questions. When in steady tramp they came out on the open stretch of
road between the pines and the mountain, over the noise of the swollen
river he heard what she thought of him.




CHAPTER XXI.


That afternoon Alec Trenholme had essayed to bring his friend John Bates
to Chellaston. Bates was in a very feeble state, bowed with asthma, and
exhausted by a cough that seemed to be sapping his life. Afraid to keep
him longer in the lodging they had taken in Quebec, and in the stifling
summer heat that was upon, the narrow streets of that city, but
uncertain as to what length of journey he would be able to go, Alec
started without sending further notice.

As the hours of travel wore on, Bates's dogged pluck and perseverance
had to give way to his bodily weakness, but they had reached a station
quite near Chellaston before he allowed himself to be taken out of the
train and housed for the night in a railway inn. In his nervous state
the ordeal of meeting fresh friends seemed as great, indeed, as that
involved in the remaining journey. So it came to pass that at dusk on
that same evening, Alec Trenholme, having put his friend to bed, joined
the loungers on the railway platform in front of the inn, and watched
lightning vibrate above the horizon, and saw its sheet-like flames light
up the contour of Chellaston Mountain. He did not know what hill it was;
he did not know precisely where he was in relation to his brother's
home; but he soon overheard the name of the hill from two men who were