Smith was not anxious to perform. De Barral had to
vanish; the theory was that de Barral had vanished, and it had to be
upheld. Poor Flora liked the country, even if the spot had nothing more
to recommend it than its retired character.
Now and then Captain Anthony ran down; but as the station was a real
wayside one, with no early morning trains up, he could never stay for
more than the afternoon. It appeared that he must sleep in town so as to
be early on board his ship. The weather was magnificent and whenever the
captain of the _Ferndale_ was seen on a brilliant afternoon coming down
the road Mr. Smith would seize his stick and toddle off for a solitary
walk. But whether he would get tired or because it gave him some
satisfaction to see "that man" go away--or for some cunning reason of his
own, he was always back before the hour of Anthony's departure. On
approaching the cottage he would see generally "that man" lying on the
grass in the orchard at some distance from his daughter seated in a chair
brought out of the cottage's living room. Invariably Mr.
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