the afternoon wore on, the air grew rank and oppressive. Precisely at
six o'clock the bar was let down across the door, and the storekeeper
withdrew to his living-room at the back of the tent. Here he changed his
coat and meticulously washed his hands, to which clung a subtle blend of
all the strong-smelling goods that had passed through them. Then, coming
round to the front, he sat down on the log and took out his pipe. He
made a point, no matter how brisk trade was, of not keeping open after
dark. His evenings were his own.

He sat and puffed, tranquilly. It was a fine night. The first showy
splendour of sunset had passed; but the upper sky was still aflush with
colour. And in the centre of this frail cloud, which faded as he watched
it, swam a single star.




Chapter II

With the passing of a cooler air the sleeper wakened and rubbed his
eyes. Letting his injured leg lie undisturbed, he drew up the other knee
and buckled his hands round it. In this position he sat and talked.

He was a dark, fresh-coloured young man, of middle height, and broadly
built. He had large white teeth of a kind to crack nuts with, and the
full, wide, flexible mouth that denotes the generous talker.

"What a wind-bag it is, to be sure!" thought his companion, as he smoked
and listened, in a gently ironic silence, to abuse of the Government. He
knew--or thought he knew--young Purdy inside out.