He said that he was struggling through the flood of business brought upon him by his accession to estates so large, and till lately so zealously cared for by their possessor.

As soon as ever he could get away, he meant to start for Canada; and as the time of his doing so depended only on his success in hurrying on certain affairs which were already in hand, his father might expect him by any mail except the first after his letter arrived.

There was no message to Mrs.Costello in this note, but, on the other side of the half sheet which held the conclusion of it, was a postscript hastily scrawled, "Tell Mrs.Costello to remember the last talk we had together, and to believe that I am obstinate." This postscript, however, Mr.Leigh in his excitement and joy at the prospect of so soon seeing his son, never found out.

He read the letter twice over, and then put it away in his desk, without even remembering at the moment, to wonder at Maurice's continued silence towards his old friends.

The thought did strike him afterwards, but he was quite certain that he had read every word of the letter, and was only confirmed in the ideas he had begun to entertain.