st have cost. You see, you only knew
him in the bush, and after he went back I noted a difference in his
letters. They were sometimes strange; he seemed to be hiding things. I
think he felt the disappointment keenly and lost heart."

Thirlwell saw she suspected something, and replied: "Disappointment is
often numbing; but your father never lost his faith in the lode."

"Nor have I lost mine," said Agatha. "But we will not talk about that
yet. He brought us up and started us well; then my mother died, and
nobody had any further claim on him. His duty was done, and though he
was getting old, he went back to the North. Well, I have told you part
of his story, and you know the rest."

"It is a moving tale," said Thirlwell, with quiet sympathy.

He thought she felt it was necessary to defend her father, and she had
done so. Indeed, he admitted that one must respect the man who had, with
uncomplaining patience, for years carried on his disliked task for his
wife and children's sake. Longing for the woods and the silent trail,
Strange must have found it irksome to count dollar bills and weigh
groceries in the store; but he had done his duty, and borne hardship and
failure when at last freedom came. Still the girl must not know what he
had become.

Agatha asked him a number of questions and then got up. "Thank you," she
said. "I will take the photograph and would like you to keep the
specimen of ore."

"I will keep it; but I wonder why you wish to give it me?"

She smiled. "I believe in the lode and would like you to believe in it,
too. You are a mining engineer and can find out if there is much silver
in the stone."

Then she crossed the lawn to the hotel veranda and left Thirlwell
thoughtful.

CHAPTER III

AGATHA MAKES A PROMISE

Next morning Thirlwell wrote to his employers, stating that he meant to
take another week's holiday, and smiled as he reflected that the letter
would arrive too late for them to refuse. The hotel was comfortable, he
had met one or two interesting people, and was told the fishing was
good; besides, he thought he would not be badly needed at the mine just
then. For all that, he was not quite persuaded that these were
sufficient reasons for neglecting his work, and when he went through the
hall with the letter in his hand he put it into his pocket instead of
the box. He would think over the matter again before the mail went out.
Then as he crossed the veranda Agatha came up from th