By this time Mark was ready to return. He went to the grocery store, where he obtained the milk and loaf of bread, which he had also been commissioned to procure. Then he set out for old Anthony's lonely cabin.
Before doing so, he heard something from the grocer that aroused his curiosity.
"There was a man in here only twenty minutes since," said the storekeeper, "who was asking after Anthony."
"Was it a stranger?"
"Yes. It was a man I never saw before. He was a stout, broad-shouldered man with a bronzed face, who looked as if he might be a sailor."
"Did he say who he was?"
"Only that Anthony was a relation of his, and that he had not seen him for years."
"Did he say he meant to call upon him?" asked Mark.
"He did not say so, but as he inquired particularly for the location of the cabin, I took it for granted that this was his intention."
"Then probably I shall see him, as I am going directly back to the wood."