The next moment the door opened and Raven, followed by Jerry, stepped into the room. As his eye fell upon the Superintendent, instinctively he dropped his hands to his hips and made an involuntary movement backward, but only for an instant. Immediately he came forward and greeted Mandy with fine, old-fashioned courtesy.
“So delighted to meet you again, Mrs. Cameron, and also to meet your charming sister.” He shook hands with both the ladies very warmly. “Ah, Superintendent,” he continued, “delighted to see you. And you, Inspector,” he said, giving them a nod as he laid off his outer leather riding coat. “Hope I see you flourishing,” he continued. His debonair manner had in it a quizzical touch of humor. “Ah, Cameron, home again I see. I came across your tracks the other day.”
The men, who had risen to their feet upon his entrance, stood regarding him stiffly and made no other sign of recognition than a curt nod and a single word of greeting.
“You have had quite a trip,” he continued, addressing himself to Cameron, and taking the chair offered by Mandy. “I followed you part way, but you travel too fast for me. Much too strenuous work I found it. Why,” he continued, looking narrowly at Cameron, “you are badly punished. When did you get in?”
“Two hours ago, Mr. Raven,” said Mandy quickly, for her husband sat gazing stupidly into the fire. “And he is quite done up.”
“Two hours ago?” exclaimed Raven in utter surprise. “Do you mean to say that you have been traveling these last three days?”
Cameron nodded.
“Why, my dear sir, not even the Indians face such cold. Only the Mounted Police venture out in weather like this—and those who want to get away from them. Ha! ha! Eh? Inspector? Ha! ha!” His gay, careless laugh rang out in the most cheery fashion. But only the ladies joined. The men stood grimly silent.
Mandy could not understand their grim and gloomy silence. By her cordiality she sought to cover up and atone for the studied and almost insulting indifference of her husband and her other guests. In these attempts she was loyally supported by her sister-in-law, whose anger was roused by the all too obvious efforts on the part of her brother and his friends to ignore this stranger, if not to treat him with contempt. There was nothing in Raven's manner to indicate that he observed anything amiss in the bearing of the male members of the company about the fire. He met the attempt of the ladies at conversation with a brilliancy of effort that quite captivated them, and, in spite of themselves, drew the Superintendent and the Inspector into the flow of talk.
As the hour of the midday meal approached Mandy rose from her place by the fire and said: