But it was of
no importance, and I did not question him again.
"Well, thanks for coming up with me," I said, and shared a little money
with him for a winter wrap or something of the sort. And I took leave of
him, and wanted him to turn back.
He seemed anxious, however, to go on with me a little farther. And, to get
me to agree, he suddenly confesses that the Captain had seen the engineer
while he was here--yes. The porter, good foolish creature, had understood
enough of the maids' gossip in the kitchen to make out that there was
something wrong about the engineer and this cousin of his who had come to
stay; more than this, however, he had not seen. But, as regards the
meeting between the two men, it was he himself who had acted as guide to
the Captain on his way up to find the engineer.
"He said he must find him, and so we went up together. And the Captain, he
asked me on the way, what could there be to inspect up the river now it
was frozen over? And I couldn't see myself, I told him.
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