It was but a small wayside station, and Yorke felt somewhat desolate after he had shaken hands with his friend and got out with his portmanteau and bag. The feeling was speedily dispelled, for hurrying towards him he saw Mr. Allnutt. "How are you, Yorke, my boy?" his cousin said, as he grasped his hand. "I am glad to see you, though I am sorry to hear of the cause that has sent you out here. I only received your letter this morning. Luckily I had sent a Kaffir over yesterday for a parcel. I started ten minutes after I got it, and only arrived here a quarter of an hour ago. I thought that you might have some difficulty in getting a cart to carry you so far. We shall have to wait two hours to give the horses a rest, for I have driven fast, and the road--I don't suppose you would call it a road--is very heavy." "It is very kind of you to come over to meet me," Yorke said, much affected with the heartiness of the reception. "I should certainly be very glad of a drink, for it was so terribly hot yesterday and this morning, that, though we thought we had laid in a good supply of water, we finished it all at our first meal this morning." "Well, we shall get a very fair lunch at this store here. These stations are used, you see, by people for many miles round. Your father tells me that you are all well at home, but, I suppose, greatly upset at this bad business." "No. Of course it will make a lot of difference to us, but I think they troubled more about my coming away than they did about the loss of the money." "Well, lad, a year or two of our rough life will do you good, and they won't know you when you go back to them." "Is Mrs. Allnutt quite well, sir?" "Yes," the colonist said, "she is very well, Yorke; she always is well." But the lad detected a change in the tone in which he spoke. "I hope it wasn't a disagreeable surprise to her, sir, my coming so suddenly upon you?"