Produced by Tiffany Vergon, Mary Meehan, and Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders THE CALLING OF DAN MATTHEWS BY HAROLD BELL WRIGHT 1909 AUTHOR OF "THE SHEPHERD OF THE HILLS" "THAT PRINTER OF UDELL'S" _With Illustrations by_ ARTHUR I. KELLER TO WILLIAM WILLIAMS, M.D. CONTENTS I. THE HOME OF THE ALLY II. A REVELATION III. A GREAT DAY IN CORINTH IV. WHO ARE THEY? V. HOPE FARWELL'S MINISTRY VI. THE CALLING OF DAN MATTHEWS VII. FROM DEBORAH'S PORCH VIII. THE WORK OF THE ALLY IX. THE EDGE OF THE BATTLEFIELD X. A MATTER OF OPINION XI. REFLECTIONS XII. THE NURSE FORGETS XIII. DR. HARRY'S CASE XIV. THAT GIRL OF CONNER'S XV. THE MINISTER'S OPPORTUNITY XVI. DAN SEES THE OTHER SIDE XVII. THE TRAGEDY XVIII. TO SAVE A LIFE XIX. ON FISHING XX. COMMON GROUND XXI. THE WARNING XXII. AS DR. HARRY SEES IT XXIII. A PARABLE XXIV. THE WAY OUT XXV. A LABORER AND HIS HIRE XXVI. THE WINTER PASSES XXVII. DEBORAH'S TROUBLE XXVIII. A FISHERMAN XXIX. A MATTER OF BUSINESS XXX. THE DAUGHTER OF THE CHURCH XXXI. THE REALITY XXXII. THE BARRIER XXXIII. HEART'S TRAGEDIES XXXIV. SACRIFICED XXXV. THE TIE THAT BINDS XXXVI. GOOD-BYE XXXVII. RESULTS XXXVIII. A HANDFUL OF GOLD XXXIX. THE VICTORY OF THE ALLY XL. THE DOCTOR'S GLASSES XLI. THE FINAL WORD XLII. JUSTICE XLIII. THE HOME COMING XLIV. THE OLD TRAIL ILLUSTRATIONS Drawn by ARTHUR I. KELLER WITH THE DOCTOR THE TWO STRANGERS IN CORINTH TOOK DENNY TO HIS HOME "--YOU MUST BE IN LIFE A FISHERMAN" A GOOD-BYE CARESS DAN PLEADED WITH HIM The Calling of Dan Matthews CHAPTER I. THE HOME OF THE ALLY "And because the town of this story is what it is, there came to dwell in it a Spirit--a strange, mysterious power--playful, vicious, deadly; a Something to be at once feared and courted; to be denied--yet confessed in the denial; a deadly enemy, a welcome friend, an all-powerful Ally." This story began in the Ozark Mountains. It follows the trail that is nobody knows how old. But mostly this story happened in Corinth, a town of the middle class in a Middle Western state. There is nothing peculiar about Corinth. The story might have happened just as well in any other place, for the only distinguishing feature about this town is its utter lack of any distinguishing feature whatever. In all the essential elements of its life, so far as this story goes, Corinth is exactly like every other village, town or city in the land. This, indeed, is why the story happened in this particular place.