THE RETHHN TO^ THE WATTIE. 
to have that gentlemnn’s opinion as to whether Mn, 
Easy was dangerously ill or not. Perean glanced over 
the letter in his shrewd sharp way, threw it down on 
the tabloy chuckled and rubbed his hand's, and said : 
He ‘s all light ; never was better.. Just what I 
thought ;• dangerously iH, ha ! ha !; It ’s my opinion, 
Mr. Smith,, that he is dangerously well ! and he will 
be grudging money for the estate; wanting it all to- 
spend himself, but if there are any signs of this state of 
mind turning up turn upon him. Say roads are traced 
and must be cut, blasting is^ expensive work, and if he 
grumbles it all his own orders. Stir up his memory 
as to- when he said ‘ Blast the rocks,’ and then you 
know with a douhle force you will get through with 
them, for while you are blasting them here when he 
gets your letter, won’t he be doing the same in Bom- 
bay ? But perhaps better let bygones be bygones; 
he will never trouble you, and it ’s not likely when he 
comes back, if ever he comes to reside at all again, that 
he will ever trouble you or trouMe himself in the way 
he used to do. I don’t think he will. Easy will come 
back a changed man. The spell as broken.” 
About three months had now elapsed since Mr. 
Easy’s departure, when one afternoon Mr. Smith re- 
ceived a letter from him, intimating his arrival at 
Colombo, and stating that he would be on the estate 
to-morrow afternoon to dinner. Of course Mr. Perean 
came over to meet him, and welcome back his old 
friend. The two gentlemen were pacing up and down 
the verandah, occasionally looking at their watches,, 
and statiiLg their opinicm that, fromj the bad state of 
the roads, the ca^iage which would without doubt 
be hired from Kandy could not turn up for some 
time. They even hoped Mr. Easy would not have 
forgotten to procure some pillows, and cushions for 
the jolting would be very bad, but, just as they were 
hoping, the sharp clatter of a horse’s hoofs was heard. 
They looked out, and a gentleman was riding up the 
road at a sharp canter. “ Who can that he ? ” says 
Mr. Perean. It looks like Easy, but I don’t think 
he can ride, and the fellow coming up certainly can 
ride. Oh, just look.” and instead of coming round 
the drive, Mr. Easy — for it "Wfas he — leaped his 
horse over the rose fence, and came cantering over 
the grass-field straight up to the bungalow, waving 
his cap and looking the very picture of health. 
After a hearty shaking of hands, the conversation 
turned upon the horse, and all his good and bad 
points were discussed. There’s another one com- 
ing,” says Easy, “of a shorter stouter cut, forestate 
work, in fact for Mr. Smith’s especial use. I was 
thinking it must be hard work for Smith toiling 
