nd yet
he peeled potatoes, and did it well. But his thoughts were not upon his
work; they were upon the future which, if he proved himself to be the man
he thought himself to be, might open before him. When he had finished the
potatoes he put the pan upon a table and stood near by, deep in thought.

"Yes," said he to himself, "I should go now. After what I have said to her
I cannot stay here and live this life before her. I would wait on her with
bended knee at every step, but with love for her in my soul I cannot wash
dishes for other people. I have spoken, and now I must act; and the
quicker the better. If all goes well I may be here again, but I shall not
come back as a guide." Then a thought of Raybold crossed his mind, but he
put it aside. Even if he stayed here he could not protect her, for she had
shown that she did not wish him to do it in the only way he could do it,
and he felt sure, too, that any further annoyance would result in an
appeal to Mr. Archibald.

"Well," said Matlack, sharply, "what's the matter with you? Don't you
intend to move?"

"Yes," said Martin, turning quickly, "I do intend to move. I am going to
leave this camp just as soon as I can pack my things."

"And where in the name of thunder are you goin' to?"

"I'm going to Sadler's," said Martin.

"What for?"

"On my own business," was the reply.

Matlack looked at him for a moment suspiciously. "Have you got any
complaints to make of me?" he said.

"No," said Martin, promptly, "not one; but I have affairs on hand which
will take me off immediately."

"Before dinner?" asked Matlack.

"Yes," said the other, "before dinner; now."

"Go ahead then," said Matlack, putting some sticks of wood into the stove;
"and tell Sadler that if he don't send me somebody before supper-time to
help about this camp, he'll see me. I'll be hanged," he said to himself,
as he closed the door of the stove, "if this isn't hermitism with a
vengeance. I wonder who'll be the next one to cut and run; most likely it
will be Mrs. Perkenpine."

Early in the afternoon, warm and dusty, Martin presented himself before
Peter Sadler, who was smoking his pipe on the little shaded piazza at the
back of the house.

"Oh, ho!" said Peter. "How in the name of common-sense did you happen to
turn up at this minute? This is about as queer a thing as I've known of
lately. What did you come for? Sit down."

"Mr. Sadler," said Martin, "I have come here on most important busin