ance, and the cause of his disappearance. He made no mention,
Sutch remarked, of the fourth white feather which Ethne herself had
added to the three. But the history of the three which had come by the
post to Ramelton he knew to its last letter.

"I was acquainted with the men who sent them," he said, "Trench,
Castleton, Willoughby. I met them daily in Suakin, just ordinary
officers, one rather shrewd, the second quite commonplace, the third
distinctly stupid. I saw them going quietly about the routine of their
work. It seems quite strange to me now. There should have been some mark
set upon them, setting them apart as the particular messengers of fate.
But there was nothing of the kind. They were just ordinary prosaic
regimental officers. Doesn't it seem strange to you, too? Here were men
who could deal out misery and estrangement and years of suffering,
without so much as a single word spoken, and they went about their
business, and you never knew them from other men until a long while
afterwards some consequence of what they did, and very likely have
forgotten, rises up and strikes you down."

"Yes," said Sutch. "That thought has occurred to me." He fell to
wondering again what object had brought Durrance into Hampshire, since
he did not come for information; but Durrance did not immediately
enlighten him. They reached the lieutenant's house. It stood alone by
the roadside looking across a wide country of downs. Sutch took Durrance
over his stable and showed him his horses, he explained to him the
arrangement of his garden and the grouping of his flowers. Still
Durrance said nothing about the reason of his visit; he ceased to talk
of Harry Feversham and assumed a great interest in the lieutenant's
garden. But indeed the interest was not all pretence. These two men had
something in common, as Sutch had pointed out at the moment of their
meeting--the abrupt termination of a promising career. One of the two
was old, the other comparatively young, and the younger man was most
curious to discover how his elder had managed to live through the
dragging profitless years alone. The same sort of lonely life lay
stretched out before Durrance, and he was anxious to learn what
alleviations could be practised, what small interests could be
discovered, how best it could be got through.

"You don't live within sight of the sea," he said at last as they stood
together, after making the round of the garden, at the door.

"No, I da