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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Partners of the Out-Trail, 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: Partners of the Out-Trail
+
+Author: Harold Bindloss
+
+Release Date: June 20, 2009 [EBook #29183]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PARTNERS OF THE OUT-TRAIL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Al Haines
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Frontispiece: "Jim urged the pack-horse he was leading and came up
+with Carrie"]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+PARTNERS OF THE
+
+OUT-TRAIL
+
+
+BY HAROLD BINDLOSS
+
+
+
+Author of "THE BUCCANEER FARMER," "THE LURE OF THE NORTH," "THE GIRL
+FROM KELLER'S," "CARMEN'S MESSENGER," "BRANDON OF THE ENGINEERS,"
+"JOHNSTONE OF THE BORDER," ETC.
+
+
+
+
+
+NEW YORK
+
+FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
+
+PUBLISHERS
+
+
+
+
+COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
+
+PUBLISHED IN ENGLAND UNDER THE TITLE "DEARHAM'S INHERITANCE"
+
+ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+PART I--THE LINESMAN
+
+CHAPTER
+
+     I  THE BROKEN WIRE
+    II  IN THE SNOW
+   III  THE THIRD PARTNER
+    IV  ON THE TRAIL
+     V  CARRIE'S WEAK MOMENT
+    VI  ROLLING STONES
+   VII  A COUNCIL
+  VIII  JIM KEEPS WATCH
+    IX  AN HONEST ANTAGONIST
+     X  THE RAPID
+    XI  A CONFIDENTIAL TALK
+   XII  FIRE
+  XIII  JIM'S LUCK TURNS
+   XIV  THE RECKONING
+
+
+PART II--THE LANDOWNER
+
+     I  JIM COMES HOME
+    II  JIM'S GUESTS
+   III  MORDAUNT PONDERS
+    IV  AN OLD MAN'S CAPRICE
+     V  SHANKS' DABBIN
+    VI  THE THORN HEDGE
+   VII  THE FENCING WIRE
+  VIII  JIM'S RELAPSE
+    IX  JIM IS LEFT OUT
+     X  BERNARD PONDERS
+    XI  EVELYN'S ADVENTURE
+   XII  THE SHOOTING PUNT
+  XIII  MORDAUNT'S REPULSE
+   XIV  FOOTSTEPS IN THE SAND
+    XV  JIM'S ENLIGHTENMENT
+   XVI  EVELYN'S RESOLUTION FAILS
+  XVII  DICK'S ACCUSATION
+ XVIII  JIM'S RELEASE
+
+
+
+
+PART I--THE LINESMAN
+
+
+
+PARTNERS OF THE OUT-TRAIL
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE BROKEN WIRE
+
+Winter had begun and snow blew about the lonely telegraph shack where
+Jim Dearham studied an old French romance.  He read rather by way of
+mental discipline than for enjoyment, and partly with the object of
+keeping himself awake.  Life is primitive in the British Columbian bush
+and Jim sometimes felt he must fight against the insidious influence of
+the wilds.  Although he had chosen the latter when the cities palled,
+he had studied at McGill, with a view of embarking on a professional
+career.  Want of money was the main obstacle, but love of adventure had
+counted for much.  His adventures had been numerous since he left the
+university, and he now and then tried to remind himself that he was
+civilized.
+
+Outside the shack, the stiff dark pines rolled back to the frozen North
+where a new city fed the mining camps.  Jim had been up there and had
+found some gold, besides a copper vein, but when he got his patent for
+the latter his funds ran out and he returned to the South and followed
+a number of occupations.  Some were monotonous and some exciting.  None
+paid him well.  Now his clothes were old and mended with patches cut
+from cotton flour-bags; his skin was browned by wind and frost.  He was
+thin and muscular, and his eyes had something of the inscrutable calm
+that marks the Indian's, but the old French romance and one or two
+other books hinted at cultivated taste.  As a matter of fact, Jim was
+afraid of getting like an Indian.  Life in the wilds was good, but one
+ran some risks.
+
+The shack was built of logs, notched where they crossed at the corners
+and caulked with moss.  There was a stone chimney, and a big wood fire
+snapped on the hearth.  Jim sat close to the blaze in a deerhide chair,
+with his old skin coat hung over the back to keep off the stinging
+draughts.  He could see the telegraph instrument.  His and his
+comrade's duty was to watch it day and night, because theirs was a bad
+section and accidents happened.  Jake had gone hunting and since the
+gale outside was freshening Jim wondered why he stopped so long.
+
+After a time Jim put down his book and mused.  By comparison with the
+ragged tents in which he had lived in the northern barrens, the shack
+was comfortable.  Axes and tools for mending the line stood in a
+corner; old clothes, slickers, and long boots that must be mended
+occupied another.  A good supply of provisions was stowed on some
+shelves; a rifle and a shotgun hung on the wall.  He had all a man
+needed in the woods and admitted that he was lucky to have so much, but
+the rudeness of his surroundings sometimes jarred.  This was strange,
+because he had never known luxury.  He wondered whether he had
+inherited his dislike for ugliness, and the instincts of which he was
+now and then vaguely conscious.  It was possible, for his father, who
+died when Jim was young, had come from the Old Country.
+
+Then he dwelt with languid enjoyment upon something that happened when
+he was a waiter at a fashionable restaurant at Montreal.  A party of
+English tourists came in one day for lunch.  Jim remembered the scene
+well: the spacious room with the sunshine on the pillars and the
+reflections on glass and silver; the flies about the tables, the
+monotonous throb of the electric fan, and the strangers looking for a
+place.  There were two men, one older than the other, and a girl.  Jim
+had often pictured her since, and always with a curious satisfaction.
+It was not that she was beautiful, although her face was finely molded
+and her movements were graceful.  It was her delicate fastidiousness
+and the hint one got of refinement and cultivation.  Although she
+smiled now and then, Jim remembered her calm and the tranquillity of
+her voice.  He had not met a girl like that before, but she went away
+with the others, one of whom gave him a dollar, and it was ridiculous
+to imagine he would see her again.
+
+This, however, was not important and he got up and went to the
+telegraph instrument.  He called the next station and was satisfied
+when he got an answer.  Some Government messages that must not be
+delayed were to be sent North and the line was working well.  Jim went
+back to his chair and soon afterwards leaned forward, listening.  He
+heard the wind in the pine-tops and the thud of snow, shaken from the
+tossing branches, on the roof.  That was all, but he had trained his
+senses in the woods until they worked unconsciously.  Somebody was
+coming and he knew it was not Jake.
+
+A minute or two afterwards he heard steps in the snow.  The steps were
+heavy, as if the men were tired.  Somebody knocked and Jim opened the
+door.  Two men came in and throwing down their packs shook the snow
+from their ragged furs.  Their boots were broken, their leggins badly
+worn, and their faces were pinched with cold.
+
+"I don't suppose you'll turn us out.  It's what our packers call pretty
+fierce to-night," one remarked.
+
+"Certainly not," said Jim.  "Come right up to the fire.  How did you
+make the shack?"
+
+The strangers advanced and Jim hid his surprise, although they were the
+men whose lunch he had served at the Montreal restaurant.  He had
+learned in the wilds something of the Indian's reserve.
+
+"We hit the wire at dusk," one replied.  "We had been climbing with a
+party of the Canadian Alpine Club, and stopped among the high ranges
+longer than we meant.  In fact, the snow rather surprised us.  The
+others had gone before we started and we had a rough time coming South."
+
+"You didn't make it without packers," said Jim, who knew they were
+English.
+
+"We left the boys some distance back.  There was not much shelter at
+the camp and although they were satisfied, we resolved to follow the
+line and try to find a shack.  The boys will, no doubt, arrive in the
+morning."
+
+Jim nodded, because a line was cut through the forest for the telegraph
+wires.
+
+"You ran some risk.  If you camped at sundown, it's a while since you
+had supper.  I can give you coffee and a hot bannock."
+
+He put the kettle on the fire and when the meal was over studied his
+guests as they lighted their pipes.  One was about thirty years old,
+and in spite of his ragged clothes, Jim thought him a man with
+cultivated tastes and wide experience.  The other was young and looked
+frank.  He had a refined, intelligent face and was like the girl whom
+Jim had seen at the restaurant; she was, perhaps, a relation.  For a
+time the strangers talked about their journey and then one looked at
+Jim rather hard.
+
+"Haven't I seen you before?"
+
+Jim smiled.  "At Cibbley's as you go to the new post-office at
+Montreal."
+
+"Oh, yes!  It was a very well-served lunch," said the other and picked
+up the French romance.  "A curious book, but rather fine in parts.  Do
+you understand the fellow?"
+
+"On the whole.  I like him; you feel he has a grip.  Still he's
+puzzling now and then."
+
+"These French' writers are puzzling; always trying to work off an
+epigram," the younger man remarked.  "However, I suppose there's as
+much French as English spoken at Montreal and Quebec."
+
+"Not French like this," the other said with a smile.  "I doubt if an
+up-to-date _boulevardier_ would own it for his mother's tongue.  You
+would be surprised if you heard our Cumberland farmers use Chaucer's
+English."
+
+"I don't know; they go back beyond him now and then.  When they count
+their sheep I imagine they talk like Alfred or Canute.  But suppose you
+give us an example of ancient French."
+
+The older man opened the book and after turning a number of pages read
+a passage with taste and feeling.  Then he looked at Jim.
+
+"He's primitive; our thoughts run in another groove.  But I daresay
+there's something archaic about Quebec French and you perhaps know the
+latter.  Have I struck the right note?"
+
+"Hit it first time!  Anyhow, you've got my notion of what he meant,"
+Jim replied.  Then he paused and added thoughtfully: "But I don't know
+if we're as different as you think.  In the North, men get back to
+primitive things."
+
+The other nodded.  "It's possible.  One certainly gets a primitive
+hunger and learns something about bodily needs."
+
+Jim lighted his pipe and mused.  He had not talked to cultivated people
+since he left McGill.  He felt rather moved and quietly excited; the
+strange thing was, their English voices and manner were not new.  In a
+way, it was ridiculous, but he felt as if he had known them, or others
+of their kind, before.
+
+"You are from the Old Country and your friend seems to know
+Cumberland," he said.  "Do you know Langrigg Hall?"
+
+He thought the older man gave him a keen glance, but next moment his
+face was inscrutable and with a little gesture of satisfaction he
+stretched his legs to the fire.  His companion, however, looked
+interested.
+
+"Why, yes," said the latter.  "But there are a number of Langriggs in
+the North of England."
+
+"At the place I mean there is a marsh."
+
+"Then, I do know the hall.  It stands upon a low ridge--what we call a
+knowe--with the big fells behind and the sands in front.  At low-water,
+a river winds about the flats.  It's a fine old house, although it's
+small."
+
+"Isn't there a square tower with a battlement?  The roof beams in the
+older part are bent, not straight."
+
+The other looked surprised.  "Have you been there?"
+
+"No," said Jim, thoughtfully.  "I've never left Canada, but a man I
+knew used to talk about Langrigg.  I expect he told me about these
+things; he is dead now."
+
+He glanced at the older man.  The latter's eyes were half-closed and
+his pose was slack, as if he were languidly enjoying the warmth, but
+Jim thought he had been listening.  Then he wondered why the other's
+short description had given him so distinct a picture; he could see the
+rugged blue hills in the background and the river winding among the
+sands.  After all, his father had not talked about Langrigg often; in
+fact, only once or twice, when he was ill.  Moreover, Jim reflected
+that he himself had used no Western colloquialisms; he had talked to
+the strangers like an Englishman.
+
+"Then your friend must have been at Langrigg.  It looks as if he knew
+the hall well," remarked the younger man.
+
+His companion roused himself with a jerk.  "I was nearly asleep.  Give
+me your pouch; my tobacco's out."
+
+He filled his pipe and turned to Jim.  "Hope I didn't interrupt.  I
+forget what we were talking about.  It looks as if you didn't like a
+waiter's job."
+
+Jim laughed and went to the telegraph, which began to click.  He read
+the message and calling the next station waited for a time, and then
+turned to his guests.
+
+"Line's broken and I've got to leave you.  You can use the bunks; my
+partner must sit up and watch the instrument when he comes back.  You
+can tell him I've gone to look for the break."
+
+"Do you know where the break is?" the younger man asked.
+
+"I don't know," said Jim, putting on his fur cap and old skin coat.
+"It mayn't be far off and it may be some distance.  All I know is it's
+between here and the next shack."
+
+"We found it hard to face the wind and there's more now."
+
+Jim smiled.  "One gets used to storms up here and the line must be
+mended.  Some important messages from Ottawa are coming along."
+
+He picked up some tools and when he opened the door the others heard
+the scream of the gale.  The flames blew out from the snapping logs and
+an icy draught swept the room and roared in the chimney.  Then the door
+shut, the fire burned steadily, and all was quiet in the shack.
+
+"Our host excites one's curiosity," said the younger man.
+
+"You mean he excited yours.  You're an imaginative fellow, Dick."
+
+Richard Halliday had remarked that since they reached the shack
+Mordaunt had not called him Dick and vaguely wondered why.  Lance
+Mordaunt generally had an object.  Dick doubted if he had been as
+sleepy as he pretended when he asked for his tobacco pouch.
+
+"Oh, well," he said, "if we were in England, you wouldn't expect to
+find a fellow like this using his leisure to study old-fashioned
+French."
+
+"We are not in England," Mordaunt rejoined.  "When you judge Canadians
+by English standards you're likely to get misled.  The country's, so to
+speak, in a transition stage; they haven't developed schools of
+specialists yet, and an intelligent man can often make good at an
+unaccustomed job.  This fellow, for example, was a waiter."
+
+He picked up the romance and put it on a shelf.  Mordaunt was generally
+neat and Dick noted that he replaced the book in the spot from which it
+had been taken and put the rest against it.
+
+"Anyhow, it's curious he knew about Langrigg," Dick insisted.
+
+"I don't think so," said Mordaunt, carelessly.  "A number of our
+farmers' sons have emigrated.  He stated he had not left Canada and the
+man who told him about Langrigg was dead."
+
+"The man who ought to own Langrigg vanished in Canada."
+
+"On the whole, I imagine that's lucky.  The trustees spent a large sum
+in trying to find him and were satisfied he was dead.  His age made
+this probable."
+
+"But he might have had a son."
+
+"Of course," Mordaunt agreed.  "Suppose he had a son?  The fellow
+obviously knows nothing about his inheritance; and for that matter,
+Langrigg is not worth much.  I expect he's engaged in some useful
+occupation, chopping trees or keeping store, for example, and is, no
+doubt, satisfied with his lot.  I don't suppose he is the kind of man
+you would like to see at Langrigg.  Besides, if he turned up, a number
+of people would suffer."
+
+"That is so," Dick said thoughtfully.  "After all, however, if Franklin
+Dearham had a son, he ought to be at Langrigg.  Joseph left the hall to
+Franklin and his heirs."
+
+Mordaunt smiled.  "It was as illogical as other things Joseph did.  He
+was not a good business man and spent the most part of his money after
+he quarreled with Franklin and turned him out.  Then, shortly before he
+died, when Franklin had vanished and the estate would hardly pay its
+debts, he left him Langrigg.  However, the thing's done with, and if I
+found Franklin's heir, I doubt if I'd feel justified in meddling.
+Matters like this are better left alone."  He got up and stretched
+himself.  "Now I'm going to bed."
+
+He got into the nearest bunk, which was filled with spruce-twigs and
+wild hay, and soon went to sleep, but for a time Dick sat by the fire.
+The linesman had excited his curiosity; it was strange the fellow knew
+about Langrigg.  Then he was obviously a man with rather unusual
+qualities and character; his books indicated this.  Dick resolved to
+find out something about him when he returned.
+
+By and by the other linesman came in with a mule-tail buck, and when
+Dick gave him Jim's message sat down by the telegraph.  Dick went to
+bed and did not wake until his packers arrived at daybreak.  The
+linesman was watching the telegraph, but the finger had not moved and
+he owned that he was getting anxious about his comrade.
+
+Dick suggested that they should look for him, but on the whole the
+linesman hardly thought this necessary.  He said the man from the next
+post would have started to meet Jim.  Then Mordaunt wanted to get off.
+The snow had stopped, the wind had fallen, and if they missed this
+opportunity, they might be held up by another storm, while their food
+was getting short.  Dick hesitated, but Mordaunt generally led him
+where he would and after some argument he agreed to start.  Half an
+hour later they left the shack and pushed on down the line.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+IN THE SNOW
+
+When Jim left the shack the cold pierced his furs like a knife.  For a
+few moments he heard nothing but the roar of the gale and could hardly
+get his breath.  His eyes ran water and the snow beat his smarting
+face.  Then he braced himself, for he had gone out to mend the line on
+other bitter nights and could not lose his way.  Where the telegraph
+runs through the forests of the North a narrow track is cut for
+packhorse transport to the linesmen's posts, and one could not push
+between the trunks that lined the gap without finding thickets and
+tangles of fallen logs.  The track, however, was not graded like a
+road.  Outcropping rocks broke its surface, short brush had grown up,
+and although the snow had covered some of the obstacles its top was
+soft.
+
+For a time the trees broke the wind, and Jim pushed on, hoping that he
+might soon find a trailing wire, but the posts loomed up, undamaged,
+out of the tossing haze.  Luck was obviously against him, and he might
+be forced to walk half-way to the next shack, from which the other
+linesman would start.  The snow was loose and blew about in a kind of
+frozen dust that was intolerably painful to his smarting skin.
+Although his cap had ear-flaps, he could not cover his mouth and nose,
+and the fine powder, dried by the cold, clogged his eyelashes and
+filled his nostrils.  His old coat did not keep out the wind and,
+although he was in partial shelter, he was now and then compelled to
+stop for breath.  The gale was getting worse and, as sometimes happens
+when a blizzard rages, the temperature was falling.
+
+Jim's flesh shrank from the Arctic blast, but he knew that in the North
+bodily weakness must be conquered.  In the stern battle with savage
+Nature prudence is a handicap; one must risk all and do what one
+undertakes since there is no place in the wilderness for the man who
+counts the cost.  Moreover, Jim had fought harder fights, when his
+strength was lowered by want of food, and he went forward, conscious of
+one thing: the line was broken and must be mended.  There was no other
+way.  He must give up his post if he could not make good.
+
+In the meantime his physical senses, developed in the wilds, worked
+with mechanical regularity and guarded him.  He could not hear much
+through his fur cap and often for some moments could not see, but he
+stopped when a tossing branch broke off and struck the snow in front,
+and sprang forward when a fir plunged down a few yards behind.  He
+could not have stated that he knew the danger, but he avoided it where
+a stranger to the woods would have been crushed.
+
+Perhaps the going was the worst.  Plowing through the loose snow, he
+struck his feet against outcropping rocks and sometimes stubbed them
+hard on a fallen log.  In places he sank deep; the labor was heavy and
+wind and cold made it awkward to breathe.  His lungs seemed cramped;
+the blood could not properly reach his hands and feet.  It was a
+comfort that they hurt, because when he no longer felt the painful
+tingling the real trouble would begin.  One cannot feel when one's
+flesh is frozen.  He could not have seen his watch had he taken it out,
+and doubted if there was warmth enough in his body to keep it going,
+because watches and gun-locks often freeze in the North.  For all that,
+he knew how long he had left the shack and how much ground he had
+covered.
+
+Men like Dearham learn such things, and by the half-instinctive
+faculties they develop Canadian traffic is carried on in winter storms.
+Telegraph linesmen in the bush and railroad hands on mountain sections
+use powers beyond the imagining of sheltered city men.  They make good,
+giving all that can be demanded of flesh and blood; the wires work and
+Montreal-Vancouver expresses keep time in the snow.
+
+One thing made Jim's task a little easier.  The wire was overhead and
+when he reached the break he would see the trailing end.  The trees had
+been chopped back; there was nothing to help the current's leap to
+earth, and he would not be forced to cut and call up the next shack
+with his battery.  He wanted to find a fallen post, but as he struggled
+forward the half-seen poles came back out of the icy mist in an
+unending row.  He had been out two hours and had not reached the worst
+spot.  The line had no doubt broken at Silver's Gulch.
+
+Some time afterwards he stopped and leaned against a post.  The woods
+broke off behind him and in front a gap, filled with waves of snow,
+opened up.  He could not see across; indeed, for a few moments, he
+could hardly see at all, but the turmoil that came out of the dark
+hollow hinted at its depth.  He heard the roar of tossing trees far
+below and his brain reproduced an accurate picture of the gulch that
+pierced the high tableland.  It was wide just there, but narrowed
+farther on, and a river, fed by a glacier, flowed through the defile.
+The river was probably frozen, although it ran fast.  The wires went
+down obliquely, and in one place there was a straight fall of a hundred
+feet.  The rest of the rugged slope was very steep and one needed some
+nerve to follow the row of posts when the light was good.
+
+Jim did not hesitate when he had got his breath.  With a blizzard
+raging, his job would not bear thinking about.  He let go the post and
+slipped down some distance.  When he stopped he got up badly shaken and
+crawled down cautiously, trying to keep the line in sight, but it was
+not a logical sense of duty that urged him on; he only knew he must not
+be beaten.  He fought instinctively, because this was a region where to
+give ground in the battle generally means to die.
+
+He reached a bend of the line where a post stood on a broken pitch that
+was almost a precipice.  Twenty or thirty yards below it became a
+precipice and Jim met the full force of the wind as he crept round the
+corner.  Then he saw a trailing wire, and, a little farther on, a
+broken post that had slipped down some distance.  Crouching in the snow
+behind a rock for a few minutes, he thought hard.  Although the post
+was short and not very heavy, he could not drag it back while the wire
+was attached.  The latter must be loosed, and fixed again when the post
+was in its place, but it would be enough if the line was lifted a foot
+or two from the ground.  Proper repairs could be made afterwards; the
+important thing was the Government messages should not be held up.  For
+all that, it would be hard to reach the spot.
+
+He crawled down and stopped beside the post.  The snow was blinding,
+the wind buffeted him savagely, and since he was near the top of the
+precipice it was risky to stand up.  His fur mittens embarrassed him,
+but he could not take them off, because when the thermometer falls
+below zero one cannot touch steel tools with unprotected hands.  After
+some trouble, Jim loosed the wire and then saw the broken ends would
+not meet.  However, since the line curved, a post could be cut in order
+to shorten the distance, and he crawled back to the spot where he had
+left his ax.  Had he not been used to the snowy wilds, he could not
+have found the tool.
+
+He cut the post and, with numbed and clumsy hands, joined the wire, but
+it must now be raised from the ground.  It was impossible to get the
+fallen post on end and had he been able to do so powder would have been
+needed to make a hole.  He could, however, support the post on a rock,
+and he floundered up and down in the snow, looking for a suitable spot.
+When he found a place, it was some way from the post, which was too
+heavy to move, and he went cautiously down hill for the other.
+Although this was lighter, he did not see how he could drag it back to
+the level he had left, and he sat down behind a rock and thought.
+
+His coat and cap were heavy with frozen snow that the wind had driven
+into the fur; in spite of his efforts, he was numbed, and the gale
+raged furiously.  The snow blew past the rock in clouds that looked
+like waves of fog; he had been exposed to the icy blast for three or
+four hours and could not keep up the struggle long.  The warmth was
+leaving his body fast.  Yet he did not think much about the risk.  His
+business was to mend the line and his acquiescence was to some extent
+mechanical.  To begin with, he must get the post up the hill and he
+braced himself for the effort.
+
+He could just lift the butt and, getting it on his shoulder, faced the
+climb, staggering forward a few steps while the thin end of the post
+dragged in the snow, and then stopping.  It was tremendous labor, and
+he knew he would need all the strength he had left to reach the shack,
+but in the meantime this did not count.  Getting home was a problem
+that must be solved after the line was mended.
+
+At length he reached the spot he had fixed upon, fastened the wire to
+the insulator, and lifted the top of the post a few feet.  The job was
+done, but his body was exhausted and his brain was dull.  He had made
+good and was conscious of a vague satisfaction.  He could not, however,
+indulge feelings like this: he must now nerve himself for the effort to
+get home.
+
+He went down hill a little, in order to shorten the curve; and it was
+then, when he had conquered, his luck failed.  His foot slipped and
+when he fell he started a small snowslide that carried him down.  He
+could not stop, the dry snow flowed about him like a river, and he knew
+there was a precipice not far below.  The snow carried him over a
+ledge; he plunged down a few yards, and brought up against a projecting
+rock.  The blow shook him, he felt something snap, and for a minute or
+two nearly lost consciousness.  Then he was roused by a sharp prick and
+a feeling that something grated in his side.  He knew what had
+happened: one, or perhaps two, of his ribs had broken and an incautious
+movement had driven the broken end into the flesh.
+
+The mechanical injury, however, was the worst, since Jim was too hard
+to collapse from shock, and he lay quiet, trying to think.  One could
+walk in spite of a broken rib; Jim had known badly injured men walk two
+or three hundred miles to reach a doctor, but the blizzard would try
+his strength.  It was a long way to the shack and farther to the next
+post, but on the whole he thought it prudent to make for the latter.
+The linesman, finding the line broken, would set out to look for the
+break, and when Jim met him his help would be useful.  In fact, it
+might be necessary.
+
+He felt a sharper prick as he got up, but he followed the posts down
+the gulch and toiled up the other side.  His breathing was labored and
+painful as he climbed the rugged slope.  At the top the ground was
+roughly level and the tossing pines gave some shelter from the wind.
+Jim coughed now and then and thought there was a salt taste in his
+mouth.  This looked ominous and the stabs caused by his jolting
+movements hurt, but he would not think about it.  It was pain, not
+blood, that gave him the salt taste.  He had done his job and begun a
+harder fight.  The claim of duty had been met and now he was fighting
+for his life.
+
+The pines roared as he struggled on and at times a blinding haze of
+snow filled the gap.  He had thrown away his tools, but his coat was
+getting heavy.  Now and then he tried to brush off the snow and wiped
+his lips.  The salt taste was plainer; but he was not going to admit he
+knew what it meant and was glad he could not see his mittens when he
+took them from his mouth.  Speed was important and he labored on.  He
+could not remember afterwards how long he stumbled forward, but at
+length he stopped and stood swaying dizzily when an indistinct object
+loomed through the snow.  It was like a man and came towards him.
+
+"Hallo!  Why, Pete----" he gasped and with an effort reached and leaned
+against a pine.
+
+The other stopped.  "It's Pete, all right: but what d'you allow you're
+doing on my piece of the section?"
+
+"Reckoned I might meet you coming along," Jim replied, leaning hard
+against the tree.  "You can take the back trail.  The line's fixed."
+
+"That's good.  But why are you heading this way?  I don't get you yet."
+
+"I fell down the gulch.  Some ribs broke."
+
+"Ah!" said Pete.  "Which side?"
+
+Jim indicated the spot where he felt the stabs and Pete went to his
+other side.
+
+"It's a blamed long hike to my shack, but you've got to make it.  If we
+stop here, we freeze.  Put your arm on my shoulder."
+
+They set off, and Jim was glad to use such help as the other could
+give.  He was getting dull and began to doubt if he could reach the
+shack, but although both would freeze if they stopped, Pete would not
+leave him.  It was not a thing to argue about.  Pete was a white man
+and in the North the white man's code is stern.  One here and there
+might have a yellow streak, but as a rule such a man soon left the
+wilds.  Anyhow, Pete was going to see him through.  Both would make the
+shack, or both would be buried in the snow.  It was not a matter of
+generous sentiment; one did things like that.
+
+They made it somehow, at a cost neither afterwards talked about, for at
+length a pale glimmer pierced the blowing snow.  Then the dark bulk of
+a building loomed up ahead and Pete pushed open a door.  He was forced
+to use both hands to shut the door and Jim, left without support,
+staggered into the room.  His head swam, his eyes were dim, and his
+chin was red.  There was a chair, if he could reach it, but it seemed
+to be rocking about and when he stretched out his hand it had gone.
+Next moment he fell with a heavy thud.  He felt a horrible stab, a fit
+of coughing shook him, and he knew nothing more.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE THIRD PARTNER
+
+Some weeks after he mended the line, Jim sat by a window in a small
+frame house at Vancouver city.  He had been very ill and knew little
+about his journey on a hand-sledge from the telegraph shack to the
+railroad.  There was no doctor in the woods and Jake Winter, his
+helper, engaging two Indians, wrapped Jim in furs and started in a
+snowstorm for the South.  It was an arduous journey, and once or twice
+Jake thought his comrade would succumb, but they reached the railroad
+and he put Jim on the cars.
+
+Now Jim was getting better and had left his bed for a rocking-chair.
+The house stood on the hill, and he looked down, across tall blocks of
+stores and offices, on the Inlet.  Plumes of dingy smoke from
+locomotives burning soft coal moved among the lumber stacks, a tug with
+a wave at her bows headed for the wharf, the water sparkled in the
+sunshine, and there was a background of dark forest and white
+mountains.  The picture had some beauty that was not altogether spoiled
+by the telegraph wires, giant posts, and advertisement signs.  These
+emphasized the contrast between the raw and aggressive civilization
+that is typical of Western towns and the austerity of the surrounding
+wilds.  In the foreground were steamers, saw-mills, and street-cars; in
+the distance trackless woods and untrodden snow.
+
+The house stood in a shabby street and on the ground floor Jake's
+mother and sister sold drygoods and groceries.  The business was not
+remarkably profitable, but Mrs. Winter was a widow and Carrie had
+sacrificed her ambitions for her sake.  Now she sat opposite Jim, whom
+she had nursed.  Carrie did not know much about sickness when she
+began, but she was capable and Jim liked to have her about.  She knew
+when to stimulate him by cheerful banter and when he needed soothing.
+Carrie could be quiet, although she could talk.  Jim imagined all girls
+were not like that.
+
+He studied her with languid satisfaction.  Carrie was tall and
+vigorous: he had seen her handle heavy boxes the transfer men dumped on
+the sidewalk.  She did such things when Jake was not about, and Jim
+knew she baked the cakes and biscuit Mrs. Winter sold.  For all that,
+her strength was not obtrusive; her movements were graceful and when
+not occupied she was calm.  She had some beauty, for her face was
+finely molded and her color was warm, and Jim liked her level glance.
+He liked her voice; it was clear without being harsh, and she seldom
+used smart colloquialisms.  In fact, Carrie was not the girl one would
+expect to meet at a second-class store.
+
+"You are looking bright this afternoon," she remarked.
+
+"I feel bright," said Jim.  "For one thing, I've got up, and then you
+have been here some time.  You brace one.  I felt that when I was very
+sick."
+
+Carrie laughed.  "You're trying to be polite!"
+
+"No," said Jim, whose brain did not work quickly yet; "I don't think I
+tried at all.  The remark was, so to speak, spontaneous.  You helped me
+get better; you know you did!"
+
+"Oh, well," said Carrie, smiling, "you needed some control.  You
+wouldn't take the doctor's stuff and we couldn't keep you quiet.  I
+reckon you are pretty obstinate."
+
+"One has got to be obstinate in the North."
+
+"That's possible.  It's a hard country and Jake took some chances when
+he brought you out across the snow.  Do you remember much about what
+happened when you were on the trail?"
+
+"I don't," said Jim, in a thoughtful voice.  "All I do remember is the
+talk I had with two Englishmen who made the shack just before I went to
+mend the line.  I've been bothering about the fellows since."
+
+"But why?"
+
+Jim pondered languidly.  If he kept on talking, Carrie might stop;
+moreover, he wanted to formulate his puzzling thoughts and Carrie was
+intelligent.  He would like to see if he could make her understand.
+
+"To begin with, they were people who had traveled and knew the world; I
+know the North and some Canadian cities, but there I stop.  The curious
+thing was, they didn't talk like strangers; I felt I'd got their point
+of view."
+
+"Did you like them?"
+
+"I don't know.  I might have hit it with the younger man; he was frank
+and I reckon he meant well, though you got a hint of something careless
+and weak.  There was more to the other fellow; you couldn't tell right
+off if you'd trust him or not.  But I'm afraid I make you tired."
+
+"Oh, no," said Carrie, and was silent for a few moments.
+
+She was frankly interested by Jim.  For one thing, she had helped him
+to get well and this gave her a motherly curiosity.  Then his remarks
+seemed to promise a clue to something she had found puzzling.  In a
+way, Jim was different from the young men she knew.  The difference was
+elusive, but she felt it now and then.
+
+"Well," she said, "why don't you go on?"
+
+"I'd met the men before," Jim resumed with a laugh.  "Handed them their
+lunch at the Montreal restaurant; they had a girl with them then.  I'd
+certainly not met a girl like that, but somehow I'd a notion I could
+get in touch with her."
+
+"What kind of a girl was she?" Carrie asked, with keener curiosity.
+
+"The kind we call a looker, but it wasn't that.  She was fine-drawn, if
+you get me; clever and fastidious.  I think fastidious is the word I
+want.  She belonged to clean, quiet places where everything is right.
+That's what made my notion I understood her strange.  You see, I have
+had to struggle in the dust and mud."
+
+Carrie imagined Jim had, so far, come through the struggle without
+getting much hurt or soiled.  He wore no obvious scars.  She smiled,
+and he resumed: "Perhaps the strangest thing was, they knew a place in
+the Old Country my father sometimes talked about."
+
+"Did you tell them your father knew the place?" Carrie asked, for the
+clue was leading her on.
+
+"I did not; they were strangers," Jim replied, and she saw he had a
+reserve that was not common in Canada.  "Besides, my father didn't talk
+about Langrigg much.  Still I had, so to speak, got the place; I could
+see it.  I wonder whether one remembers things one's parents knew."
+
+"It doesn't look possible," Carrie replied.  "But do you know your
+father's people?"
+
+"I don't," said Jim, with a touch of dryness.  "There was a Joseph
+Dearham who lived at Langrigg.  I imagine he was my grandfather, but he
+and the others left my father alone and we cut out the lot."
+
+"Were your father and you like each other?"
+
+"Not in a way.  I reckon I'm like my mother, but my father has kind of
+faded; I'm often sorry I can't locate him well.  He was not the man to
+go far in this country.  Things I do remember show he had fine grit,
+but he hadn't punch enough.  I think he was too proud to grab what was
+his."
+
+"You are not like that?"
+
+Jim smiled.  "I take what's mine, but I don't want more.  You see, I
+had to hustle for my mother's sake and I'd got the habit when she died
+and left me all alone.  Well, that's all there is to my story, and I've
+certainly made you tired."
+
+"You are tired," Carrie replied.  "Go to sleep.  I have made you talk
+too much, and must get busy."
+
+She went off and Jim mused about her.  Carrie was not like the English
+girl, but she had charm and he felt she was somehow wasted at the
+shabby store.  She was pretty and clever; although she was kind, she
+was sometimes firm.  Then his eyes got heavy and he went to sleep.
+When he woke Carrie had come back and was lighting the lamp.  Jake had
+entered with her and put a tray on the table.
+
+"Supper's served," he said.  "It's better hash than you used to hand
+out in the woods, and Carrie has fixed some hot biscuit with Magnolia
+drips in the way you like.  Well, you better get busy, and we'll play
+we're in camp.  I'll locate at the bottom of the snow bank."
+
+Jake sat down on a rug, with his back to the wall and a plate on his
+knee, and Jim's thoughts wandered.  He had got the habit of remembering
+things when he was ill, and the little shabby room, with the cheap rug
+on the rough, stained floor, seemed to melt like a dissolving view.  He
+saw black pines, with the moon shining between their stiff branches,
+wood smoke drifting past, and a red fire snapping in the snow.  Jake
+wore ragged furs and his eyes twinkled, as they twinkled now.  Jake was
+a humorous philosopher and if his humor was sometimes thin his
+philosophy was sound.  He was white; one could trust him.  Then Jim
+came back to the room above the store.  He liked the way Jake waited on
+Carrie, although Jake owned he had not been a success when he made a
+trip in the Mount Stephen dining-car.
+
+"We're going to talk business," Jake remarked presently.  "I've been
+getting after the telegraph department since we came home and one of
+the construction bosses was in town to-day.  He allowed you made good
+the night they sent the Government messages through, and if we wanted
+the contract for the new line they're going to run across the ranges,
+he'd back our tender."
+
+"Jim isn't well enough to go back yet.  You mustn't bother him," Carrie
+said firmly.
+
+"We can't do much until the thaw comes," Jake rejoined.  "It's a
+fighting chance and I don't see many chances for us in this old town."
+
+Carrie looked thoughtful.  She knew the wilds would draw Jake back and
+Jim must soon go, but the North was a stern country and she wanted to
+keep them for a time.  She was honest and owned that she wanted to keep
+both.
+
+"Can you finance the job?" she asked.
+
+"It's going to come hard, but we might put it over.  Our pay was pretty
+good and the construction boss could get us a check as we go on if the
+work was approved.  Of course, if we were pushed, we could sell out the
+Bluebird.  The assay's all right and one or two of the big syndicates
+are looking up copper.  Still I don't want to sell."
+
+"You mustn't sell."
+
+"Very well," Jake agreed.  "What you say about it goes."
+
+Jim looked up with some surprise.  Jake and he had done enough work on
+the copper vein to get their patent, but could develop the mine no
+further without capital.  Jim did not understand what Carrie had to do
+with this.
+
+"He doesn't know," Jake remarked, and turned to Jim with a smile.  "We
+put in the stakes and filed the record, but Carrie's a partner.  She
+helped us out."
+
+"Ah," said Jim, "I begin to see!"
+
+He felt disturbed.  The placer gold they had found was all spent before
+they proved the copper vein.  Food cost much and nobody would let them
+have supplies.  Copper mines were hardly thought worth exploiting then,
+since transport was expensive.  When it looked as if they must give up
+the claim, Jake got some money from home, and now Jim knew who had sent
+the sum.  He did not know how Carrie had saved it, but she must have
+used stern economy.
+
+"You don't like my sending the money?" she remarked, with a quick
+glance at Jim.
+
+"I don't like to think of your going without things you probably wanted
+and ought to have had.  We could have let the mine go and worked for
+somebody else."
+
+Carrie laughed.  "I don't know if you're nice or not.  Anyhow, I had
+the money; I'd been clerking for a time at the Woolsworth store and
+they had given me a good job.  Why shouldn't I send Jake the money I
+didn't know how to spend?"
+
+"You're exaggerating," Jim rejoined.  "A pretty girl can always spend
+money on hats and clothes.  In fact, I think she ought."
+
+"Now you're certainly nice, but we'll let it go.  Your taking the money
+made me a partner, and in the meantime the Bluebird is not for sale.
+If you wait long enough, somebody will give you what the mine is worth."
+
+"I think so.  Copper's hard to smelt and when transport's expensive
+speculators stick to gold, but things will be different now the
+country's opening up.  We will hold the patent until you are willing to
+sell."
+
+"Thank you," said Carrie.  "It cost you something to prove the vein, up
+there in the melting snow, and no greedy city man is going to get your
+reward.  However, we'll get on.  If they give you the telegraph
+contract, I'm going North."
+
+Jim turned to his comrade.  "She can't go!  You had better tell her
+it's impossible."
+
+"I'll leave it to you.  There's not much use in telling Carrie she
+can't do a thing when she thinks she can."
+
+Jim began a labored argument about the hardships and the ruggedness of
+the country and Carrie listened with inscrutable calm.  Then she said,
+"You don't want me to go?"
+
+"It isn't that.  You don't know what you are up against."
+
+"I have a notion," Carrie remarked with some dryness.  "Perhaps you
+imagine all goes smooth and I have a soft job here?"
+
+Jim was silent.  He was sometimes sorry for Carrie, but she resumed:
+"You haven't lived in a shabby street, doing chores you don't like and
+trying to please people who are often rude.  Well, I've stood for it a
+long time, for mother's sake; but now cousin Belle is coming, and she
+knows all there is to know about keeping store.  Do you think a girl
+ought to be kept at home?  That she never hears the call of adventure
+like the rest of you?"
+
+"Adventure palls.  One soon gets enough," said Jim.  Then he saw Jake's
+smile and added: "After all, I don't know----"
+
+"I know," said Carrie.  "You are going back, and I am going too.  But
+you won't have to take care of me.  I mean to manage things."
+
+"She has some talent that way," Jake observed.  "If you're not very
+firm, Jim, she'll manage you.  But what's your particular job, Carrie?"
+
+"Supplies.  When it comes to handling foodstuff, menfolk don't know how
+to buy.  Then they waste, and the hash a man camp-cook puts up is
+seldom fit to eat."
+
+"There's some truth in that," Jake remarked with feeling.  "It looks as
+if you had got your program fixed."
+
+"I have," said Carrie, with resolute quietness.  "I'm going."
+
+Jake smiled at his comrade.  "You had better agree.  When Carrie talks
+like that she can't be moved by argument.  Anyhow, the trail's broken
+to the wirehead and if she gets tired she can come back."
+
+"I may get tired," said Carrie.  "But I shall not come back.  There's
+another thing: I have a share in the Bluebird and want a stake on the
+telegraph line.  Well, I've saved a hundred dollars."
+
+"Carrie's pile!" Jake remarked.  "She means to throw it in; that's the
+kind of girl my sister is.  As a business proposition, our venture's
+humorous.  We haven't capital enough to stand for one setback, and if
+luck's against us we'll sure go broke.  To begin with, I've got to put
+up a big bluff on the construction department in order to get the job;
+look as if I owned a bank roll and didn't care if we got paid or not.
+Well, one takes steep chances in this country, and I allow there's
+something to be said for the small man who goes out with an ax, five
+dollars, and a bag of flour, to make a road or build a log bridge.
+Folks don't know how much he means and all he has to stand for."
+
+Carrie's eyes sparkled. "You and Jim know.  I'm going to find out."
+
+Then Mrs. Winter came in.  She was a pale, quiet woman whom Jim had
+thought dull until he saw her work.  She listened, making a few
+remarks, while Jake talked about their plans.
+
+"Well," she said at length, "your cousin is coming and she'll help me
+run the store.  It has certainly got to be run; you'll need some money
+if you go broke."
+
+"We're not going broke," Carrie rejoined with a hint of emotion.  "Jake
+has got to make good for your sake.  Some day we'll sell out the
+business and you shall rest as long as you like."
+
+Mrs. Winter smiled, rather wearily.  "I don't know if I'd like to do
+nothing; I've hustled so long.  Still I've sometimes thought I'd like
+to find out how it feels just to sit quiet for a piece.  Now the oven's
+good and hot; there's a batch of biscuit ready and you'd better come
+and help."
+
+She took Carrie away and when they had gone Jake looked at his comrade.
+
+"I allow the women's part is most as hard as ours, and Carrie hit it
+when she said I had to make good."
+
+Jim nodded.  "I like your sister, and your mother's very fine.  I want
+to help you help them all I can."
+
+"Sure, I know," said Jake, and then his eyes twinkled, for he had noted
+Jim's slight awkwardness.  "You went rather farther than you meant,
+didn't you?  Your English streak makes you shy, but you won't hurt my
+feelings; I'm all Canadian.  Now, however, you are going to bed."
+
+Jim went to bed and soon went to sleep.  He was not well yet and had
+had an exciting day.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+ON THE TRAIL
+
+Heavy rain swept the valley, the evening was cold, and Jim stood near
+the big rusty stove at Tillicum House, drying his wet clothes.  He had
+eaten a very bad supper and imagined the wooden hotel on the North
+trail was perhaps the worst at which he had stopped.  The floor was
+torn by lumbermen's spiked boots; burned matches and the ends of cheap
+cigars lay about.  The board walls were cracked and stained by resin
+and drops of tarry liquid fell from the bend where the stove pipe went
+through the ceiling.  A door opened on a passage where a small, wet
+towel hung above a row of tin basins filled with dirty water.  There
+was no effort for comfort and Jake, who was tired and did not like the
+hard chairs, sat, smoking, on a box.
+
+Outside, shabby frame houses ran down hill to the angry green river
+where drifting ice-floes shocked.  Dark woods rolled up the other bank
+and trails of mist crawled among the pines.  Patches of snow checkered
+the rocks above; in the distance a white range glimmered against leaden
+cloud.  The settlement looked strangely desolate in the driving rain,
+but the small ugly houses were the last Jim's party would see for long.
+The wagon road ended there and a very rough pack trail led into the
+wilds.  There was another hotel, to which the men Jim had engaged had
+gone.
+
+"Where's Carrie?" he asked by and by.
+
+"I guess she's tired," Jake replied.  "It has been pretty fierce for
+Carrie since we left the cars."
+
+Jim frowned.  They had been some days on the road and the rain had not
+stopped.  It was cold rain; belts of road were washed away and the rest
+was full of holes, in which the loaded wagons sometimes stuck.  The men
+got wet and their clothes could not be dried, and Carrie was not
+sheltered much by a rubber sheet, while when they struck a wash-out all
+were forced to carry their tools and stores across slippery gravel.
+Carrie had not grumbled, but it was rough work and Jim knew she must
+have felt some strain.
+
+"She oughtn't to have come," he said.  "Why weren't you firm?"
+
+"I've a notion you agreed; but if you imagine I could have kept her
+back, you don't know Carrie yet.  Anyhow, the bad weather won't last
+and we must make the head of the wire soon.  Summer's short."
+
+Jim nodded.  They had grounds for speed that disturbed them both.
+Supplies and transport had cost more than they calculated; wages were
+high, and their money was running out.  It was obviously needful to
+push on the work until enough of the line was finished to justify their
+asking for some payment.  While Jim mused a man came in.  The stranger
+was big, and looked rather truculent, although he wore neat
+store-clothes and new long boots.  His glance was quick and got
+ironical when he fixed his eyes on Jake.
+
+"Been some time beating it from the railroad, haven't you?" he asked.
+
+"I expect the trip has been made in better time," Jake admitted.  "We
+struck a number of wash-outs and didn't want to leave our truck along
+the road."
+
+"You were short of transport."
+
+"We had all we could pay for.  Transport comes high."
+
+"When you leave the railroad, everything comes high, as you're going to
+find out.  Guess your trouble is you haven't enough capital."
+
+"The trouble's pretty common," Jake rejoined.  "You don't find rich men
+hitting the trail to the woods."
+
+"A sure thing," said the other.  "Well, you're not going to get rich
+cutting the new telegraph line.  Your outfit's not strong enough; you
+haven't stores and tools.  Tell you what I'll do; I'll give you seven
+hundred and fifty dollars to let up."
+
+"I don't know if you're generous or if you're rash," Jake remarked with
+a twinkle.  "The truck we're hauling in cost us more than that."
+
+"I'll take it at a valuation and you can find the men to fix the price."
+
+Jake looked at Jim, who pondered and hesitated.  He was dispirited and
+tired, and felt that the chance of their carrying out the contract was
+not good.  It would be something of a relief to get their money back.
+
+"I don't know who you are and why you want to buy us off," he said.
+
+"Then I'll put you wise.  I'm Probyn, Cartner and Dawson's man.  They
+wanted the new branch-line job, and if you get out, it, will go to
+them.  Anyhow, you can't put it over.  The bush is thick in the valley
+and there's loose gravel on the range that will roll down when you cut
+your track."
+
+"Loose gravel's bad," Jake remarked.  "If there's much of it, I don't
+see why Cartner and Dawson want the contract."
+
+"For one thing, they reckon it's theirs.  Then they have money enough
+to get to work properly.  You have taken up too big a job, and now's
+your chance to quit.  If you're prudent, you won't let it go."
+
+Jim pondered, for he thought he had got a hint.  Cartner and Dawson
+were contractors and with one or two more did much of the public work.
+In fact, it was said that the few large firms pooled the best jobs and
+combined to keep off outsiders.  Jim had been somewhat surprised when
+Jake secured the contract and imagined this was because it was not
+large enough for the others to bother about.  The branch line was short.
+
+"Oh, well," he said as carelessly as he could, "we've got to try to put
+it over.  Seven hundred and fifty dollars wouldn't pay us for the time
+we've spent."
+
+Probyn leaned forward.  "You want to call me up?  Well, I'll stand for
+a thousand dollars, but that's my best."
+
+Jake looked at Jim and both hesitated.  A thousand dollars was a useful
+sum, and in a way they would get it for nothing.  Cartner and Dawson
+would pay, but if the offer were refused, their opposition must be
+reckoned on.  It was obvious that they did not mean to allow poaching
+on the preserves they claimed.  Then Jim thought about Carrie, and felt
+half ashamed of his caution.  She was a partner and although she did
+not know the difficulties she would not hesitate.  He did not know if
+he was weak or not, but he did not want her to think he had no pluck.
+While he mused, Carrie came in, looking pale and tired, but she stopped
+and gave Probyn a direct glance.
+
+"Who is this?" she asked.
+
+"He comes from Cartner and Dawson, the big contractors, and wants to
+buy us off," Jake replied.  "He offers a thousand dollars if we'll get
+out."
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed Carrie.  "What did you say?"
+
+"We haven't said much.  We were thinking about it when you came in."
+
+Carrie's eyes sparkled and her tired look vanished.  "It won't stand
+for thinking about!  Tell him you undertook the job and are going to
+make good."
+
+Jake shrugged humorously and turned to Jim.  "Well, I guess we needed
+bracing.  What do you say, partner?"
+
+"We'll hold on."
+
+Probyn frowned.  "Is the dame a member of the firm?"
+
+"She is," Jake said, smiling.  "In fact, when we're up against it,
+she's the boss partner."
+
+"Very well.  I want you to get this, miss.  Here's a thousand dollars;
+they're yours for picking up and you take no risk.  If you refuse and
+hold down the contract, you'll certainly go broke."
+
+"It's possible," said Carrie.  "All the same, we mean to hold it down."
+
+Probyn shrugged.  "Then I quit.  If you can put the job over, you're
+luckier than I think."
+
+He went off and Carrie sat down.  "Looks as if I came along when I was
+needed.  The fellow talked in hints.  What did he mean?"
+
+"It's pretty obvious," Jake replied.  "His employers don't like our
+butting in.  Since they can't buy us, they'll try to freeze us out."
+
+"Then I reckon we must fight."
+
+Jake looked thoughtful.  "They're strong antagonists; but I've a notion
+there's somebody on our side.  In fact, I was puzzled when we got the
+contract.  It's not often a job of this kind goes past the others, but
+the department may be using us to see if it's possible to shake the
+combine."  He paused, and laughed as he resumed: "Anyhow, we have made
+the plunge and if we're not going under have got to go ahead."
+
+Jim agreed and for a time they talked about something else, but next
+morning Jake got a jar when he went to load the pack-horses and found
+two of his helpers gone.
+
+"They pulled out at sun-up," one of the rest explained.  "A stranger
+came along, looking for choppers; offered fifty cents more than you
+promised, and Steve and Pete went off with him."
+
+"He'll probably shake them in a week," Jake replied.  "Still fifty
+cents a day's some inducement, and all of you can chop."
+
+The packer laughed.  "That's a sure thing!  We reckoned we were fixed
+well and had better stop with a boss we knew.  Besides, now we've a
+dame for commissary, the hash is pretty good."
+
+Jake went back to the hotel, disturbed about Probyn, but satisfied with
+his men.  The two who had gone were strangers, but two of the rest had
+been with him in the North and the others had worked upon the telegraph
+line.  One could trust them.  For all that, he was quiet when they set
+off on the muddy trail that plunged into the bush.  A cold wind blew
+the rain in their faces, the horses stumbled in the holes, and the wet
+men grumbled as they plodded through the mud.  They knew the wilderness
+and felt themselves a small company for the work they must do.
+Moreover, Jake imagined they might have to meet the antagonism of rich
+and unscrupulous rivals.
+
+"You don't say much," he remarked to Jim.
+
+"One doesn't say much the morning one pulls out to start a big job.
+Anyhow, I'll own it's not my habit.  For one thing, I know what we're
+up against," Jim replied.  Then he saw Jake's twinkle, and smiled.  "My
+notion is you have been quieter than me."
+
+"Oh, well," said Jake, "you're not always very bright, but this trip's
+a picnic after some we've made.  If we go broke, we can come down
+again; the last time we took the North trail we had to make good or
+freeze."
+
+"You hadn't your sister with you then."
+
+"That's so," Jake agreed.  "I reckon it makes some difference.  Perhaps
+you had better go ahead and talk to her.  Carrie's rather fed up, but
+she mayn't be as frank to you."
+
+Jim urged the pack-horse he was leading and came up with Carrie, who
+was a short distance in front.  He wondered what he had better talk
+about, but found it easier to amuse her than he had thought.  Carrie
+did not look tired now; she had a touch of color and her eyes were
+bright.  She laughed at his remarks, although he admitted that his
+humor was clumsy, and did not seem to mind when the horse splashed her
+with mud.  Carrie had pluck, but he imagined her cheerfulness was
+forced.  By and by a knot on the pack-rope slipped and some tools and
+cooking pans fell with a clash.  When Jim began to pick them up Carrie
+stopped a yard or two in front.
+
+"You needn't hurry; I'll go on," she said.  "It's cleaner away from the
+horses, and one can look for the dry spots."
+
+Jim gave her a quick glance.  Although she smiled, her voice had a note
+of strain.  It had not been easy for her to pretend and he had forced
+her to the effort.
+
+"I'm sometimes dull, but I mean well," he said apologetically.
+
+"Of course, you meant well.  Jake sent you, didn't he?  He knows
+something about my moods."
+
+Jim colored and, seeing his embarrassment, she laughed.
+
+"You don't deserve that; I get mad now and then.  The thing's my fault,
+any way.  I started well, but hadn't grit enough to keep it up.
+However, hadn't you better pick those pans out of the mud?"
+
+Jim replaced the articles and when he had refastened the load waited
+for Jake.
+
+"It looks as if Carrie had turned you down," the latter remarked.
+
+"I'm not surprised," Jim rejoined.  "I've been talking like a drummer
+when she wanted to be alone."
+
+"Oh, well," said Jake, "you haven't a very light touch, but I expect
+she saw your intention was good."
+
+"She did not; she saw you had sent me.  Your sister is cleverer than
+you think."
+
+Jake grinned and pulled his horse round a hole.  "They're all cleverer
+than we think.  Sometimes it's an advantage and sometimes a drawback.
+Anyhow, I guess I won't meddle again.  Carrie will make good if we
+leave her alone----"
+
+He turned, for the horse behind them pushed forward and bit the animal
+he led.
+
+"Watch out!" he shouted.  "Drive your beast on!"
+
+Jim did so and then stopped a few yards off, while the animals plunged
+round each other and a man behind ran up.  Jake, sticking to the
+bridle, was dragged about; his horse's load struck against a tree and a
+flour-bag burst.  While he tried to stop the white stream running from
+the hole, the other horse seized his arm and shook him savagely.  Its
+driver joined in the struggle with a thick branch, and the men and
+animals floundered about the trail while the flour ran into the mud.
+
+"Let up with the club!" Jake shouted.  "The dried apples have gone now.
+You have hit the bag."
+
+"Hold your beast, then," gasped the other.  "This trouble's not going
+to stop until mine gets in front."
+
+Jake with an effort pulled the kicking animal between two trees and
+there was quietness when the other passed.  It looked round for a
+moment, and then plodded forward steadily while the desiccated apples
+ran down on the trail.
+
+"Now we'll stop and fix those bags," Jake remarked.  "Why in thunder
+did you let the brute go, Bill?"
+
+"He was mushing along good and quiet and I wanted to light my pipe.
+Reckon he forgot he wasn't in his place."
+
+Then they heard a laugh and saw Carrie close by.  Jake was covered with
+mud and flour, and his hat, which had been trampled on, hung over his
+hot face.
+
+"You look the worse for wear," she said.
+
+"I guess I feel like that," Jake replied, indicating his torn overalls.
+"Putting some of the damage right will be a job for you, but my hat's
+past your help.  You wouldn't think it cost three dollars, not long
+since!"
+
+"But what was the kicking and biting about?"
+
+"You heard the explanation!  Bill's cayuse forgot he wasn't in his
+proper place.  When he remembered, he tried to get there."
+
+"I don't understand yet."
+
+"A pack-horse knows his place in the row.  He's a creature of habit and
+hates to see another animal where he ought to be, but Bill was late in
+loading up and we didn't stop for him.  If I'd known what was coming to
+me, I'd have waited.  Now you have got the thing."
+
+Carrie laughed and Jim noted there was no reserve in her amusement.
+Her moodiness had vanished.
+
+"It's ridiculous, but you must indulge him another time," she said.
+"Food is dear."
+
+They went on with lighter hearts.  The struggle and Carrie's laugh had
+braced them, and by and by bright sunbeams touched the trunks beside
+the narrow trail.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+CARRIE'S WEAK MOMENT
+
+The rain had stopped and big drops fell from the dark firs about the
+camp.  Daylight was going; all was very quiet but for the distant sound
+of falling water, and the smoke of the sulky fire went straight up.
+White chips and empty provision cans lay beside the freshly-chopped
+logs.  Jake had left camp after supper, the men had gone to fish, and
+Carrie had taken off her wet boots and sat by the fire, trying to dry
+her clothes.  For the last three or four days the party had traveled
+across very rugged country, and had now reached the spot where the new
+line would branch off.
+
+Carrie was cold and depressed.  One of the men who joined Probyn was
+cook, and although she had undertaken his duties cheerfully she found
+them harder than she thought.  Then when they pitched camp the wood the
+men brought was wet, the fire would not burn well, and the extra good
+supper she had meant to cook was spoiled.  This was the climax of a
+number of small troubles and hardships, and Carrie's patience had given
+way.  By and by, Jim came out of the gloom and stopped by the fire.
+
+"Crying, Carrie!  Why is that?"
+
+Carrie, who had not heard his steps, started and tried to hide her feet
+behind her draggled skirt.
+
+"I wasn't," she said, rather sharply.  "Anyhow, if I was, you oughtn't
+to have noticed."
+
+"Perhaps not.  Jake told me not long since my touch wasn't light.  But
+what has gone wrong?"
+
+"It's all gone wrong," she answered drearily.  "I oughtn't to have
+come.  Supper was the last thing----"
+
+"The supper was quite good," Jim declared.
+
+"Quite good!  Well, I suppose that's all you can say for it honestly.
+If you liked it, it's curious you didn't eat very much.  Then, you see,
+I can cook, and I wanted to make a little feast to celebrate your
+beginning the job."
+
+"Nobody could cook at a fire like that.  Besides, folks are not
+fastidious in camp.  When you're chopping and cutting rock all day, you
+can eat whatever you get."
+
+"Your touch is certainly not light; I'd sooner you were fastidious,"
+Carrie rejoined.
+
+"Looks as if I'd taken the wrong line," Jim said gently.  "I hate to
+see you disturbed."
+
+"Do you hate it very much?"
+
+"Yes," said Jim.  "That's why I'm awkward."
+
+Carrie gave him a quick glance and turned her head.  The firelight
+touched his face and she noted his grave sympathy.
+
+"Oh!" she said, "I'm a silly little fool!  I would come--although I
+knew you didn't want me."
+
+"I thought you would find things hard," Jim replied, with some
+embarrassment.
+
+"I do find them hard; that's the trouble, because they're really not
+hard.  The fault's mine; I haven't enough grit."
+
+"You are full of grit," Jim declared.  "I've known men knocked out by
+an easier journey."
+
+"You're trying to be nice and I don't like that.  I didn't want you to
+come just now, but since you have come, sit down and smoke.  I meant to
+be a partner and help you both along."
+
+"But you have helped----"
+
+Carrie looked up quickly.  "Oh, you are dull!  You don't see I want to
+confess.  It's sometimes a comfort to make yourself look as mean as
+possible.  Afterwards you begin to imagine you're perhaps not quite so
+bad."
+
+"I don't know if it's worth while to bother about such things," Jim
+remarked.
+
+"You don't bother.  When you're on the trail, you're occupied about the
+horses and how far you can go.  Nothing else matters, and Jake, of
+course, never bothers at all.  He grins.  But I insisted on coming and
+when the man at the hotel wanted to buy you off I made you refuse.  You
+know I did.  You were hesitating."
+
+"On the whole, I'm glad you were firm."
+
+"It was easy to be firm at the hotel, but I ought to have kept it up.
+I was vain and sure of myself, when I'd come up in a wagon, over a
+graded road."
+
+"The road was pretty bad," said Jim.
+
+"Anyhow, it was a road and I sat in a wagon," Carrie rejoined.  "When
+the road stopped and we hit the real wild country, I got frightened,
+like a child.  What use is there in starting out, if you can't go on?"
+
+"You have gone on.  I don't think many girls from the cities would have
+borne the journey with an outfit like ours.  But I don't quite get your
+object for leaving home."
+
+"Ah," said Carrie, "you have done what you wanted, although it was
+perhaps hard.  You have tasted adventure, seen the wild North, and
+found gold.  You haven't known monotony, done dreary things that never
+change, and tried to make fifty cents go as far as a dollar.  If you
+had talents, you could use them, but it wasn't like that with me.  I
+don't know if I have talent, but I felt I could do something better
+than bake biscuit and sell cheap groceries.  I longed to do something
+different; to go out and take my chances, and see if I couldn't make my
+mark.  Then I wanted money, for mother's sake.  So I came, but as soon
+as I got wet and tired I was afraid."
+
+Jim pondered.  Carrie had pluck; it meant much that she had owned her
+fears.  She meant to conquer them and he imagined she looked to him for
+help.  His business was to give her back her confidence, but this could
+not be done by awkward flattery.  In the meantime, he looked about.
+The fire had sunk, the moon was rising, and through a gap between the
+trunks one could see a dark gulf, out of which thin mist rolled.  The
+vapor streamed across long rows of ragged pines that ran up among the
+rocks until they melted in the gloom.  In the distance, a glimmering
+line of snow cut against the sky.  The landscape had grandeur but not
+beauty.  It was stern and forbidding.
+
+"I think we are all afraid now and then," he said.  "I never hit the
+North trail without shrinking.  Perhaps it's instinct, or something
+like that.  In the cities, man lives in comfort by using machines, but
+he's up against Nature all the time in the wilds.  She must be fought
+and beaten and he must leave behind the weapons he knows.  Up North, a
+small accident or carelessness may cost you your life; an ax forgotten,
+a bag of flour lost, mean frostbite and hunger that may stop the march.
+You have got to be braced and watchful; it's a grim country and it
+kills off the slack.  But we are only on its edge and things are
+different here.  If we are beaten, we can fall back.  The trail to the
+cities is open."
+
+"Would you fall back?" Carrie asked.
+
+"Not unless I'm forced," Jim answered with a laugh.
+
+"Nor will I," said Carrie.  "I've been a fool to-night, but if I'm up
+against silly old things like instincts, I'm going to put them down."
+
+"You will make good all right.  But what did your mother think when you
+resolved to come with us?"
+
+Carrie hesitated, and then gave Jim a level glance.
+
+"You didn't see mother much.  She was busy; she's always busy, and you
+don't know her yet.  She's quiet, you don't feel her using control, but
+one does what she wants, and I can't remember when that was wrong.
+Well, I suppose she felt, on the surface, I oughtn't to go.  It was the
+proper, conventional view, but when it's needful mother can go deep.  I
+think she was willing to give me a chance of finding out, and trying,
+my powers; she knew I wouldn't be so restless afterwards, if I was
+happier or not."  Carrie paused and there was a touch of color in her
+face as she resumed: "Besides, she knew she could trust Jake and I
+think she trusts you."
+
+Jim said nothing.  It looked as if the little faded woman who had been
+occupied about the store all day had qualities he had not imagined,
+although he now remembered he had sometimes got a hint of reserved
+force.  All was quiet for a minute or two while he mused, and then they
+heard steps and Jake came up.
+
+"I've been prospecting up the line.  We have got our job," he said.
+
+"What's the trouble?  Bush pretty thick?"
+
+"Rocks!  They're lying loose right up the slope and it's going to cost
+us high to roll them away.  Then it's possible another lot will come
+down."
+
+Jim frowned.  They had undertaken to clear a track of stated width,
+along which pack-horses could travel, as well as fix the telegraph
+posts; and a bank of big loose stones would, be a troublesome obstacle.
+Much depended on the steepness of the hillside and he had not yet seen
+the ground.
+
+"If we have to build up and underpin the line, it will certainly cost
+us something," he said.  "However, we'll find that out as we go on.
+The main thing is to start."
+
+"I allow that's so.  When you start you finish," Jake remarked.  "Still
+dollars will count in this fight and we may go broke."
+
+"It's possible.  Anyhow, we'll hold on until we are broke."
+
+Carrie laughed.  "And that's all there is to it, Jim?  I like your way
+of looking at things.  It's simple and saves trouble."
+
+"It puts it off," Jim rejoined dryly.  "The trouble sometimes comes at
+the end.  But it's rather curious how often you can make good by just
+holding on."
+
+"Oh, well!" said Carrie.  "I hear the boys coming.  Go and see if they
+have caught some fish."
+
+Jim went off and presently returned with a string of big gray trout.
+Sitting down, he began to sharpen his knife, but Carrie stopped him.
+
+"Leave them alone!  How many will the boys eat for breakfast?"
+
+"To some extent, it depends on how many they get.  If they're up to
+their usual form, I reckon they'll eat the lot.  But what has that to
+do with it?  I'll fix the trout."
+
+"No," said Carrie.  "Give me your knife."
+
+"Certainly not.  Do you like dressing fish?"
+
+"I expect I'll hate it, but I'm going to try.  Do you want me to
+struggle with a small blunt knife?"
+
+Jim looked hard at her.  Her mouth was firm and he knew what her touch
+of color meant.
+
+"I undertook to help cook," she resumed, and smiled.  "It's curious how
+often you can make good by just holding on!  Now, however, you and Jake
+can go away."
+
+They went off, but presently Jim sat down and lighted his pipe.
+Although he approved Carrie's resolve to be useful, he felt annoyed.
+She had pretty white hands; he did not like her dressing trout.  Yet
+somebody must cook, and now the gang was two men short, he did not know
+whom he could spare.  It was not a job for Carrie, but she was
+obstinate.  There was no use in going back, because she could beat him
+in argument, and he went to his bed of fir branches in a bark shack the
+men had built.  Carrie had a tent, with a double roof that would keep
+out rain and sun.  Jim had seen to this, although the tent was
+expensive.
+
+He got up rather early, but when he went out a big fire burned between
+the parallel hearth logs.  Aromatic wood-smoke hung about the camp in a
+thin blue haze.  There was an appetizing smell of cooking, and Carrie
+got up from beside the logs as he advanced.  She gave him a cheerful
+glance, and then stood looking past him to the east.  Mist streamed out
+of the deep valley and rolled across the climbing pines; in the
+distance, snow cut, softly blue, against the dazzling sky.  Carrie
+looked fresh and vigorous.  There was color in her face and her eyes
+were bright.
+
+"How long have you been about?" Jim asked.
+
+"An hour," she said, smiling.  "I was often up at daybreak at home, and
+it was different there.  The street looked mean, the store smelt stale,
+and all was dreary.  Sun-up is glorious in the bush."
+
+"Sometimes!  I have wakened half-frozen and felt most too scared to
+look about."
+
+"Ah," said Carrie, "I was scared last night, but last night has gone
+and can't come back.  I'll own I don't like the dark."
+
+Jim studied her.  Her pose was unconsciously graceful; her tall figure
+and plain gray dress harmonized with the background of straight trunks
+and rocks.  Her head was slightly tilted back as she breathed the
+resin-scented air.  Jim thought she looked strangely virile and alert.
+
+"You belong to the dawn," he said.
+
+Carrie laughed, a laugh of frank amusement, untouched by coquetry.
+"Oh, Jim!  You're not often romantic."
+
+"I suppose that is so," he agreed.  "Anyhow, my feeling was quite
+sincere.  You _are_ like the dawn."
+
+She turned her head for a moment and then said carelessly: "Let's look
+if the bannocks I made are cooked."
+
+Jim scattered a pile of wood ashes and lifted two or three large thick
+cakes from the hot stones beneath.  He broke off a piece from one and
+when it cooled began to eat.
+
+"I imagine this is the best bannock that was ever made in the bush," he
+remarked.
+
+"Do you feel you must be nice?"
+
+"No," said Jim.  "In a way, I don't care if I'm nice or not.  The
+bannock is first grade; I think that's all that matters.  If you don't
+mind, I'll take another bit."
+
+Carrie laughed.  "Looks as if one could make you happy by giving you
+things to eat!  But let's see if the trout are fried; I've got the
+spider full."
+
+She put the fish on a big tin plate and while she made coffee Jim beat
+a piece of iron that hung from a branch.  The sharp, ringing notes
+pierced the shadows and half-dressed men came out of the shack and
+plunged down the slope to the river.
+
+"Some of them would be mad if they knew I'd roused them out ten minutes
+early," Jim remarked.  "A breakfast like this, however, is too good to
+spoil.  Now if you'll let me have the coffee, I'll take the truck
+along."
+
+He came back with the empty plates in about a quarter of an hour, for
+Canadian choppers do not loiter over meals, and Carrie, sitting on the
+hearth log, looked up anxiously.
+
+"Well?" she asked, "were the boys satisfied?"
+
+"They were.  I don't think I could have stood for it if they were not.
+One allowed he hoped Probyn would keep the cook we lost.  The others
+were enthusiastic."
+
+Carrie blushed.  "I'm glad.  I was tired when things went wrong last
+night."
+
+"The trouble is, you can't go on.  It's one thing to superintend, and
+cook a meal now and then, but quite another to cook all the time."
+
+"But this is what I want to do."
+
+"It can't be allowed," Jim declared.
+
+Carrie put down the forks she was cleaning.  "You look very firm and
+solemn, but you can't bluff me.  Are you and Jake very rich?"
+
+"You know we're not rich."
+
+"If you want to put your contract over, you have got to work, and it's
+obvious you can't work and cook.  Then, if you bring in a man to cook,
+he couldn't do much else and wages are high.  Aren't they high?"
+
+"I suppose they are," Jim agreed.
+
+"Very well!  I came because I wanted to be useful, and if you won't let
+me, I'll go back.  Then Jake and one of the boys would have to go down
+with me to the railroad.  That would be awkward, wouldn't it?"
+
+"It certainly would be awkward.  Do you mean you'll insist on taking
+two of us away from the job unless I give in?"
+
+Carrie smiled.  "Yes, Jim.  If you're going to be obstinate, there's no
+other plan.  Besides, you see, the trail's rough and I couldn't go very
+fast."
+
+"I'm beaten," said Jim.  "You will do what you like.  You're a good
+sort, Carrie, and if you find the job too hard, you can stop."
+
+"I may find it hard, but I don't know if I'll stop.  Anyhow, your
+control is gone.  If you are not very nice, I'll spoil the hash, and
+then you'll have trouble with the boys."
+
+Jim got up, moved by her pluck and yet half annoyed, for he had meant
+to make things easy for her.  Before he went off she laughed and
+remarked: "You'll find Jake will understand why you gave way.
+Sometimes he bluffs mother; he never bluffs me."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+ROLLING STONES
+
+Sweet resinous smells drifted down the hill.  The mists were melting
+and Jim lighted his pipe and thoughtfully looked about.  The sun had
+just risen above the distant snow and a streak of blue smoke, drawn
+across the woods, marked the camp.  Breakfast would not be ready for
+half an hour, but he knew Carrie had been occupied for some time,
+although he had stolen out of camp without talking to her.
+
+Jim did not like her working as she had worked for the last week or
+two, and if he had stopped they might have begun an argument.  He would
+have gained nothing by this, for Carrie was obstinate and he admitted
+that he was now and then impatient.  Carrie was plucky and they needed
+help, but cooking for the hired men was not the kind of thing she ought
+to do.  Then he had been disturbed in the night by a rattle of stones,
+and now saw he must grapple with a difficulty that was worse than he
+had thought.
+
+The hillside ran up steeply to a wall of crags, split by frost and
+thaw.  Tall firs clung to the slope where they could find a hold, but
+there were gaps, in which broken trunks lay among the rubbish a
+snow-slide had brought down.  Then, for some distance, large, sharp
+stones rested insecurely on the slope, and Jim imagined that a small
+disturbance would set them in motion.  Below the spot where he sat, the
+stones ran down into a gulf obscured by rolling mist.  The turmoil of a
+river rose from the gloomy depths.
+
+A row of telegraph posts crossed the stony belt, but one or two had
+fallen in the night and Jim carefully studied the ground.  His business
+was to put up the posts and clear a track in order to protect them from
+damage and enable pack-horses to travel along the line.  It was plain
+that the stones were an awkward obstacle, but this was not all.  As a
+rule, the provincial Government allowed the small ranchers to undertake
+the construction of telegraphs, rude bridges, and roads.  The plan
+helped the men to stop upon their half-cleared holdings, but it was not
+economical and rich contractors had recently got the large jobs.  Jim
+imagined they meant to keep the business in their hands and he knew
+something about political influence and graft.  His contract was not
+important but he had grounds for believing the others resented his
+entering the field, and if he got behind schedule, the agreement might
+be broken.  Well, he must not get behind, and when he went back for
+breakfast he had made his plans.
+
+Afterwards he got to work and rolled the stones down hill all day,
+without returning to camp for dinner.  It was getting hot, and in the
+afternoon fierce sunshine beat upon the long slope.  The shadow of the
+pines looked inviting and Jim felt that half an hour might be occupied
+profitably by a quiet smoke and review of the undertaking, but resisted
+the temptation.  The argument was false; he was a working boss and must
+set the pace for his men.  His back began to ache, he tore his old blue
+shirt, and bruised his hands, while as the shadows lengthened he got
+disturbed.  Rolling heavy stones was slow and expensive work.  It kept
+him from getting forward and wages were high.  When the sun was low he
+stopped to wipe his bleeding hand and saw Jake leaning on his shovel.
+
+"I've let up for a minute or two to think.  Sometimes it pays," Jake
+observed.
+
+"It depends on what you think about," Jim rejoined.  "I don't know if
+there's much profit in wondering what's for supper."
+
+Jake smiled.  "Perhaps not.  I reckon you thought how you could hit up
+the pace.  My notion is, you've put it most as high as the boys will
+stand for."
+
+"In this country, it's usual to work as hard as the boss."
+
+"Something depends on the boss," Jake said dryly.  "When we're up
+against a hard streak, you are near the limit."
+
+Jim gave him a sharp glance.  "Do you mean anything in particular?
+Aren't you satisfied with the boys?"
+
+"On the whole, they're a pretty good crowd.  There are two I'm not
+quite sure about."
+
+Jim's eyes rested on two men who were languidly throwing stones down
+the hill.  "I think we agree, but they have earned their pay so far,
+and I mean them to go on."
+
+He stopped and the men put down their tools, for a sharp, ringing noise
+rolled across the woods.  When they reached camp Jim was surprised to
+note two hobbled horses among the springing fern.  The big pack-saddles
+stood near the fire and a man was helping Carrie to fill the tin
+plates.  He stopped when Jim advanced, and Carrie said, "This is Mr.
+Davies; he was at the Woolsworth store with me."
+
+Jim said he was glad to see him and studied the fellow when they sat
+down.  Davies was young and rather handsome.  He wore overalls, long
+leggings, and an expensive buckskin jacket, but although his skin was
+brown, he did not look like a bushman.  In fact, Jim thought him a type
+that is common in Western towns; superficially smart, and marked by an
+aggressive confidence.  He was somewhat surprised the fellow was a
+friend of Carrie's; Jim had not expected her to like that kind of man,
+but hospitality is the rule in the bush and he tried to be polite.
+When supper was over and they lit their pipes he asked:
+
+"Have you come to see the country, Mr. Davies?"
+
+"I'm out on business; going through to the new settlement.  I belong to
+the Martin outfit and we're bidding on the construction of a new
+bridge."
+
+"Ah," said Jim, for Martin was a contractor and one of the ring.  "This
+is not the shortest way to settlement," he added.
+
+"It is not," Davies agreed.  "I reckoned I'd go in up the Vaughan river
+and hired two Indians who know the way.  Wanted to look at the country;
+there's some talk about making a new wagon road.  Then, you see, I knew
+Miss Winter and heard she was at your camp."
+
+Something about Davies' manner hinted that the girl and he were good
+friends, and Jim was sorry Carrie was not there, since he wanted to see
+how she accepted the fellow's statement.  For no very obvious reason,
+Davies jarred him.
+
+"Looking for a wagon road line is a different job from keeping store,"
+he remarked.
+
+"I did keep store, but I've had other occupations and know the bush.
+If I didn't know it, they would have no use for me in the Martin gang."
+
+Jim nodded.  The fellow was plausible, and in British Columbia a man
+often puts his talents to very different uses.  He thought Davies had
+talent, although perhaps not of a high kind.  By and by the latter got
+up.
+
+"If the boys are going fishing, I'll try my luck with them," he said.
+"I'd like a few gray trout and have brought a pole."
+
+Two or three of the men picked up rods they had made from fir-branches,
+and when the party set off Jim walked across to the fire where Carrie
+was sitting.
+
+"Davies has gone off to the river," he remarked.  "It's curious!"
+
+"Why do you think this curious?"
+
+Jim hesitated, feeling that tact was needful.  He was not jealous about
+Davies.  Carrie and he were friends; he liked her much, but she had not
+inspired him with romantic sentiment.  His imagination dwelt upon the
+girl he had met at the Montreal restaurant.  For all that, he was
+puzzled.
+
+"Well," he said, "it looks as if he had come out of his way in order to
+see you."
+
+"Did he tell you this?"
+
+"No," said Jim.  "He hinted at something like it.  I suppose you knew
+him well?"
+
+Carrie gave him a quick glance.  His face was thoughtful and he
+frowned.  She was quiet for a moment or two, and then smiled.  "I do
+not know him well.  He was at the Woolsworth Store, but his was a
+better post than mine, and we didn't often meet.  In fact, I don't
+think I liked him much."
+
+"Ah," said Jim, whose satisfaction was plain.  "Well, of course, it is
+not my business."
+
+"But you're rather glad I didn't like him?"
+
+"Of course," said Jim.  "The fellow's a poor type; not your type----"
+
+He stopped with some embarrassment and Carrie laughed.
+
+"We'll let that go.  You are puzzled, Jim?"
+
+"I am.  Why did the fellow hint he'd come because he wanted to see you?
+He said something about looking for a line for a wagon road, but he'd
+have struck the valley the road will go through sooner if he'd pushed
+on east.  I can't see what he did want."
+
+"Perhaps he had some reason for stopping at our camp and felt he must
+account for his coming out of his way."
+
+"Yes," said Jim.  "I believe you've hit it."
+
+"Well, now you know I don't like Davies and you have found out why he's
+here, you ought to be satisfied."
+
+"But I haven't found out why he's here; that's the trouble," Jim
+rejoined, and was silent for a few moments.  "However, perhaps you have
+put me on the track," he went on.  "I was something of a fool when I
+wanted to leave you behind.  You have helped us all the time.  But you
+haven't enough wood for morning; I'll go and chop some."
+
+He went off and Carrie sat quietly by the fire.  There was faint
+amusement in her eyes, but they were soft.  By and by the light began
+to fade and rousing herself she made some bannocks for breakfast.  When
+Davies came back with a string of fish she had vanished and the light
+that had burned in her tent was out.
+
+Next morning Davies left the camp and Jim sent three or four men to
+build a wall to protect the line, while he and some others put up the
+posts.  Their progress was slow, because it was necessary to make the
+wall strong and Jim was occupied for a week before he was satisfied
+with the length he had built.  He thought it ought to stand, but felt
+disturbed when he calculated what the extra work had cost.  It was,
+however, a comfort to know he had covered the worst ground, and soon
+after supper one evening he went off in better spirits than usual to a
+little bark shelter he had built for himself.
+
+He was tired and soon went to sleep, but after some hours awoke.  He
+supposed he was rather highly strung after working hard, because he did
+not feel sleepy, and lifting his head he looked about.  The end of the
+shelter was open and the pines outside rose like vague black spires,
+their tapered tops cutting against the sky.  Although there was no
+moon, the first row of trunks stood out against the deeper gloom
+behind.  One could smell the resin and the warm soil, damped by heavy
+dew.  All was very quiet, but after a few moments Jim began to listen.
+He had lived in the wilds, his senses were keen, and sometimes he
+received unconsciously impressions of minute noises.  Although the
+stillness was only broken by the turmoil of the river far down in the
+valley, he imagined it was not for nothing he had wakened.
+
+Then he raised himself on his elbow as he heard another sound.  It was
+very faint, but somehow definite, although he could not tell what it
+was.  A few moments afterwards, he knew; a stone was rolling down hill
+and disturbing others as it went.  Then there was a sharp crash and a
+rattle that began to swell into a roar, and Jim, leaping up, ran along
+the hill.  The bank he had built had broken and the stones behind it
+were plunging down.
+
+When he reached the line he struck his foot against a rock and
+stumbled.  The ground was rough, the night was dark, but it was
+unthinkable that he should stop.  He clenched his hands and ran,
+although he did not know what he could do.  When trouble threatened he
+must be on the spot.  In the meantime, the noise got louder.  He heard
+great blocks strike the ledges down the slope and smash; trees broke
+and branches crashed, while behind the detached shocks there was a
+steady, dull roar of small gravel grinding across the rocks and tearing
+up the brush.  The wall had obviously gone and its collapse had started
+a slide that might not stop until all the stones above the line had run
+down.  If so, they might plane off a wide belt of hillside and carry
+the soil and broken timber into the valley.  Then Jim would be forced
+to dig out another line.
+
+He gasped as he labored on, but the uproar had begun to die away when
+he reached an opening in the thin forest.  At sunset, straggling trees
+had dotted the slope, but they had gone and, so far as he could see,
+nothing but a few stumps broke the smooth surface of the hill.  The
+wall had vanished with the line it was meant to protect.  Now and then
+a big stone rolled by, but Jim did not think about the risk.  He must
+try to find out if much of the surface was left and if there was rock
+beneath.
+
+When he left the end of the line, small stones slipped away from his
+feet and plunged down into the dark.  This was ominous, since gravel is
+awkward stuff to work among when it does not lie at rest.  However,
+with plenty of stakes and some underpinning, he might be able to build
+up a new bank.  By and by his foot struck something sharp and he looked
+up.  He had kicked the edge of a large, ragged stone, and an
+indistinct, broken mass ran up the hill.  The blocks had obviously come
+down from the bottom of the crags and, since they had gone no farther,
+the pitch was easy enough for them to lie.  This would enable him to
+clear a line across the mass and build a fresh bank.
+
+Jim sat down and took out his pipe.  He had lost his labor and money he
+could not spare, but it was possible to run the line across the
+treacherous belt, although he was half afraid to count the cost.  When
+he struck a match Jake came up and indistinct figures moved in the
+gloom behind.
+
+"Have you any use for us, Boss?" one asked.
+
+"Nothing doing now," said Jim.  "We'll get busy in the morning."
+
+The man looked about and then remarked:
+
+"Something started the blamed wall off and I guess she didn't stop
+until she hit the river.  It's surely bad luck!"
+
+"It is," said Jim.  "Anyhow, we took this job and are going to make
+good.  I don't want you and you'll probably need some sleep."
+
+"I reckon that's so, if you mean to speed us up," the other agreed,
+with a laugh, and when he went back to the others Jim lighted his pipe.
+
+"A nasty knock, but not a knock-out," Jake remarked.  "At sun-up we'll
+have a better notion----"
+
+"Oh, yes," said Jim, rather impatiently, and added: "I've been
+wondering why I wakened."
+
+"I reckon that's plain enough.  The noise would have roused me three
+miles off."
+
+"It was before the noise began," Jim replied, in a thoughtful voice.
+"I think something woke me, but don't know what it was."
+
+"Tom remarked that something had started off the wall.  I allow he
+mayn't have reflected much, but perhaps it's significant he and you
+agree."
+
+Jim was silent for a minute or two, and then asked: "Did all the boys
+come along?"
+
+"So far as I remember.  I didn't count."
+
+"Well," said Jim.  "It's too soon to state what I think.  After all, I
+don't know very much."
+
+Jake said nothing.  He knew his partner was generally marked by a grim
+reserve after a bad set-back.  When Jim was ready, he would talk, and
+in the meantime Jake imagined his brain was occupied.  Crossing the
+track of the landslide cautiously, they returned to camp, but when they
+reached it Jim lighted his pipe again and did not go to sleep.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+A COUNCIL
+
+Jim got up at daybreak and went to the spot where the landslide had
+carried away the line.  A hundred yards had gone and a great bank of
+soil and gravel ran down at an even slant to the river, where the
+current foamed about the rubbish that blocked its channel.  The slope
+was dotted by broken trees and rocks, and in one place farther up a
+belt of smaller stones rested loosely at the top of a steep pitch.  Jim
+thought a slight disturbance would start another slide.
+
+He had wasted a week or two's labor and saw it would cost him some time
+to clear the ground before he could get to work again.  Even then,
+there would be a risk of the new line's being swept away.  This was
+daunting, because money was short and he had no margin to provide
+against expensive accidents.  When he took the contract he had trusted
+much to luck, and now his luck was bad.
+
+Moreover, the thing was puzzling and his curiosity was aroused.  He
+imagined he had made the line secure, and had worked among treacherous
+gravel in shallow mines long enough to know something about the job.
+The wall had obviously broken and started the landslide when it gave
+way, but he could not see why it had broken.  This, however, must wait.
+He meant to solve the puzzle, but, to begin with, the line must be run
+across the gap and he occupied himself with the necessary plans.  His
+habit was to concentrate and, sitting absorbed, he studied the ground
+until he felt a touch on his arm.  Then he looked up with a start and
+saw Carrie.
+
+"I'm sorry, Jim," she said.  "Is it very bad?"
+
+"It's bad enough," said Jim, who began to get up, but she stopped him.
+
+"Never mind; sit still!  You're very polite, but I don't know if you
+need always use your best manners."
+
+"I don't know if I do," Jim rejoined.  "Sometimes I'm too savage; I'm
+rather savage now.  But don't you like me to be polite?"
+
+"If you get what I mean, I want you to feel I'm a working partner."
+
+"You are a partner," Jim declared.  "In fact, you're a remarkably
+useful member of the firm."
+
+Carrie gave him a smile.  "Thank you!  But you mustn't feel this bad
+luck too much.  You've met worse."
+
+"Much worse, but it was in the North, where we knew what we were up
+against and had nothing to lose.  It's different now; I've staked all
+I've got on this undertaking.  So has Jake; and then you have joined
+us.  I hate to think about your going back to the city broke."
+
+"Oh," said Carrie, smiling, "that doesn't count at all.  Besides, we're
+not going broke.  We may have some set-backs, but we'll make good."
+
+"We'll try; but that's another thing.  I don't know why you're so
+confident."
+
+Carrie studied him with a twinkle of amusement.  "I am confident.
+You're not a quitter, and it's wonderful what one can often do by just
+staying with a thing!"
+
+"The trouble is, you can't stay with this particular job when your
+money's gone.  That's the difference between it and placer mining in
+the North.  Up there, we had no wages to pay, and could stop and root
+up the tundra until we froze, and when our money is spent the boys will
+light out."
+
+"But you'll stay until every dollar is gone."
+
+Jim laughed.  "It might be prudent to pull out before; but I rather
+think I'll hold on."
+
+"Ah," said Carrie, "that's what I like!  You're bracing up; I knew you
+would!  However, I must go back.  Breakfast must be cooked."
+
+Jim went with her, feeling comforted.  Carrie did not know much about
+the mechanical difficulties, but her confidence was inspiriting.  In a
+sense, the thing was illogical; the difficulties would not vanish
+because she did not see them.  It was ridiculous for him to feel
+cheered, but he was cheered and he glanced at Carrie as they went
+along.  She was pretty and her impulsive frankness was often charming;
+but somehow he did not think of her as an attractive girl.  She was a
+partner whom he trusted and a staunch friend.  Yet he had been annoyed
+by Davies' stopping at the camp and had felt relieved when she told him
+she did not like the fellow.  This was strange, but Jim gave up the
+puzzle and helped Carrie with breakfast when they reached the camp.
+
+When the meal was over he got to work and did not come back until
+supper was ready.  Jake and he had not time for quiet talk all day, but
+there was something to be said, and when the men went off to fish, Jim
+sat down opposite Carrie, while Jake lay among the pine-needles close
+by.  The shadows had crept across the camp and the hollows between the
+rows of trunks were dark.  The snow had changed from white to an
+ethereal blue and the turmoil of the river hardly disturbed the calm.
+
+"Have you any notion yet what started off the wall?" Jake asked.
+
+"I have," said Jim.  "The trouble began at the underpinning.  A king
+post broke and let down the stones."
+
+"So far, we are agreed.  But do you know why the post broke?  We used
+good logs."
+
+"I don't know.  Although it may take some time, I'm going to find out.
+We can't have this kind of thing happening again."
+
+Jake nodded.  "Perhaps I have got a clew.  When Davies was here, he
+said he'd like to go fishing and some of the boys went along."
+
+"That is so," Jim said with a puzzled look.
+
+"The two who moved first were the boys we allowed we were not quite
+sure about.  I don't know if it means anything, but when they got to
+the river, they and Davies lost the others."
+
+"It may mean much," Jim said quietly.  "The clew's worth following."
+
+Carrie's eyes sparkled as she interrupted: "Do you imply Davies hired
+the boys to wreck the line?"
+
+"I allow it's possible," Jim replied in a thoughtful voice.
+
+"And I cooked an extra good supper for him!" Carrie exclaimed.  "I'm
+beginning to understand why folks get poisoned.  But now you know, what
+are you going to do about it?"
+
+"We don't know," said Jim.  "That's the trouble.  We have got to wait."
+
+Jake made a sign of agreement and Carrie said nothing.  She knew her
+brother and imagined she understood Jim's quietness.  After a time, the
+latter resumed: "I've been thinking, and the matter puzzles me.  We're
+up against the big contractors.  They'd be glad to see us broke and
+Probyn took two of our outfit when we stopped at the hotel.  But he was
+willing to buy us out and his offering the boys higher wages was, in a
+way, a fair deal.  I allow he left two we didn't trust."
+
+"The two who went fishing with Davies!" Carrie remarked.
+
+"That is so," Jim agreed.  "Davies, however, works for another boss.
+It's possible the big men would pool their resources to freeze us off,
+but I know something about Martin and doubt if he would play a low-down
+game."
+
+"Davies might," said Jake.
+
+"I think he did," Carrie interposed, and her voice was sharp.  "In
+fact, it's obvious.  He's poison mean; I knew this at the store."
+
+"I didn't like him," Jim replied and added thoughtfully: "After all,
+the contract's not important, from the big men's point of view.  No
+doubt, they'd sooner we let up, but somehow I can't see their finding
+it worth while to get after us."
+
+"It is puzzling," Jake admitted; "I think we'll let it go.  If we have
+any fresh bad luck, our money will run out long before we can make
+good.  This would leave us without resources except for the Bluebird
+claim."
+
+Jim frowned.  "I'll hold on while I have a dollar, but I don't want to
+sell the mine.  For one thing, we couldn't get a price that would help
+us much, although I expect northern copper claims will soon be
+valuable.  The country's fast being opened up and some day there'll be
+a railroad built."
+
+"Perhaps it's significant that Baumstein made us another offer for the
+Bluebird."
+
+"When did he make the offer?" Jim asked sharply.
+
+"When you were ill; I refused.  Thought I'd told you.  He raised his
+limit a thousand dollars."
+
+"Shucks!" said Jim.  "Does the fellow think we'll give him the mine?
+Anyhow, I'd sooner not sell to Baumstein at all.  He's a crook and has
+made his pile by freezing poor men off their claims."
+
+Jake smiled.  "Poor men with mines to sell get used to freezing, and if
+we refuse to deal with anybody whose character isn't first grade, we're
+not going to progress much.  I doubt if rich folks who like a square
+deal are numerous."
+
+"There are some," said Jim.  "For all that, the unscrupulous, grab-all
+financier is a blight on the country.  The prospector risks his life in
+the struggle with half-frozen tundra bog, rotten rock, and snow, and
+the other fellow, with his net of bribes and graft, gets the reward.
+But, we won't stand for that kind of thing."
+
+"Let's be practical.  We're not running a purity campaign, and it looks
+as if nobody but Baumstein is willing to buy the mine."
+
+"Then my proposition is, we hold tight until the Combine come into the
+field.  They'll be forced to get busy before long, and while I don't
+know if all their deals are straight, they're better than Baumstein's.
+In the meantime, we have got to stay with this telegraph contract while
+our money lasts."
+
+There was silence for a moment or two and Carrie's eyes rested on Jim.
+He looked tired, and his brown face was thin, but his mouth was firm.
+Jim was resolute; she sometimes doubted if he was clever, but he could
+hold on.  Had he been weak or greedy, he would have sold the copper
+vein and taken Probyn's offer to let the telegraph contract go.
+Perhaps this would have been prudent, but she was glad Jim had refused.
+She wanted to think he would not give way.
+
+"Well?  You claim you're a partner!" Jake remarked with a twinkle.
+
+"Jim's plan is my plan," she said quietly.
+
+"Then it goes," Jake agreed, and gave her a curious glance when Jim got
+up and went off across the hill.  "I don't know if you're rash or not,
+but you're playing up to Jim.  Since I've known you to be cautious,
+your object isn't very plain."
+
+Carrie hesitated, although she was generally frank with Jake.  "Oh,
+well," she said, "I feel he ought to take a bold line; that's the kind
+of man he is."
+
+"Rather a romantic reason.  Particularly as his boldness may cost us
+much."
+
+"I'm tired of thinking about what things cost," Carrie rejoined.
+"Sometimes it's fine to take one's chances.  I'm going to be rash, if I
+want."
+
+"After all, it may pay as well as the other plan.  However, if you mean
+to sketch a leading-character part for Jim and see he plays it as you
+think he ought, perhaps he deserves some sympathy and you may get a
+jolt.  Jim's not theatrical."
+
+"I hate theatrical people," Carrie declared.
+
+Jake laughed.  "You hate posers.  You feel you'd like Jim to play a
+romantic part, without his meaning it?  Well, I expect he'll miss his
+cues and let you down now and then, but he certainly won't pose."
+
+"You're rather clever sometimes," Carrie admitted, with a blush.  "But
+I think we have talked enough and I want some wood."
+
+She sat for a time, thinking, while the thud of Jake's ax rang across
+the bush; and then went off to her tent with an impatient shrug.
+
+"I mustn't be a romantic fool," she said.
+
+For the next eight or nine days Jim and the men were occupied running
+the line across the gap.  When he had done so, he stole quietly out of
+camp for three or four nights, and returning before daybreak, imagined
+nobody had remarked his absence.  Then, one morning, Carrie came up as
+he was lighting the fire.
+
+"You look tired, Jim," she said.  "If you mean to work hard, you must
+get some sleep."
+
+Jim gave her a sharp glance and she smiled.  "You see, I know your
+step!"
+
+"Ah," said Jim, who did not grasp all her statement implied, "you are
+very smart, Carrie, and it's plain that I am clumsier than I thought.
+But do you think anybody else heard me?"
+
+"No.  I listened and all was quiet.  However, if it's needful for
+somebody to watch, you must let Jake go."
+
+Jim shook his head.  "I've got to see this thing through.  Somehow I
+imagine I can do so better than Jake."
+
+"But you can't keep it up, after working hard all day."
+
+"It won't be for long.  We'll break camp soon and move to the next
+section.  You're a good sort, Carrie, but you really mustn't meddle."
+
+Carrie blushed.  "I won't meddle if you forbid it.  All the same, I'd
+hate to see you worn out and ill.  You're boss, and it would be awkward
+if you lost control."
+
+"It's only for another night or two.  The fellow I'm watching for will
+have to try again, or let up, before we move camp."
+
+"But if you caught him, you and he would be alone."
+
+"Yes," said Jim, whose face got hard, "that's what I want.  If I'm on
+the right track, the thing must be fixed without the boys knowing."
+
+Carrie hesitated and then made a sign of acquiescence.  "I don't like
+it, Jim, but reckon you can't be moved.  Anyhow, you'll be cautious."
+
+Jim promised he would not be rash and went off, half amused, to get
+some water.  Carrie was very staunch, but he did not want her to be
+disturbed about him.  He was sorry she had heard him steal out of camp.
+
+In the evening Jake came for a gun he kept in the tent.  The game laws
+that limit the time for shooting are seldom enforced against bush
+ranchers and prospectors who kill deer and grouse for food.
+
+"I'd better oil the barrels to keep off the damp," he said.  "It's a
+pretty good gun."
+
+Carrie watched him push across the top lever and open the breech.
+
+"Is that where you put the cartridges?" she asked.
+
+"You push the shells forward with your thumb, and then shut the
+gun--like this!"
+
+"Then all you have to do is to pull the trigger?"
+
+"Not with this type of gun.  You see, the hammers have rebounded half
+way, but you must pull them farther back before it will go off."
+
+"Suppose you miss and want to shoot again?"
+
+"You push the lever sideways, the barrels swing down, and the empty
+shells jump out.  That's all!"
+
+"It looks easy," Carrie remarked.  "I've sometimes wondered how one
+used a gun.  There's nothing more to shooting than there is to making
+bread."
+
+"Maybe not," Jake agreed with a grin.  "I reckon a bad cook is as
+dangerous as a bad shot.  If you miss with a gun, you have done no
+harm, but I've eaten bannocks that get you every time."
+
+When he had finished he hung the gun to the tent pole and went off, but
+Carrie took it down, and carefully opened and shut the breech.  After
+doing so once or twice, she was satisfied and put back the gun.  Then
+she went to a little bark store where their food was kept, and picking
+up a bag of flour that had been opened, weighed it in her hand.  It was
+lighter than it ought to be, and this had happened before.  Next she
+examined a piece of salt pork and imagined that some had gone, while
+when she carefully looked about she noted a few tea leaves on the floor.
+
+Carrie did not think she had spilt the tea, and knitted her brows.
+Somebody had been stealing food, but the man had not taken much and had
+tried to do so in a way that would prevent its being missed.  For
+example, he had gone to the flour bag twice and had cut the pork from
+both sides of the slab.  Carrie thought this significant, but resolved
+to say nothing.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+JIM KEEPS WATCH
+
+The night was not cold and Jim had some trouble to keep awake as he sat
+with his back against a tree a short distance above the mended line.
+He had dug out a track and built a new wall to hold up the stones, and
+in the morning the camp would be moved.  Now he was very tired, but he
+meant to watch for another night.
+
+There was a half moon and puzzling lights and shadows checkered the
+hill.  In some places the trees rose like scattered spires; in others
+they rolled down the slope in blurred dark masses.  Behind the woods
+snowy mountains cut against the sky.  The dim landscape was desolate
+and savagely grand.  It had the strange half-finished look one notes in
+Canada.
+
+In order to banish his drowsiness, Jim gave himself up to wandering
+memories.  He knew the North, where he had risked and endured much.  He
+had seen the tangled pines snap under their load of snow and go down in
+rows before the Arctic gales; he had watched the ice break up and the
+liberated floods hurl the floes into the forest.  He had crossed the
+barren tundra where only moss can live and the shallow bog that steams
+in summer rests on frozen soil.
+
+Raging blizzards, snowslides, crevassed glaciers and rotten ice were
+things he knew; there were scars on his body he had got in stubborn
+fights.  So far he had conquered; but he owned that he had had enough,
+and tried to picture the Old Country his father talked about.  Its
+woods were not primitive jungles, wrecked by gales and scorched by
+fires; men planted and tended them and the trees had room to grow.
+White farmsteads with gardens and orchards dotted the valleys; the
+narrow fields were rich with grass and corn.  Then there were wonderful
+old houses, stored with treasures of art.
+
+Well, he meant to see England some day and he began to think about the
+girl he had met at Montreal.  She seemed to stand for all that was best
+in the Old Country; its refinement, its serenity, and ancient charm.
+One did not find girls like that in Canada; they were the product of
+long cultivation and sprang from a stock whose roots went deep into the
+past.  Jim wondered with a strange longing whether he would see her
+again.
+
+Perhaps it was the contrast that presently fixed his thoughts on
+Carrie.  Carrie was a type that throve in virgin soil; she was virile,
+frank, and unafraid.  Her emotions were not hid by inherited reserve.
+One could imagine her fighting like a wildcat for the man she loved.
+Yet she had a fresh beauty and a vein of tenderness.  Jim was fond of
+Carrie but not in love with her.  He wondered whether he might have
+loved her had he not met the English girl, but pulled himself up.  This
+kind of speculation led to nothing, and he began to look about.
+
+The shadows of the pines had got shorter and blacker as the moon rose;
+the hill was checkered by their dark bars.  He could not see far down
+the valley, because it was full of mist.  The great hollow looked like
+a caldron in which the river boiled.  Its hoarse roar echoed among the
+rocks and made a harmonious background for smaller and sharper notes.
+A faint breeze sighed in the pine-tops and now and then there was a
+tinkle of falling stones.
+
+Jim saw some stones roll down and stop at the wall he had built.  This
+ran in a gentle curve across the slope and shone like silver in the
+moonlight.  In places, it was broken by shadows that seemed to tremble
+and melt.  Jim knew he was getting sleepy and tried to rouse himself.
+It was something of an effort, because he had not slept much for a
+week, but by and by the strain slackened and he got suddenly alert.
+
+An indistinct object moved where a shadow fell across the wall, and Jim
+knew it was a man.  He was conscious of a grim satisfaction; he had
+watched for the fellow when brain and body needed rest, and now he had
+come.  Moreover, his object was plain.  The wall was underpinned,
+supported by timbers, and if a log that bore much weight were cut, the
+stones would fall and bring down the rest.  One could not hear an ax at
+the camp, the falling wall would sweep away the chips, and the fellow,
+stealing back, would join the men the noise brought out.  Jim thought
+he could get near him by using the rocks and trees to cover his
+advance, but the other could hide among them if he were alarmed, and it
+might be prudent to let him get to work.  The stealthy figure avoided
+the moonlight.
+
+The thud of the ax echoed across the woods, and Jim, taking care that
+he had a dark background, went cautiously down hill.  He did not carry
+a pistol.  On the whole, he thought one was safer without a gun, but he
+had brought a thick wooden bar with an iron point that they used for
+rolling logs.  Getting behind a tree, he stopped near the wall.  The
+regular strokes of the ax indicated that the other was not disturbed,
+and Jim, looking down from higher ground, could see the upper part of
+his body as he swung the tool.  The sharp blows implied that he was
+chopping hard.
+
+After measuring the distance, Jim sank down and crawled to the top of
+the wall.  Since the other had an ax, surprise would be a useful, and
+perhaps necessary, advantage in the attack.  Jim meant to attack; there
+was no use in talking before the fellow was in his power.  As he crept
+forward a few stones rolled down the hill.  He wondered what had
+disturbed them, but thought it imprudent to turn round, and lay quiet
+for a few moments, when the chopping stopped.  He could not see the man
+now, because he was hidden by the top of the wall.
+
+The chopping began again, and Jim, crawling a few feet, seized the
+stones on the edge and threw himself over just after the ax came down.
+He fell upon the man and tried to seize him, but although both were
+shaken by the collision, the other avoided his grasp and staggered
+back.  Jim followed and, swinging his bar, struck with all his
+strength.  The other caught the blow on the curved shaft of the ax, and
+Jim's hands were badly jarred.  The vibration of the hard wood numbed
+his muscles, his fingers lost their grip.  It looked as if he had been
+clumsy and rash, for the advantage was now with his antagonist, because
+the ax was longer than the bar.  Moreover, the Canadian bushman is
+highly skilled in the use of the dangerous tool.  For all that, Jim had
+begun the fight and meant to win.  The fellow had taken a bribe to ruin
+him.
+
+He lifted the bar, struck hard, and missed as his antagonist stepped
+back.  Then the latter swung his ax and Jim bent from the waist as the
+shining blade swept past.  They were now in the moonlight and he saw
+the other's face; it was the man who had gone fishing with Davies, and
+he gave way to a fury that banished caution.  The fellow had a longer
+reach and looked cool; indeed, he seemed to be studying Jim with
+ironical humor.  While the latter, breathing hard, watched for an
+opening, he lowered his ax.
+
+"Suppose we quit fooling and talk about the thing?" he said.
+
+"I'm not fooling," Jim rejoined.
+
+"Anyhow, you'd better quit.  I could get you with the ax, if I wanted,
+but I've not much use for that.  I'd sooner you stopped here while I
+light out."
+
+"You'd starve before you made the settlement."
+
+"I guess not.  There's enough flour and pork in a cache to see me
+through."
+
+"The trouble is, you can't make the cache," said Jim.  "I've watched
+for you since the first wall broke and you earned the money Davies
+promised.  Put down the ax and start for camp."
+
+"Davies?" said the other.  "Do you mean the guy who came along with the
+Indian packers?"
+
+"Are you pretending you don't know the man?"
+
+"It doesn't matter, anyhow," the other rejoined.  "I'm not going back
+to camp, and there's something coming to you if you try to take me."
+
+Jim meant to take him and wondered how far he could trust to bluff.  If
+he could get near enough, he might knock out the fellow with the bar
+and yet not do him a serious injury.  The ax was dangerous, but it was
+possible the other would hesitate about using it.  In Canada, crimes of
+violence are generally punished, and even in the wilds offenders seldom
+long escape the Northwest Police.  Yet there was a risk.
+
+"You are coming with me," he said, and advanced with lifted bar.
+
+The other cut at him and he narrowly missed the blow.  He tried to run
+in before the fellow could recover from his swing, but was not quick
+enough.  The ax went up and he met the blade with the bar.  The keen
+steel beat down the wood and went through when it met the ground, and
+Jim was left with a foot or two of the handle.  Stepping back, he
+hurled it at his antagonist and heard it strike with a heavy thud.  The
+fellow staggered, but did not fall and, getting his balance, advanced
+on Jim.  The blow had roused him to fury and he saw that caution was
+useless.  They must fight until one was disabled.
+
+Jim gave ground, breathing hard and watching for a chance to grapple
+while he kept out of reach.  The sweat ran down his face, he was savage
+but cool.  The worst was, he must move backwards and could not see the
+holes in the uneven slope.  When he had gone a few yards he heard a
+shout and his antagonist looked round.
+
+"Stop right there!" said somebody, and Jim saw Carrie standing above
+them on the wall.  She was in the moonlight and balanced a gun.  Her
+face was white but resolute.
+
+"Put down your ax.  I mean to shoot!" she said.
+
+Jim thought quickly.  The distance was short, but he had not seen
+Carrie use a gun.  She might miss and have some trouble to re-load.
+Besides, he must save her the need for shooting, and the other's
+hesitation was his opportunity.  Pulling himself together, he leaped
+upon the fellow, who stumbled and dropped his ax.  Jim seized him round
+the waist and a savage grapple began.  They swayed to and fro, kicking
+the ax that neither durst stoop to reach.  The chopper's face was
+bleeding; Jim labored for breath, but he was moved by anger that gave
+him extra strength.  The chopper felt his resolve in his tightening
+grip and knew it would go hard with him if he were beaten.  It was
+plain that the boss meant to exact stern justice and he fought with
+instinctive fury for self-preservation.
+
+The primitive passions of both were unloosed.  They strained and
+grappled like savage animals, and for a time their strength and
+stubbornness seemed evenly balanced.  Then luck gave Jim an advantage,
+for as the other trod upon the ax the long handle tilted up and got
+between his legs.  He stumbled, and Jim, with a tense effort, lifted
+him from the ground.  Then, gathering all his strength, he tried to
+throw him backwards, but lost his balance, and both plunged down the
+slope.
+
+The pitch was steep and they rolled for some distance until they struck
+a rocky ledge.  The chopper let go, slipped across the ledge, and
+vanished.  Jim, jarred by the shock, lay still for some moments, and
+when he got up awkwardly saw nothing among the rocks and trees below.
+A rattle of gravel came out of the gloom, but it sounded some distance
+off.  Then he heard a step and saw Carrie.  She held the gun and was
+breathless.  Her look was strained and her face white.
+
+"Are you hurt, Jim?" she asked.
+
+"No; not much, anyhow.  Go back to the track.  Give me the gun."
+
+"Why do you want the gun?"
+
+Jim made an impatient gesture.  He had forgotten that Carrie had come
+to his help, and although he noted, mechanically, that she was highly
+strung and bearing some strain, he did not dwell on this.  His
+antagonist had got away.  He wanted to go after him, not to talk.
+
+"The brute's not far off, and unless I'm quick he'll light out.  Give
+me the gun!"
+
+"I won't," said Carrie.
+
+She stood a few yards above Jim, and jerked out the cartridges.
+Stooping swiftly, she picked them up and threw them among the trees.
+Then she laughed, a strained laugh, and held out the gun.
+
+"You may have it now," she added.  "You can't find the shells."
+
+"Then I'll go without them," Jim rejoined, and plunged down the hill.
+
+When he had gone a short distance he stopped.  His leg hurt and he had
+a dull recollection of a blow.  His leg was not cut; perhaps the
+chopper had hit him with the flat of the ax or he had struck it on the
+rock.  Anyhow, he was lame and could hardly keep his balance on the
+rough slope.  There was no use in going on like that, particularly as
+he heard a faint rattle of gravel some distance off.  It was obvious
+that the chopper had got away and Jim awkwardly climbed back.  Now he
+was getting cool, he began to see what Carrie had done and when he
+joined her he felt embarrassed.
+
+"I'm sorry; I expect I was very rough," he remarked.
+
+"Oh," she said, "that doesn't matter!  I think I understand.  Besides,
+you are hurt."
+
+"Leg's stiff; that's all.  I ought to have remembered.  But, you
+see----"
+
+Carrie smiled.  "You mean you didn't think about me at all?  You had
+concentrated on catching the fellow."
+
+"Something like that," Jim admitted.  "I ought to have thought, and
+after a few minutes I did think."
+
+"When you found you couldn't walk?"
+
+"Well," said Jim, awkwardly, "I now see how mean I was."  He paused and
+resumed with sincere emotion: "If you hadn't come, the brute would have
+cut me down."
+
+Carrie's rather ironical amusement vanished and she colored.  "It
+doesn't matter, Jim.  All that's important is, I did come.  But you are
+lame and mustn't stand."
+
+"I can stand as long as you can stand," said Jim, who pulled off his
+jacket and threw it on the ground.  "You'll find this softer than the
+stones."  He sat down opposite her and resumed: "Now, how did you
+happen----?"
+
+"I found some flour and pork had gone.  Since one can't get food
+between here and the settlement, it looked as if somebody meant to pull
+out before we broke camp."
+
+Jim nodded.  "The fellow said he'd made a cache.  You're very smart.
+But why didn't you tell Jake?"
+
+"I suppose I ought to have told him," Carrie replied.
+
+He mused for a few moments and then broke out: "We have taken you for
+granted.  When a thing needs doing you don't talk, but get to work.
+Perhaps this has drawbacks; it doesn't always strike one how fine you
+really are."
+
+Carrie said nothing, and he went on.  "Now I come to think of it, I've
+been strangely dull.  You have cooked for us, and cared for us in ways
+we didn't know.  I'd sometimes a notion my clothes were wearing longer
+than they ought--there was a jacket I meant to mend and when I got it
+out one evening I couldn't find the hole."  He paused and spread out
+his hands.  "Well, that's the kind of fool I am and the kind of girl
+you are!"
+
+"The hole had bothered me for a long time.  It was getting bigger and
+one doesn't like untidiness."
+
+"I've been very dull, but so has Jake," Jim declared.  "I saw a neat
+patch on his overalls and thought he'd made a better job than he
+generally does when he starts sewing.  I imagine he doesn't know how
+that patch got there."
+
+"I don't think he knows there is a patch," Carrie rejoined.
+
+"It's possible," Jim agreed, and studied her, for the moon was bright.
+Her plain dress was very neat and seemed to have stood rough wear well.
+Besides, it was remarkably becoming; Carrie was tall and graceful.  In
+fact, she was prettier than he had thought.
+
+"The way you keep your clothes is rather wonderful," he went on.  "One
+never sees you untidy; all you wear looks just as it ought to look.
+One feels it wouldn't look half as well if it was worn by anybody else.
+Yet you're generally occupied and your work's not clean.  I can't touch
+a cooking pot without getting black, and Jake gets blacker."
+
+Carrie laughed to hide a touch of embarrassment.  Jim was not trying to
+flatter; she saw he was naïvely following a new line of thought.
+
+"Well, we must get back to camp," she said.  "Can you walk?"
+
+Jim got up quickly and gave her a suspicious glance.  "I can walk to
+camp.  I ought to have gone right off and sent the boys after that
+chopper.  Looks as if you meant to keep me."
+
+"I did mean to keep you.  Let him go, Jim.  He won't come back, and we
+have had trouble enough."
+
+"He has not had much trouble," Jim rejoined.  "However, I doubt if we
+could catch him, and I want the boys to move our truck at daybreak.
+Then, in a way, I'd sooner they didn't know.  Of course, I've got to
+tell Jake."
+
+"You mustn't tell him I came," Carrie said, firmly.
+
+"Why not?" Jim asked with some surprise.
+
+Carrie hesitated.  "Oh, well, I don't want him to know.  For one thing,
+he might think I was rash----"
+
+"You were splendidly plucky," Jim declared.  "Of course, I won't tell
+Jake, if you'd sooner not.  For all that, I don't understand----"
+
+"It isn't worth puzzling about," Carrie answered with a smile, and they
+set off.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+AN HONEST ANTAGONIST
+
+It was very hot on the rocky hill, and Jim stopped in the shade of a
+stunted pine, for he had gone far through the bush.  His Hudson's Bay
+blanket and a bag of food, made up in a pack with straps for his
+shoulders, and a small ax, were a rather heavy load.  When he had
+lighted his pipe he looked about.  Tangled forest rolled up the hills
+wherever the stiff, dark pines could find soil in which to grow.  Some
+were charred by fire and the tall rampikes shone silver-gray in the
+strong light; some were partly uprooted by storms and leaned drunkenly
+against each other.
+
+At the head of the valley there was a faint blue haze, and Jim, knowing
+this was the smoke of a camp fire, began to muse.  Now he would soon
+meet the man he was looking for, he doubted if he had been wise to
+come, and wondered what he would say.  He had set off when an Indian
+reached the telegraph line and stated that a white man with a number of
+packers was camped in the valley.  Jim imagined the man was Martin,
+Davies' employer, and meant to see him.  He did not know if Davies was
+with Martin or not.
+
+By and by he set off, avoiding fallen trees and scrambling across
+round-topped rocks.  It was rough work and he was tired, but he could
+get forward without using the ax, which he had been forced to do when
+he fell among the horrible devil's club thorns.  For all that, dusk was
+falling when he came to an opening by a creek where a big fire burned
+and a double-skinned tent stood at the edge of the trees.  Six or seven
+sturdy packers lounged beside the fire, and Jim saw this was not a poor
+man's camp.  For a few hot weeks, a traveler need suffer no hardship in
+the North, if he can pay for packers and canoes.  A double-roofed tent
+will keep out sun and rain and a mosquito bar will keep off the flies,
+but packers who carry comforts cannot carry tools, and a utilitarian
+journey is another thing.
+
+Jim was not traveling for pleasure and had gone alone.  He was
+mosquito-bitten and ragged, and his boots were broken.  The packers
+looked up with languid curiosity as he advanced, and when he asked for
+the boss one indicated the tent.  Jim stopped in front of the tent and
+a man came out.  He wore clean summer flannel clothes and looked
+strangely neat, but he was sunburnt and strongly made.  Something about
+him indicated that he knew the bush and had not always traveled
+luxuriously.
+
+"Are you prospecting?" he asked.  "If you have struck us for supper,
+you can see the cook."
+
+"I came to see you, and got supper three or four miles back.  I'm
+Dearham, of Winter & Dearham.  You have probably heard about us."
+
+"Sure," said Martin, rather dryly.  "You hold the contract for the new
+telegraph line.  Somebody told me there was a dame in the firm."
+
+"My partner's sister; I expect Davies told you, but don't see what this
+has to do with the thing."
+
+"Sit down," said Martin, indicating a camp-chair, and then beckoned one
+of the men.  "Bring some green bark and fix that smudge."
+
+The man put fresh fuel on a smoldering fire and pungent blue smoke
+drifted about the tent.
+
+"Better than mosquitoes; they're pretty fierce, evenings," Martin
+remarked.  "Will you take a cigar?"
+
+"No, thanks," said Jim.  "I'll light my pipe."
+
+He cut the tobacco slowly, because he did not know where to open his
+attack.  Martin was not altogether the man he had thought and looked
+amused.  He was a bushman; Jim knew the type, which was not, as a rule,
+marked by the use of small trickery.  Yet Martin could handle money as
+well as he handled tools.
+
+"Won't you state your business?" the contractor asked.
+
+"I expect you and the Cartner people didn't like it when we got the
+telegraph job?"
+
+"That is so.  We thought the job was ours," Martin admitted.
+
+"And you got to work to take it from us?"
+
+"How do you mean?"
+
+"To begin with, Probyn, Cartner's man, offered us a thousand dollars to
+quit."
+
+"A pretty good price," said Martin.  "Since you didn't go, I don't see
+why you are bothering me."
+
+"It looks as if you and Cartner had pooled your interests.  When we got
+to work, your man, Davies, came along and tried to hold us up.  It was
+not his fault he didn't; the fellow's a crook."
+
+"I haven't studied his character.  In some ways, he's useful," Martin
+rejoined coolly.  "Well, you reckon I sent him!  How did he try to
+embarrass you?"
+
+"Don't you know?"
+
+"It's for you to state your grievance."
+
+Martin's face was inscrutable; one could not tell if he knew or not.
+It was curious, but Jim could not take it for granted that he did know
+and he told him about the broken wall.
+
+"You imagine Davies paid the fellow to cut your underpinning?" the
+contractor remarked.
+
+"The thing's obvious."
+
+"Then I don't understand why you came to me.  There's not much
+advantage in telling your antagonist he has hit you pretty hard."
+
+"I wanted you to understand that you hadn't hit us hard enough.  Your
+blow was not a knockout, and we mean to guard against the next.  We
+have taken the contract and are going to put it over; I want you to get
+that.  You can't scare us off, and while I don't know if you can smash
+us or not, it will certainly cost you high.  Hadn't you better
+calculate if the thing's worth while?"
+
+"You were far North for some time," Martin said carelessly.
+
+"I was," Jim admitted with surprise, for he could not see where the
+remark led.  "So were you."
+
+Martin nodded.  "A blamed hard country!  Looks as if we were both
+pretty tough, since we made good yonder, and I think I get your
+proposition.  Your idea is, we had better make terms than fight?"
+
+"Something like that," Jim agreed.
+
+"Very well," said Martin, who paused and smiled.  "Now I'll tell you
+something.  I don't like your butting in, but I did not put Davies on
+your track."
+
+Jim looked hard at him, and although he was surprised did not doubt his
+statement.  "Then, I imagine he made the plan himself; wanted to show
+you he was smart, but said nothing when it didn't work as smoothly as
+he thought."
+
+Martin was silent for a few moments and Jim imagined he was thinking
+hard.  Then he said, "It's possible; that's all."
+
+"Perhaps the Cartner people sent him without telling you," Jim
+suggested.
+
+"Cartner made you a square offer, and you can't grumble much because
+Probyn hired your men.  Cartner is hard and I allow he'd like to break
+you, but I haven't known him play a crooked game."
+
+"Then I can't see a light at all."
+
+"It's puzzling," Martin agreed.
+
+Jim filled his pipe again and pondered.  There was something strange
+about his talking confidentially to a man he had thought an
+unscrupulous antagonist, but he was persuaded that Martin was honest.
+The latter seemed to be considering, for Jim saw his brows were knit
+when the firelight touched his face.  It had got dark, but the fire
+leaped up now and then and threw a red glow upon the rows of trunks.
+The creek shone and faded; sometimes the smoke curled about the tent
+and sometimes blew away.
+
+"You struck copper up North," Martin resumed after a time.  "Has
+anybody tried to buy your claim?"
+
+"Baumstein gave us an offer twice."
+
+"Ah," said Martin, thoughtfully, "I suppose you wouldn't sell?"
+
+"Not at his price.  We thought we had better hold on; some day the
+Combine might buy."
+
+"A pretty good plan," Martin agreed.  "There'll be a demand for
+Northern copper before long.  Well, I see you have a blanket.  You'll
+find a bed in the tent."
+
+"I picked a spot to camp a piece back," Jim said rather awkwardly, as
+he got up.
+
+Martin laughed.  "Since you reckoned Cartner and I were on your track,
+you felt you'd sooner not stop with me?  Well, I don't think that ought
+to count.  If we could have bought you off or scared you off, we might
+have done so, but since you are resolved to put the contract through,
+we'll be satisfied with seeing you don't get another.  If you stop,
+you'll get a better breakfast than you can cook."
+
+Jim's hesitation vanished and he went into the tent.
+
+Next morning he got breakfast with Martin, and when he was going the
+latter remarked: "I guess you understand you needn't bother about our
+getting after you.  Go ahead and finish the job."
+
+"Thanks," said Jim, smiling.  "Unless we go broke, we mean to finish."
+
+"Very well," said Martin, "if you have to choose between quitting and
+selling your copper claim, you had better let the telegraph contract
+go."  He paused and gave Jim a level glance.  "Looks like interested
+advice, but I guess it's sound."
+
+Jim strapped on his pack and started down the valley.  He reached the
+telegraph camp three or four days afterwards, and in the evening told
+Jake and Carrie about his interview.
+
+"Perhaps it's strange, but I really don't think we're up against
+Cartner and Martin," he concluded.
+
+"We're up against somebody who hasn't many scruples," said Jake.
+
+"That is so," Jim agreed.  "I suggested that Davies might be playing a
+lone hand.  Martin admitted that it was possible, but didn't look
+satisfied.  In fact, I imagined he was thinking hard.  Of course, the
+obvious line was to doubt his honesty, but somehow I didn't."
+
+"The obvious line's not always best," Carrie interposed.  "My notion
+is, it's a foolish habit to take it for granted your antagonist is a
+cheat.  But what is he like, Jim?"
+
+"Big and rather quiet, although he had a twinkle.  Weighs all he says,
+and you feel that if he's satisfied he doesn't mind if you are or not.
+We know he was up North for some time; he looks like it, if you get me."
+
+Jake nodded, for the men who push far into the frozen wilds conform to
+a type.  Struggles with cold and hunger leave their mark, endurance
+breeds stubbornness, and fronting perils gives a quiet courage that
+makes for candor.  The man who has conquered fear is not tempted to be
+mean.
+
+"There are bad men, in some of the big camps, but no smooth rogues," he
+said.
+
+"Martin is certainly not a smooth rogue," Jim declared.  "I thought it
+curious he told me to hold on to the copper and let the contract go, if
+we couldn't stick to both.  He admitted it looked as if he was playing
+for his side when he gave me the advice."
+
+"Well," said Jake, thoughtfully, "if he meant to gain his object that
+way, it was a fool plan, but we know Martin's clever.  To jump at a
+shallow suspicion is a blamed lazy habit that often puts you wrong.  If
+he didn't mean well, I can't see what he did mean."
+
+"I can't see," Jim agreed.
+
+"Better let it go," Carrie interposed.  "I like that man.  If you have
+drawn him right, I think he could be trusted.  However, you look as if
+you had been among the devil's club.  What are you going to do with
+your clothes?"
+
+"If you insist, I meant to hide them," Jim owned with a laugh.
+
+"So I thought," said Carrie.  "Bring them to the tent instead.  If you
+don't, I'll come for them in the morning."
+
+Jim promised to bring the clothes and lighted his pipe, feeling
+somewhat moved.  He knew now how much he and Jake owed Carrie, and the
+thought she gave their comfort.  If things went smoothly, it was
+because Carrie made them go; but this was not all.  She was not
+satisfied with controlling the camp; Jim was beginning to see that now
+and then she controlled their talk and helped their decisions.  She was
+a girl and had, for the most part, lived at a shabby store, but he
+admitted that her judgment was often sound.  Carrie had qualities.
+Then he started, for she looked at him with a smile.
+
+"What are you thinking about, Jim?" she asked.
+
+"I was wondering how we would have got on if we hadn't brought you," he
+replied.
+
+Carrie laughed.  "I know.  Yet you wanted to leave me!"
+
+"If I did, I was a fool."
+
+"No," said Carrie, thoughtfully, "you are not a fool, but sometimes
+you're rather dull.  Now you're half asleep and had better go to bed."
+
+Jim knocked out his pipe and went.
+
+A few days afterwards he started for the settlement with two of his
+men.  They were good workmen and Jake was unwilling to let them go, but
+they had been with Jim in the North and he needed helpers whom he could
+trust, for he was going to make a bold experiment.  He needed food,
+powder, and tools, and it was hard to keep the camp supplied.
+Pack-horses could not carry much over the mountain-trail and the
+freighters' charges were high.  Jim imagined he could bring up the
+goods cheaper by canoe, although the plan had drawbacks.
+
+He reached the settlement, and after waiting a few days sat one evening
+on the hotel veranda.  Burned matches and cigar-ends lay about the
+dirty boards; the windows of the mean ship-lap house were guarded by
+fine wire net.  The door had been removed, and a frame, filled in with
+gauze and held by a spring, slammed noisily when one went in or out.
+For all that, the hotel was full of dust and flies, and mosquitoes
+hummed about the hot rooms at night.  The snow had melted below the
+timber line and a long trail of smoke floated across the somber forest.
+A fire was working through the trees and a smell of burning came down
+the valley.
+
+Three or four men in ragged overalls lounged about the veranda, and the
+landlord leaned against a post.  He wore a white shirt with gold studs,
+and his clothes were good.
+
+"Now you have got your truck, I reckon you'll pull out," he remarked.
+
+"We start up river at daybreak."
+
+"Then you're surely foolish.  If you can't make it, there's trouble
+coming to you next time."
+
+Jim understood the hint.  The pack-horse freighters had enjoyed a
+monopoly of transport to the mining camps.  The river was off the
+regular line, and its navigation was difficult except when the water
+reached a certain level, but if Jim's experiment proved that supplies
+could be taken by canoes transport charges would come down.
+
+"There are some awkward portages, but I think I can get through," he
+said.
+
+"I wasn't figuring on the portages," the landlord rejoined, meaningly.
+"Somas Charlie's a tough proposition to run up against."  He indicated
+a man coming along the road.  "Somas has his tillicums, and around this
+settlement what he says goes."
+
+In the Chinook jargon, _tillicum_ means something like a familiar
+spirit, and Jim thought he saw what the other implied.  He had had
+trouble to get articles he needed and had met with annoying delays; and
+he studied the advancing freighter with some curiosity.  Somas was big
+and powerful and walked with the pack-horse driver's loose stride.  He
+had a dark face, cunning black eyes, and very black hair.  It looked as
+if Indian blood ran in his veins.  He came up the veranda steps and
+gave Jim an ironical glance.
+
+"Got your canoes loaded up?" he asked.
+
+"Not yet; the truck is ready," said Jim, who had thought it prudent to
+put his goods in a store.
+
+"It's a sure thing you're not going to take your canoes through.  Say,
+I don't want to see you lose the grub and tools.  Drop the fool plan
+and I'll take off a cent a pound."
+
+"If you had offered that before, we might have made a deal.  You're too
+late."
+
+"Thought you were bluffing; I guess you're crazy now.  You can't make
+it, anyway."
+
+"I'm going to try."
+
+The freighter shrugged.  "Trying's going to cost you something; you'll
+feel pretty mean when you meet the bill.  Fools like you make me
+tired."  He beckoned the landlord.  "Get on a move; I want a drink."
+
+He went into the hotel and when the door slammed Jim was thoughtful.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE RAPID
+
+In the morning Jim started with three canoes and a few Indians whom he
+had engaged at the settlement, because the Siwash are clever river men.
+Sometimes they tracked the canoes, floundering along the rough bank
+with a line round their shoulders; sometimes they poled against the
+rapid stream; and now and then carried the craft and cargo across a
+rocky portage.  The canoes were of the Siwash type, cut out of cedar
+logs and burned smooth outside.  The high bow was rudely carved like a
+bird's head; the floor was long and flat.  They paddled well and a
+strong man could carry one, upside down, on his bent shoulders.  Jim
+had loaded them heavily, and the tools and provisions had cost a large
+sum.
+
+His progress was slow and he was tired and disturbed when one evening
+he pitched camp after toiling across a long portage.  Speed was
+important and he had been longer than he thought, while he did not know
+if he could force his way up the dark gorge ahead.  Besides, an Indian
+had shown him the print of somebody's foot on a patch of wet soil.
+There was only one mark and in a sense this was ominous, since it
+looked as if the fellow had tried to keep upon the stones.  Moreover,
+he wore a heavy boot, and Jim could not see why a white man had entered
+the lonely gorge where there were no minerals or timber worth
+exploiting.
+
+After supper he got ready to start again at daybreak.  This was his
+usual plan, because one's brain is dull when one rises from a hard,
+cold bed at dawn, and in the wilds to leave tools or food behind has
+sometimes disastrous consequences.  He saw he had forgotten nothing,
+and when dusk was falling rested for a time on the bank, although he
+thought it prudent to sleep on board.  Up stream, the water threw back
+faint reflections, but its surface was dull and wrinkled where it
+narrowed at the top of the rapid, round which he had carried the
+canoes.  Then it plunged down into gloom that was deepened by a cloud
+of spray and its hoarse turmoil echoed among the hills.  A few charred
+rampikes rose behind the camp, and Jim sat beneath one, with his back
+against a stone.  He had thrown off his jacket and his thin overalls
+were wet.  His back and arms ached and his feet were bruised.
+
+He pondered about the footstep.  The pack-horse trail running North was
+not far off, and while he slowly poled up stream the freighter could
+have reached the river in front of him.  When they talked at the hotel,
+the fellow's manner was threatening, but Jim hardly thought he would
+meddle.  His party was strong, and if the other had meant to do him
+some injury, it was hardly probable he would have uttered his dark
+hints while the landlord was about.  After all, the hints might
+forecast the difficulty Jim would have to engage transport another
+time.  Still, somebody had passed the spot not long since.
+
+The gloom deepened, and although some light would linger in the sky all
+night, it was nearly dark at the bottom of the gorge.  The packers lay
+about the fire, and by and by Jim, calling one of the Siwash, hauled
+the first canoe to the bank.  When they got on board, he let the craft
+swing out with the eddy, and the row, curving as the current changed,
+rode behind a half-covered rock a short distance from the stones.
+Blurred rocks and trees loomed in the mist up stream; below, the
+foaming rapid glimmered through the spray.  The river, swollen by
+melting snow and stained green by glacier clay, was running fast.
+
+There was not much room in the canoe, for bags of flour occupied the
+bottom and a grindstone and small forge were awkward things to stow.
+Jim, however, found a spot where he could lie down and the Indian
+huddled in the stern.  He was a dark-skinned man, dressed like the
+white settlers, except that he wore no boots.  As a rule, he did not
+talk much, but by and by he put his hand in the water as if to measure
+the speed of the current.
+
+"_Contox hiyu chuck_," he said in Chinook.
+
+Jim imagined he meant the river was rising and did not know if this was
+a drawback or not.  A flood might make poling harder, but it would
+cover the rocks in the channel and probably leave an eddying slack
+along the bank.  He agreed with the Indian, because the rock to which
+they had moored the canoe was getting smaller.  It made a kind of
+breakwater, but it would be covered soon and the craft would feel the
+force of the current.  Still they ought to ride safely, and an angry
+wash now beat against the bank of gravel where they had landed.  There
+was no other landing, for, below the camp, the river ran in white waves
+between the rocks.
+
+Although Jim was tired, he could not sleep.  For one thing, he had lost
+time at the settlement and on the river; Jake was waiting for the
+tools, and since wages were high, delay was costly.  Then the gorge
+echoed with pulsating noise.  The roar of the rapid rose and fell; he
+heard the wash of the eddy against the bank, the sharp ripple where the
+current split upon the rock, and the rattle of gravel striking the
+stones.  The canoes rocked, swung to and fro, and brought up with
+sudden jerks.  He did not know if the Indian slept, but if he did, a
+new note in the confused uproar would waken him.
+
+After a time, the fellow moved, and as his dark figure rose Jim became
+alert.  The Indian was looking fixedly ahead, but Jim could see nothing
+in the gloom.  He noted mechanically that the rock had vanished; its
+location was marked by a wedge-shaped streak of foam.  He signed to the
+Indian, who grunted but did not speak.
+
+Then there was a crash as something struck the rock and a vague dark
+mass rebounded from and swung round the obstacle.  It rolled, and
+half-seen projections vanished and appeared again.  Jim got on his
+knees and seized a pole, because he imagined a big log with broken
+branches was driving down on them.  A river canoe is unstable, and to
+stand on the cargo might capsize her.  He found bottom with the pole
+and saw the Indian paddling hard.  The row of canoes swung towards the
+bank, but the backwash caught them and it looked as if they would not
+swing far enough.  Jim felt the veins on his forehead tighten and the
+pole bend as he strained with labored breath.
+
+The log came on; its butt under water, its ragged top riding high and
+swinging round.  There was a heavy shock, the canoe lurched, and a
+broken branch began to drag her down.  Jim could not push off the
+grinding mass and, letting go the pole, seized an ax.  He cut the
+mooring line to ease the strain, but when the rope parted and the log
+swung clear he was faced by another risk; unless they could reach the
+gravel bank, they would go down the rapid.  He could not find bottom
+now, and while he tried the log struck the next canoe.  His canoe
+swerved outshore, the row was drifting fast, and he shouted as he felt
+for the ax.
+
+It was, however, obvious that the men in camp could not help much and
+he nerved himself to make a hard choice.  If he held on, all the canoes
+would go down the rapid; if he let two go, one might be saved.  He cut
+the line made fast astern, the log and canoes vanished, and he and the
+Indian strained their muscles.  They had lost ground they could not
+recover; the gravel bank was sliding past, and angry waves leaped about
+the rocks below.  Somehow they must make the bank before they were
+carried down.  There was some water in the canoe; Jim heard it splash
+about.  She was horribly heavy and his pole would not grip the bottom.
+When it slipped the current washed its end under the craft.
+
+He threw the pole on board and found a paddle.  The canoe rocked on a
+white eddy, but he got her head round and the revolution carried her
+towards the shore.  They must drive her in before the backwash flung
+her off, and for some moments he labored with weakening arms and
+heaving chest.  Then a packer plunged in, the bow struck ground, and
+Jim jumped over.  He was up to his waist in the white turmoil, but
+another packer seized the canoe and the Indian thrust hard on his
+bending pole.  The bow went farther into the gravel and with a savage
+effort they ran her out.  Jim leaned against a rock, trying to get his
+breath, and when he looked about the other canoes had vanished.  His
+tools and stores had gone for good.
+
+Now there was no need for watchfulness, he could sleep, and he lay down
+by the fire.  When he wakened day was breaking, and beckoning the
+Indian he set off up the gorge.  He had an object for his dangerous
+climb across the slippery rocks, and he noted that the stream flowed
+evenly along the bank.  This implied that if a log were rolled into the
+water on his side of the straight reach, it would probably strike the
+rock behind which the canoes had been tied.
+
+After a time, when the roughness of the ground forced them high above
+the water, the Indian indicated a clump of willows through which
+somebody had pushed.  He declared two white men had gone through and
+one had carried an ax.  Jim had been looking for a white man's tracks
+and his face got stern as they climbed a neighboring gully.  At the top
+he sat down and sent the Indian to look about.  It the other men had
+gone down again to the water, they must have had some grounds for doing
+so, and Jim thought he knew what the grounds were.
+
+The Indian found steps in a boggy patch, and Jim, descending a ravine
+farther on, came back to the river bank.  Here and there a tree had
+fallen into the ravine and two or three battered trunks lay on the
+gravel at the bottom.  A hollow in some disturbed gravel at the water's
+edge indicated that another log had rested there, and Jim let the
+Indian examine the ground.  By and by the latter began to talk.
+
+He said the marks had been made by a trunk with branches broken short;
+one could see where it had rolled into the stream.  The ravine was
+steep, but the other logs had not slipped down; the missing trunk had
+been helped on its way.  In one place, the top had been lifted; in
+another, a pole had been pushed under the butt.  Some of the gravel was
+scratched, as if it had been trodden by nailed boots.  A man using a
+lever would push it back like that.
+
+Jim nodded, because he knew something about woodcraft and thought the
+Indian had read the marks correctly.  Now and then the fellow said
+"_Contox_," and Jim understood the Chinook word, which, roughly, means
+to know, rather implied supposition than certainty.  For all that, if
+the Indian doubted, he did not.  He knew the log had been launched
+where the current would carry it down on the canoes, and when he went
+back to camp his mouth was set hard.
+
+After breakfast he broke up the party and, sending the Indians off,
+started again with the two white men.  The canoe would not carry all,
+but this did not matter, since, for the most part, she must be tracked
+from the bank, and when they poled her one man could travel through the
+bush and overtake them at the next rapid.  It was a strenuous journey
+and Jim was worn out when he climbed the hill to the telegraph camp.
+It was about six o'clock in the evening and the men had not returned
+from work, but Carrie was cooking and got up with a cry of welcome when
+he came out of the woods.  She stopped, however, when she saw his
+gloomy face.
+
+"What's the matter, Jim?" she asked.  "Are you hurt or ill?"
+
+He dropped the heavy bag of flour he carried and forced a smile.  "Does
+it look as if I were ill?  I've lost two canoes and their loads."
+
+"Oh, Jim!" said Carrie, and added: "After all, it isn't so very
+important."
+
+"Not important?" Jim exclaimed.
+
+Carrie hesitated.  "Oh, well; never mind.  Where are the boys?  You
+haven't lost _them_?"
+
+"They're coming," said Jim, who sat down on a log, feeling embarrassed.
+
+He was dull.  Carrie had been disturbed about him because he had been
+away longer than he thought, and her obvious relief when she saw he was
+not injured was soothing.  He needed soothing, since the loss of the
+canoes and stores weighed heavily, but Carrie had made him feel this
+did not matter much so long as he was safe.  Although he could not
+agree, it was a comfort to know her satisfaction was sincere.  Carrie
+always was sincere.
+
+She was quiet and he resumed in an apologetic voice: "I felt mean about
+coming back like this; losing the truck is going to make things harder
+for you.  Then I bought some new cookers; the steam went through a row
+of pans and I thought they'd save you work.  There was a piece of stuff
+at the dry goods store the girl told me would make a dress; but it went
+down the rapid with the cookers."
+
+Carrie gave him a gentle glance.  "You bought them: the rest was an
+accident."
+
+"It was not an accident, but we'll talk about that again.  I'm glad to
+get back; I'm always glad to get back now, though I didn't bother about
+it much when we camped in the bush before."
+
+Carrie took off the lid of a cooking-pot and while she was occupied the
+packers arrived with their loads.  Soon afterwards Jake and the other
+men came up and they got supper.  When the meal was over Jim told his
+story and Jake looked thoughtful.
+
+"The obvious explanation is, the freighter tried to stop you by turning
+loose the log," he said.  "I don't know if we ought to count on this;
+but we'll take it first."
+
+"I'm doubtful," Jim replied.  "Somehow I feel the fellow was bluffing;
+he wanted to scare me so I'd agree to his terms.  Although I reckon he
+meant to charge me high when I came to him next time, I don't think he
+sent the log down.  I haven't much ground for the conclusion, but there
+it is."
+
+"In some ways, you're not a fool," Jake remarked with a twinkle.  "I've
+known judgments you hadn't much ground for turn out sound.  Very well;
+we come to the big contractors.  Did they hire somebody to stop you?"
+
+"It looks like that, but I imagine Martin's playing straight and he
+declared the Cartner people wouldn't use a crooked plan."
+
+"Then who did try to stop you?"
+
+Jim shrugged and his face got hard.  "I don't know yet.  We must wait."
+
+"Very well," said Jake.  "We'll trust our luck and hold on while we
+can, although I expect it won't be very long."
+
+Jim did not answer.  He was tired and now the reaction from the strain
+had begun, was glad to indulge his bodily and mental lassitude.  The
+springy branches on which he lay were comfortable and the camp, with
+the red firelight flickering on the trunks and Carrie sitting by the
+hearth-logs, had a curious charm.  She, so to speak, dominated the
+tranquil picture and gave her rude surroundings a homelike touch.  On
+other expeditions, when Carrie was not there, Jim had thought about his
+camp as a place at which one slept.  Now it was something else; a place
+from which one drew strength and cheerfulness.  There was something
+strangely intimate about it; he was glad to get back.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+A CONFIDENTIAL TALK
+
+Shortly after Jim's return, a prospector stopped one evening at the
+camp.
+
+"There was some mail for you at the settlement, and as I figured on
+using your line to get into the bush I brought the packet along," he
+said.
+
+Carrie gave him supper and when he joined the other men Jim opened the
+packet.  In the evening they had leisure for rest and talk, and after
+the strain and bustle of the day, Jim enjoyed the quiet hour.  The air
+got sharp when the sun sank, the fire they gathered round drove back
+the creeping shadows, and the pungent smoke kept the mosquitoes off.
+Sometimes he bantered Carrie and sometimes lounged in contented
+quietness, watching her while she sewed.  Carrie was generally occupied.
+
+"How is your mother getting on?" he asked when she put down the letter
+he had given her.
+
+Carrie smiled.  "She is getting on very well.  My cousin keeps store
+satisfactorily, and I don't know if I'm pleased or not.  It's nice to
+feel you're wanted and people miss you when you're gone."
+
+"If there's much comfort in the thought, you are certainly wanted here."
+
+"The trouble is, one's friends often say what they think one would like
+to know," Carrie rejoined.  "I'm not sure I'd have minded much if
+mother had owned that Belle breaks things and sometimes forgets how
+many cents go to the dollar when she makes up a bill.  S'pose I'm mean,
+but Belle does break things."
+
+"You are never mean and I was quite sincere."
+
+"Perhaps you found new buttons on your overalls and that accounted for
+something."
+
+Jim half consciously moved his hand to his jacket and then stopped.
+"I'm afraid I didn't know the buttons were there.  After all, it ought
+to persuade you of my sincerity."
+
+"Sometimes I'm not certain if you are nice or not.  But is there
+anything important in your letters?"
+
+"One or two people want to know when we mean to pay our bills; I'm
+sorry we can't satisfy their curiosity just yet.  Then there's a letter
+from Baumstein.  He'll give us an extra five hundred dollars for the
+Bluebird."
+
+"Ah!" said Carrie.  "It's strange he makes the offer when we need money
+so!"
+
+"It is strange," Jake broke in.  "Almost looks as if the fellow knew
+how we were fixed.  But we're not sellers, and, for a clever crook,
+Baumstein is too keen."
+
+"He states he has reached his limit and we won't get another chance,"
+Jim remarked.
+
+Jake pondered and then resumed: "The thing's puzzling.  I can't see why
+Baumstein's fixed on buying a claim that nobody else wants, but you can
+reckon it a sure snap for him when he makes a deal.  There's the
+puzzle!  The ore is pretty good, but that's all.  We were kind of
+disappointed by the assay.  The specimens looked better than the
+analysis proved."
+
+"I was certainly disappointed and surprised," Jim agreed.  "Suppose we
+ask the prospector about it?  He has tested a good many mineral claims."
+
+They waited until the prospector returned to the camp, when Jake gave
+him some bits of broken rock.
+
+"Feel those and tell me what you think about the metal they carry," he
+said.
+
+The other examined the specimens and weighed them in his hand.
+
+"If you've got much rock like that, it's a pretty good claim."
+
+"Do you reckon the stuff would come up to assay?" Jake asked, giving
+him the analyst's report.
+
+The prospector looked at him rather hard.  "Come up to assay?  If the
+bulk's like these specimens, it ought to pan out better than the
+figures show."
+
+He stated his grounds for believing this, and Jake knitted his brows.
+"I expect you know the big mining men and what they're doing.  Have you
+heard if Baumstein is looking for Northern copper?"
+
+"He bought a claim called the Darien not long since."
+
+Jim smiled.  "The Darien?  The next block to ours, but the vein begins
+to peter out before it crosses their boundary."
+
+"When Baumstein gets the next block, you want to sell him your lot or
+watch out," the prospector rejoined.  "If he can't buy you up, he'll
+make trouble for you.  I reckon he knew what kind of ore the Darien
+boys had got."
+
+"Yes," said Jim, "I imagined something like that."
+
+He said no more about the mine, and next morning the prospector resumed
+his journey.  After this, for a week or two, nothing broke the monotony
+of their strenuous toil, until one day Martin and his packers arrived.
+
+"I'm going down to the settlements and thought I'd strike your camp and
+stop a night," he said.  "The woods get lonesome, and your line's a
+pretty good route to the pack trail."
+
+Jim was somewhat surprised, but he took Martin to Jake and went to tell
+Carrie.
+
+"I wanted to see that man and you had better leave him to me," she
+said.  "To begin with, I'll give him the best supper I know how to
+cook.  Get busy and fix the fire while I see what we've got that's
+extra nice."
+
+"If you get after him, he's bound to give in," Jim remarked.  "However,
+I want you to study the fellow and tell me what you think."
+
+"Then you would trust my judgment?"
+
+"Of course.  In many ways, it's as good as ours."
+
+Carrie laughed.  "Sometimes," she said, "you're very modest, Jim."
+
+Martin ate a remarkably good supper and afterwards talked to Carrie
+with obvious satisfaction.  Like the most part of the men who venture
+much in the wilds, he was marked by a grave quietness, but he had for
+all that a touch of humor.  By and by he turned to Jim and asked: "How
+are you getting on?  Have you struck fresh trouble since I saw you?"
+
+Jim related his adventure at the rapid and Martin gave him a keen
+glance.  "I reckon you had an object for telling me, but I don't quite
+get it.  You think I hired the man who sent down the log, or you know I
+didn't."
+
+"He knows you didn't," Carrie declared.
+
+"Thank you," said Martin.  "I imagine what you say goes at this camp."
+
+"Some way.  I belong to the firm."
+
+"It goes all the way," said Jim.  "I often think Miss Winter is really
+the head of the firm."
+
+Martin's eyes twinkled.  "Well, you're both making good; I've been
+looking at the line you've cleared, and I've not often struck a supper
+like this in the bush.  Makes me feel I want to fire my cook."  Then
+his tone got grave.  "Anyhow, I had nothing to do with wrecking your
+canoes and don't think the freighter had.  You see, I sometimes hire
+Somas; he'll put the screw to you if he reckons you can be bluffed, but
+he's not a crook."
+
+"Then we can rule him out," said Carrie.  "I imagine you don't make
+mistakes."
+
+"Making mistakes about trusting folks sometimes costs you high," Martin
+remarked.  He looked at her thoughtfully and then smiled.  "One could
+trust you all the time."
+
+"Well," said Carrie, "I suppose I gave you a lead, but there's no use
+in our trying who could be nicest, because I'd certainly beat you.  I
+expect you don't often try and it's a girl's business."
+
+In the meantime, Jim had studied both.  He thought he knew Carrie's
+worth, but somehow the other's approval made it plainer.  Although
+Martin's humorous frankness jarred, Jim recognized its note of
+sincerity.  On the whole, he liked Martin, but he would sooner Carrie
+did not play up to the fellow.  By and by Martin turned to him.
+
+"When I was last at Vancouver a man called Mordaunt asked some
+questions about you."
+
+"Mordaunt?" said Jim, with a puzzled look.
+
+"He stopped at your telegraph shack."
+
+"Oh, yes; I only met him once before and didn't learn his name.  What
+did he want to know?"
+
+"All I could tell him about you.  He was something of a high-brow
+Englishman and used tact, but I reckoned he was keen on finding out
+what kind of man you were."
+
+"You couldn't tell him much."
+
+"That is so," said Martin, rather dryly.  "In fact, I didn't try."
+
+"Oh, well, it's not important," Jim replied.  "Perhaps my books roused
+his curiosity.  They were not the books he'd imagine a telegraph
+linesman would read.  But did he tell you much about himself?"
+
+"He did not.  An Englishman like that doesn't talk about himself."
+
+Jim agreed carelessly, but was thoughtful afterwards, and when Martin
+went off with Jake, stopped by the fire and mused.  After a time he
+looked up and saw Carrie sitting in the shadow.  Now and then the
+flickering light touched her face and he thought she studied him.
+
+"I suppose you're thinking about that Englishman?" she said.
+
+"Yes.  It's rather strange he asked Martin about me."
+
+"Perhaps he knows your relations."
+
+"It looks like that," Jim agreed.
+
+"And he was with the girl you met at the restaurant!  I expect she was
+a relation of his.  Aren't you curious?"
+
+Jim imagined Carrie was curious, but one could be frank with her, and
+he wanted to formulate his thoughts.
+
+"In a way, I am curious," he admitted.  "I would like to see the girl
+again.  Still, I think it's really as a type she interests me."
+
+Carrie smiled.  "It isn't as a type a girl gets interesting, Jim."
+
+"It would be ridiculous to think about her in any other way.  I've had
+nothing to do with girls like that; she's the first I've met."
+
+"Oh, well," said Carrie.  "Don't you want to learn something about your
+English relations?"
+
+"No," said Jim, in a thoughtful voice.  "In a sense, I'm half afraid."
+
+"Afraid?" said Carrie.
+
+He was silent for a few moments and then resumed: "On the whole, I've
+been happy.  I feel I've got my proper job and am satisfied.  For all
+that, when those Englishmen talked to me at the shack I had a strange
+notion that I knew things they knew and belonged to a world I hadn't
+lived in yet.  Sometimes at McGill I got a kind of restlessness that
+made me want to see the Old Country.  I fought against it."
+
+"Why did you fight?"
+
+"For one thing, it's obvious I belong where I am; I can make good in
+this country, I know my job.  Something pulls another way, but I don't
+want to go."
+
+"Ah," said Carrie, "I think I understand.  Still, there's the
+adventure, Jim.  And if you didn't like it in England, you could come
+back."
+
+"There's a risk.  I expect it's hard to get back when you leave your
+proper place.  Then I have much I value; you and Jake and the boys who
+work for me.  I stand on firm ground here; ground I know and like.  In
+the Old Country it might be different----"
+
+"Do you mean you might be different?"
+
+"You are clever, Carrie.  I think I do mean something like that.  I
+feel now and then as if there was another Jim Dearham who, so to speak,
+hadn't developed yet.  In a way, I'm afraid of him."
+
+Carrie looked thoughtful, but her eyes were soft.  "Jake and I are
+satisfied with the Jim we know.  Still, perhaps, you ought to give the
+other his chance."  She paused, and her voice had a curious note when
+she resumed: "If I were a man, I'd let nothing stop my development."
+
+"You have grit," Jim said, smiling.  "Grit that would carry you
+anywhere and makes you something of an aristocrat.  So long as you're
+not afraid you must be fine.  Well, I suppose I made good when I was up
+against rotten ice and sliding snow, but when I think about what I have
+and what I'd risk, my pluck goes."
+
+"Sometimes you're rather nice, Jim, and you're a better philosopher
+than I thought," Carrie remarked.  She got up and, stopping a moment,
+gave him a half-mocking glance.  "But I wonder what you'd get like if
+you went to the Old Country and met that English girl!"
+
+She went off and Jim sat by the fire with his brows knit.  Perhaps he
+had talked too much and bored Carrie, but he suspected that she had led
+him on.  By and by he roused himself and went to chop some wood.
+Martin did not start in the morning, as his hosts had expected.  He
+said his packers needed a rest and loafed about the camp, sometimes
+talking to Carrie and sometimes watching Jake and Jim at work.  Next
+morning, however, he said he must go, and while they were at breakfast
+turned to Jim.
+
+"In the bush, one often runs up against obstacles one did not expect.
+If you find you can't put your contract over, I'd like you to send me
+word."
+
+"I don't see why we should bother you," Jim replied with some surprise.
+
+Martin smiled.  "For one thing, you had a notion the Cartner people and
+I were playing a crooked game.  Then you're making a good job, and I
+wouldn't like to see you beat."
+
+"We imagined you wouldn't like our butting in on jobs you thought were
+yours," Jake observed.
+
+"That is so," said Martin.  "If I help, I'll make a proposition, to
+which I guess you'll be able to agree.  In the meantime, we can let it
+go.  Looks as if you'd make good anyhow."
+
+He began to talk about something else and when he set off Jake and Jim
+went with him down the line.  After a time, he stopped them.
+
+"I must hit the trail and not keep you from your job," he said.  "I
+reckon you'll put it over, but if you want some backing, remember my
+offer stands."
+
+He paused and gave Jake a steady glance.  "I like the way you have
+treated me; your sister is a queen."
+
+Then he went on with his packers and Jake and Jim returned quietly to
+camp.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+FIRE
+
+The light had got dim, and Carrie put down her sewing and looked about.
+A belt of yellow sky glimmered above the distant snow, but the valley
+was dark and the pines rolled in blurred masses up the hill.  Thin mist
+crept out of the deep hollow and Carrie shivered when a cold wind shook
+the trees.  She was beginning to know the wilds, and now and then their
+austerity daunted her.  By and by a red twinkle in the distance drew
+her glance and she turned to Jim.
+
+"What is that?"
+
+Jim looked and frowned.  "Ah," he said, "I'd begun to think our luck
+was too good!"
+
+"But what is the light?"
+
+"A bush fire."
+
+Jake indicated the drift of the smoke from their cooking fire.  As a
+rule, the valleys of British Columbia that open to the west form
+channels for the Chinook wind from the Pacific, but now and then a dry,
+cold current flows down them to the coast.
+
+"It won't bother us unless the wind changes," he remarked.  "In this
+country, however, the wind generally does change when you'd sooner it
+did not, and it's not safe to trust your luck much.  Looks as if Nature
+had put up her shingle on the mountains, warning the white man off."
+
+"But white men do live in the mountains," Carrie objected.
+
+"Men who are strong enough.  They must fight for a footing and then use
+the best tools other men can make to hold the ground they've won.
+We're scouts, carrying axes, saws, and giant-powder, but the main body
+must coöperate to defend its settlements with civilization's heavy
+machines.  It's sure a hard country, and sometimes it gets me scared!"
+
+Carrie laughed.  "You're romantic when you talk about the North.  Could
+the fire bother us?"
+
+"That depends.  It couldn't burn the line, though it might burn the
+posts.  If it spread and rolled up the valley, it might put us off the
+ground and stop the job."
+
+"While we waited the boys would have to be fed and wages would run on,"
+Carrie said in a thoughtful voice.  "How do the fires start?"
+
+"Nobody knows.  I allow it looks ridiculous, but my notion is some
+fires start themselves; you'll find them burning in belts of woods the
+Indians and prospectors leave alone.  Some are probably started by
+cooking fires.  The man who knows the bush is careful; the tenderfoot
+is not."
+
+"Then you don't think somebody may have had an object for lighting this
+fire?"
+
+"On the whole, I reckon not.  The chances against its bothering us are
+too steep.  For all that, I'd like it better if the blaze went out."
+
+Carrie said nothing, and for a time they watched the light.  Sometimes
+it leaped up and sometimes it faded, but it got larger, and when they
+went to bed a red reflection played about the sky.  In the morning
+there was no wind and a heavy trail of smoke stretched across the
+hills.  In places, a bright flicker pierced the dark trail, and Carrie
+noted a smell of burning when she filled the kettle.  Then she saw Jim
+watching the smoke.
+
+"It's nearer and bigger, isn't it?" she asked.
+
+"Yes," said Jim, quietly.  "It's bigger than I like.  We'll go along
+and look at it after breakfast."
+
+They ate quickly and when the meal was over Jim and Carrie set off
+while Jake went to work.  It was not easy to push through the tangled
+bush, and now and then Jim was forced to clear a path with his ax.
+After a time he stopped behind a trunk and touched Carrie, who saw an
+animal leap out from the gloom.  It cleared a big fallen branch with a
+flying bound, vanished almost silently in a brake of tall fern, and
+shooting out with forelegs bent sprang across a thicket.  Carrie
+thought it hardly touched the ground.  It was wonderfully swift and
+graceful, and although the forest was choked with undergrowth and
+rotting logs all was very quiet when the animal vanished.
+
+"Oh," she said, "I'm glad you stopped me!  I haven't seen a wild deer
+before."
+
+"They are hard to see," Jim replied.  "If they're standing, they melt
+into their background at a very short distance.  However, I didn't like
+the way that deer was going.  It passed pretty close, without seeing we
+were about."
+
+Noting that the scramble had tired her, he began to rub his ax with a
+sharpening stone, and Carrie mused while she got her breath.  By and by
+she looked up and saw his twinkling glance.
+
+"Yes," she said, "I was thinking rather hard; I thought it was good for
+me to come North.  All was always just the same at the store; the dull
+street, the mean frame houses, and the stale smell of groceries.  There
+was nothing different; you knew you would do to-morrow what you did
+to-day, and you had made no progress when the reckoning came.  If there
+was money enough to pay the bills, you were satisfied, and sometimes
+there was not.  But I really mean you felt you had made no progress of
+any kind; you were slipping back."
+
+"Slipping back?  I'm not sure I get that----"
+
+"Sometimes it's hard to put you wise, but perhaps slipping back wasn't
+altogether right.  I meant things were moving on and leaving me behind.
+The time I could be happy was going and soon I'd be old and sour.  I
+didn't want to feel I'd done nothing and had never tasted life.  Well,
+my chance came and I pulled out."
+
+"I'm afraid you haven't had your good time yet," Jim remarked.
+
+Carrie's eyes sparkled.  "One always wants something better, Jim, but
+I've begun to live.  I've seen the woods and the wild back country; I'm
+helping at a big job."
+
+"Your help is worth much, and if we put the job over, you can have the
+things a girl is supposed to like; for example, pretty clothes, opera
+tickets, a holiday at a fashionable summer hotel.  They're things you
+ought to have."
+
+"I do like pretty clothes and think I'd like to meet smart people.  The
+trouble is, they would know I didn't belong where they belonged and
+might leave me out.  Do you think that would happen, Jim?"
+
+"Certainly not," Jim declared.  "Girls of your type don't get left out.
+I dare say pretty girls are numerous, but you have a calm and a
+confidence that make their mark."
+
+Carrie smiled, but there was some color in her face.  "I suppose you
+mean to be nice.  Yet you have seen me serving at the store and cooking
+for the boys!"
+
+"I've seen you nursing me when I was ill and hope I'm going to see you
+wear the smartest clothes money can buy.  But there's much to be done
+first and I'm bothered about the fire."
+
+They pushed on while the smell of burning got stronger, and presently
+came to a rocky hill.  Its top cut off their view, but a dingy cloud
+rolled up behind it and as they climbed the air got hot.  When they
+reached the summit Carrie gasped and her eyes opened wide.
+
+The spur commanded the valley and the fire that had run through the
+woods below.  In the foreground a wall of tossing flame threw out
+clouds of sparks, and leaping up here and there, ran in yellow trails
+to the top of the tall firs.  It advanced slowly, with an angry roar,
+licking up the dry brush and branches before the big trunks caught.  In
+front they were hung with streamers of flame, farther off they glowed
+red, and in the distance smoldering rampikes towered above a wide belt
+of ash.  Now and then one leaned and fell, and showers of sparks shot
+up as if the log had exploded.
+
+The shock of the fall hardly pierced the confused uproar, and Carrie,
+shielding her scorched face with her hand, was appalled by the din.
+Green wood split with detonating cracks, the snapping of branches was
+like musketry, and the flames roared in a deep undertone.  Her dress
+fluttered, for eddying draughts swept the rocks.  She was dazzled but
+fascinated, unconscious of heat and fear, for she had not seen or
+imagined a spectacle like this.
+
+"It's tremendous!" she said in an awed voice.
+
+"Pretty fierce," Jim agreed.  "A bush-fire's a big thing, but it
+doesn't grip you like the break up of the ice.  When the river bursts
+the jam, the floes grind the rocks smooth and rub out the pines.  You
+can hear the wreck drive down the channel a day's journey off."
+
+"I thought it a silent country.  It's often so quiet it makes one
+half-afraid."
+
+Jim nodded.  "Something forbidding in its quietness that's like a
+threat?  Well, it wakes up and gets busy in a dramatic way now and
+then.  If you want to live in the mountains, you've got to be watchful."
+
+A wave of smoke rolled about them and sparks drove past like hail.  A
+fiery shower fell on Carrie's thin dress and Jim, seizing her, beat
+them out.  This was needful and he began without embarrassment but
+presently thrilled, and Carrie's scorched face got red as he ran his
+smarting hands across the thin material.
+
+"Keep still!" he said, roughly.  "It's light stuff and will soon catch
+fire."
+
+Then, picking off a glowing cinder, he took her arm and they started
+down hill.  When they came out of the smoke he was breathless and
+Carrie gasped.
+
+"Oh, Jim, you have burned your hands!" she said.
+
+"Not much.  They're hard and I have often hurt them worse.  It's your
+dress that bothers me.  Look at the charred spots."
+
+"But you're not to blame for that."
+
+"I am to blame.  I oughtn't to have let you stay."
+
+"I wanted to stay."
+
+"That doesn't matter," Jim declared.  "My business was to take care of
+you.  In fact, it's my business all the time."
+
+"Something of a responsibility, Jim!" Carrie remarked.  "However, I
+think we'll go on."
+
+They stopped again before they reached the camp, for pushing through
+tangled bush is hard work, and Carrie sat down on a fallen trunk.
+
+"Isn't the fire moving up the valley?" she asked.
+
+"It is," Jim said, frowning.  "Fires sometimes do move against a light
+wind.  However, we won't talk about this yet."  He paused and touched
+her dress.  "Here's another big hole.  You can't mend the thing."
+
+"I'm afraid not," Carrie agreed.
+
+"And the blue one has a nasty tear, besides the stain where Jake spilt
+the coffee.  I must make a trip to the settlement when the fire burns
+out."
+
+"You mustn't go," said Carrie, firmly.  "You can't leave your job.
+It's much more important than my clothes."
+
+"For all that, I am going, as soon as I can.  When we were talking not
+long since I began to think.  We have taken your help for granted,
+without reckoning what it cost; but it has hurt me to see you occupied
+with the cooking-pots."
+
+Carrie gave him a level, smiling glance.  "It's for Jake and you and
+the boys.  In a way, you're all mine, and I'm rather proud of my
+family."
+
+"We are yours," Jim declared.  "In fact, we were lucky when you, so to
+speak, took us under your wing.  You have a kind of protective instinct
+that makes you look after folks and makes them trust you; but you
+oughtn't to be cooking for a crowd of hungry men.  I've seen your face
+scorched, and sometimes you burn your hands.  Then your being forced to
+wear those faded and mended dresses makes me angry."
+
+She laughed, but the careless note in her voice was rather forced.
+"Don't be foolish, Jim!  If I had lots of smart clothes, I couldn't
+wear them while I work about the fire."
+
+"That is so," he said, frowning.  "You oughtn't to work about the fire."
+
+"Oh, well, it's too late to bother now.  For one thing, I have educated
+the boys; they wouldn't eat the hash you or Jake could cook.  But I
+expect you want to get to work and we had better make the camp."
+
+When they reached the camp Jim got to work.  He was anxious, but
+admitted that the fire might die out on a stony belt where the bush was
+thin, and perhaps he need not fear much trouble unless a Chinook wind
+drove the flames up the valley.  Moreover, since there was a risk of
+his being stopped, it was prudent to push on.
+
+For two days he strained his muscles and urged the men; and then, one
+evening, sat in his usual place, listening rather moodily while Jake
+and Carrie talked.  The evening was calm and the smoke had not
+advanced, although it now covered much of the sky.  The men had not
+gone to fish and lounged about the shack.  They were tired and quiet,
+for Jim had driven them hard all day.  He let his pipe go out and
+pondered.  Perhaps his disturbance was not logical, but his habit was
+to concentrate on the work he undertook and it would hurt to own
+himself beaten and let the contract go.  He had not been badly beaten
+yet, and he had a vein of rather grim tenacity.
+
+After a time, Carrie's laugh banished his moody reflections and he
+looked up.  The firelight touched her, and although her eyes sparkled
+her pose was slack.  Now he studied her carefully; her face was getting
+thin.  She was obviously playing up to Jake, and he imagined their
+banter was meant to cheer him.  Carrie's clothes were shabbier than he
+had thought, but they did not spoil her unconscious grace.  It was
+unconscious grace, because Carrie did not pose.  She looked at home and
+somehow made the camp look homelike.  She was unembarrassed in the
+woods, as she was at the store.  Jim wondered whether, if they carried
+out the contract and earned the pay, she would hold her own in
+different surroundings; among fashionable women at summer hotels, for
+example.  Somehow he thought she would.  Then a curious feeling of
+tenderness moved him.  Carrie looked tired and he owed her much.
+
+"I wish you would put down that sewing," he said.  "You are hurting
+your eyes."
+
+"Very well," Carrie agreed.  "I wasn't getting on fast, and when you
+are bothered you have to be indulged.  Looks as if you were bothered,
+Jim."
+
+"I suppose I've got the habit," he replied.  "Anyhow, I don't like your
+sewing when you have hustled round all day."
+
+Carrie laughed.  "You and Jake are rough on clothes and somebody's got
+to mend."
+
+"No," said Jim.  "In this country, mending's not economical.  It's
+cheaper to throw away the things and buy another lot."
+
+"Where are you going to buy new clothes, Jim?"
+
+"That is something of a difficulty.  I was talking about the principle.
+You're too practical."
+
+"Oh, well," said Carrie, "I suppose I'm not romantic.  Unless you're
+romantic in the right way, you're ridiculous.  I expect it's easier to
+be useful."
+
+"Jim will agree," Jake remarked.  "He judges people by their talent for
+doing things, but you can't fix a standard for everybody.  He reckons I
+do too little; I allow he does too much."
+
+He stopped and looked about.  There was something oppressive in the
+heavy calm.  The smoke went straight up and the pine twigs did not
+move.  For a minute or two he waited with a feeling of tension and the
+others were silent.  Then the pine tops shook and were still again.
+Jim got up abruptly.
+
+"That draught's not from the east!"
+
+Jake struck a match.  The flame burned upright, and then flickered and
+slanted.
+
+"No," he said, "it's blowing up the valley."
+
+The flame went out, the pine-tops shook and did not stop.  The air got
+hot and a smell of burning stole into the camp.
+
+"I reckon it's a _Chinook_," Jake remarked.
+
+Jim nodded and his face got stern.  "I have expected it all day.  The
+fire will roll up the valley and I don't know where it will stop.  We
+must break camp to-morrow and pitch farther along."  He turned to
+Carrie.  "Can you be ready to start for the settlement in the morning?"
+
+"No, but this doesn't matter, because I'm not going."
+
+"You must.  The bush will burn like a furnace."
+
+"Do you and Jake mean to quit?"
+
+"You ought to see we can't quit."
+
+Carrie smiled.  "I do see it, but if you have good grounds for
+stopping, so have I.  Your grounds, in fact."
+
+"Shucks!  You're ridiculous.  In a way, of course, I don't want you to
+go."
+
+"Thank you!  Was it hard to own that, Jim?  However, you won't have to
+make the effort to send me off, because I mean to stay."
+
+Jim turned to Jake.  "This job is yours; I don't see why you put it on
+to me.  She's your sister and you ought to have some control."
+
+"My control doesn't count for much," Jake admitted with a grin.
+"Besides, I allow you are the head of the firm."
+
+"If I'm head, some responsibility goes with the post----"
+
+"I suppose I am rather a responsibility," Carrie interposed.  "After
+all, you are not very old and don't know much about managing an
+obstinate girl."
+
+"I don't want to manage you," Jim rejoined.  "My notion is, you have
+quietly managed us."
+
+"Ah," said Carrie, "it looks as if you're really cleverer than I
+thought!"
+
+Jim tried to hide his annoyance.  "I wish I was clever, or somebody
+else had my job.  Anyhow, you can't stop.  In a day or two the line
+will be smothered in smoke, and we may be forced back among the rocks
+where we can't take your tent.  I don't see how we're going to get
+provisions through."
+
+"After all," said Carrie, "I don't think I'd catch fire sooner than you
+and Jake, and I certainly don't eat as much.  Then I can save where you
+would waste."  She paused and gave Jim a half-mocking smile.  "I
+imagine you mean well, but I've resolved to stay."
+
+Jim made a resigned gesture.  "Then I expect there's no more to be
+said!  Well, I'm tired and we must get busy again at sun-up."
+
+He rose, stretched his arms, and went off.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+JIM'S LUCK TURNS
+
+When the others went off Carrie did not move.  The smoke was getting
+thick, the air was hot, and now all was quiet she heard the roar of the
+fire.  She pictured it creeping through the bush: the flames leaping
+from branch to branch, the red glow among the trunks that cracked and
+tottered, and the crash when one fell.  Now and then she thought she
+heard the shock, but it was scarcely distinguishable through the dull
+roar.  The noise was strangely daunting.
+
+Carrie meant to stay.  She must hide her fears and smile.  This was not
+a new line; life was not easy for a girl who must work for all she got,
+and she had known care.  Now and then unsatisfied creditors had
+threatened to close the store, but when tears were near her eyes she
+had forced a laugh.  There was much she could do in camp; she could see
+the men were fed and try to cheer them when they came back gloomy and
+tired.  Sometimes a joke was strangely encouraging.  By and by she got
+up and went to her tent.
+
+In the morning they broke camp and moved up the valley, but although
+the fire was advancing Jim did not go far.  They might soon be driven
+back among the rocks, where there were no trees to burn, and he meant
+to work as long as possible.  Besides, transport was difficult and he
+must have an open trail behind him.  Jim was getting anxious about
+this, because if the fire followed them up, provisions must be brought
+across the burning belt.
+
+It was characteristic that he took command.  Although Jake had
+banteringly called him the Boss, they had no agreement about the
+matter.  When things were normal each did what he thought needful and
+they seldom jarred.  Now, however, Jim half consciously assumed firm
+control, with his comrade's support.  He made all plans, and the men
+seeing he had a leader's talent obeyed cheerfully.
+
+For some days their resolution was hardly tried.  The fire rolled up
+the valley and for the most part they worked in thick smoke.  At times
+the heat was intolerable, and when the wind freshened showers of ash
+and sparks fell about them.  Although the fire did not advance fast,
+their progress was slow.  Heavy stones must be rolled away, treacherous
+gravel must be walled up and the line roughly graded.  Ashes stuck to
+the men's wet skin and they were often scorched by the hot wind.  Then,
+at the close of each exhausting day, the camp must be moved to the end
+of the cleared track.
+
+There was not much grumbling.  The men were hard and stubborn, but Jim
+doubted if they could bear the strain long.  He himself was worn out,
+he could not relax at night and did not sleep.  Jake's scorched face
+was getting pinched.  Carrie alone was cheerful and tried to ease the
+crushing strain when they rested for an hour after the evening meal.
+The meal was always ready and Jim noted that the bill of fare was
+better than before.  Yet, sometimes when Carrie did not know he was
+studying her, he thought her figure drooped and her eyes were dull.  He
+said nothing, but he was moved by pity and gratitude.
+
+At length, one day when the wind was fresh and the fire had got
+ominously close, he made a hard decision.  Since he could not keep in
+front, he would follow the blaze, which would lick up the brush and do
+some part of his work.  The trouble was, he must wait until the
+conflagration passed and the burned ruin cooled, while wages mounted up
+and food got short.  He said nothing to the others, but when evening
+came and the tired men struck the tent he indicated a bare rocky slope.
+
+"We'll make the big stones yonder, boys.  Keep this side of the juniper
+scrub."
+
+The men's grim faces relaxed and one laughed.  They saw the struggle
+was over for a time and the boss had made another plan.  All had had
+enough and badly needed rest.  Carrie, however, looked at Jim
+thoughtfully.
+
+"I know you're not giving up, but I don't understand."
+
+Jim smiled.  "I may have to give up, but not yet.  In the morning the
+fire will reach the line.  We are going to lie off and let it pass."
+
+"Ah," said Carrie, with a hint of relief.  "Can we wait?"
+
+"It will cost us something and we can't wait long, but perhaps this
+won't be needful.  Now give me that bundle.  The ground is rough."
+
+"I won't," said Carrie, moving back as he tried to take the bundle she
+had made of some clothes.  "You have an ax and a big bag of flour.
+Would it hurt very much to own that you sometimes get tired?"
+
+Jim laughed but did not answer, and they went up the hill.  They
+pitched camp among the rocks and in the morning Jim climbed the range
+behind the spot.  He did not come back until dusk, but saw no way of
+bringing the supplies he would soon need across the rugged hills.  One
+could not get up the valley, for looking down from the heights, he
+could see behind the fire and the ground was strewn with fallen trees.
+Some would burn for long and the ashes and hot stones would not cool
+soon, while the rampikes that stood above the ruin would come down when
+a strong gust shook them.  A _brulée_ is dangerous when the wind blows,
+and sometimes in a calm.
+
+For the next few days the fire raged below the camp, and when Jim
+ventured down hill he was driven back by heat and smoke.  The fire was
+rolling up the valley, but the wreckage it had left smoldered and now
+and then broke into flame.  Half-burned underbrush suddenly blazed and
+blackened logs glowed in the wind.  There was nothing to be done but
+use patience, and in the meantime the wages bill was mounting up and
+food was getting short.
+
+Then, one day, the wind dropped.  The distant peaks got hazy, the
+shining glaciers faded, and the outline of the rocks was blurred.
+Although the sun was dim, it was very hot, and Jim felt morose and
+gloomy as he loafed about the camp.  There was no use in going down to
+the line, and he durst not hope for rain.  After a few hours the wind
+might freshen and the sky clear.  He had nothing to do and the reaction
+from the strain he had borne had begun.
+
+"We miss the trout," Carrie remarked, as she cooked supper.  "Jake
+tried to get down to the river but couldn't make it."
+
+"I'm afraid we'll soon miss the flour and salt pork.  When they're gone
+the boys will pull out," said Jim, and then forced a laugh.  "Anyhow,
+if Jake had got down, I doubt if he'd have caught much fish.  I don't
+know a good bait for boiled trout."
+
+"The flour's not gone yet," Carrie rejoined.  "We'll hold on while it
+lasts and it's going farther than you think.  Somehow I don't feel as
+if we'd be beaten."
+
+"We have come near it," said Jim, with rather grim humor.  "One gets
+used to that, and resolution counts when you're fighting a snowslide or
+a flood; but we're up against another proposition now.  It's so to
+speak, mathematical; nothing coming in and much going out!  When we
+have no stores and money left we _must_ quit."
+
+"I suppose we must, but I'd hate to see you let the job go and would
+feel mean myself.  After all, something may happen before we are forced
+to quit," Carrie replied, and added with calm confidence: "Something is
+going to happen."
+
+"You have an optimism that can't be cured," Jim rejoined.  "However, I
+don't know if I'd like it cured."
+
+He knocked out his pipe and began to cut some tobacco, but stopped
+abruptly and looked up.
+
+"What's that?" he asked as something pattered on the stiff foliage of a
+juniper.
+
+"Big drops," said Carrie.  "I felt a few before."
+
+Jim got up.  The light was going and it felt cool, but the sky up the
+valley was not clouded much; he could not see the other way.  Then a
+few large cold drops fell on his upturned face and next moment there
+was a quick splashing on the dusty juniper.  He drew a deep breath and
+shook off his languidness.
+
+"It's coming; heavy rain!" he cried.  "We'll make good, after all.  But
+let's move the stores."
+
+Carrie laughed happily.  "You said I was too practical!  Who's
+practical now?  But sometimes you get things mixed; you reckoned not
+long since I was an optimist."
+
+"I did," Jim admitted.  "Practical planning and optimism make a strong
+combine, and I imagine they are going to carry us through.  But let's
+move the stores."
+
+He called the men, and as they got all that would spoil covered there
+was a rush of cold wind and the rain beat upon the camp.  It rains hard
+in British Columbia and often rains long.  They knew that by morning
+the rocks would run water and the deluge would quench the smoldering
+wreckage; it might even quench the fire.
+
+After a day or two Jim moved his camp to the line, and one afternoon
+when he was working in the rain stopped and straightened his aching
+back.  Fine ash that had turned to mud smeared his wet slickers; his
+face was thin and gloomy.  His money was nearly gone, and although the
+fire had burned out he did not see how he could finish his contract.
+
+The tangled brush had vanished and wet ashes covered the ground.
+Half-burned logs lay about, and here and there small trees, leaning at
+sharp angles with blackened branches locked, held each other up.  In
+places, big charred rampikes stood in rows like colonnades.  The nearer
+rows looked black; farther off they shone in the rain with a curious
+silver gleam.  The fire had helped to clear the ground, but wet men
+were at work with axes and saws.
+
+By and by Jim looked round.  Somebody had shouted and it was not one of
+his gang.  The shout came from some distance off and while he tried to
+locate the spot a rampike slanted over and broke off.  The burned trunk
+struck the ground with an echoing crash and a cloud of ash rolled up
+like smoke.  There was now a gap in the row and as the ashes blew away
+Jim saw pack-horses in the opening.
+
+"Who is it?" he asked Jake.
+
+"A Government outfit, I expect.  Prospectors don't load up with tents
+and stores like that."
+
+"If they're Government men, it means somebody from the telegraph
+department is coming to look at our job."
+
+"Yes," said Jake.  "I reckon we'll soon know our luck."  He waited for
+a few moments and added: "It's the boss surveyor."
+
+The surveyor presently joined them and remarked: "As I have business at
+the new settlement, I thought I'd see how you were getting on."
+
+"We might have got on faster, but we have had trouble all the time,"
+said Jim.
+
+"Looks like that.  I examined the work you've done as I came along and
+on the whole allow it's a pretty good job.  However, we'll talk about
+that later; the boys are tired and I'm glad to make your camp."
+
+The pack-horses were unloaded and when the tents were pitched the
+surveyor's cook helped Carrie to prepare an unusually good meal.  When
+it was over the party sat outside the surveyor's tent, which had a
+double top stretched on poles beyond its front.  The surveyor studied
+their faces with understanding, for he knew the wilds and noted signs
+of strain.  He thought all had a fine-drawn look.
+
+"It's obvious that you have been up against it," he remarked.  "The big
+landslide must have made you trouble and no doubt the fire cost you
+something.  Running a camp is expensive when transport's high."
+
+"That is so," Carrie agreed feelingly.  "It's curious, but I think the
+boys eat most when they have nothing to do."
+
+The surveyor gave her a sympathetic smile.  "I imagine you don't stint
+them, if this supper is a good example."  He turned to Jim.  "You're
+behind schedule, but if you have no more bad luck, I reckon you ought
+to finish on time."
+
+Jim said nothing.  He doubted if he could finish the job at all, and
+wondered whether the other suspected his embarrassment.  He meant to
+ask for some payment, but it might be risky to admit that money was
+urgently needed.  Jake gave him a warning glance, although he was
+silent, and the surveyor looked about and noted much.
+
+Jim's long boots were broken and his slickers were torn, Winter's
+carelessness was obviously forced, but the surveyor's study of Carrie
+gave him the plainest hint.  Although she was neat, he thought an
+attractive girl would not, without good grounds, wear clothes that had
+shrunk and faded and been mended as often as hers.
+
+"Well," he resumed, "I expect you know payment in part is sometimes
+allowed before a job is finished, but when we made our agreement
+nothing was stated about this."
+
+"The custom has drawbacks for the people who let the contract," Jake
+remarked.
+
+"Very true," agreed the surveyor.  "Then you don't mean to bother us
+for money?"
+
+"It would, of course, be useful," Jake admitted in a thoughtful voice.
+"However, if the office doesn't see its way----"
+
+"You would be satisfied to wait?"
+
+Jim frowned.  Jake's pretended indifference was prudent, but he had
+overdone the thing.  While Jim wondered how he could put the matter
+right Carrie interposed.
+
+"My brother is generally hopeful.  In a way, that's good, but sometimes
+he's rash."
+
+The surveyor's eyes twinkled.  "Do you mean he's rash just now?"
+
+"Yes," said Carrie, "I really think I do mean this."
+
+"I didn't know if it was rashness or common bluff."
+
+Jake grinned rather awkwardly and Jim colored, but Carrie fixed her
+eyes on the surveyor.
+
+"It was all bluff from the beginning.  We hadn't the money we needed
+when we took the contract, and since then we have never had proper
+tools and help enough."
+
+"In fact, you had nothing much but obstinacy and grit?  They sometimes
+go far in the bush; but I don't know if they'll go far enough to carry
+you through.  Perhaps you had better be frank."
+
+"I generally am frank.  Bluffing's dangerous, and my brother didn't
+know when to stop.  Anyhow, unless we get some money soon, I'm afraid
+we'll go broke."
+
+"Perhaps it's strange, but I rather suspected this," the surveyor
+rejoined.  "Well, I'd like you to put the contract over.  You have done
+good work up-to-date and I'll risk giving you an order on the pay
+office.  If you'll wait while I get a form, I'll do it now."
+
+He went into the tent and Carrie smiled at the others.  Jim was
+conscious of keen relief and a touch of annoyance.  Although Carrie had
+saved the situation, he had let her undertake an awkward task that was
+properly his.  Then the surveyor came back and gave her a document.
+
+"I imagine you are sometimes rash," he remarked.  "Didn't you see the
+line you took was risky?"
+
+"No," said Carrie, smiling; "I wasn't rash at all.  I know when I can
+trust people and didn't think you would let us down.  All the same, I
+knew you wouldn't give us a pay order unless you saw we'd make good.
+Well, we are going to make good, and now that's done with, we'll talk
+about something else."
+
+The surveyor laughed and began to talk about his journey, but Jim noted
+that he gave Carrie an approving glance.  Next morning he went on and
+the others resumed their work with quiet confidence.  The financial
+strain had slackened and they were not afraid of the physical
+difficulties that must yet be grappled with.  Rocks and trees could be
+moved so long as the men were paid and fed.  Still the fight was not
+over and their courage was tried when they carried the line along the
+moraine by a shrunken glacier and across a broken range.  At length,
+one evening, Jim took Carrie up a hill and when they reached the top
+indicated a river that sparkled among the trees below.
+
+"Follow it down and look across the big pines on the flat," he said.
+
+Carrie looked and saw a thin, blue haze floating about the trees.
+
+"Oh!" she cried, "it's smoke."
+
+"The high smear against the rocks is from a mine stack, and I think I
+see the steam from a sawmill by the river," Jim said quietly.  "The
+line will soon be finished, and you have helped us out."
+
+The color came into Carrie's face and her eyes shone.  "Perhaps I have
+helped some; if I have, I'm glad.  Now I'm proud of my family.  You
+have put it over."
+
+"We came near being beaten," Jim replied with some emotion.  "I think,
+if you had not been with us, we would have been beaten."
+
+Carrie gave him a level glance.  "It's done with, Jim.  I wanted you
+and Jake to make good, for your sake and mine.  You see, if you
+couldn't have stood for it, I'd have lost confidence in myself."
+
+"I'm not sure I do see," Jim replied, as they started down hill.
+
+"It's good to concentrate, but perhaps you concentrate too much,"
+Carrie resumed by and by.  "You see things right in front; you don't
+look about."
+
+"I suppose I am like that," Jim admitted.  "I don't know if it's good
+or not."
+
+Carrie smiled rather curiously.  "We didn't choose our characters; they
+were given us.  I wonder what would have happened had we been
+different----"
+
+She stopped as they climbed across a fallen tree and said nothing more
+until they reached the camp.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+THE RECKONING
+
+When the line reached the settlement Jim and his party returned to
+Vancouver.  Shortly after their arrival Martin came to see them.
+
+"I've been in town some time, and seeing a notice in the _Colonist_
+that you had finished the job, thought I'd like to tell you I was
+glad," he said.
+
+Carrie thanked him and by and by he asked: "Have you had a fresh offer
+from Baumstein for your copper claim?"
+
+Jim said they had not and Martin smiled.  "I reckon the offer will
+arrive, and now he knows you have got your pay he'll put up his price."
+
+"If it does arrive, we won't reply," said Carrie, firmly.
+
+"I don't know if that's a good plan," Martin remarked.  "Baumstein will
+offer about half as much as he's willing to give, but I'd take hold and
+negotiate until I thought he'd reached his limit.  It will be under
+what the claim is worth.  Then I'd go along and try the Combine."
+
+"Would they buy?" Jim asked.
+
+"Go and see.  Although Baumstein's pretty smart, he doesn't know
+they're quietly investing in Northern copper; I do.  There's another
+thing; if you have got specimens, send some for assay to a different
+man."
+
+Jim pondered.  The analysis of the ore was not as good as he had
+expected and the miner who had examined the specimens at his camp
+agreed.  For all that, assayers were generally honest and skillful.
+
+"What's the matter with the man I went to?" he asked.
+
+"He's sometimes soused and you can't trust a tanker.  Then he's
+extravagant."
+
+"Ah," said Jim.  "Is that all?"
+
+Martin gave him a dry smile.  "I happen to know Baumstein lent him
+money.  It's possible he meant to get value for a risky loan."
+
+The others said nothing, but they saw the significance of the hint and
+Jim's face got stern.
+
+"There's something else,"  Martin resumed.  "Davies has left me and
+gone back to Baumstein."
+
+"Gone back?" Jake exclaimed.
+
+"Sure," said Martin, quietly.  "I didn't know he'd worked for the
+fellow when I hired him.  Now I've a notion he's been Baumstein's man,
+not mine, all the time."
+
+Jim clenched his fist and Carrie's eyes sparkled.  "We're up against a
+poisonous crook," she said, and looked at Jim.  "You see why he made us
+trouble?  He wanted to break us, so we'd sell him the Bluebird cheap."
+
+"It's pretty plain.  All the same, I don't see what I ought to do about
+it.  Martin's plan doesn't quite meet the bill: I'd sooner try
+something a little more vigorous."
+
+Carrie shook her head.  "You mustn't be a fool!  The best way to play
+that kind of man is to use him.  When he finds out it will hurt most."
+
+Jim hesitated.  He remembered the blow they had got at the beginning of
+the struggle and all that Carrie had borne.  Baumstein's plot had
+drained their resources and made her suffer.
+
+"Martin's plan is best; you must agree," she urged.
+
+"Very well," said Jim.  "Jake can see the fellow and begin the
+negotiations; I'll come in afterwards.  Jake's something of a
+philosopher, but I'd probably spoil the plot if I met Baumstein before
+I cool."
+
+Martin gave them some useful advice and then went away, and a few days
+afterwards Baumstein sent a message.  Jake played his part well;
+indulging the other's pretended indifference and arguing for better
+terms.  Sometimes he seemed on the point of yielding, and then on his
+next visit found grounds for delay.  At length, when Baumstein was
+getting impatient, Jake took Jim to the office.
+
+Baumstein occupied a revolving chair in front of a fine hard wood desk,
+and gave the others a sharp glance as they came in.  The office was
+very well furnished and Baumstein wore fashionable clothes.  There was
+a fine diamond in his ring.  This annoyed Jim, who knew that while
+hard-bitten prospectors braved the risks of starvation on the snowy
+trail, greedy company-floaters often got the reward.
+
+"I hope you have come to clinch the deal," Baumstein remarked.  "I've
+met your partner as far as I can, but the bargaining has gone on long
+enough."
+
+"Then you can't raise your price?" Jim asked.
+
+Baumstein studied him.  Winter had been compliant and apparently
+anxious to sell, but there was something puzzling about his partner.
+Baumstein got a hint of sternness that he did not like.  For all that,
+bluff paid when one dealt with poor men.
+
+"No," he replied, dryly.  "Your partner has raised me to my limit and
+I've got to stop.  You can agree right now or quit."
+
+"Oh, well," said Jim.  "If you have gone as far as you are able----.
+May I use your telephone?"
+
+"Certainly," said Baumstein, and when Jim, picking up the instrument on
+the desk, called the exchange, suddenly straightened himself.  He knew
+the number for which Jim asked.
+
+"Winter and Dearham," said the latter.  "Mr. Lamson?  All right; I'll
+come along and fix things.  We'll record the transfer when you like."
+
+Baumstein swung round his chair and his face got red.
+
+"What's that you told Lamson?  What does it mean?"
+
+"It means I've sold the Bluebird claim."
+
+"Then, you have been negotiating with the Combine all the time?  Why in
+thunder did you come to me?"
+
+"For one thing, we wanted to find out how much you would bid.  It would
+be safe to ask another party more than you would give.  We didn't know
+how much we ought to get."
+
+Baumstein clenched his fist.  "You used me for a base to bluff from;
+reckoning you'd fall back on me if you couldn't put it over?"
+
+"No," said Jim.  "We didn't mean to deal with you at all.  You helped
+us get a proper price; that was your job."
+
+They looked at one another, with mouths set hard, and then Baumstein
+broke out: "You swine!"
+
+"Stop there," said Jim, with ominous quietness.  "I'm back from using
+the ax in the bush and feel very fit.  To put you out of your office
+would give me the keenest satisfaction and would be cheaper than
+getting after you through the court."
+
+"Shucks!" exclaimed Baumstein.  "What are you giving me?"
+
+"I reckon you know.  You put Davies on our track; he broke the line,
+and sent a log down on our canoes.  He's smart and both plots worked
+before we found him out.  But we did find him out."
+
+Baumstein hesitated, wondering how much was supposition and how much
+Jim really knew.
+
+"You'll be blamed foolish if you go to law with a tale like that."
+
+"We don't propose to bother, because I think we're even.  You helped us
+sell our claim and the Combine know what you were willing to pay.  We
+raised them some; one could take it for granted you wouldn't reach just
+value."
+
+"You told them what I offered?" Baumstein shouted.
+
+"We did," Jim said, smiling.  "I expect they got a useful hint.  In
+fact, if you want to control Northern copper, you had better get busy.
+It looks as if the Combine were on your track."  He paused and beckoned
+Jake.  "Well, perhaps there's enough said.  We mustn't keep you."
+
+They went off and left Baumstein sitting very still with his fist
+clenched.
+
+A few days afterwards, Jim and Jake waited for Carrie one evening on
+the veranda at the store.  Mrs. Winter had refused to sell the
+business, but Jake had engaged extra help and they had arranged for a
+long holiday.  The store, standing back from the rough board sidewalk,
+was small and shabby; the street was torn by transfer-wagon wheels.  A
+Chinese laundry and a pool-room occupied the other side.  Sawmill
+refuse and empty coal-oil cans had been dumped in a neighboring vacant
+lot.  Mean frame houses ran on from the store, some surrounded by a
+narrow yard, and some with verandas covered by mosquito gauze so that
+they looked like meat-safes.  The neighborhood was strangely
+unattractive, but one could see the sparkling Inlet and the dark forest
+that rolled back to the shining snow.
+
+Jim, sitting in an old rocking-chair, was quietly satisfied.  After
+taking Mrs. Winter and Carrie to lunch at a smart hotel, he had loafed
+about the city without feeling bored.  It was nice to know he had
+nothing to do and had money to spend.  In fact, he had relished a novel
+enjoyment when he visited some shops and bought presents for his hosts
+without thinking what they cost.  Now he languidly looked back on the
+years that had gone so quickly since his parents died.  They were
+strenuous years, marked by hardship, toil, and adventure, for Jim had
+not known monotonous quietness.  Even when he studied at McGill, he had
+worked between the terms in order to pay the fees.  Afterwards, finding
+no field for such talent as he had, he had sold his labor where he
+could.  He had seen much and learned much, but he was young and had a
+curious feeling that there were fresh experiences in store.  By and by
+he banished the memories and looked at Jake.
+
+"I smile when I think about the time I hit Martin's camp, pretty hungry
+and ragged, and got after him about his sending Davies on our track,"
+he said.
+
+Jake laughed.  "After all, I guess you took a useful line.  Made him
+feel he'd got to show us he wasn't a crook."
+
+"Why did he want to show us?  What we thought wouldn't matter a hill of
+beans."
+
+"The fellow's white," Jake replied.
+
+"Martin is white," Jim agreed, looking at Jake rather hard.  "We were
+getting pretty near the rocks when he gave us a lift."
+
+Jake nodded.  When their money was very low after the fire, Martin had
+suggested an arrangement that had worked for the benefit of all.  Jake
+hoped his comrade would be satisfied with his vague assent, but doubted.
+
+"Why did he help?" Jim resumed.  "The profit he got wasn't worth his
+bothering about."
+
+"If you mean to know, I reckon he thought Carrie would like it."
+
+"Ah," said Jim, frowning, "I suspected something like this!  Well, we
+owe Martin much, but I'd sooner not think we let him give us a lift for
+your sister's sake.  You ought to have refused."
+
+"I didn't know.  The thing's got obvious since."
+
+"But you know now?"
+
+"Yes," said Jake, "my notion is, Carrie could marry him when she liked."
+
+"Do you think she sees it?"
+
+Jake smiled.  "Carrie's not a fool.  If you and I see it, the thing is
+pretty plain.  All the same, I imagine she is quietly freezing him off."
+
+Jim was conscious of a rather puzzling satisfaction.  "Martin's a good
+sort and he's rich; but there's no reason Carrie should take the first
+good man who comes along," he said.  "She ought to get the very best.
+However, it's not my business and I don't know if it's yours."
+
+"It's Carrie's," said Jake, rather dryly.  "She's generally able to
+manage her affairs.  In fact, I allow she was successful when she
+managed ours----"
+
+He stopped, for the door opened and Carrie came out.  She held a
+newspaper and looked excited.
+
+"You had better read this advertisement, Jim," she said.
+
+Jim saw the newspaper was printed at Montreal two years before.  He
+glanced at the place Carrie indicated, started, and then looked
+straight in front.
+
+"How did you get the thing?" he asked after a moment or two.
+
+"Mother bought some old paper for packing.  She took this piece just
+now to light the stove and saw the notice.  But are you the man they
+want?"
+
+"Yes," said Jim, quietly.  "Franklin Dearham was my father."
+
+Jake picked up the newspaper and they were silent for a few moments.
+Then Carrie asked: "What are you going to do about it?"
+
+"To begin with, I'll write to the lawyers at Montreal," said Jim, who
+knitted his brows.  "After that I don't know.  The advertisement is
+cautious, but it looks as if Joseph Dearham was dead.  I don't think my
+father expected to inherit his property.  It's puzzling."
+
+"Was Joseph Dearham rich?" Jake asked.
+
+"He had some land and money and the old house at Langrigg.  I've often
+thought about Langrigg, but I'd sooner the lawyers had left me alone."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"I've been happy in Canada.  I've friends I trust, I'm making good, and
+don't want to be disturbed."
+
+Carrie gave him a quick glance, but he went on: "Then we meant to take
+a holiday, and it looks as if I might be wanted in the Old Country."
+
+"If you go, they may keep you."
+
+"I feel I have got to go, although I don't like it," Jim replied with a
+puzzled look.  "Something pulls and I resist.  However, come along.
+We're going to the park."
+
+They set off and Jim tried to talk.  Carrie helped him and for a time
+they laughed and joked, but the jokes got flat and all were rather
+quiet when they went home.  They felt a disturbing change was coming;
+things would not be the same.  Next morning Jim wrote to the lawyers,
+who asked him to meet a member of the firm at Winnipeg.  He grumbled
+and hesitated, but went and did not return for some time.  On the
+evening after his arrival he and the others sat talking in a little
+room behind the store.
+
+The room was cheaply furnished.  The rough black pipe from the basement
+stove went up the middle and a threadbare rug covered half the floor.
+Mrs. Winter, looking worn and faded, occupied a rocking-chair.  She was
+better dressed than when Jim first came to the house and he thought the
+rather expensive material had been chosen with taste.  The quiet woman
+had a touch of dignity, although she wore the stamp of toil.  Carrie,
+sitting opposite, had been occupied in the store all day and had
+refused to change her working clothes.  Since Jim's return was
+something of an event, Mrs. Winter was puzzled by her obstinacy.
+
+"I'm glad to be back," Jim remarked.  "Winnipeg is a fine city, but I
+feel Vancouver's home."
+
+Mrs. Winter smiled, but the look Carrie gave Jim was half ironical.
+
+"You are glad to get back here?  After stopping at a big hotel!"
+
+"I am glad.  The hotel was crowded and never quiet.  They had noisy
+electric elevators that went up and down all night, and it wasn't much
+better when I dined at smart restaurants.  Thought I'd find this
+amusing, but I didn't.  Had to push for a place at the tables and the
+waiters were slow.  I felt I wanted to hustle round with the plates."
+
+"Sometimes you're rather clever, Jim," Carrie said, meaningly.  "But I
+expect you liked the cooking."
+
+"It was tolerable, but no food I've got was half as good as the trout
+and bannocks we picked out of the hot spider in a valley of the North.
+Then there's no drink as refreshing as the tea with the taste of wood
+smoke I drank from a blackened can."
+
+"It didn't often taste of smoke," Carrie objected.
+
+"Carrie can cook; she owes that to me," Mrs. Winter interposed.  "She
+was ambitious when she was young and declared she had no use for
+studying things like that, but I was firm."
+
+"I wonder whether she's ambitious now," Jim remarked.
+
+"I've got wise," said Carrie.  "I know where I belong."
+
+Mrs. Winter looked at them as if she were puzzled, and Jim knitted his
+brows.
+
+"I don't know where I belong.  That's the trouble, because it may hurt
+to find out.  But how have you been getting on while I was away?"
+
+"Trade's pretty good, thank you," Carrie replied.  "We have sold as
+much sweet truck as I could bake.  The groceries have kept Belle
+hustling."
+
+"Shucks!" said Jim, impatiently, and turned to Jake.  "You ought to
+make your mother sell out."
+
+"He tried," said Mrs. Winter.  "I won't sell.  Jake has some money now,
+but he's not rich and may hit a streak of bad luck.  My children must
+go out and fight for all they get, but I want them to know there's a
+little house in the home town where they can come back if they're hurt
+and tired.  Besides, I've kept store so long I've got the habit.
+Anyhow, you have told us nothing about your business and we're curious."
+
+"Jake and Carrie don't look curious," Jim remarked dryly.  "Well, I
+went to the lawyer's room, mornings, and answered his questions, read
+the night-letters the Montreal office sent him, and waited for replies
+to their English cablegrams."
+
+"But what did he say about your claim?"
+
+"I don't know if it will interest your son and daughter, but I'll tell
+you.  There are some formalities yet, but the fellow seems satisfied
+I'm Joseph Dearham's heir, and I'm going to England soon.  Whether I'll
+stay or not is another thing.  Well, we had arranged for a long
+holiday, and I don't mean to be cheated.  I'm going to take you all to
+the Old Country."
+
+Carrie colored, but Jake smiled.  "Did you tell the lawyer about this
+plan?"
+
+"I did not," said Jim, with a rather haughty look that Carrie thought
+was new.  "Langrigg is mine.  It's my pleasure to show it to my
+friends."
+
+Mrs. Winter looked disturbed.  "You are kind, Jim, but I'm an old woman
+and have never gone far from home.  Your relations mightn't like me."
+
+"I don't know yet if my relations will like me.  Anyhow, they have got
+to approve my guests.  I wanted you to sell the store, because, if I'm
+satisfied with Langrigg, you mayn't come back.  There's no real
+difficulty about your coming.  In fact, you have got to come."
+
+Mrs. Winter hesitated, as if she were thinking hard, and then her
+gentle face got resolute.  "Very well.  I'd like Carrie to see the Old
+Country."
+
+Jim turned to the others with a triumphant smile.  "It's fixed.  Your
+mother will need you, Carrie, and I'll need my partner.  We have put
+over some hard jobs and I imagine I'm up against another now.  I want
+you, Jake; you have got to see me out."
+
+"Since I don't know your folks and their habits, it isn't plain how I
+could help," Jake replied.
+
+"I don't know much.  What about it?  We made good prospecting when we
+had never used the rocker and thawn-out gravel.  We graded the
+pack-trail across Snowy Range when we didn't know how to drill and
+start off giant-powder.  Well, we're going to make good at Langrigg if
+I stay."
+
+"Then I'll come, for a time," Jake agreed and looked at Carrie.
+
+"I wouldn't like to be left alone," she said and smiled.
+
+Jim was satisfied.  He had carried out his plan and it was significant
+that Carrie was willing to go; if Martin had attracted her; she would
+sooner have remained behind.  In a way, he thought it strange that Mrs.
+Winter, from whom he had expected most opposition, was the first to
+agree, but this was not important.
+
+After a time they went to the Stanley park, where Jake and Mrs. Winter
+met somebody they knew.  Carrie sat down on a bench under a giant fir
+and Jim lighted a cigarette.
+
+"You and Jake rather puzzled me," he remarked.  "You weren't curious;
+I'd a feeling that things were not the same."
+
+Carrie gave him a steady look.  "I'm afraid we were very mean--but
+there was a difference.  You were one of us when you went away; you
+came back an English landowner."
+
+"Ah," said Jim, "I think I see!  You wanted to give me a chance to drop
+you?  Did you think I would?"
+
+"No," said Carrie, blushing.  "But it was possible.  Cutting the line
+was different; it was a business proposition."  She paused and added
+with a hint of regret: "It's finished now."
+
+"Sometimes I think you're sorry."
+
+Carrie said nothing and he went on: "Was Jake's throwing up his job and
+bringing me down from the shack a business proposition?  Your nursing
+me and our long talks by the camp fire?  Did you think I could forget
+these things?  Did you want me to forget?"
+
+She looked up, with some color in her face.  "Not in a way, Jim, but we
+took the proper line.  We felt you ought to have a chance to let us go."
+
+"And now I hope you're satisfied, since you have found out I'm not as
+shabby as you thought."
+
+"Oh, well," said Carrie, smiling, "I suppose we do feel some
+satisfaction."
+
+Then Jake and Mrs. Winter returned and they went to the Canadian
+Pacific station, where Jim asked about the steamship sailings.
+
+
+
+
+PART II--THE LANDOWNER
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+JIM COMES HOME
+
+The car ran out from the tall hedgerows that bordered the narrow road
+and at length Jim could look about.  He had not been able to see much
+on his way from the station where Mordaunt had met him, and now he had
+an unbroken view he studied the English landscape with keen curiosity.
+On one side, rugged mountains rose against the lowering sky, but a
+moving ray of sunshine touched the plain below.  In front, the road ran
+across a marsh, between deep ditches where tall sedges grew.  Beyond
+the marsh, wet sands stretched back to the blurred woods across a bay,
+and farther off, low hills loomed indistinctly in the mist.
+
+Jim noted that the landscape had not the monotony he had sometimes felt
+in Canada.  The fields behind the marsh looked ridiculously small, but
+some were smooth and green and some dotted by yellow stocks of corn.
+Then there was a play of color that changed from cold blues and grays
+to silver and ochre as the light came and went.  White farmsteads,
+standing among dark trees, were scattered about, but the country was
+not tame.  The hills and wide belt of sands gave it a rugged touch.
+There had been some rain and the wind was cold.
+
+As the car jolted along the straight road between the ditches, Jim
+began to muse.  He had felt a stranger in London, where he had stopped
+a week.  He knew the Canadian cities, but London was different.  Yet
+since he left the station the feeling of strangeness had gone; it was
+as if he had reached a country that he knew.  He wondered whether he
+unconsciously remembered his father's talk, or if the curious sense of
+familiarity was, so to speak, atavistic.  This, however, was not
+important, and he glanced at Carrie, who sat behind with Mrs. Winter
+and Jake.
+
+Carrie had frankly enjoyed her holiday; indeed, Jim thought she had
+felt more at home than he when they were in town.  Somehow she did not
+look exotic among the Englishwomen at the hotel, and when Mordaunt met
+them at the station she had, with a kind of natural tact, struck the
+proper note.  She knew Mordaunt was a relation of Jim's, but she met
+him without reserve or an obvious wish to please.  If either were
+conscious of surprise or embarrassment, Jim thought it was Mordaunt.
+Presently the latter indicated a low ridge that broke the level marsh.
+It rose against the background of misty hills, and a creek that caught
+the light and shone wound past it to the sands.  In one place, a gray
+wall appeared among stunted trees.
+
+"Langrigg," he said.  "We'll arrive in a few minutes."
+
+He blew the horn, a boy ran to open a gate, and as they climbed the
+hill Jim saw a stripped cornfield, a belt of dark-green turnips, a
+smooth pasture, and a hedge.  Then a lawn with bright flower-borders
+opened up, and on the other side a house rose from a terrace.  Its
+straight front was broken by a small square tower, pierced by an arch,
+and old trees spread their ragged branches across the low roof.  The
+building was of a type not uncommon in the North of England and had
+grown up about the peel tower that had been a stronghold in the
+Scottish wars.  There were barns and byres in the background, and it
+was hard to tell if Langrigg was a well-kept farm or a country house.
+
+The strange thing was, Jim knew it well.  He felt as if he had come to
+a spot he often visited; in fact, he had a puzzled feeling that he had
+come home.  Then he saw people on the terrace and the car stopped.  He
+jumped out and after helping Mrs. Winter down got something of a shock,
+for as the group advanced he saw the girl he had met at the Montreal
+restaurant.  For a moment he forgot Mrs. Winter and fixed his eyes on
+the girl.  She moved with the grace he remembered, and her white dress
+outlined her figure against the creeper on the wall.  She was rather
+tall and finely, but slenderly, proportioned, and when she looked up he
+knew she was as beautiful as he had thought.  Then he roused himself
+and went forward with his friends.
+
+Mordaunt presented him to Mrs. Halliday, who gave him her hand with a
+gracious smile.
+
+"I knew you when the car came up the drive.  You look a Dearham," she
+said.  "Since Bernard is unwell, we thought we ought to come and
+welcome you."  Then she beckoned the others.  "My daughter, Evelyn, and
+my son, Dick."
+
+The girl glanced at Jim curiously, as if puzzled, but her brother
+laughed.
+
+"This is something of a romantic surprise!" he said.  "Perhaps it's
+curious, but I've thought about you since the night of the blizzard
+when we came to your shack."
+
+Jim indicated his party.  "I want you to know my Canadian friends; I
+owe them much.  Mrs. and Miss Winter from Vancouver city, and my
+partner, Jake."
+
+Mrs. Halliday had studied the group, but she gave them another glance.
+She thought Mrs. Winter was not important.  The thin, tired woman was
+of a common type and had obviously come from a rude Canadian town: Mrs.
+Halliday did not know much about Vancouver.  The girl, however, had
+individuality and a touch of beauty; Mrs. Halliday felt she must be
+reckoned on.  The young man puzzled her, because she could not place
+him.  In some ways, he looked like a rather superior workman, but he
+was unembarrassed, and although he waited calmly, she imagined he was
+amused.  On the whole, they were not the guests one generally received
+at an English country house, but Mrs. Halliday knew her duty and
+welcomed them with a gracious air.
+
+They went in and Jim heard with satisfaction that the others meant to
+dine with him, because he wanted to talk with Evelyn.  He came down as
+soon as he could, hoping he might find her in the hall, but nobody was
+there and for some minutes he looked about.  The hall occupied the
+lower story of the tower.  It was square, and roughly-hewn beams,
+slightly curved, crossed the ceiling.  The spaces between were paneled
+with dark wood and an oak wainscot ran round the wall.  Half of one
+side was occupied by a big fireplace and its old, hand-forged irons.
+The carved frame and mantel were Jacobean and obviously newer than the
+rest.  The old windows, however, had been enlarged and a wide casement
+admitted a cold light.
+
+By and by, Mordaunt came in.  The latter was thin and dark; his face
+was rather inscrutable, but he had a superficial urbanity.  Jim
+wondered what lay beneath this, and imagined it might be long before he
+found out.  Until he got down from the train, they had not met since
+Mordaunt came to the telegraph shack, and Jim did not know if he liked
+the fellow or not.  After a time, there was a step on the stairs that
+went up the wall, and Jim looked up, half expecting to see Evelyn.  At
+first he was conscious of some disappointment, for Carrie was coming
+down.
+
+"By George!" said Mordaunt, softly.
+
+Jim understood the exclamation, for he had not until now realized that
+Carrie was beautiful.  Her color was rather high and her face looked
+strangely clean-cut against the background of dull brown oak.  Her eyes
+were a curious gray that changed to sparkling hazel-brown with the
+light; her hair was brown with a coppery gleam, and her dress a soft
+green.  Jim had not seen the dress before and did not know if it was
+the latest fashion, but he felt that Carrie's choice was good.  It was
+not that the harmonious color gave her beauty; the effect was deeper.
+The girl had a touch of dignity that was rather natural than cultivated.
+
+She lifted her head and smiled as she went up to Jim, and asked, as if
+Mordaunt was not there: "How do you like me?"
+
+"In a way, you're wonderful," Jim replied.  "Of course, I knew that
+before--when you nursed me, and in the woods--but somehow I hadn't
+expected _this_!  When did you get the dress?"
+
+"When we were in London.  I hadn't long, but I wanted to be just
+right," Carrie answered with a blush.  Then she laughed.  "You're very
+nice, Jim; but do I really fit in?"
+
+"Marvelously," Mordaunt interposed.  "If my opinion is worth much, you
+look as if you belonged to Langrigg.  That is, you go back, beyond our
+times, to the folks who built the peel to keep out the Scots."
+
+Jim nodded.  Mordaunt had said what he himself had vaguely thought.
+The fellow was sensitive and had felt the girl's virility.  Jim was a
+little surprised that Carrie, who knew nothing about the Border wars,
+seemed to understand, for she gave Mordaunt a quiet but rather piercing
+look.
+
+"Well," she said.  "I have been up against Nature, where she's raw and
+savage, in the woods."
+
+"Perhaps that accounts for it," Mordaunt replied, smiling.  "Nature is
+savage in the frozen North; perhaps Jim told you I have been there.
+But I imagine you made good."
+
+"Jim made good.  I like to think I helped."
+
+"I expect your help was worth much!" said Mordaunt.
+
+Carrie's glance rested on him calmly and he felt that she needed study.
+She did not speak, however, and Mrs. Halliday and the others came in.
+After a few minutes they went to the paneled dining-room and Jim forgot
+Carrie when he sat down by Evelyn.  Her color was subdued, her skin,
+for the most part, ivory white, and she had black eyes and hair.
+Although rather tall, she looked fragile, but she was marked by a
+fastidious grace and calm that Jim thought patrician.  This was not the
+word he wanted, but he did not know another.
+
+"It's curious, but I seem to know you," she said, presently.
+
+"I don't think it is very curious," Jim replied.  "You see, I met you
+at the restaurant near the post-office in Montreal."
+
+"Yes," said Evelyn, with a puzzled look, "I remember our going there,
+but we didn't talk to anybody."
+
+"I brought your lunch," said Jim, fixing his eyes on her face.
+
+"Then you were the waiter?" she remarked, tranquilly.
+
+Jim smiled.  He felt that she had passed a rather awkward test and he
+was satisfied.
+
+"Since you must have waited on a large number of people, it is strange
+you remembered me," she resumed.
+
+"No," he said.  "I hadn't met an English woman of your kind before,
+and, for that matter, I haven't met one since."  He paused and added:
+"I expect this accounts for it."
+
+Evelyn's eyes twinkled.  He was obviously sincere and she felt amused.
+He was a new and rather good type, she thought.  His figure was
+athletic: his face was thin and brown, his glance was steady but
+searching, and she liked his quiet manner.
+
+"But you had other occupations besides waiting, hadn't you?" she asked.
+
+"I was a miner in the North for some time."
+
+"That must have been interesting.  Were you successful?"
+
+"I found a copper vein and was lucky enough to sell it rather well."
+
+"Then, is it difficult to sell a mine?"
+
+"As a rule, it's much harder than finding one," Jim answered, with a
+smile.  "In general, the miner struggles with half-thawn gravel that
+often fills up his shallow shaft, and sometimes nearly starves in the
+tundra bogs, while the man with money enough to work the vein gets the
+profit.  It cost us something to hold on until we got a just price."
+
+Evelyn did not know much about the Canadian North, but she could
+imagine his holding on.  "I expect you will find Langrigg different
+from the British Columbian wilds," she said.  "Do you feel strange
+here?"
+
+Jim looked about.  The long room was paneled, the ceiling was low, and
+the wide casement commanded a view of the level marsh and shining
+sands.  It was different from the dark pine forests and snowy peaks of
+British Columbia.  The fine old china and silver, tall candlesticks,
+and the flowers on the table were in marked contrast with the rude
+furniture of camp and shack.
+
+"No," he said, thoughtfully.  "When one has wandered about a new
+country, meeting all kinds of people and doing all kinds of jobs, I
+imagine one would not feel very strange anywhere.  Besides, I've a
+curious notion that I have come home."
+
+"After all, you are a Dearham; perhaps this accounts for something,"
+Evelyn remarked and glanced at Carrie.  "Did you meet your friends when
+you were at Montreal?"
+
+"Jim met us in Vancouver.  Jake brought him to the store when he was
+ill," Mrs. Winter replied.
+
+"The store?" said Evelyn.
+
+"Mrs. Winter means a shop," Mordaunt explained.
+
+"Oh," said Evelyn, "that is interesting!  What did you sell?"
+
+"Most everything people wanted.  Dry goods, groceries, sweet
+biscuits--you'd call it cake--and we had quite a trade in Sundaes."
+
+"What is a Sunday?"
+
+Mordaunt laughed.  "A little delicacy you consume on the spot.  I
+imagine it's sometimes an ice and sometimes a sweetmeat, or a cleverly
+mixed drink.  Perhaps it's oftenest enjoyed on Sundays and holidays,
+but they don't spell it with a _y_."
+
+"I must try to remember.  But who made these nice things?"
+
+"Carrie," said Mrs. Winter, with a look of pride.  "She baked the
+biscuit, too."
+
+"I don't think I should like baking.  One must get so hot," Evelyn
+remarked, and turned to Carrie.  "Was it hard work?"
+
+Carrie was talking to Dick Halliday, but she looked up and laughed,
+although there was a touch of color in her face.
+
+"Oh, no," she said.  "Anyhow, it was not as hard as cooking for the
+boys in the woods.  I did all the cooking, and they liked the hash I
+put up."
+
+Jim thought Carrie's western accent was rather marked and wondered why
+she had said _hash_.  Evelyn's questions had been asked with languid
+good humor, as if she meant to draw Carrie into the talk, but somehow
+Jim got a hint of antagonism between the girls.  This puzzled him and
+he was glad when Mrs. Halliday began to talk about something else.
+Evelyn did not support her much, but Mrs. Halliday was firm.
+
+"You must tell us about your adventures," Evelyn said, as they got up,
+but when they went on the terrace Jim followed Carrie.  Although he
+wanted to talk to Evelyn, Carrie must not feel neglected.  She gave him
+a rather curious smile when he stopped by the stone bench she occupied.
+
+"I allow your English relations have first claim on you to-night," she
+remarked.  "You can talk to me when you like."
+
+"A new claim doesn't wipe out older ones," Jim replied.
+
+"I suppose that is so," Carrie agreed.  "You're rather obvious, Jim,
+but you mean well."
+
+Then she got up and joined Dick Halliday, and Jim felt puzzled.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+JIM'S GUESTS
+
+After breakfast next morning Jim and his friends went out on the
+terrace.  The tide was full and the woods across the bay looked like
+islands.  A line of white surf marked the edge of the marsh, which ran
+back, broken by winding creeks, to the foot of the rising ground.
+Sometimes a gleam of sunshine touched the lonely flats and they flashed
+into luminous green, silver, and yellow.  Then the color faded and the
+light moving on forced up for a few moments the rugged blue hills
+against their misty background.  The landscape had not the sharp
+distinctness common in Canada; it was dim and marked by an elusive
+charm.
+
+Jim began to think about Evelyn.  She was somehow like the country.
+Her charm was strong but not obtrusive.  One could not, so to speak,
+realize Evelyn at a glance; she was marked by subtle refinements and
+delicacies that one rather felt than saw.  Her English reserve was
+fascinating, because it hinted at the reward one might get if one could
+break it down.  Carrie, too, was thinking about Evelyn, Mrs. Winter was
+sewing, and Jake occupied himself by cleaning an old pipe.
+
+"It's some time since we broke camp on the telegraph line," Carrie
+remarked.  "Do you find having nothing to do comes easy, Jim?"
+
+"I don't expect to be idle long.  It's prudent to consider before you
+begin to move."
+
+Carrie felt that Jim was getting English.  He had, of course, been to
+McGill, but since they reached the Old Country he was dropping his
+Western colloquialisms.  She thought it significant that he did so
+unconsciously.
+
+"Perhaps I'd better tell you how things are, so far as I understand
+them," he went on.  "To begin with, running a house like Langrigg is
+expensive, and I doubt if I am rich enough to loaf in proper style."
+
+"If you want to loaf in proper style, you must be born and raised for
+the job," Jake observed.
+
+"That's true, to some extent," Jim agreed.  "I was brought up to work
+and have got the habit.  Well, my farm rents amount to something, but
+when you have paid taxes and repaired the homesteads they don't leave
+very much.  It seems there are people in England willing to pay for
+owning land; but that plan's not sound."
+
+"Then, you have another?"
+
+"It's not worked out.  The leases of two good farms soon fall in and I
+may manage them myself.  Then I own the marsh, which feeds some sheep
+and cattle in summer.  The soil's good alluvial, like the gumbo on the
+Manitoba plains, and would grow heavy crops if one could keep out the
+water.  Well, we have seen small homesteaders draining Canadian
+muskegs, a long haul from a railroad, while we have a good market for
+all farming truck in two hours' ride.  The proposition, however, needs
+some thought.  It might cost me all I've got."
+
+Jake's eyes twinkled.  "I reckon that wouldn't stop you if you resolved
+to dyke the marsh.  You didn't get much money when you got the estate?"
+
+"I did not.  I understand Joseph Dearham was not rich, and when he
+found his health was breaking down he gave some money to his relations.
+People here try to get out of the inheritance duties like that;
+besides, he had not meant to give my father much.  However, I have a
+rich relation, from whom I want nothing, but whom the others think I
+ought to satisfy."
+
+"Bernard Dearham?  Dick Halliday talked about him."
+
+Jim nodded.  "Bernard is my grandfather Joseph's brother.  Joseph was
+satisfied to live quietly at Langrigg like a small country gentleman;
+Bernard got rich by opening some iron mines not far off.  Joseph
+married twice, and Mrs. Halliday and Mordaunt's mother were his second
+wife's daughters.  She was a widow with two children when she married
+Joseph.  So you see, Mrs. Halliday is not my aunt."
+
+"Then, Evelyn Halliday is not your cousin," Carrie remarked.
+
+"I suppose she's not," said Jim.  "Anyhow, since I'm a Dearham, a
+descendant in the male line, it seems I've a stronger claim on Bernard
+than the others.  I don't mean to urge the claim.  He didn't give me
+Langrigg, he left my father alone, and if I keep the place, I'm going
+to run it as I like."
+
+"Do you mean to keep Langrigg?" Carrie asked.
+
+Jim looked thoughtful.  "I imagine so; I don't know yet.  There are
+drawbacks, but something pulls.  I'll wait a bit before I decide."  He
+got up and beckoned Jake.  "Let's go and see the farms."
+
+They went off and Carrie turned to Mrs. Winter.  "He'll stay; we'll
+lose him soon.  I think I knew we would lose him when you found the
+advertisement------"
+
+She paused and Mrs. Winter remembered that when she had shown the girl
+the old newspaper Carrie had hesitated for a moment or two.  She,
+however, said nothing and Carrie resumed:
+
+"Well, I wanted to see the Old Country and you needed a rest.  The life
+they live here is fuller than ours; it's something to enjoy it for a
+time, but we won't stay long, although Jim is kind."
+
+Mrs. Winter gave her a keen glance, but Carrie's face was calm.  Then
+she picked up her sewing and Carrie studied the old house.  Langrigg
+meant much to Jim and she thought would presently mean more.  She
+vaguely understood his feelings and tried to sympathize, although the
+effort cost her something.
+
+In the meantime, Jim went to see his tenants.  He dined with one at
+noon in an old farm kitchen and afterwards occupied himself by
+examining horses, buildings, and agricultural machines.  On the whole,
+he puzzled the small farmers, to whom a landlord of his type was new,
+although they liked his frankness and answered his direct questions,
+since it was obvious that this was a man who knew how things were done.
+Some of the tenants who had known his grandfather talked about Jim
+afterwards and agreed that he had not much in common with the country
+gentleman; he was like Bernard Dearham, who opened the famous iron
+mines.
+
+When they returned in the afternoon across the small turnip and stubble
+fields, Jim said to Jake, "I've seen enough of the plow land.  Let's go
+across the marsh."
+
+Jake agreed, and by and by Jim, leaning against a gate, indicated the
+long rows of hedges that ran down the slope and melted into an
+indistinct mass on the level plain.
+
+"There's nothing much to be done here in the meantime.  These folks are
+wasting labor and money plowing their little fields, but I reckon
+they're slow and stubborn.  It wouldn't pay to hustle them yet."
+
+"No," said Jake, with a twinkle.  "I expect it hurts to feel you must
+keep your hands off, but you seem to know when you've got to allow for
+the idiosyncrasies of human nature.  It's harder to use men properly
+than horses and machines."
+
+"Some day, perhaps, I'll grub out these hedges and make room for the
+tractors to rip a furrow right across the farms.  I've no use for
+wasting land on weeds and thorns."
+
+"You think so now," Jake rejoined.  "You haven't been here very long
+and there's something insidious about the country; its old-time customs
+get hold of one.  Then I don't know if the tractor's picturesque, and
+cutting down trees and hedges might spoil the landscape.  It wouldn't
+be quite so English after you had done."
+
+Jim looked at him rather hard.  "Sometimes you're pretty smart.
+Anyhow, I can't spoil the marsh by covering it with good grass and
+corn, and if the thing could be done economically, it ought to pay."
+
+"It's possible.  Are you keen about the profit?  Or do you want a new
+big job?"
+
+"I'm not going to philosophize; that's your proper line," Jim answered
+with a laugh.  "Let's see if the creeks could be dyked."
+
+They went down the hill and plunged into a belt of tall dry grass,
+crossed a broad tract of smooth green turf, dotted by thrift and silver
+weed, and pushed on to the lower flats where the sea-lavender and
+samphire grew.  Then they skirted miry creeks that gradually filled
+with weeds as they neared dry ground, and went home to Langrigg by the
+causeway road.  Jim was muddy, but happy; although he told himself he
+had not decided yet, half-formed plans floated through his brain.
+
+A day or two afterwards, Dick Halliday and Mordaunt came over to
+Langrigg and were shown into the hall.  Jim was not there, but his pipe
+and some books lay about and the others sat down.  Presently Dick
+picked up a book and saw it was the old French romance from which
+Mordaunt had read a passage at the telegraph shack.  He opened it
+carelessly and then started when he saw, _Franklin Dearham_, written in
+faded ink, on the first blank page.  He looked across at Mordaunt and
+hesitated, with a vague suspicion in his mind.  It was possible the
+latter had seen the writing when he opened the book at the shack, and
+if he had----
+
+"You look as if you have found something interesting," Mordaunt
+remarked.
+
+"It is interesting," said Dick, and felt relieved when he heard a step
+in the passage.  He did not think Mordaunt, sitting some distance off,
+knew the book.
+
+Next moment Jim came in and stated that he was alone.  Mordaunt lighted
+a cigarette Jim gave him and asked if his friends were staying long.
+
+"I don't know," said Jim.  "We have made no plans yet, but I imagine I
+shall keep Langrigg."
+
+"Do you mean you had thought about selling the estate?" Mordaunt asked,
+rather sharply.
+
+"I did think about it, but don't know if I went much farther.  The
+matter's complicated."
+
+"Langrigg is rather an expensive house to manage and the farm rents are
+low," Mordaunt answered in a thoughtful voice.  "Have you any money?
+Perhaps I'm blunt, but I'm a relative."
+
+"I have some.  Not enough to help me do all I want."
+
+"You mean to do something, then?"
+
+"If I stay, I'm going to put up the farm rents, though I mean to help
+my tenants pay.  I'm going to enlarge the small fields, alter
+boundaries, and fix things so the land can be worked on the economical
+Canadian plan.  The drawback is it may cost me much and I must wait for
+the return."
+
+Dick laughed.  "There are other drawbacks and it may cost you more than
+you know.  In this country you can't do what you like, and we resent
+experiments.  If you meddle with old-fashioned customs, you'll raise
+the neighborhood against you.  In a sense, the trees and hedgerows
+you'd cut down are your neighbors."
+
+"I believe they're mine," Jim rejoined dryly.  "However, I don't
+suppose I'd bother anybody if I dyked and drained the marsh."
+
+"Drain the marsh!"  Mordaunt exclaimed.  "That's frankly ridiculous!
+It's a favorite haunt of the Lag geese and, in a dry autumn, I don't
+know a better spot for snipe."
+
+"There you are, you see!" Dick interposed, with a twinkle.  "Perhaps
+you don't understand that it's a serious matter to disturb a few
+sportsmen."
+
+"Looks as if I might disturb a number of people before I'm through,"
+Jim replied.  "Anyhow, I haven't made my calculations yet and don't
+know if my money will go round."
+
+"I wonder whether you understand that you are Bernard Dearham's nearest
+relation and his approval is important?" Mordaunt remarked.
+
+Jim pondered.  He liked Dick and thought he trusted him, but he was not
+certain if he trusted Mordaunt.  On the whole, he thought the fellow
+meant to give him good advice, but he was a type Jim did not know much
+about.  Although he was highly cultivated, Jim thought he had
+conservative prejudices and an exaggerated pride.  The pride was, of
+course, not obtrusive, but it was there.
+
+"The lawyers hinted something like that and Mrs. Halliday made it
+plainer," he answered cautiously.
+
+Mordaunt saw he would say nothing more and they were silent for a few
+moments until Dick got up and said he would ask the gardener for some
+plants the man had promised his mother.  He wanted the plants, but he
+wanted to think, for he was curious about the French romance.  If Lance
+had seen Franklin Dearham's name, he must have known Jim was his son,
+and had meant to let him stay in Canada.  Lance's manner when they
+talked about Jim at the shack to some extent justified the supposition.
+Moreover, while Lance had gone to Langrigg with the object of giving
+Jim good advice there was something curious about his tone.  He was
+urbane, but one noted a hint of superiority, or perhaps patronage, that
+the other might resent.  All the same, it was not Dick's business and
+he went to look for the gardener.
+
+In the meantime, Mordaunt said to Jim: "You suggested that your
+Canadian friends might make a long visit."
+
+"I did; I'd like them to stay for good."
+
+"Do you think it's prudent?" Mordaunt asked quietly.
+
+Jim looked hard at him, with a touch of haughty surprise, and Mordaunt
+resumed in a conciliatory voice: "Perhaps I'm getting on dangerous
+ground, but I mean well and if you don't see----.  To begin with, have
+you thought about marrying Miss Winter?"
+
+"I have not.  I'm certain she has not thought about marrying me!"
+
+"No doubt, you know," Mordaunt agreed with some dryness.  "For all
+that, my inquiry was perhaps justified.  The girl is unformed, but
+she's beautiful and I think she's clever."
+
+"You can leave Miss Winter out.  Now I suppose you have cleared the
+ground and there's something else?"
+
+Mordaunt made a deprecatory gesture.  "I'll be frank, because I don't
+want you to make mistakes.  If you are going to stay at Langrigg, you
+owe something to the family and yourself.  A country gentleman has
+social duties and much depends on what your neighbors think about you
+at first.  Very well.  Your Canadian friends wear the stamp of the rank
+to which they belong; it was hardly necessary for Mrs. Winter to state
+that she had kept a small store.  These are not the kind of people your
+neighbors would like to receive.  Then Bernard Dearham's family pride
+is known: I imagine he largely persuaded your grandfather to alter his
+will."
+
+Jim got up and his face was quietly stern.
+
+"Langrigg is mine; my grandfather gave it to me without my asking for
+the gift," he said.  "I owe my relations nothing and don't acknowledge
+Bernard Dearham's rule.  None of you bothered about my father; you were
+glad to leave him and me alone.  I had no claim on my Canadian friends
+and they had nothing to gain; but they nursed me when I was ill and my
+partner stood by me in the blizzards and cold of the North.  Now you
+ask me to turn them down, because they're not the people neighbors I
+don't know would like to meet!  Do you think I will agree?"
+
+Mordaunt shrugged and forced a smile.  "Oh, well, in a sense I suppose
+your attitude is correct.  There is obviously nothing more to be said."
+
+Dick came in soon afterwards and Mordaunt went off with him, but he had
+given Jim a jar and the latter walked about the terrace until Mrs.
+Winter and the others returned from a drive.  Carrie gave Jim a quick
+glance as she advanced.  She knew his moods and saw he was disturbed.
+The drive had brought the color to her skin; she looked very fresh and
+her step was light.  Jim felt savage as he remembered Mordaunt's
+patronizing remark.  Carrie _was_ beautiful.
+
+"Has something been bothering you, Jim?" she asked.
+
+"It is not important," he replied.  "If you own land in this country,
+it seems you must submit to a number of ridiculous rules and folks
+won't leave you alone.  However, did you like the town?"
+
+"We were charmed.  It's a quaint old place and the country round is so
+green and quiet.  Everything's smooth and well-kept; the trees look as
+if somebody had taught them how they ought to grow.  You feel as if all
+the rough work had been done long since and folks have only to take
+care of things.  I like it all."
+
+"Then, you will be satisfied to stay at Langrigg?"
+
+"For a time.  If you want us."
+
+"I'd be happy if you'd stay for good!"
+
+Carrie said nothing for a moment and then smiled.
+
+"That's impossible, though you're very nice.  We'll make the most of
+our holiday; but it's only a holiday."
+
+She turned, rather quickly, and joined Mrs. Winter, who was going into
+the house.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+MORDAUNT PONDERS
+
+It was raining and Mordaunt stood by an open window in Mrs. Halliday's
+drawing-room at Whitelees.  A smell of stocks came in, and across the
+lawn, rows of dahlias, phlox, and autumn lilies made a belt of glowing
+color against a dark yew hedge.  The hedge was neatly clipped and the
+turf was very smooth.  By and by Mordaunt turned and glanced about the
+room, which he knew well.  Whitelees was modern, and although Mrs.
+Halliday sometimes grumbled about her poverty, its furniture and
+decoration indicated extravagance.  Mordaunt, however, thought there
+was too much ornament and doubted if some of the pottery was genuine.
+The room was pretty, but he was a connoisseur and was not satisfied
+with prettiness.  He liked Langrigg better than Whitelees.  Langrigg
+was austere and dignified.
+
+Mordaunt was not at all austere, although he was not effeminate or
+luxurious.  He was a good sportsman, something of an artist, and a
+traveler.  He had talent, and might perhaps have made his mark, if he
+had not had just enough money to meet his needs and exaggerated dislike
+for competitive struggle.  It had been a bitter disappointment that he
+had inherited very little of Joseph Dearham's property, although none
+of his relations suspected this, for Mordaunt knew how to hide his
+feelings.  He was stubbornly conservative and held tenaciously the
+traditions of his class.
+
+Presently Mrs. Halliday came in.  Mordaunt, who knew his aunt well,
+thought she harmonized with her room.  She was a handsome, gracious
+woman, but one felt now and then that her charm was forced and
+artificial.  After telling Mordaunt to sit down, she remarked:
+
+"I understand you went to Langrigg."
+
+"I did go," said Mordaunt.  "My visit was not a success."
+
+"Perhaps it's curious, but Evelyn's judgment was better than ours.  She
+doubted if you would succeed."
+
+"I believe she said you ought to go, because the thing needed a lighter
+touch than mine."
+
+Mrs. Halliday smiled.  "Your touch is not often clumsy, Lance.  But
+what line did Jim take?  I suppose we must call him Jim."
+
+"A significant concession, but he certainly shows the Dearham vein!  He
+used some warmth and indulged a little raw sentiment.  Expediency
+doesn't count for much with him."
+
+"You mean his Canadian friends are going to remain?"
+
+"Yes," said Mordaunt.  "As long as they like!  I imagine they will stay
+some time."
+
+Mrs. Halliday waited for a moment.  She thought Lance understood there
+was something else she wanted to know, but he was silent and she
+remarked:
+
+"After all, they might be left in the background.  Besides, the girl's
+mother is there."
+
+"It is hard to keep a Canadian in the background and Jim won't try.
+Still he made an interesting statement; he has not thought about
+marrying the daughter!"
+
+"That is some relief.  Well, something depends on Bernard."
+
+Mordaunt agreed.  Much depended on Bernard.  The old man was rich and
+Mordaunt had much less money than he would like; indeed he had long
+reckoned on an improvement in his fortune when Bernard died.  His
+claim, however, was not as strong as Jim's, and Bernard was eccentric.
+But Mrs. Halliday resumed:
+
+"Is Jim able to keep up Langrigg properly?"
+
+"He was not remarkably frank about this.  He stated he might not be
+able to do all he would like."
+
+"Well, I have no doubt you gave him good advice, and your trying to
+persuade him was generous."
+
+Mordaunt thought he had been generous, because if he had persuaded Jim
+to rule in a way Bernard approved and the latter made him his heir, all
+that Jim got would be taken from the others.  To some extent, he had
+been sincere, but he could not claim that he had done his best.  A
+feeling of antagonism had sprung up and perhaps he had let this
+influence him.
+
+"It's unfortunate Jim was obstinate," Mrs. Halliday went on.  "His
+keeping these people is awkward, but after all it will cost him most,
+and he is one of us----."
+
+"Jim has Langrigg," said Mordaunt, smiling.  "Our duty is to
+acknowledge and, if needful, indulge him."
+
+"I don't like you when you're ironical," Mrs. Halliday rejoined, and
+looking up saw that Evelyn had come in.  She wondered how long the girl
+had been there.
+
+"You don't look as if you were satisfied with your visit to Langrigg,
+Lance," Evelyn said as she sat down.
+
+"I'm resigned."
+
+"That's different from being satisfied.  But you were plucky.  The
+matter must have needed tactful management; Miss Winter is attractive."
+
+"Jim is not going to marry her, if that is what you mean; he stated he
+had not thought about it," Mordaunt said bluntly.
+
+Evelyn laughed.  "Then, it's probably true.  If he had meant to marry
+Miss Winter, he would have said so, even if he thought you disapproved.
+Jim is very much of a Dearham."
+
+"Is this an advantage or a drawback?"
+
+"I don't know," said Evelyn.  "It marks the difference between him and
+us.  We're fastidious and complex; the Dearhams are simple and firm."
+
+"A cruder type?"
+
+"Not altogether.  Strength and simplicity are dignified.  You're an
+artist and know the value of bold, austere line."
+
+"My notion is, Jim is not as simple as he looks."
+
+"That's rather cheap," Evelyn remarked.  "I meant the simplicity of the
+old Greeks."
+
+"Theirs was cultivated; Jim's is not."
+
+"There are things one does better by instinct than study," said Evelyn,
+smiling.  "But I'm getting bored.  Let's talk about something else."
+
+Soon afterwards, Mordaunt drove back to Dryholm, where Bernard had
+built his ambitious house.  Mordaunt had no occupation and generally
+stopped at Dryholm.  There was plenty of room and although the old man
+was often ironical Mordaunt imagined he liked to have him about.  The
+rain had stopped, the wet road was smooth, and as the car ran past the
+yellow stubble fields he gave himself to thought.
+
+It was plain that Mrs. Halliday meant to make a friend of Jim and her
+object was not hard to see since Langrigg gave its owner some
+importance.  Evelyn was curious about Jim; Mordaunt did not know if he
+attracted her, but the possibility of ruling at Langrigg had no doubt
+some charm.  She would toy with the idea.
+
+Mordaunt was not in love with Evelyn, but they agreed in many ways, and
+he had for some time weighed the advantages his marrying her would
+bring.  She was his cousin, but cousins did marry now and then, and
+since the marriage would consolidate family interests, he imagined
+their relations would approve.  In fact, he had imagined Mrs. Halliday
+knew his views and he could count on her support.  Now, however, he
+suspected she had gone over to Jim.
+
+For all that, Mordaunt's dissatisfaction was not quite selfish.  Jim
+was something of a savage and meant to manage the estate on business
+lines.  The fellow was going to farm and make his farming pay.  If he
+had been a sportsman and made experiments in agriculture when he had
+nothing else to do, it would have been different; but this was not
+Jim's plan.  The strange thing was, Jim's notion of dyking the marsh
+annoyed him more than all; the annoyance was perhaps illogical, but he
+could not conquer it.  Mordaunt was a naturalist and a wildfowler, and
+did not think there was in England such a haunt of the Lag and black
+geese as Langrigg marsh.  Now Jim, with rude utilitarian ideas, was
+going to drive the geese away.
+
+The car lurched on the grass by the roadside as it took a corner and
+Mordaunt, roused by the jolt, concentrated on his driving.  When he
+reached Dryholm he crossed the lawn and stopped by a wheeled chair, in
+which Bernard Dearham sat with his foot propped up.  The old man was
+tall and strongly made, but had got thin, and his pinched face was
+marked by deep lines.  He had worked with consuming energy and
+sometimes indulged, for Bernard had nothing of the fastidiousness that
+marked his relatives.  Now his strength was broken and he was bothered
+by gout.
+
+He dismissed the man who had pushed the chair and gave Mordaunt a quick
+glance.  Bernard's brows were white, but his eyes were keen.
+
+"Take me to the bench out of the wind," he said, and looked down when
+Mordaunt began to move the chair.  "It will give Creighton a job to
+roll out these marks.  The fellow grows fat and lazy and I hate the
+crunching gravel."
+
+Mordaunt thought the remark was characteristic.  The wheel-tracks could
+hardly be seen on the fine turf, but Bernard disliked untidiness.  When
+they reached the sheltered bench and Mordaunt sat down Bernard looked
+up and asked: "Where have you been?"
+
+"I was at Whitelees."
+
+"I expect you had something to talk about just now.  You and Janet
+Halliday understand each other well.  I don't know if you are
+confidants or accomplices."
+
+"Perhaps we have made a few innocent plots," Mordaunt admitted with a
+smile.  "However, I imagine it has generally been for the advantage of
+the family."
+
+Bernard nodded.  "Well, I suppose your objects are sometimes good, as
+far as you see, though I doubt if you always see far enough.  But I
+wondered whether you had gone to Langrigg.  It's possible Janet has
+made some plot for Jim's advantage."
+
+"I hardly imagine him a promising subject for experiments."
+
+"You mean he's not compliant?  What else?"
+
+"I haven't known him very long and would sooner reserve my judgment."
+
+Bernard gave him an ironical smile.  "You don't want to prejudice me
+against him?  Well, you're always tactful and it's comforting to feel
+you're sometimes just.  However, I want to form an opinion.  Write and
+ask him to come."
+
+"He has friends at Langrigg.  Perhaps you know?"
+
+"I do know.  Ask his friends.  You may state that I'm an old man and am
+unable to go to him.  I can leave you to strike the right note; you
+have some talent for that kind of thing."
+
+Mordaunt said he would write.  He was used to Bernard's bitter humor
+and on the whole thought it advisable that he should see Jim's friends.
+It was possible he would get a jar, but one could not tell.  The old
+man was capricious and hard to understand.
+
+"Didn't Evelyn join the party that went to welcome Jim?" Bernard
+resumed.  "Rather a happy thought of Janet's!  Do you know how he
+impressed Evelyn?"
+
+"I do not.  She did not give me her confidence," said Mordaunt, as
+shortly as he durst.
+
+Bernard's eyes twinkled.  "Was it necessary?  With your talent, one
+ought not to find it difficult to read a girl's mind."
+
+"I haven't always found it easy," Mordaunt rejoined.
+
+"Well, I suppose Evelyn is really a woman now; when one gets old one
+forgets that the young grow up," Bernard remarked.  "Besides, she has
+an admirable model in Janet.  But take me in; I soon get cramped in
+this confounded chair."
+
+Mordaunt set off and on his way to the house carefully skirted a spot
+where a tree had been uprooted and the turf relaid.  To his surprise
+Bernard made an impatient sign.
+
+"Go straight across!"
+
+They crossed the freshly-sodded belt and when Mordaunt stopped on the
+terrace Bernard said: "It will not be your job to roll out our tracks."
+
+"I thought it would bother you if I went across," Mordaunt replied.
+
+Bernard gave him a sour smile.  "I well know my relations' views about
+my character and in the main they're just; but they sometimes go wrong
+when they imagine their rules are mine.  Probably you have not felt it
+would be a relief to plow through things, without bothering about the
+marks you left."
+
+"No," said Mordaunt, "I don't think I have felt this."
+
+"You're  a logical fellow," Bernard rejoined.  "Well, for the most
+part, I have been a slave to my notions of efficiency and order since I
+was a boy; but at times other feelings rebelled.  Then I, so to speak,
+ran loose and broke things, like the rest of mankind.  Moreover, I'm
+not repentant when I look back on the short-lived outbreaks.  They gave
+me some satisfaction; after all, the Dearham blood is what Canadian Jim
+would probably call red.  I don't know what color yours is, unless you
+like to think it blue."
+
+Mordaunt said nothing.  Bernard was often bitter, particularly when he
+had gout.  When a servant came to help the old man in, Mordaunt went to
+the library where he wrote a note to Jim.  He paused once or twice
+during its composition.  Now he had time to ponder, he began to doubt
+if it was advisable to let Jim visit Dryholm and imagined he could so
+turn a polished phrase that it would keep him away.  Mordaunt was
+clever at delicate implication and Jim's blood was red.  Perhaps,
+however, it was not prudent to use his talent, since Bernard might want
+to see the note.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+AN OLD MAN'S CAPRICE
+
+Jim went to Dryholm, although when he opened Mordaunt's note he meant
+to refuse.  A line added in a shaky hand persuaded him, for Bernard had
+written, "I am lame and cannot come to you."  Besides, the invitation
+was extended to his party and Jim wanted Bernard to see the Winters.
+They were his friends and he rather hoped Mrs. Winter would talk about
+the store.
+
+The evening was calm and the sun setting when the car rolled past a
+lodge half hidden by tall evergreens.  A screen of ironwork cut in fine
+black tracery against the light, and Jake remarked: "That's a noble
+gate."
+
+"Hand-forged in Belgium, I believe," Jim replied, and they rolled on
+down an avenue where sunshine and shadow checkered the smooth grass.
+
+The avenue had been planted before the new house at Dryholm was built.
+The spreading oaks were darkly green, but the beeches had begun to turn
+and their pale trunks glimmered among splashes of orange and red.  On
+the hillside above the hollow, the birches hung sprays of shining
+yellow against a background of somber firs.  All was very quiet and
+Carrie sensed a calm she had not remarked in the forests of Canada.
+There one heard the Chinook in the pine-tops and the rapids brawl.
+
+They sped past a tarn where swans floated among the colored reflections
+of ancient trees, and then Dryholm broke upon their view across its
+wide lawn.  For a moment, Carrie was vaguely disturbed.  She had seen
+Montreal and London, but the buildings there were crowded with
+occupants and this was one man's home.  Jim, whose clothes she had
+mended, belonged to people who built such houses.  She glanced at him,
+but his face was inscrutable until he seemed to feel her gaze and gave
+her a smile.  Carrie felt braced.  In some ways, Jim had got strangely
+English, but he was, for all that, the Jim she knew; and she studied
+the house with a pleasant thrill, as if she were embarking on a new
+adventure.
+
+Dryholm was very large and modern, but it had dignity and glimmered in
+the sunset between shadowy woods.  The stone was creamy white, with
+touches of soft pink and gray.  Cornices and pillars broke the long,
+straight front, and there were towers at the ends.  Carrie knew nothing
+about architecture, but she got a hint of strength and solidity.
+Somehow, she felt relieved; Mordaunt and Mrs. Halliday would not have
+built such a house.  On the whole, she distrusted them, but it looked
+as if the head of the family was different.
+
+"It's very fine, Jim," she said.  "There's something of Langrigg about
+it; something you don't feel at Whitelees.  The stone is curious."
+
+"I believe it was brought from a distance, but, in a sense, Bernard
+Dearham built Dryholm of iron."
+
+"Somehow it looks like that," Carrie remarked.
+
+The car stopped in front of a plain arch and Bernard received the party
+in the hall, where they found Mrs. Halliday, Evelyn, Mordaunt, and some
+others.  Bernard gave Jim his hand and for a minute or two kept Mrs.
+Winter and Carrie by him.  When they went to dinner Mrs. Winter was put
+next to Bernard, and Carrie, sitting near, looked about with frank
+curiosity.  The room was lofty and spacious.  She had not seen such a
+room except when she dined at a big Montreal hotel, but it had not the
+lavish decoration she had noted there.  At Dryholm, one got a sense of
+space and calm; nothing glittered and forced itself on one's glance.
+Carrie thought it was somehow like a church, but rather the big quiet
+cathedral than the ornate Notre Dame.  She had only seen big churches
+in Montreal.
+
+The west window commanded distant hills that rose, colored dark-blue,
+against the yellow sky.  Shining water touched their feet and one could
+hear the sea.  It was getting dark, however, and soon electric lights
+began to glow on the paneled ceiling and along the deep cornice.  The
+lamps were placed among the moldings and one scarcely noticed them
+until the soft light they threw on the table got stronger.
+
+Then Carrie remarked that Mrs. Winter was talking, and Bernard laughed.
+She had wondered whether she ought to give her mother a hint, and might
+have done so, for Jim's sake, although it would have hurt her pride;
+but she was glad she had not.  Bernard Dearham did not smile politely,
+as Mrs. Mordaunt smiled; he laughed because he was amused.  Carrie did
+not know much about English people, but the dinner was obviously a
+formal acknowledgment of the new owner of Langrigg; and she studied her
+host.  She had at first remarked a puzzling likeness to somebody she
+knew, and now she saw it was Jim.  The likeness was rather in Bernard's
+voice and manner than his face, although she found it there.  Then he
+looked up and asked:
+
+"Do you like Dryholm?"
+
+"Oh, yes," said Carrie.  "Almost as much as I like Langrigg."
+
+Bernard smiled and nodded.  "Langrigg has a touch that only time can
+give.  A house matures slowly."
+
+"I think that is so," Carrie agreed.  "One feels it in England.  A
+house matures by being used; the people who live there give it a stamp,
+and perhaps when they go they leave an influence.  It's different in
+Canada.  When our houses get out of date, we pull them down."
+
+Bernard looked at her rather keenly.  He was a shrewd judge of men and
+women and saw that she could think.
+
+"You are something of a sentimentalist; I don't know if you are right
+or not.  When I built Dryholm we tried to get the feeling Langrigg
+gives one, as far as it could be expressed by line.  But do you like
+Whitelees?"
+
+"Whitelees is pretty," Carrie replied with caution.
+
+Bernard's eyes twinkled.  "Very pretty.  Something new, in fact, after
+Canada?"
+
+"Yes," said Carrie, who saw he wanted her to talk.  She knew he was
+studying her, but he was not antagonistic like Mordaunt and Mrs.
+Halliday.  "This is why I'd sooner have Langrigg, because I don't find
+Langrigg new in the way you mean," she resumed.  "One gets the feeling
+you talk about in Canada; not in our houses but in the woods.  They're
+different from the woods you have planted and trimmed.  The big black
+pines grow as they want; sometimes they're charred by fire and smashed
+by gales.  When it's quiet you hear the rivers and now and then a
+snowslide rolling down the hills."
+
+"Rugged and stern?  Well, I imagine the men who built Langrigg long
+since were rather like your pioneers."
+
+Carrie thought Bernard had something of the spirit of the pioneers;
+this was why he was like Jim.  She felt his strength and tenacity, but
+he did not daunt her.
+
+"Why did you make Dryholm so big?" she asked.
+
+"You don't think an old man needs so large a house?" he said.  "Well, I
+built for others whom I thought might come after me, but that is done
+with."  He paused and looked down the table at Mordaunt and Evelyn; and
+then Carrie imagined his eyes rested on Jim, as he added: "Sometimes I
+am lonely."
+
+He began to talk to Mrs. Winter, who presently remarked: "Oh, yes, I
+like it in England.  I knew it would be fierce in the jolting cars and
+on the steamer, but Jim insisted, and now I'm glad I let him persuade
+me."
+
+"Then Jim insisted on your coming?"
+
+"Why, yes.  I meant to stay at home."
+
+"Ah," said Bernard, "I think Jim took the proper line."
+
+"Anyhow, I needed a holiday," Mrs. Winter resumed.  "It's quiet and
+calm at Langrigg and I've worked hard.  You folks don't get busy all
+the time, like us in Canada."
+
+Bernard laughed.  "There are a large number of busy people in this
+country, and for a long time I, myself, worked rather hard."  He paused
+and looked down the table with ironical humor.  "I was thought
+eccentric and my relations did not altogether forgive me until I got my
+reward.  All approved then."
+
+Mordaunt's face was inscrutable, but Mrs. Halliday smiled and Evelyn
+looked at Jim with faint amusement.
+
+"I imagine he meant mother; they sometimes clash," she said.  "You
+don't know Bernard yet.  When you do, you will try to make allowances,
+like the rest of us."
+
+"In the meantime, it does not seem needful.  He is kind----"
+
+"Remarkably kind," Evelyn agreed.  "In fact, his kindness is puzzling.
+How far would you go to keep his favor?"
+
+"It would depend," said Jim.  "Upon how much I liked him, for one
+thing.  Of course, I would go no distance if he tried to drive."
+
+Evelyn smiled.  "Well, I suppose you can take a bold line.  If one has
+pluck, it sometimes pays.  At all events, it's flattering to feel one
+can be oneself.  No doubt, you all develop your individuality in
+Canada."
+
+"We are rather an independent, obstinate lot," Jim owned.  "I expect
+this comes from living in a new country.  When you leave the cities,
+you have nobody to fall back on.  You have got to make good by your own
+powers and trust yourself."
+
+"Ah," said Evelyn, "one would like to trust oneself!  To follow one's
+bent, or perhaps, one's heart, and not bother about the consequences."
+She was silent a moment and then resumed with a soft laugh: "But unless
+one is very brave, it's not often possible; there are so many rules."
+
+Jim felt sympathetic.  She had laughed, but he thought the laugh hid
+some feeling.  She was generous and strangely refined; Mrs. Halliday
+was conventional and calculating, and the girl rebelled.
+
+"I expect our host broke a number of the rules," he remarked.
+
+"He did and he paid.  Bernard was not rich and when he opened the
+Brunstock mines nobody would help him.  When he sold his farms to buy
+pumps and engines there was a quarrel with your grandfather and perhaps
+Bernard has some grounds for bitterness.  I don't know if it's strange,
+but while Joseph Dearham was a plain country gentleman, Bernard, after
+getting rich in business, wears the stamp of the old school."
+
+Jim agreed.  Bernard was obviously not fastidious, like his relatives,
+but he had the grand manner.  This was not altogether what Jim meant,
+but perhaps it got nearest.
+
+"I think it's because he's fearless--one sees that," he said.
+"Shabbiness and awkwardness come when one's afraid."
+
+"It's possible," Evelyn answered, with a curious smile.  "One hates to
+be shabby but sometimes one is forced.  Pluck costs much."
+
+Then Mrs. Halliday got up, and some of the party went to the
+drawing-room and some to the terrace.  Jim stayed in the hall and mused
+while he smoked a cigarette.  Evelyn had stirred his imagination by a
+hint that she was dissatisfied and struggled for free development.
+Well, he had seen Whitelees and was getting to know Mrs. Halliday.  To
+some extent, he liked her, but he could understand the girl's
+rebellion.  However, it was strange she had given him a hint, unless,
+of course, she had done so unconsciously.  When the cigarette was
+finished he went to the terrace.
+
+The evening was warm and a faint glow lingered in the west.  All was
+very quiet except when a herd of cattle moved about a pasture across
+the lawn.  The party had broken up into small groups and Jim joined
+Evelyn.  Bernard got up stiffly when Carrie came near his bench.
+
+"Tell me about wild Canada.  I understand you were in the woods," he
+said.
+
+"Yes," said Carrie, sitting down.  "I went North with Jim and my
+brother and the boys, when the ice broke up."
+
+"The boys?"
+
+"The rock-cutters and choppers," Carrie explained.
+
+"I see," said Bernard.  "Was there no other woman?  What did you do?"
+
+"The nearest woman was a hundred miles off.  I cooked and looked after
+the stores.  Sometimes I mended the clothes."
+
+"And how were the others occupied?"
+
+Carrie hesitated.  Although Bernard had asked her to tell him about
+Canada, she imagined he wanted to hear about Jim, but after a few
+moments she began to relate the story of their cutting the telegraph
+line.  She could not have told it to Mrs. Halliday, but she felt
+Bernard would understand, and he helped her by tactful questions.  She
+wanted him to know what kind of man Jim was and she made something of
+an epic of the simple tale; man's struggle against Nature and his
+victory.  Indeed, for Bernard was very shrewd, she told him more than
+she thought.
+
+"But, when you were nearly beaten, you could have sold the copper vein
+you talked about and used the money," he remarked.
+
+"In a way, we couldn't sell.  Baumstein was putting the screw to us; he
+meant to buy for very much less than the claim was worth.  We would
+have starved before we let him, and for a time we hadn't as much food
+as we liked."
+
+"After all, you might have been beaten but for the contractor.  Why did
+he help?  No doubt, he knew it was a rash speculation."
+
+"Oh, well," said Carrie, "I think he liked Jim.  But we wouldn't have
+been beaten.  We'd have made good somehow."
+
+"Still it looks as if the contractor was a useful friend.  Did he stop
+at Vancouver?  Does he write to you?"
+
+Carrie hesitated, because she imagined she saw where Bernard's
+questions led.
+
+"We won't forget him, but he doesn't write and I don't know where he
+is," she said; and added with a touch of dignity: "I don't see what
+this has to do with the rest."
+
+"Perhaps it has nothing to do with it," Bernard replied.  "Thank you
+for telling me a rather moving tale."
+
+He let her go and when she passed a bench where Mrs. Halliday and
+Mordaunt sat the former looked at her companion.
+
+"I suppose you have remarked that Bernard has been unusually gracious
+to the girl and her mother.  Is it his notion of a host's duty?  Or is
+it something else?"
+
+"I imagine it's something else," Mordaunt replied.
+
+"But what?  Does he want to annoy us?"
+
+"It's possible he thought he might do so.  Are you annoyed?"
+
+"I am certainly surprised."
+
+"Oh, well," said Mordaunt; "perhaps he had another object.  I don't
+know.  He's rather inscrutable."
+
+Mrs. Halliday got up.  "I thought we could be frank, Lance.  After all,
+our habit is to take Bernard's cleverness for granted.  He has a bitter
+humor and the thing may only be an old man's caprice."
+
+She went off and when soon afterwards the party began to break up
+Bernard gave Jim a cigar in the hall.
+
+"I note that you and your young relations are already friends," he
+said.  "Dick's a fine lad; he's generous and honest, although I doubt
+if he will go far.  Evelyn, of course, has no rival in this
+neighborhood."
+
+"That hardly needs stating," Jim replied.
+
+Bernard twinkled and his glance rested on a beautiful painted vase.
+"Your taste is artistic; it looks as if you had an eye for color and
+line.  In a sense, Evelyn is like this ornament.  She's made of choice
+stuff; costly but fragile.  Common clay stands rude jars best."
+
+Jim was puzzled and half-annoyed, because he could not tell what
+Bernard meant; but the latter began to talk about something else.
+
+"You were a miner for a time, I think," he presently remarked.  "One
+would expect you to know gold when you see it."
+
+"It's sometimes difficult," said Jim.  "As a rule, gold is pure.  It
+doesn't form chemical alloys, but it's often _mixed_ with other
+substances."
+
+"So that the uninstructed pass it by!" Bernard rejoined.  "One might
+make an epigram of that, but perhaps it would be cheap.  Well, I must
+wish the others good night.  I hope you'll come back soon and bring
+your friends."
+
+Jim put his party in the car and drove off, feeling strangely
+satisfied.  Evelyn had been gracious and although he did not altogether
+understand Bernard he liked him better than he had thought.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+SHANKS' DABBIN
+
+Shortly after his visit to Dryholm, Jim returned, one morning, from the
+market town, where he had gone to see his lawyer and banker.  When he
+reached Langrigg he found Jake on the terrace.
+
+"Doing nothing makes me tired," the latter remarked.  "I know you want
+to keep us, and mother and Carrie like it here, but we can't stay for
+good."
+
+"Your mother and sister can stay until they have had enough, and I hope
+that won't be soon; but I know you, Jake, and think you're mean.
+Anyhow, you can get rid of your scruples, because I'm going to give you
+a job.  I've decided to drain the marsh."
+
+"Labor's cheap in this country, but I reckon it's some job.  However,
+now there's something doing----"
+
+"You'll stay and see me out?" Jim suggested.  "Thank you, partner!
+Doesn't seem much use in stating that what is mine is yours, but I wish
+you'd get it.  Another thing; this draining is a business proposition
+and we're partners in that sense, too.  Now we'll tell your mother."
+
+They told Mrs. Winter at lunch, and Jim saw that she hesitated and
+looked at Carrie.  The girl's face was, however, inscrutable, and she
+gave no sign.  Jim felt puzzled.  He thought Mrs. Winter liked Langrigg
+and she had developed since she came.  She was not so thin, she had
+lost her careworn look and gained a certain ease of manner.  At the
+store, she had been highly-strung and restless; now she was happily
+calm.  Moreover, she was making her influence felt and quietly taking
+control.  Jim had noted that things were done better and cost him less.
+He wanted her to stay, because he thought she needed a rest and he
+would miss her if she went.
+
+"Well," she said, doubtfully, "if you are all satisfied----"
+
+"I am satisfied," Jim declared.  "I imagine Jake is, but Carrie hasn't
+told us yet."
+
+Carrie gave him a quick glance and he thought her color was rather high.
+
+"You are kind," she said.  "Mother looks younger than she has looked
+for long and perhaps we had better accept.  But it is a big undertaking
+to drain the marsh.  When do you begin?"
+
+"I thought we might begin this afternoon.  However, I don't expect to
+drain it all right off.  There's a pretty dry piece where I mean to
+start.  I reckon I've money enough for the experiment, and can develop
+my plans afterwards when I see what the first lot costs."
+
+Carrie laughed and the hint of strain all had felt vanished.  "You are
+certainly the hustling Jim we knew," she said.  "I feel as if we were
+back in the woods."
+
+After lunch Jim crossed the marsh with Jake and stopped where a ridge
+of higher ground broke off at the edge of a muddy creek.  In the
+corner, partly sheltered by a bank of gorse, stood a small white house
+with a roof of rusty iron where the thatch had been.  The whitewash had
+fallen off in places, exposing a rough, granulated wall, for the house
+was a dabbin, built of puddled clay.  A window was broken and the door
+hung crookedly.  Except for a few rows of withered potatoes, the garden
+was occupied by weeds.  Three or four shellducks, hatched from wild
+birds' eggs, paddled about the creek.
+
+"Shanks' dabbin; his father squatted here," Jim remarked.  "I reckon
+I'm going to have trouble with the fellow."
+
+He opened the broken gate and two men came out.  One was bent and moved
+awkwardly, but Jake imagined that rheumatism rather than age had
+stiffened his joints.  He looked at Jim with sullen suspicion.  The
+other was young and strongly made.
+
+"I've come to give you an offer, Shanks," Jim began.  "This house is
+not fit to live in; I want you to use the cottage at Bank-end instead.
+There's a good piece of garden and a row of fruit trees."
+
+"Dabbin's bad, but it's mine," said Shanks.  "You canna put me oot."
+
+"I don't want to put you out; I want you to go.  Anyhow, the dabbin
+isn't yours.  You have no title to the ground and I understand have
+been warned off, but we won't bother about that.  Bank-end cottage is
+dry and comfortable and you can have it for your lifetime."
+
+"I willun't gan."
+
+Jim turned to the younger man.  "This place is damp and falling down.
+Can't you persuade your father?"
+
+"I'm none for trying.  He has t' right o' it."
+
+There was silence for a few moments and then Shanks asked:  "What for
+do you want the bit hoose?"
+
+"I want to pull it down.  The dyke I'm going to build starts here and
+the new cut for the creek must go through your garden."
+
+Shanks looked at his son and remarked with dull surprise: "He's gan t'
+dyke marsh!"
+
+The other said nothing and Shanks turned to Jim.  "If you were letten
+dry out marsh, t' wild geese and ducks wad gan."
+
+"It's possible.  We'll raise good grass and corn instead.  Dairy cows
+are worth more than shellducks."
+
+"But you'll niver be letten," Shanks replied doggedly.
+
+"Shucks!" said Jim.  "The marsh is mine.  Although you have no claim to
+this place, I'll give you Bank-end, the garden, and if needful the
+small field.  You and your son can make pretty good pay there if you
+like to work.  If you'd sooner loaf and shoot, there's the creek and
+sands."
+
+"'T' lag geese follow marsh," Shanks insisted.
+
+Jim pondered and Jake studied the others.  He had not seen men like
+these in Canada, where some of the Indians owned good farms and those
+who hunted had first-rate guns and canoes.  Shanks and his son were
+ragged and dirty.  They slouched and looked slack and dull, although
+now and then the younger man's eyes gleamed cunningly.  Then Jim said:
+
+"We won't argue about it.  The dabbin must come down and when you're
+ready to move to Bank-end you can tell my teamster to take your
+household fixings along.  If this doesn't meet the bill, I'll give you
+a hundred pounds and you can go where you like."
+
+Shanks said nothing and Jim went off.  When they were out of hearing
+Jake remarked: "I allow you had to be firm, but I don't like it, Jim.
+Those fellows are what we call bad men."
+
+"I imagine we have been up against worse."
+
+"That's so.  All the same, I wish you had been able to leave them
+alone."
+
+"I can't leave them alone, because the dyke must cross that corner of
+the creek.  They're about the meanest whites I've met, and I certainly
+don't want them at Bank-end.  I'd sooner they took the hundred pounds
+and quit."
+
+"How do they live?"
+
+"By wildfowling and fishing, though I'm told they snare rabbits and
+poach pheasants."
+
+"Well, I suppose you're giving Shanks his chance of making good.  The
+trouble is, he's forced to take the chance, whether he wants or not.
+Some folks would sooner live like dogs than decent citizens."
+
+"Do you think one ought to indulge their prejudice?"
+
+"I don't," Jake admitted.  "It would be bad economy.  For all that I'd
+watch the fellows."
+
+They let it go and talked about Jim's plans as they crossed the short
+grass where the silver-weed spread its carpet of yellow flowers.  They
+trampled through belts of withered thrift and skirted winding creeks
+where tall reeds shook their bent leaves in the searching wind.  Light
+and shadow sped across the marsh, and a flock of plover, shining white
+and black, circled above the sands.  Jake got a sense of space and
+loneliness he had not expected to feel in England, but he smiled as he
+noted Jim's brisk step and the sparkle in his eyes.  He knew his
+comrade and saw he was happy.  The marsh was something to conquer and
+the struggle would absorb his energies.
+
+Next day Jim returned to the market town.  He was occupied for some
+time ordering tools, and driving back in the afternoon, hesitated as he
+got near the cross road that led to Whitelees.  He wanted to see
+Evelyn, and Mrs. Halliday had told him to come when he liked, but it
+was perhaps significant that he wanted also to get on with his draining
+plans.  Seeing Evelyn was a satisfaction he unconsciously reserved for
+his leisure; she was not, like Carrie, to some extent his working
+partner and critic.  He took the road to Whitelees and smiled.  Perhaps
+Carrie was patient when he thought her keen: it was possible that she
+was sometimes bored.
+
+Mrs. Halliday received him in a room that looked full of ornaments and
+flowers, and gave him tea in beautiful china.  He was half-afraid to
+handle the fragile cup and plate and hesitated about eating his slice
+of dainty cake.  He had been examining machines and thought his clothes
+smelt of oil; somehow he felt big and awkward.  By and by Mrs. Halliday
+asked what had occupied him in town, and he told her about his plans.
+Evelyn looked interested.
+
+"If you begin your dyke where you propose, won't Shanks' dabbin be in
+the way?"
+
+"The dabbin must come down," Jim replied.
+
+A question from Mrs. Halliday led to his relating his interview with
+Shanks, and Evelyn said, "Could you not have left the old man his
+cottage?  After all, it is picturesque."
+
+"It isn't picturesque when you are near.  Does beauty go with dirt and
+neglect?"
+
+"Perhaps it does not.  I suppose the old Greeks gave us our standard of
+beauty and they attained it by careful cultivation.  For all that, they
+rather conventionalized their type and one likes people with pluck
+enough to strike an independent note.  To some extent, one can
+sympathize with Shanks, because he won't be clean by rule."
+
+Jim unconsciously looked about the room, and Evelyn laughed.  "Oh," she
+said, "we don't copy the Greeks!  Their model was austere simplicity,
+the bold, flowing line: but we are luxuriously modern.  However, it
+would have been a graceful plan to leave Shanks alone."
+
+"It wouldn't have been sound.  You can't neglect a job that ought to be
+put over, because you'd like to be graceful."
+
+"You're not Greek," said Evelyn.  "You're Roman."
+
+"Then, if I get your meaning, Shanks is a barbarian, and the barbarians
+who stood up against Roman order and efficiency were crushed.  It's
+probably lucky for Europe the legions marched over them."
+
+"I suppose one must agree.  It looks as if I must try again.  What
+about the king who coveted the vineyard?"
+
+"To begin with, the other man owned the vineyard, but the ground Shanks
+occupies is mine.  Then it was a vineyard, while the Shanks homestead
+is a hovel in a weed-choked garden lot.  Anyhow, if you'd like it, I'll
+see if it is possible to leave his place alone."
+
+Evelyn was flattered.  She enjoyed the sense of power, but she
+hesitated.  Jim was easy to understand and had gone farther than she
+had thought.  To let him make a concession that might cost him extra
+work would give him a claim, and she did not want him for a creditor
+yet.
+
+"Oh, no," she said carelessly, "you mustn't change your plans!  I was
+indulging a romantic sentiment and expect you know what you ought to
+do.  But you were nice when you were willing to think about the thing."
+
+Then Mrs. Halliday began to talk and presently Jim got up.
+
+"I must go," he said.  "I didn't know I had stayed so long."
+
+Evelyn gave him her hand and smiled.  "I expect you will be occupied,
+but if you have time to come back you will find us at home."
+
+"Thank you," said Jim.  "I was half-afraid I'd bored you.  I'll
+certainly have time."
+
+He went out and Mrs. Halliday looked at Evelyn thoughtfully.  "On the
+whole, I imagine you were tactful.  I expect you saw Jim's offer to
+leave Shanks alone was not made without an effort."
+
+"I did see," Evelyn admitted.  "I don't know if it was flattering or
+not."  She paused and resumed with a touch of color: "For all that, I
+did not refuse because I was tactful; one sometimes gets tired of
+acting.  Besides, it would be thrown away on Jim.  He's not
+accomplished and critical like Lance; he's frank and strong."
+
+"He is worth cultivating," Mrs. Halliday remarked, picking up a book.
+She knew when to stop and Evelyn now and then developed a rebellious
+mood.
+
+For a week Jim was occupied bringing tools and materials from the town
+and clearing the ground.  Shanks gave no sign that he meant to move,
+until one morning Jim's teamster asked: "Am I to gan t' dabbin and tak'
+a load to Bank-end?"
+
+Jim told him to go and turned to Jake.  "That's fixed!  I've been
+holding back for a day or two and now we can push ahead.  The dabbin
+must come down before we stop to-night."
+
+In the evening, Jake and Carrie went with him across the marsh.  The
+workmen had gone but wheelbarrows, spades, and planks lay about, and a
+bank of fresh soil touched the edge of the neglected garden.  Gray
+clouds drifted across the gloomy sky, a cold wind tossed the reeds, and
+the dabbin looked strangely forlorn in the fading light.  Carrie
+shivered as she entered with Jim, who carried a coil of fuse and a tin
+box.  The clay walls were stained by damp and the broken window was
+grimed by dirt.  A few peats occupied a corner, and a pile of ashes, on
+which tea-leaves and scraps of food had been thrown, stretched across
+the floor from the rusty grate.  Jim went to the window and began to
+cut the fuse.
+
+"I've got things ready and might have waited until to-morrow but the
+job's been bothering me and I want to put it over," he said.  "Do you
+think I'm harsh?"
+
+"No," said Carrie, firmly.  "Shanks is white trash and lives like a
+hog.  They wouldn't have stood for him a month at our settlements.  But
+how do you think he'll use Bank-end?"
+
+Jim smiled.  "I expect I'll have to burn down the cottage when he has
+done with it; his son is certainly not going to stop there afterwards.
+I don't know if a rich man is justified in loafing or not.  We'll leave
+that to the economists, but I've frankly no use for the fellow who
+wants to loaf at other folk's expense.  However, I'll fix the powder
+and we'll pull out.  I don't like the job."
+
+Carrie nodded.  "You are a builder, Jim, but before one builds one must
+clear the ground.  Things must be pulled down."
+
+"You're a staunch friend," said Jim.  "You always understand and
+generally approve."
+
+"Perhaps it's because we often agree; but if I were really staunch, I'd
+tell you when I thought you wrong.  This needs some pluck."
+
+"I'd weigh what you told me."
+
+Carrie was silent for a moment, thinking about Evelyn.  The girl had,
+so to speak, dazzled Jim.  Carrie did not approve, but could not meddle.
+
+"I wonder!" she remarked.  "Anyhow you must hustle.  It's getting dark."
+
+After a few minutes Jim lighted the fuse and they went out and stood
+some distance off.  The light had nearly gone, and the dabbin loomed
+dark and desolate against a belt of tossing reeds.  Jim thought an
+indistinct figure stole through the gloom of the hedge, and he shouted
+a warning.
+
+The figure vanished.  There was a flash behind the broken window and
+the shock of an explosion.  For a moment the hovel was filled with
+light; then it tottered and a cloud of smoke rolled about the falling
+walls.  Blocks of hard clay splashed in the creek and fell about the
+marsh.  The smoke cleared and Carrie saw the dabbin had gone.  A pile
+of rubbish, round which thin vapor drifted, marked the spot it had
+occupied.  A man stood on the end of the ridge of high ground, his bent
+figure outlined against the sky, holding up his arms as if in protest.
+Then he vanished, and Jim and the others started silently for Langrigg.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE THORN HEDGE
+
+Mist drifted about the hollows and the new moon shone between the
+motionless light clouds.  The air was damp and Jim buttoned his
+driving-coat as he talked to Bernard on the steps at Dryholm.  His
+small car stood near the arch, with its lights glistening on the dewy
+lawn.
+
+"Your lamps are dim," said Bernard.  "If you will wait a minute, I'll
+send them to the garage."
+
+Jim said he knew the road and the lamps would burn until he got home;
+and Bernard resumed: "I expect you know that what you are doing at the
+marsh won't make you popular."
+
+"Lance Mordaunt hinted something like that, but I don't see why people
+should grumble," Jim replied.  "The marsh is mine."
+
+"Your title's good," Bernard agreed.  "Since the ground is not
+enclosed, Joseph didn't bother about sporting rights and your neighbors
+took it for granted they could shoot a few ducks and snipe when they
+liked.  The sport's rough for men who shoot hand-reared pheasants, but
+there's some satisfaction in killing birds that are really wild."
+
+"There is some satisfaction.  The game I've shot was certainly wild; in
+fact, I sometimes took steep chances when I missed.  When you get after
+a bull moose or a cinnamon bear it's prudent to hold straight.  Well,
+I'd sooner my neighbors liked me, but don't mean to keep my land waste
+for them to play on."
+
+Bernard nodded.  "You are not afraid of unpopularity?  However, I think
+I'd have got rid of Shanks, instead of sending him to Bank-end.  The
+fellow's cunning and there's some ground for believing him revengeful."
+
+"It doesn't look as if he could injure me."
+
+"It might pay to watch him," Bernard rejoined.  "Some time since,
+Jones, my gamekeeper, caught Tom Shanks and another netting partridges.
+It was obvious that old Shanks had helped, but there was some
+difficulty about the evidence."  Bernard paused, and smiled as he
+resumed: "I imagine my friends on the Bench used their best efforts to
+convict, but folk seemed to think it prudent not to tell all they knew,
+and while Tom Shanks went to jail his father got off.  Afterwards Jones
+had a remarkable run of bad luck.  The young pheasants died about the
+coops, his own ferret killed his hens, and he lost a fine setter he was
+training.  Then he had an adventure one night in a shooting-punt that
+ought not to have leaked."
+
+"I'll watch out," said Jim, as he started his car.
+
+He did not think about Shanks as he drove up the avenue, where the
+leaves were falling, and down a long hill.  In the distance he saw the
+Whitelees lights and now and then, farther off, the faint shining of
+the sea.  Mist that melted and gathered again drifted about the low
+ground.  Jim's thoughts sometimes dwelt on Evelyn and sometimes on the
+marsh.  Evelyn was friendly and he had undertaken a big job that he
+liked.  He was carrying out a duty, honoring a claim his inheritance
+made on him; he wanted to leave Langrigg better than he found it.  Jim
+sprang from a land-owning stock, and felt that since he had got the
+estate for nothing he must justify his ownership and prove he was
+worthy of the gift and the woman he hoped to marry.
+
+When he ran out upon the low ground the mist got thicker and rolled in
+low belts across the fields.  The carbide in his lamps was exhausted
+and the feeble beam that leaped up with the jolts flickered puzzlingly.
+He knew where he was, however, when he reached the marsh road that ran
+like a causeway across the boggy ground.  Tall, stiff reeds bordered
+the straight track.  The lights were sinking fast and since he must
+reach Langrigg before they went out he let the engine go.
+
+The fog streamed past him, the wind whipped his face, and he clenched
+the wheel as he rocked with the jolts.  He was not far from home now
+and looked for the curve where his road branched off.  The curve was
+sharp and ran between two rows of old thorn trees; Jim remembered that
+he had meant to cut them down.  There was a deep ditch between the
+trees and a belt of rough grass, then the narrow road, and a ditch on
+the other side.  After a few minutes a dark mass loomed in the haze and
+Jim knew it would be prudent to slacken speed, but his lamps were
+nearly out, and a little farther on he must avoid an awkward gatepost.
+
+A shadowy tree came out of the fog and he felt the wheels sink in boggy
+soil.  He was obviously taking too wide a sweep, and he turned inwards.
+The damp road was indistinct, but he could see the white reeds that
+grew along its edge, and the trunks of the thorns across the ditch.  He
+was going round the corner, looking for a triangular patch of grass,
+when he felt a violent jolt and fell forward on the wheel.  The car
+swerved and the front wheels plunged into the soft ground between the
+road and ditch.
+
+Jim was badly shaken, but he got the car straight while she plowed up
+the grass.  Then the wheel was torn from his grasp, the car swerved the
+other way, and he jambed [Transcriber's note: jammed?] on the brakes,
+knowing it was too late.  He felt her run across the road; she rocked
+as she took the grass, and then he was thrown out and knew nothing more.
+
+In the meantime, Jake and Carrie stood on the steps at Langrigg,
+talking to Halliday and Mordaunt.  The latter had brought a car from
+Dryholm and it stood close by with its lamps burning.  The night was
+calm, the noise of the sea came out of the distance, and presently they
+heard the throb of a car running across the marsh.
+
+"That's Jim," Carrie said to Dick.  "Since you wanted to see him, you
+had better come in again."
+
+Dick hesitated.  He had not come to see Jim, and Carrie noted his
+irresolution with some amusement.
+
+"After all, it's not important and I want to get home for dinner," he
+said, and turned to Mordaunt.  "Start your engine, Lance."
+
+As Mordaunt went down the steps the throb of the other car stopped
+suddenly and they heard a faint crash.
+
+"Hallo!" Dick exclaimed.  "What was that?"
+
+"I imagine Jim has cut the corner too fine," said Mordaunt.  "Come on!"
+
+He ran down the steps and as he started the car the others jumped up.
+Mordaunt had not meant to take Carrie, but he did not stop and the car
+sped away.  He let her go full-speed down the hill, dashed through the
+awkward gateway, touching the post, and drove furiously to the bend
+where the road ran on to the marsh.  Then there was a violent jerk as
+he put on the brakes, and the beam of the head-lamps touched and
+stopped upon a tilted car that lay with the wheels on one side in the
+ditch.
+
+"Bring a lamp," said Mordaunt coolly, and next moment they were all out
+of the car and running across the grass.
+
+A soft hat lay in the road, and broken glass was scattered about, but
+for a minute or two they could not see Jim.  He was not in the car and
+the grass and rushes were long.  Then Jake stooped down, holding out
+the lamp.
+
+"This way!" he shouted.  "He's in the ditch!"
+
+The others gathered round him as the light searched the ditch.  Jim lay
+with his legs in the water and the upper part of his body pressed
+against the bank by the front wheel of the car.  His eyes were shut,
+his face was white and stained by blood.  Jake's hand shook so that he
+could hardly hold the lamp.
+
+"We must get him out right now," he said hoarsely.  "The wheel's on his
+chest.  If she slips down, she'll break his ribs."
+
+For a few moments they hesitated, standing in the strong illumination
+of the lamp on Mordaunt's car that picked out their faces against the
+dark.  Jake wore an American dinner-jacket, Carrie a thin evening
+dress, and she had no hat.  Dick noted that her hands were clenched and
+her mouth worked.  She had, of course, got a shock; Winter ought not to
+have let her see Jim, but the keenness of her distress was significant.
+Dick, however, could not dwell on this just then.  They must get Jim
+out and it was going to be difficult.  The car rested insecurely on the
+edge of the bank and the broken branches of the thorns.  If they
+disturbed it rashly, it might slip down and crush the unconscious man.
+Mordaunt was the first to see a way and jumped into the ditch.
+
+"Come down and get your backs under the axle," he said.
+
+They obeyed and, standing in the water, tried to lift the car.  For a
+few moments it looked impossible, because the weight above forced their
+feet into the mud; then, while they gasped and strained, the wheel rose
+an inch or two from Jim's chest.
+
+"Lift him, Carrie!  Lift him now!" Jake shouted in a breathless voice.
+
+Carrie seized Jim's coat and tried to drag him up.  He was heavy; she
+choked with the tense effort and did not know afterwards how it was
+made.  For all that, she dragged him up a foot and then to one side.
+The strain was horrible, but she held on and thought she saw the car
+tilt and the back wheel tear the peaty soil from the top of the bank.
+
+Jake shouted something, Dick fell back, and she saw that Jim was clear
+of the wheel.  For a moment, Mordaunt's face stood out against the
+gloom.  It was dark with blood, his teeth shone between his drawn-back
+lips, and the veins on his forehead were horribly swollen.  Then there
+was a crash among the thorns, and the car seemed to go right over.
+Mordaunt staggered and fell, and somebody helped her to drag Jim up;
+Carrie did not know if it was Dick or Jake.  Next moment Mordaunt
+crawled out of the ditch and joined them.  He gasped and the water ran
+from his clothes.
+
+"Are you hurt?" Carrie asked.  "You got all the weight at the last."
+
+Mordaunt smiled.  It looked as if he could not speak, and while Carrie
+wiped Jim's face Jake beckoned Dick.
+
+"Bring your car.  We must get him home."
+
+Dick turned the car and they put Jim on the floor with his head against
+Carrie's knee.  When they started she bent and held his shoulders, and
+in a few minutes they rolled up the drive.  Then Carrie pulled herself
+together, gave orders, and took control; and when they had carried Jim
+to his room gave Mordaunt her hand.
+
+"You saved him," she said.  "We won't forget!"
+
+"I happened to see a plan before the others; that's all," Mordaunt
+replied.  "I'll get off now and send a doctor."
+
+He ran downstairs and Carrie heard his car start while she stood with
+her mother by Jim's bed.  Her face was white, but it flushed when Jim
+opened his eyes.
+
+"What's the matter?  Where am I?" he asked.
+
+"You're at home," said Carrie.  "You mustn't talk."
+
+"I don't want to talk.  Things are all going round," Jim rejoined and
+shut his eyes.
+
+After a time he began to breathe regularly and Mrs. Winter bent over
+him.
+
+"He's stunned; something hit his head.  I don't think it's worse than
+that," she remarked.  "I guess we can't do much until the doctor comes."
+
+Mordaunt sent a doctor from the town and when he had seen him start
+went with Dick into the smoking-room at a quiet hotel.  There was
+nobody else about until a waiter came, and Mordaunt sat down by the
+fire.
+
+"I feel we need a drink," he said.  "It was a near thing when the car
+went over.  I can hardly bend my back, and it will, no doubt, be worse
+in the morning."
+
+"You held her long enough for Miss Winter to pull Jim out," Dick
+replied.  "It's lucky you were able.  My feet slipped, and although
+Winter is pretty strong I imagine he was beaten.  All the weight came
+on you; I don't understand how you held on."
+
+"One can sometimes borrow a little extra strength from keen excitement
+and I remembered that if I let go the wheel would come down again on
+Jim's chest.  He might not have stood another shock."
+
+"He was badly knocked out," Dick agreed.  "I expect you saved his life."
+
+Mordaunt smiled.  "Now I'm cool, I begin to think I was rash."
+
+"Rot!" Dick exclaimed.  "You don't mean this and it's a bad joke!"
+
+"We don't owe Jim much; if he had stopped in Canada, Langrigg would
+have been yours and mine.  Then it begins to look as if Bernard
+approved the fellow, and I'm willing to admit I had rather counted on
+getting a good share of his money.  You and Evelyn would have got the
+rest."
+
+"After all, Bernard's money is his.  He's just, and I don't imagine
+he'll leave us out.  We're not rich, but if he does give Jim some of my
+share, I won't miss it very much."
+
+"I shall miss mine," Mordaunt rejoined.
+
+Dick was quiet for a minute or two, and then looked up.  "You remember
+reading the French romance the night we reached the telegraph shack!
+Did you see Franklin Dearham's name in the book?"
+
+"Yes," said Mordaunt very coolly, "I did see it."  He paused, looking
+hard at Dick, and went on: "Of course, I know what this implies.  There
+was some doubt, but the probability was the telegraph linesman was our
+relation and the owner of Langrigg.  Well, I thought he was not the man
+to have the estate, and might be happier if we left him in the woods.
+It was not altogether because I wanted my share of what was his."
+
+Dick did not doubt Lance's sincerity, but he had got a jar.  In a way,
+Lance had tried to rob Jim.
+
+"What do you think about him now?" he asked with some awkwardness.
+
+"What I thought then; he is not the man to own Langrigg and ought to
+have stayed in Canada.  I'd have been resigned, had you got the estate,
+but this fellow will make us a joke.  He has the utilitarian ideals of
+a Western lumberman."
+
+"Bernard is the head of the house and I doubt if he'd agree.  You
+admitted he approved Jim."
+
+"I did; I don't like his approving."
+
+"Oh, well," said Dick.  "Since you held up the car, I suppose you're
+entitled to criticize Jim.  If you hadn't made an effort, he would
+probably have been killed.  You can grumble about him as much as you
+like; we'll remember what you did!"
+
+Mordaunt smiled rather curiously and drained his glass.
+
+"We are late for dinner and my clothes are wet," he remarked.
+
+They went out; and both were quiet as they drove to Whitelees.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE FENCING WIRE
+
+Next morning Carrie, getting up early because she had not slept much,
+heard Jim's step in the passage outside her room.  He went rather
+unsteadily downstairs and a few minutes afterwards she found him
+sitting on the terrace wall.  He was pale and his face was cut; but he
+had taken off the bandage.
+
+"You oughtn't to be out," she said.
+
+"Why not?" he asked.
+
+"You were badly shaken.  The doctor said we must keep you quiet."
+
+"He probably didn't state how long, and I've been quiet all night.  I
+certainly got a knock; imagine my head went through the glass, but I
+feel my proper self again, and don't see any reason for staying in bed."
+
+Carrie gave it up.  She knew Jim pretty well and asked where he was
+going.
+
+"I want to look at the car," he said.  "I don't know why she left the
+road.  But how did you find me and bring me home?"
+
+Carrie told him, and he looked thoughtful.
+
+"I was in the ditch with the wheel on me?  This accounts for my side's
+feeling sore.  How did you lift the car?"
+
+"The others got into the ditch.  A wheel began to slip and I thought
+the weight would overpower them; but Lance Mordaunt made a tremendous
+effort and held up the axle until we pulled you out."
+
+Jim knitted his brows and looked across the lawn while he mechanically
+felt for his pipe.  The morning was clear with scattered clouds and the
+grass was silvered by dew.  The hills were sharp and belts of light and
+shadow checkered the marsh.  In the distance, the sea sparkled.
+
+"If Jake or Dick had held her up, I could have understood," he said.
+
+"It was Lance," Carrie insisted.  "Why are you puzzled?"
+
+"For one thing, I imagine he doesn't like me," Jim replied and
+indicated by a gesture the old house, and the sweep of smooth pasture
+and yellow stubble that rolled down the hill.  "Perhaps it's not
+strange.  I have taken all this from him!"
+
+"But you took it as much from Dick."
+
+"That is so," Jim agreed.  "Dick's different.  He's careless; I don't
+think he feels things.  However, I must thank Lance."  He paused and
+resumed: "The boys were in the ditch and I was under the car.  Who
+pulled me out?"
+
+"I did," said Carrie, blushing.  "There was nobody else."
+
+Jim took her hand.  "My dear!  When I needed help before, you were
+about.  But that ditch is four feet deep and I'm heavy."
+
+Carrie pulled her hand from his and smiled.  "You are heavy, Jim, and
+it was something of a strain.  However, I'll come with you, if you are
+going down the hill."
+
+"To take care of me?" said Jim, with a twinkle.  "If you don't mind,
+I'd sooner go alone."
+
+He got up, and seeing that his step was firm, she let him go.  It was
+not a caprice that he would not take her, but when she returned to the
+house she sent Jake after him.
+
+As he went down the hill Jim thought about Mordaunt.  The man was
+something of a puzzle, and Jim admitted that he had, perhaps, not been
+just when he accounted for his antagonism.  Lance, no doubt, felt that
+he ought to have got Langrigg, but he was not altogether moved by
+disappointed greed.  Their antagonism went deeper than that.  Lance was
+a conventionalist; he clung instinctively to traditions that were
+getting out of date.  In fact, Jim thought he would have been a very
+fine country gentleman had he inherited Langrigg sixty years since.
+Lance was what horse-ranchers called a throw-back; in a sense, he
+belonged to an older generation.
+
+There was another thing.  Jim imagined Lance felt Evelyn's charm, and
+although they were cousins, he understood cousins sometimes married,
+with their relatives' approval, when the marriage would advance the
+interests of the family.  It was possible that he might hurt Lance
+worse than by robbing him of Langrigg.
+
+Yet Lance had held up the car for him and run some risk of being
+killed.  After all, this did not clash with Jim's notion of his
+character.  Lance might dislike the man he rescued, but he had the
+instincts of an English gentleman.  Then Jim stopped and looked about,
+for he had reached the thorn hedge.
+
+A belt of peat, checkered by white tufts of wild cotton, ran back from
+the road, and a wire fence joined the hedge at a right angle.  Some of
+the posts had fallen and lengths of wire lay about.  Jim looked at the
+wire thoughtfully, and then went on to the spot where broken glass and
+torn up soil marked the scene of the accident.  Then he stopped again
+and lighted his pipe.  In the Canadian woods he had now and then
+trusted to his rifle to supply his food, and tracking large game trains
+one's observation.  One must guess an animal's movements by very small
+signs.  A  broken twig or a disturbed stone tells one much.  Jim looked
+for some such clew that might help him, so to speak, to reconstruct the
+accident.
+
+He remembered a sudden jolt and the front wheels skidding.  They had
+obviously struck something, and when he got the car straight had
+skidded again the other way.  The marks the tires had made indicated
+this, and he examined the neighboring ground.  The silverweed that
+covered the peaty soil between the road and ditch was not much crushed.
+He had, as he remembered, not gone far on that side before he, for a
+moment, recovered control of the car.  The real trouble began when it
+swerved again and ran across the road.  Something had caught the wheels
+and interfered with the steering.
+
+Jim looked for a big stone, but could find none; besides, it was
+improbable that he had hit the stone twice, and sitting down by the
+overturned car he thoughtfully finished his pipe.  The car must be got
+out of the ditch, but this was not important, and he dwelt upon the
+fencing wire; he had a hazy notion that the obstacle he had struck was
+flexible.  By and by he heard a step, and Jake came up.
+
+"I don't know if you ought to be about," the latter said.  "It will be
+an awkward job to get the car into the road."
+
+"I'm not bothering about the car," Jim replied.  "I want to find out
+why she ran into the ditch."
+
+"You don't know, then?"
+
+Jim indicated the wheel-marks and told Jake about the skidding.  "She
+went off at an angle and I couldn't pull her round," he concluded.
+
+"Do you expect to find the steering-gear broken?"
+
+"Not unless it broke after she skidded."
+
+Jake gave him a keen glance.  "I begin to see!  Well, people sometimes
+find trouble coming to them when they won't leave things alone.  But
+what kind of a clew do you expect to get?"
+
+"A mark on a thorn trunk; we'll look for one," said Jim.  "Suppose you
+take the other side!"
+
+He walked a few yards along the ditch, examining the bottom of the
+trunks, and presently stopped and put his foot on the other bank.  Then
+he beckoned Jake and indicated a few scratches on the bark of a thorn.
+The rough stem was tufted with dry moss and for an inch or two this was
+crushed.
+
+"I reckon something has been fastened to this tree," he said.  "If we
+can find another mark on the opposite row, I'll be satisfied."
+
+They went across and after a few moments Jake said, "Here it is!"
+
+Jim studied the mark and nodded.  "Very well!  I think we'll get into
+the field and look at the old fence wire.  I want a piece seven or
+eight yards long."
+
+After pulling about the wire that lay in the grass, they found a piece.
+One end was bent into a rough hook, and although the other was nearly
+straight Jim noted a spot where the galvanizing was cracked.
+
+"It has been bent here twice," he said.  "Pulled over into a hook and
+then pulled back.  You can see how the zinc has flaked."
+
+They sat down on a bank and Jake remarked: "I think you ought to be
+satisfied.  But what are you going to do about it?"
+
+"Lie low and watch out.  That's all in the meantime.  I want the man
+who fixed the wire across the road to give himself away."
+
+"Don't you know who he is?"
+
+"I think I know.  It's not quite enough."
+
+"Perhaps it's not," Jake agreed.  "You want to be able to show other
+folks he did the thing?  The trouble is, he may try again!"
+
+"Then it will be my fault if he gets me.  I've had fair warning."
+
+"Your nerve is pretty good; I knew this before," Jake remarked.  "Well,
+I suppose nothing's to be said about it until you have some proof?  Now
+we'll go back to breakfast."
+
+They returned to Langrigg, and after breakfast Jim went to the marsh,
+where the men he had engaged were at work.  Soon after he had gone, a
+car from Dryholm came up the drive and Carrie met Bernard Dearham on
+the steps.
+
+"I came to ask how Jim is.  Lance told me about the accident," he said.
+"I expect you won't let me see him yet?"
+
+"You might see him if you crossed the marsh.  He is getting busy
+there," Carrie replied.
+
+"But he was unconscious when Lance left."
+
+Carrie smiled.  "Yes.  He got up at seven o'clock this morning and went
+out.  That's the kind of man he is!"
+
+"Then we needn't be disturbed about him," Bernard replied and indicated
+a stone bench in the sun.  "I cannot walk far and there is no road
+across the marsh.  Can you spare a few minutes to talk to me?"
+
+"Why, of course," said Carrie, and Bernard waited until she sat down.
+Although he thought she knew his importance, she was not anxious to
+please him; but she did not assert her independence.  The girl had an
+ease of manner he approved and, if she remained at Langrigg, would soon
+acquire the touch of polish she needed.  But he pulled himself up.  In
+the meantime, he was going too fast.
+
+"I understand you nursed Jim once before," he said.  "Did you not use
+your authority to keep him in the house this morning?"
+
+"I did not," Carrie replied, with a twinkle.  "Looks as if you didn't
+know Jim yet!  Besides, if you have some authority, you don't want to
+strain it."
+
+"That is no doubt true," Bernard agreed.  None of his relations had so
+far disputed his firm rule, but he knew when it was prudent not to
+exercise his power.  "You are a philosopher," he went on.  "It is
+sometimes an advantage to use a light hand."
+
+"Jim can be led."
+
+Bernard bowed.  "I imagine you have led him where he ought to go."
+
+"I wonder!" said Carrie, with thoughtful frankness.  "The trouble is, I
+don't know much and only understand simple things.  Still, perhaps, I
+did lead him in the woods.  The right way was generally plain there.
+But at Langrigg----"
+
+"You're sometimes puzzled?" Bernard suggested.  "Well, we are all
+puzzled now and then, and perhaps to trust your instincts is a good
+plan.  This, however, is not advice I would give to everybody."
+
+Carrie said nothing.  She liked Bernard and was not afraid of him.  He
+talked to her with the politeness of the old school and when he looked
+amused she thought his amusement was good-humored.
+
+"Jim was under the car when you got to the spot, I think," he resumed.
+"You had some trouble to lift it."
+
+"Lance really lifted the car at the dangerous moment, though the others
+helped.  He saw the wheel was slipping; they were all in the ditch."
+
+"Then who pulled Jim out?"
+
+"I did," said Carrie, with a touch of embarrassment.
+
+Bernard pondered.  Lance had not told him about this and it was
+possible he had an object for not doing so.
+
+"Well," he said, "I expect Jim has had other accidents; as you
+remarked, he is that kind of man.  Did he get hurt when you were with
+him in the woods?"
+
+"He took some chances now and then, but he did not get hurt much."
+
+"Although he came near it?  I heard something about your going to his
+rescue one night with a gun."
+
+Carrie blushed and Bernard fixed his eyes on her face as he went on:
+"Did you mean to use the gun?"
+
+She lifted her head, her mouth went hard, and her glance got steady.
+"Yes.  If I'd thought the other fellow could reach Jim with his ax, I
+would have shot him!"
+
+Bernard nodded.  "Sometimes the primitive plan is the only plan.  One
+can see that you have pluck enough to meet a crisis.  But I have kept
+you and have some other calls."
+
+He got up and when she went with him down the steps gave her his hand.
+"May I come back another day?"
+
+"Of course, but unless he knows you're coming, Jim will be occupied at
+the marsh."
+
+"I won't mind if Jim is occupied."
+
+"Then come when you like," said Carrie, smiling.  "I think you mean to
+be nice."
+
+In the meantime, Jim had got to work and under his superintendence a
+gang of men piled barrowsful of peat soil on the wreck of the dabbin.
+By noon a bank had advanced across the piles of broken clay and a cut
+that was to make a new channel for the creek began to open.  Once or
+twice Jake imagined an indistinct figure lurked among some clumps of
+gorse, as if watching the work, but he was not certain and said nothing.
+
+Jim and he did not go home for lunch and when the men stopped at noon
+found a sheltered hollow and opened a basket of food Jim had sent for.
+The day was bright, but a cold wind flecked the advancing tide with
+foam and swept the empty flats.  Dry reeds rustled in the creek and a
+flock of circling plover gleamed against a cloud that trailed its
+shadow across the marsh.  For all that, the sun was warm in the corner
+where they ate their lunch.
+
+"Did Shanks send you notice that he had gone to the cottage?" Jake
+asked presently.
+
+"He told the teamster to come for his truck.  I expect he thought this
+enough."
+
+"Wouldn't own up that he'd given in!" Jake remarked.  "The fellow's a
+blamed obstinate old tough.  I wonder whether he felt curious if you
+were hurt."
+
+"I reckon he knew," said Jim.  "However, I thought this morning there
+was somebody about----"
+
+He stopped abruptly, and Jake heard a step.  They were quiet for a few
+moments, and then Tom Shanks came round a corner of the bank and stood
+looking at them.  Jim's face was cut and rather white, but the stains
+on his clothes indicated that he had been working among wet soil.  Jake
+gave Shanks a keen glance and thought he looked surprised, as if he had
+not expected to see Jim there.
+
+"Do you want a job?" the latter asked.
+
+"I want nowt fra you.  You can give your job to them as will ca' you
+maister," Shanks rejoined and went off.
+
+"A sullen hog!" Jake remarked.  "I'd like to know when he or the old
+man moved the wire."
+
+"So would I.  It's rather important," said Jim.  "If he was hanging
+about and came for the thing as soon as the car took the ditch, he
+probably saw me under the wheel and meant to leave me there.  How long
+were you in making the spot after you heard the smash?"
+
+"Perhaps five minutes.  Mordaunt's car was at the steps and we jumped
+on board while he started her."
+
+"If you had lost much time, I imagine you'd have found me dead."
+
+"Then why did you offer Shanks a job?"
+
+Jim smiled.  "In order to have him where he could be watched.  A fellow
+like that is dangerous when he's out of sight."
+
+"Shanks and his son are bad men," Jake agreed.  "We have sand-baggers
+and gun-men in Canada, but they get after you for money and their
+methods are up to date.  Shanks' savageness is half-instinctive, like
+the Indian's.  I can't, so to speak, locate him; he goes too far back."
+
+Jim got up.  "It's not important just now.  Tell the teamster to bring
+his horses and we'll get busy."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+JIM'S RELAPSE
+
+Jim made progress at the dyke until it began to rain.  For some weeks a
+strong west wind drove dark clouds across the sea, the hills were
+wrapped in mist, the creeks swelled and the tides rose high.  Floods
+spread about the marsh and the floundering teams could hardly drag
+their loads through the bog.  Sometimes Jim felt anxious, for the
+undertaking threatened to cost much more than he had thought.
+
+Then came two fine days when, although the sun shone, heavy clouds
+rolled about the hills.  Jim, knowing the fine weather would not last,
+drove his men hard, since there was work he must push forward before
+the next flood.  The new bank had reached a creek where he must build a
+strong sluice-gate and hold back the water by a rude coffer-dam while
+he dug for the foundation.
+
+He came up from the dam one afternoon and stood on the slope of the
+bank, looking down into the hole.  His long boots, shirt, and trousers
+were stained by mud that had also splashed his face and hands; for
+since the work was risky he had helped the men.  Now he was rather
+highly-strung.  Below him, the water spirited [Transcriber's note:
+spurted?] through the joints in a wall of thick planks and ran into the
+excavation, where a few men, sunk nearly to the knees in mud, were
+working.  A forge stood on the top of the bank and the smith leaned on
+the crank of the blower.  He was a short, strongly-built man, and
+looked sulky.
+
+"There's too much water blowing through; pressure's heavier than I
+reckoned and I don't like the way that brace sags," Jim remarked, as a
+shower of mud and water fell into the hole.  Then he shouted to the
+men: "Get a thick plank across and wedge her up."
+
+"Looks as if the fastenings of the brace had slipped," said Jake.
+
+"They oughtn't to slip.  The plate and nut on the iron were meant to
+keep the beam in place."
+
+"I don't think I saw a nut when the boys fixed the thing."
+
+Jim beckoned the smith.  Although the fellow was a good workman, he was
+obstinate and Jim had not bothered him much until he needed some irons
+for the dam, when he made careful sketches and insisted on the other's
+working to his plans.  This had caused some trouble and Jim now meant
+to be firm.
+
+"I reckon I told you to screw the ends of the bar and make nuts to turn
+back against the plates," he said.  "Did you screw the ends?"
+
+"I did not," said the other.  "There was nae use for nuts.  I punched
+hole for pin that wad stop her pulling oot."
+
+"Pulling out!" Jim exclaimed.  "Did you imagine I wanted to hold the
+frames together?"
+
+"If yon wasn't what you wanted, you should have said."
+
+Jim had meant to be calm, but the men had run some risk from the
+fellow's obstinacy, and he lost his control.
+
+"I told you to screw the ends.  Confound you!  The dam's in
+compression; there's no pull at all.  Put a new bar in the vise and
+I'll stand by while you cut the thread."
+
+"Stan', if you like.  I'll not touch bar while you're aboot.  Are you
+gan t' teach me my job?"
+
+"It's plain you don't know your job.  Get out of my way and I'll cut
+the thread myself."
+
+The smith stood square in front with a frown on his face.  "You'll not
+touch my tools.  Vise and forge is yours; screwing stocks is mine."
+
+"Oh, shucks!" said Jim.  "Get out of the way.  We want the bar right
+now."
+
+The smith did not move, and although nobody afterwards remembered how
+the struggle began, Jake, interfering a moment too late, imagined Jim
+tried to get past the smith and jostled him.  They grappled, and while
+they rocked to and fro the men in the pit stopped work.  At first, Jim
+would have been satisfied to throw his antagonist back, but after a
+moment or two he doubted if this would be enough.  The fellow had
+defied him, they had begun to fight, and in Canada a boss who could not
+enforce his authority lost his right to rule.  Jim imagined it was so
+in England and did not mean to stop until the smith was ready to
+submit.  Yet the fellow was powerful and fought with dogged pluck.
+
+While they floundered about, striking, and trying for a throwing hold,
+Jake heard steps and looked up.  He was half-embarrassed and
+half-amused, for it was obvious Jim did not know Mrs. Halliday, Evelyn,
+and Bernard Dearham stood on the top of the bank.  He could not
+separate the men and did not think Jim would hear if he shouted;
+besides, to shout a warning would make the thing ridiculous.
+
+There was nothing to do but wait, and after a few moments Jim lifted
+his antagonist and threw him down the bank.  It looked as if the sulky
+smith was not a favorite, for some of the men laughed and some growled
+hoarse applause.  Jim's muddy shirt was torn and his face was bruised;
+he was looking down into the hole and did not see Bernard's party until
+he turned to go to the forge.  Then he stopped and stood with his head
+held back, while Jake studied the others.  He thought Bernard was
+quietly amused, but Mrs. Halliday looked pained, and Evelyn's delicate
+face was flushed.
+
+"We thought we would come to see how you were getting on," said Mrs.
+Halliday.  "It was an adventure; your new road is very bad and the car
+nearly upset."
+
+"There is not much to see and I did not expect you," Jim replied.
+
+"That is obvious," Bernard remarked with a twinkle.  "I imagine you
+don't know much about Cumberland wrestling, but you are very quick.
+When you threw him, the other fellow was getting a hold that would have
+put you in his power."
+
+"You gave him a bad fall, anyhow.  I suppose you are used to this sort
+of thing in Canada," said Mordaunt, who came from behind the others and
+glanced at Evelyn.
+
+Jake was interested; he sensed something of a drama, of which he
+thought his comrade was unconscious.  There was a hint of a sneer in
+Mordaunt's voice and Jake thought his remark was meant for the girl.
+Her eyes were fixed on Jim, and she looked disturbed.  It was plain
+that Mordaunt noted this.  Mrs. Halliday was rather ostentatiously
+careless, Bernard quietly looked on, but Jim gave no sign of
+embarrassment.
+
+"Why, no," he answered Mordaunt.  "On the whole, I didn't have much
+trouble with the boys in Canada.  This fellow wouldn't do his job as I
+wanted, and through his stupidity we ran some risk of the dam's caving
+in.  I'll show you----"
+
+They went with him, glad of something to banish the strain, and he
+indicated the men working in the mud behind the wall of planks.
+
+"If the timbering gave way, the water would break through and perhaps
+drown the gang.  I'm boss and accountable.  I take no chances about the
+safety of my men."
+
+Mordaunt smiled as he glanced at Evelyn and Jake imagined he knew what
+the smile implied.  Jim was breaking conventions, his bold statement
+had a theatrical touch that no doubt jarred; reserved Englishmen did
+not talk like that.  Moreover, he was wet and muddy, and his tense pose
+had not relaxed.  Standing with head held back and body highly-strung,
+he looked a stranger.  Jim did not belong to the others' circle, he
+came from outside.
+
+"Yours is a good rule and force is useful now and then," Bernard
+observed.  "However, we came to take you to Dryholm.  I was feeling
+dull, and the others have promised to help me through the evening.  If
+you can come, we will go on to Langrigg for Mrs. Winter."
+
+Jim wanted to go, because Evelyn was going, but he gave her an
+apologetic glance as he answered Bernard: "I'm sorry; I can't leave my
+job."
+
+Evelyn said nothing, although her color was rather high, and Mrs.
+Halliday interposed: "After all, you would not lose much time.  It will
+soon be dark."
+
+"Dark generally comes before one's ready, but I have some plans to make
+for the morning when I get home," said Jim, who turned to Bernard.  "We
+must push on before the water gets too high.  If you wouldn't mind
+taking Mrs. Winter and Carrie, I think they'd like it."
+
+Mrs. Halliday's look hinted that she was trying to hide her annoyance
+and Evelyn turned her head.
+
+"Very well," said Bernard and beckoned the others.
+
+When they had gone Jake laughed.  "I imagine you have given your
+relations a jolt."
+
+"I felt something like that.  I didn't mean to jolt them," Jim said
+with a frown.  "Why didn't they come a few minutes earlier, or later?"
+
+"I wasn't altogether thinking of your throwing the smith down the bank.
+You have got rather English, but sometimes you break away; I think I
+mean break back."
+
+"Perhaps that is so; I forget," Jim agreed.  "I was a miner and
+linesman before I was a landlord."
+
+"Confusing for your friends, isn't it?  They don't know which they have
+to reckon on--the Canadian sourdough or the country gentleman.  Anyhow,
+I expect your suggestion that they should take mother and Carrie didn't
+help much.  Were you talking like a sourdough or an English landlord
+then?"
+
+"You have a confoundedly mischievous humor," Jim rejoined, with a
+twinkle.  "Do you want me to state that it's a country gentleman's duty
+to insist on the proper acknowledgment of his guests?  Bernard likes
+your people and I don't know if Mrs. Halliday and Lance Mordaunt count."
+
+"I was not thinking about Mrs. Halliday----" Jake began, but stopped
+when his comrade looked hard at him, and a few moments afterwards the
+smith came up the bank.
+
+"Well?" said Jim, sharply.  "What do you want?"
+
+"Noo I see how bar's meant to gan, mayhappen it wad be better screwed.
+If you'll wait while I gan for dies, I'll do't for you."
+
+"All right.  You can get busy," said Jim.
+
+When the smith went off he smiled and remarked: "I don't know if I
+expected this, but the man will make no more trouble.  However, we have
+lost some time and must push ahead."
+
+They got to work, and in the meantime Bernard drove to Langrigg and
+picked up Mrs. Winter and Carrie.  The party at Dryholm broke up soon,
+but when Evelyn returned to Whitelees she felt that the evening had
+been too long.  For one thing, she had been kept occupied and she
+wanted to think.  Now she sat, rather languidly, in an easy-chair and
+knitted her brows.  She had got a jar in the afternoon and she tried to
+recapture the scene on the bank--the smith scowling at the bottom, and
+Jim's bruised face, savage frown, and muddy clothes.
+
+Jim was a new type, and she admitted that he attracted her, but his
+attraction was largely physical and sometimes she felt repelled.  He
+was handsome and forceful; she liked his steady look, his athletic
+figure, and his clean brown skin.  Then she liked the respect he showed
+her and his obvious wish to please.  This was flattering and his
+strength and candor made an appeal, but she was highly cultivated and
+he was not rude.  Indeed, when he stood on the bank, hot and triumphant
+after the fight, there was something barbarous about him.  His virility
+moved her, but to live with him would demand some pluck; Evelyn knew he
+could not, so to speak, be tamed.  His refusal to come to Dryholm, when
+he knew she was going, was a proof.  It was significant that the dam he
+was building made a stronger claim.  Evelyn was drawn in different ways
+and, on the whole, it was a relief when Mrs. Halliday came in.
+
+"Jim was not his best this afternoon," the latter said.  "However, he
+has not been long in England and no doubt the risk of such outbreaks
+will presently vanish.  In the meantime one must make some allowances."
+
+"For the owner of Langrigg?"
+
+"Oh, well," said Mrs. Halliday, "I suppose I did mean this, but perhaps
+not altogether in the way you think.  There is a rude vein in the
+Dearhams that comes to the surface now and then.  One hardly noted it
+in Joseph, but in Bernard it's rather marked.  I imagine he has some
+sympathy for Jim's extravagances.  This may have its influence."
+
+"Bernard is inscrutable," Evelyn rejoined.  "One cannot foretell what
+he will do."
+
+Mrs. Halliday saw that Evelyn understood; she had, in fact, expected
+her to understand, and her voice was thoughtful as she resumed: "After
+all, his approval is not essential.  You have some money; I do not know
+about Jim, but he is spending much."
+
+"It may be all he has; he is not afraid of a risk," said Evelyn, with a
+touch of color, for she was fastidious and her mother was blunt.
+
+Then for a moment or two she mused.  She was afraid of a risk; this was
+the trouble.  Adventure, romance, and to some extent passion urged, but
+caution deterred.  The romance would vanish and Jim might jar.
+
+"Langrigg gives its owner a firm position," Mrs. Halliday resumed.
+"Even if he were poor, his wife would take a leading place in the Holm
+country.  People pretend to scoff at such things, but they count."
+
+"Much would depend on the owner.  If he broke the family traditions,
+defied our conventions, and made himself a joke----"
+
+"Much would be forgiven him because he is a Dearham," Mrs. Halliday
+rejoined.  "Still, of course, there is a limit and I see a risk.  Jim
+needs guidance for a time and it's possible his Canadian friends
+encourage his un-English idiosyncrasies.  The girl has some beauty; I
+would sooner she did not stay long.  If Jim could be advised----"
+
+Evelyn smiled.  "I cannot advise him.  Besides, he's very staunch and
+owes these people much."
+
+"Oh, well," said Mrs. Halliday.  "In such a matter, one cannot meddle
+unless it is certain one's advice would be well received.  We must let
+it go.  Perhaps the Winters do not mean to remain very long."
+
+"I think Jake means to stay until the marsh is drained, and I don't
+suppose the others will go until he is ready."
+
+Mrs. Halliday frowned.  "Jim is rather annoying.  Sometimes he vexes
+me, but in a sense it is our duty to protect him.  It has been a
+disturbing day; I think I'll go to bed."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+JIM IS LEFT OUT
+
+The sun shone on the terrace at Dryholm, the house kept off the wind,
+and a creeper made a glowing background for the group about the
+tea-table.  A row of dahlias close by hung their heads after a night's
+frost, a gardener was sweeping dead leaves from the grass, and the
+beeches round the tarn were nearly bare.
+
+Bernard took a cup from Mrs. Halliday and glancing at the long shadows
+that stretched across the lawn, indicated a sundial on a pillar.
+
+"In another few minutes its usefulness will be gone and it warns me
+that mine is going," he said, and quoted a tag of Latin.
+
+"I wonder why they carve such melancholy lines on sundials," somebody
+remarked.
+
+"Perhaps there is a certain futility about the custom.  You, for whom
+the sun is rising, don't heed the warning, and we others in the shadow
+know our day is done.  I do not think I am a sentimentalist, but the
+news we got this morning proves the Latin motto true.  Then it is
+hardly possible we shall have tea outside again, and we cannot tell if
+all will gather round the table when summer comes back."
+
+Mrs. Halliday began to talk about a neighbor who had died the day
+before.  "Alan Raine will be missed; he was a good and useful English
+type," she said.  "Conscientious and public-spirited.  One could depend
+on him for a subscription and a graceful speech.  I have not known his
+equal for opening a village club or a flower show.  Then the hunt ball
+was always a success since he managed it, and we have not had so good a
+master of otter-hounds."
+
+"It is something to be remembered for these things.  Alan will be
+missed," Bernard agreed and turned to Carrie.  "You have heard our
+notion of an English gentleman's duty.  What do you think about it?"
+
+"It is not my notion.  If I were a man, and rich, I should like to
+leave a deeper mark."
+
+"Ah," said Bernard, "you come from a strenuous country that breeds
+another type.  Your men fight with blizzards on the snowy trail and
+drive their shafts through ground the sun never melts.  Sometimes they
+come to England and teach us to hustle by altering the landscape and
+destroying our old landmarks.  Perhaps there is something to be said
+for the others who carry out quiet duties conscientiously."
+
+"Oh, yes," said Carrie, with a sparkle in her eyes.  "But I'd sooner
+have cornfields running across a drained marsh than a hunt ball for my
+monument."
+
+"You have a good apologist," Bernard said to Jim.
+
+The others laughed, and Mrs. Halliday, not liking the turn Bernard had
+given the talk, asked: "Who will take the otter-hounds?"
+
+"The matter's important and cannot be decided rashly," Bernard replied
+with some dryness, and addressed Mordaunt.  "I imagine Jim might fill
+the post.  What do you think, Lance?"
+
+"The choice lies between Langrigg and Dryholm, sir.  The Dearhams have
+a kind of traditional right to keep the hounds.  Joseph did so."
+
+"I am too old."
+
+"Then Jim ought to make a good master.  That is, if he doesn't think
+otter-hunting an idle man's game."
+
+Bernard turned to Jim, who laughed.  "Lance's shot was fair.  When I
+first came over I had some prejudices, but they are going and I don't
+see why I shouldn't play now and then."  He paused and his look was
+serious when he resumed: "In a way, it's strange, but your English
+customs have a grip; they get hold of one.  In fact, I'm getting
+English fast, but perhaps that is not quite right.  I begin to feel I
+am English."
+
+Mrs. Halliday gave him an approving smile.  "You inherited more than
+Langrigg from the Dearhams, Jim.  I like to see you realize you got
+some duties when you got the estate."
+
+"I don't know if keeping the hounds is a duty," Jim rejoined.  "Perhaps
+Lance was nearest when he called it a game.  All the same, I think I'd
+like the job."
+
+They began to talk about the advisability of moving the kennels and
+Carrie, sitting quiet, studied the others.  She saw Mrs. Halliday was
+pleased and thought she understood this.  Mordaunt puzzled her.  His
+rather dark face was hard to read, but she had got a hint of
+disappointment when he said the choice lay between Langrigg and Dryholm
+and Bernard declared he was too old.  Then she suspected a touch of
+bitterness in his next remark.  The others had noted nothing, except
+perhaps Bernard, who had looked at Mordaunt hard.  Carrie did not like
+Mordaunt; he sometimes sneered politely at Jim.
+
+"It is something to know Jim is willing, but the post is not my gift,"
+Bernard resumed.  "A meeting will no doubt be held to weigh the matter
+and if Jim is chosen, I should not be surprised."
+
+Then he got up and shivered as the creeping shadow touched the bench he
+occupied.  Some of the others went off along the terrace and Jim and
+Evelyn crossed the lawn.  They were talking animatedly and Carrie felt
+a pang when Jim's laugh came back to her.  In the woods she had cheered
+him and he laughed at her jokes.  Now he was always kind but he forgot
+her when Evelyn was about.  She turned rather moodily towards the arch
+and saw Bernard standing in the gloom.  His eyes were fixed on the
+figures on the lawn and Carrie thought he looked annoyed, but he smiled
+when he heard her step.
+
+"They have left you alone?" he said.  "Well, we must amuse each other,
+and there are some flowers in the hot-house that I don't think you have
+seen."
+
+Carrie went with him thoughtfully.  Bernard's remarks were often
+oracular; he left one to guess what he meant, but she imagined his
+glance was sympathetic.  Although this was to some extent embarrassing,
+she began to talk; and when they reached the hot-house he answered her
+questions about the flowers with old-fashioned politeness.  By and by
+he glanced at a thermometer and pulling down a skylight turned to
+Carrie, who was looking at the patches of glowing color that broke the
+long banks of green.
+
+"Beautiful things but fragile, and they have no smell," he said.  "I
+suppose we grow them because they cost us much.  The flowers of the
+bleak North are sweet."
+
+By and by Jim came in and after a glance about exclaimed: "These are
+very fine!"
+
+"You have an eye for color," Bernard remarked.  "Their beauty's almost
+insolent; I don't know if it's strange that they are foul-feeders and
+thrive on rottenness.  Sometimes I think I'd give them all for the
+cloudberry bloom I trampled on the moors when I was young.  It feeds on
+the melting snow and opens its chaste white cup nearest the sky."
+
+"You declared you were not a sentimentalist," said Jim.
+
+"Oh, well," said Bernard, "you must make allowances for an old man's
+inconsistency."  He turned as a car began to throb, and smiled at
+Carrie.  "One mustn't keep the engine running and I expect the others
+are waiting.  Come back soon and cheer me up."
+
+He went with them to the steps, and when they drove off Jim was
+thoughtful for a few minutes.  He was glad Bernard liked Carrie, but
+perhaps it was strange he had not urged Evelyn to come back.  Bernard,
+however, was puzzling; one could not understand his moods.  Then Jim
+forgot about it as Mrs. Winter began to talk.
+
+A week later, four gentlemen sat one evening in the smoking-room at a
+house on the rolling ground where the hills dip to the seaboard plain.
+Three were rather fat, gray-haired, and solemn, and one was young.  The
+latter indicated a siphon and decanter on the table when Mordaunt came
+in.
+
+"Help yourself," he said.  "Where's Dick?"
+
+"I arranged to pick him up at the cross-roads, but he wasn't there,"
+Mordaunt replied.  "Dick's a careless fellow and I didn't want to be
+late."
+
+He filled a glass and when he sat down one of the others remarked:
+"Alan Raine has gone and it is our melancholy duty to fill his post.
+This will not be easy; Alan was a keen sportsman and a man of tact.  He
+commanded the farmers' respect and had the interest of the hunt at
+heart.  For all that, the hunt is a useful institution and must be kept
+up.  Fish are getting scarce; modern field drainage sends down the
+water in sudden floods and when, between times, the rivers run low the
+trout and salmon are the otter's easy prey.  It is our duty to preserve
+the fisheries, and help, as far as we are able, a bracing English
+sport."
+
+He drained his glass while the others signed approval.  Hodson had
+cleared the ground neatly and the business could begin.
+
+"Our choice is somewhat limited," said another.  "I think we have all
+found it a drawback to keep the hounds near the hills, since the meets
+are generally held by the deep water in the flat holms.  In fact, one
+feels the hounds ought to go to Dryholm or Langrigg."
+
+Mordaunt quietly lighted a cigarette and then replied: "I'm afraid you
+must rule out Dryholm.  Bernard declares he is too old to take the
+hounds."
+
+"But what about yourself?"
+
+"I am too poor," said Mordaunt, smiling.
+
+The others hesitated.  They were cautious and did not want to venture
+on dangerous ground, but there was something to be said, and Herries,
+the youngest man, remarked: "After all, an offer of the hounds is a
+compliment and its acceptance, to some extent, a public duty.  If this
+view were put before Bernard Dearham, some arrangement could perhaps be
+made."
+
+"You mean I might fill the post and Bernard provide the money?"
+Mordaunt suggested.  "Bernard, however, does not seem to see the
+advantage of the plan."
+
+Herries gave him a keen glance.  Mordaunt's face was calm; but the
+other imagined he had felt some disappointment.
+
+"Then we must fall back on Langrigg.  The new owner is your relation.
+What do you think about our asking him?"
+
+"I imagine you couldn't find a better site for the kennels," Mordaunt
+replied.  "Langrigg is near the deep water where the big fish lie and
+you can generally find an otter----"
+
+He stopped, and Herries said, "Yes, of course!  But this is not
+altogether what we mean.  Do you think Dearham would take the post?"
+
+"It's possible," said Mordaunt, very dryly.  "Have you decided to ask
+him?"
+
+The others were quiet for a moment or two.  They felt they had got a
+hint, but the hint was vague.  Somebody must take the hounds and they
+could not.  They resolved to leave the thing to Herries; he was young
+and his remarks would not carry so much weight.  Besides, he knew
+Mordaunt well.
+
+"Let's be frank," he said, hiding some embarrassment by a twinkle meant
+for Mordaunt alone.  "Choosing a master of hounds is an important job.
+Would Dearham fill the post properly?"
+
+"I think not," Mordaunt answered in a quiet voice.
+
+"Oh, well," remarked another.  "I suppose there is no more to be said."
+
+Mordaunt lighted a fresh cigarette.  "I want you to understand.  Jim
+Dearham is my relation, but I feel my responsibility.  He is a good
+sort and I am not stating much to his disadvantage when I admit that he
+is not the proper man to take the hounds.  He has not yet cultivated
+our sense of sport and his notions are utilitarian.  I'm afraid he'd
+grumble about broken fences and trampled crops.  Then, for example,
+he's dyking the marsh."
+
+"Exactly!" said one.  "I imagine we do understand.  Well, we must ask
+Watson of Red Bank.  He's rich enough and ambitious, although he's not
+altogether the man I'd like."
+
+They agreed, and soon afterwards Dick came in and asked Mordaunt: "Why
+didn't you stop for me, as you promised?"
+
+"I did stop.  I waited some minutes."
+
+"Then you must have come before the time."
+
+"Look at your watch," said Mordaunt, who took out his.  "I got the time
+at the station this afternoon."
+
+Dick said it did not matter much and asked whom they meant to make the
+master of hounds.
+
+"Watson, of Red Bank," one replied, and began to talk about something
+else when he had filled a glass for Dick.  The latter was young and
+sometimes indiscreet; it was better he should not know what Mordaunt
+had said.
+
+By and by two or three went off to the billiard-room and Herries said
+to Mordaunt: "Sorry I had to urge you; but I knew the others hadn't
+pluck enough and meant to leave the thing to me.  Their notion was I
+didn't count and you wouldn't resent my remarks.  Rather an awkward
+job, but we felt we could trust you.  All the same, I like Jim, and
+expect he'll be popular when we get to know him.  In fact, I imagine
+I'd have let him take the hounds."
+
+"He'd have jolted the others badly," Mordaunt rejoined.  "They belong
+to the old school; he belongs to the new."
+
+"One or two rather need a jolt, but we'll let it go.  I want to watch
+Dick's game; he's been playing well and using a new stroke."
+
+They went to the billiard-room and stayed until the party broke up.
+Then, as the Dryholm car rolled up to the steps, Dick said to Mordaunt:
+"You got the wrong time, after all.  I compared my watch with Hodson's.
+His was a presentation from the farmers' club, you know; the latest
+thing in watches, and he declares it's accurate."
+
+"It's not very important."
+
+"In a way, it is important," Dick objected.  "If I'd been here soon
+enough, I'd have urged their choosing Jim."  He paused and looked at
+Mordaunt hard.  "It's curious, but I imagined Hodson was embarrassed
+when he said they meant to ask Watson.  Why should they ask the fellow?
+He's not our sort."
+
+"After all, Jim is not our sort."
+
+"Rot!" exclaimed Dick.  "Bernard is satisfied and I'd sooner trust him
+than Hodson.  In fact, Bernard's a better judge than anybody in
+Hodson's stodgy lot."
+
+Mordaunt shrugged, but was glad the rattle of the engine covered his
+silence and the driver looked up as if to see if he were coming.  He
+got into the car and pondered as he drove back to Dryholm.  Dick's
+manner was curious and his annoyance was plain Mordaunt wondered
+whether he suspected something.  Still, except perhaps for Herries, the
+hunt committee were tactful; he did not think they would enlighten Dick.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+BERNARD PONDERS
+
+It was getting dark in the hall at Langrigg and Jim, who had just
+returned from the marsh, sat in the hollow of the big fireplace.  Rain
+beat upon the windows, outside which the trees tossed their naked
+branches against the lowering sky, and a cold wind wailed about the
+ancient walls.  Oak logs snapped in the grate and Carrie sat on the rug
+in the flickering light.  She was toasting muffins, and a silver teapot
+and some cups stood on the low table in front of Mrs. Winter.  Now the
+days were getting cold and short, tea by the hearth was a popular
+function.  Carrie buttered a muffin and gave it Jim on the end of the
+fork.
+
+"Jake must wait for the next.  I can't toast the things fast enough for
+him," she said.  "They're quite nice if you eat them hot, but they're
+not like the flapjacks I made in the woods.  After all, we had some
+pretty good times on the new line; hadn't we, Jim?  Mother doesn't
+know; she wasn't there."
+
+"I was not," said Mrs. Winter.  "If you had taken me along, I wouldn't
+be with you now.  A roof that keeps out the rain, a warm room, and a
+comfortable chair are good enough for me."
+
+"You'd have said _for mine_, not long since.  Looks as if we were all
+getting English," Carrie replied.  "Jim was very nice when he got you
+the chair.  It's up against all the other things.  If I was Jim, I'd
+hate to have it around."
+
+Jim laughed.  He had sent to London for the American spring
+rocking-chair that clashed with the old oak in the hall, but it was a
+pattern Mrs. Winter liked and he was satisfied.  He ate his muffin
+silently, for he was tired, and Carrie's remarks had wakened memories
+of other fires that burned among the tall straight trunks in the
+Canadian wilds; he thought he could hear the snow-fed river brawl, and
+smell the smoke that drifted in blue wreaths about the lonely camp.
+Carrie had laughed and bantered him then and he had been happy.  He was
+happy now and hoped to be happier yet, but Carrie was often quiet and
+he had a puzzling feeling that he had lost something he could not
+recapture.
+
+Presently she picked up a local newspaper and lighted a candle with a
+shade.  The light only spread a yard or two, but it touched the page
+she folded back and sparkled in her hair.
+
+"They have got a master for the otter-hounds!" she exclaimed, and then
+her color rose and her eyes went hard.  "I don't know the committee,
+but if the others are like Hodson, they're solemn old fools."
+
+"I'd rather have liked the post, but it doesn't matter much," said Jim,
+and added, with a smile: "Now you're like the Carrie who went North
+with us."
+
+"Bernard meant you to have the hounds; he's a dear, although some
+stupid people are afraid of him," Carrie went on.  "He'd certainly have
+fixed it if he hadn't got lame again.  But I remember--Dick went to
+their old meeting and was mad about something afterwards.  I think it
+was something about Lance Mordaunt--now I begin to see!"
+
+"I don't think it's worth while your bothering about the thing."
+
+"Don't interrupt!" said Carrie.  "I'm going to talk.  Lance doesn't
+like you, and I imagine Dick doesn't trust him.  Dick is smart
+sometimes and knows Lance is mean.  He is mean; he has a yellow
+streak----"
+
+She stopped, for she saw Jim's frown.  He was not vexed with her, but
+her statement chimed with some vague doubts of his.  She got up and
+made him a formal curtsy.
+
+"I'm sorry, Jim.  That was the Carrie you knew in the woods.  If you
+don't want her, you oughtn't to burn logs and sit by the fire when it's
+getting dark, as we used to do.  But she has gone back to the shadows
+that creep among the pines, and I don't think she will come out again."
+
+She pulled up an easy-chair, and when she sat down and shielded her
+face from the fire with her hand Jake's eyes twinkled.  He wondered
+whether Jim saw she was cleverly imitating Evelyn's graceful
+languidness.  After a few moments she indicated the dark oak paneling
+and old furniture.
+
+"That's your proper background, Jim, when you frown.  It's plain that
+you belong to Langrigg.  When you fought the Scots and hunted wolves I
+expect you often looked like you looked just now."
+
+"But I didn't fight the Scots," Jim objected.
+
+"Your people did," said Carrie.  "Sometimes you're very dull."
+
+Jim laughed and glanced at her.  Flames leaped up round the logs and
+the red light played about her face.  Her color was rather marked, she
+looked strangely alert and forceful, and something about her dress gave
+her a touch of stateliness, for Carrie had well chosen her English
+clothes.  Jim knew her to be staunch and fearless, and although her
+humor was sometimes puzzling he felt her charm.
+
+"By George!" he said impulsively, "I think you belong to the old days
+as much as I belong.  One could have trusted you to hold the tower
+against all comers when your man went off to hunt."
+
+Carrie held her hand to her face a moment, as if the fire were hot, and
+then smiled as she looked up.
+
+"If my man had gone off often, I would have taken the wolf-spear and
+gone with him."
+
+Mrs. Winter, who had quietly studied both, began to talk about
+something else, and presently a servant brought in some letters.  Jim
+moved the shaded candle and opened his, but after a time put one down
+and looked straight in front, knitting his brows.
+
+"What is it, partner?" Jake asked.
+
+"I have got a knock.  I told my Vancouver agent to sell some shares and
+send along a check.  He says I'd better wait; the market's very flat."
+
+"Then you bought the Bench-lands Irrigation stock?"
+
+"I did.  I have invested most of the money I got for the Bluebird mine."
+
+"All ours is at the Merchants' Bank," Carrie remarked.  "Jake wanted to
+buy Irrigation stock, but I wouldn't let him.  However, the company
+ought to make good."
+
+"I hope so.  Jeffreys is doubtful.  I bought because I know the Bench
+country and Martin was interested in the scheme.  It seems they are
+having trouble about their water rights and an order has been granted
+to stop the ditches.  Jeffreys says nobody wants the stock just now and
+imagines the lawsuit may go against them."
+
+"Will this make things awkward for you?"
+
+"To some extent.  Langrigg costs much to run and the dykes are
+expensive.  I'll get my farm rents soon, but they won't go very far.
+For all that, the dykes must be finished; it's the only way to get back
+the money I have spent."
+
+"Besides, you want to finish them," Carrie suggested.
+
+"That is so," Jim agreed.  "You can't leave a job half done."
+
+He began to ponder and struggle with a disturbing doubt.  If the
+Irrigation Company failed, he must use economy, because the farm rents
+would not enable him to live at Langrigg like a country gentleman.  For
+himself, this did not matter much; he did not want a number of servants
+and gardeners.  But Evelyn was used to the extravagance at Whitelees,
+and he knew Mrs. Halliday's views.
+
+"Well," said Carrie, "to begin with, the dykes must be finished.  When
+your money runs out you will use ours."
+
+"Carrie speaks for the rest of us," Jake declared.  "What she says
+goes."
+
+Jim hardly understood the emotion by which he was moved and said
+awkwardly: "Thanks!  You're generous, but I can't let you pay for my
+mistakes."
+
+"We are partners, Jim," said Carrie.  "Until you break the partnership,
+all that's ours is yours.  Go on with the dykes and when you need
+money, ask Jake for a check."
+
+"Give him the book," said Mrs. Winter.  "Jake can sign some forms."
+
+Jim hesitated and smiled to hide his embarrassment.  "We'll wait.  I'm
+not broken yet, and since Martin is backing the scheme things can't go
+very wrong.  However, it's lucky they didn't make me master of hounds."
+
+In the evening he went to Dryholm and dined with Bernard at a small
+table in the spacious room.  Afterwards they sat by the fire talking
+quietly.  Flickering reflections played about the carved marble and
+bright steel; electric lights, half-hidden by the cornice, threw down a
+soft light, and Bernard looked old and worn as he leaned back languidly
+in his big chair.
+
+"Since you have begun to drain the marsh, we may take it for granted
+you are going to stay at Langrigg," he said.
+
+"Yes, I mean to stay."
+
+"Then it's obvious that you ought to marry."
+
+"I don't know if it's obvious or not," Jim rejoined.  "However, since
+you are the head of the house, I dare say you are entitled to feel some
+curiosity."
+
+Bernard smiled.  "Suppose you think about me as an old man who would
+like to be your friend."
+
+"I'm sorry, sir," said Jim.  "We're an independent lot in Canada and
+I've fought for my own hand since I was a boy.  Anyhow, I mean to marry
+Evelyn, if she is willing."
+
+"It looks as if you had not asked her yet."
+
+"I have not; I'm half-afraid.  In one way, it would be a rash plunge
+for a girl like Evelyn.  Though I've inherited Langrigg, I'm a Western
+adventurer; I've lived with rough men in the wilds.  She's refined and
+cultivated.  Well, I've gone slow, trying to persuade myself I was
+justified before I persuaded her.  Then I wanted her, so to speak, to
+get used to me."
+
+"You are modest," Bernard remarked.  "You imply that Evelyn does not
+know."
+
+"I don't think she knows.  I have been cautious.  If I hinted at my
+hopes too soon, she might get disturbed and alarmed."
+
+Bernard smiled.  "Well, perhaps you have taken a prudent line.  But do
+you imagine your reserve has deceived Janet Halliday?"
+
+"Perhaps it has not; Mrs. Halliday is clever.  I think she is my
+friend."
+
+"It's possible," Bernard agreed, with a touch of ironical humor.  "How
+long do you think you must give Evelyn, in order to avoid the jar she
+might get if you prematurely revealed your hopes?"
+
+Jim knitted his brows.  He was used to Bernard's cynical dryness and
+trusted him.  "It will be longer than I thought," he answered, grimly.
+"I have had a bad set-back."
+
+He told Bernard about the risk of his losing his money, and the latter
+was silent for a minute or two.  Then he remarked: "I suppose you see
+that if I thought it a good plan I could help you out."
+
+"That is not why I told you," said Jim.  "I could not take your help."
+
+"I imagined you would not.  Well, perhaps your frankness accounts for
+our friendship.  You are unembarrassed because you have no grounds for
+indulging my caprices and expect nothing from me."
+
+Jim made a little abrupt movement.  He had once said something like
+that; to Mordaunt, he thought.
+
+"Very well," Bernard resumed.  "If you think I can help, I am willing;
+but I will not insist."
+
+"Thank you," said Jim, "I must trust my own efforts."
+
+Bernard lighted a cigar and pondered.  He was satisfied and somewhat
+amused.  It would not have cost him much to banish Jim's difficulties
+and he would have liked to earn his gratitude, but was glad the other
+had refused.  It was better that Jim's troubles about money should not
+be banished yet.  He was something of a romantic fool; but Bernard knew
+Evelyn was not.  By and by he led Jim into confidential talk about his
+investments in Canada and his plans for developing his new estate, and
+then let him go.
+
+When Jim had gone, he sat by the fire, thinking hard, and after a time
+sent a servant to the library for a bundle of architect's drawings.
+The drawings gave the plans and elevation of a new hospital and Bernard
+thought the plain, straight front, looked mean.  Knowing something
+about building, he saw how it could be altered and ornamented, and the
+hospital enlarged, if funds permitted.  He was one of the founders and
+thought it might be advisable to augment his gift.
+
+Next day he went to Whitelees and was received by Mrs. Halliday in her
+drawing-room, which always annoyed him.  He felt he wanted to clear out
+Janet's room and furnish it on another plan.  Bernard hated sensual
+prettiness and liked bold, clean lines and subdued color.  Besides, his
+gout was rather bad, the fragile chair was uncomfortable, and he could
+not rest his foot.  When the pain gripped him he frowned, and Mrs.
+Halliday remarked that he was not looking well.
+
+"I am getting old and have recently felt my age," he replied.  "One
+must pay for a strenuous youth, and it's becoming plain that I ought to
+straighten my affairs while the opportunity is mine."
+
+Mrs. Halliday looked sympathetic and felt curious.  She had wondered
+when Bernard would give her his confidence.  "Well," she said, "I
+suppose this is one's duty, although I hope you have no particular
+grounds for imagining it needful just now."
+
+"One cannot tell," Bernard remarked.  "Anyhow, I have responsibilities
+that must not be shirked.  Well, Evelyn and Lance will get a share of
+my property; in fact, I have made some provision for them."
+
+"I expect you have been generous," said Mrs. Halliday, who wondered how
+far she durst go.  "But what about Jim?"
+
+"His claim will need some thought.  For that matter, he has hinted that
+he is satisfied with Langrigg.  Independence like his is not common and
+perhaps ought to be indulged."
+
+Mrs. Halliday was disturbed, but Bernard did not seem to be curious
+about her feelings and resumed: "In the meantime, I've been thinking
+about the new Brunstock hospital and am going to see the committee.
+Since you promised us a donation, I have brought the plans."  He
+unrolled the elevation and gave it her.  "This is not the kind of
+building we want and I mean to propose some alterations."
+
+He indicated the alterations, and Mrs. Halliday said: "But it will cost
+a very large sum."
+
+"I expect so.  My money came from the iron mines; the Brunstock pitmen
+and furnace men earned the most part for me.  A number get hurt and it
+is just that I should give them something back.  Then if we called it
+the Dearham hospital, as the committee suggest, the building would keep
+my memory green, and I am vain enough to prefer a handsome monument."
+
+"In some ways it is a good ambition," Mrs. Halliday agreed, although
+she was puzzled, for she thought Bernard had an object he had not
+stated.  He certainly was not vain.
+
+"Of course," he went on, "one must be just to one's relations, and it
+would be harsh to leave out Jim altogether.  Still, you see, he's rash;
+we have an example in his dyking plan, and I would not like my money
+squandered.  I expect you know he has lost much of his in a Canadian
+speculation?"
+
+Mrs. Halliday did not know and got something of a jar.  She gave
+Bernard a quick and rather anxious glance.
+
+"But if he has lost his, your gift would be more needful."
+
+Bernard made a sign of disagreement.  "The drawback is, Jim might use
+it as rashly as he has used the rest."
+
+"They sometimes waste money at hospitals."
+
+"That is so, but if I carry out my plans, there will not be much waste
+at Brunstock.  I have been pondering some stipulations, and if I give
+them a proper endowment, the trustees must consent."
+
+"Do you mean to endow the new wards?  We understood you would be
+satisfied with giving part of what they needed for the original
+building."
+
+"Of course," said Bernard.  "Since I'm going to urge the extension, I
+must find the money.  The hospital is getting a hobby of mine and I may
+make the endowment much larger than I meant."  He got up.  "It's a long
+drive and I must not keep the committee."
+
+He went off and Mrs. Halliday tried to brace herself.  She had grounds
+for disturbance, but she must think.  If Bernard carried out his plans,
+it was obvious that she must change hers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+EVELYN'S ADVENTURE
+
+After Bernard had gone, Mrs. Halliday talked to Evelyn.  At first she
+was cautious and rather implied than stated her meaning, but by degrees
+she threw off her reserve.  Although Evelyn and her mother generally
+agreed, Mrs. Halliday felt she was antagonistic, and this disturbed
+her.  Evelyn was not romantic; as a rule, her judgment was cool and
+sound, but she was human, and it began to look as if she were strongly
+attracted by Jim Dearham.
+
+"On the whole, it would be better if you did not go to Langrigg
+to-morrow," Mrs. Halliday concluded.  "You can make an excuse."
+
+"I think not," said Evelyn.  "You urged me not to disappoint Jim the
+last time we went, but we will let this go.  Now he has had bad luck,
+it would look significant if you suddenly withdrew your approval.  He
+knew it was his not long since."
+
+"In a way, I am forced to withdraw it.  I like Jim----"
+
+"But you do not like him to be poor," Evelyn interrupted with a smile.
+"Well, it seems to me a proper and tactful line for his friends to
+rally round him when he is in trouble."
+
+"One can, of course, be sympathetic if one meets him."
+
+Evelyn laughed.  "But one need not go too far?"  She paused and gave
+her mother a steady look.  "Langrigg is a fine old house, I don't
+suppose Jim is ruined, and I have some money.  Then you have taught me
+to expect that I may get some more."
+
+"Bernard is capricious.  He has a bitter humor and may disappoint us
+all.  You have come to think refinement needful; you are extravagant
+and could not live with an impoverished husband.  Let me beg you not to
+be obstinate and rash."
+
+"Ah," said Evelyn, "I sometimes felt I would like to be rash, but was
+not brave enough.  I do not know if I have much courage now."
+
+Mrs. Halliday got up.  Perhaps she had said enough and after all one
+could trust Evelyn when she was cool.  It looked as if the girl's
+disappointment had been sharp, and the wise plan was to leave her
+alone.  Yet she was puzzled; Evelyn had given signs of a recklessness
+her mother thought new.
+
+When Mrs. Halliday went out Evelyn tried to formulate her thoughts.  To
+begin with, her mother's calculating caution repelled her; it had made
+her feel shabby.  Then she had, no doubt, taken much for granted.  Jim
+had, perhaps, had bad luck, but this did not mean that he was
+impoverished, and after all there were many expensive things one could
+go without.  She was not as greedy as some people thought.  Indeed, it
+would be rather fine to make a plunge; to let cold caution go and play
+a romantic part.
+
+She mused about Jim.  He was marked by a certain roughness, but he had
+dignity.  He gave one pleasant thrills--there was the scene on the dyke
+when she was half-shocked and yet strangely moved.  His physical
+fineness appealed; his figure was like an old Greek athlete's, his face
+was sharply cut and somehow ascetic.  He was hot-blooded, but one knew
+he was not gross.  His was a clean virility.
+
+Evelyn thought she loved him, as much as she could love anybody, for
+she had not been touched by passion, and it counted for something that
+he loved her.  The reserve he thought he used was, of course,
+ridiculous.  Evelyn resolved she would go to Langrigg and sympathize
+with Jim.  Then she would wait and by and by her feelings might get
+stronger and she would see her way.  She would not admit that the
+possibility of learning whether Jim would get over his difficulties had
+some influence.
+
+Next evening she went to Langrigg, without Mrs. Halliday, who made an
+excuse.  Jim called for her with his car, and, for the most part, she
+was quiet and he did not talk much.  There were steep hills and awkward
+corners as they ran down from the rolling country to the plain.  The
+evening was calm and the noise of the sea came softly out of the
+distance.  Now and then plover and curlew cried, a half-moon hung in
+the west, and the black hills rose out of fleecy mist.  Evelyn was
+imaginative and liked the drive across the flat holms in the dark.  It
+was romantic ground, rich with traditions of the old Border raids, and
+now as she watched Jim, sitting, absorbed, with his hands on the wheel,
+she felt he, so to speak, dated back.  He drove the powerful modern car
+with ease and skill, but somehow she imagined him wearing steel cap and
+leather jack and guiding a shaggy pony.  Perhaps it was the picture in
+a hall she knew that haunted her.  One saw the shadowy horsemen and
+glitter of spears in the moonlight.
+
+Meanwhile, she gave herself to irresolute thought.  Jim had some
+advantages and some drawbacks; Evelyn saw the drawbacks plainly.  He
+attracted her; it would be exciting to let him carry her away and
+embark with him on a romantic adventure.  She knew he had recently used
+a stern control, but he was hot-blooded and his reserve might be
+undermined.  Yet there was a risk; she must give up much.  She was
+drawn in different ways by romance and worldly caution and it looked as
+if caution would win.
+
+Soon after she reached Langrigg Mordaunt arrived with Dick.  The latter
+declared that Jim was a very good sort, and Evelyn knew his feeling was
+sincere, but she imagined Dick liked Carrie and was sometimes
+disturbed.  For all that, she had been relieved to note that Carrie
+liked Dick.
+
+Dinner was a cheerful function, but when they went back to the hall
+Evelyn was quiet.  Joseph Dearham and others had made some renovations
+in the hall, but they harmonized with the crooked roof-beams and dark
+oak.  There were one or two tall lamps and another that hung by iron
+chains, but Jim generally used candles in old silver stands.  Evelyn
+wondered how Jim knew that candles were right.  It was strange that he
+often, unconsciously, she thought, struck the proper note.
+
+She studied him and Jake while she talked to Mrs. Winter.  Jim seldom
+wore conventional evening clothes, but he had put on an American
+dinner-jacket.  He and his comrade were strangely agile; their
+movements were quick, their step was light, like a cat's, and she noted
+how they lifted their feet.  She did not know the prospector gets the
+habit by walking through tangled bush and across rough stones.  They
+had a suppleness that came from using the long ax, and toil in the
+wilds had given them a fine-drawn look.  In some ways both were modern,
+but in some they belonged to the past, when the fortress peels were
+built and the marsh-men fought the Scots.
+
+Jim crossed the floor, and when he began to talk to Carrie, Evelyn felt
+a jealous pang.  The girl had been in the woods with Jim; she had
+beauty and a curious primitive strength.  Jim leaned forward, smiling
+as he talked to her; they talked confidentially, like tried comrades.
+Evelyn was moved to something near anger and went to the old grand
+piano Jim had brought from the drawing-room when he found that Carrie
+could play ragtime airs.  Evelyn had a talent for music and meant to
+make an experiment.  If Jim was what she thought, he would respond.
+
+"If somebody will light the candles, I will sing," she said.
+
+The candles had pale-yellow shades and when Jim struck a match the
+colored light touched her face and dress.  Except for this, the corner
+was somewhat dark.  Amber was Evelyn's color.  She struck a few chords
+that seemed to echo in the distance and then, glancing at Jim, began a
+prelude with a measured beat.  His face was intent; he seemed to search
+for something in the music that sounded as if it were getting nearer.
+She wondered whether he heard the call of trumpets and horses' feet
+drumming in the dark.  Somehow she thought he did.
+
+Perhaps she was debasing her talent; this kind of thing was rather a
+theatrical trick than music.  For all that, it needed feeling, and she
+knew the old Border ballads and their almost forgotten airs.  Jim was
+very still when she began to sing, for her voice and the music moved
+him strongly.  The air was wild, the rude words rang with something one
+felt when one battled with floods and snowslides.  They told how the
+moss-troopers rode down Ettrick water long ago; but human nature did
+not change and hard-bitten men now went out on the snowy trail,
+carrying shovels and axes instead of spears.  But how did Evelyn,
+surrounded by luxurious refinements, understand?
+
+"It's fine!" he exclaimed when she stopped.  "You have got it just
+right; horses' feet, and harness jingling.  But you go back of that to
+the feeling one has when one braces up and sets one's mouth tight."
+
+Evelyn laughed and looked at Mordaunt, who frowned.  "Perhaps you are
+easily satisfied, Jim, but music, critical folks contemptuously call
+descriptive, needs some talent."  She paused and beat out a few bars
+imitating a horse's gallop.  "It really does go back of this."
+
+"Never mind critical folks," said Jim.  "Sing another--the song of
+Flodden."
+
+"I'm not sure the song you mean has really much to do with Flodden, but
+I know one that has.  It's old and rude, like the Borderers.  You know
+a band would not fight, but were too proud to run away.  They stood
+fast, by themselves, and were shot down by the archers while the loyal
+Scots fell round their wounded king.  This, however, is shocking art;
+it's like writing what you are meant to see at the top of a picture.  I
+know it annoys Lance."
+
+"I can endure much from you," Mordaunt rejoined.
+
+Evelyn struck the keys and began to sing.  Words and air had a strange
+barbaric force, and Jim pictured the stern Scots spearmen closing round
+their fallen monarch and their hate for the stubborn mutineers.  The
+blood came to his skin when the music stopped and the girl's voice
+flung out a dying soldier's curse.  The curse was strangely modern; one
+heard it often in the West.
+
+"Thank you!  You have not sung like this before," he said, and turned
+to Jake.  "How does it strike you, partner?"
+
+"It hits me where I feel it, and hits me hard.  I reckon the men who
+fought that old battle meant to make good.  I don't know how Miss
+Halliday knows what a man with red blood feels when he's got to put
+over a big hard job, but she does know."
+
+"I'm afraid you would make me vain," said Evelyn.
+
+She turned as she left the piano and gave Carrie a quick glance.  A
+sharp jealousy seized her, for while she could imagine what a strong
+man felt, Carrie really knew.  She had fronted danger with Jim; she had
+watched and helped his struggle in the lonely North.  Evelyn was
+suddenly afraid of Carrie.  She was a powerful rival.
+
+The party went to the billiard-room, but Evelyn would not play and sat
+in a corner, thinking hard.  She was highly-strung, and her hesitation
+had vanished.  Jim loved her and nobody else should claim him.  Perhaps
+she was rash, but she had begun to feel passion, and saw she must
+embark upon her great adventure now, when Jim had had reverses and was
+smarting from the blow.  He must see that she had pluck and was willing
+to bear his troubles.  After all, to have done with caution was
+exhilarating.  Yet she knew her lover.  He would not ask her to make a
+sacrifice for him; unless his luck changed he would keep up his
+reserve.  Well, she must break it down, and she knew her power.  Then
+she turned as Mordaunt stopped by the bench she occupied.
+
+"I think you did not like my song," she said.
+
+"You know I did not," Mordaunt rejoined.  "Anyhow, I didn't like your
+exaggerated rendering of a ballad that is probably genuine, though one
+authority states it was written about an ancient football match.  They
+played football before the Scottish wars in the Border towns."
+
+"Is this important?"
+
+"It is not.  I thought you were putting your talent to a shabby use."
+
+"Art is imitation," Evelyn remarked with a mocking smile.  "Why should
+one not imitate the drumming of horses' feet? or, for example, a storm
+at sea?  I believe that kind of thing is popular at cheap concerts."
+
+Mordaunt frowned.  "You well know what your gift is worth.  It's too
+fine to be used in order to rouse crude emotions in a handsome savage
+like Jim."
+
+"Ah," said Evelyn, with a sparkle in her eyes, "are the great emotions
+crude?  Courage and loyalty that led to deeds that live four hundred
+years?  I don't know if our refinements would stand comparison with the
+big primitive things."
+
+"Jim is certainly primitive," Mordaunt sneered.
+
+"And he's big!  So big that he makes other men look small!  I was
+disturbed when I saw him, bruised and muddy, that day at the marsh; but
+I begin to understand I was ridiculous.  He fought the smith because he
+was accountable for his men."
+
+"Oh, well; I expect he would value your approval," said Mordaunt, who
+saw Jim go out.  "It looks as if he were getting bored."
+
+Evelyn smiled.  "He keeps some dyking plans in the hall.  I don't think
+he will be bored if I join him."  She got up languidly.  "Since you are
+not very amusing, I will go."
+
+She went off and found Jim opening a drawer.  "You can study your
+plans; I won't disturb you," she said, sitting down by the fire.  "I
+really don't care for billiards."
+
+He shut the drawer and leaned against a table opposite.  "You were not
+playing billiards; you were talking to Lance.  That was why I went
+away."
+
+"You flatter me," said Evelyn.  "But don't leave the plans.  I expect
+they are important."
+
+"They are important.  The rain is giving us trouble, and although I
+began the job to occupy my leisure, I'm going to finish it because I
+must."
+
+"I think I understand.  I am sorry you have had bad luck in Canada."
+
+"Thank you.  How did you know?"
+
+"Bernard told us."
+
+"I wonder why," Jim remarked, thoughtfully.  "Although it doesn't
+matter much, I didn't expect him to tell."
+
+Evelyn pondered.  Bernard had, no doubt, had an object, but she could
+solve the puzzle afterwards.  She was alone with Jim, and in a few
+minutes the others might return.
+
+"I was rather hurt when I found you had given Bernard your confidence
+and left me out," she said.  "But does this reverse in Canada hit you
+hard?"
+
+"It was a nasty knock.  I expect to get over it, but it will be some
+time before I recover the ground I've lost.  Things will be better when
+we plow the land I'm reclaiming from the marsh."
+
+"In the meantime, you will have to struggle?"
+
+"Yes," said Jim, rather grimly, "it will be a struggle.  But that is
+not all----"
+
+He pulled himself up.  There was a risk that he might say too much, and
+while he hesitated Evelyn listened.  The door was open and the house
+was quiet, but she could not hear the click of the billiard balls.  It
+looked as if Dick and Carrie had finished their game, there was no time
+for clever maneuvering; she must be frank.  She gave Jim a quick glance
+and then looked away.
+
+"Jim," she said, "I am not poor."
+
+He started, and his face got red.  Evelyn's meaning was obvious, but he
+could hardly persuade himself that he had grasped it.
+
+"Much of my money has gone and I may not get it back," he said, with
+forced quietness.  "In one way, this does not matter; I'm not greedy,
+but I'm proud.  I must farm the reclaimed land and make my farming
+profitable; I can't keep up Langrigg as my friends expect.  I've got to
+live and work as I lived and worked in Canada."
+
+"People do live in the woods and on the plains.  Do you think your
+countrywomen have less pluck than these others?  Are we dull and weak,
+afraid of hardship and only willing to be amused?"
+
+Jim lifted his head and laughed.  "All this is ridiculous!  I haven't
+met many English girls, but you are the finest thing in a woman's shape
+I have known.  I've thought about you always since that day at
+Montreal.  When they told me Langrigg was mine I would have sold it had
+I not thought I might find you in the Old Country."
+
+"Then you didn't know I was here?"
+
+"I did not," said Jim, who forgot his reserve and let himself go.
+"When I saw you on the terrace, I got a thrill and a sense of triumph
+I'd never known before.  But to find you was not enough; I had got to
+claim, and keep you.  I'd got to have something to offer; I had to
+justify myself.  Well, that's why I began to drain the marsh----"
+
+Evelyn stopped him.  "I wasn't worth it, Jim," she said, with
+half-ashamed sincerity.  "But I understand; you are too proud to take,
+you want to give.  Although you're foolish, I like your pride."
+
+For a moment Jim was silent and his face got hard.  "It's done with,"
+he said, rather hoarsely.  "I meant to make good before I claimed you,
+and this loss has set me back.  I'm not beaten, but I must wait until I
+can give you all you ought to have.  You're so fine and highly-tempered
+that you're fragile; rough jolts and jars are not for such as you.
+I've got to work----"
+
+She got up and looked at him shyly, with color in her face and her eyes
+shining.
+
+"And until you make good, you mean to leave me out?  Will it cost you
+nothing, Jim?"
+
+"It will cost me much," he said, grimly.  "More than I durst reckon,
+but I must brace up and pay."
+
+"But suppose I will not let you leave me out?  Am I to give nothing?"
+Evelyn asked.  "Besides, it's my right to choose, and you meant to rob
+me of my right.  If I didn't know you well, I should be angry.
+Langrigg is yours; but if you had nothing, do you think I'd keep our
+extravagance at Whitelees and let you go?"  She turned her head and
+then looked up, stretching out her hands.  "I can't let you go!  I want
+to help."
+
+Jim took her hands and next moment she was in his arms.  Then there
+were steps in the passage and she gently pushed him back.
+
+"You must tell nobody just yet," she said.
+
+The others came in and Mordaunt looked at Evelyn rather hard, but she
+went to the piano and opening a music-book, beckoned Dick.
+
+"You know this," she said.  "I'll play it for you."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+THE SHOOTING PUNT
+
+On the morning after her interview with Jim, Evelyn sat in front of a
+writing-table by a window at Whitelees.  She had meant to tell a friend
+about her lover, but now did not know if she would or not.  For one
+thing, the morning was cold and dreary and she felt dull.  Composition
+was difficult; the glowing phrases she had thought to use would not
+come.  It was raining outside, the lawn was strewn with wet dead
+leaves, and the bare trees tossed their branches in the wind.  Shallow
+pools spread about the terrace and the hills were blurred by mist.
+Winter had begun and Evelyn did not like winter in the country.
+
+She put down her pen.  Last night's thrill had gone and she was
+languid.  When she had broken his reserve, Jim was the ardent and
+romantic lover she had thought; but she had been forced to break down
+his reserve and this carried a sting.  For some hours she had been
+dazzled by the glamor of romance and had rejoiced in her rashness, but
+the light was getting dim.  Things looked different in the morning.
+
+Jim loved her and she was flattered by his exaggerated notion of her
+worth.  She had meant to justify his confidence, but she knew this
+would be hard, because she knew herself.  In a sense, Jim was not her
+kind, and by and by they might jar.  She had self-control, but she was
+not patient.  Moreover, it looked as if Jim were poor, and although she
+had some money she was not rich.  Thrilled by keen excitement and
+half-consciously acting, she had told him that poverty did not daunt
+her, but when she came to think, it would be hard to go without the
+expensive refinements she enjoyed.
+
+With something of an effort, she banished her disturbing thoughts.  She
+was going to marry Jim.  Perhaps she could mold him a little.  Yet she
+did not know; she did not want to conventionalize him; there was
+something rather fine about his ruggedness.  Then she began to wonder
+why she had asked him to tell nobody yet.  Girls she knew had found an
+obvious satisfaction in exhibiting their lovers, but she had felt a
+need for concealment.  This was not because she feared her mother's
+disapproval; it looked as if she had unconsciously tried to leave open
+a way of escape.  By and by a car rolled up the drive and Mordaunt came
+in.
+
+"I am going to the town and wondered whether you wanted anything I
+could get for you," he said.
+
+Evelyn said he might call for some goods her mother had ordered, and he
+was silent for a moment or two.  Then he asked: "Were you and Jim
+quarreling in the hall last evening?"
+
+"No," she said, smiling.  "Why do you imagine this?"
+
+"Jim was preoccupied.  I asked him for matches and he gave me his
+cigarette case."
+
+"He is often preoccupied," Evelyn rejoined, with a careless laugh.  "I
+expect he was thinking about his dykes; he talked about the marsh."
+
+Mordaunt studied her.  She was calm and looked amused by his curiosity.
+Moreover, her suggestion was plausible.
+
+"Jim is not always happy in his choice of subjects, but I won't
+sympathize with you," he said.  "You could have stopped him if you had
+liked.  You often stop me."
+
+"I suppose that is so," Evelyn agreed.  "For one thing, it is not much
+trouble.  You know when one is bored."
+
+"Your tastes are mine; we belong to the same school.  It makes for
+understanding."
+
+"After all," said Evelyn, "one likes something new."
+
+Mordaunt laughed and said he must go, and when his car rolled away
+Evelyn mused.  Lance's remark was justified; they did belong to the
+same school, and in the main their views agreed.  This had some
+drawbacks, but it had advantages.  Novelty was stimulating for a time,
+but soon lost its charm; one was safe if one held fast by the things
+one knew and valued, even if one's standard of value was not altogether
+just.  Evelyn admitted her cynically philosophic mood was strange, but
+the dreary day accounted for something, and perhaps a reaction from
+last night's thrill had begun.  A few minutes afterwards Mrs. Halliday
+came in and they talked about household matters.
+
+In the meantime, Mordaunt drove to the town and stopped at a lawyer's
+office.  There were three partners in the firm which managed Bernard
+Dearham's business; two sober, white-haired gentlemen, and one who was
+young.  The others gave the house weight and respectability, but
+Holbrook supplied the driving force and Mordaunt imagined his partners
+did not know where he was leading them.  Holbrook's room, in a tall old
+house that looked across a quiet square, was handsomely furnished, and
+Mordaunt sat down in a comfortable chair.
+
+"I want to borrow some money for about six months," he said.
+
+"How much do you want?" Holbrook asked, and when Mordaunt told him,
+looked thoughtful.  Mordaunt had borrowed before and had punctually
+repaid principal and interest.
+
+"We are not money-lenders, you know," he said.  "I negotiated the last
+loan rather as a favor than a matter of business."
+
+Mordaunt smiled indulgently.  "For all that, you lend money; your
+clients', I suppose.  I don't know if your legal business would keep
+you going long."
+
+"If we invest in anything outside the regular high-class securities, we
+run some risk."
+
+"I don't think the risk is great," Mordaunt replied.  "I sometimes
+speculate, and you have grounds for knowing I'm generally lucky.  Well,
+some friends floated a small private company to develop a West Indian
+estate and we have spent much of our capital on new plantations.  The
+value of our produce is rising, but we need funds to carry us on until
+the crop is shipped and have agreed to a fresh levy.  I must pay my
+share."
+
+"The sum is large."
+
+"You lent me nearly as much before."
+
+"I did," said Holbrook.  "Things were different then----"
+
+He stopped, and Mordaunt gave him a keen glance.  Holbrook's hesitation
+was curious.
+
+"How are things different?" Mordaunt asked.
+
+"You bought shares that seldom fluctuate much.  You risked losing a
+small margin; now you may lose the principal."
+
+"The loss would be mine.  I have always paid."
+
+"That is so.  The trouble is, if this venture went wrong you might not
+be able to pay."
+
+Mordaunt was silent for a few moments.  Holbrook had been willing to
+negotiate the other loans; it looked as if the fellow had now less
+grounds for trusting him, although it was not his honesty but his power
+to pay he doubted.  Why did Holbrook think his power had got less?
+
+"Am I to understand you refuse to lend?" he asked.
+
+"I would sooner not.  However, if a smaller sum----"
+
+"A smaller sum would not help," Mordaunt replied with a touch of
+haughtiness.  "Well, I will not urge you and dare say you are occupied."
+
+The lawyer let him go and Mordaunt thought hard as he drove home.
+Holbrook had formerly been accommodating, as if he wanted to satisfy a
+client whose business might by and by be valuable, but his attitude was
+now different.  There was no traffic on the road that went up a long
+hill, and Mordaunt could concentrate on the puzzle.  When he was
+half-way up he began to see a light.  Bernard had gone to town and had
+stayed some time; he had probably called on the lawyers who had made
+his will.  The light got clearer and when Mordaunt reached the top he
+thought he understood.
+
+Bernard had altered his will and Mordaunt would not get as much as he,
+and no doubt Holbrook, had thought possible.  The hospital would cost a
+large sum, but this did not account for everything.  Although Bernard
+often used the formal manners of the old school, he had a rude vein; he
+had broken down stubborn opposition and beaten determined strikers
+while he developed the famous iron mines.  No doubt, he saw in Jim
+qualities like his and now meant to leave him the most part of his
+estate.  All Jim got would be taken from the others, and Mordaunt
+thought Holbrook's caution indicated that his share had been severely
+cut down.  Jim was going to get money Mordaunt had imagined was his.
+
+He let the engine go, the car leaped forward, and he drove furiously
+until he reached the Dryholm lodge, for he wanted to find out if his
+supposition was correct.  When he put the car into the garage a man was
+cleaning a limousine.
+
+"I'm afraid I have given you another job," Mordaunt said.  "You haven't
+got the big car properly polished yet."
+
+"She got very wet when I took Mr. Dearham to town."
+
+"It was a bad day.  Did he keep you waiting in the rain?"
+
+"I was outside the lawyers' office for an hour," the man replied.
+
+Mordaunt frowned as he went to the house.  The reason for Holbrook's
+caution was plain, and if Janet Halliday imagined Bernard meant to
+leave Jim nothing, she was much deceived.  Bernard had probably meant
+to deceive her, but Mordaunt thought he would not meddle.  He went to
+his room and stopped for some time, smoking and pondering.
+
+A few days afterwards, Jim and Jake, wearing long waders and yellow
+oilskins, crept up a hollow in the sands.  It was about nine o'clock in
+the evening, they were a mile from land, and light mist drifted about
+the bay, but the moon shone through.  The tide was flowing, the water
+rippled noisily in the channel, and flakes of muddy foam and trailing
+weed floated past.  The harsh cry of a black-backed gull rang across
+the flats and small wading birds whistled about the water's edge.
+Farther off, the clanging call of black geese came out of the mist.
+
+Jim carried a heavy ten-bore gun and his feet sank in the mud as he
+crept quietly up the hollow.  He liked this rough shooting, and now and
+then Jake and he went out at nights.  When one had hunted fierce game
+in Canada, shooting driven pheasants was tame sport, and the beaters
+found the birds; but on the sands one must match one's intelligence
+against the instinctive cunning of the ducks and geese.  Besides, there
+was some risk that gave the thing a spice.  Belts of sand were
+dangerously soft and the tides were treacherous.  Sometimes they rose
+faster than one reckoned.
+
+"The brant-geese can't be far off," he remarked presently.  "It's a
+pretty big gaggle and I expect some of the fat gray-lag are feeding
+with them."
+
+Jake looked at the water.  "If you want a shot, I guess you'll go on;
+but if I'd been alone, I'd have started home some time since.  The
+tide's rising fast."
+
+"We have a quarter of an hour yet," said Jim.  "Anyhow, we'll shove on
+for the next bend."
+
+They went on.  Their waders and oilskins scarcely showed against the
+sand, and the murmur of the current drowned the noise they made.  As
+they came near the bend the calling of the geese got louder, there was
+a creaking beat of wings and some of the harsh cries had a different
+note.
+
+"Grey-lag," said Jim.  "Another lot is coming up.  They'll fly across
+to the marsh when the tide moves them."
+
+"It will move us soon," Jake rejoined.
+
+When they reached the corner Jim was a short distance in front.  The
+geese were obviously restless and he crouched as low as he could get.
+Jake found a hollow in the bank where the sand, undermined by the
+current, had fallen down, and stood with the water creeping to his
+feet.  He imagined it would nearly reach his waist in mid-channel, and
+they must soon get across.  The beat of wings began again and harsh
+cries echoed in the mist.  The geese were moving and Jake balanced his
+gun when Jim rose half-upright.  The bank behind Jim was low and his
+bent figure was outlined against the glimmering reflection of the tide.
+
+Then, although he did not know if he had heard a noise or not, Jake
+looked round and saw a long gray object slide out of the mist.  It was
+indistinct and very low in the water, but he knew it was a shooting
+punt.  It drifted up the channel towards him; a faint ripple indicating
+that somebody was steering it with a short paddle.  A blurred figure
+lay in the well behind a bunch of reeds, and the only bold line was the
+barrel of the big punt-gun that would throw a pound of shot.  Jim could
+not see the punt, because he was looking the other way, but it was
+obvious that the gunner could see him, although Jake thought he himself
+was invisible against the bank.
+
+As a rule, one cannot aim a punt-gun; one must turn the punt, and Jake
+noted that the craft swerved.  The long barrel was now in line with
+Jim, and although the man on board was probably steering towards the
+bank for concealment, Jake thought there was something sinister about
+his quiet approach.  He remembered that Shanks owned the only punt on
+the lower bay.  He waited a few moments, unwilling to call out, lest he
+should spoil his comrade's shot, but feeling disturbed.  The punt was
+about fifty yards from Jim and the heavy shot would not spread much;
+Jake admitted that his disturbance was perhaps illogical, but he did
+not like the way the big gun pointed.
+
+When the punt was level with him he stepped out from the bank.  The
+indistinct figure on board did not move, but the craft swerved again
+and the gun pointed straight up the channel.  Jake did not know if this
+was significant or not, because the current eddied, but he imagined the
+fellow had seen him.  Then Jim threw his gun to his shoulder and a red
+flash leaped from the muzzle.  There was a splash, but next moment Jake
+saw a dark object overhead and pulled the trigger.  The goose came
+down, whirling over with long neck hanging limp, until it struck the
+other bank, and Jake plunged into the channel.
+
+"Pick up your bird and get across," he shouted, while the current
+rippled about his legs.
+
+For the next minute or two they were occupied.  The tide ran fast, the
+bottom was soft, and Jim's goose drifted away.  He reached it, however,
+and they came out on the other bank.  Jake could see nothing but the
+glimmering water and a narrow belt of wet sand.  The geese had flown
+off and the punt had vanished in the fog.
+
+"We stopped long enough, but we've got a brant and a gray-lag.  You
+ought to be satisfied," he said.
+
+"I'd have got another if you hadn't been so anxious to get across," Jim
+rejoined.  "Wasn't there a punt about?  I thought I saw something as I
+threw up my gun."
+
+"Yes," said Jake, dryly, "Shanks' punt!"
+
+"Of course!  Nobody else keeps a punt on the low marsh.  Well, we
+spoiled his shot and I expect he'll feel he has a fresh grievance.
+That is, if he knew who I was."
+
+"I reckon he knew all right," Jake remarked.  "Nobody else has been on
+the sands for some weeks."
+
+Jim looked at him rather hard.  "Anyhow, it doesn't matter.  Let's get
+home.  There's a hole in my wader and the water has leaked through.
+This sport is pretty good, but you need a punt.  I'll order one from
+the fellow across the bay."
+
+They set off and Jake could not tell if he had excited his comrade's
+suspicions.  Jim was sometimes reserved.  Jake admitted that his own
+suspicions might not be justified, but he wondered what would have
+happened had he not moved out from the bank.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+MORDAUNT'S REPULSE
+
+Shortly after his visit to the lawyer, Mordaunt walked over to
+Whitelees.  It was about four o'clock in the afternoon, and it would
+soon be dark, but although he had some distance to go he did not walk
+fast.  Tea was served early at Whitelees and, as a rule, Mrs. Halliday
+afterwards went to sleep.  Mordaunt wanted to arrive when she had done
+so, and his leisurely progress gave him time to think.
+
+He meant to ask Evelyn to marry him.  He liked her and they generally
+agreed, but he was not sure he would have thought about marriage had he
+been rich.  For all that, he knew no other girl who would suit him so
+well, and it would be an advantage to consolidate the family property,
+since both would inherit some part of Bernard's estate.  Mordaunt knew
+Mrs. Halliday saw this, for she had been his friend until Jim came on
+the scene.  It now looked as if she thought Jim would get little or
+nothing, and Mordaunt did not mean to enlighten her.
+
+The loss of his West Indian investment forced him to make a prudent
+marriage, but he did not feel that he was doing a shabby thing.  Evelyn
+understood him and was rather calculating than romantic.  It was
+disturbing that she had obviously been attracted by Jim, but Mordaunt
+thought the attraction was not very strong.  He did not mean to let Jim
+rob him of his inheritance and the girl he hoped would be his wife.
+
+It was getting dark when he reached Whitelees and found Evelyn sitting
+by the fire in the drawing-room.  The lamps were not lighted and the
+room was shadowy except for the reflection from the grate.  Evelyn did
+not get up and he stood opposite, talking quietly while she rested her
+chin in her hollowed hand and listened.  He did not pretend passion,
+but she thought he struck the right note.  He was sincere, as far as he
+went, and she admitted that he made the best of a not very strong
+appeal.  One could trust Lance to be graceful.
+
+"If you had asked me before, I might have married you.  It is now too
+late," she said.
+
+Mordaunt moved abruptly, but used some control.  "Ah," he said, in a
+rather strained voice, "I suppose this means Jim has claimed you first?"
+
+"Yes," she said, calmly, "I have promised to marry Jim.  So far, nobody
+else knows."
+
+He was silent for a moment or two, knitting his brows, and then looked
+up.
+
+"I'm sorry, and although your refusal hurts, don't think I'm altogether
+selfish.  Jim is a good sort, but he's not the man for you."
+
+Evelyn colored and her eyes sparkled, and then the firelight left her
+face.
+
+"To some extent that is so, Lance.  I expect Jim has drawbacks, but
+he's flesh and blood; red blood, I think they say in Canada.  You know
+what you and I are; we have cultivated out our vulgar passions.  At
+least, I thought I had!"
+
+"Has Jim persuaded you that you were mistaken?"
+
+"He may persuade me.  After all, there is some satisfaction in being
+human."
+
+Mordaunt made a sign of vague agreement.  "I thought I was a
+philosopher, but I'm frankly savage now.  However, I don't imagine you
+will let passion guide you very long."  He paused, and after a few
+moments resumed: "If you find you were deceived and romance gets stale,
+you will find me waiting.  I think you know this, and there is no more
+to be said."
+
+"There is no use in waiting, Lance," Evelyn replied.  "I have made the
+plunge.  It cost me an effort, but I feel braced.  Jim is bracing; like
+cold water or a boisterous wind.  You would have kept me in an
+enervating calm.  Well, I'm tired of artificial tranquillity; I'm going
+to try my luck in the struggle of life with Jim."
+
+She let him go and he started for Dryholm in a thoughtful mood.  Her
+refusal had hurt him, but he would not dwell on this.  He was
+half-afraid to do so and wanted to think about her.  She was pluckier
+than he had imagined and was obviously sincere, since she did not know
+Jim would be rich, but he doubted if she could keep it up.  Jim was
+rude and tempestuous, and she would not be satisfied with him long.
+The trouble was the romantic impulse might sustain her until it was too
+late, for Jim would, no doubt, urge an early marriage.
+
+Mordaunt's face got hard as he thought about this, and he was rather
+surprised by the anger that fired his blood.  He had cultivated a
+philosophic selfishness, but it no longer supported him.  He hated Jim,
+and felt troubled about Evelyn.  Luck was with the headstrong fool; he
+had swept her off her feet, but she would recover her balance and then
+she would pay.  Mordaunt clenched his fist and raged with helpless
+savageness.  It was long since he had indulged his passions, and now
+his control had gone the reaction was sharp.
+
+He got cooler and began to look about.  There was a moon, the evening
+was calm, and the dew sparkled on the grass by the hedgerows.  A thick
+wood bordered one side of the road, which went up a long hill, and pale
+birch trunks that caught the light stood out against dusky firs.  Now
+and then a rabbit ran across the road and plunged into the grass, and
+presently there was a sharp rattle of wings.  A flock of wood-pigeons
+circled round in the moonlight and flew back into the frees.  Then a
+cock-pheasant crowed.
+
+Mordaunt stopped in the gloom where a nut-bush hung over the gate of a
+ride.  Somebody had disturbed the birds; one could trust the pigeons to
+give the alarm when an enemy was about.  Mordaunt was a sportsman and a
+good shot, but he waited because he wanted to find some relief from his
+tormenting thoughts.  He was just inside the Langrigg boundary and
+imagined the gamekeeper began his round at the other end of the estate.
+By and by dry underbrush rustled and there was a noise like a briar
+dragging across somebody's clothes.  Afterwards all was quiet for a few
+moments, until a dark figure came out of the gloom close to the gate.
+
+Mordaunt let the man get over and then touched his arm.  The other
+started, and stepping back, struck the gate.  The blow was soft as if
+something had eased the shock and the fellow's shape was bulky about
+his hips.  Mordaunt knew a poacher has generally a large pocket in the
+lower lining of his coat.  As the fellow lifted a short, knotted stick,
+he turned his face to the light and Mordaunt saw it was Tom Shanks, the
+old marshman's son.
+
+"You can put down the stick," he said, coolly.  "I expect you have been
+smoking pheasants, but they're Langrigg bird's, not ours."
+
+Shanks leaned against the gate and looked at him with dull suspicion.
+Although his face was coarse and heavy, his eyes were cunning; he
+slouched, but when he moved his step was light.
+
+"There's nowt that's not Langrigg's," he growled, grasping his stick.
+"Gentry stands by yan anodder.  Are you gan t' tell?"
+
+Mordaunt pondered.  They were alone and he knew Shanks's sullen
+ferocity.  On the whole, he thought he was in some danger unless he
+could satisfy the fellow.  Shanks did not mean to let him seize the
+heavy stick.
+
+"I've not much ground for standing by Mr. Dearham and it's not my
+business to protect his game," he said.
+
+"If I thowt you'd send keeper after me----"
+
+"Put down your stick," said Mordaunt, with haughty impatience.  "If I
+wanted to send the keeper, I'd certainly do so.  But how many pheasants
+did you get?"
+
+"Nobbut two.  T' birds is varra scarce."
+
+"Then I don't see why you ran the risk of stealing Langrigg pheasants
+when there are plenty in Red Bank woods."
+
+Shanks was silent for a moment or two, and then replied, as if
+Mordaunt's carelessness had banished his doubts: "Mr. Dearham put us
+oot o' dabbin and blew 't up."
+
+"It's possible he'll put you out of Bank-end cottage soon."
+
+"Do you ken that?" Shanks asked with a start.
+
+"I heard something of the kind.  Dearham meant to let your father have
+the cottage, but said nothing about your getting it, and he's tired of
+you both.  You are letting Bank-end go to ruin and people complain
+about your poaching."
+
+Shanks's sullen look changed to a savage frown.
+
+"If he puts us oot, there's nea place we'll can gan."
+
+Mordaunt hesitated.  He imagined Shanks had had something to do with
+the accident to Jim's car, and it was obvious that the fellow was
+bitterly revengeful.  At the beginning, Mordaunt had not meant to work
+upon his vindictive feelings; he had done so half-consciously, but now
+he meant to go on.
+
+"Nobody in the neighborhood would let you have a cottage.  You might
+get a laborer's job in the town, but you would have to work hard, and I
+don't know about your father.  He's rheumatic and old.  None of the
+farmers would engage you."
+
+"T'oad man wouldn't could live away from marsh, and I'm none for takin'
+a job in town; I'd sicken among t'hooses," Shanks replied.
+
+Mordaunt thought the fellow did not exaggerate.  Shanks and his father
+would find no place in organized industry.  They belonged to the open
+spaces, the wide marsh and the wet sands.
+
+"Then it's lucky I and not the gamekeeper caught you to-night," he
+said.  "Mr. Dearham is waiting for an excuse to turn you out.  I
+Imagine you will soon give him one."
+
+Shanks did not reply.  Seizing the top of the gate, he jumped over and
+vanished in the wood.  For a few moments all was quiet, and then
+Mordaunt heard steps in the road.  He left the gate and when he had
+gone a few yards met Dick Halliday, who stopped and looked at him with
+surprise.
+
+"I thought I saw two people," Dick remarked.
+
+"You did see two," Mordaunt agreed.  "It's curious the other fellow
+didn't hear you farther off, because I imagine his ears are very good.
+Were you trying to get near us?"
+
+"Not at first.  They're mending the road up the hill and I walked on
+the grass.  When I saw you at the gate I suspected poachers and came on
+quietly.  Who was the other fellow?"
+
+"Tom Shanks.  I caught him coming out of the wood with some pheasants
+and warned him he'd have to leave Bank-end if Jim knew."
+
+"Do you mean you promised not to tell Jim?"
+
+"I imagined he understood something like that.  He is a powerful
+fellow, and carried a heavy stick.  Still, my satisfying him doesn't
+bind you."
+
+"I don't know; perhaps it does bind me, in a way," Dick replied.  "All
+the same, Shanks is a loafing thief; I'd have turned him out of the
+neighborhood."
+
+Mordaunt hesitated.  He would have liked Dick to tell Jim, since this
+might lead the latter to take the cottage from Shanks.  For all that,
+he did not see how he could persuade Dick to do so, because he did not
+want him to think he had an object.
+
+"Well, I must get on," he said.  "Bernard grumbles when I'm late for
+dinner."
+
+He felt rather angry with himself when he went off.  Luck had given him
+an opportunity and he had used it in a manner of which he was
+half-ashamed.  The thing was done, however, and he was not sure he was
+sorry.  Shanks was a savage brute and had already borne Jim a grudge.
+One or two of the farmers and country gentlemen had had grounds to
+regret they had not left him alone.  He would not hesitate much if he
+saw a way to prevent Jim's turning him out, but Mordaunt shrank from
+wondering how far he would go.  After all, he had merely warned Shanks
+about the consequence of his poaching.
+
+When dinner was over he told Bernard he had been to Whitelees, and
+added: "I imagine Evelyn would not like it publicly announced just yet,
+but she has promised to marry Jim."
+
+Bernard was silent for a few moments, and his face was inscrutable.
+"Then, she is pluckier than I thought," he said, dryly.  "But why does
+she not want people to know?"
+
+"It's something of a puzzle.  Perhaps she felt telling people would
+bind her to her promise."
+
+"Jim is a handsome fellow; I suppose the flesh is willing but the
+calculating brain weighs the drawbacks that may after all tip the
+beam," Bernard remarked, and added with a sneer: "You ought to have
+married Evelyn; you would have got on with her.  In fact, if she had
+been willing, I'd have seen that her prudence was properly rewarded.
+The curious thing is, I imagine you both knew this."
+
+"I don't think either of us deserves the taunt, sir," Mordaunt
+rejoined.  "Anyhow, I doubt if your generous plan altogether sprang
+from good will to us."
+
+"You're clever," said Bernard, with dry humor.  "Much cleverer than
+Jim; but he'll go far while you stand still.  Hustling is new to Evelyn
+and at first she may find it exciting, but I doubt if she'll enjoy the
+effort to keep up with her husband when the novelty wears off."
+
+He mused when Mordaunt went away.  For a time at least, his plot had
+failed and he was keenly disappointed.  Evelyn was not the wife for
+Jim; he ought to have married the girl from Canada.  Carrie was frankly
+flesh and blood, and although she had not much polish yet, this would
+come; she had a natural dignity and was staunch and fearless.  She
+would keep pace with Jim, fronting troubles with her steady glance;
+Bernard smiled as he pictured Evelyn's stumbling gait when Jim, so to
+speak, took a rough, steep hill.  The thought, however, did not amuse
+him much, and he resigned himself moodily to wait.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+FOOTSTEPS IN THE SAND
+
+Jim had a shooting-punt built, and now and then when the tide served at
+night, paddled up the creeks and shot a goose or duck, although he did
+not use a big punt-gun.  He liked to pick out his birds and not throw a
+pound of shot into a flock.  In the meantime, he pushed on the draining
+of the marsh, and although he spent anxious hours counting the cost,
+resolved to hold out until the job was done.  As a rule, he was
+preoccupied and quiet, and Evelyn often found him dull.  His talk about
+dykes and sluices did not amuse her.
+
+By and by he found it needful to engage some drain-cutters, and one
+afternoon Jake, taking Carrie with him, started for a village on the
+other side of the bay.  It was a long way round the sands and when they
+were near the village the car stopped and Jake found a valve had
+broken.  He engaged the men he wanted and afterwards resolved to leave
+the car and walk back across the sands.  The few cottages were very
+small and their occupants had no room for strangers, but the bay got
+narrow near its mouth and the distance across the sands was scarcely
+three miles.  Jake did not expect to find much water in the channels,
+and when he had borrowed a pair of fishermen's waders for Carrie, and
+they had got a meal at a cottage, they set off.
+
+It was dark and fog drifted in from sea, but the moon shone between
+slowly-moving clouds.  The throb of the surf was unusually loud and a
+fisherman told Jake to get across as soon as he could.  He said there
+was wind outside and the tide often turned before its proper time when
+a fresh breeze was coming.
+
+When dusk fell Jim returned from the marsh and found Mrs. Winter in the
+hall.  There was nobody else about, and he thought the hall looked
+lonely.  He was tired after a day's hard work and sat down in an
+easy-chair when Mrs. Winter asked if he would like some tea.
+
+"I'll wait until Carrie comes," he said.  "Jake ought to have brought
+her back by now.  The house feels empty when they're not here."
+
+Mrs. Winter mused.  Although Jim had rather unwillingly agreed when
+Evelyn insisted that nobody should be told about their engagement, he
+took much for granted when he imagined that nobody knew.  Mrs. Winter
+was not deceived by his silence and knew that Carrie understood.
+
+"When do you reckon you'll finish the dykes, Jim?" she asked presently.
+
+"I don't know," he said.  "It looks like a long job and money's getting
+short.  Anyhow, I have got to put it over, because I can't stand for
+losing the sum I've already spent.  But why do you ask?"
+
+"Because we must go back when you have no more use for Jake."
+
+"Oh," said Jim, smiling, "I'll always have some use for Jake, and
+Langrigg wouldn't be the same if he took you away.  You and Carrie make
+the old house feel like home."
+
+Mrs. Winter felt troubled.  Jim was obviously sincere, and she had
+liked him from the beginning.  She had been happy at Langrigg; after
+the strain of hard work and poverty, it was nice to rest and control
+the well-ordered English household.  Carrie, too, had been happy, but
+Mrs. Winter imagined she was not happy now.  Although the girl had grit
+and would play her part well, Mrs. Winter did not mean to let her wait
+for Jim's wedding.
+
+"You know we can't stay very long," she said.
+
+"I don't see why it's impossible."
+
+"You may get married."
+
+"Well?" said Jim.  "Suppose I do?  There's plenty of room at Langrigg
+and my wife would be kind to my friends when she knew how much I owe
+them."
+
+"The plan wouldn't work.  When you marry, your wife will have first
+claim on you.  I reckon she'll have all the claim there is and won't
+want to share it with anybody else."
+
+Jim frowned.  Perhaps Mrs. Winter was justified.  Now he came to think
+of it, he had once or twice got a hint that Evelyn did not altogether
+understand his friendship for Carrie.
+
+"I hate to think of your going," he declared.  "Anyhow, you must stay
+for some time yet.  Jake promised to help me finish the draining
+scheme, and I may go broke.  Then I'd need him more."
+
+He got up and was silent for a few moments.  If he lost his money, his
+engagement to Evelyn must be broken off.  This was obvious, but if he
+had, for example, meant to marry Carrie, his embarrassments would not,
+in one sense, matter much.  Carrie would meet their troubles with a
+smile and help him to make good.  Still he must not indulge thoughts
+like this.
+
+"I think I'll take the punt and paddle up the big creek," he said.
+"You can tell Carrie she ought to have come back to give me tea.  Since
+she hasn't come, I'll wait for dinner."
+
+He went off and Mrs. Winter mused.  Jim generally knew what he wanted,
+but his attitude was puzzling now.  Although he meant to marry Evelyn
+and imagined he loved her, Mrs. Winter doubted.  She wondered whether
+Evelyn had, so to speak, dazzled him by her grace and beauty.  Jim was
+resolute and practical, but not clever.  Mrs. Winter sighed and
+imagined she had been foolish to let Carrie stay so long, but she could
+not see her way.  Jim would not be married until he had drained the
+marsh and Jake would not go before the work was finished.  Mrs. Winter
+admitted that he could not go.
+
+In the meantime, Jim launched his shooting-punt in a muddy creek.  The
+punt would carry two people and measured about eighteen feet long and
+nearly three feet wide.  She was decked, except for a short well, and
+when loaded floated a few inches above the water.  A bundle of reeds
+was fastened across the head-ledge of the well to hide the occupant
+when he lay down and used the short paddle.
+
+Jim stood on the after-deck and drove the punt down the creek with a
+pole.  He could see across the bank, and the wet marsh, glistening
+faintly in the moonlight, ran back into thin mist.  In front, the creek
+got wider until it melted into the expanse of sands.  Here and there a
+belt of smooth mud caught a silvery reflection, but for the most part
+the sands were dark.  The night was calm and the advancing surf rumbled
+in the distance like a heavy train.  It was a good night for shooting
+and Jim wondered whether anybody else was about.  Mordaunt and Dick now
+and then went after the geese, and Shanks, in his shooting punt,
+generally haunted the channels when the gaggles came down to feed.
+
+It was some time after low-water when Jim reached the main channel and
+stopped to listen.  He thought the surf was unusually loud, but he
+could not hear the geese.  The wild cry of a curlew came out of the
+dark and red-shanks were whistling in the distance.  The water, so far
+as he could see, was still, and this meant the tide had not yet entered
+the channel.  He thought he ought to have an hour before it did so, but
+the current would run fast then.  Tides rise high when high-water comes
+at twelve o'clock with a full moon.
+
+After a few minutes he set off again.  There was no need for him to lie
+down and he stood on deck, using the pole.  It sank about a foot, but
+presently the water shoaled and when the punt touched bottom he got
+over and dragged her by a line.  He wore a yellow oilskin, long waders,
+and thin canvas shoes.  At length, the punt would float no farther, and
+putting her on rollers, he pulled her a short distance up the bank and
+afterwards carried a small anchor as far as the line would allow.  He
+was a mile and a half from land, the tide would soon flow, and if the
+geese were about, he might be away some time.  Then, picking up his
+gun, he set off up the nearly dry channel.  There was a salt-water
+lake, bordered by a weedy scar, not far off, and he might find some
+brant geese or ducks.
+
+In the meantime, Dick Halliday called at Langrigg, and was received by
+Mrs. Winter.
+
+"Are you all alone?" he asked.
+
+Mrs. Winter told him where Jake and Carrie had gone, and that Jim was
+shooting.  Dick inquired when Jake had started and looked thoughtful
+when Mrs. Winter replied.
+
+"They ought to have been back some time since," he remarked.  "The road
+is very bad where it runs across the head of the bay and high tides
+cover the causeway for an hour or two.  I don't think Jake would wait
+until dark; the car has probably broken down."
+
+"Then they would have to stop all night?"
+
+"I doubt if anybody could take them in.  There are only a few cottages
+and the mussel-gatherers and farm-hands have swarms of children.  I
+rather imagine Jake would walk across the sands----"
+
+He stopped and looked at the tall clock, and then crossing the floor,
+pulled back the window-curtains and opened a light.  Mrs. Winter noted
+that his movements were quick and thought him anxious.  Dick came
+rather often to Langrigg and she imagined Carrie attracted him,
+although she knew the girl had not meant to use her charm.
+
+"It's nearly full-moon," he remarked when he came back.  "I don't think
+Jim will mind if I borrow one of his guns.  I know where they are.
+Don't bother to ring."
+
+"Are you going to shoot?" Mrs. Winter asked.
+
+"I might get a shot," Dick replied carelessly.  "Anyhow, I'll walk
+across the sands.  I may find Jim, or perhaps meet Jake and Carrie
+coming back."
+
+He went to the gun-room and took down a heavy ten-bore, that would make
+a loud report, for the fog he had seen from the window was getting
+thick.  Then he put some cartridges in his pocket, and finding a pair
+of waders, went back and smiled when he met Mrs. Winter's curious
+glance.
+
+"Carrie may be glad of the waders," he said.  "There's sometimes a
+little water in the hollows, and I don't expect Jake knows the driest
+way.  Now I'll get off."
+
+Mrs. Winter let him go.  She was beginning to feel alarmed, but Dick's
+quick, resolute movements comforted her.  He had been careful not to
+hint there was a risk, but if there was, he would know the best way of
+meeting it.  Dick did not hurry when he went down the freshly-raked
+gravel drive, but when he reached the road he walked as fast as the
+heavy gun would let him.  Carrie was on the sands, it was past
+low-water, and Jake did not know much about the gutters through which
+the tide ran up the bay.  Dick did know, and had sometimes seen a
+white-topped bore roll like a wall of foam across the flats when the
+moon was full.  To-night, when wind was coming, the tide would rise
+fast.
+
+It was rough walking across the marsh, where he was forced to jump
+ditches and wind about among deep holes, and he was glad to reach the
+sands.  Stopping for a few moments, he took off his boots.  The sand
+was cold, but he meant to strike the shortest line across the bay and
+in places the mud was soft.  He knew one can pull one's naked foot
+loose where one's boots would stick; moreover, Carrie would like the
+waders dry.
+
+Dick began to think about Carrie as he set out across the flats.  He
+liked her much, and admitted that it cost him an effort not to fall in
+love with her; Carrie had made him feel that this could not be allowed.
+Sometimes he wondered why, and sometimes he thought he knew; but then
+he suspected that Jim would marry Evelyn.  Dick approved Jim, but
+doubted if he was altogether the man for Evelyn.  Perhaps, however,
+when he came to think about it, he really meant that Evelyn was not the
+girl for Jim.  There was a difference----.
+
+He pulled himself up.  He was fond of Evelyn, although he knew her
+faults; besides, the fog was thick and he must keep his proper course.
+He ought to strike the big gutter soon and was anxious about the tide:
+it would soon run up the hollows in the flats.  He wondered where
+Mordaunt was, because Lance had told him he was going out on the sands
+and he had not heard his gun.
+
+Shortly afterwards, Dick went down the bank of the gutter and began to
+wade across.  The water did not come much above his ankles; but it was
+moving; slowly yet, although it would soon run fast.  He got across and
+saw Jim's punt on the muddy sand.  The fog was low and drifted about in
+belts, clearing now and then, and when he stopped by the punt the moon
+shone through.
+
+Dick was puzzled.  The punt had been moved since Jim pulled her up the
+bank.  It was prudent to leave her where one could get on board when
+the tide rose, but Dick could not see why Jim had afterwards moved her
+down.  He had, however, done so, because the rollers he used had made a
+rut in the sand in advance of her present position.  Then the anchor
+had been carried up to higher ground, for one could see where the line
+had dragged, although it now lay close to the punt.  Dick began to
+examine the footsteps about the spot.  He was something of a naturalist
+and a good wildfowler and had studied the tracks of animals and birds.
+
+Jim had obviously come up the gutter and another man had joined him.
+The other was barefooted and the marks seemed to indicate that he had
+helped Jim to run down the punt.  Then a third man had arrived and Dick
+thought this was Lance, because he wore nailed fishing brogues.  Lance
+often used brogues; he was cautious and did not like soft mud.  Dick
+imagined Lance had reached the spot after the others and was somewhere
+about; he would not go far from the gutter when the tide was rising.
+The thing was strange, but since Jim had moved the punt back, there was
+no reason why Dick should meddle.  Jim had probably gone to the scar
+and no doubt knew how long he could stay.  Moreover, Dick's business
+was to find Carrie, and he set off again.
+
+He followed a small creek that joined the big gutter.  Its channel was
+narrow and cut rather deep into the sand.  Although a belt of fog
+rolled up he could see fifty or sixty yards, and presently
+distinguished a hazy figure near a bend of the creek.  He thought it
+was about Lance's height, and shouted; but the fellow did not answer
+and vanished next moment.  It looked as if the fog had rolled nearer
+and hidden him, although he might have gone down into the creek.  Dick
+went to the edge, but saw nobody, although he crossed a row of steps.
+This was puzzling.  He imagined the other had heard his shout and was
+in the hollow, where his shooting-clothes would melt into the
+background.  The sand, however, was soft and the marks had begun to
+fill up.  Dick did not see why he should follow them, since the man
+might have meant to hide until the geese flew over.  He gave it up and
+pushed on.
+
+The fog crept towards him and did not look as if it would soon roll
+away.  For all that, he knew the sands and had the noise of the
+advancing surf for a guide, which was lucky because speed was
+important.  A stream ran through the flats near the other shore, and if
+Carrie and Jake had started they would have crossed its channel and now
+be on the long peninsula of sand that went up the middle of the bay.
+When the water rose they could not get across the main gutter, and it
+would be hard to reach the land from the end of the peninsula because
+it was traversed by a number of little creeks, up which the tide forced
+its way.
+
+After a time, Dick stopped and fired the gun.  He heard nothing but the
+echoes that rolled across the waste and the roar of the sea.  The
+latter was ominously loud and he began to run.  When he had gone some
+distance, he tried another shot and disturbed two black-backed gulls
+that made a noise like hoarse laughter as they flew overhead.  This was
+all, and he felt that the gulls were mocking him.  He was getting
+anxious, and ran on until he was forced to stop for breath, as the fog
+began to lift.  It rolled back before a little puff of wind, the moon
+shone through, and he saw glittering water in front.
+
+Dick began to run the other way.  He could do no more, and it looked as
+if Jake and Carrie were not on the middle sand.  After all, he had not
+much ground for imagining they had meant to cross the bay; if there was
+no room at the village, they might have walked to a station four or
+five miles off and gone to the market town.  He must save himself, and
+since he hardly thought he could reach Jim's punt before she floated,
+he headed up the middle sand.  One could cross the gutter farther on,
+if one knew the right spot, but it would mean wading some distance and
+he must be quick.  He got through, and then ran back along the edge of
+the channel.  He wanted to see if Jim had returned to the punt.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+JIM'S ENLIGHTENMENT
+
+Jim waited for some time behind a bowlder by the salt-water pond, and
+then shot a duck.  The report echoed among the belts of fog and after
+the noise died away the roar of the advancing tide was ominously loud,
+but Jim thought he heard something else.  He listened, and in a few
+moments a cry came faintly across the sands.  Somebody was calling for
+help, and Jim began to run.  He might have to go some distance and his
+punt would soon float.
+
+After a few minutes he plunged into a belt of mist.  The sand was soft
+and his waders and heavy gun embarrassed him, but he heard the call
+again and thought he knew the voice.  He labored on, breathing hard,
+until by and by the tog melted and he saw two figures not far off.
+
+"Jake!" he shouted.  "Is it you and Carrie?"
+
+Jake answered, and Jim was conscious of a relief that shook him when
+the others came up.  Carrie was splashed by mud and breathless with
+haste.
+
+"What are you doing on the sands?" he asked.
+
+"Car broke down; we tried to get across," Jake replied.  "Saw the
+Langrigg hill when we started and then the fog came on.  They told us
+to head for some stake-nets, but we couldn't find them.  Then we met
+the water and reckoned we were lost.  Is your punt about?"
+
+"She is not far off," said Jim, who turned to Carrie.  "We must hustle.
+Can you run?"
+
+Carrie said she would try and they set off, but when they had gone a
+few hundred yards a wave of thick fog rolled up, blotting out the
+moonlight.
+
+"This is awkward," Jim gasped, taking Carrie's arm and helping her on.
+"Still, if we keep going, we'll soon strike the gutter."
+
+The roar of the surf gave him some guidance, but sound is puzzling in a
+fog; there was very little wind, and he could not see the moon.  He
+knew the tide was now running up the channel and hoped he was heading
+the right way.  Shortly afterwards a dull report rolled across the
+sands.
+
+"A ten-bore!" he exclaimed.  "Mordaunt uses a twelve.  I expect Dick's
+shooting, and since the water's rising, he's on the shore flat.  Where
+do you locate the shot?"
+
+"A little to the left," said Jake.
+
+They swerved and presently heard the gun again.
+
+"That's for us," gasped Jim.  "Dick has found the punt; I reckon she's
+afloat."
+
+"Let me go, Jim," said Carrie.  "Hurry on and get the punt."
+
+Jim pressed her arm and urged her forward.  "I'm going to stick to you
+until you're safe on board."
+
+"Water!" shouted Jake, from a few yards in front; and something
+glimmered in the fog, which was getting thin again.
+
+They could see for a short distance, but when they stopped at the edge
+of the channel the punt was not about.  She was, however, painted an
+inconspicuous gray, and Jim thought she was not far off.  While he
+hesitated, wondering which way to turn, a heavy report came out of the
+melting fog.
+
+"Hallo!" Jake shouted.  "Where's our punt?"
+
+"On your side," somebody answered.  "Saw her five minutes since and
+then the water drove me back."
+
+The voice came from their left and after running a short distance they
+stopped.  A low, indistinct object floated about thirty yards off, and
+Jim, dropping Carrie's arm, stood for a moment with his hands clenched.
+The wave-lined sand was level, and this meant much, because the bank of
+the gutter was steep.  The tide had filled the hollow and he could not
+see across.  He was not disturbed about the depth, but the current
+rippled across the sand, carrying along clumps of weed and flakes of
+foam that showed how fast it went.
+
+"Give me your knife," he said to Jake, as he pulled off his oilskin.
+"I've got to swim.  You must stay with Carrie; I swim better."
+
+He slit the waders and tore them off with his canvas shoes; then he ran
+along the sand, heading up stream, and when he judged he had gone far
+enough plunged in.  After he had taken a few steps the water frothed
+about his waist, and next moment swept him off his feet.  He swam
+savagely, swinging his left arm out and steering obliquely against the
+current that carried him along.  The water was horribly cold and cut
+his breathing and cramped his muscles, but if he missed the punt he
+might be swept some distance up the channel before he could land.  He
+must not miss the punt, because he would be too exhausted to try again
+and did not think Jake could reach her.
+
+After a minute or two he saw the punt; she was swinging about in the
+rush of tide and seemed to forge towards him.  A rippling line marked
+her painter.  He stopped swimming and let himself drift.  He must not
+be carried past; and presently he made a quick stroke and felt a
+triumphant thrill when his numbed fingers clutched the craft's low
+side.  For all that, he had not conquered yet.  He was tired, and it is
+hard to get on board a floating punt.
+
+The current swept his legs under the boat, and when he tried to lift
+himself she rolled down with his weight and threatened to capsize.  But
+he must not be beaten.  He was fighting for Carrie's life, and
+remembering this gave him extra strength.  Sliding his hands along the
+side of the punt, he let the current take him aft, and then with a
+desperate effort lifted the upper of his body above the pointed stern.
+Next moment, he fell forward on the deck and crawled to the well.  He
+had won.  He tried to shout, but could not.  His heart beat like a
+hammer and he choked.
+
+Pulling himself together, he seized the line at the bow, and in a few
+moments the anchor was on board and he picked up the pole.  The punt
+drifted fast up channel while he headed for the bank, but he saw Jake
+running along the sand and presently threw the light anchor as far as
+he could.  Jake caught the line and Jim, springing overboard, ran
+through the water and picked up Carrie.
+
+He felt her tremble and kissed her as she put her arms round his neck.
+It did not matter it Jake saw or not.  After putting her on board he
+jumped in and grasped the pole.
+
+"Shove us off," he said to Jake.  "I'll come back for you."
+
+They lost the bank in the fog, and soon the pole did not touch bottom
+and Jim used the paddle.  After a few minutes, he saw an indistinct
+figure, apparently in the water; and then his paddle struck sand.
+Jumping over, he held out his arms and did not put Carrie down until he
+had carried her some distance from the channel.  He had afterwards a
+hazy notion that he kissed her again.  When he turned back Dick was
+pushing off the punt.
+
+"I'll bring Jake; you have had enough," he said.
+
+Jim shoved him back.  "It's my job; he's my partner.  Look after
+Carrie.  Start for the marsh."
+
+He got on board and when the punt vanished in the fog Dick turned to
+Carrie.  "They may be ten minutes; the tide's running fast.  You are
+wet and perhaps we had better get off."
+
+"No," said Carrie.  "I won't move until they're safe across."
+
+Dick gave her a quick glance.  She looked resolute; her voice had a
+strange exultant note.  He was anxious to start, since he thought they
+might find some water in a gutter between them and land, but it was
+obvious that Carrie could not be persuaded.  Presently the punt came
+across and the others got out.
+
+"Have you been here long?" Jim asked when he had driven the anchor into
+the sand.
+
+"No," said Dick.  "I fired the gun as soon as I arrived.  The punt was
+on your side, I imagined you were about, and I can't swim much.  I'd
+seen the punt before.  I went to meet Jake and Carrie, but met the
+water.  No doubt, they crossed the channel that stopped me, farther up."
+
+Jim nodded.  "Looks like that.  It was a big relief when we heard you
+shoot.  But I'm puzzled: the punt was some distance from the bank and
+the anchor was covered.  I thought I'd carried it far enough back."
+
+"Then you didn't move her after you pulled her up?"
+
+"Certainly not," Jim rejoined, with some surprise.  "If I'd wanted her
+to float, I wouldn't have bothered to drag her up over the steep mud."
+
+"Oh, well, we must get off," said Dick, who did not want to talk about
+the punt.  "The tide's running fast across the flats; I think we'll
+make for the shell ridge."
+
+Although the fog was thick, they reached the marsh, where Dick left
+them.  He was wet and it was some distance to Whitelees, but he would
+not go to Langrigg and put on dry clothes.  When Jim got calm he might
+feel curious about the punt.  Dick was not ready to satisfy his
+curiosity yet.  He was disturbed and wanted to get away.
+
+The others went on, and when they came down to dinner nobody looked
+much the worse.  Jim, however, was quiet and although Carrie talked and
+sometimes laughed, he imagined her cheerfulness was forced.  Jake alone
+seemed to have a good appetite and Jim was annoyed when Mrs. Winter
+remarked that he did not eat much.  She declared the dinner was pretty
+good, although it had been served an hour or two late.  When it was
+over, Jim looked at the clock and proposed that they should play cards.
+He would sooner have gone off to the library by himself, but Jake might
+speculate about this and so long as they were occupied he need not
+talk.  The others would go to bed soon, and then he could grapple with
+an awkward situation.
+
+At length, Jake put down his cards.  "I can't make it; you have beaten
+us," he said, and pushed back his chair.  "If you want to see the men
+start to-morrow we had better go to bed."
+
+He brought Mrs. Winter a candle and they left the hall; but Carrie
+stopped to pick up the cards, and Jim waited.  He heard Jake say good
+night to his mother on the landing, and their steps died away.  It was
+very quiet in the hall, except for the snapping of the fire; and Jim's
+hand trembled as he struck a match and lighted Carrie's candle.  She
+heard him move and looked up.  There was some color in her face, which
+cut sharply against the dark oak.  Jim put the candle on the carved
+newel-post at the bottom of the stairs.
+
+"I was badly scared when we found the water was round the punt," he
+said.  "In fact, I rather lost my control."
+
+"You were not scared for yourself and were very cool and quick," Carrie
+replied and forced a smile.  "Perhaps some people do lose control when
+they are strongly moved, but you are not that kind."
+
+Jim gave her a keen glance.  It looked as if she meant to persuade him
+that he had acted normally, but this was ridiculous.  Perhaps she meant
+to hint that his rashness must not be talked about.  Coolness was hard,
+but he was honest and there was something to be said.
+
+"I wonder whether you know I am going to marry Evelyn?" he remarked.
+
+She met his glance.  "Yes, Jim; I knew some time since.  It doesn't
+matter that you told nobody.  Well, she's beautiful and very charming."
+She moved, and taking the candle from the post, calmly looked back at
+him.  "Of course, you're going to marry Evelyn!  But the others have
+gone, and I'm tired.  Good night."
+
+He let her go, and when she went up the shallow stairs, crossed the
+floor to the hearth.  There was a looking-glass close by and he started
+as he saw his face.  His brows were knitted and his mouth was set.
+Carrie was clever and while he talked to her he had looked like that!
+He began to see what she had meant when she said he was, of course,
+going to marry Evelyn.
+
+He sat down and gazed savagely at the sinking fire.  What a fool he had
+been!  Evelyn had moved him to romantic admiration.  Her beauty, her
+high cultivation and refinement had made a strong appeal, but he had
+not known that they appealed mainly to his intellect, and it counted
+for much that she was the first Englishwoman of her type he had met.
+He knew now, and saw he had deceived himself.  Enlightenment had come
+when Carrie ran some risk of being drowned and he had taken her in his
+arms.
+
+Evelyn was, so to speak, a model of perfection, worthy to be admired,
+but really out of his reach.  In a sense, she left him cold; but Carrie
+was warm and loving flesh and blood.  She had worked with him and
+cheered him in the lonely North; her small failings had a curious
+charm.  She appealed to all that was human in him; it was ridiculous
+that he had imagined his love for her was brotherly.
+
+He began to think about their last interview, when he had lighted the
+candle.  She had said little, but she had meant much.  His kissing her
+must be forgotten and he must marry Evelyn.  Carrie wanted him to
+understand that she saw this and was jealous for his honor.  If he drew
+back and broke his faith with Evelyn, she would have nothing to do with
+him.  Moreover, it was unthinkable that he should draw back.  He sat
+still for some time with his hands clenched and then got up abruptly
+and went out.
+
+The wind the surf had threatened had come and blown back the fog.  Its
+rude buffet braced him, the roar of the sea and wail of the trees that
+rolled down the slope were soothing.  The moon was bright and when he
+saw the foam glitter in the bay his sense of rebellion began to melt.
+Carrie was safe; he had saved her and she had shown him his duty.
+Well, he was going to carry it out, and after all Evelyn's charm was
+strong.  He had been a fool, but only Carrie knew, and Evelyn must not
+pay.  By and by he went back to the house, calmed but not much
+comforted.
+
+In the meantime, Dick reached Whitelees and did not say much about his
+adventure.  When he had got some food he went to the smoking-room and
+looked for paper and a pencil.  He wanted to refresh his memory of the
+footsteps about the punt and the marks left by the anchor line.  It was
+important that he should do so, but although he sat for an hour,
+drawing rough plans of the spot, he was not satisfied.  Unluckily, he
+could not go back to the sands in the morning and study the ground,
+because he had promised to join some friends in town for a week.  All
+the same, it was some relief to put off the matter and go to bed, but
+he did not sleep much and felt moody when he got an early breakfast and
+started for the station.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+EVELYN'S RESOLUTION FAILS
+
+Disturbing thoughts spoiled Dick's visit to town and one morning soon
+after his return he went out on the sands when the tide was low.  He
+took a note-book and a compass, and before he went walked up and down a
+measured distance on the lawn until he thought he knew the length of
+his stride.  Since he was going to make some investigations that he
+tried to hope would banish his doubts, it was necessary to be accurate.
+He found the spot where Jim had left his punt; there was a little
+runlet of water down the bank that fixed it, and he stepped off the
+distance to the level sand above.  Then he smoked a pipe while he tried
+to recapture the footsteps as he had seen them in the moonlight, and
+when he was roughly satisfied, went across to the creek that ran into
+the main channel.
+
+He counted his steps until he reached the spot where the shadowy figure
+had vanished in the fog.  The creek bent just there; he remembered the
+bend, which he had cut across, and the bank was steep.  If Lance,
+wearing light-colored shooting clothes, had gone into the hollow,
+nobody could have seen him a few yards off.  Dick made some notes and
+marked the distances, and then went back to Whitelees, feeling
+strangely troubled.  His doubts had not vanished; they had changed to
+certainties.
+
+Dick was young and often careless, but now a sense of responsibility
+weighed upon him.  He had a liking for Jim and an affection for Carrie
+that might have ripened to a stronger feeling had she allowed it, and
+both had run some risk of being drowned.  For all that, Dick could not
+see his way.  The honor of the house must be guarded, and although he
+knew himself a coward he hesitated for a miserable week.
+
+Then Jim came to Whitelees one evening when Mrs. Halliday and Dick were
+dining somewhere else.  He stopped for two or three hours, and
+unluckily Evelyn was bored when he arrived and Jim was dull.  He had
+had a disappointing day, for a sluice-gate had fallen down, a workman
+had got hurt, and a valuable horse had broken its leg.  Jim talked
+about his troubles at some length while Evelyn tried to look
+sympathetic, and afterwards stated, with numerous particulars, his
+projects for improving the estate, although he carefully explained that
+his losing his money might prevent their being carried out.  While he
+sketched his plans he unconsciously delineated his character, and when
+he went away Evelyn felt daunted.
+
+Pulling a chair to the fire, she sat for a time trying to face a crisis
+she had begun to fear must come.  She had thought she understood Jim
+and had known that when she married him she must give up much; but now
+she saw him as he really was.  He cared nothing for amusements and not
+much for music and art; in fact, he had no use for the refinements and
+amenities that smoothed the life she enjoyed.  Langrigg could not be
+made a center of pleasant social intercourse and perhaps political
+influence; Jim's wife must study economy and help to manage his farms.
+It was not that he was selfish.  All his habits were utilitarian and he
+would not change.  Well, she could not marry a farmer and devote
+herself to strenuous work.  She must be amused; the life Jim had
+planned for her was frankly impossible.  Getting up before Mrs.
+Halliday returned, she left word that she had a headache and went to
+bed.
+
+Next morning Mordaunt came to Whitelees and found Evelyn alone.  He sat
+down opposite with a careless smile and she noted his smooth urbanity
+and easy pose.  Jim as a rule was restless, and highly-strung.
+
+"Seeing Dick and your mother in the car encouraged me to call," he
+said.  "Dick and I were staunch friends, but I didn't want to meet him.
+He has recently been strange."
+
+"He has been moody since he came from town, although he was not in very
+good spirits the morning he left," Evelyn agreed in a thoughtful voice.
+"I imagine something that might account for it happened the night Jim's
+friends were lost on the sands."
+
+Mordaunt felt disturbed, but Evelyn's remark stiffened his resolution.
+She had noted Dick's moodiness, and since the lad was suspicious he
+must act quickly.  He might have trouble afterwards, but he would meet
+it when it came.
+
+"It's possible," he said, "Dick's temperament is nervous and perhaps he
+had some grounds for feeling a strain.  I expect you have noted that he
+is attracted by Miss Winter?"
+
+"I have noted it," Evelyn admitted with an unconscious frown.  "It will
+lead to nothing.  Dick's romantic, but he is not a fool."
+
+"He is headstrong and his own master.  Miss Winter has beauty."
+
+"For all that, it's ridiculous to imagine Dick would marry her."
+
+"I don't know," said Mordaunt, coolly.  "You are going to marry Jim."
+
+Evelyn colored, because she knew what he meant.  For the most part, the
+objections that could be urged against Carrie applied to Jim.
+
+"I don't know if I'm going to marry Jim or not," she said.
+
+Mordaunt looked hard at her and his eyes sparkled.  "Ah," he said, "I
+imagined something like this would happen; in fact, I have waited for
+it.  It was plain that Jim would pall.  He has his virtues, but he is
+not the man for you."
+
+"He has many virtues; he's big and strong and honest.  It would be
+easier if he had some of our shabby faults.  Jim's code is as rude as
+himself, but it's stern and he lives up to it.  I don't know if I can."
+
+"I know," said Mordaunt, smiling; "you could not!  Jim is something of
+a savage, but all the same, he belongs to the old school and his
+rudeness is austere.  We are modern and live on another plane.  But how
+did you come to see the truth I've seen all along?"
+
+"Jim showed me," Evelyn replied with some feeling.  "Unconsciously, of
+course.  He was here last evening and talked about his plans.  They are
+good plans.  Had I been different, I might have helped, but they left
+me out.  I don't like to be left out.  Am I the girl to satisfy a man
+who lives to farm and dig marsh drains?  You know me, Lance."
+
+"The thing is ridiculous," Mordaunt declared, and was silent for a
+moment or two.  He did know Evelyn, and her frankness meant much.  It
+was plain that she meant to break with Jim but felt she needed help.
+
+"What are you going to do about it?" he asked.
+
+"I don't know," she said drearily.  "I can't go on."
+
+Mordaunt made a sign of sympathetic agreement.  "You cannot; but there
+is a way out.  I think you see the way.  Durst I hope you'll take it
+with me?"
+
+Evelyn said nothing and turned her head, and he went on: "I'm not
+utilitarian, and my rule is yours.  We understand each other.  My
+talents will be used to amuse you and not to dig drains."  He got up
+and stood by her chair.  "You have pluck, Evelyn.  Tell Jim you have
+found you cheated yourself and let him go."
+
+"I haven't much pluck," she said, quietly.  "Jim rather carried me
+away.  He stood for romance, struggle, and adventure; things I haven't
+known.  He's a man, a plain, hot-blooded fighting man, and I was tired
+of conventional languidness.  But I began to doubt and see I wasn't
+strong enough to live his life.  I had wrapped myself up in flimsy
+artificialities until they got needful and I couldn't break loose."
+She paused and looked up.  "Well, you are my kind, Lance, and if you
+want me, I am willing.  I'll tell Jim, but I shrink.  He may not
+understand, and it will hurt us both."
+
+Mordaunt thought for a moment.  It might be better if Evelyn did not
+tell Jim, and he was afraid Dick would meddle.  He took and kissed her
+hand.
+
+"My dear!" he said.  "But you must not get hurt, and I have a plan.
+Hasn't Florence urged you to stop with her in town?  Well, suppose you
+go and I join you there?  We can be married by license and go to France
+or Italy.  Before we come back Jim's disappointment will have cooled
+and our friends have got over their surprise."
+
+Evelyn saw the plan had advantages.  It would obviate the need for
+awkward apologies, and when she and Lance came back it would be too
+late for people to disapprove.  She agreed and submitted without
+emotion when Mordaunt put his arm round her, but in spite of some
+regrets she was firm.  Romance had been a treacherous guide; she had
+found this out and was logical again.  When Mordaunt went away all had
+been arranged, and when she sat down to write to Florence in London her
+hand was steady and composition easy.  After the note was written she
+hesitated for a moment, and then resolutely fastened the envelope.
+
+A few days after Evelyn went to town, Dick, coming back from shooting
+one afternoon, met Tom Shanks on the marsh.  When he saw the fellow his
+anger flared up, for he had felt his responsibility and wondered with
+keen disturbance what he ought to do.  Although Lance was on the sands
+the night Carrie was nearly drowned and knew much about the matter,
+Dick had grounds for believing Shanks moved the punt.  He had meant to
+be cautious and wait until he saw his way, but something in the
+fellow's furtive, sullen look, banished his control.
+
+He stopped Shanks and found it a relief to let himself go.  The other
+was cool and hinted darkly that Dick had better leave things alone.  He
+said Dick had nothing to go upon; he had not seen Shanks near the punt,
+and if he went to the police about it, might get somebody else into
+trouble.  Shanks knew what he knew, and if he were forced would tell.
+Dick then used tact, scoffing at the other's hints until Shanks
+abandoned some of his reserve, and when the stormy interview was over
+Dick went home moodily.  The plan he had made of the marks by the punt
+was accurate, but the line he ought to take not yet plain.  Lance was
+his relation.
+
+In the evening he drove Mrs. Halliday to Dryholm, where Jim and his
+friends had been asked to dine.  They had not arrived, and while
+Bernard talked to Mrs. Halliday, Dick went to the library to look at a
+book about sport.  When he opened the door Mordaunt was writing and
+there was a letter, to which he seemed to be replying, on the table.
+He nodded and went on writing, and Dick was glad he did not want to
+talk.  After a few minutes a car rolled up the drive and when Mordaunt
+fastened the envelope they heard Jim's party in the hall.
+
+Mordaunt went down stairs and Dick, coming after, saw an envelope on
+the floor.  Imagining Mordaunt had dropped it, he picked it up and
+frowned as he recognized Evelyn's hand.  Mordaunt was talking to Mrs.
+Winter and Dick did not want to disturb them; besides, he would sooner
+give Lance the letter when they were alone.  Then Bernard beckoned him
+and before long dinner was served.
+
+Dick did not enjoy the meal.  He could hardly rouse himself to talk to
+Carrie and when she turned to Mordaunt, the latter's careless smile as
+he began to joke moved him to almost uncontrollable rage.  Dick was in
+a black mood, for the secret he carried had worn his nerves, and he did
+not like Evelyn's writing to Lance.  He was resolved that his sister
+should have nothing to do with the fellow.  When dinner was over he
+said to Mordaunt, "I'd like to see the gun you bought."
+
+"Very well," said Mordaunt and they went to the gun-room.
+
+The room was small.  A glass case, holding guns and fishing rods, ran
+along one wall; a bench occupied the other.  There was a plain table,
+stained by oil, and a fire burned in a stove with an open front, for
+the night was damp.  A flickering glow played about the walls and shone
+on the greasy guns.  Dick stopped Mordaunt, who put his hand on the
+electric-light switch.
+
+"Never mind the light," he said, throwing a letter on the table.  "You
+dropped this."
+
+"I did," said Mordaunt, turning to Dick, who leaned against the table.
+"Imagined I'd put it in my pocket.  Thank you for picking it up."
+
+Dick thought it significant that he had not opened the case to get the
+new gun.  Lance's voice was calm but his glance was quick.  He seemed
+to be waiting.
+
+"What was Evelyn writing to you about?" Dick asked.
+
+The light from the stove touched Mordaunt's face, which hardened.
+
+"Then, you have not read the letter?"
+
+"You know I have not," Dick rejoined, for his control gave way at the
+other's taunt.  Lance wanted to make him angry and find out how much he
+knew.  Well, he should find out and Dick thought he would get a jar.
+"Anyhow, you must stop writing to Evelyn," he resumed.  "I'd sooner you
+kept away from Whitelees when she comes home."
+
+"You bore with my visits not long since.  Are you afraid to state why
+you want them to stop?"
+
+"Not at all," said Dick, seeing the other meant to force him to be
+frank; he knew Lance had pluck.  "You are a clever philanderer, but
+Evelyn's going to marry Jim."
+
+Mordaunt smiled, imprudently, since his smile infuriated Dick.
+
+"Looks as if you wanted to quarrel!  I imagine I shall not write to
+Evelyn again for some time.  This ought to satisfy you.  Perhaps I'm
+dull, but I don't know why our friendship should break off."
+
+"You well know!"  Dick exclaimed.  "You meant to let Jim drown not long
+since!"
+
+"You're a theatrical fool," Mordaunt remarked, coolly, although his
+voice was rather hoarse.  "Anyhow, I think you're sober and you have
+made a statement that must be justified."
+
+"I'm willing to justify it, if you force me," Dick declared.  "But I'd
+sooner you admitted the thing and left the neighborhood, without an
+awkward explanation.  If you go at once and don't come back, it's
+perhaps not needful the others should know why you went.  You can live
+in town; I don't care where you live, so long as you don't see Evelyn
+again."
+
+He stopped and his face got very red, for the door opened and Mrs.
+Halliday and Bernard came in.
+
+"I imagined we would find you here, but it looks as if you were
+quarreling," Bernard remarked.
+
+"We were quarreling," Dick admitted with strange calm, for he was
+relieved that a chance to get rid of his load had come.  It was his
+duty to tell Jim and Bernard and he had been afraid.  Now he could
+leave matters to the head of the house.
+
+"You are hot-blooded, Dick, but I don't imagine you would get angry
+about nothing.  May I inquire the grounds for the dispute?"
+
+"I'll tell you if you will send for Jim.  The thing touches him."
+
+Bernard pressed an electric bell and Mordaunt said: "You will be very
+sorry for this, Dick."
+
+The bell rang and when a servant came Bernard said, "Tell Mr. Dearham
+we would like to see him here."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+DICK'S ACCUSATION
+
+The party in the gun-room were silent while they waited for Jim.  Mrs.
+Halliday glanced at the others curiously and got a sense of strain.
+Dick, looking disturbed but resolute, leaned against the table opposite
+Mordaunt, whose face was rather white; Bernard occupied the bench by
+the wall and his look was inscrutable.  All was very quiet except for
+the snapping of the stove and the occasional rattle of a cinder falling
+through the bars.  It was something of a relief when Jim came in and
+Bernard turned on the light.
+
+"Sit down, Jim," he said.  "Dick has something to tell us that he
+thinks you ought to hear.  He hints that it is important."
+
+"It is important," Dick replied.  "The thing has weighed on me for some
+time.  In fact, the load is too heavy and I feel I must get rid of it.
+I want to hand over my responsibility, and you are the head of the
+house, sir."
+
+"Very well," said Bernard.  "The post has drawbacks.  You had better go
+on."
+
+"Then I'll begin some time since; the night Lance and I met Jim at the
+telegraph shack.  We talked about England and Jim asked if we knew
+Langrigg.  There was an old French romance on a shelf and Lance read a
+passage.  He studied the book when Jim left the shack, and I found out
+afterwards that Franklin Dearham's name was written across the front
+page.  You see what this implies, sir?"
+
+"You mean Lance knew who Jim was, although you did not.  When did you
+find out?"
+
+"I picked up the book one day at Langrigg.  Lance was there.  He
+admitted that he had seen the writing at the telegraph shack."
+
+Jim turned to Mordaunt sharply.  "Then, you meant to let me stay in
+Canada!"
+
+"I did," said Mordaunt, who addressed Bernard.  "I thought it would be
+better for Jim and us if he did not know Langrigg was his.  I have not
+changed my views about it since."
+
+"That has been rather obvious," Bernard remarked and asked Dick:  "Why
+did you keep the thing dark?"
+
+"I was afraid to meddle; the matter was awkward.  Besides, until
+recently, I trusted Lance.  I thought his antagonism sprang from an
+honest prejudice."
+
+"Perhaps it was honest!  Are you willing to state the grounds you had
+for trying to keep Jim out of the country, Lance?"
+
+"No grounds would justify his robbing Jim of his inheritance," Mrs.
+Halliday interposed.
+
+Mordaunt smiled.  "I was not scrupulous but imagine my plot is
+condemned mainly because it failed.  I did not think Jim was the man to
+own Langrigg.  His education, character, and the life he had led, did
+not fit him for the position; it was plain that he would rule Langrigg
+like a Canadian industrialist and break all our traditions.  Right or
+wrong, I took some thought for the honor of the house."
+
+"I am the head of the house and was an industrialist," said Bernard
+dryly.  "You talk as if you belonged to the old school, but you do not
+go far enough back.  The men who built Langrigg were plain fighting
+farmers."  He signed to Dick.  "Go on!"
+
+"When Jim's car was upset I suspected Shanks was somehow accountable
+for the accident."
+
+"He was accountable," Jim said grimly; "I didn't know you knew this.
+But one must be just.  Lance lifted the wheel off my body at some risk
+to himself."
+
+"That is so," Dick agreed.  "I think he took advantage of it
+afterwards; I mean he knew we would remember he had saved your life.
+It was a generous impulse, but that was all."
+
+"I imagine Lance's character is too complex for your study," Bernard
+remarked.  "Tell us about his deeds."
+
+"Not long since, I was coming home in the dark when I found Lance
+talking to Tom Shanks in the wood.  Lance said he had caught the fellow
+poaching, and I thought it strange they should talk quietly.  I
+suspected he wanted me to tell Jim, but I did not.  His grudge against
+Jim had been getting worse."
+
+"When did you find Lance talking to Shanks?" Bernard asked, and smiled
+rather curiously when Dick replied, for he remembered his visit to the
+lawyer.  Lance had known about the visit.
+
+"Ah," he said, "I begin to see a light!  But go on, Dick; I expect you
+have now cleared the ground."
+
+"Dick has missed his vocation; he ought to have been a barrister,"
+Mordaunt remarked.
+
+"I'm trying to be just to you and Jim," Dick resumed.  "I have shirked
+my duty; I trusted you, Lance, and when I found you out it hurt."
+
+"You trusted me until you found Jim was the better man!  Well, it looks
+as if others had copied your example," Mordaunt rejoined.
+
+Bernard made an impatient sign and Dick resumed: "I've been leading to
+the night Jim and Carrie were nearly drowned.  You all know I was on
+the sands.  Well, I came to Jim's punt when he had left her and gone to
+look for the geese."  Dick paused and taking out a plan that he put on
+the table, addressed Jim: "You dragged the punt up the bank and carried
+out the anchor.  Is this sketch of the spot accurate?"
+
+Mordaunt moved abruptly, but controlled himself and stood very quiet;
+Jim picked up the paper and his face got dark.
+
+"So far as I remember, it is accurate."
+
+"Did you pull the punt down again, or move the anchor?"
+
+"I did not.  I was puzzled when I found her floating and the anchor
+covered."
+
+Dick gave Bernard the plan.  "The punt ought not to have floated before
+Jim got back.  You will note the rows of dots.  They stand for
+footsteps.  The first was Jim's; then Shanks came and pulled the punt
+back into the channel--I saw the mark of the rollers, leading up and
+down.  It is plain he wanted to leave Jim on the middle sand when the
+tide rose."
+
+"How did you know the steps were Shanks'?" Bernard asked.
+
+"The night was very cold, sir, but he was bare-footed."
+
+"Your surmise is, no doubt, right.  Anybody else would have worn boots
+or waders.  But there are three rows of tracks."
+
+Dick hesitated, then answered quietly: "The last were Lance's.  He
+passed the punt close; I don't know if he touched her, but it was plain
+that she would soon float and Jim was not about."
+
+"This is frankly unthinkable, Dick!" Mrs. Halliday exclaimed.
+
+For a moment or two the others were silent and their attitudes
+indicated that the strain was heavy.  Mrs. Halliday's face was flushed,
+Jim's was very stern, and Bernard knitted his brows.  Dick and Mordaunt
+stood motionless but tense at opposite ends of the table.
+
+"Your statement is very grave, Dick," Bernard remarked.  "Are you
+persuaded the steps were Lance's?"
+
+"I knew the marks of his fishing brogues, and saw him a short distance
+off.  I think he saw me, because he vanished; he went down into the
+hollow of the creek, where I have drawn a ring.  I went afterwards and
+carefully examined the ground.  I think that is all, sir."
+
+"It is enough," said Bernard, very dryly.  "You imply that Lance knew
+Jim might be cut off by the tide and refused to meddle?  But you take
+something for granted.  Why do you imagine Jim's danger was plain to
+Lance, if it was not then plain to you?  You went away."
+
+"I knew Carrie and Jake were farther out on the sands, and came back as
+soon as possible.  I fired my gun to warn Jim.  Lance did nothing but
+went off; he tried to hide from me."
+
+Bernard made a sign of agreement and then inquired: "Why have you been
+frank about it now, after saying nothing for some time?"
+
+"I'd sooner not reply, sir.  The thing mainly touches Lance and me."
+
+"His horrible treachery touches us all," Mrs. Halliday declared.  "If
+it were known, we should be forced to leave the neighborhood.  We could
+not face a scandal like this."
+
+"I imagine it will not be known," Bernard remarked with an ironical
+smile, and turned to Mordaunt.  "Have you anything to state?"
+
+"I might urge that I risked getting badly hurt when I lifted the car
+off Jim, and that I did not move his punt."
+
+"You consented to its being moved," Dick broke in.
+
+Bernard stopped him and Mordaunt resumed: "It is plain that you have
+judged me.  Dick brings no proof of his statements; but we will let
+this go.  There is obviously no use in my denying his tale.  Suppose I
+admit that it's correct?"
+
+"Jim is the injured party.  He must choose our line."
+
+"There is only one line," Jim replied.  "This thing cannot be talked
+about.  Lance knows we know I cannot punish him in any lawful way; but
+if he stops at Dryholm, I'll use the backwoods plan.  Well, I give him
+a week to go."
+
+Bernard nodded and looked at his watch.  "A week is too long!  If you
+pack quickly, Lance, you can get the express to town.  Anyhow, you will
+leave Dryholm as soon as the car is ready.  But I must be just, and
+since you might have made your mark in a useful profession had I not
+allowed you to think you would inherit part of my estate, I will tell
+my lawyers to pay you a sum quarterly.  If you come back to Cumberland,
+the payments will stop."
+
+Mordaunt made a sign of agreement, and glanced at Dick.
+
+"You have won, but I doubt if you have much ground for satisfaction,"
+he said and went out.
+
+Dick was vaguely puzzled, but when the door shut the others were
+conscious of keen relief.  They waited until Mordaunt's steps died away
+and then Bernard got up.
+
+"What has happened to-night is done with; I think you understand," he
+said, and turned to Mrs. Halliday.  "We will join our friends, and if
+they wonder why we have been absent so long, we will leave you to
+satisfy their curiosity."
+
+They found the others in the drawing-room, but although Mrs. Halliday
+began to talk and Bernard was now and then ironically humorous, Dick
+was quiet and Jim rather stern.  All were ready to go when Mrs.
+Halliday got up, but Bernard kept Carrie a moment when the Langrigg car
+throbbed at the steps.
+
+"This house is big and empty, my dear," he said.  "If Jim is not very
+much occupied, you will bring him now and then."
+
+Carrie wondered when the car rolled off.  Bernard had pressed her hand
+and his voice was gentle.  She blushed, for his imagining she could
+persuade Jim was significant, but it was puzzling.  He knew Jim was
+going to marry Evelyn.
+
+Presently Jim stopped the car, and getting down beckoned Jake.
+
+"You can drive home, Carrie," he said.  "There's something we must look
+after but we won't be long."
+
+Carrie started the car and when it rolled away Jake looked at his
+comrade.  Jim wore thin shoes and a light coat over his dinner jacket;
+the road was wet and the low ground dotted by shining pools.  It was
+some time after high-water and a gentle breeze blew across the marsh.
+A half-moon shone between slowly-drifting clouds.
+
+"I suppose you mean to see Shanks," Jake remarked.  "On the whole, it
+might be wiser to send him notice to quit.  You can't put the police on
+his track."
+
+"I'm going to see him.  If I hadn't been able to swim well, Carrie
+would have been drowned."
+
+"For that matter, we would all have been drowned," Jake said dryly.
+
+"It's a curious argument for leaving Shanks alone.  I suspected we took
+some chances when we blew up the dabbin."
+
+"You blew up the dabbin," Jake rejoined.
+
+"Anyhow, Carrie had nothing to do with the thing, and she ran the worst
+risk when we were on the sands.  It was hard to hold myself when I
+thought about it.  I was forced to let Mordaunt go, but my grounds for
+sparing him don't apply to Shanks."
+
+"You haven't even a stick and the fellow has a gun."
+
+"I've got my hands," said Jim.  "If I can get hold of Tom Shanks, I
+won't need a gun.  But I've no use for talking.  Come along!"
+
+They made for a ridge of high ground that dropped to the marsh, and
+presently stopped outside the Bank-end Cottage.  All was dark and
+nobody moved when Jim beat on the door.
+
+"Shanks is sleeping pretty sound if that doesn't waken him," he said.
+"Bring the net-beam.  We'll break in."
+
+Jake picked up a thick wooden bar, and when the door gave way they
+plunged into the kitchen and Jim struck a match.  The house was
+horribly dirty, and old clothes, empty cartridges, brass snares, and
+fishing lines lay about, as if Shanks had hurriedly sorted his
+belongings and left those he did not want.  They found nobody when they
+went upstairs.
+
+"Lance has been here before us," Jim remarked.  "The curious thing is,
+Shanks had two big duck-guns and has moved some truck although he
+couldn't get a cart."
+
+"He had his shooting punt and the tide hasn't left the creek yet," said
+Jake, and they ran across the marsh.
+
+When they stopped at a muddy pool the punt had gone, but there were
+fresh footmarks on the bank; and Jim set off again.
+
+"The creek winds and he must shove her across the mud in places," he
+said.  "My punt's on the sands.  If we are quick, we might head him
+off."
+
+They stumbled among reeds and rushes, and fell into pools, and were wet
+when they reached a hollow at the edge of the sands.  The bank was
+steep, but the tide had not left the channel, and Jim, plunging in,
+pulled up the punt's anchor.  Then he stood on deck, using the pole,
+while Jake paddled.  The tide was running out and they drove the punt
+furiously past belts of mud and sandy shoals, but the bank was high and
+they could not see across.  Shanks, however, was not in front; Jim
+imagined he had come down another gutter that joined the channel
+farther on.  They must try to get there first.
+
+"Keep it up!" he shouted, as he bent over the pole.  "In five minutes
+we'll be round the bend and can see the bay."
+
+Jake braced himself for an effort and the water foamed about the punt's
+low bow.  Floating weed and scum sped past; the bank was dropping to
+the level of the flats and its wet slope sparkled in the moonlight.
+Jake saw the sandy point that marked the bend and resolved to hold out
+until they reached the spot.
+
+They shot round the bend, and Jim threw down his pole.  In front lay a
+broad expanse of sand, broken by belts of shining water.  A flock of
+oyster-catchers, screaming noisily, circled about the foreground; but
+this was all.
+
+"Shove her in!" Jim shouted.  "I reckon Shanks hasn't made the meeting
+of the channels.  We'll strike across the flat."
+
+The sand was soft and they labored hard.  When they were halt-way
+across, a low, dark object rose above the edge of the bank.  It was
+roughly triangular and moving fast.
+
+"Shanks's punt!" said Jake.  "He has set the little black lugsail and
+the wind's fair.  You can't head him off."
+
+"I'm going to try," said Jim, who was now some yards in front; and they
+pushed on.
+
+They were exhausted when they stopped beside a belt of sparkling water,
+and Jim cried out hoarsely and clenched his fist.  The channel was
+wider than he had thought, and near the other bank a punt was running
+down with the tide.  One could hardly see her low, gray hull, but the
+tanned lugsail cut sharply against the bank, and its slant and the
+splash of foam at the bows indicated speed.  Shooting punts are not
+built to carry canvas, but they sail fast in smooth water when the wind
+is fair.
+
+"We're too late; I don't know if I'm sorry," Jake remarked with labored
+breath.  "My notion is, Shanks has pulled out for good, and nobody is
+going to miss him much.  Wind's off the land, water's smooth, and the
+tide will run west for three or four hours.  He'll be a long way down
+the coast before it turns.  In the meantime, we're some distance from
+Langrigg and it looks as if you had lost your shoe."
+
+"So I have!" said Jim.  "Guess it came off when I was plowing through
+the mud.  Well, let's get home.  Shanks has gone and he'll find trouble
+waiting if he comes back."
+
+They set off.  Both were wet and dirty, and when they reached Langrigg
+Jim's foot was sore.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+JIM'S RELEASE
+
+On the morning after his pursuit of Shanks, Jim was conscious of a flat
+reaction.  Dick's story and the excitement of the chase had helped him
+to forget his troubles, but now he was cool they returned.  He had
+promised to marry Evelyn and found out, too late, that he loved
+another.  There was no use in railing at his folly, although this was
+great, and it was futile to wonder how he had so grossly misunderstood
+his feelings.  Evelyn was all he thought her, but romantic admiration
+and respect for her fine qualities were not love.  The important thing
+was that she held his promise and he must make it good.
+
+There was no other way.  Carrie knew he loved her, but she had shown
+him his duty.  If he drew back and broke with Evelyn, he would earn her
+contempt; Carrie was very staunch and put honor first.  Anyhow, he was
+going to draw back; he had been a fool, but he could pay.  The trouble
+was, Evelyn was clever and might find him out.  His face went grim as
+he thought about it; the strain of pretending, the effort to be kind.
+For all that, the effort must be made, and perhaps by and by things
+would be easier.
+
+For a week he was quiet and moody and tried to occupy himself at the
+dyke.  The evenings were the worst, because it soon got dark and he
+must talk to Jake and Carrie and try to look calm.  Then he was puzzled
+about other things.  Evelyn had gone to London and had not written to
+him.  A few days afterwards, Dick, too, went to town, and Mrs. Halliday
+did not know why he had gone.  Jim thought this strange, but it was not
+important.
+
+Coming home one evening from the marsh, he found Dick with the others
+in the hall.  It was nearly dark, but there was a bright fire and
+Carrie was making tea.  Dick kneeled on the rug, toasting muffins on a
+long fork, and laughed when Carrie bantered him about being afraid to
+scorch his hands.  Jim envied Dick, and remembered with poignant regret
+the days when he had helped Carrie by the camp-fire in the woods.  Then
+Dick looked up and Jim thought him embarrassed.
+
+"Hallo, Dick!" he said.  "When did you get back?"
+
+Dick said he arrived in the morning, and Jim asked if he had met Evelyn
+in town.
+
+"I did," Dick replied.  "She was pretty well, but it's two or three
+days since.  She said she'd write to you."
+
+Jim nodded.  Dick's voice was careless, but Jim thought his
+carelessness was forced.  Then he turned to Carrie.  "Did the postman
+call?"
+
+"Yes," said Carrie.  "Your mail is on the table."
+
+Jim got the letters and lighting a lamp sat down in an easy-chair.  The
+envelope with the London postmark was from Evelyn, but he would sooner
+read her note when he was alone.  He opened another and presently
+looked up.
+
+"Martin has written to me from Vancouver.  The Irrigation Company has
+won the lawsuit and proved its claim to the water-rights.  The shares
+are going up again, and Martin's hopeful about the future.  I can sell
+out for face value, but he urges me to hold."
+
+"Ah," said Carrie, "that's good news!  You can trust Martin.  I expect
+the company has straightened up because they made him a director."
+
+"It's very possible.  He sends your mother and you greetings and hopes
+you haven't forgotten him."
+
+"One doesn't forget men like that," Carrie replied.  "Martin's all
+white; clever and strong and straight.  But doesn't this mean you have
+got over your troubles?"
+
+"I suppose I can go ahead with the dykes," said Jim.
+
+He was quiet afterwards and let the others talk, until Carrie got up
+and went away with Mrs. Winter and Jake.  When the door shut Dick
+looked up.
+
+"Has Evelyn written to you?"
+
+"Yes," said Jim.  "I haven't read her note yet."
+
+"I don't know if that is strange or not, but perhaps you had better
+read it.  I expect it will clear the ground for me and I have something
+to say."
+
+Jim opened the envelope and braced himself, for he was half-ashamed of
+the satisfaction he got from the first few lines; moreover, he did not
+want Dick to know what he felt.  Evelyn was apologetic, but she set him
+free.
+
+"I thought I loved you, Jim," she said.  "I wanted to be brave and
+simple, but found it would cost too much.  Now I hope you won't be
+hurt, and by and by perhaps you will be glad I let you go.  You will go
+far, Jim, with your large stride, fronting the storms you love; but I
+could not have taken your path.  Mine must be sheltered and smooth----"
+
+There was more, for Evelyn wrote with some feeling in a romantic
+strain, but Jim had read enough.  His look was puzzled as he turned to
+Dick.
+
+"Your sister has turned me down," he said.  "The grounds she gives are
+good enough.  I imagine you knew?"
+
+"I did know.  I suspected for some time that she would do so, but she
+did not tell me until I was in town."
+
+"Then I don't understand----"
+
+Dick hesitated before he replied: "Lance said something at Dryholm that
+I thought ominous.  He declared I'd be sorry, and I bothered about it
+for a day or two.  Then I saw a light and got the next train to town.
+He meant that he was going to marry Evelyn."
+
+"That's unthinkable!  Besides, Evelyn was then pledged to marry me."
+
+"It looks as if you didn't know Lance yet; I'm not sure you altogether
+know Evelyn.  Anyhow, I saw her and stopped the thing.  I think she got
+a bad jolt when I told her about the punt."
+
+Jim looked at the date on the note.  "When did you see her?"
+
+Dick told him and he pondered.  Then he said, "She wrote to me after
+she knew about the punt, although you imply that she agreed to marry
+Lance before.  It's puzzling."
+
+"I've got to be frank," Dick replied.  "Evelyn is not like Carrie; she
+takes the easiest line.  I Imagine she meant to say nothing until she
+had quietly married Lance.  Then we'd have been forced to accept the
+situation."  He paused and his face got red as he resumed: "I'm
+thankful I was not too late, but I'm sorry I could not find Lance."
+
+Jim was silent for a time.  He had believed in Evelyn after
+illumination had come on the sands.  Although he knew his imagination
+had cheated him, he owned her charm and his respect for her was strong.
+Now he had got a jar.  Evelyn was not the girl he had thought; it
+looked as if she were calculating, unscrupulous, and weak.  If she had
+let him go before she had agreed to marry Lance, he could have forgiven
+her much.  He was savage with himself.  It was for Evelyn's sake he had
+lost Carrie, who was tender, brave, and staunch.
+
+By and by he roused himself and asked: "Have you told your mother?"
+
+"I have not.  I felt I was forced to tell you, but it would be better
+that nobody else should know.  Florence, with whom Evelyn stayed, will
+not talk."
+
+Jim nodded.  "You can trust me, Dick.  The statements in this letter
+are enough; Evelyn imagined she could not be happy with me, and she
+was, no doubt, right!"
+
+"You're a good sort, Jim," said Dick with some embarrassment.  "It's
+not strange you feel sore.  It cost me something to be frank;
+apologizing for one's sister is hard."
+
+"It's done with," Jim said quietly, and as Dick got up a servant came
+in with a pink envelope.
+
+"A telegram for Mr. Halliday," she said.  "As Mrs. Halliday was not at
+home, the gardener brought it on."
+
+The servant went out and Dick laughed harshly when he read the telegram.
+
+"Evelyn was married this morning, but not to Lance," he said.  "Well, I
+expect mother will be satisfied.  From one point of view, the marriage
+is good."
+
+"Then, you know the man?" said Jim, who sympathized with Dick's'
+bitterness.
+
+"I do," said Dick, very dryly.  "He's rich and getting fat, but on the
+whole, I imagine he's as good a husband as Evelyn deserves.  I
+sometimes thought he wanted her and she quietly held him off; it looks
+as if she had lost no time now."  He paused and the blood came to his
+skin as he resumed: "I'm breaking rules, this is rotten bad form, but
+you ought to be thankful you hadn't the misfortune to marry into our
+family."
+
+Jim put his hand on the other's arm.  "Stop it, Dick!  You have been
+honest and we are friends.  But I think you have said enough."
+
+"Then give me a drink and let me go.  I need bracing; the thing has
+knocked me off my balance."
+
+"Here you are," said Jim, who went to a cupboard, and Dick lifted his
+glass.
+
+"Good luck, Jim!  You are lucky, you know.  But if you're not a fool,
+you'll marry Carrie Winter."
+
+He went out and Jim sat down again, looking straight in front, with
+knitted brows.  He did not know how long he mused, but he got up
+abruptly when Carrie came in.  She glanced at him curiously when he
+indicated a chair, and for a few moments he stood opposite, irresolute
+and frowning.  Then he gave her Evelyn's note.
+
+"After all, there is no reason you shouldn't read this," he said.
+
+Carrie took the note and Jim thought her hand trembled when she
+returned it.
+
+"I'm sorry, Jim!"
+
+"I don't want you to be sorry; I want you to understand.  Evelyn
+married somebody else this morning.  Dick got a telegram."
+
+"Ah," said Carrie, "I suppose it hurt?"
+
+"Let's be frank!  It couldn't hurt my vanity, because I had none left.
+For all that, I got a knock.  You see, I trusted Evelyn, and after the
+night on the sands felt myself a shabby cur; but I meant to keep my
+promise."
+
+Carrie's face flushed delicately, although her voice was calm as she
+said, "I did not trust Evelyn.  The trouble was, I couldn't warn you."
+
+"Yet you wanted to warn me?  Oh, I know!  You have stood between me and
+trouble before, but this job was too big.  It was not your pluck that
+failed; you knew my obstinacy----"
+
+He stopped and Carrie was silent.  He moved a few paces and came back.
+
+"Can't you speak?" he asked.
+
+"What am I to say, Jim?"
+
+"Well," he said hoarsely, "if you won't talk, you can listen.  You have
+borne with my moods and I've got to let myself go now or be quiet for
+good; I'm something of a savage, but I've had to fight for all I wanted
+and winning made me proud.  It gave me a ridiculous confidence.  Well,
+I expect I reached the top of my folly when I got Evelyn.  Then our
+adventure on the sands knocked me flat; I knew myself a despicable
+fool.  I'd taken the best you had to give; let you nurse me when I was
+sick, and cook for me in the woods.  I knew your worth and chose
+Evelyn!  Then, when I'd promised to marry her, I took you in my arms
+and kissed you!"
+
+"Yet you meant to marry her; that was rather fine, Jim," said Carrie
+quietly.
+
+"I don't know if it was fine or not; it might have made bad worse.
+Besides, you showed me you would be firm, although you knew I loved
+you."
+
+"Yes; I did know.  You made good in Canada; I wanted you to make good
+at Langrigg."
+
+Jim thrilled with strong emotion.  "Oh, my dear!  My staunch and
+generous dear!  But I'm going to put your generosity to another test.
+I ought to have gone away and made things easier for you; I ought to
+have waited, to save your pride, but it would have been too hard.
+Well, I'm taking a horribly wrong line, but I want you, and you know me
+for what I am.  If you think I'm too mean, I'll sell Langrigg and go
+away for good."
+
+Carrie got up and looked at him with steady eyes.  Then her face
+softened and she gave him a tender smile.
+
+"You are rather foolish, Jim, but you mean well and I am satisfied."
+
+He stood still for a moment, as if he doubted what he had heard, and
+she said quietly, "If my pride needed saving, it would be very small."
+
+"My dear!" he said, and took her in his arms.
+
+A few minutes afterwards, Jake and Mrs. Winter came in and Jim
+remarked: "You have owned you like the Old Country and I've urged you
+to stay."
+
+"When the dykes are finished we must go," Mrs. Winter replied.  "You
+are kind, but we know where we belong----"
+
+She stopped and looked sharply at Carrie, who stood by Jim and smiled.
+Her color was high and her face and pale-green dress cut against the
+background of somber oak.  Her pose was graceful but proud.  Jim
+remembered her coming down the stairs on her first evening in the
+house; she had looked like that then.  Somehow one felt she was there
+by right.
+
+"If you go, you must leave me," she said.  "I belong to Langrigg and
+Jim."
+
+Mrs. Winter advanced and kissed her and Jake gave Jim his hand.  "For a
+time, it looked as if we were going to lose you, partner.  Still I felt
+you would come back to us."
+
+"I don't know if I've come back or gone forward," Jim rejoined.  "All
+that's important is, Carrie and I go on together."
+
+For half an hour they engaged in happy talk and when, after dinner,
+Carrie and Jim were again alone, she said, "You have forgotten
+something.  Oughtn't we to tell Bernard?"
+
+"Of course," Jim agreed.  "Somehow I think he'd like it if you wrote
+the note."
+
+Carrie sent him for a pen and soon after he came back fastened and gave
+him the envelope.
+
+"I suppose I ought to feel nervous, but I don't," she said.  "I was
+never afraid of Bernard."
+
+Next evening Bernard came to dinner.  Jim and his party met him in the
+hall, but he signed the others back when Carrie gave him her hand.
+
+"I am the head of the house and claim my right," he said and kissed
+her.  "Some day Jim will take my place and I think he will fill it
+well."
+
+Carrie blushed, but Jim noted with a thrill of pride that she carried
+herself finely.  He thought she understood that Bernard had formally
+acknowledged her.  It was strange to know this was the girl who had
+made his bread and mended his clothes in the woods, but after all, the
+difference was only in her surroundings.  Carrie had not changed.
+
+"I don't mind confessing I plotted for this," Bernard resumed with a
+twinkle, and took a leather box from his pocket.  He opened the box and
+a row of green jewels set in rough gold sparkled in the light.
+
+"My wife last wore them; they were my grandmother's, and date farther
+back," he said.  "Now they are yours, and I would like you to put them
+on."
+
+Carrie stood quiet for a moment, with the jewels in her hand, while her
+color came and went.  For all that, she looked calm and rather proud.
+She remembered that Bernard had not given the necklace to Evelyn.
+
+"I have not worn such things, and I am the first of my kind to put on
+these stones," she said.
+
+Bernard bowed.  "Brave and good women have worn them.  I have studied
+human nature and give them to you.  This is not altogether because you
+are going to marry Jim."
+
+Carrie drew the stones round her neck and fastened the clasp.  The
+blood came to her skin and she looked strangely vivid, but in a moment
+or two her glance became soft.
+
+"You are kind and your trust means much," she said.  "For one thing, it
+means I must make good.  Jim's inheritance must be managed well.  We
+will try to rule at Langrigg as his people ruled."
+
+
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Partners of the Out-Trail, by Harold Bindloss
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Partners of the Out-Trail, 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: Partners of the Out-Trail
+
+Author: Harold Bindloss
+
+Release Date: June 20, 2009 [EBook #29183]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PARTNERS OF THE OUT-TRAIL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Al Haines
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="img-front"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-front.jpg" ALT="&quot;Jim urged the pack-horse he was leading and came up with Carrie&quot;" BORDER="2" WIDTH="376" HEIGHT="570">
+<H4 CLASS="h4center" STYLE="width: 500px">
+&quot;Jim urged the pack-horse he was leading and came up with Carrie&quot;
+</H4>
+</CENTER>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H1 ALIGN="center">
+PARTNERS OF THE
+<BR>
+OUT-TRAIL
+</H1>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H2 ALIGN="center">
+BY HAROLD BINDLOSS
+</H2>
+
+<BR><BR>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+Author of "THE BUCCANEER FARMER," "THE LURE OF THE NORTH," <BR>
+"THE GIRL FROM KELLER'S," "CARMEN'S MESSENGER," <BR>
+"BRANDON OF THE ENGINEERS," "JOHNSTONE OF THE BORDER," ETC.
+</H4>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+NEW YORK
+<BR>
+FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
+<BR>
+PUBLISHERS
+</H3>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H5 ALIGN="center">
+COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
+<BR>
+PUBLISHED IN ENGLAND UNDER THE TITLE "DEARHAM'S INHERITANCE"
+<BR>
+ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
+</H5>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H2 ALIGN="center">
+CONTENTS
+</H2>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+PART I&mdash;THE LINESMAN
+</H3>
+
+<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%">
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="15%">CHAPTER</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="85%">&nbsp;</TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">I&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0101">THE BROKEN WIRE</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0102">IN THE SNOW</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0103">THE THIRD PARTNER</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IV&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0104">ON THE TRAIL</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0105">CARRIE'S WEAK MOMENT</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VI&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0106">ROLLING STONES</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0107">A COUNCIL</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0108">JIM KEEPS WATCH</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0109">AN HONEST ANTAGONIST</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0110">THE RAPID</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0111">A CONFIDENTIAL TALK</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XII&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0112">FIRE</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIII&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0113">JIM'S LUCK TURNS</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIV&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0114">THE RECKONING</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+</TABLE>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+PART II&mdash;THE LANDOWNER
+</H3>
+
+<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%">
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="15%">I&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="85%">
+<A HREF="#chap0201">JIM COMES HOME</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0202">JIM'S GUESTS</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0203">MORDAUNT PONDERS</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IV&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0204">AN OLD MAN'S CAPRICE</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0205">SHANKS' DABBIN</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VI&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0206">THE THORN HEDGE</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0207">THE FENCING WIRE</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0208">JIM'S RELAPSE</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0209">JIM IS LEFT OUT</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0210">BERNARD PONDERS</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0211">EVELYN'S ADVENTURE</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XII&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0212">THE SHOOTING PUNT</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIII&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0213">MORDAUNT'S REPULSE</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIV&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0214">FOOTSTEPS IN THE SAND</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XV&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0215">JIM'S ENLIGHTENMENT</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVI&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0216">EVELYN'S RESOLUTION FAILS</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVII&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0217">DICK'S ACCUSATION</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVIII&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap0218">JIM'S RELEASE</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+</TABLE>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0101"></A>
+
+<H2 ALIGN="center">
+PART I&mdash;THE LINESMAN
+</H2>
+
+<BR><BR>
+
+<H1 ALIGN="center">
+PARTNERS OF THE OUT-TRAIL
+</H1>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER I
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+THE BROKEN WIRE
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Winter had begun and snow blew about the lonely telegraph shack where
+Jim Dearham studied an old French romance.  He read rather by way of
+mental discipline than for enjoyment, and partly with the object of
+keeping himself awake.  Life is primitive in the British Columbian bush
+and Jim sometimes felt he must fight against the insidious influence of
+the wilds.  Although he had chosen the latter when the cities palled,
+he had studied at McGill, with a view of embarking on a professional
+career.  Want of money was the main obstacle, but love of adventure had
+counted for much.  His adventures had been numerous since he left the
+university, and he now and then tried to remind himself that he was
+civilized.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Outside the shack, the stiff dark pines rolled back to the frozen North
+where a new city fed the mining camps.  Jim had been up there and had
+found some gold, besides a copper vein, but when he got his patent for
+the latter his funds ran out and he returned to the South and followed
+a number of occupations.  Some were monotonous and some exciting.  None
+paid him well.  Now his clothes were old and mended with patches cut
+from cotton flour-bags; his skin was browned by wind and frost.  He was
+thin and muscular, and his eyes had something of the inscrutable calm
+that marks the Indian's, but the old French romance and one or two
+other books hinted at cultivated taste.  As a matter of fact, Jim was
+afraid of getting like an Indian.  Life in the wilds was good, but one
+ran some risks.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The shack was built of logs, notched where they crossed at the corners
+and caulked with moss.  There was a stone chimney, and a big wood fire
+snapped on the hearth.  Jim sat close to the blaze in a deerhide chair,
+with his old skin coat hung over the back to keep off the stinging
+draughts.  He could see the telegraph instrument.  His and his
+comrade's duty was to watch it day and night, because theirs was a bad
+section and accidents happened.  Jake had gone hunting and since the
+gale outside was freshening Jim wondered why he stopped so long.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After a time Jim put down his book and mused.  By comparison with the
+ragged tents in which he had lived in the northern barrens, the shack
+was comfortable.  Axes and tools for mending the line stood in a
+corner; old clothes, slickers, and long boots that must be mended
+occupied another.  A good supply of provisions was stowed on some
+shelves; a rifle and a shotgun hung on the wall.  He had all a man
+needed in the woods and admitted that he was lucky to have so much, but
+the rudeness of his surroundings sometimes jarred.  This was strange,
+because he had never known luxury.  He wondered whether he had
+inherited his dislike for ugliness, and the instincts of which he was
+now and then vaguely conscious.  It was possible, for his father, who
+died when Jim was young, had come from the Old Country.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then he dwelt with languid enjoyment upon something that happened when
+he was a waiter at a fashionable restaurant at Montreal.  A party of
+English tourists came in one day for lunch.  Jim remembered the scene
+well: the spacious room with the sunshine on the pillars and the
+reflections on glass and silver; the flies about the tables, the
+monotonous throb of the electric fan, and the strangers looking for a
+place.  There were two men, one older than the other, and a girl.  Jim
+had often pictured her since, and always with a curious satisfaction.
+It was not that she was beautiful, although her face was finely molded
+and her movements were graceful.  It was her delicate fastidiousness
+and the hint one got of refinement and cultivation.  Although she
+smiled now and then, Jim remembered her calm and the tranquillity of
+her voice.  He had not met a girl like that before, but she went away
+with the others, one of whom gave him a dollar, and it was ridiculous
+to imagine he would see her again.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This, however, was not important and he got up and went to the
+telegraph instrument.  He called the next station and was satisfied
+when he got an answer.  Some Government messages that must not be
+delayed were to be sent North and the line was working well.  Jim went
+back to his chair and soon afterwards leaned forward, listening.  He
+heard the wind in the pine-tops and the thud of snow, shaken from the
+tossing branches, on the roof.  That was all, but he had trained his
+senses in the woods until they worked unconsciously.  Somebody was
+coming and he knew it was not Jake.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A minute or two afterwards he heard steps in the snow.  The steps were
+heavy, as if the men were tired.  Somebody knocked and Jim opened the
+door.  Two men came in and throwing down their packs shook the snow
+from their ragged furs.  Their boots were broken, their leggins badly
+worn, and their faces were pinched with cold.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't suppose you'll turn us out.  It's what our packers call pretty
+fierce to-night," one remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Certainly not," said Jim.  "Come right up to the fire.  How did you
+make the shack?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The strangers advanced and Jim hid his surprise, although they were the
+men whose lunch he had served at the Montreal restaurant.  He had
+learned in the wilds something of the Indian's reserve.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We hit the wire at dusk," one replied.  "We had been climbing with a
+party of the Canadian Alpine Club, and stopped among the high ranges
+longer than we meant.  In fact, the snow rather surprised us.  The
+others had gone before we started and we had a rough time coming South."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You didn't make it without packers," said Jim, who knew they were
+English.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We left the boys some distance back.  There was not much shelter at
+the camp and although they were satisfied, we resolved to follow the
+line and try to find a shack.  The boys will, no doubt, arrive in the
+morning."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim nodded, because a line was cut through the forest for the telegraph
+wires.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You ran some risk.  If you camped at sundown, it's a while since you
+had supper.  I can give you coffee and a hot bannock."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He put the kettle on the fire and when the meal was over studied his
+guests as they lighted their pipes.  One was about thirty years old,
+and in spite of his ragged clothes, Jim thought him a man with
+cultivated tastes and wide experience.  The other was young and looked
+frank.  He had a refined, intelligent face and was like the girl whom
+Jim had seen at the restaurant; she was, perhaps, a relation.  For a
+time the strangers talked about their journey and then one looked at
+Jim rather hard.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Haven't I seen you before?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim smiled.  "At Cibbley's as you go to the new post-office at
+Montreal."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, yes!  It was a very well-served lunch," said the other and picked
+up the French romance.  "A curious book, but rather fine in parts.  Do
+you understand the fellow?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"On the whole.  I like him; you feel he has a grip.  Still he's
+puzzling now and then."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"These French' writers are puzzling; always trying to work off an
+epigram," the younger man remarked.  "However, I suppose there's as
+much French as English spoken at Montreal and Quebec."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not French like this," the other said with a smile.  "I doubt if an
+up-to-date <I>boulevardier</I> would own it for his mother's tongue.  You
+would be surprised if you heard our Cumberland farmers use Chaucer's
+English."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know; they go back beyond him now and then.  When they count
+their sheep I imagine they talk like Alfred or Canute.  But suppose you
+give us an example of ancient French."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The older man opened the book and after turning a number of pages read
+a passage with taste and feeling.  Then he looked at Jim.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He's primitive; our thoughts run in another groove.  But I daresay
+there's something archaic about Quebec French and you perhaps know the
+latter.  Have I struck the right note?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hit it first time!  Anyhow, you've got my notion of what he meant,"
+Jim replied.  Then he paused and added thoughtfully: "But I don't know
+if we're as different as you think.  In the North, men get back to
+primitive things."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The other nodded.  "It's possible.  One certainly gets a primitive
+hunger and learns something about bodily needs."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim lighted his pipe and mused.  He had not talked to cultivated people
+since he left McGill.  He felt rather moved and quietly excited; the
+strange thing was, their English voices and manner were not new.  In a
+way, it was ridiculous, but he felt as if he had known them, or others
+of their kind, before.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are from the Old Country and your friend seems to know
+Cumberland," he said.  "Do you know Langrigg Hall?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He thought the older man gave him a keen glance, but next moment his
+face was inscrutable and with a little gesture of satisfaction he
+stretched his legs to the fire.  His companion, however, looked
+interested.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why, yes," said the latter.  "But there are a number of Langriggs in
+the North of England."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"At the place I mean there is a marsh."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then, I do know the hall.  It stands upon a low ridge&mdash;what we call a
+knowe&mdash;with the big fells behind and the sands in front.  At low-water,
+a river winds about the flats.  It's a fine old house, although it's
+small."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Isn't there a square tower with a battlement?  The roof beams in the
+older part are bent, not straight."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The other looked surprised.  "Have you been there?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," said Jim, thoughtfully.  "I've never left Canada, but a man I
+knew used to talk about Langrigg.  I expect he told me about these
+things; he is dead now."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He glanced at the older man.  The latter's eyes were half-closed and
+his pose was slack, as if he were languidly enjoying the warmth, but
+Jim thought he had been listening.  Then he wondered why the other's
+short description had given him so distinct a picture; he could see the
+rugged blue hills in the background and the river winding among the
+sands.  After all, his father had not talked about Langrigg often; in
+fact, only once or twice, when he was ill.  Moreover, Jim reflected
+that he himself had used no Western colloquialisms; he had talked to
+the strangers like an Englishman.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then your friend must have been at Langrigg.  It looks as if he knew
+the hall well," remarked the younger man.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+His companion roused himself with a jerk.  "I was nearly asleep.  Give
+me your pouch; my tobacco's out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He filled his pipe and turned to Jim.  "Hope I didn't interrupt.  I
+forget what we were talking about.  It looks as if you didn't like a
+waiter's job."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim laughed and went to the telegraph, which began to click.  He read
+the message and calling the next station waited for a time, and then
+turned to his guests.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Line's broken and I've got to leave you.  You can use the bunks; my
+partner must sit up and watch the instrument when he comes back.  You
+can tell him I've gone to look for the break."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you know where the break is?" the younger man asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know," said Jim, putting on his fur cap and old skin coat.
+"It mayn't be far off and it may be some distance.  All I know is it's
+between here and the next shack."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We found it hard to face the wind and there's more now."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim smiled.  "One gets used to storms up here and the line must be
+mended.  Some important messages from Ottawa are coming along."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He picked up some tools and when he opened the door the others heard
+the scream of the gale.  The flames blew out from the snapping logs and
+an icy draught swept the room and roared in the chimney.  Then the door
+shut, the fire burned steadily, and all was quiet in the shack.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Our host excites one's curiosity," said the younger man.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You mean he excited yours.  You're an imaginative fellow, Dick."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Richard Halliday had remarked that since they reached the shack
+Mordaunt had not called him Dick and vaguely wondered why.  Lance
+Mordaunt generally had an object.  Dick doubted if he had been as
+sleepy as he pretended when he asked for his tobacco pouch.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well," he said, "if we were in England, you wouldn't expect to
+find a fellow like this using his leisure to study old-fashioned
+French."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We are not in England," Mordaunt rejoined.  "When you judge Canadians
+by English standards you're likely to get misled.  The country's, so to
+speak, in a transition stage; they haven't developed schools of
+specialists yet, and an intelligent man can often make good at an
+unaccustomed job.  This fellow, for example, was a waiter."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He picked up the romance and put it on a shelf.  Mordaunt was generally
+neat and Dick noted that he replaced the book in the spot from which it
+had been taken and put the rest against it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Anyhow, it's curious he knew about Langrigg," Dick insisted.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't think so," said Mordaunt, carelessly.  "A number of our
+farmers' sons have emigrated.  He stated he had not left Canada and the
+man who told him about Langrigg was dead."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The man who ought to own Langrigg vanished in Canada."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"On the whole, I imagine that's lucky.  The trustees spent a large sum
+in trying to find him and were satisfied he was dead.  His age made
+this probable."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But he might have had a son."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course," Mordaunt agreed.  "Suppose he had a son?  The fellow
+obviously knows nothing about his inheritance; and for that matter,
+Langrigg is not worth much.  I expect he's engaged in some useful
+occupation, chopping trees or keeping store, for example, and is, no
+doubt, satisfied with his lot.  I don't suppose he is the kind of man
+you would like to see at Langrigg.  Besides, if he turned up, a number
+of people would suffer."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is so," Dick said thoughtfully.  "After all, however, if Franklin
+Dearham had a son, he ought to be at Langrigg.  Joseph left the hall to
+Franklin and his heirs."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt smiled.  "It was as illogical as other things Joseph did.  He
+was not a good business man and spent the most part of his money after
+he quarreled with Franklin and turned him out.  Then, shortly before he
+died, when Franklin had vanished and the estate would hardly pay its
+debts, he left him Langrigg.  However, the thing's done with, and if I
+found Franklin's heir, I doubt if I'd feel justified in meddling.
+Matters like this are better left alone."  He got up and stretched
+himself.  "Now I'm going to bed."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He got into the nearest bunk, which was filled with spruce-twigs and
+wild hay, and soon went to sleep, but for a time Dick sat by the fire.
+The linesman had excited his curiosity; it was strange the fellow knew
+about Langrigg.  Then he was obviously a man with rather unusual
+qualities and character; his books indicated this.  Dick resolved to
+find out something about him when he returned.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+By and by the other linesman came in with a mule-tail buck, and when
+Dick gave him Jim's message sat down by the telegraph.  Dick went to
+bed and did not wake until his packers arrived at daybreak.  The
+linesman was watching the telegraph, but the finger had not moved and
+he owned that he was getting anxious about his comrade.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick suggested that they should look for him, but on the whole the
+linesman hardly thought this necessary.  He said the man from the next
+post would have started to meet Jim.  Then Mordaunt wanted to get off.
+The snow had stopped, the wind had fallen, and if they missed this
+opportunity, they might be held up by another storm, while their food
+was getting short.  Dick hesitated, but Mordaunt generally led him
+where he would and after some argument he agreed to start.  Half an
+hour later they left the shack and pushed on down the line.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0102"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER II
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+IN THE SNOW
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+When Jim left the shack the cold pierced his furs like a knife.  For a
+few moments he heard nothing but the roar of the gale and could hardly
+get his breath.  His eyes ran water and the snow beat his smarting
+face.  Then he braced himself, for he had gone out to mend the line on
+other bitter nights and could not lose his way.  Where the telegraph
+runs through the forests of the North a narrow track is cut for
+packhorse transport to the linesmen's posts, and one could not push
+between the trunks that lined the gap without finding thickets and
+tangles of fallen logs.  The track, however, was not graded like a
+road.  Outcropping rocks broke its surface, short brush had grown up,
+and although the snow had covered some of the obstacles its top was
+soft.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For a time the trees broke the wind, and Jim pushed on, hoping that he
+might soon find a trailing wire, but the posts loomed up, undamaged,
+out of the tossing haze.  Luck was obviously against him, and he might
+be forced to walk half-way to the next shack, from which the other
+linesman would start.  The snow was loose and blew about in a kind of
+frozen dust that was intolerably painful to his smarting skin.
+Although his cap had ear-flaps, he could not cover his mouth and nose,
+and the fine powder, dried by the cold, clogged his eyelashes and
+filled his nostrils.  His old coat did not keep out the wind and,
+although he was in partial shelter, he was now and then compelled to
+stop for breath.  The gale was getting worse and, as sometimes happens
+when a blizzard rages, the temperature was falling.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim's flesh shrank from the Arctic blast, but he knew that in the North
+bodily weakness must be conquered.  In the stern battle with savage
+Nature prudence is a handicap; one must risk all and do what one
+undertakes since there is no place in the wilderness for the man who
+counts the cost.  Moreover, Jim had fought harder fights, when his
+strength was lowered by want of food, and he went forward, conscious of
+one thing: the line was broken and must be mended.  There was no other
+way.  He must give up his post if he could not make good.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the meantime his physical senses, developed in the wilds, worked
+with mechanical regularity and guarded him.  He could not hear much
+through his fur cap and often for some moments could not see, but he
+stopped when a tossing branch broke off and struck the snow in front,
+and sprang forward when a fir plunged down a few yards behind.  He
+could not have stated that he knew the danger, but he avoided it where
+a stranger to the woods would have been crushed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Perhaps the going was the worst.  Plowing through the loose snow, he
+struck his feet against outcropping rocks and sometimes stubbed them
+hard on a fallen log.  In places he sank deep; the labor was heavy and
+wind and cold made it awkward to breathe.  His lungs seemed cramped;
+the blood could not properly reach his hands and feet.  It was a
+comfort that they hurt, because when he no longer felt the painful
+tingling the real trouble would begin.  One cannot feel when one's
+flesh is frozen.  He could not have seen his watch had he taken it out,
+and doubted if there was warmth enough in his body to keep it going,
+because watches and gun-locks often freeze in the North.  For all that,
+he knew how long he had left the shack and how much ground he had
+covered.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Men like Dearham learn such things, and by the half-instinctive
+faculties they develop Canadian traffic is carried on in winter storms.
+Telegraph linesmen in the bush and railroad hands on mountain sections
+use powers beyond the imagining of sheltered city men.  They make good,
+giving all that can be demanded of flesh and blood; the wires work and
+Montreal-Vancouver expresses keep time in the snow.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+One thing made Jim's task a little easier.  The wire was overhead and
+when he reached the break he would see the trailing end.  The trees had
+been chopped back; there was nothing to help the current's leap to
+earth, and he would not be forced to cut and call up the next shack
+with his battery.  He wanted to find a fallen post, but as he struggled
+forward the half-seen poles came back out of the icy mist in an
+unending row.  He had been out two hours and had not reached the worst
+spot.  The line had no doubt broken at Silver's Gulch.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Some time afterwards he stopped and leaned against a post.  The woods
+broke off behind him and in front a gap, filled with waves of snow,
+opened up.  He could not see across; indeed, for a few moments, he
+could hardly see at all, but the turmoil that came out of the dark
+hollow hinted at its depth.  He heard the roar of tossing trees far
+below and his brain reproduced an accurate picture of the gulch that
+pierced the high tableland.  It was wide just there, but narrowed
+farther on, and a river, fed by a glacier, flowed through the defile.
+The river was probably frozen, although it ran fast.  The wires went
+down obliquely, and in one place there was a straight fall of a hundred
+feet.  The rest of the rugged slope was very steep and one needed some
+nerve to follow the row of posts when the light was good.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim did not hesitate when he had got his breath.  With a blizzard
+raging, his job would not bear thinking about.  He let go the post and
+slipped down some distance.  When he stopped he got up badly shaken and
+crawled down cautiously, trying to keep the line in sight, but it was
+not a logical sense of duty that urged him on; he only knew he must not
+be beaten.  He fought instinctively, because this was a region where to
+give ground in the battle generally means to die.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He reached a bend of the line where a post stood on a broken pitch that
+was almost a precipice.  Twenty or thirty yards below it became a
+precipice and Jim met the full force of the wind as he crept round the
+corner.  Then he saw a trailing wire, and, a little farther on, a
+broken post that had slipped down some distance.  Crouching in the snow
+behind a rock for a few minutes, he thought hard.  Although the post
+was short and not very heavy, he could not drag it back while the wire
+was attached.  The latter must be loosed, and fixed again when the post
+was in its place, but it would be enough if the line was lifted a foot
+or two from the ground.  Proper repairs could be made afterwards; the
+important thing was the Government messages should not be held up.  For
+all that, it would be hard to reach the spot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He crawled down and stopped beside the post.  The snow was blinding,
+the wind buffeted him savagely, and since he was near the top of the
+precipice it was risky to stand up.  His fur mittens embarrassed him,
+but he could not take them off, because when the thermometer falls
+below zero one cannot touch steel tools with unprotected hands.  After
+some trouble, Jim loosed the wire and then saw the broken ends would
+not meet.  However, since the line curved, a post could be cut in order
+to shorten the distance, and he crawled back to the spot where he had
+left his ax.  Had he not been used to the snowy wilds, he could not
+have found the tool.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He cut the post and, with numbed and clumsy hands, joined the wire, but
+it must now be raised from the ground.  It was impossible to get the
+fallen post on end and had he been able to do so powder would have been
+needed to make a hole.  He could, however, support the post on a rock,
+and he floundered up and down in the snow, looking for a suitable spot.
+When he found a place, it was some way from the post, which was too
+heavy to move, and he went cautiously down hill for the other.
+Although this was lighter, he did not see how he could drag it back to
+the level he had left, and he sat down behind a rock and thought.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+His coat and cap were heavy with frozen snow that the wind had driven
+into the fur; in spite of his efforts, he was numbed, and the gale
+raged furiously.  The snow blew past the rock in clouds that looked
+like waves of fog; he had been exposed to the icy blast for three or
+four hours and could not keep up the struggle long.  The warmth was
+leaving his body fast.  Yet he did not think much about the risk.  His
+business was to mend the line and his acquiescence was to some extent
+mechanical.  To begin with, he must get the post up the hill and he
+braced himself for the effort.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He could just lift the butt and, getting it on his shoulder, faced the
+climb, staggering forward a few steps while the thin end of the post
+dragged in the snow, and then stopping.  It was tremendous labor, and
+he knew he would need all the strength he had left to reach the shack,
+but in the meantime this did not count.  Getting home was a problem
+that must be solved after the line was mended.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At length he reached the spot he had fixed upon, fastened the wire to
+the insulator, and lifted the top of the post a few feet.  The job was
+done, but his body was exhausted and his brain was dull.  He had made
+good and was conscious of a vague satisfaction.  He could not, however,
+indulge feelings like this: he must now nerve himself for the effort to
+get home.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He went down hill a little, in order to shorten the curve; and it was
+then, when he had conquered, his luck failed.  His foot slipped and
+when he fell he started a small snowslide that carried him down.  He
+could not stop, the dry snow flowed about him like a river, and he knew
+there was a precipice not far below.  The snow carried him over a
+ledge; he plunged down a few yards, and brought up against a projecting
+rock.  The blow shook him, he felt something snap, and for a minute or
+two nearly lost consciousness.  Then he was roused by a sharp prick and
+a feeling that something grated in his side.  He knew what had
+happened: one, or perhaps two, of his ribs had broken and an incautious
+movement had driven the broken end into the flesh.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The mechanical injury, however, was the worst, since Jim was too hard
+to collapse from shock, and he lay quiet, trying to think.  One could
+walk in spite of a broken rib; Jim had known badly injured men walk two
+or three hundred miles to reach a doctor, but the blizzard would try
+his strength.  It was a long way to the shack and farther to the next
+post, but on the whole he thought it prudent to make for the latter.
+The linesman, finding the line broken, would set out to look for the
+break, and when Jim met him his help would be useful.  In fact, it
+might be necessary.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He felt a sharper prick as he got up, but he followed the posts down
+the gulch and toiled up the other side.  His breathing was labored and
+painful as he climbed the rugged slope.  At the top the ground was
+roughly level and the tossing pines gave some shelter from the wind.
+Jim coughed now and then and thought there was a salt taste in his
+mouth.  This looked ominous and the stabs caused by his jolting
+movements hurt, but he would not think about it.  It was pain, not
+blood, that gave him the salt taste.  He had done his job and begun a
+harder fight.  The claim of duty had been met and now he was fighting
+for his life.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The pines roared as he struggled on and at times a blinding haze of
+snow filled the gap.  He had thrown away his tools, but his coat was
+getting heavy.  Now and then he tried to brush off the snow and wiped
+his lips.  The salt taste was plainer; but he was not going to admit he
+knew what it meant and was glad he could not see his mittens when he
+took them from his mouth.  Speed was important and he labored on.  He
+could not remember afterwards how long he stumbled forward, but at
+length he stopped and stood swaying dizzily when an indistinct object
+loomed through the snow.  It was like a man and came towards him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hallo!  Why, Pete&mdash;&mdash;" he gasped and with an effort reached and leaned
+against a pine.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The other stopped.  "It's Pete, all right: but what d'you allow you're
+doing on my piece of the section?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Reckoned I might meet you coming along," Jim replied, leaning hard
+against the tree.  "You can take the back trail.  The line's fixed."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's good.  But why are you heading this way?  I don't get you yet."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I fell down the gulch.  Some ribs broke."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah!" said Pete.  "Which side?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim indicated the spot where he felt the stabs and Pete went to his
+other side.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's a blamed long hike to my shack, but you've got to make it.  If we
+stop here, we freeze.  Put your arm on my shoulder."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They set off, and Jim was glad to use such help as the other could
+give.  He was getting dull and began to doubt if he could reach the
+shack, but although both would freeze if they stopped, Pete would not
+leave him.  It was not a thing to argue about.  Pete was a white man
+and in the North the white man's code is stern.  One here and there
+might have a yellow streak, but as a rule such a man soon left the
+wilds.  Anyhow, Pete was going to see him through.  Both would make the
+shack, or both would be buried in the snow.  It was not a matter of
+generous sentiment; one did things like that.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They made it somehow, at a cost neither afterwards talked about, for at
+length a pale glimmer pierced the blowing snow.  Then the dark bulk of
+a building loomed up ahead and Pete pushed open a door.  He was forced
+to use both hands to shut the door and Jim, left without support,
+staggered into the room.  His head swam, his eyes were dim, and his
+chin was red.  There was a chair, if he could reach it, but it seemed
+to be rocking about and when he stretched out his hand it had gone.
+Next moment he fell with a heavy thud.  He felt a horrible stab, a fit
+of coughing shook him, and he knew nothing more.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0103"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER III
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+THE THIRD PARTNER
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Some weeks after he mended the line, Jim sat by a window in a small
+frame house at Vancouver city.  He had been very ill and knew little
+about his journey on a hand-sledge from the telegraph shack to the
+railroad.  There was no doctor in the woods and Jake Winter, his
+helper, engaging two Indians, wrapped Jim in furs and started in a
+snowstorm for the South.  It was an arduous journey, and once or twice
+Jake thought his comrade would succumb, but they reached the railroad
+and he put Jim on the cars.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Now Jim was getting better and had left his bed for a rocking-chair.
+The house stood on the hill, and he looked down, across tall blocks of
+stores and offices, on the Inlet.  Plumes of dingy smoke from
+locomotives burning soft coal moved among the lumber stacks, a tug with
+a wave at her bows headed for the wharf, the water sparkled in the
+sunshine, and there was a background of dark forest and white
+mountains.  The picture had some beauty that was not altogether spoiled
+by the telegraph wires, giant posts, and advertisement signs.  These
+emphasized the contrast between the raw and aggressive civilization
+that is typical of Western towns and the austerity of the surrounding
+wilds.  In the foreground were steamers, saw-mills, and street-cars; in
+the distance trackless woods and untrodden snow.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The house stood in a shabby street and on the ground floor Jake's
+mother and sister sold drygoods and groceries.  The business was not
+remarkably profitable, but Mrs. Winter was a widow and Carrie had
+sacrificed her ambitions for her sake.  Now she sat opposite Jim, whom
+she had nursed.  Carrie did not know much about sickness when she
+began, but she was capable and Jim liked to have her about.  She knew
+when to stimulate him by cheerful banter and when he needed soothing.
+Carrie could be quiet, although she could talk.  Jim imagined all girls
+were not like that.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He studied her with languid satisfaction.  Carrie was tall and
+vigorous: he had seen her handle heavy boxes the transfer men dumped on
+the sidewalk.  She did such things when Jake was not about, and Jim
+knew she baked the cakes and biscuit Mrs. Winter sold.  For all that,
+her strength was not obtrusive; her movements were graceful and when
+not occupied she was calm.  She had some beauty, for her face was
+finely molded and her color was warm, and Jim liked her level glance.
+He liked her voice; it was clear without being harsh, and she seldom
+used smart colloquialisms.  In fact, Carrie was not the girl one would
+expect to meet at a second-class store.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are looking bright this afternoon," she remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I feel bright," said Jim.  "For one thing, I've got up, and then you
+have been here some time.  You brace one.  I felt that when I was very
+sick."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie laughed.  "You're trying to be polite!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," said Jim, whose brain did not work quickly yet; "I don't think I
+tried at all.  The remark was, so to speak, spontaneous.  You helped me
+get better; you know you did!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well," said Carrie, smiling, "you needed some control.  You
+wouldn't take the doctor's stuff and we couldn't keep you quiet.  I
+reckon you are pretty obstinate."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"One has got to be obstinate in the North."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's possible.  It's a hard country and Jake took some chances when
+he brought you out across the snow.  Do you remember much about what
+happened when you were on the trail?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't," said Jim, in a thoughtful voice.  "All I do remember is the
+talk I had with two Englishmen who made the shack just before I went to
+mend the line.  I've been bothering about the fellows since."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But why?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim pondered languidly.  If he kept on talking, Carrie might stop;
+moreover, he wanted to formulate his puzzling thoughts and Carrie was
+intelligent.  He would like to see if he could make her understand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"To begin with, they were people who had traveled and knew the world; I
+know the North and some Canadian cities, but there I stop.  The curious
+thing was, they didn't talk like strangers; I felt I'd got their point
+of view."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Did you like them?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know.  I might have hit it with the younger man; he was frank
+and I reckon he meant well, though you got a hint of something careless
+and weak.  There was more to the other fellow; you couldn't tell right
+off if you'd trust him or not.  But I'm afraid I make you tired."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, no," said Carrie, and was silent for a few moments.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She was frankly interested by Jim.  For one thing, she had helped him
+to get well and this gave her a motherly curiosity.  Then his remarks
+seemed to promise a clue to something she had found puzzling.  In a
+way, Jim was different from the young men she knew.  The difference was
+elusive, but she felt it now and then.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," she said, "why don't you go on?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'd met the men before," Jim resumed with a laugh.  "Handed them their
+lunch at the Montreal restaurant; they had a girl with them then.  I'd
+certainly not met a girl like that, but somehow I'd a notion I could
+get in touch with her."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What kind of a girl was she?" Carrie asked, with keener curiosity.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The kind we call a looker, but it wasn't that.  She was fine-drawn, if
+you get me; clever and fastidious.  I think fastidious is the word I
+want.  She belonged to clean, quiet places where everything is right.
+That's what made my notion I understood her strange.  You see, I have
+had to struggle in the dust and mud."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie imagined Jim had, so far, come through the struggle without
+getting much hurt or soiled.  He wore no obvious scars.  She smiled,
+and he resumed: "Perhaps the strangest thing was, they knew a place in
+the Old Country my father sometimes talked about."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Did you tell them your father knew the place?" Carrie asked, for the
+clue was leading her on.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did not; they were strangers," Jim replied, and she saw he had a
+reserve that was not common in Canada.  "Besides, my father didn't talk
+about Langrigg much.  Still I had, so to speak, got the place; I could
+see it.  I wonder whether one remembers things one's parents knew."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It doesn't look possible," Carrie replied.  "But do you know your
+father's people?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't," said Jim, with a touch of dryness.  "There was a Joseph
+Dearham who lived at Langrigg.  I imagine he was my grandfather, but he
+and the others left my father alone and we cut out the lot."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Were your father and you like each other?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not in a way.  I reckon I'm like my mother, but my father has kind of
+faded; I'm often sorry I can't locate him well.  He was not the man to
+go far in this country.  Things I do remember show he had fine grit,
+but he hadn't punch enough.  I think he was too proud to grab what was
+his."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are not like that?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim smiled.  "I take what's mine, but I don't want more.  You see, I
+had to hustle for my mother's sake and I'd got the habit when she died
+and left me all alone.  Well, that's all there is to my story, and I've
+certainly made you tired."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are tired," Carrie replied.  "Go to sleep.  I have made you talk
+too much, and must get busy."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She went off and Jim mused about her.  Carrie was not like the English
+girl, but she had charm and he felt she was somehow wasted at the
+shabby store.  She was pretty and clever; although she was kind, she
+was sometimes firm.  Then his eyes got heavy and he went to sleep.
+When he woke Carrie had come back and was lighting the lamp.  Jake had
+entered with her and put a tray on the table.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Supper's served," he said.  "It's better hash than you used to hand
+out in the woods, and Carrie has fixed some hot biscuit with Magnolia
+drips in the way you like.  Well, you better get busy, and we'll play
+we're in camp.  I'll locate at the bottom of the snow bank."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake sat down on a rug, with his back to the wall and a plate on his
+knee, and Jim's thoughts wandered.  He had got the habit of remembering
+things when he was ill, and the little shabby room, with the cheap rug
+on the rough, stained floor, seemed to melt like a dissolving view.  He
+saw black pines, with the moon shining between their stiff branches,
+wood smoke drifting past, and a red fire snapping in the snow.  Jake
+wore ragged furs and his eyes twinkled, as they twinkled now.  Jake was
+a humorous philosopher and if his humor was sometimes thin his
+philosophy was sound.  He was white; one could trust him.  Then Jim
+came back to the room above the store.  He liked the way Jake waited on
+Carrie, although Jake owned he had not been a success when he made a
+trip in the Mount Stephen dining-car.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We're going to talk business," Jake remarked presently.  "I've been
+getting after the telegraph department since we came home and one of
+the construction bosses was in town to-day.  He allowed you made good
+the night they sent the Government messages through, and if we wanted
+the contract for the new line they're going to run across the ranges,
+he'd back our tender."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jim isn't well enough to go back yet.  You mustn't bother him," Carrie
+said firmly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We can't do much until the thaw comes," Jake rejoined.  "It's a
+fighting chance and I don't see many chances for us in this old town."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie looked thoughtful.  She knew the wilds would draw Jake back and
+Jim must soon go, but the North was a stern country and she wanted to
+keep them for a time.  She was honest and owned that she wanted to keep
+both.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Can you finance the job?" she asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's going to come hard, but we might put it over.  Our pay was pretty
+good and the construction boss could get us a check as we go on if the
+work was approved.  Of course, if we were pushed, we could sell out the
+Bluebird.  The assay's all right and one or two of the big syndicates
+are looking up copper.  Still I don't want to sell."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You mustn't sell."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very well," Jake agreed.  "What you say about it goes."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim looked up with some surprise.  Jake and he had done enough work on
+the copper vein to get their patent, but could develop the mine no
+further without capital.  Jim did not understand what Carrie had to do
+with this.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He doesn't know," Jake remarked, and turned to Jim with a smile.  "We
+put in the stakes and filed the record, but Carrie's a partner.  She
+helped us out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Jim, "I begin to see!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He felt disturbed.  The placer gold they had found was all spent before
+they proved the copper vein.  Food cost much and nobody would let them
+have supplies.  Copper mines were hardly thought worth exploiting then,
+since transport was expensive.  When it looked as if they must give up
+the claim, Jake got some money from home, and now Jim knew who had sent
+the sum.  He did not know how Carrie had saved it, but she must have
+used stern economy.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You don't like my sending the money?" she remarked, with a quick
+glance at Jim.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't like to think of your going without things you probably wanted
+and ought to have had.  We could have let the mine go and worked for
+somebody else."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie laughed.  "I don't know if you're nice or not.  Anyhow, I had
+the money; I'd been clerking for a time at the Woolsworth store and
+they had given me a good job.  Why shouldn't I send Jake the money I
+didn't know how to spend?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You're exaggerating," Jim rejoined.  "A pretty girl can always spend
+money on hats and clothes.  In fact, I think she ought."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Now you're certainly nice, but we'll let it go.  Your taking the money
+made me a partner, and in the meantime the Bluebird is not for sale.
+If you wait long enough, somebody will give you what the mine is worth."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I think so.  Copper's hard to smelt and when transport's expensive
+speculators stick to gold, but things will be different now the
+country's opening up.  We will hold the patent until you are willing to
+sell."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Thank you," said Carrie.  "It cost you something to prove the vein, up
+there in the melting snow, and no greedy city man is going to get your
+reward.  However, we'll get on.  If they give you the telegraph
+contract, I'm going North."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim turned to his comrade.  "She can't go!  You had better tell her
+it's impossible."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'll leave it to you.  There's not much use in telling Carrie she
+can't do a thing when she thinks she can."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim began a labored argument about the hardships and the ruggedness of
+the country and Carrie listened with inscrutable calm.  Then she said,
+"You don't want me to go?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It isn't that.  You don't know what you are up against."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have a notion," Carrie remarked with some dryness.  "Perhaps you
+imagine all goes smooth and I have a soft job here?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim was silent.  He was sometimes sorry for Carrie, but she resumed:
+"You haven't lived in a shabby street, doing chores you don't like and
+trying to please people who are often rude.  Well, I've stood for it a
+long time, for mother's sake; but now cousin Belle is coming, and she
+knows all there is to know about keeping store.  Do you think a girl
+ought to be kept at home?  That she never hears the call of adventure
+like the rest of you?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Adventure palls.  One soon gets enough," said Jim.  Then he saw Jake's
+smile and added: "After all, I don't know&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I know," said Carrie.  "You are going back, and I am going too.  But
+you won't have to take care of me.  I mean to manage things."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"She has some talent that way," Jake observed.  "If you're not very
+firm, Jim, she'll manage you.  But what's your particular job, Carrie?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Supplies.  When it comes to handling foodstuff, menfolk don't know how
+to buy.  Then they waste, and the hash a man camp-cook puts up is
+seldom fit to eat."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There's some truth in that," Jake remarked with feeling.  "It looks as
+if you had got your program fixed."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have," said Carrie, with resolute quietness.  "I'm going."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake smiled at his comrade.  "You had better agree.  When Carrie talks
+like that she can't be moved by argument.  Anyhow, the trail's broken
+to the wirehead and if she gets tired she can come back."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I may get tired," said Carrie.  "But I shall not come back.  There's
+another thing: I have a share in the Bluebird and want a stake on the
+telegraph line.  Well, I've saved a hundred dollars."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Carrie's pile!" Jake remarked.  "She means to throw it in; that's the
+kind of girl my sister is.  As a business proposition, our venture's
+humorous.  We haven't capital enough to stand for one setback, and if
+luck's against us we'll sure go broke.  To begin with, I've got to put
+up a big bluff on the construction department in order to get the job;
+look as if I owned a bank roll and didn't care if we got paid or not.
+Well, one takes steep chances in this country, and I allow there's
+something to be said for the small man who goes out with an ax, five
+dollars, and a bag of flour, to make a road or build a log bridge.
+Folks don't know how much he means and all he has to stand for."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie's eyes sparkled. "You and Jim know.  I'm going to find out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then Mrs. Winter came in.  She was a pale, quiet woman whom Jim had
+thought dull until he saw her work.  She listened, making a few
+remarks, while Jake talked about their plans.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," she said at length, "your cousin is coming and she'll help me
+run the store.  It has certainly got to be run; you'll need some money
+if you go broke."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We're not going broke," Carrie rejoined with a hint of emotion.  "Jake
+has got to make good for your sake.  Some day we'll sell out the
+business and you shall rest as long as you like."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Winter smiled, rather wearily.  "I don't know if I'd like to do
+nothing; I've hustled so long.  Still I've sometimes thought I'd like
+to find out how it feels just to sit quiet for a piece.  Now the oven's
+good and hot; there's a batch of biscuit ready and you'd better come
+and help."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She took Carrie away and when they had gone Jake looked at his comrade.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I allow the women's part is most as hard as ours, and Carrie hit it
+when she said I had to make good."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim nodded.  "I like your sister, and your mother's very fine.  I want
+to help you help them all I can."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sure, I know," said Jake, and then his eyes twinkled, for he had noted
+Jim's slight awkwardness.  "You went rather farther than you meant,
+didn't you?  Your English streak makes you shy, but you won't hurt my
+feelings; I'm all Canadian.  Now, however, you are going to bed."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim went to bed and soon went to sleep.  He was not well yet and had
+had an exciting day.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0104"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER IV
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+ON THE TRAIL
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Heavy rain swept the valley, the evening was cold, and Jim stood near
+the big rusty stove at Tillicum House, drying his wet clothes.  He had
+eaten a very bad supper and imagined the wooden hotel on the North
+trail was perhaps the worst at which he had stopped.  The floor was
+torn by lumbermen's spiked boots; burned matches and the ends of cheap
+cigars lay about.  The board walls were cracked and stained by resin
+and drops of tarry liquid fell from the bend where the stove pipe went
+through the ceiling.  A door opened on a passage where a small, wet
+towel hung above a row of tin basins filled with dirty water.  There
+was no effort for comfort and Jake, who was tired and did not like the
+hard chairs, sat, smoking, on a box.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Outside, shabby frame houses ran down hill to the angry green river
+where drifting ice-floes shocked.  Dark woods rolled up the other bank
+and trails of mist crawled among the pines.  Patches of snow checkered
+the rocks above; in the distance a white range glimmered against leaden
+cloud.  The settlement looked strangely desolate in the driving rain,
+but the small ugly houses were the last Jim's party would see for long.
+The wagon road ended there and a very rough pack trail led into the
+wilds.  There was another hotel, to which the men Jim had engaged had
+gone.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Where's Carrie?" he asked by and by.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I guess she's tired," Jake replied.  "It has been pretty fierce for
+Carrie since we left the cars."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim frowned.  They had been some days on the road and the rain had not
+stopped.  It was cold rain; belts of road were washed away and the rest
+was full of holes, in which the loaded wagons sometimes stuck.  The men
+got wet and their clothes could not be dried, and Carrie was not
+sheltered much by a rubber sheet, while when they struck a wash-out all
+were forced to carry their tools and stores across slippery gravel.
+Carrie had not grumbled, but it was rough work and Jim knew she must
+have felt some strain.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"She oughtn't to have come," he said.  "Why weren't you firm?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I've a notion you agreed; but if you imagine I could have kept her
+back, you don't know Carrie yet.  Anyhow, the bad weather won't last
+and we must make the head of the wire soon.  Summer's short."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim nodded.  They had grounds for speed that disturbed them both.
+Supplies and transport had cost more than they calculated; wages were
+high, and their money was running out.  It was obviously needful to
+push on the work until enough of the line was finished to justify their
+asking for some payment.  While Jim mused a man came in.  The stranger
+was big, and looked rather truculent, although he wore neat
+store-clothes and new long boots.  His glance was quick and got
+ironical when he fixed his eyes on Jake.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Been some time beating it from the railroad, haven't you?" he asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I expect the trip has been made in better time," Jake admitted.  "We
+struck a number of wash-outs and didn't want to leave our truck along
+the road."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You were short of transport."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We had all we could pay for.  Transport comes high."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"When you leave the railroad, everything comes high, as you're going to
+find out.  Guess your trouble is you haven't enough capital."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The trouble's pretty common," Jake rejoined.  "You don't find rich men
+hitting the trail to the woods."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A sure thing," said the other.  "Well, you're not going to get rich
+cutting the new telegraph line.  Your outfit's not strong enough; you
+haven't stores and tools.  Tell you what I'll do; I'll give you seven
+hundred and fifty dollars to let up."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know if you're generous or if you're rash," Jake remarked with
+a twinkle.  "The truck we're hauling in cost us more than that."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'll take it at a valuation and you can find the men to fix the price."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake looked at Jim, who pondered and hesitated.  He was dispirited and
+tired, and felt that the chance of their carrying out the contract was
+not good.  It would be something of a relief to get their money back.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know who you are and why you want to buy us off," he said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then I'll put you wise.  I'm Probyn, Cartner and Dawson's man.  They
+wanted the new branch-line job, and if you get out, it, will go to
+them.  Anyhow, you can't put it over.  The bush is thick in the valley
+and there's loose gravel on the range that will roll down when you cut
+your track."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Loose gravel's bad," Jake remarked.  "If there's much of it, I don't
+see why Cartner and Dawson want the contract."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"For one thing, they reckon it's theirs.  Then they have money enough
+to get to work properly.  You have taken up too big a job, and now's
+your chance to quit.  If you're prudent, you won't let it go."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim pondered, for he thought he had got a hint.  Cartner and Dawson
+were contractors and with one or two more did much of the public work.
+In fact, it was said that the few large firms pooled the best jobs and
+combined to keep off outsiders.  Jim had been somewhat surprised when
+Jake secured the contract and imagined this was because it was not
+large enough for the others to bother about.  The branch line was short.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well," he said as carelessly as he could, "we've got to try to put
+it over.  Seven hundred and fifty dollars wouldn't pay us for the time
+we've spent."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Probyn leaned forward.  "You want to call me up?  Well, I'll stand for
+a thousand dollars, but that's my best."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake looked at Jim and both hesitated.  A thousand dollars was a useful
+sum, and in a way they would get it for nothing.  Cartner and Dawson
+would pay, but if the offer were refused, their opposition must be
+reckoned on.  It was obvious that they did not mean to allow poaching
+on the preserves they claimed.  Then Jim thought about Carrie, and felt
+half ashamed of his caution.  She was a partner and although she did
+not know the difficulties she would not hesitate.  He did not know if
+he was weak or not, but he did not want her to think he had no pluck.
+While he mused, Carrie came in, looking pale and tired, but she stopped
+and gave Probyn a direct glance.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Who is this?" she asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He comes from Cartner and Dawson, the big contractors, and wants to
+buy us off," Jake replied.  "He offers a thousand dollars if we'll get
+out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah!" exclaimed Carrie.  "What did you say?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We haven't said much.  We were thinking about it when you came in."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie's eyes sparkled and her tired look vanished.  "It won't stand
+for thinking about!  Tell him you undertook the job and are going to
+make good."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake shrugged humorously and turned to Jim.  "Well, I guess we needed
+bracing.  What do you say, partner?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We'll hold on."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Probyn frowned.  "Is the dame a member of the firm?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"She is," Jake said, smiling.  "In fact, when we're up against it,
+she's the boss partner."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very well.  I want you to get this, miss.  Here's a thousand dollars;
+they're yours for picking up and you take no risk.  If you refuse and
+hold down the contract, you'll certainly go broke."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's possible," said Carrie.  "All the same, we mean to hold it down."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Probyn shrugged.  "Then I quit.  If you can put the job over, you're
+luckier than I think."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He went off and Carrie sat down.  "Looks as if I came along when I was
+needed.  The fellow talked in hints.  What did he mean?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's pretty obvious," Jake replied.  "His employers don't like our
+butting in.  Since they can't buy us, they'll try to freeze us out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then I reckon we must fight."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake looked thoughtful.  "They're strong antagonists; but I've a notion
+there's somebody on our side.  In fact, I was puzzled when we got the
+contract.  It's not often a job of this kind goes past the others, but
+the department may be using us to see if it's possible to shake the
+combine."  He paused, and laughed as he resumed: "Anyhow, we have made
+the plunge and if we're not going under have got to go ahead."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim agreed and for a time they talked about something else, but next
+morning Jake got a jar when he went to load the pack-horses and found
+two of his helpers gone.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They pulled out at sun-up," one of the rest explained.  "A stranger
+came along, looking for choppers; offered fifty cents more than you
+promised, and Steve and Pete went off with him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He'll probably shake them in a week," Jake replied.  "Still fifty
+cents a day's some inducement, and all of you can chop."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The packer laughed.  "That's a sure thing!  We reckoned we were fixed
+well and had better stop with a boss we knew.  Besides, now we've a
+dame for commissary, the hash is pretty good."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake went back to the hotel, disturbed about Probyn, but satisfied with
+his men.  The two who had gone were strangers, but two of the rest had
+been with him in the North and the others had worked upon the telegraph
+line.  One could trust them.  For all that, he was quiet when they set
+off on the muddy trail that plunged into the bush.  A cold wind blew
+the rain in their faces, the horses stumbled in the holes, and the wet
+men grumbled as they plodded through the mud.  They knew the wilderness
+and felt themselves a small company for the work they must do.
+Moreover, Jake imagined they might have to meet the antagonism of rich
+and unscrupulous rivals.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You don't say much," he remarked to Jim.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"One doesn't say much the morning one pulls out to start a big job.
+Anyhow, I'll own it's not my habit.  For one thing, I know what we're
+up against," Jim replied.  Then he saw Jake's twinkle, and smiled.  "My
+notion is you have been quieter than me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well," said Jake, "you're not always very bright, but this trip's
+a picnic after some we've made.  If we go broke, we can come down
+again; the last time we took the North trail we had to make good or
+freeze."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You hadn't your sister with you then."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's so," Jake agreed.  "I reckon it makes some difference.  Perhaps
+you had better go ahead and talk to her.  Carrie's rather fed up, but
+she mayn't be as frank to you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim urged the pack-horse he was leading and came up with Carrie, who
+was a short distance in front.  He wondered what he had better talk
+about, but found it easier to amuse her than he had thought.  Carrie
+did not look tired now; she had a touch of color and her eyes were
+bright.  She laughed at his remarks, although he admitted that his
+humor was clumsy, and did not seem to mind when the horse splashed her
+with mud.  Carrie had pluck, but he imagined her cheerfulness was
+forced.  By and by a knot on the pack-rope slipped and some tools and
+cooking pans fell with a clash.  When Jim began to pick them up Carrie
+stopped a yard or two in front.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You needn't hurry; I'll go on," she said.  "It's cleaner away from the
+horses, and one can look for the dry spots."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim gave her a quick glance.  Although she smiled, her voice had a note
+of strain.  It had not been easy for her to pretend and he had forced
+her to the effort.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm sometimes dull, but I mean well," he said apologetically.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course, you meant well.  Jake sent you, didn't he?  He knows
+something about my moods."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim colored and, seeing his embarrassment, she laughed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You don't deserve that; I get mad now and then.  The thing's my fault,
+any way.  I started well, but hadn't grit enough to keep it up.
+However, hadn't you better pick those pans out of the mud?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim replaced the articles and when he had refastened the load waited
+for Jake.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It looks as if Carrie had turned you down," the latter remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm not surprised," Jim rejoined.  "I've been talking like a drummer
+when she wanted to be alone."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well," said Jake, "you haven't a very light touch, but I expect
+she saw your intention was good."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"She did not; she saw you had sent me.  Your sister is cleverer than
+you think."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake grinned and pulled his horse round a hole.  "They're all cleverer
+than we think.  Sometimes it's an advantage and sometimes a drawback.
+Anyhow, I guess I won't meddle again.  Carrie will make good if we
+leave her alone&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He turned, for the horse behind them pushed forward and bit the animal
+he led.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Watch out!" he shouted.  "Drive your beast on!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim did so and then stopped a few yards off, while the animals plunged
+round each other and a man behind ran up.  Jake, sticking to the
+bridle, was dragged about; his horse's load struck against a tree and a
+flour-bag burst.  While he tried to stop the white stream running from
+the hole, the other horse seized his arm and shook him savagely.  Its
+driver joined in the struggle with a thick branch, and the men and
+animals floundered about the trail while the flour ran into the mud.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Let up with the club!" Jake shouted.  "The dried apples have gone now.
+You have hit the bag."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hold your beast, then," gasped the other.  "This trouble's not going
+to stop until mine gets in front."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake with an effort pulled the kicking animal between two trees and
+there was quietness when the other passed.  It looked round for a
+moment, and then plodded forward steadily while the desiccated apples
+ran down on the trail.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Now we'll stop and fix those bags," Jake remarked.  "Why in thunder
+did you let the brute go, Bill?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He was mushing along good and quiet and I wanted to light my pipe.
+Reckon he forgot he wasn't in his place."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then they heard a laugh and saw Carrie close by.  Jake was covered with
+mud and flour, and his hat, which had been trampled on, hung over his
+hot face.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You look the worse for wear," she said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I guess I feel like that," Jake replied, indicating his torn overalls.
+"Putting some of the damage right will be a job for you, but my hat's
+past your help.  You wouldn't think it cost three dollars, not long
+since!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But what was the kicking and biting about?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You heard the explanation!  Bill's cayuse forgot he wasn't in his
+proper place.  When he remembered, he tried to get there."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't understand yet."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A pack-horse knows his place in the row.  He's a creature of habit and
+hates to see another animal where he ought to be, but Bill was late in
+loading up and we didn't stop for him.  If I'd known what was coming to
+me, I'd have waited.  Now you have got the thing."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie laughed and Jim noted there was no reserve in her amusement.
+Her moodiness had vanished.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's ridiculous, but you must indulge him another time," she said.
+"Food is dear."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They went on with lighter hearts.  The struggle and Carrie's laugh had
+braced them, and by and by bright sunbeams touched the trunks beside
+the narrow trail.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0105"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER V
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+CARRIE'S WEAK MOMENT
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+The rain had stopped and big drops fell from the dark firs about the
+camp.  Daylight was going; all was very quiet but for the distant sound
+of falling water, and the smoke of the sulky fire went straight up.
+White chips and empty provision cans lay beside the freshly-chopped
+logs.  Jake had left camp after supper, the men had gone to fish, and
+Carrie had taken off her wet boots and sat by the fire, trying to dry
+her clothes.  For the last three or four days the party had traveled
+across very rugged country, and had now reached the spot where the new
+line would branch off.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie was cold and depressed.  One of the men who joined Probyn was
+cook, and although she had undertaken his duties cheerfully she found
+them harder than she thought.  Then when they pitched camp the wood the
+men brought was wet, the fire would not burn well, and the extra good
+supper she had meant to cook was spoiled.  This was the climax of a
+number of small troubles and hardships, and Carrie's patience had given
+way.  By and by, Jim came out of the gloom and stopped by the fire.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Crying, Carrie!  Why is that?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie, who had not heard his steps, started and tried to hide her feet
+behind her draggled skirt.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wasn't," she said, rather sharply.  "Anyhow, if I was, you oughtn't
+to have noticed."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps not.  Jake told me not long since my touch wasn't light.  But
+what has gone wrong?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's all gone wrong," she answered drearily.  "I oughtn't to have
+come.  Supper was the last thing&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The supper was quite good," Jim declared.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Quite good!  Well, I suppose that's all you can say for it honestly.
+If you liked it, it's curious you didn't eat very much.  Then, you see,
+I can cook, and I wanted to make a little feast to celebrate your
+beginning the job."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Nobody could cook at a fire like that.  Besides, folks are not
+fastidious in camp.  When you're chopping and cutting rock all day, you
+can eat whatever you get."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Your touch is certainly not light; I'd sooner you were fastidious,"
+Carrie rejoined.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Looks as if I'd taken the wrong line," Jim said gently.  "I hate to
+see you disturbed."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you hate it very much?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Jim.  "That's why I'm awkward."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie gave him a quick glance and turned her head.  The firelight
+touched his face and she noted his grave sympathy.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh!" she said, "I'm a silly little fool!  I would come&mdash;although I
+knew you didn't want me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I thought you would find things hard," Jim replied, with some
+embarrassment.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I do find them hard; that's the trouble, because they're really not
+hard.  The fault's mine; I haven't enough grit."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are full of grit," Jim declared.  "I've known men knocked out by
+an easier journey."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You're trying to be nice and I don't like that.  I didn't want you to
+come just now, but since you have come, sit down and smoke.  I meant to
+be a partner and help you both along."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But you have helped&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie looked up quickly.  "Oh, you are dull!  You don't see I want to
+confess.  It's sometimes a comfort to make yourself look as mean as
+possible.  Afterwards you begin to imagine you're perhaps not quite so
+bad."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know if it's worth while to bother about such things," Jim
+remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You don't bother.  When you're on the trail, you're occupied about the
+horses and how far you can go.  Nothing else matters, and Jake, of
+course, never bothers at all.  He grins.  But I insisted on coming and
+when the man at the hotel wanted to buy you off I made you refuse.  You
+know I did.  You were hesitating."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"On the whole, I'm glad you were firm."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It was easy to be firm at the hotel, but I ought to have kept it up.
+I was vain and sure of myself, when I'd come up in a wagon, over a
+graded road."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The road was pretty bad," said Jim.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Anyhow, it was a road and I sat in a wagon," Carrie rejoined.  "When
+the road stopped and we hit the real wild country, I got frightened,
+like a child.  What use is there in starting out, if you can't go on?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You have gone on.  I don't think many girls from the cities would have
+borne the journey with an outfit like ours.  But I don't quite get your
+object for leaving home."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Carrie, "you have done what you wanted, although it was
+perhaps hard.  You have tasted adventure, seen the wild North, and
+found gold.  You haven't known monotony, done dreary things that never
+change, and tried to make fifty cents go as far as a dollar.  If you
+had talents, you could use them, but it wasn't like that with me.  I
+don't know if I have talent, but I felt I could do something better
+than bake biscuit and sell cheap groceries.  I longed to do something
+different; to go out and take my chances, and see if I couldn't make my
+mark.  Then I wanted money, for mother's sake.  So I came, but as soon
+as I got wet and tired I was afraid."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim pondered.  Carrie had pluck; it meant much that she had owned her
+fears.  She meant to conquer them and he imagined she looked to him for
+help.  His business was to give her back her confidence, but this could
+not be done by awkward flattery.  In the meantime, he looked about.
+The fire had sunk, the moon was rising, and through a gap between the
+trunks one could see a dark gulf, out of which thin mist rolled.  The
+vapor streamed across long rows of ragged pines that ran up among the
+rocks until they melted in the gloom.  In the distance, a glimmering
+line of snow cut against the sky.  The landscape had grandeur but not
+beauty.  It was stern and forbidding.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I think we are all afraid now and then," he said.  "I never hit the
+North trail without shrinking.  Perhaps it's instinct, or something
+like that.  In the cities, man lives in comfort by using machines, but
+he's up against Nature all the time in the wilds.  She must be fought
+and beaten and he must leave behind the weapons he knows.  Up North, a
+small accident or carelessness may cost you your life; an ax forgotten,
+a bag of flour lost, mean frostbite and hunger that may stop the march.
+You have got to be braced and watchful; it's a grim country and it
+kills off the slack.  But we are only on its edge and things are
+different here.  If we are beaten, we can fall back.  The trail to the
+cities is open."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Would you fall back?" Carrie asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not unless I'm forced," Jim answered with a laugh.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Nor will I," said Carrie.  "I've been a fool to-night, but if I'm up
+against silly old things like instincts, I'm going to put them down."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You will make good all right.  But what did your mother think when you
+resolved to come with us?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie hesitated, and then gave Jim a level glance.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You didn't see mother much.  She was busy; she's always busy, and you
+don't know her yet.  She's quiet, you don't feel her using control, but
+one does what she wants, and I can't remember when that was wrong.
+Well, I suppose she felt, on the surface, I oughtn't to go.  It was the
+proper, conventional view, but when it's needful mother can go deep.  I
+think she was willing to give me a chance of finding out, and trying,
+my powers; she knew I wouldn't be so restless afterwards, if I was
+happier or not."  Carrie paused and there was a touch of color in her
+face as she resumed: "Besides, she knew she could trust Jake and I
+think she trusts you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim said nothing.  It looked as if the little faded woman who had been
+occupied about the store all day had qualities he had not imagined,
+although he now remembered he had sometimes got a hint of reserved
+force.  All was quiet for a minute or two while he mused, and then they
+heard steps and Jake came up.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I've been prospecting up the line.  We have got our job," he said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What's the trouble?  Bush pretty thick?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Rocks!  They're lying loose right up the slope and it's going to cost
+us high to roll them away.  Then it's possible another lot will come
+down."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim frowned.  They had undertaken to clear a track of stated width,
+along which pack-horses could travel, as well as fix the telegraph
+posts; and a bank of big loose stones would, be a troublesome obstacle.
+Much depended on the steepness of the hillside and he had not yet seen
+the ground.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If we have to build up and underpin the line, it will certainly cost
+us something," he said.  "However, we'll find that out as we go on.
+The main thing is to start."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I allow that's so.  When you start you finish," Jake remarked.  "Still
+dollars will count in this fight and we may go broke."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's possible.  Anyhow, we'll hold on until we are broke."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie laughed.  "And that's all there is to it, Jim?  I like your way
+of looking at things.  It's simple and saves trouble."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It puts it off," Jim rejoined dryly.  "The trouble sometimes comes at
+the end.  But it's rather curious how often you can make good by just
+holding on."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well!" said Carrie.  "I hear the boys coming.  Go and see if they
+have caught some fish."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim went off and presently returned with a string of big gray trout.
+Sitting down, he began to sharpen his knife, but Carrie stopped him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Leave them alone!  How many will the boys eat for breakfast?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"To some extent, it depends on how many they get.  If they're up to
+their usual form, I reckon they'll eat the lot.  But what has that to
+do with it?  I'll fix the trout."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," said Carrie.  "Give me your knife."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Certainly not.  Do you like dressing fish?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I expect I'll hate it, but I'm going to try.  Do you want me to
+struggle with a small blunt knife?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim looked hard at her.  Her mouth was firm and he knew what her touch
+of color meant.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I undertook to help cook," she resumed, and smiled.  "It's curious how
+often you can make good by just holding on!  Now, however, you and Jake
+can go away."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They went off, but presently Jim sat down and lighted his pipe.
+Although he approved Carrie's resolve to be useful, he felt annoyed.
+She had pretty white hands; he did not like her dressing trout.  Yet
+somebody must cook, and now the gang was two men short, he did not know
+whom he could spare.  It was not a job for Carrie, but she was
+obstinate.  There was no use in going back, because she could beat him
+in argument, and he went to his bed of fir branches in a bark shack the
+men had built.  Carrie had a tent, with a double roof that would keep
+out rain and sun.  Jim had seen to this, although the tent was
+expensive.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He got up rather early, but when he went out a big fire burned between
+the parallel hearth logs.  Aromatic wood-smoke hung about the camp in a
+thin blue haze.  There was an appetizing smell of cooking, and Carrie
+got up from beside the logs as he advanced.  She gave him a cheerful
+glance, and then stood looking past him to the east.  Mist streamed out
+of the deep valley and rolled across the climbing pines; in the
+distance, snow cut, softly blue, against the dazzling sky.  Carrie
+looked fresh and vigorous.  There was color in her face and her eyes
+were bright.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How long have you been about?" Jim asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"An hour," she said, smiling.  "I was often up at daybreak at home, and
+it was different there.  The street looked mean, the store smelt stale,
+and all was dreary.  Sun-up is glorious in the bush."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sometimes!  I have wakened half-frozen and felt most too scared to
+look about."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Carrie, "I was scared last night, but last night has gone
+and can't come back.  I'll own I don't like the dark."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim studied her.  Her pose was unconsciously graceful; her tall figure
+and plain gray dress harmonized with the background of straight trunks
+and rocks.  Her head was slightly tilted back as she breathed the
+resin-scented air.  Jim thought she looked strangely virile and alert.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You belong to the dawn," he said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie laughed, a laugh of frank amusement, untouched by coquetry.
+"Oh, Jim!  You're not often romantic."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose that is so," he agreed.  "Anyhow, my feeling was quite
+sincere.  You <I>are</I> like the dawn."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She turned her head for a moment and then said carelessly: "Let's look
+if the bannocks I made are cooked."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim scattered a pile of wood ashes and lifted two or three large thick
+cakes from the hot stones beneath.  He broke off a piece from one and
+when it cooled began to eat.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I imagine this is the best bannock that was ever made in the bush," he
+remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you feel you must be nice?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," said Jim.  "In a way, I don't care if I'm nice or not.  The
+bannock is first grade; I think that's all that matters.  If you don't
+mind, I'll take another bit."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie laughed.  "Looks as if one could make you happy by giving you
+things to eat!  But let's see if the trout are fried; I've got the
+spider full."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She put the fish on a big tin plate and while she made coffee Jim beat
+a piece of iron that hung from a branch.  The sharp, ringing notes
+pierced the shadows and half-dressed men came out of the shack and
+plunged down the slope to the river.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Some of them would be mad if they knew I'd roused them out ten minutes
+early," Jim remarked.  "A breakfast like this, however, is too good to
+spoil.  Now if you'll let me have the coffee, I'll take the truck
+along."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He came back with the empty plates in about a quarter of an hour, for
+Canadian choppers do not loiter over meals, and Carrie, sitting on the
+hearth log, looked up anxiously.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well?" she asked, "were the boys satisfied?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They were.  I don't think I could have stood for it if they were not.
+One allowed he hoped Probyn would keep the cook we lost.  The others
+were enthusiastic."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie blushed.  "I'm glad.  I was tired when things went wrong last
+night."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The trouble is, you can't go on.  It's one thing to superintend, and
+cook a meal now and then, but quite another to cook all the time."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But this is what I want to do."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It can't be allowed," Jim declared.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie put down the forks she was cleaning.  "You look very firm and
+solemn, but you can't bluff me.  Are you and Jake very rich?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You know we're not rich."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If you want to put your contract over, you have got to work, and it's
+obvious you can't work and cook.  Then, if you bring in a man to cook,
+he couldn't do much else and wages are high.  Aren't they high?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose they are," Jim agreed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very well!  I came because I wanted to be useful, and if you won't let
+me, I'll go back.  Then Jake and one of the boys would have to go down
+with me to the railroad.  That would be awkward, wouldn't it?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It certainly would be awkward.  Do you mean you'll insist on taking
+two of us away from the job unless I give in?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie smiled.  "Yes, Jim.  If you're going to be obstinate, there's no
+other plan.  Besides, you see, the trail's rough and I couldn't go very
+fast."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm beaten," said Jim.  "You will do what you like.  You're a good
+sort, Carrie, and if you find the job too hard, you can stop."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I may find it hard, but I don't know if I'll stop.  Anyhow, your
+control is gone.  If you are not very nice, I'll spoil the hash, and
+then you'll have trouble with the boys."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim got up, moved by her pluck and yet half annoyed, for he had meant
+to make things easy for her.  Before he went off she laughed and
+remarked: "You'll find Jake will understand why you gave way.
+Sometimes he bluffs mother; he never bluffs me."
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0106"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER VI
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+ROLLING STONES
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Sweet resinous smells drifted down the hill.  The mists were melting
+and Jim lighted his pipe and thoughtfully looked about.  The sun had
+just risen above the distant snow and a streak of blue smoke, drawn
+across the woods, marked the camp.  Breakfast would not be ready for
+half an hour, but he knew Carrie had been occupied for some time,
+although he had stolen out of camp without talking to her.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim did not like her working as she had worked for the last week or
+two, and if he had stopped they might have begun an argument.  He would
+have gained nothing by this, for Carrie was obstinate and he admitted
+that he was now and then impatient.  Carrie was plucky and they needed
+help, but cooking for the hired men was not the kind of thing she ought
+to do.  Then he had been disturbed in the night by a rattle of stones,
+and now saw he must grapple with a difficulty that was worse than he
+had thought.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The hillside ran up steeply to a wall of crags, split by frost and
+thaw.  Tall firs clung to the slope where they could find a hold, but
+there were gaps, in which broken trunks lay among the rubbish a
+snow-slide had brought down.  Then, for some distance, large, sharp
+stones rested insecurely on the slope, and Jim imagined that a small
+disturbance would set them in motion.  Below the spot where he sat, the
+stones ran down into a gulf obscured by rolling mist.  The turmoil of a
+river rose from the gloomy depths.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A row of telegraph posts crossed the stony belt, but one or two had
+fallen in the night and Jim carefully studied the ground.  His business
+was to put up the posts and clear a track in order to protect them from
+damage and enable pack-horses to travel along the line.  It was plain
+that the stones were an awkward obstacle, but this was not all.  As a
+rule, the provincial Government allowed the small ranchers to undertake
+the construction of telegraphs, rude bridges, and roads.  The plan
+helped the men to stop upon their half-cleared holdings, but it was not
+economical and rich contractors had recently got the large jobs.  Jim
+imagined they meant to keep the business in their hands and he knew
+something about political influence and graft.  His contract was not
+important but he had grounds for believing the others resented his
+entering the field, and if he got behind schedule, the agreement might
+be broken.  Well, he must not get behind, and when he went back for
+breakfast he had made his plans.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Afterwards he got to work and rolled the stones down hill all day,
+without returning to camp for dinner.  It was getting hot, and in the
+afternoon fierce sunshine beat upon the long slope.  The shadow of the
+pines looked inviting and Jim felt that half an hour might be occupied
+profitably by a quiet smoke and review of the undertaking, but resisted
+the temptation.  The argument was false; he was a working boss and must
+set the pace for his men.  His back began to ache, he tore his old blue
+shirt, and bruised his hands, while as the shadows lengthened he got
+disturbed.  Rolling heavy stones was slow and expensive work.  It kept
+him from getting forward and wages were high.  When the sun was low he
+stopped to wipe his bleeding hand and saw Jake leaning on his shovel.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I've let up for a minute or two to think.  Sometimes it pays," Jake
+observed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It depends on what you think about," Jim rejoined.  "I don't know if
+there's much profit in wondering what's for supper."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake smiled.  "Perhaps not.  I reckon you thought how you could hit up
+the pace.  My notion is, you've put it most as high as the boys will
+stand for."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In this country, it's usual to work as hard as the boss."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Something depends on the boss," Jake said dryly.  "When we're up
+against a hard streak, you are near the limit."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim gave him a sharp glance.  "Do you mean anything in particular?
+Aren't you satisfied with the boys?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"On the whole, they're a pretty good crowd.  There are two I'm not
+quite sure about."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim's eyes rested on two men who were languidly throwing stones down
+the hill.  "I think we agree, but they have earned their pay so far,
+and I mean them to go on."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He stopped and the men put down their tools, for a sharp, ringing noise
+rolled across the woods.  When they reached camp Jim was surprised to
+note two hobbled horses among the springing fern.  The big pack-saddles
+stood near the fire and a man was helping Carrie to fill the tin
+plates.  He stopped when Jim advanced, and Carrie said, "This is Mr.
+Davies; he was at the Woolsworth store with me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim said he was glad to see him and studied the fellow when they sat
+down.  Davies was young and rather handsome.  He wore overalls, long
+leggings, and an expensive buckskin jacket, but although his skin was
+brown, he did not look like a bushman.  In fact, Jim thought him a type
+that is common in Western towns; superficially smart, and marked by an
+aggressive confidence.  He was somewhat surprised the fellow was a
+friend of Carrie's; Jim had not expected her to like that kind of man,
+but hospitality is the rule in the bush and he tried to be polite.
+When supper was over and they lit their pipes he asked:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Have you come to see the country, Mr. Davies?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm out on business; going through to the new settlement.  I belong to
+the Martin outfit and we're bidding on the construction of a new
+bridge."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Jim, for Martin was a contractor and one of the ring.  "This
+is not the shortest way to settlement," he added.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is not," Davies agreed.  "I reckoned I'd go in up the Vaughan river
+and hired two Indians who know the way.  Wanted to look at the country;
+there's some talk about making a new wagon road.  Then, you see, I knew
+Miss Winter and heard she was at your camp."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Something about Davies' manner hinted that the girl and he were good
+friends, and Jim was sorry Carrie was not there, since he wanted to see
+how she accepted the fellow's statement.  For no very obvious reason,
+Davies jarred him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Looking for a wagon road line is a different job from keeping store,"
+he remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did keep store, but I've had other occupations and know the bush.
+If I didn't know it, they would have no use for me in the Martin gang."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim nodded.  The fellow was plausible, and in British Columbia a man
+often puts his talents to very different uses.  He thought Davies had
+talent, although perhaps not of a high kind.  By and by the latter got
+up.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If the boys are going fishing, I'll try my luck with them," he said.
+"I'd like a few gray trout and have brought a pole."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Two or three of the men picked up rods they had made from fir-branches,
+and when the party set off Jim walked across to the fire where Carrie
+was sitting.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Davies has gone off to the river," he remarked.  "It's curious!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why do you think this curious?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim hesitated, feeling that tact was needful.  He was not jealous about
+Davies.  Carrie and he were friends; he liked her much, but she had not
+inspired him with romantic sentiment.  His imagination dwelt upon the
+girl he had met at the Montreal restaurant.  For all that, he was
+puzzled.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," he said, "it looks as if he had come out of his way in order to
+see you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Did he tell you this?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," said Jim.  "He hinted at something like it.  I suppose you knew
+him well?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie gave him a quick glance.  His face was thoughtful and he
+frowned.  She was quiet for a moment or two, and then smiled.  "I do
+not know him well.  He was at the Woolsworth Store, but his was a
+better post than mine, and we didn't often meet.  In fact, I don't
+think I liked him much."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Jim, whose satisfaction was plain.  "Well, of course, it is
+not my business."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But you're rather glad I didn't like him?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course," said Jim.  "The fellow's a poor type; not your type&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He stopped with some embarrassment and Carrie laughed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We'll let that go.  You are puzzled, Jim?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am.  Why did the fellow hint he'd come because he wanted to see you?
+He said something about looking for a line for a wagon road, but he'd
+have struck the valley the road will go through sooner if he'd pushed
+on east.  I can't see what he did want."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps he had some reason for stopping at our camp and felt he must
+account for his coming out of his way."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Jim.  "I believe you've hit it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well, now you know I don't like Davies and you have found out why he's
+here, you ought to be satisfied."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But I haven't found out why he's here; that's the trouble," Jim
+rejoined, and was silent for a few moments.  "However, perhaps you have
+put me on the track," he went on.  "I was something of a fool when I
+wanted to leave you behind.  You have helped us all the time.  But you
+haven't enough wood for morning; I'll go and chop some."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He went off and Carrie sat quietly by the fire.  There was faint
+amusement in her eyes, but they were soft.  By and by the light began
+to fade and rousing herself she made some bannocks for breakfast.  When
+Davies came back with a string of fish she had vanished and the light
+that had burned in her tent was out.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Next morning Davies left the camp and Jim sent three or four men to
+build a wall to protect the line, while he and some others put up the
+posts.  Their progress was slow, because it was necessary to make the
+wall strong and Jim was occupied for a week before he was satisfied
+with the length he had built.  He thought it ought to stand, but felt
+disturbed when he calculated what the extra work had cost.  It was,
+however, a comfort to know he had covered the worst ground, and soon
+after supper one evening he went off in better spirits than usual to a
+little bark shelter he had built for himself.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He was tired and soon went to sleep, but after some hours awoke.  He
+supposed he was rather highly strung after working hard, because he did
+not feel sleepy, and lifting his head he looked about.  The end of the
+shelter was open and the pines outside rose like vague black spires,
+their tapered tops cutting against the sky.  Although there was no
+moon, the first row of trunks stood out against the deeper gloom
+behind.  One could smell the resin and the warm soil, damped by heavy
+dew.  All was very quiet, but after a few moments Jim began to listen.
+He had lived in the wilds, his senses were keen, and sometimes he
+received unconsciously impressions of minute noises.  Although the
+stillness was only broken by the turmoil of the river far down in the
+valley, he imagined it was not for nothing he had wakened.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then he raised himself on his elbow as he heard another sound.  It was
+very faint, but somehow definite, although he could not tell what it
+was.  A few moments afterwards, he knew; a stone was rolling down hill
+and disturbing others as it went.  Then there was a sharp crash and a
+rattle that began to swell into a roar, and Jim, leaping up, ran along
+the hill.  The bank he had built had broken and the stones behind it
+were plunging down.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When he reached the line he struck his foot against a rock and
+stumbled.  The ground was rough, the night was dark, but it was
+unthinkable that he should stop.  He clenched his hands and ran,
+although he did not know what he could do.  When trouble threatened he
+must be on the spot.  In the meantime, the noise got louder.  He heard
+great blocks strike the ledges down the slope and smash; trees broke
+and branches crashed, while behind the detached shocks there was a
+steady, dull roar of small gravel grinding across the rocks and tearing
+up the brush.  The wall had obviously gone and its collapse had started
+a slide that might not stop until all the stones above the line had run
+down.  If so, they might plane off a wide belt of hillside and carry
+the soil and broken timber into the valley.  Then Jim would be forced
+to dig out another line.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He gasped as he labored on, but the uproar had begun to die away when
+he reached an opening in the thin forest.  At sunset, straggling trees
+had dotted the slope, but they had gone and, so far as he could see,
+nothing but a few stumps broke the smooth surface of the hill.  The
+wall had vanished with the line it was meant to protect.  Now and then
+a big stone rolled by, but Jim did not think about the risk.  He must
+try to find out if much of the surface was left and if there was rock
+beneath.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When he left the end of the line, small stones slipped away from his
+feet and plunged down into the dark.  This was ominous, since gravel is
+awkward stuff to work among when it does not lie at rest.  However,
+with plenty of stakes and some underpinning, he might be able to build
+up a new bank.  By and by his foot struck something sharp and he looked
+up.  He had kicked the edge of a large, ragged stone, and an
+indistinct, broken mass ran up the hill.  The blocks had obviously come
+down from the bottom of the crags and, since they had gone no farther,
+the pitch was easy enough for them to lie.  This would enable him to
+clear a line across the mass and build a fresh bank.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim sat down and took out his pipe.  He had lost his labor and money he
+could not spare, but it was possible to run the line across the
+treacherous belt, although he was half afraid to count the cost.  When
+he struck a match Jake came up and indistinct figures moved in the
+gloom behind.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Have you any use for us, Boss?" one asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Nothing doing now," said Jim.  "We'll get busy in the morning."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The man looked about and then remarked:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Something started the blamed wall off and I guess she didn't stop
+until she hit the river.  It's surely bad luck!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is," said Jim.  "Anyhow, we took this job and are going to make
+good.  I don't want you and you'll probably need some sleep."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I reckon that's so, if you mean to speed us up," the other agreed,
+with a laugh, and when he went back to the others Jim lighted his pipe.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A nasty knock, but not a knock-out," Jake remarked.  "At sun-up we'll
+have a better notion&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, yes," said Jim, rather impatiently, and added: "I've been
+wondering why I wakened."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I reckon that's plain enough.  The noise would have roused me three
+miles off."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It was before the noise began," Jim replied, in a thoughtful voice.
+"I think something woke me, but don't know what it was."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Tom remarked that something had started off the wall.  I allow he
+mayn't have reflected much, but perhaps it's significant he and you
+agree."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim was silent for a minute or two, and then asked: "Did all the boys
+come along?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"So far as I remember.  I didn't count."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," said Jim.  "It's too soon to state what I think.  After all, I
+don't know very much."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake said nothing.  He knew his partner was generally marked by a grim
+reserve after a bad set-back.  When Jim was ready, he would talk, and
+in the meantime Jake imagined his brain was occupied.  Crossing the
+track of the landslide cautiously, they returned to camp, but when they
+reached it Jim lighted his pipe again and did not go to sleep.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0107"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER VII
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+A COUNCIL
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Jim got up at daybreak and went to the spot where the landslide had
+carried away the line.  A hundred yards had gone and a great bank of
+soil and gravel ran down at an even slant to the river, where the
+current foamed about the rubbish that blocked its channel.  The slope
+was dotted by broken trees and rocks, and in one place farther up a
+belt of smaller stones rested loosely at the top of a steep pitch.  Jim
+thought a slight disturbance would start another slide.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He had wasted a week or two's labor and saw it would cost him some time
+to clear the ground before he could get to work again.  Even then,
+there would be a risk of the new line's being swept away.  This was
+daunting, because money was short and he had no margin to provide
+against expensive accidents.  When he took the contract he had trusted
+much to luck, and now his luck was bad.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Moreover, the thing was puzzling and his curiosity was aroused.  He
+imagined he had made the line secure, and had worked among treacherous
+gravel in shallow mines long enough to know something about the job.
+The wall had obviously broken and started the landslide when it gave
+way, but he could not see why it had broken.  This, however, must wait.
+He meant to solve the puzzle, but, to begin with, the line must be run
+across the gap and he occupied himself with the necessary plans.  His
+habit was to concentrate and, sitting absorbed, he studied the ground
+until he felt a touch on his arm.  Then he looked up with a start and
+saw Carrie.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm sorry, Jim," she said.  "Is it very bad?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's bad enough," said Jim, who began to get up, but she stopped him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Never mind; sit still!  You're very polite, but I don't know if you
+need always use your best manners."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know if I do," Jim rejoined.  "Sometimes I'm too savage; I'm
+rather savage now.  But don't you like me to be polite?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If you get what I mean, I want you to feel I'm a working partner."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are a partner," Jim declared.  "In fact, you're a remarkably
+useful member of the firm."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie gave him a smile.  "Thank you!  But you mustn't feel this bad
+luck too much.  You've met worse."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Much worse, but it was in the North, where we knew what we were up
+against and had nothing to lose.  It's different now; I've staked all
+I've got on this undertaking.  So has Jake; and then you have joined
+us.  I hate to think about your going back to the city broke."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh," said Carrie, smiling, "that doesn't count at all.  Besides, we're
+not going broke.  We may have some set-backs, but we'll make good."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We'll try; but that's another thing.  I don't know why you're so
+confident."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie studied him with a twinkle of amusement.  "I am confident.
+You're not a quitter, and it's wonderful what one can often do by just
+staying with a thing!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The trouble is, you can't stay with this particular job when your
+money's gone.  That's the difference between it and placer mining in
+the North.  Up there, we had no wages to pay, and could stop and root
+up the tundra until we froze, and when our money is spent the boys will
+light out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But you'll stay until every dollar is gone."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim laughed.  "It might be prudent to pull out before; but I rather
+think I'll hold on."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Carrie, "that's what I like!  You're bracing up; I knew you
+would!  However, I must go back.  Breakfast must be cooked."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim went with her, feeling comforted.  Carrie did not know much about
+the mechanical difficulties, but her confidence was inspiriting.  In a
+sense, the thing was illogical; the difficulties would not vanish
+because she did not see them.  It was ridiculous for him to feel
+cheered, but he was cheered and he glanced at Carrie as they went
+along.  She was pretty and her impulsive frankness was often charming;
+but somehow he did not think of her as an attractive girl.  She was a
+partner whom he trusted and a staunch friend.  Yet he had been annoyed
+by Davies' stopping at the camp and had felt relieved when she told him
+she did not like the fellow.  This was strange, but Jim gave up the
+puzzle and helped Carrie with breakfast when they reached the camp.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When the meal was over he got to work and did not come back until
+supper was ready.  Jake and he had not time for quiet talk all day, but
+there was something to be said, and when the men went off to fish, Jim
+sat down opposite Carrie, while Jake lay among the pine-needles close
+by.  The shadows had crept across the camp and the hollows between the
+rows of trunks were dark.  The snow had changed from white to an
+ethereal blue and the turmoil of the river hardly disturbed the calm.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Have you any notion yet what started off the wall?" Jake asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have," said Jim.  "The trouble began at the underpinning.  A king
+post broke and let down the stones."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"So far, we are agreed.  But do you know why the post broke?  We used
+good logs."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know.  Although it may take some time, I'm going to find out.
+We can't have this kind of thing happening again."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake nodded.  "Perhaps I have got a clew.  When Davies was here, he
+said he'd like to go fishing and some of the boys went along."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is so," Jim said with a puzzled look.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The two who moved first were the boys we allowed we were not quite
+sure about.  I don't know if it means anything, but when they got to
+the river, they and Davies lost the others."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It may mean much," Jim said quietly.  "The clew's worth following."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie's eyes sparkled as she interrupted: "Do you imply Davies hired
+the boys to wreck the line?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I allow it's possible," Jim replied in a thoughtful voice.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And I cooked an extra good supper for him!" Carrie exclaimed.  "I'm
+beginning to understand why folks get poisoned.  But now you know, what
+are you going to do about it?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We don't know," said Jim.  "That's the trouble.  We have got to wait."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake made a sign of agreement and Carrie said nothing.  She knew her
+brother and imagined she understood Jim's quietness.  After a time, the
+latter resumed: "I've been thinking, and the matter puzzles me.  We're
+up against the big contractors.  They'd be glad to see us broke and
+Probyn took two of our outfit when we stopped at the hotel.  But he was
+willing to buy us out and his offering the boys higher wages was, in a
+way, a fair deal.  I allow he left two we didn't trust."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The two who went fishing with Davies!" Carrie remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is so," Jim agreed.  "Davies, however, works for another boss.
+It's possible the big men would pool their resources to freeze us off,
+but I know something about Martin and doubt if he would play a low-down
+game."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Davies might," said Jake.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I think he did," Carrie interposed, and her voice was sharp.  "In
+fact, it's obvious.  He's poison mean; I knew this at the store."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I didn't like him," Jim replied and added thoughtfully: "After all,
+the contract's not important, from the big men's point of view.  No
+doubt, they'd sooner we let up, but somehow I can't see their finding
+it worth while to get after us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is puzzling," Jake admitted; "I think we'll let it go.  If we have
+any fresh bad luck, our money will run out long before we can make
+good.  This would leave us without resources except for the Bluebird
+claim."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim frowned.  "I'll hold on while I have a dollar, but I don't want to
+sell the mine.  For one thing, we couldn't get a price that would help
+us much, although I expect northern copper claims will soon be
+valuable.  The country's fast being opened up and some day there'll be
+a railroad built."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps it's significant that Baumstein made us another offer for the
+Bluebird."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"When did he make the offer?" Jim asked sharply.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"When you were ill; I refused.  Thought I'd told you.  He raised his
+limit a thousand dollars."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Shucks!" said Jim.  "Does the fellow think we'll give him the mine?
+Anyhow, I'd sooner not sell to Baumstein at all.  He's a crook and has
+made his pile by freezing poor men off their claims."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake smiled.  "Poor men with mines to sell get used to freezing, and if
+we refuse to deal with anybody whose character isn't first grade, we're
+not going to progress much.  I doubt if rich folks who like a square
+deal are numerous."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There are some," said Jim.  "For all that, the unscrupulous, grab-all
+financier is a blight on the country.  The prospector risks his life in
+the struggle with half-frozen tundra bog, rotten rock, and snow, and
+the other fellow, with his net of bribes and graft, gets the reward.
+But, we won't stand for that kind of thing."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Let's be practical.  We're not running a purity campaign, and it looks
+as if nobody but Baumstein is willing to buy the mine."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then my proposition is, we hold tight until the Combine come into the
+field.  They'll be forced to get busy before long, and while I don't
+know if all their deals are straight, they're better than Baumstein's.
+In the meantime, we have got to stay with this telegraph contract while
+our money lasts."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There was silence for a moment or two and Carrie's eyes rested on Jim.
+He looked tired, and his brown face was thin, but his mouth was firm.
+Jim was resolute; she sometimes doubted if he was clever, but he could
+hold on.  Had he been weak or greedy, he would have sold the copper
+vein and taken Probyn's offer to let the telegraph contract go.
+Perhaps this would have been prudent, but she was glad Jim had refused.
+She wanted to think he would not give way.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well?  You claim you're a partner!" Jake remarked with a twinkle.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jim's plan is my plan," she said quietly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then it goes," Jake agreed, and gave her a curious glance when Jim got
+up and went off across the hill.  "I don't know if you're rash or not,
+but you're playing up to Jim.  Since I've known you to be cautious,
+your object isn't very plain."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie hesitated, although she was generally frank with Jake.  "Oh,
+well," she said, "I feel he ought to take a bold line; that's the kind
+of man he is."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Rather a romantic reason.  Particularly as his boldness may cost us
+much."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm tired of thinking about what things cost," Carrie rejoined.
+"Sometimes it's fine to take one's chances.  I'm going to be rash, if I
+want."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"After all, it may pay as well as the other plan.  However, if you mean
+to sketch a leading-character part for Jim and see he plays it as you
+think he ought, perhaps he deserves some sympathy and you may get a
+jolt.  Jim's not theatrical."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I hate theatrical people," Carrie declared.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake laughed.  "You hate posers.  You feel you'd like Jim to play a
+romantic part, without his meaning it?  Well, I expect he'll miss his
+cues and let you down now and then, but he certainly won't pose."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You're rather clever sometimes," Carrie admitted, with a blush.  "But
+I think we have talked enough and I want some wood."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She sat for a time, thinking, while the thud of Jake's ax rang across
+the bush; and then went off to her tent with an impatient shrug.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I mustn't be a romantic fool," she said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For the next eight or nine days Jim and the men were occupied running
+the line across the gap.  When he had done so, he stole quietly out of
+camp for three or four nights, and returning before daybreak, imagined
+nobody had remarked his absence.  Then, one morning, Carrie came up as
+he was lighting the fire.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You look tired, Jim," she said.  "If you mean to work hard, you must
+get some sleep."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim gave her a sharp glance and she smiled.  "You see, I know your
+step!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Jim, who did not grasp all her statement implied, "you are
+very smart, Carrie, and it's plain that I am clumsier than I thought.
+But do you think anybody else heard me?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No.  I listened and all was quiet.  However, if it's needful for
+somebody to watch, you must let Jake go."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim shook his head.  "I've got to see this thing through.  Somehow I
+imagine I can do so better than Jake."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But you can't keep it up, after working hard all day."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It won't be for long.  We'll break camp soon and move to the next
+section.  You're a good sort, Carrie, but you really mustn't meddle."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie blushed.  "I won't meddle if you forbid it.  All the same, I'd
+hate to see you worn out and ill.  You're boss, and it would be awkward
+if you lost control."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's only for another night or two.  The fellow I'm watching for will
+have to try again, or let up, before we move camp."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But if you caught him, you and he would be alone."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Jim, whose face got hard, "that's what I want.  If I'm on
+the right track, the thing must be fixed without the boys knowing."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie hesitated and then made a sign of acquiescence.  "I don't like
+it, Jim, but reckon you can't be moved.  Anyhow, you'll be cautious."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim promised he would not be rash and went off, half amused, to get
+some water.  Carrie was very staunch, but he did not want her to be
+disturbed about him.  He was sorry she had heard him steal out of camp.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the evening Jake came for a gun he kept in the tent.  The game laws
+that limit the time for shooting are seldom enforced against bush
+ranchers and prospectors who kill deer and grouse for food.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'd better oil the barrels to keep off the damp," he said.  "It's a
+pretty good gun."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie watched him push across the top lever and open the breech.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Is that where you put the cartridges?" she asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You push the shells forward with your thumb, and then shut the
+gun&mdash;like this!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then all you have to do is to pull the trigger?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not with this type of gun.  You see, the hammers have rebounded half
+way, but you must pull them farther back before it will go off."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Suppose you miss and want to shoot again?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You push the lever sideways, the barrels swing down, and the empty
+shells jump out.  That's all!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It looks easy," Carrie remarked.  "I've sometimes wondered how one
+used a gun.  There's nothing more to shooting than there is to making
+bread."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Maybe not," Jake agreed with a grin.  "I reckon a bad cook is as
+dangerous as a bad shot.  If you miss with a gun, you have done no
+harm, but I've eaten bannocks that get you every time."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When he had finished he hung the gun to the tent pole and went off, but
+Carrie took it down, and carefully opened and shut the breech.  After
+doing so once or twice, she was satisfied and put back the gun.  Then
+she went to a little bark store where their food was kept, and picking
+up a bag of flour that had been opened, weighed it in her hand.  It was
+lighter than it ought to be, and this had happened before.  Next she
+examined a piece of salt pork and imagined that some had gone, while
+when she carefully looked about she noted a few tea leaves on the floor.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie did not think she had spilt the tea, and knitted her brows.
+Somebody had been stealing food, but the man had not taken much and had
+tried to do so in a way that would prevent its being missed.  For
+example, he had gone to the flour bag twice and had cut the pork from
+both sides of the slab.  Carrie thought this significant, but resolved
+to say nothing.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0108"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER VIII
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+JIM KEEPS WATCH
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+The night was not cold and Jim had some trouble to keep awake as he sat
+with his back against a tree a short distance above the mended line.
+He had dug out a track and built a new wall to hold up the stones, and
+in the morning the camp would be moved.  Now he was very tired, but he
+meant to watch for another night.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There was a half moon and puzzling lights and shadows checkered the
+hill.  In some places the trees rose like scattered spires; in others
+they rolled down the slope in blurred dark masses.  Behind the woods
+snowy mountains cut against the sky.  The dim landscape was desolate
+and savagely grand.  It had the strange half-finished look one notes in
+Canada.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In order to banish his drowsiness, Jim gave himself up to wandering
+memories.  He knew the North, where he had risked and endured much.  He
+had seen the tangled pines snap under their load of snow and go down in
+rows before the Arctic gales; he had watched the ice break up and the
+liberated floods hurl the floes into the forest.  He had crossed the
+barren tundra where only moss can live and the shallow bog that steams
+in summer rests on frozen soil.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Raging blizzards, snowslides, crevassed glaciers and rotten ice were
+things he knew; there were scars on his body he had got in stubborn
+fights.  So far he had conquered; but he owned that he had had enough,
+and tried to picture the Old Country his father talked about.  Its
+woods were not primitive jungles, wrecked by gales and scorched by
+fires; men planted and tended them and the trees had room to grow.
+White farmsteads with gardens and orchards dotted the valleys; the
+narrow fields were rich with grass and corn.  Then there were wonderful
+old houses, stored with treasures of art.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Well, he meant to see England some day and he began to think about the
+girl he had met at Montreal.  She seemed to stand for all that was best
+in the Old Country; its refinement, its serenity, and ancient charm.
+One did not find girls like that in Canada; they were the product of
+long cultivation and sprang from a stock whose roots went deep into the
+past.  Jim wondered with a strange longing whether he would see her
+again.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Perhaps it was the contrast that presently fixed his thoughts on
+Carrie.  Carrie was a type that throve in virgin soil; she was virile,
+frank, and unafraid.  Her emotions were not hid by inherited reserve.
+One could imagine her fighting like a wildcat for the man she loved.
+Yet she had a fresh beauty and a vein of tenderness.  Jim was fond of
+Carrie but not in love with her.  He wondered whether he might have
+loved her had he not met the English girl, but pulled himself up.  This
+kind of speculation led to nothing, and he began to look about.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The shadows of the pines had got shorter and blacker as the moon rose;
+the hill was checkered by their dark bars.  He could not see far down
+the valley, because it was full of mist.  The great hollow looked like
+a caldron in which the river boiled.  Its hoarse roar echoed among the
+rocks and made a harmonious background for smaller and sharper notes.
+A faint breeze sighed in the pine-tops and now and then there was a
+tinkle of falling stones.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim saw some stones roll down and stop at the wall he had built.  This
+ran in a gentle curve across the slope and shone like silver in the
+moonlight.  In places, it was broken by shadows that seemed to tremble
+and melt.  Jim knew he was getting sleepy and tried to rouse himself.
+It was something of an effort, because he had not slept much for a
+week, but by and by the strain slackened and he got suddenly alert.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+An indistinct object moved where a shadow fell across the wall, and Jim
+knew it was a man.  He was conscious of a grim satisfaction; he had
+watched for the fellow when brain and body needed rest, and now he had
+come.  Moreover, his object was plain.  The wall was underpinned,
+supported by timbers, and if a log that bore much weight were cut, the
+stones would fall and bring down the rest.  One could not hear an ax at
+the camp, the falling wall would sweep away the chips, and the fellow,
+stealing back, would join the men the noise brought out.  Jim thought
+he could get near him by using the rocks and trees to cover his
+advance, but the other could hide among them if he were alarmed, and it
+might be prudent to let him get to work.  The stealthy figure avoided
+the moonlight.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The thud of the ax echoed across the woods, and Jim, taking care that
+he had a dark background, went cautiously down hill.  He did not carry
+a pistol.  On the whole, he thought one was safer without a gun, but he
+had brought a thick wooden bar with an iron point that they used for
+rolling logs.  Getting behind a tree, he stopped near the wall.  The
+regular strokes of the ax indicated that the other was not disturbed,
+and Jim, looking down from higher ground, could see the upper part of
+his body as he swung the tool.  The sharp blows implied that he was
+chopping hard.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After measuring the distance, Jim sank down and crawled to the top of
+the wall.  Since the other had an ax, surprise would be a useful, and
+perhaps necessary, advantage in the attack.  Jim meant to attack; there
+was no use in talking before the fellow was in his power.  As he crept
+forward a few stones rolled down the hill.  He wondered what had
+disturbed them, but thought it imprudent to turn round, and lay quiet
+for a few moments, when the chopping stopped.  He could not see the man
+now, because he was hidden by the top of the wall.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The chopping began again, and Jim, crawling a few feet, seized the
+stones on the edge and threw himself over just after the ax came down.
+He fell upon the man and tried to seize him, but although both were
+shaken by the collision, the other avoided his grasp and staggered
+back.  Jim followed and, swinging his bar, struck with all his
+strength.  The other caught the blow on the curved shaft of the ax, and
+Jim's hands were badly jarred.  The vibration of the hard wood numbed
+his muscles, his fingers lost their grip.  It looked as if he had been
+clumsy and rash, for the advantage was now with his antagonist, because
+the ax was longer than the bar.  Moreover, the Canadian bushman is
+highly skilled in the use of the dangerous tool.  For all that, Jim had
+begun the fight and meant to win.  The fellow had taken a bribe to ruin
+him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He lifted the bar, struck hard, and missed as his antagonist stepped
+back.  Then the latter swung his ax and Jim bent from the waist as the
+shining blade swept past.  They were now in the moonlight and he saw
+the other's face; it was the man who had gone fishing with Davies, and
+he gave way to a fury that banished caution.  The fellow had a longer
+reach and looked cool; indeed, he seemed to be studying Jim with
+ironical humor.  While the latter, breathing hard, watched for an
+opening, he lowered his ax.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Suppose we quit fooling and talk about the thing?" he said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm not fooling," Jim rejoined.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Anyhow, you'd better quit.  I could get you with the ax, if I wanted,
+but I've not much use for that.  I'd sooner you stopped here while I
+light out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You'd starve before you made the settlement."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I guess not.  There's enough flour and pork in a cache to see me
+through."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The trouble is, you can't make the cache," said Jim.  "I've watched
+for you since the first wall broke and you earned the money Davies
+promised.  Put down the ax and start for camp."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Davies?" said the other.  "Do you mean the guy who came along with the
+Indian packers?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Are you pretending you don't know the man?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It doesn't matter, anyhow," the other rejoined.  "I'm not going back
+to camp, and there's something coming to you if you try to take me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim meant to take him and wondered how far he could trust to bluff.  If
+he could get near enough, he might knock out the fellow with the bar
+and yet not do him a serious injury.  The ax was dangerous, but it was
+possible the other would hesitate about using it.  In Canada, crimes of
+violence are generally punished, and even in the wilds offenders seldom
+long escape the Northwest Police.  Yet there was a risk.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are coming with me," he said, and advanced with lifted bar.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The other cut at him and he narrowly missed the blow.  He tried to run
+in before the fellow could recover from his swing, but was not quick
+enough.  The ax went up and he met the blade with the bar.  The keen
+steel beat down the wood and went through when it met the ground, and
+Jim was left with a foot or two of the handle.  Stepping back, he
+hurled it at his antagonist and heard it strike with a heavy thud.  The
+fellow staggered, but did not fall and, getting his balance, advanced
+on Jim.  The blow had roused him to fury and he saw that caution was
+useless.  They must fight until one was disabled.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim gave ground, breathing hard and watching for a chance to grapple
+while he kept out of reach.  The sweat ran down his face, he was savage
+but cool.  The worst was, he must move backwards and could not see the
+holes in the uneven slope.  When he had gone a few yards he heard a
+shout and his antagonist looked round.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Stop right there!" said somebody, and Jim saw Carrie standing above
+them on the wall.  She was in the moonlight and balanced a gun.  Her
+face was white but resolute.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Put down your ax.  I mean to shoot!" she said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim thought quickly.  The distance was short, but he had not seen
+Carrie use a gun.  She might miss and have some trouble to re-load.
+Besides, he must save her the need for shooting, and the other's
+hesitation was his opportunity.  Pulling himself together, he leaped
+upon the fellow, who stumbled and dropped his ax.  Jim seized him round
+the waist and a savage grapple began.  They swayed to and fro, kicking
+the ax that neither durst stoop to reach.  The chopper's face was
+bleeding; Jim labored for breath, but he was moved by anger that gave
+him extra strength.  The chopper felt his resolve in his tightening
+grip and knew it would go hard with him if he were beaten.  It was
+plain that the boss meant to exact stern justice and he fought with
+instinctive fury for self-preservation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The primitive passions of both were unloosed.  They strained and
+grappled like savage animals, and for a time their strength and
+stubbornness seemed evenly balanced.  Then luck gave Jim an advantage,
+for as the other trod upon the ax the long handle tilted up and got
+between his legs.  He stumbled, and Jim, with a tense effort, lifted
+him from the ground.  Then, gathering all his strength, he tried to
+throw him backwards, but lost his balance, and both plunged down the
+slope.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The pitch was steep and they rolled for some distance until they struck
+a rocky ledge.  The chopper let go, slipped across the ledge, and
+vanished.  Jim, jarred by the shock, lay still for some moments, and
+when he got up awkwardly saw nothing among the rocks and trees below.
+A rattle of gravel came out of the gloom, but it sounded some distance
+off.  Then he heard a step and saw Carrie.  She held the gun and was
+breathless.  Her look was strained and her face white.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Are you hurt, Jim?" she asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No; not much, anyhow.  Go back to the track.  Give me the gun."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why do you want the gun?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim made an impatient gesture.  He had forgotten that Carrie had come
+to his help, and although he noted, mechanically, that she was highly
+strung and bearing some strain, he did not dwell on this.  His
+antagonist had got away.  He wanted to go after him, not to talk.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The brute's not far off, and unless I'm quick he'll light out.  Give
+me the gun!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I won't," said Carrie.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She stood a few yards above Jim, and jerked out the cartridges.
+Stooping swiftly, she picked them up and threw them among the trees.
+Then she laughed, a strained laugh, and held out the gun.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You may have it now," she added.  "You can't find the shells."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then I'll go without them," Jim rejoined, and plunged down the hill.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When he had gone a short distance he stopped.  His leg hurt and he had
+a dull recollection of a blow.  His leg was not cut; perhaps the
+chopper had hit him with the flat of the ax or he had struck it on the
+rock.  Anyhow, he was lame and could hardly keep his balance on the
+rough slope.  There was no use in going on like that, particularly as
+he heard a faint rattle of gravel some distance off.  It was obvious
+that the chopper had got away and Jim awkwardly climbed back.  Now he
+was getting cool, he began to see what Carrie had done and when he
+joined her he felt embarrassed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm sorry; I expect I was very rough," he remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh," she said, "that doesn't matter!  I think I understand.  Besides,
+you are hurt."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Leg's stiff; that's all.  I ought to have remembered.  But, you
+see&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie smiled.  "You mean you didn't think about me at all?  You had
+concentrated on catching the fellow."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Something like that," Jim admitted.  "I ought to have thought, and
+after a few minutes I did think."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"When you found you couldn't walk?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," said Jim, awkwardly, "I now see how mean I was."  He paused and
+resumed with sincere emotion: "If you hadn't come, the brute would have
+cut me down."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie's rather ironical amusement vanished and she colored.  "It
+doesn't matter, Jim.  All that's important is, I did come.  But you are
+lame and mustn't stand."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I can stand as long as you can stand," said Jim, who pulled off his
+jacket and threw it on the ground.  "You'll find this softer than the
+stones."  He sat down opposite her and resumed: "Now, how did you
+happen&mdash;&mdash;?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I found some flour and pork had gone.  Since one can't get food
+between here and the settlement, it looked as if somebody meant to pull
+out before we broke camp."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim nodded.  "The fellow said he'd made a cache.  You're very smart.
+But why didn't you tell Jake?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose I ought to have told him," Carrie replied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He mused for a few moments and then broke out: "We have taken you for
+granted.  When a thing needs doing you don't talk, but get to work.
+Perhaps this has drawbacks; it doesn't always strike one how fine you
+really are."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie said nothing, and he went on.  "Now I come to think of it, I've
+been strangely dull.  You have cooked for us, and cared for us in ways
+we didn't know.  I'd sometimes a notion my clothes were wearing longer
+than they ought&mdash;there was a jacket I meant to mend and when I got it
+out one evening I couldn't find the hole."  He paused and spread out
+his hands.  "Well, that's the kind of fool I am and the kind of girl
+you are!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The hole had bothered me for a long time.  It was getting bigger and
+one doesn't like untidiness."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I've been very dull, but so has Jake," Jim declared.  "I saw a neat
+patch on his overalls and thought he'd made a better job than he
+generally does when he starts sewing.  I imagine he doesn't know how
+that patch got there."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't think he knows there is a patch," Carrie rejoined.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's possible," Jim agreed, and studied her, for the moon was bright.
+Her plain dress was very neat and seemed to have stood rough wear well.
+Besides, it was remarkably becoming; Carrie was tall and graceful.  In
+fact, she was prettier than he had thought.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The way you keep your clothes is rather wonderful," he went on.  "One
+never sees you untidy; all you wear looks just as it ought to look.
+One feels it wouldn't look half as well if it was worn by anybody else.
+Yet you're generally occupied and your work's not clean.  I can't touch
+a cooking pot without getting black, and Jake gets blacker."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie laughed to hide a touch of embarrassment.  Jim was not trying to
+flatter; she saw he was naïvely following a new line of thought.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well, we must get back to camp," she said.  "Can you walk?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim got up quickly and gave her a suspicious glance.  "I can walk to
+camp.  I ought to have gone right off and sent the boys after that
+chopper.  Looks as if you meant to keep me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did mean to keep you.  Let him go, Jim.  He won't come back, and we
+have had trouble enough."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He has not had much trouble," Jim rejoined.  "However, I doubt if we
+could catch him, and I want the boys to move our truck at daybreak.
+Then, in a way, I'd sooner they didn't know.  Of course, I've got to
+tell Jake."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You mustn't tell him I came," Carrie said, firmly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why not?" Jim asked with some surprise.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie hesitated.  "Oh, well, I don't want him to know.  For one thing,
+he might think I was rash&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You were splendidly plucky," Jim declared.  "Of course, I won't tell
+Jake, if you'd sooner not.  For all that, I don't understand&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It isn't worth puzzling about," Carrie answered with a smile, and they
+set off.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0109"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER IX
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+AN HONEST ANTAGONIST
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+It was very hot on the rocky hill, and Jim stopped in the shade of a
+stunted pine, for he had gone far through the bush.  His Hudson's Bay
+blanket and a bag of food, made up in a pack with straps for his
+shoulders, and a small ax, were a rather heavy load.  When he had
+lighted his pipe he looked about.  Tangled forest rolled up the hills
+wherever the stiff, dark pines could find soil in which to grow.  Some
+were charred by fire and the tall rampikes shone silver-gray in the
+strong light; some were partly uprooted by storms and leaned drunkenly
+against each other.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At the head of the valley there was a faint blue haze, and Jim, knowing
+this was the smoke of a camp fire, began to muse.  Now he would soon
+meet the man he was looking for, he doubted if he had been wise to
+come, and wondered what he would say.  He had set off when an Indian
+reached the telegraph line and stated that a white man with a number of
+packers was camped in the valley.  Jim imagined the man was Martin,
+Davies' employer, and meant to see him.  He did not know if Davies was
+with Martin or not.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+By and by he set off, avoiding fallen trees and scrambling across
+round-topped rocks.  It was rough work and he was tired, but he could
+get forward without using the ax, which he had been forced to do when
+he fell among the horrible devil's club thorns.  For all that, dusk was
+falling when he came to an opening by a creek where a big fire burned
+and a double-skinned tent stood at the edge of the trees.  Six or seven
+sturdy packers lounged beside the fire, and Jim saw this was not a poor
+man's camp.  For a few hot weeks, a traveler need suffer no hardship in
+the North, if he can pay for packers and canoes.  A double-roofed tent
+will keep out sun and rain and a mosquito bar will keep off the flies,
+but packers who carry comforts cannot carry tools, and a utilitarian
+journey is another thing.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim was not traveling for pleasure and had gone alone.  He was
+mosquito-bitten and ragged, and his boots were broken.  The packers
+looked up with languid curiosity as he advanced, and when he asked for
+the boss one indicated the tent.  Jim stopped in front of the tent and
+a man came out.  He wore clean summer flannel clothes and looked
+strangely neat, but he was sunburnt and strongly made.  Something about
+him indicated that he knew the bush and had not always traveled
+luxuriously.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Are you prospecting?" he asked.  "If you have struck us for supper,
+you can see the cook."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I came to see you, and got supper three or four miles back.  I'm
+Dearham, of Winter &amp; Dearham.  You have probably heard about us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sure," said Martin, rather dryly.  "You hold the contract for the new
+telegraph line.  Somebody told me there was a dame in the firm."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My partner's sister; I expect Davies told you, but don't see what this
+has to do with the thing."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sit down," said Martin, indicating a camp-chair, and then beckoned one
+of the men.  "Bring some green bark and fix that smudge."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The man put fresh fuel on a smoldering fire and pungent blue smoke
+drifted about the tent.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Better than mosquitoes; they're pretty fierce, evenings," Martin
+remarked.  "Will you take a cigar?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No, thanks," said Jim.  "I'll light my pipe."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He cut the tobacco slowly, because he did not know where to open his
+attack.  Martin was not altogether the man he had thought and looked
+amused.  He was a bushman; Jim knew the type, which was not, as a rule,
+marked by the use of small trickery.  Yet Martin could handle money as
+well as he handled tools.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Won't you state your business?" the contractor asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I expect you and the Cartner people didn't like it when we got the
+telegraph job?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is so.  We thought the job was ours," Martin admitted.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And you got to work to take it from us?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How do you mean?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"To begin with, Probyn, Cartner's man, offered us a thousand dollars to
+quit."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A pretty good price," said Martin.  "Since you didn't go, I don't see
+why you are bothering me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It looks as if you and Cartner had pooled your interests.  When we got
+to work, your man, Davies, came along and tried to hold us up.  It was
+not his fault he didn't; the fellow's a crook."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I haven't studied his character.  In some ways, he's useful," Martin
+rejoined coolly.  "Well, you reckon I sent him!  How did he try to
+embarrass you?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Don't you know?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's for you to state your grievance."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Martin's face was inscrutable; one could not tell if he knew or not.
+It was curious, but Jim could not take it for granted that he did know
+and he told him about the broken wall.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You imagine Davies paid the fellow to cut your underpinning?" the
+contractor remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The thing's obvious."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then I don't understand why you came to me.  There's not much
+advantage in telling your antagonist he has hit you pretty hard."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wanted you to understand that you hadn't hit us hard enough.  Your
+blow was not a knockout, and we mean to guard against the next.  We
+have taken the contract and are going to put it over; I want you to get
+that.  You can't scare us off, and while I don't know if you can smash
+us or not, it will certainly cost you high.  Hadn't you better
+calculate if the thing's worth while?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You were far North for some time," Martin said carelessly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I was," Jim admitted with surprise, for he could not see where the
+remark led.  "So were you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Martin nodded.  "A blamed hard country!  Looks as if we were both
+pretty tough, since we made good yonder, and I think I get your
+proposition.  Your idea is, we had better make terms than fight?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Something like that," Jim agreed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very well," said Martin, who paused and smiled.  "Now I'll tell you
+something.  I don't like your butting in, but I did not put Davies on
+your track."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim looked hard at him, and although he was surprised did not doubt his
+statement.  "Then, I imagine he made the plan himself; wanted to show
+you he was smart, but said nothing when it didn't work as smoothly as
+he thought."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Martin was silent for a few moments and Jim imagined he was thinking
+hard.  Then he said, "It's possible; that's all."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps the Cartner people sent him without telling you," Jim
+suggested.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Cartner made you a square offer, and you can't grumble much because
+Probyn hired your men.  Cartner is hard and I allow he'd like to break
+you, but I haven't known him play a crooked game."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then I can't see a light at all."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's puzzling," Martin agreed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim filled his pipe again and pondered.  There was something strange
+about his talking confidentially to a man he had thought an
+unscrupulous antagonist, but he was persuaded that Martin was honest.
+The latter seemed to be considering, for Jim saw his brows were knit
+when the firelight touched his face.  It had got dark, but the fire
+leaped up now and then and threw a red glow upon the rows of trunks.
+The creek shone and faded; sometimes the smoke curled about the tent
+and sometimes blew away.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You struck copper up North," Martin resumed after a time.  "Has
+anybody tried to buy your claim?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Baumstein gave us an offer twice."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Martin, thoughtfully, "I suppose you wouldn't sell?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not at his price.  We thought we had better hold on; some day the
+Combine might buy."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A pretty good plan," Martin agreed.  "There'll be a demand for
+Northern copper before long.  Well, I see you have a blanket.  You'll
+find a bed in the tent."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I picked a spot to camp a piece back," Jim said rather awkwardly, as
+he got up.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Martin laughed.  "Since you reckoned Cartner and I were on your track,
+you felt you'd sooner not stop with me?  Well, I don't think that ought
+to count.  If we could have bought you off or scared you off, we might
+have done so, but since you are resolved to put the contract through,
+we'll be satisfied with seeing you don't get another.  If you stop,
+you'll get a better breakfast than you can cook."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim's hesitation vanished and he went into the tent.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Next morning he got breakfast with Martin, and when he was going the
+latter remarked: "I guess you understand you needn't bother about our
+getting after you.  Go ahead and finish the job."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Thanks," said Jim, smiling.  "Unless we go broke, we mean to finish."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very well," said Martin, "if you have to choose between quitting and
+selling your copper claim, you had better let the telegraph contract
+go."  He paused and gave Jim a level glance.  "Looks like interested
+advice, but I guess it's sound."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim strapped on his pack and started down the valley.  He reached the
+telegraph camp three or four days afterwards, and in the evening told
+Jake and Carrie about his interview.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps it's strange, but I really don't think we're up against
+Cartner and Martin," he concluded.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We're up against somebody who hasn't many scruples," said Jake.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is so," Jim agreed.  "I suggested that Davies might be playing a
+lone hand.  Martin admitted that it was possible, but didn't look
+satisfied.  In fact, I imagined he was thinking hard.  Of course, the
+obvious line was to doubt his honesty, but somehow I didn't."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The obvious line's not always best," Carrie interposed.  "My notion
+is, it's a foolish habit to take it for granted your antagonist is a
+cheat.  But what is he like, Jim?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Big and rather quiet, although he had a twinkle.  Weighs all he says,
+and you feel that if he's satisfied he doesn't mind if you are or not.
+We know he was up North for some time; he looks like it, if you get me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake nodded, for the men who push far into the frozen wilds conform to
+a type.  Struggles with cold and hunger leave their mark, endurance
+breeds stubbornness, and fronting perils gives a quiet courage that
+makes for candor.  The man who has conquered fear is not tempted to be
+mean.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There are bad men, in some of the big camps, but no smooth rogues," he
+said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Martin is certainly not a smooth rogue," Jim declared.  "I thought it
+curious he told me to hold on to the copper and let the contract go, if
+we couldn't stick to both.  He admitted it looked as if he was playing
+for his side when he gave me the advice."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," said Jake, thoughtfully, "if he meant to gain his object that
+way, it was a fool plan, but we know Martin's clever.  To jump at a
+shallow suspicion is a blamed lazy habit that often puts you wrong.  If
+he didn't mean well, I can't see what he did mean."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I can't see," Jim agreed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Better let it go," Carrie interposed.  "I like that man.  If you have
+drawn him right, I think he could be trusted.  However, you look as if
+you had been among the devil's club.  What are you going to do with
+your clothes?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If you insist, I meant to hide them," Jim owned with a laugh.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"So I thought," said Carrie.  "Bring them to the tent instead.  If you
+don't, I'll come for them in the morning."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim promised to bring the clothes and lighted his pipe, feeling
+somewhat moved.  He knew now how much he and Jake owed Carrie, and the
+thought she gave their comfort.  If things went smoothly, it was
+because Carrie made them go; but this was not all.  She was not
+satisfied with controlling the camp; Jim was beginning to see that now
+and then she controlled their talk and helped their decisions.  She was
+a girl and had, for the most part, lived at a shabby store, but he
+admitted that her judgment was often sound.  Carrie had qualities.
+Then he started, for she looked at him with a smile.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What are you thinking about, Jim?" she asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I was wondering how we would have got on if we hadn't brought you," he
+replied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie laughed.  "I know.  Yet you wanted to leave me!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If I did, I was a fool."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," said Carrie, thoughtfully, "you are not a fool, but sometimes
+you're rather dull.  Now you're half asleep and had better go to bed."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim knocked out his pipe and went.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A few days afterwards he started for the settlement with two of his
+men.  They were good workmen and Jake was unwilling to let them go, but
+they had been with Jim in the North and he needed helpers whom he could
+trust, for he was going to make a bold experiment.  He needed food,
+powder, and tools, and it was hard to keep the camp supplied.
+Pack-horses could not carry much over the mountain-trail and the
+freighters' charges were high.  Jim imagined he could bring up the
+goods cheaper by canoe, although the plan had drawbacks.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He reached the settlement, and after waiting a few days sat one evening
+on the hotel veranda.  Burned matches and cigar-ends lay about the
+dirty boards; the windows of the mean ship-lap house were guarded by
+fine wire net.  The door had been removed, and a frame, filled in with
+gauze and held by a spring, slammed noisily when one went in or out.
+For all that, the hotel was full of dust and flies, and mosquitoes
+hummed about the hot rooms at night.  The snow had melted below the
+timber line and a long trail of smoke floated across the somber forest.
+A fire was working through the trees and a smell of burning came down
+the valley.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Three or four men in ragged overalls lounged about the veranda, and the
+landlord leaned against a post.  He wore a white shirt with gold studs,
+and his clothes were good.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Now you have got your truck, I reckon you'll pull out," he remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We start up river at daybreak."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then you're surely foolish.  If you can't make it, there's trouble
+coming to you next time."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim understood the hint.  The pack-horse freighters had enjoyed a
+monopoly of transport to the mining camps.  The river was off the
+regular line, and its navigation was difficult except when the water
+reached a certain level, but if Jim's experiment proved that supplies
+could be taken by canoes transport charges would come down.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There are some awkward portages, but I think I can get through," he
+said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wasn't figuring on the portages," the landlord rejoined, meaningly.
+"Somas Charlie's a tough proposition to run up against."  He indicated
+a man coming along the road.  "Somas has his tillicums, and around this
+settlement what he says goes."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the Chinook jargon, <I>tillicum</I> means something like a familiar
+spirit, and Jim thought he saw what the other implied.  He had had
+trouble to get articles he needed and had met with annoying delays; and
+he studied the advancing freighter with some curiosity.  Somas was big
+and powerful and walked with the pack-horse driver's loose stride.  He
+had a dark face, cunning black eyes, and very black hair.  It looked as
+if Indian blood ran in his veins.  He came up the veranda steps and
+gave Jim an ironical glance.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Got your canoes loaded up?" he asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not yet; the truck is ready," said Jim, who had thought it prudent to
+put his goods in a store.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's a sure thing you're not going to take your canoes through.  Say,
+I don't want to see you lose the grub and tools.  Drop the fool plan
+and I'll take off a cent a pound."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If you had offered that before, we might have made a deal.  You're too
+late."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Thought you were bluffing; I guess you're crazy now.  You can't make
+it, anyway."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm going to try."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The freighter shrugged.  "Trying's going to cost you something; you'll
+feel pretty mean when you meet the bill.  Fools like you make me
+tired."  He beckoned the landlord.  "Get on a move; I want a drink."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He went into the hotel and when the door slammed Jim was thoughtful.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0110"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER X
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+THE RAPID
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+In the morning Jim started with three canoes and a few Indians whom he
+had engaged at the settlement, because the Siwash are clever river men.
+Sometimes they tracked the canoes, floundering along the rough bank
+with a line round their shoulders; sometimes they poled against the
+rapid stream; and now and then carried the craft and cargo across a
+rocky portage.  The canoes were of the Siwash type, cut out of cedar
+logs and burned smooth outside.  The high bow was rudely carved like a
+bird's head; the floor was long and flat.  They paddled well and a
+strong man could carry one, upside down, on his bent shoulders.  Jim
+had loaded them heavily, and the tools and provisions had cost a large
+sum.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+His progress was slow and he was tired and disturbed when one evening
+he pitched camp after toiling across a long portage.  Speed was
+important and he had been longer than he thought, while he did not know
+if he could force his way up the dark gorge ahead.  Besides, an Indian
+had shown him the print of somebody's foot on a patch of wet soil.
+There was only one mark and in a sense this was ominous, since it
+looked as if the fellow had tried to keep upon the stones.  Moreover,
+he wore a heavy boot, and Jim could not see why a white man had entered
+the lonely gorge where there were no minerals or timber worth
+exploiting.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After supper he got ready to start again at daybreak.  This was his
+usual plan, because one's brain is dull when one rises from a hard,
+cold bed at dawn, and in the wilds to leave tools or food behind has
+sometimes disastrous consequences.  He saw he had forgotten nothing,
+and when dusk was falling rested for a time on the bank, although he
+thought it prudent to sleep on board.  Up stream, the water threw back
+faint reflections, but its surface was dull and wrinkled where it
+narrowed at the top of the rapid, round which he had carried the
+canoes.  Then it plunged down into gloom that was deepened by a cloud
+of spray and its hoarse turmoil echoed among the hills.  A few charred
+rampikes rose behind the camp, and Jim sat beneath one, with his back
+against a stone.  He had thrown off his jacket and his thin overalls
+were wet.  His back and arms ached and his feet were bruised.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He pondered about the footstep.  The pack-horse trail running North was
+not far off, and while he slowly poled up stream the freighter could
+have reached the river in front of him.  When they talked at the hotel,
+the fellow's manner was threatening, but Jim hardly thought he would
+meddle.  His party was strong, and if the other had meant to do him
+some injury, it was hardly probable he would have uttered his dark
+hints while the landlord was about.  After all, the hints might
+forecast the difficulty Jim would have to engage transport another
+time.  Still, somebody had passed the spot not long since.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The gloom deepened, and although some light would linger in the sky all
+night, it was nearly dark at the bottom of the gorge.  The packers lay
+about the fire, and by and by Jim, calling one of the Siwash, hauled
+the first canoe to the bank.  When they got on board, he let the craft
+swing out with the eddy, and the row, curving as the current changed,
+rode behind a half-covered rock a short distance from the stones.
+Blurred rocks and trees loomed in the mist up stream; below, the
+foaming rapid glimmered through the spray.  The river, swollen by
+melting snow and stained green by glacier clay, was running fast.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There was not much room in the canoe, for bags of flour occupied the
+bottom and a grindstone and small forge were awkward things to stow.
+Jim, however, found a spot where he could lie down and the Indian
+huddled in the stern.  He was a dark-skinned man, dressed like the
+white settlers, except that he wore no boots.  As a rule, he did not
+talk much, but by and by he put his hand in the water as if to measure
+the speed of the current.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"<I>Contox hiyu chuck</I>," he said in Chinook.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim imagined he meant the river was rising and did not know if this was
+a drawback or not.  A flood might make poling harder, but it would
+cover the rocks in the channel and probably leave an eddying slack
+along the bank.  He agreed with the Indian, because the rock to which
+they had moored the canoe was getting smaller.  It made a kind of
+breakwater, but it would be covered soon and the craft would feel the
+force of the current.  Still they ought to ride safely, and an angry
+wash now beat against the bank of gravel where they had landed.  There
+was no other landing, for, below the camp, the river ran in white waves
+between the rocks.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Although Jim was tired, he could not sleep.  For one thing, he had lost
+time at the settlement and on the river; Jake was waiting for the
+tools, and since wages were high, delay was costly.  Then the gorge
+echoed with pulsating noise.  The roar of the rapid rose and fell; he
+heard the wash of the eddy against the bank, the sharp ripple where the
+current split upon the rock, and the rattle of gravel striking the
+stones.  The canoes rocked, swung to and fro, and brought up with
+sudden jerks.  He did not know if the Indian slept, but if he did, a
+new note in the confused uproar would waken him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After a time, the fellow moved, and as his dark figure rose Jim became
+alert.  The Indian was looking fixedly ahead, but Jim could see nothing
+in the gloom.  He noted mechanically that the rock had vanished; its
+location was marked by a wedge-shaped streak of foam.  He signed to the
+Indian, who grunted but did not speak.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then there was a crash as something struck the rock and a vague dark
+mass rebounded from and swung round the obstacle.  It rolled, and
+half-seen projections vanished and appeared again.  Jim got on his
+knees and seized a pole, because he imagined a big log with broken
+branches was driving down on them.  A river canoe is unstable, and to
+stand on the cargo might capsize her.  He found bottom with the pole
+and saw the Indian paddling hard.  The row of canoes swung towards the
+bank, but the backwash caught them and it looked as if they would not
+swing far enough.  Jim felt the veins on his forehead tighten and the
+pole bend as he strained with labored breath.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The log came on; its butt under water, its ragged top riding high and
+swinging round.  There was a heavy shock, the canoe lurched, and a
+broken branch began to drag her down.  Jim could not push off the
+grinding mass and, letting go the pole, seized an ax.  He cut the
+mooring line to ease the strain, but when the rope parted and the log
+swung clear he was faced by another risk; unless they could reach the
+gravel bank, they would go down the rapid.  He could not find bottom
+now, and while he tried the log struck the next canoe.  His canoe
+swerved outshore, the row was drifting fast, and he shouted as he felt
+for the ax.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was, however, obvious that the men in camp could not help much and
+he nerved himself to make a hard choice.  If he held on, all the canoes
+would go down the rapid; if he let two go, one might be saved.  He cut
+the line made fast astern, the log and canoes vanished, and he and the
+Indian strained their muscles.  They had lost ground they could not
+recover; the gravel bank was sliding past, and angry waves leaped about
+the rocks below.  Somehow they must make the bank before they were
+carried down.  There was some water in the canoe; Jim heard it splash
+about.  She was horribly heavy and his pole would not grip the bottom.
+When it slipped the current washed its end under the craft.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He threw the pole on board and found a paddle.  The canoe rocked on a
+white eddy, but he got her head round and the revolution carried her
+towards the shore.  They must drive her in before the backwash flung
+her off, and for some moments he labored with weakening arms and
+heaving chest.  Then a packer plunged in, the bow struck ground, and
+Jim jumped over.  He was up to his waist in the white turmoil, but
+another packer seized the canoe and the Indian thrust hard on his
+bending pole.  The bow went farther into the gravel and with a savage
+effort they ran her out.  Jim leaned against a rock, trying to get his
+breath, and when he looked about the other canoes had vanished.  His
+tools and stores had gone for good.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Now there was no need for watchfulness, he could sleep, and he lay down
+by the fire.  When he wakened day was breaking, and beckoning the
+Indian he set off up the gorge.  He had an object for his dangerous
+climb across the slippery rocks, and he noted that the stream flowed
+evenly along the bank.  This implied that if a log were rolled into the
+water on his side of the straight reach, it would probably strike the
+rock behind which the canoes had been tied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After a time, when the roughness of the ground forced them high above
+the water, the Indian indicated a clump of willows through which
+somebody had pushed.  He declared two white men had gone through and
+one had carried an ax.  Jim had been looking for a white man's tracks
+and his face got stern as they climbed a neighboring gully.  At the top
+he sat down and sent the Indian to look about.  It the other men had
+gone down again to the water, they must have had some grounds for doing
+so, and Jim thought he knew what the grounds were.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Indian found steps in a boggy patch, and Jim, descending a ravine
+farther on, came back to the river bank.  Here and there a tree had
+fallen into the ravine and two or three battered trunks lay on the
+gravel at the bottom.  A hollow in some disturbed gravel at the water's
+edge indicated that another log had rested there, and Jim let the
+Indian examine the ground.  By and by the latter began to talk.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He said the marks had been made by a trunk with branches broken short;
+one could see where it had rolled into the stream.  The ravine was
+steep, but the other logs had not slipped down; the missing trunk had
+been helped on its way.  In one place, the top had been lifted; in
+another, a pole had been pushed under the butt.  Some of the gravel was
+scratched, as if it had been trodden by nailed boots.  A man using a
+lever would push it back like that.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim nodded, because he knew something about woodcraft and thought the
+Indian had read the marks correctly.  Now and then the fellow said
+"<I>Contox</I>," and Jim understood the Chinook word, which, roughly, means
+to know, rather implied supposition than certainty.  For all that, if
+the Indian doubted, he did not.  He knew the log had been launched
+where the current would carry it down on the canoes, and when he went
+back to camp his mouth was set hard.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After breakfast he broke up the party and, sending the Indians off,
+started again with the two white men.  The canoe would not carry all,
+but this did not matter, since, for the most part, she must be tracked
+from the bank, and when they poled her one man could travel through the
+bush and overtake them at the next rapid.  It was a strenuous journey
+and Jim was worn out when he climbed the hill to the telegraph camp.
+It was about six o'clock in the evening and the men had not returned
+from work, but Carrie was cooking and got up with a cry of welcome when
+he came out of the woods.  She stopped, however, when she saw his
+gloomy face.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What's the matter, Jim?" she asked.  "Are you hurt or ill?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He dropped the heavy bag of flour he carried and forced a smile.  "Does
+it look as if I were ill?  I've lost two canoes and their loads."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, Jim!" said Carrie, and added: "After all, it isn't so very
+important."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not important?" Jim exclaimed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie hesitated.  "Oh, well; never mind.  Where are the boys?  You
+haven't lost <I>them</I>?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They're coming," said Jim, who sat down on a log, feeling embarrassed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He was dull.  Carrie had been disturbed about him because he had been
+away longer than he thought, and her obvious relief when she saw he was
+not injured was soothing.  He needed soothing, since the loss of the
+canoes and stores weighed heavily, but Carrie had made him feel this
+did not matter much so long as he was safe.  Although he could not
+agree, it was a comfort to know her satisfaction was sincere.  Carrie
+always was sincere.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She was quiet and he resumed in an apologetic voice: "I felt mean about
+coming back like this; losing the truck is going to make things harder
+for you.  Then I bought some new cookers; the steam went through a row
+of pans and I thought they'd save you work.  There was a piece of stuff
+at the dry goods store the girl told me would make a dress; but it went
+down the rapid with the cookers."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie gave him a gentle glance.  "You bought them: the rest was an
+accident."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It was not an accident, but we'll talk about that again.  I'm glad to
+get back; I'm always glad to get back now, though I didn't bother about
+it much when we camped in the bush before."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie took off the lid of a cooking-pot and while she was occupied the
+packers arrived with their loads.  Soon afterwards Jake and the other
+men came up and they got supper.  When the meal was over Jim told his
+story and Jake looked thoughtful.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The obvious explanation is, the freighter tried to stop you by turning
+loose the log," he said.  "I don't know if we ought to count on this;
+but we'll take it first."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm doubtful," Jim replied.  "Somehow I feel the fellow was bluffing;
+he wanted to scare me so I'd agree to his terms.  Although I reckon he
+meant to charge me high when I came to him next time, I don't think he
+sent the log down.  I haven't much ground for the conclusion, but there
+it is."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In some ways, you're not a fool," Jake remarked with a twinkle.  "I've
+known judgments you hadn't much ground for turn out sound.  Very well;
+we come to the big contractors.  Did they hire somebody to stop you?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It looks like that, but I imagine Martin's playing straight and he
+declared the Cartner people wouldn't use a crooked plan."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then who did try to stop you?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim shrugged and his face got hard.  "I don't know yet.  We must wait."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very well," said Jake.  "We'll trust our luck and hold on while we
+can, although I expect it won't be very long."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim did not answer.  He was tired and now the reaction from the strain
+had begun, was glad to indulge his bodily and mental lassitude.  The
+springy branches on which he lay were comfortable and the camp, with
+the red firelight flickering on the trunks and Carrie sitting by the
+hearth-logs, had a curious charm.  She, so to speak, dominated the
+tranquil picture and gave her rude surroundings a homelike touch.  On
+other expeditions, when Carrie was not there, Jim had thought about his
+camp as a place at which one slept.  Now it was something else; a place
+from which one drew strength and cheerfulness.  There was something
+strangely intimate about it; he was glad to get back.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0111"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XI
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+A CONFIDENTIAL TALK
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Shortly after Jim's return, a prospector stopped one evening at the
+camp.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There was some mail for you at the settlement, and as I figured on
+using your line to get into the bush I brought the packet along," he
+said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie gave him supper and when he joined the other men Jim opened the
+packet.  In the evening they had leisure for rest and talk, and after
+the strain and bustle of the day, Jim enjoyed the quiet hour.  The air
+got sharp when the sun sank, the fire they gathered round drove back
+the creeping shadows, and the pungent smoke kept the mosquitoes off.
+Sometimes he bantered Carrie and sometimes lounged in contented
+quietness, watching her while she sewed.  Carrie was generally occupied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How is your mother getting on?" he asked when she put down the letter
+he had given her.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie smiled.  "She is getting on very well.  My cousin keeps store
+satisfactorily, and I don't know if I'm pleased or not.  It's nice to
+feel you're wanted and people miss you when you're gone."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If there's much comfort in the thought, you are certainly wanted here."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The trouble is, one's friends often say what they think one would like
+to know," Carrie rejoined.  "I'm not sure I'd have minded much if
+mother had owned that Belle breaks things and sometimes forgets how
+many cents go to the dollar when she makes up a bill.  S'pose I'm mean,
+but Belle does break things."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are never mean and I was quite sincere."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps you found new buttons on your overalls and that accounted for
+something."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim half consciously moved his hand to his jacket and then stopped.
+"I'm afraid I didn't know the buttons were there.  After all, it ought
+to persuade you of my sincerity."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sometimes I'm not certain if you are nice or not.  But is there
+anything important in your letters?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"One or two people want to know when we mean to pay our bills; I'm
+sorry we can't satisfy their curiosity just yet.  Then there's a letter
+from Baumstein.  He'll give us an extra five hundred dollars for the
+Bluebird."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah!" said Carrie.  "It's strange he makes the offer when we need money
+so!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is strange," Jake broke in.  "Almost looks as if the fellow knew
+how we were fixed.  But we're not sellers, and, for a clever crook,
+Baumstein is too keen."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He states he has reached his limit and we won't get another chance,"
+Jim remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake pondered and then resumed: "The thing's puzzling.  I can't see why
+Baumstein's fixed on buying a claim that nobody else wants, but you can
+reckon it a sure snap for him when he makes a deal.  There's the
+puzzle!  The ore is pretty good, but that's all.  We were kind of
+disappointed by the assay.  The specimens looked better than the
+analysis proved."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I was certainly disappointed and surprised," Jim agreed.  "Suppose we
+ask the prospector about it?  He has tested a good many mineral claims."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They waited until the prospector returned to the camp, when Jake gave
+him some bits of broken rock.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Feel those and tell me what you think about the metal they carry," he
+said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The other examined the specimens and weighed them in his hand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If you've got much rock like that, it's a pretty good claim."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you reckon the stuff would come up to assay?" Jake asked, giving
+him the analyst's report.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The prospector looked at him rather hard.  "Come up to assay?  If the
+bulk's like these specimens, it ought to pan out better than the
+figures show."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He stated his grounds for believing this, and Jake knitted his brows.
+"I expect you know the big mining men and what they're doing.  Have you
+heard if Baumstein is looking for Northern copper?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He bought a claim called the Darien not long since."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim smiled.  "The Darien?  The next block to ours, but the vein begins
+to peter out before it crosses their boundary."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"When Baumstein gets the next block, you want to sell him your lot or
+watch out," the prospector rejoined.  "If he can't buy you up, he'll
+make trouble for you.  I reckon he knew what kind of ore the Darien
+boys had got."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Jim, "I imagined something like that."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He said no more about the mine, and next morning the prospector resumed
+his journey.  After this, for a week or two, nothing broke the monotony
+of their strenuous toil, until one day Martin and his packers arrived.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm going down to the settlements and thought I'd strike your camp and
+stop a night," he said.  "The woods get lonesome, and your line's a
+pretty good route to the pack trail."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim was somewhat surprised, but he took Martin to Jake and went to tell
+Carrie.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wanted to see that man and you had better leave him to me," she
+said.  "To begin with, I'll give him the best supper I know how to
+cook.  Get busy and fix the fire while I see what we've got that's
+extra nice."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If you get after him, he's bound to give in," Jim remarked.  "However,
+I want you to study the fellow and tell me what you think."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then you would trust my judgment?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course.  In many ways, it's as good as ours."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie laughed.  "Sometimes," she said, "you're very modest, Jim."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Martin ate a remarkably good supper and afterwards talked to Carrie
+with obvious satisfaction.  Like the most part of the men who venture
+much in the wilds, he was marked by a grave quietness, but he had for
+all that a touch of humor.  By and by he turned to Jim and asked: "How
+are you getting on?  Have you struck fresh trouble since I saw you?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim related his adventure at the rapid and Martin gave him a keen
+glance.  "I reckon you had an object for telling me, but I don't quite
+get it.  You think I hired the man who sent down the log, or you know I
+didn't."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He knows you didn't," Carrie declared.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Thank you," said Martin.  "I imagine what you say goes at this camp."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Some way.  I belong to the firm."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It goes all the way," said Jim.  "I often think Miss Winter is really
+the head of the firm."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Martin's eyes twinkled.  "Well, you're both making good; I've been
+looking at the line you've cleared, and I've not often struck a supper
+like this in the bush.  Makes me feel I want to fire my cook."  Then
+his tone got grave.  "Anyhow, I had nothing to do with wrecking your
+canoes and don't think the freighter had.  You see, I sometimes hire
+Somas; he'll put the screw to you if he reckons you can be bluffed, but
+he's not a crook."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then we can rule him out," said Carrie.  "I imagine you don't make
+mistakes."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Making mistakes about trusting folks sometimes costs you high," Martin
+remarked.  He looked at her thoughtfully and then smiled.  "One could
+trust you all the time."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," said Carrie, "I suppose I gave you a lead, but there's no use
+in our trying who could be nicest, because I'd certainly beat you.  I
+expect you don't often try and it's a girl's business."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the meantime, Jim had studied both.  He thought he knew Carrie's
+worth, but somehow the other's approval made it plainer.  Although
+Martin's humorous frankness jarred, Jim recognized its note of
+sincerity.  On the whole, he liked Martin, but he would sooner Carrie
+did not play up to the fellow.  By and by Martin turned to him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"When I was last at Vancouver a man called Mordaunt asked some
+questions about you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Mordaunt?" said Jim, with a puzzled look.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He stopped at your telegraph shack."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, yes; I only met him once before and didn't learn his name.  What
+did he want to know?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"All I could tell him about you.  He was something of a high-brow
+Englishman and used tact, but I reckoned he was keen on finding out
+what kind of man you were."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You couldn't tell him much."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is so," said Martin, rather dryly.  "In fact, I didn't try."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well, it's not important," Jim replied.  "Perhaps my books roused
+his curiosity.  They were not the books he'd imagine a telegraph
+linesman would read.  But did he tell you much about himself?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He did not.  An Englishman like that doesn't talk about himself."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim agreed carelessly, but was thoughtful afterwards, and when Martin
+went off with Jake, stopped by the fire and mused.  After a time he
+looked up and saw Carrie sitting in the shadow.  Now and then the
+flickering light touched her face and he thought she studied him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose you're thinking about that Englishman?" she said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes.  It's rather strange he asked Martin about me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps he knows your relations."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It looks like that," Jim agreed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And he was with the girl you met at the restaurant!  I expect she was
+a relation of his.  Aren't you curious?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim imagined Carrie was curious, but one could be frank with her, and
+he wanted to formulate his thoughts.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In a way, I am curious," he admitted.  "I would like to see the girl
+again.  Still, I think it's really as a type she interests me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie smiled.  "It isn't as a type a girl gets interesting, Jim."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It would be ridiculous to think about her in any other way.  I've had
+nothing to do with girls like that; she's the first I've met."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well," said Carrie.  "Don't you want to learn something about your
+English relations?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," said Jim, in a thoughtful voice.  "In a sense, I'm half afraid."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Afraid?" said Carrie.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He was silent for a few moments and then resumed: "On the whole, I've
+been happy.  I feel I've got my proper job and am satisfied.  For all
+that, when those Englishmen talked to me at the shack I had a strange
+notion that I knew things they knew and belonged to a world I hadn't
+lived in yet.  Sometimes at McGill I got a kind of restlessness that
+made me want to see the Old Country.  I fought against it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why did you fight?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"For one thing, it's obvious I belong where I am; I can make good in
+this country, I know my job.  Something pulls another way, but I don't
+want to go."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Carrie, "I think I understand.  Still, there's the
+adventure, Jim.  And if you didn't like it in England, you could come
+back."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There's a risk.  I expect it's hard to get back when you leave your
+proper place.  Then I have much I value; you and Jake and the boys who
+work for me.  I stand on firm ground here; ground I know and like.  In
+the Old Country it might be different&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you mean you might be different?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are clever, Carrie.  I think I do mean something like that.  I
+feel now and then as if there was another Jim Dearham who, so to speak,
+hadn't developed yet.  In a way, I'm afraid of him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie looked thoughtful, but her eyes were soft.  "Jake and I are
+satisfied with the Jim we know.  Still, perhaps, you ought to give the
+other his chance."  She paused, and her voice had a curious note when
+she resumed: "If I were a man, I'd let nothing stop my development."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You have grit," Jim said, smiling.  "Grit that would carry you
+anywhere and makes you something of an aristocrat.  So long as you're
+not afraid you must be fine.  Well, I suppose I made good when I was up
+against rotten ice and sliding snow, but when I think about what I have
+and what I'd risk, my pluck goes."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sometimes you're rather nice, Jim, and you're a better philosopher
+than I thought," Carrie remarked.  She got up and, stopping a moment,
+gave him a half-mocking glance.  "But I wonder what you'd get like if
+you went to the Old Country and met that English girl!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She went off and Jim sat by the fire with his brows knit.  Perhaps he
+had talked too much and bored Carrie, but he suspected that she had led
+him on.  By and by he roused himself and went to chop some wood.
+Martin did not start in the morning, as his hosts had expected.  He
+said his packers needed a rest and loafed about the camp, sometimes
+talking to Carrie and sometimes watching Jake and Jim at work.  Next
+morning, however, he said he must go, and while they were at breakfast
+turned to Jim.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In the bush, one often runs up against obstacles one did not expect.
+If you find you can't put your contract over, I'd like you to send me
+word."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't see why we should bother you," Jim replied with some surprise.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Martin smiled.  "For one thing, you had a notion the Cartner people and
+I were playing a crooked game.  Then you're making a good job, and I
+wouldn't like to see you beat."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We imagined you wouldn't like our butting in on jobs you thought were
+yours," Jake observed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is so," said Martin.  "If I help, I'll make a proposition, to
+which I guess you'll be able to agree.  In the meantime, we can let it
+go.  Looks as if you'd make good anyhow."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He began to talk about something else and when he set off Jake and Jim
+went with him down the line.  After a time, he stopped them.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I must hit the trail and not keep you from your job," he said.  "I
+reckon you'll put it over, but if you want some backing, remember my
+offer stands."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He paused and gave Jake a steady glance.  "I like the way you have
+treated me; your sister is a queen."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then he went on with his packers and Jake and Jim returned quietly to
+camp.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0112"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XII
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+FIRE
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+The light had got dim, and Carrie put down her sewing and looked about.
+A belt of yellow sky glimmered above the distant snow, but the valley
+was dark and the pines rolled in blurred masses up the hill.  Thin mist
+crept out of the deep hollow and Carrie shivered when a cold wind shook
+the trees.  She was beginning to know the wilds, and now and then their
+austerity daunted her.  By and by a red twinkle in the distance drew
+her glance and she turned to Jim.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What is that?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim looked and frowned.  "Ah," he said, "I'd begun to think our luck
+was too good!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But what is the light?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A bush fire."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake indicated the drift of the smoke from their cooking fire.  As a
+rule, the valleys of British Columbia that open to the west form
+channels for the Chinook wind from the Pacific, but now and then a dry,
+cold current flows down them to the coast.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It won't bother us unless the wind changes," he remarked.  "In this
+country, however, the wind generally does change when you'd sooner it
+did not, and it's not safe to trust your luck much.  Looks as if Nature
+had put up her shingle on the mountains, warning the white man off."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But white men do live in the mountains," Carrie objected.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Men who are strong enough.  They must fight for a footing and then use
+the best tools other men can make to hold the ground they've won.
+We're scouts, carrying axes, saws, and giant-powder, but the main body
+must coöperate to defend its settlements with civilization's heavy
+machines.  It's sure a hard country, and sometimes it gets me scared!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie laughed.  "You're romantic when you talk about the North.  Could
+the fire bother us?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That depends.  It couldn't burn the line, though it might burn the
+posts.  If it spread and rolled up the valley, it might put us off the
+ground and stop the job."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"While we waited the boys would have to be fed and wages would run on,"
+Carrie said in a thoughtful voice.  "How do the fires start?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Nobody knows.  I allow it looks ridiculous, but my notion is some
+fires start themselves; you'll find them burning in belts of woods the
+Indians and prospectors leave alone.  Some are probably started by
+cooking fires.  The man who knows the bush is careful; the tenderfoot
+is not."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then you don't think somebody may have had an object for lighting this
+fire?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"On the whole, I reckon not.  The chances against its bothering us are
+too steep.  For all that, I'd like it better if the blaze went out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie said nothing, and for a time they watched the light.  Sometimes
+it leaped up and sometimes it faded, but it got larger, and when they
+went to bed a red reflection played about the sky.  In the morning
+there was no wind and a heavy trail of smoke stretched across the
+hills.  In places, a bright flicker pierced the dark trail, and Carrie
+noted a smell of burning when she filled the kettle.  Then she saw Jim
+watching the smoke.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's nearer and bigger, isn't it?" she asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Jim, quietly.  "It's bigger than I like.  We'll go along
+and look at it after breakfast."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They ate quickly and when the meal was over Jim and Carrie set off
+while Jake went to work.  It was not easy to push through the tangled
+bush, and now and then Jim was forced to clear a path with his ax.
+After a time he stopped behind a trunk and touched Carrie, who saw an
+animal leap out from the gloom.  It cleared a big fallen branch with a
+flying bound, vanished almost silently in a brake of tall fern, and
+shooting out with forelegs bent sprang across a thicket.  Carrie
+thought it hardly touched the ground.  It was wonderfully swift and
+graceful, and although the forest was choked with undergrowth and
+rotting logs all was very quiet when the animal vanished.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh," she said, "I'm glad you stopped me!  I haven't seen a wild deer
+before."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They are hard to see," Jim replied.  "If they're standing, they melt
+into their background at a very short distance.  However, I didn't like
+the way that deer was going.  It passed pretty close, without seeing we
+were about."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Noting that the scramble had tired her, he began to rub his ax with a
+sharpening stone, and Carrie mused while she got her breath.  By and by
+she looked up and saw his twinkling glance.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," she said, "I was thinking rather hard; I thought it was good for
+me to come North.  All was always just the same at the store; the dull
+street, the mean frame houses, and the stale smell of groceries.  There
+was nothing different; you knew you would do to-morrow what you did
+to-day, and you had made no progress when the reckoning came.  If there
+was money enough to pay the bills, you were satisfied, and sometimes
+there was not.  But I really mean you felt you had made no progress of
+any kind; you were slipping back."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Slipping back?  I'm not sure I get that&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sometimes it's hard to put you wise, but perhaps slipping back wasn't
+altogether right.  I meant things were moving on and leaving me behind.
+The time I could be happy was going and soon I'd be old and sour.  I
+didn't want to feel I'd done nothing and had never tasted life.  Well,
+my chance came and I pulled out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm afraid you haven't had your good time yet," Jim remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie's eyes sparkled.  "One always wants something better, Jim, but
+I've begun to live.  I've seen the woods and the wild back country; I'm
+helping at a big job."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Your help is worth much, and if we put the job over, you can have the
+things a girl is supposed to like; for example, pretty clothes, opera
+tickets, a holiday at a fashionable summer hotel.  They're things you
+ought to have."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I do like pretty clothes and think I'd like to meet smart people.  The
+trouble is, they would know I didn't belong where they belonged and
+might leave me out.  Do you think that would happen, Jim?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Certainly not," Jim declared.  "Girls of your type don't get left out.
+I dare say pretty girls are numerous, but you have a calm and a
+confidence that make their mark."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie smiled, but there was some color in her face.  "I suppose you
+mean to be nice.  Yet you have seen me serving at the store and cooking
+for the boys!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I've seen you nursing me when I was ill and hope I'm going to see you
+wear the smartest clothes money can buy.  But there's much to be done
+first and I'm bothered about the fire."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They pushed on while the smell of burning got stronger, and presently
+came to a rocky hill.  Its top cut off their view, but a dingy cloud
+rolled up behind it and as they climbed the air got hot.  When they
+reached the summit Carrie gasped and her eyes opened wide.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The spur commanded the valley and the fire that had run through the
+woods below.  In the foreground a wall of tossing flame threw out
+clouds of sparks, and leaping up here and there, ran in yellow trails
+to the top of the tall firs.  It advanced slowly, with an angry roar,
+licking up the dry brush and branches before the big trunks caught.  In
+front they were hung with streamers of flame, farther off they glowed
+red, and in the distance smoldering rampikes towered above a wide belt
+of ash.  Now and then one leaned and fell, and showers of sparks shot
+up as if the log had exploded.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The shock of the fall hardly pierced the confused uproar, and Carrie,
+shielding her scorched face with her hand, was appalled by the din.
+Green wood split with detonating cracks, the snapping of branches was
+like musketry, and the flames roared in a deep undertone.  Her dress
+fluttered, for eddying draughts swept the rocks.  She was dazzled but
+fascinated, unconscious of heat and fear, for she had not seen or
+imagined a spectacle like this.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's tremendous!" she said in an awed voice.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Pretty fierce," Jim agreed.  "A bush-fire's a big thing, but it
+doesn't grip you like the break up of the ice.  When the river bursts
+the jam, the floes grind the rocks smooth and rub out the pines.  You
+can hear the wreck drive down the channel a day's journey off."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I thought it a silent country.  It's often so quiet it makes one
+half-afraid."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim nodded.  "Something forbidding in its quietness that's like a
+threat?  Well, it wakes up and gets busy in a dramatic way now and
+then.  If you want to live in the mountains, you've got to be watchful."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A wave of smoke rolled about them and sparks drove past like hail.  A
+fiery shower fell on Carrie's thin dress and Jim, seizing her, beat
+them out.  This was needful and he began without embarrassment but
+presently thrilled, and Carrie's scorched face got red as he ran his
+smarting hands across the thin material.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Keep still!" he said, roughly.  "It's light stuff and will soon catch
+fire."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then, picking off a glowing cinder, he took her arm and they started
+down hill.  When they came out of the smoke he was breathless and
+Carrie gasped.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, Jim, you have burned your hands!" she said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not much.  They're hard and I have often hurt them worse.  It's your
+dress that bothers me.  Look at the charred spots."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But you're not to blame for that."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am to blame.  I oughtn't to have let you stay."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wanted to stay."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That doesn't matter," Jim declared.  "My business was to take care of
+you.  In fact, it's my business all the time."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Something of a responsibility, Jim!" Carrie remarked.  "However, I
+think we'll go on."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They stopped again before they reached the camp, for pushing through
+tangled bush is hard work, and Carrie sat down on a fallen trunk.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Isn't the fire moving up the valley?" she asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is," Jim said, frowning.  "Fires sometimes do move against a light
+wind.  However, we won't talk about this yet."  He paused and touched
+her dress.  "Here's another big hole.  You can't mend the thing."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm afraid not," Carrie agreed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And the blue one has a nasty tear, besides the stain where Jake spilt
+the coffee.  I must make a trip to the settlement when the fire burns
+out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You mustn't go," said Carrie, firmly.  "You can't leave your job.
+It's much more important than my clothes."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"For all that, I am going, as soon as I can.  When we were talking not
+long since I began to think.  We have taken your help for granted,
+without reckoning what it cost; but it has hurt me to see you occupied
+with the cooking-pots."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie gave him a level, smiling glance.  "It's for Jake and you and
+the boys.  In a way, you're all mine, and I'm rather proud of my
+family."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We are yours," Jim declared.  "In fact, we were lucky when you, so to
+speak, took us under your wing.  You have a kind of protective instinct
+that makes you look after folks and makes them trust you; but you
+oughtn't to be cooking for a crowd of hungry men.  I've seen your face
+scorched, and sometimes you burn your hands.  Then your being forced to
+wear those faded and mended dresses makes me angry."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She laughed, but the careless note in her voice was rather forced.
+"Don't be foolish, Jim!  If I had lots of smart clothes, I couldn't
+wear them while I work about the fire."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is so," he said, frowning.  "You oughtn't to work about the fire."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well, it's too late to bother now.  For one thing, I have educated
+the boys; they wouldn't eat the hash you or Jake could cook.  But I
+expect you want to get to work and we had better make the camp."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When they reached the camp Jim got to work.  He was anxious, but
+admitted that the fire might die out on a stony belt where the bush was
+thin, and perhaps he need not fear much trouble unless a Chinook wind
+drove the flames up the valley.  Moreover, since there was a risk of
+his being stopped, it was prudent to push on.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For two days he strained his muscles and urged the men; and then, one
+evening, sat in his usual place, listening rather moodily while Jake
+and Carrie talked.  The evening was calm and the smoke had not
+advanced, although it now covered much of the sky.  The men had not
+gone to fish and lounged about the shack.  They were tired and quiet,
+for Jim had driven them hard all day.  He let his pipe go out and
+pondered.  Perhaps his disturbance was not logical, but his habit was
+to concentrate on the work he undertook and it would hurt to own
+himself beaten and let the contract go.  He had not been badly beaten
+yet, and he had a vein of rather grim tenacity.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After a time, Carrie's laugh banished his moody reflections and he
+looked up.  The firelight touched her, and although her eyes sparkled
+her pose was slack.  Now he studied her carefully; her face was getting
+thin.  She was obviously playing up to Jake, and he imagined their
+banter was meant to cheer him.  Carrie's clothes were shabbier than he
+had thought, but they did not spoil her unconscious grace.  It was
+unconscious grace, because Carrie did not pose.  She looked at home and
+somehow made the camp look homelike.  She was unembarrassed in the
+woods, as she was at the store.  Jim wondered whether, if they carried
+out the contract and earned the pay, she would hold her own in
+different surroundings; among fashionable women at summer hotels, for
+example.  Somehow he thought she would.  Then a curious feeling of
+tenderness moved him.  Carrie looked tired and he owed her much.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wish you would put down that sewing," he said.  "You are hurting
+your eyes."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very well," Carrie agreed.  "I wasn't getting on fast, and when you
+are bothered you have to be indulged.  Looks as if you were bothered,
+Jim."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose I've got the habit," he replied.  "Anyhow, I don't like your
+sewing when you have hustled round all day."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie laughed.  "You and Jake are rough on clothes and somebody's got
+to mend."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," said Jim.  "In this country, mending's not economical.  It's
+cheaper to throw away the things and buy another lot."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Where are you going to buy new clothes, Jim?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is something of a difficulty.  I was talking about the principle.
+You're too practical."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well," said Carrie, "I suppose I'm not romantic.  Unless you're
+romantic in the right way, you're ridiculous.  I expect it's easier to
+be useful."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jim will agree," Jake remarked.  "He judges people by their talent for
+doing things, but you can't fix a standard for everybody.  He reckons I
+do too little; I allow he does too much."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He stopped and looked about.  There was something oppressive in the
+heavy calm.  The smoke went straight up and the pine twigs did not
+move.  For a minute or two he waited with a feeling of tension and the
+others were silent.  Then the pine tops shook and were still again.
+Jim got up abruptly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That draught's not from the east!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake struck a match.  The flame burned upright, and then flickered and
+slanted.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," he said, "it's blowing up the valley."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The flame went out, the pine-tops shook and did not stop.  The air got
+hot and a smell of burning stole into the camp.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I reckon it's a <I>Chinook</I>," Jake remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim nodded and his face got stern.  "I have expected it all day.  The
+fire will roll up the valley and I don't know where it will stop.  We
+must break camp to-morrow and pitch farther along."  He turned to
+Carrie.  "Can you be ready to start for the settlement in the morning?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No, but this doesn't matter, because I'm not going."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You must.  The bush will burn like a furnace."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you and Jake mean to quit?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You ought to see we can't quit."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie smiled.  "I do see it, but if you have good grounds for
+stopping, so have I.  Your grounds, in fact."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Shucks!  You're ridiculous.  In a way, of course, I don't want you to
+go."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Thank you!  Was it hard to own that, Jim?  However, you won't have to
+make the effort to send me off, because I mean to stay."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim turned to Jake.  "This job is yours; I don't see why you put it on
+to me.  She's your sister and you ought to have some control."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My control doesn't count for much," Jake admitted with a grin.
+"Besides, I allow you are the head of the firm."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If I'm head, some responsibility goes with the post&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose I am rather a responsibility," Carrie interposed.  "After
+all, you are not very old and don't know much about managing an
+obstinate girl."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't want to manage you," Jim rejoined.  "My notion is, you have
+quietly managed us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Carrie, "it looks as if you're really cleverer than I
+thought!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim tried to hide his annoyance.  "I wish I was clever, or somebody
+else had my job.  Anyhow, you can't stop.  In a day or two the line
+will be smothered in smoke, and we may be forced back among the rocks
+where we can't take your tent.  I don't see how we're going to get
+provisions through."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"After all," said Carrie, "I don't think I'd catch fire sooner than you
+and Jake, and I certainly don't eat as much.  Then I can save where you
+would waste."  She paused and gave Jim a half-mocking smile.  "I
+imagine you mean well, but I've resolved to stay."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim made a resigned gesture.  "Then I expect there's no more to be
+said!  Well, I'm tired and we must get busy again at sun-up."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He rose, stretched his arms, and went off.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0113"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XIII
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+JIM'S LUCK TURNS
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+When the others went off Carrie did not move.  The smoke was getting
+thick, the air was hot, and now all was quiet she heard the roar of the
+fire.  She pictured it creeping through the bush: the flames leaping
+from branch to branch, the red glow among the trunks that cracked and
+tottered, and the crash when one fell.  Now and then she thought she
+heard the shock, but it was scarcely distinguishable through the dull
+roar.  The noise was strangely daunting.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie meant to stay.  She must hide her fears and smile.  This was not
+a new line; life was not easy for a girl who must work for all she got,
+and she had known care.  Now and then unsatisfied creditors had
+threatened to close the store, but when tears were near her eyes she
+had forced a laugh.  There was much she could do in camp; she could see
+the men were fed and try to cheer them when they came back gloomy and
+tired.  Sometimes a joke was strangely encouraging.  By and by she got
+up and went to her tent.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the morning they broke camp and moved up the valley, but although
+the fire was advancing Jim did not go far.  They might soon be driven
+back among the rocks, where there were no trees to burn, and he meant
+to work as long as possible.  Besides, transport was difficult and he
+must have an open trail behind him.  Jim was getting anxious about
+this, because if the fire followed them up, provisions must be brought
+across the burning belt.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was characteristic that he took command.  Although Jake had
+banteringly called him the Boss, they had no agreement about the
+matter.  When things were normal each did what he thought needful and
+they seldom jarred.  Now, however, Jim half consciously assumed firm
+control, with his comrade's support.  He made all plans, and the men
+seeing he had a leader's talent obeyed cheerfully.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For some days their resolution was hardly tried.  The fire rolled up
+the valley and for the most part they worked in thick smoke.  At times
+the heat was intolerable, and when the wind freshened showers of ash
+and sparks fell about them.  Although the fire did not advance fast,
+their progress was slow.  Heavy stones must be rolled away, treacherous
+gravel must be walled up and the line roughly graded.  Ashes stuck to
+the men's wet skin and they were often scorched by the hot wind.  Then,
+at the close of each exhausting day, the camp must be moved to the end
+of the cleared track.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There was not much grumbling.  The men were hard and stubborn, but Jim
+doubted if they could bear the strain long.  He himself was worn out,
+he could not relax at night and did not sleep.  Jake's scorched face
+was getting pinched.  Carrie alone was cheerful and tried to ease the
+crushing strain when they rested for an hour after the evening meal.
+The meal was always ready and Jim noted that the bill of fare was
+better than before.  Yet, sometimes when Carrie did not know he was
+studying her, he thought her figure drooped and her eyes were dull.  He
+said nothing, but he was moved by pity and gratitude.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At length, one day when the wind was fresh and the fire had got
+ominously close, he made a hard decision.  Since he could not keep in
+front, he would follow the blaze, which would lick up the brush and do
+some part of his work.  The trouble was, he must wait until the
+conflagration passed and the burned ruin cooled, while wages mounted up
+and food got short.  He said nothing to the others, but when evening
+came and the tired men struck the tent he indicated a bare rocky slope.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We'll make the big stones yonder, boys.  Keep this side of the juniper
+scrub."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The men's grim faces relaxed and one laughed.  They saw the struggle
+was over for a time and the boss had made another plan.  All had had
+enough and badly needed rest.  Carrie, however, looked at Jim
+thoughtfully.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I know you're not giving up, but I don't understand."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim smiled.  "I may have to give up, but not yet.  In the morning the
+fire will reach the line.  We are going to lie off and let it pass."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Carrie, with a hint of relief.  "Can we wait?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It will cost us something and we can't wait long, but perhaps this
+won't be needful.  Now give me that bundle.  The ground is rough."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I won't," said Carrie, moving back as he tried to take the bundle she
+had made of some clothes.  "You have an ax and a big bag of flour.
+Would it hurt very much to own that you sometimes get tired?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim laughed but did not answer, and they went up the hill.  They
+pitched camp among the rocks and in the morning Jim climbed the range
+behind the spot.  He did not come back until dusk, but saw no way of
+bringing the supplies he would soon need across the rugged hills.  One
+could not get up the valley, for looking down from the heights, he
+could see behind the fire and the ground was strewn with fallen trees.
+Some would burn for long and the ashes and hot stones would not cool
+soon, while the rampikes that stood above the ruin would come down when
+a strong gust shook them.  A <I>brulée</I> is dangerous when the wind blows,
+and sometimes in a calm.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For the next few days the fire raged below the camp, and when Jim
+ventured down hill he was driven back by heat and smoke.  The fire was
+rolling up the valley, but the wreckage it had left smoldered and now
+and then broke into flame.  Half-burned underbrush suddenly blazed and
+blackened logs glowed in the wind.  There was nothing to be done but
+use patience, and in the meantime the wages bill was mounting up and
+food was getting short.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then, one day, the wind dropped.  The distant peaks got hazy, the
+shining glaciers faded, and the outline of the rocks was blurred.
+Although the sun was dim, it was very hot, and Jim felt morose and
+gloomy as he loafed about the camp.  There was no use in going down to
+the line, and he durst not hope for rain.  After a few hours the wind
+might freshen and the sky clear.  He had nothing to do and the reaction
+from the strain he had borne had begun.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We miss the trout," Carrie remarked, as she cooked supper.  "Jake
+tried to get down to the river but couldn't make it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm afraid we'll soon miss the flour and salt pork.  When they're gone
+the boys will pull out," said Jim, and then forced a laugh.  "Anyhow,
+if Jake had got down, I doubt if he'd have caught much fish.  I don't
+know a good bait for boiled trout."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The flour's not gone yet," Carrie rejoined.  "We'll hold on while it
+lasts and it's going farther than you think.  Somehow I don't feel as
+if we'd be beaten."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We have come near it," said Jim, with rather grim humor.  "One gets
+used to that, and resolution counts when you're fighting a snowslide or
+a flood; but we're up against another proposition now.  It's so to
+speak, mathematical; nothing coming in and much going out!  When we
+have no stores and money left we <I>must</I> quit."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose we must, but I'd hate to see you let the job go and would
+feel mean myself.  After all, something may happen before we are forced
+to quit," Carrie replied, and added with calm confidence: "Something is
+going to happen."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You have an optimism that can't be cured," Jim rejoined.  "However, I
+don't know if I'd like it cured."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He knocked out his pipe and began to cut some tobacco, but stopped
+abruptly and looked up.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What's that?" he asked as something pattered on the stiff foliage of a
+juniper.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Big drops," said Carrie.  "I felt a few before."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim got up.  The light was going and it felt cool, but the sky up the
+valley was not clouded much; he could not see the other way.  Then a
+few large cold drops fell on his upturned face and next moment there
+was a quick splashing on the dusty juniper.  He drew a deep breath and
+shook off his languidness.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's coming; heavy rain!" he cried.  "We'll make good, after all.  But
+let's move the stores."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie laughed happily.  "You said I was too practical!  Who's
+practical now?  But sometimes you get things mixed; you reckoned not
+long since I was an optimist."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did," Jim admitted.  "Practical planning and optimism make a strong
+combine, and I imagine they are going to carry us through.  But let's
+move the stores."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He called the men, and as they got all that would spoil covered there
+was a rush of cold wind and the rain beat upon the camp.  It rains hard
+in British Columbia and often rains long.  They knew that by morning
+the rocks would run water and the deluge would quench the smoldering
+wreckage; it might even quench the fire.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After a day or two Jim moved his camp to the line, and one afternoon
+when he was working in the rain stopped and straightened his aching
+back.  Fine ash that had turned to mud smeared his wet slickers; his
+face was thin and gloomy.  His money was nearly gone, and although the
+fire had burned out he did not see how he could finish his contract.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The tangled brush had vanished and wet ashes covered the ground.
+Half-burned logs lay about, and here and there small trees, leaning at
+sharp angles with blackened branches locked, held each other up.  In
+places, big charred rampikes stood in rows like colonnades.  The nearer
+rows looked black; farther off they shone in the rain with a curious
+silver gleam.  The fire had helped to clear the ground, but wet men
+were at work with axes and saws.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+By and by Jim looked round.  Somebody had shouted and it was not one of
+his gang.  The shout came from some distance off and while he tried to
+locate the spot a rampike slanted over and broke off.  The burned trunk
+struck the ground with an echoing crash and a cloud of ash rolled up
+like smoke.  There was now a gap in the row and as the ashes blew away
+Jim saw pack-horses in the opening.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Who is it?" he asked Jake.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A Government outfit, I expect.  Prospectors don't load up with tents
+and stores like that."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If they're Government men, it means somebody from the telegraph
+department is coming to look at our job."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Jake.  "I reckon we'll soon know our luck."  He waited for
+a few moments and added: "It's the boss surveyor."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The surveyor presently joined them and remarked: "As I have business at
+the new settlement, I thought I'd see how you were getting on."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We might have got on faster, but we have had trouble all the time,"
+said Jim.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Looks like that.  I examined the work you've done as I came along and
+on the whole allow it's a pretty good job.  However, we'll talk about
+that later; the boys are tired and I'm glad to make your camp."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The pack-horses were unloaded and when the tents were pitched the
+surveyor's cook helped Carrie to prepare an unusually good meal.  When
+it was over the party sat outside the surveyor's tent, which had a
+double top stretched on poles beyond its front.  The surveyor studied
+their faces with understanding, for he knew the wilds and noted signs
+of strain.  He thought all had a fine-drawn look.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's obvious that you have been up against it," he remarked.  "The big
+landslide must have made you trouble and no doubt the fire cost you
+something.  Running a camp is expensive when transport's high."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is so," Carrie agreed feelingly.  "It's curious, but I think the
+boys eat most when they have nothing to do."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The surveyor gave her a sympathetic smile.  "I imagine you don't stint
+them, if this supper is a good example."  He turned to Jim.  "You're
+behind schedule, but if you have no more bad luck, I reckon you ought
+to finish on time."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim said nothing.  He doubted if he could finish the job at all, and
+wondered whether the other suspected his embarrassment.  He meant to
+ask for some payment, but it might be risky to admit that money was
+urgently needed.  Jake gave him a warning glance, although he was
+silent, and the surveyor looked about and noted much.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim's long boots were broken and his slickers were torn, Winter's
+carelessness was obviously forced, but the surveyor's study of Carrie
+gave him the plainest hint.  Although she was neat, he thought an
+attractive girl would not, without good grounds, wear clothes that had
+shrunk and faded and been mended as often as hers.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," he resumed, "I expect you know payment in part is sometimes
+allowed before a job is finished, but when we made our agreement
+nothing was stated about this."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The custom has drawbacks for the people who let the contract," Jake
+remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very true," agreed the surveyor.  "Then you don't mean to bother us
+for money?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It would, of course, be useful," Jake admitted in a thoughtful voice.
+"However, if the office doesn't see its way&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You would be satisfied to wait?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim frowned.  Jake's pretended indifference was prudent, but he had
+overdone the thing.  While Jim wondered how he could put the matter
+right Carrie interposed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My brother is generally hopeful.  In a way, that's good, but sometimes
+he's rash."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The surveyor's eyes twinkled.  "Do you mean he's rash just now?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Carrie, "I really think I do mean this."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I didn't know if it was rashness or common bluff."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake grinned rather awkwardly and Jim colored, but Carrie fixed her
+eyes on the surveyor.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It was all bluff from the beginning.  We hadn't the money we needed
+when we took the contract, and since then we have never had proper
+tools and help enough."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In fact, you had nothing much but obstinacy and grit?  They sometimes
+go far in the bush; but I don't know if they'll go far enough to carry
+you through.  Perhaps you had better be frank."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I generally am frank.  Bluffing's dangerous, and my brother didn't
+know when to stop.  Anyhow, unless we get some money soon, I'm afraid
+we'll go broke."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps it's strange, but I rather suspected this," the surveyor
+rejoined.  "Well, I'd like you to put the contract over.  You have done
+good work up-to-date and I'll risk giving you an order on the pay
+office.  If you'll wait while I get a form, I'll do it now."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He went into the tent and Carrie smiled at the others.  Jim was
+conscious of keen relief and a touch of annoyance.  Although Carrie had
+saved the situation, he had let her undertake an awkward task that was
+properly his.  Then the surveyor came back and gave her a document.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I imagine you are sometimes rash," he remarked.  "Didn't you see the
+line you took was risky?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," said Carrie, smiling; "I wasn't rash at all.  I know when I can
+trust people and didn't think you would let us down.  All the same, I
+knew you wouldn't give us a pay order unless you saw we'd make good.
+Well, we are going to make good, and now that's done with, we'll talk
+about something else."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The surveyor laughed and began to talk about his journey, but Jim noted
+that he gave Carrie an approving glance.  Next morning he went on and
+the others resumed their work with quiet confidence.  The financial
+strain had slackened and they were not afraid of the physical
+difficulties that must yet be grappled with.  Rocks and trees could be
+moved so long as the men were paid and fed.  Still the fight was not
+over and their courage was tried when they carried the line along the
+moraine by a shrunken glacier and across a broken range.  At length,
+one evening, Jim took Carrie up a hill and when they reached the top
+indicated a river that sparkled among the trees below.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Follow it down and look across the big pines on the flat," he said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie looked and saw a thin, blue haze floating about the trees.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh!" she cried, "it's smoke."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The high smear against the rocks is from a mine stack, and I think I
+see the steam from a sawmill by the river," Jim said quietly.  "The
+line will soon be finished, and you have helped us out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The color came into Carrie's face and her eyes shone.  "Perhaps I have
+helped some; if I have, I'm glad.  Now I'm proud of my family.  You
+have put it over."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We came near being beaten," Jim replied with some emotion.  "I think,
+if you had not been with us, we would have been beaten."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie gave him a level glance.  "It's done with, Jim.  I wanted you
+and Jake to make good, for your sake and mine.  You see, if you
+couldn't have stood for it, I'd have lost confidence in myself."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm not sure I do see," Jim replied, as they started down hill.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's good to concentrate, but perhaps you concentrate too much,"
+Carrie resumed by and by.  "You see things right in front; you don't
+look about."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose I am like that," Jim admitted.  "I don't know if it's good
+or not."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie smiled rather curiously.  "We didn't choose our characters; they
+were given us.  I wonder what would have happened had we been
+different&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She stopped as they climbed across a fallen tree and said nothing more
+until they reached the camp.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0114"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XIV
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+THE RECKONING
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+When the line reached the settlement Jim and his party returned to
+Vancouver.  Shortly after their arrival Martin came to see them.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I've been in town some time, and seeing a notice in the <I>Colonist</I>
+that you had finished the job, thought I'd like to tell you I was
+glad," he said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie thanked him and by and by he asked: "Have you had a fresh offer
+from Baumstein for your copper claim?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim said they had not and Martin smiled.  "I reckon the offer will
+arrive, and now he knows you have got your pay he'll put up his price."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If it does arrive, we won't reply," said Carrie, firmly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know if that's a good plan," Martin remarked.  "Baumstein will
+offer about half as much as he's willing to give, but I'd take hold and
+negotiate until I thought he'd reached his limit.  It will be under
+what the claim is worth.  Then I'd go along and try the Combine."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Would they buy?" Jim asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Go and see.  Although Baumstein's pretty smart, he doesn't know
+they're quietly investing in Northern copper; I do.  There's another
+thing; if you have got specimens, send some for assay to a different
+man."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim pondered.  The analysis of the ore was not as good as he had
+expected and the miner who had examined the specimens at his camp
+agreed.  For all that, assayers were generally honest and skillful.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What's the matter with the man I went to?" he asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He's sometimes soused and you can't trust a tanker.  Then he's
+extravagant."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Jim.  "Is that all?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Martin gave him a dry smile.  "I happen to know Baumstein lent him
+money.  It's possible he meant to get value for a risky loan."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The others said nothing, but they saw the significance of the hint and
+Jim's face got stern.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There's something else,"  Martin resumed.  "Davies has left me and
+gone back to Baumstein."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Gone back?" Jake exclaimed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sure," said Martin, quietly.  "I didn't know he'd worked for the
+fellow when I hired him.  Now I've a notion he's been Baumstein's man,
+not mine, all the time."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim clenched his fist and Carrie's eyes sparkled.  "We're up against a
+poisonous crook," she said, and looked at Jim.  "You see why he made us
+trouble?  He wanted to break us, so we'd sell him the Bluebird cheap."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's pretty plain.  All the same, I don't see what I ought to do about
+it.  Martin's plan doesn't quite meet the bill: I'd sooner try
+something a little more vigorous."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie shook her head.  "You mustn't be a fool!  The best way to play
+that kind of man is to use him.  When he finds out it will hurt most."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim hesitated.  He remembered the blow they had got at the beginning of
+the struggle and all that Carrie had borne.  Baumstein's plot had
+drained their resources and made her suffer.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Martin's plan is best; you must agree," she urged.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very well," said Jim.  "Jake can see the fellow and begin the
+negotiations; I'll come in afterwards.  Jake's something of a
+philosopher, but I'd probably spoil the plot if I met Baumstein before
+I cool."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Martin gave them some useful advice and then went away, and a few days
+afterwards Baumstein sent a message.  Jake played his part well;
+indulging the other's pretended indifference and arguing for better
+terms.  Sometimes he seemed on the point of yielding, and then on his
+next visit found grounds for delay.  At length, when Baumstein was
+getting impatient, Jake took Jim to the office.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Baumstein occupied a revolving chair in front of a fine hard wood desk,
+and gave the others a sharp glance as they came in.  The office was
+very well furnished and Baumstein wore fashionable clothes.  There was
+a fine diamond in his ring.  This annoyed Jim, who knew that while
+hard-bitten prospectors braved the risks of starvation on the snowy
+trail, greedy company-floaters often got the reward.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I hope you have come to clinch the deal," Baumstein remarked.  "I've
+met your partner as far as I can, but the bargaining has gone on long
+enough."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then you can't raise your price?" Jim asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Baumstein studied him.  Winter had been compliant and apparently
+anxious to sell, but there was something puzzling about his partner.
+Baumstein got a hint of sternness that he did not like.  For all that,
+bluff paid when one dealt with poor men.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," he replied, dryly.  "Your partner has raised me to my limit and
+I've got to stop.  You can agree right now or quit."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well," said Jim.  "If you have gone as far as you are able&mdash;&mdash;.
+May I use your telephone?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Certainly," said Baumstein, and when Jim, picking up the instrument on
+the desk, called the exchange, suddenly straightened himself.  He knew
+the number for which Jim asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Winter and Dearham," said the latter.  "Mr. Lamson?  All right; I'll
+come along and fix things.  We'll record the transfer when you like."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Baumstein swung round his chair and his face got red.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What's that you told Lamson?  What does it mean?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It means I've sold the Bluebird claim."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then, you have been negotiating with the Combine all the time?  Why in
+thunder did you come to me?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"For one thing, we wanted to find out how much you would bid.  It would
+be safe to ask another party more than you would give.  We didn't know
+how much we ought to get."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Baumstein clenched his fist.  "You used me for a base to bluff from;
+reckoning you'd fall back on me if you couldn't put it over?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," said Jim.  "We didn't mean to deal with you at all.  You helped
+us get a proper price; that was your job."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They looked at one another, with mouths set hard, and then Baumstein
+broke out: "You swine!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Stop there," said Jim, with ominous quietness.  "I'm back from using
+the ax in the bush and feel very fit.  To put you out of your office
+would give me the keenest satisfaction and would be cheaper than
+getting after you through the court."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Shucks!" exclaimed Baumstein.  "What are you giving me?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I reckon you know.  You put Davies on our track; he broke the line,
+and sent a log down on our canoes.  He's smart and both plots worked
+before we found him out.  But we did find him out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Baumstein hesitated, wondering how much was supposition and how much
+Jim really knew.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You'll be blamed foolish if you go to law with a tale like that."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We don't propose to bother, because I think we're even.  You helped us
+sell our claim and the Combine know what you were willing to pay.  We
+raised them some; one could take it for granted you wouldn't reach just
+value."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You told them what I offered?" Baumstein shouted.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We did," Jim said, smiling.  "I expect they got a useful hint.  In
+fact, if you want to control Northern copper, you had better get busy.
+It looks as if the Combine were on your track."  He paused and beckoned
+Jake.  "Well, perhaps there's enough said.  We mustn't keep you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They went off and left Baumstein sitting very still with his fist
+clenched.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A few days afterwards, Jim and Jake waited for Carrie one evening on
+the veranda at the store.  Mrs. Winter had refused to sell the
+business, but Jake had engaged extra help and they had arranged for a
+long holiday.  The store, standing back from the rough board sidewalk,
+was small and shabby; the street was torn by transfer-wagon wheels.  A
+Chinese laundry and a pool-room occupied the other side.  Sawmill
+refuse and empty coal-oil cans had been dumped in a neighboring vacant
+lot.  Mean frame houses ran on from the store, some surrounded by a
+narrow yard, and some with verandas covered by mosquito gauze so that
+they looked like meat-safes.  The neighborhood was strangely
+unattractive, but one could see the sparkling Inlet and the dark forest
+that rolled back to the shining snow.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim, sitting in an old rocking-chair, was quietly satisfied.  After
+taking Mrs. Winter and Carrie to lunch at a smart hotel, he had loafed
+about the city without feeling bored.  It was nice to know he had
+nothing to do and had money to spend.  In fact, he had relished a novel
+enjoyment when he visited some shops and bought presents for his hosts
+without thinking what they cost.  Now he languidly looked back on the
+years that had gone so quickly since his parents died.  They were
+strenuous years, marked by hardship, toil, and adventure, for Jim had
+not known monotonous quietness.  Even when he studied at McGill, he had
+worked between the terms in order to pay the fees.  Afterwards, finding
+no field for such talent as he had, he had sold his labor where he
+could.  He had seen much and learned much, but he was young and had a
+curious feeling that there were fresh experiences in store.  By and by
+he banished the memories and looked at Jake.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I smile when I think about the time I hit Martin's camp, pretty hungry
+and ragged, and got after him about his sending Davies on our track,"
+he said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake laughed.  "After all, I guess you took a useful line.  Made him
+feel he'd got to show us he wasn't a crook."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why did he want to show us?  What we thought wouldn't matter a hill of
+beans."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The fellow's white," Jake replied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Martin is white," Jim agreed, looking at Jake rather hard.  "We were
+getting pretty near the rocks when he gave us a lift."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake nodded.  When their money was very low after the fire, Martin had
+suggested an arrangement that had worked for the benefit of all.  Jake
+hoped his comrade would be satisfied with his vague assent, but doubted.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why did he help?" Jim resumed.  "The profit he got wasn't worth his
+bothering about."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If you mean to know, I reckon he thought Carrie would like it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Jim, frowning, "I suspected something like this!  Well, we
+owe Martin much, but I'd sooner not think we let him give us a lift for
+your sister's sake.  You ought to have refused."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I didn't know.  The thing's got obvious since."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But you know now?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Jake, "my notion is, Carrie could marry him when she liked."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you think she sees it?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake smiled.  "Carrie's not a fool.  If you and I see it, the thing is
+pretty plain.  All the same, I imagine she is quietly freezing him off."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim was conscious of a rather puzzling satisfaction.  "Martin's a good
+sort and he's rich; but there's no reason Carrie should take the first
+good man who comes along," he said.  "She ought to get the very best.
+However, it's not my business and I don't know if it's yours."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's Carrie's," said Jake, rather dryly.  "She's generally able to
+manage her affairs.  In fact, I allow she was successful when she
+managed ours&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He stopped, for the door opened and Carrie came out.  She held a
+newspaper and looked excited.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You had better read this advertisement, Jim," she said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim saw the newspaper was printed at Montreal two years before.  He
+glanced at the place Carrie indicated, started, and then looked
+straight in front.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How did you get the thing?" he asked after a moment or two.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Mother bought some old paper for packing.  She took this piece just
+now to light the stove and saw the notice.  But are you the man they
+want?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Jim, quietly.  "Franklin Dearham was my father."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake picked up the newspaper and they were silent for a few moments.
+Then Carrie asked: "What are you going to do about it?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"To begin with, I'll write to the lawyers at Montreal," said Jim, who
+knitted his brows.  "After that I don't know.  The advertisement is
+cautious, but it looks as if Joseph Dearham was dead.  I don't think my
+father expected to inherit his property.  It's puzzling."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Was Joseph Dearham rich?" Jake asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He had some land and money and the old house at Langrigg.  I've often
+thought about Langrigg, but I'd sooner the lawyers had left me alone."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I've been happy in Canada.  I've friends I trust, I'm making good, and
+don't want to be disturbed."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie gave him a quick glance, but he went on: "Then we meant to take
+a holiday, and it looks as if I might be wanted in the Old Country."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If you go, they may keep you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I feel I have got to go, although I don't like it," Jim replied with a
+puzzled look.  "Something pulls and I resist.  However, come along.
+We're going to the park."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They set off and Jim tried to talk.  Carrie helped him and for a time
+they laughed and joked, but the jokes got flat and all were rather
+quiet when they went home.  They felt a disturbing change was coming;
+things would not be the same.  Next morning Jim wrote to the lawyers,
+who asked him to meet a member of the firm at Winnipeg.  He grumbled
+and hesitated, but went and did not return for some time.  On the
+evening after his arrival he and the others sat talking in a little
+room behind the store.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The room was cheaply furnished.  The rough black pipe from the basement
+stove went up the middle and a threadbare rug covered half the floor.
+Mrs. Winter, looking worn and faded, occupied a rocking-chair.  She was
+better dressed than when Jim first came to the house and he thought the
+rather expensive material had been chosen with taste.  The quiet woman
+had a touch of dignity, although she wore the stamp of toil.  Carrie,
+sitting opposite, had been occupied in the store all day and had
+refused to change her working clothes.  Since Jim's return was
+something of an event, Mrs. Winter was puzzled by her obstinacy.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm glad to be back," Jim remarked.  "Winnipeg is a fine city, but I
+feel Vancouver's home."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Winter smiled, but the look Carrie gave Jim was half ironical.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are glad to get back here?  After stopping at a big hotel!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am glad.  The hotel was crowded and never quiet.  They had noisy
+electric elevators that went up and down all night, and it wasn't much
+better when I dined at smart restaurants.  Thought I'd find this
+amusing, but I didn't.  Had to push for a place at the tables and the
+waiters were slow.  I felt I wanted to hustle round with the plates."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sometimes you're rather clever, Jim," Carrie said, meaningly.  "But I
+expect you liked the cooking."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It was tolerable, but no food I've got was half as good as the trout
+and bannocks we picked out of the hot spider in a valley of the North.
+Then there's no drink as refreshing as the tea with the taste of wood
+smoke I drank from a blackened can."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It didn't often taste of smoke," Carrie objected.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Carrie can cook; she owes that to me," Mrs. Winter interposed.  "She
+was ambitious when she was young and declared she had no use for
+studying things like that, but I was firm."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wonder whether she's ambitious now," Jim remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I've got wise," said Carrie.  "I know where I belong."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Winter looked at them as if she were puzzled, and Jim knitted his
+brows.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know where I belong.  That's the trouble, because it may hurt
+to find out.  But how have you been getting on while I was away?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Trade's pretty good, thank you," Carrie replied.  "We have sold as
+much sweet truck as I could bake.  The groceries have kept Belle
+hustling."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Shucks!" said Jim, impatiently, and turned to Jake.  "You ought to
+make your mother sell out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He tried," said Mrs. Winter.  "I won't sell.  Jake has some money now,
+but he's not rich and may hit a streak of bad luck.  My children must
+go out and fight for all they get, but I want them to know there's a
+little house in the home town where they can come back if they're hurt
+and tired.  Besides, I've kept store so long I've got the habit.
+Anyhow, you have told us nothing about your business and we're curious."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jake and Carrie don't look curious," Jim remarked dryly.  "Well, I
+went to the lawyer's room, mornings, and answered his questions, read
+the night-letters the Montreal office sent him, and waited for replies
+to their English cablegrams."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But what did he say about your claim?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know if it will interest your son and daughter, but I'll tell
+you.  There are some formalities yet, but the fellow seems satisfied
+I'm Joseph Dearham's heir, and I'm going to England soon.  Whether I'll
+stay or not is another thing.  Well, we had arranged for a long
+holiday, and I don't mean to be cheated.  I'm going to take you all to
+the Old Country."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie colored, but Jake smiled.  "Did you tell the lawyer about this
+plan?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did not," said Jim, with a rather haughty look that Carrie thought
+was new.  "Langrigg is mine.  It's my pleasure to show it to my
+friends."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Winter looked disturbed.  "You are kind, Jim, but I'm an old woman
+and have never gone far from home.  Your relations mightn't like me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know yet if my relations will like me.  Anyhow, they have got
+to approve my guests.  I wanted you to sell the store, because, if I'm
+satisfied with Langrigg, you mayn't come back.  There's no real
+difficulty about your coming.  In fact, you have got to come."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Winter hesitated, as if she were thinking hard, and then her
+gentle face got resolute.  "Very well.  I'd like Carrie to see the Old
+Country."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim turned to the others with a triumphant smile.  "It's fixed.  Your
+mother will need you, Carrie, and I'll need my partner.  We have put
+over some hard jobs and I imagine I'm up against another now.  I want
+you, Jake; you have got to see me out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Since I don't know your folks and their habits, it isn't plain how I
+could help," Jake replied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know much.  What about it?  We made good prospecting when we
+had never used the rocker and thawn-out gravel.  We graded the
+pack-trail across Snowy Range when we didn't know how to drill and
+start off giant-powder.  Well, we're going to make good at Langrigg if
+I stay."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then I'll come, for a time," Jake agreed and looked at Carrie.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wouldn't like to be left alone," she said and smiled.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim was satisfied.  He had carried out his plan and it was significant
+that Carrie was willing to go; if Martin had attracted her; she would
+sooner have remained behind.  In a way, he thought it strange that Mrs.
+Winter, from whom he had expected most opposition, was the first to
+agree, but this was not important.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After a time they went to the Stanley park, where Jake and Mrs. Winter
+met somebody they knew.  Carrie sat down on a bench under a giant fir
+and Jim lighted a cigarette.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You and Jake rather puzzled me," he remarked.  "You weren't curious;
+I'd a feeling that things were not the same."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie gave him a steady look.  "I'm afraid we were very mean&mdash;but
+there was a difference.  You were one of us when you went away; you
+came back an English landowner."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Jim, "I think I see!  You wanted to give me a chance to drop
+you?  Did you think I would?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," said Carrie, blushing.  "But it was possible.  Cutting the line
+was different; it was a business proposition."  She paused and added
+with a hint of regret: "It's finished now."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sometimes I think you're sorry."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie said nothing and he went on: "Was Jake's throwing up his job and
+bringing me down from the shack a business proposition?  Your nursing
+me and our long talks by the camp fire?  Did you think I could forget
+these things?  Did you want me to forget?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She looked up, with some color in her face.  "Not in a way, Jim, but we
+took the proper line.  We felt you ought to have a chance to let us go."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And now I hope you're satisfied, since you have found out I'm not as
+shabby as you thought."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well," said Carrie, smiling, "I suppose we do feel some
+satisfaction."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then Jake and Mrs. Winter returned and they went to the Canadian
+Pacific station, where Jim asked about the steamship sailings.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0201"></A>
+
+<H2 ALIGN="center">
+PART II&mdash;THE LANDOWNER
+</H2>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER I
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+JIM COMES HOME
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+The car ran out from the tall hedgerows that bordered the narrow road
+and at length Jim could look about.  He had not been able to see much
+on his way from the station where Mordaunt had met him, and now he had
+an unbroken view he studied the English landscape with keen curiosity.
+On one side, rugged mountains rose against the lowering sky, but a
+moving ray of sunshine touched the plain below.  In front, the road ran
+across a marsh, between deep ditches where tall sedges grew.  Beyond
+the marsh, wet sands stretched back to the blurred woods across a bay,
+and farther off, low hills loomed indistinctly in the mist.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim noted that the landscape had not the monotony he had sometimes felt
+in Canada.  The fields behind the marsh looked ridiculously small, but
+some were smooth and green and some dotted by yellow stocks of corn.
+Then there was a play of color that changed from cold blues and grays
+to silver and ochre as the light came and went.  White farmsteads,
+standing among dark trees, were scattered about, but the country was
+not tame.  The hills and wide belt of sands gave it a rugged touch.
+There had been some rain and the wind was cold.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As the car jolted along the straight road between the ditches, Jim
+began to muse.  He had felt a stranger in London, where he had stopped
+a week.  He knew the Canadian cities, but London was different.  Yet
+since he left the station the feeling of strangeness had gone; it was
+as if he had reached a country that he knew.  He wondered whether he
+unconsciously remembered his father's talk, or if the curious sense of
+familiarity was, so to speak, atavistic.  This, however, was not
+important, and he glanced at Carrie, who sat behind with Mrs. Winter
+and Jake.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie had frankly enjoyed her holiday; indeed, Jim thought she had
+felt more at home than he when they were in town.  Somehow she did not
+look exotic among the Englishwomen at the hotel, and when Mordaunt met
+them at the station she had, with a kind of natural tact, struck the
+proper note.  She knew Mordaunt was a relation of Jim's, but she met
+him without reserve or an obvious wish to please.  If either were
+conscious of surprise or embarrassment, Jim thought it was Mordaunt.
+Presently the latter indicated a low ridge that broke the level marsh.
+It rose against the background of misty hills, and a creek that caught
+the light and shone wound past it to the sands.  In one place, a gray
+wall appeared among stunted trees.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Langrigg," he said.  "We'll arrive in a few minutes."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He blew the horn, a boy ran to open a gate, and as they climbed the
+hill Jim saw a stripped cornfield, a belt of dark-green turnips, a
+smooth pasture, and a hedge.  Then a lawn with bright flower-borders
+opened up, and on the other side a house rose from a terrace.  Its
+straight front was broken by a small square tower, pierced by an arch,
+and old trees spread their ragged branches across the low roof.  The
+building was of a type not uncommon in the North of England and had
+grown up about the peel tower that had been a stronghold in the
+Scottish wars.  There were barns and byres in the background, and it
+was hard to tell if Langrigg was a well-kept farm or a country house.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The strange thing was, Jim knew it well.  He felt as if he had come to
+a spot he often visited; in fact, he had a puzzled feeling that he had
+come home.  Then he saw people on the terrace and the car stopped.  He
+jumped out and after helping Mrs. Winter down got something of a shock,
+for as the group advanced he saw the girl he had met at the Montreal
+restaurant.  For a moment he forgot Mrs. Winter and fixed his eyes on
+the girl.  She moved with the grace he remembered, and her white dress
+outlined her figure against the creeper on the wall.  She was rather
+tall and finely, but slenderly, proportioned, and when she looked up he
+knew she was as beautiful as he had thought.  Then he roused himself
+and went forward with his friends.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt presented him to Mrs. Halliday, who gave him her hand with a
+gracious smile.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I knew you when the car came up the drive.  You look a Dearham," she
+said.  "Since Bernard is unwell, we thought we ought to come and
+welcome you."  Then she beckoned the others.  "My daughter, Evelyn, and
+my son, Dick."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The girl glanced at Jim curiously, as if puzzled, but her brother
+laughed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"This is something of a romantic surprise!" he said.  "Perhaps it's
+curious, but I've thought about you since the night of the blizzard
+when we came to your shack."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim indicated his party.  "I want you to know my Canadian friends; I
+owe them much.  Mrs. and Miss Winter from Vancouver city, and my
+partner, Jake."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Halliday had studied the group, but she gave them another glance.
+She thought Mrs. Winter was not important.  The thin, tired woman was
+of a common type and had obviously come from a rude Canadian town: Mrs.
+Halliday did not know much about Vancouver.  The girl, however, had
+individuality and a touch of beauty; Mrs. Halliday felt she must be
+reckoned on.  The young man puzzled her, because she could not place
+him.  In some ways, he looked like a rather superior workman, but he
+was unembarrassed, and although he waited calmly, she imagined he was
+amused.  On the whole, they were not the guests one generally received
+at an English country house, but Mrs. Halliday knew her duty and
+welcomed them with a gracious air.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They went in and Jim heard with satisfaction that the others meant to
+dine with him, because he wanted to talk with Evelyn.  He came down as
+soon as he could, hoping he might find her in the hall, but nobody was
+there and for some minutes he looked about.  The hall occupied the
+lower story of the tower.  It was square, and roughly-hewn beams,
+slightly curved, crossed the ceiling.  The spaces between were paneled
+with dark wood and an oak wainscot ran round the wall.  Half of one
+side was occupied by a big fireplace and its old, hand-forged irons.
+The carved frame and mantel were Jacobean and obviously newer than the
+rest.  The old windows, however, had been enlarged and a wide casement
+admitted a cold light.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+By and by, Mordaunt came in.  The latter was thin and dark; his face
+was rather inscrutable, but he had a superficial urbanity.  Jim
+wondered what lay beneath this, and imagined it might be long before he
+found out.  Until he got down from the train, they had not met since
+Mordaunt came to the telegraph shack, and Jim did not know if he liked
+the fellow or not.  After a time, there was a step on the stairs that
+went up the wall, and Jim looked up, half expecting to see Evelyn.  At
+first he was conscious of some disappointment, for Carrie was coming
+down.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"By George!" said Mordaunt, softly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim understood the exclamation, for he had not until now realized that
+Carrie was beautiful.  Her color was rather high and her face looked
+strangely clean-cut against the background of dull brown oak.  Her eyes
+were a curious gray that changed to sparkling hazel-brown with the
+light; her hair was brown with a coppery gleam, and her dress a soft
+green.  Jim had not seen the dress before and did not know if it was
+the latest fashion, but he felt that Carrie's choice was good.  It was
+not that the harmonious color gave her beauty; the effect was deeper.
+The girl had a touch of dignity that was rather natural than cultivated.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She lifted her head and smiled as she went up to Jim, and asked, as if
+Mordaunt was not there: "How do you like me?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In a way, you're wonderful," Jim replied.  "Of course, I knew that
+before&mdash;when you nursed me, and in the woods&mdash;but somehow I hadn't
+expected <I>this</I>!  When did you get the dress?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"When we were in London.  I hadn't long, but I wanted to be just
+right," Carrie answered with a blush.  Then she laughed.  "You're very
+nice, Jim; but do I really fit in?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Marvelously," Mordaunt interposed.  "If my opinion is worth much, you
+look as if you belonged to Langrigg.  That is, you go back, beyond our
+times, to the folks who built the peel to keep out the Scots."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim nodded.  Mordaunt had said what he himself had vaguely thought.
+The fellow was sensitive and had felt the girl's virility.  Jim was a
+little surprised that Carrie, who knew nothing about the Border wars,
+seemed to understand, for she gave Mordaunt a quiet but rather piercing
+look.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," she said.  "I have been up against Nature, where she's raw and
+savage, in the woods."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps that accounts for it," Mordaunt replied, smiling.  "Nature is
+savage in the frozen North; perhaps Jim told you I have been there.
+But I imagine you made good."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jim made good.  I like to think I helped."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I expect your help was worth much!" said Mordaunt.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie's glance rested on him calmly and he felt that she needed study.
+She did not speak, however, and Mrs. Halliday and the others came in.
+After a few minutes they went to the paneled dining-room and Jim forgot
+Carrie when he sat down by Evelyn.  Her color was subdued, her skin,
+for the most part, ivory white, and she had black eyes and hair.
+Although rather tall, she looked fragile, but she was marked by a
+fastidious grace and calm that Jim thought patrician.  This was not the
+word he wanted, but he did not know another.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's curious, but I seem to know you," she said, presently.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't think it is very curious," Jim replied.  "You see, I met you
+at the restaurant near the post-office in Montreal."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Evelyn, with a puzzled look, "I remember our going there,
+but we didn't talk to anybody."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I brought your lunch," said Jim, fixing his eyes on her face.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then you were the waiter?" she remarked, tranquilly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim smiled.  He felt that she had passed a rather awkward test and he
+was satisfied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Since you must have waited on a large number of people, it is strange
+you remembered me," she resumed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," he said.  "I hadn't met an English woman of your kind before,
+and, for that matter, I haven't met one since."  He paused and added:
+"I expect this accounts for it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn's eyes twinkled.  He was obviously sincere and she felt amused.
+He was a new and rather good type, she thought.  His figure was
+athletic: his face was thin and brown, his glance was steady but
+searching, and she liked his quiet manner.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But you had other occupations besides waiting, hadn't you?" she asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I was a miner in the North for some time."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That must have been interesting.  Were you successful?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I found a copper vein and was lucky enough to sell it rather well."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then, is it difficult to sell a mine?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"As a rule, it's much harder than finding one," Jim answered, with a
+smile.  "In general, the miner struggles with half-thawn gravel that
+often fills up his shallow shaft, and sometimes nearly starves in the
+tundra bogs, while the man with money enough to work the vein gets the
+profit.  It cost us something to hold on until we got a just price."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn did not know much about the Canadian North, but she could
+imagine his holding on.  "I expect you will find Langrigg different
+from the British Columbian wilds," she said.  "Do you feel strange
+here?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim looked about.  The long room was paneled, the ceiling was low, and
+the wide casement commanded a view of the level marsh and shining
+sands.  It was different from the dark pine forests and snowy peaks of
+British Columbia.  The fine old china and silver, tall candlesticks,
+and the flowers on the table were in marked contrast with the rude
+furniture of camp and shack.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," he said, thoughtfully.  "When one has wandered about a new
+country, meeting all kinds of people and doing all kinds of jobs, I
+imagine one would not feel very strange anywhere.  Besides, I've a
+curious notion that I have come home."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"After all, you are a Dearham; perhaps this accounts for something,"
+Evelyn remarked and glanced at Carrie.  "Did you meet your friends when
+you were at Montreal?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jim met us in Vancouver.  Jake brought him to the store when he was
+ill," Mrs. Winter replied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The store?" said Evelyn.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Mrs. Winter means a shop," Mordaunt explained.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh," said Evelyn, "that is interesting!  What did you sell?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Most everything people wanted.  Dry goods, groceries, sweet
+biscuits&mdash;you'd call it cake&mdash;and we had quite a trade in Sundaes."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What is a Sunday?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt laughed.  "A little delicacy you consume on the spot.  I
+imagine it's sometimes an ice and sometimes a sweetmeat, or a cleverly
+mixed drink.  Perhaps it's oftenest enjoyed on Sundays and holidays,
+but they don't spell it with a <I>y</I>."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I must try to remember.  But who made these nice things?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Carrie," said Mrs. Winter, with a look of pride.  "She baked the
+biscuit, too."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't think I should like baking.  One must get so hot," Evelyn
+remarked, and turned to Carrie.  "Was it hard work?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie was talking to Dick Halliday, but she looked up and laughed,
+although there was a touch of color in her face.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, no," she said.  "Anyhow, it was not as hard as cooking for the
+boys in the woods.  I did all the cooking, and they liked the hash I
+put up."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim thought Carrie's western accent was rather marked and wondered why
+she had said <I>hash</I>.  Evelyn's questions had been asked with languid
+good humor, as if she meant to draw Carrie into the talk, but somehow
+Jim got a hint of antagonism between the girls.  This puzzled him and
+he was glad when Mrs. Halliday began to talk about something else.
+Evelyn did not support her much, but Mrs. Halliday was firm.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You must tell us about your adventures," Evelyn said, as they got up,
+but when they went on the terrace Jim followed Carrie.  Although he
+wanted to talk to Evelyn, Carrie must not feel neglected.  She gave him
+a rather curious smile when he stopped by the stone bench she occupied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I allow your English relations have first claim on you to-night," she
+remarked.  "You can talk to me when you like."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A new claim doesn't wipe out older ones," Jim replied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose that is so," Carrie agreed.  "You're rather obvious, Jim,
+but you mean well."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then she got up and joined Dick Halliday, and Jim felt puzzled.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0202"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER II
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+JIM'S GUESTS
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+After breakfast next morning Jim and his friends went out on the
+terrace.  The tide was full and the woods across the bay looked like
+islands.  A line of white surf marked the edge of the marsh, which ran
+back, broken by winding creeks, to the foot of the rising ground.
+Sometimes a gleam of sunshine touched the lonely flats and they flashed
+into luminous green, silver, and yellow.  Then the color faded and the
+light moving on forced up for a few moments the rugged blue hills
+against their misty background.  The landscape had not the sharp
+distinctness common in Canada; it was dim and marked by an elusive
+charm.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim began to think about Evelyn.  She was somehow like the country.
+Her charm was strong but not obtrusive.  One could not, so to speak,
+realize Evelyn at a glance; she was marked by subtle refinements and
+delicacies that one rather felt than saw.  Her English reserve was
+fascinating, because it hinted at the reward one might get if one could
+break it down.  Carrie, too, was thinking about Evelyn, Mrs. Winter was
+sewing, and Jake occupied himself by cleaning an old pipe.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's some time since we broke camp on the telegraph line," Carrie
+remarked.  "Do you find having nothing to do comes easy, Jim?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't expect to be idle long.  It's prudent to consider before you
+begin to move."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie felt that Jim was getting English.  He had, of course, been to
+McGill, but since they reached the Old Country he was dropping his
+Western colloquialisms.  She thought it significant that he did so
+unconsciously.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps I'd better tell you how things are, so far as I understand
+them," he went on.  "To begin with, running a house like Langrigg is
+expensive, and I doubt if I am rich enough to loaf in proper style."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If you want to loaf in proper style, you must be born and raised for
+the job," Jake observed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's true, to some extent," Jim agreed.  "I was brought up to work
+and have got the habit.  Well, my farm rents amount to something, but
+when you have paid taxes and repaired the homesteads they don't leave
+very much.  It seems there are people in England willing to pay for
+owning land; but that plan's not sound."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then, you have another?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's not worked out.  The leases of two good farms soon fall in and I
+may manage them myself.  Then I own the marsh, which feeds some sheep
+and cattle in summer.  The soil's good alluvial, like the gumbo on the
+Manitoba plains, and would grow heavy crops if one could keep out the
+water.  Well, we have seen small homesteaders draining Canadian
+muskegs, a long haul from a railroad, while we have a good market for
+all farming truck in two hours' ride.  The proposition, however, needs
+some thought.  It might cost me all I've got."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake's eyes twinkled.  "I reckon that wouldn't stop you if you resolved
+to dyke the marsh.  You didn't get much money when you got the estate?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did not.  I understand Joseph Dearham was not rich, and when he
+found his health was breaking down he gave some money to his relations.
+People here try to get out of the inheritance duties like that;
+besides, he had not meant to give my father much.  However, I have a
+rich relation, from whom I want nothing, but whom the others think I
+ought to satisfy."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Bernard Dearham?  Dick Halliday talked about him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim nodded.  "Bernard is my grandfather Joseph's brother.  Joseph was
+satisfied to live quietly at Langrigg like a small country gentleman;
+Bernard got rich by opening some iron mines not far off.  Joseph
+married twice, and Mrs. Halliday and Mordaunt's mother were his second
+wife's daughters.  She was a widow with two children when she married
+Joseph.  So you see, Mrs. Halliday is not my aunt."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then, Evelyn Halliday is not your cousin," Carrie remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose she's not," said Jim.  "Anyhow, since I'm a Dearham, a
+descendant in the male line, it seems I've a stronger claim on Bernard
+than the others.  I don't mean to urge the claim.  He didn't give me
+Langrigg, he left my father alone, and if I keep the place, I'm going
+to run it as I like."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you mean to keep Langrigg?" Carrie asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim looked thoughtful.  "I imagine so; I don't know yet.  There are
+drawbacks, but something pulls.  I'll wait a bit before I decide."  He
+got up and beckoned Jake.  "Let's go and see the farms."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They went off and Carrie turned to Mrs. Winter.  "He'll stay; we'll
+lose him soon.  I think I knew we would lose him when you found the
+advertisement&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She paused and Mrs. Winter remembered that when she had shown the girl
+the old newspaper Carrie had hesitated for a moment or two.  She,
+however, said nothing and Carrie resumed:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well, I wanted to see the Old Country and you needed a rest.  The life
+they live here is fuller than ours; it's something to enjoy it for a
+time, but we won't stay long, although Jim is kind."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Winter gave her a keen glance, but Carrie's face was calm.  Then
+she picked up her sewing and Carrie studied the old house.  Langrigg
+meant much to Jim and she thought would presently mean more.  She
+vaguely understood his feelings and tried to sympathize, although the
+effort cost her something.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the meantime, Jim went to see his tenants.  He dined with one at
+noon in an old farm kitchen and afterwards occupied himself by
+examining horses, buildings, and agricultural machines.  On the whole,
+he puzzled the small farmers, to whom a landlord of his type was new,
+although they liked his frankness and answered his direct questions,
+since it was obvious that this was a man who knew how things were done.
+Some of the tenants who had known his grandfather talked about Jim
+afterwards and agreed that he had not much in common with the country
+gentleman; he was like Bernard Dearham, who opened the famous iron
+mines.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When they returned in the afternoon across the small turnip and stubble
+fields, Jim said to Jake, "I've seen enough of the plow land.  Let's go
+across the marsh."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake agreed, and by and by Jim, leaning against a gate, indicated the
+long rows of hedges that ran down the slope and melted into an
+indistinct mass on the level plain.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There's nothing much to be done here in the meantime.  These folks are
+wasting labor and money plowing their little fields, but I reckon
+they're slow and stubborn.  It wouldn't pay to hustle them yet."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," said Jake, with a twinkle.  "I expect it hurts to feel you must
+keep your hands off, but you seem to know when you've got to allow for
+the idiosyncrasies of human nature.  It's harder to use men properly
+than horses and machines."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Some day, perhaps, I'll grub out these hedges and make room for the
+tractors to rip a furrow right across the farms.  I've no use for
+wasting land on weeds and thorns."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You think so now," Jake rejoined.  "You haven't been here very long
+and there's something insidious about the country; its old-time customs
+get hold of one.  Then I don't know if the tractor's picturesque, and
+cutting down trees and hedges might spoil the landscape.  It wouldn't
+be quite so English after you had done."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim looked at him rather hard.  "Sometimes you're pretty smart.
+Anyhow, I can't spoil the marsh by covering it with good grass and
+corn, and if the thing could be done economically, it ought to pay."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's possible.  Are you keen about the profit?  Or do you want a new
+big job?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm not going to philosophize; that's your proper line," Jim answered
+with a laugh.  "Let's see if the creeks could be dyked."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They went down the hill and plunged into a belt of tall dry grass,
+crossed a broad tract of smooth green turf, dotted by thrift and silver
+weed, and pushed on to the lower flats where the sea-lavender and
+samphire grew.  Then they skirted miry creeks that gradually filled
+with weeds as they neared dry ground, and went home to Langrigg by the
+causeway road.  Jim was muddy, but happy; although he told himself he
+had not decided yet, half-formed plans floated through his brain.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A day or two afterwards, Dick Halliday and Mordaunt came over to
+Langrigg and were shown into the hall.  Jim was not there, but his pipe
+and some books lay about and the others sat down.  Presently Dick
+picked up a book and saw it was the old French romance from which
+Mordaunt had read a passage at the telegraph shack.  He opened it
+carelessly and then started when he saw, <I>Franklin Dearham</I>, written in
+faded ink, on the first blank page.  He looked across at Mordaunt and
+hesitated, with a vague suspicion in his mind.  It was possible the
+latter had seen the writing when he opened the book at the shack, and
+if he had&mdash;&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You look as if you have found something interesting," Mordaunt
+remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is interesting," said Dick, and felt relieved when he heard a step
+in the passage.  He did not think Mordaunt, sitting some distance off,
+knew the book.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Next moment Jim came in and stated that he was alone.  Mordaunt lighted
+a cigarette Jim gave him and asked if his friends were staying long.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know," said Jim.  "We have made no plans yet, but I imagine I
+shall keep Langrigg."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you mean you had thought about selling the estate?" Mordaunt asked,
+rather sharply.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did think about it, but don't know if I went much farther.  The
+matter's complicated."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Langrigg is rather an expensive house to manage and the farm rents are
+low," Mordaunt answered in a thoughtful voice.  "Have you any money?
+Perhaps I'm blunt, but I'm a relative."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have some.  Not enough to help me do all I want."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You mean to do something, then?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If I stay, I'm going to put up the farm rents, though I mean to help
+my tenants pay.  I'm going to enlarge the small fields, alter
+boundaries, and fix things so the land can be worked on the economical
+Canadian plan.  The drawback is it may cost me much and I must wait for
+the return."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick laughed.  "There are other drawbacks and it may cost you more than
+you know.  In this country you can't do what you like, and we resent
+experiments.  If you meddle with old-fashioned customs, you'll raise
+the neighborhood against you.  In a sense, the trees and hedgerows
+you'd cut down are your neighbors."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I believe they're mine," Jim rejoined dryly.  "However, I don't
+suppose I'd bother anybody if I dyked and drained the marsh."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Drain the marsh!"  Mordaunt exclaimed.  "That's frankly ridiculous!
+It's a favorite haunt of the Lag geese and, in a dry autumn, I don't
+know a better spot for snipe."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There you are, you see!" Dick interposed, with a twinkle.  "Perhaps
+you don't understand that it's a serious matter to disturb a few
+sportsmen."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Looks as if I might disturb a number of people before I'm through,"
+Jim replied.  "Anyhow, I haven't made my calculations yet and don't
+know if my money will go round."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wonder whether you understand that you are Bernard Dearham's nearest
+relation and his approval is important?" Mordaunt remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim pondered.  He liked Dick and thought he trusted him, but he was not
+certain if he trusted Mordaunt.  On the whole, he thought the fellow
+meant to give him good advice, but he was a type Jim did not know much
+about.  Although he was highly cultivated, Jim thought he had
+conservative prejudices and an exaggerated pride.  The pride was, of
+course, not obtrusive, but it was there.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The lawyers hinted something like that and Mrs. Halliday made it
+plainer," he answered cautiously.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt saw he would say nothing more and they were silent for a few
+moments until Dick got up and said he would ask the gardener for some
+plants the man had promised his mother.  He wanted the plants, but he
+wanted to think, for he was curious about the French romance.  If Lance
+had seen Franklin Dearham's name, he must have known Jim was his son,
+and had meant to let him stay in Canada.  Lance's manner when they
+talked about Jim at the shack to some extent justified the supposition.
+Moreover, while Lance had gone to Langrigg with the object of giving
+Jim good advice there was something curious about his tone.  He was
+urbane, but one noted a hint of superiority, or perhaps patronage, that
+the other might resent.  All the same, it was not Dick's business and
+he went to look for the gardener.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the meantime, Mordaunt said to Jim: "You suggested that your
+Canadian friends might make a long visit."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did; I'd like them to stay for good."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you think it's prudent?" Mordaunt asked quietly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim looked hard at him, with a touch of haughty surprise, and Mordaunt
+resumed in a conciliatory voice: "Perhaps I'm getting on dangerous
+ground, but I mean well and if you don't see&mdash;&mdash;.  To begin with, have
+you thought about marrying Miss Winter?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have not.  I'm certain she has not thought about marrying me!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No doubt, you know," Mordaunt agreed with some dryness.  "For all
+that, my inquiry was perhaps justified.  The girl is unformed, but
+she's beautiful and I think she's clever."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You can leave Miss Winter out.  Now I suppose you have cleared the
+ground and there's something else?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt made a deprecatory gesture.  "I'll be frank, because I don't
+want you to make mistakes.  If you are going to stay at Langrigg, you
+owe something to the family and yourself.  A country gentleman has
+social duties and much depends on what your neighbors think about you
+at first.  Very well.  Your Canadian friends wear the stamp of the rank
+to which they belong; it was hardly necessary for Mrs. Winter to state
+that she had kept a small store.  These are not the kind of people your
+neighbors would like to receive.  Then Bernard Dearham's family pride
+is known: I imagine he largely persuaded your grandfather to alter his
+will."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim got up and his face was quietly stern.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Langrigg is mine; my grandfather gave it to me without my asking for
+the gift," he said.  "I owe my relations nothing and don't acknowledge
+Bernard Dearham's rule.  None of you bothered about my father; you were
+glad to leave him and me alone.  I had no claim on my Canadian friends
+and they had nothing to gain; but they nursed me when I was ill and my
+partner stood by me in the blizzards and cold of the North.  Now you
+ask me to turn them down, because they're not the people neighbors I
+don't know would like to meet!  Do you think I will agree?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt shrugged and forced a smile.  "Oh, well, in a sense I suppose
+your attitude is correct.  There is obviously nothing more to be said."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick came in soon afterwards and Mordaunt went off with him, but he had
+given Jim a jar and the latter walked about the terrace until Mrs.
+Winter and the others returned from a drive.  Carrie gave Jim a quick
+glance as she advanced.  She knew his moods and saw he was disturbed.
+The drive had brought the color to her skin; she looked very fresh and
+her step was light.  Jim felt savage as he remembered Mordaunt's
+patronizing remark.  Carrie <I>was</I> beautiful.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Has something been bothering you, Jim?" she asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is not important," he replied.  "If you own land in this country,
+it seems you must submit to a number of ridiculous rules and folks
+won't leave you alone.  However, did you like the town?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We were charmed.  It's a quaint old place and the country round is so
+green and quiet.  Everything's smooth and well-kept; the trees look as
+if somebody had taught them how they ought to grow.  You feel as if all
+the rough work had been done long since and folks have only to take
+care of things.  I like it all."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then, you will be satisfied to stay at Langrigg?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"For a time.  If you want us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'd be happy if you'd stay for good!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie said nothing for a moment and then smiled.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's impossible, though you're very nice.  We'll make the most of
+our holiday; but it's only a holiday."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She turned, rather quickly, and joined Mrs. Winter, who was going into
+the house.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0203"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER III
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+MORDAUNT PONDERS
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+It was raining and Mordaunt stood by an open window in Mrs. Halliday's
+drawing-room at Whitelees.  A smell of stocks came in, and across the
+lawn, rows of dahlias, phlox, and autumn lilies made a belt of glowing
+color against a dark yew hedge.  The hedge was neatly clipped and the
+turf was very smooth.  By and by Mordaunt turned and glanced about the
+room, which he knew well.  Whitelees was modern, and although Mrs.
+Halliday sometimes grumbled about her poverty, its furniture and
+decoration indicated extravagance.  Mordaunt, however, thought there
+was too much ornament and doubted if some of the pottery was genuine.
+The room was pretty, but he was a connoisseur and was not satisfied
+with prettiness.  He liked Langrigg better than Whitelees.  Langrigg
+was austere and dignified.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt was not at all austere, although he was not effeminate or
+luxurious.  He was a good sportsman, something of an artist, and a
+traveler.  He had talent, and might perhaps have made his mark, if he
+had not had just enough money to meet his needs and exaggerated dislike
+for competitive struggle.  It had been a bitter disappointment that he
+had inherited very little of Joseph Dearham's property, although none
+of his relations suspected this, for Mordaunt knew how to hide his
+feelings.  He was stubbornly conservative and held tenaciously the
+traditions of his class.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Presently Mrs. Halliday came in.  Mordaunt, who knew his aunt well,
+thought she harmonized with her room.  She was a handsome, gracious
+woman, but one felt now and then that her charm was forced and
+artificial.  After telling Mordaunt to sit down, she remarked:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I understand you went to Langrigg."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did go," said Mordaunt.  "My visit was not a success."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps it's curious, but Evelyn's judgment was better than ours.  She
+doubted if you would succeed."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I believe she said you ought to go, because the thing needed a lighter
+touch than mine."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Halliday smiled.  "Your touch is not often clumsy, Lance.  But
+what line did Jim take?  I suppose we must call him Jim."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A significant concession, but he certainly shows the Dearham vein!  He
+used some warmth and indulged a little raw sentiment.  Expediency
+doesn't count for much with him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You mean his Canadian friends are going to remain?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Mordaunt.  "As long as they like!  I imagine they will stay
+some time."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Halliday waited for a moment.  She thought Lance understood there
+was something else she wanted to know, but he was silent and she
+remarked:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"After all, they might be left in the background.  Besides, the girl's
+mother is there."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is hard to keep a Canadian in the background and Jim won't try.
+Still he made an interesting statement; he has not thought about
+marrying the daughter!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is some relief.  Well, something depends on Bernard."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt agreed.  Much depended on Bernard.  The old man was rich and
+Mordaunt had much less money than he would like; indeed he had long
+reckoned on an improvement in his fortune when Bernard died.  His
+claim, however, was not as strong as Jim's, and Bernard was eccentric.
+But Mrs. Halliday resumed:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Is Jim able to keep up Langrigg properly?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He was not remarkably frank about this.  He stated he might not be
+able to do all he would like."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well, I have no doubt you gave him good advice, and your trying to
+persuade him was generous."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt thought he had been generous, because if he had persuaded Jim
+to rule in a way Bernard approved and the latter made him his heir, all
+that Jim got would be taken from the others.  To some extent, he had
+been sincere, but he could not claim that he had done his best.  A
+feeling of antagonism had sprung up and perhaps he had let this
+influence him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's unfortunate Jim was obstinate," Mrs. Halliday went on.  "His
+keeping these people is awkward, but after all it will cost him most,
+and he is one of us&mdash;&mdash;."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jim has Langrigg," said Mordaunt, smiling.  "Our duty is to
+acknowledge and, if needful, indulge him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't like you when you're ironical," Mrs. Halliday rejoined, and
+looking up saw that Evelyn had come in.  She wondered how long the girl
+had been there.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You don't look as if you were satisfied with your visit to Langrigg,
+Lance," Evelyn said as she sat down.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm resigned."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's different from being satisfied.  But you were plucky.  The
+matter must have needed tactful management; Miss Winter is attractive."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jim is not going to marry her, if that is what you mean; he stated he
+had not thought about it," Mordaunt said bluntly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn laughed.  "Then, it's probably true.  If he had meant to marry
+Miss Winter, he would have said so, even if he thought you disapproved.
+Jim is very much of a Dearham."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Is this an advantage or a drawback?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know," said Evelyn.  "It marks the difference between him and
+us.  We're fastidious and complex; the Dearhams are simple and firm."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A cruder type?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not altogether.  Strength and simplicity are dignified.  You're an
+artist and know the value of bold, austere line."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My notion is, Jim is not as simple as he looks."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's rather cheap," Evelyn remarked.  "I meant the simplicity of the
+old Greeks."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Theirs was cultivated; Jim's is not."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There are things one does better by instinct than study," said Evelyn,
+smiling.  "But I'm getting bored.  Let's talk about something else."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Soon afterwards, Mordaunt drove back to Dryholm, where Bernard had
+built his ambitious house.  Mordaunt had no occupation and generally
+stopped at Dryholm.  There was plenty of room and although the old man
+was often ironical Mordaunt imagined he liked to have him about.  The
+rain had stopped, the wet road was smooth, and as the car ran past the
+yellow stubble fields he gave himself to thought.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was plain that Mrs. Halliday meant to make a friend of Jim and her
+object was not hard to see since Langrigg gave its owner some
+importance.  Evelyn was curious about Jim; Mordaunt did not know if he
+attracted her, but the possibility of ruling at Langrigg had no doubt
+some charm.  She would toy with the idea.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt was not in love with Evelyn, but they agreed in many ways, and
+he had for some time weighed the advantages his marrying her would
+bring.  She was his cousin, but cousins did marry now and then, and
+since the marriage would consolidate family interests, he imagined
+their relations would approve.  In fact, he had imagined Mrs. Halliday
+knew his views and he could count on her support.  Now, however, he
+suspected she had gone over to Jim.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For all that, Mordaunt's dissatisfaction was not quite selfish.  Jim
+was something of a savage and meant to manage the estate on business
+lines.  The fellow was going to farm and make his farming pay.  If he
+had been a sportsman and made experiments in agriculture when he had
+nothing else to do, it would have been different; but this was not
+Jim's plan.  The strange thing was, Jim's notion of dyking the marsh
+annoyed him more than all; the annoyance was perhaps illogical, but he
+could not conquer it.  Mordaunt was a naturalist and a wildfowler, and
+did not think there was in England such a haunt of the Lag and black
+geese as Langrigg marsh.  Now Jim, with rude utilitarian ideas, was
+going to drive the geese away.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The car lurched on the grass by the roadside as it took a corner and
+Mordaunt, roused by the jolt, concentrated on his driving.  When he
+reached Dryholm he crossed the lawn and stopped by a wheeled chair, in
+which Bernard Dearham sat with his foot propped up.  The old man was
+tall and strongly made, but had got thin, and his pinched face was
+marked by deep lines.  He had worked with consuming energy and
+sometimes indulged, for Bernard had nothing of the fastidiousness that
+marked his relatives.  Now his strength was broken and he was bothered
+by gout.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He dismissed the man who had pushed the chair and gave Mordaunt a quick
+glance.  Bernard's brows were white, but his eyes were keen.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Take me to the bench out of the wind," he said, and looked down when
+Mordaunt began to move the chair.  "It will give Creighton a job to
+roll out these marks.  The fellow grows fat and lazy and I hate the
+crunching gravel."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt thought the remark was characteristic.  The wheel-tracks could
+hardly be seen on the fine turf, but Bernard disliked untidiness.  When
+they reached the sheltered bench and Mordaunt sat down Bernard looked
+up and asked: "Where have you been?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I was at Whitelees."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I expect you had something to talk about just now.  You and Janet
+Halliday understand each other well.  I don't know if you are
+confidants or accomplices."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps we have made a few innocent plots," Mordaunt admitted with a
+smile.  "However, I imagine it has generally been for the advantage of
+the family."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard nodded.  "Well, I suppose your objects are sometimes good, as
+far as you see, though I doubt if you always see far enough.  But I
+wondered whether you had gone to Langrigg.  It's possible Janet has
+made some plot for Jim's advantage."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I hardly imagine him a promising subject for experiments."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You mean he's not compliant?  What else?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I haven't known him very long and would sooner reserve my judgment."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard gave him an ironical smile.  "You don't want to prejudice me
+against him?  Well, you're always tactful and it's comforting to feel
+you're sometimes just.  However, I want to form an opinion.  Write and
+ask him to come."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He has friends at Langrigg.  Perhaps you know?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I do know.  Ask his friends.  You may state that I'm an old man and am
+unable to go to him.  I can leave you to strike the right note; you
+have some talent for that kind of thing."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt said he would write.  He was used to Bernard's bitter humor
+and on the whole thought it advisable that he should see Jim's friends.
+It was possible he would get a jar, but one could not tell.  The old
+man was capricious and hard to understand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Didn't Evelyn join the party that went to welcome Jim?" Bernard
+resumed.  "Rather a happy thought of Janet's!  Do you know how he
+impressed Evelyn?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I do not.  She did not give me her confidence," said Mordaunt, as
+shortly as he durst.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard's eyes twinkled.  "Was it necessary?  With your talent, one
+ought not to find it difficult to read a girl's mind."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I haven't always found it easy," Mordaunt rejoined.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well, I suppose Evelyn is really a woman now; when one gets old one
+forgets that the young grow up," Bernard remarked.  "Besides, she has
+an admirable model in Janet.  But take me in; I soon get cramped in
+this confounded chair."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt set off and on his way to the house carefully skirted a spot
+where a tree had been uprooted and the turf relaid.  To his surprise
+Bernard made an impatient sign.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Go straight across!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They crossed the freshly-sodded belt and when Mordaunt stopped on the
+terrace Bernard said: "It will not be your job to roll out our tracks."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I thought it would bother you if I went across," Mordaunt replied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard gave him a sour smile.  "I well know my relations' views about
+my character and in the main they're just; but they sometimes go wrong
+when they imagine their rules are mine.  Probably you have not felt it
+would be a relief to plow through things, without bothering about the
+marks you left."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," said Mordaunt, "I don't think I have felt this."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You're  a logical fellow," Bernard rejoined.  "Well, for the most
+part, I have been a slave to my notions of efficiency and order since I
+was a boy; but at times other feelings rebelled.  Then I, so to speak,
+ran loose and broke things, like the rest of mankind.  Moreover, I'm
+not repentant when I look back on the short-lived outbreaks.  They gave
+me some satisfaction; after all, the Dearham blood is what Canadian Jim
+would probably call red.  I don't know what color yours is, unless you
+like to think it blue."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt said nothing.  Bernard was often bitter, particularly when he
+had gout.  When a servant came to help the old man in, Mordaunt went to
+the library where he wrote a note to Jim.  He paused once or twice
+during its composition.  Now he had time to ponder, he began to doubt
+if it was advisable to let Jim visit Dryholm and imagined he could so
+turn a polished phrase that it would keep him away.  Mordaunt was
+clever at delicate implication and Jim's blood was red.  Perhaps,
+however, it was not prudent to use his talent, since Bernard might want
+to see the note.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0204"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER IV
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+AN OLD MAN'S CAPRICE
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Jim went to Dryholm, although when he opened Mordaunt's note he meant
+to refuse.  A line added in a shaky hand persuaded him, for Bernard had
+written, "I am lame and cannot come to you."  Besides, the invitation
+was extended to his party and Jim wanted Bernard to see the Winters.
+They were his friends and he rather hoped Mrs. Winter would talk about
+the store.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The evening was calm and the sun setting when the car rolled past a
+lodge half hidden by tall evergreens.  A screen of ironwork cut in fine
+black tracery against the light, and Jake remarked: "That's a noble
+gate."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hand-forged in Belgium, I believe," Jim replied, and they rolled on
+down an avenue where sunshine and shadow checkered the smooth grass.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The avenue had been planted before the new house at Dryholm was built.
+The spreading oaks were darkly green, but the beeches had begun to turn
+and their pale trunks glimmered among splashes of orange and red.  On
+the hillside above the hollow, the birches hung sprays of shining
+yellow against a background of somber firs.  All was very quiet and
+Carrie sensed a calm she had not remarked in the forests of Canada.
+There one heard the Chinook in the pine-tops and the rapids brawl.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They sped past a tarn where swans floated among the colored reflections
+of ancient trees, and then Dryholm broke upon their view across its
+wide lawn.  For a moment, Carrie was vaguely disturbed.  She had seen
+Montreal and London, but the buildings there were crowded with
+occupants and this was one man's home.  Jim, whose clothes she had
+mended, belonged to people who built such houses.  She glanced at him,
+but his face was inscrutable until he seemed to feel her gaze and gave
+her a smile.  Carrie felt braced.  In some ways, Jim had got strangely
+English, but he was, for all that, the Jim she knew; and she studied
+the house with a pleasant thrill, as if she were embarking on a new
+adventure.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dryholm was very large and modern, but it had dignity and glimmered in
+the sunset between shadowy woods.  The stone was creamy white, with
+touches of soft pink and gray.  Cornices and pillars broke the long,
+straight front, and there were towers at the ends.  Carrie knew nothing
+about architecture, but she got a hint of strength and solidity.
+Somehow, she felt relieved; Mordaunt and Mrs. Halliday would not have
+built such a house.  On the whole, she distrusted them, but it looked
+as if the head of the family was different.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's very fine, Jim," she said.  "There's something of Langrigg about
+it; something you don't feel at Whitelees.  The stone is curious."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I believe it was brought from a distance, but, in a sense, Bernard
+Dearham built Dryholm of iron."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Somehow it looks like that," Carrie remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The car stopped in front of a plain arch and Bernard received the party
+in the hall, where they found Mrs. Halliday, Evelyn, Mordaunt, and some
+others.  Bernard gave Jim his hand and for a minute or two kept Mrs.
+Winter and Carrie by him.  When they went to dinner Mrs. Winter was put
+next to Bernard, and Carrie, sitting near, looked about with frank
+curiosity.  The room was lofty and spacious.  She had not seen such a
+room except when she dined at a big Montreal hotel, but it had not the
+lavish decoration she had noted there.  At Dryholm, one got a sense of
+space and calm; nothing glittered and forced itself on one's glance.
+Carrie thought it was somehow like a church, but rather the big quiet
+cathedral than the ornate Notre Dame.  She had only seen big churches
+in Montreal.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The west window commanded distant hills that rose, colored dark-blue,
+against the yellow sky.  Shining water touched their feet and one could
+hear the sea.  It was getting dark, however, and soon electric lights
+began to glow on the paneled ceiling and along the deep cornice.  The
+lamps were placed among the moldings and one scarcely noticed them
+until the soft light they threw on the table got stronger.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then Carrie remarked that Mrs. Winter was talking, and Bernard laughed.
+She had wondered whether she ought to give her mother a hint, and might
+have done so, for Jim's sake, although it would have hurt her pride;
+but she was glad she had not.  Bernard Dearham did not smile politely,
+as Mrs. Mordaunt smiled; he laughed because he was amused.  Carrie did
+not know much about English people, but the dinner was obviously a
+formal acknowledgment of the new owner of Langrigg; and she studied her
+host.  She had at first remarked a puzzling likeness to somebody she
+knew, and now she saw it was Jim.  The likeness was rather in Bernard's
+voice and manner than his face, although she found it there.  Then he
+looked up and asked:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you like Dryholm?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, yes," said Carrie.  "Almost as much as I like Langrigg."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard smiled and nodded.  "Langrigg has a touch that only time can
+give.  A house matures slowly."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I think that is so," Carrie agreed.  "One feels it in England.  A
+house matures by being used; the people who live there give it a stamp,
+and perhaps when they go they leave an influence.  It's different in
+Canada.  When our houses get out of date, we pull them down."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard looked at her rather keenly.  He was a shrewd judge of men and
+women and saw that she could think.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are something of a sentimentalist; I don't know if you are right
+or not.  When I built Dryholm we tried to get the feeling Langrigg
+gives one, as far as it could be expressed by line.  But do you like
+Whitelees?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Whitelees is pretty," Carrie replied with caution.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard's eyes twinkled.  "Very pretty.  Something new, in fact, after
+Canada?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Carrie, who saw he wanted her to talk.  She knew he was
+studying her, but he was not antagonistic like Mordaunt and Mrs.
+Halliday.  "This is why I'd sooner have Langrigg, because I don't find
+Langrigg new in the way you mean," she resumed.  "One gets the feeling
+you talk about in Canada; not in our houses but in the woods.  They're
+different from the woods you have planted and trimmed.  The big black
+pines grow as they want; sometimes they're charred by fire and smashed
+by gales.  When it's quiet you hear the rivers and now and then a
+snowslide rolling down the hills."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Rugged and stern?  Well, I imagine the men who built Langrigg long
+since were rather like your pioneers."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie thought Bernard had something of the spirit of the pioneers;
+this was why he was like Jim.  She felt his strength and tenacity, but
+he did not daunt her.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why did you make Dryholm so big?" she asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You don't think an old man needs so large a house?" he said.  "Well, I
+built for others whom I thought might come after me, but that is done
+with."  He paused and looked down the table at Mordaunt and Evelyn; and
+then Carrie imagined his eyes rested on Jim, as he added: "Sometimes I
+am lonely."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He began to talk to Mrs. Winter, who presently remarked: "Oh, yes, I
+like it in England.  I knew it would be fierce in the jolting cars and
+on the steamer, but Jim insisted, and now I'm glad I let him persuade
+me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then Jim insisted on your coming?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why, yes.  I meant to stay at home."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Bernard, "I think Jim took the proper line."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Anyhow, I needed a holiday," Mrs. Winter resumed.  "It's quiet and
+calm at Langrigg and I've worked hard.  You folks don't get busy all
+the time, like us in Canada."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard laughed.  "There are a large number of busy people in this
+country, and for a long time I, myself, worked rather hard."  He paused
+and looked down the table with ironical humor.  "I was thought
+eccentric and my relations did not altogether forgive me until I got my
+reward.  All approved then."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt's face was inscrutable, but Mrs. Halliday smiled and Evelyn
+looked at Jim with faint amusement.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I imagine he meant mother; they sometimes clash," she said.  "You
+don't know Bernard yet.  When you do, you will try to make allowances,
+like the rest of us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In the meantime, it does not seem needful.  He is kind&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Remarkably kind," Evelyn agreed.  "In fact, his kindness is puzzling.
+How far would you go to keep his favor?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It would depend," said Jim.  "Upon how much I liked him, for one
+thing.  Of course, I would go no distance if he tried to drive."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn smiled.  "Well, I suppose you can take a bold line.  If one has
+pluck, it sometimes pays.  At all events, it's flattering to feel one
+can be oneself.  No doubt, you all develop your individuality in
+Canada."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We are rather an independent, obstinate lot," Jim owned.  "I expect
+this comes from living in a new country.  When you leave the cities,
+you have nobody to fall back on.  You have got to make good by your own
+powers and trust yourself."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Evelyn, "one would like to trust oneself!  To follow one's
+bent, or perhaps, one's heart, and not bother about the consequences."
+She was silent a moment and then resumed with a soft laugh: "But unless
+one is very brave, it's not often possible; there are so many rules."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim felt sympathetic.  She had laughed, but he thought the laugh hid
+some feeling.  She was generous and strangely refined; Mrs. Halliday
+was conventional and calculating, and the girl rebelled.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I expect our host broke a number of the rules," he remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He did and he paid.  Bernard was not rich and when he opened the
+Brunstock mines nobody would help him.  When he sold his farms to buy
+pumps and engines there was a quarrel with your grandfather and perhaps
+Bernard has some grounds for bitterness.  I don't know if it's strange,
+but while Joseph Dearham was a plain country gentleman, Bernard, after
+getting rich in business, wears the stamp of the old school."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim agreed.  Bernard was obviously not fastidious, like his relatives,
+but he had the grand manner.  This was not altogether what Jim meant,
+but perhaps it got nearest.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I think it's because he's fearless&mdash;one sees that," he said.
+"Shabbiness and awkwardness come when one's afraid."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's possible," Evelyn answered, with a curious smile.  "One hates to
+be shabby but sometimes one is forced.  Pluck costs much."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then Mrs. Halliday got up, and some of the party went to the
+drawing-room and some to the terrace.  Jim stayed in the hall and mused
+while he smoked a cigarette.  Evelyn had stirred his imagination by a
+hint that she was dissatisfied and struggled for free development.
+Well, he had seen Whitelees and was getting to know Mrs. Halliday.  To
+some extent, he liked her, but he could understand the girl's
+rebellion.  However, it was strange she had given him a hint, unless,
+of course, she had done so unconsciously.  When the cigarette was
+finished he went to the terrace.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The evening was warm and a faint glow lingered in the west.  All was
+very quiet except when a herd of cattle moved about a pasture across
+the lawn.  The party had broken up into small groups and Jim joined
+Evelyn.  Bernard got up stiffly when Carrie came near his bench.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Tell me about wild Canada.  I understand you were in the woods," he
+said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Carrie, sitting down.  "I went North with Jim and my
+brother and the boys, when the ice broke up."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The boys?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The rock-cutters and choppers," Carrie explained.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I see," said Bernard.  "Was there no other woman?  What did you do?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The nearest woman was a hundred miles off.  I cooked and looked after
+the stores.  Sometimes I mended the clothes."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And how were the others occupied?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie hesitated.  Although Bernard had asked her to tell him about
+Canada, she imagined he wanted to hear about Jim, but after a few
+moments she began to relate the story of their cutting the telegraph
+line.  She could not have told it to Mrs. Halliday, but she felt
+Bernard would understand, and he helped her by tactful questions.  She
+wanted him to know what kind of man Jim was and she made something of
+an epic of the simple tale; man's struggle against Nature and his
+victory.  Indeed, for Bernard was very shrewd, she told him more than
+she thought.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But, when you were nearly beaten, you could have sold the copper vein
+you talked about and used the money," he remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In a way, we couldn't sell.  Baumstein was putting the screw to us; he
+meant to buy for very much less than the claim was worth.  We would
+have starved before we let him, and for a time we hadn't as much food
+as we liked."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"After all, you might have been beaten but for the contractor.  Why did
+he help?  No doubt, he knew it was a rash speculation."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well," said Carrie, "I think he liked Jim.  But we wouldn't have
+been beaten.  We'd have made good somehow."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Still it looks as if the contractor was a useful friend.  Did he stop
+at Vancouver?  Does he write to you?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie hesitated, because she imagined she saw where Bernard's
+questions led.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We won't forget him, but he doesn't write and I don't know where he
+is," she said; and added with a touch of dignity: "I don't see what
+this has to do with the rest."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps it has nothing to do with it," Bernard replied.  "Thank you
+for telling me a rather moving tale."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He let her go and when she passed a bench where Mrs. Halliday and
+Mordaunt sat the former looked at her companion.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose you have remarked that Bernard has been unusually gracious
+to the girl and her mother.  Is it his notion of a host's duty?  Or is
+it something else?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I imagine it's something else," Mordaunt replied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But what?  Does he want to annoy us?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's possible he thought he might do so.  Are you annoyed?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am certainly surprised."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well," said Mordaunt; "perhaps he had another object.  I don't
+know.  He's rather inscrutable."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Halliday got up.  "I thought we could be frank, Lance.  After all,
+our habit is to take Bernard's cleverness for granted.  He has a bitter
+humor and the thing may only be an old man's caprice."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She went off and when soon afterwards the party began to break up
+Bernard gave Jim a cigar in the hall.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I note that you and your young relations are already friends," he
+said.  "Dick's a fine lad; he's generous and honest, although I doubt
+if he will go far.  Evelyn, of course, has no rival in this
+neighborhood."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That hardly needs stating," Jim replied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard twinkled and his glance rested on a beautiful painted vase.
+"Your taste is artistic; it looks as if you had an eye for color and
+line.  In a sense, Evelyn is like this ornament.  She's made of choice
+stuff; costly but fragile.  Common clay stands rude jars best."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim was puzzled and half-annoyed, because he could not tell what
+Bernard meant; but the latter began to talk about something else.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You were a miner for a time, I think," he presently remarked.  "One
+would expect you to know gold when you see it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's sometimes difficult," said Jim.  "As a rule, gold is pure.  It
+doesn't form chemical alloys, but it's often <I>mixed</I> with other
+substances."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"So that the uninstructed pass it by!" Bernard rejoined.  "One might
+make an epigram of that, but perhaps it would be cheap.  Well, I must
+wish the others good night.  I hope you'll come back soon and bring
+your friends."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim put his party in the car and drove off, feeling strangely
+satisfied.  Evelyn had been gracious and although he did not altogether
+understand Bernard he liked him better than he had thought.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0205"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER V
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+SHANKS' DABBIN
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Shortly after his visit to Dryholm, Jim returned, one morning, from the
+market town, where he had gone to see his lawyer and banker.  When he
+reached Langrigg he found Jake on the terrace.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Doing nothing makes me tired," the latter remarked.  "I know you want
+to keep us, and mother and Carrie like it here, but we can't stay for
+good."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Your mother and sister can stay until they have had enough, and I hope
+that won't be soon; but I know you, Jake, and think you're mean.
+Anyhow, you can get rid of your scruples, because I'm going to give you
+a job.  I've decided to drain the marsh."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Labor's cheap in this country, but I reckon it's some job.  However,
+now there's something doing&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You'll stay and see me out?" Jim suggested.  "Thank you, partner!
+Doesn't seem much use in stating that what is mine is yours, but I wish
+you'd get it.  Another thing; this draining is a business proposition
+and we're partners in that sense, too.  Now we'll tell your mother."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They told Mrs. Winter at lunch, and Jim saw that she hesitated and
+looked at Carrie.  The girl's face was, however, inscrutable, and she
+gave no sign.  Jim felt puzzled.  He thought Mrs. Winter liked Langrigg
+and she had developed since she came.  She was not so thin, she had
+lost her careworn look and gained a certain ease of manner.  At the
+store, she had been highly-strung and restless; now she was happily
+calm.  Moreover, she was making her influence felt and quietly taking
+control.  Jim had noted that things were done better and cost him less.
+He wanted her to stay, because he thought she needed a rest and he
+would miss her if she went.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," she said, doubtfully, "if you are all satisfied&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am satisfied," Jim declared.  "I imagine Jake is, but Carrie hasn't
+told us yet."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie gave him a quick glance and he thought her color was rather high.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are kind," she said.  "Mother looks younger than she has looked
+for long and perhaps we had better accept.  But it is a big undertaking
+to drain the marsh.  When do you begin?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I thought we might begin this afternoon.  However, I don't expect to
+drain it all right off.  There's a pretty dry piece where I mean to
+start.  I reckon I've money enough for the experiment, and can develop
+my plans afterwards when I see what the first lot costs."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie laughed and the hint of strain all had felt vanished.  "You are
+certainly the hustling Jim we knew," she said.  "I feel as if we were
+back in the woods."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After lunch Jim crossed the marsh with Jake and stopped where a ridge
+of higher ground broke off at the edge of a muddy creek.  In the
+corner, partly sheltered by a bank of gorse, stood a small white house
+with a roof of rusty iron where the thatch had been.  The whitewash had
+fallen off in places, exposing a rough, granulated wall, for the house
+was a dabbin, built of puddled clay.  A window was broken and the door
+hung crookedly.  Except for a few rows of withered potatoes, the garden
+was occupied by weeds.  Three or four shellducks, hatched from wild
+birds' eggs, paddled about the creek.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Shanks' dabbin; his father squatted here," Jim remarked.  "I reckon
+I'm going to have trouble with the fellow."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He opened the broken gate and two men came out.  One was bent and moved
+awkwardly, but Jake imagined that rheumatism rather than age had
+stiffened his joints.  He looked at Jim with sullen suspicion.  The
+other was young and strongly made.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I've come to give you an offer, Shanks," Jim began.  "This house is
+not fit to live in; I want you to use the cottage at Bank-end instead.
+There's a good piece of garden and a row of fruit trees."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Dabbin's bad, but it's mine," said Shanks.  "You canna put me oot."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't want to put you out; I want you to go.  Anyhow, the dabbin
+isn't yours.  You have no title to the ground and I understand have
+been warned off, but we won't bother about that.  Bank-end cottage is
+dry and comfortable and you can have it for your lifetime."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I willun't gan."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim turned to the younger man.  "This place is damp and falling down.
+Can't you persuade your father?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm none for trying.  He has t' right o' it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There was silence for a few moments and then Shanks asked:  "What for
+do you want the bit hoose?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I want to pull it down.  The dyke I'm going to build starts here and
+the new cut for the creek must go through your garden."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Shanks looked at his son and remarked with dull surprise: "He's gan t'
+dyke marsh!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The other said nothing and Shanks turned to Jim.  "If you were letten
+dry out marsh, t' wild geese and ducks wad gan."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's possible.  We'll raise good grass and corn instead.  Dairy cows
+are worth more than shellducks."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But you'll niver be letten," Shanks replied doggedly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Shucks!" said Jim.  "The marsh is mine.  Although you have no claim to
+this place, I'll give you Bank-end, the garden, and if needful the
+small field.  You and your son can make pretty good pay there if you
+like to work.  If you'd sooner loaf and shoot, there's the creek and
+sands."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"'T' lag geese follow marsh," Shanks insisted.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim pondered and Jake studied the others.  He had not seen men like
+these in Canada, where some of the Indians owned good farms and those
+who hunted had first-rate guns and canoes.  Shanks and his son were
+ragged and dirty.  They slouched and looked slack and dull, although
+now and then the younger man's eyes gleamed cunningly.  Then Jim said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We won't argue about it.  The dabbin must come down and when you're
+ready to move to Bank-end you can tell my teamster to take your
+household fixings along.  If this doesn't meet the bill, I'll give you
+a hundred pounds and you can go where you like."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Shanks said nothing and Jim went off.  When they were out of hearing
+Jake remarked: "I allow you had to be firm, but I don't like it, Jim.
+Those fellows are what we call bad men."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I imagine we have been up against worse."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's so.  All the same, I wish you had been able to leave them
+alone."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I can't leave them alone, because the dyke must cross that corner of
+the creek.  They're about the meanest whites I've met, and I certainly
+don't want them at Bank-end.  I'd sooner they took the hundred pounds
+and quit."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How do they live?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"By wildfowling and fishing, though I'm told they snare rabbits and
+poach pheasants."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well, I suppose you're giving Shanks his chance of making good.  The
+trouble is, he's forced to take the chance, whether he wants or not.
+Some folks would sooner live like dogs than decent citizens."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you think one ought to indulge their prejudice?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't," Jake admitted.  "It would be bad economy.  For all that I'd
+watch the fellows."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They let it go and talked about Jim's plans as they crossed the short
+grass where the silver-weed spread its carpet of yellow flowers.  They
+trampled through belts of withered thrift and skirted winding creeks
+where tall reeds shook their bent leaves in the searching wind.  Light
+and shadow sped across the marsh, and a flock of plover, shining white
+and black, circled above the sands.  Jake got a sense of space and
+loneliness he had not expected to feel in England, but he smiled as he
+noted Jim's brisk step and the sparkle in his eyes.  He knew his
+comrade and saw he was happy.  The marsh was something to conquer and
+the struggle would absorb his energies.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Next day Jim returned to the market town.  He was occupied for some
+time ordering tools, and driving back in the afternoon, hesitated as he
+got near the cross road that led to Whitelees.  He wanted to see
+Evelyn, and Mrs. Halliday had told him to come when he liked, but it
+was perhaps significant that he wanted also to get on with his draining
+plans.  Seeing Evelyn was a satisfaction he unconsciously reserved for
+his leisure; she was not, like Carrie, to some extent his working
+partner and critic.  He took the road to Whitelees and smiled.  Perhaps
+Carrie was patient when he thought her keen: it was possible that she
+was sometimes bored.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Halliday received him in a room that looked full of ornaments and
+flowers, and gave him tea in beautiful china.  He was half-afraid to
+handle the fragile cup and plate and hesitated about eating his slice
+of dainty cake.  He had been examining machines and thought his clothes
+smelt of oil; somehow he felt big and awkward.  By and by Mrs. Halliday
+asked what had occupied him in town, and he told her about his plans.
+Evelyn looked interested.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If you begin your dyke where you propose, won't Shanks' dabbin be in
+the way?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The dabbin must come down," Jim replied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A question from Mrs. Halliday led to his relating his interview with
+Shanks, and Evelyn said, "Could you not have left the old man his
+cottage?  After all, it is picturesque."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It isn't picturesque when you are near.  Does beauty go with dirt and
+neglect?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps it does not.  I suppose the old Greeks gave us our standard of
+beauty and they attained it by careful cultivation.  For all that, they
+rather conventionalized their type and one likes people with pluck
+enough to strike an independent note.  To some extent, one can
+sympathize with Shanks, because he won't be clean by rule."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim unconsciously looked about the room, and Evelyn laughed.  "Oh," she
+said, "we don't copy the Greeks!  Their model was austere simplicity,
+the bold, flowing line: but we are luxuriously modern.  However, it
+would have been a graceful plan to leave Shanks alone."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It wouldn't have been sound.  You can't neglect a job that ought to be
+put over, because you'd like to be graceful."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You're not Greek," said Evelyn.  "You're Roman."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then, if I get your meaning, Shanks is a barbarian, and the barbarians
+who stood up against Roman order and efficiency were crushed.  It's
+probably lucky for Europe the legions marched over them."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose one must agree.  It looks as if I must try again.  What
+about the king who coveted the vineyard?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"To begin with, the other man owned the vineyard, but the ground Shanks
+occupies is mine.  Then it was a vineyard, while the Shanks homestead
+is a hovel in a weed-choked garden lot.  Anyhow, if you'd like it, I'll
+see if it is possible to leave his place alone."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn was flattered.  She enjoyed the sense of power, but she
+hesitated.  Jim was easy to understand and had gone farther than she
+had thought.  To let him make a concession that might cost him extra
+work would give him a claim, and she did not want him for a creditor
+yet.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, no," she said carelessly, "you mustn't change your plans!  I was
+indulging a romantic sentiment and expect you know what you ought to
+do.  But you were nice when you were willing to think about the thing."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then Mrs. Halliday began to talk and presently Jim got up.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I must go," he said.  "I didn't know I had stayed so long."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn gave him her hand and smiled.  "I expect you will be occupied,
+but if you have time to come back you will find us at home."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Thank you," said Jim.  "I was half-afraid I'd bored you.  I'll
+certainly have time."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He went out and Mrs. Halliday looked at Evelyn thoughtfully.  "On the
+whole, I imagine you were tactful.  I expect you saw Jim's offer to
+leave Shanks alone was not made without an effort."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did see," Evelyn admitted.  "I don't know if it was flattering or
+not."  She paused and resumed with a touch of color: "For all that, I
+did not refuse because I was tactful; one sometimes gets tired of
+acting.  Besides, it would be thrown away on Jim.  He's not
+accomplished and critical like Lance; he's frank and strong."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He is worth cultivating," Mrs. Halliday remarked, picking up a book.
+She knew when to stop and Evelyn now and then developed a rebellious
+mood.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For a week Jim was occupied bringing tools and materials from the town
+and clearing the ground.  Shanks gave no sign that he meant to move,
+until one morning Jim's teamster asked: "Am I to gan t' dabbin and tak'
+a load to Bank-end?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim told him to go and turned to Jake.  "That's fixed!  I've been
+holding back for a day or two and now we can push ahead.  The dabbin
+must come down before we stop to-night."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the evening, Jake and Carrie went with him across the marsh.  The
+workmen had gone but wheelbarrows, spades, and planks lay about, and a
+bank of fresh soil touched the edge of the neglected garden.  Gray
+clouds drifted across the gloomy sky, a cold wind tossed the reeds, and
+the dabbin looked strangely forlorn in the fading light.  Carrie
+shivered as she entered with Jim, who carried a coil of fuse and a tin
+box.  The clay walls were stained by damp and the broken window was
+grimed by dirt.  A few peats occupied a corner, and a pile of ashes, on
+which tea-leaves and scraps of food had been thrown, stretched across
+the floor from the rusty grate.  Jim went to the window and began to
+cut the fuse.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I've got things ready and might have waited until to-morrow but the
+job's been bothering me and I want to put it over," he said.  "Do you
+think I'm harsh?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," said Carrie, firmly.  "Shanks is white trash and lives like a
+hog.  They wouldn't have stood for him a month at our settlements.  But
+how do you think he'll use Bank-end?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim smiled.  "I expect I'll have to burn down the cottage when he has
+done with it; his son is certainly not going to stop there afterwards.
+I don't know if a rich man is justified in loafing or not.  We'll leave
+that to the economists, but I've frankly no use for the fellow who
+wants to loaf at other folk's expense.  However, I'll fix the powder
+and we'll pull out.  I don't like the job."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie nodded.  "You are a builder, Jim, but before one builds one must
+clear the ground.  Things must be pulled down."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You're a staunch friend," said Jim.  "You always understand and
+generally approve."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps it's because we often agree; but if I were really staunch, I'd
+tell you when I thought you wrong.  This needs some pluck."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'd weigh what you told me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie was silent for a moment, thinking about Evelyn.  The girl had,
+so to speak, dazzled Jim.  Carrie did not approve, but could not meddle.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wonder!" she remarked.  "Anyhow you must hustle.  It's getting dark."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After a few minutes Jim lighted the fuse and they went out and stood
+some distance off.  The light had nearly gone, and the dabbin loomed
+dark and desolate against a belt of tossing reeds.  Jim thought an
+indistinct figure stole through the gloom of the hedge, and he shouted
+a warning.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The figure vanished.  There was a flash behind the broken window and
+the shock of an explosion.  For a moment the hovel was filled with
+light; then it tottered and a cloud of smoke rolled about the falling
+walls.  Blocks of hard clay splashed in the creek and fell about the
+marsh.  The smoke cleared and Carrie saw the dabbin had gone.  A pile
+of rubbish, round which thin vapor drifted, marked the spot it had
+occupied.  A man stood on the end of the ridge of high ground, his bent
+figure outlined against the sky, holding up his arms as if in protest.
+Then he vanished, and Jim and the others started silently for Langrigg.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0206"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER VI
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+THE THORN HEDGE
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Mist drifted about the hollows and the new moon shone between the
+motionless light clouds.  The air was damp and Jim buttoned his
+driving-coat as he talked to Bernard on the steps at Dryholm.  His
+small car stood near the arch, with its lights glistening on the dewy
+lawn.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Your lamps are dim," said Bernard.  "If you will wait a minute, I'll
+send them to the garage."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim said he knew the road and the lamps would burn until he got home;
+and Bernard resumed: "I expect you know that what you are doing at the
+marsh won't make you popular."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Lance Mordaunt hinted something like that, but I don't see why people
+should grumble," Jim replied.  "The marsh is mine."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Your title's good," Bernard agreed.  "Since the ground is not
+enclosed, Joseph didn't bother about sporting rights and your neighbors
+took it for granted they could shoot a few ducks and snipe when they
+liked.  The sport's rough for men who shoot hand-reared pheasants, but
+there's some satisfaction in killing birds that are really wild."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There is some satisfaction.  The game I've shot was certainly wild; in
+fact, I sometimes took steep chances when I missed.  When you get after
+a bull moose or a cinnamon bear it's prudent to hold straight.  Well,
+I'd sooner my neighbors liked me, but don't mean to keep my land waste
+for them to play on."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard nodded.  "You are not afraid of unpopularity?  However, I think
+I'd have got rid of Shanks, instead of sending him to Bank-end.  The
+fellow's cunning and there's some ground for believing him revengeful."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It doesn't look as if he could injure me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It might pay to watch him," Bernard rejoined.  "Some time since,
+Jones, my gamekeeper, caught Tom Shanks and another netting partridges.
+It was obvious that old Shanks had helped, but there was some
+difficulty about the evidence."  Bernard paused, and smiled as he
+resumed: "I imagine my friends on the Bench used their best efforts to
+convict, but folk seemed to think it prudent not to tell all they knew,
+and while Tom Shanks went to jail his father got off.  Afterwards Jones
+had a remarkable run of bad luck.  The young pheasants died about the
+coops, his own ferret killed his hens, and he lost a fine setter he was
+training.  Then he had an adventure one night in a shooting-punt that
+ought not to have leaked."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'll watch out," said Jim, as he started his car.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He did not think about Shanks as he drove up the avenue, where the
+leaves were falling, and down a long hill.  In the distance he saw the
+Whitelees lights and now and then, farther off, the faint shining of
+the sea.  Mist that melted and gathered again drifted about the low
+ground.  Jim's thoughts sometimes dwelt on Evelyn and sometimes on the
+marsh.  Evelyn was friendly and he had undertaken a big job that he
+liked.  He was carrying out a duty, honoring a claim his inheritance
+made on him; he wanted to leave Langrigg better than he found it.  Jim
+sprang from a land-owning stock, and felt that since he had got the
+estate for nothing he must justify his ownership and prove he was
+worthy of the gift and the woman he hoped to marry.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When he ran out upon the low ground the mist got thicker and rolled in
+low belts across the fields.  The carbide in his lamps was exhausted
+and the feeble beam that leaped up with the jolts flickered puzzlingly.
+He knew where he was, however, when he reached the marsh road that ran
+like a causeway across the boggy ground.  Tall, stiff reeds bordered
+the straight track.  The lights were sinking fast and since he must
+reach Langrigg before they went out he let the engine go.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The fog streamed past him, the wind whipped his face, and he clenched
+the wheel as he rocked with the jolts.  He was not far from home now
+and looked for the curve where his road branched off.  The curve was
+sharp and ran between two rows of old thorn trees; Jim remembered that
+he had meant to cut them down.  There was a deep ditch between the
+trees and a belt of rough grass, then the narrow road, and a ditch on
+the other side.  After a few minutes a dark mass loomed in the haze and
+Jim knew it would be prudent to slacken speed, but his lamps were
+nearly out, and a little farther on he must avoid an awkward gatepost.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A shadowy tree came out of the fog and he felt the wheels sink in boggy
+soil.  He was obviously taking too wide a sweep, and he turned inwards.
+The damp road was indistinct, but he could see the white reeds that
+grew along its edge, and the trunks of the thorns across the ditch.  He
+was going round the corner, looking for a triangular patch of grass,
+when he felt a violent jolt and fell forward on the wheel.  The car
+swerved and the front wheels plunged into the soft ground between the
+road and ditch.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim was badly shaken, but he got the car straight while she plowed up
+the grass.  Then the wheel was torn from his grasp, the car swerved the
+other way, and he jambed [Transcriber's note: jammed?] on the brakes,
+knowing it was too late.  He felt her run across the road; she rocked
+as she took the grass, and then he was thrown out and knew nothing more.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the meantime, Jake and Carrie stood on the steps at Langrigg,
+talking to Halliday and Mordaunt.  The latter had brought a car from
+Dryholm and it stood close by with its lamps burning.  The night was
+calm, the noise of the sea came out of the distance, and presently they
+heard the throb of a car running across the marsh.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's Jim," Carrie said to Dick.  "Since you wanted to see him, you
+had better come in again."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick hesitated.  He had not come to see Jim, and Carrie noted his
+irresolution with some amusement.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"After all, it's not important and I want to get home for dinner," he
+said, and turned to Mordaunt.  "Start your engine, Lance."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As Mordaunt went down the steps the throb of the other car stopped
+suddenly and they heard a faint crash.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hallo!" Dick exclaimed.  "What was that?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I imagine Jim has cut the corner too fine," said Mordaunt.  "Come on!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He ran down the steps and as he started the car the others jumped up.
+Mordaunt had not meant to take Carrie, but he did not stop and the car
+sped away.  He let her go full-speed down the hill, dashed through the
+awkward gateway, touching the post, and drove furiously to the bend
+where the road ran on to the marsh.  Then there was a violent jerk as
+he put on the brakes, and the beam of the head-lamps touched and
+stopped upon a tilted car that lay with the wheels on one side in the
+ditch.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Bring a lamp," said Mordaunt coolly, and next moment they were all out
+of the car and running across the grass.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A soft hat lay in the road, and broken glass was scattered about, but
+for a minute or two they could not see Jim.  He was not in the car and
+the grass and rushes were long.  Then Jake stooped down, holding out
+the lamp.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"This way!" he shouted.  "He's in the ditch!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The others gathered round him as the light searched the ditch.  Jim lay
+with his legs in the water and the upper part of his body pressed
+against the bank by the front wheel of the car.  His eyes were shut,
+his face was white and stained by blood.  Jake's hand shook so that he
+could hardly hold the lamp.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We must get him out right now," he said hoarsely.  "The wheel's on his
+chest.  If she slips down, she'll break his ribs."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For a few moments they hesitated, standing in the strong illumination
+of the lamp on Mordaunt's car that picked out their faces against the
+dark.  Jake wore an American dinner-jacket, Carrie a thin evening
+dress, and she had no hat.  Dick noted that her hands were clenched and
+her mouth worked.  She had, of course, got a shock; Winter ought not to
+have let her see Jim, but the keenness of her distress was significant.
+Dick, however, could not dwell on this just then.  They must get Jim
+out and it was going to be difficult.  The car rested insecurely on the
+edge of the bank and the broken branches of the thorns.  If they
+disturbed it rashly, it might slip down and crush the unconscious man.
+Mordaunt was the first to see a way and jumped into the ditch.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Come down and get your backs under the axle," he said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They obeyed and, standing in the water, tried to lift the car.  For a
+few moments it looked impossible, because the weight above forced their
+feet into the mud; then, while they gasped and strained, the wheel rose
+an inch or two from Jim's chest.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Lift him, Carrie!  Lift him now!" Jake shouted in a breathless voice.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie seized Jim's coat and tried to drag him up.  He was heavy; she
+choked with the tense effort and did not know afterwards how it was
+made.  For all that, she dragged him up a foot and then to one side.
+The strain was horrible, but she held on and thought she saw the car
+tilt and the back wheel tear the peaty soil from the top of the bank.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake shouted something, Dick fell back, and she saw that Jim was clear
+of the wheel.  For a moment, Mordaunt's face stood out against the
+gloom.  It was dark with blood, his teeth shone between his drawn-back
+lips, and the veins on his forehead were horribly swollen.  Then there
+was a crash among the thorns, and the car seemed to go right over.
+Mordaunt staggered and fell, and somebody helped her to drag Jim up;
+Carrie did not know if it was Dick or Jake.  Next moment Mordaunt
+crawled out of the ditch and joined them.  He gasped and the water ran
+from his clothes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Are you hurt?" Carrie asked.  "You got all the weight at the last."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt smiled.  It looked as if he could not speak, and while Carrie
+wiped Jim's face Jake beckoned Dick.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Bring your car.  We must get him home."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick turned the car and they put Jim on the floor with his head against
+Carrie's knee.  When they started she bent and held his shoulders, and
+in a few minutes they rolled up the drive.  Then Carrie pulled herself
+together, gave orders, and took control; and when they had carried Jim
+to his room gave Mordaunt her hand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You saved him," she said.  "We won't forget!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I happened to see a plan before the others; that's all," Mordaunt
+replied.  "I'll get off now and send a doctor."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He ran downstairs and Carrie heard his car start while she stood with
+her mother by Jim's bed.  Her face was white, but it flushed when Jim
+opened his eyes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What's the matter?  Where am I?" he asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You're at home," said Carrie.  "You mustn't talk."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't want to talk.  Things are all going round," Jim rejoined and
+shut his eyes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After a time he began to breathe regularly and Mrs. Winter bent over
+him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He's stunned; something hit his head.  I don't think it's worse than
+that," she remarked.  "I guess we can't do much until the doctor comes."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt sent a doctor from the town and when he had seen him start
+went with Dick into the smoking-room at a quiet hotel.  There was
+nobody else about until a waiter came, and Mordaunt sat down by the
+fire.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I feel we need a drink," he said.  "It was a near thing when the car
+went over.  I can hardly bend my back, and it will, no doubt, be worse
+in the morning."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You held her long enough for Miss Winter to pull Jim out," Dick
+replied.  "It's lucky you were able.  My feet slipped, and although
+Winter is pretty strong I imagine he was beaten.  All the weight came
+on you; I don't understand how you held on."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"One can sometimes borrow a little extra strength from keen excitement
+and I remembered that if I let go the wheel would come down again on
+Jim's chest.  He might not have stood another shock."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He was badly knocked out," Dick agreed.  "I expect you saved his life."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt smiled.  "Now I'm cool, I begin to think I was rash."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Rot!" Dick exclaimed.  "You don't mean this and it's a bad joke!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We don't owe Jim much; if he had stopped in Canada, Langrigg would
+have been yours and mine.  Then it begins to look as if Bernard
+approved the fellow, and I'm willing to admit I had rather counted on
+getting a good share of his money.  You and Evelyn would have got the
+rest."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"After all, Bernard's money is his.  He's just, and I don't imagine
+he'll leave us out.  We're not rich, but if he does give Jim some of my
+share, I won't miss it very much."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I shall miss mine," Mordaunt rejoined.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick was quiet for a minute or two, and then looked up.  "You remember
+reading the French romance the night we reached the telegraph shack!
+Did you see Franklin Dearham's name in the book?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Mordaunt very coolly, "I did see it."  He paused, looking
+hard at Dick, and went on: "Of course, I know what this implies.  There
+was some doubt, but the probability was the telegraph linesman was our
+relation and the owner of Langrigg.  Well, I thought he was not the man
+to have the estate, and might be happier if we left him in the woods.
+It was not altogether because I wanted my share of what was his."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick did not doubt Lance's sincerity, but he had got a jar.  In a way,
+Lance had tried to rob Jim.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What do you think about him now?" he asked with some awkwardness.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What I thought then; he is not the man to own Langrigg and ought to
+have stayed in Canada.  I'd have been resigned, had you got the estate,
+but this fellow will make us a joke.  He has the utilitarian ideals of
+a Western lumberman."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Bernard is the head of the house and I doubt if he'd agree.  You
+admitted he approved Jim."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did; I don't like his approving."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well," said Dick.  "Since you held up the car, I suppose you're
+entitled to criticize Jim.  If you hadn't made an effort, he would
+probably have been killed.  You can grumble about him as much as you
+like; we'll remember what you did!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt smiled rather curiously and drained his glass.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We are late for dinner and my clothes are wet," he remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They went out; and both were quiet as they drove to Whitelees.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0207"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER VII
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+THE FENCING WIRE
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Next morning Carrie, getting up early because she had not slept much,
+heard Jim's step in the passage outside her room.  He went rather
+unsteadily downstairs and a few minutes afterwards she found him
+sitting on the terrace wall.  He was pale and his face was cut; but he
+had taken off the bandage.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You oughtn't to be out," she said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why not?" he asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You were badly shaken.  The doctor said we must keep you quiet."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He probably didn't state how long, and I've been quiet all night.  I
+certainly got a knock; imagine my head went through the glass, but I
+feel my proper self again, and don't see any reason for staying in bed."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie gave it up.  She knew Jim pretty well and asked where he was
+going.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I want to look at the car," he said.  "I don't know why she left the
+road.  But how did you find me and bring me home?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie told him, and he looked thoughtful.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I was in the ditch with the wheel on me?  This accounts for my side's
+feeling sore.  How did you lift the car?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The others got into the ditch.  A wheel began to slip and I thought
+the weight would overpower them; but Lance Mordaunt made a tremendous
+effort and held up the axle until we pulled you out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim knitted his brows and looked across the lawn while he mechanically
+felt for his pipe.  The morning was clear with scattered clouds and the
+grass was silvered by dew.  The hills were sharp and belts of light and
+shadow checkered the marsh.  In the distance, the sea sparkled.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If Jake or Dick had held her up, I could have understood," he said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It was Lance," Carrie insisted.  "Why are you puzzled?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"For one thing, I imagine he doesn't like me," Jim replied and
+indicated by a gesture the old house, and the sweep of smooth pasture
+and yellow stubble that rolled down the hill.  "Perhaps it's not
+strange.  I have taken all this from him!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But you took it as much from Dick."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is so," Jim agreed.  "Dick's different.  He's careless; I don't
+think he feels things.  However, I must thank Lance."  He paused and
+resumed: "The boys were in the ditch and I was under the car.  Who
+pulled me out?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did," said Carrie, blushing.  "There was nobody else."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim took her hand.  "My dear!  When I needed help before, you were
+about.  But that ditch is four feet deep and I'm heavy."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie pulled her hand from his and smiled.  "You are heavy, Jim, and
+it was something of a strain.  However, I'll come with you, if you are
+going down the hill."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"To take care of me?" said Jim, with a twinkle.  "If you don't mind,
+I'd sooner go alone."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He got up, and seeing that his step was firm, she let him go.  It was
+not a caprice that he would not take her, but when she returned to the
+house she sent Jake after him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As he went down the hill Jim thought about Mordaunt.  The man was
+something of a puzzle, and Jim admitted that he had, perhaps, not been
+just when he accounted for his antagonism.  Lance, no doubt, felt that
+he ought to have got Langrigg, but he was not altogether moved by
+disappointed greed.  Their antagonism went deeper than that.  Lance was
+a conventionalist; he clung instinctively to traditions that were
+getting out of date.  In fact, Jim thought he would have been a very
+fine country gentleman had he inherited Langrigg sixty years since.
+Lance was what horse-ranchers called a throw-back; in a sense, he
+belonged to an older generation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There was another thing.  Jim imagined Lance felt Evelyn's charm, and
+although they were cousins, he understood cousins sometimes married,
+with their relatives' approval, when the marriage would advance the
+interests of the family.  It was possible that he might hurt Lance
+worse than by robbing him of Langrigg.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Yet Lance had held up the car for him and run some risk of being
+killed.  After all, this did not clash with Jim's notion of his
+character.  Lance might dislike the man he rescued, but he had the
+instincts of an English gentleman.  Then Jim stopped and looked about,
+for he had reached the thorn hedge.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A belt of peat, checkered by white tufts of wild cotton, ran back from
+the road, and a wire fence joined the hedge at a right angle.  Some of
+the posts had fallen and lengths of wire lay about.  Jim looked at the
+wire thoughtfully, and then went on to the spot where broken glass and
+torn up soil marked the scene of the accident.  Then he stopped again
+and lighted his pipe.  In the Canadian woods he had now and then
+trusted to his rifle to supply his food, and tracking large game trains
+one's observation.  One must guess an animal's movements by very small
+signs.  A  broken twig or a disturbed stone tells one much.  Jim looked
+for some such clew that might help him, so to speak, to reconstruct the
+accident.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He remembered a sudden jolt and the front wheels skidding.  They had
+obviously struck something, and when he got the car straight had
+skidded again the other way.  The marks the tires had made indicated
+this, and he examined the neighboring ground.  The silverweed that
+covered the peaty soil between the road and ditch was not much crushed.
+He had, as he remembered, not gone far on that side before he, for a
+moment, recovered control of the car.  The real trouble began when it
+swerved again and ran across the road.  Something had caught the wheels
+and interfered with the steering.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim looked for a big stone, but could find none; besides, it was
+improbable that he had hit the stone twice, and sitting down by the
+overturned car he thoughtfully finished his pipe.  The car must be got
+out of the ditch, but this was not important, and he dwelt upon the
+fencing wire; he had a hazy notion that the obstacle he had struck was
+flexible.  By and by he heard a step, and Jake came up.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know if you ought to be about," the latter said.  "It will be
+an awkward job to get the car into the road."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm not bothering about the car," Jim replied.  "I want to find out
+why she ran into the ditch."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You don't know, then?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim indicated the wheel-marks and told Jake about the skidding.  "She
+went off at an angle and I couldn't pull her round," he concluded.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you expect to find the steering-gear broken?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not unless it broke after she skidded."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake gave him a keen glance.  "I begin to see!  Well, people sometimes
+find trouble coming to them when they won't leave things alone.  But
+what kind of a clew do you expect to get?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A mark on a thorn trunk; we'll look for one," said Jim.  "Suppose you
+take the other side!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He walked a few yards along the ditch, examining the bottom of the
+trunks, and presently stopped and put his foot on the other bank.  Then
+he beckoned Jake and indicated a few scratches on the bark of a thorn.
+The rough stem was tufted with dry moss and for an inch or two this was
+crushed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I reckon something has been fastened to this tree," he said.  "If we
+can find another mark on the opposite row, I'll be satisfied."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They went across and after a few moments Jake said, "Here it is!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim studied the mark and nodded.  "Very well!  I think we'll get into
+the field and look at the old fence wire.  I want a piece seven or
+eight yards long."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After pulling about the wire that lay in the grass, they found a piece.
+One end was bent into a rough hook, and although the other was nearly
+straight Jim noted a spot where the galvanizing was cracked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It has been bent here twice," he said.  "Pulled over into a hook and
+then pulled back.  You can see how the zinc has flaked."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They sat down on a bank and Jake remarked: "I think you ought to be
+satisfied.  But what are you going to do about it?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Lie low and watch out.  That's all in the meantime.  I want the man
+who fixed the wire across the road to give himself away."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Don't you know who he is?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I think I know.  It's not quite enough."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps it's not," Jake agreed.  "You want to be able to show other
+folks he did the thing?  The trouble is, he may try again!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then it will be my fault if he gets me.  I've had fair warning."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Your nerve is pretty good; I knew this before," Jake remarked.  "Well,
+I suppose nothing's to be said about it until you have some proof?  Now
+we'll go back to breakfast."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They returned to Langrigg, and after breakfast Jim went to the marsh,
+where the men he had engaged were at work.  Soon after he had gone, a
+car from Dryholm came up the drive and Carrie met Bernard Dearham on
+the steps.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I came to ask how Jim is.  Lance told me about the accident," he said.
+"I expect you won't let me see him yet?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You might see him if you crossed the marsh.  He is getting busy
+there," Carrie replied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But he was unconscious when Lance left."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie smiled.  "Yes.  He got up at seven o'clock this morning and went
+out.  That's the kind of man he is!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then we needn't be disturbed about him," Bernard replied and indicated
+a stone bench in the sun.  "I cannot walk far and there is no road
+across the marsh.  Can you spare a few minutes to talk to me?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why, of course," said Carrie, and Bernard waited until she sat down.
+Although he thought she knew his importance, she was not anxious to
+please him; but she did not assert her independence.  The girl had an
+ease of manner he approved and, if she remained at Langrigg, would soon
+acquire the touch of polish she needed.  But he pulled himself up.  In
+the meantime, he was going too fast.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I understand you nursed Jim once before," he said.  "Did you not use
+your authority to keep him in the house this morning?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did not," Carrie replied, with a twinkle.  "Looks as if you didn't
+know Jim yet!  Besides, if you have some authority, you don't want to
+strain it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is no doubt true," Bernard agreed.  None of his relations had so
+far disputed his firm rule, but he knew when it was prudent not to
+exercise his power.  "You are a philosopher," he went on.  "It is
+sometimes an advantage to use a light hand."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jim can be led."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard bowed.  "I imagine you have led him where he ought to go."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wonder!" said Carrie, with thoughtful frankness.  "The trouble is, I
+don't know much and only understand simple things.  Still, perhaps, I
+did lead him in the woods.  The right way was generally plain there.
+But at Langrigg&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You're sometimes puzzled?" Bernard suggested.  "Well, we are all
+puzzled now and then, and perhaps to trust your instincts is a good
+plan.  This, however, is not advice I would give to everybody."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie said nothing.  She liked Bernard and was not afraid of him.  He
+talked to her with the politeness of the old school and when he looked
+amused she thought his amusement was good-humored.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jim was under the car when you got to the spot, I think," he resumed.
+"You had some trouble to lift it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Lance really lifted the car at the dangerous moment, though the others
+helped.  He saw the wheel was slipping; they were all in the ditch."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then who pulled Jim out?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did," said Carrie, with a touch of embarrassment.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard pondered.  Lance had not told him about this and it was
+possible he had an object for not doing so.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," he said, "I expect Jim has had other accidents; as you
+remarked, he is that kind of man.  Did he get hurt when you were with
+him in the woods?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He took some chances now and then, but he did not get hurt much."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Although he came near it?  I heard something about your going to his
+rescue one night with a gun."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie blushed and Bernard fixed his eyes on her face as he went on:
+"Did you mean to use the gun?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She lifted her head, her mouth went hard, and her glance got steady.
+"Yes.  If I'd thought the other fellow could reach Jim with his ax, I
+would have shot him!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard nodded.  "Sometimes the primitive plan is the only plan.  One
+can see that you have pluck enough to meet a crisis.  But I have kept
+you and have some other calls."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He got up and when she went with him down the steps gave her his hand.
+"May I come back another day?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course, but unless he knows you're coming, Jim will be occupied at
+the marsh."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I won't mind if Jim is occupied."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then come when you like," said Carrie, smiling.  "I think you mean to
+be nice."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the meantime, Jim had got to work and under his superintendence a
+gang of men piled barrowsful of peat soil on the wreck of the dabbin.
+By noon a bank had advanced across the piles of broken clay and a cut
+that was to make a new channel for the creek began to open.  Once or
+twice Jake imagined an indistinct figure lurked among some clumps of
+gorse, as if watching the work, but he was not certain and said nothing.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim and he did not go home for lunch and when the men stopped at noon
+found a sheltered hollow and opened a basket of food Jim had sent for.
+The day was bright, but a cold wind flecked the advancing tide with
+foam and swept the empty flats.  Dry reeds rustled in the creek and a
+flock of circling plover gleamed against a cloud that trailed its
+shadow across the marsh.  For all that, the sun was warm in the corner
+where they ate their lunch.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Did Shanks send you notice that he had gone to the cottage?" Jake
+asked presently.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He told the teamster to come for his truck.  I expect he thought this
+enough."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Wouldn't own up that he'd given in!" Jake remarked.  "The fellow's a
+blamed obstinate old tough.  I wonder whether he felt curious if you
+were hurt."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I reckon he knew," said Jim.  "However, I thought this morning there
+was somebody about&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He stopped abruptly, and Jake heard a step.  They were quiet for a few
+moments, and then Tom Shanks came round a corner of the bank and stood
+looking at them.  Jim's face was cut and rather white, but the stains
+on his clothes indicated that he had been working among wet soil.  Jake
+gave Shanks a keen glance and thought he looked surprised, as if he had
+not expected to see Jim there.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you want a job?" the latter asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I want nowt fra you.  You can give your job to them as will ca' you
+maister," Shanks rejoined and went off.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A sullen hog!" Jake remarked.  "I'd like to know when he or the old
+man moved the wire."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"So would I.  It's rather important," said Jim.  "If he was hanging
+about and came for the thing as soon as the car took the ditch, he
+probably saw me under the wheel and meant to leave me there.  How long
+were you in making the spot after you heard the smash?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps five minutes.  Mordaunt's car was at the steps and we jumped
+on board while he started her."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If you had lost much time, I imagine you'd have found me dead."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then why did you offer Shanks a job?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim smiled.  "In order to have him where he could be watched.  A fellow
+like that is dangerous when he's out of sight."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Shanks and his son are bad men," Jake agreed.  "We have sand-baggers
+and gun-men in Canada, but they get after you for money and their
+methods are up to date.  Shanks' savageness is half-instinctive, like
+the Indian's.  I can't, so to speak, locate him; he goes too far back."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim got up.  "It's not important just now.  Tell the teamster to bring
+his horses and we'll get busy."
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0208"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER VIII
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+JIM'S RELAPSE
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Jim made progress at the dyke until it began to rain.  For some weeks a
+strong west wind drove dark clouds across the sea, the hills were
+wrapped in mist, the creeks swelled and the tides rose high.  Floods
+spread about the marsh and the floundering teams could hardly drag
+their loads through the bog.  Sometimes Jim felt anxious, for the
+undertaking threatened to cost much more than he had thought.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then came two fine days when, although the sun shone, heavy clouds
+rolled about the hills.  Jim, knowing the fine weather would not last,
+drove his men hard, since there was work he must push forward before
+the next flood.  The new bank had reached a creek where he must build a
+strong sluice-gate and hold back the water by a rude coffer-dam while
+he dug for the foundation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He came up from the dam one afternoon and stood on the slope of the
+bank, looking down into the hole.  His long boots, shirt, and trousers
+were stained by mud that had also splashed his face and hands; for
+since the work was risky he had helped the men.  Now he was rather
+highly-strung.  Below him, the water spirited [Transcriber's note:
+spurted?] through the joints in a wall of thick planks and ran into the
+excavation, where a few men, sunk nearly to the knees in mud, were
+working.  A forge stood on the top of the bank and the smith leaned on
+the crank of the blower.  He was a short, strongly-built man, and
+looked sulky.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There's too much water blowing through; pressure's heavier than I
+reckoned and I don't like the way that brace sags," Jim remarked, as a
+shower of mud and water fell into the hole.  Then he shouted to the
+men: "Get a thick plank across and wedge her up."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Looks as if the fastenings of the brace had slipped," said Jake.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They oughtn't to slip.  The plate and nut on the iron were meant to
+keep the beam in place."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't think I saw a nut when the boys fixed the thing."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim beckoned the smith.  Although the fellow was a good workman, he was
+obstinate and Jim had not bothered him much until he needed some irons
+for the dam, when he made careful sketches and insisted on the other's
+working to his plans.  This had caused some trouble and Jim now meant
+to be firm.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I reckon I told you to screw the ends of the bar and make nuts to turn
+back against the plates," he said.  "Did you screw the ends?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did not," said the other.  "There was nae use for nuts.  I punched
+hole for pin that wad stop her pulling oot."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Pulling out!" Jim exclaimed.  "Did you imagine I wanted to hold the
+frames together?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If yon wasn't what you wanted, you should have said."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim had meant to be calm, but the men had run some risk from the
+fellow's obstinacy, and he lost his control.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I told you to screw the ends.  Confound you!  The dam's in
+compression; there's no pull at all.  Put a new bar in the vise and
+I'll stand by while you cut the thread."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Stan', if you like.  I'll not touch bar while you're aboot.  Are you
+gan t' teach me my job?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's plain you don't know your job.  Get out of my way and I'll cut
+the thread myself."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The smith stood square in front with a frown on his face.  "You'll not
+touch my tools.  Vise and forge is yours; screwing stocks is mine."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, shucks!" said Jim.  "Get out of the way.  We want the bar right
+now."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The smith did not move, and although nobody afterwards remembered how
+the struggle began, Jake, interfering a moment too late, imagined Jim
+tried to get past the smith and jostled him.  They grappled, and while
+they rocked to and fro the men in the pit stopped work.  At first, Jim
+would have been satisfied to throw his antagonist back, but after a
+moment or two he doubted if this would be enough.  The fellow had
+defied him, they had begun to fight, and in Canada a boss who could not
+enforce his authority lost his right to rule.  Jim imagined it was so
+in England and did not mean to stop until the smith was ready to
+submit.  Yet the fellow was powerful and fought with dogged pluck.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+While they floundered about, striking, and trying for a throwing hold,
+Jake heard steps and looked up.  He was half-embarrassed and
+half-amused, for it was obvious Jim did not know Mrs. Halliday, Evelyn,
+and Bernard Dearham stood on the top of the bank.  He could not
+separate the men and did not think Jim would hear if he shouted;
+besides, to shout a warning would make the thing ridiculous.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There was nothing to do but wait, and after a few moments Jim lifted
+his antagonist and threw him down the bank.  It looked as if the sulky
+smith was not a favorite, for some of the men laughed and some growled
+hoarse applause.  Jim's muddy shirt was torn and his face was bruised;
+he was looking down into the hole and did not see Bernard's party until
+he turned to go to the forge.  Then he stopped and stood with his head
+held back, while Jake studied the others.  He thought Bernard was
+quietly amused, but Mrs. Halliday looked pained, and Evelyn's delicate
+face was flushed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We thought we would come to see how you were getting on," said Mrs.
+Halliday.  "It was an adventure; your new road is very bad and the car
+nearly upset."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There is not much to see and I did not expect you," Jim replied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is obvious," Bernard remarked with a twinkle.  "I imagine you
+don't know much about Cumberland wrestling, but you are very quick.
+When you threw him, the other fellow was getting a hold that would have
+put you in his power."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You gave him a bad fall, anyhow.  I suppose you are used to this sort
+of thing in Canada," said Mordaunt, who came from behind the others and
+glanced at Evelyn.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake was interested; he sensed something of a drama, of which he
+thought his comrade was unconscious.  There was a hint of a sneer in
+Mordaunt's voice and Jake thought his remark was meant for the girl.
+Her eyes were fixed on Jim, and she looked disturbed.  It was plain
+that Mordaunt noted this.  Mrs. Halliday was rather ostentatiously
+careless, Bernard quietly looked on, but Jim gave no sign of
+embarrassment.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why, no," he answered Mordaunt.  "On the whole, I didn't have much
+trouble with the boys in Canada.  This fellow wouldn't do his job as I
+wanted, and through his stupidity we ran some risk of the dam's caving
+in.  I'll show you&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They went with him, glad of something to banish the strain, and he
+indicated the men working in the mud behind the wall of planks.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If the timbering gave way, the water would break through and perhaps
+drown the gang.  I'm boss and accountable.  I take no chances about the
+safety of my men."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt smiled as he glanced at Evelyn and Jake imagined he knew what
+the smile implied.  Jim was breaking conventions, his bold statement
+had a theatrical touch that no doubt jarred; reserved Englishmen did
+not talk like that.  Moreover, he was wet and muddy, and his tense pose
+had not relaxed.  Standing with head held back and body highly-strung,
+he looked a stranger.  Jim did not belong to the others' circle, he
+came from outside.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yours is a good rule and force is useful now and then," Bernard
+observed.  "However, we came to take you to Dryholm.  I was feeling
+dull, and the others have promised to help me through the evening.  If
+you can come, we will go on to Langrigg for Mrs. Winter."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim wanted to go, because Evelyn was going, but he gave her an
+apologetic glance as he answered Bernard: "I'm sorry; I can't leave my
+job."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn said nothing, although her color was rather high, and Mrs.
+Halliday interposed: "After all, you would not lose much time.  It will
+soon be dark."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Dark generally comes before one's ready, but I have some plans to make
+for the morning when I get home," said Jim, who turned to Bernard.  "We
+must push on before the water gets too high.  If you wouldn't mind
+taking Mrs. Winter and Carrie, I think they'd like it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Halliday's look hinted that she was trying to hide her annoyance
+and Evelyn turned her head.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very well," said Bernard and beckoned the others.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When they had gone Jake laughed.  "I imagine you have given your
+relations a jolt."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I felt something like that.  I didn't mean to jolt them," Jim said
+with a frown.  "Why didn't they come a few minutes earlier, or later?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wasn't altogether thinking of your throwing the smith down the bank.
+You have got rather English, but sometimes you break away; I think I
+mean break back."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps that is so; I forget," Jim agreed.  "I was a miner and
+linesman before I was a landlord."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Confusing for your friends, isn't it?  They don't know which they have
+to reckon on&mdash;the Canadian sourdough or the country gentleman.  Anyhow,
+I expect your suggestion that they should take mother and Carrie didn't
+help much.  Were you talking like a sourdough or an English landlord
+then?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You have a confoundedly mischievous humor," Jim rejoined, with a
+twinkle.  "Do you want me to state that it's a country gentleman's duty
+to insist on the proper acknowledgment of his guests?  Bernard likes
+your people and I don't know if Mrs. Halliday and Lance Mordaunt count."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I was not thinking about Mrs. Halliday&mdash;&mdash;" Jake began, but stopped
+when his comrade looked hard at him, and a few moments afterwards the
+smith came up the bank.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well?" said Jim, sharply.  "What do you want?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Noo I see how bar's meant to gan, mayhappen it wad be better screwed.
+If you'll wait while I gan for dies, I'll do't for you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"All right.  You can get busy," said Jim.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When the smith went off he smiled and remarked: "I don't know if I
+expected this, but the man will make no more trouble.  However, we have
+lost some time and must push ahead."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They got to work, and in the meantime Bernard drove to Langrigg and
+picked up Mrs. Winter and Carrie.  The party at Dryholm broke up soon,
+but when Evelyn returned to Whitelees she felt that the evening had
+been too long.  For one thing, she had been kept occupied and she
+wanted to think.  Now she sat, rather languidly, in an easy-chair and
+knitted her brows.  She had got a jar in the afternoon and she tried to
+recapture the scene on the bank&mdash;the smith scowling at the bottom, and
+Jim's bruised face, savage frown, and muddy clothes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim was a new type, and she admitted that he attracted her, but his
+attraction was largely physical and sometimes she felt repelled.  He
+was handsome and forceful; she liked his steady look, his athletic
+figure, and his clean brown skin.  Then she liked the respect he showed
+her and his obvious wish to please.  This was flattering and his
+strength and candor made an appeal, but she was highly cultivated and
+he was not rude.  Indeed, when he stood on the bank, hot and triumphant
+after the fight, there was something barbarous about him.  His virility
+moved her, but to live with him would demand some pluck; Evelyn knew he
+could not, so to speak, be tamed.  His refusal to come to Dryholm, when
+he knew she was going, was a proof.  It was significant that the dam he
+was building made a stronger claim.  Evelyn was drawn in different ways
+and, on the whole, it was a relief when Mrs. Halliday came in.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jim was not his best this afternoon," the latter said.  "However, he
+has not been long in England and no doubt the risk of such outbreaks
+will presently vanish.  In the meantime one must make some allowances."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"For the owner of Langrigg?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well," said Mrs. Halliday, "I suppose I did mean this, but perhaps
+not altogether in the way you think.  There is a rude vein in the
+Dearhams that comes to the surface now and then.  One hardly noted it
+in Joseph, but in Bernard it's rather marked.  I imagine he has some
+sympathy for Jim's extravagances.  This may have its influence."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Bernard is inscrutable," Evelyn rejoined.  "One cannot foretell what
+he will do."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Halliday saw that Evelyn understood; she had, in fact, expected
+her to understand, and her voice was thoughtful as she resumed: "After
+all, his approval is not essential.  You have some money; I do not know
+about Jim, but he is spending much."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It may be all he has; he is not afraid of a risk," said Evelyn, with a
+touch of color, for she was fastidious and her mother was blunt.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then for a moment or two she mused.  She was afraid of a risk; this was
+the trouble.  Adventure, romance, and to some extent passion urged, but
+caution deterred.  The romance would vanish and Jim might jar.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Langrigg gives its owner a firm position," Mrs. Halliday resumed.
+"Even if he were poor, his wife would take a leading place in the Holm
+country.  People pretend to scoff at such things, but they count."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Much would depend on the owner.  If he broke the family traditions,
+defied our conventions, and made himself a joke&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Much would be forgiven him because he is a Dearham," Mrs. Halliday
+rejoined.  "Still, of course, there is a limit and I see a risk.  Jim
+needs guidance for a time and it's possible his Canadian friends
+encourage his un-English idiosyncrasies.  The girl has some beauty; I
+would sooner she did not stay long.  If Jim could be advised&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn smiled.  "I cannot advise him.  Besides, he's very staunch and
+owes these people much."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well," said Mrs. Halliday.  "In such a matter, one cannot meddle
+unless it is certain one's advice would be well received.  We must let
+it go.  Perhaps the Winters do not mean to remain very long."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I think Jake means to stay until the marsh is drained, and I don't
+suppose the others will go until he is ready."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Halliday frowned.  "Jim is rather annoying.  Sometimes he vexes
+me, but in a sense it is our duty to protect him.  It has been a
+disturbing day; I think I'll go to bed."
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0209"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER IX
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+JIM IS LEFT OUT
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+The sun shone on the terrace at Dryholm, the house kept off the wind,
+and a creeper made a glowing background for the group about the
+tea-table.  A row of dahlias close by hung their heads after a night's
+frost, a gardener was sweeping dead leaves from the grass, and the
+beeches round the tarn were nearly bare.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard took a cup from Mrs. Halliday and glancing at the long shadows
+that stretched across the lawn, indicated a sundial on a pillar.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In another few minutes its usefulness will be gone and it warns me
+that mine is going," he said, and quoted a tag of Latin.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wonder why they carve such melancholy lines on sundials," somebody
+remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps there is a certain futility about the custom.  You, for whom
+the sun is rising, don't heed the warning, and we others in the shadow
+know our day is done.  I do not think I am a sentimentalist, but the
+news we got this morning proves the Latin motto true.  Then it is
+hardly possible we shall have tea outside again, and we cannot tell if
+all will gather round the table when summer comes back."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Halliday began to talk about a neighbor who had died the day
+before.  "Alan Raine will be missed; he was a good and useful English
+type," she said.  "Conscientious and public-spirited.  One could depend
+on him for a subscription and a graceful speech.  I have not known his
+equal for opening a village club or a flower show.  Then the hunt ball
+was always a success since he managed it, and we have not had so good a
+master of otter-hounds."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is something to be remembered for these things.  Alan will be
+missed," Bernard agreed and turned to Carrie.  "You have heard our
+notion of an English gentleman's duty.  What do you think about it?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is not my notion.  If I were a man, and rich, I should like to
+leave a deeper mark."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Bernard, "you come from a strenuous country that breeds
+another type.  Your men fight with blizzards on the snowy trail and
+drive their shafts through ground the sun never melts.  Sometimes they
+come to England and teach us to hustle by altering the landscape and
+destroying our old landmarks.  Perhaps there is something to be said
+for the others who carry out quiet duties conscientiously."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, yes," said Carrie, with a sparkle in her eyes.  "But I'd sooner
+have cornfields running across a drained marsh than a hunt ball for my
+monument."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You have a good apologist," Bernard said to Jim.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The others laughed, and Mrs. Halliday, not liking the turn Bernard had
+given the talk, asked: "Who will take the otter-hounds?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The matter's important and cannot be decided rashly," Bernard replied
+with some dryness, and addressed Mordaunt.  "I imagine Jim might fill
+the post.  What do you think, Lance?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The choice lies between Langrigg and Dryholm, sir.  The Dearhams have
+a kind of traditional right to keep the hounds.  Joseph did so."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am too old."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then Jim ought to make a good master.  That is, if he doesn't think
+otter-hunting an idle man's game."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard turned to Jim, who laughed.  "Lance's shot was fair.  When I
+first came over I had some prejudices, but they are going and I don't
+see why I shouldn't play now and then."  He paused and his look was
+serious when he resumed: "In a way, it's strange, but your English
+customs have a grip; they get hold of one.  In fact, I'm getting
+English fast, but perhaps that is not quite right.  I begin to feel I
+am English."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Halliday gave him an approving smile.  "You inherited more than
+Langrigg from the Dearhams, Jim.  I like to see you realize you got
+some duties when you got the estate."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know if keeping the hounds is a duty," Jim rejoined.  "Perhaps
+Lance was nearest when he called it a game.  All the same, I think I'd
+like the job."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They began to talk about the advisability of moving the kennels and
+Carrie, sitting quiet, studied the others.  She saw Mrs. Halliday was
+pleased and thought she understood this.  Mordaunt puzzled her.  His
+rather dark face was hard to read, but she had got a hint of
+disappointment when he said the choice lay between Langrigg and Dryholm
+and Bernard declared he was too old.  Then she suspected a touch of
+bitterness in his next remark.  The others had noted nothing, except
+perhaps Bernard, who had looked at Mordaunt hard.  Carrie did not like
+Mordaunt; he sometimes sneered politely at Jim.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is something to know Jim is willing, but the post is not my gift,"
+Bernard resumed.  "A meeting will no doubt be held to weigh the matter
+and if Jim is chosen, I should not be surprised."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then he got up and shivered as the creeping shadow touched the bench he
+occupied.  Some of the others went off along the terrace and Jim and
+Evelyn crossed the lawn.  They were talking animatedly and Carrie felt
+a pang when Jim's laugh came back to her.  In the woods she had cheered
+him and he laughed at her jokes.  Now he was always kind but he forgot
+her when Evelyn was about.  She turned rather moodily towards the arch
+and saw Bernard standing in the gloom.  His eyes were fixed on the
+figures on the lawn and Carrie thought he looked annoyed, but he smiled
+when he heard her step.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They have left you alone?" he said.  "Well, we must amuse each other,
+and there are some flowers in the hot-house that I don't think you have
+seen."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie went with him thoughtfully.  Bernard's remarks were often
+oracular; he left one to guess what he meant, but she imagined his
+glance was sympathetic.  Although this was to some extent embarrassing,
+she began to talk; and when they reached the hot-house he answered her
+questions about the flowers with old-fashioned politeness.  By and by
+he glanced at a thermometer and pulling down a skylight turned to
+Carrie, who was looking at the patches of glowing color that broke the
+long banks of green.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Beautiful things but fragile, and they have no smell," he said.  "I
+suppose we grow them because they cost us much.  The flowers of the
+bleak North are sweet."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+By and by Jim came in and after a glance about exclaimed: "These are
+very fine!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You have an eye for color," Bernard remarked.  "Their beauty's almost
+insolent; I don't know if it's strange that they are foul-feeders and
+thrive on rottenness.  Sometimes I think I'd give them all for the
+cloudberry bloom I trampled on the moors when I was young.  It feeds on
+the melting snow and opens its chaste white cup nearest the sky."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You declared you were not a sentimentalist," said Jim.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well," said Bernard, "you must make allowances for an old man's
+inconsistency."  He turned as a car began to throb, and smiled at
+Carrie.  "One mustn't keep the engine running and I expect the others
+are waiting.  Come back soon and cheer me up."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He went with them to the steps, and when they drove off Jim was
+thoughtful for a few minutes.  He was glad Bernard liked Carrie, but
+perhaps it was strange he had not urged Evelyn to come back.  Bernard,
+however, was puzzling; one could not understand his moods.  Then Jim
+forgot about it as Mrs. Winter began to talk.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A week later, four gentlemen sat one evening in the smoking-room at a
+house on the rolling ground where the hills dip to the seaboard plain.
+Three were rather fat, gray-haired, and solemn, and one was young.  The
+latter indicated a siphon and decanter on the table when Mordaunt came
+in.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Help yourself," he said.  "Where's Dick?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I arranged to pick him up at the cross-roads, but he wasn't there,"
+Mordaunt replied.  "Dick's a careless fellow and I didn't want to be
+late."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He filled a glass and when he sat down one of the others remarked:
+"Alan Raine has gone and it is our melancholy duty to fill his post.
+This will not be easy; Alan was a keen sportsman and a man of tact.  He
+commanded the farmers' respect and had the interest of the hunt at
+heart.  For all that, the hunt is a useful institution and must be kept
+up.  Fish are getting scarce; modern field drainage sends down the
+water in sudden floods and when, between times, the rivers run low the
+trout and salmon are the otter's easy prey.  It is our duty to preserve
+the fisheries, and help, as far as we are able, a bracing English
+sport."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He drained his glass while the others signed approval.  Hodson had
+cleared the ground neatly and the business could begin.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Our choice is somewhat limited," said another.  "I think we have all
+found it a drawback to keep the hounds near the hills, since the meets
+are generally held by the deep water in the flat holms.  In fact, one
+feels the hounds ought to go to Dryholm or Langrigg."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt quietly lighted a cigarette and then replied: "I'm afraid you
+must rule out Dryholm.  Bernard declares he is too old to take the
+hounds."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But what about yourself?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am too poor," said Mordaunt, smiling.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The others hesitated.  They were cautious and did not want to venture
+on dangerous ground, but there was something to be said, and Herries,
+the youngest man, remarked: "After all, an offer of the hounds is a
+compliment and its acceptance, to some extent, a public duty.  If this
+view were put before Bernard Dearham, some arrangement could perhaps be
+made."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You mean I might fill the post and Bernard provide the money?"
+Mordaunt suggested.  "Bernard, however, does not seem to see the
+advantage of the plan."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Herries gave him a keen glance.  Mordaunt's face was calm; but the
+other imagined he had felt some disappointment.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then we must fall back on Langrigg.  The new owner is your relation.
+What do you think about our asking him?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I imagine you couldn't find a better site for the kennels," Mordaunt
+replied.  "Langrigg is near the deep water where the big fish lie and
+you can generally find an otter&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He stopped, and Herries said, "Yes, of course!  But this is not
+altogether what we mean.  Do you think Dearham would take the post?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's possible," said Mordaunt, very dryly.  "Have you decided to ask
+him?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The others were quiet for a moment or two.  They felt they had got a
+hint, but the hint was vague.  Somebody must take the hounds and they
+could not.  They resolved to leave the thing to Herries; he was young
+and his remarks would not carry so much weight.  Besides, he knew
+Mordaunt well.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Let's be frank," he said, hiding some embarrassment by a twinkle meant
+for Mordaunt alone.  "Choosing a master of hounds is an important job.
+Would Dearham fill the post properly?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I think not," Mordaunt answered in a quiet voice.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well," remarked another.  "I suppose there is no more to be said."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt lighted a fresh cigarette.  "I want you to understand.  Jim
+Dearham is my relation, but I feel my responsibility.  He is a good
+sort and I am not stating much to his disadvantage when I admit that he
+is not the proper man to take the hounds.  He has not yet cultivated
+our sense of sport and his notions are utilitarian.  I'm afraid he'd
+grumble about broken fences and trampled crops.  Then, for example,
+he's dyking the marsh."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Exactly!" said one.  "I imagine we do understand.  Well, we must ask
+Watson of Red Bank.  He's rich enough and ambitious, although he's not
+altogether the man I'd like."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They agreed, and soon afterwards Dick came in and asked Mordaunt: "Why
+didn't you stop for me, as you promised?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did stop.  I waited some minutes."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then you must have come before the time."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Look at your watch," said Mordaunt, who took out his.  "I got the time
+at the station this afternoon."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick said it did not matter much and asked whom they meant to make the
+master of hounds.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Watson, of Red Bank," one replied, and began to talk about something
+else when he had filled a glass for Dick.  The latter was young and
+sometimes indiscreet; it was better he should not know what Mordaunt
+had said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+By and by two or three went off to the billiard-room and Herries said
+to Mordaunt: "Sorry I had to urge you; but I knew the others hadn't
+pluck enough and meant to leave the thing to me.  Their notion was I
+didn't count and you wouldn't resent my remarks.  Rather an awkward
+job, but we felt we could trust you.  All the same, I like Jim, and
+expect he'll be popular when we get to know him.  In fact, I imagine
+I'd have let him take the hounds."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He'd have jolted the others badly," Mordaunt rejoined.  "They belong
+to the old school; he belongs to the new."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"One or two rather need a jolt, but we'll let it go.  I want to watch
+Dick's game; he's been playing well and using a new stroke."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They went to the billiard-room and stayed until the party broke up.
+Then, as the Dryholm car rolled up to the steps, Dick said to Mordaunt:
+"You got the wrong time, after all.  I compared my watch with Hodson's.
+His was a presentation from the farmers' club, you know; the latest
+thing in watches, and he declares it's accurate."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's not very important."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In a way, it is important," Dick objected.  "If I'd been here soon
+enough, I'd have urged their choosing Jim."  He paused and looked at
+Mordaunt hard.  "It's curious, but I imagined Hodson was embarrassed
+when he said they meant to ask Watson.  Why should they ask the fellow?
+He's not our sort."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"After all, Jim is not our sort."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Rot!" exclaimed Dick.  "Bernard is satisfied and I'd sooner trust him
+than Hodson.  In fact, Bernard's a better judge than anybody in
+Hodson's stodgy lot."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt shrugged, but was glad the rattle of the engine covered his
+silence and the driver looked up as if to see if he were coming.  He
+got into the car and pondered as he drove back to Dryholm.  Dick's
+manner was curious and his annoyance was plain Mordaunt wondered
+whether he suspected something.  Still, except perhaps for Herries, the
+hunt committee were tactful; he did not think they would enlighten Dick.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0210"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER X
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+BERNARD PONDERS
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+It was getting dark in the hall at Langrigg and Jim, who had just
+returned from the marsh, sat in the hollow of the big fireplace.  Rain
+beat upon the windows, outside which the trees tossed their naked
+branches against the lowering sky, and a cold wind wailed about the
+ancient walls.  Oak logs snapped in the grate and Carrie sat on the rug
+in the flickering light.  She was toasting muffins, and a silver teapot
+and some cups stood on the low table in front of Mrs. Winter.  Now the
+days were getting cold and short, tea by the hearth was a popular
+function.  Carrie buttered a muffin and gave it Jim on the end of the
+fork.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jake must wait for the next.  I can't toast the things fast enough for
+him," she said.  "They're quite nice if you eat them hot, but they're
+not like the flapjacks I made in the woods.  After all, we had some
+pretty good times on the new line; hadn't we, Jim?  Mother doesn't
+know; she wasn't there."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I was not," said Mrs. Winter.  "If you had taken me along, I wouldn't
+be with you now.  A roof that keeps out the rain, a warm room, and a
+comfortable chair are good enough for me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You'd have said <I>for mine</I>, not long since.  Looks as if we were all
+getting English," Carrie replied.  "Jim was very nice when he got you
+the chair.  It's up against all the other things.  If I was Jim, I'd
+hate to have it around."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim laughed.  He had sent to London for the American spring
+rocking-chair that clashed with the old oak in the hall, but it was a
+pattern Mrs. Winter liked and he was satisfied.  He ate his muffin
+silently, for he was tired, and Carrie's remarks had wakened memories
+of other fires that burned among the tall straight trunks in the
+Canadian wilds; he thought he could hear the snow-fed river brawl, and
+smell the smoke that drifted in blue wreaths about the lonely camp.
+Carrie had laughed and bantered him then and he had been happy.  He was
+happy now and hoped to be happier yet, but Carrie was often quiet and
+he had a puzzling feeling that he had lost something he could not
+recapture.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Presently she picked up a local newspaper and lighted a candle with a
+shade.  The light only spread a yard or two, but it touched the page
+she folded back and sparkled in her hair.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They have got a master for the otter-hounds!" she exclaimed, and then
+her color rose and her eyes went hard.  "I don't know the committee,
+but if the others are like Hodson, they're solemn old fools."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'd rather have liked the post, but it doesn't matter much," said Jim,
+and added, with a smile: "Now you're like the Carrie who went North
+with us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Bernard meant you to have the hounds; he's a dear, although some
+stupid people are afraid of him," Carrie went on.  "He'd certainly have
+fixed it if he hadn't got lame again.  But I remember&mdash;Dick went to
+their old meeting and was mad about something afterwards.  I think it
+was something about Lance Mordaunt&mdash;now I begin to see!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't think it's worth while your bothering about the thing."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Don't interrupt!" said Carrie.  "I'm going to talk.  Lance doesn't
+like you, and I imagine Dick doesn't trust him.  Dick is smart
+sometimes and knows Lance is mean.  He is mean; he has a yellow
+streak&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She stopped, for she saw Jim's frown.  He was not vexed with her, but
+her statement chimed with some vague doubts of his.  She got up and
+made him a formal curtsy.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm sorry, Jim.  That was the Carrie you knew in the woods.  If you
+don't want her, you oughtn't to burn logs and sit by the fire when it's
+getting dark, as we used to do.  But she has gone back to the shadows
+that creep among the pines, and I don't think she will come out again."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She pulled up an easy-chair, and when she sat down and shielded her
+face from the fire with her hand Jake's eyes twinkled.  He wondered
+whether Jim saw she was cleverly imitating Evelyn's graceful
+languidness.  After a few moments she indicated the dark oak paneling
+and old furniture.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's your proper background, Jim, when you frown.  It's plain that
+you belong to Langrigg.  When you fought the Scots and hunted wolves I
+expect you often looked like you looked just now."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But I didn't fight the Scots," Jim objected.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Your people did," said Carrie.  "Sometimes you're very dull."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim laughed and glanced at her.  Flames leaped up round the logs and
+the red light played about her face.  Her color was rather marked, she
+looked strangely alert and forceful, and something about her dress gave
+her a touch of stateliness, for Carrie had well chosen her English
+clothes.  Jim knew her to be staunch and fearless, and although her
+humor was sometimes puzzling he felt her charm.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"By George!" he said impulsively, "I think you belong to the old days
+as much as I belong.  One could have trusted you to hold the tower
+against all comers when your man went off to hunt."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie held her hand to her face a moment, as if the fire were hot, and
+then smiled as she looked up.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If my man had gone off often, I would have taken the wolf-spear and
+gone with him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Winter, who had quietly studied both, began to talk about
+something else, and presently a servant brought in some letters.  Jim
+moved the shaded candle and opened his, but after a time put one down
+and looked straight in front, knitting his brows.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What is it, partner?" Jake asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have got a knock.  I told my Vancouver agent to sell some shares and
+send along a check.  He says I'd better wait; the market's very flat."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then you bought the Bench-lands Irrigation stock?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did.  I have invested most of the money I got for the Bluebird mine."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"All ours is at the Merchants' Bank," Carrie remarked.  "Jake wanted to
+buy Irrigation stock, but I wouldn't let him.  However, the company
+ought to make good."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I hope so.  Jeffreys is doubtful.  I bought because I know the Bench
+country and Martin was interested in the scheme.  It seems they are
+having trouble about their water rights and an order has been granted
+to stop the ditches.  Jeffreys says nobody wants the stock just now and
+imagines the lawsuit may go against them."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Will this make things awkward for you?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"To some extent.  Langrigg costs much to run and the dykes are
+expensive.  I'll get my farm rents soon, but they won't go very far.
+For all that, the dykes must be finished; it's the only way to get back
+the money I have spent."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Besides, you want to finish them," Carrie suggested.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is so," Jim agreed.  "You can't leave a job half done."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He began to ponder and struggle with a disturbing doubt.  If the
+Irrigation Company failed, he must use economy, because the farm rents
+would not enable him to live at Langrigg like a country gentleman.  For
+himself, this did not matter much; he did not want a number of servants
+and gardeners.  But Evelyn was used to the extravagance at Whitelees,
+and he knew Mrs. Halliday's views.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," said Carrie, "to begin with, the dykes must be finished.  When
+your money runs out you will use ours."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Carrie speaks for the rest of us," Jake declared.  "What she says
+goes."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim hardly understood the emotion by which he was moved and said
+awkwardly: "Thanks!  You're generous, but I can't let you pay for my
+mistakes."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We are partners, Jim," said Carrie.  "Until you break the partnership,
+all that's ours is yours.  Go on with the dykes and when you need
+money, ask Jake for a check."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Give him the book," said Mrs. Winter.  "Jake can sign some forms."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim hesitated and smiled to hide his embarrassment.  "We'll wait.  I'm
+not broken yet, and since Martin is backing the scheme things can't go
+very wrong.  However, it's lucky they didn't make me master of hounds."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the evening he went to Dryholm and dined with Bernard at a small
+table in the spacious room.  Afterwards they sat by the fire talking
+quietly.  Flickering reflections played about the carved marble and
+bright steel; electric lights, half-hidden by the cornice, threw down a
+soft light, and Bernard looked old and worn as he leaned back languidly
+in his big chair.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Since you have begun to drain the marsh, we may take it for granted
+you are going to stay at Langrigg," he said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, I mean to stay."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then it's obvious that you ought to marry."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know if it's obvious or not," Jim rejoined.  "However, since
+you are the head of the house, I dare say you are entitled to feel some
+curiosity."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard smiled.  "Suppose you think about me as an old man who would
+like to be your friend."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm sorry, sir," said Jim.  "We're an independent lot in Canada and
+I've fought for my own hand since I was a boy.  Anyhow, I mean to marry
+Evelyn, if she is willing."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It looks as if you had not asked her yet."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have not; I'm half-afraid.  In one way, it would be a rash plunge
+for a girl like Evelyn.  Though I've inherited Langrigg, I'm a Western
+adventurer; I've lived with rough men in the wilds.  She's refined and
+cultivated.  Well, I've gone slow, trying to persuade myself I was
+justified before I persuaded her.  Then I wanted her, so to speak, to
+get used to me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are modest," Bernard remarked.  "You imply that Evelyn does not
+know."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't think she knows.  I have been cautious.  If I hinted at my
+hopes too soon, she might get disturbed and alarmed."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard smiled.  "Well, perhaps you have taken a prudent line.  But do
+you imagine your reserve has deceived Janet Halliday?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps it has not; Mrs. Halliday is clever.  I think she is my
+friend."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's possible," Bernard agreed, with a touch of ironical humor.  "How
+long do you think you must give Evelyn, in order to avoid the jar she
+might get if you prematurely revealed your hopes?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim knitted his brows.  He was used to Bernard's cynical dryness and
+trusted him.  "It will be longer than I thought," he answered, grimly.
+"I have had a bad set-back."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He told Bernard about the risk of his losing his money, and the latter
+was silent for a minute or two.  Then he remarked: "I suppose you see
+that if I thought it a good plan I could help you out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is not why I told you," said Jim.  "I could not take your help."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I imagined you would not.  Well, perhaps your frankness accounts for
+our friendship.  You are unembarrassed because you have no grounds for
+indulging my caprices and expect nothing from me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim made a little abrupt movement.  He had once said something like
+that; to Mordaunt, he thought.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very well," Bernard resumed.  "If you think I can help, I am willing;
+but I will not insist."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Thank you," said Jim, "I must trust my own efforts."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard lighted a cigar and pondered.  He was satisfied and somewhat
+amused.  It would not have cost him much to banish Jim's difficulties
+and he would have liked to earn his gratitude, but was glad the other
+had refused.  It was better that Jim's troubles about money should not
+be banished yet.  He was something of a romantic fool; but Bernard knew
+Evelyn was not.  By and by he led Jim into confidential talk about his
+investments in Canada and his plans for developing his new estate, and
+then let him go.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When Jim had gone, he sat by the fire, thinking hard, and after a time
+sent a servant to the library for a bundle of architect's drawings.
+The drawings gave the plans and elevation of a new hospital and Bernard
+thought the plain, straight front, looked mean.  Knowing something
+about building, he saw how it could be altered and ornamented, and the
+hospital enlarged, if funds permitted.  He was one of the founders and
+thought it might be advisable to augment his gift.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Next day he went to Whitelees and was received by Mrs. Halliday in her
+drawing-room, which always annoyed him.  He felt he wanted to clear out
+Janet's room and furnish it on another plan.  Bernard hated sensual
+prettiness and liked bold, clean lines and subdued color.  Besides, his
+gout was rather bad, the fragile chair was uncomfortable, and he could
+not rest his foot.  When the pain gripped him he frowned, and Mrs.
+Halliday remarked that he was not looking well.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am getting old and have recently felt my age," he replied.  "One
+must pay for a strenuous youth, and it's becoming plain that I ought to
+straighten my affairs while the opportunity is mine."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Halliday looked sympathetic and felt curious.  She had wondered
+when Bernard would give her his confidence.  "Well," she said, "I
+suppose this is one's duty, although I hope you have no particular
+grounds for imagining it needful just now."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"One cannot tell," Bernard remarked.  "Anyhow, I have responsibilities
+that must not be shirked.  Well, Evelyn and Lance will get a share of
+my property; in fact, I have made some provision for them."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I expect you have been generous," said Mrs. Halliday, who wondered how
+far she durst go.  "But what about Jim?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"His claim will need some thought.  For that matter, he has hinted that
+he is satisfied with Langrigg.  Independence like his is not common and
+perhaps ought to be indulged."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Halliday was disturbed, but Bernard did not seem to be curious
+about her feelings and resumed: "In the meantime, I've been thinking
+about the new Brunstock hospital and am going to see the committee.
+Since you promised us a donation, I have brought the plans."  He
+unrolled the elevation and gave it her.  "This is not the kind of
+building we want and I mean to propose some alterations."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He indicated the alterations, and Mrs. Halliday said: "But it will cost
+a very large sum."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I expect so.  My money came from the iron mines; the Brunstock pitmen
+and furnace men earned the most part for me.  A number get hurt and it
+is just that I should give them something back.  Then if we called it
+the Dearham hospital, as the committee suggest, the building would keep
+my memory green, and I am vain enough to prefer a handsome monument."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In some ways it is a good ambition," Mrs. Halliday agreed, although
+she was puzzled, for she thought Bernard had an object he had not
+stated.  He certainly was not vain.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course," he went on, "one must be just to one's relations, and it
+would be harsh to leave out Jim altogether.  Still, you see, he's rash;
+we have an example in his dyking plan, and I would not like my money
+squandered.  I expect you know he has lost much of his in a Canadian
+speculation?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Halliday did not know and got something of a jar.  She gave
+Bernard a quick and rather anxious glance.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But if he has lost his, your gift would be more needful."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard made a sign of disagreement.  "The drawback is, Jim might use
+it as rashly as he has used the rest."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They sometimes waste money at hospitals."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is so, but if I carry out my plans, there will not be much waste
+at Brunstock.  I have been pondering some stipulations, and if I give
+them a proper endowment, the trustees must consent."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you mean to endow the new wards?  We understood you would be
+satisfied with giving part of what they needed for the original
+building."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course," said Bernard.  "Since I'm going to urge the extension, I
+must find the money.  The hospital is getting a hobby of mine and I may
+make the endowment much larger than I meant."  He got up.  "It's a long
+drive and I must not keep the committee."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He went off and Mrs. Halliday tried to brace herself.  She had grounds
+for disturbance, but she must think.  If Bernard carried out his plans,
+it was obvious that she must change hers.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0211"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XI
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+EVELYN'S ADVENTURE
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+After Bernard had gone, Mrs. Halliday talked to Evelyn.  At first she
+was cautious and rather implied than stated her meaning, but by degrees
+she threw off her reserve.  Although Evelyn and her mother generally
+agreed, Mrs. Halliday felt she was antagonistic, and this disturbed
+her.  Evelyn was not romantic; as a rule, her judgment was cool and
+sound, but she was human, and it began to look as if she were strongly
+attracted by Jim Dearham.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"On the whole, it would be better if you did not go to Langrigg
+to-morrow," Mrs. Halliday concluded.  "You can make an excuse."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I think not," said Evelyn.  "You urged me not to disappoint Jim the
+last time we went, but we will let this go.  Now he has had bad luck,
+it would look significant if you suddenly withdrew your approval.  He
+knew it was his not long since."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In a way, I am forced to withdraw it.  I like Jim&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But you do not like him to be poor," Evelyn interrupted with a smile.
+"Well, it seems to me a proper and tactful line for his friends to
+rally round him when he is in trouble."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"One can, of course, be sympathetic if one meets him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn laughed.  "But one need not go too far?"  She paused and gave
+her mother a steady look.  "Langrigg is a fine old house, I don't
+suppose Jim is ruined, and I have some money.  Then you have taught me
+to expect that I may get some more."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Bernard is capricious.  He has a bitter humor and may disappoint us
+all.  You have come to think refinement needful; you are extravagant
+and could not live with an impoverished husband.  Let me beg you not to
+be obstinate and rash."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Evelyn, "I sometimes felt I would like to be rash, but was
+not brave enough.  I do not know if I have much courage now."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Halliday got up.  Perhaps she had said enough and after all one
+could trust Evelyn when she was cool.  It looked as if the girl's
+disappointment had been sharp, and the wise plan was to leave her
+alone.  Yet she was puzzled; Evelyn had given signs of a recklessness
+her mother thought new.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When Mrs. Halliday went out Evelyn tried to formulate her thoughts.  To
+begin with, her mother's calculating caution repelled her; it had made
+her feel shabby.  Then she had, no doubt, taken much for granted.  Jim
+had, perhaps, had bad luck, but this did not mean that he was
+impoverished, and after all there were many expensive things one could
+go without.  She was not as greedy as some people thought.  Indeed, it
+would be rather fine to make a plunge; to let cold caution go and play
+a romantic part.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She mused about Jim.  He was marked by a certain roughness, but he had
+dignity.  He gave one pleasant thrills&mdash;there was the scene on the dyke
+when she was half-shocked and yet strangely moved.  His physical
+fineness appealed; his figure was like an old Greek athlete's, his face
+was sharply cut and somehow ascetic.  He was hot-blooded, but one knew
+he was not gross.  His was a clean virility.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn thought she loved him, as much as she could love anybody, for
+she had not been touched by passion, and it counted for something that
+he loved her.  The reserve he thought he used was, of course,
+ridiculous.  Evelyn resolved she would go to Langrigg and sympathize
+with Jim.  Then she would wait and by and by her feelings might get
+stronger and she would see her way.  She would not admit that the
+possibility of learning whether Jim would get over his difficulties had
+some influence.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Next evening she went to Langrigg, without Mrs. Halliday, who made an
+excuse.  Jim called for her with his car, and, for the most part, she
+was quiet and he did not talk much.  There were steep hills and awkward
+corners as they ran down from the rolling country to the plain.  The
+evening was calm and the noise of the sea came softly out of the
+distance.  Now and then plover and curlew cried, a half-moon hung in
+the west, and the black hills rose out of fleecy mist.  Evelyn was
+imaginative and liked the drive across the flat holms in the dark.  It
+was romantic ground, rich with traditions of the old Border raids, and
+now as she watched Jim, sitting, absorbed, with his hands on the wheel,
+she felt he, so to speak, dated back.  He drove the powerful modern car
+with ease and skill, but somehow she imagined him wearing steel cap and
+leather jack and guiding a shaggy pony.  Perhaps it was the picture in
+a hall she knew that haunted her.  One saw the shadowy horsemen and
+glitter of spears in the moonlight.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Meanwhile, she gave herself to irresolute thought.  Jim had some
+advantages and some drawbacks; Evelyn saw the drawbacks plainly.  He
+attracted her; it would be exciting to let him carry her away and
+embark with him on a romantic adventure.  She knew he had recently used
+a stern control, but he was hot-blooded and his reserve might be
+undermined.  Yet there was a risk; she must give up much.  She was
+drawn in different ways by romance and worldly caution and it looked as
+if caution would win.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Soon after she reached Langrigg Mordaunt arrived with Dick.  The latter
+declared that Jim was a very good sort, and Evelyn knew his feeling was
+sincere, but she imagined Dick liked Carrie and was sometimes
+disturbed.  For all that, she had been relieved to note that Carrie
+liked Dick.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dinner was a cheerful function, but when they went back to the hall
+Evelyn was quiet.  Joseph Dearham and others had made some renovations
+in the hall, but they harmonized with the crooked roof-beams and dark
+oak.  There were one or two tall lamps and another that hung by iron
+chains, but Jim generally used candles in old silver stands.  Evelyn
+wondered how Jim knew that candles were right.  It was strange that he
+often, unconsciously, she thought, struck the proper note.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She studied him and Jake while she talked to Mrs. Winter.  Jim seldom
+wore conventional evening clothes, but he had put on an American
+dinner-jacket.  He and his comrade were strangely agile; their
+movements were quick, their step was light, like a cat's, and she noted
+how they lifted their feet.  She did not know the prospector gets the
+habit by walking through tangled bush and across rough stones.  They
+had a suppleness that came from using the long ax, and toil in the
+wilds had given them a fine-drawn look.  In some ways both were modern,
+but in some they belonged to the past, when the fortress peels were
+built and the marsh-men fought the Scots.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim crossed the floor, and when he began to talk to Carrie, Evelyn felt
+a jealous pang.  The girl had been in the woods with Jim; she had
+beauty and a curious primitive strength.  Jim leaned forward, smiling
+as he talked to her; they talked confidentially, like tried comrades.
+Evelyn was moved to something near anger and went to the old grand
+piano Jim had brought from the drawing-room when he found that Carrie
+could play ragtime airs.  Evelyn had a talent for music and meant to
+make an experiment.  If Jim was what she thought, he would respond.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If somebody will light the candles, I will sing," she said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The candles had pale-yellow shades and when Jim struck a match the
+colored light touched her face and dress.  Except for this, the corner
+was somewhat dark.  Amber was Evelyn's color.  She struck a few chords
+that seemed to echo in the distance and then, glancing at Jim, began a
+prelude with a measured beat.  His face was intent; he seemed to search
+for something in the music that sounded as if it were getting nearer.
+She wondered whether he heard the call of trumpets and horses' feet
+drumming in the dark.  Somehow she thought he did.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Perhaps she was debasing her talent; this kind of thing was rather a
+theatrical trick than music.  For all that, it needed feeling, and she
+knew the old Border ballads and their almost forgotten airs.  Jim was
+very still when she began to sing, for her voice and the music moved
+him strongly.  The air was wild, the rude words rang with something one
+felt when one battled with floods and snowslides.  They told how the
+moss-troopers rode down Ettrick water long ago; but human nature did
+not change and hard-bitten men now went out on the snowy trail,
+carrying shovels and axes instead of spears.  But how did Evelyn,
+surrounded by luxurious refinements, understand?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's fine!" he exclaimed when she stopped.  "You have got it just
+right; horses' feet, and harness jingling.  But you go back of that to
+the feeling one has when one braces up and sets one's mouth tight."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn laughed and looked at Mordaunt, who frowned.  "Perhaps you are
+easily satisfied, Jim, but music, critical folks contemptuously call
+descriptive, needs some talent."  She paused and beat out a few bars
+imitating a horse's gallop.  "It really does go back of this."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Never mind critical folks," said Jim.  "Sing another&mdash;the song of
+Flodden."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm not sure the song you mean has really much to do with Flodden, but
+I know one that has.  It's old and rude, like the Borderers.  You know
+a band would not fight, but were too proud to run away.  They stood
+fast, by themselves, and were shot down by the archers while the loyal
+Scots fell round their wounded king.  This, however, is shocking art;
+it's like writing what you are meant to see at the top of a picture.  I
+know it annoys Lance."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I can endure much from you," Mordaunt rejoined.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn struck the keys and began to sing.  Words and air had a strange
+barbaric force, and Jim pictured the stern Scots spearmen closing round
+their fallen monarch and their hate for the stubborn mutineers.  The
+blood came to his skin when the music stopped and the girl's voice
+flung out a dying soldier's curse.  The curse was strangely modern; one
+heard it often in the West.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Thank you!  You have not sung like this before," he said, and turned
+to Jake.  "How does it strike you, partner?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It hits me where I feel it, and hits me hard.  I reckon the men who
+fought that old battle meant to make good.  I don't know how Miss
+Halliday knows what a man with red blood feels when he's got to put
+over a big hard job, but she does know."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm afraid you would make me vain," said Evelyn.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She turned as she left the piano and gave Carrie a quick glance.  A
+sharp jealousy seized her, for while she could imagine what a strong
+man felt, Carrie really knew.  She had fronted danger with Jim; she had
+watched and helped his struggle in the lonely North.  Evelyn was
+suddenly afraid of Carrie.  She was a powerful rival.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The party went to the billiard-room, but Evelyn would not play and sat
+in a corner, thinking hard.  She was highly-strung, and her hesitation
+had vanished.  Jim loved her and nobody else should claim him.  Perhaps
+she was rash, but she had begun to feel passion, and saw she must
+embark upon her great adventure now, when Jim had had reverses and was
+smarting from the blow.  He must see that she had pluck and was willing
+to bear his troubles.  After all, to have done with caution was
+exhilarating.  Yet she knew her lover.  He would not ask her to make a
+sacrifice for him; unless his luck changed he would keep up his
+reserve.  Well, she must break it down, and she knew her power.  Then
+she turned as Mordaunt stopped by the bench she occupied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I think you did not like my song," she said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You know I did not," Mordaunt rejoined.  "Anyhow, I didn't like your
+exaggerated rendering of a ballad that is probably genuine, though one
+authority states it was written about an ancient football match.  They
+played football before the Scottish wars in the Border towns."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Is this important?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is not.  I thought you were putting your talent to a shabby use."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Art is imitation," Evelyn remarked with a mocking smile.  "Why should
+one not imitate the drumming of horses' feet? or, for example, a storm
+at sea?  I believe that kind of thing is popular at cheap concerts."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt frowned.  "You well know what your gift is worth.  It's too
+fine to be used in order to rouse crude emotions in a handsome savage
+like Jim."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Evelyn, with a sparkle in her eyes, "are the great emotions
+crude?  Courage and loyalty that led to deeds that live four hundred
+years?  I don't know if our refinements would stand comparison with the
+big primitive things."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jim is certainly primitive," Mordaunt sneered.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And he's big!  So big that he makes other men look small!  I was
+disturbed when I saw him, bruised and muddy, that day at the marsh; but
+I begin to understand I was ridiculous.  He fought the smith because he
+was accountable for his men."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well; I expect he would value your approval," said Mordaunt, who
+saw Jim go out.  "It looks as if he were getting bored."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn smiled.  "He keeps some dyking plans in the hall.  I don't think
+he will be bored if I join him."  She got up languidly.  "Since you are
+not very amusing, I will go."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She went off and found Jim opening a drawer.  "You can study your
+plans; I won't disturb you," she said, sitting down by the fire.  "I
+really don't care for billiards."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He shut the drawer and leaned against a table opposite.  "You were not
+playing billiards; you were talking to Lance.  That was why I went
+away."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You flatter me," said Evelyn.  "But don't leave the plans.  I expect
+they are important."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They are important.  The rain is giving us trouble, and although I
+began the job to occupy my leisure, I'm going to finish it because I
+must."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I think I understand.  I am sorry you have had bad luck in Canada."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Thank you.  How did you know?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Bernard told us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wonder why," Jim remarked, thoughtfully.  "Although it doesn't
+matter much, I didn't expect him to tell."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn pondered.  Bernard had, no doubt, had an object, but she could
+solve the puzzle afterwards.  She was alone with Jim, and in a few
+minutes the others might return.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I was rather hurt when I found you had given Bernard your confidence
+and left me out," she said.  "But does this reverse in Canada hit you
+hard?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It was a nasty knock.  I expect to get over it, but it will be some
+time before I recover the ground I've lost.  Things will be better when
+we plow the land I'm reclaiming from the marsh."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In the meantime, you will have to struggle?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Jim, rather grimly, "it will be a struggle.  But that is
+not all&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He pulled himself up.  There was a risk that he might say too much, and
+while he hesitated Evelyn listened.  The door was open and the house
+was quiet, but she could not hear the click of the billiard balls.  It
+looked as if Dick and Carrie had finished their game, there was no time
+for clever maneuvering; she must be frank.  She gave Jim a quick glance
+and then looked away.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jim," she said, "I am not poor."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He started, and his face got red.  Evelyn's meaning was obvious, but he
+could hardly persuade himself that he had grasped it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Much of my money has gone and I may not get it back," he said, with
+forced quietness.  "In one way, this does not matter; I'm not greedy,
+but I'm proud.  I must farm the reclaimed land and make my farming
+profitable; I can't keep up Langrigg as my friends expect.  I've got to
+live and work as I lived and worked in Canada."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"People do live in the woods and on the plains.  Do you think your
+countrywomen have less pluck than these others?  Are we dull and weak,
+afraid of hardship and only willing to be amused?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim lifted his head and laughed.  "All this is ridiculous!  I haven't
+met many English girls, but you are the finest thing in a woman's shape
+I have known.  I've thought about you always since that day at
+Montreal.  When they told me Langrigg was mine I would have sold it had
+I not thought I might find you in the Old Country."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then you didn't know I was here?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did not," said Jim, who forgot his reserve and let himself go.
+"When I saw you on the terrace, I got a thrill and a sense of triumph
+I'd never known before.  But to find you was not enough; I had got to
+claim, and keep you.  I'd got to have something to offer; I had to
+justify myself.  Well, that's why I began to drain the marsh&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn stopped him.  "I wasn't worth it, Jim," she said, with
+half-ashamed sincerity.  "But I understand; you are too proud to take,
+you want to give.  Although you're foolish, I like your pride."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For a moment Jim was silent and his face got hard.  "It's done with,"
+he said, rather hoarsely.  "I meant to make good before I claimed you,
+and this loss has set me back.  I'm not beaten, but I must wait until I
+can give you all you ought to have.  You're so fine and highly-tempered
+that you're fragile; rough jolts and jars are not for such as you.
+I've got to work&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She got up and looked at him shyly, with color in her face and her eyes
+shining.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And until you make good, you mean to leave me out?  Will it cost you
+nothing, Jim?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It will cost me much," he said, grimly.  "More than I durst reckon,
+but I must brace up and pay."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But suppose I will not let you leave me out?  Am I to give nothing?"
+Evelyn asked.  "Besides, it's my right to choose, and you meant to rob
+me of my right.  If I didn't know you well, I should be angry.
+Langrigg is yours; but if you had nothing, do you think I'd keep our
+extravagance at Whitelees and let you go?"  She turned her head and
+then looked up, stretching out her hands.  "I can't let you go!  I want
+to help."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim took her hands and next moment she was in his arms.  Then there
+were steps in the passage and she gently pushed him back.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You must tell nobody just yet," she said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The others came in and Mordaunt looked at Evelyn rather hard, but she
+went to the piano and opening a music-book, beckoned Dick.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You know this," she said.  "I'll play it for you."
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0212"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XII
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+THE SHOOTING PUNT
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+On the morning after her interview with Jim, Evelyn sat in front of a
+writing-table by a window at Whitelees.  She had meant to tell a friend
+about her lover, but now did not know if she would or not.  For one
+thing, the morning was cold and dreary and she felt dull.  Composition
+was difficult; the glowing phrases she had thought to use would not
+come.  It was raining outside, the lawn was strewn with wet dead
+leaves, and the bare trees tossed their branches in the wind.  Shallow
+pools spread about the terrace and the hills were blurred by mist.
+Winter had begun and Evelyn did not like winter in the country.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She put down her pen.  Last night's thrill had gone and she was
+languid.  When she had broken his reserve, Jim was the ardent and
+romantic lover she had thought; but she had been forced to break down
+his reserve and this carried a sting.  For some hours she had been
+dazzled by the glamor of romance and had rejoiced in her rashness, but
+the light was getting dim.  Things looked different in the morning.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim loved her and she was flattered by his exaggerated notion of her
+worth.  She had meant to justify his confidence, but she knew this
+would be hard, because she knew herself.  In a sense, Jim was not her
+kind, and by and by they might jar.  She had self-control, but she was
+not patient.  Moreover, it looked as if Jim were poor, and although she
+had some money she was not rich.  Thrilled by keen excitement and
+half-consciously acting, she had told him that poverty did not daunt
+her, but when she came to think, it would be hard to go without the
+expensive refinements she enjoyed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With something of an effort, she banished her disturbing thoughts.  She
+was going to marry Jim.  Perhaps she could mold him a little.  Yet she
+did not know; she did not want to conventionalize him; there was
+something rather fine about his ruggedness.  Then she began to wonder
+why she had asked him to tell nobody yet.  Girls she knew had found an
+obvious satisfaction in exhibiting their lovers, but she had felt a
+need for concealment.  This was not because she feared her mother's
+disapproval; it looked as if she had unconsciously tried to leave open
+a way of escape.  By and by a car rolled up the drive and Mordaunt came
+in.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am going to the town and wondered whether you wanted anything I
+could get for you," he said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn said he might call for some goods her mother had ordered, and he
+was silent for a moment or two.  Then he asked: "Were you and Jim
+quarreling in the hall last evening?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," she said, smiling.  "Why do you imagine this?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jim was preoccupied.  I asked him for matches and he gave me his
+cigarette case."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He is often preoccupied," Evelyn rejoined, with a careless laugh.  "I
+expect he was thinking about his dykes; he talked about the marsh."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt studied her.  She was calm and looked amused by his curiosity.
+Moreover, her suggestion was plausible.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jim is not always happy in his choice of subjects, but I won't
+sympathize with you," he said.  "You could have stopped him if you had
+liked.  You often stop me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose that is so," Evelyn agreed.  "For one thing, it is not much
+trouble.  You know when one is bored."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Your tastes are mine; we belong to the same school.  It makes for
+understanding."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"After all," said Evelyn, "one likes something new."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt laughed and said he must go, and when his car rolled away
+Evelyn mused.  Lance's remark was justified; they did belong to the
+same school, and in the main their views agreed.  This had some
+drawbacks, but it had advantages.  Novelty was stimulating for a time,
+but soon lost its charm; one was safe if one held fast by the things
+one knew and valued, even if one's standard of value was not altogether
+just.  Evelyn admitted her cynically philosophic mood was strange, but
+the dreary day accounted for something, and perhaps a reaction from
+last night's thrill had begun.  A few minutes afterwards Mrs. Halliday
+came in and they talked about household matters.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the meantime, Mordaunt drove to the town and stopped at a lawyer's
+office.  There were three partners in the firm which managed Bernard
+Dearham's business; two sober, white-haired gentlemen, and one who was
+young.  The others gave the house weight and respectability, but
+Holbrook supplied the driving force and Mordaunt imagined his partners
+did not know where he was leading them.  Holbrook's room, in a tall old
+house that looked across a quiet square, was handsomely furnished, and
+Mordaunt sat down in a comfortable chair.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I want to borrow some money for about six months," he said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How much do you want?" Holbrook asked, and when Mordaunt told him,
+looked thoughtful.  Mordaunt had borrowed before and had punctually
+repaid principal and interest.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We are not money-lenders, you know," he said.  "I negotiated the last
+loan rather as a favor than a matter of business."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt smiled indulgently.  "For all that, you lend money; your
+clients', I suppose.  I don't know if your legal business would keep
+you going long."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If we invest in anything outside the regular high-class securities, we
+run some risk."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't think the risk is great," Mordaunt replied.  "I sometimes
+speculate, and you have grounds for knowing I'm generally lucky.  Well,
+some friends floated a small private company to develop a West Indian
+estate and we have spent much of our capital on new plantations.  The
+value of our produce is rising, but we need funds to carry us on until
+the crop is shipped and have agreed to a fresh levy.  I must pay my
+share."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The sum is large."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You lent me nearly as much before."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did," said Holbrook.  "Things were different then&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He stopped, and Mordaunt gave him a keen glance.  Holbrook's hesitation
+was curious.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How are things different?" Mordaunt asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You bought shares that seldom fluctuate much.  You risked losing a
+small margin; now you may lose the principal."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The loss would be mine.  I have always paid."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is so.  The trouble is, if this venture went wrong you might not
+be able to pay."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt was silent for a few moments.  Holbrook had been willing to
+negotiate the other loans; it looked as if the fellow had now less
+grounds for trusting him, although it was not his honesty but his power
+to pay he doubted.  Why did Holbrook think his power had got less?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Am I to understand you refuse to lend?" he asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I would sooner not.  However, if a smaller sum&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A smaller sum would not help," Mordaunt replied with a touch of
+haughtiness.  "Well, I will not urge you and dare say you are occupied."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The lawyer let him go and Mordaunt thought hard as he drove home.
+Holbrook had formerly been accommodating, as if he wanted to satisfy a
+client whose business might by and by be valuable, but his attitude was
+now different.  There was no traffic on the road that went up a long
+hill, and Mordaunt could concentrate on the puzzle.  When he was
+half-way up he began to see a light.  Bernard had gone to town and had
+stayed some time; he had probably called on the lawyers who had made
+his will.  The light got clearer and when Mordaunt reached the top he
+thought he understood.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard had altered his will and Mordaunt would not get as much as he,
+and no doubt Holbrook, had thought possible.  The hospital would cost a
+large sum, but this did not account for everything.  Although Bernard
+often used the formal manners of the old school, he had a rude vein; he
+had broken down stubborn opposition and beaten determined strikers
+while he developed the famous iron mines.  No doubt, he saw in Jim
+qualities like his and now meant to leave him the most part of his
+estate.  All Jim got would be taken from the others, and Mordaunt
+thought Holbrook's caution indicated that his share had been severely
+cut down.  Jim was going to get money Mordaunt had imagined was his.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He let the engine go, the car leaped forward, and he drove furiously
+until he reached the Dryholm lodge, for he wanted to find out if his
+supposition was correct.  When he put the car into the garage a man was
+cleaning a limousine.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm afraid I have given you another job," Mordaunt said.  "You haven't
+got the big car properly polished yet."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"She got very wet when I took Mr. Dearham to town."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It was a bad day.  Did he keep you waiting in the rain?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I was outside the lawyers' office for an hour," the man replied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt frowned as he went to the house.  The reason for Holbrook's
+caution was plain, and if Janet Halliday imagined Bernard meant to
+leave Jim nothing, she was much deceived.  Bernard had probably meant
+to deceive her, but Mordaunt thought he would not meddle.  He went to
+his room and stopped for some time, smoking and pondering.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A few days afterwards, Jim and Jake, wearing long waders and yellow
+oilskins, crept up a hollow in the sands.  It was about nine o'clock in
+the evening, they were a mile from land, and light mist drifted about
+the bay, but the moon shone through.  The tide was flowing, the water
+rippled noisily in the channel, and flakes of muddy foam and trailing
+weed floated past.  The harsh cry of a black-backed gull rang across
+the flats and small wading birds whistled about the water's edge.
+Farther off, the clanging call of black geese came out of the mist.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim carried a heavy ten-bore gun and his feet sank in the mud as he
+crept quietly up the hollow.  He liked this rough shooting, and now and
+then Jake and he went out at nights.  When one had hunted fierce game
+in Canada, shooting driven pheasants was tame sport, and the beaters
+found the birds; but on the sands one must match one's intelligence
+against the instinctive cunning of the ducks and geese.  Besides, there
+was some risk that gave the thing a spice.  Belts of sand were
+dangerously soft and the tides were treacherous.  Sometimes they rose
+faster than one reckoned.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The brant-geese can't be far off," he remarked presently.  "It's a
+pretty big gaggle and I expect some of the fat gray-lag are feeding
+with them."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake looked at the water.  "If you want a shot, I guess you'll go on;
+but if I'd been alone, I'd have started home some time since.  The
+tide's rising fast."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We have a quarter of an hour yet," said Jim.  "Anyhow, we'll shove on
+for the next bend."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They went on.  Their waders and oilskins scarcely showed against the
+sand, and the murmur of the current drowned the noise they made.  As
+they came near the bend the calling of the geese got louder, there was
+a creaking beat of wings and some of the harsh cries had a different
+note.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Grey-lag," said Jim.  "Another lot is coming up.  They'll fly across
+to the marsh when the tide moves them."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It will move us soon," Jake rejoined.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When they reached the corner Jim was a short distance in front.  The
+geese were obviously restless and he crouched as low as he could get.
+Jake found a hollow in the bank where the sand, undermined by the
+current, had fallen down, and stood with the water creeping to his
+feet.  He imagined it would nearly reach his waist in mid-channel, and
+they must soon get across.  The beat of wings began again and harsh
+cries echoed in the mist.  The geese were moving and Jake balanced his
+gun when Jim rose half-upright.  The bank behind Jim was low and his
+bent figure was outlined against the glimmering reflection of the tide.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then, although he did not know if he had heard a noise or not, Jake
+looked round and saw a long gray object slide out of the mist.  It was
+indistinct and very low in the water, but he knew it was a shooting
+punt.  It drifted up the channel towards him; a faint ripple indicating
+that somebody was steering it with a short paddle.  A blurred figure
+lay in the well behind a bunch of reeds, and the only bold line was the
+barrel of the big punt-gun that would throw a pound of shot.  Jim could
+not see the punt, because he was looking the other way, but it was
+obvious that the gunner could see him, although Jake thought he himself
+was invisible against the bank.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As a rule, one cannot aim a punt-gun; one must turn the punt, and Jake
+noted that the craft swerved.  The long barrel was now in line with
+Jim, and although the man on board was probably steering towards the
+bank for concealment, Jake thought there was something sinister about
+his quiet approach.  He remembered that Shanks owned the only punt on
+the lower bay.  He waited a few moments, unwilling to call out, lest he
+should spoil his comrade's shot, but feeling disturbed.  The punt was
+about fifty yards from Jim and the heavy shot would not spread much;
+Jake admitted that his disturbance was perhaps illogical, but he did
+not like the way the big gun pointed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When the punt was level with him he stepped out from the bank.  The
+indistinct figure on board did not move, but the craft swerved again
+and the gun pointed straight up the channel.  Jake did not know if this
+was significant or not, because the current eddied, but he imagined the
+fellow had seen him.  Then Jim threw his gun to his shoulder and a red
+flash leaped from the muzzle.  There was a splash, but next moment Jake
+saw a dark object overhead and pulled the trigger.  The goose came
+down, whirling over with long neck hanging limp, until it struck the
+other bank, and Jake plunged into the channel.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Pick up your bird and get across," he shouted, while the current
+rippled about his legs.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For the next minute or two they were occupied.  The tide ran fast, the
+bottom was soft, and Jim's goose drifted away.  He reached it, however,
+and they came out on the other bank.  Jake could see nothing but the
+glimmering water and a narrow belt of wet sand.  The geese had flown
+off and the punt had vanished in the fog.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We stopped long enough, but we've got a brant and a gray-lag.  You
+ought to be satisfied," he said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'd have got another if you hadn't been so anxious to get across," Jim
+rejoined.  "Wasn't there a punt about?  I thought I saw something as I
+threw up my gun."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Jake, dryly, "Shanks' punt!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course!  Nobody else keeps a punt on the low marsh.  Well, we
+spoiled his shot and I expect he'll feel he has a fresh grievance.
+That is, if he knew who I was."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I reckon he knew all right," Jake remarked.  "Nobody else has been on
+the sands for some weeks."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim looked at him rather hard.  "Anyhow, it doesn't matter.  Let's get
+home.  There's a hole in my wader and the water has leaked through.
+This sport is pretty good, but you need a punt.  I'll order one from
+the fellow across the bay."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They set off and Jake could not tell if he had excited his comrade's
+suspicions.  Jim was sometimes reserved.  Jake admitted that his own
+suspicions might not be justified, but he wondered what would have
+happened had he not moved out from the bank.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0213"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XIII
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+MORDAUNT'S REPULSE
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Shortly after his visit to the lawyer, Mordaunt walked over to
+Whitelees.  It was about four o'clock in the afternoon, and it would
+soon be dark, but although he had some distance to go he did not walk
+fast.  Tea was served early at Whitelees and, as a rule, Mrs. Halliday
+afterwards went to sleep.  Mordaunt wanted to arrive when she had done
+so, and his leisurely progress gave him time to think.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He meant to ask Evelyn to marry him.  He liked her and they generally
+agreed, but he was not sure he would have thought about marriage had he
+been rich.  For all that, he knew no other girl who would suit him so
+well, and it would be an advantage to consolidate the family property,
+since both would inherit some part of Bernard's estate.  Mordaunt knew
+Mrs. Halliday saw this, for she had been his friend until Jim came on
+the scene.  It now looked as if she thought Jim would get little or
+nothing, and Mordaunt did not mean to enlighten her.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The loss of his West Indian investment forced him to make a prudent
+marriage, but he did not feel that he was doing a shabby thing.  Evelyn
+understood him and was rather calculating than romantic.  It was
+disturbing that she had obviously been attracted by Jim, but Mordaunt
+thought the attraction was not very strong.  He did not mean to let Jim
+rob him of his inheritance and the girl he hoped would be his wife.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was getting dark when he reached Whitelees and found Evelyn sitting
+by the fire in the drawing-room.  The lamps were not lighted and the
+room was shadowy except for the reflection from the grate.  Evelyn did
+not get up and he stood opposite, talking quietly while she rested her
+chin in her hollowed hand and listened.  He did not pretend passion,
+but she thought he struck the right note.  He was sincere, as far as he
+went, and she admitted that he made the best of a not very strong
+appeal.  One could trust Lance to be graceful.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If you had asked me before, I might have married you.  It is now too
+late," she said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt moved abruptly, but used some control.  "Ah," he said, in a
+rather strained voice, "I suppose this means Jim has claimed you first?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," she said, calmly, "I have promised to marry Jim.  So far, nobody
+else knows."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He was silent for a moment or two, knitting his brows, and then looked
+up.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm sorry, and although your refusal hurts, don't think I'm altogether
+selfish.  Jim is a good sort, but he's not the man for you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn colored and her eyes sparkled, and then the firelight left her
+face.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"To some extent that is so, Lance.  I expect Jim has drawbacks, but
+he's flesh and blood; red blood, I think they say in Canada.  You know
+what you and I are; we have cultivated out our vulgar passions.  At
+least, I thought I had!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Has Jim persuaded you that you were mistaken?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He may persuade me.  After all, there is some satisfaction in being
+human."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt made a sign of vague agreement.  "I thought I was a
+philosopher, but I'm frankly savage now.  However, I don't imagine you
+will let passion guide you very long."  He paused, and after a few
+moments resumed: "If you find you were deceived and romance gets stale,
+you will find me waiting.  I think you know this, and there is no more
+to be said."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There is no use in waiting, Lance," Evelyn replied.  "I have made the
+plunge.  It cost me an effort, but I feel braced.  Jim is bracing; like
+cold water or a boisterous wind.  You would have kept me in an
+enervating calm.  Well, I'm tired of artificial tranquillity; I'm going
+to try my luck in the struggle of life with Jim."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She let him go and he started for Dryholm in a thoughtful mood.  Her
+refusal had hurt him, but he would not dwell on this.  He was
+half-afraid to do so and wanted to think about her.  She was pluckier
+than he had imagined and was obviously sincere, since she did not know
+Jim would be rich, but he doubted if she could keep it up.  Jim was
+rude and tempestuous, and she would not be satisfied with him long.
+The trouble was the romantic impulse might sustain her until it was too
+late, for Jim would, no doubt, urge an early marriage.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt's face got hard as he thought about this, and he was rather
+surprised by the anger that fired his blood.  He had cultivated a
+philosophic selfishness, but it no longer supported him.  He hated Jim,
+and felt troubled about Evelyn.  Luck was with the headstrong fool; he
+had swept her off her feet, but she would recover her balance and then
+she would pay.  Mordaunt clenched his fist and raged with helpless
+savageness.  It was long since he had indulged his passions, and now
+his control had gone the reaction was sharp.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He got cooler and began to look about.  There was a moon, the evening
+was calm, and the dew sparkled on the grass by the hedgerows.  A thick
+wood bordered one side of the road, which went up a long hill, and pale
+birch trunks that caught the light stood out against dusky firs.  Now
+and then a rabbit ran across the road and plunged into the grass, and
+presently there was a sharp rattle of wings.  A flock of wood-pigeons
+circled round in the moonlight and flew back into the frees.  Then a
+cock-pheasant crowed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt stopped in the gloom where a nut-bush hung over the gate of a
+ride.  Somebody had disturbed the birds; one could trust the pigeons to
+give the alarm when an enemy was about.  Mordaunt was a sportsman and a
+good shot, but he waited because he wanted to find some relief from his
+tormenting thoughts.  He was just inside the Langrigg boundary and
+imagined the gamekeeper began his round at the other end of the estate.
+By and by dry underbrush rustled and there was a noise like a briar
+dragging across somebody's clothes.  Afterwards all was quiet for a few
+moments, until a dark figure came out of the gloom close to the gate.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt let the man get over and then touched his arm.  The other
+started, and stepping back, struck the gate.  The blow was soft as if
+something had eased the shock and the fellow's shape was bulky about
+his hips.  Mordaunt knew a poacher has generally a large pocket in the
+lower lining of his coat.  As the fellow lifted a short, knotted stick,
+he turned his face to the light and Mordaunt saw it was Tom Shanks, the
+old marshman's son.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You can put down the stick," he said, coolly.  "I expect you have been
+smoking pheasants, but they're Langrigg bird's, not ours."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Shanks leaned against the gate and looked at him with dull suspicion.
+Although his face was coarse and heavy, his eyes were cunning; he
+slouched, but when he moved his step was light.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There's nowt that's not Langrigg's," he growled, grasping his stick.
+"Gentry stands by yan anodder.  Are you gan t' tell?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt pondered.  They were alone and he knew Shanks's sullen
+ferocity.  On the whole, he thought he was in some danger unless he
+could satisfy the fellow.  Shanks did not mean to let him seize the
+heavy stick.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I've not much ground for standing by Mr. Dearham and it's not my
+business to protect his game," he said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If I thowt you'd send keeper after me&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Put down your stick," said Mordaunt, with haughty impatience.  "If I
+wanted to send the keeper, I'd certainly do so.  But how many pheasants
+did you get?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Nobbut two.  T' birds is varra scarce."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then I don't see why you ran the risk of stealing Langrigg pheasants
+when there are plenty in Red Bank woods."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Shanks was silent for a moment or two, and then replied, as if
+Mordaunt's carelessness had banished his doubts: "Mr. Dearham put us
+oot o' dabbin and blew 't up."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's possible he'll put you out of Bank-end cottage soon."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you ken that?" Shanks asked with a start.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I heard something of the kind.  Dearham meant to let your father have
+the cottage, but said nothing about your getting it, and he's tired of
+you both.  You are letting Bank-end go to ruin and people complain
+about your poaching."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Shanks's sullen look changed to a savage frown.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If he puts us oot, there's nea place we'll can gan."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt hesitated.  He imagined Shanks had had something to do with
+the accident to Jim's car, and it was obvious that the fellow was
+bitterly revengeful.  At the beginning, Mordaunt had not meant to work
+upon his vindictive feelings; he had done so half-consciously, but now
+he meant to go on.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Nobody in the neighborhood would let you have a cottage.  You might
+get a laborer's job in the town, but you would have to work hard, and I
+don't know about your father.  He's rheumatic and old.  None of the
+farmers would engage you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"T'oad man wouldn't could live away from marsh, and I'm none for takin'
+a job in town; I'd sicken among t'hooses," Shanks replied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt thought the fellow did not exaggerate.  Shanks and his father
+would find no place in organized industry.  They belonged to the open
+spaces, the wide marsh and the wet sands.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then it's lucky I and not the gamekeeper caught you to-night," he
+said.  "Mr. Dearham is waiting for an excuse to turn you out.  I
+Imagine you will soon give him one."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Shanks did not reply.  Seizing the top of the gate, he jumped over and
+vanished in the wood.  For a few moments all was quiet, and then
+Mordaunt heard steps in the road.  He left the gate and when he had
+gone a few yards met Dick Halliday, who stopped and looked at him with
+surprise.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I thought I saw two people," Dick remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You did see two," Mordaunt agreed.  "It's curious the other fellow
+didn't hear you farther off, because I imagine his ears are very good.
+Were you trying to get near us?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not at first.  They're mending the road up the hill and I walked on
+the grass.  When I saw you at the gate I suspected poachers and came on
+quietly.  Who was the other fellow?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Tom Shanks.  I caught him coming out of the wood with some pheasants
+and warned him he'd have to leave Bank-end if Jim knew."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you mean you promised not to tell Jim?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I imagined he understood something like that.  He is a powerful
+fellow, and carried a heavy stick.  Still, my satisfying him doesn't
+bind you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know; perhaps it does bind me, in a way," Dick replied.  "All
+the same, Shanks is a loafing thief; I'd have turned him out of the
+neighborhood."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt hesitated.  He would have liked Dick to tell Jim, since this
+might lead the latter to take the cottage from Shanks.  For all that,
+he did not see how he could persuade Dick to do so, because he did not
+want him to think he had an object.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well, I must get on," he said.  "Bernard grumbles when I'm late for
+dinner."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He felt rather angry with himself when he went off.  Luck had given him
+an opportunity and he had used it in a manner of which he was
+half-ashamed.  The thing was done, however, and he was not sure he was
+sorry.  Shanks was a savage brute and had already borne Jim a grudge.
+One or two of the farmers and country gentlemen had had grounds to
+regret they had not left him alone.  He would not hesitate much if he
+saw a way to prevent Jim's turning him out, but Mordaunt shrank from
+wondering how far he would go.  After all, he had merely warned Shanks
+about the consequence of his poaching.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When dinner was over he told Bernard he had been to Whitelees, and
+added: "I imagine Evelyn would not like it publicly announced just yet,
+but she has promised to marry Jim."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard was silent for a few moments, and his face was inscrutable.
+"Then, she is pluckier than I thought," he said, dryly.  "But why does
+she not want people to know?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's something of a puzzle.  Perhaps she felt telling people would
+bind her to her promise."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jim is a handsome fellow; I suppose the flesh is willing but the
+calculating brain weighs the drawbacks that may after all tip the
+beam," Bernard remarked, and added with a sneer: "You ought to have
+married Evelyn; you would have got on with her.  In fact, if she had
+been willing, I'd have seen that her prudence was properly rewarded.
+The curious thing is, I imagine you both knew this."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't think either of us deserves the taunt, sir," Mordaunt
+rejoined.  "Anyhow, I doubt if your generous plan altogether sprang
+from good will to us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You're clever," said Bernard, with dry humor.  "Much cleverer than
+Jim; but he'll go far while you stand still.  Hustling is new to Evelyn
+and at first she may find it exciting, but I doubt if she'll enjoy the
+effort to keep up with her husband when the novelty wears off."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He mused when Mordaunt went away.  For a time at least, his plot had
+failed and he was keenly disappointed.  Evelyn was not the wife for
+Jim; he ought to have married the girl from Canada.  Carrie was frankly
+flesh and blood, and although she had not much polish yet, this would
+come; she had a natural dignity and was staunch and fearless.  She
+would keep pace with Jim, fronting troubles with her steady glance;
+Bernard smiled as he pictured Evelyn's stumbling gait when Jim, so to
+speak, took a rough, steep hill.  The thought, however, did not amuse
+him much, and he resigned himself moodily to wait.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0214"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XIV
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+FOOTSTEPS IN THE SAND
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Jim had a shooting-punt built, and now and then when the tide served at
+night, paddled up the creeks and shot a goose or duck, although he did
+not use a big punt-gun.  He liked to pick out his birds and not throw a
+pound of shot into a flock.  In the meantime, he pushed on the draining
+of the marsh, and although he spent anxious hours counting the cost,
+resolved to hold out until the job was done.  As a rule, he was
+preoccupied and quiet, and Evelyn often found him dull.  His talk about
+dykes and sluices did not amuse her.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+By and by he found it needful to engage some drain-cutters, and one
+afternoon Jake, taking Carrie with him, started for a village on the
+other side of the bay.  It was a long way round the sands and when they
+were near the village the car stopped and Jake found a valve had
+broken.  He engaged the men he wanted and afterwards resolved to leave
+the car and walk back across the sands.  The few cottages were very
+small and their occupants had no room for strangers, but the bay got
+narrow near its mouth and the distance across the sands was scarcely
+three miles.  Jake did not expect to find much water in the channels,
+and when he had borrowed a pair of fishermen's waders for Carrie, and
+they had got a meal at a cottage, they set off.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was dark and fog drifted in from sea, but the moon shone between
+slowly-moving clouds.  The throb of the surf was unusually loud and a
+fisherman told Jake to get across as soon as he could.  He said there
+was wind outside and the tide often turned before its proper time when
+a fresh breeze was coming.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When dusk fell Jim returned from the marsh and found Mrs. Winter in the
+hall.  There was nobody else about, and he thought the hall looked
+lonely.  He was tired after a day's hard work and sat down in an
+easy-chair when Mrs. Winter asked if he would like some tea.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'll wait until Carrie comes," he said.  "Jake ought to have brought
+her back by now.  The house feels empty when they're not here."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Winter mused.  Although Jim had rather unwillingly agreed when
+Evelyn insisted that nobody should be told about their engagement, he
+took much for granted when he imagined that nobody knew.  Mrs. Winter
+was not deceived by his silence and knew that Carrie understood.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"When do you reckon you'll finish the dykes, Jim?" she asked presently.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know," he said.  "It looks like a long job and money's getting
+short.  Anyhow, I have got to put it over, because I can't stand for
+losing the sum I've already spent.  But why do you ask?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Because we must go back when you have no more use for Jake."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh," said Jim, smiling, "I'll always have some use for Jake, and
+Langrigg wouldn't be the same if he took you away.  You and Carrie make
+the old house feel like home."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Winter felt troubled.  Jim was obviously sincere, and she had
+liked him from the beginning.  She had been happy at Langrigg; after
+the strain of hard work and poverty, it was nice to rest and control
+the well-ordered English household.  Carrie, too, had been happy, but
+Mrs. Winter imagined she was not happy now.  Although the girl had grit
+and would play her part well, Mrs. Winter did not mean to let her wait
+for Jim's wedding.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You know we can't stay very long," she said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't see why it's impossible."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You may get married."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well?" said Jim.  "Suppose I do?  There's plenty of room at Langrigg
+and my wife would be kind to my friends when she knew how much I owe
+them."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The plan wouldn't work.  When you marry, your wife will have first
+claim on you.  I reckon she'll have all the claim there is and won't
+want to share it with anybody else."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim frowned.  Perhaps Mrs. Winter was justified.  Now he came to think
+of it, he had once or twice got a hint that Evelyn did not altogether
+understand his friendship for Carrie.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I hate to think of your going," he declared.  "Anyhow, you must stay
+for some time yet.  Jake promised to help me finish the draining
+scheme, and I may go broke.  Then I'd need him more."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He got up and was silent for a few moments.  If he lost his money, his
+engagement to Evelyn must be broken off.  This was obvious, but if he
+had, for example, meant to marry Carrie, his embarrassments would not,
+in one sense, matter much.  Carrie would meet their troubles with a
+smile and help him to make good.  Still he must not indulge thoughts
+like this.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I think I'll take the punt and paddle up the big creek," he said.
+"You can tell Carrie she ought to have come back to give me tea.  Since
+she hasn't come, I'll wait for dinner."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He went off and Mrs. Winter mused.  Jim generally knew what he wanted,
+but his attitude was puzzling now.  Although he meant to marry Evelyn
+and imagined he loved her, Mrs. Winter doubted.  She wondered whether
+Evelyn had, so to speak, dazzled him by her grace and beauty.  Jim was
+resolute and practical, but not clever.  Mrs. Winter sighed and
+imagined she had been foolish to let Carrie stay so long, but she could
+not see her way.  Jim would not be married until he had drained the
+marsh and Jake would not go before the work was finished.  Mrs. Winter
+admitted that he could not go.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the meantime, Jim launched his shooting-punt in a muddy creek.  The
+punt would carry two people and measured about eighteen feet long and
+nearly three feet wide.  She was decked, except for a short well, and
+when loaded floated a few inches above the water.  A bundle of reeds
+was fastened across the head-ledge of the well to hide the occupant
+when he lay down and used the short paddle.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim stood on the after-deck and drove the punt down the creek with a
+pole.  He could see across the bank, and the wet marsh, glistening
+faintly in the moonlight, ran back into thin mist.  In front, the creek
+got wider until it melted into the expanse of sands.  Here and there a
+belt of smooth mud caught a silvery reflection, but for the most part
+the sands were dark.  The night was calm and the advancing surf rumbled
+in the distance like a heavy train.  It was a good night for shooting
+and Jim wondered whether anybody else was about.  Mordaunt and Dick now
+and then went after the geese, and Shanks, in his shooting punt,
+generally haunted the channels when the gaggles came down to feed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was some time after low-water when Jim reached the main channel and
+stopped to listen.  He thought the surf was unusually loud, but he
+could not hear the geese.  The wild cry of a curlew came out of the
+dark and red-shanks were whistling in the distance.  The water, so far
+as he could see, was still, and this meant the tide had not yet entered
+the channel.  He thought he ought to have an hour before it did so, but
+the current would run fast then.  Tides rise high when high-water comes
+at twelve o'clock with a full moon.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After a few minutes he set off again.  There was no need for him to lie
+down and he stood on deck, using the pole.  It sank about a foot, but
+presently the water shoaled and when the punt touched bottom he got
+over and dragged her by a line.  He wore a yellow oilskin, long waders,
+and thin canvas shoes.  At length, the punt would float no farther, and
+putting her on rollers, he pulled her a short distance up the bank and
+afterwards carried a small anchor as far as the line would allow.  He
+was a mile and a half from land, the tide would soon flow, and if the
+geese were about, he might be away some time.  Then, picking up his
+gun, he set off up the nearly dry channel.  There was a salt-water
+lake, bordered by a weedy scar, not far off, and he might find some
+brant geese or ducks.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the meantime, Dick Halliday called at Langrigg, and was received by
+Mrs. Winter.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Are you all alone?" he asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Winter told him where Jake and Carrie had gone, and that Jim was
+shooting.  Dick inquired when Jake had started and looked thoughtful
+when Mrs. Winter replied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They ought to have been back some time since," he remarked.  "The road
+is very bad where it runs across the head of the bay and high tides
+cover the causeway for an hour or two.  I don't think Jake would wait
+until dark; the car has probably broken down."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then they would have to stop all night?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I doubt if anybody could take them in.  There are only a few cottages
+and the mussel-gatherers and farm-hands have swarms of children.  I
+rather imagine Jake would walk across the sands&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He stopped and looked at the tall clock, and then crossing the floor,
+pulled back the window-curtains and opened a light.  Mrs. Winter noted
+that his movements were quick and thought him anxious.  Dick came
+rather often to Langrigg and she imagined Carrie attracted him,
+although she knew the girl had not meant to use her charm.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's nearly full-moon," he remarked when he came back.  "I don't think
+Jim will mind if I borrow one of his guns.  I know where they are.
+Don't bother to ring."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Are you going to shoot?" Mrs. Winter asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I might get a shot," Dick replied carelessly.  "Anyhow, I'll walk
+across the sands.  I may find Jim, or perhaps meet Jake and Carrie
+coming back."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He went to the gun-room and took down a heavy ten-bore, that would make
+a loud report, for the fog he had seen from the window was getting
+thick.  Then he put some cartridges in his pocket, and finding a pair
+of waders, went back and smiled when he met Mrs. Winter's curious
+glance.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Carrie may be glad of the waders," he said.  "There's sometimes a
+little water in the hollows, and I don't expect Jake knows the driest
+way.  Now I'll get off."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Winter let him go.  She was beginning to feel alarmed, but Dick's
+quick, resolute movements comforted her.  He had been careful not to
+hint there was a risk, but if there was, he would know the best way of
+meeting it.  Dick did not hurry when he went down the freshly-raked
+gravel drive, but when he reached the road he walked as fast as the
+heavy gun would let him.  Carrie was on the sands, it was past
+low-water, and Jake did not know much about the gutters through which
+the tide ran up the bay.  Dick did know, and had sometimes seen a
+white-topped bore roll like a wall of foam across the flats when the
+moon was full.  To-night, when wind was coming, the tide would rise
+fast.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was rough walking across the marsh, where he was forced to jump
+ditches and wind about among deep holes, and he was glad to reach the
+sands.  Stopping for a few moments, he took off his boots.  The sand
+was cold, but he meant to strike the shortest line across the bay and
+in places the mud was soft.  He knew one can pull one's naked foot
+loose where one's boots would stick; moreover, Carrie would like the
+waders dry.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick began to think about Carrie as he set out across the flats.  He
+liked her much, and admitted that it cost him an effort not to fall in
+love with her; Carrie had made him feel that this could not be allowed.
+Sometimes he wondered why, and sometimes he thought he knew; but then
+he suspected that Jim would marry Evelyn.  Dick approved Jim, but
+doubted if he was altogether the man for Evelyn.  Perhaps, however,
+when he came to think about it, he really meant that Evelyn was not the
+girl for Jim.  There was a difference&mdash;&mdash;.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He pulled himself up.  He was fond of Evelyn, although he knew her
+faults; besides, the fog was thick and he must keep his proper course.
+He ought to strike the big gutter soon and was anxious about the tide:
+it would soon run up the hollows in the flats.  He wondered where
+Mordaunt was, because Lance had told him he was going out on the sands
+and he had not heard his gun.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Shortly afterwards, Dick went down the bank of the gutter and began to
+wade across.  The water did not come much above his ankles; but it was
+moving; slowly yet, although it would soon run fast.  He got across and
+saw Jim's punt on the muddy sand.  The fog was low and drifted about in
+belts, clearing now and then, and when he stopped by the punt the moon
+shone through.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick was puzzled.  The punt had been moved since Jim pulled her up the
+bank.  It was prudent to leave her where one could get on board when
+the tide rose, but Dick could not see why Jim had afterwards moved her
+down.  He had, however, done so, because the rollers he used had made a
+rut in the sand in advance of her present position.  Then the anchor
+had been carried up to higher ground, for one could see where the line
+had dragged, although it now lay close to the punt.  Dick began to
+examine the footsteps about the spot.  He was something of a naturalist
+and a good wildfowler and had studied the tracks of animals and birds.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim had obviously come up the gutter and another man had joined him.
+The other was barefooted and the marks seemed to indicate that he had
+helped Jim to run down the punt.  Then a third man had arrived and Dick
+thought this was Lance, because he wore nailed fishing brogues.  Lance
+often used brogues; he was cautious and did not like soft mud.  Dick
+imagined Lance had reached the spot after the others and was somewhere
+about; he would not go far from the gutter when the tide was rising.
+The thing was strange, but since Jim had moved the punt back, there was
+no reason why Dick should meddle.  Jim had probably gone to the scar
+and no doubt knew how long he could stay.  Moreover, Dick's business
+was to find Carrie, and he set off again.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He followed a small creek that joined the big gutter.  Its channel was
+narrow and cut rather deep into the sand.  Although a belt of fog
+rolled up he could see fifty or sixty yards, and presently
+distinguished a hazy figure near a bend of the creek.  He thought it
+was about Lance's height, and shouted; but the fellow did not answer
+and vanished next moment.  It looked as if the fog had rolled nearer
+and hidden him, although he might have gone down into the creek.  Dick
+went to the edge, but saw nobody, although he crossed a row of steps.
+This was puzzling.  He imagined the other had heard his shout and was
+in the hollow, where his shooting-clothes would melt into the
+background.  The sand, however, was soft and the marks had begun to
+fill up.  Dick did not see why he should follow them, since the man
+might have meant to hide until the geese flew over.  He gave it up and
+pushed on.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The fog crept towards him and did not look as if it would soon roll
+away.  For all that, he knew the sands and had the noise of the
+advancing surf for a guide, which was lucky because speed was
+important.  A stream ran through the flats near the other shore, and if
+Carrie and Jake had started they would have crossed its channel and now
+be on the long peninsula of sand that went up the middle of the bay.
+When the water rose they could not get across the main gutter, and it
+would be hard to reach the land from the end of the peninsula because
+it was traversed by a number of little creeks, up which the tide forced
+its way.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After a time, Dick stopped and fired the gun.  He heard nothing but the
+echoes that rolled across the waste and the roar of the sea.  The
+latter was ominously loud and he began to run.  When he had gone some
+distance, he tried another shot and disturbed two black-backed gulls
+that made a noise like hoarse laughter as they flew overhead.  This was
+all, and he felt that the gulls were mocking him.  He was getting
+anxious, and ran on until he was forced to stop for breath, as the fog
+began to lift.  It rolled back before a little puff of wind, the moon
+shone through, and he saw glittering water in front.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick began to run the other way.  He could do no more, and it looked as
+if Jake and Carrie were not on the middle sand.  After all, he had not
+much ground for imagining they had meant to cross the bay; if there was
+no room at the village, they might have walked to a station four or
+five miles off and gone to the market town.  He must save himself, and
+since he hardly thought he could reach Jim's punt before she floated,
+he headed up the middle sand.  One could cross the gutter farther on,
+if one knew the right spot, but it would mean wading some distance and
+he must be quick.  He got through, and then ran back along the edge of
+the channel.  He wanted to see if Jim had returned to the punt.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0215"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XV
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+JIM'S ENLIGHTENMENT
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Jim waited for some time behind a bowlder by the salt-water pond, and
+then shot a duck.  The report echoed among the belts of fog and after
+the noise died away the roar of the advancing tide was ominously loud,
+but Jim thought he heard something else.  He listened, and in a few
+moments a cry came faintly across the sands.  Somebody was calling for
+help, and Jim began to run.  He might have to go some distance and his
+punt would soon float.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After a few minutes he plunged into a belt of mist.  The sand was soft
+and his waders and heavy gun embarrassed him, but he heard the call
+again and thought he knew the voice.  He labored on, breathing hard,
+until by and by the tog melted and he saw two figures not far off.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jake!" he shouted.  "Is it you and Carrie?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake answered, and Jim was conscious of a relief that shook him when
+the others came up.  Carrie was splashed by mud and breathless with
+haste.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What are you doing on the sands?" he asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Car broke down; we tried to get across," Jake replied.  "Saw the
+Langrigg hill when we started and then the fog came on.  They told us
+to head for some stake-nets, but we couldn't find them.  Then we met
+the water and reckoned we were lost.  Is your punt about?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"She is not far off," said Jim, who turned to Carrie.  "We must hustle.
+Can you run?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie said she would try and they set off, but when they had gone a
+few hundred yards a wave of thick fog rolled up, blotting out the
+moonlight.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"This is awkward," Jim gasped, taking Carrie's arm and helping her on.
+"Still, if we keep going, we'll soon strike the gutter."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The roar of the surf gave him some guidance, but sound is puzzling in a
+fog; there was very little wind, and he could not see the moon.  He
+knew the tide was now running up the channel and hoped he was heading
+the right way.  Shortly afterwards a dull report rolled across the
+sands.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A ten-bore!" he exclaimed.  "Mordaunt uses a twelve.  I expect Dick's
+shooting, and since the water's rising, he's on the shore flat.  Where
+do you locate the shot?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A little to the left," said Jake.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They swerved and presently heard the gun again.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's for us," gasped Jim.  "Dick has found the punt; I reckon she's
+afloat."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Let me go, Jim," said Carrie.  "Hurry on and get the punt."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim pressed her arm and urged her forward.  "I'm going to stick to you
+until you're safe on board."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Water!" shouted Jake, from a few yards in front; and something
+glimmered in the fog, which was getting thin again.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They could see for a short distance, but when they stopped at the edge
+of the channel the punt was not about.  She was, however, painted an
+inconspicuous gray, and Jim thought she was not far off.  While he
+hesitated, wondering which way to turn, a heavy report came out of the
+melting fog.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hallo!" Jake shouted.  "Where's our punt?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"On your side," somebody answered.  "Saw her five minutes since and
+then the water drove me back."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The voice came from their left and after running a short distance they
+stopped.  A low, indistinct object floated about thirty yards off, and
+Jim, dropping Carrie's arm, stood for a moment with his hands clenched.
+The wave-lined sand was level, and this meant much, because the bank of
+the gutter was steep.  The tide had filled the hollow and he could not
+see across.  He was not disturbed about the depth, but the current
+rippled across the sand, carrying along clumps of weed and flakes of
+foam that showed how fast it went.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Give me your knife," he said to Jake, as he pulled off his oilskin.
+"I've got to swim.  You must stay with Carrie; I swim better."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He slit the waders and tore them off with his canvas shoes; then he ran
+along the sand, heading up stream, and when he judged he had gone far
+enough plunged in.  After he had taken a few steps the water frothed
+about his waist, and next moment swept him off his feet.  He swam
+savagely, swinging his left arm out and steering obliquely against the
+current that carried him along.  The water was horribly cold and cut
+his breathing and cramped his muscles, but if he missed the punt he
+might be swept some distance up the channel before he could land.  He
+must not miss the punt, because he would be too exhausted to try again
+and did not think Jake could reach her.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After a minute or two he saw the punt; she was swinging about in the
+rush of tide and seemed to forge towards him.  A rippling line marked
+her painter.  He stopped swimming and let himself drift.  He must not
+be carried past; and presently he made a quick stroke and felt a
+triumphant thrill when his numbed fingers clutched the craft's low
+side.  For all that, he had not conquered yet.  He was tired, and it is
+hard to get on board a floating punt.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The current swept his legs under the boat, and when he tried to lift
+himself she rolled down with his weight and threatened to capsize.  But
+he must not be beaten.  He was fighting for Carrie's life, and
+remembering this gave him extra strength.  Sliding his hands along the
+side of the punt, he let the current take him aft, and then with a
+desperate effort lifted the upper of his body above the pointed stern.
+Next moment, he fell forward on the deck and crawled to the well.  He
+had won.  He tried to shout, but could not.  His heart beat like a
+hammer and he choked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Pulling himself together, he seized the line at the bow, and in a few
+moments the anchor was on board and he picked up the pole.  The punt
+drifted fast up channel while he headed for the bank, but he saw Jake
+running along the sand and presently threw the light anchor as far as
+he could.  Jake caught the line and Jim, springing overboard, ran
+through the water and picked up Carrie.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He felt her tremble and kissed her as she put her arms round his neck.
+It did not matter it Jake saw or not.  After putting her on board he
+jumped in and grasped the pole.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Shove us off," he said to Jake.  "I'll come back for you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They lost the bank in the fog, and soon the pole did not touch bottom
+and Jim used the paddle.  After a few minutes, he saw an indistinct
+figure, apparently in the water; and then his paddle struck sand.
+Jumping over, he held out his arms and did not put Carrie down until he
+had carried her some distance from the channel.  He had afterwards a
+hazy notion that he kissed her again.  When he turned back Dick was
+pushing off the punt.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'll bring Jake; you have had enough," he said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim shoved him back.  "It's my job; he's my partner.  Look after
+Carrie.  Start for the marsh."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He got on board and when the punt vanished in the fog Dick turned to
+Carrie.  "They may be ten minutes; the tide's running fast.  You are
+wet and perhaps we had better get off."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," said Carrie.  "I won't move until they're safe across."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick gave her a quick glance.  She looked resolute; her voice had a
+strange exultant note.  He was anxious to start, since he thought they
+might find some water in a gutter between them and land, but it was
+obvious that Carrie could not be persuaded.  Presently the punt came
+across and the others got out.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Have you been here long?" Jim asked when he had driven the anchor into
+the sand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," said Dick.  "I fired the gun as soon as I arrived.  The punt was
+on your side, I imagined you were about, and I can't swim much.  I'd
+seen the punt before.  I went to meet Jake and Carrie, but met the
+water.  No doubt, they crossed the channel that stopped me, farther up."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim nodded.  "Looks like that.  It was a big relief when we heard you
+shoot.  But I'm puzzled: the punt was some distance from the bank and
+the anchor was covered.  I thought I'd carried it far enough back."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then you didn't move her after you pulled her up?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Certainly not," Jim rejoined, with some surprise.  "If I'd wanted her
+to float, I wouldn't have bothered to drag her up over the steep mud."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well, we must get off," said Dick, who did not want to talk about
+the punt.  "The tide's running fast across the flats; I think we'll
+make for the shell ridge."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Although the fog was thick, they reached the marsh, where Dick left
+them.  He was wet and it was some distance to Whitelees, but he would
+not go to Langrigg and put on dry clothes.  When Jim got calm he might
+feel curious about the punt.  Dick was not ready to satisfy his
+curiosity yet.  He was disturbed and wanted to get away.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The others went on, and when they came down to dinner nobody looked
+much the worse.  Jim, however, was quiet and although Carrie talked and
+sometimes laughed, he imagined her cheerfulness was forced.  Jake alone
+seemed to have a good appetite and Jim was annoyed when Mrs. Winter
+remarked that he did not eat much.  She declared the dinner was pretty
+good, although it had been served an hour or two late.  When it was
+over, Jim looked at the clock and proposed that they should play cards.
+He would sooner have gone off to the library by himself, but Jake might
+speculate about this and so long as they were occupied he need not
+talk.  The others would go to bed soon, and then he could grapple with
+an awkward situation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At length, Jake put down his cards.  "I can't make it; you have beaten
+us," he said, and pushed back his chair.  "If you want to see the men
+start to-morrow we had better go to bed."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He brought Mrs. Winter a candle and they left the hall; but Carrie
+stopped to pick up the cards, and Jim waited.  He heard Jake say good
+night to his mother on the landing, and their steps died away.  It was
+very quiet in the hall, except for the snapping of the fire; and Jim's
+hand trembled as he struck a match and lighted Carrie's candle.  She
+heard him move and looked up.  There was some color in her face, which
+cut sharply against the dark oak.  Jim put the candle on the carved
+newel-post at the bottom of the stairs.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I was badly scared when we found the water was round the punt," he
+said.  "In fact, I rather lost my control."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You were not scared for yourself and were very cool and quick," Carrie
+replied and forced a smile.  "Perhaps some people do lose control when
+they are strongly moved, but you are not that kind."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim gave her a keen glance.  It looked as if she meant to persuade him
+that he had acted normally, but this was ridiculous.  Perhaps she meant
+to hint that his rashness must not be talked about.  Coolness was hard,
+but he was honest and there was something to be said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wonder whether you know I am going to marry Evelyn?" he remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She met his glance.  "Yes, Jim; I knew some time since.  It doesn't
+matter that you told nobody.  Well, she's beautiful and very charming."
+She moved, and taking the candle from the post, calmly looked back at
+him.  "Of course, you're going to marry Evelyn!  But the others have
+gone, and I'm tired.  Good night."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He let her go, and when she went up the shallow stairs, crossed the
+floor to the hearth.  There was a looking-glass close by and he started
+as he saw his face.  His brows were knitted and his mouth was set.
+Carrie was clever and while he talked to her he had looked like that!
+He began to see what she had meant when she said he was, of course,
+going to marry Evelyn.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He sat down and gazed savagely at the sinking fire.  What a fool he had
+been!  Evelyn had moved him to romantic admiration.  Her beauty, her
+high cultivation and refinement had made a strong appeal, but he had
+not known that they appealed mainly to his intellect, and it counted
+for much that she was the first Englishwoman of her type he had met.
+He knew now, and saw he had deceived himself.  Enlightenment had come
+when Carrie ran some risk of being drowned and he had taken her in his
+arms.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn was, so to speak, a model of perfection, worthy to be admired,
+but really out of his reach.  In a sense, she left him cold; but Carrie
+was warm and loving flesh and blood.  She had worked with him and
+cheered him in the lonely North; her small failings had a curious
+charm.  She appealed to all that was human in him; it was ridiculous
+that he had imagined his love for her was brotherly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He began to think about their last interview, when he had lighted the
+candle.  She had said little, but she had meant much.  His kissing her
+must be forgotten and he must marry Evelyn.  Carrie wanted him to
+understand that she saw this and was jealous for his honor.  If he drew
+back and broke his faith with Evelyn, she would have nothing to do with
+him.  Moreover, it was unthinkable that he should draw back.  He sat
+still for some time with his hands clenched and then got up abruptly
+and went out.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The wind the surf had threatened had come and blown back the fog.  Its
+rude buffet braced him, the roar of the sea and wail of the trees that
+rolled down the slope were soothing.  The moon was bright and when he
+saw the foam glitter in the bay his sense of rebellion began to melt.
+Carrie was safe; he had saved her and she had shown him his duty.
+Well, he was going to carry it out, and after all Evelyn's charm was
+strong.  He had been a fool, but only Carrie knew, and Evelyn must not
+pay.  By and by he went back to the house, calmed but not much
+comforted.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the meantime, Dick reached Whitelees and did not say much about his
+adventure.  When he had got some food he went to the smoking-room and
+looked for paper and a pencil.  He wanted to refresh his memory of the
+footsteps about the punt and the marks left by the anchor line.  It was
+important that he should do so, but although he sat for an hour,
+drawing rough plans of the spot, he was not satisfied.  Unluckily, he
+could not go back to the sands in the morning and study the ground,
+because he had promised to join some friends in town for a week.  All
+the same, it was some relief to put off the matter and go to bed, but
+he did not sleep much and felt moody when he got an early breakfast and
+started for the station.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0216"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XVI
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+EVELYN'S RESOLUTION FAILS
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Disturbing thoughts spoiled Dick's visit to town and one morning soon
+after his return he went out on the sands when the tide was low.  He
+took a note-book and a compass, and before he went walked up and down a
+measured distance on the lawn until he thought he knew the length of
+his stride.  Since he was going to make some investigations that he
+tried to hope would banish his doubts, it was necessary to be accurate.
+He found the spot where Jim had left his punt; there was a little
+runlet of water down the bank that fixed it, and he stepped off the
+distance to the level sand above.  Then he smoked a pipe while he tried
+to recapture the footsteps as he had seen them in the moonlight, and
+when he was roughly satisfied, went across to the creek that ran into
+the main channel.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He counted his steps until he reached the spot where the shadowy figure
+had vanished in the fog.  The creek bent just there; he remembered the
+bend, which he had cut across, and the bank was steep.  If Lance,
+wearing light-colored shooting clothes, had gone into the hollow,
+nobody could have seen him a few yards off.  Dick made some notes and
+marked the distances, and then went back to Whitelees, feeling
+strangely troubled.  His doubts had not vanished; they had changed to
+certainties.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick was young and often careless, but now a sense of responsibility
+weighed upon him.  He had a liking for Jim and an affection for Carrie
+that might have ripened to a stronger feeling had she allowed it, and
+both had run some risk of being drowned.  For all that, Dick could not
+see his way.  The honor of the house must be guarded, and although he
+knew himself a coward he hesitated for a miserable week.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then Jim came to Whitelees one evening when Mrs. Halliday and Dick were
+dining somewhere else.  He stopped for two or three hours, and
+unluckily Evelyn was bored when he arrived and Jim was dull.  He had
+had a disappointing day, for a sluice-gate had fallen down, a workman
+had got hurt, and a valuable horse had broken its leg.  Jim talked
+about his troubles at some length while Evelyn tried to look
+sympathetic, and afterwards stated, with numerous particulars, his
+projects for improving the estate, although he carefully explained that
+his losing his money might prevent their being carried out.  While he
+sketched his plans he unconsciously delineated his character, and when
+he went away Evelyn felt daunted.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Pulling a chair to the fire, she sat for a time trying to face a crisis
+she had begun to fear must come.  She had thought she understood Jim
+and had known that when she married him she must give up much; but now
+she saw him as he really was.  He cared nothing for amusements and not
+much for music and art; in fact, he had no use for the refinements and
+amenities that smoothed the life she enjoyed.  Langrigg could not be
+made a center of pleasant social intercourse and perhaps political
+influence; Jim's wife must study economy and help to manage his farms.
+It was not that he was selfish.  All his habits were utilitarian and he
+would not change.  Well, she could not marry a farmer and devote
+herself to strenuous work.  She must be amused; the life Jim had
+planned for her was frankly impossible.  Getting up before Mrs.
+Halliday returned, she left word that she had a headache and went to
+bed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Next morning Mordaunt came to Whitelees and found Evelyn alone.  He sat
+down opposite with a careless smile and she noted his smooth urbanity
+and easy pose.  Jim as a rule was restless, and highly-strung.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Seeing Dick and your mother in the car encouraged me to call," he
+said.  "Dick and I were staunch friends, but I didn't want to meet him.
+He has recently been strange."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He has been moody since he came from town, although he was not in very
+good spirits the morning he left," Evelyn agreed in a thoughtful voice.
+"I imagine something that might account for it happened the night Jim's
+friends were lost on the sands."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt felt disturbed, but Evelyn's remark stiffened his resolution.
+She had noted Dick's moodiness, and since the lad was suspicious he
+must act quickly.  He might have trouble afterwards, but he would meet
+it when it came.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's possible," he said, "Dick's temperament is nervous and perhaps he
+had some grounds for feeling a strain.  I expect you have noted that he
+is attracted by Miss Winter?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have noted it," Evelyn admitted with an unconscious frown.  "It will
+lead to nothing.  Dick's romantic, but he is not a fool."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He is headstrong and his own master.  Miss Winter has beauty."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"For all that, it's ridiculous to imagine Dick would marry her."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know," said Mordaunt, coolly.  "You are going to marry Jim."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn colored, because she knew what he meant.  For the most part, the
+objections that could be urged against Carrie applied to Jim.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know if I'm going to marry Jim or not," she said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt looked hard at her and his eyes sparkled.  "Ah," he said, "I
+imagined something like this would happen; in fact, I have waited for
+it.  It was plain that Jim would pall.  He has his virtues, but he is
+not the man for you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He has many virtues; he's big and strong and honest.  It would be
+easier if he had some of our shabby faults.  Jim's code is as rude as
+himself, but it's stern and he lives up to it.  I don't know if I can."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I know," said Mordaunt, smiling; "you could not!  Jim is something of
+a savage, but all the same, he belongs to the old school and his
+rudeness is austere.  We are modern and live on another plane.  But how
+did you come to see the truth I've seen all along?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jim showed me," Evelyn replied with some feeling.  "Unconsciously, of
+course.  He was here last evening and talked about his plans.  They are
+good plans.  Had I been different, I might have helped, but they left
+me out.  I don't like to be left out.  Am I the girl to satisfy a man
+who lives to farm and dig marsh drains?  You know me, Lance."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The thing is ridiculous," Mordaunt declared, and was silent for a
+moment or two.  He did know Evelyn, and her frankness meant much.  It
+was plain that she meant to break with Jim but felt she needed help.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What are you going to do about it?" he asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know," she said drearily.  "I can't go on."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt made a sign of sympathetic agreement.  "You cannot; but there
+is a way out.  I think you see the way.  Durst I hope you'll take it
+with me?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn said nothing and turned her head, and he went on: "I'm not
+utilitarian, and my rule is yours.  We understand each other.  My
+talents will be used to amuse you and not to dig drains."  He got up
+and stood by her chair.  "You have pluck, Evelyn.  Tell Jim you have
+found you cheated yourself and let him go."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I haven't much pluck," she said, quietly.  "Jim rather carried me
+away.  He stood for romance, struggle, and adventure; things I haven't
+known.  He's a man, a plain, hot-blooded fighting man, and I was tired
+of conventional languidness.  But I began to doubt and see I wasn't
+strong enough to live his life.  I had wrapped myself up in flimsy
+artificialities until they got needful and I couldn't break loose."
+She paused and looked up.  "Well, you are my kind, Lance, and if you
+want me, I am willing.  I'll tell Jim, but I shrink.  He may not
+understand, and it will hurt us both."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt thought for a moment.  It might be better if Evelyn did not
+tell Jim, and he was afraid Dick would meddle.  He took and kissed her
+hand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My dear!" he said.  "But you must not get hurt, and I have a plan.
+Hasn't Florence urged you to stop with her in town?  Well, suppose you
+go and I join you there?  We can be married by license and go to France
+or Italy.  Before we come back Jim's disappointment will have cooled
+and our friends have got over their surprise."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Evelyn saw the plan had advantages.  It would obviate the need for
+awkward apologies, and when she and Lance came back it would be too
+late for people to disapprove.  She agreed and submitted without
+emotion when Mordaunt put his arm round her, but in spite of some
+regrets she was firm.  Romance had been a treacherous guide; she had
+found this out and was logical again.  When Mordaunt went away all had
+been arranged, and when she sat down to write to Florence in London her
+hand was steady and composition easy.  After the note was written she
+hesitated for a moment, and then resolutely fastened the envelope.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A few days after Evelyn went to town, Dick, coming back from shooting
+one afternoon, met Tom Shanks on the marsh.  When he saw the fellow his
+anger flared up, for he had felt his responsibility and wondered with
+keen disturbance what he ought to do.  Although Lance was on the sands
+the night Carrie was nearly drowned and knew much about the matter,
+Dick had grounds for believing Shanks moved the punt.  He had meant to
+be cautious and wait until he saw his way, but something in the
+fellow's furtive, sullen look, banished his control.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He stopped Shanks and found it a relief to let himself go.  The other
+was cool and hinted darkly that Dick had better leave things alone.  He
+said Dick had nothing to go upon; he had not seen Shanks near the punt,
+and if he went to the police about it, might get somebody else into
+trouble.  Shanks knew what he knew, and if he were forced would tell.
+Dick then used tact, scoffing at the other's hints until Shanks
+abandoned some of his reserve, and when the stormy interview was over
+Dick went home moodily.  The plan he had made of the marks by the punt
+was accurate, but the line he ought to take not yet plain.  Lance was
+his relation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the evening he drove Mrs. Halliday to Dryholm, where Jim and his
+friends had been asked to dine.  They had not arrived, and while
+Bernard talked to Mrs. Halliday, Dick went to the library to look at a
+book about sport.  When he opened the door Mordaunt was writing and
+there was a letter, to which he seemed to be replying, on the table.
+He nodded and went on writing, and Dick was glad he did not want to
+talk.  After a few minutes a car rolled up the drive and when Mordaunt
+fastened the envelope they heard Jim's party in the hall.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt went down stairs and Dick, coming after, saw an envelope on
+the floor.  Imagining Mordaunt had dropped it, he picked it up and
+frowned as he recognized Evelyn's hand.  Mordaunt was talking to Mrs.
+Winter and Dick did not want to disturb them; besides, he would sooner
+give Lance the letter when they were alone.  Then Bernard beckoned him
+and before long dinner was served.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick did not enjoy the meal.  He could hardly rouse himself to talk to
+Carrie and when she turned to Mordaunt, the latter's careless smile as
+he began to joke moved him to almost uncontrollable rage.  Dick was in
+a black mood, for the secret he carried had worn his nerves, and he did
+not like Evelyn's writing to Lance.  He was resolved that his sister
+should have nothing to do with the fellow.  When dinner was over he
+said to Mordaunt, "I'd like to see the gun you bought."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very well," said Mordaunt and they went to the gun-room.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The room was small.  A glass case, holding guns and fishing rods, ran
+along one wall; a bench occupied the other.  There was a plain table,
+stained by oil, and a fire burned in a stove with an open front, for
+the night was damp.  A flickering glow played about the walls and shone
+on the greasy guns.  Dick stopped Mordaunt, who put his hand on the
+electric-light switch.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Never mind the light," he said, throwing a letter on the table.  "You
+dropped this."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did," said Mordaunt, turning to Dick, who leaned against the table.
+"Imagined I'd put it in my pocket.  Thank you for picking it up."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick thought it significant that he had not opened the case to get the
+new gun.  Lance's voice was calm but his glance was quick.  He seemed
+to be waiting.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What was Evelyn writing to you about?" Dick asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The light from the stove touched Mordaunt's face, which hardened.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then, you have not read the letter?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You know I have not," Dick rejoined, for his control gave way at the
+other's taunt.  Lance wanted to make him angry and find out how much he
+knew.  Well, he should find out and Dick thought he would get a jar.
+"Anyhow, you must stop writing to Evelyn," he resumed.  "I'd sooner you
+kept away from Whitelees when she comes home."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You bore with my visits not long since.  Are you afraid to state why
+you want them to stop?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not at all," said Dick, seeing the other meant to force him to be
+frank; he knew Lance had pluck.  "You are a clever philanderer, but
+Evelyn's going to marry Jim."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt smiled, imprudently, since his smile infuriated Dick.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Looks as if you wanted to quarrel!  I imagine I shall not write to
+Evelyn again for some time.  This ought to satisfy you.  Perhaps I'm
+dull, but I don't know why our friendship should break off."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You well know!"  Dick exclaimed.  "You meant to let Jim drown not long
+since!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You're a theatrical fool," Mordaunt remarked, coolly, although his
+voice was rather hoarse.  "Anyhow, I think you're sober and you have
+made a statement that must be justified."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm willing to justify it, if you force me," Dick declared.  "But I'd
+sooner you admitted the thing and left the neighborhood, without an
+awkward explanation.  If you go at once and don't come back, it's
+perhaps not needful the others should know why you went.  You can live
+in town; I don't care where you live, so long as you don't see Evelyn
+again."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He stopped and his face got very red, for the door opened and Mrs.
+Halliday and Bernard came in.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I imagined we would find you here, but it looks as if you were
+quarreling," Bernard remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We were quarreling," Dick admitted with strange calm, for he was
+relieved that a chance to get rid of his load had come.  It was his
+duty to tell Jim and Bernard and he had been afraid.  Now he could
+leave matters to the head of the house.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are hot-blooded, Dick, but I don't imagine you would get angry
+about nothing.  May I inquire the grounds for the dispute?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'll tell you if you will send for Jim.  The thing touches him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard pressed an electric bell and Mordaunt said: "You will be very
+sorry for this, Dick."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The bell rang and when a servant came Bernard said, "Tell Mr. Dearham
+we would like to see him here."
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0217"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XVII
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+DICK'S ACCUSATION
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+The party in the gun-room were silent while they waited for Jim.  Mrs.
+Halliday glanced at the others curiously and got a sense of strain.
+Dick, looking disturbed but resolute, leaned against the table opposite
+Mordaunt, whose face was rather white; Bernard occupied the bench by
+the wall and his look was inscrutable.  All was very quiet except for
+the snapping of the stove and the occasional rattle of a cinder falling
+through the bars.  It was something of a relief when Jim came in and
+Bernard turned on the light.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sit down, Jim," he said.  "Dick has something to tell us that he
+thinks you ought to hear.  He hints that it is important."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is important," Dick replied.  "The thing has weighed on me for some
+time.  In fact, the load is too heavy and I feel I must get rid of it.
+I want to hand over my responsibility, and you are the head of the
+house, sir."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very well," said Bernard.  "The post has drawbacks.  You had better go
+on."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then I'll begin some time since; the night Lance and I met Jim at the
+telegraph shack.  We talked about England and Jim asked if we knew
+Langrigg.  There was an old French romance on a shelf and Lance read a
+passage.  He studied the book when Jim left the shack, and I found out
+afterwards that Franklin Dearham's name was written across the front
+page.  You see what this implies, sir?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You mean Lance knew who Jim was, although you did not.  When did you
+find out?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I picked up the book one day at Langrigg.  Lance was there.  He
+admitted that he had seen the writing at the telegraph shack."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim turned to Mordaunt sharply.  "Then, you meant to let me stay in
+Canada!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did," said Mordaunt, who addressed Bernard.  "I thought it would be
+better for Jim and us if he did not know Langrigg was his.  I have not
+changed my views about it since."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That has been rather obvious," Bernard remarked and asked Dick:  "Why
+did you keep the thing dark?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I was afraid to meddle; the matter was awkward.  Besides, until
+recently, I trusted Lance.  I thought his antagonism sprang from an
+honest prejudice."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps it was honest!  Are you willing to state the grounds you had
+for trying to keep Jim out of the country, Lance?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No grounds would justify his robbing Jim of his inheritance," Mrs.
+Halliday interposed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt smiled.  "I was not scrupulous but imagine my plot is
+condemned mainly because it failed.  I did not think Jim was the man to
+own Langrigg.  His education, character, and the life he had led, did
+not fit him for the position; it was plain that he would rule Langrigg
+like a Canadian industrialist and break all our traditions.  Right or
+wrong, I took some thought for the honor of the house."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am the head of the house and was an industrialist," said Bernard
+dryly.  "You talk as if you belonged to the old school, but you do not
+go far enough back.  The men who built Langrigg were plain fighting
+farmers."  He signed to Dick.  "Go on!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"When Jim's car was upset I suspected Shanks was somehow accountable
+for the accident."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He was accountable," Jim said grimly; "I didn't know you knew this.
+But one must be just.  Lance lifted the wheel off my body at some risk
+to himself."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is so," Dick agreed.  "I think he took advantage of it
+afterwards; I mean he knew we would remember he had saved your life.
+It was a generous impulse, but that was all."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I imagine Lance's character is too complex for your study," Bernard
+remarked.  "Tell us about his deeds."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not long since, I was coming home in the dark when I found Lance
+talking to Tom Shanks in the wood.  Lance said he had caught the fellow
+poaching, and I thought it strange they should talk quietly.  I
+suspected he wanted me to tell Jim, but I did not.  His grudge against
+Jim had been getting worse."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"When did you find Lance talking to Shanks?" Bernard asked, and smiled
+rather curiously when Dick replied, for he remembered his visit to the
+lawyer.  Lance had known about the visit.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," he said, "I begin to see a light!  But go on, Dick; I expect you
+have now cleared the ground."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Dick has missed his vocation; he ought to have been a barrister,"
+Mordaunt remarked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm trying to be just to you and Jim," Dick resumed.  "I have shirked
+my duty; I trusted you, Lance, and when I found you out it hurt."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You trusted me until you found Jim was the better man!  Well, it looks
+as if others had copied your example," Mordaunt rejoined.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard made an impatient sign and Dick resumed: "I've been leading to
+the night Jim and Carrie were nearly drowned.  You all know I was on
+the sands.  Well, I came to Jim's punt when he had left her and gone to
+look for the geese."  Dick paused and taking out a plan that he put on
+the table, addressed Jim: "You dragged the punt up the bank and carried
+out the anchor.  Is this sketch of the spot accurate?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt moved abruptly, but controlled himself and stood very quiet;
+Jim picked up the paper and his face got dark.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"So far as I remember, it is accurate."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Did you pull the punt down again, or move the anchor?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did not.  I was puzzled when I found her floating and the anchor
+covered."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick gave Bernard the plan.  "The punt ought not to have floated before
+Jim got back.  You will note the rows of dots.  They stand for
+footsteps.  The first was Jim's; then Shanks came and pulled the punt
+back into the channel&mdash;I saw the mark of the rollers, leading up and
+down.  It is plain he wanted to leave Jim on the middle sand when the
+tide rose."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How did you know the steps were Shanks'?" Bernard asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The night was very cold, sir, but he was bare-footed."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Your surmise is, no doubt, right.  Anybody else would have worn boots
+or waders.  But there are three rows of tracks."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick hesitated, then answered quietly: "The last were Lance's.  He
+passed the punt close; I don't know if he touched her, but it was plain
+that she would soon float and Jim was not about."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"This is frankly unthinkable, Dick!" Mrs. Halliday exclaimed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For a moment or two the others were silent and their attitudes
+indicated that the strain was heavy.  Mrs. Halliday's face was flushed,
+Jim's was very stern, and Bernard knitted his brows.  Dick and Mordaunt
+stood motionless but tense at opposite ends of the table.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Your statement is very grave, Dick," Bernard remarked.  "Are you
+persuaded the steps were Lance's?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I knew the marks of his fishing brogues, and saw him a short distance
+off.  I think he saw me, because he vanished; he went down into the
+hollow of the creek, where I have drawn a ring.  I went afterwards and
+carefully examined the ground.  I think that is all, sir."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is enough," said Bernard, very dryly.  "You imply that Lance knew
+Jim might be cut off by the tide and refused to meddle?  But you take
+something for granted.  Why do you imagine Jim's danger was plain to
+Lance, if it was not then plain to you?  You went away."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I knew Carrie and Jake were farther out on the sands, and came back as
+soon as possible.  I fired my gun to warn Jim.  Lance did nothing but
+went off; he tried to hide from me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard made a sign of agreement and then inquired: "Why have you been
+frank about it now, after saying nothing for some time?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'd sooner not reply, sir.  The thing mainly touches Lance and me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"His horrible treachery touches us all," Mrs. Halliday declared.  "If
+it were known, we should be forced to leave the neighborhood.  We could
+not face a scandal like this."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I imagine it will not be known," Bernard remarked with an ironical
+smile, and turned to Mordaunt.  "Have you anything to state?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I might urge that I risked getting badly hurt when I lifted the car
+off Jim, and that I did not move his punt."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You consented to its being moved," Dick broke in.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard stopped him and Mordaunt resumed: "It is plain that you have
+judged me.  Dick brings no proof of his statements; but we will let
+this go.  There is obviously no use in my denying his tale.  Suppose I
+admit that it's correct?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Jim is the injured party.  He must choose our line."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There is only one line," Jim replied.  "This thing cannot be talked
+about.  Lance knows we know I cannot punish him in any lawful way; but
+if he stops at Dryholm, I'll use the backwoods plan.  Well, I give him
+a week to go."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard nodded and looked at his watch.  "A week is too long!  If you
+pack quickly, Lance, you can get the express to town.  Anyhow, you will
+leave Dryholm as soon as the car is ready.  But I must be just, and
+since you might have made your mark in a useful profession had I not
+allowed you to think you would inherit part of my estate, I will tell
+my lawyers to pay you a sum quarterly.  If you come back to Cumberland,
+the payments will stop."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mordaunt made a sign of agreement, and glanced at Dick.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You have won, but I doubt if you have much ground for satisfaction,"
+he said and went out.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick was vaguely puzzled, but when the door shut the others were
+conscious of keen relief.  They waited until Mordaunt's steps died away
+and then Bernard got up.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What has happened to-night is done with; I think you understand," he
+said, and turned to Mrs. Halliday.  "We will join our friends, and if
+they wonder why we have been absent so long, we will leave you to
+satisfy their curiosity."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They found the others in the drawing-room, but although Mrs. Halliday
+began to talk and Bernard was now and then ironically humorous, Dick
+was quiet and Jim rather stern.  All were ready to go when Mrs.
+Halliday got up, but Bernard kept Carrie a moment when the Langrigg car
+throbbed at the steps.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"This house is big and empty, my dear," he said.  "If Jim is not very
+much occupied, you will bring him now and then."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie wondered when the car rolled off.  Bernard had pressed her hand
+and his voice was gentle.  She blushed, for his imagining she could
+persuade Jim was significant, but it was puzzling.  He knew Jim was
+going to marry Evelyn.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Presently Jim stopped the car, and getting down beckoned Jake.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You can drive home, Carrie," he said.  "There's something we must look
+after but we won't be long."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie started the car and when it rolled away Jake looked at his
+comrade.  Jim wore thin shoes and a light coat over his dinner jacket;
+the road was wet and the low ground dotted by shining pools.  It was
+some time after high-water and a gentle breeze blew across the marsh.
+A half-moon shone between slowly-drifting clouds.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose you mean to see Shanks," Jake remarked.  "On the whole, it
+might be wiser to send him notice to quit.  You can't put the police on
+his track."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm going to see him.  If I hadn't been able to swim well, Carrie
+would have been drowned."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"For that matter, we would all have been drowned," Jake said dryly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's a curious argument for leaving Shanks alone.  I suspected we took
+some chances when we blew up the dabbin."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You blew up the dabbin," Jake rejoined.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Anyhow, Carrie had nothing to do with the thing, and she ran the worst
+risk when we were on the sands.  It was hard to hold myself when I
+thought about it.  I was forced to let Mordaunt go, but my grounds for
+sparing him don't apply to Shanks."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You haven't even a stick and the fellow has a gun."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I've got my hands," said Jim.  "If I can get hold of Tom Shanks, I
+won't need a gun.  But I've no use for talking.  Come along!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They made for a ridge of high ground that dropped to the marsh, and
+presently stopped outside the Bank-end Cottage.  All was dark and
+nobody moved when Jim beat on the door.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Shanks is sleeping pretty sound if that doesn't waken him," he said.
+"Bring the net-beam.  We'll break in."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake picked up a thick wooden bar, and when the door gave way they
+plunged into the kitchen and Jim struck a match.  The house was
+horribly dirty, and old clothes, empty cartridges, brass snares, and
+fishing lines lay about, as if Shanks had hurriedly sorted his
+belongings and left those he did not want.  They found nobody when they
+went upstairs.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Lance has been here before us," Jim remarked.  "The curious thing is,
+Shanks had two big duck-guns and has moved some truck although he
+couldn't get a cart."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He had his shooting punt and the tide hasn't left the creek yet," said
+Jake, and they ran across the marsh.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When they stopped at a muddy pool the punt had gone, but there were
+fresh footmarks on the bank; and Jim set off again.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The creek winds and he must shove her across the mud in places," he
+said.  "My punt's on the sands.  If we are quick, we might head him
+off."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They stumbled among reeds and rushes, and fell into pools, and were wet
+when they reached a hollow at the edge of the sands.  The bank was
+steep, but the tide had not left the channel, and Jim, plunging in,
+pulled up the punt's anchor.  Then he stood on deck, using the pole,
+while Jake paddled.  The tide was running out and they drove the punt
+furiously past belts of mud and sandy shoals, but the bank was high and
+they could not see across.  Shanks, however, was not in front; Jim
+imagined he had come down another gutter that joined the channel
+farther on.  They must try to get there first.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Keep it up!" he shouted, as he bent over the pole.  "In five minutes
+we'll be round the bend and can see the bay."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jake braced himself for an effort and the water foamed about the punt's
+low bow.  Floating weed and scum sped past; the bank was dropping to
+the level of the flats and its wet slope sparkled in the moonlight.
+Jake saw the sandy point that marked the bend and resolved to hold out
+until they reached the spot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They shot round the bend, and Jim threw down his pole.  In front lay a
+broad expanse of sand, broken by belts of shining water.  A flock of
+oyster-catchers, screaming noisily, circled about the foreground; but
+this was all.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Shove her in!" Jim shouted.  "I reckon Shanks hasn't made the meeting
+of the channels.  We'll strike across the flat."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The sand was soft and they labored hard.  When they were halt-way
+across, a low, dark object rose above the edge of the bank.  It was
+roughly triangular and moving fast.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Shanks's punt!" said Jake.  "He has set the little black lugsail and
+the wind's fair.  You can't head him off."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm going to try," said Jim, who was now some yards in front; and they
+pushed on.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They were exhausted when they stopped beside a belt of sparkling water,
+and Jim cried out hoarsely and clenched his fist.  The channel was
+wider than he had thought, and near the other bank a punt was running
+down with the tide.  One could hardly see her low, gray hull, but the
+tanned lugsail cut sharply against the bank, and its slant and the
+splash of foam at the bows indicated speed.  Shooting punts are not
+built to carry canvas, but they sail fast in smooth water when the wind
+is fair.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We're too late; I don't know if I'm sorry," Jake remarked with labored
+breath.  "My notion is, Shanks has pulled out for good, and nobody is
+going to miss him much.  Wind's off the land, water's smooth, and the
+tide will run west for three or four hours.  He'll be a long way down
+the coast before it turns.  In the meantime, we're some distance from
+Langrigg and it looks as if you had lost your shoe."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"So I have!" said Jim.  "Guess it came off when I was plowing through
+the mud.  Well, let's get home.  Shanks has gone and he'll find trouble
+waiting if he comes back."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They set off.  Both were wet and dirty, and when they reached Langrigg
+Jim's foot was sore.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap0218"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XVIII
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+JIM'S RELEASE
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+On the morning after his pursuit of Shanks, Jim was conscious of a flat
+reaction.  Dick's story and the excitement of the chase had helped him
+to forget his troubles, but now he was cool they returned.  He had
+promised to marry Evelyn and found out, too late, that he loved
+another.  There was no use in railing at his folly, although this was
+great, and it was futile to wonder how he had so grossly misunderstood
+his feelings.  Evelyn was all he thought her, but romantic admiration
+and respect for her fine qualities were not love.  The important thing
+was that she held his promise and he must make it good.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There was no other way.  Carrie knew he loved her, but she had shown
+him his duty.  If he drew back and broke with Evelyn, he would earn her
+contempt; Carrie was very staunch and put honor first.  Anyhow, he was
+going to draw back; he had been a fool, but he could pay.  The trouble
+was, Evelyn was clever and might find him out.  His face went grim as
+he thought about it; the strain of pretending, the effort to be kind.
+For all that, the effort must be made, and perhaps by and by things
+would be easier.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For a week he was quiet and moody and tried to occupy himself at the
+dyke.  The evenings were the worst, because it soon got dark and he
+must talk to Jake and Carrie and try to look calm.  Then he was puzzled
+about other things.  Evelyn had gone to London and had not written to
+him.  A few days afterwards, Dick, too, went to town, and Mrs. Halliday
+did not know why he had gone.  Jim thought this strange, but it was not
+important.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Coming home one evening from the marsh, he found Dick with the others
+in the hall.  It was nearly dark, but there was a bright fire and
+Carrie was making tea.  Dick kneeled on the rug, toasting muffins on a
+long fork, and laughed when Carrie bantered him about being afraid to
+scorch his hands.  Jim envied Dick, and remembered with poignant regret
+the days when he had helped Carrie by the camp-fire in the woods.  Then
+Dick looked up and Jim thought him embarrassed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hallo, Dick!" he said.  "When did you get back?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick said he arrived in the morning, and Jim asked if he had met Evelyn
+in town.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did," Dick replied.  "She was pretty well, but it's two or three
+days since.  She said she'd write to you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim nodded.  Dick's voice was careless, but Jim thought his
+carelessness was forced.  Then he turned to Carrie.  "Did the postman
+call?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Carrie.  "Your mail is on the table."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim got the letters and lighting a lamp sat down in an easy-chair.  The
+envelope with the London postmark was from Evelyn, but he would sooner
+read her note when he was alone.  He opened another and presently
+looked up.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Martin has written to me from Vancouver.  The Irrigation Company has
+won the lawsuit and proved its claim to the water-rights.  The shares
+are going up again, and Martin's hopeful about the future.  I can sell
+out for face value, but he urges me to hold."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Carrie, "that's good news!  You can trust Martin.  I expect
+the company has straightened up because they made him a director."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's very possible.  He sends your mother and you greetings and hopes
+you haven't forgotten him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"One doesn't forget men like that," Carrie replied.  "Martin's all
+white; clever and strong and straight.  But doesn't this mean you have
+got over your troubles?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose I can go ahead with the dykes," said Jim.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He was quiet afterwards and let the others talk, until Carrie got up
+and went away with Mrs. Winter and Jake.  When the door shut Dick
+looked up.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Has Evelyn written to you?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Jim.  "I haven't read her note yet."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know if that is strange or not, but perhaps you had better
+read it.  I expect it will clear the ground for me and I have something
+to say."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim opened the envelope and braced himself, for he was half-ashamed of
+the satisfaction he got from the first few lines; moreover, he did not
+want Dick to know what he felt.  Evelyn was apologetic, but she set him
+free.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I thought I loved you, Jim," she said.  "I wanted to be brave and
+simple, but found it would cost too much.  Now I hope you won't be
+hurt, and by and by perhaps you will be glad I let you go.  You will go
+far, Jim, with your large stride, fronting the storms you love; but I
+could not have taken your path.  Mine must be sheltered and smooth&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There was more, for Evelyn wrote with some feeling in a romantic
+strain, but Jim had read enough.  His look was puzzled as he turned to
+Dick.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Your sister has turned me down," he said.  "The grounds she gives are
+good enough.  I imagine you knew?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did know.  I suspected for some time that she would do so, but she
+did not tell me until I was in town."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then I don't understand&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick hesitated before he replied: "Lance said something at Dryholm that
+I thought ominous.  He declared I'd be sorry, and I bothered about it
+for a day or two.  Then I saw a light and got the next train to town.
+He meant that he was going to marry Evelyn."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's unthinkable!  Besides, Evelyn was then pledged to marry me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It looks as if you didn't know Lance yet; I'm not sure you altogether
+know Evelyn.  Anyhow, I saw her and stopped the thing.  I think she got
+a bad jolt when I told her about the punt."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim looked at the date on the note.  "When did you see her?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dick told him and he pondered.  Then he said, "She wrote to me after
+she knew about the punt, although you imply that she agreed to marry
+Lance before.  It's puzzling."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I've got to be frank," Dick replied.  "Evelyn is not like Carrie; she
+takes the easiest line.  I Imagine she meant to say nothing until she
+had quietly married Lance.  Then we'd have been forced to accept the
+situation."  He paused and his face got red as he resumed: "I'm
+thankful I was not too late, but I'm sorry I could not find Lance."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim was silent for a time.  He had believed in Evelyn after
+illumination had come on the sands.  Although he knew his imagination
+had cheated him, he owned her charm and his respect for her was strong.
+Now he had got a jar.  Evelyn was not the girl he had thought; it
+looked as if she were calculating, unscrupulous, and weak.  If she had
+let him go before she had agreed to marry Lance, he could have forgiven
+her much.  He was savage with himself.  It was for Evelyn's sake he had
+lost Carrie, who was tender, brave, and staunch.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+By and by he roused himself and asked: "Have you told your mother?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have not.  I felt I was forced to tell you, but it would be better
+that nobody else should know.  Florence, with whom Evelyn stayed, will
+not talk."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim nodded.  "You can trust me, Dick.  The statements in this letter
+are enough; Evelyn imagined she could not be happy with me, and she
+was, no doubt, right!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You're a good sort, Jim," said Dick with some embarrassment.  "It's
+not strange you feel sore.  It cost me something to be frank;
+apologizing for one's sister is hard."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's done with," Jim said quietly, and as Dick got up a servant came
+in with a pink envelope.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A telegram for Mr. Halliday," she said.  "As Mrs. Halliday was not at
+home, the gardener brought it on."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The servant went out and Dick laughed harshly when he read the telegram.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Evelyn was married this morning, but not to Lance," he said.  "Well, I
+expect mother will be satisfied.  From one point of view, the marriage
+is good."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then, you know the man?" said Jim, who sympathized with Dick's'
+bitterness.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I do," said Dick, very dryly.  "He's rich and getting fat, but on the
+whole, I imagine he's as good a husband as Evelyn deserves.  I
+sometimes thought he wanted her and she quietly held him off; it looks
+as if she had lost no time now."  He paused and the blood came to his
+skin as he resumed: "I'm breaking rules, this is rotten bad form, but
+you ought to be thankful you hadn't the misfortune to marry into our
+family."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim put his hand on the other's arm.  "Stop it, Dick!  You have been
+honest and we are friends.  But I think you have said enough."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then give me a drink and let me go.  I need bracing; the thing has
+knocked me off my balance."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Here you are," said Jim, who went to a cupboard, and Dick lifted his
+glass.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Good luck, Jim!  You are lucky, you know.  But if you're not a fool,
+you'll marry Carrie Winter."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He went out and Jim sat down again, looking straight in front, with
+knitted brows.  He did not know how long he mused, but he got up
+abruptly when Carrie came in.  She glanced at him curiously when he
+indicated a chair, and for a few moments he stood opposite, irresolute
+and frowning.  Then he gave her Evelyn's note.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"After all, there is no reason you shouldn't read this," he said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie took the note and Jim thought her hand trembled when she
+returned it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm sorry, Jim!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't want you to be sorry; I want you to understand.  Evelyn
+married somebody else this morning.  Dick got a telegram."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah," said Carrie, "I suppose it hurt?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Let's be frank!  It couldn't hurt my vanity, because I had none left.
+For all that, I got a knock.  You see, I trusted Evelyn, and after the
+night on the sands felt myself a shabby cur; but I meant to keep my
+promise."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie's face flushed delicately, although her voice was calm as she
+said, "I did not trust Evelyn.  The trouble was, I couldn't warn you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yet you wanted to warn me?  Oh, I know!  You have stood between me and
+trouble before, but this job was too big.  It was not your pluck that
+failed; you knew my obstinacy&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He stopped and Carrie was silent.  He moved a few paces and came back.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Can't you speak?" he asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What am I to say, Jim?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," he said hoarsely, "if you won't talk, you can listen.  You have
+borne with my moods and I've got to let myself go now or be quiet for
+good; I'm something of a savage, but I've had to fight for all I wanted
+and winning made me proud.  It gave me a ridiculous confidence.  Well,
+I expect I reached the top of my folly when I got Evelyn.  Then our
+adventure on the sands knocked me flat; I knew myself a despicable
+fool.  I'd taken the best you had to give; let you nurse me when I was
+sick, and cook for me in the woods.  I knew your worth and chose
+Evelyn!  Then, when I'd promised to marry her, I took you in my arms
+and kissed you!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yet you meant to marry her; that was rather fine, Jim," said Carrie
+quietly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know if it was fine or not; it might have made bad worse.
+Besides, you showed me you would be firm, although you knew I loved
+you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes; I did know.  You made good in Canada; I wanted you to make good
+at Langrigg."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Jim thrilled with strong emotion.  "Oh, my dear!  My staunch and
+generous dear!  But I'm going to put your generosity to another test.
+I ought to have gone away and made things easier for you; I ought to
+have waited, to save your pride, but it would have been too hard.
+Well, I'm taking a horribly wrong line, but I want you, and you know me
+for what I am.  If you think I'm too mean, I'll sell Langrigg and go
+away for good."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie got up and looked at him with steady eyes.  Then her face
+softened and she gave him a tender smile.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are rather foolish, Jim, but you mean well and I am satisfied."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He stood still for a moment, as if he doubted what he had heard, and
+she said quietly, "If my pride needed saving, it would be very small."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My dear!" he said, and took her in his arms.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A few minutes afterwards, Jake and Mrs. Winter came in and Jim
+remarked: "You have owned you like the Old Country and I've urged you
+to stay."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"When the dykes are finished we must go," Mrs. Winter replied.  "You
+are kind, but we know where we belong&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She stopped and looked sharply at Carrie, who stood by Jim and smiled.
+Her color was high and her face and pale-green dress cut against the
+background of somber oak.  Her pose was graceful but proud.  Jim
+remembered her coming down the stairs on her first evening in the
+house; she had looked like that then.  Somehow one felt she was there
+by right.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If you go, you must leave me," she said.  "I belong to Langrigg and
+Jim."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mrs. Winter advanced and kissed her and Jake gave Jim his hand.  "For a
+time, it looked as if we were going to lose you, partner.  Still I felt
+you would come back to us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know if I've come back or gone forward," Jim rejoined.  "All
+that's important is, Carrie and I go on together."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For half an hour they engaged in happy talk and when, after dinner,
+Carrie and Jim were again alone, she said, "You have forgotten
+something.  Oughtn't we to tell Bernard?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course," Jim agreed.  "Somehow I think he'd like it if you wrote
+the note."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie sent him for a pen and soon after he came back fastened and gave
+him the envelope.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose I ought to feel nervous, but I don't," she said.  "I was
+never afraid of Bernard."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Next evening Bernard came to dinner.  Jim and his party met him in the
+hall, but he signed the others back when Carrie gave him her hand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am the head of the house and claim my right," he said and kissed
+her.  "Some day Jim will take my place and I think he will fill it
+well."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie blushed, but Jim noted with a thrill of pride that she carried
+herself finely.  He thought she understood that Bernard had formally
+acknowledged her.  It was strange to know this was the girl who had
+made his bread and mended his clothes in the woods, but after all, the
+difference was only in her surroundings.  Carrie had not changed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't mind confessing I plotted for this," Bernard resumed with a
+twinkle, and took a leather box from his pocket.  He opened the box and
+a row of green jewels set in rough gold sparkled in the light.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My wife last wore them; they were my grandmother's, and date farther
+back," he said.  "Now they are yours, and I would like you to put them
+on."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie stood quiet for a moment, with the jewels in her hand, while her
+color came and went.  For all that, she looked calm and rather proud.
+She remembered that Bernard had not given the necklace to Evelyn.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have not worn such things, and I am the first of my kind to put on
+these stones," she said.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bernard bowed.  "Brave and good women have worn them.  I have studied
+human nature and give them to you.  This is not altogether because you
+are going to marry Jim."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Carrie drew the stones round her neck and fastened the clasp.  The
+blood came to her skin and she looked strangely vivid, but in a moment
+or two her glance became soft.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are kind and your trust means much," she said.  "For one thing, it
+means I must make good.  Jim's inheritance must be managed well.  We
+will try to rule at Langrigg as his people ruled."
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<P CLASS="finis">
+THE END
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR><BR>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Partners of the Out-Trail, 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: Partners of the Out-Trail
+
+Author: Harold Bindloss
+
+Release Date: June 20, 2009 [EBook #29183]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PARTNERS OF THE OUT-TRAIL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Al Haines
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Frontispiece: "Jim urged the pack-horse he was leading and came up
+with Carrie"]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+PARTNERS OF THE
+
+OUT-TRAIL
+
+
+BY HAROLD BINDLOSS
+
+
+
+Author of "THE BUCCANEER FARMER," "THE LURE OF THE NORTH," "THE GIRL
+FROM KELLER'S," "CARMEN'S MESSENGER," "BRANDON OF THE ENGINEERS,"
+"JOHNSTONE OF THE BORDER," ETC.
+
+
+
+
+
+NEW YORK
+
+FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
+
+PUBLISHERS
+
+
+
+
+COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
+
+PUBLISHED IN ENGLAND UNDER THE TITLE "DEARHAM'S INHERITANCE"
+
+ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+PART I--THE LINESMAN
+
+CHAPTER
+
+     I  THE BROKEN WIRE
+    II  IN THE SNOW
+   III  THE THIRD PARTNER
+    IV  ON THE TRAIL
+     V  CARRIE'S WEAK MOMENT
+    VI  ROLLING STONES
+   VII  A COUNCIL
+  VIII  JIM KEEPS WATCH
+    IX  AN HONEST ANTAGONIST
+     X  THE RAPID
+    XI  A CONFIDENTIAL TALK
+   XII  FIRE
+  XIII  JIM'S LUCK TURNS
+   XIV  THE RECKONING
+
+
+PART II--THE LANDOWNER
+
+     I  JIM COMES HOME
+    II  JIM'S GUESTS
+   III  MORDAUNT PONDERS
+    IV  AN OLD MAN'S CAPRICE
+     V  SHANKS' DABBIN
+    VI  THE THORN HEDGE
+   VII  THE FENCING WIRE
+  VIII  JIM'S RELAPSE
+    IX  JIM IS LEFT OUT
+     X  BERNARD PONDERS
+    XI  EVELYN'S ADVENTURE
+   XII  THE SHOOTING PUNT
+  XIII  MORDAUNT'S REPULSE
+   XIV  FOOTSTEPS IN THE SAND
+    XV  JIM'S ENLIGHTENMENT
+   XVI  EVELYN'S RESOLUTION FAILS
+  XVII  DICK'S ACCUSATION
+ XVIII  JIM'S RELEASE
+
+
+
+
+PART I--THE LINESMAN
+
+
+
+PARTNERS OF THE OUT-TRAIL
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE BROKEN WIRE
+
+Winter had begun and snow blew about the lonely telegraph shack where
+Jim Dearham studied an old French romance.  He read rather by way of
+mental discipline than for enjoyment, and partly with the object of
+keeping himself awake.  Life is primitive in the British Columbian bush
+and Jim sometimes felt he must fight against the insidious influence of
+the wilds.  Although he had chosen the latter when the cities palled,
+he had studied at McGill, with a view of embarking on a professional
+career.  Want of money was the main obstacle, but love of adventure had
+counted for much.  His adventures had been numerous since he left the
+university, and he now and then tried to remind himself that he was
+civilized.
+
+Outside the shack, the stiff dark pines rolled back to the frozen North
+where a new city fed the mining camps.  Jim had been up there and had
+found some gold, besides a copper vein, but when he got his patent for
+the latter his funds ran out and he returned to the South and followed
+a number of occupations.  Some were monotonous and some exciting.  None
+paid him well.  Now his clothes were old and mended with patches cut
+from cotton flour-bags; his skin was browned by wind and frost.  He was
+thin and muscular, and his eyes had something of the inscrutable calm
+that marks the Indian's, but the old French romance and one or two
+other books hinted at cultivated taste.  As a matter of fact, Jim was
+afraid of getting like an Indian.  Life in the wilds was good, but one
+ran some risks.
+
+The shack was built of logs, notched where they crossed at the corners
+and caulked with moss.  There was a stone chimney, and a big wood fire
+snapped on the hearth.  Jim sat close to the blaze in a deerhide chair,
+with his old skin coat hung over the back to keep off the stinging
+draughts.  He could see the telegraph instrument.  His and his
+comrade's duty was to watch it day and night, because theirs was a bad
+section and accidents happened.  Jake had gone hunting and since the
+gale outside was freshening Jim wondered why he stopped so long.
+
+After a time Jim put down his book and mused.  By comparison with the
+ragged tents in which he had lived in the northern barrens, the shack
+was comfortable.  Axes and tools for mending the line stood in a
+corner; old clothes, slickers, and long boots that must be mended
+occupied another.  A good supply of provisions was stowed on some
+shelves; a rifle and a shotgun hung on the wall.  He had all a man
+needed in the woods and admitted that he was lucky to have so much, but
+the rudeness of his surroundings sometimes jarred.  This was strange,
+because he had never known luxury.  He wondered whether he had
+inherited his dislike for ugliness, and the instincts of which he was
+now and then vaguely conscious.  It was possible, for his father, who
+died when Jim was young, had come from the Old Country.
+
+Then he dwelt with languid enjoyment upon something that happened when
+he was a waiter at a fashionable restaurant at Montreal.  A party of
+English tourists came in one day for lunch.  Jim remembered the scene
+well: the spacious room with the sunshine on the pillars and the
+reflections on glass and silver; the flies about the tables, the
+monotonous throb of the electric fan, and the strangers looking for a
+place.  There were two men, one older than the other, and a girl.  Jim
+had often pictured her since, and always with a curious satisfaction.
+It was not that she was beautiful, although her face was finely molded
+and her movements were graceful.  It was her delicate fastidiousness
+and the hint one got of refinement and cultivation.  Although she
+smiled now and then, Jim remembered her calm and the tranquillity of
+her voice.  He had not met a girl like that before, but she went away
+with the others, one of whom gave him a dollar, and it was ridiculous
+to imagine he would see her again.
+
+This, however, was not important and he got up and went to the
+telegraph instrument.  He called the next station and was satisfied
+when he got an answer.  Some Government messages that must not be
+delayed were to be sent North and the line was working well.  Jim went
+back to his chair and soon afterwards leaned forward, listening.  He
+heard the wind in the pine-tops and the thud of snow, shaken from the
+tossing branches, on the roof.  That was all, but he had trained his
+senses in the woods until they worked unconsciously.  Somebody was
+coming and he knew it was not Jake.
+
+A minute or two afterwards he heard steps in the snow.  The steps were
+heavy, as if the men were tired.  Somebody knocked and Jim opened the
+door.  Two men came in and throwing down their packs shook the snow
+from their ragged furs.  Their boots were broken, their leggins badly
+worn, and their faces were pinched with cold.
+
+"I don't suppose you'll turn us out.  It's what our packers call pretty
+fierce to-night," one remarked.
+
+"Certainly not," said Jim.  "Come right up to the fire.  How did you
+make the shack?"
+
+The strangers advanced and Jim hid his surprise, although they were the
+men whose lunch he had served at the Montreal restaurant.  He had
+learned in the wilds something of the Indian's reserve.
+
+"We hit the wire at dusk," one replied.  "We had been climbing with a
+party of the Canadian Alpine Club, and stopped among the high ranges
+longer than we meant.  In fact, the snow rather surprised us.  The
+others had gone before we started and we had a rough time coming South."
+
+"You didn't make it without packers," said Jim, who knew they were
+English.
+
+"We left the boys some distance back.  There was not much shelter at
+the camp and although they were satisfied, we resolved to follow the
+line and try to find a shack.  The boys will, no doubt, arrive in the
+morning."
+
+Jim nodded, because a line was cut through the forest for the telegraph
+wires.
+
+"You ran some risk.  If you camped at sundown, it's a while since you
+had supper.  I can give you coffee and a hot bannock."
+
+He put the kettle on the fire and when the meal was over studied his
+guests as they lighted their pipes.  One was about thirty years old,
+and in spite of his ragged clothes, Jim thought him a man with
+cultivated tastes and wide experience.  The other was young and looked
+frank.  He had a refined, intelligent face and was like the girl whom
+Jim had seen at the restaurant; she was, perhaps, a relation.  For a
+time the strangers talked about their journey and then one looked at
+Jim rather hard.
+
+"Haven't I seen you before?"
+
+Jim smiled.  "At Cibbley's as you go to the new post-office at
+Montreal."
+
+"Oh, yes!  It was a very well-served lunch," said the other and picked
+up the French romance.  "A curious book, but rather fine in parts.  Do
+you understand the fellow?"
+
+"On the whole.  I like him; you feel he has a grip.  Still he's
+puzzling now and then."
+
+"These French' writers are puzzling; always trying to work off an
+epigram," the younger man remarked.  "However, I suppose there's as
+much French as English spoken at Montreal and Quebec."
+
+"Not French like this," the other said with a smile.  "I doubt if an
+up-to-date _boulevardier_ would own it for his mother's tongue.  You
+would be surprised if you heard our Cumberland farmers use Chaucer's
+English."
+
+"I don't know; they go back beyond him now and then.  When they count
+their sheep I imagine they talk like Alfred or Canute.  But suppose you
+give us an example of ancient French."
+
+The older man opened the book and after turning a number of pages read
+a passage with taste and feeling.  Then he looked at Jim.
+
+"He's primitive; our thoughts run in another groove.  But I daresay
+there's something archaic about Quebec French and you perhaps know the
+latter.  Have I struck the right note?"
+
+"Hit it first time!  Anyhow, you've got my notion of what he meant,"
+Jim replied.  Then he paused and added thoughtfully: "But I don't know
+if we're as different as you think.  In the North, men get back to
+primitive things."
+
+The other nodded.  "It's possible.  One certainly gets a primitive
+hunger and learns something about bodily needs."
+
+Jim lighted his pipe and mused.  He had not talked to cultivated people
+since he left McGill.  He felt rather moved and quietly excited; the
+strange thing was, their English voices and manner were not new.  In a
+way, it was ridiculous, but he felt as if he had known them, or others
+of their kind, before.
+
+"You are from the Old Country and your friend seems to know
+Cumberland," he said.  "Do you know Langrigg Hall?"
+
+He thought the older man gave him a keen glance, but next moment his
+face was inscrutable and with a little gesture of satisfaction he
+stretched his legs to the fire.  His companion, however, looked
+interested.
+
+"Why, yes," said the latter.  "But there are a number of Langriggs in
+the North of England."
+
+"At the place I mean there is a marsh."
+
+"Then, I do know the hall.  It stands upon a low ridge--what we call a
+knowe--with the big fells behind and the sands in front.  At low-water,
+a river winds about the flats.  It's a fine old house, although it's
+small."
+
+"Isn't there a square tower with a battlement?  The roof beams in the
+older part are bent, not straight."
+
+The other looked surprised.  "Have you been there?"
+
+"No," said Jim, thoughtfully.  "I've never left Canada, but a man I
+knew used to talk about Langrigg.  I expect he told me about these
+things; he is dead now."
+
+He glanced at the older man.  The latter's eyes were half-closed and
+his pose was slack, as if he were languidly enjoying the warmth, but
+Jim thought he had been listening.  Then he wondered why the other's
+short description had given him so distinct a picture; he could see the
+rugged blue hills in the background and the river winding among the
+sands.  After all, his father had not talked about Langrigg often; in
+fact, only once or twice, when he was ill.  Moreover, Jim reflected
+that he himself had used no Western colloquialisms; he had talked to
+the strangers like an Englishman.
+
+"Then your friend must have been at Langrigg.  It looks as if he knew
+the hall well," remarked the younger man.
+
+His companion roused himself with a jerk.  "I was nearly asleep.  Give
+me your pouch; my tobacco's out."
+
+He filled his pipe and turned to Jim.  "Hope I didn't interrupt.  I
+forget what we were talking about.  It looks as if you didn't like a
+waiter's job."
+
+Jim laughed and went to the telegraph, which began to click.  He read
+the message and calling the next station waited for a time, and then
+turned to his guests.
+
+"Line's broken and I've got to leave you.  You can use the bunks; my
+partner must sit up and watch the instrument when he comes back.  You
+can tell him I've gone to look for the break."
+
+"Do you know where the break is?" the younger man asked.
+
+"I don't know," said Jim, putting on his fur cap and old skin coat.
+"It mayn't be far off and it may be some distance.  All I know is it's
+between here and the next shack."
+
+"We found it hard to face the wind and there's more now."
+
+Jim smiled.  "One gets used to storms up here and the line must be
+mended.  Some important messages from Ottawa are coming along."
+
+He picked up some tools and when he opened the door the others heard
+the scream of the gale.  The flames blew out from the snapping logs and
+an icy draught swept the room and roared in the chimney.  Then the door
+shut, the fire burned steadily, and all was quiet in the shack.
+
+"Our host excites one's curiosity," said the younger man.
+
+"You mean he excited yours.  You're an imaginative fellow, Dick."
+
+Richard Halliday had remarked that since they reached the shack
+Mordaunt had not called him Dick and vaguely wondered why.  Lance
+Mordaunt generally had an object.  Dick doubted if he had been as
+sleepy as he pretended when he asked for his tobacco pouch.
+
+"Oh, well," he said, "if we were in England, you wouldn't expect to
+find a fellow like this using his leisure to study old-fashioned
+French."
+
+"We are not in England," Mordaunt rejoined.  "When you judge Canadians
+by English standards you're likely to get misled.  The country's, so to
+speak, in a transition stage; they haven't developed schools of
+specialists yet, and an intelligent man can often make good at an
+unaccustomed job.  This fellow, for example, was a waiter."
+
+He picked up the romance and put it on a shelf.  Mordaunt was generally
+neat and Dick noted that he replaced the book in the spot from which it
+had been taken and put the rest against it.
+
+"Anyhow, it's curious he knew about Langrigg," Dick insisted.
+
+"I don't think so," said Mordaunt, carelessly.  "A number of our
+farmers' sons have emigrated.  He stated he had not left Canada and the
+man who told him about Langrigg was dead."
+
+"The man who ought to own Langrigg vanished in Canada."
+
+"On the whole, I imagine that's lucky.  The trustees spent a large sum
+in trying to find him and were satisfied he was dead.  His age made
+this probable."
+
+"But he might have had a son."
+
+"Of course," Mordaunt agreed.  "Suppose he had a son?  The fellow
+obviously knows nothing about his inheritance; and for that matter,
+Langrigg is not worth much.  I expect he's engaged in some useful
+occupation, chopping trees or keeping store, for example, and is, no
+doubt, satisfied with his lot.  I don't suppose he is the kind of man
+you would like to see at Langrigg.  Besides, if he turned up, a number
+of people would suffer."
+
+"That is so," Dick said thoughtfully.  "After all, however, if Franklin
+Dearham had a son, he ought to be at Langrigg.  Joseph left the hall to
+Franklin and his heirs."
+
+Mordaunt smiled.  "It was as illogical as other things Joseph did.  He
+was not a good business man and spent the most part of his money after
+he quarreled with Franklin and turned him out.  Then, shortly before he
+died, when Franklin had vanished and the estate would hardly pay its
+debts, he left him Langrigg.  However, the thing's done with, and if I
+found Franklin's heir, I doubt if I'd feel justified in meddling.
+Matters like this are better left alone."  He got up and stretched
+himself.  "Now I'm going to bed."
+
+He got into the nearest bunk, which was filled with spruce-twigs and
+wild hay, and soon went to sleep, but for a time Dick sat by the fire.
+The linesman had excited his curiosity; it was strange the fellow knew
+about Langrigg.  Then he was obviously a man with rather unusual
+qualities and character; his books indicated this.  Dick resolved to
+find out something about him when he returned.
+
+By and by the other linesman came in with a mule-tail buck, and when
+Dick gave him Jim's message sat down by the telegraph.  Dick went to
+bed and did not wake until his packers arrived at daybreak.  The
+linesman was watching the telegraph, but the finger had not moved and
+he owned that he was getting anxious about his comrade.
+
+Dick suggested that they should look for him, but on the whole the
+linesman hardly thought this necessary.  He said the man from the next
+post would have started to meet Jim.  Then Mordaunt wanted to get off.
+The snow had stopped, the wind had fallen, and if they missed this
+opportunity, they might be held up by another storm, while their food
+was getting short.  Dick hesitated, but Mordaunt generally led him
+where he would and after some argument he agreed to start.  Half an
+hour later they left the shack and pushed on down the line.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+IN THE SNOW
+
+When Jim left the shack the cold pierced his furs like a knife.  For a
+few moments he heard nothing but the roar of the gale and could hardly
+get his breath.  His eyes ran water and the snow beat his smarting
+face.  Then he braced himself, for he had gone out to mend the line on
+other bitter nights and could not lose his way.  Where the telegraph
+runs through the forests of the North a narrow track is cut for
+packhorse transport to the linesmen's posts, and one could not push
+between the trunks that lined the gap without finding thickets and
+tangles of fallen logs.  The track, however, was not graded like a
+road.  Outcropping rocks broke its surface, short brush had grown up,
+and although the snow had covered some of the obstacles its top was
+soft.
+
+For a time the trees broke the wind, and Jim pushed on, hoping that he
+might soon find a trailing wire, but the posts loomed up, undamaged,
+out of the tossing haze.  Luck was obviously against him, and he might
+be forced to walk half-way to the next shack, from which the other
+linesman would start.  The snow was loose and blew about in a kind of
+frozen dust that was intolerably painful to his smarting skin.
+Although his cap had ear-flaps, he could not cover his mouth and nose,
+and the fine powder, dried by the cold, clogged his eyelashes and
+filled his nostrils.  His old coat did not keep out the wind and,
+although he was in partial shelter, he was now and then compelled to
+stop for breath.  The gale was getting worse and, as sometimes happens
+when a blizzard rages, the temperature was falling.
+
+Jim's flesh shrank from the Arctic blast, but he knew that in the North
+bodily weakness must be conquered.  In the stern battle with savage
+Nature prudence is a handicap; one must risk all and do what one
+undertakes since there is no place in the wilderness for the man who
+counts the cost.  Moreover, Jim had fought harder fights, when his
+strength was lowered by want of food, and he went forward, conscious of
+one thing: the line was broken and must be mended.  There was no other
+way.  He must give up his post if he could not make good.
+
+In the meantime his physical senses, developed in the wilds, worked
+with mechanical regularity and guarded him.  He could not hear much
+through his fur cap and often for some moments could not see, but he
+stopped when a tossing branch broke off and struck the snow in front,
+and sprang forward when a fir plunged down a few yards behind.  He
+could not have stated that he knew the danger, but he avoided it where
+a stranger to the woods would have been crushed.
+
+Perhaps the going was the worst.  Plowing through the loose snow, he
+struck his feet against outcropping rocks and sometimes stubbed them
+hard on a fallen log.  In places he sank deep; the labor was heavy and
+wind and cold made it awkward to breathe.  His lungs seemed cramped;
+the blood could not properly reach his hands and feet.  It was a
+comfort that they hurt, because when he no longer felt the painful
+tingling the real trouble would begin.  One cannot feel when one's
+flesh is frozen.  He could not have seen his watch had he taken it out,
+and doubted if there was warmth enough in his body to keep it going,
+because watches and gun-locks often freeze in the North.  For all that,
+he knew how long he had left the shack and how much ground he had
+covered.
+
+Men like Dearham learn such things, and by the half-instinctive
+faculties they develop Canadian traffic is carried on in winter storms.
+Telegraph linesmen in the bush and railroad hands on mountain sections
+use powers beyond the imagining of sheltered city men.  They make good,
+giving all that can be demanded of flesh and blood; the wires work and
+Montreal-Vancouver expresses keep time in the snow.
+
+One thing made Jim's task a little easier.  The wire was overhead and
+when he reached the break he would see the trailing end.  The trees had
+been chopped back; there was nothing to help the current's leap to
+earth, and he would not be forced to cut and call up the next shack
+with his battery.  He wanted to find a fallen post, but as he struggled
+forward the half-seen poles came back out of the icy mist in an
+unending row.  He had been out two hours and had not reached the worst
+spot.  The line had no doubt broken at Silver's Gulch.
+
+Some time afterwards he stopped and leaned against a post.  The woods
+broke off behind him and in front a gap, filled with waves of snow,
+opened up.  He could not see across; indeed, for a few moments, he
+could hardly see at all, but the turmoil that came out of the dark
+hollow hinted at its depth.  He heard the roar of tossing trees far
+below and his brain reproduced an accurate picture of the gulch that
+pierced the high tableland.  It was wide just there, but narrowed
+farther on, and a river, fed by a glacier, flowed through the defile.
+The river was probably frozen, although it ran fast.  The wires went
+down obliquely, and in one place there was a straight fall of a hundred
+feet.  The rest of the rugged slope was very steep and one needed some
+nerve to follow the row of posts when the light was good.
+
+Jim did not hesitate when he had got his breath.  With a blizzard
+raging, his job would not bear thinking about.  He let go the post and
+slipped down some distance.  When he stopped he got up badly shaken and
+crawled down cautiously, trying to keep the line in sight, but it was
+not a logical sense of duty that urged him on; he only knew he must not
+be beaten.  He fought instinctively, because this was a region where to
+give ground in the battle generally means to die.
+
+He reached a bend of the line where a post stood on a broken pitch that
+was almost a precipice.  Twenty or thirty yards below it became a
+precipice and Jim met the full force of the wind as he crept round the
+corner.  Then he saw a trailing wire, and, a little farther on, a
+broken post that had slipped down some distance.  Crouching in the snow
+behind a rock for a few minutes, he thought hard.  Although the post
+was short and not very heavy, he could not drag it back while the wire
+was attached.  The latter must be loosed, and fixed again when the post
+was in its place, but it would be enough if the line was lifted a foot
+or two from the ground.  Proper repairs could be made afterwards; the
+important thing was the Government messages should not be held up.  For
+all that, it would be hard to reach the spot.
+
+He crawled down and stopped beside the post.  The snow was blinding,
+the wind buffeted him savagely, and since he was near the top of the
+precipice it was risky to stand up.  His fur mittens embarrassed him,
+but he could not take them off, because when the thermometer falls
+below zero one cannot touch steel tools with unprotected hands.  After
+some trouble, Jim loosed the wire and then saw the broken ends would
+not meet.  However, since the line curved, a post could be cut in order
+to shorten the distance, and he crawled back to the spot where he had
+left his ax.  Had he not been used to the snowy wilds, he could not
+have found the tool.
+
+He cut the post and, with numbed and clumsy hands, joined the wire, but
+it must now be raised from the ground.  It was impossible to get the
+fallen post on end and had he been able to do so powder would have been
+needed to make a hole.  He could, however, support the post on a rock,
+and he floundered up and down in the snow, looking for a suitable spot.
+When he found a place, it was some way from the post, which was too
+heavy to move, and he went cautiously down hill for the other.
+Although this was lighter, he did not see how he could drag it back to
+the level he had left, and he sat down behind a rock and thought.
+
+His coat and cap were heavy with frozen snow that the wind had driven
+into the fur; in spite of his efforts, he was numbed, and the gale
+raged furiously.  The snow blew past the rock in clouds that looked
+like waves of fog; he had been exposed to the icy blast for three or
+four hours and could not keep up the struggle long.  The warmth was
+leaving his body fast.  Yet he did not think much about the risk.  His
+business was to mend the line and his acquiescence was to some extent
+mechanical.  To begin with, he must get the post up the hill and he
+braced himself for the effort.
+
+He could just lift the butt and, getting it on his shoulder, faced the
+climb, staggering forward a few steps while the thin end of the post
+dragged in the snow, and then stopping.  It was tremendous labor, and
+he knew he would need all the strength he had left to reach the shack,
+but in the meantime this did not count.  Getting home was a problem
+that must be solved after the line was mended.
+
+At length he reached the spot he had fixed upon, fastened the wire to
+the insulator, and lifted the top of the post a few feet.  The job was
+done, but his body was exhausted and his brain was dull.  He had made
+good and was conscious of a vague satisfaction.  He could not, however,
+indulge feelings like this: he must now nerve himself for the effort to
+get home.
+
+He went down hill a little, in order to shorten the curve; and it was
+then, when he had conquered, his luck failed.  His foot slipped and
+when he fell he started a small snowslide that carried him down.  He
+could not stop, the dry snow flowed about him like a river, and he knew
+there was a precipice not far below.  The snow carried him over a
+ledge; he plunged down a few yards, and brought up against a projecting
+rock.  The blow shook him, he felt something snap, and for a minute or
+two nearly lost consciousness.  Then he was roused by a sharp prick and
+a feeling that something grated in his side.  He knew what had
+happened: one, or perhaps two, of his ribs had broken and an incautious
+movement had driven the broken end into the flesh.
+
+The mechanical injury, however, was the worst, since Jim was too hard
+to collapse from shock, and he lay quiet, trying to think.  One could
+walk in spite of a broken rib; Jim had known badly injured men walk two
+or three hundred miles to reach a doctor, but the blizzard would try
+his strength.  It was a long way to the shack and farther to the next
+post, but on the whole he thought it prudent to make for the latter.
+The linesman, finding the line broken, would set out to look for the
+break, and when Jim met him his help would be useful.  In fact, it
+might be necessary.
+
+He felt a sharper prick as he got up, but he followed the posts down
+the gulch and toiled up the other side.  His breathing was labored and
+painful as he climbed the rugged slope.  At the top the ground was
+roughly level and the tossing pines gave some shelter from the wind.
+Jim coughed now and then and thought there was a salt taste in his
+mouth.  This looked ominous and the stabs caused by his jolting
+movements hurt, but he would not think about it.  It was pain, not
+blood, that gave him the salt taste.  He had done his job and begun a
+harder fight.  The claim of duty had been met and now he was fighting
+for his life.
+
+The pines roared as he struggled on and at times a blinding haze of
+snow filled the gap.  He had thrown away his tools, but his coat was
+getting heavy.  Now and then he tried to brush off the snow and wiped
+his lips.  The salt taste was plainer; but he was not going to admit he
+knew what it meant and was glad he could not see his mittens when he
+took them from his mouth.  Speed was important and he labored on.  He
+could not remember afterwards how long he stumbled forward, but at
+length he stopped and stood swaying dizzily when an indistinct object
+loomed through the snow.  It was like a man and came towards him.
+
+"Hallo!  Why, Pete----" he gasped and with an effort reached and leaned
+against a pine.
+
+The other stopped.  "It's Pete, all right: but what d'you allow you're
+doing on my piece of the section?"
+
+"Reckoned I might meet you coming along," Jim replied, leaning hard
+against the tree.  "You can take the back trail.  The line's fixed."
+
+"That's good.  But why are you heading this way?  I don't get you yet."
+
+"I fell down the gulch.  Some ribs broke."
+
+"Ah!" said Pete.  "Which side?"
+
+Jim indicated the spot where he felt the stabs and Pete went to his
+other side.
+
+"It's a blamed long hike to my shack, but you've got to make it.  If we
+stop here, we freeze.  Put your arm on my shoulder."
+
+They set off, and Jim was glad to use such help as the other could
+give.  He was getting dull and began to doubt if he could reach the
+shack, but although both would freeze if they stopped, Pete would not
+leave him.  It was not a thing to argue about.  Pete was a white man
+and in the North the white man's code is stern.  One here and there
+might have a yellow streak, but as a rule such a man soon left the
+wilds.  Anyhow, Pete was going to see him through.  Both would make the
+shack, or both would be buried in the snow.  It was not a matter of
+generous sentiment; one did things like that.
+
+They made it somehow, at a cost neither afterwards talked about, for at
+length a pale glimmer pierced the blowing snow.  Then the dark bulk of
+a building loomed up ahead and Pete pushed open a door.  He was forced
+to use both hands to shut the door and Jim, left without support,
+staggered into the room.  His head swam, his eyes were dim, and his
+chin was red.  There was a chair, if he could reach it, but it seemed
+to be rocking about and when he stretched out his hand it had gone.
+Next moment he fell with a heavy thud.  He felt a horrible stab, a fit
+of coughing shook him, and he knew nothing more.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE THIRD PARTNER
+
+Some weeks after he mended the line, Jim sat by a window in a small
+frame house at Vancouver city.  He had been very ill and knew little
+about his journey on a hand-sledge from the telegraph shack to the
+railroad.  There was no doctor in the woods and Jake Winter, his
+helper, engaging two Indians, wrapped Jim in furs and started in a
+snowstorm for the South.  It was an arduous journey, and once or twice
+Jake thought his comrade would succumb, but they reached the railroad
+and he put Jim on the cars.
+
+Now Jim was getting better and had left his bed for a rocking-chair.
+The house stood on the hill, and he looked down, across tall blocks of
+stores and offices, on the Inlet.  Plumes of dingy smoke from
+locomotives burning soft coal moved among the lumber stacks, a tug with
+a wave at her bows headed for the wharf, the water sparkled in the
+sunshine, and there was a background of dark forest and white
+mountains.  The picture had some beauty that was not altogether spoiled
+by the telegraph wires, giant posts, and advertisement signs.  These
+emphasized the contrast between the raw and aggressive civilization
+that is typical of Western towns and the austerity of the surrounding
+wilds.  In the foreground were steamers, saw-mills, and street-cars; in
+the distance trackless woods and untrodden snow.
+
+The house stood in a shabby street and on the ground floor Jake's
+mother and sister sold drygoods and groceries.  The business was not
+remarkably profitable, but Mrs. Winter was a widow and Carrie had
+sacrificed her ambitions for her sake.  Now she sat opposite Jim, whom
+she had nursed.  Carrie did not know much about sickness when she
+began, but she was capable and Jim liked to have her about.  She knew
+when to stimulate him by cheerful banter and when he needed soothing.
+Carrie could be quiet, although she could talk.  Jim imagined all girls
+were not like that.
+
+He studied her with languid satisfaction.  Carrie was tall and
+vigorous: he had seen her handle heavy boxes the transfer men dumped on
+the sidewalk.  She did such things when Jake was not about, and Jim
+knew she baked the cakes and biscuit Mrs. Winter sold.  For all that,
+her strength was not obtrusive; her movements were graceful and when
+not occupied she was calm.  She had some beauty, for her face was
+finely molded and her color was warm, and Jim liked her level glance.
+He liked her voice; it was clear without being harsh, and she seldom
+used smart colloquialisms.  In fact, Carrie was not the girl one would
+expect to meet at a second-class store.
+
+"You are looking bright this afternoon," she remarked.
+
+"I feel bright," said Jim.  "For one thing, I've got up, and then you
+have been here some time.  You brace one.  I felt that when I was very
+sick."
+
+Carrie laughed.  "You're trying to be polite!"
+
+"No," said Jim, whose brain did not work quickly yet; "I don't think I
+tried at all.  The remark was, so to speak, spontaneous.  You helped me
+get better; you know you did!"
+
+"Oh, well," said Carrie, smiling, "you needed some control.  You
+wouldn't take the doctor's stuff and we couldn't keep you quiet.  I
+reckon you are pretty obstinate."
+
+"One has got to be obstinate in the North."
+
+"That's possible.  It's a hard country and Jake took some chances when
+he brought you out across the snow.  Do you remember much about what
+happened when you were on the trail?"
+
+"I don't," said Jim, in a thoughtful voice.  "All I do remember is the
+talk I had with two Englishmen who made the shack just before I went to
+mend the line.  I've been bothering about the fellows since."
+
+"But why?"
+
+Jim pondered languidly.  If he kept on talking, Carrie might stop;
+moreover, he wanted to formulate his puzzling thoughts and Carrie was
+intelligent.  He would like to see if he could make her understand.
+
+"To begin with, they were people who had traveled and knew the world; I
+know the North and some Canadian cities, but there I stop.  The curious
+thing was, they didn't talk like strangers; I felt I'd got their point
+of view."
+
+"Did you like them?"
+
+"I don't know.  I might have hit it with the younger man; he was frank
+and I reckon he meant well, though you got a hint of something careless
+and weak.  There was more to the other fellow; you couldn't tell right
+off if you'd trust him or not.  But I'm afraid I make you tired."
+
+"Oh, no," said Carrie, and was silent for a few moments.
+
+She was frankly interested by Jim.  For one thing, she had helped him
+to get well and this gave her a motherly curiosity.  Then his remarks
+seemed to promise a clue to something she had found puzzling.  In a
+way, Jim was different from the young men she knew.  The difference was
+elusive, but she felt it now and then.
+
+"Well," she said, "why don't you go on?"
+
+"I'd met the men before," Jim resumed with a laugh.  "Handed them their
+lunch at the Montreal restaurant; they had a girl with them then.  I'd
+certainly not met a girl like that, but somehow I'd a notion I could
+get in touch with her."
+
+"What kind of a girl was she?" Carrie asked, with keener curiosity.
+
+"The kind we call a looker, but it wasn't that.  She was fine-drawn, if
+you get me; clever and fastidious.  I think fastidious is the word I
+want.  She belonged to clean, quiet places where everything is right.
+That's what made my notion I understood her strange.  You see, I have
+had to struggle in the dust and mud."
+
+Carrie imagined Jim had, so far, come through the struggle without
+getting much hurt or soiled.  He wore no obvious scars.  She smiled,
+and he resumed: "Perhaps the strangest thing was, they knew a place in
+the Old Country my father sometimes talked about."
+
+"Did you tell them your father knew the place?" Carrie asked, for the
+clue was leading her on.
+
+"I did not; they were strangers," Jim replied, and she saw he had a
+reserve that was not common in Canada.  "Besides, my father didn't talk
+about Langrigg much.  Still I had, so to speak, got the place; I could
+see it.  I wonder whether one remembers things one's parents knew."
+
+"It doesn't look possible," Carrie replied.  "But do you know your
+father's people?"
+
+"I don't," said Jim, with a touch of dryness.  "There was a Joseph
+Dearham who lived at Langrigg.  I imagine he was my grandfather, but he
+and the others left my father alone and we cut out the lot."
+
+"Were your father and you like each other?"
+
+"Not in a way.  I reckon I'm like my mother, but my father has kind of
+faded; I'm often sorry I can't locate him well.  He was not the man to
+go far in this country.  Things I do remember show he had fine grit,
+but he hadn't punch enough.  I think he was too proud to grab what was
+his."
+
+"You are not like that?"
+
+Jim smiled.  "I take what's mine, but I don't want more.  You see, I
+had to hustle for my mother's sake and I'd got the habit when she died
+and left me all alone.  Well, that's all there is to my story, and I've
+certainly made you tired."
+
+"You are tired," Carrie replied.  "Go to sleep.  I have made you talk
+too much, and must get busy."
+
+She went off and Jim mused about her.  Carrie was not like the English
+girl, but she had charm and he felt she was somehow wasted at the
+shabby store.  She was pretty and clever; although she was kind, she
+was sometimes firm.  Then his eyes got heavy and he went to sleep.
+When he woke Carrie had come back and was lighting the lamp.  Jake had
+entered with her and put a tray on the table.
+
+"Supper's served," he said.  "It's better hash than you used to hand
+out in the woods, and Carrie has fixed some hot biscuit with Magnolia
+drips in the way you like.  Well, you better get busy, and we'll play
+we're in camp.  I'll locate at the bottom of the snow bank."
+
+Jake sat down on a rug, with his back to the wall and a plate on his
+knee, and Jim's thoughts wandered.  He had got the habit of remembering
+things when he was ill, and the little shabby room, with the cheap rug
+on the rough, stained floor, seemed to melt like a dissolving view.  He
+saw black pines, with the moon shining between their stiff branches,
+wood smoke drifting past, and a red fire snapping in the snow.  Jake
+wore ragged furs and his eyes twinkled, as they twinkled now.  Jake was
+a humorous philosopher and if his humor was sometimes thin his
+philosophy was sound.  He was white; one could trust him.  Then Jim
+came back to the room above the store.  He liked the way Jake waited on
+Carrie, although Jake owned he had not been a success when he made a
+trip in the Mount Stephen dining-car.
+
+"We're going to talk business," Jake remarked presently.  "I've been
+getting after the telegraph department since we came home and one of
+the construction bosses was in town to-day.  He allowed you made good
+the night they sent the Government messages through, and if we wanted
+the contract for the new line they're going to run across the ranges,
+he'd back our tender."
+
+"Jim isn't well enough to go back yet.  You mustn't bother him," Carrie
+said firmly.
+
+"We can't do much until the thaw comes," Jake rejoined.  "It's a
+fighting chance and I don't see many chances for us in this old town."
+
+Carrie looked thoughtful.  She knew the wilds would draw Jake back and
+Jim must soon go, but the North was a stern country and she wanted to
+keep them for a time.  She was honest and owned that she wanted to keep
+both.
+
+"Can you finance the job?" she asked.
+
+"It's going to come hard, but we might put it over.  Our pay was pretty
+good and the construction boss could get us a check as we go on if the
+work was approved.  Of course, if we were pushed, we could sell out the
+Bluebird.  The assay's all right and one or two of the big syndicates
+are looking up copper.  Still I don't want to sell."
+
+"You mustn't sell."
+
+"Very well," Jake agreed.  "What you say about it goes."
+
+Jim looked up with some surprise.  Jake and he had done enough work on
+the copper vein to get their patent, but could develop the mine no
+further without capital.  Jim did not understand what Carrie had to do
+with this.
+
+"He doesn't know," Jake remarked, and turned to Jim with a smile.  "We
+put in the stakes and filed the record, but Carrie's a partner.  She
+helped us out."
+
+"Ah," said Jim, "I begin to see!"
+
+He felt disturbed.  The placer gold they had found was all spent before
+they proved the copper vein.  Food cost much and nobody would let them
+have supplies.  Copper mines were hardly thought worth exploiting then,
+since transport was expensive.  When it looked as if they must give up
+the claim, Jake got some money from home, and now Jim knew who had sent
+the sum.  He did not know how Carrie had saved it, but she must have
+used stern economy.
+
+"You don't like my sending the money?" she remarked, with a quick
+glance at Jim.
+
+"I don't like to think of your going without things you probably wanted
+and ought to have had.  We could have let the mine go and worked for
+somebody else."
+
+Carrie laughed.  "I don't know if you're nice or not.  Anyhow, I had
+the money; I'd been clerking for a time at the Woolsworth store and
+they had given me a good job.  Why shouldn't I send Jake the money I
+didn't know how to spend?"
+
+"You're exaggerating," Jim rejoined.  "A pretty girl can always spend
+money on hats and clothes.  In fact, I think she ought."
+
+"Now you're certainly nice, but we'll let it go.  Your taking the money
+made me a partner, and in the meantime the Bluebird is not for sale.
+If you wait long enough, somebody will give you what the mine is worth."
+
+"I think so.  Copper's hard to smelt and when transport's expensive
+speculators stick to gold, but things will be different now the
+country's opening up.  We will hold the patent until you are willing to
+sell."
+
+"Thank you," said Carrie.  "It cost you something to prove the vein, up
+there in the melting snow, and no greedy city man is going to get your
+reward.  However, we'll get on.  If they give you the telegraph
+contract, I'm going North."
+
+Jim turned to his comrade.  "She can't go!  You had better tell her
+it's impossible."
+
+"I'll leave it to you.  There's not much use in telling Carrie she
+can't do a thing when she thinks she can."
+
+Jim began a labored argument about the hardships and the ruggedness of
+the country and Carrie listened with inscrutable calm.  Then she said,
+"You don't want me to go?"
+
+"It isn't that.  You don't know what you are up against."
+
+"I have a notion," Carrie remarked with some dryness.  "Perhaps you
+imagine all goes smooth and I have a soft job here?"
+
+Jim was silent.  He was sometimes sorry for Carrie, but she resumed:
+"You haven't lived in a shabby street, doing chores you don't like and
+trying to please people who are often rude.  Well, I've stood for it a
+long time, for mother's sake; but now cousin Belle is coming, and she
+knows all there is to know about keeping store.  Do you think a girl
+ought to be kept at home?  That she never hears the call of adventure
+like the rest of you?"
+
+"Adventure palls.  One soon gets enough," said Jim.  Then he saw Jake's
+smile and added: "After all, I don't know----"
+
+"I know," said Carrie.  "You are going back, and I am going too.  But
+you won't have to take care of me.  I mean to manage things."
+
+"She has some talent that way," Jake observed.  "If you're not very
+firm, Jim, she'll manage you.  But what's your particular job, Carrie?"
+
+"Supplies.  When it comes to handling foodstuff, menfolk don't know how
+to buy.  Then they waste, and the hash a man camp-cook puts up is
+seldom fit to eat."
+
+"There's some truth in that," Jake remarked with feeling.  "It looks as
+if you had got your program fixed."
+
+"I have," said Carrie, with resolute quietness.  "I'm going."
+
+Jake smiled at his comrade.  "You had better agree.  When Carrie talks
+like that she can't be moved by argument.  Anyhow, the trail's broken
+to the wirehead and if she gets tired she can come back."
+
+"I may get tired," said Carrie.  "But I shall not come back.  There's
+another thing: I have a share in the Bluebird and want a stake on the
+telegraph line.  Well, I've saved a hundred dollars."
+
+"Carrie's pile!" Jake remarked.  "She means to throw it in; that's the
+kind of girl my sister is.  As a business proposition, our venture's
+humorous.  We haven't capital enough to stand for one setback, and if
+luck's against us we'll sure go broke.  To begin with, I've got to put
+up a big bluff on the construction department in order to get the job;
+look as if I owned a bank roll and didn't care if we got paid or not.
+Well, one takes steep chances in this country, and I allow there's
+something to be said for the small man who goes out with an ax, five
+dollars, and a bag of flour, to make a road or build a log bridge.
+Folks don't know how much he means and all he has to stand for."
+
+Carrie's eyes sparkled. "You and Jim know.  I'm going to find out."
+
+Then Mrs. Winter came in.  She was a pale, quiet woman whom Jim had
+thought dull until he saw her work.  She listened, making a few
+remarks, while Jake talked about their plans.
+
+"Well," she said at length, "your cousin is coming and she'll help me
+run the store.  It has certainly got to be run; you'll need some money
+if you go broke."
+
+"We're not going broke," Carrie rejoined with a hint of emotion.  "Jake
+has got to make good for your sake.  Some day we'll sell out the
+business and you shall rest as long as you like."
+
+Mrs. Winter smiled, rather wearily.  "I don't know if I'd like to do
+nothing; I've hustled so long.  Still I've sometimes thought I'd like
+to find out how it feels just to sit quiet for a piece.  Now the oven's
+good and hot; there's a batch of biscuit ready and you'd better come
+and help."
+
+She took Carrie away and when they had gone Jake looked at his comrade.
+
+"I allow the women's part is most as hard as ours, and Carrie hit it
+when she said I had to make good."
+
+Jim nodded.  "I like your sister, and your mother's very fine.  I want
+to help you help them all I can."
+
+"Sure, I know," said Jake, and then his eyes twinkled, for he had noted
+Jim's slight awkwardness.  "You went rather farther than you meant,
+didn't you?  Your English streak makes you shy, but you won't hurt my
+feelings; I'm all Canadian.  Now, however, you are going to bed."
+
+Jim went to bed and soon went to sleep.  He was not well yet and had
+had an exciting day.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+ON THE TRAIL
+
+Heavy rain swept the valley, the evening was cold, and Jim stood near
+the big rusty stove at Tillicum House, drying his wet clothes.  He had
+eaten a very bad supper and imagined the wooden hotel on the North
+trail was perhaps the worst at which he had stopped.  The floor was
+torn by lumbermen's spiked boots; burned matches and the ends of cheap
+cigars lay about.  The board walls were cracked and stained by resin
+and drops of tarry liquid fell from the bend where the stove pipe went
+through the ceiling.  A door opened on a passage where a small, wet
+towel hung above a row of tin basins filled with dirty water.  There
+was no effort for comfort and Jake, who was tired and did not like the
+hard chairs, sat, smoking, on a box.
+
+Outside, shabby frame houses ran down hill to the angry green river
+where drifting ice-floes shocked.  Dark woods rolled up the other bank
+and trails of mist crawled among the pines.  Patches of snow checkered
+the rocks above; in the distance a white range glimmered against leaden
+cloud.  The settlement looked strangely desolate in the driving rain,
+but the small ugly houses were the last Jim's party would see for long.
+The wagon road ended there and a very rough pack trail led into the
+wilds.  There was another hotel, to which the men Jim had engaged had
+gone.
+
+"Where's Carrie?" he asked by and by.
+
+"I guess she's tired," Jake replied.  "It has been pretty fierce for
+Carrie since we left the cars."
+
+Jim frowned.  They had been some days on the road and the rain had not
+stopped.  It was cold rain; belts of road were washed away and the rest
+was full of holes, in which the loaded wagons sometimes stuck.  The men
+got wet and their clothes could not be dried, and Carrie was not
+sheltered much by a rubber sheet, while when they struck a wash-out all
+were forced to carry their tools and stores across slippery gravel.
+Carrie had not grumbled, but it was rough work and Jim knew she must
+have felt some strain.
+
+"She oughtn't to have come," he said.  "Why weren't you firm?"
+
+"I've a notion you agreed; but if you imagine I could have kept her
+back, you don't know Carrie yet.  Anyhow, the bad weather won't last
+and we must make the head of the wire soon.  Summer's short."
+
+Jim nodded.  They had grounds for speed that disturbed them both.
+Supplies and transport had cost more than they calculated; wages were
+high, and their money was running out.  It was obviously needful to
+push on the work until enough of the line was finished to justify their
+asking for some payment.  While Jim mused a man came in.  The stranger
+was big, and looked rather truculent, although he wore neat
+store-clothes and new long boots.  His glance was quick and got
+ironical when he fixed his eyes on Jake.
+
+"Been some time beating it from the railroad, haven't you?" he asked.
+
+"I expect the trip has been made in better time," Jake admitted.  "We
+struck a number of wash-outs and didn't want to leave our truck along
+the road."
+
+"You were short of transport."
+
+"We had all we could pay for.  Transport comes high."
+
+"When you leave the railroad, everything comes high, as you're going to
+find out.  Guess your trouble is you haven't enough capital."
+
+"The trouble's pretty common," Jake rejoined.  "You don't find rich men
+hitting the trail to the woods."
+
+"A sure thing," said the other.  "Well, you're not going to get rich
+cutting the new telegraph line.  Your outfit's not strong enough; you
+haven't stores and tools.  Tell you what I'll do; I'll give you seven
+hundred and fifty dollars to let up."
+
+"I don't know if you're generous or if you're rash," Jake remarked with
+a twinkle.  "The truck we're hauling in cost us more than that."
+
+"I'll take it at a valuation and you can find the men to fix the price."
+
+Jake looked at Jim, who pondered and hesitated.  He was dispirited and
+tired, and felt that the chance of their carrying out the contract was
+not good.  It would be something of a relief to get their money back.
+
+"I don't know who you are and why you want to buy us off," he said.
+
+"Then I'll put you wise.  I'm Probyn, Cartner and Dawson's man.  They
+wanted the new branch-line job, and if you get out, it, will go to
+them.  Anyhow, you can't put it over.  The bush is thick in the valley
+and there's loose gravel on the range that will roll down when you cut
+your track."
+
+"Loose gravel's bad," Jake remarked.  "If there's much of it, I don't
+see why Cartner and Dawson want the contract."
+
+"For one thing, they reckon it's theirs.  Then they have money enough
+to get to work properly.  You have taken up too big a job, and now's
+your chance to quit.  If you're prudent, you won't let it go."
+
+Jim pondered, for he thought he had got a hint.  Cartner and Dawson
+were contractors and with one or two more did much of the public work.
+In fact, it was said that the few large firms pooled the best jobs and
+combined to keep off outsiders.  Jim had been somewhat surprised when
+Jake secured the contract and imagined this was because it was not
+large enough for the others to bother about.  The branch line was short.
+
+"Oh, well," he said as carelessly as he could, "we've got to try to put
+it over.  Seven hundred and fifty dollars wouldn't pay us for the time
+we've spent."
+
+Probyn leaned forward.  "You want to call me up?  Well, I'll stand for
+a thousand dollars, but that's my best."
+
+Jake looked at Jim and both hesitated.  A thousand dollars was a useful
+sum, and in a way they would get it for nothing.  Cartner and Dawson
+would pay, but if the offer were refused, their opposition must be
+reckoned on.  It was obvious that they did not mean to allow poaching
+on the preserves they claimed.  Then Jim thought about Carrie, and felt
+half ashamed of his caution.  She was a partner and although she did
+not know the difficulties she would not hesitate.  He did not know if
+he was weak or not, but he did not want her to think he had no pluck.
+While he mused, Carrie came in, looking pale and tired, but she stopped
+and gave Probyn a direct glance.
+
+"Who is this?" she asked.
+
+"He comes from Cartner and Dawson, the big contractors, and wants to
+buy us off," Jake replied.  "He offers a thousand dollars if we'll get
+out."
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed Carrie.  "What did you say?"
+
+"We haven't said much.  We were thinking about it when you came in."
+
+Carrie's eyes sparkled and her tired look vanished.  "It won't stand
+for thinking about!  Tell him you undertook the job and are going to
+make good."
+
+Jake shrugged humorously and turned to Jim.  "Well, I guess we needed
+bracing.  What do you say, partner?"
+
+"We'll hold on."
+
+Probyn frowned.  "Is the dame a member of the firm?"
+
+"She is," Jake said, smiling.  "In fact, when we're up against it,
+she's the boss partner."
+
+"Very well.  I want you to get this, miss.  Here's a thousand dollars;
+they're yours for picking up and you take no risk.  If you refuse and
+hold down the contract, you'll certainly go broke."
+
+"It's possible," said Carrie.  "All the same, we mean to hold it down."
+
+Probyn shrugged.  "Then I quit.  If you can put the job over, you're
+luckier than I think."
+
+He went off and Carrie sat down.  "Looks as if I came along when I was
+needed.  The fellow talked in hints.  What did he mean?"
+
+"It's pretty obvious," Jake replied.  "His employers don't like our
+butting in.  Since they can't buy us, they'll try to freeze us out."
+
+"Then I reckon we must fight."
+
+Jake looked thoughtful.  "They're strong antagonists; but I've a notion
+there's somebody on our side.  In fact, I was puzzled when we got the
+contract.  It's not often a job of this kind goes past the others, but
+the department may be using us to see if it's possible to shake the
+combine."  He paused, and laughed as he resumed: "Anyhow, we have made
+the plunge and if we're not going under have got to go ahead."
+
+Jim agreed and for a time they talked about something else, but next
+morning Jake got a jar when he went to load the pack-horses and found
+two of his helpers gone.
+
+"They pulled out at sun-up," one of the rest explained.  "A stranger
+came along, looking for choppers; offered fifty cents more than you
+promised, and Steve and Pete went off with him."
+
+"He'll probably shake them in a week," Jake replied.  "Still fifty
+cents a day's some inducement, and all of you can chop."
+
+The packer laughed.  "That's a sure thing!  We reckoned we were fixed
+well and had better stop with a boss we knew.  Besides, now we've a
+dame for commissary, the hash is pretty good."
+
+Jake went back to the hotel, disturbed about Probyn, but satisfied with
+his men.  The two who had gone were strangers, but two of the rest had
+been with him in the North and the others had worked upon the telegraph
+line.  One could trust them.  For all that, he was quiet when they set
+off on the muddy trail that plunged into the bush.  A cold wind blew
+the rain in their faces, the horses stumbled in the holes, and the wet
+men grumbled as they plodded through the mud.  They knew the wilderness
+and felt themselves a small company for the work they must do.
+Moreover, Jake imagined they might have to meet the antagonism of rich
+and unscrupulous rivals.
+
+"You don't say much," he remarked to Jim.
+
+"One doesn't say much the morning one pulls out to start a big job.
+Anyhow, I'll own it's not my habit.  For one thing, I know what we're
+up against," Jim replied.  Then he saw Jake's twinkle, and smiled.  "My
+notion is you have been quieter than me."
+
+"Oh, well," said Jake, "you're not always very bright, but this trip's
+a picnic after some we've made.  If we go broke, we can come down
+again; the last time we took the North trail we had to make good or
+freeze."
+
+"You hadn't your sister with you then."
+
+"That's so," Jake agreed.  "I reckon it makes some difference.  Perhaps
+you had better go ahead and talk to her.  Carrie's rather fed up, but
+she mayn't be as frank to you."
+
+Jim urged the pack-horse he was leading and came up with Carrie, who
+was a short distance in front.  He wondered what he had better talk
+about, but found it easier to amuse her than he had thought.  Carrie
+did not look tired now; she had a touch of color and her eyes were
+bright.  She laughed at his remarks, although he admitted that his
+humor was clumsy, and did not seem to mind when the horse splashed her
+with mud.  Carrie had pluck, but he imagined her cheerfulness was
+forced.  By and by a knot on the pack-rope slipped and some tools and
+cooking pans fell with a clash.  When Jim began to pick them up Carrie
+stopped a yard or two in front.
+
+"You needn't hurry; I'll go on," she said.  "It's cleaner away from the
+horses, and one can look for the dry spots."
+
+Jim gave her a quick glance.  Although she smiled, her voice had a note
+of strain.  It had not been easy for her to pretend and he had forced
+her to the effort.
+
+"I'm sometimes dull, but I mean well," he said apologetically.
+
+"Of course, you meant well.  Jake sent you, didn't he?  He knows
+something about my moods."
+
+Jim colored and, seeing his embarrassment, she laughed.
+
+"You don't deserve that; I get mad now and then.  The thing's my fault,
+any way.  I started well, but hadn't grit enough to keep it up.
+However, hadn't you better pick those pans out of the mud?"
+
+Jim replaced the articles and when he had refastened the load waited
+for Jake.
+
+"It looks as if Carrie had turned you down," the latter remarked.
+
+"I'm not surprised," Jim rejoined.  "I've been talking like a drummer
+when she wanted to be alone."
+
+"Oh, well," said Jake, "you haven't a very light touch, but I expect
+she saw your intention was good."
+
+"She did not; she saw you had sent me.  Your sister is cleverer than
+you think."
+
+Jake grinned and pulled his horse round a hole.  "They're all cleverer
+than we think.  Sometimes it's an advantage and sometimes a drawback.
+Anyhow, I guess I won't meddle again.  Carrie will make good if we
+leave her alone----"
+
+He turned, for the horse behind them pushed forward and bit the animal
+he led.
+
+"Watch out!" he shouted.  "Drive your beast on!"
+
+Jim did so and then stopped a few yards off, while the animals plunged
+round each other and a man behind ran up.  Jake, sticking to the
+bridle, was dragged about; his horse's load struck against a tree and a
+flour-bag burst.  While he tried to stop the white stream running from
+the hole, the other horse seized his arm and shook him savagely.  Its
+driver joined in the struggle with a thick branch, and the men and
+animals floundered about the trail while the flour ran into the mud.
+
+"Let up with the club!" Jake shouted.  "The dried apples have gone now.
+You have hit the bag."
+
+"Hold your beast, then," gasped the other.  "This trouble's not going
+to stop until mine gets in front."
+
+Jake with an effort pulled the kicking animal between two trees and
+there was quietness when the other passed.  It looked round for a
+moment, and then plodded forward steadily while the desiccated apples
+ran down on the trail.
+
+"Now we'll stop and fix those bags," Jake remarked.  "Why in thunder
+did you let the brute go, Bill?"
+
+"He was mushing along good and quiet and I wanted to light my pipe.
+Reckon he forgot he wasn't in his place."
+
+Then they heard a laugh and saw Carrie close by.  Jake was covered with
+mud and flour, and his hat, which had been trampled on, hung over his
+hot face.
+
+"You look the worse for wear," she said.
+
+"I guess I feel like that," Jake replied, indicating his torn overalls.
+"Putting some of the damage right will be a job for you, but my hat's
+past your help.  You wouldn't think it cost three dollars, not long
+since!"
+
+"But what was the kicking and biting about?"
+
+"You heard the explanation!  Bill's cayuse forgot he wasn't in his
+proper place.  When he remembered, he tried to get there."
+
+"I don't understand yet."
+
+"A pack-horse knows his place in the row.  He's a creature of habit and
+hates to see another animal where he ought to be, but Bill was late in
+loading up and we didn't stop for him.  If I'd known what was coming to
+me, I'd have waited.  Now you have got the thing."
+
+Carrie laughed and Jim noted there was no reserve in her amusement.
+Her moodiness had vanished.
+
+"It's ridiculous, but you must indulge him another time," she said.
+"Food is dear."
+
+They went on with lighter hearts.  The struggle and Carrie's laugh had
+braced them, and by and by bright sunbeams touched the trunks beside
+the narrow trail.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+CARRIE'S WEAK MOMENT
+
+The rain had stopped and big drops fell from the dark firs about the
+camp.  Daylight was going; all was very quiet but for the distant sound
+of falling water, and the smoke of the sulky fire went straight up.
+White chips and empty provision cans lay beside the freshly-chopped
+logs.  Jake had left camp after supper, the men had gone to fish, and
+Carrie had taken off her wet boots and sat by the fire, trying to dry
+her clothes.  For the last three or four days the party had traveled
+across very rugged country, and had now reached the spot where the new
+line would branch off.
+
+Carrie was cold and depressed.  One of the men who joined Probyn was
+cook, and although she had undertaken his duties cheerfully she found
+them harder than she thought.  Then when they pitched camp the wood the
+men brought was wet, the fire would not burn well, and the extra good
+supper she had meant to cook was spoiled.  This was the climax of a
+number of small troubles and hardships, and Carrie's patience had given
+way.  By and by, Jim came out of the gloom and stopped by the fire.
+
+"Crying, Carrie!  Why is that?"
+
+Carrie, who had not heard his steps, started and tried to hide her feet
+behind her draggled skirt.
+
+"I wasn't," she said, rather sharply.  "Anyhow, if I was, you oughtn't
+to have noticed."
+
+"Perhaps not.  Jake told me not long since my touch wasn't light.  But
+what has gone wrong?"
+
+"It's all gone wrong," she answered drearily.  "I oughtn't to have
+come.  Supper was the last thing----"
+
+"The supper was quite good," Jim declared.
+
+"Quite good!  Well, I suppose that's all you can say for it honestly.
+If you liked it, it's curious you didn't eat very much.  Then, you see,
+I can cook, and I wanted to make a little feast to celebrate your
+beginning the job."
+
+"Nobody could cook at a fire like that.  Besides, folks are not
+fastidious in camp.  When you're chopping and cutting rock all day, you
+can eat whatever you get."
+
+"Your touch is certainly not light; I'd sooner you were fastidious,"
+Carrie rejoined.
+
+"Looks as if I'd taken the wrong line," Jim said gently.  "I hate to
+see you disturbed."
+
+"Do you hate it very much?"
+
+"Yes," said Jim.  "That's why I'm awkward."
+
+Carrie gave him a quick glance and turned her head.  The firelight
+touched his face and she noted his grave sympathy.
+
+"Oh!" she said, "I'm a silly little fool!  I would come--although I
+knew you didn't want me."
+
+"I thought you would find things hard," Jim replied, with some
+embarrassment.
+
+"I do find them hard; that's the trouble, because they're really not
+hard.  The fault's mine; I haven't enough grit."
+
+"You are full of grit," Jim declared.  "I've known men knocked out by
+an easier journey."
+
+"You're trying to be nice and I don't like that.  I didn't want you to
+come just now, but since you have come, sit down and smoke.  I meant to
+be a partner and help you both along."
+
+"But you have helped----"
+
+Carrie looked up quickly.  "Oh, you are dull!  You don't see I want to
+confess.  It's sometimes a comfort to make yourself look as mean as
+possible.  Afterwards you begin to imagine you're perhaps not quite so
+bad."
+
+"I don't know if it's worth while to bother about such things," Jim
+remarked.
+
+"You don't bother.  When you're on the trail, you're occupied about the
+horses and how far you can go.  Nothing else matters, and Jake, of
+course, never bothers at all.  He grins.  But I insisted on coming and
+when the man at the hotel wanted to buy you off I made you refuse.  You
+know I did.  You were hesitating."
+
+"On the whole, I'm glad you were firm."
+
+"It was easy to be firm at the hotel, but I ought to have kept it up.
+I was vain and sure of myself, when I'd come up in a wagon, over a
+graded road."
+
+"The road was pretty bad," said Jim.
+
+"Anyhow, it was a road and I sat in a wagon," Carrie rejoined.  "When
+the road stopped and we hit the real wild country, I got frightened,
+like a child.  What use is there in starting out, if you can't go on?"
+
+"You have gone on.  I don't think many girls from the cities would have
+borne the journey with an outfit like ours.  But I don't quite get your
+object for leaving home."
+
+"Ah," said Carrie, "you have done what you wanted, although it was
+perhaps hard.  You have tasted adventure, seen the wild North, and
+found gold.  You haven't known monotony, done dreary things that never
+change, and tried to make fifty cents go as far as a dollar.  If you
+had talents, you could use them, but it wasn't like that with me.  I
+don't know if I have talent, but I felt I could do something better
+than bake biscuit and sell cheap groceries.  I longed to do something
+different; to go out and take my chances, and see if I couldn't make my
+mark.  Then I wanted money, for mother's sake.  So I came, but as soon
+as I got wet and tired I was afraid."
+
+Jim pondered.  Carrie had pluck; it meant much that she had owned her
+fears.  She meant to conquer them and he imagined she looked to him for
+help.  His business was to give her back her confidence, but this could
+not be done by awkward flattery.  In the meantime, he looked about.
+The fire had sunk, the moon was rising, and through a gap between the
+trunks one could see a dark gulf, out of which thin mist rolled.  The
+vapor streamed across long rows of ragged pines that ran up among the
+rocks until they melted in the gloom.  In the distance, a glimmering
+line of snow cut against the sky.  The landscape had grandeur but not
+beauty.  It was stern and forbidding.
+
+"I think we are all afraid now and then," he said.  "I never hit the
+North trail without shrinking.  Perhaps it's instinct, or something
+like that.  In the cities, man lives in comfort by using machines, but
+he's up against Nature all the time in the wilds.  She must be fought
+and beaten and he must leave behind the weapons he knows.  Up North, a
+small accident or carelessness may cost you your life; an ax forgotten,
+a bag of flour lost, mean frostbite and hunger that may stop the march.
+You have got to be braced and watchful; it's a grim country and it
+kills off the slack.  But we are only on its edge and things are
+different here.  If we are beaten, we can fall back.  The trail to the
+cities is open."
+
+"Would you fall back?" Carrie asked.
+
+"Not unless I'm forced," Jim answered with a laugh.
+
+"Nor will I," said Carrie.  "I've been a fool to-night, but if I'm up
+against silly old things like instincts, I'm going to put them down."
+
+"You will make good all right.  But what did your mother think when you
+resolved to come with us?"
+
+Carrie hesitated, and then gave Jim a level glance.
+
+"You didn't see mother much.  She was busy; she's always busy, and you
+don't know her yet.  She's quiet, you don't feel her using control, but
+one does what she wants, and I can't remember when that was wrong.
+Well, I suppose she felt, on the surface, I oughtn't to go.  It was the
+proper, conventional view, but when it's needful mother can go deep.  I
+think she was willing to give me a chance of finding out, and trying,
+my powers; she knew I wouldn't be so restless afterwards, if I was
+happier or not."  Carrie paused and there was a touch of color in her
+face as she resumed: "Besides, she knew she could trust Jake and I
+think she trusts you."
+
+Jim said nothing.  It looked as if the little faded woman who had been
+occupied about the store all day had qualities he had not imagined,
+although he now remembered he had sometimes got a hint of reserved
+force.  All was quiet for a minute or two while he mused, and then they
+heard steps and Jake came up.
+
+"I've been prospecting up the line.  We have got our job," he said.
+
+"What's the trouble?  Bush pretty thick?"
+
+"Rocks!  They're lying loose right up the slope and it's going to cost
+us high to roll them away.  Then it's possible another lot will come
+down."
+
+Jim frowned.  They had undertaken to clear a track of stated width,
+along which pack-horses could travel, as well as fix the telegraph
+posts; and a bank of big loose stones would, be a troublesome obstacle.
+Much depended on the steepness of the hillside and he had not yet seen
+the ground.
+
+"If we have to build up and underpin the line, it will certainly cost
+us something," he said.  "However, we'll find that out as we go on.
+The main thing is to start."
+
+"I allow that's so.  When you start you finish," Jake remarked.  "Still
+dollars will count in this fight and we may go broke."
+
+"It's possible.  Anyhow, we'll hold on until we are broke."
+
+Carrie laughed.  "And that's all there is to it, Jim?  I like your way
+of looking at things.  It's simple and saves trouble."
+
+"It puts it off," Jim rejoined dryly.  "The trouble sometimes comes at
+the end.  But it's rather curious how often you can make good by just
+holding on."
+
+"Oh, well!" said Carrie.  "I hear the boys coming.  Go and see if they
+have caught some fish."
+
+Jim went off and presently returned with a string of big gray trout.
+Sitting down, he began to sharpen his knife, but Carrie stopped him.
+
+"Leave them alone!  How many will the boys eat for breakfast?"
+
+"To some extent, it depends on how many they get.  If they're up to
+their usual form, I reckon they'll eat the lot.  But what has that to
+do with it?  I'll fix the trout."
+
+"No," said Carrie.  "Give me your knife."
+
+"Certainly not.  Do you like dressing fish?"
+
+"I expect I'll hate it, but I'm going to try.  Do you want me to
+struggle with a small blunt knife?"
+
+Jim looked hard at her.  Her mouth was firm and he knew what her touch
+of color meant.
+
+"I undertook to help cook," she resumed, and smiled.  "It's curious how
+often you can make good by just holding on!  Now, however, you and Jake
+can go away."
+
+They went off, but presently Jim sat down and lighted his pipe.
+Although he approved Carrie's resolve to be useful, he felt annoyed.
+She had pretty white hands; he did not like her dressing trout.  Yet
+somebody must cook, and now the gang was two men short, he did not know
+whom he could spare.  It was not a job for Carrie, but she was
+obstinate.  There was no use in going back, because she could beat him
+in argument, and he went to his bed of fir branches in a bark shack the
+men had built.  Carrie had a tent, with a double roof that would keep
+out rain and sun.  Jim had seen to this, although the tent was
+expensive.
+
+He got up rather early, but when he went out a big fire burned between
+the parallel hearth logs.  Aromatic wood-smoke hung about the camp in a
+thin blue haze.  There was an appetizing smell of cooking, and Carrie
+got up from beside the logs as he advanced.  She gave him a cheerful
+glance, and then stood looking past him to the east.  Mist streamed out
+of the deep valley and rolled across the climbing pines; in the
+distance, snow cut, softly blue, against the dazzling sky.  Carrie
+looked fresh and vigorous.  There was color in her face and her eyes
+were bright.
+
+"How long have you been about?" Jim asked.
+
+"An hour," she said, smiling.  "I was often up at daybreak at home, and
+it was different there.  The street looked mean, the store smelt stale,
+and all was dreary.  Sun-up is glorious in the bush."
+
+"Sometimes!  I have wakened half-frozen and felt most too scared to
+look about."
+
+"Ah," said Carrie, "I was scared last night, but last night has gone
+and can't come back.  I'll own I don't like the dark."
+
+Jim studied her.  Her pose was unconsciously graceful; her tall figure
+and plain gray dress harmonized with the background of straight trunks
+and rocks.  Her head was slightly tilted back as she breathed the
+resin-scented air.  Jim thought she looked strangely virile and alert.
+
+"You belong to the dawn," he said.
+
+Carrie laughed, a laugh of frank amusement, untouched by coquetry.
+"Oh, Jim!  You're not often romantic."
+
+"I suppose that is so," he agreed.  "Anyhow, my feeling was quite
+sincere.  You _are_ like the dawn."
+
+She turned her head for a moment and then said carelessly: "Let's look
+if the bannocks I made are cooked."
+
+Jim scattered a pile of wood ashes and lifted two or three large thick
+cakes from the hot stones beneath.  He broke off a piece from one and
+when it cooled began to eat.
+
+"I imagine this is the best bannock that was ever made in the bush," he
+remarked.
+
+"Do you feel you must be nice?"
+
+"No," said Jim.  "In a way, I don't care if I'm nice or not.  The
+bannock is first grade; I think that's all that matters.  If you don't
+mind, I'll take another bit."
+
+Carrie laughed.  "Looks as if one could make you happy by giving you
+things to eat!  But let's see if the trout are fried; I've got the
+spider full."
+
+She put the fish on a big tin plate and while she made coffee Jim beat
+a piece of iron that hung from a branch.  The sharp, ringing notes
+pierced the shadows and half-dressed men came out of the shack and
+plunged down the slope to the river.
+
+"Some of them would be mad if they knew I'd roused them out ten minutes
+early," Jim remarked.  "A breakfast like this, however, is too good to
+spoil.  Now if you'll let me have the coffee, I'll take the truck
+along."
+
+He came back with the empty plates in about a quarter of an hour, for
+Canadian choppers do not loiter over meals, and Carrie, sitting on the
+hearth log, looked up anxiously.
+
+"Well?" she asked, "were the boys satisfied?"
+
+"They were.  I don't think I could have stood for it if they were not.
+One allowed he hoped Probyn would keep the cook we lost.  The others
+were enthusiastic."
+
+Carrie blushed.  "I'm glad.  I was tired when things went wrong last
+night."
+
+"The trouble is, you can't go on.  It's one thing to superintend, and
+cook a meal now and then, but quite another to cook all the time."
+
+"But this is what I want to do."
+
+"It can't be allowed," Jim declared.
+
+Carrie put down the forks she was cleaning.  "You look very firm and
+solemn, but you can't bluff me.  Are you and Jake very rich?"
+
+"You know we're not rich."
+
+"If you want to put your contract over, you have got to work, and it's
+obvious you can't work and cook.  Then, if you bring in a man to cook,
+he couldn't do much else and wages are high.  Aren't they high?"
+
+"I suppose they are," Jim agreed.
+
+"Very well!  I came because I wanted to be useful, and if you won't let
+me, I'll go back.  Then Jake and one of the boys would have to go down
+with me to the railroad.  That would be awkward, wouldn't it?"
+
+"It certainly would be awkward.  Do you mean you'll insist on taking
+two of us away from the job unless I give in?"
+
+Carrie smiled.  "Yes, Jim.  If you're going to be obstinate, there's no
+other plan.  Besides, you see, the trail's rough and I couldn't go very
+fast."
+
+"I'm beaten," said Jim.  "You will do what you like.  You're a good
+sort, Carrie, and if you find the job too hard, you can stop."
+
+"I may find it hard, but I don't know if I'll stop.  Anyhow, your
+control is gone.  If you are not very nice, I'll spoil the hash, and
+then you'll have trouble with the boys."
+
+Jim got up, moved by her pluck and yet half annoyed, for he had meant
+to make things easy for her.  Before he went off she laughed and
+remarked: "You'll find Jake will understand why you gave way.
+Sometimes he bluffs mother; he never bluffs me."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+ROLLING STONES
+
+Sweet resinous smells drifted down the hill.  The mists were melting
+and Jim lighted his pipe and thoughtfully looked about.  The sun had
+just risen above the distant snow and a streak of blue smoke, drawn
+across the woods, marked the camp.  Breakfast would not be ready for
+half an hour, but he knew Carrie had been occupied for some time,
+although he had stolen out of camp without talking to her.
+
+Jim did not like her working as she had worked for the last week or
+two, and if he had stopped they might have begun an argument.  He would
+have gained nothing by this, for Carrie was obstinate and he admitted
+that he was now and then impatient.  Carrie was plucky and they needed
+help, but cooking for the hired men was not the kind of thing she ought
+to do.  Then he had been disturbed in the night by a rattle of stones,
+and now saw he must grapple with a difficulty that was worse than he
+had thought.
+
+The hillside ran up steeply to a wall of crags, split by frost and
+thaw.  Tall firs clung to the slope where they could find a hold, but
+there were gaps, in which broken trunks lay among the rubbish a
+snow-slide had brought down.  Then, for some distance, large, sharp
+stones rested insecurely on the slope, and Jim imagined that a small
+disturbance would set them in motion.  Below the spot where he sat, the
+stones ran down into a gulf obscured by rolling mist.  The turmoil of a
+river rose from the gloomy depths.
+
+A row of telegraph posts crossed the stony belt, but one or two had
+fallen in the night and Jim carefully studied the ground.  His business
+was to put up the posts and clear a track in order to protect them from
+damage and enable pack-horses to travel along the line.  It was plain
+that the stones were an awkward obstacle, but this was not all.  As a
+rule, the provincial Government allowed the small ranchers to undertake
+the construction of telegraphs, rude bridges, and roads.  The plan
+helped the men to stop upon their half-cleared holdings, but it was not
+economical and rich contractors had recently got the large jobs.  Jim
+imagined they meant to keep the business in their hands and he knew
+something about political influence and graft.  His contract was not
+important but he had grounds for believing the others resented his
+entering the field, and if he got behind schedule, the agreement might
+be broken.  Well, he must not get behind, and when he went back for
+breakfast he had made his plans.
+
+Afterwards he got to work and rolled the stones down hill all day,
+without returning to camp for dinner.  It was getting hot, and in the
+afternoon fierce sunshine beat upon the long slope.  The shadow of the
+pines looked inviting and Jim felt that half an hour might be occupied
+profitably by a quiet smoke and review of the undertaking, but resisted
+the temptation.  The argument was false; he was a working boss and must
+set the pace for his men.  His back began to ache, he tore his old blue
+shirt, and bruised his hands, while as the shadows lengthened he got
+disturbed.  Rolling heavy stones was slow and expensive work.  It kept
+him from getting forward and wages were high.  When the sun was low he
+stopped to wipe his bleeding hand and saw Jake leaning on his shovel.
+
+"I've let up for a minute or two to think.  Sometimes it pays," Jake
+observed.
+
+"It depends on what you think about," Jim rejoined.  "I don't know if
+there's much profit in wondering what's for supper."
+
+Jake smiled.  "Perhaps not.  I reckon you thought how you could hit up
+the pace.  My notion is, you've put it most as high as the boys will
+stand for."
+
+"In this country, it's usual to work as hard as the boss."
+
+"Something depends on the boss," Jake said dryly.  "When we're up
+against a hard streak, you are near the limit."
+
+Jim gave him a sharp glance.  "Do you mean anything in particular?
+Aren't you satisfied with the boys?"
+
+"On the whole, they're a pretty good crowd.  There are two I'm not
+quite sure about."
+
+Jim's eyes rested on two men who were languidly throwing stones down
+the hill.  "I think we agree, but they have earned their pay so far,
+and I mean them to go on."
+
+He stopped and the men put down their tools, for a sharp, ringing noise
+rolled across the woods.  When they reached camp Jim was surprised to
+note two hobbled horses among the springing fern.  The big pack-saddles
+stood near the fire and a man was helping Carrie to fill the tin
+plates.  He stopped when Jim advanced, and Carrie said, "This is Mr.
+Davies; he was at the Woolsworth store with me."
+
+Jim said he was glad to see him and studied the fellow when they sat
+down.  Davies was young and rather handsome.  He wore overalls, long
+leggings, and an expensive buckskin jacket, but although his skin was
+brown, he did not look like a bushman.  In fact, Jim thought him a type
+that is common in Western towns; superficially smart, and marked by an
+aggressive confidence.  He was somewhat surprised the fellow was a
+friend of Carrie's; Jim had not expected her to like that kind of man,
+but hospitality is the rule in the bush and he tried to be polite.
+When supper was over and they lit their pipes he asked:
+
+"Have you come to see the country, Mr. Davies?"
+
+"I'm out on business; going through to the new settlement.  I belong to
+the Martin outfit and we're bidding on the construction of a new
+bridge."
+
+"Ah," said Jim, for Martin was a contractor and one of the ring.  "This
+is not the shortest way to settlement," he added.
+
+"It is not," Davies agreed.  "I reckoned I'd go in up the Vaughan river
+and hired two Indians who know the way.  Wanted to look at the country;
+there's some talk about making a new wagon road.  Then, you see, I knew
+Miss Winter and heard she was at your camp."
+
+Something about Davies' manner hinted that the girl and he were good
+friends, and Jim was sorry Carrie was not there, since he wanted to see
+how she accepted the fellow's statement.  For no very obvious reason,
+Davies jarred him.
+
+"Looking for a wagon road line is a different job from keeping store,"
+he remarked.
+
+"I did keep store, but I've had other occupations and know the bush.
+If I didn't know it, they would have no use for me in the Martin gang."
+
+Jim nodded.  The fellow was plausible, and in British Columbia a man
+often puts his talents to very different uses.  He thought Davies had
+talent, although perhaps not of a high kind.  By and by the latter got
+up.
+
+"If the boys are going fishing, I'll try my luck with them," he said.
+"I'd like a few gray trout and have brought a pole."
+
+Two or three of the men picked up rods they had made from fir-branches,
+and when the party set off Jim walked across to the fire where Carrie
+was sitting.
+
+"Davies has gone off to the river," he remarked.  "It's curious!"
+
+"Why do you think this curious?"
+
+Jim hesitated, feeling that tact was needful.  He was not jealous about
+Davies.  Carrie and he were friends; he liked her much, but she had not
+inspired him with romantic sentiment.  His imagination dwelt upon the
+girl he had met at the Montreal restaurant.  For all that, he was
+puzzled.
+
+"Well," he said, "it looks as if he had come out of his way in order to
+see you."
+
+"Did he tell you this?"
+
+"No," said Jim.  "He hinted at something like it.  I suppose you knew
+him well?"
+
+Carrie gave him a quick glance.  His face was thoughtful and he
+frowned.  She was quiet for a moment or two, and then smiled.  "I do
+not know him well.  He was at the Woolsworth Store, but his was a
+better post than mine, and we didn't often meet.  In fact, I don't
+think I liked him much."
+
+"Ah," said Jim, whose satisfaction was plain.  "Well, of course, it is
+not my business."
+
+"But you're rather glad I didn't like him?"
+
+"Of course," said Jim.  "The fellow's a poor type; not your type----"
+
+He stopped with some embarrassment and Carrie laughed.
+
+"We'll let that go.  You are puzzled, Jim?"
+
+"I am.  Why did the fellow hint he'd come because he wanted to see you?
+He said something about looking for a line for a wagon road, but he'd
+have struck the valley the road will go through sooner if he'd pushed
+on east.  I can't see what he did want."
+
+"Perhaps he had some reason for stopping at our camp and felt he must
+account for his coming out of his way."
+
+"Yes," said Jim.  "I believe you've hit it."
+
+"Well, now you know I don't like Davies and you have found out why he's
+here, you ought to be satisfied."
+
+"But I haven't found out why he's here; that's the trouble," Jim
+rejoined, and was silent for a few moments.  "However, perhaps you have
+put me on the track," he went on.  "I was something of a fool when I
+wanted to leave you behind.  You have helped us all the time.  But you
+haven't enough wood for morning; I'll go and chop some."
+
+He went off and Carrie sat quietly by the fire.  There was faint
+amusement in her eyes, but they were soft.  By and by the light began
+to fade and rousing herself she made some bannocks for breakfast.  When
+Davies came back with a string of fish she had vanished and the light
+that had burned in her tent was out.
+
+Next morning Davies left the camp and Jim sent three or four men to
+build a wall to protect the line, while he and some others put up the
+posts.  Their progress was slow, because it was necessary to make the
+wall strong and Jim was occupied for a week before he was satisfied
+with the length he had built.  He thought it ought to stand, but felt
+disturbed when he calculated what the extra work had cost.  It was,
+however, a comfort to know he had covered the worst ground, and soon
+after supper one evening he went off in better spirits than usual to a
+little bark shelter he had built for himself.
+
+He was tired and soon went to sleep, but after some hours awoke.  He
+supposed he was rather highly strung after working hard, because he did
+not feel sleepy, and lifting his head he looked about.  The end of the
+shelter was open and the pines outside rose like vague black spires,
+their tapered tops cutting against the sky.  Although there was no
+moon, the first row of trunks stood out against the deeper gloom
+behind.  One could smell the resin and the warm soil, damped by heavy
+dew.  All was very quiet, but after a few moments Jim began to listen.
+He had lived in the wilds, his senses were keen, and sometimes he
+received unconsciously impressions of minute noises.  Although the
+stillness was only broken by the turmoil of the river far down in the
+valley, he imagined it was not for nothing he had wakened.
+
+Then he raised himself on his elbow as he heard another sound.  It was
+very faint, but somehow definite, although he could not tell what it
+was.  A few moments afterwards, he knew; a stone was rolling down hill
+and disturbing others as it went.  Then there was a sharp crash and a
+rattle that began to swell into a roar, and Jim, leaping up, ran along
+the hill.  The bank he had built had broken and the stones behind it
+were plunging down.
+
+When he reached the line he struck his foot against a rock and
+stumbled.  The ground was rough, the night was dark, but it was
+unthinkable that he should stop.  He clenched his hands and ran,
+although he did not know what he could do.  When trouble threatened he
+must be on the spot.  In the meantime, the noise got louder.  He heard
+great blocks strike the ledges down the slope and smash; trees broke
+and branches crashed, while behind the detached shocks there was a
+steady, dull roar of small gravel grinding across the rocks and tearing
+up the brush.  The wall had obviously gone and its collapse had started
+a slide that might not stop until all the stones above the line had run
+down.  If so, they might plane off a wide belt of hillside and carry
+the soil and broken timber into the valley.  Then Jim would be forced
+to dig out another line.
+
+He gasped as he labored on, but the uproar had begun to die away when
+he reached an opening in the thin forest.  At sunset, straggling trees
+had dotted the slope, but they had gone and, so far as he could see,
+nothing but a few stumps broke the smooth surface of the hill.  The
+wall had vanished with the line it was meant to protect.  Now and then
+a big stone rolled by, but Jim did not think about the risk.  He must
+try to find out if much of the surface was left and if there was rock
+beneath.
+
+When he left the end of the line, small stones slipped away from his
+feet and plunged down into the dark.  This was ominous, since gravel is
+awkward stuff to work among when it does not lie at rest.  However,
+with plenty of stakes and some underpinning, he might be able to build
+up a new bank.  By and by his foot struck something sharp and he looked
+up.  He had kicked the edge of a large, ragged stone, and an
+indistinct, broken mass ran up the hill.  The blocks had obviously come
+down from the bottom of the crags and, since they had gone no farther,
+the pitch was easy enough for them to lie.  This would enable him to
+clear a line across the mass and build a fresh bank.
+
+Jim sat down and took out his pipe.  He had lost his labor and money he
+could not spare, but it was possible to run the line across the
+treacherous belt, although he was half afraid to count the cost.  When
+he struck a match Jake came up and indistinct figures moved in the
+gloom behind.
+
+"Have you any use for us, Boss?" one asked.
+
+"Nothing doing now," said Jim.  "We'll get busy in the morning."
+
+The man looked about and then remarked:
+
+"Something started the blamed wall off and I guess she didn't stop
+until she hit the river.  It's surely bad luck!"
+
+"It is," said Jim.  "Anyhow, we took this job and are going to make
+good.  I don't want you and you'll probably need some sleep."
+
+"I reckon that's so, if you mean to speed us up," the other agreed,
+with a laugh, and when he went back to the others Jim lighted his pipe.
+
+"A nasty knock, but not a knock-out," Jake remarked.  "At sun-up we'll
+have a better notion----"
+
+"Oh, yes," said Jim, rather impatiently, and added: "I've been
+wondering why I wakened."
+
+"I reckon that's plain enough.  The noise would have roused me three
+miles off."
+
+"It was before the noise began," Jim replied, in a thoughtful voice.
+"I think something woke me, but don't know what it was."
+
+"Tom remarked that something had started off the wall.  I allow he
+mayn't have reflected much, but perhaps it's significant he and you
+agree."
+
+Jim was silent for a minute or two, and then asked: "Did all the boys
+come along?"
+
+"So far as I remember.  I didn't count."
+
+"Well," said Jim.  "It's too soon to state what I think.  After all, I
+don't know very much."
+
+Jake said nothing.  He knew his partner was generally marked by a grim
+reserve after a bad set-back.  When Jim was ready, he would talk, and
+in the meantime Jake imagined his brain was occupied.  Crossing the
+track of the landslide cautiously, they returned to camp, but when they
+reached it Jim lighted his pipe again and did not go to sleep.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+A COUNCIL
+
+Jim got up at daybreak and went to the spot where the landslide had
+carried away the line.  A hundred yards had gone and a great bank of
+soil and gravel ran down at an even slant to the river, where the
+current foamed about the rubbish that blocked its channel.  The slope
+was dotted by broken trees and rocks, and in one place farther up a
+belt of smaller stones rested loosely at the top of a steep pitch.  Jim
+thought a slight disturbance would start another slide.
+
+He had wasted a week or two's labor and saw it would cost him some time
+to clear the ground before he could get to work again.  Even then,
+there would be a risk of the new line's being swept away.  This was
+daunting, because money was short and he had no margin to provide
+against expensive accidents.  When he took the contract he had trusted
+much to luck, and now his luck was bad.
+
+Moreover, the thing was puzzling and his curiosity was aroused.  He
+imagined he had made the line secure, and had worked among treacherous
+gravel in shallow mines long enough to know something about the job.
+The wall had obviously broken and started the landslide when it gave
+way, but he could not see why it had broken.  This, however, must wait.
+He meant to solve the puzzle, but, to begin with, the line must be run
+across the gap and he occupied himself with the necessary plans.  His
+habit was to concentrate and, sitting absorbed, he studied the ground
+until he felt a touch on his arm.  Then he looked up with a start and
+saw Carrie.
+
+"I'm sorry, Jim," she said.  "Is it very bad?"
+
+"It's bad enough," said Jim, who began to get up, but she stopped him.
+
+"Never mind; sit still!  You're very polite, but I don't know if you
+need always use your best manners."
+
+"I don't know if I do," Jim rejoined.  "Sometimes I'm too savage; I'm
+rather savage now.  But don't you like me to be polite?"
+
+"If you get what I mean, I want you to feel I'm a working partner."
+
+"You are a partner," Jim declared.  "In fact, you're a remarkably
+useful member of the firm."
+
+Carrie gave him a smile.  "Thank you!  But you mustn't feel this bad
+luck too much.  You've met worse."
+
+"Much worse, but it was in the North, where we knew what we were up
+against and had nothing to lose.  It's different now; I've staked all
+I've got on this undertaking.  So has Jake; and then you have joined
+us.  I hate to think about your going back to the city broke."
+
+"Oh," said Carrie, smiling, "that doesn't count at all.  Besides, we're
+not going broke.  We may have some set-backs, but we'll make good."
+
+"We'll try; but that's another thing.  I don't know why you're so
+confident."
+
+Carrie studied him with a twinkle of amusement.  "I am confident.
+You're not a quitter, and it's wonderful what one can often do by just
+staying with a thing!"
+
+"The trouble is, you can't stay with this particular job when your
+money's gone.  That's the difference between it and placer mining in
+the North.  Up there, we had no wages to pay, and could stop and root
+up the tundra until we froze, and when our money is spent the boys will
+light out."
+
+"But you'll stay until every dollar is gone."
+
+Jim laughed.  "It might be prudent to pull out before; but I rather
+think I'll hold on."
+
+"Ah," said Carrie, "that's what I like!  You're bracing up; I knew you
+would!  However, I must go back.  Breakfast must be cooked."
+
+Jim went with her, feeling comforted.  Carrie did not know much about
+the mechanical difficulties, but her confidence was inspiriting.  In a
+sense, the thing was illogical; the difficulties would not vanish
+because she did not see them.  It was ridiculous for him to feel
+cheered, but he was cheered and he glanced at Carrie as they went
+along.  She was pretty and her impulsive frankness was often charming;
+but somehow he did not think of her as an attractive girl.  She was a
+partner whom he trusted and a staunch friend.  Yet he had been annoyed
+by Davies' stopping at the camp and had felt relieved when she told him
+she did not like the fellow.  This was strange, but Jim gave up the
+puzzle and helped Carrie with breakfast when they reached the camp.
+
+When the meal was over he got to work and did not come back until
+supper was ready.  Jake and he had not time for quiet talk all day, but
+there was something to be said, and when the men went off to fish, Jim
+sat down opposite Carrie, while Jake lay among the pine-needles close
+by.  The shadows had crept across the camp and the hollows between the
+rows of trunks were dark.  The snow had changed from white to an
+ethereal blue and the turmoil of the river hardly disturbed the calm.
+
+"Have you any notion yet what started off the wall?" Jake asked.
+
+"I have," said Jim.  "The trouble began at the underpinning.  A king
+post broke and let down the stones."
+
+"So far, we are agreed.  But do you know why the post broke?  We used
+good logs."
+
+"I don't know.  Although it may take some time, I'm going to find out.
+We can't have this kind of thing happening again."
+
+Jake nodded.  "Perhaps I have got a clew.  When Davies was here, he
+said he'd like to go fishing and some of the boys went along."
+
+"That is so," Jim said with a puzzled look.
+
+"The two who moved first were the boys we allowed we were not quite
+sure about.  I don't know if it means anything, but when they got to
+the river, they and Davies lost the others."
+
+"It may mean much," Jim said quietly.  "The clew's worth following."
+
+Carrie's eyes sparkled as she interrupted: "Do you imply Davies hired
+the boys to wreck the line?"
+
+"I allow it's possible," Jim replied in a thoughtful voice.
+
+"And I cooked an extra good supper for him!" Carrie exclaimed.  "I'm
+beginning to understand why folks get poisoned.  But now you know, what
+are you going to do about it?"
+
+"We don't know," said Jim.  "That's the trouble.  We have got to wait."
+
+Jake made a sign of agreement and Carrie said nothing.  She knew her
+brother and imagined she understood Jim's quietness.  After a time, the
+latter resumed: "I've been thinking, and the matter puzzles me.  We're
+up against the big contractors.  They'd be glad to see us broke and
+Probyn took two of our outfit when we stopped at the hotel.  But he was
+willing to buy us out and his offering the boys higher wages was, in a
+way, a fair deal.  I allow he left two we didn't trust."
+
+"The two who went fishing with Davies!" Carrie remarked.
+
+"That is so," Jim agreed.  "Davies, however, works for another boss.
+It's possible the big men would pool their resources to freeze us off,
+but I know something about Martin and doubt if he would play a low-down
+game."
+
+"Davies might," said Jake.
+
+"I think he did," Carrie interposed, and her voice was sharp.  "In
+fact, it's obvious.  He's poison mean; I knew this at the store."
+
+"I didn't like him," Jim replied and added thoughtfully: "After all,
+the contract's not important, from the big men's point of view.  No
+doubt, they'd sooner we let up, but somehow I can't see their finding
+it worth while to get after us."
+
+"It is puzzling," Jake admitted; "I think we'll let it go.  If we have
+any fresh bad luck, our money will run out long before we can make
+good.  This would leave us without resources except for the Bluebird
+claim."
+
+Jim frowned.  "I'll hold on while I have a dollar, but I don't want to
+sell the mine.  For one thing, we couldn't get a price that would help
+us much, although I expect northern copper claims will soon be
+valuable.  The country's fast being opened up and some day there'll be
+a railroad built."
+
+"Perhaps it's significant that Baumstein made us another offer for the
+Bluebird."
+
+"When did he make the offer?" Jim asked sharply.
+
+"When you were ill; I refused.  Thought I'd told you.  He raised his
+limit a thousand dollars."
+
+"Shucks!" said Jim.  "Does the fellow think we'll give him the mine?
+Anyhow, I'd sooner not sell to Baumstein at all.  He's a crook and has
+made his pile by freezing poor men off their claims."
+
+Jake smiled.  "Poor men with mines to sell get used to freezing, and if
+we refuse to deal with anybody whose character isn't first grade, we're
+not going to progress much.  I doubt if rich folks who like a square
+deal are numerous."
+
+"There are some," said Jim.  "For all that, the unscrupulous, grab-all
+financier is a blight on the country.  The prospector risks his life in
+the struggle with half-frozen tundra bog, rotten rock, and snow, and
+the other fellow, with his net of bribes and graft, gets the reward.
+But, we won't stand for that kind of thing."
+
+"Let's be practical.  We're not running a purity campaign, and it looks
+as if nobody but Baumstein is willing to buy the mine."
+
+"Then my proposition is, we hold tight until the Combine come into the
+field.  They'll be forced to get busy before long, and while I don't
+know if all their deals are straight, they're better than Baumstein's.
+In the meantime, we have got to stay with this telegraph contract while
+our money lasts."
+
+There was silence for a moment or two and Carrie's eyes rested on Jim.
+He looked tired, and his brown face was thin, but his mouth was firm.
+Jim was resolute; she sometimes doubted if he was clever, but he could
+hold on.  Had he been weak or greedy, he would have sold the copper
+vein and taken Probyn's offer to let the telegraph contract go.
+Perhaps this would have been prudent, but she was glad Jim had refused.
+She wanted to think he would not give way.
+
+"Well?  You claim you're a partner!" Jake remarked with a twinkle.
+
+"Jim's plan is my plan," she said quietly.
+
+"Then it goes," Jake agreed, and gave her a curious glance when Jim got
+up and went off across the hill.  "I don't know if you're rash or not,
+but you're playing up to Jim.  Since I've known you to be cautious,
+your object isn't very plain."
+
+Carrie hesitated, although she was generally frank with Jake.  "Oh,
+well," she said, "I feel he ought to take a bold line; that's the kind
+of man he is."
+
+"Rather a romantic reason.  Particularly as his boldness may cost us
+much."
+
+"I'm tired of thinking about what things cost," Carrie rejoined.
+"Sometimes it's fine to take one's chances.  I'm going to be rash, if I
+want."
+
+"After all, it may pay as well as the other plan.  However, if you mean
+to sketch a leading-character part for Jim and see he plays it as you
+think he ought, perhaps he deserves some sympathy and you may get a
+jolt.  Jim's not theatrical."
+
+"I hate theatrical people," Carrie declared.
+
+Jake laughed.  "You hate posers.  You feel you'd like Jim to play a
+romantic part, without his meaning it?  Well, I expect he'll miss his
+cues and let you down now and then, but he certainly won't pose."
+
+"You're rather clever sometimes," Carrie admitted, with a blush.  "But
+I think we have talked enough and I want some wood."
+
+She sat for a time, thinking, while the thud of Jake's ax rang across
+the bush; and then went off to her tent with an impatient shrug.
+
+"I mustn't be a romantic fool," she said.
+
+For the next eight or nine days Jim and the men were occupied running
+the line across the gap.  When he had done so, he stole quietly out of
+camp for three or four nights, and returning before daybreak, imagined
+nobody had remarked his absence.  Then, one morning, Carrie came up as
+he was lighting the fire.
+
+"You look tired, Jim," she said.  "If you mean to work hard, you must
+get some sleep."
+
+Jim gave her a sharp glance and she smiled.  "You see, I know your
+step!"
+
+"Ah," said Jim, who did not grasp all her statement implied, "you are
+very smart, Carrie, and it's plain that I am clumsier than I thought.
+But do you think anybody else heard me?"
+
+"No.  I listened and all was quiet.  However, if it's needful for
+somebody to watch, you must let Jake go."
+
+Jim shook his head.  "I've got to see this thing through.  Somehow I
+imagine I can do so better than Jake."
+
+"But you can't keep it up, after working hard all day."
+
+"It won't be for long.  We'll break camp soon and move to the next
+section.  You're a good sort, Carrie, but you really mustn't meddle."
+
+Carrie blushed.  "I won't meddle if you forbid it.  All the same, I'd
+hate to see you worn out and ill.  You're boss, and it would be awkward
+if you lost control."
+
+"It's only for another night or two.  The fellow I'm watching for will
+have to try again, or let up, before we move camp."
+
+"But if you caught him, you and he would be alone."
+
+"Yes," said Jim, whose face got hard, "that's what I want.  If I'm on
+the right track, the thing must be fixed without the boys knowing."
+
+Carrie hesitated and then made a sign of acquiescence.  "I don't like
+it, Jim, but reckon you can't be moved.  Anyhow, you'll be cautious."
+
+Jim promised he would not be rash and went off, half amused, to get
+some water.  Carrie was very staunch, but he did not want her to be
+disturbed about him.  He was sorry she had heard him steal out of camp.
+
+In the evening Jake came for a gun he kept in the tent.  The game laws
+that limit the time for shooting are seldom enforced against bush
+ranchers and prospectors who kill deer and grouse for food.
+
+"I'd better oil the barrels to keep off the damp," he said.  "It's a
+pretty good gun."
+
+Carrie watched him push across the top lever and open the breech.
+
+"Is that where you put the cartridges?" she asked.
+
+"You push the shells forward with your thumb, and then shut the
+gun--like this!"
+
+"Then all you have to do is to pull the trigger?"
+
+"Not with this type of gun.  You see, the hammers have rebounded half
+way, but you must pull them farther back before it will go off."
+
+"Suppose you miss and want to shoot again?"
+
+"You push the lever sideways, the barrels swing down, and the empty
+shells jump out.  That's all!"
+
+"It looks easy," Carrie remarked.  "I've sometimes wondered how one
+used a gun.  There's nothing more to shooting than there is to making
+bread."
+
+"Maybe not," Jake agreed with a grin.  "I reckon a bad cook is as
+dangerous as a bad shot.  If you miss with a gun, you have done no
+harm, but I've eaten bannocks that get you every time."
+
+When he had finished he hung the gun to the tent pole and went off, but
+Carrie took it down, and carefully opened and shut the breech.  After
+doing so once or twice, she was satisfied and put back the gun.  Then
+she went to a little bark store where their food was kept, and picking
+up a bag of flour that had been opened, weighed it in her hand.  It was
+lighter than it ought to be, and this had happened before.  Next she
+examined a piece of salt pork and imagined that some had gone, while
+when she carefully looked about she noted a few tea leaves on the floor.
+
+Carrie did not think she had spilt the tea, and knitted her brows.
+Somebody had been stealing food, but the man had not taken much and had
+tried to do so in a way that would prevent its being missed.  For
+example, he had gone to the flour bag twice and had cut the pork from
+both sides of the slab.  Carrie thought this significant, but resolved
+to say nothing.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+JIM KEEPS WATCH
+
+The night was not cold and Jim had some trouble to keep awake as he sat
+with his back against a tree a short distance above the mended line.
+He had dug out a track and built a new wall to hold up the stones, and
+in the morning the camp would be moved.  Now he was very tired, but he
+meant to watch for another night.
+
+There was a half moon and puzzling lights and shadows checkered the
+hill.  In some places the trees rose like scattered spires; in others
+they rolled down the slope in blurred dark masses.  Behind the woods
+snowy mountains cut against the sky.  The dim landscape was desolate
+and savagely grand.  It had the strange half-finished look one notes in
+Canada.
+
+In order to banish his drowsiness, Jim gave himself up to wandering
+memories.  He knew the North, where he had risked and endured much.  He
+had seen the tangled pines snap under their load of snow and go down in
+rows before the Arctic gales; he had watched the ice break up and the
+liberated floods hurl the floes into the forest.  He had crossed the
+barren tundra where only moss can live and the shallow bog that steams
+in summer rests on frozen soil.
+
+Raging blizzards, snowslides, crevassed glaciers and rotten ice were
+things he knew; there were scars on his body he had got in stubborn
+fights.  So far he had conquered; but he owned that he had had enough,
+and tried to picture the Old Country his father talked about.  Its
+woods were not primitive jungles, wrecked by gales and scorched by
+fires; men planted and tended them and the trees had room to grow.
+White farmsteads with gardens and orchards dotted the valleys; the
+narrow fields were rich with grass and corn.  Then there were wonderful
+old houses, stored with treasures of art.
+
+Well, he meant to see England some day and he began to think about the
+girl he had met at Montreal.  She seemed to stand for all that was best
+in the Old Country; its refinement, its serenity, and ancient charm.
+One did not find girls like that in Canada; they were the product of
+long cultivation and sprang from a stock whose roots went deep into the
+past.  Jim wondered with a strange longing whether he would see her
+again.
+
+Perhaps it was the contrast that presently fixed his thoughts on
+Carrie.  Carrie was a type that throve in virgin soil; she was virile,
+frank, and unafraid.  Her emotions were not hid by inherited reserve.
+One could imagine her fighting like a wildcat for the man she loved.
+Yet she had a fresh beauty and a vein of tenderness.  Jim was fond of
+Carrie but not in love with her.  He wondered whether he might have
+loved her had he not met the English girl, but pulled himself up.  This
+kind of speculation led to nothing, and he began to look about.
+
+The shadows of the pines had got shorter and blacker as the moon rose;
+the hill was checkered by their dark bars.  He could not see far down
+the valley, because it was full of mist.  The great hollow looked like
+a caldron in which the river boiled.  Its hoarse roar echoed among the
+rocks and made a harmonious background for smaller and sharper notes.
+A faint breeze sighed in the pine-tops and now and then there was a
+tinkle of falling stones.
+
+Jim saw some stones roll down and stop at the wall he had built.  This
+ran in a gentle curve across the slope and shone like silver in the
+moonlight.  In places, it was broken by shadows that seemed to tremble
+and melt.  Jim knew he was getting sleepy and tried to rouse himself.
+It was something of an effort, because he had not slept much for a
+week, but by and by the strain slackened and he got suddenly alert.
+
+An indistinct object moved where a shadow fell across the wall, and Jim
+knew it was a man.  He was conscious of a grim satisfaction; he had
+watched for the fellow when brain and body needed rest, and now he had
+come.  Moreover, his object was plain.  The wall was underpinned,
+supported by timbers, and if a log that bore much weight were cut, the
+stones would fall and bring down the rest.  One could not hear an ax at
+the camp, the falling wall would sweep away the chips, and the fellow,
+stealing back, would join the men the noise brought out.  Jim thought
+he could get near him by using the rocks and trees to cover his
+advance, but the other could hide among them if he were alarmed, and it
+might be prudent to let him get to work.  The stealthy figure avoided
+the moonlight.
+
+The thud of the ax echoed across the woods, and Jim, taking care that
+he had a dark background, went cautiously down hill.  He did not carry
+a pistol.  On the whole, he thought one was safer without a gun, but he
+had brought a thick wooden bar with an iron point that they used for
+rolling logs.  Getting behind a tree, he stopped near the wall.  The
+regular strokes of the ax indicated that the other was not disturbed,
+and Jim, looking down from higher ground, could see the upper part of
+his body as he swung the tool.  The sharp blows implied that he was
+chopping hard.
+
+After measuring the distance, Jim sank down and crawled to the top of
+the wall.  Since the other had an ax, surprise would be a useful, and
+perhaps necessary, advantage in the attack.  Jim meant to attack; there
+was no use in talking before the fellow was in his power.  As he crept
+forward a few stones rolled down the hill.  He wondered what had
+disturbed them, but thought it imprudent to turn round, and lay quiet
+for a few moments, when the chopping stopped.  He could not see the man
+now, because he was hidden by the top of the wall.
+
+The chopping began again, and Jim, crawling a few feet, seized the
+stones on the edge and threw himself over just after the ax came down.
+He fell upon the man and tried to seize him, but although both were
+shaken by the collision, the other avoided his grasp and staggered
+back.  Jim followed and, swinging his bar, struck with all his
+strength.  The other caught the blow on the curved shaft of the ax, and
+Jim's hands were badly jarred.  The vibration of the hard wood numbed
+his muscles, his fingers lost their grip.  It looked as if he had been
+clumsy and rash, for the advantage was now with his antagonist, because
+the ax was longer than the bar.  Moreover, the Canadian bushman is
+highly skilled in the use of the dangerous tool.  For all that, Jim had
+begun the fight and meant to win.  The fellow had taken a bribe to ruin
+him.
+
+He lifted the bar, struck hard, and missed as his antagonist stepped
+back.  Then the latter swung his ax and Jim bent from the waist as the
+shining blade swept past.  They were now in the moonlight and he saw
+the other's face; it was the man who had gone fishing with Davies, and
+he gave way to a fury that banished caution.  The fellow had a longer
+reach and looked cool; indeed, he seemed to be studying Jim with
+ironical humor.  While the latter, breathing hard, watched for an
+opening, he lowered his ax.
+
+"Suppose we quit fooling and talk about the thing?" he said.
+
+"I'm not fooling," Jim rejoined.
+
+"Anyhow, you'd better quit.  I could get you with the ax, if I wanted,
+but I've not much use for that.  I'd sooner you stopped here while I
+light out."
+
+"You'd starve before you made the settlement."
+
+"I guess not.  There's enough flour and pork in a cache to see me
+through."
+
+"The trouble is, you can't make the cache," said Jim.  "I've watched
+for you since the first wall broke and you earned the money Davies
+promised.  Put down the ax and start for camp."
+
+"Davies?" said the other.  "Do you mean the guy who came along with the
+Indian packers?"
+
+"Are you pretending you don't know the man?"
+
+"It doesn't matter, anyhow," the other rejoined.  "I'm not going back
+to camp, and there's something coming to you if you try to take me."
+
+Jim meant to take him and wondered how far he could trust to bluff.  If
+he could get near enough, he might knock out the fellow with the bar
+and yet not do him a serious injury.  The ax was dangerous, but it was
+possible the other would hesitate about using it.  In Canada, crimes of
+violence are generally punished, and even in the wilds offenders seldom
+long escape the Northwest Police.  Yet there was a risk.
+
+"You are coming with me," he said, and advanced with lifted bar.
+
+The other cut at him and he narrowly missed the blow.  He tried to run
+in before the fellow could recover from his swing, but was not quick
+enough.  The ax went up and he met the blade with the bar.  The keen
+steel beat down the wood and went through when it met the ground, and
+Jim was left with a foot or two of the handle.  Stepping back, he
+hurled it at his antagonist and heard it strike with a heavy thud.  The
+fellow staggered, but did not fall and, getting his balance, advanced
+on Jim.  The blow had roused him to fury and he saw that caution was
+useless.  They must fight until one was disabled.
+
+Jim gave ground, breathing hard and watching for a chance to grapple
+while he kept out of reach.  The sweat ran down his face, he was savage
+but cool.  The worst was, he must move backwards and could not see the
+holes in the uneven slope.  When he had gone a few yards he heard a
+shout and his antagonist looked round.
+
+"Stop right there!" said somebody, and Jim saw Carrie standing above
+them on the wall.  She was in the moonlight and balanced a gun.  Her
+face was white but resolute.
+
+"Put down your ax.  I mean to shoot!" she said.
+
+Jim thought quickly.  The distance was short, but he had not seen
+Carrie use a gun.  She might miss and have some trouble to re-load.
+Besides, he must save her the need for shooting, and the other's
+hesitation was his opportunity.  Pulling himself together, he leaped
+upon the fellow, who stumbled and dropped his ax.  Jim seized him round
+the waist and a savage grapple began.  They swayed to and fro, kicking
+the ax that neither durst stoop to reach.  The chopper's face was
+bleeding; Jim labored for breath, but he was moved by anger that gave
+him extra strength.  The chopper felt his resolve in his tightening
+grip and knew it would go hard with him if he were beaten.  It was
+plain that the boss meant to exact stern justice and he fought with
+instinctive fury for self-preservation.
+
+The primitive passions of both were unloosed.  They strained and
+grappled like savage animals, and for a time their strength and
+stubbornness seemed evenly balanced.  Then luck gave Jim an advantage,
+for as the other trod upon the ax the long handle tilted up and got
+between his legs.  He stumbled, and Jim, with a tense effort, lifted
+him from the ground.  Then, gathering all his strength, he tried to
+throw him backwards, but lost his balance, and both plunged down the
+slope.
+
+The pitch was steep and they rolled for some distance until they struck
+a rocky ledge.  The chopper let go, slipped across the ledge, and
+vanished.  Jim, jarred by the shock, lay still for some moments, and
+when he got up awkwardly saw nothing among the rocks and trees below.
+A rattle of gravel came out of the gloom, but it sounded some distance
+off.  Then he heard a step and saw Carrie.  She held the gun and was
+breathless.  Her look was strained and her face white.
+
+"Are you hurt, Jim?" she asked.
+
+"No; not much, anyhow.  Go back to the track.  Give me the gun."
+
+"Why do you want the gun?"
+
+Jim made an impatient gesture.  He had forgotten that Carrie had come
+to his help, and although he noted, mechanically, that she was highly
+strung and bearing some strain, he did not dwell on this.  His
+antagonist had got away.  He wanted to go after him, not to talk.
+
+"The brute's not far off, and unless I'm quick he'll light out.  Give
+me the gun!"
+
+"I won't," said Carrie.
+
+She stood a few yards above Jim, and jerked out the cartridges.
+Stooping swiftly, she picked them up and threw them among the trees.
+Then she laughed, a strained laugh, and held out the gun.
+
+"You may have it now," she added.  "You can't find the shells."
+
+"Then I'll go without them," Jim rejoined, and plunged down the hill.
+
+When he had gone a short distance he stopped.  His leg hurt and he had
+a dull recollection of a blow.  His leg was not cut; perhaps the
+chopper had hit him with the flat of the ax or he had struck it on the
+rock.  Anyhow, he was lame and could hardly keep his balance on the
+rough slope.  There was no use in going on like that, particularly as
+he heard a faint rattle of gravel some distance off.  It was obvious
+that the chopper had got away and Jim awkwardly climbed back.  Now he
+was getting cool, he began to see what Carrie had done and when he
+joined her he felt embarrassed.
+
+"I'm sorry; I expect I was very rough," he remarked.
+
+"Oh," she said, "that doesn't matter!  I think I understand.  Besides,
+you are hurt."
+
+"Leg's stiff; that's all.  I ought to have remembered.  But, you
+see----"
+
+Carrie smiled.  "You mean you didn't think about me at all?  You had
+concentrated on catching the fellow."
+
+"Something like that," Jim admitted.  "I ought to have thought, and
+after a few minutes I did think."
+
+"When you found you couldn't walk?"
+
+"Well," said Jim, awkwardly, "I now see how mean I was."  He paused and
+resumed with sincere emotion: "If you hadn't come, the brute would have
+cut me down."
+
+Carrie's rather ironical amusement vanished and she colored.  "It
+doesn't matter, Jim.  All that's important is, I did come.  But you are
+lame and mustn't stand."
+
+"I can stand as long as you can stand," said Jim, who pulled off his
+jacket and threw it on the ground.  "You'll find this softer than the
+stones."  He sat down opposite her and resumed: "Now, how did you
+happen----?"
+
+"I found some flour and pork had gone.  Since one can't get food
+between here and the settlement, it looked as if somebody meant to pull
+out before we broke camp."
+
+Jim nodded.  "The fellow said he'd made a cache.  You're very smart.
+But why didn't you tell Jake?"
+
+"I suppose I ought to have told him," Carrie replied.
+
+He mused for a few moments and then broke out: "We have taken you for
+granted.  When a thing needs doing you don't talk, but get to work.
+Perhaps this has drawbacks; it doesn't always strike one how fine you
+really are."
+
+Carrie said nothing, and he went on.  "Now I come to think of it, I've
+been strangely dull.  You have cooked for us, and cared for us in ways
+we didn't know.  I'd sometimes a notion my clothes were wearing longer
+than they ought--there was a jacket I meant to mend and when I got it
+out one evening I couldn't find the hole."  He paused and spread out
+his hands.  "Well, that's the kind of fool I am and the kind of girl
+you are!"
+
+"The hole had bothered me for a long time.  It was getting bigger and
+one doesn't like untidiness."
+
+"I've been very dull, but so has Jake," Jim declared.  "I saw a neat
+patch on his overalls and thought he'd made a better job than he
+generally does when he starts sewing.  I imagine he doesn't know how
+that patch got there."
+
+"I don't think he knows there is a patch," Carrie rejoined.
+
+"It's possible," Jim agreed, and studied her, for the moon was bright.
+Her plain dress was very neat and seemed to have stood rough wear well.
+Besides, it was remarkably becoming; Carrie was tall and graceful.  In
+fact, she was prettier than he had thought.
+
+"The way you keep your clothes is rather wonderful," he went on.  "One
+never sees you untidy; all you wear looks just as it ought to look.
+One feels it wouldn't look half as well if it was worn by anybody else.
+Yet you're generally occupied and your work's not clean.  I can't touch
+a cooking pot without getting black, and Jake gets blacker."
+
+Carrie laughed to hide a touch of embarrassment.  Jim was not trying to
+flatter; she saw he was naively following a new line of thought.
+
+"Well, we must get back to camp," she said.  "Can you walk?"
+
+Jim got up quickly and gave her a suspicious glance.  "I can walk to
+camp.  I ought to have gone right off and sent the boys after that
+chopper.  Looks as if you meant to keep me."
+
+"I did mean to keep you.  Let him go, Jim.  He won't come back, and we
+have had trouble enough."
+
+"He has not had much trouble," Jim rejoined.  "However, I doubt if we
+could catch him, and I want the boys to move our truck at daybreak.
+Then, in a way, I'd sooner they didn't know.  Of course, I've got to
+tell Jake."
+
+"You mustn't tell him I came," Carrie said, firmly.
+
+"Why not?" Jim asked with some surprise.
+
+Carrie hesitated.  "Oh, well, I don't want him to know.  For one thing,
+he might think I was rash----"
+
+"You were splendidly plucky," Jim declared.  "Of course, I won't tell
+Jake, if you'd sooner not.  For all that, I don't understand----"
+
+"It isn't worth puzzling about," Carrie answered with a smile, and they
+set off.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+AN HONEST ANTAGONIST
+
+It was very hot on the rocky hill, and Jim stopped in the shade of a
+stunted pine, for he had gone far through the bush.  His Hudson's Bay
+blanket and a bag of food, made up in a pack with straps for his
+shoulders, and a small ax, were a rather heavy load.  When he had
+lighted his pipe he looked about.  Tangled forest rolled up the hills
+wherever the stiff, dark pines could find soil in which to grow.  Some
+were charred by fire and the tall rampikes shone silver-gray in the
+strong light; some were partly uprooted by storms and leaned drunkenly
+against each other.
+
+At the head of the valley there was a faint blue haze, and Jim, knowing
+this was the smoke of a camp fire, began to muse.  Now he would soon
+meet the man he was looking for, he doubted if he had been wise to
+come, and wondered what he would say.  He had set off when an Indian
+reached the telegraph line and stated that a white man with a number of
+packers was camped in the valley.  Jim imagined the man was Martin,
+Davies' employer, and meant to see him.  He did not know if Davies was
+with Martin or not.
+
+By and by he set off, avoiding fallen trees and scrambling across
+round-topped rocks.  It was rough work and he was tired, but he could
+get forward without using the ax, which he had been forced to do when
+he fell among the horrible devil's club thorns.  For all that, dusk was
+falling when he came to an opening by a creek where a big fire burned
+and a double-skinned tent stood at the edge of the trees.  Six or seven
+sturdy packers lounged beside the fire, and Jim saw this was not a poor
+man's camp.  For a few hot weeks, a traveler need suffer no hardship in
+the North, if he can pay for packers and canoes.  A double-roofed tent
+will keep out sun and rain and a mosquito bar will keep off the flies,
+but packers who carry comforts cannot carry tools, and a utilitarian
+journey is another thing.
+
+Jim was not traveling for pleasure and had gone alone.  He was
+mosquito-bitten and ragged, and his boots were broken.  The packers
+looked up with languid curiosity as he advanced, and when he asked for
+the boss one indicated the tent.  Jim stopped in front of the tent and
+a man came out.  He wore clean summer flannel clothes and looked
+strangely neat, but he was sunburnt and strongly made.  Something about
+him indicated that he knew the bush and had not always traveled
+luxuriously.
+
+"Are you prospecting?" he asked.  "If you have struck us for supper,
+you can see the cook."
+
+"I came to see you, and got supper three or four miles back.  I'm
+Dearham, of Winter & Dearham.  You have probably heard about us."
+
+"Sure," said Martin, rather dryly.  "You hold the contract for the new
+telegraph line.  Somebody told me there was a dame in the firm."
+
+"My partner's sister; I expect Davies told you, but don't see what this
+has to do with the thing."
+
+"Sit down," said Martin, indicating a camp-chair, and then beckoned one
+of the men.  "Bring some green bark and fix that smudge."
+
+The man put fresh fuel on a smoldering fire and pungent blue smoke
+drifted about the tent.
+
+"Better than mosquitoes; they're pretty fierce, evenings," Martin
+remarked.  "Will you take a cigar?"
+
+"No, thanks," said Jim.  "I'll light my pipe."
+
+He cut the tobacco slowly, because he did not know where to open his
+attack.  Martin was not altogether the man he had thought and looked
+amused.  He was a bushman; Jim knew the type, which was not, as a rule,
+marked by the use of small trickery.  Yet Martin could handle money as
+well as he handled tools.
+
+"Won't you state your business?" the contractor asked.
+
+"I expect you and the Cartner people didn't like it when we got the
+telegraph job?"
+
+"That is so.  We thought the job was ours," Martin admitted.
+
+"And you got to work to take it from us?"
+
+"How do you mean?"
+
+"To begin with, Probyn, Cartner's man, offered us a thousand dollars to
+quit."
+
+"A pretty good price," said Martin.  "Since you didn't go, I don't see
+why you are bothering me."
+
+"It looks as if you and Cartner had pooled your interests.  When we got
+to work, your man, Davies, came along and tried to hold us up.  It was
+not his fault he didn't; the fellow's a crook."
+
+"I haven't studied his character.  In some ways, he's useful," Martin
+rejoined coolly.  "Well, you reckon I sent him!  How did he try to
+embarrass you?"
+
+"Don't you know?"
+
+"It's for you to state your grievance."
+
+Martin's face was inscrutable; one could not tell if he knew or not.
+It was curious, but Jim could not take it for granted that he did know
+and he told him about the broken wall.
+
+"You imagine Davies paid the fellow to cut your underpinning?" the
+contractor remarked.
+
+"The thing's obvious."
+
+"Then I don't understand why you came to me.  There's not much
+advantage in telling your antagonist he has hit you pretty hard."
+
+"I wanted you to understand that you hadn't hit us hard enough.  Your
+blow was not a knockout, and we mean to guard against the next.  We
+have taken the contract and are going to put it over; I want you to get
+that.  You can't scare us off, and while I don't know if you can smash
+us or not, it will certainly cost you high.  Hadn't you better
+calculate if the thing's worth while?"
+
+"You were far North for some time," Martin said carelessly.
+
+"I was," Jim admitted with surprise, for he could not see where the
+remark led.  "So were you."
+
+Martin nodded.  "A blamed hard country!  Looks as if we were both
+pretty tough, since we made good yonder, and I think I get your
+proposition.  Your idea is, we had better make terms than fight?"
+
+"Something like that," Jim agreed.
+
+"Very well," said Martin, who paused and smiled.  "Now I'll tell you
+something.  I don't like your butting in, but I did not put Davies on
+your track."
+
+Jim looked hard at him, and although he was surprised did not doubt his
+statement.  "Then, I imagine he made the plan himself; wanted to show
+you he was smart, but said nothing when it didn't work as smoothly as
+he thought."
+
+Martin was silent for a few moments and Jim imagined he was thinking
+hard.  Then he said, "It's possible; that's all."
+
+"Perhaps the Cartner people sent him without telling you," Jim
+suggested.
+
+"Cartner made you a square offer, and you can't grumble much because
+Probyn hired your men.  Cartner is hard and I allow he'd like to break
+you, but I haven't known him play a crooked game."
+
+"Then I can't see a light at all."
+
+"It's puzzling," Martin agreed.
+
+Jim filled his pipe again and pondered.  There was something strange
+about his talking confidentially to a man he had thought an
+unscrupulous antagonist, but he was persuaded that Martin was honest.
+The latter seemed to be considering, for Jim saw his brows were knit
+when the firelight touched his face.  It had got dark, but the fire
+leaped up now and then and threw a red glow upon the rows of trunks.
+The creek shone and faded; sometimes the smoke curled about the tent
+and sometimes blew away.
+
+"You struck copper up North," Martin resumed after a time.  "Has
+anybody tried to buy your claim?"
+
+"Baumstein gave us an offer twice."
+
+"Ah," said Martin, thoughtfully, "I suppose you wouldn't sell?"
+
+"Not at his price.  We thought we had better hold on; some day the
+Combine might buy."
+
+"A pretty good plan," Martin agreed.  "There'll be a demand for
+Northern copper before long.  Well, I see you have a blanket.  You'll
+find a bed in the tent."
+
+"I picked a spot to camp a piece back," Jim said rather awkwardly, as
+he got up.
+
+Martin laughed.  "Since you reckoned Cartner and I were on your track,
+you felt you'd sooner not stop with me?  Well, I don't think that ought
+to count.  If we could have bought you off or scared you off, we might
+have done so, but since you are resolved to put the contract through,
+we'll be satisfied with seeing you don't get another.  If you stop,
+you'll get a better breakfast than you can cook."
+
+Jim's hesitation vanished and he went into the tent.
+
+Next morning he got breakfast with Martin, and when he was going the
+latter remarked: "I guess you understand you needn't bother about our
+getting after you.  Go ahead and finish the job."
+
+"Thanks," said Jim, smiling.  "Unless we go broke, we mean to finish."
+
+"Very well," said Martin, "if you have to choose between quitting and
+selling your copper claim, you had better let the telegraph contract
+go."  He paused and gave Jim a level glance.  "Looks like interested
+advice, but I guess it's sound."
+
+Jim strapped on his pack and started down the valley.  He reached the
+telegraph camp three or four days afterwards, and in the evening told
+Jake and Carrie about his interview.
+
+"Perhaps it's strange, but I really don't think we're up against
+Cartner and Martin," he concluded.
+
+"We're up against somebody who hasn't many scruples," said Jake.
+
+"That is so," Jim agreed.  "I suggested that Davies might be playing a
+lone hand.  Martin admitted that it was possible, but didn't look
+satisfied.  In fact, I imagined he was thinking hard.  Of course, the
+obvious line was to doubt his honesty, but somehow I didn't."
+
+"The obvious line's not always best," Carrie interposed.  "My notion
+is, it's a foolish habit to take it for granted your antagonist is a
+cheat.  But what is he like, Jim?"
+
+"Big and rather quiet, although he had a twinkle.  Weighs all he says,
+and you feel that if he's satisfied he doesn't mind if you are or not.
+We know he was up North for some time; he looks like it, if you get me."
+
+Jake nodded, for the men who push far into the frozen wilds conform to
+a type.  Struggles with cold and hunger leave their mark, endurance
+breeds stubbornness, and fronting perils gives a quiet courage that
+makes for candor.  The man who has conquered fear is not tempted to be
+mean.
+
+"There are bad men, in some of the big camps, but no smooth rogues," he
+said.
+
+"Martin is certainly not a smooth rogue," Jim declared.  "I thought it
+curious he told me to hold on to the copper and let the contract go, if
+we couldn't stick to both.  He admitted it looked as if he was playing
+for his side when he gave me the advice."
+
+"Well," said Jake, thoughtfully, "if he meant to gain his object that
+way, it was a fool plan, but we know Martin's clever.  To jump at a
+shallow suspicion is a blamed lazy habit that often puts you wrong.  If
+he didn't mean well, I can't see what he did mean."
+
+"I can't see," Jim agreed.
+
+"Better let it go," Carrie interposed.  "I like that man.  If you have
+drawn him right, I think he could be trusted.  However, you look as if
+you had been among the devil's club.  What are you going to do with
+your clothes?"
+
+"If you insist, I meant to hide them," Jim owned with a laugh.
+
+"So I thought," said Carrie.  "Bring them to the tent instead.  If you
+don't, I'll come for them in the morning."
+
+Jim promised to bring the clothes and lighted his pipe, feeling
+somewhat moved.  He knew now how much he and Jake owed Carrie, and the
+thought she gave their comfort.  If things went smoothly, it was
+because Carrie made them go; but this was not all.  She was not
+satisfied with controlling the camp; Jim was beginning to see that now
+and then she controlled their talk and helped their decisions.  She was
+a girl and had, for the most part, lived at a shabby store, but he
+admitted that her judgment was often sound.  Carrie had qualities.
+Then he started, for she looked at him with a smile.
+
+"What are you thinking about, Jim?" she asked.
+
+"I was wondering how we would have got on if we hadn't brought you," he
+replied.
+
+Carrie laughed.  "I know.  Yet you wanted to leave me!"
+
+"If I did, I was a fool."
+
+"No," said Carrie, thoughtfully, "you are not a fool, but sometimes
+you're rather dull.  Now you're half asleep and had better go to bed."
+
+Jim knocked out his pipe and went.
+
+A few days afterwards he started for the settlement with two of his
+men.  They were good workmen and Jake was unwilling to let them go, but
+they had been with Jim in the North and he needed helpers whom he could
+trust, for he was going to make a bold experiment.  He needed food,
+powder, and tools, and it was hard to keep the camp supplied.
+Pack-horses could not carry much over the mountain-trail and the
+freighters' charges were high.  Jim imagined he could bring up the
+goods cheaper by canoe, although the plan had drawbacks.
+
+He reached the settlement, and after waiting a few days sat one evening
+on the hotel veranda.  Burned matches and cigar-ends lay about the
+dirty boards; the windows of the mean ship-lap house were guarded by
+fine wire net.  The door had been removed, and a frame, filled in with
+gauze and held by a spring, slammed noisily when one went in or out.
+For all that, the hotel was full of dust and flies, and mosquitoes
+hummed about the hot rooms at night.  The snow had melted below the
+timber line and a long trail of smoke floated across the somber forest.
+A fire was working through the trees and a smell of burning came down
+the valley.
+
+Three or four men in ragged overalls lounged about the veranda, and the
+landlord leaned against a post.  He wore a white shirt with gold studs,
+and his clothes were good.
+
+"Now you have got your truck, I reckon you'll pull out," he remarked.
+
+"We start up river at daybreak."
+
+"Then you're surely foolish.  If you can't make it, there's trouble
+coming to you next time."
+
+Jim understood the hint.  The pack-horse freighters had enjoyed a
+monopoly of transport to the mining camps.  The river was off the
+regular line, and its navigation was difficult except when the water
+reached a certain level, but if Jim's experiment proved that supplies
+could be taken by canoes transport charges would come down.
+
+"There are some awkward portages, but I think I can get through," he
+said.
+
+"I wasn't figuring on the portages," the landlord rejoined, meaningly.
+"Somas Charlie's a tough proposition to run up against."  He indicated
+a man coming along the road.  "Somas has his tillicums, and around this
+settlement what he says goes."
+
+In the Chinook jargon, _tillicum_ means something like a familiar
+spirit, and Jim thought he saw what the other implied.  He had had
+trouble to get articles he needed and had met with annoying delays; and
+he studied the advancing freighter with some curiosity.  Somas was big
+and powerful and walked with the pack-horse driver's loose stride.  He
+had a dark face, cunning black eyes, and very black hair.  It looked as
+if Indian blood ran in his veins.  He came up the veranda steps and
+gave Jim an ironical glance.
+
+"Got your canoes loaded up?" he asked.
+
+"Not yet; the truck is ready," said Jim, who had thought it prudent to
+put his goods in a store.
+
+"It's a sure thing you're not going to take your canoes through.  Say,
+I don't want to see you lose the grub and tools.  Drop the fool plan
+and I'll take off a cent a pound."
+
+"If you had offered that before, we might have made a deal.  You're too
+late."
+
+"Thought you were bluffing; I guess you're crazy now.  You can't make
+it, anyway."
+
+"I'm going to try."
+
+The freighter shrugged.  "Trying's going to cost you something; you'll
+feel pretty mean when you meet the bill.  Fools like you make me
+tired."  He beckoned the landlord.  "Get on a move; I want a drink."
+
+He went into the hotel and when the door slammed Jim was thoughtful.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE RAPID
+
+In the morning Jim started with three canoes and a few Indians whom he
+had engaged at the settlement, because the Siwash are clever river men.
+Sometimes they tracked the canoes, floundering along the rough bank
+with a line round their shoulders; sometimes they poled against the
+rapid stream; and now and then carried the craft and cargo across a
+rocky portage.  The canoes were of the Siwash type, cut out of cedar
+logs and burned smooth outside.  The high bow was rudely carved like a
+bird's head; the floor was long and flat.  They paddled well and a
+strong man could carry one, upside down, on his bent shoulders.  Jim
+had loaded them heavily, and the tools and provisions had cost a large
+sum.
+
+His progress was slow and he was tired and disturbed when one evening
+he pitched camp after toiling across a long portage.  Speed was
+important and he had been longer than he thought, while he did not know
+if he could force his way up the dark gorge ahead.  Besides, an Indian
+had shown him the print of somebody's foot on a patch of wet soil.
+There was only one mark and in a sense this was ominous, since it
+looked as if the fellow had tried to keep upon the stones.  Moreover,
+he wore a heavy boot, and Jim could not see why a white man had entered
+the lonely gorge where there were no minerals or timber worth
+exploiting.
+
+After supper he got ready to start again at daybreak.  This was his
+usual plan, because one's brain is dull when one rises from a hard,
+cold bed at dawn, and in the wilds to leave tools or food behind has
+sometimes disastrous consequences.  He saw he had forgotten nothing,
+and when dusk was falling rested for a time on the bank, although he
+thought it prudent to sleep on board.  Up stream, the water threw back
+faint reflections, but its surface was dull and wrinkled where it
+narrowed at the top of the rapid, round which he had carried the
+canoes.  Then it plunged down into gloom that was deepened by a cloud
+of spray and its hoarse turmoil echoed among the hills.  A few charred
+rampikes rose behind the camp, and Jim sat beneath one, with his back
+against a stone.  He had thrown off his jacket and his thin overalls
+were wet.  His back and arms ached and his feet were bruised.
+
+He pondered about the footstep.  The pack-horse trail running North was
+not far off, and while he slowly poled up stream the freighter could
+have reached the river in front of him.  When they talked at the hotel,
+the fellow's manner was threatening, but Jim hardly thought he would
+meddle.  His party was strong, and if the other had meant to do him
+some injury, it was hardly probable he would have uttered his dark
+hints while the landlord was about.  After all, the hints might
+forecast the difficulty Jim would have to engage transport another
+time.  Still, somebody had passed the spot not long since.
+
+The gloom deepened, and although some light would linger in the sky all
+night, it was nearly dark at the bottom of the gorge.  The packers lay
+about the fire, and by and by Jim, calling one of the Siwash, hauled
+the first canoe to the bank.  When they got on board, he let the craft
+swing out with the eddy, and the row, curving as the current changed,
+rode behind a half-covered rock a short distance from the stones.
+Blurred rocks and trees loomed in the mist up stream; below, the
+foaming rapid glimmered through the spray.  The river, swollen by
+melting snow and stained green by glacier clay, was running fast.
+
+There was not much room in the canoe, for bags of flour occupied the
+bottom and a grindstone and small forge were awkward things to stow.
+Jim, however, found a spot where he could lie down and the Indian
+huddled in the stern.  He was a dark-skinned man, dressed like the
+white settlers, except that he wore no boots.  As a rule, he did not
+talk much, but by and by he put his hand in the water as if to measure
+the speed of the current.
+
+"_Contox hiyu chuck_," he said in Chinook.
+
+Jim imagined he meant the river was rising and did not know if this was
+a drawback or not.  A flood might make poling harder, but it would
+cover the rocks in the channel and probably leave an eddying slack
+along the bank.  He agreed with the Indian, because the rock to which
+they had moored the canoe was getting smaller.  It made a kind of
+breakwater, but it would be covered soon and the craft would feel the
+force of the current.  Still they ought to ride safely, and an angry
+wash now beat against the bank of gravel where they had landed.  There
+was no other landing, for, below the camp, the river ran in white waves
+between the rocks.
+
+Although Jim was tired, he could not sleep.  For one thing, he had lost
+time at the settlement and on the river; Jake was waiting for the
+tools, and since wages were high, delay was costly.  Then the gorge
+echoed with pulsating noise.  The roar of the rapid rose and fell; he
+heard the wash of the eddy against the bank, the sharp ripple where the
+current split upon the rock, and the rattle of gravel striking the
+stones.  The canoes rocked, swung to and fro, and brought up with
+sudden jerks.  He did not know if the Indian slept, but if he did, a
+new note in the confused uproar would waken him.
+
+After a time, the fellow moved, and as his dark figure rose Jim became
+alert.  The Indian was looking fixedly ahead, but Jim could see nothing
+in the gloom.  He noted mechanically that the rock had vanished; its
+location was marked by a wedge-shaped streak of foam.  He signed to the
+Indian, who grunted but did not speak.
+
+Then there was a crash as something struck the rock and a vague dark
+mass rebounded from and swung round the obstacle.  It rolled, and
+half-seen projections vanished and appeared again.  Jim got on his
+knees and seized a pole, because he imagined a big log with broken
+branches was driving down on them.  A river canoe is unstable, and to
+stand on the cargo might capsize her.  He found bottom with the pole
+and saw the Indian paddling hard.  The row of canoes swung towards the
+bank, but the backwash caught them and it looked as if they would not
+swing far enough.  Jim felt the veins on his forehead tighten and the
+pole bend as he strained with labored breath.
+
+The log came on; its butt under water, its ragged top riding high and
+swinging round.  There was a heavy shock, the canoe lurched, and a
+broken branch began to drag her down.  Jim could not push off the
+grinding mass and, letting go the pole, seized an ax.  He cut the
+mooring line to ease the strain, but when the rope parted and the log
+swung clear he was faced by another risk; unless they could reach the
+gravel bank, they would go down the rapid.  He could not find bottom
+now, and while he tried the log struck the next canoe.  His canoe
+swerved outshore, the row was drifting fast, and he shouted as he felt
+for the ax.
+
+It was, however, obvious that the men in camp could not help much and
+he nerved himself to make a hard choice.  If he held on, all the canoes
+would go down the rapid; if he let two go, one might be saved.  He cut
+the line made fast astern, the log and canoes vanished, and he and the
+Indian strained their muscles.  They had lost ground they could not
+recover; the gravel bank was sliding past, and angry waves leaped about
+the rocks below.  Somehow they must make the bank before they were
+carried down.  There was some water in the canoe; Jim heard it splash
+about.  She was horribly heavy and his pole would not grip the bottom.
+When it slipped the current washed its end under the craft.
+
+He threw the pole on board and found a paddle.  The canoe rocked on a
+white eddy, but he got her head round and the revolution carried her
+towards the shore.  They must drive her in before the backwash flung
+her off, and for some moments he labored with weakening arms and
+heaving chest.  Then a packer plunged in, the bow struck ground, and
+Jim jumped over.  He was up to his waist in the white turmoil, but
+another packer seized the canoe and the Indian thrust hard on his
+bending pole.  The bow went farther into the gravel and with a savage
+effort they ran her out.  Jim leaned against a rock, trying to get his
+breath, and when he looked about the other canoes had vanished.  His
+tools and stores had gone for good.
+
+Now there was no need for watchfulness, he could sleep, and he lay down
+by the fire.  When he wakened day was breaking, and beckoning the
+Indian he set off up the gorge.  He had an object for his dangerous
+climb across the slippery rocks, and he noted that the stream flowed
+evenly along the bank.  This implied that if a log were rolled into the
+water on his side of the straight reach, it would probably strike the
+rock behind which the canoes had been tied.
+
+After a time, when the roughness of the ground forced them high above
+the water, the Indian indicated a clump of willows through which
+somebody had pushed.  He declared two white men had gone through and
+one had carried an ax.  Jim had been looking for a white man's tracks
+and his face got stern as they climbed a neighboring gully.  At the top
+he sat down and sent the Indian to look about.  It the other men had
+gone down again to the water, they must have had some grounds for doing
+so, and Jim thought he knew what the grounds were.
+
+The Indian found steps in a boggy patch, and Jim, descending a ravine
+farther on, came back to the river bank.  Here and there a tree had
+fallen into the ravine and two or three battered trunks lay on the
+gravel at the bottom.  A hollow in some disturbed gravel at the water's
+edge indicated that another log had rested there, and Jim let the
+Indian examine the ground.  By and by the latter began to talk.
+
+He said the marks had been made by a trunk with branches broken short;
+one could see where it had rolled into the stream.  The ravine was
+steep, but the other logs had not slipped down; the missing trunk had
+been helped on its way.  In one place, the top had been lifted; in
+another, a pole had been pushed under the butt.  Some of the gravel was
+scratched, as if it had been trodden by nailed boots.  A man using a
+lever would push it back like that.
+
+Jim nodded, because he knew something about woodcraft and thought the
+Indian had read the marks correctly.  Now and then the fellow said
+"_Contox_," and Jim understood the Chinook word, which, roughly, means
+to know, rather implied supposition than certainty.  For all that, if
+the Indian doubted, he did not.  He knew the log had been launched
+where the current would carry it down on the canoes, and when he went
+back to camp his mouth was set hard.
+
+After breakfast he broke up the party and, sending the Indians off,
+started again with the two white men.  The canoe would not carry all,
+but this did not matter, since, for the most part, she must be tracked
+from the bank, and when they poled her one man could travel through the
+bush and overtake them at the next rapid.  It was a strenuous journey
+and Jim was worn out when he climbed the hill to the telegraph camp.
+It was about six o'clock in the evening and the men had not returned
+from work, but Carrie was cooking and got up with a cry of welcome when
+he came out of the woods.  She stopped, however, when she saw his
+gloomy face.
+
+"What's the matter, Jim?" she asked.  "Are you hurt or ill?"
+
+He dropped the heavy bag of flour he carried and forced a smile.  "Does
+it look as if I were ill?  I've lost two canoes and their loads."
+
+"Oh, Jim!" said Carrie, and added: "After all, it isn't so very
+important."
+
+"Not important?" Jim exclaimed.
+
+Carrie hesitated.  "Oh, well; never mind.  Where are the boys?  You
+haven't lost _them_?"
+
+"They're coming," said Jim, who sat down on a log, feeling embarrassed.
+
+He was dull.  Carrie had been disturbed about him because he had been
+away longer than he thought, and her obvious relief when she saw he was
+not injured was soothing.  He needed soothing, since the loss of the
+canoes and stores weighed heavily, but Carrie had made him feel this
+did not matter much so long as he was safe.  Although he could not
+agree, it was a comfort to know her satisfaction was sincere.  Carrie
+always was sincere.
+
+She was quiet and he resumed in an apologetic voice: "I felt mean about
+coming back like this; losing the truck is going to make things harder
+for you.  Then I bought some new cookers; the steam went through a row
+of pans and I thought they'd save you work.  There was a piece of stuff
+at the dry goods store the girl told me would make a dress; but it went
+down the rapid with the cookers."
+
+Carrie gave him a gentle glance.  "You bought them: the rest was an
+accident."
+
+"It was not an accident, but we'll talk about that again.  I'm glad to
+get back; I'm always glad to get back now, though I didn't bother about
+it much when we camped in the bush before."
+
+Carrie took off the lid of a cooking-pot and while she was occupied the
+packers arrived with their loads.  Soon afterwards Jake and the other
+men came up and they got supper.  When the meal was over Jim told his
+story and Jake looked thoughtful.
+
+"The obvious explanation is, the freighter tried to stop you by turning
+loose the log," he said.  "I don't know if we ought to count on this;
+but we'll take it first."
+
+"I'm doubtful," Jim replied.  "Somehow I feel the fellow was bluffing;
+he wanted to scare me so I'd agree to his terms.  Although I reckon he
+meant to charge me high when I came to him next time, I don't think he
+sent the log down.  I haven't much ground for the conclusion, but there
+it is."
+
+"In some ways, you're not a fool," Jake remarked with a twinkle.  "I've
+known judgments you hadn't much ground for turn out sound.  Very well;
+we come to the big contractors.  Did they hire somebody to stop you?"
+
+"It looks like that, but I imagine Martin's playing straight and he
+declared the Cartner people wouldn't use a crooked plan."
+
+"Then who did try to stop you?"
+
+Jim shrugged and his face got hard.  "I don't know yet.  We must wait."
+
+"Very well," said Jake.  "We'll trust our luck and hold on while we
+can, although I expect it won't be very long."
+
+Jim did not answer.  He was tired and now the reaction from the strain
+had begun, was glad to indulge his bodily and mental lassitude.  The
+springy branches on which he lay were comfortable and the camp, with
+the red firelight flickering on the trunks and Carrie sitting by the
+hearth-logs, had a curious charm.  She, so to speak, dominated the
+tranquil picture and gave her rude surroundings a homelike touch.  On
+other expeditions, when Carrie was not there, Jim had thought about his
+camp as a place at which one slept.  Now it was something else; a place
+from which one drew strength and cheerfulness.  There was something
+strangely intimate about it; he was glad to get back.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+A CONFIDENTIAL TALK
+
+Shortly after Jim's return, a prospector stopped one evening at the
+camp.
+
+"There was some mail for you at the settlement, and as I figured on
+using your line to get into the bush I brought the packet along," he
+said.
+
+Carrie gave him supper and when he joined the other men Jim opened the
+packet.  In the evening they had leisure for rest and talk, and after
+the strain and bustle of the day, Jim enjoyed the quiet hour.  The air
+got sharp when the sun sank, the fire they gathered round drove back
+the creeping shadows, and the pungent smoke kept the mosquitoes off.
+Sometimes he bantered Carrie and sometimes lounged in contented
+quietness, watching her while she sewed.  Carrie was generally occupied.
+
+"How is your mother getting on?" he asked when she put down the letter
+he had given her.
+
+Carrie smiled.  "She is getting on very well.  My cousin keeps store
+satisfactorily, and I don't know if I'm pleased or not.  It's nice to
+feel you're wanted and people miss you when you're gone."
+
+"If there's much comfort in the thought, you are certainly wanted here."
+
+"The trouble is, one's friends often say what they think one would like
+to know," Carrie rejoined.  "I'm not sure I'd have minded much if
+mother had owned that Belle breaks things and sometimes forgets how
+many cents go to the dollar when she makes up a bill.  S'pose I'm mean,
+but Belle does break things."
+
+"You are never mean and I was quite sincere."
+
+"Perhaps you found new buttons on your overalls and that accounted for
+something."
+
+Jim half consciously moved his hand to his jacket and then stopped.
+"I'm afraid I didn't know the buttons were there.  After all, it ought
+to persuade you of my sincerity."
+
+"Sometimes I'm not certain if you are nice or not.  But is there
+anything important in your letters?"
+
+"One or two people want to know when we mean to pay our bills; I'm
+sorry we can't satisfy their curiosity just yet.  Then there's a letter
+from Baumstein.  He'll give us an extra five hundred dollars for the
+Bluebird."
+
+"Ah!" said Carrie.  "It's strange he makes the offer when we need money
+so!"
+
+"It is strange," Jake broke in.  "Almost looks as if the fellow knew
+how we were fixed.  But we're not sellers, and, for a clever crook,
+Baumstein is too keen."
+
+"He states he has reached his limit and we won't get another chance,"
+Jim remarked.
+
+Jake pondered and then resumed: "The thing's puzzling.  I can't see why
+Baumstein's fixed on buying a claim that nobody else wants, but you can
+reckon it a sure snap for him when he makes a deal.  There's the
+puzzle!  The ore is pretty good, but that's all.  We were kind of
+disappointed by the assay.  The specimens looked better than the
+analysis proved."
+
+"I was certainly disappointed and surprised," Jim agreed.  "Suppose we
+ask the prospector about it?  He has tested a good many mineral claims."
+
+They waited until the prospector returned to the camp, when Jake gave
+him some bits of broken rock.
+
+"Feel those and tell me what you think about the metal they carry," he
+said.
+
+The other examined the specimens and weighed them in his hand.
+
+"If you've got much rock like that, it's a pretty good claim."
+
+"Do you reckon the stuff would come up to assay?" Jake asked, giving
+him the analyst's report.
+
+The prospector looked at him rather hard.  "Come up to assay?  If the
+bulk's like these specimens, it ought to pan out better than the
+figures show."
+
+He stated his grounds for believing this, and Jake knitted his brows.
+"I expect you know the big mining men and what they're doing.  Have you
+heard if Baumstein is looking for Northern copper?"
+
+"He bought a claim called the Darien not long since."
+
+Jim smiled.  "The Darien?  The next block to ours, but the vein begins
+to peter out before it crosses their boundary."
+
+"When Baumstein gets the next block, you want to sell him your lot or
+watch out," the prospector rejoined.  "If he can't buy you up, he'll
+make trouble for you.  I reckon he knew what kind of ore the Darien
+boys had got."
+
+"Yes," said Jim, "I imagined something like that."
+
+He said no more about the mine, and next morning the prospector resumed
+his journey.  After this, for a week or two, nothing broke the monotony
+of their strenuous toil, until one day Martin and his packers arrived.
+
+"I'm going down to the settlements and thought I'd strike your camp and
+stop a night," he said.  "The woods get lonesome, and your line's a
+pretty good route to the pack trail."
+
+Jim was somewhat surprised, but he took Martin to Jake and went to tell
+Carrie.
+
+"I wanted to see that man and you had better leave him to me," she
+said.  "To begin with, I'll give him the best supper I know how to
+cook.  Get busy and fix the fire while I see what we've got that's
+extra nice."
+
+"If you get after him, he's bound to give in," Jim remarked.  "However,
+I want you to study the fellow and tell me what you think."
+
+"Then you would trust my judgment?"
+
+"Of course.  In many ways, it's as good as ours."
+
+Carrie laughed.  "Sometimes," she said, "you're very modest, Jim."
+
+Martin ate a remarkably good supper and afterwards talked to Carrie
+with obvious satisfaction.  Like the most part of the men who venture
+much in the wilds, he was marked by a grave quietness, but he had for
+all that a touch of humor.  By and by he turned to Jim and asked: "How
+are you getting on?  Have you struck fresh trouble since I saw you?"
+
+Jim related his adventure at the rapid and Martin gave him a keen
+glance.  "I reckon you had an object for telling me, but I don't quite
+get it.  You think I hired the man who sent down the log, or you know I
+didn't."
+
+"He knows you didn't," Carrie declared.
+
+"Thank you," said Martin.  "I imagine what you say goes at this camp."
+
+"Some way.  I belong to the firm."
+
+"It goes all the way," said Jim.  "I often think Miss Winter is really
+the head of the firm."
+
+Martin's eyes twinkled.  "Well, you're both making good; I've been
+looking at the line you've cleared, and I've not often struck a supper
+like this in the bush.  Makes me feel I want to fire my cook."  Then
+his tone got grave.  "Anyhow, I had nothing to do with wrecking your
+canoes and don't think the freighter had.  You see, I sometimes hire
+Somas; he'll put the screw to you if he reckons you can be bluffed, but
+he's not a crook."
+
+"Then we can rule him out," said Carrie.  "I imagine you don't make
+mistakes."
+
+"Making mistakes about trusting folks sometimes costs you high," Martin
+remarked.  He looked at her thoughtfully and then smiled.  "One could
+trust you all the time."
+
+"Well," said Carrie, "I suppose I gave you a lead, but there's no use
+in our trying who could be nicest, because I'd certainly beat you.  I
+expect you don't often try and it's a girl's business."
+
+In the meantime, Jim had studied both.  He thought he knew Carrie's
+worth, but somehow the other's approval made it plainer.  Although
+Martin's humorous frankness jarred, Jim recognized its note of
+sincerity.  On the whole, he liked Martin, but he would sooner Carrie
+did not play up to the fellow.  By and by Martin turned to him.
+
+"When I was last at Vancouver a man called Mordaunt asked some
+questions about you."
+
+"Mordaunt?" said Jim, with a puzzled look.
+
+"He stopped at your telegraph shack."
+
+"Oh, yes; I only met him once before and didn't learn his name.  What
+did he want to know?"
+
+"All I could tell him about you.  He was something of a high-brow
+Englishman and used tact, but I reckoned he was keen on finding out
+what kind of man you were."
+
+"You couldn't tell him much."
+
+"That is so," said Martin, rather dryly.  "In fact, I didn't try."
+
+"Oh, well, it's not important," Jim replied.  "Perhaps my books roused
+his curiosity.  They were not the books he'd imagine a telegraph
+linesman would read.  But did he tell you much about himself?"
+
+"He did not.  An Englishman like that doesn't talk about himself."
+
+Jim agreed carelessly, but was thoughtful afterwards, and when Martin
+went off with Jake, stopped by the fire and mused.  After a time he
+looked up and saw Carrie sitting in the shadow.  Now and then the
+flickering light touched her face and he thought she studied him.
+
+"I suppose you're thinking about that Englishman?" she said.
+
+"Yes.  It's rather strange he asked Martin about me."
+
+"Perhaps he knows your relations."
+
+"It looks like that," Jim agreed.
+
+"And he was with the girl you met at the restaurant!  I expect she was
+a relation of his.  Aren't you curious?"
+
+Jim imagined Carrie was curious, but one could be frank with her, and
+he wanted to formulate his thoughts.
+
+"In a way, I am curious," he admitted.  "I would like to see the girl
+again.  Still, I think it's really as a type she interests me."
+
+Carrie smiled.  "It isn't as a type a girl gets interesting, Jim."
+
+"It would be ridiculous to think about her in any other way.  I've had
+nothing to do with girls like that; she's the first I've met."
+
+"Oh, well," said Carrie.  "Don't you want to learn something about your
+English relations?"
+
+"No," said Jim, in a thoughtful voice.  "In a sense, I'm half afraid."
+
+"Afraid?" said Carrie.
+
+He was silent for a few moments and then resumed: "On the whole, I've
+been happy.  I feel I've got my proper job and am satisfied.  For all
+that, when those Englishmen talked to me at the shack I had a strange
+notion that I knew things they knew and belonged to a world I hadn't
+lived in yet.  Sometimes at McGill I got a kind of restlessness that
+made me want to see the Old Country.  I fought against it."
+
+"Why did you fight?"
+
+"For one thing, it's obvious I belong where I am; I can make good in
+this country, I know my job.  Something pulls another way, but I don't
+want to go."
+
+"Ah," said Carrie, "I think I understand.  Still, there's the
+adventure, Jim.  And if you didn't like it in England, you could come
+back."
+
+"There's a risk.  I expect it's hard to get back when you leave your
+proper place.  Then I have much I value; you and Jake and the boys who
+work for me.  I stand on firm ground here; ground I know and like.  In
+the Old Country it might be different----"
+
+"Do you mean you might be different?"
+
+"You are clever, Carrie.  I think I do mean something like that.  I
+feel now and then as if there was another Jim Dearham who, so to speak,
+hadn't developed yet.  In a way, I'm afraid of him."
+
+Carrie looked thoughtful, but her eyes were soft.  "Jake and I are
+satisfied with the Jim we know.  Still, perhaps, you ought to give the
+other his chance."  She paused, and her voice had a curious note when
+she resumed: "If I were a man, I'd let nothing stop my development."
+
+"You have grit," Jim said, smiling.  "Grit that would carry you
+anywhere and makes you something of an aristocrat.  So long as you're
+not afraid you must be fine.  Well, I suppose I made good when I was up
+against rotten ice and sliding snow, but when I think about what I have
+and what I'd risk, my pluck goes."
+
+"Sometimes you're rather nice, Jim, and you're a better philosopher
+than I thought," Carrie remarked.  She got up and, stopping a moment,
+gave him a half-mocking glance.  "But I wonder what you'd get like if
+you went to the Old Country and met that English girl!"
+
+She went off and Jim sat by the fire with his brows knit.  Perhaps he
+had talked too much and bored Carrie, but he suspected that she had led
+him on.  By and by he roused himself and went to chop some wood.
+Martin did not start in the morning, as his hosts had expected.  He
+said his packers needed a rest and loafed about the camp, sometimes
+talking to Carrie and sometimes watching Jake and Jim at work.  Next
+morning, however, he said he must go, and while they were at breakfast
+turned to Jim.
+
+"In the bush, one often runs up against obstacles one did not expect.
+If you find you can't put your contract over, I'd like you to send me
+word."
+
+"I don't see why we should bother you," Jim replied with some surprise.
+
+Martin smiled.  "For one thing, you had a notion the Cartner people and
+I were playing a crooked game.  Then you're making a good job, and I
+wouldn't like to see you beat."
+
+"We imagined you wouldn't like our butting in on jobs you thought were
+yours," Jake observed.
+
+"That is so," said Martin.  "If I help, I'll make a proposition, to
+which I guess you'll be able to agree.  In the meantime, we can let it
+go.  Looks as if you'd make good anyhow."
+
+He began to talk about something else and when he set off Jake and Jim
+went with him down the line.  After a time, he stopped them.
+
+"I must hit the trail and not keep you from your job," he said.  "I
+reckon you'll put it over, but if you want some backing, remember my
+offer stands."
+
+He paused and gave Jake a steady glance.  "I like the way you have
+treated me; your sister is a queen."
+
+Then he went on with his packers and Jake and Jim returned quietly to
+camp.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+FIRE
+
+The light had got dim, and Carrie put down her sewing and looked about.
+A belt of yellow sky glimmered above the distant snow, but the valley
+was dark and the pines rolled in blurred masses up the hill.  Thin mist
+crept out of the deep hollow and Carrie shivered when a cold wind shook
+the trees.  She was beginning to know the wilds, and now and then their
+austerity daunted her.  By and by a red twinkle in the distance drew
+her glance and she turned to Jim.
+
+"What is that?"
+
+Jim looked and frowned.  "Ah," he said, "I'd begun to think our luck
+was too good!"
+
+"But what is the light?"
+
+"A bush fire."
+
+Jake indicated the drift of the smoke from their cooking fire.  As a
+rule, the valleys of British Columbia that open to the west form
+channels for the Chinook wind from the Pacific, but now and then a dry,
+cold current flows down them to the coast.
+
+"It won't bother us unless the wind changes," he remarked.  "In this
+country, however, the wind generally does change when you'd sooner it
+did not, and it's not safe to trust your luck much.  Looks as if Nature
+had put up her shingle on the mountains, warning the white man off."
+
+"But white men do live in the mountains," Carrie objected.
+
+"Men who are strong enough.  They must fight for a footing and then use
+the best tools other men can make to hold the ground they've won.
+We're scouts, carrying axes, saws, and giant-powder, but the main body
+must cooperate to defend its settlements with civilization's heavy
+machines.  It's sure a hard country, and sometimes it gets me scared!"
+
+Carrie laughed.  "You're romantic when you talk about the North.  Could
+the fire bother us?"
+
+"That depends.  It couldn't burn the line, though it might burn the
+posts.  If it spread and rolled up the valley, it might put us off the
+ground and stop the job."
+
+"While we waited the boys would have to be fed and wages would run on,"
+Carrie said in a thoughtful voice.  "How do the fires start?"
+
+"Nobody knows.  I allow it looks ridiculous, but my notion is some
+fires start themselves; you'll find them burning in belts of woods the
+Indians and prospectors leave alone.  Some are probably started by
+cooking fires.  The man who knows the bush is careful; the tenderfoot
+is not."
+
+"Then you don't think somebody may have had an object for lighting this
+fire?"
+
+"On the whole, I reckon not.  The chances against its bothering us are
+too steep.  For all that, I'd like it better if the blaze went out."
+
+Carrie said nothing, and for a time they watched the light.  Sometimes
+it leaped up and sometimes it faded, but it got larger, and when they
+went to bed a red reflection played about the sky.  In the morning
+there was no wind and a heavy trail of smoke stretched across the
+hills.  In places, a bright flicker pierced the dark trail, and Carrie
+noted a smell of burning when she filled the kettle.  Then she saw Jim
+watching the smoke.
+
+"It's nearer and bigger, isn't it?" she asked.
+
+"Yes," said Jim, quietly.  "It's bigger than I like.  We'll go along
+and look at it after breakfast."
+
+They ate quickly and when the meal was over Jim and Carrie set off
+while Jake went to work.  It was not easy to push through the tangled
+bush, and now and then Jim was forced to clear a path with his ax.
+After a time he stopped behind a trunk and touched Carrie, who saw an
+animal leap out from the gloom.  It cleared a big fallen branch with a
+flying bound, vanished almost silently in a brake of tall fern, and
+shooting out with forelegs bent sprang across a thicket.  Carrie
+thought it hardly touched the ground.  It was wonderfully swift and
+graceful, and although the forest was choked with undergrowth and
+rotting logs all was very quiet when the animal vanished.
+
+"Oh," she said, "I'm glad you stopped me!  I haven't seen a wild deer
+before."
+
+"They are hard to see," Jim replied.  "If they're standing, they melt
+into their background at a very short distance.  However, I didn't like
+the way that deer was going.  It passed pretty close, without seeing we
+were about."
+
+Noting that the scramble had tired her, he began to rub his ax with a
+sharpening stone, and Carrie mused while she got her breath.  By and by
+she looked up and saw his twinkling glance.
+
+"Yes," she said, "I was thinking rather hard; I thought it was good for
+me to come North.  All was always just the same at the store; the dull
+street, the mean frame houses, and the stale smell of groceries.  There
+was nothing different; you knew you would do to-morrow what you did
+to-day, and you had made no progress when the reckoning came.  If there
+was money enough to pay the bills, you were satisfied, and sometimes
+there was not.  But I really mean you felt you had made no progress of
+any kind; you were slipping back."
+
+"Slipping back?  I'm not sure I get that----"
+
+"Sometimes it's hard to put you wise, but perhaps slipping back wasn't
+altogether right.  I meant things were moving on and leaving me behind.
+The time I could be happy was going and soon I'd be old and sour.  I
+didn't want to feel I'd done nothing and had never tasted life.  Well,
+my chance came and I pulled out."
+
+"I'm afraid you haven't had your good time yet," Jim remarked.
+
+Carrie's eyes sparkled.  "One always wants something better, Jim, but
+I've begun to live.  I've seen the woods and the wild back country; I'm
+helping at a big job."
+
+"Your help is worth much, and if we put the job over, you can have the
+things a girl is supposed to like; for example, pretty clothes, opera
+tickets, a holiday at a fashionable summer hotel.  They're things you
+ought to have."
+
+"I do like pretty clothes and think I'd like to meet smart people.  The
+trouble is, they would know I didn't belong where they belonged and
+might leave me out.  Do you think that would happen, Jim?"
+
+"Certainly not," Jim declared.  "Girls of your type don't get left out.
+I dare say pretty girls are numerous, but you have a calm and a
+confidence that make their mark."
+
+Carrie smiled, but there was some color in her face.  "I suppose you
+mean to be nice.  Yet you have seen me serving at the store and cooking
+for the boys!"
+
+"I've seen you nursing me when I was ill and hope I'm going to see you
+wear the smartest clothes money can buy.  But there's much to be done
+first and I'm bothered about the fire."
+
+They pushed on while the smell of burning got stronger, and presently
+came to a rocky hill.  Its top cut off their view, but a dingy cloud
+rolled up behind it and as they climbed the air got hot.  When they
+reached the summit Carrie gasped and her eyes opened wide.
+
+The spur commanded the valley and the fire that had run through the
+woods below.  In the foreground a wall of tossing flame threw out
+clouds of sparks, and leaping up here and there, ran in yellow trails
+to the top of the tall firs.  It advanced slowly, with an angry roar,
+licking up the dry brush and branches before the big trunks caught.  In
+front they were hung with streamers of flame, farther off they glowed
+red, and in the distance smoldering rampikes towered above a wide belt
+of ash.  Now and then one leaned and fell, and showers of sparks shot
+up as if the log had exploded.
+
+The shock of the fall hardly pierced the confused uproar, and Carrie,
+shielding her scorched face with her hand, was appalled by the din.
+Green wood split with detonating cracks, the snapping of branches was
+like musketry, and the flames roared in a deep undertone.  Her dress
+fluttered, for eddying draughts swept the rocks.  She was dazzled but
+fascinated, unconscious of heat and fear, for she had not seen or
+imagined a spectacle like this.
+
+"It's tremendous!" she said in an awed voice.
+
+"Pretty fierce," Jim agreed.  "A bush-fire's a big thing, but it
+doesn't grip you like the break up of the ice.  When the river bursts
+the jam, the floes grind the rocks smooth and rub out the pines.  You
+can hear the wreck drive down the channel a day's journey off."
+
+"I thought it a silent country.  It's often so quiet it makes one
+half-afraid."
+
+Jim nodded.  "Something forbidding in its quietness that's like a
+threat?  Well, it wakes up and gets busy in a dramatic way now and
+then.  If you want to live in the mountains, you've got to be watchful."
+
+A wave of smoke rolled about them and sparks drove past like hail.  A
+fiery shower fell on Carrie's thin dress and Jim, seizing her, beat
+them out.  This was needful and he began without embarrassment but
+presently thrilled, and Carrie's scorched face got red as he ran his
+smarting hands across the thin material.
+
+"Keep still!" he said, roughly.  "It's light stuff and will soon catch
+fire."
+
+Then, picking off a glowing cinder, he took her arm and they started
+down hill.  When they came out of the smoke he was breathless and
+Carrie gasped.
+
+"Oh, Jim, you have burned your hands!" she said.
+
+"Not much.  They're hard and I have often hurt them worse.  It's your
+dress that bothers me.  Look at the charred spots."
+
+"But you're not to blame for that."
+
+"I am to blame.  I oughtn't to have let you stay."
+
+"I wanted to stay."
+
+"That doesn't matter," Jim declared.  "My business was to take care of
+you.  In fact, it's my business all the time."
+
+"Something of a responsibility, Jim!" Carrie remarked.  "However, I
+think we'll go on."
+
+They stopped again before they reached the camp, for pushing through
+tangled bush is hard work, and Carrie sat down on a fallen trunk.
+
+"Isn't the fire moving up the valley?" she asked.
+
+"It is," Jim said, frowning.  "Fires sometimes do move against a light
+wind.  However, we won't talk about this yet."  He paused and touched
+her dress.  "Here's another big hole.  You can't mend the thing."
+
+"I'm afraid not," Carrie agreed.
+
+"And the blue one has a nasty tear, besides the stain where Jake spilt
+the coffee.  I must make a trip to the settlement when the fire burns
+out."
+
+"You mustn't go," said Carrie, firmly.  "You can't leave your job.
+It's much more important than my clothes."
+
+"For all that, I am going, as soon as I can.  When we were talking not
+long since I began to think.  We have taken your help for granted,
+without reckoning what it cost; but it has hurt me to see you occupied
+with the cooking-pots."
+
+Carrie gave him a level, smiling glance.  "It's for Jake and you and
+the boys.  In a way, you're all mine, and I'm rather proud of my
+family."
+
+"We are yours," Jim declared.  "In fact, we were lucky when you, so to
+speak, took us under your wing.  You have a kind of protective instinct
+that makes you look after folks and makes them trust you; but you
+oughtn't to be cooking for a crowd of hungry men.  I've seen your face
+scorched, and sometimes you burn your hands.  Then your being forced to
+wear those faded and mended dresses makes me angry."
+
+She laughed, but the careless note in her voice was rather forced.
+"Don't be foolish, Jim!  If I had lots of smart clothes, I couldn't
+wear them while I work about the fire."
+
+"That is so," he said, frowning.  "You oughtn't to work about the fire."
+
+"Oh, well, it's too late to bother now.  For one thing, I have educated
+the boys; they wouldn't eat the hash you or Jake could cook.  But I
+expect you want to get to work and we had better make the camp."
+
+When they reached the camp Jim got to work.  He was anxious, but
+admitted that the fire might die out on a stony belt where the bush was
+thin, and perhaps he need not fear much trouble unless a Chinook wind
+drove the flames up the valley.  Moreover, since there was a risk of
+his being stopped, it was prudent to push on.
+
+For two days he strained his muscles and urged the men; and then, one
+evening, sat in his usual place, listening rather moodily while Jake
+and Carrie talked.  The evening was calm and the smoke had not
+advanced, although it now covered much of the sky.  The men had not
+gone to fish and lounged about the shack.  They were tired and quiet,
+for Jim had driven them hard all day.  He let his pipe go out and
+pondered.  Perhaps his disturbance was not logical, but his habit was
+to concentrate on the work he undertook and it would hurt to own
+himself beaten and let the contract go.  He had not been badly beaten
+yet, and he had a vein of rather grim tenacity.
+
+After a time, Carrie's laugh banished his moody reflections and he
+looked up.  The firelight touched her, and although her eyes sparkled
+her pose was slack.  Now he studied her carefully; her face was getting
+thin.  She was obviously playing up to Jake, and he imagined their
+banter was meant to cheer him.  Carrie's clothes were shabbier than he
+had thought, but they did not spoil her unconscious grace.  It was
+unconscious grace, because Carrie did not pose.  She looked at home and
+somehow made the camp look homelike.  She was unembarrassed in the
+woods, as she was at the store.  Jim wondered whether, if they carried
+out the contract and earned the pay, she would hold her own in
+different surroundings; among fashionable women at summer hotels, for
+example.  Somehow he thought she would.  Then a curious feeling of
+tenderness moved him.  Carrie looked tired and he owed her much.
+
+"I wish you would put down that sewing," he said.  "You are hurting
+your eyes."
+
+"Very well," Carrie agreed.  "I wasn't getting on fast, and when you
+are bothered you have to be indulged.  Looks as if you were bothered,
+Jim."
+
+"I suppose I've got the habit," he replied.  "Anyhow, I don't like your
+sewing when you have hustled round all day."
+
+Carrie laughed.  "You and Jake are rough on clothes and somebody's got
+to mend."
+
+"No," said Jim.  "In this country, mending's not economical.  It's
+cheaper to throw away the things and buy another lot."
+
+"Where are you going to buy new clothes, Jim?"
+
+"That is something of a difficulty.  I was talking about the principle.
+You're too practical."
+
+"Oh, well," said Carrie, "I suppose I'm not romantic.  Unless you're
+romantic in the right way, you're ridiculous.  I expect it's easier to
+be useful."
+
+"Jim will agree," Jake remarked.  "He judges people by their talent for
+doing things, but you can't fix a standard for everybody.  He reckons I
+do too little; I allow he does too much."
+
+He stopped and looked about.  There was something oppressive in the
+heavy calm.  The smoke went straight up and the pine twigs did not
+move.  For a minute or two he waited with a feeling of tension and the
+others were silent.  Then the pine tops shook and were still again.
+Jim got up abruptly.
+
+"That draught's not from the east!"
+
+Jake struck a match.  The flame burned upright, and then flickered and
+slanted.
+
+"No," he said, "it's blowing up the valley."
+
+The flame went out, the pine-tops shook and did not stop.  The air got
+hot and a smell of burning stole into the camp.
+
+"I reckon it's a _Chinook_," Jake remarked.
+
+Jim nodded and his face got stern.  "I have expected it all day.  The
+fire will roll up the valley and I don't know where it will stop.  We
+must break camp to-morrow and pitch farther along."  He turned to
+Carrie.  "Can you be ready to start for the settlement in the morning?"
+
+"No, but this doesn't matter, because I'm not going."
+
+"You must.  The bush will burn like a furnace."
+
+"Do you and Jake mean to quit?"
+
+"You ought to see we can't quit."
+
+Carrie smiled.  "I do see it, but if you have good grounds for
+stopping, so have I.  Your grounds, in fact."
+
+"Shucks!  You're ridiculous.  In a way, of course, I don't want you to
+go."
+
+"Thank you!  Was it hard to own that, Jim?  However, you won't have to
+make the effort to send me off, because I mean to stay."
+
+Jim turned to Jake.  "This job is yours; I don't see why you put it on
+to me.  She's your sister and you ought to have some control."
+
+"My control doesn't count for much," Jake admitted with a grin.
+"Besides, I allow you are the head of the firm."
+
+"If I'm head, some responsibility goes with the post----"
+
+"I suppose I am rather a responsibility," Carrie interposed.  "After
+all, you are not very old and don't know much about managing an
+obstinate girl."
+
+"I don't want to manage you," Jim rejoined.  "My notion is, you have
+quietly managed us."
+
+"Ah," said Carrie, "it looks as if you're really cleverer than I
+thought!"
+
+Jim tried to hide his annoyance.  "I wish I was clever, or somebody
+else had my job.  Anyhow, you can't stop.  In a day or two the line
+will be smothered in smoke, and we may be forced back among the rocks
+where we can't take your tent.  I don't see how we're going to get
+provisions through."
+
+"After all," said Carrie, "I don't think I'd catch fire sooner than you
+and Jake, and I certainly don't eat as much.  Then I can save where you
+would waste."  She paused and gave Jim a half-mocking smile.  "I
+imagine you mean well, but I've resolved to stay."
+
+Jim made a resigned gesture.  "Then I expect there's no more to be
+said!  Well, I'm tired and we must get busy again at sun-up."
+
+He rose, stretched his arms, and went off.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+JIM'S LUCK TURNS
+
+When the others went off Carrie did not move.  The smoke was getting
+thick, the air was hot, and now all was quiet she heard the roar of the
+fire.  She pictured it creeping through the bush: the flames leaping
+from branch to branch, the red glow among the trunks that cracked and
+tottered, and the crash when one fell.  Now and then she thought she
+heard the shock, but it was scarcely distinguishable through the dull
+roar.  The noise was strangely daunting.
+
+Carrie meant to stay.  She must hide her fears and smile.  This was not
+a new line; life was not easy for a girl who must work for all she got,
+and she had known care.  Now and then unsatisfied creditors had
+threatened to close the store, but when tears were near her eyes she
+had forced a laugh.  There was much she could do in camp; she could see
+the men were fed and try to cheer them when they came back gloomy and
+tired.  Sometimes a joke was strangely encouraging.  By and by she got
+up and went to her tent.
+
+In the morning they broke camp and moved up the valley, but although
+the fire was advancing Jim did not go far.  They might soon be driven
+back among the rocks, where there were no trees to burn, and he meant
+to work as long as possible.  Besides, transport was difficult and he
+must have an open trail behind him.  Jim was getting anxious about
+this, because if the fire followed them up, provisions must be brought
+across the burning belt.
+
+It was characteristic that he took command.  Although Jake had
+banteringly called him the Boss, they had no agreement about the
+matter.  When things were normal each did what he thought needful and
+they seldom jarred.  Now, however, Jim half consciously assumed firm
+control, with his comrade's support.  He made all plans, and the men
+seeing he had a leader's talent obeyed cheerfully.
+
+For some days their resolution was hardly tried.  The fire rolled up
+the valley and for the most part they worked in thick smoke.  At times
+the heat was intolerable, and when the wind freshened showers of ash
+and sparks fell about them.  Although the fire did not advance fast,
+their progress was slow.  Heavy stones must be rolled away, treacherous
+gravel must be walled up and the line roughly graded.  Ashes stuck to
+the men's wet skin and they were often scorched by the hot wind.  Then,
+at the close of each exhausting day, the camp must be moved to the end
+of the cleared track.
+
+There was not much grumbling.  The men were hard and stubborn, but Jim
+doubted if they could bear the strain long.  He himself was worn out,
+he could not relax at night and did not sleep.  Jake's scorched face
+was getting pinched.  Carrie alone was cheerful and tried to ease the
+crushing strain when they rested for an hour after the evening meal.
+The meal was always ready and Jim noted that the bill of fare was
+better than before.  Yet, sometimes when Carrie did not know he was
+studying her, he thought her figure drooped and her eyes were dull.  He
+said nothing, but he was moved by pity and gratitude.
+
+At length, one day when the wind was fresh and the fire had got
+ominously close, he made a hard decision.  Since he could not keep in
+front, he would follow the blaze, which would lick up the brush and do
+some part of his work.  The trouble was, he must wait until the
+conflagration passed and the burned ruin cooled, while wages mounted up
+and food got short.  He said nothing to the others, but when evening
+came and the tired men struck the tent he indicated a bare rocky slope.
+
+"We'll make the big stones yonder, boys.  Keep this side of the juniper
+scrub."
+
+The men's grim faces relaxed and one laughed.  They saw the struggle
+was over for a time and the boss had made another plan.  All had had
+enough and badly needed rest.  Carrie, however, looked at Jim
+thoughtfully.
+
+"I know you're not giving up, but I don't understand."
+
+Jim smiled.  "I may have to give up, but not yet.  In the morning the
+fire will reach the line.  We are going to lie off and let it pass."
+
+"Ah," said Carrie, with a hint of relief.  "Can we wait?"
+
+"It will cost us something and we can't wait long, but perhaps this
+won't be needful.  Now give me that bundle.  The ground is rough."
+
+"I won't," said Carrie, moving back as he tried to take the bundle she
+had made of some clothes.  "You have an ax and a big bag of flour.
+Would it hurt very much to own that you sometimes get tired?"
+
+Jim laughed but did not answer, and they went up the hill.  They
+pitched camp among the rocks and in the morning Jim climbed the range
+behind the spot.  He did not come back until dusk, but saw no way of
+bringing the supplies he would soon need across the rugged hills.  One
+could not get up the valley, for looking down from the heights, he
+could see behind the fire and the ground was strewn with fallen trees.
+Some would burn for long and the ashes and hot stones would not cool
+soon, while the rampikes that stood above the ruin would come down when
+a strong gust shook them.  A _brulee_ is dangerous when the wind blows,
+and sometimes in a calm.
+
+For the next few days the fire raged below the camp, and when Jim
+ventured down hill he was driven back by heat and smoke.  The fire was
+rolling up the valley, but the wreckage it had left smoldered and now
+and then broke into flame.  Half-burned underbrush suddenly blazed and
+blackened logs glowed in the wind.  There was nothing to be done but
+use patience, and in the meantime the wages bill was mounting up and
+food was getting short.
+
+Then, one day, the wind dropped.  The distant peaks got hazy, the
+shining glaciers faded, and the outline of the rocks was blurred.
+Although the sun was dim, it was very hot, and Jim felt morose and
+gloomy as he loafed about the camp.  There was no use in going down to
+the line, and he durst not hope for rain.  After a few hours the wind
+might freshen and the sky clear.  He had nothing to do and the reaction
+from the strain he had borne had begun.
+
+"We miss the trout," Carrie remarked, as she cooked supper.  "Jake
+tried to get down to the river but couldn't make it."
+
+"I'm afraid we'll soon miss the flour and salt pork.  When they're gone
+the boys will pull out," said Jim, and then forced a laugh.  "Anyhow,
+if Jake had got down, I doubt if he'd have caught much fish.  I don't
+know a good bait for boiled trout."
+
+"The flour's not gone yet," Carrie rejoined.  "We'll hold on while it
+lasts and it's going farther than you think.  Somehow I don't feel as
+if we'd be beaten."
+
+"We have come near it," said Jim, with rather grim humor.  "One gets
+used to that, and resolution counts when you're fighting a snowslide or
+a flood; but we're up against another proposition now.  It's so to
+speak, mathematical; nothing coming in and much going out!  When we
+have no stores and money left we _must_ quit."
+
+"I suppose we must, but I'd hate to see you let the job go and would
+feel mean myself.  After all, something may happen before we are forced
+to quit," Carrie replied, and added with calm confidence: "Something is
+going to happen."
+
+"You have an optimism that can't be cured," Jim rejoined.  "However, I
+don't know if I'd like it cured."
+
+He knocked out his pipe and began to cut some tobacco, but stopped
+abruptly and looked up.
+
+"What's that?" he asked as something pattered on the stiff foliage of a
+juniper.
+
+"Big drops," said Carrie.  "I felt a few before."
+
+Jim got up.  The light was going and it felt cool, but the sky up the
+valley was not clouded much; he could not see the other way.  Then a
+few large cold drops fell on his upturned face and next moment there
+was a quick splashing on the dusty juniper.  He drew a deep breath and
+shook off his languidness.
+
+"It's coming; heavy rain!" he cried.  "We'll make good, after all.  But
+let's move the stores."
+
+Carrie laughed happily.  "You said I was too practical!  Who's
+practical now?  But sometimes you get things mixed; you reckoned not
+long since I was an optimist."
+
+"I did," Jim admitted.  "Practical planning and optimism make a strong
+combine, and I imagine they are going to carry us through.  But let's
+move the stores."
+
+He called the men, and as they got all that would spoil covered there
+was a rush of cold wind and the rain beat upon the camp.  It rains hard
+in British Columbia and often rains long.  They knew that by morning
+the rocks would run water and the deluge would quench the smoldering
+wreckage; it might even quench the fire.
+
+After a day or two Jim moved his camp to the line, and one afternoon
+when he was working in the rain stopped and straightened his aching
+back.  Fine ash that had turned to mud smeared his wet slickers; his
+face was thin and gloomy.  His money was nearly gone, and although the
+fire had burned out he did not see how he could finish his contract.
+
+The tangled brush had vanished and wet ashes covered the ground.
+Half-burned logs lay about, and here and there small trees, leaning at
+sharp angles with blackened branches locked, held each other up.  In
+places, big charred rampikes stood in rows like colonnades.  The nearer
+rows looked black; farther off they shone in the rain with a curious
+silver gleam.  The fire had helped to clear the ground, but wet men
+were at work with axes and saws.
+
+By and by Jim looked round.  Somebody had shouted and it was not one of
+his gang.  The shout came from some distance off and while he tried to
+locate the spot a rampike slanted over and broke off.  The burned trunk
+struck the ground with an echoing crash and a cloud of ash rolled up
+like smoke.  There was now a gap in the row and as the ashes blew away
+Jim saw pack-horses in the opening.
+
+"Who is it?" he asked Jake.
+
+"A Government outfit, I expect.  Prospectors don't load up with tents
+and stores like that."
+
+"If they're Government men, it means somebody from the telegraph
+department is coming to look at our job."
+
+"Yes," said Jake.  "I reckon we'll soon know our luck."  He waited for
+a few moments and added: "It's the boss surveyor."
+
+The surveyor presently joined them and remarked: "As I have business at
+the new settlement, I thought I'd see how you were getting on."
+
+"We might have got on faster, but we have had trouble all the time,"
+said Jim.
+
+"Looks like that.  I examined the work you've done as I came along and
+on the whole allow it's a pretty good job.  However, we'll talk about
+that later; the boys are tired and I'm glad to make your camp."
+
+The pack-horses were unloaded and when the tents were pitched the
+surveyor's cook helped Carrie to prepare an unusually good meal.  When
+it was over the party sat outside the surveyor's tent, which had a
+double top stretched on poles beyond its front.  The surveyor studied
+their faces with understanding, for he knew the wilds and noted signs
+of strain.  He thought all had a fine-drawn look.
+
+"It's obvious that you have been up against it," he remarked.  "The big
+landslide must have made you trouble and no doubt the fire cost you
+something.  Running a camp is expensive when transport's high."
+
+"That is so," Carrie agreed feelingly.  "It's curious, but I think the
+boys eat most when they have nothing to do."
+
+The surveyor gave her a sympathetic smile.  "I imagine you don't stint
+them, if this supper is a good example."  He turned to Jim.  "You're
+behind schedule, but if you have no more bad luck, I reckon you ought
+to finish on time."
+
+Jim said nothing.  He doubted if he could finish the job at all, and
+wondered whether the other suspected his embarrassment.  He meant to
+ask for some payment, but it might be risky to admit that money was
+urgently needed.  Jake gave him a warning glance, although he was
+silent, and the surveyor looked about and noted much.
+
+Jim's long boots were broken and his slickers were torn, Winter's
+carelessness was obviously forced, but the surveyor's study of Carrie
+gave him the plainest hint.  Although she was neat, he thought an
+attractive girl would not, without good grounds, wear clothes that had
+shrunk and faded and been mended as often as hers.
+
+"Well," he resumed, "I expect you know payment in part is sometimes
+allowed before a job is finished, but when we made our agreement
+nothing was stated about this."
+
+"The custom has drawbacks for the people who let the contract," Jake
+remarked.
+
+"Very true," agreed the surveyor.  "Then you don't mean to bother us
+for money?"
+
+"It would, of course, be useful," Jake admitted in a thoughtful voice.
+"However, if the office doesn't see its way----"
+
+"You would be satisfied to wait?"
+
+Jim frowned.  Jake's pretended indifference was prudent, but he had
+overdone the thing.  While Jim wondered how he could put the matter
+right Carrie interposed.
+
+"My brother is generally hopeful.  In a way, that's good, but sometimes
+he's rash."
+
+The surveyor's eyes twinkled.  "Do you mean he's rash just now?"
+
+"Yes," said Carrie, "I really think I do mean this."
+
+"I didn't know if it was rashness or common bluff."
+
+Jake grinned rather awkwardly and Jim colored, but Carrie fixed her
+eyes on the surveyor.
+
+"It was all bluff from the beginning.  We hadn't the money we needed
+when we took the contract, and since then we have never had proper
+tools and help enough."
+
+"In fact, you had nothing much but obstinacy and grit?  They sometimes
+go far in the bush; but I don't know if they'll go far enough to carry
+you through.  Perhaps you had better be frank."
+
+"I generally am frank.  Bluffing's dangerous, and my brother didn't
+know when to stop.  Anyhow, unless we get some money soon, I'm afraid
+we'll go broke."
+
+"Perhaps it's strange, but I rather suspected this," the surveyor
+rejoined.  "Well, I'd like you to put the contract over.  You have done
+good work up-to-date and I'll risk giving you an order on the pay
+office.  If you'll wait while I get a form, I'll do it now."
+
+He went into the tent and Carrie smiled at the others.  Jim was
+conscious of keen relief and a touch of annoyance.  Although Carrie had
+saved the situation, he had let her undertake an awkward task that was
+properly his.  Then the surveyor came back and gave her a document.
+
+"I imagine you are sometimes rash," he remarked.  "Didn't you see the
+line you took was risky?"
+
+"No," said Carrie, smiling; "I wasn't rash at all.  I know when I can
+trust people and didn't think you would let us down.  All the same, I
+knew you wouldn't give us a pay order unless you saw we'd make good.
+Well, we are going to make good, and now that's done with, we'll talk
+about something else."
+
+The surveyor laughed and began to talk about his journey, but Jim noted
+that he gave Carrie an approving glance.  Next morning he went on and
+the others resumed their work with quiet confidence.  The financial
+strain had slackened and they were not afraid of the physical
+difficulties that must yet be grappled with.  Rocks and trees could be
+moved so long as the men were paid and fed.  Still the fight was not
+over and their courage was tried when they carried the line along the
+moraine by a shrunken glacier and across a broken range.  At length,
+one evening, Jim took Carrie up a hill and when they reached the top
+indicated a river that sparkled among the trees below.
+
+"Follow it down and look across the big pines on the flat," he said.
+
+Carrie looked and saw a thin, blue haze floating about the trees.
+
+"Oh!" she cried, "it's smoke."
+
+"The high smear against the rocks is from a mine stack, and I think I
+see the steam from a sawmill by the river," Jim said quietly.  "The
+line will soon be finished, and you have helped us out."
+
+The color came into Carrie's face and her eyes shone.  "Perhaps I have
+helped some; if I have, I'm glad.  Now I'm proud of my family.  You
+have put it over."
+
+"We came near being beaten," Jim replied with some emotion.  "I think,
+if you had not been with us, we would have been beaten."
+
+Carrie gave him a level glance.  "It's done with, Jim.  I wanted you
+and Jake to make good, for your sake and mine.  You see, if you
+couldn't have stood for it, I'd have lost confidence in myself."
+
+"I'm not sure I do see," Jim replied, as they started down hill.
+
+"It's good to concentrate, but perhaps you concentrate too much,"
+Carrie resumed by and by.  "You see things right in front; you don't
+look about."
+
+"I suppose I am like that," Jim admitted.  "I don't know if it's good
+or not."
+
+Carrie smiled rather curiously.  "We didn't choose our characters; they
+were given us.  I wonder what would have happened had we been
+different----"
+
+She stopped as they climbed across a fallen tree and said nothing more
+until they reached the camp.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+THE RECKONING
+
+When the line reached the settlement Jim and his party returned to
+Vancouver.  Shortly after their arrival Martin came to see them.
+
+"I've been in town some time, and seeing a notice in the _Colonist_
+that you had finished the job, thought I'd like to tell you I was
+glad," he said.
+
+Carrie thanked him and by and by he asked: "Have you had a fresh offer
+from Baumstein for your copper claim?"
+
+Jim said they had not and Martin smiled.  "I reckon the offer will
+arrive, and now he knows you have got your pay he'll put up his price."
+
+"If it does arrive, we won't reply," said Carrie, firmly.
+
+"I don't know if that's a good plan," Martin remarked.  "Baumstein will
+offer about half as much as he's willing to give, but I'd take hold and
+negotiate until I thought he'd reached his limit.  It will be under
+what the claim is worth.  Then I'd go along and try the Combine."
+
+"Would they buy?" Jim asked.
+
+"Go and see.  Although Baumstein's pretty smart, he doesn't know
+they're quietly investing in Northern copper; I do.  There's another
+thing; if you have got specimens, send some for assay to a different
+man."
+
+Jim pondered.  The analysis of the ore was not as good as he had
+expected and the miner who had examined the specimens at his camp
+agreed.  For all that, assayers were generally honest and skillful.
+
+"What's the matter with the man I went to?" he asked.
+
+"He's sometimes soused and you can't trust a tanker.  Then he's
+extravagant."
+
+"Ah," said Jim.  "Is that all?"
+
+Martin gave him a dry smile.  "I happen to know Baumstein lent him
+money.  It's possible he meant to get value for a risky loan."
+
+The others said nothing, but they saw the significance of the hint and
+Jim's face got stern.
+
+"There's something else,"  Martin resumed.  "Davies has left me and
+gone back to Baumstein."
+
+"Gone back?" Jake exclaimed.
+
+"Sure," said Martin, quietly.  "I didn't know he'd worked for the
+fellow when I hired him.  Now I've a notion he's been Baumstein's man,
+not mine, all the time."
+
+Jim clenched his fist and Carrie's eyes sparkled.  "We're up against a
+poisonous crook," she said, and looked at Jim.  "You see why he made us
+trouble?  He wanted to break us, so we'd sell him the Bluebird cheap."
+
+"It's pretty plain.  All the same, I don't see what I ought to do about
+it.  Martin's plan doesn't quite meet the bill: I'd sooner try
+something a little more vigorous."
+
+Carrie shook her head.  "You mustn't be a fool!  The best way to play
+that kind of man is to use him.  When he finds out it will hurt most."
+
+Jim hesitated.  He remembered the blow they had got at the beginning of
+the struggle and all that Carrie had borne.  Baumstein's plot had
+drained their resources and made her suffer.
+
+"Martin's plan is best; you must agree," she urged.
+
+"Very well," said Jim.  "Jake can see the fellow and begin the
+negotiations; I'll come in afterwards.  Jake's something of a
+philosopher, but I'd probably spoil the plot if I met Baumstein before
+I cool."
+
+Martin gave them some useful advice and then went away, and a few days
+afterwards Baumstein sent a message.  Jake played his part well;
+indulging the other's pretended indifference and arguing for better
+terms.  Sometimes he seemed on the point of yielding, and then on his
+next visit found grounds for delay.  At length, when Baumstein was
+getting impatient, Jake took Jim to the office.
+
+Baumstein occupied a revolving chair in front of a fine hard wood desk,
+and gave the others a sharp glance as they came in.  The office was
+very well furnished and Baumstein wore fashionable clothes.  There was
+a fine diamond in his ring.  This annoyed Jim, who knew that while
+hard-bitten prospectors braved the risks of starvation on the snowy
+trail, greedy company-floaters often got the reward.
+
+"I hope you have come to clinch the deal," Baumstein remarked.  "I've
+met your partner as far as I can, but the bargaining has gone on long
+enough."
+
+"Then you can't raise your price?" Jim asked.
+
+Baumstein studied him.  Winter had been compliant and apparently
+anxious to sell, but there was something puzzling about his partner.
+Baumstein got a hint of sternness that he did not like.  For all that,
+bluff paid when one dealt with poor men.
+
+"No," he replied, dryly.  "Your partner has raised me to my limit and
+I've got to stop.  You can agree right now or quit."
+
+"Oh, well," said Jim.  "If you have gone as far as you are able----.
+May I use your telephone?"
+
+"Certainly," said Baumstein, and when Jim, picking up the instrument on
+the desk, called the exchange, suddenly straightened himself.  He knew
+the number for which Jim asked.
+
+"Winter and Dearham," said the latter.  "Mr. Lamson?  All right; I'll
+come along and fix things.  We'll record the transfer when you like."
+
+Baumstein swung round his chair and his face got red.
+
+"What's that you told Lamson?  What does it mean?"
+
+"It means I've sold the Bluebird claim."
+
+"Then, you have been negotiating with the Combine all the time?  Why in
+thunder did you come to me?"
+
+"For one thing, we wanted to find out how much you would bid.  It would
+be safe to ask another party more than you would give.  We didn't know
+how much we ought to get."
+
+Baumstein clenched his fist.  "You used me for a base to bluff from;
+reckoning you'd fall back on me if you couldn't put it over?"
+
+"No," said Jim.  "We didn't mean to deal with you at all.  You helped
+us get a proper price; that was your job."
+
+They looked at one another, with mouths set hard, and then Baumstein
+broke out: "You swine!"
+
+"Stop there," said Jim, with ominous quietness.  "I'm back from using
+the ax in the bush and feel very fit.  To put you out of your office
+would give me the keenest satisfaction and would be cheaper than
+getting after you through the court."
+
+"Shucks!" exclaimed Baumstein.  "What are you giving me?"
+
+"I reckon you know.  You put Davies on our track; he broke the line,
+and sent a log down on our canoes.  He's smart and both plots worked
+before we found him out.  But we did find him out."
+
+Baumstein hesitated, wondering how much was supposition and how much
+Jim really knew.
+
+"You'll be blamed foolish if you go to law with a tale like that."
+
+"We don't propose to bother, because I think we're even.  You helped us
+sell our claim and the Combine know what you were willing to pay.  We
+raised them some; one could take it for granted you wouldn't reach just
+value."
+
+"You told them what I offered?" Baumstein shouted.
+
+"We did," Jim said, smiling.  "I expect they got a useful hint.  In
+fact, if you want to control Northern copper, you had better get busy.
+It looks as if the Combine were on your track."  He paused and beckoned
+Jake.  "Well, perhaps there's enough said.  We mustn't keep you."
+
+They went off and left Baumstein sitting very still with his fist
+clenched.
+
+A few days afterwards, Jim and Jake waited for Carrie one evening on
+the veranda at the store.  Mrs. Winter had refused to sell the
+business, but Jake had engaged extra help and they had arranged for a
+long holiday.  The store, standing back from the rough board sidewalk,
+was small and shabby; the street was torn by transfer-wagon wheels.  A
+Chinese laundry and a pool-room occupied the other side.  Sawmill
+refuse and empty coal-oil cans had been dumped in a neighboring vacant
+lot.  Mean frame houses ran on from the store, some surrounded by a
+narrow yard, and some with verandas covered by mosquito gauze so that
+they looked like meat-safes.  The neighborhood was strangely
+unattractive, but one could see the sparkling Inlet and the dark forest
+that rolled back to the shining snow.
+
+Jim, sitting in an old rocking-chair, was quietly satisfied.  After
+taking Mrs. Winter and Carrie to lunch at a smart hotel, he had loafed
+about the city without feeling bored.  It was nice to know he had
+nothing to do and had money to spend.  In fact, he had relished a novel
+enjoyment when he visited some shops and bought presents for his hosts
+without thinking what they cost.  Now he languidly looked back on the
+years that had gone so quickly since his parents died.  They were
+strenuous years, marked by hardship, toil, and adventure, for Jim had
+not known monotonous quietness.  Even when he studied at McGill, he had
+worked between the terms in order to pay the fees.  Afterwards, finding
+no field for such talent as he had, he had sold his labor where he
+could.  He had seen much and learned much, but he was young and had a
+curious feeling that there were fresh experiences in store.  By and by
+he banished the memories and looked at Jake.
+
+"I smile when I think about the time I hit Martin's camp, pretty hungry
+and ragged, and got after him about his sending Davies on our track,"
+he said.
+
+Jake laughed.  "After all, I guess you took a useful line.  Made him
+feel he'd got to show us he wasn't a crook."
+
+"Why did he want to show us?  What we thought wouldn't matter a hill of
+beans."
+
+"The fellow's white," Jake replied.
+
+"Martin is white," Jim agreed, looking at Jake rather hard.  "We were
+getting pretty near the rocks when he gave us a lift."
+
+Jake nodded.  When their money was very low after the fire, Martin had
+suggested an arrangement that had worked for the benefit of all.  Jake
+hoped his comrade would be satisfied with his vague assent, but doubted.
+
+"Why did he help?" Jim resumed.  "The profit he got wasn't worth his
+bothering about."
+
+"If you mean to know, I reckon he thought Carrie would like it."
+
+"Ah," said Jim, frowning, "I suspected something like this!  Well, we
+owe Martin much, but I'd sooner not think we let him give us a lift for
+your sister's sake.  You ought to have refused."
+
+"I didn't know.  The thing's got obvious since."
+
+"But you know now?"
+
+"Yes," said Jake, "my notion is, Carrie could marry him when she liked."
+
+"Do you think she sees it?"
+
+Jake smiled.  "Carrie's not a fool.  If you and I see it, the thing is
+pretty plain.  All the same, I imagine she is quietly freezing him off."
+
+Jim was conscious of a rather puzzling satisfaction.  "Martin's a good
+sort and he's rich; but there's no reason Carrie should take the first
+good man who comes along," he said.  "She ought to get the very best.
+However, it's not my business and I don't know if it's yours."
+
+"It's Carrie's," said Jake, rather dryly.  "She's generally able to
+manage her affairs.  In fact, I allow she was successful when she
+managed ours----"
+
+He stopped, for the door opened and Carrie came out.  She held a
+newspaper and looked excited.
+
+"You had better read this advertisement, Jim," she said.
+
+Jim saw the newspaper was printed at Montreal two years before.  He
+glanced at the place Carrie indicated, started, and then looked
+straight in front.
+
+"How did you get the thing?" he asked after a moment or two.
+
+"Mother bought some old paper for packing.  She took this piece just
+now to light the stove and saw the notice.  But are you the man they
+want?"
+
+"Yes," said Jim, quietly.  "Franklin Dearham was my father."
+
+Jake picked up the newspaper and they were silent for a few moments.
+Then Carrie asked: "What are you going to do about it?"
+
+"To begin with, I'll write to the lawyers at Montreal," said Jim, who
+knitted his brows.  "After that I don't know.  The advertisement is
+cautious, but it looks as if Joseph Dearham was dead.  I don't think my
+father expected to inherit his property.  It's puzzling."
+
+"Was Joseph Dearham rich?" Jake asked.
+
+"He had some land and money and the old house at Langrigg.  I've often
+thought about Langrigg, but I'd sooner the lawyers had left me alone."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"I've been happy in Canada.  I've friends I trust, I'm making good, and
+don't want to be disturbed."
+
+Carrie gave him a quick glance, but he went on: "Then we meant to take
+a holiday, and it looks as if I might be wanted in the Old Country."
+
+"If you go, they may keep you."
+
+"I feel I have got to go, although I don't like it," Jim replied with a
+puzzled look.  "Something pulls and I resist.  However, come along.
+We're going to the park."
+
+They set off and Jim tried to talk.  Carrie helped him and for a time
+they laughed and joked, but the jokes got flat and all were rather
+quiet when they went home.  They felt a disturbing change was coming;
+things would not be the same.  Next morning Jim wrote to the lawyers,
+who asked him to meet a member of the firm at Winnipeg.  He grumbled
+and hesitated, but went and did not return for some time.  On the
+evening after his arrival he and the others sat talking in a little
+room behind the store.
+
+The room was cheaply furnished.  The rough black pipe from the basement
+stove went up the middle and a threadbare rug covered half the floor.
+Mrs. Winter, looking worn and faded, occupied a rocking-chair.  She was
+better dressed than when Jim first came to the house and he thought the
+rather expensive material had been chosen with taste.  The quiet woman
+had a touch of dignity, although she wore the stamp of toil.  Carrie,
+sitting opposite, had been occupied in the store all day and had
+refused to change her working clothes.  Since Jim's return was
+something of an event, Mrs. Winter was puzzled by her obstinacy.
+
+"I'm glad to be back," Jim remarked.  "Winnipeg is a fine city, but I
+feel Vancouver's home."
+
+Mrs. Winter smiled, but the look Carrie gave Jim was half ironical.
+
+"You are glad to get back here?  After stopping at a big hotel!"
+
+"I am glad.  The hotel was crowded and never quiet.  They had noisy
+electric elevators that went up and down all night, and it wasn't much
+better when I dined at smart restaurants.  Thought I'd find this
+amusing, but I didn't.  Had to push for a place at the tables and the
+waiters were slow.  I felt I wanted to hustle round with the plates."
+
+"Sometimes you're rather clever, Jim," Carrie said, meaningly.  "But I
+expect you liked the cooking."
+
+"It was tolerable, but no food I've got was half as good as the trout
+and bannocks we picked out of the hot spider in a valley of the North.
+Then there's no drink as refreshing as the tea with the taste of wood
+smoke I drank from a blackened can."
+
+"It didn't often taste of smoke," Carrie objected.
+
+"Carrie can cook; she owes that to me," Mrs. Winter interposed.  "She
+was ambitious when she was young and declared she had no use for
+studying things like that, but I was firm."
+
+"I wonder whether she's ambitious now," Jim remarked.
+
+"I've got wise," said Carrie.  "I know where I belong."
+
+Mrs. Winter looked at them as if she were puzzled, and Jim knitted his
+brows.
+
+"I don't know where I belong.  That's the trouble, because it may hurt
+to find out.  But how have you been getting on while I was away?"
+
+"Trade's pretty good, thank you," Carrie replied.  "We have sold as
+much sweet truck as I could bake.  The groceries have kept Belle
+hustling."
+
+"Shucks!" said Jim, impatiently, and turned to Jake.  "You ought to
+make your mother sell out."
+
+"He tried," said Mrs. Winter.  "I won't sell.  Jake has some money now,
+but he's not rich and may hit a streak of bad luck.  My children must
+go out and fight for all they get, but I want them to know there's a
+little house in the home town where they can come back if they're hurt
+and tired.  Besides, I've kept store so long I've got the habit.
+Anyhow, you have told us nothing about your business and we're curious."
+
+"Jake and Carrie don't look curious," Jim remarked dryly.  "Well, I
+went to the lawyer's room, mornings, and answered his questions, read
+the night-letters the Montreal office sent him, and waited for replies
+to their English cablegrams."
+
+"But what did he say about your claim?"
+
+"I don't know if it will interest your son and daughter, but I'll tell
+you.  There are some formalities yet, but the fellow seems satisfied
+I'm Joseph Dearham's heir, and I'm going to England soon.  Whether I'll
+stay or not is another thing.  Well, we had arranged for a long
+holiday, and I don't mean to be cheated.  I'm going to take you all to
+the Old Country."
+
+Carrie colored, but Jake smiled.  "Did you tell the lawyer about this
+plan?"
+
+"I did not," said Jim, with a rather haughty look that Carrie thought
+was new.  "Langrigg is mine.  It's my pleasure to show it to my
+friends."
+
+Mrs. Winter looked disturbed.  "You are kind, Jim, but I'm an old woman
+and have never gone far from home.  Your relations mightn't like me."
+
+"I don't know yet if my relations will like me.  Anyhow, they have got
+to approve my guests.  I wanted you to sell the store, because, if I'm
+satisfied with Langrigg, you mayn't come back.  There's no real
+difficulty about your coming.  In fact, you have got to come."
+
+Mrs. Winter hesitated, as if she were thinking hard, and then her
+gentle face got resolute.  "Very well.  I'd like Carrie to see the Old
+Country."
+
+Jim turned to the others with a triumphant smile.  "It's fixed.  Your
+mother will need you, Carrie, and I'll need my partner.  We have put
+over some hard jobs and I imagine I'm up against another now.  I want
+you, Jake; you have got to see me out."
+
+"Since I don't know your folks and their habits, it isn't plain how I
+could help," Jake replied.
+
+"I don't know much.  What about it?  We made good prospecting when we
+had never used the rocker and thawn-out gravel.  We graded the
+pack-trail across Snowy Range when we didn't know how to drill and
+start off giant-powder.  Well, we're going to make good at Langrigg if
+I stay."
+
+"Then I'll come, for a time," Jake agreed and looked at Carrie.
+
+"I wouldn't like to be left alone," she said and smiled.
+
+Jim was satisfied.  He had carried out his plan and it was significant
+that Carrie was willing to go; if Martin had attracted her; she would
+sooner have remained behind.  In a way, he thought it strange that Mrs.
+Winter, from whom he had expected most opposition, was the first to
+agree, but this was not important.
+
+After a time they went to the Stanley park, where Jake and Mrs. Winter
+met somebody they knew.  Carrie sat down on a bench under a giant fir
+and Jim lighted a cigarette.
+
+"You and Jake rather puzzled me," he remarked.  "You weren't curious;
+I'd a feeling that things were not the same."
+
+Carrie gave him a steady look.  "I'm afraid we were very mean--but
+there was a difference.  You were one of us when you went away; you
+came back an English landowner."
+
+"Ah," said Jim, "I think I see!  You wanted to give me a chance to drop
+you?  Did you think I would?"
+
+"No," said Carrie, blushing.  "But it was possible.  Cutting the line
+was different; it was a business proposition."  She paused and added
+with a hint of regret: "It's finished now."
+
+"Sometimes I think you're sorry."
+
+Carrie said nothing and he went on: "Was Jake's throwing up his job and
+bringing me down from the shack a business proposition?  Your nursing
+me and our long talks by the camp fire?  Did you think I could forget
+these things?  Did you want me to forget?"
+
+She looked up, with some color in her face.  "Not in a way, Jim, but we
+took the proper line.  We felt you ought to have a chance to let us go."
+
+"And now I hope you're satisfied, since you have found out I'm not as
+shabby as you thought."
+
+"Oh, well," said Carrie, smiling, "I suppose we do feel some
+satisfaction."
+
+Then Jake and Mrs. Winter returned and they went to the Canadian
+Pacific station, where Jim asked about the steamship sailings.
+
+
+
+
+PART II--THE LANDOWNER
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+JIM COMES HOME
+
+The car ran out from the tall hedgerows that bordered the narrow road
+and at length Jim could look about.  He had not been able to see much
+on his way from the station where Mordaunt had met him, and now he had
+an unbroken view he studied the English landscape with keen curiosity.
+On one side, rugged mountains rose against the lowering sky, but a
+moving ray of sunshine touched the plain below.  In front, the road ran
+across a marsh, between deep ditches where tall sedges grew.  Beyond
+the marsh, wet sands stretched back to the blurred woods across a bay,
+and farther off, low hills loomed indistinctly in the mist.
+
+Jim noted that the landscape had not the monotony he had sometimes felt
+in Canada.  The fields behind the marsh looked ridiculously small, but
+some were smooth and green and some dotted by yellow stocks of corn.
+Then there was a play of color that changed from cold blues and grays
+to silver and ochre as the light came and went.  White farmsteads,
+standing among dark trees, were scattered about, but the country was
+not tame.  The hills and wide belt of sands gave it a rugged touch.
+There had been some rain and the wind was cold.
+
+As the car jolted along the straight road between the ditches, Jim
+began to muse.  He had felt a stranger in London, where he had stopped
+a week.  He knew the Canadian cities, but London was different.  Yet
+since he left the station the feeling of strangeness had gone; it was
+as if he had reached a country that he knew.  He wondered whether he
+unconsciously remembered his father's talk, or if the curious sense of
+familiarity was, so to speak, atavistic.  This, however, was not
+important, and he glanced at Carrie, who sat behind with Mrs. Winter
+and Jake.
+
+Carrie had frankly enjoyed her holiday; indeed, Jim thought she had
+felt more at home than he when they were in town.  Somehow she did not
+look exotic among the Englishwomen at the hotel, and when Mordaunt met
+them at the station she had, with a kind of natural tact, struck the
+proper note.  She knew Mordaunt was a relation of Jim's, but she met
+him without reserve or an obvious wish to please.  If either were
+conscious of surprise or embarrassment, Jim thought it was Mordaunt.
+Presently the latter indicated a low ridge that broke the level marsh.
+It rose against the background of misty hills, and a creek that caught
+the light and shone wound past it to the sands.  In one place, a gray
+wall appeared among stunted trees.
+
+"Langrigg," he said.  "We'll arrive in a few minutes."
+
+He blew the horn, a boy ran to open a gate, and as they climbed the
+hill Jim saw a stripped cornfield, a belt of dark-green turnips, a
+smooth pasture, and a hedge.  Then a lawn with bright flower-borders
+opened up, and on the other side a house rose from a terrace.  Its
+straight front was broken by a small square tower, pierced by an arch,
+and old trees spread their ragged branches across the low roof.  The
+building was of a type not uncommon in the North of England and had
+grown up about the peel tower that had been a stronghold in the
+Scottish wars.  There were barns and byres in the background, and it
+was hard to tell if Langrigg was a well-kept farm or a country house.
+
+The strange thing was, Jim knew it well.  He felt as if he had come to
+a spot he often visited; in fact, he had a puzzled feeling that he had
+come home.  Then he saw people on the terrace and the car stopped.  He
+jumped out and after helping Mrs. Winter down got something of a shock,
+for as the group advanced he saw the girl he had met at the Montreal
+restaurant.  For a moment he forgot Mrs. Winter and fixed his eyes on
+the girl.  She moved with the grace he remembered, and her white dress
+outlined her figure against the creeper on the wall.  She was rather
+tall and finely, but slenderly, proportioned, and when she looked up he
+knew she was as beautiful as he had thought.  Then he roused himself
+and went forward with his friends.
+
+Mordaunt presented him to Mrs. Halliday, who gave him her hand with a
+gracious smile.
+
+"I knew you when the car came up the drive.  You look a Dearham," she
+said.  "Since Bernard is unwell, we thought we ought to come and
+welcome you."  Then she beckoned the others.  "My daughter, Evelyn, and
+my son, Dick."
+
+The girl glanced at Jim curiously, as if puzzled, but her brother
+laughed.
+
+"This is something of a romantic surprise!" he said.  "Perhaps it's
+curious, but I've thought about you since the night of the blizzard
+when we came to your shack."
+
+Jim indicated his party.  "I want you to know my Canadian friends; I
+owe them much.  Mrs. and Miss Winter from Vancouver city, and my
+partner, Jake."
+
+Mrs. Halliday had studied the group, but she gave them another glance.
+She thought Mrs. Winter was not important.  The thin, tired woman was
+of a common type and had obviously come from a rude Canadian town: Mrs.
+Halliday did not know much about Vancouver.  The girl, however, had
+individuality and a touch of beauty; Mrs. Halliday felt she must be
+reckoned on.  The young man puzzled her, because she could not place
+him.  In some ways, he looked like a rather superior workman, but he
+was unembarrassed, and although he waited calmly, she imagined he was
+amused.  On the whole, they were not the guests one generally received
+at an English country house, but Mrs. Halliday knew her duty and
+welcomed them with a gracious air.
+
+They went in and Jim heard with satisfaction that the others meant to
+dine with him, because he wanted to talk with Evelyn.  He came down as
+soon as he could, hoping he might find her in the hall, but nobody was
+there and for some minutes he looked about.  The hall occupied the
+lower story of the tower.  It was square, and roughly-hewn beams,
+slightly curved, crossed the ceiling.  The spaces between were paneled
+with dark wood and an oak wainscot ran round the wall.  Half of one
+side was occupied by a big fireplace and its old, hand-forged irons.
+The carved frame and mantel were Jacobean and obviously newer than the
+rest.  The old windows, however, had been enlarged and a wide casement
+admitted a cold light.
+
+By and by, Mordaunt came in.  The latter was thin and dark; his face
+was rather inscrutable, but he had a superficial urbanity.  Jim
+wondered what lay beneath this, and imagined it might be long before he
+found out.  Until he got down from the train, they had not met since
+Mordaunt came to the telegraph shack, and Jim did not know if he liked
+the fellow or not.  After a time, there was a step on the stairs that
+went up the wall, and Jim looked up, half expecting to see Evelyn.  At
+first he was conscious of some disappointment, for Carrie was coming
+down.
+
+"By George!" said Mordaunt, softly.
+
+Jim understood the exclamation, for he had not until now realized that
+Carrie was beautiful.  Her color was rather high and her face looked
+strangely clean-cut against the background of dull brown oak.  Her eyes
+were a curious gray that changed to sparkling hazel-brown with the
+light; her hair was brown with a coppery gleam, and her dress a soft
+green.  Jim had not seen the dress before and did not know if it was
+the latest fashion, but he felt that Carrie's choice was good.  It was
+not that the harmonious color gave her beauty; the effect was deeper.
+The girl had a touch of dignity that was rather natural than cultivated.
+
+She lifted her head and smiled as she went up to Jim, and asked, as if
+Mordaunt was not there: "How do you like me?"
+
+"In a way, you're wonderful," Jim replied.  "Of course, I knew that
+before--when you nursed me, and in the woods--but somehow I hadn't
+expected _this_!  When did you get the dress?"
+
+"When we were in London.  I hadn't long, but I wanted to be just
+right," Carrie answered with a blush.  Then she laughed.  "You're very
+nice, Jim; but do I really fit in?"
+
+"Marvelously," Mordaunt interposed.  "If my opinion is worth much, you
+look as if you belonged to Langrigg.  That is, you go back, beyond our
+times, to the folks who built the peel to keep out the Scots."
+
+Jim nodded.  Mordaunt had said what he himself had vaguely thought.
+The fellow was sensitive and had felt the girl's virility.  Jim was a
+little surprised that Carrie, who knew nothing about the Border wars,
+seemed to understand, for she gave Mordaunt a quiet but rather piercing
+look.
+
+"Well," she said.  "I have been up against Nature, where she's raw and
+savage, in the woods."
+
+"Perhaps that accounts for it," Mordaunt replied, smiling.  "Nature is
+savage in the frozen North; perhaps Jim told you I have been there.
+But I imagine you made good."
+
+"Jim made good.  I like to think I helped."
+
+"I expect your help was worth much!" said Mordaunt.
+
+Carrie's glance rested on him calmly and he felt that she needed study.
+She did not speak, however, and Mrs. Halliday and the others came in.
+After a few minutes they went to the paneled dining-room and Jim forgot
+Carrie when he sat down by Evelyn.  Her color was subdued, her skin,
+for the most part, ivory white, and she had black eyes and hair.
+Although rather tall, she looked fragile, but she was marked by a
+fastidious grace and calm that Jim thought patrician.  This was not the
+word he wanted, but he did not know another.
+
+"It's curious, but I seem to know you," she said, presently.
+
+"I don't think it is very curious," Jim replied.  "You see, I met you
+at the restaurant near the post-office in Montreal."
+
+"Yes," said Evelyn, with a puzzled look, "I remember our going there,
+but we didn't talk to anybody."
+
+"I brought your lunch," said Jim, fixing his eyes on her face.
+
+"Then you were the waiter?" she remarked, tranquilly.
+
+Jim smiled.  He felt that she had passed a rather awkward test and he
+was satisfied.
+
+"Since you must have waited on a large number of people, it is strange
+you remembered me," she resumed.
+
+"No," he said.  "I hadn't met an English woman of your kind before,
+and, for that matter, I haven't met one since."  He paused and added:
+"I expect this accounts for it."
+
+Evelyn's eyes twinkled.  He was obviously sincere and she felt amused.
+He was a new and rather good type, she thought.  His figure was
+athletic: his face was thin and brown, his glance was steady but
+searching, and she liked his quiet manner.
+
+"But you had other occupations besides waiting, hadn't you?" she asked.
+
+"I was a miner in the North for some time."
+
+"That must have been interesting.  Were you successful?"
+
+"I found a copper vein and was lucky enough to sell it rather well."
+
+"Then, is it difficult to sell a mine?"
+
+"As a rule, it's much harder than finding one," Jim answered, with a
+smile.  "In general, the miner struggles with half-thawn gravel that
+often fills up his shallow shaft, and sometimes nearly starves in the
+tundra bogs, while the man with money enough to work the vein gets the
+profit.  It cost us something to hold on until we got a just price."
+
+Evelyn did not know much about the Canadian North, but she could
+imagine his holding on.  "I expect you will find Langrigg different
+from the British Columbian wilds," she said.  "Do you feel strange
+here?"
+
+Jim looked about.  The long room was paneled, the ceiling was low, and
+the wide casement commanded a view of the level marsh and shining
+sands.  It was different from the dark pine forests and snowy peaks of
+British Columbia.  The fine old china and silver, tall candlesticks,
+and the flowers on the table were in marked contrast with the rude
+furniture of camp and shack.
+
+"No," he said, thoughtfully.  "When one has wandered about a new
+country, meeting all kinds of people and doing all kinds of jobs, I
+imagine one would not feel very strange anywhere.  Besides, I've a
+curious notion that I have come home."
+
+"After all, you are a Dearham; perhaps this accounts for something,"
+Evelyn remarked and glanced at Carrie.  "Did you meet your friends when
+you were at Montreal?"
+
+"Jim met us in Vancouver.  Jake brought him to the store when he was
+ill," Mrs. Winter replied.
+
+"The store?" said Evelyn.
+
+"Mrs. Winter means a shop," Mordaunt explained.
+
+"Oh," said Evelyn, "that is interesting!  What did you sell?"
+
+"Most everything people wanted.  Dry goods, groceries, sweet
+biscuits--you'd call it cake--and we had quite a trade in Sundaes."
+
+"What is a Sunday?"
+
+Mordaunt laughed.  "A little delicacy you consume on the spot.  I
+imagine it's sometimes an ice and sometimes a sweetmeat, or a cleverly
+mixed drink.  Perhaps it's oftenest enjoyed on Sundays and holidays,
+but they don't spell it with a _y_."
+
+"I must try to remember.  But who made these nice things?"
+
+"Carrie," said Mrs. Winter, with a look of pride.  "She baked the
+biscuit, too."
+
+"I don't think I should like baking.  One must get so hot," Evelyn
+remarked, and turned to Carrie.  "Was it hard work?"
+
+Carrie was talking to Dick Halliday, but she looked up and laughed,
+although there was a touch of color in her face.
+
+"Oh, no," she said.  "Anyhow, it was not as hard as cooking for the
+boys in the woods.  I did all the cooking, and they liked the hash I
+put up."
+
+Jim thought Carrie's western accent was rather marked and wondered why
+she had said _hash_.  Evelyn's questions had been asked with languid
+good humor, as if she meant to draw Carrie into the talk, but somehow
+Jim got a hint of antagonism between the girls.  This puzzled him and
+he was glad when Mrs. Halliday began to talk about something else.
+Evelyn did not support her much, but Mrs. Halliday was firm.
+
+"You must tell us about your adventures," Evelyn said, as they got up,
+but when they went on the terrace Jim followed Carrie.  Although he
+wanted to talk to Evelyn, Carrie must not feel neglected.  She gave him
+a rather curious smile when he stopped by the stone bench she occupied.
+
+"I allow your English relations have first claim on you to-night," she
+remarked.  "You can talk to me when you like."
+
+"A new claim doesn't wipe out older ones," Jim replied.
+
+"I suppose that is so," Carrie agreed.  "You're rather obvious, Jim,
+but you mean well."
+
+Then she got up and joined Dick Halliday, and Jim felt puzzled.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+JIM'S GUESTS
+
+After breakfast next morning Jim and his friends went out on the
+terrace.  The tide was full and the woods across the bay looked like
+islands.  A line of white surf marked the edge of the marsh, which ran
+back, broken by winding creeks, to the foot of the rising ground.
+Sometimes a gleam of sunshine touched the lonely flats and they flashed
+into luminous green, silver, and yellow.  Then the color faded and the
+light moving on forced up for a few moments the rugged blue hills
+against their misty background.  The landscape had not the sharp
+distinctness common in Canada; it was dim and marked by an elusive
+charm.
+
+Jim began to think about Evelyn.  She was somehow like the country.
+Her charm was strong but not obtrusive.  One could not, so to speak,
+realize Evelyn at a glance; she was marked by subtle refinements and
+delicacies that one rather felt than saw.  Her English reserve was
+fascinating, because it hinted at the reward one might get if one could
+break it down.  Carrie, too, was thinking about Evelyn, Mrs. Winter was
+sewing, and Jake occupied himself by cleaning an old pipe.
+
+"It's some time since we broke camp on the telegraph line," Carrie
+remarked.  "Do you find having nothing to do comes easy, Jim?"
+
+"I don't expect to be idle long.  It's prudent to consider before you
+begin to move."
+
+Carrie felt that Jim was getting English.  He had, of course, been to
+McGill, but since they reached the Old Country he was dropping his
+Western colloquialisms.  She thought it significant that he did so
+unconsciously.
+
+"Perhaps I'd better tell you how things are, so far as I understand
+them," he went on.  "To begin with, running a house like Langrigg is
+expensive, and I doubt if I am rich enough to loaf in proper style."
+
+"If you want to loaf in proper style, you must be born and raised for
+the job," Jake observed.
+
+"That's true, to some extent," Jim agreed.  "I was brought up to work
+and have got the habit.  Well, my farm rents amount to something, but
+when you have paid taxes and repaired the homesteads they don't leave
+very much.  It seems there are people in England willing to pay for
+owning land; but that plan's not sound."
+
+"Then, you have another?"
+
+"It's not worked out.  The leases of two good farms soon fall in and I
+may manage them myself.  Then I own the marsh, which feeds some sheep
+and cattle in summer.  The soil's good alluvial, like the gumbo on the
+Manitoba plains, and would grow heavy crops if one could keep out the
+water.  Well, we have seen small homesteaders draining Canadian
+muskegs, a long haul from a railroad, while we have a good market for
+all farming truck in two hours' ride.  The proposition, however, needs
+some thought.  It might cost me all I've got."
+
+Jake's eyes twinkled.  "I reckon that wouldn't stop you if you resolved
+to dyke the marsh.  You didn't get much money when you got the estate?"
+
+"I did not.  I understand Joseph Dearham was not rich, and when he
+found his health was breaking down he gave some money to his relations.
+People here try to get out of the inheritance duties like that;
+besides, he had not meant to give my father much.  However, I have a
+rich relation, from whom I want nothing, but whom the others think I
+ought to satisfy."
+
+"Bernard Dearham?  Dick Halliday talked about him."
+
+Jim nodded.  "Bernard is my grandfather Joseph's brother.  Joseph was
+satisfied to live quietly at Langrigg like a small country gentleman;
+Bernard got rich by opening some iron mines not far off.  Joseph
+married twice, and Mrs. Halliday and Mordaunt's mother were his second
+wife's daughters.  She was a widow with two children when she married
+Joseph.  So you see, Mrs. Halliday is not my aunt."
+
+"Then, Evelyn Halliday is not your cousin," Carrie remarked.
+
+"I suppose she's not," said Jim.  "Anyhow, since I'm a Dearham, a
+descendant in the male line, it seems I've a stronger claim on Bernard
+than the others.  I don't mean to urge the claim.  He didn't give me
+Langrigg, he left my father alone, and if I keep the place, I'm going
+to run it as I like."
+
+"Do you mean to keep Langrigg?" Carrie asked.
+
+Jim looked thoughtful.  "I imagine so; I don't know yet.  There are
+drawbacks, but something pulls.  I'll wait a bit before I decide."  He
+got up and beckoned Jake.  "Let's go and see the farms."
+
+They went off and Carrie turned to Mrs. Winter.  "He'll stay; we'll
+lose him soon.  I think I knew we would lose him when you found the
+advertisement------"
+
+She paused and Mrs. Winter remembered that when she had shown the girl
+the old newspaper Carrie had hesitated for a moment or two.  She,
+however, said nothing and Carrie resumed:
+
+"Well, I wanted to see the Old Country and you needed a rest.  The life
+they live here is fuller than ours; it's something to enjoy it for a
+time, but we won't stay long, although Jim is kind."
+
+Mrs. Winter gave her a keen glance, but Carrie's face was calm.  Then
+she picked up her sewing and Carrie studied the old house.  Langrigg
+meant much to Jim and she thought would presently mean more.  She
+vaguely understood his feelings and tried to sympathize, although the
+effort cost her something.
+
+In the meantime, Jim went to see his tenants.  He dined with one at
+noon in an old farm kitchen and afterwards occupied himself by
+examining horses, buildings, and agricultural machines.  On the whole,
+he puzzled the small farmers, to whom a landlord of his type was new,
+although they liked his frankness and answered his direct questions,
+since it was obvious that this was a man who knew how things were done.
+Some of the tenants who had known his grandfather talked about Jim
+afterwards and agreed that he had not much in common with the country
+gentleman; he was like Bernard Dearham, who opened the famous iron
+mines.
+
+When they returned in the afternoon across the small turnip and stubble
+fields, Jim said to Jake, "I've seen enough of the plow land.  Let's go
+across the marsh."
+
+Jake agreed, and by and by Jim, leaning against a gate, indicated the
+long rows of hedges that ran down the slope and melted into an
+indistinct mass on the level plain.
+
+"There's nothing much to be done here in the meantime.  These folks are
+wasting labor and money plowing their little fields, but I reckon
+they're slow and stubborn.  It wouldn't pay to hustle them yet."
+
+"No," said Jake, with a twinkle.  "I expect it hurts to feel you must
+keep your hands off, but you seem to know when you've got to allow for
+the idiosyncrasies of human nature.  It's harder to use men properly
+than horses and machines."
+
+"Some day, perhaps, I'll grub out these hedges and make room for the
+tractors to rip a furrow right across the farms.  I've no use for
+wasting land on weeds and thorns."
+
+"You think so now," Jake rejoined.  "You haven't been here very long
+and there's something insidious about the country; its old-time customs
+get hold of one.  Then I don't know if the tractor's picturesque, and
+cutting down trees and hedges might spoil the landscape.  It wouldn't
+be quite so English after you had done."
+
+Jim looked at him rather hard.  "Sometimes you're pretty smart.
+Anyhow, I can't spoil the marsh by covering it with good grass and
+corn, and if the thing could be done economically, it ought to pay."
+
+"It's possible.  Are you keen about the profit?  Or do you want a new
+big job?"
+
+"I'm not going to philosophize; that's your proper line," Jim answered
+with a laugh.  "Let's see if the creeks could be dyked."
+
+They went down the hill and plunged into a belt of tall dry grass,
+crossed a broad tract of smooth green turf, dotted by thrift and silver
+weed, and pushed on to the lower flats where the sea-lavender and
+samphire grew.  Then they skirted miry creeks that gradually filled
+with weeds as they neared dry ground, and went home to Langrigg by the
+causeway road.  Jim was muddy, but happy; although he told himself he
+had not decided yet, half-formed plans floated through his brain.
+
+A day or two afterwards, Dick Halliday and Mordaunt came over to
+Langrigg and were shown into the hall.  Jim was not there, but his pipe
+and some books lay about and the others sat down.  Presently Dick
+picked up a book and saw it was the old French romance from which
+Mordaunt had read a passage at the telegraph shack.  He opened it
+carelessly and then started when he saw, _Franklin Dearham_, written in
+faded ink, on the first blank page.  He looked across at Mordaunt and
+hesitated, with a vague suspicion in his mind.  It was possible the
+latter had seen the writing when he opened the book at the shack, and
+if he had----
+
+"You look as if you have found something interesting," Mordaunt
+remarked.
+
+"It is interesting," said Dick, and felt relieved when he heard a step
+in the passage.  He did not think Mordaunt, sitting some distance off,
+knew the book.
+
+Next moment Jim came in and stated that he was alone.  Mordaunt lighted
+a cigarette Jim gave him and asked if his friends were staying long.
+
+"I don't know," said Jim.  "We have made no plans yet, but I imagine I
+shall keep Langrigg."
+
+"Do you mean you had thought about selling the estate?" Mordaunt asked,
+rather sharply.
+
+"I did think about it, but don't know if I went much farther.  The
+matter's complicated."
+
+"Langrigg is rather an expensive house to manage and the farm rents are
+low," Mordaunt answered in a thoughtful voice.  "Have you any money?
+Perhaps I'm blunt, but I'm a relative."
+
+"I have some.  Not enough to help me do all I want."
+
+"You mean to do something, then?"
+
+"If I stay, I'm going to put up the farm rents, though I mean to help
+my tenants pay.  I'm going to enlarge the small fields, alter
+boundaries, and fix things so the land can be worked on the economical
+Canadian plan.  The drawback is it may cost me much and I must wait for
+the return."
+
+Dick laughed.  "There are other drawbacks and it may cost you more than
+you know.  In this country you can't do what you like, and we resent
+experiments.  If you meddle with old-fashioned customs, you'll raise
+the neighborhood against you.  In a sense, the trees and hedgerows
+you'd cut down are your neighbors."
+
+"I believe they're mine," Jim rejoined dryly.  "However, I don't
+suppose I'd bother anybody if I dyked and drained the marsh."
+
+"Drain the marsh!"  Mordaunt exclaimed.  "That's frankly ridiculous!
+It's a favorite haunt of the Lag geese and, in a dry autumn, I don't
+know a better spot for snipe."
+
+"There you are, you see!" Dick interposed, with a twinkle.  "Perhaps
+you don't understand that it's a serious matter to disturb a few
+sportsmen."
+
+"Looks as if I might disturb a number of people before I'm through,"
+Jim replied.  "Anyhow, I haven't made my calculations yet and don't
+know if my money will go round."
+
+"I wonder whether you understand that you are Bernard Dearham's nearest
+relation and his approval is important?" Mordaunt remarked.
+
+Jim pondered.  He liked Dick and thought he trusted him, but he was not
+certain if he trusted Mordaunt.  On the whole, he thought the fellow
+meant to give him good advice, but he was a type Jim did not know much
+about.  Although he was highly cultivated, Jim thought he had
+conservative prejudices and an exaggerated pride.  The pride was, of
+course, not obtrusive, but it was there.
+
+"The lawyers hinted something like that and Mrs. Halliday made it
+plainer," he answered cautiously.
+
+Mordaunt saw he would say nothing more and they were silent for a few
+moments until Dick got up and said he would ask the gardener for some
+plants the man had promised his mother.  He wanted the plants, but he
+wanted to think, for he was curious about the French romance.  If Lance
+had seen Franklin Dearham's name, he must have known Jim was his son,
+and had meant to let him stay in Canada.  Lance's manner when they
+talked about Jim at the shack to some extent justified the supposition.
+Moreover, while Lance had gone to Langrigg with the object of giving
+Jim good advice there was something curious about his tone.  He was
+urbane, but one noted a hint of superiority, or perhaps patronage, that
+the other might resent.  All the same, it was not Dick's business and
+he went to look for the gardener.
+
+In the meantime, Mordaunt said to Jim: "You suggested that your
+Canadian friends might make a long visit."
+
+"I did; I'd like them to stay for good."
+
+"Do you think it's prudent?" Mordaunt asked quietly.
+
+Jim looked hard at him, with a touch of haughty surprise, and Mordaunt
+resumed in a conciliatory voice: "Perhaps I'm getting on dangerous
+ground, but I mean well and if you don't see----.  To begin with, have
+you thought about marrying Miss Winter?"
+
+"I have not.  I'm certain she has not thought about marrying me!"
+
+"No doubt, you know," Mordaunt agreed with some dryness.  "For all
+that, my inquiry was perhaps justified.  The girl is unformed, but
+she's beautiful and I think she's clever."
+
+"You can leave Miss Winter out.  Now I suppose you have cleared the
+ground and there's something else?"
+
+Mordaunt made a deprecatory gesture.  "I'll be frank, because I don't
+want you to make mistakes.  If you are going to stay at Langrigg, you
+owe something to the family and yourself.  A country gentleman has
+social duties and much depends on what your neighbors think about you
+at first.  Very well.  Your Canadian friends wear the stamp of the rank
+to which they belong; it was hardly necessary for Mrs. Winter to state
+that she had kept a small store.  These are not the kind of people your
+neighbors would like to receive.  Then Bernard Dearham's family pride
+is known: I imagine he largely persuaded your grandfather to alter his
+will."
+
+Jim got up and his face was quietly stern.
+
+"Langrigg is mine; my grandfather gave it to me without my asking for
+the gift," he said.  "I owe my relations nothing and don't acknowledge
+Bernard Dearham's rule.  None of you bothered about my father; you were
+glad to leave him and me alone.  I had no claim on my Canadian friends
+and they had nothing to gain; but they nursed me when I was ill and my
+partner stood by me in the blizzards and cold of the North.  Now you
+ask me to turn them down, because they're not the people neighbors I
+don't know would like to meet!  Do you think I will agree?"
+
+Mordaunt shrugged and forced a smile.  "Oh, well, in a sense I suppose
+your attitude is correct.  There is obviously nothing more to be said."
+
+Dick came in soon afterwards and Mordaunt went off with him, but he had
+given Jim a jar and the latter walked about the terrace until Mrs.
+Winter and the others returned from a drive.  Carrie gave Jim a quick
+glance as she advanced.  She knew his moods and saw he was disturbed.
+The drive had brought the color to her skin; she looked very fresh and
+her step was light.  Jim felt savage as he remembered Mordaunt's
+patronizing remark.  Carrie _was_ beautiful.
+
+"Has something been bothering you, Jim?" she asked.
+
+"It is not important," he replied.  "If you own land in this country,
+it seems you must submit to a number of ridiculous rules and folks
+won't leave you alone.  However, did you like the town?"
+
+"We were charmed.  It's a quaint old place and the country round is so
+green and quiet.  Everything's smooth and well-kept; the trees look as
+if somebody had taught them how they ought to grow.  You feel as if all
+the rough work had been done long since and folks have only to take
+care of things.  I like it all."
+
+"Then, you will be satisfied to stay at Langrigg?"
+
+"For a time.  If you want us."
+
+"I'd be happy if you'd stay for good!"
+
+Carrie said nothing for a moment and then smiled.
+
+"That's impossible, though you're very nice.  We'll make the most of
+our holiday; but it's only a holiday."
+
+She turned, rather quickly, and joined Mrs. Winter, who was going into
+the house.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+MORDAUNT PONDERS
+
+It was raining and Mordaunt stood by an open window in Mrs. Halliday's
+drawing-room at Whitelees.  A smell of stocks came in, and across the
+lawn, rows of dahlias, phlox, and autumn lilies made a belt of glowing
+color against a dark yew hedge.  The hedge was neatly clipped and the
+turf was very smooth.  By and by Mordaunt turned and glanced about the
+room, which he knew well.  Whitelees was modern, and although Mrs.
+Halliday sometimes grumbled about her poverty, its furniture and
+decoration indicated extravagance.  Mordaunt, however, thought there
+was too much ornament and doubted if some of the pottery was genuine.
+The room was pretty, but he was a connoisseur and was not satisfied
+with prettiness.  He liked Langrigg better than Whitelees.  Langrigg
+was austere and dignified.
+
+Mordaunt was not at all austere, although he was not effeminate or
+luxurious.  He was a good sportsman, something of an artist, and a
+traveler.  He had talent, and might perhaps have made his mark, if he
+had not had just enough money to meet his needs and exaggerated dislike
+for competitive struggle.  It had been a bitter disappointment that he
+had inherited very little of Joseph Dearham's property, although none
+of his relations suspected this, for Mordaunt knew how to hide his
+feelings.  He was stubbornly conservative and held tenaciously the
+traditions of his class.
+
+Presently Mrs. Halliday came in.  Mordaunt, who knew his aunt well,
+thought she harmonized with her room.  She was a handsome, gracious
+woman, but one felt now and then that her charm was forced and
+artificial.  After telling Mordaunt to sit down, she remarked:
+
+"I understand you went to Langrigg."
+
+"I did go," said Mordaunt.  "My visit was not a success."
+
+"Perhaps it's curious, but Evelyn's judgment was better than ours.  She
+doubted if you would succeed."
+
+"I believe she said you ought to go, because the thing needed a lighter
+touch than mine."
+
+Mrs. Halliday smiled.  "Your touch is not often clumsy, Lance.  But
+what line did Jim take?  I suppose we must call him Jim."
+
+"A significant concession, but he certainly shows the Dearham vein!  He
+used some warmth and indulged a little raw sentiment.  Expediency
+doesn't count for much with him."
+
+"You mean his Canadian friends are going to remain?"
+
+"Yes," said Mordaunt.  "As long as they like!  I imagine they will stay
+some time."
+
+Mrs. Halliday waited for a moment.  She thought Lance understood there
+was something else she wanted to know, but he was silent and she
+remarked:
+
+"After all, they might be left in the background.  Besides, the girl's
+mother is there."
+
+"It is hard to keep a Canadian in the background and Jim won't try.
+Still he made an interesting statement; he has not thought about
+marrying the daughter!"
+
+"That is some relief.  Well, something depends on Bernard."
+
+Mordaunt agreed.  Much depended on Bernard.  The old man was rich and
+Mordaunt had much less money than he would like; indeed he had long
+reckoned on an improvement in his fortune when Bernard died.  His
+claim, however, was not as strong as Jim's, and Bernard was eccentric.
+But Mrs. Halliday resumed:
+
+"Is Jim able to keep up Langrigg properly?"
+
+"He was not remarkably frank about this.  He stated he might not be
+able to do all he would like."
+
+"Well, I have no doubt you gave him good advice, and your trying to
+persuade him was generous."
+
+Mordaunt thought he had been generous, because if he had persuaded Jim
+to rule in a way Bernard approved and the latter made him his heir, all
+that Jim got would be taken from the others.  To some extent, he had
+been sincere, but he could not claim that he had done his best.  A
+feeling of antagonism had sprung up and perhaps he had let this
+influence him.
+
+"It's unfortunate Jim was obstinate," Mrs. Halliday went on.  "His
+keeping these people is awkward, but after all it will cost him most,
+and he is one of us----."
+
+"Jim has Langrigg," said Mordaunt, smiling.  "Our duty is to
+acknowledge and, if needful, indulge him."
+
+"I don't like you when you're ironical," Mrs. Halliday rejoined, and
+looking up saw that Evelyn had come in.  She wondered how long the girl
+had been there.
+
+"You don't look as if you were satisfied with your visit to Langrigg,
+Lance," Evelyn said as she sat down.
+
+"I'm resigned."
+
+"That's different from being satisfied.  But you were plucky.  The
+matter must have needed tactful management; Miss Winter is attractive."
+
+"Jim is not going to marry her, if that is what you mean; he stated he
+had not thought about it," Mordaunt said bluntly.
+
+Evelyn laughed.  "Then, it's probably true.  If he had meant to marry
+Miss Winter, he would have said so, even if he thought you disapproved.
+Jim is very much of a Dearham."
+
+"Is this an advantage or a drawback?"
+
+"I don't know," said Evelyn.  "It marks the difference between him and
+us.  We're fastidious and complex; the Dearhams are simple and firm."
+
+"A cruder type?"
+
+"Not altogether.  Strength and simplicity are dignified.  You're an
+artist and know the value of bold, austere line."
+
+"My notion is, Jim is not as simple as he looks."
+
+"That's rather cheap," Evelyn remarked.  "I meant the simplicity of the
+old Greeks."
+
+"Theirs was cultivated; Jim's is not."
+
+"There are things one does better by instinct than study," said Evelyn,
+smiling.  "But I'm getting bored.  Let's talk about something else."
+
+Soon afterwards, Mordaunt drove back to Dryholm, where Bernard had
+built his ambitious house.  Mordaunt had no occupation and generally
+stopped at Dryholm.  There was plenty of room and although the old man
+was often ironical Mordaunt imagined he liked to have him about.  The
+rain had stopped, the wet road was smooth, and as the car ran past the
+yellow stubble fields he gave himself to thought.
+
+It was plain that Mrs. Halliday meant to make a friend of Jim and her
+object was not hard to see since Langrigg gave its owner some
+importance.  Evelyn was curious about Jim; Mordaunt did not know if he
+attracted her, but the possibility of ruling at Langrigg had no doubt
+some charm.  She would toy with the idea.
+
+Mordaunt was not in love with Evelyn, but they agreed in many ways, and
+he had for some time weighed the advantages his marrying her would
+bring.  She was his cousin, but cousins did marry now and then, and
+since the marriage would consolidate family interests, he imagined
+their relations would approve.  In fact, he had imagined Mrs. Halliday
+knew his views and he could count on her support.  Now, however, he
+suspected she had gone over to Jim.
+
+For all that, Mordaunt's dissatisfaction was not quite selfish.  Jim
+was something of a savage and meant to manage the estate on business
+lines.  The fellow was going to farm and make his farming pay.  If he
+had been a sportsman and made experiments in agriculture when he had
+nothing else to do, it would have been different; but this was not
+Jim's plan.  The strange thing was, Jim's notion of dyking the marsh
+annoyed him more than all; the annoyance was perhaps illogical, but he
+could not conquer it.  Mordaunt was a naturalist and a wildfowler, and
+did not think there was in England such a haunt of the Lag and black
+geese as Langrigg marsh.  Now Jim, with rude utilitarian ideas, was
+going to drive the geese away.
+
+The car lurched on the grass by the roadside as it took a corner and
+Mordaunt, roused by the jolt, concentrated on his driving.  When he
+reached Dryholm he crossed the lawn and stopped by a wheeled chair, in
+which Bernard Dearham sat with his foot propped up.  The old man was
+tall and strongly made, but had got thin, and his pinched face was
+marked by deep lines.  He had worked with consuming energy and
+sometimes indulged, for Bernard had nothing of the fastidiousness that
+marked his relatives.  Now his strength was broken and he was bothered
+by gout.
+
+He dismissed the man who had pushed the chair and gave Mordaunt a quick
+glance.  Bernard's brows were white, but his eyes were keen.
+
+"Take me to the bench out of the wind," he said, and looked down when
+Mordaunt began to move the chair.  "It will give Creighton a job to
+roll out these marks.  The fellow grows fat and lazy and I hate the
+crunching gravel."
+
+Mordaunt thought the remark was characteristic.  The wheel-tracks could
+hardly be seen on the fine turf, but Bernard disliked untidiness.  When
+they reached the sheltered bench and Mordaunt sat down Bernard looked
+up and asked: "Where have you been?"
+
+"I was at Whitelees."
+
+"I expect you had something to talk about just now.  You and Janet
+Halliday understand each other well.  I don't know if you are
+confidants or accomplices."
+
+"Perhaps we have made a few innocent plots," Mordaunt admitted with a
+smile.  "However, I imagine it has generally been for the advantage of
+the family."
+
+Bernard nodded.  "Well, I suppose your objects are sometimes good, as
+far as you see, though I doubt if you always see far enough.  But I
+wondered whether you had gone to Langrigg.  It's possible Janet has
+made some plot for Jim's advantage."
+
+"I hardly imagine him a promising subject for experiments."
+
+"You mean he's not compliant?  What else?"
+
+"I haven't known him very long and would sooner reserve my judgment."
+
+Bernard gave him an ironical smile.  "You don't want to prejudice me
+against him?  Well, you're always tactful and it's comforting to feel
+you're sometimes just.  However, I want to form an opinion.  Write and
+ask him to come."
+
+"He has friends at Langrigg.  Perhaps you know?"
+
+"I do know.  Ask his friends.  You may state that I'm an old man and am
+unable to go to him.  I can leave you to strike the right note; you
+have some talent for that kind of thing."
+
+Mordaunt said he would write.  He was used to Bernard's bitter humor
+and on the whole thought it advisable that he should see Jim's friends.
+It was possible he would get a jar, but one could not tell.  The old
+man was capricious and hard to understand.
+
+"Didn't Evelyn join the party that went to welcome Jim?" Bernard
+resumed.  "Rather a happy thought of Janet's!  Do you know how he
+impressed Evelyn?"
+
+"I do not.  She did not give me her confidence," said Mordaunt, as
+shortly as he durst.
+
+Bernard's eyes twinkled.  "Was it necessary?  With your talent, one
+ought not to find it difficult to read a girl's mind."
+
+"I haven't always found it easy," Mordaunt rejoined.
+
+"Well, I suppose Evelyn is really a woman now; when one gets old one
+forgets that the young grow up," Bernard remarked.  "Besides, she has
+an admirable model in Janet.  But take me in; I soon get cramped in
+this confounded chair."
+
+Mordaunt set off and on his way to the house carefully skirted a spot
+where a tree had been uprooted and the turf relaid.  To his surprise
+Bernard made an impatient sign.
+
+"Go straight across!"
+
+They crossed the freshly-sodded belt and when Mordaunt stopped on the
+terrace Bernard said: "It will not be your job to roll out our tracks."
+
+"I thought it would bother you if I went across," Mordaunt replied.
+
+Bernard gave him a sour smile.  "I well know my relations' views about
+my character and in the main they're just; but they sometimes go wrong
+when they imagine their rules are mine.  Probably you have not felt it
+would be a relief to plow through things, without bothering about the
+marks you left."
+
+"No," said Mordaunt, "I don't think I have felt this."
+
+"You're  a logical fellow," Bernard rejoined.  "Well, for the most
+part, I have been a slave to my notions of efficiency and order since I
+was a boy; but at times other feelings rebelled.  Then I, so to speak,
+ran loose and broke things, like the rest of mankind.  Moreover, I'm
+not repentant when I look back on the short-lived outbreaks.  They gave
+me some satisfaction; after all, the Dearham blood is what Canadian Jim
+would probably call red.  I don't know what color yours is, unless you
+like to think it blue."
+
+Mordaunt said nothing.  Bernard was often bitter, particularly when he
+had gout.  When a servant came to help the old man in, Mordaunt went to
+the library where he wrote a note to Jim.  He paused once or twice
+during its composition.  Now he had time to ponder, he began to doubt
+if it was advisable to let Jim visit Dryholm and imagined he could so
+turn a polished phrase that it would keep him away.  Mordaunt was
+clever at delicate implication and Jim's blood was red.  Perhaps,
+however, it was not prudent to use his talent, since Bernard might want
+to see the note.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+AN OLD MAN'S CAPRICE
+
+Jim went to Dryholm, although when he opened Mordaunt's note he meant
+to refuse.  A line added in a shaky hand persuaded him, for Bernard had
+written, "I am lame and cannot come to you."  Besides, the invitation
+was extended to his party and Jim wanted Bernard to see the Winters.
+They were his friends and he rather hoped Mrs. Winter would talk about
+the store.
+
+The evening was calm and the sun setting when the car rolled past a
+lodge half hidden by tall evergreens.  A screen of ironwork cut in fine
+black tracery against the light, and Jake remarked: "That's a noble
+gate."
+
+"Hand-forged in Belgium, I believe," Jim replied, and they rolled on
+down an avenue where sunshine and shadow checkered the smooth grass.
+
+The avenue had been planted before the new house at Dryholm was built.
+The spreading oaks were darkly green, but the beeches had begun to turn
+and their pale trunks glimmered among splashes of orange and red.  On
+the hillside above the hollow, the birches hung sprays of shining
+yellow against a background of somber firs.  All was very quiet and
+Carrie sensed a calm she had not remarked in the forests of Canada.
+There one heard the Chinook in the pine-tops and the rapids brawl.
+
+They sped past a tarn where swans floated among the colored reflections
+of ancient trees, and then Dryholm broke upon their view across its
+wide lawn.  For a moment, Carrie was vaguely disturbed.  She had seen
+Montreal and London, but the buildings there were crowded with
+occupants and this was one man's home.  Jim, whose clothes she had
+mended, belonged to people who built such houses.  She glanced at him,
+but his face was inscrutable until he seemed to feel her gaze and gave
+her a smile.  Carrie felt braced.  In some ways, Jim had got strangely
+English, but he was, for all that, the Jim she knew; and she studied
+the house with a pleasant thrill, as if she were embarking on a new
+adventure.
+
+Dryholm was very large and modern, but it had dignity and glimmered in
+the sunset between shadowy woods.  The stone was creamy white, with
+touches of soft pink and gray.  Cornices and pillars broke the long,
+straight front, and there were towers at the ends.  Carrie knew nothing
+about architecture, but she got a hint of strength and solidity.
+Somehow, she felt relieved; Mordaunt and Mrs. Halliday would not have
+built such a house.  On the whole, she distrusted them, but it looked
+as if the head of the family was different.
+
+"It's very fine, Jim," she said.  "There's something of Langrigg about
+it; something you don't feel at Whitelees.  The stone is curious."
+
+"I believe it was brought from a distance, but, in a sense, Bernard
+Dearham built Dryholm of iron."
+
+"Somehow it looks like that," Carrie remarked.
+
+The car stopped in front of a plain arch and Bernard received the party
+in the hall, where they found Mrs. Halliday, Evelyn, Mordaunt, and some
+others.  Bernard gave Jim his hand and for a minute or two kept Mrs.
+Winter and Carrie by him.  When they went to dinner Mrs. Winter was put
+next to Bernard, and Carrie, sitting near, looked about with frank
+curiosity.  The room was lofty and spacious.  She had not seen such a
+room except when she dined at a big Montreal hotel, but it had not the
+lavish decoration she had noted there.  At Dryholm, one got a sense of
+space and calm; nothing glittered and forced itself on one's glance.
+Carrie thought it was somehow like a church, but rather the big quiet
+cathedral than the ornate Notre Dame.  She had only seen big churches
+in Montreal.
+
+The west window commanded distant hills that rose, colored dark-blue,
+against the yellow sky.  Shining water touched their feet and one could
+hear the sea.  It was getting dark, however, and soon electric lights
+began to glow on the paneled ceiling and along the deep cornice.  The
+lamps were placed among the moldings and one scarcely noticed them
+until the soft light they threw on the table got stronger.
+
+Then Carrie remarked that Mrs. Winter was talking, and Bernard laughed.
+She had wondered whether she ought to give her mother a hint, and might
+have done so, for Jim's sake, although it would have hurt her pride;
+but she was glad she had not.  Bernard Dearham did not smile politely,
+as Mrs. Mordaunt smiled; he laughed because he was amused.  Carrie did
+not know much about English people, but the dinner was obviously a
+formal acknowledgment of the new owner of Langrigg; and she studied her
+host.  She had at first remarked a puzzling likeness to somebody she
+knew, and now she saw it was Jim.  The likeness was rather in Bernard's
+voice and manner than his face, although she found it there.  Then he
+looked up and asked:
+
+"Do you like Dryholm?"
+
+"Oh, yes," said Carrie.  "Almost as much as I like Langrigg."
+
+Bernard smiled and nodded.  "Langrigg has a touch that only time can
+give.  A house matures slowly."
+
+"I think that is so," Carrie agreed.  "One feels it in England.  A
+house matures by being used; the people who live there give it a stamp,
+and perhaps when they go they leave an influence.  It's different in
+Canada.  When our houses get out of date, we pull them down."
+
+Bernard looked at her rather keenly.  He was a shrewd judge of men and
+women and saw that she could think.
+
+"You are something of a sentimentalist; I don't know if you are right
+or not.  When I built Dryholm we tried to get the feeling Langrigg
+gives one, as far as it could be expressed by line.  But do you like
+Whitelees?"
+
+"Whitelees is pretty," Carrie replied with caution.
+
+Bernard's eyes twinkled.  "Very pretty.  Something new, in fact, after
+Canada?"
+
+"Yes," said Carrie, who saw he wanted her to talk.  She knew he was
+studying her, but he was not antagonistic like Mordaunt and Mrs.
+Halliday.  "This is why I'd sooner have Langrigg, because I don't find
+Langrigg new in the way you mean," she resumed.  "One gets the feeling
+you talk about in Canada; not in our houses but in the woods.  They're
+different from the woods you have planted and trimmed.  The big black
+pines grow as they want; sometimes they're charred by fire and smashed
+by gales.  When it's quiet you hear the rivers and now and then a
+snowslide rolling down the hills."
+
+"Rugged and stern?  Well, I imagine the men who built Langrigg long
+since were rather like your pioneers."
+
+Carrie thought Bernard had something of the spirit of the pioneers;
+this was why he was like Jim.  She felt his strength and tenacity, but
+he did not daunt her.
+
+"Why did you make Dryholm so big?" she asked.
+
+"You don't think an old man needs so large a house?" he said.  "Well, I
+built for others whom I thought might come after me, but that is done
+with."  He paused and looked down the table at Mordaunt and Evelyn; and
+then Carrie imagined his eyes rested on Jim, as he added: "Sometimes I
+am lonely."
+
+He began to talk to Mrs. Winter, who presently remarked: "Oh, yes, I
+like it in England.  I knew it would be fierce in the jolting cars and
+on the steamer, but Jim insisted, and now I'm glad I let him persuade
+me."
+
+"Then Jim insisted on your coming?"
+
+"Why, yes.  I meant to stay at home."
+
+"Ah," said Bernard, "I think Jim took the proper line."
+
+"Anyhow, I needed a holiday," Mrs. Winter resumed.  "It's quiet and
+calm at Langrigg and I've worked hard.  You folks don't get busy all
+the time, like us in Canada."
+
+Bernard laughed.  "There are a large number of busy people in this
+country, and for a long time I, myself, worked rather hard."  He paused
+and looked down the table with ironical humor.  "I was thought
+eccentric and my relations did not altogether forgive me until I got my
+reward.  All approved then."
+
+Mordaunt's face was inscrutable, but Mrs. Halliday smiled and Evelyn
+looked at Jim with faint amusement.
+
+"I imagine he meant mother; they sometimes clash," she said.  "You
+don't know Bernard yet.  When you do, you will try to make allowances,
+like the rest of us."
+
+"In the meantime, it does not seem needful.  He is kind----"
+
+"Remarkably kind," Evelyn agreed.  "In fact, his kindness is puzzling.
+How far would you go to keep his favor?"
+
+"It would depend," said Jim.  "Upon how much I liked him, for one
+thing.  Of course, I would go no distance if he tried to drive."
+
+Evelyn smiled.  "Well, I suppose you can take a bold line.  If one has
+pluck, it sometimes pays.  At all events, it's flattering to feel one
+can be oneself.  No doubt, you all develop your individuality in
+Canada."
+
+"We are rather an independent, obstinate lot," Jim owned.  "I expect
+this comes from living in a new country.  When you leave the cities,
+you have nobody to fall back on.  You have got to make good by your own
+powers and trust yourself."
+
+"Ah," said Evelyn, "one would like to trust oneself!  To follow one's
+bent, or perhaps, one's heart, and not bother about the consequences."
+She was silent a moment and then resumed with a soft laugh: "But unless
+one is very brave, it's not often possible; there are so many rules."
+
+Jim felt sympathetic.  She had laughed, but he thought the laugh hid
+some feeling.  She was generous and strangely refined; Mrs. Halliday
+was conventional and calculating, and the girl rebelled.
+
+"I expect our host broke a number of the rules," he remarked.
+
+"He did and he paid.  Bernard was not rich and when he opened the
+Brunstock mines nobody would help him.  When he sold his farms to buy
+pumps and engines there was a quarrel with your grandfather and perhaps
+Bernard has some grounds for bitterness.  I don't know if it's strange,
+but while Joseph Dearham was a plain country gentleman, Bernard, after
+getting rich in business, wears the stamp of the old school."
+
+Jim agreed.  Bernard was obviously not fastidious, like his relatives,
+but he had the grand manner.  This was not altogether what Jim meant,
+but perhaps it got nearest.
+
+"I think it's because he's fearless--one sees that," he said.
+"Shabbiness and awkwardness come when one's afraid."
+
+"It's possible," Evelyn answered, with a curious smile.  "One hates to
+be shabby but sometimes one is forced.  Pluck costs much."
+
+Then Mrs. Halliday got up, and some of the party went to the
+drawing-room and some to the terrace.  Jim stayed in the hall and mused
+while he smoked a cigarette.  Evelyn had stirred his imagination by a
+hint that she was dissatisfied and struggled for free development.
+Well, he had seen Whitelees and was getting to know Mrs. Halliday.  To
+some extent, he liked her, but he could understand the girl's
+rebellion.  However, it was strange she had given him a hint, unless,
+of course, she had done so unconsciously.  When the cigarette was
+finished he went to the terrace.
+
+The evening was warm and a faint glow lingered in the west.  All was
+very quiet except when a herd of cattle moved about a pasture across
+the lawn.  The party had broken up into small groups and Jim joined
+Evelyn.  Bernard got up stiffly when Carrie came near his bench.
+
+"Tell me about wild Canada.  I understand you were in the woods," he
+said.
+
+"Yes," said Carrie, sitting down.  "I went North with Jim and my
+brother and the boys, when the ice broke up."
+
+"The boys?"
+
+"The rock-cutters and choppers," Carrie explained.
+
+"I see," said Bernard.  "Was there no other woman?  What did you do?"
+
+"The nearest woman was a hundred miles off.  I cooked and looked after
+the stores.  Sometimes I mended the clothes."
+
+"And how were the others occupied?"
+
+Carrie hesitated.  Although Bernard had asked her to tell him about
+Canada, she imagined he wanted to hear about Jim, but after a few
+moments she began to relate the story of their cutting the telegraph
+line.  She could not have told it to Mrs. Halliday, but she felt
+Bernard would understand, and he helped her by tactful questions.  She
+wanted him to know what kind of man Jim was and she made something of
+an epic of the simple tale; man's struggle against Nature and his
+victory.  Indeed, for Bernard was very shrewd, she told him more than
+she thought.
+
+"But, when you were nearly beaten, you could have sold the copper vein
+you talked about and used the money," he remarked.
+
+"In a way, we couldn't sell.  Baumstein was putting the screw to us; he
+meant to buy for very much less than the claim was worth.  We would
+have starved before we let him, and for a time we hadn't as much food
+as we liked."
+
+"After all, you might have been beaten but for the contractor.  Why did
+he help?  No doubt, he knew it was a rash speculation."
+
+"Oh, well," said Carrie, "I think he liked Jim.  But we wouldn't have
+been beaten.  We'd have made good somehow."
+
+"Still it looks as if the contractor was a useful friend.  Did he stop
+at Vancouver?  Does he write to you?"
+
+Carrie hesitated, because she imagined she saw where Bernard's
+questions led.
+
+"We won't forget him, but he doesn't write and I don't know where he
+is," she said; and added with a touch of dignity: "I don't see what
+this has to do with the rest."
+
+"Perhaps it has nothing to do with it," Bernard replied.  "Thank you
+for telling me a rather moving tale."
+
+He let her go and when she passed a bench where Mrs. Halliday and
+Mordaunt sat the former looked at her companion.
+
+"I suppose you have remarked that Bernard has been unusually gracious
+to the girl and her mother.  Is it his notion of a host's duty?  Or is
+it something else?"
+
+"I imagine it's something else," Mordaunt replied.
+
+"But what?  Does he want to annoy us?"
+
+"It's possible he thought he might do so.  Are you annoyed?"
+
+"I am certainly surprised."
+
+"Oh, well," said Mordaunt; "perhaps he had another object.  I don't
+know.  He's rather inscrutable."
+
+Mrs. Halliday got up.  "I thought we could be frank, Lance.  After all,
+our habit is to take Bernard's cleverness for granted.  He has a bitter
+humor and the thing may only be an old man's caprice."
+
+She went off and when soon afterwards the party began to break up
+Bernard gave Jim a cigar in the hall.
+
+"I note that you and your young relations are already friends," he
+said.  "Dick's a fine lad; he's generous and honest, although I doubt
+if he will go far.  Evelyn, of course, has no rival in this
+neighborhood."
+
+"That hardly needs stating," Jim replied.
+
+Bernard twinkled and his glance rested on a beautiful painted vase.
+"Your taste is artistic; it looks as if you had an eye for color and
+line.  In a sense, Evelyn is like this ornament.  She's made of choice
+stuff; costly but fragile.  Common clay stands rude jars best."
+
+Jim was puzzled and half-annoyed, because he could not tell what
+Bernard meant; but the latter began to talk about something else.
+
+"You were a miner for a time, I think," he presently remarked.  "One
+would expect you to know gold when you see it."
+
+"It's sometimes difficult," said Jim.  "As a rule, gold is pure.  It
+doesn't form chemical alloys, but it's often _mixed_ with other
+substances."
+
+"So that the uninstructed pass it by!" Bernard rejoined.  "One might
+make an epigram of that, but perhaps it would be cheap.  Well, I must
+wish the others good night.  I hope you'll come back soon and bring
+your friends."
+
+Jim put his party in the car and drove off, feeling strangely
+satisfied.  Evelyn had been gracious and although he did not altogether
+understand Bernard he liked him better than he had thought.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+SHANKS' DABBIN
+
+Shortly after his visit to Dryholm, Jim returned, one morning, from the
+market town, where he had gone to see his lawyer and banker.  When he
+reached Langrigg he found Jake on the terrace.
+
+"Doing nothing makes me tired," the latter remarked.  "I know you want
+to keep us, and mother and Carrie like it here, but we can't stay for
+good."
+
+"Your mother and sister can stay until they have had enough, and I hope
+that won't be soon; but I know you, Jake, and think you're mean.
+Anyhow, you can get rid of your scruples, because I'm going to give you
+a job.  I've decided to drain the marsh."
+
+"Labor's cheap in this country, but I reckon it's some job.  However,
+now there's something doing----"
+
+"You'll stay and see me out?" Jim suggested.  "Thank you, partner!
+Doesn't seem much use in stating that what is mine is yours, but I wish
+you'd get it.  Another thing; this draining is a business proposition
+and we're partners in that sense, too.  Now we'll tell your mother."
+
+They told Mrs. Winter at lunch, and Jim saw that she hesitated and
+looked at Carrie.  The girl's face was, however, inscrutable, and she
+gave no sign.  Jim felt puzzled.  He thought Mrs. Winter liked Langrigg
+and she had developed since she came.  She was not so thin, she had
+lost her careworn look and gained a certain ease of manner.  At the
+store, she had been highly-strung and restless; now she was happily
+calm.  Moreover, she was making her influence felt and quietly taking
+control.  Jim had noted that things were done better and cost him less.
+He wanted her to stay, because he thought she needed a rest and he
+would miss her if she went.
+
+"Well," she said, doubtfully, "if you are all satisfied----"
+
+"I am satisfied," Jim declared.  "I imagine Jake is, but Carrie hasn't
+told us yet."
+
+Carrie gave him a quick glance and he thought her color was rather high.
+
+"You are kind," she said.  "Mother looks younger than she has looked
+for long and perhaps we had better accept.  But it is a big undertaking
+to drain the marsh.  When do you begin?"
+
+"I thought we might begin this afternoon.  However, I don't expect to
+drain it all right off.  There's a pretty dry piece where I mean to
+start.  I reckon I've money enough for the experiment, and can develop
+my plans afterwards when I see what the first lot costs."
+
+Carrie laughed and the hint of strain all had felt vanished.  "You are
+certainly the hustling Jim we knew," she said.  "I feel as if we were
+back in the woods."
+
+After lunch Jim crossed the marsh with Jake and stopped where a ridge
+of higher ground broke off at the edge of a muddy creek.  In the
+corner, partly sheltered by a bank of gorse, stood a small white house
+with a roof of rusty iron where the thatch had been.  The whitewash had
+fallen off in places, exposing a rough, granulated wall, for the house
+was a dabbin, built of puddled clay.  A window was broken and the door
+hung crookedly.  Except for a few rows of withered potatoes, the garden
+was occupied by weeds.  Three or four shellducks, hatched from wild
+birds' eggs, paddled about the creek.
+
+"Shanks' dabbin; his father squatted here," Jim remarked.  "I reckon
+I'm going to have trouble with the fellow."
+
+He opened the broken gate and two men came out.  One was bent and moved
+awkwardly, but Jake imagined that rheumatism rather than age had
+stiffened his joints.  He looked at Jim with sullen suspicion.  The
+other was young and strongly made.
+
+"I've come to give you an offer, Shanks," Jim began.  "This house is
+not fit to live in; I want you to use the cottage at Bank-end instead.
+There's a good piece of garden and a row of fruit trees."
+
+"Dabbin's bad, but it's mine," said Shanks.  "You canna put me oot."
+
+"I don't want to put you out; I want you to go.  Anyhow, the dabbin
+isn't yours.  You have no title to the ground and I understand have
+been warned off, but we won't bother about that.  Bank-end cottage is
+dry and comfortable and you can have it for your lifetime."
+
+"I willun't gan."
+
+Jim turned to the younger man.  "This place is damp and falling down.
+Can't you persuade your father?"
+
+"I'm none for trying.  He has t' right o' it."
+
+There was silence for a few moments and then Shanks asked:  "What for
+do you want the bit hoose?"
+
+"I want to pull it down.  The dyke I'm going to build starts here and
+the new cut for the creek must go through your garden."
+
+Shanks looked at his son and remarked with dull surprise: "He's gan t'
+dyke marsh!"
+
+The other said nothing and Shanks turned to Jim.  "If you were letten
+dry out marsh, t' wild geese and ducks wad gan."
+
+"It's possible.  We'll raise good grass and corn instead.  Dairy cows
+are worth more than shellducks."
+
+"But you'll niver be letten," Shanks replied doggedly.
+
+"Shucks!" said Jim.  "The marsh is mine.  Although you have no claim to
+this place, I'll give you Bank-end, the garden, and if needful the
+small field.  You and your son can make pretty good pay there if you
+like to work.  If you'd sooner loaf and shoot, there's the creek and
+sands."
+
+"'T' lag geese follow marsh," Shanks insisted.
+
+Jim pondered and Jake studied the others.  He had not seen men like
+these in Canada, where some of the Indians owned good farms and those
+who hunted had first-rate guns and canoes.  Shanks and his son were
+ragged and dirty.  They slouched and looked slack and dull, although
+now and then the younger man's eyes gleamed cunningly.  Then Jim said:
+
+"We won't argue about it.  The dabbin must come down and when you're
+ready to move to Bank-end you can tell my teamster to take your
+household fixings along.  If this doesn't meet the bill, I'll give you
+a hundred pounds and you can go where you like."
+
+Shanks said nothing and Jim went off.  When they were out of hearing
+Jake remarked: "I allow you had to be firm, but I don't like it, Jim.
+Those fellows are what we call bad men."
+
+"I imagine we have been up against worse."
+
+"That's so.  All the same, I wish you had been able to leave them
+alone."
+
+"I can't leave them alone, because the dyke must cross that corner of
+the creek.  They're about the meanest whites I've met, and I certainly
+don't want them at Bank-end.  I'd sooner they took the hundred pounds
+and quit."
+
+"How do they live?"
+
+"By wildfowling and fishing, though I'm told they snare rabbits and
+poach pheasants."
+
+"Well, I suppose you're giving Shanks his chance of making good.  The
+trouble is, he's forced to take the chance, whether he wants or not.
+Some folks would sooner live like dogs than decent citizens."
+
+"Do you think one ought to indulge their prejudice?"
+
+"I don't," Jake admitted.  "It would be bad economy.  For all that I'd
+watch the fellows."
+
+They let it go and talked about Jim's plans as they crossed the short
+grass where the silver-weed spread its carpet of yellow flowers.  They
+trampled through belts of withered thrift and skirted winding creeks
+where tall reeds shook their bent leaves in the searching wind.  Light
+and shadow sped across the marsh, and a flock of plover, shining white
+and black, circled above the sands.  Jake got a sense of space and
+loneliness he had not expected to feel in England, but he smiled as he
+noted Jim's brisk step and the sparkle in his eyes.  He knew his
+comrade and saw he was happy.  The marsh was something to conquer and
+the struggle would absorb his energies.
+
+Next day Jim returned to the market town.  He was occupied for some
+time ordering tools, and driving back in the afternoon, hesitated as he
+got near the cross road that led to Whitelees.  He wanted to see
+Evelyn, and Mrs. Halliday had told him to come when he liked, but it
+was perhaps significant that he wanted also to get on with his draining
+plans.  Seeing Evelyn was a satisfaction he unconsciously reserved for
+his leisure; she was not, like Carrie, to some extent his working
+partner and critic.  He took the road to Whitelees and smiled.  Perhaps
+Carrie was patient when he thought her keen: it was possible that she
+was sometimes bored.
+
+Mrs. Halliday received him in a room that looked full of ornaments and
+flowers, and gave him tea in beautiful china.  He was half-afraid to
+handle the fragile cup and plate and hesitated about eating his slice
+of dainty cake.  He had been examining machines and thought his clothes
+smelt of oil; somehow he felt big and awkward.  By and by Mrs. Halliday
+asked what had occupied him in town, and he told her about his plans.
+Evelyn looked interested.
+
+"If you begin your dyke where you propose, won't Shanks' dabbin be in
+the way?"
+
+"The dabbin must come down," Jim replied.
+
+A question from Mrs. Halliday led to his relating his interview with
+Shanks, and Evelyn said, "Could you not have left the old man his
+cottage?  After all, it is picturesque."
+
+"It isn't picturesque when you are near.  Does beauty go with dirt and
+neglect?"
+
+"Perhaps it does not.  I suppose the old Greeks gave us our standard of
+beauty and they attained it by careful cultivation.  For all that, they
+rather conventionalized their type and one likes people with pluck
+enough to strike an independent note.  To some extent, one can
+sympathize with Shanks, because he won't be clean by rule."
+
+Jim unconsciously looked about the room, and Evelyn laughed.  "Oh," she
+said, "we don't copy the Greeks!  Their model was austere simplicity,
+the bold, flowing line: but we are luxuriously modern.  However, it
+would have been a graceful plan to leave Shanks alone."
+
+"It wouldn't have been sound.  You can't neglect a job that ought to be
+put over, because you'd like to be graceful."
+
+"You're not Greek," said Evelyn.  "You're Roman."
+
+"Then, if I get your meaning, Shanks is a barbarian, and the barbarians
+who stood up against Roman order and efficiency were crushed.  It's
+probably lucky for Europe the legions marched over them."
+
+"I suppose one must agree.  It looks as if I must try again.  What
+about the king who coveted the vineyard?"
+
+"To begin with, the other man owned the vineyard, but the ground Shanks
+occupies is mine.  Then it was a vineyard, while the Shanks homestead
+is a hovel in a weed-choked garden lot.  Anyhow, if you'd like it, I'll
+see if it is possible to leave his place alone."
+
+Evelyn was flattered.  She enjoyed the sense of power, but she
+hesitated.  Jim was easy to understand and had gone farther than she
+had thought.  To let him make a concession that might cost him extra
+work would give him a claim, and she did not want him for a creditor
+yet.
+
+"Oh, no," she said carelessly, "you mustn't change your plans!  I was
+indulging a romantic sentiment and expect you know what you ought to
+do.  But you were nice when you were willing to think about the thing."
+
+Then Mrs. Halliday began to talk and presently Jim got up.
+
+"I must go," he said.  "I didn't know I had stayed so long."
+
+Evelyn gave him her hand and smiled.  "I expect you will be occupied,
+but if you have time to come back you will find us at home."
+
+"Thank you," said Jim.  "I was half-afraid I'd bored you.  I'll
+certainly have time."
+
+He went out and Mrs. Halliday looked at Evelyn thoughtfully.  "On the
+whole, I imagine you were tactful.  I expect you saw Jim's offer to
+leave Shanks alone was not made without an effort."
+
+"I did see," Evelyn admitted.  "I don't know if it was flattering or
+not."  She paused and resumed with a touch of color: "For all that, I
+did not refuse because I was tactful; one sometimes gets tired of
+acting.  Besides, it would be thrown away on Jim.  He's not
+accomplished and critical like Lance; he's frank and strong."
+
+"He is worth cultivating," Mrs. Halliday remarked, picking up a book.
+She knew when to stop and Evelyn now and then developed a rebellious
+mood.
+
+For a week Jim was occupied bringing tools and materials from the town
+and clearing the ground.  Shanks gave no sign that he meant to move,
+until one morning Jim's teamster asked: "Am I to gan t' dabbin and tak'
+a load to Bank-end?"
+
+Jim told him to go and turned to Jake.  "That's fixed!  I've been
+holding back for a day or two and now we can push ahead.  The dabbin
+must come down before we stop to-night."
+
+In the evening, Jake and Carrie went with him across the marsh.  The
+workmen had gone but wheelbarrows, spades, and planks lay about, and a
+bank of fresh soil touched the edge of the neglected garden.  Gray
+clouds drifted across the gloomy sky, a cold wind tossed the reeds, and
+the dabbin looked strangely forlorn in the fading light.  Carrie
+shivered as she entered with Jim, who carried a coil of fuse and a tin
+box.  The clay walls were stained by damp and the broken window was
+grimed by dirt.  A few peats occupied a corner, and a pile of ashes, on
+which tea-leaves and scraps of food had been thrown, stretched across
+the floor from the rusty grate.  Jim went to the window and began to
+cut the fuse.
+
+"I've got things ready and might have waited until to-morrow but the
+job's been bothering me and I want to put it over," he said.  "Do you
+think I'm harsh?"
+
+"No," said Carrie, firmly.  "Shanks is white trash and lives like a
+hog.  They wouldn't have stood for him a month at our settlements.  But
+how do you think he'll use Bank-end?"
+
+Jim smiled.  "I expect I'll have to burn down the cottage when he has
+done with it; his son is certainly not going to stop there afterwards.
+I don't know if a rich man is justified in loafing or not.  We'll leave
+that to the economists, but I've frankly no use for the fellow who
+wants to loaf at other folk's expense.  However, I'll fix the powder
+and we'll pull out.  I don't like the job."
+
+Carrie nodded.  "You are a builder, Jim, but before one builds one must
+clear the ground.  Things must be pulled down."
+
+"You're a staunch friend," said Jim.  "You always understand and
+generally approve."
+
+"Perhaps it's because we often agree; but if I were really staunch, I'd
+tell you when I thought you wrong.  This needs some pluck."
+
+"I'd weigh what you told me."
+
+Carrie was silent for a moment, thinking about Evelyn.  The girl had,
+so to speak, dazzled Jim.  Carrie did not approve, but could not meddle.
+
+"I wonder!" she remarked.  "Anyhow you must hustle.  It's getting dark."
+
+After a few minutes Jim lighted the fuse and they went out and stood
+some distance off.  The light had nearly gone, and the dabbin loomed
+dark and desolate against a belt of tossing reeds.  Jim thought an
+indistinct figure stole through the gloom of the hedge, and he shouted
+a warning.
+
+The figure vanished.  There was a flash behind the broken window and
+the shock of an explosion.  For a moment the hovel was filled with
+light; then it tottered and a cloud of smoke rolled about the falling
+walls.  Blocks of hard clay splashed in the creek and fell about the
+marsh.  The smoke cleared and Carrie saw the dabbin had gone.  A pile
+of rubbish, round which thin vapor drifted, marked the spot it had
+occupied.  A man stood on the end of the ridge of high ground, his bent
+figure outlined against the sky, holding up his arms as if in protest.
+Then he vanished, and Jim and the others started silently for Langrigg.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE THORN HEDGE
+
+Mist drifted about the hollows and the new moon shone between the
+motionless light clouds.  The air was damp and Jim buttoned his
+driving-coat as he talked to Bernard on the steps at Dryholm.  His
+small car stood near the arch, with its lights glistening on the dewy
+lawn.
+
+"Your lamps are dim," said Bernard.  "If you will wait a minute, I'll
+send them to the garage."
+
+Jim said he knew the road and the lamps would burn until he got home;
+and Bernard resumed: "I expect you know that what you are doing at the
+marsh won't make you popular."
+
+"Lance Mordaunt hinted something like that, but I don't see why people
+should grumble," Jim replied.  "The marsh is mine."
+
+"Your title's good," Bernard agreed.  "Since the ground is not
+enclosed, Joseph didn't bother about sporting rights and your neighbors
+took it for granted they could shoot a few ducks and snipe when they
+liked.  The sport's rough for men who shoot hand-reared pheasants, but
+there's some satisfaction in killing birds that are really wild."
+
+"There is some satisfaction.  The game I've shot was certainly wild; in
+fact, I sometimes took steep chances when I missed.  When you get after
+a bull moose or a cinnamon bear it's prudent to hold straight.  Well,
+I'd sooner my neighbors liked me, but don't mean to keep my land waste
+for them to play on."
+
+Bernard nodded.  "You are not afraid of unpopularity?  However, I think
+I'd have got rid of Shanks, instead of sending him to Bank-end.  The
+fellow's cunning and there's some ground for believing him revengeful."
+
+"It doesn't look as if he could injure me."
+
+"It might pay to watch him," Bernard rejoined.  "Some time since,
+Jones, my gamekeeper, caught Tom Shanks and another netting partridges.
+It was obvious that old Shanks had helped, but there was some
+difficulty about the evidence."  Bernard paused, and smiled as he
+resumed: "I imagine my friends on the Bench used their best efforts to
+convict, but folk seemed to think it prudent not to tell all they knew,
+and while Tom Shanks went to jail his father got off.  Afterwards Jones
+had a remarkable run of bad luck.  The young pheasants died about the
+coops, his own ferret killed his hens, and he lost a fine setter he was
+training.  Then he had an adventure one night in a shooting-punt that
+ought not to have leaked."
+
+"I'll watch out," said Jim, as he started his car.
+
+He did not think about Shanks as he drove up the avenue, where the
+leaves were falling, and down a long hill.  In the distance he saw the
+Whitelees lights and now and then, farther off, the faint shining of
+the sea.  Mist that melted and gathered again drifted about the low
+ground.  Jim's thoughts sometimes dwelt on Evelyn and sometimes on the
+marsh.  Evelyn was friendly and he had undertaken a big job that he
+liked.  He was carrying out a duty, honoring a claim his inheritance
+made on him; he wanted to leave Langrigg better than he found it.  Jim
+sprang from a land-owning stock, and felt that since he had got the
+estate for nothing he must justify his ownership and prove he was
+worthy of the gift and the woman he hoped to marry.
+
+When he ran out upon the low ground the mist got thicker and rolled in
+low belts across the fields.  The carbide in his lamps was exhausted
+and the feeble beam that leaped up with the jolts flickered puzzlingly.
+He knew where he was, however, when he reached the marsh road that ran
+like a causeway across the boggy ground.  Tall, stiff reeds bordered
+the straight track.  The lights were sinking fast and since he must
+reach Langrigg before they went out he let the engine go.
+
+The fog streamed past him, the wind whipped his face, and he clenched
+the wheel as he rocked with the jolts.  He was not far from home now
+and looked for the curve where his road branched off.  The curve was
+sharp and ran between two rows of old thorn trees; Jim remembered that
+he had meant to cut them down.  There was a deep ditch between the
+trees and a belt of rough grass, then the narrow road, and a ditch on
+the other side.  After a few minutes a dark mass loomed in the haze and
+Jim knew it would be prudent to slacken speed, but his lamps were
+nearly out, and a little farther on he must avoid an awkward gatepost.
+
+A shadowy tree came out of the fog and he felt the wheels sink in boggy
+soil.  He was obviously taking too wide a sweep, and he turned inwards.
+The damp road was indistinct, but he could see the white reeds that
+grew along its edge, and the trunks of the thorns across the ditch.  He
+was going round the corner, looking for a triangular patch of grass,
+when he felt a violent jolt and fell forward on the wheel.  The car
+swerved and the front wheels plunged into the soft ground between the
+road and ditch.
+
+Jim was badly shaken, but he got the car straight while she plowed up
+the grass.  Then the wheel was torn from his grasp, the car swerved the
+other way, and he jambed [Transcriber's note: jammed?] on the brakes,
+knowing it was too late.  He felt her run across the road; she rocked
+as she took the grass, and then he was thrown out and knew nothing more.
+
+In the meantime, Jake and Carrie stood on the steps at Langrigg,
+talking to Halliday and Mordaunt.  The latter had brought a car from
+Dryholm and it stood close by with its lamps burning.  The night was
+calm, the noise of the sea came out of the distance, and presently they
+heard the throb of a car running across the marsh.
+
+"That's Jim," Carrie said to Dick.  "Since you wanted to see him, you
+had better come in again."
+
+Dick hesitated.  He had not come to see Jim, and Carrie noted his
+irresolution with some amusement.
+
+"After all, it's not important and I want to get home for dinner," he
+said, and turned to Mordaunt.  "Start your engine, Lance."
+
+As Mordaunt went down the steps the throb of the other car stopped
+suddenly and they heard a faint crash.
+
+"Hallo!" Dick exclaimed.  "What was that?"
+
+"I imagine Jim has cut the corner too fine," said Mordaunt.  "Come on!"
+
+He ran down the steps and as he started the car the others jumped up.
+Mordaunt had not meant to take Carrie, but he did not stop and the car
+sped away.  He let her go full-speed down the hill, dashed through the
+awkward gateway, touching the post, and drove furiously to the bend
+where the road ran on to the marsh.  Then there was a violent jerk as
+he put on the brakes, and the beam of the head-lamps touched and
+stopped upon a tilted car that lay with the wheels on one side in the
+ditch.
+
+"Bring a lamp," said Mordaunt coolly, and next moment they were all out
+of the car and running across the grass.
+
+A soft hat lay in the road, and broken glass was scattered about, but
+for a minute or two they could not see Jim.  He was not in the car and
+the grass and rushes were long.  Then Jake stooped down, holding out
+the lamp.
+
+"This way!" he shouted.  "He's in the ditch!"
+
+The others gathered round him as the light searched the ditch.  Jim lay
+with his legs in the water and the upper part of his body pressed
+against the bank by the front wheel of the car.  His eyes were shut,
+his face was white and stained by blood.  Jake's hand shook so that he
+could hardly hold the lamp.
+
+"We must get him out right now," he said hoarsely.  "The wheel's on his
+chest.  If she slips down, she'll break his ribs."
+
+For a few moments they hesitated, standing in the strong illumination
+of the lamp on Mordaunt's car that picked out their faces against the
+dark.  Jake wore an American dinner-jacket, Carrie a thin evening
+dress, and she had no hat.  Dick noted that her hands were clenched and
+her mouth worked.  She had, of course, got a shock; Winter ought not to
+have let her see Jim, but the keenness of her distress was significant.
+Dick, however, could not dwell on this just then.  They must get Jim
+out and it was going to be difficult.  The car rested insecurely on the
+edge of the bank and the broken branches of the thorns.  If they
+disturbed it rashly, it might slip down and crush the unconscious man.
+Mordaunt was the first to see a way and jumped into the ditch.
+
+"Come down and get your backs under the axle," he said.
+
+They obeyed and, standing in the water, tried to lift the car.  For a
+few moments it looked impossible, because the weight above forced their
+feet into the mud; then, while they gasped and strained, the wheel rose
+an inch or two from Jim's chest.
+
+"Lift him, Carrie!  Lift him now!" Jake shouted in a breathless voice.
+
+Carrie seized Jim's coat and tried to drag him up.  He was heavy; she
+choked with the tense effort and did not know afterwards how it was
+made.  For all that, she dragged him up a foot and then to one side.
+The strain was horrible, but she held on and thought she saw the car
+tilt and the back wheel tear the peaty soil from the top of the bank.
+
+Jake shouted something, Dick fell back, and she saw that Jim was clear
+of the wheel.  For a moment, Mordaunt's face stood out against the
+gloom.  It was dark with blood, his teeth shone between his drawn-back
+lips, and the veins on his forehead were horribly swollen.  Then there
+was a crash among the thorns, and the car seemed to go right over.
+Mordaunt staggered and fell, and somebody helped her to drag Jim up;
+Carrie did not know if it was Dick or Jake.  Next moment Mordaunt
+crawled out of the ditch and joined them.  He gasped and the water ran
+from his clothes.
+
+"Are you hurt?" Carrie asked.  "You got all the weight at the last."
+
+Mordaunt smiled.  It looked as if he could not speak, and while Carrie
+wiped Jim's face Jake beckoned Dick.
+
+"Bring your car.  We must get him home."
+
+Dick turned the car and they put Jim on the floor with his head against
+Carrie's knee.  When they started she bent and held his shoulders, and
+in a few minutes they rolled up the drive.  Then Carrie pulled herself
+together, gave orders, and took control; and when they had carried Jim
+to his room gave Mordaunt her hand.
+
+"You saved him," she said.  "We won't forget!"
+
+"I happened to see a plan before the others; that's all," Mordaunt
+replied.  "I'll get off now and send a doctor."
+
+He ran downstairs and Carrie heard his car start while she stood with
+her mother by Jim's bed.  Her face was white, but it flushed when Jim
+opened his eyes.
+
+"What's the matter?  Where am I?" he asked.
+
+"You're at home," said Carrie.  "You mustn't talk."
+
+"I don't want to talk.  Things are all going round," Jim rejoined and
+shut his eyes.
+
+After a time he began to breathe regularly and Mrs. Winter bent over
+him.
+
+"He's stunned; something hit his head.  I don't think it's worse than
+that," she remarked.  "I guess we can't do much until the doctor comes."
+
+Mordaunt sent a doctor from the town and when he had seen him start
+went with Dick into the smoking-room at a quiet hotel.  There was
+nobody else about until a waiter came, and Mordaunt sat down by the
+fire.
+
+"I feel we need a drink," he said.  "It was a near thing when the car
+went over.  I can hardly bend my back, and it will, no doubt, be worse
+in the morning."
+
+"You held her long enough for Miss Winter to pull Jim out," Dick
+replied.  "It's lucky you were able.  My feet slipped, and although
+Winter is pretty strong I imagine he was beaten.  All the weight came
+on you; I don't understand how you held on."
+
+"One can sometimes borrow a little extra strength from keen excitement
+and I remembered that if I let go the wheel would come down again on
+Jim's chest.  He might not have stood another shock."
+
+"He was badly knocked out," Dick agreed.  "I expect you saved his life."
+
+Mordaunt smiled.  "Now I'm cool, I begin to think I was rash."
+
+"Rot!" Dick exclaimed.  "You don't mean this and it's a bad joke!"
+
+"We don't owe Jim much; if he had stopped in Canada, Langrigg would
+have been yours and mine.  Then it begins to look as if Bernard
+approved the fellow, and I'm willing to admit I had rather counted on
+getting a good share of his money.  You and Evelyn would have got the
+rest."
+
+"After all, Bernard's money is his.  He's just, and I don't imagine
+he'll leave us out.  We're not rich, but if he does give Jim some of my
+share, I won't miss it very much."
+
+"I shall miss mine," Mordaunt rejoined.
+
+Dick was quiet for a minute or two, and then looked up.  "You remember
+reading the French romance the night we reached the telegraph shack!
+Did you see Franklin Dearham's name in the book?"
+
+"Yes," said Mordaunt very coolly, "I did see it."  He paused, looking
+hard at Dick, and went on: "Of course, I know what this implies.  There
+was some doubt, but the probability was the telegraph linesman was our
+relation and the owner of Langrigg.  Well, I thought he was not the man
+to have the estate, and might be happier if we left him in the woods.
+It was not altogether because I wanted my share of what was his."
+
+Dick did not doubt Lance's sincerity, but he had got a jar.  In a way,
+Lance had tried to rob Jim.
+
+"What do you think about him now?" he asked with some awkwardness.
+
+"What I thought then; he is not the man to own Langrigg and ought to
+have stayed in Canada.  I'd have been resigned, had you got the estate,
+but this fellow will make us a joke.  He has the utilitarian ideals of
+a Western lumberman."
+
+"Bernard is the head of the house and I doubt if he'd agree.  You
+admitted he approved Jim."
+
+"I did; I don't like his approving."
+
+"Oh, well," said Dick.  "Since you held up the car, I suppose you're
+entitled to criticize Jim.  If you hadn't made an effort, he would
+probably have been killed.  You can grumble about him as much as you
+like; we'll remember what you did!"
+
+Mordaunt smiled rather curiously and drained his glass.
+
+"We are late for dinner and my clothes are wet," he remarked.
+
+They went out; and both were quiet as they drove to Whitelees.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE FENCING WIRE
+
+Next morning Carrie, getting up early because she had not slept much,
+heard Jim's step in the passage outside her room.  He went rather
+unsteadily downstairs and a few minutes afterwards she found him
+sitting on the terrace wall.  He was pale and his face was cut; but he
+had taken off the bandage.
+
+"You oughtn't to be out," she said.
+
+"Why not?" he asked.
+
+"You were badly shaken.  The doctor said we must keep you quiet."
+
+"He probably didn't state how long, and I've been quiet all night.  I
+certainly got a knock; imagine my head went through the glass, but I
+feel my proper self again, and don't see any reason for staying in bed."
+
+Carrie gave it up.  She knew Jim pretty well and asked where he was
+going.
+
+"I want to look at the car," he said.  "I don't know why she left the
+road.  But how did you find me and bring me home?"
+
+Carrie told him, and he looked thoughtful.
+
+"I was in the ditch with the wheel on me?  This accounts for my side's
+feeling sore.  How did you lift the car?"
+
+"The others got into the ditch.  A wheel began to slip and I thought
+the weight would overpower them; but Lance Mordaunt made a tremendous
+effort and held up the axle until we pulled you out."
+
+Jim knitted his brows and looked across the lawn while he mechanically
+felt for his pipe.  The morning was clear with scattered clouds and the
+grass was silvered by dew.  The hills were sharp and belts of light and
+shadow checkered the marsh.  In the distance, the sea sparkled.
+
+"If Jake or Dick had held her up, I could have understood," he said.
+
+"It was Lance," Carrie insisted.  "Why are you puzzled?"
+
+"For one thing, I imagine he doesn't like me," Jim replied and
+indicated by a gesture the old house, and the sweep of smooth pasture
+and yellow stubble that rolled down the hill.  "Perhaps it's not
+strange.  I have taken all this from him!"
+
+"But you took it as much from Dick."
+
+"That is so," Jim agreed.  "Dick's different.  He's careless; I don't
+think he feels things.  However, I must thank Lance."  He paused and
+resumed: "The boys were in the ditch and I was under the car.  Who
+pulled me out?"
+
+"I did," said Carrie, blushing.  "There was nobody else."
+
+Jim took her hand.  "My dear!  When I needed help before, you were
+about.  But that ditch is four feet deep and I'm heavy."
+
+Carrie pulled her hand from his and smiled.  "You are heavy, Jim, and
+it was something of a strain.  However, I'll come with you, if you are
+going down the hill."
+
+"To take care of me?" said Jim, with a twinkle.  "If you don't mind,
+I'd sooner go alone."
+
+He got up, and seeing that his step was firm, she let him go.  It was
+not a caprice that he would not take her, but when she returned to the
+house she sent Jake after him.
+
+As he went down the hill Jim thought about Mordaunt.  The man was
+something of a puzzle, and Jim admitted that he had, perhaps, not been
+just when he accounted for his antagonism.  Lance, no doubt, felt that
+he ought to have got Langrigg, but he was not altogether moved by
+disappointed greed.  Their antagonism went deeper than that.  Lance was
+a conventionalist; he clung instinctively to traditions that were
+getting out of date.  In fact, Jim thought he would have been a very
+fine country gentleman had he inherited Langrigg sixty years since.
+Lance was what horse-ranchers called a throw-back; in a sense, he
+belonged to an older generation.
+
+There was another thing.  Jim imagined Lance felt Evelyn's charm, and
+although they were cousins, he understood cousins sometimes married,
+with their relatives' approval, when the marriage would advance the
+interests of the family.  It was possible that he might hurt Lance
+worse than by robbing him of Langrigg.
+
+Yet Lance had held up the car for him and run some risk of being
+killed.  After all, this did not clash with Jim's notion of his
+character.  Lance might dislike the man he rescued, but he had the
+instincts of an English gentleman.  Then Jim stopped and looked about,
+for he had reached the thorn hedge.
+
+A belt of peat, checkered by white tufts of wild cotton, ran back from
+the road, and a wire fence joined the hedge at a right angle.  Some of
+the posts had fallen and lengths of wire lay about.  Jim looked at the
+wire thoughtfully, and then went on to the spot where broken glass and
+torn up soil marked the scene of the accident.  Then he stopped again
+and lighted his pipe.  In the Canadian woods he had now and then
+trusted to his rifle to supply his food, and tracking large game trains
+one's observation.  One must guess an animal's movements by very small
+signs.  A  broken twig or a disturbed stone tells one much.  Jim looked
+for some such clew that might help him, so to speak, to reconstruct the
+accident.
+
+He remembered a sudden jolt and the front wheels skidding.  They had
+obviously struck something, and when he got the car straight had
+skidded again the other way.  The marks the tires had made indicated
+this, and he examined the neighboring ground.  The silverweed that
+covered the peaty soil between the road and ditch was not much crushed.
+He had, as he remembered, not gone far on that side before he, for a
+moment, recovered control of the car.  The real trouble began when it
+swerved again and ran across the road.  Something had caught the wheels
+and interfered with the steering.
+
+Jim looked for a big stone, but could find none; besides, it was
+improbable that he had hit the stone twice, and sitting down by the
+overturned car he thoughtfully finished his pipe.  The car must be got
+out of the ditch, but this was not important, and he dwelt upon the
+fencing wire; he had a hazy notion that the obstacle he had struck was
+flexible.  By and by he heard a step, and Jake came up.
+
+"I don't know if you ought to be about," the latter said.  "It will be
+an awkward job to get the car into the road."
+
+"I'm not bothering about the car," Jim replied.  "I want to find out
+why she ran into the ditch."
+
+"You don't know, then?"
+
+Jim indicated the wheel-marks and told Jake about the skidding.  "She
+went off at an angle and I couldn't pull her round," he concluded.
+
+"Do you expect to find the steering-gear broken?"
+
+"Not unless it broke after she skidded."
+
+Jake gave him a keen glance.  "I begin to see!  Well, people sometimes
+find trouble coming to them when they won't leave things alone.  But
+what kind of a clew do you expect to get?"
+
+"A mark on a thorn trunk; we'll look for one," said Jim.  "Suppose you
+take the other side!"
+
+He walked a few yards along the ditch, examining the bottom of the
+trunks, and presently stopped and put his foot on the other bank.  Then
+he beckoned Jake and indicated a few scratches on the bark of a thorn.
+The rough stem was tufted with dry moss and for an inch or two this was
+crushed.
+
+"I reckon something has been fastened to this tree," he said.  "If we
+can find another mark on the opposite row, I'll be satisfied."
+
+They went across and after a few moments Jake said, "Here it is!"
+
+Jim studied the mark and nodded.  "Very well!  I think we'll get into
+the field and look at the old fence wire.  I want a piece seven or
+eight yards long."
+
+After pulling about the wire that lay in the grass, they found a piece.
+One end was bent into a rough hook, and although the other was nearly
+straight Jim noted a spot where the galvanizing was cracked.
+
+"It has been bent here twice," he said.  "Pulled over into a hook and
+then pulled back.  You can see how the zinc has flaked."
+
+They sat down on a bank and Jake remarked: "I think you ought to be
+satisfied.  But what are you going to do about it?"
+
+"Lie low and watch out.  That's all in the meantime.  I want the man
+who fixed the wire across the road to give himself away."
+
+"Don't you know who he is?"
+
+"I think I know.  It's not quite enough."
+
+"Perhaps it's not," Jake agreed.  "You want to be able to show other
+folks he did the thing?  The trouble is, he may try again!"
+
+"Then it will be my fault if he gets me.  I've had fair warning."
+
+"Your nerve is pretty good; I knew this before," Jake remarked.  "Well,
+I suppose nothing's to be said about it until you have some proof?  Now
+we'll go back to breakfast."
+
+They returned to Langrigg, and after breakfast Jim went to the marsh,
+where the men he had engaged were at work.  Soon after he had gone, a
+car from Dryholm came up the drive and Carrie met Bernard Dearham on
+the steps.
+
+"I came to ask how Jim is.  Lance told me about the accident," he said.
+"I expect you won't let me see him yet?"
+
+"You might see him if you crossed the marsh.  He is getting busy
+there," Carrie replied.
+
+"But he was unconscious when Lance left."
+
+Carrie smiled.  "Yes.  He got up at seven o'clock this morning and went
+out.  That's the kind of man he is!"
+
+"Then we needn't be disturbed about him," Bernard replied and indicated
+a stone bench in the sun.  "I cannot walk far and there is no road
+across the marsh.  Can you spare a few minutes to talk to me?"
+
+"Why, of course," said Carrie, and Bernard waited until she sat down.
+Although he thought she knew his importance, she was not anxious to
+please him; but she did not assert her independence.  The girl had an
+ease of manner he approved and, if she remained at Langrigg, would soon
+acquire the touch of polish she needed.  But he pulled himself up.  In
+the meantime, he was going too fast.
+
+"I understand you nursed Jim once before," he said.  "Did you not use
+your authority to keep him in the house this morning?"
+
+"I did not," Carrie replied, with a twinkle.  "Looks as if you didn't
+know Jim yet!  Besides, if you have some authority, you don't want to
+strain it."
+
+"That is no doubt true," Bernard agreed.  None of his relations had so
+far disputed his firm rule, but he knew when it was prudent not to
+exercise his power.  "You are a philosopher," he went on.  "It is
+sometimes an advantage to use a light hand."
+
+"Jim can be led."
+
+Bernard bowed.  "I imagine you have led him where he ought to go."
+
+"I wonder!" said Carrie, with thoughtful frankness.  "The trouble is, I
+don't know much and only understand simple things.  Still, perhaps, I
+did lead him in the woods.  The right way was generally plain there.
+But at Langrigg----"
+
+"You're sometimes puzzled?" Bernard suggested.  "Well, we are all
+puzzled now and then, and perhaps to trust your instincts is a good
+plan.  This, however, is not advice I would give to everybody."
+
+Carrie said nothing.  She liked Bernard and was not afraid of him.  He
+talked to her with the politeness of the old school and when he looked
+amused she thought his amusement was good-humored.
+
+"Jim was under the car when you got to the spot, I think," he resumed.
+"You had some trouble to lift it."
+
+"Lance really lifted the car at the dangerous moment, though the others
+helped.  He saw the wheel was slipping; they were all in the ditch."
+
+"Then who pulled Jim out?"
+
+"I did," said Carrie, with a touch of embarrassment.
+
+Bernard pondered.  Lance had not told him about this and it was
+possible he had an object for not doing so.
+
+"Well," he said, "I expect Jim has had other accidents; as you
+remarked, he is that kind of man.  Did he get hurt when you were with
+him in the woods?"
+
+"He took some chances now and then, but he did not get hurt much."
+
+"Although he came near it?  I heard something about your going to his
+rescue one night with a gun."
+
+Carrie blushed and Bernard fixed his eyes on her face as he went on:
+"Did you mean to use the gun?"
+
+She lifted her head, her mouth went hard, and her glance got steady.
+"Yes.  If I'd thought the other fellow could reach Jim with his ax, I
+would have shot him!"
+
+Bernard nodded.  "Sometimes the primitive plan is the only plan.  One
+can see that you have pluck enough to meet a crisis.  But I have kept
+you and have some other calls."
+
+He got up and when she went with him down the steps gave her his hand.
+"May I come back another day?"
+
+"Of course, but unless he knows you're coming, Jim will be occupied at
+the marsh."
+
+"I won't mind if Jim is occupied."
+
+"Then come when you like," said Carrie, smiling.  "I think you mean to
+be nice."
+
+In the meantime, Jim had got to work and under his superintendence a
+gang of men piled barrowsful of peat soil on the wreck of the dabbin.
+By noon a bank had advanced across the piles of broken clay and a cut
+that was to make a new channel for the creek began to open.  Once or
+twice Jake imagined an indistinct figure lurked among some clumps of
+gorse, as if watching the work, but he was not certain and said nothing.
+
+Jim and he did not go home for lunch and when the men stopped at noon
+found a sheltered hollow and opened a basket of food Jim had sent for.
+The day was bright, but a cold wind flecked the advancing tide with
+foam and swept the empty flats.  Dry reeds rustled in the creek and a
+flock of circling plover gleamed against a cloud that trailed its
+shadow across the marsh.  For all that, the sun was warm in the corner
+where they ate their lunch.
+
+"Did Shanks send you notice that he had gone to the cottage?" Jake
+asked presently.
+
+"He told the teamster to come for his truck.  I expect he thought this
+enough."
+
+"Wouldn't own up that he'd given in!" Jake remarked.  "The fellow's a
+blamed obstinate old tough.  I wonder whether he felt curious if you
+were hurt."
+
+"I reckon he knew," said Jim.  "However, I thought this morning there
+was somebody about----"
+
+He stopped abruptly, and Jake heard a step.  They were quiet for a few
+moments, and then Tom Shanks came round a corner of the bank and stood
+looking at them.  Jim's face was cut and rather white, but the stains
+on his clothes indicated that he had been working among wet soil.  Jake
+gave Shanks a keen glance and thought he looked surprised, as if he had
+not expected to see Jim there.
+
+"Do you want a job?" the latter asked.
+
+"I want nowt fra you.  You can give your job to them as will ca' you
+maister," Shanks rejoined and went off.
+
+"A sullen hog!" Jake remarked.  "I'd like to know when he or the old
+man moved the wire."
+
+"So would I.  It's rather important," said Jim.  "If he was hanging
+about and came for the thing as soon as the car took the ditch, he
+probably saw me under the wheel and meant to leave me there.  How long
+were you in making the spot after you heard the smash?"
+
+"Perhaps five minutes.  Mordaunt's car was at the steps and we jumped
+on board while he started her."
+
+"If you had lost much time, I imagine you'd have found me dead."
+
+"Then why did you offer Shanks a job?"
+
+Jim smiled.  "In order to have him where he could be watched.  A fellow
+like that is dangerous when he's out of sight."
+
+"Shanks and his son are bad men," Jake agreed.  "We have sand-baggers
+and gun-men in Canada, but they get after you for money and their
+methods are up to date.  Shanks' savageness is half-instinctive, like
+the Indian's.  I can't, so to speak, locate him; he goes too far back."
+
+Jim got up.  "It's not important just now.  Tell the teamster to bring
+his horses and we'll get busy."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+JIM'S RELAPSE
+
+Jim made progress at the dyke until it began to rain.  For some weeks a
+strong west wind drove dark clouds across the sea, the hills were
+wrapped in mist, the creeks swelled and the tides rose high.  Floods
+spread about the marsh and the floundering teams could hardly drag
+their loads through the bog.  Sometimes Jim felt anxious, for the
+undertaking threatened to cost much more than he had thought.
+
+Then came two fine days when, although the sun shone, heavy clouds
+rolled about the hills.  Jim, knowing the fine weather would not last,
+drove his men hard, since there was work he must push forward before
+the next flood.  The new bank had reached a creek where he must build a
+strong sluice-gate and hold back the water by a rude coffer-dam while
+he dug for the foundation.
+
+He came up from the dam one afternoon and stood on the slope of the
+bank, looking down into the hole.  His long boots, shirt, and trousers
+were stained by mud that had also splashed his face and hands; for
+since the work was risky he had helped the men.  Now he was rather
+highly-strung.  Below him, the water spirited [Transcriber's note:
+spurted?] through the joints in a wall of thick planks and ran into the
+excavation, where a few men, sunk nearly to the knees in mud, were
+working.  A forge stood on the top of the bank and the smith leaned on
+the crank of the blower.  He was a short, strongly-built man, and
+looked sulky.
+
+"There's too much water blowing through; pressure's heavier than I
+reckoned and I don't like the way that brace sags," Jim remarked, as a
+shower of mud and water fell into the hole.  Then he shouted to the
+men: "Get a thick plank across and wedge her up."
+
+"Looks as if the fastenings of the brace had slipped," said Jake.
+
+"They oughtn't to slip.  The plate and nut on the iron were meant to
+keep the beam in place."
+
+"I don't think I saw a nut when the boys fixed the thing."
+
+Jim beckoned the smith.  Although the fellow was a good workman, he was
+obstinate and Jim had not bothered him much until he needed some irons
+for the dam, when he made careful sketches and insisted on the other's
+working to his plans.  This had caused some trouble and Jim now meant
+to be firm.
+
+"I reckon I told you to screw the ends of the bar and make nuts to turn
+back against the plates," he said.  "Did you screw the ends?"
+
+"I did not," said the other.  "There was nae use for nuts.  I punched
+hole for pin that wad stop her pulling oot."
+
+"Pulling out!" Jim exclaimed.  "Did you imagine I wanted to hold the
+frames together?"
+
+"If yon wasn't what you wanted, you should have said."
+
+Jim had meant to be calm, but the men had run some risk from the
+fellow's obstinacy, and he lost his control.
+
+"I told you to screw the ends.  Confound you!  The dam's in
+compression; there's no pull at all.  Put a new bar in the vise and
+I'll stand by while you cut the thread."
+
+"Stan', if you like.  I'll not touch bar while you're aboot.  Are you
+gan t' teach me my job?"
+
+"It's plain you don't know your job.  Get out of my way and I'll cut
+the thread myself."
+
+The smith stood square in front with a frown on his face.  "You'll not
+touch my tools.  Vise and forge is yours; screwing stocks is mine."
+
+"Oh, shucks!" said Jim.  "Get out of the way.  We want the bar right
+now."
+
+The smith did not move, and although nobody afterwards remembered how
+the struggle began, Jake, interfering a moment too late, imagined Jim
+tried to get past the smith and jostled him.  They grappled, and while
+they rocked to and fro the men in the pit stopped work.  At first, Jim
+would have been satisfied to throw his antagonist back, but after a
+moment or two he doubted if this would be enough.  The fellow had
+defied him, they had begun to fight, and in Canada a boss who could not
+enforce his authority lost his right to rule.  Jim imagined it was so
+in England and did not mean to stop until the smith was ready to
+submit.  Yet the fellow was powerful and fought with dogged pluck.
+
+While they floundered about, striking, and trying for a throwing hold,
+Jake heard steps and looked up.  He was half-embarrassed and
+half-amused, for it was obvious Jim did not know Mrs. Halliday, Evelyn,
+and Bernard Dearham stood on the top of the bank.  He could not
+separate the men and did not think Jim would hear if he shouted;
+besides, to shout a warning would make the thing ridiculous.
+
+There was nothing to do but wait, and after a few moments Jim lifted
+his antagonist and threw him down the bank.  It looked as if the sulky
+smith was not a favorite, for some of the men laughed and some growled
+hoarse applause.  Jim's muddy shirt was torn and his face was bruised;
+he was looking down into the hole and did not see Bernard's party until
+he turned to go to the forge.  Then he stopped and stood with his head
+held back, while Jake studied the others.  He thought Bernard was
+quietly amused, but Mrs. Halliday looked pained, and Evelyn's delicate
+face was flushed.
+
+"We thought we would come to see how you were getting on," said Mrs.
+Halliday.  "It was an adventure; your new road is very bad and the car
+nearly upset."
+
+"There is not much to see and I did not expect you," Jim replied.
+
+"That is obvious," Bernard remarked with a twinkle.  "I imagine you
+don't know much about Cumberland wrestling, but you are very quick.
+When you threw him, the other fellow was getting a hold that would have
+put you in his power."
+
+"You gave him a bad fall, anyhow.  I suppose you are used to this sort
+of thing in Canada," said Mordaunt, who came from behind the others and
+glanced at Evelyn.
+
+Jake was interested; he sensed something of a drama, of which he
+thought his comrade was unconscious.  There was a hint of a sneer in
+Mordaunt's voice and Jake thought his remark was meant for the girl.
+Her eyes were fixed on Jim, and she looked disturbed.  It was plain
+that Mordaunt noted this.  Mrs. Halliday was rather ostentatiously
+careless, Bernard quietly looked on, but Jim gave no sign of
+embarrassment.
+
+"Why, no," he answered Mordaunt.  "On the whole, I didn't have much
+trouble with the boys in Canada.  This fellow wouldn't do his job as I
+wanted, and through his stupidity we ran some risk of the dam's caving
+in.  I'll show you----"
+
+They went with him, glad of something to banish the strain, and he
+indicated the men working in the mud behind the wall of planks.
+
+"If the timbering gave way, the water would break through and perhaps
+drown the gang.  I'm boss and accountable.  I take no chances about the
+safety of my men."
+
+Mordaunt smiled as he glanced at Evelyn and Jake imagined he knew what
+the smile implied.  Jim was breaking conventions, his bold statement
+had a theatrical touch that no doubt jarred; reserved Englishmen did
+not talk like that.  Moreover, he was wet and muddy, and his tense pose
+had not relaxed.  Standing with head held back and body highly-strung,
+he looked a stranger.  Jim did not belong to the others' circle, he
+came from outside.
+
+"Yours is a good rule and force is useful now and then," Bernard
+observed.  "However, we came to take you to Dryholm.  I was feeling
+dull, and the others have promised to help me through the evening.  If
+you can come, we will go on to Langrigg for Mrs. Winter."
+
+Jim wanted to go, because Evelyn was going, but he gave her an
+apologetic glance as he answered Bernard: "I'm sorry; I can't leave my
+job."
+
+Evelyn said nothing, although her color was rather high, and Mrs.
+Halliday interposed: "After all, you would not lose much time.  It will
+soon be dark."
+
+"Dark generally comes before one's ready, but I have some plans to make
+for the morning when I get home," said Jim, who turned to Bernard.  "We
+must push on before the water gets too high.  If you wouldn't mind
+taking Mrs. Winter and Carrie, I think they'd like it."
+
+Mrs. Halliday's look hinted that she was trying to hide her annoyance
+and Evelyn turned her head.
+
+"Very well," said Bernard and beckoned the others.
+
+When they had gone Jake laughed.  "I imagine you have given your
+relations a jolt."
+
+"I felt something like that.  I didn't mean to jolt them," Jim said
+with a frown.  "Why didn't they come a few minutes earlier, or later?"
+
+"I wasn't altogether thinking of your throwing the smith down the bank.
+You have got rather English, but sometimes you break away; I think I
+mean break back."
+
+"Perhaps that is so; I forget," Jim agreed.  "I was a miner and
+linesman before I was a landlord."
+
+"Confusing for your friends, isn't it?  They don't know which they have
+to reckon on--the Canadian sourdough or the country gentleman.  Anyhow,
+I expect your suggestion that they should take mother and Carrie didn't
+help much.  Were you talking like a sourdough or an English landlord
+then?"
+
+"You have a confoundedly mischievous humor," Jim rejoined, with a
+twinkle.  "Do you want me to state that it's a country gentleman's duty
+to insist on the proper acknowledgment of his guests?  Bernard likes
+your people and I don't know if Mrs. Halliday and Lance Mordaunt count."
+
+"I was not thinking about Mrs. Halliday----" Jake began, but stopped
+when his comrade looked hard at him, and a few moments afterwards the
+smith came up the bank.
+
+"Well?" said Jim, sharply.  "What do you want?"
+
+"Noo I see how bar's meant to gan, mayhappen it wad be better screwed.
+If you'll wait while I gan for dies, I'll do't for you."
+
+"All right.  You can get busy," said Jim.
+
+When the smith went off he smiled and remarked: "I don't know if I
+expected this, but the man will make no more trouble.  However, we have
+lost some time and must push ahead."
+
+They got to work, and in the meantime Bernard drove to Langrigg and
+picked up Mrs. Winter and Carrie.  The party at Dryholm broke up soon,
+but when Evelyn returned to Whitelees she felt that the evening had
+been too long.  For one thing, she had been kept occupied and she
+wanted to think.  Now she sat, rather languidly, in an easy-chair and
+knitted her brows.  She had got a jar in the afternoon and she tried to
+recapture the scene on the bank--the smith scowling at the bottom, and
+Jim's bruised face, savage frown, and muddy clothes.
+
+Jim was a new type, and she admitted that he attracted her, but his
+attraction was largely physical and sometimes she felt repelled.  He
+was handsome and forceful; she liked his steady look, his athletic
+figure, and his clean brown skin.  Then she liked the respect he showed
+her and his obvious wish to please.  This was flattering and his
+strength and candor made an appeal, but she was highly cultivated and
+he was not rude.  Indeed, when he stood on the bank, hot and triumphant
+after the fight, there was something barbarous about him.  His virility
+moved her, but to live with him would demand some pluck; Evelyn knew he
+could not, so to speak, be tamed.  His refusal to come to Dryholm, when
+he knew she was going, was a proof.  It was significant that the dam he
+was building made a stronger claim.  Evelyn was drawn in different ways
+and, on the whole, it was a relief when Mrs. Halliday came in.
+
+"Jim was not his best this afternoon," the latter said.  "However, he
+has not been long in England and no doubt the risk of such outbreaks
+will presently vanish.  In the meantime one must make some allowances."
+
+"For the owner of Langrigg?"
+
+"Oh, well," said Mrs. Halliday, "I suppose I did mean this, but perhaps
+not altogether in the way you think.  There is a rude vein in the
+Dearhams that comes to the surface now and then.  One hardly noted it
+in Joseph, but in Bernard it's rather marked.  I imagine he has some
+sympathy for Jim's extravagances.  This may have its influence."
+
+"Bernard is inscrutable," Evelyn rejoined.  "One cannot foretell what
+he will do."
+
+Mrs. Halliday saw that Evelyn understood; she had, in fact, expected
+her to understand, and her voice was thoughtful as she resumed: "After
+all, his approval is not essential.  You have some money; I do not know
+about Jim, but he is spending much."
+
+"It may be all he has; he is not afraid of a risk," said Evelyn, with a
+touch of color, for she was fastidious and her mother was blunt.
+
+Then for a moment or two she mused.  She was afraid of a risk; this was
+the trouble.  Adventure, romance, and to some extent passion urged, but
+caution deterred.  The romance would vanish and Jim might jar.
+
+"Langrigg gives its owner a firm position," Mrs. Halliday resumed.
+"Even if he were poor, his wife would take a leading place in the Holm
+country.  People pretend to scoff at such things, but they count."
+
+"Much would depend on the owner.  If he broke the family traditions,
+defied our conventions, and made himself a joke----"
+
+"Much would be forgiven him because he is a Dearham," Mrs. Halliday
+rejoined.  "Still, of course, there is a limit and I see a risk.  Jim
+needs guidance for a time and it's possible his Canadian friends
+encourage his un-English idiosyncrasies.  The girl has some beauty; I
+would sooner she did not stay long.  If Jim could be advised----"
+
+Evelyn smiled.  "I cannot advise him.  Besides, he's very staunch and
+owes these people much."
+
+"Oh, well," said Mrs. Halliday.  "In such a matter, one cannot meddle
+unless it is certain one's advice would be well received.  We must let
+it go.  Perhaps the Winters do not mean to remain very long."
+
+"I think Jake means to stay until the marsh is drained, and I don't
+suppose the others will go until he is ready."
+
+Mrs. Halliday frowned.  "Jim is rather annoying.  Sometimes he vexes
+me, but in a sense it is our duty to protect him.  It has been a
+disturbing day; I think I'll go to bed."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+JIM IS LEFT OUT
+
+The sun shone on the terrace at Dryholm, the house kept off the wind,
+and a creeper made a glowing background for the group about the
+tea-table.  A row of dahlias close by hung their heads after a night's
+frost, a gardener was sweeping dead leaves from the grass, and the
+beeches round the tarn were nearly bare.
+
+Bernard took a cup from Mrs. Halliday and glancing at the long shadows
+that stretched across the lawn, indicated a sundial on a pillar.
+
+"In another few minutes its usefulness will be gone and it warns me
+that mine is going," he said, and quoted a tag of Latin.
+
+"I wonder why they carve such melancholy lines on sundials," somebody
+remarked.
+
+"Perhaps there is a certain futility about the custom.  You, for whom
+the sun is rising, don't heed the warning, and we others in the shadow
+know our day is done.  I do not think I am a sentimentalist, but the
+news we got this morning proves the Latin motto true.  Then it is
+hardly possible we shall have tea outside again, and we cannot tell if
+all will gather round the table when summer comes back."
+
+Mrs. Halliday began to talk about a neighbor who had died the day
+before.  "Alan Raine will be missed; he was a good and useful English
+type," she said.  "Conscientious and public-spirited.  One could depend
+on him for a subscription and a graceful speech.  I have not known his
+equal for opening a village club or a flower show.  Then the hunt ball
+was always a success since he managed it, and we have not had so good a
+master of otter-hounds."
+
+"It is something to be remembered for these things.  Alan will be
+missed," Bernard agreed and turned to Carrie.  "You have heard our
+notion of an English gentleman's duty.  What do you think about it?"
+
+"It is not my notion.  If I were a man, and rich, I should like to
+leave a deeper mark."
+
+"Ah," said Bernard, "you come from a strenuous country that breeds
+another type.  Your men fight with blizzards on the snowy trail and
+drive their shafts through ground the sun never melts.  Sometimes they
+come to England and teach us to hustle by altering the landscape and
+destroying our old landmarks.  Perhaps there is something to be said
+for the others who carry out quiet duties conscientiously."
+
+"Oh, yes," said Carrie, with a sparkle in her eyes.  "But I'd sooner
+have cornfields running across a drained marsh than a hunt ball for my
+monument."
+
+"You have a good apologist," Bernard said to Jim.
+
+The others laughed, and Mrs. Halliday, not liking the turn Bernard had
+given the talk, asked: "Who will take the otter-hounds?"
+
+"The matter's important and cannot be decided rashly," Bernard replied
+with some dryness, and addressed Mordaunt.  "I imagine Jim might fill
+the post.  What do you think, Lance?"
+
+"The choice lies between Langrigg and Dryholm, sir.  The Dearhams have
+a kind of traditional right to keep the hounds.  Joseph did so."
+
+"I am too old."
+
+"Then Jim ought to make a good master.  That is, if he doesn't think
+otter-hunting an idle man's game."
+
+Bernard turned to Jim, who laughed.  "Lance's shot was fair.  When I
+first came over I had some prejudices, but they are going and I don't
+see why I shouldn't play now and then."  He paused and his look was
+serious when he resumed: "In a way, it's strange, but your English
+customs have a grip; they get hold of one.  In fact, I'm getting
+English fast, but perhaps that is not quite right.  I begin to feel I
+am English."
+
+Mrs. Halliday gave him an approving smile.  "You inherited more than
+Langrigg from the Dearhams, Jim.  I like to see you realize you got
+some duties when you got the estate."
+
+"I don't know if keeping the hounds is a duty," Jim rejoined.  "Perhaps
+Lance was nearest when he called it a game.  All the same, I think I'd
+like the job."
+
+They began to talk about the advisability of moving the kennels and
+Carrie, sitting quiet, studied the others.  She saw Mrs. Halliday was
+pleased and thought she understood this.  Mordaunt puzzled her.  His
+rather dark face was hard to read, but she had got a hint of
+disappointment when he said the choice lay between Langrigg and Dryholm
+and Bernard declared he was too old.  Then she suspected a touch of
+bitterness in his next remark.  The others had noted nothing, except
+perhaps Bernard, who had looked at Mordaunt hard.  Carrie did not like
+Mordaunt; he sometimes sneered politely at Jim.
+
+"It is something to know Jim is willing, but the post is not my gift,"
+Bernard resumed.  "A meeting will no doubt be held to weigh the matter
+and if Jim is chosen, I should not be surprised."
+
+Then he got up and shivered as the creeping shadow touched the bench he
+occupied.  Some of the others went off along the terrace and Jim and
+Evelyn crossed the lawn.  They were talking animatedly and Carrie felt
+a pang when Jim's laugh came back to her.  In the woods she had cheered
+him and he laughed at her jokes.  Now he was always kind but he forgot
+her when Evelyn was about.  She turned rather moodily towards the arch
+and saw Bernard standing in the gloom.  His eyes were fixed on the
+figures on the lawn and Carrie thought he looked annoyed, but he smiled
+when he heard her step.
+
+"They have left you alone?" he said.  "Well, we must amuse each other,
+and there are some flowers in the hot-house that I don't think you have
+seen."
+
+Carrie went with him thoughtfully.  Bernard's remarks were often
+oracular; he left one to guess what he meant, but she imagined his
+glance was sympathetic.  Although this was to some extent embarrassing,
+she began to talk; and when they reached the hot-house he answered her
+questions about the flowers with old-fashioned politeness.  By and by
+he glanced at a thermometer and pulling down a skylight turned to
+Carrie, who was looking at the patches of glowing color that broke the
+long banks of green.
+
+"Beautiful things but fragile, and they have no smell," he said.  "I
+suppose we grow them because they cost us much.  The flowers of the
+bleak North are sweet."
+
+By and by Jim came in and after a glance about exclaimed: "These are
+very fine!"
+
+"You have an eye for color," Bernard remarked.  "Their beauty's almost
+insolent; I don't know if it's strange that they are foul-feeders and
+thrive on rottenness.  Sometimes I think I'd give them all for the
+cloudberry bloom I trampled on the moors when I was young.  It feeds on
+the melting snow and opens its chaste white cup nearest the sky."
+
+"You declared you were not a sentimentalist," said Jim.
+
+"Oh, well," said Bernard, "you must make allowances for an old man's
+inconsistency."  He turned as a car began to throb, and smiled at
+Carrie.  "One mustn't keep the engine running and I expect the others
+are waiting.  Come back soon and cheer me up."
+
+He went with them to the steps, and when they drove off Jim was
+thoughtful for a few minutes.  He was glad Bernard liked Carrie, but
+perhaps it was strange he had not urged Evelyn to come back.  Bernard,
+however, was puzzling; one could not understand his moods.  Then Jim
+forgot about it as Mrs. Winter began to talk.
+
+A week later, four gentlemen sat one evening in the smoking-room at a
+house on the rolling ground where the hills dip to the seaboard plain.
+Three were rather fat, gray-haired, and solemn, and one was young.  The
+latter indicated a siphon and decanter on the table when Mordaunt came
+in.
+
+"Help yourself," he said.  "Where's Dick?"
+
+"I arranged to pick him up at the cross-roads, but he wasn't there,"
+Mordaunt replied.  "Dick's a careless fellow and I didn't want to be
+late."
+
+He filled a glass and when he sat down one of the others remarked:
+"Alan Raine has gone and it is our melancholy duty to fill his post.
+This will not be easy; Alan was a keen sportsman and a man of tact.  He
+commanded the farmers' respect and had the interest of the hunt at
+heart.  For all that, the hunt is a useful institution and must be kept
+up.  Fish are getting scarce; modern field drainage sends down the
+water in sudden floods and when, between times, the rivers run low the
+trout and salmon are the otter's easy prey.  It is our duty to preserve
+the fisheries, and help, as far as we are able, a bracing English
+sport."
+
+He drained his glass while the others signed approval.  Hodson had
+cleared the ground neatly and the business could begin.
+
+"Our choice is somewhat limited," said another.  "I think we have all
+found it a drawback to keep the hounds near the hills, since the meets
+are generally held by the deep water in the flat holms.  In fact, one
+feels the hounds ought to go to Dryholm or Langrigg."
+
+Mordaunt quietly lighted a cigarette and then replied: "I'm afraid you
+must rule out Dryholm.  Bernard declares he is too old to take the
+hounds."
+
+"But what about yourself?"
+
+"I am too poor," said Mordaunt, smiling.
+
+The others hesitated.  They were cautious and did not want to venture
+on dangerous ground, but there was something to be said, and Herries,
+the youngest man, remarked: "After all, an offer of the hounds is a
+compliment and its acceptance, to some extent, a public duty.  If this
+view were put before Bernard Dearham, some arrangement could perhaps be
+made."
+
+"You mean I might fill the post and Bernard provide the money?"
+Mordaunt suggested.  "Bernard, however, does not seem to see the
+advantage of the plan."
+
+Herries gave him a keen glance.  Mordaunt's face was calm; but the
+other imagined he had felt some disappointment.
+
+"Then we must fall back on Langrigg.  The new owner is your relation.
+What do you think about our asking him?"
+
+"I imagine you couldn't find a better site for the kennels," Mordaunt
+replied.  "Langrigg is near the deep water where the big fish lie and
+you can generally find an otter----"
+
+He stopped, and Herries said, "Yes, of course!  But this is not
+altogether what we mean.  Do you think Dearham would take the post?"
+
+"It's possible," said Mordaunt, very dryly.  "Have you decided to ask
+him?"
+
+The others were quiet for a moment or two.  They felt they had got a
+hint, but the hint was vague.  Somebody must take the hounds and they
+could not.  They resolved to leave the thing to Herries; he was young
+and his remarks would not carry so much weight.  Besides, he knew
+Mordaunt well.
+
+"Let's be frank," he said, hiding some embarrassment by a twinkle meant
+for Mordaunt alone.  "Choosing a master of hounds is an important job.
+Would Dearham fill the post properly?"
+
+"I think not," Mordaunt answered in a quiet voice.
+
+"Oh, well," remarked another.  "I suppose there is no more to be said."
+
+Mordaunt lighted a fresh cigarette.  "I want you to understand.  Jim
+Dearham is my relation, but I feel my responsibility.  He is a good
+sort and I am not stating much to his disadvantage when I admit that he
+is not the proper man to take the hounds.  He has not yet cultivated
+our sense of sport and his notions are utilitarian.  I'm afraid he'd
+grumble about broken fences and trampled crops.  Then, for example,
+he's dyking the marsh."
+
+"Exactly!" said one.  "I imagine we do understand.  Well, we must ask
+Watson of Red Bank.  He's rich enough and ambitious, although he's not
+altogether the man I'd like."
+
+They agreed, and soon afterwards Dick came in and asked Mordaunt: "Why
+didn't you stop for me, as you promised?"
+
+"I did stop.  I waited some minutes."
+
+"Then you must have come before the time."
+
+"Look at your watch," said Mordaunt, who took out his.  "I got the time
+at the station this afternoon."
+
+Dick said it did not matter much and asked whom they meant to make the
+master of hounds.
+
+"Watson, of Red Bank," one replied, and began to talk about something
+else when he had filled a glass for Dick.  The latter was young and
+sometimes indiscreet; it was better he should not know what Mordaunt
+had said.
+
+By and by two or three went off to the billiard-room and Herries said
+to Mordaunt: "Sorry I had to urge you; but I knew the others hadn't
+pluck enough and meant to leave the thing to me.  Their notion was I
+didn't count and you wouldn't resent my remarks.  Rather an awkward
+job, but we felt we could trust you.  All the same, I like Jim, and
+expect he'll be popular when we get to know him.  In fact, I imagine
+I'd have let him take the hounds."
+
+"He'd have jolted the others badly," Mordaunt rejoined.  "They belong
+to the old school; he belongs to the new."
+
+"One or two rather need a jolt, but we'll let it go.  I want to watch
+Dick's game; he's been playing well and using a new stroke."
+
+They went to the billiard-room and stayed until the party broke up.
+Then, as the Dryholm car rolled up to the steps, Dick said to Mordaunt:
+"You got the wrong time, after all.  I compared my watch with Hodson's.
+His was a presentation from the farmers' club, you know; the latest
+thing in watches, and he declares it's accurate."
+
+"It's not very important."
+
+"In a way, it is important," Dick objected.  "If I'd been here soon
+enough, I'd have urged their choosing Jim."  He paused and looked at
+Mordaunt hard.  "It's curious, but I imagined Hodson was embarrassed
+when he said they meant to ask Watson.  Why should they ask the fellow?
+He's not our sort."
+
+"After all, Jim is not our sort."
+
+"Rot!" exclaimed Dick.  "Bernard is satisfied and I'd sooner trust him
+than Hodson.  In fact, Bernard's a better judge than anybody in
+Hodson's stodgy lot."
+
+Mordaunt shrugged, but was glad the rattle of the engine covered his
+silence and the driver looked up as if to see if he were coming.  He
+got into the car and pondered as he drove back to Dryholm.  Dick's
+manner was curious and his annoyance was plain Mordaunt wondered
+whether he suspected something.  Still, except perhaps for Herries, the
+hunt committee were tactful; he did not think they would enlighten Dick.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+BERNARD PONDERS
+
+It was getting dark in the hall at Langrigg and Jim, who had just
+returned from the marsh, sat in the hollow of the big fireplace.  Rain
+beat upon the windows, outside which the trees tossed their naked
+branches against the lowering sky, and a cold wind wailed about the
+ancient walls.  Oak logs snapped in the grate and Carrie sat on the rug
+in the flickering light.  She was toasting muffins, and a silver teapot
+and some cups stood on the low table in front of Mrs. Winter.  Now the
+days were getting cold and short, tea by the hearth was a popular
+function.  Carrie buttered a muffin and gave it Jim on the end of the
+fork.
+
+"Jake must wait for the next.  I can't toast the things fast enough for
+him," she said.  "They're quite nice if you eat them hot, but they're
+not like the flapjacks I made in the woods.  After all, we had some
+pretty good times on the new line; hadn't we, Jim?  Mother doesn't
+know; she wasn't there."
+
+"I was not," said Mrs. Winter.  "If you had taken me along, I wouldn't
+be with you now.  A roof that keeps out the rain, a warm room, and a
+comfortable chair are good enough for me."
+
+"You'd have said _for mine_, not long since.  Looks as if we were all
+getting English," Carrie replied.  "Jim was very nice when he got you
+the chair.  It's up against all the other things.  If I was Jim, I'd
+hate to have it around."
+
+Jim laughed.  He had sent to London for the American spring
+rocking-chair that clashed with the old oak in the hall, but it was a
+pattern Mrs. Winter liked and he was satisfied.  He ate his muffin
+silently, for he was tired, and Carrie's remarks had wakened memories
+of other fires that burned among the tall straight trunks in the
+Canadian wilds; he thought he could hear the snow-fed river brawl, and
+smell the smoke that drifted in blue wreaths about the lonely camp.
+Carrie had laughed and bantered him then and he had been happy.  He was
+happy now and hoped to be happier yet, but Carrie was often quiet and
+he had a puzzling feeling that he had lost something he could not
+recapture.
+
+Presently she picked up a local newspaper and lighted a candle with a
+shade.  The light only spread a yard or two, but it touched the page
+she folded back and sparkled in her hair.
+
+"They have got a master for the otter-hounds!" she exclaimed, and then
+her color rose and her eyes went hard.  "I don't know the committee,
+but if the others are like Hodson, they're solemn old fools."
+
+"I'd rather have liked the post, but it doesn't matter much," said Jim,
+and added, with a smile: "Now you're like the Carrie who went North
+with us."
+
+"Bernard meant you to have the hounds; he's a dear, although some
+stupid people are afraid of him," Carrie went on.  "He'd certainly have
+fixed it if he hadn't got lame again.  But I remember--Dick went to
+their old meeting and was mad about something afterwards.  I think it
+was something about Lance Mordaunt--now I begin to see!"
+
+"I don't think it's worth while your bothering about the thing."
+
+"Don't interrupt!" said Carrie.  "I'm going to talk.  Lance doesn't
+like you, and I imagine Dick doesn't trust him.  Dick is smart
+sometimes and knows Lance is mean.  He is mean; he has a yellow
+streak----"
+
+She stopped, for she saw Jim's frown.  He was not vexed with her, but
+her statement chimed with some vague doubts of his.  She got up and
+made him a formal curtsy.
+
+"I'm sorry, Jim.  That was the Carrie you knew in the woods.  If you
+don't want her, you oughtn't to burn logs and sit by the fire when it's
+getting dark, as we used to do.  But she has gone back to the shadows
+that creep among the pines, and I don't think she will come out again."
+
+She pulled up an easy-chair, and when she sat down and shielded her
+face from the fire with her hand Jake's eyes twinkled.  He wondered
+whether Jim saw she was cleverly imitating Evelyn's graceful
+languidness.  After a few moments she indicated the dark oak paneling
+and old furniture.
+
+"That's your proper background, Jim, when you frown.  It's plain that
+you belong to Langrigg.  When you fought the Scots and hunted wolves I
+expect you often looked like you looked just now."
+
+"But I didn't fight the Scots," Jim objected.
+
+"Your people did," said Carrie.  "Sometimes you're very dull."
+
+Jim laughed and glanced at her.  Flames leaped up round the logs and
+the red light played about her face.  Her color was rather marked, she
+looked strangely alert and forceful, and something about her dress gave
+her a touch of stateliness, for Carrie had well chosen her English
+clothes.  Jim knew her to be staunch and fearless, and although her
+humor was sometimes puzzling he felt her charm.
+
+"By George!" he said impulsively, "I think you belong to the old days
+as much as I belong.  One could have trusted you to hold the tower
+against all comers when your man went off to hunt."
+
+Carrie held her hand to her face a moment, as if the fire were hot, and
+then smiled as she looked up.
+
+"If my man had gone off often, I would have taken the wolf-spear and
+gone with him."
+
+Mrs. Winter, who had quietly studied both, began to talk about
+something else, and presently a servant brought in some letters.  Jim
+moved the shaded candle and opened his, but after a time put one down
+and looked straight in front, knitting his brows.
+
+"What is it, partner?" Jake asked.
+
+"I have got a knock.  I told my Vancouver agent to sell some shares and
+send along a check.  He says I'd better wait; the market's very flat."
+
+"Then you bought the Bench-lands Irrigation stock?"
+
+"I did.  I have invested most of the money I got for the Bluebird mine."
+
+"All ours is at the Merchants' Bank," Carrie remarked.  "Jake wanted to
+buy Irrigation stock, but I wouldn't let him.  However, the company
+ought to make good."
+
+"I hope so.  Jeffreys is doubtful.  I bought because I know the Bench
+country and Martin was interested in the scheme.  It seems they are
+having trouble about their water rights and an order has been granted
+to stop the ditches.  Jeffreys says nobody wants the stock just now and
+imagines the lawsuit may go against them."
+
+"Will this make things awkward for you?"
+
+"To some extent.  Langrigg costs much to run and the dykes are
+expensive.  I'll get my farm rents soon, but they won't go very far.
+For all that, the dykes must be finished; it's the only way to get back
+the money I have spent."
+
+"Besides, you want to finish them," Carrie suggested.
+
+"That is so," Jim agreed.  "You can't leave a job half done."
+
+He began to ponder and struggle with a disturbing doubt.  If the
+Irrigation Company failed, he must use economy, because the farm rents
+would not enable him to live at Langrigg like a country gentleman.  For
+himself, this did not matter much; he did not want a number of servants
+and gardeners.  But Evelyn was used to the extravagance at Whitelees,
+and he knew Mrs. Halliday's views.
+
+"Well," said Carrie, "to begin with, the dykes must be finished.  When
+your money runs out you will use ours."
+
+"Carrie speaks for the rest of us," Jake declared.  "What she says
+goes."
+
+Jim hardly understood the emotion by which he was moved and said
+awkwardly: "Thanks!  You're generous, but I can't let you pay for my
+mistakes."
+
+"We are partners, Jim," said Carrie.  "Until you break the partnership,
+all that's ours is yours.  Go on with the dykes and when you need
+money, ask Jake for a check."
+
+"Give him the book," said Mrs. Winter.  "Jake can sign some forms."
+
+Jim hesitated and smiled to hide his embarrassment.  "We'll wait.  I'm
+not broken yet, and since Martin is backing the scheme things can't go
+very wrong.  However, it's lucky they didn't make me master of hounds."
+
+In the evening he went to Dryholm and dined with Bernard at a small
+table in the spacious room.  Afterwards they sat by the fire talking
+quietly.  Flickering reflections played about the carved marble and
+bright steel; electric lights, half-hidden by the cornice, threw down a
+soft light, and Bernard looked old and worn as he leaned back languidly
+in his big chair.
+
+"Since you have begun to drain the marsh, we may take it for granted
+you are going to stay at Langrigg," he said.
+
+"Yes, I mean to stay."
+
+"Then it's obvious that you ought to marry."
+
+"I don't know if it's obvious or not," Jim rejoined.  "However, since
+you are the head of the house, I dare say you are entitled to feel some
+curiosity."
+
+Bernard smiled.  "Suppose you think about me as an old man who would
+like to be your friend."
+
+"I'm sorry, sir," said Jim.  "We're an independent lot in Canada and
+I've fought for my own hand since I was a boy.  Anyhow, I mean to marry
+Evelyn, if she is willing."
+
+"It looks as if you had not asked her yet."
+
+"I have not; I'm half-afraid.  In one way, it would be a rash plunge
+for a girl like Evelyn.  Though I've inherited Langrigg, I'm a Western
+adventurer; I've lived with rough men in the wilds.  She's refined and
+cultivated.  Well, I've gone slow, trying to persuade myself I was
+justified before I persuaded her.  Then I wanted her, so to speak, to
+get used to me."
+
+"You are modest," Bernard remarked.  "You imply that Evelyn does not
+know."
+
+"I don't think she knows.  I have been cautious.  If I hinted at my
+hopes too soon, she might get disturbed and alarmed."
+
+Bernard smiled.  "Well, perhaps you have taken a prudent line.  But do
+you imagine your reserve has deceived Janet Halliday?"
+
+"Perhaps it has not; Mrs. Halliday is clever.  I think she is my
+friend."
+
+"It's possible," Bernard agreed, with a touch of ironical humor.  "How
+long do you think you must give Evelyn, in order to avoid the jar she
+might get if you prematurely revealed your hopes?"
+
+Jim knitted his brows.  He was used to Bernard's cynical dryness and
+trusted him.  "It will be longer than I thought," he answered, grimly.
+"I have had a bad set-back."
+
+He told Bernard about the risk of his losing his money, and the latter
+was silent for a minute or two.  Then he remarked: "I suppose you see
+that if I thought it a good plan I could help you out."
+
+"That is not why I told you," said Jim.  "I could not take your help."
+
+"I imagined you would not.  Well, perhaps your frankness accounts for
+our friendship.  You are unembarrassed because you have no grounds for
+indulging my caprices and expect nothing from me."
+
+Jim made a little abrupt movement.  He had once said something like
+that; to Mordaunt, he thought.
+
+"Very well," Bernard resumed.  "If you think I can help, I am willing;
+but I will not insist."
+
+"Thank you," said Jim, "I must trust my own efforts."
+
+Bernard lighted a cigar and pondered.  He was satisfied and somewhat
+amused.  It would not have cost him much to banish Jim's difficulties
+and he would have liked to earn his gratitude, but was glad the other
+had refused.  It was better that Jim's troubles about money should not
+be banished yet.  He was something of a romantic fool; but Bernard knew
+Evelyn was not.  By and by he led Jim into confidential talk about his
+investments in Canada and his plans for developing his new estate, and
+then let him go.
+
+When Jim had gone, he sat by the fire, thinking hard, and after a time
+sent a servant to the library for a bundle of architect's drawings.
+The drawings gave the plans and elevation of a new hospital and Bernard
+thought the plain, straight front, looked mean.  Knowing something
+about building, he saw how it could be altered and ornamented, and the
+hospital enlarged, if funds permitted.  He was one of the founders and
+thought it might be advisable to augment his gift.
+
+Next day he went to Whitelees and was received by Mrs. Halliday in her
+drawing-room, which always annoyed him.  He felt he wanted to clear out
+Janet's room and furnish it on another plan.  Bernard hated sensual
+prettiness and liked bold, clean lines and subdued color.  Besides, his
+gout was rather bad, the fragile chair was uncomfortable, and he could
+not rest his foot.  When the pain gripped him he frowned, and Mrs.
+Halliday remarked that he was not looking well.
+
+"I am getting old and have recently felt my age," he replied.  "One
+must pay for a strenuous youth, and it's becoming plain that I ought to
+straighten my affairs while the opportunity is mine."
+
+Mrs. Halliday looked sympathetic and felt curious.  She had wondered
+when Bernard would give her his confidence.  "Well," she said, "I
+suppose this is one's duty, although I hope you have no particular
+grounds for imagining it needful just now."
+
+"One cannot tell," Bernard remarked.  "Anyhow, I have responsibilities
+that must not be shirked.  Well, Evelyn and Lance will get a share of
+my property; in fact, I have made some provision for them."
+
+"I expect you have been generous," said Mrs. Halliday, who wondered how
+far she durst go.  "But what about Jim?"
+
+"His claim will need some thought.  For that matter, he has hinted that
+he is satisfied with Langrigg.  Independence like his is not common and
+perhaps ought to be indulged."
+
+Mrs. Halliday was disturbed, but Bernard did not seem to be curious
+about her feelings and resumed: "In the meantime, I've been thinking
+about the new Brunstock hospital and am going to see the committee.
+Since you promised us a donation, I have brought the plans."  He
+unrolled the elevation and gave it her.  "This is not the kind of
+building we want and I mean to propose some alterations."
+
+He indicated the alterations, and Mrs. Halliday said: "But it will cost
+a very large sum."
+
+"I expect so.  My money came from the iron mines; the Brunstock pitmen
+and furnace men earned the most part for me.  A number get hurt and it
+is just that I should give them something back.  Then if we called it
+the Dearham hospital, as the committee suggest, the building would keep
+my memory green, and I am vain enough to prefer a handsome monument."
+
+"In some ways it is a good ambition," Mrs. Halliday agreed, although
+she was puzzled, for she thought Bernard had an object he had not
+stated.  He certainly was not vain.
+
+"Of course," he went on, "one must be just to one's relations, and it
+would be harsh to leave out Jim altogether.  Still, you see, he's rash;
+we have an example in his dyking plan, and I would not like my money
+squandered.  I expect you know he has lost much of his in a Canadian
+speculation?"
+
+Mrs. Halliday did not know and got something of a jar.  She gave
+Bernard a quick and rather anxious glance.
+
+"But if he has lost his, your gift would be more needful."
+
+Bernard made a sign of disagreement.  "The drawback is, Jim might use
+it as rashly as he has used the rest."
+
+"They sometimes waste money at hospitals."
+
+"That is so, but if I carry out my plans, there will not be much waste
+at Brunstock.  I have been pondering some stipulations, and if I give
+them a proper endowment, the trustees must consent."
+
+"Do you mean to endow the new wards?  We understood you would be
+satisfied with giving part of what they needed for the original
+building."
+
+"Of course," said Bernard.  "Since I'm going to urge the extension, I
+must find the money.  The hospital is getting a hobby of mine and I may
+make the endowment much larger than I meant."  He got up.  "It's a long
+drive and I must not keep the committee."
+
+He went off and Mrs. Halliday tried to brace herself.  She had grounds
+for disturbance, but she must think.  If Bernard carried out his plans,
+it was obvious that she must change hers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+EVELYN'S ADVENTURE
+
+After Bernard had gone, Mrs. Halliday talked to Evelyn.  At first she
+was cautious and rather implied than stated her meaning, but by degrees
+she threw off her reserve.  Although Evelyn and her mother generally
+agreed, Mrs. Halliday felt she was antagonistic, and this disturbed
+her.  Evelyn was not romantic; as a rule, her judgment was cool and
+sound, but she was human, and it began to look as if she were strongly
+attracted by Jim Dearham.
+
+"On the whole, it would be better if you did not go to Langrigg
+to-morrow," Mrs. Halliday concluded.  "You can make an excuse."
+
+"I think not," said Evelyn.  "You urged me not to disappoint Jim the
+last time we went, but we will let this go.  Now he has had bad luck,
+it would look significant if you suddenly withdrew your approval.  He
+knew it was his not long since."
+
+"In a way, I am forced to withdraw it.  I like Jim----"
+
+"But you do not like him to be poor," Evelyn interrupted with a smile.
+"Well, it seems to me a proper and tactful line for his friends to
+rally round him when he is in trouble."
+
+"One can, of course, be sympathetic if one meets him."
+
+Evelyn laughed.  "But one need not go too far?"  She paused and gave
+her mother a steady look.  "Langrigg is a fine old house, I don't
+suppose Jim is ruined, and I have some money.  Then you have taught me
+to expect that I may get some more."
+
+"Bernard is capricious.  He has a bitter humor and may disappoint us
+all.  You have come to think refinement needful; you are extravagant
+and could not live with an impoverished husband.  Let me beg you not to
+be obstinate and rash."
+
+"Ah," said Evelyn, "I sometimes felt I would like to be rash, but was
+not brave enough.  I do not know if I have much courage now."
+
+Mrs. Halliday got up.  Perhaps she had said enough and after all one
+could trust Evelyn when she was cool.  It looked as if the girl's
+disappointment had been sharp, and the wise plan was to leave her
+alone.  Yet she was puzzled; Evelyn had given signs of a recklessness
+her mother thought new.
+
+When Mrs. Halliday went out Evelyn tried to formulate her thoughts.  To
+begin with, her mother's calculating caution repelled her; it had made
+her feel shabby.  Then she had, no doubt, taken much for granted.  Jim
+had, perhaps, had bad luck, but this did not mean that he was
+impoverished, and after all there were many expensive things one could
+go without.  She was not as greedy as some people thought.  Indeed, it
+would be rather fine to make a plunge; to let cold caution go and play
+a romantic part.
+
+She mused about Jim.  He was marked by a certain roughness, but he had
+dignity.  He gave one pleasant thrills--there was the scene on the dyke
+when she was half-shocked and yet strangely moved.  His physical
+fineness appealed; his figure was like an old Greek athlete's, his face
+was sharply cut and somehow ascetic.  He was hot-blooded, but one knew
+he was not gross.  His was a clean virility.
+
+Evelyn thought she loved him, as much as she could love anybody, for
+she had not been touched by passion, and it counted for something that
+he loved her.  The reserve he thought he used was, of course,
+ridiculous.  Evelyn resolved she would go to Langrigg and sympathize
+with Jim.  Then she would wait and by and by her feelings might get
+stronger and she would see her way.  She would not admit that the
+possibility of learning whether Jim would get over his difficulties had
+some influence.
+
+Next evening she went to Langrigg, without Mrs. Halliday, who made an
+excuse.  Jim called for her with his car, and, for the most part, she
+was quiet and he did not talk much.  There were steep hills and awkward
+corners as they ran down from the rolling country to the plain.  The
+evening was calm and the noise of the sea came softly out of the
+distance.  Now and then plover and curlew cried, a half-moon hung in
+the west, and the black hills rose out of fleecy mist.  Evelyn was
+imaginative and liked the drive across the flat holms in the dark.  It
+was romantic ground, rich with traditions of the old Border raids, and
+now as she watched Jim, sitting, absorbed, with his hands on the wheel,
+she felt he, so to speak, dated back.  He drove the powerful modern car
+with ease and skill, but somehow she imagined him wearing steel cap and
+leather jack and guiding a shaggy pony.  Perhaps it was the picture in
+a hall she knew that haunted her.  One saw the shadowy horsemen and
+glitter of spears in the moonlight.
+
+Meanwhile, she gave herself to irresolute thought.  Jim had some
+advantages and some drawbacks; Evelyn saw the drawbacks plainly.  He
+attracted her; it would be exciting to let him carry her away and
+embark with him on a romantic adventure.  She knew he had recently used
+a stern control, but he was hot-blooded and his reserve might be
+undermined.  Yet there was a risk; she must give up much.  She was
+drawn in different ways by romance and worldly caution and it looked as
+if caution would win.
+
+Soon after she reached Langrigg Mordaunt arrived with Dick.  The latter
+declared that Jim was a very good sort, and Evelyn knew his feeling was
+sincere, but she imagined Dick liked Carrie and was sometimes
+disturbed.  For all that, she had been relieved to note that Carrie
+liked Dick.
+
+Dinner was a cheerful function, but when they went back to the hall
+Evelyn was quiet.  Joseph Dearham and others had made some renovations
+in the hall, but they harmonized with the crooked roof-beams and dark
+oak.  There were one or two tall lamps and another that hung by iron
+chains, but Jim generally used candles in old silver stands.  Evelyn
+wondered how Jim knew that candles were right.  It was strange that he
+often, unconsciously, she thought, struck the proper note.
+
+She studied him and Jake while she talked to Mrs. Winter.  Jim seldom
+wore conventional evening clothes, but he had put on an American
+dinner-jacket.  He and his comrade were strangely agile; their
+movements were quick, their step was light, like a cat's, and she noted
+how they lifted their feet.  She did not know the prospector gets the
+habit by walking through tangled bush and across rough stones.  They
+had a suppleness that came from using the long ax, and toil in the
+wilds had given them a fine-drawn look.  In some ways both were modern,
+but in some they belonged to the past, when the fortress peels were
+built and the marsh-men fought the Scots.
+
+Jim crossed the floor, and when he began to talk to Carrie, Evelyn felt
+a jealous pang.  The girl had been in the woods with Jim; she had
+beauty and a curious primitive strength.  Jim leaned forward, smiling
+as he talked to her; they talked confidentially, like tried comrades.
+Evelyn was moved to something near anger and went to the old grand
+piano Jim had brought from the drawing-room when he found that Carrie
+could play ragtime airs.  Evelyn had a talent for music and meant to
+make an experiment.  If Jim was what she thought, he would respond.
+
+"If somebody will light the candles, I will sing," she said.
+
+The candles had pale-yellow shades and when Jim struck a match the
+colored light touched her face and dress.  Except for this, the corner
+was somewhat dark.  Amber was Evelyn's color.  She struck a few chords
+that seemed to echo in the distance and then, glancing at Jim, began a
+prelude with a measured beat.  His face was intent; he seemed to search
+for something in the music that sounded as if it were getting nearer.
+She wondered whether he heard the call of trumpets and horses' feet
+drumming in the dark.  Somehow she thought he did.
+
+Perhaps she was debasing her talent; this kind of thing was rather a
+theatrical trick than music.  For all that, it needed feeling, and she
+knew the old Border ballads and their almost forgotten airs.  Jim was
+very still when she began to sing, for her voice and the music moved
+him strongly.  The air was wild, the rude words rang with something one
+felt when one battled with floods and snowslides.  They told how the
+moss-troopers rode down Ettrick water long ago; but human nature did
+not change and hard-bitten men now went out on the snowy trail,
+carrying shovels and axes instead of spears.  But how did Evelyn,
+surrounded by luxurious refinements, understand?
+
+"It's fine!" he exclaimed when she stopped.  "You have got it just
+right; horses' feet, and harness jingling.  But you go back of that to
+the feeling one has when one braces up and sets one's mouth tight."
+
+Evelyn laughed and looked at Mordaunt, who frowned.  "Perhaps you are
+easily satisfied, Jim, but music, critical folks contemptuously call
+descriptive, needs some talent."  She paused and beat out a few bars
+imitating a horse's gallop.  "It really does go back of this."
+
+"Never mind critical folks," said Jim.  "Sing another--the song of
+Flodden."
+
+"I'm not sure the song you mean has really much to do with Flodden, but
+I know one that has.  It's old and rude, like the Borderers.  You know
+a band would not fight, but were too proud to run away.  They stood
+fast, by themselves, and were shot down by the archers while the loyal
+Scots fell round their wounded king.  This, however, is shocking art;
+it's like writing what you are meant to see at the top of a picture.  I
+know it annoys Lance."
+
+"I can endure much from you," Mordaunt rejoined.
+
+Evelyn struck the keys and began to sing.  Words and air had a strange
+barbaric force, and Jim pictured the stern Scots spearmen closing round
+their fallen monarch and their hate for the stubborn mutineers.  The
+blood came to his skin when the music stopped and the girl's voice
+flung out a dying soldier's curse.  The curse was strangely modern; one
+heard it often in the West.
+
+"Thank you!  You have not sung like this before," he said, and turned
+to Jake.  "How does it strike you, partner?"
+
+"It hits me where I feel it, and hits me hard.  I reckon the men who
+fought that old battle meant to make good.  I don't know how Miss
+Halliday knows what a man with red blood feels when he's got to put
+over a big hard job, but she does know."
+
+"I'm afraid you would make me vain," said Evelyn.
+
+She turned as she left the piano and gave Carrie a quick glance.  A
+sharp jealousy seized her, for while she could imagine what a strong
+man felt, Carrie really knew.  She had fronted danger with Jim; she had
+watched and helped his struggle in the lonely North.  Evelyn was
+suddenly afraid of Carrie.  She was a powerful rival.
+
+The party went to the billiard-room, but Evelyn would not play and sat
+in a corner, thinking hard.  She was highly-strung, and her hesitation
+had vanished.  Jim loved her and nobody else should claim him.  Perhaps
+she was rash, but she had begun to feel passion, and saw she must
+embark upon her great adventure now, when Jim had had reverses and was
+smarting from the blow.  He must see that she had pluck and was willing
+to bear his troubles.  After all, to have done with caution was
+exhilarating.  Yet she knew her lover.  He would not ask her to make a
+sacrifice for him; unless his luck changed he would keep up his
+reserve.  Well, she must break it down, and she knew her power.  Then
+she turned as Mordaunt stopped by the bench she occupied.
+
+"I think you did not like my song," she said.
+
+"You know I did not," Mordaunt rejoined.  "Anyhow, I didn't like your
+exaggerated rendering of a ballad that is probably genuine, though one
+authority states it was written about an ancient football match.  They
+played football before the Scottish wars in the Border towns."
+
+"Is this important?"
+
+"It is not.  I thought you were putting your talent to a shabby use."
+
+"Art is imitation," Evelyn remarked with a mocking smile.  "Why should
+one not imitate the drumming of horses' feet? or, for example, a storm
+at sea?  I believe that kind of thing is popular at cheap concerts."
+
+Mordaunt frowned.  "You well know what your gift is worth.  It's too
+fine to be used in order to rouse crude emotions in a handsome savage
+like Jim."
+
+"Ah," said Evelyn, with a sparkle in her eyes, "are the great emotions
+crude?  Courage and loyalty that led to deeds that live four hundred
+years?  I don't know if our refinements would stand comparison with the
+big primitive things."
+
+"Jim is certainly primitive," Mordaunt sneered.
+
+"And he's big!  So big that he makes other men look small!  I was
+disturbed when I saw him, bruised and muddy, that day at the marsh; but
+I begin to understand I was ridiculous.  He fought the smith because he
+was accountable for his men."
+
+"Oh, well; I expect he would value your approval," said Mordaunt, who
+saw Jim go out.  "It looks as if he were getting bored."
+
+Evelyn smiled.  "He keeps some dyking plans in the hall.  I don't think
+he will be bored if I join him."  She got up languidly.  "Since you are
+not very amusing, I will go."
+
+She went off and found Jim opening a drawer.  "You can study your
+plans; I won't disturb you," she said, sitting down by the fire.  "I
+really don't care for billiards."
+
+He shut the drawer and leaned against a table opposite.  "You were not
+playing billiards; you were talking to Lance.  That was why I went
+away."
+
+"You flatter me," said Evelyn.  "But don't leave the plans.  I expect
+they are important."
+
+"They are important.  The rain is giving us trouble, and although I
+began the job to occupy my leisure, I'm going to finish it because I
+must."
+
+"I think I understand.  I am sorry you have had bad luck in Canada."
+
+"Thank you.  How did you know?"
+
+"Bernard told us."
+
+"I wonder why," Jim remarked, thoughtfully.  "Although it doesn't
+matter much, I didn't expect him to tell."
+
+Evelyn pondered.  Bernard had, no doubt, had an object, but she could
+solve the puzzle afterwards.  She was alone with Jim, and in a few
+minutes the others might return.
+
+"I was rather hurt when I found you had given Bernard your confidence
+and left me out," she said.  "But does this reverse in Canada hit you
+hard?"
+
+"It was a nasty knock.  I expect to get over it, but it will be some
+time before I recover the ground I've lost.  Things will be better when
+we plow the land I'm reclaiming from the marsh."
+
+"In the meantime, you will have to struggle?"
+
+"Yes," said Jim, rather grimly, "it will be a struggle.  But that is
+not all----"
+
+He pulled himself up.  There was a risk that he might say too much, and
+while he hesitated Evelyn listened.  The door was open and the house
+was quiet, but she could not hear the click of the billiard balls.  It
+looked as if Dick and Carrie had finished their game, there was no time
+for clever maneuvering; she must be frank.  She gave Jim a quick glance
+and then looked away.
+
+"Jim," she said, "I am not poor."
+
+He started, and his face got red.  Evelyn's meaning was obvious, but he
+could hardly persuade himself that he had grasped it.
+
+"Much of my money has gone and I may not get it back," he said, with
+forced quietness.  "In one way, this does not matter; I'm not greedy,
+but I'm proud.  I must farm the reclaimed land and make my farming
+profitable; I can't keep up Langrigg as my friends expect.  I've got to
+live and work as I lived and worked in Canada."
+
+"People do live in the woods and on the plains.  Do you think your
+countrywomen have less pluck than these others?  Are we dull and weak,
+afraid of hardship and only willing to be amused?"
+
+Jim lifted his head and laughed.  "All this is ridiculous!  I haven't
+met many English girls, but you are the finest thing in a woman's shape
+I have known.  I've thought about you always since that day at
+Montreal.  When they told me Langrigg was mine I would have sold it had
+I not thought I might find you in the Old Country."
+
+"Then you didn't know I was here?"
+
+"I did not," said Jim, who forgot his reserve and let himself go.
+"When I saw you on the terrace, I got a thrill and a sense of triumph
+I'd never known before.  But to find you was not enough; I had got to
+claim, and keep you.  I'd got to have something to offer; I had to
+justify myself.  Well, that's why I began to drain the marsh----"
+
+Evelyn stopped him.  "I wasn't worth it, Jim," she said, with
+half-ashamed sincerity.  "But I understand; you are too proud to take,
+you want to give.  Although you're foolish, I like your pride."
+
+For a moment Jim was silent and his face got hard.  "It's done with,"
+he said, rather hoarsely.  "I meant to make good before I claimed you,
+and this loss has set me back.  I'm not beaten, but I must wait until I
+can give you all you ought to have.  You're so fine and highly-tempered
+that you're fragile; rough jolts and jars are not for such as you.
+I've got to work----"
+
+She got up and looked at him shyly, with color in her face and her eyes
+shining.
+
+"And until you make good, you mean to leave me out?  Will it cost you
+nothing, Jim?"
+
+"It will cost me much," he said, grimly.  "More than I durst reckon,
+but I must brace up and pay."
+
+"But suppose I will not let you leave me out?  Am I to give nothing?"
+Evelyn asked.  "Besides, it's my right to choose, and you meant to rob
+me of my right.  If I didn't know you well, I should be angry.
+Langrigg is yours; but if you had nothing, do you think I'd keep our
+extravagance at Whitelees and let you go?"  She turned her head and
+then looked up, stretching out her hands.  "I can't let you go!  I want
+to help."
+
+Jim took her hands and next moment she was in his arms.  Then there
+were steps in the passage and she gently pushed him back.
+
+"You must tell nobody just yet," she said.
+
+The others came in and Mordaunt looked at Evelyn rather hard, but she
+went to the piano and opening a music-book, beckoned Dick.
+
+"You know this," she said.  "I'll play it for you."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+THE SHOOTING PUNT
+
+On the morning after her interview with Jim, Evelyn sat in front of a
+writing-table by a window at Whitelees.  She had meant to tell a friend
+about her lover, but now did not know if she would or not.  For one
+thing, the morning was cold and dreary and she felt dull.  Composition
+was difficult; the glowing phrases she had thought to use would not
+come.  It was raining outside, the lawn was strewn with wet dead
+leaves, and the bare trees tossed their branches in the wind.  Shallow
+pools spread about the terrace and the hills were blurred by mist.
+Winter had begun and Evelyn did not like winter in the country.
+
+She put down her pen.  Last night's thrill had gone and she was
+languid.  When she had broken his reserve, Jim was the ardent and
+romantic lover she had thought; but she had been forced to break down
+his reserve and this carried a sting.  For some hours she had been
+dazzled by the glamor of romance and had rejoiced in her rashness, but
+the light was getting dim.  Things looked different in the morning.
+
+Jim loved her and she was flattered by his exaggerated notion of her
+worth.  She had meant to justify his confidence, but she knew this
+would be hard, because she knew herself.  In a sense, Jim was not her
+kind, and by and by they might jar.  She had self-control, but she was
+not patient.  Moreover, it looked as if Jim were poor, and although she
+had some money she was not rich.  Thrilled by keen excitement and
+half-consciously acting, she had told him that poverty did not daunt
+her, but when she came to think, it would be hard to go without the
+expensive refinements she enjoyed.
+
+With something of an effort, she banished her disturbing thoughts.  She
+was going to marry Jim.  Perhaps she could mold him a little.  Yet she
+did not know; she did not want to conventionalize him; there was
+something rather fine about his ruggedness.  Then she began to wonder
+why she had asked him to tell nobody yet.  Girls she knew had found an
+obvious satisfaction in exhibiting their lovers, but she had felt a
+need for concealment.  This was not because she feared her mother's
+disapproval; it looked as if she had unconsciously tried to leave open
+a way of escape.  By and by a car rolled up the drive and Mordaunt came
+in.
+
+"I am going to the town and wondered whether you wanted anything I
+could get for you," he said.
+
+Evelyn said he might call for some goods her mother had ordered, and he
+was silent for a moment or two.  Then he asked: "Were you and Jim
+quarreling in the hall last evening?"
+
+"No," she said, smiling.  "Why do you imagine this?"
+
+"Jim was preoccupied.  I asked him for matches and he gave me his
+cigarette case."
+
+"He is often preoccupied," Evelyn rejoined, with a careless laugh.  "I
+expect he was thinking about his dykes; he talked about the marsh."
+
+Mordaunt studied her.  She was calm and looked amused by his curiosity.
+Moreover, her suggestion was plausible.
+
+"Jim is not always happy in his choice of subjects, but I won't
+sympathize with you," he said.  "You could have stopped him if you had
+liked.  You often stop me."
+
+"I suppose that is so," Evelyn agreed.  "For one thing, it is not much
+trouble.  You know when one is bored."
+
+"Your tastes are mine; we belong to the same school.  It makes for
+understanding."
+
+"After all," said Evelyn, "one likes something new."
+
+Mordaunt laughed and said he must go, and when his car rolled away
+Evelyn mused.  Lance's remark was justified; they did belong to the
+same school, and in the main their views agreed.  This had some
+drawbacks, but it had advantages.  Novelty was stimulating for a time,
+but soon lost its charm; one was safe if one held fast by the things
+one knew and valued, even if one's standard of value was not altogether
+just.  Evelyn admitted her cynically philosophic mood was strange, but
+the dreary day accounted for something, and perhaps a reaction from
+last night's thrill had begun.  A few minutes afterwards Mrs. Halliday
+came in and they talked about household matters.
+
+In the meantime, Mordaunt drove to the town and stopped at a lawyer's
+office.  There were three partners in the firm which managed Bernard
+Dearham's business; two sober, white-haired gentlemen, and one who was
+young.  The others gave the house weight and respectability, but
+Holbrook supplied the driving force and Mordaunt imagined his partners
+did not know where he was leading them.  Holbrook's room, in a tall old
+house that looked across a quiet square, was handsomely furnished, and
+Mordaunt sat down in a comfortable chair.
+
+"I want to borrow some money for about six months," he said.
+
+"How much do you want?" Holbrook asked, and when Mordaunt told him,
+looked thoughtful.  Mordaunt had borrowed before and had punctually
+repaid principal and interest.
+
+"We are not money-lenders, you know," he said.  "I negotiated the last
+loan rather as a favor than a matter of business."
+
+Mordaunt smiled indulgently.  "For all that, you lend money; your
+clients', I suppose.  I don't know if your legal business would keep
+you going long."
+
+"If we invest in anything outside the regular high-class securities, we
+run some risk."
+
+"I don't think the risk is great," Mordaunt replied.  "I sometimes
+speculate, and you have grounds for knowing I'm generally lucky.  Well,
+some friends floated a small private company to develop a West Indian
+estate and we have spent much of our capital on new plantations.  The
+value of our produce is rising, but we need funds to carry us on until
+the crop is shipped and have agreed to a fresh levy.  I must pay my
+share."
+
+"The sum is large."
+
+"You lent me nearly as much before."
+
+"I did," said Holbrook.  "Things were different then----"
+
+He stopped, and Mordaunt gave him a keen glance.  Holbrook's hesitation
+was curious.
+
+"How are things different?" Mordaunt asked.
+
+"You bought shares that seldom fluctuate much.  You risked losing a
+small margin; now you may lose the principal."
+
+"The loss would be mine.  I have always paid."
+
+"That is so.  The trouble is, if this venture went wrong you might not
+be able to pay."
+
+Mordaunt was silent for a few moments.  Holbrook had been willing to
+negotiate the other loans; it looked as if the fellow had now less
+grounds for trusting him, although it was not his honesty but his power
+to pay he doubted.  Why did Holbrook think his power had got less?
+
+"Am I to understand you refuse to lend?" he asked.
+
+"I would sooner not.  However, if a smaller sum----"
+
+"A smaller sum would not help," Mordaunt replied with a touch of
+haughtiness.  "Well, I will not urge you and dare say you are occupied."
+
+The lawyer let him go and Mordaunt thought hard as he drove home.
+Holbrook had formerly been accommodating, as if he wanted to satisfy a
+client whose business might by and by be valuable, but his attitude was
+now different.  There was no traffic on the road that went up a long
+hill, and Mordaunt could concentrate on the puzzle.  When he was
+half-way up he began to see a light.  Bernard had gone to town and had
+stayed some time; he had probably called on the lawyers who had made
+his will.  The light got clearer and when Mordaunt reached the top he
+thought he understood.
+
+Bernard had altered his will and Mordaunt would not get as much as he,
+and no doubt Holbrook, had thought possible.  The hospital would cost a
+large sum, but this did not account for everything.  Although Bernard
+often used the formal manners of the old school, he had a rude vein; he
+had broken down stubborn opposition and beaten determined strikers
+while he developed the famous iron mines.  No doubt, he saw in Jim
+qualities like his and now meant to leave him the most part of his
+estate.  All Jim got would be taken from the others, and Mordaunt
+thought Holbrook's caution indicated that his share had been severely
+cut down.  Jim was going to get money Mordaunt had imagined was his.
+
+He let the engine go, the car leaped forward, and he drove furiously
+until he reached the Dryholm lodge, for he wanted to find out if his
+supposition was correct.  When he put the car into the garage a man was
+cleaning a limousine.
+
+"I'm afraid I have given you another job," Mordaunt said.  "You haven't
+got the big car properly polished yet."
+
+"She got very wet when I took Mr. Dearham to town."
+
+"It was a bad day.  Did he keep you waiting in the rain?"
+
+"I was outside the lawyers' office for an hour," the man replied.
+
+Mordaunt frowned as he went to the house.  The reason for Holbrook's
+caution was plain, and if Janet Halliday imagined Bernard meant to
+leave Jim nothing, she was much deceived.  Bernard had probably meant
+to deceive her, but Mordaunt thought he would not meddle.  He went to
+his room and stopped for some time, smoking and pondering.
+
+A few days afterwards, Jim and Jake, wearing long waders and yellow
+oilskins, crept up a hollow in the sands.  It was about nine o'clock in
+the evening, they were a mile from land, and light mist drifted about
+the bay, but the moon shone through.  The tide was flowing, the water
+rippled noisily in the channel, and flakes of muddy foam and trailing
+weed floated past.  The harsh cry of a black-backed gull rang across
+the flats and small wading birds whistled about the water's edge.
+Farther off, the clanging call of black geese came out of the mist.
+
+Jim carried a heavy ten-bore gun and his feet sank in the mud as he
+crept quietly up the hollow.  He liked this rough shooting, and now and
+then Jake and he went out at nights.  When one had hunted fierce game
+in Canada, shooting driven pheasants was tame sport, and the beaters
+found the birds; but on the sands one must match one's intelligence
+against the instinctive cunning of the ducks and geese.  Besides, there
+was some risk that gave the thing a spice.  Belts of sand were
+dangerously soft and the tides were treacherous.  Sometimes they rose
+faster than one reckoned.
+
+"The brant-geese can't be far off," he remarked presently.  "It's a
+pretty big gaggle and I expect some of the fat gray-lag are feeding
+with them."
+
+Jake looked at the water.  "If you want a shot, I guess you'll go on;
+but if I'd been alone, I'd have started home some time since.  The
+tide's rising fast."
+
+"We have a quarter of an hour yet," said Jim.  "Anyhow, we'll shove on
+for the next bend."
+
+They went on.  Their waders and oilskins scarcely showed against the
+sand, and the murmur of the current drowned the noise they made.  As
+they came near the bend the calling of the geese got louder, there was
+a creaking beat of wings and some of the harsh cries had a different
+note.
+
+"Grey-lag," said Jim.  "Another lot is coming up.  They'll fly across
+to the marsh when the tide moves them."
+
+"It will move us soon," Jake rejoined.
+
+When they reached the corner Jim was a short distance in front.  The
+geese were obviously restless and he crouched as low as he could get.
+Jake found a hollow in the bank where the sand, undermined by the
+current, had fallen down, and stood with the water creeping to his
+feet.  He imagined it would nearly reach his waist in mid-channel, and
+they must soon get across.  The beat of wings began again and harsh
+cries echoed in the mist.  The geese were moving and Jake balanced his
+gun when Jim rose half-upright.  The bank behind Jim was low and his
+bent figure was outlined against the glimmering reflection of the tide.
+
+Then, although he did not know if he had heard a noise or not, Jake
+looked round and saw a long gray object slide out of the mist.  It was
+indistinct and very low in the water, but he knew it was a shooting
+punt.  It drifted up the channel towards him; a faint ripple indicating
+that somebody was steering it with a short paddle.  A blurred figure
+lay in the well behind a bunch of reeds, and the only bold line was the
+barrel of the big punt-gun that would throw a pound of shot.  Jim could
+not see the punt, because he was looking the other way, but it was
+obvious that the gunner could see him, although Jake thought he himself
+was invisible against the bank.
+
+As a rule, one cannot aim a punt-gun; one must turn the punt, and Jake
+noted that the craft swerved.  The long barrel was now in line with
+Jim, and although the man on board was probably steering towards the
+bank for concealment, Jake thought there was something sinister about
+his quiet approach.  He remembered that Shanks owned the only punt on
+the lower bay.  He waited a few moments, unwilling to call out, lest he
+should spoil his comrade's shot, but feeling disturbed.  The punt was
+about fifty yards from Jim and the heavy shot would not spread much;
+Jake admitted that his disturbance was perhaps illogical, but he did
+not like the way the big gun pointed.
+
+When the punt was level with him he stepped out from the bank.  The
+indistinct figure on board did not move, but the craft swerved again
+and the gun pointed straight up the channel.  Jake did not know if this
+was significant or not, because the current eddied, but he imagined the
+fellow had seen him.  Then Jim threw his gun to his shoulder and a red
+flash leaped from the muzzle.  There was a splash, but next moment Jake
+saw a dark object overhead and pulled the trigger.  The goose came
+down, whirling over with long neck hanging limp, until it struck the
+other bank, and Jake plunged into the channel.
+
+"Pick up your bird and get across," he shouted, while the current
+rippled about his legs.
+
+For the next minute or two they were occupied.  The tide ran fast, the
+bottom was soft, and Jim's goose drifted away.  He reached it, however,
+and they came out on the other bank.  Jake could see nothing but the
+glimmering water and a narrow belt of wet sand.  The geese had flown
+off and the punt had vanished in the fog.
+
+"We stopped long enough, but we've got a brant and a gray-lag.  You
+ought to be satisfied," he said.
+
+"I'd have got another if you hadn't been so anxious to get across," Jim
+rejoined.  "Wasn't there a punt about?  I thought I saw something as I
+threw up my gun."
+
+"Yes," said Jake, dryly, "Shanks' punt!"
+
+"Of course!  Nobody else keeps a punt on the low marsh.  Well, we
+spoiled his shot and I expect he'll feel he has a fresh grievance.
+That is, if he knew who I was."
+
+"I reckon he knew all right," Jake remarked.  "Nobody else has been on
+the sands for some weeks."
+
+Jim looked at him rather hard.  "Anyhow, it doesn't matter.  Let's get
+home.  There's a hole in my wader and the water has leaked through.
+This sport is pretty good, but you need a punt.  I'll order one from
+the fellow across the bay."
+
+They set off and Jake could not tell if he had excited his comrade's
+suspicions.  Jim was sometimes reserved.  Jake admitted that his own
+suspicions might not be justified, but he wondered what would have
+happened had he not moved out from the bank.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+MORDAUNT'S REPULSE
+
+Shortly after his visit to the lawyer, Mordaunt walked over to
+Whitelees.  It was about four o'clock in the afternoon, and it would
+soon be dark, but although he had some distance to go he did not walk
+fast.  Tea was served early at Whitelees and, as a rule, Mrs. Halliday
+afterwards went to sleep.  Mordaunt wanted to arrive when she had done
+so, and his leisurely progress gave him time to think.
+
+He meant to ask Evelyn to marry him.  He liked her and they generally
+agreed, but he was not sure he would have thought about marriage had he
+been rich.  For all that, he knew no other girl who would suit him so
+well, and it would be an advantage to consolidate the family property,
+since both would inherit some part of Bernard's estate.  Mordaunt knew
+Mrs. Halliday saw this, for she had been his friend until Jim came on
+the scene.  It now looked as if she thought Jim would get little or
+nothing, and Mordaunt did not mean to enlighten her.
+
+The loss of his West Indian investment forced him to make a prudent
+marriage, but he did not feel that he was doing a shabby thing.  Evelyn
+understood him and was rather calculating than romantic.  It was
+disturbing that she had obviously been attracted by Jim, but Mordaunt
+thought the attraction was not very strong.  He did not mean to let Jim
+rob him of his inheritance and the girl he hoped would be his wife.
+
+It was getting dark when he reached Whitelees and found Evelyn sitting
+by the fire in the drawing-room.  The lamps were not lighted and the
+room was shadowy except for the reflection from the grate.  Evelyn did
+not get up and he stood opposite, talking quietly while she rested her
+chin in her hollowed hand and listened.  He did not pretend passion,
+but she thought he struck the right note.  He was sincere, as far as he
+went, and she admitted that he made the best of a not very strong
+appeal.  One could trust Lance to be graceful.
+
+"If you had asked me before, I might have married you.  It is now too
+late," she said.
+
+Mordaunt moved abruptly, but used some control.  "Ah," he said, in a
+rather strained voice, "I suppose this means Jim has claimed you first?"
+
+"Yes," she said, calmly, "I have promised to marry Jim.  So far, nobody
+else knows."
+
+He was silent for a moment or two, knitting his brows, and then looked
+up.
+
+"I'm sorry, and although your refusal hurts, don't think I'm altogether
+selfish.  Jim is a good sort, but he's not the man for you."
+
+Evelyn colored and her eyes sparkled, and then the firelight left her
+face.
+
+"To some extent that is so, Lance.  I expect Jim has drawbacks, but
+he's flesh and blood; red blood, I think they say in Canada.  You know
+what you and I are; we have cultivated out our vulgar passions.  At
+least, I thought I had!"
+
+"Has Jim persuaded you that you were mistaken?"
+
+"He may persuade me.  After all, there is some satisfaction in being
+human."
+
+Mordaunt made a sign of vague agreement.  "I thought I was a
+philosopher, but I'm frankly savage now.  However, I don't imagine you
+will let passion guide you very long."  He paused, and after a few
+moments resumed: "If you find you were deceived and romance gets stale,
+you will find me waiting.  I think you know this, and there is no more
+to be said."
+
+"There is no use in waiting, Lance," Evelyn replied.  "I have made the
+plunge.  It cost me an effort, but I feel braced.  Jim is bracing; like
+cold water or a boisterous wind.  You would have kept me in an
+enervating calm.  Well, I'm tired of artificial tranquillity; I'm going
+to try my luck in the struggle of life with Jim."
+
+She let him go and he started for Dryholm in a thoughtful mood.  Her
+refusal had hurt him, but he would not dwell on this.  He was
+half-afraid to do so and wanted to think about her.  She was pluckier
+than he had imagined and was obviously sincere, since she did not know
+Jim would be rich, but he doubted if she could keep it up.  Jim was
+rude and tempestuous, and she would not be satisfied with him long.
+The trouble was the romantic impulse might sustain her until it was too
+late, for Jim would, no doubt, urge an early marriage.
+
+Mordaunt's face got hard as he thought about this, and he was rather
+surprised by the anger that fired his blood.  He had cultivated a
+philosophic selfishness, but it no longer supported him.  He hated Jim,
+and felt troubled about Evelyn.  Luck was with the headstrong fool; he
+had swept her off her feet, but she would recover her balance and then
+she would pay.  Mordaunt clenched his fist and raged with helpless
+savageness.  It was long since he had indulged his passions, and now
+his control had gone the reaction was sharp.
+
+He got cooler and began to look about.  There was a moon, the evening
+was calm, and the dew sparkled on the grass by the hedgerows.  A thick
+wood bordered one side of the road, which went up a long hill, and pale
+birch trunks that caught the light stood out against dusky firs.  Now
+and then a rabbit ran across the road and plunged into the grass, and
+presently there was a sharp rattle of wings.  A flock of wood-pigeons
+circled round in the moonlight and flew back into the frees.  Then a
+cock-pheasant crowed.
+
+Mordaunt stopped in the gloom where a nut-bush hung over the gate of a
+ride.  Somebody had disturbed the birds; one could trust the pigeons to
+give the alarm when an enemy was about.  Mordaunt was a sportsman and a
+good shot, but he waited because he wanted to find some relief from his
+tormenting thoughts.  He was just inside the Langrigg boundary and
+imagined the gamekeeper began his round at the other end of the estate.
+By and by dry underbrush rustled and there was a noise like a briar
+dragging across somebody's clothes.  Afterwards all was quiet for a few
+moments, until a dark figure came out of the gloom close to the gate.
+
+Mordaunt let the man get over and then touched his arm.  The other
+started, and stepping back, struck the gate.  The blow was soft as if
+something had eased the shock and the fellow's shape was bulky about
+his hips.  Mordaunt knew a poacher has generally a large pocket in the
+lower lining of his coat.  As the fellow lifted a short, knotted stick,
+he turned his face to the light and Mordaunt saw it was Tom Shanks, the
+old marshman's son.
+
+"You can put down the stick," he said, coolly.  "I expect you have been
+smoking pheasants, but they're Langrigg bird's, not ours."
+
+Shanks leaned against the gate and looked at him with dull suspicion.
+Although his face was coarse and heavy, his eyes were cunning; he
+slouched, but when he moved his step was light.
+
+"There's nowt that's not Langrigg's," he growled, grasping his stick.
+"Gentry stands by yan anodder.  Are you gan t' tell?"
+
+Mordaunt pondered.  They were alone and he knew Shanks's sullen
+ferocity.  On the whole, he thought he was in some danger unless he
+could satisfy the fellow.  Shanks did not mean to let him seize the
+heavy stick.
+
+"I've not much ground for standing by Mr. Dearham and it's not my
+business to protect his game," he said.
+
+"If I thowt you'd send keeper after me----"
+
+"Put down your stick," said Mordaunt, with haughty impatience.  "If I
+wanted to send the keeper, I'd certainly do so.  But how many pheasants
+did you get?"
+
+"Nobbut two.  T' birds is varra scarce."
+
+"Then I don't see why you ran the risk of stealing Langrigg pheasants
+when there are plenty in Red Bank woods."
+
+Shanks was silent for a moment or two, and then replied, as if
+Mordaunt's carelessness had banished his doubts: "Mr. Dearham put us
+oot o' dabbin and blew 't up."
+
+"It's possible he'll put you out of Bank-end cottage soon."
+
+"Do you ken that?" Shanks asked with a start.
+
+"I heard something of the kind.  Dearham meant to let your father have
+the cottage, but said nothing about your getting it, and he's tired of
+you both.  You are letting Bank-end go to ruin and people complain
+about your poaching."
+
+Shanks's sullen look changed to a savage frown.
+
+"If he puts us oot, there's nea place we'll can gan."
+
+Mordaunt hesitated.  He imagined Shanks had had something to do with
+the accident to Jim's car, and it was obvious that the fellow was
+bitterly revengeful.  At the beginning, Mordaunt had not meant to work
+upon his vindictive feelings; he had done so half-consciously, but now
+he meant to go on.
+
+"Nobody in the neighborhood would let you have a cottage.  You might
+get a laborer's job in the town, but you would have to work hard, and I
+don't know about your father.  He's rheumatic and old.  None of the
+farmers would engage you."
+
+"T'oad man wouldn't could live away from marsh, and I'm none for takin'
+a job in town; I'd sicken among t'hooses," Shanks replied.
+
+Mordaunt thought the fellow did not exaggerate.  Shanks and his father
+would find no place in organized industry.  They belonged to the open
+spaces, the wide marsh and the wet sands.
+
+"Then it's lucky I and not the gamekeeper caught you to-night," he
+said.  "Mr. Dearham is waiting for an excuse to turn you out.  I
+Imagine you will soon give him one."
+
+Shanks did not reply.  Seizing the top of the gate, he jumped over and
+vanished in the wood.  For a few moments all was quiet, and then
+Mordaunt heard steps in the road.  He left the gate and when he had
+gone a few yards met Dick Halliday, who stopped and looked at him with
+surprise.
+
+"I thought I saw two people," Dick remarked.
+
+"You did see two," Mordaunt agreed.  "It's curious the other fellow
+didn't hear you farther off, because I imagine his ears are very good.
+Were you trying to get near us?"
+
+"Not at first.  They're mending the road up the hill and I walked on
+the grass.  When I saw you at the gate I suspected poachers and came on
+quietly.  Who was the other fellow?"
+
+"Tom Shanks.  I caught him coming out of the wood with some pheasants
+and warned him he'd have to leave Bank-end if Jim knew."
+
+"Do you mean you promised not to tell Jim?"
+
+"I imagined he understood something like that.  He is a powerful
+fellow, and carried a heavy stick.  Still, my satisfying him doesn't
+bind you."
+
+"I don't know; perhaps it does bind me, in a way," Dick replied.  "All
+the same, Shanks is a loafing thief; I'd have turned him out of the
+neighborhood."
+
+Mordaunt hesitated.  He would have liked Dick to tell Jim, since this
+might lead the latter to take the cottage from Shanks.  For all that,
+he did not see how he could persuade Dick to do so, because he did not
+want him to think he had an object.
+
+"Well, I must get on," he said.  "Bernard grumbles when I'm late for
+dinner."
+
+He felt rather angry with himself when he went off.  Luck had given him
+an opportunity and he had used it in a manner of which he was
+half-ashamed.  The thing was done, however, and he was not sure he was
+sorry.  Shanks was a savage brute and had already borne Jim a grudge.
+One or two of the farmers and country gentlemen had had grounds to
+regret they had not left him alone.  He would not hesitate much if he
+saw a way to prevent Jim's turning him out, but Mordaunt shrank from
+wondering how far he would go.  After all, he had merely warned Shanks
+about the consequence of his poaching.
+
+When dinner was over he told Bernard he had been to Whitelees, and
+added: "I imagine Evelyn would not like it publicly announced just yet,
+but she has promised to marry Jim."
+
+Bernard was silent for a few moments, and his face was inscrutable.
+"Then, she is pluckier than I thought," he said, dryly.  "But why does
+she not want people to know?"
+
+"It's something of a puzzle.  Perhaps she felt telling people would
+bind her to her promise."
+
+"Jim is a handsome fellow; I suppose the flesh is willing but the
+calculating brain weighs the drawbacks that may after all tip the
+beam," Bernard remarked, and added with a sneer: "You ought to have
+married Evelyn; you would have got on with her.  In fact, if she had
+been willing, I'd have seen that her prudence was properly rewarded.
+The curious thing is, I imagine you both knew this."
+
+"I don't think either of us deserves the taunt, sir," Mordaunt
+rejoined.  "Anyhow, I doubt if your generous plan altogether sprang
+from good will to us."
+
+"You're clever," said Bernard, with dry humor.  "Much cleverer than
+Jim; but he'll go far while you stand still.  Hustling is new to Evelyn
+and at first she may find it exciting, but I doubt if she'll enjoy the
+effort to keep up with her husband when the novelty wears off."
+
+He mused when Mordaunt went away.  For a time at least, his plot had
+failed and he was keenly disappointed.  Evelyn was not the wife for
+Jim; he ought to have married the girl from Canada.  Carrie was frankly
+flesh and blood, and although she had not much polish yet, this would
+come; she had a natural dignity and was staunch and fearless.  She
+would keep pace with Jim, fronting troubles with her steady glance;
+Bernard smiled as he pictured Evelyn's stumbling gait when Jim, so to
+speak, took a rough, steep hill.  The thought, however, did not amuse
+him much, and he resigned himself moodily to wait.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+FOOTSTEPS IN THE SAND
+
+Jim had a shooting-punt built, and now and then when the tide served at
+night, paddled up the creeks and shot a goose or duck, although he did
+not use a big punt-gun.  He liked to pick out his birds and not throw a
+pound of shot into a flock.  In the meantime, he pushed on the draining
+of the marsh, and although he spent anxious hours counting the cost,
+resolved to hold out until the job was done.  As a rule, he was
+preoccupied and quiet, and Evelyn often found him dull.  His talk about
+dykes and sluices did not amuse her.
+
+By and by he found it needful to engage some drain-cutters, and one
+afternoon Jake, taking Carrie with him, started for a village on the
+other side of the bay.  It was a long way round the sands and when they
+were near the village the car stopped and Jake found a valve had
+broken.  He engaged the men he wanted and afterwards resolved to leave
+the car and walk back across the sands.  The few cottages were very
+small and their occupants had no room for strangers, but the bay got
+narrow near its mouth and the distance across the sands was scarcely
+three miles.  Jake did not expect to find much water in the channels,
+and when he had borrowed a pair of fishermen's waders for Carrie, and
+they had got a meal at a cottage, they set off.
+
+It was dark and fog drifted in from sea, but the moon shone between
+slowly-moving clouds.  The throb of the surf was unusually loud and a
+fisherman told Jake to get across as soon as he could.  He said there
+was wind outside and the tide often turned before its proper time when
+a fresh breeze was coming.
+
+When dusk fell Jim returned from the marsh and found Mrs. Winter in the
+hall.  There was nobody else about, and he thought the hall looked
+lonely.  He was tired after a day's hard work and sat down in an
+easy-chair when Mrs. Winter asked if he would like some tea.
+
+"I'll wait until Carrie comes," he said.  "Jake ought to have brought
+her back by now.  The house feels empty when they're not here."
+
+Mrs. Winter mused.  Although Jim had rather unwillingly agreed when
+Evelyn insisted that nobody should be told about their engagement, he
+took much for granted when he imagined that nobody knew.  Mrs. Winter
+was not deceived by his silence and knew that Carrie understood.
+
+"When do you reckon you'll finish the dykes, Jim?" she asked presently.
+
+"I don't know," he said.  "It looks like a long job and money's getting
+short.  Anyhow, I have got to put it over, because I can't stand for
+losing the sum I've already spent.  But why do you ask?"
+
+"Because we must go back when you have no more use for Jake."
+
+"Oh," said Jim, smiling, "I'll always have some use for Jake, and
+Langrigg wouldn't be the same if he took you away.  You and Carrie make
+the old house feel like home."
+
+Mrs. Winter felt troubled.  Jim was obviously sincere, and she had
+liked him from the beginning.  She had been happy at Langrigg; after
+the strain of hard work and poverty, it was nice to rest and control
+the well-ordered English household.  Carrie, too, had been happy, but
+Mrs. Winter imagined she was not happy now.  Although the girl had grit
+and would play her part well, Mrs. Winter did not mean to let her wait
+for Jim's wedding.
+
+"You know we can't stay very long," she said.
+
+"I don't see why it's impossible."
+
+"You may get married."
+
+"Well?" said Jim.  "Suppose I do?  There's plenty of room at Langrigg
+and my wife would be kind to my friends when she knew how much I owe
+them."
+
+"The plan wouldn't work.  When you marry, your wife will have first
+claim on you.  I reckon she'll have all the claim there is and won't
+want to share it with anybody else."
+
+Jim frowned.  Perhaps Mrs. Winter was justified.  Now he came to think
+of it, he had once or twice got a hint that Evelyn did not altogether
+understand his friendship for Carrie.
+
+"I hate to think of your going," he declared.  "Anyhow, you must stay
+for some time yet.  Jake promised to help me finish the draining
+scheme, and I may go broke.  Then I'd need him more."
+
+He got up and was silent for a few moments.  If he lost his money, his
+engagement to Evelyn must be broken off.  This was obvious, but if he
+had, for example, meant to marry Carrie, his embarrassments would not,
+in one sense, matter much.  Carrie would meet their troubles with a
+smile and help him to make good.  Still he must not indulge thoughts
+like this.
+
+"I think I'll take the punt and paddle up the big creek," he said.
+"You can tell Carrie she ought to have come back to give me tea.  Since
+she hasn't come, I'll wait for dinner."
+
+He went off and Mrs. Winter mused.  Jim generally knew what he wanted,
+but his attitude was puzzling now.  Although he meant to marry Evelyn
+and imagined he loved her, Mrs. Winter doubted.  She wondered whether
+Evelyn had, so to speak, dazzled him by her grace and beauty.  Jim was
+resolute and practical, but not clever.  Mrs. Winter sighed and
+imagined she had been foolish to let Carrie stay so long, but she could
+not see her way.  Jim would not be married until he had drained the
+marsh and Jake would not go before the work was finished.  Mrs. Winter
+admitted that he could not go.
+
+In the meantime, Jim launched his shooting-punt in a muddy creek.  The
+punt would carry two people and measured about eighteen feet long and
+nearly three feet wide.  She was decked, except for a short well, and
+when loaded floated a few inches above the water.  A bundle of reeds
+was fastened across the head-ledge of the well to hide the occupant
+when he lay down and used the short paddle.
+
+Jim stood on the after-deck and drove the punt down the creek with a
+pole.  He could see across the bank, and the wet marsh, glistening
+faintly in the moonlight, ran back into thin mist.  In front, the creek
+got wider until it melted into the expanse of sands.  Here and there a
+belt of smooth mud caught a silvery reflection, but for the most part
+the sands were dark.  The night was calm and the advancing surf rumbled
+in the distance like a heavy train.  It was a good night for shooting
+and Jim wondered whether anybody else was about.  Mordaunt and Dick now
+and then went after the geese, and Shanks, in his shooting punt,
+generally haunted the channels when the gaggles came down to feed.
+
+It was some time after low-water when Jim reached the main channel and
+stopped to listen.  He thought the surf was unusually loud, but he
+could not hear the geese.  The wild cry of a curlew came out of the
+dark and red-shanks were whistling in the distance.  The water, so far
+as he could see, was still, and this meant the tide had not yet entered
+the channel.  He thought he ought to have an hour before it did so, but
+the current would run fast then.  Tides rise high when high-water comes
+at twelve o'clock with a full moon.
+
+After a few minutes he set off again.  There was no need for him to lie
+down and he stood on deck, using the pole.  It sank about a foot, but
+presently the water shoaled and when the punt touched bottom he got
+over and dragged her by a line.  He wore a yellow oilskin, long waders,
+and thin canvas shoes.  At length, the punt would float no farther, and
+putting her on rollers, he pulled her a short distance up the bank and
+afterwards carried a small anchor as far as the line would allow.  He
+was a mile and a half from land, the tide would soon flow, and if the
+geese were about, he might be away some time.  Then, picking up his
+gun, he set off up the nearly dry channel.  There was a salt-water
+lake, bordered by a weedy scar, not far off, and he might find some
+brant geese or ducks.
+
+In the meantime, Dick Halliday called at Langrigg, and was received by
+Mrs. Winter.
+
+"Are you all alone?" he asked.
+
+Mrs. Winter told him where Jake and Carrie had gone, and that Jim was
+shooting.  Dick inquired when Jake had started and looked thoughtful
+when Mrs. Winter replied.
+
+"They ought to have been back some time since," he remarked.  "The road
+is very bad where it runs across the head of the bay and high tides
+cover the causeway for an hour or two.  I don't think Jake would wait
+until dark; the car has probably broken down."
+
+"Then they would have to stop all night?"
+
+"I doubt if anybody could take them in.  There are only a few cottages
+and the mussel-gatherers and farm-hands have swarms of children.  I
+rather imagine Jake would walk across the sands----"
+
+He stopped and looked at the tall clock, and then crossing the floor,
+pulled back the window-curtains and opened a light.  Mrs. Winter noted
+that his movements were quick and thought him anxious.  Dick came
+rather often to Langrigg and she imagined Carrie attracted him,
+although she knew the girl had not meant to use her charm.
+
+"It's nearly full-moon," he remarked when he came back.  "I don't think
+Jim will mind if I borrow one of his guns.  I know where they are.
+Don't bother to ring."
+
+"Are you going to shoot?" Mrs. Winter asked.
+
+"I might get a shot," Dick replied carelessly.  "Anyhow, I'll walk
+across the sands.  I may find Jim, or perhaps meet Jake and Carrie
+coming back."
+
+He went to the gun-room and took down a heavy ten-bore, that would make
+a loud report, for the fog he had seen from the window was getting
+thick.  Then he put some cartridges in his pocket, and finding a pair
+of waders, went back and smiled when he met Mrs. Winter's curious
+glance.
+
+"Carrie may be glad of the waders," he said.  "There's sometimes a
+little water in the hollows, and I don't expect Jake knows the driest
+way.  Now I'll get off."
+
+Mrs. Winter let him go.  She was beginning to feel alarmed, but Dick's
+quick, resolute movements comforted her.  He had been careful not to
+hint there was a risk, but if there was, he would know the best way of
+meeting it.  Dick did not hurry when he went down the freshly-raked
+gravel drive, but when he reached the road he walked as fast as the
+heavy gun would let him.  Carrie was on the sands, it was past
+low-water, and Jake did not know much about the gutters through which
+the tide ran up the bay.  Dick did know, and had sometimes seen a
+white-topped bore roll like a wall of foam across the flats when the
+moon was full.  To-night, when wind was coming, the tide would rise
+fast.
+
+It was rough walking across the marsh, where he was forced to jump
+ditches and wind about among deep holes, and he was glad to reach the
+sands.  Stopping for a few moments, he took off his boots.  The sand
+was cold, but he meant to strike the shortest line across the bay and
+in places the mud was soft.  He knew one can pull one's naked foot
+loose where one's boots would stick; moreover, Carrie would like the
+waders dry.
+
+Dick began to think about Carrie as he set out across the flats.  He
+liked her much, and admitted that it cost him an effort not to fall in
+love with her; Carrie had made him feel that this could not be allowed.
+Sometimes he wondered why, and sometimes he thought he knew; but then
+he suspected that Jim would marry Evelyn.  Dick approved Jim, but
+doubted if he was altogether the man for Evelyn.  Perhaps, however,
+when he came to think about it, he really meant that Evelyn was not the
+girl for Jim.  There was a difference----.
+
+He pulled himself up.  He was fond of Evelyn, although he knew her
+faults; besides, the fog was thick and he must keep his proper course.
+He ought to strike the big gutter soon and was anxious about the tide:
+it would soon run up the hollows in the flats.  He wondered where
+Mordaunt was, because Lance had told him he was going out on the sands
+and he had not heard his gun.
+
+Shortly afterwards, Dick went down the bank of the gutter and began to
+wade across.  The water did not come much above his ankles; but it was
+moving; slowly yet, although it would soon run fast.  He got across and
+saw Jim's punt on the muddy sand.  The fog was low and drifted about in
+belts, clearing now and then, and when he stopped by the punt the moon
+shone through.
+
+Dick was puzzled.  The punt had been moved since Jim pulled her up the
+bank.  It was prudent to leave her where one could get on board when
+the tide rose, but Dick could not see why Jim had afterwards moved her
+down.  He had, however, done so, because the rollers he used had made a
+rut in the sand in advance of her present position.  Then the anchor
+had been carried up to higher ground, for one could see where the line
+had dragged, although it now lay close to the punt.  Dick began to
+examine the footsteps about the spot.  He was something of a naturalist
+and a good wildfowler and had studied the tracks of animals and birds.
+
+Jim had obviously come up the gutter and another man had joined him.
+The other was barefooted and the marks seemed to indicate that he had
+helped Jim to run down the punt.  Then a third man had arrived and Dick
+thought this was Lance, because he wore nailed fishing brogues.  Lance
+often used brogues; he was cautious and did not like soft mud.  Dick
+imagined Lance had reached the spot after the others and was somewhere
+about; he would not go far from the gutter when the tide was rising.
+The thing was strange, but since Jim had moved the punt back, there was
+no reason why Dick should meddle.  Jim had probably gone to the scar
+and no doubt knew how long he could stay.  Moreover, Dick's business
+was to find Carrie, and he set off again.
+
+He followed a small creek that joined the big gutter.  Its channel was
+narrow and cut rather deep into the sand.  Although a belt of fog
+rolled up he could see fifty or sixty yards, and presently
+distinguished a hazy figure near a bend of the creek.  He thought it
+was about Lance's height, and shouted; but the fellow did not answer
+and vanished next moment.  It looked as if the fog had rolled nearer
+and hidden him, although he might have gone down into the creek.  Dick
+went to the edge, but saw nobody, although he crossed a row of steps.
+This was puzzling.  He imagined the other had heard his shout and was
+in the hollow, where his shooting-clothes would melt into the
+background.  The sand, however, was soft and the marks had begun to
+fill up.  Dick did not see why he should follow them, since the man
+might have meant to hide until the geese flew over.  He gave it up and
+pushed on.
+
+The fog crept towards him and did not look as if it would soon roll
+away.  For all that, he knew the sands and had the noise of the
+advancing surf for a guide, which was lucky because speed was
+important.  A stream ran through the flats near the other shore, and if
+Carrie and Jake had started they would have crossed its channel and now
+be on the long peninsula of sand that went up the middle of the bay.
+When the water rose they could not get across the main gutter, and it
+would be hard to reach the land from the end of the peninsula because
+it was traversed by a number of little creeks, up which the tide forced
+its way.
+
+After a time, Dick stopped and fired the gun.  He heard nothing but the
+echoes that rolled across the waste and the roar of the sea.  The
+latter was ominously loud and he began to run.  When he had gone some
+distance, he tried another shot and disturbed two black-backed gulls
+that made a noise like hoarse laughter as they flew overhead.  This was
+all, and he felt that the gulls were mocking him.  He was getting
+anxious, and ran on until he was forced to stop for breath, as the fog
+began to lift.  It rolled back before a little puff of wind, the moon
+shone through, and he saw glittering water in front.
+
+Dick began to run the other way.  He could do no more, and it looked as
+if Jake and Carrie were not on the middle sand.  After all, he had not
+much ground for imagining they had meant to cross the bay; if there was
+no room at the village, they might have walked to a station four or
+five miles off and gone to the market town.  He must save himself, and
+since he hardly thought he could reach Jim's punt before she floated,
+he headed up the middle sand.  One could cross the gutter farther on,
+if one knew the right spot, but it would mean wading some distance and
+he must be quick.  He got through, and then ran back along the edge of
+the channel.  He wanted to see if Jim had returned to the punt.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+JIM'S ENLIGHTENMENT
+
+Jim waited for some time behind a bowlder by the salt-water pond, and
+then shot a duck.  The report echoed among the belts of fog and after
+the noise died away the roar of the advancing tide was ominously loud,
+but Jim thought he heard something else.  He listened, and in a few
+moments a cry came faintly across the sands.  Somebody was calling for
+help, and Jim began to run.  He might have to go some distance and his
+punt would soon float.
+
+After a few minutes he plunged into a belt of mist.  The sand was soft
+and his waders and heavy gun embarrassed him, but he heard the call
+again and thought he knew the voice.  He labored on, breathing hard,
+until by and by the tog melted and he saw two figures not far off.
+
+"Jake!" he shouted.  "Is it you and Carrie?"
+
+Jake answered, and Jim was conscious of a relief that shook him when
+the others came up.  Carrie was splashed by mud and breathless with
+haste.
+
+"What are you doing on the sands?" he asked.
+
+"Car broke down; we tried to get across," Jake replied.  "Saw the
+Langrigg hill when we started and then the fog came on.  They told us
+to head for some stake-nets, but we couldn't find them.  Then we met
+the water and reckoned we were lost.  Is your punt about?"
+
+"She is not far off," said Jim, who turned to Carrie.  "We must hustle.
+Can you run?"
+
+Carrie said she would try and they set off, but when they had gone a
+few hundred yards a wave of thick fog rolled up, blotting out the
+moonlight.
+
+"This is awkward," Jim gasped, taking Carrie's arm and helping her on.
+"Still, if we keep going, we'll soon strike the gutter."
+
+The roar of the surf gave him some guidance, but sound is puzzling in a
+fog; there was very little wind, and he could not see the moon.  He
+knew the tide was now running up the channel and hoped he was heading
+the right way.  Shortly afterwards a dull report rolled across the
+sands.
+
+"A ten-bore!" he exclaimed.  "Mordaunt uses a twelve.  I expect Dick's
+shooting, and since the water's rising, he's on the shore flat.  Where
+do you locate the shot?"
+
+"A little to the left," said Jake.
+
+They swerved and presently heard the gun again.
+
+"That's for us," gasped Jim.  "Dick has found the punt; I reckon she's
+afloat."
+
+"Let me go, Jim," said Carrie.  "Hurry on and get the punt."
+
+Jim pressed her arm and urged her forward.  "I'm going to stick to you
+until you're safe on board."
+
+"Water!" shouted Jake, from a few yards in front; and something
+glimmered in the fog, which was getting thin again.
+
+They could see for a short distance, but when they stopped at the edge
+of the channel the punt was not about.  She was, however, painted an
+inconspicuous gray, and Jim thought she was not far off.  While he
+hesitated, wondering which way to turn, a heavy report came out of the
+melting fog.
+
+"Hallo!" Jake shouted.  "Where's our punt?"
+
+"On your side," somebody answered.  "Saw her five minutes since and
+then the water drove me back."
+
+The voice came from their left and after running a short distance they
+stopped.  A low, indistinct object floated about thirty yards off, and
+Jim, dropping Carrie's arm, stood for a moment with his hands clenched.
+The wave-lined sand was level, and this meant much, because the bank of
+the gutter was steep.  The tide had filled the hollow and he could not
+see across.  He was not disturbed about the depth, but the current
+rippled across the sand, carrying along clumps of weed and flakes of
+foam that showed how fast it went.
+
+"Give me your knife," he said to Jake, as he pulled off his oilskin.
+"I've got to swim.  You must stay with Carrie; I swim better."
+
+He slit the waders and tore them off with his canvas shoes; then he ran
+along the sand, heading up stream, and when he judged he had gone far
+enough plunged in.  After he had taken a few steps the water frothed
+about his waist, and next moment swept him off his feet.  He swam
+savagely, swinging his left arm out and steering obliquely against the
+current that carried him along.  The water was horribly cold and cut
+his breathing and cramped his muscles, but if he missed the punt he
+might be swept some distance up the channel before he could land.  He
+must not miss the punt, because he would be too exhausted to try again
+and did not think Jake could reach her.
+
+After a minute or two he saw the punt; she was swinging about in the
+rush of tide and seemed to forge towards him.  A rippling line marked
+her painter.  He stopped swimming and let himself drift.  He must not
+be carried past; and presently he made a quick stroke and felt a
+triumphant thrill when his numbed fingers clutched the craft's low
+side.  For all that, he had not conquered yet.  He was tired, and it is
+hard to get on board a floating punt.
+
+The current swept his legs under the boat, and when he tried to lift
+himself she rolled down with his weight and threatened to capsize.  But
+he must not be beaten.  He was fighting for Carrie's life, and
+remembering this gave him extra strength.  Sliding his hands along the
+side of the punt, he let the current take him aft, and then with a
+desperate effort lifted the upper of his body above the pointed stern.
+Next moment, he fell forward on the deck and crawled to the well.  He
+had won.  He tried to shout, but could not.  His heart beat like a
+hammer and he choked.
+
+Pulling himself together, he seized the line at the bow, and in a few
+moments the anchor was on board and he picked up the pole.  The punt
+drifted fast up channel while he headed for the bank, but he saw Jake
+running along the sand and presently threw the light anchor as far as
+he could.  Jake caught the line and Jim, springing overboard, ran
+through the water and picked up Carrie.
+
+He felt her tremble and kissed her as she put her arms round his neck.
+It did not matter it Jake saw or not.  After putting her on board he
+jumped in and grasped the pole.
+
+"Shove us off," he said to Jake.  "I'll come back for you."
+
+They lost the bank in the fog, and soon the pole did not touch bottom
+and Jim used the paddle.  After a few minutes, he saw an indistinct
+figure, apparently in the water; and then his paddle struck sand.
+Jumping over, he held out his arms and did not put Carrie down until he
+had carried her some distance from the channel.  He had afterwards a
+hazy notion that he kissed her again.  When he turned back Dick was
+pushing off the punt.
+
+"I'll bring Jake; you have had enough," he said.
+
+Jim shoved him back.  "It's my job; he's my partner.  Look after
+Carrie.  Start for the marsh."
+
+He got on board and when the punt vanished in the fog Dick turned to
+Carrie.  "They may be ten minutes; the tide's running fast.  You are
+wet and perhaps we had better get off."
+
+"No," said Carrie.  "I won't move until they're safe across."
+
+Dick gave her a quick glance.  She looked resolute; her voice had a
+strange exultant note.  He was anxious to start, since he thought they
+might find some water in a gutter between them and land, but it was
+obvious that Carrie could not be persuaded.  Presently the punt came
+across and the others got out.
+
+"Have you been here long?" Jim asked when he had driven the anchor into
+the sand.
+
+"No," said Dick.  "I fired the gun as soon as I arrived.  The punt was
+on your side, I imagined you were about, and I can't swim much.  I'd
+seen the punt before.  I went to meet Jake and Carrie, but met the
+water.  No doubt, they crossed the channel that stopped me, farther up."
+
+Jim nodded.  "Looks like that.  It was a big relief when we heard you
+shoot.  But I'm puzzled: the punt was some distance from the bank and
+the anchor was covered.  I thought I'd carried it far enough back."
+
+"Then you didn't move her after you pulled her up?"
+
+"Certainly not," Jim rejoined, with some surprise.  "If I'd wanted her
+to float, I wouldn't have bothered to drag her up over the steep mud."
+
+"Oh, well, we must get off," said Dick, who did not want to talk about
+the punt.  "The tide's running fast across the flats; I think we'll
+make for the shell ridge."
+
+Although the fog was thick, they reached the marsh, where Dick left
+them.  He was wet and it was some distance to Whitelees, but he would
+not go to Langrigg and put on dry clothes.  When Jim got calm he might
+feel curious about the punt.  Dick was not ready to satisfy his
+curiosity yet.  He was disturbed and wanted to get away.
+
+The others went on, and when they came down to dinner nobody looked
+much the worse.  Jim, however, was quiet and although Carrie talked and
+sometimes laughed, he imagined her cheerfulness was forced.  Jake alone
+seemed to have a good appetite and Jim was annoyed when Mrs. Winter
+remarked that he did not eat much.  She declared the dinner was pretty
+good, although it had been served an hour or two late.  When it was
+over, Jim looked at the clock and proposed that they should play cards.
+He would sooner have gone off to the library by himself, but Jake might
+speculate about this and so long as they were occupied he need not
+talk.  The others would go to bed soon, and then he could grapple with
+an awkward situation.
+
+At length, Jake put down his cards.  "I can't make it; you have beaten
+us," he said, and pushed back his chair.  "If you want to see the men
+start to-morrow we had better go to bed."
+
+He brought Mrs. Winter a candle and they left the hall; but Carrie
+stopped to pick up the cards, and Jim waited.  He heard Jake say good
+night to his mother on the landing, and their steps died away.  It was
+very quiet in the hall, except for the snapping of the fire; and Jim's
+hand trembled as he struck a match and lighted Carrie's candle.  She
+heard him move and looked up.  There was some color in her face, which
+cut sharply against the dark oak.  Jim put the candle on the carved
+newel-post at the bottom of the stairs.
+
+"I was badly scared when we found the water was round the punt," he
+said.  "In fact, I rather lost my control."
+
+"You were not scared for yourself and were very cool and quick," Carrie
+replied and forced a smile.  "Perhaps some people do lose control when
+they are strongly moved, but you are not that kind."
+
+Jim gave her a keen glance.  It looked as if she meant to persuade him
+that he had acted normally, but this was ridiculous.  Perhaps she meant
+to hint that his rashness must not be talked about.  Coolness was hard,
+but he was honest and there was something to be said.
+
+"I wonder whether you know I am going to marry Evelyn?" he remarked.
+
+She met his glance.  "Yes, Jim; I knew some time since.  It doesn't
+matter that you told nobody.  Well, she's beautiful and very charming."
+She moved, and taking the candle from the post, calmly looked back at
+him.  "Of course, you're going to marry Evelyn!  But the others have
+gone, and I'm tired.  Good night."
+
+He let her go, and when she went up the shallow stairs, crossed the
+floor to the hearth.  There was a looking-glass close by and he started
+as he saw his face.  His brows were knitted and his mouth was set.
+Carrie was clever and while he talked to her he had looked like that!
+He began to see what she had meant when she said he was, of course,
+going to marry Evelyn.
+
+He sat down and gazed savagely at the sinking fire.  What a fool he had
+been!  Evelyn had moved him to romantic admiration.  Her beauty, her
+high cultivation and refinement had made a strong appeal, but he had
+not known that they appealed mainly to his intellect, and it counted
+for much that she was the first Englishwoman of her type he had met.
+He knew now, and saw he had deceived himself.  Enlightenment had come
+when Carrie ran some risk of being drowned and he had taken her in his
+arms.
+
+Evelyn was, so to speak, a model of perfection, worthy to be admired,
+but really out of his reach.  In a sense, she left him cold; but Carrie
+was warm and loving flesh and blood.  She had worked with him and
+cheered him in the lonely North; her small failings had a curious
+charm.  She appealed to all that was human in him; it was ridiculous
+that he had imagined his love for her was brotherly.
+
+He began to think about their last interview, when he had lighted the
+candle.  She had said little, but she had meant much.  His kissing her
+must be forgotten and he must marry Evelyn.  Carrie wanted him to
+understand that she saw this and was jealous for his honor.  If he drew
+back and broke his faith with Evelyn, she would have nothing to do with
+him.  Moreover, it was unthinkable that he should draw back.  He sat
+still for some time with his hands clenched and then got up abruptly
+and went out.
+
+The wind the surf had threatened had come and blown back the fog.  Its
+rude buffet braced him, the roar of the sea and wail of the trees that
+rolled down the slope were soothing.  The moon was bright and when he
+saw the foam glitter in the bay his sense of rebellion began to melt.
+Carrie was safe; he had saved her and she had shown him his duty.
+Well, he was going to carry it out, and after all Evelyn's charm was
+strong.  He had been a fool, but only Carrie knew, and Evelyn must not
+pay.  By and by he went back to the house, calmed but not much
+comforted.
+
+In the meantime, Dick reached Whitelees and did not say much about his
+adventure.  When he had got some food he went to the smoking-room and
+looked for paper and a pencil.  He wanted to refresh his memory of the
+footsteps about the punt and the marks left by the anchor line.  It was
+important that he should do so, but although he sat for an hour,
+drawing rough plans of the spot, he was not satisfied.  Unluckily, he
+could not go back to the sands in the morning and study the ground,
+because he had promised to join some friends in town for a week.  All
+the same, it was some relief to put off the matter and go to bed, but
+he did not sleep much and felt moody when he got an early breakfast and
+started for the station.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+EVELYN'S RESOLUTION FAILS
+
+Disturbing thoughts spoiled Dick's visit to town and one morning soon
+after his return he went out on the sands when the tide was low.  He
+took a note-book and a compass, and before he went walked up and down a
+measured distance on the lawn until he thought he knew the length of
+his stride.  Since he was going to make some investigations that he
+tried to hope would banish his doubts, it was necessary to be accurate.
+He found the spot where Jim had left his punt; there was a little
+runlet of water down the bank that fixed it, and he stepped off the
+distance to the level sand above.  Then he smoked a pipe while he tried
+to recapture the footsteps as he had seen them in the moonlight, and
+when he was roughly satisfied, went across to the creek that ran into
+the main channel.
+
+He counted his steps until he reached the spot where the shadowy figure
+had vanished in the fog.  The creek bent just there; he remembered the
+bend, which he had cut across, and the bank was steep.  If Lance,
+wearing light-colored shooting clothes, had gone into the hollow,
+nobody could have seen him a few yards off.  Dick made some notes and
+marked the distances, and then went back to Whitelees, feeling
+strangely troubled.  His doubts had not vanished; they had changed to
+certainties.
+
+Dick was young and often careless, but now a sense of responsibility
+weighed upon him.  He had a liking for Jim and an affection for Carrie
+that might have ripened to a stronger feeling had she allowed it, and
+both had run some risk of being drowned.  For all that, Dick could not
+see his way.  The honor of the house must be guarded, and although he
+knew himself a coward he hesitated for a miserable week.
+
+Then Jim came to Whitelees one evening when Mrs. Halliday and Dick were
+dining somewhere else.  He stopped for two or three hours, and
+unluckily Evelyn was bored when he arrived and Jim was dull.  He had
+had a disappointing day, for a sluice-gate had fallen down, a workman
+had got hurt, and a valuable horse had broken its leg.  Jim talked
+about his troubles at some length while Evelyn tried to look
+sympathetic, and afterwards stated, with numerous particulars, his
+projects for improving the estate, although he carefully explained that
+his losing his money might prevent their being carried out.  While he
+sketched his plans he unconsciously delineated his character, and when
+he went away Evelyn felt daunted.
+
+Pulling a chair to the fire, she sat for a time trying to face a crisis
+she had begun to fear must come.  She had thought she understood Jim
+and had known that when she married him she must give up much; but now
+she saw him as he really was.  He cared nothing for amusements and not
+much for music and art; in fact, he had no use for the refinements and
+amenities that smoothed the life she enjoyed.  Langrigg could not be
+made a center of pleasant social intercourse and perhaps political
+influence; Jim's wife must study economy and help to manage his farms.
+It was not that he was selfish.  All his habits were utilitarian and he
+would not change.  Well, she could not marry a farmer and devote
+herself to strenuous work.  She must be amused; the life Jim had
+planned for her was frankly impossible.  Getting up before Mrs.
+Halliday returned, she left word that she had a headache and went to
+bed.
+
+Next morning Mordaunt came to Whitelees and found Evelyn alone.  He sat
+down opposite with a careless smile and she noted his smooth urbanity
+and easy pose.  Jim as a rule was restless, and highly-strung.
+
+"Seeing Dick and your mother in the car encouraged me to call," he
+said.  "Dick and I were staunch friends, but I didn't want to meet him.
+He has recently been strange."
+
+"He has been moody since he came from town, although he was not in very
+good spirits the morning he left," Evelyn agreed in a thoughtful voice.
+"I imagine something that might account for it happened the night Jim's
+friends were lost on the sands."
+
+Mordaunt felt disturbed, but Evelyn's remark stiffened his resolution.
+She had noted Dick's moodiness, and since the lad was suspicious he
+must act quickly.  He might have trouble afterwards, but he would meet
+it when it came.
+
+"It's possible," he said, "Dick's temperament is nervous and perhaps he
+had some grounds for feeling a strain.  I expect you have noted that he
+is attracted by Miss Winter?"
+
+"I have noted it," Evelyn admitted with an unconscious frown.  "It will
+lead to nothing.  Dick's romantic, but he is not a fool."
+
+"He is headstrong and his own master.  Miss Winter has beauty."
+
+"For all that, it's ridiculous to imagine Dick would marry her."
+
+"I don't know," said Mordaunt, coolly.  "You are going to marry Jim."
+
+Evelyn colored, because she knew what he meant.  For the most part, the
+objections that could be urged against Carrie applied to Jim.
+
+"I don't know if I'm going to marry Jim or not," she said.
+
+Mordaunt looked hard at her and his eyes sparkled.  "Ah," he said, "I
+imagined something like this would happen; in fact, I have waited for
+it.  It was plain that Jim would pall.  He has his virtues, but he is
+not the man for you."
+
+"He has many virtues; he's big and strong and honest.  It would be
+easier if he had some of our shabby faults.  Jim's code is as rude as
+himself, but it's stern and he lives up to it.  I don't know if I can."
+
+"I know," said Mordaunt, smiling; "you could not!  Jim is something of
+a savage, but all the same, he belongs to the old school and his
+rudeness is austere.  We are modern and live on another plane.  But how
+did you come to see the truth I've seen all along?"
+
+"Jim showed me," Evelyn replied with some feeling.  "Unconsciously, of
+course.  He was here last evening and talked about his plans.  They are
+good plans.  Had I been different, I might have helped, but they left
+me out.  I don't like to be left out.  Am I the girl to satisfy a man
+who lives to farm and dig marsh drains?  You know me, Lance."
+
+"The thing is ridiculous," Mordaunt declared, and was silent for a
+moment or two.  He did know Evelyn, and her frankness meant much.  It
+was plain that she meant to break with Jim but felt she needed help.
+
+"What are you going to do about it?" he asked.
+
+"I don't know," she said drearily.  "I can't go on."
+
+Mordaunt made a sign of sympathetic agreement.  "You cannot; but there
+is a way out.  I think you see the way.  Durst I hope you'll take it
+with me?"
+
+Evelyn said nothing and turned her head, and he went on: "I'm not
+utilitarian, and my rule is yours.  We understand each other.  My
+talents will be used to amuse you and not to dig drains."  He got up
+and stood by her chair.  "You have pluck, Evelyn.  Tell Jim you have
+found you cheated yourself and let him go."
+
+"I haven't much pluck," she said, quietly.  "Jim rather carried me
+away.  He stood for romance, struggle, and adventure; things I haven't
+known.  He's a man, a plain, hot-blooded fighting man, and I was tired
+of conventional languidness.  But I began to doubt and see I wasn't
+strong enough to live his life.  I had wrapped myself up in flimsy
+artificialities until they got needful and I couldn't break loose."
+She paused and looked up.  "Well, you are my kind, Lance, and if you
+want me, I am willing.  I'll tell Jim, but I shrink.  He may not
+understand, and it will hurt us both."
+
+Mordaunt thought for a moment.  It might be better if Evelyn did not
+tell Jim, and he was afraid Dick would meddle.  He took and kissed her
+hand.
+
+"My dear!" he said.  "But you must not get hurt, and I have a plan.
+Hasn't Florence urged you to stop with her in town?  Well, suppose you
+go and I join you there?  We can be married by license and go to France
+or Italy.  Before we come back Jim's disappointment will have cooled
+and our friends have got over their surprise."
+
+Evelyn saw the plan had advantages.  It would obviate the need for
+awkward apologies, and when she and Lance came back it would be too
+late for people to disapprove.  She agreed and submitted without
+emotion when Mordaunt put his arm round her, but in spite of some
+regrets she was firm.  Romance had been a treacherous guide; she had
+found this out and was logical again.  When Mordaunt went away all had
+been arranged, and when she sat down to write to Florence in London her
+hand was steady and composition easy.  After the note was written she
+hesitated for a moment, and then resolutely fastened the envelope.
+
+A few days after Evelyn went to town, Dick, coming back from shooting
+one afternoon, met Tom Shanks on the marsh.  When he saw the fellow his
+anger flared up, for he had felt his responsibility and wondered with
+keen disturbance what he ought to do.  Although Lance was on the sands
+the night Carrie was nearly drowned and knew much about the matter,
+Dick had grounds for believing Shanks moved the punt.  He had meant to
+be cautious and wait until he saw his way, but something in the
+fellow's furtive, sullen look, banished his control.
+
+He stopped Shanks and found it a relief to let himself go.  The other
+was cool and hinted darkly that Dick had better leave things alone.  He
+said Dick had nothing to go upon; he had not seen Shanks near the punt,
+and if he went to the police about it, might get somebody else into
+trouble.  Shanks knew what he knew, and if he were forced would tell.
+Dick then used tact, scoffing at the other's hints until Shanks
+abandoned some of his reserve, and when the stormy interview was over
+Dick went home moodily.  The plan he had made of the marks by the punt
+was accurate, but the line he ought to take not yet plain.  Lance was
+his relation.
+
+In the evening he drove Mrs. Halliday to Dryholm, where Jim and his
+friends had been asked to dine.  They had not arrived, and while
+Bernard talked to Mrs. Halliday, Dick went to the library to look at a
+book about sport.  When he opened the door Mordaunt was writing and
+there was a letter, to which he seemed to be replying, on the table.
+He nodded and went on writing, and Dick was glad he did not want to
+talk.  After a few minutes a car rolled up the drive and when Mordaunt
+fastened the envelope they heard Jim's party in the hall.
+
+Mordaunt went down stairs and Dick, coming after, saw an envelope on
+the floor.  Imagining Mordaunt had dropped it, he picked it up and
+frowned as he recognized Evelyn's hand.  Mordaunt was talking to Mrs.
+Winter and Dick did not want to disturb them; besides, he would sooner
+give Lance the letter when they were alone.  Then Bernard beckoned him
+and before long dinner was served.
+
+Dick did not enjoy the meal.  He could hardly rouse himself to talk to
+Carrie and when she turned to Mordaunt, the latter's careless smile as
+he began to joke moved him to almost uncontrollable rage.  Dick was in
+a black mood, for the secret he carried had worn his nerves, and he did
+not like Evelyn's writing to Lance.  He was resolved that his sister
+should have nothing to do with the fellow.  When dinner was over he
+said to Mordaunt, "I'd like to see the gun you bought."
+
+"Very well," said Mordaunt and they went to the gun-room.
+
+The room was small.  A glass case, holding guns and fishing rods, ran
+along one wall; a bench occupied the other.  There was a plain table,
+stained by oil, and a fire burned in a stove with an open front, for
+the night was damp.  A flickering glow played about the walls and shone
+on the greasy guns.  Dick stopped Mordaunt, who put his hand on the
+electric-light switch.
+
+"Never mind the light," he said, throwing a letter on the table.  "You
+dropped this."
+
+"I did," said Mordaunt, turning to Dick, who leaned against the table.
+"Imagined I'd put it in my pocket.  Thank you for picking it up."
+
+Dick thought it significant that he had not opened the case to get the
+new gun.  Lance's voice was calm but his glance was quick.  He seemed
+to be waiting.
+
+"What was Evelyn writing to you about?" Dick asked.
+
+The light from the stove touched Mordaunt's face, which hardened.
+
+"Then, you have not read the letter?"
+
+"You know I have not," Dick rejoined, for his control gave way at the
+other's taunt.  Lance wanted to make him angry and find out how much he
+knew.  Well, he should find out and Dick thought he would get a jar.
+"Anyhow, you must stop writing to Evelyn," he resumed.  "I'd sooner you
+kept away from Whitelees when she comes home."
+
+"You bore with my visits not long since.  Are you afraid to state why
+you want them to stop?"
+
+"Not at all," said Dick, seeing the other meant to force him to be
+frank; he knew Lance had pluck.  "You are a clever philanderer, but
+Evelyn's going to marry Jim."
+
+Mordaunt smiled, imprudently, since his smile infuriated Dick.
+
+"Looks as if you wanted to quarrel!  I imagine I shall not write to
+Evelyn again for some time.  This ought to satisfy you.  Perhaps I'm
+dull, but I don't know why our friendship should break off."
+
+"You well know!"  Dick exclaimed.  "You meant to let Jim drown not long
+since!"
+
+"You're a theatrical fool," Mordaunt remarked, coolly, although his
+voice was rather hoarse.  "Anyhow, I think you're sober and you have
+made a statement that must be justified."
+
+"I'm willing to justify it, if you force me," Dick declared.  "But I'd
+sooner you admitted the thing and left the neighborhood, without an
+awkward explanation.  If you go at once and don't come back, it's
+perhaps not needful the others should know why you went.  You can live
+in town; I don't care where you live, so long as you don't see Evelyn
+again."
+
+He stopped and his face got very red, for the door opened and Mrs.
+Halliday and Bernard came in.
+
+"I imagined we would find you here, but it looks as if you were
+quarreling," Bernard remarked.
+
+"We were quarreling," Dick admitted with strange calm, for he was
+relieved that a chance to get rid of his load had come.  It was his
+duty to tell Jim and Bernard and he had been afraid.  Now he could
+leave matters to the head of the house.
+
+"You are hot-blooded, Dick, but I don't imagine you would get angry
+about nothing.  May I inquire the grounds for the dispute?"
+
+"I'll tell you if you will send for Jim.  The thing touches him."
+
+Bernard pressed an electric bell and Mordaunt said: "You will be very
+sorry for this, Dick."
+
+The bell rang and when a servant came Bernard said, "Tell Mr. Dearham
+we would like to see him here."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+DICK'S ACCUSATION
+
+The party in the gun-room were silent while they waited for Jim.  Mrs.
+Halliday glanced at the others curiously and got a sense of strain.
+Dick, looking disturbed but resolute, leaned against the table opposite
+Mordaunt, whose face was rather white; Bernard occupied the bench by
+the wall and his look was inscrutable.  All was very quiet except for
+the snapping of the stove and the occasional rattle of a cinder falling
+through the bars.  It was something of a relief when Jim came in and
+Bernard turned on the light.
+
+"Sit down, Jim," he said.  "Dick has something to tell us that he
+thinks you ought to hear.  He hints that it is important."
+
+"It is important," Dick replied.  "The thing has weighed on me for some
+time.  In fact, the load is too heavy and I feel I must get rid of it.
+I want to hand over my responsibility, and you are the head of the
+house, sir."
+
+"Very well," said Bernard.  "The post has drawbacks.  You had better go
+on."
+
+"Then I'll begin some time since; the night Lance and I met Jim at the
+telegraph shack.  We talked about England and Jim asked if we knew
+Langrigg.  There was an old French romance on a shelf and Lance read a
+passage.  He studied the book when Jim left the shack, and I found out
+afterwards that Franklin Dearham's name was written across the front
+page.  You see what this implies, sir?"
+
+"You mean Lance knew who Jim was, although you did not.  When did you
+find out?"
+
+"I picked up the book one day at Langrigg.  Lance was there.  He
+admitted that he had seen the writing at the telegraph shack."
+
+Jim turned to Mordaunt sharply.  "Then, you meant to let me stay in
+Canada!"
+
+"I did," said Mordaunt, who addressed Bernard.  "I thought it would be
+better for Jim and us if he did not know Langrigg was his.  I have not
+changed my views about it since."
+
+"That has been rather obvious," Bernard remarked and asked Dick:  "Why
+did you keep the thing dark?"
+
+"I was afraid to meddle; the matter was awkward.  Besides, until
+recently, I trusted Lance.  I thought his antagonism sprang from an
+honest prejudice."
+
+"Perhaps it was honest!  Are you willing to state the grounds you had
+for trying to keep Jim out of the country, Lance?"
+
+"No grounds would justify his robbing Jim of his inheritance," Mrs.
+Halliday interposed.
+
+Mordaunt smiled.  "I was not scrupulous but imagine my plot is
+condemned mainly because it failed.  I did not think Jim was the man to
+own Langrigg.  His education, character, and the life he had led, did
+not fit him for the position; it was plain that he would rule Langrigg
+like a Canadian industrialist and break all our traditions.  Right or
+wrong, I took some thought for the honor of the house."
+
+"I am the head of the house and was an industrialist," said Bernard
+dryly.  "You talk as if you belonged to the old school, but you do not
+go far enough back.  The men who built Langrigg were plain fighting
+farmers."  He signed to Dick.  "Go on!"
+
+"When Jim's car was upset I suspected Shanks was somehow accountable
+for the accident."
+
+"He was accountable," Jim said grimly; "I didn't know you knew this.
+But one must be just.  Lance lifted the wheel off my body at some risk
+to himself."
+
+"That is so," Dick agreed.  "I think he took advantage of it
+afterwards; I mean he knew we would remember he had saved your life.
+It was a generous impulse, but that was all."
+
+"I imagine Lance's character is too complex for your study," Bernard
+remarked.  "Tell us about his deeds."
+
+"Not long since, I was coming home in the dark when I found Lance
+talking to Tom Shanks in the wood.  Lance said he had caught the fellow
+poaching, and I thought it strange they should talk quietly.  I
+suspected he wanted me to tell Jim, but I did not.  His grudge against
+Jim had been getting worse."
+
+"When did you find Lance talking to Shanks?" Bernard asked, and smiled
+rather curiously when Dick replied, for he remembered his visit to the
+lawyer.  Lance had known about the visit.
+
+"Ah," he said, "I begin to see a light!  But go on, Dick; I expect you
+have now cleared the ground."
+
+"Dick has missed his vocation; he ought to have been a barrister,"
+Mordaunt remarked.
+
+"I'm trying to be just to you and Jim," Dick resumed.  "I have shirked
+my duty; I trusted you, Lance, and when I found you out it hurt."
+
+"You trusted me until you found Jim was the better man!  Well, it looks
+as if others had copied your example," Mordaunt rejoined.
+
+Bernard made an impatient sign and Dick resumed: "I've been leading to
+the night Jim and Carrie were nearly drowned.  You all know I was on
+the sands.  Well, I came to Jim's punt when he had left her and gone to
+look for the geese."  Dick paused and taking out a plan that he put on
+the table, addressed Jim: "You dragged the punt up the bank and carried
+out the anchor.  Is this sketch of the spot accurate?"
+
+Mordaunt moved abruptly, but controlled himself and stood very quiet;
+Jim picked up the paper and his face got dark.
+
+"So far as I remember, it is accurate."
+
+"Did you pull the punt down again, or move the anchor?"
+
+"I did not.  I was puzzled when I found her floating and the anchor
+covered."
+
+Dick gave Bernard the plan.  "The punt ought not to have floated before
+Jim got back.  You will note the rows of dots.  They stand for
+footsteps.  The first was Jim's; then Shanks came and pulled the punt
+back into the channel--I saw the mark of the rollers, leading up and
+down.  It is plain he wanted to leave Jim on the middle sand when the
+tide rose."
+
+"How did you know the steps were Shanks'?" Bernard asked.
+
+"The night was very cold, sir, but he was bare-footed."
+
+"Your surmise is, no doubt, right.  Anybody else would have worn boots
+or waders.  But there are three rows of tracks."
+
+Dick hesitated, then answered quietly: "The last were Lance's.  He
+passed the punt close; I don't know if he touched her, but it was plain
+that she would soon float and Jim was not about."
+
+"This is frankly unthinkable, Dick!" Mrs. Halliday exclaimed.
+
+For a moment or two the others were silent and their attitudes
+indicated that the strain was heavy.  Mrs. Halliday's face was flushed,
+Jim's was very stern, and Bernard knitted his brows.  Dick and Mordaunt
+stood motionless but tense at opposite ends of the table.
+
+"Your statement is very grave, Dick," Bernard remarked.  "Are you
+persuaded the steps were Lance's?"
+
+"I knew the marks of his fishing brogues, and saw him a short distance
+off.  I think he saw me, because he vanished; he went down into the
+hollow of the creek, where I have drawn a ring.  I went afterwards and
+carefully examined the ground.  I think that is all, sir."
+
+"It is enough," said Bernard, very dryly.  "You imply that Lance knew
+Jim might be cut off by the tide and refused to meddle?  But you take
+something for granted.  Why do you imagine Jim's danger was plain to
+Lance, if it was not then plain to you?  You went away."
+
+"I knew Carrie and Jake were farther out on the sands, and came back as
+soon as possible.  I fired my gun to warn Jim.  Lance did nothing but
+went off; he tried to hide from me."
+
+Bernard made a sign of agreement and then inquired: "Why have you been
+frank about it now, after saying nothing for some time?"
+
+"I'd sooner not reply, sir.  The thing mainly touches Lance and me."
+
+"His horrible treachery touches us all," Mrs. Halliday declared.  "If
+it were known, we should be forced to leave the neighborhood.  We could
+not face a scandal like this."
+
+"I imagine it will not be known," Bernard remarked with an ironical
+smile, and turned to Mordaunt.  "Have you anything to state?"
+
+"I might urge that I risked getting badly hurt when I lifted the car
+off Jim, and that I did not move his punt."
+
+"You consented to its being moved," Dick broke in.
+
+Bernard stopped him and Mordaunt resumed: "It is plain that you have
+judged me.  Dick brings no proof of his statements; but we will let
+this go.  There is obviously no use in my denying his tale.  Suppose I
+admit that it's correct?"
+
+"Jim is the injured party.  He must choose our line."
+
+"There is only one line," Jim replied.  "This thing cannot be talked
+about.  Lance knows we know I cannot punish him in any lawful way; but
+if he stops at Dryholm, I'll use the backwoods plan.  Well, I give him
+a week to go."
+
+Bernard nodded and looked at his watch.  "A week is too long!  If you
+pack quickly, Lance, you can get the express to town.  Anyhow, you will
+leave Dryholm as soon as the car is ready.  But I must be just, and
+since you might have made your mark in a useful profession had I not
+allowed you to think you would inherit part of my estate, I will tell
+my lawyers to pay you a sum quarterly.  If you come back to Cumberland,
+the payments will stop."
+
+Mordaunt made a sign of agreement, and glanced at Dick.
+
+"You have won, but I doubt if you have much ground for satisfaction,"
+he said and went out.
+
+Dick was vaguely puzzled, but when the door shut the others were
+conscious of keen relief.  They waited until Mordaunt's steps died away
+and then Bernard got up.
+
+"What has happened to-night is done with; I think you understand," he
+said, and turned to Mrs. Halliday.  "We will join our friends, and if
+they wonder why we have been absent so long, we will leave you to
+satisfy their curiosity."
+
+They found the others in the drawing-room, but although Mrs. Halliday
+began to talk and Bernard was now and then ironically humorous, Dick
+was quiet and Jim rather stern.  All were ready to go when Mrs.
+Halliday got up, but Bernard kept Carrie a moment when the Langrigg car
+throbbed at the steps.
+
+"This house is big and empty, my dear," he said.  "If Jim is not very
+much occupied, you will bring him now and then."
+
+Carrie wondered when the car rolled off.  Bernard had pressed her hand
+and his voice was gentle.  She blushed, for his imagining she could
+persuade Jim was significant, but it was puzzling.  He knew Jim was
+going to marry Evelyn.
+
+Presently Jim stopped the car, and getting down beckoned Jake.
+
+"You can drive home, Carrie," he said.  "There's something we must look
+after but we won't be long."
+
+Carrie started the car and when it rolled away Jake looked at his
+comrade.  Jim wore thin shoes and a light coat over his dinner jacket;
+the road was wet and the low ground dotted by shining pools.  It was
+some time after high-water and a gentle breeze blew across the marsh.
+A half-moon shone between slowly-drifting clouds.
+
+"I suppose you mean to see Shanks," Jake remarked.  "On the whole, it
+might be wiser to send him notice to quit.  You can't put the police on
+his track."
+
+"I'm going to see him.  If I hadn't been able to swim well, Carrie
+would have been drowned."
+
+"For that matter, we would all have been drowned," Jake said dryly.
+
+"It's a curious argument for leaving Shanks alone.  I suspected we took
+some chances when we blew up the dabbin."
+
+"You blew up the dabbin," Jake rejoined.
+
+"Anyhow, Carrie had nothing to do with the thing, and she ran the worst
+risk when we were on the sands.  It was hard to hold myself when I
+thought about it.  I was forced to let Mordaunt go, but my grounds for
+sparing him don't apply to Shanks."
+
+"You haven't even a stick and the fellow has a gun."
+
+"I've got my hands," said Jim.  "If I can get hold of Tom Shanks, I
+won't need a gun.  But I've no use for talking.  Come along!"
+
+They made for a ridge of high ground that dropped to the marsh, and
+presently stopped outside the Bank-end Cottage.  All was dark and
+nobody moved when Jim beat on the door.
+
+"Shanks is sleeping pretty sound if that doesn't waken him," he said.
+"Bring the net-beam.  We'll break in."
+
+Jake picked up a thick wooden bar, and when the door gave way they
+plunged into the kitchen and Jim struck a match.  The house was
+horribly dirty, and old clothes, empty cartridges, brass snares, and
+fishing lines lay about, as if Shanks had hurriedly sorted his
+belongings and left those he did not want.  They found nobody when they
+went upstairs.
+
+"Lance has been here before us," Jim remarked.  "The curious thing is,
+Shanks had two big duck-guns and has moved some truck although he
+couldn't get a cart."
+
+"He had his shooting punt and the tide hasn't left the creek yet," said
+Jake, and they ran across the marsh.
+
+When they stopped at a muddy pool the punt had gone, but there were
+fresh footmarks on the bank; and Jim set off again.
+
+"The creek winds and he must shove her across the mud in places," he
+said.  "My punt's on the sands.  If we are quick, we might head him
+off."
+
+They stumbled among reeds and rushes, and fell into pools, and were wet
+when they reached a hollow at the edge of the sands.  The bank was
+steep, but the tide had not left the channel, and Jim, plunging in,
+pulled up the punt's anchor.  Then he stood on deck, using the pole,
+while Jake paddled.  The tide was running out and they drove the punt
+furiously past belts of mud and sandy shoals, but the bank was high and
+they could not see across.  Shanks, however, was not in front; Jim
+imagined he had come down another gutter that joined the channel
+farther on.  They must try to get there first.
+
+"Keep it up!" he shouted, as he bent over the pole.  "In five minutes
+we'll be round the bend and can see the bay."
+
+Jake braced himself for an effort and the water foamed about the punt's
+low bow.  Floating weed and scum sped past; the bank was dropping to
+the level of the flats and its wet slope sparkled in the moonlight.
+Jake saw the sandy point that marked the bend and resolved to hold out
+until they reached the spot.
+
+They shot round the bend, and Jim threw down his pole.  In front lay a
+broad expanse of sand, broken by belts of shining water.  A flock of
+oyster-catchers, screaming noisily, circled about the foreground; but
+this was all.
+
+"Shove her in!" Jim shouted.  "I reckon Shanks hasn't made the meeting
+of the channels.  We'll strike across the flat."
+
+The sand was soft and they labored hard.  When they were halt-way
+across, a low, dark object rose above the edge of the bank.  It was
+roughly triangular and moving fast.
+
+"Shanks's punt!" said Jake.  "He has set the little black lugsail and
+the wind's fair.  You can't head him off."
+
+"I'm going to try," said Jim, who was now some yards in front; and they
+pushed on.
+
+They were exhausted when they stopped beside a belt of sparkling water,
+and Jim cried out hoarsely and clenched his fist.  The channel was
+wider than he had thought, and near the other bank a punt was running
+down with the tide.  One could hardly see her low, gray hull, but the
+tanned lugsail cut sharply against the bank, and its slant and the
+splash of foam at the bows indicated speed.  Shooting punts are not
+built to carry canvas, but they sail fast in smooth water when the wind
+is fair.
+
+"We're too late; I don't know if I'm sorry," Jake remarked with labored
+breath.  "My notion is, Shanks has pulled out for good, and nobody is
+going to miss him much.  Wind's off the land, water's smooth, and the
+tide will run west for three or four hours.  He'll be a long way down
+the coast before it turns.  In the meantime, we're some distance from
+Langrigg and it looks as if you had lost your shoe."
+
+"So I have!" said Jim.  "Guess it came off when I was plowing through
+the mud.  Well, let's get home.  Shanks has gone and he'll find trouble
+waiting if he comes back."
+
+They set off.  Both were wet and dirty, and when they reached Langrigg
+Jim's foot was sore.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+JIM'S RELEASE
+
+On the morning after his pursuit of Shanks, Jim was conscious of a flat
+reaction.  Dick's story and the excitement of the chase had helped him
+to forget his troubles, but now he was cool they returned.  He had
+promised to marry Evelyn and found out, too late, that he loved
+another.  There was no use in railing at his folly, although this was
+great, and it was futile to wonder how he had so grossly misunderstood
+his feelings.  Evelyn was all he thought her, but romantic admiration
+and respect for her fine qualities were not love.  The important thing
+was that she held his promise and he must make it good.
+
+There was no other way.  Carrie knew he loved her, but she had shown
+him his duty.  If he drew back and broke with Evelyn, he would earn her
+contempt; Carrie was very staunch and put honor first.  Anyhow, he was
+going to draw back; he had been a fool, but he could pay.  The trouble
+was, Evelyn was clever and might find him out.  His face went grim as
+he thought about it; the strain of pretending, the effort to be kind.
+For all that, the effort must be made, and perhaps by and by things
+would be easier.
+
+For a week he was quiet and moody and tried to occupy himself at the
+dyke.  The evenings were the worst, because it soon got dark and he
+must talk to Jake and Carrie and try to look calm.  Then he was puzzled
+about other things.  Evelyn had gone to London and had not written to
+him.  A few days afterwards, Dick, too, went to town, and Mrs. Halliday
+did not know why he had gone.  Jim thought this strange, but it was not
+important.
+
+Coming home one evening from the marsh, he found Dick with the others
+in the hall.  It was nearly dark, but there was a bright fire and
+Carrie was making tea.  Dick kneeled on the rug, toasting muffins on a
+long fork, and laughed when Carrie bantered him about being afraid to
+scorch his hands.  Jim envied Dick, and remembered with poignant regret
+the days when he had helped Carrie by the camp-fire in the woods.  Then
+Dick looked up and Jim thought him embarrassed.
+
+"Hallo, Dick!" he said.  "When did you get back?"
+
+Dick said he arrived in the morning, and Jim asked if he had met Evelyn
+in town.
+
+"I did," Dick replied.  "She was pretty well, but it's two or three
+days since.  She said she'd write to you."
+
+Jim nodded.  Dick's voice was careless, but Jim thought his
+carelessness was forced.  Then he turned to Carrie.  "Did the postman
+call?"
+
+"Yes," said Carrie.  "Your mail is on the table."
+
+Jim got the letters and lighting a lamp sat down in an easy-chair.  The
+envelope with the London postmark was from Evelyn, but he would sooner
+read her note when he was alone.  He opened another and presently
+looked up.
+
+"Martin has written to me from Vancouver.  The Irrigation Company has
+won the lawsuit and proved its claim to the water-rights.  The shares
+are going up again, and Martin's hopeful about the future.  I can sell
+out for face value, but he urges me to hold."
+
+"Ah," said Carrie, "that's good news!  You can trust Martin.  I expect
+the company has straightened up because they made him a director."
+
+"It's very possible.  He sends your mother and you greetings and hopes
+you haven't forgotten him."
+
+"One doesn't forget men like that," Carrie replied.  "Martin's all
+white; clever and strong and straight.  But doesn't this mean you have
+got over your troubles?"
+
+"I suppose I can go ahead with the dykes," said Jim.
+
+He was quiet afterwards and let the others talk, until Carrie got up
+and went away with Mrs. Winter and Jake.  When the door shut Dick
+looked up.
+
+"Has Evelyn written to you?"
+
+"Yes," said Jim.  "I haven't read her note yet."
+
+"I don't know if that is strange or not, but perhaps you had better
+read it.  I expect it will clear the ground for me and I have something
+to say."
+
+Jim opened the envelope and braced himself, for he was half-ashamed of
+the satisfaction he got from the first few lines; moreover, he did not
+want Dick to know what he felt.  Evelyn was apologetic, but she set him
+free.
+
+"I thought I loved you, Jim," she said.  "I wanted to be brave and
+simple, but found it would cost too much.  Now I hope you won't be
+hurt, and by and by perhaps you will be glad I let you go.  You will go
+far, Jim, with your large stride, fronting the storms you love; but I
+could not have taken your path.  Mine must be sheltered and smooth----"
+
+There was more, for Evelyn wrote with some feeling in a romantic
+strain, but Jim had read enough.  His look was puzzled as he turned to
+Dick.
+
+"Your sister has turned me down," he said.  "The grounds she gives are
+good enough.  I imagine you knew?"
+
+"I did know.  I suspected for some time that she would do so, but she
+did not tell me until I was in town."
+
+"Then I don't understand----"
+
+Dick hesitated before he replied: "Lance said something at Dryholm that
+I thought ominous.  He declared I'd be sorry, and I bothered about it
+for a day or two.  Then I saw a light and got the next train to town.
+He meant that he was going to marry Evelyn."
+
+"That's unthinkable!  Besides, Evelyn was then pledged to marry me."
+
+"It looks as if you didn't know Lance yet; I'm not sure you altogether
+know Evelyn.  Anyhow, I saw her and stopped the thing.  I think she got
+a bad jolt when I told her about the punt."
+
+Jim looked at the date on the note.  "When did you see her?"
+
+Dick told him and he pondered.  Then he said, "She wrote to me after
+she knew about the punt, although you imply that she agreed to marry
+Lance before.  It's puzzling."
+
+"I've got to be frank," Dick replied.  "Evelyn is not like Carrie; she
+takes the easiest line.  I Imagine she meant to say nothing until she
+had quietly married Lance.  Then we'd have been forced to accept the
+situation."  He paused and his face got red as he resumed: "I'm
+thankful I was not too late, but I'm sorry I could not find Lance."
+
+Jim was silent for a time.  He had believed in Evelyn after
+illumination had come on the sands.  Although he knew his imagination
+had cheated him, he owned her charm and his respect for her was strong.
+Now he had got a jar.  Evelyn was not the girl he had thought; it
+looked as if she were calculating, unscrupulous, and weak.  If she had
+let him go before she had agreed to marry Lance, he could have forgiven
+her much.  He was savage with himself.  It was for Evelyn's sake he had
+lost Carrie, who was tender, brave, and staunch.
+
+By and by he roused himself and asked: "Have you told your mother?"
+
+"I have not.  I felt I was forced to tell you, but it would be better
+that nobody else should know.  Florence, with whom Evelyn stayed, will
+not talk."
+
+Jim nodded.  "You can trust me, Dick.  The statements in this letter
+are enough; Evelyn imagined she could not be happy with me, and she
+was, no doubt, right!"
+
+"You're a good sort, Jim," said Dick with some embarrassment.  "It's
+not strange you feel sore.  It cost me something to be frank;
+apologizing for one's sister is hard."
+
+"It's done with," Jim said quietly, and as Dick got up a servant came
+in with a pink envelope.
+
+"A telegram for Mr. Halliday," she said.  "As Mrs. Halliday was not at
+home, the gardener brought it on."
+
+The servant went out and Dick laughed harshly when he read the telegram.
+
+"Evelyn was married this morning, but not to Lance," he said.  "Well, I
+expect mother will be satisfied.  From one point of view, the marriage
+is good."
+
+"Then, you know the man?" said Jim, who sympathized with Dick's'
+bitterness.
+
+"I do," said Dick, very dryly.  "He's rich and getting fat, but on the
+whole, I imagine he's as good a husband as Evelyn deserves.  I
+sometimes thought he wanted her and she quietly held him off; it looks
+as if she had lost no time now."  He paused and the blood came to his
+skin as he resumed: "I'm breaking rules, this is rotten bad form, but
+you ought to be thankful you hadn't the misfortune to marry into our
+family."
+
+Jim put his hand on the other's arm.  "Stop it, Dick!  You have been
+honest and we are friends.  But I think you have said enough."
+
+"Then give me a drink and let me go.  I need bracing; the thing has
+knocked me off my balance."
+
+"Here you are," said Jim, who went to a cupboard, and Dick lifted his
+glass.
+
+"Good luck, Jim!  You are lucky, you know.  But if you're not a fool,
+you'll marry Carrie Winter."
+
+He went out and Jim sat down again, looking straight in front, with
+knitted brows.  He did not know how long he mused, but he got up
+abruptly when Carrie came in.  She glanced at him curiously when he
+indicated a chair, and for a few moments he stood opposite, irresolute
+and frowning.  Then he gave her Evelyn's note.
+
+"After all, there is no reason you shouldn't read this," he said.
+
+Carrie took the note and Jim thought her hand trembled when she
+returned it.
+
+"I'm sorry, Jim!"
+
+"I don't want you to be sorry; I want you to understand.  Evelyn
+married somebody else this morning.  Dick got a telegram."
+
+"Ah," said Carrie, "I suppose it hurt?"
+
+"Let's be frank!  It couldn't hurt my vanity, because I had none left.
+For all that, I got a knock.  You see, I trusted Evelyn, and after the
+night on the sands felt myself a shabby cur; but I meant to keep my
+promise."
+
+Carrie's face flushed delicately, although her voice was calm as she
+said, "I did not trust Evelyn.  The trouble was, I couldn't warn you."
+
+"Yet you wanted to warn me?  Oh, I know!  You have stood between me and
+trouble before, but this job was too big.  It was not your pluck that
+failed; you knew my obstinacy----"
+
+He stopped and Carrie was silent.  He moved a few paces and came back.
+
+"Can't you speak?" he asked.
+
+"What am I to say, Jim?"
+
+"Well," he said hoarsely, "if you won't talk, you can listen.  You have
+borne with my moods and I've got to let myself go now or be quiet for
+good; I'm something of a savage, but I've had to fight for all I wanted
+and winning made me proud.  It gave me a ridiculous confidence.  Well,
+I expect I reached the top of my folly when I got Evelyn.  Then our
+adventure on the sands knocked me flat; I knew myself a despicable
+fool.  I'd taken the best you had to give; let you nurse me when I was
+sick, and cook for me in the woods.  I knew your worth and chose
+Evelyn!  Then, when I'd promised to marry her, I took you in my arms
+and kissed you!"
+
+"Yet you meant to marry her; that was rather fine, Jim," said Carrie
+quietly.
+
+"I don't know if it was fine or not; it might have made bad worse.
+Besides, you showed me you would be firm, although you knew I loved
+you."
+
+"Yes; I did know.  You made good in Canada; I wanted you to make good
+at Langrigg."
+
+Jim thrilled with strong emotion.  "Oh, my dear!  My staunch and
+generous dear!  But I'm going to put your generosity to another test.
+I ought to have gone away and made things easier for you; I ought to
+have waited, to save your pride, but it would have been too hard.
+Well, I'm taking a horribly wrong line, but I want you, and you know me
+for what I am.  If you think I'm too mean, I'll sell Langrigg and go
+away for good."
+
+Carrie got up and looked at him with steady eyes.  Then her face
+softened and she gave him a tender smile.
+
+"You are rather foolish, Jim, but you mean well and I am satisfied."
+
+He stood still for a moment, as if he doubted what he had heard, and
+she said quietly, "If my pride needed saving, it would be very small."
+
+"My dear!" he said, and took her in his arms.
+
+A few minutes afterwards, Jake and Mrs. Winter came in and Jim
+remarked: "You have owned you like the Old Country and I've urged you
+to stay."
+
+"When the dykes are finished we must go," Mrs. Winter replied.  "You
+are kind, but we know where we belong----"
+
+She stopped and looked sharply at Carrie, who stood by Jim and smiled.
+Her color was high and her face and pale-green dress cut against the
+background of somber oak.  Her pose was graceful but proud.  Jim
+remembered her coming down the stairs on her first evening in the
+house; she had looked like that then.  Somehow one felt she was there
+by right.
+
+"If you go, you must leave me," she said.  "I belong to Langrigg and
+Jim."
+
+Mrs. Winter advanced and kissed her and Jake gave Jim his hand.  "For a
+time, it looked as if we were going to lose you, partner.  Still I felt
+you would come back to us."
+
+"I don't know if I've come back or gone forward," Jim rejoined.  "All
+that's important is, Carrie and I go on together."
+
+For half an hour they engaged in happy talk and when, after dinner,
+Carrie and Jim were again alone, she said, "You have forgotten
+something.  Oughtn't we to tell Bernard?"
+
+"Of course," Jim agreed.  "Somehow I think he'd like it if you wrote
+the note."
+
+Carrie sent him for a pen and soon after he came back fastened and gave
+him the envelope.
+
+"I suppose I ought to feel nervous, but I don't," she said.  "I was
+never afraid of Bernard."
+
+Next evening Bernard came to dinner.  Jim and his party met him in the
+hall, but he signed the others back when Carrie gave him her hand.
+
+"I am the head of the house and claim my right," he said and kissed
+her.  "Some day Jim will take my place and I think he will fill it
+well."
+
+Carrie blushed, but Jim noted with a thrill of pride that she carried
+herself finely.  He thought she understood that Bernard had formally
+acknowledged her.  It was strange to know this was the girl who had
+made his bread and mended his clothes in the woods, but after all, the
+difference was only in her surroundings.  Carrie had not changed.
+
+"I don't mind confessing I plotted for this," Bernard resumed with a
+twinkle, and took a leather box from his pocket.  He opened the box and
+a row of green jewels set in rough gold sparkled in the light.
+
+"My wife last wore them; they were my grandmother's, and date farther
+back," he said.  "Now they are yours, and I would like you to put them
+on."
+
+Carrie stood quiet for a moment, with the jewels in her hand, while her
+color came and went.  For all that, she looked calm and rather proud.
+She remembered that Bernard had not given the necklace to Evelyn.
+
+"I have not worn such things, and I am the first of my kind to put on
+these stones," she said.
+
+Bernard bowed.  "Brave and good women have worn them.  I have studied
+human nature and give them to you.  This is not altogether because you
+are going to marry Jim."
+
+Carrie drew the stones round her neck and fastened the clasp.  The
+blood came to her skin and she looked strangely vivid, but in a moment
+or two her glance became soft.
+
+"You are kind and your trust means much," she said.  "For one thing, it
+means I must make good.  Jim's inheritance must be managed well.  We
+will try to rule at Langrigg as his people ruled."
+
+
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
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