ough they all bade her a
civil good evening, went on with their talk where they had dropped
it.

"Mr. Ferrars came up to see you this evening," Miles whispered,
when she went to help him with some boxes which were beyond his
reach.

"To see me?" Katherine asked in surprise.

"Yes, he even went over the portage to see if you were coming, but
he could not wait, because the Mary sailed with the evening tide,"
answered Miles.

CHAPTER XXIV

Mr. Selincourt is Confidential

The hot colour flamed in Katherine's cheeks; but no one saw it, for
her back was to the group of men talking by the store door, and
Miles had turned round to put on the counter the box which she had
reached down for him.

"Why did Mr. Ferrars wish to see me?" she asked, striving
successfully to make her voice steady. Of course it might have
been that Jervis wanted to see her on some matter of business
connected with the store; but in any case, and whatever his errand,
it was pleasant to think that he had come up the river on purpose
to see her.

"I don't know, he didn't say; but he carried himself with as much
swaggering importance as if it were he, and not Mr. Selincourt, who
intended buying up as much of Roaring Water Portage as he could lay
hands upon," Miles answered, in a grumpy tone. The group of men at
the door had moved outside, where it was cooler, so brother and
sister were for the moment alone.

"I don't think Mr. Ferrars ever put on much side," protested
Katherine, taking up the cudgels in defence of the absent one,
although there was an increased heaviness in her heart as she
reflected that perhaps, after all, he was betrothed to Mary
Selincourt, and hence the inward elation resulting in the outward
swagger.

"Oh, he could, sometimes!" went on Miles, who appeared to be in
rather a bad temper just then. "I suppose he is going to marry
Miss Selincourt, and that is why he puts on such a fearful lot of
cheek. Downright horrid money-grubbing, I call it, for before she
came he was always----"

"Always what?" demanded Katherine sharply. Her voice sounded a
trifle muffled, because for some reason or other she had stuffed
her head and shoulders in a bean bin, and was measuring beans in a
desperate hurry, which seemed a rather unnecessary task, as she had
no orders to fill.

But Miles, who had stumbled perilously near to an indiscretion,
plainly thought better of it, and ventured on no more speech
concerning the matter, c