“That’ll be dandy!” cried Gerald. “Remember the bully feed we had going home the last time, Dan?”
“Yes, and I remember that we both ate too much. You’d better finish that letter, Gerald, and get Thomas to post it.”
Gerald hesitated a moment. Then he sat down again, seized the pen and added three hurried lines to his epistle.
“Dan just came, and wants me to go back. He says no one will know anything about it. So I’m going. I guess I was a fool. Lovingly, Gerald.”
[CHAPTER X]
A VISIT FROM KILTS
It began to clear off about sunset time that evening. To the westward, beyond Meeker’s Marsh, beyond the distant rolling hills, a gleam of crimson dispelled the gray for a brief moment. Later, one by one, the stars came out, and a little wind brushed the sky clear of clouds. It was a cold, crisp evening, and Mr. McIntyre, looking out for a moment before he drew the shades in his study, felt the attractions of fresh air and exercise. Getting into a heavy plaid ulster, settling his funny round cloth hat on his head, and taking his big Scotch oak walking stick in hand, Kilts turned down his light and left the building.
He had been expecting some books by express for several days, and now he would just walk down to the station and see if they were there. He was a good walker, and once clear of the school grounds, he swung his stick and stepped out vigorously. Overhead the millions of stars sparkled whitely in a purple-black sky, shedding a faint radiance over the snowy road and fields. Perhaps memory brought recollections of just such tingling nights at home in the lowlands of Scotland, for he paused once for a long while at the edge of the road and gazed off across the fields and sighed ere he went on his way again.
At the station he found that his package had not yet been received. As he turned to retrace his steps a long whistle reached him through the silence, and he paused at the corner of the station to watch the train come in. He always enjoyed that. He liked to see the glare sweep down the track, listen to the mighty breath of the great iron monster hurling itself out of the night, watch the lighted windows as they flashed by, and wonder, as folks will who are quite out of the world of travel, who were beyond them and why. Even an instructor of mathematics may have imagination. But instead of thundering by, the train slackened pace and came to a stop. Only a handful of travelers alighted, and they were soon swallowed up in the semi-darkness outside the radius of the station lights.