Part 7 (1/2)

Featherstone came in

VII

THE PACKET

When he had been a few days at the Garth, Foster thought he had better take Car about its being urgent and he did not want to go, but he must keep his promise and would afterwards be at liberty Mrs Featherstone had given him to understand that he was to land, and he looked forward to doing so with much content

The more he saw of his hosts, the better he liked thee to enjoy Alice Featherstone's friendshi+p She had, of course, given it him for her brother's sake, but he must try to keep it on his an to understand Carmen better Care, while he could not iain an object She was proud, with an essentially clean pride, and sincere, while Car her cleverness to put down a rival or secure a prominent place; she was a hustler, as they said in the West Alice, he thought, would not even claily offered or she would let it go Yet he knew she would be a staunch and generous friend to anybody who gained her confidence

This kind of comparison, however, was profitless and perhaps in bad taste After all, he was a friend of Carmen's and , and Featherstone, who made him promise to come back as soon as possible, drove him across the moors to a sht an Edinburgh train

When they ran out of the hills at Hawick, rain was falling and the valley filled with sh which loomed factories and chiathered frooing on and the townsfolk ere not at the auctionthrough thehe saw a fashi+onably dressed girl hurrying along the platfores, in which there seeuard had blown his whistle when they ca the door as the train began to irl in

”My bag; it et back to the door, but Foster caught the bag as the porter held it up and put it on the rack

”There's a seat in the corner,” he said and went into the corridor

When they stopped at Galashi+els a nuot out, and he returned to the compartirl he had helped, who gave hirateful smile

”I hadn't time to thank you, but I should have missed the train if you had not been prompt,” she said

Foster did not know if Scottish etiquette warranted anything more than a conventional reply, but he ventured to res rather fine”

”I had to drive soot to the town the streets were crowded”

”That would be sae,” the oldat the wool sales when the yarn trade is guid”

Foster liked to talk to strangers and as the girl had not rebuffed him, he took her cloak, which looked very wet, from the rack

”Perhaps I'd better shake this in the corridor and then we can hang it up,” he said

She allowed hiear's worth the saving, and I was thinking it would be nane the waur o' a bit shake, but if ye had leeved tothe mosses, ye'd no' find yereself sae soople”

”Any kind of gear's worth taking care of”

”That's true,” agreed the other ”A verra praise-worthy sentiment, if ye practice it But I wouldna' say ye were a Scot”

”In a sense, I'm a Canadian, but from what I've seen of the Ontario Scots the difference isn't very marked Anyhow, they don't buy new material until the old's worn out”

The irl looked interested

”Then you come from Canada,” she said ”Do you know any of the Ontario cities?”