Part 32 (1/2)

FOSTER SETS OFF AGAIN

After dinner the party returned to the veranda, which ar, Lawrence settled hied Lucy in careless talk

She had a pleasant voice and pretty, aniestures, and after the strain he had borne there was a char the society of an attractive girl The trouble was that he could not be careless long Lawrence was inclined to put off disagreeable things, and would no doubt sooner leave disturbing subjects alone; but Foster had only kept half his pro lost

”Your adventurestory, Lawrence, but you took unusual trouble to th

Lawrence's gesture hinted at hunation ”You're a restless fellow, Jake, but I hoped you'd wait until to-morrow You see, I've been warned to keep quiet”

Foster looked at Lucy and iined that he had her support; she no doubt knew his comrade's weakness for procrastination

”I'll try not to disturb you much,” he replied

”Then you and Lucy insisted on e you”

Lucy's sh You had another motive”

”Oh, well,” said Lawrence, ”I suppose I wanted to recall the thing and see how it looked in the light of what you told me about your exploits in Scotland”

”They make it look different, don't they?” Lucy reood-humored smile and then turned to Foster

”Lucy's cleverer than I, but I really thought she was rather hard on Walters” He paused for a htfully: ”You must remeht I was safe as long as I could do so One would have expected him to play a lone hand”

”Didn't you think there was soain after he'd learned your name? There then were rather too many coincidences”

”Suppose you enued you to try the mountains and followed you to Banff Then I've no doubt he proposed the trip up the glacier, for which he chose the guides He sent the best back with Miss Stephen, and while this was the proper thing, it's curious that the other guide got drunk

Walters gave him your flask Then he fell when he threw the rope--at the only place where a fall would not have led to his shooting down the _couloir_ Afterwards, although speed was urgent, he was very slow in going back for help”

”Besides, he knew exposure to the frost would be very dangerous for you; you told him you had been ill,” Lucy interposed

”I did,” Lawrence agreed ”Of course if the fellow had wanted to make an end of me, it's obvious that he took a clever line; but people don't do that kind of thing for nothing Suppose he was a friend of Daly's, it certainly wouldn't have suited the latter's plans”

”That,” said Mrs Stephen, ”is what Lucy and I thought You can be frank, Mr Foster, because we knorence's story”

”He was very wise to tell it you,” Foster replied, and turned to his partner ”You iined that Daly only wanted to extort money? Well, o back to the night Fred Hulton was shot You thought you saw the watche; was he far in front?”

”Perhaps a dozen yards; it's a long passage”

”He was going towards the office and stopped at the door, with his back to the light?”

”Yes; if he'd gone in I would have seen his face”