"To-morrow we shall leave the house, and we are never likely to meet him again," said the earl, indifferently. "So it is hardly worth thinking about."

They strolled along in a leisurely way, and sat down under a tree, about a mile distant from their home. Under the same tree reclined a young man who looked like a farmer or a farmer's assistant.

"Good-evening," said the earl, courteously.

"Good-evening, sir."

"Do you live hereabouts?"

"Yes, I am working for my uncle, who owns a farm not far from here. You are a stranger, are you not?"

"Yes, my friend and myself are staying at Niagara. We were taking a long drive, but the horse went lame, and we engaged lodgings for the night about a mile from here."

"At what house?" asked the young man.

"I will tell you, and you can perhaps tell me something of the man who occupies it."