Cap'n? Wanted to see him afore he went, did you?"

Sears nodded. "Just a business matter," he explained, and walked away.
He did not walk far, only to the corner. There on the low stone wall
bordering on the east the property of Captain Orrin Eldridge, he seated
himself to rest and cogitate.

His cogitations were most unsatisfactory. They got him nowhere. He and
his sister had pretty thoroughly inspected Egbert's quarters at the
Macomber house. The Phillips trunk was still there, and the "horse
pictures" and the photographs of Lobelia's charming lady friends! but
there was precious little else. Toilet articles, collars, ties and more
intimate articles of wearing apparel were missing and, except for a
light coat and a summer suit of clothes, the closets were empty. And, as
Sarah had said, the two valises had vanished. Egbert had told his
landlady he was going to Trumet; he had told the livery man the same
thing. But by far the easiest way to reach Trumet was by train. Why had
he chosen to be driven there over a long and very bad road? And _what_
had become of the valises?

And then occurred the second of a series of incidents which had a marked
and helpful bearing up Captain Kendrick's actions that day. He said
afterwards that, for the first time since his railway accident, he
really began to believe the tide of luck was turning in his direction.
The first of those incidents had been his meeting and talk with Captain
Elkanah. That had sent him hurrying to the Macombers' earlier than he
intended. The second incident was that now, as he sat there on the
Eldridge wall, down the road came the Minot truck wagon with the Foam
Flake in the shafts and Judah Cahoon swinging and jolting on the seat.

Judah spied him and hailed.

"Ahoy, there, Cap'n Sears!" he shouted, pulling the old horse to a
standstill. "Thought you was down to Sary's long ago. What you doin' on
that wall--gone to roost so early in the day?"

The captain smiled. "Not exactly, Judah," he replied. "But what are you
doin' 'way back here? I thought you were haulin' Seth Bangs's wood for
him."

"Huh!" in disgust; "I thought I was, too, but there was some kind of
mix-up in the time. Cal'late 'twas that Hannah Bangs that muddled
it--she could muddle a cake of ice, that woman. Kind of born with a
knack for makin' mistakes, she is; and she's the biggest mistake
herself, 'cordin' to my notion. Seems 'twas to-morrow, not to-day, Seth
expected me to come."

"Hu