"That's all settled, then."
Mr. Walkingshaw began to laugh mysteriously.
"I'd like to see Andrew's face when he learns I've gone!"
"But aren't you going to tell him?"
Mr. Walkingshaw's voice sank.
"Not a word to any of them, Frank! You put my things into your cab without any one noticing; I'll say I'm going to the office; and we'll meet at the station. I don't want to get talked about, you see."
It was reassuring to find that Mr. Walkingshaw still valued his reputation, even though the measures he took to preserve it were not excessively convincing.
"All right, then," said Frank; "I'd better go and pack now. Good-night."
"Good-night, my boy," his father answered fervently. "God bless you!"
The Cromarty Highlander had been through some nerve-testing experiences, but, as he went to his room, he realized that the severest ordeals often occur in civil life.