The sight
of Nichol and his manner was intolerable; and in addition, he was
almost as much care as a child. Everything struck him as new and
strange, and he was disposed to ask numberless questions. His
vernacular, his alternations of amusement and irritation, and the
oddity of his ignorance concerning things which should be simple
or familiar to a grown man, attracted the attention of his fellow-
passengers. It was with difficulty that Martine, by his stern, sad
face and a cold, repelling manner, kept curiosity from intruding
at every point.
At last, with heart beating thickly, he saw the lights of Alton
gleaming in the distance. It was a train not often used by the
villagers, and fortunately no one had entered the car who knew
him; even the conductor was a stranger. Alighting at the depot, he
hastily took a carriage, and with his charge was driven to the
private entrance of the hotel. Having given the hackman an extra
dollar not to mention his arrival till morning, he took Nichol
into the dimly-lighted and deserted parlor and sent for the well-
known landlord.
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