There was determination in the girl's face. She pushed aside the black hand which in kindness would have detained her. "No, Serena, I must see him at once," she said, and passed on into the living room. "Hello, Virginia. Where have you been hiding yourself?" was her father's friendly greeting, but he gave her a sharp glance. She sat down as she told him. "I have been to the hospital, Daddy." Obadiah's face hardened and he scanned the page before him. She watched his movements with unconcealed anxiety. She was very pale and it was only with an effort that she could calm herself to say, "A committee of ladies from Amity came to see you this afternoon." "What did any committee of women want with me? Money?" he suggested, with a suspicious eye upon his daughter. "No, they came, they said, because the waste from the mill is spoiling the river water and causing sickness in their town." "Why didn't they come to my office about that?" "They did, but you were not in." He shifted uneasily in his chair. "Did you talk to them about it?" "Yes. They explained the matter to me. They said that the Board of Health has found that the water is unfit to drink. They wanted to persuade you not to go into court about the decision. A law suit might last for years." He laughed harshly. "They are waking up, are they? They thought that they could scare me with the Board of Health. Did you say anything to them?" "Yes, Daddy, I told them that if you were assured that the waste from your mill was making people sick you would stop running it into the river." There was a crackling sound as he crushed the paper in his hands. "You see, Daddy," she went on, "I was careful to make the point that you could not be expected to do anything unless you were sure that it was the waste from your mills which was responsible." Obadiah leaped to his feet. A smile of relief swept over his face. "You caught the point exactly, dear. How do I know that my mill is responsible for the trouble?" She did not respond to his change of mood but continued, "The ladies assured me that the Board of Health, after a careful investigation, has decided that it is." "Is that so?" he sneered. She looked up at the change in his tone. His manner seemed to make her more resolute as she spoke again. "The matter was so important that I wanted to be sure that you knew the truth about it." Her voice was trembling now. "I went to the hospital and asked Mr. Curtis. It was he who took the samples of water for the Board of Health, and I knew that he would tell me the truth." "What?" demanded Obadiah, his voice pitched high. "I asked him if the waste from your mill made the water bad." "Well of all the preposterous interferences--" "Joe said that it wasn't fit for a dog to drink." "What does that booby know about it?" "As he works for the Board of Health, even though he is only a laborer, he knows what they think about it, and--" she looked squarely at her father--"I believe him, Daddy."