Mrs. Forel looked at her husband curiously, "No, of course," she said.
"I wish I knew what to do for the girl."
CHAPTER XXXIII
MISS DERINGHAM'S CONFESSION
Several weeks had passed since Deringham's funeral when one evening
Forel, sitting alone on his verandah, saw Alton coming up the pathway.
His face was once more bronzed by wind and sun, but it had not wholly
lost the sombreness Forel had noticed when he had last seen him in
Vancouver.
"I'm glad to see you, Forel, for I've just come in from Victoria, and there's a good deal I want to know," he said.
"You generally do," and Forel became suddenly grave. "You heard what happened to your kinsman?"
"Yes," said Alton. "It was some time before I got your letter. I was back up there at the mine, you know. Very sudden, wasn't it?"
Forel nodded. "Still, it was not altogether astonishing. The doctor had warned him a few days before it happened that any unusual exertion or excitement might prove perilous."
"And, so far as you know, was there anything of that kind?"
Ford watched his companion closely as he answered: