Lawrence had gone to his room to rest and Lucy Stephen was sitting
alone in the veranda when she heard the roar of an east-bound train
coming up the valley. It stopped, which did not often happen, and she
put down her book and looked out at the opening in the pines that led
to the track. The smoke that rose into the clear, cold air began to
move, and Lucy frowned, because the train had just stopped long enough
for passengers to alight. Although the hotel was generally full in
summer, there were then only a few other guests, quiet people whose
acquaintance she had made, and she did not wish Lawrence to be
disturbed by new arrivals. He was getting better, but not so quickly
as she wished. Besides, she had another ground for anxiety.
A man came up the road between the pines. It was a relief to see one
man instead of a party, but she went to the glass front and watched him
with keen curiosity. He vanished among the trees where the road curved
and when he came out not far off she set her lips. It was Walters and
her vague fears were realized, but he would not reach the hotel for a
few minutes and this gave her time to brace herself.
Ringing a bell, she asked for a telegraph form and hurriedly filling it
up, said to the waiting lad, "Take this down to the office."
The lad wore a smart uniform and was called a page, but he had the
pertness that generally marks the bellboy in Western hotels.
"Certainly, miss. But I reckon I'll be wanted when the stranger who's
coming up the road gets here. Guess it will be all right if I take
your message when he's fixed."
Lucy, who scarcely heard, sent the page away. Walters would arrive in
a minute or two, and now she had warned Foster she thought she had
better not avoid him. If she hid her distrust, she might find out
something, and she would sooner he saw her before he met Lawrence.
There was nobody else in the veranda just then. Walters came in with a
smile that somehow intensified her antagonism, but she waited calmly,
although she did not give him her hand.
"It looks as if you were rather surprised to see me," he remarked.
"I am," said Lucy. "Perhaps that's not unnatural!"
He laughed and since she did not suggest his sitting down, remained
standing in a rather graceful pose. She meant to hide her real
feelings if she could, but as she had been angry when he left it was
better that he should think her angry now. A marked change in her
attitude would be illogical and might excite suspicion.
"I suppose that means you blame me for Lawrence's illness and haven't
forgiven me yet?" he suggested.
"I do blame you. You let the guide get drunk and left Lawrence on the
_couloir_. Then you were a long time coming back, when you knew the
danger he was in."
"Well," said Walters in an apologetic tone, "I suppose all this is
true, but I must point out that when we slipped down the gully it was
impossible to get up again. Then there were some big crevasses in the
glacier and I had a half-drunk man to help across; I really didn't know
he would drink too much when I gave him the flask. However, although
perhaps I was rather careless, I hope you won't forbid my seeing
Lawrence."
"I couldn't forbid your seeing him, as you must know."
"You couldn't, in a sense," Walters agreed. "Still, of course, your
wishes go a long way with him, and I imagine he is what one might call
amenable."
"I don't understand that."
Walters smiled. "I always found Lawrence good-humored and it would
surprise me if he did anything you didn't like. I don't know that I
can go farther without venturing on an open compliment. But I'm
anxious to know how he is."
"He is getting better, but must be kept quiet for some time. But why
did you come here?"
"It ought to be obvious," Walters replied in a tone of mild protest.
"You blame me for my friend's illness, and though I don't know what I
left undone, I am, in a sense, responsible; anyway, I was with him.
Well, I found I had to go east, and determined to put off my business
for a day or two so I could stop over and see how he is getting on."
"You may see him. But you must remember that he isn't strong and needs
quietness."
"I'll be very careful," Walters said with a grateful look. "May I take
it that your consent is a sign that you'll try to forgive me for my
share in the accident?"