Suddenly in the midst of my observations I found the
view was obscured, and looking up, I found the face of the corporal
peering in at me; he had caught me in the act. But nothing more came
of it at the moment.
My farmer friend presently returned to his place, the whistle sounded,
and the train lumbered on.
When I resumed conversation with the Colonist I remarked on his
invalid appearance and enquired about his health. The poor man, with
tears running down his cheeks, then confessed to me it was not illness
of body, but worry of the mind that was preying upon him.
He had utterly failed in his attempt at making a successful farm, and
had entered the train with the idea of cutting his throat, and would
have done so had I not been there to prevent him. Life was over for
him, and he did not know what to do. I got him to talk about his
losses, and offered suggestions to him based on the experiences of a
friend of mine who was also a farmer in that country, and who for ten
years had failed until the right method came to him in the eleventh
year, and he was now making his business a huge success.
This put hope at once into my volatile companion. He bucked up and
became cheerful and confidential. Finally he said:
"You have done me a good turn. I will do something for you. I know
that you are a German spy, and I know that you are going to be
arrested at the station where this train stops for the night.
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