“What a joke!” said the young man. “Macartney used to be a frequent visitor here. Indeed, he once spent two months with us when he broke his leg while tobogganing down our slide with Mrs. Colonibel. She was a great friend of his in those days—a great friend. Naturally she would have liked to meet his mother. Did not Mrs. Macartney mention all this to you?”
“She does not know it,” said Vivienne; “of that I am sure. Captain Macartney is a reticent man. By the way,” she went on vivaciously, “you saw Captain Macartney on the steamer last evening, Mr. Armour; why did you not tell Mrs. Colonibel that his mother had chaperoned me?”
Mr. Valentine burst into low, rippling, and intensely amused laughter. “Ha, ha! old man, there is one for you. We shall see that you are the one to be blamed.”
“I never thought of it,” said Mr. Armour heavily, and with the ghost of a smile.
“You might have told us,” went on Mr. Valentine complainingly. “You know we all liked Macartney. I thought he was in India. Poor Flora! It’s a lucky thing for you, Miss Delavigne, that you kept that bit of information till she got out of the room. What is he doing here?”
“He has exchanged into another regiment,” said Vivienne. “His young brother is with him too.”
“Indeed, we must call; and now cannot we leave the table? I want to go to town.”
CHAPTER VII
IN DR. CAMPERDOWN’S OFFICE
The principal hotels of the town of Halifax are situated on Hollis Street, and Hollis Street is next Water Street, and Water Street is next the harbor.
On a dull, windless morning, when the snow clouds hung low in the air, Captain Macartney, encased in a dark uniform and looking exceedingly trim and soldierlike, stepped out of one of these hotels, where he had been to see his stepmother and brother, and walking slowly along the street looked up at the high buildings on each side of him, attentively scrutinizing doorplates and signs as he did so.