He watched the people take their seats in the train with idle eyes; he was not interested in any of them. He scarcely saw their faces; they were not of his world nor he of theirs. But suddenly he received a rude shock. He sat upright and wiped away the moisture from the window in order that he might see more clearly. A young man in a long ulster was buying newspapers from a boy only a yard or two away. Something about the figure and manner of standing seemed to Mr. Sabin vaguely familiar. He waited until his head was turned, and the eyes of the two men met--then the last vestige of doubt disappeared. It was Felix! Mr. Sabin leaned back in his corner with darkening face. He had noticed to his dismay that the encounter, surprising though it had been to him, had been accepted by Felix as a matter of course--he was obviously prepared for it. He had met Mr. Sabin's anxious and incredulous gaze with a faint, peculiar smile. His probable presence in the train had evidently been confidently reckoned upon. Felix had been watching him secretly, and knowing what he did know of that young man, Mr. Sabin was seriously disturbed. He did not hesitate for a moment, however, to face the position. He determined at once upon a bold course of action. Letting down the window he put out his head. "Are you going to town?" he asked Felix, as though seeing him then was the most natural thing in the world. The young man nodded. "Yes, it's getting pretty dreary down here, isn't it? You're off back, I see." Mr. Sabin assented. "Yes," he said, "I've had about enough of it. Besides, I'm overdue at Pau, and I'm anxious to get there. Are you coming in here?" Felix hesitated. At first the suggestion had astonished him; almost immediately it became a temptation. It would be distinctly piquant to travel with this man. On the other hand it was distinctly unwise; it was running an altogether unnecessary risk. Mr. Sabin read his thoughts with the utmost ease. "I should rather like to have a little chat with you," he said quietly; "you are not afraid, are you? I am quite unarmed, and as you see Nature has not made me for a fighting man." Felix hesitated no longer. He motioned to the porter who was carrying his dressing-case and golf clubs, and had them conveyed into Mr. Sabin's carriage. He himself took the opposite seat. "I had no idea," Mr. Sabin remarked, "that you were in the neighbourhood." Felix smiled. "You have been so engrossed in your--golf," he remarked. "It is a fascinating game, is it not?" "Very," Mr. Sabin assented. "You yourself are a devotee, I see." "I am a beginner," Felix answered, "and a very clumsy beginner too. I take my clubs with me, however, whenever I go to the coast at this time of year; they save one from being considered a madman."