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 "And I hope you will, Mr. Forbes."

"Thank you." He smiled grimly in contemplation of it.

"You will get home in time for—for what? Dinner?"

"I'm afraid not," he said. "You see, I won't be able to get out of Sherbrooke until tomorrow evening. I guess my Christmas dinner will be eaten at the hotel. However, I shall do well enough. I wish though, that I'd thought to ask them to send my bag and coat down on that seven-thirty."

"Is it too late now?" she asked anxiously.

"I'm afraid so. It doesn't matter. I dare say I can buy some sort of a coat at Sherbrooke."

She was silent a minute. Then,

"I hate to think of you spending your Christmas there," she said troubledly. "I feel as though—I were to blame, you see."

"Not at all," he said cheerfully. "And I dare say I'll quite enjoy it. There must be something to see there; perhaps they've got a South African Monument."