f sporting and military traditions, which he had
inherited in full force. These, in the young bread-winner of the city,
had had to be largely repressed; but he had found a certain outlet in
joining a militia regiment, in which he had at length been elected an
officer. He had a passion for firearms; and was the prize sharpshooter
of his regiment. Wonderful tales were related of his prowess.

When the _Leader_ was invited to send a representative on the excursion
of press correspondents, which an enterprising immigration agency
purposed conducting through the Canadian Northwest, Garth was chosen
to go--most unexpectedly to himself, and to the higher-paid men on the
staff. This trip put an entirely new colour on Garth's existence. He had
always felt a secret longing to travel, to wander under strange skies,
and observe new sides of life. From the very start of the journey he
found himself in a state of pleasant exhilaration which was reflected in
the copy he sent back to his paper. Pevensey's articles on the West made
a distinct hit. The editors of the _Leader_ did not tell him so; but in
the very silence from New York that followed him, he knew he had found
favour in their eyes; and he felt the delicious gratification of one
who has been unappreciated.

When the excursion, lapped in the luxury of a private car (nothing
can be too good for those who are going to publish their opinions of
you), reached Prince George, the outermost point of their wide swing
around the country, the good people of the town outdid themselves in
entertaining the correspondents. Among the festivities, a large public
reception gave the correspondents and the leading men of the country
the opportunity to become acquainted. To Garth the most interesting man
present was the Bishop of Miwasa. His Lordship was a retiring man in
vestments a thought shabby; and the other correspondents overlooked him.
But Garth had heard by accident that the Bishop's annual tour of his
diocese included a trip of fifteen hundred miles by canoe and pack-train
through the wilderness; and he scented a story. The Bishop was one of
those incorrigibly modest men who are the despair of interviewers; but
Garth stuck to him, and got the story in the end. It was the best sent
out of Prince George on that trip.

During the five days the correspondents spent there, the quiet Garth
and the quiet Bishop became fast friends over innumerable pipes at the
Athabasca Club. They discovered