Then the sound rose muffled out of the gloom of the orchard the trail ran through, and she felt curiously expectant when once more the rider swung out into the shadowy clearing.

She afterwards remembered the vague apprehension with which she watched and listened, for it seemed to her that some intangible peril was drawing nearer with the galloping horse.

A minute or two later Seaforth came into the verandah with a packet of letters in his hand.
"There are several for you, sir," he said, handing Deringham some of them, and passed into the house shouting, "Harry." Deringham glanced through his budget, and his face changed a little, while his daughter noticed the set of his lips and the clustering wrinkles about his eyes.

There was a telegraphic message, but he put it aside and opened a bulky envelope whose stamp he recognized.

Then the missive he took out rustled a little in his hand as he read: "I'm afraid negotiations are not progressing well.