In a sense, this was puzzling, for she had, in an extra degree, the fastidious refinement that marked the rest, and with it a touch of quiet haughtiness.  Although she often smiled, she was characterized by a restful calm, and her glance was steady and level.  Alice was tall, with unusually regular features, brown eyes, and brown hair, but Foster could not analyze her charm, which was somehow strengthened by a hint of reserve.  He was in the glow of the fire, and imagined that she once or twice gave him a glance of thoughtful scrutiny.

The room was getting dim, but lights had not been brought, and the red glow outside filled the large oblong of the casement window.  Dark fir branches cut against the lurid color and Foster, looking out, saw the radiance strike through the straight rows of trunks.

“Something like Ontario, isn’t it?” said Featherstone, indicating the trees.

“Yes, in a way, but there’s a difference,” Foster replied.  “In eastern Manitoba and Ontario the bush is choked and tangled, and runs nearly eight hundred miles.  The small pines are half burned in places; in others they’re wrecked and rotten, and lean across each other as if they were drunk.  Then you can travel all day without finding an opening, unless it’s a lonely lake or a river tumbling among the rocks.”

“It sounds depressing,” Mrs. Featherstone remarked.  “We must hope you will find your stay here a pleasant change.”

“The curious thing is that it doesn’t feel strange.  All I’ve seen so far, including the Garth, seems familiar.”

“But perhaps that isn’t remarkable.  You are English and were, I dare say, brought up in the country and used to our mode of life.”

Foster saw Alice glance at him and felt he must be frank.

“No,” he said, “my life in England was different from yours.  It was spent in monotonous work, and when I went home at night to a shabby room in a street of small dingy houses it was too late, and I was often too dejected, to think of amusements.  Twice I spent a glorious ten days among the hills, but that was all I saw of England unspoiled by tramway lines and smoke, and the holidays cost a good deal of self-denial.  Railway fares were a serious obstacle.”

Alice smiled, but he thought the look she gave him hinted at approval.

“Self-denial isn’t so unusual as you seem to think.  We know something about it at the Garth.”

“But you sent my partner money when he needed it,” Foster answered, wondering how far he could go.  “The last time it was a large amount and helped us to turn an awkward corner.  In fact, we should have gone under for a time if it hadn’t come, and I remember feeling that I owed much to friends I might never see, because I shared the benefit with your brother.  In its Western sense, partner means more than a business associate.”

“That is obvious,” Alice rejoined quietly, but with meaning.