ome
a nuisance!"

"A cheerful soul, I should call him. He's likely to make the place more
tolerable."

When Congdon pleaded weariness Archie put him to bed and then sauntered
away, following a dirt road that wound through the timber. In a little
while he came upon the Governor lying with his back against a tree,
reading Horace.

"You arrive most opportunely!" he said, without lifting his eyes from
the book. "I was pining for some one to read this ode to."

He not only read the ode but expounded it, dwelling upon felicities that
had eluded him before. With countless questions crying for answer Archie
was obliged to feign interest in the poem until the Governor thrust the
book into his pocket with a sigh and led the way to the beach.

"Well, you landed him here!" he remarked, seating himself on a log and
producing his pipe. "Or did he bring you? One would think you were old
chums to see you together. Not a bad fellow, I should say."

"He's really a good sort," said Archie; "but I'll tell you the whole
story."

The Governor listened placidly, interrupting only when Archie repeated
what Congdon had said of Isabel.

"A wonderful girl!" he ejaculated. "Makes it her business to tease the
world along. Laughing in her sleeve all the time. I must say it's odd
that both you and Congdon should be the victims of her wiles. My burdens
are heavier than I knew, for I've got to get you both out of your
scrapes."

"You don't seem to appreciate how horrible I felt when I found myself
liking that fellow. To say I was embarrassed doesn't express it! And I
nearly gave myself away when he told me he'd killed a man, your friend
Hoky, you know. I nearly confessed all I knew of that business just to
ease the poor chap's mind."

"But you didn't, Archie! You couldn't have done anything so foolish. My
tutoring hasn't been wholly wasted on you, after all. You managed the
trip admirably; I haven't a point to criticize; but now to get down to
brass tacks. What you learned of old Eliphalet Congdon's meddlesomeness
jibes exactly with what I know of his character. Let me show you
something, Archie."

He walked out upon the gravelly shore and pointed through the wide-flung
arms of the bay.

"Do you see a little blur of smoke out yonder in the open lake? That's
the _Arthur B. Grover_ proceeding under her own steam, with all the
dignity of a transatlantic liner. I took up my option and the bloomin'
thing is mine. It's got a crew of the smar