Produced by D Alexander and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) The Silent Barrier BY LOUIS TRACY AUTHOR OF CYNTHIA'S CHAUFFEUR, A SON OF THE IMMORTALS, THE WINGS OF THE MORNING, ETC. ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. V. McFALL Page decorations by A. W. PARSONS from photographs by THE ENGADINE PRESS NEW YORK GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS COPYRIGHT, 1908, 1911, BY EDWARD J. CLODE Entered at Stationers' Hall [Illustration: "Spare me one moment, Miss Wynton," he said. _Frontispiece_] CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. THE WISH 1 II. THE FULFILLMENT OF THE WISH 19 III. WHEREIN TWO PEOPLE BECOME BETTER ACQUAINTED 41 IV. HOW HELEN CAME TO MALOJA 64 V. AN INTERLUDE 84 VI. THE BATTLEFIELD 103 VII. SOME SKIRMISHING 122 VIII. SHADOWS 144 IX. "ETTA'S FATHER" 167 X. ON THE GLACIER 189 XI. WHEREIN HELEN LIVES A CROWDED HOUR 212 XII. THE ALLIES 232 XIII. THE COMPACT 253 XIV. WHEREIN MILLICENT ARMS FOR THE FRAY 275 XV. A COWARD'S VICTORY 298 XVI. SPENCER EXPLAINS 321 XVII. THE SETTLEMENT 337 Ich muss--Das ist die Schrank, in welcher mich die Welt Von einer, die Natur von andrer Seite haelt. FR. RUeCKERT: _Die Weisheit des Brahmenen._ [I must--That is the Barrier within which I am pent by the World on the one hand and Nature on the other.] THE SILENT BARRIER CHAPTER I THE WISH "Mail in?" "Yes, sir; just arrived. What name?" "Charles K. Spencer." The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers. The form of the question told him that Spencer was interested in letters stamped for the greater part with bland presentments of bygone Presidents of the United States. In any event, he would have known, by long experience of the type, that the well dressed, straight limbed, strong faced young man on the other side of the counter was an American. He withdrew four missives from the bundle. His quick eyes saw that three bore the Denver postmark, and the fourth hailed from Leadville. "That is all at present, sir," he said. "Would you like your mail sent to your room in future, or shall I keep it here?"