to-night?"

"No."

"Are you sure of that?"

"Quite sure. I may be a little knocked up perhaps; that's all."

No hint of his intended departure fell from him when they shook hands and
wished each other good-night; but early next morning a brief note was
delivered to Mr. Fenton at his sister's house to the following effect:--

"MY DEAR GILBERT,--I find myself obliged to leave this place for
London at once, and have not time to thank anyone for the kindness
I have received during my stay. Will you do the best to repair
this omission on my part, and offer my warmest expressions of
gratitude to Captain Sedgewick and Miss Nowell for their goodness
to me? Pray apologise for me also to Mr. and Mrs. Lister for my
inability to make my adieux in a more formal manner than this, a
shortcoming which I hope to atone for on some future visit. Tell
Lister I shall be very pleased to see him if he will look me up at
the Pnyx when he is next in town.

"Ever yours,--JOHN SALTRAM."

This was all. There was no explanation of the reason for this hurried
journey,--a strange omission between men who were on terms of such perfect
confidence as obtained with these two. Gilbert Fenton was not a little
disturbed by this unlooked-for event, fearing that some kind of evil had
befallen his friend.