"Perhaps he has come to beg a lift." The young man in question made steady progress up the platform.

His hands were thrust deep into the pockets of his coat, and his forehead was contracted in a frown.

As he approached more closely, he singled out Mr.John P.Dunster, and motioning his porter to wait, crossed to the edge of the track and addressed him.
"Can I speak to you for a moment, sir ?" Mr.John P.Dunster turned at once and faced his questioner.

He did so without haste--with a certain deliberation, in fact--yet his eyes were suddenly bright and keen.

He was neatly dressed, with the quiet precision which seems as a rule to characterise the travelling American.
He was apparently of a little less than middle-age, clean-shaven, broad-shouldered, with every appearance of physical strength.