He had been pedestrianizing for six weeks, and he was glad to rest awhile at Engelthal.

It was an economic repose, however, for he sallied forth every morning, with his sketching tools on his back, in search of material for new studies.

Roderick's hilarity, after the first evening, had subsided, and he watched the little painter's serene activity with a gravity that was almost portentous.

Singleton, who was not in the secret of his personal misfortunes, still treated him with timid frankness as the rising star of American art.

Roderick had said to Rowland, at first, that Singleton reminded him of some curious little insect with a remarkable mechanical instinct in its antennae; but as the days went by it was apparent that the modest landscapist's unflagging industry grew to have an oppressive meaning for him.