ng uninjured there. One of the men had brought a
train-hand's lantern, and they followed the curve of the trestle, which
rose, black and ominously high, against the moonlight. It was not very
dark among the trees and the beam of the lantern flickered across the
rocks and fallen trunks, but they found nothing, and presently came to
the ice, where the light was not needed.

Nothing broke the smooth white surface, and the party stopped at the
edge of the water, which looked black and sullen as it rolled past,
streaked by lines of foam. There was a belt of ice on the other side,
but it was bare.

"Must have gone plumb into the river," said one. "We'd see him if he'd
come down where it's frozen."

"Unless he was able to crawl up the bank," somebody suggested.

"I guess that's impossible," another replied, scraping the snow away
with his boot. "See here, it's hardly two inches deep; nothing to
soften the blow. Besides, anybody falling through the trestle would
strike some of the cross-braces or stringers."

The man who had brought Foster touched his companion. "Nothing doing
here. We'll stop at Green Rock and you can raise a posse of ranchers
and look round to-morrow. I reckon you won't find anything."

They went back and when the train started the man sat down opposite
Foster in the smoking compartment.

"We'll probably want your evidence," he said. "What's your address?"

Foster noted that he did not ask his name. "Perhaps the Hulton
Manufacturing Company, Gardner's Crossing, would be best. I'm going
there now."

The man nodded meaningly. "That will satisfy me. On the whole, it's
lucky the fellow shot at you and Hulton told us how you stood. He
didn't miss by much; there's burnt powder sticking to your cheek."

XXXII

FEATHERSTONE APOLOGIZES

Three days afterwards, Foster entered the office of the Hulton Company,
where the head and treasurer of the firm waited him. It was late in
the evening when he arrived, but the private office was filled with the
softened throb of machinery and rumble of heavy wheels. Otherwise it
was very quiet and cut off by a long passage from the activity of the
mill.

Hulton gave him his hand and indicated a chair. "You have got thinner
since you took your holiday and look fined down. Well, I reckon we all
feel older since that night last fall."

"I do," said Foster, and added: "The mill seems to be running hard."

"She's going full blast. We've had plan