Produced by Suzanne Shell, Martin Pettit and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. THE QUEST OF THE SILVER FLEECE _A Novel_ W.E.B. DU BOIS 1911 A.C. McClurg & Co. _Contents_ THE QUEST OF THE SILVER FLEECE _Note from the Author_ 3 _One_: DREAMS 5 _Two_: THE SCHOOL 12 _Three_: MISS MARY TAYLOR 16 _Four_: TOWN 23 _Five_: ZORA 33 _Six_: COTTON 42 _Seven_: THE PLACE OF DREAMS 53 _Eight_: MR. HARRY CRESSWELL 66 _Nine_: THE PLANTING 74 _Ten_: MR. TAYLOR CALLS 84 _Eleven_: THE FLOWERING OF THE FLEECE 99 _Twelve_: THE PROMISE 108 _Thirteen_: MRS. GREY GIVES A DINNER 122 _Fourteen_: LOVE 128 _Fifteen_: REVELATION 134 _Sixteen_: THE GREAT REFUSAL 146 _Seventeen_: THE RAPE OF THE FLEECE 154 _Eighteen_: THE COTTON CORNER 162 _Nineteen_: THE DYING OF ELSPETH 171 _Twenty_: THE WEAVING OF THE SILVER FLEECE 182 _Twenty-one_: THE MARRIAGE MORNING 191 _Twenty-two_: MISS CAROLINE WYNN 199 _Twenty-three_: THE TRAINING OF ZORA 210 _Twenty-four_: THE EDUCATION OF ALWYN 218 _Twenty-five_: THE CAMPAIGN 230 _Twenty-six_: CONGRESSMAN CRESSWELL 244 _Twenty-seven_: THE VISION OF ZORA 254 _Twenty-eight_: THE ANNUNCIATION 263 _Twenty-nine_: A MASTER OF FATE 271 _Thirty_: THE RETURN OF ZORA 283 _Thirty-one_: A PARTING OF WAYS 293 _Thirty-two_: ZORA'S WAY 309 _Thirty-three_: THE BUYING OF THE SWAMP 316 _Thirty-four_: THE RETURN OF ALWYN 328 _Thirty-five_: THE COTTON MILL 339 _Thirty-six_: THE LAND 350 _Thirty-seven_: THE MOB 364 _Thirty-eight_: ATONEMENT 371 THE QUEST OF THE SILVER FLEECE TO ONE whose name may not be written but to whose tireless faith the shaping of these cruder thoughts to forms more fitly perfect is doubtless due, this finished work is herewith dedicated _Note_ He who would tell a tale must look toward three ideals: to tell it well, to tell it beautifully, and to tell the truth. The first is the Gift of God, the second is the Vision of Genius, but the third is the Reward of Honesty.