"Very well. You may put it in my desk."
"Is there anything I can do for you, Mr. Nixon? Was your dinner brought over from the boarding-house?"
"Yes; but I did not have as much appetite when eating alone."
"Yet you lived alone for years?"
"It was not living—it was only existing. Now I feel much better since Mr. Nugent has forgiven me and allowed me to make atonement. Have you written to him since you came here?"
"No. I should like to do so. Have you paper and ink?"
"You will find writing materials in the desk."
"If I can do nothing for you, I will write at once."
"Do so."
Gerald wrote briefly, giving an account of his arrival in Campville, and the condition in which he found the man to whom he was sent.