Sutch saw the road run steeply down in front of him between forests of
pines to a little railway station. The sight of the rails gleaming
bright in the afternoon sunlight, and the telegraph poles running away
in a straight line until they seemed to huddle together in the distance,
increased Sutch's discomposure. He reined his pony in, and sat staring
with a frown at the red-tiled roof of the station building.
"I promised Harry to say nothing," he said; and drawing some makeshift
of comfort from the words, repeated them, "I promised faithfully in the
Criterion grill-room."
The whistle of an engine a long way off sounded clear and shrill. It
roused Lieutenant Sutch from his gloomy meditations. He saw the white
smoke of an approaching train stretch out like a riband in the distance.
"I wonder what brings him," he said doubtfully; and then with an effort
at courage, "Well, it's no use shirking." He flicked the pony with his
whip and drove briskly down the hill. He reached the station as the
train drew up at the platform. Only two passengers descended from the
train. They were Durrance and his servant, and they came out at once on
to the road. Lieutenant Sutch hailed Durrance, who walked to the side of
the trap.
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