other had come out with his wife, but no child. It
was quite plain that he was a good deal disappointed in the Rattler,
and not at all prepared for Mrs. Louisa, whom neither he nor his wife
admired at all, at all. He had got his brother a berth on a summer
steamer that had just been set up on Lake Winnipeg--being no doubt
glad to get rid of such an encumbrance as the wife, and he looked
very blue when he heard that I was quite certain that she had taken
the kid away with her, and been paid for it. There was nothing for
it but to go after them, and find out from them what they had done
with poor little Mite. He is a right good fellow, and would have
gone with me, but that he is bound to his boat, and a stunner she is;
but he gave me a letter to Sam, so I had to get on the Canadian
Pacific Railway, so that I should have been nonplussed but for your
loan. Splendid places it goes through, you never saw such trees, nor
such game.

'As good luck would have it, I was in the same car with an
Englishman--a gentleman, one could see with half an eye, and we
fraternised, so that I told him what I was come about. He was
awfully good-natured, and told me he lived a mile or two out of
Winnipeg, and had a share in the steam company, and if I found any
difficulty I was to come to him, Mr. Forman, at Northmoor. I stared
at the name, as you may guess! There was a fine horse and buggy
waiting for him at the station, and off he went. I put up at the
hotel--there's sure to be that whatever there is not--and went after
the Joneses next. I got at the woman first, she looked ill and
fagged, as if she didn't find life with Rattler very jolly. She
cried bucketsful, and said she didn't know anything, since she put
the poor little Mite to sleep after supper in a public-house at
Liverpool. She was dead tired, and when she woke he was gone, and
her husband swore at her, and never would tell her what he had done
with the boy, except that he had not hurt him. Then I interviewed
Sam Rattler himself. He cut up rough, as he said my Lord had done
him an ill turn, and he had the game in his hands now, and was not
going to let him know what was become of his child, without he came
down handsome enough to make up for what he had done him out of. So
then I had to go off to Mr. Forman. He has such a place, a