t she had telegraphed for his comrade.
Unfortunately, she did not know that her message was then in the page's
pocket. He had waited some time for Walters' telegram, and when he
reached the station found the agent gone. In consequence, fearing a
reprimand, he resolved to send the messages in the morning and say
nothing about the matter.

The next day was clear and calm, with bright sunshine on the snow, and
Mrs. Stephen agreed when Lawrence insisted on going for a short walk
with her and some of the guests. Walters joined the party, although
Lucy tried to leave him behind, and they leisurely climbed a winding
path among the pines. The snow was thin and crisp beneath the trees,
the air exhilarating, and through openings they caught glimpses of
fissured glaciers, rocks that glistened in the steely light, and
majestic glittering peaks. The pines were straight and tall, and the
great soft-colored trunks rose in long climbing ranks against the blue
shadow on the snow.

They stopped for a few minutes at the foot of a crag, and then
Lawrence, who had been sitting rather slackly on a log, got up with a
shiver.

"The air's keen," he said. "Can't we go back another way where we'll
get the sun?"

One of the party said there was a lower and more open trail, and they
went down until they reached a narrow track that followed the edge of a
steep fall to the river. The hillside above made a sharp angle with
the pines that cut, in scattered cones of somber green, against the
long, glittering slope. Below, the ground dropped nearly sheer to the
green flood that roared among the ice. Although the trail was safe
enough, Lucy kept close to Lawrence and was glad to see Walters talking
to one of the others some distance behind. She felt jaded, for she had
not relaxed her watchfulness since the man arrived. By and by Lawrence
gave her a grateful smile.

"You look tired; I expect I'm something of a responsibility. If you
like, I'll make an excuse for stopping in until Walters goes."

"No," she said with an effort, "that would be cowardly and not good for
you. After all, I may be giving my imagination rein; but I wish he
hadn't come."

"He won't be here long. Anyhow, we'll keep out of his way as much as
we can for the rest of the time."

"That's a relief. Still, I expect you really think you are indulging
me."

"I don't know what to think," Lawrence replied. "You're clever, and
Jake, who takes your view, is not a foo