Nevertheless, when Miss Mullet arrived and giggled over the details of her trousseau and Lily Steynes discussed the advertisements of Aylesbury ducks in the current Exchange and Mart, he was reserved and rather sarcastic with them both.  He intimated later that he had long been aware of the coming displacements; but he said not a word of Vivie’s letter.

CHAPTER IV

PONTYSTRAD

On a morning in mid-July, 1901, Mr. D.V.  Williams bicycled to Paddington Station from New Square, Lincoln’s Inn.  The brown canvas case fitted to the frame of his male bicycle contained a change of clothes, a suit of paijamas, a safety razor, tooth-brush, hair-brush and comb.  He himself was wearing a well-cut dark grey suit—­Norfolk jacket, knickerbockers and thick stockings.

Having had his bicycle labelled “Swansea,” he entered a first-class compartment of the South Wales express.  Though not lavish on his expenditure he was travelling first because he still felt a little uneasy in the presence of men—­mostly men of the rougher type.  Perhaps there was a second class in those days; there may be still.  But I have a distinct impression that Mr. Vavasour Williams, law student, travelled “first” on this occasion:  for this was how he met a person of whom his friend, Honoria Fraser, had often spoken—­Michael Rossiter.

He did not of course—­till after they had passed Swindon—­know the name of his travelling companion.  Five minutes before the train left Paddington there entered his compartment of the corridor carriage a tall man with a short, curly black beard and nice eyes—­eyes like agates in colour.  There was a touch of grey about the temples, otherwise the head hair, when he changed from a hard felt hat to a soft travelling cap, showed as dark as the beard and moustache.  His frame was strong, muscular and loosely built, and he had clever, nervous hands with fingers somewhat spatulate.  His clothes did not much suggest the tourist—­they seemed more like a too well-worn town morning suit of dark blue serge; as though he had left home in an absent-minded mood intent on some hurriedly conceived plan.  He cast one or two quick glances at David; once, indeed, as they got out into full daylight, away from tunnels and high walls, letting his glance lengthen into a searching look.  Then he busied himself with a number of scientific periodicals he had brought to read in the train.

Impelled, he knew not why, to provoke conversation, David asked (quite needlessly), “This is the South Wales express, I mean the Swansea train, is it not?”

Blackbeard was struck with the unusualness of the voice—­a very pleasant one to come from the lips of a man—­and replied:  “It is; at least I got in under that impression as I am intending to go to Swansea; but in any case the ticket inspector is sure to come along the corridor presently and we’ll make sure then.  We stop at Swindon, I think, so if we’ve made a mistake we can rectify it there.”