Foster sat down in a big chair by the fire, and imagined he fell
asleep, because it had got nearly dark without his noticing it when the
opening of the door roused him. Looking up, he saw Featherstone come
in with a letter in his hand. The post did not arrive until the
afternoon.

"Ah!" he said, "you have heard from Lawrence."

"No, but the letter is about him," Featherstone replied, and sitting
down opposite, was silent for a few moments. His pose was slack and he
looked as if he had got a shock.

"I don't see how you can help, but perhaps you had better know how
matters are," he resumed and gave the letter to Foster.

It was short, but Foster, who was surprised and disturbed, understood
his host's alarm. Daly had written from Hexham, asking, or rather
summoning, Featherstone to meet him there next day, although he stated
that if this was impossible, he would arrive at the Garth in the
evening. There was a threat in the intimation that it would be to
Lawrence's advantage if Featherstone saw him soon.

"Well," said Foster dryly, "it looks as if our plot had succeeded
better than we thought. We certainly didn't expect the fellow would
follow me to England."

Featherstone did not seem to understand, and Foster remembered that,
with the object of saving him anxiety, he had said nothing about Daly's
having extorted money from Lawrence in Canada. He now explained the