view with Grace. She
seemed filled with a wholly unusual bitterness against her father, but
made me promise with some reluctance to wait a few months longer before
deciding on anything definite.

Harry returned forthwith to his post, but I waited until the mail brought
me several letters, reforwarded from Fairmead. One was a request to call
on the police authorities, on a date already passed, in connection with
the cattle thieves' trial, and there were two from the Winnipeg solicitor,
in the latter of which he said: "I cannot understand your reticence, and
must state that your mysterious absence tends to confirm unpleasant rumors
about your character. It may also involve you in legal difficulties, and I
trust you will at once communicate with me."

I ran to the telegraph office, and, after sending a message, "Expect me by
first express," I found Martin Lorimer, to whom I had given an account of
my interview with the Colonel, waiting in my quarters. He, too, possessed
a copy of the wretched paper, and, flinging it down before me, said, "Hast
seen this, lad? A lie, you needn't tell me--it's a black lie. But there's
folks that will believe it, for the same story once deceived me. You'll go
straight back and sue them. I'm coming too. We'll make them retract it or
break them, if there's justice in the land. Alice has gone south to
California with a big railroad man's wife, and I'm longing for something
to do. There's another matter. Ralph, I've seen the Colonel."

"Seen Colonel Carrington?" I said with dismay. And Martin Lorimer answered
dryly:

"Ay, I've seen him, and had a plain talk with him. Nay, I'm not going to
tell thee now what I said; but it bit, and he didn't like it. Ralph,
lad,"--and he nodded toward me with a chuckle--"his daughter's worth the
winning. My own girl says so; and thou shalt have her."

Martin Lorimer was hard to turn aside from any object on which he had set
his mind--but so, as everybody knew, was Colonel Carrington--and I fear
that I abused him inwardly for a meddling fool, and reflected on the
necessity for deliverance from the blunders of well-meaning friends. The
harm was done, however; and it was useless to attempt to draw particulars
as to his intentions from my uncle, so I tried to forget the matter. All
he would say was, "Wait and thee will see," or, again, with a wise shake
of his head in the broad mill parlance, "Thou never knows."

We boarded the next train for Winnipeg, and, after