CHAPTER II.
The young man sat on one side of the saloon and Mr.John P.Dunster on the other.

Although both of them were provided with a certain amount of railway literature, neither of them made any pretence at reading.

The older man, with his feet upon the opposite seat and his arms folded, was looking pensively through the rain-splashed window-pane into the impenetrable darkness.

The young man, although he could not ignore his companion's unsociable instincts, was fidgety.
"There will be some floods out to-morrow," he remarked.
Mr.Dunster turned his head and looked across the saloon.

There was something in the deliberate manner of his doing so, and his hesitation before he spoke, which seemed intended to further impress upon the young man the fact that he was not disposed for conversation.
"Very likely," was his sole reply.
Gerald Fentolin sighed as though he regretted his companion's taciturnity and a few minutes later strolled to the farther end of the saloon.