A GENTLEMAN IN STRAITS The fall of the leaf found Etterick very full of people, and new dwellers in Glenavelin.

The invitations were of old standing, but Lewis found their fulfilment a pleasant trick of Fortune's.

To keep a bustling household in good spirits leaves small room for brooding, and he was famous for his hospitality.

The partridges were plentiful that year, and a rainless autumn had come on the heels of a fine summer.

So life went pleasantly with all, and the master of the place cloaked a very sick heart under a ready good-humour.
His thoughts were always on Glenavelin, and when he happened to be near it he used to look with anxious eyes for a slim figure which was rarely out of his fancy.