opportunity, but what had guided him to his vantage-point he could not tell. He had remembered that the window was unfastened. He believed that the curtain would keep him safe from discovery, because he was assured that his strange visitor had come to stay and not to steal. To observe Martin when Martin thought himself unobserved, in that direction might lie knowledge. But what was it Martin sought now?

The scrutiny lasted but a few seconds. The gardener was back in his seat when Derrick entered unconcernedly, resumed his seat at the desk, and lit his pipe with extreme deliberation. Martin’s face was utterly blank, and he got up automatically when the new master of Beech Lodge came in.

“If you want that job, I’m inclined to give it to you.”

The big chest expanded slowly, and the broad figure lost something of its rigidity.

“Thank you, sir, and I’ll do my very best,” said Martin eagerly. “I know the place like a book, and I know roses, and you won’t have reason to regret it.”

Derrick smiled. “We haven’t discussed the matter of wages yet.” He was wondering whether the rate of pay meant as little to this man as it had to Perkins. “What I’m going to offer won’t seem much to one who has knocked about the world as much as yourself. It’s not a case of American wages.”

“I’m not worrying about wages, sir. It doesn’t take much to keep me going, and I’ve never had a drink in my life. It’s the old job I’m after.”

“Then what do you say to thirty shillings a week and the cottage.”

“That’s fair enough,” said Martin eagerly.

“By the way, I take it you’re not married?”

“I haven’t any wife now,” he stammered after a poignant pause.

“Sorry, Martin, I didn’t mean to hurt you. Any children?”

“No, sir.” The tanned face was calm again.

“Then I suppose you can begin to-morrow?”

“I’m ready for that.” Martin fingered his cap. “Might I sleep in the cottage to-night, sir? I’ve got my bundle outside.”

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