Part 5 (1/2)

When he arrived at Montreal he went to the _Windsor_ as he had been told, but there was no letter or telegra the day or two he stayed On the evening before he sailed he was sitting in the large entrance hall, which is a feature of Aht a man some distance off looked hard at hiliet a better light and people were ht the man was Daly, and after a few moments carelessly crossed the floor

A man sat at the spot he had marked and the chairs on both sides were unoccupied, but when Foster sat down in the nearest he saw the felloas a stranger This puzzled him, since he did not think he had been mistaken It was, however, possible that Daly had been there, but had moved off quietly when Foster's vieas obstructed If so, he , and Foster waited souestbook Daly's name did not appear, and he found that nobody froned the book recently

”I wanted to see if ahere,” he told the clerk

”That's all right,” said the other ”Quite a nu for friends to-day”

Foster described Daly as well as he could, and asked if he had examined the book

”No,” said the clerk ”nobody just like that had the register while I've been about; but now I think of it, a ht e” Then he indicated a figure near the revolving door, ”There! that's who he ith!”

As the man pushed the door round Foster saw his face, and knew hier who had occupied the chair in which he had expected to find Daly He thanked the clerk and went back thoughtfully to his place, because it looked as if Daly had been there and the other had helped hiht be trying to follow Featherstone; but he was, fortunately, out of their reach, and Foster decided that he erate the iht have come to Montreal on business, and the rotunda of a Canadian hotel is so of a public resort

Still, he felt disturbed and presently gave the clerk the fur coat, telling hiet rid of the thing

Next day he sailed on an Eland left the train at a lonely station in the North It was not yet dark, and for aabout There had been rain, and the air had a damp freshness that was unusual in Canada In the east and north the sky was covered with leaden cloud, against which rounded hilltops were faintlyslopes towards the west, where the horizon was flushed with vivid saffron and delicate green Up the round ran a deep valley, with blue shadow in its bottoht on its heathy sides There were few trees, although a line of black firs ran boldly to the crest of a neighboring rise, and stone dykes were es Foster saw no plowed land, and nothing except heather seerow on the peaty soil, which looked black as jet where the railway cutting pierced it Indeed, he thought the landscape as savage and desolate as any he had seen in Canada, but as he did not like tame country this had a certain charm

While he looked about a man came up He was elderly and dressed with extreme neatness in old-fashi+oned dark clothes, but he had the unh there was a small car in the road, he was obviously not a professional chauffeur

”You'll be Mr Foster, sir, for the Garth?” he said

Foster said he was and the ies He had to attend the court, being a ”

Then he picked up Foster's port

”Never mind; I'll take it,” Foster told him

”As you like, sir, but it's perhaps not quite usual in this country,”

the other answered in a deprecatory tone

”I suppose I ought to have re

They crossed the platfor the ht I ask if Mr Lawrence was better when you left, sir? It was a disappointment to us e heard he could not come home”

Foster liked the fellow He was very formal, but seemed to include himself in his master's family

”Yes,” he said ”In fact, I expect he'll be quite well in a month or two I suppose you were at the Garth before my partner left?”

”I've served Mr Featherstone for thirty years, sir, and led Mr

Lawrence's first pony and cleaned his first gun It wasn't ular duty, sir, but he was the only son and I looked after him If I may say so, erewas brought, and as the car ran across the moor Foster noted the smooth, hard surface of the wet road The country ild and desolate, but they had no roads like this in Canada, except perhaps in one or two of the larger cities Indeed, in Western towns he knew, it was so thaw The light got red and angry as they dipped into the valley; the firs on the hillcrest stood out black and sharp, and then round A river pool shone with a ruby gleam that suddenly went out, and the di the stones