e
was to appreciate intercourse with men who were manifestly in a higher
rank of life than he, it would not have been surprising if he had
forgotten Sissy for a time, even if they had had nothing to relate of
personal interest to himself. As it was, even in the excitement of
hearing what was of importance concerning his own property, he did not
wholly forget her; but while his visitors remained his anxiety was in
abeyance.

When they were packing their instruments to depart, the young American,
who had not been with them during the morning, came and took Bates aside
in a friendly way.

"See here," he said, "were you gassing about that young lady? There
ain't no young lady now, is there?"

"I told you"--with some superiority of manner--"she is not a young lady;
she is a working girl, an emigrant's----"

"Oh, Glorianna!" he broke out, "girl or lady, what does it matter to me?
Do you mean to say you've really lost her?"

The question was appalling to Bates. All the morning he had not dared to
face such a possibility and now to have the question hurled at him with
such imperative force by another was like a terrible blow. But when a
blow is thus dealt from the outside, a man like Bates rallies all the
opposition of his nature to repel it.

"Not at all"--his manner was as stiff as ever--"she is lurking somewhere
near."

"Look here--I've been up the hill that way, and that way, and that
way"--he indicated the directions with his hand--"and I've been down
round the shore as far as I could get, and I've had our two dogs with
me, who'd either of them have mentioned it if there'd been a stranger
anywheres near; and she ain't here. An' if she's climbed _over_ the
hill, _she's_ a spunky one--somewhat spunkier than _I_ should think
natural." He looked at Bates very suspiciously as he spoke.

"Well?"

"Well, _my_ belief is that there ain't no young lady, and that you're
gassing me."

"Very well," said Bates, and he turned away. It was offensive to him to
be accused of telling lies--he was not a man to give any other name than
"lie" to the trick attributed to him, or to perceive any humour in the
idea of it--but it was a thousand times more offensive that this youth
should have presumed to search for Sissy and to tell him that the search
had been vain.

Horrible as the information just given was, he did not more than half
believe it, and something just said gave him a definite idea of
hope--the strange dogs had not fou