. There was, he felt,
little that suggested fixity of tenure and continuity in the West; the
times changed too rapidly, people came and went, alert, feverishly
bustling, optimistic. In the old land, his friends among the favored few
dwelt with marked English calm in homes that had apparently been built to
stand forever. Yet he was Western, by deliberate choice as well as by
birth; while there was much to be said for the other life which had its
seductive charm, the strenuous, eager one that he led was better.

He opened the letters--one from Bella, announcing her engagement and
inquiring about her brother; a second from Millicent, stating that it was
decided that she would visit British Columbia in the early summer; and a
third from Nasmyth, which, dreading its contents, he kept to the last.

He was, however, slightly reassured when he opened it. Nasmyth's remarks
were brief but clear enough. There was no actual engagement between
Millicent and Clarence, though Mrs. Gladwyne was doing her utmost to
bring one about and Millicent saw the man frequently. In the meanwhile,
he did not think there was anything to be done; Lisle could not
conclusively prove his story, though he could make a disastrous
sensation, which was to be avoided, and it would be wiser to defer the
disclosure until the engagement should actually be announced. Millicent's
attachment to Clarence was not likely to grow very much stronger in a
month or two. In conclusion, he urged Lisle to wait.

On the whole, Lisle agreed with him. Somehow he felt that Millicent would
never marry Gladwyne. Apart from his interference, he thought that her
instincts would, even at the last moment, cause her to recoil from the
match. Furthermore, turning to another aspect of the matter, he could not
clear his dead comrade's memory by telling a tale that was founded merely
on probabilities. There was nothing for it but to await events, though he
was still determined to start for England the moment Nasmyth's letter
made this seem advisable.

Shortly afterward, one of his business associates came in: a young man
with a breezy, restless manner who would not have been trusted in England
with the responsibilities he most efficiently discharged. In the West, a
staid and imposing air carries no great weight with it and eagerness and
even rather unguided activity are seldom accounted drawbacks. There
dulness is dreaded more than rashness.

"I've seen Walthew and Slyde," he announce