ase his Canadian friend, and was willing
soberly to tell all he knew about Oiseau's capitalist, whom he merely
conjectured to be a defaulter. He said the man called himself Warwick,
and professed to be from Chicago; and then Pinney recalled the name and
address in the register of his Quebec hotel, and the date, which was
about that of Northwick's escape. "But I never dreamt of his using half
of his real name," and he told Markham what the real name was; and then
he thought it safe to trust him with the nature of his special mission
concerning Northwick.

"Is there any place on board where a man could go and kick himself?" he
asked.

"Do it here as well as anywhere," said Markham, breaking his cigar-ash
off. But Pinney's alluring confidence, and his simple-hearted
acknowledgment of his lack of perspicacity had told upon him; he felt
the fascinating need of helping Pinney, which Pinney was able to inspire
in those who respected him least, and he said, "There was a priest who
knew this man when he was at Haha Bay, and I believe he has a parish
now--yes, he has! I remember Oiseau told me--at Rimouski. You'd better
look him up."

"Look him up!" said Pinney, in a frenzy. "I'll _live_ with him before
I'm in Rimouski twenty seconds."

He had no trouble in finding Pere Etienne, but after the first hopeful
encounter with the sunny surface sweetness of the young priest, he found
him disposed to be reserved concerning the Mr. Warwick he had known at
Haha Bay. It became evident that Pere Etienne took Pinney for a
detective; and however willing he might have been to save a soul for
Paradise in the person of the man whose unhappiness he had witnessed, he
was clearly not eager to help hunt a fugitive down for State's prison.

Even when Pinney declared his true character and mission, the priest's
caution exacted all the proofs he could give, and made him submit his
authorization to an English-speaking notary of the priest's
acquaintance. Then he owned that he had seen Mr. Warwick since their
parting at Haha Bay; Mr. Warwick had followed him to Rimouski, after
several weeks, and Pere Etienne knew where he was then living. But he
was still so anxious to respect the secrecy of a man who had trusted him
as far as Northwick had, that it required all the logic and all the
learning of the notary to convince him that Mr. Warwick, if he were the
largest defaulter ever self-banished, was in no danger of extradition at
Pinney's hands. It was