His words had their effect on Florence. This, it seemed, was what the men who dealt with Elcot thought of him. After a few more general observations about the creamery her companion went back into his store, and as he did so Nevis came out of a house near by. He stopped beside her team.
"I didn't know you were in the settlement," he said, and his manner implied that had he been acquainted with the fact he would have sought her out.
Florence glanced at him sharply as she gathered up the reins. The man seemed disposed to be more amiable than he had shown himself on the last occasion, but she now cherished two strong grievances against him. He had cunningly saddled her with a debt which was becoming horribly embarrassing, and he had given her husband a hint that she had dealings of some kind with him. As the latter course was, on the face of it, clearly not calculated to earn her gratitude, she surmised that he must have had some ulterior object in adopting it.
"I've been buying stores," she answered indifferently.
"That's a new departure, isn't it?" Nevis suggested. "You generally contented yourself with sending in for them."
Florence did not like his tone, and he seemed suspiciously well informed about her habits. This indicated that he had been making inquiries about her, and she naturally resented it. She disregarded the speech, however.
"I suppose you're here on business?"
"Yes," answered Nevis, and there was something significant in his manner; "I thought it wiser to look up my clients after the hail we had two nights ago. It's going to make things very tight for many of the prairie farmers."
"And a disaster naturally brings you on the field. Rather like the vultures, isn't it?"
She was about to drive on, but Nevis suddenly laid his hand on the rein.