CHAPTER XVII
RICHER THAN GOLD
There was no one visible in the Home Restaurant when Seymour entered. While talking to Cato, however, he had seen the woman unlock the door and disappear within, and now, after he had shut the door noisily behind him, he heard someone moving behind the partition in the rear. He had time to make choice between a seat at one of the two small tables or a stool at the oilcloth-covered counter beside the range. Presently she came into the room. He was seated at the counter.
That she had been crying was evident; also that she had made an effort to remove the traces. Inwardly Seymour regretted that he had not left her alone longer with her grief.
"I'll leave it to you, ma'am," he said as she came to take his order. "Whatever is easiest for you in the way of a square meal."
She murmured an apology for Gold's scanty markets, but thought she'd be able to feed him without falling back on the can-opener. Bread had been baked that morning, she told him, as she set out a stack of soft slices. But she could not speak as encouragingly about the butter's age.
Seymour liked her voice, understanding its sad inflection, and he could feel full sympathy for her wan smile. Fortunately the range was directly in front of his seat; he could study her without seeming rude as she placed a steak to broil and sliced potatoes for a raw-fry.
In the course of his intent study of her, his hope grew that something valuable could be drawn from her. With the second sip of coffee, he broke bluntly into the matter in hand. "Well, they got poor Bart at last, I see!" he remarked.
He could see that he had startled her, as he had intended to do. She looked at him sharply, as if to make sure he was the stranger she had taken him to be. For a moment he feared she was going to break into tears, but with an effort she controlled herself, evidently being no stranger to sorrow.
"You knew Bart—the sergeant?" she asked, choking back a sob.
"In a way of speaking—yes," said Seymour. "I know that he was not an officer of the Royal Mounted."