Here he finished soliloquizing and dressing.
He cast a glance over his clothes. "They don't appear to fit very well," he thought. "How strange that I had not noticed this before. I feel disposed to put on my best coat instead of this one."
Then he tried to scoff these thoughts away and when they would not leave him, he called himself a simpleton, scolded himself for his fastidious taste, and resolved to start as he was.
It was two o'clock when he called out to his step-mother: "Mother!" (this was a delicate piece of flattery); "I am going to see how the man I saved from drowning yesterday is getting on."
"Oh, all right, Frank," answered Mrs. Mathers, pleased to hear him calling her "mother."
The young man stepped out into the open air with a decided gait. After an hour's walk he arrived at the farm-house, heated by his rapid journey.
He was courteously received by Adèle at the door. On her devolved the duties of hostess, which she endeavoured to discharge conscientiously.
She led her guest into the parlour where Mr. Rougeant was seated before a fire in an easy-chair. Frank shook hands with him and inquired how he felt.
"Not too bad, thank you," he replied, and beckoning Frank to a chair close to him, he began to converse about his farm.