arties. Often he danced with some
girl who had gone on the stage (for about one performance), and there
was considerable romance in that. As the winter passed he wondered if
he really wanted to leave those friends and that gaiety. Ethel treated
him so well he was glad to spend all his spare money on her, at
theatres, suppers and so on. But he always put away the five dollars a
week just the same. He was led to believe that not many New York lads
did that much for their future.

In February a Southerner came on the scene. The first night of his
reception in the crowd he succeeded in breaking the hearts of half the
girls; the other half succumbed the second night. The Southerner was
not a flirt--that may have accounted for his elaborate success. He was
so far from being a flirt that he fell in love with Ethel Harris and
proposed to her.

Now, the real working-out kind of proposal is not so common in New York
as, judging from the population, one might suppose. Ethel began to
advise Nelson against spending so much money foolishly. For a while
her objections to his "friendship" were overruled; but finally she got
desperate and candidly told the Canuck he was up against Kentucky. He
had to take the hint.

Thus, again, Evan was impressed with the uncertainty of things in the
metropolis. He took Ethel's engagement to heart for a day or two,
until an office-girl accidentally slipped while passing his desk and
steadied herself on his neck. She proved to be a married woman,
however, and Evan turned his attention to spring.

Appearances are against the ex-bankclerk, but he must not be judged too
rashly on the head of his Manhattan experiences. It looks as if he had
forgotten all about Toronto and Hometon; but he had not. He had never
written Frankie, it is true, but he had heard about her from his sister
and had a dim idea that some day he would go back and marry her. It is
remarkable how a fellow sticks to his home-town girl! Through
jealousies about other girls, like Ethel Harris, through the maze of a
dance with actresses, he still sees the face that smiled on him across
the school-room hack in the old town.

In March a very exciting letter came from Henty.

"Dear Evan," it read, "wire me at once. Tell me if you'll come. I
mean to British Columbia. The Nicola Valley is awaiting our arrival.
There is a homestead there for each of us. My father will give me five
hundred dollars, and I'll share with you,