Produced by David Edwards, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Print project.) VICTOR OLLNEE'S DISCIPLINE BY HAMLIN GARLAND AUTHOR OF "THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HOUSE TROOP" "MAIN-TRAVELLED ROADS" ETC. HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS NEW YORK AND LONDON MCMXI CONTENTS I. VICTOR READS THE FATEFUL STAR II. VICTOR INTERROGATES HIS MOTHER III. VICTOR MAKES A TEST IV. VICTOR THROWS DOWN THE ALTAR V. VICTOR RECEIVES A WARNING VI. VICTOR IS CHECKED IN HIS FLIGHT VII. THE RETURN OF THE SPIRIT VIII. VICTOR REPAIRS HIS MOTHER'S ALTAR IX. THE LAW'S DELAY X. A VISIT TO HAZEL GROVE XI. LOVE'S TRANSLATION XII. A MOONLIGHT CALL AND A VISION XIII. VICTOR TESTS HIS THEORY XIV. THE ORDEAL XV. THE RING XVI. CONCLUSION VICTOR OLLNEE'S DISCIPLINE I VICTOR READS THE FATEFUL STAR Saturday had been a strenuous day for the baseball team of Winona University, and Victor Ollnee, its redoubtable catcher, slept late. Breakfast at the Beta Kappa Fraternity House on Sunday started without him, and Gilbert Frenson, who never played ball or tennis, and Arnold Macey, who was too effeminate to swing a bat, divided the Sunday morning _Star_ between them. "See here, Gil," called Macey, holding up an illustrated page, "do you suppose this woman is any relation to Vic?" Frenson took the paper and glanced at it casually. It contained a full-page lurid article, printed in two colors, with the picture of a tall, serpentine, heavy-eyed, yet beautiful woman, whose long arms (ending in claws) reached for the heart of a sleeping man. "What is it all about?" asked Frenson, as his eyes roamed over the text. "It seems to be an attack on a medium named Ollnee who pretends to be able to bring the dead to life. According to this article, she's the limit as a fraud. You don't suppose--Ollnee is an unusual name--" "Oh, not so very. I suppose it's another way of spelling Olney. I don't see any reason to connect old Vic with any such woman as that." "No, only he's always been kind of secretive about his folks. You'll admit that. Why, we don't even know where he came from! Nobody does, unless you do." Frensen dipped into the article. "Wow! this _is_ a hot one! Lucile has a case for libel all right--unless the reporter happens to be telling the truth." "Hello, Vic!" he shouted, as a tall, broad-shouldered, but rather lean young fellow entered the room. "Vic, you are discovered!" "What's the excitement?" asked the newcomer. "Here's an article in the Sunday paper you should see. It's all about a woman namesake of yours, a medium named Lucile Ollnee. The name is spelled exactly like yours. Say, old man, I didn't know you were the son of an 'infamous faker.' Why didn't you let us know." His tone was comic.