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408
THE LAW-BRINGERS

"I am working it up here," he said. "The man is & worm. He turned King's Evidence and told every mortal thing he knew. So he's out on bail, pending the arrest of the others. We have two of them, but the rest have disappeared. Of course we'll get them, though it may take time. It is going to be quite a big affair, for people have been wanting to get at the basis of the Canada Home-lot Extension Company for some time. You knew Heriot, Tempest? He was under you at Grey Wolf, wasn't he?"

"Yes."

"Bad luck for him that he hadn't the chance to carry this thing through. He would probably have got his step over it. He's a clever chap, too. A confoundedly clever chap. But there's kink in him somewhere, to my mind. I fancy he is safer hunting criminals along the Mackenzie than knocking around among civilised beings. Didn't you find him hard to manage?"

"Not particularly. You said Ducane was out on bail. Where is he?"

"Gone back to his wife at Grey Wolf, I believe. Poor little woman, she'll need to be good stuff to stand him. And she is good stuff, I know. One of our oldest Toronto families. Eh? Why yes. She did go home for a while. But she came back to Grey Wolf. I happened to see her on Regina station the day she passed through. She has wonderful eyes."

Tempest assented absently. He wondered if Jennifer had gone back to Grey Wolf to take care of Andree. And he wondered what she was doing there now with Ducane. Before the evening was over he had made his mind up on one point. He would spend the two first months of his leave in a fleeting visit to Grey Wolf. Jennifer deserved that of him. And, besides, she could tell him so much about Andree.

In the bachelor quarters several of the men spoke about Tempest later on. Bolton was genuinely troubled.

"He's as good a fellow as ever, of course," he said. "But he looks as if he'd had a knock."

"Had a knock! He looks as if he'd been shot sitting and drilled clean through," declared Charteris. "I hope his folk will marry him off, down East. A good, comfort-