Produced by Al Haines THE END OF THE RAINBOW BY MARIAN KEITH _Author of "'Lisbeth of the Dale," "Treasure Valley," "Duncan Polite," etc._ McCLELLAND AND STEWART PUBLISHERS : : TORONTO Copyright, 1913 BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY CONTENTS CHAPTER I. THE GLEAM II. "THE GREATEST OF THE THREE" III. LIFE'S YOUNG MARINER IV. SIDE LIGHTS V. FOLLOWING THE GLEAM VI. LAUNCHING HIS VESSEL VII. "MOVING TO MELODY" VIII. "FLOATED THE GLEAM" IX. "DEAF TO THE MELODY" X. "THE LIGHT RETREATED" XI. "THE LANDSKIP DARKEN'D" XII. "THE MELODY DEADEN'D" XIII. "THE MASTER WHISPERED" XIV. "FOLLOW THE GLEAM" THE END OF THE RAINBOW CHAPTER I THE GLEAM All afternoon the little town had lain dozing under the lullaby of a June rain. It was not so much a rain as a gentle dewy mist, touching the lawns and gardens and the maple trees that lined each street into more vivid green, and laying a thick moist carpet over the dust of the highways. And the little town, ringed by forest and lake, and canopied by maple boughs, had lain there enjoying it, now blinking half-awake in the brief glimpses of sunlight, now curling up again and going to sleep. In the late afternoon the silent tournament between sunshine and shadow resulted in a conquest for the sun. His victorious lances swept the enemy from the clean blue skies; they glanced over the lake, lodged in every treetop, and glittered from every church spire. The little town began to stir. The yellow dogs, that had slept all afternoon on the shop steps, roused themselves and resumed their fight in the middle of Main Street. Now and then a clerk ran across to a rival firm to get change for a customer. A few belated shoppers hurried homeward. A farmer's double-buggy backed out of the hotel yard with a scraping sound, and went rattling up the street towards the country. Everything seemed pervaded with an atmosphere of expectancy, a tense air of unrest, as though the whole place were holding itself in readiness for a summons. And then it came: the great consummation of the day's work. From the tower of the fire-hall burst forth the loud peal of the town bell. Six o'clock! Like the castle of the Sleeping Beauty the town leaped into life. The whistles of the saw-mills down by the lake broke into shrieks of joy. The big steam pipe of Thornton's foundry responded with a delighted roar. The flour mill, the wheel-factory and the tannery joined in a chorus of yells. From factory and shop, office and store, came pouring forth the relieved workers, laughing and calling across the street to each other above the din. There was a noisy tramp, tramp of feet, a hurrying this way and that, a confusion of happy voices. And over all the clamour, the big bell in the tower continued to fling out far over the town and the lake and the woods the joyous refrain that the day's work was done, was done, was done.