Page:Robert Barr - Lord Stranleigh Philanthropist.djvu/274

 on his broad verandah, where he watched through a pair of powerful binoculars the great steamers making their way to and from America.

It was, perhaps, the sight of this shipping that suggested a journey to his lordship, and confirmed his decision to say nothing of the crisis to Sir George, who had aged pathetically since last he saw him. He thought it would be cruel to agitate the old gentleman who, after all, was rather helpless, but he bitterly censured himself for having given in so easily to the strenuous Mackeller.

The upshot of his visit was that he brought away with him several letters of introduction from Sir George, commending Edmund Trevelyan to the courtesies of bankers in Montreal, Toronto, and New York. Trevelyan had been the nom de guerre that Stranleigh used during his former visit to America. On this occasion he sailed on one of the Canadian turbine steamers direct to Montreal, where he met a surprise that caused him to wonder if he was still within the boundaries of the British Empire.

The Government official whom he encountered on landing was up to snuff. He was the man who had discovered that on several occasions emigrants assisted by their friends travelled first class, instead