e futile to speculate on the
movements of men so erratic as those he had followed. He could not
neglect his farm, and he had a heavy crop to haul in and sell: this was a
duty that must be attended to.

If he went back without Jernyngham, and Curtis still clung to his theory,
the police might give him trouble; but he must run that risk. Though
convinced of it, he had no means of proving that Jernyngham was wandering
through British Columbia in company with a crazy prospector.

After a while he grew drowsy and got into the bunk, where he lay down,
enjoying the warmth and softness of the spruce twigs until he went to
sleep.

CHAPTER XIX

PRESCOTT'S RETURN

It was Saturday evening, clear and cold, though the frost was not
intense. A number of the farmers and their wives had driven in to
Sebastian to meet their friends and make their weekly purchases. A row of
light rigs stood outside the livery-stable, voices and laughter rose from
the sidewalks; the town looked cheerful and almost picturesque with its
roofs and tall elevator towers cutting against the soft night sky.

A full moon hung above them, but its silvery radiance was paled by other
lights. Warm gleams shone out from the store windows upon the
hard-trodden snow; a train of lighted cars stood at the station, and the
intense white glare of the head-lamp mingled with the beam flung far
across the prairie by a freight locomotive on a side-track. Groups of
people strolled up and down the low platform, waiting to see the train go
out, and their voices rang merrily on the frosty air. From one of the
great shadowy elevators there came a whirr of wheels.

When the train rolled away into the wilderness, Muriel Hurst entered the
hotel and went upstairs to the parlor where Colston and her sister were
sitting. The room was furnished in defective taste, but it was warm and
brightly lighted, and the girl had got accustomed to the smell of warm
iron diffused by the stove and the odor of burning kerosene. Colston
occupied an easy-chair, and when Muriel took off her furs he looked up
with a smile, noticing the fine color the nipping air had brought into
her face. She looked braced and vigorous, but it struck him that she wore
a thoughtful expression.

"Did you buy all you wanted?" he asked.

"I got what I came for." Muriel sat down and handed her sister a parcel.
"I think that ought to match. Has Harry been lounging there since supper?
Isn't he the picture of comfo