fling himself carelessly on a sofa, and unbutton his gaiters and the
knees of his small-clothes. He took little notice of anybody unless
he was spoken to, and his whole demeanour seemed to say, as plainly
as words, "I care for nobody, nobody cares for me." This was just
the kind of man for Q---. He instantly saw that he would be an
invaluable ally and coadjutor, without seeming to be so. When B---
made his appearance in the evening, Q--- was seldom at the tavern,
for his time had not yet come. In the meanwhile, B--- was sure to
be drawn gradually into conversation by some emigrants, who, seeing
that he was a practical farmer, would be desirous of getting his
opinion respecting certain farms which they thought of purchasing.
There was such an appearance of blunt simplicity of character about
him, that most of these inquirers thought he was forgetting his own
interest in telling them so much as he did. In the course of
conversation, he would mention several farms he had been looking at
with the intention of purchasing, and he would particularly mention
some one of them as possessing extraordinary advantages, but which
had some one disadvantage which rendered it ineligible for him; such
as being too small, a circumstance which, in all probability, would
recommend it to another description of settler.

It is hard to say whether Q--- was or was not deceived by B---; but
though he used him for the present as a decoy, he no doubt expected
ultimately to sell him some of his farms, with a very handsome
profit. B---, however whose means were probably extremely small,
fought shy of buying; and after looking at a number of farms, he
told Q--- that, on mature reflection, he thought he could employ his
capital more profitably by renting a number of farms, and working
them in the English manner, which he felt certain would answer
admirably in Canada, instead of sinking his capital at once in the