTLE-GROUND, THE THE DELIVERANCE, THE THE FREEMAN AND OTHER POEMS, THE THE LIFE AND GABRIELLA MILLER OF OLD CHURCH, THE THE ROMANCE OF A PLAIN MAN, THE THE VIRGINIA VOICE OF THE PEOPLE, THE THE WHEEL OF LIFE THE BUILDERS BY ELLEN GLASGOW [Illustration: colophon] GARDEN CITY NEW YORK DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 1919 COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN CONTENTS BOOK FIRST APPEARANCES CHAPTER PAGE I. CAROLINE 3 II. THE TIME 20 III. BRIARLAY 25 IV. ANGELICA 44 V. THE FIRST NIGHT 59 VI. LETTY 70 VII. CAROLINE MAKES DISCOVERIES 84 VIII. BLACKBURN 102 IX. ANGELICA'S CHARITY 122 X. OTHER DISCOVERIES 142 XI. THE SACRED CULT 165 XII. THE WORLD'S VIEW OF AN UNFORTUNATE MARRIAGE 176 XIII. INDIRECT INFLUENCE 194 BOOK SECOND REALITIES I. IN BLACKBURN'S LIBRARY 219 II. READJUSTMENTS 231 III. MAN'S WOMAN 245 IV. THE MARTYR 257 V. THE CHOICE 268 VI. ANGELICA'S TRIUMPH 281 VII. COURAGE 293 VIII. THE CEDARS 310 IX. THE YEARS AHEAD 324 X. THE LIGHT ON THE ROAD 339 XI. THE LETTER 348 XII. THE VISION 359 BOOK FIRST APPEARANCES THE BUILDERS CHAPTER I CAROLINE The train was late that day, and when the old leather mail pouch was brought in, dripping wet, by Jonas, the negro driver, Mrs. Meade put down the muffler she was knitting, and received it reluctantly. "At least there aren't any bills at this time of the month," she observed, with the manner of one who has been designed by Providence to repel disaster.