THE LORDS OF HIGH DECISION OTHER BOOKS BY MEREDITH NICHOLSON The Main Chance Zelda Dameron The House of a Thousand Candles Poems The Port of Missing Men Rosalind at Red Gate The Little Brown Jug at Kildare The Hoosiers (Historical. In National Studies in American Letters) [Illustration: JEAN MORLEY] The Lords of High Decision By MEREDITH NICHOLSON _Illustrated by_ _ARTHUR I. KELLER_ [Illustration] New York Doubleday, Page & Company 1909 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY PUBLISHED, OCTOBER, 1909 TO BOWMAN ELDER AND EDWARD ROBINETTE IN REMEMBRANCE OF OUR CANOE FLIGHT THROUGH THE MAINE WOODS, WITH A BACKWARD GLANCE AT INDIAN JOE WHO FAILED TO FIND THE MOOSE _Mackinac Island, September 20, 1909._ And the Fourth Kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken. _The Book of Daniel._ CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. The Face in the Locket 3 II. The Lady of Difficult Occasions 21 III. A Letter, a Bottle and an Old Friend 28 IV. The Ways of Wayne Craighill 42 V. A Child of the Iron City 59 VI. Before a Portrait by Sargent 73 VII. Wayne Counsels his Sister 86 VIII. The Coming of Mrs. Craighill 101 IX. “Help Me to be a Good Woman” 114 X. Mr. Walsh Meets Mrs. Craighill 126 XI. Paddock Delivers an Invitation 144 XII. The Shadows Against the Flame 155 XIII. Jean Morley 160 XIV. A Light Supper for Two 175 XV. Mrs. Blair is Displeased 190 XVI. The Trip to Boston 206 XVII. Mrs. Craighill Bides at Home 224 XVIII. The Snow-storm at Rosedale 240 XIX. Mr. Wingfield Calls on Mr. Walsh 262 XX. Evening at the Craighills’ 274