Mr. Selincourt was so surprised that he could not hide it. He had expected to see a miserable-looking invalid, with imbecile writ large all over him; instead of whom he was confronted by a dignified, courteous gentleman, whose infirmity was only hinted at by a certain languor of movement and wistfulness of expression.
"I am glad to see you looking so much better than I expected to find you," Mr. Selincourt said, taking the proffered hand and shaking it warmly.
"Yes, I am getting stronger. I have been ill, you know, and it has upset me in many ways; my mind is not what it was, and I cannot remember a great many things which it is very awkward to forget. For instance, I cannot remember, sir, whether I have heard your name or seen your face before;" and as he spoke, 'Duke Radford looked up with wistful uncertainty into the face of the man whom years ago he had wronged so heavily.
"My name you have heard, I dare say, but I do not suppose you have seen me before, because I am an Englishman, and I have only been in Canada for a year," Mr. Selincourt answered gently.
Mrs. Burton had left the room momentarily, or she might have said that her father was an Englishman also. 'Duke Radford had probably forgotten the fact himself, and after a moment of silence, in which he seemed to be gathering up his scattered faculties, he asked:
"Do you think you are going to like Canada, sir?"
"I like it immensely. I intend settling in the country permanently. I have nothing to hold me in England, nor anything which interests me enough to make me want to stay there. But here there is so much to be done; the country is crying out for development, and I—well, I think I want to have a hand in the doing of it," Mr. Selincourt answered.
'Duke Radford nodded his head in complete understanding; something of his old vigour seemed to have returned to him, and for the moment the clouds were swept from his brain.
"Canada is a fine country;" he said. "Even her waste places possess untold sources of wealth. Take this place, for instance: there are fish enough in the rivers and the bay to feed a multitude; there is timber enough to build a dozen towns, and construct a navy as well; yet it continues almost as solitary as when I came here, I can't remember how many years ago."
"It is a great pity; but that may be altered with time. We shall see," replied Mr. Selincourt, then plunged into talk about the resources of the immediate neighbourhood, the possibilities of vast coalfields underlying the forest lands, of minerals lurking in barren hillsides, and many other things.