sn 
XIII 
IT was in mid-winter — the 
world afar off and his old life 
\} withdrawn and lying like a mist 
on the horizon — that Ralph came 
upon the records of Foster's spirit ; 
the taint and disconnected trac- 
ings ot his inarticulate experience. 
Broken and fragmentary as they 
were he swiftly deciphered them ; 
for the key to their meaning was in 
his mind. He read the loose sheets 
with an interest which deepened 
into passionate sympathy and com- 
prehension ; he retraced Foster's 
long journey through the marvel- 
[ 119] 
M 
!» 
'1. 
^ 
s< 
fs 
