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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/14698-0.txt b/14698-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fff2dfe --- /dev/null +++ b/14698-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12540 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14698 *** + +RANCHING FOR SYLVIA + +(Published in England under the Title, _The Trustee_) + +by + +HAROLD BINDLOSS + +Author of _Vane of the Timberlands_, _Alton of Somasco_, +_Thurston of Orchard Valley_, _Masters of the Wheatlands_, etc. + +A. L. Burt Company +Publishers New York + +1913 + + + + + + + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER + + I A STRONG APPEAL + II HIS FRIENDS' OPINION + III A MATTER OF DUTY + IV GEORGE MAKES FRIENDS + V THE PRAIRIE + VI GEORGE GETS TO WORK + VII A CATTLE DRIVE + VIII CONSTABLE FLETT'S SUSPICIONS + IX GEORGE TURNS REFORMER + X THE LIQUOR-RUNNERS + XI DIPLOMACY + XII GEORGE FACES DISASTER + XIII SYLVIA SEEKS AMUSEMENT + XIV BLAND GETS ENTANGLED + XV HERBERT MAKES A CLAIM + XVI A FORCED RETIREMENT + XVII HERBERT IS PATIENT + XVIII BLAND MAKES A SACRIFICE + XIX AN OPPOSITION MOVE + XX A BLIZZARD + XXI GRANT COMES TO THE RESCUE + XXII THE SPREAD OF DISORDER + XXIII A HARMLESS CONSPIRACY + XXIV GEORGE FEELS GRATEFUL + XXV A COUNTERSTROKE + XXVI THE CLIMAX + XXVII A SIGN FROM FLETT + XXVIII THE LEADING WITNESS + XXIX FLORA'S ENLIGHTENMENT + XXX THE ESCAPE + XXXI THE REACTION + XXXII A REVELATION + XXXIII GEORGE MAKES UP HIS MIND + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +A STRONG APPEAL + +It was evening of early summer. George Lansing sat by a window of the +library at Brantholme. The house belonged to his cousin; and George, +having lately reached it after traveling in haste from Norway, awaited +the coming of Mrs. Sylvia Marston in an eagerly expectant mood. It was +characteristic of him that his expression conveyed little hint of his +feelings, for George was a quiet, self-contained man; but he had not +been so troubled by confused emotions since Sylvia married Marston +three years earlier. Marston had taken her to Canada; but now he was +dead, and Sylvia, returning to England, had summoned George, who had +been appointed executor of her husband's will. + +Outside, beyond the broad sweep of lawn, the quiet English countryside +lay bathed in the evening light: a river gleaming in the foreground, +woods clothed in freshest verdure, and rugged hills running back +through gradations of softening color into the distance. Inside, a ray +of sunlight stretched across the polished floor, and gleams of +brightness rested on the rows of books and somber paneling. Brantholme +was old, but modern art had added comfort and toned down its austerity; +and George, fresh from the northern snow peaks, was conscious of its +restful atmosphere. + +In the meanwhile, he was listening for a footstep. Sylvia, he had been +told, would be with him in two or three minutes; he had already been +expecting her for a quarter of an hour. This, however, did not +surprise him: Sylvia was rarely punctual, and until she married +Marston, he had been accustomed to await her pleasure. + +She came at length, clad in a thin black dress that fitted her +perfectly; and he rose and stood looking at her while his heart beat +fast. Sylvia was slight of figure, but curiously graceful, and her +normal expression was one of innocent candor. The somber garments +emphasized the colorless purity of her complexion; her hair was fair, +and she had large, pathetic blue eyes. Her beauty was somehow +heightened by a hint of fragility: in her widow's dress she looked very +forlorn and helpless; and the man yearned to comfort and protect her. +It did not strike him that she had stood for some moments enduring his +compassionate scrutiny with exemplary patience. + +"It's so nice to see you, George," she said. "I knew you would come." + +He thrilled at the assurance; but he was not an effusive person. He +brought a chair for her. + +"I started as soon as I got your note," he answered simply. "I'm glad +you're back again." + +He did not think it worth while to mention that he had with difficulty +crossed a snow-barred pass in order to save time, and had left a +companion, who resented his desertion, in the wilds; but Sylvia guessed +that he had spared no effort, and she answered him with a smile. + +"Your welcome's worth having, because it's sincere." + +Those who understood Sylvia best occasionally said that when she was +unusually gracious it was a sign that she wanted something; but George +would have denied this with indignation. + +"If it wouldn't be too painful, you might tell me a little about your +stay in Canada," he said by and by. "You never wrote, and"--he +hesitated--"I heard only once from Dick." + +Dick was her dead husband's name, and she sat silent a few moments +musing, and glancing unobtrusively at George. He had not changed much +since she last saw him, on her wedding-day, though he looked a little +older, and rather more serious. There were faint signs of weariness +which she did not remember in his sunburned face. On the whole, +however, it was a reposeful face, with something in it that suggested a +steadfast disposition. His gray eyes met one calmly and directly; his +brown hair was short and stiff; the set of his lips and the contour of +his jaw were firm. George had entered on his thirtieth year. Though +he was strongly made, his appearance was in no way striking, and it was +seldom that his conversation was characterized by brilliancy. But his +friends trusted him. + +"It's difficult to speak of," Sylvia began. "When, soon after our +wedding, Dick lost most of his money, and said that we must go to +Canada, I felt almost crushed; but I thought he was right." She paused +and glanced at George. "He told me what you wished to do, and I'm glad +that, generous as you are, he wouldn't hear of it." + +George looked embarrassed. + +"I felt his refusal a little," he said. "I could have spared the +money, and I was a friend of his." + +He had proved a staunch friend, though he had been hardly tried. For +several years he had been Sylvia's devoted servant, and an admirer of +the more accomplished Marston. When the girl chose the latter it was a +cruel blow to George, for he had never regarded his comrade as a +possible rival; but after a few weeks of passionate bitterness, he had +quietly acquiesced. He had endeavored to blame neither; though there +were some who did not hold Sylvia guiltless. George was, as she well +knew, her faithful servant still; and this was largely why she meant to +tell him her tragic story. + +"Well," she said, "when I first went out to the prairie, I was almost +appalled. Everything was so crude and barbarous--but you know the +country." + +George merely nodded. He had spent a few years in a wheat-growing +settlement, inhabited by well-bred young Englishmen. The colony, +however, was not conducted on economic lines; and when it came to +grief, George, having come into some property on the death of a +relative, returned to England. + +"Still," continued Sylvia, "I tried to be content, and blamed myself +when I found it difficult. There was always so much to do--cooking, +washing, baking--one could seldom get any help. I often felt worn out +and longed to lie down and sleep." + +"I can understand that," said George, with grave sympathy. "It's a +very hard country for a woman." + +He was troubled by the thought of what she must have borne for it was +difficult to imagine Sylvia engaged in laborious domestic toil. It had +never occurred to him that her delicate appearance was deceptive. + +"Dick," she went on, "was out at work all day; there was nobody to talk +to--our nearest neighbor lived some miles off. I think now that Dick +was hardly strong enough for his task. He got restless and moody after +he lost his first crop by frost. During that long, cruel winter we +were both unhappy: I never think without a shudder of the bitter nights +we spent sitting beside the stove, silent and anxious about the future. +But we persevered; the next harvest was good, and we were brighter when +winter set in. I shall always be glad of that in view of what came +after." She paused, and added in a lower voice: + +"You heard, of course?" + +"Very little; I was away. It was a heavy blow." + +"I couldn't write much," explained Sylvia. "Even now, I can hardly +talk of it--but you were a dear friend of Dick's. We had to burn wood; +the nearest bluff where it could be cut was several miles away; and +Dick didn't keep a hired man through the winter. It was often very +cold, and I got frightened when he drove off if there was any wind. It +was trying to wait in the quiet house, wondering if he could stand the +exposure. Then one day something kept him so that he couldn't start +for the bluff until noon; and near dusk the wind got up and the snow +began to fall. It got thicker, and I could not sit still. I went out +now and then and called, and was driven back, almost frozen, by the +storm. I could scarcely see the lights a few yards away; the house +shook. The memory of that awful night will haunt me all my life!" + +She broke off with a shiver, and George looked very compassionate. + +"I think," he said gently, "you had better not go on." "Ah!" replied +Sylvia, "I must grapple with the horror and not yield to it; with the +future to be faced, I can't be a coward. At last I heard the team and +opened the door. The snow was blinding, but I could dimly see the +horses standing in it. I called, but Dick didn't answer, and I ran out +and found him lying upon the load of logs. He was very still, and made +no sign, but I reached up and shook him--I couldn't believe the +dreadful thing. I think I screamed; the team started suddenly, and +Dick fell at my feet. Then the truth was clear to me." + +A half-choked sob broke from her, but she went on. + +"I couldn't move him; I must have gone nearly mad, for I tried to run +to Peterson's, three miles away. The snow blinded me, and I came back +again; and by and by another team arrived. Peterson had got lost +driving home from the settlement. After that, I can't remember +anything; I'm thankful it is so--I couldn't bear it!" + +Then there was silence for a few moments until George rose and gently +laid his hand on her shoulder. + +"My sympathy's not worth much, Sylvia, but it's yours," he said. "Can +I help in any practical way?" + +Growing calmer, she glanced up at him with tearful eyes. + +"I can't tell you just yet; but it's a comfort to have your sympathy. +Don't speak to me for a little while, please." + +He went back to his place and watched her with a yearning heart, +longing for the power to soothe her. She looked so forlorn and +desolate, too frail to bear her load of sorrow. + +"I must try to be brave," she smiled up at him at length. "And you are +my trustee. Please bring those papers I laid down. I suppose I must +talk to you about the farm." + +It did not strike George that this was a rather sudden change, or that +there was anything incongruous in Sylvia's considering her material +interests in the midst of her grief. After examining the documents, he +asked her a few questions, to which she gave explicit answers. + +"Now you should be able to decide what must be done," she said finally; +"and I'm anxious about it. I suppose that's natural." + +"You have plenty of friends," George reminded her consolingly. + +Sylvia rose, and there was bitterness in her expression. + +"Friends? Oh, yes; but I've come back to them a widow, badly provided +for--that's why I spent some months in Montreal before I could nerve +myself to face them." Then her voice softened as she fixed her eyes on +him. "It's fortunate there are one or two I can rely on." + +Sylvia left him with two clear impressions: her helplessness, and the +fact that she trusted him. While he sat turning over the papers, his +cousin and co-trustee came in. Herbert Lansing was a middle-aged +business man, and he was inclined to portliness. His clean-shaven and +rather fleshy face usually wore a good-humored expression; his manners +were easy and, as a rule, genial. + +"We must have a talk," he began, indicating the documents in George's +hand. "I suppose you have grasped the position, even if Sylvia hasn't +explained it. She shows an excellent knowledge of details." + +There was a hint of dryness in his tone that escaped George's notice. + +"So far as I can make out," he answered, "Dick owned a section of a +second-class wheat-land, with a mortgage on the last quarter, some way +back from a railroad. The part under cultivation gives a poor crop." + +"What would you value the property at?" + +George made a rough calculation. + +"I expected something of the kind," Herbert told him. "It's all Sylvia +has to live upon, and the interest would hardly cover her dressmaker's +bills." He looked directly at his cousin. "Of course, it's possible +that she will marry again." + +"She must never be forced to contemplate it by any dread of poverty," +George said shortly. + +"How is it to be prevented?" + +George merely looked thoughtful and a little stern. Getting no answer, +Herbert went on: + +"So far as I can see, we have only two courses to choose between. The +first is to sell out as soon as we can find a buyer, with unfortunate +results if your valuation's right; but the second looks more promising. +With immigrants pouring into the country, land's bound to go up, and we +ought to get a largely increased price by holding on a while. To do +that, I understand, the land should be worked." + +"Yes. It could, no doubt, be improved; which would materially add to +its value." + +"I see one difficulty: the cost of superintendence might eat up most of +the profit. Wages are high on the prairie, are they not?" + +George assented, and Herbert continued: + +"Then a good deal would depend on the man in charge. Apart from the +question of his honesty, he would have to take a thorough interest in +the farm." + +"He would have to think of nothing else, and be willing to work from +sunrise until dark," said George. "Successful farming means determined +effort in western Canada." + +"Could you put your hands upon a suitable person?" + +"I'm very doubtful. You don't often meet with a man of the kind we +need in search of an engagement at a strictly moderate salary." + +"Then it looks as if we must sell out now for enough to provide Sylvia +with a pittance." + +"That," George said firmly, "is not to be thought of!" + +There was a short silence while he pondered, for his legacy had not +proved an unmixed blessing. At first he had found idleness irksome, +but by degrees he had grown accustomed to it. Though he was still +troubled now and then by an idea that he was wasting his time and +making a poor use of such abilities as he possessed, it was pleasant to +feel that, within certain limits, he could do exactly as he wished. +Life in western Canada was strenuous and somewhat primitive; he was +conscious of a strong reluctance to resume it; but he could not bear to +have Sylvia, who had luxurious tastes, left almost penniless. There +was a way in which he could serve her, and he determined to take it. +George was steadfast in his devotion, and did not shrink from a +sacrifice. + +"It strikes me there's only one suitable plan," he said. "I know +something about western farming. I wouldn't need a salary; and Sylvia +could trust me to look after her interests. I'd better go out and take +charge until things are straightened up, or we come across somebody fit +for the post." + +Herbert heard him with satisfaction. He had desired to lead George up +to this decision, and he suspected that Sylvia had made similar +efforts. It was not difficult to instil an idea into his cousin's mind. + +"Well," he said thoughtfully, "the suggestion seems a good one; though +it's rather hard on you, if you really mean to go." + +"That's decided," was the brief answer. + +"Then, though we can discuss details later, you had better give me +legal authority to look after your affairs while you are away. There +are those Kaffir shares, for instance; it might be well to part with +them if, they go up a point or two." + +"I've wondered why you recommended me to buy them," George said bluntly. + +Herbert avoided a direct answer. He now and then advised George, who +knew little about business, in the management of his property, but his +advice was not always disinterested or intended only for his cousin's +benefit. + +"Oh," he replied, "the cleverest operators now and then make mistakes, +and I don't claim exceptional powers of precision. It's remarkably +difficult to forecast the tendency of the stock-market." + +George nodded, as if satisfied. + +"I'll arrange things before I sail, and I'd better get off as soon as +possible. Now, suppose we go down and join the others." + + + + +CHAPTER II + +HIS FRIENDS' OPINION + +On the afternoon following his arrival, George stood thoughtfully +looking about on his cousin's lawn. Creepers flecked the mellow brick +front of the old house with sprays of tender leaves; purple clematis +hung from a trellis; and lichens tinted the low terrace wall with +subdued coloring. The grass was flanked by tall beeches, rising in +masses of bright verdure against a sky of clearest blue; and beyond it, +across the sparkling river, smooth meadows ran back to the foot of the +hills. It was, in spite of the bright sunshine, all so fresh and cool: +a picture that could be enjoyed only in rural England. + +George was sensible of the appeal it made to him; now, when he must +shortly change such scenes for the wide levels of western Canada, which +are covered during most of the year with harsh, gray grass, alternately +withered by frost and sun, he felt their charm. It was one thing to +run across to Norway on a fishing or mountaineering trip and come back +when he wished, but quite another to settle down on the prairie where +he must remain until his work should be done. Moreover, for Mrs. +Lansing had many friends, the figures scattered about the lawn--young +men and women in light summer attire--enhanced the attractiveness of +the surroundings. They were nice people, with pleasant English ways; +and George contrasted them with the rather grim, aggressive plainsmen +among whom he would presently have to live: men who toiled in the heat, +half naked, and who would sit down to meals with him in dusty, unwashed +clothes. He was not a sybarite, but he preferred the society of Mrs. +Lansing's guests. + +After a while she beckoned him, and they leaned upon the terrace wall +side by side. She was a good-natured, simple woman, with strongly +domestic habits and conventional views. + +"I'm glad Herbert has got away from business for a few days," she +began. "He works too hard, and it's telling on him. How do you think +he is looking?" + +George knew she was addicted to displaying a needless anxiety about her +husband's health. It had struck him that Herbert was getting stouter; +but he now remembered having noticed a hint of care in his face. + +"The rest will do him good," he said. + +Mrs. Lansing's conversation was often disconnected, and she now changed +the subject. + +"Herbert tells me you are going to Canada. As you're fond of the open +air, you will enjoy it." + +"I suppose so," George assented rather dubiously. + +"Of course, it's very generous, and Sylvia's fortunate in having you to +look after things"--Mrs. Lansing paused before adding--"but are you +altogether wise in going, George?" + +Lansing knew that his hostess loved romance, and sometimes attempted to +assist in one, but he would have preferred another topic. + +"I don't see what else I could do," he said. + +"That's hardly an answer. You will forgive me for speaking plainly, +but what I meant was this--your devotion to Sylvia is not a secret." + +"I wish it were!" George retorted. "But I don't intend to deny it." + +His companion looked at him reproachfully. + +"Don't get restive; I've your best interests at heart. You're a little +too confiding and too backward, George. Sylvia slipped through your +fingers once before." + +George's brown face colored deeply. He was angry, but Mrs. Lansing was +not to be deterred. + +"Take a hint and stay at home," she went on. "It might pay you better." + +"And let Sylvia's property be sacrificed?" + +"Yes, if necessary." She looked at him directly. "You have means +enough." + +He struggled with his indignation. Sylvia hated poverty, and it had +been suggested that he should turn the fact to his advantage. The idea +that she might be more willing to marry him if she were poor was most +unpleasant. + +"Sylvia's favor is not to be bought," he said. + +Mrs. Lansing's smile was half impatient. + +"Oh, well, if you're bent on going, there's nothing to be said. +Sylvia, of course, will stay with us." + +The arrangement was a natural one, as Sylvia was a relative of hers; +but George failed to notice that her expression grew thoughtful as she +glanced toward where Sylvia was sitting with a man upon whom the +soldier stamp was plainly set. George followed her gaze and frowned, +but he said nothing, and his companion presently moved away. Soon +afterward he crossed the lawn and joined a girl who waited for him. +Ethel West was tall and strongly made. She was characterized by a keen +intelligence and bluntness of speech. Being an old friend of George's, +she occasionally assumed the privilege of one. + +"I hear you are going to Canada. What is taking you there again?" she +asked. + +"I am going to look after some farming property, for one thing." + +Ethel regarded him with amusement. + +"Sylvia Marston's, I suppose?" + +"Yes," George answered rather shortly. + +"Then what's the other purpose you have in view?" + +George hesitated. + +"I'm not sure I have another motive." + +"So I imagined. You're rather an exceptional man--in some respects." + +"If that's true, I wasn't aware of it," George retorted. + +Ethel laughed. + +"It's hardly worth while to prove my statement; we'll talk of something +else. Has Herbert told you anything about his business since you came +back? I suppose you have noticed signs of increased prosperity?" + +"I'm afraid I'm not observant, and Herbert isn't communicative." + +"Perhaps he's wise. Still, the fact that he's putting up a big new +orchard-house has some significance. I understand from Stephen that +he's been speculating largely in rubber shares. It's a risky game." + +"I suppose it is," George agreed. "But it's most unlikely that Herbert +will come to grief. He has a very long head; I believe he could, for +example, buy and sell me." + +"That wouldn't be very difficult. I suspect Herbert isn't the only one +of your acquaintances who is capable of doing as much." + +Her eyes followed Sylvia, who was then walking across the grass. +Sylvia's movements were always graceful, and she had now a subdued, +pensive air that rendered her appearance slightly pathetic. Ethel's +face, however, grew quietly scornful. She knew what Sylvia's forlorn +and helpless look was worth. + +"I'm not afraid that anybody will try," George replied. + +"Your confidence is admirable." laughed Ethel; "but I mustn't appear +too cynical, and I've a favor to ask. Will you take Edgar out with +you?" + +George felt a little surprised. Edgar was her brother, a lad of +somewhat erratic habits and ideas, who had been at Oxford when George +last heard of him. + +"Yes, if he wants to go, and Stephen approves," he said; for Stephen, +the lawyer, was an elder brother, and the Wests had lost their parents. + +"He will be relieved to get him off his hands for a while; but Edgar +will be over to see you during the afternoon. He's spending a week or +two with the Charltons." + +"I remember that young Charlton and he were close acquaintances." + +"That was the excuse for the visit; but you had better understand that +there was a certain amount of friction when Edgar came home after some +trouble with the authorities. In his opinion, Stephen is too fond of +making mountains out of molehills; but I must own that Edgar's +molehills have a way of increasing in size, and the last one caused us +a good deal of uneasiness. Anyway, we have decided that a year's hard +work in Canada might help to steady him, even if he doesn't follow up +farming. The main point is that he would be safe with you." + +"I'll have a talk with him," George promised; and after a word of +thanks Ethel turned away. + +A little later she joined Mrs. Lansing, who was sitting alone in the +shadow of a beech. + +"I'm afraid I've added to George's responsibilities--he has agreed to +take Edgar out," she said. "He has some reason for wishing to be +delivered from his friends, though I don't suppose he does so." + +"I've felt the same thing. Of course, I'm not referring to Edgar--his +last scrape was only a trifling matter." + +"So he contends," laughed Ethel. "Stephen doesn't agree with him." + +"Well," said Mrs. Lansing, "I've often thought it's a pity George +didn't marry somebody nice and sensible." + +"Would you apply that description to Sylvia?" + +"Sylvia stands apart," Mrs. Lansing declared. "She can do what nobody +else would venture on, and yet you feel you must excuse her." + +"Have you any particular exploit of hers in your mind?" + +"I was thinking of when she accepted Dick Marston. I believe even Dick +was astonished." + +"Sylvia knows how to make herself irresistible," said Ethel, strolling +away a few moments later, somewhat troubled in mind. + +She had cherished a half-tender regard for George, which, had it been +reciprocated, might have changed to a deeper feeling. The man was +steadfast, chivalrous, honest, and she saw in him latent capabilities +which few others suspected. Still, his devotion to Sylvia had never +been concealed, and Ethel had acquiesced in the situation, though she +retained a strong interest in him. She believed that in going to +Canada he was doing an injudicious thing; but as his confidence was +hard to shake, he could not be warned--her conversation with him had +made that plainer. She would not regret it if Sylvia forgot him while +he was absent; but there were other ways in which he might suffer, and +she wished he had not chosen to place the management of his affairs in +Herbert's hands. + +In the meanwhile, her brother had arrived, and he and George were +sitting together on the opposite side of the lawn. Edgar was a +handsome, dark-haired lad, with a mischievous expression, and he +sometimes owned that his capacity for seeing the humorous side of +things was a gift that threatened to be his ruin. Nevertheless, there +was a vein of sound common sense in him, and he had a strong admiration +for George Lansing. + +"Why do you want to go with me?" the latter asked, pretending to be a +bit stern, but liking the youngster all the while. + +"That," Edgar laughed, "is a rather euphemistic way of putting it. My +washes have not been consulted. I must give my relatives the credit +for the idea. Still, one must admit they had some provocation." + +"It strikes me they have had a good deal of patience," George said +dryly. "I suppose it's exhausted." + +"No," replied Edgar, with a confidential air; "it's mine that has given +out. I'd better explain that being stuffed with what somebody calls +formulae gets monotonous, and it's a diet they're rather fond of at +Oxford. Down here in the country they're almost as bad; and pretending +to admire things I don't believe in positively hurts. That's why I +sometimes protest, with, as a rule, disastrous results." + +"Disastrous to the objectionable ideas or customs?" + +"No," laughed the lad; "to me. Have you ever noticed how vindictive +narrow-minded people get when you destroy their pet delusions?" + +"I can't remember ever having done so."' + +"Then you'll come to it. If you're honest it's unavoidable; only some +people claim that they make the attack from duty, while I find a +positive pleasure in the thing." + +"There's one consolation--you won't have much time for such proceedings +if you come with me. You'll have to work in Canada." + +"I anticipated something of the sort," the lad rejoined. Then he grew +serious. "Have you decided who's to look after your affairs while you +are away? If you haven't, you might do worse than leave them to +Stephen. He's steady and safe as a rock, and, after all, the three per +cent. you're sure of is better than a handsome dividend you may never +get." + +"I can't give Herbert the go-by. He's the obvious person to do +whatever may be needful." + +"I suppose so," Edgar assented, with some reluctance. "No doubt he'd +feel hurt if you asked anybody else; but I wish you could have got +Stephen." + +He changed the subject; and when some of the others came up and joined +them, he resumed his humorous manner. + +"I'm not asking for sympathy," he said, in answer to one remark. "I'm +going out to extend the bounds of the empire, strengthen the ties with +the mother country, and that sort of thing. It's one of the privileges +that seem to be attached to the possession of a temperament like mine." + +"How will you set about the work?" somebody asked. + +"With the plow and the land-packer," George broke in. "He'll have the +satisfaction of driving them twelve hours a day. It happens to be the +most effective way of doing the things he mentions." + +Edgar's laughter followed him as he left the group. + +After dinner that evening Herbert invited George into the library. + +"Parker has come over about my lease, and his visit will save you a +journey," he explained. "We may as well get things settled now while +he's here." + +George went with him to the library, where the lawyer sat at a +writing-table. He waited in silence while Herbert gave the lawyer a +few instructions. A faint draught flowed in through an open window, +and gently stirred the litter of papers; a shaded lamp stood on the +table, and its light revealed the faces of the two men near it with +sharp distinctness, though outside the circle of brightness the big +room was almost dark. + +It struck George that his cousin looked eager, as if he were impatient +to get the work finished; but he reflected that this was most likely +because Herbert wished to discuss the matter of the lease. Then he +remembered with a little irritation what Ethel said during the +afternoon. It was not very lucid, but he had an idea that she meant to +warn him; and Edgar had gone some length in urging that he should leave +the care of his property to another man. This was curious, but hardly +to be taken into consideration, Herbert was capable and exact in his +dealings; and yet for a moment or two George was troubled by a faint +doubt. It appeared irrational, and he drove it out of his mind when +Herbert spoke. + +"The deed's ready; you have only to sign," he said, indicating a paper. +Then he added, with a smile: "You quite realize the importance of what +you are doing?" + +The lawyer turned to George. + +"This document gives Mr. Lansing full authority to dispose of your +possessions as he thinks fit. In accordance with it, his signature +will be honored as if it were yours." + +Parker's expression was severely formal, and his tone businesslike; but +he had known George for a long while, and had served his father. +Again, for a moment, George had an uneasy feeling that he was being +warned; but he had confidence in his friends, and his cousin was +eminently reliable. + +"I know that," he answered. "I've left matters in Herbert's hands on +other occasions, with fortunate results. Will you give me a pen?" + +The lawyer watched him sign with an inscrutable face, but when he laid +down the pen, Herbert drew back out of the strong light. He was +folding the paper with a sense of satisfaction and relief. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A MATTER OF DUTY + +On the evening before George's departure, Sylvia stood with him at the +entrance to the Brantholme drive. He leaned upon the gate, a +broad-shouldered, motionless figure; his eyes fixed moodily upon the +prospect, because he was afraid to let them dwell upon his companion. +In front, across the dim white road, a cornfield ran down to the river, +and on one side of it a wood towered in a shadowy mass against a soft +green streak of light. Near its foot the water gleamed palely among +overhanging alders, and in the distance the hills faded into the +grayness of the eastern sky. Except for the low murmur of the stream, +it was very still; and the air was heavy with the smell of dew-damped +soil. + +All this had its effect on George. He loved the quiet English country; +and now, when he must leave it, it strongly called to him. He had +congenial friends, and occupations in which he took pleasure--sport, +experiments in farming, and stock-raising. It would be hard to drop +them; but that, after all, was a minor trouble. He would be separated +from Sylvia until his work should be done. + +"What a beautiful night!" she said at length. Summoning his +resolution, he turned and looked at her. She stood with one hand +resting on the gate, slender, graceful, and wonderfully attractive, the +black dress emphasizing the pure whiteness of her face and hands. +Sylvia was an artist where dress was concerned, and she had made the +most of her somber garb. As he looked at her a strong temptation shook +the man. He might still discover some excuse for remaining to watch +over Sylvia, and seize each opportunity for gaining her esteem. Then +he remembered that this would entail the sacrifice of her property; and +a faint distrust of her, which he had hitherto refused to admit, seized +him. Sylvia, threatened by poverty, might yield without affection to +the opportunities of a suitor who would bid high enough for her hand; +and he would not have such a course forced upon her, even if he were +the one to profit. + +"You're very quiet; you must feel going away," she said. + +"Yes," George admitted; "I feel it a good deal." + +"Ah! I don't know anybody else who would have gone--I feel selfish and +shabby in letting you." + +"I don't think you could stop me." + +"I haven't tried. I suppose I'm a coward, but until you promised to +look after matters, I was afraid of the future. I have friends, but +the tinge of contempt which would creep into their pity would be hard +to bear. It's hateful to feel that you are being put up with. +Sometimes I thought I'd go back to Canada." + +"I've wondered how you stood it as long as you did," George said +incautiously. + +"Aren't you forgetting? I had Dick with me then." Sylvia paused and +shuddered. "It would be so different now." + +George felt reproved and very compassionate. + +"Yes," he said, "I'm afraid I forgot; but the whole thing seems unreal. +It's almost impossible to imagine your living on a farm in western +Canada." + +"I dare say it's difficult. I'll confess I'm fond of ease and comfort +and refinement. I like to be looked after and waited on; to have +somebody to keep unpleasant things away. That's dreadfully weak, isn't +it? And because I haven't more courage, I'm sending you back to the +prairie." + +"I'm quite ready to go." + +"Oh, I'm sure of that! It's comforting to remember that you're so +resolute and matter-of-fact. You wouldn't let troubles daunt +you--perhaps you would scarcely notice them when you had made up your +mind." + +The man smiled, rather wistfully. He could feel things keenly, and he +had his romance; but Sylvia resumed: + +"I sometimes wonder if you ever felt really badly hurt?" + +"Once," he said quietly. "I think I have got over it." + +"Ah!" she murmured. "I was afraid you would blame me, but now it seems +that Dick knew you better than I did. When he made you my trustee, he +said that you were too big to bear him malice." + +The blood crept into George's face. + +"After the first shock had passed, and I could reason calmly, I don't +think I blamed either of you. You had promised me nothing; Dick was a +brilliant man, with a charm everybody felt. By comparison, I was +merely a plodder." + +Sylvia mused for a few moments. + +"George," she said presently, "I sometimes think you're a little too +diffident. You plodders who go straight on, stopping for nothing, +generally gain your object in the end." + +His heart beat faster. It looked as if she meant this for a hint. + +"I can't thank you properly," she continued; "though I know that all +you undertake will be thoroughly carried out. I wish I hadn't been +forced to let you go so far away; there is nobody else I can rely on." + +He could not tell her that he longed for the right to shelter her +always--it was not very long since the Canadian tragedy--but silence +cost him an effort. At length she touched his arm. + +"It's getting late, and the others will wonder where we are," she +reminded him. + +They went back to the house; and when Sylvia joined Mrs. Lansing, +George felt seriously annoyed with himself. He had been deeply +stirred, but he had preserved an unmoved appearance when he might have +expressed some sympathy of tenderness which could not have been +resented. Presently Ethel West crossed the room to where he was rather +moodily standing. + +"I believe our car is waiting, and, as Edgar won't let me come to the +station to-morrow, I must say good-by now," she told him. "Both +Stephen and I are glad he is on your hands." + +"I must try to deserve your confidence," George said, smiling. "It's +premature yet." + +"Never mind that. We're alike in some respects: pretty speeches don't +appeal to us. But there's one thing I must tell you--don't delay out +yonder, come back as soon as you can." + +She left him thoughtful. He had a high opinion of Ethel's +intelligence, but he would entertain no doubts or misgivings. They +were treasonable to Herbert and, what was worse, to Sylvia. + +Going to bed in good time, he had only a few words with Sylvia over his +early breakfast in the morning. Then he was driven to the station, +where Edgar joined him; and the greater part of their journey proved +uneventful. + +Twelve days after leaving Liverpool they were, however, awakened early +one morning by feeling the express-train suddenly slacken speed. The +big cars shook with a violent jarring, and George hurriedly swung +himself down from his upper berth. He had some difficulty in getting +into his jacket and putting on his boots, but he pushed through the +startled passengers and sprang down upon the track before the train +quite stopped. He knew that accidents were not uncommon in the wilds +of northern Ontario. + +Ragged firs rose, dripping, against the rosy glow in the eastern sky, +with the narrow gap, hewed out for the line, running through their +midst. Some had been stripped of their smaller branches by fire, and +leaned, dead and blackened, athwart each other. Beneath them, shallow +pools gleamed in the hollows of the rocks, which rose in rounded masses +here and there, and the gravel of the graded track was seamed by water +channels. George remembered having heard the roar of heavy rain and a +crash of thunder during the night, but it was now wonderfully still and +fresh, and the resinous fragrance of the firs filled the chilly air. + +Walking forward, clear of the curious passengers who poured from the +cars, he saw a lake running back into the woods. A tall water-tank +stood on the margin with a shanty, in which George imagined a telegraph +operator was stationed, at its foot. Ahead, the great locomotive was +pouring out a cloud of sooty smoke. When George reached it he waited +until the engineer had finished talking to a man on the line. + +"What are we stopping for? Has anything gone wrong?" he asked. + +"Freight locomotive jumped the track at a wash-out some miles ahead," +explained the engineer. "Took the fireman with her; but I don't know +much about it yet. Guess they'll want me soon." + +George got the man to promise to take him, and then he went back until +he met Edgar, to whom he related what he had heard. + +"I'm not astonished," remarked the lad, indicating one of the sleepers. +"Look at that--the rail's only held down by a spike or two; we fasten +them in solid chairs. They're rough and ready in this country." + +It was the characteristic hypercritical attitude of the newly-arrived +Englishman; and George, knowing that the Canadians strongly resent it, +noticed a look of interest in the eyes of a girl standing near them. +She was, he imagined, about twenty-four years of age, and was dressed +in some thin white material, the narrow skirt scarcely reaching to the +tops of her remarkably neat shoes. Her arms were uncovered to the +elbows; her neck was bare, but this displayed a beautiful skin; and the +face beneath the turned-down brim of the big hat was attractive. +George thought she was amused at Edgar's comment. + +"Well," he said, "while we put down a few miles of metals they'd drive +the track across leagues of new country and make a start with the +traffic. They haven't time to be particular, with the great western +wheat-land waiting for development." + +The girl moved away; and when word went around that there would be a +delay of several hours, George sat down beside the lake and watched the +Colonist passengers wash their children's clothes. It was, he thought, +rather a striking scene--the great train standing in the rugged +wilderness, the wide stretch of gleaming water running back among the +firs, and the swarm of jaded immigrants splashing bare-footed along the +beach. Their harsh voices and hoarse laughter broke discordantly on +the silence of the woods. + +After a while an elderly man, in badly-fitting clothes and an old +wide-brimmed hat, sauntered up with the girl George had noticed, and +stopped to survey the passengers. + +"A middling sample; not so many English as usual," he remarked. "If +they keep on coming in as they're doing, we'll get harvest hands at a +reasonable figure." + +"All he thinks about!" Edgar commented, in a lowered voice. "That's +the uncivil old fellow who smokes the vile leaf tobacco; he drove me +out of the car once or twice. It's hard to believe he's her father; +but in some ways they're alike." + +"I can't help feeling sorry for them," the girl replied. "Look at +those worn-out women, almost too limp to move. It's hot and shaky +enough in our cars; the Colonist ones must be dreadful." + +"Good enough for the folks who're in them; they're not fastidious," +said the man. + +They strolled on, and George felt mildly curious about them. The girl +was pretty and graceful, with a stamp of refinement upon her; the man +was essentially rugged and rather grim. Suddenly, however, a whistle +blast rang out, and George hurried toward the engine. It was beginning +to move when he reached it but, grasping a hand-rail, he clambered up. +The cab was already full of passengers, but he had found a place on the +frame above the wheels when he saw the girl in the light dress running, +flushed and eager, along the line. Leaning down as far as possible, he +held out his hand to her. + +"Get hold, if you want to come," he called. "There's a step yonder." + +She seized his hand and smiled at him when he drew her up beside him. + +"Thanks," she said. "I was nearly too late." + +"Perhaps we had better make for the pilot, where there'll be more +room," George suggested, as two more passengers scrambled up. + +They crept forward, holding on by the guard-rail, while the great +engine began to rock as it gathered speed. The girl, however, was +fearless, and at length they reached the front, and stood beneath the +big head-lamp with the triangular frame of the pilot running down to +the rails at their feet. The ledge along the top of it was narrow, and +when his companion sat down George felt concerned about her safety. +Her hat had blown back, setting free tresses of glossy hair; her light +skirt fluttered against the sooty pilot. + +"You'll have to allow me," he said, tucking the thin fabric beneath her +and passing an arm around her waist. + +He thought she bore it well, for her manner was free from prudish alarm +or coquettish submission. With sound sense, she had calmly acquiesced +in the situation; but George found the latter pleasant. His companion +was pretty, the swift motion had brought a fine warmth into her cheeks, +and a sparkle into her eyes; and George was slightly vexed when Edgar, +appearing round the front of the engine, unnoticed by the girl, +surveyed him with a grin. + +"Is there room for me?" he asked. "I had to leave the place where I +was, because my fellow passengers didn't seem to mind if they pushed me +off. A stranger doesn't get much consideration in this country." + +The girl looked up at him consideringly and answered, through the roar +of the engine: + +"You may sit here, if you'll stop criticizing us." + +"It's quite fair," Edgar protested, as he took his place by her side. +"I've been in Canada only three days, but I've several times heard +myself alluded to as an Englishman, as if that were some excuse for me." + +"Are you sure you haven't been provoking people by your superior air?" + +"I didn't know I possessed one; but I don't see why I should be very +humble because I'm in Canada." + +The girl laughed good-humoredly, and turned to George. + +"I'm glad I came. This is delightful," she said. + +It was, George admitted, an exhilarating experience. The big engine +was now running at top speed, rocking down the somewhat roughly laid +line. Banks of trees and stretches of gleaming water sped past, The +rails ahead came flying back to them. The sun was on the firs, and the +wind that lashed George's face was filled with their fragrance. Once +or twice a tress of his companion's hair blew across his cheek, but she +did not appear to notice this. He thought she was conscious of little +beyond the thrill of speed. + +At length the engine stopped where the line crossed a lake on a high +embankment. A long row of freight-cars stood near a break in the track +into which the rails ran down, and a faint cloud of steam rose from the +gap. + +George helped the girl down, anticipating Edgar, who seemed anxious to +offer his assistance, and they walked forward until they could see into +the pit. It was nearly forty feet in depth, for the embankment, +softened by heavy rain, had slipped into the lake. In the bottom a +huge locomotive lay shattered and overturned, with half a dozen men +toiling about it. The girl stopped with a little gasp, for there was +something strangely impressive in the sight of the wreck. + +"It's dreadful, isn't it?" she exclaimed. + +Then the men who had come with them gathered round. + +"Where's the fireman?" one of them asked. "He was too late when he +jumped. Have they got him out?" + +"Guess not," said another. "See, they're trying to jack up the front +of her." + +"Aren't you mistaken about the man?" George asked, looking at the first +speaker meaningly. + +"Why, no," replied the other. "He's certainly pinned down among the +wreck. They'll find him before long. Isn't that a jacket sleeve?" + +He broke off with an exclamation, as Edgar drove an elbow hard into his +ribs; but it was too late. The girl looked around at George, white in +face. + +"Is there a man beneath the engine? Don't try to put me off." + +"I'm afraid it's the case." + +"Then why did you bring me?" she cried with a shudder. "Take me away +at once!" + +George explained that he had forgotten the serious nature of the +accident. He hastily helped her up and turned away with her, but when +they had gone a little distance she sat down on a boulder. + +"I feel badly startled and ashamed," she exclaimed. "I was enjoying +it, as a spectacle, and all the time there was a man crushed to death." +Then she recovered her composure. "Go back and help. Besides, I think +your friend is getting into trouble." + +She was right. The man Edgar tried to silence had turned upon him, +savage and rather breathless. + +"Now," he said, "I'll fix you mighty quick. Think I'm going to have a +blamed Percy sticking his elbow into me?" + +Edgar glanced at the big and brawny man, with a twinge of somewhat +natural uneasiness; but he was not greatly daunted. + +"Oh, well," he retorted coolly, "if that's the way you look at it! But +if you're not in a desperate hurry, I'll take off my jacket." + +"What did you prod him for, anyway?" another asked. + +"I'm sorry I didn't jab him twice as hard; though I'd have wasted my +energy," Edgar explained. "The fellow has no sense, but that's no +reason why he should be allowed to frighten a pretty girl." + +His antagonist looked as if a light had suddenly dawned on him. + +"Is that why you did it?" + +"Of course! Do you think I'd attack a man of nearly twice my weight +without some reason?" + +The fellow laughed. + +"We'll let it go at that. You're all right, Percy. We like you." + +"Thanks," said Edgar; "but my name isn't Percy. Couldn't you think of +something more stylish for a change?" + +They greeted this with hoarse laughter; and George, arriving on the +scene, scrambled down into the pit with them to help the men below. It +was some time later when he rejoined the girl, who was then gathering +berries in the wood. She saw that his face and hands were grimy and +his clothes were soiled. + +"I heard that you found the unfortunate man. It was very sad," she +said. "But what have you been doing since?" + +"Shoveling a ton or two of gravel. Then I assisted in jacking up one +side of the engine." + +"Why? Did you enjoy it?" + +George laughed; he had, as it happened, experienced a curious pleasure +in the work. He was accustomed to the more vigorous sports; but, after +all, they led to no tangible results, and in this respect his recent +task was different--one, as he thought of it, could see what one had +done. He had been endowed with some ability of strictly practical +description, though it had so far escaped development. + +"Yes," he responded. "I enjoyed it very much." + +The girl regarded him with a trace of curiosity. + +"Was that because work of the kind is new to you?" + +"No," George answered. "It isn't altogether a novelty. I once spent +three years in manual labor; and now when I look back at them, I +believe I was happy then." + +She nodded as if she understood. + +"Shall we walk back?" she suggested. + +They went on together, and though the sun was now fiercely hot and the +distance long, George enjoyed the walk. Once they met a ballast train, +with a steam plow mounted at one end of it, and a crowd of men riding +on the open cars; but when it had passed there was nothing to break the +deep silence of the woods. The dark firs shut in the narrow track +except when here and there a winding lake or frothing river filled a +sunny opening. + +Soon after George and his companion reached the train, the engine came +back with a row of freightcars, and during the afternoon the western +express pulled out again, and sped furiously through the shadowy bush. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +GEORGE MAKES FRIENDS + +It was nearing midnight when George walked impatiently up and down the +waiting-room in Winnipeg station, for the western express was very +late, and nobody seemed to know when it would start. George was +nevertheless interested in his surroundings, and with some reason. The +great room was built in palatial style, with domed roof, tessellated +marble floor, and stately pillars: it was brilliantly lighted; and +massively-framed paintings of snow-capped peaks and river gorges +adorned the walls. An excursion-train from Winnipeg Beach had just +come in, and streams of young men and women in summer attire were +passing through the room. They all looked happy and prosperous: he +thought the girls' light dresses were gayer and smarter than those +usually seen among a crowd of English passengers; but there was another +side to the picture. + +Rows of artistic seats ran here and there, and each was occupied by +jaded immigrants, worn out by their journey in the sweltering Colonist +cars. Piles of dilapidated baggage surrounded them, and among it +exhausted children lay asleep. Drowsy, dusty women, with careworn +faces, were huddled beside them; men bearing the stamp of ill-paid toil +sat in dejected apathy; and all about each group the floor, which was +wet with drippings from the roof, was strewn with banana skins, crumbs, +and scraps of food. There had been heavy rains, and the atmosphere was +hot and humid. It was, however, the silence of these newcomers that +struck George most. There was no grumbling among them--they scarcely +seemed vigorous enough for that--but as he passed one row he heard a +woman's low sobbing and the wail of a fretful child. + +After a while the girl he had met on the train appeared and intimated +by a smile that he might join her. They found an unoccupied seat, and +a smartly-attired young man who was approaching it stopped when he saw +them. + +"Well," he said coolly, "I guess I won't intrude." + +George felt seriously annoyed with him, but he was reassured when his +companion laughed with candid amusement. Though there was no doubt of +her prettiness, he had already noticed that she did not impress one +most forcibly with the fact that she was an attractive young woman. It +seemed to sink into the background when one spoke to her. + +"It was rather tedious waiting in the hotel," she explained. "There +was nobody I could talk to; my father is busy with a grain broker." + +"Then he is a farmer?" + +"Yes," said the girl, "he has a farm." + +"And you live out in the West with him?" + +"Of course," she said, smiling. "Still, I have been in Montreal, and +England." Then she turned and glanced at the jaded immigrants. "One +feels sorry for them; they have so much to bear." + +George felt that she wished to change the subject, and he followed her +lead. + +"I feel inclined to wonder where they all go to and how you employ +them. Your people still seem anxious to bring them in." + +"Yes," she replied thoughtfully, "It's rather a difficult question. Of +course, we pay high wages--people who say they must dispense with help +and can't carry out useful projects would like to see them lower--but +there's the long winter when, out West at least, very few men can work. +Then what the others have earned in summer rapidly melts." + +"But what do the Canadian farm-hands and mechanics think? It wouldn't +suit them to have wages broken down." + +West had come up a few moments earlier. + +"It doesn't matter," he laughed; "they won't be consulted. It's the +other people who pull the strings, and they're adopting a forward +policy--rush them all in; it's their lookout when they get here. +That's my opinion; though I'll own that I know remarkably little about +western Canada." + +"You won't admit he's right," George said to the girl. + +She looked grave. + +"Sometimes," she answered, "I wonder." + +Then she turned to West. + +"You don't seem impressed with the country," she said. + +"As a rule, I try to be truthful. The country strikes me as being +pretty mixed, full of contrasts. There's this place, for instance; one +could imagine they had meant to build a Greek temple, and now it looks +more like a swimming-bath. After planning the rest magnificently, why +couldn't they put on a roof that wouldn't leak?" + +"It has been an exceptionally heavy rain," the girl reminded him. + +"Just so. But couldn't somebody get a broom and sweep the water out? +Our unimaginative English folk could rise as far as that." + +She laughed good-humoredly, and her father sauntered up to them. + +"Any news of the train yet?" he asked. + +"No, sir," said Edgar. "In my opinion, any attempt to extract reliable +information from a Canadian railroad-hand is a waste of time. No +doubt, it's so scarce that it hurts them to part with it." + +The Westerner looked at him with a little hard smile. He was tall and +gaunt and dressed in baggy clothes, but there was a hint of power in +his face, which was lined, and deeply bronzed by exposure to the +weather. + +"Well," he retorted, "what do you expect, Percy, if you talk to them +like that? But I want to thank you and your partner for taking care of +my girl when she went to see the wreck. Fellow on the cars told +me--said you were a gritty pup!" + +Edgar looked confused, but the man drew an old skin bag out of his +pocket. + +"It's domestic leaf; take a smoke." + +"No, thanks," said Edgar quickly. "I've no doubt it's excellent, but I +really prefer the common Virginia stuff." + +"Matter of habit," replied the other. "I don't carry cigars; they're +expensive. Going far West?" + +"We get off at Sage Butte." + +"It's called Butte. I'm located in that district." + +"Then I wonder if you knew an Englishman named Marston?" George +interposed. + +"I certainly did; he died last winter. Oughtn't to have come out +farming; he hadn't the grip." + +George felt surprised. He had always admired Marston, who had excelled +in whatever he took in hand. It was strange and disconcerting to hear +him disparaged. + +"Will you tell me what you mean by that?" he asked. + +"Why, yes. I've nothing against the man. I liked him--guess everybody +did--but the contract he was up against was too big for him. Had his +first crop frozen, and lost his nerve and judgment after that--the man +who gets ahead here must have the grit to stand up against a few bad +seasons. Marston acted foolishly; wasted his money buying machines and +teams he could have done without, and then let up when he saw it +wouldn't pay him to use them right off; but that was part his wife's +fault. She drove him pretty hard--though, in some ways, I guess he +needed it." + +George frowned. Sylvia, he admitted, was ambitious, and she might have +put a little pressure upon Marston now and then; but that she should +have urged him on toward ruin in her eagerness to get rich was +incredible. + +"I think you must be mistaken about his wife," he remarked. + +"Well," drawled the Canadian, "I'm not always right." + +Then a bell tolled outside, an official shouted the names of towns, and +there was a sudden stir and murmur of voices in the great waiting-room. +Men seized their bags and bundles, women dragged sleepy children to +their feet, and a crowd began to press about the outlet. + +"Guess that's our train. She's going to be pretty full," said the +Canadian. + +The party joined a stream of hurrying passengers, and regretted their +haste when they were violently driven through the door and into a +railed-off space on the platform, where shouting railroad-hands were +endeavoring to restrain the surging crowd. Nobody heeded them; the +immigrants' patience was exhausted, and they had suddenly changed from +a dully apathetic multitude waiting in various stages of dejection to a +savage mob fired by one determined purpose. Near by stood a long row +of lighted cars, and the immigrants meant to get on board them without +loss of time. There were two gates, guarded by officials who +endeavored to discriminate between the holders of first and second +class tickets, but the crowd was in no mood to submit to the separation. + +It raged behind the barrier, and when one gate was rashly pushed back a +little too far, a clamorous, jostling mass of humanity stormed the +opening. Its guardians were flung aside, helpless, and the foremost of +the mob poured out upon the platform, while the pressure about the gap +grew insupportable. Women screamed, children were reft away from their +mothers, panting men trampled over bags and bundles torn from their +owners' hands, and George and the elderly Canadian struggled +determinedly to prevent the girl's being badly crushed. Edgar had +disappeared, though they once heard his voice, raised in angry protest. + +They were forced close up to the outlet, when there was a check. More +officials had been summoned; somebody had dropped a heavy box which +obstructed the passage, and a group of passengers began a savage fight +for its recovery. George seized a man who was jostling the girl and +thrust him backward; but the next moment he was struck by somebody, and +he saw nothing of his companions when, after being violently driven to +and fro, he reached the gate. A woman with two screaming children +clinging to her appeared beside him, and he held a man so that she +might pass. He was breathless, and almost exhausted, but he secured +her a little room; and then the pressure suddenly slackened. The crowd +swept out like a flood from a broken dam, and in a few more moments +George stood, gasping, on the platform amid a thinner stream of running +people. There was no sign of the Canadian or his daughter; the cars +were besieged; and George waited until Edgar joined him, flushed and +disheveled. + +"I suppose I was lucky in getting through with only my jacket badly +torn," said the lad, "I wondered why the railroad people caged up their +passengers behind iron bars, but now I know." + +George laughed. + +"I don't think this kind of thing is altogether usual. Owing to the +accident, they've no doubt had two trainloads to handle instead of one. +But the platform's emptying; shall we look for a place?" + +They managed to enter a car, though the stream of passengers, pouring +in by the two vestibules, met within in dire confusion, choking up the +passage with their baggage. Order was, however, restored at last; and, +with the tolling of the bell, and a jerk that flung those unprepared +off their feet, the great express got off. + +"Nobody left behind," Edgar announced, after a glance through the +window. "I can't imagine where they put them all; though I've never +seen a train like this. But what has become of our Canadian friends?" + +George said he did not know, and Edgar resumed: + +"I'm rather taken with the girl--strikes me as intelligent as well as +fetching. The man's a grim old savage, but I'm inclined to think he's +prosperous; when a fellow says he can't afford cigars I generally +suspect him of being rich. It's a pity that stinginess is one of the +roads to affluence." + +The car, glaringly lighted by huge lamps, was crowded and very hot, and +after a while George went out on to the rear platform for a breath of +air. The train had now left the city, and glancing back as it swung +around a curve, he wondered how one locomotive could haul the long row +of heavy cars. Then he looked out across the wide expanse of grass +that stretched away in the moonlight to the dim blur of woods on the +horizon. Here and there clumps of willows dotted the waste, but it lay +silent and empty, without sign of human life. The air was pleasantly +fresh after heavy rain; and the stillness of the vast prairie was +soothing by contrast with the tumult from which they had recently +escaped. + +Lighting his pipe, George leaned contentedly on the rail. Then +remembering what the Canadian had said, he thought of his old friend +Marston, a man of charm and varied talents, whom he had long admired +and often rather humbly referred to. It was hard to understand how +Dick had failed in Canada, and harder still to see why he had made his +plodding comrade his executor; for George, having seldom had occasion +to exert his abilities, had no great belief in them. He had suffered +keenly when Sylvia married Dick, but the homage he had offered her had +always been characterized by diffidence, springing from a doubt that +she could be content with him; and after a sharp struggle he succeeded +in convincing himself that his wound did not matter if she were happier +with the more brilliant man. He had entertained no hard thoughts of +her: Sylvia could do no wrong. His love for her sprang rather from +respect than passion; in his eyes she was all that a woman ought to be. + +In the meanwhile his new friends were discussing him in a car farther +back along the train. + +"I'm glad I had that Englishman by me in the crowd," the man remarked. +"He's cool and kept his head, did what was needed and nothing else. I +allow you owe him something for bringing you through." + +"Yes," said the girl; "he was quick and resolute." Then reserving the +rest of her thoughts, she added: "His friend's amusing." + +"Percy? Oh, yes," agreed her father. "Nothing to notice about +him--he's just one of the boys. The other's different. What that +fellow takes in hand he'll go through with." + +"You haven't much to form an opinion on." + +"That doesn't count. I can tell if a man's to be trusted when I see +him." + +"You're generally right," the girl admitted. "You were about Marston. +I was rather impressed by him when he first came out." + +Her father smiled. + +"Just so. Marston had only one trouble--he was all on top. You saw +all his good points in the first few minutes. It was rough on him that +they weren't the ones that are needed in this country." + +"It's a country that demands a great deal," the girl said thoughtfully. + +"Sure," was the dry reply. "The prairie breaks the weak and shiftless +pretty quick; we only have room for hard men who'll stand up against +whatever comes along." + +"And do you think that description fits the Englishman we met?" + +"Well," said her father, "I guess he wouldn't back down if things went +against him." + +He went out for a smoke, and the girl considered what he had said. It +was not a matter of much consequence, but she knew he seldom made +mistakes, and in this instance she agreed with him. As it happened, +George's English relatives included one or two clever people, but none +of them held his talents in much esteem. They thought him honest, +rather painstaking, and good-natured, but that was all. It was left +for two strangers to form a juster opinion; which was, perhaps, a not +altogether unusual thing. Besides, the standards are different in +western Canada. There, a man is judged by what he can do. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE PRAIRIE + +After a hot and tedious journey, George and his companion alighted one +afternoon at a little station on a branch line, and Edgar looked about +with interest when the train went on again. A telegraph office with a +baggage-room attached occupied the middle of the low platform, a tall +water-tank stood at the end, and three grain elevators towered high +above a neighboring side-track. Facing the track, stood a row of +wooden buildings varying in size and style: they included a +double-storied hotel with a veranda in front of it, and several untidy +shacks. Running back from them, two short streets, thinly lined with +small houses, led to a sea of grass. + +"Sage Butte doesn't strike one as a very exhilarating place," George +remarked. "We'll stroll round it, and then see about rooms, since we +have to stay the night." + +They left the station, but the main street had few attractions to +offer. Three stores, with strangely-assorted, dusty goods in their +windows fronted the rickety plankwalk; beyond these stood a livery +stable, a Chinese laundry, and a few dwelling-houses. Several +dilapidated wagons and buggies were scattered about the uneven road. +In the side street, disorderly rows of agricultural implements +surrounded a store, and here and there little board dwellings with wire +mosquito-doors and net-guarded windows, stood among low trees. Farther +back were four very small wooden churches. It was unpleasantly hot, +though a fresh breeze blew clouds of dust through the place. + +"I've seen enough," said Edgar. "The Butte isn't pretty; we'll assume +it's prosperous, though I haven't noticed much sign of activity yet. +Let's go to the hotel." + +When they reached it, several untidy loungers sat half asleep in the +shade of the veranda, and though they obstructed the approach to the +entrance none of them moved. Passing behind them, George opened a door +filled in with wire-mesh, and they entered a hot room with a bare +floor, furnished with a row of plain wooden chairs. After they had +rung a bell for several minutes, a man appeared and looked at them with +languid interest from behind a short counter. + +"Can you put us up?" George inquired. + +"Sure," was the answer. + +The man flung down a labeled key, twisted round his register, which was +fitted in a swivel frame, and handed George a pen. + +"We want two rooms," Edgar objected. + +"Can't help that. We've only got one." + +"I suppose we'd better take it. Where can one get a drink?" + +"Bar," replied the other, indicating a gap in a neighboring partition. + +"They're laconic in this country," Edgar remarked. + +"Ever since I arrived in it, I've felt as if I were a mere piece of +baggage, to be hustled along anyway without my wishes counting." + +"You'll get used to it after a while," George consoled him. + +Entering the dark bar, Edgar refreshed himself with several ice-cooled +drinks, served in what he thought were unusually small glasses. He +felt somewhat astonished when he paid for them. + +"Thirst's expensive on the prairie," he commented. + +"Pump outside," drawled the attendant. "It's rather mean water." + +They went upstairs to a very scantily furnished, doubled-bedded room. +George, warned by previous experience, glanced around. + +"There's soap and a towel, anyway; but I don't see any water," he +remarked. "I'll take the jar; they'll have a rain-tank somewhere +about." + +Edgar did not answer him. He was looking out of the open window, and +now that there was little to obstruct his view, the prospect interested +him. It had been a wet spring, and round the vast half-circle he +commanded the prairie ran back to the horizon, brightly green, until +its strong coloring gave place in the distance to soft neutral tones. +It was blotched with crimson flowers; in the marshy spots there were +streaks of purple; broad squares of darker wheat checkered the sweep of +grass, and dwarf woods straggled across it in broken lines. In one +place was the gleam of a little lake. Over it all there hung a sky of +dazzling blue, across which great rounded cloud-masses rolled. + +Edgar looked around as George came in with the water. + +"That's great!" he exclaimed, indicating the prairie; and then, turning +toward the wooden town, he added: "What a frightful mess man can make +of pretty things! Still, I've no doubt the people who built the Butte +are proud of it." + +"If you talk to them in that style, you'll soon discover their +opinion," George laughed; "but I don't think it would be wise." + +Soon afterward a bell rang for supper, and going down to a big room, +they found seats at a table which had several other occupants. Two of +them, who appeared to be railroad-hands, were simply dressed in +trousers and slate-colored shirts, and when they rested their elbows on +the tablecloth, they left grimy smears. George thought the third man +of the party, who was neatly attired, must be the station-agent; the +fourth was unmistakably a newly-arrived Englishman. As soon as they +were seated, a very smart young woman came up and rattled off the names +of various unfamiliar dishes. + +"I think I'll have a steak; I know what that is," Edgar told her. + +She withdrew, and presently surrounded him with an array of little +plates, at which he glanced dubiously before he attacked the thin, hard +steak with a nickeled knife which failed to make a mark on it. When he +made a more determined effort, it slid away from him, sweeping some +greasy fried potatoes off his plate, and he grew hot under the stern +gaze of the girl, who reappeared with some coffee he had not ordered. + +"Perhaps you had better take it away before I do more damage, and let +me have some fish," he said humbly. + +"Another time you'll say what you want at first. You can't prospect +right through the menu," she rebuked him. + +In the meanwhile George had been describing his companions on the train +to one of the men opposite. + +"He told me he was located in the district, but I didn't learn his +name, and he didn't get off here," he explained. "Do you know him?" + +"Sure," said the other. "It's Alan Grant, of Poplar, 'bout eighteen +miles back. Guess he went on to the next station--a little farther, +but it's easier driving, now they're dumping straw on the trail." + +"Putting straw on the road?" Edgar broke in. "Why are they doing that?" + +"You'll see, if you drive out north," the man answered shortly. Then +he turned to his better-dressed companion. "What are you going to do +with that carload of lumber we got for Grant?" + +"Send the car on to Benton." + +"She's billed here." + +"Can't help that--the road's mistake. Grant ordered all his stuff to +Benton. What he says goes." + +This struck George as significant--it was only a man of importance +whose instructions would be treated with so much deference. Then the +agent turned to Edgar. + +"What do you think of this country?" + +"The country's very nice. So far as I've seen them, I can't say as +much for the towns; they might be prettier." + +"Might be prettier?" exclaimed the agent. "If they're not good enough +for you, why did you come here?" + +"I'm not sure it was a very judicious move. But, you see, I didn't +know what the place was like; and, after all, an experience of this +kind is supposed to be bracing." + +The agent ignored Edgar after this. He talked to George, and elicited +the information that the latter meant to farm. Then he got up, +followed by two of the others, and the remaining man with the English +appearance turned to George diffidently. + +"Do you happen to want a teamster?" he asked. + +"I believe I'll want two," was the answer. "But I'm afraid I'll have +to hire Canadians." + +The man's face fell. He looked anxious, and George remembered having +seen a careworn woman tearfully embracing him before their steamer +sailed. Her shabby clothes and despairing face had roused George's +sympathy. + +"Well," said the man dejectedly, "that's for you to decide; but I've +driven horses most of my life, and until I get used to things I'd be +reasonable about the pay. I was told these little places were the best +to strike a job in; but, so far as I can find out, there's not much +chance here." + +George felt sorry for him. He suddenly made up his mind. + +"What are farm teamsters getting now?" he asked a man who was leaving +an adjacent table. + +"Thirty dollars a month," was the answer. + +"Thanks," said George, turning again to the Englishman. "Be ready to +start with us to-morrow. I'll take you at thirty dollars; but if I +don't get my value out of you, we'll have to part." + +"No fear of that, sir," replied the other, in a tone of keen +satisfaction. + +When they got outside, Edgar looked at George with a smile. + +"I'm glad you engaged the fellow," he said; "but considering that +you'll have to teach him, were you not a little rash?" + +"I'll find out by and by." George paused, and continued gravely: "It's +a big adventure these people make. Think of it--the raising of the +passage money by some desperate economy, the woman left behind with +hardly enough to keep her a month or two, the man's fierce anxiety to +find some work! When I saw how he was watching me, I felt I had to +hire him." + +"Just so," responded Edgar. "I suppose I ought to warn you that doing +things of the kind may get you into trouble some day; but cold-blooded +prudence never did appeal to me." He took one of the chairs in front +of the building and filled his pipe before he continued: "We'll sit +here a while, and then we might as well stroll across the plain. The +general-room doesn't strike me as an attractive place to spend the +evening in." + +An hour later they left the tall elevators and straggling town behind, +and after brushing through a belt of crimson flowers, they followed the +torn-up black trail that led into the waste. After a mile or two it +broke into several divergent rows of ruts, and they went on toward a +winding line of bluff across the short grass. Reaching that, they +pushed through the thin wood of dwarf birch and poplar, skirting little +pools from which mallard rose: and then, crossing a long rise, they sat +down to smoke on its farther side. Sage Butte had disappeared, the sun +had dipped, and the air was growing wonderfully fresh and cool. Here +and there a house or barn rose from the sweep of grass; but for the +most part it ran back into the distance lonely and empty. It was +steeped in strong, cold coloring, but on its western rim there burned a +vivid flush of rose and saffron. Edgar was impressed by its vastness +and silence. + +"This," he said thoughtfully, "makes up for a good deal. Once you get +clear of the railroad, it's a captivating country." + +"Have you decided yet what you're going to do in it?" + +"It's too soon," Edgar rejoined. "The family idea was that I should +stay about twelve months, and then go back and enter some profession. +Ethel seems quite convinced that a little roughing it will prove +beneficial. I might, however, stop out and try farming, which is one +reason why you can have my services for nothing for a time. +Considering what local wages are, don't you think you're lucky?" + +"That," laughed George, "remains to be seen." + +"Anyhow, there's no doubt that Sylvia Marston scores in securing you on +the same favorable terms. It has struck me that she's a woman who gets +things easily." + +"She hasn't always done so. Can you imagine, for instance, what two +years on a prairie farm must have been to a delicate, fastidious girl, +brought up in luxury?" + +"I've an idea that Sylvia would manage to avoid a good many of the +hardships." + +"Sylvia would never shirk a duty," George declared firmly. + +Edgar refilled his pipe. + +"I've been thinking about Dick Marston," he said. "After the way he +was generally regarded at home, it was strange to hear that Canadian's +opinions; but I've a notion that this country's a pretty severe +touchstone. I mean that the sort of qualities that make one popular in +England may not prove of much use here." + +"Dick lost his crop; that accounts for a good deal," George said +shortly. + +Edgar, knowing how staunch he was to his friends, changed the subject; +and when the light grew dim they went back to the hotel. Breakfasting +soon after six the next morning, they took their places in a light, +four-wheeled vehicle, for which three persons' baggage made a rather +heavy load, and drove away with the hired man. The grass was wet with +dew, the air invigoratingly cool, and for a time the fresh team carried +them across the waste at an excellent pace. When he had got used to +the frantic jolting, Edgar found the drive exhilarating. Poplar +bluffs, little ponds, a lake shining amid tall sedges, belts of +darkgreen wheat, went by; and while the horses plunged through tall +barley-grass or hauled the vehicle over clods and ruts, the same vast +prospect stretched away ahead. It filled the lad with a curious sense +of freedom: there was no limit to the prairies--one could go on and on, +across still wider stretches beyond the horizon. + +By and by, however, they ran in among low sandy hills, dotted with +dwarf pines here and there, and the pace slackened. The grass was +thin, the wheels sank in deep, loose sand, and the sun was getting +unpleasantly hot. For half an hour they drove on; and then the team +came to a standstill, necked with spume, at the foot of a short, steep +rise. Edgar alighted and found the heat almost insupportable. There +was glaring sand all about him, and the breeze which swept the prairie +was cut off by the hill in front. + +"You'll have to help the team," George told him, as he went to the +horses' heads. + +Edgar and the hired man each seized a wheel and endeavored to start the +vehicle, while the horses plunged in the slipping sand. They made a +few yards, with clouds of grit flying up about them, and afterward came +to a stop again. Next they tried pushing; and after several rests they +arrived, breathless and gasping, at the crest of the rise. There was a +big hollow in front, and on the opposite side a ridge which looked +steeper than the last one. + +"How much do you think there is of this?" Edgar inquired. + +"I can't say," George answered. "I know of one belt that runs for +forty miles." + +Even walking downhill was laborious, for they sank ankle-deep, but it +was very much worse when they faced the ascent. Short as the hill was, +it took them some time to climb; and, with the hired man's assistance, +Edgar carried a heavy trunk up the last part of it. Then he sat down. + +"I'm not sure I can smoke, but I intend to try," he said. "If you mean +to rush the next hill right off, you will go without me." He turned to +the hired man. "What do you think of these roads, Grierson?" + +"I've seen better, sir," the other answered cautiously. "Perhaps the +hills don't go on very far." + +Edgar ruefully glanced ahead at scattered pines, clumps of brush, and +ridges of gleaming sand. + +"It's my opinion there's no end to them! Hauling a load of wheat +through this kind of country must be a bit of an undertaking." + +After a short rest, they toiled for an hour through the sand; and then +rode slowly over a road thickly strewn with straw, which bore the +wheels. It led them across lower ground to a strong wire fence, where +it forked: one branch skirting the barrier along the edge of a muskeg, +the other running through the enclosed land. Deciding to take the +latter, George got down at the entrance, which was barred by several +strands of wire, firmly fastened. + +"Half an hour's work here," Edgar commented. "Driving's rather an +arduous pastime in western Canada." + +They crossed a long field of barley, a breadth of wheat, and passed an +empty house; then wound through a poplar wood until they reached the +grass again. It was long and rank, hiding the ruts and hollows in the +trail; but after stopping a while for dinner in the shadow of a bluff, +they jolted on, and in the afternoon they reached a smoother track. +Crossing a low rise, they saw a wide stretch of wheat beneath them, +with a house and other buildings near its margin. + +"That," said George, "is Sylvia's farm." + +Half an hour later, they drove through the wheat, at which George +glanced dubiously; and then, traversing a belt of light sandy clods +partly grown with weeds, they drew up before the house. It was +double-storied, roomy, and neatly built of wood; but it was in very bad +repair, and the barn and stables had a neglected and half-ruinous look. +Implements and wagons which had suffered from exposure to the weather, +stood about outside. Edgar noticed that George's face was grave. + +"I am afraid we have our work cut out," he said. "We'll put up the +team, and then look round the place and see what needs doing first." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +GEORGE GETS TO WORK + +It was an oppressive evening, after a day of unusual heat. Edgar sat +smoking outside the homestead. He had been busy since six o'clock that +morning, and he felt tired and downcast. Massed thunder-clouds brooded +over the silent prairie, wheat and grass had faded to dingy green and +lifeless gray, and Edgar tried to persuade himself that his moodiness +was the effect of the weather. This was partly the case, but he was +also suffering from homesickness and a shrinking from what was new and +strange. + +The wooden house had a dreary, dilapidated look; the weathered, +neglected appearance of barns and stables was depressing. It was +through a neighboring gap in the fence that Marston's team had brought +their lifeless master home; and Edgar had seen enough to realize that +the man must have grown slack and nerveless before he had succumbed. +The farm had broken down Marston's strength and courage, and now +another man, less gifted in many ways, had taken it in charge. Edgar +wondered how he would succeed; but in spite of a few misgivings he had +confidence in George. + +After a while the latter, who had been examining Marston's farming +books, came out, looking grave; he had worn a serious air since their +arrival. + +"There'll have to be a change," he said. "Dick's accounts have given +me something to think about. I believe I'm beginning to understand now +how his money went." + +"I suppose you haven't got the new program cut and dried yet?" Edgar +suggested. + +George was seldom precipitate. + +"No," he answered. "I've a few ideas in my mind." + +"Won't you have some trouble about finances, if the alterations are +extensive?" + +"I'll have to draw on my private account, unless Herbert will assist." + +"Herbert won't do anything of the kind," said Edgar decidedly. + +George, making no answer, called Grierson from the stable. + +"You'll drive in to the settlement after breakfast to-morrow, Tom," he +said. "Tell the man I'll keep the team, if he'll knock off twenty +dollars, and he can have his check when he likes. Then bring out the +flour and groceries." + +"I suppose I won't be going in again for a while; we'll be too busy?" + +"It's very likely," said Edgar, knowing his comrade's temperament. + +"Then I wonder if I could draw a pound or two?" asked Grierson +diffidently. + +"Why?" George questioned him. "The Immigration people would see that +you had some money before they let you in." + +"I've four pounds now; I want to send something home at once." + +"Ah!" said George. "I see. How much did you leave your wife?" + +"About three pounds, sir; I had to bring enough to pass me at Quebec." + +"Then if you give me what you have, I'll let you have a check for twice +as much on an English bank. Better get your letter written." + +Grierson's look was very expressive as he turned away with a word of +thanks; and Edgar smiled at George. + +"You have bought that fellow--for an advance of four pounds," he said. + +George showed a little embarrassment. + +"I was thinking of the woman," he explained. + +Then he pointed to the prairie. + +"There's a rig coming. It looks like visitors." + +Soon afterward, Grant, whom they had met on the train, drew up his team +and helped his daughter down. + +"We were passing and thought we'd look in," he said. "Found out +yesterday that you were located here." + +George called Grierson to take the team, and leading the new arrivals +to the house, which was still in disorder, he found them seats in the +kitchen. It was rather roughly and inadequately furnished, and Edgar +had decided that Sylvia had spent little of her time there. After they +had talked for a while, a man, dressed in blue duck trousers, a +saffron-colored shirt, and an old slouch hat, which he did not remove, +walked in, carrying a riding quirt. Grant returned his greeting +curtly, and then the man addressed George. + +"I heard you were running this place," he said. + +"That's correct." + +"Then I put in the wheat on your summer fallow; Mrs. Marston told me +to. Thought I'd come along and let you have the bill." + +His manner was assertively offhand, and George did not ask him to sit +down. + +"It's a very second-rate piece of work," George said. "You might have +used the land-packer more than you did." + +"It's good enough. Anyway, I'll trouble you for the money." + +Edgar was sensible of indignation mixed with amusement. This +overbearing fellow did not know George Lansing. + +"I think you had better take off your hat before we go any +farther--it's customary. Then you may tell me what I owe you." + +The man looked astonished, but he complied with the suggestion, and +afterward stated his charge, which was unusually high. Edgar noticed +that Grant was watching George with quiet interest. + +"I suppose you have a note from Mrs. Marston fixing the price?" + +The other explained that the matter had been arranged verbally. + +"Was anybody else present when you came to terms?" George asked. + +"You can quit feeling, and pay up!" exclaimed the stranger. "I've told +you how much it is." + +"The trouble is that you're asking nearly double the usual charge per +acre." + +Grant smiled approvingly, but the man advanced with a truculent air to +the table at which George was sitting. + +"I've done the work; that's good enough for me." + +"You have done it badly, but I'll give you a check now, based on the +regular charge, which should come to"--George made a quick calculation +on a strip of paper and handed it to the man. "This is merely because +you seem in a hurry. If you're not satisfied, you can wait until I get +an answer from Mrs. Marston; or I'll ask some of my neighbors to +arbitrate." + +The man hesitated, with anger in his face. + +"I guess I'll take the check," he said sullenly. + +Crossing the floor, George took a pen and some paper from a shelf. + +"Sit here," he said, when he came back, "and write me a receipt." + +The other did as he was bidden, and George pointed toward the door. + +"That's settled; I won't keep you." + +The man looked hard at him, and then went quietly out; and Grant leaned +back in his seat with a soft laugh. + +"You fixed him," he remarked. "He has the name of being a tough." + +"I suppose an Englishman newly out is considered lawful prey." + +"A few of them deserve it," Grant returned dryly. "But let that go. +What do you think of the place?" + +George felt that he could trust the farmer. He had spent a depressing +day, during which all he saw had discouraged him. Marston had farmed +in a singularly wasteful manner; fences and outbuildings were in very +bad repair; half the implements were useless; and it would be a long +and costly task to put things straight. + +"I feel that I'll have my hands full. In fact, I'm a little worried +about it; there are so many changes that must be made." + +"Sure. Where are you going to begin?" + +"By getting as much summer fallowing as possible done on the second +quarter-section. The first has been growing wheat for some time; I'll +sew part of that with timothy. There's one bit of stiff land I might +put in flax. I've thought of trying corn for the silo." + +"Timothy and a silo?" commented Grant. + +"You're going in for stock, then? It means laying out money, and a +slow return." + +"I'm afraid so. Still, you can't grow cereals year after year on this +light soil. It's a wasteful practise that will have to be abandoned, +as people here seem to be discovering. Grain won't pay at sixteen +bushels to the acre." + +"A sure thing," Grant agreed. "I'm sticking right to wheat, but that's +because I'm too old to change my system, and I'm on black soil, which +holds out longer." + +"But you're taking the nature out of it." + +"It will see me through if I fallow," said Grant. "When I've done with +it and sell out, somebody else can experiment with mixed crops and +stock-raising. That's going to become the general plan, but it's +costly at the beginning." Then he rose. "I'll walk round the place +with you." + +They went out, and the girl fell behind with Edgar. He had learned +that her name was Flora. + +"Mr. Lansing seems to understand farming," she remarked. "He didn't +tell us he had been on the prairie before." + +"He hasn't told you now," Edgar pointed out. + +"George never does tell things about himself unless there's a reason." + +"He soon got rid of the fellow who sowed the crop." + +Edgar laughed. + +"I knew the man would meet with a surprise. George's abilities are +not, as a rule, obvious at first sight. People find them out by +accident, and then they're somewhat startled." + +"You're evidently an admirer of his. Do you mean to go in for farming?" + +"I am, though I wouldn't have him suspect it," said Edgar. "In answer +to the other question, I haven't made up my mind. Farming as it's +carried on in this country seems to be a rather arduous occupation. In +the meanwhile, I'm undergoing what English people seem to think of as +the Canadian cure; that is, I've been given a chance for readjusting my +ideas and developing my character." + +"Under Mr. Lansing's guidance?" + +Edgar realized that the girl was less interested in him than in George, +but he did not resent this. + +"You're smart. I believe my people entertained some idea of that +nature; George is considered safe. Still, to prevent any +misapprehension, I'd better point out that my chief failings are a +fondness for looking at the amusing side of things and a slackness in +availing myself of my opportunities. As an instance of the latter +defect, I'm boring you by talking about Lansing." + +Flora regarded him with a quiet smile. + +"It struck me that you were saying something about yourself." + +"I suppose that's true," Edgar admitted. "It clears the ground." + +"For what?" + +"For an extension of our acquaintance, among other things." + +"Do you want it extended?" + +They had stopped at the edge of a hollow filled with tall, harsh grass, +and Edgar studied her while he considered his answer. There was +nothing that suggested coquetry in the faint amusement she displayed; +this was a girl with some depth of character, though he realized that +she was pretty. She carried herself well; she was finely and strongly +made; her gray eyes were searching; and she had a rather commanding +manner. Her hair was a warm brown, clustering low on a smooth +forehead; nose and lips and chin were firmly molded. + +"Yes," he answered candidly; "I'm feeling the strangeness of the +country, and I've an idea that both George and I may need friends in +it. It strikes me that you and your father would prove useful ones." + +"Well," she said, "he's sometimes called hard, and he's a little +prejudiced on certain points, but he can be very staunch to those he +takes a liking to." + +"I believe," Edgar rejoined, "that also applies to you; I don't mean +the first of it." + +Flora changed the subject. + +"I gather that you're not favorably impressed with the place." + +"I'm not. If I had to farm it, I'd feel scared; and I don't think +George is happy. It's hard to understand how Marston let it get into +such a state." + +"He was unfitted for the work, and he was further handicapped." + +"How?" Edgar asked. + +"You may have noticed that while economy ruled outside, the house is +remarkably well furnished. The money Marston spent in Winnipeg stores +should have gone into the land." + +Edgar nodded; he did not agree with George's opinion of Sylvia. + +"You don't seem to approve of the way Mrs. Marston managed things. +It's rather curious. I always thought her pretty capable in some +respects." + +"That's very possible," said Flora with a hint of dryness. + +"After all, it may not have been her fault," Edgar suggested. "Marston +was a generous fellow; he may have insisted on thinking first of her +comfort." + +"Then she ought to have stopped him," said Flora firmly. "Do you think +a woman should let a man spoil his one chance of success in order to +surround her with luxury?" + +"The answer's obvious." + +A dazzling flash of lightning leaped from the mass of somber cloud +overhead, and they turned back toward the house, which George and Grant +reached soon afterward. Grant said that he must get home before the +storm broke, and Grierson brought out his spirited team. It had grown +nearly dark; a curious leaden haze obscured the prairie; and when the +man was getting into his light, spring-seated wagon, a jagged streak of +lightning suddenly reft the gloom and there was a deafening roll of +thunder. The horses started. Grant fell backward from the step, +dropping the reins; and while the others stood dazzled by the flash, +the terrified animals backed the vehicle with a crash against the +stable. Then they plunged madly forward toward the fence, with the +reins trailing along the ground. Flora had got in before her father, +and she was now helpless. + +It was too late when Grant got up; Grierson and Edgar were too far +away, and the latter stood still, wondering with a thrill of horror +what the end would be; he did not think the horses saw the thin wire +fence, and the gap in it was narrow. If they struck a post in going +through, the vehicle would overturn. Then George, running furiously, +sprang at the horses' heads, and went down, still holding on. He was +dragged along a few yards, but the pace slackened, and Edgar ran +forward with Grierson behind him. For a few moments there was a savage +struggle, but they stopped and held the team, until Grant coolly +cleared the reins and flung them to his daughter. + +"Stick tight while I get up, and then watch out," he said to the others. + +He was seated in another moment, the girl quietly making room for him; +then, to Edgar's astonishment, he lashed the frantic horses with the +whip, and, plunging forward, they swept madly through the opening in +the fence, with the wagon jolting from rut to rut. A minute or two +afterward they had vanished into the thick obscurity that veiled the +waste of grass, and there was a dazzling flash and a stunning roll of +thunder. George, flushed and breathless, looked around with a soft +laugh. + +"Grant has pretty good nerve," he said. + +"That's so, sir," Grierson agreed. "Strikes me he'll take some of the +wickedness out of his team before he gets them home. I noticed that +Miss Grant didn't look the least bit afraid." + +Then a deluge of rain drove them into the house, where Edgar sat +smoking thoughtfully; for what Flora Grant had said about Sylvia had a +disturbing effect on him. It looked as if her selfish regard for her +comfort had hampered Marston in his struggle; and though Edgar had +never had much faith in Sylvia, this was painful to contemplate. +Moreover, George cherished a steadfast regard for her, which +complicated things; but Edgar prudently decided that the matter was a +delicate one and must be left to the people most concerned. After all, +Miss Grant might be mistaken. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +A CATTLE DRIVE + +George was summer fallowing, sitting in the iron saddle of a plow which +a heavy Clydesdale team hauled through the stubble. The work should +have been done earlier, for the soil on the Marston farm was very +light, and, as it had already grown several crops of cereals, George +was anxious to expose it to the influence of sun and wind as soon as +possible. It was about the middle of the afternoon and very hot. +Rounded cloud-masses overhung the plain, but dazzling sunshine fell on +grass and stubble, and a haze of dust surrounded the team, while now +and then the fine soil and sand, blown from the rest of the fallow by +the fresh breeze, swept by in streams. George wore motor-goggles to +protect his eyes, but his face and hands felt scorched and sore. +Farther back, Edgar plodded behind a lighter team, making very poor +progress. + +Presently George looked up and saw Flora Grant riding toward him. She +sat astride, but her skirt fell in becoming lines, and he thought the +gray blouse and wide Stetson hat, with a red band round it, most +effective. She reined up her horse near the plow, and George got down. + +"I was passing--going on to Forsyth's place--and my father asked me to +call," she said. "You were talking about buying cattle, and a man at +Dunblane has some good Herefords to sell. Father thinks they would +suit you." + +"His recommendation carries weight," said George. + +"I'll go and see them. I must thank you for bringing me word." + +"I've another message. It's this--when you're buying stock, be +cautious how you bid." + +"As I'm not well up in local prices, I wish Mr. Grant had been a little +plainer." + +"He went farther than I expected. You see, as a friend of the seller, +he's awkwardly fixed." + +"Just so," said George. "But, if you're not in the same position, you +might give me a hint. How much is the value of Canadian cattle usually +below the price likely to be asked of a new arrival?" + +"In this case, I should say about fifty per cent," Flora answered, with +a laugh. + +"Thank you," responded George. "I am sure your opinion's to be relied +on." + +Edgar stopped his team near by, and Flora regarded him with amusement +as he came toward them, his red face streaked with dust. + +"You look a good deal more like a western farmer than you did when I +saw you last," she laughed. + +Edgar removed his goggles and surveyed his working attire somewhat +disgustedly. + +"I wonder whether that's a compliment; but now that I've made the first +plunge, I'd better go through with it--get a flappy hat and a black +shirt, or one of those brilliant orange ones." + +"The latter are more decorative. But, as you are going on a two days' +journey to drive some cattle, I'll tell you how to find the way." + +"You had better tell George. I can only remember the things that +interest me." + +Flora gave them clear instructions, and when she rode away George +turned to Edgar. + +"You'll have to come, and we'll start at once. Grierson can go on +plowing with the Clydesdales, which is more than you could do." + +"I'm afraid I must admit it," said Edgar, glancing at his ragged +furrow. "But I'm going to have my supper and put up some provisions +before I leave the place." + +They set out an hour later, and safely reached their destination, where +George purchased a dozen cattle. They were big, red and white, +long-horned animals, accustomed to freedom, for fences are still scarce +on tracts of the prairie, and they ranged about the corral in a +restless manner. Edgar, leaning on the rails, watched them dubiously. + +"They look unusually active," he remarked. "I'm not an expert at +cattle-driving, but I suppose two of us ought to take them home." + +The rancher laughed. + +"Two's quite a good allowance for that small bunch, but if you keep +north among the scrub poplar, you won't be bothered by many fences. +It's pretty dry in summer, but you'll get good water in Baxter's well, +if you head for the big bluff you'll see tomorrow afternoon. We'll let +them out when you're ready." + +As soon as the rails were flung down, the cattle rushed out +tumultuously, as if rejoicing in their restored freedom. Then, while +George and his companion mounted, they started off across the prairie +at a steady trot. + +"A mettlesome lot; seem to be in good training," Edgar commented. +"Have you any idea where they're going?" + +"Guess they're heading for a creek two miles back; water's scarce," +explained the rancher. "As it's near the trail, you had better let +them go. You'll round them up quite easy when they've had a drink." + +George and Edgar rode after the cattle. The sun was getting low, but +the temperature showed no signs of falling, and the men were soon +soaked in perspiration. The herd went on at a good pace, making for a +wavy line of timber, and on reaching it, plunged down the side of a +declivity among little scattered trees. A stream trickled through +willow bushes and tall grass in the bottom of the hollow, and the men. +had trouble in forcing the cattle to leave the water. Before they +accomplished it, Edgar had got very wet and had scratched himself badly +in scrambling through the brush. + +"Driving stock is by no means so easy as it looks," he grumbled, when +they had climbed the opposite ascent, leading their horses. "The way +these beasts jump about among the bushes confuses you; I'd have sworn +there were forty of them in the ravine." + +"I see only nine now," George said pointedly. + +Edgar looked back into the hollow. + +"There are three of the brutes slipping away upstream as fast as they +can go! You're smarter at the thing than I am--hadn't you better go +after them?" + +"I expect I'll be needed to keep this bunch together," George rejoined. + +Edgar strode away, but it was half an hour later when he came back, hot +and angry, with the cattle crashing through the brush in front of him. +Then the reunited herd set off at a smart pace across the plain. + +"They seem fond of an evening gallop," Edgar remarked. "Anyhow, +they're going the right way, which strikes me as something to be +thankful for." + +They rode on, and it was getting dark when they checked the herd near a +straggling poplar bluff. The grass was good, the beasts began to feed +quietly, and after picketing their horses the men lay down on their +blankets. It was growing cooler, a vivid band of green still flickered +along the prairie's rim, and the deep silence was intensified by the +soft sound the cattle made cropping the dew-damped herbage. + +"I wonder if they go to sleep," mused Edgar. "I'm beginning to think +this kind of thing must be rather fine when one gets used to it. It's +a glorious night." + +By and by he drew his blanket round him and sank into slumber; but for +a while George, who had paid a high price for a Hereford bull, lay +awake, thinking and calculating. It would cost a good deal more than +he had anticipated to work the farm; Sylvia had no funds that could be +drawn upon, and his means were not large. Economy and good management +would be needed, but he was determined to make a success of his +undertaking. At last, seeing that the herd showed no signs of moving, +he went to sleep. + +Awakening at sunrise George found that, except for the horses, there +was not a beast in sight. For an hour he and West hunted them through +the bluff; and then, after making a hurried breakfast, they went on +their way again. It rapidly got hotter, the stock traveled quietly, +and, with a halt or two where a clump of poplars offered a little +shade, they rode, scorched by dazzling sunshine, across the limitless +plain. In the afternoon George began to look eagerly for the bluff +that the rancher mentioned. They had found no water, and the cattle +seemed distressed. The glare and heat were getting intolerable, but +the vast, gradual rise in front of them ran on, unbroken, to the +skyline. Its crest, however, must be crossed before evening; and they +toiled on. + +At last, the long ascent was made, and George felt relieved when he saw +a dark line of trees in the wide basin below him. + +"That must be the big bluff where the well is; though I don't see a +house," he said. + +They had some trouble in urging the herd down the slope, but after a +while they reached the welcome shadow of the trees, and Edgar broke +into a shout when he saw a rude wooden platform with a windlass upon it +and a trough near by. + +"Ride ahead with the horses and water them," said George, dismounting. + +Edgar did as he was bidden, but presently the herd, attracted by the +sight of water, came surging round the trough, savagely jostling one +another. The lad worked hard with the windlass, but he could not keep +them supplied, and they crowded on the low platform covering the well, +with heads stretched out eagerly toward the dripping bucket. After +being flung against the windlass by a thirsty beast, Edgar called to +his companion. + +"They'll break through if you're not quick! It's my opinion they're +bent on getting down the well!" + +George came to his assistance with his riding quirt, but when they were +supplying the last two or three unsatisfied animals, a man ran out of +the bluff. + +"What in thunder are you doing with our water?" he cried. + +"He looks angry," Edgar commented. "When that rancher fellow told us +about the well, he didn't mention the necessity of asking Mr. Baxter's +permission." Then he waved his hand to the stranger. + +"Come here and have a talk!" + +The man came on at a quicker run. His face was hot with indignation, +and on reaching them he broke into breathless and pointed +expostulations. + +"When you're quite through, we'll assess the damages," George quietly +told him. + +The farmer's anger began to dissipate. + +"No," he said; "that would be taking a pretty mean pull on you; but +water's scarce, and you can't have any more." + +"Well," requested George, "have you a paddock or corral you could let +me put this bunch of cattle into until the morning? I'm willing to pay +for the accommodation." + +"I can't do it," replied the other. "I want all the fenced grass I've +got. Take them right along, and you'll strike a creek about six miles +ahead. Then you ought to make the river to-morrow night." + +It was obvious that he desired to be rid of them; and as it was getting +cooler George resumed his journey. He found the creek early the next +morning, and as the day promised to be unusually hot he delayed only +until he had watered the stock. In an hour or two the sun was hidden +by banks of leaden cloud, but the temperature did not fall and there +was an oppressive heaviness in the air. The prairie had faded to a +sweep of lifeless gray, obscured above its verge. The men made +progress, however; and late in the afternoon a winding line of timber +that marked the river's course appeared ahead. Shortly afterward, +Edgar looked around. + +"That's a curious streak of haze in the distance," he remarked. + +"It's smoke," said George. "Grass fires are not uncommon in hot +weather. It looks like a big one." + +They urged the cattle on a little faster, but it was evening when they +reached the first of the trees. George rode forward between them and +pulled up his horse in some concern. The ford had been difficult when +they crossed it on the outward journey, but now the space between bank +and bank was filled by an angry flood. It rolled by furiously, lapping +in frothy ripples upon the steep slope that led down to it. + +"Nearly an extra three feet of water; there'd be a risk in crossing," +he said, when Edgar joined him. + +"We couldn't make the place where the trail runs in, and the landing +down-stream from it looks bad." + +"Then what ought we to do?" Edgar inquired. + +"Wait until to-morrow. There's no doubt been a heavy thunderstorm +higher up, but the water should soon run down." George glanced back +toward the prairie dubiously. "I'm a little anxious about the fire; +but, after all, it may not come near us." + +The cattle did not wander far after drinking, and the men ate their +supper. It grew dark, but the heat did not lessen, and the oppressive +air was filled with a smell of burning. Looking back between the +trees, they could see a long streak of yellow radiance leaping up, and +growing dim when the view was obstructed by clouds of smoke. + +"It's an awkward situation, and, as if it were not bad enough, there's +a big thunderstorm brewing," Edgar said at length. "I'll go along and +look at the mark you made upon the bank." + +He strode away among the trees. It was very dark. The tethered horses +were moving restlessly; but, so far as Edgar could make out, the cattle +were bunched together. After lighting a match he came back. + +"The water's falling, but only slowly," he reported. "Should we try to +drive the stock along the bank?" + +"We couldn't herd them in the dark. Besides, it's an extensive fire, +and I'm doubtful whether we could get down to the water farther along." + +They waited for an hour, keeping the cattle together with some trouble, +and watching the blaze, which grew brighter rapidly. At last, wisps of +pungent smoke rolled into the bluff. + +"The beasts are ready to stampede!" George suddenly called to Edgar. +"We'll have to make a start! Get into the saddle and drive them toward +the ford!" + +They were very busy for a while. Their horses were hard to manage, the +timber was thick, and the herd attempted to break away through it; but +at last they reached the steep dip to the waterside. One beast plunged +in and vanished, more followed, and George, plying his quirt and +shouting, rode in among the diminishing drove. He felt the water +lapping about his boots, and then the horse lost its footing. George +dropped from the saddle and seized a stirrup. For some minutes he +could see a few dark objects about him, but they disappeared, and he +and the horse were swept away down-stream. + +He kept hold--the animal was swimming strongly--and after a time a +lurid flash of lightning showed him a black mass of trees close ahead. +They vanished, the succeeding darkness was impenetrable, and the crash +of thunder was deadened by the roar of water. For a moment or two his +head was driven under, but when he got it clear, another dazzling flash +revealed a high bank only a few yards away, and when thick darkness +followed he felt the horse rise to its feet. Then he touched soft +bottom, and a little later scrambled up an almost precipitous slope +with the bridle in his hand and the horse floundering behind him. They +reached the summit, and, stopping among thin timber, it was with strong +relief that he heard Edgar's shout. Shortly afterward the lad +appeared, leading his horse. + +"There's some of the drove on this side; I don't see the rest," he +said, glancing toward the opposite bank, where dark trees stood out +against a strong red glare. + +"It strikes me we only got across in time." + +Then torrential rain broke upon them, and while they stood, unable to +move forward, a cry reached them faintly through the roar of the +deluge. It came again when George answered, and was followed by a +crackling and snapping of underbrush. Then, as a blaze of lightning +filled the bluff with radiance, two men appeared for a moment, leading +their horses among the slender trunks. They were immediately lost to +sight again, but presently they came up, and George recognized Grant by +his voice. + +"So you have got through, Lansing," he cried. "I met Constable Flett +on the trail, and, as he told me the river was rising and there was a +big fire west, I figured you must be up against trouble." + +He asked a few questions and then resumed: + +"As you got the stock started, they'll have swum across; but we can't +round them up until it's light. There's a deserted shack not far off, +and I guess we'll head for it." + +The constable agreed; and, mounting when they had got out of the +timber, they rode off through the rain. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +CONSTABLE FLETT'S SUSPICIONS + +It was nearly six o'clock in the evening when George and his +companions, who had spent part of the day looking for the straying +stock, rode up to the Grant homestead through a vast stretch of grain. +This grew on the rich black soil they call "gumbo" in the West; but +here and there a belt of dark-colored summer fallow checkered the +strong green of the wheat and oats. Though he clung to the one-crop +system, Alan Grant was careful of his land. The fine brick house and +range of smart wooden buildings, the costly implements, which included +a gasoline tractor-plow, all indicated prosperity, and George +recognized that the rugged-faced man beside him had made a marked +success of his farming. + +When the cattle had been secured, Flora Grant welcomed the new arrivals +graciously, and after a while they sat down to supper with the hired +men in a big room. It was plainly furnished, but there was everything +that comfort demanded, for the happy mean between bareness and +superfluity had been cleverly hit, and George thought Miss Grant was +responsible for this. He sat beside her at the foot of the long table +and noticed the hired hands' attitude toward her. It was respectful, +but not diffident. The girl had no need to assert herself; she was on +excellent terms with the sturdy toilers, who nevertheless cheerfully +submitted to her rule. + +When the meal was over, Grant led his guests into a smaller room, and +produced a bag of domestic tobacco. + +"The stock have gone far enough," he said. "You'll stay here to-night." + +Flett looked doubtful, though it was obvious that he wished to remain. +He was a young, brown-faced man, and his smart khaki uniform proclaimed +him a trooper of the Northwest Mounted Police. + +"The trouble is that I'm a bit late on my round already," he protested. + +"That's soon fixed," said Grant. + +He opened a roll-top desk, and wrote a note which he read out: + + +"'Constable Flett has been detained in the neighborhood of this +homestead through having rendered, at my request, valuable assistance +in rounding up a bunch of cattle, scattered in crossing the flooded +river.'" + + +"Thanks," said Flett. "That kind of thing counts when they're choosing +a corporal." + +Grant turned to George with a smile. + +"Keep in with the police, Lansing--I've known a good supper now and +then go a long way. They may worry you about fireguards and fencing, +but they'll stand by you when you're in trouble, if you treat them +right. If it's a matter of straying stock, a sick horse, or you don't +know how to roof a new barn, you have only to send for the nearest +trooper." + +"Aren't these things a little outside their duties?" Edgar asked. + +The constable grinned. + +"Most anything that wants doing badly is right in our line." + +"Sure," said Grant. "It's not long since Flett went two hundred miles +over the snow with a dog-team to settle a little difference between an +Indian and his wife. Then he once brought a hurt trapper a fortnight's +journey on his sledge, sleeping in the snow, in the bitterest weather. +They were quite alone, and the hurt man was crazy most of the time." + +"Then you're supposed to look after the settlers, as well as to keep +order?" suggested Edgar, looking admiringly at the sturdy young +constable. + +"That's so," replied Flett. "They certainly need it. Last winter we +struck one crowd in a lonely shack up north--man, woman, and several +children huddled on the floor, with nothing to eat, and the stove +out--at forty degrees below. There was a bluff a few miles off, but +they hadn't a tool of any kind to cut cordwood with. Took us quite a +while to haul them up some stores, though we made twelve-hour marches +between our camps in the snow. We had to hustle that trip." + +He paused and resumed: + +"Better keep an eye on that bunch of young horses, Mr. Grant; bring +them up nearer the house when the nights get darker. Those Clydesdales +are mighty fine beasts and prices are high." + +Grant looked astonished. + +"I've been here a good many years, and I've never lost a horse," he +declared. + +"It doesn't follow you'll always be as lucky," the trooper said +pointedly. + +"I was told that property is as safe in the West as it is in England," +Edgar broke in. + +"Just so," remarked the trooper. "They say that kind of thing. I +never was in the old country, but young mavericks aren't the only stock +to go missing in Alberta, which isn't a long way off. The boys there +have their hands full now and then, and we have three or four of the +worst toughs I've struck right in Sage Butte." + +Grant leaned forward on the table, looking steadily at him. + +"Hadn't you better tell me what you have in your mind?" + +"I can't give you much information, but we got a hint from Regina to +keep our eyes open, and from things I've heard it's my idea that now +that the boys have nearly stopped the running of Alberta cattle across +the frontier, some of the toughs they couldn't track mean to start the +same game farther east. Some of you ranchers run stock outside the +fences, and I guess one could still find a lonely trail to the American +border." + +"Well," said Grant, "I'm glad you told me." He turned to George. "Be +careful, Lansing; you would be an easier mark." + +They strolled outside; and after a while George joined Flora, and +sauntered away across the grass with her. It was a clear, still +evening, and the air was wonderfully fresh. + +"Though he wouldn't let me thank him, I feel I'm seriously indebted to +your father, Miss Grant," he said. "Our horses were worn out, and the +stock had all scattered when he turned up with the trooper." + +"I believe he enjoyed the ride, and the night in the rain," replied +Flora. "You see, he had once to work very hard here, and now that +things have changed, he finds it rather tame. He likes to feel he's +still capable of a little exertion." + +"I shouldn't consider him an idle man." + +Flora laughed. + +"That would be very wrong; but the need for continual effort and the +strain of making ends meet, with the chance of being ruined by a frozen +crop, have passed. I believe he misses the excitement of it." + +"Then I gather that he built up this great farm?" + +"Yes; from a free quarter-section. He and my mother started in a +two-roomed shack. They were both from Ontario, but she died several +years ago." The girl paused. "Sometimes I think she must have had +remarkable courage, I can remember her as always ready in an emergency, +always tranquil." + +George glanced at her as she stood, finely posed, looking out across +the waste of grass with gravely steady eyes, and it occurred to him +that she resembled her mother in the respects she had mentioned. +Nevertheless, he felt inclined to wonder how she had got her grace and +refinement. Alan Grant was forceful and rather primitive. + +"Have you spent much of your time here?" he asked. + +"No," she answered. "My mother was once a school-teacher, and she must +have had ambitious views for me. When the farm began to prosper, I was +sent to Toronto. After that I went to Montreal, and finally to +England." + +"You must be fond of traveling." + +"Oh," she said, with some reserve, "I had thought of taking up a +profession." + +"And you have abandoned the idea?" + +She looked at him quietly, wondering whether she should answer. + +"I had no alternative," she said. "I began to realize it after my +mother's death. Then my father was badly hurt in an accident with a +team, and I came back. He has nobody else to look after him, and he is +getting on in life." + +Her words conveyed no hint of the stern struggle between duty and +inclination, but George guessed it. This girl, he thought, was one not +to give up lightly the career she had chosen. + +Then she changed the subject with a smile. + +"I suspect that my father approves of you, perhaps because of what you +are doing with the land. I think I may say that if you have any little +difficulty, or are short of any implements that would be useful, you +need only come across to us." + +"Thank you," George responded quietly. + +"Mr. West mentioned that you were on a farm in this country once +before. Why did you give it up?" + +"Somebody left me a little money." + +"Then what brought you back?" + +She was rather direct, but that is not unusual in the West, and George +was mildly flattered by the interest she displayed. + +"It's a little difficult to answer. For one thing, I was beginning to +feel that I was taking life too easily in England, It's a habit that +grows on one." + +He had no desire to conceal the fact that he had come out on Sylvia's +behalf--it never occurred to him to mention it. He was trying to +analyze the feelings which had rendered the sacrifice he made in +leaving home a little easier. + +"I don't think the dread of acquiring that habit is common among your +people," Flora said mischievously. "It doesn't sound like a very +convincing reason." + +"No," replied George, with a smile. "Still, it had some weight. You +see, it isn't difficult to get lazy and slack, and I'd done nothing +except a little fishing and shooting for several years. I didn't want +to sink into a mere lounger about country houses and clubs. It's +pleasant, but too much of it is apt to unfit one for anything else." + +"You believe it's safer, for example, to haul stovewood home through +the Canadian frost or drive a plow under the scorching sun?" + +"Yes; I think I feel something of the kind." + +Flora somewhat astonished him by her scornful laugh. + +"You're wise," she said. "We have had sportsmen here from your +country, and I've a vivid memory of one or two. One could see by their +coarse faces that they ate and drank too much; and they seemed +determined to avoid discomfort at any cost. I suppose they could +shoot, but they could neither strip a gun nor carry it on a long day's +march. The last party thought it needful to take a teamload of +supplies when they went north after moose. It would have been a +catastrophe if they had missed their dinner." + +"Going without one's dinner has its inconveniences," said George. + +"And thinking too much about it has its perils," she retorted. + +George nodded. He thought he knew what she meant, and he agreed with +it. He could recall companions who, living for pleasure, had by +degrees lost all zest for the more or less wholesome amusements to +which they had confined their efforts. Some had become mere club +loungers and tattlers; one or two had sunk into gross indulgence. This +had had its effect on him: he did not wish to grow red-faced, slothful, +and fleshy, as they had done, nor to busy himself with trivialities +until such capacities for useful work as he possessed had atrophied. + +"Well," he said, "nobody could call this a good country for the +pampered loafer." + +Flora smiled, and pointed out across the prairie. In the foreground it +was flecked with crimson flowers; farther back willow and poplar bluffs +stretched in bluish smears across the sweep of grass that ran on beyond +them toward the vivid glow of color on the skyline. It was almost +beautiful in the soft evening light, but it conveyed most clearly a +sense of vastness and solitude. The effect was somehow daunting. One +thought of the Arctic winter and the savage storms that swept the wilds. + +"I've heard it called hard," she said. "It undoubtedly needs hard men; +there is nothing here that can be easily won. That's a fact that the +people you're sending over ought to recognize." + +"They soon discover it when they get out. When they've had a crop +hailed or frozen, the thing becomes obvious." + +"Did you lose one?" + +"I did," George rejoined rather gloomily. "I've a suspicion that if we +get much dry weather and the usual strong winds, I may lose another. +The wheat's getting badly cut by driving sand; that's a trouble we +don't have to put up with in the old country." + +"I'm sorry," said Flora; and he knew she meant it. "But you won't be +beaten by one bad season?" + +"No," George answered with quiet determination. "I must make a success +of this venture, whatever it costs." + +She was a little puzzled by his manner, for she did not think he was +addicted to being needlessly emphatic; but she asked no questions, and +soon afterward the others joined them and they went back to the house. +Early on the following morning, George started homeward with his +cattle, and as they rode slowly through the barley-grass that fringed +the trail, Edgar looked at him with a smile. + +"You spent some time in Miss Grant's company," he remarked. "How did +she strike you?" + +"I like her. She's interesting--I think that's the right word for it. +Seems to understand things; talks to you like a man." + +"Just so," Edgar rejoined, with a laugh. "She's a lady I've a high +opinion of; in fact, I'm a little afraid of her. Though I'm nearly as +old as she is, she makes me feel callow. It's a sensation that's new +to me." + +"And you're a man of experience, aren't you?" + +"I suppose I was rather a favorite at home," Edgar owned with humorous +modesty. "For all that, I don't feel myself quite up to Miss Grant's +standard." + +"I didn't notice any assumption of superiority on her part." + +"Oh, no," said Edgar. "She doesn't require to assume it; the +superiority's obvious; that's the trouble. One hesitates about +offering her the small change of compliments that generally went well +at home. If you try to say something smart, she looks at you as if she +were amused, not at what you said, but at you. There's an embarrassing +difference between the things." + +"The remedy's simple. Don't try to be smart." + +"You would find that easy," Edgar retorted. "Now, in my opinion, Miss +Grant is intellectual, which is more than anybody ever accused you of +being, but I suspect you would make more progress with her than I could +do. Extremes have a way of meeting, and perhaps it isn't really +curious that your direct and simple views should now and then recommend +you to a more complex person." + +"I notice a couple of beasts straying yonder," George said dryly. + +Edgar rode off to drive the animals up to the herd. George, he +thought, was painfully practical; only such a man could break off the +discussion of a girl like Miss Grant to interest himself in the +movements of a wandering steer. For all that, the beasts must be +turned, and they gave Edgar a hard gallop through willow scrub and tall +grass before he could head them off and afterward overtake the drove. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +GEORGE TURNS REFORMER + +George was working in the summer fallow a few days after his return +from Grant's homestead, when a man rode across the plowing and pulled +up his horse beside him. He was on the whole a handsome fellow, well +mounted and smartly dressed, but there was a hint of hardness in his +expression. George recognized him as the landlord of a hotel at the +settlement. + +"Your crop's not looking too good," the stranger greeted him. + +"No," returned George. "It was badly put in, and we've had unusually +dry weather." + +"I forgot," the other rejoined. "You're the fellow Jake Gillet had the +trouble with. Beat him down on the price, didn't you? He's a bad man +to bluff." + +"The point that concerned me was that he asked a good deal more than +his work was worth." + +The man looked at George curiously. + +"That's quite possible, but you might have let him down more gently +than you did. As a newcomer, you don't want to kick too much or run up +against things other folks put up with." + +George wondered where the hint he had been given led. + +"I rode over to bring this paper for you to sign," the man went on. + +Glancing through it, George saw that it was a petition against any +curtailment of the licenses at Sage Butte, and a testimonial to the +excellent manner in which the Sachem Hotel was conducted by its owner, +Oliver Beamish. George had only once entered the place, but it had +struck him as being badly kept and frequented by rather undesirable +customers. + +"Some fool temperance folks are starting a campaign--want to shut the +hotels," his visitor explained. "You'll put your name to this." + +"I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me, Mr. Beamish. I can't form an +opinion; I haven't heard the other side yet." + +"Do you want to hear them? Do you like that kind of talk?" + +George smiled, though he was not favorably impressed by the man. His +tone was too dictatorial; George expected civility when asked a favor. + +"After all," he said, "it would only be fair." + +"Then you won't sign?" + +"No." + +Beamish sat silent a moment or two, regarding George steadily. + +"One name more or less doesn't matter much, but I'll own that the +opinion of you farmers who use my hotel as a stopping-place counts with +the authorities," he told him. "I've got quite a few signatures. You +want to remember that it won't pay you to go against the general wish." + +There was a threat in his manner, and George's face hardened. + +"That consideration hasn't much weight with me," he said. + +"Well," returned Beamish, "I guess you're wrong; but as there's nothing +doing here, I'll get on." + +He rode away, and George thought no more of the matter for several +days. Then as he was riding home with Edgar from a visit to a neighbor +who had a team to sell, they stopped to rest a few minutes in the shade +of a poplar bluff. It was fiercely hot on the prairie, but the wood +was dim and cool, and George followed Edgar through it in search of +saskatoons. The red berries were plentiful, and they had gone farther +than they intended when George stopped waist-deep in the grass of a dry +sloo, where shallow water had lain in the spring. He nearly fell over +something large and hard. Stooping down, he saw with some surprise +that it was a wooden case. + +"I wonder what's in it?" he said. + +"Bottles," reported Edgar, pulling up a board of the lid. "One of the +cure-everything tonics, according to the labels. It strikes me as a +curious place to leave it in." + +George carefully looked about. He could distinguish a faint track, +where the grasses had been disturbed, running straight across the sloo +past the spot he occupied; but he thought that the person who had made +the track had endeavored to leave as little mark as possible. Then he +glanced out between the poplar trunks across the sunlit prairie. There +was not a house on it; scarcely a clump of timber broke its even +surface. The bluff was very lonely; and George remembered that a trail +which ran near by led to an Indian reservation some distance to the +north. While he considered, Edgar broke in: + +"As neither of us requires a pick-me-up, it might be better to leave +the thing where it is." + +"That," replied George, "is my own idea." + +Edgar looked thoughtful. + +"The case didn't come here by accident; and one wouldn't imagine that +tonics are in great demand in this locality. I have, however, heard +the liquor laws denounced; and as a rule it's wise to leave matters +that don't concern you severely alone." + +"Just so," said George. "We'll get on again, if you have had enough +berries." + +On reaching the homestead, they found a note from Miss Grant inviting +them to come over in the evening; and both were glad to comply with it. +When they arrived, the girl led them into a room where a lady of +middle-age and a young man in clerical attire were sitting with her +father. + +"Mrs. Nelson has come over from Sage Butte on a mission," she said, +when she presented them. "Mr. Hardie, who is the Methodist minister +there, is anxious to meet you." + +The lady was short and slight in figure but was marked by a most +resolute expression. + +"The mission is Mr. Hardie's," she said. "I'm merely his assistant. I +suppose you're a temperance reformer, Mr. Lansing?" + +"No," George answered meekly; "I can't say I am." + +"Then you'll have to become one. How long is it since you indulged in +drink?" + +George felt a little embarrassed, but Edgar, seeing Flora's smile and +the twinkle in her father's eyes, hastily came to his rescue. + +"Nearly a month, to my knowledge. That is, if you don't object to +strong green tea, consumed in large quantities." + +"One should practise moderation in everything. _Everything_!" + +"It has struck me," said Edgar thoughtfully, "that moderation is now +and then desirable in temperance reform." + +Mrs. Nelson fixed her eyes on him with a severe expression. + +"Are you a scoffer?" + +"No," said Edgar; "as a matter of fact, I'm open to conviction, +especially if you intend to reform the Butte. In my opinion, it needs +it." + +"Well," responded the lady, "you're a signature, anyway; and we want as +many as we can get. But we'll proceed to business. Will you state our +views, Mr. Hardie?" + +The man began quietly, and George was favorably impressed by him. He +had a pleasant, sun-burned face, and a well-knit but rather thin +figure, which suggested that he was accustomed to physical exertion. +As he could not afford a horse, he made long rounds on foot to visit +his scattered congregation, under scorching sun and in the stinging +frost. + +"There are four churches in Sage Butte, but I sometimes fear that most +of the good they do is undone in the pool room and the saloons," he +said. "Of the latter, one cannot, perhaps, strongly object to the +Queen's." + +"One should always object to a saloon," Mrs. Nelson corrected him. + +Hardie smiled good-humoredly. + +"After all, the other's the more pressing evil. There's no doubt about +the unfortunate influence of the Sachem." + +"That's so," Grant agreed. "When I first came out from Ontario, there +wasn't a loafer in the town. When the boys were through with their +day's job, they had a quiet talk and smoke and went to bed; they came +here to work. Now the Sachem bar's full of slouchers every night, and +quite a few of them don't do anything worth speaking of in the daytime, +except make trouble for decent folks. If the boys try to put the screw +on a farmer at harvest or when he has extra wheat to haul, you'll find +they hatched the mischief at Beamish's saloon. But I've no use for +giving those fellows tracts with warning pictures." + +"That," said Mrs. Nelson, "is by no means what we intend to do." + +"I'm afraid that admonition hasn't had much effect, and I agree with +Mr. Grant that the Sachem is a gathering place for doubtful +characters," Hardie went on. "What's worse, I've reasons for supposing +that Beamish gets some of them to help him in supplying the Indians on +the reservation with liquor." + +This was a serious offense, and there was a pause, during which Edgar +glanced meaningly at George. Then he made a pertinent remark. + +"Four churches to two saloons is pretty long odds. Why do you think it +needful to call in the farmers?" + +Hardie looked troubled, but he showed that he was honest. + +"The churches are thinly attended; I'm the only resident clergyman, and +I'm sorry I must confess that some of our people are indifferent: +reluctant, or perhaps half afraid, to interfere. They want a clear +lead; if we could get a big determined meeting it might decide the +waverers." + +"Then you're not sure of winning?" asked Grant. + +"No," replied Hardie. "There'll be strong and well-managed opposition; +in fact, we have nearly everything against us. I've been urged to +wait, but the evil's increasing; those against us are growing stronger." + +"If you lose, you and your friends will find the Butte pretty hot. But +you feel you have a chance, a fighting chance, and you mean to take it?" + +"Yes." + +"Then I'm with you,"' Grant declared with a grim smile. "Don't mistake +me: I take my glass of lager when I feel like it--there's some right +here in the house--but, if it's needful, I can do without. I'm not +going into this thing to help you in preaching to whisky-tanks and +toughs--it's the law I'm standing for. If what you suspect is going +on, we'll soon have our colts rebranded and our calves missing. We +have got to clean out Beamish's crowd." + +"Thanks," said Hardie, with keen satisfaction. + +He turned to George. + +"I'd be glad of your support, Mr. Lansing." + +George sat silent a moment or two while Flora watched him. Then he +said quietly: + +"My position's much the same as Mr. Grant's--I can do without. After +what you have said about the Sachem, I'll join you." + +"And you?" Hardie asked Edgar. + +The lad laughed. + +"I follow my leader. The loungers about the Sachem weren't civil to +me; said unpleasant things about my appearance and my English clothes. +To help to make them abstainers strikes me as a happy thought." + +Flora glanced at him in amused reproof, and Hardie turned to Grant. + +"What about your hired men?" + +"Count them in; they go with me. If you have brought any memorial +along, I'll see they sign it." + +"I wish all our supporters had your determination," Mrs. Nelson +remarked approvingly. + +Hardie ventured a protest. + +"I don't want any pressure put upon them, Mr. Grant." + +"Pressure?" queried the farmer. "I'll just ask them to sign." + +"I wonder if you're quite satisfied with the purity of all your allies' +motives, Mr. Hardie?" Edgar inquired. + +A smile crept into the clergyman's face. + +"I don't think a leader's often in that position, Mr. West; and +considering what I'm up against, I can't refuse any support that's +offered me. It's one reason why I've taken yours." + +"Now that I've joined you, I'd better mention a little discovery West +and I made this afternoon," said George. + +Hardie's expression grew eager as he listened. + +"It's certainly liquor--for the reservation Indians," he broke out. +"If we can fix the thing on Beamish--I haven't a doubt that he's +responsible--we can close the Sachem." + +"Then we had better decide how it's to be done," Grant said curtly. + +He ruled out several suggestions, and finally said: + +"I expect the case will be sent for to-night, and we want two witnesses +who'll lie by in the sloo. One of them ought to be a farmer; but we'll +see about that. Guess your part is to find out how the liquor left the +Butte, Mr. Hardie. What do you think of the plan, ma'am?" + +"I leave it to you," said Mrs. Nelson, half reluctantly. "But be +warned--if the men can't close the Sachem, the women of Sage Butte will +undertake the thing." + +"Then we have only to decide who is to watch the bluff," said Hardie. + +"As I first mentioned the matter, I'll go, for one," George volunteered. + +"You're the right man," declared Grant. "As a newcomer who's never +been mixed up with local affairs, your word would carry more weight +with the court. The opposition couldn't make you out a partizan. But +you want to recognize what you're doing--after this, you'll find +yourself up against all the Sachem toughs. It's quite likely they'll +make trouble for you." + +"I wonder whether such reasons count for much with Mr. Lansing?" Flora +said suggestively. + +George made no reply, but Edgar laughed. + +"They don't, Miss Grant; you can set your mind at rest on that. You +don't seem curious whether they count with me." + +"You're not going," Grant told him. "We must have two men who can be +relied on, and I can put my hand on another who's younger and a little +more wiry than I am." He turned to George. "What you have to do is to +lie close in the sloo grass until the fellows come for the liquor, when +you'll follow them to the reservation, without their seeing you. Then +you'll ride up and make sure you would know them again. They should +get there soon after daylight, as they won't strike the bluff until +it's dark, but there's thick brush in the ravine the trail follows for +the last few miles. It won't matter if they light out, because Flett +will pick up their trail. I'll send for him right off, but he could +hardly get through before morning." + +The party broke up shortly afterward, and George rode home, wondering +why he had allowed himself to become involved in what might prove to be +a troublesome matter. His ideas on the subject were not very clear, +but he felt that Flora Grant had expected him to take a part. Then he +had been impressed in Hardie's favor; the man was in earnest, ready to +court popular hostility, but he was nevertheless genial and free from +dogmatic narrow-mindedness. Behind all this, there was in George a +detestation of vicious idleness and indulgence, and a respect for right +and order. Since he had been warned that the badly-kept hotel +sheltered a gang of loafers plotting mischief and willing to prey upon +men who toiled strenuously, he was ready for an attempt to turn them +out. He agreed with Grant: the gang must be put down. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE LIQUOR-RUNNERS + +Dusk was closing in when George and the hired man whom Grant had sent +with him reached the bluff and tethered their horses where they would +be hidden among the trees. This done, George stood still for a few +moments, looking about. A dark, cloud-barred sky hung over the +prairie, which was fast fading into dimness; the wood looked desolate +and forbidding in the dying light. He did not think any one could have +seen him and his companion enter it. Then he and the man floundered +through the undergrowth until they reached the sloo, where they hid +themselves among the grass at some distance from the case, which had +not been removed. + +There was no moon, and a fresh breeze swept through the wood, waking +eerie sounds and sharp rustlings among the trees. Once or twice George +started, imagining that somebody was creeping through the bushes behind +him, but he was glad of the confused sounds, because they would cover +his movements when the time for action came. His companion, a teamster +born on the prairie, lay beside him amid the tall harsh grass that +swayed to and fro with a curious dry clashing. He broke into a soft +laugh when George suddenly raised his head. + +"Only a cottontail hustling through the brush. Whoever's coming will +strike the bluff on the other side," he said. "Night's kind of wild; +pity it won't rain. Crops on light soil are getting badly cut." + +George glanced up at the patch of sky above the dark mass of trees. +Black and threatening clouds drove across it; but during the past few +weeks he had watched them roll up from the west a little after noon +almost every day. For a while, they shadowed the prairie, promising +the deluge he eagerly longed for; and then, toward evening, they +cleared away, and pitiless sunshine once more scorched the plain. +Grain grown upon the stiff black loam withstood the drought, but the +light soil of the Marston farm was lifted by the wind, and the sharp +sand in it abraded the tender stalks. It might cut them through if the +dry weather and strong breeze continued; and then the crop which was to +cover his first expenses would yield him nothing. + +"Yes," he returned moodily. "It looks as if it couldn't rain. We +ought to go in more for stock-raising; it's safer." + +"Costs quite a pile to start with, and the ranchers farther west +certainly have their troubles. We had a good many calves missing, and +now and then prime steers driven off, when I was range-riding." + +"I haven't heard of any cattle-stealing about here." + +"No," said the teamster. "Still, I guess we may come to it; there are +more toughs about the settlement than there used to be. Indians have +been pretty good, but I've known them make lots of trouble in other +districts by killing beasts for meat and picking up stray horses. But +that was where they had mean whites willing to trade with them." + +George considered this. It had struck him that the morality of the +country had not improved since he had last visited it; though this was +not surprising in view of the swarm of immigrants that were pouring in. +Grant had pithily said that once upon a time the boys had come there to +work; but it now looked as if a certain proportion had arrived on the +prairie because nobody could tolerate them at home. Flett and the +Methodist preacher seemed convinced that there were a number of these +undesirables hanging about Sage Butte, ready for mischief. + +"Well," he said, "I suppose the first thing to be done is to stop this +liquor-running." + +They had no further conversation for another hour. The poplars rustled +behind them and the grass rippled and clashed, but now and then the +breeze died away for a few moments, and there was a curious and almost +disconcerting stillness. At last, in one of these intervals, the +Canadian, partly rising, lifted his hand. + +"Listen!" he said. "Guess I hear a team." + +A low rhythmic drumming that suggested the beat of hoofs rose from the +waste, but it was lost as the branches rattled and the long grass +swayed noisily before a rush of breeze. George thought the sound had +come from somewhere half a mile away. + +"If they're Indians, would they bring a wagon?" he asked. + +"It's quite likely. Some of the bucks keep smart teams; they do a +little rough farming on the reservation. It would look as if they were +going for sloo hay, if anybody saw them." + +George waited in silence, wishing he could hear the thud of hoofs +again. It was slightly daunting to lie still and wonder where the men +were. It is never very dark in summer on the western prairie, and +George could see across the sloo, but there was no movement that the +wind would not account for among the black trees that shut it in. +Several minutes passed, and George looked around again with strained +attention. + +Suddenly a dim figure emerged from the gloom. Another followed it, but +they made no sound that could be heard through the rustle of the +leaves, and George felt his heart beat and his nerves tingle as he +watched them flit, half seen, through the grass. Then one of the +shadowy objects stooped, lifting something, and they went back as +noiselessly as they had come. In a few more moments they had vanished, +and the branches about them clashed in a rush of wind. It died away, +and there was no sound or sign of human presence in all the silent +wood. George, glad that the strain was over, was about to rise, but +his companion laid a hand on his arm. + +"Give 'em time to get clear. We don't want to come up until there's +light enough to swear to them or they make the reservation." + +They waited several minutes, and then, traversing the wood, found their +horses and mounted. The grass stretched away, blurred and shadowy, and +though they could see nothing that moved upon it, a beat of hoofs came +softly back to them. + +"Wind's bringing the sound," said the teamster. "Guess they won't hear +us." + +They rode out into the gray obscurity, losing the sound now and then. +They had gone several leagues when they came to the edge of a dark +bluff. Drawing bridle, they sat and listened, until the teamster broke +the silence. + +"There's a trail runs through; we'll try it." + +The trail was difficult to find and bad to follow, for long grass and +willow-scrub partly covered it, and in spite of their caution the men +made a good deal of noise. That, however, seemed of less importance, +for they could hear nothing ahead, and George looked about carefully as +they crossed a more open space. The trees were getting blacker and +more distinct; he could see their tops clearly against the sky, and +guessed that dawn was near. How far it was to the reservation he did +not know, but there would be light enough in another hour to see the +men who had carried off the liquor. Then he began to wonder where the +latter were, for there was now no sign of them. + +Suddenly, when the wind dropped for a moment, a faint rattle of wheels +reached them from the depths of the wood, and the teamster raised his +hand. + +"Pretty close," he said. "Come on as cautious as you can. The +reservation's not far away, and we don't want them to get there much +before us." + +They rode a little more slowly; but when the rattle of wheels and thud +of hoofs grew sharply distinct in another lull, the man struck his +horse. + +"They've heard us!" he cried. "We've got to run them down!" + +George urged his beast, and there was a crackle of brush about him as +the black trees streamed past. The thrill of the pursuit possessed +him; after weeks of patient labor, he felt the exhilaration of the wild +night ride. The trail, he knew, was riddled here and there with gopher +holes and partly grown with brush that might bring his horse down, but +this did not count. He was glad, however, that the teamster was behind +him, because he could see the dim gap ahead between the mass of trees, +and he thought that it was rapidly becoming less shadowy. The sound of +hoofs and wheels was growing louder; they were coming up with the +fugitives. + +"Keep them on the run!" gasped the man behind. "If one of us gets +thrown, the other fellow will hold right on!" + +A few minutes later George's horse plunged with a crash through a break. + +"We're off the trail!" his companion cried. "Guess it switches round a +sloo!" + +They floundered through crackling brushwood until they struck the +track, and afterward rode furiously to make up the lost time, with the +sound of wheels leading them on. Then in the gap before them they saw +what seemed to be the back of a wagon which, to George's surprise, +suddenly disappeared. The next moment a figure carrying something +crossed the trail. + +"To the right!" cried the teamster. + +George did not think his companion had seen the man. He rode after him +into the brush, and saw the fellow hurrying through it with a load in +his arms. The man looked around. George could dimly make out his dark +face; and his figure was almost clear. He was an Indian and unusually +tall. Then he plunged into a screen of bushes, and George, riding +savagely, drove his horse at the obstacle. + +He heard the twigs snap beneath him, a drooping branch struck him hard; +and then he gasped with horror. In front there opened up a deep black +rift in which appeared the tops of trees. Seeing it was too late to +pull up, he shook his feet clear of the stirrups. He felt the horse +plunge down, there was a shock, and he was flung violently from the +saddle. He struck a precipitous slope and rolled down it, clutching at +twigs, which broke, and grass, until he felt a violent blow on his +head. After that he knew nothing. + +It was broad daylight when consciousness returned, and he found himself +lying half-way down a steep declivity. At the foot of it tall reeds +and sedges indicated the presence of water, and he realized that he had +fallen into a ravine. There was a small tree near by, against which he +supposed he had struck his head; but somewhat to his astonishment he +could not see his horse. It had apparently escaped better than he had, +for he felt dizzy and shaky and averse to making an effort to get up, +though he did not think he had broken any bones. + +After a while he fumbled for his pipe and found some difficulty in +lighting it, but he persevered, and lay quiet while he smoked it out. +The sunlight was creeping down the gully, it was getting pleasantly +warm, and George felt dull and lethargic. Some time had passed when he +heard the teamster's shout and saw the man scrambling down the side of +the ravine. + +"Badly hurt?" he asked, on reaching George. + +"No," said George; "I don't think it's serious; I feel half asleep and +stupid. Suppose that's because I hit my head." + +The other looked at him searchingly. His eyes were heavy and his face +had lost its usual color. + +"You want to get back to your homestead and lie quiet a while. I +didn't miss you until I'd got out of the bluff, and then the wagon was +close ahead." + +"How was it you avoided falling in after me?" + +"That's easy understood in the daylight. The trail twists sharply and +runs along the edge of the ravine. I stuck to it; instead of turning, +you went straight on." + +"Yes," said George, and mentioned having seen the Indian who left the +wagon. Then he asked: "But what about the fellow you followed?" + +His companion hesitated. + +"Guess I've been badly fooled. I came up with him outside the bluff +when it was getting light, and he stopped his team. Said he was +quietly driving home when he heard somebody riding after him, and as +he'd once been roughly handled by mean whites, he tried to get away. +Then as I didn't know what to do, I allowed I'd keep him in sight until +Constable Flett turned up, and by and by we came to a deserted shack. +There's a well in the bluff behind it, and the buck said his team +wanted a drink; they certainly looked a bit played out, and my mare was +thirsty. He found an old bucket and asked me to fill it." + +"You didn't leave him with the horses!" + +"No, sir; but what I did was most as foolish. I let him go and he +didn't come back. See how I was fixed? If I'd gone into the bluff to +look for him, he might have slipped out and driven off, so I stood by +the beasts quite a while. It strikes me that team wasn't his. At last +Flett rode up with another trooper. It seems Steve met them on the +trail." + +George nodded. Flett had arrived before he was expected, because +Grant's messenger had been saved a long ride to his station. + +"Well?" he said. + +"When we couldn't find the buck, Flett sent his partner off to pick up +his trail, and then said we'd better take the team along and look for +you. I left where the trail forks; he was to wait a bit. Now, do you +think you can get up?" + +George did so, and managed with some assistance to climb the slope, +where his companion left him and went off for the constable. Flett +arrived presently, and made George tell his story. + +"The thing's quite plain," he said. "The fellow you saw jumped off +with the liquor, though one wouldn't expect him to carry it far. You +say he was tall; did he walk a little lame?" + +"It was too dark to tell. I'm inclined to think I would know him +again." + +"Well," explained Flett, "this is the kind of thing Little Ax is likely +to have a hand in, and he's the tallest buck in the crowd. I'll stick +to the team until we come across somebody who knows its owner. The +first thing we have to do is to find that case of liquor." + +Half an hour later the teamster came back carrying it, and set it down +before the constable with a grin. + +"Guess it's your duty to see what's in these bottles," he remarked. +"Shall I get one out?" + +"You needn't; I've a pretty good idea," answered Flett; adding +meaningly, "besides, it's the kind of stuff a white man can't drink." +Then he turned to George. "I'd better take you home. You look kind of +shaky." + +"What about my horse?" George asked. + +"Guess he's made for home," said the teamster. "I struck his trail, +and it led right out of the woods." + +George got into the wagon with some trouble, and the teamster rode +beside it when they set off. + +"You haven't much to put before a court," he said to Flett. + +"No," the constable replied thoughtfully. "I'm not sure our people +will take this matter up; anyway, it looks as if we could only fix it +on the Indians. This is what comes of you folks fooling things, +instead of leaving them to us." + +"The police certainly like a conviction," rejoined the teamster, +grinning. "They feel real bad when the court lets a fellow off; seem +to think that's their business. Guess it's why a few of their +prisoners escape." + +Flett ignored this, and the teamster turned to George. + +"I'll tell you what once happened to me. I was working for a blamed +hard boss, and it doesn't matter why I quit without getting my wages +out of him, but he wasn't feeling good when I lit out behind a +freight-car. By bad luck, there was a trooper handy when a train-hand +found me at a lonely side-track. Well, that policeman didn't know what +to do with me. It was quite a way to the nearest guard-room; they +don't get medals for corraling a man who's only stolen a ride, and he +had to watch out for some cattle rustlers; so wherever he went I had to +go along with him. We got quite friendly, and one night he said to me, +'There's a freight that stops here nearly due. I'll go to sleep while +you get out on her.'" + +The teamster paused and added with a laugh: + +"That's what I did, and I'd be mighty glad to set the drinks up if I +ever meet that man off duty. We'd both have a full-size jag on before +we quit." + +"And you're one of the fellows who're running Hardie's temperance +campaign!" Flett said dryly. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +DIPLOMACY + +Flett left the team at George's homestead. Bidding him take good care +of it, and borrowing a fresh team, he drove away with the wagon. When +he reached Sage Butte it was getting dusk. He hitched the horses +outside of the better of the two hotels and entered in search of food, +as he had still a long ride before him. Supper had long been finished, +and Flett was kept waiting for some time, but he now and then glanced +at the wagon. It was dark when he drove away, after seeing that the +case lay where he had left it, and he had reached his post before he +made a startling discovery. When he carried the case into the +lamplight, it looked smaller, and on hastily opening it he found it was +filled with soil! + +He sat down and thought; though on the surface the matter was clear--he +had been cleverly outwitted by somebody who had exchanged the case +while he got his meal. This, as he reflected, was not the kind of +thing for which a constable got promoted; but there were other points +that required attention. The substitution had not been effected by +anybody connected with the Queen's; it was, he suspected, the work of +some of the frequenters of the Sachem; and he and his superiors had to +contend with a well-organized gang. News of what had happened in the +bluff had obviously been transmitted to the settlement while he had +rested at Lansing's homestead. He had, however, made a long journey, +and as he would have to ride on and report the matter to his sergeant +in the morning, he went to sleep. + +The next day George was setting out on a visit to Grant when a man rode +up and asked for the team. + +"Flett can't get over, but he wants the horses at the post, so as to +have them handy if he finds anybody who can recognize them," he +explained. + +That sounded plausible, but George hesitated. The animals would be of +service as a clue to their owner and a proof of his complicity in the +affair. As they had not been identified, it would embarrass the police +if they were missing. + +"I can only hand them over to a constable, unless you have brought a +note from Flett," he replied. + +"Then, as I haven't one, you'll beat me out of a day's pay, and make +Flett mighty mad. Do you think he'd get anybody who might know the +team to waste a day riding out to your place? Guess the folks round +here are too busy, and they'd be glad of the excuse that it was so far. +They won't want to mix themselves up in this thing." + +George could find no fault with this reasoning, but he thought the +fellow was a little too eager to secure the horses. + +"Well," he said, "as I'm going to call on Mr. Grant, I'll see what he +has to say. If I'm not back in time, Mr. West will give you supper." + +"Then Grant's standing in with you and the temperance folks?" + +It struck George that he had been incautious, but he could not +determine whether the man had blundered or not. His question suggested +some knowledge of the situation, but an accomplice of the offenders +would, no doubt, have heard of the part Grant's hired man had played. + +"I don't see how that concerns you," he replied. "You'll have to wait +until I return if you want the team." + +He rode on, but he had not gone far when he met Beamish, of the Sachem. + +"I was coming over to see you," the man told him. "You bought that +young Hereford bull of Broughton's, didn't you?" + +George was surprised at the question, but he answered that he had done +so. + +"Then would you sell him?" + +"I hadn't thought of it." + +"Guess that means I'll have to tempt you," Beamish said. "I want the +beast." + +He named a price that struck George as being in excess of the animal's +value; and then explained: + +"I've seen him once or twice before he fell into Broughton's hands; the +imported Red Rover strain is marked in him, and a friend of mine, who's +going in for Herefords, told me not to stick at a few dollars if I +could pick up such a bull." + +This was plausible, but not altogether satisfactory, and George, +reflecting that a buyer does not really praise what he means to +purchase, imagined that there was something behind it. + +"I'm not likely to get a better bid," he admitted. "But I must ask if +the transaction would be complete? Would you expect anything further +from me in return?" + +Beamish regarded him keenly, with a faint smile. + +"Well," he said, "I certainly want the bull, but you seem to +understand. Leave it at that; I'm offering to treat you pretty +liberally." + +"So as to prevent my assisting Flett in any way or taking a part in +Hardie's campaign?" + +"I wouldn't consider it the square thing for you to do," Beamish +returned quietly. + +George thought of the man who was waiting at the homestead for the +team. It was obvious that an attempt was being made to buy him, and he +strongly resented it. + +"Then I can only tell you that I won't make this deal. That's the end +of the matter." + +Beamish nodded and started his horse, but he looked back as he rode off. + +"Well," he called, in a meaning tone, "you may be sorry." + +George rode on to Grant's homestead, and finding him at work in the +fallow, told him what had passed. + +"I fail to see why they're so eager to get hold of me," he concluded. + +Grant, sitting in the saddle of the big plow, thoughtfully filled his +pipe. + +"Of course," he said, "it wasn't a coincidence that Beamish came over +soon after the fellow turned up for the horses. It would have been +worth while buying the bull if you had let them go--especially as I +believe it's right about a friend of his wanting one--and nobody could +have blamed you for selling. The fact is, your position counts. The +bluff would make a handy place for a depot, and, while there's nobody +else near, you command the trails to it and the reservation. Nobody +could get by from the settlement without being seen, unless they made a +big round, if you watched out." + +"I'm beginning to understand. What you say implies that they're doing +a good trade." + +"That's so," Grant assented. "I wouldn't have believed it was so big +before Hardie put me on the track and I began to look around. But you +want to remember that what you're doing may cost you something. I'm +your nearest neighbor, you're running stock that are often out of +sight, and you're up against a determined crowd." + +"It's true," George admitted. "Still, I can't back out." + +Grant cast a keen, approving glance at him. George sat quietly in his +saddle with a smile on his brown face; his pose was easy but virile: +there was a stamp of refinement and old country breeding upon him. His +eyes were suggestively steady; his skin was clear; he looked forceful +in an unemphatic manner. The farmer was to some extent prejudiced +against the type, but he could make exceptions. He had liked Lansing +from the beginning, and he knew that he could work. + +"No," he said; "I guess you're not that kind of man. But won't you get +down and go along to the house? Flora will be glad to talk with you, +and I'll be in for supper soon." + +George thanked him, and did as he suggested. He was beginning to find +pleasure in the conversation of Flora Grant. + +It was two hours later when he took his leave and the farmer went out +with him. + +"I don't know what Hardie's doing, but I've an idea that Mrs. Nelson +means to make some move at the Farmers' Club fair," he said. "She's a +mighty determined and enterprising woman. If you can spare the time, +you'd better ride in and see what's going on." + +On reaching home, George was not surprised to find that the man who had +come for the horses had departed without waiting for his answer. The +next day he received an intimation that the annual exhibition of the +Sage Butte Farmers' Club would shortly be held; and one morning a +fortnight later he and Edgar rode off to the settlement. + +They found the little town rudely decorated with flags and arches of +poplar boughs, and a good-humored crowd assembled. The one-sided +street that faced the track was lined with buggies, wagons, and a few +automobiles; horses and two or three yoke of oxen were tethered outside +the overfull livery stables. + +A strong breeze drove blinding dust-clouds through the place, but even +in the wind the sunshine was scorching. + +As he strolled toward the fair-ground, George became interested in the +crowd. It was largely composed of small farmers, and almost without +exception they and their wives were smartly attired; they looked +contented and prosperous. Mingling with them were teamsters, many as +neatly dressed as their masters, though some wore blue-jean and +saffron-colored shirts; and there were railroad-hands, mechanics, and +store-keepers. All of them were cheerful; a few good years, free from +harvest frost and blight, had made a marked improvement in everybody's +lot. + +Yet, there was another side to the picture. Odd groups of loungers +indulged in scurrilous jests; hoarse laughter and an occasional angry +uproar issued from the hotels, and shabby men with hard faces slouched +about the veranda of one. George noticed this, but he presently +reached the fair-ground, where he inspected the animals and implements; +and then, toward supper-time, he strolled back with Grant. They were +walking up one of the side-streets when shouts broke out behind them. + +George looked around but for a moment he could see very little through +the cloud of dust that swept the street. When it blew away it revealed +a row of women advancing two by two along the plank sidewalk. They +were of different ages and stations in life, but they all came on as if +with a fixed purpose, and they had resolute faces. Mrs. Nelson led +them, carrying a riding quirt, and though George was not astonished to +see her, he started when he noticed Flora Grant near the end of the +procession. She was paler than usual, and she walked quietly with a +rather strained expression. + +Grant touched George's shoulder. + +"This is certainly more than I figured on," he said; "but I guess +there's no use in my objecting. Now she's started, she'll go through +with it. They're making for the Sachem; we had better go along." + +Shortly afterward, a gathering crowd blocked the street. + +"Speech!" somebody cried; and there was ironical applause. + +Mrs. Nelson raised her hand, and when the procession stopped, she +looked sternly at the men before her. + +"No," she answered; "speeches are wasted on such folks; we're here to +act!" + +She waved the quirt commandingly. + +"Let us pass!" + +She was obeyed. The women moved on; and George and Grant managed to +enter the hotel behind them before the throng closed in. The big +general-room was hot and its atmosphere almost intolerably foul; the +bar, which opened off it, was shadowy, and the crowded figures of +lounging men showed dimly through thick cigar smoke. The hum of their +voices died away and there was a curious silence as the women came in. +Edging forward, George saw Beamish leaning on his counter, looking +quietly self-possessed and very dapper in his white shirt and well-cut +clothes. + +"Well," he said, "what do you ladies want with me?" + +Their leader faced him, a small and yet commanding figure, with an +imperious expression and sparkling eyes. + +"You got a notice that from supper-time this bar must be shut!" + +"I did, ma'am. It was signed by you. Now, so far as I know, the +magistrates are the only people who can close my hotel." + +"That's so!" shouted somebody; and there were confused murmurs and +harsh laughter which suggested that some of the loungers were not quite +sober. + +"Fire them out!" cried another man. "Guess this is why Nelson gets +cold potatoes for his supper. Ought to be at home mending socks or +washing their men's clothes." + +The lady turned sternly on the last speaker. + +"Yes," she said; "that's the kind of idea you would hold. It's getting +played out now." + +George was conscious of slight amusement. The affair had its humorous +side, and, though he was ready to interfere if the women were roughly +handled, he did not think they ran any serious risk. Beamish looked +capable of dealing with the situation. + +"You don't require to butt in, boys," he said. "Leave me to talk to +these ladies; I guess their intentions are good." He bowed to Mrs. +Nelson. "You can go on, ma'am." + +"I've only this to say--you must close your bar right now!" + +"Suppose I'm not willing? It will mean a big loss to me." + +"That," answered Mrs. Nelson firmly, "doesn't count; the bigger the +loss, the better. You will stop the sale of drink until to-morrow, or +take the consequences." + +Another woman, who looked careworn and haggard, and was shabbily +dressed, stood forward. + +"We and the children have borne enough!" she broke out. "We have to +save the cord-wood in the bitter cold; we have to send the kiddies out +in old, thin clothes, while the money that would make home worth living +in goes into your register. Where are the boys--our husbands and +sons--who once held steady jobs and did good work?" She raised an +accusing hand, with despair in her pinched face. "Oh! I needn't tell +you--they're rebranding farmers' calves or hiding from the police! +Don't you know of one who walked to his death through the big trestle, +dazed with liquor? For these things the men who tempted them will have +to answer!" + +"True, but not quite to the point," Mrs. Nelson interposed. "We have +found remonstrance useless; the time for words has passed. This fellow +has had his warning; we're waiting for him to comply with it." + +There was an uproar outside from the crowd that was struggling to get +in and demanding to be told what was going on; but Beamish made a sign +of resignation. + +"It looks as if I couldn't refuse you; and anyway it wouldn't be +polite." He turned to his customers. + +"Boys, it's not my fault, but you'll get no more drinks to-day. For +all that, I must make a point of asking you to treat these ladies with +respect." + +"Smart," Grant remarked to George. "He has handled the thing right. +This means trouble for Hardie." + +Then Beamish once more addressed the intruders. + +"Now that I've given in, has it struck you that there isn't much use in +closing my place if you leave the Queen's open?" + +"We'll shut them both!" Mrs. Nelson declared. + +"Then there's just another point--I've folks who have driven a long +way, staying the night with me, and there's quite a crowd coming in for +supper. How am I to treat them?" + +"They can have all they want to eat," Mrs. Nelson told him graciously; +"but no liquor." + +"I can't refuse to supply them without a reason. What am I to say?" + +"Tell them that the Women's Reform League has compelled you to close +your bar." + +"And I've been given the orders by their acknowledged secretary?" + +"Yes. I'm proud of being their leader, and of the duty I've +discharged." + +Beamish turned to his customers. + +"You'll remember what she has told me, boys!" + +Grant drew George away. + +"She walked right into the trap; you couldn't have stopped her. I'm +sorry for Hardie. But we may as well get out now; there'll be no +trouble." + +The street was blocked when the women left, but a passage was made for +them; and, followed by everybody in the settlement, they proceeded to +the other hotel, whose proprietor capitulated. Then Mrs. Nelson made a +speech, in which she pointed out that for once the festival would not +be marked by the orgies which had on previous occasions disgraced the +town. Her words, by no means conciliatory, and her aggressive air +provoked the crowd, which had, for the most part, watched the +proceedings with amusement. There were cries of indignant dissent, +angry shouts, and the throng began to close in upon the speaker. Then +there was sudden silence, and the concourse split apart. Into the gap +rode a slim young man in khaki, with a wide hat of the same color, who +pulled up and sat looking at the people with his hand on his hip. +George recognized him as the constable who shared the extensive beat +with Flett. + +"Now," he said good-humoredly, "what's all this fuss about?" + +Several of them informed him and he listened gravely before he called +one of the farmer's stewards, and spoke a few words to him. + +"It strikes me," he said, "that you had all better go back to the +fair-ground, while I look into things. There's an item or two on the +program Mr. Carson wants to work off before supper." + +He had taken the right tone, and when they began to disperse he rode on +to the Sachem. + +"I want your account of this disturbance," he said to the proprietor. + +Beamish related what had taken place and the constable looked surprised. + +"Am I to understand that you're afraid to open your bar because of the +women?" he asked. + +"Yes, sir," replied Beamish, coolly; "that's about the size of it. +You'd have been scared, too; they're a mighty determined crowd." + +"Nobody except the authorities has any right to interfere." + +"That's my opinion, but what am I to do about it? Suppose these women +come back, will you stand at the door and keep them out? They're +capable of mobbing you." + +The constable looked dubious, and Beamish continued: + +"Besides, I've given them my word I'd shut up--they made me." + +"Then how do you expect us to help?" + +"So far as I can see, you can only report the matter to your bosses." + +The constable felt inclined to agree with this. He asked for the names +of the ladies, and Beamish hesitated. + +"I was too taken up with Mrs. Nelson to notice the rest, and the place +was rather dark. Anyway, about half of them were foolish girls with +notions; I don't want to drag them in." + +"You blame somebody for setting them on?" + +"I do," said Beamish, without a trace of rancor. "There's Mrs. +Nelson--everybody knows she's a crank--and Hardie, the Methodist +minister. They've been trying to make trouble for the hotels for quite +a while." + +The constable made a note of this and presently called on Hardie, who +had just returned to town after visiting a sick farmer. The former +listened to what the minister had to say, but was not much impressed. +Beamish had cleverly made him his partizan. + +After supper George and Grant called on Hardie and found him looking +distressed. + +"I'm much afraid that the result of three or four months' earnest work +has been destroyed this afternoon," he said. "Our allies have stirred +up popular prejudice against us. We'll meet with opposition whichever +way we turn." + +"There's something in that," Grant agreed. "Mrs. Nelson's a lady who +would wreck any cause. Still, she has closed the hotels." + +"For one night. As a result of this afternoon's work, they will +probably be kept open altogether. You can imagine how the authorities +will receive any representations we can make, after our being +implicated in this disturbance." + +"Have you thought of disowning the ladies? You could do so--you had no +hand in the thing." + +The young clergyman flushed hotly. + +"I'd have stopped this rashness, if I'd heard of it; but, after all, +I'm the real instigator, since I started the campaign. I'm willing to +face my share of the blame." + +"You mean you'll let Beamish make you responsible?" + +"Of course," said Hardie. "I can't deny I'm leader. The move was a +mistake, considered prudentially; but it was morally justifiable. I'll +defend it as strongly as I'm able." + +Grant nodded, and Flora and Mrs. Nelson came in. + +"Are you satisfied with what you've done?" Grant said to the girl. +"You might have given me a hint of it." + +Flora smiled. + +"I'm afraid Beamish was too clever for us. From an outsider's point of +view, he behaved exceptionally well, and in doing so he put us in the +wrong. I didn't know what had been planned when I left home, but, as +one of the league, I couldn't draw back when I heard of it." + +"You think he was too clever?" Mrs. Nelson broke in. "How absurd to +say that! We have won a brilliant victory!" + +Grant made a little gesture. + +"If you're convinced of that, ma'am, we'll leave you to talk it over." + +He led George toward the door. + +"I like that man Hardie," he resumed when they reached the street. +"Beamish has him beaten for the present, but I'm thankful there'll be +no women about when we come to grips with his crowd. It may take a +while, but those fellows have got to be downed." + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +GEORGE FACES DISASTER + +A fortnight had passed since the affair at the settlement when Hardie +arrived at the Marston homestead toward supper-time. After the meal +was over, he accompanied his host and Edgar to the little room used for +an office. + +"As I've been busy since four this morning, I don't mean to do anything +more," said George, "I suppose you don't smoke?" + +"No," Hardie answered. "It's a concession I can make without much +effort to our stricter brethren. I'm inclined to believe they consider +smoking almost as bad as drink. You agree with them about the latter?" + +"We try to be consistent," Edgar told him. "You see, I couldn't very +well indulge in an occasional drink when I've undertaken to make those +Sage Butte fellows abstainers. Anyhow, though you're by no means +liberal in your view, you're practical people. As soon as I landed at +Montreal, a pleasant young man, wearing a silver monogram came up to +me, and offered me introductions to people who might find me a job. +Though I didn't want one, I was grateful; and when I told him I wasn't +one of his flock, he said it didn't matter. That kind of thing makes a +good impression." + +"How are you getting on at the settlement?" + +George interposed. + +Hardie sat silent for a few moments, and George saw that his eyes were +anxious and his face looked worn. + +"Badly," he said. "I feel I can talk to you freely, and that's really +why I came, though I had another call to make." + +"You're having trouble?" + +"Plenty of it. I've had another visit from the police, though that's +not a very important matter; and Mrs. Nelson's action has raised a +storm of indignation. It would be useless to move any further against +the Sachem. Even this is not the worst. Our people are split up by +disagreements; I've been taken to task; my staunchest supporters are +falling away." + +"They'll rally," said George. "Leave those who haven't the courage to +do so alone; you're better rid of them. I suppose it's apt to make a +difference in your finances." + +The clergyman colored. + +"That's true, though it's hard to own. It subjects one to a strong +temptation. After all, we're expected to keep our churches full--it's +necessary." + +"The road to success," Edgar remarked, "is comparatively easy. Always +proclaim the popular view, but be a little more emphatic and go a +little farther than the rest. Then they'll think you a genius and make +haste to follow your lead." + +Hardie looked at him quietly. + +"There's another way, Mr. West, and the gate of it is narrow. I think +it seldom leads to worldly fame." He paused and sighed. "It needs +courage to enter, and one often shrinks." + +"Well," said Edgar, "I'll confess that I find the popular idea, +whatever it may happen to be, irritating; I like to annoy the people +who hold it by pointing out their foolishness, which is partly why I'm +now farming in western Canada. George, of course, is more altruistic; +though I don't think he ever analyzes his feelings. As soon as he sees +anybody in trouble and getting beaten, he begins to strip. I've a +suspicion that he enjoys a fight!" + +"If you would stop talking rot, we'd get on better," George said +curtly, and then turned to his visitor. "I gather that you're afraid +of wrecking your church. It's an awkward situation, but I suppose you +have made up your mind?" + +"Yes; I must go on, if I go alone." + +The man, as the others recognized, had no intention of being dramatic, +but his quiet announcement had its effect, and there was silence for a +moment or two. Then Edgar, who was impatient of any display of strong +feeling, made an abrupt movement. + +"After all," he said cheerfully, "you'll have Mrs. Nelson beside you, +and I'm inclined to think she would enliven any solitude." + +Hardie smiled, and the lad continued: + +"Now we had, perhaps, better be practical and consider how to get over +the difficulties." + +He grew less discursive when they fell in with his suggestion. George +possessed sound sense and some power of leading, and for a while they +were busy elaborating a plan of campaign, in which his advice was +largely deferred to. Then there was an interruption, for Grierson, his +hired man, came in. + +"I was hauling hay from the big sloo when I saw the Hereford bull," he +said. "He was by himself and bleeding from the shoulder. Thought I'd +better bring him home, though he walked very lame." + +"Ah!" exclaimed George sharply. "I'll come and look at him." + +The others followed and on reaching the wire-fenced corral they found +the animal lying down, with its forequarter stained with blood. George +sent for some water, and he soon found the wound, which was very small +and round. + +"It's a curious mark," Hardie commented. + +"Yes," said George; "it's a bullet hole." + +The surprise of the others was obvious. + +"I think it's a hint," George explained. "We'll try to get him on his +feet." + +They succeeded, and when the beast had been led into a stall, George +turned to Hardie. + +"As you said you wouldn't stay the night, would you mind starting for +the settlement now? The livery stable fellow is said to be clever at +veterinary work; you might send him out, and mail a note I'll give you +to the police." + +Hardie professed his willingness to be of service, and on getting into +his buggy said, with some hesitation: + +"I'm afraid you're right in your suspicions, and I'm particularly +sorry. In a way, I'm responsible for this." + +George smiled, rather grimly. + +"One can't go into a fight without getting hurt; and we haven't come to +the end of it yet. This affair won't cost you my support." + +The clergyman's eyes sparkled as he held out his hand. + +"I never imagined it--you have my sympathy, Mr. Lansing. It would give +me the greatest pleasure to see the cowardly brute who fired that shot +brought to justice." + +He drove away, and George went moodily back to the house with Edgar. + +"That's a man who has had to choose between his duty and his interest," +George said; "but just now we have other things to think about. It's a +pity I can't get the bullet out until help arrives." + +The livery man turned up on the following day and succeeded in +extracting it; and Flett made his appearance the morning after. He +examined the wounded animal. + +"It may have been done by accident; but, if so, it's curious the beast +should have been hit close to a place where it would have killed him," +he remarked. + +"What's your private opinion?" George asked. + +The constable smiled. + +"As we haven't gone very far yet, I'll reserve it." He took up the +bullet. "Winchester or Marlin; usual caliber; nothing to be made of +that. Now let's go and take a look at the place where the shot was +fired." + +They traced back the path of the wounded beast from the spot where +Grierson had found it, by the red splashes that here and there stained +the short grass of the unfenced prairie. At last they stopped where +the ground was broken by a few low sandy ridges sprinkled with small +birches and poplars, and Flett pointed to the mark of hoofs in a strip +of almost bare, light soil. + +"This is where he was hit," he said. "You can see how he started off, +going as hard as he could. Next, we've got to find the spot the man +fired from." + +It proved difficult. The dry grass revealed nothing, and they vainly +searched several of the neighboring hillocks, where it grew less +thickly. Scorching sunshine beat down on them and a strong breeze blew +the sand about. At length Flett pointed to a few half-obliterated +footprints on the bare summit of a small rise. + +"The fellow stopped here with his feet well apart. He'd stand like +that while he put up his gun. Sit down and smoke while I copy these +marks." + +He proceeded to do so carefully, having brought some paper from the +homestead. + +"Have you any reason for thinking it was a standing shot he took?" +George asked. + +"I haven't; I wish I had. Quite a lot depends upon his position." + +George nodded. + +"So it struck me. We'll look round for some more conclusive signs when +you have finished." + +Before this happened. Flora Grant rode up. + +"I was going back from Forster's when I noticed you moving about the +hills," she explained. "I made this round to find out what you were +doing." + +George told her, and her sympathy was obvious. + +"I'm very sorry; but my father warned you," she said. "I'm afraid +you're finding this an expensive campaign." + +"I can put up with it, so long as I have my friends' support." + +"I think you can count on that," she smiled. "But what is Flett's +theory?" + +"If he has one, he's clever at hiding it," Edgar broke in; "but I'm +doubtful. In my opinion, he knows the value of the professional air of +mystery." + +"When I see any use in it, I can talk," retorted Flett. "What's your +notion, Mr. Lansing? You don't agree that the fellow shot your beast +from here?" + +"No," answered George. "Of course, there are only two explanations of +the thing, and the first is that it was an accident. In that case, the +fellow must have been out after antelope or cranes." + +"There's an objection: it's close season; though I wouldn't count too +much on that. You farmers aren't particular when there's nobody +around. Now, it's possible that a man who'd been creeping up on an +antelope would work in behind this rise and take a quick shot, +standing, when he reached the top of it. If so, I guess he'd have his +eyes only on what he was firing at. Suppose he missed, and your beast +happened to be in line with him?" + +Flora smiled. + +"It's not convincing, Mr. Flett. Seen from here, the bull would be in +the open, conspicuous against white grass and sand." + +"I didn't say the thing was likely. Won't you go on, Mr. Lansing?" + +"The other explanation is that the fellow meant to kill or mark the +bull; the place where it was hit points to the former. If that was his +intention, he'd lie down or kneel to get a steadier aim. We had better +look for the spot." + +They spent some time before Flett thought he had found it. + +"Somebody lay down here, and the bull would be up against a background +of poplar scrub," he said. "I'll measure off the distance and make a +plan." + +He counted his paces, and had set to work with his notebook, when Flora +interrupted. + +"Wouldn't a sketch be better? Give me a sheet of paper; and has +anybody another pencil?" + +George gave her one, and after walking up and down and standing for a +few moments on a low mound, she chose a position and began the sketch. +It was soon finished, but it depicted the scene with distinctness, with +the bull standing in the open a little to one side of the clump of +scrub. George started as he saw that she had roughly indicated the +figure of a man lying upon the little mound with a rifle in his hand. +It struck him that she was right. + +"It's a picture," said the constable; "but why did you put that fellow +yonder?" + +"Come and see." + +They followed her to the mound, and after an inspection of it, Flett +nodded. + +"You'd make a mighty smart tracker, Miss Grant. I was against this +mound being the firing place, because, to get to it, the fellow would +have to come out into the open." + +"Would that count? It was a bull he was after." + +"It was," Flett agreed. "This fixes the thing." + +George looked at him meaningly. + +"Have you made up your mind about anything else?" + +"Oh, yes," said Flett. "It was done with malicious mischief. If a +poor white or an Indian meant to kill a beast for meat, he wouldn't +pick a bull worth a pile of money, at least while there was common beef +stock about." + +"Then what do you mean to do?" + +Flett smiled. + +"Sooner or later, I'm going to put handcuffs on the man who did this +thing. If you'll give me the sketch, Miss Grant, I'll take it along." + +Flora handed it to him, and he and Edgar went away shortly afterward, +leaving George with the girl. She sat still, looking down at him when +he had helped her to the saddle. + +"I'm afraid you have a good many difficulties to face," she said. + +"Yes," assented George. "A dry summer is bad for wheat on my light +soil, and that is why I thought of going in for stock." He paused with +a rueful smile. "It doesn't promise to be a great improvement, if I'm +to have my best beasts shot." + +She pointed to the west. The grass about them was still scorched with +fierce sunshine, but leaden cloud-masses, darkly rolled together with a +curious bluish gleam in them, covered part of the sky. + +"This time it will rain," she said. "We will be fortunate if we get no +more than that. Try to remember, Mr. Lansing, that bad seasons are not +the rule in western Canada, and one good one wipes out the results of +several lean years." + +Then she rode away, and George joined Edgar. He felt that he had been +given a warning. On reaching home, he harnessed a team and drove off +to a sloo to haul in hay, but while he worked he cast anxious glances +at the clouds. They rolled on above him in an endless procession, +opening out to emit a passing blaze of sunshine, and closing in again. +The horses were restless, he could hardly get them to stand; the +grasses stirred and rustled in a curious manner; and even the little +gophers that scurried away from the wagon wheels displayed an unusual +and feverish activity. Yet there was not a drop of rain, and the man +toiled on in savage impatience, wondering whether he must once more +resign himself to see the promised deluge pass away. + +It was a question of serious import. A night's heavy rain would +consolidate the soil that blew about with every breeze, revive the +suffering wheat and strengthen its abraded stalks against any further +attack by the driving sand. Indeed, he thought it would place the crop +in security. + +He came home for supper, jaded, dusty, and morose, and found that he +could scarcely eat when he sat down to the meal. He could not rest +when it was over, though he was aching from heavy toil; nor could he +fix his attention on any new task; and when dusk was getting near he +strolled up and down before the homestead with Edgar. There was a +change in the looks of the buildings--all that could be done had been +effected--but there was also a change in the man. He was leaner, his +face was getting thin, and he looked worn; but he maintained a forced +tranquillity. + +The sky was barred with cloud now; the great breadth of grain had faded +to a leaden hue, the prairie to shadowy gray. The wind had dropped, +the air was tense and still; a strange, impressive silence brooded over +everything. + +Presently Edgar looked up at the clouds. + +"They must break at last," he said. "One can't help thinking of what +they hold--endless carloads of grain, wads of dollar bills for the +storekeepers, prosperity for three big provinces. It's much the same +weather right along to the Rockies." + +"I wasn't considering the three provinces," said George. + +"No," retorted Edgar. "Your attention was confined to the improvement +the rain would make in Sylvia Marston's affairs. You're looking +forward to sending her a big check after harvest." + +"So far, it has looked more like facing a big deficit." + +"You mean your facing it." + +George frowned. + +"Sylvia has nothing except this land." + +"It strikes me she's pretty fortunate, in one way. You find the +working capital and bear the loss, if there is one. I wonder what +arrangements you made about dividing a surplus." + +"That," said George, "is a thing I've no intention of discussing with +anybody but my co-trustee." + +Edgar smiled; he had hardly expected to elicit much information upon +the point, having failed to do so once or twice already. + +"Well," he said, "I believe we'll see the rain before an hour has +passed." + +Soon after he had spoken, a flash leaped from overhead and the prairie +was flooded with dazzling radiance. It was followed by a roll of +thunder, and a roar as the rain came down. For a few moments the dust +whirled up and there was a strong smell of earth; then the air was +filled with falling water. George stood still in the deluge, +rejoicing, while the great drops lashed his upturned face, until Edgar +laughingly pushed him toward the house. + +"As I'm wet through, I think I'll go to bed. At last, you can rest +content." + +George, following his example, lay down with a deep sense of +thankfulness. His cares had gone, the flood that roared against the +board walls had banished them. Now that relief had come, he felt +strangely weary, and in a few minutes he was sound asleep. He did not +hear the thunder, which broke out again, nor feel the house shake in +the rush of icy wind that suddenly followed; the ominous rattle on roof +and walls, different from and sharper than the lashing of the rain, +began and died away unnoticed by him. He was wrapped in the deep, +healing slumber that follows the slackening of severe mental and bodily +strain; he knew nothing of the banks of ragged ice-lumps that lay +melting to lee of the building. + +It was very cold the next morning, though the sun was rising above the +edge of the scourged plain, when Edgar, partly dressed and wearing wet +boots and leggings, came into the room and looked down at George +compassionately. + +The brown face struck him as looking worn; George had flung off part of +the coverings, and there was something that suggested limp relaxation +in his attitude; but Edgar knew that his comrade must bear his load +again. + +"George," he said, touching him, "you had better get up." + +The man stirred, and looking at him became at once intent as he saw his +face. + +"Ah!" he exclaimed. "Something else gone wrong?" + +Edgar nodded. + +"I'm sorry," he answered simply. "Put on your things and come out. +You had better get it over with." + +In three or four minutes George left the house. Holding himself +steadily in hand, he walked through the drenched grass toward the +wheat. On reaching it, he set his lips tight and stood very still. +The great field of grain had gone; short, severed stalks, half-buried +in a mass of rent and torn-up blades, covered the wide stretch of soil +where the wheat had been. The crop had been utterly wiped out by the +merciless hail. Edgar did not venture to speak; any sympathy he could +express would have looked like mockery; and for a while there was +strained silence. Then George showed of what tough fiber he was made. + +"Well," he said, "it has to be faced. After this, we'll try another +plan; more stock, for one thing." He paused and then resumed: "Tell +Grierson to hurry breakfast. I must drive in to the Butte; there's a +good deal to be done." + +Edgar moved away, feeling relieved. George, instead of despairing, was +considering new measures. He was far from beaten yet. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +SYLVIA SEEKS AMUSEMENT + +It was a fine September afternoon and Sylvia reclined pensively in a +canvas hammock on Herbert Lansing's lawn with one or two opened letters +in her hand. Bright sunshine lay upon the grass, but it was pleasantly +cool in the shadow of the big copper beech. A neighboring border +glowed with autumn flowers: ribands of asters, spikes of crimson +gladiolus, ranks of dahlias. Across the lawn a Virginia creeper draped +the house with vivid tints. The scene had nothing of the grim bareness +of the western prairie of which Sylvia was languidly thinking; her +surroundings shone with strong color, and beyond them a peaceful +English landscape stretched away. She could look out upon +heavily-massed trees, yellow fields with sheaves in them, and the +winding streak of a flashing river. + +Yet Sylvia was far from satisfied. The valley was getting dull; she +needed distraction, and her letters suggested both the means of getting +it and a difficulty. She wore black, but it had an artistic, almost +coquettish, effect, and the big hat became her well, in spite of its +simple trimming. Sylvia bestowed a good deal of thought upon her +appearance. + +After a while Mrs. Lansing came out and joined her. + +"Is there any news in your letters?" she asked. + +"Yes," answered Sylvia; "there's one from George--it's a little +disappointing, but you can read it. As usual, he's laconic." + +George's curtness was accounted for by the fact that he had been afraid +of saying too much, but Sylvia carelessly handed the letter to her +companion. + +"After all, he shows a nice feeling," Mrs. Lansing remarked. "He seems +to regret very much his inability to send you a larger check." + +"So do I," said Sylvia with a petulant air. + +"He points out that it has been a bad season and he has lost his crop." + +"Bad seasons are common in western Canada; I've met farmers who seemed +to thrive on them." + +"No doubt they didn't do so all at once." + +"I dare say that's true," Sylvia agreed. "It's very likely that if I +give him plenty of time, George will get everything right--he's one of +the plodding, persistent people who generally succeed in the end--but +what use will there be in that? I'm not growing younger--I want some +enjoyment now!" She spread out her hands with a gesture that appealed +for sympathy. "One gets so tired of petty economy and self-denial." + +"But George and Herbert arranged that you should have a sufficient +allowance." + +"Sufficient," said Sylvia, "is a purely relative term. So much depends +upon one's temperament, doesn't it? Perhaps I am a little extravagant, +and that's why I'm disappointed." + +"After all, you have very few necessary expenses." + +Sylvia laughed. + +"It's having only the necessary ones that makes it so dull. Now, I've +thought of going to stay a while with Susan Kettering; there's a letter +from her, asking when I'll come." + +Mrs. Lansing was a lady of strict conventional views, and she showed +some disapproval. + +"But you can hardly make visits yet!" + +"I don't see why I can't visit Susan. She's a relative, and it isn't +as if she were entertaining a number of people. She says she's very +quiet; she has hardly asked anybody, only one or two intimate friends." + +"She'll have three or four men down for the partridge shooting." + +"After all," said Sylvia, "I can't make her send them away. You have +once or twice had men from town here." + +"Susan leads a very different life from mine," Mrs. Lansing persisted. +"She's a little too fond of amusement, and I don't approve of all her +friends." She paused as an idea struck her. "Is Captain Bland going +there for the shooting?" + +"I really can't tell you. Is there any reason why she shouldn't invite +him?" + +Mrs. Lansing would have preferred that Sylvia should not see so much of +Bland as she was likely to do if she stayed in the same house with him, +though she knew of nothing in particular to his discredit. He had +served without distinction in two campaigns, he lived extravagantly, +and was supposed to be something of a philanderer. Indeed, not long +ago, an announcement of his engagement to a lady of station had been +confidently expected; but the affair had, for some unknown reason, +suddenly fallen through. Mrs. Lansing was puzzled about him. If the +man were looking for a wealthy wife, why should he be attracted, as she +thought he was, by Sylvia, who had practically nothing. + +"I'd really rather have you remain with us; but of course I can't +object to your going," she said. + +"I knew you would be nice about it," Sylvia exclaimed. "I must have a +talk with Herbert; you said he would be home this evening." + +Lansing's business occasionally prevented his nightly return from the +nearest large town, but he arrived some hours later, and after dinner +Sylvia found him in his smoking-room. He looked up with a smile when +she came in, for their relations were generally pleasant. They +understood each other, though this did not lead to mutual confidence or +respect. + +"Well?" he said. + +Sylvia sat down in an easy chair, adopting, as she invariably did, a +becoming pose, and handed him George's letter. + +"He hasn't sent you very much," Herbert remarked. + +"No," said Sylvia, "that's the difficulty." + +"So I anticipated. You're not economical." + +Sylvia laughed. + +"I won't remind you of your failings. You have one virtue--you can be +liberal when it suits you; and you're my trustee." + +Lansing's rather fleshy, smooth-shaven face grew thoughtful, but Sylvia +continued: + +"I'm going to Susan's, and I really need a lot of new clothes." + +"For a week or two's visit?" + +"I may, perhaps, go on somewhere else afterward." + +"I wonder whether you thought it necessary to tell Muriel so?" + +Sylvia sighed. + +"I'm afraid I didn't. I can hardly expect Muriel to quite understand +or sympathize. She has you, and the flowers she's so fond of, and +quiet friends of the kind she likes; while it's so different with me. +Besides, I was never meant for retirement." + +"That," laughed Lansing, "is very true." + +"Of course," Sylvia went on; "I shall be very quiet, but there are +things one really has to take part in." + +"Bridge is expensive unless you're unusually lucky, or an excellent +player," Lansing suggested. "However, it would be more to the purpose +if you mentioned what is the least you could manage with." + +Sylvia told him, and he knit his brows. + +"Money's tight with me just now," he objected. + +"You know it's only on account. George will do ever so much better +next year; and I dare say, if I pressed him, he would send another +remittance." + +"His letter indicates that he'd find it difficult." + +"George wouldn't mind that. He rather likes doing things that are +hard, and it's comforting to think that self-denial doesn't cost him +much. I'm thankful I have him to look after the farm." + +Lansing regarded her with ironical amusement; he knew what her +gratitude was worth. + +"Yes," he agreed significantly, "George seldom expects anything for +himself. I'm afraid I'm different in that respect." + +Sylvia sat silent for a few moments, because she understood. If +Herbert granted the favor, he would look for something in return, +though she had no idea what this would be. She was conscious of a +certain hesitation, but she did not allow it to influence her. + +"I don't doubt it," she rejoined with a smile. "Can't you let me have +a check? That will make you my creditor, but I'm not afraid you'll be +very exacting. + +"Well," was the response, "I will see what I can do." + +She went out and Lansing filled his pipe with a feeling of +satisfaction. He was not running much risk in parting with the money, +and Sylvia might prove useful by and by. + +Sylvia left Brantholme shortly afterward and, somewhat to her +annoyance, found Ethel West a guest at the house she visited. Ethel +had known Dick; she was a friend of George's, and, no doubt, in regular +communication with her brother in Canada. It was possible that she +might allude to Sylvia's doings when she wrote; but there was some +consolation in remembering that George was neither an imaginative nor a +censorious person. + +Sylvia had spent a delightful week in her new surroundings, when she +descended the broad stairway one night with a shawl upon her arm and an +elegantly bound little notebook in her hand. A handsome, dark-haired +man whose bearing proclaimed him a soldier walked at her side. Bland's +glance was quick and direct, but he had a genial smile and his manners +were usually characterized by a humorous boldness. Still, it was +difficult to find fault with them, and Sylvia had acquiesced in his +rather marked preference for her society. She was, however, studying +the little book as she went down the shallow steps and her expression +indicated dissatisfaction. + +"I'm afraid it was my fault, though you had very bad luck," said the +man, noticing her look. "I'm dreadfully sorry." + +"It was your fault," Sylvia rejoined, with some petulance. "When I +held my best hand I was deceived by your lead. Besides, as I told the +others, I didn't mean to play; you shouldn't have come down and +persuaded me." + +Bland considered. On the whole Sylvia played a good game, but she was +obviously a little out of practise, for his lead had really been the +correct one, though she had not understood it. This, however, was of +no consequence; it was her concluding words that occupied his +attention. They had, he thought, been spoken with a full grasp of +their significance; his companion was not likely to be guilty of any +ill-considered admission. + +"Then I'm flattered that my influence goes so far, though it's perhaps +unlucky in the present instance," he said boldly. "I'll own that I'm +responsible for our misfortunes and I'm ready to take the consequences. +Please give me that book." + +"No," Sylvia replied severely. "I feel guilty for playing at all, but +the line must be drawn." + +"Where do you feel inclined to draw it?" + +They had reached the hall and Sylvia turned and looked at him directly, +but with a trace of coquetry. + +"At allowing a comparative stranger to meet my losses, if I must be +blunt." + +"The arrangement isn't altogether unusual. In this case, it's a duty, +and the restriction you make doesn't bar me out. I'm not a stranger." + +"A mere acquaintance then," said Sylvia. + +"That won't do either. It doesn't apply to me." + +"Then I'll have to alter the classification." She broke into a soft +laugh. "It's difficult to think of a term to fit; would you like to +suggest something?" + +Several epithets occurred to the man, but he feared to make too rash a +venture. + +"Well," he said, "would you object to--confidential friend?" + +Sylvia's smile seemed to taunt him. + +"Certainly; it goes too far. One doesn't become a confidential friend +in a very limited time." + +"I've known it happen in a few days." + +"Friendships of that kind don't last. In a little while you find you +have been deceived. But we won't talk of these things. You can't have +the book, and I'm going out." + +He held up the shawl, which she draped about her shoulders, and they +strolled on to the terrace. The night was calm and pleasantly cool; +beyond the black line of hedge across the lawn, meadows and harvest +fields, with rows of sheaves that cast dark shadows behind them, +stretched away in the moonlight. After a while Sylvia stopped and +leaned upon the broad-topped wall. + +"It's really pretty," she remarked. + +"Yes," returned Bland; "it's more than pretty. There's something in it +that rests one. I sometimes wish I could live in such a place as this +altogether." + +Sylvia was astonished, because she saw he meant it. + +"After your life, you would get horribly tired of it in three months." + +"After my life? Do you know what that has been?" + +"Race meetings, polo matches, hilarious mess dinners." + +He laughed, rather shortly. + +"I suppose so; but they're not the only army duties. Some of the rest +are better, abroad; but they're frequently accompanied by +semi-starvation, scorching heat or stinging cold, and fatigue; and it +doesn't seem to be the rule that those who bear the heaviest strain are +remembered when promotion comes." + +Sylvia studied him attentively. Bland was well and powerfully made, +and she liked big men--there was more satisfaction in bending them to +her will. In spite of his careless good-humor, he bore a certain stamp +of distinction; he was an excellent card-player, he could dance +exceptionally well, and she had heard him spoken of as a first-class +shot. It was unfortunate that these abilities were of less account in +a military career than she had supposed; but, when properly applied, +they carried their possessor some distance in other fields. What was +as much to the purpose, Bland appeared to be wealthy, and took a +leading part in social amusements and activities. + +"I suppose that is the case," she said sympathetically, in answer to +his last remark. "You have never told me anything about your last +campaign. You were injured in it, were you not?" + +The man had his weaknesses, but they did not include any desire to +retail his exploits and sufferings to women's ears. He would not speak +of his wounds, honorably received, or of perils faced as carelessly as +he had exposed his men. + +"Yes," he answered. "But that was bad enough at the time, and the rest +of it would make a rather monotonous tale." + +"Surely not!" protested Sylvia. "The thrill and bustle of a campaign +must be wonderfully exciting." + +"The novelty of marching steadily in a blazing sun, drinking bad water, +and shoveling trenches half the night, soon wears off," he said with a +short laugh, and changed the subject. "One could imagine that you're +not fond of quietness." + +Sylvia shivered. The memory of her two years in Canada could not be +banished. She looked back on them with something like horror. + +"No," she declared; "I hate it! It's deadly to me." + +"Well, I've an idea. There's the Dene Hall charity gymkana comes off +in a few days. It's semi-private, and I know the people; in fact +they've made me enter for some of the events. It's a pretty ride to +the place, and I can get a good car. Will you come?" + +"I don't know whether I ought," said Sylvia, with some hesitation. + +"Think over it, anyway," he begged her. + +One or two people came out, and when somebody called her name Sylvia +left him, without promising. Bland remained leaning on the wall and +thinking hard. Sylvia strongly attracted him. She was daintily +pretty, quick of comprehension, and, in spite of her black attire, +which at times gave her a forlorn air that made him compassionate, +altogether charming. It was, however, unfortunate that he could not +marry a poor wife, and he knew nothing about Sylvia's means. To do him +justice, he had shrunk from any attempt to obtain information on this +point; but he felt that it would have to be made before things went too +far. His thoughts were interrupted by Ethel West, who strolled along +the terrace and stopped close at hand. + +"I didn't expect to find you wrapped in contemplation," she remarked. + +"As a matter of fact, I've been talking." + +"To Mrs. Marston? She's generally considered entertaining." + +Bland looked at her with a smile. He liked Ethel West. She was blunt, +without being tactless, and her conversation was sometimes piquant. +Moreover, he remembered that Ethel and Sylvia were old acquaintances. + +"I find her so," he said. "Though she has obviously had trouble, she's +very bright. It's a sign of courage." + +"In Sylvia Marston's case, it's largely a reaction. She spent what she +regards as two harrowing years in Canada." + +"After all, Canada doesn't seem to be a bad place," said Bland. "Two +of my friends, who left the Service, went out to take up land and they +evidently like it. They got lots of shooting, and they've started a +pack of hounds." + +Ethel considered. She could have told him that Sylvia's husband had +gone out to make a living, and had not been in a position to indulge in +costly amusements, but this did not appear advisable. + +"I don't think Marston got a great deal of sport," she said. "He had +too much to do." + +"A big place to look after? I understand it's wise to buy up all the +land you can." + +Ethel's idea of the man's views in respect to Sylvia was confirmed. He +was obviously giving her a lead and she followed it, though she did not +intend to enlighten him. + +"Yes," she answered; "that's the opinion of my brother, who's farming +there. He says values are bound to go up as the new railroads are +built, and Marston had a good deal of land. Sylvia is prudently +keeping every acre and farming as much as possible." + +She saw this was satisfactory to Bland, and she had no hesitation in +letting him conclude what he liked from it. It was not her part to +caution him, and it was possible that if no other suitor appeared, +Sylvia might fall back on George, which was a risk that must be avoided +at any cost. Ethel did not expect to gain anything for herself; she +knew that George had never had any love for her; but she was determined +that he should not fall into Sylvia's hands. He was too fine a man, in +many ways, to be thus sacrificed. + +"But how can Mrs. Marston carry on the farm?" Bland inquired. + +"I should have said her trustees are doing so," Ethel answered +carelessly. "One of them went out to look into things not long ago." + +Then she moved away and left Bland with one difficulty that had +troubled him removed. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +BLAND GETS ENTANGLED + +When Mrs. Kettering heard of Sylvia's intention to attend the gymkana, +she gave her consent, and said that, as she had an invitation, she +would make up a party to go. This was not what Bland required. It +was, however, a four-seated car that he had been promised the use of; +and counting Sylvia and himself and the driver, there was only one +place left. While he was wondering to whom it would be best to offer +it, Sylvia thought of Ethel West, who had announced that she would not +attend the function. By making a short round, they could pass through +a market town of some importance. + +"You mentioned that you wished to buy some things; why not come with +us?" she said to Ethel. "We could drop you going out and call for you +coming home. Susan will have the big car full, so she couldn't take +you, and it's a long drive to the station and the trains run awkwardly." + +Sylvia's motive was easy to discern, but Ethel agreed. She was, on the +whole, inclined to pity Captain Bland; but he was a stranger and George +was a friend. If Sylvia must choose between them, it would be much +better that she should take the soldier. For all that, Ethel had an +uncomfortable feeling that she was assisting in a piece of treachery +when she set off soon after lunch on a fine autumn day; and the car had +gone several miles before she began to enjoy the ride. + +For a while the straight white road, climbing steadily, crossed a waste +of moors. The dry grass gleamed gray and silver among the russet fern; +rounded, white-edged clouds floated, scarcely moving, in a sky of +softest blue. The upland air was gloriously fresh, and the speed +exhilarating. + +By and by they ran down into a narrow dale in the depths of which a +river brawled among the stones, and climbed a long ascent, from which +they could see a moving dust-cloud indicating that Mrs. Kettering's car +was only a mile or two behind. After that there was a league of brown +heath, and then they sped down to a wide, wooded valley, in the midst +of which rose the gray walls of an ancient town. On reaching it, Ethel +alighted in the market-square, hard by the lofty abbey, and turned to +Bland. + +"I have one or two calls to make after I've finished shopping, but if +it takes longer than I expected or you can't get here in time, I'll go +back by train," she said. "In that case, you must bring me home from +the station." + +Bland promised, and Ethel watched the car with a curious expression +until it vanished under a time-worn archway. She was vexed with +herself for playing into Sylvia's hands, though she had only done so in +what she regarded as George's interest. If Sylvia married Bland, the +blow would no doubt be a heavy one to George, but it would be better +for him in the end. + +In the meanwhile, the car sped on up the valley until it reached an +ancient house built on to a great square tower, where Bland was +welcomed by a lady of high importance in the district. Afterward he +was familiarly greeted by several of her guests, which Sylvia, who had +strong ambitions, duly noticed; these people occupied a different +station from the one in which she had hitherto moved. When Bland was +called away from her, she was shown to a place at some distance from +Mrs. Kettering's party, and she sat down and looked about with +interest. From the smooth lawn and still glowing borders before the +old gray house, a meadow ran down to the river that wandered, gleaming, +through the valley, and beyond it the brown moors cut against the clear +blue sky. In the meadow, a large, oval space was lined with groups of +smartly-dressed people, and in its midst rose trim pavilions outside +which grooms stood holding beautiful glossy horses. Everything was +prettily arranged; the scene, with its air of gayety, appealed to +Sylvia, and she enjoyed it keenly, though she was now and then +conscious of her somber attire. + +Then the entertainment began, and she admitted that Bland, +finely-mounted, was admirable. He took his part in several +competitions, and through them all displayed a genial good-humor and +easy physical grace. He had for the most part younger men as +antagonists, but Sylvia thought that none of them could compare with +him in manner or bearing. + +After a while Sylvia noticed with a start of surprise and annoyance +that Herbert Lansing was strolling toward her. He took an unoccupied +chair at her side. + +"What brought you here?" she asked. + +"That," he said, "is easily explained. I got a kind of circular of +invitation, and as I've had dealings with one or two of these people, I +thought it advisable to make an appearance and pay my half-guinea. +Then there's a man I want a talk with, and I find that the atmosphere +of an office has often a deterrent effect on those unused to it. But I +didn't expect to find you here." + +"Susan and some of the others have come; I've no doubt you'll meet her." + +The explanation appeared adequate on the face of it, but a moment later +Herbert glanced at Bland, who was dexterously controlling his restive +horse. + +"The man looks well in the saddle, doesn't he?" he said. + +"Yes," assented Sylvia in an indifferent tone, though she was slightly +disturbed. Herbert was keen-witted, and she would rather not have had +him take an interest in her affairs. + +"I'm inclined to think it's fortunate I didn't bring Muriel," he +resumed with a smile. "She's rather conventional, and has stricter +views than seem to be general nowadays." + +"I can't see why I should remain in complete seclusion; it's an +irrational idea. But I've no intention of concealing anything I think +fit to do." + +"Of course not. Are you going to mention that you attended this +entertainment when you write to Muriel?" + +Sylvia pondered her reply. In spite of its dullness, Mrs. Lansing's +house was a comfortable and secure retreat. She would have to go back +to it presently, and it was desirable that she should avoid any cause +of disagreement with her hostess. + +"No," she said candidly; "I don't see any need for that; and I may not +write for some time. Of course, Muriel doesn't quite look at things as +I do, and on one or two points she's unusually sensitive." + +Herbert looked amused. + +"You're considerate; and I dare say you're right. There doesn't seem +to be any reason why Muriel should concern herself about the thing, +particularly as you're in Susan's hands." + +The implied promise that he would not mention his having seen her +afforded Sylvia some relief, but when he went away to speak to Mrs. +Kettering, she wished she had not met him. Herbert was troubled by +none of his wife's prejudices, but on another occasion he had made her +feel that she owed him something for which he might expect some return, +and now the impression was more marked; their secret, though of no +importance, had strengthened his position. Herbert seldom granted a +favor without an end in view; and she did not wish him to get too firm +a hold on her. The feeling, however, wore off, and she had spent a +pleasant afternoon when Bland came for her as the shadows lengthened. + +He reminded her of Ethel: + +"We'll have to get off, if we're to pick up Miss West." + +Sylvia said that she was ready, though she felt it would have been more +satisfactory had Ethel been allowed to go back by train. They began +the journey, but after a few miles the car stopped on a steep rise. +The driver with some trouble started the engine, but soon after they +had crossed the crest of the hill it stopped again, and he looked grave +as he supplied Bland with some details that Sylvia found unintelligible. + +"You must get her along another mile; then you can go back on a bicycle +for what you want," Bland told him, and turned to Sylvia. "We'll be +delayed for an hour or so, but he can leave word for Miss West, and +there's an inn not far off where they'll give us tea while we're +waiting." + +They reached it after turning into another road, though the car made +alarming noises during the journey. Sylvia viewed the old building +with appreciation. It stood, long and low and cleanly white-washed, on +the brink of a deep ghyll filled with lichened boulders and russet +ferns, with a firwood close behind it, and in front a wide vista of +moors and fells that stood out darkly blue against the evening light. +Near the stone porch, a rustic table stood beside a row of tall red +hollyhocks. + +"It's a charming spot," Sylvia exclaimed. "Can't we have tea outside?" + +Bland ordered it and they sat down to a neatly-served meal. The +evening was warm and very still and clear. A rattle of wheels reached +them from somewhere far down the road and they could hear the faint +splash of water in the depths of the ravine. + +"This is really delightful," murmured Sylvia, when the table had been +cleared. "I like the quietness of the country when it comes as a +contrast, after, for example, such an afternoon as we have spent." + +"Then you're not sorry you came?" + +"Sorry? You wouldn't suggest it, if you knew how dull my days often +are. But I mustn't be doleful. You may smoke, if you like." + +Bland did not particularly wish to smoke, but he lighted a cigarette. +It seemed to banish formality, to place them on more familiar terms. + +"What is the matter with the car?" Sylvia asked. + +"I'm afraid I can't tell you. It can't be got along without something +the man has gone back for." + +"They do stop sometimes. Is this one in the habit of doing so?" + +"I can't say, as it isn't mine. Why do you ask?" + +"Oh!" said Sylvia, "I had my suspicions. The man didn't seem in the +least astonished or annoyed, for one thing. Then it broke down in such +a convenient place." + +Bland laughed; her boldness appealed to him. + +"Well," he declared, "I'm perfectly innocent; though I can't pretend +I'm sorry." + +"You felt you had to say that." + +"No," he declared, with a direct glance; "I meant it." + +Sylvia leaned back in her chair and glanced appreciatively at the moor. + +"After all," she said, "it's remarkably pretty here, and a change is +nice. I'll confess that I find Susan's friends a little boring." + +The implication was that she preferred Bland's society, and he was +gratified. + +"That struck me some time ago," he rejoined. "I wonder if you can +guess why I thought it worth while to put up with them?" + +Sylvia smiled as she looked at him. She liked the man; she thought +that he had a good deal she valued to offer her; but as yet she desired +only his captivation. She must not allow him to go too far. + +"You might have had a number of motives," she said carelessly. "I +don't feel much curiosity about them." + +Bland bore the rebuff good-humoredly. Patience was one of his strong +points, and since his conversation with Ethel West on the terrace he +had made up his mind. In arriving at a decision, the man was honest +and ready to make some sacrifice. He had been strongly impressed by +Sylvia on their first meeting, but he had realized that it would be a +mistake to marry her unless she had some means. Hitherto he had found +it difficult to meet his expenses, which were large. He did not +believe now that Sylvia was rich, and he had seen enough of her to +suspect that she was extravagant, but this did not deter him. She had +undoubtedly some possessions, and he was prepared to retrench and deny +himself a number of costly pleasures. Indeed, he had once or twice +thought of leaving the army. + +"Then I won't force an explanation on you," he said, and lighting +another cigarette, lazily watched her and tried to analyze her charm. + +He failed to do so. Sylvia was a born coquette, and most dangerous in +that her power of attraction was natural, and as a rule she appealed to +the better and more chivalrous feelings of her victims. Fragile, and +delicately pretty, she looked as if she needed some one to shelter and +defend her from all troubles. Bland decided that, although she rarely +said anything brilliant, and he had seen more beautiful women, he had +not met one who, taken all round, could compare with Sylvia. + +"What are you thinking of?" she asked at length, with a gleam of +mischief in her eyes. + +"Oh," he answered, slightly confused, "my mind was wandering. I +believe I was trying to explain a thing that's wrapped in impenetrable +mystery." + +"One wouldn't have imagined you were given to that kind of amusement, +and it's obviously a waste of time. Wouldn't it be wiser to accept the +object that puzzles you for what it seems, if it's nice?" + +"It is," he declared, wondering whether this was a random shot on her +part or one of the flashes of penetration with which she sometimes +surprised him. + +"Your advice is good." + +"I believe so," responded Sylvia. "If a thing pleases you, don't try +to find out too much about it. That's the way to disappointment." + +She was a little astonished at his reply. + +"Perhaps it's a deserved penalty. One should respect a beautiful +mystery--unquestioning faith is a power. It reacts upon its object as +well as upon its possessor." + +"Even if it's mistaken?" + +"It couldn't be altogether so," Bland objected. "Nothing that was +unworthy could inspire real devotion." + +"All this is far too serious," said Sylvia, petulantly; for her +companion's moralizing had awakened a train of unpleasant reflections. + +She did not think unquestioning faith was common, but she knew of one +man who was endowed with it, and he was toiling for her sake on the +desolate western prairie. Once or twice his belief in her had roused +angry compunction, and she had revealed the more unfavorable aspects of +her character, but he had refused to see them. + +"Then what shall we talk about?" Bland inquired. + +"Anything that doesn't tax one's brain severely. Yourself, for +example." + +"I'm not sure that's flattering, and it's an indifferent topic; but I +won't back out. As I gave you your choice, I must take the +consequences." + +"Are you always ready to do that?" There was a tiny hint of +seriousness in her voice. + +"Well," he said with some dryness, "I generally try." + +There was something that reminded her of George in his expression. The +man, she thought, would redeem what pledge he gave; he might be guilty +of rashness, but he would not slink away when the reckoning came. Then +she became conscious of a half-tender regret. It was a pity that +George was so fond of the background, and left it only when he was +needed, while Brand was a prominent figure wherever he went, and this +was, perhaps, the one of his characteristics which most impressed her. +Then he rather modestly began the brief account of his career, adding +scraps of information about his relatives, who were people of station. +He did not enlarge upon several points that were in his favor, but he +omitted to state that he had now and then been on the verge of a +financial crisis. + +Sylvia listened with keen interest, and asked a few questions to help +him on; but when he finished she let the subject drop. Soon afterward +she glanced down the road, which was growing dim. + +"I wish your man would come. It's getting late," she said. + +"He can't be much longer. I don't think you need be disturbed." + +"I am disturbed," Sylvia declared. "I really shouldn't have come +to-day; you will remember I hesitated." + +"Then it was a temptation?" + +Sylvia smiled rather wistfully. "That must be confessed; I need a +little stir and brightness and I so seldom get it. You know Muriel; I +owe her a good deal, but she's so dull and she makes you feel that +everything you like to do is wrong." + +"But you haven't been very long with Mrs. Lansing. Wasn't it different +in Canada?" Bland had a reason for venturing on the question, though +it was rather a delicate one. + +"I can hardly bear to think of it! For four months in the year I was +shut up, half-frozen, in a desolate homestead. There was deep snow all +round the place; nobody came. It was a day's drive to a forlorn +settlement; nothing ever broke the dreary monotony. In summer one got +worn out with the heat and the endless petty troubles. There was not a +moment's rest; the house was filled with plowmen and harvesters, +uncouth barbarians who ate at our table and must be waited on." + +Bland was moved to pity; but he was also consoled. As she had not +mentioned Marston, she could not greatly have felt his loss. Sylvia +must have married young; no doubt, before she knew her mind. + +"I wish," he said quietly, "I could do something to make your life a +little brighter." + +"But you can't. I've had one happy day--and I'm grateful. It must +last me a while." + +He leaned forward, looking at her with an intent expression. + +"Sylvia, give me the right to try." + +She shrank from him with a start that was partly natural, for she was +not quite prepared for a bold avowal. + +"No," she said in alarm. "How can I do that?" + +"Don't you understand me, Sylvia? I want the right to take care of +you." + +She checked him with a gesture. + +"It is you who can't understand. Do you think I'm heartless?" + +"Nothing could make me think hardly of you," he declared. + +"Then show me some respect and consideration. It was what I looked +for; I felt I was safe with you." + +Though he had not expected strong opposition, he saw that she was +determined. He had been too precipitate, and while he had no idea of +abandoning his purpose, he bowed. + +"If I've offended, you must forgive me--I thought of nothing beyond my +longing for you. That won't change or diminish, but I've been rash and +have startled you. I must wait." + +He watched her in keen anxiety, but Sylvia gave no hint of her +feelings. As a matter of fact, she was wondering why she had checked +and repulsed him. She could not tell. A sudden impulse had swayed +her, but she was not sorry she had yielded to it. Her hold on the man +was as strong as ever; the affair was not ended. + +There was silence for the next few minutes. It was growing dark; the +hills had faded to blurs of shadows, and the moor ran back, a vast, dim +waste. Then a twinkling light moved toward them up the ascending road. +Bland rose and pointed to it. + +"I dare say the man has got the things he needed. We'll be off again +shortly," he said in his usual manner; and Sylvia was grateful. + +In another half-hour the car was ready, and when Bland helped Sylvia in +and wrapped the furs about her, there was something new in his care for +her comfort. It was a kind of proprietary gentleness which she did not +resent. Then they sped away across the dusky moor. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +HERBERT MAKES A CLAIM + +Sylvia finished her round of visits in a state approaching insolvency. +Mrs. Kettering, with whom she stayed some time, indulged in expensive +amusements, and though she would have listened with good-humor to a +plea of poverty, Sylvia declined to make it. She would not have Bland +suspect the state of her affairs, and while he remained in the house +she took her part in all that went on, which included card-playing for +high stakes. As it happened, she had a steady run of misfortune. +Bland sympathized with her and occasionally ventured a remonstrance, +but she could see that the cheerful manner in which she faced her +losses had its effect on him. + +On the evening of her return, Herbert was strolling along the platform +at a busy junction, in the gathering dusk, when he noticed Bland +speaking to a porter. Soon afterward. Bland came toward him, and +Herbert asked him if he were staying in the neighborhood. + +"No," said Bland; "I'm passing through; only been here half an hour. +We're probably on the same errand." + +"I came to meet Mrs. Marston," Herbert told him. "And I broke my +journey to town with the idea of being of some assistance when she +changed." + +"They don't give one much time here, and it's an awkward station," +Herbert said, with a careless air. + +It struck him that Sylvia's acquaintance with the man must have ripened +rapidly, for he was well informed of her movements; but this was no +concern of his. He had thought for some time that a match between her +and George would be unsuitable. For a while he and Bland talked about +indifferent matters, and then the latter turned to him with a smile. + +"I was very lucky at a small steeplechase," he said. "Backed a rank +outsider that only a few friends of mine believed in. Do you know of +anything that's bound to go up on the Stock Exchange? It's in your +line, I think." + +"I don't. Such stocks are remarkably scarce. If there's any strong +reason for a rise in value, buyers anticipate it." + +"Then perhaps you know of something that has a better chance than the +rest? I expect your tip's worth having." + +"You might try--rubber!" + +"Rubber? Hasn't that been a little overdone?" + +Herbert considered, for this remark confirmed his private opinion. +Rubber shares had been in strong demand, but he thought they would not +continue in general favor. The suggestion made by an outsider might be +supposed to express the view held by small speculators, which had its +effect on the market. + +"I gave you my idea, but I can't guarantee success," he said. "You +must use your judgment, and don't blame me if things go wrong." + +"Of course not; the risk's mine," returned Bland; and Herbert thought +he meant to follow his advice. + +A few minutes later, the train which they were waiting for came in, and +Herbert tactfully stood aside when Bland helped Sylvia to alight. +Watching her face, he concluded by the absence of any sign of surprise +that the meeting had been arranged. Bland, however, had little +opportunity for conversation amid the bustle; and the train was on the +point of starting before Sylvia saw Herbert. He got in as it was +moving, and she looked at him sharply. + +"I didn't expect you would meet me." + +"So I supposed," he told her. + +"Oh, well," she said, smiling, "you might have been useful." + +Herbert thought she might have thanked him for coming, considering that +he had, by his wife's orders, made an inconvenient journey; but +gratitude was not one of Sylvia's virtues. + +"Did you enjoy yourself?" he asked. + +"Yes, on the whole, but I've been dreadfully unlucky. In fact, I'm +threatened by a financial crisis." + +Herbert made a rueful grimace. + +"I know what that means; I'm getting used to it. But we'll talk the +matter over another time. I suppose I'm neglecting my duties; I ought +to lecture you." + +"Isn't Muriel capable of doing all that's necessary in that line?" + +"She's hampered by not knowing as much as I do," Herbert retorted with +a meaning smile. + +Nothing of moment passed between them during the rest of the journey, +but some time after they reached home Herbert turned to Sylvia, who was +sitting near him, in the absence of his wife. + +"You're short of funds again?" he asked. + +Sylvia explained her embarrassments, and Herbert looked thoughtful. + +"So," he said, "you have spent what George sent, as well as what I +advanced you in anticipation of his next remittance. This can't go on, +you know." + +"I'll be very economical for the next few months," Sylvia promised +penitently. + +"If you're not, you'll find very stern economy imperative during those +that follow; but I'll let you have a small check before I leave." + +Sylvia thanked him and they talked about other matters for a while. +Then he said carelessly: + +"There's a favor you could do me. It won't cost you any trouble. A +young man is coming down here next week, and I want you to be as +pleasant as you can and make him enjoy his visit. I'm inclined to +think he'll appreciate any little attention you can show him." + +"The last's a cheap compliment," Sylvia rejoined. "Aren't you asking +me to undertake your wife's duty?" + +Herbert smiled. + +"Not altogether. Muriel's an excellent hostess; she will do her part, +but I want you to assist her. You have exceptional and rather +dangerous gifts." + +"Don't go too far," Sylvia warned him. "But I'd better understand the +situation. How long do you expect me to be amiable to the man?" + +"Only for a couple of days. He might come down again, but that's not +certain." + +Sylvia considered, for she saw what Herbert required. She was to exert +her powers of fascination upon the visitor, in order to make him more +pliable in his host's hands. The task was not a disagreeable one, and +she had foreseen all along that Herbert, in indulging her in various +ways, would look for some return. + +"After all," she said, "there's no reason why I should be ungracious to +him, so long as he's pleasant." + +Herbert carelessly nodded agreement, but Sylvia knew that he expected +her to carry out his wishes; and she did not find it difficult when the +guest arrived. + +Paul Singleton was young, and perhaps unusually susceptible to the +influences brought to bear upon him during his visit. Born with some +talents, in very humble station, he had by means of scholarships +obtained an excellent education, and had devoted himself in particular +to the study of botany. A prosperous man who took an interest in him +sent him out to a tropical plantation, where he wrote a work on the +vegetable product of equatorial regions, which secured him notice. +Indeed, he was beginning to make his mark as an authority on the +subject. So far, however, his life had been one of economy and +self-denial, and although Lansing's dwelling was not characterized by +any very marked signs of culture or luxury, it was different from the +surroundings to which Singleton was accustomed. His hostess was +staidly cordial and at once set him at his ease; Sylvia was a +revelation. Her piquant prettiness and her charm of manner dazzled +him. She played her part well, not merely because she had agreed to do +so, but because it was one that strongly appealed to her nature. + +On the second evening of Singleton's visit, he was talking to Sylvia +rather confidentially in the drawing-room, where Mrs. Lansing had left +them, while Herbert was seated at a table in his library with a cigar +in his hand and a litter of papers in front of him. He was thinking +hard, and rubber occupied the foremost place in his mind. He was a +director of a company, formed to exploit a strip of rubber-bearing +territory in the tropics, which had hitherto been successful; but he +felt that it was time to retire from the position and realize the +profit on his shares. There was another company he and some associates +had arranged to launch, but he was now very doubtful whether this would +be wise. Rubber exploitations were overdone; there were signs that +investors were losing their confidence. Withdrawal, however, was +difficult, for it must be quietly effected without breaking prices by +any unusual sales. It was therefore desirable that other holders +should cling to their shares, and any fresh buying by outsiders would, +of course, be so much the better. This was one reason why he had +suggested a purchase to Bland. + +Opening a book, he noted the amount of stock standing in George's name. +This had been purchased by Herbert, who had been given such authority +by his cousin at a time when the directors' position needed +strengthening, though it had been necessary to dispose of sound shares, +yielding a small return. The prompt sale of this stock would secure +George a moderate profit, but after some consideration Herbert decided +that it should remain. He had no wish that George should suffer, but +his own interests stood first. Then he carefully studied several +sheets of figures, which confirmed his opinion that a drop in the value +of the stock he owned might be looked for shortly, though he thought +very few people realized this yet. It was time for effective but +cautious action. He must unload as soon as possible. + +By and by he rang a bell, and passed across the cigar box when +Singleton came in and sat down opposite him. He was a wiry, +dark-haired man with an intelligent face which had grown rather white +and haggard in the tropics. Just now he felt grateful to his host, who +had made his stay very pleasant and had given him an opportunity for +meeting Sylvia. + +"I suppose you have read my report on your new tropical property?" he +said. + +"Yes," answered Herbert, picking up a lengthy document. "I've given it +some thought. On the whole, it isn't optimistic." + +Singleton pondered this. He had learned a little about company +floating, and was willing to oblige his host as far as he honestly +could. Lansing had enabled him to undertake a search for some rare +examples of tropical flora by paying him a handsome fee for the report. + +"Well," he said, "there is some good rubber in your territory, as I +have stated." + +"But not readily accessible?" + +"I'm afraid I can't say it is." + +Herbert smiled at him. + +"I'm not suggesting such a course. In asking a man of your character +and attainments to investigate, I was prompted by the desire to get a +reliable report." + +Singleton did not know what to make of this; so far as his experience +went, gentlemen who paid for an opinion on the property they meant to +dispose of did not want an unfavorable one. + +"The rubber's scattered and grows in awkward places," he explained. + +"Precisely." Herbert glanced at the paper. "You mentioned something +of the kind. But what about planting and systematic cultivation?" + +"Soil and climate are eminently suitable." + +"I gather that there's a difficulty in the way of obtaining native +labor?" + +Singleton broke into a grim smile. + +"It's a serious one. The natives consider strangers as their lawful +prey, and they lately managed to give a strong punitive expedition a +good deal of trouble. In fact, as they're in a rather restless mood, +the authorities were very dubious about letting me go inland, and in +spite of the care I took, they got two of my colored carriers. Shot +them with little poisoned arrows." + +"Ah!" ejaculated Herbert. "Poisoned arrows? That should have a +deterrent effect." + +"Singularly so. A slight prick is enough to wipe you out within an +hour. It's merciful the time is so short." + +"That," said Herbert, "was not quite what I meant. I was thinking of +the effect upon the gentlemen who wish to launch this company." + +"The risk isn't attached to their end of the business," Singleton dryly +pointed out. + +Herbert did not answer. While he sat, with knitted brows, turning over +some of the papers in front of him. Singleton looked about. Hitherto +his life had been spent in comfortless and shabby English lodgings, in +the sour steam of tropic swamps, and in galvanized iron factories that +were filled all day with an intolerable heat. As a result of this, his +host's library impressed him. It was spacious and furnished in +excellent taste; a shaded silver lamp stood on the table, diffusing a +restricted light that made the room look larger; a clear wood fire +burned in the grate. The effect of all he saw was tranquilizing; and +the house as a whole, inhabited, as it was, by two charming, cultured +women, struck him as a delightful place of rest. He wondered with +longing whether he would have an opportunity for coming back to it. + +Then his host looked up. + +"Have you any strong objections to recasting this report?" he asked. +"Don't mistake me. I'm not asking you to color things in any way; I +want simple facts. After what you have told me, I can't consider the +prospects of our working the concessions very favorable." + +Singleton was surprised; Lansing's attitude was puzzling, considering +that he had suggested the flotation of the projected company. + +"Do you want the drawbacks insisted on?" he asked. + +Herbert smiled. + +"I don't want them mitigated; state them clearly. Include what you +told me about the trouble with the natives, and the poisoned arrows." + +Then a light broke in upon Singleton. He had not placed his host in +the same category with Mrs. Lansing and Sylvia. It looked as if he had +changed his plans and wished to prevent the company from being formed. +This caused Singleton to consider how far he would be justified in +assisting him. He could honestly go some length in doing so, and, +having fallen a victim to Sylvia's charm, he was willing to do his +utmost. + +"There's no doubt that some of the facts are discouraging," he said. + +Herbert looked at him keenly. + +"That is what struck me. Suppose you think the thing over and bring me +down a fresh report a week from to-day. Stay a day or two, if you're +not busy; I can get you some shooting, and we can talk over any points +that seem to require it at leisure." + +Singleton sat silent a moment. He wanted to come back, and he did not +believe the concession could be profitably worked by any usual methods. +For all that, he thought he could make something of the property; it +was not altogether worthless, though it would require exceptional +treatment. + +"Perhaps that would be better," he replied, "I should be delighted to +make another visit." + +Herbert took up the paper and looked at Singleton with a smile as he +flung it into the fire. + +"Now I think we'll go down," he said. "Mrs. Lansing will be waiting +for us." + +Singleton spent the remainder of the evening with great content, +talking to Sylvia. When she left him, Herbert met her in the hall. + +"Thanks," he smiled meaningly. "Did you find the man interesting?" + +"To some extent," returned Sylvia; "he's a type that's new to me. +Still, of course, he's a little raw, and inclined to be serious. I +think one could see too much of him." + +"He's coming down again in a week." + +"Oh!" said Sylvia, with signs of protest. "And after that?" + +Herbert laughed. + +"I don't think he'll make a third visit." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A FORCED RETIREMENT + +Singleton came down again to Brantholme, bringing his amended report, +which met with Herbert's approval. He spent one wet day walking +through turnip fields and stubble in search of partridges, and two +delightful evenings with Mrs. Lansing and Sylvia, and then he was +allowed to depart. He had served his purpose, and Herbert was glad to +get rid of him. Lansing generally found it desirable to drop men for +whom he had no more use; but he had not done with Singleton. + +A day or two later, after his guest had left, Herbert sat in his office +in a busy town with an open ledger in front of him. He looked +thoughtful, and, as a matter of fact, he was reviewing the latter part +of his business career, which had been marked by risks, boldly faced, +but attended by keen anxiety. Though his wife had some money, Lansing +had been hampered by lack of capital, and George's money had been +placed at his disposal at a very opportune time. It had enabled him to +carry the rubber company over what might have proved a crisis, and thus +strengthen his position as director, by purchasing sufficient shares on +George's account to keep the price from falling and defeat the +intrigues of a clique of discontented investors. Now, however, the +strain had slackened; Herbert's schemes had succeeded, and he had only +to take his profit by selling out as quietly as possible. He had +already given a broker orders to do so. He rather regretted that he +could not dispose of George's shares, but these must be kept a little +longer; to throw a large quantity upon the market would have a +depressing effect and might arouse suspicion. + +Presently a man with whom he had dealings was shown in and sat down. +His appearance indicated some degree of prosperity, but he looked +disturbed and anxious. + +"I met Jackson yesterday, and after what he told me of his interview +with you, I thought I'd better run up and see you at once," he +explained. + +Herbert had expected the visit. + +"I'm at your service," he said. + +"What about the new company? I understand you haven't come to any +decision yet about the suggestions we sent you for its flotation." + +"No," replied Herbert. "In fact, I've reasons for believing it +wouldn't be wise to go any farther in the matter." + +The other looked at him in astonishment. + +"Well," he said, "I heard that you were not so enthusiastic as you were +not long ago, which is why I came down; but I never expected this! +Anyway, after what we have done, you are bound to go on with the thing. +Our success with the first company will help the shares off." + +"That's not certain." Herbert handed him a paper. "You haven't seen +Singleton's report." + +The man read it hastily, his face changing. Then he looked up with +signs of strong indignation. + +"You let him give you a thing like this? Paid him for it?" + +"What could I do? The man's honest. He declares the country's +dangerous; he had two carriers killed. There's no prospect of our +obtaining the needful native labor." + +"Send somebody else out at once!" + +"With the same result. Besides, it's expensive. Singleton's fee +wasn't so big, because he shared the cost of his orchid collecting or +something of the kind with us. Then he might talk, and there would +always be the risk of somebody's challenging us with suppressing his +report. If things went wrong, that would lead to trouble." + +"Would there be any use in my seeing him?" + +Herbert smiled. Singleton would not turn against him; Sylvia had made +her influence felt. + +"Not the slightest," he answered. "You can take that for granted." + +His visitor pondered for a moment or two; and then he crumpled the +report in his hand, growing red in the face. + +"You seem content with this production. It looks as if you had meant +to back out." + +Herbert looked at him tranquilly. + +"Well," he said, "that's my intention now; and I don't think that you +can induce me to alter it. I can't see that we would be justified in +floating the concern." + +"But it was you who suggested it and led us on! What about the money +we have already spent?" + +"It's gone. I'm sorry, but things don't always turn out right. When I +first mentioned the matter, the prospects looked good; investigation +places them in a less favorable light, for which you can hardly hold me +responsible. You took a business risk." + +The other man angrily flung the report on the table. + +"This has been a blow to me, and I'm far from appreciating the course +you've taken. But what about the older concern? Though we don't seem +to have turned out much rubber yet, I suppose its position is still +satisfactory?" + +Herbert saw suspicion in the man's face and he rang a bell. + +"I think you had better satisfy yourself; I have the necessary +particulars here." + +He indicated some books on a neighboring shelf; and then added, when a +clerk appeared: + +"Will you bring me the extract of our working expenses that I asked you +to make out?" + +The clerk came back with a sheet of figures, which Herbert handed to +his visitor with one of the books, and the man spent some time +carefully examining them. + +"Everything looks satisfactory; I've no fault to find," he said at +length. "But I feel very sore about your giving up the new +undertaking." + +"It can't be helped," explained Herbert. "If it's any comfort to you, +I dropped as much money over preliminary expenses as you did." + +After a little further conversation, his visitor left and Herbert +resumed his work. On the whole, the interview had been less +embarrassing than he expected, and though it was likely that the rest +of his colleagues would call and expostulate, he was ready to meet +them. His excuse for abandoning the project was, on the face of it, a +good one; but he had no thought of giving these men, who were largely +interested in the original company, a word of warning. It was +undesirable that they should sell their shares until he had disposed of +his. They had, he argued, the same opportunities for forecasting the +course of the market and gaging the trend of investors' ideas as he +enjoyed, and if they did not make use of them, it was their fault. The +stock had reached a satisfactory premium, which was all that he had +promised; he could not be expected to guarantee its remaining at the +high level. + +During the next three or four weeks his broker sold out his shares in +small blocks, and when the quantity had been largely reduced, Herbert +decided that he would dispose of those he had purchased on George's +account. Though there were signs of a diminishing interest in such +stock, values had scarcely begun to fall, and having made his position +secure, he did not wish his cousin to incur a loss. Accordingly he +sent instructions to sell another lot of shares. + +He was very busy the next day when a telegram was brought him, but he +sat still for some minutes considering it. The market, it stated, had +suddenly fallen flat, and as prices were giving way sharply, further +orders were requested. The change Herbert had foreseen had come a +little sooner than he had expected. He still held some shares, which +he had thought of keeping, because it might, after all, prove judicious +to retain a degree of control in the company, and having sold the rest +at a good profit, a moderate fall in their value would be of less +consequence. The drop, however, was marked, and he decided to further +reduce the quantity standing in his name, instead of realizing those +belonging to his cousin. George must take his chance; and the market +might rally. As a result of these reflections he wired his broker to +sell, and in a few hours received an answer. + + +"_Sale effected within limit given, market since broken badly, expect +slump_." + + +Herbert saw that he had acted with prudence, though it was evident that +his cousin had incurred a serious loss. He was sorry for this, but it +could not be helped. + +A few days later he was sitting beside the fire at home after his +evening meal when Sylvia entered the room in his wife's absence. She +stood near the hearth, examining some embroidery in her hand, but she +looked up presently, and it became evident that she had been reading +the papers. + +"There seems to be a sharp fall in rubber shares," she said. "Will it +affect you?" + +"No," replied Herbert, "not seriously." + +"I suppose that means you must have anticipated the fall and sold +out--unloaded, I think you call it--in time?" + +Herbert did not wish to discuss the matter. He had already had one or +two trying interviews with his business colleagues, and the opinions +they had expressed about him still rankled in his mind. He was not +particularly sensitive, but the subject was an unpleasant one. + +"Something of the kind," he answered. "One has to take precautions." + +Sylvia laughed. + +"One could imagine your taking them. You're not the man to be caught +at a disadvantage, are you?" + +"Well," he said dryly, "it's a thing I try to avoid." + +Sylvia sat down, as if she meant to continue the conversation, which +was far from what he desired, but he could not be discourteous. + +"Had George any shares in your company?" she asked. + +There was no way of avoiding a reply, without arousing her suspicions; +Herbert knew that she was keen-witted and persistent. + +"Yes," he said, "he had a quantity." + +"Have those shares been sold?" + +This was a more troublesome question, but Herbert was compelled to +answer. + +"No; not yet. It's unfortunate that the market broke before I could +get rid of them, but it may rally. I'm rather disturbed about the +matter; but, after all, one has to take one's chance in buying shares. +Dealing in the speculative sorts is to a large extent a game of hazard." + +"I suppose so, but then somebody must win." + +"No," returned Herbert, "now and then everybody loses." + +Sylvia glanced at him with a mocking smile. + +"Even those in the inside ring? When that happens, it must be +something like a catastrophe. But I'm sorry for George; he doesn't +deserve this." + +Herbert could not deny it; but, to his surprise, the girl leaned +forward, speaking in an authoritative tone. + +"I don't know what you can do, but you must do something to get George +out of the difficulty. It's obvious that you led him into it--he isn't +the man to go in for rash speculation; he would have chosen something +safe." + +It was a relief to Herbert that his wife came in just then; but, as he +had reason for believing that she would not remain, he decided that he +would go out and post some letters. Sylvia seemed to be in an +inquisitive mood, and he did not wish to be left alone with her. + +The night was fine but dark; in places a thin, low-lying mist that hung +over the meadows obscured the hedgerows, and it grew more dense as +Herbert approached the river, which brawled noisily among the stones. +The man, however, scarcely noticed this; his mind was occupied with +other matters. Sylvia's attitude had disturbed him. She was useful as +an ally, but she could not be allowed to criticize his conduct or to +give him orders. Moreover, he had reasons for believing that investors +in his company might share her views, and he looked for serious trouble +with two or three gentlemen who blamed him for their losses, and had so +far incivilly refused to be pacified by his explanations. + +Herbert was of a philosophic disposition, and realized that one must +not expect too much. Having made a handsome profit, he felt that he +ought to be content, and bear a certain amount of suspicion and +contumely with unruffled good-humor. For all that, he found it +disagreeable to be looked upon as a trickster, and it was worse when +his disgusted associates used more offensive epithets in his presence. + +He was considering how he should deal with them when he entered a +thicker belt of mist. It shut him in so that he could see nothing +ahead, but there was a strong fence between him and the river, and he +went on, lost in thought, until the mist was suddenly illuminated and a +bright light flashed along the road. The hoot of a motor-horn broke +out behind him, and, rudely startled, he sprang aside. He was too +late; somebody cried out in warning, and the next moment he was +conscious of a blow that flung him bodily forward. He came down with a +crash; something seemed to grind him into the stones; there was a +stabbing pain in his side, and he lost consciousness. + +Fortunately, the big car was promptly stopped, and two men sprang down. +An indistinct object lay just behind the forward pair of wheels, and in +anxious haste they dragged it clear and into the glare of the lamps. +Herbert's hat had fallen off; he was scarcely breathing, and his face +was ghastly white; but one of the men recognized him. + +"It's Lansing," he exclaimed. "Seems badly hurt, though I'd nearly +pulled her up when she struck him." + +"He was dragged some way; jacket must have caught the starting crank or +something; but that doesn't matter now." He raised his voice. +"Dreadfully sorry, Mr. Lansing; can you hear me?" + +There was no answer, and the man shook his head. + +"I'm afraid this is serious." + +His companion looked unnerved, but he roused himself with an effort. + +"It is, and we're behaving like idiots, wasting time that may be +valuable. Get hold and lift him in; his house is scarcely a mile away." + +They had some difficulty in getting the unconscious man into the car; +and then its owner backed it twice into a bank before he succeeded in +turning round, but in three or four minutes they carried Herbert into +Brantholme, and afterward drove away at top speed in search of +assistance. It was, however, an hour later when they returned with a +doctor, and he looked grave after he had examined his patient. + +"Your husband has two ribs broken," he told Mrs. Lansing. "In a way, +that's not very serious, but he seems to be prostrated by the shock. +There are a few things that must be done at once; and then we'll have +to keep him as quiet as possible." + +It was two hours later when he left the house, promising to return +early the next day with a nurse; and Herbert lay, still and +unconscious, in a dimly lighted room. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +HERBERT IS PATIENT + +On the second morning after the accident, Herbert, lying stiffly +swathed in bandages, opened his eyes in a partly darkened room. A +nurse was standing near a table, and when the injured man painfully +turned his head, the doctor, who had been speaking to her, came toward +him. + +"I think we can let you talk a little now," he said. "How do you feel?" + +Herbert's face relaxed into a feeble smile. + +"Very far from happy. I suppose I've been badly knocked about?" + +"I've treated more serious cases, and you'll get over it. But you'll +have to reconcile yourself to lying quiet for a long while." + +Herbert made no reply to this, but his expression suggested that he was +trying to think. + +"Has the thing got into the papers?" he asked. + +The doctor was a little surprised; it seemed a curious point for his +patient to take an interest in, but he was willing to indulge him. + +"It's early yet, but one of the _Courier_ people stopped me as I was +driving out and I gave him a few particulars. You can't hush the +matter up." + +"No," said Herbert. "You did quite right. Hadn't you better mention +exactly what's the matter with me?" + +"If I did, you wouldn't understand it," said the doctor, who generally +adopted a cheerful, half-humorous tone. "In plain English, you have +two ribs broken, besides a number of contusions, and I'm inclined to +suspect your nervous system has received a nasty shock." + +"And the cure?" + +"Complete rest, patience, and perhaps a change of scene when you're +able to get about." + +"That means I'll have to drop all active interest in my business for +some time?" + +"I'm afraid so; by and by we'll consider when you can resume it." + +It struck the doctor that Herbert was not displeased with the +information; and that seemed strange, considering that he was a busy, +energetic man. He lay silent a while with an undisturbed expression. + +"I wonder if you would write a telegram and a letter for me?" he asked +at length. + +"With pleasure, if you don't think you have talked enough. Can't you +wait until to-morrow?" + +"I'll feel easier when I've got it off my mind." + +The doctor thought this likely. He made a sign of acquiescence and +took out his notebook; and Herbert give him the rubber company's London +address and then dictated: + + +"_Regret I am incapacitated for business for indefinite period by motor +accident. If advisable appoint new director in my place before +shareholders' meeting, which cannot attend. Compelled to remain in +strict quietness_." + + +"You might send these people a short note," he added, "stating that I'm +submitting to your advice, and giving them a few particulars about my +injuries." + +"I'll be glad to do so." + +"Then there's only another thing. I'd like some notice of the accident +put into a leading London paper--it will explain my retirement to +people who would soon begin to wonder why I wasn't at my post." + +"It shall be attended to; but I scarcely think Mr. Phillips and his +motoring friend will appreciate the notoriety you will confer on them." + +Herbert smiled. + +"There's no reason why I should consider Phillips. If he will drive +furiously in the dark and run over people--this isn't his first +accident--he must take the consequences. But you can tell him, with my +compliments, that I'll let him off, if he'll be more cautious in +future. Now I feel that I'd like to rest or go to sleep again." + +The doctor went out somewhat puzzled--his patient seemed singularly +resigned to inaction and glad to escape from commercial affairs, +instead of chafing at his misfortune. After exchanging a few words +with Mrs. Lansing, he met Sylvia in the hall. + +"How is he this morning?" she asked. + +"Better than I expected, able to take an interest in things. I was +glad to find him so acquiescent--it isn't usual. He didn't seem +disturbed when he asked me to write a telegram expressing his +willingness to give up his director's post." + +He had not mentioned this matter to Mrs. Lansing. In several ways +Sylvia struck him as being the more capable woman, though this was not +the impression her appearance had upon the less practised observers. +She looked thoughtful at his news. + +"I suppose such a course is necessary," she remarked. + +"I believe it's advisable; that is, if there's any likelihood that his +duties will make much demand on him for some time to come." + +Sylvia changed the subject. + +"Have you any particular instructions?" + +"None beyond those I've given the nurse. Quietness is the great thing; +but it doesn't look as if he'll cause you much trouble." + +The prediction was justified. With the exception of a few complaints +about his physical discomfort, Herbert displayed an exemplary patience +and soon began to improve, for his recovery was assisted by the +tranquil state of his mind. The accident had happened at a very +opportune time: it furnished an excellent excuse for withdrawing from +an embarrassing situation and it would save his credit, if, as seemed +probable, difficulties shortly threatened the rubber company. It would +look as if any trouble that might fall upon the concern was the result +of his having been forced to relinquish control, and nobody could +rationally blame him for being run over. + +He was lying in a sunny room one afternoon when two gentlemen were +shown in. One was the caller with whom he had an interview in his +office before the accident. They inquired about his progress with +rather forced courtesy; and then one of them said: + +"We looked in on the doctor who wrote to us about your injury before we +came here, and he told us you were strong enough for a little quiet +conversation. We haven't appointed another director yet." + +"Then you had better do so," Herbert advised. + +"You mean to stick to your withdrawal? You're the only person who can +pull the company out of its difficulties." + +"Has it got into any difficulties?" Herbert inquired. "You see, I've +been compelled to give orders for all correspondence to be dealt with +at the London office, and I'm advised not to read the financial papers +or anything that might have a disturbing effect." + +The man who had not yet spoken betrayed some impatience. + +"We're up to the eyes in trouble, as you must have guessed. Have you +asked yourself what the body of the shareholders are likely to think?" + +"It's fairly obvious. They'll consider it a misfortune that I was +knocked over shortly before a critical time; possibly they'll attribute +everything unsatisfactory in the company's affairs to my not being in +charge." + +One of the visitors glanced meaningly at his companion. There was +truth in what Lansing said. The angry shareholders would not +discriminate carefully; they would blame the present directors, who +would have to face a serious loss while Lansing had made a profit. It +was a galling situation; and what made it worse was that Lansing's +expression hinted that he found it somewhat humorous. + +"The fact that you sold out so soon before the fall will have its +significance," said the first man. "The thing has a suspicious look." + +"I must risk a certain amount of misconception," Herbert replied +languidly. "I may as well point out that I still hold the shares +required as a director's qualification, which is all it was necessary +for me to do. Was it your intention to keep the stock you hold +permanently?" + +They could not answer him, and he smiled. + +"As a matter of fact, we all intended to sell off a good portion as +soon as the premium justified it; the only difference of opinion was +about the point it must reach, and that, of course, was a matter of +temperament. Well, I was lucky enough to get rid of part of my stock +at a profit; and there was nothing to prevent your doing the same. +Instead of that, you held on until the drop came; it was an imprudence +for which you can't blame me." + +"Our complaint is that you foresaw the fall and never said a word." + +"Granted. Why didn't you foresee it? You had the right of access to +all the information in my hands; you could inspect accounts in the +London office; I suppose you read the financial papers. It would have +been presumptuous if I'd recommended you to sell, and my forecast might +have proved incorrect. In that case you would have blamed me for +losing your money." + +This was incontestable. Though they knew he had betrayed them, +Lansing's position was too strong to be assailed. + +"You might have mentioned that you contemplated retiring from the +board," one remarked. "Then we would have known what to expect." + +"A little reflection will show the futility of your suggestion. How +could I contemplate being run over by a motor-car?" + +"Well," said the second man in a grim tone, "you can't deny the +accident was in some respects a fortunate one for you." + +"I'm doubtful whether you would have appreciated it, in my place. But +you don't seem to realize that I'm withdrawing from the board because +I'm incapacitated for the duties." + +Then the nurse, to whom Herbert had given a hint, came in; and he made +a sign of resignation, quite as though overpowered by regret. + +"I'm sorry I'm not allowed to talk very much yet. Will you have a +cigar and some refreshment before you leave?" + +His visitors rose, and one of them turned to him with a curious +expression. + +"No, thanks," he said pointedly. "Considering everything, I don't +think we'll give you the trouble." + +With a few conventional words they withdrew, and Herbert smiled at the +nurse. + +"I believe Dr. Ballin was most concerned about the injury to my +nerves," he said. "Have you noticed anything wrong with them?" + +"Not lately. They seem to be in a normal state." + +"That," said Herbert, "is my own opinion. You wouldn't imagine that I +had just finished a rather trying interview?" + +"No; you look more amused than upset." + +"There was something humorous in the situation; that's often the case +when you see greedy people wasting effort and ingenuity. Perhaps you +heard my visitors expressing their anxiety about my health, though I've +a suspicion that they felt more like wishing the car had made an end of +me." + +The nurse laughed and told him that he had better rest; and Herbert lay +back upon the cushions she arranged, with calm content. + +During the evening, Sylvia entered the room, dressed a little more +carefully than usual, and Herbert glanced at her with appreciation. + +"You look charming, though that's your normal state," he said. "Where +are you going?" + +"With Muriel, to dine with the Wests; have you forgotten? But I came +in because Muriel told me you had a letter from George by the last +post." + +"So you're still interested in his doings," Herbert rejoined. + +"Of course. Does that surprise you?" + +"I was beginning to think there was some risk of your forgetting him, +which, perhaps, wouldn't be altogether unnatural. He's a long way off, +which has often its effect, and there's no denying the fact that in +many respects you and he are different." + +"Doesn't the same thing apply to you and Muriel? Everybody knows you +get on excellently in spite of it." + +Herbert laughed. He was aware that his friends had wondered why he had +married Muriel, and suspected that some of them believed her money had +tempted him. Nevertheless, he made her an affectionate as well as a +considerate husband. In business matters he practised the easy +morality of a hungry beast of prey, but he had his virtues. + +"Yes," he said, "that's true. Do you find it encouraging?" + +Sylvia had felt a little angry, though she had known that it was seldom +wise to provoke her host. + +Without waiting for her answer he continued, half seriously: "There's +often one person who thinks better of us than we deserve, and I dare +say I'm fortunate in that respect. In such a case, one feels it an +obligation not to abuse that person's confidence." + +A slight flush crept into Sylvia's face. George believed in her and +she was very shabbily rewarding his trust. + +"I'm surprised to hear you moralizing. It's not a habit of yours," she +remarked. + +"No," said Herbert, pointedly; "though it may now and then make one +feel a little uncomfortable, it seldom does much good. But we were +talking about George. He tells me that winter's beginning unusually +soon; they've had what he calls a severe cold snap and the prairie's +deep with snow. He bought some more stock and young horses as an +offset to the bad harvest, and he's doubtful whether he has put up hay +enough. West and he are busy hauling stove-wood home from a bluff; and +he has had a little trouble with some shady characters as a result of +his taking part in a temperance campaign. I think that's all he has to +say." + +Sylvia broke into half-incredulous merriment. + +"It's hard to imagine George as a temperance reformer. Think of him, +making speeches!" + +"Speeches aren't much in George's line," Herbert admitted. "Still, in +one way, I wasn't greatly astonished at the news. He's just the man to +be drawn into difficulties he might avoid, provided that somebody could +convince him the thing needed doing." + +"Then you think he has been convinced?" + +"I can hardly imagine George's setting out on a work of the kind he +mentioned without some persuasion," said Herbert with a smile. "The +subject's not one he ever took much interest in, and he's by no means +original." + +Sylvia agreed with him, but she was silent a few moments, reclining in +an easy chair before the cheerful fire, while she glanced round the +room. It was comfortably furnished, warm, and brightly lighted; a +strong contrast to the lonely Canadian homestead to which her thoughts +wandered. She could recall the unpolished stove, filling the place +with its curious, unpleasant smell, and the icy draughts that eddied +about it. She could imagine the swish of driving snow about the +quivering wooden building when the dreaded blizzards raged; the +strange, oppressive silence when the prairie lay still in the grip of +the Arctic frost; and George coming in with half-frozen limbs and +snow-dust on his furs, to spend the dreary evening in trying to keep +warm. The picture her memory painted was vivid and it had a disturbing +effect. It was in her service that the man was toiling in western +Canada. + +"Well," she said, rising with some abruptness, "it's time we got off. +I'd better see if Muriel is ready." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +BLAND MAKES A SACRIFICE + +Sylvia was sitting by the hearth in Ethel West's drawing-room, her +neatly shod feet on the fender, her low chair on the fleecy rug, and +she made a very dainty and attractive picture. She felt the cold and +hated discomfort of any kind, though it was characteristic of her that +she generally succeeded in avoiding it. Ethel sat near by, watching +her with calmly curious eyes, for Sylvia was looking pensive. Mrs. +Lansing was talking to Stephen West on the opposite side of the large +room. + +"How is Edgar getting on?" Sylvia asked. "I suppose you hear from him +now and then." + +Ethel guessed where the question led and responded with blunt +directness. + +"Doesn't George write to you?" + +"Not often. Herbert has just got a letter, but there was very little +information in it; George is not a brilliant correspondent. I thought +Edgar might have written by the same mail." + +"As it happens, he did," said Ethel. "He describes the cold as fierce, +and gives some interesting details of his sensations when the warmth +first comes back to his half-frozen hands or limbs; then he adds a +vivid account of a blizzard that George and he nearly got lost in." + +"Things of that kind make an impression on a new-comer," Sylvia +languidly remarked. "One gets used to them after a while. Did he say +anything else?" + +"There was an enthusiastic description of a girl he has met; he +declares she's a paragon. This, of course, is nothing new, but it's a +little astonishing that he doesn't seem to contemplate making love to +her in his usual haphazard manner. She seems to have inspired him with +genuine respect." + +"I can't think of any girl who's likely to do so." + +"He gives her name--Flora Grant." + +Sylvia betrayed some interest. + +"I knew her--I suppose she is a little less impossible than the rest. +But go on." + +"One gathers that George is having an anxious time; Edgar goes into +some obscure details about crops and cattle-raising. Then he hints at +some exciting adventures they have had as a result of supporting a body +that's trying to close the hotels." + +This was what Sylvia had been leading up to. She agreed with Herbert +that it was most unlikely George would take any part in such +proceedings without some prompting, and she was curious to learn who +had influenced him. + +"There was a word or two in Herbert's letter to the same effect," she +said. "The thing strikes one as amusing. George, of course, does not +explain why he joined these people." + +A smile of rather malicious satisfaction crept into Ethel's eyes. +"According to Edgar, it was because his neighbors, the Grants, urged +it. The father of the girl he mentioned seems to be a leader in the +movement." + +Sylvia carefully suppressed any sign of the annoyance she felt. It +was, of course, impossible that George should be seriously attracted by +Flora, but his action implied that he and the Grants must be good +friends. No doubt, he met the girl every now and then, and they had +much in common. Sylvia did not mean to marry George; but it was +pleasant to feel that she could count on his devotion, and she resented +the idea of his falling under the influence of anybody else. She had +never thought of Flora as dangerous--George was so steadfast--but she +now realized that there might, perhaps, be some slight risk. A girl +situated as Flora was would, no doubt, make the most of her +opportunities. Sylvia grew somewhat angry; she felt she was being +badly treated. + +"After all," she said calmly, "I suppose there's no reason why George +shouldn't set up as a reformer if it pleases him. It must, however, be +rather a novelty for your brother." + +Ethel laughed. + +"I believe it's the excitement that has tempted him, Still, if George +is taking any active part in the matter, Edgar will probably find it +more than a light diversion." Then she changed the subject. "Did I +tell you that we expect Captain Bland to-night?" + +Sylvia started slightly. She was aware that Ethel took what could best +be described as an unsympathetic interest in her affairs, but the +sudden reference to Bland threw her off her guard. + +"No," she said. "Though you have met him, I didn't think you knew him +well." + +"I believe it's chiefly a business visit. Stephen, you know, has some +reputation as a commercial lawyer, and Bland couldn't arrange to see +him in town. Anyway, he should be here soon." + +Bland arrived half an hour later, but was unable to do more than shake +hands with Sylvia before West took him away to another room. It was +some time before they returned; and then West kept the party engaged in +general conversation until it broke up. + +"I'll walk down the road with you," he said to Mrs. Lansing, and +afterward turned to Bland. "How are you going to get back?" + +Bland said that the man who had driven him from the station was waiting +in the neighboring village, and when they left the house he walked on +with Sylvia, leaving Mrs. Lansing and West to follow. It was a clear +night, with a chill of frost in the air. A bright half-moon hung above +the shadowy hills, and the higher boughs of the bare trees cut in sharp +tracery against the sky. Dead leaves lay thick upon the road and here +and there a belt of mist trailed across a meadow. Sylvia, however, did +not respond when her companion said something about the charm of the +walk. + +"Why didn't you send me word you were coming?" she asked. + +"I didn't know until this morning, when I got a note from West, and I +must be back in time for tomorrow's parade. Besides, you told me at +the junction that I was not to be allowed to meet you again for some +time." + +Sylvia smiled at him. + +"Haven't you found out that you needn't take everything I say too +literally?" + +Bland stopped, pressing the hand on his arm. + +"Does that apply to all you said on the evening when we sat outside the +inn?" + +"No," answered Sylvia firmly. "It does not; please understand that. I +must stick to what I told you then." She paused, and they heard the +soft fall of approaching feet before she resumed with a laugh: "Go on, +if you don't want the others to think we are waiting for them." + +Bland obeyed, a little soothed, though he saw she was not yet ready to +allow a renewal of his pleading. Sylvia had obviously meant that she +wished to be left alone with him. + +"Why did you call on Stephen West?" she asked, presently. + +"I'd meant to tell you. But, first of all, is Lansing still connected +with the rubber company? West didn't seem very well informed upon the +point." + +"Neither am I," replied Sylvia thoughtfully. "I only know he hasn't +the large interest in it that he had." + +"Then I'll have to explain, because I don't know what to do. Lansing +gave me a tip to buy some shares, and when some friends said I'd got a +good thing, I went to him again. I must say he was pretty guarded, but +I got a hint and acted on it, with the result that I have dropped a +good deal of money. This," he added deprecatingly, "is not the kind of +thing I should talk to you about, but I was told that Lansing couldn't +receive any callers, and you'll see why you should know." + +"I'm beginning to understand." + +"Well," said Bland, "shortly after Lansing's accident, I wrote to the +secretary, asking some questions, and he doesn't seem to have been +cautious enough in his answer--I have it here. There has been trouble +about the company, and I attended a meeting of some disgusted people +who had put their money into it. They think they might get part of it +back by attacking the promoters, and I'm told that my letter would help +them materially." + +"Do you want to help them?" + +"In a way, it's natural," said Bland with signs of warmth. "I don't +see why those fellows should be allowed to get off after tricking +people out of the money they've painfully earned." + +"How much money have you ever earned?" + +Bland laughed. + +"You have me there; I haven't been able to buy shares out of my pay. +But I made a pot by taking long chances when I backed an outside horse. +It comes to much the same thing." + +"I don't think it does," said Sylvia, with a smile. "But it strikes me +that your explanation isn't quite complete." + +"I went to West, instead of to another lawyer, because I thought he +would be acquainted with Lansing's present position; but, while he +agreed that the letter might be valuable to the objectors, he couldn't +help me. The end of it is that I don't want to do anything that might +hurt Lansing." + +Sylvia reflected. She hardly thought his loss would seriously +embarrass Bland; she owed Herbert something and might need his aid, and +she did not wish any discredit to be cast upon a connection of hers. + +"Well," she said, "I believe Herbert is still to some extent connected +with the company; he can hardly have withdrawn altogether. Anyway, he +had a large interest in it, and I think its management was in his +hands. He might suffer, so to speak, retrospectively." + +"Yes," said Bland, "that didn't strike me. You're right; there's only +one course open." He took a paper from his pocket and handed it to +her. "Give that to Lansing, and tell him he may do what he thinks fit +with it." + +"You're very generous," said Sylvia, coloring as she took the letter. + +"I'm afraid I've behaved badly in not keeping the thing from you; but +you see how I was situated, and you'll have to forgive me." + +"That isn't difficult," Sylvia told him. + +They walked on in silence for a while; and then Bland looked around at +her. + +"There's a thing I must mention. I've had a hint to ask for a certain +post abroad. It is not a very desirable one in some respects, but the +pay's pretty good, and it would bring the man who took it under the +notice of people who arrange the better Government appointments. I +should have to stay out at least two years." + +Sylvia was startled, and annoyed. Now that the man owned her sway, she +did not mean to accede to his wishes too readily. Some obscure reason +made her shrink from definitely binding herself to him, but his +intimation had forced on something of the nature of a crisis. + +"Do you wish to go?" she asked. + +"No," he said hotly; "you know that." + +"Then," said Sylvia softly, "I think you had better stay at home." + +He stopped again and faced her. + +"You must tell me what you mean!" + +"It ought to be clear," she murmured, "Don't you think I should miss +you?" + +With restrained quietness he laid his hand on her shoulder. + +"You must listen for a minute, Sylvia. Up to the present, I've been +passed over by the authorities; but now I've been given my chance. If +I can hammer the raw native levies into shape and keep order along a +disturbed frontier, it will lead to something better. Now, I'm neither +a military genius nor altogether a careless idler--I believe I can do +this work; but, coming rather late, it has less attraction for me. +Well, I would let the chance slip, for one reason only; but if I'm to +go on continually repressing myself and only allowed to see you at long +intervals, I might as well go away. You must clearly understand on +what terms I remain." + +She made a little appealing gesture. + +"Yes," she said; "but you must wait and not press me too hard. I am so +fenced in by conventions; so many people's susceptibilities have to be +considered. I haven't a girl's liberty." + +Bland supposed this was as far as she ventured in allusion to her +widowed state; but, stirred as he was by her implied submission, it +struck him as significant that she should so clearly recognize the +restrictions conventionality imposed on her. + +"I think," he returned, "the two people who deserve most consideration +are you and myself." + +"Ah!" said Sylvia, "you deserve it most. You have been very +forbearing; you have done all I asked. That is why I know you will +bear with a little delay, when it's needful." + +He made a sign of reluctant assent; and then, to his annoyance, two +figures emerged from the shadow of the trees not far away. There was +nothing to do except to move on, but he thrilled at the slight, +grateful pressure of Sylvia's hand upon his arm. + +"My dear," he said, "I wish most devoutly that West or Mrs. Lansing had +been lame." + +Sylvia broke into a ripple of laughter, which somehow seemed to draw +them closer. At Herbert's gate they separated, and Bland walked on in +an exultant mood which was broken by fits of thoughtfulness. Sylvia +had tacitly pledged herself to him, but he was still her unacknowledged +lover and the position was irksome. Then he remembered her +collectedness, which had been rather marked, but he had learned that +emotion is more frequently concealed than forcibly expressed. +Moreover, he had never imagined that Sylvia was wholly free from +faults; he suspected that there was a vein of calculating coldness in +her, though it caused him no concern. Bland was a man of experience +who had acquired a good-humored toleration with the knowledge that one +must not expect too much from human nature. + +While Bland was being driven to the station, Sylvia entered the room +where Herbert lay, and handed him the letter. + +"Captain Bland came in during the evening to see Stephen and sent you +this," she said. "He told me you were to do what you thought fit with +it." + +Herbert perused the letter, and then reaching out with some difficulty, +flung it into the fire. + +"I've taken him at his word," he said. "Have you read the thing?" + +"No; I fear the details would have puzzled me; but I understand its +general import. How was it your secretary was so careless?" + +Herbert smiled. + +"The man's smart enough, as a rule; but we all have our weak moments. +This, however, is not the kind of thing that's likely to lead to his +advancement." He lay quiet for a moment or two; and then went on: "I'm +grateful to you. Had you much trouble in persuading Bland to let you +have the letter?" + +"No; he offered it voluntarily." + +"Then the man must have been desperately anxious to please you. It +looks as if his condition were getting serious." + +"I resent coarseness," exclaimed Sylvia. + +Herbert laughed. + +"Oh," he said, "you and I can face the truth. As West's a lawyer, +Bland's visit to him is, of course, significant; the man knew that +letter might have been worth something in hard cash to him, as well as +affording him the satisfaction of making things hot for the directors +of the company, among whom I was included. He would hardly have parted +with it unless he had a strong inducement." + +"His motives don't concern you," retorted Sylvia. + +"You ought to appreciate his action." + +"I appreciate it as sincerely as I do yours, because you must have +shown that you didn't want him to use the letter, though I'm inclined +to think your motives were rather mixed; one could scarcely expect them +all to be purely benevolent." + +Sylvia smiled. He was keen-witted and she found something amusing in +the ironical good-humor which often characterized him. + +"Anyhow," he continued, "you're a staunch and capable ally, and as that +gives you a claim on me, you won't find me reluctant to do my part +whenever the time comes." + +Then Mrs. Lansing came in, and on the whole Sylvia was glad of the +interruption. Herbert's remarks were now and then unpleasantly +suggestive. He had called her his ally, but she felt more like his +accomplice, which was much less flattering. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +AN OPPOSITION MOVE + +It was a wet and chilly night, and Singleton sat in an easy chair +beside the hearth in his city quarters with an old pipe in his hand. +The room was shabbily furnished, the hearthrug had a hole in it, the +carpet was threadbare, and Singleton's attire harmonized with his +surroundings, though the box of cigars and one or two bottles and +siphons on the table suggested that he expected visitors. The loose +Tuxedo jacket he had bought in America was marked by discolored +patches; his carpet slippers were dilapidated. His means, though long +restricted, would have warranted better accommodations; but his clothes +were comfortable and he did not think it worth while to put on anything +smarter. There was a vein of rather bitter pride in the man, and he +would not, out of deference to any other person's views, alter +conditions that suited him. + +A notebook lay beside him and several bulky treatises on botany were +scattered about, but he had ceased work and was thinking. After the +shadow and silence of the tropical bush, to which he was most +accustomed, the rattle of the traffic in the wet street below was +stimulating; but his reflections were not pleasant. He had waited +patiently for another invitation to Lansing's house, which had not +arrived, and a day or two ago he had met Sylvia Marston, upon whom his +mind had steadily dwelt, in a busy street. She had bowed to him +courteously, but she had made it clear that she did not expect him to +stop and speak. It had been a bitter moment to Singleton, but he had +calmly faced the truth. He had served his purpose, and he had been +dropped. Now, however, a letter from one of the people he was +expecting indicated that he might again be drawn into the +rubber-exploiting scheme. + +The two gentlemen who had called on Herbert were shown in presently. + +"It was I who wrote you," the first of them said; "this is my +colleague, Mr. Nevis." + +Singleton bowed. + +"Will you take that chair, Mr. Jackson?" He turned to the other man. +"I think you had better have this one; it's comparatively sound." + +He was aware that they were looking about his apartment curiously, and +no doubt inferring something from its condition; but this was of no +consequence. He had learned his value and meant to insist on it, +without the assistance of any signs of prosperity. + +"I couldn't get up to town, as you suggested," he resumed when they +were seated. "I've been rather busy of late." + +"That's generally the case with us," Jackson said pointedly. + +He was a thin man, very neatly and quietly dressed, with a solemn face +and an air of importance. Nevis was stouter and more florid, with a +brisker manner, but the stamp of the city was plainly set on both. + +"Well," said Singleton, "I'm at your service, now you're here. The +cigars are nearest you, Mr. Nevis, and I can recommend the contents of +the smaller bottle. It's a Southern speciality and rather difficult to +get in England." + +Nevis hesitated. He thought it better that the interview should be +conducted on strictly business lines, while to accept the proffered +hospitality would tend to place him and the man he wished to deal with +on a footing of social equality. But it was desirable not to offend +Singleton, and he lighted a cigar. + +"To begin with, I must ask if you are still in any way connected with +Mr. Lansing?" he said. + +"No," answered Singleton with some grimness. "You can take it for +granted that he has done with me." + +"That clears the ground. We have been considering the report you wrote +for him. In our opinion, it was, while not encouraging, hardly +sufficient to warrant his abandoning the project, in which, as you have +been told, we were associated with him." + +"He may have had other motives," Singleton suggested. + +Nevis nodded gravely, as if in appreciation of his keenness. + +"That," he said, "is what occurred to us. But what is your idea of the +scheme?" + +"It's clearly stated in the report." + +Jackson made a sign of impatience. + +"We'll leave the report out and come to the point. Can the rubber, +which you say is really to be found, be collected and brought down to +the coast without incurring a prohibitive expense?" + +"Yes," said Singleton. "But you must understand me. The methods +generally adopted in such cases would be bound to fail. You would +require an overseer with rather exceptional technical knowledge, who +must, besides this, be quite free from the usual prejudices on the +native question. They would, no doubt, be a little difficult to avoid, +since at first he would have to put up with a few attempts upon his +life; but, if he could combine resolution and strict justice with a +conciliatory attitude, the attempt would cease, and I think he could +earn you a fair return on a moderate outlay." + +Jackson laughed. + +"So far as my experience goes, such men are scarce. But I'd better say +that we had you in mind when we made this visit. Do you think you +could do anything, if we sent you out?" + +"Yes," said Singleton quietly; "I believe I could make the venture pay. +Whether I'd think it worth while is another matter." + +"Then," Nevis interposed, "it's simply a question of terms?" + +"Oh, no. You may be surprised to hear that payment is not the first +consideration; though it's true. I'm interested in certain +investigations which can be carried out only in the tropics. However, +you'd better make your offer." + +Nevis did so, and Singleton pondered for a few moments. + +"The remuneration might suffice, provided that I was given a percentage +on the product and one or two special allowances; but before going any +farther I must understand your intentions. I'm a botanist, and have no +wish to be made use of merely for the purpose of furthering some +stock-jobbing scheme. Do you really want this venture put upon a +satisfactory working footing?" + +"I'll explain," said Nevis. "The fact is, Lansing let us in rather +badly. We spent a good deal of money over this concession, and we're +anxious to get it back. Since we can't float the thing on the market +at present, we have formed a small private syndicate to develop the +property, though we may sell out in a year or two if you can make the +undertaking commercially successful. I think you could count on the +purchasers' continuing operations." + +"Have you considered what Lansing's attitude may be?" + +"It won't matter. He has gone out of the business, convinced that the +thing's no good; he cleared off most of his rubber shares, for a +similar reason. This raises another point--the original company's +possessions lie in the same region, though ruled by another state, and +things are going badly there. If you could get across and see what +could be done, we would pay an extra fee." + +Singleton lighted a cigar and leaned back in his chair with a +thoughtful expression, and for a minute or two they left him alone. +They were keen business men, but they knew that their usual methods +would not serve them with this shabbily-dressed, self-possessed +botanist. + +"Well," he said at length, "your suggestion rather appeals to me, but +there's the difficulty that another matter claims my attention. Though +it isn't strictly in my line, I've been asked to go out to Canada and +assist in the production of a variety of wheat that will ripen quickly; +in fact, I was looking up some information bearing on the matter when +you came in. It's a remarkably interesting subject." + +They were clever enough to see that this was not an attempt to enhance +the value of his services; the man was obviously a botanical +enthusiast, and Nevis showed signs of attention. He had once or twice +thought that something might be made out of Canadian land companies. + +"One could imagine that," he said. "I understand that it's a matter of +high importance." + +"The development of the whole northern portion of the prairie country +depends on the success of the experiments that are being made," +Singleton went on. "Their summers are hot but short; if they can get a +grain that ripens early, they can cultivate vast stretches of land that +are now, from economic reasons, uninhabitable, and it would make +farming a more prosperous business in other tracts. Crops growing in +the favored parts are occasionally frozen. It's a coincidence that a +day or two ago I got a letter inquiring about that kind of wheat from a +friend in Canada who is, as it happens, farming with a cousin of +Lansing's." Then he laughed. "All this, however, has nothing to do +with the object of your visit. Give me a few more minutes to think it +over." + +There was silence except for the rattle of wheels outside while he +smoked half a cigar; then he turned to his companions. + +"I'll go out and undertake your work. I believe you're acting wisely, +and that Lansing will be sorry after a while that he threw away his +interest in the scheme." + +They discussed the details of the project and then the business men +went away, satisfied. Shortly afterward Singleton took a letter out of +a paper rack, and when he had read it he leaned back in his chair, lost +in pleasant recollections. Some years earlier, he had by chance fallen +in with a lad named West when fishing among the Scottish hills. The +young man's sister and elder brother were staying with him at the +remote hotel in which Singleton had quarters, and somewhat to his +astonishment they soon made friends with him. + +Poverty had made him reserved; he knew that he was a little awkward and +unpolished, but the Wests had not attempted to patronize him. Their +cordiality set him at his ease; he liked the careless, good-humored +lad; Ethel West, grave-eyed, direct, and candid, made a strong +impression, and he had been drawn to the quiet lawyer who was much +older than either. They spent delightful days together on the lake and +among the hills; Singleton told them something about his studies and +ambitions, and in the evenings they persuaded him to sing. Ethel was a +musician and Singleton sang well. On leaving they had invited him to +visit them; but, partly from diffidence, Singleton had not gone, though +he knew these were not the people who took a man up when he could be of +service and afterward dropped him. + +Now he had received a letter from Edgar West, saying that he was +farming in western Canada and inquiring if Singleton could tell him +anything about the drought-resisting and quick-ripening properties of +certain varieties of wheat. The botanist was glad to place his +knowledge at his friend's disposal, and, taking up pen and paper, he +spent an hour on a treatise on the subject, which was to save Lansing +expense and trouble, and bring Singleton further communications from +Edgar. Then he smoked another pipe and went to bed; and a fortnight +later he sailed for the tropics. + +Shortly after he had gone, Herbert heard of his departure, and the +letter containing the news arrived on a cheerless afternoon during +which his doctor had visited him. After the doctor left, Herbert +entered the room where his wife and Sylvia were, and took his place in +an easy chair by a window. Outside, the lawn was covered with +half-melted snow and the trees raised naked, dripping branches above +the drooping shrubs. Farther back the hedgerows ran somberly across +the white fields, and in the distance the hills loomed, desolate and +gray, against a leaden sky. + +"Ballin says I'd better take it easy for some time yet," Herbert +informed his wife. "In fact, he recommends a trip abroad; Algiers or +Egypt, for preference." He indicated the dreary prospect outside the +window. "Though he didn't actually insist on my going, the idea's +attractive." + +"Could you leave your business?" Mrs. Lansing inquired. + +Herbert smiled. + +"Yes; I think so. I was doing pretty well when I got run over, and +things have since slackened down. My manager can look after them while +I am away." + +This was correct, so far as it went; but he had another reason for +deciding not to resume operations for a while. He suspected that his +recent conduct had excited distrust and indignation in certain +quarters, but this would, no doubt, blow over before his return. +People forgot, and he could avoid those whose confidence in him had +proved expensive, + +"If that's the case, we may as well get off as soon as it can be +arranged," said Mrs. Lansing. She turned to Sylvia. "Of course, you +will come with us." + +Sylvia hesitated. She believed her influence over Bland would not +weaken much in her absence; but, after all, it was wiser to run no +risk. Moreover, she would, to some extent, feel her separation from +the man. + +"I really don't know what I ought to do," she answered. "I might be a +restraint upon you--you can't want me always at hand; and I could spend +a month or two with Dorothy. She has several times told me to come." + +"You would be better with us," Mrs. Lansing rejoined with firmness; and +Sylvia suspected her of a wish to prevent her enjoying Bland's society. + +"I'll think it over," she said. + +After they had discussed the projected journey, Mrs. Lansing withdrew +on some domestic errand, and Herbert turned to Sylvia. + +"I needn't point out that you'll be no trouble to us, but perhaps I'd +better mention that I had a letter from George this post. As there's +very little to be done until the spring, he thinks of coming over. I +don't know how far that may affect your decision." + +Sylvia was a little startled, but she reflected rapidly. The house of +the relative she had thought of visiting would be open to George, as +would be one or two others in which she might stay a while. It was +most undesirable that he should encounter Bland, which would be likely +to happen. Then it struck her that Herbert might derive as little +satisfaction from his cousin's visit as it would afford her. + +"Have you succeeded in selling George's shares yet?" she asked, and +though this was, on the face of it, an abrupt change of subject, she +thought Herbert would follow the sequence of ideas. + +"No," he answered, with a smile of comprehension. "It was too late +when I was able to attend to things; they have dropped to such a price +that I'll have to keep them. I'm afraid it will be a blow to George, +and he's having trouble enough already with your farm; but, luckily, +some other shares I bought on his account show signs of a marked +improvement before long." + +Sylvia inferred from this that he had not informed his cousin of the +state of his affairs, and did not wish to see him until the improvement +mentioned, or some other favorable development, should mitigate the +shock of discovering what use Herbert had made of his powers. It was +clear that it rested with her to decide whether George made the visit +or not, because if she went to Egypt he would remain in Canada. But +she was not quite ready to give her companion an answer. + +"Did I tell you that I met Singleton a little while ago?" she said. "I +think he wished to speak, but I merely bowed. I was in a hurry, for +one thing." + +"It's the first I've heard of it, but you did quite right. Since he +was here, one or two of the other directors who tried to give me some +trouble have got hold of him. They have sent him out to see what can +be done with the rubber property." + +"Was that worth while?" + +"I shouldn't think so. It strikes me they're wasting their money." + +This was Herbert's firm belief, but his judgment while generally +accurate, had, in this instance, proved defective. He had failed +properly to estimate Singleton's capabilities. It was, however, +obvious to Sylvia that he had had no part in the undertaking, and had +abandoned his rubber schemes, which implied that George's loss would be +serious. There was no doubt that it would suit both Herbert and +herself better if George did not come back too soon. + +"Well," she said, "that is not a matter of any consequence to me. +After all, I think I'll go south with you and Muriel." + +Herbert had foreseen this decision. + +"It's the most suitable arrangement," he responded. "When I write, +I'll mention it to George." + +Sylvia went out a little later with a sense of guilt; she felt that in +removing the strongest inducement for George's visit she had betrayed +him. She was sorry for George, but she could not allow any +consideration for him to interfere with her ambitions. Then she +resolutely drove these thoughts away. The matter could be looked at in +a more pleasant light, and there were several good reasons for the +course she had adopted. + +Entering the library, she carefully wrote a little note to Captain +Bland, and then went in search of Mrs. Lansing. + +"I think I'll go over to Susan's for the week-end," she announced. "I +promised her another visit, and now I can explain that I'm going away +with you." + +Mrs. Lansing made no objection, and three or four days afterward Sylvia +met Bland at Mrs. Kettering's house. He arrived after her, and as +there were other guests, she had to wait a little while before she +could get a word with him alone. She was standing in the big hall, +which was unoccupied, rather late in the evening, when he came toward +her. + +"I thought I should never escape from Kettering; but he's safe for a +while, talking guns in the smoking-room," he said. + +Sylvia thought that they would be safe from interruption for a few +minutes, which would serve her purpose. + +"So you have managed to get here," she said. + +"Had you any doubt of my succeeding?" Bland asked reproachfully. +"Kettering once gave me a standing invitation, and, as it happens, +there's a famous horse dealer in this neighborhood with whom I've had +some business. That and the few Sunday trains formed a good excuse. +I, however, don't mind in the least if Mrs. Kettering attaches any +significance to the visit." + +Sylvia did not wish to arouse the suspicions of her hostess, but she +smiled. + +"I expected you, and I'm glad you came," she said. + +"That's very nice to hear." + +"Don't take too much for granted. Still, I thought I'd like to see +you, because I'm going to Egypt with Muriel for some time. Indeed, I +shall not be back until the spring." + +The man displayed dismayed surprise, and Sylvia waited for his answer +with some eagerness. She did not wish to enter into a formal +engagement--it was a little too early to make an announcement yet--but +she thought it wise to bind him in some degree before she left. + +"Until the spring?" he broke out. "You expect me to let you go?" + +"You must," said Sylvia firmly, and added in a softer voice, "I'm +rather sorry." + +He saw that he could not shake her decision. + +"Then we must have a clear understanding," he rejoined hotly. "You +know I want you--when is this waiting to end? Tell me now, and let me +tell all who care to hear, that you belong to me." + +Sylvia made a gesture of protest and coquettishly looked down. + +"You must still have patience," she murmured; "the time will soon pass." + +"And then?" he asked with eagerness. + +She glanced up at him shyly. + +"If you will ask me again when I come back, I will give you your +answer." + +She left him no reason for doubting what that answer would be; and, +stretching out his arms, he drew her strongly to him. In a minute or +two, however, Sylvia insisted on his returning to his host, and soon +afterward Mrs. Kettering came in to look for her. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +A BLIZZARD + +A bitter wind searched the poplar bluff where George and his hired man, +Grierson, were cutting fuel. Except in the river valleys, trees of any +size are scarce on the prairie, but the slender trunks and leafless +branches were closely massed and afforded a little shelter. Outside on +the open waste, the cold was almost too severe to face, and George once +or twice glanced anxiously across the snowy levels, looking for some +sign of Edgar, who should have joined them with the team and sledge. +It was, however, difficult to see far, because a gray dimness narrowed +in the horizon. George stood, dressed in snow-flecked furs, in the +center of a little clearing strewn with rows of fallen trunks from +which he was hewing off the branches. The work was hard; his whole +body strained with each stroke of the heavy ax, but it failed to keep +him warm, and the wind was growing more bitter with the approach of +night. + +"I don't know what can be keeping West," he said after a while. "We +haven't seen the mail-carrier either, and he's two hours late; but he +must have had a heavy trail all the way from the settlement. I expect +he'll cut out our place and make straight for Grant's. We'll have snow +before long." + +There was an empty shack not far away where, by George's consent, the +mail-carrier left letters when bad weather made it desirable to shorten +his round. + +Grierson nodded as he glanced about. The stretch of desolate white +prairie had contracted since he had last noticed it, the surrounding +dimness was creeping nearer in, and the ranks of poplar trunks were +losing their sharpness of form. Now that the men had ceased chopping, +they could hear the eerie moaning of the wind and the sharp patter of +icy snow-dust among the withered brush. + +"It will take him all his time to fetch Grant's; I wish Mr. West would +come before it gets dark," Grierson said with a shiver, and fell to +work again. + +Several minutes passed. George was thinking more about the +mail-carrier's movements than about Edgar's. The English letters +should have arrived, and he was anxiously wondering if there were any +for him. Then, as he stopped for breath, a dim moving blur grew out of +the prairie, and he flung down his ax. + +"Here's West; we'll have light enough to put up the load," he said. + +A little later Edgar led two powerful horses up the narrow trail, and +for a while the men worked hard, stacking the logs upon the sledge. +Then they set off at the best pace the team could make, and the cold +struck through them when they left the bluff. + +"Stinging, isn't it?" Edgar remarked. "I couldn't get over earlier; +Flett turned up, half frozen, and he kept me. Seems to have some +business in this neighborhood, though he didn't say what it is." + +George, walking through the snow to leeward of the loaded sledge, where +it was a little warmer, betrayed no interest in the news. Temperance +reform was languishing at Sage Butte and its leaders had received a +severe rebuff from the authorities. The police, who had arrested an +Indian suspected of conveying liquor to the reservation, had been no +more successful, for the man had been promptly acquitted. They had +afterward been kept busy investigating the matter of the shooting of +George's bull, which had recovered; but they had found no clue to the +offender, and nothing of importance had happened for some time. + +It had grown dark and the wind was rapidly increasing. Powdery snow +drove along before it, obscuring the men's sight and lashing their +tingling faces. At times the icy white haze whirled about them so +thick that they could scarcely see the blurred dark shape of the +sledge, but as they had hauled a good many loads of stovewood home, the +trail was plainly marked. It would be difficult to lose it unless deep +snow fell. With lowered heads and fur caps pulled well down, they +plodded on, until at length George stopped where the shadowy mass of a +bluff loomed up close in front of them. + +"I'll leave you here and make for the shack," he said. "I want to see +if there are any letters." + +"It's far too risky," Edgar pointed out. "You'll get lost as soon as +you leave the beaten trail." + +"I'll have the bluff for a guide, and it isn't far from the end of it +to the small ravine. After that I shouldn't have much trouble in +striking the fallow." + +"It's doubtful," Edgar persisted. "Let the letters wait until +to-morrow." + +"No," said George, resolutely. "I've waited a week already; the mail +is late. Besides, we'll have worse snow before morning." + +Seeing that he had made up his mind, Edgar raised no more objections, +and in another few moments George disappeared into a haze of driving +snow. When he left the trail he found walking more difficult than he +had expected, but though it was hard to see beyond a few yards, he had +the bluff to guide him and he kept along the edge of it until the trees +vanished suddenly. Then he stopped, buffeted by the wind, to gather +breath and fix clearly in his mind the salient features of the open +space that he must cross. + +If he could walk straight for half a mile, he would strike a small +hollow and by following it he would reach a tract of cultivated ground. +This, he thought, should be marked by the absence of the taller clumps +of grass and the short willow scrub which here and there broke through +the snow. There would then be a stretch of about two hundred acres to +cross before he found the little shack, whose owner had gone away to +work on the railroad during the winter. He expected to have some +trouble in reaching it, but he must get the letters, and he set off +again, breaking through the snow-crust in places, and trying to +estimate the time he took. + +A quarter of an hour passed and, as there was no sign of the ravine, he +began to wonder whether he had deviated much from his chosen line. In +another few minutes he was getting anxious; and then suddenly he +plunged knee-deep into yielding snow. It got deeper at the next step +and he knew that he had reached the shallow depression, which had been +almost filled up by the drifts. He must cross it, and the effort this +entailed left him gasping when he stopped again on the farther side. + +It was still possible to retrace his steps, because he could hardly +fail to strike the bluff he had left, but there was no doubt that to go +on would be perilous. If he missed the shack, he might wander about +the prairie until he sank down, exhausted; and after a day of fatiguing +labor he knew that he could not long face the wind and frost. There +was, however, every sign of a wild storm brewing; it might be several +days before he could secure the letters if he turned back, and such a +delay was not to be thought of. + +He went on, following the ravine where he could trace its course, which +was not always possible, until he decided that he must have reached the +neighborhood of the farm. There was, however, nothing to indicate that +he had done so. He could see only a few yards; the snow had all been +smooth and unbroken near the hollow, he could distinguish no difference +between any one part of it and the rest; and he recognized the risk he +took when he turned his back on his last guide and struggled forward +into the waste. + +Walking became more difficult, the wind was getting stronger, and there +was no sign of the shack. Perhaps he had gone too far to the south. +He inclined to the right, but that brought him to nothing that might +serve as a guide; there was only smooth snow and the white haze +whirling round him. He turned more to the right, growing desperately +afraid, stopped once or twice to ascertain by the way the snow drove +past whether he was wandering from his course, and plodded on again +savagely. At last something began to crackle beneath his feet. +Stooping down, he saw that it was stubble, and he became sensible of a +vast relief. He could not be more than a few minutes walk from the +shack. + +It was only three or four yards off when he saw it, and on entering he +had difficulty in closing the rickety door. Then, when he had taken +off his heavy mittens, it cost him some trouble to find and strike a +match with his half-frozen hands. Holding up the light, he glanced +eagerly at a shelf and saw the two letters he had expected; there was +no mistaking the writing and the English stamps. He thrust them safely +into a pocket beneath his furs when the match went out and struck +another, for his next step required consideration. + +The feeble radiance traveled round the little room, showing the rent, +board walls and the beams rough from the saw that supported the cedar +roofing shingles. A little snow had sifted in and lay on the floor; +there was a rusty stove at one end, but no lamp or fuel, and the hay +and blankets had been removed from the wooden bunk. Still, as George +was warmly clad and had space to move about, he could pass the night +there. The roar of the wind about the frail building rendered the +prospects of the return journey strongly discouraging. He might, +however, be detained all the next day by the snow; but what chiefly +urged him to face the risk of starting for the homestead was his +inability to read his letters. The sight of them had sent a thrill +through him, which had banished all sense of the stinging cold. He had +eagerly looked forward to a brief visit to the old country, and Sylvia +had, no doubt, bidden him come. It was delightful to picture her +welcome, and the evenings they would spend in Muriel Lansing's pretty +drawing-room while he told her what he had done and unfolded his plans +for the future. He could brook no avoidable delay in reading her +message, and, nerving himself for a struggle, he set out again. + +The shack vanished the moment he left it. The snow was thicker; and, +floundering heavily through the storm, George had almost given up the +attempt to find the ravine, when he fell violently into a clearer part +of it. Then he gathered courage, for the bluff was large and would be +difficult to miss; but it did not appear when he expected it. He was +breathless, nearly blinded, and on the verge of exhaustion, when he +crashed into a dwarf birch and, looking up half dazed, saw an +indistinct mass of larger trees. He had now a guide, but it was hard +to follow, with his strength fast falling and the savage wind buffeting +him. He had stopped a moment, gasping, when something emerged from the +driving snow. It was moving; it looked like a team with a sledge or +wagon, and he thought that his companions had come in search of him. +He cried out, but there was no answer, and though he tried to run, the +beasts vanished as strangely as they had appeared. + +They had, however, left their tracks, coming up from the south, where +the settlement lay, and this convinced him that they had not been +driven by Edgar or Grierson. He made an attempt to overtake them and, +falling, went on again, wondering a little who the strangers could be; +though this was not a matter of much consequence. If they had blankets +or driving-robes, they might pass the night without freezing in the +bluff, where there was fuel; but George was most clearly conscious of +the urgent need for his reaching the homestead before his strength gave +out. + +At last he struck the beaten trail which had fortunately not yet been +drifted up, and after keeping to it for a while he saw a faint twinkle +of light in front of him. A voice answered his shout and when he +stopped, keeping on his feet with difficulty and utterly worn out, a +team came up, blurred and indistinct, out of the driving snow. After +that somebody seized him and pushed him toward an empty sledge. + +"Get down out of the wind; here's the fur robe!" cried a voice he +recognized. "We came back as soon as we had thrown off the load." + +George remembered very little about the remainder of the journey, but +at last the sledge stopped where a warm glow of light shone out into +the snow. Getting up with some trouble he reached the homestead door +and walked heavily into the room where he sank, gasping, into a chair. +He felt faint and dizzy, he could scarcely breathe; but those +sensations grew less troublesome as he recovered from the violent +change of temperature. Throwing off his furs, he noticed that Flett +sat smoking near the stove. + +"Here's some coffee," said the constable. "It's pretty lucky Grierson +found you. I can't remember a worse night." + +George drank the coffee. He still felt heavy and partly dazed; his +mind was lethargic, and his hands and feet tingled painfully with the +returning warmth. He knew that there was something he ought to tell +Flett, but it was a few minutes before he could think clearly. + +"I met a team near the bluff and lost it again almost immediately," he +mumbled finally. + +Flett's face became intent. + +"Did the men who were with it see you? Which way were they going?" + +"No," said George sleepily. "Anyway, though I called I didn't get an +answer. I think they were going west." + +"And there's no homestead for several leagues, except Langside's shack. +They'll camp there sure." + +"I don't see why they shouldn't," George remarked with languid +indifference. + +"Hasn't it struck you why those fellows should be heading into waste +prairie on a night like this? Guess what they've got in the wagon's a +good enough reason. If the snow's not too bad, they'll pull out for +the Indian reservation soon as it's light to-morrow." + +"You think they have liquor with them?" asked George. + +Flett nodded and walked toward the door, and George felt the sudden +fall of temperature and heard the scream of the wind. In a minute or +two, however, the constable reappeared with Edgar. + +"I'd get them sure; they're in the shack right now," Flett declared. + +"You would never find it," Edgar remonstrated. "We had hard enough +work to strike the homestead, and we were on a beaten trail, which will +have drifted up since then. You'll have to drop the idea--it's quite +impossible." + +"It's blamed hard luck," grumbled Flett. "I may trail the fellows, but +I certainly won't get them with the liquor right in the wagon, as it +will be now, and without something of that kind it's mighty hard to +secure a conviction. I've no use for the average jury; what we want is +power to drop on to a man without any fuss or fooling and fix him so he +won't make more trouble." + +"It's fortunate you'll never get it," Edgar remarked. "I've a notion +it would be a dangerous thing to trust even a Northwest policeman with. +You're not all quite perfect yet." + +Then George, recovering from his lethargy, remembered the letters and +eagerly opened the one from Sylvia. It consisted of a few sentences in +which she carelessly told him that if he came over he would not see +her, as she was going to Egypt with Herbert and Muriel. The hint of +regret that her journey could not be put off looked merely +conventional, but she said he might make his visit in the early summer, +as she would have returned by then. + +George's face hardened as he read it, for the disappointment was +severe. He thought that Sylvia might have remembered that he could not +leave the farm after spring had begun. The man felt wounded and, for +once, inclined to bitterness. His optimistic faith, which idealized +its object, was bound to bring him suffering when dispelled by +disillusion; offering sincere homage to all that seemed most worthy, he +had not learned tolerance. Though his appreciation was quick and +generous, he must believe in what he admired, and it was, perhaps, a +misfortune that he was unable to recognize shortcomings with cynical +good-humor. He could distinguish white from black--the one stood for +spotless purity, the other was very dark indeed--but his somewhat +restricted vision took no account of the more common intermediate +shades. + +For all that, he was incapable of seriously blaming Sylvia. Her letter +had hurt him, but he began to make excuses for her, and several that +seemed satisfactory presented themselves; then, feeling a little +comforted, he opened the letter from Herbert with some anxiety. When +he read it, he let it drop upon the table and set his lips tight. His +cousin informed him that it would be most injudicious to raise any +money just then by selling shares, as he had been requested to do. +Those he had bought on George's account had depreciated in an +unexpected manner and the markets were stagnant. George, he said, must +carry on his farming operations as economically as possible, until the +turn came. + +"Bad news?" said Edgar sympathetically. + +"Yes. I'll have to cut out several plans I'd made for spring; in fact, +I don't quite see how I'm to go on working on a profitable scale. +We'll have to do without the extra bunch of stock I was calculating on; +and I'm not sure I can experiment with that quick-ripening wheat. +There are a number of other things we'll have to dispense with." + +"We'll pull through by some means," Edgar rejoined encouragingly, and +George got up. + +"I feel rather worn out," he said. "I think I'll go to sleep." + +He walked wearily from the room, crumpling up the letters he had risked +his life to secure. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +GRANT COMES TO THE RESCUE + +The storm had raged for twenty-four hours, but it had now passed, and +it was a calm night when a little party sat in George's living-room. +Outside, the white prairie lay still and silent under the Arctic frost, +but there was no breath of wind stirring and the room was comfortably +warm. A big stove glowed in the middle of it, and the atmosphere was +permeated with the smell of hot iron, stale tobacco, and the exudations +from resinous boards. + +Grant and his daughter had called when driving back from a distant +farm, and Trooper Flett had returned to the homestead after a futile +search for the liquor smugglers. He was not characterized by mental +brilliancy, but his persevering patience atoned for that, and his +superior officers considered him a sound and useful man. Sitting +lazily in an easy chair after a long day's ride in the nipping frost, +he discoursed upon the situation. + +"Things aren't looking good," he said. "We've had two cases of +cattle-killing in the last month, besides some horses missing, and a +railroad contractor knocked senseless with an empty bottle; and +nobody's locked up yet." + +"I don't think you have any reason to be proud of it," Edgar broke in. + +Flett spread out his hands in expostulation. + +"It's not our fault. I could put my hands on half a dozen men who're +at the bottom of the trouble; but what would be the use of that, when +the blamed jury would certainly let them off? In a case of this kind, +our system of justice is mighty apt to break down. It's a pet idea of +mine." + +"How would you propose to alter it?" Edgar asked, to lead him on. + +"If we must have a jury, I'd like to pick them, and they'd be men who'd +lost some stock. You could depend on them." + +"There's something to be said for that," Grant admitted with a dry +smile. + +"This is how we're fixed," Flett went on. "We're up against a small, +but mighty smart, hard crowd; we know them all right, but we can't get +after them. You must make good all you say in court, and we can't get +folks to help us. They'd rather mind the store, have a game of pool, +or chop their cordwood." + +"I can think of a few exceptions," Edgar said. "Mrs. Nelson, for +example. One could hardly consider her apathetic." + +"That woman's dangerous! When we were working up things against +Beamish, she must make him look like a persecuted victim. She goes too +far; the others won't go far enough. Guess they're afraid of getting +hurt." + +"You couldn't say that of Mr. Hardie," Flora objected. + +"No. But some of his people would like to fire him, and he's going to +have trouble about his pay. Anyhow, this state of things is pretty +hard on us. There's no use in bringing a man up when you've only got +unwilling witnesses." + +"What you want is a dramatic conviction," said Edgar sympathetically. + +"Sure. It's what we're working for, and we'd get it if everybody +backed us up as your partner and Mr. Grant are doing." He turned to +George. "My coming back here is a little rough on you." + +George smiled. + +"I dare say it will be understood by the opposition, but I don't mind. +It looks as if I were a marked man already." + +A few minutes later Flett went out to attend to his horse; George took +Grant into a smaller room which he used for an office; and Edgar and +Flora were left alone. The girl sat beside the stove, with a +thoughtful air, and Edgar waited for her to speak. Flora inspired him +with an admiration which was largely tinged with respect, though, being +critical, he sometimes speculated about the cause for this. She was +pretty, but her style of beauty was rather severe. She had fine eyes +and clearly-cut features, but her face was a little too reposeful and +her expression usually somewhat grave; he preferred animation and a +dash of coquetry. Her conversation was to the point--she had a way of +getting at the truth of a matter--but there was nevertheless a certain +reserve in it and he thought it might have been more sparkling. He had +discovered some time ago that adroit flattery and hints that his +devotion was hers to command only afforded her calm amusement. + +"Mr. Lansing looks a little worried," she said at length. + +"It strikes me as only natural," Edgar replied, "He has had a steer +killed since the rustlers shot the bull; we have foiled one or two more +attempts only by keeping a good lookout, and he knows that he lies open +to any new attack that may be made on him. His position isn't what you +could call comfortable." + +"I hardly think that would disturb your comrade very much." + +Edgar saw that she would not be put off with an inadequate explanation, +and he was a little surprised that she did not seem to mind displaying +her interest in George. + +"Then," he said, "for another thing, he's disappointed about having to +give up an English visit he had looked forward to." + +He saw a gleam that suggested comprehension in her eyes. + +"You mean that he is badly disappointed?" + +"Yes," said Edgar; "I really think he is." + +He left her to make what she liked of this, and he imagined that there +was something to be inferred from it. He thought it might be wise to +give her a hint that George's affections were already engaged. + +"Besides," he resumed, "it's no secret that the loss of his harvest hit +him pretty hard. We'll have to curtail our spring operation in several +ways and study economy." + +Flora glanced toward the door of the room her father had entered with +George. Edgar thought she had done so unconsciously; but it was +somewhat suggestive, though he could not see what it implied. + +"Well," she said, "I'm inclined to believe that he'll get over his +difficulties." + +"So am I," Edgar agreed. "George isn't easy to defeat." + +In the meanwhile Grant sat in the next room, smoking thoughtfully and +asking George rather direct questions about his farming. + +"I've made some inquiries about that new wheat your English botanist +friend reported on," he said at length. "Our experimental farm people +strongly recommend it, and there's a man I wrote to who can't say +enough in its favor. You'll sow it this spring?" + +"I'm afraid I'll have to stick to the common kinds," George said +gloomily. "I've a pretty big acreage to crop and that special seed is +remarkably dear." + +"That's so," Grant agreed. "As a matter of fact, they haven't quite +made their arrangements for putting it on the market yet, and the +surest way to get some is to bid for a round lot. After what I'd +heard, I wired a Winnipeg agent and he has promised to send me on what +looks like more than I can use. Now I'll be glad to let you have as +much as you want for your lightest land." + +George felt grateful. He did not think that this methodical man had +made any careless mistake over his order; but he hesitated. + +"Thanks," he said. "Still, it doesn't get over the main difficulty." + +"I guess it does. You would have had to pay money down for the seed, +and I'll be glad to let the thing stand over until you have thrashed +out. The price doesn't count; you can give me back as many bushels as +you get." + +"Then," said George with a slight flush, "you're more generous than +wise. They haven't produced a wheat yet that will stand drought and +hail. Suppose I have another year like last? I'm sorry I can't let +you run this risk." + +"We'll quit pretending. I owe a little to the country that has made me +what I am, and these new hardy wheats are going to play a big part in +its development. I want to see them tried on the poorest land." + +"That's a good reason. I believe it goes some way, but I hardly think +it accounts for everything." + +His companion looked at him with fixed directness. + +"Then, if you must be satisfied, you're my neighbor; you have had +blamed hard luck and I like the way you're standing up to it. If +anybody's on meaner soil than yours I want to see it. Anyway, here's +the seed; take what you need, pay me back when you're able. Guess +you're not too proud to take a favor that's gladly offered." + +"I'd be a most ungrateful brute if I refused," George replied with +feeling. + +"That's done with," Grant said firmly; and soon afterward he and George +returned to the other room. + +After a while he went out with Edgar to look at a horse, and George +turned to Flora. + +"Your father has taken a big weight off my mind, and I'm afraid I +hardly thanked him," he said. + +"Then it was a relief?" she asked, and it failed to strike him as +curious that she seemed to know what he was alluding to. + +"Yes," he declared; "I feel ever so much more confident now that I can +get that seed. The fact that it was offered somehow encouraged me." + +"You never expected anything of the kind? I've sometimes thought +you're apt to stand too much alone. You don't attach enough importance +to your friends." + +"Perhaps not," admitted George. "I've been very wrong in this +instance; but I suppose one naturally prefers to hide one's +difficulties." + +"I don't think the feeling's universal. But you would, no doubt, be +more inclined to help other people out of their troubles." + +George looked a little embarrassed, and she changed the subject with a +laugh. + +"Come and see us when you can find the time. On the last occasion, you +sent your partner over." + +"I'd made an appointment with an implement man when I got your father's +note. Anyway, I should have fancied that Edgar would have made a +pretty good substitute." + +"Mr. West is a favorite of ours; he's amusing and excellent company, as +far as he goes." + +Her tone conveyed a hint that Edgar had his limitations and he was not +an altogether satisfactory exchange for his partner; but George laughed. + +"He now and then goes farther than I would care to venture." + +Flora looked at him with faint amusement. + +"Yes," she said. "That's one of the differences between you; you're +not assertive. It has struck me that you don't always realize your +value." + +"Would you like one to insist on it?" + +"Oh," she said, "there's a happy medium; but I'm getting rather +personal, and I hear the others coming." + +She drove away a little later, and when Flett had gone to bed George +and Edgar sat talking a while beside the stove. + +"Grant's a staunch friend, and I'm more impressed with Flora every time +I see her," said the lad. "She's pleasant to talk to, she can harness +and handle a team with any one; but for all that, you recognize a trace +of what I can only call the grand manner in her. Though I understand +that she has been to the old country, it's rather hard to see how she +got it." + +George signified agreement. Miss Grant was undoubtedly characterized +by a certain grace and now and then by an elusive hint of stateliness. +It was a thing quite apart from self-assertion; a gracious quality, +which he had hitherto noticed only in the bearing of a few elderly +English ladies of station. + +"I suppose you thanked her for that seed?" Edgar resumed. + +"I said I was grateful to her father." + +"I've no doubt you took the trouble to mark the distinction. It might +have been more considerate if you had divided your gratitude." + +"What do you mean?" + +"It's hardly likely that the idea of helping you in that particular way +originated with Alan Grant, though I shouldn't be surprised if he had +been allowed to think it did." + +George looked surprised and Edgar laughed. + +"You needn't mind. It's most improbable that Miss Grant either wished +or expected you to understand. She's a very intelligent young lady." + +"It strikes me that you talk too much," George said severely. + +He went out, feeling a little disturbed by what Edgar had told him, but +unable to analyze his sensations. Putting on his furs, he proceeded to +look around the stable, as he had fallen into a habit of doing before +he went to rest. There was a clear moon in the sky, and although the +black shadow of the buildings stretched out across the snow, George on +approaching one noticed a few footprints that led toward it. There +were numerous other tracks about, but he thought that those he was +looking at had been made since he had last entered the house. This, +however, did not surprise him, for Flett had recently visited the +stable. + +On entering the building, George stopped to feel for a lantern which +was kept on a shelf near the door. The place was very dark and +pleasantly warm by contrast with the bitter frost outside, and he could +smell the peppermint in the prairie hay. Familiar sounds reached +him--the soft rattle of a shaking rope, the crackle of crushed +straw--but they were rather more numerous than usual, and while he +listened one or two of the horses began to move restlessly. + +The lantern was not to be found; George wondered whether Flett had +carelessly forgotten to replace it. He felt his way from stall to +stall, letting his hand fall on the hind quarters of the horses as he +passed. They were all in their places, including Flett's gray, which +lashed out at him when he touched it; there was nothing to excite +suspicion, but when he reached the end of the row he determined to +strike a match and look for the lantern. He was some time feeling for +the match-box under his furs, and while he did so he heard a soft +rustling in the stall nearest the door. This was curious, for the +stall, being a cold one, was unoccupied, and there was something +significantly stealthy in the sound; but it ceased, and while he +listened with strained attention a horse moved and snorted. Then, +while he fumbled impatiently at a button of his skin coat which would +not come loose, an icy draught stole into the building. + +It was obvious that the door was open; he had left it shut. + +Breaking off his search for the matches, he made toward the entrance +and sprang out. There was nobody upon the moonlit snow, and the +shadows were hardly deep enough to conceal a lurking man. He ran +toward the end of the rather long building; but, as it happened, he had +to make a round to avoid a stack of wood and a wagon on the way. When +he turned the corner, the other side of the stable was clear in the +moonlight and, so far as he could see, the snow about it was untrodden. +It looked as if he had made for the wrong end of the building, and he +retraced his steps toward a barn that stood near its opposite +extremity. Running around it, he saw nobody, nor any footprints that +seemed to have been recently made; and while he stood wondering what he +should do next, Grierson appeared between him and the house. + +"Were you in the stables a minute or two ago?" George called to him, + +"No," said the other approaching. "I'd just come out for some wood +when I saw you run round the barn." + +George gave him a brief explanation, and the man looked about. + +"Perhaps we'd better search the buildings; if there was any stranger +prowling round, he might have dodged you in the shadow. It's hardly +likely he'd make for the prairie; the first clump of brush big enough +to hide a man is a quarter of a mile off." + +They set about the search, but found nobody, and George stopped outside +the last building with a puzzled frown on his face. + +"It's very strange," he said. "I left the door shut; I couldn't be +mistaken." + +"Look!" cried Grierson, clutching his arm. "There's no mistaking about +that!" + +Turning sharply, George saw a dim mounted figure cross the crest of a +low rise some distance away and vanish beyond it. + +"The fellow must have run straight for the poplar scrub, keeping the +house between you and him," Grierson explained. "He'd have left his +horse among the brush." + +"I suppose that was it," George said angrily. "As there's no chance of +overtaking him, we'll have a look at the horses, with a light, and then +let Flett know." + +There was nothing wrong in the stable, where they found the lantern +George had looked for flung down in the empty stall, and in a very +short space of time after they had called him Flett appeared. He +walked round the buildings and examined some of the footprints with a +light, and then he turned to George. + +"Looks like an Indian by his stride," he said. "Guess I'll have to +saddle up and start." + +"You could hardly come up with the fellow; he'll have struck into one +of the beaten trails, so as to leave no tracks," Edgar pointed out. + +"That's so," said Flett. "I don't want to come up with him. It +wouldn't be any use when your partner and Grierson couldn't swear to +the man." + +"What could have been his object?" George asked. "He seems to have +done no harm." + +"He wanted to see if my gray was still in the stable," Flett said +dryly. "His friends have some business they'd sooner I didn't butt +into fixed up somewhere else." + +"But you have no idea where?" + +"I haven't; that's the trouble. There are three or four different +trails I'd like to watch, and I quite expect to strike the wrong one. +Then, if the man knows you saw him, he might take his friends warning +to change their plans. All the same, I'll get off." + +He rode away shortly afterward, and as the others went back toward the +house Edgar laughed. + +"I don't think being a police trooper has many attractions in winter," +he remarked. "Hiding in a bluff for several hours with the temperature +forty degrees below, on the lookout for fellows who have probably gone +another way, strikes me as a very unpleasant occupation." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE SPREAD OF DISORDER + +Flett spent a bitter night, keeping an unavailing watch among the +willows where a lonely trail dipped into a ravine. Not a sound broke +the stillness of the white prairie, and realizing that the men he +wished to surprise had taken another path, he left his hiding-place +shortly before daylight. He was almost too cold and stiff to mount; +but as his hands and feet tingled painfully, it was evident that they +had escaped frostbite, and that was something to be thankful for. + +Reaching an outlying farm, he breakfasted and rested a while, after +which he rode on to the Indian reservation, where he found signs of +recent trouble. A man to whom he was at first refused access lay with +a badly battered face in a shack which stood beside a few acres of +roughly broken land; another man suffering from what looked like an ax +wound sat huddled in dirty blankets in a teepee. It was obvious that a +fight, which Flett suspected was the result of a drunken orgy, had been +in progress not long before; but he could find no liquor nor any man +actually under its influence, though the appearance of several +suggested that they were recovering from a debauch. He discovered, +however, in a poplar thicket the hide of a steer, from which a recent +breeze had swept its covering of snow. This was a serious matter, and +though the brand had been removed, Flett identified the skin as having +belonged to an animal reported to him as missing. + +He had now, when dusk was approaching, two charges of assault and one +of cattle-killing to make, and it would not be prudent to remain upon +the reservation during the night with anybody he arrested. The Indians +were in a sullen, threatening mood; it was difficult to extract any +information, and Flett was alone. He was, however, not to be daunted +by angry looks or ominous mutterings, and by persistently questioning +the injured men he learned enough to warrant his making two arrests; +though he decided that the matter of the hide must be dropped for the +present. + +It was in a state of nervous tension that he mounted and drove his +prisoners on a few paces in front of him. If he could get them into +the open, he thought he would be safe, but the reservation was, for the +most part, a tract of brush and bluff, pierced by ravines, among which +he half expected an attempt would be made to facilitate their escape. +For all that, he was, so far as appearances went, very calm and grim +when he set out, and his prisoners, being ahead, did not notice that he +searched each taller patch of brush they entered with apprehensive +glances. Nor did they see his hand drop to his pistol-butt when +something moved in the bushes as they went down the side of a dark +declivity. + +There was, however, no interference, and he felt more confident when he +rode out into the moonlight which flooded the glittering prairie. Here +he could deal with any unfavorable developments; but it was several +leagues to the nearest shelter, and the Indians did not seem inclined +to travel fast. The half-frozen constable would gladly have walked, +only that he felt more master of the situation upon his horse. Mile +after mile, they crossed the vast white waste, without a word being +spoken, except when the shivering man sternly bade his prisoners, "Get +on!" + +Hand-cuffed as they were, he dare not relax his vigilance nor let them +fall back too near him; and he had spent the previous night in the +bitter frost. At times he felt painfully drowsy, but he had learned to +overcome most bodily weaknesses, and his eyes only left the dark, +plodding figures in front of him when he swept a searching glance +across the plain. Nothing moved on it, and only the soft crunch of +snow broke the dreary silence. At last, a cluster of low buildings +rose out of the waste, and soon afterward Flett got down with +difficulty and demanded shelter. The rudely awakened farmer gave him +the use of his kitchen, in which a stove was burning; and while the +Indians went to sleep on the floor, Flett, choosing an uncomfortable +upright chair, lighted his pipe and sat down to keep another vigil. +When dawn broke, his eyes were still open, though his face was a little +haggard and very weary. + +He obtained a conviction for assault; but, as the charges of +cattle-killing and being in possession of liquor had to be dropped, +this was small consolation. It left the men he considered responsible +absolutely untouched. + +Afterward, he played a part in other somewhat similar affairs, for +offenses were rapidly becoming more numerous among both Indians and +mean whites; but in spite of his efforts the gang he suspected managed +to evade the grip of the law. Flett, however, was far from despairing; +he waited his time and watched. + +While he did so, spring came, unusually early. A warm west wind swept +the snow away and for a week or two the softened prairie was almost +impassable to vehicles. Then the wind veered to the northwest with +bright sunshine, the soil began to dry, and George set out on a visit +to Brandon where he had some business to transact. + +Reaching Sage Butte in the afternoon, he found it suffering from the +effects of the thaw. A swollen creek had converted the ground on one +side of the track into a shallow lake; the front street resembled a +muskeg, furrowed deep by sinking wheels. The vehicles outside the +hotels were covered with sticky mire; the high, plank sidewalks were +slippery with it, and foot passengers when forced to leave them sank +far up their long boots; one or two of the stores were almost cut off +by the pools. It rained between gleams of sunshine, and masses of dark +cloud rolled by above the dripping town and wet prairie, which had +turned a dingy gray. + +As he was proceeding along one sidewalk, George met Hardie, and it +struck him that the man was looking dejected and worn. + +"Will you come back with me and wait for supper?" he asked. "I'd be +glad of a talk." + +"I think not," said George. "You're on the far side of the town and +there are two streets to cross; you see, I'm going to Brandon, and I'll +take enough gumbo into the cars with me, as it is. Then my train +leaves in half an hour. I suppose I mustn't ask you to come into the +Queen's?" + +"No," said the clergyman. "Our old guard won't tolerate the smallest +compromise with the enemy, and there's a good deal to be said for their +point of view. After all, half-measures have seldom much result; a man +must be one thing or another. But we might try the new waiting-room at +the station." + +The little room proved to be dry and comparatively clean, besides being +furnished with nicely made and comfortable seats. Leaning back in one +near the stove, George turned to his companion. + +"How are things going round here?" he asked. + +"Very much as I expected; we tried and failed to apply a check in time, +and of late we have had a regular outbreak of lawlessness. At first +sight, it's curious, considering that three-fourths of the inhabitants +of the district are steady, industrious folk, and a proportion of the +rest are capable of being useful citizens." + +"Then how do you account for the disorder?" + +Hardie looked thoughtful. + +"I suppose we all have a tendency to follow a lead, which is often +useful in an organized state of society; though it depends on the lead. +By way of counter-balance, we have a certain impatience of restraint. +Granting this, you can see that when the general tone of a place is one +of sobriety and order, people who have not much love for either find it +more or less easy to conform. But, if you set them a different +example, one that slackens restrictions instead of imposing them, +they'll follow it, and it somehow seems to be the rule that the +turbulent element exerts the stronger influence. Anyway, it becomes +the more prominent. You hear of the fellow who steals a horse in a +daring manner; the man who quietly goes on with his plowing excites no +notice." + +"One must agree with that," George replied. "Popular feeling's fickle; +a constant standard is needed to adjust it by." + +Hardie smiled. + +"It was given us long ago. But I can't believe that there's much +general sympathy with these troublesome fellows. What I complain of is +popular apathy; nobody feels it his business to interfere; though this +state of things can't continue. The patience of respectable people +will wear out; and then one can look for drastic developments." + +"In the meanwhile, the other crowd are having their fling." + +Hardie nodded. + +"That's unfortunately true, though the lawbreakers have now and then +come off second-best. A few days ago, Wilkie, the station-agent, was +sitting in his office when a man who had some grievance against the +railroad walked up to the window. Wilkie told him he must send his +claim to Winnipeg, and the fellow retorted that he would have +satisfaction right away out of the agent's hide. With that, he climbed +in through the window; and I must confess to a feeling of satisfaction +when I heard that he left the station in need of medical assistance. A +week earlier, Taunton, of the store, was walking home along the track +in the dark after collecting some of his accounts, when a man jumped +out from behind a stock of ties with a pistol and demanded his wallet. +Taunton, taken by surprise, produced a wad of bills, but the thief was +a little too eager or careless in seizing them, for Taunton grabbed the +pistol and got his money back. After that, he marched the man three +miles along the track and into his store. I don't know what happened +then, but I heard that there were traces of a pretty lively scuffle." + +George laughed, but his companion continued more gravely: + +"Then we have had a number of small disturbances when the men from the +new link line came into town--they've graded the track to within a few +miles now--and I hold Beamish responsible; they haven't encouraged +these fellows at the Queen's. In fact, I mean to walk over and try to +get a few words with them as soon as I leave you." + +"One would hardly think Saturday evening a very good time," George +commented. + +His train came in shortly afterward, and when it had gone Hardie went +home for a rubber coat, and then took the trail leading out of the +settlement. He was forced to trudge through the tangled grass beside +it because the soft gumbo soil stuck to his boots in great black lumps, +and the patches of dwarf brush through which he must smash made +progress laborious. After a while, however, he saw a long trail of +black smoke ahead, and sounds of distant activity grew steadily louder. + +There was an angry red glare on the western horizon, though the light +was beginning to fade, when he reached the end of the new line and +found a crowd of men distributing piles of gravel and spiking down the +rails which ran back, gleaming in the sunset, lurid, straight and +level, across the expanse of grass, until they were lost in the shadowy +mass of a bluff. Near the men stood a few jaded teams and miry wagons; +farther on a row of freight-cars occupied a side-track, a little smoke +rising from the stacks on the roofs of one or two. Their doors were +open, and on passing, Hardie noticed the dirty blue blankets and the +litter of wet clothing in the rude bunks. As he approached the last +car, which served as store and office, a man sprang down upon the line. +He wore wet long boots and an old rubber coat stained with soil, but +there was a stamp of authority upon his bronzed face. + +"How are you getting on, Mr. Farren?" Hardie inquired. + +"Slowly," said the other; "can't catch up on schedule contract time. +We've had rain and heavy soil ever since we began. The boys have been +giving me some trouble, too." + +"You won't mind my having a few words with them?" + +"Why, no," said Farren. "Guess they need it; but I'm most afraid +you'll be wasting time. The Scandinavians, who're quiet enough and +might agree with you, can't understand, and it's quite likely that the +crowd you want to get at won't listen. Anyway, you can try it after +they've dubbed the load off the gravel train; she's coming now." + +He pointed toward a smear of smoke that trailed away across the +prairie. It grew rapidly blacker and nearer, and presently a grimy +locomotive with a long string of clattering cars behind it came down +the uneven track. It had hardly stopped when the sides of the low cars +dropped, and a plow moved forward from one to another, hurling off +masses of gravel that fell with a roar. Then the train, backing out, +came to a standstill again, and a swarm of men became busy about the +line. Dusk was falling, but the blaze of the great electric light on +the locomotive streamed along the track. While Hardie stood watching, +half a dozen men dropped their tools and walked up to his companion. + +"We're through with our lot," announced one. "We're going to the Butte +and we'll trouble you for a sub of two dollars a man." + +"You won't get it," said Farren shortly. "I want the ties laid on the +next load." + +"Then you can send somebody else to fix them. We're doing more than we +booked for." + +"You're getting paid for it." + +"Shucks!" said the other contemptuously. "What we want is an evening +at the Butte; and we're going to have it! Hand over the two dollars." + +"No, sir," said Farren. "I've given in once or twice and I've got no +work out of you for most two days afterward. You can quit tie-laying, +if you insist; but you'll get no money until pay-day." + +One of the men pulled out his watch. + +"Boys," he said, "if we stop here talking, there won't be much time +left for a jag when we make the Butte. Are you going to let him bluff +you?" + +The growl from the others was ominous. They had been working long +hours at high pressure in the rain, and had suffered in temper. One of +them strode forward and grasped Farren's shoulder. + +"Now," he demanded, "hand out! It's our money." + +There was only one course open to Farren. His position was not an easy +one, and if he yielded, his authority would be gone. + +His left arm shot out and the man went down with a crash. Then the +others closed with him and a savage struggle began. + +Hardie laid hold of a man who had picked up an iron bar, and managed to +wrest it from him, but another struck him violently on the head, and he +had a very indistinct idea of what went on during the next minute or +two. There was a struggling knot of men pressed against the side of +the car, but it broke up when more figures came running up and one man +cried out sharply as he was struck by a heavy lump of gravel. Then +Hardie found himself kneeling beside Farren, who lay senseless near the +wheels with the blood running down his set white face. Behind him +stood the panting locomotive engineer, trying to hold back the growing +crowd. + +"Looks pretty bad," he said. "What's to be done with him?" + +"We had better get him into his bunk," directed Hardie. "Then I'll +make for the Butte as fast as I can and bring the doctor out." + +"It would take two hours," objected the engineer, as he gently removed +Farren's hat. "Strikes me as a mighty ugly gash; the thing must be +looked to right away. If I let her go, throttle wide, we ought to make +Carson in half an hour, and they've a smart doctor there." He said +something to his fireman and added: "Get hold; we'll take him along." + +It looked as if the outbreak had not met with general approval, for a +number of the bystanders offered their help and the injured man was +carefully carried to the locomotive. + +"I'll run the cars along as far as the gravel pit; then I can book the +journey," the engineer said to Hardie. "But as I can't get off at the +other end, you'll have to come along." + +Hardie wondered how he would get back, but that was not a matter of +great consequence, though he had to preach at Sage Butte in the +morning, and he climbed up when Farren had been lifted into the cab. +Then he sat down on the floor plates and rested the unconscious man's +head and shoulders against his knees as the engine began to rock +furiously. Nothing was said for a while; the uproar made by the +banging cars would have rendered speech inaudible, but when they had +been left behind, the engineer looked at Hardie. + +"In a general way, it's not the thing to interfere in a row with a +boss," he said. "Still, four to two, with two more watching out for a +chance to butt in, is pretty steep odds, and Farren's a straight man. +I felt quite good when I hit one of those fellows with a big lump of +gravel." + +Hardie could understand his sensations and did not rebuke him. So far +as his experience went, the western locomotive crews were of an +excellent type, and he was willing to admit that there were occasions +when the indignation of an honest man might be expressed in vigorous +action. + +"It was really four to one, which makes the odds heavier," he said. + +"I guess not," rejoined the engineer with a smile. "You were laying +into one of them pretty lively as I ran up." + +Hardie felt a little disconcerted. Having been partly dazed by the +blow he had received, he had no clear recollection of the part he had +taken in the scrimmage, though he had been conscious of burning anger +when Farren was struck down. It was, however, difficult to believe +that the engineer had been mistaken, because the locomotive lamp had +lighted the track brilliantly. + +"Anyway, one of them put his mark on you," resumed his companion. "Did +you notice it, Pete?" + +"Sure," said the grinning fireman; "big lump on his right cheek." He +fumbled in a box and handed a tool to Hardie. "Better hold that +spanner to it, if you're going to preach to-morrow. But how's Farren?" + +"No sign of consciousness. The sooner we can get him into a doctor's +hands, the better." + +"Stir her up," ordered the engineer, and nodded when his comrade swung +back the fire-door and hurled in coal. Then he turned to Hardie. +"We're losing no time. She's running to beat the Imperial Limited +clip, and the track's not worked down yet into its bed." + +Hardie, looking about for a few moments, thought the speed could not +safely be increased. There was a scream of wind about the cab, though +when he had stood upon the track the air had been almost still; a +bluff, which he knew was a large one, leaped up, hung over the line, +and rushed away behind; the great engine was rocking and jolting so +that he could hardly maintain his position, and the fireman shuffled +about with the erratic motion. Then Hardie busied himself trying to +protect Farren from the shaking, until the scream of the whistle broke +through the confused sounds and the pace diminished. The bell began to +toll, and, rising to his feet, Hardie saw a cluster of lights flitting +back toward him. Shortly afterward they stopped beside a half-built +row of elevators. + +"Guess you'll have to be back to-morrow," the engineer said. + +Hardie nodded. + +"I've been rather worried about it. It would take me all night to +walk." + +"That's so," agreed the other. "All you have to do is to see Farren +safe in the doctor's hands and leave the rest to me. I've got to have +some water, for one thing." He turned to his fireman. "We'll put in +that new journal babbit; she's not running sweet." + +The clergyman was inclined to believe that the repair was not strictly +needed, though it would account for a delay; but one or two of the +station hands had reached the engine and, following instructions, they +lifted Farren down, and wheeled him on a baggage truck to the doctor's +house. The doctor seemed to have no doubt of the man's recovery but +said that he must not be moved again for a day or two; and Hardie went +back to the station, reassured and less troubled than he had been for +some time. The attitude of the engineer, fireman, and construction +gang, was encouraging. It confirmed his belief that the lawless +element was tolerated rather than regarded with sympathy, and the +patience of the remainder of the community would become exhausted +before long. Though he admitted the influence of a bad example, he had +firm faith in the rank and file. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +A HARMLESS CONSPIRACY + +On the evening that George left for Brandon, Edgar drove over to the +Grant homestead. + +"It's Saturday night, my partner's gone, and I felt I deserved a little +relaxation," he explained. + +"It's something to be able to feel that; the men who opened up this +wheat-belt never got nor wanted anything of the kind," Grant rejoined. +"But as supper's nearly ready, you have come at the right time." + +Edgar turned to Flora. + +"Your father always makes me feel that I belong to a decadent age. One +can put up with it from him, because he's willing to live up to his +ideas, which is not a universal rule, so far as my experience of +moralizers goes. Anyhow, I'll confess that I'm glad to arrive in time +for a meal. The cooking at our place might be improved; George, I +regret to say, never seems to notice what he eats." + +"That's a pretty good sign," said Grant. + +"It strikes me as a failing for which I have to bear part of the +consequences." + +Flora laughed. + +"If you felt that you had to make an excuse for coming, couldn't you +have made a more flattering one?" + +"Ah!" said Edgar, "you have caught me out. But I could give you a +number of better reasons. It isn't my fault you resent compliments." + +Flora rose and they entered the room where the hired men were gathering +for the meal. When it was over, they returned to the smaller room and +found seats near an open window, Grant smoking, Flora embroidering, +while Edgar mused as he watched her. Dressed in some simple, +light-colored material, which was nevertheless tastefully cut, she made +an attractive picture in the plainly furnished room, the walls of which +made an appropriate frame of uncovered native pine, for he always +associated her and her father with the land to which they belonged. +There was nothing voluptuous in any line of the girl's face or figure; +the effect was chastely severe, and he knew that it conveyed a reliable +hint of her character. This was not marked by coldness, but rather by +an absence of superficial warmth. The calmness of her eyes spoke of +depth and balance. She was steadfast and consistent; a daughter of the +stern, snow-scourged North. + +Then he glanced at the prairie, which ran west, streaked with ochre +stubble in the foreground, then white and silvery gray, with neutral +smears of poplar bluffs, to the blaze of crimson where it cut the sky. +It was vast and lonely; at first sight a hard, forbidding land that +broke down the slack of purpose and drove out the sybarite. He had +sometimes shrunk from it, but it was slowly fastening its hold on him, +and he now understood how it molded the nature of its inhabitants. For +the most part, they were far from effusive; some of their ways were +primitive and perhaps slightly barbarous, but there was vigor and +staunchness in them. They stuck to the friends they had tried and were +admirable in action; it was when, as they said, they were up against it +that one learned most about the strong hearts of these men and women. + +"Lansing will be away some days," Grant said presently. "What are you +going to do next week?" + +"Put up the new fence, most likely. The land's a little soft for +plowing yet." + +"That's so. As you'll have no use for the teams, it would be a good +time to haul in some of the seed wheat. I've a carload coming out." + +"A carload!" exclaimed Edgar in surprise, remembering the large +carrying capacity of the Canadian freight-cars. "At the price they've +been asking, it must have cost you a pile." + +"It did," said Grant. "I generally try to get down to bed-rock figure, +but I don't mind paying it. The fellow who worked up that wheat +deserves his money." + +"You mean the seed's worth its price if the crop escapes the frost?" + +"That wasn't quite all I meant. I'm willing to pay the man for the +work he has put into it. Try to figure the cross fertilizations he +must have made, the varieties he's tried and cut out, and remember it +takes time to get a permanent strain, and wheat makes only one crop a +year. If the stuff's as good as it seems, the fellow's done something +he'll never be paid for. Anyway, he's welcome to my share." + +"There's no doubt about your admiration for hard work," declared Edgar. +"As it happens, you have found putting it into practise profitable, +which may have had some effect." + +Grant's eyes twinkled. + +"Now you have got hold of the wrong idea. You have raised a different +point." + +"Then, for instance, would you expect a hired man who had no interest +in the crop to work as hard as you would?" + +"Yes," Grant answered rather grimly; "I'd see he did. Though I don't +often pay more than I can help, I wouldn't blame him for screwing up +his wages to the last cent he could get; but if it was only half the +proper rate, he'd have to do his share. A man's responsible to the +country he's living in, not to his employer; the latter's only an +agent, and if he gets too big a commission, it doesn't affect the case." + +"It affects the workman seriously." + +"He and his master must settle that point between them," Grant paused +and spread out his hands forcibly. "You have heard what the country +west of old Fort Garby--it's Winnipeg now--was like thirty years ago. +Do you suppose all the men who made it what it is got paid for what +they did? Canada couldn't raise the money, and quite a few of them got +frozen to death." + +It struck Edgar as a rather stern doctrine, but he admitted the truth +of it; what was more, he felt that George and this farmer had many +views in common. Grant, however, changed the subject. + +"You had better take your two heavy teams in to the Butte on Monday; +I've ordered my freight there until the sandy trails get loose again. +Bring a couple of spare horses along. We'll load you up and you can +come in again." + +"Two Clover-leaf wagons will haul a large lot of seed in a double +journey." + +"It's quite likely you'll have to make a third. Don't you think you +ought to get this hauling done before Lansing comes home?" + +A light broke in on Edgar. Grant was, with some reason, occasionally +called hard; but he was always just, and it was evident that he could +be generous. He meant to make his gift complete before George could +protest. + +"Yes," acquiesced Edgar; "it would be better, because George might want +the teams, and for other reasons." + +The farmer nodded. + +"That's fixed. The agent has instructions to deliver." + +Edgar left the homestead an hour later and spent the Sunday resting, +because he knew that he would need all of his energy during the next +few days. At dawn on the following morning he and Grierson started for +Sage Butte, and on their arrival loaded the wagons and put up their +horses for the night. They set out again before sunrise and were glad +of the spare team when they came to places where all the horses could +scarcely haul one wagon through the soft black soil. There were other +spots where the graded road sloped steeply to the hollow out of which +it had been dug, and with the lower wheels sinking they had to hold up +the side of the vehicle. Great clods clung to the wheels; the men, +plodding at the horses' heads, could scarcely pull their feet out of +the mire, and they were thankful when they left the fences behind and +could seek a slightly sounder surface on the grass. + +Even here, progress was difficult. The stalks were tough and tangled +and mixed with stiff, dwarf scrub, which grew in some spots almost to +one's waist. There were little rises, and hollows into which the +wagons jolted violently, and here and there they must skirt a bluff or +strike back into the cut-up trail which traversed it. Toward noon they +reached a larger wood, where the trees crowded thick upon the track. +When Edgar floundered into it, there appeared to be no bottom. Getting +back to the grass, he surveyed the scene with strong disgust; he had +not quite got over his English fastidiousness. + +Leafless branches met above the trail, and little bays strewn with +trampled brush which showed where somebody had tried to force a drier +route, indented the ranks of slender trunks. Except for these, the +strip of sloppy black gumbo led straight through the wood, interspersed +with gleaming pools. Having seen enough, Edgar beckoned Grierson and +climbed a low hillock. The bluff was narrow where the road pierced it, +but it was long and the ground was rough and covered with a smaller +growth for some distance on its flanks. + +"There's no way of getting round," he said. "I suppose six horses +ought to haul one wagon through that sloo." + +"It looks a bit doubtful," Grierson objected. "We mightn't be able to +pull her out if she got in very deep. We could dump half the load and +come back for it." + +"And make four journeys? It's not to be thought of; two's a good deal +too many." + +They yoked the three teams to the first wagon, which promptly sank a +long way up its high wheels, and while the men waded nearly knee-deep +at their heads, the straining horses made thirty or forty yards. Then +Edgar sank over the top of his long boots and the hub of one wheel got +ominously low. + +"They've done more than one could have expected; I hate to use the +whip, but we must get out of this before she goes in altogether," he +said. + +Grierson nodded. He was fond of his horses, which were obviously +distressed, and flecked with spume and lather where the traces chafed +their wet flanks; but to be merciful would only increase their task. + +The whip-cracks rang out like pistol-shots; and, splashing, snorting, +struggling, amid showers of mire, they drew the wagon out of its sticky +bed. They made another dozen yards; and then Grierson turned the +horses into one of the embayments where there was brush that would +support the wheels. Edgar sat down, breathless, upon a fallen trunk. + +"People at home have two quite unfounded ideas about this country," he +said disgustedly. "The first is that money is easily picked up +here--which doesn't seem to need any remark; the second is that they +have only to send over the slackers and slouchers to reform them. In +my opinion, a few doses of this kind of thing would be enough to fill +them with a horror of work." He replaced the pipe he had taken out. +"It's a pity, Grierson, but we can't sit here and smoke." + +They went on and nearly capsized the wagon in a pool, the bottom of +which was too soft to give them foothold while they held up the +vehicle, but they got through it and one or two others, and presently +came out, dripping from the waist down, on to the drier prairie. Then +Edgar turned and viewed their track. + +"It won't bear much looking at; we had better unyoke," he said. "If +anybody had told me in England that I'd ever flounder through a place +like that, I'd--" + +He paused, seeking for words to express himself fittingly. + +"You'd have called him a liar," Grierson suggested. + +"That hardly strikes me as strong enough," Edgar laughed. + +They had spent two hours in the bluff when they brought the last load +through, and sitting down in a patch of scrub they took out their +lunch. After a while Edgar flung off his badly splashed hat and jacket +and lay down in the sunshine. + +"The thing's done; the pity is it must be done again to-morrow," he +remarked, "In the meanwhile, we'll forget it; I'll draw a veil over my +feelings." + +They had finished lunch and lighted their pipes when a buggy appeared +from behind a projecting dump of trees and soon afterward Flora Grant +pulled up her horse near by. Edgar rose and stood beside the vehicle +bareheaded, looking slender and handsome in his loose yellow shirt, +duck overalls, and long boots, though the marks of the journey were +freely scattered about him. Flora glanced at the jaded teams and the +miry wagons and smiled at the lad. She had a good idea of the +difficulties he had overcome. + +"The trail must have been pretty bad," she said. "I struck off to the +east by the creek, but I don't think you could get through with a load." + +"It was quite bad enough," Edgar assured her. Flora looked thoughtful. + +"You have only two wagons; we must try to send you another, though our +teams are busy. Didn't you say Mr. Lansing would be back in a day or +two?" + +"I did, but I got a note this morning saying he thought he had better +go on to Winnipeg, if I could get along all right. I told him to go +and stop as long as he likes. Considering the state of the trails, I +thought that was wise." + +Flora smiled. She knew what he meant, since they had agreed that all +the seed must be hauled in before his comrade's return. + +"I'm not going to thank you; it would be difficult, and George can ride +over and do so when he comes home," Edgar resumed. "I know he'll be +astonished when he sees the granary." + +"If he comes only to express his gratitude, I'm inclined to believe my +father would rather he stayed at home." + +"I can believe it; but I've an idea that Mr. Grant is not the only +person to whom thanks are due." + +Flora looked at him sharply, but she made no direct answer. + +"Your partner," she said, "compels one's sympathy." + +"And one's liking. I don't know how he does so, and it isn't from any +conscious desire. I suppose it's a gift of his." + +Seeing she was interested, he went on with a thoughtful air: + +"You see, George isn't witty, and you wouldn't consider him handsome. +In fact, sometimes he's inclined to be dull, but you feel that he's the +kind of man you can rely on. There's not a trace of meanness in him, +and he never breaks his word. In my opinion, he has a number of the +useful English virtues." + +"What are they, and are they peculiarly English?" + +"I'll call them Teutonic; I believe that's their origin. You people +and your neighbors across the frontier have your share of them." + +"Thanks," smiled Flora. "But you haven't begun the catalogue." + +"Things are often easier to recognize than to describe. At the top of +the list, and really comprising the rest of it, I'd place, in the +language of the country, the practical ability to 'get there.' We're +not in the highest degree intellectual; we're not as a rule worshipers +of beauty--that's made obvious by the prairie towns--and to be thought +poetical makes us shy. In fact, our artistic taste is strongly +defective." + +"If these are virtues, they're strictly negative ones," Flora pointed +out. + +"I'm clearing the ground," said Edgar. "Where we shine is in making +the most of material things, turning, for example, these wilds into +wheatfields, holding on through your Arctic cold and blazing summer +heat. We begin with a tent and an ox-team, and end, in spite of +countless obstacles, with a big brick homestead and a railroad or an +automobile. Men of the Lansing type follow the same course +consistently, even when their interests are not concerned. Once get an +idea into their minds, convince them that it's right, and they'll +transform it into determined action. If they haven't tools, they'll +make them or find something that will serve; effort counts for nothing; +the purpose will be carried out." + +Flora noticed the enthusiastic appreciation of his comrade which his +somewhat humorous speech revealed, and she thought it justified. + +"One would imagine Mr. Lansing to be resolute," she said. "I dare say +it's fortunate; he had a heavy loss to face last year." + +"Yes," returned Edgar. "As you see, he's going on; though he never +expected anything for himself." + +"He never expected anything?" Flora repeated incredulously. "What are +you saying?" + +Edgar realized that he had been injudicious. Flora did not know that +Sylvia Marston was still the owner of the farm and he hesitated to +enlighten her. + +"Well," he said, "George isn't greedy; it isn't in his nature." + +"Do you mean that he's a rich man and is merely farming for amusement?" + +"Oh, no," said Edgar; "far from it!" He indicated the miry wagons and +the torn-up trails. "You wouldn't expect a man to do this kind of +thing, if it wasn't needful. The fact is, I don't always express +myself very happily; and George has told me that I talk too much." + +Flora smiled and drove away shortly afterward, considering what he had +said. She had noticed a trace of confusion in his manner and it struck +her as significant. + +When the buggy had grown small in the distance, Edgar called to +Grierson and they went on again. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +GEORGE FEELS GRATEFUL + +When George returned from Winnipeg, Edgar took him to the granary. + +"You may as well look at the seed Grant sent you, and then you'll be +able to thank him for it," he said. "It's in here; I turned out the +common northern stuff you bought to make room." + +"Why didn't you put it into the empty place in the barn?" George asked. + +"I wasn't sure it would go in; there's rather a lot of it," Edgar +explained, with a smile. + +George entered the granary and stopped, astonished, when he saw the +great pile of bags. + +"Is all of that the new seed?" he asked incredulously. + +"Every bag," said Edgar, watching him. + +George's face reddened. He was stirred by mixed emotions: relief, +gratitude, and a feeling of confusion he could not analyze. + +"Grant must have sent the whole carload!" he broke out. + +"As a matter of fact, he sent most of it. Grierson and I hauled it in; +and a tough job we had of it." + +"And you took it all, without protesting or sending me word?" + +"Yes," said Edgar coolly; "that's precisely what I did. You need the +stuff; Grant meant you to have it, and I didn't want to offend him." + +"I suppose you have some idea what that seed is worth?" + +"I dare say I could guess. Our people at home once experimented with +some American seed potatoes at three shillings each. But aren't you +putting the matter on a rather low plane?" + +George sat down and felt for his pipe. + +"I feel that you have played a trick on me. If you had only let me +know, I could have objected." + +"Just so; that's why I kept quiet," Edgar laughed. "The seed's here +and you ought to be thankful. Anyway, Grant won't take it back." + +"What have I done that I should get this favor?" George said half aloud. + +"That's so characteristic!" Edgar exclaimed. "Why must you always be +doing things? Do you imagine that whatever one receives is the result +of so much exertion?" + +"I don't feel the least interest in such quibbles." + +"I can't believe it," Edgar rejoined. "You're more at home when you +have a fence to put up, or a strip of new land to break." Then he +dropped his bantering tone. "There's nothing to be distressed about. +Grant has been pretty generous, and I think he and Flora need thanking." + +"That's true; they've made me feel half ashamed. I never expected +this." + +"In my opinion, the sensation's quite unnecessary. You have given a +few people a lift in your time, and I've an optimistic notion that +actions of the kind recoil on one, even though it's a different person +who makes you some return." + +"I wish you would stop talking!" George exclaimed impatiently. + +Edgar mentally compared Flora Grant with Sylvia, in whom he +disbelieved, and found it hard to restrain himself. It was, he felt, a +great misfortune that George could not be made to see. + +"Oh, well!" he acquiesced. "I could say a good deal more, if I thought +it would do any good, but as that doesn't seem likely I'll dry up." + +"That's a comfort," George said shortly. + +He left the granary in a thoughtful mood, and on the following evening +drove over to the Grant homestead. Its owner was busy somewhere +outside when he reached it, but Flora received him and he sat down with +satisfaction to talk to her. It had become a pleasure to visit the +Grants; he felt at home in their house. The absence of all ceremony, +the simple Canadian life, had a growing attraction for him. One could +get to know these people, which was a different thing from merely +meeting them, and George thought this was to some extent the effect of +their surroundings. He had always been conscious of a closer and more +intimate contact with his friends upon the mountain-side or the banks +of some salmon river than he had ever experienced in a club or +drawing-room. For all that, Flora sometimes slightly puzzled him. She +was free from the affectations and restraints of artificial +conventionality, but there was a reserve about her which he failed to +penetrate. He wondered what lay behind it and had a curious feeling +that Edgar either guessed or knew. + +"Did you enjoy your visit to Winnipeg?" she asked. + +"It was a pleasant change and I got through my business satisfactorily. +Of course, I didn't go for amusement." + +Flora laughed. + +"So I supposed; you're growing more Canadian every day. But you meant +to make a visit to England, which couldn't have had any connection with +business, last winter, didn't you?" + +George's face grew serious. He had, she thought, not got over his +disappointment. + +"Yes," he said. "But there was nothing to be done here then." + +"So the things that should be done invariably come first with you?" + +"In this case--I mean as far as they concern the farm--it's necessary." + +Flora considered his answer, studying him quietly, though she had some +sewing in her hands. Supposing, as she had once thought, there was +some English girl he had longed to see, he could have made the journey +later, when his crop had been sown, even though this entailed some +neglect of minor operations that required his care. He received, as +she had learned with interest, few English letters, so there was nobody +to whom he wrote regularly; and yet his disappointment when forced to +abandon his visit had obviously been keen. There was, Flora thought, a +mystery here. + +"After all," she said, "the feeling you have indicated is pretty common +in the Canadian wheat-belt." + +"Then why should you expect me to be an exception? As a matter of +fact, I'm at least as anxious as my neighbors to be successful. That's +partly why I've come over to-night." His voice grew deeper and softer +as he continued. "I want to thank you and your father for your +surprising generosity." + +"Surprising?" responded Flora lightly, though she was stirred by the +signs of feeling he displayed. "Do you know you're not altogether +complimentary?" + +He smiled. + +"You'll forgive the slip; when one feels strongly, it's difficult to +choose one's words. Anyway, to get that seed, and so much of it, is an +immense relief. I'm deeply grateful; the more so because your action +was so spontaneous. I haven't a shadow of a claim on you." + +Flora put down her sewing and looked at him directly. + +"I don't think you ought to say that--do you wish to be considered a +stranger?" + +"No," George declared impulsively. "It's the last thing I want. +Still, you see--" + +She was pleased with his eagerness, but she checked him. + +"Then, as you have a gift of making friends, you must take the +consequences." + +"I didn't know I had the gift. My real friends aren't plentiful." + +"If you begin to count, you may find them more numerous than you think." + +"Those I have made in Canada head the list." + +The girl felt a thrill of satisfaction. This was not a compliment; he +had spoken from his heart. + +"After all, I don't see why you should insist on thanking me as well as +my father, who really sent you the seed." She paused. "You didn't do +so on the last occasion; I mean at the time when it was promised to +you." + +This was correct, and George was conscious of some embarrassment. + +"Well," he said firmly, "I think I'm justified." + +Flora could not contradict him, and she was glad he felt as he did. +She liked his way of sticking to the point; indeed, she was sensible of +a strong liking for the man. + +During the next minute or two her father came in. He cut short +George's thanks, and then took out his pipe. + +"I was in at the Butte yesterday," he said. "The police have got the +men who knocked Farren out, and Flett says they mean to press for a +smart penalty. It's about time they made an example of somebody. When +I was in, I fixed it up to turn Langside off his holding." + +Flora looked up with interest. + +"But how had you the power?" George asked. + +"The man owes me four hundred dollars for a horse and some second-hand +implements I let him have nearly three years ago." + +"But he has broken a big strip of his land; it's worth a good deal more +than you lent him." + +"Just so. He owes everybody money round the Butte. I saw Taunton of +the store and the implement man and told them Langside had to quit." + +"You seem to have found them willing to agree." + +Grant broke into a grim smile. + +"What I say to those men goes. Then I've got security; they know I +could pull Langside down." + +George looked at Flora and was slightly surprised at her acquiescent +manner. + +"It sounds a little harsh; a good harvest might have set him straight," +he said. "However, I suppose you have a reason for what you're doing." + +"That's so. Langside's the kind of man I've no use for; he takes no +interest in his place. After he has put in half a crop, he goes off +and spends his time doing a little railroad work and slouching round +the saloons along the line." + +"It doesn't seem sufficient to justify your ruining him." + +"I've got a little more against the man. Has it struck you that +somebody round here, who knows the trails and the farmers' movements, +is standing in with the liquor boys." + +A light broke in upon George. Now that the matter had been put before +him, he could recollect a number of points that seemed to prove the +fanner right. When cattle had been killed, their owners had been +absent; horses had disappeared at a time which prevented the discovery +of their loss from being promptly made. It looked as if the offenses +could only have been committed with the connivance of somebody in the +neighborhood who had supplied their perpetrators with information. + +"I believe you've got at the truth," he replied. "Still, it must be +largely a matter of suspicion." + +Grant leaned forward on the table and his face grew stern. + +"You'll remember what Flett said about our system of justice sometimes +breaking down. In this matter, I'm the jury, and I've thought the +thing over for the last six months, weighing up all that could be said +for Langside, though it isn't much. What's more, I've talked to the +man and watched him; giving him every chance. He has had his trial and +he has to go; there's no appeal." + +George could imagine the thoroughness with which his host had +undertaken his task. Grant would be just, deciding nothing without the +closest test. George felt that the man he meant to punish must be +guilty. For all that, he looked at Flora. + +"Have you been consulted?" he asked. + +"I understood," said Flora. "And I agreed." + +Her face was as hard as her father's and George was puzzled. + +"I should have thought you would have been inclined to mercy." + +Flora colored a little, but she looked at him steadily. + +"Langside deserves the punishment he has so far escaped. He's guilty +of what my father thinks, but there's another offense that I'm afraid +will never be brought home to him." + +George admired her courage as he remembered a very unpleasant story he +had heard about a pretty waitress at the settlement. As a matter of +fact, he had doubted it. + +"Flora went to see the girl at Regina. They found her there pretty +near dying," Grant explained quietly. + +Recollecting a scene outside the Sachem, when Flora had accompanied +Mrs. Nelson, George realized that he had rather overlooked one side of +her character. She could face unpleasant things and strive to put them +right, and she could be sternly just without shrinking when occasion +demanded it. This, however, was not an aspect of hers that struck one +forcibly; he had generally seen her compassionate, cheerful, and +considerate. Then he told himself that there was no reason why he +should take any interest in Flora Grant's qualities. + +"I suppose Langside will be sold up," he said. + +"Open auction, though I guess there won't be much bidding. Folks round +here don't know the man as I do, but they've good reason to believe the +money will go to his creditors, and there'll be nothing left for him." + +"The foreclosure won't meet with general favor," George said pointedly. + +"That doesn't count. It strikes one as curious that people should be +ready to sympathize with the slouch who lets his place go to ruin out +of laziness, and never think of the storekeepers' just claim on the +money he's wasted. Anyway, there's nothing to stop people from +bidding; but, in case they hold off, we have fixed up how we'll divide +the property." + +It was obvious to George that the position of Grant's associates was +unassailable. If any friends of Langside's attempted to run prices up, +they would only put the money into his creditor's pockets; if, as +seemed more probable, they discouraged the bidding, the creditors would +secure his possessions at a low figure and recoup themselves by selling +later at the proper value. George realized that Grant had carefully +thought out his plans. + +"I don't think you have left him any way of escape," he said. + +"No," replied Grant; "we have got him tight. You had better come along +to the auction--you'll get notice of it--and see how the thing goes." + +George said that he would do so, and shortly afterward drove away. On +reaching home he told Edgar what he had heard, and the lad listened +with a thoughtful expression. + +"One can't doubt that Grant knows what he's doing, but I'm not sure +he's wise," he said. "Though Langside's a regular slacker, he has a +good many friends, and as a rule nobody has much sympathy with exacting +creditors. Then it's bound to come out that it was Grant who set the +other fellows after Langside; and if he buys up much of the property at +a low figure, the thing will look suspicious." + +"I tried to point that out." + +"And found you had wasted words? Grant would see it before you did, +and it wouldn't have the least effect on him. You wouldn't expect that +man to yield to popular opinion. Still, the thing will make trouble, +though I shall not be sorry if it forces on a crisis." + +George nodded. + +"I'm getting tired of these continual petty worries, and keeping a +ceaseless lookout. I want to hit back." + +"You'll no doubt get your chance. What about Miss Grant's attitude?" + +"She agreed with her father completely; I was a little surprised." + +"That was quite uncalled for," said Edgar with a smile. "It looks as +if you didn't know the girl yet. These Westerners are a pretty grim +people." + +George frowned at this, though he felt that there was some truth in +what his companion said. On the whole, he was of the same mind as +Grant; there were situations in which one must fearlessly take a +drastic course. + +"The sooner the trouble begins, the sooner it will be over," he said. +"One has now and then to run the risk of getting hurt." + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +A COUNTERSTROKE + +Langside's farm was duly put up at auction, together with a valuable +team which he hired out to his neighbors when he left the place, a few +implements and a little rude furniture. The sale was held outside, and +when George arrived upon the scene during the afternoon a row of light +wagons and buggies stood behind the rickety shack, near which was an +unsightly pile of broken crockery, discarded clothes and rusty +provision cans. It was characteristic of Langside that he had not +taken the trouble to carry them as far as the neighboring bluff. In +front of the bluff, horses were picketed; along the side ran a strip of +black soil, sprinkled with the fresh blades of wheat; and all round the +rest of the wide circle the prairie stretched away under cloudless +sunshine, flecked with brightest green. + +A thin crowd surrounded the auctioneer's table, but the men stood in +loose clusters, and George, walking through them, noticed that the +undesirable element was largely represented. There were a number of +small farmers, attracted by curiosity, or perhaps a wish to buy; but +these kept to themselves, and men from the settlement of no fixed +profession who worked spasmodically at different tasks, and spent the +rest of their time in the Sachem, were more plentiful. Besides these, +there were some strangers, and George thought the appearance of several +was far from prepossessing. + +It was a glorious day. There was vigor in the warm breeze that swept +the grassy waste; the sunshine that bathed the black loam where the +green blades were springing up seemed filled with promise; but as the +sale proceeded George became sensible of a vague compunction. The +sight of the new wheat troubled him--Langside had laboriously sown that +crop, which somebody else would reap. Watching the battered domestic +utensils and furniture being carried out for sale had the same +disturbing effect. Poor and comfortless as the shack was, it had, +until rude hands had desecrated it, been a home. George felt that he +was consenting to the ruin of a defenseless man, assisting to drive him +forth, a wanderer and an outcast. He wondered how far the terrors of +loneliness had urged Langside into his reckless courses--homesteaders +scattered about the wide, empty spaces occasionally became insane--but +with an effort he overcame the sense of pity. + +Langside had slackly given way, and, choosing an evil part, had become +a menace to the community; as Grant had said, he must go. This was +unavoidable, and though the duty of getting rid of him was painful, it +must be carried out. George was usually unsuspicious and of easy-going +nature up to a certain point, but there was a vein of hardness in him. + +Once or twice the auctioneer was interrupted by jeering cries, but he +kept his temper and the sale went on, though George noticed that only a +few strangers made any purchases. At length, when the small sundries +had been cleared off, there was a curious silence as the land was put +up. It was evident that the majority of those present had been warned +not to bid. + +The auctioneer made a little speech in praise of the property, and +paused when it fell flat; then, while George wondered what +understanding the creditors had arrived at with Grant, a brown-faced +stranger strode forward. + +"I've been advised to let this place alone," he said. "I suppose you +have a right to sell?" + +"Yes, sir," replied the auctioneer. "Come along, and look at my +authority, if you want. It's mortgaged property that has been +foreclosed after the creditors had waited a long while for a +settlement, and I may say that the interest demanded is under the +present market rate. Everything's quite regular; no injustice has been +done. If you're a purchaser, I'll take your bid." + +"Then I'll raise you a hundred dollars," said the man. + +There was a growl of dissatisfaction, and the stranger turned to the +part of the crowd from which it proceeded. + +"This is an open auction, boys. I was born in the next province, and +I've seen a good many farms seized in the years when we have had +harvest frost, but this is the first time I ever saw anybody try to +interfere with a legal sale. Guess you may as well quit yapping, +unless you mean to bid against me." + +There was derisive laughter, and a loafer from Sage Butte threw a clod. +Then another growl, more angry than the first, broke out as Grant, +moving forward into a prominent place, nodded to the auctioneer. His +rugged face was impassive, and he ignored the crowd. A number of the +farmers strolled toward him and stood near by with a resolute air which +had its effect on the others, though George saw by Grant's look of +surprise that he had not expected this. Another man made a bid, and +the competition proceeded languidly, but except for a little mocking +laughter and an occasional jeer, nobody interfered. In the end, the +stranger bought the land; and soon afterward Grant walked up to George. + +"I want the team, if I can get it at a reasonable figure; they're real +good beasts with the imported Percheron strain strong in them," he +said. "It will be a while before they're put up, and I'd be glad if +you could ride round and let Flora know what's keeping me. I'd an idea +she expected there might be some trouble to-day." + +"I'll get off; but there's a mower yonder I would like. Will you buy +it for me, if it goes at a fair price?" + +"Certainly," promised Grant. "Tell Flora to give you supper; and if +you ride back afterward by the trail, you'll meet me and I'll let you +know about the mower." + +George rode away shortly afterward, and Grant waited some time before +he secured the team, after rather determined opposition. Finding +nobody willing to lead the horses home, he hitched them to the back of +his light wagon and set off at a leisurely pace. When he had gone a +little distance, he overtook a man plodding along the trail. The +fellow stopped when Grant came up. + +"Will you give me a lift?" he asked. + +The request is seldom refused on the prairie, and Grant pulled up his +team. + +"Get in," he said. "Where are you going?" + +"North," answered the other, as he clambered up. "Looking for a job; +left the railroad yesterday and spent the night in a patch of scrub. +Heard there was stock in the bluff country; that's my line." + +Grant glanced at the fellow sharply as he got into the wagon and +noticed nothing in his disfavor. His laconic account of himself was +borne out by his appearance. + +"It's quite a way to the first homestead, if you're making for the big +bluffs," he said. "You had better come along with me and go on in the +morning." + +"I'll be glad," responded the other. "These nights are pretty cold, +and my blanket's thin." + +They drove on, and after a while the stranger glanced at the team +hitched behind the vehicle. + +"Pretty good beasts," he remarked. "That mare's a daisy. Ought to be +worth a pile." + +"She cost it," Grant told him. "I've just bought her at a sale." + +"I heard the boys talking about it when I was getting dinner at the +settlement," said the stranger carelessly. "Called the fellow whose +place was sold up Langside, I think. There's nothing much wrong with +the team you're driving." + +Grant nodded; they were valuable animals, for he was fond of good +horses. He was well satisfied with his new purchases and knew that +Langside had bought the mare after a profitable haulage contract during +the building of a new railroad. His companion's flattering opinion +made him feel rather amiable toward him. + +It was getting near dusk when they entered a strip of broken country, +where the ground was sandy and lolled in low ridges and steep hillocks. +Here and there small pines on the higher summits stood out black +against the glaring crimson light; birches and poplars straggled up +some of the slopes; and the trail, which wound through the hollows, was +loose and heavy. The moist sand clogged the wheels and the team +plodded through it laboriously, until they came to a spot where the +melted snow running into a depression had formed a shallow lake. This +had dried up, but the soil was very soft and marshy. Grant pulled up +and glanced dubiously at the deep ruts cut in the road. + +"There's a way round through the sand and scrub, but it's mighty rough +and I'm not sure we could get through it in the dark," he said. + +"S'pose you double-yoke and drive straight ahead," suggested the other. +"I see you have some harness in the wagon." + +Grant considered. The harness, which had been thrown in with his +purchase, was old and short of one or two pieces; it would take time +and some contriving to hitch on the second team, and the light was +failing rapidly. When he had crossed the soft place, there would still +be some rough ground to traverse before he reached the smoother trail +by which George would be riding. + +"It might be as quick to go round," he replied. + +"No, sir," said his companion, firmly. "There's a blamed steep bit up +the big sandhill." + +Suspicion flashed on Grant; the man had led him to believe he was a +stranger to the locality, and it was significant that he should insist +upon their stopping and harnessing the second team. + +"That's so," he returned. "Guess you had better get down and see if +it's very soft ahead." + +The fellow rose with a promptness which partly disarmed Grant's +suspicions, and put his foot on the edge of the vehicle, ready to jump +down. Then he turned swiftly and flung himself upon the farmer, +crushing his soft felt hat down to his chin. Grant could see nothing, +and while he strove to get a grip on his antagonist he was thrown +violently backward off the driving seat. The wagon was of the usual +high pattern, and he came down on the ground with a crash that nearly +knocked him unconscious. Before he got up, he was seized firmly and +held with his shoulders pressed against the soil. He struggled, +however, until somebody grasped his legs and his arms were drawn +forcibly apart. It was impossible to see, because the thick hat was +still over his face and somebody held it fast, but he had an idea that +three or four men had fallen upon him. They had, no doubt, been hidden +among the brush; the affair had been carefully arranged with his +treacherous companion. + +"Open his jacket; try the inside pocket," cried one; and he felt hands +fumbling about him. Then there was a disappointed exclamation. +"Check-book; that's no good!" + +The farmer made a last determined effort. After having long ruled his +household and hired men as a benevolent but decidedly firm-handed +autocrat, it was singularly galling to be treated in this unceremonious +fashion, and if he could only shake off the hat and get a glimpse of +his assailants he would know them again. Moreover, he had brought a +roll of bills with him, in case he should make some small purchases. +He was, however, held firmly, and the hands he had felt dived into +another pocket. + +"Got it now!" cried a hoarse voice. "Here's his wallet; seems to have +a good wad in it!" + +Grant, though he was generally sternly collected, boiled with fury. He +felt no fear, but an uncontrollable longing to grapple with the men who +had so humiliated him. + +"Guess, I'll fix you up!" came an angry voice when Grant managed to +fling off one pair of hands. + +Then he received a heavy blow on the head. Somebody had struck him +with the butt of a whip or riding quirt. The pain was distressing; he +felt dazed and stupid, disinclined to move, but he retained +consciousness. There were sounds to which he could attach a meaning: a +rattle of harness which indicated that his driving team was being +loosened, a thud of hoofs as the heavier Percherons were led away. In +the meanwhile he could still feel a strong grasp on his shoulder, +holding him down, and once or twice a man near him gave the others +sharp instructions. Grant made a languid effort to fix the voice in +his memory, but this was difficult because his mind worked heavily. + +At length the driving team was unyoked--he could hear it being led +away--but the ache in his head grew almost intolerable and his +lassitude more intense. For a while he had no idea what was going on; +and then a hoarse cry, which seemed one of alarm, rang out sharply. +There was a patter of running feet, a thud of hoofs on the soft soil, +and, breaking through these sounds, a rhythmic staccato drumming. +Somebody was riding hard across the uneven ground. + +Gathering his languid senses, Grant suddenly moved his head, flinging +the hat from his face, and raised himself a little, leaning on one +elbow. There was no longer anybody near him, but he could see a man +riding past a shadowy clump of trees a little distance off, leading a +second horse. Closer at hand, another man was running hard beside one +of the Percherons, and while Grant watched him he made an effort to +scramble up on the back of the unsaddled animal, but slipped off. Both +these men were indistinct in the dim hollow, but on a sandy ridge +above, which still caught the fading light, there was a +sharply-outlined mounted figure sweeping across the broken ground at a +reckless gallop. It must be Lansing, who had come to the rescue. +Grant sent up a faint, hoarse cry of exultation. He forgot his pain +and dizziness, he even forgot he had been assaulted; he was conscious +only of a burning wish to see Lansing ride down the fellow who was +running beside the Percheron. + +There was a patch of thick scrub not far ahead which it would be +difficult for the horseman on the rise to break through, and if the +fugitive could succeed in mounting, he might escape while his pursuer +rode round; but Lansing seemed to recognize this. He swept down from +the ridge furiously and rode to cut off the thief. Grant saw him come +up with the fellow, with his quirt swung high, but the figures of men +and horses were now indistinct against the shrub. There was a blow +struck; one of the animals reared, plunged and fell; the other went on +and vanished into the gloom of the dwarf trees. + +Then Grant, without remembering how he got up, found himself upon his +feet and lurching unsteadily toward the clump of brush. When he +reached it, Lansing was standing beside his trembling horse, which had +a long red gash down its shoulder. His hands were stained and a big +discolored knife lay near his feet. There was nobody else about, but a +beat of hoofs came back, growing fainter, out of the gathering dusk. + +George looked around when the farmer joined him, and then pointed to +the wound on the horse. + +"I think it was meant for my leg," he said. "I hit the fellow once +with the thick end of the quirt, but he jumped straight at me. The +horse reared when he felt the knife and I came off before he fell. +When I got up again, the fellow had gone." + +Grant felt scarcely capable of standing. He sat down heavily and +fumbled for his pipe, while George turned his attention to the horse +again. + +"Though it's only in the muscle, the cut looks deep," he said at +length. "I'd better lead him back to your place; it's nearer than +mine." + +"I'd rather you came along; I'm a bit shaky." + +"Of course," said George. "I was forgetting. Those fellows had you +down. Are you hurt?" + +"They knocked me out with something heavy--my whip, I guess--but I'm +getting over it. Cleaned out my pockets; went off with both teams." + +George nodded. + +"It's pretty bad; quite impossible to get after them. They'll head for +Montana as fast as they can ride." + +"Did you see any of them clearly?" + +"One fellow looked like Langside, though I couldn't swear to him; but +I'd know the man who knifed my horse. Remembered that would be +desirable, in case he escaped me; and I got a good look at him. Now, +if you feel able shall we make a start? I'm afraid the horse is too +lame to carry you." + +He picked up the knife. Grant rose, and they set off, leading the +horse, which moved slowly and painfully. It had grown dark and the +trail was rough, but the farmer plodded homeward, stopping a few +moments now and then. The path, however, grew smoother when they had +left the sandy ridges behind, and by and by the lights of the homestead +commenced to twinkle on the vast shadowy plain. Soon after they +reached it, George rode away, mounted on a fresh horse, in search of +Constable Flett. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +THE CLIMAX + +George was tired and sleepy when he reached the settlement early in the +morning, and found Flett at Hardie's house. It transpired from their +conversation that there had been a disturbance at the Sachem on the +return of a party which had driven out to the sale, and one man, who +accused a companion of depriving him of a bargain, had attacked and +badly injured him with a decanter. Flett, being sent for, had arrested +the fellow, and afterward called upon the clergyman for information +about his antecedents and character. He listened with close attention +while George told his tale; and then examined the knife he produced. + +"This is about the limit!" he exclaimed. "You wouldn't have persuaded +me that the thing was possible when I was first sent into the district. +It isn't what one expects in the wheat-belt, and it certainly has to be +stopped." + +"Of course," said George, with some impatience. "But wouldn't it be +wiser to consider the ways and means? At present the fellows are no +doubt pushing on for the frontier with two valuable teams and a wad of +stolen bills." + +Flett smiled at him indulgently. + +"This isn't a job that can be put through in a hurry. If they're +heading for the boundary--and I guess they are--they'll be in Dakota or +Montana long before any of the boys I'll wire to could come up with +them. Our authority doesn't hold on American soil." + +"Is that to be the end of it?" + +"Why, no," Flett answered dryly. "As I guess you have heard, they have +had trouble of this kind in Alberta for a while; and most every time +the boys were able to send back any American mavericks and beef-cattle +that were run into Canada. As the result of it, our chiefs at Regina +are pretty good friends with the sheriffs and deputies on the other +side. They're generally willing to help us where they can." + +"Then you shouldn't have much difficulty in trailing your men. Suppose +a fellow turned up with four exceptionally good horses and offered them +to an American farmer or dealer, wouldn't it arouse suspicion?" + +"It might," said Flett, with a meaning smile. "But the thing's not so +simple as it looks. We all know that Canadian steers and horses have +been run off and disposed of across the frontier; and now and then a +few from that side have disappeared in Canada. This points to there +being a way of getting rid of them; some mean white on a lonely holding +will take them at half-value, and pass them along. What we have to do +is to send a man over quietly to investigate, and get the sheriffs and +deputies to keep their eyes open. I'm going to beg the Regina people +to let me be that man." + +"You may as well understand that it isn't the return of the horses +Grant wants so much as the conviction of the men who waylaid him." + +"Then," said Flett, pointedly, "he must be mighty mad." + +Hardie joined in George's laugh; but the constable went on: + +"I believe we're going to get them; but it will take time--all summer, +perhaps. I've known our boys lay hands on a man they wanted, eighteen +months afterward." + +"In one way, I don't think that's much to their credit," the clergyman +remarked. + +Taking up the knife George had handed him, Flett pointed to some +initials scratched on the bone haft. + +"Kind of foolish thing for the fellow to put his name on his tools; but +I don't know anybody those letters might stand for. Now you describe +him as clearly as you can, while I put it down." + +George did as he was bidden, and added: "There were two more--one of +them looked like Langside--and I believe a fourth man, though I may be +mistaken in this. They were moving about pretty rapidly and the light +was bad." + +Flett got up. + +"I'll have word sent along to Regina, and then try to locate their +trail until instructions come. I want to get about it right away, but +there's this blamed fellow who knocked out his partner at the Sachem, +and it will take me most of a day's ride before I can hand him on to +Davies. It's a charge that nobody's going to worry about, and it's a +pity he couldn't have escaped. Still, that's the kind of thing that +can't happen too often." + +He went out and George turned to Hardie. + +"How does the matter strike you?" + +"I've an idea that Flett was right in saying it was the limit. There +was a certain romance about these disturbances when they began; they +were a novelty in this part of Canada. People took them lightly, glad +of something amusing or exciting to talk about. It was through popular +indifference that the gang first gained a footing, but by degrees it +became evident that they couldn't be dislodged without a vigorous +effort. People shrank from making it; and, with Beamish backing them, +the fellows got steadily bolder and better organized. All the time, +however, they were really at the mercy of the general body of orderly +citizens. Now they have gone too far; this last affair can't be +tolerated. Instead of apathy, there'll be an outbreak of indignation; +and I expect the people who might have stopped the thing at the +beginning will denounce the police." + +George nodded. + +"That's my idea. What's our part?" + +"I think it's to assist in the reaction. Your story's a striking one. +We had better get it into a newspaper as soon as possible. I suppose +it would be correct to say that Grant was cruelly beaten?" + +"His face is blue from jaw to temple. They knocked him nearly +senseless with the butt of a whip, while he was lying, helpless, on the +ground." + +"And your horse was badly wounded?" + +"I wish it weren't true; there's a gash about eight inches long. If it +will assist the cause, you can say the stab was meant for me." + +"Well," said Hardie, "I think it will make a moving tale. I'm afraid, +however, I'll have to lay some stress upon the single-handed rescue." + +George looked dubious. + +"I'd rather you left that out." + +"We must impress the matter on people's thoughts, make it command +attention; a little diplomacy is allowable now and then," said Hardie, +smiling. "Since you don't mind getting yourself into trouble, I don't +see why you should object to being held up to admiration, and it's in +an excellent cause. Now, however, I'll order breakfast for you, and +then you had better get some sleep." + +During the afternoon, George set off for home, and he was plowing for +the summer fallow a week later when Flora Grant rode up to him. + +"I suppose you have got your mail and have seen what the _Sentinel_ +says about you?" she asked mischievously. + +George looked uncomfortable, but he laughed. + +"Yes," he confessed. "It seemed to afford Edgar some amusement." + +"Who's responsible for that flattering column? It doesn't read like +the work of the regular staff." + +"I'm afraid that I am, to some extent, though Hardie's the actual +culprit. The fact is, he thought the course was necessary." + +"Well, I suspected something of the kind; so did my father. It was a +wise move, and I think it will have its effect." + +George made no comment and she sat silent a moment or two while he +watched her with appreciation. She was well-mounted on a beautiful, +carefully-groomed horse; the simple skirt and bodice of pale gray +emphasized the pure tinting of her face and hands and the warm glow of +her hair, in which the fierce sunshine forced up strong coppery gleams. +Her lips formed a patch of crimson, there was a red band on her wide +Stetson hat, and her eyes shone a deep blue as she looked down at +George, who stood in the sandy furrow leaning against the heavy plow. +He was dressed in old overalls that had faded with dust and sun to the +indefinite color of the soil, but they displayed the fine lines of a +firmly knit and muscular figure. His face was deeply bronzed, but a +glow of sanguine red shone through its duskier coloring. Behind them +both ran a broad sweep of stubble, steeped in strong ochre, relieved by +brighter lemon hues where the light blazed on it. + +"Though I couldn't resist the temptation to tease you, I quite agree +with the _Sentinel_," she resumed. "It really was a very gallant +rescue, and I suppose you know I recognize my debt to you. I was a +little too startled to speak about it when you brought my father home, +and you went away so fast." + +"The fellows were afraid of being identified; they bolted as soon as +they saw me." + +"One didn't," Flora pointed out. "A knife-thrust, like the one you +avoided, or a pistol-shot would have obviated any risk they ran. But +of course you hate to be thanked." + +"No," George replied impulsively; "not by you." + +"I wonder," she said with an amused air, "why you should make an +exception of me?" + +"I suppose it lessens my sense of obligation. I feel I've done some +little thing to pay you back." + +"I'm not sure that was very happily expressed. Is it painful to feel +that you owe anything to your neighbors?" + +George flushed. + +"That wasn't what I meant. Do you think it's quite fair to lay traps +for me, when you can count on my falling into them?" He turned and +pointed to the great stretch of grain that clothed the soil with vivid +green. "Look at your work. Last fall, all that plowing was strewn +with a wrecked and mangled crop; now it's sown with wheat that will +stand the drought. I was feeling nearly desperate, wondering how I was +to master the sandy waste, when you came to the rescue and my troubles +melted like the dust in summer rain. They couldn't stand before you; +you banished them." + +She looked at him rather curiously, and, George thought, with some +cause, for he was a little astonished at his outbreak. This was not +the kind of language that was most natural to him. + +"I wonder," she said, "why you should take so much for granted--I mean +in holding me accountable?" + +"It's obvious," George declared. "I understand your father; he's a +very generous friend, but the idea of sending me the seed didn't occur +to him in the first place; though I haven't the least doubt that he was +glad to act on it." + +"Ah!" said Flora, "it looks as if you had been acquiring some +penetration; you were not so explicit the last time you insisted on +thanking me. Who can have been teaching you? It seems, however, that +I'm still incomprehensible." + +George considered. It would be undesirable to explain that his +enlightenment had come from Edgar, and he wanted to express what he +felt. + +"No," he said, in answer to her last remark; "not altogether; but I've +sometimes felt that there's a barrier of reserve in you, beyond which +it's hard to get." + +"Do you think it would be worth while to make the attempt? Suppose you +succeeded and found there was nothing on the other side?" + +He made a sign of negation, and she watched him with some interest; the +man was trying to thrash out his ideas. + +"That couldn't happen," he declared gravely. "Somehow you make one +feel there is much in you that wants discovery, but that one will learn +it by and by. After all, it's only the shallow people you never really +get to know." + +"It would seem an easy task, on the face of it." + +"As a matter of fact, it isn't. They have a way of enveloping +themselves in an air of importance and mystery, and when they don't do +so, they're casual and inconsequent. One likes people with, so to +speak, some continuity of character. By degrees one gets to know how +they'll act and it gives one a sense of reliance." He paused and +added, diffidently: "Anything you did would be wise and generous." + +"By degrees?" smiled Flora. "So it's slowly, by patient sapping, the +barriers go down! One could imagine that such things might be +violently stormed. But you're not rash, are you, or often in a hurry? +However, it's time I was getting home." + +She waved her hand and rode away, and George, getting into the saddle, +started his team, and thought about her while he listened to the +crackling of the stubble going down beneath the hoofs, and the soft +thud of thrown-back soil as the lengthening rows of clods broke away +from the gleaming shares. What she might have meant by her last remark +he could not tell, though so far as it concerned him, he was ready to +admit that he was addicted to steady plodding. Then his thoughts took +a wider range, and he began to make comparisons. Flora was not +characterized by Sylvia's fastidious refinement; she was more virile +and yet more reposeful. Sylvia's activities spread bustle around her; +she required much assistance and everybody in her neighborhood was +usually impressed into her service, though their combined efforts often +led to nothing. Flora's work was done silently; the results were most +apparent. + +Still, the charm Sylvia exerted was always obvious; a thing to rejoice +in and be thankful for. Flora had not the same effect on one, though +he suspected there was a depth of tenderness in her, behind the +barrier. It struck him as a pity that she showed no signs of interest +in West, who of late seemed to have been attracted by the pretty +daughter of a storekeeper at the settlement; but, after all, the lad +was hardly old or serious enough for Flora. There was, however, nobody +else in the district who was nearly good enough for her; and George +felt glad that she was reserved and critical. It would be disagreeable +to contemplate her yielding to any suitor unless he were a man of +exceptional merit. + +Then he laughed and called to his horses. He was thinking about +matters that did not concern him; his work was to drive the long furrow +for Sylvia's benefit, and he found pleasure in it. Bright sunshine +smote the burnished clods; scattered, white-edged clouds drove across +the sky of dazzling blue, flinging down cool gray shadows that sped +athwart the stubble; young wheat, wavy lines of bluff, and wide-spread +prairie were steeped in glowing color. The man rejoiced in the rush of +the breeze; the play of straining muscles swelling and sinking on the +bodies of the team before him was pleasant to watch; he felt at home in +the sun and wind, which, tempered as they often were by gentle rain, +were staunchly assisting him. By and by, all the foreground of the +picture he gazed upon would be covered with the coppery ears of wheat. +He had once shrunk from returning to Canada; but now, through all the +stress of cold and heat, he was growing fond of the new land. What was +more, he felt the power to work at such a task as he was now engaged in +to be a privilege. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +A SIGN FROM FLETT + +Summer drew on with swift strides. Crimson flowers flecked the prairie +grass, the wild barley waved its bristling ears along the trails, +saskatoons glowed red in the shadows of each bluff. Day by day +swift-moving clouds cast flitting shadows across the sun-scorched +plain, but though they shed no moisture the wheat stood nearly +waist-high upon the Marston farm. The sand that whirled about it did +the strong stalks no harm. + +Earlier in the season there had been drenching thunder showers, and +beyond the grain the flax spread in sheets of delicate blue that broke +off on the verge of the brown-headed timothy. Still farther back lay +the green of alsike and alfalfa, for the band of red and white cattle +that roamed about the bluffs; but while the fodder crop was bountiful +George had decided to supplement it with the natural prairie hay. +There was no pause in his exertions; task followed task in swift +succession. Rising in the sharp cold of the dawn, he toiled +assiduously until the sunset splendors died out in paling green and +crimson on the far rim of the plain. + +The early summer was marked by signs of approaching change in Sage +Butte affairs. There were still a few disturbances and Hardie had +troubles to face, but he and his supporters noticed that the +indifference with which they had been regarded was giving place to +sympathy. When Grant first visited the settlement after his +misadventure, he was received with expressions of indignant +commiseration, and he afterward told Flora dryly that he was astonished +at the number of his friends. Mrs. Nelson and a few of the stalwarts +pressed Hardie to make new and more vigorous efforts toward the +expulsion of the offenders, but the clergyman refrained. Things were +going as he wished; it was scarcely wise to expose such a tender thing +as half-formed opinion to a severe test, and the failure that might +follow a premature attempt could hardly be recovered from. It seemed +better to wait until Grant's assailants should be arrested, and the +story of their doings elicited in court, to rouse general indignation, +and he thought this would happen. Flett had disappeared some weeks ago +and nothing had been heard of him, but Hardie believed his chiefs had +sent him out on the robbers' trail. The constable combined sound sense +with dogged pertinacity, and these were serviceable qualities. + +It was a hot afternoon when George brought home his last load of wild +sloo hay, walking beside his team, while Flora curbed her reckless +horse a few yards off. She had ridden over with her father, and +finding that George had not returned, had gone on to prevent a hired +man from being sent for him. They had met each other frequently of +late, and George was sensible of an increasing pleasure in the girl's +society; though what Flora felt did not appear. Behind them the +jolting wagon strained beneath its high-piled load that diffused an +odor of peppermint; in front the shadow of a bluff lay cool upon the +sun-scorched prairie. + +"I suppose you heard that Baxter lost a steer last week," she said. +"Most likely, it was killed; but, though the police searched the +reservation, there was no trace of the hide. We have had a little +quietness, but I'm not convinced that our troubles won't break out +again. Nobody seems to have heard anything of Flett." + +"He's no doubt busy somewhere." + +"I'm inclined to believe so, and, in a way, his silence is reassuring. +Flett can work without making a disturbance, and that is in his favor. +But what has become of Mr. West? We haven't seen much of him of late." + +"He has fallen into a habit of riding over to the settlement in his +spare time, which isn't plentiful." + +"Ah!" exclaimed Flora; "that agrees with some suspicions of mine. +Don't you feel a certain amount of responsibility?" + +"I do," George admitted. "Still, he's rather head-strong, and he +hasn't told me why he goes to the Butte; though the girl's father gave +me a hint. I like Taunton--he's perfectly straightforward--and I'd +almost made up my mind to ask your opinion about the matter, but I was +diffident." + +"I'll give it to you without reserve--there's no ground for uneasiness +on West's account; he might fall into much worse hands. If Helen +Taunton has any influence over him, it will be wisely used. Besides, +she has been well educated; she spent a few years in Montreal." + +"She has a nice face; in fact, she's decidedly pretty." + +"And that would cover a multitude of shortcomings?" + +"Well," said George, thoughtfully, "mere physical beauty is something +to be thankful for; though I'm not sure that beauty can be, so to +speak, altogether physical. When I said the girl had a nice face, I +meant that its expression suggested a wholesome character." + +"You seem to have been cultivating your powers of observation," Flora +told him. "But I'm more disposed to consider the matter from Helen's +point of view. As it happens, she's a friend of mine and I've reasons +for believing that your partner's readily susceptible and inclined to +be fickle. Of course, I'm not jealous." + +George laughed. + +"He's too venturesome now and then, but he has been a little spoiled. +I've an idea that this affair is likely to be permanent. He has shown +a keen interest in the price of land and the finances of farming, which +struck me as having its meaning." + +They had now nearly reached the bluff and a horseman in khaki uniform +rode out of it to meet them. + +"I've been over to your place," he said to George, when he had +dismounted. "I was sent to show you a photograph and ask if you can +recognize anybody in it?" + +He untied a packet and George studied the picture handed him. It +showed the rutted main street of a little western town, with the +sunlight on a row of wooden buildings. In the distance a band of +cattle were being driven forward by two mounted men; nearer at hand a +few wagons stood outside a livery stable; and in the foreground three +or four figures occupied the veranda of a frame hotel. The ease of +their attitudes suggested that they did not know they were being +photographed, and their faces were distinct. George looked +triumphantly excited and unhesitatingly laid a finger on one face. + +"This is the man that drove off Mr. Grant's Percheron and stabbed my +horse." + +The trooper produced a thin piece of card and a small reading-glass. + +"Take another look through this; it came along with the photograph. +Now, would you be willing to swear to him?" + +"I'll be glad to do so, if I have the chance. Shall I put a mark +against the fellow?" + +"Not on that!" The trooper handed George the card, which proved to be +a carefully drawn key-plan of the photograph, with the figures +outlined. "You can mark this one." + +George did as he was told, and then handed the photograph to Flora. + +"How did your people get it?" he asked the trooper. + +"I can't say; they don't go into explanations." + +"But what do you think? Did Flett take the photograph?" + +"No, sir; I heard him tell the sergeant he knew nothing about a camera. +He may have got somebody to take it or may have bought the thing." + +"Do you know where he is?" + +"I only know he got special orders after Mr. Grant was robbed. It's my +idea he was somewhere around when the photograph was taken." + +"I wonder where it was taken? In Alberta, perhaps, though I'm inclined +to think it was on the other side of the frontier." + +"That is my opinion," said Flora. "There's not a great difference +between us and our neighbors, but the dress of the mounted men and the +style of the stores are somehow American. I'd say Montana, or perhaps +Dakota." + +"Montana," said the trooper. "The big bunch of cattle seems to fix it." + +"Then you think Flett is over there?" asked George. "I'm interested, +so is Miss Grant, and you needn't be afraid of either of us spreading +what you say." + +"It's my notion that Flett has spotted his men, but I guess he's now +watching out near the boundary in Canada. These rustler fellows can't +do all their business on one side; they'll have to cross now and then. +Flett's in touch with some of the American sheriffs, who'll give him +the tip, and the first time the fellows slip over the frontier he'll +get them. That would suit everybody better and save a blamed lot of +formalities." + +Flora nodded. + +"It strikes me as very likely; and Flett's perhaps the best man you +could have sent. But have you shown the photograph to my father?" + +"I did that before I left the homestead. There's nobody in the picture +like the fellow who drove with Mr. Grant, and he tells me he saw nobody +else. Now I must be getting on." + +He rode away, and Flora reverted to the topic she and George had been +discussing. + +"So you believe Mr. West is thinking of living here altogether! I +suppose he would be able to take a farm of moderate size?" + +"It wouldn't be very large; he can't have much money, but his people +would help him to make a start if they were satisfied. That means they +would consult me." + +Flora smiled. + +"And you feel you would be in a difficult position, if you were asked +whether it would be wise to let him marry a prairie girl? Have you +formed any decision about the matter?" + +She spoke in an indifferent tone, but George imagined that she was +interested. + +"I can't see why he shouldn't do so." + +"Think a little. West has been what you call well brought up, he's +fastidious, and I haven't found English people free from social +prejudices. Could you, as his friend, contemplate his marrying the +daughter of a storekeeper in a rather primitive western town? Taunton, +of course, is not a polished man." + +"I don't think that counts; he's a very good type in spite of it. The +girl's pretty, she has excellent manners, and she strikes me as having +sense--and in some respects Edgar has very little. I'll admit that at +one time I might not have approved of the idea, but I believe I've got +rid of one or two foolish opinions that I brought out with me. If Miss +Taunton is what she appears to be, he's lucky in getting her. Don't +you think so?" + +He had spoken with a little warmth, though, as Flora knew, he was +seldom emphatic; and a rather curious expression crept into her face. +He did not quite understand it, but he thought she was pleased for some +reason or other! + +"Oh," she said lightly, "I have told you my opinion." + +Nothing further was said about the subject, but George walked beside +his team in a state of calm content. His companion was unusually +gracious; she made a picture that was pleasant to watch as she sat, +finely poised, on the big horse, with the strong sunlight on her face. +Her voice was attractive, too; it reached him, clear and musical, +through the thud of hoofs and the creak of slowly-turning wheels, for +he made no attempt to hurry his team. + +When they reached the homestead, the conversation centered on the +constable's visit; and when the Grants left, Edgar stood outside with +George, watching the slender mounted figure grow smaller beside the +jolting buggy. + +"George," he said, "I've met very few girls who could compare with +Flora Grant, taking her all round." + +"That's correct," George told him. "As a matter of fact, I'm doubtful +whether you have met any who would bear the comparison. It was the +sillier ones who made a fuss over you." + +"I know of one," Edgar resumed. "As it happens, she's in Canada." + +"I'd a suspicion of something of the kind," George said dryly. + +Edgar made no answer, but presently he changed the subject. + +"What's the least one could take up a farm here with, and have a fair +chance of success?" + +"One understands it has been done with practically nothing on preempted +land, though I'm rather dubious. In your case, I'd fix five thousand +dollars as the minimum; more would be decidedly better." + +"Yes," said Edgar thoughtfully; "that's about my idea; and I suppose it +could be raised, though my share of what was left us has nearly all +been spent in cramming me with knowledge I've no great use for. +Stephen, however, has done pretty well, and I think he always realized +that it would be his privilege to give me a lift; I've no doubt he'll +write to you as soon as I mention the matter, and your answer will have +its effect." He looked at George with anxious eyes. "I venture to +think you'll strain a point to say what you can in my favor?" + +"In the first place, I'll ride over to the Butte and have supper with +Taunton, as soon as I can find the time." + +"Thanks," responded Edgar gratefully; "you won't have any doubts after +that." Then he broke into laughter. "You'll excuse me, but it's +really funny, George." + +"I don't see the joke," George said shortly. + +Edgar tried to look serious, and failed. + +"I can imagine your trying to weigh up Helen; starting a subtle +conversation to elucidate her character, and showing what you were +after and your profound ignorance with every word; though you mustn't +suppose I'd be afraid of submitting her to the severest test. Why, you +wouldn't even know when a girl was in love with you, unless she told +you so. Perhaps it's some excuse that your mind's fixed on one woman +to the exclusion of all the rest, though one could imagine that, as you +think of her, she's as unreal and as far removed from anything made of +flesh and blood as a saint in a picture. After all, I dare say it's a +very proper feeling." + +George left him, half amused and half disturbed. He did not resent +Edgar's freedom of speech, but the latter had a way of mixing hints +that were not altogether foolish with his badinage, and his comrade was +inclined to wonder what he had meant by one suggestive remark. It +troubled him as he strolled along the edge of the tall green wheat, but +he comforted himself with the thought that, after all, Edgar's +conversation was often unworthy of serious consideration. + +A week later George rode over to the store at the settlement, feeling a +little diffident, because he had undertaken the visit only from a sense +of duty. He was cordially received, and was presently taken in to +supper, which was served in a pretty room and presided over by a very +attractive girl. She had a pleasant voice and a quiet face; though he +thought she must have guessed his errand, she treated him with a +composure that set him at his ease. Indeed, she was by no means the +kind of girl he had expected Edgar to choose; but this was in her +favor. George could find no fault in her. + +Shortly after the meal was finished his host was called away, and the +girl looked up at George with a flush of color creeping, most +becomingly, into her face. + +"Edgar told me I needn't be afraid of you," she said. + +George smiled. + +"I can understand his confidence, though it had a better foundation +than my good-nature. I wonder whether I might venture to say that he +has shown remarkably good sense?" + +"I'm glad you don't think he has been very foolish," replied the girl, +and it was obvious to George that she understood the situation. + +He made her a little grave bow. + +"What I've said, I'm ready to stick to. I'm a friend of Edgar's, and +that carried an obligation." + +"Yes," she assented, "but it was because you are a friend of his and, +in a way, represent his people in England, that I was a little uneasy." + +Her speech implied a good deal and George admired her candor. + +"Well," he said, "so far as I am concerned, you must never feel +anything of the kind again. But I think you should have known it was +quite unnecessary." + +She gave him a grateful glance and soon afterward her father came in. + +"Guess we'll take a smoke in the back office," he said to George. + +George followed him, and thought he understood why he was led into the +little untidy room strewn with packets of goods, though his host had a +fine commodious house. Taunton would not attempt to dissociate himself +from his profession; he meant to be taken for what he was, but he knew +his value. He was a gaunt, elderly man: as far as his general +appearance went, a typical inhabitant of a remote and half-developed +western town, though there was a hint of authority in his face. Giving +George an excellent cigar, he pointed to a chair. + +"Now," he began, "we must have a talk. When your partner first came +hanging round my store, buying things he didn't want, I was kind of +short with him. Helen helps me now and then with the books, and he +seemed to know when she came in." + +"I noticed he came home in a rather bad temper once or twice," George +said with a laugh. "I used to wonder, when he produced sardine cans at +supper, but after a while I began to understand." + +"Well," continued Taunton, "I didn't intend to have any blamed Percy +trying to turn my girl's head, until I knew what he meant. I'd nobody +to talk it over with--I lost her mother long ago--so I kind of froze +him out, until one day he came dawdling in and asked if he might take +Helen to Jim Haxton's dance. + +"'Does she know you have come to me about it?' I said. + +"'Can't say,' he told me coolly, with a cigarette hanging out of his +mouth. 'I haven't mentioned the matter yet; I thought I'd ask you +first.' + +"'S'pose I object?' I said. + +"'Then,' he allowed quite tranquil, 'the thing will have to be +considered. There's not the slightest reason why you should object.' + +"I'd a notion I could agree with him--I liked the way he talked--and I +told him Helen could go, but the next time he called he was to walk +right into the office instead of hanging round the counter. I asked +him what he'd done with all the canned truck he'd bought, and he said +he was inclined to think his partner had eaten most of it. Since then +he's been over pretty often, and I figured it was time I gave you a +hint." + +"Thanks," responded George. "He was, in a way, placed in my hands, but +I've no real control over him." + +"That's so; he's of age. What I felt was this--I've nothing against +West, but my girl's good enough for anybody, and I can't have his +people in England looking down on her and making trouble. If they're +not satisfied, they had better call him back right now. There's to be +no high-toned condescension in this matter." + +"I don't think you need be afraid of that," said George. "It would be +altogether uncalled for. It's very likely that I shall be consulted, +and I'll have pleasure in telling his people that I consider him a +lucky man." + +"There's another point--has West any means?" + +"I believe about five thousand dollars could be raised to put him on a +farm." + +Taunton nodded. + +"It's not very much, but I don't know that I'm sorry. I'll see they're +fixed right; whatever West gets I'll beat. My girl shan't be indebted +to her husband's folks. But there's not a word to be said about this +yet. West must wait another year before we decide on anything." + +George thought the storekeeper's attitude could not be found fault +with, and when he drove home through the soft dusk of the summer night, +he was glad to feel that there was no need for anxiety about the choice +Edgar had made. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +THE LEADING WITNESS + +Three or four weeks passed quietly without any news from Flett until +one evening when Edgar sat talking to Miss Taunton in the office of her +father's store at Sage Butte. The little, dusty room was unpleasantly +hot and filled with the smell of resinous pine boards; there was a +drawl of voices and an occasional patter of footsteps outside the door; +and a big book, which seemed to have no claim on her attention, lay +open on the table in front of the girl. + +She was listening to Edgar with a smile in her eyes, and looking, so he +thought, remarkably attractive in her light summer dress which left her +pretty, round arms uncovered to the elbow and displayed the polished +whiteness of her neck. He was expressing his approval of the current +fashions, which he said were rational and particularly becoming to +people with skins like ivory. Indeed, he was so engrossed in his +subject that he did not hear footsteps approaching until his companion +flashed a warning glance at him; and he swung round with some annoyance +as the door opened. + +"I guessed I would find you here," said the station-agent, looking in +with an indulgent smile. + +"You're a thoughtful man," retorted Edgar. "You may as well tell me +what you want." + +"I've a wire from Flett, sent at Hatfield, down the line." + +"What can he be doing there?" Edgar exclaimed; and Miss Taunton showed +her interest. + +"He was coming through on the train. Wanted Mr. Lansing to meet him at +the station, if he was in town. Hadn't you better go along?" + +"I suppose so," said Edgar resignedly, glancing at his watch. "It +looks as if your men had taken their time. Flett should be here in +about a quarter of an hour now." + +"Operator had train orders to get through; we have two freights +side-tracked," the agent explained. "Don't be late; she's coming along +on time." + +He hurried out, and a few minutes later Edgar crossed the street and +strolled along the low wooden platform, upon which a smart constable +was waiting. A long trail of smoke, drawing rapidly nearer, streaked +the gray and ochre of the level plain, and presently the big engine and +dusty cars rolled into the station amid the hoarse tolling of the bell. +As they ran slowly past him, Edgar saw a police trooper leaning out +from a vestibule, and when the train stopped the constable on the +platform hurried toward the car. A hum of excited voices broke out and +Edgar had some difficulty in pushing through the growing crowd to reach +the steps. A constable, who had hard work to keep the others back, let +him pass, and he found Flett standing on the platform above, looking +rather jaded, with a pistol loose in his holster. + +"Isn't Mr. Lansing here?" Flett asked eagerly, and then turned to the +trooper. "Keep those fellows off!" + +"No," answered Edgar; "he hasn't come into town. But what's the cause +of this commotion? Have you got your men?" + +"Three of them," said Flett, with a look of pride. "I expect we'll get +the fourth. But come in a minute, out of the noise." + +The car was besieged. Curious men were clambering up the side of it, +trying to peer in through the windows; others disputed angrily with the +trooper who drove them off the steps. Eager questions were shouted and +scraps of random information given, and groups of people were excitedly +running across the street to the station. It was, however, a little +quieter in the vestibule when Flett had banged the door. He next +opened the inner door that led to the smoking compartment of the +Colonist car. In spite of its roominess, it was almost insufferably +hot and very dirty; the sunlight struck in through the windows; sand +and fine cinders lay thick upon the floor. A pile of old blue blankets +lay, neatly folded, on one of the wooden seats, and on those adjoining +sat three men. Two wore brown duck overalls, gray shirts, and big soft +hats; one was dressed in threadbare cloth; but there was nothing that +particularly suggested the criminal in any of their sunburned faces. +They looked hot and weary with the journey, and though their expression +was perhaps a little hard, they looked like harvest hands traveling in +search of work. One, who was quietly smoking, took his pipe from his +mouth and spoke to Flett. + +"Can't you get us some ice?" he asked. "The water in the tank isn't +fit to drink." + +"They haven't any here. You'll have to wait until we get to the +junction," Flett told him, and drew Edgar back into the vestibule. + +"We're taking them right along to Regina," he explained. "I'm sorry I +couldn't see Mr. Lansing, but I'll ride over as soon as I'm sent back. +If he's likely to be away, he'd better send word to the station." + +"I don't expect he'll leave the farm during the next few weeks," said +Edgar. + +Then one of the constables looked in. + +"Conductor says he can't hold up the train." + +"I'll be off," said Edgar, with a smile at Flett. "This should mean +promotion; it's a fine piece of work." + +He jumped down as the train pulled out and hurried back to the store +where Miss Taunton was eagerly awaiting news. Soon afterward he left; +and as he rode up to the homestead day was breaking, but he found +George already at work in the stable. + +"It's lucky we don't need your horse. If you're going to keep up this +kind of thing, you had better buy an automobile," he remarked. + +Edgar laughed. + +"I don't feel remarkably fresh, but I'll hold out until to-night. +There's the fallowing to be got on with; I suppose nothing must +interfere with that. But aren't you up a little earlier than usual?" + +"I want to haul in the posts for the new fence. Grierson has his hands +full, and now that there are four of us, Jake spends so much time in +cooking." + +"A reckless waste of precious minutes!" Edgar exclaimed ironically. +"If one could only get over these troublesome bodily needs, you could +add hours of work to every week and make Sylvia Marston rich. By the +way, Jake's cooking is getting awful." + +He put up his horse and busied himself with several tasks before he +went in to breakfast. When it was finished, and the others went out, +he detained George. + +"What did you think of that meal?" he asked. + +"Well," said George, "it might have been better." + +Edgar laughed scornfully. + +"It would take some time to tell you my opinion, but I may as well +point out that you're paying a big bill for stores to Taunton, though +we never get anything fit to eat. Helen and I were talking over your +account, and she wondered what we did with the things, besides giving +me an idea. It's this--why don't you tell Grierson to bring out his +wife?" + +"I never thought of it. She might not come; and she may not cook much +better than Jake." + +"She certainly couldn't cook worse! I expect she would save her wages, +and she would set a hired man free. Jake can drive a team." + +"It's a good idea," George agreed. "Send Grierson in." + +The man came a few minutes later. + +"We get on pretty well; I suppose you are willing to stay with me?" +George said to him. + +Grierson hesitated and looked disturbed. + +"The fact is, I'd be very sorry to leave; but I'm afraid I'll have to +by and by. You see, I've got to find a place I can take my wife to." + +"Can she cook?" + +"Yes," said Grierson, indicating the remnants on the table with +contempt. "She would do better than this with her eyes shut! Then," +he continued eagerly, "she can wash and mend clothes. I've noticed +that you and Mr. West throw half your things away long before you need +to." + +"That's true," Edgar admitted. "It's the custom of the country; time's +too valuable to spend in mending anything, though I've noticed that one +or two of the people who tell you about the value of time get through a +good deal of it lounging round the Sachem. Anyway, amateur +laundering's an abomination, and I'm most successful in washing the +buttons and wrist-bands off." He turned to his companion. "George, +you'll have to send for Mrs. Grierson." + +The matter was promptly arranged, and when Grierson went out with a +look of keen satisfaction, Edgar laughed. + +"I feel like pointing out how far an idea can go. Helen only thought +of making me a little more comfortable, and you see the result of +it--Grierson and his wife united, things put into shape here, four +people content! Of course, one could cite a more striking example; I +mean when Sylvia Marston thought you had better go out and look after +her farm. There's no need to mention the far-reaching consequences +that opinion had." + +"I volunteered to go out," George corrected him. + +"Well," said Edgar, "I quite believe you did so. But you're no doubt +pining to get at the fence." + +They went off to work, but Edgar, driving the gang-plow through the +stubble under a scorching sun, thought that Sylvia's idea might bear +more fruit than she had calculated on, and that it would be bitter to +her. His mind, however, was chiefly occupied with a more attractive +person, and once when he turned the heavy horses at the end of the +furrows he said softly, "May I deserve her!" and looked up with a tense +expression in his hot face, as if making some firm resolve, which was a +procedure that would have astonished even those who knew him well. + +A week passed, each day growing brighter and hotter, until the glare +flung back by sandy soil and whitening grass became painful, and George +and his assistants discarded most of their clothing when they went +about their tasks. The oats began to show a silvery gleam as they +swayed in the strong light; the wheat was changing color, and there +were warm coppery gleams among the heavy ears; horses and cattle sought +the poplars' shade. Then one evening when the Grants had driven over, +Flett arrived at the homestead, and, sitting on the stoop as the air +grew cooler, related his adventures. + +"I guess my chiefs wouldn't be pleased to hear me; we're not encouraged +to talk, but there's a reason for it, as you'll see when I'm through," +he said, and plunged abruptly into his narrative. + +It proved to be a moving tale of weary rides in scorching heat and in +the dusk of night, of rebuffs and daunting failures. Flett, as he +admitted, had several times been cleverly misled and had done some +unwise things, but he had never lost his patience nor relaxed his +efforts. Slowly and doggedly, picking up scraps of information where +he could, he had trailed his men to the frontier, where his real +troubles had begun. Once that he crossed it, he had no authority, and +the American sheriffs and deputies were not invariably sympathetic. +Some, he concluded, were unduly influenced by local opinion, which was +not in favor of interfering with people who confined their depredations +to Canadian horses. Others, who acknowledged past favors from Regina, +foresaw troublesome complications before he could be allowed to deport +the offenders; but some, with a strong sense of duty, offered willing +help, and that was how he had been able to make the arrests on Canadian +soil. + +"Now," he concluded, "we tracked these men from point to point and I've +evidence to prove most of their moves, but they never had the four +horses in a bunch until they made Montana, which is a point against us. +We can show they were working as a gang, that they were altogether with +the horses on American soil, but as we haven't corralled the only man +Mr. Grant could swear to, there's only one way of proving how they got +them. You see where all this leads?" + +"It looks as if you depended on my evidence for a conviction," said +George. + +Flett nodded. + +"You saw Mr. Grant attacked and the horses run off. You can identify +one man, and we'll connect him with the rest." + +He took out a paper and handed it to George. + +"It's my duty to serve you with this; and now that it's done, I'll warn +you to watch out until after the trial. If we can convict these +fellows, we smash the crowd, but we'd be helpless without you." + +George opened the document and found it a formal summons to attend the +court at Regina on a date specified. Then he produced another paper +and gave it to Flett with a smile. + +"The opposition seem to recognize my importance, and they move more +quickly than the police." + +The trooper took the letter, which was typed and bore no date or name +of place. + +"'Keep off this trial and you'll have no more trouble,'" he read aloud. +"'Back up the police and you'll be sorry. If you mean to drop them, +drive over to the Butte, Thursday, and get supper at the Queen's.'" + +"Yesterday was Thursday, and I didn't go," George said after a moment's +silence. + +The quiet intimation was not a surprise to any of them, and Flett +nodded as he examined the letter. + +"Not much of a clue," he remarked. "Toronto paper that's sold at every +store; mailed two stations down the line. Nobody would have met you at +the Queen's, but most anybody in town would know if you had been there. +Anyway, I'll take this along." He rose. "I can't stop, but I want to +say we're not afraid of your backing down." + +He rode off in a few more minutes and after a while the Grants took +their leave, but Flora walked down the trail with George while the team +was being harnessed. + +"You'll be careful, won't you?" she said. "These men are dangerous; +they know yours is the most important evidence. I shall be anxious +until the trial." + +There was something in her eyes and voice that sent a curious thrill +through George. + +"I don't think that's needful; I certainly won't be reckless," he said. + +Then Flora got into the vehicle; and during the next week or two George +took precautions. Indeed, he now and then felt a little uncomfortable +when he had occasion to pass a shadowy bluff. He carried a pistol when +he went around the outbuildings at night, and fell into a habit of +stopping to listen, ready to strike or shoot, each time he opened the +door of one in the dark. + +For all that, nothing occurred to excite suspicion, and after a while +he felt inclined to smile at his nervousness. At length, one day when +the trial was close at hand, and Edgar had gone to the Butte, the +mail-carrier brought him a note from Grant. + +It consisted of a couple of lines asking him to come over during the +evening, and as supper had been finished two hours before, George +realized that there was not much time to spare. Laying down the note, +he walked to the door and called his Canadian hired man. + +"Put the saddle on the brown horse, Jake; I'm going to Grant's." + +The man did as he was bidden, and when George was about to mount handed +him a repeating rifle. + +"Better take this along; cylinder's full," he said. "It will be dark +before you get there." + +George hesitated. The rifle was heavy, but it was a more reliable +weapon than a pistol, and he rode off with it. The sun had dipped when +he started, the air was rapidly cooling, and after spending the day +sinking holes for fence posts in the scorching sun, he found the swift +motion and the little breeze that fanned his face pleasant. To the +northwest, a flush of vivid crimson glowed along the horizon, but the +sweep of grass was growing dim and a bluff he reached at length stood +out, a sharp-cut, dusky mass, against the fading light. He pulled up +his horse on its outskirts. A narrow trail led through the wood, its +entrance marked by a dark gap among the shadowy trees, and it somehow +looked forbidding. The bluff, however, stretched across his path; it +was getting late, and George was a little impatient of the caution he +had been forced to exercise. Laying his rifle ready across the saddle, +he sent his horse forward. + +It was quite dark in the bluff, though here and there he could see a +glimmer of faint red and orange between the trees, and the stillness +had a slightly disturbing effect on him. Not a leaf moved, the beat of +his horse's hoofs rang sharply down the narrow trail above which the +thin birch branches met. He wanted to get out into the open, where he +could see about, as soon as possible. There was, however, no +ostensible cause for uneasiness and he rode on quietly, until he heard +a soft rustling among the slender trunks. Pulling up the horse, he +called out, and, as he half expected, got no answer. Then he cast a +swift glance ahead. There was a gleam of dim light not far away where +the trail led out of the bluff. Throwing the rifle to his shoulder, +George fired into the shadows. + +The horse plunged violently and broke into a frightened gallop. George +heard a whistle and a sharper rustling, and rode toward the light at a +furious pace. Then his horse suddenly stumbled and came down. The +rifle flew out of George's hand, and he was hurled against a tree. The +next moment he felt himself rudely seized, and what he thought was a +jacket was wrapped about his head. Shaken by his fall, he could make +no effective resistance, and he was dragged a few yards through the +bush and flung into a wagon. He tried to pull the jacket from his +face, and failed; somebody brutally beat him down against the side of +the vehicle when he struggled to get up. He heard a whip crack, the +wagon swayed and jolted, and he knew the team was starting at a gallop. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +FLORA'S ENLIGHTENMENT + +It was nearly midnight when Edgar returned from the settlement and saw, +to his surprise, lights still burning in the homestead. Entering the +living-room, he found Grierson sitting there with Jake, and it struck +him that they looked uneasy. + +"What's keeping you up?" he asked. + +"I thought I'd wait for the boss," said the Canadian. "He went over to +Grant's after supper, and he's not come back." + +"That's curious. He said nothing about going." + +"A note came by the mail. It's lying yonder." + +Edgar picked it up and brought it near the lamp. The paper was good +and printed with Grant's postal address, which was lengthy. + +"I figured I'd go and meet him," Jake resumed, "Took the shot-gun and +rode through the bluff. Didn't see anything of him, and it struck me +Grant might have kept him all night, as it was getting late. He's +stayed there before." + +Edgar examined the note, for he was far from satisfied. George had +only twice spent a night at Grant's, once when he was driving cattle, +and again when it would have been risky to face the weather. The paper +was undoubtedly Grant's, but Edgar could not identify the farmer's +hand; the notes that had come over had been written by Flora. Then he +remembered that George had bought some implements from Grant, and had +filed the rancher's receipt. Edgar hurriedly found it and compared it +with the letter. Then his face grew troubled, for the writing was not +the same. + +"I'm afraid Mr. Lansing never got to Grant's," he said. "I'll ride +over at once." + +"Then I'm coming," Jake said shortly. "I'll bring the gun along." + +Grierson lifted a clenched brown hand. + +"So am I! If Mr. Lansing's hurt, somebody's got to pay!" + +Edgar was stirred by something in their looks and voices; George had +gained a hold on these men's loyalty which the regular payment of wages +could never have given him. He merely signified assent, and, running +out, sprang into the saddle. The others had evidently had their horses +ready, for he heard them riding after him in a minute or two, though he +was galloping recklessly through the bluff when they came up. The +homestead was dark when they reached it, and they shouted once or twice +before Grant came down. + +"Is George here?" Edgar asked. + +"No," said Grant, "we didn't expect him." + +"Then get on your clothes quick! There's work on hand!" + +Grant brought him in and struck a light, then hurriedly left the room; +and Flora came with him, fully dressed, when he reappeared. Edgar +supposed she had heard his sharp inquiry at the door, and he noticed +that her expression was strained. He threw the note on the table. + +"After what you said, I needn't ask if you wrote that." + +"I didn't," Grant told him. "It's not like my hand. I suppose Lansing +started when he got it and has not come back?" + +"You have guessed right. Where are they likely to have waylaid him, +and where will they probably take him?" + +"The bluff, sure. They might head north for empty country, or south +for the frontier." + +"The frontier," Flora broke in. + +"It's what I think," said Edgar. "Shall I send a man for Flett, or +will you?" + +"That's fixed, anyway," said a voice outside the open door. "We're not +going." + +It was obvious that the hired men had followed them as far as the +passage, for Grierson, entering the room, explained: + +"He means we've made up our minds to look for Mr. Lansing." + +Grant nodded in assent. + +"Then my man goes. Turn out the boys, Jake; you know the place. I +want three horses saddled, quick." + +"Four," said Flora, firmly. "I'm coming." + +Grant did not try to dissuade her. + +"Write to Flett," he said. + +He went out hastily in search of blankets and provisions, and when he +returned, his hired men had gathered about the door and the note was +finished. He threw it to one of them. + +"Ride with that as hard as you can," he said, and called another, +"You'll come with us." + +"We're a strong party already," Edgar broke in. "You're leaving the +place poorly guarded, and the rustlers may have counted on something of +the kind. Suppose they finish their work by driving off every beast +that's left as soon as we have gone." + +"I've got to take my chances; we'll want the boys to make a thorough +search." + +Grant swung round toward the remaining men. + +"You two will watch out behind the woodstack or in the granary. No +stranger's to come near house or stable." + +"The woodpile," said Flora, with a hard white face and an ominous +sparkle in her eyes. "You would command the outbuildings there. If +anybody tries to creep up at night, call once, and then shoot to kill." + +Edgar saw that she meant her instructions to be carried out; but he +forced a smile. + +"And this is the Canadian wheat-belt, which I was told was so peaceful +and orderly!" + +"It looks as if you had been misinformed," Flora rejoined with a cold +collectedness which he thought of as dangerous. "One, however, now and +then hears of violent crime in London." + +They were mounted in a few minutes, and after a hard ride the party +broke up at dawn, dispersing so that each member of it could make +independent search and inquiries at the scattered homesteads. Meeting +places and means of communication were arranged; but Flora and her +father rode together, pushing on steadily southward over the vast gray +plain. Little was said except when they called at some outlying farm, +but Grant now and then glanced at the girl's set face with keenly +scrutinizing eyes. In the middle of the scorching afternoon he +suggested that she should await his return at a homestead in the +distance, but was not surprised when she uncompromisingly refused. +They spent the night at a small ranch, borrowed fresh horses in the +morning, and set out again; but they found no trace of the fugitives +during the day, and it was evening when Edgar and Grierson joined them, +as arranged, at a lonely farm. The two men rode in wearily on jaded +horses, and Flora, who was the first to notice their approach, went out +to meet them. + +"Nothing?" she said, when she saw their dejected faces. + +"Nothing," Edgar listlessly answered. "If the people we have seen +aren't in league with the rustlers--and I don't think that's +probable--the fellows must have gone a different way." + +"They've gone south!" Flora insisted. "We may be a little too far to +the east of their track." + +"Then, we must try a different line of country tomorrow." + +The farmer's wife had promised to find Flora quarters, the men were +offered accommodation in a barn, and when the air cooled sharply in the +evening, Edgar walked out on to the prairie with the girl. She had +kept near him since his arrival, but he was inclined to believe this +was rather on account of his association with George than because she +found any charm in his society. By and by, they sat down on a low rise +from which they could see the sweep of grass run on, changing to shades +of blue and purple, toward the smoky red glare of sunset on its western +rim. To the south, it was all dim and steeped in dull neutral tones, +conveying an idea of vast distance. + +Flora shivered, drawing her thin linen jacket together while she +buttoned it, and Edgar noticed something beneath it that broke the +outline of her waist. + +"What's that at your belt?" he asked. + +"A magazine pistol," she answered with a rather harsh laugh, producing +the beautifully made weapon, + +"It's a pretty thing. I wonder whether you can use it?" + +"Will you stand up at about twenty paces and hold out your hat?" + +"Certainly not!" said Edgar firmly. "I wouldn't mind putting it on a +stick, only that the shot would bring the others out. But I've no +doubt you can handle a pistol; you're a curious people." + +He thought the last remark was justified. Here was a girl, as refined +and highly trained in many ways as any he had met, and yet who owned a +dangerous weapon and could use it effectively. Then there was her +father, an industrious, peaceable farmer, whose attention was, as a +rule, strictly confined to the amassing of money, but who was +nevertheless capable of riding or shooting down the outlaws who +molested him or his friends. What made the thing more striking was +that neither of them had been used to alarms; they had dwelt in calm +security until the past twelve months. Edgar, however, remembered that +they sprang from a stock that had struggled sternly for existence with +forest and flood and frost; no doubt, in time of stress, the strong +primitive strain came uppermost. Their nature had not been altogether +softened by civilization. The thought flung a useful light upon +Flora's character. + +"If the trial's a lengthy one and these fellows hold him up until it's +over, it will be a serious thing for George," he resumed, by way of +implying that this was the worst that could befall his comrade. "The +grain's ripening fast, and he hasn't made his arrangements for harvest +yet. Men seem pretty scarce around here, just now." + +"It's a good crop; I'm glad of that," said Flora, willing to avoid the +graver side of the topic. "Mr. Lansing was anxious about it, but this +harvest should set him on his feet. I suppose he hasn't paid off the +full price of the farm." + +"As a matter of fact, he hasn't paid anything at all." + +"Then has he only rented the place?" + +There was surprise and strong interest in the girl's expression and +Edgar saw that he had made a telling admission. However, he did not +regret it. + +"No," he said; "that's not the case, either. The farm is still Mrs. +Marston's." + +"Ah! There's something I don't understand." + +Edgar was sorry for her, and he felt that she was entitled to an +explanation. Indeed, since George was strangely unobservant, he +thought it should have been made earlier; but the matter had appeared +too delicate for him to meddle with. Now, however, when the girl's +nature was strongly stirred, there was a risk that, supposing his +comrade was discovered wounded or was rescued in some dramatic way, she +might be driven to a betrayal of her feelings that would seriously +embarrass George and afterward cause her distress. + +"George," he explained, "is merely carrying on the farm as Mrs. +Marston's trustee." + +"But that hardly accounts for his keen eagerness to make his farming +profitable. It strikes one as springing from something stronger than +his duty as trustee." + +Edgar nodded. + +"Well, you see, he is in love with her!" + +Flora sat quite still for a moment or two, and then laughed--a little +bitter laugh; she was overstrained and could not repress it. A flood +of hot color surged into her face, but in another moment she had +recovered some degree of composure. + +"So that is why he came out?" she said. + +"Yes; he was in love with her before she married Marston. At least, +that's his impression." + +"His impression?" echoed Flora, keenly anxious to cover any signs of +the shock she had received and to learn all that could be told. "Do +you mean that Mr. Lansing doesn't know whether he is in love with her +or not?" + +"No, not exactly!" Edgar felt that he was on dangerous ground. "I'm +afraid I can't quite explain what I really do mean. George, of course, +is convinced about the thing; but I've a suspicion that he may be +mistaken; though he'd be very indignant if he heard me say so." + +He paused, doubtful whether he was handling the matter prudently, but +he felt that something must be done to relieve the strain, and +continued: + +"George has the faculty of respectful admiration highly developed, but +he doesn't use it with much judgment; in fact, he's a rather reckless +idealist. There are excuses for him; he was never much thrown into +women's society." + +"You think that explains it?" Flora forced a smile. "But go on." + +"My idea is that George has been led by admiration and pity, and not by +love at all. I don't think he knows the difference; he's not much of a +psychologist. Then, you see, he's thorough, and having got an idea +into his mind, it possesses him and drives him to action. He doesn't +stop to analyze his feelings." + +"So he came out to look after Mrs. Marston's property because he felt +sorry for her, and believed her worthy of respect? What is your +opinion of her?" + +"I'll confess that I wish she hadn't captivated George." + +Flora's face grew very scornful. + +"I haven't your chivalrous scruples; and I know Mrs. Marston. She's +utterly worthless! What is likely to happen when your comrade finds it +out?" + +Then she rose abruptly. + +"After all, that's a matter which chiefly concerns Mr. Lansing, and I +dare say the woman he believes in will be capable of dealing with the +situation. Let's talk of something else." + +They turned back toward the farm, but Edgar found it difficult to start +a fresh topic. All the workings of his mind centered upon George, and +he suspected that his companion's thoughts had a similar tendency. It +was getting dark when they rejoined the rest of the party, and the next +morning Flett and another constable rode in. They had discovered +nothing, but as they were ready to take up the trail, Grant left the +task to them and turned back with his men. + +Flora long remembered the dreary two day's ride, for although she had +borne it with courage, Edgar's news had caused her a painful shock. +She had, from the beginning, been strongly drawn to George, and when he +had been carried off the knowledge that she loved him had been brought +home to her. Now, looking back with rudely opened eyes, there was +little comfort in recognizing that he had made no demands on her +affection. Bitter as she was, she could not blame him; she had been +madly foolish and must suffer for it. She called her pride to the +rescue, but it failed her. The torturing anxiety about the man's fate +remained, and with it a humiliating regret, which was not altogether +selfish, that it was Sylvia Marston he had chosen. Sylvia, who was +clever, had, of course, tricked him; but this was no consolation. It +was, however, needful to hide her feelings from her father and assume +an interest in his remarks, though, when he spoke, it was always of +Lansing and what had probably befallen him. + +The prairie was dazzlingly bright, the trail they followed was thick +with fine black dust, and most of the day the heat was trying; the girl +felt utterly jaded and very heavy of heart, but when it appeared +desirable she forced herself to talk. Her father must never suspect +her folly, though she wondered uneasily how far she might have betrayed +it to West. Reaching the homestead at length, she resumed her duties, +and anxiously waited for news of George. Once that she heard he was +safe, it would, she thought, be easier to drive him out of her mind +forever. + +As it happened, George had received only a few bruises in the bluff, +and, after realizing that there was no chance of escape for the +present, he lay still in the bottom of the wagon. He blamed himself +for riding so readily into the trap, since it was obvious that his +assailants had known he was going to visit Grant, and had stretched a +strand of fence wire or something of the kind across the trail. They +would have removed it afterward and there would be nothing left to show +what had befallen him. This, however was a matter of minor consequence +and he endeavored to determine which way his captors were driving. +Judging the nature of the trail by the jolting, he decided that they +meant to leave the wood where he entered it, which suggested that they +were going south, and this was what he had anticipated. Though he was +sore from the effect of his fall and the rough handling which had +followed it, he did not think he would suffer any further violence, so +long as he made no attempt to get away. The men, no doubt, only +intended to prevent his giving evidence, by keeping him a prisoner +until after the trial. + +When morning came, the wagon was still moving at a good pace, though +the roughness of the motion indicated that it was not following a +trail. This was all George could discover, because one of the men tied +his arms and legs before removing the jacket which had muffled his head. + +"I guess you can't get up, but it wouldn't be wise to try," the fellow +pointed out significantly. + +George took the hint. He meant to escape and attend the court, but he +had no wish to ruin any chance of his doing so by making a premature +attempt. His captors meant to prevent his seeing which way they were +going, but he could make out that the sky was brightest on the left +side of the wagon, which indicated that they were heading south. They +stopped at noon in a thick bluff, from which, when he was released and +allowed to get down, he could see nothing of the prairie. Only one man +remained to watch him; but as he was armed, and George could hear the +others not far away, he decided that his escape must be postponed. + +During the afternoon, they went on again, George occupying his former +position in the bottom of the wagon, where it was unpleasantly hot; but +the strongest glare was now on his right side, which showed him that +they were still holding south. Their destination was evidently the +American frontier. In the evening they camped near a thicket of low +scrub, and after supper George was permitted to wander about and +stretch his aching limbs. It was rolling country, broken by low rises, +and he could not see more than a mile or two. There was nothing that +served as a, landmark, and as soon as he began to stroll away from the +camp he was sharply recalled. In the end, he sat down to smoke, and +did not move until he was told to get into the wagon, where a blanket +was thrown him. So far, he had been permitted to see only one of his +captors near at hand. + +The next morning they set out again. George thought that fresh horses +had been obtained in the night, because they drove at a rapid pace most +of the day; and he was tired and sore with the jolting when they camped +in another bluff at sunset. Two more days were spent in much the same +way; and then late at night they stopped at a little building standing +in the midst of an unbroken plain, and George was released and told to +get out. One of the men lighted a lantern and led him into an empty +stable, built of thick sods. It looked as if it had not been occupied +for a long time, but part of it had been roughly boarded off, as if for +a harness room or store. + +"You have got your blanket," said his companion. "Put it down where +you like. There's only one door to this place, and you can't get at it +without passing me. I got a sleep in the wagon and don't want any more +to-night." + +George heard the vehicle jolt away, and sat down to smoke while the +beat of hoofs gradually sank into the silence of the plain. Then he +wrapped his blanket about him and went to sleep on the earthen floor. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +THE ESCAPE + +George got up the next morning feeling cramped and sore after his +journey, and carefully looked about. The building had solid walls of +sod; such rude stalls as it had been fitted with had been removed, +perhaps for the sake of the lumber. He could not reach the door +without alarming his jailer, who had taken up his quarters behind the +board partition; and there was only one small window, placed high up +and intended mainly for ventilation. The window was very dusty, but it +opened and George could see out by standing up, though the aperture was +not large enough to squeeze through. + +Outside stood some timbers which had once formed part of a shack, and a +few strands of fence wire, trailing from tottering posts, ran into the +grass. The place appeared to have been a farm, whose owner had, no +doubt, abandoned it after finding the soil too light, or after losing a +crop by frost; but George was more curious to discover if there were +any other homesteads in the vicinity. His view was restricted, but +there was no sign of life on the quarter-circle it commanded. A flat, +grassy waste, broken only by a few clumps of brush, ran back to the +horizon, and by the cold blue of the sky and the drift of a few light +clouds floating before the prevalent westerly wind, he knew he was +looking north. This was the way he must take if he could escape, but +there was no house in which he could seek refuge, and scarcely any +cover. It was clear that he must obtain a good start before he was +missed. He had an idea that he would escape, though he admitted that +it was more optimistic than rational. + +Then he turned with a start, to see his jailer standing beside him, +grinning. The man had a hard, determined face. + +"Guess you can't get out that way; and it wouldn't be much use, +anyhow," he drawled. "The country's pretty open; it would take you a +mighty long while to get out of sight." + +"That's how it struck me," George confessed with an air of good-humored +resignation. "Do you mean to keep me here any time?" + +"Until the trial," the other answered, standing a little away from him +with his hand thrust suggestively into a pocket. "We'll be glad to get +rid of you when it's finished, but you certainly can't get away before +we let you go." + +George cast a glance of keen but unobtrusive scrutiny at the man. They +were, he thought, about equal in physical strength; the other's +superiority consisted in his being armed, and George had no doubt that +he was proficient with his weapons. He had seen a rifle carried into +the building, the man's hand was now resting on a pistol, and there was +a light ax outside. It looked as if an attempt to escape would be +attended with a serious risk, and George realized that he must wait +until chance or some slackening of vigilance on his custodians' part +equalized matters. + +He was given breakfast, and afterward told that he could go out and +split some wood, which he was glad to do. There was a pile of branches +and a few rotten boards that had once formed part of the shack, and he +set to work to break them up, while the rustler sat and smoked in the +doorway. The man ran no risk in doing so; there was not a bush within +a quarter of a mile, and George knew that a bullet would speedily cut +short his flight. He could see nothing that promised a secure hiding +place all the way to the skyline, and he thought that the plain ran on +beyond it, as little broken. When he had cut some wood, he turned back +toward the door, and the man regarded him with a meaning smile. + +"Come in, if you want; but leave the ax right there," he said. + +He moved back a few paces, out of reach of a sudden spring, as George +entered, and the latter realized that he did not mean to be taken by +surprise. During the afternoon, another man arrived on horseback with +some provisions and remained until George went to sleep. The following +morning, the stranger had disappeared, but he came again once or twice, +and this was all that broke the monotony of the next few days. George, +however, was beginning to feel the strain; his nerves were getting raw, +the constant watchfulness was wearing him. The trial would now be +beginning, and it was time the binders were driven into his grain; the +oats would be ripe, and his neighbors would pick up all the Ontario +hands who reached the settlement. Another day passed, and he was +feeling desperate when the relief watcher arrived in the afternoon. +Listening with strained attention, he heard the men talking outside. +Only a few words reached him, but one was "adjourned," and it filled +him with fresh determination. If he could escape, it might not be too +late. + +It was an oppressive afternoon; the fresh northwest breeze had dropped, +the sky was clouded, the air hot and heavy. Both men remained about +the building, but George sat quietly on the earth floor, smoking and +waiting for night. A few large drops of rain fell, splashing upon roof +and grass while he ate his supper, but it stopped, and the evening was +marked by a deep stillness. He felt listless and disinclined to move; +his guards, to judge by their voices, for they were playing cards +outside, were languidly irritable. + +Dusk came and a thick obscurity, unlike the usual clearness of the +summer nights, shut in the lonely building. It was intensely dark in +the stable; George could not see the relief man's horse, though he +could now and then hear it move. Voices rose at intervals from beyond +the partition, but they ceased at last and only an occasional crackle +of the dry grass that served for seats and bedding told that one at +least of the rustlers was keeping watch. George felt his limbs quiver +while he waited, and he was conscious of an unpleasant tension on his +nerves. There was thunder brewing, and he thought the storm might +offer him an opportunity for getting out. + +At length it struck him that the silence was unusually deep. Rising to +his feet he moved about. There was no challenge; and by way of further +experiment, he kicked his tin plate so that it rattled. Still nobody +called to him, though the horse made a little noise in moving. George +sat down and took off his boots while his heart throbbed painfully. It +looked as if his guards had gone to sleep. He moved a few yards, +stopped to listen, and went on for several paces more. There was no +sound yet beyond the partition, and he crept softly past the horse; he +longed to lead it out, but decided that the risk would be too great. + +Then he stood in the gap between the wall and the partition, straining +eyes and ears, and wondering where the rifle lay. He could see +nothing, however; and, creeping on cautiously, with tingling nerves and +an intolerable feeling of suspense, he drew level with the doorway. It +was hard to refrain from leaping out, but this might make some noise. +Crossing the threshold with careful movements, he made for the spot +where he had cut the wood. He struck something that rattled, but he +found the ax and the feel of it sent a thrill through him. It was +light enough to be carried easily; and he did not mean to be recaptured. + +For some minutes he moved straight on, hurting his feet on the stronger +grass stalks; and then, sitting down, he hastily put on his boots. +After that he broke into a steady run, which he meant to keep up as +long as possible. He was now anxious that the threatened storm should +not break, because if the rustlers had gone to sleep, the longer they +remained so the better. He failed to understand how he had escaped; +perhaps his guards had been lulled into false security by his tranquil +demeanor; perhaps they had trusted to each other; or one, rendered +listless by the tension in the air, had relaxed his watchfulness for a +few moments. This, however, did not matter. George was free; and he +only wished that he had some idea as to where he was heading. He +wanted to place a long distance between him and the stable by morning. + +Dripping with perspiration, breathing hard, he kept up a steady pace +for, so he thought, an hour, after which he walked a mile or two, and +then broke into a run again. The grass was short; he struck no brush, +and the ax did not encumber him. He imagined that dawn must be getting +near when a dazzling flash swept the prairie and there was a long +reverberatory rumbling overhead. He was almost blinded and bewildered, +doubly uncertain where he was going; and then a great stream of white +fire fell from the zenith. The thunder that followed was deafening, +and for the next few minutes blaze succeeded blaze, and there was a +constant crashing and rumbling overhead. After that came a rush of +chilly wind and the air was filled with falling water. + +A hot, steamy smell rose about him; but George, who had been walking +again, began to run. He must use every exertion, for if he were right +in concluding that he had been detained on American soil, his pursuers +would follow him north, and when daylight came a mounted man's view +would command a wide sweep of level prairie. The storm passed away, +muttering, into the distance; the rain ceased, and the air was fresh +and cool until the sun sprang up. It was on his right hand, he thought +he had kept his line; but he stopped to consider on the edge of a +ravine. The sides of the hollow were clothed with tall, wet grass and +brush; it would offer good cover, but he could hardly avoid leaving a +track if he followed it, and his pursuers would search such spots. It +seemed wiser to push on across the plain. + +Descending through the thinnest brush he could find, he stopped for a +drink from the creek at the bottom, and then went on as fast as +possible. He was becoming conscious of a pain in his left side; one +foot felt sore; and as the sun got hotter a longing to lie down a while +grew steadily stronger. Still, he could see nothing but short, gray +grass ahead; he must hold on; there might be bluffs or broken country +beyond the skyline. + +At length a small square block cut against the dazzling brightness and +slowly grew into a lonely homestead. After some consideration, George +headed for it, and toward noon reached a little, birch-log dwelling, +with a sod stable beside it. Both had an uncared-for appearance, which +suggested their owner's poverty. As George approached the door, a +gaunt, hard-faced man in dilapidated overalls came out and gazed at him +in surprise. George's clothing, which had been torn when he was seized +in the bluff, had further suffered during the deluge. He looked a +weary, ragged outcast. + +"Can you give me something to eat and hire me a horse?" he asked. + +The farmer seemed suspicious. + +"Guess I want my horses for the binder; I'm harvesting oats." + +"I'll pay you well for the time you lose," George broke out. + +"How much?" + +Thrusting his hand into his pocket, George found with dismay that his +wallet, which contained some bills, was missing. + +"Anything you ask in reason, but you'll have to take a check on a +Brandon bank. Have you got a pen and paper in the house?" + +"How am I to know your check's good?" The farmer laughed ironically. + +George was doubtful of the man, but he must take a risk. + +"My name's Lansing, from the Marston homestead, beyond Sage Butte. +It's a pretty big place; any check I give you will be honored." + +The farmer looked at him with growing interest. + +"Well," he said, "you can't have my horse." + +It was evident from his manner that reasoning would be useless. + +"How does Sage Butte lie from here?" George asked him. + +"Can't tell you; I've never been in the place." + +George realized that he had blundered, both in calling at the homestead +and in mentioning his name, which had figured in the newspaper account +of the attack on Grant. The farmer, it seemed, had a good idea of the +situation, and if not in league with the rustlers, was afraid of them. +George was wasting time and giving information that might put his +pursuers on his trail. In the meanwhile he noticed a face at the +window and a voice called to the man, who stepped back into the house +and appeared again with a big slab of cold pie. + +"Take this and light out," he said. + +Having eaten nothing since his supper, George was glad of the food; but +he walked on smartly for an hour before he sat down in a clump of brush +and made a meal. Then he lighted his pipe and spent a couple of hours +in much needed rest. Haste was highly desirable; he had no doubt that +he was being followed, but he could go no farther for a while. + +It was very hot when he got up; he was sore all over, and his foot was +paining, but he set off at a run and kept it up until he had crossed a +rise two miles away. The country was getting more broken, which was in +his favor, because the clumps of bush and the small elevations would +tend to hide him. He went on until dusk, without finding any water; +and then lay down among some tall grass in the open. There was a +little bluff not far off, but if the rustlers came that way, he thought +they would search it. It grew cold as darkness crept down; indeed he +imagined that the temperature had fallen to near freezing-point, as it +sometimes does on the plains after a scorching day. + +Part of the night he lay awake, shivering; but during the rest he +slept; and he rose at dawn, very cold and wet with dew. His foot was +very sore, and he had a sharp pain in his side. For the first hour, +walking cost him an effort; but as he grew warmer it became less +difficult, and his foot felt easier. Then, as he crossed a slight +elevation, he saw a faint gray smear on the far horizon and it sent a +thrill through him. Canadian locomotives burning native coal pour out +clouds of thick black smoke which can be seen a long way in the clear +air of the prairie. George was thirty or forty feet, he thought, above +the general level of the plain, the light was strong, and he imagined +that it would take him most of the day to reach the spot over which the +smoke had floated. He was, however, heading for the track, and he +gathered his courage. + +He saw no more smoke for a long time--the increasing brightness seemed +to diminish the clarity of the air. Before noon the pain in his side +had become almost insupportable, and his head was swimming; he felt +worn out, scarcely able to keep on his feet, but again a gray streak on +the horizon put heart into him. It did not appear to move for a while, +and he thought it must have been made by a freight-engine working about +a station. Then, as he came down the gradual slope of a wide +depression, a long bluff on its opposite verge cut the skyline, a hazy +smear of neutral color. He determined to reach the wood and lie down +for a time in its shadow. + +It scarcely seemed to grow any nearer, and an hour had passed before it +assumed any regularity of outline. When it had grown into shape, +George stopped and looked about. It was fiercely hot, the grass was +dazzlingly bright, there was no house or sign of cultivation as far as +his sight ranged; but on glancing back he started as he saw three small +mounted figures on the plain. They had not been there when he last +turned around, and they were moving, spread out about a mile apart. It +was obvious that the rustlers were on his trail. For another moment he +looked at the bluff, breathing hard, with his lips tight set. If he +could reach the wood before he was overtaken, it would offer him cover +from a bullet, and if he could not evade his enemies, he might make a +stand with the ax among the thicker trees. It was an irrational idea, +as he half recognized; but he had grown savage with fatigue, and he had +already suffered as much as he was capable of bearing at the hands of +the cattle thieves. Now he meant to turn on them; but he would be at +their mercy in the open. + +His weariness seemed to fall away from him to give place to grim fury +as he broke into a run, and he did not look back for a while. When he +did so, the figures had grown larger; one could see that they were +moving swiftly; and the bluff was still far away. George believed that +he had been noticed and he strove to quicken his pace. The beat of +hoofs was in his ears when he next looked around; the three horsemen +were converging, growing more distinct; and the bluff was still a mile +ahead. He was stumbling and reeling, his hat fell off, and he dared +not stop to pick it up. + +A mile was covered; he would not look back again, though the thud of +hoofs had swelled into a sharp staccato drumming. With face fiercely +set and the perspiration dripping from him, he held on, scorched and +partly dazzled by the glare. The wood was getting closer; he thought +it was scarcely a quarter of a mile off. His heart throbbed madly, the +pain in his side had grown excruciating; but somehow he must keep +going. His eyes smarted with the moisture that ran into them, his lips +and mouth were salty; he was suffering torment; but he kept on his feet. + +At length, when the trees were close ahead, a faint smudge of smoke +appeared on the edge of them; there was a report like a whipcrack, and +he stopped in despair. His last refuge was held against him. Then, as +he turned in savage desperation to meet the rustlers' onslaught with +the ax, he saw there were only two horsemen, who pulled up suddenly, +about sixty yards away. The third was not visible, but his horse, +which had fallen, was struggling in the grass. As the meaning of this +dawned on George he broke in a wild, breathless yell of exultation; +there was another crack behind him, and the two horsemen wheeled. They +were not too soon, for a mounted man in khaki with something that +flashed across his saddle was riding hard from behind the bluff to cut +them off. Another appeared, going at a furious gallop, and George +stood watching while the four figures grew smaller upon the prairie. + +Turning at a shout he saw Flett and Edgar walking toward him, and he +went with them to the fallen horse. A man lay, gray in face, among the +grass, held down by the body of the animal which partly rested upon him. + +"Get me out," he begged hoarsely. "Leg's broke." + +George felt incapable of helping. He sat down while the other two +extricated the man; then Flett placed his carbine against the horse's +head, and after the report it ceased its struggling. + +"She came down on me sudden; couldn't get my foot clear in time," the +rustler explained. + +"You had to be stopped. I sighted at a hundred; a quick shot," Flett +remarked. "Is there anything else the matter except your leg?" + +"I guess it's enough," said the helpless man. + +Flett turned to George. + +"Walk into the bluff and you'll strike our camp. West must stay with +me until we put on some fixing that will hold this fellow's leg +together." + +George did as he was bidden, and sat down again limply when he reached +an opening in the wood where a pile of branches, with a kettle +suspended over them, had been laid ready for lighting. Presently the +others rejoined him. + +"The fellow can't be moved until we get a wagon," said Flett. "We've +been looking for you all over the country, but it was quite a while +before we got a hint that sent us down this way. We had stopped in the +bluff when we saw a fellow running with three mounted men after him, +and we lay close, expecting to get the bunch. It's unfortunate they +got too near you and I had to shoot, but I guess the boys will bring +them back." + +Edgar looked at his comrade reproachfully. + +"If you could only have sprinted a little and kept ahead, we would +either have outflanked them or have had the finest imaginable ride with +every chance of running the fellows down. As things turned out, I +couldn't go off with the troopers until I found that you had got +through unhurt." + +"I'm sorry," George told him, with a little dry laugh. "But I don't +think I spared any effort during the last quarter of a mile." + +Then he related his adventures, and answered a number of questions. + +"You'll take my horse," said Flett, "and start for the railroad as soon +as you feel able. Get on to Regina by the first train; judging by the +last wire I got, you'll still be in time. West had better go with you +to the station, and he can send a wagon for the man who's hurt. Now I +guess we'll get you something to eat." + +"I shouldn't mind," said George. "It's twenty-four hours since my last +meal, and that one was remarkably small." + +He drank a canful of cold tea, and then went suddenly to sleep while +the others lighted the fire. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +THE REACTION + +The trial at Regina proved sensational. Crimes attended with violence +were not unknown in the vicinity, and cattle were now and then stolen +in the neighboring province of Alberta; but that such things as the +prosecutor's tale revealed should happen aroused wide-spread +astonishment and virtuous indignation. Nevertheless, they were proved, +for Flett had procured a number of witnesses and, what was more, had +secured their attendance. + +In addition to this, other offenses were hinted at; the doings of an +organized gang of desperadoes and their accomplices were detailed, and +facts were brought to light which made the withdrawal of the Sachem +license inevitable. The defense took strong exception to this mode of +procedure, pointing out that the court was only concerned with a +specified offense, and that it was not permissible to drag in +extraneous and largely supposititious matter. During the sweltering +days the trial lasted, there were brisk encounters between the lawyers, +and several points the prosecution sought to prove were ruled +irrelevant. As a climax, came George's story, which caused a +sensation, though the close-packed assembly felt that he scarcely did +justice to his theme. + +In concluding, the Crown prosecutor pointed out how rapidly the +outbreaks of turbulent lawlessness had spread. They were all, he +contended, connected with and leading up to the last outrage, of which +the men before him were accused. It was obvious that this unruliness +must be sternly stamped out before it spread farther, and if the court +agreed with him that the charge was fully proved, he must press for a +drastic and deterrent penalty. + +The odds were heavily against the defense from the beginning. The +credibility of Flett's witnesses could not be assailed, and +cross-examination only threw a more favorable light upon their +character. Inside the court, and out of it as the newspapers +circulated, Grant stood revealed as a fearless citizen, with a stern +sense of his duty to the community; George, somewhat to his annoyance, +as a more romantic personage of the same description, and Hardie, who +had been brought in to prove certain points against which the defense +protested, as one who had fought and suffered in a righteous cause. + +In the end, the three prisoners were convicted, and when the court +broke up the police applied for several fresh warrants, which were +issued. + +As George was walking toward his hotel, he met Flett, to whom he had +not spoken since they separated in the bluff. + +"I was waiting for you," said the constable. "I'm sorry we'll have to +call you up again as soon as the rustler's leg is better. He's in the +guard-room, and the boys got one of the other fellows; but we can talk +about it on the train. I'm going back to my post." + +George arranged to meet him, and they were sitting in a roomy smoking +compartment as the big express sped across wide gray levels and past +vast stretches of ripening grain, when the next allusion was made to +the matter. + +"I suppose you'll be sergeant shortly," George remarked. + +"Corporal comes first," said Flett. "They stick to the regular +rotation." + +"That's true, but they seem to use some discretion in exceptional +cases. I hardly think you'll remain a corporal." + +Flett's eyes twinkled. + +"I did get something that sounded like a hint. I'll confess that I +felt like whooping after it." + +"You have deserved all you'll get," George declared. + +They spent the night at a junction, where Flett had some business, and +it was the next evening when the local train ran into Sage Butte. The +platform was crowded and as George and Flett alighted, there was a +cheer and, somewhat to their astonishment, the reeve of the town +advanced to meet them. + +"I'm here to welcome you in the name of the citizens of the Butte," he +said. "We have to request the favor of your company at supper at the +Queen's." + +"It's an honor," George responded. "I'm sensible of it; but, you see, +I'm in a hurry to get back to work and I wired for a team. My harvest +should have been started a week ago." + +"Don't you worry 'bout that," said the reeve. "It wasn't our wish that +you should suffer through discharging your duty, and we made a few +arrangements. Four binders have been working steady in your oats, and +if you don't like the way we have fixed things, you can alter them +to-morrow." + +Then West touched George's arm. + +"You'll have to come. They've got two other victims--Hardie and +Grant--and the supper's ready." + +The reeve looked at him in stern rebuke. + +"That isn't the way to speak of this function, Percy. If you feel like +a victim, you can drop right out." + +George was touched by the man's intimation. He expressed his +satisfaction, and the whole assembly escorted him to the hotel. There +he and Grant and Hardie were seated at the top of a long table near the +reeve, who made a short opening speech. + +"Business first, and then the supper, boys," he said. "Corporal Flett +can't come; his bosses wouldn't approve of it; but I'll see it put in +the Sentinel that he was asked, and we won't mind if that has some +effect on them. There's another thing--out of deference to Mr. Hardie +and the change in opinion he has ably led--you'll only get tea and +coffee at this entertainment. Those who haven't signed his book, must +hold out until it's over." + +An excellent meal had been finished when he got up again, with three +illuminated strips of parchment in his hand. + +"I'll be brief, but there's something to be said. Our guests have set +us an example which won't be lost. They saw the danger of letting +things drift; one of them warned us plainly, although to do so needed +grit, and some of us rounded on him, and if the others didn't talk, it +was because that wasn't their end of the job. They knew their duty to +the country and they did it, though it cost them something. We owe it +to them that the police have smashed the rustler gang, and that from +now on no small homesteader can be bluffed or tempted into doing what's +sure to bring him into trouble, and no man with a big farm need fear to +let his cattle run. What's more, instead of a haunt of toughs and +hobos, we're going to have a quiet and prosperous town. I'm now proud +that it's my duty to hand our guests the assurance of our grateful +appreciation. Corporal Flett's will be sent on to him." + +He handed them the parchments, and George felt inclined to blush as he +glanced at the decorated words of eulogy; while a half-ironical twinkle +crept into Grant's eyes. Then Hardie rose to reply, and faltered once +or twice with a sob of emotion in his voice, for the testimonial had a +deeper significance to him than it had to the others. His audience, +however, encouraged him, and there was a roar of applause when he sat +down. Soon after that the gathering broke up. + +George went to the parlor, which served as writing-room, and found +Flora there. She smiled as she noticed the end of the parchment +sticking out of his pocket. + +"I dare say you're relieved that the ceremony's over," she said. + +"It was a little trying," George confessed. "I was badly afraid I'd +have to make a speech, but luckily we had Hardie, who was equal to the +task." + +"After all, you needn't be ashamed of the testimonial. I really think +you deserved it, and I suppose I must congratulate you on the fortunate +end of your dramatic adventures." + +George stood looking at her. He was somewhat puzzled, for there was a +hint of light mockery in her voice. + +"I'll excuse you if you feel that it requires an effort," he said. + +"Oh, you have had so much applause that mine can hardly count." + +"You ought to know that it's my friends' good opinion I really value." + +Flora changed the subject. + +"You will be driving out in the morning?" + +"I'm starting as soon as Edgar has the team ready. There's a good moon +and I must get to work the first thing to-morrow." + +The girl's face hardened. + +"You seem desperately anxious about your crop." + +"I think that's natural. There's a good deal to be done and I've lost +some time. I came in to write a note before I see what Edgar's doing." + +"Then I mustn't disturb you, and it's time I went over to Mrs. +Nelson's--she expects me to stay the night. I was merely waiting for a +word with my father." She stopped George, who had meant to accompany +her. "No, you needn't come--it's only a few blocks away. Get your +note written." + +Seeing that she did not desire his escort, George let her go; but he +frowned as he sat down and took out some paper. Soon afterward Edgar +came in, and they drove off in a few more minutes. + +"Did you see Miss Grant?" Edgar asked when they were jolting down the +rutted trail. + +"I did," George said shortly. + +"You seem disturbed about it." + +"I was a little perplexed," George owned. "There was something that +struck me as different in her manner. It may have been imagination, +but I felt she wasn't exactly pleased with me. I can't understand how +I have offended her." + +"No," said Edgar. "It would have been remarkable if you had done so. +I suppose you told her you couldn't rest until you got to work at the +harvest?" + +"I believe I said something of the kind. What has that to do with it?" + +"It isn't very obvious. Perhaps she felt tired or moody; it has been a +blazing hot day. There's every sign of its being the same to-morrow. +I suppose you'll make a start after breakfast?" + +"I'll make a start as soon as it's daylight," George told him. + +He kept his word, and for the next few weeks toiled with determined +energy among the tall white oats and the coppery ears of wheat. It was +fiercely hot, but from sunrise until the light failed, the plodding +teams and clinking binders moved round the lessening squares of grain, +and ranks of splendid sheaves lengthened fast behind them. The nights +were getting sharp, the dawns were cold and clear, and George rose each +morning, aching in every limb, but with a keen sense of satisfaction. +Each day's work added to the store of money he would shortly hand to +Sylvia. He saw little of Flora, but when they met by chance, as +happened once or twice, he was still conscious of something subtly +unfamiliar in her manner. He felt they were no longer on the old +confidential footing; a stronger barrier of reserve had risen between +them. + +Before the last sheaves were stacked, the days were growing cool. The +fresh western breezes had died away, and a faint ethereal haze and a +deep stillness had fallen upon the prairie. It was rudely broken when +the thrashers arrived and from early morning the clatter of the engine +filled the air with sound. Loaded wagons crashed through the stubble, +the voices of dusty men mingled with the rustle of the sheaves, and a +long trail of sooty smoke stained the soft blue of the sky. + +This work was finished in turn, and day by day the wagons, loaded high +with bags of grain, rolled slowly across the broad white levels toward +the elevators. Many a tense effort was needed to get them to their +destination, for the trails were dry and loose; but markets were +strong, and George had decided to haul in all the big crop. Sometimes, +though the nights were frosty, he slept beside his jaded team in the +shelter of a bluff; sometimes he spent a day he grudged laying straw on +a road; rest for more than three or four hours was unknown to him, and +meals were snatched at irregular intervals when matters of more +importance were less pressing. For all that, he was uniformly +cheerful; the work brought him the greatest pleasure he had known, and +he had grown fond of the wide, open land, in which he had once looked +forward to dwelling with misgivings. The freedom of its vast spaces, +its clear air and its bright sunshine, appealed to him, and he began to +realize that he would be sorry to leave it, which he must shortly do. +Sylvia, it was a pity, could not live in western Canada. + +At length, on a frosty evening, he saw the last load vanish into the +dusty elevator, and a curious feeling of regret crept over him. It was +very doubtful if he would haul in another harvest, and he wondered +whether the time would now and then hang heavily on his hands in +England. There was a roar of machinery above him in the tail building +that cut sharply against the sky; below, long rows of wagons stood +waiting their turn, and the voices of the teamsters, bantering one +another, struck cheerfully on his ears. Side-track and little station +were bathed in dazzling electric glare, two locomotives were pushing in +wheat cars, and lights had begun to glimmer in the wooden houses of the +Butte, though all round there was the vast sweep of prairie. + +There was a touch of rawness in the picture, a hint of incompleteness, +with a promise of much to come. Sage Butte was, perhaps, a trifle +barbarous; but its crude frame buildings would some day give place to +more imposing piles of concrete and steel. Its inhabitants were +passing through a transition stage, showing signs at times of the +primitive strain, but, as a rule, reaching out eagerly toward what was +new and better. They would make swift progress, and even now he liked +the strenuous, optimistic, and somewhat rugged life they led; he +reflected that he would find things different in sheltered England. + +After giving Grierson a few instructions, George turned away. His work +was done; instead of driving home through the sharp cold of the night, +he was to spend it comfortably at the hotel. + +A week later, he and West drove over to the Grant homestead and found +only its owner in the general-room. Grant listened with a rather +curious expression when George told him that he was starting for +England the following day; and then they quietly talked over the +arrangements that had been made for carrying on the farm until Edgar's +return, for George's future movements were uncertain. Edgar, however, +was sensible of a constraint in the farmer's manner, which was +presently felt by George, and the conversation was languishing when +Flora came in. Shortly afterward George said that they must go and +Flora strolled toward the fence with him while the team was being +harnessed. + +"So you are leaving us to-morrow and may not come back?" she said, in +an indifferent tone. + +"I can't tell what I shall do until I get to England." + +Flora glanced at him with a composure that cost her an effort. She +supposed his decision would turn upon Mrs. Marston's attitude, but she +knew Sylvia well, and had a suspicion that there was a disappointment +in store for Lansing. Edgar had explained that he was not rich, and he +was not the kind of man Sylvia was likely to regard with favor. + +"Well," she said lightly, "when I came in, you really didn't look as +cheerful as one might have expected. Are you sorry you are going away?" + +"It's a good deal harder than I thought. The prairie seems to have got +hold of me; I have good friends here." + +"Haven't you plenty in England?" + +"Acquaintances; only a few friends. I can't help regretting those I +must leave behind. In fact"--he spoke impulsively, expressing a +thought that had haunted him--"it would be a relief if I knew I should +come back again." + +"After all, this is a hard country and we're a rather primitive people." + +"You're reliable! Staunch friends, determined enemies; and even among +the latter I found a kind of sporting feeling which made it a little +easier for one to forget one's injuries." He glanced at the prairie +which stretched away, white and silent, in the clear evening light. +"It's irrational in a way, but I'd be glad to feel I was going to work +as usual to-morrow." + +"I suppose you could do so, if you really wanted to," Flora suggested. + +George turned and looked fixedly at her, while a mad idea crept into +his mind. She was very alluring; he thought he knew her nature, which +was altogether wholesome, and it flashed upon him that many of the +excellent qualities she possessed were lacking in Sylvia. Then he +loyally drove out the temptation, wondering that it had assailed him, +though he was still clearly conscious of his companion's attractiveness. + +"No," he said in a somewhat strained voice; "I hardly think that's +possible. I must go back." + +Flora smiled, though it was difficult. She half believed she could +shake the man's devotion to her rival, but she was too proud to try. +If he came to her, he must come willingly, and not because she had +exerted her utmost power to draw him. + +"Well," she responded, "one could consider the reluctant way you spoke +the last few words as flattering. I suppose it's a compliment to +Canada?" + +He failed to understand the light touch of mocking amusement in her +tone; it had not dawned on him that this was her defense. + +"It's a compliment to the Canadians, though my appreciation can't be +worth very much. But I don't feel in a mood to joke. In fact, there's +a feeling of depression abroad to-night; even your father seems +affected. I'd expected a pleasant talk with him, but we were very +dull." + +"What made you think he was less cheerful than usual?" Flora cast a +quick and rather startled glance at him. + +"I don't know, but something seemed wrong. Edgar's the only one who +looks undisturbed, and if he talks much going home, he'll get on my +nerves." + +"It's hardly fair to blame him for a depression that's your fault," +said Flora. "You deserve to feel it, since you will go away." + +Then Edgar came up with the wagon and George took Flora's hands. + +"I shall think of you often," he told her. "It will always be with +pleasure. Now and then you might, perhaps, spare a thought for me." + +"I think I can promise that," Flora replied quietly. + +Then he shook hands with Grant and got into the wagon. Edgar cracked +the whip and the team plunged forward. With a violent jolting and a +rattle of wheels they left the farm behind and drove out on to the +prairie. Flora stood watching them for a while; and then walked back +to the house in the gathering dusk with her face set hard and a pain at +her heart. + +Grant was sitting on the stoop, filling his pipe, but when she joined +him he paused in his occupation and pointed toward the plain. The +wagon was scarcely discernible, but a rhythmic beat of hoofs still came +back through the stillness. + +"I like that man, but he's a blamed fool," he remarked. + +Strong bitterness was mingled with the regret in his voice, and Flora +started. She was glad that the light was too dim for him to see her +clearly. + +"I wonder what makes you say that?" + +"For one thing, he might have done well here." Flora suspected that her +father was not expressing all he had meant. "He's the kind of man we +want; and now he's going back to fool his life away, slouching round +playing games and talking to idle people, in the old country. Guess +some girl over there has got a hold on him." Then his indignation +flamed out unchecked. "I never could stand those Percy women, anyway; +saw a bunch of them, all dress and airs, when I was last in Winnipeg. +One was standing outside a ticket-office at Portage, studying the +people through an eyeglass on an ivory stick, as if they were some +strange savages, and making remarks about them to her friends, though I +guess there isn't a young woman in the city with nerve enough to wear +the clothes she had on. It makes a sensible man mighty tired to hear +those creatures talk." + +Flora laughed, rather drearily, though she guessed with some uneasiness +the cause of her father's outbreak. It appeared injudicious to offer +him any encouragement. + +"After all, one must be fair," she said. "I met some very nice people +in the old country." + +He turned to her abruptly. + +"Do you know who has taken Lansing back?" he asked. + +"I believe, from something West said, it is Mrs. Marston." + +"That trash!" Grant's sharp cry expressed incredulity. "The man can't +have any sense! He's going to be sorry all the time if he gets her." + +Then he knocked out his pipe, as if he were too indignant to smoke, and +went into the house. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +A REVELATION + +It was a winter evening and Sylvia was standing near the hearth in Mrs. +Kettering's hall, where the lamps were burning, though a little pale +daylight still filtered through the drizzle outside. Sylvia was fond +of warmth and brightness, but she was alone except for Ethel West, who +sat writing at a table in a recess, although her hostess had other +guests, including a few men who were out shooting. After a while Ethel +looked up. + +"Have you or Herbert heard anything from George during the last few +weeks?" she asked. + +Sylvia turned languidly. Her thoughts had been fixed on Captain Bland, +whom she was expecting every moment. Indeed, she was anxious to get +rid of Ethel before he came in. + +"No," she said with indifference. "I think his last letter came a +month ago. It was optimistic." + +"They seem to have had a good harvest from what Edgar wrote; he hinted +that he might make a trip across." + +"It's rather an expensive journey." + +"That wouldn't trouble Edgar, and there's a reason for the visit. He +has made up his mind to start farming and wants to talk over his plans. +In fact, he thinks of getting married." + +Sylvia showed some interest. + +"To whom? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" + +"I only arrived this morning, and I wrote some time ago, asking if you +could meet Stephen and me. You were with the Graysons then, but you +didn't answer." + +"I forgot; I don't always answer letters. But who is the girl? Not +Miss Grant?" + +"Helen Taunton. Do you know her?" + +Sylvia laughed. + +"The storekeeper's daughter! She's passably good-looking and her +father's not badly off, but that's about all one could say for her." + +"Do you know anything against the girl?" + +"Oh, no!" said Sylvia languidly. "She's quite respectable--in fact, +they're rather a straight-laced people; and she doesn't talk badly. +For all that, I think you'll get a shock if Edgar brings her home." + +"That is not George's opinion. We wrote to him." + +Sylvia laughed. + +"He would believe in anybody who looked innocent and pretty." + +Ethel's expression hardened; Sylvia had not been considerate. + +"I don't think that's true. He's generous, and though he has made +mistakes, it was only because his confidence was misled with a highly +finished skill. One wouldn't look for the same ability in a girl +brought up in a primitive western town." + +"After all," said Sylvia tranquilly, "she is a girl, and no doubt Edgar +is worth powder and shot from her point of view." + +"It doesn't seem to be a commercial one," Ethel retorted. "Stephen had +a very straightforward letter from this storekeeper. But I'm inclined +to think I had better go on with my writing." + +Sylvia moved away. She had no reason for being gracious to Ethel, and +she took some pleasure in irritating her. + +In a few minutes Bland came in. The hall was large, and Ethel was +hidden from him in the recess. He strode toward Sylvia eagerly, but +she checked him with a gesture. + +"You have come back early," she said. "Wasn't the sport good? What +has become of Kettering and the others?" + +The man looked a little surprised. This was hardly the greeting he had +expected, after having been promised a quiet half-hour with Sylvia; +but, looking round, he saw the skirt of Ethel's dress and understood. +Had it been George she wished to warn, she would have used different +means; but Bland, she was thankful, was not hypercritical. + +"The sport was poor," he told her. "The pheasants aren't very strong +yet, and it was hard to drive them out of the covers. As I'd only a +light water-proof, I got rather wet outside the last wood and I left +the others. Kettering wanted to see the keeper about to-morrow's beat, +but I didn't wait." + +"Since you have been in the rain all day, you had better have some +tea," said Sylvia. "They'll bring it here, if you ring." + +He followed her to a small table across the hall, and after a tray had +been set before them they sat talking in low voices. Presently Bland +laid his hand on Sylvia's arm. + +"You know why I came down," he said. "I must go back to-morrow and I +want the announcement made before I leave." + +Sylvia blushed and lowered her eyes. + +"Oh, well," she conceded, "you have really been very patient, and +perhaps it would be hardly fair to make you wait any longer." + +Bland took her hand and held it fast. + +"You are worth waiting for! But there were times when it was very hard +not to rebel. I'd have done so, only I was afraid." + +"You did rebel." + +"Not to much purpose. Though no one would suspect it from your looks, +you're a very determined person, Sylvia. Now I don't know how to +express my feelings; I want to do something dramatic, even if it's +absurd, and I can't even speak aloud. Couldn't you have got rid of +Miss West by some means?" + +"How could I tell what you wished to say?" Sylvia asked with a shy +smile. "Besides, Ethel wouldn't go. She stuck there in the most +determined fashion!" + +"Then we'll have to disregard her. It must be early next year, Sylvia. +I'll see Lansing to-morrow." + +He continued in a quietly exultant strain, and Sylvia felt relieved +that her fate was decided. She had some time ago led him to believe +she would marry him; but she had, with vague misgivings and prompted by +half-understood reasons, put off a definite engagement. Now she had +given her pledge, and though she thought of George with faint regret, +she was on the whole conscious of satisfaction. Bland, she believed, +had a good deal to offer her which she could not have enjoyed with his +rival. + +Presently a servant brought Ethel something on a salver, and a few +moments later she approached the other two with a telegram in her hand. + +"I thought I had better tell you, Sylvia," she explained. "Stephen has +just got a letter from Edgar, written a day or two before he sailed. +He should arrive on Saturday, and George is with him." + +Sylvia had not expected this and she was off her guard. She started, +and sat looking at Ethel incredulously, with something like +consternation. + +"It's quite true," said Ethel bluntly. "He'll be here in three more +days." + +Then Sylvia recovered her composure. + +"In that case, I'll have to let Muriel know at once; he'll go straight +there, and she's staying with Lucy. Perhaps I had better telegraph." + +She rose and left them; and Bland sought Mrs. Kettering and acquainted +her of his engagement, and begged her to make it known, which she +promised to do. He failed to find Sylvia until she was coming down to +dinner, when she beckoned him. + +"Have you told Susan yet?" she asked. + +"Yes," Bland beamed; "I told her at once. I should have liked to go +about proclaiming the delightful news!" + +Sylvia looked disturbed; Bland could almost have fancied she was angry. +As a matter of fact, troubled thoughts were flying through her mind. +It was obvious that she would shortly be called upon to face a crisis. + +"After all," she said, with an air of resignation which struck him as +out of place, "I suppose you had to do so; but you lost no time." + +"Not a moment!" he assured her. "I felt I couldn't neglect anything +that brought you nearer to me." + +Then they went on, and meeting the other guests in the hall, Sylvia +acknowledged the shower of congratulations with a smiling face. She +escaped after dinner, however, without a sign to Bland, and did not +reappear. During the evening, he found Ethel West sitting alone in a +quiet nook. + +"Mrs. Marston seemed a little disturbed at the news you gave her," he +remarked. + +"So I thought," said Ethel. + +"I suppose the George you mentioned is her trustee, who went to Canada +and took your brother? You once told me something about him." + +"Yes," said Ethel. "You seem to have the gift of arriving at correct +conclusions." + +"He's an elderly man--a business man of his cousin's stamp--I presume?" + +Ethel laughed. + +"Oh, no; they're of very different type. I should imagine that he's +younger than you are. He was at Herbert's one afternoon when you +called." + +"Ah!" said Bland. "I shall, no doubt, get to know him when next I come +down." + +Then he talked about other matters until he left her, and after a while +he found Kettering alone. + +"Did you ever meet George Lansing?" he asked. + +"Oh, yes," said his host. "I know his cousin better." + +"He has been out in Canada, hasn't he?" + +"Yes; went out to look after Mrs. Marston's property. I understand he +has been more or less successful." + +"When did he leave England?" + +Kettering told him, and Bland considered. + +"So Lansing has been out, and no doubt going to a good deal of trouble, +for two years," he said. "That's something beyond an ordinary +executor's duty. What made him undertake it?" + +Kettering smiled. + +"It's an open secret--you're bound to hear it--that he had an +admiration for Sylvia. Still, there's no ground for jealousy. Lansing +hadn't a chance from the beginning." + +Bland concealed his feelings. + +"How is that? He must be an unusually good fellow if he stayed out +there to look after things so long." + +"For one reason, he's not Sylvia's kind. It was quite out of the +question that she should ever have married him." + +Feeling that he had, perhaps, said too much, Kettering began to talk of +the next day's sport; and soon afterward Bland left him and went out on +the terrace to smoke and ponder. Putting what he had learned together, +he thought he understood the situation, and it was not a pleasant one, +though he was not very indignant with Sylvia. It looked as if she made +an unfair use of Lansing's regard for her, unless, in spite of +Kettering's opinion, she had until lately been undecided how to choose +between them. Nevertheless, Bland could not feel that he had now been +rudely undeceived, for he had always recognized some of Sylvia's +failings. He did not expect perfection; and he could be generous, when +he had won. + +He asked Sylvia no injudicious questions when they met the next +morning, and during the day he called on Herbert Lansing, who was back +in his office. The latter heard him explain his errand with somewhat +mixed feelings, for there were certain rather troublesome facts that +must be mentioned. + +"Well," he said, "I have, of course, no objections to make; but, as one +of her trustees, it's my duty to look after Sylvia's interests. As you +know, she is not rich." + +"I suppose these points must he talked over," Bland said, with +indifference. + +"It's usual, and in the present case, necessary. What provision are +you able to make?" + +Bland looked a little uncomfortable. "As a matter of fact, I'd find it +difficult to make any provision. I get along fairly well, as it is, +but I've only about four hundred a year besides my pay." + +"How far does your pay go?" Herbert asked dryly. + +"It covers my mess bills and a few expenses of that nature." + +Herbert leaned back in his chair with a smile. + +"Hasn't it struck you that you should have chosen a wife with money?" + +"Now," said Bland rather sternly, "I don't want to lie open to any +misconception, but I understood that Mrs. Marston had some means. I'm +quite prepared to hear they're small." + +"That's fortunate, because it may save you a shock. Sylvia owns a farm +in Canada, which did not repay the cost of working it last year. +During the present one there has been an improvement, and we expect a +small surplus on the two years' operations. The place has been valued +at--but perhaps I had better give you a few figures, showing you how +matters stand." + +Opening a drawer, he handed a paper to Bland, who studied it with a +sense of dismay. + +"I'll confess that this is an unpleasant surprise," he said at length; +and then, while Herbert waited, he pulled himself together with a +laugh. "After that admission, I must add that the mistake is the +result of my having a sanguine imagination; Sylvia scarcely mentioned +her Canadian property. Now, however, there's only one thing to be +done--to face the situation as cheerfully as possible." + +"It can't be an altogether attractive one." Herbert admired his courage +and the attitude he had adopted. + +"I shall certainly have to economize," Bland admitted; "and that is a +thing I'm not accustomed to; but I may get some appointment, and by and +by a small share in some family property will revert to me. Though I +must go straight back to my garrison duties now, I'll come down for an +hour or two and explain things to Sylvia, as soon as I can." He paused +and broke into a faint smile. "I dare say the surprise will be mutual; +she may have believed my means to be larger than they are." + +"I should consider it very possible," replied Herbert dryly. "As I +must see Sylvia, I'll give her an idea how matters stand and clear the +ground for you." + +Bland said that he would be glad of this; and after some further +conversation he took his leave and walked to the station, disturbed in +mind, but conscious of a little ironical amusement. There was no doubt +that Sylvia had cleverly deluded him, but he admitted that he had done +much the same thing to her. Had he realized the true state of her +affairs at the beginning he would have withdrawn; but he had no thought +of doing so now. It was obvious that Sylvia's principles were not very +high, and he regretted it, although he could not claim much superiority +in this respect. He was tolerant and, after all, she had a charm that +atoned for many failings. + +It was three or four days later when he arrived at Mrs. Kettering's +house one evening and found Sylvia awaiting him in a room reserved for +her hostess's use. She was very becomingly dressed and looked, he +thought, even more attractive than usual. She submitted to his caress +with an air of resignation, but he augured a good deal from the fact +that she did not repulse him. As it happened, Sylvia had carefully +thought over the situation. + +"Sit down," she said; "I want to talk with you." + +"I think I'll stand. It's more difficult to feel penitent in a +comfortable position. It looks as if you had seen Herbert Lansing." + +"I have." Sylvia's tone was harsh. "What have you to say for yourself?" + +"Not a great deal, which is fortunate, because I haven't much time to +say it in," Bland told her with a smile. "To begin with, I'll state +the unflattering truth--it strikes me that, in one way, we're each as +bad as the other. I suppose it's one of my privileges to mention such +facts to you, though I'd never think of admitting them to anybody else." + +"It's a husband's privilege," Sylvia rejoined pointedly. "Don't be +premature." + +"Well," said Bland, "I can only make one defense, but I think you ought +to realize how strong it is. We were thrown into each other's society, +and it isn't in the least surprising that I lost my head and was +carried away. My power of reasoning went when I fell in love with you." + +"That sounds pretty, but it's unfortunate you didn't think of me a +little more," pouted Sylvia. + +"Think of you?" Bland broke out. "I thought of nothing else!" + +"Then it wasn't to much purpose. Don't you see what you want to bring +me to? Can't you realize what I should have to give up? How could we +ever manage on the little we have?" + +The man frowned. He was sorry for her and somewhat ashamed, but she +jarred on him in her present mood. + +"I believe people who were sufficiently fond of each other have often +got along pretty satisfactorily on less, even in the Service. It's a +matter of keen regret to me that you will have to make a sacrifice, but +things are not quite so bad as they look, and there's reason for +believing they may get better. You will have as pleasant society as +you enjoy now; my friends will stand by my wife." A look of pride +crept into his face. "I dare say they have their failings, but they'll +only expect charm from you, and you can give it to them. They won't +value you by the display you make or your possessions. We're free from +that taint." + +"But have you considered what you must give up?" + +Bland had hardly expected this, but he smiled. + +"Oh, yes. I spent an evening over it and I was a little surprised to +find how many things there were I could readily do without. In fact, +it was a most instructive evening. The next day I wrote a bundle of +letters, resigning from clubs I rarely went to, and canceling orders +for odds and ends I hadn't the least real use for. But I'll confess +that I've derived a good deal more pleasure from thinking of how much I +shall get." + +Sylvia was touched, but she did not mean to yield too readily. + +"It would be dreadfully imprudent." + +"Just so; one has often to take a risk. It's rather exciting to fling +prudence overboard. I want to fix my whole attention on the fact that +we love each other!" Bland glanced at his watch. "Now it strikes me +that we have been sufficiently practical, and as I must start back +to-night, I haven't much time left. Don't you think it would be a pity +to waste it?" + +He drew her down beside him on a lounge and Sylvia surrendered. After +all, the man had made a good defense and, as far as her nature +permitted, she had grown fond of him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +GEORGE MAKES UP HIS MIND + +Dusk was closing in when George and Edgar alighted at a little English +station. Casting an eager glance about, George was disappointed to see +nobody from his cousin's house waiting to meet him. In another moment, +however, he was warmly greeted by Ethel West. + +"A very hearty welcome, George," she said. "You're looking very fit, +but thinner than you were when you left us. Stephen's waiting outside. +He told Muriel we would drive you over; Herbert's away somewhere." + +"How's everybody?" George inquired. + +"Sylvia looked as charming as ever when I last saw her a few days ago," +Ethel answered with a smile, which George was too eager to notice was +somewhat forced. "The rest of us, are much as usual. But come along; +we'll send over afterward for your heavy things." + +They turned toward the outlet, and found Stephen having some trouble +with a horse that was startled by the roar of steam. Edgar got up in +front of the high trap, George helped Ethel to the seat behind, and +they set off the next moment, flying down the wet road amid a cheerful +hammer of hoofs and a rattle of wheels. For the first few minutes +George said little as he looked about. On one side great oaks and +ashes raised their naked boughs in sharp tracery against the pale +saffron glow in the western sky. Ahead, across a deep valley, which +was streaked with trains of mist, wide moors and hills rolled away, +gray and darkly blue. Down the long slope to the hollow ran small +fields with great trees breaking the lines of hedgerows; and the +brawling of a river swollen by recent rain came sharply up to him. + +It was all good to look upon, a beautiful, well-cared-for land, and he +felt a thrill of pride and satisfaction. This was home, and he had +come back to it with his work done. A roseate future stretched away +before him, its peaceful duties brightened by love, and the contrast +between it and the stress and struggle of the past two years added to +its charm. Still, to his astonishment, he thought of the sterner and +more strenuous life he had led on the western plains with a faint, +half-tender regret. + +By and by Edgar's laugh rang out. + +"The change in my brother is remarkable," Ethel declared. "It was a +very happy thought that made us let him go with you." + +"I'm not responsible," George rejoined. "You have the country to +thank. In some way, it's a hard land; but it's a good one." + +"Perhaps something is due to Miss Taunton's influence." + +Edgar leaned over the back of the seat. + +"That," he said, "is a subject of which I've a monopoly; and I've +volumes to say upon it as soon as there's a chance of doing it justice. +George, I hear that Singleton, who told us about the wheat, is home on +a visit. Stephen has asked him over; you must meet him." + +George said he would be glad to do so, and turned to Ethel when Edgar +resumed his conversation with his brother. + +"I wired Herbert to have everything ready at my place, though I shall +spend the night at Brantholme." + +"The Lodge is let. Didn't you know?" + +"I understood that the man's tenancy ran out a few weeks ago." + +"He renewed it. Herbert didn't know you were coming over; the terms +were good." + +"Then I'm homeless for a time." + +"Oh, no!" said Ethel. "Stephen wanted me to insist on your coming with +us now, but I know you will want to see Muriel and have a talk with +her. However, we'll expect you to come and take up your quarters with +us to-morrow." + +George looked at her in some surprise. + +"I'd be delighted, but Herbert will expect me to stay with him, and, of +course--" + +"Sylvia hadn't arrived this afternoon; she was at Mrs. Kettering's," +Ethel told him. "But remember that you must stay with us until you +make your arrangements. We should find it hard to forgive you if you +went to anybody else." + +"I wouldn't think of it, only that Herbert's the obvious person to +entertain me," George replied, though he was a little puzzled by the +insistence, and Ethel abruptly began to talk of something else. + +Darkness came, but there were gleams of cheerful light from roadside +cottages, and George found the fresh moist air and the shadowy woods +they skirted pleasantly familiar. This was the quiet English +countryside he loved, and a sense of deep and tranquil content +possessed him. He failed to notice that Ethel cleverly avoided +answering some of his questions and talked rather more than usual about +matters of small importance. At length they reached the Brantholme +gates, and Stephen looked down as George alighted. + +"We'll expect you over shortly; I'll send for your baggage," he said as +he drove off. + +George, to his keen disappointment, found only Mrs. Lansing waiting for +him in the hall, though she received him very cordially, + +"Herbert had to go up to London; he didn't get your wire in time to put +off the journey," she explained. "I'm sorry he can't be back for a few +days." + +"It doesn't matter; he has to attend to his business," George rejoined. +"But where's Sylvia?" + +"She hasn't come back from Susan's," said Mrs. Lansing, quickly +changing the subject and explaining why Herbert had re-let the Lodge. +After that, she asked George questions until she sent him off to +prepare for dinner. + +George was perplexed as well as disappointed. Neither Ethel nor Muriel +seemed inclined to speak about Sylvia--it looked as if they had some +reason for avoiding any reference to her; but he assured himself that +this was imagination, and during dinner he confined his inquiries to +other friends. When it was over and Muriel led him into the +drawing-room, his uneasiness grew more keen. + +"Herbert thought you would like to know as soon as possible how things +were going," Muriel said, as she took a big envelope from a drawer and +gave it to him. + +"He told me this was a rough statement of your business affairs." + +"Thanks," said George, thrusting it carelessly into his pocket. "I +must study it sometime. But I've been looking forward all day to +meeting Sylvia. Wouldn't Susan let her come?" + +Mrs. Lansing hesitated, and then, leaning forward, laid her hand on his +arm. + +"I've kept it back a little, George; but you must be told. I'm afraid +it will be a shock---Sylvia is to marry Captain Bland in the next few +weeks." + +George rose and turned rather gray in the face, as he leaned on the +back of a chair. + +"I suppose," he said hoarsely, "there's no doubt of this?" + +"It's all arranged." Mrs. Lansing made a compassionate gesture. "I +can't tell you how sorry I am, or how hateful it was to have to give +you such news." + +"I can understand why Sylvia preferred to leave it to you," he said +slowly. "How long has this matter been going on?" + +Mrs. Lansing's eyes sparkled with anger. + +"I believe it began soon after you left. I don't know whether Sylvia +expects me to make excuses for her, but I won't do anything of the +kind; there are none that could be made. She has behaved shamefully!" + +"One must be just," George said with an effort. "After all, she +promised me nothing." + +"Perhaps not in so many words. But she knew what you expected, and I +have no doubt she led you to believe--" + +George raised his hand. + +"I think there's nothing to be said--the thing must be faced somehow. +I feel rather badly hit; you won't mind if I go out and walk about a +little?" + +Mrs. Lansing was glad to let him go; the sight of his hard-set face +hurt her. In another minute he was walking up and down the terrace, +but he stopped presently and leaned on the low wall. Hitherto he had +believed in Sylvia with an unshaken faith, but now a flood of suspicion +poured in on him; above all, there was the telling fact that as soon as +he had gone, she had begun to lead on his rival. The shock he had +suffered had brought George illumination. Sylvia could never have had +an atom of affection for him; she had merely made his loyalty serve her +turn. She had done so even before she married Dick Marston; though he +had somehow retained his confidence in her then. He had been a fool +from the beginning! + +The intense bitterness of which he was conscious was wholly new to him, +but it was comprehensible. Just in all his dealings, he expected +honesty from others, and, though generous in many ways, he had not +Bland's tolerant nature; he looked for more than the latter and had +less charity. There was a vein of hardness in the man who had loved +Sylvia largely because he believed in her. Trickery and falseness were +abhorrent to him, and now the woman he had worshiped stood revealed in +her deterrent reality. + +After a while he pulled himself together, and, going back to the house, +entered Herbert's library where, less because of his interest in the +matter than as a relief from painful thoughts, he opened the envelope +given him and took out the statement. For a few moments the figures +puzzled him, and then he broke into a bitter laugh. The money that he +had entrusted to his cousin's care had melted away. + +During the next two or three minutes he leaned back, motionless, in his +chair; then he took up a pencil and lighted a cigar. Since he was +ruined, he might as well ascertain how it had happened, and two facts +became obvious from his study of the document: Herbert had sold sound +securities, and had mortgaged land; and then placed the proceeds in +rubber shares. This was perhaps permissible, but it did not explain +what had induced an astute business man to hold the shares until they +had fallen to their remarkably low value. There was a mystery here, +and George in his present mood was keenly suspicious. He had no doubt +that Herbert had left the statement because it would save him the +unpleasantness of giving a personal explanation; moreover, George +believed that he had left home with that purpose. Then he made a few +rough calculations, which seemed to prove that enough remained to buy +and stock a farm in western Canada. This was something, though it did +not strike him as a matter of much consequence, and he listlessly +smoked out his cigar. Then he rose and rejoined Mrs. Lansing. + +"If you don't mind, I'll go over to Wests' to-morrow," he said. "They +pressed me to spend some time with them, and there are arrangements to +be made on which they want my opinion. Edgar is taking up land in +Canada." + +Mrs. Lansing looked troubled. + +"Was there anything disturbing in the paper Herbert gave me for you? +He doesn't tell me much about his business, but I gathered that he was +vexed about some shares he bought on your account. I should be sorry +if they have gone down." + +"You would hardly understand; the thing's a little complicated," George +said with reassuring gentleness. "I'm afraid I have lost some money; +but, after all, it isn't my worst misfortune. I'll have a talk with +Herbert as soon as he comes home." + +He left Brantholme the next morning and was received by Ethel when he +arrived at Wests'. + +"We have been expecting you," she said cordially. + +"Then you know?" + +"Yes. I'm very sorry; but I suppose it will hardly bear talking about. +Stephen is waiting for you; he's taking a day off and Edgar's friend, +Singleton, arrives to-night." + +Singleton duly made his appearance, but he was not present when George +and Stephen West sat down for a talk after dinner in the latter's +smoking-room. Presently George took out the statement and handed it to +his host. + +"I want advice badly and I can't go to an outsider for it," he said. +"I feel quite safe in confiding in you." + +West studied the document for a while before he looked up. + +"The main point to be decided is--whether you should sell these shares +at once for what they will bring, or wait a little? With your +permission, we'll ask Singleton; he knows more about the matter than +anybody else." + +Singleton came in and lighted a cigar, and then listened carefully, +with a curious little smile, while West supplied a few explanations. + +"Hold on to these shares, even if you have to make a sacrifice to do +so," he advised. + +"But they seem to be almost worthless," George objected. + +"Perhaps I had better go into the matter fully," said Singleton. "I'll +do so on the understanding that what I'm about to tell you reaches +nobody else." + +George looked at West, who nodded. + +"Well," explained Singleton, "I've come over on a flying visit about +this rubber business. The original company--the one in which you hold +shares--was got up mainly with the idea of profiting by the rather +reckless general buying of such stock. Its tropical possessions were +badly managed, though a little good rubber was shipped, and when prices +reached their highest point Mr. Lansing sold out." + +"If he had sold my shares at the same time, there should have been a +satisfactory margin?" + +"Undoubtedly. Extensive selling, however, shakes the confidence of +speculators, and a man desirous of unloading would accordingly prefer +everybody else to hold on." + +"I think I am beginning to understand now," George said grimly. + +"Then," Singleton went on, "a new company was projected by the +promoters of the first one, and I was sent out to report on its +prospects. At the last moment Mr. Lansing withdrew, but his associates +sent me south again. The slump he had foreseen came; nobody wanted +rubber shares in any but firmly established and prosperous companies. +Lansing had cleared out in time and left his colleagues to face a +crushing loss." + +"I don't see how all this bears upon the subject," George interrupted. + +"Wait. You may be thankful Lansing didn't sell your shares. I found +that the company could be placed upon a paying basis, and, what is +more, that the older one possessed resources its promoters had never +suspected. In fact, I discovered how its output could be greatly +increased at an insignificant cost. I came home at once with a scheme +which has been adopted, and I've every reason to believe that there +will be marked rise in the shares before long. Anyway, there's no +doubt that the company will be able to place high-class rubber on the +market at a cost which will leave a very satisfactory margin." + +George was conscious of strong relief. It looked as if his loss would +be small, and there was a chance of his stock becoming valuable; but +another thought struck him. + +"When was it that Herbert sold his shares?" + +"At the beginning of last winter." + +"Shortly before we mentioned that you might come home," West interposed +pointedly. + +This confirmed George's suspicions; he could readily understand +Herbert's preferring that he should stay away, but he remembered that +it was Sylvia's letter which had decided him to remain in Canada. In +the statement left him, he had been charged with half of certain loans +Herbert had made to her, and he wondered whether this pointed to some +collusion between them. He thought it by no means improbable. + +"I understand that Herbert knows nothing about these new developments, +and has no idea that the future of the two undertakings is promising?" +he said. + +Singleton laughed. + +"Not the slightest notion. If he suspected it, there would be nothing +to prevent his buying shares; nothing will transpire until the +shareholders' meeting, which will not be held for some time. Lansing +retired and sold out, because he was convinced that both companies were +worthless." He paused and added dryly: "I can't see why we should +enlighten him." + +"Nor can I," responded George; and West nodded. + +"Then," said Singleton, "when Lansing learns the truth, it will be too +late for him to profit by the knowledge. I believe he has thrown away +the best chance he ever had." + +Shortly afterward Edgar came in and they talked of something else; but +two days later Herbert returned and George went over to Brantholme. He +was shown into the library where Herbert was sitting, and the latter +was on his guard when he saw his cousin's face. He greeted him +affably, however, and made a few inquiries about his farming. + +George stood looking at him with a fixed expression. + +"I think," he said shortly, "we had better talk business." + +"Oh, well," replied Herbert. "I suppose you have studied my statement. +I needn't say that I regret the way matters have turned out; but one +can't foresee every turn of the market, or avoid a miscalculation now +and then. It would hurt me if I thought this thing had anything to do +with your going to Stephen's." + +"We won't discuss that. I gave you authority to look after my affairs; +I want it back." + +Herbert took a document from a drawer and laid it on the table. + +"Here it is. But won't you let me try to straighten matters out?" + +"Can they be straightened out?" + +"Well," said Herbert with some embarrassment, "I'm afraid there's a +serious loss, but it would be wiser to face it and sell off the shares." + +"I can do what seems most desirable without any further assistance." + +George leaned forward and, as he picked up the document, a flush crept +into his cousin's face. + +"I hardly expected you would take this line. Do you think it's right +to blame me because I couldn't anticipate the fall in value?" + +"It strikes me that the situation is one that had better not be +discussed between us," George rejoined, with marked coldness. +"Besides, my opinion won't count for much in face of the very +satisfactory financial results you have secured. I'm sorry for what +has happened, on Muriel's account." + +He turned and went out; and met Ethel on reaching West's house. + +"I must try to arrange for an interview with Sylvia and Captain Bland," +he told her. "There are matters that should be explained to them." + +"Won't it be painful?" + +"That can't be allowed to count." + +"After all," said Ethel thoughtfully, "it's no doubt the proper course." + +A week later he visited Mrs. Kettering's, and was shown into a room +where Sylvia awaited him alone. After the first glance at him, she +turned her eyes away. + +"George," she said, "I'm afraid I've behaved badly. Can you forgive +me?" + +"I think so," he answered with a forced smile. "Anyway, I'll try, and +I'd like you to be happy. But it wouldn't be flattering if I pretended +that I wasn't hurt." + +"Ah," she exclaimed, "you were always so generous!" + +He stood silent a moment or two looking at her. + +She had cunningly tricked him and killed his love; but she was very +attractive with her pretty, helpless air. He knew this was false, but +there was no profit in bitterness; he would not cause her pain. + +"It's more to the purpose that I'm hard, which is fortunate in several +ways. But I came to talk about the farm; that is why I suggested that +Captain Bland should be present." + +"The farm?" Sylvia regarded him with a trace of mockery. "That you +should think of it is so characteristic of you!" + +George smiled. + +"I can't help my matter-of-fact nature, and I've found it serviceable. +Anyway, the farm must be thought of." He laid a hand gently on her +shoulder. "Sylvia, I'm told that Bland isn't rich. If he loves you, +take him fully into your confidence." + +She blushed, which he had scarcely expected. + +"I have done so--at least, I allowed Herbert to explain--there is +nothing hidden." Then her tone changed to one of light raillery. "You +were always an extremist, George; you can't hit the happy medium. Once +you believed I was everything that was most admirable, and now--" + +"I think you have done right and wisely in letting Bland know how +things stand. It was only my interest in your future that warranted +what I said." + +"Well," she replied, "we will go up and talk to him; he's waiting. You +can give your account to him." + +George followed her, but for a while he was conscious of a certain +restraint, which he fancied was shared by Bland. It was difficult to +talk about indifferent subjects, and he took out some papers. + +"I came to explain the state of Sylvia's Canadian affairs; she wished +you to know," he said. "If you will give me a few minutes, I'll try to +make things clear." + +Bland listened gravely, and then made a sign of satisfaction. + +"It's obvious that Sylvia placed her property in most capable hands. +We can only give you our sincere thanks." + +"There's a point to be considered," George resumed. "Have you decided +what to do with the property?" + +"Sylvia and I have talked it over; we thought of selling. I don't see +how we could carry on the farm." + +"If you will let the matter stand over for a few weeks, I might be a +purchaser. The land's poor, but there's a good deal of it, and I +believe that, with proper treatment, it could be made to pay." + +Sylvia looked astonished, Bland slightly embarrassed. + +"We never contemplated your buying the place," he said. + +"I've grown fond of it; I believe I understand how it should be worked. +There's no reason why either of you should object to my becoming a +purchaser." + +"I suppose that's true," Bland agreed. "Anyway, I can promise that +we'll do nothing about the matter until we hear from you; I don't think +there's any likelihood of our disputing about the price. You can fix +that at what it's worth to you." + +George changed the subject; and when he went out, Sylvia smiled at +Bland. + +"You needn't have been so sensitive about his buying the farm," she +said. "It will have to be sold." + +"I suppose so, but I wish we could have given it to him." + +Sylvia touched his cheek caressingly. + +"Don't be foolish; it's out of the question. You will have to be +economical enough as it is, but you shan't make any sacrifice that +isn't strictly necessary." + +During the next few weeks George made some visits among his friends, +but he returned to the Wests shortly before Edgar sailed for Canada. +On the night preceding his departure they were sitting together when +Edgar looked at him thoughtfully. + +"George," he remarked, "I wonder if it has ever struck you that you're +a very short-sighted person? I mean that you don't realize where your +interest lies." + +"It's possible," said George. "What particular oversight are you +referring to?" + +"It isn't easy to answer bluntly, and if I threw out any delicate +suggestions, they'd probably be wasted. You saw a good deal of Flora +Grant, and if you had any sense you would have recognized what kind of +girl she is." + +"Miss Grant doesn't need your praise." + +"I'm glad you admit it; appreciation's sometimes mutual. Now I can't +undertake to say what Flora implied from your visits, but I've no doubt +about what her father expected." + +The blood crept into George's face as he remembered Grant's manner +during their last interview. + +"I did nothing that could have led him to believe--" + +"Oh, no!" said Edgar. "You behaved with the greatest prudence; perhaps +frigid insensibility would describe it better. Of course this is a +deplorable intrusion, but I feel I must point out that it may not be +too late yet." + +"I've felt greatly tempted to buy Sylvia's farm," George said +thoughtfully. + +"That's good news. If you're wise, you'll consider what I've said." + +George did so after Edgar's departure, though the idea was not new to +him. He had long been sensible of Flora's charm, and had now and then +felt in Canada that it would not be difficult to love her. Since he +had learned the truth about Sylvia, Flora had occupied a prominent +place in his mind. By degrees a desire for her had grown stronger; he +had seen how admirable in many ways she was, how staunch and fearless +and upright. Still, he feared to go back; she was proud and might +scorn his tardy affection. He grew disturbed and occasionally moody, +and then one day a cablegram was delivered to him. + +"Believe you had better come back," it read, and was signed by Helen +Taunton. + +George understood what it was intended to convey, and before night he +had arranged to purchase Sylvia's farm. + +Three days later he was crossing the Atlantic with an eager and +thankful heart. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14698 *** diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e2649a3 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #14698 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14698) diff --git a/old/14698.txt b/old/14698.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d6d2aa8 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/14698.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12929 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Ranching for Sylvia, by Harold Bindloss + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Ranching for Sylvia + +Author: Harold Bindloss + +Release Date: January 15, 2005 [eBook #14698] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RANCHING FOR SYLVIA*** + + +E-text prepared by Al Haines + + + +RANCHING FOR SYLVIA + +(Published in England under the Title, _The Trustee_) + +by + +HAROLD BINDLOSS + +Author of _Vane of the Timberlands_, _Alton of Somasco_, +_Thurston of Orchard Valley_, _Masters of the Wheatlands_, etc. + +A. L. Burt Company +Publishers New York + +1913 + + + + + + + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER + + I A STRONG APPEAL + II HIS FRIENDS' OPINION + III A MATTER OF DUTY + IV GEORGE MAKES FRIENDS + V THE PRAIRIE + VI GEORGE GETS TO WORK + VII A CATTLE DRIVE + VIII CONSTABLE FLETT'S SUSPICIONS + IX GEORGE TURNS REFORMER + X THE LIQUOR-RUNNERS + XI DIPLOMACY + XII GEORGE FACES DISASTER + XIII SYLVIA SEEKS AMUSEMENT + XIV BLAND GETS ENTANGLED + XV HERBERT MAKES A CLAIM + XVI A FORCED RETIREMENT + XVII HERBERT IS PATIENT + XVIII BLAND MAKES A SACRIFICE + XIX AN OPPOSITION MOVE + XX A BLIZZARD + XXI GRANT COMES TO THE RESCUE + XXII THE SPREAD OF DISORDER + XXIII A HARMLESS CONSPIRACY + XXIV GEORGE FEELS GRATEFUL + XXV A COUNTERSTROKE + XXVI THE CLIMAX + XXVII A SIGN FROM FLETT + XXVIII THE LEADING WITNESS + XXIX FLORA'S ENLIGHTENMENT + XXX THE ESCAPE + XXXI THE REACTION + XXXII A REVELATION + XXXIII GEORGE MAKES UP HIS MIND + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +A STRONG APPEAL + +It was evening of early summer. George Lansing sat by a window of the +library at Brantholme. The house belonged to his cousin; and George, +having lately reached it after traveling in haste from Norway, awaited +the coming of Mrs. Sylvia Marston in an eagerly expectant mood. It was +characteristic of him that his expression conveyed little hint of his +feelings, for George was a quiet, self-contained man; but he had not +been so troubled by confused emotions since Sylvia married Marston +three years earlier. Marston had taken her to Canada; but now he was +dead, and Sylvia, returning to England, had summoned George, who had +been appointed executor of her husband's will. + +Outside, beyond the broad sweep of lawn, the quiet English countryside +lay bathed in the evening light: a river gleaming in the foreground, +woods clothed in freshest verdure, and rugged hills running back +through gradations of softening color into the distance. Inside, a ray +of sunlight stretched across the polished floor, and gleams of +brightness rested on the rows of books and somber paneling. Brantholme +was old, but modern art had added comfort and toned down its austerity; +and George, fresh from the northern snow peaks, was conscious of its +restful atmosphere. + +In the meanwhile, he was listening for a footstep. Sylvia, he had been +told, would be with him in two or three minutes; he had already been +expecting her for a quarter of an hour. This, however, did not +surprise him: Sylvia was rarely punctual, and until she married +Marston, he had been accustomed to await her pleasure. + +She came at length, clad in a thin black dress that fitted her +perfectly; and he rose and stood looking at her while his heart beat +fast. Sylvia was slight of figure, but curiously graceful, and her +normal expression was one of innocent candor. The somber garments +emphasized the colorless purity of her complexion; her hair was fair, +and she had large, pathetic blue eyes. Her beauty was somehow +heightened by a hint of fragility: in her widow's dress she looked very +forlorn and helpless; and the man yearned to comfort and protect her. +It did not strike him that she had stood for some moments enduring his +compassionate scrutiny with exemplary patience. + +"It's so nice to see you, George," she said. "I knew you would come." + +He thrilled at the assurance; but he was not an effusive person. He +brought a chair for her. + +"I started as soon as I got your note," he answered simply. "I'm glad +you're back again." + +He did not think it worth while to mention that he had with difficulty +crossed a snow-barred pass in order to save time, and had left a +companion, who resented his desertion, in the wilds; but Sylvia guessed +that he had spared no effort, and she answered him with a smile. + +"Your welcome's worth having, because it's sincere." + +Those who understood Sylvia best occasionally said that when she was +unusually gracious it was a sign that she wanted something; but George +would have denied this with indignation. + +"If it wouldn't be too painful, you might tell me a little about your +stay in Canada," he said by and by. "You never wrote, and"--he +hesitated--"I heard only once from Dick." + +Dick was her dead husband's name, and she sat silent a few moments +musing, and glancing unobtrusively at George. He had not changed much +since she last saw him, on her wedding-day, though he looked a little +older, and rather more serious. There were faint signs of weariness +which she did not remember in his sunburned face. On the whole, +however, it was a reposeful face, with something in it that suggested a +steadfast disposition. His gray eyes met one calmly and directly; his +brown hair was short and stiff; the set of his lips and the contour of +his jaw were firm. George had entered on his thirtieth year. Though +he was strongly made, his appearance was in no way striking, and it was +seldom that his conversation was characterized by brilliancy. But his +friends trusted him. + +"It's difficult to speak of," Sylvia began. "When, soon after our +wedding, Dick lost most of his money, and said that we must go to +Canada, I felt almost crushed; but I thought he was right." She paused +and glanced at George. "He told me what you wished to do, and I'm glad +that, generous as you are, he wouldn't hear of it." + +George looked embarrassed. + +"I felt his refusal a little," he said. "I could have spared the +money, and I was a friend of his." + +He had proved a staunch friend, though he had been hardly tried. For +several years he had been Sylvia's devoted servant, and an admirer of +the more accomplished Marston. When the girl chose the latter it was a +cruel blow to George, for he had never regarded his comrade as a +possible rival; but after a few weeks of passionate bitterness, he had +quietly acquiesced. He had endeavored to blame neither; though there +were some who did not hold Sylvia guiltless. George was, as she well +knew, her faithful servant still; and this was largely why she meant to +tell him her tragic story. + +"Well," she said, "when I first went out to the prairie, I was almost +appalled. Everything was so crude and barbarous--but you know the +country." + +George merely nodded. He had spent a few years in a wheat-growing +settlement, inhabited by well-bred young Englishmen. The colony, +however, was not conducted on economic lines; and when it came to +grief, George, having come into some property on the death of a +relative, returned to England. + +"Still," continued Sylvia, "I tried to be content, and blamed myself +when I found it difficult. There was always so much to do--cooking, +washing, baking--one could seldom get any help. I often felt worn out +and longed to lie down and sleep." + +"I can understand that," said George, with grave sympathy. "It's a +very hard country for a woman." + +He was troubled by the thought of what she must have borne for it was +difficult to imagine Sylvia engaged in laborious domestic toil. It had +never occurred to him that her delicate appearance was deceptive. + +"Dick," she went on, "was out at work all day; there was nobody to talk +to--our nearest neighbor lived some miles off. I think now that Dick +was hardly strong enough for his task. He got restless and moody after +he lost his first crop by frost. During that long, cruel winter we +were both unhappy: I never think without a shudder of the bitter nights +we spent sitting beside the stove, silent and anxious about the future. +But we persevered; the next harvest was good, and we were brighter when +winter set in. I shall always be glad of that in view of what came +after." She paused, and added in a lower voice: + +"You heard, of course?" + +"Very little; I was away. It was a heavy blow." + +"I couldn't write much," explained Sylvia. "Even now, I can hardly +talk of it--but you were a dear friend of Dick's. We had to burn wood; +the nearest bluff where it could be cut was several miles away; and +Dick didn't keep a hired man through the winter. It was often very +cold, and I got frightened when he drove off if there was any wind. It +was trying to wait in the quiet house, wondering if he could stand the +exposure. Then one day something kept him so that he couldn't start +for the bluff until noon; and near dusk the wind got up and the snow +began to fall. It got thicker, and I could not sit still. I went out +now and then and called, and was driven back, almost frozen, by the +storm. I could scarcely see the lights a few yards away; the house +shook. The memory of that awful night will haunt me all my life!" + +She broke off with a shiver, and George looked very compassionate. + +"I think," he said gently, "you had better not go on." "Ah!" replied +Sylvia, "I must grapple with the horror and not yield to it; with the +future to be faced, I can't be a coward. At last I heard the team and +opened the door. The snow was blinding, but I could dimly see the +horses standing in it. I called, but Dick didn't answer, and I ran out +and found him lying upon the load of logs. He was very still, and made +no sign, but I reached up and shook him--I couldn't believe the +dreadful thing. I think I screamed; the team started suddenly, and +Dick fell at my feet. Then the truth was clear to me." + +A half-choked sob broke from her, but she went on. + +"I couldn't move him; I must have gone nearly mad, for I tried to run +to Peterson's, three miles away. The snow blinded me, and I came back +again; and by and by another team arrived. Peterson had got lost +driving home from the settlement. After that, I can't remember +anything; I'm thankful it is so--I couldn't bear it!" + +Then there was silence for a few moments until George rose and gently +laid his hand on her shoulder. + +"My sympathy's not worth much, Sylvia, but it's yours," he said. "Can +I help in any practical way?" + +Growing calmer, she glanced up at him with tearful eyes. + +"I can't tell you just yet; but it's a comfort to have your sympathy. +Don't speak to me for a little while, please." + +He went back to his place and watched her with a yearning heart, +longing for the power to soothe her. She looked so forlorn and +desolate, too frail to bear her load of sorrow. + +"I must try to be brave," she smiled up at him at length. "And you are +my trustee. Please bring those papers I laid down. I suppose I must +talk to you about the farm." + +It did not strike George that this was a rather sudden change, or that +there was anything incongruous in Sylvia's considering her material +interests in the midst of her grief. After examining the documents, he +asked her a few questions, to which she gave explicit answers. + +"Now you should be able to decide what must be done," she said finally; +"and I'm anxious about it. I suppose that's natural." + +"You have plenty of friends," George reminded her consolingly. + +Sylvia rose, and there was bitterness in her expression. + +"Friends? Oh, yes; but I've come back to them a widow, badly provided +for--that's why I spent some months in Montreal before I could nerve +myself to face them." Then her voice softened as she fixed her eyes on +him. "It's fortunate there are one or two I can rely on." + +Sylvia left him with two clear impressions: her helplessness, and the +fact that she trusted him. While he sat turning over the papers, his +cousin and co-trustee came in. Herbert Lansing was a middle-aged +business man, and he was inclined to portliness. His clean-shaven and +rather fleshy face usually wore a good-humored expression; his manners +were easy and, as a rule, genial. + +"We must have a talk," he began, indicating the documents in George's +hand. "I suppose you have grasped the position, even if Sylvia hasn't +explained it. She shows an excellent knowledge of details." + +There was a hint of dryness in his tone that escaped George's notice. + +"So far as I can make out," he answered, "Dick owned a section of a +second-class wheat-land, with a mortgage on the last quarter, some way +back from a railroad. The part under cultivation gives a poor crop." + +"What would you value the property at?" + +George made a rough calculation. + +"I expected something of the kind," Herbert told him. "It's all Sylvia +has to live upon, and the interest would hardly cover her dressmaker's +bills." He looked directly at his cousin. "Of course, it's possible +that she will marry again." + +"She must never be forced to contemplate it by any dread of poverty," +George said shortly. + +"How is it to be prevented?" + +George merely looked thoughtful and a little stern. Getting no answer, +Herbert went on: + +"So far as I can see, we have only two courses to choose between. The +first is to sell out as soon as we can find a buyer, with unfortunate +results if your valuation's right; but the second looks more promising. +With immigrants pouring into the country, land's bound to go up, and we +ought to get a largely increased price by holding on a while. To do +that, I understand, the land should be worked." + +"Yes. It could, no doubt, be improved; which would materially add to +its value." + +"I see one difficulty: the cost of superintendence might eat up most of +the profit. Wages are high on the prairie, are they not?" + +George assented, and Herbert continued: + +"Then a good deal would depend on the man in charge. Apart from the +question of his honesty, he would have to take a thorough interest in +the farm." + +"He would have to think of nothing else, and be willing to work from +sunrise until dark," said George. "Successful farming means determined +effort in western Canada." + +"Could you put your hands upon a suitable person?" + +"I'm very doubtful. You don't often meet with a man of the kind we +need in search of an engagement at a strictly moderate salary." + +"Then it looks as if we must sell out now for enough to provide Sylvia +with a pittance." + +"That," George said firmly, "is not to be thought of!" + +There was a short silence while he pondered, for his legacy had not +proved an unmixed blessing. At first he had found idleness irksome, +but by degrees he had grown accustomed to it. Though he was still +troubled now and then by an idea that he was wasting his time and +making a poor use of such abilities as he possessed, it was pleasant to +feel that, within certain limits, he could do exactly as he wished. +Life in western Canada was strenuous and somewhat primitive; he was +conscious of a strong reluctance to resume it; but he could not bear to +have Sylvia, who had luxurious tastes, left almost penniless. There +was a way in which he could serve her, and he determined to take it. +George was steadfast in his devotion, and did not shrink from a +sacrifice. + +"It strikes me there's only one suitable plan," he said. "I know +something about western farming. I wouldn't need a salary; and Sylvia +could trust me to look after her interests. I'd better go out and take +charge until things are straightened up, or we come across somebody fit +for the post." + +Herbert heard him with satisfaction. He had desired to lead George up +to this decision, and he suspected that Sylvia had made similar +efforts. It was not difficult to instil an idea into his cousin's mind. + +"Well," he said thoughtfully, "the suggestion seems a good one; though +it's rather hard on you, if you really mean to go." + +"That's decided," was the brief answer. + +"Then, though we can discuss details later, you had better give me +legal authority to look after your affairs while you are away. There +are those Kaffir shares, for instance; it might be well to part with +them if, they go up a point or two." + +"I've wondered why you recommended me to buy them," George said bluntly. + +Herbert avoided a direct answer. He now and then advised George, who +knew little about business, in the management of his property, but his +advice was not always disinterested or intended only for his cousin's +benefit. + +"Oh," he replied, "the cleverest operators now and then make mistakes, +and I don't claim exceptional powers of precision. It's remarkably +difficult to forecast the tendency of the stock-market." + +George nodded, as if satisfied. + +"I'll arrange things before I sail, and I'd better get off as soon as +possible. Now, suppose we go down and join the others." + + + + +CHAPTER II + +HIS FRIENDS' OPINION + +On the afternoon following his arrival, George stood thoughtfully +looking about on his cousin's lawn. Creepers flecked the mellow brick +front of the old house with sprays of tender leaves; purple clematis +hung from a trellis; and lichens tinted the low terrace wall with +subdued coloring. The grass was flanked by tall beeches, rising in +masses of bright verdure against a sky of clearest blue; and beyond it, +across the sparkling river, smooth meadows ran back to the foot of the +hills. It was, in spite of the bright sunshine, all so fresh and cool: +a picture that could be enjoyed only in rural England. + +George was sensible of the appeal it made to him; now, when he must +shortly change such scenes for the wide levels of western Canada, which +are covered during most of the year with harsh, gray grass, alternately +withered by frost and sun, he felt their charm. It was one thing to +run across to Norway on a fishing or mountaineering trip and come back +when he wished, but quite another to settle down on the prairie where +he must remain until his work should be done. Moreover, for Mrs. +Lansing had many friends, the figures scattered about the lawn--young +men and women in light summer attire--enhanced the attractiveness of +the surroundings. They were nice people, with pleasant English ways; +and George contrasted them with the rather grim, aggressive plainsmen +among whom he would presently have to live: men who toiled in the heat, +half naked, and who would sit down to meals with him in dusty, unwashed +clothes. He was not a sybarite, but he preferred the society of Mrs. +Lansing's guests. + +After a while she beckoned him, and they leaned upon the terrace wall +side by side. She was a good-natured, simple woman, with strongly +domestic habits and conventional views. + +"I'm glad Herbert has got away from business for a few days," she +began. "He works too hard, and it's telling on him. How do you think +he is looking?" + +George knew she was addicted to displaying a needless anxiety about her +husband's health. It had struck him that Herbert was getting stouter; +but he now remembered having noticed a hint of care in his face. + +"The rest will do him good," he said. + +Mrs. Lansing's conversation was often disconnected, and she now changed +the subject. + +"Herbert tells me you are going to Canada. As you're fond of the open +air, you will enjoy it." + +"I suppose so," George assented rather dubiously. + +"Of course, it's very generous, and Sylvia's fortunate in having you to +look after things"--Mrs. Lansing paused before adding--"but are you +altogether wise in going, George?" + +Lansing knew that his hostess loved romance, and sometimes attempted to +assist in one, but he would have preferred another topic. + +"I don't see what else I could do," he said. + +"That's hardly an answer. You will forgive me for speaking plainly, +but what I meant was this--your devotion to Sylvia is not a secret." + +"I wish it were!" George retorted. "But I don't intend to deny it." + +His companion looked at him reproachfully. + +"Don't get restive; I've your best interests at heart. You're a little +too confiding and too backward, George. Sylvia slipped through your +fingers once before." + +George's brown face colored deeply. He was angry, but Mrs. Lansing was +not to be deterred. + +"Take a hint and stay at home," she went on. "It might pay you better." + +"And let Sylvia's property be sacrificed?" + +"Yes, if necessary." She looked at him directly. "You have means +enough." + +He struggled with his indignation. Sylvia hated poverty, and it had +been suggested that he should turn the fact to his advantage. The idea +that she might be more willing to marry him if she were poor was most +unpleasant. + +"Sylvia's favor is not to be bought," he said. + +Mrs. Lansing's smile was half impatient. + +"Oh, well, if you're bent on going, there's nothing to be said. +Sylvia, of course, will stay with us." + +The arrangement was a natural one, as Sylvia was a relative of hers; +but George failed to notice that her expression grew thoughtful as she +glanced toward where Sylvia was sitting with a man upon whom the +soldier stamp was plainly set. George followed her gaze and frowned, +but he said nothing, and his companion presently moved away. Soon +afterward he crossed the lawn and joined a girl who waited for him. +Ethel West was tall and strongly made. She was characterized by a keen +intelligence and bluntness of speech. Being an old friend of George's, +she occasionally assumed the privilege of one. + +"I hear you are going to Canada. What is taking you there again?" she +asked. + +"I am going to look after some farming property, for one thing." + +Ethel regarded him with amusement. + +"Sylvia Marston's, I suppose?" + +"Yes," George answered rather shortly. + +"Then what's the other purpose you have in view?" + +George hesitated. + +"I'm not sure I have another motive." + +"So I imagined. You're rather an exceptional man--in some respects." + +"If that's true, I wasn't aware of it," George retorted. + +Ethel laughed. + +"It's hardly worth while to prove my statement; we'll talk of something +else. Has Herbert told you anything about his business since you came +back? I suppose you have noticed signs of increased prosperity?" + +"I'm afraid I'm not observant, and Herbert isn't communicative." + +"Perhaps he's wise. Still, the fact that he's putting up a big new +orchard-house has some significance. I understand from Stephen that +he's been speculating largely in rubber shares. It's a risky game." + +"I suppose it is," George agreed. "But it's most unlikely that Herbert +will come to grief. He has a very long head; I believe he could, for +example, buy and sell me." + +"That wouldn't be very difficult. I suspect Herbert isn't the only one +of your acquaintances who is capable of doing as much." + +Her eyes followed Sylvia, who was then walking across the grass. +Sylvia's movements were always graceful, and she had now a subdued, +pensive air that rendered her appearance slightly pathetic. Ethel's +face, however, grew quietly scornful. She knew what Sylvia's forlorn +and helpless look was worth. + +"I'm not afraid that anybody will try," George replied. + +"Your confidence is admirable." laughed Ethel; "but I mustn't appear +too cynical, and I've a favor to ask. Will you take Edgar out with +you?" + +George felt a little surprised. Edgar was her brother, a lad of +somewhat erratic habits and ideas, who had been at Oxford when George +last heard of him. + +"Yes, if he wants to go, and Stephen approves," he said; for Stephen, +the lawyer, was an elder brother, and the Wests had lost their parents. + +"He will be relieved to get him off his hands for a while; but Edgar +will be over to see you during the afternoon. He's spending a week or +two with the Charltons." + +"I remember that young Charlton and he were close acquaintances." + +"That was the excuse for the visit; but you had better understand that +there was a certain amount of friction when Edgar came home after some +trouble with the authorities. In his opinion, Stephen is too fond of +making mountains out of molehills; but I must own that Edgar's +molehills have a way of increasing in size, and the last one caused us +a good deal of uneasiness. Anyway, we have decided that a year's hard +work in Canada might help to steady him, even if he doesn't follow up +farming. The main point is that he would be safe with you." + +"I'll have a talk with him," George promised; and after a word of +thanks Ethel turned away. + +A little later she joined Mrs. Lansing, who was sitting alone in the +shadow of a beech. + +"I'm afraid I've added to George's responsibilities--he has agreed to +take Edgar out," she said. "He has some reason for wishing to be +delivered from his friends, though I don't suppose he does so." + +"I've felt the same thing. Of course, I'm not referring to Edgar--his +last scrape was only a trifling matter." + +"So he contends," laughed Ethel. "Stephen doesn't agree with him." + +"Well," said Mrs. Lansing, "I've often thought it's a pity George +didn't marry somebody nice and sensible." + +"Would you apply that description to Sylvia?" + +"Sylvia stands apart," Mrs. Lansing declared. "She can do what nobody +else would venture on, and yet you feel you must excuse her." + +"Have you any particular exploit of hers in your mind?" + +"I was thinking of when she accepted Dick Marston. I believe even Dick +was astonished." + +"Sylvia knows how to make herself irresistible," said Ethel, strolling +away a few moments later, somewhat troubled in mind. + +She had cherished a half-tender regard for George, which, had it been +reciprocated, might have changed to a deeper feeling. The man was +steadfast, chivalrous, honest, and she saw in him latent capabilities +which few others suspected. Still, his devotion to Sylvia had never +been concealed, and Ethel had acquiesced in the situation, though she +retained a strong interest in him. She believed that in going to +Canada he was doing an injudicious thing; but as his confidence was +hard to shake, he could not be warned--her conversation with him had +made that plainer. She would not regret it if Sylvia forgot him while +he was absent; but there were other ways in which he might suffer, and +she wished he had not chosen to place the management of his affairs in +Herbert's hands. + +In the meanwhile, her brother had arrived, and he and George were +sitting together on the opposite side of the lawn. Edgar was a +handsome, dark-haired lad, with a mischievous expression, and he +sometimes owned that his capacity for seeing the humorous side of +things was a gift that threatened to be his ruin. Nevertheless, there +was a vein of sound common sense in him, and he had a strong admiration +for George Lansing. + +"Why do you want to go with me?" the latter asked, pretending to be a +bit stern, but liking the youngster all the while. + +"That," Edgar laughed, "is a rather euphemistic way of putting it. My +washes have not been consulted. I must give my relatives the credit +for the idea. Still, one must admit they had some provocation." + +"It strikes me they have had a good deal of patience," George said +dryly. "I suppose it's exhausted." + +"No," replied Edgar, with a confidential air; "it's mine that has given +out. I'd better explain that being stuffed with what somebody calls +formulae gets monotonous, and it's a diet they're rather fond of at +Oxford. Down here in the country they're almost as bad; and pretending +to admire things I don't believe in positively hurts. That's why I +sometimes protest, with, as a rule, disastrous results." + +"Disastrous to the objectionable ideas or customs?" + +"No," laughed the lad; "to me. Have you ever noticed how vindictive +narrow-minded people get when you destroy their pet delusions?" + +"I can't remember ever having done so."' + +"Then you'll come to it. If you're honest it's unavoidable; only some +people claim that they make the attack from duty, while I find a +positive pleasure in the thing." + +"There's one consolation--you won't have much time for such proceedings +if you come with me. You'll have to work in Canada." + +"I anticipated something of the sort," the lad rejoined. Then he grew +serious. "Have you decided who's to look after your affairs while you +are away? If you haven't, you might do worse than leave them to +Stephen. He's steady and safe as a rock, and, after all, the three per +cent. you're sure of is better than a handsome dividend you may never +get." + +"I can't give Herbert the go-by. He's the obvious person to do +whatever may be needful." + +"I suppose so," Edgar assented, with some reluctance. "No doubt he'd +feel hurt if you asked anybody else; but I wish you could have got +Stephen." + +He changed the subject; and when some of the others came up and joined +them, he resumed his humorous manner. + +"I'm not asking for sympathy," he said, in answer to one remark. "I'm +going out to extend the bounds of the empire, strengthen the ties with +the mother country, and that sort of thing. It's one of the privileges +that seem to be attached to the possession of a temperament like mine." + +"How will you set about the work?" somebody asked. + +"With the plow and the land-packer," George broke in. "He'll have the +satisfaction of driving them twelve hours a day. It happens to be the +most effective way of doing the things he mentions." + +Edgar's laughter followed him as he left the group. + +After dinner that evening Herbert invited George into the library. + +"Parker has come over about my lease, and his visit will save you a +journey," he explained. "We may as well get things settled now while +he's here." + +George went with him to the library, where the lawyer sat at a +writing-table. He waited in silence while Herbert gave the lawyer a +few instructions. A faint draught flowed in through an open window, +and gently stirred the litter of papers; a shaded lamp stood on the +table, and its light revealed the faces of the two men near it with +sharp distinctness, though outside the circle of brightness the big +room was almost dark. + +It struck George that his cousin looked eager, as if he were impatient +to get the work finished; but he reflected that this was most likely +because Herbert wished to discuss the matter of the lease. Then he +remembered with a little irritation what Ethel said during the +afternoon. It was not very lucid, but he had an idea that she meant to +warn him; and Edgar had gone some length in urging that he should leave +the care of his property to another man. This was curious, but hardly +to be taken into consideration, Herbert was capable and exact in his +dealings; and yet for a moment or two George was troubled by a faint +doubt. It appeared irrational, and he drove it out of his mind when +Herbert spoke. + +"The deed's ready; you have only to sign," he said, indicating a paper. +Then he added, with a smile: "You quite realize the importance of what +you are doing?" + +The lawyer turned to George. + +"This document gives Mr. Lansing full authority to dispose of your +possessions as he thinks fit. In accordance with it, his signature +will be honored as if it were yours." + +Parker's expression was severely formal, and his tone businesslike; but +he had known George for a long while, and had served his father. +Again, for a moment, George had an uneasy feeling that he was being +warned; but he had confidence in his friends, and his cousin was +eminently reliable. + +"I know that," he answered. "I've left matters in Herbert's hands on +other occasions, with fortunate results. Will you give me a pen?" + +The lawyer watched him sign with an inscrutable face, but when he laid +down the pen, Herbert drew back out of the strong light. He was +folding the paper with a sense of satisfaction and relief. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A MATTER OF DUTY + +On the evening before George's departure, Sylvia stood with him at the +entrance to the Brantholme drive. He leaned upon the gate, a +broad-shouldered, motionless figure; his eyes fixed moodily upon the +prospect, because he was afraid to let them dwell upon his companion. +In front, across the dim white road, a cornfield ran down to the river, +and on one side of it a wood towered in a shadowy mass against a soft +green streak of light. Near its foot the water gleamed palely among +overhanging alders, and in the distance the hills faded into the +grayness of the eastern sky. Except for the low murmur of the stream, +it was very still; and the air was heavy with the smell of dew-damped +soil. + +All this had its effect on George. He loved the quiet English country; +and now, when he must leave it, it strongly called to him. He had +congenial friends, and occupations in which he took pleasure--sport, +experiments in farming, and stock-raising. It would be hard to drop +them; but that, after all, was a minor trouble. He would be separated +from Sylvia until his work should be done. + +"What a beautiful night!" she said at length. Summoning his +resolution, he turned and looked at her. She stood with one hand +resting on the gate, slender, graceful, and wonderfully attractive, the +black dress emphasizing the pure whiteness of her face and hands. +Sylvia was an artist where dress was concerned, and she had made the +most of her somber garb. As he looked at her a strong temptation shook +the man. He might still discover some excuse for remaining to watch +over Sylvia, and seize each opportunity for gaining her esteem. Then +he remembered that this would entail the sacrifice of her property; and +a faint distrust of her, which he had hitherto refused to admit, seized +him. Sylvia, threatened by poverty, might yield without affection to +the opportunities of a suitor who would bid high enough for her hand; +and he would not have such a course forced upon her, even if he were +the one to profit. + +"You're very quiet; you must feel going away," she said. + +"Yes," George admitted; "I feel it a good deal." + +"Ah! I don't know anybody else who would have gone--I feel selfish and +shabby in letting you." + +"I don't think you could stop me." + +"I haven't tried. I suppose I'm a coward, but until you promised to +look after matters, I was afraid of the future. I have friends, but +the tinge of contempt which would creep into their pity would be hard +to bear. It's hateful to feel that you are being put up with. +Sometimes I thought I'd go back to Canada." + +"I've wondered how you stood it as long as you did," George said +incautiously. + +"Aren't you forgetting? I had Dick with me then." Sylvia paused and +shuddered. "It would be so different now." + +George felt reproved and very compassionate. + +"Yes," he said, "I'm afraid I forgot; but the whole thing seems unreal. +It's almost impossible to imagine your living on a farm in western +Canada." + +"I dare say it's difficult. I'll confess I'm fond of ease and comfort +and refinement. I like to be looked after and waited on; to have +somebody to keep unpleasant things away. That's dreadfully weak, isn't +it? And because I haven't more courage, I'm sending you back to the +prairie." + +"I'm quite ready to go." + +"Oh, I'm sure of that! It's comforting to remember that you're so +resolute and matter-of-fact. You wouldn't let troubles daunt +you--perhaps you would scarcely notice them when you had made up your +mind." + +The man smiled, rather wistfully. He could feel things keenly, and he +had his romance; but Sylvia resumed: + +"I sometimes wonder if you ever felt really badly hurt?" + +"Once," he said quietly. "I think I have got over it." + +"Ah!" she murmured. "I was afraid you would blame me, but now it seems +that Dick knew you better than I did. When he made you my trustee, he +said that you were too big to bear him malice." + +The blood crept into George's face. + +"After the first shock had passed, and I could reason calmly, I don't +think I blamed either of you. You had promised me nothing; Dick was a +brilliant man, with a charm everybody felt. By comparison, I was +merely a plodder." + +Sylvia mused for a few moments. + +"George," she said presently, "I sometimes think you're a little too +diffident. You plodders who go straight on, stopping for nothing, +generally gain your object in the end." + +His heart beat faster. It looked as if she meant this for a hint. + +"I can't thank you properly," she continued; "though I know that all +you undertake will be thoroughly carried out. I wish I hadn't been +forced to let you go so far away; there is nobody else I can rely on." + +He could not tell her that he longed for the right to shelter her +always--it was not very long since the Canadian tragedy--but silence +cost him an effort. At length she touched his arm. + +"It's getting late, and the others will wonder where we are," she +reminded him. + +They went back to the house; and when Sylvia joined Mrs. Lansing, +George felt seriously annoyed with himself. He had been deeply +stirred, but he had preserved an unmoved appearance when he might have +expressed some sympathy of tenderness which could not have been +resented. Presently Ethel West crossed the room to where he was rather +moodily standing. + +"I believe our car is waiting, and, as Edgar won't let me come to the +station to-morrow, I must say good-by now," she told him. "Both +Stephen and I are glad he is on your hands." + +"I must try to deserve your confidence," George said, smiling. "It's +premature yet." + +"Never mind that. We're alike in some respects: pretty speeches don't +appeal to us. But there's one thing I must tell you--don't delay out +yonder, come back as soon as you can." + +She left him thoughtful. He had a high opinion of Ethel's +intelligence, but he would entertain no doubts or misgivings. They +were treasonable to Herbert and, what was worse, to Sylvia. + +Going to bed in good time, he had only a few words with Sylvia over his +early breakfast in the morning. Then he was driven to the station, +where Edgar joined him; and the greater part of their journey proved +uneventful. + +Twelve days after leaving Liverpool they were, however, awakened early +one morning by feeling the express-train suddenly slacken speed. The +big cars shook with a violent jarring, and George hurriedly swung +himself down from his upper berth. He had some difficulty in getting +into his jacket and putting on his boots, but he pushed through the +startled passengers and sprang down upon the track before the train +quite stopped. He knew that accidents were not uncommon in the wilds +of northern Ontario. + +Ragged firs rose, dripping, against the rosy glow in the eastern sky, +with the narrow gap, hewed out for the line, running through their +midst. Some had been stripped of their smaller branches by fire, and +leaned, dead and blackened, athwart each other. Beneath them, shallow +pools gleamed in the hollows of the rocks, which rose in rounded masses +here and there, and the gravel of the graded track was seamed by water +channels. George remembered having heard the roar of heavy rain and a +crash of thunder during the night, but it was now wonderfully still and +fresh, and the resinous fragrance of the firs filled the chilly air. + +Walking forward, clear of the curious passengers who poured from the +cars, he saw a lake running back into the woods. A tall water-tank +stood on the margin with a shanty, in which George imagined a telegraph +operator was stationed, at its foot. Ahead, the great locomotive was +pouring out a cloud of sooty smoke. When George reached it he waited +until the engineer had finished talking to a man on the line. + +"What are we stopping for? Has anything gone wrong?" he asked. + +"Freight locomotive jumped the track at a wash-out some miles ahead," +explained the engineer. "Took the fireman with her; but I don't know +much about it yet. Guess they'll want me soon." + +George got the man to promise to take him, and then he went back until +he met Edgar, to whom he related what he had heard. + +"I'm not astonished," remarked the lad, indicating one of the sleepers. +"Look at that--the rail's only held down by a spike or two; we fasten +them in solid chairs. They're rough and ready in this country." + +It was the characteristic hypercritical attitude of the newly-arrived +Englishman; and George, knowing that the Canadians strongly resent it, +noticed a look of interest in the eyes of a girl standing near them. +She was, he imagined, about twenty-four years of age, and was dressed +in some thin white material, the narrow skirt scarcely reaching to the +tops of her remarkably neat shoes. Her arms were uncovered to the +elbows; her neck was bare, but this displayed a beautiful skin; and the +face beneath the turned-down brim of the big hat was attractive. +George thought she was amused at Edgar's comment. + +"Well," he said, "while we put down a few miles of metals they'd drive +the track across leagues of new country and make a start with the +traffic. They haven't time to be particular, with the great western +wheat-land waiting for development." + +The girl moved away; and when word went around that there would be a +delay of several hours, George sat down beside the lake and watched the +Colonist passengers wash their children's clothes. It was, he thought, +rather a striking scene--the great train standing in the rugged +wilderness, the wide stretch of gleaming water running back among the +firs, and the swarm of jaded immigrants splashing bare-footed along the +beach. Their harsh voices and hoarse laughter broke discordantly on +the silence of the woods. + +After a while an elderly man, in badly-fitting clothes and an old +wide-brimmed hat, sauntered up with the girl George had noticed, and +stopped to survey the passengers. + +"A middling sample; not so many English as usual," he remarked. "If +they keep on coming in as they're doing, we'll get harvest hands at a +reasonable figure." + +"All he thinks about!" Edgar commented, in a lowered voice. "That's +the uncivil old fellow who smokes the vile leaf tobacco; he drove me +out of the car once or twice. It's hard to believe he's her father; +but in some ways they're alike." + +"I can't help feeling sorry for them," the girl replied. "Look at +those worn-out women, almost too limp to move. It's hot and shaky +enough in our cars; the Colonist ones must be dreadful." + +"Good enough for the folks who're in them; they're not fastidious," +said the man. + +They strolled on, and George felt mildly curious about them. The girl +was pretty and graceful, with a stamp of refinement upon her; the man +was essentially rugged and rather grim. Suddenly, however, a whistle +blast rang out, and George hurried toward the engine. It was beginning +to move when he reached it but, grasping a hand-rail, he clambered up. +The cab was already full of passengers, but he had found a place on the +frame above the wheels when he saw the girl in the light dress running, +flushed and eager, along the line. Leaning down as far as possible, he +held out his hand to her. + +"Get hold, if you want to come," he called. "There's a step yonder." + +She seized his hand and smiled at him when he drew her up beside him. + +"Thanks," she said. "I was nearly too late." + +"Perhaps we had better make for the pilot, where there'll be more +room," George suggested, as two more passengers scrambled up. + +They crept forward, holding on by the guard-rail, while the great +engine began to rock as it gathered speed. The girl, however, was +fearless, and at length they reached the front, and stood beneath the +big head-lamp with the triangular frame of the pilot running down to +the rails at their feet. The ledge along the top of it was narrow, and +when his companion sat down George felt concerned about her safety. +Her hat had blown back, setting free tresses of glossy hair; her light +skirt fluttered against the sooty pilot. + +"You'll have to allow me," he said, tucking the thin fabric beneath her +and passing an arm around her waist. + +He thought she bore it well, for her manner was free from prudish alarm +or coquettish submission. With sound sense, she had calmly acquiesced +in the situation; but George found the latter pleasant. His companion +was pretty, the swift motion had brought a fine warmth into her cheeks, +and a sparkle into her eyes; and George was slightly vexed when Edgar, +appearing round the front of the engine, unnoticed by the girl, +surveyed him with a grin. + +"Is there room for me?" he asked. "I had to leave the place where I +was, because my fellow passengers didn't seem to mind if they pushed me +off. A stranger doesn't get much consideration in this country." + +The girl looked up at him consideringly and answered, through the roar +of the engine: + +"You may sit here, if you'll stop criticizing us." + +"It's quite fair," Edgar protested, as he took his place by her side. +"I've been in Canada only three days, but I've several times heard +myself alluded to as an Englishman, as if that were some excuse for me." + +"Are you sure you haven't been provoking people by your superior air?" + +"I didn't know I possessed one; but I don't see why I should be very +humble because I'm in Canada." + +The girl laughed good-humoredly, and turned to George. + +"I'm glad I came. This is delightful," she said. + +It was, George admitted, an exhilarating experience. The big engine +was now running at top speed, rocking down the somewhat roughly laid +line. Banks of trees and stretches of gleaming water sped past, The +rails ahead came flying back to them. The sun was on the firs, and the +wind that lashed George's face was filled with their fragrance. Once +or twice a tress of his companion's hair blew across his cheek, but she +did not appear to notice this. He thought she was conscious of little +beyond the thrill of speed. + +At length the engine stopped where the line crossed a lake on a high +embankment. A long row of freight-cars stood near a break in the track +into which the rails ran down, and a faint cloud of steam rose from the +gap. + +George helped the girl down, anticipating Edgar, who seemed anxious to +offer his assistance, and they walked forward until they could see into +the pit. It was nearly forty feet in depth, for the embankment, +softened by heavy rain, had slipped into the lake. In the bottom a +huge locomotive lay shattered and overturned, with half a dozen men +toiling about it. The girl stopped with a little gasp, for there was +something strangely impressive in the sight of the wreck. + +"It's dreadful, isn't it?" she exclaimed. + +Then the men who had come with them gathered round. + +"Where's the fireman?" one of them asked. "He was too late when he +jumped. Have they got him out?" + +"Guess not," said another. "See, they're trying to jack up the front +of her." + +"Aren't you mistaken about the man?" George asked, looking at the first +speaker meaningly. + +"Why, no," replied the other. "He's certainly pinned down among the +wreck. They'll find him before long. Isn't that a jacket sleeve?" + +He broke off with an exclamation, as Edgar drove an elbow hard into his +ribs; but it was too late. The girl looked around at George, white in +face. + +"Is there a man beneath the engine? Don't try to put me off." + +"I'm afraid it's the case." + +"Then why did you bring me?" she cried with a shudder. "Take me away +at once!" + +George explained that he had forgotten the serious nature of the +accident. He hastily helped her up and turned away with her, but when +they had gone a little distance she sat down on a boulder. + +"I feel badly startled and ashamed," she exclaimed. "I was enjoying +it, as a spectacle, and all the time there was a man crushed to death." +Then she recovered her composure. "Go back and help. Besides, I think +your friend is getting into trouble." + +She was right. The man Edgar tried to silence had turned upon him, +savage and rather breathless. + +"Now," he said, "I'll fix you mighty quick. Think I'm going to have a +blamed Percy sticking his elbow into me?" + +Edgar glanced at the big and brawny man, with a twinge of somewhat +natural uneasiness; but he was not greatly daunted. + +"Oh, well," he retorted coolly, "if that's the way you look at it! But +if you're not in a desperate hurry, I'll take off my jacket." + +"What did you prod him for, anyway?" another asked. + +"I'm sorry I didn't jab him twice as hard; though I'd have wasted my +energy," Edgar explained. "The fellow has no sense, but that's no +reason why he should be allowed to frighten a pretty girl." + +His antagonist looked as if a light had suddenly dawned on him. + +"Is that why you did it?" + +"Of course! Do you think I'd attack a man of nearly twice my weight +without some reason?" + +The fellow laughed. + +"We'll let it go at that. You're all right, Percy. We like you." + +"Thanks," said Edgar; "but my name isn't Percy. Couldn't you think of +something more stylish for a change?" + +They greeted this with hoarse laughter; and George, arriving on the +scene, scrambled down into the pit with them to help the men below. It +was some time later when he rejoined the girl, who was then gathering +berries in the wood. She saw that his face and hands were grimy and +his clothes were soiled. + +"I heard that you found the unfortunate man. It was very sad," she +said. "But what have you been doing since?" + +"Shoveling a ton or two of gravel. Then I assisted in jacking up one +side of the engine." + +"Why? Did you enjoy it?" + +George laughed; he had, as it happened, experienced a curious pleasure +in the work. He was accustomed to the more vigorous sports; but, after +all, they led to no tangible results, and in this respect his recent +task was different--one, as he thought of it, could see what one had +done. He had been endowed with some ability of strictly practical +description, though it had so far escaped development. + +"Yes," he responded. "I enjoyed it very much." + +The girl regarded him with a trace of curiosity. + +"Was that because work of the kind is new to you?" + +"No," George answered. "It isn't altogether a novelty. I once spent +three years in manual labor; and now when I look back at them, I +believe I was happy then." + +She nodded as if she understood. + +"Shall we walk back?" she suggested. + +They went on together, and though the sun was now fiercely hot and the +distance long, George enjoyed the walk. Once they met a ballast train, +with a steam plow mounted at one end of it, and a crowd of men riding +on the open cars; but when it had passed there was nothing to break the +deep silence of the woods. The dark firs shut in the narrow track +except when here and there a winding lake or frothing river filled a +sunny opening. + +Soon after George and his companion reached the train, the engine came +back with a row of freightcars, and during the afternoon the western +express pulled out again, and sped furiously through the shadowy bush. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +GEORGE MAKES FRIENDS + +It was nearing midnight when George walked impatiently up and down the +waiting-room in Winnipeg station, for the western express was very +late, and nobody seemed to know when it would start. George was +nevertheless interested in his surroundings, and with some reason. The +great room was built in palatial style, with domed roof, tessellated +marble floor, and stately pillars: it was brilliantly lighted; and +massively-framed paintings of snow-capped peaks and river gorges +adorned the walls. An excursion-train from Winnipeg Beach had just +come in, and streams of young men and women in summer attire were +passing through the room. They all looked happy and prosperous: he +thought the girls' light dresses were gayer and smarter than those +usually seen among a crowd of English passengers; but there was another +side to the picture. + +Rows of artistic seats ran here and there, and each was occupied by +jaded immigrants, worn out by their journey in the sweltering Colonist +cars. Piles of dilapidated baggage surrounded them, and among it +exhausted children lay asleep. Drowsy, dusty women, with careworn +faces, were huddled beside them; men bearing the stamp of ill-paid toil +sat in dejected apathy; and all about each group the floor, which was +wet with drippings from the roof, was strewn with banana skins, crumbs, +and scraps of food. There had been heavy rains, and the atmosphere was +hot and humid. It was, however, the silence of these newcomers that +struck George most. There was no grumbling among them--they scarcely +seemed vigorous enough for that--but as he passed one row he heard a +woman's low sobbing and the wail of a fretful child. + +After a while the girl he had met on the train appeared and intimated +by a smile that he might join her. They found an unoccupied seat, and +a smartly-attired young man who was approaching it stopped when he saw +them. + +"Well," he said coolly, "I guess I won't intrude." + +George felt seriously annoyed with him, but he was reassured when his +companion laughed with candid amusement. Though there was no doubt of +her prettiness, he had already noticed that she did not impress one +most forcibly with the fact that she was an attractive young woman. It +seemed to sink into the background when one spoke to her. + +"It was rather tedious waiting in the hotel," she explained. "There +was nobody I could talk to; my father is busy with a grain broker." + +"Then he is a farmer?" + +"Yes," said the girl, "he has a farm." + +"And you live out in the West with him?" + +"Of course," she said, smiling. "Still, I have been in Montreal, and +England." Then she turned and glanced at the jaded immigrants. "One +feels sorry for them; they have so much to bear." + +George felt that she wished to change the subject, and he followed her +lead. + +"I feel inclined to wonder where they all go to and how you employ +them. Your people still seem anxious to bring them in." + +"Yes," she replied thoughtfully, "It's rather a difficult question. Of +course, we pay high wages--people who say they must dispense with help +and can't carry out useful projects would like to see them lower--but +there's the long winter when, out West at least, very few men can work. +Then what the others have earned in summer rapidly melts." + +"But what do the Canadian farm-hands and mechanics think? It wouldn't +suit them to have wages broken down." + +West had come up a few moments earlier. + +"It doesn't matter," he laughed; "they won't be consulted. It's the +other people who pull the strings, and they're adopting a forward +policy--rush them all in; it's their lookout when they get here. +That's my opinion; though I'll own that I know remarkably little about +western Canada." + +"You won't admit he's right," George said to the girl. + +She looked grave. + +"Sometimes," she answered, "I wonder." + +Then she turned to West. + +"You don't seem impressed with the country," she said. + +"As a rule, I try to be truthful. The country strikes me as being +pretty mixed, full of contrasts. There's this place, for instance; one +could imagine they had meant to build a Greek temple, and now it looks +more like a swimming-bath. After planning the rest magnificently, why +couldn't they put on a roof that wouldn't leak?" + +"It has been an exceptionally heavy rain," the girl reminded him. + +"Just so. But couldn't somebody get a broom and sweep the water out? +Our unimaginative English folk could rise as far as that." + +She laughed good-humoredly, and her father sauntered up to them. + +"Any news of the train yet?" he asked. + +"No, sir," said Edgar. "In my opinion, any attempt to extract reliable +information from a Canadian railroad-hand is a waste of time. No +doubt, it's so scarce that it hurts them to part with it." + +The Westerner looked at him with a little hard smile. He was tall and +gaunt and dressed in baggy clothes, but there was a hint of power in +his face, which was lined, and deeply bronzed by exposure to the +weather. + +"Well," he retorted, "what do you expect, Percy, if you talk to them +like that? But I want to thank you and your partner for taking care of +my girl when she went to see the wreck. Fellow on the cars told +me--said you were a gritty pup!" + +Edgar looked confused, but the man drew an old skin bag out of his +pocket. + +"It's domestic leaf; take a smoke." + +"No, thanks," said Edgar quickly. "I've no doubt it's excellent, but I +really prefer the common Virginia stuff." + +"Matter of habit," replied the other. "I don't carry cigars; they're +expensive. Going far West?" + +"We get off at Sage Butte." + +"It's called Butte. I'm located in that district." + +"Then I wonder if you knew an Englishman named Marston?" George +interposed. + +"I certainly did; he died last winter. Oughtn't to have come out +farming; he hadn't the grip." + +George felt surprised. He had always admired Marston, who had excelled +in whatever he took in hand. It was strange and disconcerting to hear +him disparaged. + +"Will you tell me what you mean by that?" he asked. + +"Why, yes. I've nothing against the man. I liked him--guess everybody +did--but the contract he was up against was too big for him. Had his +first crop frozen, and lost his nerve and judgment after that--the man +who gets ahead here must have the grit to stand up against a few bad +seasons. Marston acted foolishly; wasted his money buying machines and +teams he could have done without, and then let up when he saw it +wouldn't pay him to use them right off; but that was part his wife's +fault. She drove him pretty hard--though, in some ways, I guess he +needed it." + +George frowned. Sylvia, he admitted, was ambitious, and she might have +put a little pressure upon Marston now and then; but that she should +have urged him on toward ruin in her eagerness to get rich was +incredible. + +"I think you must be mistaken about his wife," he remarked. + +"Well," drawled the Canadian, "I'm not always right." + +Then a bell tolled outside, an official shouted the names of towns, and +there was a sudden stir and murmur of voices in the great waiting-room. +Men seized their bags and bundles, women dragged sleepy children to +their feet, and a crowd began to press about the outlet. + +"Guess that's our train. She's going to be pretty full," said the +Canadian. + +The party joined a stream of hurrying passengers, and regretted their +haste when they were violently driven through the door and into a +railed-off space on the platform, where shouting railroad-hands were +endeavoring to restrain the surging crowd. Nobody heeded them; the +immigrants' patience was exhausted, and they had suddenly changed from +a dully apathetic multitude waiting in various stages of dejection to a +savage mob fired by one determined purpose. Near by stood a long row +of lighted cars, and the immigrants meant to get on board them without +loss of time. There were two gates, guarded by officials who +endeavored to discriminate between the holders of first and second +class tickets, but the crowd was in no mood to submit to the separation. + +It raged behind the barrier, and when one gate was rashly pushed back a +little too far, a clamorous, jostling mass of humanity stormed the +opening. Its guardians were flung aside, helpless, and the foremost of +the mob poured out upon the platform, while the pressure about the gap +grew insupportable. Women screamed, children were reft away from their +mothers, panting men trampled over bags and bundles torn from their +owners' hands, and George and the elderly Canadian struggled +determinedly to prevent the girl's being badly crushed. Edgar had +disappeared, though they once heard his voice, raised in angry protest. + +They were forced close up to the outlet, when there was a check. More +officials had been summoned; somebody had dropped a heavy box which +obstructed the passage, and a group of passengers began a savage fight +for its recovery. George seized a man who was jostling the girl and +thrust him backward; but the next moment he was struck by somebody, and +he saw nothing of his companions when, after being violently driven to +and fro, he reached the gate. A woman with two screaming children +clinging to her appeared beside him, and he held a man so that she +might pass. He was breathless, and almost exhausted, but he secured +her a little room; and then the pressure suddenly slackened. The crowd +swept out like a flood from a broken dam, and in a few more moments +George stood, gasping, on the platform amid a thinner stream of running +people. There was no sign of the Canadian or his daughter; the cars +were besieged; and George waited until Edgar joined him, flushed and +disheveled. + +"I suppose I was lucky in getting through with only my jacket badly +torn," said the lad, "I wondered why the railroad people caged up their +passengers behind iron bars, but now I know." + +George laughed. + +"I don't think this kind of thing is altogether usual. Owing to the +accident, they've no doubt had two trainloads to handle instead of one. +But the platform's emptying; shall we look for a place?" + +They managed to enter a car, though the stream of passengers, pouring +in by the two vestibules, met within in dire confusion, choking up the +passage with their baggage. Order was, however, restored at last; and, +with the tolling of the bell, and a jerk that flung those unprepared +off their feet, the great express got off. + +"Nobody left behind," Edgar announced, after a glance through the +window. "I can't imagine where they put them all; though I've never +seen a train like this. But what has become of our Canadian friends?" + +George said he did not know, and Edgar resumed: + +"I'm rather taken with the girl--strikes me as intelligent as well as +fetching. The man's a grim old savage, but I'm inclined to think he's +prosperous; when a fellow says he can't afford cigars I generally +suspect him of being rich. It's a pity that stinginess is one of the +roads to affluence." + +The car, glaringly lighted by huge lamps, was crowded and very hot, and +after a while George went out on to the rear platform for a breath of +air. The train had now left the city, and glancing back as it swung +around a curve, he wondered how one locomotive could haul the long row +of heavy cars. Then he looked out across the wide expanse of grass +that stretched away in the moonlight to the dim blur of woods on the +horizon. Here and there clumps of willows dotted the waste, but it lay +silent and empty, without sign of human life. The air was pleasantly +fresh after heavy rain; and the stillness of the vast prairie was +soothing by contrast with the tumult from which they had recently +escaped. + +Lighting his pipe, George leaned contentedly on the rail. Then +remembering what the Canadian had said, he thought of his old friend +Marston, a man of charm and varied talents, whom he had long admired +and often rather humbly referred to. It was hard to understand how +Dick had failed in Canada, and harder still to see why he had made his +plodding comrade his executor; for George, having seldom had occasion +to exert his abilities, had no great belief in them. He had suffered +keenly when Sylvia married Dick, but the homage he had offered her had +always been characterized by diffidence, springing from a doubt that +she could be content with him; and after a sharp struggle he succeeded +in convincing himself that his wound did not matter if she were happier +with the more brilliant man. He had entertained no hard thoughts of +her: Sylvia could do no wrong. His love for her sprang rather from +respect than passion; in his eyes she was all that a woman ought to be. + +In the meanwhile his new friends were discussing him in a car farther +back along the train. + +"I'm glad I had that Englishman by me in the crowd," the man remarked. +"He's cool and kept his head, did what was needed and nothing else. I +allow you owe him something for bringing you through." + +"Yes," said the girl; "he was quick and resolute." Then reserving the +rest of her thoughts, she added: "His friend's amusing." + +"Percy? Oh, yes," agreed her father. "Nothing to notice about +him--he's just one of the boys. The other's different. What that +fellow takes in hand he'll go through with." + +"You haven't much to form an opinion on." + +"That doesn't count. I can tell if a man's to be trusted when I see +him." + +"You're generally right," the girl admitted. "You were about Marston. +I was rather impressed by him when he first came out." + +Her father smiled. + +"Just so. Marston had only one trouble--he was all on top. You saw +all his good points in the first few minutes. It was rough on him that +they weren't the ones that are needed in this country." + +"It's a country that demands a great deal," the girl said thoughtfully. + +"Sure," was the dry reply. "The prairie breaks the weak and shiftless +pretty quick; we only have room for hard men who'll stand up against +whatever comes along." + +"And do you think that description fits the Englishman we met?" + +"Well," said her father, "I guess he wouldn't back down if things went +against him." + +He went out for a smoke, and the girl considered what he had said. It +was not a matter of much consequence, but she knew he seldom made +mistakes, and in this instance she agreed with him. As it happened, +George's English relatives included one or two clever people, but none +of them held his talents in much esteem. They thought him honest, +rather painstaking, and good-natured, but that was all. It was left +for two strangers to form a juster opinion; which was, perhaps, a not +altogether unusual thing. Besides, the standards are different in +western Canada. There, a man is judged by what he can do. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE PRAIRIE + +After a hot and tedious journey, George and his companion alighted one +afternoon at a little station on a branch line, and Edgar looked about +with interest when the train went on again. A telegraph office with a +baggage-room attached occupied the middle of the low platform, a tall +water-tank stood at the end, and three grain elevators towered high +above a neighboring side-track. Facing the track, stood a row of +wooden buildings varying in size and style: they included a +double-storied hotel with a veranda in front of it, and several untidy +shacks. Running back from them, two short streets, thinly lined with +small houses, led to a sea of grass. + +"Sage Butte doesn't strike one as a very exhilarating place," George +remarked. "We'll stroll round it, and then see about rooms, since we +have to stay the night." + +They left the station, but the main street had few attractions to +offer. Three stores, with strangely-assorted, dusty goods in their +windows fronted the rickety plankwalk; beyond these stood a livery +stable, a Chinese laundry, and a few dwelling-houses. Several +dilapidated wagons and buggies were scattered about the uneven road. +In the side street, disorderly rows of agricultural implements +surrounded a store, and here and there little board dwellings with wire +mosquito-doors and net-guarded windows, stood among low trees. Farther +back were four very small wooden churches. It was unpleasantly hot, +though a fresh breeze blew clouds of dust through the place. + +"I've seen enough," said Edgar. "The Butte isn't pretty; we'll assume +it's prosperous, though I haven't noticed much sign of activity yet. +Let's go to the hotel." + +When they reached it, several untidy loungers sat half asleep in the +shade of the veranda, and though they obstructed the approach to the +entrance none of them moved. Passing behind them, George opened a door +filled in with wire-mesh, and they entered a hot room with a bare +floor, furnished with a row of plain wooden chairs. After they had +rung a bell for several minutes, a man appeared and looked at them with +languid interest from behind a short counter. + +"Can you put us up?" George inquired. + +"Sure," was the answer. + +The man flung down a labeled key, twisted round his register, which was +fitted in a swivel frame, and handed George a pen. + +"We want two rooms," Edgar objected. + +"Can't help that. We've only got one." + +"I suppose we'd better take it. Where can one get a drink?" + +"Bar," replied the other, indicating a gap in a neighboring partition. + +"They're laconic in this country," Edgar remarked. + +"Ever since I arrived in it, I've felt as if I were a mere piece of +baggage, to be hustled along anyway without my wishes counting." + +"You'll get used to it after a while," George consoled him. + +Entering the dark bar, Edgar refreshed himself with several ice-cooled +drinks, served in what he thought were unusually small glasses. He +felt somewhat astonished when he paid for them. + +"Thirst's expensive on the prairie," he commented. + +"Pump outside," drawled the attendant. "It's rather mean water." + +They went upstairs to a very scantily furnished, doubled-bedded room. +George, warned by previous experience, glanced around. + +"There's soap and a towel, anyway; but I don't see any water," he +remarked. "I'll take the jar; they'll have a rain-tank somewhere +about." + +Edgar did not answer him. He was looking out of the open window, and +now that there was little to obstruct his view, the prospect interested +him. It had been a wet spring, and round the vast half-circle he +commanded the prairie ran back to the horizon, brightly green, until +its strong coloring gave place in the distance to soft neutral tones. +It was blotched with crimson flowers; in the marshy spots there were +streaks of purple; broad squares of darker wheat checkered the sweep of +grass, and dwarf woods straggled across it in broken lines. In one +place was the gleam of a little lake. Over it all there hung a sky of +dazzling blue, across which great rounded cloud-masses rolled. + +Edgar looked around as George came in with the water. + +"That's great!" he exclaimed, indicating the prairie; and then, turning +toward the wooden town, he added: "What a frightful mess man can make +of pretty things! Still, I've no doubt the people who built the Butte +are proud of it." + +"If you talk to them in that style, you'll soon discover their +opinion," George laughed; "but I don't think it would be wise." + +Soon afterward a bell rang for supper, and going down to a big room, +they found seats at a table which had several other occupants. Two of +them, who appeared to be railroad-hands, were simply dressed in +trousers and slate-colored shirts, and when they rested their elbows on +the tablecloth, they left grimy smears. George thought the third man +of the party, who was neatly attired, must be the station-agent; the +fourth was unmistakably a newly-arrived Englishman. As soon as they +were seated, a very smart young woman came up and rattled off the names +of various unfamiliar dishes. + +"I think I'll have a steak; I know what that is," Edgar told her. + +She withdrew, and presently surrounded him with an array of little +plates, at which he glanced dubiously before he attacked the thin, hard +steak with a nickeled knife which failed to make a mark on it. When he +made a more determined effort, it slid away from him, sweeping some +greasy fried potatoes off his plate, and he grew hot under the stern +gaze of the girl, who reappeared with some coffee he had not ordered. + +"Perhaps you had better take it away before I do more damage, and let +me have some fish," he said humbly. + +"Another time you'll say what you want at first. You can't prospect +right through the menu," she rebuked him. + +In the meanwhile George had been describing his companions on the train +to one of the men opposite. + +"He told me he was located in the district, but I didn't learn his +name, and he didn't get off here," he explained. "Do you know him?" + +"Sure," said the other. "It's Alan Grant, of Poplar, 'bout eighteen +miles back. Guess he went on to the next station--a little farther, +but it's easier driving, now they're dumping straw on the trail." + +"Putting straw on the road?" Edgar broke in. "Why are they doing that?" + +"You'll see, if you drive out north," the man answered shortly. Then +he turned to his better-dressed companion. "What are you going to do +with that carload of lumber we got for Grant?" + +"Send the car on to Benton." + +"She's billed here." + +"Can't help that--the road's mistake. Grant ordered all his stuff to +Benton. What he says goes." + +This struck George as significant--it was only a man of importance +whose instructions would be treated with so much deference. Then the +agent turned to Edgar. + +"What do you think of this country?" + +"The country's very nice. So far as I've seen them, I can't say as +much for the towns; they might be prettier." + +"Might be prettier?" exclaimed the agent. "If they're not good enough +for you, why did you come here?" + +"I'm not sure it was a very judicious move. But, you see, I didn't +know what the place was like; and, after all, an experience of this +kind is supposed to be bracing." + +The agent ignored Edgar after this. He talked to George, and elicited +the information that the latter meant to farm. Then he got up, +followed by two of the others, and the remaining man with the English +appearance turned to George diffidently. + +"Do you happen to want a teamster?" he asked. + +"I believe I'll want two," was the answer. "But I'm afraid I'll have +to hire Canadians." + +The man's face fell. He looked anxious, and George remembered having +seen a careworn woman tearfully embracing him before their steamer +sailed. Her shabby clothes and despairing face had roused George's +sympathy. + +"Well," said the man dejectedly, "that's for you to decide; but I've +driven horses most of my life, and until I get used to things I'd be +reasonable about the pay. I was told these little places were the best +to strike a job in; but, so far as I can find out, there's not much +chance here." + +George felt sorry for him. He suddenly made up his mind. + +"What are farm teamsters getting now?" he asked a man who was leaving +an adjacent table. + +"Thirty dollars a month," was the answer. + +"Thanks," said George, turning again to the Englishman. "Be ready to +start with us to-morrow. I'll take you at thirty dollars; but if I +don't get my value out of you, we'll have to part." + +"No fear of that, sir," replied the other, in a tone of keen +satisfaction. + +When they got outside, Edgar looked at George with a smile. + +"I'm glad you engaged the fellow," he said; "but considering that +you'll have to teach him, were you not a little rash?" + +"I'll find out by and by." George paused, and continued gravely: "It's +a big adventure these people make. Think of it--the raising of the +passage money by some desperate economy, the woman left behind with +hardly enough to keep her a month or two, the man's fierce anxiety to +find some work! When I saw how he was watching me, I felt I had to +hire him." + +"Just so," responded Edgar. "I suppose I ought to warn you that doing +things of the kind may get you into trouble some day; but cold-blooded +prudence never did appeal to me." He took one of the chairs in front +of the building and filled his pipe before he continued: "We'll sit +here a while, and then we might as well stroll across the plain. The +general-room doesn't strike me as an attractive place to spend the +evening in." + +An hour later they left the tall elevators and straggling town behind, +and after brushing through a belt of crimson flowers, they followed the +torn-up black trail that led into the waste. After a mile or two it +broke into several divergent rows of ruts, and they went on toward a +winding line of bluff across the short grass. Reaching that, they +pushed through the thin wood of dwarf birch and poplar, skirting little +pools from which mallard rose: and then, crossing a long rise, they sat +down to smoke on its farther side. Sage Butte had disappeared, the sun +had dipped, and the air was growing wonderfully fresh and cool. Here +and there a house or barn rose from the sweep of grass; but for the +most part it ran back into the distance lonely and empty. It was +steeped in strong, cold coloring, but on its western rim there burned a +vivid flush of rose and saffron. Edgar was impressed by its vastness +and silence. + +"This," he said thoughtfully, "makes up for a good deal. Once you get +clear of the railroad, it's a captivating country." + +"Have you decided yet what you're going to do in it?" + +"It's too soon," Edgar rejoined. "The family idea was that I should +stay about twelve months, and then go back and enter some profession. +Ethel seems quite convinced that a little roughing it will prove +beneficial. I might, however, stop out and try farming, which is one +reason why you can have my services for nothing for a time. +Considering what local wages are, don't you think you're lucky?" + +"That," laughed George, "remains to be seen." + +"Anyhow, there's no doubt that Sylvia Marston scores in securing you on +the same favorable terms. It has struck me that she's a woman who gets +things easily." + +"She hasn't always done so. Can you imagine, for instance, what two +years on a prairie farm must have been to a delicate, fastidious girl, +brought up in luxury?" + +"I've an idea that Sylvia would manage to avoid a good many of the +hardships." + +"Sylvia would never shirk a duty," George declared firmly. + +Edgar refilled his pipe. + +"I've been thinking about Dick Marston," he said. "After the way he +was generally regarded at home, it was strange to hear that Canadian's +opinions; but I've a notion that this country's a pretty severe +touchstone. I mean that the sort of qualities that make one popular in +England may not prove of much use here." + +"Dick lost his crop; that accounts for a good deal," George said +shortly. + +Edgar, knowing how staunch he was to his friends, changed the subject; +and when the light grew dim they went back to the hotel. Breakfasting +soon after six the next morning, they took their places in a light, +four-wheeled vehicle, for which three persons' baggage made a rather +heavy load, and drove away with the hired man. The grass was wet with +dew, the air invigoratingly cool, and for a time the fresh team carried +them across the waste at an excellent pace. When he had got used to +the frantic jolting, Edgar found the drive exhilarating. Poplar +bluffs, little ponds, a lake shining amid tall sedges, belts of +darkgreen wheat, went by; and while the horses plunged through tall +barley-grass or hauled the vehicle over clods and ruts, the same vast +prospect stretched away ahead. It filled the lad with a curious sense +of freedom: there was no limit to the prairies--one could go on and on, +across still wider stretches beyond the horizon. + +By and by, however, they ran in among low sandy hills, dotted with +dwarf pines here and there, and the pace slackened. The grass was +thin, the wheels sank in deep, loose sand, and the sun was getting +unpleasantly hot. For half an hour they drove on; and then the team +came to a standstill, necked with spume, at the foot of a short, steep +rise. Edgar alighted and found the heat almost insupportable. There +was glaring sand all about him, and the breeze which swept the prairie +was cut off by the hill in front. + +"You'll have to help the team," George told him, as he went to the +horses' heads. + +Edgar and the hired man each seized a wheel and endeavored to start the +vehicle, while the horses plunged in the slipping sand. They made a +few yards, with clouds of grit flying up about them, and afterward came +to a stop again. Next they tried pushing; and after several rests they +arrived, breathless and gasping, at the crest of the rise. There was a +big hollow in front, and on the opposite side a ridge which looked +steeper than the last one. + +"How much do you think there is of this?" Edgar inquired. + +"I can't say," George answered. "I know of one belt that runs for +forty miles." + +Even walking downhill was laborious, for they sank ankle-deep, but it +was very much worse when they faced the ascent. Short as the hill was, +it took them some time to climb; and, with the hired man's assistance, +Edgar carried a heavy trunk up the last part of it. Then he sat down. + +"I'm not sure I can smoke, but I intend to try," he said. "If you mean +to rush the next hill right off, you will go without me." He turned to +the hired man. "What do you think of these roads, Grierson?" + +"I've seen better, sir," the other answered cautiously. "Perhaps the +hills don't go on very far." + +Edgar ruefully glanced ahead at scattered pines, clumps of brush, and +ridges of gleaming sand. + +"It's my opinion there's no end to them! Hauling a load of wheat +through this kind of country must be a bit of an undertaking." + +After a short rest, they toiled for an hour through the sand; and then +rode slowly over a road thickly strewn with straw, which bore the +wheels. It led them across lower ground to a strong wire fence, where +it forked: one branch skirting the barrier along the edge of a muskeg, +the other running through the enclosed land. Deciding to take the +latter, George got down at the entrance, which was barred by several +strands of wire, firmly fastened. + +"Half an hour's work here," Edgar commented. "Driving's rather an +arduous pastime in western Canada." + +They crossed a long field of barley, a breadth of wheat, and passed an +empty house; then wound through a poplar wood until they reached the +grass again. It was long and rank, hiding the ruts and hollows in the +trail; but after stopping a while for dinner in the shadow of a bluff, +they jolted on, and in the afternoon they reached a smoother track. +Crossing a low rise, they saw a wide stretch of wheat beneath them, +with a house and other buildings near its margin. + +"That," said George, "is Sylvia's farm." + +Half an hour later, they drove through the wheat, at which George +glanced dubiously; and then, traversing a belt of light sandy clods +partly grown with weeds, they drew up before the house. It was +double-storied, roomy, and neatly built of wood; but it was in very bad +repair, and the barn and stables had a neglected and half-ruinous look. +Implements and wagons which had suffered from exposure to the weather, +stood about outside. Edgar noticed that George's face was grave. + +"I am afraid we have our work cut out," he said. "We'll put up the +team, and then look round the place and see what needs doing first." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +GEORGE GETS TO WORK + +It was an oppressive evening, after a day of unusual heat. Edgar sat +smoking outside the homestead. He had been busy since six o'clock that +morning, and he felt tired and downcast. Massed thunder-clouds brooded +over the silent prairie, wheat and grass had faded to dingy green and +lifeless gray, and Edgar tried to persuade himself that his moodiness +was the effect of the weather. This was partly the case, but he was +also suffering from homesickness and a shrinking from what was new and +strange. + +The wooden house had a dreary, dilapidated look; the weathered, +neglected appearance of barns and stables was depressing. It was +through a neighboring gap in the fence that Marston's team had brought +their lifeless master home; and Edgar had seen enough to realize that +the man must have grown slack and nerveless before he had succumbed. +The farm had broken down Marston's strength and courage, and now +another man, less gifted in many ways, had taken it in charge. Edgar +wondered how he would succeed; but in spite of a few misgivings he had +confidence in George. + +After a while the latter, who had been examining Marston's farming +books, came out, looking grave; he had worn a serious air since their +arrival. + +"There'll have to be a change," he said. "Dick's accounts have given +me something to think about. I believe I'm beginning to understand now +how his money went." + +"I suppose you haven't got the new program cut and dried yet?" Edgar +suggested. + +George was seldom precipitate. + +"No," he answered. "I've a few ideas in my mind." + +"Won't you have some trouble about finances, if the alterations are +extensive?" + +"I'll have to draw on my private account, unless Herbert will assist." + +"Herbert won't do anything of the kind," said Edgar decidedly. + +George, making no answer, called Grierson from the stable. + +"You'll drive in to the settlement after breakfast to-morrow, Tom," he +said. "Tell the man I'll keep the team, if he'll knock off twenty +dollars, and he can have his check when he likes. Then bring out the +flour and groceries." + +"I suppose I won't be going in again for a while; we'll be too busy?" + +"It's very likely," said Edgar, knowing his comrade's temperament. + +"Then I wonder if I could draw a pound or two?" asked Grierson +diffidently. + +"Why?" George questioned him. "The Immigration people would see that +you had some money before they let you in." + +"I've four pounds now; I want to send something home at once." + +"Ah!" said George. "I see. How much did you leave your wife?" + +"About three pounds, sir; I had to bring enough to pass me at Quebec." + +"Then if you give me what you have, I'll let you have a check for twice +as much on an English bank. Better get your letter written." + +Grierson's look was very expressive as he turned away with a word of +thanks; and Edgar smiled at George. + +"You have bought that fellow--for an advance of four pounds," he said. + +George showed a little embarrassment. + +"I was thinking of the woman," he explained. + +Then he pointed to the prairie. + +"There's a rig coming. It looks like visitors." + +Soon afterward, Grant, whom they had met on the train, drew up his team +and helped his daughter down. + +"We were passing and thought we'd look in," he said. "Found out +yesterday that you were located here." + +George called Grierson to take the team, and leading the new arrivals +to the house, which was still in disorder, he found them seats in the +kitchen. It was rather roughly and inadequately furnished, and Edgar +had decided that Sylvia had spent little of her time there. After they +had talked for a while, a man, dressed in blue duck trousers, a +saffron-colored shirt, and an old slouch hat, which he did not remove, +walked in, carrying a riding quirt. Grant returned his greeting +curtly, and then the man addressed George. + +"I heard you were running this place," he said. + +"That's correct." + +"Then I put in the wheat on your summer fallow; Mrs. Marston told me +to. Thought I'd come along and let you have the bill." + +His manner was assertively offhand, and George did not ask him to sit +down. + +"It's a very second-rate piece of work," George said. "You might have +used the land-packer more than you did." + +"It's good enough. Anyway, I'll trouble you for the money." + +Edgar was sensible of indignation mixed with amusement. This +overbearing fellow did not know George Lansing. + +"I think you had better take off your hat before we go any +farther--it's customary. Then you may tell me what I owe you." + +The man looked astonished, but he complied with the suggestion, and +afterward stated his charge, which was unusually high. Edgar noticed +that Grant was watching George with quiet interest. + +"I suppose you have a note from Mrs. Marston fixing the price?" + +The other explained that the matter had been arranged verbally. + +"Was anybody else present when you came to terms?" George asked. + +"You can quit feeling, and pay up!" exclaimed the stranger. "I've told +you how much it is." + +"The trouble is that you're asking nearly double the usual charge per +acre." + +Grant smiled approvingly, but the man advanced with a truculent air to +the table at which George was sitting. + +"I've done the work; that's good enough for me." + +"You have done it badly, but I'll give you a check now, based on the +regular charge, which should come to"--George made a quick calculation +on a strip of paper and handed it to the man. "This is merely because +you seem in a hurry. If you're not satisfied, you can wait until I get +an answer from Mrs. Marston; or I'll ask some of my neighbors to +arbitrate." + +The man hesitated, with anger in his face. + +"I guess I'll take the check," he said sullenly. + +Crossing the floor, George took a pen and some paper from a shelf. + +"Sit here," he said, when he came back, "and write me a receipt." + +The other did as he was bidden, and George pointed toward the door. + +"That's settled; I won't keep you." + +The man looked hard at him, and then went quietly out; and Grant leaned +back in his seat with a soft laugh. + +"You fixed him," he remarked. "He has the name of being a tough." + +"I suppose an Englishman newly out is considered lawful prey." + +"A few of them deserve it," Grant returned dryly. "But let that go. +What do you think of the place?" + +George felt that he could trust the farmer. He had spent a depressing +day, during which all he saw had discouraged him. Marston had farmed +in a singularly wasteful manner; fences and outbuildings were in very +bad repair; half the implements were useless; and it would be a long +and costly task to put things straight. + +"I feel that I'll have my hands full. In fact, I'm a little worried +about it; there are so many changes that must be made." + +"Sure. Where are you going to begin?" + +"By getting as much summer fallowing as possible done on the second +quarter-section. The first has been growing wheat for some time; I'll +sew part of that with timothy. There's one bit of stiff land I might +put in flax. I've thought of trying corn for the silo." + +"Timothy and a silo?" commented Grant. + +"You're going in for stock, then? It means laying out money, and a +slow return." + +"I'm afraid so. Still, you can't grow cereals year after year on this +light soil. It's a wasteful practise that will have to be abandoned, +as people here seem to be discovering. Grain won't pay at sixteen +bushels to the acre." + +"A sure thing," Grant agreed. "I'm sticking right to wheat, but that's +because I'm too old to change my system, and I'm on black soil, which +holds out longer." + +"But you're taking the nature out of it." + +"It will see me through if I fallow," said Grant. "When I've done with +it and sell out, somebody else can experiment with mixed crops and +stock-raising. That's going to become the general plan, but it's +costly at the beginning." Then he rose. "I'll walk round the place +with you." + +They went out, and the girl fell behind with Edgar. He had learned +that her name was Flora. + +"Mr. Lansing seems to understand farming," she remarked. "He didn't +tell us he had been on the prairie before." + +"He hasn't told you now," Edgar pointed out. + +"George never does tell things about himself unless there's a reason." + +"He soon got rid of the fellow who sowed the crop." + +Edgar laughed. + +"I knew the man would meet with a surprise. George's abilities are +not, as a rule, obvious at first sight. People find them out by +accident, and then they're somewhat startled." + +"You're evidently an admirer of his. Do you mean to go in for farming?" + +"I am, though I wouldn't have him suspect it," said Edgar. "In answer +to the other question, I haven't made up my mind. Farming as it's +carried on in this country seems to be a rather arduous occupation. In +the meanwhile, I'm undergoing what English people seem to think of as +the Canadian cure; that is, I've been given a chance for readjusting my +ideas and developing my character." + +"Under Mr. Lansing's guidance?" + +Edgar realized that the girl was less interested in him than in George, +but he did not resent this. + +"You're smart. I believe my people entertained some idea of that +nature; George is considered safe. Still, to prevent any +misapprehension, I'd better point out that my chief failings are a +fondness for looking at the amusing side of things and a slackness in +availing myself of my opportunities. As an instance of the latter +defect, I'm boring you by talking about Lansing." + +Flora regarded him with a quiet smile. + +"It struck me that you were saying something about yourself." + +"I suppose that's true," Edgar admitted. "It clears the ground." + +"For what?" + +"For an extension of our acquaintance, among other things." + +"Do you want it extended?" + +They had stopped at the edge of a hollow filled with tall, harsh grass, +and Edgar studied her while he considered his answer. There was +nothing that suggested coquetry in the faint amusement she displayed; +this was a girl with some depth of character, though he realized that +she was pretty. She carried herself well; she was finely and strongly +made; her gray eyes were searching; and she had a rather commanding +manner. Her hair was a warm brown, clustering low on a smooth +forehead; nose and lips and chin were firmly molded. + +"Yes," he answered candidly; "I'm feeling the strangeness of the +country, and I've an idea that both George and I may need friends in +it. It strikes me that you and your father would prove useful ones." + +"Well," she said, "he's sometimes called hard, and he's a little +prejudiced on certain points, but he can be very staunch to those he +takes a liking to." + +"I believe," Edgar rejoined, "that also applies to you; I don't mean +the first of it." + +Flora changed the subject. + +"I gather that you're not favorably impressed with the place." + +"I'm not. If I had to farm it, I'd feel scared; and I don't think +George is happy. It's hard to understand how Marston let it get into +such a state." + +"He was unfitted for the work, and he was further handicapped." + +"How?" Edgar asked. + +"You may have noticed that while economy ruled outside, the house is +remarkably well furnished. The money Marston spent in Winnipeg stores +should have gone into the land." + +Edgar nodded; he did not agree with George's opinion of Sylvia. + +"You don't seem to approve of the way Mrs. Marston managed things. +It's rather curious. I always thought her pretty capable in some +respects." + +"That's very possible," said Flora with a hint of dryness. + +"After all, it may not have been her fault," Edgar suggested. "Marston +was a generous fellow; he may have insisted on thinking first of her +comfort." + +"Then she ought to have stopped him," said Flora firmly. "Do you think +a woman should let a man spoil his one chance of success in order to +surround her with luxury?" + +"The answer's obvious." + +A dazzling flash of lightning leaped from the mass of somber cloud +overhead, and they turned back toward the house, which George and Grant +reached soon afterward. Grant said that he must get home before the +storm broke, and Grierson brought out his spirited team. It had grown +nearly dark; a curious leaden haze obscured the prairie; and when the +man was getting into his light, spring-seated wagon, a jagged streak of +lightning suddenly reft the gloom and there was a deafening roll of +thunder. The horses started. Grant fell backward from the step, +dropping the reins; and while the others stood dazzled by the flash, +the terrified animals backed the vehicle with a crash against the +stable. Then they plunged madly forward toward the fence, with the +reins trailing along the ground. Flora had got in before her father, +and she was now helpless. + +It was too late when Grant got up; Grierson and Edgar were too far +away, and the latter stood still, wondering with a thrill of horror +what the end would be; he did not think the horses saw the thin wire +fence, and the gap in it was narrow. If they struck a post in going +through, the vehicle would overturn. Then George, running furiously, +sprang at the horses' heads, and went down, still holding on. He was +dragged along a few yards, but the pace slackened, and Edgar ran +forward with Grierson behind him. For a few moments there was a savage +struggle, but they stopped and held the team, until Grant coolly +cleared the reins and flung them to his daughter. + +"Stick tight while I get up, and then watch out," he said to the others. + +He was seated in another moment, the girl quietly making room for him; +then, to Edgar's astonishment, he lashed the frantic horses with the +whip, and, plunging forward, they swept madly through the opening in +the fence, with the wagon jolting from rut to rut. A minute or two +afterward they had vanished into the thick obscurity that veiled the +waste of grass, and there was a dazzling flash and a stunning roll of +thunder. George, flushed and breathless, looked around with a soft +laugh. + +"Grant has pretty good nerve," he said. + +"That's so, sir," Grierson agreed. "Strikes me he'll take some of the +wickedness out of his team before he gets them home. I noticed that +Miss Grant didn't look the least bit afraid." + +Then a deluge of rain drove them into the house, where Edgar sat +smoking thoughtfully; for what Flora Grant had said about Sylvia had a +disturbing effect on him. It looked as if her selfish regard for her +comfort had hampered Marston in his struggle; and though Edgar had +never had much faith in Sylvia, this was painful to contemplate. +Moreover, George cherished a steadfast regard for her, which +complicated things; but Edgar prudently decided that the matter was a +delicate one and must be left to the people most concerned. After all, +Miss Grant might be mistaken. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +A CATTLE DRIVE + +George was summer fallowing, sitting in the iron saddle of a plow which +a heavy Clydesdale team hauled through the stubble. The work should +have been done earlier, for the soil on the Marston farm was very +light, and, as it had already grown several crops of cereals, George +was anxious to expose it to the influence of sun and wind as soon as +possible. It was about the middle of the afternoon and very hot. +Rounded cloud-masses overhung the plain, but dazzling sunshine fell on +grass and stubble, and a haze of dust surrounded the team, while now +and then the fine soil and sand, blown from the rest of the fallow by +the fresh breeze, swept by in streams. George wore motor-goggles to +protect his eyes, but his face and hands felt scorched and sore. +Farther back, Edgar plodded behind a lighter team, making very poor +progress. + +Presently George looked up and saw Flora Grant riding toward him. She +sat astride, but her skirt fell in becoming lines, and he thought the +gray blouse and wide Stetson hat, with a red band round it, most +effective. She reined up her horse near the plow, and George got down. + +"I was passing--going on to Forsyth's place--and my father asked me to +call," she said. "You were talking about buying cattle, and a man at +Dunblane has some good Herefords to sell. Father thinks they would +suit you." + +"His recommendation carries weight," said George. + +"I'll go and see them. I must thank you for bringing me word." + +"I've another message. It's this--when you're buying stock, be +cautious how you bid." + +"As I'm not well up in local prices, I wish Mr. Grant had been a little +plainer." + +"He went farther than I expected. You see, as a friend of the seller, +he's awkwardly fixed." + +"Just so," said George. "But, if you're not in the same position, you +might give me a hint. How much is the value of Canadian cattle usually +below the price likely to be asked of a new arrival?" + +"In this case, I should say about fifty per cent," Flora answered, with +a laugh. + +"Thank you," responded George. "I am sure your opinion's to be relied +on." + +Edgar stopped his team near by, and Flora regarded him with amusement +as he came toward them, his red face streaked with dust. + +"You look a good deal more like a western farmer than you did when I +saw you last," she laughed. + +Edgar removed his goggles and surveyed his working attire somewhat +disgustedly. + +"I wonder whether that's a compliment; but now that I've made the first +plunge, I'd better go through with it--get a flappy hat and a black +shirt, or one of those brilliant orange ones." + +"The latter are more decorative. But, as you are going on a two days' +journey to drive some cattle, I'll tell you how to find the way." + +"You had better tell George. I can only remember the things that +interest me." + +Flora gave them clear instructions, and when she rode away George +turned to Edgar. + +"You'll have to come, and we'll start at once. Grierson can go on +plowing with the Clydesdales, which is more than you could do." + +"I'm afraid I must admit it," said Edgar, glancing at his ragged +furrow. "But I'm going to have my supper and put up some provisions +before I leave the place." + +They set out an hour later, and safely reached their destination, where +George purchased a dozen cattle. They were big, red and white, +long-horned animals, accustomed to freedom, for fences are still scarce +on tracts of the prairie, and they ranged about the corral in a +restless manner. Edgar, leaning on the rails, watched them dubiously. + +"They look unusually active," he remarked. "I'm not an expert at +cattle-driving, but I suppose two of us ought to take them home." + +The rancher laughed. + +"Two's quite a good allowance for that small bunch, but if you keep +north among the scrub poplar, you won't be bothered by many fences. +It's pretty dry in summer, but you'll get good water in Baxter's well, +if you head for the big bluff you'll see tomorrow afternoon. We'll let +them out when you're ready." + +As soon as the rails were flung down, the cattle rushed out +tumultuously, as if rejoicing in their restored freedom. Then, while +George and his companion mounted, they started off across the prairie +at a steady trot. + +"A mettlesome lot; seem to be in good training," Edgar commented. +"Have you any idea where they're going?" + +"Guess they're heading for a creek two miles back; water's scarce," +explained the rancher. "As it's near the trail, you had better let +them go. You'll round them up quite easy when they've had a drink." + +George and Edgar rode after the cattle. The sun was getting low, but +the temperature showed no signs of falling, and the men were soon +soaked in perspiration. The herd went on at a good pace, making for a +wavy line of timber, and on reaching it, plunged down the side of a +declivity among little scattered trees. A stream trickled through +willow bushes and tall grass in the bottom of the hollow, and the men. +had trouble in forcing the cattle to leave the water. Before they +accomplished it, Edgar had got very wet and had scratched himself badly +in scrambling through the brush. + +"Driving stock is by no means so easy as it looks," he grumbled, when +they had climbed the opposite ascent, leading their horses. "The way +these beasts jump about among the bushes confuses you; I'd have sworn +there were forty of them in the ravine." + +"I see only nine now," George said pointedly. + +Edgar looked back into the hollow. + +"There are three of the brutes slipping away upstream as fast as they +can go! You're smarter at the thing than I am--hadn't you better go +after them?" + +"I expect I'll be needed to keep this bunch together," George rejoined. + +Edgar strode away, but it was half an hour later when he came back, hot +and angry, with the cattle crashing through the brush in front of him. +Then the reunited herd set off at a smart pace across the plain. + +"They seem fond of an evening gallop," Edgar remarked. "Anyhow, +they're going the right way, which strikes me as something to be +thankful for." + +They rode on, and it was getting dark when they checked the herd near a +straggling poplar bluff. The grass was good, the beasts began to feed +quietly, and after picketing their horses the men lay down on their +blankets. It was growing cooler, a vivid band of green still flickered +along the prairie's rim, and the deep silence was intensified by the +soft sound the cattle made cropping the dew-damped herbage. + +"I wonder if they go to sleep," mused Edgar. "I'm beginning to think +this kind of thing must be rather fine when one gets used to it. It's +a glorious night." + +By and by he drew his blanket round him and sank into slumber; but for +a while George, who had paid a high price for a Hereford bull, lay +awake, thinking and calculating. It would cost a good deal more than +he had anticipated to work the farm; Sylvia had no funds that could be +drawn upon, and his means were not large. Economy and good management +would be needed, but he was determined to make a success of his +undertaking. At last, seeing that the herd showed no signs of moving, +he went to sleep. + +Awakening at sunrise George found that, except for the horses, there +was not a beast in sight. For an hour he and West hunted them through +the bluff; and then, after making a hurried breakfast, they went on +their way again. It rapidly got hotter, the stock traveled quietly, +and, with a halt or two where a clump of poplars offered a little +shade, they rode, scorched by dazzling sunshine, across the limitless +plain. In the afternoon George began to look eagerly for the bluff +that the rancher mentioned. They had found no water, and the cattle +seemed distressed. The glare and heat were getting intolerable, but +the vast, gradual rise in front of them ran on, unbroken, to the +skyline. Its crest, however, must be crossed before evening; and they +toiled on. + +At last, the long ascent was made, and George felt relieved when he saw +a dark line of trees in the wide basin below him. + +"That must be the big bluff where the well is; though I don't see a +house," he said. + +They had some trouble in urging the herd down the slope, but after a +while they reached the welcome shadow of the trees, and Edgar broke +into a shout when he saw a rude wooden platform with a windlass upon it +and a trough near by. + +"Ride ahead with the horses and water them," said George, dismounting. + +Edgar did as he was bidden, but presently the herd, attracted by the +sight of water, came surging round the trough, savagely jostling one +another. The lad worked hard with the windlass, but he could not keep +them supplied, and they crowded on the low platform covering the well, +with heads stretched out eagerly toward the dripping bucket. After +being flung against the windlass by a thirsty beast, Edgar called to +his companion. + +"They'll break through if you're not quick! It's my opinion they're +bent on getting down the well!" + +George came to his assistance with his riding quirt, but when they were +supplying the last two or three unsatisfied animals, a man ran out of +the bluff. + +"What in thunder are you doing with our water?" he cried. + +"He looks angry," Edgar commented. "When that rancher fellow told us +about the well, he didn't mention the necessity of asking Mr. Baxter's +permission." Then he waved his hand to the stranger. + +"Come here and have a talk!" + +The man came on at a quicker run. His face was hot with indignation, +and on reaching them he broke into breathless and pointed +expostulations. + +"When you're quite through, we'll assess the damages," George quietly +told him. + +The farmer's anger began to dissipate. + +"No," he said; "that would be taking a pretty mean pull on you; but +water's scarce, and you can't have any more." + +"Well," requested George, "have you a paddock or corral you could let +me put this bunch of cattle into until the morning? I'm willing to pay +for the accommodation." + +"I can't do it," replied the other. "I want all the fenced grass I've +got. Take them right along, and you'll strike a creek about six miles +ahead. Then you ought to make the river to-morrow night." + +It was obvious that he desired to be rid of them; and as it was getting +cooler George resumed his journey. He found the creek early the next +morning, and as the day promised to be unusually hot he delayed only +until he had watered the stock. In an hour or two the sun was hidden +by banks of leaden cloud, but the temperature did not fall and there +was an oppressive heaviness in the air. The prairie had faded to a +sweep of lifeless gray, obscured above its verge. The men made +progress, however; and late in the afternoon a winding line of timber +that marked the river's course appeared ahead. Shortly afterward, +Edgar looked around. + +"That's a curious streak of haze in the distance," he remarked. + +"It's smoke," said George. "Grass fires are not uncommon in hot +weather. It looks like a big one." + +They urged the cattle on a little faster, but it was evening when they +reached the first of the trees. George rode forward between them and +pulled up his horse in some concern. The ford had been difficult when +they crossed it on the outward journey, but now the space between bank +and bank was filled by an angry flood. It rolled by furiously, lapping +in frothy ripples upon the steep slope that led down to it. + +"Nearly an extra three feet of water; there'd be a risk in crossing," +he said, when Edgar joined him. + +"We couldn't make the place where the trail runs in, and the landing +down-stream from it looks bad." + +"Then what ought we to do?" Edgar inquired. + +"Wait until to-morrow. There's no doubt been a heavy thunderstorm +higher up, but the water should soon run down." George glanced back +toward the prairie dubiously. "I'm a little anxious about the fire; +but, after all, it may not come near us." + +The cattle did not wander far after drinking, and the men ate their +supper. It grew dark, but the heat did not lessen, and the oppressive +air was filled with a smell of burning. Looking back between the +trees, they could see a long streak of yellow radiance leaping up, and +growing dim when the view was obstructed by clouds of smoke. + +"It's an awkward situation, and, as if it were not bad enough, there's +a big thunderstorm brewing," Edgar said at length. "I'll go along and +look at the mark you made upon the bank." + +He strode away among the trees. It was very dark. The tethered horses +were moving restlessly; but, so far as Edgar could make out, the cattle +were bunched together. After lighting a match he came back. + +"The water's falling, but only slowly," he reported. "Should we try to +drive the stock along the bank?" + +"We couldn't herd them in the dark. Besides, it's an extensive fire, +and I'm doubtful whether we could get down to the water farther along." + +They waited for an hour, keeping the cattle together with some trouble, +and watching the blaze, which grew brighter rapidly. At last, wisps of +pungent smoke rolled into the bluff. + +"The beasts are ready to stampede!" George suddenly called to Edgar. +"We'll have to make a start! Get into the saddle and drive them toward +the ford!" + +They were very busy for a while. Their horses were hard to manage, the +timber was thick, and the herd attempted to break away through it; but +at last they reached the steep dip to the waterside. One beast plunged +in and vanished, more followed, and George, plying his quirt and +shouting, rode in among the diminishing drove. He felt the water +lapping about his boots, and then the horse lost its footing. George +dropped from the saddle and seized a stirrup. For some minutes he +could see a few dark objects about him, but they disappeared, and he +and the horse were swept away down-stream. + +He kept hold--the animal was swimming strongly--and after a time a +lurid flash of lightning showed him a black mass of trees close ahead. +They vanished, the succeeding darkness was impenetrable, and the crash +of thunder was deadened by the roar of water. For a moment or two his +head was driven under, but when he got it clear, another dazzling flash +revealed a high bank only a few yards away, and when thick darkness +followed he felt the horse rise to its feet. Then he touched soft +bottom, and a little later scrambled up an almost precipitous slope +with the bridle in his hand and the horse floundering behind him. They +reached the summit, and, stopping among thin timber, it was with strong +relief that he heard Edgar's shout. Shortly afterward the lad +appeared, leading his horse. + +"There's some of the drove on this side; I don't see the rest," he +said, glancing toward the opposite bank, where dark trees stood out +against a strong red glare. + +"It strikes me we only got across in time." + +Then torrential rain broke upon them, and while they stood, unable to +move forward, a cry reached them faintly through the roar of the +deluge. It came again when George answered, and was followed by a +crackling and snapping of underbrush. Then, as a blaze of lightning +filled the bluff with radiance, two men appeared for a moment, leading +their horses among the slender trunks. They were immediately lost to +sight again, but presently they came up, and George recognized Grant by +his voice. + +"So you have got through, Lansing," he cried. "I met Constable Flett +on the trail, and, as he told me the river was rising and there was a +big fire west, I figured you must be up against trouble." + +He asked a few questions and then resumed: + +"As you got the stock started, they'll have swum across; but we can't +round them up until it's light. There's a deserted shack not far off, +and I guess we'll head for it." + +The constable agreed; and, mounting when they had got out of the +timber, they rode off through the rain. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +CONSTABLE FLETT'S SUSPICIONS + +It was nearly six o'clock in the evening when George and his +companions, who had spent part of the day looking for the straying +stock, rode up to the Grant homestead through a vast stretch of grain. +This grew on the rich black soil they call "gumbo" in the West; but +here and there a belt of dark-colored summer fallow checkered the +strong green of the wheat and oats. Though he clung to the one-crop +system, Alan Grant was careful of his land. The fine brick house and +range of smart wooden buildings, the costly implements, which included +a gasoline tractor-plow, all indicated prosperity, and George +recognized that the rugged-faced man beside him had made a marked +success of his farming. + +When the cattle had been secured, Flora Grant welcomed the new arrivals +graciously, and after a while they sat down to supper with the hired +men in a big room. It was plainly furnished, but there was everything +that comfort demanded, for the happy mean between bareness and +superfluity had been cleverly hit, and George thought Miss Grant was +responsible for this. He sat beside her at the foot of the long table +and noticed the hired hands' attitude toward her. It was respectful, +but not diffident. The girl had no need to assert herself; she was on +excellent terms with the sturdy toilers, who nevertheless cheerfully +submitted to her rule. + +When the meal was over, Grant led his guests into a smaller room, and +produced a bag of domestic tobacco. + +"The stock have gone far enough," he said. "You'll stay here to-night." + +Flett looked doubtful, though it was obvious that he wished to remain. +He was a young, brown-faced man, and his smart khaki uniform proclaimed +him a trooper of the Northwest Mounted Police. + +"The trouble is that I'm a bit late on my round already," he protested. + +"That's soon fixed," said Grant. + +He opened a roll-top desk, and wrote a note which he read out: + + +"'Constable Flett has been detained in the neighborhood of this +homestead through having rendered, at my request, valuable assistance +in rounding up a bunch of cattle, scattered in crossing the flooded +river.'" + + +"Thanks," said Flett. "That kind of thing counts when they're choosing +a corporal." + +Grant turned to George with a smile. + +"Keep in with the police, Lansing--I've known a good supper now and +then go a long way. They may worry you about fireguards and fencing, +but they'll stand by you when you're in trouble, if you treat them +right. If it's a matter of straying stock, a sick horse, or you don't +know how to roof a new barn, you have only to send for the nearest +trooper." + +"Aren't these things a little outside their duties?" Edgar asked. + +The constable grinned. + +"Most anything that wants doing badly is right in our line." + +"Sure," said Grant. "It's not long since Flett went two hundred miles +over the snow with a dog-team to settle a little difference between an +Indian and his wife. Then he once brought a hurt trapper a fortnight's +journey on his sledge, sleeping in the snow, in the bitterest weather. +They were quite alone, and the hurt man was crazy most of the time." + +"Then you're supposed to look after the settlers, as well as to keep +order?" suggested Edgar, looking admiringly at the sturdy young +constable. + +"That's so," replied Flett. "They certainly need it. Last winter we +struck one crowd in a lonely shack up north--man, woman, and several +children huddled on the floor, with nothing to eat, and the stove +out--at forty degrees below. There was a bluff a few miles off, but +they hadn't a tool of any kind to cut cordwood with. Took us quite a +while to haul them up some stores, though we made twelve-hour marches +between our camps in the snow. We had to hustle that trip." + +He paused and resumed: + +"Better keep an eye on that bunch of young horses, Mr. Grant; bring +them up nearer the house when the nights get darker. Those Clydesdales +are mighty fine beasts and prices are high." + +Grant looked astonished. + +"I've been here a good many years, and I've never lost a horse," he +declared. + +"It doesn't follow you'll always be as lucky," the trooper said +pointedly. + +"I was told that property is as safe in the West as it is in England," +Edgar broke in. + +"Just so," remarked the trooper. "They say that kind of thing. I +never was in the old country, but young mavericks aren't the only stock +to go missing in Alberta, which isn't a long way off. The boys there +have their hands full now and then, and we have three or four of the +worst toughs I've struck right in Sage Butte." + +Grant leaned forward on the table, looking steadily at him. + +"Hadn't you better tell me what you have in your mind?" + +"I can't give you much information, but we got a hint from Regina to +keep our eyes open, and from things I've heard it's my idea that now +that the boys have nearly stopped the running of Alberta cattle across +the frontier, some of the toughs they couldn't track mean to start the +same game farther east. Some of you ranchers run stock outside the +fences, and I guess one could still find a lonely trail to the American +border." + +"Well," said Grant, "I'm glad you told me." He turned to George. "Be +careful, Lansing; you would be an easier mark." + +They strolled outside; and after a while George joined Flora, and +sauntered away across the grass with her. It was a clear, still +evening, and the air was wonderfully fresh. + +"Though he wouldn't let me thank him, I feel I'm seriously indebted to +your father, Miss Grant," he said. "Our horses were worn out, and the +stock had all scattered when he turned up with the trooper." + +"I believe he enjoyed the ride, and the night in the rain," replied +Flora. "You see, he had once to work very hard here, and now that +things have changed, he finds it rather tame. He likes to feel he's +still capable of a little exertion." + +"I shouldn't consider him an idle man." + +Flora laughed. + +"That would be very wrong; but the need for continual effort and the +strain of making ends meet, with the chance of being ruined by a frozen +crop, have passed. I believe he misses the excitement of it." + +"Then I gather that he built up this great farm?" + +"Yes; from a free quarter-section. He and my mother started in a +two-roomed shack. They were both from Ontario, but she died several +years ago." The girl paused. "Sometimes I think she must have had +remarkable courage, I can remember her as always ready in an emergency, +always tranquil." + +George glanced at her as she stood, finely posed, looking out across +the waste of grass with gravely steady eyes, and it occurred to him +that she resembled her mother in the respects she had mentioned. +Nevertheless, he felt inclined to wonder how she had got her grace and +refinement. Alan Grant was forceful and rather primitive. + +"Have you spent much of your time here?" he asked. + +"No," she answered. "My mother was once a school-teacher, and she must +have had ambitious views for me. When the farm began to prosper, I was +sent to Toronto. After that I went to Montreal, and finally to +England." + +"You must be fond of traveling." + +"Oh," she said, with some reserve, "I had thought of taking up a +profession." + +"And you have abandoned the idea?" + +She looked at him quietly, wondering whether she should answer. + +"I had no alternative," she said. "I began to realize it after my +mother's death. Then my father was badly hurt in an accident with a +team, and I came back. He has nobody else to look after him, and he is +getting on in life." + +Her words conveyed no hint of the stern struggle between duty and +inclination, but George guessed it. This girl, he thought, was one not +to give up lightly the career she had chosen. + +Then she changed the subject with a smile. + +"I suspect that my father approves of you, perhaps because of what you +are doing with the land. I think I may say that if you have any little +difficulty, or are short of any implements that would be useful, you +need only come across to us." + +"Thank you," George responded quietly. + +"Mr. West mentioned that you were on a farm in this country once +before. Why did you give it up?" + +"Somebody left me a little money." + +"Then what brought you back?" + +She was rather direct, but that is not unusual in the West, and George +was mildly flattered by the interest she displayed. + +"It's a little difficult to answer. For one thing, I was beginning to +feel that I was taking life too easily in England, It's a habit that +grows on one." + +He had no desire to conceal the fact that he had come out on Sylvia's +behalf--it never occurred to him to mention it. He was trying to +analyze the feelings which had rendered the sacrifice he made in +leaving home a little easier. + +"I don't think the dread of acquiring that habit is common among your +people," Flora said mischievously. "It doesn't sound like a very +convincing reason." + +"No," replied George, with a smile. "Still, it had some weight. You +see, it isn't difficult to get lazy and slack, and I'd done nothing +except a little fishing and shooting for several years. I didn't want +to sink into a mere lounger about country houses and clubs. It's +pleasant, but too much of it is apt to unfit one for anything else." + +"You believe it's safer, for example, to haul stovewood home through +the Canadian frost or drive a plow under the scorching sun?" + +"Yes; I think I feel something of the kind." + +Flora somewhat astonished him by her scornful laugh. + +"You're wise," she said. "We have had sportsmen here from your +country, and I've a vivid memory of one or two. One could see by their +coarse faces that they ate and drank too much; and they seemed +determined to avoid discomfort at any cost. I suppose they could +shoot, but they could neither strip a gun nor carry it on a long day's +march. The last party thought it needful to take a teamload of +supplies when they went north after moose. It would have been a +catastrophe if they had missed their dinner." + +"Going without one's dinner has its inconveniences," said George. + +"And thinking too much about it has its perils," she retorted. + +George nodded. He thought he knew what she meant, and he agreed with +it. He could recall companions who, living for pleasure, had by +degrees lost all zest for the more or less wholesome amusements to +which they had confined their efforts. Some had become mere club +loungers and tattlers; one or two had sunk into gross indulgence. This +had had its effect on him: he did not wish to grow red-faced, slothful, +and fleshy, as they had done, nor to busy himself with trivialities +until such capacities for useful work as he possessed had atrophied. + +"Well," he said, "nobody could call this a good country for the +pampered loafer." + +Flora smiled, and pointed out across the prairie. In the foreground it +was flecked with crimson flowers; farther back willow and poplar bluffs +stretched in bluish smears across the sweep of grass that ran on beyond +them toward the vivid glow of color on the skyline. It was almost +beautiful in the soft evening light, but it conveyed most clearly a +sense of vastness and solitude. The effect was somehow daunting. One +thought of the Arctic winter and the savage storms that swept the wilds. + +"I've heard it called hard," she said. "It undoubtedly needs hard men; +there is nothing here that can be easily won. That's a fact that the +people you're sending over ought to recognize." + +"They soon discover it when they get out. When they've had a crop +hailed or frozen, the thing becomes obvious." + +"Did you lose one?" + +"I did," George rejoined rather gloomily. "I've a suspicion that if we +get much dry weather and the usual strong winds, I may lose another. +The wheat's getting badly cut by driving sand; that's a trouble we +don't have to put up with in the old country." + +"I'm sorry," said Flora; and he knew she meant it. "But you won't be +beaten by one bad season?" + +"No," George answered with quiet determination. "I must make a success +of this venture, whatever it costs." + +She was a little puzzled by his manner, for she did not think he was +addicted to being needlessly emphatic; but she asked no questions, and +soon afterward the others joined them and they went back to the house. +Early on the following morning, George started homeward with his +cattle, and as they rode slowly through the barley-grass that fringed +the trail, Edgar looked at him with a smile. + +"You spent some time in Miss Grant's company," he remarked. "How did +she strike you?" + +"I like her. She's interesting--I think that's the right word for it. +Seems to understand things; talks to you like a man." + +"Just so," Edgar rejoined, with a laugh. "She's a lady I've a high +opinion of; in fact, I'm a little afraid of her. Though I'm nearly as +old as she is, she makes me feel callow. It's a sensation that's new +to me." + +"And you're a man of experience, aren't you?" + +"I suppose I was rather a favorite at home," Edgar owned with humorous +modesty. "For all that, I don't feel myself quite up to Miss Grant's +standard." + +"I didn't notice any assumption of superiority on her part." + +"Oh, no," said Edgar. "She doesn't require to assume it; the +superiority's obvious; that's the trouble. One hesitates about +offering her the small change of compliments that generally went well +at home. If you try to say something smart, she looks at you as if she +were amused, not at what you said, but at you. There's an embarrassing +difference between the things." + +"The remedy's simple. Don't try to be smart." + +"You would find that easy," Edgar retorted. "Now, in my opinion, Miss +Grant is intellectual, which is more than anybody ever accused you of +being, but I suspect you would make more progress with her than I could +do. Extremes have a way of meeting, and perhaps it isn't really +curious that your direct and simple views should now and then recommend +you to a more complex person." + +"I notice a couple of beasts straying yonder," George said dryly. + +Edgar rode off to drive the animals up to the herd. George, he +thought, was painfully practical; only such a man could break off the +discussion of a girl like Miss Grant to interest himself in the +movements of a wandering steer. For all that, the beasts must be +turned, and they gave Edgar a hard gallop through willow scrub and tall +grass before he could head them off and afterward overtake the drove. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +GEORGE TURNS REFORMER + +George was working in the summer fallow a few days after his return +from Grant's homestead, when a man rode across the plowing and pulled +up his horse beside him. He was on the whole a handsome fellow, well +mounted and smartly dressed, but there was a hint of hardness in his +expression. George recognized him as the landlord of a hotel at the +settlement. + +"Your crop's not looking too good," the stranger greeted him. + +"No," returned George. "It was badly put in, and we've had unusually +dry weather." + +"I forgot," the other rejoined. "You're the fellow Jake Gillet had the +trouble with. Beat him down on the price, didn't you? He's a bad man +to bluff." + +"The point that concerned me was that he asked a good deal more than +his work was worth." + +The man looked at George curiously. + +"That's quite possible, but you might have let him down more gently +than you did. As a newcomer, you don't want to kick too much or run up +against things other folks put up with." + +George wondered where the hint he had been given led. + +"I rode over to bring this paper for you to sign," the man went on. + +Glancing through it, George saw that it was a petition against any +curtailment of the licenses at Sage Butte, and a testimonial to the +excellent manner in which the Sachem Hotel was conducted by its owner, +Oliver Beamish. George had only once entered the place, but it had +struck him as being badly kept and frequented by rather undesirable +customers. + +"Some fool temperance folks are starting a campaign--want to shut the +hotels," his visitor explained. "You'll put your name to this." + +"I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me, Mr. Beamish. I can't form an +opinion; I haven't heard the other side yet." + +"Do you want to hear them? Do you like that kind of talk?" + +George smiled, though he was not favorably impressed by the man. His +tone was too dictatorial; George expected civility when asked a favor. + +"After all," he said, "it would only be fair." + +"Then you won't sign?" + +"No." + +Beamish sat silent a moment or two, regarding George steadily. + +"One name more or less doesn't matter much, but I'll own that the +opinion of you farmers who use my hotel as a stopping-place counts with +the authorities," he told him. "I've got quite a few signatures. You +want to remember that it won't pay you to go against the general wish." + +There was a threat in his manner, and George's face hardened. + +"That consideration hasn't much weight with me," he said. + +"Well," returned Beamish, "I guess you're wrong; but as there's nothing +doing here, I'll get on." + +He rode away, and George thought no more of the matter for several +days. Then as he was riding home with Edgar from a visit to a neighbor +who had a team to sell, they stopped to rest a few minutes in the shade +of a poplar bluff. It was fiercely hot on the prairie, but the wood +was dim and cool, and George followed Edgar through it in search of +saskatoons. The red berries were plentiful, and they had gone farther +than they intended when George stopped waist-deep in the grass of a dry +sloo, where shallow water had lain in the spring. He nearly fell over +something large and hard. Stooping down, he saw with some surprise +that it was a wooden case. + +"I wonder what's in it?" he said. + +"Bottles," reported Edgar, pulling up a board of the lid. "One of the +cure-everything tonics, according to the labels. It strikes me as a +curious place to leave it in." + +George carefully looked about. He could distinguish a faint track, +where the grasses had been disturbed, running straight across the sloo +past the spot he occupied; but he thought that the person who had made +the track had endeavored to leave as little mark as possible. Then he +glanced out between the poplar trunks across the sunlit prairie. There +was not a house on it; scarcely a clump of timber broke its even +surface. The bluff was very lonely; and George remembered that a trail +which ran near by led to an Indian reservation some distance to the +north. While he considered, Edgar broke in: + +"As neither of us requires a pick-me-up, it might be better to leave +the thing where it is." + +"That," replied George, "is my own idea." + +Edgar looked thoughtful. + +"The case didn't come here by accident; and one wouldn't imagine that +tonics are in great demand in this locality. I have, however, heard +the liquor laws denounced; and as a rule it's wise to leave matters +that don't concern you severely alone." + +"Just so," said George. "We'll get on again, if you have had enough +berries." + +On reaching the homestead, they found a note from Miss Grant inviting +them to come over in the evening; and both were glad to comply with it. +When they arrived, the girl led them into a room where a lady of +middle-age and a young man in clerical attire were sitting with her +father. + +"Mrs. Nelson has come over from Sage Butte on a mission," she said, +when she presented them. "Mr. Hardie, who is the Methodist minister +there, is anxious to meet you." + +The lady was short and slight in figure but was marked by a most +resolute expression. + +"The mission is Mr. Hardie's," she said. "I'm merely his assistant. I +suppose you're a temperance reformer, Mr. Lansing?" + +"No," George answered meekly; "I can't say I am." + +"Then you'll have to become one. How long is it since you indulged in +drink?" + +George felt a little embarrassed, but Edgar, seeing Flora's smile and +the twinkle in her father's eyes, hastily came to his rescue. + +"Nearly a month, to my knowledge. That is, if you don't object to +strong green tea, consumed in large quantities." + +"One should practise moderation in everything. _Everything_!" + +"It has struck me," said Edgar thoughtfully, "that moderation is now +and then desirable in temperance reform." + +Mrs. Nelson fixed her eyes on him with a severe expression. + +"Are you a scoffer?" + +"No," said Edgar; "as a matter of fact, I'm open to conviction, +especially if you intend to reform the Butte. In my opinion, it needs +it." + +"Well," responded the lady, "you're a signature, anyway; and we want as +many as we can get. But we'll proceed to business. Will you state our +views, Mr. Hardie?" + +The man began quietly, and George was favorably impressed by him. He +had a pleasant, sun-burned face, and a well-knit but rather thin +figure, which suggested that he was accustomed to physical exertion. +As he could not afford a horse, he made long rounds on foot to visit +his scattered congregation, under scorching sun and in the stinging +frost. + +"There are four churches in Sage Butte, but I sometimes fear that most +of the good they do is undone in the pool room and the saloons," he +said. "Of the latter, one cannot, perhaps, strongly object to the +Queen's." + +"One should always object to a saloon," Mrs. Nelson corrected him. + +Hardie smiled good-humoredly. + +"After all, the other's the more pressing evil. There's no doubt about +the unfortunate influence of the Sachem." + +"That's so," Grant agreed. "When I first came out from Ontario, there +wasn't a loafer in the town. When the boys were through with their +day's job, they had a quiet talk and smoke and went to bed; they came +here to work. Now the Sachem bar's full of slouchers every night, and +quite a few of them don't do anything worth speaking of in the daytime, +except make trouble for decent folks. If the boys try to put the screw +on a farmer at harvest or when he has extra wheat to haul, you'll find +they hatched the mischief at Beamish's saloon. But I've no use for +giving those fellows tracts with warning pictures." + +"That," said Mrs. Nelson, "is by no means what we intend to do." + +"I'm afraid that admonition hasn't had much effect, and I agree with +Mr. Grant that the Sachem is a gathering place for doubtful +characters," Hardie went on. "What's worse, I've reasons for supposing +that Beamish gets some of them to help him in supplying the Indians on +the reservation with liquor." + +This was a serious offense, and there was a pause, during which Edgar +glanced meaningly at George. Then he made a pertinent remark. + +"Four churches to two saloons is pretty long odds. Why do you think it +needful to call in the farmers?" + +Hardie looked troubled, but he showed that he was honest. + +"The churches are thinly attended; I'm the only resident clergyman, and +I'm sorry I must confess that some of our people are indifferent: +reluctant, or perhaps half afraid, to interfere. They want a clear +lead; if we could get a big determined meeting it might decide the +waverers." + +"Then you're not sure of winning?" asked Grant. + +"No," replied Hardie. "There'll be strong and well-managed opposition; +in fact, we have nearly everything against us. I've been urged to +wait, but the evil's increasing; those against us are growing stronger." + +"If you lose, you and your friends will find the Butte pretty hot. But +you feel you have a chance, a fighting chance, and you mean to take it?" + +"Yes." + +"Then I'm with you,"' Grant declared with a grim smile. "Don't mistake +me: I take my glass of lager when I feel like it--there's some right +here in the house--but, if it's needful, I can do without. I'm not +going into this thing to help you in preaching to whisky-tanks and +toughs--it's the law I'm standing for. If what you suspect is going +on, we'll soon have our colts rebranded and our calves missing. We +have got to clean out Beamish's crowd." + +"Thanks," said Hardie, with keen satisfaction. + +He turned to George. + +"I'd be glad of your support, Mr. Lansing." + +George sat silent a moment or two while Flora watched him. Then he +said quietly: + +"My position's much the same as Mr. Grant's--I can do without. After +what you have said about the Sachem, I'll join you." + +"And you?" Hardie asked Edgar. + +The lad laughed. + +"I follow my leader. The loungers about the Sachem weren't civil to +me; said unpleasant things about my appearance and my English clothes. +To help to make them abstainers strikes me as a happy thought." + +Flora glanced at him in amused reproof, and Hardie turned to Grant. + +"What about your hired men?" + +"Count them in; they go with me. If you have brought any memorial +along, I'll see they sign it." + +"I wish all our supporters had your determination," Mrs. Nelson +remarked approvingly. + +Hardie ventured a protest. + +"I don't want any pressure put upon them, Mr. Grant." + +"Pressure?" queried the farmer. "I'll just ask them to sign." + +"I wonder if you're quite satisfied with the purity of all your allies' +motives, Mr. Hardie?" Edgar inquired. + +A smile crept into the clergyman's face. + +"I don't think a leader's often in that position, Mr. West; and +considering what I'm up against, I can't refuse any support that's +offered me. It's one reason why I've taken yours." + +"Now that I've joined you, I'd better mention a little discovery West +and I made this afternoon," said George. + +Hardie's expression grew eager as he listened. + +"It's certainly liquor--for the reservation Indians," he broke out. +"If we can fix the thing on Beamish--I haven't a doubt that he's +responsible--we can close the Sachem." + +"Then we had better decide how it's to be done," Grant said curtly. + +He ruled out several suggestions, and finally said: + +"I expect the case will be sent for to-night, and we want two witnesses +who'll lie by in the sloo. One of them ought to be a farmer; but we'll +see about that. Guess your part is to find out how the liquor left the +Butte, Mr. Hardie. What do you think of the plan, ma'am?" + +"I leave it to you," said Mrs. Nelson, half reluctantly. "But be +warned--if the men can't close the Sachem, the women of Sage Butte will +undertake the thing." + +"Then we have only to decide who is to watch the bluff," said Hardie. + +"As I first mentioned the matter, I'll go, for one," George volunteered. + +"You're the right man," declared Grant. "As a newcomer who's never +been mixed up with local affairs, your word would carry more weight +with the court. The opposition couldn't make you out a partizan. But +you want to recognize what you're doing--after this, you'll find +yourself up against all the Sachem toughs. It's quite likely they'll +make trouble for you." + +"I wonder whether such reasons count for much with Mr. Lansing?" Flora +said suggestively. + +George made no reply, but Edgar laughed. + +"They don't, Miss Grant; you can set your mind at rest on that. You +don't seem curious whether they count with me." + +"You're not going," Grant told him. "We must have two men who can be +relied on, and I can put my hand on another who's younger and a little +more wiry than I am." He turned to George. "What you have to do is to +lie close in the sloo grass until the fellows come for the liquor, when +you'll follow them to the reservation, without their seeing you. Then +you'll ride up and make sure you would know them again. They should +get there soon after daylight, as they won't strike the bluff until +it's dark, but there's thick brush in the ravine the trail follows for +the last few miles. It won't matter if they light out, because Flett +will pick up their trail. I'll send for him right off, but he could +hardly get through before morning." + +The party broke up shortly afterward, and George rode home, wondering +why he had allowed himself to become involved in what might prove to be +a troublesome matter. His ideas on the subject were not very clear, +but he felt that Flora Grant had expected him to take a part. Then he +had been impressed in Hardie's favor; the man was in earnest, ready to +court popular hostility, but he was nevertheless genial and free from +dogmatic narrow-mindedness. Behind all this, there was in George a +detestation of vicious idleness and indulgence, and a respect for right +and order. Since he had been warned that the badly-kept hotel +sheltered a gang of loafers plotting mischief and willing to prey upon +men who toiled strenuously, he was ready for an attempt to turn them +out. He agreed with Grant: the gang must be put down. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE LIQUOR-RUNNERS + +Dusk was closing in when George and the hired man whom Grant had sent +with him reached the bluff and tethered their horses where they would +be hidden among the trees. This done, George stood still for a few +moments, looking about. A dark, cloud-barred sky hung over the +prairie, which was fast fading into dimness; the wood looked desolate +and forbidding in the dying light. He did not think any one could have +seen him and his companion enter it. Then he and the man floundered +through the undergrowth until they reached the sloo, where they hid +themselves among the grass at some distance from the case, which had +not been removed. + +There was no moon, and a fresh breeze swept through the wood, waking +eerie sounds and sharp rustlings among the trees. Once or twice George +started, imagining that somebody was creeping through the bushes behind +him, but he was glad of the confused sounds, because they would cover +his movements when the time for action came. His companion, a teamster +born on the prairie, lay beside him amid the tall harsh grass that +swayed to and fro with a curious dry clashing. He broke into a soft +laugh when George suddenly raised his head. + +"Only a cottontail hustling through the brush. Whoever's coming will +strike the bluff on the other side," he said. "Night's kind of wild; +pity it won't rain. Crops on light soil are getting badly cut." + +George glanced up at the patch of sky above the dark mass of trees. +Black and threatening clouds drove across it; but during the past few +weeks he had watched them roll up from the west a little after noon +almost every day. For a while, they shadowed the prairie, promising +the deluge he eagerly longed for; and then, toward evening, they +cleared away, and pitiless sunshine once more scorched the plain. +Grain grown upon the stiff black loam withstood the drought, but the +light soil of the Marston farm was lifted by the wind, and the sharp +sand in it abraded the tender stalks. It might cut them through if the +dry weather and strong breeze continued; and then the crop which was to +cover his first expenses would yield him nothing. + +"Yes," he returned moodily. "It looks as if it couldn't rain. We +ought to go in more for stock-raising; it's safer." + +"Costs quite a pile to start with, and the ranchers farther west +certainly have their troubles. We had a good many calves missing, and +now and then prime steers driven off, when I was range-riding." + +"I haven't heard of any cattle-stealing about here." + +"No," said the teamster. "Still, I guess we may come to it; there are +more toughs about the settlement than there used to be. Indians have +been pretty good, but I've known them make lots of trouble in other +districts by killing beasts for meat and picking up stray horses. But +that was where they had mean whites willing to trade with them." + +George considered this. It had struck him that the morality of the +country had not improved since he had last visited it; though this was +not surprising in view of the swarm of immigrants that were pouring in. +Grant had pithily said that once upon a time the boys had come there to +work; but it now looked as if a certain proportion had arrived on the +prairie because nobody could tolerate them at home. Flett and the +Methodist preacher seemed convinced that there were a number of these +undesirables hanging about Sage Butte, ready for mischief. + +"Well," he said, "I suppose the first thing to be done is to stop this +liquor-running." + +They had no further conversation for another hour. The poplars rustled +behind them and the grass rippled and clashed, but now and then the +breeze died away for a few moments, and there was a curious and almost +disconcerting stillness. At last, in one of these intervals, the +Canadian, partly rising, lifted his hand. + +"Listen!" he said. "Guess I hear a team." + +A low rhythmic drumming that suggested the beat of hoofs rose from the +waste, but it was lost as the branches rattled and the long grass +swayed noisily before a rush of breeze. George thought the sound had +come from somewhere half a mile away. + +"If they're Indians, would they bring a wagon?" he asked. + +"It's quite likely. Some of the bucks keep smart teams; they do a +little rough farming on the reservation. It would look as if they were +going for sloo hay, if anybody saw them." + +George waited in silence, wishing he could hear the thud of hoofs +again. It was slightly daunting to lie still and wonder where the men +were. It is never very dark in summer on the western prairie, and +George could see across the sloo, but there was no movement that the +wind would not account for among the black trees that shut it in. +Several minutes passed, and George looked around again with strained +attention. + +Suddenly a dim figure emerged from the gloom. Another followed it, but +they made no sound that could be heard through the rustle of the +leaves, and George felt his heart beat and his nerves tingle as he +watched them flit, half seen, through the grass. Then one of the +shadowy objects stooped, lifting something, and they went back as +noiselessly as they had come. In a few more moments they had vanished, +and the branches about them clashed in a rush of wind. It died away, +and there was no sound or sign of human presence in all the silent +wood. George, glad that the strain was over, was about to rise, but +his companion laid a hand on his arm. + +"Give 'em time to get clear. We don't want to come up until there's +light enough to swear to them or they make the reservation." + +They waited several minutes, and then, traversing the wood, found their +horses and mounted. The grass stretched away, blurred and shadowy, and +though they could see nothing that moved upon it, a beat of hoofs came +softly back to them. + +"Wind's bringing the sound," said the teamster. "Guess they won't hear +us." + +They rode out into the gray obscurity, losing the sound now and then. +They had gone several leagues when they came to the edge of a dark +bluff. Drawing bridle, they sat and listened, until the teamster broke +the silence. + +"There's a trail runs through; we'll try it." + +The trail was difficult to find and bad to follow, for long grass and +willow-scrub partly covered it, and in spite of their caution the men +made a good deal of noise. That, however, seemed of less importance, +for they could hear nothing ahead, and George looked about carefully as +they crossed a more open space. The trees were getting blacker and +more distinct; he could see their tops clearly against the sky, and +guessed that dawn was near. How far it was to the reservation he did +not know, but there would be light enough in another hour to see the +men who had carried off the liquor. Then he began to wonder where the +latter were, for there was now no sign of them. + +Suddenly, when the wind dropped for a moment, a faint rattle of wheels +reached them from the depths of the wood, and the teamster raised his +hand. + +"Pretty close," he said. "Come on as cautious as you can. The +reservation's not far away, and we don't want them to get there much +before us." + +They rode a little more slowly; but when the rattle of wheels and thud +of hoofs grew sharply distinct in another lull, the man struck his +horse. + +"They've heard us!" he cried. "We've got to run them down!" + +George urged his beast, and there was a crackle of brush about him as +the black trees streamed past. The thrill of the pursuit possessed +him; after weeks of patient labor, he felt the exhilaration of the wild +night ride. The trail, he knew, was riddled here and there with gopher +holes and partly grown with brush that might bring his horse down, but +this did not count. He was glad, however, that the teamster was behind +him, because he could see the dim gap ahead between the mass of trees, +and he thought that it was rapidly becoming less shadowy. The sound of +hoofs and wheels was growing louder; they were coming up with the +fugitives. + +"Keep them on the run!" gasped the man behind. "If one of us gets +thrown, the other fellow will hold right on!" + +A few minutes later George's horse plunged with a crash through a break. + +"We're off the trail!" his companion cried. "Guess it switches round a +sloo!" + +They floundered through crackling brushwood until they struck the +track, and afterward rode furiously to make up the lost time, with the +sound of wheels leading them on. Then in the gap before them they saw +what seemed to be the back of a wagon which, to George's surprise, +suddenly disappeared. The next moment a figure carrying something +crossed the trail. + +"To the right!" cried the teamster. + +George did not think his companion had seen the man. He rode after him +into the brush, and saw the fellow hurrying through it with a load in +his arms. The man looked around. George could dimly make out his dark +face; and his figure was almost clear. He was an Indian and unusually +tall. Then he plunged into a screen of bushes, and George, riding +savagely, drove his horse at the obstacle. + +He heard the twigs snap beneath him, a drooping branch struck him hard; +and then he gasped with horror. In front there opened up a deep black +rift in which appeared the tops of trees. Seeing it was too late to +pull up, he shook his feet clear of the stirrups. He felt the horse +plunge down, there was a shock, and he was flung violently from the +saddle. He struck a precipitous slope and rolled down it, clutching at +twigs, which broke, and grass, until he felt a violent blow on his +head. After that he knew nothing. + +It was broad daylight when consciousness returned, and he found himself +lying half-way down a steep declivity. At the foot of it tall reeds +and sedges indicated the presence of water, and he realized that he had +fallen into a ravine. There was a small tree near by, against which he +supposed he had struck his head; but somewhat to his astonishment he +could not see his horse. It had apparently escaped better than he had, +for he felt dizzy and shaky and averse to making an effort to get up, +though he did not think he had broken any bones. + +After a while he fumbled for his pipe and found some difficulty in +lighting it, but he persevered, and lay quiet while he smoked it out. +The sunlight was creeping down the gully, it was getting pleasantly +warm, and George felt dull and lethargic. Some time had passed when he +heard the teamster's shout and saw the man scrambling down the side of +the ravine. + +"Badly hurt?" he asked, on reaching George. + +"No," said George; "I don't think it's serious; I feel half asleep and +stupid. Suppose that's because I hit my head." + +The other looked at him searchingly. His eyes were heavy and his face +had lost its usual color. + +"You want to get back to your homestead and lie quiet a while. I +didn't miss you until I'd got out of the bluff, and then the wagon was +close ahead." + +"How was it you avoided falling in after me?" + +"That's easy understood in the daylight. The trail twists sharply and +runs along the edge of the ravine. I stuck to it; instead of turning, +you went straight on." + +"Yes," said George, and mentioned having seen the Indian who left the +wagon. Then he asked: "But what about the fellow you followed?" + +His companion hesitated. + +"Guess I've been badly fooled. I came up with him outside the bluff +when it was getting light, and he stopped his team. Said he was +quietly driving home when he heard somebody riding after him, and as +he'd once been roughly handled by mean whites, he tried to get away. +Then as I didn't know what to do, I allowed I'd keep him in sight until +Constable Flett turned up, and by and by we came to a deserted shack. +There's a well in the bluff behind it, and the buck said his team +wanted a drink; they certainly looked a bit played out, and my mare was +thirsty. He found an old bucket and asked me to fill it." + +"You didn't leave him with the horses!" + +"No, sir; but what I did was most as foolish. I let him go and he +didn't come back. See how I was fixed? If I'd gone into the bluff to +look for him, he might have slipped out and driven off, so I stood by +the beasts quite a while. It strikes me that team wasn't his. At last +Flett rode up with another trooper. It seems Steve met them on the +trail." + +George nodded. Flett had arrived before he was expected, because +Grant's messenger had been saved a long ride to his station. + +"Well?" he said. + +"When we couldn't find the buck, Flett sent his partner off to pick up +his trail, and then said we'd better take the team along and look for +you. I left where the trail forks; he was to wait a bit. Now, do you +think you can get up?" + +George did so, and managed with some assistance to climb the slope, +where his companion left him and went off for the constable. Flett +arrived presently, and made George tell his story. + +"The thing's quite plain," he said. "The fellow you saw jumped off +with the liquor, though one wouldn't expect him to carry it far. You +say he was tall; did he walk a little lame?" + +"It was too dark to tell. I'm inclined to think I would know him +again." + +"Well," explained Flett, "this is the kind of thing Little Ax is likely +to have a hand in, and he's the tallest buck in the crowd. I'll stick +to the team until we come across somebody who knows its owner. The +first thing we have to do is to find that case of liquor." + +Half an hour later the teamster came back carrying it, and set it down +before the constable with a grin. + +"Guess it's your duty to see what's in these bottles," he remarked. +"Shall I get one out?" + +"You needn't; I've a pretty good idea," answered Flett; adding +meaningly, "besides, it's the kind of stuff a white man can't drink." +Then he turned to George. "I'd better take you home. You look kind of +shaky." + +"What about my horse?" George asked. + +"Guess he's made for home," said the teamster. "I struck his trail, +and it led right out of the woods." + +George got into the wagon with some trouble, and the teamster rode +beside it when they set off. + +"You haven't much to put before a court," he said to Flett. + +"No," the constable replied thoughtfully. "I'm not sure our people +will take this matter up; anyway, it looks as if we could only fix it +on the Indians. This is what comes of you folks fooling things, +instead of leaving them to us." + +"The police certainly like a conviction," rejoined the teamster, +grinning. "They feel real bad when the court lets a fellow off; seem +to think that's their business. Guess it's why a few of their +prisoners escape." + +Flett ignored this, and the teamster turned to George. + +"I'll tell you what once happened to me. I was working for a blamed +hard boss, and it doesn't matter why I quit without getting my wages +out of him, but he wasn't feeling good when I lit out behind a +freight-car. By bad luck, there was a trooper handy when a train-hand +found me at a lonely side-track. Well, that policeman didn't know what +to do with me. It was quite a way to the nearest guard-room; they +don't get medals for corraling a man who's only stolen a ride, and he +had to watch out for some cattle rustlers; so wherever he went I had to +go along with him. We got quite friendly, and one night he said to me, +'There's a freight that stops here nearly due. I'll go to sleep while +you get out on her.'" + +The teamster paused and added with a laugh: + +"That's what I did, and I'd be mighty glad to set the drinks up if I +ever meet that man off duty. We'd both have a full-size jag on before +we quit." + +"And you're one of the fellows who're running Hardie's temperance +campaign!" Flett said dryly. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +DIPLOMACY + +Flett left the team at George's homestead. Bidding him take good care +of it, and borrowing a fresh team, he drove away with the wagon. When +he reached Sage Butte it was getting dusk. He hitched the horses +outside of the better of the two hotels and entered in search of food, +as he had still a long ride before him. Supper had long been finished, +and Flett was kept waiting for some time, but he now and then glanced +at the wagon. It was dark when he drove away, after seeing that the +case lay where he had left it, and he had reached his post before he +made a startling discovery. When he carried the case into the +lamplight, it looked smaller, and on hastily opening it he found it was +filled with soil! + +He sat down and thought; though on the surface the matter was clear--he +had been cleverly outwitted by somebody who had exchanged the case +while he got his meal. This, as he reflected, was not the kind of +thing for which a constable got promoted; but there were other points +that required attention. The substitution had not been effected by +anybody connected with the Queen's; it was, he suspected, the work of +some of the frequenters of the Sachem; and he and his superiors had to +contend with a well-organized gang. News of what had happened in the +bluff had obviously been transmitted to the settlement while he had +rested at Lansing's homestead. He had, however, made a long journey, +and as he would have to ride on and report the matter to his sergeant +in the morning, he went to sleep. + +The next day George was setting out on a visit to Grant when a man rode +up and asked for the team. + +"Flett can't get over, but he wants the horses at the post, so as to +have them handy if he finds anybody who can recognize them," he +explained. + +That sounded plausible, but George hesitated. The animals would be of +service as a clue to their owner and a proof of his complicity in the +affair. As they had not been identified, it would embarrass the police +if they were missing. + +"I can only hand them over to a constable, unless you have brought a +note from Flett," he replied. + +"Then, as I haven't one, you'll beat me out of a day's pay, and make +Flett mighty mad. Do you think he'd get anybody who might know the +team to waste a day riding out to your place? Guess the folks round +here are too busy, and they'd be glad of the excuse that it was so far. +They won't want to mix themselves up in this thing." + +George could find no fault with this reasoning, but he thought the +fellow was a little too eager to secure the horses. + +"Well," he said, "as I'm going to call on Mr. Grant, I'll see what he +has to say. If I'm not back in time, Mr. West will give you supper." + +"Then Grant's standing in with you and the temperance folks?" + +It struck George that he had been incautious, but he could not +determine whether the man had blundered or not. His question suggested +some knowledge of the situation, but an accomplice of the offenders +would, no doubt, have heard of the part Grant's hired man had played. + +"I don't see how that concerns you," he replied. "You'll have to wait +until I return if you want the team." + +He rode on, but he had not gone far when he met Beamish, of the Sachem. + +"I was coming over to see you," the man told him. "You bought that +young Hereford bull of Broughton's, didn't you?" + +George was surprised at the question, but he answered that he had done +so. + +"Then would you sell him?" + +"I hadn't thought of it." + +"Guess that means I'll have to tempt you," Beamish said. "I want the +beast." + +He named a price that struck George as being in excess of the animal's +value; and then explained: + +"I've seen him once or twice before he fell into Broughton's hands; the +imported Red Rover strain is marked in him, and a friend of mine, who's +going in for Herefords, told me not to stick at a few dollars if I +could pick up such a bull." + +This was plausible, but not altogether satisfactory, and George, +reflecting that a buyer does not really praise what he means to +purchase, imagined that there was something behind it. + +"I'm not likely to get a better bid," he admitted. "But I must ask if +the transaction would be complete? Would you expect anything further +from me in return?" + +Beamish regarded him keenly, with a faint smile. + +"Well," he said, "I certainly want the bull, but you seem to +understand. Leave it at that; I'm offering to treat you pretty +liberally." + +"So as to prevent my assisting Flett in any way or taking a part in +Hardie's campaign?" + +"I wouldn't consider it the square thing for you to do," Beamish +returned quietly. + +George thought of the man who was waiting at the homestead for the +team. It was obvious that an attempt was being made to buy him, and he +strongly resented it. + +"Then I can only tell you that I won't make this deal. That's the end +of the matter." + +Beamish nodded and started his horse, but he looked back as he rode off. + +"Well," he called, in a meaning tone, "you may be sorry." + +George rode on to Grant's homestead, and finding him at work in the +fallow, told him what had passed. + +"I fail to see why they're so eager to get hold of me," he concluded. + +Grant, sitting in the saddle of the big plow, thoughtfully filled his +pipe. + +"Of course," he said, "it wasn't a coincidence that Beamish came over +soon after the fellow turned up for the horses. It would have been +worth while buying the bull if you had let them go--especially as I +believe it's right about a friend of his wanting one--and nobody could +have blamed you for selling. The fact is, your position counts. The +bluff would make a handy place for a depot, and, while there's nobody +else near, you command the trails to it and the reservation. Nobody +could get by from the settlement without being seen, unless they made a +big round, if you watched out." + +"I'm beginning to understand. What you say implies that they're doing +a good trade." + +"That's so," Grant assented. "I wouldn't have believed it was so big +before Hardie put me on the track and I began to look around. But you +want to remember that what you're doing may cost you something. I'm +your nearest neighbor, you're running stock that are often out of +sight, and you're up against a determined crowd." + +"It's true," George admitted. "Still, I can't back out." + +Grant cast a keen, approving glance at him. George sat quietly in his +saddle with a smile on his brown face; his pose was easy but virile: +there was a stamp of refinement and old country breeding upon him. His +eyes were suggestively steady; his skin was clear; he looked forceful +in an unemphatic manner. The farmer was to some extent prejudiced +against the type, but he could make exceptions. He had liked Lansing +from the beginning, and he knew that he could work. + +"No," he said; "I guess you're not that kind of man. But won't you get +down and go along to the house? Flora will be glad to talk with you, +and I'll be in for supper soon." + +George thanked him, and did as he suggested. He was beginning to find +pleasure in the conversation of Flora Grant. + +It was two hours later when he took his leave and the farmer went out +with him. + +"I don't know what Hardie's doing, but I've an idea that Mrs. Nelson +means to make some move at the Farmers' Club fair," he said. "She's a +mighty determined and enterprising woman. If you can spare the time, +you'd better ride in and see what's going on." + +On reaching home, George was not surprised to find that the man who had +come for the horses had departed without waiting for his answer. The +next day he received an intimation that the annual exhibition of the +Sage Butte Farmers' Club would shortly be held; and one morning a +fortnight later he and Edgar rode off to the settlement. + +They found the little town rudely decorated with flags and arches of +poplar boughs, and a good-humored crowd assembled. The one-sided +street that faced the track was lined with buggies, wagons, and a few +automobiles; horses and two or three yoke of oxen were tethered outside +the overfull livery stables. + +A strong breeze drove blinding dust-clouds through the place, but even +in the wind the sunshine was scorching. + +As he strolled toward the fair-ground, George became interested in the +crowd. It was largely composed of small farmers, and almost without +exception they and their wives were smartly attired; they looked +contented and prosperous. Mingling with them were teamsters, many as +neatly dressed as their masters, though some wore blue-jean and +saffron-colored shirts; and there were railroad-hands, mechanics, and +store-keepers. All of them were cheerful; a few good years, free from +harvest frost and blight, had made a marked improvement in everybody's +lot. + +Yet, there was another side to the picture. Odd groups of loungers +indulged in scurrilous jests; hoarse laughter and an occasional angry +uproar issued from the hotels, and shabby men with hard faces slouched +about the veranda of one. George noticed this, but he presently +reached the fair-ground, where he inspected the animals and implements; +and then, toward supper-time, he strolled back with Grant. They were +walking up one of the side-streets when shouts broke out behind them. + +George looked around but for a moment he could see very little through +the cloud of dust that swept the street. When it blew away it revealed +a row of women advancing two by two along the plank sidewalk. They +were of different ages and stations in life, but they all came on as if +with a fixed purpose, and they had resolute faces. Mrs. Nelson led +them, carrying a riding quirt, and though George was not astonished to +see her, he started when he noticed Flora Grant near the end of the +procession. She was paler than usual, and she walked quietly with a +rather strained expression. + +Grant touched George's shoulder. + +"This is certainly more than I figured on," he said; "but I guess +there's no use in my objecting. Now she's started, she'll go through +with it. They're making for the Sachem; we had better go along." + +Shortly afterward, a gathering crowd blocked the street. + +"Speech!" somebody cried; and there was ironical applause. + +Mrs. Nelson raised her hand, and when the procession stopped, she +looked sternly at the men before her. + +"No," she answered; "speeches are wasted on such folks; we're here to +act!" + +She waved the quirt commandingly. + +"Let us pass!" + +She was obeyed. The women moved on; and George and Grant managed to +enter the hotel behind them before the throng closed in. The big +general-room was hot and its atmosphere almost intolerably foul; the +bar, which opened off it, was shadowy, and the crowded figures of +lounging men showed dimly through thick cigar smoke. The hum of their +voices died away and there was a curious silence as the women came in. +Edging forward, George saw Beamish leaning on his counter, looking +quietly self-possessed and very dapper in his white shirt and well-cut +clothes. + +"Well," he said, "what do you ladies want with me?" + +Their leader faced him, a small and yet commanding figure, with an +imperious expression and sparkling eyes. + +"You got a notice that from supper-time this bar must be shut!" + +"I did, ma'am. It was signed by you. Now, so far as I know, the +magistrates are the only people who can close my hotel." + +"That's so!" shouted somebody; and there were confused murmurs and +harsh laughter which suggested that some of the loungers were not quite +sober. + +"Fire them out!" cried another man. "Guess this is why Nelson gets +cold potatoes for his supper. Ought to be at home mending socks or +washing their men's clothes." + +The lady turned sternly on the last speaker. + +"Yes," she said; "that's the kind of idea you would hold. It's getting +played out now." + +George was conscious of slight amusement. The affair had its humorous +side, and, though he was ready to interfere if the women were roughly +handled, he did not think they ran any serious risk. Beamish looked +capable of dealing with the situation. + +"You don't require to butt in, boys," he said. "Leave me to talk to +these ladies; I guess their intentions are good." He bowed to Mrs. +Nelson. "You can go on, ma'am." + +"I've only this to say--you must close your bar right now!" + +"Suppose I'm not willing? It will mean a big loss to me." + +"That," answered Mrs. Nelson firmly, "doesn't count; the bigger the +loss, the better. You will stop the sale of drink until to-morrow, or +take the consequences." + +Another woman, who looked careworn and haggard, and was shabbily +dressed, stood forward. + +"We and the children have borne enough!" she broke out. "We have to +save the cord-wood in the bitter cold; we have to send the kiddies out +in old, thin clothes, while the money that would make home worth living +in goes into your register. Where are the boys--our husbands and +sons--who once held steady jobs and did good work?" She raised an +accusing hand, with despair in her pinched face. "Oh! I needn't tell +you--they're rebranding farmers' calves or hiding from the police! +Don't you know of one who walked to his death through the big trestle, +dazed with liquor? For these things the men who tempted them will have +to answer!" + +"True, but not quite to the point," Mrs. Nelson interposed. "We have +found remonstrance useless; the time for words has passed. This fellow +has had his warning; we're waiting for him to comply with it." + +There was an uproar outside from the crowd that was struggling to get +in and demanding to be told what was going on; but Beamish made a sign +of resignation. + +"It looks as if I couldn't refuse you; and anyway it wouldn't be +polite." He turned to his customers. + +"Boys, it's not my fault, but you'll get no more drinks to-day. For +all that, I must make a point of asking you to treat these ladies with +respect." + +"Smart," Grant remarked to George. "He has handled the thing right. +This means trouble for Hardie." + +Then Beamish once more addressed the intruders. + +"Now that I've given in, has it struck you that there isn't much use in +closing my place if you leave the Queen's open?" + +"We'll shut them both!" Mrs. Nelson declared. + +"Then there's just another point--I've folks who have driven a long +way, staying the night with me, and there's quite a crowd coming in for +supper. How am I to treat them?" + +"They can have all they want to eat," Mrs. Nelson told him graciously; +"but no liquor." + +"I can't refuse to supply them without a reason. What am I to say?" + +"Tell them that the Women's Reform League has compelled you to close +your bar." + +"And I've been given the orders by their acknowledged secretary?" + +"Yes. I'm proud of being their leader, and of the duty I've +discharged." + +Beamish turned to his customers. + +"You'll remember what she has told me, boys!" + +Grant drew George away. + +"She walked right into the trap; you couldn't have stopped her. I'm +sorry for Hardie. But we may as well get out now; there'll be no +trouble." + +The street was blocked when the women left, but a passage was made for +them; and, followed by everybody in the settlement, they proceeded to +the other hotel, whose proprietor capitulated. Then Mrs. Nelson made a +speech, in which she pointed out that for once the festival would not +be marked by the orgies which had on previous occasions disgraced the +town. Her words, by no means conciliatory, and her aggressive air +provoked the crowd, which had, for the most part, watched the +proceedings with amusement. There were cries of indignant dissent, +angry shouts, and the throng began to close in upon the speaker. Then +there was sudden silence, and the concourse split apart. Into the gap +rode a slim young man in khaki, with a wide hat of the same color, who +pulled up and sat looking at the people with his hand on his hip. +George recognized him as the constable who shared the extensive beat +with Flett. + +"Now," he said good-humoredly, "what's all this fuss about?" + +Several of them informed him and he listened gravely before he called +one of the farmer's stewards, and spoke a few words to him. + +"It strikes me," he said, "that you had all better go back to the +fair-ground, while I look into things. There's an item or two on the +program Mr. Carson wants to work off before supper." + +He had taken the right tone, and when they began to disperse he rode on +to the Sachem. + +"I want your account of this disturbance," he said to the proprietor. + +Beamish related what had taken place and the constable looked surprised. + +"Am I to understand that you're afraid to open your bar because of the +women?" he asked. + +"Yes, sir," replied Beamish, coolly; "that's about the size of it. +You'd have been scared, too; they're a mighty determined crowd." + +"Nobody except the authorities has any right to interfere." + +"That's my opinion, but what am I to do about it? Suppose these women +come back, will you stand at the door and keep them out? They're +capable of mobbing you." + +The constable looked dubious, and Beamish continued: + +"Besides, I've given them my word I'd shut up--they made me." + +"Then how do you expect us to help?" + +"So far as I can see, you can only report the matter to your bosses." + +The constable felt inclined to agree with this. He asked for the names +of the ladies, and Beamish hesitated. + +"I was too taken up with Mrs. Nelson to notice the rest, and the place +was rather dark. Anyway, about half of them were foolish girls with +notions; I don't want to drag them in." + +"You blame somebody for setting them on?" + +"I do," said Beamish, without a trace of rancor. "There's Mrs. +Nelson--everybody knows she's a crank--and Hardie, the Methodist +minister. They've been trying to make trouble for the hotels for quite +a while." + +The constable made a note of this and presently called on Hardie, who +had just returned to town after visiting a sick farmer. The former +listened to what the minister had to say, but was not much impressed. +Beamish had cleverly made him his partizan. + +After supper George and Grant called on Hardie and found him looking +distressed. + +"I'm much afraid that the result of three or four months' earnest work +has been destroyed this afternoon," he said. "Our allies have stirred +up popular prejudice against us. We'll meet with opposition whichever +way we turn." + +"There's something in that," Grant agreed. "Mrs. Nelson's a lady who +would wreck any cause. Still, she has closed the hotels." + +"For one night. As a result of this afternoon's work, they will +probably be kept open altogether. You can imagine how the authorities +will receive any representations we can make, after our being +implicated in this disturbance." + +"Have you thought of disowning the ladies? You could do so--you had no +hand in the thing." + +The young clergyman flushed hotly. + +"I'd have stopped this rashness, if I'd heard of it; but, after all, +I'm the real instigator, since I started the campaign. I'm willing to +face my share of the blame." + +"You mean you'll let Beamish make you responsible?" + +"Of course," said Hardie. "I can't deny I'm leader. The move was a +mistake, considered prudentially; but it was morally justifiable. I'll +defend it as strongly as I'm able." + +Grant nodded, and Flora and Mrs. Nelson came in. + +"Are you satisfied with what you've done?" Grant said to the girl. +"You might have given me a hint of it." + +Flora smiled. + +"I'm afraid Beamish was too clever for us. From an outsider's point of +view, he behaved exceptionally well, and in doing so he put us in the +wrong. I didn't know what had been planned when I left home, but, as +one of the league, I couldn't draw back when I heard of it." + +"You think he was too clever?" Mrs. Nelson broke in. "How absurd to +say that! We have won a brilliant victory!" + +Grant made a little gesture. + +"If you're convinced of that, ma'am, we'll leave you to talk it over." + +He led George toward the door. + +"I like that man Hardie," he resumed when they reached the street. +"Beamish has him beaten for the present, but I'm thankful there'll be +no women about when we come to grips with his crowd. It may take a +while, but those fellows have got to be downed." + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +GEORGE FACES DISASTER + +A fortnight had passed since the affair at the settlement when Hardie +arrived at the Marston homestead toward supper-time. After the meal +was over, he accompanied his host and Edgar to the little room used for +an office. + +"As I've been busy since four this morning, I don't mean to do anything +more," said George, "I suppose you don't smoke?" + +"No," Hardie answered. "It's a concession I can make without much +effort to our stricter brethren. I'm inclined to believe they consider +smoking almost as bad as drink. You agree with them about the latter?" + +"We try to be consistent," Edgar told him. "You see, I couldn't very +well indulge in an occasional drink when I've undertaken to make those +Sage Butte fellows abstainers. Anyhow, though you're by no means +liberal in your view, you're practical people. As soon as I landed at +Montreal, a pleasant young man, wearing a silver monogram came up to +me, and offered me introductions to people who might find me a job. +Though I didn't want one, I was grateful; and when I told him I wasn't +one of his flock, he said it didn't matter. That kind of thing makes a +good impression." + +"How are you getting on at the settlement?" + +George interposed. + +Hardie sat silent for a few moments, and George saw that his eyes were +anxious and his face looked worn. + +"Badly," he said. "I feel I can talk to you freely, and that's really +why I came, though I had another call to make." + +"You're having trouble?" + +"Plenty of it. I've had another visit from the police, though that's +not a very important matter; and Mrs. Nelson's action has raised a +storm of indignation. It would be useless to move any further against +the Sachem. Even this is not the worst. Our people are split up by +disagreements; I've been taken to task; my staunchest supporters are +falling away." + +"They'll rally," said George. "Leave those who haven't the courage to +do so alone; you're better rid of them. I suppose it's apt to make a +difference in your finances." + +The clergyman colored. + +"That's true, though it's hard to own. It subjects one to a strong +temptation. After all, we're expected to keep our churches full--it's +necessary." + +"The road to success," Edgar remarked, "is comparatively easy. Always +proclaim the popular view, but be a little more emphatic and go a +little farther than the rest. Then they'll think you a genius and make +haste to follow your lead." + +Hardie looked at him quietly. + +"There's another way, Mr. West, and the gate of it is narrow. I think +it seldom leads to worldly fame." He paused and sighed. "It needs +courage to enter, and one often shrinks." + +"Well," said Edgar, "I'll confess that I find the popular idea, +whatever it may happen to be, irritating; I like to annoy the people +who hold it by pointing out their foolishness, which is partly why I'm +now farming in western Canada. George, of course, is more altruistic; +though I don't think he ever analyzes his feelings. As soon as he sees +anybody in trouble and getting beaten, he begins to strip. I've a +suspicion that he enjoys a fight!" + +"If you would stop talking rot, we'd get on better," George said +curtly, and then turned to his visitor. "I gather that you're afraid +of wrecking your church. It's an awkward situation, but I suppose you +have made up your mind?" + +"Yes; I must go on, if I go alone." + +The man, as the others recognized, had no intention of being dramatic, +but his quiet announcement had its effect, and there was silence for a +moment or two. Then Edgar, who was impatient of any display of strong +feeling, made an abrupt movement. + +"After all," he said cheerfully, "you'll have Mrs. Nelson beside you, +and I'm inclined to think she would enliven any solitude." + +Hardie smiled, and the lad continued: + +"Now we had, perhaps, better be practical and consider how to get over +the difficulties." + +He grew less discursive when they fell in with his suggestion. George +possessed sound sense and some power of leading, and for a while they +were busy elaborating a plan of campaign, in which his advice was +largely deferred to. Then there was an interruption, for Grierson, his +hired man, came in. + +"I was hauling hay from the big sloo when I saw the Hereford bull," he +said. "He was by himself and bleeding from the shoulder. Thought I'd +better bring him home, though he walked very lame." + +"Ah!" exclaimed George sharply. "I'll come and look at him." + +The others followed and on reaching the wire-fenced corral they found +the animal lying down, with its forequarter stained with blood. George +sent for some water, and he soon found the wound, which was very small +and round. + +"It's a curious mark," Hardie commented. + +"Yes," said George; "it's a bullet hole." + +The surprise of the others was obvious. + +"I think it's a hint," George explained. "We'll try to get him on his +feet." + +They succeeded, and when the beast had been led into a stall, George +turned to Hardie. + +"As you said you wouldn't stay the night, would you mind starting for +the settlement now? The livery stable fellow is said to be clever at +veterinary work; you might send him out, and mail a note I'll give you +to the police." + +Hardie professed his willingness to be of service, and on getting into +his buggy said, with some hesitation: + +"I'm afraid you're right in your suspicions, and I'm particularly +sorry. In a way, I'm responsible for this." + +George smiled, rather grimly. + +"One can't go into a fight without getting hurt; and we haven't come to +the end of it yet. This affair won't cost you my support." + +The clergyman's eyes sparkled as he held out his hand. + +"I never imagined it--you have my sympathy, Mr. Lansing. It would give +me the greatest pleasure to see the cowardly brute who fired that shot +brought to justice." + +He drove away, and George went moodily back to the house with Edgar. + +"That's a man who has had to choose between his duty and his interest," +George said; "but just now we have other things to think about. It's a +pity I can't get the bullet out until help arrives." + +The livery man turned up on the following day and succeeded in +extracting it; and Flett made his appearance the morning after. He +examined the wounded animal. + +"It may have been done by accident; but, if so, it's curious the beast +should have been hit close to a place where it would have killed him," +he remarked. + +"What's your private opinion?" George asked. + +The constable smiled. + +"As we haven't gone very far yet, I'll reserve it." He took up the +bullet. "Winchester or Marlin; usual caliber; nothing to be made of +that. Now let's go and take a look at the place where the shot was +fired." + +They traced back the path of the wounded beast from the spot where +Grierson had found it, by the red splashes that here and there stained +the short grass of the unfenced prairie. At last they stopped where +the ground was broken by a few low sandy ridges sprinkled with small +birches and poplars, and Flett pointed to the mark of hoofs in a strip +of almost bare, light soil. + +"This is where he was hit," he said. "You can see how he started off, +going as hard as he could. Next, we've got to find the spot the man +fired from." + +It proved difficult. The dry grass revealed nothing, and they vainly +searched several of the neighboring hillocks, where it grew less +thickly. Scorching sunshine beat down on them and a strong breeze blew +the sand about. At length Flett pointed to a few half-obliterated +footprints on the bare summit of a small rise. + +"The fellow stopped here with his feet well apart. He'd stand like +that while he put up his gun. Sit down and smoke while I copy these +marks." + +He proceeded to do so carefully, having brought some paper from the +homestead. + +"Have you any reason for thinking it was a standing shot he took?" +George asked. + +"I haven't; I wish I had. Quite a lot depends upon his position." + +George nodded. + +"So it struck me. We'll look round for some more conclusive signs when +you have finished." + +Before this happened. Flora Grant rode up. + +"I was going back from Forster's when I noticed you moving about the +hills," she explained. "I made this round to find out what you were +doing." + +George told her, and her sympathy was obvious. + +"I'm very sorry; but my father warned you," she said. "I'm afraid +you're finding this an expensive campaign." + +"I can put up with it, so long as I have my friends' support." + +"I think you can count on that," she smiled. "But what is Flett's +theory?" + +"If he has one, he's clever at hiding it," Edgar broke in; "but I'm +doubtful. In my opinion, he knows the value of the professional air of +mystery." + +"When I see any use in it, I can talk," retorted Flett. "What's your +notion, Mr. Lansing? You don't agree that the fellow shot your beast +from here?" + +"No," answered George. "Of course, there are only two explanations of +the thing, and the first is that it was an accident. In that case, the +fellow must have been out after antelope or cranes." + +"There's an objection: it's close season; though I wouldn't count too +much on that. You farmers aren't particular when there's nobody +around. Now, it's possible that a man who'd been creeping up on an +antelope would work in behind this rise and take a quick shot, +standing, when he reached the top of it. If so, I guess he'd have his +eyes only on what he was firing at. Suppose he missed, and your beast +happened to be in line with him?" + +Flora smiled. + +"It's not convincing, Mr. Flett. Seen from here, the bull would be in +the open, conspicuous against white grass and sand." + +"I didn't say the thing was likely. Won't you go on, Mr. Lansing?" + +"The other explanation is that the fellow meant to kill or mark the +bull; the place where it was hit points to the former. If that was his +intention, he'd lie down or kneel to get a steadier aim. We had better +look for the spot." + +They spent some time before Flett thought he had found it. + +"Somebody lay down here, and the bull would be up against a background +of poplar scrub," he said. "I'll measure off the distance and make a +plan." + +He counted his paces, and had set to work with his notebook, when Flora +interrupted. + +"Wouldn't a sketch be better? Give me a sheet of paper; and has +anybody another pencil?" + +George gave her one, and after walking up and down and standing for a +few moments on a low mound, she chose a position and began the sketch. +It was soon finished, but it depicted the scene with distinctness, with +the bull standing in the open a little to one side of the clump of +scrub. George started as he saw that she had roughly indicated the +figure of a man lying upon the little mound with a rifle in his hand. +It struck him that she was right. + +"It's a picture," said the constable; "but why did you put that fellow +yonder?" + +"Come and see." + +They followed her to the mound, and after an inspection of it, Flett +nodded. + +"You'd make a mighty smart tracker, Miss Grant. I was against this +mound being the firing place, because, to get to it, the fellow would +have to come out into the open." + +"Would that count? It was a bull he was after." + +"It was," Flett agreed. "This fixes the thing." + +George looked at him meaningly. + +"Have you made up your mind about anything else?" + +"Oh, yes," said Flett. "It was done with malicious mischief. If a +poor white or an Indian meant to kill a beast for meat, he wouldn't +pick a bull worth a pile of money, at least while there was common beef +stock about." + +"Then what do you mean to do?" + +Flett smiled. + +"Sooner or later, I'm going to put handcuffs on the man who did this +thing. If you'll give me the sketch, Miss Grant, I'll take it along." + +Flora handed it to him, and he and Edgar went away shortly afterward, +leaving George with the girl. She sat still, looking down at him when +he had helped her to the saddle. + +"I'm afraid you have a good many difficulties to face," she said. + +"Yes," assented George. "A dry summer is bad for wheat on my light +soil, and that is why I thought of going in for stock." He paused with +a rueful smile. "It doesn't promise to be a great improvement, if I'm +to have my best beasts shot." + +She pointed to the west. The grass about them was still scorched with +fierce sunshine, but leaden cloud-masses, darkly rolled together with a +curious bluish gleam in them, covered part of the sky. + +"This time it will rain," she said. "We will be fortunate if we get no +more than that. Try to remember, Mr. Lansing, that bad seasons are not +the rule in western Canada, and one good one wipes out the results of +several lean years." + +Then she rode away, and George joined Edgar. He felt that he had been +given a warning. On reaching home, he harnessed a team and drove off +to a sloo to haul in hay, but while he worked he cast anxious glances +at the clouds. They rolled on above him in an endless procession, +opening out to emit a passing blaze of sunshine, and closing in again. +The horses were restless, he could hardly get them to stand; the +grasses stirred and rustled in a curious manner; and even the little +gophers that scurried away from the wagon wheels displayed an unusual +and feverish activity. Yet there was not a drop of rain, and the man +toiled on in savage impatience, wondering whether he must once more +resign himself to see the promised deluge pass away. + +It was a question of serious import. A night's heavy rain would +consolidate the soil that blew about with every breeze, revive the +suffering wheat and strengthen its abraded stalks against any further +attack by the driving sand. Indeed, he thought it would place the crop +in security. + +He came home for supper, jaded, dusty, and morose, and found that he +could scarcely eat when he sat down to the meal. He could not rest +when it was over, though he was aching from heavy toil; nor could he +fix his attention on any new task; and when dusk was getting near he +strolled up and down before the homestead with Edgar. There was a +change in the looks of the buildings--all that could be done had been +effected--but there was also a change in the man. He was leaner, his +face was getting thin, and he looked worn; but he maintained a forced +tranquillity. + +The sky was barred with cloud now; the great breadth of grain had faded +to a leaden hue, the prairie to shadowy gray. The wind had dropped, +the air was tense and still; a strange, impressive silence brooded over +everything. + +Presently Edgar looked up at the clouds. + +"They must break at last," he said. "One can't help thinking of what +they hold--endless carloads of grain, wads of dollar bills for the +storekeepers, prosperity for three big provinces. It's much the same +weather right along to the Rockies." + +"I wasn't considering the three provinces," said George. + +"No," retorted Edgar. "Your attention was confined to the improvement +the rain would make in Sylvia Marston's affairs. You're looking +forward to sending her a big check after harvest." + +"So far, it has looked more like facing a big deficit." + +"You mean your facing it." + +George frowned. + +"Sylvia has nothing except this land." + +"It strikes me she's pretty fortunate, in one way. You find the +working capital and bear the loss, if there is one. I wonder what +arrangements you made about dividing a surplus." + +"That," said George, "is a thing I've no intention of discussing with +anybody but my co-trustee." + +Edgar smiled; he had hardly expected to elicit much information upon +the point, having failed to do so once or twice already. + +"Well," he said, "I believe we'll see the rain before an hour has +passed." + +Soon after he had spoken, a flash leaped from overhead and the prairie +was flooded with dazzling radiance. It was followed by a roll of +thunder, and a roar as the rain came down. For a few moments the dust +whirled up and there was a strong smell of earth; then the air was +filled with falling water. George stood still in the deluge, +rejoicing, while the great drops lashed his upturned face, until Edgar +laughingly pushed him toward the house. + +"As I'm wet through, I think I'll go to bed. At last, you can rest +content." + +George, following his example, lay down with a deep sense of +thankfulness. His cares had gone, the flood that roared against the +board walls had banished them. Now that relief had come, he felt +strangely weary, and in a few minutes he was sound asleep. He did not +hear the thunder, which broke out again, nor feel the house shake in +the rush of icy wind that suddenly followed; the ominous rattle on roof +and walls, different from and sharper than the lashing of the rain, +began and died away unnoticed by him. He was wrapped in the deep, +healing slumber that follows the slackening of severe mental and bodily +strain; he knew nothing of the banks of ragged ice-lumps that lay +melting to lee of the building. + +It was very cold the next morning, though the sun was rising above the +edge of the scourged plain, when Edgar, partly dressed and wearing wet +boots and leggings, came into the room and looked down at George +compassionately. + +The brown face struck him as looking worn; George had flung off part of +the coverings, and there was something that suggested limp relaxation +in his attitude; but Edgar knew that his comrade must bear his load +again. + +"George," he said, touching him, "you had better get up." + +The man stirred, and looking at him became at once intent as he saw his +face. + +"Ah!" he exclaimed. "Something else gone wrong?" + +Edgar nodded. + +"I'm sorry," he answered simply. "Put on your things and come out. +You had better get it over with." + +In three or four minutes George left the house. Holding himself +steadily in hand, he walked through the drenched grass toward the +wheat. On reaching it, he set his lips tight and stood very still. +The great field of grain had gone; short, severed stalks, half-buried +in a mass of rent and torn-up blades, covered the wide stretch of soil +where the wheat had been. The crop had been utterly wiped out by the +merciless hail. Edgar did not venture to speak; any sympathy he could +express would have looked like mockery; and for a while there was +strained silence. Then George showed of what tough fiber he was made. + +"Well," he said, "it has to be faced. After this, we'll try another +plan; more stock, for one thing." He paused and then resumed: "Tell +Grierson to hurry breakfast. I must drive in to the Butte; there's a +good deal to be done." + +Edgar moved away, feeling relieved. George, instead of despairing, was +considering new measures. He was far from beaten yet. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +SYLVIA SEEKS AMUSEMENT + +It was a fine September afternoon and Sylvia reclined pensively in a +canvas hammock on Herbert Lansing's lawn with one or two opened letters +in her hand. Bright sunshine lay upon the grass, but it was pleasantly +cool in the shadow of the big copper beech. A neighboring border +glowed with autumn flowers: ribands of asters, spikes of crimson +gladiolus, ranks of dahlias. Across the lawn a Virginia creeper draped +the house with vivid tints. The scene had nothing of the grim bareness +of the western prairie of which Sylvia was languidly thinking; her +surroundings shone with strong color, and beyond them a peaceful +English landscape stretched away. She could look out upon +heavily-massed trees, yellow fields with sheaves in them, and the +winding streak of a flashing river. + +Yet Sylvia was far from satisfied. The valley was getting dull; she +needed distraction, and her letters suggested both the means of getting +it and a difficulty. She wore black, but it had an artistic, almost +coquettish, effect, and the big hat became her well, in spite of its +simple trimming. Sylvia bestowed a good deal of thought upon her +appearance. + +After a while Mrs. Lansing came out and joined her. + +"Is there any news in your letters?" she asked. + +"Yes," answered Sylvia; "there's one from George--it's a little +disappointing, but you can read it. As usual, he's laconic." + +George's curtness was accounted for by the fact that he had been afraid +of saying too much, but Sylvia carelessly handed the letter to her +companion. + +"After all, he shows a nice feeling," Mrs. Lansing remarked. "He seems +to regret very much his inability to send you a larger check." + +"So do I," said Sylvia with a petulant air. + +"He points out that it has been a bad season and he has lost his crop." + +"Bad seasons are common in western Canada; I've met farmers who seemed +to thrive on them." + +"No doubt they didn't do so all at once." + +"I dare say that's true," Sylvia agreed. "It's very likely that if I +give him plenty of time, George will get everything right--he's one of +the plodding, persistent people who generally succeed in the end--but +what use will there be in that? I'm not growing younger--I want some +enjoyment now!" She spread out her hands with a gesture that appealed +for sympathy. "One gets so tired of petty economy and self-denial." + +"But George and Herbert arranged that you should have a sufficient +allowance." + +"Sufficient," said Sylvia, "is a purely relative term. So much depends +upon one's temperament, doesn't it? Perhaps I am a little extravagant, +and that's why I'm disappointed." + +"After all, you have very few necessary expenses." + +Sylvia laughed. + +"It's having only the necessary ones that makes it so dull. Now, I've +thought of going to stay a while with Susan Kettering; there's a letter +from her, asking when I'll come." + +Mrs. Lansing was a lady of strict conventional views, and she showed +some disapproval. + +"But you can hardly make visits yet!" + +"I don't see why I can't visit Susan. She's a relative, and it isn't +as if she were entertaining a number of people. She says she's very +quiet; she has hardly asked anybody, only one or two intimate friends." + +"She'll have three or four men down for the partridge shooting." + +"After all," said Sylvia, "I can't make her send them away. You have +once or twice had men from town here." + +"Susan leads a very different life from mine," Mrs. Lansing persisted. +"She's a little too fond of amusement, and I don't approve of all her +friends." She paused as an idea struck her. "Is Captain Bland going +there for the shooting?" + +"I really can't tell you. Is there any reason why she shouldn't invite +him?" + +Mrs. Lansing would have preferred that Sylvia should not see so much of +Bland as she was likely to do if she stayed in the same house with him, +though she knew of nothing in particular to his discredit. He had +served without distinction in two campaigns, he lived extravagantly, +and was supposed to be something of a philanderer. Indeed, not long +ago, an announcement of his engagement to a lady of station had been +confidently expected; but the affair had, for some unknown reason, +suddenly fallen through. Mrs. Lansing was puzzled about him. If the +man were looking for a wealthy wife, why should he be attracted, as she +thought he was, by Sylvia, who had practically nothing. + +"I'd really rather have you remain with us; but of course I can't +object to your going," she said. + +"I knew you would be nice about it," Sylvia exclaimed. "I must have a +talk with Herbert; you said he would be home this evening." + +Lansing's business occasionally prevented his nightly return from the +nearest large town, but he arrived some hours later, and after dinner +Sylvia found him in his smoking-room. He looked up with a smile when +she came in, for their relations were generally pleasant. They +understood each other, though this did not lead to mutual confidence or +respect. + +"Well?" he said. + +Sylvia sat down in an easy chair, adopting, as she invariably did, a +becoming pose, and handed him George's letter. + +"He hasn't sent you very much," Herbert remarked. + +"No," said Sylvia, "that's the difficulty." + +"So I anticipated. You're not economical." + +Sylvia laughed. + +"I won't remind you of your failings. You have one virtue--you can be +liberal when it suits you; and you're my trustee." + +Lansing's rather fleshy, smooth-shaven face grew thoughtful, but Sylvia +continued: + +"I'm going to Susan's, and I really need a lot of new clothes." + +"For a week or two's visit?" + +"I may, perhaps, go on somewhere else afterward." + +"I wonder whether you thought it necessary to tell Muriel so?" + +Sylvia sighed. + +"I'm afraid I didn't. I can hardly expect Muriel to quite understand +or sympathize. She has you, and the flowers she's so fond of, and +quiet friends of the kind she likes; while it's so different with me. +Besides, I was never meant for retirement." + +"That," laughed Lansing, "is very true." + +"Of course," Sylvia went on; "I shall be very quiet, but there are +things one really has to take part in." + +"Bridge is expensive unless you're unusually lucky, or an excellent +player," Lansing suggested. "However, it would be more to the purpose +if you mentioned what is the least you could manage with." + +Sylvia told him, and he knit his brows. + +"Money's tight with me just now," he objected. + +"You know it's only on account. George will do ever so much better +next year; and I dare say, if I pressed him, he would send another +remittance." + +"His letter indicates that he'd find it difficult." + +"George wouldn't mind that. He rather likes doing things that are +hard, and it's comforting to think that self-denial doesn't cost him +much. I'm thankful I have him to look after the farm." + +Lansing regarded her with ironical amusement; he knew what her +gratitude was worth. + +"Yes," he agreed significantly, "George seldom expects anything for +himself. I'm afraid I'm different in that respect." + +Sylvia sat silent for a few moments, because she understood. If +Herbert granted the favor, he would look for something in return, +though she had no idea what this would be. She was conscious of a +certain hesitation, but she did not allow it to influence her. + +"I don't doubt it," she rejoined with a smile. "Can't you let me have +a check? That will make you my creditor, but I'm not afraid you'll be +very exacting. + +"Well," was the response, "I will see what I can do." + +She went out and Lansing filled his pipe with a feeling of +satisfaction. He was not running much risk in parting with the money, +and Sylvia might prove useful by and by. + +Sylvia left Brantholme shortly afterward and, somewhat to her +annoyance, found Ethel West a guest at the house she visited. Ethel +had known Dick; she was a friend of George's, and, no doubt, in regular +communication with her brother in Canada. It was possible that she +might allude to Sylvia's doings when she wrote; but there was some +consolation in remembering that George was neither an imaginative nor a +censorious person. + +Sylvia had spent a delightful week in her new surroundings, when she +descended the broad stairway one night with a shawl upon her arm and an +elegantly bound little notebook in her hand. A handsome, dark-haired +man whose bearing proclaimed him a soldier walked at her side. Bland's +glance was quick and direct, but he had a genial smile and his manners +were usually characterized by a humorous boldness. Still, it was +difficult to find fault with them, and Sylvia had acquiesced in his +rather marked preference for her society. She was, however, studying +the little book as she went down the shallow steps and her expression +indicated dissatisfaction. + +"I'm afraid it was my fault, though you had very bad luck," said the +man, noticing her look. "I'm dreadfully sorry." + +"It was your fault," Sylvia rejoined, with some petulance. "When I +held my best hand I was deceived by your lead. Besides, as I told the +others, I didn't mean to play; you shouldn't have come down and +persuaded me." + +Bland considered. On the whole Sylvia played a good game, but she was +obviously a little out of practise, for his lead had really been the +correct one, though she had not understood it. This, however, was of +no consequence; it was her concluding words that occupied his +attention. They had, he thought, been spoken with a full grasp of +their significance; his companion was not likely to be guilty of any +ill-considered admission. + +"Then I'm flattered that my influence goes so far, though it's perhaps +unlucky in the present instance," he said boldly. "I'll own that I'm +responsible for our misfortunes and I'm ready to take the consequences. +Please give me that book." + +"No," Sylvia replied severely. "I feel guilty for playing at all, but +the line must be drawn." + +"Where do you feel inclined to draw it?" + +They had reached the hall and Sylvia turned and looked at him directly, +but with a trace of coquetry. + +"At allowing a comparative stranger to meet my losses, if I must be +blunt." + +"The arrangement isn't altogether unusual. In this case, it's a duty, +and the restriction you make doesn't bar me out. I'm not a stranger." + +"A mere acquaintance then," said Sylvia. + +"That won't do either. It doesn't apply to me." + +"Then I'll have to alter the classification." She broke into a soft +laugh. "It's difficult to think of a term to fit; would you like to +suggest something?" + +Several epithets occurred to the man, but he feared to make too rash a +venture. + +"Well," he said, "would you object to--confidential friend?" + +Sylvia's smile seemed to taunt him. + +"Certainly; it goes too far. One doesn't become a confidential friend +in a very limited time." + +"I've known it happen in a few days." + +"Friendships of that kind don't last. In a little while you find you +have been deceived. But we won't talk of these things. You can't have +the book, and I'm going out." + +He held up the shawl, which she draped about her shoulders, and they +strolled on to the terrace. The night was calm and pleasantly cool; +beyond the black line of hedge across the lawn, meadows and harvest +fields, with rows of sheaves that cast dark shadows behind them, +stretched away in the moonlight. After a while Sylvia stopped and +leaned upon the broad-topped wall. + +"It's really pretty," she remarked. + +"Yes," returned Bland; "it's more than pretty. There's something in it +that rests one. I sometimes wish I could live in such a place as this +altogether." + +Sylvia was astonished, because she saw he meant it. + +"After your life, you would get horribly tired of it in three months." + +"After my life? Do you know what that has been?" + +"Race meetings, polo matches, hilarious mess dinners." + +He laughed, rather shortly. + +"I suppose so; but they're not the only army duties. Some of the rest +are better, abroad; but they're frequently accompanied by +semi-starvation, scorching heat or stinging cold, and fatigue; and it +doesn't seem to be the rule that those who bear the heaviest strain are +remembered when promotion comes." + +Sylvia studied him attentively. Bland was well and powerfully made, +and she liked big men--there was more satisfaction in bending them to +her will. In spite of his careless good-humor, he bore a certain stamp +of distinction; he was an excellent card-player, he could dance +exceptionally well, and she had heard him spoken of as a first-class +shot. It was unfortunate that these abilities were of less account in +a military career than she had supposed; but, when properly applied, +they carried their possessor some distance in other fields. What was +as much to the purpose, Bland appeared to be wealthy, and took a +leading part in social amusements and activities. + +"I suppose that is the case," she said sympathetically, in answer to +his last remark. "You have never told me anything about your last +campaign. You were injured in it, were you not?" + +The man had his weaknesses, but they did not include any desire to +retail his exploits and sufferings to women's ears. He would not speak +of his wounds, honorably received, or of perils faced as carelessly as +he had exposed his men. + +"Yes," he answered. "But that was bad enough at the time, and the rest +of it would make a rather monotonous tale." + +"Surely not!" protested Sylvia. "The thrill and bustle of a campaign +must be wonderfully exciting." + +"The novelty of marching steadily in a blazing sun, drinking bad water, +and shoveling trenches half the night, soon wears off," he said with a +short laugh, and changed the subject. "One could imagine that you're +not fond of quietness." + +Sylvia shivered. The memory of her two years in Canada could not be +banished. She looked back on them with something like horror. + +"No," she declared; "I hate it! It's deadly to me." + +"Well, I've an idea. There's the Dene Hall charity gymkana comes off +in a few days. It's semi-private, and I know the people; in fact +they've made me enter for some of the events. It's a pretty ride to +the place, and I can get a good car. Will you come?" + +"I don't know whether I ought," said Sylvia, with some hesitation. + +"Think over it, anyway," he begged her. + +One or two people came out, and when somebody called her name Sylvia +left him, without promising. Bland remained leaning on the wall and +thinking hard. Sylvia strongly attracted him. She was daintily +pretty, quick of comprehension, and, in spite of her black attire, +which at times gave her a forlorn air that made him compassionate, +altogether charming. It was, however, unfortunate that he could not +marry a poor wife, and he knew nothing about Sylvia's means. To do him +justice, he had shrunk from any attempt to obtain information on this +point; but he felt that it would have to be made before things went too +far. His thoughts were interrupted by Ethel West, who strolled along +the terrace and stopped close at hand. + +"I didn't expect to find you wrapped in contemplation," she remarked. + +"As a matter of fact, I've been talking." + +"To Mrs. Marston? She's generally considered entertaining." + +Bland looked at her with a smile. He liked Ethel West. She was blunt, +without being tactless, and her conversation was sometimes piquant. +Moreover, he remembered that Ethel and Sylvia were old acquaintances. + +"I find her so," he said. "Though she has obviously had trouble, she's +very bright. It's a sign of courage." + +"In Sylvia Marston's case, it's largely a reaction. She spent what she +regards as two harrowing years in Canada." + +"After all, Canada doesn't seem to be a bad place," said Bland. "Two +of my friends, who left the Service, went out to take up land and they +evidently like it. They got lots of shooting, and they've started a +pack of hounds." + +Ethel considered. She could have told him that Sylvia's husband had +gone out to make a living, and had not been in a position to indulge in +costly amusements, but this did not appear advisable. + +"I don't think Marston got a great deal of sport," she said. "He had +too much to do." + +"A big place to look after? I understand it's wise to buy up all the +land you can." + +Ethel's idea of the man's views in respect to Sylvia was confirmed. He +was obviously giving her a lead and she followed it, though she did not +intend to enlighten him. + +"Yes," she answered; "that's the opinion of my brother, who's farming +there. He says values are bound to go up as the new railroads are +built, and Marston had a good deal of land. Sylvia is prudently +keeping every acre and farming as much as possible." + +She saw this was satisfactory to Bland, and she had no hesitation in +letting him conclude what he liked from it. It was not her part to +caution him, and it was possible that if no other suitor appeared, +Sylvia might fall back on George, which was a risk that must be avoided +at any cost. Ethel did not expect to gain anything for herself; she +knew that George had never had any love for her; but she was determined +that he should not fall into Sylvia's hands. He was too fine a man, in +many ways, to be thus sacrificed. + +"But how can Mrs. Marston carry on the farm?" Bland inquired. + +"I should have said her trustees are doing so," Ethel answered +carelessly. "One of them went out to look into things not long ago." + +Then she moved away and left Bland with one difficulty that had +troubled him removed. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +BLAND GETS ENTANGLED + +When Mrs. Kettering heard of Sylvia's intention to attend the gymkana, +she gave her consent, and said that, as she had an invitation, she +would make up a party to go. This was not what Bland required. It +was, however, a four-seated car that he had been promised the use of; +and counting Sylvia and himself and the driver, there was only one +place left. While he was wondering to whom it would be best to offer +it, Sylvia thought of Ethel West, who had announced that she would not +attend the function. By making a short round, they could pass through +a market town of some importance. + +"You mentioned that you wished to buy some things; why not come with +us?" she said to Ethel. "We could drop you going out and call for you +coming home. Susan will have the big car full, so she couldn't take +you, and it's a long drive to the station and the trains run awkwardly." + +Sylvia's motive was easy to discern, but Ethel agreed. She was, on the +whole, inclined to pity Captain Bland; but he was a stranger and George +was a friend. If Sylvia must choose between them, it would be much +better that she should take the soldier. For all that, Ethel had an +uncomfortable feeling that she was assisting in a piece of treachery +when she set off soon after lunch on a fine autumn day; and the car had +gone several miles before she began to enjoy the ride. + +For a while the straight white road, climbing steadily, crossed a waste +of moors. The dry grass gleamed gray and silver among the russet fern; +rounded, white-edged clouds floated, scarcely moving, in a sky of +softest blue. The upland air was gloriously fresh, and the speed +exhilarating. + +By and by they ran down into a narrow dale in the depths of which a +river brawled among the stones, and climbed a long ascent, from which +they could see a moving dust-cloud indicating that Mrs. Kettering's car +was only a mile or two behind. After that there was a league of brown +heath, and then they sped down to a wide, wooded valley, in the midst +of which rose the gray walls of an ancient town. On reaching it, Ethel +alighted in the market-square, hard by the lofty abbey, and turned to +Bland. + +"I have one or two calls to make after I've finished shopping, but if +it takes longer than I expected or you can't get here in time, I'll go +back by train," she said. "In that case, you must bring me home from +the station." + +Bland promised, and Ethel watched the car with a curious expression +until it vanished under a time-worn archway. She was vexed with +herself for playing into Sylvia's hands, though she had only done so in +what she regarded as George's interest. If Sylvia married Bland, the +blow would no doubt be a heavy one to George, but it would be better +for him in the end. + +In the meanwhile, the car sped on up the valley until it reached an +ancient house built on to a great square tower, where Bland was +welcomed by a lady of high importance in the district. Afterward he +was familiarly greeted by several of her guests, which Sylvia, who had +strong ambitions, duly noticed; these people occupied a different +station from the one in which she had hitherto moved. When Bland was +called away from her, she was shown to a place at some distance from +Mrs. Kettering's party, and she sat down and looked about with +interest. From the smooth lawn and still glowing borders before the +old gray house, a meadow ran down to the river that wandered, gleaming, +through the valley, and beyond it the brown moors cut against the clear +blue sky. In the meadow, a large, oval space was lined with groups of +smartly-dressed people, and in its midst rose trim pavilions outside +which grooms stood holding beautiful glossy horses. Everything was +prettily arranged; the scene, with its air of gayety, appealed to +Sylvia, and she enjoyed it keenly, though she was now and then +conscious of her somber attire. + +Then the entertainment began, and she admitted that Bland, +finely-mounted, was admirable. He took his part in several +competitions, and through them all displayed a genial good-humor and +easy physical grace. He had for the most part younger men as +antagonists, but Sylvia thought that none of them could compare with +him in manner or bearing. + +After a while Sylvia noticed with a start of surprise and annoyance +that Herbert Lansing was strolling toward her. He took an unoccupied +chair at her side. + +"What brought you here?" she asked. + +"That," he said, "is easily explained. I got a kind of circular of +invitation, and as I've had dealings with one or two of these people, I +thought it advisable to make an appearance and pay my half-guinea. +Then there's a man I want a talk with, and I find that the atmosphere +of an office has often a deterrent effect on those unused to it. But I +didn't expect to find you here." + +"Susan and some of the others have come; I've no doubt you'll meet her." + +The explanation appeared adequate on the face of it, but a moment later +Herbert glanced at Bland, who was dexterously controlling his restive +horse. + +"The man looks well in the saddle, doesn't he?" he said. + +"Yes," assented Sylvia in an indifferent tone, though she was slightly +disturbed. Herbert was keen-witted, and she would rather not have had +him take an interest in her affairs. + +"I'm inclined to think it's fortunate I didn't bring Muriel," he +resumed with a smile. "She's rather conventional, and has stricter +views than seem to be general nowadays." + +"I can't see why I should remain in complete seclusion; it's an +irrational idea. But I've no intention of concealing anything I think +fit to do." + +"Of course not. Are you going to mention that you attended this +entertainment when you write to Muriel?" + +Sylvia pondered her reply. In spite of its dullness, Mrs. Lansing's +house was a comfortable and secure retreat. She would have to go back +to it presently, and it was desirable that she should avoid any cause +of disagreement with her hostess. + +"No," she said candidly; "I don't see any need for that; and I may not +write for some time. Of course, Muriel doesn't quite look at things as +I do, and on one or two points she's unusually sensitive." + +Herbert looked amused. + +"You're considerate; and I dare say you're right. There doesn't seem +to be any reason why Muriel should concern herself about the thing, +particularly as you're in Susan's hands." + +The implied promise that he would not mention his having seen her +afforded Sylvia some relief, but when he went away to speak to Mrs. +Kettering, she wished she had not met him. Herbert was troubled by +none of his wife's prejudices, but on another occasion he had made her +feel that she owed him something for which he might expect some return, +and now the impression was more marked; their secret, though of no +importance, had strengthened his position. Herbert seldom granted a +favor without an end in view; and she did not wish him to get too firm +a hold on her. The feeling, however, wore off, and she had spent a +pleasant afternoon when Bland came for her as the shadows lengthened. + +He reminded her of Ethel: + +"We'll have to get off, if we're to pick up Miss West." + +Sylvia said that she was ready, though she felt it would have been more +satisfactory had Ethel been allowed to go back by train. They began +the journey, but after a few miles the car stopped on a steep rise. +The driver with some trouble started the engine, but soon after they +had crossed the crest of the hill it stopped again, and he looked grave +as he supplied Bland with some details that Sylvia found unintelligible. + +"You must get her along another mile; then you can go back on a bicycle +for what you want," Bland told him, and turned to Sylvia. "We'll be +delayed for an hour or so, but he can leave word for Miss West, and +there's an inn not far off where they'll give us tea while we're +waiting." + +They reached it after turning into another road, though the car made +alarming noises during the journey. Sylvia viewed the old building +with appreciation. It stood, long and low and cleanly white-washed, on +the brink of a deep ghyll filled with lichened boulders and russet +ferns, with a firwood close behind it, and in front a wide vista of +moors and fells that stood out darkly blue against the evening light. +Near the stone porch, a rustic table stood beside a row of tall red +hollyhocks. + +"It's a charming spot," Sylvia exclaimed. "Can't we have tea outside?" + +Bland ordered it and they sat down to a neatly-served meal. The +evening was warm and very still and clear. A rattle of wheels reached +them from somewhere far down the road and they could hear the faint +splash of water in the depths of the ravine. + +"This is really delightful," murmured Sylvia, when the table had been +cleared. "I like the quietness of the country when it comes as a +contrast, after, for example, such an afternoon as we have spent." + +"Then you're not sorry you came?" + +"Sorry? You wouldn't suggest it, if you knew how dull my days often +are. But I mustn't be doleful. You may smoke, if you like." + +Bland did not particularly wish to smoke, but he lighted a cigarette. +It seemed to banish formality, to place them on more familiar terms. + +"What is the matter with the car?" Sylvia asked. + +"I'm afraid I can't tell you. It can't be got along without something +the man has gone back for." + +"They do stop sometimes. Is this one in the habit of doing so?" + +"I can't say, as it isn't mine. Why do you ask?" + +"Oh!" said Sylvia, "I had my suspicions. The man didn't seem in the +least astonished or annoyed, for one thing. Then it broke down in such +a convenient place." + +Bland laughed; her boldness appealed to him. + +"Well," he declared, "I'm perfectly innocent; though I can't pretend +I'm sorry." + +"You felt you had to say that." + +"No," he declared, with a direct glance; "I meant it." + +Sylvia leaned back in her chair and glanced appreciatively at the moor. + +"After all," she said, "it's remarkably pretty here, and a change is +nice. I'll confess that I find Susan's friends a little boring." + +The implication was that she preferred Bland's society, and he was +gratified. + +"That struck me some time ago," he rejoined. "I wonder if you can +guess why I thought it worth while to put up with them?" + +Sylvia smiled as she looked at him. She liked the man; she thought +that he had a good deal she valued to offer her; but as yet she desired +only his captivation. She must not allow him to go too far. + +"You might have had a number of motives," she said carelessly. "I +don't feel much curiosity about them." + +Bland bore the rebuff good-humoredly. Patience was one of his strong +points, and since his conversation with Ethel West on the terrace he +had made up his mind. In arriving at a decision, the man was honest +and ready to make some sacrifice. He had been strongly impressed by +Sylvia on their first meeting, but he had realized that it would be a +mistake to marry her unless she had some means. Hitherto he had found +it difficult to meet his expenses, which were large. He did not +believe now that Sylvia was rich, and he had seen enough of her to +suspect that she was extravagant, but this did not deter him. She had +undoubtedly some possessions, and he was prepared to retrench and deny +himself a number of costly pleasures. Indeed, he had once or twice +thought of leaving the army. + +"Then I won't force an explanation on you," he said, and lighting +another cigarette, lazily watched her and tried to analyze her charm. + +He failed to do so. Sylvia was a born coquette, and most dangerous in +that her power of attraction was natural, and as a rule she appealed to +the better and more chivalrous feelings of her victims. Fragile, and +delicately pretty, she looked as if she needed some one to shelter and +defend her from all troubles. Bland decided that, although she rarely +said anything brilliant, and he had seen more beautiful women, he had +not met one who, taken all round, could compare with Sylvia. + +"What are you thinking of?" she asked at length, with a gleam of +mischief in her eyes. + +"Oh," he answered, slightly confused, "my mind was wandering. I +believe I was trying to explain a thing that's wrapped in impenetrable +mystery." + +"One wouldn't have imagined you were given to that kind of amusement, +and it's obviously a waste of time. Wouldn't it be wiser to accept the +object that puzzles you for what it seems, if it's nice?" + +"It is," he declared, wondering whether this was a random shot on her +part or one of the flashes of penetration with which she sometimes +surprised him. + +"Your advice is good." + +"I believe so," responded Sylvia. "If a thing pleases you, don't try +to find out too much about it. That's the way to disappointment." + +She was a little astonished at his reply. + +"Perhaps it's a deserved penalty. One should respect a beautiful +mystery--unquestioning faith is a power. It reacts upon its object as +well as upon its possessor." + +"Even if it's mistaken?" + +"It couldn't be altogether so," Bland objected. "Nothing that was +unworthy could inspire real devotion." + +"All this is far too serious," said Sylvia, petulantly; for her +companion's moralizing had awakened a train of unpleasant reflections. + +She did not think unquestioning faith was common, but she knew of one +man who was endowed with it, and he was toiling for her sake on the +desolate western prairie. Once or twice his belief in her had roused +angry compunction, and she had revealed the more unfavorable aspects of +her character, but he had refused to see them. + +"Then what shall we talk about?" Bland inquired. + +"Anything that doesn't tax one's brain severely. Yourself, for +example." + +"I'm not sure that's flattering, and it's an indifferent topic; but I +won't back out. As I gave you your choice, I must take the +consequences." + +"Are you always ready to do that?" There was a tiny hint of +seriousness in her voice. + +"Well," he said with some dryness, "I generally try." + +There was something that reminded her of George in his expression. The +man, she thought, would redeem what pledge he gave; he might be guilty +of rashness, but he would not slink away when the reckoning came. Then +she became conscious of a half-tender regret. It was a pity that +George was so fond of the background, and left it only when he was +needed, while Brand was a prominent figure wherever he went, and this +was, perhaps, the one of his characteristics which most impressed her. +Then he rather modestly began the brief account of his career, adding +scraps of information about his relatives, who were people of station. +He did not enlarge upon several points that were in his favor, but he +omitted to state that he had now and then been on the verge of a +financial crisis. + +Sylvia listened with keen interest, and asked a few questions to help +him on; but when he finished she let the subject drop. Soon afterward +she glanced down the road, which was growing dim. + +"I wish your man would come. It's getting late," she said. + +"He can't be much longer. I don't think you need be disturbed." + +"I am disturbed," Sylvia declared. "I really shouldn't have come +to-day; you will remember I hesitated." + +"Then it was a temptation?" + +Sylvia smiled rather wistfully. "That must be confessed; I need a +little stir and brightness and I so seldom get it. You know Muriel; I +owe her a good deal, but she's so dull and she makes you feel that +everything you like to do is wrong." + +"But you haven't been very long with Mrs. Lansing. Wasn't it different +in Canada?" Bland had a reason for venturing on the question, though +it was rather a delicate one. + +"I can hardly bear to think of it! For four months in the year I was +shut up, half-frozen, in a desolate homestead. There was deep snow all +round the place; nobody came. It was a day's drive to a forlorn +settlement; nothing ever broke the dreary monotony. In summer one got +worn out with the heat and the endless petty troubles. There was not a +moment's rest; the house was filled with plowmen and harvesters, +uncouth barbarians who ate at our table and must be waited on." + +Bland was moved to pity; but he was also consoled. As she had not +mentioned Marston, she could not greatly have felt his loss. Sylvia +must have married young; no doubt, before she knew her mind. + +"I wish," he said quietly, "I could do something to make your life a +little brighter." + +"But you can't. I've had one happy day--and I'm grateful. It must +last me a while." + +He leaned forward, looking at her with an intent expression. + +"Sylvia, give me the right to try." + +She shrank from him with a start that was partly natural, for she was +not quite prepared for a bold avowal. + +"No," she said in alarm. "How can I do that?" + +"Don't you understand me, Sylvia? I want the right to take care of +you." + +She checked him with a gesture. + +"It is you who can't understand. Do you think I'm heartless?" + +"Nothing could make me think hardly of you," he declared. + +"Then show me some respect and consideration. It was what I looked +for; I felt I was safe with you." + +Though he had not expected strong opposition, he saw that she was +determined. He had been too precipitate, and while he had no idea of +abandoning his purpose, he bowed. + +"If I've offended, you must forgive me--I thought of nothing beyond my +longing for you. That won't change or diminish, but I've been rash and +have startled you. I must wait." + +He watched her in keen anxiety, but Sylvia gave no hint of her +feelings. As a matter of fact, she was wondering why she had checked +and repulsed him. She could not tell. A sudden impulse had swayed +her, but she was not sorry she had yielded to it. Her hold on the man +was as strong as ever; the affair was not ended. + +There was silence for the next few minutes. It was growing dark; the +hills had faded to blurs of shadows, and the moor ran back, a vast, dim +waste. Then a twinkling light moved toward them up the ascending road. +Bland rose and pointed to it. + +"I dare say the man has got the things he needed. We'll be off again +shortly," he said in his usual manner; and Sylvia was grateful. + +In another half-hour the car was ready, and when Bland helped Sylvia in +and wrapped the furs about her, there was something new in his care for +her comfort. It was a kind of proprietary gentleness which she did not +resent. Then they sped away across the dusky moor. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +HERBERT MAKES A CLAIM + +Sylvia finished her round of visits in a state approaching insolvency. +Mrs. Kettering, with whom she stayed some time, indulged in expensive +amusements, and though she would have listened with good-humor to a +plea of poverty, Sylvia declined to make it. She would not have Bland +suspect the state of her affairs, and while he remained in the house +she took her part in all that went on, which included card-playing for +high stakes. As it happened, she had a steady run of misfortune. +Bland sympathized with her and occasionally ventured a remonstrance, +but she could see that the cheerful manner in which she faced her +losses had its effect on him. + +On the evening of her return, Herbert was strolling along the platform +at a busy junction, in the gathering dusk, when he noticed Bland +speaking to a porter. Soon afterward. Bland came toward him, and +Herbert asked him if he were staying in the neighborhood. + +"No," said Bland; "I'm passing through; only been here half an hour. +We're probably on the same errand." + +"I came to meet Mrs. Marston," Herbert told him. "And I broke my +journey to town with the idea of being of some assistance when she +changed." + +"They don't give one much time here, and it's an awkward station," +Herbert said, with a careless air. + +It struck him that Sylvia's acquaintance with the man must have ripened +rapidly, for he was well informed of her movements; but this was no +concern of his. He had thought for some time that a match between her +and George would be unsuitable. For a while he and Bland talked about +indifferent matters, and then the latter turned to him with a smile. + +"I was very lucky at a small steeplechase," he said. "Backed a rank +outsider that only a few friends of mine believed in. Do you know of +anything that's bound to go up on the Stock Exchange? It's in your +line, I think." + +"I don't. Such stocks are remarkably scarce. If there's any strong +reason for a rise in value, buyers anticipate it." + +"Then perhaps you know of something that has a better chance than the +rest? I expect your tip's worth having." + +"You might try--rubber!" + +"Rubber? Hasn't that been a little overdone?" + +Herbert considered, for this remark confirmed his private opinion. +Rubber shares had been in strong demand, but he thought they would not +continue in general favor. The suggestion made by an outsider might be +supposed to express the view held by small speculators, which had its +effect on the market. + +"I gave you my idea, but I can't guarantee success," he said. "You +must use your judgment, and don't blame me if things go wrong." + +"Of course not; the risk's mine," returned Bland; and Herbert thought +he meant to follow his advice. + +A few minutes later, the train which they were waiting for came in, and +Herbert tactfully stood aside when Bland helped Sylvia to alight. +Watching her face, he concluded by the absence of any sign of surprise +that the meeting had been arranged. Bland, however, had little +opportunity for conversation amid the bustle; and the train was on the +point of starting before Sylvia saw Herbert. He got in as it was +moving, and she looked at him sharply. + +"I didn't expect you would meet me." + +"So I supposed," he told her. + +"Oh, well," she said, smiling, "you might have been useful." + +Herbert thought she might have thanked him for coming, considering that +he had, by his wife's orders, made an inconvenient journey; but +gratitude was not one of Sylvia's virtues. + +"Did you enjoy yourself?" he asked. + +"Yes, on the whole, but I've been dreadfully unlucky. In fact, I'm +threatened by a financial crisis." + +Herbert made a rueful grimace. + +"I know what that means; I'm getting used to it. But we'll talk the +matter over another time. I suppose I'm neglecting my duties; I ought +to lecture you." + +"Isn't Muriel capable of doing all that's necessary in that line?" + +"She's hampered by not knowing as much as I do," Herbert retorted with +a meaning smile. + +Nothing of moment passed between them during the rest of the journey, +but some time after they reached home Herbert turned to Sylvia, who was +sitting near him, in the absence of his wife. + +"You're short of funds again?" he asked. + +Sylvia explained her embarrassments, and Herbert looked thoughtful. + +"So," he said, "you have spent what George sent, as well as what I +advanced you in anticipation of his next remittance. This can't go on, +you know." + +"I'll be very economical for the next few months," Sylvia promised +penitently. + +"If you're not, you'll find very stern economy imperative during those +that follow; but I'll let you have a small check before I leave." + +Sylvia thanked him and they talked about other matters for a while. +Then he said carelessly: + +"There's a favor you could do me. It won't cost you any trouble. A +young man is coming down here next week, and I want you to be as +pleasant as you can and make him enjoy his visit. I'm inclined to +think he'll appreciate any little attention you can show him." + +"The last's a cheap compliment," Sylvia rejoined. "Aren't you asking +me to undertake your wife's duty?" + +Herbert smiled. + +"Not altogether. Muriel's an excellent hostess; she will do her part, +but I want you to assist her. You have exceptional and rather +dangerous gifts." + +"Don't go too far," Sylvia warned him. "But I'd better understand the +situation. How long do you expect me to be amiable to the man?" + +"Only for a couple of days. He might come down again, but that's not +certain." + +Sylvia considered, for she saw what Herbert required. She was to exert +her powers of fascination upon the visitor, in order to make him more +pliable in his host's hands. The task was not a disagreeable one, and +she had foreseen all along that Herbert, in indulging her in various +ways, would look for some return. + +"After all," she said, "there's no reason why I should be ungracious to +him, so long as he's pleasant." + +Herbert carelessly nodded agreement, but Sylvia knew that he expected +her to carry out his wishes; and she did not find it difficult when the +guest arrived. + +Paul Singleton was young, and perhaps unusually susceptible to the +influences brought to bear upon him during his visit. Born with some +talents, in very humble station, he had by means of scholarships +obtained an excellent education, and had devoted himself in particular +to the study of botany. A prosperous man who took an interest in him +sent him out to a tropical plantation, where he wrote a work on the +vegetable product of equatorial regions, which secured him notice. +Indeed, he was beginning to make his mark as an authority on the +subject. So far, however, his life had been one of economy and +self-denial, and although Lansing's dwelling was not characterized by +any very marked signs of culture or luxury, it was different from the +surroundings to which Singleton was accustomed. His hostess was +staidly cordial and at once set him at his ease; Sylvia was a +revelation. Her piquant prettiness and her charm of manner dazzled +him. She played her part well, not merely because she had agreed to do +so, but because it was one that strongly appealed to her nature. + +On the second evening of Singleton's visit, he was talking to Sylvia +rather confidentially in the drawing-room, where Mrs. Lansing had left +them, while Herbert was seated at a table in his library with a cigar +in his hand and a litter of papers in front of him. He was thinking +hard, and rubber occupied the foremost place in his mind. He was a +director of a company, formed to exploit a strip of rubber-bearing +territory in the tropics, which had hitherto been successful; but he +felt that it was time to retire from the position and realize the +profit on his shares. There was another company he and some associates +had arranged to launch, but he was now very doubtful whether this would +be wise. Rubber exploitations were overdone; there were signs that +investors were losing their confidence. Withdrawal, however, was +difficult, for it must be quietly effected without breaking prices by +any unusual sales. It was therefore desirable that other holders +should cling to their shares, and any fresh buying by outsiders would, +of course, be so much the better. This was one reason why he had +suggested a purchase to Bland. + +Opening a book, he noted the amount of stock standing in George's name. +This had been purchased by Herbert, who had been given such authority +by his cousin at a time when the directors' position needed +strengthening, though it had been necessary to dispose of sound shares, +yielding a small return. The prompt sale of this stock would secure +George a moderate profit, but after some consideration Herbert decided +that it should remain. He had no wish that George should suffer, but +his own interests stood first. Then he carefully studied several +sheets of figures, which confirmed his opinion that a drop in the value +of the stock he owned might be looked for shortly, though he thought +very few people realized this yet. It was time for effective but +cautious action. He must unload as soon as possible. + +By and by he rang a bell, and passed across the cigar box when +Singleton came in and sat down opposite him. He was a wiry, +dark-haired man with an intelligent face which had grown rather white +and haggard in the tropics. Just now he felt grateful to his host, who +had made his stay very pleasant and had given him an opportunity for +meeting Sylvia. + +"I suppose you have read my report on your new tropical property?" he +said. + +"Yes," answered Herbert, picking up a lengthy document. "I've given it +some thought. On the whole, it isn't optimistic." + +Singleton pondered this. He had learned a little about company +floating, and was willing to oblige his host as far as he honestly +could. Lansing had enabled him to undertake a search for some rare +examples of tropical flora by paying him a handsome fee for the report. + +"Well," he said, "there is some good rubber in your territory, as I +have stated." + +"But not readily accessible?" + +"I'm afraid I can't say it is." + +Herbert smiled at him. + +"I'm not suggesting such a course. In asking a man of your character +and attainments to investigate, I was prompted by the desire to get a +reliable report." + +Singleton did not know what to make of this; so far as his experience +went, gentlemen who paid for an opinion on the property they meant to +dispose of did not want an unfavorable one. + +"The rubber's scattered and grows in awkward places," he explained. + +"Precisely." Herbert glanced at the paper. "You mentioned something +of the kind. But what about planting and systematic cultivation?" + +"Soil and climate are eminently suitable." + +"I gather that there's a difficulty in the way of obtaining native +labor?" + +Singleton broke into a grim smile. + +"It's a serious one. The natives consider strangers as their lawful +prey, and they lately managed to give a strong punitive expedition a +good deal of trouble. In fact, as they're in a rather restless mood, +the authorities were very dubious about letting me go inland, and in +spite of the care I took, they got two of my colored carriers. Shot +them with little poisoned arrows." + +"Ah!" ejaculated Herbert. "Poisoned arrows? That should have a +deterrent effect." + +"Singularly so. A slight prick is enough to wipe you out within an +hour. It's merciful the time is so short." + +"That," said Herbert, "was not quite what I meant. I was thinking of +the effect upon the gentlemen who wish to launch this company." + +"The risk isn't attached to their end of the business," Singleton dryly +pointed out. + +Herbert did not answer. While he sat, with knitted brows, turning over +some of the papers in front of him. Singleton looked about. Hitherto +his life had been spent in comfortless and shabby English lodgings, in +the sour steam of tropic swamps, and in galvanized iron factories that +were filled all day with an intolerable heat. As a result of this, his +host's library impressed him. It was spacious and furnished in +excellent taste; a shaded silver lamp stood on the table, diffusing a +restricted light that made the room look larger; a clear wood fire +burned in the grate. The effect of all he saw was tranquilizing; and +the house as a whole, inhabited, as it was, by two charming, cultured +women, struck him as a delightful place of rest. He wondered with +longing whether he would have an opportunity for coming back to it. + +Then his host looked up. + +"Have you any strong objections to recasting this report?" he asked. +"Don't mistake me. I'm not asking you to color things in any way; I +want simple facts. After what you have told me, I can't consider the +prospects of our working the concessions very favorable." + +Singleton was surprised; Lansing's attitude was puzzling, considering +that he had suggested the flotation of the projected company. + +"Do you want the drawbacks insisted on?" he asked. + +Herbert smiled. + +"I don't want them mitigated; state them clearly. Include what you +told me about the trouble with the natives, and the poisoned arrows." + +Then a light broke in upon Singleton. He had not placed his host in +the same category with Mrs. Lansing and Sylvia. It looked as if he had +changed his plans and wished to prevent the company from being formed. +This caused Singleton to consider how far he would be justified in +assisting him. He could honestly go some length in doing so, and, +having fallen a victim to Sylvia's charm, he was willing to do his +utmost. + +"There's no doubt that some of the facts are discouraging," he said. + +Herbert looked at him keenly. + +"That is what struck me. Suppose you think the thing over and bring me +down a fresh report a week from to-day. Stay a day or two, if you're +not busy; I can get you some shooting, and we can talk over any points +that seem to require it at leisure." + +Singleton sat silent a moment. He wanted to come back, and he did not +believe the concession could be profitably worked by any usual methods. +For all that, he thought he could make something of the property; it +was not altogether worthless, though it would require exceptional +treatment. + +"Perhaps that would be better," he replied, "I should be delighted to +make another visit." + +Herbert took up the paper and looked at Singleton with a smile as he +flung it into the fire. + +"Now I think we'll go down," he said. "Mrs. Lansing will be waiting +for us." + +Singleton spent the remainder of the evening with great content, +talking to Sylvia. When she left him, Herbert met her in the hall. + +"Thanks," he smiled meaningly. "Did you find the man interesting?" + +"To some extent," returned Sylvia; "he's a type that's new to me. +Still, of course, he's a little raw, and inclined to be serious. I +think one could see too much of him." + +"He's coming down again in a week." + +"Oh!" said Sylvia, with signs of protest. "And after that?" + +Herbert laughed. + +"I don't think he'll make a third visit." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A FORCED RETIREMENT + +Singleton came down again to Brantholme, bringing his amended report, +which met with Herbert's approval. He spent one wet day walking +through turnip fields and stubble in search of partridges, and two +delightful evenings with Mrs. Lansing and Sylvia, and then he was +allowed to depart. He had served his purpose, and Herbert was glad to +get rid of him. Lansing generally found it desirable to drop men for +whom he had no more use; but he had not done with Singleton. + +A day or two later, after his guest had left, Herbert sat in his office +in a busy town with an open ledger in front of him. He looked +thoughtful, and, as a matter of fact, he was reviewing the latter part +of his business career, which had been marked by risks, boldly faced, +but attended by keen anxiety. Though his wife had some money, Lansing +had been hampered by lack of capital, and George's money had been +placed at his disposal at a very opportune time. It had enabled him to +carry the rubber company over what might have proved a crisis, and thus +strengthen his position as director, by purchasing sufficient shares on +George's account to keep the price from falling and defeat the +intrigues of a clique of discontented investors. Now, however, the +strain had slackened; Herbert's schemes had succeeded, and he had only +to take his profit by selling out as quietly as possible. He had +already given a broker orders to do so. He rather regretted that he +could not dispose of George's shares, but these must be kept a little +longer; to throw a large quantity upon the market would have a +depressing effect and might arouse suspicion. + +Presently a man with whom he had dealings was shown in and sat down. +His appearance indicated some degree of prosperity, but he looked +disturbed and anxious. + +"I met Jackson yesterday, and after what he told me of his interview +with you, I thought I'd better run up and see you at once," he +explained. + +Herbert had expected the visit. + +"I'm at your service," he said. + +"What about the new company? I understand you haven't come to any +decision yet about the suggestions we sent you for its flotation." + +"No," replied Herbert. "In fact, I've reasons for believing it +wouldn't be wise to go any farther in the matter." + +The other looked at him in astonishment. + +"Well," he said, "I heard that you were not so enthusiastic as you were +not long ago, which is why I came down; but I never expected this! +Anyway, after what we have done, you are bound to go on with the thing. +Our success with the first company will help the shares off." + +"That's not certain." Herbert handed him a paper. "You haven't seen +Singleton's report." + +The man read it hastily, his face changing. Then he looked up with +signs of strong indignation. + +"You let him give you a thing like this? Paid him for it?" + +"What could I do? The man's honest. He declares the country's +dangerous; he had two carriers killed. There's no prospect of our +obtaining the needful native labor." + +"Send somebody else out at once!" + +"With the same result. Besides, it's expensive. Singleton's fee +wasn't so big, because he shared the cost of his orchid collecting or +something of the kind with us. Then he might talk, and there would +always be the risk of somebody's challenging us with suppressing his +report. If things went wrong, that would lead to trouble." + +"Would there be any use in my seeing him?" + +Herbert smiled. Singleton would not turn against him; Sylvia had made +her influence felt. + +"Not the slightest," he answered. "You can take that for granted." + +His visitor pondered for a moment or two; and then he crumpled the +report in his hand, growing red in the face. + +"You seem content with this production. It looks as if you had meant +to back out." + +Herbert looked at him tranquilly. + +"Well," he said, "that's my intention now; and I don't think that you +can induce me to alter it. I can't see that we would be justified in +floating the concern." + +"But it was you who suggested it and led us on! What about the money +we have already spent?" + +"It's gone. I'm sorry, but things don't always turn out right. When I +first mentioned the matter, the prospects looked good; investigation +places them in a less favorable light, for which you can hardly hold me +responsible. You took a business risk." + +The other man angrily flung the report on the table. + +"This has been a blow to me, and I'm far from appreciating the course +you've taken. But what about the older concern? Though we don't seem +to have turned out much rubber yet, I suppose its position is still +satisfactory?" + +Herbert saw suspicion in the man's face and he rang a bell. + +"I think you had better satisfy yourself; I have the necessary +particulars here." + +He indicated some books on a neighboring shelf; and then added, when a +clerk appeared: + +"Will you bring me the extract of our working expenses that I asked you +to make out?" + +The clerk came back with a sheet of figures, which Herbert handed to +his visitor with one of the books, and the man spent some time +carefully examining them. + +"Everything looks satisfactory; I've no fault to find," he said at +length. "But I feel very sore about your giving up the new +undertaking." + +"It can't be helped," explained Herbert. "If it's any comfort to you, +I dropped as much money over preliminary expenses as you did." + +After a little further conversation, his visitor left and Herbert +resumed his work. On the whole, the interview had been less +embarrassing than he expected, and though it was likely that the rest +of his colleagues would call and expostulate, he was ready to meet +them. His excuse for abandoning the project was, on the face of it, a +good one; but he had no thought of giving these men, who were largely +interested in the original company, a word of warning. It was +undesirable that they should sell their shares until he had disposed of +his. They had, he argued, the same opportunities for forecasting the +course of the market and gaging the trend of investors' ideas as he +enjoyed, and if they did not make use of them, it was their fault. The +stock had reached a satisfactory premium, which was all that he had +promised; he could not be expected to guarantee its remaining at the +high level. + +During the next three or four weeks his broker sold out his shares in +small blocks, and when the quantity had been largely reduced, Herbert +decided that he would dispose of those he had purchased on George's +account. Though there were signs of a diminishing interest in such +stock, values had scarcely begun to fall, and having made his position +secure, he did not wish his cousin to incur a loss. Accordingly he +sent instructions to sell another lot of shares. + +He was very busy the next day when a telegram was brought him, but he +sat still for some minutes considering it. The market, it stated, had +suddenly fallen flat, and as prices were giving way sharply, further +orders were requested. The change Herbert had foreseen had come a +little sooner than he had expected. He still held some shares, which +he had thought of keeping, because it might, after all, prove judicious +to retain a degree of control in the company, and having sold the rest +at a good profit, a moderate fall in their value would be of less +consequence. The drop, however, was marked, and he decided to further +reduce the quantity standing in his name, instead of realizing those +belonging to his cousin. George must take his chance; and the market +might rally. As a result of these reflections he wired his broker to +sell, and in a few hours received an answer. + + +"_Sale effected within limit given, market since broken badly, expect +slump_." + + +Herbert saw that he had acted with prudence, though it was evident that +his cousin had incurred a serious loss. He was sorry for this, but it +could not be helped. + +A few days later he was sitting beside the fire at home after his +evening meal when Sylvia entered the room in his wife's absence. She +stood near the hearth, examining some embroidery in her hand, but she +looked up presently, and it became evident that she had been reading +the papers. + +"There seems to be a sharp fall in rubber shares," she said. "Will it +affect you?" + +"No," replied Herbert, "not seriously." + +"I suppose that means you must have anticipated the fall and sold +out--unloaded, I think you call it--in time?" + +Herbert did not wish to discuss the matter. He had already had one or +two trying interviews with his business colleagues, and the opinions +they had expressed about him still rankled in his mind. He was not +particularly sensitive, but the subject was an unpleasant one. + +"Something of the kind," he answered. "One has to take precautions." + +Sylvia laughed. + +"One could imagine your taking them. You're not the man to be caught +at a disadvantage, are you?" + +"Well," he said dryly, "it's a thing I try to avoid." + +Sylvia sat down, as if she meant to continue the conversation, which +was far from what he desired, but he could not be discourteous. + +"Had George any shares in your company?" she asked. + +There was no way of avoiding a reply, without arousing her suspicions; +Herbert knew that she was keen-witted and persistent. + +"Yes," he said, "he had a quantity." + +"Have those shares been sold?" + +This was a more troublesome question, but Herbert was compelled to +answer. + +"No; not yet. It's unfortunate that the market broke before I could +get rid of them, but it may rally. I'm rather disturbed about the +matter; but, after all, one has to take one's chance in buying shares. +Dealing in the speculative sorts is to a large extent a game of hazard." + +"I suppose so, but then somebody must win." + +"No," returned Herbert, "now and then everybody loses." + +Sylvia glanced at him with a mocking smile. + +"Even those in the inside ring? When that happens, it must be +something like a catastrophe. But I'm sorry for George; he doesn't +deserve this." + +Herbert could not deny it; but, to his surprise, the girl leaned +forward, speaking in an authoritative tone. + +"I don't know what you can do, but you must do something to get George +out of the difficulty. It's obvious that you led him into it--he isn't +the man to go in for rash speculation; he would have chosen something +safe." + +It was a relief to Herbert that his wife came in just then; but, as he +had reason for believing that she would not remain, he decided that he +would go out and post some letters. Sylvia seemed to be in an +inquisitive mood, and he did not wish to be left alone with her. + +The night was fine but dark; in places a thin, low-lying mist that hung +over the meadows obscured the hedgerows, and it grew more dense as +Herbert approached the river, which brawled noisily among the stones. +The man, however, scarcely noticed this; his mind was occupied with +other matters. Sylvia's attitude had disturbed him. She was useful as +an ally, but she could not be allowed to criticize his conduct or to +give him orders. Moreover, he had reasons for believing that investors +in his company might share her views, and he looked for serious trouble +with two or three gentlemen who blamed him for their losses, and had so +far incivilly refused to be pacified by his explanations. + +Herbert was of a philosophic disposition, and realized that one must +not expect too much. Having made a handsome profit, he felt that he +ought to be content, and bear a certain amount of suspicion and +contumely with unruffled good-humor. For all that, he found it +disagreeable to be looked upon as a trickster, and it was worse when +his disgusted associates used more offensive epithets in his presence. + +He was considering how he should deal with them when he entered a +thicker belt of mist. It shut him in so that he could see nothing +ahead, but there was a strong fence between him and the river, and he +went on, lost in thought, until the mist was suddenly illuminated and a +bright light flashed along the road. The hoot of a motor-horn broke +out behind him, and, rudely startled, he sprang aside. He was too +late; somebody cried out in warning, and the next moment he was +conscious of a blow that flung him bodily forward. He came down with a +crash; something seemed to grind him into the stones; there was a +stabbing pain in his side, and he lost consciousness. + +Fortunately, the big car was promptly stopped, and two men sprang down. +An indistinct object lay just behind the forward pair of wheels, and in +anxious haste they dragged it clear and into the glare of the lamps. +Herbert's hat had fallen off; he was scarcely breathing, and his face +was ghastly white; but one of the men recognized him. + +"It's Lansing," he exclaimed. "Seems badly hurt, though I'd nearly +pulled her up when she struck him." + +"He was dragged some way; jacket must have caught the starting crank or +something; but that doesn't matter now." He raised his voice. +"Dreadfully sorry, Mr. Lansing; can you hear me?" + +There was no answer, and the man shook his head. + +"I'm afraid this is serious." + +His companion looked unnerved, but he roused himself with an effort. + +"It is, and we're behaving like idiots, wasting time that may be +valuable. Get hold and lift him in; his house is scarcely a mile away." + +They had some difficulty in getting the unconscious man into the car; +and then its owner backed it twice into a bank before he succeeded in +turning round, but in three or four minutes they carried Herbert into +Brantholme, and afterward drove away at top speed in search of +assistance. It was, however, an hour later when they returned with a +doctor, and he looked grave after he had examined his patient. + +"Your husband has two ribs broken," he told Mrs. Lansing. "In a way, +that's not very serious, but he seems to be prostrated by the shock. +There are a few things that must be done at once; and then we'll have +to keep him as quiet as possible." + +It was two hours later when he left the house, promising to return +early the next day with a nurse; and Herbert lay, still and +unconscious, in a dimly lighted room. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +HERBERT IS PATIENT + +On the second morning after the accident, Herbert, lying stiffly +swathed in bandages, opened his eyes in a partly darkened room. A +nurse was standing near a table, and when the injured man painfully +turned his head, the doctor, who had been speaking to her, came toward +him. + +"I think we can let you talk a little now," he said. "How do you feel?" + +Herbert's face relaxed into a feeble smile. + +"Very far from happy. I suppose I've been badly knocked about?" + +"I've treated more serious cases, and you'll get over it. But you'll +have to reconcile yourself to lying quiet for a long while." + +Herbert made no reply to this, but his expression suggested that he was +trying to think. + +"Has the thing got into the papers?" he asked. + +The doctor was a little surprised; it seemed a curious point for his +patient to take an interest in, but he was willing to indulge him. + +"It's early yet, but one of the _Courier_ people stopped me as I was +driving out and I gave him a few particulars. You can't hush the +matter up." + +"No," said Herbert. "You did quite right. Hadn't you better mention +exactly what's the matter with me?" + +"If I did, you wouldn't understand it," said the doctor, who generally +adopted a cheerful, half-humorous tone. "In plain English, you have +two ribs broken, besides a number of contusions, and I'm inclined to +suspect your nervous system has received a nasty shock." + +"And the cure?" + +"Complete rest, patience, and perhaps a change of scene when you're +able to get about." + +"That means I'll have to drop all active interest in my business for +some time?" + +"I'm afraid so; by and by we'll consider when you can resume it." + +It struck the doctor that Herbert was not displeased with the +information; and that seemed strange, considering that he was a busy, +energetic man. He lay silent a while with an undisturbed expression. + +"I wonder if you would write a telegram and a letter for me?" he asked +at length. + +"With pleasure, if you don't think you have talked enough. Can't you +wait until to-morrow?" + +"I'll feel easier when I've got it off my mind." + +The doctor thought this likely. He made a sign of acquiescence and +took out his notebook; and Herbert give him the rubber company's London +address and then dictated: + + +"_Regret I am incapacitated for business for indefinite period by motor +accident. If advisable appoint new director in my place before +shareholders' meeting, which cannot attend. Compelled to remain in +strict quietness_." + + +"You might send these people a short note," he added, "stating that I'm +submitting to your advice, and giving them a few particulars about my +injuries." + +"I'll be glad to do so." + +"Then there's only another thing. I'd like some notice of the accident +put into a leading London paper--it will explain my retirement to +people who would soon begin to wonder why I wasn't at my post." + +"It shall be attended to; but I scarcely think Mr. Phillips and his +motoring friend will appreciate the notoriety you will confer on them." + +Herbert smiled. + +"There's no reason why I should consider Phillips. If he will drive +furiously in the dark and run over people--this isn't his first +accident--he must take the consequences. But you can tell him, with my +compliments, that I'll let him off, if he'll be more cautious in +future. Now I feel that I'd like to rest or go to sleep again." + +The doctor went out somewhat puzzled--his patient seemed singularly +resigned to inaction and glad to escape from commercial affairs, +instead of chafing at his misfortune. After exchanging a few words +with Mrs. Lansing, he met Sylvia in the hall. + +"How is he this morning?" she asked. + +"Better than I expected, able to take an interest in things. I was +glad to find him so acquiescent--it isn't usual. He didn't seem +disturbed when he asked me to write a telegram expressing his +willingness to give up his director's post." + +He had not mentioned this matter to Mrs. Lansing. In several ways +Sylvia struck him as being the more capable woman, though this was not +the impression her appearance had upon the less practised observers. +She looked thoughtful at his news. + +"I suppose such a course is necessary," she remarked. + +"I believe it's advisable; that is, if there's any likelihood that his +duties will make much demand on him for some time to come." + +Sylvia changed the subject. + +"Have you any particular instructions?" + +"None beyond those I've given the nurse. Quietness is the great thing; +but it doesn't look as if he'll cause you much trouble." + +The prediction was justified. With the exception of a few complaints +about his physical discomfort, Herbert displayed an exemplary patience +and soon began to improve, for his recovery was assisted by the +tranquil state of his mind. The accident had happened at a very +opportune time: it furnished an excellent excuse for withdrawing from +an embarrassing situation and it would save his credit, if, as seemed +probable, difficulties shortly threatened the rubber company. It would +look as if any trouble that might fall upon the concern was the result +of his having been forced to relinquish control, and nobody could +rationally blame him for being run over. + +He was lying in a sunny room one afternoon when two gentlemen were +shown in. One was the caller with whom he had an interview in his +office before the accident. They inquired about his progress with +rather forced courtesy; and then one of them said: + +"We looked in on the doctor who wrote to us about your injury before we +came here, and he told us you were strong enough for a little quiet +conversation. We haven't appointed another director yet." + +"Then you had better do so," Herbert advised. + +"You mean to stick to your withdrawal? You're the only person who can +pull the company out of its difficulties." + +"Has it got into any difficulties?" Herbert inquired. "You see, I've +been compelled to give orders for all correspondence to be dealt with +at the London office, and I'm advised not to read the financial papers +or anything that might have a disturbing effect." + +The man who had not yet spoken betrayed some impatience. + +"We're up to the eyes in trouble, as you must have guessed. Have you +asked yourself what the body of the shareholders are likely to think?" + +"It's fairly obvious. They'll consider it a misfortune that I was +knocked over shortly before a critical time; possibly they'll attribute +everything unsatisfactory in the company's affairs to my not being in +charge." + +One of the visitors glanced meaningly at his companion. There was +truth in what Lansing said. The angry shareholders would not +discriminate carefully; they would blame the present directors, who +would have to face a serious loss while Lansing had made a profit. It +was a galling situation; and what made it worse was that Lansing's +expression hinted that he found it somewhat humorous. + +"The fact that you sold out so soon before the fall will have its +significance," said the first man. "The thing has a suspicious look." + +"I must risk a certain amount of misconception," Herbert replied +languidly. "I may as well point out that I still hold the shares +required as a director's qualification, which is all it was necessary +for me to do. Was it your intention to keep the stock you hold +permanently?" + +They could not answer him, and he smiled. + +"As a matter of fact, we all intended to sell off a good portion as +soon as the premium justified it; the only difference of opinion was +about the point it must reach, and that, of course, was a matter of +temperament. Well, I was lucky enough to get rid of part of my stock +at a profit; and there was nothing to prevent your doing the same. +Instead of that, you held on until the drop came; it was an imprudence +for which you can't blame me." + +"Our complaint is that you foresaw the fall and never said a word." + +"Granted. Why didn't you foresee it? You had the right of access to +all the information in my hands; you could inspect accounts in the +London office; I suppose you read the financial papers. It would have +been presumptuous if I'd recommended you to sell, and my forecast might +have proved incorrect. In that case you would have blamed me for +losing your money." + +This was incontestable. Though they knew he had betrayed them, +Lansing's position was too strong to be assailed. + +"You might have mentioned that you contemplated retiring from the +board," one remarked. "Then we would have known what to expect." + +"A little reflection will show the futility of your suggestion. How +could I contemplate being run over by a motor-car?" + +"Well," said the second man in a grim tone, "you can't deny the +accident was in some respects a fortunate one for you." + +"I'm doubtful whether you would have appreciated it, in my place. But +you don't seem to realize that I'm withdrawing from the board because +I'm incapacitated for the duties." + +Then the nurse, to whom Herbert had given a hint, came in; and he made +a sign of resignation, quite as though overpowered by regret. + +"I'm sorry I'm not allowed to talk very much yet. Will you have a +cigar and some refreshment before you leave?" + +His visitors rose, and one of them turned to him with a curious +expression. + +"No, thanks," he said pointedly. "Considering everything, I don't +think we'll give you the trouble." + +With a few conventional words they withdrew, and Herbert smiled at the +nurse. + +"I believe Dr. Ballin was most concerned about the injury to my +nerves," he said. "Have you noticed anything wrong with them?" + +"Not lately. They seem to be in a normal state." + +"That," said Herbert, "is my own opinion. You wouldn't imagine that I +had just finished a rather trying interview?" + +"No; you look more amused than upset." + +"There was something humorous in the situation; that's often the case +when you see greedy people wasting effort and ingenuity. Perhaps you +heard my visitors expressing their anxiety about my health, though I've +a suspicion that they felt more like wishing the car had made an end of +me." + +The nurse laughed and told him that he had better rest; and Herbert lay +back upon the cushions she arranged, with calm content. + +During the evening, Sylvia entered the room, dressed a little more +carefully than usual, and Herbert glanced at her with appreciation. + +"You look charming, though that's your normal state," he said. "Where +are you going?" + +"With Muriel, to dine with the Wests; have you forgotten? But I came +in because Muriel told me you had a letter from George by the last +post." + +"So you're still interested in his doings," Herbert rejoined. + +"Of course. Does that surprise you?" + +"I was beginning to think there was some risk of your forgetting him, +which, perhaps, wouldn't be altogether unnatural. He's a long way off, +which has often its effect, and there's no denying the fact that in +many respects you and he are different." + +"Doesn't the same thing apply to you and Muriel? Everybody knows you +get on excellently in spite of it." + +Herbert laughed. He was aware that his friends had wondered why he had +married Muriel, and suspected that some of them believed her money had +tempted him. Nevertheless, he made her an affectionate as well as a +considerate husband. In business matters he practised the easy +morality of a hungry beast of prey, but he had his virtues. + +"Yes," he said, "that's true. Do you find it encouraging?" + +Sylvia had felt a little angry, though she had known that it was seldom +wise to provoke her host. + +Without waiting for her answer he continued, half seriously: "There's +often one person who thinks better of us than we deserve, and I dare +say I'm fortunate in that respect. In such a case, one feels it an +obligation not to abuse that person's confidence." + +A slight flush crept into Sylvia's face. George believed in her and +she was very shabbily rewarding his trust. + +"I'm surprised to hear you moralizing. It's not a habit of yours," she +remarked. + +"No," said Herbert, pointedly; "though it may now and then make one +feel a little uncomfortable, it seldom does much good. But we were +talking about George. He tells me that winter's beginning unusually +soon; they've had what he calls a severe cold snap and the prairie's +deep with snow. He bought some more stock and young horses as an +offset to the bad harvest, and he's doubtful whether he has put up hay +enough. West and he are busy hauling stove-wood home from a bluff; and +he has had a little trouble with some shady characters as a result of +his taking part in a temperance campaign. I think that's all he has to +say." + +Sylvia broke into half-incredulous merriment. + +"It's hard to imagine George as a temperance reformer. Think of him, +making speeches!" + +"Speeches aren't much in George's line," Herbert admitted. "Still, in +one way, I wasn't greatly astonished at the news. He's just the man to +be drawn into difficulties he might avoid, provided that somebody could +convince him the thing needed doing." + +"Then you think he has been convinced?" + +"I can hardly imagine George's setting out on a work of the kind he +mentioned without some persuasion," said Herbert with a smile. "The +subject's not one he ever took much interest in, and he's by no means +original." + +Sylvia agreed with him, but she was silent a few moments, reclining in +an easy chair before the cheerful fire, while she glanced round the +room. It was comfortably furnished, warm, and brightly lighted; a +strong contrast to the lonely Canadian homestead to which her thoughts +wandered. She could recall the unpolished stove, filling the place +with its curious, unpleasant smell, and the icy draughts that eddied +about it. She could imagine the swish of driving snow about the +quivering wooden building when the dreaded blizzards raged; the +strange, oppressive silence when the prairie lay still in the grip of +the Arctic frost; and George coming in with half-frozen limbs and +snow-dust on his furs, to spend the dreary evening in trying to keep +warm. The picture her memory painted was vivid and it had a disturbing +effect. It was in her service that the man was toiling in western +Canada. + +"Well," she said, rising with some abruptness, "it's time we got off. +I'd better see if Muriel is ready." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +BLAND MAKES A SACRIFICE + +Sylvia was sitting by the hearth in Ethel West's drawing-room, her +neatly shod feet on the fender, her low chair on the fleecy rug, and +she made a very dainty and attractive picture. She felt the cold and +hated discomfort of any kind, though it was characteristic of her that +she generally succeeded in avoiding it. Ethel sat near by, watching +her with calmly curious eyes, for Sylvia was looking pensive. Mrs. +Lansing was talking to Stephen West on the opposite side of the large +room. + +"How is Edgar getting on?" Sylvia asked. "I suppose you hear from him +now and then." + +Ethel guessed where the question led and responded with blunt +directness. + +"Doesn't George write to you?" + +"Not often. Herbert has just got a letter, but there was very little +information in it; George is not a brilliant correspondent. I thought +Edgar might have written by the same mail." + +"As it happens, he did," said Ethel. "He describes the cold as fierce, +and gives some interesting details of his sensations when the warmth +first comes back to his half-frozen hands or limbs; then he adds a +vivid account of a blizzard that George and he nearly got lost in." + +"Things of that kind make an impression on a new-comer," Sylvia +languidly remarked. "One gets used to them after a while. Did he say +anything else?" + +"There was an enthusiastic description of a girl he has met; he +declares she's a paragon. This, of course, is nothing new, but it's a +little astonishing that he doesn't seem to contemplate making love to +her in his usual haphazard manner. She seems to have inspired him with +genuine respect." + +"I can't think of any girl who's likely to do so." + +"He gives her name--Flora Grant." + +Sylvia betrayed some interest. + +"I knew her--I suppose she is a little less impossible than the rest. +But go on." + +"One gathers that George is having an anxious time; Edgar goes into +some obscure details about crops and cattle-raising. Then he hints at +some exciting adventures they have had as a result of supporting a body +that's trying to close the hotels." + +This was what Sylvia had been leading up to. She agreed with Herbert +that it was most unlikely George would take any part in such +proceedings without some prompting, and she was curious to learn who +had influenced him. + +"There was a word or two in Herbert's letter to the same effect," she +said. "The thing strikes one as amusing. George, of course, does not +explain why he joined these people." + +A smile of rather malicious satisfaction crept into Ethel's eyes. +"According to Edgar, it was because his neighbors, the Grants, urged +it. The father of the girl he mentioned seems to be a leader in the +movement." + +Sylvia carefully suppressed any sign of the annoyance she felt. It +was, of course, impossible that George should be seriously attracted by +Flora, but his action implied that he and the Grants must be good +friends. No doubt, he met the girl every now and then, and they had +much in common. Sylvia did not mean to marry George; but it was +pleasant to feel that she could count on his devotion, and she resented +the idea of his falling under the influence of anybody else. She had +never thought of Flora as dangerous--George was so steadfast--but she +now realized that there might, perhaps, be some slight risk. A girl +situated as Flora was would, no doubt, make the most of her +opportunities. Sylvia grew somewhat angry; she felt she was being +badly treated. + +"After all," she said calmly, "I suppose there's no reason why George +shouldn't set up as a reformer if it pleases him. It must, however, be +rather a novelty for your brother." + +Ethel laughed. + +"I believe it's the excitement that has tempted him, Still, if George +is taking any active part in the matter, Edgar will probably find it +more than a light diversion." Then she changed the subject. "Did I +tell you that we expect Captain Bland to-night?" + +Sylvia started slightly. She was aware that Ethel took what could best +be described as an unsympathetic interest in her affairs, but the +sudden reference to Bland threw her off her guard. + +"No," she said. "Though you have met him, I didn't think you knew him +well." + +"I believe it's chiefly a business visit. Stephen, you know, has some +reputation as a commercial lawyer, and Bland couldn't arrange to see +him in town. Anyway, he should be here soon." + +Bland arrived half an hour later, but was unable to do more than shake +hands with Sylvia before West took him away to another room. It was +some time before they returned; and then West kept the party engaged in +general conversation until it broke up. + +"I'll walk down the road with you," he said to Mrs. Lansing, and +afterward turned to Bland. "How are you going to get back?" + +Bland said that the man who had driven him from the station was waiting +in the neighboring village, and when they left the house he walked on +with Sylvia, leaving Mrs. Lansing and West to follow. It was a clear +night, with a chill of frost in the air. A bright half-moon hung above +the shadowy hills, and the higher boughs of the bare trees cut in sharp +tracery against the sky. Dead leaves lay thick upon the road and here +and there a belt of mist trailed across a meadow. Sylvia, however, did +not respond when her companion said something about the charm of the +walk. + +"Why didn't you send me word you were coming?" she asked. + +"I didn't know until this morning, when I got a note from West, and I +must be back in time for tomorrow's parade. Besides, you told me at +the junction that I was not to be allowed to meet you again for some +time." + +Sylvia smiled at him. + +"Haven't you found out that you needn't take everything I say too +literally?" + +Bland stopped, pressing the hand on his arm. + +"Does that apply to all you said on the evening when we sat outside the +inn?" + +"No," answered Sylvia firmly. "It does not; please understand that. I +must stick to what I told you then." She paused, and they heard the +soft fall of approaching feet before she resumed with a laugh: "Go on, +if you don't want the others to think we are waiting for them." + +Bland obeyed, a little soothed, though he saw she was not yet ready to +allow a renewal of his pleading. Sylvia had obviously meant that she +wished to be left alone with him. + +"Why did you call on Stephen West?" she asked, presently. + +"I'd meant to tell you. But, first of all, is Lansing still connected +with the rubber company? West didn't seem very well informed upon the +point." + +"Neither am I," replied Sylvia thoughtfully. "I only know he hasn't +the large interest in it that he had." + +"Then I'll have to explain, because I don't know what to do. Lansing +gave me a tip to buy some shares, and when some friends said I'd got a +good thing, I went to him again. I must say he was pretty guarded, but +I got a hint and acted on it, with the result that I have dropped a +good deal of money. This," he added deprecatingly, "is not the kind of +thing I should talk to you about, but I was told that Lansing couldn't +receive any callers, and you'll see why you should know." + +"I'm beginning to understand." + +"Well," said Bland, "shortly after Lansing's accident, I wrote to the +secretary, asking some questions, and he doesn't seem to have been +cautious enough in his answer--I have it here. There has been trouble +about the company, and I attended a meeting of some disgusted people +who had put their money into it. They think they might get part of it +back by attacking the promoters, and I'm told that my letter would help +them materially." + +"Do you want to help them?" + +"In a way, it's natural," said Bland with signs of warmth. "I don't +see why those fellows should be allowed to get off after tricking +people out of the money they've painfully earned." + +"How much money have you ever earned?" + +Bland laughed. + +"You have me there; I haven't been able to buy shares out of my pay. +But I made a pot by taking long chances when I backed an outside horse. +It comes to much the same thing." + +"I don't think it does," said Sylvia, with a smile. "But it strikes me +that your explanation isn't quite complete." + +"I went to West, instead of to another lawyer, because I thought he +would be acquainted with Lansing's present position; but, while he +agreed that the letter might be valuable to the objectors, he couldn't +help me. The end of it is that I don't want to do anything that might +hurt Lansing." + +Sylvia reflected. She hardly thought his loss would seriously +embarrass Bland; she owed Herbert something and might need his aid, and +she did not wish any discredit to be cast upon a connection of hers. + +"Well," she said, "I believe Herbert is still to some extent connected +with the company; he can hardly have withdrawn altogether. Anyway, he +had a large interest in it, and I think its management was in his +hands. He might suffer, so to speak, retrospectively." + +"Yes," said Bland, "that didn't strike me. You're right; there's only +one course open." He took a paper from his pocket and handed it to +her. "Give that to Lansing, and tell him he may do what he thinks fit +with it." + +"You're very generous," said Sylvia, coloring as she took the letter. + +"I'm afraid I've behaved badly in not keeping the thing from you; but +you see how I was situated, and you'll have to forgive me." + +"That isn't difficult," Sylvia told him. + +They walked on in silence for a while; and then Bland looked around at +her. + +"There's a thing I must mention. I've had a hint to ask for a certain +post abroad. It is not a very desirable one in some respects, but the +pay's pretty good, and it would bring the man who took it under the +notice of people who arrange the better Government appointments. I +should have to stay out at least two years." + +Sylvia was startled, and annoyed. Now that the man owned her sway, she +did not mean to accede to his wishes too readily. Some obscure reason +made her shrink from definitely binding herself to him, but his +intimation had forced on something of the nature of a crisis. + +"Do you wish to go?" she asked. + +"No," he said hotly; "you know that." + +"Then," said Sylvia softly, "I think you had better stay at home." + +He stopped again and faced her. + +"You must tell me what you mean!" + +"It ought to be clear," she murmured, "Don't you think I should miss +you?" + +With restrained quietness he laid his hand on her shoulder. + +"You must listen for a minute, Sylvia. Up to the present, I've been +passed over by the authorities; but now I've been given my chance. If +I can hammer the raw native levies into shape and keep order along a +disturbed frontier, it will lead to something better. Now, I'm neither +a military genius nor altogether a careless idler--I believe I can do +this work; but, coming rather late, it has less attraction for me. +Well, I would let the chance slip, for one reason only; but if I'm to +go on continually repressing myself and only allowed to see you at long +intervals, I might as well go away. You must clearly understand on +what terms I remain." + +She made a little appealing gesture. + +"Yes," she said; "but you must wait and not press me too hard. I am so +fenced in by conventions; so many people's susceptibilities have to be +considered. I haven't a girl's liberty." + +Bland supposed this was as far as she ventured in allusion to her +widowed state; but, stirred as he was by her implied submission, it +struck him as significant that she should so clearly recognize the +restrictions conventionality imposed on her. + +"I think," he returned, "the two people who deserve most consideration +are you and myself." + +"Ah!" said Sylvia, "you deserve it most. You have been very +forbearing; you have done all I asked. That is why I know you will +bear with a little delay, when it's needful." + +He made a sign of reluctant assent; and then, to his annoyance, two +figures emerged from the shadow of the trees not far away. There was +nothing to do except to move on, but he thrilled at the slight, +grateful pressure of Sylvia's hand upon his arm. + +"My dear," he said, "I wish most devoutly that West or Mrs. Lansing had +been lame." + +Sylvia broke into a ripple of laughter, which somehow seemed to draw +them closer. At Herbert's gate they separated, and Bland walked on in +an exultant mood which was broken by fits of thoughtfulness. Sylvia +had tacitly pledged herself to him, but he was still her unacknowledged +lover and the position was irksome. Then he remembered her +collectedness, which had been rather marked, but he had learned that +emotion is more frequently concealed than forcibly expressed. +Moreover, he had never imagined that Sylvia was wholly free from +faults; he suspected that there was a vein of calculating coldness in +her, though it caused him no concern. Bland was a man of experience +who had acquired a good-humored toleration with the knowledge that one +must not expect too much from human nature. + +While Bland was being driven to the station, Sylvia entered the room +where Herbert lay, and handed him the letter. + +"Captain Bland came in during the evening to see Stephen and sent you +this," she said. "He told me you were to do what you thought fit with +it." + +Herbert perused the letter, and then reaching out with some difficulty, +flung it into the fire. + +"I've taken him at his word," he said. "Have you read the thing?" + +"No; I fear the details would have puzzled me; but I understand its +general import. How was it your secretary was so careless?" + +Herbert smiled. + +"The man's smart enough, as a rule; but we all have our weak moments. +This, however, is not the kind of thing that's likely to lead to his +advancement." He lay quiet for a moment or two; and then went on: "I'm +grateful to you. Had you much trouble in persuading Bland to let you +have the letter?" + +"No; he offered it voluntarily." + +"Then the man must have been desperately anxious to please you. It +looks as if his condition were getting serious." + +"I resent coarseness," exclaimed Sylvia. + +Herbert laughed. + +"Oh," he said, "you and I can face the truth. As West's a lawyer, +Bland's visit to him is, of course, significant; the man knew that +letter might have been worth something in hard cash to him, as well as +affording him the satisfaction of making things hot for the directors +of the company, among whom I was included. He would hardly have parted +with it unless he had a strong inducement." + +"His motives don't concern you," retorted Sylvia. + +"You ought to appreciate his action." + +"I appreciate it as sincerely as I do yours, because you must have +shown that you didn't want him to use the letter, though I'm inclined +to think your motives were rather mixed; one could scarcely expect them +all to be purely benevolent." + +Sylvia smiled. He was keen-witted and she found something amusing in +the ironical good-humor which often characterized him. + +"Anyhow," he continued, "you're a staunch and capable ally, and as that +gives you a claim on me, you won't find me reluctant to do my part +whenever the time comes." + +Then Mrs. Lansing came in, and on the whole Sylvia was glad of the +interruption. Herbert's remarks were now and then unpleasantly +suggestive. He had called her his ally, but she felt more like his +accomplice, which was much less flattering. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +AN OPPOSITION MOVE + +It was a wet and chilly night, and Singleton sat in an easy chair +beside the hearth in his city quarters with an old pipe in his hand. +The room was shabbily furnished, the hearthrug had a hole in it, the +carpet was threadbare, and Singleton's attire harmonized with his +surroundings, though the box of cigars and one or two bottles and +siphons on the table suggested that he expected visitors. The loose +Tuxedo jacket he had bought in America was marked by discolored +patches; his carpet slippers were dilapidated. His means, though long +restricted, would have warranted better accommodations; but his clothes +were comfortable and he did not think it worth while to put on anything +smarter. There was a vein of rather bitter pride in the man, and he +would not, out of deference to any other person's views, alter +conditions that suited him. + +A notebook lay beside him and several bulky treatises on botany were +scattered about, but he had ceased work and was thinking. After the +shadow and silence of the tropical bush, to which he was most +accustomed, the rattle of the traffic in the wet street below was +stimulating; but his reflections were not pleasant. He had waited +patiently for another invitation to Lansing's house, which had not +arrived, and a day or two ago he had met Sylvia Marston, upon whom his +mind had steadily dwelt, in a busy street. She had bowed to him +courteously, but she had made it clear that she did not expect him to +stop and speak. It had been a bitter moment to Singleton, but he had +calmly faced the truth. He had served his purpose, and he had been +dropped. Now, however, a letter from one of the people he was +expecting indicated that he might again be drawn into the +rubber-exploiting scheme. + +The two gentlemen who had called on Herbert were shown in presently. + +"It was I who wrote you," the first of them said; "this is my +colleague, Mr. Nevis." + +Singleton bowed. + +"Will you take that chair, Mr. Jackson?" He turned to the other man. +"I think you had better have this one; it's comparatively sound." + +He was aware that they were looking about his apartment curiously, and +no doubt inferring something from its condition; but this was of no +consequence. He had learned his value and meant to insist on it, +without the assistance of any signs of prosperity. + +"I couldn't get up to town, as you suggested," he resumed when they +were seated. "I've been rather busy of late." + +"That's generally the case with us," Jackson said pointedly. + +He was a thin man, very neatly and quietly dressed, with a solemn face +and an air of importance. Nevis was stouter and more florid, with a +brisker manner, but the stamp of the city was plainly set on both. + +"Well," said Singleton, "I'm at your service, now you're here. The +cigars are nearest you, Mr. Nevis, and I can recommend the contents of +the smaller bottle. It's a Southern speciality and rather difficult to +get in England." + +Nevis hesitated. He thought it better that the interview should be +conducted on strictly business lines, while to accept the proffered +hospitality would tend to place him and the man he wished to deal with +on a footing of social equality. But it was desirable not to offend +Singleton, and he lighted a cigar. + +"To begin with, I must ask if you are still in any way connected with +Mr. Lansing?" he said. + +"No," answered Singleton with some grimness. "You can take it for +granted that he has done with me." + +"That clears the ground. We have been considering the report you wrote +for him. In our opinion, it was, while not encouraging, hardly +sufficient to warrant his abandoning the project, in which, as you have +been told, we were associated with him." + +"He may have had other motives," Singleton suggested. + +Nevis nodded gravely, as if in appreciation of his keenness. + +"That," he said, "is what occurred to us. But what is your idea of the +scheme?" + +"It's clearly stated in the report." + +Jackson made a sign of impatience. + +"We'll leave the report out and come to the point. Can the rubber, +which you say is really to be found, be collected and brought down to +the coast without incurring a prohibitive expense?" + +"Yes," said Singleton. "But you must understand me. The methods +generally adopted in such cases would be bound to fail. You would +require an overseer with rather exceptional technical knowledge, who +must, besides this, be quite free from the usual prejudices on the +native question. They would, no doubt, be a little difficult to avoid, +since at first he would have to put up with a few attempts upon his +life; but, if he could combine resolution and strict justice with a +conciliatory attitude, the attempt would cease, and I think he could +earn you a fair return on a moderate outlay." + +Jackson laughed. + +"So far as my experience goes, such men are scarce. But I'd better say +that we had you in mind when we made this visit. Do you think you +could do anything, if we sent you out?" + +"Yes," said Singleton quietly; "I believe I could make the venture pay. +Whether I'd think it worth while is another matter." + +"Then," Nevis interposed, "it's simply a question of terms?" + +"Oh, no. You may be surprised to hear that payment is not the first +consideration; though it's true. I'm interested in certain +investigations which can be carried out only in the tropics. However, +you'd better make your offer." + +Nevis did so, and Singleton pondered for a few moments. + +"The remuneration might suffice, provided that I was given a percentage +on the product and one or two special allowances; but before going any +farther I must understand your intentions. I'm a botanist, and have no +wish to be made use of merely for the purpose of furthering some +stock-jobbing scheme. Do you really want this venture put upon a +satisfactory working footing?" + +"I'll explain," said Nevis. "The fact is, Lansing let us in rather +badly. We spent a good deal of money over this concession, and we're +anxious to get it back. Since we can't float the thing on the market +at present, we have formed a small private syndicate to develop the +property, though we may sell out in a year or two if you can make the +undertaking commercially successful. I think you could count on the +purchasers' continuing operations." + +"Have you considered what Lansing's attitude may be?" + +"It won't matter. He has gone out of the business, convinced that the +thing's no good; he cleared off most of his rubber shares, for a +similar reason. This raises another point--the original company's +possessions lie in the same region, though ruled by another state, and +things are going badly there. If you could get across and see what +could be done, we would pay an extra fee." + +Singleton lighted a cigar and leaned back in his chair with a +thoughtful expression, and for a minute or two they left him alone. +They were keen business men, but they knew that their usual methods +would not serve them with this shabbily-dressed, self-possessed +botanist. + +"Well," he said at length, "your suggestion rather appeals to me, but +there's the difficulty that another matter claims my attention. Though +it isn't strictly in my line, I've been asked to go out to Canada and +assist in the production of a variety of wheat that will ripen quickly; +in fact, I was looking up some information bearing on the matter when +you came in. It's a remarkably interesting subject." + +They were clever enough to see that this was not an attempt to enhance +the value of his services; the man was obviously a botanical +enthusiast, and Nevis showed signs of attention. He had once or twice +thought that something might be made out of Canadian land companies. + +"One could imagine that," he said. "I understand that it's a matter of +high importance." + +"The development of the whole northern portion of the prairie country +depends on the success of the experiments that are being made," +Singleton went on. "Their summers are hot but short; if they can get a +grain that ripens early, they can cultivate vast stretches of land that +are now, from economic reasons, uninhabitable, and it would make +farming a more prosperous business in other tracts. Crops growing in +the favored parts are occasionally frozen. It's a coincidence that a +day or two ago I got a letter inquiring about that kind of wheat from a +friend in Canada who is, as it happens, farming with a cousin of +Lansing's." Then he laughed. "All this, however, has nothing to do +with the object of your visit. Give me a few more minutes to think it +over." + +There was silence except for the rattle of wheels outside while he +smoked half a cigar; then he turned to his companions. + +"I'll go out and undertake your work. I believe you're acting wisely, +and that Lansing will be sorry after a while that he threw away his +interest in the scheme." + +They discussed the details of the project and then the business men +went away, satisfied. Shortly afterward Singleton took a letter out of +a paper rack, and when he had read it he leaned back in his chair, lost +in pleasant recollections. Some years earlier, he had by chance fallen +in with a lad named West when fishing among the Scottish hills. The +young man's sister and elder brother were staying with him at the +remote hotel in which Singleton had quarters, and somewhat to his +astonishment they soon made friends with him. + +Poverty had made him reserved; he knew that he was a little awkward and +unpolished, but the Wests had not attempted to patronize him. Their +cordiality set him at his ease; he liked the careless, good-humored +lad; Ethel West, grave-eyed, direct, and candid, made a strong +impression, and he had been drawn to the quiet lawyer who was much +older than either. They spent delightful days together on the lake and +among the hills; Singleton told them something about his studies and +ambitions, and in the evenings they persuaded him to sing. Ethel was a +musician and Singleton sang well. On leaving they had invited him to +visit them; but, partly from diffidence, Singleton had not gone, though +he knew these were not the people who took a man up when he could be of +service and afterward dropped him. + +Now he had received a letter from Edgar West, saying that he was +farming in western Canada and inquiring if Singleton could tell him +anything about the drought-resisting and quick-ripening properties of +certain varieties of wheat. The botanist was glad to place his +knowledge at his friend's disposal, and, taking up pen and paper, he +spent an hour on a treatise on the subject, which was to save Lansing +expense and trouble, and bring Singleton further communications from +Edgar. Then he smoked another pipe and went to bed; and a fortnight +later he sailed for the tropics. + +Shortly after he had gone, Herbert heard of his departure, and the +letter containing the news arrived on a cheerless afternoon during +which his doctor had visited him. After the doctor left, Herbert +entered the room where his wife and Sylvia were, and took his place in +an easy chair by a window. Outside, the lawn was covered with +half-melted snow and the trees raised naked, dripping branches above +the drooping shrubs. Farther back the hedgerows ran somberly across +the white fields, and in the distance the hills loomed, desolate and +gray, against a leaden sky. + +"Ballin says I'd better take it easy for some time yet," Herbert +informed his wife. "In fact, he recommends a trip abroad; Algiers or +Egypt, for preference." He indicated the dreary prospect outside the +window. "Though he didn't actually insist on my going, the idea's +attractive." + +"Could you leave your business?" Mrs. Lansing inquired. + +Herbert smiled. + +"Yes; I think so. I was doing pretty well when I got run over, and +things have since slackened down. My manager can look after them while +I am away." + +This was correct, so far as it went; but he had another reason for +deciding not to resume operations for a while. He suspected that his +recent conduct had excited distrust and indignation in certain +quarters, but this would, no doubt, blow over before his return. +People forgot, and he could avoid those whose confidence in him had +proved expensive, + +"If that's the case, we may as well get off as soon as it can be +arranged," said Mrs. Lansing. She turned to Sylvia. "Of course, you +will come with us." + +Sylvia hesitated. She believed her influence over Bland would not +weaken much in her absence; but, after all, it was wiser to run no +risk. Moreover, she would, to some extent, feel her separation from +the man. + +"I really don't know what I ought to do," she answered. "I might be a +restraint upon you--you can't want me always at hand; and I could spend +a month or two with Dorothy. She has several times told me to come." + +"You would be better with us," Mrs. Lansing rejoined with firmness; and +Sylvia suspected her of a wish to prevent her enjoying Bland's society. + +"I'll think it over," she said. + +After they had discussed the projected journey, Mrs. Lansing withdrew +on some domestic errand, and Herbert turned to Sylvia. + +"I needn't point out that you'll be no trouble to us, but perhaps I'd +better mention that I had a letter from George this post. As there's +very little to be done until the spring, he thinks of coming over. I +don't know how far that may affect your decision." + +Sylvia was a little startled, but she reflected rapidly. The house of +the relative she had thought of visiting would be open to George, as +would be one or two others in which she might stay a while. It was +most undesirable that he should encounter Bland, which would be likely +to happen. Then it struck her that Herbert might derive as little +satisfaction from his cousin's visit as it would afford her. + +"Have you succeeded in selling George's shares yet?" she asked, and +though this was, on the face of it, an abrupt change of subject, she +thought Herbert would follow the sequence of ideas. + +"No," he answered, with a smile of comprehension. "It was too late +when I was able to attend to things; they have dropped to such a price +that I'll have to keep them. I'm afraid it will be a blow to George, +and he's having trouble enough already with your farm; but, luckily, +some other shares I bought on his account show signs of a marked +improvement before long." + +Sylvia inferred from this that he had not informed his cousin of the +state of his affairs, and did not wish to see him until the improvement +mentioned, or some other favorable development, should mitigate the +shock of discovering what use Herbert had made of his powers. It was +clear that it rested with her to decide whether George made the visit +or not, because if she went to Egypt he would remain in Canada. But +she was not quite ready to give her companion an answer. + +"Did I tell you that I met Singleton a little while ago?" she said. "I +think he wished to speak, but I merely bowed. I was in a hurry, for +one thing." + +"It's the first I've heard of it, but you did quite right. Since he +was here, one or two of the other directors who tried to give me some +trouble have got hold of him. They have sent him out to see what can +be done with the rubber property." + +"Was that worth while?" + +"I shouldn't think so. It strikes me they're wasting their money." + +This was Herbert's firm belief, but his judgment while generally +accurate, had, in this instance, proved defective. He had failed +properly to estimate Singleton's capabilities. It was, however, +obvious to Sylvia that he had had no part in the undertaking, and had +abandoned his rubber schemes, which implied that George's loss would be +serious. There was no doubt that it would suit both Herbert and +herself better if George did not come back too soon. + +"Well," she said, "that is not a matter of any consequence to me. +After all, I think I'll go south with you and Muriel." + +Herbert had foreseen this decision. + +"It's the most suitable arrangement," he responded. "When I write, +I'll mention it to George." + +Sylvia went out a little later with a sense of guilt; she felt that in +removing the strongest inducement for George's visit she had betrayed +him. She was sorry for George, but she could not allow any +consideration for him to interfere with her ambitions. Then she +resolutely drove these thoughts away. The matter could be looked at in +a more pleasant light, and there were several good reasons for the +course she had adopted. + +Entering the library, she carefully wrote a little note to Captain +Bland, and then went in search of Mrs. Lansing. + +"I think I'll go over to Susan's for the week-end," she announced. "I +promised her another visit, and now I can explain that I'm going away +with you." + +Mrs. Lansing made no objection, and three or four days afterward Sylvia +met Bland at Mrs. Kettering's house. He arrived after her, and as +there were other guests, she had to wait a little while before she +could get a word with him alone. She was standing in the big hall, +which was unoccupied, rather late in the evening, when he came toward +her. + +"I thought I should never escape from Kettering; but he's safe for a +while, talking guns in the smoking-room," he said. + +Sylvia thought that they would be safe from interruption for a few +minutes, which would serve her purpose. + +"So you have managed to get here," she said. + +"Had you any doubt of my succeeding?" Bland asked reproachfully. +"Kettering once gave me a standing invitation, and, as it happens, +there's a famous horse dealer in this neighborhood with whom I've had +some business. That and the few Sunday trains formed a good excuse. +I, however, don't mind in the least if Mrs. Kettering attaches any +significance to the visit." + +Sylvia did not wish to arouse the suspicions of her hostess, but she +smiled. + +"I expected you, and I'm glad you came," she said. + +"That's very nice to hear." + +"Don't take too much for granted. Still, I thought I'd like to see +you, because I'm going to Egypt with Muriel for some time. Indeed, I +shall not be back until the spring." + +The man displayed dismayed surprise, and Sylvia waited for his answer +with some eagerness. She did not wish to enter into a formal +engagement--it was a little too early to make an announcement yet--but +she thought it wise to bind him in some degree before she left. + +"Until the spring?" he broke out. "You expect me to let you go?" + +"You must," said Sylvia firmly, and added in a softer voice, "I'm +rather sorry." + +He saw that he could not shake her decision. + +"Then we must have a clear understanding," he rejoined hotly. "You +know I want you--when is this waiting to end? Tell me now, and let me +tell all who care to hear, that you belong to me." + +Sylvia made a gesture of protest and coquettishly looked down. + +"You must still have patience," she murmured; "the time will soon pass." + +"And then?" he asked with eagerness. + +She glanced up at him shyly. + +"If you will ask me again when I come back, I will give you your +answer." + +She left him no reason for doubting what that answer would be; and, +stretching out his arms, he drew her strongly to him. In a minute or +two, however, Sylvia insisted on his returning to his host, and soon +afterward Mrs. Kettering came in to look for her. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +A BLIZZARD + +A bitter wind searched the poplar bluff where George and his hired man, +Grierson, were cutting fuel. Except in the river valleys, trees of any +size are scarce on the prairie, but the slender trunks and leafless +branches were closely massed and afforded a little shelter. Outside on +the open waste, the cold was almost too severe to face, and George once +or twice glanced anxiously across the snowy levels, looking for some +sign of Edgar, who should have joined them with the team and sledge. +It was, however, difficult to see far, because a gray dimness narrowed +in the horizon. George stood, dressed in snow-flecked furs, in the +center of a little clearing strewn with rows of fallen trunks from +which he was hewing off the branches. The work was hard; his whole +body strained with each stroke of the heavy ax, but it failed to keep +him warm, and the wind was growing more bitter with the approach of +night. + +"I don't know what can be keeping West," he said after a while. "We +haven't seen the mail-carrier either, and he's two hours late; but he +must have had a heavy trail all the way from the settlement. I expect +he'll cut out our place and make straight for Grant's. We'll have snow +before long." + +There was an empty shack not far away where, by George's consent, the +mail-carrier left letters when bad weather made it desirable to shorten +his round. + +Grierson nodded as he glanced about. The stretch of desolate white +prairie had contracted since he had last noticed it, the surrounding +dimness was creeping nearer in, and the ranks of poplar trunks were +losing their sharpness of form. Now that the men had ceased chopping, +they could hear the eerie moaning of the wind and the sharp patter of +icy snow-dust among the withered brush. + +"It will take him all his time to fetch Grant's; I wish Mr. West would +come before it gets dark," Grierson said with a shiver, and fell to +work again. + +Several minutes passed. George was thinking more about the +mail-carrier's movements than about Edgar's. The English letters +should have arrived, and he was anxiously wondering if there were any +for him. Then, as he stopped for breath, a dim moving blur grew out of +the prairie, and he flung down his ax. + +"Here's West; we'll have light enough to put up the load," he said. + +A little later Edgar led two powerful horses up the narrow trail, and +for a while the men worked hard, stacking the logs upon the sledge. +Then they set off at the best pace the team could make, and the cold +struck through them when they left the bluff. + +"Stinging, isn't it?" Edgar remarked. "I couldn't get over earlier; +Flett turned up, half frozen, and he kept me. Seems to have some +business in this neighborhood, though he didn't say what it is." + +George, walking through the snow to leeward of the loaded sledge, where +it was a little warmer, betrayed no interest in the news. Temperance +reform was languishing at Sage Butte and its leaders had received a +severe rebuff from the authorities. The police, who had arrested an +Indian suspected of conveying liquor to the reservation, had been no +more successful, for the man had been promptly acquitted. They had +afterward been kept busy investigating the matter of the shooting of +George's bull, which had recovered; but they had found no clue to the +offender, and nothing of importance had happened for some time. + +It had grown dark and the wind was rapidly increasing. Powdery snow +drove along before it, obscuring the men's sight and lashing their +tingling faces. At times the icy white haze whirled about them so +thick that they could scarcely see the blurred dark shape of the +sledge, but as they had hauled a good many loads of stovewood home, the +trail was plainly marked. It would be difficult to lose it unless deep +snow fell. With lowered heads and fur caps pulled well down, they +plodded on, until at length George stopped where the shadowy mass of a +bluff loomed up close in front of them. + +"I'll leave you here and make for the shack," he said. "I want to see +if there are any letters." + +"It's far too risky," Edgar pointed out. "You'll get lost as soon as +you leave the beaten trail." + +"I'll have the bluff for a guide, and it isn't far from the end of it +to the small ravine. After that I shouldn't have much trouble in +striking the fallow." + +"It's doubtful," Edgar persisted. "Let the letters wait until +to-morrow." + +"No," said George, resolutely. "I've waited a week already; the mail +is late. Besides, we'll have worse snow before morning." + +Seeing that he had made up his mind, Edgar raised no more objections, +and in another few moments George disappeared into a haze of driving +snow. When he left the trail he found walking more difficult than he +had expected, but though it was hard to see beyond a few yards, he had +the bluff to guide him and he kept along the edge of it until the trees +vanished suddenly. Then he stopped, buffeted by the wind, to gather +breath and fix clearly in his mind the salient features of the open +space that he must cross. + +If he could walk straight for half a mile, he would strike a small +hollow and by following it he would reach a tract of cultivated ground. +This, he thought, should be marked by the absence of the taller clumps +of grass and the short willow scrub which here and there broke through +the snow. There would then be a stretch of about two hundred acres to +cross before he found the little shack, whose owner had gone away to +work on the railroad during the winter. He expected to have some +trouble in reaching it, but he must get the letters, and he set off +again, breaking through the snow-crust in places, and trying to +estimate the time he took. + +A quarter of an hour passed and, as there was no sign of the ravine, he +began to wonder whether he had deviated much from his chosen line. In +another few minutes he was getting anxious; and then suddenly he +plunged knee-deep into yielding snow. It got deeper at the next step +and he knew that he had reached the shallow depression, which had been +almost filled up by the drifts. He must cross it, and the effort this +entailed left him gasping when he stopped again on the farther side. + +It was still possible to retrace his steps, because he could hardly +fail to strike the bluff he had left, but there was no doubt that to go +on would be perilous. If he missed the shack, he might wander about +the prairie until he sank down, exhausted; and after a day of fatiguing +labor he knew that he could not long face the wind and frost. There +was, however, every sign of a wild storm brewing; it might be several +days before he could secure the letters if he turned back, and such a +delay was not to be thought of. + +He went on, following the ravine where he could trace its course, which +was not always possible, until he decided that he must have reached the +neighborhood of the farm. There was, however, nothing to indicate that +he had done so. He could see only a few yards; the snow had all been +smooth and unbroken near the hollow, he could distinguish no difference +between any one part of it and the rest; and he recognized the risk he +took when he turned his back on his last guide and struggled forward +into the waste. + +Walking became more difficult, the wind was getting stronger, and there +was no sign of the shack. Perhaps he had gone too far to the south. +He inclined to the right, but that brought him to nothing that might +serve as a guide; there was only smooth snow and the white haze +whirling round him. He turned more to the right, growing desperately +afraid, stopped once or twice to ascertain by the way the snow drove +past whether he was wandering from his course, and plodded on again +savagely. At last something began to crackle beneath his feet. +Stooping down, he saw that it was stubble, and he became sensible of a +vast relief. He could not be more than a few minutes walk from the +shack. + +It was only three or four yards off when he saw it, and on entering he +had difficulty in closing the rickety door. Then, when he had taken +off his heavy mittens, it cost him some trouble to find and strike a +match with his half-frozen hands. Holding up the light, he glanced +eagerly at a shelf and saw the two letters he had expected; there was +no mistaking the writing and the English stamps. He thrust them safely +into a pocket beneath his furs when the match went out and struck +another, for his next step required consideration. + +The feeble radiance traveled round the little room, showing the rent, +board walls and the beams rough from the saw that supported the cedar +roofing shingles. A little snow had sifted in and lay on the floor; +there was a rusty stove at one end, but no lamp or fuel, and the hay +and blankets had been removed from the wooden bunk. Still, as George +was warmly clad and had space to move about, he could pass the night +there. The roar of the wind about the frail building rendered the +prospects of the return journey strongly discouraging. He might, +however, be detained all the next day by the snow; but what chiefly +urged him to face the risk of starting for the homestead was his +inability to read his letters. The sight of them had sent a thrill +through him, which had banished all sense of the stinging cold. He had +eagerly looked forward to a brief visit to the old country, and Sylvia +had, no doubt, bidden him come. It was delightful to picture her +welcome, and the evenings they would spend in Muriel Lansing's pretty +drawing-room while he told her what he had done and unfolded his plans +for the future. He could brook no avoidable delay in reading her +message, and, nerving himself for a struggle, he set out again. + +The shack vanished the moment he left it. The snow was thicker; and, +floundering heavily through the storm, George had almost given up the +attempt to find the ravine, when he fell violently into a clearer part +of it. Then he gathered courage, for the bluff was large and would be +difficult to miss; but it did not appear when he expected it. He was +breathless, nearly blinded, and on the verge of exhaustion, when he +crashed into a dwarf birch and, looking up half dazed, saw an +indistinct mass of larger trees. He had now a guide, but it was hard +to follow, with his strength fast falling and the savage wind buffeting +him. He had stopped a moment, gasping, when something emerged from the +driving snow. It was moving; it looked like a team with a sledge or +wagon, and he thought that his companions had come in search of him. +He cried out, but there was no answer, and though he tried to run, the +beasts vanished as strangely as they had appeared. + +They had, however, left their tracks, coming up from the south, where +the settlement lay, and this convinced him that they had not been +driven by Edgar or Grierson. He made an attempt to overtake them and, +falling, went on again, wondering a little who the strangers could be; +though this was not a matter of much consequence. If they had blankets +or driving-robes, they might pass the night without freezing in the +bluff, where there was fuel; but George was most clearly conscious of +the urgent need for his reaching the homestead before his strength gave +out. + +At last he struck the beaten trail which had fortunately not yet been +drifted up, and after keeping to it for a while he saw a faint twinkle +of light in front of him. A voice answered his shout and when he +stopped, keeping on his feet with difficulty and utterly worn out, a +team came up, blurred and indistinct, out of the driving snow. After +that somebody seized him and pushed him toward an empty sledge. + +"Get down out of the wind; here's the fur robe!" cried a voice he +recognized. "We came back as soon as we had thrown off the load." + +George remembered very little about the remainder of the journey, but +at last the sledge stopped where a warm glow of light shone out into +the snow. Getting up with some trouble he reached the homestead door +and walked heavily into the room where he sank, gasping, into a chair. +He felt faint and dizzy, he could scarcely breathe; but those +sensations grew less troublesome as he recovered from the violent +change of temperature. Throwing off his furs, he noticed that Flett +sat smoking near the stove. + +"Here's some coffee," said the constable. "It's pretty lucky Grierson +found you. I can't remember a worse night." + +George drank the coffee. He still felt heavy and partly dazed; his +mind was lethargic, and his hands and feet tingled painfully with the +returning warmth. He knew that there was something he ought to tell +Flett, but it was a few minutes before he could think clearly. + +"I met a team near the bluff and lost it again almost immediately," he +mumbled finally. + +Flett's face became intent. + +"Did the men who were with it see you? Which way were they going?" + +"No," said George sleepily. "Anyway, though I called I didn't get an +answer. I think they were going west." + +"And there's no homestead for several leagues, except Langside's shack. +They'll camp there sure." + +"I don't see why they shouldn't," George remarked with languid +indifference. + +"Hasn't it struck you why those fellows should be heading into waste +prairie on a night like this? Guess what they've got in the wagon's a +good enough reason. If the snow's not too bad, they'll pull out for +the Indian reservation soon as it's light to-morrow." + +"You think they have liquor with them?" asked George. + +Flett nodded and walked toward the door, and George felt the sudden +fall of temperature and heard the scream of the wind. In a minute or +two, however, the constable reappeared with Edgar. + +"I'd get them sure; they're in the shack right now," Flett declared. + +"You would never find it," Edgar remonstrated. "We had hard enough +work to strike the homestead, and we were on a beaten trail, which will +have drifted up since then. You'll have to drop the idea--it's quite +impossible." + +"It's blamed hard luck," grumbled Flett. "I may trail the fellows, but +I certainly won't get them with the liquor right in the wagon, as it +will be now, and without something of that kind it's mighty hard to +secure a conviction. I've no use for the average jury; what we want is +power to drop on to a man without any fuss or fooling and fix him so he +won't make more trouble." + +"It's fortunate you'll never get it," Edgar remarked. "I've a notion +it would be a dangerous thing to trust even a Northwest policeman with. +You're not all quite perfect yet." + +Then George, recovering from his lethargy, remembered the letters and +eagerly opened the one from Sylvia. It consisted of a few sentences in +which she carelessly told him that if he came over he would not see +her, as she was going to Egypt with Herbert and Muriel. The hint of +regret that her journey could not be put off looked merely +conventional, but she said he might make his visit in the early summer, +as she would have returned by then. + +George's face hardened as he read it, for the disappointment was +severe. He thought that Sylvia might have remembered that he could not +leave the farm after spring had begun. The man felt wounded and, for +once, inclined to bitterness. His optimistic faith, which idealized +its object, was bound to bring him suffering when dispelled by +disillusion; offering sincere homage to all that seemed most worthy, he +had not learned tolerance. Though his appreciation was quick and +generous, he must believe in what he admired, and it was, perhaps, a +misfortune that he was unable to recognize shortcomings with cynical +good-humor. He could distinguish white from black--the one stood for +spotless purity, the other was very dark indeed--but his somewhat +restricted vision took no account of the more common intermediate +shades. + +For all that, he was incapable of seriously blaming Sylvia. Her letter +had hurt him, but he began to make excuses for her, and several that +seemed satisfactory presented themselves; then, feeling a little +comforted, he opened the letter from Herbert with some anxiety. When +he read it, he let it drop upon the table and set his lips tight. His +cousin informed him that it would be most injudicious to raise any +money just then by selling shares, as he had been requested to do. +Those he had bought on George's account had depreciated in an +unexpected manner and the markets were stagnant. George, he said, must +carry on his farming operations as economically as possible, until the +turn came. + +"Bad news?" said Edgar sympathetically. + +"Yes. I'll have to cut out several plans I'd made for spring; in fact, +I don't quite see how I'm to go on working on a profitable scale. +We'll have to do without the extra bunch of stock I was calculating on; +and I'm not sure I can experiment with that quick-ripening wheat. +There are a number of other things we'll have to dispense with." + +"We'll pull through by some means," Edgar rejoined encouragingly, and +George got up. + +"I feel rather worn out," he said. "I think I'll go to sleep." + +He walked wearily from the room, crumpling up the letters he had risked +his life to secure. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +GRANT COMES TO THE RESCUE + +The storm had raged for twenty-four hours, but it had now passed, and +it was a calm night when a little party sat in George's living-room. +Outside, the white prairie lay still and silent under the Arctic frost, +but there was no breath of wind stirring and the room was comfortably +warm. A big stove glowed in the middle of it, and the atmosphere was +permeated with the smell of hot iron, stale tobacco, and the exudations +from resinous boards. + +Grant and his daughter had called when driving back from a distant +farm, and Trooper Flett had returned to the homestead after a futile +search for the liquor smugglers. He was not characterized by mental +brilliancy, but his persevering patience atoned for that, and his +superior officers considered him a sound and useful man. Sitting +lazily in an easy chair after a long day's ride in the nipping frost, +he discoursed upon the situation. + +"Things aren't looking good," he said. "We've had two cases of +cattle-killing in the last month, besides some horses missing, and a +railroad contractor knocked senseless with an empty bottle; and +nobody's locked up yet." + +"I don't think you have any reason to be proud of it," Edgar broke in. + +Flett spread out his hands in expostulation. + +"It's not our fault. I could put my hands on half a dozen men who're +at the bottom of the trouble; but what would be the use of that, when +the blamed jury would certainly let them off? In a case of this kind, +our system of justice is mighty apt to break down. It's a pet idea of +mine." + +"How would you propose to alter it?" Edgar asked, to lead him on. + +"If we must have a jury, I'd like to pick them, and they'd be men who'd +lost some stock. You could depend on them." + +"There's something to be said for that," Grant admitted with a dry +smile. + +"This is how we're fixed," Flett went on. "We're up against a small, +but mighty smart, hard crowd; we know them all right, but we can't get +after them. You must make good all you say in court, and we can't get +folks to help us. They'd rather mind the store, have a game of pool, +or chop their cordwood." + +"I can think of a few exceptions," Edgar said. "Mrs. Nelson, for +example. One could hardly consider her apathetic." + +"That woman's dangerous! When we were working up things against +Beamish, she must make him look like a persecuted victim. She goes too +far; the others won't go far enough. Guess they're afraid of getting +hurt." + +"You couldn't say that of Mr. Hardie," Flora objected. + +"No. But some of his people would like to fire him, and he's going to +have trouble about his pay. Anyhow, this state of things is pretty +hard on us. There's no use in bringing a man up when you've only got +unwilling witnesses." + +"What you want is a dramatic conviction," said Edgar sympathetically. + +"Sure. It's what we're working for, and we'd get it if everybody +backed us up as your partner and Mr. Grant are doing." He turned to +George. "My coming back here is a little rough on you." + +George smiled. + +"I dare say it will be understood by the opposition, but I don't mind. +It looks as if I were a marked man already." + +A few minutes later Flett went out to attend to his horse; George took +Grant into a smaller room which he used for an office; and Edgar and +Flora were left alone. The girl sat beside the stove, with a +thoughtful air, and Edgar waited for her to speak. Flora inspired him +with an admiration which was largely tinged with respect, though, being +critical, he sometimes speculated about the cause for this. She was +pretty, but her style of beauty was rather severe. She had fine eyes +and clearly-cut features, but her face was a little too reposeful and +her expression usually somewhat grave; he preferred animation and a +dash of coquetry. Her conversation was to the point--she had a way of +getting at the truth of a matter--but there was nevertheless a certain +reserve in it and he thought it might have been more sparkling. He had +discovered some time ago that adroit flattery and hints that his +devotion was hers to command only afforded her calm amusement. + +"Mr. Lansing looks a little worried," she said at length. + +"It strikes me as only natural," Edgar replied, "He has had a steer +killed since the rustlers shot the bull; we have foiled one or two more +attempts only by keeping a good lookout, and he knows that he lies open +to any new attack that may be made on him. His position isn't what you +could call comfortable." + +"I hardly think that would disturb your comrade very much." + +Edgar saw that she would not be put off with an inadequate explanation, +and he was a little surprised that she did not seem to mind displaying +her interest in George. + +"Then," he said, "for another thing, he's disappointed about having to +give up an English visit he had looked forward to." + +He saw a gleam that suggested comprehension in her eyes. + +"You mean that he is badly disappointed?" + +"Yes," said Edgar; "I really think he is." + +He left her to make what she liked of this, and he imagined that there +was something to be inferred from it. He thought it might be wise to +give her a hint that George's affections were already engaged. + +"Besides," he resumed, "it's no secret that the loss of his harvest hit +him pretty hard. We'll have to curtail our spring operation in several +ways and study economy." + +Flora glanced toward the door of the room her father had entered with +George. Edgar thought she had done so unconsciously; but it was +somewhat suggestive, though he could not see what it implied. + +"Well," she said, "I'm inclined to believe that he'll get over his +difficulties." + +"So am I," Edgar agreed. "George isn't easy to defeat." + +In the meanwhile Grant sat in the next room, smoking thoughtfully and +asking George rather direct questions about his farming. + +"I've made some inquiries about that new wheat your English botanist +friend reported on," he said at length. "Our experimental farm people +strongly recommend it, and there's a man I wrote to who can't say +enough in its favor. You'll sow it this spring?" + +"I'm afraid I'll have to stick to the common kinds," George said +gloomily. "I've a pretty big acreage to crop and that special seed is +remarkably dear." + +"That's so," Grant agreed. "As a matter of fact, they haven't quite +made their arrangements for putting it on the market yet, and the +surest way to get some is to bid for a round lot. After what I'd +heard, I wired a Winnipeg agent and he has promised to send me on what +looks like more than I can use. Now I'll be glad to let you have as +much as you want for your lightest land." + +George felt grateful. He did not think that this methodical man had +made any careless mistake over his order; but he hesitated. + +"Thanks," he said. "Still, it doesn't get over the main difficulty." + +"I guess it does. You would have had to pay money down for the seed, +and I'll be glad to let the thing stand over until you have thrashed +out. The price doesn't count; you can give me back as many bushels as +you get." + +"Then," said George with a slight flush, "you're more generous than +wise. They haven't produced a wheat yet that will stand drought and +hail. Suppose I have another year like last? I'm sorry I can't let +you run this risk." + +"We'll quit pretending. I owe a little to the country that has made me +what I am, and these new hardy wheats are going to play a big part in +its development. I want to see them tried on the poorest land." + +"That's a good reason. I believe it goes some way, but I hardly think +it accounts for everything." + +His companion looked at him with fixed directness. + +"Then, if you must be satisfied, you're my neighbor; you have had +blamed hard luck and I like the way you're standing up to it. If +anybody's on meaner soil than yours I want to see it. Anyway, here's +the seed; take what you need, pay me back when you're able. Guess +you're not too proud to take a favor that's gladly offered." + +"I'd be a most ungrateful brute if I refused," George replied with +feeling. + +"That's done with," Grant said firmly; and soon afterward he and George +returned to the other room. + +After a while he went out with Edgar to look at a horse, and George +turned to Flora. + +"Your father has taken a big weight off my mind, and I'm afraid I +hardly thanked him," he said. + +"Then it was a relief?" she asked, and it failed to strike him as +curious that she seemed to know what he was alluding to. + +"Yes," he declared; "I feel ever so much more confident now that I can +get that seed. The fact that it was offered somehow encouraged me." + +"You never expected anything of the kind? I've sometimes thought +you're apt to stand too much alone. You don't attach enough importance +to your friends." + +"Perhaps not," admitted George. "I've been very wrong in this +instance; but I suppose one naturally prefers to hide one's +difficulties." + +"I don't think the feeling's universal. But you would, no doubt, be +more inclined to help other people out of their troubles." + +George looked a little embarrassed, and she changed the subject with a +laugh. + +"Come and see us when you can find the time. On the last occasion, you +sent your partner over." + +"I'd made an appointment with an implement man when I got your father's +note. Anyway, I should have fancied that Edgar would have made a +pretty good substitute." + +"Mr. West is a favorite of ours; he's amusing and excellent company, as +far as he goes." + +Her tone conveyed a hint that Edgar had his limitations and he was not +an altogether satisfactory exchange for his partner; but George laughed. + +"He now and then goes farther than I would care to venture." + +Flora looked at him with faint amusement. + +"Yes," she said. "That's one of the differences between you; you're +not assertive. It has struck me that you don't always realize your +value." + +"Would you like one to insist on it?" + +"Oh," she said, "there's a happy medium; but I'm getting rather +personal, and I hear the others coming." + +She drove away a little later, and when Flett had gone to bed George +and Edgar sat talking a while beside the stove. + +"Grant's a staunch friend, and I'm more impressed with Flora every time +I see her," said the lad. "She's pleasant to talk to, she can harness +and handle a team with any one; but for all that, you recognize a trace +of what I can only call the grand manner in her. Though I understand +that she has been to the old country, it's rather hard to see how she +got it." + +George signified agreement. Miss Grant was undoubtedly characterized +by a certain grace and now and then by an elusive hint of stateliness. +It was a thing quite apart from self-assertion; a gracious quality, +which he had hitherto noticed only in the bearing of a few elderly +English ladies of station. + +"I suppose you thanked her for that seed?" Edgar resumed. + +"I said I was grateful to her father." + +"I've no doubt you took the trouble to mark the distinction. It might +have been more considerate if you had divided your gratitude." + +"What do you mean?" + +"It's hardly likely that the idea of helping you in that particular way +originated with Alan Grant, though I shouldn't be surprised if he had +been allowed to think it did." + +George looked surprised and Edgar laughed. + +"You needn't mind. It's most improbable that Miss Grant either wished +or expected you to understand. She's a very intelligent young lady." + +"It strikes me that you talk too much," George said severely. + +He went out, feeling a little disturbed by what Edgar had told him, but +unable to analyze his sensations. Putting on his furs, he proceeded to +look around the stable, as he had fallen into a habit of doing before +he went to rest. There was a clear moon in the sky, and although the +black shadow of the buildings stretched out across the snow, George on +approaching one noticed a few footprints that led toward it. There +were numerous other tracks about, but he thought that those he was +looking at had been made since he had last entered the house. This, +however, did not surprise him, for Flett had recently visited the +stable. + +On entering the building, George stopped to feel for a lantern which +was kept on a shelf near the door. The place was very dark and +pleasantly warm by contrast with the bitter frost outside, and he could +smell the peppermint in the prairie hay. Familiar sounds reached +him--the soft rattle of a shaking rope, the crackle of crushed +straw--but they were rather more numerous than usual, and while he +listened one or two of the horses began to move restlessly. + +The lantern was not to be found; George wondered whether Flett had +carelessly forgotten to replace it. He felt his way from stall to +stall, letting his hand fall on the hind quarters of the horses as he +passed. They were all in their places, including Flett's gray, which +lashed out at him when he touched it; there was nothing to excite +suspicion, but when he reached the end of the row he determined to +strike a match and look for the lantern. He was some time feeling for +the match-box under his furs, and while he did so he heard a soft +rustling in the stall nearest the door. This was curious, for the +stall, being a cold one, was unoccupied, and there was something +significantly stealthy in the sound; but it ceased, and while he +listened with strained attention a horse moved and snorted. Then, +while he fumbled impatiently at a button of his skin coat which would +not come loose, an icy draught stole into the building. + +It was obvious that the door was open; he had left it shut. + +Breaking off his search for the matches, he made toward the entrance +and sprang out. There was nobody upon the moonlit snow, and the +shadows were hardly deep enough to conceal a lurking man. He ran +toward the end of the rather long building; but, as it happened, he had +to make a round to avoid a stack of wood and a wagon on the way. When +he turned the corner, the other side of the stable was clear in the +moonlight and, so far as he could see, the snow about it was untrodden. +It looked as if he had made for the wrong end of the building, and he +retraced his steps toward a barn that stood near its opposite +extremity. Running around it, he saw nobody, nor any footprints that +seemed to have been recently made; and while he stood wondering what he +should do next, Grierson appeared between him and the house. + +"Were you in the stables a minute or two ago?" George called to him, + +"No," said the other approaching. "I'd just come out for some wood +when I saw you run round the barn." + +George gave him a brief explanation, and the man looked about. + +"Perhaps we'd better search the buildings; if there was any stranger +prowling round, he might have dodged you in the shadow. It's hardly +likely he'd make for the prairie; the first clump of brush big enough +to hide a man is a quarter of a mile off." + +They set about the search, but found nobody, and George stopped outside +the last building with a puzzled frown on his face. + +"It's very strange," he said. "I left the door shut; I couldn't be +mistaken." + +"Look!" cried Grierson, clutching his arm. "There's no mistaking about +that!" + +Turning sharply, George saw a dim mounted figure cross the crest of a +low rise some distance away and vanish beyond it. + +"The fellow must have run straight for the poplar scrub, keeping the +house between you and him," Grierson explained. "He'd have left his +horse among the brush." + +"I suppose that was it," George said angrily. "As there's no chance of +overtaking him, we'll have a look at the horses, with a light, and then +let Flett know." + +There was nothing wrong in the stable, where they found the lantern +George had looked for flung down in the empty stall, and in a very +short space of time after they had called him Flett appeared. He +walked round the buildings and examined some of the footprints with a +light, and then he turned to George. + +"Looks like an Indian by his stride," he said. "Guess I'll have to +saddle up and start." + +"You could hardly come up with the fellow; he'll have struck into one +of the beaten trails, so as to leave no tracks," Edgar pointed out. + +"That's so," said Flett. "I don't want to come up with him. It +wouldn't be any use when your partner and Grierson couldn't swear to +the man." + +"What could have been his object?" George asked. "He seems to have +done no harm." + +"He wanted to see if my gray was still in the stable," Flett said +dryly. "His friends have some business they'd sooner I didn't butt +into fixed up somewhere else." + +"But you have no idea where?" + +"I haven't; that's the trouble. There are three or four different +trails I'd like to watch, and I quite expect to strike the wrong one. +Then, if the man knows you saw him, he might take his friends warning +to change their plans. All the same, I'll get off." + +He rode away shortly afterward, and as the others went back toward the +house Edgar laughed. + +"I don't think being a police trooper has many attractions in winter," +he remarked. "Hiding in a bluff for several hours with the temperature +forty degrees below, on the lookout for fellows who have probably gone +another way, strikes me as a very unpleasant occupation." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE SPREAD OF DISORDER + +Flett spent a bitter night, keeping an unavailing watch among the +willows where a lonely trail dipped into a ravine. Not a sound broke +the stillness of the white prairie, and realizing that the men he +wished to surprise had taken another path, he left his hiding-place +shortly before daylight. He was almost too cold and stiff to mount; +but as his hands and feet tingled painfully, it was evident that they +had escaped frostbite, and that was something to be thankful for. + +Reaching an outlying farm, he breakfasted and rested a while, after +which he rode on to the Indian reservation, where he found signs of +recent trouble. A man to whom he was at first refused access lay with +a badly battered face in a shack which stood beside a few acres of +roughly broken land; another man suffering from what looked like an ax +wound sat huddled in dirty blankets in a teepee. It was obvious that a +fight, which Flett suspected was the result of a drunken orgy, had been +in progress not long before; but he could find no liquor nor any man +actually under its influence, though the appearance of several +suggested that they were recovering from a debauch. He discovered, +however, in a poplar thicket the hide of a steer, from which a recent +breeze had swept its covering of snow. This was a serious matter, and +though the brand had been removed, Flett identified the skin as having +belonged to an animal reported to him as missing. + +He had now, when dusk was approaching, two charges of assault and one +of cattle-killing to make, and it would not be prudent to remain upon +the reservation during the night with anybody he arrested. The Indians +were in a sullen, threatening mood; it was difficult to extract any +information, and Flett was alone. He was, however, not to be daunted +by angry looks or ominous mutterings, and by persistently questioning +the injured men he learned enough to warrant his making two arrests; +though he decided that the matter of the hide must be dropped for the +present. + +It was in a state of nervous tension that he mounted and drove his +prisoners on a few paces in front of him. If he could get them into +the open, he thought he would be safe, but the reservation was, for the +most part, a tract of brush and bluff, pierced by ravines, among which +he half expected an attempt would be made to facilitate their escape. +For all that, he was, so far as appearances went, very calm and grim +when he set out, and his prisoners, being ahead, did not notice that he +searched each taller patch of brush they entered with apprehensive +glances. Nor did they see his hand drop to his pistol-butt when +something moved in the bushes as they went down the side of a dark +declivity. + +There was, however, no interference, and he felt more confident when he +rode out into the moonlight which flooded the glittering prairie. Here +he could deal with any unfavorable developments; but it was several +leagues to the nearest shelter, and the Indians did not seem inclined +to travel fast. The half-frozen constable would gladly have walked, +only that he felt more master of the situation upon his horse. Mile +after mile, they crossed the vast white waste, without a word being +spoken, except when the shivering man sternly bade his prisoners, "Get +on!" + +Hand-cuffed as they were, he dare not relax his vigilance nor let them +fall back too near him; and he had spent the previous night in the +bitter frost. At times he felt painfully drowsy, but he had learned to +overcome most bodily weaknesses, and his eyes only left the dark, +plodding figures in front of him when he swept a searching glance +across the plain. Nothing moved on it, and only the soft crunch of +snow broke the dreary silence. At last, a cluster of low buildings +rose out of the waste, and soon afterward Flett got down with +difficulty and demanded shelter. The rudely awakened farmer gave him +the use of his kitchen, in which a stove was burning; and while the +Indians went to sleep on the floor, Flett, choosing an uncomfortable +upright chair, lighted his pipe and sat down to keep another vigil. +When dawn broke, his eyes were still open, though his face was a little +haggard and very weary. + +He obtained a conviction for assault; but, as the charges of +cattle-killing and being in possession of liquor had to be dropped, +this was small consolation. It left the men he considered responsible +absolutely untouched. + +Afterward, he played a part in other somewhat similar affairs, for +offenses were rapidly becoming more numerous among both Indians and +mean whites; but in spite of his efforts the gang he suspected managed +to evade the grip of the law. Flett, however, was far from despairing; +he waited his time and watched. + +While he did so, spring came, unusually early. A warm west wind swept +the snow away and for a week or two the softened prairie was almost +impassable to vehicles. Then the wind veered to the northwest with +bright sunshine, the soil began to dry, and George set out on a visit +to Brandon where he had some business to transact. + +Reaching Sage Butte in the afternoon, he found it suffering from the +effects of the thaw. A swollen creek had converted the ground on one +side of the track into a shallow lake; the front street resembled a +muskeg, furrowed deep by sinking wheels. The vehicles outside the +hotels were covered with sticky mire; the high, plank sidewalks were +slippery with it, and foot passengers when forced to leave them sank +far up their long boots; one or two of the stores were almost cut off +by the pools. It rained between gleams of sunshine, and masses of dark +cloud rolled by above the dripping town and wet prairie, which had +turned a dingy gray. + +As he was proceeding along one sidewalk, George met Hardie, and it +struck him that the man was looking dejected and worn. + +"Will you come back with me and wait for supper?" he asked. "I'd be +glad of a talk." + +"I think not," said George. "You're on the far side of the town and +there are two streets to cross; you see, I'm going to Brandon, and I'll +take enough gumbo into the cars with me, as it is. Then my train +leaves in half an hour. I suppose I mustn't ask you to come into the +Queen's?" + +"No," said the clergyman. "Our old guard won't tolerate the smallest +compromise with the enemy, and there's a good deal to be said for their +point of view. After all, half-measures have seldom much result; a man +must be one thing or another. But we might try the new waiting-room at +the station." + +The little room proved to be dry and comparatively clean, besides being +furnished with nicely made and comfortable seats. Leaning back in one +near the stove, George turned to his companion. + +"How are things going round here?" he asked. + +"Very much as I expected; we tried and failed to apply a check in time, +and of late we have had a regular outbreak of lawlessness. At first +sight, it's curious, considering that three-fourths of the inhabitants +of the district are steady, industrious folk, and a proportion of the +rest are capable of being useful citizens." + +"Then how do you account for the disorder?" + +Hardie looked thoughtful. + +"I suppose we all have a tendency to follow a lead, which is often +useful in an organized state of society; though it depends on the lead. +By way of counter-balance, we have a certain impatience of restraint. +Granting this, you can see that when the general tone of a place is one +of sobriety and order, people who have not much love for either find it +more or less easy to conform. But, if you set them a different +example, one that slackens restrictions instead of imposing them, +they'll follow it, and it somehow seems to be the rule that the +turbulent element exerts the stronger influence. Anyway, it becomes +the more prominent. You hear of the fellow who steals a horse in a +daring manner; the man who quietly goes on with his plowing excites no +notice." + +"One must agree with that," George replied. "Popular feeling's fickle; +a constant standard is needed to adjust it by." + +Hardie smiled. + +"It was given us long ago. But I can't believe that there's much +general sympathy with these troublesome fellows. What I complain of is +popular apathy; nobody feels it his business to interfere; though this +state of things can't continue. The patience of respectable people +will wear out; and then one can look for drastic developments." + +"In the meanwhile, the other crowd are having their fling." + +Hardie nodded. + +"That's unfortunately true, though the lawbreakers have now and then +come off second-best. A few days ago, Wilkie, the station-agent, was +sitting in his office when a man who had some grievance against the +railroad walked up to the window. Wilkie told him he must send his +claim to Winnipeg, and the fellow retorted that he would have +satisfaction right away out of the agent's hide. With that, he climbed +in through the window; and I must confess to a feeling of satisfaction +when I heard that he left the station in need of medical assistance. A +week earlier, Taunton, of the store, was walking home along the track +in the dark after collecting some of his accounts, when a man jumped +out from behind a stock of ties with a pistol and demanded his wallet. +Taunton, taken by surprise, produced a wad of bills, but the thief was +a little too eager or careless in seizing them, for Taunton grabbed the +pistol and got his money back. After that, he marched the man three +miles along the track and into his store. I don't know what happened +then, but I heard that there were traces of a pretty lively scuffle." + +George laughed, but his companion continued more gravely: + +"Then we have had a number of small disturbances when the men from the +new link line came into town--they've graded the track to within a few +miles now--and I hold Beamish responsible; they haven't encouraged +these fellows at the Queen's. In fact, I mean to walk over and try to +get a few words with them as soon as I leave you." + +"One would hardly think Saturday evening a very good time," George +commented. + +His train came in shortly afterward, and when it had gone Hardie went +home for a rubber coat, and then took the trail leading out of the +settlement. He was forced to trudge through the tangled grass beside +it because the soft gumbo soil stuck to his boots in great black lumps, +and the patches of dwarf brush through which he must smash made +progress laborious. After a while, however, he saw a long trail of +black smoke ahead, and sounds of distant activity grew steadily louder. + +There was an angry red glare on the western horizon, though the light +was beginning to fade, when he reached the end of the new line and +found a crowd of men distributing piles of gravel and spiking down the +rails which ran back, gleaming in the sunset, lurid, straight and +level, across the expanse of grass, until they were lost in the shadowy +mass of a bluff. Near the men stood a few jaded teams and miry wagons; +farther on a row of freight-cars occupied a side-track, a little smoke +rising from the stacks on the roofs of one or two. Their doors were +open, and on passing, Hardie noticed the dirty blue blankets and the +litter of wet clothing in the rude bunks. As he approached the last +car, which served as store and office, a man sprang down upon the line. +He wore wet long boots and an old rubber coat stained with soil, but +there was a stamp of authority upon his bronzed face. + +"How are you getting on, Mr. Farren?" Hardie inquired. + +"Slowly," said the other; "can't catch up on schedule contract time. +We've had rain and heavy soil ever since we began. The boys have been +giving me some trouble, too." + +"You won't mind my having a few words with them?" + +"Why, no," said Farren. "Guess they need it; but I'm most afraid +you'll be wasting time. The Scandinavians, who're quiet enough and +might agree with you, can't understand, and it's quite likely that the +crowd you want to get at won't listen. Anyway, you can try it after +they've dubbed the load off the gravel train; she's coming now." + +He pointed toward a smear of smoke that trailed away across the +prairie. It grew rapidly blacker and nearer, and presently a grimy +locomotive with a long string of clattering cars behind it came down +the uneven track. It had hardly stopped when the sides of the low cars +dropped, and a plow moved forward from one to another, hurling off +masses of gravel that fell with a roar. Then the train, backing out, +came to a standstill again, and a swarm of men became busy about the +line. Dusk was falling, but the blaze of the great electric light on +the locomotive streamed along the track. While Hardie stood watching, +half a dozen men dropped their tools and walked up to his companion. + +"We're through with our lot," announced one. "We're going to the Butte +and we'll trouble you for a sub of two dollars a man." + +"You won't get it," said Farren shortly. "I want the ties laid on the +next load." + +"Then you can send somebody else to fix them. We're doing more than we +booked for." + +"You're getting paid for it." + +"Shucks!" said the other contemptuously. "What we want is an evening +at the Butte; and we're going to have it! Hand over the two dollars." + +"No, sir," said Farren. "I've given in once or twice and I've got no +work out of you for most two days afterward. You can quit tie-laying, +if you insist; but you'll get no money until pay-day." + +One of the men pulled out his watch. + +"Boys," he said, "if we stop here talking, there won't be much time +left for a jag when we make the Butte. Are you going to let him bluff +you?" + +The growl from the others was ominous. They had been working long +hours at high pressure in the rain, and had suffered in temper. One of +them strode forward and grasped Farren's shoulder. + +"Now," he demanded, "hand out! It's our money." + +There was only one course open to Farren. His position was not an easy +one, and if he yielded, his authority would be gone. + +His left arm shot out and the man went down with a crash. Then the +others closed with him and a savage struggle began. + +Hardie laid hold of a man who had picked up an iron bar, and managed to +wrest it from him, but another struck him violently on the head, and he +had a very indistinct idea of what went on during the next minute or +two. There was a struggling knot of men pressed against the side of +the car, but it broke up when more figures came running up and one man +cried out sharply as he was struck by a heavy lump of gravel. Then +Hardie found himself kneeling beside Farren, who lay senseless near the +wheels with the blood running down his set white face. Behind him +stood the panting locomotive engineer, trying to hold back the growing +crowd. + +"Looks pretty bad," he said. "What's to be done with him?" + +"We had better get him into his bunk," directed Hardie. "Then I'll +make for the Butte as fast as I can and bring the doctor out." + +"It would take two hours," objected the engineer, as he gently removed +Farren's hat. "Strikes me as a mighty ugly gash; the thing must be +looked to right away. If I let her go, throttle wide, we ought to make +Carson in half an hour, and they've a smart doctor there." He said +something to his fireman and added: "Get hold; we'll take him along." + +It looked as if the outbreak had not met with general approval, for a +number of the bystanders offered their help and the injured man was +carefully carried to the locomotive. + +"I'll run the cars along as far as the gravel pit; then I can book the +journey," the engineer said to Hardie. "But as I can't get off at the +other end, you'll have to come along." + +Hardie wondered how he would get back, but that was not a matter of +great consequence, though he had to preach at Sage Butte in the +morning, and he climbed up when Farren had been lifted into the cab. +Then he sat down on the floor plates and rested the unconscious man's +head and shoulders against his knees as the engine began to rock +furiously. Nothing was said for a while; the uproar made by the +banging cars would have rendered speech inaudible, but when they had +been left behind, the engineer looked at Hardie. + +"In a general way, it's not the thing to interfere in a row with a +boss," he said. "Still, four to two, with two more watching out for a +chance to butt in, is pretty steep odds, and Farren's a straight man. +I felt quite good when I hit one of those fellows with a big lump of +gravel." + +Hardie could understand his sensations and did not rebuke him. So far +as his experience went, the western locomotive crews were of an +excellent type, and he was willing to admit that there were occasions +when the indignation of an honest man might be expressed in vigorous +action. + +"It was really four to one, which makes the odds heavier," he said. + +"I guess not," rejoined the engineer with a smile. "You were laying +into one of them pretty lively as I ran up." + +Hardie felt a little disconcerted. Having been partly dazed by the +blow he had received, he had no clear recollection of the part he had +taken in the scrimmage, though he had been conscious of burning anger +when Farren was struck down. It was, however, difficult to believe +that the engineer had been mistaken, because the locomotive lamp had +lighted the track brilliantly. + +"Anyway, one of them put his mark on you," resumed his companion. "Did +you notice it, Pete?" + +"Sure," said the grinning fireman; "big lump on his right cheek." He +fumbled in a box and handed a tool to Hardie. "Better hold that +spanner to it, if you're going to preach to-morrow. But how's Farren?" + +"No sign of consciousness. The sooner we can get him into a doctor's +hands, the better." + +"Stir her up," ordered the engineer, and nodded when his comrade swung +back the fire-door and hurled in coal. Then he turned to Hardie. +"We're losing no time. She's running to beat the Imperial Limited +clip, and the track's not worked down yet into its bed." + +Hardie, looking about for a few moments, thought the speed could not +safely be increased. There was a scream of wind about the cab, though +when he had stood upon the track the air had been almost still; a +bluff, which he knew was a large one, leaped up, hung over the line, +and rushed away behind; the great engine was rocking and jolting so +that he could hardly maintain his position, and the fireman shuffled +about with the erratic motion. Then Hardie busied himself trying to +protect Farren from the shaking, until the scream of the whistle broke +through the confused sounds and the pace diminished. The bell began to +toll, and, rising to his feet, Hardie saw a cluster of lights flitting +back toward him. Shortly afterward they stopped beside a half-built +row of elevators. + +"Guess you'll have to be back to-morrow," the engineer said. + +Hardie nodded. + +"I've been rather worried about it. It would take me all night to +walk." + +"That's so," agreed the other. "All you have to do is to see Farren +safe in the doctor's hands and leave the rest to me. I've got to have +some water, for one thing." He turned to his fireman. "We'll put in +that new journal babbit; she's not running sweet." + +The clergyman was inclined to believe that the repair was not strictly +needed, though it would account for a delay; but one or two of the +station hands had reached the engine and, following instructions, they +lifted Farren down, and wheeled him on a baggage truck to the doctor's +house. The doctor seemed to have no doubt of the man's recovery but +said that he must not be moved again for a day or two; and Hardie went +back to the station, reassured and less troubled than he had been for +some time. The attitude of the engineer, fireman, and construction +gang, was encouraging. It confirmed his belief that the lawless +element was tolerated rather than regarded with sympathy, and the +patience of the remainder of the community would become exhausted +before long. Though he admitted the influence of a bad example, he had +firm faith in the rank and file. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +A HARMLESS CONSPIRACY + +On the evening that George left for Brandon, Edgar drove over to the +Grant homestead. + +"It's Saturday night, my partner's gone, and I felt I deserved a little +relaxation," he explained. + +"It's something to be able to feel that; the men who opened up this +wheat-belt never got nor wanted anything of the kind," Grant rejoined. +"But as supper's nearly ready, you have come at the right time." + +Edgar turned to Flora. + +"Your father always makes me feel that I belong to a decadent age. One +can put up with it from him, because he's willing to live up to his +ideas, which is not a universal rule, so far as my experience of +moralizers goes. Anyhow, I'll confess that I'm glad to arrive in time +for a meal. The cooking at our place might be improved; George, I +regret to say, never seems to notice what he eats." + +"That's a pretty good sign," said Grant. + +"It strikes me as a failing for which I have to bear part of the +consequences." + +Flora laughed. + +"If you felt that you had to make an excuse for coming, couldn't you +have made a more flattering one?" + +"Ah!" said Edgar, "you have caught me out. But I could give you a +number of better reasons. It isn't my fault you resent compliments." + +Flora rose and they entered the room where the hired men were gathering +for the meal. When it was over, they returned to the smaller room and +found seats near an open window, Grant smoking, Flora embroidering, +while Edgar mused as he watched her. Dressed in some simple, +light-colored material, which was nevertheless tastefully cut, she made +an attractive picture in the plainly furnished room, the walls of which +made an appropriate frame of uncovered native pine, for he always +associated her and her father with the land to which they belonged. +There was nothing voluptuous in any line of the girl's face or figure; +the effect was chastely severe, and he knew that it conveyed a reliable +hint of her character. This was not marked by coldness, but rather by +an absence of superficial warmth. The calmness of her eyes spoke of +depth and balance. She was steadfast and consistent; a daughter of the +stern, snow-scourged North. + +Then he glanced at the prairie, which ran west, streaked with ochre +stubble in the foreground, then white and silvery gray, with neutral +smears of poplar bluffs, to the blaze of crimson where it cut the sky. +It was vast and lonely; at first sight a hard, forbidding land that +broke down the slack of purpose and drove out the sybarite. He had +sometimes shrunk from it, but it was slowly fastening its hold on him, +and he now understood how it molded the nature of its inhabitants. For +the most part, they were far from effusive; some of their ways were +primitive and perhaps slightly barbarous, but there was vigor and +staunchness in them. They stuck to the friends they had tried and were +admirable in action; it was when, as they said, they were up against it +that one learned most about the strong hearts of these men and women. + +"Lansing will be away some days," Grant said presently. "What are you +going to do next week?" + +"Put up the new fence, most likely. The land's a little soft for +plowing yet." + +"That's so. As you'll have no use for the teams, it would be a good +time to haul in some of the seed wheat. I've a carload coming out." + +"A carload!" exclaimed Edgar in surprise, remembering the large +carrying capacity of the Canadian freight-cars. "At the price they've +been asking, it must have cost you a pile." + +"It did," said Grant. "I generally try to get down to bed-rock figure, +but I don't mind paying it. The fellow who worked up that wheat +deserves his money." + +"You mean the seed's worth its price if the crop escapes the frost?" + +"That wasn't quite all I meant. I'm willing to pay the man for the +work he has put into it. Try to figure the cross fertilizations he +must have made, the varieties he's tried and cut out, and remember it +takes time to get a permanent strain, and wheat makes only one crop a +year. If the stuff's as good as it seems, the fellow's done something +he'll never be paid for. Anyway, he's welcome to my share." + +"There's no doubt about your admiration for hard work," declared Edgar. +"As it happens, you have found putting it into practise profitable, +which may have had some effect." + +Grant's eyes twinkled. + +"Now you have got hold of the wrong idea. You have raised a different +point." + +"Then, for instance, would you expect a hired man who had no interest +in the crop to work as hard as you would?" + +"Yes," Grant answered rather grimly; "I'd see he did. Though I don't +often pay more than I can help, I wouldn't blame him for screwing up +his wages to the last cent he could get; but if it was only half the +proper rate, he'd have to do his share. A man's responsible to the +country he's living in, not to his employer; the latter's only an +agent, and if he gets too big a commission, it doesn't affect the case." + +"It affects the workman seriously." + +"He and his master must settle that point between them," Grant paused +and spread out his hands forcibly. "You have heard what the country +west of old Fort Garby--it's Winnipeg now--was like thirty years ago. +Do you suppose all the men who made it what it is got paid for what +they did? Canada couldn't raise the money, and quite a few of them got +frozen to death." + +It struck Edgar as a rather stern doctrine, but he admitted the truth +of it; what was more, he felt that George and this farmer had many +views in common. Grant, however, changed the subject. + +"You had better take your two heavy teams in to the Butte on Monday; +I've ordered my freight there until the sandy trails get loose again. +Bring a couple of spare horses along. We'll load you up and you can +come in again." + +"Two Clover-leaf wagons will haul a large lot of seed in a double +journey." + +"It's quite likely you'll have to make a third. Don't you think you +ought to get this hauling done before Lansing comes home?" + +A light broke in on Edgar. Grant was, with some reason, occasionally +called hard; but he was always just, and it was evident that he could +be generous. He meant to make his gift complete before George could +protest. + +"Yes," acquiesced Edgar; "it would be better, because George might want +the teams, and for other reasons." + +The farmer nodded. + +"That's fixed. The agent has instructions to deliver." + +Edgar left the homestead an hour later and spent the Sunday resting, +because he knew that he would need all of his energy during the next +few days. At dawn on the following morning he and Grierson started for +Sage Butte, and on their arrival loaded the wagons and put up their +horses for the night. They set out again before sunrise and were glad +of the spare team when they came to places where all the horses could +scarcely haul one wagon through the soft black soil. There were other +spots where the graded road sloped steeply to the hollow out of which +it had been dug, and with the lower wheels sinking they had to hold up +the side of the vehicle. Great clods clung to the wheels; the men, +plodding at the horses' heads, could scarcely pull their feet out of +the mire, and they were thankful when they left the fences behind and +could seek a slightly sounder surface on the grass. + +Even here, progress was difficult. The stalks were tough and tangled +and mixed with stiff, dwarf scrub, which grew in some spots almost to +one's waist. There were little rises, and hollows into which the +wagons jolted violently, and here and there they must skirt a bluff or +strike back into the cut-up trail which traversed it. Toward noon they +reached a larger wood, where the trees crowded thick upon the track. +When Edgar floundered into it, there appeared to be no bottom. Getting +back to the grass, he surveyed the scene with strong disgust; he had +not quite got over his English fastidiousness. + +Leafless branches met above the trail, and little bays strewn with +trampled brush which showed where somebody had tried to force a drier +route, indented the ranks of slender trunks. Except for these, the +strip of sloppy black gumbo led straight through the wood, interspersed +with gleaming pools. Having seen enough, Edgar beckoned Grierson and +climbed a low hillock. The bluff was narrow where the road pierced it, +but it was long and the ground was rough and covered with a smaller +growth for some distance on its flanks. + +"There's no way of getting round," he said. "I suppose six horses +ought to haul one wagon through that sloo." + +"It looks a bit doubtful," Grierson objected. "We mightn't be able to +pull her out if she got in very deep. We could dump half the load and +come back for it." + +"And make four journeys? It's not to be thought of; two's a good deal +too many." + +They yoked the three teams to the first wagon, which promptly sank a +long way up its high wheels, and while the men waded nearly knee-deep +at their heads, the straining horses made thirty or forty yards. Then +Edgar sank over the top of his long boots and the hub of one wheel got +ominously low. + +"They've done more than one could have expected; I hate to use the +whip, but we must get out of this before she goes in altogether," he +said. + +Grierson nodded. He was fond of his horses, which were obviously +distressed, and flecked with spume and lather where the traces chafed +their wet flanks; but to be merciful would only increase their task. + +The whip-cracks rang out like pistol-shots; and, splashing, snorting, +struggling, amid showers of mire, they drew the wagon out of its sticky +bed. They made another dozen yards; and then Grierson turned the +horses into one of the embayments where there was brush that would +support the wheels. Edgar sat down, breathless, upon a fallen trunk. + +"People at home have two quite unfounded ideas about this country," he +said disgustedly. "The first is that money is easily picked up +here--which doesn't seem to need any remark; the second is that they +have only to send over the slackers and slouchers to reform them. In +my opinion, a few doses of this kind of thing would be enough to fill +them with a horror of work." He replaced the pipe he had taken out. +"It's a pity, Grierson, but we can't sit here and smoke." + +They went on and nearly capsized the wagon in a pool, the bottom of +which was too soft to give them foothold while they held up the +vehicle, but they got through it and one or two others, and presently +came out, dripping from the waist down, on to the drier prairie. Then +Edgar turned and viewed their track. + +"It won't bear much looking at; we had better unyoke," he said. "If +anybody had told me in England that I'd ever flounder through a place +like that, I'd--" + +He paused, seeking for words to express himself fittingly. + +"You'd have called him a liar," Grierson suggested. + +"That hardly strikes me as strong enough," Edgar laughed. + +They had spent two hours in the bluff when they brought the last load +through, and sitting down in a patch of scrub they took out their +lunch. After a while Edgar flung off his badly splashed hat and jacket +and lay down in the sunshine. + +"The thing's done; the pity is it must be done again to-morrow," he +remarked, "In the meanwhile, we'll forget it; I'll draw a veil over my +feelings." + +They had finished lunch and lighted their pipes when a buggy appeared +from behind a projecting dump of trees and soon afterward Flora Grant +pulled up her horse near by. Edgar rose and stood beside the vehicle +bareheaded, looking slender and handsome in his loose yellow shirt, +duck overalls, and long boots, though the marks of the journey were +freely scattered about him. Flora glanced at the jaded teams and the +miry wagons and smiled at the lad. She had a good idea of the +difficulties he had overcome. + +"The trail must have been pretty bad," she said. "I struck off to the +east by the creek, but I don't think you could get through with a load." + +"It was quite bad enough," Edgar assured her. Flora looked thoughtful. + +"You have only two wagons; we must try to send you another, though our +teams are busy. Didn't you say Mr. Lansing would be back in a day or +two?" + +"I did, but I got a note this morning saying he thought he had better +go on to Winnipeg, if I could get along all right. I told him to go +and stop as long as he likes. Considering the state of the trails, I +thought that was wise." + +Flora smiled. She knew what he meant, since they had agreed that all +the seed must be hauled in before his comrade's return. + +"I'm not going to thank you; it would be difficult, and George can ride +over and do so when he comes home," Edgar resumed. "I know he'll be +astonished when he sees the granary." + +"If he comes only to express his gratitude, I'm inclined to believe my +father would rather he stayed at home." + +"I can believe it; but I've an idea that Mr. Grant is not the only +person to whom thanks are due." + +Flora looked at him sharply, but she made no direct answer. + +"Your partner," she said, "compels one's sympathy." + +"And one's liking. I don't know how he does so, and it isn't from any +conscious desire. I suppose it's a gift of his." + +Seeing she was interested, he went on with a thoughtful air: + +"You see, George isn't witty, and you wouldn't consider him handsome. +In fact, sometimes he's inclined to be dull, but you feel that he's the +kind of man you can rely on. There's not a trace of meanness in him, +and he never breaks his word. In my opinion, he has a number of the +useful English virtues." + +"What are they, and are they peculiarly English?" + +"I'll call them Teutonic; I believe that's their origin. You people +and your neighbors across the frontier have your share of them." + +"Thanks," smiled Flora. "But you haven't begun the catalogue." + +"Things are often easier to recognize than to describe. At the top of +the list, and really comprising the rest of it, I'd place, in the +language of the country, the practical ability to 'get there.' We're +not in the highest degree intellectual; we're not as a rule worshipers +of beauty--that's made obvious by the prairie towns--and to be thought +poetical makes us shy. In fact, our artistic taste is strongly +defective." + +"If these are virtues, they're strictly negative ones," Flora pointed +out. + +"I'm clearing the ground," said Edgar. "Where we shine is in making +the most of material things, turning, for example, these wilds into +wheatfields, holding on through your Arctic cold and blazing summer +heat. We begin with a tent and an ox-team, and end, in spite of +countless obstacles, with a big brick homestead and a railroad or an +automobile. Men of the Lansing type follow the same course +consistently, even when their interests are not concerned. Once get an +idea into their minds, convince them that it's right, and they'll +transform it into determined action. If they haven't tools, they'll +make them or find something that will serve; effort counts for nothing; +the purpose will be carried out." + +Flora noticed the enthusiastic appreciation of his comrade which his +somewhat humorous speech revealed, and she thought it justified. + +"One would imagine Mr. Lansing to be resolute," she said. "I dare say +it's fortunate; he had a heavy loss to face last year." + +"Yes," returned Edgar. "As you see, he's going on; though he never +expected anything for himself." + +"He never expected anything?" Flora repeated incredulously. "What are +you saying?" + +Edgar realized that he had been injudicious. Flora did not know that +Sylvia Marston was still the owner of the farm and he hesitated to +enlighten her. + +"Well," he said, "George isn't greedy; it isn't in his nature." + +"Do you mean that he's a rich man and is merely farming for amusement?" + +"Oh, no," said Edgar; "far from it!" He indicated the miry wagons and +the torn-up trails. "You wouldn't expect a man to do this kind of +thing, if it wasn't needful. The fact is, I don't always express +myself very happily; and George has told me that I talk too much." + +Flora smiled and drove away shortly afterward, considering what he had +said. She had noticed a trace of confusion in his manner and it struck +her as significant. + +When the buggy had grown small in the distance, Edgar called to +Grierson and they went on again. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +GEORGE FEELS GRATEFUL + +When George returned from Winnipeg, Edgar took him to the granary. + +"You may as well look at the seed Grant sent you, and then you'll be +able to thank him for it," he said. "It's in here; I turned out the +common northern stuff you bought to make room." + +"Why didn't you put it into the empty place in the barn?" George asked. + +"I wasn't sure it would go in; there's rather a lot of it," Edgar +explained, with a smile. + +George entered the granary and stopped, astonished, when he saw the +great pile of bags. + +"Is all of that the new seed?" he asked incredulously. + +"Every bag," said Edgar, watching him. + +George's face reddened. He was stirred by mixed emotions: relief, +gratitude, and a feeling of confusion he could not analyze. + +"Grant must have sent the whole carload!" he broke out. + +"As a matter of fact, he sent most of it. Grierson and I hauled it in; +and a tough job we had of it." + +"And you took it all, without protesting or sending me word?" + +"Yes," said Edgar coolly; "that's precisely what I did. You need the +stuff; Grant meant you to have it, and I didn't want to offend him." + +"I suppose you have some idea what that seed is worth?" + +"I dare say I could guess. Our people at home once experimented with +some American seed potatoes at three shillings each. But aren't you +putting the matter on a rather low plane?" + +George sat down and felt for his pipe. + +"I feel that you have played a trick on me. If you had only let me +know, I could have objected." + +"Just so; that's why I kept quiet," Edgar laughed. "The seed's here +and you ought to be thankful. Anyway, Grant won't take it back." + +"What have I done that I should get this favor?" George said half aloud. + +"That's so characteristic!" Edgar exclaimed. "Why must you always be +doing things? Do you imagine that whatever one receives is the result +of so much exertion?" + +"I don't feel the least interest in such quibbles." + +"I can't believe it," Edgar rejoined. "You're more at home when you +have a fence to put up, or a strip of new land to break." Then he +dropped his bantering tone. "There's nothing to be distressed about. +Grant has been pretty generous, and I think he and Flora need thanking." + +"That's true; they've made me feel half ashamed. I never expected +this." + +"In my opinion, the sensation's quite unnecessary. You have given a +few people a lift in your time, and I've an optimistic notion that +actions of the kind recoil on one, even though it's a different person +who makes you some return." + +"I wish you would stop talking!" George exclaimed impatiently. + +Edgar mentally compared Flora Grant with Sylvia, in whom he +disbelieved, and found it hard to restrain himself. It was, he felt, a +great misfortune that George could not be made to see. + +"Oh, well!" he acquiesced. "I could say a good deal more, if I thought +it would do any good, but as that doesn't seem likely I'll dry up." + +"That's a comfort," George said shortly. + +He left the granary in a thoughtful mood, and on the following evening +drove over to the Grant homestead. Its owner was busy somewhere +outside when he reached it, but Flora received him and he sat down with +satisfaction to talk to her. It had become a pleasure to visit the +Grants; he felt at home in their house. The absence of all ceremony, +the simple Canadian life, had a growing attraction for him. One could +get to know these people, which was a different thing from merely +meeting them, and George thought this was to some extent the effect of +their surroundings. He had always been conscious of a closer and more +intimate contact with his friends upon the mountain-side or the banks +of some salmon river than he had ever experienced in a club or +drawing-room. For all that, Flora sometimes slightly puzzled him. She +was free from the affectations and restraints of artificial +conventionality, but there was a reserve about her which he failed to +penetrate. He wondered what lay behind it and had a curious feeling +that Edgar either guessed or knew. + +"Did you enjoy your visit to Winnipeg?" she asked. + +"It was a pleasant change and I got through my business satisfactorily. +Of course, I didn't go for amusement." + +Flora laughed. + +"So I supposed; you're growing more Canadian every day. But you meant +to make a visit to England, which couldn't have had any connection with +business, last winter, didn't you?" + +George's face grew serious. He had, she thought, not got over his +disappointment. + +"Yes," he said. "But there was nothing to be done here then." + +"So the things that should be done invariably come first with you?" + +"In this case--I mean as far as they concern the farm--it's necessary." + +Flora considered his answer, studying him quietly, though she had some +sewing in her hands. Supposing, as she had once thought, there was +some English girl he had longed to see, he could have made the journey +later, when his crop had been sown, even though this entailed some +neglect of minor operations that required his care. He received, as +she had learned with interest, few English letters, so there was nobody +to whom he wrote regularly; and yet his disappointment when forced to +abandon his visit had obviously been keen. There was, Flora thought, a +mystery here. + +"After all," she said, "the feeling you have indicated is pretty common +in the Canadian wheat-belt." + +"Then why should you expect me to be an exception? As a matter of +fact, I'm at least as anxious as my neighbors to be successful. That's +partly why I've come over to-night." His voice grew deeper and softer +as he continued. "I want to thank you and your father for your +surprising generosity." + +"Surprising?" responded Flora lightly, though she was stirred by the +signs of feeling he displayed. "Do you know you're not altogether +complimentary?" + +He smiled. + +"You'll forgive the slip; when one feels strongly, it's difficult to +choose one's words. Anyway, to get that seed, and so much of it, is an +immense relief. I'm deeply grateful; the more so because your action +was so spontaneous. I haven't a shadow of a claim on you." + +Flora put down her sewing and looked at him directly. + +"I don't think you ought to say that--do you wish to be considered a +stranger?" + +"No," George declared impulsively. "It's the last thing I want. +Still, you see--" + +She was pleased with his eagerness, but she checked him. + +"Then, as you have a gift of making friends, you must take the +consequences." + +"I didn't know I had the gift. My real friends aren't plentiful." + +"If you begin to count, you may find them more numerous than you think." + +"Those I have made in Canada head the list." + +The girl felt a thrill of satisfaction. This was not a compliment; he +had spoken from his heart. + +"After all, I don't see why you should insist on thanking me as well as +my father, who really sent you the seed." She paused. "You didn't do +so on the last occasion; I mean at the time when it was promised to +you." + +This was correct, and George was conscious of some embarrassment. + +"Well," he said firmly, "I think I'm justified." + +Flora could not contradict him, and she was glad he felt as he did. +She liked his way of sticking to the point; indeed, she was sensible of +a strong liking for the man. + +During the next minute or two her father came in. He cut short +George's thanks, and then took out his pipe. + +"I was in at the Butte yesterday," he said. "The police have got the +men who knocked Farren out, and Flett says they mean to press for a +smart penalty. It's about time they made an example of somebody. When +I was in, I fixed it up to turn Langside off his holding." + +Flora looked up with interest. + +"But how had you the power?" George asked. + +"The man owes me four hundred dollars for a horse and some second-hand +implements I let him have nearly three years ago." + +"But he has broken a big strip of his land; it's worth a good deal more +than you lent him." + +"Just so. He owes everybody money round the Butte. I saw Taunton of +the store and the implement man and told them Langside had to quit." + +"You seem to have found them willing to agree." + +Grant broke into a grim smile. + +"What I say to those men goes. Then I've got security; they know I +could pull Langside down." + +George looked at Flora and was slightly surprised at her acquiescent +manner. + +"It sounds a little harsh; a good harvest might have set him straight," +he said. "However, I suppose you have a reason for what you're doing." + +"That's so. Langside's the kind of man I've no use for; he takes no +interest in his place. After he has put in half a crop, he goes off +and spends his time doing a little railroad work and slouching round +the saloons along the line." + +"It doesn't seem sufficient to justify your ruining him." + +"I've got a little more against the man. Has it struck you that +somebody round here, who knows the trails and the farmers' movements, +is standing in with the liquor boys." + +A light broke in upon George. Now that the matter had been put before +him, he could recollect a number of points that seemed to prove the +fanner right. When cattle had been killed, their owners had been +absent; horses had disappeared at a time which prevented the discovery +of their loss from being promptly made. It looked as if the offenses +could only have been committed with the connivance of somebody in the +neighborhood who had supplied their perpetrators with information. + +"I believe you've got at the truth," he replied. "Still, it must be +largely a matter of suspicion." + +Grant leaned forward on the table and his face grew stern. + +"You'll remember what Flett said about our system of justice sometimes +breaking down. In this matter, I'm the jury, and I've thought the +thing over for the last six months, weighing up all that could be said +for Langside, though it isn't much. What's more, I've talked to the +man and watched him; giving him every chance. He has had his trial and +he has to go; there's no appeal." + +George could imagine the thoroughness with which his host had +undertaken his task. Grant would be just, deciding nothing without the +closest test. George felt that the man he meant to punish must be +guilty. For all that, he looked at Flora. + +"Have you been consulted?" he asked. + +"I understood," said Flora. "And I agreed." + +Her face was as hard as her father's and George was puzzled. + +"I should have thought you would have been inclined to mercy." + +Flora colored a little, but she looked at him steadily. + +"Langside deserves the punishment he has so far escaped. He's guilty +of what my father thinks, but there's another offense that I'm afraid +will never be brought home to him." + +George admired her courage as he remembered a very unpleasant story he +had heard about a pretty waitress at the settlement. As a matter of +fact, he had doubted it. + +"Flora went to see the girl at Regina. They found her there pretty +near dying," Grant explained quietly. + +Recollecting a scene outside the Sachem, when Flora had accompanied +Mrs. Nelson, George realized that he had rather overlooked one side of +her character. She could face unpleasant things and strive to put them +right, and she could be sternly just without shrinking when occasion +demanded it. This, however, was not an aspect of hers that struck one +forcibly; he had generally seen her compassionate, cheerful, and +considerate. Then he told himself that there was no reason why he +should take any interest in Flora Grant's qualities. + +"I suppose Langside will be sold up," he said. + +"Open auction, though I guess there won't be much bidding. Folks round +here don't know the man as I do, but they've good reason to believe the +money will go to his creditors, and there'll be nothing left for him." + +"The foreclosure won't meet with general favor," George said pointedly. + +"That doesn't count. It strikes one as curious that people should be +ready to sympathize with the slouch who lets his place go to ruin out +of laziness, and never think of the storekeepers' just claim on the +money he's wasted. Anyway, there's nothing to stop people from +bidding; but, in case they hold off, we have fixed up how we'll divide +the property." + +It was obvious to George that the position of Grant's associates was +unassailable. If any friends of Langside's attempted to run prices up, +they would only put the money into his creditor's pockets; if, as +seemed more probable, they discouraged the bidding, the creditors would +secure his possessions at a low figure and recoup themselves by selling +later at the proper value. George realized that Grant had carefully +thought out his plans. + +"I don't think you have left him any way of escape," he said. + +"No," replied Grant; "we have got him tight. You had better come along +to the auction--you'll get notice of it--and see how the thing goes." + +George said that he would do so, and shortly afterward drove away. On +reaching home he told Edgar what he had heard, and the lad listened +with a thoughtful expression. + +"One can't doubt that Grant knows what he's doing, but I'm not sure +he's wise," he said. "Though Langside's a regular slacker, he has a +good many friends, and as a rule nobody has much sympathy with exacting +creditors. Then it's bound to come out that it was Grant who set the +other fellows after Langside; and if he buys up much of the property at +a low figure, the thing will look suspicious." + +"I tried to point that out." + +"And found you had wasted words? Grant would see it before you did, +and it wouldn't have the least effect on him. You wouldn't expect that +man to yield to popular opinion. Still, the thing will make trouble, +though I shall not be sorry if it forces on a crisis." + +George nodded. + +"I'm getting tired of these continual petty worries, and keeping a +ceaseless lookout. I want to hit back." + +"You'll no doubt get your chance. What about Miss Grant's attitude?" + +"She agreed with her father completely; I was a little surprised." + +"That was quite uncalled for," said Edgar with a smile. "It looks as +if you didn't know the girl yet. These Westerners are a pretty grim +people." + +George frowned at this, though he felt that there was some truth in +what his companion said. On the whole, he was of the same mind as +Grant; there were situations in which one must fearlessly take a +drastic course. + +"The sooner the trouble begins, the sooner it will be over," he said. +"One has now and then to run the risk of getting hurt." + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +A COUNTERSTROKE + +Langside's farm was duly put up at auction, together with a valuable +team which he hired out to his neighbors when he left the place, a few +implements and a little rude furniture. The sale was held outside, and +when George arrived upon the scene during the afternoon a row of light +wagons and buggies stood behind the rickety shack, near which was an +unsightly pile of broken crockery, discarded clothes and rusty +provision cans. It was characteristic of Langside that he had not +taken the trouble to carry them as far as the neighboring bluff. In +front of the bluff, horses were picketed; along the side ran a strip of +black soil, sprinkled with the fresh blades of wheat; and all round the +rest of the wide circle the prairie stretched away under cloudless +sunshine, flecked with brightest green. + +A thin crowd surrounded the auctioneer's table, but the men stood in +loose clusters, and George, walking through them, noticed that the +undesirable element was largely represented. There were a number of +small farmers, attracted by curiosity, or perhaps a wish to buy; but +these kept to themselves, and men from the settlement of no fixed +profession who worked spasmodically at different tasks, and spent the +rest of their time in the Sachem, were more plentiful. Besides these, +there were some strangers, and George thought the appearance of several +was far from prepossessing. + +It was a glorious day. There was vigor in the warm breeze that swept +the grassy waste; the sunshine that bathed the black loam where the +green blades were springing up seemed filled with promise; but as the +sale proceeded George became sensible of a vague compunction. The +sight of the new wheat troubled him--Langside had laboriously sown that +crop, which somebody else would reap. Watching the battered domestic +utensils and furniture being carried out for sale had the same +disturbing effect. Poor and comfortless as the shack was, it had, +until rude hands had desecrated it, been a home. George felt that he +was consenting to the ruin of a defenseless man, assisting to drive him +forth, a wanderer and an outcast. He wondered how far the terrors of +loneliness had urged Langside into his reckless courses--homesteaders +scattered about the wide, empty spaces occasionally became insane--but +with an effort he overcame the sense of pity. + +Langside had slackly given way, and, choosing an evil part, had become +a menace to the community; as Grant had said, he must go. This was +unavoidable, and though the duty of getting rid of him was painful, it +must be carried out. George was usually unsuspicious and of easy-going +nature up to a certain point, but there was a vein of hardness in him. + +Once or twice the auctioneer was interrupted by jeering cries, but he +kept his temper and the sale went on, though George noticed that only a +few strangers made any purchases. At length, when the small sundries +had been cleared off, there was a curious silence as the land was put +up. It was evident that the majority of those present had been warned +not to bid. + +The auctioneer made a little speech in praise of the property, and +paused when it fell flat; then, while George wondered what +understanding the creditors had arrived at with Grant, a brown-faced +stranger strode forward. + +"I've been advised to let this place alone," he said. "I suppose you +have a right to sell?" + +"Yes, sir," replied the auctioneer. "Come along, and look at my +authority, if you want. It's mortgaged property that has been +foreclosed after the creditors had waited a long while for a +settlement, and I may say that the interest demanded is under the +present market rate. Everything's quite regular; no injustice has been +done. If you're a purchaser, I'll take your bid." + +"Then I'll raise you a hundred dollars," said the man. + +There was a growl of dissatisfaction, and the stranger turned to the +part of the crowd from which it proceeded. + +"This is an open auction, boys. I was born in the next province, and +I've seen a good many farms seized in the years when we have had +harvest frost, but this is the first time I ever saw anybody try to +interfere with a legal sale. Guess you may as well quit yapping, +unless you mean to bid against me." + +There was derisive laughter, and a loafer from Sage Butte threw a clod. +Then another growl, more angry than the first, broke out as Grant, +moving forward into a prominent place, nodded to the auctioneer. His +rugged face was impassive, and he ignored the crowd. A number of the +farmers strolled toward him and stood near by with a resolute air which +had its effect on the others, though George saw by Grant's look of +surprise that he had not expected this. Another man made a bid, and +the competition proceeded languidly, but except for a little mocking +laughter and an occasional jeer, nobody interfered. In the end, the +stranger bought the land; and soon afterward Grant walked up to George. + +"I want the team, if I can get it at a reasonable figure; they're real +good beasts with the imported Percheron strain strong in them," he +said. "It will be a while before they're put up, and I'd be glad if +you could ride round and let Flora know what's keeping me. I'd an idea +she expected there might be some trouble to-day." + +"I'll get off; but there's a mower yonder I would like. Will you buy +it for me, if it goes at a fair price?" + +"Certainly," promised Grant. "Tell Flora to give you supper; and if +you ride back afterward by the trail, you'll meet me and I'll let you +know about the mower." + +George rode away shortly afterward, and Grant waited some time before +he secured the team, after rather determined opposition. Finding +nobody willing to lead the horses home, he hitched them to the back of +his light wagon and set off at a leisurely pace. When he had gone a +little distance, he overtook a man plodding along the trail. The +fellow stopped when Grant came up. + +"Will you give me a lift?" he asked. + +The request is seldom refused on the prairie, and Grant pulled up his +team. + +"Get in," he said. "Where are you going?" + +"North," answered the other, as he clambered up. "Looking for a job; +left the railroad yesterday and spent the night in a patch of scrub. +Heard there was stock in the bluff country; that's my line." + +Grant glanced at the fellow sharply as he got into the wagon and +noticed nothing in his disfavor. His laconic account of himself was +borne out by his appearance. + +"It's quite a way to the first homestead, if you're making for the big +bluffs," he said. "You had better come along with me and go on in the +morning." + +"I'll be glad," responded the other. "These nights are pretty cold, +and my blanket's thin." + +They drove on, and after a while the stranger glanced at the team +hitched behind the vehicle. + +"Pretty good beasts," he remarked. "That mare's a daisy. Ought to be +worth a pile." + +"She cost it," Grant told him. "I've just bought her at a sale." + +"I heard the boys talking about it when I was getting dinner at the +settlement," said the stranger carelessly. "Called the fellow whose +place was sold up Langside, I think. There's nothing much wrong with +the team you're driving." + +Grant nodded; they were valuable animals, for he was fond of good +horses. He was well satisfied with his new purchases and knew that +Langside had bought the mare after a profitable haulage contract during +the building of a new railroad. His companion's flattering opinion +made him feel rather amiable toward him. + +It was getting near dusk when they entered a strip of broken country, +where the ground was sandy and lolled in low ridges and steep hillocks. +Here and there small pines on the higher summits stood out black +against the glaring crimson light; birches and poplars straggled up +some of the slopes; and the trail, which wound through the hollows, was +loose and heavy. The moist sand clogged the wheels and the team +plodded through it laboriously, until they came to a spot where the +melted snow running into a depression had formed a shallow lake. This +had dried up, but the soil was very soft and marshy. Grant pulled up +and glanced dubiously at the deep ruts cut in the road. + +"There's a way round through the sand and scrub, but it's mighty rough +and I'm not sure we could get through it in the dark," he said. + +"S'pose you double-yoke and drive straight ahead," suggested the other. +"I see you have some harness in the wagon." + +Grant considered. The harness, which had been thrown in with his +purchase, was old and short of one or two pieces; it would take time +and some contriving to hitch on the second team, and the light was +failing rapidly. When he had crossed the soft place, there would still +be some rough ground to traverse before he reached the smoother trail +by which George would be riding. + +"It might be as quick to go round," he replied. + +"No, sir," said his companion, firmly. "There's a blamed steep bit up +the big sandhill." + +Suspicion flashed on Grant; the man had led him to believe he was a +stranger to the locality, and it was significant that he should insist +upon their stopping and harnessing the second team. + +"That's so," he returned. "Guess you had better get down and see if +it's very soft ahead." + +The fellow rose with a promptness which partly disarmed Grant's +suspicions, and put his foot on the edge of the vehicle, ready to jump +down. Then he turned swiftly and flung himself upon the farmer, +crushing his soft felt hat down to his chin. Grant could see nothing, +and while he strove to get a grip on his antagonist he was thrown +violently backward off the driving seat. The wagon was of the usual +high pattern, and he came down on the ground with a crash that nearly +knocked him unconscious. Before he got up, he was seized firmly and +held with his shoulders pressed against the soil. He struggled, +however, until somebody grasped his legs and his arms were drawn +forcibly apart. It was impossible to see, because the thick hat was +still over his face and somebody held it fast, but he had an idea that +three or four men had fallen upon him. They had, no doubt, been hidden +among the brush; the affair had been carefully arranged with his +treacherous companion. + +"Open his jacket; try the inside pocket," cried one; and he felt hands +fumbling about him. Then there was a disappointed exclamation. +"Check-book; that's no good!" + +The farmer made a last determined effort. After having long ruled his +household and hired men as a benevolent but decidedly firm-handed +autocrat, it was singularly galling to be treated in this unceremonious +fashion, and if he could only shake off the hat and get a glimpse of +his assailants he would know them again. Moreover, he had brought a +roll of bills with him, in case he should make some small purchases. +He was, however, held firmly, and the hands he had felt dived into +another pocket. + +"Got it now!" cried a hoarse voice. "Here's his wallet; seems to have +a good wad in it!" + +Grant, though he was generally sternly collected, boiled with fury. He +felt no fear, but an uncontrollable longing to grapple with the men who +had so humiliated him. + +"Guess, I'll fix you up!" came an angry voice when Grant managed to +fling off one pair of hands. + +Then he received a heavy blow on the head. Somebody had struck him +with the butt of a whip or riding quirt. The pain was distressing; he +felt dazed and stupid, disinclined to move, but he retained +consciousness. There were sounds to which he could attach a meaning: a +rattle of harness which indicated that his driving team was being +loosened, a thud of hoofs as the heavier Percherons were led away. In +the meanwhile he could still feel a strong grasp on his shoulder, +holding him down, and once or twice a man near him gave the others +sharp instructions. Grant made a languid effort to fix the voice in +his memory, but this was difficult because his mind worked heavily. + +At length the driving team was unyoked--he could hear it being led +away--but the ache in his head grew almost intolerable and his +lassitude more intense. For a while he had no idea what was going on; +and then a hoarse cry, which seemed one of alarm, rang out sharply. +There was a patter of running feet, a thud of hoofs on the soft soil, +and, breaking through these sounds, a rhythmic staccato drumming. +Somebody was riding hard across the uneven ground. + +Gathering his languid senses, Grant suddenly moved his head, flinging +the hat from his face, and raised himself a little, leaning on one +elbow. There was no longer anybody near him, but he could see a man +riding past a shadowy clump of trees a little distance off, leading a +second horse. Closer at hand, another man was running hard beside one +of the Percherons, and while Grant watched him he made an effort to +scramble up on the back of the unsaddled animal, but slipped off. Both +these men were indistinct in the dim hollow, but on a sandy ridge +above, which still caught the fading light, there was a +sharply-outlined mounted figure sweeping across the broken ground at a +reckless gallop. It must be Lansing, who had come to the rescue. +Grant sent up a faint, hoarse cry of exultation. He forgot his pain +and dizziness, he even forgot he had been assaulted; he was conscious +only of a burning wish to see Lansing ride down the fellow who was +running beside the Percheron. + +There was a patch of thick scrub not far ahead which it would be +difficult for the horseman on the rise to break through, and if the +fugitive could succeed in mounting, he might escape while his pursuer +rode round; but Lansing seemed to recognize this. He swept down from +the ridge furiously and rode to cut off the thief. Grant saw him come +up with the fellow, with his quirt swung high, but the figures of men +and horses were now indistinct against the shrub. There was a blow +struck; one of the animals reared, plunged and fell; the other went on +and vanished into the gloom of the dwarf trees. + +Then Grant, without remembering how he got up, found himself upon his +feet and lurching unsteadily toward the clump of brush. When he +reached it, Lansing was standing beside his trembling horse, which had +a long red gash down its shoulder. His hands were stained and a big +discolored knife lay near his feet. There was nobody else about, but a +beat of hoofs came back, growing fainter, out of the gathering dusk. + +George looked around when the farmer joined him, and then pointed to +the wound on the horse. + +"I think it was meant for my leg," he said. "I hit the fellow once +with the thick end of the quirt, but he jumped straight at me. The +horse reared when he felt the knife and I came off before he fell. +When I got up again, the fellow had gone." + +Grant felt scarcely capable of standing. He sat down heavily and +fumbled for his pipe, while George turned his attention to the horse +again. + +"Though it's only in the muscle, the cut looks deep," he said at +length. "I'd better lead him back to your place; it's nearer than +mine." + +"I'd rather you came along; I'm a bit shaky." + +"Of course," said George. "I was forgetting. Those fellows had you +down. Are you hurt?" + +"They knocked me out with something heavy--my whip, I guess--but I'm +getting over it. Cleaned out my pockets; went off with both teams." + +George nodded. + +"It's pretty bad; quite impossible to get after them. They'll head for +Montana as fast as they can ride." + +"Did you see any of them clearly?" + +"One fellow looked like Langside, though I couldn't swear to him; but +I'd know the man who knifed my horse. Remembered that would be +desirable, in case he escaped me; and I got a good look at him. Now, +if you feel able shall we make a start? I'm afraid the horse is too +lame to carry you." + +He picked up the knife. Grant rose, and they set off, leading the +horse, which moved slowly and painfully. It had grown dark and the +trail was rough, but the farmer plodded homeward, stopping a few +moments now and then. The path, however, grew smoother when they had +left the sandy ridges behind, and by and by the lights of the homestead +commenced to twinkle on the vast shadowy plain. Soon after they +reached it, George rode away, mounted on a fresh horse, in search of +Constable Flett. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +THE CLIMAX + +George was tired and sleepy when he reached the settlement early in the +morning, and found Flett at Hardie's house. It transpired from their +conversation that there had been a disturbance at the Sachem on the +return of a party which had driven out to the sale, and one man, who +accused a companion of depriving him of a bargain, had attacked and +badly injured him with a decanter. Flett, being sent for, had arrested +the fellow, and afterward called upon the clergyman for information +about his antecedents and character. He listened with close attention +while George told his tale; and then examined the knife he produced. + +"This is about the limit!" he exclaimed. "You wouldn't have persuaded +me that the thing was possible when I was first sent into the district. +It isn't what one expects in the wheat-belt, and it certainly has to be +stopped." + +"Of course," said George, with some impatience. "But wouldn't it be +wiser to consider the ways and means? At present the fellows are no +doubt pushing on for the frontier with two valuable teams and a wad of +stolen bills." + +Flett smiled at him indulgently. + +"This isn't a job that can be put through in a hurry. If they're +heading for the boundary--and I guess they are--they'll be in Dakota or +Montana long before any of the boys I'll wire to could come up with +them. Our authority doesn't hold on American soil." + +"Is that to be the end of it?" + +"Why, no," Flett answered dryly. "As I guess you have heard, they have +had trouble of this kind in Alberta for a while; and most every time +the boys were able to send back any American mavericks and beef-cattle +that were run into Canada. As the result of it, our chiefs at Regina +are pretty good friends with the sheriffs and deputies on the other +side. They're generally willing to help us where they can." + +"Then you shouldn't have much difficulty in trailing your men. Suppose +a fellow turned up with four exceptionally good horses and offered them +to an American farmer or dealer, wouldn't it arouse suspicion?" + +"It might," said Flett, with a meaning smile. "But the thing's not so +simple as it looks. We all know that Canadian steers and horses have +been run off and disposed of across the frontier; and now and then a +few from that side have disappeared in Canada. This points to there +being a way of getting rid of them; some mean white on a lonely holding +will take them at half-value, and pass them along. What we have to do +is to send a man over quietly to investigate, and get the sheriffs and +deputies to keep their eyes open. I'm going to beg the Regina people +to let me be that man." + +"You may as well understand that it isn't the return of the horses +Grant wants so much as the conviction of the men who waylaid him." + +"Then," said Flett, pointedly, "he must be mighty mad." + +Hardie joined in George's laugh; but the constable went on: + +"I believe we're going to get them; but it will take time--all summer, +perhaps. I've known our boys lay hands on a man they wanted, eighteen +months afterward." + +"In one way, I don't think that's much to their credit," the clergyman +remarked. + +Taking up the knife George had handed him, Flett pointed to some +initials scratched on the bone haft. + +"Kind of foolish thing for the fellow to put his name on his tools; but +I don't know anybody those letters might stand for. Now you describe +him as clearly as you can, while I put it down." + +George did as he was bidden, and added: "There were two more--one of +them looked like Langside--and I believe a fourth man, though I may be +mistaken in this. They were moving about pretty rapidly and the light +was bad." + +Flett got up. + +"I'll have word sent along to Regina, and then try to locate their +trail until instructions come. I want to get about it right away, but +there's this blamed fellow who knocked out his partner at the Sachem, +and it will take me most of a day's ride before I can hand him on to +Davies. It's a charge that nobody's going to worry about, and it's a +pity he couldn't have escaped. Still, that's the kind of thing that +can't happen too often." + +He went out and George turned to Hardie. + +"How does the matter strike you?" + +"I've an idea that Flett was right in saying it was the limit. There +was a certain romance about these disturbances when they began; they +were a novelty in this part of Canada. People took them lightly, glad +of something amusing or exciting to talk about. It was through popular +indifference that the gang first gained a footing, but by degrees it +became evident that they couldn't be dislodged without a vigorous +effort. People shrank from making it; and, with Beamish backing them, +the fellows got steadily bolder and better organized. All the time, +however, they were really at the mercy of the general body of orderly +citizens. Now they have gone too far; this last affair can't be +tolerated. Instead of apathy, there'll be an outbreak of indignation; +and I expect the people who might have stopped the thing at the +beginning will denounce the police." + +George nodded. + +"That's my idea. What's our part?" + +"I think it's to assist in the reaction. Your story's a striking one. +We had better get it into a newspaper as soon as possible. I suppose +it would be correct to say that Grant was cruelly beaten?" + +"His face is blue from jaw to temple. They knocked him nearly +senseless with the butt of a whip, while he was lying, helpless, on the +ground." + +"And your horse was badly wounded?" + +"I wish it weren't true; there's a gash about eight inches long. If it +will assist the cause, you can say the stab was meant for me." + +"Well," said Hardie, "I think it will make a moving tale. I'm afraid, +however, I'll have to lay some stress upon the single-handed rescue." + +George looked dubious. + +"I'd rather you left that out." + +"We must impress the matter on people's thoughts, make it command +attention; a little diplomacy is allowable now and then," said Hardie, +smiling. "Since you don't mind getting yourself into trouble, I don't +see why you should object to being held up to admiration, and it's in +an excellent cause. Now, however, I'll order breakfast for you, and +then you had better get some sleep." + +During the afternoon, George set off for home, and he was plowing for +the summer fallow a week later when Flora Grant rode up to him. + +"I suppose you have got your mail and have seen what the _Sentinel_ +says about you?" she asked mischievously. + +George looked uncomfortable, but he laughed. + +"Yes," he confessed. "It seemed to afford Edgar some amusement." + +"Who's responsible for that flattering column? It doesn't read like +the work of the regular staff." + +"I'm afraid that I am, to some extent, though Hardie's the actual +culprit. The fact is, he thought the course was necessary." + +"Well, I suspected something of the kind; so did my father. It was a +wise move, and I think it will have its effect." + +George made no comment and she sat silent a moment or two while he +watched her with appreciation. She was well-mounted on a beautiful, +carefully-groomed horse; the simple skirt and bodice of pale gray +emphasized the pure tinting of her face and hands and the warm glow of +her hair, in which the fierce sunshine forced up strong coppery gleams. +Her lips formed a patch of crimson, there was a red band on her wide +Stetson hat, and her eyes shone a deep blue as she looked down at +George, who stood in the sandy furrow leaning against the heavy plow. +He was dressed in old overalls that had faded with dust and sun to the +indefinite color of the soil, but they displayed the fine lines of a +firmly knit and muscular figure. His face was deeply bronzed, but a +glow of sanguine red shone through its duskier coloring. Behind them +both ran a broad sweep of stubble, steeped in strong ochre, relieved by +brighter lemon hues where the light blazed on it. + +"Though I couldn't resist the temptation to tease you, I quite agree +with the _Sentinel_," she resumed. "It really was a very gallant +rescue, and I suppose you know I recognize my debt to you. I was a +little too startled to speak about it when you brought my father home, +and you went away so fast." + +"The fellows were afraid of being identified; they bolted as soon as +they saw me." + +"One didn't," Flora pointed out. "A knife-thrust, like the one you +avoided, or a pistol-shot would have obviated any risk they ran. But +of course you hate to be thanked." + +"No," George replied impulsively; "not by you." + +"I wonder," she said with an amused air, "why you should make an +exception of me?" + +"I suppose it lessens my sense of obligation. I feel I've done some +little thing to pay you back." + +"I'm not sure that was very happily expressed. Is it painful to feel +that you owe anything to your neighbors?" + +George flushed. + +"That wasn't what I meant. Do you think it's quite fair to lay traps +for me, when you can count on my falling into them?" He turned and +pointed to the great stretch of grain that clothed the soil with vivid +green. "Look at your work. Last fall, all that plowing was strewn +with a wrecked and mangled crop; now it's sown with wheat that will +stand the drought. I was feeling nearly desperate, wondering how I was +to master the sandy waste, when you came to the rescue and my troubles +melted like the dust in summer rain. They couldn't stand before you; +you banished them." + +She looked at him rather curiously, and, George thought, with some +cause, for he was a little astonished at his outbreak. This was not +the kind of language that was most natural to him. + +"I wonder," she said, "why you should take so much for granted--I mean +in holding me accountable?" + +"It's obvious," George declared. "I understand your father; he's a +very generous friend, but the idea of sending me the seed didn't occur +to him in the first place; though I haven't the least doubt that he was +glad to act on it." + +"Ah!" said Flora, "it looks as if you had been acquiring some +penetration; you were not so explicit the last time you insisted on +thanking me. Who can have been teaching you? It seems, however, that +I'm still incomprehensible." + +George considered. It would be undesirable to explain that his +enlightenment had come from Edgar, and he wanted to express what he +felt. + +"No," he said, in answer to her last remark; "not altogether; but I've +sometimes felt that there's a barrier of reserve in you, beyond which +it's hard to get." + +"Do you think it would be worth while to make the attempt? Suppose you +succeeded and found there was nothing on the other side?" + +He made a sign of negation, and she watched him with some interest; the +man was trying to thrash out his ideas. + +"That couldn't happen," he declared gravely. "Somehow you make one +feel there is much in you that wants discovery, but that one will learn +it by and by. After all, it's only the shallow people you never really +get to know." + +"It would seem an easy task, on the face of it." + +"As a matter of fact, it isn't. They have a way of enveloping +themselves in an air of importance and mystery, and when they don't do +so, they're casual and inconsequent. One likes people with, so to +speak, some continuity of character. By degrees one gets to know how +they'll act and it gives one a sense of reliance." He paused and +added, diffidently: "Anything you did would be wise and generous." + +"By degrees?" smiled Flora. "So it's slowly, by patient sapping, the +barriers go down! One could imagine that such things might be +violently stormed. But you're not rash, are you, or often in a hurry? +However, it's time I was getting home." + +She waved her hand and rode away, and George, getting into the saddle, +started his team, and thought about her while he listened to the +crackling of the stubble going down beneath the hoofs, and the soft +thud of thrown-back soil as the lengthening rows of clods broke away +from the gleaming shares. What she might have meant by her last remark +he could not tell, though so far as it concerned him, he was ready to +admit that he was addicted to steady plodding. Then his thoughts took +a wider range, and he began to make comparisons. Flora was not +characterized by Sylvia's fastidious refinement; she was more virile +and yet more reposeful. Sylvia's activities spread bustle around her; +she required much assistance and everybody in her neighborhood was +usually impressed into her service, though their combined efforts often +led to nothing. Flora's work was done silently; the results were most +apparent. + +Still, the charm Sylvia exerted was always obvious; a thing to rejoice +in and be thankful for. Flora had not the same effect on one, though +he suspected there was a depth of tenderness in her, behind the +barrier. It struck him as a pity that she showed no signs of interest +in West, who of late seemed to have been attracted by the pretty +daughter of a storekeeper at the settlement; but, after all, the lad +was hardly old or serious enough for Flora. There was, however, nobody +else in the district who was nearly good enough for her; and George +felt glad that she was reserved and critical. It would be disagreeable +to contemplate her yielding to any suitor unless he were a man of +exceptional merit. + +Then he laughed and called to his horses. He was thinking about +matters that did not concern him; his work was to drive the long furrow +for Sylvia's benefit, and he found pleasure in it. Bright sunshine +smote the burnished clods; scattered, white-edged clouds drove across +the sky of dazzling blue, flinging down cool gray shadows that sped +athwart the stubble; young wheat, wavy lines of bluff, and wide-spread +prairie were steeped in glowing color. The man rejoiced in the rush of +the breeze; the play of straining muscles swelling and sinking on the +bodies of the team before him was pleasant to watch; he felt at home in +the sun and wind, which, tempered as they often were by gentle rain, +were staunchly assisting him. By and by, all the foreground of the +picture he gazed upon would be covered with the coppery ears of wheat. +He had once shrunk from returning to Canada; but now, through all the +stress of cold and heat, he was growing fond of the new land. What was +more, he felt the power to work at such a task as he was now engaged in +to be a privilege. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +A SIGN FROM FLETT + +Summer drew on with swift strides. Crimson flowers flecked the prairie +grass, the wild barley waved its bristling ears along the trails, +saskatoons glowed red in the shadows of each bluff. Day by day +swift-moving clouds cast flitting shadows across the sun-scorched +plain, but though they shed no moisture the wheat stood nearly +waist-high upon the Marston farm. The sand that whirled about it did +the strong stalks no harm. + +Earlier in the season there had been drenching thunder showers, and +beyond the grain the flax spread in sheets of delicate blue that broke +off on the verge of the brown-headed timothy. Still farther back lay +the green of alsike and alfalfa, for the band of red and white cattle +that roamed about the bluffs; but while the fodder crop was bountiful +George had decided to supplement it with the natural prairie hay. +There was no pause in his exertions; task followed task in swift +succession. Rising in the sharp cold of the dawn, he toiled +assiduously until the sunset splendors died out in paling green and +crimson on the far rim of the plain. + +The early summer was marked by signs of approaching change in Sage +Butte affairs. There were still a few disturbances and Hardie had +troubles to face, but he and his supporters noticed that the +indifference with which they had been regarded was giving place to +sympathy. When Grant first visited the settlement after his +misadventure, he was received with expressions of indignant +commiseration, and he afterward told Flora dryly that he was astonished +at the number of his friends. Mrs. Nelson and a few of the stalwarts +pressed Hardie to make new and more vigorous efforts toward the +expulsion of the offenders, but the clergyman refrained. Things were +going as he wished; it was scarcely wise to expose such a tender thing +as half-formed opinion to a severe test, and the failure that might +follow a premature attempt could hardly be recovered from. It seemed +better to wait until Grant's assailants should be arrested, and the +story of their doings elicited in court, to rouse general indignation, +and he thought this would happen. Flett had disappeared some weeks ago +and nothing had been heard of him, but Hardie believed his chiefs had +sent him out on the robbers' trail. The constable combined sound sense +with dogged pertinacity, and these were serviceable qualities. + +It was a hot afternoon when George brought home his last load of wild +sloo hay, walking beside his team, while Flora curbed her reckless +horse a few yards off. She had ridden over with her father, and +finding that George had not returned, had gone on to prevent a hired +man from being sent for him. They had met each other frequently of +late, and George was sensible of an increasing pleasure in the girl's +society; though what Flora felt did not appear. Behind them the +jolting wagon strained beneath its high-piled load that diffused an +odor of peppermint; in front the shadow of a bluff lay cool upon the +sun-scorched prairie. + +"I suppose you heard that Baxter lost a steer last week," she said. +"Most likely, it was killed; but, though the police searched the +reservation, there was no trace of the hide. We have had a little +quietness, but I'm not convinced that our troubles won't break out +again. Nobody seems to have heard anything of Flett." + +"He's no doubt busy somewhere." + +"I'm inclined to believe so, and, in a way, his silence is reassuring. +Flett can work without making a disturbance, and that is in his favor. +But what has become of Mr. West? We haven't seen much of him of late." + +"He has fallen into a habit of riding over to the settlement in his +spare time, which isn't plentiful." + +"Ah!" exclaimed Flora; "that agrees with some suspicions of mine. +Don't you feel a certain amount of responsibility?" + +"I do," George admitted. "Still, he's rather head-strong, and he +hasn't told me why he goes to the Butte; though the girl's father gave +me a hint. I like Taunton--he's perfectly straightforward--and I'd +almost made up my mind to ask your opinion about the matter, but I was +diffident." + +"I'll give it to you without reserve--there's no ground for uneasiness +on West's account; he might fall into much worse hands. If Helen +Taunton has any influence over him, it will be wisely used. Besides, +she has been well educated; she spent a few years in Montreal." + +"She has a nice face; in fact, she's decidedly pretty." + +"And that would cover a multitude of shortcomings?" + +"Well," said George, thoughtfully, "mere physical beauty is something +to be thankful for; though I'm not sure that beauty can be, so to +speak, altogether physical. When I said the girl had a nice face, I +meant that its expression suggested a wholesome character." + +"You seem to have been cultivating your powers of observation," Flora +told him. "But I'm more disposed to consider the matter from Helen's +point of view. As it happens, she's a friend of mine and I've reasons +for believing that your partner's readily susceptible and inclined to +be fickle. Of course, I'm not jealous." + +George laughed. + +"He's too venturesome now and then, but he has been a little spoiled. +I've an idea that this affair is likely to be permanent. He has shown +a keen interest in the price of land and the finances of farming, which +struck me as having its meaning." + +They had now nearly reached the bluff and a horseman in khaki uniform +rode out of it to meet them. + +"I've been over to your place," he said to George, when he had +dismounted. "I was sent to show you a photograph and ask if you can +recognize anybody in it?" + +He untied a packet and George studied the picture handed him. It +showed the rutted main street of a little western town, with the +sunlight on a row of wooden buildings. In the distance a band of +cattle were being driven forward by two mounted men; nearer at hand a +few wagons stood outside a livery stable; and in the foreground three +or four figures occupied the veranda of a frame hotel. The ease of +their attitudes suggested that they did not know they were being +photographed, and their faces were distinct. George looked +triumphantly excited and unhesitatingly laid a finger on one face. + +"This is the man that drove off Mr. Grant's Percheron and stabbed my +horse." + +The trooper produced a thin piece of card and a small reading-glass. + +"Take another look through this; it came along with the photograph. +Now, would you be willing to swear to him?" + +"I'll be glad to do so, if I have the chance. Shall I put a mark +against the fellow?" + +"Not on that!" The trooper handed George the card, which proved to be +a carefully drawn key-plan of the photograph, with the figures +outlined. "You can mark this one." + +George did as he was told, and then handed the photograph to Flora. + +"How did your people get it?" he asked the trooper. + +"I can't say; they don't go into explanations." + +"But what do you think? Did Flett take the photograph?" + +"No, sir; I heard him tell the sergeant he knew nothing about a camera. +He may have got somebody to take it or may have bought the thing." + +"Do you know where he is?" + +"I only know he got special orders after Mr. Grant was robbed. It's my +idea he was somewhere around when the photograph was taken." + +"I wonder where it was taken? In Alberta, perhaps, though I'm inclined +to think it was on the other side of the frontier." + +"That is my opinion," said Flora. "There's not a great difference +between us and our neighbors, but the dress of the mounted men and the +style of the stores are somehow American. I'd say Montana, or perhaps +Dakota." + +"Montana," said the trooper. "The big bunch of cattle seems to fix it." + +"Then you think Flett is over there?" asked George. "I'm interested, +so is Miss Grant, and you needn't be afraid of either of us spreading +what you say." + +"It's my notion that Flett has spotted his men, but I guess he's now +watching out near the boundary in Canada. These rustler fellows can't +do all their business on one side; they'll have to cross now and then. +Flett's in touch with some of the American sheriffs, who'll give him +the tip, and the first time the fellows slip over the frontier he'll +get them. That would suit everybody better and save a blamed lot of +formalities." + +Flora nodded. + +"It strikes me as very likely; and Flett's perhaps the best man you +could have sent. But have you shown the photograph to my father?" + +"I did that before I left the homestead. There's nobody in the picture +like the fellow who drove with Mr. Grant, and he tells me he saw nobody +else. Now I must be getting on." + +He rode away, and Flora reverted to the topic she and George had been +discussing. + +"So you believe Mr. West is thinking of living here altogether! I +suppose he would be able to take a farm of moderate size?" + +"It wouldn't be very large; he can't have much money, but his people +would help him to make a start if they were satisfied. That means they +would consult me." + +Flora smiled. + +"And you feel you would be in a difficult position, if you were asked +whether it would be wise to let him marry a prairie girl? Have you +formed any decision about the matter?" + +She spoke in an indifferent tone, but George imagined that she was +interested. + +"I can't see why he shouldn't do so." + +"Think a little. West has been what you call well brought up, he's +fastidious, and I haven't found English people free from social +prejudices. Could you, as his friend, contemplate his marrying the +daughter of a storekeeper in a rather primitive western town? Taunton, +of course, is not a polished man." + +"I don't think that counts; he's a very good type in spite of it. The +girl's pretty, she has excellent manners, and she strikes me as having +sense--and in some respects Edgar has very little. I'll admit that at +one time I might not have approved of the idea, but I believe I've got +rid of one or two foolish opinions that I brought out with me. If Miss +Taunton is what she appears to be, he's lucky in getting her. Don't +you think so?" + +He had spoken with a little warmth, though, as Flora knew, he was +seldom emphatic; and a rather curious expression crept into her face. +He did not quite understand it, but he thought she was pleased for some +reason or other! + +"Oh," she said lightly, "I have told you my opinion." + +Nothing further was said about the subject, but George walked beside +his team in a state of calm content. His companion was unusually +gracious; she made a picture that was pleasant to watch as she sat, +finely poised, on the big horse, with the strong sunlight on her face. +Her voice was attractive, too; it reached him, clear and musical, +through the thud of hoofs and the creak of slowly-turning wheels, for +he made no attempt to hurry his team. + +When they reached the homestead, the conversation centered on the +constable's visit; and when the Grants left, Edgar stood outside with +George, watching the slender mounted figure grow smaller beside the +jolting buggy. + +"George," he said, "I've met very few girls who could compare with +Flora Grant, taking her all round." + +"That's correct," George told him. "As a matter of fact, I'm doubtful +whether you have met any who would bear the comparison. It was the +sillier ones who made a fuss over you." + +"I know of one," Edgar resumed. "As it happens, she's in Canada." + +"I'd a suspicion of something of the kind," George said dryly. + +Edgar made no answer, but presently he changed the subject. + +"What's the least one could take up a farm here with, and have a fair +chance of success?" + +"One understands it has been done with practically nothing on preempted +land, though I'm rather dubious. In your case, I'd fix five thousand +dollars as the minimum; more would be decidedly better." + +"Yes," said Edgar thoughtfully; "that's about my idea; and I suppose it +could be raised, though my share of what was left us has nearly all +been spent in cramming me with knowledge I've no great use for. +Stephen, however, has done pretty well, and I think he always realized +that it would be his privilege to give me a lift; I've no doubt he'll +write to you as soon as I mention the matter, and your answer will have +its effect." He looked at George with anxious eyes. "I venture to +think you'll strain a point to say what you can in my favor?" + +"In the first place, I'll ride over to the Butte and have supper with +Taunton, as soon as I can find the time." + +"Thanks," responded Edgar gratefully; "you won't have any doubts after +that." Then he broke into laughter. "You'll excuse me, but it's +really funny, George." + +"I don't see the joke," George said shortly. + +Edgar tried to look serious, and failed. + +"I can imagine your trying to weigh up Helen; starting a subtle +conversation to elucidate her character, and showing what you were +after and your profound ignorance with every word; though you mustn't +suppose I'd be afraid of submitting her to the severest test. Why, you +wouldn't even know when a girl was in love with you, unless she told +you so. Perhaps it's some excuse that your mind's fixed on one woman +to the exclusion of all the rest, though one could imagine that, as you +think of her, she's as unreal and as far removed from anything made of +flesh and blood as a saint in a picture. After all, I dare say it's a +very proper feeling." + +George left him, half amused and half disturbed. He did not resent +Edgar's freedom of speech, but the latter had a way of mixing hints +that were not altogether foolish with his badinage, and his comrade was +inclined to wonder what he had meant by one suggestive remark. It +troubled him as he strolled along the edge of the tall green wheat, but +he comforted himself with the thought that, after all, Edgar's +conversation was often unworthy of serious consideration. + +A week later George rode over to the store at the settlement, feeling a +little diffident, because he had undertaken the visit only from a sense +of duty. He was cordially received, and was presently taken in to +supper, which was served in a pretty room and presided over by a very +attractive girl. She had a pleasant voice and a quiet face; though he +thought she must have guessed his errand, she treated him with a +composure that set him at his ease. Indeed, she was by no means the +kind of girl he had expected Edgar to choose; but this was in her +favor. George could find no fault in her. + +Shortly after the meal was finished his host was called away, and the +girl looked up at George with a flush of color creeping, most +becomingly, into her face. + +"Edgar told me I needn't be afraid of you," she said. + +George smiled. + +"I can understand his confidence, though it had a better foundation +than my good-nature. I wonder whether I might venture to say that he +has shown remarkably good sense?" + +"I'm glad you don't think he has been very foolish," replied the girl, +and it was obvious to George that she understood the situation. + +He made her a little grave bow. + +"What I've said, I'm ready to stick to. I'm a friend of Edgar's, and +that carried an obligation." + +"Yes," she assented, "but it was because you are a friend of his and, +in a way, represent his people in England, that I was a little uneasy." + +Her speech implied a good deal and George admired her candor. + +"Well," he said, "so far as I am concerned, you must never feel +anything of the kind again. But I think you should have known it was +quite unnecessary." + +She gave him a grateful glance and soon afterward her father came in. + +"Guess we'll take a smoke in the back office," he said to George. + +George followed him, and thought he understood why he was led into the +little untidy room strewn with packets of goods, though his host had a +fine commodious house. Taunton would not attempt to dissociate himself +from his profession; he meant to be taken for what he was, but he knew +his value. He was a gaunt, elderly man: as far as his general +appearance went, a typical inhabitant of a remote and half-developed +western town, though there was a hint of authority in his face. Giving +George an excellent cigar, he pointed to a chair. + +"Now," he began, "we must have a talk. When your partner first came +hanging round my store, buying things he didn't want, I was kind of +short with him. Helen helps me now and then with the books, and he +seemed to know when she came in." + +"I noticed he came home in a rather bad temper once or twice," George +said with a laugh. "I used to wonder, when he produced sardine cans at +supper, but after a while I began to understand." + +"Well," continued Taunton, "I didn't intend to have any blamed Percy +trying to turn my girl's head, until I knew what he meant. I'd nobody +to talk it over with--I lost her mother long ago--so I kind of froze +him out, until one day he came dawdling in and asked if he might take +Helen to Jim Haxton's dance. + +"'Does she know you have come to me about it?' I said. + +"'Can't say,' he told me coolly, with a cigarette hanging out of his +mouth. 'I haven't mentioned the matter yet; I thought I'd ask you +first.' + +"'S'pose I object?' I said. + +"'Then,' he allowed quite tranquil, 'the thing will have to be +considered. There's not the slightest reason why you should object.' + +"I'd a notion I could agree with him--I liked the way he talked--and I +told him Helen could go, but the next time he called he was to walk +right into the office instead of hanging round the counter. I asked +him what he'd done with all the canned truck he'd bought, and he said +he was inclined to think his partner had eaten most of it. Since then +he's been over pretty often, and I figured it was time I gave you a +hint." + +"Thanks," responded George. "He was, in a way, placed in my hands, but +I've no real control over him." + +"That's so; he's of age. What I felt was this--I've nothing against +West, but my girl's good enough for anybody, and I can't have his +people in England looking down on her and making trouble. If they're +not satisfied, they had better call him back right now. There's to be +no high-toned condescension in this matter." + +"I don't think you need be afraid of that," said George. "It would be +altogether uncalled for. It's very likely that I shall be consulted, +and I'll have pleasure in telling his people that I consider him a +lucky man." + +"There's another point--has West any means?" + +"I believe about five thousand dollars could be raised to put him on a +farm." + +Taunton nodded. + +"It's not very much, but I don't know that I'm sorry. I'll see they're +fixed right; whatever West gets I'll beat. My girl shan't be indebted +to her husband's folks. But there's not a word to be said about this +yet. West must wait another year before we decide on anything." + +George thought the storekeeper's attitude could not be found fault +with, and when he drove home through the soft dusk of the summer night, +he was glad to feel that there was no need for anxiety about the choice +Edgar had made. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +THE LEADING WITNESS + +Three or four weeks passed quietly without any news from Flett until +one evening when Edgar sat talking to Miss Taunton in the office of her +father's store at Sage Butte. The little, dusty room was unpleasantly +hot and filled with the smell of resinous pine boards; there was a +drawl of voices and an occasional patter of footsteps outside the door; +and a big book, which seemed to have no claim on her attention, lay +open on the table in front of the girl. + +She was listening to Edgar with a smile in her eyes, and looking, so he +thought, remarkably attractive in her light summer dress which left her +pretty, round arms uncovered to the elbow and displayed the polished +whiteness of her neck. He was expressing his approval of the current +fashions, which he said were rational and particularly becoming to +people with skins like ivory. Indeed, he was so engrossed in his +subject that he did not hear footsteps approaching until his companion +flashed a warning glance at him; and he swung round with some annoyance +as the door opened. + +"I guessed I would find you here," said the station-agent, looking in +with an indulgent smile. + +"You're a thoughtful man," retorted Edgar. "You may as well tell me +what you want." + +"I've a wire from Flett, sent at Hatfield, down the line." + +"What can he be doing there?" Edgar exclaimed; and Miss Taunton showed +her interest. + +"He was coming through on the train. Wanted Mr. Lansing to meet him at +the station, if he was in town. Hadn't you better go along?" + +"I suppose so," said Edgar resignedly, glancing at his watch. "It +looks as if your men had taken their time. Flett should be here in +about a quarter of an hour now." + +"Operator had train orders to get through; we have two freights +side-tracked," the agent explained. "Don't be late; she's coming along +on time." + +He hurried out, and a few minutes later Edgar crossed the street and +strolled along the low wooden platform, upon which a smart constable +was waiting. A long trail of smoke, drawing rapidly nearer, streaked +the gray and ochre of the level plain, and presently the big engine and +dusty cars rolled into the station amid the hoarse tolling of the bell. +As they ran slowly past him, Edgar saw a police trooper leaning out +from a vestibule, and when the train stopped the constable on the +platform hurried toward the car. A hum of excited voices broke out and +Edgar had some difficulty in pushing through the growing crowd to reach +the steps. A constable, who had hard work to keep the others back, let +him pass, and he found Flett standing on the platform above, looking +rather jaded, with a pistol loose in his holster. + +"Isn't Mr. Lansing here?" Flett asked eagerly, and then turned to the +trooper. "Keep those fellows off!" + +"No," answered Edgar; "he hasn't come into town. But what's the cause +of this commotion? Have you got your men?" + +"Three of them," said Flett, with a look of pride. "I expect we'll get +the fourth. But come in a minute, out of the noise." + +The car was besieged. Curious men were clambering up the side of it, +trying to peer in through the windows; others disputed angrily with the +trooper who drove them off the steps. Eager questions were shouted and +scraps of random information given, and groups of people were excitedly +running across the street to the station. It was, however, a little +quieter in the vestibule when Flett had banged the door. He next +opened the inner door that led to the smoking compartment of the +Colonist car. In spite of its roominess, it was almost insufferably +hot and very dirty; the sunlight struck in through the windows; sand +and fine cinders lay thick upon the floor. A pile of old blue blankets +lay, neatly folded, on one of the wooden seats, and on those adjoining +sat three men. Two wore brown duck overalls, gray shirts, and big soft +hats; one was dressed in threadbare cloth; but there was nothing that +particularly suggested the criminal in any of their sunburned faces. +They looked hot and weary with the journey, and though their expression +was perhaps a little hard, they looked like harvest hands traveling in +search of work. One, who was quietly smoking, took his pipe from his +mouth and spoke to Flett. + +"Can't you get us some ice?" he asked. "The water in the tank isn't +fit to drink." + +"They haven't any here. You'll have to wait until we get to the +junction," Flett told him, and drew Edgar back into the vestibule. + +"We're taking them right along to Regina," he explained. "I'm sorry I +couldn't see Mr. Lansing, but I'll ride over as soon as I'm sent back. +If he's likely to be away, he'd better send word to the station." + +"I don't expect he'll leave the farm during the next few weeks," said +Edgar. + +Then one of the constables looked in. + +"Conductor says he can't hold up the train." + +"I'll be off," said Edgar, with a smile at Flett. "This should mean +promotion; it's a fine piece of work." + +He jumped down as the train pulled out and hurried back to the store +where Miss Taunton was eagerly awaiting news. Soon afterward he left; +and as he rode up to the homestead day was breaking, but he found +George already at work in the stable. + +"It's lucky we don't need your horse. If you're going to keep up this +kind of thing, you had better buy an automobile," he remarked. + +Edgar laughed. + +"I don't feel remarkably fresh, but I'll hold out until to-night. +There's the fallowing to be got on with; I suppose nothing must +interfere with that. But aren't you up a little earlier than usual?" + +"I want to haul in the posts for the new fence. Grierson has his hands +full, and now that there are four of us, Jake spends so much time in +cooking." + +"A reckless waste of precious minutes!" Edgar exclaimed ironically. +"If one could only get over these troublesome bodily needs, you could +add hours of work to every week and make Sylvia Marston rich. By the +way, Jake's cooking is getting awful." + +He put up his horse and busied himself with several tasks before he +went in to breakfast. When it was finished, and the others went out, +he detained George. + +"What did you think of that meal?" he asked. + +"Well," said George, "it might have been better." + +Edgar laughed scornfully. + +"It would take some time to tell you my opinion, but I may as well +point out that you're paying a big bill for stores to Taunton, though +we never get anything fit to eat. Helen and I were talking over your +account, and she wondered what we did with the things, besides giving +me an idea. It's this--why don't you tell Grierson to bring out his +wife?" + +"I never thought of it. She might not come; and she may not cook much +better than Jake." + +"She certainly couldn't cook worse! I expect she would save her wages, +and she would set a hired man free. Jake can drive a team." + +"It's a good idea," George agreed. "Send Grierson in." + +The man came a few minutes later. + +"We get on pretty well; I suppose you are willing to stay with me?" +George said to him. + +Grierson hesitated and looked disturbed. + +"The fact is, I'd be very sorry to leave; but I'm afraid I'll have to +by and by. You see, I've got to find a place I can take my wife to." + +"Can she cook?" + +"Yes," said Grierson, indicating the remnants on the table with +contempt. "She would do better than this with her eyes shut! Then," +he continued eagerly, "she can wash and mend clothes. I've noticed +that you and Mr. West throw half your things away long before you need +to." + +"That's true," Edgar admitted. "It's the custom of the country; time's +too valuable to spend in mending anything, though I've noticed that one +or two of the people who tell you about the value of time get through a +good deal of it lounging round the Sachem. Anyway, amateur +laundering's an abomination, and I'm most successful in washing the +buttons and wrist-bands off." He turned to his companion. "George, +you'll have to send for Mrs. Grierson." + +The matter was promptly arranged, and when Grierson went out with a +look of keen satisfaction, Edgar laughed. + +"I feel like pointing out how far an idea can go. Helen only thought +of making me a little more comfortable, and you see the result of +it--Grierson and his wife united, things put into shape here, four +people content! Of course, one could cite a more striking example; I +mean when Sylvia Marston thought you had better go out and look after +her farm. There's no need to mention the far-reaching consequences +that opinion had." + +"I volunteered to go out," George corrected him. + +"Well," said Edgar, "I quite believe you did so. But you're no doubt +pining to get at the fence." + +They went off to work, but Edgar, driving the gang-plow through the +stubble under a scorching sun, thought that Sylvia's idea might bear +more fruit than she had calculated on, and that it would be bitter to +her. His mind, however, was chiefly occupied with a more attractive +person, and once when he turned the heavy horses at the end of the +furrows he said softly, "May I deserve her!" and looked up with a tense +expression in his hot face, as if making some firm resolve, which was a +procedure that would have astonished even those who knew him well. + +A week passed, each day growing brighter and hotter, until the glare +flung back by sandy soil and whitening grass became painful, and George +and his assistants discarded most of their clothing when they went +about their tasks. The oats began to show a silvery gleam as they +swayed in the strong light; the wheat was changing color, and there +were warm coppery gleams among the heavy ears; horses and cattle sought +the poplars' shade. Then one evening when the Grants had driven over, +Flett arrived at the homestead, and, sitting on the stoop as the air +grew cooler, related his adventures. + +"I guess my chiefs wouldn't be pleased to hear me; we're not encouraged +to talk, but there's a reason for it, as you'll see when I'm through," +he said, and plunged abruptly into his narrative. + +It proved to be a moving tale of weary rides in scorching heat and in +the dusk of night, of rebuffs and daunting failures. Flett, as he +admitted, had several times been cleverly misled and had done some +unwise things, but he had never lost his patience nor relaxed his +efforts. Slowly and doggedly, picking up scraps of information where +he could, he had trailed his men to the frontier, where his real +troubles had begun. Once that he crossed it, he had no authority, and +the American sheriffs and deputies were not invariably sympathetic. +Some, he concluded, were unduly influenced by local opinion, which was +not in favor of interfering with people who confined their depredations +to Canadian horses. Others, who acknowledged past favors from Regina, +foresaw troublesome complications before he could be allowed to deport +the offenders; but some, with a strong sense of duty, offered willing +help, and that was how he had been able to make the arrests on Canadian +soil. + +"Now," he concluded, "we tracked these men from point to point and I've +evidence to prove most of their moves, but they never had the four +horses in a bunch until they made Montana, which is a point against us. +We can show they were working as a gang, that they were altogether with +the horses on American soil, but as we haven't corralled the only man +Mr. Grant could swear to, there's only one way of proving how they got +them. You see where all this leads?" + +"It looks as if you depended on my evidence for a conviction," said +George. + +Flett nodded. + +"You saw Mr. Grant attacked and the horses run off. You can identify +one man, and we'll connect him with the rest." + +He took out a paper and handed it to George. + +"It's my duty to serve you with this; and now that it's done, I'll warn +you to watch out until after the trial. If we can convict these +fellows, we smash the crowd, but we'd be helpless without you." + +George opened the document and found it a formal summons to attend the +court at Regina on a date specified. Then he produced another paper +and gave it to Flett with a smile. + +"The opposition seem to recognize my importance, and they move more +quickly than the police." + +The trooper took the letter, which was typed and bore no date or name +of place. + +"'Keep off this trial and you'll have no more trouble,'" he read aloud. +"'Back up the police and you'll be sorry. If you mean to drop them, +drive over to the Butte, Thursday, and get supper at the Queen's.'" + +"Yesterday was Thursday, and I didn't go," George said after a moment's +silence. + +The quiet intimation was not a surprise to any of them, and Flett +nodded as he examined the letter. + +"Not much of a clue," he remarked. "Toronto paper that's sold at every +store; mailed two stations down the line. Nobody would have met you at +the Queen's, but most anybody in town would know if you had been there. +Anyway, I'll take this along." He rose. "I can't stop, but I want to +say we're not afraid of your backing down." + +He rode off in a few more minutes and after a while the Grants took +their leave, but Flora walked down the trail with George while the team +was being harnessed. + +"You'll be careful, won't you?" she said. "These men are dangerous; +they know yours is the most important evidence. I shall be anxious +until the trial." + +There was something in her eyes and voice that sent a curious thrill +through George. + +"I don't think that's needful; I certainly won't be reckless," he said. + +Then Flora got into the vehicle; and during the next week or two George +took precautions. Indeed, he now and then felt a little uncomfortable +when he had occasion to pass a shadowy bluff. He carried a pistol when +he went around the outbuildings at night, and fell into a habit of +stopping to listen, ready to strike or shoot, each time he opened the +door of one in the dark. + +For all that, nothing occurred to excite suspicion, and after a while +he felt inclined to smile at his nervousness. At length, one day when +the trial was close at hand, and Edgar had gone to the Butte, the +mail-carrier brought him a note from Grant. + +It consisted of a couple of lines asking him to come over during the +evening, and as supper had been finished two hours before, George +realized that there was not much time to spare. Laying down the note, +he walked to the door and called his Canadian hired man. + +"Put the saddle on the brown horse, Jake; I'm going to Grant's." + +The man did as he was bidden, and when George was about to mount handed +him a repeating rifle. + +"Better take this along; cylinder's full," he said. "It will be dark +before you get there." + +George hesitated. The rifle was heavy, but it was a more reliable +weapon than a pistol, and he rode off with it. The sun had dipped when +he started, the air was rapidly cooling, and after spending the day +sinking holes for fence posts in the scorching sun, he found the swift +motion and the little breeze that fanned his face pleasant. To the +northwest, a flush of vivid crimson glowed along the horizon, but the +sweep of grass was growing dim and a bluff he reached at length stood +out, a sharp-cut, dusky mass, against the fading light. He pulled up +his horse on its outskirts. A narrow trail led through the wood, its +entrance marked by a dark gap among the shadowy trees, and it somehow +looked forbidding. The bluff, however, stretched across his path; it +was getting late, and George was a little impatient of the caution he +had been forced to exercise. Laying his rifle ready across the saddle, +he sent his horse forward. + +It was quite dark in the bluff, though here and there he could see a +glimmer of faint red and orange between the trees, and the stillness +had a slightly disturbing effect on him. Not a leaf moved, the beat of +his horse's hoofs rang sharply down the narrow trail above which the +thin birch branches met. He wanted to get out into the open, where he +could see about, as soon as possible. There was, however, no +ostensible cause for uneasiness and he rode on quietly, until he heard +a soft rustling among the slender trunks. Pulling up the horse, he +called out, and, as he half expected, got no answer. Then he cast a +swift glance ahead. There was a gleam of dim light not far away where +the trail led out of the bluff. Throwing the rifle to his shoulder, +George fired into the shadows. + +The horse plunged violently and broke into a frightened gallop. George +heard a whistle and a sharper rustling, and rode toward the light at a +furious pace. Then his horse suddenly stumbled and came down. The +rifle flew out of George's hand, and he was hurled against a tree. The +next moment he felt himself rudely seized, and what he thought was a +jacket was wrapped about his head. Shaken by his fall, he could make +no effective resistance, and he was dragged a few yards through the +bush and flung into a wagon. He tried to pull the jacket from his +face, and failed; somebody brutally beat him down against the side of +the vehicle when he struggled to get up. He heard a whip crack, the +wagon swayed and jolted, and he knew the team was starting at a gallop. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +FLORA'S ENLIGHTENMENT + +It was nearly midnight when Edgar returned from the settlement and saw, +to his surprise, lights still burning in the homestead. Entering the +living-room, he found Grierson sitting there with Jake, and it struck +him that they looked uneasy. + +"What's keeping you up?" he asked. + +"I thought I'd wait for the boss," said the Canadian. "He went over to +Grant's after supper, and he's not come back." + +"That's curious. He said nothing about going." + +"A note came by the mail. It's lying yonder." + +Edgar picked it up and brought it near the lamp. The paper was good +and printed with Grant's postal address, which was lengthy. + +"I figured I'd go and meet him," Jake resumed, "Took the shot-gun and +rode through the bluff. Didn't see anything of him, and it struck me +Grant might have kept him all night, as it was getting late. He's +stayed there before." + +Edgar examined the note, for he was far from satisfied. George had +only twice spent a night at Grant's, once when he was driving cattle, +and again when it would have been risky to face the weather. The paper +was undoubtedly Grant's, but Edgar could not identify the farmer's +hand; the notes that had come over had been written by Flora. Then he +remembered that George had bought some implements from Grant, and had +filed the rancher's receipt. Edgar hurriedly found it and compared it +with the letter. Then his face grew troubled, for the writing was not +the same. + +"I'm afraid Mr. Lansing never got to Grant's," he said. "I'll ride +over at once." + +"Then I'm coming," Jake said shortly. "I'll bring the gun along." + +Grierson lifted a clenched brown hand. + +"So am I! If Mr. Lansing's hurt, somebody's got to pay!" + +Edgar was stirred by something in their looks and voices; George had +gained a hold on these men's loyalty which the regular payment of wages +could never have given him. He merely signified assent, and, running +out, sprang into the saddle. The others had evidently had their horses +ready, for he heard them riding after him in a minute or two, though he +was galloping recklessly through the bluff when they came up. The +homestead was dark when they reached it, and they shouted once or twice +before Grant came down. + +"Is George here?" Edgar asked. + +"No," said Grant, "we didn't expect him." + +"Then get on your clothes quick! There's work on hand!" + +Grant brought him in and struck a light, then hurriedly left the room; +and Flora came with him, fully dressed, when he reappeared. Edgar +supposed she had heard his sharp inquiry at the door, and he noticed +that her expression was strained. He threw the note on the table. + +"After what you said, I needn't ask if you wrote that." + +"I didn't," Grant told him. "It's not like my hand. I suppose Lansing +started when he got it and has not come back?" + +"You have guessed right. Where are they likely to have waylaid him, +and where will they probably take him?" + +"The bluff, sure. They might head north for empty country, or south +for the frontier." + +"The frontier," Flora broke in. + +"It's what I think," said Edgar. "Shall I send a man for Flett, or +will you?" + +"That's fixed, anyway," said a voice outside the open door. "We're not +going." + +It was obvious that the hired men had followed them as far as the +passage, for Grierson, entering the room, explained: + +"He means we've made up our minds to look for Mr. Lansing." + +Grant nodded in assent. + +"Then my man goes. Turn out the boys, Jake; you know the place. I +want three horses saddled, quick." + +"Four," said Flora, firmly. "I'm coming." + +Grant did not try to dissuade her. + +"Write to Flett," he said. + +He went out hastily in search of blankets and provisions, and when he +returned, his hired men had gathered about the door and the note was +finished. He threw it to one of them. + +"Ride with that as hard as you can," he said, and called another, +"You'll come with us." + +"We're a strong party already," Edgar broke in. "You're leaving the +place poorly guarded, and the rustlers may have counted on something of +the kind. Suppose they finish their work by driving off every beast +that's left as soon as we have gone." + +"I've got to take my chances; we'll want the boys to make a thorough +search." + +Grant swung round toward the remaining men. + +"You two will watch out behind the woodstack or in the granary. No +stranger's to come near house or stable." + +"The woodpile," said Flora, with a hard white face and an ominous +sparkle in her eyes. "You would command the outbuildings there. If +anybody tries to creep up at night, call once, and then shoot to kill." + +Edgar saw that she meant her instructions to be carried out; but he +forced a smile. + +"And this is the Canadian wheat-belt, which I was told was so peaceful +and orderly!" + +"It looks as if you had been misinformed," Flora rejoined with a cold +collectedness which he thought of as dangerous. "One, however, now and +then hears of violent crime in London." + +They were mounted in a few minutes, and after a hard ride the party +broke up at dawn, dispersing so that each member of it could make +independent search and inquiries at the scattered homesteads. Meeting +places and means of communication were arranged; but Flora and her +father rode together, pushing on steadily southward over the vast gray +plain. Little was said except when they called at some outlying farm, +but Grant now and then glanced at the girl's set face with keenly +scrutinizing eyes. In the middle of the scorching afternoon he +suggested that she should await his return at a homestead in the +distance, but was not surprised when she uncompromisingly refused. +They spent the night at a small ranch, borrowed fresh horses in the +morning, and set out again; but they found no trace of the fugitives +during the day, and it was evening when Edgar and Grierson joined them, +as arranged, at a lonely farm. The two men rode in wearily on jaded +horses, and Flora, who was the first to notice their approach, went out +to meet them. + +"Nothing?" she said, when she saw their dejected faces. + +"Nothing," Edgar listlessly answered. "If the people we have seen +aren't in league with the rustlers--and I don't think that's +probable--the fellows must have gone a different way." + +"They've gone south!" Flora insisted. "We may be a little too far to +the east of their track." + +"Then, we must try a different line of country tomorrow." + +The farmer's wife had promised to find Flora quarters, the men were +offered accommodation in a barn, and when the air cooled sharply in the +evening, Edgar walked out on to the prairie with the girl. She had +kept near him since his arrival, but he was inclined to believe this +was rather on account of his association with George than because she +found any charm in his society. By and by, they sat down on a low rise +from which they could see the sweep of grass run on, changing to shades +of blue and purple, toward the smoky red glare of sunset on its western +rim. To the south, it was all dim and steeped in dull neutral tones, +conveying an idea of vast distance. + +Flora shivered, drawing her thin linen jacket together while she +buttoned it, and Edgar noticed something beneath it that broke the +outline of her waist. + +"What's that at your belt?" he asked. + +"A magazine pistol," she answered with a rather harsh laugh, producing +the beautifully made weapon, + +"It's a pretty thing. I wonder whether you can use it?" + +"Will you stand up at about twenty paces and hold out your hat?" + +"Certainly not!" said Edgar firmly. "I wouldn't mind putting it on a +stick, only that the shot would bring the others out. But I've no +doubt you can handle a pistol; you're a curious people." + +He thought the last remark was justified. Here was a girl, as refined +and highly trained in many ways as any he had met, and yet who owned a +dangerous weapon and could use it effectively. Then there was her +father, an industrious, peaceable farmer, whose attention was, as a +rule, strictly confined to the amassing of money, but who was +nevertheless capable of riding or shooting down the outlaws who +molested him or his friends. What made the thing more striking was +that neither of them had been used to alarms; they had dwelt in calm +security until the past twelve months. Edgar, however, remembered that +they sprang from a stock that had struggled sternly for existence with +forest and flood and frost; no doubt, in time of stress, the strong +primitive strain came uppermost. Their nature had not been altogether +softened by civilization. The thought flung a useful light upon +Flora's character. + +"If the trial's a lengthy one and these fellows hold him up until it's +over, it will be a serious thing for George," he resumed, by way of +implying that this was the worst that could befall his comrade. "The +grain's ripening fast, and he hasn't made his arrangements for harvest +yet. Men seem pretty scarce around here, just now." + +"It's a good crop; I'm glad of that," said Flora, willing to avoid the +graver side of the topic. "Mr. Lansing was anxious about it, but this +harvest should set him on his feet. I suppose he hasn't paid off the +full price of the farm." + +"As a matter of fact, he hasn't paid anything at all." + +"Then has he only rented the place?" + +There was surprise and strong interest in the girl's expression and +Edgar saw that he had made a telling admission. However, he did not +regret it. + +"No," he said; "that's not the case, either. The farm is still Mrs. +Marston's." + +"Ah! There's something I don't understand." + +Edgar was sorry for her, and he felt that she was entitled to an +explanation. Indeed, since George was strangely unobservant, he +thought it should have been made earlier; but the matter had appeared +too delicate for him to meddle with. Now, however, when the girl's +nature was strongly stirred, there was a risk that, supposing his +comrade was discovered wounded or was rescued in some dramatic way, she +might be driven to a betrayal of her feelings that would seriously +embarrass George and afterward cause her distress. + +"George," he explained, "is merely carrying on the farm as Mrs. +Marston's trustee." + +"But that hardly accounts for his keen eagerness to make his farming +profitable. It strikes one as springing from something stronger than +his duty as trustee." + +Edgar nodded. + +"Well, you see, he is in love with her!" + +Flora sat quite still for a moment or two, and then laughed--a little +bitter laugh; she was overstrained and could not repress it. A flood +of hot color surged into her face, but in another moment she had +recovered some degree of composure. + +"So that is why he came out?" she said. + +"Yes; he was in love with her before she married Marston. At least, +that's his impression." + +"His impression?" echoed Flora, keenly anxious to cover any signs of +the shock she had received and to learn all that could be told. "Do +you mean that Mr. Lansing doesn't know whether he is in love with her +or not?" + +"No, not exactly!" Edgar felt that he was on dangerous ground. "I'm +afraid I can't quite explain what I really do mean. George, of course, +is convinced about the thing; but I've a suspicion that he may be +mistaken; though he'd be very indignant if he heard me say so." + +He paused, doubtful whether he was handling the matter prudently, but +he felt that something must be done to relieve the strain, and +continued: + +"George has the faculty of respectful admiration highly developed, but +he doesn't use it with much judgment; in fact, he's a rather reckless +idealist. There are excuses for him; he was never much thrown into +women's society." + +"You think that explains it?" Flora forced a smile. "But go on." + +"My idea is that George has been led by admiration and pity, and not by +love at all. I don't think he knows the difference; he's not much of a +psychologist. Then, you see, he's thorough, and having got an idea +into his mind, it possesses him and drives him to action. He doesn't +stop to analyze his feelings." + +"So he came out to look after Mrs. Marston's property because he felt +sorry for her, and believed her worthy of respect? What is your +opinion of her?" + +"I'll confess that I wish she hadn't captivated George." + +Flora's face grew very scornful. + +"I haven't your chivalrous scruples; and I know Mrs. Marston. She's +utterly worthless! What is likely to happen when your comrade finds it +out?" + +Then she rose abruptly. + +"After all, that's a matter which chiefly concerns Mr. Lansing, and I +dare say the woman he believes in will be capable of dealing with the +situation. Let's talk of something else." + +They turned back toward the farm, but Edgar found it difficult to start +a fresh topic. All the workings of his mind centered upon George, and +he suspected that his companion's thoughts had a similar tendency. It +was getting dark when they rejoined the rest of the party, and the next +morning Flett and another constable rode in. They had discovered +nothing, but as they were ready to take up the trail, Grant left the +task to them and turned back with his men. + +Flora long remembered the dreary two day's ride, for although she had +borne it with courage, Edgar's news had caused her a painful shock. +She had, from the beginning, been strongly drawn to George, and when he +had been carried off the knowledge that she loved him had been brought +home to her. Now, looking back with rudely opened eyes, there was +little comfort in recognizing that he had made no demands on her +affection. Bitter as she was, she could not blame him; she had been +madly foolish and must suffer for it. She called her pride to the +rescue, but it failed her. The torturing anxiety about the man's fate +remained, and with it a humiliating regret, which was not altogether +selfish, that it was Sylvia Marston he had chosen. Sylvia, who was +clever, had, of course, tricked him; but this was no consolation. It +was, however, needful to hide her feelings from her father and assume +an interest in his remarks, though, when he spoke, it was always of +Lansing and what had probably befallen him. + +The prairie was dazzlingly bright, the trail they followed was thick +with fine black dust, and most of the day the heat was trying; the girl +felt utterly jaded and very heavy of heart, but when it appeared +desirable she forced herself to talk. Her father must never suspect +her folly, though she wondered uneasily how far she might have betrayed +it to West. Reaching the homestead at length, she resumed her duties, +and anxiously waited for news of George. Once that she heard he was +safe, it would, she thought, be easier to drive him out of her mind +forever. + +As it happened, George had received only a few bruises in the bluff, +and, after realizing that there was no chance of escape for the +present, he lay still in the bottom of the wagon. He blamed himself +for riding so readily into the trap, since it was obvious that his +assailants had known he was going to visit Grant, and had stretched a +strand of fence wire or something of the kind across the trail. They +would have removed it afterward and there would be nothing left to show +what had befallen him. This, however was a matter of minor consequence +and he endeavored to determine which way his captors were driving. +Judging the nature of the trail by the jolting, he decided that they +meant to leave the wood where he entered it, which suggested that they +were going south, and this was what he had anticipated. Though he was +sore from the effect of his fall and the rough handling which had +followed it, he did not think he would suffer any further violence, so +long as he made no attempt to get away. The men, no doubt, only +intended to prevent his giving evidence, by keeping him a prisoner +until after the trial. + +When morning came, the wagon was still moving at a good pace, though +the roughness of the motion indicated that it was not following a +trail. This was all George could discover, because one of the men tied +his arms and legs before removing the jacket which had muffled his head. + +"I guess you can't get up, but it wouldn't be wise to try," the fellow +pointed out significantly. + +George took the hint. He meant to escape and attend the court, but he +had no wish to ruin any chance of his doing so by making a premature +attempt. His captors meant to prevent his seeing which way they were +going, but he could make out that the sky was brightest on the left +side of the wagon, which indicated that they were heading south. They +stopped at noon in a thick bluff, from which, when he was released and +allowed to get down, he could see nothing of the prairie. Only one man +remained to watch him; but as he was armed, and George could hear the +others not far away, he decided that his escape must be postponed. + +During the afternoon, they went on again, George occupying his former +position in the bottom of the wagon, where it was unpleasantly hot; but +the strongest glare was now on his right side, which showed him that +they were still holding south. Their destination was evidently the +American frontier. In the evening they camped near a thicket of low +scrub, and after supper George was permitted to wander about and +stretch his aching limbs. It was rolling country, broken by low rises, +and he could not see more than a mile or two. There was nothing that +served as a, landmark, and as soon as he began to stroll away from the +camp he was sharply recalled. In the end, he sat down to smoke, and +did not move until he was told to get into the wagon, where a blanket +was thrown him. So far, he had been permitted to see only one of his +captors near at hand. + +The next morning they set out again. George thought that fresh horses +had been obtained in the night, because they drove at a rapid pace most +of the day; and he was tired and sore with the jolting when they camped +in another bluff at sunset. Two more days were spent in much the same +way; and then late at night they stopped at a little building standing +in the midst of an unbroken plain, and George was released and told to +get out. One of the men lighted a lantern and led him into an empty +stable, built of thick sods. It looked as if it had not been occupied +for a long time, but part of it had been roughly boarded off, as if for +a harness room or store. + +"You have got your blanket," said his companion. "Put it down where +you like. There's only one door to this place, and you can't get at it +without passing me. I got a sleep in the wagon and don't want any more +to-night." + +George heard the vehicle jolt away, and sat down to smoke while the +beat of hoofs gradually sank into the silence of the plain. Then he +wrapped his blanket about him and went to sleep on the earthen floor. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +THE ESCAPE + +George got up the next morning feeling cramped and sore after his +journey, and carefully looked about. The building had solid walls of +sod; such rude stalls as it had been fitted with had been removed, +perhaps for the sake of the lumber. He could not reach the door +without alarming his jailer, who had taken up his quarters behind the +board partition; and there was only one small window, placed high up +and intended mainly for ventilation. The window was very dusty, but it +opened and George could see out by standing up, though the aperture was +not large enough to squeeze through. + +Outside stood some timbers which had once formed part of a shack, and a +few strands of fence wire, trailing from tottering posts, ran into the +grass. The place appeared to have been a farm, whose owner had, no +doubt, abandoned it after finding the soil too light, or after losing a +crop by frost; but George was more curious to discover if there were +any other homesteads in the vicinity. His view was restricted, but +there was no sign of life on the quarter-circle it commanded. A flat, +grassy waste, broken only by a few clumps of brush, ran back to the +horizon, and by the cold blue of the sky and the drift of a few light +clouds floating before the prevalent westerly wind, he knew he was +looking north. This was the way he must take if he could escape, but +there was no house in which he could seek refuge, and scarcely any +cover. It was clear that he must obtain a good start before he was +missed. He had an idea that he would escape, though he admitted that +it was more optimistic than rational. + +Then he turned with a start, to see his jailer standing beside him, +grinning. The man had a hard, determined face. + +"Guess you can't get out that way; and it wouldn't be much use, +anyhow," he drawled. "The country's pretty open; it would take you a +mighty long while to get out of sight." + +"That's how it struck me," George confessed with an air of good-humored +resignation. "Do you mean to keep me here any time?" + +"Until the trial," the other answered, standing a little away from him +with his hand thrust suggestively into a pocket. "We'll be glad to get +rid of you when it's finished, but you certainly can't get away before +we let you go." + +George cast a glance of keen but unobtrusive scrutiny at the man. They +were, he thought, about equal in physical strength; the other's +superiority consisted in his being armed, and George had no doubt that +he was proficient with his weapons. He had seen a rifle carried into +the building, the man's hand was now resting on a pistol, and there was +a light ax outside. It looked as if an attempt to escape would be +attended with a serious risk, and George realized that he must wait +until chance or some slackening of vigilance on his custodians' part +equalized matters. + +He was given breakfast, and afterward told that he could go out and +split some wood, which he was glad to do. There was a pile of branches +and a few rotten boards that had once formed part of the shack, and he +set to work to break them up, while the rustler sat and smoked in the +doorway. The man ran no risk in doing so; there was not a bush within +a quarter of a mile, and George knew that a bullet would speedily cut +short his flight. He could see nothing that promised a secure hiding +place all the way to the skyline, and he thought that the plain ran on +beyond it, as little broken. When he had cut some wood, he turned back +toward the door, and the man regarded him with a meaning smile. + +"Come in, if you want; but leave the ax right there," he said. + +He moved back a few paces, out of reach of a sudden spring, as George +entered, and the latter realized that he did not mean to be taken by +surprise. During the afternoon, another man arrived on horseback with +some provisions and remained until George went to sleep. The following +morning, the stranger had disappeared, but he came again once or twice, +and this was all that broke the monotony of the next few days. George, +however, was beginning to feel the strain; his nerves were getting raw, +the constant watchfulness was wearing him. The trial would now be +beginning, and it was time the binders were driven into his grain; the +oats would be ripe, and his neighbors would pick up all the Ontario +hands who reached the settlement. Another day passed, and he was +feeling desperate when the relief watcher arrived in the afternoon. +Listening with strained attention, he heard the men talking outside. +Only a few words reached him, but one was "adjourned," and it filled +him with fresh determination. If he could escape, it might not be too +late. + +It was an oppressive afternoon; the fresh northwest breeze had dropped, +the sky was clouded, the air hot and heavy. Both men remained about +the building, but George sat quietly on the earth floor, smoking and +waiting for night. A few large drops of rain fell, splashing upon roof +and grass while he ate his supper, but it stopped, and the evening was +marked by a deep stillness. He felt listless and disinclined to move; +his guards, to judge by their voices, for they were playing cards +outside, were languidly irritable. + +Dusk came and a thick obscurity, unlike the usual clearness of the +summer nights, shut in the lonely building. It was intensely dark in +the stable; George could not see the relief man's horse, though he +could now and then hear it move. Voices rose at intervals from beyond +the partition, but they ceased at last and only an occasional crackle +of the dry grass that served for seats and bedding told that one at +least of the rustlers was keeping watch. George felt his limbs quiver +while he waited, and he was conscious of an unpleasant tension on his +nerves. There was thunder brewing, and he thought the storm might +offer him an opportunity for getting out. + +At length it struck him that the silence was unusually deep. Rising to +his feet he moved about. There was no challenge; and by way of further +experiment, he kicked his tin plate so that it rattled. Still nobody +called to him, though the horse made a little noise in moving. George +sat down and took off his boots while his heart throbbed painfully. It +looked as if his guards had gone to sleep. He moved a few yards, +stopped to listen, and went on for several paces more. There was no +sound yet beyond the partition, and he crept softly past the horse; he +longed to lead it out, but decided that the risk would be too great. + +Then he stood in the gap between the wall and the partition, straining +eyes and ears, and wondering where the rifle lay. He could see +nothing, however; and, creeping on cautiously, with tingling nerves and +an intolerable feeling of suspense, he drew level with the doorway. It +was hard to refrain from leaping out, but this might make some noise. +Crossing the threshold with careful movements, he made for the spot +where he had cut the wood. He struck something that rattled, but he +found the ax and the feel of it sent a thrill through him. It was +light enough to be carried easily; and he did not mean to be recaptured. + +For some minutes he moved straight on, hurting his feet on the stronger +grass stalks; and then, sitting down, he hastily put on his boots. +After that he broke into a steady run, which he meant to keep up as +long as possible. He was now anxious that the threatened storm should +not break, because if the rustlers had gone to sleep, the longer they +remained so the better. He failed to understand how he had escaped; +perhaps his guards had been lulled into false security by his tranquil +demeanor; perhaps they had trusted to each other; or one, rendered +listless by the tension in the air, had relaxed his watchfulness for a +few moments. This, however, did not matter. George was free; and he +only wished that he had some idea as to where he was heading. He +wanted to place a long distance between him and the stable by morning. + +Dripping with perspiration, breathing hard, he kept up a steady pace +for, so he thought, an hour, after which he walked a mile or two, and +then broke into a run again. The grass was short; he struck no brush, +and the ax did not encumber him. He imagined that dawn must be getting +near when a dazzling flash swept the prairie and there was a long +reverberatory rumbling overhead. He was almost blinded and bewildered, +doubly uncertain where he was going; and then a great stream of white +fire fell from the zenith. The thunder that followed was deafening, +and for the next few minutes blaze succeeded blaze, and there was a +constant crashing and rumbling overhead. After that came a rush of +chilly wind and the air was filled with falling water. + +A hot, steamy smell rose about him; but George, who had been walking +again, began to run. He must use every exertion, for if he were right +in concluding that he had been detained on American soil, his pursuers +would follow him north, and when daylight came a mounted man's view +would command a wide sweep of level prairie. The storm passed away, +muttering, into the distance; the rain ceased, and the air was fresh +and cool until the sun sprang up. It was on his right hand, he thought +he had kept his line; but he stopped to consider on the edge of a +ravine. The sides of the hollow were clothed with tall, wet grass and +brush; it would offer good cover, but he could hardly avoid leaving a +track if he followed it, and his pursuers would search such spots. It +seemed wiser to push on across the plain. + +Descending through the thinnest brush he could find, he stopped for a +drink from the creek at the bottom, and then went on as fast as +possible. He was becoming conscious of a pain in his left side; one +foot felt sore; and as the sun got hotter a longing to lie down a while +grew steadily stronger. Still, he could see nothing but short, gray +grass ahead; he must hold on; there might be bluffs or broken country +beyond the skyline. + +At length a small square block cut against the dazzling brightness and +slowly grew into a lonely homestead. After some consideration, George +headed for it, and toward noon reached a little, birch-log dwelling, +with a sod stable beside it. Both had an uncared-for appearance, which +suggested their owner's poverty. As George approached the door, a +gaunt, hard-faced man in dilapidated overalls came out and gazed at him +in surprise. George's clothing, which had been torn when he was seized +in the bluff, had further suffered during the deluge. He looked a +weary, ragged outcast. + +"Can you give me something to eat and hire me a horse?" he asked. + +The farmer seemed suspicious. + +"Guess I want my horses for the binder; I'm harvesting oats." + +"I'll pay you well for the time you lose," George broke out. + +"How much?" + +Thrusting his hand into his pocket, George found with dismay that his +wallet, which contained some bills, was missing. + +"Anything you ask in reason, but you'll have to take a check on a +Brandon bank. Have you got a pen and paper in the house?" + +"How am I to know your check's good?" The farmer laughed ironically. + +George was doubtful of the man, but he must take a risk. + +"My name's Lansing, from the Marston homestead, beyond Sage Butte. +It's a pretty big place; any check I give you will be honored." + +The farmer looked at him with growing interest. + +"Well," he said, "you can't have my horse." + +It was evident from his manner that reasoning would be useless. + +"How does Sage Butte lie from here?" George asked him. + +"Can't tell you; I've never been in the place." + +George realized that he had blundered, both in calling at the homestead +and in mentioning his name, which had figured in the newspaper account +of the attack on Grant. The farmer, it seemed, had a good idea of the +situation, and if not in league with the rustlers, was afraid of them. +George was wasting time and giving information that might put his +pursuers on his trail. In the meanwhile he noticed a face at the +window and a voice called to the man, who stepped back into the house +and appeared again with a big slab of cold pie. + +"Take this and light out," he said. + +Having eaten nothing since his supper, George was glad of the food; but +he walked on smartly for an hour before he sat down in a clump of brush +and made a meal. Then he lighted his pipe and spent a couple of hours +in much needed rest. Haste was highly desirable; he had no doubt that +he was being followed, but he could go no farther for a while. + +It was very hot when he got up; he was sore all over, and his foot was +paining, but he set off at a run and kept it up until he had crossed a +rise two miles away. The country was getting more broken, which was in +his favor, because the clumps of bush and the small elevations would +tend to hide him. He went on until dusk, without finding any water; +and then lay down among some tall grass in the open. There was a +little bluff not far off, but if the rustlers came that way, he thought +they would search it. It grew cold as darkness crept down; indeed he +imagined that the temperature had fallen to near freezing-point, as it +sometimes does on the plains after a scorching day. + +Part of the night he lay awake, shivering; but during the rest he +slept; and he rose at dawn, very cold and wet with dew. His foot was +very sore, and he had a sharp pain in his side. For the first hour, +walking cost him an effort; but as he grew warmer it became less +difficult, and his foot felt easier. Then, as he crossed a slight +elevation, he saw a faint gray smear on the far horizon and it sent a +thrill through him. Canadian locomotives burning native coal pour out +clouds of thick black smoke which can be seen a long way in the clear +air of the prairie. George was thirty or forty feet, he thought, above +the general level of the plain, the light was strong, and he imagined +that it would take him most of the day to reach the spot over which the +smoke had floated. He was, however, heading for the track, and he +gathered his courage. + +He saw no more smoke for a long time--the increasing brightness seemed +to diminish the clarity of the air. Before noon the pain in his side +had become almost insupportable, and his head was swimming; he felt +worn out, scarcely able to keep on his feet, but again a gray streak on +the horizon put heart into him. It did not appear to move for a while, +and he thought it must have been made by a freight-engine working about +a station. Then, as he came down the gradual slope of a wide +depression, a long bluff on its opposite verge cut the skyline, a hazy +smear of neutral color. He determined to reach the wood and lie down +for a time in its shadow. + +It scarcely seemed to grow any nearer, and an hour had passed before it +assumed any regularity of outline. When it had grown into shape, +George stopped and looked about. It was fiercely hot, the grass was +dazzlingly bright, there was no house or sign of cultivation as far as +his sight ranged; but on glancing back he started as he saw three small +mounted figures on the plain. They had not been there when he last +turned around, and they were moving, spread out about a mile apart. It +was obvious that the rustlers were on his trail. For another moment he +looked at the bluff, breathing hard, with his lips tight set. If he +could reach the wood before he was overtaken, it would offer him cover +from a bullet, and if he could not evade his enemies, he might make a +stand with the ax among the thicker trees. It was an irrational idea, +as he half recognized; but he had grown savage with fatigue, and he had +already suffered as much as he was capable of bearing at the hands of +the cattle thieves. Now he meant to turn on them; but he would be at +their mercy in the open. + +His weariness seemed to fall away from him to give place to grim fury +as he broke into a run, and he did not look back for a while. When he +did so, the figures had grown larger; one could see that they were +moving swiftly; and the bluff was still far away. George believed that +he had been noticed and he strove to quicken his pace. The beat of +hoofs was in his ears when he next looked around; the three horsemen +were converging, growing more distinct; and the bluff was still a mile +ahead. He was stumbling and reeling, his hat fell off, and he dared +not stop to pick it up. + +A mile was covered; he would not look back again, though the thud of +hoofs had swelled into a sharp staccato drumming. With face fiercely +set and the perspiration dripping from him, he held on, scorched and +partly dazzled by the glare. The wood was getting closer; he thought +it was scarcely a quarter of a mile off. His heart throbbed madly, the +pain in his side had grown excruciating; but somehow he must keep +going. His eyes smarted with the moisture that ran into them, his lips +and mouth were salty; he was suffering torment; but he kept on his feet. + +At length, when the trees were close ahead, a faint smudge of smoke +appeared on the edge of them; there was a report like a whipcrack, and +he stopped in despair. His last refuge was held against him. Then, as +he turned in savage desperation to meet the rustlers' onslaught with +the ax, he saw there were only two horsemen, who pulled up suddenly, +about sixty yards away. The third was not visible, but his horse, +which had fallen, was struggling in the grass. As the meaning of this +dawned on George he broke in a wild, breathless yell of exultation; +there was another crack behind him, and the two horsemen wheeled. They +were not too soon, for a mounted man in khaki with something that +flashed across his saddle was riding hard from behind the bluff to cut +them off. Another appeared, going at a furious gallop, and George +stood watching while the four figures grew smaller upon the prairie. + +Turning at a shout he saw Flett and Edgar walking toward him, and he +went with them to the fallen horse. A man lay, gray in face, among the +grass, held down by the body of the animal which partly rested upon him. + +"Get me out," he begged hoarsely. "Leg's broke." + +George felt incapable of helping. He sat down while the other two +extricated the man; then Flett placed his carbine against the horse's +head, and after the report it ceased its struggling. + +"She came down on me sudden; couldn't get my foot clear in time," the +rustler explained. + +"You had to be stopped. I sighted at a hundred; a quick shot," Flett +remarked. "Is there anything else the matter except your leg?" + +"I guess it's enough," said the helpless man. + +Flett turned to George. + +"Walk into the bluff and you'll strike our camp. West must stay with +me until we put on some fixing that will hold this fellow's leg +together." + +George did as he was bidden, and sat down again limply when he reached +an opening in the wood where a pile of branches, with a kettle +suspended over them, had been laid ready for lighting. Presently the +others rejoined him. + +"The fellow can't be moved until we get a wagon," said Flett. "We've +been looking for you all over the country, but it was quite a while +before we got a hint that sent us down this way. We had stopped in the +bluff when we saw a fellow running with three mounted men after him, +and we lay close, expecting to get the bunch. It's unfortunate they +got too near you and I had to shoot, but I guess the boys will bring +them back." + +Edgar looked at his comrade reproachfully. + +"If you could only have sprinted a little and kept ahead, we would +either have outflanked them or have had the finest imaginable ride with +every chance of running the fellows down. As things turned out, I +couldn't go off with the troopers until I found that you had got +through unhurt." + +"I'm sorry," George told him, with a little dry laugh. "But I don't +think I spared any effort during the last quarter of a mile." + +Then he related his adventures, and answered a number of questions. + +"You'll take my horse," said Flett, "and start for the railroad as soon +as you feel able. Get on to Regina by the first train; judging by the +last wire I got, you'll still be in time. West had better go with you +to the station, and he can send a wagon for the man who's hurt. Now I +guess we'll get you something to eat." + +"I shouldn't mind," said George. "It's twenty-four hours since my last +meal, and that one was remarkably small." + +He drank a canful of cold tea, and then went suddenly to sleep while +the others lighted the fire. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +THE REACTION + +The trial at Regina proved sensational. Crimes attended with violence +were not unknown in the vicinity, and cattle were now and then stolen +in the neighboring province of Alberta; but that such things as the +prosecutor's tale revealed should happen aroused wide-spread +astonishment and virtuous indignation. Nevertheless, they were proved, +for Flett had procured a number of witnesses and, what was more, had +secured their attendance. + +In addition to this, other offenses were hinted at; the doings of an +organized gang of desperadoes and their accomplices were detailed, and +facts were brought to light which made the withdrawal of the Sachem +license inevitable. The defense took strong exception to this mode of +procedure, pointing out that the court was only concerned with a +specified offense, and that it was not permissible to drag in +extraneous and largely supposititious matter. During the sweltering +days the trial lasted, there were brisk encounters between the lawyers, +and several points the prosecution sought to prove were ruled +irrelevant. As a climax, came George's story, which caused a +sensation, though the close-packed assembly felt that he scarcely did +justice to his theme. + +In concluding, the Crown prosecutor pointed out how rapidly the +outbreaks of turbulent lawlessness had spread. They were all, he +contended, connected with and leading up to the last outrage, of which +the men before him were accused. It was obvious that this unruliness +must be sternly stamped out before it spread farther, and if the court +agreed with him that the charge was fully proved, he must press for a +drastic and deterrent penalty. + +The odds were heavily against the defense from the beginning. The +credibility of Flett's witnesses could not be assailed, and +cross-examination only threw a more favorable light upon their +character. Inside the court, and out of it as the newspapers +circulated, Grant stood revealed as a fearless citizen, with a stern +sense of his duty to the community; George, somewhat to his annoyance, +as a more romantic personage of the same description, and Hardie, who +had been brought in to prove certain points against which the defense +protested, as one who had fought and suffered in a righteous cause. + +In the end, the three prisoners were convicted, and when the court +broke up the police applied for several fresh warrants, which were +issued. + +As George was walking toward his hotel, he met Flett, to whom he had +not spoken since they separated in the bluff. + +"I was waiting for you," said the constable. "I'm sorry we'll have to +call you up again as soon as the rustler's leg is better. He's in the +guard-room, and the boys got one of the other fellows; but we can talk +about it on the train. I'm going back to my post." + +George arranged to meet him, and they were sitting in a roomy smoking +compartment as the big express sped across wide gray levels and past +vast stretches of ripening grain, when the next allusion was made to +the matter. + +"I suppose you'll be sergeant shortly," George remarked. + +"Corporal comes first," said Flett. "They stick to the regular +rotation." + +"That's true, but they seem to use some discretion in exceptional +cases. I hardly think you'll remain a corporal." + +Flett's eyes twinkled. + +"I did get something that sounded like a hint. I'll confess that I +felt like whooping after it." + +"You have deserved all you'll get," George declared. + +They spent the night at a junction, where Flett had some business, and +it was the next evening when the local train ran into Sage Butte. The +platform was crowded and as George and Flett alighted, there was a +cheer and, somewhat to their astonishment, the reeve of the town +advanced to meet them. + +"I'm here to welcome you in the name of the citizens of the Butte," he +said. "We have to request the favor of your company at supper at the +Queen's." + +"It's an honor," George responded. "I'm sensible of it; but, you see, +I'm in a hurry to get back to work and I wired for a team. My harvest +should have been started a week ago." + +"Don't you worry 'bout that," said the reeve. "It wasn't our wish that +you should suffer through discharging your duty, and we made a few +arrangements. Four binders have been working steady in your oats, and +if you don't like the way we have fixed things, you can alter them +to-morrow." + +Then West touched George's arm. + +"You'll have to come. They've got two other victims--Hardie and +Grant--and the supper's ready." + +The reeve looked at him in stern rebuke. + +"That isn't the way to speak of this function, Percy. If you feel like +a victim, you can drop right out." + +George was touched by the man's intimation. He expressed his +satisfaction, and the whole assembly escorted him to the hotel. There +he and Grant and Hardie were seated at the top of a long table near the +reeve, who made a short opening speech. + +"Business first, and then the supper, boys," he said. "Corporal Flett +can't come; his bosses wouldn't approve of it; but I'll see it put in +the Sentinel that he was asked, and we won't mind if that has some +effect on them. There's another thing--out of deference to Mr. Hardie +and the change in opinion he has ably led--you'll only get tea and +coffee at this entertainment. Those who haven't signed his book, must +hold out until it's over." + +An excellent meal had been finished when he got up again, with three +illuminated strips of parchment in his hand. + +"I'll be brief, but there's something to be said. Our guests have set +us an example which won't be lost. They saw the danger of letting +things drift; one of them warned us plainly, although to do so needed +grit, and some of us rounded on him, and if the others didn't talk, it +was because that wasn't their end of the job. They knew their duty to +the country and they did it, though it cost them something. We owe it +to them that the police have smashed the rustler gang, and that from +now on no small homesteader can be bluffed or tempted into doing what's +sure to bring him into trouble, and no man with a big farm need fear to +let his cattle run. What's more, instead of a haunt of toughs and +hobos, we're going to have a quiet and prosperous town. I'm now proud +that it's my duty to hand our guests the assurance of our grateful +appreciation. Corporal Flett's will be sent on to him." + +He handed them the parchments, and George felt inclined to blush as he +glanced at the decorated words of eulogy; while a half-ironical twinkle +crept into Grant's eyes. Then Hardie rose to reply, and faltered once +or twice with a sob of emotion in his voice, for the testimonial had a +deeper significance to him than it had to the others. His audience, +however, encouraged him, and there was a roar of applause when he sat +down. Soon after that the gathering broke up. + +George went to the parlor, which served as writing-room, and found +Flora there. She smiled as she noticed the end of the parchment +sticking out of his pocket. + +"I dare say you're relieved that the ceremony's over," she said. + +"It was a little trying," George confessed. "I was badly afraid I'd +have to make a speech, but luckily we had Hardie, who was equal to the +task." + +"After all, you needn't be ashamed of the testimonial. I really think +you deserved it, and I suppose I must congratulate you on the fortunate +end of your dramatic adventures." + +George stood looking at her. He was somewhat puzzled, for there was a +hint of light mockery in her voice. + +"I'll excuse you if you feel that it requires an effort," he said. + +"Oh, you have had so much applause that mine can hardly count." + +"You ought to know that it's my friends' good opinion I really value." + +Flora changed the subject. + +"You will be driving out in the morning?" + +"I'm starting as soon as Edgar has the team ready. There's a good moon +and I must get to work the first thing to-morrow." + +The girl's face hardened. + +"You seem desperately anxious about your crop." + +"I think that's natural. There's a good deal to be done and I've lost +some time. I came in to write a note before I see what Edgar's doing." + +"Then I mustn't disturb you, and it's time I went over to Mrs. +Nelson's--she expects me to stay the night. I was merely waiting for a +word with my father." She stopped George, who had meant to accompany +her. "No, you needn't come--it's only a few blocks away. Get your +note written." + +Seeing that she did not desire his escort, George let her go; but he +frowned as he sat down and took out some paper. Soon afterward Edgar +came in, and they drove off in a few more minutes. + +"Did you see Miss Grant?" Edgar asked when they were jolting down the +rutted trail. + +"I did," George said shortly. + +"You seem disturbed about it." + +"I was a little perplexed," George owned. "There was something that +struck me as different in her manner. It may have been imagination, +but I felt she wasn't exactly pleased with me. I can't understand how +I have offended her." + +"No," said Edgar. "It would have been remarkable if you had done so. +I suppose you told her you couldn't rest until you got to work at the +harvest?" + +"I believe I said something of the kind. What has that to do with it?" + +"It isn't very obvious. Perhaps she felt tired or moody; it has been a +blazing hot day. There's every sign of its being the same to-morrow. +I suppose you'll make a start after breakfast?" + +"I'll make a start as soon as it's daylight," George told him. + +He kept his word, and for the next few weeks toiled with determined +energy among the tall white oats and the coppery ears of wheat. It was +fiercely hot, but from sunrise until the light failed, the plodding +teams and clinking binders moved round the lessening squares of grain, +and ranks of splendid sheaves lengthened fast behind them. The nights +were getting sharp, the dawns were cold and clear, and George rose each +morning, aching in every limb, but with a keen sense of satisfaction. +Each day's work added to the store of money he would shortly hand to +Sylvia. He saw little of Flora, but when they met by chance, as +happened once or twice, he was still conscious of something subtly +unfamiliar in her manner. He felt they were no longer on the old +confidential footing; a stronger barrier of reserve had risen between +them. + +Before the last sheaves were stacked, the days were growing cool. The +fresh western breezes had died away, and a faint ethereal haze and a +deep stillness had fallen upon the prairie. It was rudely broken when +the thrashers arrived and from early morning the clatter of the engine +filled the air with sound. Loaded wagons crashed through the stubble, +the voices of dusty men mingled with the rustle of the sheaves, and a +long trail of sooty smoke stained the soft blue of the sky. + +This work was finished in turn, and day by day the wagons, loaded high +with bags of grain, rolled slowly across the broad white levels toward +the elevators. Many a tense effort was needed to get them to their +destination, for the trails were dry and loose; but markets were +strong, and George had decided to haul in all the big crop. Sometimes, +though the nights were frosty, he slept beside his jaded team in the +shelter of a bluff; sometimes he spent a day he grudged laying straw on +a road; rest for more than three or four hours was unknown to him, and +meals were snatched at irregular intervals when matters of more +importance were less pressing. For all that, he was uniformly +cheerful; the work brought him the greatest pleasure he had known, and +he had grown fond of the wide, open land, in which he had once looked +forward to dwelling with misgivings. The freedom of its vast spaces, +its clear air and its bright sunshine, appealed to him, and he began to +realize that he would be sorry to leave it, which he must shortly do. +Sylvia, it was a pity, could not live in western Canada. + +At length, on a frosty evening, he saw the last load vanish into the +dusty elevator, and a curious feeling of regret crept over him. It was +very doubtful if he would haul in another harvest, and he wondered +whether the time would now and then hang heavily on his hands in +England. There was a roar of machinery above him in the tail building +that cut sharply against the sky; below, long rows of wagons stood +waiting their turn, and the voices of the teamsters, bantering one +another, struck cheerfully on his ears. Side-track and little station +were bathed in dazzling electric glare, two locomotives were pushing in +wheat cars, and lights had begun to glimmer in the wooden houses of the +Butte, though all round there was the vast sweep of prairie. + +There was a touch of rawness in the picture, a hint of incompleteness, +with a promise of much to come. Sage Butte was, perhaps, a trifle +barbarous; but its crude frame buildings would some day give place to +more imposing piles of concrete and steel. Its inhabitants were +passing through a transition stage, showing signs at times of the +primitive strain, but, as a rule, reaching out eagerly toward what was +new and better. They would make swift progress, and even now he liked +the strenuous, optimistic, and somewhat rugged life they led; he +reflected that he would find things different in sheltered England. + +After giving Grierson a few instructions, George turned away. His work +was done; instead of driving home through the sharp cold of the night, +he was to spend it comfortably at the hotel. + +A week later, he and West drove over to the Grant homestead and found +only its owner in the general-room. Grant listened with a rather +curious expression when George told him that he was starting for +England the following day; and then they quietly talked over the +arrangements that had been made for carrying on the farm until Edgar's +return, for George's future movements were uncertain. Edgar, however, +was sensible of a constraint in the farmer's manner, which was +presently felt by George, and the conversation was languishing when +Flora came in. Shortly afterward George said that they must go and +Flora strolled toward the fence with him while the team was being +harnessed. + +"So you are leaving us to-morrow and may not come back?" she said, in +an indifferent tone. + +"I can't tell what I shall do until I get to England." + +Flora glanced at him with a composure that cost her an effort. She +supposed his decision would turn upon Mrs. Marston's attitude, but she +knew Sylvia well, and had a suspicion that there was a disappointment +in store for Lansing. Edgar had explained that he was not rich, and he +was not the kind of man Sylvia was likely to regard with favor. + +"Well," she said lightly, "when I came in, you really didn't look as +cheerful as one might have expected. Are you sorry you are going away?" + +"It's a good deal harder than I thought. The prairie seems to have got +hold of me; I have good friends here." + +"Haven't you plenty in England?" + +"Acquaintances; only a few friends. I can't help regretting those I +must leave behind. In fact"--he spoke impulsively, expressing a +thought that had haunted him--"it would be a relief if I knew I should +come back again." + +"After all, this is a hard country and we're a rather primitive people." + +"You're reliable! Staunch friends, determined enemies; and even among +the latter I found a kind of sporting feeling which made it a little +easier for one to forget one's injuries." He glanced at the prairie +which stretched away, white and silent, in the clear evening light. +"It's irrational in a way, but I'd be glad to feel I was going to work +as usual to-morrow." + +"I suppose you could do so, if you really wanted to," Flora suggested. + +George turned and looked fixedly at her, while a mad idea crept into +his mind. She was very alluring; he thought he knew her nature, which +was altogether wholesome, and it flashed upon him that many of the +excellent qualities she possessed were lacking in Sylvia. Then he +loyally drove out the temptation, wondering that it had assailed him, +though he was still clearly conscious of his companion's attractiveness. + +"No," he said in a somewhat strained voice; "I hardly think that's +possible. I must go back." + +Flora smiled, though it was difficult. She half believed she could +shake the man's devotion to her rival, but she was too proud to try. +If he came to her, he must come willingly, and not because she had +exerted her utmost power to draw him. + +"Well," she responded, "one could consider the reluctant way you spoke +the last few words as flattering. I suppose it's a compliment to +Canada?" + +He failed to understand the light touch of mocking amusement in her +tone; it had not dawned on him that this was her defense. + +"It's a compliment to the Canadians, though my appreciation can't be +worth very much. But I don't feel in a mood to joke. In fact, there's +a feeling of depression abroad to-night; even your father seems +affected. I'd expected a pleasant talk with him, but we were very +dull." + +"What made you think he was less cheerful than usual?" Flora cast a +quick and rather startled glance at him. + +"I don't know, but something seemed wrong. Edgar's the only one who +looks undisturbed, and if he talks much going home, he'll get on my +nerves." + +"It's hardly fair to blame him for a depression that's your fault," +said Flora. "You deserve to feel it, since you will go away." + +Then Edgar came up with the wagon and George took Flora's hands. + +"I shall think of you often," he told her. "It will always be with +pleasure. Now and then you might, perhaps, spare a thought for me." + +"I think I can promise that," Flora replied quietly. + +Then he shook hands with Grant and got into the wagon. Edgar cracked +the whip and the team plunged forward. With a violent jolting and a +rattle of wheels they left the farm behind and drove out on to the +prairie. Flora stood watching them for a while; and then walked back +to the house in the gathering dusk with her face set hard and a pain at +her heart. + +Grant was sitting on the stoop, filling his pipe, but when she joined +him he paused in his occupation and pointed toward the plain. The +wagon was scarcely discernible, but a rhythmic beat of hoofs still came +back through the stillness. + +"I like that man, but he's a blamed fool," he remarked. + +Strong bitterness was mingled with the regret in his voice, and Flora +started. She was glad that the light was too dim for him to see her +clearly. + +"I wonder what makes you say that?" + +"For one thing, he might have done well here." Flora suspected that her +father was not expressing all he had meant. "He's the kind of man we +want; and now he's going back to fool his life away, slouching round +playing games and talking to idle people, in the old country. Guess +some girl over there has got a hold on him." Then his indignation +flamed out unchecked. "I never could stand those Percy women, anyway; +saw a bunch of them, all dress and airs, when I was last in Winnipeg. +One was standing outside a ticket-office at Portage, studying the +people through an eyeglass on an ivory stick, as if they were some +strange savages, and making remarks about them to her friends, though I +guess there isn't a young woman in the city with nerve enough to wear +the clothes she had on. It makes a sensible man mighty tired to hear +those creatures talk." + +Flora laughed, rather drearily, though she guessed with some uneasiness +the cause of her father's outbreak. It appeared injudicious to offer +him any encouragement. + +"After all, one must be fair," she said. "I met some very nice people +in the old country." + +He turned to her abruptly. + +"Do you know who has taken Lansing back?" he asked. + +"I believe, from something West said, it is Mrs. Marston." + +"That trash!" Grant's sharp cry expressed incredulity. "The man can't +have any sense! He's going to be sorry all the time if he gets her." + +Then he knocked out his pipe, as if he were too indignant to smoke, and +went into the house. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +A REVELATION + +It was a winter evening and Sylvia was standing near the hearth in Mrs. +Kettering's hall, where the lamps were burning, though a little pale +daylight still filtered through the drizzle outside. Sylvia was fond +of warmth and brightness, but she was alone except for Ethel West, who +sat writing at a table in a recess, although her hostess had other +guests, including a few men who were out shooting. After a while Ethel +looked up. + +"Have you or Herbert heard anything from George during the last few +weeks?" she asked. + +Sylvia turned languidly. Her thoughts had been fixed on Captain Bland, +whom she was expecting every moment. Indeed, she was anxious to get +rid of Ethel before he came in. + +"No," she said with indifference. "I think his last letter came a +month ago. It was optimistic." + +"They seem to have had a good harvest from what Edgar wrote; he hinted +that he might make a trip across." + +"It's rather an expensive journey." + +"That wouldn't trouble Edgar, and there's a reason for the visit. He +has made up his mind to start farming and wants to talk over his plans. +In fact, he thinks of getting married." + +Sylvia showed some interest. + +"To whom? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" + +"I only arrived this morning, and I wrote some time ago, asking if you +could meet Stephen and me. You were with the Graysons then, but you +didn't answer." + +"I forgot; I don't always answer letters. But who is the girl? Not +Miss Grant?" + +"Helen Taunton. Do you know her?" + +Sylvia laughed. + +"The storekeeper's daughter! She's passably good-looking and her +father's not badly off, but that's about all one could say for her." + +"Do you know anything against the girl?" + +"Oh, no!" said Sylvia languidly. "She's quite respectable--in fact, +they're rather a straight-laced people; and she doesn't talk badly. +For all that, I think you'll get a shock if Edgar brings her home." + +"That is not George's opinion. We wrote to him." + +Sylvia laughed. + +"He would believe in anybody who looked innocent and pretty." + +Ethel's expression hardened; Sylvia had not been considerate. + +"I don't think that's true. He's generous, and though he has made +mistakes, it was only because his confidence was misled with a highly +finished skill. One wouldn't look for the same ability in a girl +brought up in a primitive western town." + +"After all," said Sylvia tranquilly, "she is a girl, and no doubt Edgar +is worth powder and shot from her point of view." + +"It doesn't seem to be a commercial one," Ethel retorted. "Stephen had +a very straightforward letter from this storekeeper. But I'm inclined +to think I had better go on with my writing." + +Sylvia moved away. She had no reason for being gracious to Ethel, and +she took some pleasure in irritating her. + +In a few minutes Bland came in. The hall was large, and Ethel was +hidden from him in the recess. He strode toward Sylvia eagerly, but +she checked him with a gesture. + +"You have come back early," she said. "Wasn't the sport good? What +has become of Kettering and the others?" + +The man looked a little surprised. This was hardly the greeting he had +expected, after having been promised a quiet half-hour with Sylvia; +but, looking round, he saw the skirt of Ethel's dress and understood. +Had it been George she wished to warn, she would have used different +means; but Bland, she was thankful, was not hypercritical. + +"The sport was poor," he told her. "The pheasants aren't very strong +yet, and it was hard to drive them out of the covers. As I'd only a +light water-proof, I got rather wet outside the last wood and I left +the others. Kettering wanted to see the keeper about to-morrow's beat, +but I didn't wait." + +"Since you have been in the rain all day, you had better have some +tea," said Sylvia. "They'll bring it here, if you ring." + +He followed her to a small table across the hall, and after a tray had +been set before them they sat talking in low voices. Presently Bland +laid his hand on Sylvia's arm. + +"You know why I came down," he said. "I must go back to-morrow and I +want the announcement made before I leave." + +Sylvia blushed and lowered her eyes. + +"Oh, well," she conceded, "you have really been very patient, and +perhaps it would be hardly fair to make you wait any longer." + +Bland took her hand and held it fast. + +"You are worth waiting for! But there were times when it was very hard +not to rebel. I'd have done so, only I was afraid." + +"You did rebel." + +"Not to much purpose. Though no one would suspect it from your looks, +you're a very determined person, Sylvia. Now I don't know how to +express my feelings; I want to do something dramatic, even if it's +absurd, and I can't even speak aloud. Couldn't you have got rid of +Miss West by some means?" + +"How could I tell what you wished to say?" Sylvia asked with a shy +smile. "Besides, Ethel wouldn't go. She stuck there in the most +determined fashion!" + +"Then we'll have to disregard her. It must be early next year, Sylvia. +I'll see Lansing to-morrow." + +He continued in a quietly exultant strain, and Sylvia felt relieved +that her fate was decided. She had some time ago led him to believe +she would marry him; but she had, with vague misgivings and prompted by +half-understood reasons, put off a definite engagement. Now she had +given her pledge, and though she thought of George with faint regret, +she was on the whole conscious of satisfaction. Bland, she believed, +had a good deal to offer her which she could not have enjoyed with his +rival. + +Presently a servant brought Ethel something on a salver, and a few +moments later she approached the other two with a telegram in her hand. + +"I thought I had better tell you, Sylvia," she explained. "Stephen has +just got a letter from Edgar, written a day or two before he sailed. +He should arrive on Saturday, and George is with him." + +Sylvia had not expected this and she was off her guard. She started, +and sat looking at Ethel incredulously, with something like +consternation. + +"It's quite true," said Ethel bluntly. "He'll be here in three more +days." + +Then Sylvia recovered her composure. + +"In that case, I'll have to let Muriel know at once; he'll go straight +there, and she's staying with Lucy. Perhaps I had better telegraph." + +She rose and left them; and Bland sought Mrs. Kettering and acquainted +her of his engagement, and begged her to make it known, which she +promised to do. He failed to find Sylvia until she was coming down to +dinner, when she beckoned him. + +"Have you told Susan yet?" she asked. + +"Yes," Bland beamed; "I told her at once. I should have liked to go +about proclaiming the delightful news!" + +Sylvia looked disturbed; Bland could almost have fancied she was angry. +As a matter of fact, troubled thoughts were flying through her mind. +It was obvious that she would shortly be called upon to face a crisis. + +"After all," she said, with an air of resignation which struck him as +out of place, "I suppose you had to do so; but you lost no time." + +"Not a moment!" he assured her. "I felt I couldn't neglect anything +that brought you nearer to me." + +Then they went on, and meeting the other guests in the hall, Sylvia +acknowledged the shower of congratulations with a smiling face. She +escaped after dinner, however, without a sign to Bland, and did not +reappear. During the evening, he found Ethel West sitting alone in a +quiet nook. + +"Mrs. Marston seemed a little disturbed at the news you gave her," he +remarked. + +"So I thought," said Ethel. + +"I suppose the George you mentioned is her trustee, who went to Canada +and took your brother? You once told me something about him." + +"Yes," said Ethel. "You seem to have the gift of arriving at correct +conclusions." + +"He's an elderly man--a business man of his cousin's stamp--I presume?" + +Ethel laughed. + +"Oh, no; they're of very different type. I should imagine that he's +younger than you are. He was at Herbert's one afternoon when you +called." + +"Ah!" said Bland. "I shall, no doubt, get to know him when next I come +down." + +Then he talked about other matters until he left her, and after a while +he found Kettering alone. + +"Did you ever meet George Lansing?" he asked. + +"Oh, yes," said his host. "I know his cousin better." + +"He has been out in Canada, hasn't he?" + +"Yes; went out to look after Mrs. Marston's property. I understand he +has been more or less successful." + +"When did he leave England?" + +Kettering told him, and Bland considered. + +"So Lansing has been out, and no doubt going to a good deal of trouble, +for two years," he said. "That's something beyond an ordinary +executor's duty. What made him undertake it?" + +Kettering smiled. + +"It's an open secret--you're bound to hear it--that he had an +admiration for Sylvia. Still, there's no ground for jealousy. Lansing +hadn't a chance from the beginning." + +Bland concealed his feelings. + +"How is that? He must be an unusually good fellow if he stayed out +there to look after things so long." + +"For one reason, he's not Sylvia's kind. It was quite out of the +question that she should ever have married him." + +Feeling that he had, perhaps, said too much, Kettering began to talk of +the next day's sport; and soon afterward Bland left him and went out on +the terrace to smoke and ponder. Putting what he had learned together, +he thought he understood the situation, and it was not a pleasant one, +though he was not very indignant with Sylvia. It looked as if she made +an unfair use of Lansing's regard for her, unless, in spite of +Kettering's opinion, she had until lately been undecided how to choose +between them. Nevertheless, Bland could not feel that he had now been +rudely undeceived, for he had always recognized some of Sylvia's +failings. He did not expect perfection; and he could be generous, when +he had won. + +He asked Sylvia no injudicious questions when they met the next +morning, and during the day he called on Herbert Lansing, who was back +in his office. The latter heard him explain his errand with somewhat +mixed feelings, for there were certain rather troublesome facts that +must be mentioned. + +"Well," he said, "I have, of course, no objections to make; but, as one +of her trustees, it's my duty to look after Sylvia's interests. As you +know, she is not rich." + +"I suppose these points must he talked over," Bland said, with +indifference. + +"It's usual, and in the present case, necessary. What provision are +you able to make?" + +Bland looked a little uncomfortable. "As a matter of fact, I'd find it +difficult to make any provision. I get along fairly well, as it is, +but I've only about four hundred a year besides my pay." + +"How far does your pay go?" Herbert asked dryly. + +"It covers my mess bills and a few expenses of that nature." + +Herbert leaned back in his chair with a smile. + +"Hasn't it struck you that you should have chosen a wife with money?" + +"Now," said Bland rather sternly, "I don't want to lie open to any +misconception, but I understood that Mrs. Marston had some means. I'm +quite prepared to hear they're small." + +"That's fortunate, because it may save you a shock. Sylvia owns a farm +in Canada, which did not repay the cost of working it last year. +During the present one there has been an improvement, and we expect a +small surplus on the two years' operations. The place has been valued +at--but perhaps I had better give you a few figures, showing you how +matters stand." + +Opening a drawer, he handed a paper to Bland, who studied it with a +sense of dismay. + +"I'll confess that this is an unpleasant surprise," he said at length; +and then, while Herbert waited, he pulled himself together with a +laugh. "After that admission, I must add that the mistake is the +result of my having a sanguine imagination; Sylvia scarcely mentioned +her Canadian property. Now, however, there's only one thing to be +done--to face the situation as cheerfully as possible." + +"It can't be an altogether attractive one." Herbert admired his courage +and the attitude he had adopted. + +"I shall certainly have to economize," Bland admitted; "and that is a +thing I'm not accustomed to; but I may get some appointment, and by and +by a small share in some family property will revert to me. Though I +must go straight back to my garrison duties now, I'll come down for an +hour or two and explain things to Sylvia, as soon as I can." He paused +and broke into a faint smile. "I dare say the surprise will be mutual; +she may have believed my means to be larger than they are." + +"I should consider it very possible," replied Herbert dryly. "As I +must see Sylvia, I'll give her an idea how matters stand and clear the +ground for you." + +Bland said that he would be glad of this; and after some further +conversation he took his leave and walked to the station, disturbed in +mind, but conscious of a little ironical amusement. There was no doubt +that Sylvia had cleverly deluded him, but he admitted that he had done +much the same thing to her. Had he realized the true state of her +affairs at the beginning he would have withdrawn; but he had no thought +of doing so now. It was obvious that Sylvia's principles were not very +high, and he regretted it, although he could not claim much superiority +in this respect. He was tolerant and, after all, she had a charm that +atoned for many failings. + +It was three or four days later when he arrived at Mrs. Kettering's +house one evening and found Sylvia awaiting him in a room reserved for +her hostess's use. She was very becomingly dressed and looked, he +thought, even more attractive than usual. She submitted to his caress +with an air of resignation, but he augured a good deal from the fact +that she did not repulse him. As it happened, Sylvia had carefully +thought over the situation. + +"Sit down," she said; "I want to talk with you." + +"I think I'll stand. It's more difficult to feel penitent in a +comfortable position. It looks as if you had seen Herbert Lansing." + +"I have." Sylvia's tone was harsh. "What have you to say for yourself?" + +"Not a great deal, which is fortunate, because I haven't much time to +say it in," Bland told her with a smile. "To begin with, I'll state +the unflattering truth--it strikes me that, in one way, we're each as +bad as the other. I suppose it's one of my privileges to mention such +facts to you, though I'd never think of admitting them to anybody else." + +"It's a husband's privilege," Sylvia rejoined pointedly. "Don't be +premature." + +"Well," said Bland, "I can only make one defense, but I think you ought +to realize how strong it is. We were thrown into each other's society, +and it isn't in the least surprising that I lost my head and was +carried away. My power of reasoning went when I fell in love with you." + +"That sounds pretty, but it's unfortunate you didn't think of me a +little more," pouted Sylvia. + +"Think of you?" Bland broke out. "I thought of nothing else!" + +"Then it wasn't to much purpose. Don't you see what you want to bring +me to? Can't you realize what I should have to give up? How could we +ever manage on the little we have?" + +The man frowned. He was sorry for her and somewhat ashamed, but she +jarred on him in her present mood. + +"I believe people who were sufficiently fond of each other have often +got along pretty satisfactorily on less, even in the Service. It's a +matter of keen regret to me that you will have to make a sacrifice, but +things are not quite so bad as they look, and there's reason for +believing they may get better. You will have as pleasant society as +you enjoy now; my friends will stand by my wife." A look of pride +crept into his face. "I dare say they have their failings, but they'll +only expect charm from you, and you can give it to them. They won't +value you by the display you make or your possessions. We're free from +that taint." + +"But have you considered what you must give up?" + +Bland had hardly expected this, but he smiled. + +"Oh, yes. I spent an evening over it and I was a little surprised to +find how many things there were I could readily do without. In fact, +it was a most instructive evening. The next day I wrote a bundle of +letters, resigning from clubs I rarely went to, and canceling orders +for odds and ends I hadn't the least real use for. But I'll confess +that I've derived a good deal more pleasure from thinking of how much I +shall get." + +Sylvia was touched, but she did not mean to yield too readily. + +"It would be dreadfully imprudent." + +"Just so; one has often to take a risk. It's rather exciting to fling +prudence overboard. I want to fix my whole attention on the fact that +we love each other!" Bland glanced at his watch. "Now it strikes me +that we have been sufficiently practical, and as I must start back +to-night, I haven't much time left. Don't you think it would be a pity +to waste it?" + +He drew her down beside him on a lounge and Sylvia surrendered. After +all, the man had made a good defense and, as far as her nature +permitted, she had grown fond of him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +GEORGE MAKES UP HIS MIND + +Dusk was closing in when George and Edgar alighted at a little English +station. Casting an eager glance about, George was disappointed to see +nobody from his cousin's house waiting to meet him. In another moment, +however, he was warmly greeted by Ethel West. + +"A very hearty welcome, George," she said. "You're looking very fit, +but thinner than you were when you left us. Stephen's waiting outside. +He told Muriel we would drive you over; Herbert's away somewhere." + +"How's everybody?" George inquired. + +"Sylvia looked as charming as ever when I last saw her a few days ago," +Ethel answered with a smile, which George was too eager to notice was +somewhat forced. "The rest of us, are much as usual. But come along; +we'll send over afterward for your heavy things." + +They turned toward the outlet, and found Stephen having some trouble +with a horse that was startled by the roar of steam. Edgar got up in +front of the high trap, George helped Ethel to the seat behind, and +they set off the next moment, flying down the wet road amid a cheerful +hammer of hoofs and a rattle of wheels. For the first few minutes +George said little as he looked about. On one side great oaks and +ashes raised their naked boughs in sharp tracery against the pale +saffron glow in the western sky. Ahead, across a deep valley, which +was streaked with trains of mist, wide moors and hills rolled away, +gray and darkly blue. Down the long slope to the hollow ran small +fields with great trees breaking the lines of hedgerows; and the +brawling of a river swollen by recent rain came sharply up to him. + +It was all good to look upon, a beautiful, well-cared-for land, and he +felt a thrill of pride and satisfaction. This was home, and he had +come back to it with his work done. A roseate future stretched away +before him, its peaceful duties brightened by love, and the contrast +between it and the stress and struggle of the past two years added to +its charm. Still, to his astonishment, he thought of the sterner and +more strenuous life he had led on the western plains with a faint, +half-tender regret. + +By and by Edgar's laugh rang out. + +"The change in my brother is remarkable," Ethel declared. "It was a +very happy thought that made us let him go with you." + +"I'm not responsible," George rejoined. "You have the country to +thank. In some way, it's a hard land; but it's a good one." + +"Perhaps something is due to Miss Taunton's influence." + +Edgar leaned over the back of the seat. + +"That," he said, "is a subject of which I've a monopoly; and I've +volumes to say upon it as soon as there's a chance of doing it justice. +George, I hear that Singleton, who told us about the wheat, is home on +a visit. Stephen has asked him over; you must meet him." + +George said he would be glad to do so, and turned to Ethel when Edgar +resumed his conversation with his brother. + +"I wired Herbert to have everything ready at my place, though I shall +spend the night at Brantholme." + +"The Lodge is let. Didn't you know?" + +"I understood that the man's tenancy ran out a few weeks ago." + +"He renewed it. Herbert didn't know you were coming over; the terms +were good." + +"Then I'm homeless for a time." + +"Oh, no!" said Ethel. "Stephen wanted me to insist on your coming with +us now, but I know you will want to see Muriel and have a talk with +her. However, we'll expect you to come and take up your quarters with +us to-morrow." + +George looked at her in some surprise. + +"I'd be delighted, but Herbert will expect me to stay with him, and, of +course--" + +"Sylvia hadn't arrived this afternoon; she was at Mrs. Kettering's," +Ethel told him. "But remember that you must stay with us until you +make your arrangements. We should find it hard to forgive you if you +went to anybody else." + +"I wouldn't think of it, only that Herbert's the obvious person to +entertain me," George replied, though he was a little puzzled by the +insistence, and Ethel abruptly began to talk of something else. + +Darkness came, but there were gleams of cheerful light from roadside +cottages, and George found the fresh moist air and the shadowy woods +they skirted pleasantly familiar. This was the quiet English +countryside he loved, and a sense of deep and tranquil content +possessed him. He failed to notice that Ethel cleverly avoided +answering some of his questions and talked rather more than usual about +matters of small importance. At length they reached the Brantholme +gates, and Stephen looked down as George alighted. + +"We'll expect you over shortly; I'll send for your baggage," he said as +he drove off. + +George, to his keen disappointment, found only Mrs. Lansing waiting for +him in the hall, though she received him very cordially, + +"Herbert had to go up to London; he didn't get your wire in time to put +off the journey," she explained. "I'm sorry he can't be back for a few +days." + +"It doesn't matter; he has to attend to his business," George rejoined. +"But where's Sylvia?" + +"She hasn't come back from Susan's," said Mrs. Lansing, quickly +changing the subject and explaining why Herbert had re-let the Lodge. +After that, she asked George questions until she sent him off to +prepare for dinner. + +George was perplexed as well as disappointed. Neither Ethel nor Muriel +seemed inclined to speak about Sylvia--it looked as if they had some +reason for avoiding any reference to her; but he assured himself that +this was imagination, and during dinner he confined his inquiries to +other friends. When it was over and Muriel led him into the +drawing-room, his uneasiness grew more keen. + +"Herbert thought you would like to know as soon as possible how things +were going," Muriel said, as she took a big envelope from a drawer and +gave it to him. + +"He told me this was a rough statement of your business affairs." + +"Thanks," said George, thrusting it carelessly into his pocket. "I +must study it sometime. But I've been looking forward all day to +meeting Sylvia. Wouldn't Susan let her come?" + +Mrs. Lansing hesitated, and then, leaning forward, laid her hand on his +arm. + +"I've kept it back a little, George; but you must be told. I'm afraid +it will be a shock---Sylvia is to marry Captain Bland in the next few +weeks." + +George rose and turned rather gray in the face, as he leaned on the +back of a chair. + +"I suppose," he said hoarsely, "there's no doubt of this?" + +"It's all arranged." Mrs. Lansing made a compassionate gesture. "I +can't tell you how sorry I am, or how hateful it was to have to give +you such news." + +"I can understand why Sylvia preferred to leave it to you," he said +slowly. "How long has this matter been going on?" + +Mrs. Lansing's eyes sparkled with anger. + +"I believe it began soon after you left. I don't know whether Sylvia +expects me to make excuses for her, but I won't do anything of the +kind; there are none that could be made. She has behaved shamefully!" + +"One must be just," George said with an effort. "After all, she +promised me nothing." + +"Perhaps not in so many words. But she knew what you expected, and I +have no doubt she led you to believe--" + +George raised his hand. + +"I think there's nothing to be said--the thing must be faced somehow. +I feel rather badly hit; you won't mind if I go out and walk about a +little?" + +Mrs. Lansing was glad to let him go; the sight of his hard-set face +hurt her. In another minute he was walking up and down the terrace, +but he stopped presently and leaned on the low wall. Hitherto he had +believed in Sylvia with an unshaken faith, but now a flood of suspicion +poured in on him; above all, there was the telling fact that as soon as +he had gone, she had begun to lead on his rival. The shock he had +suffered had brought George illumination. Sylvia could never have had +an atom of affection for him; she had merely made his loyalty serve her +turn. She had done so even before she married Dick Marston; though he +had somehow retained his confidence in her then. He had been a fool +from the beginning! + +The intense bitterness of which he was conscious was wholly new to him, +but it was comprehensible. Just in all his dealings, he expected +honesty from others, and, though generous in many ways, he had not +Bland's tolerant nature; he looked for more than the latter and had +less charity. There was a vein of hardness in the man who had loved +Sylvia largely because he believed in her. Trickery and falseness were +abhorrent to him, and now the woman he had worshiped stood revealed in +her deterrent reality. + +After a while he pulled himself together, and, going back to the house, +entered Herbert's library where, less because of his interest in the +matter than as a relief from painful thoughts, he opened the envelope +given him and took out the statement. For a few moments the figures +puzzled him, and then he broke into a bitter laugh. The money that he +had entrusted to his cousin's care had melted away. + +During the next two or three minutes he leaned back, motionless, in his +chair; then he took up a pencil and lighted a cigar. Since he was +ruined, he might as well ascertain how it had happened, and two facts +became obvious from his study of the document: Herbert had sold sound +securities, and had mortgaged land; and then placed the proceeds in +rubber shares. This was perhaps permissible, but it did not explain +what had induced an astute business man to hold the shares until they +had fallen to their remarkably low value. There was a mystery here, +and George in his present mood was keenly suspicious. He had no doubt +that Herbert had left the statement because it would save him the +unpleasantness of giving a personal explanation; moreover, George +believed that he had left home with that purpose. Then he made a few +rough calculations, which seemed to prove that enough remained to buy +and stock a farm in western Canada. This was something, though it did +not strike him as a matter of much consequence, and he listlessly +smoked out his cigar. Then he rose and rejoined Mrs. Lansing. + +"If you don't mind, I'll go over to Wests' to-morrow," he said. "They +pressed me to spend some time with them, and there are arrangements to +be made on which they want my opinion. Edgar is taking up land in +Canada." + +Mrs. Lansing looked troubled. + +"Was there anything disturbing in the paper Herbert gave me for you? +He doesn't tell me much about his business, but I gathered that he was +vexed about some shares he bought on your account. I should be sorry +if they have gone down." + +"You would hardly understand; the thing's a little complicated," George +said with reassuring gentleness. "I'm afraid I have lost some money; +but, after all, it isn't my worst misfortune. I'll have a talk with +Herbert as soon as he comes home." + +He left Brantholme the next morning and was received by Ethel when he +arrived at Wests'. + +"We have been expecting you," she said cordially. + +"Then you know?" + +"Yes. I'm very sorry; but I suppose it will hardly bear talking about. +Stephen is waiting for you; he's taking a day off and Edgar's friend, +Singleton, arrives to-night." + +Singleton duly made his appearance, but he was not present when George +and Stephen West sat down for a talk after dinner in the latter's +smoking-room. Presently George took out the statement and handed it to +his host. + +"I want advice badly and I can't go to an outsider for it," he said. +"I feel quite safe in confiding in you." + +West studied the document for a while before he looked up. + +"The main point to be decided is--whether you should sell these shares +at once for what they will bring, or wait a little? With your +permission, we'll ask Singleton; he knows more about the matter than +anybody else." + +Singleton came in and lighted a cigar, and then listened carefully, +with a curious little smile, while West supplied a few explanations. + +"Hold on to these shares, even if you have to make a sacrifice to do +so," he advised. + +"But they seem to be almost worthless," George objected. + +"Perhaps I had better go into the matter fully," said Singleton. "I'll +do so on the understanding that what I'm about to tell you reaches +nobody else." + +George looked at West, who nodded. + +"Well," explained Singleton, "I've come over on a flying visit about +this rubber business. The original company--the one in which you hold +shares--was got up mainly with the idea of profiting by the rather +reckless general buying of such stock. Its tropical possessions were +badly managed, though a little good rubber was shipped, and when prices +reached their highest point Mr. Lansing sold out." + +"If he had sold my shares at the same time, there should have been a +satisfactory margin?" + +"Undoubtedly. Extensive selling, however, shakes the confidence of +speculators, and a man desirous of unloading would accordingly prefer +everybody else to hold on." + +"I think I am beginning to understand now," George said grimly. + +"Then," Singleton went on, "a new company was projected by the +promoters of the first one, and I was sent out to report on its +prospects. At the last moment Mr. Lansing withdrew, but his associates +sent me south again. The slump he had foreseen came; nobody wanted +rubber shares in any but firmly established and prosperous companies. +Lansing had cleared out in time and left his colleagues to face a +crushing loss." + +"I don't see how all this bears upon the subject," George interrupted. + +"Wait. You may be thankful Lansing didn't sell your shares. I found +that the company could be placed upon a paying basis, and, what is +more, that the older one possessed resources its promoters had never +suspected. In fact, I discovered how its output could be greatly +increased at an insignificant cost. I came home at once with a scheme +which has been adopted, and I've every reason to believe that there +will be marked rise in the shares before long. Anyway, there's no +doubt that the company will be able to place high-class rubber on the +market at a cost which will leave a very satisfactory margin." + +George was conscious of strong relief. It looked as if his loss would +be small, and there was a chance of his stock becoming valuable; but +another thought struck him. + +"When was it that Herbert sold his shares?" + +"At the beginning of last winter." + +"Shortly before we mentioned that you might come home," West interposed +pointedly. + +This confirmed George's suspicions; he could readily understand +Herbert's preferring that he should stay away, but he remembered that +it was Sylvia's letter which had decided him to remain in Canada. In +the statement left him, he had been charged with half of certain loans +Herbert had made to her, and he wondered whether this pointed to some +collusion between them. He thought it by no means improbable. + +"I understand that Herbert knows nothing about these new developments, +and has no idea that the future of the two undertakings is promising?" +he said. + +Singleton laughed. + +"Not the slightest notion. If he suspected it, there would be nothing +to prevent his buying shares; nothing will transpire until the +shareholders' meeting, which will not be held for some time. Lansing +retired and sold out, because he was convinced that both companies were +worthless." He paused and added dryly: "I can't see why we should +enlighten him." + +"Nor can I," responded George; and West nodded. + +"Then," said Singleton, "when Lansing learns the truth, it will be too +late for him to profit by the knowledge. I believe he has thrown away +the best chance he ever had." + +Shortly afterward Edgar came in and they talked of something else; but +two days later Herbert returned and George went over to Brantholme. He +was shown into the library where Herbert was sitting, and the latter +was on his guard when he saw his cousin's face. He greeted him +affably, however, and made a few inquiries about his farming. + +George stood looking at him with a fixed expression. + +"I think," he said shortly, "we had better talk business." + +"Oh, well," replied Herbert. "I suppose you have studied my statement. +I needn't say that I regret the way matters have turned out; but one +can't foresee every turn of the market, or avoid a miscalculation now +and then. It would hurt me if I thought this thing had anything to do +with your going to Stephen's." + +"We won't discuss that. I gave you authority to look after my affairs; +I want it back." + +Herbert took a document from a drawer and laid it on the table. + +"Here it is. But won't you let me try to straighten matters out?" + +"Can they be straightened out?" + +"Well," said Herbert with some embarrassment, "I'm afraid there's a +serious loss, but it would be wiser to face it and sell off the shares." + +"I can do what seems most desirable without any further assistance." + +George leaned forward and, as he picked up the document, a flush crept +into his cousin's face. + +"I hardly expected you would take this line. Do you think it's right +to blame me because I couldn't anticipate the fall in value?" + +"It strikes me that the situation is one that had better not be +discussed between us," George rejoined, with marked coldness. +"Besides, my opinion won't count for much in face of the very +satisfactory financial results you have secured. I'm sorry for what +has happened, on Muriel's account." + +He turned and went out; and met Ethel on reaching West's house. + +"I must try to arrange for an interview with Sylvia and Captain Bland," +he told her. "There are matters that should be explained to them." + +"Won't it be painful?" + +"That can't be allowed to count." + +"After all," said Ethel thoughtfully, "it's no doubt the proper course." + +A week later he visited Mrs. Kettering's, and was shown into a room +where Sylvia awaited him alone. After the first glance at him, she +turned her eyes away. + +"George," she said, "I'm afraid I've behaved badly. Can you forgive +me?" + +"I think so," he answered with a forced smile. "Anyway, I'll try, and +I'd like you to be happy. But it wouldn't be flattering if I pretended +that I wasn't hurt." + +"Ah," she exclaimed, "you were always so generous!" + +He stood silent a moment or two looking at her. + +She had cunningly tricked him and killed his love; but she was very +attractive with her pretty, helpless air. He knew this was false, but +there was no profit in bitterness; he would not cause her pain. + +"It's more to the purpose that I'm hard, which is fortunate in several +ways. But I came to talk about the farm; that is why I suggested that +Captain Bland should be present." + +"The farm?" Sylvia regarded him with a trace of mockery. "That you +should think of it is so characteristic of you!" + +George smiled. + +"I can't help my matter-of-fact nature, and I've found it serviceable. +Anyway, the farm must be thought of." He laid a hand gently on her +shoulder. "Sylvia, I'm told that Bland isn't rich. If he loves you, +take him fully into your confidence." + +She blushed, which he had scarcely expected. + +"I have done so--at least, I allowed Herbert to explain--there is +nothing hidden." Then her tone changed to one of light raillery. "You +were always an extremist, George; you can't hit the happy medium. Once +you believed I was everything that was most admirable, and now--" + +"I think you have done right and wisely in letting Bland know how +things stand. It was only my interest in your future that warranted +what I said." + +"Well," she replied, "we will go up and talk to him; he's waiting. You +can give your account to him." + +George followed her, but for a while he was conscious of a certain +restraint, which he fancied was shared by Bland. It was difficult to +talk about indifferent subjects, and he took out some papers. + +"I came to explain the state of Sylvia's Canadian affairs; she wished +you to know," he said. "If you will give me a few minutes, I'll try to +make things clear." + +Bland listened gravely, and then made a sign of satisfaction. + +"It's obvious that Sylvia placed her property in most capable hands. +We can only give you our sincere thanks." + +"There's a point to be considered," George resumed. "Have you decided +what to do with the property?" + +"Sylvia and I have talked it over; we thought of selling. I don't see +how we could carry on the farm." + +"If you will let the matter stand over for a few weeks, I might be a +purchaser. The land's poor, but there's a good deal of it, and I +believe that, with proper treatment, it could be made to pay." + +Sylvia looked astonished, Bland slightly embarrassed. + +"We never contemplated your buying the place," he said. + +"I've grown fond of it; I believe I understand how it should be worked. +There's no reason why either of you should object to my becoming a +purchaser." + +"I suppose that's true," Bland agreed. "Anyway, I can promise that +we'll do nothing about the matter until we hear from you; I don't think +there's any likelihood of our disputing about the price. You can fix +that at what it's worth to you." + +George changed the subject; and when he went out, Sylvia smiled at +Bland. + +"You needn't have been so sensitive about his buying the farm," she +said. "It will have to be sold." + +"I suppose so, but I wish we could have given it to him." + +Sylvia touched his cheek caressingly. + +"Don't be foolish; it's out of the question. You will have to be +economical enough as it is, but you shan't make any sacrifice that +isn't strictly necessary." + +During the next few weeks George made some visits among his friends, +but he returned to the Wests shortly before Edgar sailed for Canada. +On the night preceding his departure they were sitting together when +Edgar looked at him thoughtfully. + +"George," he remarked, "I wonder if it has ever struck you that you're +a very short-sighted person? I mean that you don't realize where your +interest lies." + +"It's possible," said George. "What particular oversight are you +referring to?" + +"It isn't easy to answer bluntly, and if I threw out any delicate +suggestions, they'd probably be wasted. You saw a good deal of Flora +Grant, and if you had any sense you would have recognized what kind of +girl she is." + +"Miss Grant doesn't need your praise." + +"I'm glad you admit it; appreciation's sometimes mutual. Now I can't +undertake to say what Flora implied from your visits, but I've no doubt +about what her father expected." + +The blood crept into George's face as he remembered Grant's manner +during their last interview. + +"I did nothing that could have led him to believe--" + +"Oh, no!" said Edgar. "You behaved with the greatest prudence; perhaps +frigid insensibility would describe it better. Of course this is a +deplorable intrusion, but I feel I must point out that it may not be +too late yet." + +"I've felt greatly tempted to buy Sylvia's farm," George said +thoughtfully. + +"That's good news. If you're wise, you'll consider what I've said." + +George did so after Edgar's departure, though the idea was not new to +him. He had long been sensible of Flora's charm, and had now and then +felt in Canada that it would not be difficult to love her. Since he +had learned the truth about Sylvia, Flora had occupied a prominent +place in his mind. By degrees a desire for her had grown stronger; he +had seen how admirable in many ways she was, how staunch and fearless +and upright. Still, he feared to go back; she was proud and might +scorn his tardy affection. He grew disturbed and occasionally moody, +and then one day a cablegram was delivered to him. + +"Believe you had better come back," it read, and was signed by Helen +Taunton. + +George understood what it was intended to convey, and before night he +had arranged to purchase Sylvia's farm. + +Three days later he was crossing the Atlantic with an eager and +thankful heart. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RANCHING FOR SYLVIA*** + + +******* This file should be named 14698.txt or 14698.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/6/9/14698 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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