The world did not need him, either in life or
death!
So there was nothing for it but the starving. Having eaten nothing
that day, Samuel was ready to begin at once; he tightened his belt and
set his teeth for the grapple with the gaunt wolf of hunger.
And so he strode on down the road, pining for a chance to sacrifice
himself--and at the very hour that the greatest peril of his life was
bearing down upon him.
He had passed "Fairview," the great mansion with the stately gates and
the white pillars. He had passed beyond its vast grounds, and had got
out into the open country. He was walking blindly--it made no great
difference where he went. And then suddenly behind him there was a
clatter of hoofs; and he turned, and up the road he saw a cloud of
dust, and in the midst of it a horse galloping furiously. Samuel
stared; there was some kind of a vehicle behind it, and there was a
person in the vehicle. A single glance was enough for him to realize--
it was a runaway!
To Samuel the thing came as a miracle--it was an answer to his prayer.
And it found him ready. The chance was offered him, and he would not
fail--not he! He did not falter for a second. He knew just what he had
to do, and he was ready--resolute, and alert, and tense.
He moved into the center of the road. The horse came on, galloping at
top speed; it was a blooded horse, swift and frantic with fear, and
terrible to see.
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