wn the street with Rainsford and
Wheeler,--the latter, who was an up-country hunter, busy, in pursuance
of the prevailing spirit, in trying to trade him sundry pairs of big
game, horns, and other trophies,--when he heard his name called in a
very well remembered voice. Turning, he beheld Holmes.

"Stanninghame, old chap, I _am_ glad to run against you again!" cried
the latter, advancing upon him with outstretched hand.

"I begin to believe you are," answered Laurence genially, with a comical
glance at the other's beaming countenance. "Why, you actually have a
look that way. When did you get here?"

"By last night's coach. And, I say,"--trying to look wondrously
mysterious and knowing,--"who do you think travelled up by it too?"

"I can't even venture the feeblest guess."

"Can't you?" chuckled Holmes. "What about Miss Ormskirk, eh? How's
that?"

"So? Now I remember, she did say something about a possibility of coming
up here before long," replied Laurence equably, while conscious that the
announcement had convulsed his inner being with a strange, sweet thrill.
For it came so aptly upon his meditations of late. The one unsatisfied
longing--her presence. And now even that was to be fulfilled.

"You don't seem to take it over enthusiastically, Stanninghame," went on
Holmes. "And you and she were rather thick towards the end of the
voyage," he added mischievously.

"Did you ever know me enthuse about anything, Holmes? But it's about
lunch time; let's go and get some, and you can tell me what you have
been doing since we landed from the old _Persian_, and what the deuce
has brought you up here."

This was all very friendly and plausible; but before they had been
seated many minutes at lunch in a conveniently adjacent restaurant
Holmes was discoursing singularly little upon his doings spread over the
weeks which had elapsed since he had landed, but most volubly upon his
recent coach journey congested within a space of three days--to which
topic he was tactfully moved by his audience of one and also by his own
inclination, as will hereinafter appear.

"Was Miss Ormskirk travelling alone, did you say, Holmes?" queried
Laurence, in initiation of his deft scheme for "drawing" the other.

"Not much. There was a big parchment-faced Johnny with her. He scowled
at me like sin when we were introduced--was inclined to be beastly rude
in fact, until he saw that I--er--that I--talked most to the other; then
he got quite affa