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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/25916-h.zip b/25916-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1072b2b --- /dev/null +++ b/25916-h.zip diff --git a/25916-h/25916-h.htm b/25916-h/25916-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a46dceb --- /dev/null +++ b/25916-h/25916-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,14391 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" +"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> +<title> +The Project Gutenberg eBook of Prescott of Sasketchewan, by Harold Bindloss. +</title> + +<style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + p {margin-top: 0.5em; text-align: justify; margin-bottom: 0.5em;} + body {margin-left: 11%; margin-right: 10%;} + a {text-decoration: none;} + h3 {text-align:center; font-weight: normal; font-size: 1.2em} + .pncolor {color:gray;} + .figcenter {margin: 2em auto 2em auto; text-align: center;} + div.ce p {text-align: center; margin: auto 0;} + .caption {font-size:.8em} + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; clear: both;} + hr.tb {width: 35%; margin-top: 0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; clear:both;} + .pagenum {display: inline; font-size: x-small; text-align: right; position: absolute; right: 2%; padding: 1px 3px; font-style: normal; font-variant:normal; font-weight:normal; text-decoration: none; background-color: inherit; border:1px solid #eee;} + hr.major {width: 65%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em; border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; clear:both;} + hr.silver {width: 100%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em; border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver;} + h2 {text-align:center; font-weight: normal; font-size: 1.4em} +// --> +/* XML end ]]>*/ +</style> + +</head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Prescott of Saskatchewan, 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: Prescott of Saskatchewan + +Author: Harold Bindloss + +Illustrator: W. Herbert Dunton + +Release Date: June 28, 2008 [EBook #25916] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRESCOTT OF SASKATCHEWAN *** + + + + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Canada Team at http://www.pgdpcanada.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<hr class='silver' /> + +<div class='ce'> +<p style=' font-size:1.6em;'>PRESCOTT OF SASKATCHEWAN</p> +</div> + +<hr class='silver' /> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src='images/illus-fpc.jpg' alt='' title='' style='width: 408px; height: 614px;' /><br /> +<p class='caption' style='margin: 0 auto; text-align:center;width: 408px;'> +“IT SEEMED PRUDENT TO PLACE AS LONG A DISTANCE AS POSSIBLE<br /> +BETWEEN THEM AND THE SETTLEMENT”—<i>Page 158</i> +<br /> +</p> +</div> + +<hr class='silver' /> + +<div class='ce'> +<p style=' font-size:2em;'>PRESCOTT OF</p> +<p style=' font-size:2em; margin-bottom:2em;'>SASKATCHEWAN</p> +<p style=' font-size:1em;'>BY</p> +<p style=' font-size:1.4em; margin-bottom:1em;'>HAROLD BINDLOSS</p> +<p style=' font-size:0.8em;'>AUTHOR OF</p> +<p style=' font-size:0.8em;'>THE LONG PORTAGE,</p> +<p style=' font-size:0.8em;'>RANCHING FOR SYLVIA,</p> +<p style=' font-size:0.8em; margin-bottom:2em;'>WINSTON OF THE PRAIRIE, ETC.</p> +<p style=' font-size:0.8em;'>WITH A FRONTISPIECE IN COLOR BY</p> +<p style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-bottom:2em;'>W. HERBERT DUNTON</p> +</div> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src='images/illus-emb.png' alt='' title='' /><br /> +</div> + +<div class='ce'> +<p style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-top:2em;'>GROSSET & DUNLAP</p> +<p style=' font-size:1.2em;'>PUBLISHERS :: NEW YORK</p> +</div> + +<hr class='silver' /> + +<div class='ce'> +<p style=' font-size:0.8em;'>ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION</p> +<p style=' font-size:0.8em; margin-bottom:1em;'>INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN</p> +<p style=' font-size:0.8em;'>COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY</p> +<div style='margin-top:1em'></div> +<p style=' font-size:0.8em; margin-bottom:1em;'>PUBLISHED IN ENGLAND UNDER THE TITLE, “THE WASTREL”</p> +<div style='margin-top:1em'></div> +<p><i>August</i>, 1913</p> +</div> + +<hr class='silver' /> + +<div class='ce'> +<p style=' font-size:1.4em;'>CONTENTS</p> +</div> + +<table border='0' width='400' cellpadding='2' cellspacing='0' summary='Contents' style='margin:1em auto;'> +<tr> + <td align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'><span style='font-size:small;'>CHAPTER</span></td> + <td></td> + <td align='right'><span style='font-size:small;'>PAGE</span></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>I.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Jernyngham’s Happy Thought</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#I_JERNYNGHAM_S_HAPPY_THOUGHT'>1</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>II.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Muriel Sees the West</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#II_MURIEL_SEES_THE_WEST'>12</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>III.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Jernyngham Makes a Decision</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#III_JERNYNGHAM_MAKES_A_DECISION'>23</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>IV.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Muriel Feels Regret</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#IV_MURIEL_FEELS_REGRET'>35</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>V.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The Mystery of the Muskeg</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#V_THE_MYSTERY_OF_THE_MUSKEG'>45</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>VI.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>A Deal in Land</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#VI_A_DEAL_IN_LAND'>57</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>VII.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The Search</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#VII_THE_SEARCH'>67</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>VIII.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>A Day on the Prairie</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#VIII_A_DAY_ON_THE_PRAIRIE'>79</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>IX.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Prescott Makes a Promise</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#IX_PRESCOTT_MAKES_A_PROMISE'>92</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>X.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>A New Clue</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#X_A_NEW_CLUE'>102</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XI.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>A Revelation</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XI_A_REVELATION'>113</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XII.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Prescott’s Flight</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XII_PRESCOTT_S_FLIGHT'>123</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XIII.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The Construction Camp</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XIII_THE_CONSTRUCTION_CAMP'>131</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XIV.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>On the Trail</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XIV_ON_THE_TRAIL'>141</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XV.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Miss Foster’s Escort</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XV_MISS_FOSTER_S_ESCORT'>153</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XVI.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The Missionary’s Ally</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XVI_THE_MISSIONARY_S_ALLY'>168</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XVII.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The Passage of the Mountains</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XVII_THE_PASSAGE_OF_THE_MOUNTAINS'>183</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XVIII.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Defeat</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XVIII_DEFEAT'>195</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XIX.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Prescott’s Return</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XIX_PRESCOTT_S_RETURN'>206</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XX.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Muriel Relieves her Mind</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XX_MURIEL_RELIEVES_HER_MIND'>216</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXI.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Wandle Takes Precautions</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXI_WANDLE_TAKES_PRECAUTIONS'>227</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXII.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Jernyngham Makes a Discovery</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXII_JERNYNGHAM_MAKES_A_DISCOVERY'>237</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXIII.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>A Night Ride</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXIII_A_NIGHT_RIDE'>249</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXIV.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Muriel Proves Obdurate</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXIV_MURIEL_PROVES_OBDURATE'>261</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXV.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>A Woman’s Influence</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXV_A_WOMAN_S_INFLUENCE'>272</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXVI.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Prescott Makes Inquiries</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXVI_PRESCOTT_MAKES_INQUIRIES'>284</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXVII.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Startling News</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXVII_STARTLING_NEWS'>296</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXVIII.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The End of the Pursuit</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXVIII_THE_END_OF_THE_PURSUIT'>306</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXIX.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Jernyngham Breaks Down</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXIX_JERNYNGHAM_BREAKS_DOWN'>318</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXX.</td> + <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Prescott’s Vindication</span> </td> + <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXX_PRESCOTT_S_VINDICATION'>332</a></td> +</tr> +</table> +<hr class='silver' /> + +<div class='ce'> +<p style=' font-size:1.6em; margin-top:bold;'>Prescott, of Saskatchewan</p> +</div> + +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 0em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='I_JERNYNGHAM_S_HAPPY_THOUGHT' id='I_JERNYNGHAM_S_HAPPY_THOUGHT'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_1' name='page_1'></a>1</span> +<h2>CHAPTER I</h2> +<h3>JERNYNGHAM’S HAPPY THOUGHT</h3> +</div> + +<p>The air was cooling down toward evening at Sebastian, +where an unpicturesque collection of wooden +houses stand upon a branch line on the Canadian prairie. +The place is not attractive during the earlier portion of +the short northern summer, when for the greater part of +every week it lies sweltering in heat, in spite of the +strong west winds that drive dust-clouds through its +rutted streets. As a rule, during the remaining day or +two the temperature sharply falls, thunder crashes between +downpours of heavy rain, and the wet plank +sidewalks provide a badly-needed refuge from the cement-like +“gumbo” mire. +</p> +<p>The day, however, had been cloudless and unusually +hot. Prescott had driven in from his wheat farm at some +distance from the settlement, and he now walked toward +the hotel. He was twenty-eight years old, of average +height and rather spare figure; his face, which had been +deeply bronzed by frost and sun, was what is called +open, his gray eyes were clear and steady, the set of +his lips and mould of chin firm. He looked honest +and good-natured, but one who could, when necessary, +sturdily hold his own. His attire was simple: a wide +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_2' name='page_2'></a>2</span> +gray hat, a saffron-colored shirt with flannel collar, +and a light tweed suit, something the worse for wear. +</p> +<p>As he passed along the sidewalk he looked about. +The small, frame houses were destitute of paint and any +pretense of beauty, a number of them had raised, square +fronts which hid the shingled roofs; but beyond the end +of the street there was the prairie stretching back to the +horizon. In the foreground it was a sweep of fading +green and pale ocher; farther off it was tinged with gray +and purple; and where it cut the glow of green and pink +on the skyline a long birch bluff ran in a cold blue smear. +To the left of the opening rose three grain elevators: huge +wooden towers with their tops narrowed in and devices of +stars and flour-bags painted on them. At their feet ran +the railroad track, encumbered with a string of freight-cars; +a tall water-tank, a grimy stage for unloading coal, +and a small office shack marked the station. +</p> +<p>Prescott, however, did not notice much of this; he was +more interested in the signs of conflict on the persons of +the men he met. Some looked as if they had been violently +rolled in the dust; others wore torn jackets; and the +faces of several were disfigured by bruises. Empty bottles, +which make handy clubs, were suggestively scattered +about the road. All this was unusual, but Prescott supposed +some allowance must be made for the fact that it +was the anniversary of the famous victory of the Boyne. +Moreover, there was a community of foreign immigrants, +mixed with some Irishmen and French Canadians, but all +professing the Romish faith, engaged in some railroad +work not far away. +</p> +<p>In front of the hotel ran a veranda supported on wooden +pillars, and a row of chairs was set out on the match-strewn +sidewalk beneath it. Most of them were occupied +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_3' name='page_3'></a>3</span> +by after-supper loungers, and several of the men bore +scars. Prescott stopped and lighted his pipe. +</p> +<p>“Things seem to have been pretty lively here,” he remarked. +“I came in to see the implement man and found +he couldn’t talk straight, with half his teeth knocked out. +It’s lucky the Northwest troopers have stopped your carrying +pistols.” +</p> +<p>One of the men laughed. +</p> +<p>“We’ve had a great day, sure. Quite a few of the +Dagos had knives, and Jernyngham had a sword. +Guess he’d be in trouble now, only it wasn’t one you +could cut with.” +</p> +<p>“How did he get the sword?” +</p> +<p>“It was King Billy’s,” explained another man. “Fellow +who was acting him got knocked out with a bottle +in his eye. Jernyngham got up on the horse instead +and led the last charge, when we whipped them across +the track.” +</p> +<p>“Where’s the Protestant Old Guard now?” +</p> +<p>“Some of it’s in Clayton’s surgery; rest’s gone home. +When it looked as if the stores would be wrecked, Reeve +Marvin butted in. Telephoned the railroad boss to send +up gravel cars for his boys; told the other crowd he’d +bring the troopers in if they didn’t quit. Ordered all +strangers off on the West-bound, and now we’re simmering +down.” +</p> +<p>“Where’s Jernyngham?” +</p> +<p>The man jerked his hand toward the hotel. +</p> +<p>“In his room, a bit the worse for wear. Mrs. Jernyngham’s +nursing him.” +</p> +<p>Pushing open the wire-mesh mosquito door, Prescott +entered the building. Its interior was shadowy and filled +with cigar smoke; flies buzzed everywhere, and the smell +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_4' name='page_4'></a>4</span> +of warm resinous boards pervaded the rank atmosphere. +The place was destitute of floor covering or drapery, and +the passage Prescott walked down was sloppy with soap +and water from a row of wash-basins, near which hung one +small wet towel. Ascending the stairs, he entered a little +and very scantily furnished room with walls of uncovered +pine. It contained a bed with a ragged quilt and a couple +of plain wooden chairs, in one of which a man leaned back. +He was about thirty years old and he roughly resembled +Prescott, only that his face, which was a rather handsome +one, bore the stamp of indulgence. His forehead was +covered by a dirty bandage, there was dust on his clothes, +and Prescott thought he was not quite sober. In the +other chair sat a young woman with fine dark eyes and +glossy black hair, whose appearance would have been +prepossessing had it not been spoiled by her slatternliness +and cheap finery. She smiled at the visitor as he +walked in. +</p> +<p>“If you’d come sooner, we might have kep’ him out +o’ trouble,” she said. “He got away from me when +things begun to hum.” +</p> +<p>Her slight accent suggested the French Canadian strain, +though Prescott imagined that there was a trace of Indian +blood in her. Her manners were unfinished, her character +was primitive, but Prescott thought she was as +good a consort as Jernyngham deserved. The latter +had a small wheat farm lying back on the prairie, but +his erratic temperament prevented his successfully working +it. Prescott was not a censorious person, and he +had a liking and some pity for the man. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said, in answer to the woman’s remark, +“that was certainly foolish of him. But what had he +to do with the row, anyway?” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_5' name='page_5'></a>5</span></p> +<p>“Have a drink, and I’ll try to explain,” said Jernyngham. +“A big cool drink might clear my head, and I +feel it needs it.” +</p> +<p>“You kin have soda, but nothin’ else!” the woman +broke in. “I’ll send it up; and now that I kin leave you, +I’m goin’ to the store.” She turned to Prescott. “Nothin’ +but soda; and see he don’t git out!” +</p> +<p>She left them and Jernyngham laughed. +</p> +<p>“Ellice’s a good sort; I sometimes wonder how she +puts up with me. Anyhow, I’m glad you came, because +I’m in what might be called a dilemma.” +</p> +<p>As this was not a novelty to his companion, Prescott +made no comment, and by and by two tumblers containing +iced liquid were brought in. Jernyngham drained +his thirstily and looked up with a grin. +</p> +<p>“It isn’t exhilarating, but it’s cool,” he said. “Now, +however, you’re curious about my honorable scars—I +got them from a bottle. It broke, you see, but there’s +some satisfaction in remembering that I knocked out the +other fellow with the flat of the Immortal William’s sword.” +</p> +<p>“You’ll get worse hurt some day,” Prescott rebuked +him severely. +</p> +<p>“It’s possible, but you’re wandering from the point. +I’m trying to remember what led me into the fray in the +incongruous company of certain Hardshell Baptists, +Ontario Methodists, and Belfast Presbyterians. As a +young man, my sympathies were with the advanced +Anglicans, perhaps because my people were sternly +Evangelical. Then the whole thing’s unreasonable—what +have I to do, for instance, with the Protestant +succession?” +</p> +<p>“It isn’t very plain,” said Prescott. “Still, everybody +knows what kind of fool you are.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_6' name='page_6'></a>6</span></p> +<p>“I live,” declared Jernyngham. “You steady, industrious +fellows grow. The row began at the ball-game—disputed +base, I think—and our lot had got +badly whipped at the first round when I stood on the +veranda and sang them, ‘No Surrender.’ That was +enough for the Ulster boys, and three or four of them go +a long way in this kind of scrimmage.” +</p> +<p>Prescott had no sympathy with Jernyngham’s vagaries, +but one could not be angry with him: the man +was irresponsible. In a few moments, however, Jernyngham’s +face grew graver. +</p> +<p>“Jack,” he resumed, “I’m in a hole. Never troubled +to ask for my letters until late in the afternoon, and now +I don’t know what to do unless you can help me.” +</p> +<p>“You had better tell me what the trouble is.” +</p> +<p>“To make you understand, I’ll have to go back some +time. Everybody round this place knows what I am +now, but I believe I was rather a promising youngster +before I left the old country, a bit of a rebel though, +and inclined to kick against the ultra-conventional. +In fact, I think honesty was my ruin, Jack; I kicked +openly.” +</p> +<p>“Is there any other way? I can’t see that there’s +much use in kicking unless the opposition feels it.” +</p> +<p>“Don’t interrupt,” scowled Jernyngham. “This is +rather deep for you, but I’ll try to explain. If you want +to get on in the old country, you must conform to the +standard; though you can do what you like at times and +places where people of your proper circle aren’t supposed +to see you. I didn’t recognize the benefits of the system +then—and I suffered for it.” +</p> +<p>He paused with a curious, half-tender look in his +face. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_7' name='page_7'></a>7</span></p> +<p>“There was a girl, Jack, good as they’re made, I still +believe, though not in our station. Well, I meant to +marry her—thought I was strong enough to defy the +system—and she, not knowing what manner of life I +was meant for, was fond of me.” +</p> +<p>“What manner of life were you meant for?” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham laughed harshly. +</p> +<p>“The Bar, for a beginning; I’d got my degree. The +House later—there was strong family influence—to +assist in propagating the Imperial idea. Strikes one as +amusing, Jack.” +</p> +<p>Prescott thought his companion would not have +spoken so freely had he been wholly sober, but he +had long noticed the purity of the man’s intonation +and the refinement that occasionally showed in his +manners. +</p> +<p>“You’re making quite a tale of it,” he said. +</p> +<p>“Well,” resumed Jernyngham, “I didn’t know what +I was up against; the system broke me. When the stress +came, I hadn’t nerve enough to hold out, and for that +I’ve been punished. My sister—she meant well—got +hold of the girl, persuaded her to give me up—for my +sake, Jack. Wouldn’t see me, sent back my letters, +and I came to Canada, beaten.” +</p> +<p>He paused. +</p> +<p>“There’s a reason why you must try to realize my +father and sister. He’s unflinchingly upright, conventional +to a degree; Gertrude’s a feebler copy, as just, +but perhaps not quite so hard. Well, I’ve never written +to either, but I’ve heard from friends and the conclusion +seems to be that as I’ve never asked for money I must +have reformed. There’s a desire for a reconciliation; +my father’s getting old, and I believe, in their reserved +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_8' name='page_8'></a>8</span> +way, they were fond of me. Don’t be impatient; I’m +coming to the point at last. I’d a letter to-day from +Colston—though the man’s a relative, I haven’t seen him +since I left school. He and his wife are passing through +on their way to British Columbia and the idea seems to +be that he should see me and report.” +</p> +<p>Prescott made a sign of understanding. Jernyngham, +stamped with dissipation and injured in a brawl, +and his small homestead where everything was in disorder +and out of repair, were hardly likely to create a favorable +impression on his English relatives. Besides, there was +Mrs. Jernyngham. The effect of her appearance and +conversation might be disastrous. +</p> +<p>“Now,” continued Jernyngham, “you see how I’m +fixed. I haven’t much to thank my people for, but I want +to spare them a shock. If it would make things easier for +them, I don’t mind their thinking better of me than I +deserve.” +</p> +<p>His companion pondered this. It was crudely put, but +it showed a rather fine consideration, Prescott thought, +for the people who were in part responsible for the +man’s downfall; perhaps, too, a certain sense of shame +and contrition. Jernyngham’s desire could not be found +fault with. +</p> +<p>“What are you going to do about it?” he asked. +</p> +<p>“Nothing,” said Jernyngham with a reckless laugh. +“You’ll do all that’s needed; I mean to leave my +friends to you. Strikes me as a brilliant idea, though not +exactly novel; made a number of excellent comedies. +Did you ever see ‘Charley’s Aunt’?” +</p> +<p>Prescott frowned. +</p> +<p>“I don’t deal.” +</p> +<p>“Think! You’re not unlike me and we’re about the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_9' name='page_9'></a>9</span> +same age; Colston, hasn’t seen me for fourteen years; +his wife never!” +</p> +<p>“No,” objected Prescott. “It can’t be done!” +</p> +<p>“It’s hardly good form to remind you of it, Jack, but +there was a time when we took a grading contract on the +line and you got into trouble close in front of the ballast +train.” +</p> +<p>Prescott’s determined expression changed. +</p> +<p>“Yes,” he conceded; “it gives you a pull on me—I +can’t go back on that.” He spread out his hands. “Well, +if you insist.” +</p> +<p>“For the old man’s sake,” said Jernyngham. “I +want you to take the Colstons out to your place and +entertain them for a day or two; they won’t stay long. +They’re coming in by the West-bound this evening.” +</p> +<p>“Then,” exclaimed Prescott, “they’ll be here in half an +hour, if the train’s on time! If there are any points you +can give me about your family history, you had better be +quick!” +</p> +<p>“In the first place, I was rather a wild youngster, with +an original turn of mind and was supposed to be a bit +of a rake, though that wasn’t correct—my eccentricities +were harmless then. Your word ‘maverick’ describes +me pretty well: I didn’t belong to the herd; I wouldn’t +be rounded up with the others and let them put the brand +on. That’s no doubt why they credited me with vices I +didn’t possess.” Jernyngham laughed. “Still, you +mustn’t overdo the thing; you want delicately to convey +the idea that you’re now reformed. The part requires +some skill; it’s a pity you’re not smarter. Jack. But let +me think——” +</p> +<p>He went into a few details about his family, and then +Prescott left him and, after giving an order to have his +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_10' name='page_10'></a>10</span> +team ready, proceeded to the station. It was getting +dark, but the western sky was still a sheet of wonderful +pale green, against which the tall elevators stood out +black and sharp. The head-lamp of a freight locomotive +flooded track and station with a dazzling electric glare, +the rails that ran straight and level across the waste +gleaming far back in the silvery radiance. This helped +Prescott to overcome his repugnance to his task, as he +remembered another summer night when he had attempted +to hurry his team across the track before a +ballast train came up. Startled by the blaze of the head-lamp +and the scream of the whistle, one of the horses +plunged and kicked; a wheel of the wagon, sinking in +the loose ballast, skidded against a tie; and Prescott +stood between the rails, struggling to extricate the beasts, +while the great locomotive rushed down on them. There +was a vein of stubborn tenacity in him and it looked as +if he and the horses would perish together when Jernyngham +came running to the rescue. How they escaped +neither of them could afterward remember, but a moment +later they stood beside the track while the train went +banging by, covering them with dust and fragments of +gravel. Prescott admitted that he owed Jernyngham +something for that. +</p> +<p>Nevertheless there was no doubt that the part he had +undertaken to play would be difficult. He could see its +humorous side, but he had not been a prodigal; indeed +he was by temperament and habit steady-going and industrious. +The son of a small business man in Montreal, +he had after an excellent education abandoned city life +and gone west, where he had prospered by frugality and +hard work. He was by no means rich, but he was +content and inclined to be optimistic about the future. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_11' name='page_11'></a>11</span></p> +<p>When he reached the station, he found that the usual +crowd of loungers had gathered to watch the train come +in. Lighting his pipe, he walked up and down the low +platform, wondering uneasily how he would get through +the next few days. Jernyngham, he felt, had placed him +in a singularly embarrassing position. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='II_MURIEL_SEES_THE_WEST' id='II_MURIEL_SEES_THE_WEST'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_12' name='page_12'></a>12</span> +<h2>CHAPTER II</h2> +<h3>MURIEL SEES THE WEST</h3> +</div> + +<p>The sunlight was fading off the prairie when a party +of three sat in a first-class car as the local train went +jolting westward. Henry Colston leaned back in his +seat with a Winnipeg paper on his knee; and his appearance +stamped him as a well-bred Englishman traveling +for pleasure. He was thirty-four; his dress, though +dusty, was fastidiously neat; his expression was pleasant, +but there was an air of formality about him. One would +not have expected him to do anything startling or extravagant, +even under stress of emotion. Mrs. Colston +resembled him in this respect. She was a handsome +woman, a little reserved in manner, and was tastefully +dressed in traveling tweed, which she had found too hot +for the Canadian summer. Muriel, her sister, was twenty-four, +and though the two were alike, the girl’s face was +fresher, more ingenuous and perhaps more intelligent. +It was an attractive face, crowned with red-gold hair; +broad brows, straight nose and firm mouth hinted at +some force of character, but her eyes of deep violet were +unusually merry, and her warm coloring suggested a +sanguine temperament. +</p> +<p>So far, Muriel Hurst had taken life lightly and had +foiled Mrs. Colston’s attempts to make a suitable match +for her. The daughter of a man of taste who had died in +difficulties, she had not a penny beyond the allowance +provided by her sister’s generosity. Nevertheless, she +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_13' name='page_13'></a>13</span> +was happy and had a strong liking and respect for her +prosperous brother-in-law, though his restricted views +sometimes irritated her. +</p> +<p>She was now trying to arrange her impressions of +Canada, which were mixed. She had looked down on +Montreal with its great bridge and broad river from the +wooded mountain, and from there it had struck her as a +beautiful city. Then she had seen the handsome stone +houses with their lawns at the foot of the hill, and afterward +the magnificent commercial buildings round the +postoffice. These could scarcely be equaled in London, +but the rest of the town had not impressed her. It was +strewn with sand and cement-dust: they seemed to be +pulling down and putting up buildings and tearing open +the streets all over it. +</p> +<p>Afterward the Western Express had swept her through +a thousand miles of wilderness, a vast tract of forest +filled with rocks and lakes and rivers; and then she had +spent two days in Winnipeg on the verge of the prairie. +This city she found perplexing. The station hall was +palatial, part of wide Main Street and Portage Avenue +with their stately banks and offices could hardly be too +much admired, and there were pretty wooden houses +running back to the river among groves of trees. But +apart from this, the place was somehow primitive. There +were numerous hard-faced men hanging about the streets, +and it jarred on her to see the rows of well-dressed +loungers in the hotels lolling in wooden chairs close +against the great windows, a foot or two from the street. +It gave her a hint of western characteristics; the people +were abrupt, good-naturedly so, perhaps, but devoid of +delicacy. +</p> +<p>Last had come the prairie—the land of promise—which +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_14' name='page_14'></a>14</span> +seemed to run on forever, flooded with brilliant +sunshine under a sky of dazzling blue. Banded with +miles of wheat, flecked with crimson flowers, it stretched +back, brightly green, until it grew gray and blue on the +far horizon. It was relieved by the neutral purple of +poplar bluffs, and little gleaming lakes; its vastness and +openness filled the girl with a sense of liberty. Narrow +restraints, cramping prejudices, must vanish in this wide +country; one’s nature could expand and become optimistic +here. +</p> +<p>Then Colston began to talk. +</p> +<p>“We should arrive in the next half-hour and I’ll confess +to a keen curiosity about Cyril Jernyngham. He was an +amusing and eccentric scapegrace when I last saw him, +though that is a very long time ago.” +</p> +<p>“You object to eccentricity, don’t you?” laughed +Muriel. +</p> +<p>“Oh, no! Call it originality, and I’ll admit that a +certain amount is useful; but it should be kept in check. +Indulged in freely, it’s apt to rouse suspicion.” +</p> +<p>“Which is rather unfair.” +</p> +<p>“I don’t know,” Mrs. Colston broke in. “Considered +all round, it’s an excellent rule that if you won’t do +what everybody in your station does, you must take the +consequences.” +</p> +<p>Colston nodded. +</p> +<p>“I agree. One must think of the results to society +as a whole.” +</p> +<p>“Cyril Jernyngham seems to have taken the consequences,” +Muriel pointed out. “Isn’t there something +to be said for the person who does so uncomplainingly? +I understand he never recanted or asked for help.” +</p> +<p>Mrs. Colston shot a quick glance at her. She did not +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_15' name='page_15'></a>15</span> +wish her sister’s sympathy to be enlisted on the black +sheep’s behalf. +</p> +<p>“I believe that’s true,” she replied. “Perhaps it’s +hardly to his credit. His father is an old man who had +expected great things of him. If he had come home, he +would have been forgiven and reinstated.” +</p> +<p>“Yes,” said Colston, “though Jernyngham seldom +shows his feelings, I know he has grieved over his son. +There can be no question that Cyril should have returned; +I’ve told him so in my letters.” +</p> +<p>“I suppose they’d have insisted on a full and abject +surrender?” +</p> +<p>“Not an abject one,” answered Colston. “He would +have been expected to fall in with the family ideas and +plans.” +</p> +<p>“And he wouldn’t?” suggested Muriel with a mischievous +smile. “I think he was right.” Reading disapproval +in her sister’s expression, she continued: “You +dear virtuous people are a little narrow in your ideas; +you can’t understand that there’s room for the greatest +difference of opinion even in a harmonious family, and +that it’s very silly to drive the nonconformer into +rebellion. Variety’s a law of nature and tends to life.” +</p> +<p>Colston glanced meaningly at his wife. He was not a +hypercritical person, but it did not please him that his +sister-in-law, of whom he was fond, should champion +Jernyngham. +</p> +<p>“I don’t wish to be severe on Cyril,” he rejoined. “As +a matter of fact, I know nothing good or bad about his +Canadian life; but he must be regarded as, so to speak, +on probation until he has proved that he deserves our +confidence.” +</p> +<p>Muriel made no answer. She was looking out of the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_16' name='page_16'></a>16</span> +window toward the west, and the glow on the vast plain’s +rim seized her attention. The sunset flush had faded, +but the sky shone a transcendent green. The air was very +clear; every wavy line of bluff was picked out in a wonderful +deep blue. Muriel thought she had never seen such +strength and vividness of color. Then she glanced round +the long car. It was comfortable except for the jolting; +the silvery gray of its cane-backed seats contrasted with +the paneling of deep brown. The big lamps and metal +fittings gleamed with nickel. All the girl saw connected +her with luxurious civilization, and she wondered with +a stirring of curiosity what awaited her in the wilds, +where man still grappled with nature in primitive fashion. +</p> +<p>“Sebastian in three or four minutes!” announced the +conductor; and while Muriel and Mrs. Colston gathered +together a few odds and ends a scream of the whistle +broke out. +</p> +<p>Prescott heard it on the station platform and with +strong misgivings braced himself for his task. A bright +light was speeding down the track, blending with that +flung out by a freight locomotive crossing the switches. +Then amid the clangor of the bell the long cars rolled in +and he saw a man standing on the platform of one. +There was no doubt that he was an Englishman and +Prescott hurried toward the car. +</p> +<p>“Mr. Henry Colston?” he asked. +</p> +<p>The man held out his hand. +</p> +<p>“I think Harry is sufficient. Come and speak to +Florence; she has been looking forward to meeting you +with interest.” He turned. “My dear, this is Cyril.” +</p> +<p>Prescott shook hands with the lady on the car platform, +and then looked past her in confused surprise. A girl +stood in the vestibule, clad in garments of pale lilac tint +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_17' name='page_17'></a>17</span> +which fell about her figure in long sweeping lines, emphasizing +its fine contour against the dark brown paneling. +She had a large hat of the same color, and it enhanced +the attractiveness of her face, which wore a +friendly smile. She was obviously one of the party, +though Jernyngham had not mentioned her, and Prescott +pulled himself together when Colston presented him. +</p> +<p>“My sister-in-law, Muriel Hurst,” he added. +</p> +<p>When they had alighted, Prescott asked for the checks +and moved toward the baggage car. While he waited, +watching the trunks being flung out, Ellice passed him +talking to a smartly dressed man. This struck Prescott +as curious, but he knew the man as a traveling salesman +for an American cream-separator, and as he must have +called at Jernyngham’s homestead on his round and was +no doubt leaving by the train, there was no reason why +Ellice should not speak to him. He thought no more of +the matter and proceeded to carry several trunks and +valises across the platform to his wagon, while his new +friends watched him with some surprise. It was a novel +experience in their walk of life to see their host carrying +their baggage, and when Prescott lifted the heaviest +trunk Colston hurried forward to protest. +</p> +<p>“Stand aside, please,” said the rancher, walking firmly +across the boards with the big trunk on his shoulders. +When he had placed it in the wagon he turned to the +ladies with a smile. +</p> +<p>“I had thought of putting you up for the night at the +hotel, but they’re full, and with good luck we ought to +make my place in about three hours. I dare say this +isn’t the kind of rig you have been accustomed to driving +in; and somebody will have to sit on a trunk. There’s +only room for three on the driving-seat.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_18' name='page_18'></a>18</span></p> +<p>Mrs. Colston surveyed the vehicle with misgivings. +It was a long, shallow box set on four tall and very light +wheels, and crossed by a seat raised on springs. Two +rough-coated horses were harnessed to it with a pole +between them. She saw this by the glare of the freight +locomotive’s head-lamp when the train moved out, and +noticed that her husband was looking at their host in +surprise. +</p> +<p>“I’ll take the trunk,” said Colston. “We had dinner +down the line not long ago.” +</p> +<p>Prescott helped the ladies up and seating himself next +to the younger started his horses. They set off at a rapid +trot and the wagon jolted unpleasantly as it crossed the +track. Then the horses broke into a gallop, raising a +dust-cloud in the rutted street, while the light vehicle +rocked in an alarming fashion, and Prescott had some +trouble in restraining them when they ran out on to the +dim waste of prairie. Then the wonderful keen air, +faintly scented with wild peppermint, reacted upon the +girl with a curious exhilarating effect. She felt stirred +and excited, expectant of new experiences, perhaps +adventures. The wild barley brushed about the wheels +with a silky rustle; the beat of hoofs rang in a sharp +staccato through the deep silence; and the touch of the +faint night wind brought warmth into Muriel’s face. +</p> +<p>“They’re pretty fresh; been in the stable of a farm near +here most of the day,” Prescott explained. “Not long +off the range, anyhow, and they’re bad to hold.” +</p> +<p>There was a shrill scream from a dusky shape flitting +through the air as they skirted a marshy pool, and the +team again broke into a furious gallop. The trail was +grown with short scrub which smashed beneath the hoofs, +and the vehicle lurched sharply when the wheels left the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_19' name='page_19'></a>19</span> +ruts and ran through tall, tangled grass. Prescott with +some diffidence slipped his arm round Muriel’s waist, +while Colston jolted up and down with his trunk. +</p> +<p>“You have still the same taste in horses, Cyril,” he +remarked. “I suppose you remember Wildfire?” +</p> +<p>“Wildfire?” queried Prescott, and then, having the +impression that young English lads were sometimes +given a pony, ventured: “Quite a cute little beast.” +</p> +<p>“Little!” exclaimed Colston. “How many hands +make a big horse in this country? I’m speaking of the +hunter you cajoled the second groom into saddling when +your father was away. Can’t you remember how you +insisted on putting her at the Newby brook?” +</p> +<p>“I don’t seem to place it somehow,” said Prescott in +alarm, seeing that if he were called upon to share any +more reminiscences it might lead him into difficulties. +“You know I’ve been out here a while.” +</p> +<p>“Long enough to forget, it seems.” +</p> +<p>Prescott made a bold venture. +</p> +<p>“That’s so; perhaps it’s better. This is a brand new +country. One starts afresh here, looking forward instead +of back.” +</p> +<p>Muriel considered this. The idea was, she thought, +appropriate, but the man’s tone and air were not what +one would have expected of a reformed rake. There +was no hint of contrition; he spoke with optimistic +cheerfulness. +</p> +<p>“Of course,” Colston agreed. “I wonder if I might +say that you have grown more Canadian than I expected +to find you?” +</p> +<p>“More Canadian?” Prescott checked himself in +time and laughed. “Is it surprising? You drive and +starve out many a good man who dares to be original—I’ve +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_20' name='page_20'></a>20</span> +met a number of them. Can you wonder that when +they’re welcomed here they’re willing to forget you and +become one with the people who took them in?” +</p> +<p>“In a way, that’s a pity,” said Mrs. Colston. “We +like to think we haven’t lost you altogether.” +</p> +<p>Disregarding his horses, Prescott turned toward her +with a bow. +</p> +<p>“Face the truth, ma’am. If you’re ever in a tight +place, we’ll send you what help we can, hard men, such +as can’t be raised in your cities, to keep the flag flying, +but we stop there. Don’t think we belong to you—we +stand firm on our own feet, a new free nation. I”—he +paused in an impressive manner—“am a Canadian.” +</p> +<p>Muriel felt a responsive thrill. His ideas were certainly +not English, nor was his mode of expressing them, +but his boldness appealed to her. Her companions were +frankly astonished and rather hurt, which he seemed to +realize, for he resumed with a laugh: +</p> +<p>“But we won’t talk politics. Things I’ve heard +English people say out here make one tired.” +</p> +<p>Then he turned toward the girl, adding softly: +</p> +<p>“Was that a very bad break I made?” +</p> +<p>“I think it could be forgiven,” she told him. +</p> +<p>“The years you have spent in Canada seem to have +had their full effect on you,” Colston remarked dryly. +</p> +<p>Prescott turned his attention to his team, slightly +checking their pace. +</p> +<p>“What did you mean when you said we should reach +your ranch in three hours, if we had good luck?” Muriel +asked. +</p> +<p>“Oh,” he said, “there are badger burrows about, and +a little beast called a gopher makes almost as bad a hole; +they’re fond of digging up the trail. If a horse steps +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_21' name='page_21'></a>21</span> +into one of those holes, it’s apt to bring him down. +Besides, we trust a good deal to our luck in this country—one +has to run risks that can’t be estimated: harvest frost, +rust, dry seasons, winds that blow destroying sand about. +I’ve lost two crops in the eight years I’ve been here.” +</p> +<p>“Can it be eight?” Colston broke in. “If I remember +right, you spent three years in Manitoba.” +</p> +<p>“It’s the same kind of country and the same climate,” +Prescott rejoined, conscious that he had nearly betrayed +himself again. He felt angry with Jernyngham for +giving him such a difficult part to play. +</p> +<p>After this, he carefully avoided any personal topic and +talked about Canadian farming, sitting silent when he +could, while Muriel gazed about with pleasurable curiosity. +It is never quite dark on those wide levels in summertime, +and, for there was no moon, the prairie stretched +away before them shadowy, silent, and mysterious. Now +they passed a sheet of water, gleaming wanly among thin +willows; then they plunged into the deep gloom of a +poplar bluff; and later, lurching down a steep declivity, +swept through a shallow creek. The air was filled with +the smell of dew-damped soil and unknown aromatic +scents, the loneliness was impressive, the half-obscurity +emphasized the strangeness of everything. Muriel felt +as if she had left all that was stereotyped and matter-of-fact +far behind. It was the unexpected and romantic that +ought to happen in this virgin land. +</p> +<p>Then, worn by several days’ journey in the jolting +cars, she grew drowsy. The steady drumming of hoofs, +the slapping of the traces, and the rattle of wheels were +strangely soothing. She fancied that once or twice when +they sped furiously down an incline, the driver held her +fast, but she did not resent the support of his arm: it was +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_22' name='page_22'></a>22</span> +a steady, reassuring grasp. At last, as they swung +round a poplar bluff, she roused herself, for dim black +buildings loomed up ahead, and one which had lighted +windows took the shape of a small house. The team +stopped, there were voices speaking with a curious accent +which reminded her of Norway, and the rancher helped +her down. +</p> +<p>Afterward she followed her sister into a simply furnished, +pine-boarded room with a big stove at one end of +it, where a middle-aged woman set food and coffee before +them. She spoke English haltingly, but her lined face +lighted up when Muriel thanked her in Norse. Then +there followed a flow of eager words, a few of which the +girl caught, until the woman broke off when their host +came in. He was silent, for the most part, during the +meal, and shortly afterward Muriel was shown into a +small room where she went to sleep in a few minutes. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='III_JERNYNGHAM_MAKES_A_DECISION' id='III_JERNYNGHAM_MAKES_A_DECISION'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_23' name='page_23'></a>23</span> +<h2>CHAPTER III</h2> +<h3>JERNYNGHAM MAKES A DECISION</h3> +</div> + +<p>Prescott’s guests had spent a week at his homestead +with content when Colston and his wife sat +talking one morning. +</p> +<p>“I’m frankly puzzled,” said Colston, opening his +cigar case; “I can’t make Cyril out. He’s frugal, +remarkably industrious—I think the description’s warranted—and, +from all that one can gather, as steady +as a rock. This, of course, is gratifying, but it’s by no +means what I expected.” +</p> +<p>“He certainly doesn’t fit in with the picture his sister +Gertrude drew me, though she conveyed the impression +that she was softening things down. There can be no +doubt that he was wild. That might, perhaps, be +forgiven, but one or two of the stories I’ve heard about +him filled me with disgust.” +</p> +<p>Her husband looked thoughtful. He had not noticed +that Muriel was sitting just outside the open window, +though Mrs. Colston, being in a different position, had +done so. She thought their voices would reach the girl, +and if anything strongly in Cyril’s disfavor cropped up +during the conversation it might be as well that she should +hear it. Mrs. Colston was willing that he should be +reconciled to his relatives, but a reformed rake was not +the kind of man to whom she wished her sister to be +attracted. One could not tell whether the reformation +would prove permanent. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_24' name='page_24'></a>24</span></p> +<p>“After all, I never heard any really serious offense +proved against him,” Colston rejoined. “It’s sometimes +easy to acquire a reputation without doing anything +in particular to deserve it. People are apt to jump at +conclusions.” +</p> +<p>“When there’s a general concurrence of opinion it’s +wiser to fall in with it. But what did he say about his +father’s suggestion that he should go home?” +</p> +<p>“Asked for a day or two to think it over; I fancied that +he wished to consult somebody. Then he promised to +give me an answer.” +</p> +<p>“On the whole, I think they need have no hesitation +about taking him back now,” Mrs. Colston responded; +and Muriel agreed with her. “There’s another point,” +she added. “How long shall we stay here?” +</p> +<p>“I don’t know. I’ve a growing liking for Cyril, the +place is pleasant, and though things are rather rudimentary, +the air’s wonderfully bracing. He urged me to +stay some little time, and I felt that he wished it.” +</p> +<p>Mrs. Colston considered. She was enjoying her visit; +everything was delightfully novel and she felt more +cheerful and more vigorous than she had done for some +time. But Muriel seemed to find the prairie pleasant, +and there was a possibility of danger there. +</p> +<p>“We might, perhaps, remain another week,” she +suggested. +</p> +<p>As it happened, Colston’s suspicion that his host +wished to consult somebody was correct, for Prescott +was then driving in to the settlement to lay his visitor’s +message before the man it most concerned. He found +him lounging in the hotel bar, and, drawing him into the +general-room, he sat down opposite him in a hard wooden +chair. The apartment had no floor covering and was +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_25' name='page_25'></a>25</span> +cheerless and dirty; there was not even a table in it; and +only a railroad time-table and advertisements of land +sales hung on its rough pine walls. Jernyngham, however, +looked in keeping with his surroundings. The +dirty bandage still covered his forehead, his clothes were +stained and untidy, and he had an unkempt, dissipated air. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he asked with a grin, “how are you getting on +with your new friends?” +</p> +<p>“I don’t know; I’m curious about what they think of +me. Anyway, I found the thing harder than I expected. +Why didn’t you tell me Mrs. Colston was bringing her +sister?” +</p> +<p>“If I ever heard she had one, I forgot it; suppose I +couldn’t have read the letter properly. What’s she like?” +</p> +<p>“Herself,” said Prescott. “I can’t think of anybody +we know I could compare her with.” +</p> +<p>He had endeavored to speak carelessly, but something +in his voice betrayed him and Jernyngham laughed. +</p> +<p>“That’s not surprising. If you want to play your part +properly, you had better make love to her. It’s what +would be expected of me, and it couldn’t do any harm, +because these people would very soon head you off. +Harry Colston’s sister-in-law would look for an assured +position and at least five thousand dollars a year. When +are they going?” +</p> +<p>“I’ve asked them to stay a little longer and I think +they’ll agree. But that is not what I came to see you +about. Colston laid a proposition before me—you’re +formally invited to return home.” +</p> +<p>“On what terms?” +</p> +<p>Prescott detailed them, watching his companion. The +latter sat silent for a minute or two, and then he said +slowly: +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_26' name='page_26'></a>26</span></p> +<p>“It’s a handsome offer, but it was made under a mistake. +There’s no doubt that Colston was trusted with +powers of discretion. He must be satisfied with you—don’t +you feel complimented, Jack?” +</p> +<p>“What I feel is outside the question.” +</p> +<p>“Well,” continued Jernyngham thoughtfully, “I suppose +if I indulged in a spell of hard work in the open and +practised strict abstinence it might improve my appearance, +and I could, perhaps, keep out of Colston’s way, or +if needful, own up to the trick. The old man would hold +to his bargain: he’s that kind. It’s a strong temptation—you +see what I’d stand to gain—a liberal allowance, a life +that’s wildly luxurious by comparison with the one I’m +leading, the society of people of the stamp I’ve been +brought up among. Jack, I feel driven to the point of +yielding. But it’s a pity this offer has come too late.” +</p> +<p>“Is it too late?” +</p> +<p>“Think! Would it be fair to go? For a month or two +I might keep straight, then—I’ve tried to describe my +people—you can imagine their feelings at the inevitable +outbreak. Besides, there’s a more serious difficulty.” +Jernyngham’s tense face relaxed into a grim smile. +“Can you imagine Ellice an inmate of an English country +house, patronizing local charities, presiding over +prim garden parties? The idea’s preposterous! And +that’s not all.” +</p> +<p>Prescott knew little about England, but he could +imagine her making an undesirable sensation in Montreal +or Toronto. +</p> +<p>“You force me to ask something. Is she Mrs. +Jernyngham?” he said, hesitatingly. +</p> +<p>“I used to think so; there’s a doubt about the matter +now.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_27' name='page_27'></a>27</span></p> +<p>“One would have imagined that was a point you would +have been sure about.” +</p> +<p>“I understood her husband was dead when we were +married in Manitoba. She was a waitress in a second-rate +hotel; the brute had ill-used and deserted her. But +there’s now some reason to believe he’s farming in +Alberta. I haven’t made inquiries: I didn’t think it +would improve matters.” +</p> +<p>Prescott said nothing. In face of such a situation, +any remarks that he could make would be superfluous. +There was a long silence; and then Jernyngham spoke +again, slowly, but resolutely. +</p> +<p>“You see how it is, Jack—where my interest lies. +Against that, there’s the feelings of my father and sister +to consider. Then my reinstatement would have to be +bought by casting off the woman who has borne with +my failings and stuck to me pluckily. I haven’t sunk +quite so far as that. You’ll have to tell Colston that I’m +staying here!” +</p> +<p>He got up and Prescott laid a hand on his arm. +</p> +<p>“It’s hard; but you’re doing the square thing, Cyril.” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham shook off his hand. +</p> +<p>“Don’t let us talk in that strain. Come and see Ellice +and try to amuse her. Don’t know what’s wrong with +the woman; she has been moody of late.” +</p> +<p>“I must get back as soon as I can and I’ve some +business to do.” +</p> +<p>“Oh, well,” acquiesced Jernyngham, walking with +him to the bar, which was the quickest way of leaving. +</p> +<p>On reaching it he turned and glanced about sardonically. +The room was dark, filled with flies, and evil +smelling, as well as thick with smoke; half a dozen, +untidy men leaned against the counter. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_28' name='page_28'></a>28</span></p> +<p>“What a set of loafing swine you are!” he coolly +remarked. “It’s not to the point that I’m no better, but +if any of you feel insulted, I’ll be happy to make what +I’ve said good.” +</p> +<p>“Cut it out, Cyril! Can’t have a circus here!” exclaimed +the bar-tender. +</p> +<p>“You needn’t be afraid. They look pretty tame,” +Jernyngham rejoined, and going on to the door, shook +hands with Prescott. +</p> +<p>“Tell Colston he has my last word,” he said. +</p> +<p>Turning away, he proceeded to the untidy parlor where +he found Ellice dawdling over a paper. Her white +summer dress was stained in places and open at the neck, +where a button had come off. The short skirt displayed +a hole in one stocking and a shoe from which a strap had +been torn. Jernyngham leaned on the table regarding +her with a curious smile. +</p> +<p>“What’s Jack come about?” she asked. +</p> +<p>“To say my fastidious relatives want me to go home, +which would mean leaving you behind.” +</p> +<p>She looked at him searchingly, and then laughed. +</p> +<p>“And you won’t go?” +</p> +<p>“That’s the message I sent.” +</p> +<p>Ellice’s face softened, though there was a hint of +indecision in it. +</p> +<p>“You’re all right, Cyril, only a bit of a fool.” +</p> +<p>“A bit?” he said dryly. “I’m the whole blamed hog. +But enough of that. We’ll pull out for the homestead +to-morrow. I expect Wandle is robbing me.” +</p> +<p>“He’s been robbin’ you ever since you bought the ranch. +I don’t know why you stopped me from gettin’ after him.” +</p> +<p>“He saves me trouble,” explained Jernyngham, and +they discussed the arrangements for their return. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_29' name='page_29'></a>29</span></p> +<p>Prescott, arriving home, had a brief private interview +with Colston, who realized with some disappointment +that his errand had failed. Then the rancher harnessed +a fresh team and proceeded to a sloo where his Scandinavian +hired man was cutting prairie hay. An hour or +two later Muriel went out on the prairie and walked +toward a poplar bluff, in the shadow of which she gathered +ripe red saskatoons, and then sat down to look about. +</p> +<p>The dazzling blue of the sky was broken by rounded +masses of silver-edged clouds that drove along before a +fresh northwest breeze. Streaked by their speeding +shadows, the great plain stretched away, checkered by +ranks of marigolds and tall crimson flowers of the lily +kind that swayed as the rippling grasses changed color in +the wind. A mile or two distant stood the trim wooden +homestead, with a tall windmill frame near by, girt by +broad sweeps of dark-green wheat and oats. These +were interspersed with stretches of uncovered soil, glowing +a deep chocolate-brown, which Muriel knew was the +summer fallow resting after a cereal crop. Beyond the +last strip of rich color, there spread, shining delicately +blue, a great field of flax; and then the dusky green of +alfalfa and alsike for the Hereford cattle, standing knee-deep +in a flashing lake. The prairie, she thought, was +beautiful in summer; its wideness was bracing, one was +stirred into cheerfulness and bodily vigor by the rush of +its fresh winds. She felt that she could remain contentedly +at the homestead for a long time; and then her +thoughts centered on its owner. +</p> +<p>This was perhaps why she rose and strolled on toward +the sloo, though she would not acknowledge that she +actually wished to meet him. The man was something +of an enigma and therefore roused in her an interest +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_30' name='page_30'></a>30</span> +which was stronger because of some of the things she had +heard to his discredit. Following the rows of wheelmarks, +she brushed through the wild barley, whose spiky +heads whipped her dress, passed a chain of glistening +ponds, a bluff wrapped in blue shadow, and finally +descended a long slope to the basin at its foot where the +melting snow had run in spring. Now it had dried and +was covered with tall grass which held many flowers and +fragrant wild peppermint. +</p> +<p>A team of horses and a tinkling mower moved through +its midst, and at one edge Prescott was loading the grass +into a wagon. Engrossed as he was in his task, he did +not notice her, and she stood a while watching him. He +wore no jacket; the thin yellow shirt, flung open at the +neck and tightly belted at the waist, and the brown duck +trousers, showed the lithe grace of his athletic figure. +His poise and swing were admirable, and he was working +with determined energy, his face and uncovered arms +the warm color of the soil. +</p> +<p>Muriel drew a little closer and he stopped on seeing her. +His brown skin was singularly clean, his eyes were clear +and steady, though they often gave a humorous twinkle. +If this man had ever been a rake, his reformation must +have been drastic and complete, because although she +had a very limited acquaintance with people of that sort, +it was reasonable to conclude that they must bear some +sign of indulgence or sensuality. The rancher had no +stamp of either. +</p> +<p>He showed his pleasure at her appearance. +</p> +<p>“You have had quite a walk,” he said. “If you will +wait while I put up the load, I’ll take you back.” +</p> +<p>Muriel sat down and watched him fling the grass in +heavy forkfuls on to the growing pile, until at last he +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_31' name='page_31'></a>31</span> +clambered up upon the frame supporting it and, pulling +some out and ramming the rest back, proceeded to excavate +a hollow. +</p> +<p>“What are you doing?” she asked. +</p> +<p>“Making a nest for you,” he told her with a laugh. +“Now, if you’ll get up.” +</p> +<p>While she mounted by the wheel he stood on the edge +of the wagon, leaning down toward her. There did not +seem to be much foothold, the grass looked slippery, +and the hollow he had made was beyond her reach, but +she seized the hand he held out and he swung her up. +For a moment his fingers pressed tightly upon her waist, +and then she was safe in the hollow, smiling at him +as he found a precarious seat on the rack. +</p> +<p>“You couldn’t see how you were going to get up, but +you didn’t hesitate,” he said with a soft laugh, when he +had started his team. +</p> +<p>“No,” she smiled back at him. “Somehow you inspire +one with confidence. I didn’t think you would let me +fall.” +</p> +<p>“Curious, isn’t it?” +</p> +<p>She reclined in the recess among the grass, which yielded +to her limbs in a way that gave her a sense of voluptuous +ease. Her pose, although scarcely a conventional +one, showed to advantage the fine contour of her form; +and the lilac-tinted dress that flowed in classic lines about +her made a patch of cool restful color on the warm ocher +of her surroundings. It was easy to read the man’s +admiration in his glance, and she became suddenly filled +with mischievous daring. +</p> +<p>“Cyril,” she said, “you are either an excellent actor, or +else—” +</p> +<p>“I have been maligned. Is that what you meant?” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_32' name='page_32'></a>32</span></p> +<p>“I think I did mean something of the kind.” +</p> +<p>“Then I’m a very poor actor. That should settle the +question.” +</p> +<p>“I’ve wondered how you became so very Canadian,” +she said thoughtfully. +</p> +<p>“What’s the matter with the Canadians?” +</p> +<p>“Nothing. I haven’t met very many yet, but on the +whole I’m favorably impressed by them. They’re direct, +blunt, perhaps less complex than we are.” +</p> +<p>“No trimmings,” he suggested. “They don’t muss +up good material so that it can hardly be recognized. +You can tell what a man is when you see him or hear him +talk.” +</p> +<p>“I don’t know,” Muriel argued. “I’ve an idea that +it might be difficult, even in Canada.” +</p> +<p>He let this pass. +</p> +<p>“What do you think of the country?” he asked. +</p> +<p>She glanced round. It was late in the afternoon and +somewhat cooler than it had been. Half the plain lay +in shadow, but the light was curiously sharp. A clump +of ragged jack-pines stood on a sandhill miles away, and +a lake twinkled in the remote distance. The powerful +Clydesdale horses plodded through short crackling scrub; +a fine scent of wild peppermint floated about. +</p> +<p>“Oh,” she responded, “it’s delightful! And everybody’s +so energetic! You move with a spring and verve; +and I don’t hear any grumbling, though there seems to be +so much to do!” +</p> +<p>“And to bear now and then: crops wiped out—I’ve +lost two of them. The work never slackens, except in +winter, when you sit shivering beside the stove, if you’re +not hauling in building logs or cordwood through the +arctic frost. At night it’s deadly silent, unless there’s a +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_33' name='page_33'></a>33</span> +blizzard howling; the plains are very lonely when the +snow lies deep. Don’t you think you’re better off in +England, taking it all ’round?” +</p> +<p>He laid respectful fingers on the hem of her skirt, +touching the fine material, as if appraising its worth. +</p> +<p>“Our wheat-growers’ wives and daughters are lucky +if they’ve a couple of moderately smart dresses, but I +suppose you have several trunks full of things like this. +That and the kind of life it implies must count for +something.” +</p> +<p>“I believe I have,” said Muriel with candor, answering +his steady inquiring glance. “Still, I’ve felt that we drift +along from amusement to amusement in a purposeless +way, doing nothing that’s worth while. There might +come a time when one would grow very tired of it.” +</p> +<p>“It must come and bring trouble then. Here one goes +on from task to task, each one bigger and more venturesome +than the last; acre added to acre, a gasoline tractor +to the horse-plow, another quarter-section broken. +Mind and body taxed all day and often half the night. +One can’t sit down and mope.” +</p> +<p>This was, she thought, a curious speech for a man who +had been described as careless, extravagant, and dissolute; +but he was getting too serious, and she laughed. +</p> +<p>“You were energetic enough in England, if reports are +true. I’ve often thought of your right-of-way adventure. +It must have been very dramatic when you appeared at +the garden party covered with fresh tar.” +</p> +<p>“Sounds like that, doesn’t it?” he cautiously agreed. +“How do they tell the tale?” +</p> +<p>“Something like this—you were at the Hall with +Geoffrey when the townspeople were clamoring about +Sir Gilbert’s closing the path through the wood, and for +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_34' name='page_34'></a>34</span> +some reason you assisted them in attacking the barricade. +It had been well tarred as a defensive measure, hadn’t +it? Then you returned, triumphant, black from head +to foot, when you thought the guests had gone, and +plunged into the middle of the last of them—Maud always +laughs when she talks about it. Sir Gilbert was somewhere +out of sight when you related the rabble’s brilliant +victory, but he dashed out red in face when he understood +and never stopped until he jumped into his motor. I +don’t think Geoffrey’s wife has forgiven you.” +</p> +<p>Prescott smiled. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said, “I must have grown very staid since +then.” +</p> +<p>Muriel changed the subject, but they talked with much +good-humor until they reached the homestead, where the +man alighted and held out his arms to her. She hesitated +a moment, and then was seized by him and swung gently +to the ground, but she left him with a trace of heightened +color in her face and went quietly into the house. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='IV_MURIEL_FEELS_REGRET' id='IV_MURIEL_FEELS_REGRET'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_35' name='page_35'></a>35</span> +<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2> +<h3>MURIEL FEELS REGRET</h3> +</div> + +<p>It was pleasantly cool in the shadow of Jernyngham’s +wooden barn, where Prescott sat, talking to its owner. +Outside the strip of shade, the sun fell hot upon the +parched grass, and the tall wheat that ran close up to the +homestead swayed in waves of changing color before the +rush of breeze. The whitened, weather-worn boards of +the house, which faced the men, seemed steeped in glowing +light, and sounds of confused activity issued from the +doorway that was guarded by mosquito-netting. A +clatter of domestic utensils indicated that Ellice was +baking, and she made more noise than she usually did +when she was out of temper. Jernyngham listened with +faint amusement as he filled his pipe. +</p> +<p>“Sorry I can’t ask you in, Jack,” he said. “The +kitchen is a pretty large one, but when Ellice starts +bread-making, there isn’t a spot one can sit down in. +Of course, we’ve another living-room—I furnished it +rather nicely—but for some reason we seldom use it.” +</p> +<p>The mosquito door swung back with a crash and Ellice +appeared in the entrance with a hot, angry face, and +hands smeared with dough, her hair hanging partly +loose in disorder about her neck, her skirt ungracefully +kilted up. +</p> +<p>“Ain’t you goin’ to bring that water? Have I got to +wait another hour?” she cried, ignoring Prescott. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_36' name='page_36'></a>36</span></p> +<p>Jernyngham rose and moved away. Returning, he +disappeared into the kitchen with a dripping pail and +Ellice’s voice was raised in harsh upbraiding. Then the +man came out, looking a trifle weary, though he sat down +by Prescott with a smile. +</p> +<p>“These things should be a warning, Jack,” he said. +“Still, one has to make allowances; this hot weather’s +trying, and Ellice got a letter that disturbed her by the +last mail. I didn’t hear what was in it, but I suspect it +was a bill.” +</p> +<p>Prescott nodded, because he did not know what to say. +Mrs. Jernyngham had, he gathered, been unusually +fractious for the last week or two, and Cyril was invariably +forbearing. Indeed, Prescott sometimes wondered at his +patience, for he imagined that his comrade had outgrown +what love he had borne her. The man had his virtues: +he was rash, but he seldom failed to face the consequences +with whimsical good-humor. +</p> +<p>“Your friends are going to-morrow,” Prescott told +him. “They understand that you will write home and +explain your reasons for remaining.” +</p> +<p>“I suppose I’ll have to do so, though it will be difficult. +You see, to give the reasons that count most would be +cruel. If it’s any comfort to my folks to think favorably +of me, I’d rather let them. I’ve made a horrible mess of +things, but that’s no reason why others should suffer.” +</p> +<p>Prescott glanced round at the dilapidated house, the +untidy stable, the door of which was falling to pieces, +and the wagon standing with a broken wheel. There +was no doubt that Jernyngham was right in one respect. +</p> +<p>“Jack,” Cyril resumed, “your manner gives me the +impression that you’ll be sorry to lose your visitors.” +</p> +<p>“I shall be sorry. I pressed them to stay and I +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_37' name='page_37'></a>37</span> +think they’d have done so, only that Mrs. Colston was +against it.” +</p> +<p>“Ah! That strikes me as significant. You see, I can +make a good guess at her motives; I’ve suffered from that +kind of thing. She evidently considers you dangerous. +Don’t you feel flattered?” +</p> +<p>“Mrs. Colston has no cause for uneasiness; I could +wish she had.” +</p> +<p>“Then I’m glad my friends are going. It will save +you trouble, Jack. A match between Miss Hurst and +you is out of the question.” +</p> +<p>“I’ve felt that, so far as my merits go, which is the +best way I can put it,” said Prescott gravely. “You +speak as if there were stronger reasons.” +</p> +<p>“There are; I’m a little surprised you don’t see them. +Your merits—I suppose you mean your character and +appearance—should go a long way; we’ll admit that +you’re a man who might have some attraction for even +such a girl as Miss Hurst seems to be, if she didn’t pause +to think. Unfortunately for you, however, it’s her duty +to her relatives to make a brilliant match and I’ve no +doubt she recognizes it. Girls of her station—you had +better face the truth, Jack—never marry beneath them.” +</p> +<p>“But a man may.” +</p> +<p>“A fair shot,” laughed Jernyngham. “I can’t resent +it. But the man generally suffers, and the price is a +heavier one when the girl has to pay. There’s a penalty +for breaking caste.” +</p> +<p>“You seem to tolerate worse things in the old country.” +</p> +<p>“Not often, after all—you hear of the flagrant offenders, +and though I dare say there are others who are not +found out, the bulk against whom there’s no reproach, +excite no attention. But we’ll let that go. I want you +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_38' name='page_38'></a>38</span> +to understand. You’re right, Jack; it’s your position +that’s all wrong. Girls of the kind we’re considering are +brought up in luxury, taught every accomplishment +that’s economically useless, led to believe that every +comfort they need will somehow be supplied. They’re +charming in their proper environment, but it’s a cruelty +to take them out of it. They’d be helpless in this grim +country, where you must work for all you want and do +without many things even then. Can you imagine Miss +Hurst standing over a hot stove all day and spending her +evenings mending your worn-out shirts?” +</p> +<p>Prescott looked up, his face set hard. +</p> +<p>“You have said enough.” +</p> +<p>There was silence after this, until a big man dressed +in old brown overalls stopped his horse near-by. +</p> +<p>“I’ve fixed up with Farrer to send over his gasoline +tractor to do the fall breaking,” he said. “Saw the +telephone construction people yesterday and told them +I’d let them have two teams to haul in their poles. It’s +going to pay us better than keeping them for plowing.” +</p> +<p>“Quite right, Wandle,” replied Jernyngham, and the +fellow nodded to Prescott and rode away. +</p> +<p>He lived on the next half-section and assisted Jernyngham +in the management of his ranch, besides sharing the +cost of labor, implements and horses with him, though +Prescott had cause for believing that the arrangement was +not to his friend’s benefit. +</p> +<p>“You’d be better off if you didn’t work with that +man,” he said. +</p> +<p>“It’s possible,” Jernyngham agreed. “I know he +robs me, but he saves me bother. Besides, if we decided +to separate and came to a settlement, I dare say he would +claim that I was in his debt; and he might be right. I’m +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_39' name='page_39'></a>39</span> +no good at business. Ranching I don’t mind, but I +could never learn how to buy and sell.” +</p> +<p>“It’s a very useful ability,” Prescott rejoined with +some dryness. “But as I want to be home for supper, +I must get on.” +</p> +<p>He unhitched his horse and mounted, and Jernyngham +walked with him to the gate in the wire fence. +</p> +<p>“You’ll remember what I told you, Jack,” he said +meaningly. +</p> +<p>“Yes,” Prescott answered with a stern face. “I suppose +I ought to thank you. I’m not likely to forget.” +</p> +<p>He rode home and arriving in time for supper took his +place at the table with mixed feelings, foremost among +which was keen regret. Except for the company of his +Scandinavian hired man and the latter’s hard-featured +wife, he had lived alone in Spartan simplicity, thinking +of nothing but his farm; and his guests’ arrival had +revealed to him the narrowness of his life. They had +brought him new desires and thoughts, besides recalling +ideas he had long forgotten, and among other things had +made the evening meal a pleasant function to be looked +forward to, instead of an opportunity for hurriedly +consuming needed food. +</p> +<p>The spotless cloth and the flowers on the table were +novelties, but they pleased his eye. Colston with his +cheerful, well-bred air and fastidiousness in dress, talked +interestingly; Mrs. Colston with her gracious dignity, +and Muriel, who was wholly alluring, seemed to fill the +room with charm. It was perhaps all the more enjoyable +because Prescott had been accustomed to pleasant +society in Montreal, before he abandoned it with other +amenities and went out to a life of stern toil and frugality +in the grim Northwest. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_40' name='page_40'></a>40</span></p> +<p>He said little, though it was the last time they would +gather tranquilly round his board—they were to leave for +the railroad early on the morrow. A heavy melancholy +oppressed him, though bright sunlight streamed into the +room and an invigorating breeze swept in through the +open window, outside which tall wheat and blue flax rolled +away. He could not force himself to talk, though he +laughed at Colston’s anecdotes, and it was a relief when +the meal was over. Half an hour later he overtook +Muriel strolling along the edge of the wheat. +</p> +<p>“Have you recovered yet?” she asked. “You looked +very downcast.” +</p> +<p>“That’s how I feel. It strikes me as perfectly natural. +I’ll be alone to-morrow.” +</p> +<p>“But you were alone before we came.” +</p> +<p>“Very true; I didn’t seem to mind it then. I was +happy thinking how I could put in a bigger crop or raise +another bunch of stock. My mind was fixed on the +plow. But you have lifted me out of the furrow. I guess +it’s weak, but somehow I hate the thought of going back +to the clods.” +</p> +<p>Remembering Jernyngham’s remarks, it struck him +that this was not the line he should have taken, and for +a moment or two Muriel turned her head. Then she +looked at him, smiling. +</p> +<p>“I shall be very sorry to leave, and I believe Florence +and Harry feel the same.” +</p> +<p>“But you are going to British Columbia and down +the Pacific Coast. You will revel in new experiences and +interesting sights.” +</p> +<p>“I suppose so,” she answered, rather listlessly. “We +shall get a glimpse of a new country, but that will be all. +On the steamers we’ll meet much the kind of people we +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_41' name='page_41'></a>41</span> +are accustomed to, and no doubt we’ll stay at hotels built +especially for luxurious tourists. You see, we take our +usual environment along with us.” +</p> +<p>“But isn’t that what you like?” +</p> +<p>“I don’t know; perhaps it ought to be.” Muriel +paused and looked up at him with candid eyes. “You +hinted that we had given you a new and wider outlook—or +brought back the one you used to have, which is what +you must have meant. You don’t seem to realize that +you have done much the same thing to me.” +</p> +<p>“I’m not sure I understand.” +</p> +<p>“It shouldn’t be difficult. You know the kind of +people I have hitherto met, and how we spend our time +in a round of amusements that lead to nothing, with all +that could jar on one carefully kept away. This is the first +time I’ve come into touch with strenuous, normal life.” +</p> +<p>“And it doesn’t seem to have frightened you?” +</p> +<p>“No,” she said with a smile; “I’m not in the least +afraid—why should I be? I must have more courage +than you think, but does one need a great deal of it to +live here?” +</p> +<p>He looked at her in grave admiration. There was a +hint of pride in her pose, and her eyes were calm. +</p> +<p>“I believe if ever a time of stress came, you wouldn’t +shrink. But this is a pretty hard and lonely country, +especially in winter.” +</p> +<p>Muriel changed the subject. +</p> +<p>“For all that, I feel you are right in staying, Cyril. +Have you written to your people?” +</p> +<p>Prescott felt embarrassed and guilty, as he generally +did when, in confidential moments, she called him by +Jernyngham’s name. Somehow he could not imagine +her saying Jack. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_42' name='page_42'></a>42</span></p> +<p>“No,” he rejoined slowly. “Of course, they must be +written to.” +</p> +<p>Muriel did not answer. The turn their conversation +had taken had filled her with a vague unrest as she looked +back at the life she had led. Three or four years ago it +had seemed filled with glamour and excitement, and she +had entered on its pleasures with eager zest, but of late +she had begun to find them wearisome. They no longer +satisfied her. If this were the result of a few years’ +experience, what would she feel when she had grown +jaded with time and everything was stale? Then her +glimpse of the simple, healthful western life had come as +a revelation. It was real, a bracing struggle, in which +no effort was wasted but produced tangible results: broad +stretches of splendid wheat, sweeps of azure flax. +</p> +<p>But this was not all. She felt drawn to her brown-faced +companion, who had obviously redeemed whatever +errors he had been guilty of in the past. She had +known him for only about a fortnight, but she had seen +his admiration for her with a satisfaction that was slightly +tempered by misgivings. She could not tell exactly +what she expected from him, but she had at least looked +for some expression of a wish that their acquaintance +should not end abruptly on the morrow. She did not +think she would have resented a carefully modified display +of the gallantry Cyril Jernyngham must be capable +of, if reports were true. Considering what his past was +supposed to have been, the grave man who watched her +with troubled eyes was hard to understand. +</p> +<p>“Cyril,” she asked, “has Harry given you our address +at Glacier and Banff?” +</p> +<p>He supposed that this implied permission to write to +her, but he could not do so as Jack Prescott and he +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_43' name='page_43'></a>43</span> +already bitterly regretted that he had allowed her to +think of him as Jernyngham. +</p> +<p>“Yes,” he said, with a carelessness which cost him an +effort. “But I’m afraid I’m not a good correspondent. +I’m too busy, for one thing.” +</p> +<p>“Too busy?” she mocked, with a stronger color in her +face. “Can’t you spare half an hour from your plowing +to write to your friends?” +</p> +<p>“Well,” he answered with forced coolness, “it’s +difficult, except, of course, in the winter and you’ll be +back in England then, with so many festivities on hand +that you won’t be anxious to hear about Canada.” +</p> +<p>She looked at him for a moment, puzzled and a little +angry, and he guessed her thoughts. He was behaving +like a boor; but it was better that she should think him +one. +</p> +<p>“How very un-English you have become!” she said. +</p> +<p>“You mean I’m very Canadian? Anyway, I try to be +sensible—I’ve done some wretchedly foolish things and +I’ve got to pay for them. Of course, this visit’s only an +episode to you; something that’s soon over and forgotten.” +</p> +<p>There was trouble in his voice, though he strove to +speak with indifference, and after a swift glance at him +she answered coldly: +</p> +<p>“I suppose it is. One impression rubs out another, and +no doubt we shall see something novel and interesting +farther on. However, we won’t stay in Canada very long +and we shall see your father and sister as soon as we get +home. It’s curious that you have scarcely mentioned +them.” +</p> +<p>“Oh, well,” he evaded awkwardly, “Harry has told +me a good deal.” +</p> +<p>He turned his head, dreading her curious eyes. His +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_44' name='page_44'></a>44</span> +last evening in her company was proving more trying than +he had expected; though usually tolerant and good-humored, +the strain made him bitter. To-morrow he +must put this girl out of his mind. After all, it was to +Cyril Jernyngham, rake and wastrel, but a man of her +own station, that she had been gracious and charming; +had she known he was Jack Prescott, she would, no +doubt, have treated him very differently; but in this supposition +he did her wrong. +</p> +<p>Puzzled by his lack of responsiveness and with wounded +pride, she stopped and looked out toward the northwest +across the prairie. Steeped in strong coloring, it seemed +to run back into immeasurable distance, though a wonderful +blaze of crimson marked its rim. The faint, cool +air that flowed across it was charged with a curious exhilarating +quality; there was a subtle fragrance of herbs +in the grass. +</p> +<p>“It’s getting late,” she said; “I must go in. This is +the last sunset I shall watch on the prairie, and in several +ways I’m sorry. You have made our stay here very +pleasant.” +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='V_THE_MYSTERY_OF_THE_MUSKEG' id='V_THE_MYSTERY_OF_THE_MUSKEG'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_45' name='page_45'></a>45</span> +<h2>CHAPTER V</h2> +<h3>THE MYSTERY OF THE MUSKEG</h3> +</div> + +<p>Colston and his party had been gone a fortnight +when Prescott called at the Jernyngham homestead +one afternoon and found its owner sitting moodily in the +kitchen, which presented a chaotic appearance. Unwashed +plates and dishes were scattered about, the wood-box +was overturned and poplar billets strewed the floor, +there was no fire in the rusty stove, and the fragments +of a heavy crock lay against the wall. The strong sunlight +that streamed in emphasized the disorder of the +room. +</p> +<p>“I was passing and thought I’d come in,” Prescott +explained. “Where’s Mrs. Jernyngham? The look +of the place gives one the idea that she’s not at home.” +</p> +<p>“It’s never remarkably tidy.” Jernyngham broke +into a rueful smile. “I believe she started for the settlement +when I was at work in the summer fallow this +morning. The fact that the horse and buggy are missing +points to it.” +</p> +<p>“But don’t you know whether she has gone or not?” +</p> +<p>“I don’t,” said Jernyngham. “She didn’t acquaint +me with her intentions. As I see she has taken some +things along, it looks as if she meant to visit Mrs. Harvey +at the store. They’re friends now and then.” +</p> +<p>His manner was suggestive, though he looked more +resigned than disturbed, and Prescott, glancing at the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_46' name='page_46'></a>46</span> +shattered crock, ventured a question which he feared +was not quite judicious: +</p> +<p>“How did you break that thing?” +</p> +<p>“It ought to be a warning. I didn’t break it; it was +meant to break on me. Ellice flung it at my head a day +or two ago, and fortunately missed, though as a rule +she’s a pretty good shot. I suppose it’s significant that +neither of us troubled to pick up the pieces.” +</p> +<p>Prescott looked sympathetic, and hesitated, with his +half-filled pipe in his hand. +</p> +<p>“Shall I go, Cyril? I want to make Sebastian before +it’s dark.” +</p> +<p>“Sit still,” Jernyngham told him. “I’m in an expansive +mood, and I’ve a notion that I’m not far off a crisis +in my affairs. Ellice has been fractious lately; I seem to +have been getting on her nerves, which perhaps is not +surprising.” +</p> +<p>Prescott made no comment and after sitting silent a +few moments Jernyngham resumed: +</p> +<p>“I was rather rash when I ventured to remonstrate +about a bill. Ellice pointed out, with justice, that so long +as I slouched round and let Wandle rob me, I’d no right to +grumble at her for buying a few things. Most unwisely +I maintained my point and”—he indicated the broken +crock and littered table—“you see the consequences.” +</p> +<p>“Wandle is a bit of a rogue,” said Prescott, choosing +the safest topic. “I’ve told you so.” +</p> +<p>“You have. For all that, he’s useful and I don’t +mind being robbed in moderation; I’m a man who’s +accustomed to losing things.” His half-mocking tone +grew serious. “I wrote to my people, as soon as Colston +left, telling them I’d determined to remain in Canada; +but if it wasn’t for Ellice, I think I’d quit farming.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_47' name='page_47'></a>47</span></p> +<p>Prescott smoked in silence for a while. Jernyngham +had made a costly sacrifice, chiefly on the woman’s +account, and Prescott felt sorry for him. +</p> +<p>“Perhaps I’d better get on,” he said after a while. +</p> +<p>For a few moments Jernyngham looked irresolute, and +then he got up. +</p> +<p>“I’ll come with you to Sebastian. I think I’d have +gone earlier, only Ellice had the horse and rig, and +Wandle’s using the wagon team. It’s no doubt my duty +to sue for peace.” +</p> +<p>They set out shortly afterward and reaching Sebastian +late in the evening drove to the livery-stable, where +Jernyngham called the man who took Prescott’s team. +</p> +<p>“I suppose you have my horse?” he asked. +</p> +<p>“Sure,” said the fellow, looking at him curiously. +“Mrs. Jernyngham said we’d better keep him until +you came in. She left a note for you with the boss; +he’s in the hotel.” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham crossed the street, followed by his companion, +and Prescott noticed that the loungers in the bar +seemed interested when they came in. Two of them put +down their glasses and turned to fix their eyes on Jernyngham, +a third paused in the act of lighting his pipe and +dropped the match. Then the owner of the livery-stable +looked up in a hesitating manner as Jernyngham approached +him. +</p> +<p>“I believe you have a message for me,” Jernyngham +said abruptly. +</p> +<p>“That’s so,” the man rejoined gravely. “I’ll give it to +you outside.” +</p> +<p>They left the bar, and when they stood under the +veranda, Jernyngham tore open the envelope handed him. +A moment later he firmly crumpled up the note it had held. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_48' name='page_48'></a>48</span></p> +<p>“When did she leave?” he asked in a harsh voice. +</p> +<p>The liveryman regarded him sympathetically. +</p> +<p>“By the afternoon East-bound. I’m mighty sorry, +Cyril—guess you know it isn’t a secret in the town.” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham’s face grew darkly flushed. +</p> +<p>“Then you can tell me whom she went with?” +</p> +<p>“The drummer who was selling the separators. +Bought tickets through to St. Paul. Told Perkins he +wasn’t coming back here; nothing doing on this round.” +</p> +<p>The man tactfully moved away and Jernyngham +turned to Prescott, speaking rather hoarsely. +</p> +<p>“She’s gone—that’s the end of it!” +</p> +<p>He dropped into one of the chairs scattered about and +a few moments later broke into a bitter laugh. +</p> +<p>“It would have been more flattering if she had chosen +you or Wandle instead of that blasted weedy drummer. +Still, there the thing is, and it has to be faced.” Then he +surprised his companion, for his voice and expression +became suddenly normal. “Go in and get me a cigar.” +</p> +<p>He lighted it carefully when it was brought to him and +leaned back in his chair. +</p> +<p>“Jack,” he said, “I’ve got to hold myself in hand—if +I start off on the jag now, it will be a dangerous one. +Have you noticed that I’ve been practising strict abstinence +since Colston left?” +</p> +<p>Prescott, not knowing how to regard his ironic calmness, +said nothing, and Jernyngham continued: +</p> +<p>“It’s a bitter pill. I was very fond of her once, and +there’s not much consolation in reflecting that she’ll +probably scare the fellow out of his wits the first time she +breaks out in one of her rages.” Then his voice grew +regretful. “Ellice’s far from perfect, but she’s much too +good for him.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_49' name='page_49'></a>49</span></p> +<p>Remembering that it was on the woman’s account his +friend had remained on the prairie, Prescott made a +venture: +</p> +<p>“Since she has gone, it’s a pity she didn’t go a few +weeks earlier.” +</p> +<p>“That doesn’t count,” declared Jernyngham. “She +has cause to blame me as much for marrying her—one +must try to be just. I thought of her when I determined +to stay, but my own weaknesses played as big a part in +deciding me.” +</p> +<p>He sat silent a while, and then indicated his surroundings +with a contemptuous sweep of his hand—the dirty +sidewalk strewn with cigar ends and banana peelings, +the straggling houses with their cracked board walls and +ugly square fronts, the rutted street down which drifted +clouds of dust. +</p> +<p>“Jack,” he said, “I’m very sick of all this, and I can’t +face the lonely homestead now Ellice’s gone. I must +have a change and something to brace me; something +that has a keener bite than drink. Think I’ll take a +haulage job on the new railroad, where there ought to be +rough and risky work, and I’ll leave this place to-night. +Come across with me to Morant’s, and I’ll see what I can +borrow on the land.” +</p> +<p>The sudden unreasoning decision was characteristic of +him, but Prescott expostulated. +</p> +<p>“You can’t clear out in this eccentric fashion; there are +a number of things to be settled first.” +</p> +<p>“I think I can,” Jernyngham retorted dryly. “It’s +certain that I can’t stay here.” +</p> +<p>He took his companion with him to call on a land-agent +and mortgage-broker, and when they left the office +Jernyngham had a bulky roll of bills in his pocket. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_50' name='page_50'></a>50</span></p> +<p>“Jack,” he requested, “you’ll run my place and pay +Morant off after harvest; if Wandle gets his hands on it, +there’ll be very little left when I come back. You may +have trouble with him, but you must hold out. Charge +me with all expenses and pay as much of the surplus as +you think I’m entitled to into my bank when you have +sold the crop. Now if you’ll come into the hotel, I’ll give +you a written authority and get Perkins to witness it.” +</p> +<p>Prescott demurred at first, but eventually yielded +because he believed his friend’s interest would need +looking after in his absence. After some discussion they +agreed on a workable scheme, which was put down in +writing and witnessed by the hotel-keeper. Then +Jernyngham borrowed a saddle and sent for his horse. +</p> +<p>“I’ll pull out for the railroad now; it’s cooler riding at +night and there’s a good moon,” he said. “As I’ll pass +close to your place, you may as well drive so far +with me.” +</p> +<p>They set off, Prescott seated on the front of his jolting +wagon, Jernyngham riding as near it as the roughness of +the trail permitted, with a blanket and a package of +provisions strapped to his saddle. He was wearing a hat +of extra-thick felt and uncommon shape which had been +given him by a man who had broken his journey for the +purpose of seeing the country when returning from Hong +Kong by the Canadian Pacific route. Soon after they +left Sebastian, a young trooper of the Northwest Police +dressed in khaki uniform came trotting up in the moonlight +and joined them. +</p> +<p>“Where are you off to, Jernyngham?” he asked, +glancing at the rolled up blanket. “Looks as if you +meant to camp on the trail.” +</p> +<p>“I’ll have to, most likely,” said Jernyngham. “I’m +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_51' name='page_51'></a>51</span> +leaving the farm to Prescott for a while and heading for +Nelson’s Butte on the new road.” +</p> +<p>“What are you going to do there?” +</p> +<p>“Thought I’d pick up a horse or two at one of the +ranches I’ll pass and apply for a teaming job. Contractor +was asking for haulage tenders; he’s having trouble +among the sandhills and muskegs.” +</p> +<p>“Then you’ll be taking a wad of money along?” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham assented and the trooper looked thoughtful. +</p> +<p>“Now,” he cautioned, “there’s a pretty tough crowd +at Nelson, and though we stopped any licenses being +issued, we’ve had trouble over the running-in of liquor. +Then you have a long ride before you through a thinly-settled +country. You want to be careful about that +money.” +</p> +<p>“The settlers are to be trusted.” +</p> +<p>“That’s so, but we have reason to believe the rustlers +are at work in the district; seem to have been going into +the liquor business, and I’ve heard of horses missing. +Now that the boys have stopped their branding other +people’s calves in Alberta and corralled their leaders, it +looks as if the fellows were beginning the game in this +part of the country.” +</p> +<p>“Thanks,” said Jernyngham. “I may as well take +precautions. How would you recommend my carrying +the money?” +</p> +<p>The trooper made one or two ingenious suggestions as +to the safest way of secreting the bills, and Jernyngham, +dismounting, carried them out. Soon afterward the +trooper struck off across the plain, and the others, riding +on, met a farmer who spoke to them as he passed. At +length Prescott pulled up his team at the spot where his +companion must leave the trail. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_52' name='page_52'></a>52</span></p> +<p>“I’ll do what I can with the land, Cyril, and keep an +account,” he said. “You might write and let me know +how you are getting on.” +</p> +<p>They shook hands and Jernyngham trotted away, +while Prescott sat watching him for a minute or two. +Man and horse were sharply outlined against the moonlit +grass. Jernyngham looked very lonely as he rode out +into the wilderness. He could hardly have been happy, +Prescott thought, in his untidy and comfortless house at +the farm; but, after all, it had been a home, and now he +was rudely flung adrift. It was true that the man was +largely responsible for the troubles that had fallen upon +him, but this was no reason for refusing him pity, and +Cyril had his strong points. He had staunchly declined +to profit by a felicitous change of fortune out of consideration +for the relatives who had once disowned and +the woman who had deserted him. Jernyngham had been +a careless fool, and Prescott suspected that he was not +likely to alter much in this respect, but he did not expect +others to pay for his recklessness when the reckoning +came. Then Prescott started his team. +</p> +<p>Two days later, he was busy in front of his homestead +putting together a new binder which had just arrived +from the settlement. It was the latest type of harvesting +implement and designed to cut an unusually broad +swath. While he was engaged, the trooper he had met +when accompanying Jernyngham rode up with a corporal +following. He stopped his horse and glanced at the +binder with admiration. +</p> +<p>“She’s a daisy, Jack; I guess she cost a pile,” he said. +“Where did you get the money to buy a machine of that +kind?” +</p> +<p>“It wasn’t easy to raise it,” Prescott replied. “But +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_53' name='page_53'></a>53</span> +I’ll save something in labor—harvest wages are high—and +I’ve long wanted this binder. When Trant came +round from the implement store yesterday morning I +thought I’d risk the deal. Will you wait for dinner?” +</p> +<p>“No, thanks,” the corporal broke in. “We’re making +a patrol north; just called to look at your guards. Several +big grass fires have been reported in the last few +days.” +</p> +<p>Prescott pointed to the rows of plowed furrows which +cut off his holding from the prairie. The strip of brown +clods, which was two or three yards in width, seemed an +adequate defense, and after a glance at it the corporal +nodded his satisfaction. +</p> +<p>“Good enough,” he said. “We’ll take the trail.” +</p> +<p>He trotted away with his companion and it was evening +when they rode along the edge of a ravine which pierced +a high tract of rolling country. The crest of the slope +they followed commanded a vast circle of grass that was +changing in the foreground from green to ocher and +silvery white. Farther back, it ran on toward the sunset, +a sweep of blue and neutral gray, flecked with dusky +lines of bluffs, interspersed with gleaming strips of water, +but nowhere in the wide landscape was there a sign of +human habitation. Small birches and poplars, with an +undergrowth of nut bushes, clothed the sides of the +ravine, but some distance ahead it broadened out and the +stream that flowed through it turned the hollow into a +muskeg. There harsh grass and reeds grew three or +four feet high, hiding the stretch of mire. +</p> +<p>The police were young men with deeply bronzed faces, +dressed in smart khaki uniform with broad Stetson hats +of the same color. +</p> +<p>“What’s that?” exclaimed Corporal Curtis, pointing +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_54' name='page_54'></a>54</span> +to an indistinct object lying among a patch of scrub some +distance off. +</p> +<p>“Looks like a hat,” replied Private Stanton. “Some +settler prospecting for a homestead location must have +lost it.” +</p> +<p>“You jump at things!” said the corporal. “How’d +the man lose it? Guess it wouldn’t drop off without his +knowing it, and with the sun we’ve been having he’d +want it pretty bad. He wouldn’t throw it away, when +he knew he couldn’t get another. We’ll go along and +see.” +</p> +<p>They dismounted a minute or two later and made a +startling discovery. The hat was a good one, but in one +place the soft gray felt had been crushed and partly cut +as though by a heavy blow. On turning it over, they +saw that the inside was stained a dull red. +</p> +<p>“Blood!” said Curtis significantly, and swept a searching +glance about. “More of it,” he added. “See here—on +the brush.” +</p> +<p>Moving forward, they found a succession of crimson +spots and splashes on the leaves of the willow scrub and +withering grass. +</p> +<p>“Picket the horses. Stanton; we’ve got to look into +this,” the corporal said. +</p> +<p>“I’d better lead them back a piece,” responded his +companion. “We don’t want to muss up things by +making fresh tracks.” +</p> +<p>When he had done so, they set about the examination +systematically. They were men who lived, for the most +part, in the open, and made long journeys through the +wilds, sleeping where they could find shelter in ravine +or bluff. Such things as a broken twig, a bruised tuft +of grass, or a mark in loose soil had a meaning to them, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_55' name='page_55'></a>55</span> +and here they had plentiful material to work upon. +Counting footprints and hoofmarks, measuring distances, +they constructed bit by bit the drama that had taken +place, but half an hour had passed before they sat down +to talk it over and took out their pipes. The afterglow +shone about them; their hands and thoughtful faces +showed the same warm color as the brown grass in the +ruddy light. In the hat lay a five-dollar bill and a coat +button. +</p> +<p>“There were two men here,” Curtis remarked. +“Both were mounted and came up the trail from the +settlement, but it looks as if the first one had picketed +his horse and started to make camp when the other +joined him.” +</p> +<p>“That’s so,” Private Stanton agreed. +</p> +<p>“Then there was trouble, but the men didn’t clinch. +One fellow hit the other with something heavy enough +to drop him in his tracks, then got into the saddle and +rode off, leading the other horse.” +</p> +<p>The evidence on which he arrived at this conclusion +was slender, but Stanton signified assent. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said, “where’s the hurt man?” +</p> +<p>“I’ve a notion he’s in yonder muskeg. The other +fellow could have packed him there on the led horse—the +blood spots point to it—though he might have hid him +farther on in a bluff. It’s getting too dark to search now; +we’ll try to-morrow. But I guess we know who he is.” +</p> +<p>“Sure,” said Stanton. “I’ll swear to the hat. Chaffed +Jernyngham about it one day, and he put it in my hands +and said there wasn’t another of the kind in the country. +A man from Hong Kong gave it to him.” +</p> +<p>Curtis took up the bill. +</p> +<p>“Five dollars, Merchants’ Bank, and quite clean; not +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_56' name='page_56'></a>56</span> +been issued long. We’ll find out if they’ve a branch at +Regina or Saskatoon and trace up the fellow they paid +it to. The button doesn’t count—quite a common pattern. +Now if you’ll fill the kettle at the creek, I’ll start +a fire. We’ll camp near the birch scrub yonder.” +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='VI_A_DEAL_IN_LAND' id='VI_A_DEAL_IN_LAND'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_57' name='page_57'></a>57</span> +<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2> +<h3>A DEAL IN LAND</h3> +</div> + +<p>On the morning after the corporal’s discovery, +Gustave Wandle was leading his team to a drinking +pool on the creek that crossed his farm. He was a big, +reserved, fair-haired man, with a fleshy face that was +redeemed from heaviness by his eyes, which were restless +and keen. Though supposed to be an Austrian, little +was known about him or his antecedents except that he +owned the next half-section of land to Jernyngham’s and +farmed it successfully. It was, however, believed that +he was of an unusually grasping nature, and his neighbors +took precautions when they made a deal with him. He +had reached the shadow of a poplar bluff when he heard +hurried footsteps and a man with a hot face came into +sight. +</p> +<p>“I’m going across your place to save time; I want my +horse,” he explained hastily. “Curtis, the policeman, +has ridden in to the settlement and told me to go up +and search a muskeg near the north trail with Stanton. +Somebody’s killed Jernyngham and hidden him there.” +</p> +<p>“So!” exclaimed Wandle. “Jernyngham murdered! +You tell me that?” +</p> +<p>“Sure thing!” the other replied. “The police have +figured out how it all happened and I’m going to look +for the body while Curtis reports to his bosses. A +blamed pity! I liked Jernyngham. Well, I must get +to the muskeg soon as I can!” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_58' name='page_58'></a>58</span></p> +<p>He ran on, and Wandle led his horses to the pool and +stood thinking hard while they drank. He was well +versed in Jernyngham’s affairs and knew that he had once +bought a cheap quarter-section of land in an arid belt +some distance off. A railroad had since entered the +district, irrigation work had been begun, and the holding +must have risen in value. Now, it seemed, Jernyngham +was dead, which was unfortunate, because Wandle had +found their joint operations profitable, and it was very +probable that Ellice and himself were the only persons +who knew about the land. Wandle mounted one of the +horses and set out for Jernyngham’s homestead at its +fastest pace. +</p> +<p>On reaching it, he soon found an iron cash-box in a +cupboard and succeeded in forcing it with a screw-driver. +It contained a few papers, among which were one or two +relating to the purchase of the quarter-section, and +Wandle put these in his pocket. The others he threw +into the cupboard—Jernyngham’s carelessness was well +known—and then hastily studied a railroad time-table. +By starting promptly, he could catch a train at the station +next after Sebastian, which he thought would be wiser, +and reach a new wooden town of some importance in +the evening. Having ascertained this, he hurried out and +rode home, taking the cash-box with him. On arriving, +he smashed it flat with an ax and flung it into his stove in +which a fire was burning; then he made a hasty meal, +changed his clothes, and saddling a horse, rode hard +across the prairie. There was, he realized, some risk in +what he meant to do, but it was not a very serious one, +and he was thankful that the sale of land is attended by +few formalities in western Canada. +</p> +<p>When he reached his destination, business premises +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_59' name='page_59'></a>59</span> +were closed for the night, but after making inquiries he +found a land agent who was recommended as respectable +and trustworthy at a smart hotel. Wandle led him to +the far end of the lobby, where they would not be +disturbed, and sitting down at a table took out the +papers. +</p> +<p>“What’s that quarter-section worth?” he asked. +</p> +<p>The agent told him and Wandle lighted his pipe and +affected to consider. He thought Jernyngham had not +suspected its value. +</p> +<p>“Don’t you think you could get another three dollars +an acre?” he suggested. +</p> +<p>“It’s possible, if you will leave the sale in my hands; but +I may have to wait for a suitable opportunity. There’s +a good demand for land in the district now that they’re +getting on with the irrigation scheme, but to insist on +the top price will mean delay.” +</p> +<p>“Could you sell it for me promptly at the figure you +mentioned?” +</p> +<p>“Why, yes,” said the agent. “I’ve a number of inquiries +for farming land on my books. I shouldn’t +wonder if I fixed the thing up in a week.” +</p> +<p>“I can’t wait a week. There’s a pretty good haulage +contract I could get, but it will take some financing, +which is what brought me along; because I ought to see +about it in the next few days. Now I’ll tell you what I’ll +do—I’ll sell you that land to-night at the lower figure.” +</p> +<p>The agent pondered. +</p> +<p>“No, sir,” he said, irresolutely. “I’d only make a few +dollars an acre on the deal, and I can get ten per cent. on +my money right in this hotel.” +</p> +<p>“You’d have to wait a year for it, wouldn’t you? What +price will give you ten per cent. profit on this quarter-section? +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_60' name='page_60'></a>60</span> +You want to remember that you may get it in +a few weeks, and you’d have first-class security.” +</p> +<p>After making a rough calculation in his notebook, the +agent looked up. +</p> +<p>“As a rule, I prefer to buy for other people, but I +can’t go back on what I said about land being in strong +demand, and I’ll make you a bid. This is the most +I can do.” +</p> +<p>Wandle, after trying to raise the price, made a sign of +acquiescence. +</p> +<p>“We’ll let it go at that. I’ll get things fixed up as soon +as the land-office is open in the morning.” +</p> +<p>He left the hotel, satisfied on the whole, though he had +sacrificed a dollar or two an acre and there was an element +of danger in what he had done. The sale of the +land must be registered, and the date would be two or +three days after the one on which Jernyngham was killed. +The latter’s homestead was, however, a long distance off, +there was only one small weekly newspaper published in +the district, and it was very probable that the agent +would not hear of the affair until some time had elapsed, +and then might not attach any importance to the fact that +the victim’s name was that of his customer. Even if he +did so, the small discrepancy in the dates would, no +doubt, escape his attention. Wandle did not think he +had much cause for uneasiness. +</p> +<p>Reaching home the next day, he raked out his stove and +found the cash-box. It had not fallen to pieces as he had +expected, and he doubled it up again with the ax before +he flung it into the ash pail. Then he lighted the stove +and set about getting supper, for it was late in the evening. +After finishing the meal, he threw some fragments +of potatoes and a rind of pork into the pail and took it up +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_61' name='page_61'></a>61</span> +to carry it to the refuse heap, but stopped with a start when +he left the house. It was getting dark, but two shadowy +figures were riding up the trail and by the way they sat +their horses he recognized them as police troopers. Putting +down the pail, he waited until they dismounted near-by. +</p> +<p>“You’re too late for supper, Curtis,” he said coolly. +“I’ve just cleaned it up.” +</p> +<p>The corporal glanced at the pail and in the dim light +noticed only the domestic refuse. +</p> +<p>“I’ve had some,” he answered. “I want a few minutes’ +talk.” Then he motioned to his companion. +“Hitch the horses, Stanton, and come in when you’re +ready.” +</p> +<p>They entered the house, followed presently by the +trooper, and Wandle lighted his pipe. He felt more at +ease with it in his hand and he suspected that he would +need all his collectedness. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said, “what’s the trouble?” +</p> +<p>“I suppose you know that Jernyngham’s missing?” +</p> +<p>“I heard that he was killed.” +</p> +<p>“Looks like it,” said Curtis. “You know the muskeg +where the creek spreads out, about fourteen miles north?” +</p> +<p>“I don’t; never been up so far.” +</p> +<p>Curtis noticed the prompt disclaimer. +</p> +<p>“Anyway, Jernyngham rode there and was knocked +out with something heavy that must have left him +stunned, if it didn’t make an end of him. He didn’t +ride away after it, though his horse went on. The point +is that it was led.” +</p> +<p>“How do you know that?” Wandle asked. +</p> +<p>“It’s my business to know these things. Think we +can’t tell the difference between the tracks of a led horse +and a ridden one? The only times two horses trot close +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_62' name='page_62'></a>62</span> +together at an even distance is when one’s rider has both +bridles, or when they’re yoked to a wagon pole. However, +I’ve come to ask if you can throw any light on the +matter? You and Jernyngham were partners, in a way, +weren’t you?” +</p> +<p>“That’s so. Now and then we bought implements and +horses, or hired a tractor plow, between us. As a matter +of fact, Jernyngham owed me about five hundred dollars. +Anyhow, I’m as puzzled about the thing as you must be.” +</p> +<p>“Then you think we’re puzzled?” Curtis said in a +significant tone. +</p> +<p>Wandle laughed. +</p> +<p>“It struck me as likely. You know there’s not a +rancher in the district who would hurt the man. He +was easy to get on with.” +</p> +<p>“Did you know that he borrowed money on his holding +and took it with him the night he disappeared?” +</p> +<p>“I didn’t,” said Wandle, starting. “I’m not pleased +to hear it now. I’ve a claim on the place and there are +some pretty big storekeepers’ bills to come in.” +</p> +<p>Curtis asked a few more questions before he took his +leave. He passed near the ash pail as he went out and +Stanton touched it with his foot, but they had mounted +and reached the trail before either of them spoke. +</p> +<p>“Well?” said Curtis. +</p> +<p>Stanton smiled. +</p> +<p>“Nothing much to be learned from him; the fellow’s +about as sly and hard to get at as a coyote.” +</p> +<p>“A sure thing,” Curtis agreed. “We’ll keep an eye on +him; I’ve a suspicion he knows something.” +</p> +<p>Then they trotted away in the moonlight, for it was a +long ride to their camp beside the muskeg, which with the +assistance of several men they were engaged in searching. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_63' name='page_63'></a>63</span></p> +<p>On the next afternoon, Prescott was at work in the +summer fallow, sitting in the iron saddle of a gangplow, +which four powerful horses hauled through the crackling +stubble. It was fiercely hot and he was lightly clad in +thin yellow shirt and overalls. A cloud of dust rose about +him from the parched soil, and the broad expanse of +wheat which the fallow divided glowed with varied +colors as it rippled before the rush of breeze, the strong +greens changing to a silvery luster as the lush blades bent +and caught the light. Farther on, there were faint streaks +of yellow among the oats; the great stretch of grass was +white and delicate gray, the rows of clods behind the +plow rich chocolate-brown. +</p> +<p>Prescott, however, paid little attention to his surroundings. +He was perhaps the only man in the district +who had known Jernyngham intimately; he felt troubled +about his disappearance, and he had had a disturbing +interview with Wandle during the morning. The +Austrian had contested his right to manage the farm, +declaring that Jernyngham owed him money and had +made certain plans for the joint working of their land +which must be carried out. This did not so much +matter, in a sense, if one could take Jernyngham’s death +for granted; but Prescott could not do so and had, moreover, +no intention of letting his property fall into the hands +of a cunning, grasping fellow, who, he was fully persuaded, +had no real right to it. If Jernyngham did not +turn up, Prescott meant to discharge all his debts after +harvest and, as the crop promised well, to send the balance +to England as a proof that his friend had not been a +failure in Canada. This might be some comfort to +Jernyngham’s people. +</p> +<p>He was considering the matter when he heard the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_64' name='page_64'></a>64</span> +stubble crackle behind him and, looking around, saw +Curtis riding up. Stopping his team, he waited until the +corporal drew bridle. +</p> +<p>“Have you found him yet?” he asked. +</p> +<p>“We have not,” said Curtis. “It’s a big muskeg and +quite deep. You know the place?” +</p> +<p>“Oh, yes, I know it pretty well.” +</p> +<p>Curtis looked at him sharply, but Prescott seemed to +be musing. +</p> +<p>“It’s a sad thing when you think of it,” he said after a +few moments. “From the little he told me, the man had +hard luck all through; and that Mrs. Jernyngham should +leave him just after he’d sacrificed his future for her must +have been a knock-out blow. Yet I’ve an idea that instead +of crushing it braced him. It pulled him up; he +showed signs of turning into a different man.” +</p> +<p>“You knew him better than I did,” Curtis replied. +“I heard at the hotel he’d asked you to look after his +place, given you a share in the crop.” +</p> +<p>“He did. I’d some words with Wandle about the +matter this morning; Jernyngham warned me he might +pretend he had a claim. However, that’s not to the purpose; +somehow I feel convinced he’ll turn up again. +What motive could any one have for killing him? The +only man we might have suspected—the fellow who +went off with Ellice—must have been on the train bound +for St. Paul.” +</p> +<p>“He was; we wired the conductor. But the thing’s +quite simple—the motive was robbery. You remember +that wad of bills?” The corporal paused before he +added: “Where did you last see Jernyngham?” +</p> +<p>“At the trail-forks near my place. He rode right on; +I took the turning.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_65' name='page_65'></a>65</span></p> +<p>“Did you see your man, Svendsen, or his wife when +you got home?” +</p> +<p>“I didn’t; they live at the back of the house. I put +up the horses, slipped in quietly, and went to bed.” +</p> +<p>“Then you can’t fix the time you got back?” +</p> +<p>Prescott moved sharply, lifting his head, while an +angry color suffused his face. +</p> +<p>“Curtis, you can’t think—Jernyngham was my best +friend!” Then he laughed indignantly. “You always +struck me as a sensible man.” +</p> +<p>The corporal regarded him with scrutinizing eyes, his +manner stamped with official austerity. +</p> +<p>“I’m forming no opinions—yet. It’s my duty to find +out all I can about the matter and report. If there’s +anything you’re open to tell me, I’ll make a note of it.” +</p> +<p>Prescott’s face grew stern and his glance very steady. +</p> +<p>“I can add nothing to what I’ve said, and I’m busy.” +</p> +<p>Curtis rode away, but when he was out of the rancher’s +sight he broke into a dry smile. He was an astute young +man and knew his business, which was merely to investigate +and follow the instruction of his chiefs at Regina. +Unembroidered facts were what they required in the first +instance, but later he might be permitted to theorize. +</p> +<p>When the corporal had gone, Prescott went on with +his plowing, but the crackle of the stubble and the thud +of the heavy Clydesdales’ hoofs fell unheeded on his ears, +and it was half-consciously that he turned his team at the +head-land. He had a good deal to think about and his +thoughts were far from pleasant. To begin with, the +memory of Muriel Hurst had haunted him since she left; +he recalled her with a regretful longing that seemed to +grow steadily stronger instead of diminishing. He +thought she had left an indelible mark on his life. Then +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_66' name='page_66'></a>66</span> +there was his impersonation of Jernyngham, which he +had rashly agreed to, but did not now regret. If Colston +had met Cyril on the night of the riot and had gone to +his untidy dwelling, he would have been forced to send +home an adverse report. Prescott was glad to think he +had saved his friend from a farther fall in his English +relatives’ esteem, though, knowing a little of the man’s +story, he held them largely responsible for his reckless +career. Their censoriousness and suspicion had, no +doubt, driven him into wilder rashness. +</p> +<p>Besides all this, the corporal’s manner rankled in his +mind. He knew Curtis well and had a good opinion of +his ability. It seemed preposterous that such a man +could imagine that he had had any hand in Jernyngham’s +death. Yet the corporal’s tone had been significant and +the facts had an ugly look. He had seen Jernyngham +secrete his money and had afterward ridden on with him, +unaccompanied by anybody else. He could not prove +when he returned to his farm, and it might be said that +he stood to benefit by securing the management of Jernyngham’s +property. +</p> +<p>When he reached the end of the furrows his face was +grim, but he steadily continued his plowing. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='VII_THE_SEARCH' id='VII_THE_SEARCH'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_67' name='page_67'></a>67</span> +<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2> +<h3>THE SEARCH</h3> +</div> + +<p>Prescott dismounted and turned loose his horse, +short-hobbled, near the muskeg about two o’clock +one hot afternoon. He had begun work at four that +morning, and, with harvest drawing near, time was precious +to him, but he was filled with a keen curiosity to +see what progress Curtis had made in his search. He +had a strong personal interest in the matter, because it +seemed that some suspicion might rest on him; though he +was far from sharing the corporal’s conviction that Jernyngham +was dead. Stopping at the edge of the ravine, +he looked about, taking in the details of the scene. +</p> +<p>Though the prairie had lost its greenness and the flowers +had died, it stretched away, flooded with dazzling light, a +great expanse of silvery gray, flecked with faint lemon and +brown. In the swampy hollow, however, the grass grew +tall and green among the shining pools, and Prescott noticed +to his astonishment a dozen men working assiduously +lower down. They had discarded most of their clothing, +their brown arms were bare, and the stiff, dark-colored +soil they flung up with their shovels cumbered the bank of +the ravine, which had narrowed in again. Prescott saw +that they were cutting a deeper channel for the creek, with +the object of draining the swamp. +</p> +<p>Moving farther along the bank, he came upon the two +policemen, who looked very hot and somewhat muddy, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_68' name='page_68'></a>68</span> +which, as they were usually fastidiously neat, was noticeable. +He felt some hesitation in accosting them, as he +recalled the corporal’s attitude when they last met, but +he was curious. +</p> +<p>“I suppose you have found nothing?” he said, and +when Curtis made a sign of negation continued: “How +did you get so many of the boys here?” +</p> +<p>Putting his hand in his pocket, the policeman gave him +a printed circular which announced that a reward of one +thousand dollars would be paid for the discovery of Cyril +Jernyngham’s remains. +</p> +<p>“His people in the old country cabled it over,” he +explained. +</p> +<p>“Well,” Prescott said thoughtfully, “I don’t believe +he’s here; but he was a friend of mine, and I’m as anxious +to have the question answered as you are.” +</p> +<p>Private Stanton, who was sitting in the grass, looked up +with a rather significant smile. Indeed, there was a certain +reserve in the manner of both men which exasperated +the rancher. +</p> +<p>“It’s quite likely you’ll have to wait,” Curtis rejoined. +“Even when we’ve run the water out, it may take a long +while to search the mushy stuff it will leave, and if we’re +beaten here, we’ll have to try the bluffs.” He looked hard +at Prescott. “We don’t let up until we find him.” +</p> +<p>“Tell me where I can get a shovel and I’ll help the +boys.” +</p> +<p>Stanton brought him one and for the next two hours he +worked savagely, standing knee-deep in water in a trench, +hacking out clods of the “gumbo” soil, which covers much +of the prairie and grows the finest wheat. When dry it +sets like stone, when wet it assumes a glutinous stickiness +which makes it exceptionally difficult to deal with. Fierce +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_69' name='page_69'></a>69</span> +sunshine poured down on Prescott’s bent head and +shoulders, his hands grew sore, and mire and water +splashed upon him, but he was hard and leanly muscular +and, driven as he was by a keen desire to test the +corporal’s theory, he would have toiled on until the next +morning, had it been needful. At length, however, there +was a warning cry from one of the men nearer the swamp. +</p> +<p>“Watch out! Let her go!” +</p> +<p>Prescott leaped from the trench. There was a roar +higher up the ravine, and a turgid flood, streaked with +frothy lines, came pouring down the new channel, bearing +with it small nut bushes and great clumps of matted grass. +By degrees it subsided, and the men, gathering about the +edge of the muskeg, hot and splashed with mire, lay down +to smoke and wait, while the pools that still remained grew +smaller. They had been working hard since early morning +and they did not talk much, but Prescott, sitting a +little away from them, was conscious of an unpleasant +tension. It was possible that the search might prove Curtis +right. The corporal stood higher up the bank, scanning +each clump of grass and reeds with keenly scrutinizing +eyes. At length, however, he approached the others. +</p> +<p>“I guess you’ve made a job, boys,” he told them. +“The soft spots ought to dry out in about a week, but +we can’t wait till then. You want to remember there’s +a thousand dollars for the man who finds him.” +</p> +<p>They glanced at the morass hesitatingly. It did not +look inviting. In places the reeds grew as high as their +heads, and one could not tell what depths they hid. In +other spots there were tracks of slimy ooze in which one +might sink a long way. None of them, however, was +fastidious, and they waded out into the mire, shouting +warnings to one another, disappearing now and then +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_70' name='page_70'></a>70</span> +among the grass. The search was partially rewarded, +for while Prescott and a companion were skirting a +clump of reeds they saw part of a soaked garment protruding +from the slime. For a few moments they stood +looking at it irresolutely; and then Prescott, mustering +his courage, advanced and seized the stained material. +It came away more readily than he had expected, and he +turned to his companion, conscious of keen relief, with +a brown overall jacket in his hand. A further examination, +shrinkingly made, revealed nothing else, and after +marking the place they waded to the bank. The garment +was carefully washed in the creek and the men gathered +in a ring round Curtis when he inspected it. +</p> +<p>“Have any of you seen this thing before?” he asked, +holding it up. +</p> +<p>None of them would identify it. Thin duck overalls +are commonly worn by ranchers and working people, +in place of heavier clothing, during the hot weather. +Then Curtis turned to Prescott. +</p> +<p>“What’s your idea?” +</p> +<p>“It isn’t Jernyngham’s,” the rancher said decidedly. +“It’s too old, for one thing; looks as if it had been in the +water quite a while.” +</p> +<p>“Hard to tell,” commented Curtis. “But go on.” +</p> +<p>Prescott took the jacket and held it so that the others +could see the inside of the collar. +</p> +<p>“No maker’s tag,” he continued. “Now Cyril always +bought the kind they give you a doll with.” +</p> +<p>One of the others laughed and supplied the name of the +manufacturer, which was attached to every garment. +</p> +<p>“I’ve seen three or four of those dolls and golliwog +things in his house,” the man added. “Used to guy him +about keeping them, as he had no kids.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_71' name='page_71'></a>71</span></p> +<p>“We can fix the thing by inquiring at the dry goods +store,” Curtis rejoined. +</p> +<p>“Can’t see whose it was, if it wasn’t Jernyngham’s,” +another broke in. “There’s no homestead anywhere near +the creek and mighty few people come up here!” +</p> +<p>The policeman took from his pocket a wet envelope, +upon which the blurred writing was still legible. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said coolly, “there’s no doubt about whose +this is.” He handed it to Prescott. “Ever see it in +Jernyngham’s possession?” +</p> +<p>“Yes,” answered Prescott with some hesitation. “I +recognize the address, though the English stamp has +gone. It was lying near when he was talking to me on +the night of the trouble in Sebastian.” +</p> +<p>He was filled with uneasiness. The police would +certainly attempt to read the letter, which was the one +Colston had written announcing his arrival. If they +succeeded, they would no doubt wonder why the Englishman +had not stayed with Jernyngham, and investigation +might lead to a discovery of the part Prescott had played. +</p> +<p>“We’ve begun quite satisfactorily,” said the corporal, +“and there’s nothing more to be done to-night. I guess +you can quit and have supper, boys.” +</p> +<p>In a little while trails of gray smoke floated across the +ravine, and after a meal with one of his neighbors Prescott +rode back to his homestead, feeling much disturbed. +For all that, and in spite of the letter, he did not think +Jernyngham would be found in the swamp. +</p> +<p>On the following evening a commissioned officer of the +police, who had made the journey from headquarters at +Regina and spent an hour or two examining the scene of +the supposititious tragedy, sat with Curtis in a very hot +private room of the hotel at Sebastian. Its raw board +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_72' name='page_72'></a>72</span> +walls gave out a resinous smell; the opening in the window +was filled with mosquito-netting, so that little air +crept in. On the table lay a carefully made diagram; a +boot, and one or two paper patterns representing footprints +were on the floor. The officer’s hair was turning +gray and he had a quiet brown face with a look of command +in it. +</p> +<p>“Taking it for granted that your theory’s right, suspicion +seems to fall on the men you mentioned,” he said. +“Whom do you suspect?” +</p> +<p>Curtis considered. He was reluctant to express a decided +opinion in the presence of his superior, who was +famous for his acumen. +</p> +<p>“So far as we have any evidence, I think it points to +Prescott,” he responded. “He saw Jernyngham hide +his money; he went on alone with him, and can’t prove +when he got home. Then several of the footprints +marked on the plan might have been made by him.” +</p> +<p>The officer took up the boot and one of the paper +patterns. +</p> +<p>“There’s a doubt. I suppose he knows you have his +boot?” +</p> +<p>The corporal’s eyes twinkled faintly. +</p> +<p>“I guess he’ll miss it sometime.” +</p> +<p>“It’s possible. But what else have you against him?” +</p> +<p>“Prescott stands to profit by Jernyngham’s death: he +has control of the holding until the year’s up, and it’s a +pretty good crop. He declares the jacket isn’t Jernyngham’s; +he won’t allow the man can be in the muskeg. A +day or two after Jernyngham disappeared he bought +one of the new wide-swath binders. Paid the money +down in new bills, which was what Jernyngham had, +though the implement agent didn’t note the numbers.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_73' name='page_73'></a>73</span></p> +<p>“Pretty strong points. What’s your private opinion? +Out with it.” +</p> +<p>The man’s tone was commanding and Curtis complied. +</p> +<p>“On the whole, I’m inclined to blame the other fellow, +Wandle.” +</p> +<p>“Against the evidence?” asked his superior in quiet +surprise. “You of course remember your instructions +and know what your duty is.” +</p> +<p>“Yes, sir,” said Curtis. “Still, I think——” He +paused and continued diffidently: “You would have an +answer.” +</p> +<p>The other leaned back in his chair with a meditative +expression. +</p> +<p>“We’ll let it go at that,” he said. “Perhaps you had +better follow the waiting course you seem to have decided +on, but if suspicion gathers round Prescott it won’t be a +drawback and you needn’t discountenance it. For one +thing, it may divert attention, and after all he may be +the right man.” +</p> +<p>A look of comprehension shone in the corporal’s eyes. +He believed that his superior, who never expressed a +strong opinion prematurely, agreed with him. +</p> +<p>“Suppose either of the men lights out?” he suggested. +</p> +<p>“You’ll have to guard against it. If it happens, apply +for a warrant and follow him.” +</p> +<p>The officer returned to Regina the next day; and a +week or two, during which Curtis and his assistants +laboriously searched the drying swamp, passed uneventfully. +Then one morning Prescott sat somewhat moodily +in the saddle of his binder which a powerful team hauled +along the edge of the wheat. The great stretch of grain +blazed with color as it swayed with a harsh rustle of +warm-tinted ears before the breeze, but now and then +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_74' name='page_74'></a>74</span> +broad cool shadows sped across it as the white-edged +clouds drove by. Behind him followed two more teams +and machines, half covered by falling sheets of yellow +grain, while their whirling wooden arms flashed in the +dazzling sunlight as they flung out the sheaves. Bare-armed +and very scantily attired men came after them, +piling the stocks together. Disturbed as he was, Prescott +felt cheered by the prospect of harvesting a record crop. +</p> +<p>He had turned a corner and was proceeding along +another side of the great oblong when he noticed a wagon +approaching, carrying two strangers and several large +trunks. As their dress differed from that usually worn +on the prairie, he wondered who they were and why they +were driving toward his ranch. The liveryman, who held +the reins, presently pulled up his team and Prescott; +stopping his binder, waited to be addressed. An old +soft hat fell shapelessly forward over his deeply bronzed +face, his neck and most of his arms were uncovered. +Before him the four powerful horses stood fidgeting in +the heat, a black cloud of flies about their heads. Though +not a man of striking appearance, he was in harmony +with his surroundings, and formed a fine central figure +in the great harvest field: a worthy type of the new nation +that is rising in the West. +</p> +<p>For a moment or two the strangers studied him carefully +from the wagon. The one nearest him was a woman +of thirty, he thought, of tall and chastely lined figure, with +a colorless and rather expressionless face, though her +features were excellent. She wore a tight-fitting dark +dress which seemed to have been made all in one piece, +and gave an impression of prim coldness and careful +restraint. The man in the soft hat was obviously her +father. He had gray hair; his face, which was finely +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_75' name='page_75'></a>75</span> +chiseled, suggested a formal, decided, and perhaps domineering, +character; his gray tweed traveling suit was immaculately +neat. There was no doubt that they were +English, and Prescott wondered whom they reminded him +of, until the truth flashed upon him with a disconcerting +shock—they were Jernyngham’s father and sister! +</p> +<p>“Mr. Prescott?” inquired the man. +</p> +<p>Prescott bowed, and the teamster, jumping down, +handed him two cards. +</p> +<p>“I understand that you knew my unfortunate son,” +the newcomer continued. +</p> +<p>“I did,” Prescott replied guardedly. +</p> +<p>“Then can I have a word or two with you in private?” +</p> +<p>Getting down from the binder, Prescott helped the +other to alight from the high wagon; the man was not +agile, though he carried himself well. They walked back +some distance along the edge of the wheat. Then the +rancher stopped and from force of habit felt for his pipe. +</p> +<p>“I must be to some extent confidential,” began +Jernyngham. “You must guess why I came.” +</p> +<p>The strong light fell searchingly on his face, revealing +lines on it which Prescott thought had lately been +deepened by pain, but his eyes were very keen and hard. +</p> +<p>“I suppose the recent calamity brought you,” the +rancher ventured. +</p> +<p>“Yes; I have come to see justice done. But we will not +discuss that yet. We arrived yesterday evening and found +it was impossible that my daughter should be comfortable +at the hotel; besides which, it is rather too far away. I +accordingly determined to look for quarters at one of the +ranches, but succeeded in getting shelter for only the one +night.” +</p> +<p>Prescott felt amused. Jernyngham and his daughter +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_76' name='page_76'></a>76</span> +were not the kind of people the somewhat primitive +prairie ranchers would welcome; their request for accommodation +was more likely to cause astonishment and +alarm. +</p> +<p>“People are very busy, now that harvest’s coming on, +and they’ve extra hands to cook for,” he explained. +</p> +<p>“I understand,” continued Jernyngham, “that my son’s +homestead is in this neighborhood, and domestics might +be hired; but after what has happened, I fear my daughter +would find living there a painful strain. That was why +I thought of applying to you.” +</p> +<p>The announcement filled Prescott with dismay. The +presence of the Jernynghams might involve him in further +complications. +</p> +<p>“I’m sorry, but we live very simply,” he said hastily. +“My place is only half furnished; we have no time to +make it comfortable—and I’m sure you’d find our cooking +barbarous. I’m afraid Miss Jernyngham couldn’t put +up with the accommodation we could offer her.” +</p> +<p>“We only want quietness, fresh air, and a little privacy, +none of which seems to be obtainable at Sebastian. While +the question of terms is no consideration, I recognize that +I must make my appeal to your generosity.” +</p> +<p>Prescott did not answer, and Jernyngham resumed in +a more urgent tone: +</p> +<p>“I must beg you not to make difficulties; I’m told there +is nobody else in the neighborhood who could take us in. +We will require very little attention and will promise to +give you no trouble.” +</p> +<p>Prescott wavered. The man was keenly anxious; it +was hard to resist his appeal, and there was, after all, +only a small risk that he might hear of Colston’s visit. +Svendsen and his wife, who attended to the housekeeping, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_77' name='page_77'></a>77</span> +were Scandinavians, and could scarcely converse in English. +When they addressed him by any distinguishing +epithet it was always as “Boss.” +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said doubtfully, “I can’t refuse you shelter. +You can stay for a while, anyway, until we see how we +get on. I’ll go up to the homestead with you.” +</p> +<p>He had an interview with his housekeeper, who protested +in broken English that harvest was a singularly +inconvenient time to entertain strangers, but eventually +gave away. The extra hands lately hired could be put +up in the barn, and there were two rooms that could be +spared. Prescott showed his visitors in and afterward +watched with some amusement their surprise when they +sat down to the midday meal with the lightly clad toilers +from the field. During the afternoon and until late in the +evening, he worked hard among the grain, but when the +light was failing and he leaned on a wire fence, hot and +tired after the long day of effort, Jernyngham came +toward him. +</p> +<p>“We have had very little talk so far,” he said. “My +daughter, however, desires me to convey her thanks to +you. She believes she will be perfectly comfortable.” +</p> +<p>He was irritatingly formal, his tone was precise, but it +changed as he added: +</p> +<p>“So you knew Cyril!” +</p> +<p>“Yes,” Prescott said gravely. “I was fond of him.” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham seemed to be struggling with some stirring +of his deeper nature beneath the crust of mannerisms. +</p> +<p>“Mr. Prescott,” he said, “I may tell you that I now +fear I treated the lad injudiciously, and perhaps with +needless harshness. I looked upon extravagance and +eccentricity as signs of depravity. It was a vast relief +when I heard from Colston, whom you may have met; +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_78' name='page_78'></a>78</span> +that Cyril had prospered and was leading an exemplary +life in Canada.” +</p> +<p>The blood crept into Prescott’s face, and Jernyngham +glanced at him curiously before he proceeded. +</p> +<p>“We were somewhat hurt that he would not come +home; but after past mistakes I could not urge him, and +it seemed possible that he might change his mind later. +Then the dreadful blow fell—crushing and filling me with +all the bitterness of useless regret. I had spoken too late; +the opportunity I would not use in time had gone.” +</p> +<p>He broke off, and his face had grown white and stern +when he went on again: +</p> +<p>“There is only one thing I can do, but if needful, I +will devote the rest of my life to it—that is, to track down +the man who killed my son!” +</p> +<p>He was silent for the next few minutes, and then, after +a few words on indifferent subjects, intended, Prescott +thought, to cover his display of feeling, he turned away, +leaving the rancher smoking thoughtfully. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='VIII_A_DAY_ON_THE_PRAIRIE' id='VIII_A_DAY_ON_THE_PRAIRIE'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_79' name='page_79'></a>79</span> +<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2> +<h3>A DAY ON THE PRAIRIE</h3> +</div> + +<p>A week after Jernyngham’s arrival at the homestead +he sat among the sheaves in the harvest field late +one afternoon studying a letter which the mail-carrier had +just brought him. His daughter, sheltered from the +strong sunlight by the tall stocked sheaves, was reading +an elegantly bound book of philosophy. Gertrude +Jernyngham had strict rules of life and spent an hour +or two of every day in improving her mind, without, so +far as her friends had discovered, any enlargement of +her outlook. Among her numerous virtues was an affectionate +solicitude about her father’s health, which was +variable. Though still muscularly vigorous, Jernyngham +was getting an old man, and he had been out of sorts of +late. +</p> +<p>“I’m glad you are looking much better than you did +this morning,” she said, glancing at him after a while. +</p> +<p>“Thank you,” Jernyngham rejoined punctiliously. “I +suppose it was the strain of the past few weeks that tried +me, and perhaps I have been doing too much, traveling +backward and forward between here and the muskeg.” +Then with an effort he banished his painful thoughts and +smiled. “I wonder how many years it is since I spent +an afternoon in a harvest field! I’ll confess that I find +much to interest me.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude laid down her book and glanced about. She +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_80' name='page_80'></a>80</span> +was of a practical disposition and almost devoid of artistic +susceptibilities, but the richness and color of the scene +impressed her. Far away in front ran the long ranks of +sheaves, gleaming in the sunshine amid the golden stubble +which was flecked by their deep-blue shadows. The +air was cooling, but the light was brilliant and the standing +wheat was picked out with tints of burnished copper. +By comparison with it, the oat stocks shone pale and +silvery. Round the edge of the grain moved the binders, +clashing and tinkling musically, while their whirling arms +flashed in the sunlight. +</p> +<p>Prescott, lightly clad, drove the foremost machine. +The fine modeling of his lean, muscular figure was effectively +displayed; his uncovered arms and face were +the color of the soil. Seated behind the big horses, he +looked wonderfully virile. The man seemed filled with +primitive vigor; he was a type that was new to Gertrude +Jernyngham. +</p> +<p>“Our host,” remarked her father, “strikes one as +tireless; though I’m inclined to think that during +harvest everybody here works at a higher tension than +would be borne at home. Their methods are rather +wasteful—this tall stubble, for instance, continuous cereal +crops, except for the short summer fallow—but they’re +no doubt adapted to the needs of the country. Having +some experience in these matters, I should say this farm +was excellently managed.” +</p> +<p>In place of answering, Gertrude watched the rancher. +The physical perfection of the man had an effect on her, +though she was essentially prudish. +</p> +<p>“I ought to drive in to the settlement and send off a +cablegram, though I expect it will be difficult to get a +team,” Jernyngham resumed, returning to his letter. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_81' name='page_81'></a>81</span> +“Cranford wants instructions about a matter of importance +that has cropped up since we left.” +</p> +<p>“It wouldn’t be wise for you to drive so far,” Gertrude +said firmly. “I might go instead; we’ll speak to Mr. +Prescott about it this evening.” +</p> +<p>Shortly afterward there was a harsh clanking sound +and Prescott, pulling up his team, sprang down from the +binder. He became busy with hammer and spanner, +and in a few minutes the stubble was strewn with pinion +wheels, little shafts, and driving-chains. Then, while +his guests watched him with growing interest, he put the +machine together, started his team and stopped it, and +again dismembered the complicated gear. This, as +Gertrude realized, was work that needed a certain +amount of skill. Finally, when the overtaking binders +had stopped near-by, he took out a small shaft and held it +up so that the harvesters could see it. +</p> +<p>“Journal’s bent; I’ll have to go get a new piece,” he +said. “Go ahead with your teams.” +</p> +<p>After that he unhitched his horses and was leading +them past the place where the Jernynghams sat, when +Gertrude spoke to him. +</p> +<p>“I’m sorry you had an accident, and I suppose you +will have to send the broken part to Sebastian. May I +go with the team?” +</p> +<p>“Why, of course,” he said. “I’ll drive you in to-morrow. +As it’s a pretty long way, I’ll try to borrow +a comfortable rig.” +</p> +<p>He went on with the horses and she saw no more of +him that day, but early the next morning he brought up a +light, four-wheeled vehicle, which would carry two people +and had a hood that could be drawn up. Gertrude +thought it a great improvement on the prairie wagon, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_82' name='page_82'></a>82</span> +and she admired the restive team which he had some +trouble in holding. When she got in, he sprang to the seat +beside her, the horses bounded forward, and they sped out +through a gap in the fence, the vehicle lurching wildly +among the ruts. +</p> +<p>For a while Gertrude was occupied, to the exclusion of +everything else, in trying to keep her place, but when Prescott +turned the team on to a stretch of smooth short grass +she began to look about. It was a clear, cool morning, +the sky was a wonderful blue, and bluffs miles away +showed up with sharp distinctness. In the foreground +the gray grass was bathed in a soft light which was +restful to the eyes. Then Gertrude examined the rig, +as the man had called it, which struck her as remarkably +light and fragile; and the same thing was noticeable +about the harness. The horses moved as if they were +drawing no load, swinging along at a fast and springy trot, +while the vehicle ran lightly up and down the slight undulations, +the wheels jarring now and then into a hollow +or smashing through dwarf scrub. The pace was exhilarating, +the fine air invigorated the girl, and her usual +prim reserve melted away. +</p> +<p>“I am fortunate in getting in to Sebastian,” she said. +“There’s a cablegram it’s necessary that my father should +send.” +</p> +<p>“Glad to take you,” Prescott rejoined. “Is Mr. +Jernyngham in business?” +</p> +<p>“Oh, no; not as you would understand it. We spend +most of our time in the country, where he manages the +estate. It’s small, but there are two quarries which need +looking after. Then he’s director of a company. He +doesn’t believe that a man should be idle.” +</p> +<p>Prescott smiled. He had read a good deal about +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_83' name='page_83'></a>83</span> +England, and he could imagine Jernyngham’s firm control +of his property. His rule would, no doubt, be just, +but it would be enforced on autocratic and highly conventional +lines. His daughter, the rancher thought, +resembled him in some respects. She was handsome +and dignified in a colorless way; she might have been +charming if she were only a trifle less correct in manner +and there were more life in her. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said, in answer to her last remark, “that’s +a notion you’ll find lived up to here. The man who +won’t work mighty hard very soon goes broke. It’s a +truth you in the old country ought to impress on the men +you’re sending out to us.” +</p> +<p>She liked his easy phraseology; which she supposed +was western, and there was nothing harsh in his intonation. +It was that of a well-educated man, and the +Jernynghams were exacting in such matters. +</p> +<p>“I think there must be something in the air which +makes toil less arduous,” she said. “The people I’ve +met have a cheerful, optimistic look.” She hesitated, and +added in a confidential tone: “I like to imagine that +my brother wore the same expression, though he was +always carelessly gay. He seems to have made a capable +rancher. It was a great relief to us when we were told +of it.” +</p> +<p>Prescott grew hot and embarrassed, but he thought +he could understand how Cyril Jernyngham had entered +on a course of recklessness. It was a reaction against +the overwhelming propriety of his father and sister. +</p> +<p>“I don’t think you need grieve for your brother yet,” +he said gravely. “Although nobody here seems to agree +with me, I find it impossible to believe that he is dead.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude gave him a grateful look. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_84' name='page_84'></a>84</span></p> +<p>“I’m glad to hear you say so—there is at least a doubt, +and that is comforting; though I’m afraid my father +can’t be made to realize it.” +</p> +<p>“Can’t you persuade him not to take too much for +granted?” +</p> +<p>“I wish I could.” Gertrude’s tone was sad. “He has +been brooding over the dreadful news ever since it reached +us. It has possessed him absolutely; he can think of +nothing else, and there will be no relief for him until +he finds the guilty person, or it is proved beyond all +doubt that the police are mistaken.” She paused before +she went on. “If they’re right, I think I should feel as +merciless as he does. Cyril was my only brother; I +was very fond of him.” +</p> +<p>Her voice trembled a little, though her eyes were +hard, and Prescott felt sorry for her. She was not of +emotional nature; he could imagine her shrinking from +any display of tenderness. Nevertheless, it was obvious +that she was a prey to fear and grief. +</p> +<p>“So was I,” he said. “I wonder if I may point out +that he struck me as being different from you and your +father?” +</p> +<p>“I think I know what you mean. Cyril was like my +mother—she died a long while ago, but I remember her as +gentle, sympathetic, and perhaps more variable than I am. +Cyril was swayed by feeling rather than by judgment.” +</p> +<p>Prescott knew this was correct, but he found his companion +an interesting study. She was wrapped up in +cold propriety; she must have led an uneventful life, +looked up to and obeyed by the small community that +owned her father’s rule. Romance could not have +touched her; she was not imaginative; but he thought +there were warmth and passion lying dormant somewhere +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_85' name='page_85'></a>85</span> +in her nature. She could not have wholly escaped +the consequences of being Cyril Jernyngham’s sister. +</p> +<p>Nothing further was said for a while, and presently +the team toiled through a belt of sandy ridges, furrowed +by the wind, where the summits were crested here and +there by small jack-pines. Looking up as they crossed +one elevation, Gertrude noticed a wedge of small dark +bodies outlined against the soft blue sky. +</p> +<p>“What are those?” she asked. +</p> +<p>“Wild geese; the forerunners of the host that will +soon come down from the marshes by the Polar Sea.” +</p> +<p>“But do they go so far?” +</p> +<p>He laughed. +</p> +<p>“They cross this continent twice a year; up from the +steaming lagoons on the Gulf to the frozen muskegs of +the North, and back again. They’re filled with a grand +unrest and wholly free; travelers of the high air, always +going somewhere.” +</p> +<p>“Ah!” responded Gertrude. “To be always doing +something is good. But the other—the ceaseless +wandering——” +</p> +<p>“Going on and on, beating a passage through the +icy winds, rejoicing in the sun, seeking for adventure. +Is there no charm in that?” +</p> +<p>She looked at him uneasily, as if his words had +awakened some half-understood response. +</p> +<p>“I think Cyril must have felt something of the kind. +So far it has never stirred me. Isn’t it wise to hold fast +by what is safe and familiar?” +</p> +<p>“Oh, I don’t know,” Prescott answered with a +smile. “I follow the course you mention, because I have +to. It’s my business to drive the plow, and the hazard of +having a crop hailed out is adventure enough. But I +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_86' name='page_86'></a>86</span> +don’t think it should make one hard on the people who +prefer the other thing. After all, they may be right; +the life they take pleasure in may be the best for them, +though it wouldn’t appeal to you or me.” +</p> +<p>“I’m not sure that toleration should be encouraged. +It often means indifference, perhaps a lack of principle.” +</p> +<p>She grasped tightly the rail around the seat, for the +horses plunged down a sandy slope at a wild gallop, +passing at the bottom a horse and buggy in which sat a +man dressed in a dark gray suit, to whom Prescott waved +his hand. +</p> +<p>“Is he a clergyman?” asked Gertrude. +</p> +<p>“Well,” Prescott smiled, “he’s a Presbyterian minister. +I suppose you think there’s a difference?” +</p> +<p>His companion with unusual forbearance let this pass. +</p> +<p>“Then you have churches at Sebastian?” +</p> +<p>“Four. I can’t say they’re crowded; but, while +we’re liberal-minded on many points, the flocks won’t +mix. Strikes me as a pity.” +</p> +<p>“It is a pity; there should be only one strong and +united church in every place.” +</p> +<p>“And that the right one?” Prescott’s eyes twinkled +mischievously. “You’re thinking of the one we call +Episcopalian?” +</p> +<p>“Yes,” said Gertrude severely; “the Church.” +</p> +<p>“I’ll admit that I’m on pretty good terms with the lot, +but Father Dillon’s my favorite. For one thing, he’s a +practical farmer as well as a fine classical scholar. His +crowd, for the most part, are hard-up foreigners; and he +shows them how to build decent homes and put their crops +in. All the same, I’ve quite a high opinion of the Methodist +and the Presbyterian, who are at the opposite end of +the scale.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_87' name='page_87'></a>87</span></p> +<p>Gertrude showed signs of disapproval. +</p> +<p>“In these matters, broad-mindedness may be dangerous. +One can’t compromise.” +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said, “even the Roman Curia tried it before +the council of Trent, and your people made an attempt to +conciliate the English Calvinists about Elizabeth’s time; +you were inclined to Genevan Protestantism once or twice +afterward.” +</p> +<p>His companion’s surprise was evident, and he laughed +as he read her thoughts. +</p> +<p>“Oh,” he explained, “I used to take some interest in +these matters once upon a time. You see, I was at +McGill.” +</p> +<p>“McGill? I seem to have heard the name, but what +does it stand for?” +</p> +<p>Prescott looked amused. +</p> +<p>“I don’t know that it quite means what Oxford does to +you, but it’s something of the kind; you might have seen +the fine buildings at the foot of the mountain, if you had +stayed in Montreal. Then we have Toronto; with deference +to the Toronto men, I’ll compare that to Cambridge. +Still, so far as I understand your English ideas, +there’s a difference—our boys go to McGill or Toronto +with the intention of learning something that will open up +a career. They certainly play football and one or two +other games pretty well, but that’s a very secondary object; +so’s the acquiring of a polished style. In fact, it’s not +altogether unusual on this side of the Atlantic to find +university men spending a vacation as waiters in the +summer hotels.” +</p> +<p>“But why do they do that?” Gertrude asked with a +shocked expression. +</p> +<p>“For money,” Prescott answered dryly. “One gathers +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_88' name='page_88'></a>88</span> +that the St. Andrew boys did something of the same kind +in Scotland in your grandfather’s time; and no logical +objection could be made to it, anyway. Isn’t it a pretty +good test of a man’s determination? It’s hard to see why +he should make a worse doctor, engineer, or preacher, because +he has the grit to earn his training by carrying plates, +or chopping trees, which some of our boys take to.” +</p> +<p>This was difficult to answer, and Gertrude did not +attempt it; her prejudices were stronger than her powers +of reasoning. Looking southward, she saw the turreted +tops of the Sebastian elevators rising from the sea of grass +like cathedral towers. Their smallness emphasized the +vastness of the plain, which was beginning to have a +stimulating effect on her mind. She thought it might explain +the broadness of her companion’s views, which, +while erroneous, were becoming comprehensible. He lived +in the open, beyond the bounds of walls and fences, +breathing this wonderful invigorating air. Nevertheless, +he was obviously a man of varied and extensive information, +which struck her as somewhat curious in face of his +severely practical abilities. He could mend harness, plow +a straight furrow, break horses, and strip a complicated +machine. As a new type, he deserved attention. +</p> +<p>After a while they struck into a well-beaten track +which had been graded where it crossed a muskeg. The +rude work, however, had suffered from frost and rain: +the ruts in the hard black soil were deep and there were +dangerous holes. To make matters worse, a big gasoline +tractor, intended to assist in some harvesting operations, +had got into difficulties near the middle of the graded +track. It was making an alarming noise and diffusing +a pungent odor, while two men thrust bits of board beneath +the wheels for it to climb out of the hole on. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_89' name='page_89'></a>89</span> +Prescott’s team slackened their pace, jerking their heads +and pricking their ears. They were young range horses +that had roamed over wide spaces, and were badly broken. +</p> +<p>Getting a tight grip on the reins he turned to his +companion. +</p> +<p>“We can’t get around—the muskeg’s too soft. I’d +put you down, only that I may not be able to hold the +team after we get past that machine.” He raised his +voice. “Can’t you stop her, boys?” +</p> +<p>“No, sir!” cried a grimy man. “Soon as we cut +out the engine she’d run back into the hole! We’ve been +here two hours already!” +</p> +<p>“Hold tight!” Prescott cautioned Gertrude, and urged +the horses forward. +</p> +<p>As they approached the tractor the noise suddenly increased, +and its wheels spun faster, grinding on the skids. +One of the horses reared, swinging up the pole, which +nearly threw its fellow; then there was a frantic thud of +hoofs against the frame of the vehicle, and the team, swinging +half around, threatened to overturn it into the swamp. +Prescott plied the whip; the beasts plunged. One pair +of wheels left the road, and the rig slanted alarmingly. +A violent crash and jolt followed; Gertrude came near +to being flung out of her seat; and they passed the tractor +and sped across the graded stretch at a furious pace. +Prescott was braced backward, his feet pressed hard +against a bar, his lips tightly set, while Gertrude, shrinking +from the disaster that seemed imminent, wondered +how he swung the panic-stricken beasts clear of the +worst holes. She gasped with relief when they had +passed the muskeg, but the trail was still in a dangerous +state, and Prescott turned the team upon the grass, +where they galloped on while the wheels smashed through +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_90' name='page_90'></a>90</span> +short scrub, until at last the speed began to slacken. +The horses’ coats were foul and flecked with spume when +Gertrude looked backward and saw the tractor far away +in the distance. +</p> +<p>“They’ve had enough,” Prescott remarked. “We +made the last mile at a pretty good clip; I kept them at it. +Guess they won’t start another circus if we meet a freight +locomotive on the switches.” +</p> +<p>The settlement was reached without further mis-adventure, +and Prescott, as a special favor, secured a separate +table at the hotel, where Gertrude was served with an +excellent meal. Afterward he showed her how to despatch +her father’s message, and as she turned away the +telegraph operator grinned at Prescott. +</p> +<p>“Where are all these high-toned English girls coming +from, Jack?” he said. “You have brought another one +this time.” +</p> +<p>Leaving the man without an answer, Prescott rejoined +his companion. +</p> +<p>“Are there any English people staying near the settlement?” +she asked. +</p> +<p>“The fellow was alluding to Miss Hurst.” +</p> +<p>“Muriel Hurst?” Gertrude exclaimed sharply. “Was +she here with you?” +</p> +<p>“Yes.” Prescott regretted that she had asked for an +explanation of the operator’s remarks. “I once drove +her in; Cyril’s team was doing something else. But you +said you wanted to visit the drygoods store, didn’t you?” +</p> +<p>Gertrude accompanied him there and when he left her +in the hands of a lady clerk she fancied that she was +favored with somewhat unusual attention on his account. +The man seemed to be a favorite in the settlement. She +spent a tedious afternoon in the hotel parlor while he +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_91' name='page_91'></a>91</span> +went about the business that had brought him in and the +team rested. It was a relief when he reappeared in time +for supper; and after that they set out again. The sun +set before they reached the homestead, the air grew bracingly +cool, and the prairie rolled away before them, dim +and mysterious, streaked with shadowy blurs of bluffs +until a full moon rose and flooded it with silvery light. +There was strange, deep silence except for the thud of +hoofs which rose and fell in sharp staccato rhythm. +</p> +<p>Gertrude was tired when Prescott helped her down at +the homestead, but all her senses were unusually alert. +She had enjoyed what she felt had been an invigorating +day, and she admitted that, although she by no means +agreed with all the rancher said, his breezy talk had added +to its zest. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='IX_PRESCOTT_MAKES_A_PROMISE' id='IX_PRESCOTT_MAKES_A_PROMISE'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_92' name='page_92'></a>92</span> +<h2>CHAPTER IX</h2> +<h3>PRESCOTT MAKES A PROMISE</h3> +</div> + +<p>The fortnight that followed Gertrude’s drive to +Sebastian passed uneventfully, though the minds of +three of the occupants of the homestead were filled with +disturbing thoughts. Prescott spent the time working +hard at his harvest, but he wished that something might +relieve him of his guests, whose presence he found embarrassing, +since it forced him to be continually on his guard. +In spite of this, he was conscious of strong sympathy for +them and did what he could to ensure their comfort. He +was getting uneasy, for he saw that Cyril Jernyngham +had involved him in a maze of complications from which +there seemed to be no escape. It was obvious that appearances +were against him; the evidence that Curtis had obtained +pointed to his being implicated in the death of his +friend, and the painstaking corporal might discover something +more damaging. Prescott fancied that one or two +of his acquaintances who now and then rode across his +farm on different errands returned his greeting with a new +and significant coldness. +</p> +<p>Jernyngham spent much of his time at the muskeg, +encouraging the men who searched it and often assisting +in the work. The whole morass was being systematically +turned over with the spade, but no further discoveries had +been made. In addition to this, Jernyngham rode to and +fro about the prairie, talking to the farmers whom he met +on the trail or found at work in the fields. They were all +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_93' name='page_93'></a>93</span> +sorry for him, but there was something deterrent in his +sternness and his formal English manner, and they were +less communicative than they might have been. This +was why he failed to learn that the Colstons had stayed at +Prescott’s homestead, though, for that matter, the fact +was not generally known. The man could not rest; tormented +by regrets for his past harshness, he was bent on +making the only amend he could by hunting down the +slayer of his son. His whole mind was fixed on the task, +and he brooded over it in a manner that aroused his +daughter’s concern. She dreaded the effect a continuance +of the strain might have. +</p> +<p>Gertrude, however, was relieved of a more pressing +anxiety. Though her father steadfastly refused to entertain +it, she shared Prescott’s belief that her brother was +not dead. For one thing, Cyril was not the man to +come badly to grief; he had done many reckless things +and somehow escaped the worst results. Illogical as the +idea was, she felt that his luck was good. It was a +comforting reflection and she was sensible of a growing +confidence in the farmer, who encouraged her to +cling to it. +</p> +<p>One afternoon she left the house and strolled across +the harvest fields, which had greatly changed in appearance +since she had first seen them. The oats were +all stooked and stood in silvery sheaves, ready for the +thrasher; the great stretch of wheat had melted down to a +narrow oblong, round which the binders were working. +Gertrude stopped to watch them. The plodding horses, +the bent figures of the men, the play of light on falling grain, +and the revolving arms of the machines fixed her eyes; the +rustle of sheaves, the crackle of stubble, and the musical +tinkle of metal, fell pleasantly on her ears. The mornings +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_94' name='page_94'></a>94</span> +and evenings were cold now, but the days were hot and +bright, and the scene was steeped in vivid hues: ocher, +lemon, and coppery red below, dazzling blue above. +</p> +<p>Prescott drove the leading binder and when it drew +nearer she followed his movements with careful scrutiny. +She admitted that the man aroused her interest. He was +wonderfully virile, sanguine, and hopeful, with a trace of +what she thought of as the primitive strain; which tended +toward physical perfection; his vigor and muscular symmetry +had their effect on her. Though her father was a +man of means and influence, her circle of acquaintances +had been restricted by the narrowness of his views; and +the men with whom she had been brought into contact +were, for the most part, distinguished rather by unexceptional +morals and sound opinions than by bodily grace +and original thought. +</p> +<p>By disposition as well as training Gertrude was a formalist +and a prude, but she was human and she unconsciously +obeyed a law of nature which ordains the union of +the dissimilar. This was why, having met only men of her +own kind hitherto, she had escaped the touch of passion and +now felt drawn toward one who greatly differed from her. +</p> +<p>After a while Prescott stopped his binder and opened a +box attached to it. He closed it sharply, as if annoyed, +called to one of the men gathering up the sheaves, and +then walked toward the house. +</p> +<p>“Run out of twine; I’ll have to get some,” he explained +to Gertrude. +</p> +<p>“You look tired,” she said, stopping him. “You have +been working very hard.” +</p> +<p>“I don’t feel quite as bright as usual,” he confessed. +“It’s the heat, I think, but I’ve turned out at four o’clock +every morning since harvest began.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_95' name='page_95'></a>95</span></p> +<p>“Then why not take a few minutes’ rest? I’ll make +you a cup of tea; I was going in to get some ready. It’s +an English custom.” +</p> +<p>He indicated his attire. +</p> +<p>“I’d be glad, but I haven’t time to make myself +presentable.” +</p> +<p>“I’ll excuse that.” Gertrude smiled and added with +unusual boldness: “You don’t seem to know that your +dress is really most artistic. It suits you.” +</p> +<p>He bowed to her. +</p> +<p>“I’m flattered. This costume was adopted with a view +to economy and comfort. The worst of a man’s wearing +smart clothes is that whenever he wants to do anything +useful he has to take them off.” +</p> +<p>“Is that a great trouble?” +</p> +<p>“It takes a lot of valuable time,” he answered with a +smile. +</p> +<p>They turned toward the house, and after getting the +twine he joined her in a cool, shadowy room. Gertrude +was watching a silver spirit-lamp; near which two dainty +cups and plates were laid out. +</p> +<p>“That’s a very pretty outfit,” he remarked. “Is it +English?” +</p> +<p>“No; I bought it at a big store in Winnipeg—on Portage +Avenue, I think.” +</p> +<p>“I know the place. So they’re selling this kind of +thing there! It’s significant. A few years ago they’d +have got nobody to buy such truck.” He picked up a +cup and held it to the light after examining the chaste +color, design, and stamp. “Anyway, it’s English; the +genuine article. I believe the biscuit can’t be imitated.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude had not expected him to understand artistic +china. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_96' name='page_96'></a>96</span></p> +<p>“I’ve read about these things,” he explained with a +good-humored laugh; “and I’ve a way of remembering. +We have time in winter, and one is glad to study anything +that comes along. Still, I’ll allow that I found five-cent +cans quite good enough when I first came out.” +</p> +<p>This was not a point of much importance, but it fixed +Gertrude’s attention. She was in the habit of roughly +sorting people into different groups; there were, for example, +those who appreciated beautiful things and had been +endowed with them as a reward of merit, and those of +coarser nature on whom they would be wasted, which +was, no doubt, why they had none. Yet here was a man +with artistic taste, who was nevertheless engaged in hard +manual labor and had drunk contentedly out of common +cans. It did not fit in with her theories. +</p> +<p>“I suppose this country has its influence on one?” +she said, searching for an explanation. +</p> +<p>“That’s so; the influence is strong and good, on the +whole.” +</p> +<p>She considered this, quietly studying him. It was the +first time she had entertained at table a man in outdoor +working attire; Prescott, out of deference to his guests, +had made some preparation for the meals they shared. +Still, the simple dress became him; he was, as she vaguely +thought of it, admirable, in a way. His hands and wrists +were well-shaped, though scarred and roughened by the +rasp of the hot straw. The warmth of the sun seemed to +cling to his brown face; a joyous vitality emanated from +him, and he had mental gifts. She felt lightly thrilled by +his propinquity. +</p> +<p>“But everything out here is still very crude,” she said. +</p> +<p>“That’s where our strength lies; we’re a new people, +raised on virgin soil out in the rushing winds. We haven’t +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_97' name='page_97'></a>97</span> +simmered down yet; we’re charged with unexhausted +energies, which show themselves in novel ways. In our +cities you’ll find semibarbarous rawness side by side with +splendor and art, and complicated machines run by men +who haven’t much regard for the fastidious niceties of +civilization, though they’re unexcelled in their engineering +skill. We undertake big works in an unconsidered +manner that would scare your cautious English minds, +make wild blunders, and go ahead without counting the +damage. We come down pretty hard often, but it never +brings us to a stop.” +</p> +<p>He saw that she did not grasp all he meant to convey, +and he leaned back in his chair with a laugh. +</p> +<p>“This is the kind of fool talk you would expect from a +boastful Westerner, isn’t it?” +</p> +<p>“No,” she replied somewhat formally; “that isn’t what +I thought. I find everything I see and hear interesting, +but there’s much I can’t understand. One has to feel for +its meaning.” +</p> +<p>“It’s a very proper attitude,” he rejoined with amusement. +“So long as you don’t bring over a ready-made +standard to measure our shortcomings by, we’ll explain all +we can. In fact, it’s a thing we’re fond of doing.” Then +his tone grew grave. “But I haven’t seen your father +since this morning. Is he at the muskeg?” +</p> +<p>“Yes. I’m getting anxious about him; the trouble is +preying on his mind. Grief, of course, is a natural feeling, +but he thinks of nothing except revenge. He’s growing +haggard and losing his judgment. I’m almost afraid +to think what may happen if he finds anything that looks +like a clue. The shock has shaken him terribly.” +</p> +<p>“And you?” +</p> +<p>“I feel half guilty because I’ve been so calm since I +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_98' name='page_98'></a>98</span> +came here, but I can’t believe the worst. You have +reassured me.” She paused and added softly: “And +I’m very grateful.” +</p> +<p>“I’m glad.” Prescott’s tone was sympathetic. “But +I can imagine what your father feels. From a few things +he has told me, he seems to have led a smooth, well-ordered +life; no doubt he made too much of the trouble +your brother caused him.” +</p> +<p>“Yes; I think so now.” +</p> +<p>“Perhaps he half-consciously formed an idea that things +would always go tranquilly with him, and when it came +without warning the shock of Cyril’s disappearance was +too strong. And yet I firmly believe he’s mistaken in +his fears.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude made a sign of agreement. +</p> +<p>“Nothing I can say calms him. One can only wait.” +</p> +<p>“And that’s always hard,” Prescott said gently. +</p> +<p>She roused him to strong compassion. She had, +he thought, no great depth of character, but her development +had been checked by many restraints. Her father +had curbed each natural impulse, until the little originality +in her withered and died; she had grown up +cold and colorless, with narrow views, and petty, if quite +blameless, aims. Prescott, however, was wrong in crediting +Jernyngham with too great a success. Gertrude’s +nature had not been utterly repressed and stunted, and +now, in time of stress, it was expanding. +</p> +<p>Romance had come late to her, but she was dimly conscious +of it at last. Her senses were stirring and she +felt a half-guilty pleasure at seeing the bronzed rancher’s +eyes bent on her tenderly. To think of him except as +her host for a few weeks was, of course, folly; but there +was a fascination in the gentleness he showed her. She +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_99' name='page_99'></a>99</span> +was beginning to understand and sympathize with Cyril’s +rash daring and contempt for restraints. She felt +tempted to follow her impulses; her frigid reserve was +melting. +</p> +<p>“Will you have more tea?” she asked, shrinking back +to safe ground. +</p> +<p>“Thank you,” he said, holding out the dainty cup. +</p> +<p>“Hot water? It’s rather strong.” +</p> +<p>“Before I had a housekeeper we made it black and +drank it by the kettleful.” +</p> +<p>“But the effect on your nerves!” +</p> +<p>“Nerves?” he laughed. “We don’t cultivate them in +this country. Mine make no trouble.” +</p> +<p>“You’re to be envied,” she said, and looked up sharply +at a sound of footsteps as her father came in. +</p> +<p>His clothes were dusty and creased; the neatness which +had characterized him on his arrival had gone. His face +had grown brown, but it was haggard, hotly flushed, and +beaded with perspiration; his lips were tightly set, his +eyes had an ominous glitter. Throwing down a riding +quirt he carried, he sat down; resting his arms on the +table, in an attitude of blank dejection. +</p> +<p>“Nothing yet,” he said listlessly. “It’s hard to bear.” +</p> +<p>“There’s a suggestion I want to make.” Prescott +spoke quietly. “The offer of a reward here has led to +nothing; send another round to the Alberta and British +Columbia papers, with a description of your son, saying +you’ll pay a hundred dollars for trustworthy information +about him. I believe it will bring you good news.” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham turned to him in keen impatience. +</p> +<p>“It would be useless—my son is dead! The police +have proved that beyond a doubt, and I cannot understand +why you should persist in denying it!” His eyes +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_100' name='page_100'></a>100</span> +grew hard with sudden suspicion. “It looks as if you had +some motive.” +</p> +<p>“I’m afraid you’re hardly just,” Gertrude broke in. +“Mr. Prescott only wishes to lessen your anxiety, but +he’s convinced of what he says.” +</p> +<p>It was a rare thing for her to oppose him, but Jernyngham +was too preoccupied to be surprised at her boldness, +and he made a gesture of deprecation. +</p> +<p>“You must forgive me, Mr. Prescott—my daughter’s +right. But to offer me assurances that must prove false +is rank cruelty. I have faced the worst; I’m not strong +enough to bear a second blow, which is what must follow +if I listen to you. As it is, the strain is merciless.” +</p> +<p>His voice and bearing showed it. Indeed, one could +have imagined that it would have been better had he +yielded a little more, but his eyes expressed a grim, vengeful +determination. He was not the man to weaken, he +would hold out until he broke down; but his daughter +and Prescott were filled with fears for him. +</p> +<p>“I’m sorry,” said the rancher. “Has Curtis thought +of anything new?” +</p> +<p>“No,” Jernyngham answered harshly. “The police +can entertain only one idea at a time; they can read the +meaning of footprints and there their ability ends. They +have no power of organization; I can’t force them to make +investigations on a proper scale, and I’m helpless until +harvest’s over. Then, when men can be hired, I’ll have +every bluff and ravine in the country searched. If I +spend the rest of my life here, I’ll find the guilty man!” +</p> +<p>He said nothing further, and there was a strained silence +while he sat, leaning forward limply, with bent head, +and a thin hand clenched hard upon the table. Rousing +himself by and by, he took the cup of tea Gertrude passed +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_101' name='page_101'></a>101</span> +to him, and set it down without drinking. It made a +sharp clatter, but he left it setting near him as if he had +forgotten it. Unable to bear the sight of his distress, +Prescott went quietly out, and when he was leaving the +house Gertrude joined him. +</p> +<p>“Perhaps I should have stayed with him, but I was +afraid to speak,” she said. “Besides, there was nothing +to be said.” +</p> +<p>“This can’t go on,” Prescott declared. “It’s too much +for him. I can’t leave here until the harvest’s over, and +then the grain ought to be hauled in, but I’ve thought of +making a tour of inquiry along the new railroad and round +the Alberta ranches and the mines in British Columbia.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude looked grateful. +</p> +<p>“It would be a great relief to feel that something was +being done. But—” she added hesitatingly, “your time +is valuable and there would be expense. I have some +means, Mr. Prescott, and though I dare not speak to +my father about it, you must draw on me.” +</p> +<p>“We’ll talk about it later. I wish I could go now, but +that’s impossible, and there’s no use in suggesting that +Mr. Jernyngham should send somebody else. Besides, +I believe I’d have the best chance of picking up the right +trail. You won’t mind my saying that I’m very sorry +for you?” +</p> +<p>Her eyes grew soft and her whole expression gentle. +It was an attractive face Prescott looked into. +</p> +<p>“I value your sympathy,” she said softly. “Indeed, +I can’t tell you what a comfort you have been. But you +will undertake this search as soon as possible, won’t you?” +</p> +<p>“Yes,” Prescott replied firmly; “you can count on that. +If I’ve made things easier for you, I’m very glad.” +</p> +<p>Then he turned away and hurried back to the binder. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='X_A_NEW_CLUE' id='X_A_NEW_CLUE'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_102' name='page_102'></a>102</span> +<h2>CHAPTER X</h2> +<h3>A NEW CLUE</h3> +</div> + +<p>It was a clear, cool morning and Prescott was busily +engaged throwing sheaves into his wagon. He had +finished his harvest and, in accordance with western +custom, had immediately begun the thrashing. Part of +the great field was already stripped to a belt of tall +stubble, though long ranks of stooks still stretched across +the rest, and dusty men were hard at work among them. +Wagons rolled through the crackling straw—going slowly, +piled high with rustling loads; returning light, jolting +wildly, as fast as the teams could trot, for the thrashers +were paid by the bushel and would brook no delay. In +the background stood their big machine, pouring out a +cloud of smoke that stretched in a gray trail across the +prairie, and filling the air with its harsh clatter. +</p> +<p>It was a scene of strenuous activity, filled with hurriedly +moving figures, but its coloring had lost something of its +former vividness. The blue of the sky was softer, the +light less strong; the varying hues of lemon and copper +and ocher had become subdued; the shadows were no +longer darkly blue but a cool restful gray. The rushing +winds that had swept the wide plain all summer had come +to rest; the air was sharp and still. +</p> +<p>The last week or two, however, had brought no change +to the inmates of the homestead. Jernyngham still +brooded over his loss and worried the police, his daughter +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_103' name='page_103'></a>103</span> +looked to her host for comfort, and Prescott did what +he could to cheer her. Gertrude, indeed, was sensible +of a rapidly growing confidence in him and of the abandonment +of many long-held ideas. The man was not of +her station: he was a working farmer, his views at first +had jarred on her; and yet the attraction he had for her +was steadily increasing. She made a feeble fight against +it. In England she had stood on safe ground, hedged in +by conventions, ruled by the opinions of a narrow circle of +friends. Now all was different; she had lost these supports +and restraints and she was helpless without them. +Passion was beginning to touch her and she mistook the +rancher’s gentleness and sympathy. +</p> +<p>When Prescott had loaded his wagon she joined him +as he led his team between the ranks of stooks, but while +she walked by his side he thought of another Englishwoman +whom he had once brought home with the prairie +hay. He remembered how Muriel Hurst had nestled +among the yielding grass, with something delightful in +every line of her figure. He recalled her bright good-humor, +the music of her laugh, the soft tones of her +voice, the hint of courage he had seen in her eyes; and +there was pain in the recollection. Gertrude Jernyngham +was powerless to move him as Muriel had done, +but he was sorry for Cyril’s sister and very considerate +of her. +</p> +<p>“We’ll have the crop off the ground before long,” he +said. “Then I’ll start for Alberta, as I promised.” +</p> +<p>“You will be away some time?” +</p> +<p>“I’m afraid so. It’s a big province, though there are +not a great many settlements in it yet; and I may have to +cross over into British Columbia.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude looked down. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_104' name='page_104'></a>104</span></p> +<p>“It is very generous of you to go, but I shall miss you. +I shall feel as if I had lost my chief support.” +</p> +<p>“So far, I’ve done nothing but talk; and talk is cheap,” +he laughed. +</p> +<p>“You have given me courage,” she said with shy hesitation. +“And sympathy is worth a good deal.” +</p> +<p>He did not respond as she thought he might have done, +and she continued: +</p> +<p>“If my father had been less obstinate, you need not +have gone; he could have hired a professional inquiry +agent. But you had better not say anything about your +object to him—it must be a secret between us.” +</p> +<p>“Yes,” assented Prescott thoughtfully, “I guess that +would be wiser. You want to keep his mind at rest as +far as you can. Of course, there’s a big chance that I +may fail.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude turned to him with a smile. +</p> +<p>“Oh, no! You are not one to fail!” +</p> +<p>Prescott was slightly embarrassed. He had a feeling +that he was being gently led on toward a closer acquaintance +with his companion. She was dropping the +reserve she had at first displayed and seemed to invite +him tacitly into her confidence. He admitted that this +idea might be incorrect, but it had troubled him once or +twice before. +</p> +<p>“I expect you’ll be comfortable enough while I’m +away,” he said. “Mrs. Svendsen’s trustworthy, and +everything will be quiet after the harvesters have gone.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude did not answer, and they went on in silence +to the noisy separator. Perspiring men, stripped of +their heavier garments, were tossing the sheaves amid +a cloud of dust; cleaned grain poured out into open +bags, and as each was filled two panting toilers flung it +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_105' name='page_105'></a>105</span> +into a wagon. Near-by stood a great and growing pile +of bags, over which the short straw would be spread a +number of feet thick, to form a granary. Gertrude +joined her father, who was standing near the machine, +moodily looking on, and before Prescott had unloaded +his wagon Curtis rode up with Private Stanton. +</p> +<p>“Nothing new at the muskeg, sir,” he reported to +Jernyngham rather curtly, and walked his horse +toward Prescott. +</p> +<p>“We were passing,” he told him, and indicated the +pile of grain. “You’re not selling right away?” +</p> +<p>“No; I’m not ready to haul the crop in to the elevators +yet. I’ve one or two more pressing things to do.” +</p> +<p>“Mayn’t you miss a chance? Prices are pretty good.” +</p> +<p>Prescott was on his guard; he felt that Curtis suspected +him. +</p> +<p>“I don’t know,” he answered. “I guess they won’t fall +much.” +</p> +<p>“Your neighbors mean to sell, though it’s quite +likely that’s to meet their bills, and you always tried to +get in on the first of the market until this year. It +must have cost you a pile to put in that big crop.” +</p> +<p>“It did.” +</p> +<p>“Then how have you got so prosperous since last fall?” +</p> +<p>It was a pointed question, because everybody in the +district knew that Prescott had sold only a few head of +cattle and a horse or two, while he would shortly have +his accounts to meet. +</p> +<p>“It’s a matter of management,” he replied. “I’ve +been working on a different system this spring, and I +find it pays.” Then he looked steadily at the corporal, +“Besides, running Jernyngham’s place along with mine +made it easier to cut expenses.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_106' name='page_106'></a>106</span></p> +<p>“It’s a great crop. But we must be getting on.” +</p> +<p>He rode off and when they had left the stubble, +Private Stanton looked at him. +</p> +<p>“His being able to hold his wheat; which he couldn’t +do last year, is a pretty strong count against the man. +You gave him his chance for explaining and he made a +mighty bad show. Looks as if he’d got some money he +couldn’t account for since last fall.” +</p> +<p>“Not proved,” returned Curtis. “There’s something +in what he said. Anyway, he isn’t afraid of us, since +he’s putting up his grain.” +</p> +<p>“I don’t quite catch on.” +</p> +<p>Curtis smiled. +</p> +<p>“You’re young. A guilty man would have rushed +his crop into the elevators and had his money ready to +light out with. If Prescott pulls out suddenly, he’ll +have to leave his property behind.” +</p> +<p>“The thing’s between him and Wandle,” Stanton +persisted. +</p> +<p>“Looks like that. Anyway, as the Austrian’s at the +settlement, we’ll have a good look round his homestead. +It’s possible that we’ll find something.” +</p> +<p>“What made you think of searching the place again? +Anything in the last instructions you got from Regina? +You didn’t show them to me.” +</p> +<p>“That’s so. It isn’t a part of my duty to consult you, +and you’re a bit of a hustler. However, this is what I +heard—a land agent in Navarino sent for the district +sergeant; told him he’d run across a man from Sebastian +at the hotel and the fellow got talking about Jernyngham. +It was the first the land agent had heard of the matter; +but he was struck by the date on which Jernyngham disappeared, +because he’d had a deal with him three days later.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_107' name='page_107'></a>107</span></p> +<p>“That’s mighty strange. If he’s right, Jernyngham +couldn’t have been killed.” +</p> +<p>“Don’t hustle!” said Curtis. “The fellow showed +the sergeant the sale record, but he described Jernyngham +as a big, rather stout man with light hair.” +</p> +<p>“Wandle!” exclaimed Stanton. “Are you going to +arrest him?” +</p> +<p>“Not yet. We might get him sent up for fraud and +forgery, but if he had anything to do with knocking +Jernyngham out, he’ll be more likely to give us a clue of +some kind while he’s at large.” +</p> +<p>They rode on and reaching Wandle’s farm searched +the house carefully, replacing everything exactly as they +found it. They discovered nothing of importance, but +as they went out Curtis glanced at the ash and refuse +heap. +</p> +<p>“We might have thought of that earlier,” he said. +“I’ve heard of people trying to burn up things it might +be dangerous to leave about.” +</p> +<p>Setting to work with a fork and shovel, they presently +unearthed a rusty iron object which Stanton picked up. +</p> +<p>“Looks like a big meat can,” he remarked. “Kind +of curious that Wandle should double it over this way +and flatten it down.” +</p> +<p>Curtis took it from him and examined it carefully. +</p> +<p>“It isn’t a meat can; top edges are turned over a +wire—here’s a bit sticking out—and it’s had a handle. +There’s a hinge in another place. The thing has been +a box—a cash-box, I guess—one of the rubbishy kind +they sell for about a dollar.” +</p> +<p>“But what would make a man smash up his cash-box?” +</p> +<p>“I don’t know; guess it doesn’t apply. I could understand +his wanting to get rid of one that belonged to +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_108' name='page_108'></a>108</span> +somebody else, after he’d cleaned it out. Aren’t you +beginning to understand?” +</p> +<p>“Sure,” said Stanton eagerly. “The box was Jernyngham’s—we’ll +find out when he bought it at the hardware +store. Then we’ll get after Wandle.” +</p> +<p>“You hustle too much!” Curtis rebuked him, and then +sat down with knitted brows. “Now see here—in a +general way, it’s convictions we’re out for; you want to +count on your verdict before you arrest a man. It comes +to this: he’s tried first by us, and if he’s to be let off, it +saves trouble if we decide the thing, instead of leaving +it to the jury. They won’t tell you that at Regina, but, +in practise, you’ll find that a police trooper is expected +to use some judgment. Still, there are exceptions to +what I’ve said about holding back. In the interests of +justice, one might have to corral an innocent man.” +</p> +<p>“How’s that going to serve the interests of justice?” +</p> +<p>The corporal’s eyes twinkled with dry amusement. +</p> +<p>“For one thing, it might lead the fellow we were +really after to think we hadn’t struck his trail. But +that’s not the point. How much ash would you figure +Wandle takes out of his stove each time he lights it?” +</p> +<p>“About a bucketful, burning wood.” +</p> +<p>“Not quite, but there’s a bucket yonder. See how +many times you can fill it with the stuff we shoveled off, +while I take a smoke. Build up the pile to look as if we +hadn’t disturbed it.” +</p> +<p>Stanton did as he was bidden, counting each bucketful +he replaced, and then Curtis sent him to clean out the +stove and estimate the quantity of ash before he put it +back. Then he made a calculation. +</p> +<p>“Allowing for some of the ash slipping down the pile +and for our having moved a little that was there before +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_109' name='page_109'></a>109</span> +Wandle threw the cash-box in, it fixes the time he did +so pretty close to Jernyngham’s disappearance,” he remarked. +“Looks bad against the Austrian, doesn’t it?” +</p> +<p>“You have quite as much against Prescott.” +</p> +<p>“Yes,” Curtis admitted regretfully; “that’s the trouble. +It isn’t quite so easy being a policeman as folks seem to +think. Now we’ll ride along and call on the hardware +man.” +</p> +<p>They mounted and soon afterward saw a buggy +emerge from the short pines on the crest of a distant rise, +whereupon Curtis rode hard for a poplar bluff, which he +kept between himself and the vehicle. +</p> +<p>“Looks like Wandle coming back,” he said to Stanton, +who had followed him. “I can’t see any reason he +should know we’ve been prospecting round his place.” +</p> +<p>Reaching the settlement they visited the hardware +dealer, who remembered having sold Jernyngham a +small cheap cash-box about twelve months earlier. On +being shown the bent-up iron, he expressed his belief +that it was the article in question. +</p> +<p>A day or two after the corporal’s discovery, the mail-carrier +left some letters at the Prescott homestead, and +when it was getting dusk Gertrude strolled out on the +prairie, thinking of one she had received. After a while +Prescott joined her and she greeted him with a smile. +</p> +<p>“My team was looking a bit played out and the boys +will be able to keep the separator gang going as long as +they can see,” he said. +</p> +<p>“Do you feel that you have to make excuses for stopping +work, after twelve hours of it?” Gertrude asked. +</p> +<p>“Yes,” he laughed; “I do feel something of the kind. +There’s so much to do and the days are getting shorter +fast.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_110' name='page_110'></a>110</span></p> +<p>He glanced at her with appreciation. She wore a thin, +black dress made after the latest London mode, which +showed to advantage the graceful lines of her tall figure; +the Jernynghams, who seldom departed from an established +custom, changed their attire every evening. +Gertrude had on no hat, and the fading light shone into +her face. It was finely cut but cold, the features unusually +good. She was a handsome woman, but she +lacked warmth and softness. +</p> +<p>“I’m in a difficulty,” she told him. “Perhaps you can +help—you’re a man of many resources.” +</p> +<p>“I’ll be glad to do what I can.” +</p> +<p>“We are expecting a visit from three old friends of +ours who heard in America of the trouble we are in and +want to see us. What can we do with them?” +</p> +<p>“I haven’t room,” Prescott answered. “But let me +think—Leslie has quite a big house, and it’s only three +miles from here. Now that he will have got rid of the +harvesters, he might be willing to take your friends in. +He and his wife are pleasant people; but I think you +met her.” +</p> +<p>“Yes. I knew you wouldn’t fail us,” Gertrude said +gratefully. “But, after all, I feel inclined to wish they +were not coming.” +</p> +<p>There was an elusive something in her tone which did +not escape Prescott’s notice. +</p> +<p>“Why do you wish that?” he asked. +</p> +<p>“Oh,” she said, “it’s difficult to explain, but we have +got used to the mode of life here: the few people we meet +seem to understand our feelings, and we have learned to +trust them. Strangers would rather spoil it all; in a +sense, their visit would be an intrusion.” +</p> +<p>Prescott realized that this was complimentary to him. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_111' name='page_111'></a>111</span> +She had made it clear that he was not a stranger, but one +of the people she trusted. The effect was to render him +somewhat embarrassed, but Gertrude resumed: +</p> +<p>“I think we owe you a good deal. I don’t know +what we should have done had we fallen into less considerate +hands.” +</p> +<p>“I’m yours to command,” he replied; and they walked +on in silence for a while, Gertrude glancing at him unobtrusively +now and then. +</p> +<p>She did not believe her brother dead—Prescott had +reassured her; and now she felt strongly attracted by +the rancher. She had thrown off the restraints in which +she had long acquiesced; she was driven by a passion +which was rapidly overpowering her. +</p> +<p>“You don’t suggest that the Leslies should take us +all,” she said. +</p> +<p>“No,” Prescott answered gravely; “I’d rather keep +you and your father here.” +</p> +<p>“Then you’re no longer anxious to get rid of us?” +</p> +<p>He colored. +</p> +<p>“That’s true. I begin to feel I’m one of the party. +Then, you see, Leslie’s pretty talkative and agrees with +Curtis. He might have a bad effect on your father; he +might even shake your confidence.” +</p> +<p>“Oh,” she begged, “don’t labor the explanation. +You are one of the party and our friend.” +</p> +<p>Prescott bowed. +</p> +<p>“I’ll try to make that good. I’m going off to look for +your brother in a few more days, but it will cost me something +to leave the homestead now.” +</p> +<p>He had spoken the truth. Until lately the man had +been bereft of all the amenities of life, but he had now +grown to appreciate the society of cultured people; the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_112' name='page_112'></a>112</span> +task of cheering and encouraging his guests had become +familiar; he might even have been drawn to the beautiful +woman he had comforted had not his heart been filled +with the image of Muriel. +</p> +<p>“But after the summer’s hard monotonous work, a +change must be nice,” she suggested. +</p> +<p>“Yes; in a way. The trouble is that I must leave my +guests.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude’s eyes grew soft as they rested on him. +</p> +<p>“We shall miss you,” she murmured. “But you must +go and find out all you can; I’m afraid the mystery and +suspense are breaking my father down.” +</p> +<p>They walked on in silence for a while, and then +Svendsen appeared near the homestead, waving his arm. +</p> +<p>“Looks as if I were wanted,” Prescott remarked; “I +believe there’s a wagon to be fixed. Will you excuse +me? I’ll ride over and have a talk with Leslie in the +morning.” +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XI_A_REVELATION' id='XI_A_REVELATION'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_113' name='page_113'></a>113</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XI</h2> +<h3>A REVELATION</h3> +</div> + +<p>The sun had just dipped, leaving a rim of flaring +color on the edge of the vast plain, when Prescott sat +smoking on the stoop of the Leslie homestead a week +after his evening walk with Gertrude. Leslie and his +wife were simple people from Ontario, who had prospered +in the last few years. Their crops had escaped rust and +hail and autumn frost, and as a result of this, the rancher +had replaced his rude frame dwelling with a commodious +house, built, with lower walls of brick and wood above, +in a somewhat ornate style copied from the small villas +which are springing up on the outskirts of the western +towns. +</p> +<p>Leslie, an elderly, brown-faced man, sat near Prescott; +the Jernynghams, who had driven over to welcome his +friends, were inside, talking to Mrs. Leslie. +</p> +<p>“Guess you don’t know much about the English people +we’re expecting?” Leslie asked. +</p> +<p>“No,” said Prescott; “only that they’re friends of the +Jernynghams. I don’t think I’ve even heard their +names yet.” +</p> +<p>“Mrs. Leslie knows,” rejoined the farmer; “I forget +it. I feel kind of sorry now that she agreed to take them +in, but you made a point of it, and if the man’s not so +blamed stand-offish, I’ll have somebody to talk to.” +</p> +<p>“I wouldn’t talk too much about Cyril Jernyngham.” +</p> +<p>Leslie looked hard at him. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_114' name='page_114'></a>114</span></p> +<p>“There’s one point, Jack, where I can’t agree with +you—you’re the only man in this district who doesn’t +believe Jernyngham’s dead. It strikes me that you +know more about the thing than you have told anybody +yet.” +</p> +<p>“Let it go at that,” said Prescott awkwardly, “All +I could say would only bring more trouble on his people, +and they’ve had quite enough.” +</p> +<p>“Sure,” agreed Leslie, raising his hand in warning. +“Sh-h! They’re coming out.” +</p> +<p>The next moment Gertrude and her father joined the +men, and after a few words with them stood still, listening. +A long bluff, through which the trail from the settlement +led, ran close up to the homestead, cutting against the +pale green glow of the sky. For a few minutes there +was a deep silence, intensified by the musical clash of cowbells +in the distance, and then a measured, drumming +sound rose softly from behind the trees. +</p> +<p>“Guess that’s your friends,” Leslie said to Jernyngham. +“Jim’s made pretty good time.” +</p> +<p>The beat of hoofs grew nearer until the listeners could +hear the rattle of wheels. Then a light, four-wheeled +vehicle came lurching out of the bluff and Jernyngham +hurried down the steps. Prescott had entered the house +to tell Mrs. Leslie, and he came out as the driver pulled +up his team. The occupants of the wagon, which had +run a little past the door, had their backs to him, but +seeing a girl about to alight he sprang forward. Her +head was turned away from him at first, but she glanced +round when he offered to assist her; and he forgot what +the consequences of the meeting must be as he looked into +the eyes of Muriel Hurst. He was conscious of an overwhelming +delight, which showed itself in his shining +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_115' name='page_115'></a>115</span> +eyes and the warm color that suddenly flushed his face; +Gertrude Jernyngham, standing beside him, read what +was in his heart. +</p> +<p>The effect on Muriel was as marked. He had seized +her hand and as she was standing precariously poised, +ready to descend, he swung her down. Then she +recoiled from him, startled, but with strong relief in her +expression. +</p> +<p>“Cyril!” she cried in a strained voice. “Why didn’t +you write and tell us that it was all a mistake? We +heard that you were dead!” +</p> +<p>Then Prescott remembered and his heart sank, but he +strove to gather his courage, for there was a crisis to be +faced. He stood silent, with one hand clenched tight, +while Gertrude watched him with hard, unwavering eyes. +Jernyngham, however, had heard Muriel’s startled +exclamation and hurried toward her. +</p> +<p>“What’s this?” he asked harshly. “You called my +son’s name!” +</p> +<p>The girl looked at Prescott; troubled and surprised by +the confused emotions his face betrayed. There was +obviously something wrong, but she could not imagine +what it was. +</p> +<p>“Yes,” she said, “I called him Cyril. Why shouldn’t +I?” +</p> +<p>Colston and his wife joined the group, while the driver +looked on from the wagon and the Leslies from the stoop. +Prescott and the girl stood a little distance apart and +Muriel was sensible of a nervous shiver. When Prescott +had first held up his hand to her, she had seen his keen +pleasure and her heart had responded to it; now, however, +she was filled with dismay. +</p> +<p>Jernyngham answered her in curt, stern tones: +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_116' name='page_116'></a>116</span></p> +<p>“There’s one very good reason—this is not my son!” +</p> +<p>“Not Cyril!” Colston broke in. “But he made us +believe he was; he’s the man we stayed with!” He made +a puzzled gesture. “I can’t understand the thing.” +</p> +<p>“Nor I,” replied Jernyngham. “Is this the man +you wrote to us about?” +</p> +<p>“Of course!” said Colston stupidly. “I thought he +was Cyril; so did we all. We had no cause to doubt it.” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham turned in fury to the Leslies. +</p> +<p>“Who is the fellow?” he demanded. +</p> +<p>Prescott braced himself. +</p> +<p>“I’ll answer that—Jack Prescott. Mr. Colston +stayed at my homestead.” +</p> +<p>“And you personated my son? I suppose you had +some motive for doing so and must see that we are +entitled to an explanation?” +</p> +<p>“Yes,” Prescott returned quietly. “This isn’t the +place to make it. Hadn’t you better take your friends +in?” +</p> +<p>They entered the house, which was getting dark, +and while the hired man carried in the baggage Leslie +lighted a lamp in his sitting-room. It was spacious, +roughly paneled in cedar, with an uncovered floor. +There were a few chairs scattered about and a plain +pine table. Jernyngham sat by the table and the +others found seats here and there, except Prescott, who +stood quietly opposite the old man. At a curt sign from +Jernyngham, Leslie and his wife left the room. +</p> +<p>“Mr. Prescott,” Jernyngham began, “you have deceived +my friends here and I think they should remain +to hear what you have to say, but I will dismiss them +if you prefer it. You are responsible to me and I must +ask for a full account of your conduct.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_117' name='page_117'></a>117</span></p> +<p>Prescott glanced round the room, which reminded +him of a court. Gertrude Jernyngham’s eyes were +fixed on him, and there was a hardness that hinted at +cruelty in them; she looked very dignified and cold. Mrs. +Colston he could not see, but her husband seemed disturbed +and uneasy. Muriel leaned forward in her chair, +with wonder, apprehension, and pity curiously mingled +in her expression. All of them were very still, the +silence was disconcerting, but Prescott roused himself +to make what defense he could. +</p> +<p>“I passed for Cyril Jernyngham at his request,” +he said. +</p> +<p>“An extraordinary statement!” Jernyngham remarked +with ironical incredulity. “May one ask if he gave any +reasons for wishing you to do so?” +</p> +<p>Prescott hesitated, which counted against him. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said, “Cyril had got hurt in a row at the +settlement a few hours before Mr. Colston’s arrival. +His head was badly cut; he thought it might make a +bad impression.” +</p> +<p>“That doesn’t sound very convincing. Had he no +better reason?” +</p> +<p>The rancher paused to think. He would not explain +that his friend’s mode of life would not have borne a +critical examination, but he had a duty to himself and +something must be urged. +</p> +<p>“I think he meant to hide the fact that he was married. +He did not wish your friends to meet his wife.” +</p> +<p>Colston started and it was obvious that the others +were keenly interested, but Jernyngham’s face grew +darker and marked by signs of pain, for he had learned +a little about Ellice. He was struggling with an overwhelming +humiliation. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_118' name='page_118'></a>118</span></p> +<p>“We’ll let that pass,” he said. “It’s a matter that +cannot be discussed. Was Mr. Colston’s visit the only +time you personated my son?” +</p> +<p>“Certainly! Nothing would induce me to play the +part again.” +</p> +<p>“Then you will be surprised to hear that shortly +after Cyril’s disappearance a man sold some land of his +at a town farther along the line?” +</p> +<p>“I am surprised, but I believe it must have been +Cyril.” +</p> +<p>“Then his handwriting must have totally changed, +which I believe is a very unusual thing,” Jernyngham +rejoined sarcastically. “I have been shown some +documents which he is supposed to have filled in.” +</p> +<p>Prescott began to realize that appearances were +very strongly against him. He had admitted having +once impersonated his friend and it would be difficult to +convince those who had heard his confession that he had +not done so again, when there was a strong motive for it +in the price of the land. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said firmly; “if the handwriting wasn’t +Cyril’s, I can’t tell whose it was; it certainly wasn’t +mine. There’s one thing I’m convinced of—your son is +not dead.” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham looked at him; with the veins on his forehead +swollen and his face tense with anger, but he held +himself in hand. +</p> +<p>“You have said so often. I did not believe you; I do +not believe you now; but your object in making the statement +is easy to understand. I’ve no doubt you realize that +you lie open to a very ugly suspicion.” +</p> +<p>“No!” a strained voice broke in. “That is not just!” +</p> +<p>Looking up, Prescott saw that it was Muriel who had +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_119' name='page_119'></a>119</span> +spoken. Her eyes were bright with indignation and her +face was hot, but none of the others showed him any sympathy. +Colston’s face was grave and troubled, his wife’s +expressionless; Gertrude Jernyngham looked more determined +and more merciless than her father. She sat very +still, coldly watching him. +</p> +<p>“Thank you,” he said to Muriel. “It’s comforting to +find one person who does not think the worst of me.” +</p> +<p>“Silence, sir!” Jernyngham exclaimed with the air of a +judge rebuking a prisoner of whose guilt he is convinced. +“You cannot be permitted to speak to this lady.” +</p> +<p>“I think that is a point for Mrs. Colston to decide, but +we’ll let it drop. Out of consideration for you, I’ve +answered your questions; but you have gone too far, and +this must end.” Prescott’s expression grew as stern as +the old man’s and he looked about with pride. “I tell +you it must stop! What right have you to fling these +infamous hints at me?” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham broke into a harsh laugh. +</p> +<p>“The part of an innocent man is too much for you to +play; we won’t force you into it. It will be a favor if you +will have our baggage sent across here; needless to say, +neither my daughter nor I can re-enter your house.” +Then his self-control deserted him and he broke out in +hot fury: “I firmly believe you are the man who killed +my son, and you shall not escape!” +</p> +<p>“I think,” said Colston quietly, “that is going too far.” +</p> +<p>Making no answer, Prescott left them; and he was +harnessing his horse outside when, somewhat to his astonishment, +Muriel came toward him. A half-moon +hung low above the bluff and the silvery light shone into +her face, showing her warmth of color and the sparkle in +her eyes. He thought she looked wonderfully attractive +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_120' name='page_120'></a>120</span> +and his heart throbbed faster, but he knew he must hold +himself in hand. +</p> +<p>“Hadn’t you better go back?” he asked. “You have +heard what your friends think of me.” +</p> +<p>“What does that matter?” she exclaimed with feeling. +“I’m very angry with them. I can’t let you go without +saying that I know you could not have done what you +have been wickedly accused of.” +</p> +<p>“I’m glad. Thank you. It’s a big relief to feel that +you believe in me. So long as I have that assurance +nothing else counts.” +</p> +<p>“Harry Colston’s not convinced; I believe he’s trying to +keep an open mind.” +</p> +<p>“Is that so?” said Prescott. “I don’t expect much +from him. He’s the kind of man who’s guided by appearances +and seldom does anything out of the common.” +</p> +<p>Muriel disregarded this. +</p> +<p>“But you were very foolish in deceiving us. I can’t +understand yet why you did so.” +</p> +<p>“I can only tell you that it was for Cyril’s sake.” +</p> +<p>“Oh,” she cried, “it could not have been because of +any benefit that you would get! That would never have +tempted you.” +</p> +<p>He read unshaken confidence in her eyes and it cost him +a stern effort to refrain from reckless speech. Muriel +was beautiful, but that was not all: she was generous and +fearless, a loyal friend and a staunch partizan. +</p> +<p>“Well,” Prescott confessed, “when I explained, I was +more afraid of you than of Jernyngham. I wanted to +keep your good opinion, and I wondered whether you had +only given it to me because you thought I was Cyril +Jernyngham. From your friends’ point of view Jack +Prescott is a very different kind of person.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_121' name='page_121'></a>121</span></p> +<p>Muriel blushed. +</p> +<p>“Is it unpardonable that I was angry when I first found +out the mistake? Try to imagine with what ideas I have +been brought up. But the feeling left me when I saw +how merciless Jernyngham was; his hard words turned +it into sympathy.” +</p> +<p>“That is something to be thankful for, though it doesn’t +content me. I think you would be sorry for any one, even +an enemy, who was in trouble and getting hurt.” +</p> +<p>She grasped his meaning and looked at him steadily +with an air of pride. +</p> +<p>“Then must I tell you that I have as much faith in +Jack Prescott as I had in the man whom I supposed to be +Cyril Jernyngham? But you must justify my confidence. +You have been wrongly and cruelly accused; don’t you +see the duty that lies on you?” +</p> +<p>“Yes,” Prescott answered gravely; “I have to clear myself. +If there were no other reason than the one you have +given, it would have to be done. It’s going to be a tough +proposition, but I’ll get about it very soon.” +</p> +<p>“You know that I wish you all success,” she told him +softly. +</p> +<p>Then she held out her hand and turned away. When +she had gone Prescott went on with his work and after +buckling the last strap he found that he had forgotten a +parcel Mrs. Leslie had asked him to deliver. Hurrying +back to the house for it, he met Gertrude Jernyngham in +the hall and she stopped where the light fell on her, instead +of avoiding him as he had expected. There was +suspicion in her eyes. +</p> +<p>“I see you agree with your father,” he said boldly. +</p> +<p>“Yes,” she replied in a scornful tone. “You can pose +rather cleverly—you tricked me into trusting you, but +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_122' name='page_122'></a>122</span> +your ability is limited, after all. When the strain comes, +you break down. Could anything have been feebler than +the defense you made?” +</p> +<p>“It was pretty lame, but every word was true.” +</p> +<p>“Oh,” she cried with disgust and impatience, “one +wouldn’t expect you to say it was false! You don’t seem +to have anything more convincing to add.” +</p> +<p>“I’m going to add nothing. It isn’t very long since +you were willing to take my word.” +</p> +<p>“I’m afraid I was easily deceived,” Gertrude said bitterly. +“I didn’t know you had twice passed yourself off +as my brother, and you can’t complain if we see an obvious +motive for your doing so the second time.” +</p> +<p>“You mean that I stole the price of Cyril’s land?” +Prescott asked sternly. +</p> +<p>“Yes,” she said, watching him with cruel eyes. “That, +however, is not the worst.” She struggled with rising +passion before she resumed: “I believe——” +</p> +<p>Prescott raised his hand commandingly. +</p> +<p>“Stop! I’m going away to find your brother.” +</p> +<p>“One can understand your going away!” she flung +back at him as she passed on down the hall. +</p> +<p>Prescott drove home at a reckless pace. Facing the +situation boldly, he recognized that the outlook was very +dark. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XII_PRESCOTT_S_FLIGHT' id='XII_PRESCOTT_S_FLIGHT'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_123' name='page_123'></a>123</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XII</h2> +<h3>PRESCOTT’S FLIGHT</h3> +</div> + +<p>Two days after the arrival of the Colstons, Gertrude +Jernyngham walked down the trail from the Leslie +homestead in a very bitter mood. During the last few +weeks her cold nature had kindled into sudden warmth; +love had most unexpectedly crept into her heart. +At first she had struggled against and been ashamed of +it, for its object was a man beneath her in rank and of +widely different mode of thought; but by degrees the +judgment she had hitherto exercised had given place to +passion. After the narrow, conventional life she had led, +there was a strange exhilaration and excitement in yielding +to her impulses; the virility of Prescott’s character and +his physical perfection stirred her. She desired him and +had boldly used such charms as she possessed in his +subjugation. Misled by his gentleness, she imagined him +responsive, and then Muriel had appeared on the scene +and the truth was plain to her when she saw his face +light up at sight of the girl. She had read warm love +in his eager glance. +</p> +<p>Now Gertrude was crushed and humbled. She had +cheapened herself, as she thought of it, to this rancher, +only to find that he preferred another. Her punishment +was severe, but she felt that it was deserved, and her +ripening passion had turned to something very much like +hate. Whether he had really had any hand in her +brother’s death was a point she would not calmly reason +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_124' name='page_124'></a>124</span> +out, though she had a half-conscious feeling that he could +not be charged with this. She wanted to think him base: +to believe in his guilt would be an excuse for making him +suffer. +</p> +<p>While she walked, she cast quick glances across the +waste of grass, looking for a mounted figure that did not +appear, until at last she turned with a start at the sound +of footsteps as Muriel came up. +</p> +<p>“I saw you alone and thought I would join you,” +Muriel said. +</p> +<p>“It’s a relief to be by oneself now and then,” Gertrude +answered with curt ungraciousness. +</p> +<p>“One can understand that. I tried to give Harry a +hint that our visit might be an intrusion, when he talked +of joining your father; but he thought it would be some +comfort for you to have your friends about you.” +</p> +<p>“He was some time in putting his idea into practise.” +</p> +<p>“We started as soon as we heard of your trouble,” +said Muriel. “We were in Mexico then, and as we had +moved about a good deal there was some delay in our +letters. Has your father decided to stay with the +Leslies?” +</p> +<p>“Yes, for a while. It was, of course, impossible for +us to remain with Mr. Prescott.” +</p> +<p>“Why could you not?” Muriel asked with sparkling +eyes. +</p> +<p>“Isn’t it obvious, after what you heard the man +admit?” +</p> +<p>Muriel stopped, the color creeping into her face, which +was filled with anger. +</p> +<p>“It’s impossible that Mr. Prescott could have had any +connection with Cyril’s disappearance. It’s wicked and +cruel to suspect him!” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_125' name='page_125'></a>125</span></p> +<p>“You seem strangely convinced of his innocence,” +Gertrude retorted with a somber glance at her. “We +shall see by and by whether you or my father is right.” +</p> +<p>They walked on slowly, and shortly afterward two +mounted figures appeared on the plain. Gertrude +watched them draw near, and then turned to her +companion. +</p> +<p>“The police; we have been expecting them,” she said. +“My father sent a message to the corporal after Prescott +had gone.” +</p> +<p>“Then he will be deeply ashamed of his harshness before +long,” Muriel declared as she abruptly moved away. +</p> +<p>Gertrude let her go with a cruel smile. She thought +she knew how matters stood, and if the girl were suffering, +she had no pity for her. Then she waited until the police +trotted by, and afterward walked slowly toward the house. +On reaching it, she met Curtis coming out and he asked +for a word with her. +</p> +<p>“I understand you were the last person to see Prescott +when he left this place the other night,” he said. +</p> +<p>Gertrude admitted it, watching the man. He looked +disturbed, as if he did not know what to think. Private +Stanton was sitting in his saddle with an expressionless +face a few yards away, but she imagined it was intended +that he should hear her answers. +</p> +<p>“Well,” Curtis resumed, “I have to ask what he said +to you; anyway, so far as it bears on the business we have +in hand. You know why I was sent for?” +</p> +<p>Gertrude hesitated. She was very angry with Prescott, +and there was a statement he had made which would +prove damaging to him if she repeated part of it without +the rest. She shrank from this course, but her rancor +against the man suddenly grew too strong for her. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_126' name='page_126'></a>126</span></p> +<p>“I suppose I must answer that?” +</p> +<p>“It’s your duty.” +</p> +<p>“Then,” she said in a strained voice, “Mr. Prescott +told me he was going away.” +</p> +<p>“Going away!” Curtis looked astonished. “I guess +you realize that this is a serious matter. Did he mention +when?” +</p> +<p>“I understood it would be very soon.” Gertrude looked +at the man haughtily. “That is all I have to tell.” +</p> +<p>She went into the house, feeling that she had said +enough, and Curtis motioned to his companion and rode +away. They had gone some distance when Stanton +turned to his superior. +</p> +<p>“Pretty significant. What are you going to do about +it?” he asked. +</p> +<p>“I’ll have to apply for a warrant.” +</p> +<p>“You certainly will.” +</p> +<p>“Well,” Curtis went on, “this thing isn’t quite so simple +as it seems. To begin with, it’s my idea that Miss +Jernyngham hasn’t told us all she knows; you want to +remember that Prescott’s a good-looking fellow with a +taking manner. I can see complications, though I +can’t get the right drift of them.” +</p> +<p>“Guess the matter will be worse mussed up if Prescott +lights out. Now that Bardsley’s gone down the line, +you can’t get your warrant for a day or two.” +</p> +<p>“That’s so,” Curtis agreed. “I’ll make for the +settlement and wire Bardsley and our bosses at Regina; +you’ll ride on and keep Prescott in sight—though it +would be better if you didn’t let him know you were +watching him. When he clears, take the trail behind +him and send back word to Sebastian. Soon as I get +the warrant or instructions, I’ll come after you.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_127' name='page_127'></a>127</span></p> +<p>They separated and some time later Stanton took +up his station in a bluff which commanded a view +of the Prescott homestead. Lying hidden with his +horse, he saw the rancher drive up and disappear +within the house. Prescott had been very busy during +the past two days and had found strenuous application +something of a relief. He recognized that suspicion +was centering on him and that he might expect a visit +from the police, but the only way of proving his innocence +that he could see was to produce his supposed victim. +He foresaw that it might take a long while to find the +man, and he must make preparations for a lengthy +absence. The risk he ran in remaining until he had +completed them was grave, but there was a vein of dogged +persistency in him and he would not go before he was +ready. +</p> +<p>He had, however, other matters to think of. Miss +Jernyngham had turned against him; after the confidence +she had expressed, he could not understand why +she had done so. Muriel Hurst, however, still believed +in him, which was a comforting thought, though he +would not permit himself to dwell on it. He loved the +girl, but it seemed impossible that she should marry him. +There was so much against this: the mode of life to which +she had been accustomed, his obscure position, the +prejudices of her relations. He blamed himself for not +struggling more determinedly against the charm she +had exerted on him; but it was too late to regret this now. +He must bear his trouble and try to think of her as seldom +as possible, which would be the easier, inasmuch as +the work that waited him would demand his close +attention. As soon as it grew dark that evening, he must +set off on his search for Cyril Jernyngham. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_128' name='page_128'></a>128</span></p> +<p>Dusk was falling when he rode away from the homestead +with a couple of blankets and provisions for a +few days strapped to his saddle. Though he could +trust Svendsen to look after things in his absence, he +was anxious and dejected, and it was with keen regret +that he cast a last glance across the sweep of shadowy +stubble toward the lighted windows of the house. All +he saw belonged to him; he had by patient labor in frost +and scorching sun built up the farm, and he was conscious +of a strong love for it. It was hard to go away, an +outcast, branded with black suspicion, leaving the place +in another’s charge; but there was no remedy. +</p> +<p>The sky was faintly clouded, the moon, which was +near its setting, obscured; the prairie ran back, dim +and blurred; the air was keen and still. Prescott thought +he heard a soft beat of hoofs behind him. He could, +however, see nobody, and he rode on faster, heading for +the house of a neighbor with whom he had some business, +near the trail to the settlement. After a while he pulled +up, and listening carefully heard the sound again. It +looked as if he were being followed and he thought +that if the police were on his trail, they would expect +him to make for the American frontier, and to do that +he must pass through or near Sebastian. If they believed +this was his object, it might save him trouble, for +he meant to ride north in search of Jernyngham after +calling at the farm. +</p> +<p>Checking his horse, he rode on without haste until it +became obvious that the man behind was drawing up, +then he set off at a gallop. Behind the farm he meant to +visit lay a belt of broken ground, marked by scrub and +scattered bluffs, where it should not be difficult to evade +his pursuer. The staccato thud of the gallop would ring +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_129' name='page_129'></a>129</span> +far through the still, night air, but this was of no consequence; +he was some distance ahead and his horse was +fresh and powerful. In a few minutes he believed that +he was gaining and when he rode into sight of the little +wooden house, which showed up black against the sky +with one dim light in it, he was seized by a new idea. A +horse stood outside the door, and he supposed the rancher +had just returned. The man was a friend of Prescott’s +and believed in his innocence. +</p> +<p>“Larry,” he cried as he rode up, and added when a +shadowy figure came out: “You can send along your +teams and do that breaking we were speaking of. Svendsen +will pay you when you’re through with it. I’m off to +the north.” +</p> +<p>“Ah!” exclaimed the other sharply. “I guess I know +what you’re after. It strikes me you should have gone +before.” +</p> +<p>He paused with a lifted hand as he heard the drumming +of hoofs, and Prescott laughed. +</p> +<p>“That’s so. I believe you’ll have a police trooper +here in the next few minutes. Your horse is still +saddled?” +</p> +<p>“Yes; I’ve just come back from Gillom’s.” +</p> +<p>“Then get up and ride for the settlement. Mail an +order for some harness or anything useful to Regina by the +night train, when you get there; you can let Svendsen have +the bill. You had better go pretty fast and keep ahead +of the trooper as long as you can. I guess you understand.” +</p> +<p>“Sure,” grinned the other, and getting into the saddle, +rode away at a smart trot, while Prescott dismounted and +led his horse quietly toward the nearest bluff. +</p> +<p>On reaching it he stopped and, listening carefully, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_130' name='page_130'></a>130</span> +heard the rancher riding down the trail to Sebastian, and +another beat of hoofs that grew rapidly louder. By and +by he made out a dim mounted figure that pressed on +fast across the shadowy waste, and for a few anxious +moments wondered whether the policeman would call at +the house and discover its owner’s absence. He passed +on, however, and was presently lost in the darkness. +When the drumming of his horse’s hoofs gradually died +away, Prescott mounted and rode hard toward the north. +It would, he thought, be an hour or two before the trooper +found out his mistake; the rancher would not betray +him, and there was a prospect of his getting clear away. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XIII_THE_CONSTRUCTION_CAMP' id='XIII_THE_CONSTRUCTION_CAMP'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_131' name='page_131'></a>131</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XIII</h2> +<h3>THE CONSTRUCTION CAMP</h3> +</div> + +<p>The light was fading when Prescott walked into sight +of the construction camp. It was situated on the +edge of a belt of a muskeg sprinkled with birches and +small pines, where the new railroad, leaving the open +country to the south, ran up toward the great coniferous +forest that fringes the northern portion of the prairie. +Prescott had sold his horse at a lonely farm and he was +now tired and hungry, but he felt satisfied that he was +on the right track and had succeeded in eluding the +police. Curtis and Private Stanton were men of fixed +ideas; believing Jernyngham to be dead, they had, no +doubt, merely made a few perfunctory inquiries at the +nearest railroad camps. Moreover, as they had reason +for concluding that Prescott would seek refuge across +the American boundary, they would concentrate their +efforts on looking for him there. Accordingly, he felt +safe from pursuit. +</p> +<p>By and by he stopped to look about. To the eastward +all was gray, a dim waste of grass dotted with +shadowy trees; but a vivid band of green still glowed on +the western horizon. In front lay a broad shallow basin, +streaked with filmy trails of mist, between which came +the wan gleam of little pools. A causeway stretched out +into the morass, sprinkled with the indistinct figures of +toiling men. At its inner end, where it left the higher +ground, a row of cars stood on a side-track, and near-by +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_132' name='page_132'></a>132</span> +there were ranged straggling lines of tents and wooden +shacks. Wisps of blue smoke drifted across the swamp, +and a beam of strong white light streamed out from the +electric head-lamp of a locomotive. The still air was +filled with the clink of shovels, the clang of flung-down +rails, and the sharp rattle of falling gravel. +</p> +<p>Going on until he reached the camp, Prescott stopped +beside a group of men sitting about a fire, and loosed +the heavy pack that galled his shoulders. +</p> +<p>“If you can give me a place to lie down and a bit of +supper, boys, I’d be obliged,” he said. +</p> +<p>Two or three of them turned and looked at him +without much curiosity. They were strong, brown-faced +fellows, dressed in old duck overalls and slate-colored +shirts, with shapeless hats and dilapidated +knee-boots. +</p> +<p>“Why, certainly,” responded one in a clean English +intonation. “However, as we’re paying for our board, +we’ll have to invite you as the guest of the construction +contractor; but there’s no reason you should be shy +about accepting his hospitality. Sit down until Shan Li +brings the grub along.” +</p> +<p>“Here’s a place,” said another. “Want a job?” +</p> +<p>“I don’t know yet,” Prescott answered. “I’m looking +for a friend of mine: man of middle height, with pale-blue +eyes and a curious twinkling smile. He was wearing a +green shirt of finer stuff than they generally sell at the +settlements when I last saw him, and I expect he’d have +a fresh scar on his head.” +</p> +<p>There was signs of interest and amusement which +suggested that Prescott was on the right track. +</p> +<p>“Did he call himself Kermode?” one of the men +asked. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_133' name='page_133'></a>133</span></p> +<p>Prescott hesitated. It was possible that some of them +had heard of the Jernyngham affair, and he had no wish +that they should connect him with it. While he considered +his answer, the man with the English accent +broke in: +</p> +<p>“We needn’t trouble about the point. One name’s as +good as another, as our friend Kermode, who seems to +have been a bit of philosopher, remarked when they put +him on the pay-roll.” +</p> +<p>“When I was back at Nelson a smart policeman rode +into the camp,” said another of the group. “Wanted to +know if we had seen the man you’re asking for; gave us +quite a good description of him. Anyway, I hadn’t seen +him then, and when I struck him afterward I didn’t +send word to the police. I’ve no use for those fellows; +they’re best left alone.” +</p> +<p>“Then you know him?” Prescott exclaimed eagerly. +</p> +<p>The man looked at his comrades and there was a laugh. +</p> +<p>“Oh, yes,” said one of them; “we know him all right. +Glad to meet a man who’s a friend of his; but if you +expect a job here, you don’t want to mention it. If +another fellow of that kind comes along, the boss will +get after him with a gun.” +</p> +<p>“Kermode,” the Englishman explained, “is a man of +happy and original thoughts. I believe I might say he +is unique.” +</p> +<p>The conversation was interrupted by a steadily increasing +rattle, and a great light that moved swiftly blazed +on the camp. It faded as a ballast-train rolled out upon +the bank which traversed the swamp, with a swarm of +indistinct figures clinging to the low cars. When it +stopped, the sides of the cars fell outward, a big plow +moved forward from one to another, and broken rock +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_134' name='page_134'></a>134</span> +and gravel, pouring off, went crashing and rattling down +the slope. The noise it made rang harshly through the +stillness of the evening, and when it ceased a whistle +screamed and the clangor of the wheels began again. As +the engine backed the train away, the blaze of the head-lamp +fell on an object lying half buried in the muskeg +about sixty feet below the line, and one of the men, +pointing to it, touched Prescott’s arm. +</p> +<p>“See what that is?” he said. +</p> +<p>Prescott saw that it was what the railroad builders call +a steel dump: a metal wagon capable of carrying thirty +or forty tons of ballast, with an automatic arrangement +for throwing out its load. +</p> +<p>“How did it get there?” he asked. +</p> +<p>“Tell you after supper,” said the fellow. “They’re +bringing it along.” +</p> +<p>A whistle blew and Prescott followed his companions +into a shed built of railroad ties and galvanized iron. +It was lighted by kerosene lamps which diffused an +unpleasant odor, and fitted with rude tables and benches; +but the meal laid out in it was bountiful and varied: pork, +hard steak, fish from the lakes, potatoes, desiccated fruits, +and tea. The shovel-gang paid six dollars a week for +their board and got good value. As usual, most of them +were satisfied in fifteen minutes, for in the West the rank +and file eat with determined haste, and when they trooped +out Prescott went back with his new friends to the fire. +Taking out his pipe, he made himself as comfortable as +possible on a pile of gravel and, tired with a long day’s +march, looked lazily about. The strong light still blazed +along the bank where hurrying men passed through the +stream of radiance, vanished into the shadows, and appeared +again. There was a continuous rattling and +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_135' name='page_135'></a>135</span> +clinking and roar of falling stones; rails rang as they were +moved, and now and then hoarse orders came out of the +darkness. +</p> +<p>After Prescott had asked a few leading questions, the +men began to talk of Kermode, who had already left the +camp, and the rancher was able to put together the story +of his doings there. +</p> +<hr class='tb' /> + +<p>The muskeg was an unusually bad one. It swallowed +the rock the men dumped in; logs, brush, and branches +afforded no foundation, and a long time elapsed before +the engineers were satisfied about the base of the embankment. +The weather remained unusually hot until late +in the fall, and the contractor, already behind time and +anxious to make progress before the frost interfered with +his work, developed a virulent temper. His construction +foreman drove the men mercilessly, spurring on the laggards +with scathing words and occasionally using a heavy +fist when they showed resentment. The laborers’ nerves +were worn raw, their strength was exhausted; but the +muskeg must be filled and, while carload after carload +of rock and gravel was hurled down, the line crept on. +</p> +<p>Things were in this state when Kermode reached the +camp and, on applying for work, was given a shovel and +made to use it in a strenuous fashion. It appeared that +he was not expert with the tool and the foreman’s most +pointed remarks were generally addressed to him, but he +had a humorous manner which gained him friends. Once +or twice, to his comrades’ admiration, he engaged his +persecutor in a wordy contest and badly routed him, which +did not improve matters. Indeed, his last victory proved +a costly one, because afterward when there was anything +particularly unpleasant or dangerous to be done, Kermode +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_136' name='page_136'></a>136</span> +was selected. As it happened, the risks that must be +faced were numerous. +</p> +<p>Kermode stood it for some weeks, though he grew thin +and his hands were often bleeding. In spite of this, his +eyes still twinkled mischievously and, when occasion +demanded, his retort was swift and edged with wit. Now +and then he made reprisals, for when, as happened once +or twice, a load of gravel nearly swept the foreman down +the bank, Kermode was engaged in the vicinity. Another +time, the bullying martinet was forced to jump into the +muskeg, where he sank to the waist, in order to avoid a +mass of ballast sent down before its descent was looked +for. +</p> +<p>There was a difference of opinion about the cause of +Kermode’s holding out. Some of his comrades said he +must have meant to wait for the arrival of the pay car, so +as to draw his wages before he left; others declared that +this did not count with him, and he stayed because he +would not be driven out. The Englishman took the latter +view for, as he told Prescott, Kermode once said to him, +“I want the opposition to remember me when I quit.” +</p> +<p>By degrees the foreman’s gibes grew less frequent. +Kermode was more than a match for him, and his barbed +replies were repeated with laughter about the camp; but +his oppressor now relied on galling commands which +could not be disobeyed. Kermode’s companions sympathized +with him, and waited for the inevitable rupture, +which they thought would take a dramatic shape. At +length two big steel dump cars were sent up from the east +and run backward and forward between the muskeg and a +distant cutting where they were filled with broken rock. +This was deposited in places where the embankment +needed the most reinforcing, but after a while the foreman +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_137' name='page_137'></a>137</span> +decided that the locomotive of the gravel train need not +be detained to move the cars. They could, he said, be +pushed by hand, and nobody was surprised when Kermode +was among the men chosen for the task. +</p> +<p>Though the nights were getting cold, the days were +still very hot, and those engaged in it found the work of +propelling a steel car carrying about thirty tons of stone +over rails laid roughly on a slight upward grade remarkably +arduous. This, however, did not content the foreman. +He took two men away; and when those whom he +left had been worked to exhaustion, he changed them, +with the exception of Kermode, who was kept steadily +at the task. As a result, he came to be looked on as +leader of the gang, and his companions took their instructions +from him, which the foreman concurred in, because +it enabled him to hold Kermode responsible for everything +that went wrong. +</p> +<p>Then the pay car arrived, and when wages were drawn, +the men awaited developments with interest; but nothing +unusual occurred until a week had passed. Kermode had +had his hand crushed by a heavy stone and meant to rest +it for a day or two, but his persecutor drove him out to +work. He obeyed with suspicious meekness and toiled +in the scorching sun all day; but a few minutes before +the signal to stop in the evening for which they were +eagerly waiting, the gang was ordered to run a loaded +dump car to the end of the line. The men were worn +out, short in temper, and dripping with perspiration. +Kermode’s hand pained him and in trying to save it he +had strained his shoulder; but he encouraged the others, +and they slowly pushed the load along, moving it a yard +or two, and stopping for breath. The men on the bank +were dawdling through the last few minutes, waiting to +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_138' name='page_138'></a>138</span> +lay down their tools, and they offered the gang their +sympathy as they passed. Then there was a change in +their attitude as the foreman strode up the track. +</p> +<p>“Shove!” he ordered. “Get a move on! You have +to dump that rock before you quit.” +</p> +<p>They were ready to turn on him and Kermode’s eyes +flashed; but he spoke quietly to his men: +</p> +<p>“Push!” +</p> +<p>A few more yards were covered, the foreman walking +beside the gang until they stopped for breath. +</p> +<p>“Get on!” he cried. “Send her along, you slobs!” +</p> +<p>“We’re pretty near the top of the grade,” Kermode +answered him quietly. “We want to go easy, so +as to stop her at the dumping-place.” +</p> +<p>The line, when finished, would cross the muskeg with +a slight ascent; but the bank sank as they worked at it, +and the track now led downhill toward its end. The +foreman failed to remember this in his vicious mood. +</p> +<p>“Are you going to call me down?” he roared. “Mean +to teach me my job? If this crowd’s a sample of white +men, give me Chinamen or niggers! Get on before you +make me sick, you slouching hogs!” +</p> +<p>He became more insulting, using terms unbearable +even in a construction camp, but Kermode did not +answer him. +</p> +<p>“Keep her going, boys,” he said. +</p> +<p>They made another few yards, gasping, panting, with +dripping faces; and then the work grew easier as they +crossed the top of the ascent. +</p> +<p>“Push!” said Kermode. “Send her along!” +</p> +<p>They looked at him in surprise. It was getting dark, +but they could still see his face, which was quietly resolute; +he evidently meant what he said, and they obeyed him. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_139' name='page_139'></a>139</span> +The big car began to move more freely, and they waited +for an order to slacken the pace; but their leader seemed +to be increasing his exertions and his eyes gleamed. +</p> +<p>“He told us to push, boys!” he reminded them. “Rush +her ahead!” +</p> +<p>Then comprehension dawned on them. The foreman +had dropped behind, satisfied, perhaps, with bullying +them, but every man taxed his tired muscles for a last +effort. The wheels turned faster, the men broke into a +run, and none of them was astonished when a warning +cry rose behind them. +</p> +<p>“Go on!” shouted Kermode. “He’ll hold me responsible! +You know what to do!” +</p> +<p>Men along the line called to them as they passed, and +they answered with a breathless yell. The car was +gathering speed, and they kept it going. There were +further warnings, but they held on, until Kermode +raised his voice harshly: +</p> +<p>“A good shove, boys, and let her go!” +</p> +<p>They stopped, exhausted, but the dump rolled on +with its heavy load of rock, struck the guard-beams at +the end of the track and smashed through them. Then +with a crash and a roar the big steel car plunged down +the slope, plowing up the gravel, hurling out massive +stones. A cloud of dust leaped about it; there was a +shrill ringing sound as an axle broke, a last downward +leap, and with a mighty splash the dump came to rest, +half buried, in the muskeg. +</p> +<p>Kermode turned with a cheerful smile as the foreman +ran up; and the spectators knew that the time for words +had passed. Nobody could remember who struck the +first blow, but Kermode’s left hand was injured, and he +clinched as soon as he could. For a few minutes the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_140' name='page_140'></a>140</span> +men reeled about the track; and then with a tense effort +Kermode pushed the foreman off the bank and went +down with him. The gravel was small and slippery, +lying at a steep slope, and they rolled down, still grappling +with each other, until there was a splash below. A few +moments later Kermode painfully climbed the bank alone. +</p> +<p>“I guess you had better go down and pull your boss +out,” he said. “It’s pretty soft in the muskeg; I believe +he got his head in, and by the way he’s floundering it +looks as if he couldn’t see.” He paused and waved his +hand in genial farewell. “Good-night, boys! I’m +sorry I have to leave you; but considering everything, +I think I’ll take the trail.” +</p> +<p>Then he turned and moved down the track, vanishing +into the growing darkness. +</p> +<hr class='tb' /> + +<p>When the tale was finished, Prescott sat a while, +smoking thoughtfully. He imagined that he had struck +Jernyngham’s trail; all that he had heard was characteristic +of the man. +</p> +<p>“Do you know where Kermode went?” he asked. +</p> +<p>“No. Guess he might have headed for a camp farther +west; I’ve heard they’re short of men.” +</p> +<p>Prescott thought this probable and determined to +resume his search in the morning. Presently the gravel +train came back and the stream of light from the head-lamp, +blazing along the embankment, rested on the half-buried +dump. Then there was a roar as the plow flung +the load off the cars, and in the silence that followed one +of the men got up. +</p> +<p>“Morning will come soon enough; I guess it’s time +for sleep,” he said. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XIV_ON_THE_TRAIL' id='XIV_ON_THE_TRAIL'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_141' name='page_141'></a>141</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XIV</h2> +<h3>ON THE TRAIL</h3> +</div> + +<p>When Prescott got up the next morning, dawn +was breaking across the muskeg. There was +frost in the air, the freight-cars on the side-track and the +roofs of the shacks were white, and a nipping breeze +swept through the camp. It was already filled with +sounds of activity—hoarse voices, heavy footsteps, the +tolling of a locomotive bell, and the rattle of wheels—and +Prescott’s new friends were eating in a neighboring shed. +Going in, he was supplied with breakfast, and when he +left the table the Englishman joined him. +</p> +<p>“Have you made up your mind whether you want a +job or not?” he asked. +</p> +<p>Prescott said he thought he would push on, and the +man looked at him deprecatingly. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said, “we don’t want to appear inhospitable, +but as things are run here, you’re the guest of the boss, +and since he didn’t give the invitation, there might be +trouble if he noticed you.” +</p> +<p>“As it happens, I want to get hold of Kermode as soon +as I can,” Prescott answered. +</p> +<p>“You shouldn’t have much difficulty in finding him. +It’s hardly possible for a man of his gifts to go through +the country without leaving a plain trail behind.” +</p> +<p>Prescott agreed with this. He had not much doubt of +Kermode’s identity, and he thought his missing friend +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_142' name='page_142'></a>142</span> +would give any acquaintances he made on his travels +cause to remember him. +</p> +<p>“There’s a construction train starting west in about +half an hour,” resumed the railroad hand. “If you get +on board with the boys, it will look as if you belonged +to the gang.” +</p> +<p>Daylight had come when Prescott clambered up on +one of the long flat cars loaded with rails and ties, and in +a few minutes the train started. It followed what was +called a cut-out line, which worked round the muskeg +and back to the main track through a country too difficult +for the latter to traverse; and for a while Prescott’s interest +was occupied by its progress. Groups of men in +brown overalls were seated on the rails, which clanged +musically in rude harmony with the clatter of the wheels. +A sooty cloud streamed back above them, now and then +blotting out the clusters of figures; the cars swayed and +shook, and in view of the roughness of the line Prescott +admired the nerve of the engineer. +</p> +<p>The wind that whipped his face was cold and pierced +the blanket he had flung over his shoulders; but the sunshine +was growing brighter and the mist in the hollows +was rapidly vanishing. As a rule, the depressions were +swampy, and as they sped across them Prescott could +see the huge locomotive rocking, while the rails, which +were spiked to ties thrown down on brush, sank beneath +the weight and sprang up again as the cars jolted by. +As they rushed down tortuous declivities, the cars +banged and canted round the curves, while Prescott held +on tight, his feet braced against a rail. It was better +when they joined the graded track, and toward noon he +was given a meal with the others at a camp where a +bridge was being strengthened. When they started +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_143' name='page_143'></a>143</span> +again, he lay down in his blanket where the sunshine +fell upon him and the end of the car kept off the wind, +and lighting his pipe became lost in reflection. +</p> +<p>It was obvious that he must use every effort to find +Jernyngham and he thought he might succeed in this; +but what then? To prove his innocence, in which she +already believed, would not bridge the gulf between him +and Muriel Hurst. It seemed impossible that she should +be willing to marry a working rancher. Yet he knew +that he could not overcome his love for her; there was +pleasure as well as pain in remembering her frankness and +gaiety and confidence in him; and the charm of her +beauty was strong. He recalled the crimson of her lips, +the glow of warm color in her hair, the brightness of +her smile, and the softness he had once or twice seen +in her violet eyes. Then he drove these thoughts away; +to indulge in them would only make the self-denial he +must practise the harder. +</p> +<p>He next tried to occupy his mind with Gertrude +Jernyngham, for he was still without a clue to her +disconcerting change of mood. She had no great attraction +for him, but he had pitied her and found a +certain pleasure in her society. It was strange that +after taking his view of her brother’s fate against the one +her father held, she should suddenly turn upon him in +bitter anger. He was hurt at this, particularly as he did +not think the revelation that he had personated Cyril +accounted for everything. However, as it was unavoidable, +he thought he could bear Miss Jernyngham’s +suspicion. +</p> +<p>He was disturbed in his reflections by a sudden jolt of +the train as it stopped at a water-tank. Getting down +with the others, he saw a man standing in the entrance of a +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_144' name='page_144'></a>144</span> +half-finished wooden building. The fellow looked +like a mechanic, and his short blue-serge jacket and +other details of his dress suggested that he was an +Englishman. On speaking to him, Prescott learned +that the train would be detained a while, because a +locomotive and some empty cars were coming down the +line. The man further mentioned that a number of +railroad hands had been engaged in putting up the +building until lately, when they had been sent on somewhere +else, and Prescott inquired if there had been +a man among them who answered to his friend’s +description. +</p> +<p>“There was,” said the other dryly, and called to somebody +inside: “Here’s a fellow asking for Kermode!” +</p> +<p>“Bring him in!” replied a voice, and Prescott entered +the building. +</p> +<p>It contained a pump and two large steel tanks. Near +one of them a man was doing something with a drill, but +he took out his pipe and pointed to a piece of sacking +laid on a beam. +</p> +<p>“Sit down and have a smoke,” he said. “You have +plenty of time. Was Kermode a friend of yours?” +</p> +<p>Prescott looked about the place. He saw that it was a +filtering station for the treatment of water unfit for +locomotive use. +</p> +<p>“Thanks,” he responded. “I knew Kermode pretty +well; but I needn’t stop you.” +</p> +<p>“Oh, don’t mind that!” grinned the other. “We’re +not paid by the piece on this job. Besides, they’ve some +chisels for us on your train and we haven’t got them yet.” +</p> +<p>“You’re English, aren’t you?” Prescott asked. “Are +you stopping out here?” +</p> +<p>“Not much!” exclaimed the other with scorn. “What +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_145' name='page_145'></a>145</span> +d’you take me for? There’s more in life than whacking +rivets and holding the caulker. When a man has +finished his work in this wilderness, what has he to do? +There’s no music halls, no nothing; only the dismal +prairie that makes your eyes sore to look at.” +</p> +<p>Prescott had heard other Englishmen express themselves +in a similar fashion, and he laughed. +</p> +<p>“If that’s what you think of the country, why did +you come here?” +</p> +<p>“Big wages,” replied the first man, entering the +building. “Funny, isn’t it, that when you want good +work done you have to send for us? Every machine-shop +in your country’s full of labor-saving and ingenious +tools, but when you build bridges with them they fall +down, and I’ve seen tanks that wouldn’t hold water.” +</p> +<p>“Oh, well,” said Prescott, divided between amusement +and impatience, “this isn’t to the point. I understand +Kermode was here with you?” +</p> +<p>“He was. Came in on a construction train, looking +for a job, and when we saw he was from the old country +we put him on.” +</p> +<p>“You put him on? Don’t these things rest with +the division boss?” +</p> +<p>The man grinned. +</p> +<p>“You don’t understand. We’re specialists and get +what we ask for. Sent the boss word we wanted an +assistant, and, as we’d picked one up, all he had to do +was to put him on the pay-roll.” +</p> +<p>“And did Kermode get through his work satisfactorily?” +</p> +<p>“For a while. He was a handy man; might have +made a boiler-maker if he’d took to it young. When +we had nothing else to keep him busy, he’d cut tobacco +for us and set us laughing with his funny talk.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_146' name='page_146'></a>146</span></p> +<p>This was much in keeping with Jernyngham’s character. +But the man went on: +</p> +<p>“When we’d made him a pretty good hand with +the file and drill, he got Bill to teach him how to caulk. +He shaped first-rate, so one day we thought we’d +leave him to it while we went off for a jaunt. Bill +had bought an old shot-gun from a farmer, and we’d +seen a lot of wild hens about.” +</p> +<p>“It would be close time—you can only shoot them +in October; but I suppose that wouldn’t count.” +</p> +<p>“Not a bit,” said the boiler-maker. “All we were +afraid of was that a train might come in with the boss on +board; but we chanced it. We told Kermode he might +go round the tank-plate landings—the laps, you know—with +the caulker, and give them a rough tuck in, ready +for us to finish; and then we went off. Well, we didn’t +shoot any wild hens, though Bill got some pellets in his +leg, and when we came back we both felt pretty bad when +we saw what Kermode had done. Bill couldn’t think +of names enough to call him, and he’s good at it.” +</p> +<p>“What had he done?” +</p> +<p>“Hammered the inside of the landings down with +a gullet you could put your finger in. Too much energy’s +your mate’s complaint. Nobody could tell what that +man would do when he gets steam up. Understand, +we’re boiler-making specialists, sent out on awkward +jobs; and he’d put in work that would disgrace a farmer! +For all that, it was Bill’s fault for speaking his mind too +free—he got thrown behind the tank.” +</p> +<p>“I wasn’t,” contradicted the other. “He jumped +at me unexpected when the spanner hit him, and I fell.” +</p> +<p>Prescott laughed. Remembering how Jernyngham +had driven a truculent rabble out of Sebastian, he could +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_147' name='page_147'></a>147</span> +imagine the scene in the shed; but it was evident that +the boiler-makers bore him no malice. +</p> +<p>“After all,” said the first one, “when we cooled off +and got talking quiet, he said he’d better go, and we +parted friendly.” +</p> +<p>“Do you know where he went?” +</p> +<p>“I don’t; we didn’t care. We’d had enough of him. +First thing was to put that caulking right, and we spent +three or four days driving the landings down—you can +do a lot with good soft steel. Anyhow, when we filled +up the time-sheet showing how far we’d got on with the +job, there was a nasty letter from the engineer. Wanted +to know what we’d been playing at and said he’d have +us sent home if we couldn’t do better.” +</p> +<p>While Prescott thanked them for the information +a bell began to toll and there was a rattle of wheels. +Hurrying out, he saw a locomotive approaching the +tank and men clambering on to the cars in which he had +traveled. Soon after he joined them, the train rolled out +of the side-track and sped west, clattering and jolting +toward the lurid sunset that burned upon the edge of the +plain. Jack-pines and scattered birches stood out hard +and black against the glare, the rails blazed with crimson +fire and faded as the ruddy light changed to cold green, +and there was a sting of frost in the breeze. +</p> +<p>They dropped a few men at places where work was +going on, stopped for water, and crawled at slow speed +over half-finished bridges and lengths of roughly graded +line. After nightfall it grew bitterly cold and Prescott, +lying on the boards with his blanket over him, shivered, +half asleep. For the most part, darkness shut them in, +but every now and then lights blazed beside the line and +voices hailed the engineer as the pace decreased. Then, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_148' name='page_148'></a>148</span> +while the whistle shrieked, ballast cars on a side-track +and tall iron frameworks slipped by, and they ran out +again into the silent waste. Prescott was conscious of +a continuous jolting which shook him to and fro; he +thought he heard a confused altercation among his +companions at the end of the car, and the clang of +wheels and the shaking rails rang in measured cadence +in his ears. Then the sounds died away and he fell into +a heavy sleep. +</p> +<p>It was noon the next day when he alighted, aching all +over, where the line ran into a deep hollow between fir-clad +hills. A stream came flashing through the gorge +and at the mouth of it shacks and tents and small frame +houses straggled up a rise, with a wooden church behind +them. Farther up, the hollow was filled with somber +conifers, and the hills above it ran back, ridge beyond +ridge, into the distance. Then, looking very high and +far away, a vast chain of snowy summits was etched +against a sky of softest blue. Those that caught the +light gleamed with silvery brightness, but part of the +great range lay in shadow, steeped in varying hues of +ethereal gray. From north to south, as far as the eye +could follow, the serrated line of crag and peak swept on +majestically. +</p> +<p>Tired as he was, Prescott felt the impressiveness +of the spectacle; but he had other things to think about, +and slipping away from the railroad hands, he turned +toward a rude frame hotel which stood among the firs +beside the river. Rows of tall stumps spread about it, +farther back lay rows of logs, diffusing a sweet resinous +fragrance. Through a gap between the towering trunks +one looked up the wild, forest-shrouded gorge, and the +litter of old provision cans, general refuse, and discarded +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_149' name='page_149'></a>149</span> +boots could not spoil the beauty of the scene. Prescott +asked for a room; and sitting outside after dinner, he +gathered from some men, who were not working, the +story of Kermode’s next exploit. Their accounts of it +were terse and somewhat disconnected, but Prescott +was afterward able to amplify them from the narrative +of a more cultured person. +</p> +<hr class='tb' /> + +<p>Kermode had been unloading rails all day, and he +was standing on the veranda one evening when a supply +train from the east was due. It appeared that he had +renewed his wardrobe at the local store and invariably +changed his clothes when his work was finished. This +was looked upon as a very unusual thing, and his companions +thought it even more curious that he had not been +known to enter the bar of the hotel; its proprietor was +emphatic on the point. A number of railroad hands +lounged about, attired as usual in their working clothes. +</p> +<p>At length the tolling of a bell broke through the +silence of the woods and the train ran in. The rutted +street became crowded with unkempt, thirsty men, and +in a few minutes the hotel was filled with their harsh +voices. Last of all appeared a girl, with a very untidy +man carrying a bag beside her. She walked with a +limp, and looked jaded and rather frightened. Her +light cloak was thick with dust and locomotive cinders +which clung to the woolly material; her face was hot and +anxious, but attractive. +</p> +<p>“Thank you,” she said to her companion, opening her +purse when they reached the veranda. +</p> +<p>“Shucks! You can put that back,” returned the man +with an awkward gesture and then, lifting the bag, +carefully replaced the end of a garment that projected +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_150' name='page_150'></a>150</span> +through the bottom. “I’ll carry the grip in for you, but +you want to be careful with the thing. Seems to have +got busted when the rails fell on it.” +</p> +<p>The girl passed through a wire-net door that he opened, +and Kermode, following, waited for several minutes after +her companion had rung a bell. Then a man in a white +shirt and smart clothes appeared. +</p> +<p>“Can I send a telegram from here to Drummond?” +she asked him. +</p> +<p>“No; the wires won’t run into that district until next +year.” +</p> +<p>“How can I get there?” +</p> +<p>“I guess you’ll have to hire a team at the livery-stable; +take you about three days to get through.” +</p> +<p>The girl looked dismayed. +</p> +<p>“Then can you give me a room to-night?” she asked. +</p> +<p>“Sorry,” said the man, “we’re full up with the railroad +boys; the waitresses have to camp in the kitchen. Don’t +know if anybody can take you in; the track bosses have +got all the rooms in town.” +</p> +<p>He disappeared and the girl sat down, looking very +forlorn and disconsolate. Her voice was English and +she had obviously traveled a long distance in an open car +on the supply train. Kermode felt sorry for her. He +took off his hat as he approached. +</p> +<p>“If you don’t mind waiting a few minutes, I’ll see if +I can find you quarters,” he said. +</p> +<p>She glanced at him suspiciously, with a heightened +color, which he thought a favorable sign, but her eyes +grew more confident and when she agreed he withdrew. +As a man of experience who had been a favorite with +women, he was, however, guilty of an error of judgment +during his search. A smart young woman with whom he +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_151' name='page_151'></a>151</span> +was on friendly terms managed a cigar store, and it is +possible that she would have taken some trouble to oblige +him; but his request that she should offer shelter to another +girl whose acquaintance he seemed to have made in +a most casual manner was received with marked coldness. +Kermode, indeed, felt sorry he had suggested it when he +left the store and set out for a shack belonging to the +widow of a man killed on the line. She was elderly and +grim, a strict Methodist from the east, who earned a +pittance by mending the workmen’s clothes. After +catechizing Kermode severely, she gave a very qualified +assent; and returning to the hotel, he found the girl +anxiously waiting for him. She looked relieved when he +reported his success. +</p> +<p>“I had better go at once,” she said. “You think Mrs. +Jasper will take me in?” +</p> +<p>Kermode picked up the bag. +</p> +<p>“To tell the truth, she only promised to have a look at +you.” Then he smiled reassuringly. “I’ve no doubt +there’ll be no difficulty when she has done so.” +</p> +<p>The girl followed him and, as they went slowly up the +street, while all the loungers watched them, she gave +Kermode a confused explanation. Her name was Helen +Foster, and she had come from England to join a brother +who had taken up a farm near Drummond, which Prescott +had heard was a remote settlement. Her brother +had told her to notify him on her arrival at Winnipeg and +await instructions, but on board the steamer she had met +the wife of a railroad man engaged on the new line who +had offered her company to a point in the west from which +Helen could reach her destination. On arriving at the +railroad man’s station, he had sent her on by the supply +train. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_152' name='page_152'></a>152</span></p> +<p>A little distance up the street, Kermode stopped outside +a shed in which a fellow of unprepossessing appearance +was rubbing down a horse. His character, as Kermode +knew, was no better than his looks. +</p> +<p>“I must see the liveryman,” he told the girl, and when +he had sent the hostler for him the proprietor came out. +</p> +<p>“The round-trip to Drummond will take six days, and +you’d want a team,” he said. “I’d have to charge you +thirty dollars.” +</p> +<p>Kermode looked dubious, his companion dismayed. +She had three dollars and a few cents. +</p> +<p>“Can you drive this lady there?” Kermode asked. +</p> +<p>“I can’t. Jim would have to go.” +</p> +<p>“I think not,” said Kermode firmly. “I’ll see you +about a saddle-horse in the morning.” He turned to +the girl: “We’ll go along again.” +</p> +<p>A few minutes later they reached the widow’s shack +and Kermode waited some time after his companion +was admitted. As she did not come out, he concluded +that Mrs. Jasper was satisfied and returned to the hotel, +where he was freely bantered by the loungers. +</p> +<p>“That will do, boys,” he said at length. “If there’s +any more of this kind of talk, the man who keeps it up +will get badly hurt.” +</p> +<p>They saw that he meant it and, as he was popular, +they left him in peace. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XV_MISS_FOSTER_S_ESCORT' id='XV_MISS_FOSTER_S_ESCORT'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_153' name='page_153'></a>153</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XV</h2> +<h3>MISS FOSTER’S ESCORT</h3> +</div> + +<p>On the morning after he met Helen Foster, Kermode +sought a foreman with whom he was on good terms. +</p> +<p>“I want to quit work for a week,” he said abruptly. +</p> +<p>“Sorry; I can’t give you leave, and the boss went +down the line yesterday. If you let up before you see +him, it’s quite likely he won’t take you back.” +</p> +<p>“If he doesn’t I won’t be very grieved. Throwing +forty-foot rails about all day palls on one. But +what about my wages up to date?” +</p> +<p>“That’s a matter for the pay-clerk when he comes +along. If you quit without notice, he’ll make trouble.” +</p> +<p>Kermode considered this; but he had about ten +dollars in his pocket and he was not of provident nature. +He decided that something must be left to chance, +though the thought that he might have handled heavy +rails for the contractor’s exclusive benefit was strongly +distasteful. Walking across the town, he paid a visit to +Miss Foster. +</p> +<p>“Can you ride?” he asked her. +</p> +<p>“I haven’t ridden for years.” +</p> +<p>“Perhaps you could manage a steady horse which +wouldn’t go faster than a walk?” he suggested. +</p> +<p>“Yes.” Then she hesitated. “But horses are expensive, +and I have very little money left. Somehow, it +seems to disappear rapidly in Canada.” +</p> +<p>“That’s an annoying trick it has,” Kermode laughed. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_154' name='page_154'></a>154</span> +“However, you had better start for Drummond this +morning, and I’ll go with you.” +</p> +<p>The girl looked dubious. She knew nothing about +him, but his manner and appearance were in his favor, +and her position was far from pleasant. Mrs. Jasper, +who had already presented what appeared to be an extortionate +bill, seemed by no means anxious to keep her, +and it might be a long time before she could communicate +with her brother. How she was to hold out until he came +to her assistance she could not tell. +</p> +<p>“Thank you,” she said, gathering her courage; and +after promising that he would be back in an hour, +Kermode went away. +</p> +<p>He was a man who acted on impulse and, as a rule, +the more unusual a course was the better it pleased him. +In spite of her lameness Miss Foster was attractive, which, +perhaps, had its effect, though he was mainly actuated +by compassion and the monotony of his track-laying task. +He did not think the settlement, in which there were very +few women, was the kind of place in which she could +comfortably remain, particularly if her means were exhausted. +Presently he met the livery-stable keeper +driving in his buggy and motioned to him to pull up. +</p> +<p>“How much will you charge for the hire of the roan, to +go to Drummond?” he asked, and the man named his +charge. +</p> +<p>“I’ll give you eight dollars now and the balance when +I come back.” +</p> +<p>“No sir!” replied the other firmly. “You might fix +up to stay there.” +</p> +<p>“Will an order on the railroad pay-clerk satisfy you?” +</p> +<p>“It won’t. If you want the horse, you must put the +money down.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_155' name='page_155'></a>155</span></p> +<p>“Then I can’t make the deal.” +</p> +<p>The man drove on, but Kermode was not to be daunted +by such a difficulty; besides, he had noticed Jim, the +hired man, dawdling about the outside of the stable. +When the buggy was out of sight, he accosted him. +</p> +<p>“I want the roan in half an hour,” he said. “I see +you have Mrs. Leaver’s saddle here, and as she’s away, +you had better put it on. I’m going to take the lady +you saw with me to Drummond.” +</p> +<p>“S’pose you have seen the boss about it?” +</p> +<p>“You must have noticed me talking to him,” Kermode +replied curtly. “Bring the horse along to Mrs. Jasper’s +as soon as you’re ready.” +</p> +<p>Then he returned to the hotel and wrote a note which +he gave the bar-tender, instructing him to let the proprietor +of the livery-stable have it when he came in for +dinner. After this he succeeded in borrowing a small +tent, and when he had supplied himself with provisions +he hurried toward the widow’s shack. The horse was +already there, and when he had strapped on the folded +tent and Miss Foster’s bag he helped her to mount, and +set off, carrying his blankets and stores in a pack on his +back. He showed no sign of haste and chatted gaily, +though he was anxious to get out of the town as soon as +possible, because he did not know when the stable-keeper +would return. +</p> +<p>It was a clear morning; the girl looked brighter after +her night’s rest, and the fresh air brought a fine color +into her face. Kermode kept her laughing with his +light chatter, but he was nevertheless glad when they +reached the shadow of the pines, where they could travel +faster without attracting attention. After half an hour’s +rapid walking, he left the trail, which ran on toward +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_156' name='page_156'></a>156</span> +Drummond for a day’s journey before it stopped at +a ranch, and turned down into the valley. He thought +it might be wiser to keep to the south of the line he would +be expected to take, though this would entail the crossing +of rougher country. Reaching the edge of a stream, he +stopped and regarded it with some concern. It ran fast +between great boulders and looked deep, but as there was +no sign of a better crossing he warned the girl to hold on, +and led the horse in. +</p> +<p>After a few paces he sank above his knees, and found +it hard to keep his footing and the horse’s head upstream. +The roan was slipping badly among the stones and the +hem of his companion’s skirt was getting wet. He was +pleased to notice that she did not look unduly alarmed. +</p> +<p>“We’ll be across in another minute or two,” he +said as cheerfully as he could. +</p> +<p>She smiled at him rather dubiously and at the next +step he sank deeper and dragged the horse round as he +clung to the bridle. The roan plunged savagely and +the water rippled about Kermode’s waist as he struggled +for a foothold on the slippery stones. With a desperate +effort he managed to find firmer bottom and soon came +out on a strip of shingle. Stopping there for a few +moments, he gathered breath while the girl looked about. +They were in the bottom of a deep gorge filled with the +sound of running water and sweet resinous scents. +Here the torrent flashed in bright sunshine; there it +flowed, streaked with foam, through dim shadow, while +somber pines towered above it. There was no sound or +sign of human life; they had entered the gates of the +wilderness. +</p> +<p>“Where do we go next?” the girl asked. +</p> +<p>“Up this slope,” said Kermode. “Then among the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_157' name='page_157'></a>157</span> +pines, across the hills, and high plains, into a lonely +land. I don’t suppose we’ll see a house until we get to +Drummond.” +</p> +<p>“Do you know the way?” +</p> +<p>“I don’t,” Kermode said cheerfully. “I’ve never +been here before, but I’m accustomed to traveling about +the prairie, where trails are scarce. You don’t look +daunted.” +</p> +<p>There was a hint of pleasurable excitement in his +companion’s laugh. +</p> +<p>“Oh,” she replied, “adventures appeal to me, and I’ve +never met with any. For three years since my brother +left, I’ve led a life of drudgery; and before that, half the +pleasures I might have had were denied me by an +accident.” +</p> +<p>Recognizing a kindred nature, Kermode looked sympathetic. +She was evidently alluding to her lameness, +which must prove a heavy handicap to a girl of the +active, sanguine temperament he thought she possessed. +</p> +<p>“In a way, it was a great adventure for you to come +out here alone over the new road,” he said. +</p> +<p>“I thought so last night,” she confessed with a smile. +“When I reached the settlement and found I could get +no farther, I was really scared. Now, however, all my +fears have gone. I suppose it’s the sunshine and this +glorious air.” +</p> +<p>“Well, we had better get on. I’m afraid you’ll have +to walk a while.” +</p> +<p>She let him lift her down, with no sign of prudishness +or coquetry, and he led the horse uphill while she followed. +Her attitude pleased him, because he had no +desire for philandering, although he was content to act +as protector and guide. Still, while he adapted his pace +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_158' name='page_158'></a>158</span> +to the girl’s he thought about her. Her rather shabby +attire and scanty baggage hinted that she had not been +used to affluence; but she showed signs of possessing a +vigorous, well-trained mind, and he decided that she +must have been a teacher. +</p> +<p>When they reached the top of the ascent, she mounted +and they went on among scattered clumps of pines and +across a tableland as fast as he could travel, because it +seemed prudent to place as long a distance as possible +between them and the settlement. He had left the +place with a valuable horse and saddle which he had not +paid for, and he was very dubious whether the livery-stable +keeper would be satisfied with the promises he +had left. Accordingly he only stopped for half an hour +at noon; and evening was near when he helped the girl +down and picketed the horse beside a small birch bluff, +and set up the tent. +</p> +<p>“There are provisions in my pack and you might +lay out supper, but I don’t think we’ll make a fire to-night,” +he said. “I’ll be back in about half an hour; +I want to see what lies beyond the top of yonder ridge.” +</p> +<p>She let him go, and he climbed between slender +birches to the summit of a long rise, where he lay down +and lighted his pipe. From his lofty position he commanded +a wide sweep of country—hills whose higher +slopes were still bathed in warm light, valleys filled with +cool blue shadow, straggling ranks of somber pines. The +air was sharp and wonderfully bracing; the wilderness, +across which he could wander where he would, lured +him on. Irresponsible and impatient of restraint, as he +was, he delighted in the openness and solitude. For all +that, he concentrated his gaze on one particular strip of +bare hillside. At its foot ran the gorge they had crossed, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_159' name='page_159'></a>159</span> +but it had now grown narrow and precipitous, a deep +chasm wrapped in shadow. He did not think a horse +could be led down into it, which was consoling, because +if any pursuit had been attempted, it would follow the +opposite side, near which a trail ran. +</p> +<p>After a while his vigilance was rewarded, and he +smiled when three very small figures of mounted men +appeared on the hillslope. They were going back +disappointed, and he did not think he had much to +fear from them. Wages were high about the settlement, +where everybody was busy, and the liveryman would, no +doubt, find the search too costly to persist in. When the +horsemen had vanished, he returned to the camp, and +Miss Foster glanced at him keenly. +</p> +<p>“Supper’s quite ready; you have been some time,” +she said. “What did you see from the top?” +</p> +<p>“Mountains, woods and valleys. They were well +worth looking at in the sunset light.” +</p> +<p>“And what else? As you live in this country, you +didn’t go up for the view.” +</p> +<p>Kermode saw that she was suspicious, and thought +her too intelligent to be put off with an excuse. +</p> +<p>“I’ll admit that I wasn’t greatly surprised to see three +men a long way off. They were riding back to the +settlement and I dare say they were angry as well as +tired.” +</p> +<p>“Ah!” she said. “You wouldn’t light a fire, though +you have a package of tea here and there’s a spring near-by. +You thought it wouldn’t be prudent?” +</p> +<p>“I did think something of the kind; but won’t you +begin your supper? What shall I hand you?” +</p> +<p>“Wait a little. You haven’t told me very much +yet.” Then her eyes sparkled with amusement. “Mr. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_160' name='page_160'></a>160</span> +Kermode, I’d better say that my brother will be responsible +for the expenses of this journey. I suppose you +haven’t paid for the horse?” +</p> +<p>“It’s unfortunately true. The trouble was that your +brother lives a long way off, and you led me to believe +that your money was running out.” +</p> +<p>“I have,” she said calmly, “fifty cents left.” +</p> +<p>Kermode began on a sandwich she handed him. +</p> +<p>“And I’ve three or four dollars. You see our difficulty +needed a drastic remedy.” +</p> +<p>“But you were at work on the railroad. I understand +wages are high.” +</p> +<p>“That’s so; but it’s some time since the pay car came +along.” +</p> +<p>“But you will get what is due you, when you go back?” +</p> +<p>“Have another sandwich,” said Kermode. “You +have made them very well.” Then seeing that she meant +to have an answer, he added: “I’m not going back.” +</p> +<p>A little color crept into her face as she looked at him. +Kermode had for a time led a dissipated life, but there +had been a change during the last few months. He had +practised abstinence, and in new surroundings found it +easier than he had expected; severe labor had healed and +hardened him. His brown skin was clear, his pale-blue +eyes were bright and steady, his figure was spare and +finely lined. +</p> +<p>“So,” she said, “you sacrificed your wages to assist a +stranger?” +</p> +<p>He made her a whimsical bow. +</p> +<p>“I’d like to think we’ll be better acquainted before we +part.” +</p> +<p>“But what will you do now?” +</p> +<p>“Oh,” he responded lightly, “that’s hardly worth +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_161' name='page_161'></a>161</span> +talking about. I’ll strike something. So long as you’re +pretty active there’s generally work to be had, and when +it grows monotonous you pull out and go on again.” +</p> +<p>Miss Foster mused. +</p> +<p>“After all,” she said, “life must have a good deal to +offer a strong man with the ability to make the most of +things. He can set off, when he likes, in search of new +and interesting experiences.” +</p> +<p>“It has its drawbacks now and then,” declared Kermode, +smiling. “Anyway, you needn’t imagine you’re +shut off from everything of the kind. You took a big +risk and faced a startling change when you came out here.” +</p> +<p>“So I felt. Though I had misgivings, the thought of +it drew me.” +</p> +<p>“I understand. You have courage, the greatest gift, +and you felt circumscribed at home. No doubt, the love +of adventure isn’t confined to one sex. It’s a longing many +of us can’t overcome; but it doesn’t seem to meet with +general sympathy, and it’s apt to get one into difficulties.” +</p> +<p>“Yes,” Miss Foster assented with some bitterness; +“particularly a woman.” +</p> +<p>After that, she went on with her meal while dusk +crept up about the lonely camp. The sky was pale green +in the west and the hills stood out against it, black and +calm; not a breath of wind was stirring and it was very +still, except that out of the distance came the murmur of +falling water. When the air grew damper, Kermode +brought her a blanket which she wrapped about her +shoulders and they talked on for an hour in a casual +manner. Then he got up. +</p> +<p>“You will be quite safe in the tent,” he said. “I’ve +found a comfortable berth in the wood. We’ll get off +as soon as it’s light to-morrow.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_162' name='page_162'></a>162</span></p> +<p>He disappeared into the shadows and she noticed that +he had left her the two blankets he had brought from the +settlement. She hesitated about taking them both, but +decided not to call him back. A little later she entered +the tent, while Kermode scraped out a hollow in a bank +of fallen leaves and went to sleep. +</p> +<p>The grass was white with frost when Miss Foster left +the tent in the morning, but a fire of branches crackled +cheerfully near-by and Kermode was busy with a frying-pan. +A light cloud of smoke rose into the still, cold air, +and day was breaking on the eastern horizon. +</p> +<p>“This looks pretty good,” he said, taking out a greasy +cake and several strips of pork. “If you will make the +tea, I’ll water the horse.” +</p> +<p>He was back in a few minutes. His companion +enjoyed the simple meal, and when it was finished they +resumed the march. During most of the day their +pathway led over high, treeless ridges which lay in bright +sunshine, though a delicate haze dimmed the encircling +hills. Then they dipped to a valley where they had +trouble among the timber and the girl was forced to dismount. +The winter gales had swept the forest and great +pines lay piled in belts of tangled ruin, through which +Kermode found it difficult to lead the horse, while as they +floundered over branches and through crackling brush +his companion’s limp grew more pronounced. Afterward +there were several rapid creeks to be forded, and +Kermode was wet and Miss Foster very tired when they +camped at sunset, in a grove of spruce. Little was +said during the evening meal and soon after it was over +the girl sought her tent, while Kermode found a resting-place +among the withered sprays at the foot of a tree. +</p> +<p>They spent the next morning toiling up a long ascent, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_163' name='page_163'></a>163</span> +and from its summit a prospect of majestic beauty burst +upon them. The great peaks had grown nearer, the air +was clear, and the girl sat, rapt, in the saddle, gazing at +the vast snow-fields that glittered with ethereal brilliance, +very high up against a cloudless sky. Then the wonderful +blue coloring of the shadows streaking the white +slopes caught her glance, and she found it unutterably +lovely. Kermode, however, had an eye for other things +and carefully searched the wide valley that stretched +away beneath them. +</p> +<p>“What are you looking for?” the girl asked at length. +</p> +<p>“Smoke; I thought I saw a faint streak, but it has gone. +I suppose you didn’t notice it?” +</p> +<p>“Oh no!” she told him with a smile. “I’m afraid +I shouldn’t have noticed such a commonplace thing, +even if it had been very plain.” +</p> +<p>He made a sign of comprehension. +</p> +<p>“Then what have you seen?” he asked. +</p> +<p>“Unapproachable, stainless whiteness, touched with +an unearthly glory that daunts the mind!” Then her +expression changed. “But the sight is too overpowering +to talk about. I would have been more useful had I +looked for smoke, as that would mean a house.” +</p> +<p>Kermode nodded. +</p> +<p>“We have stores enough for another meal or two and +had better get on. I believe I’ve kept pretty near the line +I was told to take, but I’d be glad to see the first ranch in +the Drummond district by supper time.” +</p> +<p>They went down into the valley, struggling through +belts of timber and clumps of brush, until they reached +a broad expanse of grass broken by small bluffs. After +camping for a meal, they pushed on steadily while the +girl grappled with a growing fatigue, until the white +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_164' name='page_164'></a>164</span> +peaks faded into dusky blue and the waste grew shadowy. +Kermode had seen no sign of life and he was getting +anxious when, as they approached a bluff, he pulled up +the horse. +</p> +<p>“Listen!” he exclaimed. “I think I heard something!” +</p> +<p>There was silence for a moment or two, and then he +caught a soft drumming and a rattle that might have +been made by wheels. +</p> +<p>“Yes,” he said. “It’s a team and wagon.” +</p> +<p>The sound grew plainer, and when Kermode shouted, +an answer came out of the gathering darkness. Then a +moving shape appeared from behind the bluff, and a +minute or two later the newcomer pulled up his team. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said, “what do you want?” +</p> +<p>“Tom!” cried the girl excitedly. +</p> +<p>The man sprang down, and Kermode needed no explanation. +After his companion had dismounted and +run forward, he stood quietly holding the horse, until she +beckoned him. +</p> +<p>“This is Mr. Kermode, who brought me here,” +she said. “My brother, Tom Foster.” +</p> +<p>“Indebted to you,” responded the man. “I was +driving home when you shouted; my place is about +six miles off. If you’ll follow, I’ll take my sister in the +wagon.” +</p> +<p>Kermode thought it better that she should explain the +reason for their journey, and he got into the saddle and +contented himself with keeping the vehicle in sight until +it stopped at a wooden house that stood near a sod stable +and rude log barn. When he entered the dwelling after +putting up the horse, the lamp was lighted and the +stove burning. He saw that Foster was a young man +with a good-humored brown face. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_165' name='page_165'></a>165</span></p> +<p>“I understand that I owe you more than I thought at +first,” he said. “Helen seems to have been pretty awkwardly +situated when you appeared on the scene. Sit +down and smoke while I get supper.” +</p> +<p>They talked gaily during the meal. +</p> +<p>“Is there any means of sending back the horse I +brought?” Kermode asked after a while. +</p> +<p>“I’ve been thinking about that,” Foster replied. +</p> +<p>“I have a neighbor who is going east on business. +He’ll strike the new line where you left it, and he’ll be +glad to have the horse.” +</p> +<p>Then they talked about other matters, but when the +men sat smoking some time later, Foster said cordially: +</p> +<p>“You’ll stay here a while?” +</p> +<p>Kermode said that he would remain a few days. +</p> +<p>“Where will you make for then?” his host asked. +“There’s nothing doing round here except a little cattle-raising.” +</p> +<p>“For the mountains, I think. I hear the railroad +people are busy in the passes; but I’ll try to strike something +softer than handling rails.” +</p> +<p>“I can fix that,” Foster declared. “They’ve been +advertising for haulage tenders—there are a lot of +piles and building logs they want brought in. Now +I’ve two good horses I’ve not much use for and I’d +be glad to let you have them. You could bring them +back when the frost stops work.” +</p> +<p>“Thanks,” said Kermode. “What’s your idea of +shares?” +</p> +<p>The rancher declared that he did not expect a share, +but when Kermode insisted, they arrived at a satisfactory +understanding, and soon after Helen appeared +the party broke up. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_166' name='page_166'></a>166</span></p> +<p>Kermode spent three or four pleasant days with his +new friends, and when he left the ranch one morning, +leading two strong horses, Helen Foster walked with +him some distance up the valley. She had not known +him long enough to recognize his failings, which were +plentiful, but his virtues were obvious, and she knew +that she would miss him. +</p> +<p>“So you are going out on the trail again,” she said. +“Where will it lead you?” +</p> +<p>“That,” he answered with a gay laugh, “is more than +I can tell. No doubt, to fresh adventures and strange +experiences.” +</p> +<p>“But you know your first stopping-place, the railroad +camp. When you have finished your work there, you +could come here again and rest a while.” +</p> +<p>“No,” he said, more gravely; “I’ll send your brother +his horses, but I don’t think I’ll come back. It’s nice +to feel that we have been pretty good friends, but it might +spoil any pleasant impression I’m leaving if you saw too +much of me. Besides, I’m a wanderer; the long trail +beckons.” +</p> +<p>“It runs through swamps and many rough places +into the lonely wilds. Aren’t you afraid of weariness?” +</p> +<p>Kermode smiled, falling into her mood. +</p> +<p>“You may remember that there are compensations,” +he said; “glimpses of glory on the untrodden heights. +It’s true that one never gets there, but they lead +one on.” +</p> +<p>“But you can see them from the valley.” +</p> +<p>“No; the farmer’s eyes are fixed on the furrow; he +must follow the plow. His crop and his stock are +nearer him; he cannot see past them. The wanderer’s +mind is free.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_167' name='page_167'></a>167</span></p> +<p>“When you had that glimpse of glory, you turned +away and looked for household smoke.” +</p> +<p>“There you have me,” he laughed. “Inconsistent, +wasn’t it? But we’re only human: one needs rest and +food.” +</p> +<p>Helen changed the subject. +</p> +<p>“Well,” she declared, “I’m grateful; and if it’s any +comfort, you won’t be forgotten.” +</p> +<p>He stopped the restive horses. +</p> +<p>“That’s good to hear,” he told her. “But the ground +is rough ahead and you have come some way.” +</p> +<p>“Good-by,” she said, and gave him her hand. +</p> +<p>He held it for a moment, and then, getting into the +saddle, turned and swung off his hat. After that he +rode on into the waste, leading one horse; and Helen +Foster watched him for a while before she went back, +slowly and thoughtfully, to the ranch. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XVI_THE_MISSIONARY_S_ALLY' id='XVI_THE_MISSIONARY_S_ALLY'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_168' name='page_168'></a>168</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XVI</h2> +<h3>THE MISSIONARY’S ALLY</h3> +</div> + +<p>On reaching the railroad camp, Kermode was engaged +by the contractor to haul in logs cut in a neighboring +forest for constructional purposes. The line ran into a +wild valley, clinging to the rocks that formed one side of +it, with a torrent brawling hoarsely among the stones +beneath. Above rose vast slopes, streaked in some +places with small firs, in others ground to a smooth scarp +by sliding snow. Farther back were glaciers and a +chain of glittering peaks. +</p> +<p>The mouth of the valley had been laid out as the site +of a future town, but so far it was occupied by rows of +tents and rude wooden shacks, inhabited by the construction +gangs. A large proportion of them were +orderly, well-conducted men: industrious immigrants +who had seized the first opportunity for getting work, +small farmers attracted by high wages, skilled artisans. +There were, however, some of a rougher type; and the +undesirable element, was, as usual, well represented. +On the whole, the camp was sober, largely because no +licenses had been issued, though this did not prevent men +who came up from other points from bringing liquor in, +and the authorities suspected another source of supply. +</p> +<p>Kermode had little trouble with his work, which he +found profitable, and he rapidly made friends. Among +them was a young Presbyterian missionary whom he +met for the first time on the hillside, engaged on a squared +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_169' name='page_169'></a>169</span> +log with a big jack-plane. He wore knee-boots and a +threadbare suit of gray, while his hat had suffered from +exposure to the weather. Kermode stopped his team +near-by and the clergyman looked around. +</p> +<p>“If you have a good eye, you might tell me whether +this chamfer’s running true,” he said. +</p> +<p>“You want a bit off here.” Kermode laid his finger +on the spot. “Except for that, it’s good.” +</p> +<p>The clergyman sat down and pulled out a tobacco +pouch. +</p> +<p>“I’ll attend to it presently, but I feel I’m entitled to a +rest. Take a smoke; you’re not paid on time.” +</p> +<p>“I’m not sure it would matter if I were.” Kermode’s +eyes twinkled as he filled his pipe. “An idea of the kind +you suggested doesn’t go far in a construction camp, unless, +of course, a foreman happens to be about. However, +you made one rash statement, didn’t you?” +</p> +<p>“I’m afraid I make a good many,” replied the clergyman +good-humoredly. “But you are right. It would +be very rash to claim all that one was entitled to; in +other words, one’s deserts. You’re Mr. Kermode, I +believe; you must know my name is Ferguson.” +</p> +<p>Kermode bowed. +</p> +<p>“What are you going to do with this log?” he asked. +</p> +<p>“It’s to be a door-post in the new church. I wonder +if you would be willing to haul it in?” +</p> +<p>Kermode said that he would be glad to do so. +</p> +<p>“You encourage me to go a little farther,” Ferguson +continued. “Building a church is a costly proposition.” +</p> +<p>“So I should imagine; I can’t speak from experience.” +Kermode was generally liberal, and he took out some +money. “I think you ought to let me off with this, as I +don’t belong to your flock.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_170' name='page_170'></a>170</span></p> +<p>“It’s a generous contribution; better than the excuse. +There are, I may remind you, many kinds of sheep, and +the outward difference is often marked. Since, you’re +from the old country, you can take the little Cheviot and +the ponderous Shropshire as examples. You see the +drift of this?” +</p> +<p>“That they’re all sheep. I’ve noticed, however, that +they wear a good many different brands.” +</p> +<p>“Ah, the pity of it! After all, a shepherd has his +human weaknesses; perhaps he’s too fond of using his +private mark or the stamp of his guild.” +</p> +<p>“That,” Kermode smiled, “is a handsome admission. +Anyway, you have no rival in shepherding the boys here; +and taking us all round, we need it. But can you raise +building funds on the spot?” +</p> +<p>“Oh, no! I went to Ontario this summer and spent +a month begging from people who have very little to +spare. The response was generous—I’ve a carload of +shiplap lumber coming out; but you may understand +how that adds to one’s responsibility.” +</p> +<p>“It’s obvious. I suppose you know you’re up against a +strong opposition?” +</p> +<p>“That’s true, unfortunately.” The clergyman looked +thoughtful. “There’s one group, the Mitcham crowd, +who would like to run me out. The fellow’s piling up +money by smuggling in liquor; he and his friends are +depraving the camp. They must be stopped.” +</p> +<p>“It’s a big thing for one man to undertake. It may +wreck your mission.” +</p> +<p>Ferguson’s eyes sparkled. +</p> +<p>“The risk mustn’t count. One can’t shut one’s eyes +to what those fellows are doing. But I want backers; +will you give me your support?” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_171' name='page_171'></a>171</span></p> +<p>“That’s more than I can consistently promise. However, +I’ll look on and see you get fair play. If the opposition +hit below the belt, I may take a hand in.” +</p> +<p>“Thanks,” responded Ferguson, and Kermode went +on with his team. +</p> +<p>He was favorably impressed by the young missionary +and kept the promise he had made, though it now and +then involved him in difficulties with his comrades. The +carload of lumber duly arrived, and with the help of +men who gave their labor after their hard day’s work +was done, the church was raised by the light of flaring +blast-lamps which the contractor allowed. By day, +Ferguson worked at it alone, and the building steadily +grew into shape; but as the weather got colder trouble +broke out in camp. Men engaged on the higher portions +of the line were laid off by snow and frost, and when the +cost of their board ran on, their tempers got short. There +were dismissals, and as working hours diminished, the +gangs were driven harder. Friends began to quarrel +over games of chance, and the violence they displayed +was often accounted for by indulgence in smuggled +liquor. +</p> +<p>Ferguson, however, was making progress: gaining +staunch adherents here, tacit sympathizers there, though +the opposition saw to it that several had reason to regret +their joining him. Kermode took no open part in the +struggle, but watched it interestedly. +</p> +<p>At length, one nipping morning, he left his tent with +a shiver before it was light and busied himself about his +horses with a lantern in their rude branch and bark +shelter. Winter was beginning in earnest, and a bitter +wind had raged all night, covering gorge and hillside +deep with snow, but this would make his hauling easier +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_172' name='page_172'></a>172</span> +when he had broken out a trail. He plowed through the +snow in the darkness, and the threatening dawn had +broken when he came down the hillside with the ends of +three or four big logs trailing behind his jumper-sled. +The shacks and tents were white in the hollow, over which +there floated a haze of thin, blue smoke; the rapid creek +that flowed past them showed in leaden-colored streaks +among the ice; and somber pines rose in harsh distinctness +from the hillside. +</p> +<p>Then the half-covered frame of the church caught +Kermode’s eye. Something was wrong with it. The +skeleton tower looked out of the perpendicular; and on +his second glance its inclination seemed to have increased. +The snow, however, was clogging the front of his sled +and he set to work to scrape it off. While he was thus +engaged there was a sharp, ripping sound, and then a +heavy crash, and swinging around he saw that the tower +had collapsed. Where it had stood lay a pile of broken +timber, and planks and beams were strewn about the +snow. +</p> +<p>Kermode urged his team downhill, and when a group +of men came running up to meet him, he recognized +Ferguson some distance in front of them. The man’s +face showed how heavy the blow had been. +</p> +<p>“It looks bad; I’m very sorry,” said Kermode when +they reached the wrecked building. +</p> +<p>“I’m afraid we can’t get things straight until spring +and I don’t know how I’ll raise the money then,” declared +Ferguson. “A good deal of the lumber seems destroyed, +and I’ve levied pretty heavily on every friend I’ve got.” +Then he tried to assume a philosophic tone. “Well, I +suppose this is the result of impatience; there were spikes +I didn’t put in because I couldn’t wait for them and some +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_173' name='page_173'></a>173</span> +tenons were badly cut. It blew hard last night and there +must have been a big weight of snow on the new +shingling.” +</p> +<p>“I don’t think you’re right,” Kermode said dryly, +and turned to a bridge-carpenter who stood near-by. +“What’s your idea?” +</p> +<p>“The thrust of what roof they’d got up wouldn’t come +on the beams that gave,” rejoined the man. “There’s +something here I don’t catch on to.” +</p> +<p>“Just so,” said Kermode. “Suppose you take a look +at the king-posts and stringers. We’ll clear this fallen +lumber out of the way, boys.” +</p> +<p>They set to work, and in an hour the sound and +damaged timber had been sorted into piles. Then, when +the foundations were exposed, Kermode and the carpenter +examined a socket in which a broken piece of wood +remained. +</p> +<p>“This has been a blamed bad tenon,” the mechanic +remarked. “The shoulders weren’t butted home.” +</p> +<p>“I’m afraid that’s true; I made it,” Ferguson admitted; +but Kermode, laying his finger on the rent wood, looked +up at his companion. +</p> +<p>“For all that, should it have given way as it has done?” +</p> +<p>“I’ll tell you better when we find the beam it belonged +to.” +</p> +<p>It took them some time; and then the carpenter turned +to Ferguson. +</p> +<p>“You marked this tenon off before you cut it. Did +you run the saw past your line?” +</p> +<p>“No,” said Ferguson with a start; “that’s certain. I +dressed up to the mark afterward with a chisel.” +</p> +<p>The carpenter looked at Kermode meaningly. +</p> +<p>“Guess you’re right. See here”—he indicated the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_174' name='page_174'></a>174</span> +broken stump—“there’s a saw-cut running well inside +his mark. Now that tenon was a bit too small, anyway, +and when they’d notched her, she hadn’t wood enough +left to hold up the weight.” +</p> +<p>There were exclamations from the others standing +round in the snow, but Kermode glanced at Ferguson. +His face grew darkly red, but with an effort he controlled +his anger. +</p> +<p>“Who can have done this thing?” he asked. +</p> +<p>“There’s no direct evidence to show, but I’ve my +suspicions,” Kermode said. “It’s dangerous to interfere +with people’s business, particularly when it isn’t quite +legitimate. You must have known you ran a risk.” +</p> +<p>“Do you think I should have let that stop me?” +Ferguson asked with sparkling eyes. +</p> +<p>“That’s a matter of opinion,” Kermode rejoined. +“Perhaps you had better wait and think the thing over +when you cool off. I’ve some logs to haul in.” +</p> +<p>He moved off with his team and went on with his work +all day, but when night came he attended, by special invitation, +a meeting held in a tent that flapped and strained +in the boisterous wind. Half a dozen men were present, +steady and rather grim toilers with saw and shovel, and +though two or three had been born in Ontario, all were +of Scottish extraction. Their hard faces wore a singularly +resolute expression when Kermode entered. +</p> +<p>“Boys,” he said, “before we begin I’d better mention +that taking a part in a church assembly is a new thing to +me.” +</p> +<p>One or two of them frowned at this: his levity was not +in keeping with the occasion. +</p> +<p>“Ye’re here, and we’ll listen to your opinion, if ye hae +one,” said their leader. “Jock is for raiding Mitcham’s +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_175' name='page_175'></a>175</span> +shack and firing him and the other scoundrel out +of camp.” +</p> +<p>“I see objections. Mitcham has a good many friends, +and if he held you off, you’d have made a row for nothing, +besides compromising Mr. Ferguson.” +</p> +<p>“There’s reason in that,” another remarked. +</p> +<p>“Then,” continued Kermode, “you can’t connect +Mitcham with the wrecking of your church.” +</p> +<p>“I’m thinking the connection’s plain enough for us. +Weel, we ken——” +</p> +<p>“Knowing a thing is not sufficient; you want proof, +and if you go ahead without it, you’ll put yourselves in +the wrong. This is not the time to alienate popular +sympathy.” +</p> +<p>“Weel,” said the leader, “hae ye a plan?” +</p> +<p>Kermode lighted his pipe and after a few moments +answered thoughtfully: +</p> +<p>“I hear that Mitcham, Long Bill, and Libby will take +the trail to-morrow with Bill’s team and sled—he’s laid +off work because of the snow. They were away three or +four days once or twice before, and when they came back +a number of the boys got on a high-class jag and there +was trouble in camp. I dare say you can put the things +together?” +</p> +<p>“Sure,” declared one who had not spoken yet. “Where +do we butt in?” +</p> +<p>“This is my suggestion—half a dozen picked men will +meet Mitcham coming home and seize the sled. If its +load is what I suspect, somebody will ride off for Sergeant +Inglis on my horse, and you’ll have a guard ready to +bring the sled to camp and hold the liquor until the police +arrive. I’m inclined to think you can leave the rest to +them.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_176' name='page_176'></a>176</span></p> +<p>A harsh smile crept into the faces of the listeners, and +their leader nodded gravely. +</p> +<p>“We cannot do better. It will work.” +</p> +<p>The plan was duly put into execution, and one bitter +night Kermode and several others plodded up a frozen +creek. It had been snowing hard for the last few hours +and he could scarcely see his companions through the +driving flakes, while the wail of the wind in the pines +above drowned the soft sound of their footsteps. Kermode +was tired and very cold, and could not have explained +clearly what had induced him to accompany the +expedition. Adventure, however, always appealed to +him, and he was sorry for Ferguson, who had, he thought, +been very shabbily treated. Kermode had a fellow-feeling +for anybody in difficulties. +</p> +<p>After a while the snow ceased and they could dimly see +the dark pines climbing the steep banks that shut them +in. It was obvious that if Mitcham’s party had entered +the deep hollow, they could not well get out of it. The +expedition had only to go on or wait until it met them; +but Kermode did not envy the man whose duty it would +be to ride across the open waste to the lonely post where +Sergeant Inglis might be found. Resting, however, was +out of the question. They must move to keep from freezing, +and though the snow began again, they plodded on, +with heads lowered to meet the blast that drove the stinging +flakes into their faces. +</p> +<p>At length the leader stopped and raised his hand. +Standing still, they heard a muffled sound that might +have been made by the fall of hoofs ahead, and they +hastily turned toward a clump of spruce. The trees +concealed them and the sound grew nearer, until they +could see the dim shapes of men and horses moving +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_177' name='page_177'></a>177</span> +through the driving flakes. Then they left cover and +spread out across the creek. The team stopped and an +angry voice came out of the snow: +</p> +<p>“What’s this? What do you want?” +</p> +<p>“Yon sled and its load,” the leader concisely replied. +</p> +<p>“Stand clear!” cried the voice. “Go right ahead, +Bill!” +</p> +<p>A man sprang forward and seized the near horse’s +head. +</p> +<p>“Stop where you are!” he cried. “We’re not looking +for trouble, but we want the sled!” +</p> +<p>Two others ran out from behind the horses, but the +leader of the expedition raised his hand. +</p> +<p>“It’s six to three, Mitcham, and that’s long odds. +Ye’ll get sled and team when ye claim them in camp. +Lift a fist and ye’ll give the boys the excuse they’re +wearying for. I’ll ask nothing better.” +</p> +<p>Mitcham turned to his companions. +</p> +<p>“They’ve got us, boys. Leave them to it,” he said. +</p> +<p>“Lead the horses, Kermode,” directed one of the +party, and the team moved on again while the leader, +walking beside the sled, hastily examined its load. Several +small cases lay beneath a tarpaulin. +</p> +<p>What became of Mitcham and his friends did not +appear, for they were left behind in the snow; but the +night grew wilder and the cold more biting. For minutes +together they could see nothing through the cloud of +flakes that drove furiously past them; it was hard to urge +the tired horses forward through the deeper drifts and all +were thankful when they came to reaches which the savage +wind had swept almost clear. They could not, however, +leave the creek without their knowing it, and they had a +fringe of willows, into which they stumbled now and then, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_178' name='page_178'></a>178</span> +as guide. When, at length, the gorge opened out, there +was a high ridge to be crossed, and they had cause to +remember the ascent. The route led up through belts +of brush and between scattered pines, and leaving it +inadvertently every now and then, they got entangled +among the scrub. Two of them plodded at the stumbling +horses’ heads, four pushed the sled, and at the top of +every steeper slope every one stopped and gasped for +breath. It was now near dawn and they had marched all +night after a day of heavy toil. +</p> +<p>The ascent made, they went down the hill at an +awkward run, the horses slipping with the sled pressing +on them, colliding with small trees, smashing through +matted brush, until they heard a hail. It was answered +and another body of men appeared and escorted them +into camp. Drowsy voices called to them and here and +there a man looked out as they passed the lines of shacks +and tents, but no word was spoken until they reached +their leader’s cabin. The cases were carried in and +while two of the company took the horses away the +others were given hot coffee and afterward sat down to +wait for morning. It was very cold and icy draughts +crept in, but they were undisturbed until daybreak, +when there was a cry outside: +</p> +<p>“Here’s Mitcham wanting to talk to you!” +</p> +<p>A weary man, white with snow, entered and looked +eagerly round the shack. +</p> +<p>“I’ve come for those cases,” he said, pointing to the +pile. +</p> +<p>“What right have you to them?” Kermode inquired. +</p> +<p>“What right?” cried the other. “They’re my property; +I bought them!” +</p> +<p>Kermode smiled. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_179' name='page_179'></a>179</span></p> +<p>“You hear that; you’ll remember it, boys.” +</p> +<p>Mitcham’s face grew dark as he saw the trap he had +fallen into. +</p> +<p>“Anyhow, I want them,” he muttered. “You won’t +be wise to keep them.” +</p> +<p>“Now see here,” said one of the party. “We have a +dozen men round this shack, and if there’s trouble, we +have only to call for more. Every boy knows what to do. +Strikes me it wouldn’t pay you to bring your hobos along.” +</p> +<p>Mitcham looked at the others and saw that they were +resolute. His enemies were masters of the situation. +Bluster and threats would not serve him; but it was +Kermode’s amusement which caused him the most +uneasiness. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said, “keep them while you can. You’re +going to be sorry for this!” +</p> +<p>He went out and several of the men broke into a laugh. +They had, however, a problem to face later, when they +received a sharp message from the foreman demanding +their immediate return to work. All were willing to lose +a day’s pay, but the prompt dismissal which would +follow disobedience was a more serious matter. +</p> +<p>“The trouble is that if we leave the shack without a +guard, Mitcham will steal his liquor back,” declared one. +</p> +<p>“I think I had better see Mr. Morgan,” Kermode +suggested, and they let him go. +</p> +<p>The young engineer he interviewed listened with a +thoughtful air to the request that several of the workmen +should be given a day’s leave. +</p> +<p>“It would be awkward to let these fellows quit,” the +engineer protested. +</p> +<p>“If you would tell the foreman to send the boys I’ll +mention ahead up the track, so they couldn’t get back +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_180' name='page_180'></a>180</span> +before evening, and give two of us a day off, it would get +over the difficulty.” +</p> +<p>When he heard the names the engineer looked hard at +Kermode. +</p> +<p>“Has this request any connection with the collapse of +Mr. Ferguson’s church?” +</p> +<p>“It has, indirectly. I’m sorry I can’t give you an +explanation.” +</p> +<p>“Try to understand how I’m situated. I may have +my sympathies, but I can’t be a partizan; my business is +to see you do your work. Suppose I do as you suggest, +will it make any trouble in the camp? I want a straight +answer.” +</p> +<p>“No,” said Kermode. “I give you my word that what +we mean to do will lead to quietness and good order.” +</p> +<p>“Then I’ll have the boys you mentioned sent up the +track; they’re a crowd I’ve had my eye on. One of +your friends and you can lie off.” +</p> +<p>Kermode thanked him and went back to the shack, +where he kept watch with the leader of the Presbyterians +until two police troopers rode up late in the afternoon. +They opened the cases and heard Kermode’s story. +</p> +<p>“You declare the man Mitcham claimed this liquor +as his property?” Sergeant Inglis asked. +</p> +<p>“He said he’d bought it. We’re ready to swear to +that, and we can give you the names of several more +who heard him.” +</p> +<p>“I’ll take them down. Where’s Mitcham?” +</p> +<p>They told him and he closed his notebook. +</p> +<p>“You may be sent for from Edmonton later. Don’t +let these cases out of your sight until Private Cooper calls +for them.” +</p> +<p>He went out and came back later with the trooper +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_181' name='page_181'></a>181</span> +and a teamster they had hired, who loaded the cases on a +sled. Sergeant Inglis, however, sat still in his saddle, +with a watchful eye on Mitcham and another man who +stood, handcuffed, at his horse’s side. When the police +had ridden off with their prisoners, Morgan, the engineer, +sent for Kermode. +</p> +<p>“I’ve seen the sergeant and he gave me an outline of +the affair,” he said. “It was cleverly thought out—I +suppose the idea was yours?” +</p> +<p>“I can’t deny it,” returned Kermode modestly. +</p> +<p>“Well,” said the other, “see that your friends and you +begin work as usual to-morrow.” +</p> +<p>During the next two weeks Ferguson made some +progress in repairing the damage to his church. He +found several helpers, now that his strongest opponent +had been removed. The weather, however, grew more +severe and as the frost interfered with operations, men +were freely dismissed. One day Morgan and the +contractor’s clerk sat talking in the latter’s office. +</p> +<p>“I’ll have to cut out two or three teams,” he said. +“I don’t know whom I ought to fire.” +</p> +<p>“Kermode,” Morgan advised promptly. +</p> +<p>The clerk looked surprised. +</p> +<p>“Foreman reports him as a pretty good teamster. +He strikes me as smart and capable,” he objected. +</p> +<p>“He is. In fact, that’s the trouble. I like the man, +but you had better get rid of him.” +</p> +<p>“You’re giving me a curious reason.” +</p> +<p>Morgan smiled. +</p> +<p>“I expect our plans for the winter may lead to some +trouble with the boys; such work as we can carry on is +going to be severe. Now do you think it prudent to +provide them with a highly intelligent leader?” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_182' name='page_182'></a>182</span></p> +<p>“Guess you’re right,” the clerk agreed. “He’ll +have to go, though I’m sorry to part with him.” +</p> +<p>“I’ll send him to another job nearer the coast,” said +Morgan. +</p> +<p>The next day Kermode was informed of this decision +and took it good-humoredly. Before leaving the camp +he spent an evening with Ferguson, who expressed keen +regret at his departure. +</p> +<p>“I have an idea that I may have got you into trouble, +and it hurts me,” the minister said. +</p> +<p>Kermode laughed in a reassuring manner. +</p> +<p>“It’s likely that you’re wrong; but I’m not the first +man who has found a righteous cause unprofitable.” +</p> +<p>“That,” Ferguson returned gravely, “is in one sense +very true.” +</p> +<p>They sat up late, talking; and the next morning Kermode +found means of sending Foster’s horses back, and +then resumed his journey. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XVII_THE_PASSAGE_OF_THE_MOUNTAINS' id='XVII_THE_PASSAGE_OF_THE_MOUNTAINS'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_183' name='page_183'></a>183</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XVII</h2> +<h3>THE PASSAGE OF THE MOUNTAINS</h3> +</div> + +<p>Kermode had been gone a fortnight when Prescott +reached the camp and heard from Ferguson and +others of his latest exploit. He smiled as he listened +to their stories, but that he should find people willing to +talk about the man did not surprise him. Kermode was +not likely to pass unnoticed: his talents were of a kind +that seized attention. Where he went there was laughter +and sometimes strife; he had a trick of winning warm +attachment, and even where his departure was not regretted +he was remembered. +</p> +<p>Ferguson insisted on taking Prescott in, for his comrade’s +sake, and late one evening he sat talking with +him beside the stove. His house was rudely put together, +shingle-roofed and walled with shiplap boards that gave +out strong resinous odors. The joints were not tight and +stinging draughts crept in. Deep snow lay about the +camp and the frost was keen. +</p> +<p>“I can’t venture to predict Kermode’s movements,” +said the clergyman. “It was his intention to make for a +camp half-way to the coast, but he may change his mind +long before he gets there.” +</p> +<p>“Yes,” Prescott replied; “that’s the kind of man +he is.” +</p> +<p>Ferguson smiled. +</p> +<p>“You and Kermode strike me as differing in many +ways; yet you seem strongly attached to him.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_184' name='page_184'></a>184</span></p> +<p>“That’s true,” Prescott assented. “I can’t see that +I owe him anything, and he once led me into a piece of +foolishness that nobody but himself could have thought of. +I knew the thing was crazy, but I did it when he urged me, +and I’ve regretted it ever since. Still, when I meet the +fellow I expect I shan’t have a word of blame for him.” +</p> +<p>“He’s a man I had a strong liking for, though on +many matters our points of view were opposite. However, +I dare say it’s something to be thankful for that +we’re not all made alike.” +</p> +<p>“Kermode’s unique,” Prescott explained. “I’m of +the plodding kind and I find that consequences catch me +up. Kermode’s different: he plunges into recklessness +and the penalty falls on somebody else.” +</p> +<p>“You don’t mean by his connivance?” +</p> +<p>“Never! It’s the last thing I meant. Kermode +never shirks. Bring a thing home to him and he’ll face it, +but somehow he generally escapes. There’s the matter +I mentioned—he and I played a fool trick, and while +he rambles about the country, flinging a foreman down +an embankment, assisting a lady in distress, posing as a +temperance reformer, in his usual inconsequent way, I’m +deep in trouble, and so are other people who don’t deserve +it. So far I’ve always reached the scene of his latest +exploit soon after he had left; but the man must be found.” +</p> +<p>Ferguson laughed. +</p> +<p>“What are you going to do about it?” +</p> +<p>“Follow him to the Pacific, if necessary. As the +country isn’t opened up, he can’t get off the line.” +</p> +<p>“I’m afraid you’re going to have a very rough journey. +The track’s surveyed and blazed; they’re working at it +in sections, but there are big gaps where nothing has been +done yet, and they have been withdrawing a large +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_185' name='page_185'></a>185</span> +number of men. Crossing the mountains is a tough +proposition in the winter.” +</p> +<p>“Kermode didn’t seem afraid of it.” +</p> +<p>“He started two weeks ago, when there had been less +snow. You’ll find it difficult to get through the passes +now.” +</p> +<p>“Anyway,” declared Prescott, “I have to get through.” +</p> +<p>Ferguson pondered the simple answer. It was, he +thought, typical of the man, and the contrast between +him and his friend became more forcible. Kermode +exercised a curious charm. His gay, careless nature +made him excellent company, and he had a strain of +somewhat eccentric genius; but he was irresponsible +and erratic, one could not depend on him. The Canadian +was of different temperament: slower, less subject to +impulse, but more stubborn and more consistent. When +dealing with him one would know what to expect. He +would reason out a purpose and then unwaveringly +adhere to it. +</p> +<p>“Well,” the clergyman said, “you may have to cross a +big province; and though it’s warmer as you get down to +the coast, the weather’s often nearly arctic among the +ranges, while it’s only here and there that you’ll have a +chance to find shelter. It’s a trip that’s not to be undertaken +rashly. You’ll need a fur coat, among other +things, and I think I can get you one. You had better +take a couple of days’ rest so as to start fresh. And +now it’s time for bed.” +</p> +<p>Prescott spent the next day with him and left the +camp at daybreak on the second morning. He wore a +long coat, from which the fur had peeled in patches, and +carried a heavy pack besides a small ax. His boots were +dilapidated, but he had been unable to replace them. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_186' name='page_186'></a>186</span> +There was sharp frost and when he boarded a construction +train he looked back at the camp with keen regret; +he shrank from the grim wilds ahead. A haze of smoke +hung over the clustering shacks, lights still blinked among +them, and already the nipping air was filled with sounds +of activity. Then the locomotive shrieked and he +turned his face toward the lonely white hills as the cars +moved forward with a jerk. It was bitterly cold, though +he lay down out of the wind behind the load of rails, +where hot cinders rattled about him and now and then +stung his face. +</p> +<p>At noon the train stopped. Alighting with cramped +limbs, Prescott saw that the rails went no farther. A few +shacks stood forlornly upon the hillside, a frozen river +wound like a white riband through the gorge beneath, +and ahead lay a sharply rising waste of rock and snow. +His path led across it, and after a word or two with the +men on the line he began his journey, breaking through +the thin, frozen crust. The sounds behind him grew +fainter and ceased; the trail of dingy smoke which had +followed him melted away, and he was alone in the +wilderness. His course was marked, however, by a pile +of stones here, a blazed tree there, and he plodded on all +day. When night came he found a hollow free from snow +beneath a clump of juniper, and lay awake, shivering +under his blankets. White peaks and snow-fields were +wrapped in deathly silence: there was not even the howl +of a prowling wolf or the splash of falling water. +</p> +<p>Rising at dawn, almost too cold to move, he could +find no dry wood to make a fire and had serious trouble +in getting on his frozen boots; and after a hurried meal +he set out again. It was some time before he felt moderately +warm, but with a short rest at noon, he held on +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_187' name='page_187'></a>187</span> +until evening was near, when he camped in a deep rift +among the rocks filled with small firs. Here he found dry +branches, and made his supper, sitting between a sheltering +stone and a welcome fire. Soon afterward, he lay +down and slept until the piercing cold awakened him near +dawn. The fire had burned out to a few red embers; +he had some trouble in stirring it into life, and it was +bright daylight when he resumed his journey. +</p> +<p>He was too tired and generally too cold to retain any +clear impression of the next few days’ march. There +were ranks of peaks above, glittering at times against an +intensely blue sky, but more often veiled in leaden cloud, +while rolling vapor hid their lower slopes. He skirted +tremendous gorges, looked up great hollows filled with +climbing trees, followed winding valleys, and at length +limped into sight of a lonely camp at the foot of a crag. +The light was fading when he reached it, though a lurid +sunset glowed behind the black firs on the crest of a +ridge, and the place had a desolate look. Most of the +shacks were empty, there were rings of branches with a +litter of old cans about them where tents had been pitched, +but a few toiling figures were scattered about a strip of +track. It was comforting to see them, but Prescott +was too jaded to notice what they were doing. +</p> +<p>Entering a shanty, roughly built of ties and galvanized +iron, he found a stove burning, and a Chinaman who told +him that supper would be ready soon. After a while +the men came in and, asking very few questions, gave +him a share of their meal; then he was shown a rude bed +of fir branches and swamp hay and told he could sleep +there. Prescott lay down and lighted his pipe and then +looked about for a while. The place was dimly lighted +and filled with rank tobacco smoke, through which he +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_188' name='page_188'></a>188</span> +saw the blurred figures of his new companions. Some +of them were playing cards under a lamp, some were +disputing in harsh voices, and now and then there was a +burst of laughter. Once or twice a man went out and +an icy draught swept through the shed, but except for +that it was delightfully warm. Soon Prescott’s pipe +dropped from his hand and, failing in a drowsy attempt +to find it, he went to sleep. +</p> +<p>At breakfast the next morning he learned that a man +answering Kermode’s description had spent a night there +eight or nine days ago. That showed that he was gaining, +and he forced his pace all day. At sunset he made a +fire beside a frozen lake, and after three or four days of +arduous toil reached another camp. From the few men +remaining there he learned that Kermode had left the +spot a week earlier with a companion whose work had +been interfered with by the frost. It was understood that +they intended to examine a mineral vein the railroad hand +had discovered in a valley some distance off, and when +Prescott had ascertained where it lay he set off on their +trail. The camp was well supplied with provisions and +he bought a quantity. +</p> +<p>He felt more cheerful now. It looked as if the end of +his long search were near, since there was every reason +to believe he would join the men before they could test +the claim. On the second day he laboriously ascended a +steep slope leading out of a valley he had followed, a +broken line of footprints running upward in front of him. +This seemed to indicate that the great ridge ahead could +be crossed, though when he glanced at the ramparts of +dark rock the task looked insuperable. Prescott knew +nothing of mountaineering, but he judged that Kermode’s +companion must be accustomed to the ranges. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_189' name='page_189'></a>189</span></p> +<p>The slope grew sharper, there seemed to be an unbroken +wall of rock ahead; but, climbing higher, Prescott +saw a small smooth track running up the barrier. It was +obviously a gully filled with snow and its steepness +suggested that the ascent of it might prove beyond his +powers; but the footprints led on to where it began. After +following them to the spot, Prescott sat down on a stone +to gather breath. He looked upward with a sinking heart. +The hollow was deep and narrow—a cleft in the vast +ridge of rock, which was glazed with ice. In places it +looked precipitous, but there seemed to be no way of +working round the flank of the mountain. Then Prescott +noticed that the snow was pitted with small holes, about +two feet apart, from which he concluded that the +prospectors had carried a grubhoe, a tool resembling a +mountaineer’s ice-ax. He might get up by using these +footholds. +</p> +<p>Before starting he carefully adjusted his pack, and +slung the ax where it seemed least likely to do him an +injury. Then he found that by laying his mittened +hands in the holes above he could steady himself while +he found a fresh support for his feet, and for a while he +made progress, though the labor of carrying up his load +became intense. Coming to a fang of rock which offered +a precarious seat, he stopped and wondered how he was +to get up the rest of the way. It seemed a vast distance +to the top, and he was already distressed by a form of +exertion to which he was unaccustomed. Bright sunshine +rested on the jagged ridge above, but the gully +lay in shadow; and, growing cold, the man went on again. +The next few minutes passed uneventfully, except that +he made a dangerous slip; and then a stone rushed past +him and he heard a sharp crash below. This was a risk +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_190' name='page_190'></a>190</span> +he had not counted on. Looking up anxiously, he saw +some snow coming down. There was not much of it, +but it was traveling ominously fast and he was right in +its path. He dared not leave the steps to seek the shelter +of the rocks. Driving in his feet to secure a better hold; +he waited, wondering whether he would be swept away +and hurled down to the bottom with broken bones. +</p> +<p>The sliding snow was close upon him; he saw that it +was spinning and of a flat round shape, not a ball as he +had expected, and then, while he dug in his hands and +stiffened every muscle to resist the shock, he received a +heavy blow on his lowered shoulder and a wet mass was +flung violently into his face. He held on, however, and +without looking around, heard the snow rush on down the +gully beneath him. After he had climbed a few yards, it +seemed possible to reach a projecting spur of rock, and +when he had carefully kicked out a hold for one foot he +made the attempt. He had scarcely reached the shelter +of the rock when there was a sharp crash above and a +great stone leaped by. +</p> +<p>Prescott found that he could maintain his position +fairly comfortably and he lighted his pipe and sat still +to rest and consider, while the downward rush of another +stone gave him food for thought. He believed he was +half-way up, and after the exertions he had made, it +was unthinkable that he should go back and seek another +route; besides, he doubted whether he could get down +without slipping. It seemed quite as perilous to go on, +until he reasoned from the state of the snow, which was not +deeply scored, that the stones did not come down continuously. +Perhaps the warmth of the sun, helped by a soft +chinook wind that had set in had loosened them; but the +light was fading off part of the ridge and if he waited +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_191' name='page_191'></a>191</span> +a while, the discharge might cease. The trouble was +that he was getting very cold. He smoked another pipe, +and as he heard no further crashes, he cautiously ventured +out and regained the deepest part of the gully. His +joints ached, his muscles felt sore, but there was a break +in the rocks some distance higher up and he determined +to climb to it. +</p> +<p>The effort was severe, but he reached the spot, breathless, +and carefully looked about. The sunshine had now +vanished from the crest of the rocks and he supposed the +stones would soon freeze fast again, but there would be +only another hour or two of daylight and he must gain a +place of safety before it grew dark. An incautious movement +would precipitate him from his insecure refuge and +he could not contemplate his remaining there through +the night. Then he grew angry with Kermode. +</p> +<p>It was difficult to believe this was the easiest way into +the valley where the railroad man had made his discovery; +the latter, being used to the ranges, had, no doubt, taken +it to shorten the distance, and Kermode should have +objected. Kermode, however, never paused to think; +he cheerfully plunged into the first folly that appealed to +him and left other people to bear the consequences. +Then, having rested, Prescott saw that there were weak +points in this reasoning, since the man he was following +must have climbed the slope, and, what was more, that +his irritation led to no result. He could consider such +matters when he had reached the summit, and in order +to do so, he must get on at once. +</p> +<p>No more stones came down, but after Prescott had +gone some distance a fresh difficulty confronted him. +The gully was getting steeper, and the holes had disappeared; +he supposed that the snow had softened in +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_192' name='page_192'></a>192</span> +the sunshine earlier in the day and slipping down had +filled up the recesses. He had, however, discovered +that one could kick through the hard crust and make a +hole to stand in, provided it were done carefully, and he +went up by this means, wondering whether his boots +would hold out until he reached the top, and stopping +every few yards for breath. It was exhausting work +after a long march and he was heavily loaded, but it +could not be shirked, and he crawled up, watching the +distance shorten foot by foot. Once a step broke away +and he slid back a yard before he brought up with hands +buried deep in the snow and the perspiration streaming +from him in his terror. Still, he was slowly mounting; +and at last, worn out and breathless, he reached the +narrow ridge of crag and looked down with keen relief +or a long slope to a valley filled with forest. +</p> +<p>In front there was a glorious vista of peaks that +shone in the evening light, but Prescott was in no mood +to think of them. He must get down to the trees, where +he could camp in comfort, before darkness fell. Rising +after a few minutes’ rest, he made the descent and, as dusk +crept round him, lighted his fire among the sheltering +trunks. +</p> +<p>The next day he followed the valley through thick +timber and withered underbrush which tore his clothes +and delayed his march. There were fallen trunks with +spreading branches to be scrambled over, and tangles of +thorny canes, but he was cheered by signs that somebody +had passed on ahead of him not long before. Later, the +forest died out and the bottom of the hollow was strewn +with sharp-edged stones, which threatened to tear his worn +boots from his feet, and which added seriously to his toil. +It was, however, impossible that the prospectors had +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_193' name='page_193'></a>193</span> +climbed the crags that hemmed him in, and believing they +could not be far in front of him, he held on until late in +the afternoon. +</p> +<p>At length he came to a wider stretch, out of which +a ravine that looked accessible led, but he gave little +thought to it. There were a few small trees about +and one of them had recently been felled. He could +see the white chips and the place where a fire had burned. +A meat-can lay near-by and when Prescott picked it up +he found the few fragments adhering to it quite fresh. +The men he sought had camped there, but he began to +grow anxious, for he could see no signs of them. Laying +down his load, he made a hasty examination of the locality +and found a spot where the face of a crag was marked by +a streak of different material. It was rent in one place, +heavy fragments were scattered about, and Prescott saw +that they had been blown out with giant-powder. +</p> +<p>For a few minutes he eagerly proceeded with his +search, but he could find no blankets or provision cache, +and when he saw footprints leading toward the ravine the +truth dawned on him. The prospectors had left the spot +and were not coming back; once more he had arrived too +late. It was a cruel disappointment and he sat down in +black dejection, looking heavily about. The high summits +were wrapped in leaden cloud, the lower rocks +towered above him, rugged and forbidding, and a mournful +wind wailed through the gorge. +</p> +<p>With an effort he forced himself to think. He had +provisions for only a day or two; one of the prospectors +was obviously an expert mountaineer, which led Prescott +to believe that they would travel faster than he was capable +of doing. It would be the height of rashness to +push on farther into the wilds without a guide, and the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_194' name='page_194'></a>194</span> +first fall of snow would blot out any trail the others might +have left. Reason warned him that he must turn back; +but it was unthinkable that he should descend the gully. +He determined to climb the ravine on the morrow. +</p> +<p>Growing cold, he fell to work with the ax, and soon +had a fire burning in a hollow among the rocks. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XVIII_DEFEAT' id='XVIII_DEFEAT'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_195' name='page_195'></a>195</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XVIII</h2> +<h3>DEFEAT</h3> +</div> + +<p>The next morning Prescott awakened in the dark and +set to work, shivering, to rekindle his fire. Day +broke with a transitory brightness while he had breakfast +and soon afterward he entered the ravine. It was +steep, and filled with ice in places, but freshly dislodged +stones and scratches on the rocks showed him that the +prospectors had gone that way. The ascent was difficult: +it cost him a tense effort now and then to gain a +slippery ledge or to scramble up a slab, and he had +frequently to stop and consider how he could best force a +passage. +</p> +<p>He was tired and damp with perspiration when he +reached the top and met an icy wind that swept across a +tableland. The high plain was strewn with rocky fragments, +the peaks above were lost in vapor, but he saw +by a glance at the watery sun that it ran roughly west; +and footprints led across it with an inclination toward the +south. This was comforting, because the line of track +ran to the south, and if he could strike that, it would +serve as a guide; moreover it confirmed Prescott’s conclusion +that Kermode, who had evidently found the +mineral vein worthless, would hold on toward the sea. +He was not the man to haunt familiar ground when a +wide, newly opened country lay before him. +</p> +<p>Then a few stinging flakes struck Prescott’s face, +the pale sunshine was blotted out, and a savage blast +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_196' name='page_196'></a>196</span> +drove him back to the shelter of the ravine. For an +hour he sat, shivering, among the rocks while the gorge +was swept by snow. When it ceased he came out; but +there was no sign of a footprint now and, to make things +worse, the new snow was soft. But he plodded through +it, heading southwest, so as to strike the track again, a +little farther on. +</p> +<p>He spent the day on the high ground; at times toilsomely +picking a way across banks of stones buried in +snow that hid the dangerous gaps between them. Now +and then he sank through the treacherous covering and +plunged into a hollow, at the risk of breaking his leg; +but walking was easier between these tracts, and when +evening came he reached a few large fallen rocks, among +which he camped and lay awake, half frozen, without a +fire. Starting as soon as day broke, he felt that he must +make the surveyed line before dark. He was growing +afraid of the white desolation and wanted to get into +touch with something that would lead him to the haunts +of men. +</p> +<p>It was afternoon when he came to a great dip. A +valley lay beneath him with a frozen river winding +through its depths, and he felt convinced that it was one +the track would follow. The trouble, however, was +to get down, for the hillside fell away in a vast scarp, +broken here and there by dark crags that showed through +the snow. There was a belt of timber a long way down, +but the slope was too steep for him to reach it, and he +walked along the summit in search of a spot from which +the descent could be made, until he came to a long +declivity that looked a little less sharp. Then, strapping +his fur coat on his pack, he kicked a step in the snow and +began to climb down, facing inward toward the bank. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_197' name='page_197'></a>197</span></p> +<p>For a while, he made steady progress; and then the +snow grew harder. Its surface had melted and frozen +again, resulting in a crust that could scarcely be penetrated. +He thought about his ax, but he could not see +how he could use it in cutting steps beneath him without +falling down, and this was not the place for hazardous +experiments. He went on very cautiously, finding the +work of kicking hollows for his feet extremely severe, +until, when he supposed that half an hour had passed, +he drove his toes in deep and lay down to rest. On +looking up, he seemed to have come a very short distance, +and when he glanced below he felt appalled at the length +of the declivity he must still creep down. His limbs +ached; his mittens were worn and his hands badly +numbed; and one boot was coming to pieces. +</p> +<p>The descent, however, must be continued, and he +began to move again, very warily. Presently he found +he could not break through the crust with his foot. +Clinging hard to his handhold, he lowered himself to +feel for a softer spot. His toe went in a little way; he +ventured to trust to the slight support; but as he did +so the treacherous snow broke beneath him. For a +few tense moments his numbed fingers held him to the +slope. He tried in terror to kick another hole; the attempt +failed, his hands slipped away, and he began to +slide downward, the snow driving up into his face. +The pace grew rapidly faster; he could not keep himself +straight, but slid on his side; then his pack caught +something that turned him farther round so that his +head was lowest. He could see nothing; his pace grew +frightful, and he drove on, unable to make the least +effort. +</p> +<p>How long this continued he had no idea. It was a +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_198' name='page_198'></a>198</span> +terrifying experience; but at length, to his dull astonishment, +his speed slackened suddenly and he stopped. +He found that he was whole in limb, and on getting up +cautiously he was forced to the conclusion that he was +little the worse for his rapid descent. His clothes were +packed with snow, but it was easily shaken out. After +recovering a little, he saw that he had brought up on a +slope that fell less sharply and that it would be possible +to walk down it without much trouble. The timber +was close ahead, and he smiled as he remembered his +horror; it looked as if he might have made the descent +uninjured if he had calmly sat down and let himself go. +</p> +<p>Moving downward among the trees, he had almost +reached the bottom of the valley when he came upon +a belt of rugged stones, and in picking a path across +them slipped and fell. He was not much hurt, but +when he went on again his foot felt sore and he was +limping when he reached the river. One or two trees +near it had been chopped, and a spur of rock lower +down had its summit marked by a pole. He had reached +the line of track, and he followed it west, having heard +there was a camp farther on, though his informants did +not know whether it was now occupied. It was, however, +a relief to stop among a clump of spruce at dusk. When +he had made a fire he examined his foot. There was no +sign of injury except that ankle and instep were rather +red, and he went to sleep reassured. +</p> +<p>In the morning he was surprised to find that the +foot was painful and that the back of his leg felt strained. +He would have been tempted to remain in camp only +that his provisions were nearly exhausted, and after a +meager breakfast he resumed the march. The bottom +of the valley was level, the timber thin, but there was a +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_199' name='page_199'></a>199</span> +good deal of brush to be struggled through and before +long he was forced to take to the winding river. By +noon it cost him a determined effort to walk, for his foot +was extremely painful and his leg getting sore. As he +did not know how far off the camp was, it seemed +prudent to save the food he had left, and he limped on, +his lips tight-set. +</p> +<p>The snow-covered ice was smooth, but the bends +of the river increased the distance wofully; there was a +keen wind, and the dark pines stretched on without a +break as far as he could see. As he entered each fresh +loop of the stream he looked eagerly for an opening or +sign of life, but there were only rows of ragged spires, +cutting sharply against the sky. He felt inexpressibly +lonely and badly afraid; the desolation was growing appalling, +and he could not keep on his feet much longer. +He had food enough for two scanty meals, and then, if no +help came, he must starve. +</p> +<p>There was now a pain which grew rapidly worse +in his left side; his shoulders ached beneath his load, +and every joint was sore with the effort it cost him to +save his injured foot. The sun sank lower, and the +trees still ran on ahead. Indeed, they were growing +thicker, and he could see only a short distance into the +avenues between the great colonnades of trunks. The +loops of the river doubled more closely; in spite of his +exertion he was getting very little farther down the +valley; but an attempt to push through the forest led +him into such tangles of fallen trunks and branches +that he was forced back to the ice. +</p> +<p>At length he reached a spot where a fire had swept the +bush. Branches and clustering needles had been burned +away; the trees ran up in bare, charred columns, black +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_200' name='page_200'></a>200</span> +when looked at closely, in the distance a curious silvery +gray. Prescott could see ahead between them, and he +stopped with his heart beating rapidly, for on the white +hillside some distance off stood a few shacks. This was +the camp, and in spite of the pain it cost him he increased +his pace, driven by keen suspense. He did not know +if there were men yonder, and he could see no smoke. +The doubt grew tormenting; leaving the stream farther +on, he struck into unburned bush that hid the camp from +him. There were thorny brakes and thickets of withered +ferns, but though progress was excruciatingly painful he +smashed through them furiously. He was hot and breathless; +it was insufferable that he should be delayed among +the timber in anxiety. Breaking out into the open, he +sent up a hoarse cry, for a thin trail of vapor curled above +one of the shacks. Then a man appeared in the doorway +and waved a hand to him. +</p> +<p>Prescott felt suddenly limp and nerveless; now that +help was near at hand, he wanted to sit down; but he +held on until he limped into the hut, where two men +stood awaiting him. They were strong, weather-beaten +fellows, dressed in quaintly patched garments, and they +looked good-humored. +</p> +<p>“Come right in,” said one. “Pull that box up to +the fire and sit down.” +</p> +<p>Prescott was glad to obey, and when he had taken off +his pack he looked about the shack. It was substantially +built: stones and soil had been used in its construction +as well as boards and bark. It was warmed by a +big open fire and contained a table, besides a few tubs +and cases which served as seats. A bunk neatly made of +split boards and filled with spruce twigs and swamp hay +ran along one end. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_201' name='page_201'></a>201</span></p> +<p>“Can you take me in for a day or two?” he asked. +“I’ve hurt my foot.” +</p> +<p>“Sure,” said the second man. “I noticed you were +walking lame. We’re well stocked in groceries and Steve +got a deer a day or two ago.” +</p> +<p>“How did you get your stores?” +</p> +<p>“The contractor brought them up. There was quite +a camp here; company putting in all the preliminary work +that could be done with the shovel. They shut down +when the frost came, but we figured we’d stay on, and +took over part of the supplies. The boss had more +truck than he could pack down to the other camps.” +</p> +<p>“Then there’s nobody else about the place?” +</p> +<p>“No, sir,” said the first man; “they’re all gone. It’s +kind of lonely, but we’re doing some chopping for the +road, and we’ll be right here with money saved when work +begins in spring. Bought a piece of fruit land, part on +mortgage, at a snap, and with good luck we’ll have it +clear when we go back.” +</p> +<p>The short explanation supplied a clue to the characters +of the men, who with an eye to the future preferred to +face the rigors of the north rather than to spend the +winter hanging round the saloons on the warmer coast. +</p> +<p>“Well,” inquired the other, “where did you come +from?” +</p> +<p>Prescott mentioned the last camp he had visited and +gave them a few particulars about his journey. +</p> +<p>“And so you came down the Long Bench—pretty +tough proposition that! And kept the trail on short +rations!” one of his hosts remarked. “Suppose you +take a smoke, and I’ll get supper a little earlier.” +</p> +<p>Before long he was given a share of a simple but +abundant meal, and after it was over sat talking with his +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_202' name='page_202'></a>202</span> +hosts. It was dark outside now, but although the men +had run out of oil for the lamp, the fire gave them light, +and pungent odors issued from the resinous logs. The +room was warm and, by comparison with the frozen +wilderness, supremely comfortable. +</p> +<p>“What’s the matter with your foot?” one of the men +asked when Prescott took off his boot. +</p> +<p>Prescott described how it felt, though he explained that +he could find no sign of injury, and the other nodded. +</p> +<p>“Ricked it a bit; got one of the ligaments or something +kinked,” he said. “Known that happen when there +wasn’t much to show. You had better lie off for a while.” +</p> +<p>It occurred to Prescott that he might be in much worse +quarters, though he shrank from the delay a rest would +entail. +</p> +<p>“What took you up the gully and over the Bench, +anyway?” the man went on. +</p> +<p>Prescott explained and then asked: “Have you come +across my partner or the other fellow, Hollin?” +</p> +<p>“Never seen your partner.” The man looked at +his comrade and laughed. “But we know Hollin, all +right. Got an idea that he’s a boss prospector and froze +on to the railroad job because it took him into the mountains. +Been all round looking for minerals; got fired +for it at one or two camps, and never struck anything +worth speaking of. It’s a point on which he’s certainly +a crank.” +</p> +<p>It was characteristic of Kermode, Prescott thought, +that he should be willing to accompany a man with a +craze of the kind. +</p> +<p>“I’d expected to find them here. I understood they +didn’t mean to go back to the camp at Butler Ridge,” +he said. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_203' name='page_203'></a>203</span></p> +<p>“We haven’t seen their tracks, and if they were heading +west, they’d have to come down this valley; but I guess +nobody could tell where Hollin would make for. Of +course, you can’t prospect much in winter with everything +frozen up and the snow about, but so long as he +can trail through the mountains and find a few clean +rocks the man will be happy; and I’ll allow that he’s +smart at it. Knows how to fix a camp, and find a deer, +if there’s one in the country. It’s a sure thing he’ll +have to strike for a camp or store sooner or later; but it’s +likely he has crossed the line south and is trying to make +the Fraser and the settlements along the Canadian Pacific +railroad.” +</p> +<p>It was bad news to Prescott. He knew enough about +the Pacific Province to realize that if his host’s suppositions +were correct, he would have a vast area to search; +a region of stony uplands, mountain chains, and rock-walled +valleys. +</p> +<p>“Would it be possible for me to get through?” he asked. +</p> +<p>“No, sir! You don’t want to think of it. Guess +your partner will be pretty safe with Hollin; but you’re a +plainsman and you’d sure get lost in a day or two and +starve when your grub ran out.” +</p> +<p>“That’s right,” agreed the other man. “The thing +can’t be done.” +</p> +<p>Prescott fell in with his opinion. It would, he thought, +require a number of expert mountaineers to trace the +men he sought through the desolation of rock and forest +to the south. Besides, British Columbia was well populated +along the Canadian Pacific line, from which many +avenues of communication opened up, and there would be +a strong probability of his missing Kermode. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said reluctantly, “perhaps, I had better +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_204' name='page_204'></a>204</span> +stop round here in case they keep this track; and my +foot’s too sore to let me move. Could you put me up +for a week or two? I’ll try to make it worth your while.” +</p> +<p>“Stop as long as you want,” Steve responded. “We’ll +have to charge you for the grub, because we paid quite +a pile for it, but we’ll only strike you for your share.” +</p> +<p>“Thank you,” said Prescott, and the others began to +talk of Hollin. +</p> +<p>“If that man would let up on prospecting he’d get +rich,” declared one. “When a survey outfit goes up +into the bush, Hollin’s picked for the boss packer’s job, +and when there’s a new wagon road to be staked out they +generally put him on. A smart man at striking the +easiest line through rough country.” +</p> +<p>“That’s so,” agreed Steve. “Trouble is that he can’t +stay with it. Soon as he collects some pay, he goes off +on the prospecting trail, and then heads for Vancouver +with a bag of specimens that aren’t worth anything. +When the mineral men hear of a new Hollin discovery +they smile. Guess he’s found most everything—gold, +copper, zinc, and platinum—and never made fifty cents +out of them, ’cept once when, so the boys say, a mining +company fellow gave him five dollars to promise he +wouldn’t worry him again. Now they’ve orders in all +the offices that if Hollin comes round with any more specimens +they’re not to let him in.” +</p> +<p>Prescott laughed. The man he had heard described +was Kermode’s companion, and he could imagine their +wandering up and down the province, one as irresponsible +as the other; meeting with strange experiences, stubbornly +braving the perils of the wilds; making themselves +a nuisance to business men in the cities. The matter +had, however, a more serious aspect. Prescott had spent +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_205' name='page_205'></a>205</span> +some time on the useless search and he could not continue +it throughout the winter. It would be futile to +speculate on the movements of men so erratic as those he +had followed. He could not neglect his farm, and he had +a heavy crop to haul in and sell: this was a duty that +must be attended to. +</p> +<p>If he went back without Jernyngham, and Curtis still +clung to his theory, the police might give him trouble; +but he must run that risk. Though convinced of it, he +had no means of proving that Jernyngham was wandering +through British Columbia in company with a crazy +prospector. +</p> +<p>After a while he grew drowsy and got into the bunk, +where he lay down, enjoying the warmth and softness of +the spruce twigs until he went to sleep. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XIX_PRESCOTT_S_RETURN' id='XIX_PRESCOTT_S_RETURN'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_206' name='page_206'></a>206</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XIX</h2> +<h3>PRESCOTT’S RETURN</h3> +</div> + +<p>It was Saturday evening, clear and cold, though the +frost was not intense. A number of the farmers and +their wives had driven in to Sebastian to meet their +friends and make their weekly purchases. A row of +light rigs stood outside the livery-stable, voices and +laughter rose from the sidewalks; the town looked cheerful +and almost picturesque with its roofs and tall elevator +towers cutting against the soft night sky. +</p> +<p>A full moon hung above them, but its silvery radiance +was paled by other lights. Warm gleams shone out from +the store windows upon the hard-trodden snow; a train of +lighted cars stood at the station, and the intense white +glare of the head-lamp mingled with the beam flung far +across the prairie by a freight locomotive on a side-track. +Groups of people strolled up and down the low platform, +waiting to see the train go out, and their voices +rang merrily on the frosty air. From one of the great +shadowy elevators there came a whirr of wheels. +</p> +<p>When the train rolled away into the wilderness, Muriel +Hurst entered the hotel and went upstairs to the parlor +where Colston and her sister were sitting. The room was +furnished in defective taste, but it was warm and brightly +lighted, and the girl had got accustomed to the smell of +warm iron diffused by the stove and the odor of burning +kerosene. Colston occupied an easy-chair, and when +Muriel took off her furs he looked up with a smile, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_207' name='page_207'></a>207</span> +noticing the fine color the nipping air had brought into +her face. She looked braced and vigorous, but it struck +him that she wore a thoughtful expression. +</p> +<p>“Did you buy all you wanted?” he asked. +</p> +<p>“I got what I came for.” Muriel sat down and +handed her sister a parcel. “I think that ought to match. +Has Harry been lounging there since supper? Isn’t he +the picture of comfortable laziness?” +</p> +<p>Colston laughed. He was still very neatly dressed, +but he looked harder than he had when he first reached +the prairie and his face was brown. +</p> +<p>“I’m content, and that’s a great thing,” he rejoined. +“Indeed, I’ll confess that I could enjoy our stay here, +except for the damping effect of our friends’ trouble. +It’s astonishing how little one misses the comforts we +insist on in England, and I’m coming to take an interest +in the visits we pay among the ranches and our weekly +trip to Sebastian. Then nobody could maintain that +your sister looks any the worse for her experience. I’m beginning +to think she might pass for a wheat-grower’s wife.” +</p> +<p>“I heard Mrs. Johnson ask when you were going to +take a farm,” Muriel retorted. “It would be difficult +to imagine you tramping down a furrow behind a plow +or driving one of those smelly gasoline tractors; but +you’ll be able to pose before your constituents as an +authority on colonial questions when you go home.” +</p> +<p>“I’m afraid they’ll throw me over unless they see me +soon; but there’s nothing else to take me back, and I’d +feel we were deserting our friends in their distress.” +</p> +<p>“We can’t leave them yet,” Mrs. Colston broke in. +“The suspense is preying upon Jernyngham. He’s getting +dangerously moody; I know Gertrude feels anxious +about him.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_208' name='page_208'></a>208</span></p> +<p>A curious expression crept into Muriel’s eyes. +</p> +<p>“Believing what he does, it’s natural that he should +clamor for justice, but he’s becoming possessed by a +feverish cruelty. It’s mastering him, destroying his +judgment.” +</p> +<p>“You’re alluding to his suspicions of Prescott?” +</p> +<p>Muriel’s eyes sparkled as she took up the challenge. +</p> +<p>“You know as well as I do that they’re altogether +wrong! It’s impossible that he should be guilty!” +</p> +<p>“One would like to think so,” her sister responded +with dry reserve. “But it’s a pity he ran away.” +</p> +<p>Muriel could not deny this. She had retained her +faith in Prescott, but his silence about the motive for an +absence that must tell against him troubled her. It was +strange that he had given her no hint, and she felt hurt. +</p> +<p>“He may have gone because he could not bear to be +distrusted,” she said. “You are both sorry for Jernyngham, +but don’t you think the man he unjustly suspects +deserves some pity?” +</p> +<p>“Well,” said Colston, “I’ve tried to keep an open mind. +Prejudice, of course, should not be pandered to; but one +is as likely to be led astray by too strong a partiality for +the suspected person.” He paused before he added: +“However, I envy you your confidence; I liked the +man.” +</p> +<p>“The worst of it is that the matter may go dragging +on until it wears Gertrude and her father out,” Mrs. +Colston remarked. “It would be a relief in some ways +to learn the truth, however bad it is.” +</p> +<p>“Mr. Prescott has no reason to dread the truth’s coming +out,” said Muriel staunchly. +</p> +<p>Then a maid came in to announce that their team was +ready, and, putting on her furs, Muriel went down in advance +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_209' name='page_209'></a>209</span> +of the others to see that her purchases had been +placed together. After she had gone, Mrs. Colston looked +at her husband. +</p> +<p>“I think it would be advisable to mention Prescott as +seldom as possible.” +</p> +<p>“So do I,” Colston agreed. “I wonder whether you +have noticed anything unusual in the relations between +Muriel and Gertrude of late? They used to be good +friends in England.” +</p> +<p>“I have remarked some signs of strain. But it is not a +matter you could be expected to take an interest in.” +</p> +<p>“Of course,” Colston rejoined deprecatingly, and went +down with his wife. +</p> +<p>Leslie’s team and a smart sleigh, which Jernyngham +had had sent out from Toronto, stood at the door, and +after he had helped his wife and Muriel in, Colston took +the reins. When they had jolted across the track, the +snow was beaten smooth along the trail; the team was +fresh after resting, and it was a brilliant night. They set +off at an exhilarating speed, and though their faces tingled +they kept warm beneath their furs and driving-robes. +Far in front of them spread the prairie, gleaming white +beneath the moon; no cloud stained the vault of soft deep +blue, and the drumming of the hoofs rang out in merry +rhythm. The crisp cold, which was less marked than +usual, stirred the blood. +</p> +<p>They passed a buggy, drawn by a good horse, and later +a light wagon, for the snow does not, as a rule, lie deep on +the western prairie and the farmers largely continue the +use of wheels. After that for some time they were alone +on the waste, until as they approached a tract of broken +country a wagon appeared on the crest of a rise, with the +double span of horses in front of it cutting sharply black +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_210' name='page_210'></a>210</span> +against the snow. It came on slowly, heavily loaded +with bags of grain, and then the dark shape of a man who +walked beside the team grew visible. As they came closer, +Colston turned his horses out of the trail to let the wagon +pass, and then started as the moonlight fell on the teamster’s +face. It was Prescott. +</p> +<p>For a moment he hesitated, and then pulled up, acknowledging +the man’s greeting with a lifted hand. Mrs. +Colston, however, said nothing, and Prescott stood quietly +by his horses’ heads, until Muriel called him forward +and gave him her hand. +</p> +<p>“When did you get back?” she asked. +</p> +<p>“Late last night. We broke the wheat bin this morning, +and I’m taking the first load in.” +</p> +<p>“But where were you?” +</p> +<p>“In Alberta and British Columbia most of the time.” +</p> +<p>He volunteered no further information and there was an +awkward pause, for Prescott had noticed that Colston had +been undecided whether to drive on or not. Mrs. Colston +sat farthest from him, so that he could not see her, but +she had not addressed him yet. It was clear that his appearance +had affected them unpleasantly. +</p> +<p>“When we next meet, you must tell us about your trip,” +said Muriel. +</p> +<p>“We should be interested to hear about it,” Colston +added lamely, and Prescott forced a smile. Muriel +was the only one who had treated him on the old friendly +footing; and he could hardly visit the Leslie homestead, +even if he were invited, while Jernyngham was there. +</p> +<p>“I may see you some time, and I mustn’t keep you +now,” he responded. +</p> +<p>He started his team, and Colston turned to his companions. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_211' name='page_211'></a>211</span></p> +<p>“I’ll confess that I’ve had a great surprise.” +</p> +<p>“Of course, you imagined that Mr. Prescott had gone +for good!” said Muriel with scorn. +</p> +<p>“I’m afraid I had some idea of that nature. He +would hardly have come back if he were guilty.” +</p> +<p>“Oh,” said Muriel mockingly, “you really can’t tell +what an unscrupulous, bold man might do.” +</p> +<p>“Spare me,” Colston begged with a laugh. “After +all, it looks as if you have been right.” He turned to +his wife. “What do you think?” +</p> +<p>“Mr. Prescott’s guilt or innocence is a question I +can’t decide; but in making us believe he was Cyril +Jernyngham he did a very wrong and foolish thing. +That Cyril may have urged him to do so is no excuse.” +</p> +<p>“Leaving Mr. Prescott out, I think Cyril’s idea was a +very generous one,” Muriel declared. +</p> +<p>“How can you believe that?” +</p> +<p>“He must have wished to save his father and sister +pain, and he knew the trick would cost him a good deal. +For one thing, it would prevent his going home to be +reinstated, because of course if he had done so, we +would have seen he was not the man we had met in +Canada. He meant to stay here, refusing to benefit by +the change in his affairs, out of consideration for his +relatives.” +</p> +<p>“And you approve his passing off this western farmer +for a Jernyngham?” Mrs. Colston asked. +</p> +<p>“Oh, that!” Muriel’s laugh was scornful. “You +were satisfied with the man until you knew his name was +Prescott. How was it that you didn’t miss the inherent +superiority of the Jernynghams? Besides, I can’t think +Cyril suffered by getting his friend to represent him. +Though people won’t talk very freely, I’ve picked up +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_212' name='page_212'></a>212</span> +some information since I’ve been here, enough to show +what kind of man Cyril was. He hadn’t much to boast +of, and one must do him the justice to admit that he seems +to have recognized it. You probably know, though you +hid it from me, that on the evening he should have met +us he was lying in the hotel after getting badly hurt in a +drunken brawl among some riotous Orangemen.” +</p> +<p>“I can’t have any reflections cast upon Orangemen,” +Colston objected. “There are a large number in my +constituency; most worthy people, for whom I’ve a +strong respect.” +</p> +<p>“You have a respect for their votes, you mean,” +Muriel rejoined. “You know you’re really ritualistic +High Church. If your constituents knew as much about +St. Cuthbert’s as I do, they would turn you out.” +</p> +<p>“I have never hid my convictions,” Colston declared. +“Anyway, I have ascertained that the greater proportion +of the Orangemen were sober.” +</p> +<p>“Then,” retorted Muriel, “I’m sorry that Cyril was not. +But there are more important points to consider.” +</p> +<p>“That is very true,” said Mrs. Colston. “Will you +tell Jernyngham that we have seen Prescott, Harry?” +</p> +<p>Colston hesitated. +</p> +<p>“No; I don’t think so. I’m afraid of the effect it +may have on him; and he won’t be up when we get in. +All the same, he’s bound to hear the news from somebody +else very soon.” +</p> +<p>Neither of the others answered, and they drove on in +silence until the lights of the Leslie homestead blinked +across the snow. The cheerfulness which had marked +the party when they set out had gone; they felt a sense of +constraint, and Muriel wondered uneasily whether she +had spoken with too much freedom. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_213' name='page_213'></a>213</span></p> +<p>The next morning they were sitting with Jernyngham +and Gertrude when a neighboring rancher came in. +</p> +<p>“I thought Leslie might be here,” he explained. +“Don’t mean to intrude.” +</p> +<p>Colston knew the man and he asked him to sit down. +Jernyngham glanced up from the Winnipeg paper he +was reading. His face was worn and had set into a +fixed, harsh expression, but his manner conveyed a hint +of eagerness; of late it had suggested that he was continually +expecting something. +</p> +<p>“I drove over to give Leslie a message,” the newcomer +continued. “I guess you have heard that Prescott’s +back.” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham started and dropped the paper. +</p> +<p>“Prescott back? You must be mistaken!” +</p> +<p>“No, sir! Spoke to him on the trail last night. He +was hauling in a load to the settlement, and I was driving +home half an hour after Mr. Colston.” +</p> +<p>“There’s only one trail,” said Jernyngham, looking +hard at Colston. “You must have met the fellow. +Why didn’t you tell me?” +</p> +<p>Colston showed confusion. +</p> +<p>“To tell the truth, I was afraid the news might +distress and excite you. You couldn’t do anything until +Monday, and I thought it better to let you spend to-day +in peace.” +</p> +<p>“In peace!” Jernyngham laughed in a jarring manner. +“Tormented as I am by suspense that grows beyond +endurance!” His eyes glittered and the lines on his +face deepened. “And I’m to be kept in ignorance +while the villain who robbed and killed my son goes +about his work undisturbed!” +</p> +<p>There was an awkward silence for a few moments. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_214' name='page_214'></a>214</span> +Mrs. Colston looked distressed, and Gertrude regarded +Muriel with a long searching glance. The girl felt +that she was being suspected of abetting her brother-in-law +for some ulterior purpose. She was of sanguine +temperament and wayward temper, and her blood ran +warm; but she held in check the anger that she burned +to give expression to. Then their visitor, whom they +had forgotten, broke in: +</p> +<p>“Now, sir, you’re getting ahead too fast. There’s +nothing proved against Prescott, and I and others know +he never did the thing!” He paused and Muriel, +regardless of her companions, flung him a grateful glance +as he went on: “Even Curtis can’t bring it home to him!” +</p> +<p>“Curtis,” said Jernyngham contemptuously, “is a cautious +fool! I’ll communicate with his chiefs at Regina.” +He got up with a decided air. “I’ll start for Sebastian at +once. Where’s Leslie? I must see him about a team.” +</p> +<p>“You stay where you are,” said the farmer, with rude +sympathy. “I heard that one of the police bosses will +be at the settlement to-morrow and you can see him then; +Curtis took a room for him at the hotel. I’m telling you +because the sooner all this muss is cleared up the better, +and it won’t hurt Prescott.” +</p> +<p>He went out and Jernyngham, without speaking to +the others, picked up his paper. Muriel took a book +from a shelf, but although she determinedly tried to fix +her attention on it, she could make no sense of what she +read. It was a dreary morning; Colston was soon driven +out, and the others were oppressed by a feeling of constraint +and tension. They were glad when Jernyngham +and Gertrude started for Sebastian in the afternoon. +After they had gone, Colston looked at his wife and +sister-in-law dolefully. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_215' name='page_215'></a>215</span></p> +<p>“This kind of thing will tell upon your nerves; I’m +beginning to feel it,” he said. “We must have a long +drive to-morrow to get rid of the depression. Those +people on the ranch by the bluff pressed us to come back +again.” +</p> +<p>“There are many excuses for our friends; you couldn’t +expect them to be cheerful,” Mrs. Colston replied. +</p> +<p>“That’s very true; one must try to remember it. It +seems our duty to remain and comfort them as much +as possible; but I can’t say that they’re always very +grateful. Indeed, I have felt hurt by Gertrude’s reserve, +though, considering how trying all this must be for her, +one can’t take exception to it.” +</p> +<p>“Gertrude knows her brother is alive!” said Muriel +coldly. +</p> +<p>Her sister cast a keen glance at her, while Colston, +made a sign of expostulation. +</p> +<p>“I scarcely think you have any right to say that; but +I’ll confess that I’m wavering in my opinions—Prescott’s +return has had its effect on me. In fact, the mystery’s +getting deeper and more fascinating; I feel impelled to +wait and see it unraveled.” +</p> +<p>“That is hardly the way to regard it,” his wife rebuked +him. “I would rather remember that the Jernynghams +have a strong claim on our sympathy.” +</p> +<p>“It’s the main consideration, of course. But we’ll +decide on the drive to-morrow. It has been a depressing +day.” +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XX_MURIEL_RELIEVES_HER_MIND' id='XX_MURIEL_RELIEVES_HER_MIND'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_216' name='page_216'></a>216</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XX</h2> +<h3>MURIEL RELIEVES HER MIND</h3> +</div> + +<p>On the Monday morning, Jernyngham was shown +into the parlor of the hotel where a commissioned +officer of the police sat waiting for him. He had keen, +observant eyes, but his manner was quiet, and Jernyngham +endeavored to control his impatience. +</p> +<p>“I suppose you know that Prescott has returned to his +farm?” he said, taking the chair the other pointed to. +</p> +<p>“I have been informed so,” the officer replied. +</p> +<p>“Then may I ask what you mean to do?” +</p> +<p>“We have come to no decision.” +</p> +<p>“But your men have a warrant for him!” +</p> +<p>The officer changed his position and his expression +hinted at forbearance. +</p> +<p>“That is so. On the whole, I think it should not have +been issued.” +</p> +<p>“You must not let the fellow’s return influence you +unduly.” +</p> +<p>“Very true,” said the other with a calm which Jernyngham +found maddening. “It would be unwise to infer +too much from that.” +</p> +<p>“He is a bold man; he has, no doubt, counted on the +effect his coming back would have,” Jernyngham urged. +</p> +<p>“It’s possible,” the officer agreed. +</p> +<p>Jernyngham’s nerves had given way beneath the +strain he had borne, and he now stood up, trembling with +anger. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_217' name='page_217'></a>217</span></p> +<p>“Am I to understand that you intend to leave the +fellow alone? Now, when he is within your reach, you +will not arrest him? The scoundrel killed my son!” +</p> +<p>“Might I suggest your sitting down again?” said the +officer calmly. “Let me try to put the matter before +you as we look at it. To begin with, we can’t very well +press the charge you make against Prescott without some +proof of the victim’s death, which has not been discovered +yet. The muskeg, I must remind you, was drained and +nothing found. The handsome reward you offered led +to no result, though every man in the district who had any +time to spare spent it in searching the bluffs. Corporal +Curtis has made systematic investigations, but they have +been fruitless.” +</p> +<p>“Corporal Curtis is a man of whose intelligence I +have a very poor opinion!” said Jernyngham hotly. +</p> +<p>His companion smiled. +</p> +<p>“That’s a point upon which I don’t altogether share +your views.” +</p> +<p>“In short, you intend to let the matter drop! I must +protest against such a scandalous failure of justice! But +you shall not let it drop; I warn you that I shall apply to +Ottawa, where there are people who can put upon you +the pressure that seems to be needed!” +</p> +<p>A look of weariness crept into the officer’s face. +</p> +<p>“You have my sympathy, Mr. Jernyngham, but you +can’t be allowed to interfere with the Northwest Police.” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham pulled himself together. +</p> +<p>“I had no wish to be offensive, though I meant what I +said. Suppose this fellow goes off again—for good—as +soon as he has sold his wheat?” +</p> +<p>“That will have to be guarded against. He will be +watched; if he leaves his farm, he will be followed.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_218' name='page_218'></a>218</span></p> +<p>“He gave you the slip neatly on a previous occasion.” +</p> +<p>“Quite true,” said the officer. “Our men are not +infallible. I think I can promise that it will not happen +again.” Then he rose. “I have some business waiting +and you must excuse me. I can assure you that nothing +which promises to throw any light upon the matter will +be neglected.” +</p> +<p>He opened the door and politely but firmly bowed out +his visitor. Then he called Curtis, who was waiting +below. +</p> +<p>“I dare say you can guess Mr. Jernyngham’s errand,” +he said. “Unless we can hit on the truth before long, +you’ll have that gentleman in the guard-room.” +</p> +<p>Curtis looked astonished and his superior smiled compassionately. +</p> +<p>“I mean as a sufferer from mental derangement. +Don’t be communicative, and confine yourself to reassuring +generalities, if you come across him. His mind’s +morbidly fixed on punishing Prescott. I don’t think he +can be convinced that the man is innocent.” +</p> +<p>“I can’t help meeting him, sir. He spends his time +following me about. In a way, one can’t blame him for +what he thinks.” +</p> +<p>“Though it doesn’t agree with your conclusions? +Sit down; we have a number of things to talk about.” +</p> +<p>“Well, sir,” said Curtis, “this is certainly a mixed-up +case. I’ve said nothing all along to disturb people’s +belief that it was Prescott we were after, but if I had to corral +one of the two, I’d get Wandle. The land agency +man gave us a good description of him.” +</p> +<p>His superior nodded thoughtfully. +</p> +<p>“Prescott impersonated Cyril Jernyngham before his +supposed death, and Wandle personated him afterward; +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_219' name='page_219'></a>219</span> +the latter with the more obvious motive. The point is +that there’s no evidence of collusion, but rather disagreement, +between the two. Of course, we could arrest +Wandle now.” +</p> +<p>“Yes, sir. As soon as the agent identified him, we +could prove forgery and falsification of the land sale record. +He’d be safe in the guard-room or a penitentiary.” +</p> +<p>“Just so; we will have him there sooner or later, but +if he’s guilty of the more serious charge, he’d have no +opportunity for giving himself away. I’d rather he was +left at large and you kept your eye on him. The same +applies to Prescott. Now I’ve been making a fresh study +of the diagram of the footsteps near the muskeg, and I can +see no fault in the conclusions you arrived at—only the remains +can’t be found.” +</p> +<p>“Sure, that’s a weak point, sir. But I might mention +the case of the person who was found in a bluff a few +miles from home after they’d searched the district for +six months.” +</p> +<p>“It has been in my mind. But you have other matters +to report on. What about the disturbance on the Indian +reservation?” +</p> +<p>While they discussed it, Jernyngham set out for the +Leslie homestead and on his arrival found Gertrude +alone. Sitting down with a shiver, he looked at her +dejectedly. +</p> +<p>“I have failed again. They will do nothing; there’s no +satisfaction to be had,” he said. “I drove out my son by +arbitrary harshness, and now the only reparation I might +have made is denied me.” +</p> +<p>“You were harsh,” assented Gertrude. “I have +begun to realize it since we came to Canada—one sees +things differently here. But, in a sense, I think you +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_220' name='page_220'></a>220</span> +were not to be blamed; you acted in the belief that you +were right.” +</p> +<p>She had seldom ventured to address him with so much +candor and she was surprised at his calmness. +</p> +<p>“Yes,” he said, “it is some relief to remember that; +but I was wrong.” +</p> +<p>“Then shouldn’t it make you more careful not to fall +into a similar error again? You have a fixed idea in +your mind and the way you dwell on it is breaking you +down; seeing you suffer is wearing me. Can’t you +believe that there is room for doubt?” +</p> +<p>“I wish I could,” he said with some gentleness, recognizing +the anxious appeal in her voice. “But I +imagined you were as convinced as I am of Prescott’s +guilt.” +</p> +<p>“Oh,” she replied miserably, “I believed I was; but +I don’t know what to think!” +</p> +<p>He noticed the distress in her face with uncomprehending +sympathy. He was fond of her, in his stern, reserved +fashion, and knew she must deeply feel the loss of +her brother. +</p> +<p>“As soon as he saw he was suspected, Prescott ran +away,” he continued. “That must count against him. +If he had had any motive except the wish to escape, he +would have mentioned it.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude sat silent, tormented by confused emotions. +Prescott had told her he was going to hunt for Cyril, and +until she had seen his devotion to Muriel she had felt +that she must believe in him; then her mind had been +filled with jealousy and doubt. She thought she hated +him; after all, he might be guilty. It was not her part to +speak in his defense; though she felt she was acting +treacherously, she could not stand up for him. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_221' name='page_221'></a>221</span></p> +<p>“It is possible that the police were wrong about +Cyril,” she said at length. +</p> +<p>“I’m afraid not,” said Jernyngham. “It might be +urged that Prescott has come back; but I believe that +was only to sell his wheat.” He broke into a harsh +laugh. “One must admit that the fellow has courage; +but he won’t find it easy to escape again. Every move +of his will be watched.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude sat very still for a few moments, her lips +tightly pressed together. Then she made a gesture of +weariness. +</p> +<p>“Oh,” she said, “it’s all so hard to bear! There’s +nothing but doubt and suspense; not a ray of comfort!” +</p> +<p>Getting up languidly she went out and left her father +lost in thought. +</p> +<p>An hour or two afterward, Prescott sat near the stove +in his homestead, moodily making entries in an account-book, +when he heard voices in the passage and looked up +with a start. The next moment the door opened and +Muriel Hurst came in. His heart throbbed furiously +at the sight of her; she looked excited and eager; her rich +furs enhanced her charm. He thought she made a wonderfully +attractive picture in the small, simply furnished room, +but he laid a strong restraint upon himself as he rose. +</p> +<p>“I felt that I had to come; I wanted to show that your +friends still trusted you,” she said impulsively. +</p> +<p>He made no move to bring her a chair. +</p> +<p>“It was a generous thought, but, considering everything, +I don’t know that it was wise. Did you tell Colston +or your sister that you were coming?” +</p> +<p>“No,” she answered with a trace of confusion; “I left +rather in a hurry.” Then she broke into a forced laugh. +“This isn’t the welcome I expected!” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_222' name='page_222'></a>222</span></p> +<p>Prescott’s eyes gleamed. +</p> +<p>“You know I’m glad to see you.” +</p> +<p>“Well,” she said, sitting down with a hint of defiance +in her air, “that’s the most important thing; though the +confession had to be extorted from you. It looked as if +you wanted to get rid of me.” +</p> +<p>“I felt I ought to.” +</p> +<p>Muriel looked at him with amusement. +</p> +<p>“Duty against inclination! It’s a pity the former was +beaten. But aren’t you falling into our way of thinking +rather fast?” +</p> +<p>“That isn’t strange. I’ve had English ideas impressed +on me pretty forcibly during the last few months. But +you made a statement that surprised me. Does Colston +trust me?” +</p> +<p>“He wants to.” +</p> +<p>“That implies a doubt. And your sister; is she on my +side?” +</p> +<p>“She’s reserving her opinion.” +</p> +<p>“You can’t say that the Jernynghams are convinced +of my innocence.” +</p> +<p>“No,” said Muriel. “I think they’re cruelly and unreasonably +bitter.” +</p> +<p>“Then that leaves only one person with unshaken +faith.” His eyes rested on the girl with deep gratitude +and tenderness. “Miss Hurst, I think I may say it’s +quite enough.” +</p> +<p>She looked up fearlessly, with heightened color. +</p> +<p>“We won’t pay each other compliments. Will you +tell me why you went away?” +</p> +<p>“Yes; I went to look for Cyril Jernyngham.” +</p> +<p>Muriel made an abrupt movement and her eyes +sparkled with relief which she did not try to hide. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_223' name='page_223'></a>223</span></p> +<p>“Oh,” she said, “that’s such a complete explanation; +it answers everything! But why didn’t you tell people +the reason you were going? You must have known +that stealing away, as you did, would count against +you!” +</p> +<p>“I told Miss Jernyngham.” +</p> +<p>“Gertrude knew?” Muriel started. Then her face +hardened. “After all, that doesn’t matter; there are +much more important things. You didn’t find Cyril?” +</p> +<p>“I followed him across three provinces and lost him +in the end.” +</p> +<p>“Ah!” she said. “How unfortunate, how terribly +disappointing! But tell me all you did; I’m not asking +from mere curiosity.” She hesitated. “I think you +owe me that.” +</p> +<p>He told her the story of his wanderings and what he +had learned about Kermode’s adventures. She listened +with eager attention, and laughed now and then. +</p> +<p>“It’s convincing on the face of it,” she declared. +“One feels that everything is exactly what Cyril Jernyngham +must have done. Will you tell his father?” +</p> +<p>“No,” Prescott answered gravely. “He wouldn’t believe +the tale.” +</p> +<p>“But I feel it can’t be doubted, after what I have +heard of Cyril’s character and his conduct in England.” +</p> +<p>“You have an open mind. I think you hate injustice; +you try to be fair. That, I guess, is why you came to see +me.” +</p> +<p>Muriel glanced at him sharply, and then smiled. +</p> +<p>“I suppose it was; I felt that you have been badly +treated. But I only meant to stay a minute or two, and +you seem to be busy.” +</p> +<p>He did not deny it. Conscious as he was of her +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_224' name='page_224'></a>224</span> +charm and his longing for her, he feared to detain her +lest he should be driven into some rash avowal. +</p> +<p>“I’m very grateful for your confidence,” he answered +slowly. +</p> +<p>“Well,” said Muriel, “I must go.” She rose, but +stood still a moment. “Mr. Prescott, it hurts me to see +suspicion fall on my friends. You must clear yourself +somehow.” +</p> +<p>“Ah,” he said moodily, “how am I to set about it?” +</p> +<p>“For one thing, you must not go away again. That +would look bad.” She hesitated. “And, from a few +words I heard, I fear it would bring the police after you.” +</p> +<p>“It seems very probable; I’ll stay while I’m allowed,” +he said with some bitterness and turned toward the door +with her. Then a little color crept into his face as she +held out her hand. “Miss Hurst,” he added, “you are a +very staunch friend.” +</p> +<p>Muriel smiled. +</p> +<p>“It really looks as if staunchness were one of my virtues; +but you see I venture to act on my opinions without paying +much attention to what other people think. After +all, that would be foolish, wouldn’t it?” +</p> +<p>Then she got into the sleigh and left him wondering +what she could have meant. He knew her friends regarded +him as a man of inferior station, who, if cleared +from suspicion, might perhaps be tolerated so long as he +recognized his limitations and did not presume. Had +Muriel wished to hint that she differed from them in this +respect? The thought of it set his heart to beating fast +and when he went back to his books he found it singularly +difficult to fix his mind on them. +</p> +<p>Muriel drove rapidly to the Leslie homestead and, +reaching it after dark, joined the others at supper. During +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_225' name='page_225'></a>225</span> +the meal, a reference to Jernyngham’s interview with +the police officer gave her the opportunity she was waiting +for. +</p> +<p>“When Mr. Prescott went away it told badly against +him, because people didn’t know what his object was,” +she said. +</p> +<p>She fixed her eyes on Gertrude, but the latter’s face was +expressionless as she moved her plate. +</p> +<p>“He went to find Cyril,” she added. +</p> +<p>Mrs. Colston looked up sharply; her husband started. +</p> +<p>“If true, it’s a strong point in his favor,” Colston +declared. +</p> +<p>Gertrude still made no sign; but her father broke into +an incredulous smile. +</p> +<p>“An excellent motive! It’s a pity he didn’t mention it +before he went! It would have carried more weight then!” +</p> +<p>There was an awkward silence; and then Muriel said +firmly: +</p> +<p>“Still, that was why he went away.” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham looked hard at her and made a gesture +which suggested that the matter would not bear discussion. +Then Colston began to talk to her, and he was glad +when the meal was finished. Muriel waited until she +found Gertrude alone in her room. +</p> +<p>“You knew Mr. Prescott went to look for your brother, +and yet you would not say a word,” she said. +</p> +<p>“Ah!” exclaimed Gertrude sharply. “So you have +seen him! You drove over this afternoon—one might +have expected that.” +</p> +<p>Muriel’s eyes sparkled, but she answered calmly: +</p> +<p>“Yes, I went to see him; but you’re evading the point. +What reason could you have had for trying to injure an +innocent man?” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_226' name='page_226'></a>226</span></p> +<p>Gertrude made an uneasy movement. +</p> +<p>“Aren’t you taking too much for granted? To begin +with, his innocence is very doubtful.” +</p> +<p>“Yet, I think you must have been convinced of it. +That he told you why he was going proves that you were +on friendly terms, which would have been impossible if +you had thought him guilty. What has made you +change?” +</p> +<p>The girl’s voice was stingingly scornful. It looked as +if she suspected something, and Gertrude broke into a +cold smile. +</p> +<p>“Oh,” she said, “the man is clever; he has a way of +creeping into one’s confidence. He appears to have +had no trouble in gaining yours. After all, however, if +my father is right, I have a duty to my brother’s memory.” +</p> +<p>“Your father is so possessed and carried away by an +idea that one can almost forgive him his injustice and +cruelty. You have not the same excuse!” +</p> +<p>Gertrude turned toward her with a formal manner. +</p> +<p>“I think you have gone far enough. Do you intend to +tell the others what you have said to me?” +</p> +<p>“Oh, no,” answered Muriel. “It would serve no purpose. +But I feel that sooner or later you will be sorry for +what you have done.” +</p> +<p>Then she went out, leaving Gertrude alone with her +reflections. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XXI_WANDLE_TAKES_PRECAUTIONS' id='XXI_WANDLE_TAKES_PRECAUTIONS'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_227' name='page_227'></a>227</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XXI</h2> +<h3>WANDLE TAKES PRECAUTIONS</h3> +</div> + +<p>Bright sunshine streamed down upon the glittering +plain, tempering the frost, when Wandle stood outside +his house one morning, wondering how he should +employ himself during the day. He had hauled his wheat +in to the elevators, and when that is done the western +farmer has now and then some leisure, because the frozen +ground renders many of his usual operations impossible. +Wandle had a stack of cordwood ready cut, and though he +needed some logs for an addition to his stable which he +meant to build, the thinness of the snow, which had been +disturbed by a strong wind, would make the work of hauling +them home too difficult. He was, however, an active +man, who rarely wasted time or money; and as he looked +about, the ash-heap caught his eye. It was rather large +and near his house, and he determined to remove it, now +that he had nothing better to do. +</p> +<p>In a few minutes he was hard at work with a pick, and +succeeded, with some difficulty, in breaking through the +frozen crust. The moisture, however, had not penetrated +far enough into the fine wood-ash for the rest to freeze, so +that he was soon able to use the shovel and during the +next half-hour he flung a quantity of the stuff into his +wagon. As he did so he looked out for Jernyngham’s +cash-box, and grew surprised when it did not appear. +When he had hauled the load away and deposited it in +a swampy place he was getting anxious. The box could +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_228' name='page_228'></a>228</span> +not have escaped his notice, because he had spread the +ash thinly; he had, he thought, dug far enough into the +pile to have reached it; but there was still no sign of it. +This was disconcerting, and he worked until he had +largely reduced the heap, and he scattered the next +load so that every bit of rubbish among it could be seen. +Then he stopped in dismay to think. He had certainly +thrown the box among the ash, and it was gone; the only +inference was that somebody had afterward dug it up +and taken it away. +</p> +<p>Wandle realized this with a shock, but he was too keen-witted +to give way to alarm and leave his task unfinished. +He must remove the whole pile, in order to give no cause +for suspicion that he had been excavating in search of +something; and the sooner it was done the better. It was +noon when the work was finished and he entered the house, +where there was something else to be done. He was a +methodical man and had a place for each of his belongings. +He began by examining the position of every article in a +cupboard. None seemed to have been disturbed, which +was reassuring, and Wandle proceeded to empty a chest +in which he kept his clothing. He had reached the bottom +of it when a pair of light summer shoes caught his eye and +his face became intent. They were not where he had +placed them; he remembered having fitted them in +between some other things at the opposite end of the chest. +This confirmed his worst suspicions, but he carefully +laid back each garment before he sat down to consider. +</p> +<p>It was obvious that the police had searched his house, +and had taken the cash-box away, but he was careful not +to let his fears overcome his judgment. The box was of +a cheap and common pattern; it would be difficult to +identify it as having belonged to Jernyngham. He was +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_229' name='page_229'></a>229</span> +more troubled by the evidence that he was being watched +by the police because it might result in their discovering +the sale of land he had made. This must be guarded +against, as the offense was serious, and would, moreover, +connect him with Jernyngham’s disappearance; but +Wandle would not be driven into any rash and precipitate +action by his alarm. He was a cool, ready-witted, +avaricious man, who had found industry profitable, and +he had no intention of leaving the farm he had spent so +much work on. Flight would mean ruin: he could not +dispose of his property before he went without attracting +attention, and it would, in all probability, lead to his +arrest. He must stay and face the matter out. +</p> +<p>First of all, he tried to estimate the risk of his being +recognized as the man who had sold Jernyngham’s land. +If the suspicions of the agent he had dealt with were +aroused, he might describe his customer to the police. +Wandle was glad his appearance was by no means striking. +When he sold the land, he had, however, worn a +newly made suit of a rather vivid brown, which the man +would probably remember. Wandle had bought it on +a business visit to Brandon, which was a long way off, +and the police could not have seen it when searching his +house, because they had done so in his absence and when +he left the farm to drive in to the settlement he had put on +the clothes. There was a risk that somebody in Sebastian +might remember how he was dressed, but, as he had been +there only once or twice in the past few months, he did +not think it was likely. +</p> +<p>The garments would have to be sacrificed, which was +unfortunate, because clothing is dear in western Canada; +but Wandle thought of a better means of getting rid of +them, than destroying them. It was obvious that the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_230' name='page_230'></a>230</span> +suspicions of the police must fall on himself or Prescott, +and he preferred that the latter should be implicated. +After a while, he saw what could be done, provided there +was wind enough to obliterate his footsteps in the snow +or there should be another fall. +</p> +<p>He had to wait a few days; and then one evening he +made up the clothes into a bundle, saddled a horse, and +rode off across the prairie toward the Prescott homestead. +It was very cold and he would have been more comfortable +wrapped in a driving-robe in his buggy; but the moon now +and then shone through the rifts in the clouds, and a rig +could not be hidden or driven in among thick trees. +</p> +<p>A long bluff ran close up to the homestead, and when +Wandle reached its outer end he got down and walked +beside his horse, keeping the wood between him and the +farm trail. It was important that he should not be seen. +The horse would attract no attention, because Prescott +had a number, and hardy, range-bred horses are often +left to run loose through the winter. Still, clear moonlight +streamed through between the slender trees, and there +was a glow from the windows of the house. As Wandle +drew nearer it he moved with greater caution. He was +fortunate in having done so, for he stopped with a start +as two black mounted figures cut against the sky not far +in front of him. They were clearly visible as they crossed +an opening, and though he stood in shadow beside a +denser growth of trees his heart beat faster as he watched +them. They were riding slowly, keeping out of view of +the house, which was significant, because had they been +neighbors of Prescott’s returning from a visit to him they +would have taken no trouble to avoid being seen. These +were police troopers, watching the homestead. +</p> +<p>Presently one of them spoke to the other, and Wandle +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_231' name='page_231'></a>231</span> +recognized Private Stanton’s voice. Indeed, it was ominously +distinct, and Wandle, standing very still with a firm +hand on the bridle, passed a few anxious moments; a movement +of his horse might betray him. The troopers, however, +drew abreast without glancing toward him and the +tension slackened as they slowly moved away. What +they expected to find he could not tell, but he was on the +whole pleased to see them hanging round the bluff. He +waited a while after the faint sound they had made died +away; and then, tying his horse to a branch, he crept +quietly into the bluff. +</p> +<p>There were belts of shadow among the trees; he got +entangled among nut bushes and thickets, but creeping +on toward the house, he reached a more open space and +found a hollow nearly filled with withered leaves. There +he stopped, wondering whether it would be safe to strike +a match; but he knew that something must be risked +and he got a light and bent down, shielding it with his +hands. The leaves lay thickly together, a foot or two in +depth, and the place looked suitable for his purpose. +</p> +<p>A stream of light suddenly broke out from the door of +the homestead and Wandle’s hand closed quickly on +the match; somebody was crossing from the house to the +stable with a lantern. He could see the man’s dark +figure plainly, though he could not recognize him, and +he waited until a door was noisily opened. Then he +scraped the leaves aside and laid the brown clothes in the +hollow. He stayed beside it until the man with the +lantern returned to the house, and then he crept back +through the bluff and led his horse toward its end, where +he mounted and rode to the next farm. After spending +an hour with its owner, arranging for a journey to a +bluff where unusually large logs could be found, he rode +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_232' name='page_232'></a>232</span> +home content. Everything had gone as he wished; +there would, he thought, be snow enough before morning +to cover any tracks he had left, and he could, if necessary, +account for his having been in the neighborhood of the +Prescott farm. +</p> +<p>During the next week, Wandle watched the weather, +which continued fine after a few snow showers. A +heavy fall might hide the clothes until spring, but he +could think of no means of leading up to their discovery. +To give the police a hint would fix their suspicions on himself, +and he wondered how one could be conveyed to them +indirectly. Chance provided him with an opportunity. +</p> +<p>Gertrude Jernyngham borrowed Leslie’s team one +afternoon and set out for a drive. Troubled as she was, +she had of late found the strain of maintaining a tranquil +demeanor before her friends growing too much for her, +and it was trying to spend the greater portion of her +time in Muriel’s society. She was filled with a jealous +hatred of the girl, and felt that it would be a relief to +be alone a while. The air was still, bright sunshine +flooded the plain, the thick driving-robe kept her comfortably +warm; and, lost in painful thought, she had +driven farther than she intended when she turned back. +On doing so, she noticed that she had left the beaten +trail and she looked about timidly. The sun was low, +a gray dimness had crept across the eastern half of the +prairie where the homestead lay and a piercing wind was +springing up. There was nobody in sight and no sign +of a house, and she could not remember which of the +bluffs that stretched in wavy lines across the waste she +had passed. +</p> +<p>She drove on toward the east, eagerly looking for the +trail, while the horse broke through the thin snow-crust +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_233' name='page_233'></a>233</span> +and the sleigh ran heavily, until she reached a slope +leading to a frozen swamp. It was of some extent, and +she grew anxious, for she had not seen the spot before. +The country ahead was more broken, rolling in low +rises with short pines on their summits, and it was with +unfeigned satisfaction that she saw a man crossing one +of the ridges. He answered when she called and in a +few minutes she stopped close beside him. He was a +tall man, wearing an old fur coat and dilapidated fur +cap; a rancher, she thought. +</p> +<p>“Can you tell me where Leslie’s house is?” she asked. +</p> +<p>“Sure,” said Wandle, pointing toward the east. “But +as it will be dark before you get there, you had better let +me put you on the trail. You’ll have to cross these +sandhills, and as the snow’s blown off in places, it’s +rough traveling.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude thanked him, and she was glad that he led +the team as they crossed the broken belt, picking out +the smoothest course among the clumps of birches and +low steep ridges. At times he had difficulty in urging +the horses up a bank of frozen sand, but after a while he +looked around at her. +</p> +<p>“You’re Miss Jernyngham?” he said. “Guess you +must have had a mighty trying time?” +</p> +<p>His tone was respectful and, though he was a stranger, +Gertrude could not resent the allusion to her troubles. +She had generally found the western ranchers blunt. +</p> +<p>“Yes,” she replied; “my father and I have had much +to bear.” +</p> +<p>Wandle made a gesture of sympathy. +</p> +<p>“The mystery’s the worst—it’s easier to face a trouble +one knows all about. What have the police been doing +lately?” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_234' name='page_234'></a>234</span></p> +<p>“I don’t know; they have told us nothing for some +time.” +</p> +<p>“You find them kind of disappointing?” +</p> +<p>“I believe my father does.” +</p> +<p>The man said nothing for a while, and then looked +around again. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he ventured, “it strikes me there’s one man +Curtis ought to keep his eye on.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude started and Wandle studied her face. He +was observant and quick to draw a conclusion, and he +read something that surprised him in her eyes. It +was, he thought, a deeper feeling than suspicion; Miss +Jernyngham knew whom he meant and had some reason +for being very bitter against Prescott. +</p> +<p>“Why do you say that?” she asked. +</p> +<p>“All I’ve heard looks black against him,” he answered +with an air of reflection. “What does your father +think?” +</p> +<p>“He is perplexed and distressed,” said Gertrude +coldly, deciding that the man must not be allowed to go +too far. +</p> +<p>Wandle guessed her thoughts, but he was not to be +daunted. +</p> +<p>“That’s natural. He must be anxious to learn the +truth, and the police haven’t found out much yet—looks +as if they were getting tired.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude hesitated, while he led the horses round a +clump of birches. It was painful and undignified to +discuss the matter with a stranger, but his manner was +suggestive; she felt that he had something to tell. Perhaps +it was her duty to encourage him, and her suspicions +of Prescott drove her on. Wandle waited, knowing +that she would speak. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_235' name='page_235'></a>235</span></p> +<p>“Is there anything that might be useful they have +neglected doing?” +</p> +<p>“It’s hard to say. I’ll allow that they’ve worked +through the muskeg and the bluffs pretty thoroughly; +but do you know if they’ve made a good search round +Prescott’s house?” +</p> +<p>“No,” said Gertrude eagerly; “I can’t tell you that. +But why should they look there?” +</p> +<p>Wandle considered. It would be awkward if she +mentioned that she had had a hint from him, but he did +not think this would happen. There was a greater probability +of her acting as if the idea had originated with +her. He let the team stop and looked at her impressively. +</p> +<p>“It strikes me as quite a likely place. I’ve heard of +people hiding things they wanted to get rid of in a bluff. +You put it to your father and see how the notion strikes +him.” +</p> +<p>“I’ll think of it,” Gertrude replied coldly; but Wandle +knew that she would do as he had suggested. +</p> +<p>He said nothing further until they had crossed another +rise or two, when he stopped and pointed to a bluff not +far away. +</p> +<p>“When you make those trees you’ll strike the trail +and it’s pretty well beaten. It will take you straight in +to Leslie’s.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude thanked him and drove on. It was getting +dark, and a bitter wind swept the waste, but at first she +was scarcely conscious of the cold, for her thoughts were +busy. She felt that she had done wrong in allowing the +man to make the suggestion. Somehow it seemed to +involve her in a plot against Prescott; but of late she had +tried to convince herself of his guilt. After all, it was +her duty to have the fullest investigation made and the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_236' name='page_236'></a>236</span> +fellow had spoken in a significant manner. One could +imagine that he knew more than he had said. +</p> +<p>Darkness closed in on the empty plain, the wind stung +her face, the loneliness grew intense, and she began to +shiver in a mood of black depression. The mystery of +her brother’s disappearance filled her with keen anxiety; +now she could no longer believe Prescott’s assurance +that he was not dead. A little while ago she had trusted +him and her cold nature had suddenly expanded in the +warmth of love, but the transforming glow had suddenly +died out, leaving her crushed, humiliated, and very +bitter. Even if her fears about Cyril proved unfounded, +she had nothing to look forward to except a life that had +grown meaningless and dreary; the brief passion she +had yielded to would never be stirred again. She was +growing hard and cruel; her keenest desire was to punish +the man who had, as she thought of it, deceived her. +</p> +<p>At length a light began to blink in the gloom ahead +and soon afterward she got down at the homestead, +feeling very cramped and cold; but an hour or two +passed before she had an opportunity for speaking to her +father alone. It was easy to lead him on to talk of Cyril’s +disappearance, and by and by she asked if the neighborhood +of Prescott’s homestead had been searched. He +caught at the idea. +</p> +<p>“It’s hard to understand why I didn’t think of that!” he +cried. “I have lost all confidence in Curtis. What he is +doing, or if he means to let the matter drop, I don’t know; +but if Prescott has hidden anything that might tell against +him, it will of course be in the bluff! I’ll go over and examine +every hollow among the bushes, without the police.” +</p> +<p>His expression grew eager and Gertrude, knowing that +she had said enough, left him quietly. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XXII_JERNYNGHAM_MAKES_A_DISCOVERY' id='XXII_JERNYNGHAM_MAKES_A_DISCOVERY'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_237' name='page_237'></a>237</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XXII</h2> +<h3>JERNYNGHAM MAKES A DISCOVERY</h3> +</div> + +<p>A piercing wind swept the lonely waste when +Jernyngham left the homestead in the afternoon. +He went on foot, because it was no great distance to the +Prescott farm, and he had no wish to attract notice by +driving up in the sleigh. It was his intention to enter +the bluff quietly a little while before it got dark and, +after searching it, to walk home. By doing so he would +run less risk of being seen, for it was undesirable that he +should put Prescott on his guard. He had said nothing +about his plan to any one except Gertrude, which was +unfortunate, because Leslie, who could read the signs +of the weather, would have dissuaded him. +</p> +<p>Jernyngham felt uneasy as he glanced across the plain. +There was something unusual in the light: every clump +of scrub and bush in the foreground stood out with a +curious hard distinctness, though the distance was +blurred and dim. There was no horizon; the bluffs a +few miles off had faded into a hazy shapelessness. The +sky was uniformly gray, except in the north, where it +darkened to a deep leaden color; the cold struck through +the man like a knife. He was, however, not to be +deterred; snow was coming and a heavy fall might +make an effective search impossible for the remainder of +the winter. There was something inexorable in his +nature; his views were narrow, but he was true to them +and ruled himself and his dependents in accordance +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_238' name='page_238'></a>238</span> +with a few fixed principles. This was why he had +driven out his son, and was now with the same grim consistency +bent on avenging him. He had a duty and +he meant to discharge it, in spite of raging blizzard or +biting frost. Indeed, if need be, he was willing to lay +down the dreary life which had of late grown valueless +to him. Yet he was not without tenderness, and as he +plodded on over the frozen snow, he thought of the lost +outcast with wistful regret. +</p> +<p>He reached the bluff, and stopped a few moments, +slightly breathless, among the first of the trees. They +were small and their branches cut in sharp, intricate +tracery against the sky; farther back, the rows of slender +trunks ran together in a hazy mass, though they failed +to keep out the wind, and once or twice a fine flake +touched the old man’s face with a cold that stung. He +pulled his fur cap lower down and set about the search. +For half an hour he scrambled among thick nut bushes, +kicking aside the snow beneath them here and there; +and then he plunged knee-deep into the withered grass +where a sloo had dried. The snow was thin in the wood, +but it hid the iron-hard ground so that he could not tell +if it had been disturbed. It was obvious that the chances +were against his discovering anything, but he persevered, +working steadily nearer to the homestead, of which he +once or twice caught a glimpse where the trees were +thinner. +</p> +<p>At length he stopped suddenly and cast a quick glance +around. He had heard a sharp crack behind him, but +it was not repeated and there was little to be seen. +While he listened, the wind wailed among the branches +and the sloo grass rustled eerily. The patch of sky +above him was growing darker, and the wood looked, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_239' name='page_239'></a>239</span> +inexpressibly dreary; but as the light was going, there +was more reason for his making use of it. Though he +was getting tired, he pushed on; avoiding fallen trunks +and branches where he could, and floundering through +thickets, he came to a small hollow which traversed the +bluff. As it was nearly filled with drifted snow, he +stepped down upon its white surface and, breaking +through, sank above his boots in withered leaves. These, +he thought, would effectively hide anything laid among +them until it rotted and crumbled into their decay. He +followed up the hollow, kicking the snow aside. He +fancied that he heard the snapping sound again; but he +was too eager to feel much curiosity about the cause of +it, and there was nothing to be seen. The light was +dying out rapidly, heavy snow was coming, and he must +make the best use of his time. +</p> +<p>After a while, his foot struck something which did +not yield as the leaves had done, and dropping on his +knees he dragged it out. A thrill of excitement ran +through him as he saw that is was a suit of clothes and +made out in the gathering dusk that their color was brown. +Then, as he rose with grim satisfaction, he saw with a +start two indistinct figures watching him a dozen yards +away. They moved forward, and he recognized the +first of them as Curtis. +</p> +<p>“Mr. Jernyngham?” said the corporal. +</p> +<p>“Yes,” said Jernyngham. “Who did you think it +was?” +</p> +<p>“Well,” returned Curtis dryly, “we didn’t expect to +find you. What brought you here?” +</p> +<p>“I’ve been doing your work with more success than +seems to have attended your efforts.” He pointed to +the clothes. “To my mind, this is conclusive.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_240' name='page_240'></a>240</span></p> +<p>An icy blast that set them shivering went roaring +through the wood, but they were too intent to heed it, +and Curtis picked up one of the garments. He could see +only that it was a jacket, for darkness was closing in +suddenly. +</p> +<p>“I’ll allow it’s kind of suggestive,” he admitted +guardedly. +</p> +<p>Jernyngham broke into a contemptuous laugh. +</p> +<p>“How was the man who sold my son’s land dressed?” +</p> +<p>“Smartly, in new clothes. The land agent remembered +that they were a reddish brown.” +</p> +<p>“That’s the color of the thing in your hand. There +was more light when I pulled it out of the leaves yonder. +Are you convinced now?” +</p> +<p>“It’s certainly enough to make one think.” +</p> +<p>“To think, but not to act! You seem strangely +content with the former! Isn’t it plain that Prescott +sold the land, and then, remembering that he had worn +a suit of rather unusual color which might help to identify +him, hid it in the bluff? Having other people in the +house, he was, no doubt, afraid to burn the clothes.” +</p> +<p>Curtis folded up the garments and laid them on his +arm. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said, “it sounds quite probable; but there +are discrepancies. I’ll take these things along, and I +guess you had better make for the homestead and ask +them to let you in. We’ll have a lively blizzard down +on us very soon.” +</p> +<p>The trees bent above him as he spoke, the wood was +filled with sound, and fine flakes drove past in swirls. +Then, as the wild gust subsided, they heard a galloping +horse going by outside the bluff and Curtis swung +sharply round toward his comrade. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_241' name='page_241'></a>241</span></p> +<p>“It’s that blamed ranger of yours broken loose!” he +cried. “Get after him with my horse!” +</p> +<p>The next moment the police had vanished and Jernyngham +was left alone, listening to the crackle of undergrowth, +which was lost in a furious uproar as the wood +was swept by another gust. Then the thrashing trees +were blotted out by a white haze which stung his face +with an intolerable cold and filled his eyes. For a +minute or two he could see nothing, though he was +conscious of a tumult of sound and broken twigs came +raining down upon him; then, lowering his head, he +stumbled forward between blurred trees, ignorant of +where he was going. He struck one or two of the trees +and blundered into thickets, but at last he struggled +out of the wood and stopped for a few moments in +dismay. +</p> +<p>The light had gone; he could scarcely see a yard ahead, +through the thick white cloud that rushed past him. +The wind buffeted him cruelly, threatening to fling him +down; the awful cold dulled his senses. He had not +intended to seek shelter at the homestead—the idea was +repugnant—and he hardly thought he meant to do so +now, but, overwhelmed by the blizzard, he could not +stand still and freeze. Struggling heavily forward, he +found himself in the open; all trace of the wood had +vanished; he could not tell where he was heading, but +he must continue moving to keep life in him. He could +no longer reason collectedly. He had not been trained +to physical endurance, and he was getting old; in the +grip of the storm he was helpless. By and by his steps +grew feebler and his breath harder to get. How long +he stumbled on he could not remember; but at length +he was sensible of a faint brightness in the snow ahead +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_242' name='page_242'></a>242</span> +and he made toward it in a half-dazed fashion. It +seemed to die out, leaving him in a state of dull despair, +but a few moments later something barred his way and +stretching out his mittened hand it fell upon the lapped +boarding of a house. There must be a door, he reasoned, +and he groped along the wall until his hand fell forward +into a shallow recess. Then he knocked savagely. +</p> +<p>There was no response. The gale shrieked about +the building, flinging the snow against it in clouds, and +he realized that any noise he made was not likely to be +heard. He fumbled for a latch, and found a knob +which his numbed fingers failed to turn. Then in a +fury he struck the door again, each blow growing feebler +than the last, until the cold overcame him and he slipped +down into the snow. He could not get up; even the +desire to do so grew fainter, and he sank into oblivion. +</p> +<p>It did not last, however, and the return to consciousness +was agonizing. A strong light shone about him, +though he could see nothing clearly, and he felt as if a +boiling fluid were trying to creep through his half-frozen +limbs; his hands and feet, in particular, tingled beyond +endurance, which, had he known it, was a favorable +sign. Then somebody gave him a hot drink and he +heard voices which he vaguely recognized, though he +could not tell to whom they belonged. A little later, he +was lifted up and carried into a different room, where +somebody laid him down and wrapped clothing about +him. The tingling pain passed away, he felt delightfully +warm, and that was all that he was conscious of as he +sank into heavy slumber. +</p> +<p>It was daylight when he awakened, clear-headed and +comfortable, and recognized the room as the one he had +previously occupied in Prescott’s house. It was obvious +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_243' name='page_243'></a>243</span> +that he had slept for twelve or fourteen hours; and +seeing his clothes laid out, dry, upon a chair, he got up +and dressed. Then he went down to the living-room, +where Prescott rose as he came in. +</p> +<p>“You don’t look much the worse,” the rancher said. +“You had a fortunate escape.” +</p> +<p>“How did I get here?” Jernyngham asked, leaning +on the back of a chair, for he felt shaky still. +</p> +<p>“That’s more than I can tell. Svendsen found you +outside the door when he tried to get across to the stable. +You couldn’t have been there long: a few minutes, I +guess, though we didn’t hear you. Do your feet and +hands feel right?” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham was glad that his host made no inquiries +as to what had brought him into the neighborhood. +</p> +<p>“Thank you, yes,” he said. “I must assure you +that I had no intention of seeking shelter in your +house.” +</p> +<p>“So I should imagine,” Prescott answered smiling. +“However, there ought to be a truce between even the +deadliest enemies where there’s a blizzard raging and +the temperature’s forty below. Though I can’t say +you have treated me well, I’m glad you didn’t get frozen, +and if you’ll sit down, I’ll tell Mrs. Svendsen to bring +you in some breakfast.” +</p> +<p>“With what there is between us, you could hardly +expect me to sit at your table.” +</p> +<p>“That’s a comfortable chair you have your hand on. +Bring it nearer the stove and let’s try to look at the thing +sensibly,” Prescott persuaded. “I’ll confess that I’d +have excused your visit, if it could have been avoided, +but as you already owe Svendsen and me something, it +would be rather forcing matters for you to drive away +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_244' name='page_244'></a>244</span> +hungry. That strikes me as about the limit of wrong-headedness, +particularly as I’m not suggesting that we +should make friends.” +</p> +<p>The elder man was possessed by a fixed idea and his +prejudices were strong, but he was, nevertheless, a judge +of character, and the rancher’s manner impressed him. +He took the chair. +</p> +<p>“I believe I owe my life to you or your hired man. I +find the situation embarrassing.” +</p> +<p>“It would be intolerable, if you were not mistaken +about another point,” Prescott said calmly. “Now I +want your attention. I’m not anxious for your good +opinion—I don’t know that I’d take it as a gift, after +the way you have persecuted me—but I’ve a pity for you +that softens my resentment.” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham moved abruptly, but Prescott raised his +hand. +</p> +<p>“Let me get through! I believe you’re honest; you’re +acting from a sense of duty, which is why I tell you that +you’re tormenting yourself without a cause. I had no +hand in your son’s disappearance, and it’s my firm conviction +that he’s alive now and wandering through +British Columbia with a mineral prospector.” +</p> +<p>“What proof have you of this?” +</p> +<p>“None that would satisfy you; nothing but my word, +and I give you that solemnly. Make your own inquires +among my neighbors whether it’s to be believed.” +</p> +<p>For several moments Jernyngham fixed his eyes on +him, and his suspicions began to melt away. Truth had +rung in Prescott’s voice and it was stamped on his face; +no man, he thought, could lie and look as this rancher +did. Even the discovery of the brown clothes appeared +less damaging. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_245' name='page_245'></a>245</span></p> +<p>“Then there’s much to be explained,” he said slowly. +</p> +<p>“That’s so. It will all come to light some day. And +now, it’s a bitter morning, the drifts are deep, and the +trail lost in snow; Svendsen will have some trouble in +driving you to Leslie’s, and you can’t go without +food.” +</p> +<p>Prescott called to Mrs. Svendsen, and she presently +brought in breakfast. Jernyngham ate a little before he +got into the buggy and was driven away. He reached +the Leslie homestead greatly disturbed. The painful +mystery was as deep as ever, but he was inclined to +think he had been following a false clue; the man on +whom all his suspicions had centered might be innocent. +It was so seldom that he changed his mind that he felt +lost in a maze of doubt, and in his perplexity he told +Gertrude what he had found and related his conversation +with Prescott. They were alone and she listened +with fixed attention, studiously hiding her feelings behind +an inscrutable expression. +</p> +<p>“I don’t know what to think; for perhaps the first time +in my life, I’m utterly at a loss and need a lead,” he said. +“Everything we have learned about the man tells against +him, and yet I felt I could not doubt his unsupported +assurance. There was a genuine pride in the way he +referred me to his neighbors for his character for truthfulness +and one must admit that a number of them have +an unshakable belief in him. Then Colston’s wavering; +and Muriel has shown her confidence in the fellow in a +striking manner.” +</p> +<p>“Ah!” said Gertrude sharply. “You have noticed +that?” +</p> +<p>“I could hardly fail to do so. It is no affair of mine and +perhaps a breach of good manners to mention it, but if +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_246' name='page_246'></a>246</span> +I were in Colston’s place, I should feel disturbed about +the way in which his sister-in-law has taken Prescott’s +part.” +</p> +<p>“Why?” +</p> +<p>“The reason should be obvious. Leaving the man’s +guilt or innocence out of the question, there is his position; +I needn’t enlarge on it. Muriel’s family is an old and +honored one; it would be insufferable that she should +break away from its traditions. Then we know what her +upbringing has been. Could one calmly contemplate her +throwing herself away on a working farmer?” +</p> +<p>He had appealed to his daughter’s strongest prejudices, +which had for a while sunk into abeyance and then sprung +into life again. All that he had said about Muriel applied +with equal force to her. She had yielded to a mad infatuation, +and returning sanity had brought her a crushing +sense of shame. She might have made a costly sacrifice +for the rancher’s sake, flinging away all she had hitherto +valued; she had sought him, humbled herself to charm +him, and he had never spared a tender thought for her. +Despising herself, her jealous rage and wounded pride +could only be appeased by his punishment. +</p> +<p>“Prescott,” she said coldly, “is a dangerous man; I +have never met anybody so insinuating and plausible. +When he speaks to you, it’s very hard to disbelieve him; +his manner’s convincing.” +</p> +<p>“I felt that,” said her father with a troubled air. +</p> +<p>“Then shouldn’t it put you on your guard, and make +you test his statements? Is it wise to let them influence +you before they’re confirmed?” +</p> +<p>“It was foolish of me to be impressed; but still——” +</p> +<p>Gertrude checked him. +</p> +<p>“With us suspicion is a duty. Try to think! Cyril +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_247' name='page_247'></a>247</span> +had his failings, but you were harsh to him. You showed +him no pity; you drove him out.” +</p> +<p>“It’s true,” admitted Jernyngham in a hoarse voice. +“I’ve regretted it deeply.” +</p> +<p>She knew she had not appealed in vain to her father’s +grief and she meant to work upon his desire for +retribution. +</p> +<p>“Cyril came here and fell into Prescott’s hands. Instead +of his meeting Colston, the rancher personated him. +He was the last man to see him; he knew where he had +hidden his money; soon afterward he bought a costly +machine.” +</p> +<p>“I know all this,” said Jernyngham wearily. +</p> +<p>“There seems to be some danger of your forgetting it! +Let me go on! Prescott took over control of Cyril’s farm. +He passed himself off for him a second time and sold +land of his; you found the clothes he wore hidden near +his house. Could you have any proofs more conclusive?” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham flung her a swift glance. +</p> +<p>“You believed him once. You are very bitter now.” +</p> +<p>“Yes,” she said, “I have admitted that he is plausible; +he deceived me. Perhaps that has made me more relentless; +but I have lost my brother, and I loved him.” +</p> +<p>Her father’s face grew very stern, and he clenched his +hand. +</p> +<p>“I have lost my son, and I wronged him.” +</p> +<p>Then there was silence for a few moments; but Gertrude +knew she had succeeded. Her father had been wavering, +but she had stirred him to passion, and his thoughts +had suddenly returned to the groove they would not leave +again. The fixed idea had once more possessed him; unavailing +sorrow and longing for justice would drive him +on along the course he had chosen. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_248' name='page_248'></a>248</span></p> +<p>“You have reminded me of my duty,” he said with +grim forcefulness. “I shall not fail in it.” +</p> +<p>Then he got up and left her sitting still, lost in painful +reflection. His motives were honest and blameless; but +she had not this consolation. She tried to find comfort +in the thought that if Prescott were innocent, he had +nothing to fear. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XXIII_A_NIGHT_RIDE' id='XXIII_A_NIGHT_RIDE'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_249' name='page_249'></a>249</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XXIII</h2> +<h3>A NIGHT RIDE</h3> +</div> + +<p>It was six o’clock in the evening. Curtis had just finished +his supper and sat drowsily content in his quarters +at the police post after being out in the frost all day. The +temperature had steadily fallen since morning and the +cold was now intensified by a breeze that drove scattered +clouds across the moon and flung fine snow against the +board walls, but the stove, which glowed a dull red, kept +the room comfortable. A nickeled lamp shed down a +cheerful light, and the tired corporal looked forward to a +long night’s rest. Private Stanton sat near him, cleaning +a carbine. +</p> +<p>“It’s curious you have heard nothing from Regina since +you sent up those clothes,” he remarked. “It looked +pretty bad for Prescott.” +</p> +<p>“I don’t know,” said Curtis. “Have you ever seen +him with that suit on?” +</p> +<p>“No.” +</p> +<p>“Nor has anybody else, so far as I can learn. There’s +another point—the land agent talked of a tall, stoutish +man. You wouldn’t call Prescott that.” +</p> +<p>“Those clothes were ’most as good as new; he might +have only had them on the once,” Stanton persisted. +</p> +<p>“That’s what struck me; I don’t know how they looked +so good, if they’d been lying where Jernyngham found +them, since last summer.” +</p> +<p>“It’s a thing I might have thought of.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_250' name='page_250'></a>250</span></p> +<p>“You have a good deal to learn yet.” Curtis smiled +tolerantly. +</p> +<p>“Anyhow, I found you a photograph of Prescott, and +you were glad to send it along to Regina. What do you +think our bosses are doing about it?” +</p> +<p>“Lying low, like sensible men; the more we find out +about this case, the more puzzling it gets. You think you +have pretty good eyes, don’t you?” +</p> +<p>“They’re as good as anybody’s I’ve come across yet.” +</p> +<p>“Well, you searched the bluff several times in daylight +and didn’t see those clothes. Jernyngham comes along +when it is getting dark and finds them. How do you +account for that?” +</p> +<p>“I’ve quit guessing; I’ll leave the thing to you. Anyhow, +I’ve had about enough of Jernyngham; talked to +me like a sergeant instructor last time I met him, and +you’d have felt proud if you’d seen the way he smiled +when I told him he had better go to you.” +</p> +<p>“We’ll leave it at that,” said Curtis. “The man’s +making me tired, and he’s worse than he was a month +ago. Where’s that Brandon paper?” +</p> +<p>While Stanton looked for it there was a sound of wheels +and a hail outside, and a stinging draught swept in when +the trooper opened the door. A fur-wrapped man sat in +a wagon holding up an envelope. +</p> +<p>“For Curtis; come for it,” he said. “Operator asked +me to bring it along. I’m ’most too cold to get down +and I can’t let the team stand.” +</p> +<p>The envelope slipped from his numbed fingers as +Stanton tried to take it. +</p> +<p>“Dropped near the wheel. My hand’s ’most frozen, +though I’ve good thick mittens on. It’s about the coldest +night I’ve been out in.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_251' name='page_251'></a>251</span></p> +<p>He drove on, and Stanton hurried in and flung the +door to before he handed the telegram to Curtis. +</p> +<p>When the corporal opened it his face grew intent. +</p> +<p>“It’s from Sergeant Crane,” he said. “Glover was +seen this morning near Norton, heading east on the +Sand Belt trail.” +</p> +<p>Stanton’s face fell. He had been in the saddle the +greater part of the day, and the prospect of spending the +night in pursuit of Glover did not appeal to him, though +he knew it could not be avoided. The man was a notorious +thief, whose last exploit had shown some ingenuity. +Appearing at the house of a prosperous farmer, he had +shown him a letter from a railroad contractor asking for the +use of his best Clydesdale team on tempting terms. The +farmer let the horses go and saw no more of them, while +the contractor repudiated the letter. Glover was also +supposed to have had a hand in one or two more serious +affairs. +</p> +<p>“I guess we’ll have to get after him,” said the trooper. +“Where’ll he make for?” +</p> +<p>“Jepson’s, sure. I don’t know another house near +the Sand Belt he could reach to-night, and Jepson’s most +as slippery a tough as Glover is.” +</p> +<p>“It’s a mighty long ride,” said Stanton, “My ranger +will stand for it; I don’t know about your gray.” +</p> +<p>“He’ll have to make it,” Curtis answered shortly. +“Get your saddle on.” +</p> +<p>When Stanton went out Curtis stood up regretfully, for +he was aching from a long journey in the stinging cold +and the room looked very comfortable. An effort was +required to leave it, and he had not much expectation +of making a capture that would stand to his credit. +Jepson and his brother were cunning rogues; Glover had +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_252' name='page_252'></a>252</span> +escaped once or twice already, and Curtis realized that +the chances were in favor of his returning after a fruitless +ride. Nevertheless, his duty was plain; he had been +trained to disregard fatigue and most physical weaknesses, +and he went out resignedly into the arctic frost. +</p> +<p>They set off a few minutes later, and Curtis had the +depressing feeling that he was riding a worn-out mount, +though there was some consolation in the thought that the +range of the service carbine might, in case of necessity, +make up for his lack of speed. When he met the biting +north wind that swept the plain the warmth seemed to +leave his body; his mittened hands stiffened on the bridle, +and it was only resolution that kept him in the saddle. +He would run less risk of frost-bite if he walked, but time +would not permit this and the claims of the service are +more important than the loss of a trooper’s feet or hands. +If he were crippled and incapacitated, there was a small +pension; it was his business to face the risks of the weather. +</p> +<p>They rode on with lowered heads, fine snow stinging +their faces now and then, and though its touch was +inexpressibly painful they were glad they retained the +power of feeling. When that went, more serious trouble +would begin. For a while a half moon shone down, and +their black shadows sped on before them across the +glittering plain, but by and by clouds drove up and the +prairie grew dim. It changed to a stretch of soft grayish-blue, +with the trail they followed running across it a +narrow stretch of darker color. The light, however, was +not wholly obscured; they could see a bluff stand out, a +bank of shadow, a mile away. Once they saw the cheerful +lights of a farm in the distance and a longing for +warmth and the company of their fellow-creatures seized +them, but this was a desire that must be subdued, and, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_253' name='page_253'></a>253</span> +leaving the beaten trail they pressed on into the waste. +Save for the faint, doleful sound the wind made it was +dauntingly silent and desolate. There was not a bush +to break its gray surface, and the frost was intense. +They bore it uncomplainingly for an hour or two, and +then Stanton broke out: +</p> +<p>“I’ll have to get down or I’ll lose my foot! I’ll run +a while beside my horse and then catch you up.” +</p> +<p>Curtis nodded and trotted on, breasting the wind +which, so far as he could judge from his sensations, was +turning him into ice. He could hear Stanton behind +him, but that was the only sound of life in the vast desolation. +After a while the trooper came up at a gallop, +and Curtis called to him sharply: +</p> +<p>“Any better?” +</p> +<p>“No feeling in my foot yet,” said Stanton. “I’m +anxious about it, but I couldn’t drop too far behind +you. We have no time to lose.” +</p> +<p>“That’s so,” Curtis answered. “Glover will pull +out from Jepson’s long before morning. He won’t rest +much until he’s a day’s ride from the nearest post.” +</p> +<p>They went on, and some time later the moon shone +through again, flooding the plain with light. It was +welcome because they were now entering the Sand Belt +where scrub trees were scattered among little hills. +Pushing through it, they came to a taller ridge late at +night, and Curtis drew bridle on its summit. A faint, +warm gleam appeared on the snow about a mile away. +</p> +<p>“Jepson’s,” said Curtis. “Looks as if he had some +reason for sitting up quite a while after he ought to +be in bed.” +</p> +<p>Stanton glanced thoughtfully down the slope in front. +It was smooth and unbroken, a long, gradual descent, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_254' name='page_254'></a>254</span> +and he knew the farm stood on the flat at its foot. A +straggling poplar bluff grew close up to the back of the +buildings, but there was nothing that would cover the +approach of the police, and he had no doubt that a +watch was being kept. +</p> +<p>“It’s a pity the moon’s so bright,” he remarked. +“There’s a cloud or two driving up, but I don’t know +that they’ll cover it.” +</p> +<p>“We can’t wait. This is my notion—you’ll turn back +a piece and work down to the ravine that runs east +behind the homestead. Stop when you can find cover +and watch out well. I’ll have to ride straight in.” +</p> +<p>“You want to be careful. There’ll be three of them +in the place, counting Glover, and they’re a tough crowd.” +</p> +<p>Curtis smiled. +</p> +<p>“Jepson has a pretty long head. He’ll bluff, if he can, +but he won’t get himself into trouble for his partner. +The thing’s not serious enough for that.” +</p> +<p>“Anyway, you want to keep your eye on them,” +Stanton persisted. “Glover’ll sure make for the ravine +if he breaks out.” +</p> +<p>Turning his horse, he disappeared behind the ridge, +while Curtis rode on toward the farm. Glancing up at +the moon, he saw that the clouds were nearer it, though +he could not be certain that they would obscure the +light. This was unfortunate, because he knew that he +and his horse would stand out sharply against the +smooth expanse of snow. The light ahead grew brighter +as he trotted on, urging his jaded mount in order to give +the inmates of the homestead as short a warning as +possible. Suddenly another patch of brightness appeared. +It was a narrow streak at first, but it widened into an +oblong and then went out. Somebody had opened the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_255' name='page_255'></a>255</span> +door of the homestead, and the next moment the first +gleam faded and all was dark. Curtis was inclined to +think this a mistake on Jepson’s part, but he kept a +very keen watch as the buildings grew into plainer +shape against the shadowy bluff. He knew he must +have been visible some minutes earlier. +</p> +<p>At length he rode up to the little square house, which +rose abruptly from the plain without fence or yard. +It was dark and silent, and he was glad to remember that +it had only one door, though there were one or two +buildings close behind it. He was so numbed that it was +difficult to dismount, but he got down clumsily and beat +on the door for several minutes without getting an answer. +This confirmed his suspicions, for he was convinced that +Jepson had heard his vigorous knocking. Then the +moonlight, which might have been useful now, died +away, and the plain faded into obscurity. Curtis was +making another attack on the door when a window above +was flung up and a man leaned out, holding what looked +suggestively like a rifle. +</p> +<p>“Stand back from that door!” he cried. “What in +thunder do you want?” +</p> +<p>“Drop your gun!” said Curtis. “Come down right +now and let me in!” +</p> +<p>“I guess not! If you don’t light out of this mighty +quick, you’ll get hurt!” +</p> +<p>“Quit fooling, Jepson! You know who I am!” +</p> +<p>“Seem to know your voice now,” said the other, leaning +farther out. “Why, it’s Curtis!” He laid down the +rifle and laughed. “You were near getting plugged. +Figured you were one of those blamed rustlers—the country’s +full of them—Barton back at the muskeg lost a steer +last week. What I want to know is—why the police don’t +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_256' name='page_256'></a>256</span> +get after them? Guess it would be considerably more +useful than walking round the stations with a quirt under +your arm.” +</p> +<p>The man was not talkative as a rule, and Curtis surmised +that he wished to delay him. +</p> +<p>“Come down!” he said sternly. +</p> +<p>“I’ll be along quick as I can,” the other answered, and +shut the window. +</p> +<p>While he waited, Curtis listened with strained attention. +He was inclined to think that Glover had already left +the house, which must nevertheless be searched, but he +could hear nothing except the dreary wail of wind in the +neighboring bluff. His fingers were so numbed that he +could scarcely hold his carbine, his horse stood wearily +with drooping head, and when a minute or two had passed +Curtis struck the door violently. It opened, and Jepson +stood in the entrance, holding a lamp. +</p> +<p>“All alone?” he remarked good-humoredly. “Where’s +your partner? But come in; it’s fierce to-night.” +</p> +<p>“Then stand out of my way. I’ve come for Glover.” +</p> +<p>Jepson laughed. +</p> +<p>“Looked as if you were after somebody. He isn’t +here, but you had better see for yourself. Walk right in; +you’re welcome to find him.” +</p> +<p>The house contained four small rooms, which had nothing +in them that would hide a man, and in a minute or +two Curtis sprang out of the door and scrambled to his +saddle. He did not think Glover would seek refuge in +any of the outbuildings, and he rode toward the thin bluff +that hid the ravine. The man might have reached the +trees, unseen, by keeping the house between himself and +the slope down which Curtis had come. He had not +left the house long before he heard the sharp drumming +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_257' name='page_257'></a>257</span> +of a gallop, and drove his horse at the belt of timber. All +had turned out as he had expected. Stanton had headed +off Glover as he slipped away down the ravine, and the +outlaw had broken out to the north, making for a tract +of lonely, bluff-strewn country. He was now between +the corporal and the trooper, and his capture might be +looked for, provided that Curtis’s mount could bear a +sharp gallop, which was doubtful. +</p> +<p>The sides of the ravine were steep and clothed with +brush, there were fallen logs in the fringing bluff, but +Curtis urged his jaded horse mercilessly toward the timber, +and went through it with rotten branches smashing +under him. Once or twice the beast stumbled, but +it kept its feet, and in a few more moments they reeled +down the declivity. A fall might result in the rider’s +getting a broken leg and afterward freezing to death, but +Curtis took risks of this nature lightly, and, reaching the +bottom safely, somewhat to his surprise, he struggled up +the opposite ascent. +</p> +<p>From the summit he saw two dark, mounted figures +pressing across the open plain some distance apart. By +riding straight out from the ravine he thought that he +could cut off the leader. His weariness had fallen from +him, the mad drumming of hoofs fired his blood, and as he +burst out of the timber at a gallop the moon came through. +The fugitive seemed to hear him, for he altered his course +a little—he could not swerve much without approaching +Stanton—and for a few minutes Curtis shortened the +distance between them. Then his horse began to flag; +it looked as if Glover might escape, after all, though he +must still draw nearer to the trooper before he got away. +</p> +<p>Curtis, roughly calculating speed and distance, pulled +up his horse. Springing from the saddle, he flung himself +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_258' name='page_258'></a>258</span> +down in the snow, and for a few seconds gripped his carbine +tight. Then there was a flash and little spirts of +snow leaped up one after another ahead of the outlaw. +Curtis pressed down the rear sight and fired again; but +Glover was still riding hard, with Stanton dropping behind +him. At the third shot Glover’s horse went down +in a struggling heap, hiding its rider. A few moments +later the man reappeared, and began to run, but he stopped +as Stanton came down on him at a gallop, and +Curtis got up hastily. Glover made a sign of submission, +and the next minute Stanton sprang to the ground +beside him. +</p> +<p>“Hold up your hands!” he ordered sharply, and there +was a clink as the irons snapped to. +</p> +<p>After that the trooper turned to Curtis, who was hurrying +toward them. +</p> +<p>“Lend me your carbine; mine’s clean.” +</p> +<p>He walked to the fallen horse, which was struggling +feebly, and, stooping down he examined it. Then there +was a crash and a puff of smoke, and he rejoined the +corporal. +</p> +<p>“Nothing else that could be done,” he explained. +</p> +<p>Curtis spoke to the prisoner. +</p> +<p>“Come along. You had better not try to break +away.” +</p> +<p>They went back to the homestead where they found +Jepson waiting for them. He looked disturbed. +</p> +<p>“I told you he wasn’t here,” he said. “How was I +to know he was hiding in the ravine?” +</p> +<p>Curtis gave him a searching glance. +</p> +<p>“We’ll consider that later. I want your team and +wagon, some blankets, and driving-robes.” +</p> +<p>“Am I bound to outfit the police?” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_259' name='page_259'></a>259</span></p> +<p>“I guess you had better. Your record’s none too +good.” +</p> +<p>He led his prisoner into the kitchen, where the stove +was burning, and, laying his carbine on the table, he +loosed the handcuffs and bade the man take off his long +coat. +</p> +<p>“Go through his pockets, Stanton,” he said. +</p> +<p>The trooper did as he was told, but nothing of any +importance was produced. The man was not armed, +and there were only a few silver coins and bills for small +amounts in his possession. Curtis stood wearily, regarding +him with a thoughtful smile. +</p> +<p>“Where did you get that jacket, Glover?” he asked. +</p> +<p>“Where do you generally get such things? At the +store.” +</p> +<p>“Just so,” said Curtis. “I can’t see why you didn’t +buy one that fitted you.” He turned suddenly to +Jepson. “Bring me his jacket.” +</p> +<p>The farmer made an abrupt movement, and then +seemed to pull himself up, and stood still. +</p> +<p>“I’ve no use for that kind of fooling; he has it on!” +</p> +<p>“I don’t think so,” said Curtis meaningly. “Give +Stanton a light and he’ll look for it.” +</p> +<p>The trooper came back in a few minutes with a +garment which he had found under a bed, and Curtis +bade him put it on the prisoner. +</p> +<p>“Right size, same stuff as the trousers, and worn about +as much,” he remarked. “Now you can take it off and +search it.” +</p> +<p>There was nothing in the pockets, but after a careful +examination Stanton felt a lump inside the lining. +He ripped that, and took out a wad of carefully folded +bills. On opening them, he found that they were for +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_260' name='page_260'></a>260</span> +twenty dollars each, and clean. The corporal’s face +grew suddenly intent. +</p> +<p>“Where did you get them?” he asked. +</p> +<p>“You can find out!” muttered Glover, who had +shown signs of dismay. +</p> +<p>Curtis turned to Jepson. +</p> +<p>“It looks as if he trusted you farther than I would; +but harness your team quick, and if your brother’s +hanging round outside, tell him that he’ll run up against +trouble if he interferes.” +</p> +<p>They sat down and waited until the farmer brought a +wagon to the door, and then they drove away through +the stinging cold with their prisoner. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XXIV_MURIEL_PROVES_OBDURATE' id='XXIV_MURIEL_PROVES_OBDURATE'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_261' name='page_261'></a>261</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XXIV</h2> +<h3>MURIEL PROVES OBDURATE</h3> +</div> + +<p>Some time after leaving Jepson’s Curtis was joined +by two police troopers, despatched by the sergeant +who had telegraphed to him. He handed over his prisoner +and the wagon to them, though he asked permission +to keep the wad of bills. Then Stanton unhitched the +jaded horses from the back of the vehicle, and while the +others drove back to the west he and Curtis rode on to +the post. Reaching it, half frozen, in the morning, they +filled up the stove and went to sleep until supper time. +When the meal was over they sat down to smoke and talk. +</p> +<p>Stanton felt lazily good-humored. A sound sleep +had refreshed him, and though his limbs still ached, +he was enjoying the pleasant, physical reaction which +usually succeeds fatigue and exposure to the arctic +frost. What was better, he had assisted in the successful +completion of an arduous piece of work. Curtis lay +back in a chair opposite him, pipe in mouth, his expression +suggesting quiet satisfaction. +</p> +<p>“Toes feeling pretty good?” he inquired by and by. +</p> +<p>“I’m glad to say they are, though I thought I was in +for trouble,” Stanton said with a deprecatory smile. +“I allow that frost-bite’s a thing I’m easy scared about, +after the patrol I made with Stafford through the northern +bush last winter. Got his foot wet with mushy snow +crossing a rapid where the ice was working, and it froze +bad; had to pack him the last two hundred miles on the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_262' name='page_262'></a>262</span> +sled, with the dogs getting used up, and the grub running +out. They paid him off at Regina and sent him home; +but Stafford will never put on an ordinary boot again.” +</p> +<p>“A frozen foot’s bad enough, if you have to walk +until it galls,” Curtis admitted. “A hand’s easier looked +after, though I’ve three fingers I’m never quite sure of. +That’s one reason it took so much shooting before I +plugged Glover’s horse.” +</p> +<p>“You were pretty cute about his jacket,” Stanton +remarked. +</p> +<p>“That was easy enough. The thing was too big +for him and newer than his trousers. Soon as I noticed it, +I knew I’d dropped on to something worth following +up.” +</p> +<p>“I can’t see what you made of it, and you haven’t +told me yet.” +</p> +<p>“I was too dog-goned cold and tired to talk; wanted +to make the post and get to sleep. However, though +I gave Crane’s boys no hint, I’ll show you what I’ve +been figuring on. Consider yourself a jury and tell me +how it strikes you. You have as much intelligence as +the general run of them.” +</p> +<p>“If I hadn’t any more than the kind of jurymen +we’re usually up against, I’d quit the service,” Stanton +declared. +</p> +<p>The corporal’s eyes twinkled. +</p> +<p>“If you’ll learn to think and not hustle, you’ll make a +useful man some day. Anyhow, the first thing I caught +on to was that Glover had taken off his jacket because +there was something in it he didn’t want us to find. +Next, that it was money or valuables, because he could +have put any small thing into the stove or hid it in the +snow before he lit out. Now, Glover knew it was kind of +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_263' name='page_263'></a>263</span> +dangerous to leave his jacket with Jepson, who might +find the bills, and as he couldn’t tell you were in the ravine +he must have thought he had a good chance of getting +clear away; but, for all that, he wouldn’t risk taking +the wad along. Guess there’s only one explanation—he’d +a reason for being mighty afraid of those bills +falling into our hands. That was plain enough when I +asked him about his jacket.” +</p> +<p>“Yes,” Stanton said thoughtfully; “I guess you have +got it right. But what was his reason? He knows +Crane can have him sent up for horse-stealing.” +</p> +<p>Curtis, opening a drawer, took out a slip of paper +with some numbers on it, and then laid the wad of bills +on the table. +</p> +<p>“Twenty dollars each, Merchants’ Bank, and quite +clean,” he said. +</p> +<p>“It was a five-dollar bill on the same bank we found +at the muskeg!” cried Stanton, starting. +</p> +<p>“It was.” Curtis took up the list. “Now here are +the numbers of the twenty-dollar bills Morant at Sebastian +got from the bank a day or two before he made the +deal with Jernyngham; it was with those bills he paid +him the night he disappeared.” He paused and added +significantly, “I guess we have got some of them here.” +</p> +<p>This proved to be correct when they had compared +them with the list. Then Curtis leaned back in his +chair and filled his pipe. +</p> +<p>“It’s a mighty curious case,” he remarked. +</p> +<p>“Sure,” replied Stanton. “You get no farther with +it. You have points against three different men, and +it’s pretty clear that they haven’t been working together. +They can’t all have killed the man.” +</p> +<p>“That’s true. Well, I’ve made a report for Regina, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_264' name='page_264'></a>264</span> +and they’ll keep Glover safe until we want him. I can’t +tell what our chiefs will do; but as Glover’s not likely +to tell them anything, I guess they’ll hold this matter +over until we find out more.” He locked up the money. +“Now we’ll quit talking about it. I want to give my +mind a rest.” +</p> +<p>Curtis had few of the qualities needed for the making +of a great detective; he was merely a painstaking, +determined man, with a capacity for earnest work, +which is perhaps more useful than genius in the ranks +of the Northwest Police. He could tirelessly follow +the dog-sleds, sometimes on the scantiest rations, for +hundreds of miles over the snow, sleeping in the open +in the arctic frost. He had made long forced marches +to succor improvident settlers starving far out in the +wilds; in the fierce heat of summer he made his patrols, +watching the progress of the grass-fires, sternly exacting +from the ranchers the plowing of the needed guards; +and cattle-thieves prudently avoided the district that he +ruled with firm benevolence. The man was a worthy +type of his people, the new nation that is rising in the +West: forceful, steadfast, direct, and, as a rule, devoid +of mental subtleties. He admitted that the Jernyngham +mystery, every clue to which broke off as he began to +follow it, was harassing him. +</p> +<p>While he spent the evening, lounging in well-earned +leisure beside the stove, Mrs. Colston was talking +seriously to her sister in a room of the Leslie homestead. +Owing to the number of its inmates, she had found it +difficult to get a word with the girl alone, and now that +an opportunity had come, she felt that she must make +the most of it. +</p> +<p>“Muriel,” she said, “do you think it’s judicious to +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_265' name='page_265'></a>265</span> +speak so strongly in Prescott’s favor as you have done of +late? You were rude to Gertrude last night.” +</p> +<p>The girl colored. She had, as a matter of fact, lost +her temper, which was generally quick. +</p> +<p>“I hate injustice!” she broke out. “Gertrude and +her father make such an unfair use of everything they +can find against him, and I think Gertrude’s the worse +of the two.” She looked hard at her sister. “She +shows a rancor against the man which even the disappearance +of her brother doesn’t account for.” +</p> +<p>The same idea had occurred to Mrs. Colston, but it +was a side issue and she was not to be drawn away from +the point. +</p> +<p>“You stick to the word disappearance,” she said. +</p> +<p>“Yes,” Muriel answered steadily. “Cyril Jernyngham +isn’t dead!” +</p> +<p>“You have only Prescott’s word for that.” +</p> +<p>Muriel made no answer for a few moments; then she +looked up with a resolute expression. +</p> +<p>“I’m satisfied with it!” +</p> +<p>Her sister understood this as a challenge. She had +indulged in hints and indirect warnings, and they had +been disregarded. The situation now needed more +drastic treatment. +</p> +<p>“That,” she said, “is a significant admission; I can’t +let it pass. Your prejudice in favor of the man has, of +course, been noticeable; you have even let him see it. +Don’t you realize what damaging conclusions one might +draw from it?” +</p> +<p>“Damaging?” Muriel’s eyes were fixed on her sister, +though her face was hot. “As you have been thinking +of all this for some time, perhaps you had better +explain and get it over.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_266' name='page_266'></a>266</span></p> +<p>Mrs. Colston leaned forward with a severe expression. +</p> +<p>“I feel that some candor is necessary. You have +taken the man’s side openly; you have sympathized +with him; I might even say that you have led him on.” +</p> +<p>Muriel’s wayward temperament drove her to the +verge of an outbreak, but with an effort at self-control, +she sat still, and her sister resumed: +</p> +<p>“Besides his lying under suspicion, the man is a mere +working farmer, imperfectly educated, forced to live in a +most primitive manner, thinking of nothing but his crops +and horses.” +</p> +<p>“He is not imperfectly educated! As a matter of +fact, he knows more about most things than we do; but +that’s not important. Mind, I’m admitting nothing +of all that you suggest, but you might have said that +I’m a penniless girl, living on your husband’s charity. +I must confess that he gives it very willingly.” +</p> +<p>“That is precisely why I’m anxious about your +future.” Mrs. Colston’s voice softened to a tone of +genuine solicitude. “Of course, we are glad to have +you—Harry has always been fond of you—but, for +your sake, I could wish you a completer life in a home +of your own. But so much depends on the choice you +make.” +</p> +<p>“Yes; a very great deal depends on that. I’m expected, +of course, to make a brilliant match!” +</p> +<p>“Not necessarily brilliant, but there are things we have +always enjoyed which must be looked for—a good name, +position, the right to meet people brought up as we have +been, on an equal footing.” +</p> +<p>Muriel broke in upon her with a strained laugh. +</p> +<p>“Once, for a little while, it looked as if we should have +to do without them, and somehow I wasn’t very much +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_267' name='page_267'></a>267</span> +alarmed. But your list’s rather short and incomplete. +There are one or two quite as important things you +might have added to it; though perhaps I’m exacting.” +</p> +<p>There was silence for a few moments, and a faint +flicker of color crept into Mrs. Colston’s face while the +girl mused. Her sister had got all she asked for, but +Muriel suspected that she was not content; now and then, +indeed, she had seen a hint of weariness in her expression. +Harry Colston made a model husband in some respects, +but he had his limitations. His virtues were commonplace +and sometimes tedious; his intelligence was less +than his wife’s. Muriel was fond of him, but his unwavering +good-nature and placidity irritated her. She was +inclined to be sorry for her sister in some ways. +</p> +<p>“Muriel,” Mrs. Colston resumed gently, “your happiness +means a good deal to me. A mistake might cost you +dear, and, after all, one cannot have everything.” +</p> +<p>“That is obviously true. I suppose it’s a question of +what one values most, or perhaps what most strongly +appeals to one’s fancy. It would be difficult to fix an +accurate standard for judging suitors by, wouldn’t it?” +Then her tone grew scornful. “Besides, as those who +are eligible aren’t numerous, a girl’s expected to wait +with an encouraging smile and thankfully take what +comes.” +</p> +<p>Mrs. Colston looked at her reproachfully. +</p> +<p>“You’re hardly just, my dear; I only urge you to be +prudent now.” +</p> +<p>“Prudence is such a cold-blooded thing! I’m afraid I +never had it. After all, what seems wise to me might appear +to be folly to you. I think if ever what looks like +a chance of happiness is offered me, I shall take all risks +and clutch at it.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_268' name='page_268'></a>268</span></p> +<p>She picked up a book, as if to intimate that she had +no more to say, and Mrs. Colston wondered whether her +worst fears were justified or whether Muriel had been +behaving with unusual perverseness. In either case, +she might make things worse by laboring the subject. +She hesitated a moment and then went out in search of +her husband. +</p> +<p>“Harry,” she said, “we have been away a long while. +Don’t you think it is time to go home?” +</p> +<p>“No,” he answered; “I haven’t thought so. What +suggested the idea?” +</p> +<p>It was obvious that he had no suspicion of her motive, +and she was not prepared to explain that she wished to +place Muriel beyond Prescott’s reach. +</p> +<p>“Well,” she said lamely, “aren’t you rather neglecting +your duties?” +</p> +<p>“No,” Colston replied with a smile; “as they’re to a +large extent merely formal ones, I believe they can wait +a little longer without much harm being done.” +</p> +<p>Mrs. Colston was surprised. She had not expected +such an admission from her husband, though she agreed +with him. Harry was not, as a rule, susceptible to new +impressions, but there was a subtle influence in the simple +life on the prairies which altered one’s point of view and +led to one’s forming a new estimate of values. She had +felt this. Things which had seemed essential in England +somehow lost their importance in Canada. +</p> +<p>“Besides,” he resumed, “you will remember that I +made arrangements to be away a year, if necessary, and +perhaps if I make the most of my opportunities in this +country, I may have something worth while to say when +we go home again.” +</p> +<p>This was more in his usual vein; but his wife did not +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_269' name='page_269'></a>269</span> +encourage him. Harry was apt to grow tiresome in his +improving mood. +</p> +<p>“But you don’t think of staying the full year?” she +asked in alarm. +</p> +<p>“Oh, no; we might wait another week or two, or even +a month more. It wouldn’t be the thing to desert +Jernyngham; and, as we’re mixed up in it, I feel it would +be better to see the matter through.” He smiled at his +wife with cumbrous gallantry. “Then, though you always +look charming, you’re now unusually fresh and fit; +there’s no doubt that the place agrees with you.” +</p> +<p>Mrs. Colston could not deny it. She yielded for the +present, deciding to wait until some turn of events rendered +him more amenable. In spite of his good humor, +Harry was obstinate and often hard to move. +</p> +<p>She went to join Gertrude, while Muriel, sitting alone +where she had been left, laid down her book, and let her +eyes range slowly round the room, trying to analyze the +impression it made on her. There was no carpet on the +floor; the walls were made of mill-dressed boards which +had cracked with the dryness and smelt of turpentine. +The furniture consisted of a few bent-hardwood chairs +and a rickety table covered with a gaudy cloth. The +nickeled lamp, which diffused an unpleasant odor, was +of florid but very inartistic design; the plain stove stood +in an ugly iron tray, and its galvanized pipe ran up, unconcealed, +to the ceiling. A black distillate had trickled +down from a bend in it, and stained the floor. +</p> +<p>Muriel realized that had she been expected to live in +such a place in England it would have struck her as comfortless, +and almost squalid; but now, perhaps by contrast +with the frozen desolation without, it looked cheerful, +and had a homelike air. This, she thought, was significant, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_270' name='page_270'></a>270</span> +and she followed up the train of ideas to which it +led. She had a practical, independent bent; she liked +to handle and investigate things for herself, to get into +close and intimate touch with life. At home, this had +not often been possible; she was too sheltered and, in a +sense, too secluded. The people she met were conventional, +acting in accordance with a recognized code, +concealing their feelings. If she rode or drove, somebody +got ready the horse for her; it was the same with the car. +When she strolled through an English garden, she might +pluck a flower or take pleasure in the smoothness of the +lawn, but it was always with the feeling that others had +planted and mown. She could take no active part in +things; there was little that she could really do. +</p> +<p>It was different on the Western prairie. Here men and +women showed anger or sorrow or gladness more or less +openly. One could realize their emotions, and this, instead +of deterring, attracted her; one came to close grips +with the primitive influences of human nature. Then +they were strenuous people, toiling stubbornly, rejoicing +in tangible results that their hands and brains had produced. +Woman was man’s real helpmate, not a companion +for his idle hours. She kept his house, and in +time of pressure drove his horses; she had her say in determining +the count of the cattle and the bushels of seed, +and it was sometimes conceded that her judgment was +the better. +</p> +<p>But this was only one aspect of the subject that filled +the girl’s thoughts. She knew that Prescott loved her +and she was glad of it; but here she stopped. She was +sanguine, impulsive, courageous, but, with all that could +be said for it, the change she must face if he claimed her +was a startling one. Besides, he must clear himself of +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_271' name='page_271'></a>271</span> +suspicion, and because the part of a mere looker-on was +uncongenial, there was a course which she would urge +on him. She must see him and convince him of the necessity +for it. Soon after she had made up her mind on this +point, Jernyngham and Colston came in, and she had to +talk to them. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XXV_A_WOMAN_S_INFLUENCE' id='XXV_A_WOMAN_S_INFLUENCE'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_272' name='page_272'></a>272</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XXV</h2> +<h3>A WOMAN’S INFLUENCE</h3> +</div> + +<p>Muriel found it needful to wait several days for an +opportunity for speaking to Prescott. It did not +seem advisable to visit his house again, and she was at a +loss for a means of meeting him when she overheard +Leslie tell his wife that he would ask Prescott, who was +going to Sebastian the next morning, to bring out some +stores they required. The next day Muriel borrowed a +team and, contenting herself with an intimation that she +was going for a long drive, set off for the settlement. It +would be time enough to confess her object if her sister +taxed her with it, and there were one or two purchases +she really wished to make. +</p> +<p>She had never gone so far alone, though she had occasionally +driven to an outlying farm, and the expedition +had in it the zest of adventure. Moreover, she was +boldly going to undertake a very unusual task in showing +Prescott what he ought to do. So far, she had been an +interested spectator of the drama of life, but now she +would participate in it, exercising such powers as she +possessed, and the thought was additionally fascinating +because among her intimate friends she could not pick out +a man who owed much to a woman’s guidance. Her +sister had some mental gifts, but Harry Colston, disregarding +her in a good-humored but dogged fashion, did what +he thought best; while the idea of Jernyngham’s deferring +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_273' name='page_273'></a>273</span> +to Gertrude was frankly ridiculous. Neither man had +much ability; indeed, it was, as a rule, the dullest men +who were most convinced of their superior sense. Prescott +far surpassed them in intellect; but she pulled herself +up. She was not going to dwell on Prescott’s virtues +unduly, and she had not convinced him yet. +</p> +<p>The team gave her no trouble, the trail was good, and +reaching Sebastian safely, she spent some time in a drygoods +store, and afterward went to the hotel, where supper +was being served. She would not have waited for it, only +that she had seen nothing of Prescott, and she had the +excuse that the team must have a rest. On entering the +big dining-room she was inclined to regret that meals +can rarely be had in private in the West, although, by +the favor of a waitress, she succeeded in obtaining a +small table to herself. There were only two women +present, clerks in the store, she believed, but the room was +nearly filled with men. Among them were ranchers with +faces darkened by the glare of the snow, some of them +wearing shabby coats from which the fur was coming off, +though the room was warm; a few railroad hands who +laid sooty mittens on the table; the smart station-agent; +a number of storekeepers and clerks. Now and then +boisterous laughter rang out, and one group indulged +in rather pointed banter, while the way that several of +them used their knives and forks left much to be desired; +but nobody regarded the girl with marked attention. +For all that, she was sensible of some relief when Prescott +came in and moved toward her table. +</p> +<p>“May I take this place?” he asked. +</p> +<p>“Of course,” she said. +</p> +<p>After speaking to a waitress, he inquired whether +Colston or her sister were at the hotel. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_274' name='page_274'></a>274</span></p> +<p>“No; I drove in alone.” +</p> +<p>She saw his surprise, which suggested that her task +might prove more difficult than she had imagined. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said, “the trail’s pretty good and there’s +a moon to-night; but didn’t you hesitate about getting supper +here by yourself?” +</p> +<p>“Not very much; there was really no reason why I +should hesitate.” +</p> +<p>“That’s true. But you had your doubts?” +</p> +<p>“They were foolish,” Muriel told him. “Why are +you so curious?” +</p> +<p>“I’m interested.” He indicated the room and its +occupants. “These people, their manners, and surroundings +are typical of the New West.” +</p> +<p>“Do you feel that you ought to defend them?” +</p> +<p>“Oh, no! They don’t need it. They have their +faults and their virtues, and neither are mean. They’ve +the makings of a big nation and they’re doing great +work to-day. However, you had certainly no cause for +uneasiness; there’s not a man in the place who would +have shown you the least disrespect.” +</p> +<p>“After all,” Muriel contended, “they’re not your +people. You came from Montreal; your ideas and habits +are more like ours than theirs.” +</p> +<p>“They’re mine by adoption; I’ve thrown in my lot +with them.” He fixed his eyes on her. “Do you know +the secret of making colonization a success? In a way, +it’s a hard truth, but it’s this—there must be no looking +back. The old ties must be cut loose once for all; a man +must think of the land in which he prospers as his home; +it’s not a square deal to run back with the money he +has made in it. He must grow up with the rising nation +he becomes a member of.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_275' name='page_275'></a>275</span></p> +<p>“Yes,” Muriel conceded slowly; “I think that is so. +But it’s harder for a woman.” +</p> +<p>“And yet have you seen any one who looked unhappy?” +</p> +<p>“No,” she admitted with thoughtful candor. “The +few I have got to know seem to have an importance that +perhaps is not very common at home. For instance, I +heard Leslie giving his wife his reasons for thinking of +buying some Hereford cattle, and his respect for her +opinion impressed me.” +</p> +<p>Prescott smiled. +</p> +<p>“If I were going to sell those beasts, I’d rather make +the deal with her husband.” +</p> +<p>Then he changed the subject and they talked in a +lighter vein until the room began to empty and a waitress +came to collect the plates. +</p> +<p>“Don’t they close this place as soon as supper is +finished?” Muriel asked, trying to overcome her diffidence. +“Where can I have a word or two with you? +I was afraid that somebody might overhear us here.” +</p> +<p>“The parlor would be best,” he answered in some +surprise. “The boys prefer the downstairs room and +the bar. I’ll tell the man about my horse, and then +I’ll be there.” +</p> +<p>Muriel found the few minutes she had to wait trying, +but she gathered her courage when he joined her. +</p> +<p>“Sit down,” she said with an air of decision. “I’d +better begin at once, and the thing is serious. What +have you done to clear yourself, since I last saw you?” +</p> +<p>His searching glance filled her with misgivings; without +being subtle, he was by no means dull, and he must +be curious about her motive in asking him. To her relief, +however, he confined himself to the point she had raised. +</p> +<p>“Nothing. I don’t see what can be done.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_276' name='page_276'></a>276</span></p> +<p>“Then are you content to remain suspected?” +</p> +<p>“No; I’m not content! But as I seem to be helpless, +the fools who can only judge by appearances and the +others who are quick to think the worst of me must believe +what they like. Anyway, their opinion doesn’t count for +much.” +</p> +<p>“How can people judge except by appearances?” +Muriel argued. “Besides, do you divide everybody you +know into those two classes?” +</p> +<p>He looked hard at her and, to her annoyance, she grew +confused. +</p> +<p>“No,” he said slowly; “that would be very wrong—I +was too quick. There are a few with generous minds +who haven’t turned against me and I’m very grateful.” +</p> +<p>“It might have been enough if you had said they had +sense; but don’t you feel you owe them something? Is +it fair to keep silence and do nothing while they fight your +battle?” +</p> +<p>“Are there people who are doing so?” +</p> +<p>“Yes,” Muriel answered steadily. “You oughtn’t +to doubt it. You’re wronging your friends.” +</p> +<p>His expression betokened a strong effort at self-control. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said, “it seems I have a duty to them, but +how I’m to get about it is more than I know.” +</p> +<p>“Have you thought of telling the police about your +journey to British Columbia and what you learned about +Cyril Jernyngham?” +</p> +<p>“I’m afraid they wouldn’t believe me. Then there’s +the trouble that the man I followed called himself +Kermode.” +</p> +<p>“Never mind. Tell them; tell everybody you know.” +</p> +<p>“It would be useless,” Prescott said doggedly. +</p> +<p>“You’re wrong,” Muriel persisted. “When a thing +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_277' name='page_277'></a>277</span> +is talked about enough, people begin to believe it. +Besides, it would give your supporters an argument +against the doubtful. I’m afraid they need one after +the finding of the clothes.” +</p> +<p>“The clothes? What clothes?” +</p> +<p>Muriel’s faith in Prescott had never been shaken, but +his surprise caused her keen satisfaction, and she told +him all she knew about Jernyngham’s discovery. +</p> +<p>“Still, I don’t see what finding them there could +signify,” he said when she had finished. +</p> +<p>“Then you don’t know that a day or two after Cyril +Jernyngham disappeared, a man dressed in clothes like +those found, sold some land of his at a place called +Navarino?” +</p> +<p>Prescott started. +</p> +<p>“It’s the first I’ve heard of it. There’s some villainy +here; the things must have been hidden near my house +with the object of strengthening suspicion against me!” +</p> +<p>“Of course! But you can’t think that Jernyngham +had a hand in it?” +</p> +<p>“Oh, no! The man is trying to ruin me, but that kind +of meanness isn’t in his line. Perhaps I’d better say that +I never had clothes like those and that I sold no land of +Cyril’s.” +</p> +<p>“Mr. Prescott,” Muriel murmured shyly, “it isn’t +necessary to tell me this; I never doubted it.” +</p> +<p>“Thank you,” he answered shortly, but there was +trouble in his voice and the girl thought she knew what +his reticence cost. +</p> +<p>“Well,” she said, “you will tell other people this and go +to see Corporal Curtis? You agreed that women have +some power here, and, even if you’re not convinced, you +will do what I ask because I wish it?” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_278' name='page_278'></a>278</span></p> +<p>“You have my promise.” +</p> +<p>He walked toward the window and stood looking out +for a moment or two before he turned to her again. +</p> +<p>“Don’t you think you had better start for home? The +moon looks hazy. May I drive out with you?” +</p> +<p>Muriel had shrunk from the long journey in the dark, +and she readily agreed. +</p> +<p>“I’ll tell them to bring your team round,” he said, +moving toward the door. “Get off as soon as you’re +ready, and I’ll come along when I’ve collected a few +things I bought.” +</p> +<p>The girl let him go, appreciating his consideration, +for she guessed his thoughts. He was under suspicion +and would give the tatlers in the town nothing on which +to base conjectures. It hurt her pride, however, to admit +that such precautions had better be taken. +</p> +<p>Leaving the hotel, she found the trail smooth when +she had crossed the track, but after she passed the last +of the fences the waste looked very dreary. The moon +was dimmed by thin, driving clouds, and the deep silence +grew depressing; the loneliness weighed on her, and she +began to listen eagerly for the beat of hoofs. For a time +she heard nothing and she had grown angry with Prescott +for delaying when a measured drumming stole out of the +distance and her feeling of cheerfulness and security +returned. Its significance was not lost on her: she was +learning to depend on the man, to long for his society. +Then, for no obvious reason, she urged the team and +kept ahead for a while. When he came up with an +explanation about a missing package, she laughed half-mockingly, +and on the whole felt glad that the narrowness +of the trail, which compelled him to follow, made conversation +difficult. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_279' name='page_279'></a>279</span></p> +<p>An hour after she left the settlement the moon was +hidden and fine snow began to fall. It grew thicker, +gradually covering the trail, until Muriel had some +difficulty in distinguishing it. The sleigh was running +heavily, and after a while Prescott told her to stop. +</p> +<p>“I’ll go ahead, and then you can follow my buggy,” +he said. “There won’t be much snow.” +</p> +<p>Muriel felt that there was quite enough to have made +her very anxious had she been alone, but when he passed +and took his place in front she drove on in confidence. +She remembered that this was not a new feeling. He was +a man who could be trusted; one felt safe with him. Now +and then she could hardly see the buggy and she was glad of +his cheery laugh and the somewhat inconsequent remarks +he flung back to her when the haze of driving flakes +grew thicker. So far as she could see, the trail now +differed in nothing from the rest of the wilderness, but +he held on without hesitation, and she felt no surprise +when once or twice a belt of trees she remembered +loomed up. They made better progress when the snow +ceased, and at length Prescott stopped his horse and she +saw a faint blink of light some distance off. +</p> +<p>“That’s Leslie’s,” he said. “Shall I drive to the +house with you?” +</p> +<p>“No, that isn’t needful, thank you.” +</p> +<p>“Then I’ll wait until I see the door open. I’ll look +up Curtis in the morning.” +</p> +<p>Muriel turned off toward the farm, where she found +Colston and her sister disturbed by her absence. +</p> +<p>“Where have you been?” Mrs. Colston asked. +“You have frightened us. Harry would have driven +out to look for you if he had known which way to go.” +</p> +<p>“I went to the settlement. I bought the things we +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_280' name='page_280'></a>280</span> +spoke about, and I met Mr. Prescott, who brought me +home.” Muriel spoke in a tone that discouraged further +questions. “Now I’m very cold, Harry, you might +shake the snow from those furs.” +</p> +<p>She left them soon afterward, pleading fatigue, and +went to sleep, feeling satisfied with what she had done +and knowing that Prescott would keep his promise. +</p> +<p>Her confidence was justified, for on the following day +he drove over to the police post and found Curtis +alone. +</p> +<p>“I’ve come to tell you something and I’ll ask you +to let me get through before you begin to talk,” he said. +</p> +<p>Curtis showed no surprise and indicated a chair. +</p> +<p>“Sit there and go ahead.” +</p> +<p>He listened with close attention while Prescott described +his journey and recounted all that he had learned +about Kermode. +</p> +<p>“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?” Curtis asked. +</p> +<p>“I couldn’t imagine that you would believe it.” +</p> +<p>“Then what makes you think I’ll believe it now?” +</p> +<p>“To be honest, I don’t care whether you do or not.” +</p> +<p>Curtis sat silent a few moments. +</p> +<p>“What you have told me amounts to this,” he then +summed up: “you have heard of a man who seems to +look like Cyril Jernyngham.” +</p> +<p>“It’s as much to the purpose that he acts like him. +I’ve told you all I learned about his doings and you +can judge for yourself. You knew the man.” +</p> +<p>“So do you,” said Curtis pointedly. +</p> +<p>Prescott smiled. +</p> +<p>“Leave it at that. I want you to find out whether I’m +correct or not. You made some inquiries along the new +line?” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_281' name='page_281'></a>281</span></p> +<p>“We didn’t go far west,” Curtis admitted. “There +were difficulties, and we couldn’t see much reason for +the search. It was quite clear to me that Jernyngham +was knocked out near the muskeg.” He looked hard +at Prescott. “It isn’t easy to change that opinion.” +</p> +<p>“It seems your duty to test it. Even if the thing costs +some trouble, can’t you instruct your people in Alberta +to find out whether a man called Kermode worked in +any of the construction camps, and if they’re satisfied +that he answers Jernyngham’s description, to have him +followed up in British Columbia?” +</p> +<p>“There’s a point you haven’t got hold of,” Curtis +replied. “When you struck a camp, asking after your +partner, the boys were ready to talk to you; but it’s quite +different when a trooper comes along. I wouldn’t have +much use for anything they told him.” +</p> +<p>Prescott realized the truth of this. Traveling on foot +in search of a working comrade, he had been received +by the railroad hands as one of themselves; but he knew +that men with checkered careers which would not bear +investigation found refuge among the toilers on the new +lines, and that even those who had nothing to fear +would consider reticence becoming when questioned by +the police. The only excuse for loquacity would be +the sending of an inquisitive constable on a fruitless +expedition. +</p> +<p>“Then can’t you try the bosses?” he asked. +</p> +<p>“I guess they’re not likely to have found out much +about the man, and the boys wouldn’t tell them. However, +I’ll send up a report and see what can be done.” +</p> +<p>“Thanks,” said Prescott, and then asked bluntly: +“What do you make of the brown clothes?” +</p> +<p>“So you heard they were found!” said Curtis with +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_282' name='page_282'></a>282</span> +some dryness. “I haven’t done figuring on the matter +yet.” +</p> +<p>“I don’t suppose I’d help you by saying that they +don’t belong to me.” +</p> +<p>Curtis looked at him thoughtfully but made no answer +for a while. Then: +</p> +<p>“Did you ever see anybody wearing a suit like that?” +he asked. +</p> +<p>“Well,” Prescott answered, “I believe I once did, +but I can’t think who it was. I’ve been trying hard to +remember all day and it may come back.” +</p> +<p>He got up and Curtis walked to the door with him. +</p> +<p>“Frost’s keeping pretty keen,” he remarked. +</p> +<p>Prescott drove away, and the corporal was smoking +near the stove when Stanton came in. +</p> +<p>“You look as if you’d been studying the Jernyngham +case,” he said. “I’ll allow it’s enough to get on your +nerves.” +</p> +<p>“Prescott’s been here,” replied Curtis. “He’s heard +those blamed clothes were found, and that’s going to +make us trouble. We’ve had Jernyngham interfering +and mussing up the tracks, and now Prescott’s getting +ready to butt in. I expect he’ll be off to Navarino very +soon, and we can’t stop him unless we arrest him, which +I’m not ready to do.” +</p> +<p>“Did he tell you he was going?” +</p> +<p>“It wasn’t needed; I’ve been figuring out the thing.” +</p> +<p>“Well,” remarked Stanton with a thoughtful air, +“he wouldn’t let that land agent see him if he’d been +guilty.” +</p> +<p>Curtis reserved his opinion. +</p> +<p>“You’re getting smart,” he said with a grin. “Still, +you don’t want to hustle.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_283' name='page_283'></a>283</span></p> +<p>“Hustle?” Stanton rejoined scornfully. “Jernyngham +was killed last summer and we haven’t corralled +anybody yet!” +</p> +<p>“That’s so,” Curtis assented tranquilly, “I’ve heard +of the boys getting the right man nearly two years +afterward.” +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XXVI_PRESCOTT_MAKES_INQUIRIES' id='XXVI_PRESCOTT_MAKES_INQUIRIES'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_284' name='page_284'></a>284</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XXVI</h2> +<h3>PRESCOTT MAKES INQUIRIES</h3> +</div> + +<p>Supper was over and Laxton, the land agent, sat +in the rotunda of the leading hotel at Navarino. It +was a handsome building, worthy of the new town +which had sprung into existence on the discovery that +a wide belt of somewhat arid country, hitherto passed +over by settlers, was capable of growing excellent wheat. +As soon as this was proved, rude shacks and mean frame +houses had been torn down, and banks, stores, and +hotels, of stone or steel and cement rose in their places. +Great irrigation ditches were dug and a period of feverish +prosperity began. +</p> +<p>Though the frost was almost arctic outside, the rotunda +was pleasantly warm and was dimmed, in spite of its +glaring lamps, with a haze of cigar smoke. In front of +the great plate-glass windows rows of men sat in tilted +chairs, their feet on a brass rail, basking in the dry heat +of the radiators. Drummers and land speculators +were busy writing and consulting maps at the tables +farther back among the ornate columns, and the place +was filled with the hum of eager voices. The town was +crowded with homestead-selectors, and many, braving +the rigors of winter, were camping on their new possessions +in frail tents and rude board shacks, ready to +begin work in the spring. Indeed, determined men +had slept in the snow on the sidewalks outside the land +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_285' name='page_285'></a>285</span> +offices to secure first attention in the morning when +cheap locations were offered for settlement. +</p> +<p>Laxton had had a tiring day, and he was leaning +back lazily in his chair, watching the crowd, when a +man entered the turnstile-door, which was fitted with +glass valves to keep out the cold. He looked about the +room as if in search of somebody; and then after speaking +to the clerk came toward the land agent. Laxton +glanced at him without much interest, having already +as much business on his hands as he could manage. +The stranger wore an old fur-coat and looked like a +rancher. +</p> +<p>“Mr. Laxton, I believe,” he said, taking the next chair. +</p> +<p>The land agent nodded and the other continued: +</p> +<p>“My name’s Prescott. I’ve come over from Sebastian +to have a talk with you.” +</p> +<p>“I suppose I’ll have to spare you a few minutes,” said +Laxton with more resignation than curiosity. +</p> +<p>“In the first place, I want to ask if you have ever seen +me before?” +</p> +<p>Laxton looked at him with greater interest. The +man’s brown face was eager, his eyes were keen, with a +sparkle in them that hinted at determination. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said, “I can’t recollect it.” +</p> +<p>“Would you be willing to swear to that?” +</p> +<p>“Don’t know that I’d go quite so far; I don’t see why +I should.” +</p> +<p>Prescott took out a sheet of paper with some writing +on it. +</p> +<p>“Do you recognize that hand?” +</p> +<p>“No,” said the agent decidedly. “It’s a bold style +that one ought to notice, but I don’t think I’ve seen it.” +Then he looked up sharply. “What you getting after?” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_286' name='page_286'></a>286</span></p> +<p>“I’ll explain in a minute. Let me say that I’ve examined +the land sale record here, and have found a deal +registered that you were concerned in. It was made in +the name of Cyril Jernyngham.” +</p> +<p>Laxton started. +</p> +<p>“Look here,” he said, “I’ve had a lot of trouble over +this thing since I was fool enough to write to the police; +in fact, I’ve had enough of the Jernyngham case.” He +broke off for a moment as a light dawned on him and +then went on: “It’s a sure thing I haven’t met you, but, +when I think, there was a young lad something like you +among others in blanket-coats in a photograph a sergeant +brought me. Montreal snowshoe or toboggan +club, I guess.” +</p> +<p>“I don’t know how the police got it. But what did +you tell the sergeant?” +</p> +<p>“Said it was no use showing me a photograph like +that, because I didn’t trade with kids.” +</p> +<p>“Then, as I’m the man the police suspect of selling +that land of Jernyngham’s, it would be a great favor if +you’ll tell me candidly what you know about the matter.” +</p> +<p>“Hang up your coat,” said Laxton; “I’ll do what I can. +Anyway, you’re not the fellow I made the deal with.” +</p> +<p>He drew out a cigar-case when Prescott came back. +</p> +<p>“Take a smoke and go ahead. I’m willing to talk.” +</p> +<p>“First of all, turn over the paper I gave you and look +at the signature.” +</p> +<p>“Cyril Jernyngham!” exclaimed Laxton, astonished. +“I see your point—the hand ought to be the same as that +on the sale registration form, and I might have been expected +to recognize it, but I can’t remember all the writing +I see. However, we’ll compare it with the other signature +to-morrow.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_287' name='page_287'></a>287</span></p> +<p>“When you do so, you’ll find a difference.” +</p> +<p>“Ah!” said Laxton. “Then whose hand is this?” +</p> +<p>“Cyril Jernyngham’s. It was written in my presence, +and what’s more important, in the presence of another +man. Now will you tell me what the fellow who made +the deal with you was like?” +</p> +<p>Laxton did so, and Prescott thought the description +indicated Wandle, though he was not the only man +in the neighborhood of Sebastian to whom it might +apply. +</p> +<p>“Did you notice how he was dressed?” he asked. +</p> +<p>“He had on a suit of new brown clothes.” +</p> +<p>Prescott sat still, his brows knitted, his right hand +clenched. The reason why the clothes had been hidden +near his house was obvious, but there was something +else: a blurred memory that was growing into shape. +Ever since he had heard about them from Muriel, he had +been trying to think where he had seen the clothes, and +at last he seemed to hold a clue. In another few moments +it led him to the truth; everything was clear. He had +once met Wandle driving toward the settlement wearing +such a suit, and by good fortune he had shortly afterward +been overtaken by a farmer who must have seen the man. +In his excitement he struck the table. +</p> +<p>“Now I know!” he cried. “The man who forged +Jernyngham’s name hid his clothes near my house to fix +the thing on me. I owe you a good deal for your help +in a puzzling matter.” +</p> +<p>The agent was sympathetic, and after Prescott had +given him an outline of his connection with the case, they +sat talking over its details. Laxton had a keen intelligence +and his comments on several points were valuable. +When Prescott went to sleep it was with a weight off his +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_288' name='page_288'></a>288</span> +mind; but his mood changed the next day and he traveled +back to Sebastian in a very grim humor. +</p> +<p>Open and just as he was in all his dealings, Wandle’s +treachery infuriated him. There would, he felt, have +been more extenuation for the trick had the man killed +Jernyngham, but that he should conspire to throw the +blackest suspicion on a neighbor in order to enjoy the +proceeds of a petty theft was abominable. He must be +made to suffer for it. However, Prescott did not mean +to trouble the police. He had had enough of their +cautious methods. He determined to secure a proof of +Wandle’s guilt, unassisted, without further loss of time, +and to do this he must obtain a specimen of the man’s +writing to compare with that on the land sale documents. +There was, he thought, a way of getting it. +</p> +<p>Reaching Sebastian in the evening, he was going to +the livery-stable to hire a team when he met an acquaintance +who offered to drive him home. As the man would +pass within a mile or two of Wandle’s homestead and +there was a farm in the neighborhood where he might +borrow a horse, Prescott agreed. His companion found +him preoccupied during the journey. He put him down +at a fork of the trail, and Prescott, walking on quickly +through the darkness, saw Wandle’s team standing +harnessed when he reached the house. This was a sign +that their owner had recently come home, and Prescott, +opening the door without knocking, abruptly entered the +kitchen. The lamp was lighted and Wandle, standing +near it with his fur-coat still on, looked startled. Prescott +was sensible of a burning desire to grapple with him and +extort a confession by force, but there was a risk of the +crude method defeating its object, and with strong self-denial +he determined to set to work prudently. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_289' name='page_289'></a>289</span></p> +<p>“I see you have just come in, and I’m anxious to get +home, so I won’t keep you more than a few minutes,” +he said. +</p> +<p>“How did you come?” Wandle asked. “I didn’t +hear a team.” +</p> +<p>“Harper drove me out. I walked up the cross trail; +but that doesn’t matter. The last time we had a talk we +fell out over the straightening up of Jernyngham’s +affairs.” +</p> +<p>“That’s so; you still owe me a hundred dollars.” +</p> +<p>“I don’t admit it,” said Prescott, who had laid his +plans on the expectation of this claim being made. +“Anyhow, the dispute has been dragging on and it’s +time we put an end to it. It was the small items you +wanted to charge Jernyngham with that I objected to, +and I may have cut some of them down too hard. Suppose +you write me out a list.” +</p> +<p>“I can tell you them right away.” +</p> +<p>“Put them down on paper; then we can figure them +out more easily.” +</p> +<p>“Don’t know if I’ve any ink,” said Wandle. “Haven’t +you a notebook in your wallet? You used to carry one.” +</p> +<p>Prescott made a mistake in putting his hand into his +pocket, which showed that he had the book, but he remembered +that it would not suit his purpose to produce it. +</p> +<p>“I’m not going to make out your bill,” he said. +“That’s your business. Give me a proper list of the +disputed expenses and we’ll see what can be done.” +</p> +<p>He was a poor diplomatist and erred in showing too +keen a desire to secure a specimen of the other’s handwriting, +which is a delicate thing to press an unskilful +forger for. Wandle was on his guard, though he carefully +hid all sign of uneasiness. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_290' name='page_290'></a>290</span></p> +<p>“Well,” he said, “I’ll send you a list over in a day or +two; after all, if I think them over, I may be able to +knock something off one or two of the items. But now +you’re here, I want to say that you were pretty mean about +that cultivator. They’re not sold at the price you allowed +me.” +</p> +<p>This was intended to lead Prescott away from the +main point and it succeeded, because, being at a loss for +an excuse for demanding the list immediately, he was +willing to speak of something else while he thought of one. +</p> +<p>“You’re wrong,” he said curtly. “You can get them +at any big dealer’s. I looked in at a western store where +they stock those machines, yesterday, and the fellow +gave me his schedule.” +</p> +<p>He had taken off his mittens, but his hands were stiff +with cold, and when he felt in his pocket he dropped +several of the papers he brought out. The back of a +catalogue fell uppermost, and it bore the words, “Hasty’s +high-grade implements, Navarino.” Near this lay an +envelope printed with the name of a Navarino hotel. +</p> +<p>There was nothing to show that Wandle had noticed +them—he stood some distance off on the opposite side +of the table—but Prescott was too eager in gathering +them up. Opening the catalogue, he read out a description +of the cultivator and the price. +</p> +<p>“Taking the cash discount, it comes to a dollar less +than what I was ready to pay you,” he said. “Now +make out the list and we’ll try to get the thing fixed up +before I go.” +</p> +<p>Wandle sat down for a few moments, for he had +received a shock. His suspicions had already been +aroused, and Prescott’s motive in going to Navarino was +obvious; besides, he thought he had read Laxton’s name +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_291' name='page_291'></a>291</span> +on the envelope. He could expect no mercy—Prescott’s +face was ominously grim—and there was no doubt that, +having seen Laxton, he knew who had hidden the brown +clothes. The game was up, but, shaken by fear and rage +as he was, he rose calmly from his seat. +</p> +<p>“Well, since you insist on it, I guess I’ll have to write +the thing; but I can’t leave my team standing in the frost. +Sit down and take a smoke while I put them in.” +</p> +<p>Prescott could not object to this. He lighted his pipe +when Wandle left him. He heard the door shut and +the horses being led away, for the stable stood at some +little distance from the house, and after that no further +sound reached him. Mastering his impatience, he began +to consider what he would best do when Wandle had given +him the list. He supposed he ought to hand it over to +Curtis, but he was more inclined to go back to Navarino +and compare the writing with the signature on the documents +relating to the sale. Then, having proof of the +forgery, he would communicate with the police. He +was sensible of a curious thrill at the thought that the +suspicion which had tainted him would shortly be +dispelled. +</p> +<p>After a while it occurred to him that Wandle should +have returned, but he reflected that the man might be +detained by some small task. After waiting some +minutes longer, he walked to the door, but finding that +he could not see the entrance to the stable, he stood still, +irresolute. He thought he had been firm enough, and +to betray any further eagerness would be injudicious. +The matter must be handled delicately, lest Wandle +take alarm. +</p> +<p>When he had smoked out his pipe, Prescott could no +longer restrain his impatience. He hurried toward the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_292' name='page_292'></a>292</span> +stable. The moonlight fell on the front of the building +and the door was open; but Prescott stopped with a start, +for all was dark inside and there was no sign of the +vehicle in which the rancher had driven home. A worse +surprise awaited him, for when he ran inside and struck +a match it was clear that Wandle and his team had +gone. +</p> +<p>Prescott dropped the match and stood still a few +moments, in savage fury. There was no doubt that he +had been cleverly tricked; Wandle, guessing his object, +had quietly driven away as soon as he had led the team +clear of the house. Moreover, Prescott had good cause +for believing that he would not come back. With an +effort, he pulled himself together. To give rein to his +anger and disappointment would serve no purpose; but +he had no horse with which to begin the pursuit. He +remembered having told Wandle so when he first entered +the house. Striking another match, he lighted a lantern +he found and eagerly looked about. A plow team occupied +two of the stalls, and though they were heavy Clydesdales +with no speed in them, they would be capable of +traveling faster than a man on foot. As he could not +find a saddle, he ran back to the house and returned with +a blanket. A bit and bridle hung on a nail, he found a +girth, but his hands were cold and he spent some time +adjusting straps and fastening on the blanket before he +led one of the horses out and mounted. +</p> +<p>The moonlight was clear enough to show him that +there were no fresh wheelmarks in the snow. Wandle +had kept to the trail, and Prescott surmised that he would +travel south toward the American boundary. Although +he feared he would lose ground steadily, he meant to +follow, since there was a chance of the fugitive’s being delayed +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_293' name='page_293'></a>293</span> +by some accident, which would enable him to come +up. It was extremely cold, Prescott was not dressed for +riding, and the folded blanket made a very bad saddle. +At times pale moonlight shone down, but more often it +died away, obscured by thin cloud. The trail, however, +was plain and the big Clydesdale was covering the +ground. Prescott’s hands and feet grew numbed, and +there was a risk in this, but he trotted steadily on. +</p> +<p>After a while he heard two horsemen following him. +He did not pull up; time was precious, and if the others +wished to overtake him, he had no doubt that they could +do so. During the next few minutes it became evident +that they were gaining, and he heard a cry which he +answered without stopping. Then, as the moon came +through, another shout reached him, sharp and commanding: +</p> +<p>“Stop, before we drop you!” +</p> +<p>This was not to be disregarded. Pulling up, he turned +his horse. Two mounted men rode furiously down on +him, loose snow flying about their horses, and one poised +a carbine across his saddle. Struggling to check his +horse, he swept past, shouting to his comrade: +</p> +<p>“Hold on! It’s Prescott!” +</p> +<p>They were a little distance ahead when they stopped +and trotted back, and Prescott waited until Curtis pulled +up at his side. +</p> +<p>“Where were you going?” cried the corporal. +</p> +<p>“After Wandle.” +</p> +<p>“I might have guessed!” said Curtis savagely, and +turned to Stanton. “This explains the thing.” +</p> +<p>“How far is he ahead of you?” Stanton asked. +</p> +<p>“He got off half an hour before I did, as near as I can +guess.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_294' name='page_294'></a>294</span></p> +<p>They sat silent for a moment or two, breathless and +crestfallen, their horses distressed. +</p> +<p>“Let’s get into the lee of the bluff yonder; this wind’s +keen,” Curtis said. +</p> +<p>“You’re losing time,” Prescott objected. +</p> +<p>“We’ve lost it,” Curtis told him grimly. “My mount +has been out since noon, and it’s near midnight now. +Stanton’s isn’t much fresher.” +</p> +<p>Prescott rode with them to the bluff, where they got +down. +</p> +<p>“That’s a relief; it’s quite a while since I could +feel the bridle,” said Curtis, turning to Prescott. “How +did you scare Wandle off? Be as quick as you can!” +</p> +<p>Prescott briefly related what led to his call at the farm +and the corporal’s face was filled with scornful anger. +</p> +<p>“This is what comes of you blamed amateurs butting +in!” he remarked. “Jernyngham was bad enough, but +he can’t come near you at mussing up our plans. Guess +you don’t know that we’ve been watching Wandle for +some weeks, ready to corral him, and you start him off +like this, without warning.” +</p> +<p>“I’d reason to believe you were watching me,” Prescott +dryly rejoined. +</p> +<p>“Oh, well,” said Curtis, “that’s another matter. Anyhow, +I had trailed Wandle to Kelly’s place since dark, +and I’d trotted round to see if he’d got back to his +homestead when I found that he had gone. Stanton +and I were prospecting out this way when we struck your +trail.” +</p> +<p>“What are you going to do about it?” +</p> +<p>“We’ll make the next farm and try to borrow horses. +Then I’ll ride to the railroad and get the wires to work. +Stanton will keep the trail by Long Lake.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_295' name='page_295'></a>295</span></p> +<p>“Then I’ll push right on by the Traverse. There’s +a ranch I should make by daylight where I might get a +mount. I’m going to see the thing through.” +</p> +<p>Curtis considered this. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said, “I guess you can’t do much harm, +and Wandle may not have gone by the lake after all. +You can pick up Stanton if you find out anything, +and I’ll try to join you from one of the stations along the +line.” +</p> +<p>They mounted, and on reaching the trail forks where +they must separate, Prescott turned to Curtis. +</p> +<p>“Aren’t you afraid of letting me out of your sight?” +he asked. +</p> +<p>“No, sir,” Curtis answered with a smile. “You’re +not quite so important to us now; and I’m not running +much risk, anyway, considering the horse you’ve got.” +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XXVII_STARTLING_NEWS' id='XXVII_STARTLING_NEWS'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_296' name='page_296'></a>296</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XXVII</h2> +<h3>STARTLING NEWS</h3> +</div> + +<p>It was noon on the day after Wandle’s flight, and +Jernyngham was sitting with his friends in a room of +the Leslie homestead when Muriel, looking out of the +window, saw Prescott’s hired man ride up at a gallop. +His haste and his anxious expression when he dismounted +alarmed her, but her companions had not noticed him, +and she waited, listening to the murmur of voices that +presently reached her from an adjoining room. They +ceased in a few minutes, she saw the man ride away as +fast as he had come, and soon afterward Leslie opened +the door. He was a talkative person and looked as if +he had something of importance to relate. +</p> +<p>“Svendsen has been over to ask if I saw Prescott +when I was in at the settlement yesterday,” he said. +“When I told him that I hadn’t, he seemed mighty +disturbed.” +</p> +<p>Muriel’s heart throbbed painfully, but she waited +for one of the others to speak, and Jernyngham, laying +down his paper, glanced up sharply. +</p> +<p>“Why?” he asked. +</p> +<p>This was all the encouragement Leslie needed. +</p> +<p>“I’ll tell you, so far as I’ve got the hang of the thing; +I thought you’d like to know. It seems Prescott has +been away somewhere for a few days and should have +got home last night. He came in on the train in the +evening, and Harper drove him out and dropped him +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_297' name='page_297'></a>297</span> +at Wandle’s trail; Prescott said he wanted to see the +man. Well, he didn’t get home, and Svendsen, who’d +been to Harper’s this morning, found Wandle gone and +three of his horses missing. Then he found out from +Watson, who stayed at the hotel last night, that Curtis +rode in on a played-out horse before it was light, and +kept the night operator busy for a while with the wires. +Seems to me the thing has a curious look.” +</p> +<p>For a moment or two nobody spoke. Muriel felt +dismayed by the news, and she glanced at the others, +trying to read their thoughts. Colston looked troubled, +Gertrude’s face was hard and stamped with a kind of +cruel satisfaction, Jernyngham was very grim. +</p> +<p>“Is that all you know about the matter?” Jernyngham +asked. +</p> +<p>“I guess so,” Leslie answered. “Still, Svendsen +did allow he thought he’d seen Stanton hanging about +the homestead yesterday evening.” +</p> +<p>“Thank you,” said Jernyngham with cold politeness. +“I’ll want the team after dinner.” +</p> +<p>Seeing no excuse for remaining, the rancher went +out, and Jernyngham turned to the others. His brows +were knitted and his eyes gleamed ominously. +</p> +<p>“There’s no mystery about the matter; the man has +gone for good,” he said. “In spite of the assurances they +gave me, these fools of police have let him slip through +their fingers. That he saw Wandle before he bolted +proves collusion between them. It was a thing I half +suspected, but Curtis, of course, did not agree with me.” +</p> +<p>Muriel was recovering from the shock. Though +things looked very bad, she could not believe that +Prescott had run away. He had promised to call on +Curtis and her confidence in him was unshaken. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_298' name='page_298'></a>298</span></p> +<p>“He went away by train a day or two ago, and if +he had had anything to fear, he would have made his +escape then,” she said. +</p> +<p>Mrs. Colston cast a warning glance at her, as if +begging her to say nothing more, but Jernyngham +curtly answered her remark. +</p> +<p>“The man probably wanted to sell his property where +it would excite less notice than at Sebastian. Then I +suppose he found it needful to see his confederate.” +</p> +<p>“They could have gone off together in the first instance,” +Colston objected. +</p> +<p>Jernyngham made an impatient gesture. +</p> +<p>“I was merely suggesting an explanation; the point +is not important. The fellow has bolted; but I’ve +reason for believing he won’t get across the boundary!” +</p> +<p>He broke off, tearing the newspaper as he opened it, +and there was an awkward silence until Mrs. Leslie +brought in dinner. Jernyngham ate very little, and after +spending a few minutes in his room, he drove off in the +sleigh. Somewhat later, Colston met Gertrude in a passage +and stopped her. He thought she looked anxious. +</p> +<p>“I’m sorry I couldn’t calm your father, but I was +afraid that anything I might say would only make him +more excited,” he told her. “I meant to go with him, +but he wouldn’t permit it.” +</p> +<p>“No,” she said, “there was nothing that you could do; +but I’m badly disturbed.” She paused irresolutely, +and then resumed: “He has taken a magazine pistol, +though I believe it’s the first time he has carried it.” +</p> +<p>Colston looked grave. He determined, if possible, to +abstract the pistol and hide it on Jernyngham’s return. +</p> +<p>“I’m very sorry. It must be trying for you. Indeed, +I wonder anxiously where all this is leading us.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_299' name='page_299'></a>299</span></p> +<p>“The horrible mystery will be cleared up on Prescott’s +arrest,” Gertrude said in a harsh voice. “I think that +can’t be long deferred.” +</p> +<p>She left him troubled by her expression, and he and the +others spent a dreary afternoon and evening. It was late +when Jernyngham returned, looking worn but very stern. +</p> +<p>“From what I’ve learned, word has been sent to +every police trooper between here and the frontier,” +he said, and broke into a grim smile. “Prescott’s +chance of escape is a very poor one.” +</p> +<p>He made a scanty meal, without seeming to notice +what he ate, and afterward sat silent. The others +seldom spoke and when a word was exchanged there +was strain in their voices. The snapping of the poplar +billets in the stove seemed to emphasize the quiet and +jarred on their nerves, while Muriel, tormented by fears +on Prescott’s account, found the suspense and constraint +almost intolerable. She was thankful when bedtime +came, though she could not sleep. Her troubled thoughts +were with her lover, and she wondered what perils he +was exposed to on the snowy wilds. +</p> +<p>As it happened, Prescott was riding steadily through +the stinging frost. He had been unable to obtain a fresh +horse, but he had borrowed a saddle, and the Clydesdale, +though far from fast, possessed good staying powers. For +all that, he had been forced to rest part of the day at an +outlying farm, and while there a man brought him word +from Stanton, whose line of travel ran roughly parallel +with his, three or four leagues to the west. The trooper’s +horse had gone badly lame, and Prescott was instructed to +push on while Stanton sought another mount. +</p> +<p>It was a very bitter night, but the young rancher was +used to cold, and, riding alone in the moonlight, he made +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_300' name='page_300'></a>300</span> +the best pace he could across the white desolation. +There was no sign of life on it. Nothing moved in the +reeds beside the frozen ponds and the shadowy bluffs he +passed; no sound but the thud of heavy hoofs broke the +overwhelming silence. By and by he left the trees behind, +and pressed on into a vast glittering plain which +ran back to the horizon, unbroken by a bush, and inexpressibly +lonely. +</p> +<p>In the early morning he reached a homestead where +he rested until the afternoon. He chafed at the delay, +but as the Clydesdale was badly jaded, it could not be +avoided, and Wandle would have to stop now and then, +unless he could hire fresh horses, which might be difficult. +Starting again, he came to a small wooden settlement in +the evening and rode first to the livery-stable. The +telephone wires, which were being stretched across the +prairie, had not reached the place, and he surmised that +the police had been unable to communicate with it. +The liveryman was busy in one of the stalls, but he +came out and answered Prescott’s question. +</p> +<p>“Yes,” he said, “a fellow like the one you speak +of came in here about an hour ago. His team looked +pretty used up and he wanted to hire another, but +I couldn’t deal. Keep my horses hauling cordwood +through the winter, and the only team I have in the +stable is ordered by a drummer for to-morrow.” +</p> +<p>“Can’t you find me a mount? I’ll pay you what you +like.” +</p> +<p>“No, sir,” said the other. “When I engage to drive a +man round, I’ve got to make good. If I didn’t, it would +soon ruin my trade.” +</p> +<p>Seeing he was not to be moved, Prescott asked: +</p> +<p>“How do you strike the south trail?” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_301' name='page_301'></a>301</span></p> +<p>“Go straight through the town. It forks in about three +miles, and you can take either branch. They’re both +pretty bad, but the west one’s the shorter and the worse.” +</p> +<p>“What’s between the forks?” +</p> +<p>“A big patch of broken country—sandhills and +bluffs. About eight miles on, the other trail runs in +again.” +</p> +<p>“Are there any homesteads on the way?” +</p> +<p>“Nothing near the trail. There’s a shack where +two fellows cutting cordwood camp.” +</p> +<p>Prescott considered when he had thanked the man. +He was tired and his horse was far from fresh, but +he understood that Wandle’s team was in a worse condition. +There was a possibility of his overtaking +him, if he pushed on at once. Leaving the stable, +he meant to walk a short distance to ease his aching +limbs, but he saw a mounted man trotting up the street +and called out as he recognized Stanton. +</p> +<p>“I thought I might get news of you here,” said the +trooper, pulling up. “Have you found out anything?” +</p> +<p>Prescott told him what he had heard, and Stanton +nodded. +</p> +<p>“Then we had better get on. The horse I’ve got +is pretty fresh.” +</p> +<p>In another minute or two they had left the lights of +the settlement behind and Prescott prepared for a third +night on the trail. His eyes were heavy, long exposure to +extreme cold had had its effect on him, and the warmth +seemed to be dying out of his exhausted body. After a +while they came to a straggling clump of birches with +blurred masses of taller trees behind, where the trail +broke in two. Stanton dismounted and struck a few +matches, examining the snow carefully. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_302' name='page_302'></a>302</span></p> +<p>“Nothing to show which way Wandle’s gone,” he +reported. “Somebody’s been along with a bob-sled not +long ago and rubbed out his tracks. Anyhow, I’ll +take the shorter fork.” +</p> +<p>They separated; the trooper riding on in the moonlight +and Prescott entering the gloom of the trees. He +soon found the trial remarkably uneven. So far as he +could make out, it skirted a number of low, thickly +timbered ridges, swinging sharply up and down. In +places it slanted awkwardly toward one edge; in others it +was covered with stiff, dwarf scrub. One or two of the +descents to frozen creeks were alarmingly steep and the +Clydesdale stumbled now and then, but it kept its feet and +Prescott felt that, everything considered, he was making +a satisfactory pace. Stanton, he supposed, was two or +three miles to the west of him, following the opposite +edge of the high ground, but there was nothing to indicate +which of them was the nearer to Wandle. +</p> +<p>He rode on, wishing the light were better, for the faint +gleam of the moon among the trees confused his sight and +made it difficult to distinguish the trail, while to leave it +might lead to his plunging down some precipitous gully. +At length he saw a yellow glow ahead, and soon afterward +came upon a shack in an opening. Small logs were +strewn about it and among them stood tall piles of cordwood. +The door opened as he rode up and a man’s dark +figure appeared in the entrance. +</p> +<p>“Have you seen a rig going south?” Prescott asked. +</p> +<p>“I heard one, about seven or eight minutes ago. +The fellow didn’t seem to be driving quick.” +</p> +<p>“Thanks,” responded Prescott, and rode off with a +feeling of satisfaction. +</p> +<p>He had gained on Wandle, who had probably been +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_303' name='page_303'></a>303</span> +delayed by some mischance on the trail. If the Clydesdale +could be urged to a faster pace, he might overtake +him, but this must be done before the fugitive could hire +a fresh team. Next, he began to wonder what progress +Stanton had made, for the relative positions of Wandle +and the constable were now important. If Stanton were +far enough ahead, he would reach the spot where the trails +united before the absconder, in which case they would +have him between them and it would be better for Prescott +to save his horse’s strength, because speed might be +required. On the contrary, if Stanton were not yet +abreast of him, he ought to push on as fast as possible. +Wandle, he was glad to remember, could not know how +closely he was being followed. +</p> +<p>Turning the matter over in his mind, he rode at a +moderate pace while the rough track wound deeper into +the bluff. The partial obscurity was now extremely +puzzling. Here and there a slender trunk glimmered in +the faint moonlight that streamed down between the +branches, and patches of brightness lay across the path, +but this intensified the darkness of the background. It +was hard to tell which of the dim avenues that kept opening +up was the trail; the state of the short scrub could no +longer be used as a guide, for the cordwood cutters had not +penetrated so far with their sled. +</p> +<p>Prescott knew that he must go forward, however; and +he was gazing anxiously ahead with eyes that ached from +long exposure to the reflection from the snow when the +Clydesdale stumbled violently. He had scarcely time to +clear his feet of the stirrups before the beast went down +and he was flung into a clump of brush with a force that +nearly drove the breath out of him. For a few moments +he lay still, dimly conscious that the horse was struggling +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_304' name='page_304'></a>304</span> +in the snow; and then, rousing himself with an effort, +he got up unsteadily. He felt badly shaken, but he saw +the horse scramble to its feet without assistance and stand +trembling, looking about for him. +</p> +<p>Neither he nor the animal seemed to be seriously +injured, but he felt incapable of mounting and waited +a while, wondering what he should do. He was tired out +and was sensible of a depressing lassitude, the result of +nervous strain. Then, as the bitter cold nipped him, a +reaction set in. Wandle, he remembered, had with +detestable cunning plotted to ruin him; it might be difficult +to clear himself unless the man were arrested. For +the sake of the girl who had maintained his innocence +with steadfast faith, the suspicion under which he labored +must be dispelled. Prescott was seized by a fit of fury +against his betrayer. Nerved by it, he got into the saddle +and rode on, urging the Clydesdale savagely through the +wood. +</p> +<p>Half an hour later he heard a measured drumming +sound and Stanton’s voice answered his hail. Then a +horseman rode out of a gap in the trees and pulled up +near him. +</p> +<p>“I suppose you have seen nothing of Wandle?” Prescott +asked. +</p> +<p>“Not a sign,” said Stanton shortly. “Have you?” +</p> +<p>Prescott raised his hand and sat listening while he +struggled with his rage and disappointment. The night +was still; he thought he would hear any sound there might +be a long distance off, but nothing broke the silence. +</p> +<p>“I learned from a chopper that I wasn’t far behind +him, and I half expected you would have headed him off. +I can’t think he has passed this spot.” +</p> +<p>“We’ll try to fix that.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_305' name='page_305'></a>305</span></p> +<p>Stanton dismounted and struck several matches. The +flame burned steadily, but it showed none of the marks +for which he searched the beaten snow with practised +eyes. +</p> +<p>“No,” he said, “I’d stake a month’s pay that the +fellow’s not ahead.” +</p> +<p>They looked at each other, frankly puzzled; and then +Prescott broke out angrily: +</p> +<p>“Where can the blasted rustler be?” +</p> +<p>“Couldn’t have left the bluffs on my side without my +seeing him, and if he’d doubled back on his tracks, +you’d have met him,” Curtis remarked. +</p> +<p>“He’s not likely to be hiding in the woods. He’d +freeze without a proper outfit, which he can’t have got.” +</p> +<p>They grappled with the problem in silence for a minute +or two. +</p> +<p>“We’ll take the back trail,” Stanton decided. “The +fellow must have broken out for open country on your +side. I guess he knows where there’s a homestead +where he might find a team.” +</p> +<p>Prescott agreed, and they rode off wearily the way he +had come, shivering with the cold that had seized them +while they waited. The expectant excitement which had +animated them for the past hour had gone and was +followed by a reaction. Their bodies were half frozen, +their minds worked heavily, but both were conscious of a +grim resolve. It was the trooper’s duty to bear crushing +fatigue and stinging frost, one that was sternly demanded +of him; and the rancher had a stronger motive. He +must clear himself for Muriel’s sake, and he was filled +with rage against the man who had tried to betray him. +He would go on, if necessary, until his hands and feet +froze or the big Clydesdale fell. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XXVIII_THE_END_OF_THE_PURSUIT' id='XXVIII_THE_END_OF_THE_PURSUIT'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_306' name='page_306'></a>306</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XXVIII</h2> +<h3>THE END OF THE PURSUIT</h3> +</div> + +<p>When they had ridden some distance through the +wood, Stanton checked his horse. +</p> +<p>“Hold on!” he cried. “Here’s a bit of an opening +in the brush!” +</p> +<p>He moved away a few yards, and then called out: +</p> +<p>“Looks mighty like a trail. I guess you didn’t notice +it when you came along.” +</p> +<p>Prescott admitted that he had not done so, which was +not surprising. There was little to distinguish the gap +between the nut bushes from others that opened up all +round; but Stanton seemed satisfied that he was right. +</p> +<p>“Somebody has driven out this way not long ago,” +he explained. +</p> +<p>“It doesn’t follow that the man was Wandle.” +</p> +<p>“Why, no. Still, I guess it’s likely; and if there’s a +trail, it leads to a homestead. Anyway, we’ll track it +up.” +</p> +<p>When they reached the open prairie, the moonlight +showed faint wheelmarks running on before them to +the east. The country was open and empty; a wide +plain, with one slight rise some miles away that cut with +a white gleam against the deep blue of the sky. They +headed toward it wearily, following the track, and drew +bridle when they gained the summit. A half-moon +floated rather low in the western sky, glittering keen +with frost, and they could see that the prairie ahead of +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_307' name='page_307'></a>307</span> +them was more rolling and broken. Dusky smears of +bluffs checkered its white surface here and there, and a +low irregular dark line ran across it. Prescott supposed +this to be a small timber growing along the edge of a +ravine. Beyond it, in the distance, a faint glimmer of +yellow light caught and held his eye. It was the one +touch of warm color in the chill and lifeless waste of +white and blue. +</p> +<p>“A homestead,” said Stanton. “We’ll ride as far as +the ravine together; and then I guess I’ll make for the +farm alone. If Wandle’s been there looking for horses, +he’ll strike south and take the trail we left, farther on. +You’ll head down that way and watch out to cut him off +if he lights out before I come up.” +</p> +<p>Prescott understood the maneuver. By driving east +the fugitive had lost ground, and if he could push on fast +enough, Prescott might reach a position from which he +could either run him down or turn him back into the hands +of the trooper. +</p> +<p>When they came to the ravine and descended the deep +shadowy hollow, they parted company, Prescott following +the opposite brink, because Wandle would have to cross +it lower down to regain the south trail. Once or twice +he left it for a while when the gorge twisted in a big loop +away from him, but he could see nothing of his companion. +They had commanded a wide sweep of plain when +they crossed the rise, but now that he was on low ground, +the scattered bluffs obstructed his view. Indeed, he +fancied from their position that they would prevent +Stanton’s seeing the farm. Once he stopped and listened +with strained attention, but he could hear only the faint +sighing of a light wind among the trees he skirted and the +snapping of a twig, made by what means he could not +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_308' name='page_308'></a>308</span> +tell, for there was no sign of life in all the frozen wilds. +It was very dreary, and Prescott had little expectation of +overtaking Wandle after the time they had lost, but he +doggedly rode on. +</p> +<p>At length an indistinct sound, too regular for the wind +to account for, reached him, and grew louder when he +pulled up his horse. It was a dull, measured throbbing, +and he knew it to be the beat of hoofs. It was drawing +nearer, but it might be made by Stanton riding to join +him, and he headed so as to clear one of the bluffs which +prevented his seeing far across the plain. On passing +the end of the timber he saw another taller patch half a +mile off, which hid most of the prairie between him and +the farm, and knowing that time might be valuable he +clung to the ravine, urging the jaded Clydesdale to its +fastest pace, which was very moderate. He had gone +about a mile, opening up the flat waste beyond the second +bluff, when the black shape of a team and rig appeared +on it. The team was being driven furiously, and in +another few moments Prescott was not surprised to see +a horseman sweep out from the gloom of the trees behind +them. It was, however, soon obvious that the trooper +was not gaining ground; Wandle had got fresh horses, +his rig was light, while Stanton’s mount had already +carried him a long way. Prescott’s Clydesdale had been +harder taxed, but he knew he could not spare the beast. +Wandle must have seen him, but he was holding straight +on, and this could only be because he was following a +trail which led to the easiest crossing of the ravine. The +man would shrink from the risk of getting entangled +among thick timber with his team. +</p> +<p>Prescott would have found speed difficult, even had he +been mounted on a fresh horse. The snow was thin, but +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_309' name='page_309'></a>309</span> +it was loose and dusty beneath the crust, through which +the hoofs broke, while Wandle was making excellent +progress along a beaten trail. Still, Prescott was nearer +to the point the man was making for, and if he could reach +it first, Wandle could not escape. Riding with savage +determination, he sped on, the snow flying up behind +him, the thrill of the pursuit firing his blood and +filling him with fierce excitement. Wandle’s fresh +team was going at a gallop, the hoofs beating out a sharp +drumming that mingled with the furious rattle of wheels, +and through these sounds broke a rapid, pounding thud +which told that Stanton was following hard behind. +The trooper was, however, less close than he had been; +too far, Prescott thought, to use his carbine; and as he +mercilessly drove his beast he feared that he could +scarcely reach the trail in time. He was closing with the +rig and could see Wandle savagely lash his team; the +trouble was that instead of riding to cut off the fugitive, +in another few minutes he would be behind him, which +was a very different thing. +</p> +<p>While he plied the quirt he saw the rig vanish among +the trees close ahead. They stretched out some distance +into the prairie, and he might not be too late yet, if he +were willing to take a serious risk. He did not think +the trail ran straight down into the ravine—the hollow +was too deep for that—it would descend the slope obliquely +and might trend toward him. If so, he should +still be able to intercept the rig by cutting off the corner +and riding straight down the steep bank through the +timber. The odds were in favor of his killing the horse +and breaking his own neck, but this did not count, +and the next moment there was a crash as the +Clydesdale rushed through a brake. A branch struck +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_310' name='page_310'></a>310</span> +Prescott’s leg a heavy blow, but he was too numbed to +feel much pain, and as he swung round a bush that threatened +to tear him from the saddle he could look down +between the trees. Then he was filled with exultation, +for the trail had turned his way. Below him, but farther +from the bottom of the dipping track than he was, +Wandle’s horses were plunging downhill at a furious +gallop, the rig jolting behind them, the driver leaning +forward and using the whip. There was no sign of Stanton +except the pounding of hoofs that rose among the +trees. +</p> +<p>Then the slope grew dangerously sharp and Prescott +set his teeth. The Clydesdale flinched from the descent, +but it was too jaded to struggle hard, and the next +moment it stumbled and slid over the edge. They went +down, slipping over ground as hard as granite under its +thin coat of snow, smashing through nut bushes, tearing +off low branches. Prescott saw Wandle turn his head +and look up at him. Then the fugitive sent up a hoarse +cry of rage and warning, too late. If he could stop his +team, which was very doubtful, he might escape the +threatened collision; but this would involve his capture +by Stanton, and he lashed his horses and went on, while +Prescott and the great plow horse came madly rushing +down at him. He looked at them again, with a breathless +yell; then he let the reins fall and seized a seat rail. +</p> +<p>The Clydesdale struck the light off-side horse, hurling +it upon its fellow, breaking the pole. Both lost their +footing and were driven round. Prescott, flung upon the +backs of the horses, grasped the front of the rig, which +ran on a yard or two and overturned with a crash. The +Clydesdale went down among the wreckage, another +horse was on its side, kicking savagely; and Stanton, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_311' name='page_311'></a>311</span> +hurrying up, saw Prescott crawl slowly clear of it. Seizing +him, he lifted him to his feet, and to his great surprise +the man leaned against a tree with a half-dazed +laugh. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he gasped, “I’m not in pieces, anyway!” +</p> +<p>“Then you ought to be!” said Stanton, too startled to +congratulate him on his escape. “But where’s Wandle?” +</p> +<p>Prescott seemed unable to answer and the trooper, +looking round, saw Wandle lying in the snow; but +before he could reach him the man began to raise himself +on his elbow. This was disconcerting, for Stanton had +thought him dead. +</p> +<p>“Well,” the trooper said stupidly, “what’s the matter +with you?” +</p> +<p>“I don’t know,” Wandle replied weakly. “Don’t +feel like talking; let me alone.” +</p> +<p>Stanton had no fear of his escaping, so he went back +to the horses. One of them stood trembling, attached +to the rig by the deranged harness; the other still lay +kicking, while the big Clydesdale rolled to and fro, with +its leg through a wrenched-off wheel. It was astonishing +that none of them was killed. Prescott apparently needed +no assistance, and Stanton felt that he required some +occupation to calm himself. Accordingly, he freed the +Clydesdale of the broken wheel, narrowly escaping a +kick which would have broken his ribs. The horse was +a valuable one and must not be left in danger, and after a +few minutes of severe exertion Stanton got it on its feet. +Then he turned to the fallen driving horse and began, at +some risk, to cut away its harness. Prescott came to +help him, and together they raised the beast. Then +Stanton sat down heavily on the wreckage. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he remarked, “that was the blamedest fool +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_312' name='page_312'></a>312</span> +trick, your riding down the grade; they wouldn’t expect +that kind of work from us in the service! What I can’t +account for is that you look none the worse.” +</p> +<p>Prescott, standing shakily in the moonlight, smiled. +“It is surprising; but hadn’t you better look after Wandle? +He seems to be getting up.” +</p> +<p>Wandle was cautiously getting on his feet, and the +trooper watched him until he moved a pace or two. +</p> +<p>“You don’t look very broke up,” he said. “Do you +feel as if you could walk?” +</p> +<p>“I believe I could ride,” Wandle answered sullenly. +</p> +<p>“Well, I guess you won’t. You have given us trouble +enough already, and you’ll be warmer on your feet.” +Then he drew out a paper. “This is my warrant. It’s +my duty to arrest you——” +</p> +<p>Wandle listened coolly to the formula, in which +he was charged with fraudulently selling Jernyngham’s +land and forging his name. Indeed, Prescott fancied +that he was relieved to find that nothing more serious +had been brought against him. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said, “you’ll hear my defense when it’s +ready. What’s to be done now?” +</p> +<p>“Head back to the homestead where you got the team. +Think you can lead one of them? It’s either that or I’ll +put the handcuffs on you—make your choice.” Stanton +turned to Prescott. “It will be warmer walking, and +I’ve ridden about enough.” +</p> +<p>The suggestion was agreed to, and after looping up the +cut harness awkwardly with numbed fingers, they set +off; Wandle going first, holding one horse’s head, Prescott +following with two, and the trooper bringing up the rear. +When they reached the farm, to the astonishment of its +occupants, they were given quarters in the kitchen, where +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_313' name='page_313'></a>313</span> +a big stove was burning. Soon afterward, Prescott and +Wandle lay down on the wooden floor, wrapped in +blankets supplied them by the farmer, and Prescott sank +into heavy sleep. Stanton, sitting upright in an uncomfortable +chair, kept watch with his carbine laid handy on +the table. He spent the night in a tense struggle to keep +awake, and when Prescott got up at dawn the trooper’s +face was haggard and his eyes half closed, but he was still +on guard. +</p> +<p>After breakfast, they borrowed a saddle for Wandle +and set out on the return journey, meeting Curtis, who +had ridden from the railroad, at the first settlement they +reached. Prescott left the others there, and rode toward +the station the corporal had just left, taking some telegrams +Curtis asked him to despatch. He spent an +afternoon and a night in the little wooden town, and +went on again the next day by a local train. +</p> +<p>While Prescott was on the way, Jernyngham drove +to Sebastian with Gertrude. The girl had insisted on +accompanying him. Soon after they left the homestead +Colston, who was trying to read a paper from which +his interest wandered, looked up at his wife. +</p> +<p>“It’s fine weather and not quite so cold,” he said. +“Suppose we go to the settlement and get supper there? +I’ve no doubt there’s something you or Muriel would +like to buy.” +</p> +<p>“As it happens, there is,” Mrs. Colston replied. +“But I don’t think that’s all you have in your mind.” +</p> +<p>“The fact is, I’m disturbed about Jernyngham,” Colston +admitted. “He has been in an extremely restless +mood since Prescott disappeared.” +</p> +<p>“I have noticed that. But do you know why he has +gone to Sebastian to-day?” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_314' name='page_314'></a>314</span></p> +<p>“He told me. One of the police authorities, whom +he has seen already, is staying at the hotel to-night. +Jernyngham means to get hold of him and insist upon +an explanation of what they are doing.” +</p> +<p>Muriel leaned forward in her chair. She looked +anxious, for no news of anything that had happened +since Wandle’s flight had reached the neighborhood. +It was only known that the police were in pursuit of +him; and local opinion was divided as to whether Prescott +was also a fugitive or, knowing more about the matter +than anybody else, had offered Curtis his assistance. +</p> +<p>“I think you ought to go,” she said. “And you may +hear something.” +</p> +<p>“Well,” Colston replied, “I’ll confess that I’m curious, +though I’m going mainly on Jernyngham’s account.” +He turned to his wife. “Don’t you think it’s advisable?” +</p> +<p>“I do, and it would be better if we all went. Then +you will have an excuse for following Jernyngham and +can watch him without making the thing too marked. +It’s a pity you didn’t succeed in getting the pistol away +from him.” +</p> +<p>“I’ve done what I could. I had another try this +morning, but he caught me looking for it and I believe +he guessed what I was after, because he was unusually +short with me. It’s my opinion that he has taken to +wearing the thing; so far as I can discover, it’s nowhere +in the house. One hesitates about ransacking his room.” +</p> +<p>“It is not in the house, and he is not to be trusted +with it,” Muriel said quietly. +</p> +<p>Colston cast a surprised glance at her. +</p> +<p>“Oh! You seem to know. I’ve no doubt you are +cleverer with your fingers than I am and wouldn’t be +so afraid of leaving your tracks.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_315' name='page_315'></a>315</span></p> +<p>“Gertrude knows where the pistol is and she thought +it necessary to go with her father,” Mrs. Colston said +significantly. “We’ll get off as soon as you have asked +Leslie for the buggy; I wish it had been the sleigh.” +</p> +<p>They drove away in half an hour; but Jernyngham +reached the settlement some time before they did. +Leaving Gertrude at a drygoods store, he went to the +hotel, where the commissioned officer of police had a +room. The officer was acquainted with all that Prescott +had told Curtis about his absence in search of the missing +man, and had been advised by telegraph of the assistance +he had rendered in Wandle’s arrest. This was, however, +a matter that must stand in abeyance until he saw +Curtis, for he had come down to investigate some complaints +about the reservation Indians, who were in a +restless, discontented state, and the business demanded +careful thought and handling. He was studying the +report of a local constable when there was a knock at +the door, and he looked up with annoyance as Jernyngham +came in. The man had his sympathy, but he was +troublesome. +</p> +<p>“I’m afraid I can’t spare you more than a minute or +two,” he said. “I’m expecting a constable I’ve sent for.” +</p> +<p>“One would have imagined that my business was +of the first importance,” Jernyngham rejoined. “Have +you any news of the fugitives?” +</p> +<p>“Wandle has been arrested.” +</p> +<p>“Ah! That’s satisfactory, though I don’t think it will +carry us very far. His attempt to escape with Prescott, +however, makes it obvious that they were confederates.” +</p> +<p>The officer let this remark pass, for he was anxious +to get rid of his visitor. Jernyngham was piqued by his +silence. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_316' name='page_316'></a>316</span></p> +<p>“I suppose you have not apprehended Prescott yet?” +he resumed. +</p> +<p>“No,” answered the other shortly. “He will remain +at liberty.” +</p> +<p>There was a knock at the door and a trooper looked +in and withdrew. +</p> +<p>“Mr. Jernyngham,” said the officer, “if you will +make an appointment to meet me on my return from +the reservation, I will be at your service, but you must +excuse me now. I have some instructions to give the +constable, who has a long ride before him.” +</p> +<p>“A minute, please; I’ll be brief. Am I to understand +that you have no intention of seizing Prescott?” +</p> +<p>“That is what I meant. So far as I can determine at +present, we shall not interfere with him.” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham’s haggard face grew red with anger. +</p> +<p>“What are your grounds for this extraordinary decision?” +he demanded. +</p> +<p>“A strong presumption of his innocence.” +</p> +<p>“Preposterous!” Jernyngham broke out. “The scoundrel +killed my son, and you refuse to move any further +against him! I must carry the matter to Ottawa; you +leave me no recourse.” +</p> +<p>The officer rapped on the table and the trooper entered. +</p> +<p>“Come and see me when I get back, Mr. Jernyngham, +and we’ll talk over the thing again. I have other business +which demands urgent attention now.” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham’s face was deeply colored and the swollen +veins showed on his forehead. +</p> +<p>“Understand that I insist on Prescott’s arrest! I will, +spare no effort to secure it through your superiors!” +</p> +<p>Seeing that he was in no mood to listen to reason, the +officer let him go, and Jernyngham walked slowly to +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_317' name='page_317'></a>317</span> +the lobby downstairs. There were a number of men in +it, but two or three strolled into the bar and the others +drew away from him when he sat down. They were not +without compassion, but they shrank from the grim look +in the man’s worn face. For a while he sat still, resting +one elbow on a table, and trying to arrange his confused +thoughts. He knew nothing of Prescott’s interview with +Curtis or the reason for his visit to Wandle on the night +of the latter’s flight; the discovery of the brown clothes +occupied the most prominent place in his mind, and +convinced him of Prescott’s guilt. +</p> +<p>Then he began to consider how he could best bring +pressure to bear on the administration in Ottawa. From +inquiries he had made, it appeared less easy than he had +supposed. It was, he had been told, unusual for anybody +to interfere with the Northwest Police, who had been +entrusted with extensive powers; and there was a strong +probability of his failing to obtain satisfaction. It was, +however, unthinkable that Prescott should escape. +Jernyngham’s poignant sense of loss and regret for past +harshness to his son had merged into an overwhelming +desire for vengeance on the man whom he regarded as +Cyril’s murderer. He was left without an ally; the organized +means of justice had signally broken down; +but the man should not go unpunished. +</p> +<p>Tormented by his thoughts, he went out in search of +Gertrude. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XXIX_JERNYNGHAM_BREAKS_DOWN' id='XXIX_JERNYNGHAM_BREAKS_DOWN'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_318' name='page_318'></a>318</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XXIX</h2> +<h3>JERNYNGHAM BREAKS DOWN</h3> +</div> + +<p>Colston and his party were leaving the hotel, with +Jernyngham and Gertrude a few paces in front of +them. A big lamp hung beneath the veranda, and the +light from the windows streamed out on the snow. +While Colston held the door open for his wife and Muriel +to pass through a man came hurriedly along the sidewalk +and Colston started. +</p> +<p>“Be quick!” he cried to Muriel. “It’s Prescott!” +</p> +<p>Letting the door swing to, he moved hastily forward, +and then stopped, seeing that he was too late to prevent +the meeting. Jernyngham had recognized the newcomer. +</p> +<p>“Mr. Prescott,” the old man cried, “a word with you!” +</p> +<p>Prescott stopped with a troubled face a few yards +away. +</p> +<p>“If you insist, I’m at your service.” +</p> +<p>Colston drew nearer. Jernyngham’s tone had alarmed +him, and it’s ominous harshness was more marked when +he resumed: +</p> +<p>“For the last time, I ask you, where is my son?” +</p> +<p>“I wish I knew,” said Prescott quietly. “I believe +he’s in British Columbia, but it’s a big province and I +lost trace of him there.” +</p> +<p>“It’s a lie!” Jernyngham cried, hoarse with fury. +“Your tricks won’t serve you; I’ll have the truth!” +</p> +<p>“Be calm, Mr. Jernyngham,” Colston begged, touching +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_319' name='page_319'></a>319</span> +his arm. “We’ll have a crowd here in a few moments. +Come back into the hotel.” +</p> +<p>He was violently pushed away. Jernyngham’s eyes +glittered, his face was grimly set; it was obvious that his +self-control had deserted him. Seeing that he could +not be reasoned with, Colston left him alone and waited, +ready to interfere if necessary. The man, he thought, +was in a dangerous mood; the situation was liable to +have alarming developments. +</p> +<p>“Why don’t you speak?” Jernyngham stormed at +Prescott. “You shall not leave the spot until we hear +your confession!” +</p> +<p>Prescott stood still, looking at him steadily, with pity +in his face. He made a striking figure in the glare of +light, finely posed, with no sign of shrinking. The others +had fixed their eyes on him, and did not notice Muriel +move quietly through the shadow of the wooden pillars. +</p> +<p>“I have nothing to confess,” he said. +</p> +<p>Jernyngham’s fur coat was open and his hand dropped +quickly to a pocket. As he brought it out Colston sprang +forward, a moment too late; but Muriel was before him, +her hand on the man’s arm. There was a flash, a sharp +report, and blue smoke curled up toward the veranda, +but Prescott stood still, untouched. +</p> +<p>“Be quick!” screamed Muriel. “He’s trying to fire +again!” +</p> +<p>There was no time to be particular. Colston seized +the elder man, dragging him backward several paces +before he wrenched the pistol from him. Then he +paused, breathless, looking about in a half-dazed fashion. +Everything had happened with startling suddenness, and +the scene under the veranda was an impressive one. +His wife clutched one of the pillars as if unnerved. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_320' name='page_320'></a>320</span> +Gertrude leaned against the sidewalk rail, her face tense +with horror, and Jernyngham stood with a slackness of +carriage which suggested that power of thought and +physical force had suddenly left him. +</p> +<p>“Jack, are you hurt?” cried Muriel clinging to +Prescott. +</p> +<p>The tension was relieved by the appearance of the +commissioned officer, who sprang out of the hotel with +the constable close behind him. +</p> +<p>“Shut the door and keep them in!” he ordered. +</p> +<p>The constable obeyed, but his efforts were wasted, +for men were already hurrying out through the separate +entrance to the bar and from an adjoining store. Others +ran out from the houses, and the street was rapidly filling +with an eager crowd. +</p> +<p>“Stand back there!” called the officer sharply. Then +he turned to the group under the veranda. “Now what’s +this? I heard a shot!” +</p> +<p>“Yes,” said Colston, pulling himself together, though +his manner was confused; “there was one. I don’t +know how it happened—it was a surprise to us all. I +don’t think the pistol’s safe; it goes off too easily. However, +the most important thing is that nobody is hurt.” +</p> +<p>“That’s fortunate. I’ll take the weapon from you,” +replied the officer dryly. +</p> +<p>When Colston had given it to him, as if glad to be rid +of it, the officer noted the positions and attitudes of the +others before he turned to Prescott. +</p> +<p>“Can you tell me anything?” he asked. +</p> +<p>“I don’t think so,” Prescott answered. “Of course, +I saw the flash, but the bullet didn’t come anywhere near +me.” +</p> +<p>Then Gertrude’s nerve gave way. All that had +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_321' name='page_321'></a>321</span> +happened was her work; she had, when her father was +wavering and questioning the justice of his suspicions, +driven them back more firmly into his mind, and as a +result of this he had come near to killing an innocent +man. Overwhelmed by the thought, she swayed unsteadily +and fell back against the rails. +</p> +<p>“Miss Jernyngham is fainting!” Mrs. Colston cried, +hurrying toward her. +</p> +<p>“Bring her in!” said the officer; and when this was +done, with Colston’s assistance, he called to the constable: +</p> +<p>“Stand at the door; keep everybody out!” +</p> +<p>The big lobby was cleared, and the officer gravely +watched the way the actors of the scene arranged +themselves. Prescott stood well apart from the others +with Muriel at his side. She was flushed and overstrung, +but her pose and expression suggested that she +was defying the rest, and she cast a hard, unsympathetic +glance at Gertrude, who sat limply, with clenched +hands. Colston, looking embarrassed and unhappy, +sat near his wife, who had preserved some composure. +Jernyngham leaned against the counter, dejected and +apparently half dazed. +</p> +<p>“Before you go any farther, I’d better tell you that I +fired the shot,” he said brokenly. +</p> +<p>“When I came out, the pistol was in Mr. Colston’s +hand,” the officer pointed out in a meaning tone. +</p> +<p>“That’s true,” Colston broke in. “I took it from him, +for fear of an accident. Mr. Jernyngham was in a very +nervous and excited state. He has, of course, been +bearing a heavy strain, and I imagine you must have +said something that rather upset his balance.” +</p> +<p>“I was perfectly sensible!” Jernyngham harshly interrupted +him. “I found I could get no assistance from +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_322' name='page_322'></a>322</span> +the police; it looked as if my son’s death must go +unavenged!” +</p> +<p>Colston raised his hand to check him. Jernyngham +could not be allowed to explain his action, as he seemed +bent on doing. +</p> +<p>“No! no!” he said soothingly, “you mustn’t think of it! +Please let me speak.” He addressed the officer. “You +can see the nervous state Mr. Jernyngham is in—very +natural, of course, but I think it should appeal to your +consideration.” +</p> +<p>The officer reflected. He had been brought up in the +old country, and could sympathize with the people before +him; they deserved pity, and he had no wish to humiliate +them. Moreover, Miss Hurst, whom he admired, seemed +to be involved. These reasons could not be allowed to +carry much weight, but there were others. It was obvious +that Jernyngham was hardly responsible for his actions; +the man’s worn and haggard face showed that he had +been severely tried. Justice would not be served by probing +the matter too deeply, and Colston’s attitude indicated +that this would be difficult. +</p> +<p>“As you seem to be the one who had the narrowest +escape, Mr. Prescott, have you any complaint to make?” +he said. +</p> +<p>“None whatever. I’m sorry the thing has made so +much stir.” +</p> +<p>“It was my duty to investigate it. But I think that a +charge of unlawfully carrying dangerous weapons, which +is punishable by a fine, will meet the case.” He turned +to the trooper. “You will attend to the matter in due +course, Constable Slade.” +</p> +<p>Then he bowed to the company and went out, leaving +Colston to deal with the situation with the assistance of +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_323' name='page_323'></a>323</span> +his wife, who thought it desirable to break up the party +as soon as possible. +</p> +<p>“The teams must be ready, and it’s too cold to keep +them standing,” she remarked. +</p> +<p>“They’re outside,” said Colston. “We’ll be mobbed +by an inquisitive crowd, if we don’t get off at once. Gertrude, +bring your father.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude led Jernyngham to the door, and Colston +turned back to Prescott. +</p> +<p>“It was very regretable,” he said. “We are grateful +for your forbearance.” +</p> +<p>Then his wife joined him, calling to Muriel. +</p> +<p>“Be quick! The people haven’t gone away; the +street’s full!” +</p> +<p>Muriel, disregarding her, looked at Prescott, who had +spoken to nobody except the officer. His face was troubled, +but he made no attempt to detain her. +</p> +<p>“I believe you saved my life,” he said. “I can’t +thank you now. May I call to-morrow?” +</p> +<p>“We should be glad to see you,” Mrs. Colston broke +in hurriedly; “but, with Mr. Jernyngham at the homestead, +wouldn’t it be embarrassing? Muriel, we really +can’t wait.” +</p> +<p>The girl smiled at Prescott. +</p> +<p>“Yes,” she said quietly, “come when you wish.” +</p> +<p>Then her sister, knowing that she was beaten, drew +her firmly away. +</p> +<p>They went out and Prescott sat down, feeling that he +had done right and yet half ashamed of his reserve, for he +had seen that Muriel had expected him to claim her and +was ready to acknowledge him before her friends. This, +however, was when she was overstrung and under the +influence of strong excitement; the sacrifice she did not +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_324' name='page_324'></a>324</span> +shrink from making was a heavy one, and she must +have an opportunity for considering it calmly. He was +not long left undisturbed, for men flocked in, anxious for +an account of the affair, but he put them off with evasive +answers and, making his escape, hurried to the livery-stable +where he hired a team. +</p> +<p>The next afternoon he drove to Leslie’s in a quietly +exultant mood. His long fight was over; nature had +beaten him, and he was glad to yield, though he had +not done so under sudden stress of passion. During +his search for Jernyngham and afterward sitting by +his stove on bitter nights, he had come to see that if +the girl he desired loved him, no merely prudential +reasons ought to separate them. He had feared to +drag her down, to rob her of things she valued, but +he now saw that she might, after all, hold them of +little account. He was, for his station, a prosperous +man; his wife need suffer no real deprivation; he had +a firm belief in the future of his adopted country, and +knew that in a little while all the amenities of civilized +life could be enjoyed in it. Wandle’s trial would free +him of suspicion; when he had stood facing Jernyngham, +Muriel had revealed her love for him, and since it +could not be doubted, he need not hesitate. It was +her right to choose whether she would marry him. +Only she must clearly realize all that this would imply. +</p> +<p>He had expected some opposition from Mrs. Colston, +but, when it was inevitable, she could gracefully bear defeat. +Moreover, she had never agreed with Jernyngham’s +suspicions of Prescott, and in some respects he impressed +her favorably. There was no reserve in her greeting when +he reached the homestead. +</p> +<p>“The less that is said about last night, the better, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_325' name='page_325'></a>325</span> +but I can’t pass over it without expressing our gratitude +for the position you took,” she said. “Harry has driven +Jernyngham out in the sleigh—he has been in a curious +limp state all morning—and Gertrude has not yet got +over the shock.” +</p> +<p>“It must have been very trying for Miss Jernyngham.” +</p> +<p>“No doubt.” There was not much pity in Mrs. +Colston’s voice, for she could guess how matters stood. +“However, I am disengaged and I believe Muriel will +be here directly.” +</p> +<p>Prescott followed her into a room and made an effort +to talk to her until she rose and went out as Muriel +entered. The girl, to his surprise, was dressed in furs, +and he felt his heart beat when she looked at him with a +shy smile. +</p> +<p>“I have been expecting you,” she said, giving him her +hand. +</p> +<p>“I wonder,” he asked gravely, “whether you can guess +why I have come?” +</p> +<p>“Yes,” she answered in a steady voice; “I think I can. +But we’ll go out, Jack.” +</p> +<p>He followed her, puzzled, but not questioning her wish, +and they walked silently down the beaten trail that +stretched away, a streak of grayish blue, across the +glittering snow. Brilliant sunshine streamed down on +them and the nipping air was wonderfully clear. When +they passed a birch bluff that hid them from the house; +Prescott stopped. +</p> +<p>“Muriel,” he said, “I think you know that I love +you.” +</p> +<p>There was a warm color in her face, but for a moment +she met his eyes squarely. +</p> +<p>“Yes; I knew it some time ago, though perhaps I +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_326' name='page_326'></a>326</span> +should have shrunk from confessing that so frankly, if +it hadn’t been for last night. But why were you afraid of +telling me, Jack?” +</p> +<p>He read surrender in her face and yielding pose, and +with a strange humility that tempered the wild thrill of +delight he placed his arm about her. Then, as she crept +closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder, every +feeling was lost in a delirious sense of triumph. It was +brief, for he remembered how he was handicapped, and +he held her from him, looking gravely down at her. +</p> +<p>“Dear, there is something to be said.” +</p> +<p>“Yes,” she rejoined with tender mockery; “you +either took a great deal for granted or there was one +important thing you were willing to leave in doubt. +Now take my hands and hold them fast. You know +I have suffered something—fears and anxieties because of +you—I want to feel safe.” +</p> +<p>He did as she bade him and she looked up. +</p> +<p>“Now listen, Jack dear. All that I have to give, my +love, my closest trust, is yours, and because you said I +saved your life, that belongs to me. I think it’s all that +matters.” +</p> +<p>He was silent for a few moments, overwhelmed by +a sense of his responsibility. +</p> +<p>“Still,” he urged, “you must understand what you are +risking. I should have told you first.” +</p> +<p>Muriel released her hands, and her glance was grave. +</p> +<p>“Yes; you had better continue, Jack. I suppose we +must speak of these things now, and then forget them +forever.” +</p> +<p>“You know what Jernyngham believed of me. I +could not marry you with such a stain on my name; +but it will be wiped off in a few more days, and this I +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_327' name='page_327'></a>327</span> +owe to you. It was you who insisted that I should clear +myself.” +</p> +<p>She started. +</p> +<p>“Remember that I know nothing, except that you went +away.” +</p> +<p>Prescott told her briefly what he had learned at Navarino +and of Wandle’s capture; and her deep satisfaction +was obvious. +</p> +<p>“I’m so glad!” she exclaimed. “This will make it +easier for the others, though it doesn’t affect me. If I +had had any doubts, I couldn’t have loved you. But +I’m pleased you told me before you were really cleared. +To have waited until everybody knew you were innocent +would have looked as if you were afraid to test my faith in +you.” +</p> +<p>“No,” he said; “that couldn’t be. I was afraid of +your having to make too heavy a sacrifice; and, unfortunately, +there’s some risk of that still.” +</p> +<p>“Go on, Jack.” +</p> +<p>“I’m far from a rich man, though I never regretted +it much until of late. You know how we live here; +I can guess what you have enjoyed at home. Life’s +strenuous on the prairie, and though I think it’s good, +it makes demands on one you can’t have felt in England. +There’s so much that you must give up, many things +that you will miss. I am anxious when I think of it.” +</p> +<p>Muriel looked far across the plain which ran back; +glistening in the sunlight, until it faded into cold blues +and purples toward the skyline. The gray bluffs, +standing one behind the other, and the long straggling +line of timber by a ravine marked its vast extent. It +filled the girl with a sense of freedom; its wideness +uplifted her. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_328' name='page_328'></a>328</span></p> +<p>“Jack,” she said, “I wonder whether you can understand +why I made you take me out? The prairie has +drawn me from the beginning, and I felt it would be +easier to make a great change in this wonderful open +space; I wanted to adopt the country, to feel it belonged +to me. Now that I’ve made my choice, my home is +where you are; I want nothing but to be loved and cared +for, as you must care for me.” +</p> +<p>Prescott drew her toward him, but there was more +of respect than passion in his caress. +</p> +<p>“My dear,” he said gravely, “I feel very humble as +well as thankful. It’s a great thing I’ve undertaken, +to make you happy; and I think you’ll try to forgive me +if I sometimes fail.” +</p> +<p>Muriel laughed and shook herself free. +</p> +<p>“I’m not really hard to please, and even if you make +mistakes now and then, good intentions count for a +good deal. But you are dreadfully solemn, and there’s +so much that is pleasant to talk about.” +</p> +<p>They walked on briskly, for it had been possible to +stand still only in the shelter of the bluff with bright +sunshine streaming down on them; the cold they had +forgotten now made itself felt. +</p> +<p>“I can’t understand Jernyngham,” Prescott said +after a while. “One can’t blame him for persecuting +me, but there’s something in his conduct that makes one +think him off his balance.” +</p> +<p>Muriel’s eyes sparkled with indignation. +</p> +<p>“I suppose he ought to be pitied, but I can’t forgive +him, and I’ll tell you what I think. He has led a well-regulated +life, but his virtues are narrow and petty. +Indeed, I think they’re partly habits. He is not a clever +or a really strong man; but because of his money and +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_329' name='page_329'></a>329</span> +position, which he never ventured out of, he found +people to obey him and grew into a domineering autocrat. +I believe he was fond of Cyril and felt what he thought +of as his loss; but that was not all. The shock brought +him a kind of horrified anger that anything of a startling +nature should happen to him—he felt it wasn’t what he +deserved. Then his desire for justice degenerated into +cruelty and when he came out here, where nobody gave +way to him, he somehow went to pieces. His nature +wasn’t big enough to stand the strain.” +</p> +<p>It was a harsh analysis, but Muriel was not inclined +to be charitable. Jernyngham had made things very +hard for her lover. +</p> +<p>“I dare say you’re right,” responded Prescott. “But +the morning after he reached my place in the blizzard +I had a talk with him and found him reasonable. I +think he half believed in my innocence, but soon afterward +he was more savage than before.” +</p> +<p>“Isn’t it possible that you took too much for granted? +He couldn’t be rude to you when you had saved him +from freezing.” +</p> +<p>“I don’t think I did. He was pretty candid at first +and I wasn’t cordial, but he listened to me, and I feel +convinced that before he left he was beginning to see +that he might have been mistaken. What I don’t +understand is why he changed again, when nothing +fresh turned up to account for it.” +</p> +<p>A light dawned on Muriel. She saw Gertrude’s +work in this and her face flushed with anger, but it was +not a subject she meant to discuss with the man she loved. +</p> +<p>“Well,” she said, “it’s scarcely likely that you will +learn the truth. After all, much of Jernyngham’s +conduct can’t be explained.” She smiled at Prescott. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_330' name='page_330'></a>330</span> +“If he’d had any reason in him, he would never have +doubted you.” +</p> +<p>They turned back to the homestead presently and on +reaching it Prescott found that Colston had arrived. +The latter gave him an interview in the barn, which +was the only place where they could be alone, and +listened with a thoughtful air to what he had to say. +This included an account of his meeting with Laxton +and the pursuit of Wandle. +</p> +<p>“I’m in an unfortunate position,” Colston remarked +when Prescott had finished. “You see, every prudential +consideration urges me to oppose you—looked at from +that point of view the match is most undesirable—but I +must admit my sympathy with you, and I don’t suppose +my opposition would have much effect.” +</p> +<p>“It certainly wouldn’t,” Prescott replied. +</p> +<p>“After all,” Colston resumed, “I have no real authority; +Muriel’s of age and she has no property. Still, I’m fond +of the girl and am anxious about her future. I think +you ought to satisfy me that you’re able to take care of +her.” +</p> +<p>“I’ll try.” +</p> +<p>Prescott gave him a concise account of his means, his +farming operations, and his plans for the future; and +Colston listened with satisfaction. The man was more +prosperous than he had supposed and had carefully +considered what could be done to secure the comfort +of his wife; his schemes included the rebuilding of his +house. It was obvious that Muriel need not suffer +greatly from the change. Moreover, Colston had liked +Prescott from the beginning and had found it hard to +distrust him, even when appearances were blackest +against him. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_331' name='page_331'></a>331</span></p> +<p>“All this,” he said frankly, “is a relief to me. But +there’s another and more important point.” He paused +a moment before he continued: “To my mind your +name is cleared, but you must agree that the mystery +isn’t unraveled yet. Although I have no power to +interfere, Muriel is my wife’s sister and I think she owes +my views some deference. Neither of us can countenance +an engagement or your meeting Muriel often while a +doubt remains. The matter must stand over.” +</p> +<p>“I must yield to that; you have been more liberal +than I could have expected.” Then Prescott smiled. +“There’s only one thing which could really clear me—the +reappearance of my victim; and I don’t despair of it. +The police are trying to trace him on the Pacific Slope, +but it would be quite in accordance with his character if +he suddenly turned up here.” +</p> +<p>They went out together, shivering a little, for the barn +was very cold, but they were on friendly terms and were +mutually satisfied. +</p> +<hr class='major' /> +<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'> +<a name='XXX_PRESCOTT_S_VINDICATION' id='XXX_PRESCOTT_S_VINDICATION'></a> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_332' name='page_332'></a>332</span> +<h2>CHAPTER XXX</h2> +<h3>PRESCOTT’S VINDICATION</h3> +</div> + +<p>On the day after Prescott’s avowal, Muriel found +Gertrude alone and sat down opposite her. +</p> +<p>“Don’t you think you ought to insist on your father’s +going home?” she asked. “The strain is wearing him +out; he may lose his reason if he stays.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude looked up sharply. There was no sympathy +in the girl’s tone and her eyes were hard. Muriel might +have forgiven a wrong done to herself, but she was +merciless about an injury to one she loved. +</p> +<p>“Ah!” exclaimed Gertrude. “You wish to get rid +of us?” +</p> +<p>“No; my suggestion was really generous, because I +would much rather you both remained and saw Mr. +Prescott proved innocent.” +</p> +<p>Not knowing what had prompted her rival, Gertrude +gave her jealous anger rein. +</p> +<p>“I’m afraid we couldn’t wait. Even my father’s +patience would hardly hold out.” +</p> +<p>“It wouldn’t be long tried; but in a way you’re right. +It’s dangerous for him to stay here, and you’re responsible +for his condition.” +</p> +<p>“I’m responsible?” cried Gertrude with a start. +</p> +<p>“Of course! You knew Mr. Prescott went away to +look for your brother and you kept it secret; when he +saved your father from freezing, he almost convinced +him that he had nothing to do with Cyril’s disappearance. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_333' name='page_333'></a>333</span> +You must have known how it would have eased his mind +to get rid of his dreadful suspicions, but you worked upon +him and brought them back.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude sank down in her chair with a shiver. A +denial would serve no purpose and she was conscious of +her guilt. +</p> +<p>“Could you expect me to be indifferent to the loss of +my brother?” +</p> +<p>“You knew you had not lost him. You believed what +Mr. Prescott told you, until we came.” Muriel flushed +and hesitated, for this was as far as she would go. Even +in her anger, she would not taunt her beaten rival with +defeat. “Now,” she continued, “you must see what you +have done. You have made your father suffer terribly; +I think you have weakened his mind, and, if I hadn’t +turned the pistol, you would have made him kill an innocent +man. He seems too dazed and shaken to realize +what he meant to do, but the thing was horrible.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude sat silent for a few moments, her face drawn +and colorless. Then she looked up. +</p> +<p>“I couldn’t see what it would lead to. Do the others +know what you have told me? Does Mr. Prescott?” +</p> +<p>She looked crushed and defenseless and Muriel’s +resentment softened. +</p> +<p>“No,” she said. “Nobody knows, and Mr. Prescott +will never suspect; he’s not the man to think hard things +of a woman. But I’m going to insist on your taking +your father away.” +</p> +<p>“But how can I?” cried Gertrude. “You know how +determined he is!” +</p> +<p>“You have influenced him already; you must do so +again. You will regret it all your life if you let him +stay.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_334' name='page_334'></a>334</span></p> +<p>“Well,” Gertrude promised desperately, “I will try.” +Then a thought struck her and her expression grew +gentler. “Muriel, have you realized that if we leave here +soon, the Colstons will accompany us and you will have +to go with them?” +</p> +<p>“No,” Muriel replied with a resolute smile; “I will +stay.” +</p> +<p>Gertrude turned her head and there was silence for a +while. Then she said with an effort: +</p> +<p>“I can’t ask your forgiveness; it would be too much, +and I’m not sure that I wish to have it. But I feel that +you are generous.” +</p> +<p>“Take your father home,” Muriel responded, and +getting up went quietly out. +</p> +<p>During the next fortnight, Gertrude exerted all her +powers of persuasion, without much success. Jernyngham +was apathetic, moody, and morose, and his companions +found the days pass heavily. Then one evening +Prescott drove over with the excuse of a message for +Leslie, and Muriel, putting on her furs, slipped out to +speak to him before he left. They stood near the barn, +talking softly, until there was a pause and Muriel looked +out across the prairie. It was a clear, cold evening; a +dull red glow blazed above the great plain’s rim, and the +bluffs stood out in wavy masses with sharp distinctness. +The snow had lost its glitter and was fading into soft +blues and grays. +</p> +<p>The darker line of the trail caught the girl’s eye and, +following it, she noticed a horseman riding toward the +homestead. +</p> +<p>“Nobody has been here for a while,” she said. “I +wonder who it can be?” +</p> +<p>Prescott’s team, which had been growing impatient of +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_335' name='page_335'></a>335</span> +the cold, began to move, and he was occupied for the +next minute in quieting them. Then he looked around, +started violently, and stood very still, his eyes fixed on +the approaching man. +</p> +<p>“Jernyngham, by all that’s wonderful!” he gasped, +and sent a shout ringing across the snow: “Cyril!” +</p> +<p>The man waved his hand, and Prescott, turning at a +sound, saw Muriel lean weakly against the side of the +sleigh. The color had faded from her face, but her eyes +were shining. +</p> +<p>“O Jack!” she said breathlessly. “Now everything +will be put straight!” +</p> +<p>Prescott realized from the greatness of her relief what +she had borne on his account; but there was something +that must be done and he ran to the stable, where Leslie +was at work. +</p> +<p>“Get into my sleigh, and drive to Harper’s as hard as +you can!” he said. “Curtis was there when I passed; +bring him here at once!” +</p> +<p>Leslie came out with him and understood when he saw +the newcomer. Jumping into the vehicle, he drove off, +while Prescott ran to meet Cyril, who dismounted and +heartily shook hands with him. +</p> +<p>“It’s good to see you, Jack,” he said, and indicated +the galloping team. “The sensation I seem to make +shows no signs of lessening.” +</p> +<p>“Haven’t you heard!” Prescott exclaimed. “Don’t +you understand?” +</p> +<p>“Not much,” Cyril replied with a careless laugh. +“When I got off the train at the settlement, everybody +stared at me, and there were anxious inquiries as to +where I’d been. I promised to tell them about it another +time, and at the livery-stable Kevan said something about +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_336' name='page_336'></a>336</span> +my being killed. I told him it didn’t look like it; and as +the boys seemed determined on hearing my adventures; +I rode off smartly. When I reached your place, Svendsen +looked scared, and all I could get out of him was that you +were here.” +</p> +<p>Prescott made a gesture of comprehension. It was +typical of Cyril that he had not taken the trouble to +find out the cause of the excitement his appearance had +aroused. +</p> +<p>“Who is the lady?” Cyril asked. +</p> +<p>“Miss Hurst. You had, perhaps, better know that +she has promised to marry me.” +</p> +<p>Cyril looked at him in frank astonishment, and then +laughed. +</p> +<p>“I suppose my surprise isn’t complimentary, but I +wasn’t prepared for your news. Jack, you’re rather +wonderful, but you have my best wishes, and you can +tell me what brought Miss Hurst back by and by. No +doubt she expects me to speak to her.” +</p> +<p>“Thanks,” said Prescott dryly. “Whatever my capabilities +of making a sensation are, they’re a long way +behind yours.” +</p> +<p>They walked toward the girl and Prescott led up his +companion. +</p> +<p>“Muriel,” he said, “Cyril Jernyngham wishes to be +presented to you.” +</p> +<p>She gave him her hand, and he realized that she was +studying him carefully. +</p> +<p>“I’m glad we have met,” she said. “I have heard a +good deal about you.” +</p> +<p>Cyril bowed with a mischievous smile. +</p> +<p>“Nothing very much to my credit, I’m afraid. As an +old friend of Jack’s, it’s my privilege to wish you every +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_337' name='page_337'></a>337</span> +happiness and assure you that you have got a much better +man than the one you at first took him for.” +</p> +<p>Muriel colored. +</p> +<p>“Jack stands on his own merits.” +</p> +<p>Then she turned to Prescott. +</p> +<p>“Does he know? Have you told him?” +</p> +<p>“Not yet. I’ve news for you, Cyril. Your father and +sister are here.” +</p> +<p>“What brought them?” There was astonishment in +Cyril’s face, but he looked more disturbed than pleased. +</p> +<p>“They thought you dead,” Muriel told him. +</p> +<p>“Then I’m sorry if they’ve been anxious, but I can’t +understand the grounds for it. In fact, everybody I’ve +met seems to have gone crazy, except you and Jack.” +</p> +<p>“We knew the truth,” said Muriel. “There are a +number of explanations you will have to make, but you +had better go in.” +</p> +<p>The next moment the door opened and Gertrude +appeared, as if in search of Muriel. She saw the group +and broke into a startled cry. +</p> +<p>“Cyril!” +</p> +<p>He ran toward her and Prescott suggested that it might +be advisable for him to retire, but Muriel would not agree. +</p> +<p>“Give them a few minutes, Jack, and then we’ll go +in together; you are one of us now and must be acknowledged. +Besides, you have a right to hear what Cyril +has to say.” +</p> +<p>They walked briskly up the trail and when they turned +to come back Muriel glanced at Prescott with a smile. +</p> +<p>“Jack dear, I like him, but he said something that was +true. I should never have fallen in love with the real +Cyril Jernyngham.” +</p> +<p>They found the others in the large sitting-room. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_338' name='page_338'></a>338</span> +Cyril was talking gaily, though Prescott concluded from +one remark that he had not yet given a full account of +his adventures. Jernyngham sat rather limply in an +easy-chair, as if the relief of finding his son safe had shaken +him, but his eyes were less troubled and his manner +calmer. He rose when he saw Prescott. +</p> +<p>“Mr. Prescott,” he said, “I must own before these +others, who have heard me speak hardly of you, that I +have done you a grievous wrong. I have no excuse to +urge in asking you to forgive it. There is nothing that +now seems to mitigate my folly.” +</p> +<p>“All you thought and did was very natural, sir,” +Prescott answered quietly. “I tried not to blame you +and I feel no resentment.” +</p> +<p>“What’s this?” Cyril glanced up sharply, and as +he noticed the guilty faces of the others and Gertrude’s +strained expression, the truth dawned on him. +</p> +<p>“Oh!” he cried, “it’s preposterous! You all suspected +my best friend!” +</p> +<p>“If it’s any consolation, we’re very much ashamed +of it,” Colston replied. “And there was one exception; +Muriel never shared our views.” +</p> +<p>Cyril still looked disturbed. +</p> +<p>“Its obvious that I’ve given everybody a good deal of +trouble, but I feel that you deserved it for your foolishness. +May I ask on what grounds you suspected Jack?” +</p> +<p>Seeing that none of them was ready to answer, Prescott +interposed. +</p> +<p>“Perhaps I had better explain; I think you ought to +know.” +</p> +<p>He related the events that had followed his friend’s +disappearance, and when he had finished, Cyril turned to +the others. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_339' name='page_339'></a>339</span></p> +<p>“After all, you were not so much to blame as I thought +at first—you don’t know Jack as I do, and things undoubtedly +looked bad. Now I’ll give you an account of +my adventures and clear up the mystery.” +</p> +<p>“Not yet,” said Prescott with a smile. “You don’t +seem to realize that instead of excusing people for suspicions +they could hardly avoid, you’re expected to make +some defense for the carelessness that gave rise to them. +Anyway, Curtis is entitled to an explanation, and as I +sent him word, he should be here soon.” +</p> +<p>“You did right,” Jernyngham broke in with a trace of +asperity. “It’s proper that the blundering fellow who +misled us all should have his stupidity impressed on +him!” +</p> +<p>They waited, talking about indifferent matters, until +Curtis arrived. At Cyril’s request he made a rough +diagram of the tracks he had discovered in the neighborhood +of the muskeg and stated his theory of what +had happened there. +</p> +<p>“A clever piece of reasoning,” Cyril remarked. +“There’s scarcely a flaw in it, as you’ll see by my account +of the affair. After saying good-by to Prescott +on the night I left the settlement, I went on until I was +near the muskeg and had dismounted to camp when a +stranger rode up. We sat talking for a while and I +foolishly told him I meant to buy some horses and apply +for a railroad haulage contract, from which he no doubt +concluded I was carrying some money. Soon afterward, +he went off to hobble his horse, and I suppose he must +have crept up behind me and knocked me out with the +handle of his quirt, for I fell over with a stupefying pain +in my head. This was the last thing I was clearly conscious +of until the next morning, when I found myself +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_340' name='page_340'></a>340</span> +lying close to the water, but at some distance from +where I met the man. My hat had gone and my head +was cut; my horse had disappeared, and I afterward +discovered I had been robbed.” +</p> +<p>Cyril paused and glanced at Curtis. +</p> +<p>“There’s a point to be accounted for—how I reached +the spot where I was lying, and this is my suggestion: The +fellow thought he had killed me and in alarm determined +to throw me into the muskeg. As I had a hazy recollection +of being roughly lifted, I imagine he laid me across +his saddle and after a while I must have moved or +groaned. Then, having no doubt only meant to stun me, +he left me on the ground. All this fits in with your +theory.” +</p> +<p>“What was the man like?” Curtis asked. +</p> +<p>Cyril described him, explaining that there was a good +moon; and the corporal nodded, as if satisfied. +</p> +<p>“Then I’m glad to say that, as I half expected, we +have got the fellow; corralled him for horse-stealing a +while ago, and he’ll be charged with robbing you in due +time. But go on.” +</p> +<p>“I felt horribly thirsty, and crawling to the edge of +the sloo, tumbled in. There was more slime than water, +but I could see a cleaner pool some way out, and being +up to my knees already, I tried to reach it. It was +hardly fit to drink, but I felt better and clearer-headed +after swallowing some; and then I noticed thick grass in +front of me. This implied that the swamp was shallower +there and I made for the other bank, instead of going +back. The grass and reeds that I disturbed would soon +straighten, which accounts for your losing my tracks. +You wouldn’t have expected me to wade across the +muskeg?” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_341' name='page_341'></a>341</span></p> +<p>“No,” admitted Curtis; “I didn’t.” +</p> +<p>“Why did you not return to Sebastian after being +robbed of your horse and money?” Jernyngham +asked. +</p> +<p>“Ah!” said Cyril with some constraint in his manner, +“that’s more difficult to explain. To some extent it +was a matter of temperament. I had left the settlement +after a painful and rather humiliating discovery; you can +understand that I was anxious to avoid my neighbors. +Then I’d been knocked out and robbed by the first +rascal I fell in with. I hadn’t the courage to crawl back +in my battered state and face the boys’ amusement; +and there was something that appealed to me in the +thought of cutting loose and going on without a dollar, +to see what I could do.” He smiled at his father and +sister. “You know I had always rather eccentric ideas.” +</p> +<p>Then he recounted his adventures along the railroad +under the name of Kermode, until Prescott interrupted +him. +</p> +<p>“I followed you to the abandoned claim in the mountains, +where I had to give it up. How did you make out +after you struck south with the prospector crank?” +</p> +<p>“That was the most interesting part of the trip, but I +could hardly describe it. We crawled up icy rocks, found +a river we could travel on here and there, scrambled +through brush that ripped our clothes and over stones +that cut our boots to bits, and finally came down by +Quesnelle to the Canadian Pacific main track.” +</p> +<p>“Loaded with worthless mineral specimens?” +</p> +<p>Cyril laughed. +</p> +<p>“They were pretty heavy, Jack. Once or twice I +thought of dumping my share of them, but it’s fortunate +that Hollin, who seemed to suspect my intentions, kept +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_342' name='page_342'></a>342</span> +his eye on me when I got played out. You see, an +assayer we took them to found that they were rich in +lead and silver.” +</p> +<p>Prescott’s astonishment was obvious and Cyril frankly +enjoyed it. +</p> +<p>“Well,” he said, “the end of it was that I called on +some of the mining people in Vancouver—it seems they +knew Hollin and had had enough of him—but I left one +office with a check for a thousand dollars, besides retaining +an interest in the claim. Hollin has gone back to +see about its development.” +</p> +<p>His father and sister looked as surprised as Prescott. +One could imagine that they found it difficult to conceive +of Cyril’s financial success, but they offered him their +congratulations, and soon afterward Curtis took his +leave. Prescott stayed another hour, and when he went +Muriel walked to the door with him. +</p> +<p>“Jack,” she murmured, with her head on his shoulder, +“I’m inexpressibly glad it has all come right; but you +must remember that I knew it would.” +</p> +<p>Prescott gently turned her face toward him. +</p> +<p>“I’m so thankful that it makes me grave. It’s a +pretty big task to repay your confidence, but I’ll try.” +</p> +<p>“You’ll succeed,” she said smiling. “You’re rather +a determined man and I’m not dreadfully exacting; +I couldn’t be to you.” +</p> +<p>Prescott drove off, grateful for Mrs. Colston’s permission +to come back the next day. +</p> +<p>When he drove up on the following afternoon, he +found Muriel dressed in furs. +</p> +<p>“It’s beautifully fine and you may take me for a +drive,” she said, and added with a smile: “That is, +unless you would rather talk to Harry.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_343' name='page_343'></a>343</span></p> +<p>“I think Colston and I are going to be good friends, +but I didn’t come over to see him,” Prescott retorted +lightly. “I have something to say to Cyril, but it will +do when we get back.” +</p> +<p>“You can’t see him now,” said Muriel, moving +toward the sleigh. “He’s engaged with Gertrude and +his father, and I think they have something important +to talk about. Cyril looked very serious, and one +would imagine that’s not often the case with him.” +</p> +<p>Prescott laughed as he helped her in. +</p> +<p>“I dare say he has his thoughtful moments; it would +be surprising if he hadn’t, considering his capacity for +getting into scrapes.” +</p> +<p>They drove away, but Muriel’s supposition was well +founded, for Cyril was feeling unusually grave as he +sat opposite to his father and sister in a room of the homestead. +A brief silence had fallen upon the group, +emphasized by the crackle of poplar billets in the stove. +Jernyngham, in whose appearance there had been a +marked improvement since his son’s return, wore an +eager expression; Gertrude was watching her brother +with troubled eyes. +</p> +<p>“You have heard my suggestions about your return +to England,” Jernyngham said at length. “I think +they are fair.” +</p> +<p>“They are generous,” Cyril answered, and added +slowly: “But I cannot go.” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham leaned back in his chair as if he were +weary, with keen disappointment in his face. +</p> +<p>“I have no other son, Cyril. We will wipe out the +past—there is something to regret on both sides—and +try to make everything pleasant for you. I feel that you +ought to come.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_344' name='page_344'></a>344</span></p> +<p>“No,” Cyril persisted with signs of strain. “I’m +strongly tempted, but it would not be wise.” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham looked hard at him and then made a +sign of resignation. +</p> +<p>“You will, at least, give us your reasons.” +</p> +<p>“I’ll try, though I’m not sure you will understand +them; it’s unfortunate we’re so different that we cannot +find a common viewpoint from which to look at things. +I believe I’ve overcome what bitterness I once felt, but +in all that’s essential I haven’t changed. After the first +few weeks, I should jar on you, or I should have to be +continually on my guard, until the repression got too +much for me and the inevitable outbreak came.” +</p> +<p>“Why should there be an outbreak?” his father asked +with some asperity. +</p> +<p>Cyril glanced at Gertrude, noticing her rather weary +smile, and fancied that she could sympathize with him, +which was more than he had expected. She had somehow +gained comprehension in Canada. +</p> +<p>“I suppose I must explain. I’m not thinking of my +worst faults, but, you see, I’m a careless trifler, impatient +of restraint. To have to do things in stereotyped +order distresses me; I must go where my fancy leads. +When I’m cooped up and confined, I feel I must break +loose, even if it leads to havoc.” He laughed. “Of +course, such a frame of mind is beyond your imagining.” +</p> +<p>“I must confess that it is,” Jernyngham replied dryly. +</p> +<p>Gertrude cast a half-applauding glance at her brother. +With all his failings, which she recognized and deplored, +Cyril was to her something of a romantic hero. He took +risks, and did daring and perhaps somewhat discreditable +things, but, narrow as her decorous life had been, she +envied his reckless gallantry. Once she had ventured to +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_345' name='page_345'></a>345</span> +break through the safe rules of conduct and grasp at +romance, but it had eluded her and left her humiliation +and regret. She must go back to the dreary routine +wherein lay security, but she admired him for standing +out. +</p> +<p>“Well,” said Cyril, “I’m talking at large; but we must +thrash out the matter once for all. I may do something +useful here—make wheat grow; perhaps help in developing +the mine—which I couldn’t do at home.” He +paused and concluded whimsically: “It’s even possible +that I may turn into a successful rancher.” +</p> +<p>“But that means working like an English field +laborer!” +</p> +<p>“For a higher pay. When the crop escapes drought +and frost, and there’s no hail or rust, western farming’s +fairly profitable.” +</p> +<p>“In short,” said Jernyngham, “you have made up +your mind not to come home with us.” +</p> +<p>“I’m sorry it is so,” Cyril responded gravely. “Try +to understand. If I stay here, we will be good friends +and you will think well of me. If I go home there will +be trouble and regret for you. I want to save you that.” +</p> +<p>“Father,” Gertrude broke in softly, “though it’s hard +to say, I know that Cyril’s right.” +</p> +<p>Jernyngham got up wearily. +</p> +<p>“There is nothing more that I can urge. You must +do as you think best, my son, but while I shall never quite +grasp your point of view, you will always be in our +thoughts.” +</p> +<p>They were glad to separate, for the interview had been +trying to them all. +</p> +<p>Some time had passed when Cyril, hearing a beat of +hoofs, went out and found Prescott pulling up his team. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_346' name='page_346'></a>346</span></p> +<p>“We have been talking over matters while you were +out,” he told him. “As I’ve decided to stay here, my +people are going home soon—in a week or two, I think; +and I expect Colston will leave with them. I thought +you might like to know.” +</p> +<p>He saw the color creep into Muriel’s face; and when he +turned back to the house Prescott lifted the girl down +from the sleigh. +</p> +<p>“Dear, I can’t let them take you away,” he said. +</p> +<p>Muriel glanced across the snowy plain to the blaze of +fading color upon its western rim. It was growing shadowy, +the woods were blurred and vague, but its wideness +fired her imagination and she felt the exhilaration that +was in the nipping air. +</p> +<p>“Jack,” she smiled up at him, “my home is here! +I’m learning to love the prairie, and it has brought me +happiness. I’m glad to stay with you!” +</p> +<div class='ce'> +<p>THE END</p> +</div> + +<hr class='silver' /> + +<!-- generated by ppgen.rb version: 2.10 --> +<!-- timestamp: Thu Jun 26 22:04:21 -0600 2008 --> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Prescott of Saskatchewan, by Harold Bindloss + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRESCOTT OF SASKATCHEWAN *** + +***** This file should be named 25916-h.htm or 25916-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/5/9/1/25916/ + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Canada Team at http://www.pgdpcanada.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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: Prescott of Saskatchewan + +Author: Harold Bindloss + +Illustrator: W. Herbert Dunton + +Release Date: June 28, 2008 [EBook #25916] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRESCOTT OF SASKATCHEWAN *** + + + + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Canada Team at http://www.pgdpcanada.net + + + + + +PRESCOTT OF SASKATCHEWAN + +------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +[Illustration: "IT SEEMED PRUDENT TO PLACE AS LONG A DISTANCE AS POSSIBLE +BETWEEN THEM AND THE SETTLEMENT"--Page 158] + +------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +PRESCOTT OF SASKATCHEWAN + +BY +HAROLD BINDLOSS + +AUTHOR OF +THE LONG PORTAGE, +RANCHING FOR SYLVIA, +WINSTON OF THE PRAIRIE, ETC. + +WITH A FRONTISPIECE IN COLOR BY +W. HERBERT DUNTON + +GROSSET & DUNLAP +PUBLISHERS :: NEW YORK + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION +INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN +COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY + +PUBLISHED IN ENGLAND UNDER THE TITLE, "THE WASTREL" + +August, 1913 + +------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER PAGE + I. JERNYNGHAM'S HAPPY THOUGHT 1 + II. MURIEL SEES THE WEST 12 + III. JERNYNGHAM MAKES A DECISION 23 + IV. MURIEL FEELS REGRET 35 + V. THE MYSTERY OF THE MUSKEG 45 + VI. A DEAL IN LAND 57 + VII. THE SEARCH 67 + VIII. A DAY ON THE PRAIRIE 79 + IX. PRESCOTT MAKES A PROMISE 92 + X. A NEW CLUE 102 + XI. A REVELATION 113 + XII. PRESCOTT'S FLIGHT 123 + XIII. THE CONSTRUCTION CAMP 131 + XIV. ON THE TRAIL 141 + XV. MISS FOSTER'S ESCORT 153 + XVI. THE MISSIONARY'S ALLY 168 + XVII. THE PASSAGE OF THE MOUNTAINS 183 + XVIII. DEFEAT 195 + XIX. PRESCOTT'S RETURN 206 + XX. MURIEL RELIEVES HER MIND 216 + XXI. WANDLE TAKES PRECAUTIONS 227 + XXII. JERNYNGHAM MAKES A DISCOVERY 237 + XXIII. A NIGHT RIDE 249 + XXIV. MURIEL PROVES OBDURATE 261 + XXV. A WOMAN'S INFLUENCE 272 + XXVI. PRESCOTT MAKES INQUIRIES 284 + XXVII. STARTLING NEWS 296 +XXVIII. THE END OF THE PURSUIT 306 + XXIX. JERNYNGHAM BREAKS DOWN 318 + XXX. PRESCOTT'S VINDICATION 332 + +------------------------------------------------------------------------- + + + + +PRESCOTT, OF SASKATCHEWAN + +CHAPTER I + +JERNYNGHAM'S HAPPY THOUGHT + + +The air was cooling down toward evening at Sebastian, where an +unpicturesque collection of wooden houses stand upon a branch line on the +Canadian prairie. The place is not attractive during the earlier portion +of the short northern summer, when for the greater part of every week it +lies sweltering in heat, in spite of the strong west winds that drive +dust-clouds through its rutted streets. As a rule, during the remaining +day or two the temperature sharply falls, thunder crashes between +downpours of heavy rain, and the wet plank sidewalks provide a +badly-needed refuge from the cement-like "gumbo" mire. + +The day, however, had been cloudless and unusually hot. Prescott had +driven in from his wheat farm at some distance from the settlement, and +he now walked toward the hotel. He was twenty-eight years old, of average +height and rather spare figure; his face, which had been deeply bronzed +by frost and sun, was what is called open, his gray eyes were clear and +steady, the set of his lips and mould of chin firm. He looked honest and +good-natured, but one who could, when necessary, sturdily hold his own. +His attire was simple: a wide gray hat, a saffron-colored shirt with +flannel collar, and a light tweed suit, something the worse for wear. + +As he passed along the sidewalk he looked about. The small, frame houses +were destitute of paint and any pretense of beauty, a number of them had +raised, square fronts which hid the shingled roofs; but beyond the end of +the street there was the prairie stretching back to the horizon. In the +foreground it was a sweep of fading green and pale ocher; farther off it +was tinged with gray and purple; and where it cut the glow of green and +pink on the skyline a long birch bluff ran in a cold blue smear. To the +left of the opening rose three grain elevators: huge wooden towers with +their tops narrowed in and devices of stars and flour-bags painted on +them. At their feet ran the railroad track, encumbered with a string of +freight-cars; a tall water-tank, a grimy stage for unloading coal, and a +small office shack marked the station. + +Prescott, however, did not notice much of this; he was more interested in +the signs of conflict on the persons of the men he met. Some looked as if +they had been violently rolled in the dust; others wore torn jackets; and +the faces of several were disfigured by bruises. Empty bottles, which +make handy clubs, were suggestively scattered about the road. All this +was unusual, but Prescott supposed some allowance must be made for the +fact that it was the anniversary of the famous victory of the Boyne. +Moreover, there was a community of foreign immigrants, mixed with some +Irishmen and French Canadians, but all professing the Romish faith, +engaged in some railroad work not far away. + +In front of the hotel ran a veranda supported on wooden pillars, and a +row of chairs was set out on the match-strewn sidewalk beneath it. Most +of them were occupied by after-supper loungers, and several of the men +bore scars. Prescott stopped and lighted his pipe. + +"Things seem to have been pretty lively here," he remarked. "I came in to +see the implement man and found he couldn't talk straight, with half his +teeth knocked out. It's lucky the Northwest troopers have stopped your +carrying pistols." + +One of the men laughed. + +"We've had a great day, sure. Quite a few of the Dagos had knives, and +Jernyngham had a sword. Guess he'd be in trouble now, only it wasn't one +you could cut with." + +"How did he get the sword?" + +"It was King Billy's," explained another man. "Fellow who was acting him +got knocked out with a bottle in his eye. Jernyngham got up on the horse +instead and led the last charge, when we whipped them across the track." + +"Where's the Protestant Old Guard now?" + +"Some of it's in Clayton's surgery; rest's gone home. When it looked as +if the stores would be wrecked, Reeve Marvin butted in. Telephoned the +railroad boss to send up gravel cars for his boys; told the other crowd +he'd bring the troopers in if they didn't quit. Ordered all strangers off +on the West-bound, and now we're simmering down." + +"Where's Jernyngham?" + +The man jerked his hand toward the hotel. + +"In his room, a bit the worse for wear. Mrs. Jernyngham's nursing him." + +Pushing open the wire-mesh mosquito door, Prescott entered the building. +Its interior was shadowy and filled with cigar smoke; flies buzzed +everywhere, and the smell of warm resinous boards pervaded the rank +atmosphere. The place was destitute of floor covering or drapery, and the +passage Prescott walked down was sloppy with soap and water from a row of +wash-basins, near which hung one small wet towel. Ascending the stairs, +he entered a little and very scantily furnished room with walls of +uncovered pine. It contained a bed with a ragged quilt and a couple of +plain wooden chairs, in one of which a man leaned back. He was about +thirty years old and he roughly resembled Prescott, only that his face, +which was a rather handsome one, bore the stamp of indulgence. His +forehead was covered by a dirty bandage, there was dust on his clothes, +and Prescott thought he was not quite sober. In the other chair sat a +young woman with fine dark eyes and glossy black hair, whose appearance +would have been prepossessing had it not been spoiled by her +slatternliness and cheap finery. She smiled at the visitor as he walked +in. + +"If you'd come sooner, we might have kep' him out o' trouble," she said. +"He got away from me when things begun to hum." + +Her slight accent suggested the French Canadian strain, though Prescott +imagined that there was a trace of Indian blood in her. Her manners were +unfinished, her character was primitive, but Prescott thought she was as +good a consort as Jernyngham deserved. The latter had a small wheat farm +lying back on the prairie, but his erratic temperament prevented his +successfully working it. Prescott was not a censorious person, and he had +a liking and some pity for the man. + +"Well," he said, in answer to the woman's remark, "that was certainly +foolish of him. But what had he to do with the row, anyway?" + +"Have a drink, and I'll try to explain," said Jernyngham. "A big cool +drink might clear my head, and I feel it needs it." + +"You kin have soda, but nothin' else!" the woman broke in. "I'll send it +up; and now that I kin leave you, I'm goin' to the store." She turned to +Prescott. "Nothin' but soda; and see he don't git out!" + +She left them and Jernyngham laughed. + +"Ellice's a good sort; I sometimes wonder how she puts up with me. +Anyhow, I'm glad you came, because I'm in what might be called a +dilemma." + +As this was not a novelty to his companion, Prescott made no comment, and +by and by two tumblers containing iced liquid were brought in. Jernyngham +drained his thirstily and looked up with a grin. + +"It isn't exhilarating, but it's cool," he said. "Now, however, you're +curious about my honorable scars--I got them from a bottle. It broke, you +see, but there's some satisfaction in remembering that I knocked out the +other fellow with the flat of the Immortal William's sword." + +"You'll get worse hurt some day," Prescott rebuked him severely. + +"It's possible, but you're wandering from the point. I'm trying to +remember what led me into the fray in the incongruous company of certain +Hardshell Baptists, Ontario Methodists, and Belfast Presbyterians. As a +young man, my sympathies were with the advanced Anglicans, perhaps +because my people were sternly Evangelical. Then the whole thing's +unreasonable--what have I to do, for instance, with the Protestant +succession?" + +"It isn't very plain," said Prescott. "Still, everybody knows what kind +of fool you are." + +"I live," declared Jernyngham. "You steady, industrious fellows grow. The +row began at the ball-game--disputed base, I think--and our lot had got +badly whipped at the first round when I stood on the veranda and sang +them, 'No Surrender.' That was enough for the Ulster boys, and three or +four of them go a long way in this kind of scrimmage." + +Prescott had no sympathy with Jernyngham's vagaries, but one could not be +angry with him: the man was irresponsible. In a few moments, however, +Jernyngham's face grew graver. + +"Jack," he resumed, "I'm in a hole. Never troubled to ask for my letters +until late in the afternoon, and now I don't know what to do unless you +can help me." + +"You had better tell me what the trouble is." + +"To make you understand, I'll have to go back some time. Everybody round +this place knows what I am now, but I believe I was rather a promising +youngster before I left the old country, a bit of a rebel though, and +inclined to kick against the ultra-conventional. In fact, I think honesty +was my ruin, Jack; I kicked openly." + +"Is there any other way? I can't see that there's much use in kicking +unless the opposition feels it." + +"Don't interrupt," scowled Jernyngham. "This is rather deep for you, but +I'll try to explain. If you want to get on in the old country, you must +conform to the standard; though you can do what you like at times and +places where people of your proper circle aren't supposed to see you. I +didn't recognize the benefits of the system then--and I suffered for it." + +He paused with a curious, half-tender look in his face. + +"There was a girl, Jack, good as they're made, I still believe, though +not in our station. Well, I meant to marry her--thought I was strong +enough to defy the system--and she, not knowing what manner of life I was +meant for, was fond of me." + +"What manner of life were you meant for?" + +Jernyngham laughed harshly. + +"The Bar, for a beginning; I'd got my degree. The House later--there was +strong family influence--to assist in propagating the Imperial idea. +Strikes one as amusing, Jack." + +Prescott thought his companion would not have spoken so freely had he +been wholly sober, but he had long noticed the purity of the man's +intonation and the refinement that occasionally showed in his manners. + +"You're making quite a tale of it," he said. + +"Well," resumed Jernyngham, "I didn't know what I was up against; the +system broke me. When the stress came, I hadn't nerve enough to hold out, +and for that I've been punished. My sister--she meant well--got hold of +the girl, persuaded her to give me up--for my sake, Jack. Wouldn't see +me, sent back my letters, and I came to Canada, beaten." + +He paused. + +"There's a reason why you must try to realize my father and sister. He's +unflinchingly upright, conventional to a degree; Gertrude's a feebler +copy, as just, but perhaps not quite so hard. Well, I've never written to +either, but I've heard from friends and the conclusion seems to be that +as I've never asked for money I must have reformed. There's a desire for +a reconciliation; my father's getting old, and I believe, in their +reserved way, they were fond of me. Don't be impatient; I'm coming to the +point at last. I'd a letter to-day from Colston--though the man's a +relative, I haven't seen him since I left school. He and his wife are +passing through on their way to British Columbia and the idea seems to be +that he should see me and report." + +Prescott made a sign of understanding. Jernyngham, stamped with +dissipation and injured in a brawl, and his small homestead where +everything was in disorder and out of repair, were hardly likely to +create a favorable impression on his English relatives. Besides, there +was Mrs. Jernyngham. The effect of her appearance and conversation might +be disastrous. + +"Now," continued Jernyngham, "you see how I'm fixed. I haven't much to +thank my people for, but I want to spare them a shock. If it would make +things easier for them, I don't mind their thinking better of me than I +deserve." + +His companion pondered this. It was crudely put, but it showed a rather +fine consideration, Prescott thought, for the people who were in part +responsible for the man's downfall; perhaps, too, a certain sense of +shame and contrition. Jernyngham's desire could not be found fault with. + +"What are you going to do about it?" he asked. + +"Nothing," said Jernyngham with a reckless laugh. "You'll do all that's +needed; I mean to leave my friends to you. Strikes me as a brilliant +idea, though not exactly novel; made a number of excellent comedies. Did +you ever see 'Charley's Aunt'?" + +Prescott frowned. + +"I don't deal." + +"Think! You're not unlike me and we're about the same age; Colston, +hasn't seen me for fourteen years; his wife never!" + +"No," objected Prescott. "It can't be done!" + +"It's hardly good form to remind you of it, Jack, but there was a time +when we took a grading contract on the line and you got into trouble +close in front of the ballast train." + +Prescott's determined expression changed. + +"Yes," he conceded; "it gives you a pull on me--I can't go back on that." +He spread out his hands. "Well, if you insist." + +"For the old man's sake," said Jernyngham. "I want you to take the +Colstons out to your place and entertain them for a day or two; they +won't stay long. They're coming in by the West-bound this evening." + +"Then," exclaimed Prescott, "they'll be here in half an hour, if the +train's on time! If there are any points you can give me about your +family history, you had better be quick!" + +"In the first place, I was rather a wild youngster, with an original turn +of mind and was supposed to be a bit of a rake, though that wasn't +correct--my eccentricities were harmless then. Your word 'maverick' +describes me pretty well: I didn't belong to the herd; I wouldn't be +rounded up with the others and let them put the brand on. That's no doubt +why they credited me with vices I didn't possess." Jernyngham laughed. +"Still, you mustn't overdo the thing; you want delicately to convey the +idea that you're now reformed. The part requires some skill; it's a pity +you're not smarter. Jack. But let me think----" + +He went into a few details about his family, and then Prescott left him +and, after giving an order to have his team ready, proceeded to the +station. It was getting dark, but the western sky was still a sheet of +wonderful pale green, against which the tall elevators stood out black +and sharp. The head-lamp of a freight locomotive flooded track and +station with a dazzling electric glare, the rails that ran straight and +level across the waste gleaming far back in the silvery radiance. This +helped Prescott to overcome his repugnance to his task, as he remembered +another summer night when he had attempted to hurry his team across the +track before a ballast train came up. Startled by the blaze of the +head-lamp and the scream of the whistle, one of the horses plunged and +kicked; a wheel of the wagon, sinking in the loose ballast, skidded +against a tie; and Prescott stood between the rails, struggling to +extricate the beasts, while the great locomotive rushed down on them. +There was a vein of stubborn tenacity in him and it looked as if he and +the horses would perish together when Jernyngham came running to the +rescue. How they escaped neither of them could afterward remember, but a +moment later they stood beside the track while the train went banging by, +covering them with dust and fragments of gravel. Prescott admitted that +he owed Jernyngham something for that. + +Nevertheless there was no doubt that the part he had undertaken to play +would be difficult. He could see its humorous side, but he had not been a +prodigal; indeed he was by temperament and habit steady-going and +industrious. The son of a small business man in Montreal, he had after an +excellent education abandoned city life and gone west, where he had +prospered by frugality and hard work. He was by no means rich, but he was +content and inclined to be optimistic about the future. + +When he reached the station, he found that the usual crowd of loungers +had gathered to watch the train come in. Lighting his pipe, he walked up +and down the low platform, wondering uneasily how he would get through +the next few days. Jernyngham, he felt, had placed him in a singularly +embarrassing position. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +MURIEL SEES THE WEST + + +The sunlight was fading off the prairie when a party of three sat in a +first-class car as the local train went jolting westward. Henry Colston +leaned back in his seat with a Winnipeg paper on his knee; and his +appearance stamped him as a well-bred Englishman traveling for pleasure. +He was thirty-four; his dress, though dusty, was fastidiously neat; his +expression was pleasant, but there was an air of formality about him. One +would not have expected him to do anything startling or extravagant, even +under stress of emotion. Mrs. Colston resembled him in this respect. She +was a handsome woman, a little reserved in manner, and was tastefully +dressed in traveling tweed, which she had found too hot for the Canadian +summer. Muriel, her sister, was twenty-four, and though the two were +alike, the girl's face was fresher, more ingenuous and perhaps more +intelligent. It was an attractive face, crowned with red-gold hair; broad +brows, straight nose and firm mouth hinted at some force of character, +but her eyes of deep violet were unusually merry, and her warm coloring +suggested a sanguine temperament. + +So far, Muriel Hurst had taken life lightly and had foiled Mrs. Colston's +attempts to make a suitable match for her. The daughter of a man of taste +who had died in difficulties, she had not a penny beyond the allowance +provided by her sister's generosity. Nevertheless, she was happy and had +a strong liking and respect for her prosperous brother-in-law, though his +restricted views sometimes irritated her. + +She was now trying to arrange her impressions of Canada, which were +mixed. She had looked down on Montreal with its great bridge and broad +river from the wooded mountain, and from there it had struck her as a +beautiful city. Then she had seen the handsome stone houses with their +lawns at the foot of the hill, and afterward the magnificent commercial +buildings round the postoffice. These could scarcely be equaled in +London, but the rest of the town had not impressed her. It was strewn +with sand and cement-dust: they seemed to be pulling down and putting up +buildings and tearing open the streets all over it. + +Afterward the Western Express had swept her through a thousand miles of +wilderness, a vast tract of forest filled with rocks and lakes and +rivers; and then she had spent two days in Winnipeg on the verge of the +prairie. This city she found perplexing. The station hall was palatial, +part of wide Main Street and Portage Avenue with their stately banks and +offices could hardly be too much admired, and there were pretty wooden +houses running back to the river among groves of trees. But apart from +this, the place was somehow primitive. There were numerous hard-faced men +hanging about the streets, and it jarred on her to see the rows of +well-dressed loungers in the hotels lolling in wooden chairs close +against the great windows, a foot or two from the street. It gave her a +hint of western characteristics; the people were abrupt, good-naturedly +so, perhaps, but devoid of delicacy. + +Last had come the prairie--the land of promise--which seemed to run on +forever, flooded with brilliant sunshine under a sky of dazzling blue. +Banded with miles of wheat, flecked with crimson flowers, it stretched +back, brightly green, until it grew gray and blue on the far horizon. It +was relieved by the neutral purple of poplar bluffs, and little gleaming +lakes; its vastness and openness filled the girl with a sense of liberty. +Narrow restraints, cramping prejudices, must vanish in this wide country; +one's nature could expand and become optimistic here. + +Then Colston began to talk. + +"We should arrive in the next half-hour and I'll confess to a keen +curiosity about Cyril Jernyngham. He was an amusing and eccentric +scapegrace when I last saw him, though that is a very long time ago." + +"You object to eccentricity, don't you?" laughed Muriel. + +"Oh, no! Call it originality, and I'll admit that a certain amount is +useful; but it should be kept in check. Indulged in freely, it's apt to +rouse suspicion." + +"Which is rather unfair." + +"I don't know," Mrs. Colston broke in. "Considered all round, it's an +excellent rule that if you won't do what everybody in your station does, +you must take the consequences." + +Colston nodded. + +"I agree. One must think of the results to society as a whole." + +"Cyril Jernyngham seems to have taken the consequences," Muriel pointed +out. "Isn't there something to be said for the person who does so +uncomplainingly? I understand he never recanted or asked for help." + +Mrs. Colston shot a quick glance at her. She did not wish her sister's +sympathy to be enlisted on the black sheep's behalf. + +"I believe that's true," she replied. "Perhaps it's hardly to his credit. +His father is an old man who had expected great things of him. If he had +come home, he would have been forgiven and reinstated." + +"Yes," said Colston, "though Jernyngham seldom shows his feelings, I know +he has grieved over his son. There can be no question that Cyril should +have returned; I've told him so in my letters." + +"I suppose they'd have insisted on a full and abject surrender?" + +"Not an abject one," answered Colston. "He would have been expected to +fall in with the family ideas and plans." + +"And he wouldn't?" suggested Muriel with a mischievous smile. "I think he +was right." Reading disapproval in her sister's expression, she +continued: "You dear virtuous people are a little narrow in your ideas; +you can't understand that there's room for the greatest difference of +opinion even in a harmonious family, and that it's very silly to drive +the nonconformer into rebellion. Variety's a law of nature and tends to +life." + +Colston glanced meaningly at his wife. He was not a hypercritical person, +but it did not please him that his sister-in-law, of whom he was fond, +should champion Jernyngham. + +"I don't wish to be severe on Cyril," he rejoined. "As a matter of fact, +I know nothing good or bad about his Canadian life; but he must be +regarded as, so to speak, on probation until he has proved that he +deserves our confidence." + +Muriel made no answer. She was looking out of the window toward the west, +and the glow on the vast plain's rim seized her attention. The sunset +flush had faded, but the sky shone a transcendent green. The air was very +clear; every wavy line of bluff was picked out in a wonderful deep blue. +Muriel thought she had never seen such strength and vividness of color. +Then she glanced round the long car. It was comfortable except for the +jolting; the silvery gray of its cane-backed seats contrasted with the +paneling of deep brown. The big lamps and metal fittings gleamed with +nickel. All the girl saw connected her with luxurious civilization, and +she wondered with a stirring of curiosity what awaited her in the wilds, +where man still grappled with nature in primitive fashion. + +"Sebastian in three or four minutes!" announced the conductor; and while +Muriel and Mrs. Colston gathered together a few odds and ends a scream of +the whistle broke out. + +Prescott heard it on the station platform and with strong misgivings +braced himself for his task. A bright light was speeding down the track, +blending with that flung out by a freight locomotive crossing the +switches. Then amid the clangor of the bell the long cars rolled in and +he saw a man standing on the platform of one. There was no doubt that he +was an Englishman and Prescott hurried toward the car. + +"Mr. Henry Colston?" he asked. + +The man held out his hand. + +"I think Harry is sufficient. Come and speak to Florence; she has been +looking forward to meeting you with interest." He turned. "My dear, this +is Cyril." + +Prescott shook hands with the lady on the car platform, and then looked +past her in confused surprise. A girl stood in the vestibule, clad in +garments of pale lilac tint which fell about her figure in long sweeping +lines, emphasizing its fine contour against the dark brown paneling. She +had a large hat of the same color, and it enhanced the attractiveness of +her face, which wore a friendly smile. She was obviously one of the +party, though Jernyngham had not mentioned her, and Prescott pulled +himself together when Colston presented him. + +"My sister-in-law, Muriel Hurst," he added. + +When they had alighted, Prescott asked for the checks and moved toward +the baggage car. While he waited, watching the trunks being flung out, +Ellice passed him talking to a smartly dressed man. This struck Prescott +as curious, but he knew the man as a traveling salesman for an American +cream-separator, and as he must have called at Jernyngham's homestead on +his round and was no doubt leaving by the train, there was no reason why +Ellice should not speak to him. He thought no more of the matter and +proceeded to carry several trunks and valises across the platform to his +wagon, while his new friends watched him with some surprise. It was a +novel experience in their walk of life to see their host carrying their +baggage, and when Prescott lifted the heaviest trunk Colston hurried +forward to protest. + +"Stand aside, please," said the rancher, walking firmly across the boards +with the big trunk on his shoulders. When he had placed it in the wagon +he turned to the ladies with a smile. + +"I had thought of putting you up for the night at the hotel, but they're +full, and with good luck we ought to make my place in about three hours. +I dare say this isn't the kind of rig you have been accustomed to driving +in; and somebody will have to sit on a trunk. There's only room for three +on the driving-seat." + +Mrs. Colston surveyed the vehicle with misgivings. It was a long, shallow +box set on four tall and very light wheels, and crossed by a seat raised +on springs. Two rough-coated horses were harnessed to it with a pole +between them. She saw this by the glare of the freight locomotive's +head-lamp when the train moved out, and noticed that her husband was +looking at their host in surprise. + +"I'll take the trunk," said Colston. "We had dinner down the line not +long ago." + +Prescott helped the ladies up and seating himself next to the younger +started his horses. They set off at a rapid trot and the wagon jolted +unpleasantly as it crossed the track. Then the horses broke into a +gallop, raising a dust-cloud in the rutted street, while the light +vehicle rocked in an alarming fashion, and Prescott had some trouble in +restraining them when they ran out on to the dim waste of prairie. Then +the wonderful keen air, faintly scented with wild peppermint, reacted +upon the girl with a curious exhilarating effect. She felt stirred and +excited, expectant of new experiences, perhaps adventures. The wild +barley brushed about the wheels with a silky rustle; the beat of hoofs +rang in a sharp staccato through the deep silence; and the touch of the +faint night wind brought warmth into Muriel's face. + +"They're pretty fresh; been in the stable of a farm near here most of the +day," Prescott explained. "Not long off the range, anyhow, and they're +bad to hold." + +There was a shrill scream from a dusky shape flitting through the air as +they skirted a marshy pool, and the team again broke into a furious +gallop. The trail was grown with short scrub which smashed beneath the +hoofs, and the vehicle lurched sharply when the wheels left the ruts and +ran through tall, tangled grass. Prescott with some diffidence slipped +his arm round Muriel's waist, while Colston jolted up and down with his +trunk. + +"You have still the same taste in horses, Cyril," he remarked. "I suppose +you remember Wildfire?" + +"Wildfire?" queried Prescott, and then, having the impression that young +English lads were sometimes given a pony, ventured: "Quite a cute little +beast." + +"Little!" exclaimed Colston. "How many hands make a big horse in this +country? I'm speaking of the hunter you cajoled the second groom into +saddling when your father was away. Can't you remember how you insisted +on putting her at the Newby brook?" + +"I don't seem to place it somehow," said Prescott in alarm, seeing that +if he were called upon to share any more reminiscences it might lead him +into difficulties. "You know I've been out here a while." + +"Long enough to forget, it seems." + +Prescott made a bold venture. + +"That's so; perhaps it's better. This is a brand new country. One starts +afresh here, looking forward instead of back." + +Muriel considered this. The idea was, she thought, appropriate, but the +man's tone and air were not what one would have expected of a reformed +rake. There was no hint of contrition; he spoke with optimistic +cheerfulness. + +"Of course," Colston agreed. "I wonder if I might say that you have grown +more Canadian than I expected to find you?" + +"More Canadian?" Prescott checked himself in time and laughed. "Is it +surprising? You drive and starve out many a good man who dares to be +original--I've met a number of them. Can you wonder that when they're +welcomed here they're willing to forget you and become one with the +people who took them in?" + +"In a way, that's a pity," said Mrs. Colston. "We like to think we +haven't lost you altogether." + +Disregarding his horses, Prescott turned toward her with a bow. + +"Face the truth, ma'am. If you're ever in a tight place, we'll send you +what help we can, hard men, such as can't be raised in your cities, to +keep the flag flying, but we stop there. Don't think we belong to you--we +stand firm on our own feet, a new free nation. I"--he paused in an +impressive manner--"am a Canadian." + +Muriel felt a responsive thrill. His ideas were certainly not English, +nor was his mode of expressing them, but his boldness appealed to her. +Her companions were frankly astonished and rather hurt, which he seemed +to realize, for he resumed with a laugh: + +"But we won't talk politics. Things I've heard English people say out +here make one tired." + +Then he turned toward the girl, adding softly: + +"Was that a very bad break I made?" + +"I think it could be forgiven," she told him. + +"The years you have spent in Canada seem to have had their full effect on +you," Colston remarked dryly. + +Prescott turned his attention to his team, slightly checking their pace. + +"What did you mean when you said we should reach your ranch in three +hours, if we had good luck?" Muriel asked. + +"Oh," he said, "there are badger burrows about, and a little beast called +a gopher makes almost as bad a hole; they're fond of digging up the +trail. If a horse steps into one of those holes, it's apt to bring him +down. Besides, we trust a good deal to our luck in this country--one has +to run risks that can't be estimated: harvest frost, rust, dry seasons, +winds that blow destroying sand about. I've lost two crops in the eight +years I've been here." + +"Can it be eight?" Colston broke in. "If I remember right, you spent +three years in Manitoba." + +"It's the same kind of country and the same climate," Prescott rejoined, +conscious that he had nearly betrayed himself again. He felt angry with +Jernyngham for giving him such a difficult part to play. + +After this, he carefully avoided any personal topic and talked about +Canadian farming, sitting silent when he could, while Muriel gazed about +with pleasurable curiosity. It is never quite dark on those wide levels in +summertime, and, for there was no moon, the prairie stretched away before +them shadowy, silent, and mysterious. Now they passed a sheet of water, +gleaming wanly among thin willows; then they plunged into the deep gloom +of a poplar bluff; and later, lurching down a steep declivity, swept +through a shallow creek. The air was filled with the smell of dew-damped +soil and unknown aromatic scents, the loneliness was impressive, the +half-obscurity emphasized the strangeness of everything. Muriel felt as if +she had left all that was stereotyped and matter-of-fact far behind. It +was the unexpected and romantic that ought to happen in this virgin land. + +Then, worn by several days' journey in the jolting cars, she grew drowsy. +The steady drumming of hoofs, the slapping of the traces, and the rattle +of wheels were strangely soothing. She fancied that once or twice when +they sped furiously down an incline, the driver held her fast, but she +did not resent the support of his arm: it was a steady, reassuring grasp. +At last, as they swung round a poplar bluff, she roused herself, for dim +black buildings loomed up ahead, and one which had lighted windows took +the shape of a small house. The team stopped, there were voices speaking +with a curious accent which reminded her of Norway, and the rancher +helped her down. + +Afterward she followed her sister into a simply furnished, pine-boarded +room with a big stove at one end of it, where a middle-aged woman set +food and coffee before them. She spoke English haltingly, but her lined +face lighted up when Muriel thanked her in Norse. Then there followed a +flow of eager words, a few of which the girl caught, until the woman +broke off when their host came in. He was silent, for the most part, +during the meal, and shortly afterward Muriel was shown into a small room +where she went to sleep in a few minutes. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +JERNYNGHAM MAKES A DECISION + + +Prescott's guests had spent a week at his homestead with content when +Colston and his wife sat talking one morning. + +"I'm frankly puzzled," said Colston, opening his cigar case; "I can't +make Cyril out. He's frugal, remarkably industrious--I think the +description's warranted--and, from all that one can gather, as steady as +a rock. This, of course, is gratifying, but it's by no means what I +expected." + +"He certainly doesn't fit in with the picture his sister Gertrude drew +me, though she conveyed the impression that she was softening things +down. There can be no doubt that he was wild. That might, perhaps, be +forgiven, but one or two of the stories I've heard about him filled me +with disgust." + +Her husband looked thoughtful. He had not noticed that Muriel was sitting +just outside the open window, though Mrs. Colston, being in a different +position, had done so. She thought their voices would reach the girl, and +if anything strongly in Cyril's disfavor cropped up during the +conversation it might be as well that she should hear it. Mrs. Colston +was willing that he should be reconciled to his relatives, but a reformed +rake was not the kind of man to whom she wished her sister to be +attracted. One could not tell whether the reformation would prove +permanent. + +"After all, I never heard any really serious offense proved against him," +Colston rejoined. "It's sometimes easy to acquire a reputation without +doing anything in particular to deserve it. People are apt to jump at +conclusions." + +"When there's a general concurrence of opinion it's wiser to fall in with +it. But what did he say about his father's suggestion that he should go +home?" + +"Asked for a day or two to think it over; I fancied that he wished to +consult somebody. Then he promised to give me an answer." + +"On the whole, I think they need have no hesitation about taking him back +now," Mrs. Colston responded; and Muriel agreed with her. "There's +another point," she added. "How long shall we stay here?" + +"I don't know. I've a growing liking for Cyril, the place is pleasant, +and though things are rather rudimentary, the air's wonderfully bracing. +He urged me to stay some little time, and I felt that he wished it." + +Mrs. Colston considered. She was enjoying her visit; everything was +delightfully novel and she felt more cheerful and more vigorous than she +had done for some time. But Muriel seemed to find the prairie pleasant, +and there was a possibility of danger there. + +"We might, perhaps, remain another week," she suggested. + +As it happened, Colston's suspicion that his host wished to consult +somebody was correct, for Prescott was then driving in to the settlement +to lay his visitor's message before the man it most concerned. He found +him lounging in the hotel bar, and, drawing him into the general-room, he +sat down opposite him in a hard wooden chair. The apartment had no floor +covering and was cheerless and dirty; there was not even a table in it; +and only a railroad time-table and advertisements of land sales hung on +its rough pine walls. Jernyngham, however, looked in keeping with his +surroundings. The dirty bandage still covered his forehead, his clothes +were stained and untidy, and he had an unkempt, dissipated air. + +"Well," he asked with a grin, "how are you getting on with your new +friends?" + +"I don't know; I'm curious about what they think of me. Anyway, I found +the thing harder than I expected. Why didn't you tell me Mrs. Colston was +bringing her sister?" + +"If I ever heard she had one, I forgot it; suppose I couldn't have read +the letter properly. What's she like?" + +"Herself," said Prescott. "I can't think of anybody we know I could +compare her with." + +He had endeavored to speak carelessly, but something in his voice +betrayed him and Jernyngham laughed. + +"That's not surprising. If you want to play your part properly, you had +better make love to her. It's what would be expected of me, and it +couldn't do any harm, because these people would very soon head you off. +Harry Colston's sister-in-law would look for an assured position and at +least five thousand dollars a year. When are they going?" + +"I've asked them to stay a little longer and I think they'll agree. But +that is not what I came to see you about. Colston laid a proposition +before me--you're formally invited to return home." + +"On what terms?" + +Prescott detailed them, watching his companion. The latter sat silent for +a minute or two, and then he said slowly: + +"It's a handsome offer, but it was made under a mistake. There's no doubt +that Colston was trusted with powers of discretion. He must be satisfied +with you--don't you feel complimented, Jack?" + +"What I feel is outside the question." + +"Well," continued Jernyngham thoughtfully, "I suppose if I indulged in a +spell of hard work in the open and practised strict abstinence it might +improve my appearance, and I could, perhaps, keep out of Colston's way, +or if needful, own up to the trick. The old man would hold to his +bargain: he's that kind. It's a strong temptation--you see what I'd stand +to gain--a liberal allowance, a life that's wildly luxurious by +comparison with the one I'm leading, the society of people of the stamp +I've been brought up among. Jack, I feel driven to the point of yielding. +But it's a pity this offer has come too late." + +"Is it too late?" + +"Think! Would it be fair to go? For a month or two I might keep straight, +then--I've tried to describe my people--you can imagine their feelings at +the inevitable outbreak. Besides, there's a more serious difficulty." +Jernyngham's tense face relaxed into a grim smile. "Can you imagine +Ellice an inmate of an English country house, patronizing local +charities, presiding over prim garden parties? The idea's preposterous! +And that's not all." + +Prescott knew little about England, but he could imagine her making an +undesirable sensation in Montreal or Toronto. + +"You force me to ask something. Is she Mrs. Jernyngham?" he said, +hesitatingly. + +"I used to think so; there's a doubt about the matter now." + +"One would have imagined that was a point you would have been sure +about." + +"I understood her husband was dead when we were married in Manitoba. She +was a waitress in a second-rate hotel; the brute had ill-used and +deserted her. But there's now some reason to believe he's farming in +Alberta. I haven't made inquiries: I didn't think it would improve +matters." + +Prescott said nothing. In face of such a situation, any remarks that he +could make would be superfluous. There was a long silence; and then +Jernyngham spoke again, slowly, but resolutely. + +"You see how it is, Jack--where my interest lies. Against that, there's +the feelings of my father and sister to consider. Then my reinstatement +would have to be bought by casting off the woman who has borne with my +failings and stuck to me pluckily. I haven't sunk quite so far as that. +You'll have to tell Colston that I'm staying here!" + +He got up and Prescott laid a hand on his arm. + +"It's hard; but you're doing the square thing, Cyril." + +Jernyngham shook off his hand. + +"Don't let us talk in that strain. Come and see Ellice and try to amuse +her. Don't know what's wrong with the woman; she has been moody of late." + +"I must get back as soon as I can and I've some business to do." + +"Oh, well," acquiesced Jernyngham, walking with him to the bar, which was +the quickest way of leaving. + +On reaching it he turned and glanced about sardonically. The room was +dark, filled with flies, and evil smelling, as well as thick with smoke; +half a dozen, untidy men leaned against the counter. + +"What a set of loafing swine you are!" he coolly remarked. "It's not to +the point that I'm no better, but if any of you feel insulted, I'll be +happy to make what I've said good." + +"Cut it out, Cyril! Can't have a circus here!" exclaimed the bar-tender. + +"You needn't be afraid. They look pretty tame," Jernyngham rejoined, and +going on to the door, shook hands with Prescott. + +"Tell Colston he has my last word," he said. + +Turning away, he proceeded to the untidy parlor where he found Ellice +dawdling over a paper. Her white summer dress was stained in places and +open at the neck, where a button had come off. The short skirt displayed +a hole in one stocking and a shoe from which a strap had been torn. +Jernyngham leaned on the table regarding her with a curious smile. + +"What's Jack come about?" she asked. + +"To say my fastidious relatives want me to go home, which would mean +leaving you behind." + +She looked at him searchingly, and then laughed. + +"And you won't go?" + +"That's the message I sent." + +Ellice's face softened, though there was a hint of indecision in it. + +"You're all right, Cyril, only a bit of a fool." + +"A bit?" he said dryly. "I'm the whole blamed hog. But enough of that. +We'll pull out for the homestead to-morrow. I expect Wandle is robbing +me." + +"He's been robbin' you ever since you bought the ranch. I don't know why +you stopped me from gettin' after him." + +"He saves me trouble," explained Jernyngham, and they discussed the +arrangements for their return. + +Prescott, arriving home, had a brief private interview with Colston, who +realized with some disappointment that his errand had failed. Then the +rancher harnessed a fresh team and proceeded to a sloo where his +Scandinavian hired man was cutting prairie hay. An hour or two later +Muriel went out on the prairie and walked toward a poplar bluff, in the +shadow of which she gathered ripe red saskatoons, and then sat down to +look about. + +The dazzling blue of the sky was broken by rounded masses of silver-edged +clouds that drove along before a fresh northwest breeze. Streaked by +their speeding shadows, the great plain stretched away, checkered by +ranks of marigolds and tall crimson flowers of the lily kind that swayed +as the rippling grasses changed color in the wind. A mile or two distant +stood the trim wooden homestead, with a tall windmill frame near by, girt +by broad sweeps of dark-green wheat and oats. These were interspersed +with stretches of uncovered soil, glowing a deep chocolate-brown, which +Muriel knew was the summer fallow resting after a cereal crop. Beyond the +last strip of rich color, there spread, shining delicately blue, a great +field of flax; and then the dusky green of alfalfa and alsike for the +Hereford cattle, standing knee-deep in a flashing lake. The prairie, she +thought, was beautiful in summer; its wideness was bracing, one was +stirred into cheerfulness and bodily vigor by the rush of its fresh +winds. She felt that she could remain contentedly at the homestead for a +long time; and then her thoughts centered on its owner. + +This was perhaps why she rose and strolled on toward the sloo, though she +would not acknowledge that she actually wished to meet him. The man was +something of an enigma and therefore roused in her an interest which was +stronger because of some of the things she had heard to his discredit. +Following the rows of wheelmarks, she brushed through the wild barley, +whose spiky heads whipped her dress, passed a chain of glistening ponds, +a bluff wrapped in blue shadow, and finally descended a long slope to the +basin at its foot where the melting snow had run in spring. Now it had +dried and was covered with tall grass which held many flowers and +fragrant wild peppermint. + +A team of horses and a tinkling mower moved through its midst, and at one +edge Prescott was loading the grass into a wagon. Engrossed as he was in +his task, he did not notice her, and she stood a while watching him. He +wore no jacket; the thin yellow shirt, flung open at the neck and tightly +belted at the waist, and the brown duck trousers, showed the lithe grace +of his athletic figure. His poise and swing were admirable, and he was +working with determined energy, his face and uncovered arms the warm +color of the soil. + +Muriel drew a little closer and he stopped on seeing her. His brown skin +was singularly clean, his eyes were clear and steady, though they often +gave a humorous twinkle. If this man had ever been a rake, his +reformation must have been drastic and complete, because although she had +a very limited acquaintance with people of that sort, it was reasonable +to conclude that they must bear some sign of indulgence or sensuality. +The rancher had no stamp of either. + +He showed his pleasure at her appearance. + +"You have had quite a walk," he said. "If you will wait while I put up +the load, I'll take you back." + +Muriel sat down and watched him fling the grass in heavy forkfuls on to +the growing pile, until at last he clambered up upon the frame supporting +it and, pulling some out and ramming the rest back, proceeded to excavate +a hollow. + +"What are you doing?" she asked. + +"Making a nest for you," he told her with a laugh. "Now, if you'll get +up." + +While she mounted by the wheel he stood on the edge of the wagon, leaning +down toward her. There did not seem to be much foothold, the grass looked +slippery, and the hollow he had made was beyond her reach, but she seized +the hand he held out and he swung her up. For a moment his fingers +pressed tightly upon her waist, and then she was safe in the hollow, +smiling at him as he found a precarious seat on the rack. + +"You couldn't see how you were going to get up, but you didn't hesitate," +he said with a soft laugh, when he had started his team. + +"No," she smiled back at him. "Somehow you inspire one with confidence. I +didn't think you would let me fall." + +"Curious, isn't it?" + +She reclined in the recess among the grass, which yielded to her limbs in +a way that gave her a sense of voluptuous ease. Her pose, although +scarcely a conventional one, showed to advantage the fine contour of her +form; and the lilac-tinted dress that flowed in classic lines about her +made a patch of cool restful color on the warm ocher of her surroundings. +It was easy to read the man's admiration in his glance, and she became +suddenly filled with mischievous daring. + +"Cyril," she said, "you are either an excellent actor, or else--" + +"I have been maligned. Is that what you meant?" + +"I think I did mean something of the kind." + +"Then I'm a very poor actor. That should settle the question." + +"I've wondered how you became so very Canadian," she said thoughtfully. + +"What's the matter with the Canadians?" + +"Nothing. I haven't met very many yet, but on the whole I'm favorably +impressed by them. They're direct, blunt, perhaps less complex than we +are." + +"No trimmings," he suggested. "They don't muss up good material so that +it can hardly be recognized. You can tell what a man is when you see him +or hear him talk." + +"I don't know," Muriel argued. "I've an idea that it might be difficult, +even in Canada." + +He let this pass. + +"What do you think of the country?" he asked. + +She glanced round. It was late in the afternoon and somewhat cooler than +it had been. Half the plain lay in shadow, but the light was curiously +sharp. A clump of ragged jack-pines stood on a sandhill miles away, and a +lake twinkled in the remote distance. The powerful Clydesdale horses +plodded through short crackling scrub; a fine scent of wild peppermint +floated about. + +"Oh," she responded, "it's delightful! And everybody's so energetic! You +move with a spring and verve; and I don't hear any grumbling, though +there seems to be so much to do!" + +"And to bear now and then: crops wiped out--I've lost two of them. The +work never slackens, except in winter, when you sit shivering beside the +stove, if you're not hauling in building logs or cordwood through the +arctic frost. At night it's deadly silent, unless there's a blizzard +howling; the plains are very lonely when the snow lies deep. Don't you +think you're better off in England, taking it all 'round?" + +He laid respectful fingers on the hem of her skirt, touching the fine +material, as if appraising its worth. + +"Our wheat-growers' wives and daughters are lucky if they've a couple of +moderately smart dresses, but I suppose you have several trunks full of +things like this. That and the kind of life it implies must count for +something." + +"I believe I have," said Muriel with candor, answering his steady +inquiring glance. "Still, I've felt that we drift along from amusement to +amusement in a purposeless way, doing nothing that's worth while. There +might come a time when one would grow very tired of it." + +"It must come and bring trouble then. Here one goes on from task to task, +each one bigger and more venturesome than the last; acre added to acre, a +gasoline tractor to the horse-plow, another quarter-section broken. Mind +and body taxed all day and often half the night. One can't sit down and +mope." + +This was, she thought, a curious speech for a man who had been described +as careless, extravagant, and dissolute; but he was getting too serious, +and she laughed. + +"You were energetic enough in England, if reports are true. I've often +thought of your right-of-way adventure. It must have been very dramatic +when you appeared at the garden party covered with fresh tar." + +"Sounds like that, doesn't it?" he cautiously agreed. "How do they tell +the tale?" + +"Something like this--you were at the Hall with Geoffrey when the +townspeople were clamoring about Sir Gilbert's closing the path through +the wood, and for some reason you assisted them in attacking the +barricade. It had been well tarred as a defensive measure, hadn't it? +Then you returned, triumphant, black from head to foot, when you thought +the guests had gone, and plunged into the middle of the last of +them--Maud always laughs when she talks about it. Sir Gilbert was +somewhere out of sight when you related the rabble's brilliant victory, +but he dashed out red in face when he understood and never stopped until +he jumped into his motor. I don't think Geoffrey's wife has forgiven +you." + +Prescott smiled. + +"Well," he said, "I must have grown very staid since then." + +Muriel changed the subject, but they talked with much good-humor until +they reached the homestead, where the man alighted and held out his arms +to her. She hesitated a moment, and then was seized by him and swung +gently to the ground, but she left him with a trace of heightened color +in her face and went quietly into the house. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +MURIEL FEELS REGRET + + +It was pleasantly cool in the shadow of Jernyngham's wooden barn, where +Prescott sat, talking to its owner. Outside the strip of shade, the sun +fell hot upon the parched grass, and the tall wheat that ran close up to +the homestead swayed in waves of changing color before the rush of +breeze. The whitened, weather-worn boards of the house, which faced the +men, seemed steeped in glowing light, and sounds of confused activity +issued from the doorway that was guarded by mosquito-netting. A clatter +of domestic utensils indicated that Ellice was baking, and she made more +noise than she usually did when she was out of temper. Jernyngham +listened with faint amusement as he filled his pipe. + +"Sorry I can't ask you in, Jack," he said. "The kitchen is a pretty large +one, but when Ellice starts bread-making, there isn't a spot one can sit +down in. Of course, we've another living-room--I furnished it rather +nicely--but for some reason we seldom use it." + +The mosquito door swung back with a crash and Ellice appeared in the +entrance with a hot, angry face, and hands smeared with dough, her hair +hanging partly loose in disorder about her neck, her skirt ungracefully +kilted up. + +"Ain't you goin' to bring that water? Have I got to wait another hour?" +she cried, ignoring Prescott. + +Jernyngham rose and moved away. Returning, he disappeared into the +kitchen with a dripping pail and Ellice's voice was raised in harsh +upbraiding. Then the man came out, looking a trifle weary, though he sat +down by Prescott with a smile. + +"These things should be a warning, Jack," he said. "Still, one has to +make allowances; this hot weather's trying, and Ellice got a letter that +disturbed her by the last mail. I didn't hear what was in it, but I +suspect it was a bill." + +Prescott nodded, because he did not know what to say. Mrs. Jernyngham +had, he gathered, been unusually fractious for the last week or two, and +Cyril was invariably forbearing. Indeed, Prescott sometimes wondered at +his patience, for he imagined that his comrade had outgrown what love he +had borne her. The man had his virtues: he was rash, but he seldom failed +to face the consequences with whimsical good-humor. + +"Your friends are going to-morrow," Prescott told him. "They understand +that you will write home and explain your reasons for remaining." + +"I suppose I'll have to do so, though it will be difficult. You see, to +give the reasons that count most would be cruel. If it's any comfort to +my folks to think favorably of me, I'd rather let them. I've made a +horrible mess of things, but that's no reason why others should suffer." + +Prescott glanced round at the dilapidated house, the untidy stable, the +door of which was falling to pieces, and the wagon standing with a broken +wheel. There was no doubt that Jernyngham was right in one respect. + +"Jack," Cyril resumed, "your manner gives me the impression that you'll +be sorry to lose your visitors." + +"I shall be sorry. I pressed them to stay and I think they'd have done +so, only that Mrs. Colston was against it." + +"Ah! That strikes me as significant. You see, I can make a good guess at +her motives; I've suffered from that kind of thing. She evidently +considers you dangerous. Don't you feel flattered?" + +"Mrs. Colston has no cause for uneasiness; I could wish she had." + +"Then I'm glad my friends are going. It will save you trouble, Jack. A +match between Miss Hurst and you is out of the question." + +"I've felt that, so far as my merits go, which is the best way I can put +it," said Prescott gravely. "You speak as if there were stronger +reasons." + +"There are; I'm a little surprised you don't see them. Your merits--I +suppose you mean your character and appearance--should go a long way; +we'll admit that you're a man who might have some attraction for even +such a girl as Miss Hurst seems to be, if she didn't pause to think. +Unfortunately for you, however, it's her duty to her relatives to make a +brilliant match and I've no doubt she recognizes it. Girls of her +station--you had better face the truth, Jack--never marry beneath them." + +"But a man may." + +"A fair shot," laughed Jernyngham. "I can't resent it. But the man +generally suffers, and the price is a heavier one when the girl has to +pay. There's a penalty for breaking caste." + +"You seem to tolerate worse things in the old country." + +"Not often, after all--you hear of the flagrant offenders, and though I +dare say there are others who are not found out, the bulk against whom +there's no reproach, excite no attention. But we'll let that go. I want +you to understand. You're right, Jack; it's your position that's all +wrong. Girls of the kind we're considering are brought up in luxury, +taught every accomplishment that's economically useless, led to believe +that every comfort they need will somehow be supplied. They're charming +in their proper environment, but it's a cruelty to take them out of it. +They'd be helpless in this grim country, where you must work for all you +want and do without many things even then. Can you imagine Miss Hurst +standing over a hot stove all day and spending her evenings mending your +worn-out shirts?" + +Prescott looked up, his face set hard. + +"You have said enough." + +There was silence after this, until a big man dressed in old brown +overalls stopped his horse near-by. + +"I've fixed up with Farrer to send over his gasoline tractor to do the +fall breaking," he said. "Saw the telephone construction people yesterday +and told them I'd let them have two teams to haul in their poles. It's +going to pay us better than keeping them for plowing." + +"Quite right, Wandle," replied Jernyngham, and the fellow nodded to +Prescott and rode away. + +He lived on the next half-section and assisted Jernyngham in the +management of his ranch, besides sharing the cost of labor, implements +and horses with him, though Prescott had cause for believing that the +arrangement was not to his friend's benefit. + +"You'd be better off if you didn't work with that man," he said. + +"It's possible," Jernyngham agreed. "I know he robs me, but he saves me +bother. Besides, if we decided to separate and came to a settlement, I +dare say he would claim that I was in his debt; and he might be right. +I'm no good at business. Ranching I don't mind, but I could never learn +how to buy and sell." + +"It's a very useful ability," Prescott rejoined with some dryness. "But +as I want to be home for supper, I must get on." + +He unhitched his horse and mounted, and Jernyngham walked with him to the +gate in the wire fence. + +"You'll remember what I told you, Jack," he said meaningly. + +"Yes," Prescott answered with a stern face. "I suppose I ought to thank +you. I'm not likely to forget." + +He rode home and arriving in time for supper took his place at the table +with mixed feelings, foremost among which was keen regret. Except for the +company of his Scandinavian hired man and the latter's hard-featured +wife, he had lived alone in Spartan simplicity, thinking of nothing but +his farm; and his guests' arrival had revealed to him the narrowness of +his life. They had brought him new desires and thoughts, besides +recalling ideas he had long forgotten, and among other things had made +the evening meal a pleasant function to be looked forward to, instead of +an opportunity for hurriedly consuming needed food. + +The spotless cloth and the flowers on the table were novelties, but they +pleased his eye. Colston with his cheerful, well-bred air and +fastidiousness in dress, talked interestingly; Mrs. Colston with her +gracious dignity, and Muriel, who was wholly alluring, seemed to fill the +room with charm. It was perhaps all the more enjoyable because Prescott +had been accustomed to pleasant society in Montreal, before he abandoned +it with other amenities and went out to a life of stern toil and +frugality in the grim Northwest. + +He said little, though it was the last time they would gather tranquilly +round his board--they were to leave for the railroad early on the morrow. +A heavy melancholy oppressed him, though bright sunlight streamed into +the room and an invigorating breeze swept in through the open window, +outside which tall wheat and blue flax rolled away. He could not force +himself to talk, though he laughed at Colston's anecdotes, and it was a +relief when the meal was over. Half an hour later he overtook Muriel +strolling along the edge of the wheat. + +"Have you recovered yet?" she asked. "You looked very downcast." + +"That's how I feel. It strikes me as perfectly natural. I'll be alone +to-morrow." + +"But you were alone before we came." + +"Very true; I didn't seem to mind it then. I was happy thinking how I +could put in a bigger crop or raise another bunch of stock. My mind was +fixed on the plow. But you have lifted me out of the furrow. I guess it's +weak, but somehow I hate the thought of going back to the clods." + +Remembering Jernyngham's remarks, it struck him that this was not the +line he should have taken, and for a moment or two Muriel turned her +head. Then she looked at him, smiling. + +"I shall be very sorry to leave, and I believe Florence and Harry feel +the same." + +"But you are going to British Columbia and down the Pacific Coast. You +will revel in new experiences and interesting sights." + +"I suppose so," she answered, rather listlessly. "We shall get a glimpse +of a new country, but that will be all. On the steamers we'll meet much +the kind of people we are accustomed to, and no doubt we'll stay at +hotels built especially for luxurious tourists. You see, we take our +usual environment along with us." + +"But isn't that what you like?" + +"I don't know; perhaps it ought to be." Muriel paused and looked up at +him with candid eyes. "You hinted that we had given you a new and wider +outlook--or brought back the one you used to have, which is what you must +have meant. You don't seem to realize that you have done much the same +thing to me." + +"I'm not sure I understand." + +"It shouldn't be difficult. You know the kind of people I have hitherto +met, and how we spend our time in a round of amusements that lead to +nothing, with all that could jar on one carefully kept away. This is the +first time I've come into touch with strenuous, normal life." + +"And it doesn't seem to have frightened you?" + +"No," she said with a smile; "I'm not in the least afraid--why should I +be? I must have more courage than you think, but does one need a great +deal of it to live here?" + +He looked at her in grave admiration. There was a hint of pride in her +pose, and her eyes were calm. + +"I believe if ever a time of stress came, you wouldn't shrink. But this +is a pretty hard and lonely country, especially in winter." + +Muriel changed the subject. + +"For all that, I feel you are right in staying, Cyril. Have you written +to your people?" + +Prescott felt embarrassed and guilty, as he generally did when, in +confidential moments, she called him by Jernyngham's name. Somehow he +could not imagine her saying Jack. + +"No," he rejoined slowly. "Of course, they must be written to." + +Muriel did not answer. The turn their conversation had taken had filled +her with a vague unrest as she looked back at the life she had led. Three +or four years ago it had seemed filled with glamour and excitement, and +she had entered on its pleasures with eager zest, but of late she had +begun to find them wearisome. They no longer satisfied her. If this were +the result of a few years' experience, what would she feel when she had +grown jaded with time and everything was stale? Then her glimpse of the +simple, healthful western life had come as a revelation. It was real, a +bracing struggle, in which no effort was wasted but produced tangible +results: broad stretches of splendid wheat, sweeps of azure flax. + +But this was not all. She felt drawn to her brown-faced companion, who +had obviously redeemed whatever errors he had been guilty of in the past. +She had known him for only about a fortnight, but she had seen his +admiration for her with a satisfaction that was slightly tempered by +misgivings. She could not tell exactly what she expected from him, but +she had at least looked for some expression of a wish that their +acquaintance should not end abruptly on the morrow. She did not think she +would have resented a carefully modified display of the gallantry Cyril +Jernyngham must be capable of, if reports were true. Considering what his +past was supposed to have been, the grave man who watched her with +troubled eyes was hard to understand. + +"Cyril," she asked, "has Harry given you our address at Glacier and +Banff?" + +He supposed that this implied permission to write to her, but he could +not do so as Jack Prescott and he already bitterly regretted that he had +allowed her to think of him as Jernyngham. + +"Yes," he said, with a carelessness which cost him an effort. "But I'm +afraid I'm not a good correspondent. I'm too busy, for one thing." + +"Too busy?" she mocked, with a stronger color in her face. "Can't you +spare half an hour from your plowing to write to your friends?" + +"Well," he answered with forced coolness, "it's difficult, except, of +course, in the winter and you'll be back in England then, with so many +festivities on hand that you won't be anxious to hear about Canada." + +She looked at him for a moment, puzzled and a little angry, and he +guessed her thoughts. He was behaving like a boor; but it was better that +she should think him one. + +"How very un-English you have become!" she said. + +"You mean I'm very Canadian? Anyway, I try to be sensible--I've done some +wretchedly foolish things and I've got to pay for them. Of course, this +visit's only an episode to you; something that's soon over and +forgotten." + +There was trouble in his voice, though he strove to speak with +indifference, and after a swift glance at him she answered coldly: + +"I suppose it is. One impression rubs out another, and no doubt we shall +see something novel and interesting farther on. However, we won't stay in +Canada very long and we shall see your father and sister as soon as we +get home. It's curious that you have scarcely mentioned them." + +"Oh, well," he evaded awkwardly, "Harry has told me a good deal." + +He turned his head, dreading her curious eyes. His last evening in her +company was proving more trying than he had expected; though usually +tolerant and good-humored, the strain made him bitter. To-morrow he must +put this girl out of his mind. After all, it was to Cyril Jernyngham, +rake and wastrel, but a man of her own station, that she had been +gracious and charming; had she known he was Jack Prescott, she would, no +doubt, have treated him very differently; but in this supposition he did +her wrong. + +Puzzled by his lack of responsiveness and with wounded pride, she stopped +and looked out toward the northwest across the prairie. Steeped in strong +coloring, it seemed to run back into immeasurable distance, though a +wonderful blaze of crimson marked its rim. The faint, cool air that +flowed across it was charged with a curious exhilarating quality; there +was a subtle fragrance of herbs in the grass. + +"It's getting late," she said; "I must go in. This is the last sunset I +shall watch on the prairie, and in several ways I'm sorry. You have made +our stay here very pleasant." + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE MYSTERY OF THE MUSKEG + + +Colston and his party had been gone a fortnight when Prescott called at +the Jernyngham homestead one afternoon and found its owner sitting +moodily in the kitchen, which presented a chaotic appearance. Unwashed +plates and dishes were scattered about, the wood-box was overturned and +poplar billets strewed the floor, there was no fire in the rusty stove, +and the fragments of a heavy crock lay against the wall. The strong +sunlight that streamed in emphasized the disorder of the room. + +"I was passing and thought I'd come in," Prescott explained. "Where's +Mrs. Jernyngham? The look of the place gives one the idea that she's not +at home." + +"It's never remarkably tidy." Jernyngham broke into a rueful smile. "I +believe she started for the settlement when I was at work in the summer +fallow this morning. The fact that the horse and buggy are missing points +to it." + +"But don't you know whether she has gone or not?" + +"I don't," said Jernyngham. "She didn't acquaint me with her intentions. +As I see she has taken some things along, it looks as if she meant to +visit Mrs. Harvey at the store. They're friends now and then." + +His manner was suggestive, though he looked more resigned than disturbed, +and Prescott, glancing at the shattered crock, ventured a question which +he feared was not quite judicious: + +"How did you break that thing?" + +"It ought to be a warning. I didn't break it; it was meant to break on +me. Ellice flung it at my head a day or two ago, and fortunately missed, +though as a rule she's a pretty good shot. I suppose it's significant +that neither of us troubled to pick up the pieces." + +Prescott looked sympathetic, and hesitated, with his half-filled pipe in +his hand. + +"Shall I go, Cyril? I want to make Sebastian before it's dark." + +"Sit still," Jernyngham told him. "I'm in an expansive mood, and I've a +notion that I'm not far off a crisis in my affairs. Ellice has been +fractious lately; I seem to have been getting on her nerves, which +perhaps is not surprising." + +Prescott made no comment and after sitting silent a few moments +Jernyngham resumed: + +"I was rather rash when I ventured to remonstrate about a bill. Ellice +pointed out, with justice, that so long as I slouched round and let +Wandle rob me, I'd no right to grumble at her for buying a few things. +Most unwisely I maintained my point and"--he indicated the broken crock +and littered table--"you see the consequences." + +"Wandle is a bit of a rogue," said Prescott, choosing the safest topic. +"I've told you so." + +"You have. For all that, he's useful and I don't mind being robbed in +moderation; I'm a man who's accustomed to losing things." His +half-mocking tone grew serious. "I wrote to my people, as soon as Colston +left, telling them I'd determined to remain in Canada; but if it wasn't +for Ellice, I think I'd quit farming." + +Prescott smoked in silence for a while. Jernyngham had made a costly +sacrifice, chiefly on the woman's account, and Prescott felt sorry for +him. + +"Perhaps I'd better get on," he said after a while. + +For a few moments Jernyngham looked irresolute, and then he got up. + +"I'll come with you to Sebastian. I think I'd have gone earlier, only +Ellice had the horse and rig, and Wandle's using the wagon team. It's no +doubt my duty to sue for peace." + +They set out shortly afterward and reaching Sebastian late in the evening +drove to the livery-stable, where Jernyngham called the man who took +Prescott's team. + +"I suppose you have my horse?" he asked. + +"Sure," said the fellow, looking at him curiously. "Mrs. Jernyngham said +we'd better keep him until you came in. She left a note for you with the +boss; he's in the hotel." + +Jernyngham crossed the street, followed by his companion, and Prescott +noticed that the loungers in the bar seemed interested when they came in. +Two of them put down their glasses and turned to fix their eyes on +Jernyngham, a third paused in the act of lighting his pipe and dropped +the match. Then the owner of the livery-stable looked up in a hesitating +manner as Jernyngham approached him. + +"I believe you have a message for me," Jernyngham said abruptly. + +"That's so," the man rejoined gravely. "I'll give it to you outside." + +They left the bar, and when they stood under the veranda, Jernyngham tore +open the envelope handed him. A moment later he firmly crumpled up the +note it had held. + +"When did she leave?" he asked in a harsh voice. + +The liveryman regarded him sympathetically. + +"By the afternoon East-bound. I'm mighty sorry, Cyril--guess you know it +isn't a secret in the town." + +Jernyngham's face grew darkly flushed. + +"Then you can tell me whom she went with?" + +"The drummer who was selling the separators. Bought tickets through to +St. Paul. Told Perkins he wasn't coming back here; nothing doing on this +round." + +The man tactfully moved away and Jernyngham turned to Prescott, speaking +rather hoarsely. + +"She's gone--that's the end of it!" + +He dropped into one of the chairs scattered about and a few moments later +broke into a bitter laugh. + +"It would have been more flattering if she had chosen you or Wandle +instead of that blasted weedy drummer. Still, there the thing is, and it +has to be faced." Then he surprised his companion, for his voice and +expression became suddenly normal. "Go in and get me a cigar." + +He lighted it carefully when it was brought to him and leaned back in his +chair. + +"Jack," he said, "I've got to hold myself in hand--if I start off on the +jag now, it will be a dangerous one. Have you noticed that I've been +practising strict abstinence since Colston left?" + +Prescott, not knowing how to regard his ironic calmness, said nothing, +and Jernyngham continued: + +"It's a bitter pill. I was very fond of her once, and there's not much +consolation in reflecting that she'll probably scare the fellow out of +his wits the first time she breaks out in one of her rages." Then his +voice grew regretful. "Ellice's far from perfect, but she's much too good +for him." + +Remembering that it was on the woman's account his friend had remained on +the prairie, Prescott made a venture: + +"Since she has gone, it's a pity she didn't go a few weeks earlier." + +"That doesn't count," declared Jernyngham. "She has cause to blame me as +much for marrying her--one must try to be just. I thought of her when I +determined to stay, but my own weaknesses played as big a part in +deciding me." + +He sat silent a while, and then indicated his surroundings with a +contemptuous sweep of his hand--the dirty sidewalk strewn with cigar ends +and banana peelings, the straggling houses with their cracked board walls +and ugly square fronts, the rutted street down which drifted clouds of +dust. + +"Jack," he said, "I'm very sick of all this, and I can't face the lonely +homestead now Ellice's gone. I must have a change and something to brace +me; something that has a keener bite than drink. Think I'll take a +haulage job on the new railroad, where there ought to be rough and risky +work, and I'll leave this place to-night. Come across with me to +Morant's, and I'll see what I can borrow on the land." + +The sudden unreasoning decision was characteristic of him, but Prescott +expostulated. + +"You can't clear out in this eccentric fashion; there are a number of +things to be settled first." + +"I think I can," Jernyngham retorted dryly. "It's certain that I can't +stay here." + +He took his companion with him to call on a land-agent and mortgage-broker, +and when they left the office Jernyngham had a bulky roll of bills in his +pocket. + +"Jack," he requested, "you'll run my place and pay Morant off after +harvest; if Wandle gets his hands on it, there'll be very little left +when I come back. You may have trouble with him, but you must hold out. +Charge me with all expenses and pay as much of the surplus as you think +I'm entitled to into my bank when you have sold the crop. Now if you'll +come into the hotel, I'll give you a written authority and get Perkins to +witness it." + +Prescott demurred at first, but eventually yielded because he believed +his friend's interest would need looking after in his absence. After some +discussion they agreed on a workable scheme, which was put down in +writing and witnessed by the hotel-keeper. Then Jernyngham borrowed a +saddle and sent for his horse. + +"I'll pull out for the railroad now; it's cooler riding at night and +there's a good moon," he said. "As I'll pass close to your place, you may +as well drive so far with me." + +They set off, Prescott seated on the front of his jolting wagon, +Jernyngham riding as near it as the roughness of the trail permitted, +with a blanket and a package of provisions strapped to his saddle. He was +wearing a hat of extra-thick felt and uncommon shape which had been given +him by a man who had broken his journey for the purpose of seeing the +country when returning from Hong Kong by the Canadian Pacific route. Soon +after they left Sebastian, a young trooper of the Northwest Police +dressed in khaki uniform came trotting up in the moonlight and joined +them. + +"Where are you off to, Jernyngham?" he asked, glancing at the rolled up +blanket. "Looks as if you meant to camp on the trail." + +"I'll have to, most likely," said Jernyngham. "I'm leaving the farm to +Prescott for a while and heading for Nelson's Butte on the new road." + +"What are you going to do there?" + +"Thought I'd pick up a horse or two at one of the ranches I'll pass and +apply for a teaming job. Contractor was asking for haulage tenders; he's +having trouble among the sandhills and muskegs." + +"Then you'll be taking a wad of money along?" + +Jernyngham assented and the trooper looked thoughtful. + +"Now," he cautioned, "there's a pretty tough crowd at Nelson, and though +we stopped any licenses being issued, we've had trouble over the +running-in of liquor. Then you have a long ride before you through a +thinly-settled country. You want to be careful about that money." + +"The settlers are to be trusted." + +"That's so, but we have reason to believe the rustlers are at work in the +district; seem to have been going into the liquor business, and I've +heard of horses missing. Now that the boys have stopped their branding +other people's calves in Alberta and corralled their leaders, it looks as +if the fellows were beginning the game in this part of the country." + +"Thanks," said Jernyngham. "I may as well take precautions. How would you +recommend my carrying the money?" + +The trooper made one or two ingenious suggestions as to the safest way of +secreting the bills, and Jernyngham, dismounting, carried them out. Soon +afterward the trooper struck off across the plain, and the others, riding +on, met a farmer who spoke to them as he passed. At length Prescott +pulled up his team at the spot where his companion must leave the trail. + +"I'll do what I can with the land, Cyril, and keep an account," he said. +"You might write and let me know how you are getting on." + +They shook hands and Jernyngham trotted away, while Prescott sat watching +him for a minute or two. Man and horse were sharply outlined against the +moonlit grass. Jernyngham looked very lonely as he rode out into the +wilderness. He could hardly have been happy, Prescott thought, in his +untidy and comfortless house at the farm; but, after all, it had been a +home, and now he was rudely flung adrift. It was true that the man was +largely responsible for the troubles that had fallen upon him, but this +was no reason for refusing him pity, and Cyril had his strong points. He +had staunchly declined to profit by a felicitous change of fortune out of +consideration for the relatives who had once disowned and the woman who +had deserted him. Jernyngham had been a careless fool, and Prescott +suspected that he was not likely to alter much in this respect, but he +did not expect others to pay for his recklessness when the reckoning +came. Then Prescott started his team. + +Two days later, he was busy in front of his homestead putting together a +new binder which had just arrived from the settlement. It was the latest +type of harvesting implement and designed to cut an unusually broad +swath. While he was engaged, the trooper he had met when accompanying +Jernyngham rode up with a corporal following. He stopped his horse and +glanced at the binder with admiration. + +"She's a daisy, Jack; I guess she cost a pile," he said. "Where did you +get the money to buy a machine of that kind?" + +"It wasn't easy to raise it," Prescott replied. "But I'll save something +in labor--harvest wages are high--and I've long wanted this binder. When +Trant came round from the implement store yesterday morning I thought I'd +risk the deal. Will you wait for dinner?" + +"No, thanks," the corporal broke in. "We're making a patrol north; just +called to look at your guards. Several big grass fires have been reported +in the last few days." + +Prescott pointed to the rows of plowed furrows which cut off his holding +from the prairie. The strip of brown clods, which was two or three yards +in width, seemed an adequate defense, and after a glance at it the +corporal nodded his satisfaction. + +"Good enough," he said. "We'll take the trail." + +He trotted away with his companion and it was evening when they rode +along the edge of a ravine which pierced a high tract of rolling country. +The crest of the slope they followed commanded a vast circle of grass +that was changing in the foreground from green to ocher and silvery +white. Farther back, it ran on toward the sunset, a sweep of blue and +neutral gray, flecked with dusky lines of bluffs, interspersed with +gleaming strips of water, but nowhere in the wide landscape was there a +sign of human habitation. Small birches and poplars, with an undergrowth +of nut bushes, clothed the sides of the ravine, but some distance ahead +it broadened out and the stream that flowed through it turned the hollow +into a muskeg. There harsh grass and reeds grew three or four feet high, +hiding the stretch of mire. + +The police were young men with deeply bronzed faces, dressed in smart +khaki uniform with broad Stetson hats of the same color. + +"What's that?" exclaimed Corporal Curtis, pointing to an indistinct +object lying among a patch of scrub some distance off. + +"Looks like a hat," replied Private Stanton. "Some settler prospecting +for a homestead location must have lost it." + +"You jump at things!" said the corporal. "How'd the man lose it? Guess it +wouldn't drop off without his knowing it, and with the sun we've been +having he'd want it pretty bad. He wouldn't throw it away, when he knew +he couldn't get another. We'll go along and see." + +They dismounted a minute or two later and made a startling discovery. The +hat was a good one, but in one place the soft gray felt had been crushed +and partly cut as though by a heavy blow. On turning it over, they saw +that the inside was stained a dull red. + +"Blood!" said Curtis significantly, and swept a searching glance about. +"More of it," he added. "See here--on the brush." + +Moving forward, they found a succession of crimson spots and splashes on +the leaves of the willow scrub and withering grass. + +"Picket the horses. Stanton; we've got to look into this," the corporal +said. + +"I'd better lead them back a piece," responded his companion. "We don't +want to muss up things by making fresh tracks." + +When he had done so, they set about the examination systematically. They +were men who lived, for the most part, in the open, and made long +journeys through the wilds, sleeping where they could find shelter in +ravine or bluff. Such things as a broken twig, a bruised tuft of grass, +or a mark in loose soil had a meaning to them, and here they had +plentiful material to work upon. Counting footprints and hoofmarks, +measuring distances, they constructed bit by bit the drama that had taken +place, but half an hour had passed before they sat down to talk it over +and took out their pipes. The afterglow shone about them; their hands and +thoughtful faces showed the same warm color as the brown grass in the +ruddy light. In the hat lay a five-dollar bill and a coat button. + +"There were two men here," Curtis remarked. "Both were mounted and came +up the trail from the settlement, but it looks as if the first one had +picketed his horse and started to make camp when the other joined him." + +"That's so," Private Stanton agreed. + +"Then there was trouble, but the men didn't clinch. One fellow hit the +other with something heavy enough to drop him in his tracks, then got +into the saddle and rode off, leading the other horse." + +The evidence on which he arrived at this conclusion was slender, but +Stanton signified assent. + +"Well," he said, "where's the hurt man?" + +"I've a notion he's in yonder muskeg. The other fellow could have packed +him there on the led horse--the blood spots point to it--though he might +have hid him farther on in a bluff. It's getting too dark to search now; +we'll try to-morrow. But I guess we know who he is." + +"Sure," said Stanton. "I'll swear to the hat. Chaffed Jernyngham about it +one day, and he put it in my hands and said there wasn't another of the +kind in the country. A man from Hong Kong gave it to him." + +Curtis took up the bill. + +"Five dollars, Merchants' Bank, and quite clean; not been issued long. +We'll find out if they've a branch at Regina or Saskatoon and trace up +the fellow they paid it to. The button doesn't count--quite a common +pattern. Now if you'll fill the kettle at the creek, I'll start a fire. +We'll camp near the birch scrub yonder." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +A DEAL IN LAND + + +On the morning after the corporal's discovery, Gustave Wandle was leading +his team to a drinking pool on the creek that crossed his farm. He was a +big, reserved, fair-haired man, with a fleshy face that was redeemed from +heaviness by his eyes, which were restless and keen. Though supposed to +be an Austrian, little was known about him or his antecedents except that +he owned the next half-section of land to Jernyngham's and farmed it +successfully. It was, however, believed that he was of an unusually +grasping nature, and his neighbors took precautions when they made a deal +with him. He had reached the shadow of a poplar bluff when he heard +hurried footsteps and a man with a hot face came into sight. + +"I'm going across your place to save time; I want my horse," he explained +hastily. "Curtis, the policeman, has ridden in to the settlement and told +me to go up and search a muskeg near the north trail with Stanton. +Somebody's killed Jernyngham and hidden him there." + +"So!" exclaimed Wandle. "Jernyngham murdered! You tell me that?" + +"Sure thing!" the other replied. "The police have figured out how it all +happened and I'm going to look for the body while Curtis reports to his +bosses. A blamed pity! I liked Jernyngham. Well, I must get to the muskeg +soon as I can!" + +He ran on, and Wandle led his horses to the pool and stood thinking hard +while they drank. He was well versed in Jernyngham's affairs and knew +that he had once bought a cheap quarter-section of land in an arid belt +some distance off. A railroad had since entered the district, irrigation +work had been begun, and the holding must have risen in value. Now, it +seemed, Jernyngham was dead, which was unfortunate, because Wandle had +found their joint operations profitable, and it was very probable that +Ellice and himself were the only persons who knew about the land. Wandle +mounted one of the horses and set out for Jernyngham's homestead at its +fastest pace. + +On reaching it, he soon found an iron cash-box in a cupboard and succeeded +in forcing it with a screw-driver. It contained a few papers, among which +were one or two relating to the purchase of the quarter-section, and +Wandle put these in his pocket. The others he threw into the +cupboard--Jernyngham's carelessness was well known--and then hastily +studied a railroad time-table. By starting promptly, he could catch a +train at the station next after Sebastian, which he thought would be +wiser, and reach a new wooden town of some importance in the evening. +Having ascertained this, he hurried out and rode home, taking the cash-box +with him. On arriving, he smashed it flat with an ax and flung it into his +stove in which a fire was burning; then he made a hasty meal, changed his +clothes, and saddling a horse, rode hard across the prairie. There was, he +realized, some risk in what he meant to do, but it was not a very serious +one, and he was thankful that the sale of land is attended by few +formalities in western Canada. + +When he reached his destination, business premises were closed for the +night, but after making inquiries he found a land agent who was +recommended as respectable and trustworthy at a smart hotel. Wandle led +him to the far end of the lobby, where they would not be disturbed, and +sitting down at a table took out the papers. + +"What's that quarter-section worth?" he asked. + +The agent told him and Wandle lighted his pipe and affected to consider. +He thought Jernyngham had not suspected its value. + +"Don't you think you could get another three dollars an acre?" he +suggested. + +"It's possible, if you will leave the sale in my hands; but I may have to +wait for a suitable opportunity. There's a good demand for land in the +district now that they're getting on with the irrigation scheme, but to +insist on the top price will mean delay." + +"Could you sell it for me promptly at the figure you mentioned?" + +"Why, yes," said the agent. "I've a number of inquiries for farming land +on my books. I shouldn't wonder if I fixed the thing up in a week." + +"I can't wait a week. There's a pretty good haulage contract I could get, +but it will take some financing, which is what brought me along; because +I ought to see about it in the next few days. Now I'll tell you what I'll +do--I'll sell you that land to-night at the lower figure." + +The agent pondered. + +"No, sir," he said, irresolutely. "I'd only make a few dollars an acre on +the deal, and I can get ten per cent. on my money right in this hotel." + +"You'd have to wait a year for it, wouldn't you? What price will give you +ten per cent. profit on this quarter-section? You want to remember that +you may get it in a few weeks, and you'd have first-class security." + +After making a rough calculation in his notebook, the agent looked up. + +"As a rule, I prefer to buy for other people, but I can't go back on what +I said about land being in strong demand, and I'll make you a bid. This +is the most I can do." + +Wandle, after trying to raise the price, made a sign of acquiescence. + +"We'll let it go at that. I'll get things fixed up as soon as the +land-office is open in the morning." + +He left the hotel, satisfied on the whole, though he had sacrificed a +dollar or two an acre and there was an element of danger in what he had +done. The sale of the land must be registered, and the date would be two +or three days after the one on which Jernyngham was killed. The latter's +homestead was, however, a long distance off, there was only one small +weekly newspaper published in the district, and it was very probable that +the agent would not hear of the affair until some time had elapsed, and +then might not attach any importance to the fact that the victim's name +was that of his customer. Even if he did so, the small discrepancy in the +dates would, no doubt, escape his attention. Wandle did not think he had +much cause for uneasiness. + +Reaching home the next day, he raked out his stove and found the +cash-box. It had not fallen to pieces as he had expected, and he doubled +it up again with the ax before he flung it into the ash pail. Then he +lighted the stove and set about getting supper, for it was late in the +evening. After finishing the meal, he threw some fragments of potatoes +and a rind of pork into the pail and took it up to carry it to the refuse +heap, but stopped with a start when he left the house. It was getting +dark, but two shadowy figures were riding up the trail and by the way +they sat their horses he recognized them as police troopers. Putting down +the pail, he waited until they dismounted near-by. + +"You're too late for supper, Curtis," he said coolly. "I've just cleaned +it up." + +The corporal glanced at the pail and in the dim light noticed only the +domestic refuse. + +"I've had some," he answered. "I want a few minutes' talk." Then he +motioned to his companion. "Hitch the horses, Stanton, and come in when +you're ready." + +They entered the house, followed presently by the trooper, and Wandle +lighted his pipe. He felt more at ease with it in his hand and he +suspected that he would need all his collectedness. + +"Well," he said, "what's the trouble?" + +"I suppose you know that Jernyngham's missing?" + +"I heard that he was killed." + +"Looks like it," said Curtis. "You know the muskeg where the creek +spreads out, about fourteen miles north?" + +"I don't; never been up so far." + +Curtis noticed the prompt disclaimer. + +"Anyway, Jernyngham rode there and was knocked out with something heavy +that must have left him stunned, if it didn't make an end of him. He +didn't ride away after it, though his horse went on. The point is that it +was led." + +"How do you know that?" Wandle asked. + +"It's my business to know these things. Think we can't tell the +difference between the tracks of a led horse and a ridden one? The only +times two horses trot close together at an even distance is when one's +rider has both bridles, or when they're yoked to a wagon pole. However, +I've come to ask if you can throw any light on the matter? You and +Jernyngham were partners, in a way, weren't you?" + +"That's so. Now and then we bought implements and horses, or hired a +tractor plow, between us. As a matter of fact, Jernyngham owed me about +five hundred dollars. Anyhow, I'm as puzzled about the thing as you must +be." + +"Then you think we're puzzled?" Curtis said in a significant tone. + +Wandle laughed. + +"It struck me as likely. You know there's not a rancher in the district +who would hurt the man. He was easy to get on with." + +"Did you know that he borrowed money on his holding and took it with him +the night he disappeared?" + +"I didn't," said Wandle, starting. "I'm not pleased to hear it now. I've +a claim on the place and there are some pretty big storekeepers' bills to +come in." + +Curtis asked a few more questions before he took his leave. He passed +near the ash pail as he went out and Stanton touched it with his foot, +but they had mounted and reached the trail before either of them spoke. + +"Well?" said Curtis. + +Stanton smiled. + +"Nothing much to be learned from him; the fellow's about as sly and hard +to get at as a coyote." + +"A sure thing," Curtis agreed. "We'll keep an eye on him; I've a +suspicion he knows something." + +Then they trotted away in the moonlight, for it was a long ride to their +camp beside the muskeg, which with the assistance of several men they +were engaged in searching. + +On the next afternoon, Prescott was at work in the summer fallow, sitting +in the iron saddle of a gangplow, which four powerful horses hauled +through the crackling stubble. It was fiercely hot and he was lightly +clad in thin yellow shirt and overalls. A cloud of dust rose about him +from the parched soil, and the broad expanse of wheat which the fallow +divided glowed with varied colors as it rippled before the rush of +breeze, the strong greens changing to a silvery luster as the lush blades +bent and caught the light. Farther on, there were faint streaks of yellow +among the oats; the great stretch of grass was white and delicate gray, +the rows of clods behind the plow rich chocolate-brown. + +Prescott, however, paid little attention to his surroundings. He was +perhaps the only man in the district who had known Jernyngham intimately; +he felt troubled about his disappearance, and he had had a disturbing +interview with Wandle during the morning. The Austrian had contested his +right to manage the farm, declaring that Jernyngham owed him money and +had made certain plans for the joint working of their land which must be +carried out. This did not so much matter, in a sense, if one could take +Jernyngham's death for granted; but Prescott could not do so and had, +moreover, no intention of letting his property fall into the hands of a +cunning, grasping fellow, who, he was fully persuaded, had no real right +to it. If Jernyngham did not turn up, Prescott meant to discharge all his +debts after harvest and, as the crop promised well, to send the balance +to England as a proof that his friend had not been a failure in Canada. +This might be some comfort to Jernyngham's people. + +He was considering the matter when he heard the stubble crackle behind +him and, looking around, saw Curtis riding up. Stopping his team, he +waited until the corporal drew bridle. + +"Have you found him yet?" he asked. + +"We have not," said Curtis. "It's a big muskeg and quite deep. You know +the place?" + +"Oh, yes, I know it pretty well." + +Curtis looked at him sharply, but Prescott seemed to be musing. + +"It's a sad thing when you think of it," he said after a few moments. +"From the little he told me, the man had hard luck all through; and that +Mrs. Jernyngham should leave him just after he'd sacrificed his future +for her must have been a knock-out blow. Yet I've an idea that instead of +crushing it braced him. It pulled him up; he showed signs of turning into +a different man." + +"You knew him better than I did," Curtis replied. "I heard at the hotel +he'd asked you to look after his place, given you a share in the crop." + +"He did. I'd some words with Wandle about the matter this morning; +Jernyngham warned me he might pretend he had a claim. However, that's not +to the purpose; somehow I feel convinced he'll turn up again. What motive +could any one have for killing him? The only man we might have +suspected--the fellow who went off with Ellice--must have been on the +train bound for St. Paul." + +"He was; we wired the conductor. But the thing's quite simple--the motive +was robbery. You remember that wad of bills?" The corporal paused before +he added: "Where did you last see Jernyngham?" + +"At the trail-forks near my place. He rode right on; I took the turning." + +"Did you see your man, Svendsen, or his wife when you got home?" + +"I didn't; they live at the back of the house. I put up the horses, +slipped in quietly, and went to bed." + +"Then you can't fix the time you got back?" + +Prescott moved sharply, lifting his head, while an angry color suffused +his face. + +"Curtis, you can't think--Jernyngham was my best friend!" Then he laughed +indignantly. "You always struck me as a sensible man." + +The corporal regarded him with scrutinizing eyes, his manner stamped with +official austerity. + +"I'm forming no opinions--yet. It's my duty to find out all I can about +the matter and report. If there's anything you're open to tell me, I'll +make a note of it." + +Prescott's face grew stern and his glance very steady. + +"I can add nothing to what I've said, and I'm busy." + +Curtis rode away, but when he was out of the rancher's sight he broke +into a dry smile. He was an astute young man and knew his business, which +was merely to investigate and follow the instruction of his chiefs at +Regina. Unembroidered facts were what they required in the first +instance, but later he might be permitted to theorize. + +When the corporal had gone, Prescott went on with his plowing, but the +crackle of the stubble and the thud of the heavy Clydesdales' hoofs fell +unheeded on his ears, and it was half-consciously that he turned his team +at the head-land. He had a good deal to think about and his thoughts were +far from pleasant. To begin with, the memory of Muriel Hurst had haunted +him since she left; he recalled her with a regretful longing that seemed +to grow steadily stronger instead of diminishing. He thought she had left +an indelible mark on his life. Then there was his impersonation of +Jernyngham, which he had rashly agreed to, but did not now regret. If +Colston had met Cyril on the night of the riot and had gone to his untidy +dwelling, he would have been forced to send home an adverse report. +Prescott was glad to think he had saved his friend from a farther fall in +his English relatives' esteem, though, knowing a little of the man's +story, he held them largely responsible for his reckless career. Their +censoriousness and suspicion had, no doubt, driven him into wilder +rashness. + +Besides all this, the corporal's manner rankled in his mind. He knew +Curtis well and had a good opinion of his ability. It seemed preposterous +that such a man could imagine that he had had any hand in Jernyngham's +death. Yet the corporal's tone had been significant and the facts had an +ugly look. He had seen Jernyngham secrete his money and had afterward +ridden on with him, unaccompanied by anybody else. He could not prove +when he returned to his farm, and it might be said that he stood to +benefit by securing the management of Jernyngham's property. + +When he reached the end of the furrows his face was grim, but he steadily +continued his plowing. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE SEARCH + + +Prescott dismounted and turned loose his horse, short-hobbled, near the +muskeg about two o'clock one hot afternoon. He had begun work at four +that morning, and, with harvest drawing near, time was precious to him, +but he was filled with a keen curiosity to see what progress Curtis had +made in his search. He had a strong personal interest in the matter, +because it seemed that some suspicion might rest on him; though he was +far from sharing the corporal's conviction that Jernyngham was dead. +Stopping at the edge of the ravine, he looked about, taking in the +details of the scene. + +Though the prairie had lost its greenness and the flowers had died, it +stretched away, flooded with dazzling light, a great expanse of silvery +gray, flecked with faint lemon and brown. In the swampy hollow, however, +the grass grew tall and green among the shining pools, and Prescott +noticed to his astonishment a dozen men working assiduously lower down. +They had discarded most of their clothing, their brown arms were bare, +and the stiff, dark-colored soil they flung up with their shovels +cumbered the bank of the ravine, which had narrowed in again. Prescott +saw that they were cutting a deeper channel for the creek, with the +object of draining the swamp. + +Moving farther along the bank, he came upon the two policemen, who looked +very hot and somewhat muddy, which, as they were usually fastidiously +neat, was noticeable. He felt some hesitation in accosting them, as he +recalled the corporal's attitude when they last met, but he was curious. + +"I suppose you have found nothing?" he said, and when Curtis made a sign +of negation continued: "How did you get so many of the boys here?" + +Putting his hand in his pocket, the policeman gave him a printed circular +which announced that a reward of one thousand dollars would be paid for +the discovery of Cyril Jernyngham's remains. + +"His people in the old country cabled it over," he explained. + +"Well," Prescott said thoughtfully, "I don't believe he's here; but he +was a friend of mine, and I'm as anxious to have the question answered as +you are." + +Private Stanton, who was sitting in the grass, looked up with a rather +significant smile. Indeed, there was a certain reserve in the manner of +both men which exasperated the rancher. + +"It's quite likely you'll have to wait," Curtis rejoined. "Even when +we've run the water out, it may take a long while to search the mushy +stuff it will leave, and if we're beaten here, we'll have to try the +bluffs." He looked hard at Prescott. "We don't let up until we find him." + +"Tell me where I can get a shovel and I'll help the boys." + +Stanton brought him one and for the next two hours he worked savagely, +standing knee-deep in water in a trench, hacking out clods of the "gumbo" +soil, which covers much of the prairie and grows the finest wheat. When +dry it sets like stone, when wet it assumes a glutinous stickiness which +makes it exceptionally difficult to deal with. Fierce sunshine poured +down on Prescott's bent head and shoulders, his hands grew sore, and mire +and water splashed upon him, but he was hard and leanly muscular and, +driven as he was by a keen desire to test the corporal's theory, he would +have toiled on until the next morning, had it been needful. At length, +however, there was a warning cry from one of the men nearer the swamp. + +"Watch out! Let her go!" + +Prescott leaped from the trench. There was a roar higher up the ravine, +and a turgid flood, streaked with frothy lines, came pouring down the new +channel, bearing with it small nut bushes and great clumps of matted +grass. By degrees it subsided, and the men, gathering about the edge of +the muskeg, hot and splashed with mire, lay down to smoke and wait, while +the pools that still remained grew smaller. They had been working hard +since early morning and they did not talk much, but Prescott, sitting a +little away from them, was conscious of an unpleasant tension. It was +possible that the search might prove Curtis right. The corporal stood +higher up the bank, scanning each clump of grass and reeds with keenly +scrutinizing eyes. At length, however, he approached the others. + +"I guess you've made a job, boys," he told them. "The soft spots ought to +dry out in about a week, but we can't wait till then. You want to +remember there's a thousand dollars for the man who finds him." + +They glanced at the morass hesitatingly. It did not look inviting. In +places the reeds grew as high as their heads, and one could not tell what +depths they hid. In other spots there were tracks of slimy ooze in which +one might sink a long way. None of them, however, was fastidious, and +they waded out into the mire, shouting warnings to one another, +disappearing now and then among the grass. The search was partially +rewarded, for while Prescott and a companion were skirting a clump of +reeds they saw part of a soaked garment protruding from the slime. For a +few moments they stood looking at it irresolutely; and then Prescott, +mustering his courage, advanced and seized the stained material. It came +away more readily than he had expected, and he turned to his companion, +conscious of keen relief, with a brown overall jacket in his hand. A +further examination, shrinkingly made, revealed nothing else, and after +marking the place they waded to the bank. The garment was carefully +washed in the creek and the men gathered in a ring round Curtis when he +inspected it. + +"Have any of you seen this thing before?" he asked, holding it up. + +None of them would identify it. Thin duck overalls are commonly worn by +ranchers and working people, in place of heavier clothing, during the hot +weather. Then Curtis turned to Prescott. + +"What's your idea?" + +"It isn't Jernyngham's," the rancher said decidedly. "It's too old, for +one thing; looks as if it had been in the water quite a while." + +"Hard to tell," commented Curtis. "But go on." + +Prescott took the jacket and held it so that the others could see the +inside of the collar. + +"No maker's tag," he continued. "Now Cyril always bought the kind they +give you a doll with." + +One of the others laughed and supplied the name of the manufacturer, +which was attached to every garment. + +"I've seen three or four of those dolls and golliwog things in his +house," the man added. "Used to guy him about keeping them, as he had no +kids." + +"We can fix the thing by inquiring at the dry goods store," Curtis +rejoined. + +"Can't see whose it was, if it wasn't Jernyngham's," another broke in. +"There's no homestead anywhere near the creek and mighty few people come +up here!" + +The policeman took from his pocket a wet envelope, upon which the blurred +writing was still legible. + +"Well," he said coolly, "there's no doubt about whose this is." He handed +it to Prescott. "Ever see it in Jernyngham's possession?" + +"Yes," answered Prescott with some hesitation. "I recognize the address, +though the English stamp has gone. It was lying near when he was talking +to me on the night of the trouble in Sebastian." + +He was filled with uneasiness. The police would certainly attempt to read +the letter, which was the one Colston had written announcing his arrival. +If they succeeded, they would no doubt wonder why the Englishman had not +stayed with Jernyngham, and investigation might lead to a discovery of +the part Prescott had played. + +"We've begun quite satisfactorily," said the corporal, "and there's +nothing more to be done to-night. I guess you can quit and have supper, +boys." + +In a little while trails of gray smoke floated across the ravine, and +after a meal with one of his neighbors Prescott rode back to his +homestead, feeling much disturbed. For all that, and in spite of the +letter, he did not think Jernyngham would be found in the swamp. + +On the following evening a commissioned officer of the police, who had +made the journey from headquarters at Regina and spent an hour or two +examining the scene of the supposititious tragedy, sat with Curtis in a +very hot private room of the hotel at Sebastian. Its raw board walls gave +out a resinous smell; the opening in the window was filled with +mosquito-netting, so that little air crept in. On the table lay a +carefully made diagram; a boot, and one or two paper patterns +representing footprints were on the floor. The officer's hair was turning +gray and he had a quiet brown face with a look of command in it. + +"Taking it for granted that your theory's right, suspicion seems to fall +on the men you mentioned," he said. "Whom do you suspect?" + +Curtis considered. He was reluctant to express a decided opinion in the +presence of his superior, who was famous for his acumen. + +"So far as we have any evidence, I think it points to Prescott," he +responded. "He saw Jernyngham hide his money; he went on alone with him, +and can't prove when he got home. Then several of the footprints marked +on the plan might have been made by him." + +The officer took up the boot and one of the paper patterns. + +"There's a doubt. I suppose he knows you have his boot?" + +The corporal's eyes twinkled faintly. + +"I guess he'll miss it sometime." + +"It's possible. But what else have you against him?" + +"Prescott stands to profit by Jernyngham's death: he has control of the +holding until the year's up, and it's a pretty good crop. He declares the +jacket isn't Jernyngham's; he won't allow the man can be in the muskeg. A +day or two after Jernyngham disappeared he bought one of the new +wide-swath binders. Paid the money down in new bills, which was what +Jernyngham had, though the implement agent didn't note the numbers." + +"Pretty strong points. What's your private opinion? Out with it." + +The man's tone was commanding and Curtis complied. + +"On the whole, I'm inclined to blame the other fellow, Wandle." + +"Against the evidence?" asked his superior in quiet surprise. "You of +course remember your instructions and know what your duty is." + +"Yes, sir," said Curtis. "Still, I think----" He paused and continued +diffidently: "You would have an answer." + +The other leaned back in his chair with a meditative expression. + +"We'll let it go at that," he said. "Perhaps you had better follow the +waiting course you seem to have decided on, but if suspicion gathers +round Prescott it won't be a drawback and you needn't discountenance it. +For one thing, it may divert attention, and after all he may be the right +man." + +A look of comprehension shone in the corporal's eyes. He believed that +his superior, who never expressed a strong opinion prematurely, agreed +with him. + +"Suppose either of the men lights out?" he suggested. + +"You'll have to guard against it. If it happens, apply for a warrant and +follow him." + +The officer returned to Regina the next day; and a week or two, during +which Curtis and his assistants laboriously searched the drying swamp, +passed uneventfully. Then one morning Prescott sat somewhat moodily in +the saddle of his binder which a powerful team hauled along the edge of +the wheat. The great stretch of grain blazed with color as it swayed with +a harsh rustle of warm-tinted ears before the breeze, but now and then +broad cool shadows sped across it as the white-edged clouds drove by. +Behind him followed two more teams and machines, half covered by falling +sheets of yellow grain, while their whirling wooden arms flashed in the +dazzling sunlight as they flung out the sheaves. Bare-armed and very +scantily attired men came after them, piling the stocks together. +Disturbed as he was, Prescott felt cheered by the prospect of harvesting +a record crop. + +He had turned a corner and was proceeding along another side of the great +oblong when he noticed a wagon approaching, carrying two strangers and +several large trunks. As their dress differed from that usually worn on +the prairie, he wondered who they were and why they were driving toward +his ranch. The liveryman, who held the reins, presently pulled up his +team and Prescott; stopping his binder, waited to be addressed. An old +soft hat fell shapelessly forward over his deeply bronzed face, his neck +and most of his arms were uncovered. Before him the four powerful horses +stood fidgeting in the heat, a black cloud of flies about their heads. +Though not a man of striking appearance, he was in harmony with his +surroundings, and formed a fine central figure in the great harvest +field: a worthy type of the new nation that is rising in the West. + +For a moment or two the strangers studied him carefully from the wagon. +The one nearest him was a woman of thirty, he thought, of tall and +chastely lined figure, with a colorless and rather expressionless face, +though her features were excellent. She wore a tight-fitting dark dress +which seemed to have been made all in one piece, and gave an impression +of prim coldness and careful restraint. The man in the soft hat was +obviously her father. He had gray hair; his face, which was finely +chiseled, suggested a formal, decided, and perhaps domineering, +character; his gray tweed traveling suit was immaculately neat. There was +no doubt that they were English, and Prescott wondered whom they reminded +him of, until the truth flashed upon him with a disconcerting shock--they +were Jernyngham's father and sister! + +"Mr. Prescott?" inquired the man. + +Prescott bowed, and the teamster, jumping down, handed him two cards. + +"I understand that you knew my unfortunate son," the newcomer continued. + +"I did," Prescott replied guardedly. + +"Then can I have a word or two with you in private?" + +Getting down from the binder, Prescott helped the other to alight from +the high wagon; the man was not agile, though he carried himself well. +They walked back some distance along the edge of the wheat. Then the +rancher stopped and from force of habit felt for his pipe. + +"I must be to some extent confidential," began Jernyngham. "You must +guess why I came." + +The strong light fell searchingly on his face, revealing lines on it +which Prescott thought had lately been deepened by pain, but his eyes +were very keen and hard. + +"I suppose the recent calamity brought you," the rancher ventured. + +"Yes; I have come to see justice done. But we will not discuss that yet. +We arrived yesterday evening and found it was impossible that my daughter +should be comfortable at the hotel; besides which, it is rather too far +away. I accordingly determined to look for quarters at one of the +ranches, but succeeded in getting shelter for only the one night." + +Prescott felt amused. Jernyngham and his daughter were not the kind of +people the somewhat primitive prairie ranchers would welcome; their +request for accommodation was more likely to cause astonishment and +alarm. + +"People are very busy, now that harvest's coming on, and they've extra +hands to cook for," he explained. + +"I understand," continued Jernyngham, "that my son's homestead is in this +neighborhood, and domestics might be hired; but after what has happened, +I fear my daughter would find living there a painful strain. That was why +I thought of applying to you." + +The announcement filled Prescott with dismay. The presence of the +Jernynghams might involve him in further complications. + +"I'm sorry, but we live very simply," he said hastily. "My place is only +half furnished; we have no time to make it comfortable--and I'm sure +you'd find our cooking barbarous. I'm afraid Miss Jernyngham couldn't put +up with the accommodation we could offer her." + +"We only want quietness, fresh air, and a little privacy, none of which +seems to be obtainable at Sebastian. While the question of terms is no +consideration, I recognize that I must make my appeal to your +generosity." + +Prescott did not answer, and Jernyngham resumed in a more urgent tone: + +"I must beg you not to make difficulties; I'm told there is nobody else +in the neighborhood who could take us in. We will require very little +attention and will promise to give you no trouble." + +Prescott wavered. The man was keenly anxious; it was hard to resist his +appeal, and there was, after all, only a small risk that he might hear of +Colston's visit. Svendsen and his wife, who attended to the housekeeping, +were Scandinavians, and could scarcely converse in English. When they +addressed him by any distinguishing epithet it was always as "Boss." + +"Well," he said doubtfully, "I can't refuse you shelter. You can stay for +a while, anyway, until we see how we get on. I'll go up to the homestead +with you." + +He had an interview with his housekeeper, who protested in broken English +that harvest was a singularly inconvenient time to entertain strangers, +but eventually gave away. The extra hands lately hired could be put up in +the barn, and there were two rooms that could be spared. Prescott showed +his visitors in and afterward watched with some amusement their surprise +when they sat down to the midday meal with the lightly clad toilers from +the field. During the afternoon and until late in the evening, he worked +hard among the grain, but when the light was failing and he leaned on a +wire fence, hot and tired after the long day of effort, Jernyngham came +toward him. + +"We have had very little talk so far," he said. "My daughter, however, +desires me to convey her thanks to you. She believes she will be +perfectly comfortable." + +He was irritatingly formal, his tone was precise, but it changed as he +added: + +"So you knew Cyril!" + +"Yes," Prescott said gravely. "I was fond of him." + +Jernyngham seemed to be struggling with some stirring of his deeper +nature beneath the crust of mannerisms. + +"Mr. Prescott," he said, "I may tell you that I now fear I treated the +lad injudiciously, and perhaps with needless harshness. I looked upon +extravagance and eccentricity as signs of depravity. It was a vast relief +when I heard from Colston, whom you may have met; that Cyril had +prospered and was leading an exemplary life in Canada." + +The blood crept into Prescott's face, and Jernyngham glanced at him +curiously before he proceeded. + +"We were somewhat hurt that he would not come home; but after past +mistakes I could not urge him, and it seemed possible that he might +change his mind later. Then the dreadful blow fell--crushing and filling +me with all the bitterness of useless regret. I had spoken too late; the +opportunity I would not use in time had gone." + +He broke off, and his face had grown white and stern when he went on +again: + +"There is only one thing I can do, but if needful, I will devote the rest +of my life to it--that is, to track down the man who killed my son!" + +He was silent for the next few minutes, and then, after a few words on +indifferent subjects, intended, Prescott thought, to cover his display of +feeling, he turned away, leaving the rancher smoking thoughtfully. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +A DAY ON THE PRAIRIE + + +A week after Jernyngham's arrival at the homestead he sat among the +sheaves in the harvest field late one afternoon studying a letter which +the mail-carrier had just brought him. His daughter, sheltered from the +strong sunlight by the tall stocked sheaves, was reading an elegantly +bound book of philosophy. Gertrude Jernyngham had strict rules of life +and spent an hour or two of every day in improving her mind, without, so +far as her friends had discovered, any enlargement of her outlook. Among +her numerous virtues was an affectionate solicitude about her father's +health, which was variable. Though still muscularly vigorous, Jernyngham +was getting an old man, and he had been out of sorts of late. + +"I'm glad you are looking much better than you did this morning," she +said, glancing at him after a while. + +"Thank you," Jernyngham rejoined punctiliously. "I suppose it was the +strain of the past few weeks that tried me, and perhaps I have been doing +too much, traveling backward and forward between here and the muskeg." +Then with an effort he banished his painful thoughts and smiled. "I +wonder how many years it is since I spent an afternoon in a harvest +field! I'll confess that I find much to interest me." + +Gertrude laid down her book and glanced about. She was of a practical +disposition and almost devoid of artistic susceptibilities, but the +richness and color of the scene impressed her. Far away in front ran the +long ranks of sheaves, gleaming in the sunshine amid the golden stubble +which was flecked by their deep-blue shadows. The air was cooling, but +the light was brilliant and the standing wheat was picked out with tints +of burnished copper. By comparison with it, the oat stocks shone pale and +silvery. Round the edge of the grain moved the binders, clashing and +tinkling musically, while their whirling arms flashed in the sunlight. + +Prescott, lightly clad, drove the foremost machine. The fine modeling of +his lean, muscular figure was effectively displayed; his uncovered arms +and face were the color of the soil. Seated behind the big horses, he +looked wonderfully virile. The man seemed filled with primitive vigor; he +was a type that was new to Gertrude Jernyngham. + +"Our host," remarked her father, "strikes one as tireless; though I'm +inclined to think that during harvest everybody here works at a higher +tension than would be borne at home. Their methods are rather +wasteful--this tall stubble, for instance, continuous cereal crops, +except for the short summer fallow--but they're no doubt adapted to the +needs of the country. Having some experience in these matters, I should +say this farm was excellently managed." + +In place of answering, Gertrude watched the rancher. The physical +perfection of the man had an effect on her, though she was essentially +prudish. + +"I ought to drive in to the settlement and send off a cablegram, though I +expect it will be difficult to get a team," Jernyngham resumed, returning +to his letter. "Cranford wants instructions about a matter of importance +that has cropped up since we left." + +"It wouldn't be wise for you to drive so far," Gertrude said firmly. "I +might go instead; we'll speak to Mr. Prescott about it this evening." + +Shortly afterward there was a harsh clanking sound and Prescott, pulling +up his team, sprang down from the binder. He became busy with hammer and +spanner, and in a few minutes the stubble was strewn with pinion wheels, +little shafts, and driving-chains. Then, while his guests watched him +with growing interest, he put the machine together, started his team and +stopped it, and again dismembered the complicated gear. This, as Gertrude +realized, was work that needed a certain amount of skill. Finally, when +the overtaking binders had stopped near-by, he took out a small shaft and +held it up so that the harvesters could see it. + +"Journal's bent; I'll have to go get a new piece," he said. "Go ahead +with your teams." + +After that he unhitched his horses and was leading them past the place +where the Jernynghams sat, when Gertrude spoke to him. + +"I'm sorry you had an accident, and I suppose you will have to send the +broken part to Sebastian. May I go with the team?" + +"Why, of course," he said. "I'll drive you in to-morrow. As it's a pretty +long way, I'll try to borrow a comfortable rig." + +He went on with the horses and she saw no more of him that day, but early +the next morning he brought up a light, four-wheeled vehicle, which would +carry two people and had a hood that could be drawn up. Gertrude thought +it a great improvement on the prairie wagon, and she admired the restive +team which he had some trouble in holding. When she got in, he sprang to +the seat beside her, the horses bounded forward, and they sped out +through a gap in the fence, the vehicle lurching wildly among the ruts. + +For a while Gertrude was occupied, to the exclusion of everything else, +in trying to keep her place, but when Prescott turned the team on to a +stretch of smooth short grass she began to look about. It was a clear, +cool morning, the sky was a wonderful blue, and bluffs miles away showed +up with sharp distinctness. In the foreground the gray grass was bathed +in a soft light which was restful to the eyes. Then Gertrude examined the +rig, as the man had called it, which struck her as remarkably light and +fragile; and the same thing was noticeable about the harness. The horses +moved as if they were drawing no load, swinging along at a fast and +springy trot, while the vehicle ran lightly up and down the slight +undulations, the wheels jarring now and then into a hollow or smashing +through dwarf scrub. The pace was exhilarating, the fine air invigorated +the girl, and her usual prim reserve melted away. + +"I am fortunate in getting in to Sebastian," she said. "There's a +cablegram it's necessary that my father should send." + +"Glad to take you," Prescott rejoined. "Is Mr. Jernyngham in business?" + +"Oh, no; not as you would understand it. We spend most of our time in the +country, where he manages the estate. It's small, but there are two +quarries which need looking after. Then he's director of a company. He +doesn't believe that a man should be idle." + +Prescott smiled. He had read a good deal about England, and he could +imagine Jernyngham's firm control of his property. His rule would, no +doubt, be just, but it would be enforced on autocratic and highly +conventional lines. His daughter, the rancher thought, resembled him in +some respects. She was handsome and dignified in a colorless way; she +might have been charming if she were only a trifle less correct in manner +and there were more life in her. + +"Well," he said, in answer to her last remark, "that's a notion you'll +find lived up to here. The man who won't work mighty hard very soon goes +broke. It's a truth you in the old country ought to impress on the men +you're sending out to us." + +She liked his easy phraseology; which she supposed was western, and there +was nothing harsh in his intonation. It was that of a well-educated man, +and the Jernynghams were exacting in such matters. + +"I think there must be something in the air which makes toil less +arduous," she said. "The people I've met have a cheerful, optimistic +look." She hesitated, and added in a confidential tone: "I like to +imagine that my brother wore the same expression, though he was always +carelessly gay. He seems to have made a capable rancher. It was a great +relief to us when we were told of it." + +Prescott grew hot and embarrassed, but he thought he could understand how +Cyril Jernyngham had entered on a course of recklessness. It was a +reaction against the overwhelming propriety of his father and sister. + +"I don't think you need grieve for your brother yet," he said gravely. +"Although nobody here seems to agree with me, I find it impossible to +believe that he is dead." + +Gertrude gave him a grateful look. + +"I'm glad to hear you say so--there is at least a doubt, and that is +comforting; though I'm afraid my father can't be made to realize it." + +"Can't you persuade him not to take too much for granted?" + +"I wish I could." Gertrude's tone was sad. "He has been brooding over the +dreadful news ever since it reached us. It has possessed him absolutely; +he can think of nothing else, and there will be no relief for him until +he finds the guilty person, or it is proved beyond all doubt that the +police are mistaken." She paused before she went on. "If they're right, I +think I should feel as merciless as he does. Cyril was my only brother; I +was very fond of him." + +Her voice trembled a little, though her eyes were hard, and Prescott felt +sorry for her. She was not of emotional nature; he could imagine her +shrinking from any display of tenderness. Nevertheless, it was obvious +that she was a prey to fear and grief. + +"So was I," he said. "I wonder if I may point out that he struck me as +being different from you and your father?" + +"I think I know what you mean. Cyril was like my mother--she died a long +while ago, but I remember her as gentle, sympathetic, and perhaps more +variable than I am. Cyril was swayed by feeling rather than by judgment." + +Prescott knew this was correct, but he found his companion an interesting +study. She was wrapped up in cold propriety; she must have led an +uneventful life, looked up to and obeyed by the small community that +owned her father's rule. Romance could not have touched her; she was not +imaginative; but he thought there were warmth and passion lying dormant +somewhere in her nature. She could not have wholly escaped the +consequences of being Cyril Jernyngham's sister. + +Nothing further was said for a while, and presently the team toiled +through a belt of sandy ridges, furrowed by the wind, where the summits +were crested here and there by small jack-pines. Looking up as they +crossed one elevation, Gertrude noticed a wedge of small dark bodies +outlined against the soft blue sky. + +"What are those?" she asked. + +"Wild geese; the forerunners of the host that will soon come down from +the marshes by the Polar Sea." + +"But do they go so far?" + +He laughed. + +"They cross this continent twice a year; up from the steaming lagoons on +the Gulf to the frozen muskegs of the North, and back again. They're +filled with a grand unrest and wholly free; travelers of the high air, +always going somewhere." + +"Ah!" responded Gertrude. "To be always doing something is good. But the +other--the ceaseless wandering----" + +"Going on and on, beating a passage through the icy winds, rejoicing in +the sun, seeking for adventure. Is there no charm in that?" + +She looked at him uneasily, as if his words had awakened some +half-understood response. + +"I think Cyril must have felt something of the kind. So far it has never +stirred me. Isn't it wise to hold fast by what is safe and familiar?" + +"Oh, I don't know," Prescott answered with a smile. "I follow the course +you mention, because I have to. It's my business to drive the plow, and +the hazard of having a crop hailed out is adventure enough. But I don't +think it should make one hard on the people who prefer the other thing. +After all, they may be right; the life they take pleasure in may be the +best for them, though it wouldn't appeal to you or me." + +"I'm not sure that toleration should be encouraged. It often means +indifference, perhaps a lack of principle." + +She grasped tightly the rail around the seat, for the horses plunged down +a sandy slope at a wild gallop, passing at the bottom a horse and buggy +in which sat a man dressed in a dark gray suit, to whom Prescott waved +his hand. + +"Is he a clergyman?" asked Gertrude. + +"Well," Prescott smiled, "he's a Presbyterian minister. I suppose you +think there's a difference?" + +His companion with unusual forbearance let this pass. + +"Then you have churches at Sebastian?" + +"Four. I can't say they're crowded; but, while we're liberal-minded on +many points, the flocks won't mix. Strikes me as a pity." + +"It is a pity; there should be only one strong and united church in every +place." + +"And that the right one?" Prescott's eyes twinkled mischievously. "You're +thinking of the one we call Episcopalian?" + +"Yes," said Gertrude severely; "the Church." + +"I'll admit that I'm on pretty good terms with the lot, but Father +Dillon's my favorite. For one thing, he's a practical farmer as well as a +fine classical scholar. His crowd, for the most part, are hard-up +foreigners; and he shows them how to build decent homes and put their +crops in. All the same, I've quite a high opinion of the Methodist and +the Presbyterian, who are at the opposite end of the scale." + +Gertrude showed signs of disapproval. + +"In these matters, broad-mindedness may be dangerous. One can't +compromise." + +"Well," he said, "even the Roman Curia tried it before the council of +Trent, and your people made an attempt to conciliate the English +Calvinists about Elizabeth's time; you were inclined to Genevan +Protestantism once or twice afterward." + +His companion's surprise was evident, and he laughed as he read her +thoughts. + +"Oh," he explained, "I used to take some interest in these matters once +upon a time. You see, I was at McGill." + +"McGill? I seem to have heard the name, but what does it stand for?" + +Prescott looked amused. + +"I don't know that it quite means what Oxford does to you, but it's +something of the kind; you might have seen the fine buildings at the foot +of the mountain, if you had stayed in Montreal. Then we have Toronto; +with deference to the Toronto men, I'll compare that to Cambridge. Still, +so far as I understand your English ideas, there's a difference--our boys +go to McGill or Toronto with the intention of learning something that +will open up a career. They certainly play football and one or two other +games pretty well, but that's a very secondary object; so's the acquiring +of a polished style. In fact, it's not altogether unusual on this side of +the Atlantic to find university men spending a vacation as waiters in the +summer hotels." + +"But why do they do that?" Gertrude asked with a shocked expression. + +"For money," Prescott answered dryly. "One gathers that the St. Andrew +boys did something of the same kind in Scotland in your grandfather's +time; and no logical objection could be made to it, anyway. Isn't it a +pretty good test of a man's determination? It's hard to see why he should +make a worse doctor, engineer, or preacher, because he has the grit to +earn his training by carrying plates, or chopping trees, which some of +our boys take to." + +This was difficult to answer, and Gertrude did not attempt it; her +prejudices were stronger than her powers of reasoning. Looking southward, +she saw the turreted tops of the Sebastian elevators rising from the sea +of grass like cathedral towers. Their smallness emphasized the vastness +of the plain, which was beginning to have a stimulating effect on her +mind. She thought it might explain the broadness of her companion's +views, which, while erroneous, were becoming comprehensible. He lived in +the open, beyond the bounds of walls and fences, breathing this wonderful +invigorating air. Nevertheless, he was obviously a man of varied and +extensive information, which struck her as somewhat curious in face of +his severely practical abilities. He could mend harness, plow a straight +furrow, break horses, and strip a complicated machine. As a new type, he +deserved attention. + +After a while they struck into a well-beaten track which had been graded +where it crossed a muskeg. The rude work, however, had suffered from +frost and rain: the ruts in the hard black soil were deep and there were +dangerous holes. To make matters worse, a big gasoline tractor, intended +to assist in some harvesting operations, had got into difficulties near +the middle of the graded track. It was making an alarming noise and +diffusing a pungent odor, while two men thrust bits of board beneath the +wheels for it to climb out of the hole on. Prescott's team slackened +their pace, jerking their heads and pricking their ears. They were young +range horses that had roamed over wide spaces, and were badly broken. + +Getting a tight grip on the reins he turned to his companion. + +"We can't get around--the muskeg's too soft. I'd put you down, only that +I may not be able to hold the team after we get past that machine." He +raised his voice. "Can't you stop her, boys?" + +"No, sir!" cried a grimy man. "Soon as we cut out the engine she'd run +back into the hole! We've been here two hours already!" + +"Hold tight!" Prescott cautioned Gertrude, and urged the horses forward. + +As they approached the tractor the noise suddenly increased, and its +wheels spun faster, grinding on the skids. One of the horses reared, +swinging up the pole, which nearly threw its fellow; then there was a +frantic thud of hoofs against the frame of the vehicle, and the team, +swinging half around, threatened to overturn it into the swamp. Prescott +plied the whip; the beasts plunged. One pair of wheels left the road, and +the rig slanted alarmingly. A violent crash and jolt followed; Gertrude +came near to being flung out of her seat; and they passed the tractor and +sped across the graded stretch at a furious pace. Prescott was braced +backward, his feet pressed hard against a bar, his lips tightly set, +while Gertrude, shrinking from the disaster that seemed imminent, +wondered how he swung the panic-stricken beasts clear of the worst holes. +She gasped with relief when they had passed the muskeg, but the trail was +still in a dangerous state, and Prescott turned the team upon the grass, +where they galloped on while the wheels smashed through short scrub, +until at last the speed began to slacken. The horses' coats were foul and +flecked with spume when Gertrude looked backward and saw the tractor far +away in the distance. + +"They've had enough," Prescott remarked. "We made the last mile at a +pretty good clip; I kept them at it. Guess they won't start another +circus if we meet a freight locomotive on the switches." + +The settlement was reached without further mis-adventure, and Prescott, +as a special favor, secured a separate table at the hotel, where Gertrude +was served with an excellent meal. Afterward he showed her how to +despatch her father's message, and as she turned away the telegraph +operator grinned at Prescott. + +"Where are all these high-toned English girls coming from, Jack?" he +said. "You have brought another one this time." + +Leaving the man without an answer, Prescott rejoined his companion. + +"Are there any English people staying near the settlement?" she asked. + +"The fellow was alluding to Miss Hurst." + +"Muriel Hurst?" Gertrude exclaimed sharply. "Was she here with you?" + +"Yes." Prescott regretted that she had asked for an explanation of the +operator's remarks. "I once drove her in; Cyril's team was doing +something else. But you said you wanted to visit the drygoods store, +didn't you?" + +Gertrude accompanied him there and when he left her in the hands of a +lady clerk she fancied that she was favored with somewhat unusual +attention on his account. The man seemed to be a favorite in the +settlement. She spent a tedious afternoon in the hotel parlor while he +went about the business that had brought him in and the team rested. It +was a relief when he reappeared in time for supper; and after that they +set out again. The sun set before they reached the homestead, the air +grew bracingly cool, and the prairie rolled away before them, dim and +mysterious, streaked with shadowy blurs of bluffs until a full moon rose +and flooded it with silvery light. There was strange, deep silence except +for the thud of hoofs which rose and fell in sharp staccato rhythm. + +Gertrude was tired when Prescott helped her down at the homestead, but +all her senses were unusually alert. She had enjoyed what she felt had +been an invigorating day, and she admitted that, although she by no means +agreed with all the rancher said, his breezy talk had added to its zest. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +PRESCOTT MAKES A PROMISE + + +The fortnight that followed Gertrude's drive to Sebastian passed +uneventfully, though the minds of three of the occupants of the homestead +were filled with disturbing thoughts. Prescott spent the time working +hard at his harvest, but he wished that something might relieve him of +his guests, whose presence he found embarrassing, since it forced him to +be continually on his guard. In spite of this, he was conscious of strong +sympathy for them and did what he could to ensure their comfort. He was +getting uneasy, for he saw that Cyril Jernyngham had involved him in a +maze of complications from which there seemed to be no escape. It was +obvious that appearances were against him; the evidence that Curtis had +obtained pointed to his being implicated in the death of his friend, and +the painstaking corporal might discover something more damaging. Prescott +fancied that one or two of his acquaintances who now and then rode across +his farm on different errands returned his greeting with a new and +significant coldness. + +Jernyngham spent much of his time at the muskeg, encouraging the men who +searched it and often assisting in the work. The whole morass was being +systematically turned over with the spade, but no further discoveries had +been made. In addition to this, Jernyngham rode to and fro about the +prairie, talking to the farmers whom he met on the trail or found at work +in the fields. They were all sorry for him, but there was something +deterrent in his sternness and his formal English manner, and they were +less communicative than they might have been. This was why he failed to +learn that the Colstons had stayed at Prescott's homestead, though, for +that matter, the fact was not generally known. The man could not rest; +tormented by regrets for his past harshness, he was bent on making the +only amend he could by hunting down the slayer of his son. His whole mind +was fixed on the task, and he brooded over it in a manner that aroused +his daughter's concern. She dreaded the effect a continuance of the +strain might have. + +Gertrude, however, was relieved of a more pressing anxiety. Though her +father steadfastly refused to entertain it, she shared Prescott's belief +that her brother was not dead. For one thing, Cyril was not the man to +come badly to grief; he had done many reckless things and somehow escaped +the worst results. Illogical as the idea was, she felt that his luck was +good. It was a comforting reflection and she was sensible of a growing +confidence in the farmer, who encouraged her to cling to it. + +One afternoon she left the house and strolled across the harvest fields, +which had greatly changed in appearance since she had first seen them. +The oats were all stooked and stood in silvery sheaves, ready for the +thrasher; the great stretch of wheat had melted down to a narrow oblong, +round which the binders were working. Gertrude stopped to watch them. The +plodding horses, the bent figures of the men, the play of light on +falling grain, and the revolving arms of the machines fixed her eyes; the +rustle of sheaves, the crackle of stubble, and the musical tinkle of +metal, fell pleasantly on her ears. The mornings and evenings were cold +now, but the days were hot and bright, and the scene was steeped in vivid +hues: ocher, lemon, and coppery red below, dazzling blue above. + +Prescott drove the leading binder and when it drew nearer she followed +his movements with careful scrutiny. She admitted that the man aroused +her interest. He was wonderfully virile, sanguine, and hopeful, with a +trace of what she thought of as the primitive strain; which tended toward +physical perfection; his vigor and muscular symmetry had their effect on +her. Though her father was a man of means and influence, her circle of +acquaintances had been restricted by the narrowness of his views; and the +men with whom she had been brought into contact were, for the most part, +distinguished rather by unexceptional morals and sound opinions than by +bodily grace and original thought. + +By disposition as well as training Gertrude was a formalist and a prude, +but she was human and she unconsciously obeyed a law of nature which +ordains the union of the dissimilar. This was why, having met only men of +her own kind hitherto, she had escaped the touch of passion and now felt +drawn toward one who greatly differed from her. + +After a while Prescott stopped his binder and opened a box attached to +it. He closed it sharply, as if annoyed, called to one of the men +gathering up the sheaves, and then walked toward the house. + +"Run out of twine; I'll have to get some," he explained to Gertrude. + +"You look tired," she said, stopping him. "You have been working very +hard." + +"I don't feel quite as bright as usual," he confessed. "It's the heat, I +think, but I've turned out at four o'clock every morning since harvest +began." + +"Then why not take a few minutes' rest? I'll make you a cup of tea; I was +going in to get some ready. It's an English custom." + +He indicated his attire. + +"I'd be glad, but I haven't time to make myself presentable." + +"I'll excuse that." Gertrude smiled and added with unusual boldness: "You +don't seem to know that your dress is really most artistic. It suits +you." + +He bowed to her. + +"I'm flattered. This costume was adopted with a view to economy and +comfort. The worst of a man's wearing smart clothes is that whenever he +wants to do anything useful he has to take them off." + +"Is that a great trouble?" + +"It takes a lot of valuable time," he answered with a smile. + +They turned toward the house, and after getting the twine he joined her +in a cool, shadowy room. Gertrude was watching a silver spirit-lamp; near +which two dainty cups and plates were laid out. + +"That's a very pretty outfit," he remarked. "Is it English?" + +"No; I bought it at a big store in Winnipeg--on Portage Avenue, I think." + +"I know the place. So they're selling this kind of thing there! It's +significant. A few years ago they'd have got nobody to buy such truck." +He picked up a cup and held it to the light after examining the chaste +color, design, and stamp. "Anyway, it's English; the genuine article. I +believe the biscuit can't be imitated." + +Gertrude had not expected him to understand artistic china. + +"I've read about these things," he explained with a good-humored laugh; +"and I've a way of remembering. We have time in winter, and one is glad +to study anything that comes along. Still, I'll allow that I found +five-cent cans quite good enough when I first came out." + +This was not a point of much importance, but it fixed Gertrude's +attention. She was in the habit of roughly sorting people into different +groups; there were, for example, those who appreciated beautiful things +and had been endowed with them as a reward of merit, and those of coarser +nature on whom they would be wasted, which was, no doubt, why they had +none. Yet here was a man with artistic taste, who was nevertheless +engaged in hard manual labor and had drunk contentedly out of common +cans. It did not fit in with her theories. + +"I suppose this country has its influence on one?" she said, searching +for an explanation. + +"That's so; the influence is strong and good, on the whole." + +She considered this, quietly studying him. It was the first time she had +entertained at table a man in outdoor working attire; Prescott, out of +deference to his guests, had made some preparation for the meals they +shared. Still, the simple dress became him; he was, as she vaguely +thought of it, admirable, in a way. His hands and wrists were +well-shaped, though scarred and roughened by the rasp of the hot straw. +The warmth of the sun seemed to cling to his brown face; a joyous +vitality emanated from him, and he had mental gifts. She felt lightly +thrilled by his propinquity. + +"But everything out here is still very crude," she said. + +"That's where our strength lies; we're a new people, raised on virgin +soil out in the rushing winds. We haven't simmered down yet; we're +charged with unexhausted energies, which show themselves in novel ways. +In our cities you'll find semibarbarous rawness side by side with +splendor and art, and complicated machines run by men who haven't much +regard for the fastidious niceties of civilization, though they're +unexcelled in their engineering skill. We undertake big works in an +unconsidered manner that would scare your cautious English minds, make +wild blunders, and go ahead without counting the damage. We come down +pretty hard often, but it never brings us to a stop." + +He saw that she did not grasp all he meant to convey, and he leaned back +in his chair with a laugh. + +"This is the kind of fool talk you would expect from a boastful +Westerner, isn't it?" + +"No," she replied somewhat formally; "that isn't what I thought. I find +everything I see and hear interesting, but there's much I can't +understand. One has to feel for its meaning." + +"It's a very proper attitude," he rejoined with amusement. "So long as +you don't bring over a ready-made standard to measure our shortcomings +by, we'll explain all we can. In fact, it's a thing we're fond of doing." +Then his tone grew grave. "But I haven't seen your father since this +morning. Is he at the muskeg?" + +"Yes. I'm getting anxious about him; the trouble is preying on his mind. +Grief, of course, is a natural feeling, but he thinks of nothing except +revenge. He's growing haggard and losing his judgment. I'm almost afraid +to think what may happen if he finds anything that looks like a clue. The +shock has shaken him terribly." + +"And you?" + +"I feel half guilty because I've been so calm since I came here, but I +can't believe the worst. You have reassured me." She paused and added +softly: "And I'm very grateful." + +"I'm glad." Prescott's tone was sympathetic. "But I can imagine what your +father feels. From a few things he has told me, he seems to have led a +smooth, well-ordered life; no doubt he made too much of the trouble your +brother caused him." + +"Yes; I think so now." + +"Perhaps he half-consciously formed an idea that things would always go +tranquilly with him, and when it came without warning the shock of +Cyril's disappearance was too strong. And yet I firmly believe he's +mistaken in his fears." + +Gertrude made a sign of agreement. + +"Nothing I can say calms him. One can only wait." + +"And that's always hard," Prescott said gently. + +She roused him to strong compassion. She had, he thought, no great depth +of character, but her development had been checked by many restraints. +Her father had curbed each natural impulse, until the little originality +in her withered and died; she had grown up cold and colorless, with +narrow views, and petty, if quite blameless, aims. Prescott, however, was +wrong in crediting Jernyngham with too great a success. Gertrude's nature +had not been utterly repressed and stunted, and now, in time of stress, +it was expanding. + +Romance had come late to her, but she was dimly conscious of it at last. +Her senses were stirring and she felt a half-guilty pleasure at seeing +the bronzed rancher's eyes bent on her tenderly. To think of him except +as her host for a few weeks was, of course, folly; but there was a +fascination in the gentleness he showed her. She was beginning to +understand and sympathize with Cyril's rash daring and contempt for +restraints. She felt tempted to follow her impulses; her frigid reserve +was melting. + +"Will you have more tea?" she asked, shrinking back to safe ground. + +"Thank you," he said, holding out the dainty cup. + +"Hot water? It's rather strong." + +"Before I had a housekeeper we made it black and drank it by the +kettleful." + +"But the effect on your nerves!" + +"Nerves?" he laughed. "We don't cultivate them in this country. Mine make +no trouble." + +"You're to be envied," she said, and looked up sharply at a sound of +footsteps as her father came in. + +His clothes were dusty and creased; the neatness which had characterized +him on his arrival had gone. His face had grown brown, but it was +haggard, hotly flushed, and beaded with perspiration; his lips were +tightly set, his eyes had an ominous glitter. Throwing down a riding +quirt he carried, he sat down; resting his arms on the table, in an +attitude of blank dejection. + +"Nothing yet," he said listlessly. "It's hard to bear." + +"There's a suggestion I want to make." Prescott spoke quietly. "The offer +of a reward here has led to nothing; send another round to the Alberta +and British Columbia papers, with a description of your son, saying +you'll pay a hundred dollars for trustworthy information about him. I +believe it will bring you good news." + +Jernyngham turned to him in keen impatience. + +"It would be useless--my son is dead! The police have proved that beyond +a doubt, and I cannot understand why you should persist in denying it!" +His eyes grew hard with sudden suspicion. "It looks as if you had some +motive." + +"I'm afraid you're hardly just," Gertrude broke in. "Mr. Prescott only +wishes to lessen your anxiety, but he's convinced of what he says." + +It was a rare thing for her to oppose him, but Jernyngham was too +preoccupied to be surprised at her boldness, and he made a gesture of +deprecation. + +"You must forgive me, Mr. Prescott--my daughter's right. But to offer me +assurances that must prove false is rank cruelty. I have faced the worst; +I'm not strong enough to bear a second blow, which is what must follow if +I listen to you. As it is, the strain is merciless." + +His voice and bearing showed it. Indeed, one could have imagined that it +would have been better had he yielded a little more, but his eyes +expressed a grim, vengeful determination. He was not the man to weaken, +he would hold out until he broke down; but his daughter and Prescott were +filled with fears for him. + +"I'm sorry," said the rancher. "Has Curtis thought of anything new?" + +"No," Jernyngham answered harshly. "The police can entertain only one +idea at a time; they can read the meaning of footprints and there their +ability ends. They have no power of organization; I can't force them to +make investigations on a proper scale, and I'm helpless until harvest's +over. Then, when men can be hired, I'll have every bluff and ravine in +the country searched. If I spend the rest of my life here, I'll find the +guilty man!" + +He said nothing further, and there was a strained silence while he sat, +leaning forward limply, with bent head, and a thin hand clenched hard +upon the table. Rousing himself by and by, he took the cup of tea +Gertrude passed to him, and set it down without drinking. It made a sharp +clatter, but he left it setting near him as if he had forgotten it. +Unable to bear the sight of his distress, Prescott went quietly out, and +when he was leaving the house Gertrude joined him. + +"Perhaps I should have stayed with him, but I was afraid to speak," she +said. "Besides, there was nothing to be said." + +"This can't go on," Prescott declared. "It's too much for him. I can't +leave here until the harvest's over, and then the grain ought to be +hauled in, but I've thought of making a tour of inquiry along the new +railroad and round the Alberta ranches and the mines in British +Columbia." + +Gertrude looked grateful. + +"It would be a great relief to feel that something was being done. But--" +she added hesitatingly, "your time is valuable and there would be +expense. I have some means, Mr. Prescott, and though I dare not speak to +my father about it, you must draw on me." + +"We'll talk about it later. I wish I could go now, but that's impossible, +and there's no use in suggesting that Mr. Jernyngham should send somebody +else. Besides, I believe I'd have the best chance of picking up the right +trail. You won't mind my saying that I'm very sorry for you?" + +Her eyes grew soft and her whole expression gentle. It was an attractive +face Prescott looked into. + +"I value your sympathy," she said softly. "Indeed, I can't tell you what +a comfort you have been. But you will undertake this search as soon as +possible, won't you?" + +"Yes," Prescott replied firmly; "you can count on that. If I've made +things easier for you, I'm very glad." + +Then he turned away and hurried back to the binder. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +A NEW CLUE + + +It was a clear, cool morning and Prescott was busily engaged throwing +sheaves into his wagon. He had finished his harvest and, in accordance +with western custom, had immediately begun the thrashing. Part of the +great field was already stripped to a belt of tall stubble, though long +ranks of stooks still stretched across the rest, and dusty men were hard +at work among them. Wagons rolled through the crackling straw--going +slowly, piled high with rustling loads; returning light, jolting wildly, +as fast as the teams could trot, for the thrashers were paid by the +bushel and would brook no delay. In the background stood their big +machine, pouring out a cloud of smoke that stretched in a gray trail +across the prairie, and filling the air with its harsh clatter. + +It was a scene of strenuous activity, filled with hurriedly moving +figures, but its coloring had lost something of its former vividness. The +blue of the sky was softer, the light less strong; the varying hues of +lemon and copper and ocher had become subdued; the shadows were no longer +darkly blue but a cool restful gray. The rushing winds that had swept the +wide plain all summer had come to rest; the air was sharp and still. + +The last week or two, however, had brought no change to the inmates of +the homestead. Jernyngham still brooded over his loss and worried the +police, his daughter looked to her host for comfort, and Prescott did +what he could to cheer her. Gertrude, indeed, was sensible of a rapidly +growing confidence in him and of the abandonment of many long-held ideas. +The man was not of her station: he was a working farmer, his views at +first had jarred on her; and yet the attraction he had for her was +steadily increasing. She made a feeble fight against it. In England she +had stood on safe ground, hedged in by conventions, ruled by the opinions +of a narrow circle of friends. Now all was different; she had lost these +supports and restraints and she was helpless without them. Passion was +beginning to touch her and she mistook the rancher's gentleness and +sympathy. + +When Prescott had loaded his wagon she joined him as he led his team +between the ranks of stooks, but while she walked by his side he thought +of another Englishwoman whom he had once brought home with the prairie +hay. He remembered how Muriel Hurst had nestled among the yielding grass, +with something delightful in every line of her figure. He recalled her +bright good-humor, the music of her laugh, the soft tones of her voice, +the hint of courage he had seen in her eyes; and there was pain in the +recollection. Gertrude Jernyngham was powerless to move him as Muriel had +done, but he was sorry for Cyril's sister and very considerate of her. + +"We'll have the crop off the ground before long," he said. "Then I'll +start for Alberta, as I promised." + +"You will be away some time?" + +"I'm afraid so. It's a big province, though there are not a great many +settlements in it yet; and I may have to cross over into British +Columbia." + +Gertrude looked down. + +"It is very generous of you to go, but I shall miss you. I shall feel as +if I had lost my chief support." + +"So far, I've done nothing but talk; and talk is cheap," he laughed. + +"You have given me courage," she said with shy hesitation. "And sympathy +is worth a good deal." + +He did not respond as she thought he might have done, and she continued: + +"If my father had been less obstinate, you need not have gone; he could +have hired a professional inquiry agent. But you had better not say +anything about your object to him--it must be a secret between us." + +"Yes," assented Prescott thoughtfully, "I guess that would be wiser. You +want to keep his mind at rest as far as you can. Of course, there's a big +chance that I may fail." + +Gertrude turned to him with a smile. + +"Oh, no! You are not one to fail!" + +Prescott was slightly embarrassed. He had a feeling that he was being +gently led on toward a closer acquaintance with his companion. She was +dropping the reserve she had at first displayed and seemed to invite him +tacitly into her confidence. He admitted that this idea might be +incorrect, but it had troubled him once or twice before. + +"I expect you'll be comfortable enough while I'm away," he said. "Mrs. +Svendsen's trustworthy, and everything will be quiet after the harvesters +have gone." + +Gertrude did not answer, and they went on in silence to the noisy +separator. Perspiring men, stripped of their heavier garments, were +tossing the sheaves amid a cloud of dust; cleaned grain poured out into +open bags, and as each was filled two panting toilers flung it into a +wagon. Near-by stood a great and growing pile of bags, over which the +short straw would be spread a number of feet thick, to form a granary. +Gertrude joined her father, who was standing near the machine, moodily +looking on, and before Prescott had unloaded his wagon Curtis rode up +with Private Stanton. + +"Nothing new at the muskeg, sir," he reported to Jernyngham rather +curtly, and walked his horse toward Prescott. + +"We were passing," he told him, and indicated the pile of grain. "You're +not selling right away?" + +"No; I'm not ready to haul the crop in to the elevators yet. I've one or +two more pressing things to do." + +"Mayn't you miss a chance? Prices are pretty good." + +Prescott was on his guard; he felt that Curtis suspected him. + +"I don't know," he answered. "I guess they won't fall much." + +"Your neighbors mean to sell, though it's quite likely that's to meet +their bills, and you always tried to get in on the first of the market +until this year. It must have cost you a pile to put in that big crop." + +"It did." + +"Then how have you got so prosperous since last fall?" + +It was a pointed question, because everybody in the district knew that +Prescott had sold only a few head of cattle and a horse or two, while he +would shortly have his accounts to meet. + +"It's a matter of management," he replied. "I've been working on a +different system this spring, and I find it pays." Then he looked +steadily at the corporal, "Besides, running Jernyngham's place along with +mine made it easier to cut expenses." + +"It's a great crop. But we must be getting on." + +He rode off and when they had left the stubble, Private Stanton looked at +him. + +"His being able to hold his wheat; which he couldn't do last year, is a +pretty strong count against the man. You gave him his chance for +explaining and he made a mighty bad show. Looks as if he'd got some money +he couldn't account for since last fall." + +"Not proved," returned Curtis. "There's something in what he said. +Anyway, he isn't afraid of us, since he's putting up his grain." + +"I don't quite catch on." + +Curtis smiled. + +"You're young. A guilty man would have rushed his crop into the elevators +and had his money ready to light out with. If Prescott pulls out +suddenly, he'll have to leave his property behind." + +"The thing's between him and Wandle," Stanton persisted. + +"Looks like that. Anyway, as the Austrian's at the settlement, we'll have +a good look round his homestead. It's possible that we'll find +something." + +"What made you think of searching the place again? Anything in the last +instructions you got from Regina? You didn't show them to me." + +"That's so. It isn't a part of my duty to consult you, and you're a bit +of a hustler. However, this is what I heard--a land agent in Navarino +sent for the district sergeant; told him he'd run across a man from +Sebastian at the hotel and the fellow got talking about Jernyngham. It +was the first the land agent had heard of the matter; but he was struck +by the date on which Jernyngham disappeared, because he'd had a deal with +him three days later." + +"That's mighty strange. If he's right, Jernyngham couldn't have been +killed." + +"Don't hustle!" said Curtis. "The fellow showed the sergeant the sale +record, but he described Jernyngham as a big, rather stout man with light +hair." + +"Wandle!" exclaimed Stanton. "Are you going to arrest him?" + +"Not yet. We might get him sent up for fraud and forgery, but if he had +anything to do with knocking Jernyngham out, he'll be more likely to give +us a clue of some kind while he's at large." + +They rode on and reaching Wandle's farm searched the house carefully, +replacing everything exactly as they found it. They discovered nothing of +importance, but as they went out Curtis glanced at the ash and refuse +heap. + +"We might have thought of that earlier," he said. "I've heard of people +trying to burn up things it might be dangerous to leave about." + +Setting to work with a fork and shovel, they presently unearthed a rusty +iron object which Stanton picked up. + +"Looks like a big meat can," he remarked. "Kind of curious that Wandle +should double it over this way and flatten it down." + +Curtis took it from him and examined it carefully. + +"It isn't a meat can; top edges are turned over a wire--here's a bit +sticking out--and it's had a handle. There's a hinge in another place. +The thing has been a box--a cash-box, I guess--one of the rubbishy kind +they sell for about a dollar." + +"But what would make a man smash up his cash-box?" + +"I don't know; guess it doesn't apply. I could understand his wanting to +get rid of one that belonged to somebody else, after he'd cleaned it out. +Aren't you beginning to understand?" + +"Sure," said Stanton eagerly. "The box was Jernyngham's--we'll find out +when he bought it at the hardware store. Then we'll get after Wandle." + +"You hustle too much!" Curtis rebuked him, and then sat down with knitted +brows. "Now see here--in a general way, it's convictions we're out for; +you want to count on your verdict before you arrest a man. It comes to +this: he's tried first by us, and if he's to be let off, it saves trouble +if we decide the thing, instead of leaving it to the jury. They won't +tell you that at Regina, but, in practise, you'll find that a police +trooper is expected to use some judgment. Still, there are exceptions to +what I've said about holding back. In the interests of justice, one might +have to corral an innocent man." + +"How's that going to serve the interests of justice?" + +The corporal's eyes twinkled with dry amusement. + +"For one thing, it might lead the fellow we were really after to think we +hadn't struck his trail. But that's not the point. How much ash would you +figure Wandle takes out of his stove each time he lights it?" + +"About a bucketful, burning wood." + +"Not quite, but there's a bucket yonder. See how many times you can fill +it with the stuff we shoveled off, while I take a smoke. Build up the +pile to look as if we hadn't disturbed it." + +Stanton did as he was bidden, counting each bucketful he replaced, and +then Curtis sent him to clean out the stove and estimate the quantity of +ash before he put it back. Then he made a calculation. + +"Allowing for some of the ash slipping down the pile and for our having +moved a little that was there before Wandle threw the cash-box in, it +fixes the time he did so pretty close to Jernyngham's disappearance," he +remarked. "Looks bad against the Austrian, doesn't it?" + +"You have quite as much against Prescott." + +"Yes," Curtis admitted regretfully; "that's the trouble. It isn't quite +so easy being a policeman as folks seem to think. Now we'll ride along +and call on the hardware man." + +They mounted and soon afterward saw a buggy emerge from the short pines +on the crest of a distant rise, whereupon Curtis rode hard for a poplar +bluff, which he kept between himself and the vehicle. + +"Looks like Wandle coming back," he said to Stanton, who had followed +him. "I can't see any reason he should know we've been prospecting round +his place." + +Reaching the settlement they visited the hardware dealer, who remembered +having sold Jernyngham a small cheap cash-box about twelve months +earlier. On being shown the bent-up iron, he expressed his belief that it +was the article in question. + +A day or two after the corporal's discovery, the mail-carrier left some +letters at the Prescott homestead, and when it was getting dusk Gertrude +strolled out on the prairie, thinking of one she had received. After a +while Prescott joined her and she greeted him with a smile. + +"My team was looking a bit played out and the boys will be able to keep +the separator gang going as long as they can see," he said. + +"Do you feel that you have to make excuses for stopping work, after +twelve hours of it?" Gertrude asked. + +"Yes," he laughed; "I do feel something of the kind. There's so much to +do and the days are getting shorter fast." + +He glanced at her with appreciation. She wore a thin, black dress made +after the latest London mode, which showed to advantage the graceful +lines of her tall figure; the Jernynghams, who seldom departed from an +established custom, changed their attire every evening. Gertrude had on +no hat, and the fading light shone into her face. It was finely cut but +cold, the features unusually good. She was a handsome woman, but she +lacked warmth and softness. + +"I'm in a difficulty," she told him. "Perhaps you can help--you're a man +of many resources." + +"I'll be glad to do what I can." + +"We are expecting a visit from three old friends of ours who heard in +America of the trouble we are in and want to see us. What can we do with +them?" + +"I haven't room," Prescott answered. "But let me think--Leslie has quite +a big house, and it's only three miles from here. Now that he will have +got rid of the harvesters, he might be willing to take your friends in. +He and his wife are pleasant people; but I think you met her." + +"Yes. I knew you wouldn't fail us," Gertrude said gratefully. "But, after +all, I feel inclined to wish they were not coming." + +There was an elusive something in her tone which did not escape +Prescott's notice. + +"Why do you wish that?" he asked. + +"Oh," she said, "it's difficult to explain, but we have got used to the +mode of life here: the few people we meet seem to understand our +feelings, and we have learned to trust them. Strangers would rather spoil +it all; in a sense, their visit would be an intrusion." + +Prescott realized that this was complimentary to him. She had made it +clear that he was not a stranger, but one of the people she trusted. The +effect was to render him somewhat embarrassed, but Gertrude resumed: + +"I think we owe you a good deal. I don't know what we should have done +had we fallen into less considerate hands." + +"I'm yours to command," he replied; and they walked on in silence for a +while, Gertrude glancing at him unobtrusively now and then. + +She did not believe her brother dead--Prescott had reassured her; and now +she felt strongly attracted by the rancher. She had thrown off the +restraints in which she had long acquiesced; she was driven by a passion +which was rapidly overpowering her. + +"You don't suggest that the Leslies should take us all," she said. + +"No," Prescott answered gravely; "I'd rather keep you and your father +here." + +"Then you're no longer anxious to get rid of us?" + +He colored. + +"That's true. I begin to feel I'm one of the party. Then, you see, +Leslie's pretty talkative and agrees with Curtis. He might have a bad +effect on your father; he might even shake your confidence." + +"Oh," she begged, "don't labor the explanation. You are one of the party +and our friend." + +Prescott bowed. + +"I'll try to make that good. I'm going off to look for your brother in a +few more days, but it will cost me something to leave the homestead now." + +He had spoken the truth. Until lately the man had been bereft of all the +amenities of life, but he had now grown to appreciate the society of +cultured people; the task of cheering and encouraging his guests had +become familiar; he might even have been drawn to the beautiful woman he +had comforted had not his heart been filled with the image of Muriel. + +"But after the summer's hard monotonous work, a change must be nice," she +suggested. + +"Yes; in a way. The trouble is that I must leave my guests." + +Gertrude's eyes grew soft as they rested on him. + +"We shall miss you," she murmured. "But you must go and find out all you +can; I'm afraid the mystery and suspense are breaking my father down." + +They walked on in silence for a while, and then Svendsen appeared near +the homestead, waving his arm. + +"Looks as if I were wanted," Prescott remarked; "I believe there's a +wagon to be fixed. Will you excuse me? I'll ride over and have a talk +with Leslie in the morning." + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +A REVELATION + + +The sun had just dipped, leaving a rim of flaring color on the edge of +the vast plain, when Prescott sat smoking on the stoop of the Leslie +homestead a week after his evening walk with Gertrude. Leslie and his +wife were simple people from Ontario, who had prospered in the last few +years. Their crops had escaped rust and hail and autumn frost, and as a +result of this, the rancher had replaced his rude frame dwelling with a +commodious house, built, with lower walls of brick and wood above, in a +somewhat ornate style copied from the small villas which are springing up +on the outskirts of the western towns. + +Leslie, an elderly, brown-faced man, sat near Prescott; the Jernynghams, +who had driven over to welcome his friends, were inside, talking to Mrs. +Leslie. + +"Guess you don't know much about the English people we're expecting?" +Leslie asked. + +"No," said Prescott; "only that they're friends of the Jernynghams. I +don't think I've even heard their names yet." + +"Mrs. Leslie knows," rejoined the farmer; "I forget it. I feel kind of +sorry now that she agreed to take them in, but you made a point of it, +and if the man's not so blamed stand-offish, I'll have somebody to talk +to." + +"I wouldn't talk too much about Cyril Jernyngham." + +Leslie looked hard at him. + +"There's one point, Jack, where I can't agree with you--you're the only +man in this district who doesn't believe Jernyngham's dead. It strikes me +that you know more about the thing than you have told anybody yet." + +"Let it go at that," said Prescott awkwardly, "All I could say would only +bring more trouble on his people, and they've had quite enough." + +"Sure," agreed Leslie, raising his hand in warning. "Sh-h! They're coming +out." + +The next moment Gertrude and her father joined the men, and after a few +words with them stood still, listening. A long bluff, through which the +trail from the settlement led, ran close up to the homestead, cutting +against the pale green glow of the sky. For a few minutes there was a +deep silence, intensified by the musical clash of cowbells in the +distance, and then a measured, drumming sound rose softly from behind the +trees. + +"Guess that's your friends," Leslie said to Jernyngham. "Jim's made +pretty good time." + +The beat of hoofs grew nearer until the listeners could hear the rattle +of wheels. Then a light, four-wheeled vehicle came lurching out of the +bluff and Jernyngham hurried down the steps. Prescott had entered the +house to tell Mrs. Leslie, and he came out as the driver pulled up his +team. The occupants of the wagon, which had run a little past the door, +had their backs to him, but seeing a girl about to alight he sprang +forward. Her head was turned away from him at first, but she glanced +round when he offered to assist her; and he forgot what the consequences +of the meeting must be as he looked into the eyes of Muriel Hurst. He was +conscious of an overwhelming delight, which showed itself in his shining +eyes and the warm color that suddenly flushed his face; Gertrude +Jernyngham, standing beside him, read what was in his heart. + +The effect on Muriel was as marked. He had seized her hand and as she was +standing precariously poised, ready to descend, he swung her down. Then +she recoiled from him, startled, but with strong relief in her +expression. + +"Cyril!" she cried in a strained voice. "Why didn't you write and tell us +that it was all a mistake? We heard that you were dead!" + +Then Prescott remembered and his heart sank, but he strove to gather his +courage, for there was a crisis to be faced. He stood silent, with one +hand clenched tight, while Gertrude watched him with hard, unwavering +eyes. Jernyngham, however, had heard Muriel's startled exclamation and +hurried toward her. + +"What's this?" he asked harshly. "You called my son's name!" + +The girl looked at Prescott; troubled and surprised by the confused +emotions his face betrayed. There was obviously something wrong, but she +could not imagine what it was. + +"Yes," she said, "I called him Cyril. Why shouldn't I?" + +Colston and his wife joined the group, while the driver looked on from +the wagon and the Leslies from the stoop. Prescott and the girl stood a +little distance apart and Muriel was sensible of a nervous shiver. When +Prescott had first held up his hand to her, she had seen his keen +pleasure and her heart had responded to it; now, however, she was filled +with dismay. + +Jernyngham answered her in curt, stern tones: + +"There's one very good reason--this is not my son!" + +"Not Cyril!" Colston broke in. "But he made us believe he was; he's the +man we stayed with!" He made a puzzled gesture. "I can't understand the +thing." + +"Nor I," replied Jernyngham. "Is this the man you wrote to us about?" + +"Of course!" said Colston stupidly. "I thought he was Cyril; so did we +all. We had no cause to doubt it." + +Jernyngham turned in fury to the Leslies. + +"Who is the fellow?" he demanded. + +Prescott braced himself. + +"I'll answer that--Jack Prescott. Mr. Colston stayed at my homestead." + +"And you personated my son? I suppose you had some motive for doing so +and must see that we are entitled to an explanation?" + +"Yes," Prescott returned quietly. "This isn't the place to make it. +Hadn't you better take your friends in?" + +They entered the house, which was getting dark, and while the hired man +carried in the baggage Leslie lighted a lamp in his sitting-room. It was +spacious, roughly paneled in cedar, with an uncovered floor. There were a +few chairs scattered about and a plain pine table. Jernyngham sat by the +table and the others found seats here and there, except Prescott, who +stood quietly opposite the old man. At a curt sign from Jernyngham, +Leslie and his wife left the room. + +"Mr. Prescott," Jernyngham began, "you have deceived my friends here and +I think they should remain to hear what you have to say, but I will +dismiss them if you prefer it. You are responsible to me and I must ask +for a full account of your conduct." + +Prescott glanced round the room, which reminded him of a court. Gertrude +Jernyngham's eyes were fixed on him, and there was a hardness that hinted +at cruelty in them; she looked very dignified and cold. Mrs. Colston he +could not see, but her husband seemed disturbed and uneasy. Muriel leaned +forward in her chair, with wonder, apprehension, and pity curiously +mingled in her expression. All of them were very still, the silence was +disconcerting, but Prescott roused himself to make what defense he could. + +"I passed for Cyril Jernyngham at his request," he said. + +"An extraordinary statement!" Jernyngham remarked with ironical +incredulity. "May one ask if he gave any reasons for wishing you to do +so?" + +Prescott hesitated, which counted against him. + +"Well," he said, "Cyril had got hurt in a row at the settlement a few +hours before Mr. Colston's arrival. His head was badly cut; he thought it +might make a bad impression." + +"That doesn't sound very convincing. Had he no better reason?" + +The rancher paused to think. He would not explain that his friend's mode +of life would not have borne a critical examination, but he had a duty to +himself and something must be urged. + +"I think he meant to hide the fact that he was married. He did not wish +your friends to meet his wife." + +Colston started and it was obvious that the others were keenly +interested, but Jernyngham's face grew darker and marked by signs of +pain, for he had learned a little about Ellice. He was struggling with an +overwhelming humiliation. + +"We'll let that pass," he said. "It's a matter that cannot be discussed. +Was Mr. Colston's visit the only time you personated my son?" + +"Certainly! Nothing would induce me to play the part again." + +"Then you will be surprised to hear that shortly after Cyril's +disappearance a man sold some land of his at a town farther along the +line?" + +"I am surprised, but I believe it must have been Cyril." + +"Then his handwriting must have totally changed, which I believe is a +very unusual thing," Jernyngham rejoined sarcastically. "I have been +shown some documents which he is supposed to have filled in." + +Prescott began to realize that appearances were very strongly against +him. He had admitted having once impersonated his friend and it would be +difficult to convince those who had heard his confession that he had not +done so again, when there was a strong motive for it in the price of the +land. + +"Well," he said firmly; "if the handwriting wasn't Cyril's, I can't tell +whose it was; it certainly wasn't mine. There's one thing I'm convinced +of--your son is not dead." + +Jernyngham looked at him; with the veins on his forehead swollen and his +face tense with anger, but he held himself in hand. + +"You have said so often. I did not believe you; I do not believe you now; +but your object in making the statement is easy to understand. I've no +doubt you realize that you lie open to a very ugly suspicion." + +"No!" a strained voice broke in. "That is not just!" + +Looking up, Prescott saw that it was Muriel who had spoken. Her eyes were +bright with indignation and her face was hot, but none of the others +showed him any sympathy. Colston's face was grave and troubled, his +wife's expressionless; Gertrude Jernyngham looked more determined and +more merciless than her father. She sat very still, coldly watching him. + +"Thank you," he said to Muriel. "It's comforting to find one person who +does not think the worst of me." + +"Silence, sir!" Jernyngham exclaimed with the air of a judge rebuking a +prisoner of whose guilt he is convinced. "You cannot be permitted to +speak to this lady." + +"I think that is a point for Mrs. Colston to decide, but we'll let it +drop. Out of consideration for you, I've answered your questions; but you +have gone too far, and this must end." Prescott's expression grew as +stern as the old man's and he looked about with pride. "I tell you it +must stop! What right have you to fling these infamous hints at me?" + +Jernyngham broke into a harsh laugh. + +"The part of an innocent man is too much for you to play; we won't force +you into it. It will be a favor if you will have our baggage sent across +here; needless to say, neither my daughter nor I can re-enter your +house." Then his self-control deserted him and he broke out in hot fury: +"I firmly believe you are the man who killed my son, and you shall not +escape!" + +"I think," said Colston quietly, "that is going too far." + +Making no answer, Prescott left them; and he was harnessing his horse +outside when, somewhat to his astonishment, Muriel came toward him. A +half-moon hung low above the bluff and the silvery light shone into her +face, showing her warmth of color and the sparkle in her eyes. He thought +she looked wonderfully attractive and his heart throbbed faster, but he +knew he must hold himself in hand. + +"Hadn't you better go back?" he asked. "You have heard what your friends +think of me." + +"What does that matter?" she exclaimed with feeling. "I'm very angry with +them. I can't let you go without saying that I know you could not have +done what you have been wickedly accused of." + +"I'm glad. Thank you. It's a big relief to feel that you believe in me. +So long as I have that assurance nothing else counts." + +"Harry Colston's not convinced; I believe he's trying to keep an open +mind." + +"Is that so?" said Prescott. "I don't expect much from him. He's the kind +of man who's guided by appearances and seldom does anything out of the +common." + +Muriel disregarded this. + +"But you were very foolish in deceiving us. I can't understand yet why +you did so." + +"I can only tell you that it was for Cyril's sake." + +"Oh," she cried, "it could not have been because of any benefit that you +would get! That would never have tempted you." + +He read unshaken confidence in her eyes and it cost him a stern effort to +refrain from reckless speech. Muriel was beautiful, but that was not all: +she was generous and fearless, a loyal friend and a staunch partizan. + +"Well," Prescott confessed, "when I explained, I was more afraid of you +than of Jernyngham. I wanted to keep your good opinion, and I wondered +whether you had only given it to me because you thought I was Cyril +Jernyngham. From your friends' point of view Jack Prescott is a very +different kind of person." + +Muriel blushed. + +"Is it unpardonable that I was angry when I first found out the mistake? +Try to imagine with what ideas I have been brought up. But the feeling +left me when I saw how merciless Jernyngham was; his hard words turned it +into sympathy." + +"That is something to be thankful for, though it doesn't content me. I +think you would be sorry for any one, even an enemy, who was in trouble +and getting hurt." + +She grasped his meaning and looked at him steadily with an air of pride. + +"Then must I tell you that I have as much faith in Jack Prescott as I had +in the man whom I supposed to be Cyril Jernyngham? But you must justify +my confidence. You have been wrongly and cruelly accused; don't you see +the duty that lies on you?" + +"Yes," Prescott answered gravely; "I have to clear myself. If there were +no other reason than the one you have given, it would have to be done. +It's going to be a tough proposition, but I'll get about it very soon." + +"You know that I wish you all success," she told him softly. + +Then she held out her hand and turned away. When she had gone Prescott +went on with his work and after buckling the last strap he found that he +had forgotten a parcel Mrs. Leslie had asked him to deliver. Hurrying +back to the house for it, he met Gertrude Jernyngham in the hall and she +stopped where the light fell on her, instead of avoiding him as he had +expected. There was suspicion in her eyes. + +"I see you agree with your father," he said boldly. + +"Yes," she replied in a scornful tone. "You can pose rather cleverly--you +tricked me into trusting you, but your ability is limited, after all. +When the strain comes, you break down. Could anything have been feebler +than the defense you made?" + +"It was pretty lame, but every word was true." + +"Oh," she cried with disgust and impatience, "one wouldn't expect you to +say it was false! You don't seem to have anything more convincing to +add." + +"I'm going to add nothing. It isn't very long since you were willing to +take my word." + +"I'm afraid I was easily deceived," Gertrude said bitterly. "I didn't +know you had twice passed yourself off as my brother, and you can't +complain if we see an obvious motive for your doing so the second time." + +"You mean that I stole the price of Cyril's land?" Prescott asked +sternly. + +"Yes," she said, watching him with cruel eyes. "That, however, is not the +worst." She struggled with rising passion before she resumed: "I +believe----" + +Prescott raised his hand commandingly. + +"Stop! I'm going away to find your brother." + +"One can understand your going away!" she flung back at him as she passed +on down the hall. + +Prescott drove home at a reckless pace. Facing the situation boldly, he +recognized that the outlook was very dark. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +PRESCOTT'S FLIGHT + + +Two days after the arrival of the Colstons, Gertrude Jernyngham walked +down the trail from the Leslie homestead in a very bitter mood. During +the last few weeks her cold nature had kindled into sudden warmth; love +had most unexpectedly crept into her heart. At first she had struggled +against and been ashamed of it, for its object was a man beneath her in +rank and of widely different mode of thought; but by degrees the judgment +she had hitherto exercised had given place to passion. After the narrow, +conventional life she had led, there was a strange exhilaration and +excitement in yielding to her impulses; the virility of Prescott's +character and his physical perfection stirred her. She desired him and +had boldly used such charms as she possessed in his subjugation. Misled +by his gentleness, she imagined him responsive, and then Muriel had +appeared on the scene and the truth was plain to her when she saw his +face light up at sight of the girl. She had read warm love in his eager +glance. + +Now Gertrude was crushed and humbled. She had cheapened herself, as she +thought of it, to this rancher, only to find that he preferred another. +Her punishment was severe, but she felt that it was deserved, and her +ripening passion had turned to something very much like hate. Whether he +had really had any hand in her brother's death was a point she would not +calmly reason out, though she had a half-conscious feeling that he could +not be charged with this. She wanted to think him base: to believe in his +guilt would be an excuse for making him suffer. + +While she walked, she cast quick glances across the waste of grass, +looking for a mounted figure that did not appear, until at last she +turned with a start at the sound of footsteps as Muriel came up. + +"I saw you alone and thought I would join you," Muriel said. + +"It's a relief to be by oneself now and then," Gertrude answered with +curt ungraciousness. + +"One can understand that. I tried to give Harry a hint that our visit +might be an intrusion, when he talked of joining your father; but he +thought it would be some comfort for you to have your friends about you." + +"He was some time in putting his idea into practise." + +"We started as soon as we heard of your trouble," said Muriel. "We were +in Mexico then, and as we had moved about a good deal there was some +delay in our letters. Has your father decided to stay with the Leslies?" + +"Yes, for a while. It was, of course, impossible for us to remain with +Mr. Prescott." + +"Why could you not?" Muriel asked with sparkling eyes. + +"Isn't it obvious, after what you heard the man admit?" + +Muriel stopped, the color creeping into her face, which was filled with +anger. + +"It's impossible that Mr. Prescott could have had any connection with +Cyril's disappearance. It's wicked and cruel to suspect him!" + +"You seem strangely convinced of his innocence," Gertrude retorted with a +somber glance at her. "We shall see by and by whether you or my father is +right." + +They walked on slowly, and shortly afterward two mounted figures appeared +on the plain. Gertrude watched them draw near, and then turned to her +companion. + +"The police; we have been expecting them," she said. "My father sent a +message to the corporal after Prescott had gone." + +"Then he will be deeply ashamed of his harshness before long," Muriel +declared as she abruptly moved away. + +Gertrude let her go with a cruel smile. She thought she knew how matters +stood, and if the girl were suffering, she had no pity for her. Then she +waited until the police trotted by, and afterward walked slowly toward +the house. On reaching it, she met Curtis coming out and he asked for a +word with her. + +"I understand you were the last person to see Prescott when he left this +place the other night," he said. + +Gertrude admitted it, watching the man. He looked disturbed, as if he did +not know what to think. Private Stanton was sitting in his saddle with an +expressionless face a few yards away, but she imagined it was intended +that he should hear her answers. + +"Well," Curtis resumed, "I have to ask what he said to you; anyway, so +far as it bears on the business we have in hand. You know why I was sent +for?" + +Gertrude hesitated. She was very angry with Prescott, and there was a +statement he had made which would prove damaging to him if she repeated +part of it without the rest. She shrank from this course, but her rancor +against the man suddenly grew too strong for her. + +"I suppose I must answer that?" + +"It's your duty." + +"Then," she said in a strained voice, "Mr. Prescott told me he was going +away." + +"Going away!" Curtis looked astonished. "I guess you realize that this is +a serious matter. Did he mention when?" + +"I understood it would be very soon." Gertrude looked at the man +haughtily. "That is all I have to tell." + +She went into the house, feeling that she had said enough, and Curtis +motioned to his companion and rode away. They had gone some distance when +Stanton turned to his superior. + +"Pretty significant. What are you going to do about it?" he asked. + +"I'll have to apply for a warrant." + +"You certainly will." + +"Well," Curtis went on, "this thing isn't quite so simple as it seems. To +begin with, it's my idea that Miss Jernyngham hasn't told us all she +knows; you want to remember that Prescott's a good-looking fellow with a +taking manner. I can see complications, though I can't get the right +drift of them." + +"Guess the matter will be worse mussed up if Prescott lights out. Now +that Bardsley's gone down the line, you can't get your warrant for a day +or two." + +"That's so," Curtis agreed. "I'll make for the settlement and wire +Bardsley and our bosses at Regina; you'll ride on and keep Prescott in +sight--though it would be better if you didn't let him know you were +watching him. When he clears, take the trail behind him and send back +word to Sebastian. Soon as I get the warrant or instructions, I'll come +after you." + +They separated and some time later Stanton took up his station in a bluff +which commanded a view of the Prescott homestead. Lying hidden with his +horse, he saw the rancher drive up and disappear within the house. +Prescott had been very busy during the past two days and had found +strenuous application something of a relief. He recognized that suspicion +was centering on him and that he might expect a visit from the police, +but the only way of proving his innocence that he could see was to +produce his supposed victim. He foresaw that it might take a long while +to find the man, and he must make preparations for a lengthy absence. The +risk he ran in remaining until he had completed them was grave, but there +was a vein of dogged persistency in him and he would not go before he was +ready. + +He had, however, other matters to think of. Miss Jernyngham had turned +against him; after the confidence she had expressed, he could not +understand why she had done so. Muriel Hurst, however, still believed in +him, which was a comforting thought, though he would not permit himself +to dwell on it. He loved the girl, but it seemed impossible that she +should marry him. There was so much against this: the mode of life to +which she had been accustomed, his obscure position, the prejudices of +her relations. He blamed himself for not struggling more determinedly +against the charm she had exerted on him; but it was too late to regret +this now. He must bear his trouble and try to think of her as seldom as +possible, which would be the easier, inasmuch as the work that waited him +would demand his close attention. As soon as it grew dark that evening, +he must set off on his search for Cyril Jernyngham. + +Dusk was falling when he rode away from the homestead with a couple of +blankets and provisions for a few days strapped to his saddle. Though he +could trust Svendsen to look after things in his absence, he was anxious +and dejected, and it was with keen regret that he cast a last glance +across the sweep of shadowy stubble toward the lighted windows of the +house. All he saw belonged to him; he had by patient labor in frost and +scorching sun built up the farm, and he was conscious of a strong love +for it. It was hard to go away, an outcast, branded with black suspicion, +leaving the place in another's charge; but there was no remedy. + +The sky was faintly clouded, the moon, which was near its setting, +obscured; the prairie ran back, dim and blurred; the air was keen and +still. Prescott thought he heard a soft beat of hoofs behind him. He +could, however, see nobody, and he rode on faster, heading for the house +of a neighbor with whom he had some business, near the trail to the +settlement. After a while he pulled up, and listening carefully heard the +sound again. It looked as if he were being followed and he thought that +if the police were on his trail, they would expect him to make for the +American frontier, and to do that he must pass through or near Sebastian. +If they believed this was his object, it might save him trouble, for he +meant to ride north in search of Jernyngham after calling at the farm. + +Checking his horse, he rode on without haste until it became obvious that +the man behind was drawing up, then he set off at a gallop. Behind the +farm he meant to visit lay a belt of broken ground, marked by scrub and +scattered bluffs, where it should not be difficult to evade his pursuer. +The staccato thud of the gallop would ring far through the still, night +air, but this was of no consequence; he was some distance ahead and his +horse was fresh and powerful. In a few minutes he believed that he was +gaining and when he rode into sight of the little wooden house, which +showed up black against the sky with one dim light in it, he was seized +by a new idea. A horse stood outside the door, and he supposed the +rancher had just returned. The man was a friend of Prescott's and +believed in his innocence. + +"Larry," he cried as he rode up, and added when a shadowy figure came +out: "You can send along your teams and do that breaking we were speaking +of. Svendsen will pay you when you're through with it. I'm off to the +north." + +"Ah!" exclaimed the other sharply. "I guess I know what you're after. It +strikes me you should have gone before." + +He paused with a lifted hand as he heard the drumming of hoofs, and +Prescott laughed. + +"That's so. I believe you'll have a police trooper here in the next few +minutes. Your horse is still saddled?" + +"Yes; I've just come back from Gillom's." + +"Then get up and ride for the settlement. Mail an order for some harness +or anything useful to Regina by the night train, when you get there; you +can let Svendsen have the bill. You had better go pretty fast and keep +ahead of the trooper as long as you can. I guess you understand." + +"Sure," grinned the other, and getting into the saddle, rode away at a +smart trot, while Prescott dismounted and led his horse quietly toward +the nearest bluff. + +On reaching it he stopped and, listening carefully, heard the rancher +riding down the trail to Sebastian, and another beat of hoofs that grew +rapidly louder. By and by he made out a dim mounted figure that pressed +on fast across the shadowy waste, and for a few anxious moments wondered +whether the policeman would call at the house and discover its owner's +absence. He passed on, however, and was presently lost in the darkness. +When the drumming of his horse's hoofs gradually died away, Prescott +mounted and rode hard toward the north. It would, he thought, be an hour +or two before the trooper found out his mistake; the rancher would not +betray him, and there was a prospect of his getting clear away. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE CONSTRUCTION CAMP + + +The light was fading when Prescott walked into sight of the construction +camp. It was situated on the edge of a belt of a muskeg sprinkled with +birches and small pines, where the new railroad, leaving the open country +to the south, ran up toward the great coniferous forest that fringes the +northern portion of the prairie. Prescott had sold his horse at a lonely +farm and he was now tired and hungry, but he felt satisfied that he was +on the right track and had succeeded in eluding the police. Curtis and +Private Stanton were men of fixed ideas; believing Jernyngham to be dead, +they had, no doubt, merely made a few perfunctory inquiries at the +nearest railroad camps. Moreover, as they had reason for concluding that +Prescott would seek refuge across the American boundary, they would +concentrate their efforts on looking for him there. Accordingly, he felt +safe from pursuit. + +By and by he stopped to look about. To the eastward all was gray, a dim +waste of grass dotted with shadowy trees; but a vivid band of green still +glowed on the western horizon. In front lay a broad shallow basin, +streaked with filmy trails of mist, between which came the wan gleam of +little pools. A causeway stretched out into the morass, sprinkled with +the indistinct figures of toiling men. At its inner end, where it left +the higher ground, a row of cars stood on a side-track, and near-by there +were ranged straggling lines of tents and wooden shacks. Wisps of blue +smoke drifted across the swamp, and a beam of strong white light streamed +out from the electric head-lamp of a locomotive. The still air was filled +with the clink of shovels, the clang of flung-down rails, and the sharp +rattle of falling gravel. + +Going on until he reached the camp, Prescott stopped beside a group of +men sitting about a fire, and loosed the heavy pack that galled his +shoulders. + +"If you can give me a place to lie down and a bit of supper, boys, I'd be +obliged," he said. + +Two or three of them turned and looked at him without much curiosity. +They were strong, brown-faced fellows, dressed in old duck overalls and +slate-colored shirts, with shapeless hats and dilapidated knee-boots. + +"Why, certainly," responded one in a clean English intonation. "However, +as we're paying for our board, we'll have to invite you as the guest of +the construction contractor; but there's no reason you should be shy +about accepting his hospitality. Sit down until Shan Li brings the grub +along." + +"Here's a place," said another. "Want a job?" + +"I don't know yet," Prescott answered. "I'm looking for a friend of mine: +man of middle height, with pale-blue eyes and a curious twinkling smile. +He was wearing a green shirt of finer stuff than they generally sell at +the settlements when I last saw him, and I expect he'd have a fresh scar +on his head." + +There was signs of interest and amusement which suggested that Prescott +was on the right track. + +"Did he call himself Kermode?" one of the men asked. + +Prescott hesitated. It was possible that some of them had heard of the +Jernyngham affair, and he had no wish that they should connect him with +it. While he considered his answer, the man with the English accent broke +in: + +"We needn't trouble about the point. One name's as good as another, as +our friend Kermode, who seems to have been a bit of philosopher, remarked +when they put him on the pay-roll." + +"When I was back at Nelson a smart policeman rode into the camp," said +another of the group. "Wanted to know if we had seen the man you're +asking for; gave us quite a good description of him. Anyway, I hadn't +seen him then, and when I struck him afterward I didn't send word to the +police. I've no use for those fellows; they're best left alone." + +"Then you know him?" Prescott exclaimed eagerly. + +The man looked at his comrades and there was a laugh. + +"Oh, yes," said one of them; "we know him all right. Glad to meet a man +who's a friend of his; but if you expect a job here, you don't want to +mention it. If another fellow of that kind comes along, the boss will get +after him with a gun." + +"Kermode," the Englishman explained, "is a man of happy and original +thoughts. I believe I might say he is unique." + +The conversation was interrupted by a steadily increasing rattle, and a +great light that moved swiftly blazed on the camp. It faded as a +ballast-train rolled out upon the bank which traversed the swamp, with a +swarm of indistinct figures clinging to the low cars. When it stopped, +the sides of the cars fell outward, a big plow moved forward from one to +another, and broken rock and gravel, pouring off, went crashing and +rattling down the slope. The noise it made rang harshly through the +stillness of the evening, and when it ceased a whistle screamed and the +clangor of the wheels began again. As the engine backed the train away, +the blaze of the head-lamp fell on an object lying half buried in the +muskeg about sixty feet below the line, and one of the men, pointing to +it, touched Prescott's arm. + +"See what that is?" he said. + +Prescott saw that it was what the railroad builders call a steel dump: a +metal wagon capable of carrying thirty or forty tons of ballast, with an +automatic arrangement for throwing out its load. + +"How did it get there?" he asked. + +"Tell you after supper," said the fellow. "They're bringing it along." + +A whistle blew and Prescott followed his companions into a shed built of +railroad ties and galvanized iron. It was lighted by kerosene lamps which +diffused an unpleasant odor, and fitted with rude tables and benches; but +the meal laid out in it was bountiful and varied: pork, hard steak, fish +from the lakes, potatoes, desiccated fruits, and tea. The shovel-gang +paid six dollars a week for their board and got good value. As usual, +most of them were satisfied in fifteen minutes, for in the West the rank +and file eat with determined haste, and when they trooped out Prescott +went back with his new friends to the fire. Taking out his pipe, he made +himself as comfortable as possible on a pile of gravel and, tired with a +long day's march, looked lazily about. The strong light still blazed +along the bank where hurrying men passed through the stream of radiance, +vanished into the shadows, and appeared again. There was a continuous +rattling and clinking and roar of falling stones; rails rang as they were +moved, and now and then hoarse orders came out of the darkness. + +After Prescott had asked a few leading questions, the men began to talk +of Kermode, who had already left the camp, and the rancher was able to +put together the story of his doings there. + + * * * * * + +The muskeg was an unusually bad one. It swallowed the rock the men dumped +in; logs, brush, and branches afforded no foundation, and a long time +elapsed before the engineers were satisfied about the base of the +embankment. The weather remained unusually hot until late in the fall, +and the contractor, already behind time and anxious to make progress +before the frost interfered with his work, developed a virulent temper. +His construction foreman drove the men mercilessly, spurring on the +laggards with scathing words and occasionally using a heavy fist when +they showed resentment. The laborers' nerves were worn raw, their +strength was exhausted; but the muskeg must be filled and, while carload +after carload of rock and gravel was hurled down, the line crept on. + +Things were in this state when Kermode reached the camp and, on applying +for work, was given a shovel and made to use it in a strenuous fashion. +It appeared that he was not expert with the tool and the foreman's most +pointed remarks were generally addressed to him, but he had a humorous +manner which gained him friends. Once or twice, to his comrades' +admiration, he engaged his persecutor in a wordy contest and badly routed +him, which did not improve matters. Indeed, his last victory proved a +costly one, because afterward when there was anything particularly +unpleasant or dangerous to be done, Kermode was selected. As it happened, +the risks that must be faced were numerous. + +Kermode stood it for some weeks, though he grew thin and his hands were +often bleeding. In spite of this, his eyes still twinkled mischievously +and, when occasion demanded, his retort was swift and edged with wit. Now +and then he made reprisals, for when, as happened once or twice, a load +of gravel nearly swept the foreman down the bank, Kermode was engaged in +the vicinity. Another time, the bullying martinet was forced to jump into +the muskeg, where he sank to the waist, in order to avoid a mass of +ballast sent down before its descent was looked for. + +There was a difference of opinion about the cause of Kermode's holding +out. Some of his comrades said he must have meant to wait for the arrival +of the pay car, so as to draw his wages before he left; others declared +that this did not count with him, and he stayed because he would not be +driven out. The Englishman took the latter view for, as he told Prescott, +Kermode once said to him, "I want the opposition to remember me when I +quit." + +By degrees the foreman's gibes grew less frequent. Kermode was more than +a match for him, and his barbed replies were repeated with laughter about +the camp; but his oppressor now relied on galling commands which could +not be disobeyed. Kermode's companions sympathized with him, and waited +for the inevitable rupture, which they thought would take a dramatic +shape. At length two big steel dump cars were sent up from the east and +run backward and forward between the muskeg and a distant cutting where +they were filled with broken rock. This was deposited in places where the +embankment needed the most reinforcing, but after a while the foreman +decided that the locomotive of the gravel train need not be detained to +move the cars. They could, he said, be pushed by hand, and nobody was +surprised when Kermode was among the men chosen for the task. + +Though the nights were getting cold, the days were still very hot, and +those engaged in it found the work of propelling a steel car carrying +about thirty tons of stone over rails laid roughly on a slight upward +grade remarkably arduous. This, however, did not content the foreman. He +took two men away; and when those whom he left had been worked to +exhaustion, he changed them, with the exception of Kermode, who was kept +steadily at the task. As a result, he came to be looked on as leader of +the gang, and his companions took their instructions from him, which the +foreman concurred in, because it enabled him to hold Kermode responsible +for everything that went wrong. + +Then the pay car arrived, and when wages were drawn, the men awaited +developments with interest; but nothing unusual occurred until a week had +passed. Kermode had had his hand crushed by a heavy stone and meant to +rest it for a day or two, but his persecutor drove him out to work. He +obeyed with suspicious meekness and toiled in the scorching sun all day; +but a few minutes before the signal to stop in the evening for which they +were eagerly waiting, the gang was ordered to run a loaded dump car to +the end of the line. The men were worn out, short in temper, and dripping +with perspiration. Kermode's hand pained him and in trying to save it he +had strained his shoulder; but he encouraged the others, and they slowly +pushed the load along, moving it a yard or two, and stopping for breath. +The men on the bank were dawdling through the last few minutes, waiting +to lay down their tools, and they offered the gang their sympathy as they +passed. Then there was a change in their attitude as the foreman strode +up the track. + +"Shove!" he ordered. "Get a move on! You have to dump that rock before +you quit." + +They were ready to turn on him and Kermode's eyes flashed; but he spoke +quietly to his men: + +"Push!" + +A few more yards were covered, the foreman walking beside the gang until +they stopped for breath. + +"Get on!" he cried. "Send her along, you slobs!" + +"We're pretty near the top of the grade," Kermode answered him quietly. +"We want to go easy, so as to stop her at the dumping-place." + +The line, when finished, would cross the muskeg with a slight ascent; but +the bank sank as they worked at it, and the track now led downhill toward +its end. The foreman failed to remember this in his vicious mood. + +"Are you going to call me down?" he roared. "Mean to teach me my job? If +this crowd's a sample of white men, give me Chinamen or niggers! Get on +before you make me sick, you slouching hogs!" + +He became more insulting, using terms unbearable even in a construction +camp, but Kermode did not answer him. + +"Keep her going, boys," he said. + +They made another few yards, gasping, panting, with dripping faces; and +then the work grew easier as they crossed the top of the ascent. + +"Push!" said Kermode. "Send her along!" + +They looked at him in surprise. It was getting dark, but they could still +see his face, which was quietly resolute; he evidently meant what he +said, and they obeyed him. The big car began to move more freely, and +they waited for an order to slacken the pace; but their leader seemed to +be increasing his exertions and his eyes gleamed. + +"He told us to push, boys!" he reminded them. "Rush her ahead!" + +Then comprehension dawned on them. The foreman had dropped behind, +satisfied, perhaps, with bullying them, but every man taxed his tired +muscles for a last effort. The wheels turned faster, the men broke into a +run, and none of them was astonished when a warning cry rose behind them. + +"Go on!" shouted Kermode. "He'll hold me responsible! You know what to +do!" + +Men along the line called to them as they passed, and they answered with +a breathless yell. The car was gathering speed, and they kept it going. +There were further warnings, but they held on, until Kermode raised his +voice harshly: + +"A good shove, boys, and let her go!" + +They stopped, exhausted, but the dump rolled on with its heavy load of +rock, struck the guard-beams at the end of the track and smashed through +them. Then with a crash and a roar the big steel car plunged down the +slope, plowing up the gravel, hurling out massive stones. A cloud of dust +leaped about it; there was a shrill ringing sound as an axle broke, a +last downward leap, and with a mighty splash the dump came to rest, half +buried, in the muskeg. + +Kermode turned with a cheerful smile as the foreman ran up; and the +spectators knew that the time for words had passed. Nobody could remember +who struck the first blow, but Kermode's left hand was injured, and he +clinched as soon as he could. For a few minutes the men reeled about the +track; and then with a tense effort Kermode pushed the foreman off the +bank and went down with him. The gravel was small and slippery, lying at +a steep slope, and they rolled down, still grappling with each other, +until there was a splash below. A few moments later Kermode painfully +climbed the bank alone. + +"I guess you had better go down and pull your boss out," he said. "It's +pretty soft in the muskeg; I believe he got his head in, and by the way +he's floundering it looks as if he couldn't see." He paused and waved his +hand in genial farewell. "Good-night, boys! I'm sorry I have to leave +you; but considering everything, I think I'll take the trail." + +Then he turned and moved down the track, vanishing into the growing +darkness. + + * * * * * + +When the tale was finished, Prescott sat a while, smoking thoughtfully. +He imagined that he had struck Jernyngham's trail; all that he had heard +was characteristic of the man. + +"Do you know where Kermode went?" he asked. + +"No. Guess he might have headed for a camp farther west; I've heard +they're short of men." + +Prescott thought this probable and determined to resume his search in the +morning. Presently the gravel train came back and the stream of light +from the head-lamp, blazing along the embankment, rested on the +half-buried dump. Then there was a roar as the plow flung the load off +the cars, and in the silence that followed one of the men got up. + +"Morning will come soon enough; I guess it's time for sleep," he said. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +ON THE TRAIL + + +When Prescott got up the next morning, dawn was breaking across the +muskeg. There was frost in the air, the freight-cars on the side-track +and the roofs of the shacks were white, and a nipping breeze swept +through the camp. It was already filled with sounds of activity--hoarse +voices, heavy footsteps, the tolling of a locomotive bell, and the rattle +of wheels--and Prescott's new friends were eating in a neighboring shed. +Going in, he was supplied with breakfast, and when he left the table the +Englishman joined him. + +"Have you made up your mind whether you want a job or not?" he asked. + +Prescott said he thought he would push on, and the man looked at him +deprecatingly. + +"Well," he said, "we don't want to appear inhospitable, but as things are +run here, you're the guest of the boss, and since he didn't give the +invitation, there might be trouble if he noticed you." + +"As it happens, I want to get hold of Kermode as soon as I can," Prescott +answered. + +"You shouldn't have much difficulty in finding him. It's hardly possible +for a man of his gifts to go through the country without leaving a plain +trail behind." + +Prescott agreed with this. He had not much doubt of Kermode's identity, +and he thought his missing friend would give any acquaintances he made on +his travels cause to remember him. + +"There's a construction train starting west in about half an hour," +resumed the railroad hand. "If you get on board with the boys, it will +look as if you belonged to the gang." + +Daylight had come when Prescott clambered up on one of the long flat cars +loaded with rails and ties, and in a few minutes the train started. It +followed what was called a cut-out line, which worked round the muskeg +and back to the main track through a country too difficult for the latter +to traverse; and for a while Prescott's interest was occupied by its +progress. Groups of men in brown overalls were seated on the rails, which +clanged musically in rude harmony with the clatter of the wheels. A sooty +cloud streamed back above them, now and then blotting out the clusters of +figures; the cars swayed and shook, and in view of the roughness of the +line Prescott admired the nerve of the engineer. + +The wind that whipped his face was cold and pierced the blanket he had +flung over his shoulders; but the sunshine was growing brighter and the +mist in the hollows was rapidly vanishing. As a rule, the depressions +were swampy, and as they sped across them Prescott could see the huge +locomotive rocking, while the rails, which were spiked to ties thrown +down on brush, sank beneath the weight and sprang up again as the cars +jolted by. As they rushed down tortuous declivities, the cars banged and +canted round the curves, while Prescott held on tight, his feet braced +against a rail. It was better when they joined the graded track, and +toward noon he was given a meal with the others at a camp where a bridge +was being strengthened. When they started again, he lay down in his +blanket where the sunshine fell upon him and the end of the car kept off +the wind, and lighting his pipe became lost in reflection. + +It was obvious that he must use every effort to find Jernyngham and he +thought he might succeed in this; but what then? To prove his innocence, +in which she already believed, would not bridge the gulf between him and +Muriel Hurst. It seemed impossible that she should be willing to marry a +working rancher. Yet he knew that he could not overcome his love for her; +there was pleasure as well as pain in remembering her frankness and +gaiety and confidence in him; and the charm of her beauty was strong. He +recalled the crimson of her lips, the glow of warm color in her hair, the +brightness of her smile, and the softness he had once or twice seen in +her violet eyes. Then he drove these thoughts away; to indulge in them +would only make the self-denial he must practise the harder. + +He next tried to occupy his mind with Gertrude Jernyngham, for he was +still without a clue to her disconcerting change of mood. She had no +great attraction for him, but he had pitied her and found a certain +pleasure in her society. It was strange that after taking his view of her +brother's fate against the one her father held, she should suddenly turn +upon him in bitter anger. He was hurt at this, particularly as he did not +think the revelation that he had personated Cyril accounted for +everything. However, as it was unavoidable, he thought he could bear Miss +Jernyngham's suspicion. + +He was disturbed in his reflections by a sudden jolt of the train as it +stopped at a water-tank. Getting down with the others, he saw a man +standing in the entrance of a half-finished wooden building. The fellow +looked like a mechanic, and his short blue-serge jacket and other details +of his dress suggested that he was an Englishman. On speaking to him, +Prescott learned that the train would be detained a while, because a +locomotive and some empty cars were coming down the line. The man further +mentioned that a number of railroad hands had been engaged in putting up +the building until lately, when they had been sent on somewhere else, and +Prescott inquired if there had been a man among them who answered to his +friend's description. + +"There was," said the other dryly, and called to somebody inside: "Here's +a fellow asking for Kermode!" + +"Bring him in!" replied a voice, and Prescott entered the building. + +It contained a pump and two large steel tanks. Near one of them a man was +doing something with a drill, but he took out his pipe and pointed to a +piece of sacking laid on a beam. + +"Sit down and have a smoke," he said. "You have plenty of time. Was +Kermode a friend of yours?" + +Prescott looked about the place. He saw that it was a filtering station +for the treatment of water unfit for locomotive use. + +"Thanks," he responded. "I knew Kermode pretty well; but I needn't stop +you." + +"Oh, don't mind that!" grinned the other. "We're not paid by the piece on +this job. Besides, they've some chisels for us on your train and we +haven't got them yet." + +"You're English, aren't you?" Prescott asked. "Are you stopping out +here?" + +"Not much!" exclaimed the other with scorn. "What d'you take me for? +There's more in life than whacking rivets and holding the caulker. When a +man has finished his work in this wilderness, what has he to do? There's +no music halls, no nothing; only the dismal prairie that makes your eyes +sore to look at." + +Prescott had heard other Englishmen express themselves in a similar +fashion, and he laughed. + +"If that's what you think of the country, why did you come here?" + +"Big wages," replied the first man, entering the building. "Funny, isn't +it, that when you want good work done you have to send for us? Every +machine-shop in your country's full of labor-saving and ingenious tools, +but when you build bridges with them they fall down, and I've seen tanks +that wouldn't hold water." + +"Oh, well," said Prescott, divided between amusement and impatience, +"this isn't to the point. I understand Kermode was here with you?" + +"He was. Came in on a construction train, looking for a job, and when we +saw he was from the old country we put him on." + +"You put him on? Don't these things rest with the division boss?" + +The man grinned. + +"You don't understand. We're specialists and get what we ask for. Sent +the boss word we wanted an assistant, and, as we'd picked one up, all he +had to do was to put him on the pay-roll." + +"And did Kermode get through his work satisfactorily?" + +"For a while. He was a handy man; might have made a boiler-maker if he'd +took to it young. When we had nothing else to keep him busy, he'd cut +tobacco for us and set us laughing with his funny talk." + +This was much in keeping with Jernyngham's character. But the man went +on: + +"When we'd made him a pretty good hand with the file and drill, he got +Bill to teach him how to caulk. He shaped first-rate, so one day we +thought we'd leave him to it while we went off for a jaunt. Bill had +bought an old shot-gun from a farmer, and we'd seen a lot of wild hens +about." + +"It would be close time--you can only shoot them in October; but I +suppose that wouldn't count." + +"Not a bit," said the boiler-maker. "All we were afraid of was that a +train might come in with the boss on board; but we chanced it. We told +Kermode he might go round the tank-plate landings--the laps, you +know--with the caulker, and give them a rough tuck in, ready for us to +finish; and then we went off. Well, we didn't shoot any wild hens, though +Bill got some pellets in his leg, and when we came back we both felt +pretty bad when we saw what Kermode had done. Bill couldn't think of +names enough to call him, and he's good at it." + +"What had he done?" + +"Hammered the inside of the landings down with a gullet you could put +your finger in. Too much energy's your mate's complaint. Nobody could +tell what that man would do when he gets steam up. Understand, we're +boiler-making specialists, sent out on awkward jobs; and he'd put in work +that would disgrace a farmer! For all that, it was Bill's fault for +speaking his mind too free--he got thrown behind the tank." + +"I wasn't," contradicted the other. "He jumped at me unexpected when the +spanner hit him, and I fell." + +Prescott laughed. Remembering how Jernyngham had driven a truculent +rabble out of Sebastian, he could imagine the scene in the shed; but it +was evident that the boiler-makers bore him no malice. + +"After all," said the first one, "when we cooled off and got talking +quiet, he said he'd better go, and we parted friendly." + +"Do you know where he went?" + +"I don't; we didn't care. We'd had enough of him. First thing was to put +that caulking right, and we spent three or four days driving the landings +down--you can do a lot with good soft steel. Anyhow, when we filled up +the time-sheet showing how far we'd got on with the job, there was a +nasty letter from the engineer. Wanted to know what we'd been playing at +and said he'd have us sent home if we couldn't do better." + +While Prescott thanked them for the information a bell began to toll and +there was a rattle of wheels. Hurrying out, he saw a locomotive +approaching the tank and men clambering on to the cars in which he had +traveled. Soon after he joined them, the train rolled out of the +side-track and sped west, clattering and jolting toward the lurid sunset +that burned upon the edge of the plain. Jack-pines and scattered birches +stood out hard and black against the glare, the rails blazed with crimson +fire and faded as the ruddy light changed to cold green, and there was a +sting of frost in the breeze. + +They dropped a few men at places where work was going on, stopped for +water, and crawled at slow speed over half-finished bridges and lengths +of roughly graded line. After nightfall it grew bitterly cold and +Prescott, lying on the boards with his blanket over him, shivered, half +asleep. For the most part, darkness shut them in, but every now and then +lights blazed beside the line and voices hailed the engineer as the pace +decreased. Then, while the whistle shrieked, ballast cars on a side-track +and tall iron frameworks slipped by, and they ran out again into the +silent waste. Prescott was conscious of a continuous jolting which shook +him to and fro; he thought he heard a confused altercation among his +companions at the end of the car, and the clang of wheels and the shaking +rails rang in measured cadence in his ears. Then the sounds died away and +he fell into a heavy sleep. + +It was noon the next day when he alighted, aching all over, where the +line ran into a deep hollow between fir-clad hills. A stream came +flashing through the gorge and at the mouth of it shacks and tents and +small frame houses straggled up a rise, with a wooden church behind them. +Farther up, the hollow was filled with somber conifers, and the hills +above it ran back, ridge beyond ridge, into the distance. Then, looking +very high and far away, a vast chain of snowy summits was etched against +a sky of softest blue. Those that caught the light gleamed with silvery +brightness, but part of the great range lay in shadow, steeped in varying +hues of ethereal gray. From north to south, as far as the eye could +follow, the serrated line of crag and peak swept on majestically. + +Tired as he was, Prescott felt the impressiveness of the spectacle; but +he had other things to think about, and slipping away from the railroad +hands, he turned toward a rude frame hotel which stood among the firs +beside the river. Rows of tall stumps spread about it, farther back lay +rows of logs, diffusing a sweet resinous fragrance. Through a gap between +the towering trunks one looked up the wild, forest-shrouded gorge, and +the litter of old provision cans, general refuse, and discarded boots +could not spoil the beauty of the scene. Prescott asked for a room; and +sitting outside after dinner, he gathered from some men, who were not +working, the story of Kermode's next exploit. Their accounts of it were +terse and somewhat disconnected, but Prescott was afterward able to +amplify them from the narrative of a more cultured person. + + * * * * * + +Kermode had been unloading rails all day, and he was standing on the +veranda one evening when a supply train from the east was due. It +appeared that he had renewed his wardrobe at the local store and +invariably changed his clothes when his work was finished. This was +looked upon as a very unusual thing, and his companions thought it even +more curious that he had not been known to enter the bar of the hotel; +its proprietor was emphatic on the point. A number of railroad hands +lounged about, attired as usual in their working clothes. + +At length the tolling of a bell broke through the silence of the woods +and the train ran in. The rutted street became crowded with unkempt, +thirsty men, and in a few minutes the hotel was filled with their harsh +voices. Last of all appeared a girl, with a very untidy man carrying a +bag beside her. She walked with a limp, and looked jaded and rather +frightened. Her light cloak was thick with dust and locomotive cinders +which clung to the woolly material; her face was hot and anxious, but +attractive. + +"Thank you," she said to her companion, opening her purse when they +reached the veranda. + +"Shucks! You can put that back," returned the man with an awkward gesture +and then, lifting the bag, carefully replaced the end of a garment that +projected through the bottom. "I'll carry the grip in for you, but you +want to be careful with the thing. Seems to have got busted when the +rails fell on it." + +The girl passed through a wire-net door that he opened, and Kermode, +following, waited for several minutes after her companion had rung a +bell. Then a man in a white shirt and smart clothes appeared. + +"Can I send a telegram from here to Drummond?" she asked him. + +"No; the wires won't run into that district until next year." + +"How can I get there?" + +"I guess you'll have to hire a team at the livery-stable; take you about +three days to get through." + +The girl looked dismayed. + +"Then can you give me a room to-night?" she asked. + +"Sorry," said the man, "we're full up with the railroad boys; the +waitresses have to camp in the kitchen. Don't know if anybody can take +you in; the track bosses have got all the rooms in town." + +He disappeared and the girl sat down, looking very forlorn and +disconsolate. Her voice was English and she had obviously traveled a long +distance in an open car on the supply train. Kermode felt sorry for her. +He took off his hat as he approached. + +"If you don't mind waiting a few minutes, I'll see if I can find you +quarters," he said. + +She glanced at him suspiciously, with a heightened color, which he +thought a favorable sign, but her eyes grew more confident and when she +agreed he withdrew. As a man of experience who had been a favorite with +women, he was, however, guilty of an error of judgment during his search. +A smart young woman with whom he was on friendly terms managed a cigar +store, and it is possible that she would have taken some trouble to +oblige him; but his request that she should offer shelter to another girl +whose acquaintance he seemed to have made in a most casual manner was +received with marked coldness. Kermode, indeed, felt sorry he had +suggested it when he left the store and set out for a shack belonging to +the widow of a man killed on the line. She was elderly and grim, a strict +Methodist from the east, who earned a pittance by mending the workmen's +clothes. After catechizing Kermode severely, she gave a very qualified +assent; and returning to the hotel, he found the girl anxiously waiting +for him. She looked relieved when he reported his success. + +"I had better go at once," she said. "You think Mrs. Jasper will take me +in?" + +Kermode picked up the bag. + +"To tell the truth, she only promised to have a look at you." Then he +smiled reassuringly. "I've no doubt there'll be no difficulty when she +has done so." + +The girl followed him and, as they went slowly up the street, while all +the loungers watched them, she gave Kermode a confused explanation. Her +name was Helen Foster, and she had come from England to join a brother +who had taken up a farm near Drummond, which Prescott had heard was a +remote settlement. Her brother had told her to notify him on her arrival +at Winnipeg and await instructions, but on board the steamer she had met +the wife of a railroad man engaged on the new line who had offered her +company to a point in the west from which Helen could reach her +destination. On arriving at the railroad man's station, he had sent her +on by the supply train. + +A little distance up the street, Kermode stopped outside a shed in which +a fellow of unprepossessing appearance was rubbing down a horse. His +character, as Kermode knew, was no better than his looks. + +"I must see the liveryman," he told the girl, and when he had sent the +hostler for him the proprietor came out. + +"The round-trip to Drummond will take six days, and you'd want a team," +he said. "I'd have to charge you thirty dollars." + +Kermode looked dubious, his companion dismayed. She had three dollars and +a few cents. + +"Can you drive this lady there?" Kermode asked. + +"I can't. Jim would have to go." + +"I think not," said Kermode firmly. "I'll see you about a saddle-horse in +the morning." He turned to the girl: "We'll go along again." + +A few minutes later they reached the widow's shack and Kermode waited +some time after his companion was admitted. As she did not come out, he +concluded that Mrs. Jasper was satisfied and returned to the hotel, where +he was freely bantered by the loungers. + +"That will do, boys," he said at length. "If there's any more of this +kind of talk, the man who keeps it up will get badly hurt." + +They saw that he meant it and, as he was popular, they left him in peace. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +MISS FOSTER'S ESCORT + + +On the morning after he met Helen Foster, Kermode sought a foreman with +whom he was on good terms. + +"I want to quit work for a week," he said abruptly. + +"Sorry; I can't give you leave, and the boss went down the line +yesterday. If you let up before you see him, it's quite likely he won't +take you back." + +"If he doesn't I won't be very grieved. Throwing forty-foot rails about +all day palls on one. But what about my wages up to date?" + +"That's a matter for the pay-clerk when he comes along. If you quit +without notice, he'll make trouble." + +Kermode considered this; but he had about ten dollars in his pocket and +he was not of provident nature. He decided that something must be left to +chance, though the thought that he might have handled heavy rails for the +contractor's exclusive benefit was strongly distasteful. Walking across +the town, he paid a visit to Miss Foster. + +"Can you ride?" he asked her. + +"I haven't ridden for years." + +"Perhaps you could manage a steady horse which wouldn't go faster than a +walk?" he suggested. + +"Yes." Then she hesitated. "But horses are expensive, and I have very +little money left. Somehow, it seems to disappear rapidly in Canada." + +"That's an annoying trick it has," Kermode laughed. "However, you had +better start for Drummond this morning, and I'll go with you." + +The girl looked dubious. She knew nothing about him, but his manner and +appearance were in his favor, and her position was far from pleasant. +Mrs. Jasper, who had already presented what appeared to be an +extortionate bill, seemed by no means anxious to keep her, and it might +be a long time before she could communicate with her brother. How she was +to hold out until he came to her assistance she could not tell. + +"Thank you," she said, gathering her courage; and after promising that he +would be back in an hour, Kermode went away. + +He was a man who acted on impulse and, as a rule, the more unusual a +course was the better it pleased him. In spite of her lameness Miss +Foster was attractive, which, perhaps, had its effect, though he was +mainly actuated by compassion and the monotony of his track-laying task. +He did not think the settlement, in which there were very few women, was +the kind of place in which she could comfortably remain, particularly if +her means were exhausted. Presently he met the livery-stable keeper +driving in his buggy and motioned to him to pull up. + +"How much will you charge for the hire of the roan, to go to Drummond?" +he asked, and the man named his charge. + +"I'll give you eight dollars now and the balance when I come back." + +"No sir!" replied the other firmly. "You might fix up to stay there." + +"Will an order on the railroad pay-clerk satisfy you?" + +"It won't. If you want the horse, you must put the money down." + +"Then I can't make the deal." + +The man drove on, but Kermode was not to be daunted by such a difficulty; +besides, he had noticed Jim, the hired man, dawdling about the outside of +the stable. When the buggy was out of sight, he accosted him. + +"I want the roan in half an hour," he said. "I see you have Mrs. Leaver's +saddle here, and as she's away, you had better put it on. I'm going to +take the lady you saw with me to Drummond." + +"S'pose you have seen the boss about it?" + +"You must have noticed me talking to him," Kermode replied curtly. "Bring +the horse along to Mrs. Jasper's as soon as you're ready." + +Then he returned to the hotel and wrote a note which he gave the +bar-tender, instructing him to let the proprietor of the livery-stable +have it when he came in for dinner. After this he succeeded in borrowing +a small tent, and when he had supplied himself with provisions he hurried +toward the widow's shack. The horse was already there, and when he had +strapped on the folded tent and Miss Foster's bag he helped her to mount, +and set off, carrying his blankets and stores in a pack on his back. He +showed no sign of haste and chatted gaily, though he was anxious to get +out of the town as soon as possible, because he did not know when the +stable-keeper would return. + +It was a clear morning; the girl looked brighter after her night's rest, +and the fresh air brought a fine color into her face. Kermode kept her +laughing with his light chatter, but he was nevertheless glad when they +reached the shadow of the pines, where they could travel faster without +attracting attention. After half an hour's rapid walking, he left the +trail, which ran on toward Drummond for a day's journey before it stopped +at a ranch, and turned down into the valley. He thought it might be wiser +to keep to the south of the line he would be expected to take, though +this would entail the crossing of rougher country. Reaching the edge of a +stream, he stopped and regarded it with some concern. It ran fast between +great boulders and looked deep, but as there was no sign of a better +crossing he warned the girl to hold on, and led the horse in. + +After a few paces he sank above his knees, and found it hard to keep his +footing and the horse's head upstream. The roan was slipping badly among +the stones and the hem of his companion's skirt was getting wet. He was +pleased to notice that she did not look unduly alarmed. + +"We'll be across in another minute or two," he said as cheerfully as he +could. + +She smiled at him rather dubiously and at the next step he sank deeper +and dragged the horse round as he clung to the bridle. The roan plunged +savagely and the water rippled about Kermode's waist as he struggled for +a foothold on the slippery stones. With a desperate effort he managed to +find firmer bottom and soon came out on a strip of shingle. Stopping +there for a few moments, he gathered breath while the girl looked about. +They were in the bottom of a deep gorge filled with the sound of running +water and sweet resinous scents. Here the torrent flashed in bright +sunshine; there it flowed, streaked with foam, through dim shadow, while +somber pines towered above it. There was no sound or sign of human life; +they had entered the gates of the wilderness. + +"Where do we go next?" the girl asked. + +"Up this slope," said Kermode. "Then among the pines, across the hills, +and high plains, into a lonely land. I don't suppose we'll see a house +until we get to Drummond." + +"Do you know the way?" + +"I don't," Kermode said cheerfully. "I've never been here before, but I'm +accustomed to traveling about the prairie, where trails are scarce. You +don't look daunted." + +There was a hint of pleasurable excitement in his companion's laugh. + +"Oh," she replied, "adventures appeal to me, and I've never met with any. +For three years since my brother left, I've led a life of drudgery; and +before that, half the pleasures I might have had were denied me by an +accident." + +Recognizing a kindred nature, Kermode looked sympathetic. She was +evidently alluding to her lameness, which must prove a heavy handicap to +a girl of the active, sanguine temperament he thought she possessed. + +"In a way, it was a great adventure for you to come out here alone over +the new road," he said. + +"I thought so last night," she confessed with a smile. "When I reached +the settlement and found I could get no farther, I was really scared. +Now, however, all my fears have gone. I suppose it's the sunshine and +this glorious air." + +"Well, we had better get on. I'm afraid you'll have to walk a while." + +She let him lift her down, with no sign of prudishness or coquetry, and +he led the horse uphill while she followed. Her attitude pleased him, +because he had no desire for philandering, although he was content to act +as protector and guide. Still, while he adapted his pace to the girl's he +thought about her. Her rather shabby attire and scanty baggage hinted +that she had not been used to affluence; but she showed signs of +possessing a vigorous, well-trained mind, and he decided that she must +have been a teacher. + +When they reached the top of the ascent, she mounted and they went on +among scattered clumps of pines and across a tableland as fast as he +could travel, because it seemed prudent to place as long a distance as +possible between them and the settlement. He had left the place with a +valuable horse and saddle which he had not paid for, and he was very +dubious whether the livery-stable keeper would be satisfied with the +promises he had left. Accordingly he only stopped for half an hour at +noon; and evening was near when he helped the girl down and picketed the +horse beside a small birch bluff, and set up the tent. + +"There are provisions in my pack and you might lay out supper, but I +don't think we'll make a fire to-night," he said. "I'll be back in about +half an hour; I want to see what lies beyond the top of yonder ridge." + +She let him go, and he climbed between slender birches to the summit of a +long rise, where he lay down and lighted his pipe. From his lofty +position he commanded a wide sweep of country--hills whose higher slopes +were still bathed in warm light, valleys filled with cool blue shadow, +straggling ranks of somber pines. The air was sharp and wonderfully +bracing; the wilderness, across which he could wander where he would, +lured him on. Irresponsible and impatient of restraint, as he was, he +delighted in the openness and solitude. For all that, he concentrated his +gaze on one particular strip of bare hillside. At its foot ran the gorge +they had crossed, but it had now grown narrow and precipitous, a deep +chasm wrapped in shadow. He did not think a horse could be led down into +it, which was consoling, because if any pursuit had been attempted, it +would follow the opposite side, near which a trail ran. + +After a while his vigilance was rewarded, and he smiled when three very +small figures of mounted men appeared on the hillslope. They were going +back disappointed, and he did not think he had much to fear from them. +Wages were high about the settlement, where everybody was busy, and the +liveryman would, no doubt, find the search too costly to persist in. When +the horsemen had vanished, he returned to the camp, and Miss Foster +glanced at him keenly. + +"Supper's quite ready; you have been some time," she said. "What did you +see from the top?" + +"Mountains, woods and valleys. They were well worth looking at in the +sunset light." + +"And what else? As you live in this country, you didn't go up for the +view." + +Kermode saw that she was suspicious, and thought her too intelligent to +be put off with an excuse. + +"I'll admit that I wasn't greatly surprised to see three men a long way +off. They were riding back to the settlement and I dare say they were +angry as well as tired." + +"Ah!" she said. "You wouldn't light a fire, though you have a package of +tea here and there's a spring near-by. You thought it wouldn't be +prudent?" + +"I did think something of the kind; but won't you begin your supper? What +shall I hand you?" + +"Wait a little. You haven't told me very much yet." Then her eyes +sparkled with amusement. "Mr. Kermode, I'd better say that my brother +will be responsible for the expenses of this journey. I suppose you +haven't paid for the horse?" + +"It's unfortunately true. The trouble was that your brother lives a long +way off, and you led me to believe that your money was running out." + +"I have," she said calmly, "fifty cents left." + +Kermode began on a sandwich she handed him. + +"And I've three or four dollars. You see our difficulty needed a drastic +remedy." + +"But you were at work on the railroad. I understand wages are high." + +"That's so; but it's some time since the pay car came along." + +"But you will get what is due you, when you go back?" + +"Have another sandwich," said Kermode. "You have made them very well." +Then seeing that she meant to have an answer, he added: "I'm not going +back." + +A little color crept into her face as she looked at him. Kermode had for +a time led a dissipated life, but there had been a change during the last +few months. He had practised abstinence, and in new surroundings found it +easier than he had expected; severe labor had healed and hardened him. +His brown skin was clear, his pale-blue eyes were bright and steady, his +figure was spare and finely lined. + +"So," she said, "you sacrificed your wages to assist a stranger?" + +He made her a whimsical bow. + +"I'd like to think we'll be better acquainted before we part." + +"But what will you do now?" + +"Oh," he responded lightly, "that's hardly worth talking about. I'll +strike something. So long as you're pretty active there's generally work +to be had, and when it grows monotonous you pull out and go on again." + +Miss Foster mused. + +"After all," she said, "life must have a good deal to offer a strong man +with the ability to make the most of things. He can set off, when he +likes, in search of new and interesting experiences." + +"It has its drawbacks now and then," declared Kermode, smiling. "Anyway, +you needn't imagine you're shut off from everything of the kind. You took +a big risk and faced a startling change when you came out here." + +"So I felt. Though I had misgivings, the thought of it drew me." + +"I understand. You have courage, the greatest gift, and you felt +circumscribed at home. No doubt, the love of adventure isn't confined to +one sex. It's a longing many of us can't overcome; but it doesn't seem to +meet with general sympathy, and it's apt to get one into difficulties." + +"Yes," Miss Foster assented with some bitterness; "particularly a woman." + +After that, she went on with her meal while dusk crept up about the +lonely camp. The sky was pale green in the west and the hills stood out +against it, black and calm; not a breath of wind was stirring and it was +very still, except that out of the distance came the murmur of falling +water. When the air grew damper, Kermode brought her a blanket which she +wrapped about her shoulders and they talked on for an hour in a casual +manner. Then he got up. + +"You will be quite safe in the tent," he said. "I've found a comfortable +berth in the wood. We'll get off as soon as it's light to-morrow." + +He disappeared into the shadows and she noticed that he had left her the +two blankets he had brought from the settlement. She hesitated about +taking them both, but decided not to call him back. A little later she +entered the tent, while Kermode scraped out a hollow in a bank of fallen +leaves and went to sleep. + +The grass was white with frost when Miss Foster left the tent in the +morning, but a fire of branches crackled cheerfully near-by and Kermode +was busy with a frying-pan. A light cloud of smoke rose into the still, +cold air, and day was breaking on the eastern horizon. + +"This looks pretty good," he said, taking out a greasy cake and several +strips of pork. "If you will make the tea, I'll water the horse." + +He was back in a few minutes. His companion enjoyed the simple meal, and +when it was finished they resumed the march. During most of the day their +pathway led over high, treeless ridges which lay in bright sunshine, +though a delicate haze dimmed the encircling hills. Then they dipped to a +valley where they had trouble among the timber and the girl was forced to +dismount. The winter gales had swept the forest and great pines lay piled +in belts of tangled ruin, through which Kermode found it difficult to +lead the horse, while as they floundered over branches and through +crackling brush his companion's limp grew more pronounced. Afterward +there were several rapid creeks to be forded, and Kermode was wet and +Miss Foster very tired when they camped at sunset, in a grove of spruce. +Little was said during the evening meal and soon after it was over the +girl sought her tent, while Kermode found a resting-place among the +withered sprays at the foot of a tree. + +They spent the next morning toiling up a long ascent, and from its summit +a prospect of majestic beauty burst upon them. The great peaks had grown +nearer, the air was clear, and the girl sat, rapt, in the saddle, gazing +at the vast snow-fields that glittered with ethereal brilliance, very +high up against a cloudless sky. Then the wonderful blue coloring of the +shadows streaking the white slopes caught her glance, and she found it +unutterably lovely. Kermode, however, had an eye for other things and +carefully searched the wide valley that stretched away beneath them. + +"What are you looking for?" the girl asked at length. + +"Smoke; I thought I saw a faint streak, but it has gone. I suppose you +didn't notice it?" + +"Oh no!" she told him with a smile. "I'm afraid I shouldn't have noticed +such a commonplace thing, even if it had been very plain." + +He made a sign of comprehension. + +"Then what have you seen?" he asked. + +"Unapproachable, stainless whiteness, touched with an unearthly glory +that daunts the mind!" Then her expression changed. "But the sight is too +overpowering to talk about. I would have been more useful had I looked +for smoke, as that would mean a house." + +Kermode nodded. + +"We have stores enough for another meal or two and had better get on. I +believe I've kept pretty near the line I was told to take, but I'd be +glad to see the first ranch in the Drummond district by supper time." + +They went down into the valley, struggling through belts of timber and +clumps of brush, until they reached a broad expanse of grass broken by +small bluffs. After camping for a meal, they pushed on steadily while the +girl grappled with a growing fatigue, until the white peaks faded into +dusky blue and the waste grew shadowy. Kermode had seen no sign of life +and he was getting anxious when, as they approached a bluff, he pulled up +the horse. + +"Listen!" he exclaimed. "I think I heard something!" + +There was silence for a moment or two, and then he caught a soft drumming +and a rattle that might have been made by wheels. + +"Yes," he said. "It's a team and wagon." + +The sound grew plainer, and when Kermode shouted, an answer came out of +the gathering darkness. Then a moving shape appeared from behind the +bluff, and a minute or two later the newcomer pulled up his team. + +"Well," he said, "what do you want?" + +"Tom!" cried the girl excitedly. + +The man sprang down, and Kermode needed no explanation. After his +companion had dismounted and run forward, he stood quietly holding the +horse, until she beckoned him. + +"This is Mr. Kermode, who brought me here," she said. "My brother, Tom +Foster." + +"Indebted to you," responded the man. "I was driving home when you +shouted; my place is about six miles off. If you'll follow, I'll take my +sister in the wagon." + +Kermode thought it better that she should explain the reason for their +journey, and he got into the saddle and contented himself with keeping +the vehicle in sight until it stopped at a wooden house that stood near a +sod stable and rude log barn. When he entered the dwelling after putting +up the horse, the lamp was lighted and the stove burning. He saw that +Foster was a young man with a good-humored brown face. + +"I understand that I owe you more than I thought at first," he said. +"Helen seems to have been pretty awkwardly situated when you appeared on +the scene. Sit down and smoke while I get supper." + +They talked gaily during the meal. + +"Is there any means of sending back the horse I brought?" Kermode asked +after a while. + +"I've been thinking about that," Foster replied. + +"I have a neighbor who is going east on business. He'll strike the new +line where you left it, and he'll be glad to have the horse." + +Then they talked about other matters, but when the men sat smoking some +time later, Foster said cordially: + +"You'll stay here a while?" + +Kermode said that he would remain a few days. + +"Where will you make for then?" his host asked. "There's nothing doing +round here except a little cattle-raising." + +"For the mountains, I think. I hear the railroad people are busy in the +passes; but I'll try to strike something softer than handling rails." + +"I can fix that," Foster declared. "They've been advertising for haulage +tenders--there are a lot of piles and building logs they want brought in. +Now I've two good horses I've not much use for and I'd be glad to let you +have them. You could bring them back when the frost stops work." + +"Thanks," said Kermode. "What's your idea of shares?" + +The rancher declared that he did not expect a share, but when Kermode +insisted, they arrived at a satisfactory understanding, and soon after +Helen appeared the party broke up. + +Kermode spent three or four pleasant days with his new friends, and when +he left the ranch one morning, leading two strong horses, Helen Foster +walked with him some distance up the valley. She had not known him long +enough to recognize his failings, which were plentiful, but his virtues +were obvious, and she knew that she would miss him. + +"So you are going out on the trail again," she said. "Where will it lead +you?" + +"That," he answered with a gay laugh, "is more than I can tell. No doubt, +to fresh adventures and strange experiences." + +"But you know your first stopping-place, the railroad camp. When you have +finished your work there, you could come here again and rest a while." + +"No," he said, more gravely; "I'll send your brother his horses, but I +don't think I'll come back. It's nice to feel that we have been pretty +good friends, but it might spoil any pleasant impression I'm leaving if +you saw too much of me. Besides, I'm a wanderer; the long trail beckons." + +"It runs through swamps and many rough places into the lonely wilds. +Aren't you afraid of weariness?" + +Kermode smiled, falling into her mood. + +"You may remember that there are compensations," he said; "glimpses of +glory on the untrodden heights. It's true that one never gets there, but +they lead one on." + +"But you can see them from the valley." + +"No; the farmer's eyes are fixed on the furrow; he must follow the plow. +His crop and his stock are nearer him; he cannot see past them. The +wanderer's mind is free." + +"When you had that glimpse of glory, you turned away and looked for +household smoke." + +"There you have me," he laughed. "Inconsistent, wasn't it? But we're only +human: one needs rest and food." + +Helen changed the subject. + +"Well," she declared, "I'm grateful; and if it's any comfort, you won't +be forgotten." + +He stopped the restive horses. + +"That's good to hear," he told her. "But the ground is rough ahead and +you have come some way." + +"Good-by," she said, and gave him her hand. + +He held it for a moment, and then, getting into the saddle, turned and +swung off his hat. After that he rode on into the waste, leading one +horse; and Helen Foster watched him for a while before she went back, +slowly and thoughtfully, to the ranch. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE MISSIONARY'S ALLY + + +On reaching the railroad camp, Kermode was engaged by the contractor to +haul in logs cut in a neighboring forest for constructional purposes. The +line ran into a wild valley, clinging to the rocks that formed one side +of it, with a torrent brawling hoarsely among the stones beneath. Above +rose vast slopes, streaked in some places with small firs, in others +ground to a smooth scarp by sliding snow. Farther back were glaciers and +a chain of glittering peaks. + +The mouth of the valley had been laid out as the site of a future town, +but so far it was occupied by rows of tents and rude wooden shacks, +inhabited by the construction gangs. A large proportion of them were +orderly, well-conducted men: industrious immigrants who had seized the +first opportunity for getting work, small farmers attracted by high +wages, skilled artisans. There were, however, some of a rougher type; and +the undesirable element, was, as usual, well represented. On the whole, +the camp was sober, largely because no licenses had been issued, though +this did not prevent men who came up from other points from bringing +liquor in, and the authorities suspected another source of supply. + +Kermode had little trouble with his work, which he found profitable, and +he rapidly made friends. Among them was a young Presbyterian missionary +whom he met for the first time on the hillside, engaged on a squared log +with a big jack-plane. He wore knee-boots and a threadbare suit of gray, +while his hat had suffered from exposure to the weather. Kermode stopped +his team near-by and the clergyman looked around. + +"If you have a good eye, you might tell me whether this chamfer's running +true," he said. + +"You want a bit off here." Kermode laid his finger on the spot. "Except +for that, it's good." + +The clergyman sat down and pulled out a tobacco pouch. + +"I'll attend to it presently, but I feel I'm entitled to a rest. Take a +smoke; you're not paid on time." + +"I'm not sure it would matter if I were." Kermode's eyes twinkled as he +filled his pipe. "An idea of the kind you suggested doesn't go far in a +construction camp, unless, of course, a foreman happens to be about. +However, you made one rash statement, didn't you?" + +"I'm afraid I make a good many," replied the clergyman good-humoredly. +"But you are right. It would be very rash to claim all that one was +entitled to; in other words, one's deserts. You're Mr. Kermode, I +believe; you must know my name is Ferguson." + +Kermode bowed. + +"What are you going to do with this log?" he asked. + +"It's to be a door-post in the new church. I wonder if you would be +willing to haul it in?" + +Kermode said that he would be glad to do so. + +"You encourage me to go a little farther," Ferguson continued. "Building +a church is a costly proposition." + +"So I should imagine; I can't speak from experience." Kermode was +generally liberal, and he took out some money. "I think you ought to let +me off with this, as I don't belong to your flock." + +"It's a generous contribution; better than the excuse. There are, I may +remind you, many kinds of sheep, and the outward difference is often +marked. Since, you're from the old country, you can take the little +Cheviot and the ponderous Shropshire as examples. You see the drift of +this?" + +"That they're all sheep. I've noticed, however, that they wear a good +many different brands." + +"Ah, the pity of it! After all, a shepherd has his human weaknesses; +perhaps he's too fond of using his private mark or the stamp of his +guild." + +"That," Kermode smiled, "is a handsome admission. Anyway, you have no +rival in shepherding the boys here; and taking us all round, we need it. +But can you raise building funds on the spot?" + +"Oh, no! I went to Ontario this summer and spent a month begging from +people who have very little to spare. The response was generous--I've a +carload of shiplap lumber coming out; but you may understand how that +adds to one's responsibility." + +"It's obvious. I suppose you know you're up against a strong opposition?" + +"That's true, unfortunately." The clergyman looked thoughtful. "There's +one group, the Mitcham crowd, who would like to run me out. The fellow's +piling up money by smuggling in liquor; he and his friends are depraving +the camp. They must be stopped." + +"It's a big thing for one man to undertake. It may wreck your mission." + +Ferguson's eyes sparkled. + +"The risk mustn't count. One can't shut one's eyes to what those fellows +are doing. But I want backers; will you give me your support?" + +"That's more than I can consistently promise. However, I'll look on and +see you get fair play. If the opposition hit below the belt, I may take a +hand in." + +"Thanks," responded Ferguson, and Kermode went on with his team. + +He was favorably impressed by the young missionary and kept the promise +he had made, though it now and then involved him in difficulties with his +comrades. The carload of lumber duly arrived, and with the help of men +who gave their labor after their hard day's work was done, the church was +raised by the light of flaring blast-lamps which the contractor allowed. +By day, Ferguson worked at it alone, and the building steadily grew into +shape; but as the weather got colder trouble broke out in camp. Men +engaged on the higher portions of the line were laid off by snow and +frost, and when the cost of their board ran on, their tempers got short. +There were dismissals, and as working hours diminished, the gangs were +driven harder. Friends began to quarrel over games of chance, and the +violence they displayed was often accounted for by indulgence in smuggled +liquor. + +Ferguson, however, was making progress: gaining staunch adherents here, +tacit sympathizers there, though the opposition saw to it that several +had reason to regret their joining him. Kermode took no open part in the +struggle, but watched it interestedly. + +At length, one nipping morning, he left his tent with a shiver before it +was light and busied himself about his horses with a lantern in their +rude branch and bark shelter. Winter was beginning in earnest, and a +bitter wind had raged all night, covering gorge and hillside deep with +snow, but this would make his hauling easier when he had broken out a +trail. He plowed through the snow in the darkness, and the threatening +dawn had broken when he came down the hillside with the ends of three or +four big logs trailing behind his jumper-sled. The shacks and tents were +white in the hollow, over which there floated a haze of thin, blue smoke; +the rapid creek that flowed past them showed in leaden-colored streaks +among the ice; and somber pines rose in harsh distinctness from the +hillside. + +Then the half-covered frame of the church caught Kermode's eye. Something +was wrong with it. The skeleton tower looked out of the perpendicular; +and on his second glance its inclination seemed to have increased. The +snow, however, was clogging the front of his sled and he set to work to +scrape it off. While he was thus engaged there was a sharp, ripping +sound, and then a heavy crash, and swinging around he saw that the tower +had collapsed. Where it had stood lay a pile of broken timber, and planks +and beams were strewn about the snow. + +Kermode urged his team downhill, and when a group of men came running up +to meet him, he recognized Ferguson some distance in front of them. The +man's face showed how heavy the blow had been. + +"It looks bad; I'm very sorry," said Kermode when they reached the +wrecked building. + +"I'm afraid we can't get things straight until spring and I don't know +how I'll raise the money then," declared Ferguson. "A good deal of the +lumber seems destroyed, and I've levied pretty heavily on every friend +I've got." Then he tried to assume a philosophic tone. "Well, I suppose +this is the result of impatience; there were spikes I didn't put in +because I couldn't wait for them and some tenons were badly cut. It blew +hard last night and there must have been a big weight of snow on the new +shingling." + +"I don't think you're right," Kermode said dryly, and turned to a +bridge-carpenter who stood near-by. "What's your idea?" + +"The thrust of what roof they'd got up wouldn't come on the beams that +gave," rejoined the man. "There's something here I don't catch on to." + +"Just so," said Kermode. "Suppose you take a look at the king-posts and +stringers. We'll clear this fallen lumber out of the way, boys." + +They set to work, and in an hour the sound and damaged timber had been +sorted into piles. Then, when the foundations were exposed, Kermode and +the carpenter examined a socket in which a broken piece of wood remained. + +"This has been a blamed bad tenon," the mechanic remarked. "The shoulders +weren't butted home." + +"I'm afraid that's true; I made it," Ferguson admitted; but Kermode, +laying his finger on the rent wood, looked up at his companion. + +"For all that, should it have given way as it has done?" + +"I'll tell you better when we find the beam it belonged to." + +It took them some time; and then the carpenter turned to Ferguson. + +"You marked this tenon off before you cut it. Did you run the saw past +your line?" + +"No," said Ferguson with a start; "that's certain. I dressed up to the +mark afterward with a chisel." + +The carpenter looked at Kermode meaningly. + +"Guess you're right. See here"--he indicated the broken stump--"there's a +saw-cut running well inside his mark. Now that tenon was a bit too small, +anyway, and when they'd notched her, she hadn't wood enough left to hold +up the weight." + +There were exclamations from the others standing round in the snow, but +Kermode glanced at Ferguson. His face grew darkly red, but with an effort +he controlled his anger. + +"Who can have done this thing?" he asked. + +"There's no direct evidence to show, but I've my suspicions," Kermode +said. "It's dangerous to interfere with people's business, particularly +when it isn't quite legitimate. You must have known you ran a risk." + +"Do you think I should have let that stop me?" Ferguson asked with +sparkling eyes. + +"That's a matter of opinion," Kermode rejoined. "Perhaps you had better +wait and think the thing over when you cool off. I've some logs to haul +in." + +He moved off with his team and went on with his work all day, but when +night came he attended, by special invitation, a meeting held in a tent +that flapped and strained in the boisterous wind. Half a dozen men were +present, steady and rather grim toilers with saw and shovel, and though +two or three had been born in Ontario, all were of Scottish extraction. +Their hard faces wore a singularly resolute expression when Kermode +entered. + +"Boys," he said, "before we begin I'd better mention that taking a part +in a church assembly is a new thing to me." + +One or two of them frowned at this: his levity was not in keeping with +the occasion. + +"Ye're here, and we'll listen to your opinion, if ye hae one," said their +leader. "Jock is for raiding Mitcham's shack and firing him and the other +scoundrel out of camp." + +"I see objections. Mitcham has a good many friends, and if he held you +off, you'd have made a row for nothing, besides compromising Mr. +Ferguson." + +"There's reason in that," another remarked. + +"Then," continued Kermode, "you can't connect Mitcham with the wrecking +of your church." + +"I'm thinking the connection's plain enough for us. Weel, we ken----" + +"Knowing a thing is not sufficient; you want proof, and if you go ahead +without it, you'll put yourselves in the wrong. This is not the time to +alienate popular sympathy." + +"Weel," said the leader, "hae ye a plan?" + +Kermode lighted his pipe and after a few moments answered thoughtfully: + +"I hear that Mitcham, Long Bill, and Libby will take the trail to-morrow +with Bill's team and sled--he's laid off work because of the snow. They +were away three or four days once or twice before, and when they came +back a number of the boys got on a high-class jag and there was trouble +in camp. I dare say you can put the things together?" + +"Sure," declared one who had not spoken yet. "Where do we butt in?" + +"This is my suggestion--half a dozen picked men will meet Mitcham coming +home and seize the sled. If its load is what I suspect, somebody will +ride off for Sergeant Inglis on my horse, and you'll have a guard ready +to bring the sled to camp and hold the liquor until the police arrive. +I'm inclined to think you can leave the rest to them." + +A harsh smile crept into the faces of the listeners, and their leader +nodded gravely. + +"We cannot do better. It will work." + +The plan was duly put into execution, and one bitter night Kermode and +several others plodded up a frozen creek. It had been snowing hard for +the last few hours and he could scarcely see his companions through the +driving flakes, while the wail of the wind in the pines above drowned the +soft sound of their footsteps. Kermode was tired and very cold, and could +not have explained clearly what had induced him to accompany the +expedition. Adventure, however, always appealed to him, and he was sorry +for Ferguson, who had, he thought, been very shabbily treated. Kermode +had a fellow-feeling for anybody in difficulties. + +After a while the snow ceased and they could dimly see the dark pines +climbing the steep banks that shut them in. It was obvious that if +Mitcham's party had entered the deep hollow, they could not well get out +of it. The expedition had only to go on or wait until it met them; but +Kermode did not envy the man whose duty it would be to ride across the +open waste to the lonely post where Sergeant Inglis might be found. +Resting, however, was out of the question. They must move to keep from +freezing, and though the snow began again, they plodded on, with heads +lowered to meet the blast that drove the stinging flakes into their +faces. + +At length the leader stopped and raised his hand. Standing still, they +heard a muffled sound that might have been made by the fall of hoofs +ahead, and they hastily turned toward a clump of spruce. The trees +concealed them and the sound grew nearer, until they could see the dim +shapes of men and horses moving through the driving flakes. Then they +left cover and spread out across the creek. The team stopped and an angry +voice came out of the snow: + +"What's this? What do you want?" + +"Yon sled and its load," the leader concisely replied. + +"Stand clear!" cried the voice. "Go right ahead, Bill!" + +A man sprang forward and seized the near horse's head. + +"Stop where you are!" he cried. "We're not looking for trouble, but we +want the sled!" + +Two others ran out from behind the horses, but the leader of the +expedition raised his hand. + +"It's six to three, Mitcham, and that's long odds. Ye'll get sled and +team when ye claim them in camp. Lift a fist and ye'll give the boys the +excuse they're wearying for. I'll ask nothing better." + +Mitcham turned to his companions. + +"They've got us, boys. Leave them to it," he said. + +"Lead the horses, Kermode," directed one of the party, and the team moved +on again while the leader, walking beside the sled, hastily examined its +load. Several small cases lay beneath a tarpaulin. + +What became of Mitcham and his friends did not appear, for they were left +behind in the snow; but the night grew wilder and the cold more biting. +For minutes together they could see nothing through the cloud of flakes +that drove furiously past them; it was hard to urge the tired horses +forward through the deeper drifts and all were thankful when they came to +reaches which the savage wind had swept almost clear. They could not, +however, leave the creek without their knowing it, and they had a fringe +of willows, into which they stumbled now and then, as guide. When, at +length, the gorge opened out, there was a high ridge to be crossed, and +they had cause to remember the ascent. The route led up through belts of +brush and between scattered pines, and leaving it inadvertently every now +and then, they got entangled among the scrub. Two of them plodded at the +stumbling horses' heads, four pushed the sled, and at the top of every +steeper slope every one stopped and gasped for breath. It was now near +dawn and they had marched all night after a day of heavy toil. + +The ascent made, they went down the hill at an awkward run, the horses +slipping with the sled pressing on them, colliding with small trees, +smashing through matted brush, until they heard a hail. It was answered +and another body of men appeared and escorted them into camp. Drowsy +voices called to them and here and there a man looked out as they passed +the lines of shacks and tents, but no word was spoken until they reached +their leader's cabin. The cases were carried in and while two of the +company took the horses away the others were given hot coffee and +afterward sat down to wait for morning. It was very cold and icy draughts +crept in, but they were undisturbed until daybreak, when there was a cry +outside: + +"Here's Mitcham wanting to talk to you!" + +A weary man, white with snow, entered and looked eagerly round the shack. + +"I've come for those cases," he said, pointing to the pile. + +"What right have you to them?" Kermode inquired. + +"What right?" cried the other. "They're my property; I bought them!" + +Kermode smiled. + +"You hear that; you'll remember it, boys." + +Mitcham's face grew dark as he saw the trap he had fallen into. + +"Anyhow, I want them," he muttered. "You won't be wise to keep them." + +"Now see here," said one of the party. "We have a dozen men round this +shack, and if there's trouble, we have only to call for more. Every boy +knows what to do. Strikes me it wouldn't pay you to bring your hobos +along." + +Mitcham looked at the others and saw that they were resolute. His enemies +were masters of the situation. Bluster and threats would not serve him; +but it was Kermode's amusement which caused him the most uneasiness. + +"Well," he said, "keep them while you can. You're going to be sorry for +this!" + +He went out and several of the men broke into a laugh. They had, however, +a problem to face later, when they received a sharp message from the +foreman demanding their immediate return to work. All were willing to +lose a day's pay, but the prompt dismissal which would follow +disobedience was a more serious matter. + +"The trouble is that if we leave the shack without a guard, Mitcham will +steal his liquor back," declared one. + +"I think I had better see Mr. Morgan," Kermode suggested, and they let +him go. + +The young engineer he interviewed listened with a thoughtful air to the +request that several of the workmen should be given a day's leave. + +"It would be awkward to let these fellows quit," the engineer protested. + +"If you would tell the foreman to send the boys I'll mention ahead up the +track, so they couldn't get back before evening, and give two of us a day +off, it would get over the difficulty." + +When he heard the names the engineer looked hard at Kermode. + +"Has this request any connection with the collapse of Mr. Ferguson's +church?" + +"It has, indirectly. I'm sorry I can't give you an explanation." + +"Try to understand how I'm situated. I may have my sympathies, but I +can't be a partizan; my business is to see you do your work. Suppose I do +as you suggest, will it make any trouble in the camp? I want a straight +answer." + +"No," said Kermode. "I give you my word that what we mean to do will lead +to quietness and good order." + +"Then I'll have the boys you mentioned sent up the track; they're a crowd +I've had my eye on. One of your friends and you can lie off." + +Kermode thanked him and went back to the shack, where he kept watch with +the leader of the Presbyterians until two police troopers rode up late in +the afternoon. They opened the cases and heard Kermode's story. + +"You declare the man Mitcham claimed this liquor as his property?" +Sergeant Inglis asked. + +"He said he'd bought it. We're ready to swear to that, and we can give +you the names of several more who heard him." + +"I'll take them down. Where's Mitcham?" + +They told him and he closed his notebook. + +"You may be sent for from Edmonton later. Don't let these cases out of +your sight until Private Cooper calls for them." + +He went out and came back later with the trooper and a teamster they had +hired, who loaded the cases on a sled. Sergeant Inglis, however, sat +still in his saddle, with a watchful eye on Mitcham and another man who +stood, handcuffed, at his horse's side. When the police had ridden off +with their prisoners, Morgan, the engineer, sent for Kermode. + +"I've seen the sergeant and he gave me an outline of the affair," he +said. "It was cleverly thought out--I suppose the idea was yours?" + +"I can't deny it," returned Kermode modestly. + +"Well," said the other, "see that your friends and you begin work as +usual to-morrow." + +During the next two weeks Ferguson made some progress in repairing the +damage to his church. He found several helpers, now that his strongest +opponent had been removed. The weather, however, grew more severe and as +the frost interfered with operations, men were freely dismissed. One day +Morgan and the contractor's clerk sat talking in the latter's office. + +"I'll have to cut out two or three teams," he said. "I don't know whom I +ought to fire." + +"Kermode," Morgan advised promptly. + +The clerk looked surprised. + +"Foreman reports him as a pretty good teamster. He strikes me as smart +and capable," he objected. + +"He is. In fact, that's the trouble. I like the man, but you had better +get rid of him." + +"You're giving me a curious reason." + +Morgan smiled. + +"I expect our plans for the winter may lead to some trouble with the +boys; such work as we can carry on is going to be severe. Now do you +think it prudent to provide them with a highly intelligent leader?" + +"Guess you're right," the clerk agreed. "He'll have to go, though I'm +sorry to part with him." + +"I'll send him to another job nearer the coast," said Morgan. + +The next day Kermode was informed of this decision and took it +good-humoredly. Before leaving the camp he spent an evening with +Ferguson, who expressed keen regret at his departure. + +"I have an idea that I may have got you into trouble, and it hurts me," +the minister said. + +Kermode laughed in a reassuring manner. + +"It's likely that you're wrong; but I'm not the first man who has found a +righteous cause unprofitable." + +"That," Ferguson returned gravely, "is in one sense very true." + +They sat up late, talking; and the next morning Kermode found means of +sending Foster's horses back, and then resumed his journey. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE PASSAGE OF THE MOUNTAINS + + +Kermode had been gone a fortnight when Prescott reached the camp and +heard from Ferguson and others of his latest exploit. He smiled as he +listened to their stories, but that he should find people willing to talk +about the man did not surprise him. Kermode was not likely to pass +unnoticed: his talents were of a kind that seized attention. Where he +went there was laughter and sometimes strife; he had a trick of winning +warm attachment, and even where his departure was not regretted he was +remembered. + +Ferguson insisted on taking Prescott in, for his comrade's sake, and late +one evening he sat talking with him beside the stove. His house was +rudely put together, shingle-roofed and walled with shiplap boards that +gave out strong resinous odors. The joints were not tight and stinging +draughts crept in. Deep snow lay about the camp and the frost was keen. + +"I can't venture to predict Kermode's movements," said the clergyman. "It +was his intention to make for a camp half-way to the coast, but he may +change his mind long before he gets there." + +"Yes," Prescott replied; "that's the kind of man he is." + +Ferguson smiled. + +"You and Kermode strike me as differing in many ways; yet you seem +strongly attached to him." + +"That's true," Prescott assented. "I can't see that I owe him anything, +and he once led me into a piece of foolishness that nobody but himself +could have thought of. I knew the thing was crazy, but I did it when he +urged me, and I've regretted it ever since. Still, when I meet the fellow +I expect I shan't have a word of blame for him." + +"He's a man I had a strong liking for, though on many matters our points +of view were opposite. However, I dare say it's something to be thankful +for that we're not all made alike." + +"Kermode's unique," Prescott explained. "I'm of the plodding kind and I +find that consequences catch me up. Kermode's different: he plunges into +recklessness and the penalty falls on somebody else." + +"You don't mean by his connivance?" + +"Never! It's the last thing I meant. Kermode never shirks. Bring a thing +home to him and he'll face it, but somehow he generally escapes. There's +the matter I mentioned--he and I played a fool trick, and while he +rambles about the country, flinging a foreman down an embankment, +assisting a lady in distress, posing as a temperance reformer, in his +usual inconsequent way, I'm deep in trouble, and so are other people who +don't deserve it. So far I've always reached the scene of his latest +exploit soon after he had left; but the man must be found." + +Ferguson laughed. + +"What are you going to do about it?" + +"Follow him to the Pacific, if necessary. As the country isn't opened up, +he can't get off the line." + +"I'm afraid you're going to have a very rough journey. The track's +surveyed and blazed; they're working at it in sections, but there are big +gaps where nothing has been done yet, and they have been withdrawing a +large number of men. Crossing the mountains is a tough proposition in the +winter." + +"Kermode didn't seem afraid of it." + +"He started two weeks ago, when there had been less snow. You'll find it +difficult to get through the passes now." + +"Anyway," declared Prescott, "I have to get through." + +Ferguson pondered the simple answer. It was, he thought, typical of the +man, and the contrast between him and his friend became more forcible. +Kermode exercised a curious charm. His gay, careless nature made him +excellent company, and he had a strain of somewhat eccentric genius; but +he was irresponsible and erratic, one could not depend on him. The +Canadian was of different temperament: slower, less subject to impulse, +but more stubborn and more consistent. When dealing with him one would +know what to expect. He would reason out a purpose and then unwaveringly +adhere to it. + +"Well," the clergyman said, "you may have to cross a big province; and +though it's warmer as you get down to the coast, the weather's often +nearly arctic among the ranges, while it's only here and there that +you'll have a chance to find shelter. It's a trip that's not to be +undertaken rashly. You'll need a fur coat, among other things, and I +think I can get you one. You had better take a couple of days' rest so as +to start fresh. And now it's time for bed." + +Prescott spent the next day with him and left the camp at daybreak on the +second morning. He wore a long coat, from which the fur had peeled in +patches, and carried a heavy pack besides a small ax. His boots were +dilapidated, but he had been unable to replace them. There was sharp +frost and when he boarded a construction train he looked back at the camp +with keen regret; he shrank from the grim wilds ahead. A haze of smoke +hung over the clustering shacks, lights still blinked among them, and +already the nipping air was filled with sounds of activity. Then the +locomotive shrieked and he turned his face toward the lonely white hills +as the cars moved forward with a jerk. It was bitterly cold, though he +lay down out of the wind behind the load of rails, where hot cinders +rattled about him and now and then stung his face. + +At noon the train stopped. Alighting with cramped limbs, Prescott saw +that the rails went no farther. A few shacks stood forlornly upon the +hillside, a frozen river wound like a white riband through the gorge +beneath, and ahead lay a sharply rising waste of rock and snow. His path +led across it, and after a word or two with the men on the line he began +his journey, breaking through the thin, frozen crust. The sounds behind +him grew fainter and ceased; the trail of dingy smoke which had followed +him melted away, and he was alone in the wilderness. His course was +marked, however, by a pile of stones here, a blazed tree there, and he +plodded on all day. When night came he found a hollow free from snow +beneath a clump of juniper, and lay awake, shivering under his blankets. +White peaks and snow-fields were wrapped in deathly silence: there was +not even the howl of a prowling wolf or the splash of falling water. + +Rising at dawn, almost too cold to move, he could find no dry wood to +make a fire and had serious trouble in getting on his frozen boots; and +after a hurried meal he set out again. It was some time before he felt +moderately warm, but with a short rest at noon, he held on until evening +was near, when he camped in a deep rift among the rocks filled with small +firs. Here he found dry branches, and made his supper, sitting between a +sheltering stone and a welcome fire. Soon afterward, he lay down and +slept until the piercing cold awakened him near dawn. The fire had burned +out to a few red embers; he had some trouble in stirring it into life, +and it was bright daylight when he resumed his journey. + +He was too tired and generally too cold to retain any clear impression of +the next few days' march. There were ranks of peaks above, glittering at +times against an intensely blue sky, but more often veiled in leaden +cloud, while rolling vapor hid their lower slopes. He skirted tremendous +gorges, looked up great hollows filled with climbing trees, followed +winding valleys, and at length limped into sight of a lonely camp at the +foot of a crag. The light was fading when he reached it, though a lurid +sunset glowed behind the black firs on the crest of a ridge, and the +place had a desolate look. Most of the shacks were empty, there were +rings of branches with a litter of old cans about them where tents had +been pitched, but a few toiling figures were scattered about a strip of +track. It was comforting to see them, but Prescott was too jaded to +notice what they were doing. + +Entering a shanty, roughly built of ties and galvanized iron, he found a +stove burning, and a Chinaman who told him that supper would be ready +soon. After a while the men came in and, asking very few questions, gave +him a share of their meal; then he was shown a rude bed of fir branches +and swamp hay and told he could sleep there. Prescott lay down and +lighted his pipe and then looked about for a while. The place was dimly +lighted and filled with rank tobacco smoke, through which he saw the +blurred figures of his new companions. Some of them were playing cards +under a lamp, some were disputing in harsh voices, and now and then there +was a burst of laughter. Once or twice a man went out and an icy draught +swept through the shed, but except for that it was delightfully warm. +Soon Prescott's pipe dropped from his hand and, failing in a drowsy +attempt to find it, he went to sleep. + +At breakfast the next morning he learned that a man answering Kermode's +description had spent a night there eight or nine days ago. That showed +that he was gaining, and he forced his pace all day. At sunset he made a +fire beside a frozen lake, and after three or four days of arduous toil +reached another camp. From the few men remaining there he learned that +Kermode had left the spot a week earlier with a companion whose work had +been interfered with by the frost. It was understood that they intended +to examine a mineral vein the railroad hand had discovered in a valley +some distance off, and when Prescott had ascertained where it lay he set +off on their trail. The camp was well supplied with provisions and he +bought a quantity. + +He felt more cheerful now. It looked as if the end of his long search +were near, since there was every reason to believe he would join the men +before they could test the claim. On the second day he laboriously +ascended a steep slope leading out of a valley he had followed, a broken +line of footprints running upward in front of him. This seemed to +indicate that the great ridge ahead could be crossed, though when he +glanced at the ramparts of dark rock the task looked insuperable. +Prescott knew nothing of mountaineering, but he judged that Kermode's +companion must be accustomed to the ranges. + +The slope grew sharper, there seemed to be an unbroken wall of rock +ahead; but, climbing higher, Prescott saw a small smooth track running up +the barrier. It was obviously a gully filled with snow and its steepness +suggested that the ascent of it might prove beyond his powers; but the +footprints led on to where it began. After following them to the spot, +Prescott sat down on a stone to gather breath. He looked upward with a +sinking heart. The hollow was deep and narrow--a cleft in the vast ridge +of rock, which was glazed with ice. In places it looked precipitous, but +there seemed to be no way of working round the flank of the mountain. +Then Prescott noticed that the snow was pitted with small holes, about +two feet apart, from which he concluded that the prospectors had carried +a grubhoe, a tool resembling a mountaineer's ice-ax. He might get up by +using these footholds. + +Before starting he carefully adjusted his pack, and slung the ax where it +seemed least likely to do him an injury. Then he found that by laying his +mittened hands in the holes above he could steady himself while he found +a fresh support for his feet, and for a while he made progress, though +the labor of carrying up his load became intense. Coming to a fang of +rock which offered a precarious seat, he stopped and wondered how he was +to get up the rest of the way. It seemed a vast distance to the top, and +he was already distressed by a form of exertion to which he was +unaccustomed. Bright sunshine rested on the jagged ridge above, but the +gully lay in shadow; and, growing cold, the man went on again. The next +few minutes passed uneventfully, except that he made a dangerous slip; +and then a stone rushed past him and he heard a sharp crash below. This +was a risk he had not counted on. Looking up anxiously, he saw some snow +coming down. There was not much of it, but it was traveling ominously +fast and he was right in its path. He dared not leave the steps to seek +the shelter of the rocks. Driving in his feet to secure a better hold; he +waited, wondering whether he would be swept away and hurled down to the +bottom with broken bones. + +The sliding snow was close upon him; he saw that it was spinning and of a +flat round shape, not a ball as he had expected, and then, while he dug +in his hands and stiffened every muscle to resist the shock, he received +a heavy blow on his lowered shoulder and a wet mass was flung violently +into his face. He held on, however, and without looking around, heard the +snow rush on down the gully beneath him. After he had climbed a few +yards, it seemed possible to reach a projecting spur of rock, and when he +had carefully kicked out a hold for one foot he made the attempt. He had +scarcely reached the shelter of the rock when there was a sharp crash +above and a great stone leaped by. + +Prescott found that he could maintain his position fairly comfortably and +he lighted his pipe and sat still to rest and consider, while the +downward rush of another stone gave him food for thought. He believed he +was half-way up, and after the exertions he had made, it was unthinkable +that he should go back and seek another route; besides, he doubted +whether he could get down without slipping. It seemed quite as perilous +to go on, until he reasoned from the state of the snow, which was not +deeply scored, that the stones did not come down continuously. Perhaps +the warmth of the sun, helped by a soft chinook wind that had set in had +loosened them; but the light was fading off part of the ridge and if he +waited a while, the discharge might cease. The trouble was that he was +getting very cold. He smoked another pipe, and as he heard no further +crashes, he cautiously ventured out and regained the deepest part of the +gully. His joints ached, his muscles felt sore, but there was a break in +the rocks some distance higher up and he determined to climb to it. + +The effort was severe, but he reached the spot, breathless, and carefully +looked about. The sunshine had now vanished from the crest of the rocks +and he supposed the stones would soon freeze fast again, but there would +be only another hour or two of daylight and he must gain a place of +safety before it grew dark. An incautious movement would precipitate him +from his insecure refuge and he could not contemplate his remaining there +through the night. Then he grew angry with Kermode. + +It was difficult to believe this was the easiest way into the valley +where the railroad man had made his discovery; the latter, being used to +the ranges, had, no doubt, taken it to shorten the distance, and Kermode +should have objected. Kermode, however, never paused to think; he +cheerfully plunged into the first folly that appealed to him and left +other people to bear the consequences. Then, having rested, Prescott saw +that there were weak points in this reasoning, since the man he was +following must have climbed the slope, and, what was more, that his +irritation led to no result. He could consider such matters when he had +reached the summit, and in order to do so, he must get on at once. + +No more stones came down, but after Prescott had gone some distance a +fresh difficulty confronted him. The gully was getting steeper, and the +holes had disappeared; he supposed that the snow had softened in the +sunshine earlier in the day and slipping down had filled up the recesses. +He had, however, discovered that one could kick through the hard crust +and make a hole to stand in, provided it were done carefully, and he went +up by this means, wondering whether his boots would hold out until he +reached the top, and stopping every few yards for breath. It was +exhausting work after a long march and he was heavily loaded, but it +could not be shirked, and he crawled up, watching the distance shorten +foot by foot. Once a step broke away and he slid back a yard before he +brought up with hands buried deep in the snow and the perspiration +streaming from him in his terror. Still, he was slowly mounting; and at +last, worn out and breathless, he reached the narrow ridge of crag and +looked down with keen relief or a long slope to a valley filled with +forest. + +In front there was a glorious vista of peaks that shone in the evening +light, but Prescott was in no mood to think of them. He must get down to +the trees, where he could camp in comfort, before darkness fell. Rising +after a few minutes' rest, he made the descent and, as dusk crept round +him, lighted his fire among the sheltering trunks. + +The next day he followed the valley through thick timber and withered +underbrush which tore his clothes and delayed his march. There were +fallen trunks with spreading branches to be scrambled over, and tangles +of thorny canes, but he was cheered by signs that somebody had passed on +ahead of him not long before. Later, the forest died out and the bottom +of the hollow was strewn with sharp-edged stones, which threatened to +tear his worn boots from his feet, and which added seriously to his toil. +It was, however, impossible that the prospectors had climbed the crags +that hemmed him in, and believing they could not be far in front of him, +he held on until late in the afternoon. + +At length he came to a wider stretch, out of which a ravine that looked +accessible led, but he gave little thought to it. There were a few small +trees about and one of them had recently been felled. He could see the +white chips and the place where a fire had burned. A meat-can lay near-by +and when Prescott picked it up he found the few fragments adhering to it +quite fresh. The men he sought had camped there, but he began to grow +anxious, for he could see no signs of them. Laying down his load, he made +a hasty examination of the locality and found a spot where the face of a +crag was marked by a streak of different material. It was rent in one +place, heavy fragments were scattered about, and Prescott saw that they +had been blown out with giant-powder. + +For a few minutes he eagerly proceeded with his search, but he could find +no blankets or provision cache, and when he saw footprints leading toward +the ravine the truth dawned on him. The prospectors had left the spot and +were not coming back; once more he had arrived too late. It was a cruel +disappointment and he sat down in black dejection, looking heavily about. +The high summits were wrapped in leaden cloud, the lower rocks towered +above him, rugged and forbidding, and a mournful wind wailed through the +gorge. + +With an effort he forced himself to think. He had provisions for only a +day or two; one of the prospectors was obviously an expert mountaineer, +which led Prescott to believe that they would travel faster than he was +capable of doing. It would be the height of rashness to push on farther +into the wilds without a guide, and the first fall of snow would blot out +any trail the others might have left. Reason warned him that he must turn +back; but it was unthinkable that he should descend the gully. He +determined to climb the ravine on the morrow. + +Growing cold, he fell to work with the ax, and soon had a fire burning in +a hollow among the rocks. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +DEFEAT + + +The next morning Prescott awakened in the dark and set to work, +shivering, to rekindle his fire. Day broke with a transitory brightness +while he had breakfast and soon afterward he entered the ravine. It was +steep, and filled with ice in places, but freshly dislodged stones and +scratches on the rocks showed him that the prospectors had gone that way. +The ascent was difficult: it cost him a tense effort now and then to gain +a slippery ledge or to scramble up a slab, and he had frequently to stop +and consider how he could best force a passage. + +He was tired and damp with perspiration when he reached the top and met +an icy wind that swept across a tableland. The high plain was strewn with +rocky fragments, the peaks above were lost in vapor, but he saw by a +glance at the watery sun that it ran roughly west; and footprints led +across it with an inclination toward the south. This was comforting, +because the line of track ran to the south, and if he could strike that, +it would serve as a guide; moreover it confirmed Prescott's conclusion +that Kermode, who had evidently found the mineral vein worthless, would +hold on toward the sea. He was not the man to haunt familiar ground when +a wide, newly opened country lay before him. + +Then a few stinging flakes struck Prescott's face, the pale sunshine was +blotted out, and a savage blast drove him back to the shelter of the +ravine. For an hour he sat, shivering, among the rocks while the gorge +was swept by snow. When it ceased he came out; but there was no sign of a +footprint now and, to make things worse, the new snow was soft. But he +plodded through it, heading southwest, so as to strike the track again, a +little farther on. + +He spent the day on the high ground; at times toilsomely picking a way +across banks of stones buried in snow that hid the dangerous gaps between +them. Now and then he sank through the treacherous covering and plunged +into a hollow, at the risk of breaking his leg; but walking was easier +between these tracts, and when evening came he reached a few large fallen +rocks, among which he camped and lay awake, half frozen, without a fire. +Starting as soon as day broke, he felt that he must make the surveyed +line before dark. He was growing afraid of the white desolation and +wanted to get into touch with something that would lead him to the haunts +of men. + +It was afternoon when he came to a great dip. A valley lay beneath him +with a frozen river winding through its depths, and he felt convinced +that it was one the track would follow. The trouble, however, was to get +down, for the hillside fell away in a vast scarp, broken here and there +by dark crags that showed through the snow. There was a belt of timber a +long way down, but the slope was too steep for him to reach it, and he +walked along the summit in search of a spot from which the descent could +be made, until he came to a long declivity that looked a little less +sharp. Then, strapping his fur coat on his pack, he kicked a step in the +snow and began to climb down, facing inward toward the bank. + +For a while, he made steady progress; and then the snow grew harder. Its +surface had melted and frozen again, resulting in a crust that could +scarcely be penetrated. He thought about his ax, but he could not see how +he could use it in cutting steps beneath him without falling down, and +this was not the place for hazardous experiments. He went on very +cautiously, finding the work of kicking hollows for his feet extremely +severe, until, when he supposed that half an hour had passed, he drove +his toes in deep and lay down to rest. On looking up, he seemed to have +come a very short distance, and when he glanced below he felt appalled at +the length of the declivity he must still creep down. His limbs ached; +his mittens were worn and his hands badly numbed; and one boot was coming +to pieces. + +The descent, however, must be continued, and he began to move again, very +warily. Presently he found he could not break through the crust with his +foot. Clinging hard to his handhold, he lowered himself to feel for a +softer spot. His toe went in a little way; he ventured to trust to the +slight support; but as he did so the treacherous snow broke beneath him. +For a few tense moments his numbed fingers held him to the slope. He +tried in terror to kick another hole; the attempt failed, his hands +slipped away, and he began to slide downward, the snow driving up into +his face. The pace grew rapidly faster; he could not keep himself +straight, but slid on his side; then his pack caught something that +turned him farther round so that his head was lowest. He could see +nothing; his pace grew frightful, and he drove on, unable to make the +least effort. + +How long this continued he had no idea. It was a terrifying experience; +but at length, to his dull astonishment, his speed slackened suddenly and +he stopped. He found that he was whole in limb, and on getting up +cautiously he was forced to the conclusion that he was little the worse +for his rapid descent. His clothes were packed with snow, but it was +easily shaken out. After recovering a little, he saw that he had brought +up on a slope that fell less sharply and that it would be possible to +walk down it without much trouble. The timber was close ahead, and he +smiled as he remembered his horror; it looked as if he might have made +the descent uninjured if he had calmly sat down and let himself go. + +Moving downward among the trees, he had almost reached the bottom of the +valley when he came upon a belt of rugged stones, and in picking a path +across them slipped and fell. He was not much hurt, but when he went on +again his foot felt sore and he was limping when he reached the river. +One or two trees near it had been chopped, and a spur of rock lower down +had its summit marked by a pole. He had reached the line of track, and he +followed it west, having heard there was a camp farther on, though his +informants did not know whether it was now occupied. It was, however, a +relief to stop among a clump of spruce at dusk. When he had made a fire +he examined his foot. There was no sign of injury except that ankle and +instep were rather red, and he went to sleep reassured. + +In the morning he was surprised to find that the foot was painful and +that the back of his leg felt strained. He would have been tempted to +remain in camp only that his provisions were nearly exhausted, and after +a meager breakfast he resumed the march. The bottom of the valley was +level, the timber thin, but there was a good deal of brush to be +struggled through and before long he was forced to take to the winding +river. By noon it cost him a determined effort to walk, for his foot was +extremely painful and his leg getting sore. As he did not know how far +off the camp was, it seemed prudent to save the food he had left, and he +limped on, his lips tight-set. + +The snow-covered ice was smooth, but the bends of the river increased the +distance wofully; there was a keen wind, and the dark pines stretched on +without a break as far as he could see. As he entered each fresh loop of +the stream he looked eagerly for an opening or sign of life, but there +were only rows of ragged spires, cutting sharply against the sky. He felt +inexpressibly lonely and badly afraid; the desolation was growing +appalling, and he could not keep on his feet much longer. He had food +enough for two scanty meals, and then, if no help came, he must starve. + +There was now a pain which grew rapidly worse in his left side; his +shoulders ached beneath his load, and every joint was sore with the +effort it cost him to save his injured foot. The sun sank lower, and the +trees still ran on ahead. Indeed, they were growing thicker, and he could +see only a short distance into the avenues between the great colonnades +of trunks. The loops of the river doubled more closely; in spite of his +exertion he was getting very little farther down the valley; but an +attempt to push through the forest led him into such tangles of fallen +trunks and branches that he was forced back to the ice. + +At length he reached a spot where a fire had swept the bush. Branches and +clustering needles had been burned away; the trees ran up in bare, +charred columns, black when looked at closely, in the distance a curious +silvery gray. Prescott could see ahead between them, and he stopped with +his heart beating rapidly, for on the white hillside some distance off +stood a few shacks. This was the camp, and in spite of the pain it cost +him he increased his pace, driven by keen suspense. He did not know if +there were men yonder, and he could see no smoke. The doubt grew +tormenting; leaving the stream farther on, he struck into unburned bush +that hid the camp from him. There were thorny brakes and thickets of +withered ferns, but though progress was excruciatingly painful he smashed +through them furiously. He was hot and breathless; it was insufferable +that he should be delayed among the timber in anxiety. Breaking out into +the open, he sent up a hoarse cry, for a thin trail of vapor curled above +one of the shacks. Then a man appeared in the doorway and waved a hand to +him. + +Prescott felt suddenly limp and nerveless; now that help was near at +hand, he wanted to sit down; but he held on until he limped into the hut, +where two men stood awaiting him. They were strong, weather-beaten +fellows, dressed in quaintly patched garments, and they looked +good-humored. + +"Come right in," said one. "Pull that box up to the fire and sit down." + +Prescott was glad to obey, and when he had taken off his pack he looked +about the shack. It was substantially built: stones and soil had been +used in its construction as well as boards and bark. It was warmed by a +big open fire and contained a table, besides a few tubs and cases which +served as seats. A bunk neatly made of split boards and filled with +spruce twigs and swamp hay ran along one end. + +"Can you take me in for a day or two?" he asked. "I've hurt my foot." + +"Sure," said the second man. "I noticed you were walking lame. We're well +stocked in groceries and Steve got a deer a day or two ago." + +"How did you get your stores?" + +"The contractor brought them up. There was quite a camp here; company +putting in all the preliminary work that could be done with the shovel. +They shut down when the frost came, but we figured we'd stay on, and took +over part of the supplies. The boss had more truck than he could pack +down to the other camps." + +"Then there's nobody else about the place?" + +"No, sir," said the first man; "they're all gone. It's kind of lonely, +but we're doing some chopping for the road, and we'll be right here with +money saved when work begins in spring. Bought a piece of fruit land, +part on mortgage, at a snap, and with good luck we'll have it clear when +we go back." + +The short explanation supplied a clue to the characters of the men, who +with an eye to the future preferred to face the rigors of the north +rather than to spend the winter hanging round the saloons on the warmer +coast. + +"Well," inquired the other, "where did you come from?" + +Prescott mentioned the last camp he had visited and gave them a few +particulars about his journey. + +"And so you came down the Long Bench--pretty tough proposition that! And +kept the trail on short rations!" one of his hosts remarked. "Suppose you +take a smoke, and I'll get supper a little earlier." + +Before long he was given a share of a simple but abundant meal, and after +it was over sat talking with his hosts. It was dark outside now, but +although the men had run out of oil for the lamp, the fire gave them +light, and pungent odors issued from the resinous logs. The room was warm +and, by comparison with the frozen wilderness, supremely comfortable. + +"What's the matter with your foot?" one of the men asked when Prescott +took off his boot. + +Prescott described how it felt, though he explained that he could find no +sign of injury, and the other nodded. + +"Ricked it a bit; got one of the ligaments or something kinked," he said. +"Known that happen when there wasn't much to show. You had better lie off +for a while." + +It occurred to Prescott that he might be in much worse quarters, though +he shrank from the delay a rest would entail. + +"What took you up the gully and over the Bench, anyway?" the man went on. + +Prescott explained and then asked: "Have you come across my partner or +the other fellow, Hollin?" + +"Never seen your partner." The man looked at his comrade and laughed. +"But we know Hollin, all right. Got an idea that he's a boss prospector +and froze on to the railroad job because it took him into the mountains. +Been all round looking for minerals; got fired for it at one or two +camps, and never struck anything worth speaking of. It's a point on which +he's certainly a crank." + +It was characteristic of Kermode, Prescott thought, that he should be +willing to accompany a man with a craze of the kind. + +"I'd expected to find them here. I understood they didn't mean to go back +to the camp at Butler Ridge," he said. + +"We haven't seen their tracks, and if they were heading west, they'd have +to come down this valley; but I guess nobody could tell where Hollin +would make for. Of course, you can't prospect much in winter with +everything frozen up and the snow about, but so long as he can trail +through the mountains and find a few clean rocks the man will be happy; +and I'll allow that he's smart at it. Knows how to fix a camp, and find a +deer, if there's one in the country. It's a sure thing he'll have to +strike for a camp or store sooner or later; but it's likely he has +crossed the line south and is trying to make the Fraser and the +settlements along the Canadian Pacific railroad." + +It was bad news to Prescott. He knew enough about the Pacific Province to +realize that if his host's suppositions were correct, he would have a +vast area to search; a region of stony uplands, mountain chains, and +rock-walled valleys. + +"Would it be possible for me to get through?" he asked. + +"No, sir! You don't want to think of it. Guess your partner will be +pretty safe with Hollin; but you're a plainsman and you'd sure get lost +in a day or two and starve when your grub ran out." + +"That's right," agreed the other man. "The thing can't be done." + +Prescott fell in with his opinion. It would, he thought, require a number +of expert mountaineers to trace the men he sought through the desolation +of rock and forest to the south. Besides, British Columbia was well +populated along the Canadian Pacific line, from which many avenues of +communication opened up, and there would be a strong probability of his +missing Kermode. + +"Well," he said reluctantly, "perhaps, I had better stop round here in +case they keep this track; and my foot's too sore to let me move. Could +you put me up for a week or two? I'll try to make it worth your while." + +"Stop as long as you want," Steve responded. "We'll have to charge you +for the grub, because we paid quite a pile for it, but we'll only strike +you for your share." + +"Thank you," said Prescott, and the others began to talk of Hollin. + +"If that man would let up on prospecting he'd get rich," declared one. +"When a survey outfit goes up into the bush, Hollin's picked for the boss +packer's job, and when there's a new wagon road to be staked out they +generally put him on. A smart man at striking the easiest line through +rough country." + +"That's so," agreed Steve. "Trouble is that he can't stay with it. Soon +as he collects some pay, he goes off on the prospecting trail, and then +heads for Vancouver with a bag of specimens that aren't worth anything. +When the mineral men hear of a new Hollin discovery they smile. Guess +he's found most everything--gold, copper, zinc, and platinum--and never +made fifty cents out of them, 'cept once when, so the boys say, a mining +company fellow gave him five dollars to promise he wouldn't worry him +again. Now they've orders in all the offices that if Hollin comes round +with any more specimens they're not to let him in." + +Prescott laughed. The man he had heard described was Kermode's companion, +and he could imagine their wandering up and down the province, one as +irresponsible as the other; meeting with strange experiences, stubbornly +braving the perils of the wilds; making themselves a nuisance to business +men in the cities. The matter had, however, a more serious aspect. +Prescott had spent some time on the useless search and he could not +continue it throughout the winter. It would be futile to speculate on the +movements of men so erratic as those he had followed. He could not +neglect his farm, and he had a heavy crop to haul in and sell: this was a +duty that must be attended to. + +If he went back without Jernyngham, and Curtis still clung to his theory, +the police might give him trouble; but he must run that risk. Though +convinced of it, he had no means of proving that Jernyngham was wandering +through British Columbia in company with a crazy prospector. + +After a while he grew drowsy and got into the bunk, where he lay down, +enjoying the warmth and softness of the spruce twigs until he went to +sleep. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +PRESCOTT'S RETURN + + +It was Saturday evening, clear and cold, though the frost was not +intense. A number of the farmers and their wives had driven in to +Sebastian to meet their friends and make their weekly purchases. A row of +light rigs stood outside the livery-stable, voices and laughter rose from +the sidewalks; the town looked cheerful and almost picturesque with its +roofs and tall elevator towers cutting against the soft night sky. + +A full moon hung above them, but its silvery radiance was paled by other +lights. Warm gleams shone out from the store windows upon the +hard-trodden snow; a train of lighted cars stood at the station, and the +intense white glare of the head-lamp mingled with the beam flung far +across the prairie by a freight locomotive on a side-track. Groups of +people strolled up and down the low platform, waiting to see the train go +out, and their voices rang merrily on the frosty air. From one of the +great shadowy elevators there came a whirr of wheels. + +When the train rolled away into the wilderness, Muriel Hurst entered the +hotel and went upstairs to the parlor where Colston and her sister were +sitting. The room was furnished in defective taste, but it was warm and +brightly lighted, and the girl had got accustomed to the smell of warm +iron diffused by the stove and the odor of burning kerosene. Colston +occupied an easy-chair, and when Muriel took off her furs he looked up +with a smile, noticing the fine color the nipping air had brought into +her face. She looked braced and vigorous, but it struck him that she wore +a thoughtful expression. + +"Did you buy all you wanted?" he asked. + +"I got what I came for." Muriel sat down and handed her sister a parcel. +"I think that ought to match. Has Harry been lounging there since supper? +Isn't he the picture of comfortable laziness?" + +Colston laughed. He was still very neatly dressed, but he looked harder +than he had when he first reached the prairie and his face was brown. + +"I'm content, and that's a great thing," he rejoined. "Indeed, I'll +confess that I could enjoy our stay here, except for the damping effect +of our friends' trouble. It's astonishing how little one misses the +comforts we insist on in England, and I'm coming to take an interest in +the visits we pay among the ranches and our weekly trip to Sebastian. +Then nobody could maintain that your sister looks any the worse for her +experience. I'm beginning to think she might pass for a wheat-grower's +wife." + +"I heard Mrs. Johnson ask when you were going to take a farm," Muriel +retorted. "It would be difficult to imagine you tramping down a furrow +behind a plow or driving one of those smelly gasoline tractors; but +you'll be able to pose before your constituents as an authority on +colonial questions when you go home." + +"I'm afraid they'll throw me over unless they see me soon; but there's +nothing else to take me back, and I'd feel we were deserting our friends +in their distress." + +"We can't leave them yet," Mrs. Colston broke in. "The suspense is +preying upon Jernyngham. He's getting dangerously moody; I know Gertrude +feels anxious about him." + +A curious expression crept into Muriel's eyes. + +"Believing what he does, it's natural that he should clamor for justice, +but he's becoming possessed by a feverish cruelty. It's mastering him, +destroying his judgment." + +"You're alluding to his suspicions of Prescott?" + +Muriel's eyes sparkled as she took up the challenge. + +"You know as well as I do that they're altogether wrong! It's impossible +that he should be guilty!" + +"One would like to think so," her sister responded with dry reserve. "But +it's a pity he ran away." + +Muriel could not deny this. She had retained her faith in Prescott, but +his silence about the motive for an absence that must tell against him +troubled her. It was strange that he had given her no hint, and she felt +hurt. + +"He may have gone because he could not bear to be distrusted," she said. +"You are both sorry for Jernyngham, but don't you think the man he +unjustly suspects deserves some pity?" + +"Well," said Colston, "I've tried to keep an open mind. Prejudice, of +course, should not be pandered to; but one is as likely to be led astray +by too strong a partiality for the suspected person." He paused before he +added: "However, I envy you your confidence; I liked the man." + +"The worst of it is that the matter may go dragging on until it wears +Gertrude and her father out," Mrs. Colston remarked. "It would be a +relief in some ways to learn the truth, however bad it is." + +"Mr. Prescott has no reason to dread the truth's coming out," said Muriel +staunchly. + +Then a maid came in to announce that their team was ready, and, putting +on her furs, Muriel went down in advance of the others to see that her +purchases had been placed together. After she had gone, Mrs. Colston +looked at her husband. + +"I think it would be advisable to mention Prescott as seldom as +possible." + +"So do I," Colston agreed. "I wonder whether you have noticed anything +unusual in the relations between Muriel and Gertrude of late? They used +to be good friends in England." + +"I have remarked some signs of strain. But it is not a matter you could +be expected to take an interest in." + +"Of course," Colston rejoined deprecatingly, and went down with his wife. + +Leslie's team and a smart sleigh, which Jernyngham had had sent out from +Toronto, stood at the door, and after he had helped his wife and Muriel +in, Colston took the reins. When they had jolted across the track, the +snow was beaten smooth along the trail; the team was fresh after resting, +and it was a brilliant night. They set off at an exhilarating speed, and +though their faces tingled they kept warm beneath their furs and +driving-robes. Far in front of them spread the prairie, gleaming white +beneath the moon; no cloud stained the vault of soft deep blue, and the +drumming of the hoofs rang out in merry rhythm. The crisp cold, which was +less marked than usual, stirred the blood. + +They passed a buggy, drawn by a good horse, and later a light wagon, for +the snow does not, as a rule, lie deep on the western prairie and the +farmers largely continue the use of wheels. After that for some time they +were alone on the waste, until as they approached a tract of broken +country a wagon appeared on the crest of a rise, with the double span of +horses in front of it cutting sharply black against the snow. It came on +slowly, heavily loaded with bags of grain, and then the dark shape of a +man who walked beside the team grew visible. As they came closer, Colston +turned his horses out of the trail to let the wagon pass, and then +started as the moonlight fell on the teamster's face. It was Prescott. + +For a moment he hesitated, and then pulled up, acknowledging the man's +greeting with a lifted hand. Mrs. Colston, however, said nothing, and +Prescott stood quietly by his horses' heads, until Muriel called him +forward and gave him her hand. + +"When did you get back?" she asked. + +"Late last night. We broke the wheat bin this morning, and I'm taking the +first load in." + +"But where were you?" + +"In Alberta and British Columbia most of the time." + +He volunteered no further information and there was an awkward pause, for +Prescott had noticed that Colston had been undecided whether to drive on +or not. Mrs. Colston sat farthest from him, so that he could not see her, +but she had not addressed him yet. It was clear that his appearance had +affected them unpleasantly. + +"When we next meet, you must tell us about your trip," said Muriel. + +"We should be interested to hear about it," Colston added lamely, and +Prescott forced a smile. Muriel was the only one who had treated him on +the old friendly footing; and he could hardly visit the Leslie homestead, +even if he were invited, while Jernyngham was there. + +"I may see you some time, and I mustn't keep you now," he responded. + +He started his team, and Colston turned to his companions. + +"I'll confess that I've had a great surprise." + +"Of course, you imagined that Mr. Prescott had gone for good!" said +Muriel with scorn. + +"I'm afraid I had some idea of that nature. He would hardly have come +back if he were guilty." + +"Oh," said Muriel mockingly, "you really can't tell what an unscrupulous, +bold man might do." + +"Spare me," Colston begged with a laugh. "After all, it looks as if you +have been right." He turned to his wife. "What do you think?" + +"Mr. Prescott's guilt or innocence is a question I can't decide; but in +making us believe he was Cyril Jernyngham he did a very wrong and foolish +thing. That Cyril may have urged him to do so is no excuse." + +"Leaving Mr. Prescott out, I think Cyril's idea was a very generous one," +Muriel declared. + +"How can you believe that?" + +"He must have wished to save his father and sister pain, and he knew the +trick would cost him a good deal. For one thing, it would prevent his +going home to be reinstated, because of course if he had done so, we +would have seen he was not the man we had met in Canada. He meant to stay +here, refusing to benefit by the change in his affairs, out of +consideration for his relatives." + +"And you approve his passing off this western farmer for a Jernyngham?" +Mrs. Colston asked. + +"Oh, that!" Muriel's laugh was scornful. "You were satisfied with the man +until you knew his name was Prescott. How was it that you didn't miss the +inherent superiority of the Jernynghams? Besides, I can't think Cyril +suffered by getting his friend to represent him. Though people won't talk +very freely, I've picked up some information since I've been here, enough +to show what kind of man Cyril was. He hadn't much to boast of, and one +must do him the justice to admit that he seems to have recognized it. You +probably know, though you hid it from me, that on the evening he should +have met us he was lying in the hotel after getting badly hurt in a +drunken brawl among some riotous Orangemen." + +"I can't have any reflections cast upon Orangemen," Colston objected. +"There are a large number in my constituency; most worthy people, for +whom I've a strong respect." + +"You have a respect for their votes, you mean," Muriel rejoined. "You +know you're really ritualistic High Church. If your constituents knew as +much about St. Cuthbert's as I do, they would turn you out." + +"I have never hid my convictions," Colston declared. "Anyway, I have +ascertained that the greater proportion of the Orangemen were sober." + +"Then," retorted Muriel, "I'm sorry that Cyril was not. But there are +more important points to consider." + +"That is very true," said Mrs. Colston. "Will you tell Jernyngham that we +have seen Prescott, Harry?" + +Colston hesitated. + +"No; I don't think so. I'm afraid of the effect it may have on him; and +he won't be up when we get in. All the same, he's bound to hear the news +from somebody else very soon." + +Neither of the others answered, and they drove on in silence until the +lights of the Leslie homestead blinked across the snow. The cheerfulness +which had marked the party when they set out had gone; they felt a sense +of constraint, and Muriel wondered uneasily whether she had spoken with +too much freedom. + +The next morning they were sitting with Jernyngham and Gertrude when a +neighboring rancher came in. + +"I thought Leslie might be here," he explained. "Don't mean to intrude." + +Colston knew the man and he asked him to sit down. Jernyngham glanced up +from the Winnipeg paper he was reading. His face was worn and had set +into a fixed, harsh expression, but his manner conveyed a hint of +eagerness; of late it had suggested that he was continually expecting +something. + +"I drove over to give Leslie a message," the newcomer continued. "I guess +you have heard that Prescott's back." + +Jernyngham started and dropped the paper. + +"Prescott back? You must be mistaken!" + +"No, sir! Spoke to him on the trail last night. He was hauling in a load +to the settlement, and I was driving home half an hour after Mr. +Colston." + +"There's only one trail," said Jernyngham, looking hard at Colston. "You +must have met the fellow. Why didn't you tell me?" + +Colston showed confusion. + +"To tell the truth, I was afraid the news might distress and excite you. +You couldn't do anything until Monday, and I thought it better to let you +spend to-day in peace." + +"In peace!" Jernyngham laughed in a jarring manner. "Tormented as I am by +suspense that grows beyond endurance!" His eyes glittered and the lines +on his face deepened. "And I'm to be kept in ignorance while the villain +who robbed and killed my son goes about his work undisturbed!" + +There was an awkward silence for a few moments. Mrs. Colston looked +distressed, and Gertrude regarded Muriel with a long searching glance. +The girl felt that she was being suspected of abetting her brother-in-law +for some ulterior purpose. She was of sanguine temperament and wayward +temper, and her blood ran warm; but she held in check the anger that she +burned to give expression to. Then their visitor, whom they had +forgotten, broke in: + +"Now, sir, you're getting ahead too fast. There's nothing proved against +Prescott, and I and others know he never did the thing!" He paused and +Muriel, regardless of her companions, flung him a grateful glance as he +went on: "Even Curtis can't bring it home to him!" + +"Curtis," said Jernyngham contemptuously, "is a cautious fool! I'll +communicate with his chiefs at Regina." He got up with a decided air. +"I'll start for Sebastian at once. Where's Leslie? I must see him about a +team." + +"You stay where you are," said the farmer, with rude sympathy. "I heard +that one of the police bosses will be at the settlement to-morrow and you +can see him then; Curtis took a room for him at the hotel. I'm telling +you because the sooner all this muss is cleared up the better, and it +won't hurt Prescott." + +He went out and Jernyngham, without speaking to the others, picked up his +paper. Muriel took a book from a shelf, but although she determinedly +tried to fix her attention on it, she could make no sense of what she +read. It was a dreary morning; Colston was soon driven out, and the +others were oppressed by a feeling of constraint and tension. They were +glad when Jernyngham and Gertrude started for Sebastian in the afternoon. +After they had gone, Colston looked at his wife and sister-in-law +dolefully. + +"This kind of thing will tell upon your nerves; I'm beginning to feel +it," he said. "We must have a long drive to-morrow to get rid of the +depression. Those people on the ranch by the bluff pressed us to come +back again." + +"There are many excuses for our friends; you couldn't expect them to be +cheerful," Mrs. Colston replied. + +"That's very true; one must try to remember it. It seems our duty to +remain and comfort them as much as possible; but I can't say that they're +always very grateful. Indeed, I have felt hurt by Gertrude's reserve, +though, considering how trying all this must be for her, one can't take +exception to it." + +"Gertrude knows her brother is alive!" said Muriel coldly. + +Her sister cast a keen glance at her, while Colston, made a sign of +expostulation. + +"I scarcely think you have any right to say that; but I'll confess that +I'm wavering in my opinions--Prescott's return has had its effect on me. +In fact, the mystery's getting deeper and more fascinating; I feel +impelled to wait and see it unraveled." + +"That is hardly the way to regard it," his wife rebuked him. "I would +rather remember that the Jernynghams have a strong claim on our +sympathy." + +"It's the main consideration, of course. But we'll decide on the drive +to-morrow. It has been a depressing day." + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +MURIEL RELIEVES HER MIND + + +On the Monday morning, Jernyngham was shown into the parlor of the hotel +where a commissioned officer of the police sat waiting for him. He had +keen, observant eyes, but his manner was quiet, and Jernyngham endeavored +to control his impatience. + +"I suppose you know that Prescott has returned to his farm?" he said, +taking the chair the other pointed to. + +"I have been informed so," the officer replied. + +"Then may I ask what you mean to do?" + +"We have come to no decision." + +"But your men have a warrant for him!" + +The officer changed his position and his expression hinted at +forbearance. + +"That is so. On the whole, I think it should not have been issued." + +"You must not let the fellow's return influence you unduly." + +"Very true," said the other with a calm which Jernyngham found maddening. +"It would be unwise to infer too much from that." + +"He is a bold man; he has, no doubt, counted on the effect his coming +back would have," Jernyngham urged. + +"It's possible," the officer agreed. + +Jernyngham's nerves had given way beneath the strain he had borne, and he +now stood up, trembling with anger. + +"Am I to understand that you intend to leave the fellow alone? Now, when +he is within your reach, you will not arrest him? The scoundrel killed my +son!" + +"Might I suggest your sitting down again?" said the officer calmly. "Let +me try to put the matter before you as we look at it. To begin with, we +can't very well press the charge you make against Prescott without some +proof of the victim's death, which has not been discovered yet. The +muskeg, I must remind you, was drained and nothing found. The handsome +reward you offered led to no result, though every man in the district who +had any time to spare spent it in searching the bluffs. Corporal Curtis +has made systematic investigations, but they have been fruitless." + +"Corporal Curtis is a man of whose intelligence I have a very poor +opinion!" said Jernyngham hotly. + +His companion smiled. + +"That's a point upon which I don't altogether share your views." + +"In short, you intend to let the matter drop! I must protest against such +a scandalous failure of justice! But you shall not let it drop; I warn +you that I shall apply to Ottawa, where there are people who can put upon +you the pressure that seems to be needed!" + +A look of weariness crept into the officer's face. + +"You have my sympathy, Mr. Jernyngham, but you can't be allowed to +interfere with the Northwest Police." + +Jernyngham pulled himself together. + +"I had no wish to be offensive, though I meant what I said. Suppose this +fellow goes off again--for good--as soon as he has sold his wheat?" + +"That will have to be guarded against. He will be watched; if he leaves +his farm, he will be followed." + +"He gave you the slip neatly on a previous occasion." + +"Quite true," said the officer. "Our men are not infallible. I think I +can promise that it will not happen again." Then he rose. "I have some +business waiting and you must excuse me. I can assure you that nothing +which promises to throw any light upon the matter will be neglected." + +He opened the door and politely but firmly bowed out his visitor. Then he +called Curtis, who was waiting below. + +"I dare say you can guess Mr. Jernyngham's errand," he said. "Unless we +can hit on the truth before long, you'll have that gentleman in the +guard-room." + +Curtis looked astonished and his superior smiled compassionately. + +"I mean as a sufferer from mental derangement. Don't be communicative, +and confine yourself to reassuring generalities, if you come across him. +His mind's morbidly fixed on punishing Prescott. I don't think he can be +convinced that the man is innocent." + +"I can't help meeting him, sir. He spends his time following me about. In +a way, one can't blame him for what he thinks." + +"Though it doesn't agree with your conclusions? Sit down; we have a +number of things to talk about." + +"Well, sir," said Curtis, "this is certainly a mixed-up case. I've said +nothing all along to disturb people's belief that it was Prescott we were +after, but if I had to corral one of the two, I'd get Wandle. The land +agency man gave us a good description of him." + +His superior nodded thoughtfully. + +"Prescott impersonated Cyril Jernyngham before his supposed death, and +Wandle personated him afterward; the latter with the more obvious motive. +The point is that there's no evidence of collusion, but rather +disagreement, between the two. Of course, we could arrest Wandle now." + +"Yes, sir. As soon as the agent identified him, we could prove forgery +and falsification of the land sale record. He'd be safe in the guard-room +or a penitentiary." + +"Just so; we will have him there sooner or later, but if he's guilty of +the more serious charge, he'd have no opportunity for giving himself +away. I'd rather he was left at large and you kept your eye on him. The +same applies to Prescott. Now I've been making a fresh study of the +diagram of the footsteps near the muskeg, and I can see no fault in the +conclusions you arrived at--only the remains can't be found." + +"Sure, that's a weak point, sir. But I might mention the case of the +person who was found in a bluff a few miles from home after they'd +searched the district for six months." + +"It has been in my mind. But you have other matters to report on. What +about the disturbance on the Indian reservation?" + +While they discussed it, Jernyngham set out for the Leslie homestead and +on his arrival found Gertrude alone. Sitting down with a shiver, he +looked at her dejectedly. + +"I have failed again. They will do nothing; there's no satisfaction to be +had," he said. "I drove out my son by arbitrary harshness, and now the +only reparation I might have made is denied me." + +"You were harsh," assented Gertrude. "I have begun to realize it since we +came to Canada--one sees things differently here. But, in a sense, I +think you were not to be blamed; you acted in the belief that you were +right." + +She had seldom ventured to address him with so much candor and she was +surprised at his calmness. + +"Yes," he said, "it is some relief to remember that; but I was wrong." + +"Then shouldn't it make you more careful not to fall into a similar error +again? You have a fixed idea in your mind and the way you dwell on it is +breaking you down; seeing you suffer is wearing me. Can't you believe +that there is room for doubt?" + +"I wish I could," he said with some gentleness, recognizing the anxious +appeal in her voice. "But I imagined you were as convinced as I am of +Prescott's guilt." + +"Oh," she replied miserably, "I believed I was; but I don't know what to +think!" + +He noticed the distress in her face with uncomprehending sympathy. He was +fond of her, in his stern, reserved fashion, and knew she must deeply +feel the loss of her brother. + +"As soon as he saw he was suspected, Prescott ran away," he continued. +"That must count against him. If he had had any motive except the wish to +escape, he would have mentioned it." + +Gertrude sat silent, tormented by confused emotions. Prescott had told +her he was going to hunt for Cyril, and until she had seen his devotion +to Muriel she had felt that she must believe in him; then her mind had +been filled with jealousy and doubt. She thought she hated him; after +all, he might be guilty. It was not her part to speak in his defense; +though she felt she was acting treacherously, she could not stand up for +him. + +"It is possible that the police were wrong about Cyril," she said at +length. + +"I'm afraid not," said Jernyngham. "It might be urged that Prescott has +come back; but I believe that was only to sell his wheat." He broke into +a harsh laugh. "One must admit that the fellow has courage; but he won't +find it easy to escape again. Every move of his will be watched." + +Gertrude sat very still for a few moments, her lips tightly pressed +together. Then she made a gesture of weariness. + +"Oh," she said, "it's all so hard to bear! There's nothing but doubt and +suspense; not a ray of comfort!" + +Getting up languidly she went out and left her father lost in thought. + +An hour or two afterward, Prescott sat near the stove in his homestead, +moodily making entries in an account-book, when he heard voices in the +passage and looked up with a start. The next moment the door opened and +Muriel Hurst came in. His heart throbbed furiously at the sight of her; +she looked excited and eager; her rich furs enhanced her charm. He +thought she made a wonderfully attractive picture in the small, simply +furnished room, but he laid a strong restraint upon himself as he rose. + +"I felt that I had to come; I wanted to show that your friends still +trusted you," she said impulsively. + +He made no move to bring her a chair. + +"It was a generous thought, but, considering everything, I don't know +that it was wise. Did you tell Colston or your sister that you were +coming?" + +"No," she answered with a trace of confusion; "I left rather in a hurry." +Then she broke into a forced laugh. "This isn't the welcome I expected!" + +Prescott's eyes gleamed. + +"You know I'm glad to see you." + +"Well," she said, sitting down with a hint of defiance in her air, +"that's the most important thing; though the confession had to be +extorted from you. It looked as if you wanted to get rid of me." + +"I felt I ought to." + +Muriel looked at him with amusement. + +"Duty against inclination! It's a pity the former was beaten. But aren't +you falling into our way of thinking rather fast?" + +"That isn't strange. I've had English ideas impressed on me pretty +forcibly during the last few months. But you made a statement that +surprised me. Does Colston trust me?" + +"He wants to." + +"That implies a doubt. And your sister; is she on my side?" + +"She's reserving her opinion." + +"You can't say that the Jernynghams are convinced of my innocence." + +"No," said Muriel. "I think they're cruelly and unreasonably bitter." + +"Then that leaves only one person with unshaken faith." His eyes rested +on the girl with deep gratitude and tenderness. "Miss Hurst, I think I +may say it's quite enough." + +She looked up fearlessly, with heightened color. + +"We won't pay each other compliments. Will you tell me why you went +away?" + +"Yes; I went to look for Cyril Jernyngham." + +Muriel made an abrupt movement and her eyes sparkled with relief which +she did not try to hide. + +"Oh," she said, "that's such a complete explanation; it answers +everything! But why didn't you tell people the reason you were going? You +must have known that stealing away, as you did, would count against you!" + +"I told Miss Jernyngham." + +"Gertrude knew?" Muriel started. Then her face hardened. "After all, that +doesn't matter; there are much more important things. You didn't find +Cyril?" + +"I followed him across three provinces and lost him in the end." + +"Ah!" she said. "How unfortunate, how terribly disappointing! But tell me +all you did; I'm not asking from mere curiosity." She hesitated. "I think +you owe me that." + +He told her the story of his wanderings and what he had learned about +Kermode's adventures. She listened with eager attention, and laughed now +and then. + +"It's convincing on the face of it," she declared. "One feels that +everything is exactly what Cyril Jernyngham must have done. Will you tell +his father?" + +"No," Prescott answered gravely. "He wouldn't believe the tale." + +"But I feel it can't be doubted, after what I have heard of Cyril's +character and his conduct in England." + +"You have an open mind. I think you hate injustice; you try to be fair. +That, I guess, is why you came to see me." + +Muriel glanced at him sharply, and then smiled. + +"I suppose it was; I felt that you have been badly treated. But I only +meant to stay a minute or two, and you seem to be busy." + +He did not deny it. Conscious as he was of her charm and his longing for +her, he feared to detain her lest he should be driven into some rash +avowal. + +"I'm very grateful for your confidence," he answered slowly. + +"Well," said Muriel, "I must go." She rose, but stood still a moment. +"Mr. Prescott, it hurts me to see suspicion fall on my friends. You must +clear yourself somehow." + +"Ah," he said moodily, "how am I to set about it?" + +"For one thing, you must not go away again. That would look bad." She +hesitated. "And, from a few words I heard, I fear it would bring the +police after you." + +"It seems very probable; I'll stay while I'm allowed," he said with some +bitterness and turned toward the door with her. Then a little color crept +into his face as she held out her hand. "Miss Hurst," he added, "you are +a very staunch friend." + +Muriel smiled. + +"It really looks as if staunchness were one of my virtues; but you see I +venture to act on my opinions without paying much attention to what other +people think. After all, that would be foolish, wouldn't it?" + +Then she got into the sleigh and left him wondering what she could have +meant. He knew her friends regarded him as a man of inferior station, +who, if cleared from suspicion, might perhaps be tolerated so long as he +recognized his limitations and did not presume. Had Muriel wished to hint +that she differed from them in this respect? The thought of it set his +heart to beating fast and when he went back to his books he found it +singularly difficult to fix his mind on them. + +Muriel drove rapidly to the Leslie homestead and, reaching it after dark, +joined the others at supper. During the meal, a reference to Jernyngham's +interview with the police officer gave her the opportunity she was +waiting for. + +"When Mr. Prescott went away it told badly against him, because people +didn't know what his object was," she said. + +She fixed her eyes on Gertrude, but the latter's face was expressionless +as she moved her plate. + +"He went to find Cyril," she added. + +Mrs. Colston looked up sharply; her husband started. + +"If true, it's a strong point in his favor," Colston declared. + +Gertrude still made no sign; but her father broke into an incredulous +smile. + +"An excellent motive! It's a pity he didn't mention it before he went! It +would have carried more weight then!" + +There was an awkward silence; and then Muriel said firmly: + +"Still, that was why he went away." + +Jernyngham looked hard at her and made a gesture which suggested that the +matter would not bear discussion. Then Colston began to talk to her, and +he was glad when the meal was finished. Muriel waited until she found +Gertrude alone in her room. + +"You knew Mr. Prescott went to look for your brother, and yet you would +not say a word," she said. + +"Ah!" exclaimed Gertrude sharply. "So you have seen him! You drove over +this afternoon--one might have expected that." + +Muriel's eyes sparkled, but she answered calmly: + +"Yes, I went to see him; but you're evading the point. What reason could +you have had for trying to injure an innocent man?" + +Gertrude made an uneasy movement. + +"Aren't you taking too much for granted? To begin with, his innocence is +very doubtful." + +"Yet, I think you must have been convinced of it. That he told you why he +was going proves that you were on friendly terms, which would have been +impossible if you had thought him guilty. What has made you change?" + +The girl's voice was stingingly scornful. It looked as if she suspected +something, and Gertrude broke into a cold smile. + +"Oh," she said, "the man is clever; he has a way of creeping into one's +confidence. He appears to have had no trouble in gaining yours. After +all, however, if my father is right, I have a duty to my brother's +memory." + +"Your father is so possessed and carried away by an idea that one can +almost forgive him his injustice and cruelty. You have not the same +excuse!" + +Gertrude turned toward her with a formal manner. + +"I think you have gone far enough. Do you intend to tell the others what +you have said to me?" + +"Oh, no," answered Muriel. "It would serve no purpose. But I feel that +sooner or later you will be sorry for what you have done." + +Then she went out, leaving Gertrude alone with her reflections. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +WANDLE TAKES PRECAUTIONS + + +Bright sunshine streamed down upon the glittering plain, tempering the +frost, when Wandle stood outside his house one morning, wondering how he +should employ himself during the day. He had hauled his wheat in to the +elevators, and when that is done the western farmer has now and then some +leisure, because the frozen ground renders many of his usual operations +impossible. Wandle had a stack of cordwood ready cut, and though he +needed some logs for an addition to his stable which he meant to build, +the thinness of the snow, which had been disturbed by a strong wind, +would make the work of hauling them home too difficult. He was, however, +an active man, who rarely wasted time or money; and as he looked about, +the ash-heap caught his eye. It was rather large and near his house, and +he determined to remove it, now that he had nothing better to do. + +In a few minutes he was hard at work with a pick, and succeeded, with +some difficulty, in breaking through the frozen crust. The moisture, +however, had not penetrated far enough into the fine wood-ash for the +rest to freeze, so that he was soon able to use the shovel and during the +next half-hour he flung a quantity of the stuff into his wagon. As he did +so he looked out for Jernyngham's cash-box, and grew surprised when it +did not appear. When he had hauled the load away and deposited it in a +swampy place he was getting anxious. The box could not have escaped his +notice, because he had spread the ash thinly; he had, he thought, dug far +enough into the pile to have reached it; but there was still no sign of +it. This was disconcerting, and he worked until he had largely reduced +the heap, and he scattered the next load so that every bit of rubbish +among it could be seen. Then he stopped in dismay to think. He had +certainly thrown the box among the ash, and it was gone; the only +inference was that somebody had afterward dug it up and taken it away. + +Wandle realized this with a shock, but he was too keen-witted to give way +to alarm and leave his task unfinished. He must remove the whole pile, in +order to give no cause for suspicion that he had been excavating in +search of something; and the sooner it was done the better. It was noon +when the work was finished and he entered the house, where there was +something else to be done. He was a methodical man and had a place for +each of his belongings. He began by examining the position of every +article in a cupboard. None seemed to have been disturbed, which was +reassuring, and Wandle proceeded to empty a chest in which he kept his +clothing. He had reached the bottom of it when a pair of light summer +shoes caught his eye and his face became intent. They were not where he +had placed them; he remembered having fitted them in between some other +things at the opposite end of the chest. This confirmed his worst +suspicions, but he carefully laid back each garment before he sat down to +consider. + +It was obvious that the police had searched his house, and had taken the +cash-box away, but he was careful not to let his fears overcome his +judgment. The box was of a cheap and common pattern; it would be +difficult to identify it as having belonged to Jernyngham. He was more +troubled by the evidence that he was being watched by the police because +it might result in their discovering the sale of land he had made. This +must be guarded against, as the offense was serious, and would, moreover, +connect him with Jernyngham's disappearance; but Wandle would not be +driven into any rash and precipitate action by his alarm. He was a cool, +ready-witted, avaricious man, who had found industry profitable, and he +had no intention of leaving the farm he had spent so much work on. Flight +would mean ruin: he could not dispose of his property before he went +without attracting attention, and it would, in all probability, lead to +his arrest. He must stay and face the matter out. + +First of all, he tried to estimate the risk of his being recognized as +the man who had sold Jernyngham's land. If the suspicions of the agent he +had dealt with were aroused, he might describe his customer to the +police. Wandle was glad his appearance was by no means striking. When he +sold the land, he had, however, worn a newly made suit of a rather vivid +brown, which the man would probably remember. Wandle had bought it on a +business visit to Brandon, which was a long way off, and the police could +not have seen it when searching his house, because they had done so in +his absence and when he left the farm to drive in to the settlement he +had put on the clothes. There was a risk that somebody in Sebastian might +remember how he was dressed, but, as he had been there only once or twice +in the past few months, he did not think it was likely. + +The garments would have to be sacrificed, which was unfortunate, because +clothing is dear in western Canada; but Wandle thought of a better means +of getting rid of them, than destroying them. It was obvious that the +suspicions of the police must fall on himself or Prescott, and he +preferred that the latter should be implicated. After a while, he saw +what could be done, provided there was wind enough to obliterate his +footsteps in the snow or there should be another fall. + +He had to wait a few days; and then one evening he made up the clothes +into a bundle, saddled a horse, and rode off across the prairie toward +the Prescott homestead. It was very cold and he would have been more +comfortable wrapped in a driving-robe in his buggy; but the moon now and +then shone through the rifts in the clouds, and a rig could not be hidden +or driven in among thick trees. + +A long bluff ran close up to the homestead, and when Wandle reached its +outer end he got down and walked beside his horse, keeping the wood +between him and the farm trail. It was important that he should not be +seen. The horse would attract no attention, because Prescott had a +number, and hardy, range-bred horses are often left to run loose through +the winter. Still, clear moonlight streamed through between the slender +trees, and there was a glow from the windows of the house. As Wandle drew +nearer it he moved with greater caution. He was fortunate in having done +so, for he stopped with a start as two black mounted figures cut against +the sky not far in front of him. They were clearly visible as they +crossed an opening, and though he stood in shadow beside a denser growth +of trees his heart beat faster as he watched them. They were riding +slowly, keeping out of view of the house, which was significant, because +had they been neighbors of Prescott's returning from a visit to him they +would have taken no trouble to avoid being seen. These were police +troopers, watching the homestead. + +Presently one of them spoke to the other, and Wandle recognized Private +Stanton's voice. Indeed, it was ominously distinct, and Wandle, standing +very still with a firm hand on the bridle, passed a few anxious moments; +a movement of his horse might betray him. The troopers, however, drew +abreast without glancing toward him and the tension slackened as they +slowly moved away. What they expected to find he could not tell, but he +was on the whole pleased to see them hanging round the bluff. He waited a +while after the faint sound they had made died away; and then, tying his +horse to a branch, he crept quietly into the bluff. + +There were belts of shadow among the trees; he got entangled among nut +bushes and thickets, but creeping on toward the house, he reached a more +open space and found a hollow nearly filled with withered leaves. There +he stopped, wondering whether it would be safe to strike a match; but he +knew that something must be risked and he got a light and bent down, +shielding it with his hands. The leaves lay thickly together, a foot or +two in depth, and the place looked suitable for his purpose. + +A stream of light suddenly broke out from the door of the homestead and +Wandle's hand closed quickly on the match; somebody was crossing from the +house to the stable with a lantern. He could see the man's dark figure +plainly, though he could not recognize him, and he waited until a door +was noisily opened. Then he scraped the leaves aside and laid the brown +clothes in the hollow. He stayed beside it until the man with the lantern +returned to the house, and then he crept back through the bluff and led +his horse toward its end, where he mounted and rode to the next farm. +After spending an hour with its owner, arranging for a journey to a bluff +where unusually large logs could be found, he rode home content. +Everything had gone as he wished; there would, he thought, be snow enough +before morning to cover any tracks he had left, and he could, if +necessary, account for his having been in the neighborhood of the +Prescott farm. + +During the next week, Wandle watched the weather, which continued fine +after a few snow showers. A heavy fall might hide the clothes until +spring, but he could think of no means of leading up to their discovery. +To give the police a hint would fix their suspicions on himself, and he +wondered how one could be conveyed to them indirectly. Chance provided +him with an opportunity. + +Gertrude Jernyngham borrowed Leslie's team one afternoon and set out for +a drive. Troubled as she was, she had of late found the strain of +maintaining a tranquil demeanor before her friends growing too much for +her, and it was trying to spend the greater portion of her time in +Muriel's society. She was filled with a jealous hatred of the girl, and +felt that it would be a relief to be alone a while. The air was still, +bright sunshine flooded the plain, the thick driving-robe kept her +comfortably warm; and, lost in painful thought, she had driven farther +than she intended when she turned back. On doing so, she noticed that she +had left the beaten trail and she looked about timidly. The sun was low, +a gray dimness had crept across the eastern half of the prairie where the +homestead lay and a piercing wind was springing up. There was nobody in +sight and no sign of a house, and she could not remember which of the +bluffs that stretched in wavy lines across the waste she had passed. + +She drove on toward the east, eagerly looking for the trail, while the +horse broke through the thin snow-crust and the sleigh ran heavily, until +she reached a slope leading to a frozen swamp. It was of some extent, and +she grew anxious, for she had not seen the spot before. The country ahead +was more broken, rolling in low rises with short pines on their summits, +and it was with unfeigned satisfaction that she saw a man crossing one of +the ridges. He answered when she called and in a few minutes she stopped +close beside him. He was a tall man, wearing an old fur coat and +dilapidated fur cap; a rancher, she thought. + +"Can you tell me where Leslie's house is?" she asked. + +"Sure," said Wandle, pointing toward the east. "But as it will be dark +before you get there, you had better let me put you on the trail. You'll +have to cross these sandhills, and as the snow's blown off in places, +it's rough traveling." + +Gertrude thanked him, and she was glad that he led the team as they +crossed the broken belt, picking out the smoothest course among the +clumps of birches and low steep ridges. At times he had difficulty in +urging the horses up a bank of frozen sand, but after a while he looked +around at her. + +"You're Miss Jernyngham?" he said. "Guess you must have had a mighty +trying time?" + +His tone was respectful and, though he was a stranger, Gertrude could not +resent the allusion to her troubles. She had generally found the western +ranchers blunt. + +"Yes," she replied; "my father and I have had much to bear." + +Wandle made a gesture of sympathy. + +"The mystery's the worst--it's easier to face a trouble one knows all +about. What have the police been doing lately?" + +"I don't know; they have told us nothing for some time." + +"You find them kind of disappointing?" + +"I believe my father does." + +The man said nothing for a while, and then looked around again. + +"Well," he ventured, "it strikes me there's one man Curtis ought to keep +his eye on." + +Gertrude started and Wandle studied her face. He was observant and quick +to draw a conclusion, and he read something that surprised him in her +eyes. It was, he thought, a deeper feeling than suspicion; Miss +Jernyngham knew whom he meant and had some reason for being very bitter +against Prescott. + +"Why do you say that?" she asked. + +"All I've heard looks black against him," he answered with an air of +reflection. "What does your father think?" + +"He is perplexed and distressed," said Gertrude coldly, deciding that the +man must not be allowed to go too far. + +Wandle guessed her thoughts, but he was not to be daunted. + +"That's natural. He must be anxious to learn the truth, and the police +haven't found out much yet--looks as if they were getting tired." + +Gertrude hesitated, while he led the horses round a clump of birches. It +was painful and undignified to discuss the matter with a stranger, but +his manner was suggestive; she felt that he had something to tell. +Perhaps it was her duty to encourage him, and her suspicions of Prescott +drove her on. Wandle waited, knowing that she would speak. + +"Is there anything that might be useful they have neglected doing?" + +"It's hard to say. I'll allow that they've worked through the muskeg and +the bluffs pretty thoroughly; but do you know if they've made a good +search round Prescott's house?" + +"No," said Gertrude eagerly; "I can't tell you that. But why should they +look there?" + +Wandle considered. It would be awkward if she mentioned that she had had +a hint from him, but he did not think this would happen. There was a +greater probability of her acting as if the idea had originated with her. +He let the team stop and looked at her impressively. + +"It strikes me as quite a likely place. I've heard of people hiding +things they wanted to get rid of in a bluff. You put it to your father +and see how the notion strikes him." + +"I'll think of it," Gertrude replied coldly; but Wandle knew that she +would do as he had suggested. + +He said nothing further until they had crossed another rise or two, when +he stopped and pointed to a bluff not far away. + +"When you make those trees you'll strike the trail and it's pretty well +beaten. It will take you straight in to Leslie's." + +Gertrude thanked him and drove on. It was getting dark, and a bitter wind +swept the waste, but at first she was scarcely conscious of the cold, for +her thoughts were busy. She felt that she had done wrong in allowing the +man to make the suggestion. Somehow it seemed to involve her in a plot +against Prescott; but of late she had tried to convince herself of his +guilt. After all, it was her duty to have the fullest investigation made +and the fellow had spoken in a significant manner. One could imagine that +he knew more than he had said. + +Darkness closed in on the empty plain, the wind stung her face, the +loneliness grew intense, and she began to shiver in a mood of black +depression. The mystery of her brother's disappearance filled her with +keen anxiety; now she could no longer believe Prescott's assurance that +he was not dead. A little while ago she had trusted him and her cold +nature had suddenly expanded in the warmth of love, but the transforming +glow had suddenly died out, leaving her crushed, humiliated, and very +bitter. Even if her fears about Cyril proved unfounded, she had nothing +to look forward to except a life that had grown meaningless and dreary; +the brief passion she had yielded to would never be stirred again. She +was growing hard and cruel; her keenest desire was to punish the man who +had, as she thought of it, deceived her. + +At length a light began to blink in the gloom ahead and soon afterward +she got down at the homestead, feeling very cramped and cold; but an hour +or two passed before she had an opportunity for speaking to her father +alone. It was easy to lead him on to talk of Cyril's disappearance, and +by and by she asked if the neighborhood of Prescott's homestead had been +searched. He caught at the idea. + +"It's hard to understand why I didn't think of that!" he cried. "I have +lost all confidence in Curtis. What he is doing, or if he means to let +the matter drop, I don't know; but if Prescott has hidden anything that +might tell against him, it will of course be in the bluff! I'll go over +and examine every hollow among the bushes, without the police." + +His expression grew eager and Gertrude, knowing that she had said enough, +left him quietly. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +JERNYNGHAM MAKES A DISCOVERY + + +A piercing wind swept the lonely waste when Jernyngham left the homestead +in the afternoon. He went on foot, because it was no great distance to +the Prescott farm, and he had no wish to attract notice by driving up in +the sleigh. It was his intention to enter the bluff quietly a little +while before it got dark and, after searching it, to walk home. By doing +so he would run less risk of being seen, for it was undesirable that he +should put Prescott on his guard. He had said nothing about his plan to +any one except Gertrude, which was unfortunate, because Leslie, who could +read the signs of the weather, would have dissuaded him. + +Jernyngham felt uneasy as he glanced across the plain. There was +something unusual in the light: every clump of scrub and bush in the +foreground stood out with a curious hard distinctness, though the +distance was blurred and dim. There was no horizon; the bluffs a few +miles off had faded into a hazy shapelessness. The sky was uniformly +gray, except in the north, where it darkened to a deep leaden color; the +cold struck through the man like a knife. He was, however, not to be +deterred; snow was coming and a heavy fall might make an effective search +impossible for the remainder of the winter. There was something +inexorable in his nature; his views were narrow, but he was true to them +and ruled himself and his dependents in accordance with a few fixed +principles. This was why he had driven out his son, and was now with the +same grim consistency bent on avenging him. He had a duty and he meant to +discharge it, in spite of raging blizzard or biting frost. Indeed, if +need be, he was willing to lay down the dreary life which had of late +grown valueless to him. Yet he was not without tenderness, and as he +plodded on over the frozen snow, he thought of the lost outcast with +wistful regret. + +He reached the bluff, and stopped a few moments, slightly breathless, +among the first of the trees. They were small and their branches cut in +sharp, intricate tracery against the sky; farther back, the rows of +slender trunks ran together in a hazy mass, though they failed to keep +out the wind, and once or twice a fine flake touched the old man's face +with a cold that stung. He pulled his fur cap lower down and set about +the search. For half an hour he scrambled among thick nut bushes, kicking +aside the snow beneath them here and there; and then he plunged knee-deep +into the withered grass where a sloo had dried. The snow was thin in the +wood, but it hid the iron-hard ground so that he could not tell if it had +been disturbed. It was obvious that the chances were against his +discovering anything, but he persevered, working steadily nearer to the +homestead, of which he once or twice caught a glimpse where the trees +were thinner. + +At length he stopped suddenly and cast a quick glance around. He had +heard a sharp crack behind him, but it was not repeated and there was +little to be seen. While he listened, the wind wailed among the branches +and the sloo grass rustled eerily. The patch of sky above him was growing +darker, and the wood looked, inexpressibly dreary; but as the light was +going, there was more reason for his making use of it. Though he was +getting tired, he pushed on; avoiding fallen trunks and branches where he +could, and floundering through thickets, he came to a small hollow which +traversed the bluff. As it was nearly filled with drifted snow, he +stepped down upon its white surface and, breaking through, sank above his +boots in withered leaves. These, he thought, would effectively hide +anything laid among them until it rotted and crumbled into their decay. +He followed up the hollow, kicking the snow aside. He fancied that he +heard the snapping sound again; but he was too eager to feel much +curiosity about the cause of it, and there was nothing to be seen. The +light was dying out rapidly, heavy snow was coming, and he must make the +best use of his time. + +After a while, his foot struck something which did not yield as the +leaves had done, and dropping on his knees he dragged it out. A thrill of +excitement ran through him as he saw that is was a suit of clothes and +made out in the gathering dusk that their color was brown. Then, as he +rose with grim satisfaction, he saw with a start two indistinct figures +watching him a dozen yards away. They moved forward, and he recognized +the first of them as Curtis. + +"Mr. Jernyngham?" said the corporal. + +"Yes," said Jernyngham. "Who did you think it was?" + +"Well," returned Curtis dryly, "we didn't expect to find you. What +brought you here?" + +"I've been doing your work with more success than seems to have attended +your efforts." He pointed to the clothes. "To my mind, this is +conclusive." + +An icy blast that set them shivering went roaring through the wood, but +they were too intent to heed it, and Curtis picked up one of the +garments. He could see only that it was a jacket, for darkness was +closing in suddenly. + +"I'll allow it's kind of suggestive," he admitted guardedly. + +Jernyngham broke into a contemptuous laugh. + +"How was the man who sold my son's land dressed?" + +"Smartly, in new clothes. The land agent remembered that they were a +reddish brown." + +"That's the color of the thing in your hand. There was more light when I +pulled it out of the leaves yonder. Are you convinced now?" + +"It's certainly enough to make one think." + +"To think, but not to act! You seem strangely content with the former! +Isn't it plain that Prescott sold the land, and then, remembering that he +had worn a suit of rather unusual color which might help to identify him, +hid it in the bluff? Having other people in the house, he was, no doubt, +afraid to burn the clothes." + +Curtis folded up the garments and laid them on his arm. + +"Well," he said, "it sounds quite probable; but there are discrepancies. +I'll take these things along, and I guess you had better make for the +homestead and ask them to let you in. We'll have a lively blizzard down +on us very soon." + +The trees bent above him as he spoke, the wood was filled with sound, and +fine flakes drove past in swirls. Then, as the wild gust subsided, they +heard a galloping horse going by outside the bluff and Curtis swung +sharply round toward his comrade. + +"It's that blamed ranger of yours broken loose!" he cried. "Get after him +with my horse!" + +The next moment the police had vanished and Jernyngham was left alone, +listening to the crackle of undergrowth, which was lost in a furious +uproar as the wood was swept by another gust. Then the thrashing trees +were blotted out by a white haze which stung his face with an intolerable +cold and filled his eyes. For a minute or two he could see nothing, +though he was conscious of a tumult of sound and broken twigs came +raining down upon him; then, lowering his head, he stumbled forward +between blurred trees, ignorant of where he was going. He struck one or +two of the trees and blundered into thickets, but at last he struggled +out of the wood and stopped for a few moments in dismay. + +The light had gone; he could scarcely see a yard ahead, through the thick +white cloud that rushed past him. The wind buffeted him cruelly, +threatening to fling him down; the awful cold dulled his senses. He had +not intended to seek shelter at the homestead--the idea was repugnant--and +he hardly thought he meant to do so now, but, overwhelmed by the blizzard, +he could not stand still and freeze. Struggling heavily forward, he found +himself in the open; all trace of the wood had vanished; he could not tell +where he was heading, but he must continue moving to keep life in him. He +could no longer reason collectedly. He had not been trained to physical +endurance, and he was getting old; in the grip of the storm he was +helpless. By and by his steps grew feebler and his breath harder to get. +How long he stumbled on he could not remember; but at length he was +sensible of a faint brightness in the snow ahead and he made toward it in +a half-dazed fashion. It seemed to die out, leaving him in a state of dull +despair, but a few moments later something barred his way and stretching +out his mittened hand it fell upon the lapped boarding of a house. There +must be a door, he reasoned, and he groped along the wall until his hand +fell forward into a shallow recess. Then he knocked savagely. + +There was no response. The gale shrieked about the building, flinging the +snow against it in clouds, and he realized that any noise he made was not +likely to be heard. He fumbled for a latch, and found a knob which his +numbed fingers failed to turn. Then in a fury he struck the door again, +each blow growing feebler than the last, until the cold overcame him and +he slipped down into the snow. He could not get up; even the desire to do +so grew fainter, and he sank into oblivion. + +It did not last, however, and the return to consciousness was agonizing. +A strong light shone about him, though he could see nothing clearly, and +he felt as if a boiling fluid were trying to creep through his +half-frozen limbs; his hands and feet, in particular, tingled beyond +endurance, which, had he known it, was a favorable sign. Then somebody +gave him a hot drink and he heard voices which he vaguely recognized, +though he could not tell to whom they belonged. A little later, he was +lifted up and carried into a different room, where somebody laid him down +and wrapped clothing about him. The tingling pain passed away, he felt +delightfully warm, and that was all that he was conscious of as he sank +into heavy slumber. + +It was daylight when he awakened, clear-headed and comfortable, and +recognized the room as the one he had previously occupied in Prescott's +house. It was obvious that he had slept for twelve or fourteen hours; and +seeing his clothes laid out, dry, upon a chair, he got up and dressed. +Then he went down to the living-room, where Prescott rose as he came in. + +"You don't look much the worse," the rancher said. "You had a fortunate +escape." + +"How did I get here?" Jernyngham asked, leaning on the back of a chair, +for he felt shaky still. + +"That's more than I can tell. Svendsen found you outside the door when he +tried to get across to the stable. You couldn't have been there long: a +few minutes, I guess, though we didn't hear you. Do your feet and hands +feel right?" + +Jernyngham was glad that his host made no inquiries as to what had +brought him into the neighborhood. + +"Thank you, yes," he said. "I must assure you that I had no intention of +seeking shelter in your house." + +"So I should imagine," Prescott answered smiling. "However, there ought +to be a truce between even the deadliest enemies where there's a blizzard +raging and the temperature's forty below. Though I can't say you have +treated me well, I'm glad you didn't get frozen, and if you'll sit down, +I'll tell Mrs. Svendsen to bring you in some breakfast." + +"With what there is between us, you could hardly expect me to sit at your +table." + +"That's a comfortable chair you have your hand on. Bring it nearer the +stove and let's try to look at the thing sensibly," Prescott persuaded. +"I'll confess that I'd have excused your visit, if it could have been +avoided, but as you already owe Svendsen and me something, it would be +rather forcing matters for you to drive away hungry. That strikes me as +about the limit of wrong-headedness, particularly as I'm not suggesting +that we should make friends." + +The elder man was possessed by a fixed idea and his prejudices were +strong, but he was, nevertheless, a judge of character, and the rancher's +manner impressed him. He took the chair. + +"I believe I owe my life to you or your hired man. I find the situation +embarrassing." + +"It would be intolerable, if you were not mistaken about another point," +Prescott said calmly. "Now I want your attention. I'm not anxious for +your good opinion--I don't know that I'd take it as a gift, after the way +you have persecuted me--but I've a pity for you that softens my +resentment." + +Jernyngham moved abruptly, but Prescott raised his hand. + +"Let me get through! I believe you're honest; you're acting from a sense +of duty, which is why I tell you that you're tormenting yourself without +a cause. I had no hand in your son's disappearance, and it's my firm +conviction that he's alive now and wandering through British Columbia +with a mineral prospector." + +"What proof have you of this?" + +"None that would satisfy you; nothing but my word, and I give you that +solemnly. Make your own inquires among my neighbors whether it's to be +believed." + +For several moments Jernyngham fixed his eyes on him, and his suspicions +began to melt away. Truth had rung in Prescott's voice and it was stamped +on his face; no man, he thought, could lie and look as this rancher did. +Even the discovery of the brown clothes appeared less damaging. + +"Then there's much to be explained," he said slowly. + +"That's so. It will all come to light some day. And now, it's a bitter +morning, the drifts are deep, and the trail lost in snow; Svendsen will +have some trouble in driving you to Leslie's, and you can't go without +food." + +Prescott called to Mrs. Svendsen, and she presently brought in breakfast. +Jernyngham ate a little before he got into the buggy and was driven away. +He reached the Leslie homestead greatly disturbed. The painful mystery +was as deep as ever, but he was inclined to think he had been following a +false clue; the man on whom all his suspicions had centered might be +innocent. It was so seldom that he changed his mind that he felt lost in +a maze of doubt, and in his perplexity he told Gertrude what he had found +and related his conversation with Prescott. They were alone and she +listened with fixed attention, studiously hiding her feelings behind an +inscrutable expression. + +"I don't know what to think; for perhaps the first time in my life, I'm +utterly at a loss and need a lead," he said. "Everything we have learned +about the man tells against him, and yet I felt I could not doubt his +unsupported assurance. There was a genuine pride in the way he referred +me to his neighbors for his character for truthfulness and one must admit +that a number of them have an unshakable belief in him. Then Colston's +wavering; and Muriel has shown her confidence in the fellow in a striking +manner." + +"Ah!" said Gertrude sharply. "You have noticed that?" + +"I could hardly fail to do so. It is no affair of mine and perhaps a +breach of good manners to mention it, but if I were in Colston's place, I +should feel disturbed about the way in which his sister-in-law has taken +Prescott's part." + +"Why?" + +"The reason should be obvious. Leaving the man's guilt or innocence out +of the question, there is his position; I needn't enlarge on it. Muriel's +family is an old and honored one; it would be insufferable that she +should break away from its traditions. Then we know what her upbringing +has been. Could one calmly contemplate her throwing herself away on a +working farmer?" + +He had appealed to his daughter's strongest prejudices, which had for a +while sunk into abeyance and then sprung into life again. All that he had +said about Muriel applied with equal force to her. She had yielded to a +mad infatuation, and returning sanity had brought her a crushing sense of +shame. She might have made a costly sacrifice for the rancher's sake, +flinging away all she had hitherto valued; she had sought him, humbled +herself to charm him, and he had never spared a tender thought for her. +Despising herself, her jealous rage and wounded pride could only be +appeased by his punishment. + +"Prescott," she said coldly, "is a dangerous man; I have never met +anybody so insinuating and plausible. When he speaks to you, it's very +hard to disbelieve him; his manner's convincing." + +"I felt that," said her father with a troubled air. + +"Then shouldn't it put you on your guard, and make you test his +statements? Is it wise to let them influence you before they're +confirmed?" + +"It was foolish of me to be impressed; but still----" + +Gertrude checked him. + +"With us suspicion is a duty. Try to think! Cyril had his failings, but +you were harsh to him. You showed him no pity; you drove him out." + +"It's true," admitted Jernyngham in a hoarse voice. "I've regretted it +deeply." + +She knew she had not appealed in vain to her father's grief and she meant +to work upon his desire for retribution. + +"Cyril came here and fell into Prescott's hands. Instead of his meeting +Colston, the rancher personated him. He was the last man to see him; he +knew where he had hidden his money; soon afterward he bought a costly +machine." + +"I know all this," said Jernyngham wearily. + +"There seems to be some danger of your forgetting it! Let me go on! +Prescott took over control of Cyril's farm. He passed himself off for him +a second time and sold land of his; you found the clothes he wore hidden +near his house. Could you have any proofs more conclusive?" + +Jernyngham flung her a swift glance. + +"You believed him once. You are very bitter now." + +"Yes," she said, "I have admitted that he is plausible; he deceived me. +Perhaps that has made me more relentless; but I have lost my brother, and +I loved him." + +Her father's face grew very stern, and he clenched his hand. + +"I have lost my son, and I wronged him." + +Then there was silence for a few moments; but Gertrude knew she had +succeeded. Her father had been wavering, but she had stirred him to +passion, and his thoughts had suddenly returned to the groove they would +not leave again. The fixed idea had once more possessed him; unavailing +sorrow and longing for justice would drive him on along the course he had +chosen. + +"You have reminded me of my duty," he said with grim forcefulness. "I +shall not fail in it." + +Then he got up and left her sitting still, lost in painful reflection. +His motives were honest and blameless; but she had not this consolation. +She tried to find comfort in the thought that if Prescott were innocent, +he had nothing to fear. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +A NIGHT RIDE + + +It was six o'clock in the evening. Curtis had just finished his supper +and sat drowsily content in his quarters at the police post after being +out in the frost all day. The temperature had steadily fallen since +morning and the cold was now intensified by a breeze that drove scattered +clouds across the moon and flung fine snow against the board walls, but +the stove, which glowed a dull red, kept the room comfortable. A nickeled +lamp shed down a cheerful light, and the tired corporal looked forward to +a long night's rest. Private Stanton sat near him, cleaning a carbine. + +"It's curious you have heard nothing from Regina since you sent up those +clothes," he remarked. "It looked pretty bad for Prescott." + +"I don't know," said Curtis. "Have you ever seen him with that suit on?" + +"No." + +"Nor has anybody else, so far as I can learn. There's another point--the +land agent talked of a tall, stoutish man. You wouldn't call Prescott +that." + +"Those clothes were 'most as good as new; he might have only had them on +the once," Stanton persisted. + +"That's what struck me; I don't know how they looked so good, if they'd +been lying where Jernyngham found them, since last summer." + +"It's a thing I might have thought of." + +"You have a good deal to learn yet." Curtis smiled tolerantly. + +"Anyhow, I found you a photograph of Prescott, and you were glad to send +it along to Regina. What do you think our bosses are doing about it?" + +"Lying low, like sensible men; the more we find out about this case, the +more puzzling it gets. You think you have pretty good eyes, don't you?" + +"They're as good as anybody's I've come across yet." + +"Well, you searched the bluff several times in daylight and didn't see +those clothes. Jernyngham comes along when it is getting dark and finds +them. How do you account for that?" + +"I've quit guessing; I'll leave the thing to you. Anyhow, I've had about +enough of Jernyngham; talked to me like a sergeant instructor last time I +met him, and you'd have felt proud if you'd seen the way he smiled when I +told him he had better go to you." + +"We'll leave it at that," said Curtis. "The man's making me tired, and +he's worse than he was a month ago. Where's that Brandon paper?" + +While Stanton looked for it there was a sound of wheels and a hail +outside, and a stinging draught swept in when the trooper opened the +door. A fur-wrapped man sat in a wagon holding up an envelope. + +"For Curtis; come for it," he said. "Operator asked me to bring it along. +I'm 'most too cold to get down and I can't let the team stand." + +The envelope slipped from his numbed fingers as Stanton tried to take it. + +"Dropped near the wheel. My hand's 'most frozen, though I've good thick +mittens on. It's about the coldest night I've been out in." + +He drove on, and Stanton hurried in and flung the door to before he +handed the telegram to Curtis. + +When the corporal opened it his face grew intent. + +"It's from Sergeant Crane," he said. "Glover was seen this morning near +Norton, heading east on the Sand Belt trail." + +Stanton's face fell. He had been in the saddle the greater part of the +day, and the prospect of spending the night in pursuit of Glover did not +appeal to him, though he knew it could not be avoided. The man was a +notorious thief, whose last exploit had shown some ingenuity. Appearing +at the house of a prosperous farmer, he had shown him a letter from a +railroad contractor asking for the use of his best Clydesdale team on +tempting terms. The farmer let the horses go and saw no more of them, +while the contractor repudiated the letter. Glover was also supposed to +have had a hand in one or two more serious affairs. + +"I guess we'll have to get after him," said the trooper. "Where'll he +make for?" + +"Jepson's, sure. I don't know another house near the Sand Belt he could +reach to-night, and Jepson's most as slippery a tough as Glover is." + +"It's a mighty long ride," said Stanton, "My ranger will stand for it; I +don't know about your gray." + +"He'll have to make it," Curtis answered shortly. "Get your saddle on." + +When Stanton went out Curtis stood up regretfully, for he was aching from +a long journey in the stinging cold and the room looked very comfortable. +An effort was required to leave it, and he had not much expectation of +making a capture that would stand to his credit. Jepson and his brother +were cunning rogues; Glover had escaped once or twice already, and Curtis +realized that the chances were in favor of his returning after a +fruitless ride. Nevertheless, his duty was plain; he had been trained to +disregard fatigue and most physical weaknesses, and he went out +resignedly into the arctic frost. + +They set off a few minutes later, and Curtis had the depressing feeling +that he was riding a worn-out mount, though there was some consolation in +the thought that the range of the service carbine might, in case of +necessity, make up for his lack of speed. When he met the biting north +wind that swept the plain the warmth seemed to leave his body; his +mittened hands stiffened on the bridle, and it was only resolution that +kept him in the saddle. He would run less risk of frost-bite if he +walked, but time would not permit this and the claims of the service are +more important than the loss of a trooper's feet or hands. If he were +crippled and incapacitated, there was a small pension; it was his +business to face the risks of the weather. + +They rode on with lowered heads, fine snow stinging their faces now and +then, and though its touch was inexpressibly painful they were glad they +retained the power of feeling. When that went, more serious trouble would +begin. For a while a half moon shone down, and their black shadows sped +on before them across the glittering plain, but by and by clouds drove up +and the prairie grew dim. It changed to a stretch of soft grayish-blue, +with the trail they followed running across it a narrow stretch of darker +color. The light, however, was not wholly obscured; they could see a +bluff stand out, a bank of shadow, a mile away. Once they saw the +cheerful lights of a farm in the distance and a longing for warmth and +the company of their fellow-creatures seized them, but this was a desire +that must be subdued, and, leaving the beaten trail they pressed on into +the waste. Save for the faint, doleful sound the wind made it was +dauntingly silent and desolate. There was not a bush to break its gray +surface, and the frost was intense. They bore it uncomplainingly for an +hour or two, and then Stanton broke out: + +"I'll have to get down or I'll lose my foot! I'll run a while beside my +horse and then catch you up." + +Curtis nodded and trotted on, breasting the wind which, so far as he +could judge from his sensations, was turning him into ice. He could hear +Stanton behind him, but that was the only sound of life in the vast +desolation. After a while the trooper came up at a gallop, and Curtis +called to him sharply: + +"Any better?" + +"No feeling in my foot yet," said Stanton. "I'm anxious about it, but I +couldn't drop too far behind you. We have no time to lose." + +"That's so," Curtis answered. "Glover will pull out from Jepson's long +before morning. He won't rest much until he's a day's ride from the +nearest post." + +They went on, and some time later the moon shone through again, flooding +the plain with light. It was welcome because they were now entering the +Sand Belt where scrub trees were scattered among little hills. Pushing +through it, they came to a taller ridge late at night, and Curtis drew +bridle on its summit. A faint, warm gleam appeared on the snow about a +mile away. + +"Jepson's," said Curtis. "Looks as if he had some reason for sitting up +quite a while after he ought to be in bed." + +Stanton glanced thoughtfully down the slope in front. It was smooth and +unbroken, a long, gradual descent, and he knew the farm stood on the flat +at its foot. A straggling poplar bluff grew close up to the back of the +buildings, but there was nothing that would cover the approach of the +police, and he had no doubt that a watch was being kept. + +"It's a pity the moon's so bright," he remarked. "There's a cloud or two +driving up, but I don't know that they'll cover it." + +"We can't wait. This is my notion--you'll turn back a piece and work down +to the ravine that runs east behind the homestead. Stop when you can find +cover and watch out well. I'll have to ride straight in." + +"You want to be careful. There'll be three of them in the place, counting +Glover, and they're a tough crowd." + +Curtis smiled. + +"Jepson has a pretty long head. He'll bluff, if he can, but he won't get +himself into trouble for his partner. The thing's not serious enough for +that." + +"Anyway, you want to keep your eye on them," Stanton persisted. +"Glover'll sure make for the ravine if he breaks out." + +Turning his horse, he disappeared behind the ridge, while Curtis rode on +toward the farm. Glancing up at the moon, he saw that the clouds were +nearer it, though he could not be certain that they would obscure the +light. This was unfortunate, because he knew that he and his horse would +stand out sharply against the smooth expanse of snow. The light ahead +grew brighter as he trotted on, urging his jaded mount in order to give +the inmates of the homestead as short a warning as possible. Suddenly +another patch of brightness appeared. It was a narrow streak at first, +but it widened into an oblong and then went out. Somebody had opened the +door of the homestead, and the next moment the first gleam faded and all +was dark. Curtis was inclined to think this a mistake on Jepson's part, +but he kept a very keen watch as the buildings grew into plainer shape +against the shadowy bluff. He knew he must have been visible some minutes +earlier. + +At length he rode up to the little square house, which rose abruptly from +the plain without fence or yard. It was dark and silent, and he was glad +to remember that it had only one door, though there were one or two +buildings close behind it. He was so numbed that it was difficult to +dismount, but he got down clumsily and beat on the door for several +minutes without getting an answer. This confirmed his suspicions, for he +was convinced that Jepson had heard his vigorous knocking. Then the +moonlight, which might have been useful now, died away, and the plain +faded into obscurity. Curtis was making another attack on the door when a +window above was flung up and a man leaned out, holding what looked +suggestively like a rifle. + +"Stand back from that door!" he cried. "What in thunder do you want?" + +"Drop your gun!" said Curtis. "Come down right now and let me in!" + +"I guess not! If you don't light out of this mighty quick, you'll get +hurt!" + +"Quit fooling, Jepson! You know who I am!" + +"Seem to know your voice now," said the other, leaning farther out. "Why, +it's Curtis!" He laid down the rifle and laughed. "You were near getting +plugged. Figured you were one of those blamed rustlers--the country's +full of them--Barton back at the muskeg lost a steer last week. What I +want to know is--why the police don't get after them? Guess it would be +considerably more useful than walking round the stations with a quirt +under your arm." + +The man was not talkative as a rule, and Curtis surmised that he wished +to delay him. + +"Come down!" he said sternly. + +"I'll be along quick as I can," the other answered, and shut the window. + +While he waited, Curtis listened with strained attention. He was inclined +to think that Glover had already left the house, which must nevertheless +be searched, but he could hear nothing except the dreary wail of wind in +the neighboring bluff. His fingers were so numbed that he could scarcely +hold his carbine, his horse stood wearily with drooping head, and when a +minute or two had passed Curtis struck the door violently. It opened, and +Jepson stood in the entrance, holding a lamp. + +"All alone?" he remarked good-humoredly. "Where's your partner? But come +in; it's fierce to-night." + +"Then stand out of my way. I've come for Glover." + +Jepson laughed. + +"Looked as if you were after somebody. He isn't here, but you had better +see for yourself. Walk right in; you're welcome to find him." + +The house contained four small rooms, which had nothing in them that +would hide a man, and in a minute or two Curtis sprang out of the door +and scrambled to his saddle. He did not think Glover would seek refuge in +any of the outbuildings, and he rode toward the thin bluff that hid the +ravine. The man might have reached the trees, unseen, by keeping the +house between himself and the slope down which Curtis had come. He had +not left the house long before he heard the sharp drumming of a gallop, +and drove his horse at the belt of timber. All had turned out as he had +expected. Stanton had headed off Glover as he slipped away down the +ravine, and the outlaw had broken out to the north, making for a tract of +lonely, bluff-strewn country. He was now between the corporal and the +trooper, and his capture might be looked for, provided that Curtis's +mount could bear a sharp gallop, which was doubtful. + +The sides of the ravine were steep and clothed with brush, there were +fallen logs in the fringing bluff, but Curtis urged his jaded horse +mercilessly toward the timber, and went through it with rotten branches +smashing under him. Once or twice the beast stumbled, but it kept its +feet, and in a few more moments they reeled down the declivity. A fall +might result in the rider's getting a broken leg and afterward freezing +to death, but Curtis took risks of this nature lightly, and, reaching the +bottom safely, somewhat to his surprise, he struggled up the opposite +ascent. + +From the summit he saw two dark, mounted figures pressing across the open +plain some distance apart. By riding straight out from the ravine he +thought that he could cut off the leader. His weariness had fallen from +him, the mad drumming of hoofs fired his blood, and as he burst out of +the timber at a gallop the moon came through. The fugitive seemed to hear +him, for he altered his course a little--he could not swerve much without +approaching Stanton--and for a few minutes Curtis shortened the distance +between them. Then his horse began to flag; it looked as if Glover might +escape, after all, though he must still draw nearer to the trooper before +he got away. + +Curtis, roughly calculating speed and distance, pulled up his horse. +Springing from the saddle, he flung himself down in the snow, and for a +few seconds gripped his carbine tight. Then there was a flash and little +spirts of snow leaped up one after another ahead of the outlaw. Curtis +pressed down the rear sight and fired again; but Glover was still riding +hard, with Stanton dropping behind him. At the third shot Glover's horse +went down in a struggling heap, hiding its rider. A few moments later the +man reappeared, and began to run, but he stopped as Stanton came down on +him at a gallop, and Curtis got up hastily. Glover made a sign of +submission, and the next minute Stanton sprang to the ground beside him. + +"Hold up your hands!" he ordered sharply, and there was a clink as the +irons snapped to. + +After that the trooper turned to Curtis, who was hurrying toward them. + +"Lend me your carbine; mine's clean." + +He walked to the fallen horse, which was struggling feebly, and, stooping +down he examined it. Then there was a crash and a puff of smoke, and he +rejoined the corporal. + +"Nothing else that could be done," he explained. + +Curtis spoke to the prisoner. + +"Come along. You had better not try to break away." + +They went back to the homestead where they found Jepson waiting for them. +He looked disturbed. + +"I told you he wasn't here," he said. "How was I to know he was hiding in +the ravine?" + +Curtis gave him a searching glance. + +"We'll consider that later. I want your team and wagon, some blankets, +and driving-robes." + +"Am I bound to outfit the police?" + +"I guess you had better. Your record's none too good." + +He led his prisoner into the kitchen, where the stove was burning, and, +laying his carbine on the table, he loosed the handcuffs and bade the man +take off his long coat. + +"Go through his pockets, Stanton," he said. + +The trooper did as he was told, but nothing of any importance was +produced. The man was not armed, and there were only a few silver coins +and bills for small amounts in his possession. Curtis stood wearily, +regarding him with a thoughtful smile. + +"Where did you get that jacket, Glover?" he asked. + +"Where do you generally get such things? At the store." + +"Just so," said Curtis. "I can't see why you didn't buy one that fitted +you." He turned suddenly to Jepson. "Bring me his jacket." + +The farmer made an abrupt movement, and then seemed to pull himself up, +and stood still. + +"I've no use for that kind of fooling; he has it on!" + +"I don't think so," said Curtis meaningly. "Give Stanton a light and +he'll look for it." + +The trooper came back in a few minutes with a garment which he had found +under a bed, and Curtis bade him put it on the prisoner. + +"Right size, same stuff as the trousers, and worn about as much," he +remarked. "Now you can take it off and search it." + +There was nothing in the pockets, but after a careful examination Stanton +felt a lump inside the lining. He ripped that, and took out a wad of +carefully folded bills. On opening them, he found that they were for +twenty dollars each, and clean. The corporal's face grew suddenly intent. + +"Where did you get them?" he asked. + +"You can find out!" muttered Glover, who had shown signs of dismay. + +Curtis turned to Jepson. + +"It looks as if he trusted you farther than I would; but harness your +team quick, and if your brother's hanging round outside, tell him that +he'll run up against trouble if he interferes." + +They sat down and waited until the farmer brought a wagon to the door, +and then they drove away through the stinging cold with their prisoner. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +MURIEL PROVES OBDURATE + + +Some time after leaving Jepson's Curtis was joined by two police +troopers, despatched by the sergeant who had telegraphed to him. He +handed over his prisoner and the wagon to them, though he asked +permission to keep the wad of bills. Then Stanton unhitched the jaded +horses from the back of the vehicle, and while the others drove back to +the west he and Curtis rode on to the post. Reaching it, half frozen, in +the morning, they filled up the stove and went to sleep until supper +time. When the meal was over they sat down to smoke and talk. + +Stanton felt lazily good-humored. A sound sleep had refreshed him, and +though his limbs still ached, he was enjoying the pleasant, physical +reaction which usually succeeds fatigue and exposure to the arctic frost. +What was better, he had assisted in the successful completion of an +arduous piece of work. Curtis lay back in a chair opposite him, pipe in +mouth, his expression suggesting quiet satisfaction. + +"Toes feeling pretty good?" he inquired by and by. + +"I'm glad to say they are, though I thought I was in for trouble," +Stanton said with a deprecatory smile. "I allow that frost-bite's a thing +I'm easy scared about, after the patrol I made with Stafford through the +northern bush last winter. Got his foot wet with mushy snow crossing a +rapid where the ice was working, and it froze bad; had to pack him the +last two hundred miles on the sled, with the dogs getting used up, and +the grub running out. They paid him off at Regina and sent him home; but +Stafford will never put on an ordinary boot again." + +"A frozen foot's bad enough, if you have to walk until it galls," Curtis +admitted. "A hand's easier looked after, though I've three fingers I'm +never quite sure of. That's one reason it took so much shooting before I +plugged Glover's horse." + +"You were pretty cute about his jacket," Stanton remarked. + +"That was easy enough. The thing was too big for him and newer than his +trousers. Soon as I noticed it, I knew I'd dropped on to something worth +following up." + +"I can't see what you made of it, and you haven't told me yet." + +"I was too dog-goned cold and tired to talk; wanted to make the post and +get to sleep. However, though I gave Crane's boys no hint, I'll show you +what I've been figuring on. Consider yourself a jury and tell me how it +strikes you. You have as much intelligence as the general run of them." + +"If I hadn't any more than the kind of jurymen we're usually up against, +I'd quit the service," Stanton declared. + +The corporal's eyes twinkled. + +"If you'll learn to think and not hustle, you'll make a useful man some +day. Anyhow, the first thing I caught on to was that Glover had taken off +his jacket because there was something in it he didn't want us to find. +Next, that it was money or valuables, because he could have put any small +thing into the stove or hid it in the snow before he lit out. Now, Glover +knew it was kind of dangerous to leave his jacket with Jepson, who might +find the bills, and as he couldn't tell you were in the ravine he must +have thought he had a good chance of getting clear away; but, for all +that, he wouldn't risk taking the wad along. Guess there's only one +explanation--he'd a reason for being mighty afraid of those bills falling +into our hands. That was plain enough when I asked him about his jacket." + +"Yes," Stanton said thoughtfully; "I guess you have got it right. But +what was his reason? He knows Crane can have him sent up for +horse-stealing." + +Curtis, opening a drawer, took out a slip of paper with some numbers on +it, and then laid the wad of bills on the table. + +"Twenty dollars each, Merchants' Bank, and quite clean," he said. + +"It was a five-dollar bill on the same bank we found at the muskeg!" +cried Stanton, starting. + +"It was." Curtis took up the list. "Now here are the numbers of the +twenty-dollar bills Morant at Sebastian got from the bank a day or two +before he made the deal with Jernyngham; it was with those bills he paid +him the night he disappeared." He paused and added significantly, "I +guess we have got some of them here." + +This proved to be correct when they had compared them with the list. Then +Curtis leaned back in his chair and filled his pipe. + +"It's a mighty curious case," he remarked. + +"Sure," replied Stanton. "You get no farther with it. You have points +against three different men, and it's pretty clear that they haven't been +working together. They can't all have killed the man." + +"That's true. Well, I've made a report for Regina, and they'll keep +Glover safe until we want him. I can't tell what our chiefs will do; but +as Glover's not likely to tell them anything, I guess they'll hold this +matter over until we find out more." He locked up the money. "Now we'll +quit talking about it. I want to give my mind a rest." + +Curtis had few of the qualities needed for the making of a great +detective; he was merely a painstaking, determined man, with a capacity +for earnest work, which is perhaps more useful than genius in the ranks +of the Northwest Police. He could tirelessly follow the dog-sleds, +sometimes on the scantiest rations, for hundreds of miles over the snow, +sleeping in the open in the arctic frost. He had made long forced marches +to succor improvident settlers starving far out in the wilds; in the +fierce heat of summer he made his patrols, watching the progress of the +grass-fires, sternly exacting from the ranchers the plowing of the needed +guards; and cattle-thieves prudently avoided the district that he ruled +with firm benevolence. The man was a worthy type of his people, the new +nation that is rising in the West: forceful, steadfast, direct, and, as a +rule, devoid of mental subtleties. He admitted that the Jernyngham +mystery, every clue to which broke off as he began to follow it, was +harassing him. + +While he spent the evening, lounging in well-earned leisure beside the +stove, Mrs. Colston was talking seriously to her sister in a room of the +Leslie homestead. Owing to the number of its inmates, she had found it +difficult to get a word with the girl alone, and now that an opportunity +had come, she felt that she must make the most of it. + +"Muriel," she said, "do you think it's judicious to speak so strongly in +Prescott's favor as you have done of late? You were rude to Gertrude last +night." + +The girl colored. She had, as a matter of fact, lost her temper, which +was generally quick. + +"I hate injustice!" she broke out. "Gertrude and her father make such an +unfair use of everything they can find against him, and I think +Gertrude's the worse of the two." She looked hard at her sister. "She +shows a rancor against the man which even the disappearance of her +brother doesn't account for." + +The same idea had occurred to Mrs. Colston, but it was a side issue and +she was not to be drawn away from the point. + +"You stick to the word disappearance," she said. + +"Yes," Muriel answered steadily. "Cyril Jernyngham isn't dead!" + +"You have only Prescott's word for that." + +Muriel made no answer for a few moments; then she looked up with a +resolute expression. + +"I'm satisfied with it!" + +Her sister understood this as a challenge. She had indulged in hints and +indirect warnings, and they had been disregarded. The situation now +needed more drastic treatment. + +"That," she said, "is a significant admission; I can't let it pass. Your +prejudice in favor of the man has, of course, been noticeable; you have +even let him see it. Don't you realize what damaging conclusions one +might draw from it?" + +"Damaging?" Muriel's eyes were fixed on her sister, though her face was +hot. "As you have been thinking of all this for some time, perhaps you +had better explain and get it over." + +Mrs. Colston leaned forward with a severe expression. + +"I feel that some candor is necessary. You have taken the man's side +openly; you have sympathized with him; I might even say that you have led +him on." + +Muriel's wayward temperament drove her to the verge of an outbreak, but +with an effort at self-control, she sat still, and her sister resumed: + +"Besides his lying under suspicion, the man is a mere working farmer, +imperfectly educated, forced to live in a most primitive manner, thinking +of nothing but his crops and horses." + +"He is not imperfectly educated! As a matter of fact, he knows more about +most things than we do; but that's not important. Mind, I'm admitting +nothing of all that you suggest, but you might have said that I'm a +penniless girl, living on your husband's charity. I must confess that he +gives it very willingly." + +"That is precisely why I'm anxious about your future." Mrs. Colston's +voice softened to a tone of genuine solicitude. "Of course, we are glad +to have you--Harry has always been fond of you--but, for your sake, I +could wish you a completer life in a home of your own. But so much +depends on the choice you make." + +"Yes; a very great deal depends on that. I'm expected, of course, to make +a brilliant match!" + +"Not necessarily brilliant, but there are things we have always enjoyed +which must be looked for--a good name, position, the right to meet people +brought up as we have been, on an equal footing." + +Muriel broke in upon her with a strained laugh. + +"Once, for a little while, it looked as if we should have to do without +them, and somehow I wasn't very much alarmed. But your list's rather +short and incomplete. There are one or two quite as important things you +might have added to it; though perhaps I'm exacting." + +There was silence for a few moments, and a faint flicker of color crept +into Mrs. Colston's face while the girl mused. Her sister had got all she +asked for, but Muriel suspected that she was not content; now and then, +indeed, she had seen a hint of weariness in her expression. Harry Colston +made a model husband in some respects, but he had his limitations. His +virtues were commonplace and sometimes tedious; his intelligence was less +than his wife's. Muriel was fond of him, but his unwavering good-nature +and placidity irritated her. She was inclined to be sorry for her sister +in some ways. + +"Muriel," Mrs. Colston resumed gently, "your happiness means a good deal +to me. A mistake might cost you dear, and, after all, one cannot have +everything." + +"That is obviously true. I suppose it's a question of what one values +most, or perhaps what most strongly appeals to one's fancy. It would be +difficult to fix an accurate standard for judging suitors by, wouldn't +it?" Then her tone grew scornful. "Besides, as those who are eligible +aren't numerous, a girl's expected to wait with an encouraging smile and +thankfully take what comes." + +Mrs. Colston looked at her reproachfully. + +"You're hardly just, my dear; I only urge you to be prudent now." + +"Prudence is such a cold-blooded thing! I'm afraid I never had it. After +all, what seems wise to me might appear to be folly to you. I think if +ever what looks like a chance of happiness is offered me, I shall take +all risks and clutch at it." + +She picked up a book, as if to intimate that she had no more to say, and +Mrs. Colston wondered whether her worst fears were justified or whether +Muriel had been behaving with unusual perverseness. In either case, she +might make things worse by laboring the subject. She hesitated a moment +and then went out in search of her husband. + +"Harry," she said, "we have been away a long while. Don't you think it is +time to go home?" + +"No," he answered; "I haven't thought so. What suggested the idea?" + +It was obvious that he had no suspicion of her motive, and she was not +prepared to explain that she wished to place Muriel beyond Prescott's +reach. + +"Well," she said lamely, "aren't you rather neglecting your duties?" + +"No," Colston replied with a smile; "as they're to a large extent merely +formal ones, I believe they can wait a little longer without much harm +being done." + +Mrs. Colston was surprised. She had not expected such an admission from +her husband, though she agreed with him. Harry was not, as a rule, +susceptible to new impressions, but there was a subtle influence in the +simple life on the prairies which altered one's point of view and led to +one's forming a new estimate of values. She had felt this. Things which +had seemed essential in England somehow lost their importance in Canada. + +"Besides," he resumed, "you will remember that I made arrangements to be +away a year, if necessary, and perhaps if I make the most of my +opportunities in this country, I may have something worth while to say +when we go home again." + +This was more in his usual vein; but his wife did not encourage him. +Harry was apt to grow tiresome in his improving mood. + +"But you don't think of staying the full year?" she asked in alarm. + +"Oh, no; we might wait another week or two, or even a month more. It +wouldn't be the thing to desert Jernyngham; and, as we're mixed up in it, +I feel it would be better to see the matter through." He smiled at his +wife with cumbrous gallantry. "Then, though you always look charming, +you're now unusually fresh and fit; there's no doubt that the place +agrees with you." + +Mrs. Colston could not deny it. She yielded for the present, deciding to +wait until some turn of events rendered him more amenable. In spite of +his good humor, Harry was obstinate and often hard to move. + +She went to join Gertrude, while Muriel, sitting alone where she had been +left, laid down her book, and let her eyes range slowly round the room, +trying to analyze the impression it made on her. There was no carpet on +the floor; the walls were made of mill-dressed boards which had cracked +with the dryness and smelt of turpentine. The furniture consisted of a +few bent-hardwood chairs and a rickety table covered with a gaudy cloth. +The nickeled lamp, which diffused an unpleasant odor, was of florid but +very inartistic design; the plain stove stood in an ugly iron tray, and +its galvanized pipe ran up, unconcealed, to the ceiling. A black +distillate had trickled down from a bend in it, and stained the floor. + +Muriel realized that had she been expected to live in such a place in +England it would have struck her as comfortless, and almost squalid; but +now, perhaps by contrast with the frozen desolation without, it looked +cheerful, and had a homelike air. This, she thought, was significant, and +she followed up the train of ideas to which it led. She had a practical, +independent bent; she liked to handle and investigate things for herself, +to get into close and intimate touch with life. At home, this had not +often been possible; she was too sheltered and, in a sense, too secluded. +The people she met were conventional, acting in accordance with a +recognized code, concealing their feelings. If she rode or drove, +somebody got ready the horse for her; it was the same with the car. When +she strolled through an English garden, she might pluck a flower or take +pleasure in the smoothness of the lawn, but it was always with the +feeling that others had planted and mown. She could take no active part +in things; there was little that she could really do. + +It was different on the Western prairie. Here men and women showed anger +or sorrow or gladness more or less openly. One could realize their +emotions, and this, instead of deterring, attracted her; one came to +close grips with the primitive influences of human nature. Then they were +strenuous people, toiling stubbornly, rejoicing in tangible results that +their hands and brains had produced. Woman was man's real helpmate, not a +companion for his idle hours. She kept his house, and in time of pressure +drove his horses; she had her say in determining the count of the cattle +and the bushels of seed, and it was sometimes conceded that her judgment +was the better. + +But this was only one aspect of the subject that filled the girl's +thoughts. She knew that Prescott loved her and she was glad of it; but +here she stopped. She was sanguine, impulsive, courageous, but, with all +that could be said for it, the change she must face if he claimed her was +a startling one. Besides, he must clear himself of suspicion, and because +the part of a mere looker-on was uncongenial, there was a course which +she would urge on him. She must see him and convince him of the necessity +for it. Soon after she had made up her mind on this point, Jernyngham and +Colston came in, and she had to talk to them. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +A WOMAN'S INFLUENCE + + +Muriel found it needful to wait several days for an opportunity for +speaking to Prescott. It did not seem advisable to visit his house again, +and she was at a loss for a means of meeting him when she overheard +Leslie tell his wife that he would ask Prescott, who was going to +Sebastian the next morning, to bring out some stores they required. The +next day Muriel borrowed a team and, contenting herself with an +intimation that she was going for a long drive, set off for the +settlement. It would be time enough to confess her object if her sister +taxed her with it, and there were one or two purchases she really wished +to make. + +She had never gone so far alone, though she had occasionally driven to an +outlying farm, and the expedition had in it the zest of adventure. +Moreover, she was boldly going to undertake a very unusual task in +showing Prescott what he ought to do. So far, she had been an interested +spectator of the drama of life, but now she would participate in it, +exercising such powers as she possessed, and the thought was additionally +fascinating because among her intimate friends she could not pick out a +man who owed much to a woman's guidance. Her sister had some mental +gifts, but Harry Colston, disregarding her in a good-humored but dogged +fashion, did what he thought best; while the idea of Jernyngham's +deferring to Gertrude was frankly ridiculous. Neither man had much +ability; indeed, it was, as a rule, the dullest men who were most +convinced of their superior sense. Prescott far surpassed them in +intellect; but she pulled herself up. She was not going to dwell on +Prescott's virtues unduly, and she had not convinced him yet. + +The team gave her no trouble, the trail was good, and reaching Sebastian +safely, she spent some time in a drygoods store, and afterward went to +the hotel, where supper was being served. She would not have waited for +it, only that she had seen nothing of Prescott, and she had the excuse +that the team must have a rest. On entering the big dining-room she was +inclined to regret that meals can rarely be had in private in the West, +although, by the favor of a waitress, she succeeded in obtaining a small +table to herself. There were only two women present, clerks in the store, +she believed, but the room was nearly filled with men. Among them were +ranchers with faces darkened by the glare of the snow, some of them +wearing shabby coats from which the fur was coming off, though the room +was warm; a few railroad hands who laid sooty mittens on the table; the +smart station-agent; a number of storekeepers and clerks. Now and then +boisterous laughter rang out, and one group indulged in rather pointed +banter, while the way that several of them used their knives and forks +left much to be desired; but nobody regarded the girl with marked +attention. For all that, she was sensible of some relief when Prescott +came in and moved toward her table. + +"May I take this place?" he asked. + +"Of course," she said. + +After speaking to a waitress, he inquired whether Colston or her sister +were at the hotel. + +"No; I drove in alone." + +She saw his surprise, which suggested that her task might prove more +difficult than she had imagined. + +"Well," he said, "the trail's pretty good and there's a moon to-night; +but didn't you hesitate about getting supper here by yourself?" + +"Not very much; there was really no reason why I should hesitate." + +"That's true. But you had your doubts?" + +"They were foolish," Muriel told him. "Why are you so curious?" + +"I'm interested." He indicated the room and its occupants. "These people, +their manners, and surroundings are typical of the New West." + +"Do you feel that you ought to defend them?" + +"Oh, no! They don't need it. They have their faults and their virtues, +and neither are mean. They've the makings of a big nation and they're +doing great work to-day. However, you had certainly no cause for +uneasiness; there's not a man in the place who would have shown you the +least disrespect." + +"After all," Muriel contended, "they're not your people. You came from +Montreal; your ideas and habits are more like ours than theirs." + +"They're mine by adoption; I've thrown in my lot with them." He fixed his +eyes on her. "Do you know the secret of making colonization a success? In +a way, it's a hard truth, but it's this--there must be no looking back. +The old ties must be cut loose once for all; a man must think of the land +in which he prospers as his home; it's not a square deal to run back with +the money he has made in it. He must grow up with the rising nation he +becomes a member of." + +"Yes," Muriel conceded slowly; "I think that is so. But it's harder for a +woman." + +"And yet have you seen any one who looked unhappy?" + +"No," she admitted with thoughtful candor. "The few I have got to know +seem to have an importance that perhaps is not very common at home. For +instance, I heard Leslie giving his wife his reasons for thinking of +buying some Hereford cattle, and his respect for her opinion impressed +me." + +Prescott smiled. + +"If I were going to sell those beasts, I'd rather make the deal with her +husband." + +Then he changed the subject and they talked in a lighter vein until the +room began to empty and a waitress came to collect the plates. + +"Don't they close this place as soon as supper is finished?" Muriel +asked, trying to overcome her diffidence. "Where can I have a word or two +with you? I was afraid that somebody might overhear us here." + +"The parlor would be best," he answered in some surprise. "The boys +prefer the downstairs room and the bar. I'll tell the man about my horse, +and then I'll be there." + +Muriel found the few minutes she had to wait trying, but she gathered her +courage when he joined her. + +"Sit down," she said with an air of decision. "I'd better begin at once, +and the thing is serious. What have you done to clear yourself, since I +last saw you?" + +His searching glance filled her with misgivings; without being subtle, he +was by no means dull, and he must be curious about her motive in asking +him. To her relief, however, he confined himself to the point she had +raised. + +"Nothing. I don't see what can be done." + +"Then are you content to remain suspected?" + +"No; I'm not content! But as I seem to be helpless, the fools who can +only judge by appearances and the others who are quick to think the worst +of me must believe what they like. Anyway, their opinion doesn't count +for much." + +"How can people judge except by appearances?" Muriel argued. "Besides, do +you divide everybody you know into those two classes?" + +He looked hard at her and, to her annoyance, she grew confused. + +"No," he said slowly; "that would be very wrong--I was too quick. There +are a few with generous minds who haven't turned against me and I'm very +grateful." + +"It might have been enough if you had said they had sense; but don't you +feel you owe them something? Is it fair to keep silence and do nothing +while they fight your battle?" + +"Are there people who are doing so?" + +"Yes," Muriel answered steadily. "You oughtn't to doubt it. You're +wronging your friends." + +His expression betokened a strong effort at self-control. + +"Well," he said, "it seems I have a duty to them, but how I'm to get +about it is more than I know." + +"Have you thought of telling the police about your journey to British +Columbia and what you learned about Cyril Jernyngham?" + +"I'm afraid they wouldn't believe me. Then there's the trouble that the +man I followed called himself Kermode." + +"Never mind. Tell them; tell everybody you know." + +"It would be useless," Prescott said doggedly. + +"You're wrong," Muriel persisted. "When a thing is talked about enough, +people begin to believe it. Besides, it would give your supporters an +argument against the doubtful. I'm afraid they need one after the finding +of the clothes." + +"The clothes? What clothes?" + +Muriel's faith in Prescott had never been shaken, but his surprise caused +her keen satisfaction, and she told him all she knew about Jernyngham's +discovery. + +"Still, I don't see what finding them there could signify," he said when +she had finished. + +"Then you don't know that a day or two after Cyril Jernyngham +disappeared, a man dressed in clothes like those found, sold some land of +his at a place called Navarino?" + +Prescott started. + +"It's the first I've heard of it. There's some villainy here; the things +must have been hidden near my house with the object of strengthening +suspicion against me!" + +"Of course! But you can't think that Jernyngham had a hand in it?" + +"Oh, no! The man is trying to ruin me, but that kind of meanness isn't in +his line. Perhaps I'd better say that I never had clothes like those and +that I sold no land of Cyril's." + +"Mr. Prescott," Muriel murmured shyly, "it isn't necessary to tell me +this; I never doubted it." + +"Thank you," he answered shortly, but there was trouble in his voice and +the girl thought she knew what his reticence cost. + +"Well," she said, "you will tell other people this and go to see Corporal +Curtis? You agreed that women have some power here, and, even if you're +not convinced, you will do what I ask because I wish it?" + +"You have my promise." + +He walked toward the window and stood looking out for a moment or two +before he turned to her again. + +"Don't you think you had better start for home? The moon looks hazy. May +I drive out with you?" + +Muriel had shrunk from the long journey in the dark, and she readily +agreed. + +"I'll tell them to bring your team round," he said, moving toward the +door. "Get off as soon as you're ready, and I'll come along when I've +collected a few things I bought." + +The girl let him go, appreciating his consideration, for she guessed his +thoughts. He was under suspicion and would give the tatlers in the town +nothing on which to base conjectures. It hurt her pride, however, to +admit that such precautions had better be taken. + +Leaving the hotel, she found the trail smooth when she had crossed the +track, but after she passed the last of the fences the waste looked very +dreary. The moon was dimmed by thin, driving clouds, and the deep silence +grew depressing; the loneliness weighed on her, and she began to listen +eagerly for the beat of hoofs. For a time she heard nothing and she had +grown angry with Prescott for delaying when a measured drumming stole out +of the distance and her feeling of cheerfulness and security returned. +Its significance was not lost on her: she was learning to depend on the +man, to long for his society. Then, for no obvious reason, she urged the +team and kept ahead for a while. When he came up with an explanation +about a missing package, she laughed half-mockingly, and on the whole +felt glad that the narrowness of the trail, which compelled him to +follow, made conversation difficult. + +An hour after she left the settlement the moon was hidden and fine snow +began to fall. It grew thicker, gradually covering the trail, until +Muriel had some difficulty in distinguishing it. The sleigh was running +heavily, and after a while Prescott told her to stop. + +"I'll go ahead, and then you can follow my buggy," he said. "There won't +be much snow." + +Muriel felt that there was quite enough to have made her very anxious had +she been alone, but when he passed and took his place in front she drove +on in confidence. She remembered that this was not a new feeling. He was +a man who could be trusted; one felt safe with him. Now and then she +could hardly see the buggy and she was glad of his cheery laugh and the +somewhat inconsequent remarks he flung back to her when the haze of +driving flakes grew thicker. So far as she could see, the trail now +differed in nothing from the rest of the wilderness, but he held on +without hesitation, and she felt no surprise when once or twice a belt of +trees she remembered loomed up. They made better progress when the snow +ceased, and at length Prescott stopped his horse and she saw a faint +blink of light some distance off. + +"That's Leslie's," he said. "Shall I drive to the house with you?" + +"No, that isn't needful, thank you." + +"Then I'll wait until I see the door open. I'll look up Curtis in the +morning." + +Muriel turned off toward the farm, where she found Colston and her sister +disturbed by her absence. + +"Where have you been?" Mrs. Colston asked. "You have frightened us. Harry +would have driven out to look for you if he had known which way to go." + +"I went to the settlement. I bought the things we spoke about, and I met +Mr. Prescott, who brought me home." Muriel spoke in a tone that +discouraged further questions. "Now I'm very cold, Harry, you might shake +the snow from those furs." + +She left them soon afterward, pleading fatigue, and went to sleep, +feeling satisfied with what she had done and knowing that Prescott would +keep his promise. + +Her confidence was justified, for on the following day he drove over to +the police post and found Curtis alone. + +"I've come to tell you something and I'll ask you to let me get through +before you begin to talk," he said. + +Curtis showed no surprise and indicated a chair. + +"Sit there and go ahead." + +He listened with close attention while Prescott described his journey and +recounted all that he had learned about Kermode. + +"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" Curtis asked. + +"I couldn't imagine that you would believe it." + +"Then what makes you think I'll believe it now?" + +"To be honest, I don't care whether you do or not." + +Curtis sat silent a few moments. + +"What you have told me amounts to this," he then summed up: "you have +heard of a man who seems to look like Cyril Jernyngham." + +"It's as much to the purpose that he acts like him. I've told you all I +learned about his doings and you can judge for yourself. You knew the +man." + +"So do you," said Curtis pointedly. + +Prescott smiled. + +"Leave it at that. I want you to find out whether I'm correct or not. You +made some inquiries along the new line?" + +"We didn't go far west," Curtis admitted. "There were difficulties, and +we couldn't see much reason for the search. It was quite clear to me that +Jernyngham was knocked out near the muskeg." He looked hard at Prescott. +"It isn't easy to change that opinion." + +"It seems your duty to test it. Even if the thing costs some trouble, +can't you instruct your people in Alberta to find out whether a man +called Kermode worked in any of the construction camps, and if they're +satisfied that he answers Jernyngham's description, to have him followed +up in British Columbia?" + +"There's a point you haven't got hold of," Curtis replied. "When you +struck a camp, asking after your partner, the boys were ready to talk to +you; but it's quite different when a trooper comes along. I wouldn't have +much use for anything they told him." + +Prescott realized the truth of this. Traveling on foot in search of a +working comrade, he had been received by the railroad hands as one of +themselves; but he knew that men with checkered careers which would not +bear investigation found refuge among the toilers on the new lines, and +that even those who had nothing to fear would consider reticence becoming +when questioned by the police. The only excuse for loquacity would be the +sending of an inquisitive constable on a fruitless expedition. + +"Then can't you try the bosses?" he asked. + +"I guess they're not likely to have found out much about the man, and the +boys wouldn't tell them. However, I'll send up a report and see what can +be done." + +"Thanks," said Prescott, and then asked bluntly: "What do you make of the +brown clothes?" + +"So you heard they were found!" said Curtis with some dryness. "I haven't +done figuring on the matter yet." + +"I don't suppose I'd help you by saying that they don't belong to me." + +Curtis looked at him thoughtfully but made no answer for a while. Then: + +"Did you ever see anybody wearing a suit like that?" he asked. + +"Well," Prescott answered, "I believe I once did, but I can't think who +it was. I've been trying hard to remember all day and it may come back." + +He got up and Curtis walked to the door with him. + +"Frost's keeping pretty keen," he remarked. + +Prescott drove away, and the corporal was smoking near the stove when +Stanton came in. + +"You look as if you'd been studying the Jernyngham case," he said. "I'll +allow it's enough to get on your nerves." + +"Prescott's been here," replied Curtis. "He's heard those blamed clothes +were found, and that's going to make us trouble. We've had Jernyngham +interfering and mussing up the tracks, and now Prescott's getting ready +to butt in. I expect he'll be off to Navarino very soon, and we can't +stop him unless we arrest him, which I'm not ready to do." + +"Did he tell you he was going?" + +"It wasn't needed; I've been figuring out the thing." + +"Well," remarked Stanton with a thoughtful air, "he wouldn't let that +land agent see him if he'd been guilty." + +Curtis reserved his opinion. + +"You're getting smart," he said with a grin. "Still, you don't want to +hustle." + +"Hustle?" Stanton rejoined scornfully. "Jernyngham was killed last summer +and we haven't corralled anybody yet!" + +"That's so," Curtis assented tranquilly, "I've heard of the boys getting +the right man nearly two years afterward." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +PRESCOTT MAKES INQUIRIES + + +Supper was over and Laxton, the land agent, sat in the rotunda of the +leading hotel at Navarino. It was a handsome building, worthy of the new +town which had sprung into existence on the discovery that a wide belt of +somewhat arid country, hitherto passed over by settlers, was capable of +growing excellent wheat. As soon as this was proved, rude shacks and mean +frame houses had been torn down, and banks, stores, and hotels, of stone +or steel and cement rose in their places. Great irrigation ditches were +dug and a period of feverish prosperity began. + +Though the frost was almost arctic outside, the rotunda was pleasantly +warm and was dimmed, in spite of its glaring lamps, with a haze of cigar +smoke. In front of the great plate-glass windows rows of men sat in +tilted chairs, their feet on a brass rail, basking in the dry heat of the +radiators. Drummers and land speculators were busy writing and consulting +maps at the tables farther back among the ornate columns, and the place +was filled with the hum of eager voices. The town was crowded with +homestead-selectors, and many, braving the rigors of winter, were camping +on their new possessions in frail tents and rude board shacks, ready to +begin work in the spring. Indeed, determined men had slept in the snow on +the sidewalks outside the land offices to secure first attention in the +morning when cheap locations were offered for settlement. + +Laxton had had a tiring day, and he was leaning back lazily in his chair, +watching the crowd, when a man entered the turnstile-door, which was +fitted with glass valves to keep out the cold. He looked about the room +as if in search of somebody; and then after speaking to the clerk came +toward the land agent. Laxton glanced at him without much interest, +having already as much business on his hands as he could manage. The +stranger wore an old fur-coat and looked like a rancher. + +"Mr. Laxton, I believe," he said, taking the next chair. + +The land agent nodded and the other continued: + +"My name's Prescott. I've come over from Sebastian to have a talk with +you." + +"I suppose I'll have to spare you a few minutes," said Laxton with more +resignation than curiosity. + +"In the first place, I want to ask if you have ever seen me before?" + +Laxton looked at him with greater interest. The man's brown face was +eager, his eyes were keen, with a sparkle in them that hinted at +determination. + +"Well," he said, "I can't recollect it." + +"Would you be willing to swear to that?" + +"Don't know that I'd go quite so far; I don't see why I should." + +Prescott took out a sheet of paper with some writing on it. + +"Do you recognize that hand?" + +"No," said the agent decidedly. "It's a bold style that one ought to +notice, but I don't think I've seen it." Then he looked up sharply. "What +you getting after?" + +"I'll explain in a minute. Let me say that I've examined the land sale +record here, and have found a deal registered that you were concerned in. +It was made in the name of Cyril Jernyngham." + +Laxton started. + +"Look here," he said, "I've had a lot of trouble over this thing since I +was fool enough to write to the police; in fact, I've had enough of the +Jernyngham case." He broke off for a moment as a light dawned on him and +then went on: "It's a sure thing I haven't met you, but, when I think, +there was a young lad something like you among others in blanket-coats in +a photograph a sergeant brought me. Montreal snowshoe or toboggan club, I +guess." + +"I don't know how the police got it. But what did you tell the sergeant?" + +"Said it was no use showing me a photograph like that, because I didn't +trade with kids." + +"Then, as I'm the man the police suspect of selling that land of +Jernyngham's, it would be a great favor if you'll tell me candidly what +you know about the matter." + +"Hang up your coat," said Laxton; "I'll do what I can. Anyway, you're not +the fellow I made the deal with." + +He drew out a cigar-case when Prescott came back. + +"Take a smoke and go ahead. I'm willing to talk." + +"First of all, turn over the paper I gave you and look at the signature." + +"Cyril Jernyngham!" exclaimed Laxton, astonished. "I see your point--the +hand ought to be the same as that on the sale registration form, and I +might have been expected to recognize it, but I can't remember all the +writing I see. However, we'll compare it with the other signature +to-morrow." + +"When you do so, you'll find a difference." + +"Ah!" said Laxton. "Then whose hand is this?" + +"Cyril Jernyngham's. It was written in my presence, and what's more +important, in the presence of another man. Now will you tell me what the +fellow who made the deal with you was like?" + +Laxton did so, and Prescott thought the description indicated Wandle, +though he was not the only man in the neighborhood of Sebastian to whom +it might apply. + +"Did you notice how he was dressed?" he asked. + +"He had on a suit of new brown clothes." + +Prescott sat still, his brows knitted, his right hand clenched. The +reason why the clothes had been hidden near his house was obvious, but +there was something else: a blurred memory that was growing into shape. +Ever since he had heard about them from Muriel, he had been trying to +think where he had seen the clothes, and at last he seemed to hold a +clue. In another few moments it led him to the truth; everything was +clear. He had once met Wandle driving toward the settlement wearing such +a suit, and by good fortune he had shortly afterward been overtaken by a +farmer who must have seen the man. In his excitement he struck the table. + +"Now I know!" he cried. "The man who forged Jernyngham's name hid his +clothes near my house to fix the thing on me. I owe you a good deal for +your help in a puzzling matter." + +The agent was sympathetic, and after Prescott had given him an outline of +his connection with the case, they sat talking over its details. Laxton +had a keen intelligence and his comments on several points were valuable. +When Prescott went to sleep it was with a weight off his mind; but his +mood changed the next day and he traveled back to Sebastian in a very +grim humor. + +Open and just as he was in all his dealings, Wandle's treachery +infuriated him. There would, he felt, have been more extenuation for the +trick had the man killed Jernyngham, but that he should conspire to throw +the blackest suspicion on a neighbor in order to enjoy the proceeds of a +petty theft was abominable. He must be made to suffer for it. However, +Prescott did not mean to trouble the police. He had had enough of their +cautious methods. He determined to secure a proof of Wandle's guilt, +unassisted, without further loss of time, and to do this he must obtain a +specimen of the man's writing to compare with that on the land sale +documents. There was, he thought, a way of getting it. + +Reaching Sebastian in the evening, he was going to the livery-stable to +hire a team when he met an acquaintance who offered to drive him home. As +the man would pass within a mile or two of Wandle's homestead and there +was a farm in the neighborhood where he might borrow a horse, Prescott +agreed. His companion found him preoccupied during the journey. He put +him down at a fork of the trail, and Prescott, walking on quickly through +the darkness, saw Wandle's team standing harnessed when he reached the +house. This was a sign that their owner had recently come home, and +Prescott, opening the door without knocking, abruptly entered the +kitchen. The lamp was lighted and Wandle, standing near it with his +fur-coat still on, looked startled. Prescott was sensible of a burning +desire to grapple with him and extort a confession by force, but there +was a risk of the crude method defeating its object, and with strong +self-denial he determined to set to work prudently. + +"I see you have just come in, and I'm anxious to get home, so I won't +keep you more than a few minutes," he said. + +"How did you come?" Wandle asked. "I didn't hear a team." + +"Harper drove me out. I walked up the cross trail; but that doesn't +matter. The last time we had a talk we fell out over the straightening up +of Jernyngham's affairs." + +"That's so; you still owe me a hundred dollars." + +"I don't admit it," said Prescott, who had laid his plans on the +expectation of this claim being made. "Anyhow, the dispute has been +dragging on and it's time we put an end to it. It was the small items you +wanted to charge Jernyngham with that I objected to, and I may have cut +some of them down too hard. Suppose you write me out a list." + +"I can tell you them right away." + +"Put them down on paper; then we can figure them out more easily." + +"Don't know if I've any ink," said Wandle. "Haven't you a notebook in +your wallet? You used to carry one." + +Prescott made a mistake in putting his hand into his pocket, which showed +that he had the book, but he remembered that it would not suit his +purpose to produce it. + +"I'm not going to make out your bill," he said. "That's your business. +Give me a proper list of the disputed expenses and we'll see what can be +done." + +He was a poor diplomatist and erred in showing too keen a desire to +secure a specimen of the other's handwriting, which is a delicate thing +to press an unskilful forger for. Wandle was on his guard, though he +carefully hid all sign of uneasiness. + +"Well," he said, "I'll send you a list over in a day or two; after all, +if I think them over, I may be able to knock something off one or two of +the items. But now you're here, I want to say that you were pretty mean +about that cultivator. They're not sold at the price you allowed me." + +This was intended to lead Prescott away from the main point and it +succeeded, because, being at a loss for an excuse for demanding the list +immediately, he was willing to speak of something else while he thought +of one. + +"You're wrong," he said curtly. "You can get them at any big dealer's. I +looked in at a western store where they stock those machines, yesterday, +and the fellow gave me his schedule." + +He had taken off his mittens, but his hands were stiff with cold, and +when he felt in his pocket he dropped several of the papers he brought +out. The back of a catalogue fell uppermost, and it bore the words, +"Hasty's high-grade implements, Navarino." Near this lay an envelope +printed with the name of a Navarino hotel. + +There was nothing to show that Wandle had noticed them--he stood some +distance off on the opposite side of the table--but Prescott was too +eager in gathering them up. Opening the catalogue, he read out a +description of the cultivator and the price. + +"Taking the cash discount, it comes to a dollar less than what I was +ready to pay you," he said. "Now make out the list and we'll try to get +the thing fixed up before I go." + +Wandle sat down for a few moments, for he had received a shock. His +suspicions had already been aroused, and Prescott's motive in going to +Navarino was obvious; besides, he thought he had read Laxton's name on +the envelope. He could expect no mercy--Prescott's face was ominously +grim--and there was no doubt that, having seen Laxton, he knew who had +hidden the brown clothes. The game was up, but, shaken by fear and rage +as he was, he rose calmly from his seat. + +"Well, since you insist on it, I guess I'll have to write the thing; but +I can't leave my team standing in the frost. Sit down and take a smoke +while I put them in." + +Prescott could not object to this. He lighted his pipe when Wandle left +him. He heard the door shut and the horses being led away, for the stable +stood at some little distance from the house, and after that no further +sound reached him. Mastering his impatience, he began to consider what he +would best do when Wandle had given him the list. He supposed he ought to +hand it over to Curtis, but he was more inclined to go back to Navarino +and compare the writing with the signature on the documents relating to +the sale. Then, having proof of the forgery, he would communicate with +the police. He was sensible of a curious thrill at the thought that the +suspicion which had tainted him would shortly be dispelled. + +After a while it occurred to him that Wandle should have returned, but he +reflected that the man might be detained by some small task. After +waiting some minutes longer, he walked to the door, but finding that he +could not see the entrance to the stable, he stood still, irresolute. He +thought he had been firm enough, and to betray any further eagerness +would be injudicious. The matter must be handled delicately, lest Wandle +take alarm. + +When he had smoked out his pipe, Prescott could no longer restrain his +impatience. He hurried toward the stable. The moonlight fell on the front +of the building and the door was open; but Prescott stopped with a start, +for all was dark inside and there was no sign of the vehicle in which the +rancher had driven home. A worse surprise awaited him, for when he ran +inside and struck a match it was clear that Wandle and his team had gone. + +Prescott dropped the match and stood still a few moments, in savage fury. +There was no doubt that he had been cleverly tricked; Wandle, guessing +his object, had quietly driven away as soon as he had led the team clear +of the house. Moreover, Prescott had good cause for believing that he +would not come back. With an effort, he pulled himself together. To give +rein to his anger and disappointment would serve no purpose; but he had +no horse with which to begin the pursuit. He remembered having told +Wandle so when he first entered the house. Striking another match, he +lighted a lantern he found and eagerly looked about. A plow team occupied +two of the stalls, and though they were heavy Clydesdales with no speed +in them, they would be capable of traveling faster than a man on foot. As +he could not find a saddle, he ran back to the house and returned with a +blanket. A bit and bridle hung on a nail, he found a girth, but his hands +were cold and he spent some time adjusting straps and fastening on the +blanket before he led one of the horses out and mounted. + +The moonlight was clear enough to show him that there were no fresh +wheelmarks in the snow. Wandle had kept to the trail, and Prescott +surmised that he would travel south toward the American boundary. +Although he feared he would lose ground steadily, he meant to follow, +since there was a chance of the fugitive's being delayed by some +accident, which would enable him to come up. It was extremely cold, +Prescott was not dressed for riding, and the folded blanket made a very +bad saddle. At times pale moonlight shone down, but more often it died +away, obscured by thin cloud. The trail, however, was plain and the big +Clydesdale was covering the ground. Prescott's hands and feet grew +numbed, and there was a risk in this, but he trotted steadily on. + +After a while he heard two horsemen following him. He did not pull up; +time was precious, and if the others wished to overtake him, he had no +doubt that they could do so. During the next few minutes it became +evident that they were gaining, and he heard a cry which he answered +without stopping. Then, as the moon came through, another shout reached +him, sharp and commanding: + +"Stop, before we drop you!" + +This was not to be disregarded. Pulling up, he turned his horse. Two +mounted men rode furiously down on him, loose snow flying about their +horses, and one poised a carbine across his saddle. Struggling to check +his horse, he swept past, shouting to his comrade: + +"Hold on! It's Prescott!" + +They were a little distance ahead when they stopped and trotted back, and +Prescott waited until Curtis pulled up at his side. + +"Where were you going?" cried the corporal. + +"After Wandle." + +"I might have guessed!" said Curtis savagely, and turned to Stanton. +"This explains the thing." + +"How far is he ahead of you?" Stanton asked. + +"He got off half an hour before I did, as near as I can guess." + +They sat silent for a moment or two, breathless and crestfallen, their +horses distressed. + +"Let's get into the lee of the bluff yonder; this wind's keen," Curtis +said. + +"You're losing time," Prescott objected. + +"We've lost it," Curtis told him grimly. "My mount has been out since +noon, and it's near midnight now. Stanton's isn't much fresher." + +Prescott rode with them to the bluff, where they got down. + +"That's a relief; it's quite a while since I could feel the bridle," said +Curtis, turning to Prescott. "How did you scare Wandle off? Be as quick +as you can!" + +Prescott briefly related what led to his call at the farm and the +corporal's face was filled with scornful anger. + +"This is what comes of you blamed amateurs butting in!" he remarked. +"Jernyngham was bad enough, but he can't come near you at mussing up our +plans. Guess you don't know that we've been watching Wandle for some +weeks, ready to corral him, and you start him off like this, without +warning." + +"I'd reason to believe you were watching me," Prescott dryly rejoined. + +"Oh, well," said Curtis, "that's another matter. Anyhow, I had trailed +Wandle to Kelly's place since dark, and I'd trotted round to see if he'd +got back to his homestead when I found that he had gone. Stanton and I +were prospecting out this way when we struck your trail." + +"What are you going to do about it?" + +"We'll make the next farm and try to borrow horses. Then I'll ride to the +railroad and get the wires to work. Stanton will keep the trail by Long +Lake." + +"Then I'll push right on by the Traverse. There's a ranch I should make +by daylight where I might get a mount. I'm going to see the thing +through." + +Curtis considered this. + +"Well," he said, "I guess you can't do much harm, and Wandle may not have +gone by the lake after all. You can pick up Stanton if you find out +anything, and I'll try to join you from one of the stations along the +line." + +They mounted, and on reaching the trail forks where they must separate, +Prescott turned to Curtis. + +"Aren't you afraid of letting me out of your sight?" he asked. + +"No, sir," Curtis answered with a smile. "You're not quite so important +to us now; and I'm not running much risk, anyway, considering the horse +you've got." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +STARTLING NEWS + + +It was noon on the day after Wandle's flight, and Jernyngham was sitting +with his friends in a room of the Leslie homestead when Muriel, looking +out of the window, saw Prescott's hired man ride up at a gallop. His +haste and his anxious expression when he dismounted alarmed her, but her +companions had not noticed him, and she waited, listening to the murmur +of voices that presently reached her from an adjoining room. They ceased +in a few minutes, she saw the man ride away as fast as he had come, and +soon afterward Leslie opened the door. He was a talkative person and +looked as if he had something of importance to relate. + +"Svendsen has been over to ask if I saw Prescott when I was in at the +settlement yesterday," he said. "When I told him that I hadn't, he seemed +mighty disturbed." + +Muriel's heart throbbed painfully, but she waited for one of the others +to speak, and Jernyngham, laying down his paper, glanced up sharply. + +"Why?" he asked. + +This was all the encouragement Leslie needed. + +"I'll tell you, so far as I've got the hang of the thing; I thought you'd +like to know. It seems Prescott has been away somewhere for a few days +and should have got home last night. He came in on the train in the +evening, and Harper drove him out and dropped him at Wandle's trail; +Prescott said he wanted to see the man. Well, he didn't get home, and +Svendsen, who'd been to Harper's this morning, found Wandle gone and +three of his horses missing. Then he found out from Watson, who stayed at +the hotel last night, that Curtis rode in on a played-out horse before it +was light, and kept the night operator busy for a while with the wires. +Seems to me the thing has a curious look." + +For a moment or two nobody spoke. Muriel felt dismayed by the news, and +she glanced at the others, trying to read their thoughts. Colston looked +troubled, Gertrude's face was hard and stamped with a kind of cruel +satisfaction, Jernyngham was very grim. + +"Is that all you know about the matter?" Jernyngham asked. + +"I guess so," Leslie answered. "Still, Svendsen did allow he thought he'd +seen Stanton hanging about the homestead yesterday evening." + +"Thank you," said Jernyngham with cold politeness. "I'll want the team +after dinner." + +Seeing no excuse for remaining, the rancher went out, and Jernyngham +turned to the others. His brows were knitted and his eyes gleamed +ominously. + +"There's no mystery about the matter; the man has gone for good," he +said. "In spite of the assurances they gave me, these fools of police +have let him slip through their fingers. That he saw Wandle before he +bolted proves collusion between them. It was a thing I half suspected, +but Curtis, of course, did not agree with me." + +Muriel was recovering from the shock. Though things looked very bad, she +could not believe that Prescott had run away. He had promised to call on +Curtis and her confidence in him was unshaken. + +"He went away by train a day or two ago, and if he had had anything to +fear, he would have made his escape then," she said. + +Mrs. Colston cast a warning glance at her, as if begging her to say +nothing more, but Jernyngham curtly answered her remark. + +"The man probably wanted to sell his property where it would excite less +notice than at Sebastian. Then I suppose he found it needful to see his +confederate." + +"They could have gone off together in the first instance," Colston +objected. + +Jernyngham made an impatient gesture. + +"I was merely suggesting an explanation; the point is not important. The +fellow has bolted; but I've reason for believing he won't get across the +boundary!" + +He broke off, tearing the newspaper as he opened it, and there was an +awkward silence until Mrs. Leslie brought in dinner. Jernyngham ate very +little, and after spending a few minutes in his room, he drove off in the +sleigh. Somewhat later, Colston met Gertrude in a passage and stopped +her. He thought she looked anxious. + +"I'm sorry I couldn't calm your father, but I was afraid that anything I +might say would only make him more excited," he told her. "I meant to go +with him, but he wouldn't permit it." + +"No," she said, "there was nothing that you could do; but I'm badly +disturbed." She paused irresolutely, and then resumed: "He has taken a +magazine pistol, though I believe it's the first time he has carried it." + +Colston looked grave. He determined, if possible, to abstract the pistol +and hide it on Jernyngham's return. + +"I'm very sorry. It must be trying for you. Indeed, I wonder anxiously +where all this is leading us." + +"The horrible mystery will be cleared up on Prescott's arrest," Gertrude +said in a harsh voice. "I think that can't be long deferred." + +She left him troubled by her expression, and he and the others spent a +dreary afternoon and evening. It was late when Jernyngham returned, +looking worn but very stern. + +"From what I've learned, word has been sent to every police trooper +between here and the frontier," he said, and broke into a grim smile. +"Prescott's chance of escape is a very poor one." + +He made a scanty meal, without seeming to notice what he ate, and +afterward sat silent. The others seldom spoke and when a word was +exchanged there was strain in their voices. The snapping of the poplar +billets in the stove seemed to emphasize the quiet and jarred on their +nerves, while Muriel, tormented by fears on Prescott's account, found the +suspense and constraint almost intolerable. She was thankful when bedtime +came, though she could not sleep. Her troubled thoughts were with her +lover, and she wondered what perils he was exposed to on the snowy wilds. + +As it happened, Prescott was riding steadily through the stinging frost. +He had been unable to obtain a fresh horse, but he had borrowed a saddle, +and the Clydesdale, though far from fast, possessed good staying powers. +For all that, he had been forced to rest part of the day at an outlying +farm, and while there a man brought him word from Stanton, whose line of +travel ran roughly parallel with his, three or four leagues to the west. +The trooper's horse had gone badly lame, and Prescott was instructed to +push on while Stanton sought another mount. + +It was a very bitter night, but the young rancher was used to cold, and, +riding alone in the moonlight, he made the best pace he could across the +white desolation. There was no sign of life on it. Nothing moved in the +reeds beside the frozen ponds and the shadowy bluffs he passed; no sound +but the thud of heavy hoofs broke the overwhelming silence. By and by he +left the trees behind, and pressed on into a vast glittering plain which +ran back to the horizon, unbroken by a bush, and inexpressibly lonely. + +In the early morning he reached a homestead where he rested until the +afternoon. He chafed at the delay, but as the Clydesdale was badly jaded, +it could not be avoided, and Wandle would have to stop now and then, +unless he could hire fresh horses, which might be difficult. Starting +again, he came to a small wooden settlement in the evening and rode first +to the livery-stable. The telephone wires, which were being stretched +across the prairie, had not reached the place, and he surmised that the +police had been unable to communicate with it. The liveryman was busy in +one of the stalls, but he came out and answered Prescott's question. + +"Yes," he said, "a fellow like the one you speak of came in here about an +hour ago. His team looked pretty used up and he wanted to hire another, +but I couldn't deal. Keep my horses hauling cordwood through the winter, +and the only team I have in the stable is ordered by a drummer for +to-morrow." + +"Can't you find me a mount? I'll pay you what you like." + +"No, sir," said the other. "When I engage to drive a man round, I've got +to make good. If I didn't, it would soon ruin my trade." + +Seeing he was not to be moved, Prescott asked: + +"How do you strike the south trail?" + +"Go straight through the town. It forks in about three miles, and you can +take either branch. They're both pretty bad, but the west one's the +shorter and the worse." + +"What's between the forks?" + +"A big patch of broken country--sandhills and bluffs. About eight miles +on, the other trail runs in again." + +"Are there any homesteads on the way?" + +"Nothing near the trail. There's a shack where two fellows cutting +cordwood camp." + +Prescott considered when he had thanked the man. He was tired and his +horse was far from fresh, but he understood that Wandle's team was in a +worse condition. There was a possibility of his overtaking him, if he +pushed on at once. Leaving the stable, he meant to walk a short distance +to ease his aching limbs, but he saw a mounted man trotting up the street +and called out as he recognized Stanton. + +"I thought I might get news of you here," said the trooper, pulling up. +"Have you found out anything?" + +Prescott told him what he had heard, and Stanton nodded. + +"Then we had better get on. The horse I've got is pretty fresh." + +In another minute or two they had left the lights of the settlement +behind and Prescott prepared for a third night on the trail. His eyes +were heavy, long exposure to extreme cold had had its effect on him, and +the warmth seemed to be dying out of his exhausted body. After a while +they came to a straggling clump of birches with blurred masses of taller +trees behind, where the trail broke in two. Stanton dismounted and struck +a few matches, examining the snow carefully. + +"Nothing to show which way Wandle's gone," he reported. "Somebody's been +along with a bob-sled not long ago and rubbed out his tracks. Anyhow, +I'll take the shorter fork." + +They separated; the trooper riding on in the moonlight and Prescott +entering the gloom of the trees. He soon found the trial remarkably +uneven. So far as he could make out, it skirted a number of low, thickly +timbered ridges, swinging sharply up and down. In places it slanted +awkwardly toward one edge; in others it was covered with stiff, dwarf +scrub. One or two of the descents to frozen creeks were alarmingly steep +and the Clydesdale stumbled now and then, but it kept its feet and +Prescott felt that, everything considered, he was making a satisfactory +pace. Stanton, he supposed, was two or three miles to the west of him, +following the opposite edge of the high ground, but there was nothing to +indicate which of them was the nearer to Wandle. + +He rode on, wishing the light were better, for the faint gleam of the +moon among the trees confused his sight and made it difficult to +distinguish the trail, while to leave it might lead to his plunging down +some precipitous gully. At length he saw a yellow glow ahead, and soon +afterward came upon a shack in an opening. Small logs were strewn about +it and among them stood tall piles of cordwood. The door opened as he +rode up and a man's dark figure appeared in the entrance. + +"Have you seen a rig going south?" Prescott asked. + +"I heard one, about seven or eight minutes ago. The fellow didn't seem to +be driving quick." + +"Thanks," responded Prescott, and rode off with a feeling of +satisfaction. + +He had gained on Wandle, who had probably been delayed by some mischance +on the trail. If the Clydesdale could be urged to a faster pace, he might +overtake him, but this must be done before the fugitive could hire a +fresh team. Next, he began to wonder what progress Stanton had made, for +the relative positions of Wandle and the constable were now important. If +Stanton were far enough ahead, he would reach the spot where the trails +united before the absconder, in which case they would have him between +them and it would be better for Prescott to save his horse's strength, +because speed might be required. On the contrary, if Stanton were not yet +abreast of him, he ought to push on as fast as possible. Wandle, he was +glad to remember, could not know how closely he was being followed. + +Turning the matter over in his mind, he rode at a moderate pace while the +rough track wound deeper into the bluff. The partial obscurity was now +extremely puzzling. Here and there a slender trunk glimmered in the faint +moonlight that streamed down between the branches, and patches of +brightness lay across the path, but this intensified the darkness of the +background. It was hard to tell which of the dim avenues that kept +opening up was the trail; the state of the short scrub could no longer be +used as a guide, for the cordwood cutters had not penetrated so far with +their sled. + +Prescott knew that he must go forward, however; and he was gazing +anxiously ahead with eyes that ached from long exposure to the reflection +from the snow when the Clydesdale stumbled violently. He had scarcely +time to clear his feet of the stirrups before the beast went down and he +was flung into a clump of brush with a force that nearly drove the breath +out of him. For a few moments he lay still, dimly conscious that the +horse was struggling in the snow; and then, rousing himself with an +effort, he got up unsteadily. He felt badly shaken, but he saw the horse +scramble to its feet without assistance and stand trembling, looking +about for him. + +Neither he nor the animal seemed to be seriously injured, but he felt +incapable of mounting and waited a while, wondering what he should do. He +was tired out and was sensible of a depressing lassitude, the result of +nervous strain. Then, as the bitter cold nipped him, a reaction set in. +Wandle, he remembered, had with detestable cunning plotted to ruin him; +it might be difficult to clear himself unless the man were arrested. For +the sake of the girl who had maintained his innocence with steadfast +faith, the suspicion under which he labored must be dispelled. Prescott +was seized by a fit of fury against his betrayer. Nerved by it, he got +into the saddle and rode on, urging the Clydesdale savagely through the +wood. + +Half an hour later he heard a measured drumming sound and Stanton's voice +answered his hail. Then a horseman rode out of a gap in the trees and +pulled up near him. + +"I suppose you have seen nothing of Wandle?" Prescott asked. + +"Not a sign," said Stanton shortly. "Have you?" + +Prescott raised his hand and sat listening while he struggled with his +rage and disappointment. The night was still; he thought he would hear +any sound there might be a long distance off, but nothing broke the +silence. + +"I learned from a chopper that I wasn't far behind him, and I half +expected you would have headed him off. I can't think he has passed this +spot." + +"We'll try to fix that." + +Stanton dismounted and struck several matches. The flame burned steadily, +but it showed none of the marks for which he searched the beaten snow +with practised eyes. + +"No," he said, "I'd stake a month's pay that the fellow's not ahead." + +They looked at each other, frankly puzzled; and then Prescott broke out +angrily: + +"Where can the blasted rustler be?" + +"Couldn't have left the bluffs on my side without my seeing him, and if +he'd doubled back on his tracks, you'd have met him," Curtis remarked. + +"He's not likely to be hiding in the woods. He'd freeze without a proper +outfit, which he can't have got." + +They grappled with the problem in silence for a minute or two. + +"We'll take the back trail," Stanton decided. "The fellow must have +broken out for open country on your side. I guess he knows where there's +a homestead where he might find a team." + +Prescott agreed, and they rode off wearily the way he had come, shivering +with the cold that had seized them while they waited. The expectant +excitement which had animated them for the past hour had gone and was +followed by a reaction. Their bodies were half frozen, their minds worked +heavily, but both were conscious of a grim resolve. It was the trooper's +duty to bear crushing fatigue and stinging frost, one that was sternly +demanded of him; and the rancher had a stronger motive. He must clear +himself for Muriel's sake, and he was filled with rage against the man +who had tried to betray him. He would go on, if necessary, until his +hands and feet froze or the big Clydesdale fell. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +THE END OF THE PURSUIT + + +When they had ridden some distance through the wood, Stanton checked his +horse. + +"Hold on!" he cried. "Here's a bit of an opening in the brush!" + +He moved away a few yards, and then called out: + +"Looks mighty like a trail. I guess you didn't notice it when you came +along." + +Prescott admitted that he had not done so, which was not surprising. +There was little to distinguish the gap between the nut bushes from +others that opened up all round; but Stanton seemed satisfied that he was +right. + +"Somebody has driven out this way not long ago," he explained. + +"It doesn't follow that the man was Wandle." + +"Why, no. Still, I guess it's likely; and if there's a trail, it leads to +a homestead. Anyway, we'll track it up." + +When they reached the open prairie, the moonlight showed faint wheelmarks +running on before them to the east. The country was open and empty; a +wide plain, with one slight rise some miles away that cut with a white +gleam against the deep blue of the sky. They headed toward it wearily, +following the track, and drew bridle when they gained the summit. A +half-moon floated rather low in the western sky, glittering keen with +frost, and they could see that the prairie ahead of them was more rolling +and broken. Dusky smears of bluffs checkered its white surface here and +there, and a low irregular dark line ran across it. Prescott supposed +this to be a small timber growing along the edge of a ravine. Beyond it, +in the distance, a faint glimmer of yellow light caught and held his eye. +It was the one touch of warm color in the chill and lifeless waste of +white and blue. + +"A homestead," said Stanton. "We'll ride as far as the ravine together; +and then I guess I'll make for the farm alone. If Wandle's been there +looking for horses, he'll strike south and take the trail we left, +farther on. You'll head down that way and watch out to cut him off if he +lights out before I come up." + +Prescott understood the maneuver. By driving east the fugitive had lost +ground, and if he could push on fast enough, Prescott might reach a +position from which he could either run him down or turn him back into +the hands of the trooper. + +When they came to the ravine and descended the deep shadowy hollow, they +parted company, Prescott following the opposite brink, because Wandle +would have to cross it lower down to regain the south trail. Once or +twice he left it for a while when the gorge twisted in a big loop away +from him, but he could see nothing of his companion. They had commanded a +wide sweep of plain when they crossed the rise, but now that he was on +low ground, the scattered bluffs obstructed his view. Indeed, he fancied +from their position that they would prevent Stanton's seeing the farm. +Once he stopped and listened with strained attention, but he could hear +only the faint sighing of a light wind among the trees he skirted and the +snapping of a twig, made by what means he could not tell, for there was +no sign of life in all the frozen wilds. It was very dreary, and Prescott +had little expectation of overtaking Wandle after the time they had lost, +but he doggedly rode on. + +At length an indistinct sound, too regular for the wind to account for, +reached him, and grew louder when he pulled up his horse. It was a dull, +measured throbbing, and he knew it to be the beat of hoofs. It was +drawing nearer, but it might be made by Stanton riding to join him, and +he headed so as to clear one of the bluffs which prevented his seeing far +across the plain. On passing the end of the timber he saw another taller +patch half a mile off, which hid most of the prairie between him and the +farm, and knowing that time might be valuable he clung to the ravine, +urging the jaded Clydesdale to its fastest pace, which was very moderate. +He had gone about a mile, opening up the flat waste beyond the second +bluff, when the black shape of a team and rig appeared on it. The team +was being driven furiously, and in another few moments Prescott was not +surprised to see a horseman sweep out from the gloom of the trees behind +them. It was, however, soon obvious that the trooper was not gaining +ground; Wandle had got fresh horses, his rig was light, while Stanton's +mount had already carried him a long way. Prescott's Clydesdale had been +harder taxed, but he knew he could not spare the beast. Wandle must have +seen him, but he was holding straight on, and this could only be because +he was following a trail which led to the easiest crossing of the ravine. +The man would shrink from the risk of getting entangled among thick +timber with his team. + +Prescott would have found speed difficult, even had he been mounted on a +fresh horse. The snow was thin, but it was loose and dusty beneath the +crust, through which the hoofs broke, while Wandle was making excellent +progress along a beaten trail. Still, Prescott was nearer to the point +the man was making for, and if he could reach it first, Wandle could not +escape. Riding with savage determination, he sped on, the snow flying up +behind him, the thrill of the pursuit firing his blood and filling him +with fierce excitement. Wandle's fresh team was going at a gallop, the +hoofs beating out a sharp drumming that mingled with the furious rattle +of wheels, and through these sounds broke a rapid, pounding thud which +told that Stanton was following hard behind. The trooper was, however, +less close than he had been; too far, Prescott thought, to use his +carbine; and as he mercilessly drove his beast he feared that he could +scarcely reach the trail in time. He was closing with the rig and could +see Wandle savagely lash his team; the trouble was that instead of riding +to cut off the fugitive, in another few minutes he would be behind him, +which was a very different thing. + +While he plied the quirt he saw the rig vanish among the trees close +ahead. They stretched out some distance into the prairie, and he might +not be too late yet, if he were willing to take a serious risk. He did +not think the trail ran straight down into the ravine--the hollow was too +deep for that--it would descend the slope obliquely and might trend +toward him. If so, he should still be able to intercept the rig by +cutting off the corner and riding straight down the steep bank through +the timber. The odds were in favor of his killing the horse and breaking +his own neck, but this did not count, and the next moment there was a +crash as the Clydesdale rushed through a brake. A branch struck +Prescott's leg a heavy blow, but he was too numbed to feel much pain, and +as he swung round a bush that threatened to tear him from the saddle he +could look down between the trees. Then he was filled with exultation, +for the trail had turned his way. Below him, but farther from the bottom +of the dipping track than he was, Wandle's horses were plunging downhill +at a furious gallop, the rig jolting behind them, the driver leaning +forward and using the whip. There was no sign of Stanton except the +pounding of hoofs that rose among the trees. + +Then the slope grew dangerously sharp and Prescott set his teeth. The +Clydesdale flinched from the descent, but it was too jaded to struggle +hard, and the next moment it stumbled and slid over the edge. They went +down, slipping over ground as hard as granite under its thin coat of +snow, smashing through nut bushes, tearing off low branches. Prescott saw +Wandle turn his head and look up at him. Then the fugitive sent up a +hoarse cry of rage and warning, too late. If he could stop his team, +which was very doubtful, he might escape the threatened collision; but +this would involve his capture by Stanton, and he lashed his horses and +went on, while Prescott and the great plow horse came madly rushing down +at him. He looked at them again, with a breathless yell; then he let the +reins fall and seized a seat rail. + +The Clydesdale struck the light off-side horse, hurling it upon its +fellow, breaking the pole. Both lost their footing and were driven round. +Prescott, flung upon the backs of the horses, grasped the front of the +rig, which ran on a yard or two and overturned with a crash. The +Clydesdale went down among the wreckage, another horse was on its side, +kicking savagely; and Stanton, hurrying up, saw Prescott crawl slowly +clear of it. Seizing him, he lifted him to his feet, and to his great +surprise the man leaned against a tree with a half-dazed laugh. + +"Well," he gasped, "I'm not in pieces, anyway!" + +"Then you ought to be!" said Stanton, too startled to congratulate him on +his escape. "But where's Wandle?" + +Prescott seemed unable to answer and the trooper, looking round, saw +Wandle lying in the snow; but before he could reach him the man began to +raise himself on his elbow. This was disconcerting, for Stanton had +thought him dead. + +"Well," the trooper said stupidly, "what's the matter with you?" + +"I don't know," Wandle replied weakly. "Don't feel like talking; let me +alone." + +Stanton had no fear of his escaping, so he went back to the horses. One +of them stood trembling, attached to the rig by the deranged harness; the +other still lay kicking, while the big Clydesdale rolled to and fro, with +its leg through a wrenched-off wheel. It was astonishing that none of +them was killed. Prescott apparently needed no assistance, and Stanton +felt that he required some occupation to calm himself. Accordingly, he +freed the Clydesdale of the broken wheel, narrowly escaping a kick which +would have broken his ribs. The horse was a valuable one and must not be +left in danger, and after a few minutes of severe exertion Stanton got it +on its feet. Then he turned to the fallen driving horse and began, at +some risk, to cut away its harness. Prescott came to help him, and +together they raised the beast. Then Stanton sat down heavily on the +wreckage. + +"Well," he remarked, "that was the blamedest fool trick, your riding down +the grade; they wouldn't expect that kind of work from us in the service! +What I can't account for is that you look none the worse." + +Prescott, standing shakily in the moonlight, smiled. "It is surprising; +but hadn't you better look after Wandle? He seems to be getting up." + +Wandle was cautiously getting on his feet, and the trooper watched him +until he moved a pace or two. + +"You don't look very broke up," he said. "Do you feel as if you could +walk?" + +"I believe I could ride," Wandle answered sullenly. + +"Well, I guess you won't. You have given us trouble enough already, and +you'll be warmer on your feet." Then he drew out a paper. "This is my +warrant. It's my duty to arrest you----" + +Wandle listened coolly to the formula, in which he was charged with +fraudulently selling Jernyngham's land and forging his name. Indeed, +Prescott fancied that he was relieved to find that nothing more serious +had been brought against him. + +"Well," he said, "you'll hear my defense when it's ready. What's to be +done now?" + +"Head back to the homestead where you got the team. Think you can lead +one of them? It's either that or I'll put the handcuffs on you--make your +choice." Stanton turned to Prescott. "It will be warmer walking, and I've +ridden about enough." + +The suggestion was agreed to, and after looping up the cut harness +awkwardly with numbed fingers, they set off; Wandle going first, holding +one horse's head, Prescott following with two, and the trooper bringing +up the rear. When they reached the farm, to the astonishment of its +occupants, they were given quarters in the kitchen, where a big stove was +burning. Soon afterward, Prescott and Wandle lay down on the wooden +floor, wrapped in blankets supplied them by the farmer, and Prescott sank +into heavy sleep. Stanton, sitting upright in an uncomfortable chair, +kept watch with his carbine laid handy on the table. He spent the night +in a tense struggle to keep awake, and when Prescott got up at dawn the +trooper's face was haggard and his eyes half closed, but he was still on +guard. + +After breakfast, they borrowed a saddle for Wandle and set out on the +return journey, meeting Curtis, who had ridden from the railroad, at the +first settlement they reached. Prescott left the others there, and rode +toward the station the corporal had just left, taking some telegrams +Curtis asked him to despatch. He spent an afternoon and a night in the +little wooden town, and went on again the next day by a local train. + +While Prescott was on the way, Jernyngham drove to Sebastian with +Gertrude. The girl had insisted on accompanying him. Soon after they left +the homestead Colston, who was trying to read a paper from which his +interest wandered, looked up at his wife. + +"It's fine weather and not quite so cold," he said. "Suppose we go to the +settlement and get supper there? I've no doubt there's something you or +Muriel would like to buy." + +"As it happens, there is," Mrs. Colston replied. "But I don't think +that's all you have in your mind." + +"The fact is, I'm disturbed about Jernyngham," Colston admitted. "He has +been in an extremely restless mood since Prescott disappeared." + +"I have noticed that. But do you know why he has gone to Sebastian +to-day?" + +"He told me. One of the police authorities, whom he has seen already, is +staying at the hotel to-night. Jernyngham means to get hold of him and +insist upon an explanation of what they are doing." + +Muriel leaned forward in her chair. She looked anxious, for no news of +anything that had happened since Wandle's flight had reached the +neighborhood. It was only known that the police were in pursuit of him; +and local opinion was divided as to whether Prescott was also a fugitive +or, knowing more about the matter than anybody else, had offered Curtis +his assistance. + +"I think you ought to go," she said. "And you may hear something." + +"Well," Colston replied, "I'll confess that I'm curious, though I'm going +mainly on Jernyngham's account." He turned to his wife. "Don't you think +it's advisable?" + +"I do, and it would be better if we all went. Then you will have an +excuse for following Jernyngham and can watch him without making the +thing too marked. It's a pity you didn't succeed in getting the pistol +away from him." + +"I've done what I could. I had another try this morning, but he caught me +looking for it and I believe he guessed what I was after, because he was +unusually short with me. It's my opinion that he has taken to wearing the +thing; so far as I can discover, it's nowhere in the house. One hesitates +about ransacking his room." + +"It is not in the house, and he is not to be trusted with it," Muriel +said quietly. + +Colston cast a surprised glance at her. + +"Oh! You seem to know. I've no doubt you are cleverer with your fingers +than I am and wouldn't be so afraid of leaving your tracks." + +"Gertrude knows where the pistol is and she thought it necessary to go +with her father," Mrs. Colston said significantly. "We'll get off as soon +as you have asked Leslie for the buggy; I wish it had been the sleigh." + +They drove away in half an hour; but Jernyngham reached the settlement +some time before they did. Leaving Gertrude at a drygoods store, he went +to the hotel, where the commissioned officer of police had a room. The +officer was acquainted with all that Prescott had told Curtis about his +absence in search of the missing man, and had been advised by telegraph +of the assistance he had rendered in Wandle's arrest. This was, however, +a matter that must stand in abeyance until he saw Curtis, for he had come +down to investigate some complaints about the reservation Indians, who +were in a restless, discontented state, and the business demanded careful +thought and handling. He was studying the report of a local constable +when there was a knock at the door, and he looked up with annoyance as +Jernyngham came in. The man had his sympathy, but he was troublesome. + +"I'm afraid I can't spare you more than a minute or two," he said. "I'm +expecting a constable I've sent for." + +"One would have imagined that my business was of the first importance," +Jernyngham rejoined. "Have you any news of the fugitives?" + +"Wandle has been arrested." + +"Ah! That's satisfactory, though I don't think it will carry us very far. +His attempt to escape with Prescott, however, makes it obvious that they +were confederates." + +The officer let this remark pass, for he was anxious to get rid of his +visitor. Jernyngham was piqued by his silence. + +"I suppose you have not apprehended Prescott yet?" he resumed. + +"No," answered the other shortly. "He will remain at liberty." + +There was a knock at the door and a trooper looked in and withdrew. + +"Mr. Jernyngham," said the officer, "if you will make an appointment to +meet me on my return from the reservation, I will be at your service, but +you must excuse me now. I have some instructions to give the constable, +who has a long ride before him." + +"A minute, please; I'll be brief. Am I to understand that you have no +intention of seizing Prescott?" + +"That is what I meant. So far as I can determine at present, we shall not +interfere with him." + +Jernyngham's haggard face grew red with anger. + +"What are your grounds for this extraordinary decision?" he demanded. + +"A strong presumption of his innocence." + +"Preposterous!" Jernyngham broke out. "The scoundrel killed my son, and +you refuse to move any further against him! I must carry the matter to +Ottawa; you leave me no recourse." + +The officer rapped on the table and the trooper entered. + +"Come and see me when I get back, Mr. Jernyngham, and we'll talk over the +thing again. I have other business which demands urgent attention now." + +Jernyngham's face was deeply colored and the swollen veins showed on his +forehead. + +"Understand that I insist on Prescott's arrest! I will, spare no effort +to secure it through your superiors!" + +Seeing that he was in no mood to listen to reason, the officer let him +go, and Jernyngham walked slowly to the lobby downstairs. There were a +number of men in it, but two or three strolled into the bar and the +others drew away from him when he sat down. They were not without +compassion, but they shrank from the grim look in the man's worn face. +For a while he sat still, resting one elbow on a table, and trying to +arrange his confused thoughts. He knew nothing of Prescott's interview +with Curtis or the reason for his visit to Wandle on the night of the +latter's flight; the discovery of the brown clothes occupied the most +prominent place in his mind, and convinced him of Prescott's guilt. + +Then he began to consider how he could best bring pressure to bear on the +administration in Ottawa. From inquiries he had made, it appeared less +easy than he had supposed. It was, he had been told, unusual for anybody +to interfere with the Northwest Police, who had been entrusted with +extensive powers; and there was a strong probability of his failing to +obtain satisfaction. It was, however, unthinkable that Prescott should +escape. Jernyngham's poignant sense of loss and regret for past harshness +to his son had merged into an overwhelming desire for vengeance on the +man whom he regarded as Cyril's murderer. He was left without an ally; +the organized means of justice had signally broken down; but the man +should not go unpunished. + +Tormented by his thoughts, he went out in search of Gertrude. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +JERNYNGHAM BREAKS DOWN + + +Colston and his party were leaving the hotel, with Jernyngham and +Gertrude a few paces in front of them. A big lamp hung beneath the +veranda, and the light from the windows streamed out on the snow. While +Colston held the door open for his wife and Muriel to pass through a man +came hurriedly along the sidewalk and Colston started. + +"Be quick!" he cried to Muriel. "It's Prescott!" + +Letting the door swing to, he moved hastily forward, and then stopped, +seeing that he was too late to prevent the meeting. Jernyngham had +recognized the newcomer. + +"Mr. Prescott," the old man cried, "a word with you!" + +Prescott stopped with a troubled face a few yards away. + +"If you insist, I'm at your service." + +Colston drew nearer. Jernyngham's tone had alarmed him, and it's ominous +harshness was more marked when he resumed: + +"For the last time, I ask you, where is my son?" + +"I wish I knew," said Prescott quietly. "I believe he's in British +Columbia, but it's a big province and I lost trace of him there." + +"It's a lie!" Jernyngham cried, hoarse with fury. "Your tricks won't +serve you; I'll have the truth!" + +"Be calm, Mr. Jernyngham," Colston begged, touching his arm. "We'll have +a crowd here in a few moments. Come back into the hotel." + +He was violently pushed away. Jernyngham's eyes glittered, his face was +grimly set; it was obvious that his self-control had deserted him. Seeing +that he could not be reasoned with, Colston left him alone and waited, +ready to interfere if necessary. The man, he thought, was in a dangerous +mood; the situation was liable to have alarming developments. + +"Why don't you speak?" Jernyngham stormed at Prescott. "You shall not +leave the spot until we hear your confession!" + +Prescott stood still, looking at him steadily, with pity in his face. He +made a striking figure in the glare of light, finely posed, with no sign +of shrinking. The others had fixed their eyes on him, and did not notice +Muriel move quietly through the shadow of the wooden pillars. + +"I have nothing to confess," he said. + +Jernyngham's fur coat was open and his hand dropped quickly to a pocket. +As he brought it out Colston sprang forward, a moment too late; but +Muriel was before him, her hand on the man's arm. There was a flash, a +sharp report, and blue smoke curled up toward the veranda, but Prescott +stood still, untouched. + +"Be quick!" screamed Muriel. "He's trying to fire again!" + +There was no time to be particular. Colston seized the elder man, +dragging him backward several paces before he wrenched the pistol from +him. Then he paused, breathless, looking about in a half-dazed fashion. +Everything had happened with startling suddenness, and the scene under +the veranda was an impressive one. His wife clutched one of the pillars +as if unnerved. Gertrude leaned against the sidewalk rail, her face tense +with horror, and Jernyngham stood with a slackness of carriage which +suggested that power of thought and physical force had suddenly left him. + +"Jack, are you hurt?" cried Muriel clinging to Prescott. + +The tension was relieved by the appearance of the commissioned officer, +who sprang out of the hotel with the constable close behind him. + +"Shut the door and keep them in!" he ordered. + +The constable obeyed, but his efforts were wasted, for men were already +hurrying out through the separate entrance to the bar and from an +adjoining store. Others ran out from the houses, and the street was +rapidly filling with an eager crowd. + +"Stand back there!" called the officer sharply. Then he turned to the +group under the veranda. "Now what's this? I heard a shot!" + +"Yes," said Colston, pulling himself together, though his manner was +confused; "there was one. I don't know how it happened--it was a surprise +to us all. I don't think the pistol's safe; it goes off too easily. +However, the most important thing is that nobody is hurt." + +"That's fortunate. I'll take the weapon from you," replied the officer +dryly. + +When Colston had given it to him, as if glad to be rid of it, the officer +noted the positions and attitudes of the others before he turned to +Prescott. + +"Can you tell me anything?" he asked. + +"I don't think so," Prescott answered. "Of course, I saw the flash, but +the bullet didn't come anywhere near me." + +Then Gertrude's nerve gave way. All that had happened was her work; she +had, when her father was wavering and questioning the justice of his +suspicions, driven them back more firmly into his mind, and as a result +of this he had come near to killing an innocent man. Overwhelmed by the +thought, she swayed unsteadily and fell back against the rails. + +"Miss Jernyngham is fainting!" Mrs. Colston cried, hurrying toward her. + +"Bring her in!" said the officer; and when this was done, with Colston's +assistance, he called to the constable: + +"Stand at the door; keep everybody out!" + +The big lobby was cleared, and the officer gravely watched the way the +actors of the scene arranged themselves. Prescott stood well apart from +the others with Muriel at his side. She was flushed and overstrung, but +her pose and expression suggested that she was defying the rest, and she +cast a hard, unsympathetic glance at Gertrude, who sat limply, with +clenched hands. Colston, looking embarrassed and unhappy, sat near his +wife, who had preserved some composure. Jernyngham leaned against the +counter, dejected and apparently half dazed. + +"Before you go any farther, I'd better tell you that I fired the shot," +he said brokenly. + +"When I came out, the pistol was in Mr. Colston's hand," the officer +pointed out in a meaning tone. + +"That's true," Colston broke in. "I took it from him, for fear of an +accident. Mr. Jernyngham was in a very nervous and excited state. He has, +of course, been bearing a heavy strain, and I imagine you must have said +something that rather upset his balance." + +"I was perfectly sensible!" Jernyngham harshly interrupted him. "I found +I could get no assistance from the police; it looked as if my son's death +must go unavenged!" + +Colston raised his hand to check him. Jernyngham could not be allowed to +explain his action, as he seemed bent on doing. + +"No! no!" he said soothingly, "you mustn't think of it! Please let me +speak." He addressed the officer. "You can see the nervous state Mr. +Jernyngham is in--very natural, of course, but I think it should appeal +to your consideration." + +The officer reflected. He had been brought up in the old country, and +could sympathize with the people before him; they deserved pity, and he +had no wish to humiliate them. Moreover, Miss Hurst, whom he admired, +seemed to be involved. These reasons could not be allowed to carry much +weight, but there were others. It was obvious that Jernyngham was hardly +responsible for his actions; the man's worn and haggard face showed that +he had been severely tried. Justice would not be served by probing the +matter too deeply, and Colston's attitude indicated that this would be +difficult. + +"As you seem to be the one who had the narrowest escape, Mr. Prescott, +have you any complaint to make?" he said. + +"None whatever. I'm sorry the thing has made so much stir." + +"It was my duty to investigate it. But I think that a charge of +unlawfully carrying dangerous weapons, which is punishable by a fine, +will meet the case." He turned to the trooper. "You will attend to the +matter in due course, Constable Slade." + +Then he bowed to the company and went out, leaving Colston to deal with +the situation with the assistance of his wife, who thought it desirable +to break up the party as soon as possible. + +"The teams must be ready, and it's too cold to keep them standing," she +remarked. + +"They're outside," said Colston. "We'll be mobbed by an inquisitive +crowd, if we don't get off at once. Gertrude, bring your father." + +Gertrude led Jernyngham to the door, and Colston turned back to Prescott. + +"It was very regretable," he said. "We are grateful for your +forbearance." + +Then his wife joined him, calling to Muriel. + +"Be quick! The people haven't gone away; the street's full!" + +Muriel, disregarding her, looked at Prescott, who had spoken to nobody +except the officer. His face was troubled, but he made no attempt to +detain her. + +"I believe you saved my life," he said. "I can't thank you now. May I +call to-morrow?" + +"We should be glad to see you," Mrs. Colston broke in hurriedly; "but, +with Mr. Jernyngham at the homestead, wouldn't it be embarrassing? +Muriel, we really can't wait." + +The girl smiled at Prescott. + +"Yes," she said quietly, "come when you wish." + +Then her sister, knowing that she was beaten, drew her firmly away. + +They went out and Prescott sat down, feeling that he had done right and +yet half ashamed of his reserve, for he had seen that Muriel had expected +him to claim her and was ready to acknowledge him before her friends. +This, however, was when she was overstrung and under the influence of +strong excitement; the sacrifice she did not shrink from making was a +heavy one, and she must have an opportunity for considering it calmly. He +was not long left undisturbed, for men flocked in, anxious for an account +of the affair, but he put them off with evasive answers and, making his +escape, hurried to the livery-stable where he hired a team. + +The next afternoon he drove to Leslie's in a quietly exultant mood. His +long fight was over; nature had beaten him, and he was glad to yield, +though he had not done so under sudden stress of passion. During his +search for Jernyngham and afterward sitting by his stove on bitter +nights, he had come to see that if the girl he desired loved him, no +merely prudential reasons ought to separate them. He had feared to drag +her down, to rob her of things she valued, but he now saw that she might, +after all, hold them of little account. He was, for his station, a +prosperous man; his wife need suffer no real deprivation; he had a firm +belief in the future of his adopted country, and knew that in a little +while all the amenities of civilized life could be enjoyed in it. +Wandle's trial would free him of suspicion; when he had stood facing +Jernyngham, Muriel had revealed her love for him, and since it could not +be doubted, he need not hesitate. It was her right to choose whether she +would marry him. Only she must clearly realize all that this would imply. + +He had expected some opposition from Mrs. Colston, but, when it was +inevitable, she could gracefully bear defeat. Moreover, she had never +agreed with Jernyngham's suspicions of Prescott, and in some respects he +impressed her favorably. There was no reserve in her greeting when he +reached the homestead. + +"The less that is said about last night, the better, but I can't pass +over it without expressing our gratitude for the position you took," she +said. "Harry has driven Jernyngham out in the sleigh--he has been in a +curious limp state all morning--and Gertrude has not yet got over the +shock." + +"It must have been very trying for Miss Jernyngham." + +"No doubt." There was not much pity in Mrs. Colston's voice, for she +could guess how matters stood. "However, I am disengaged and I believe +Muriel will be here directly." + +Prescott followed her into a room and made an effort to talk to her until +she rose and went out as Muriel entered. The girl, to his surprise, was +dressed in furs, and he felt his heart beat when she looked at him with a +shy smile. + +"I have been expecting you," she said, giving him her hand. + +"I wonder," he asked gravely, "whether you can guess why I have come?" + +"Yes," she answered in a steady voice; "I think I can. But we'll go out, +Jack." + +He followed her, puzzled, but not questioning her wish, and they walked +silently down the beaten trail that stretched away, a streak of grayish +blue, across the glittering snow. Brilliant sunshine streamed down on +them and the nipping air was wonderfully clear. When they passed a birch +bluff that hid them from the house; Prescott stopped. + +"Muriel," he said, "I think you know that I love you." + +There was a warm color in her face, but for a moment she met his eyes +squarely. + +"Yes; I knew it some time ago, though perhaps I should have shrunk from +confessing that so frankly, if it hadn't been for last night. But why +were you afraid of telling me, Jack?" + +He read surrender in her face and yielding pose, and with a strange +humility that tempered the wild thrill of delight he placed his arm about +her. Then, as she crept closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder, +every feeling was lost in a delirious sense of triumph. It was brief, for +he remembered how he was handicapped, and he held her from him, looking +gravely down at her. + +"Dear, there is something to be said." + +"Yes," she rejoined with tender mockery; "you either took a great deal +for granted or there was one important thing you were willing to leave in +doubt. Now take my hands and hold them fast. You know I have suffered +something--fears and anxieties because of you--I want to feel safe." + +He did as she bade him and she looked up. + +"Now listen, Jack dear. All that I have to give, my love, my closest +trust, is yours, and because you said I saved your life, that belongs to +me. I think it's all that matters." + +He was silent for a few moments, overwhelmed by a sense of his +responsibility. + +"Still," he urged, "you must understand what you are risking. I should +have told you first." + +Muriel released her hands, and her glance was grave. + +"Yes; you had better continue, Jack. I suppose we must speak of these +things now, and then forget them forever." + +"You know what Jernyngham believed of me. I could not marry you with such +a stain on my name; but it will be wiped off in a few more days, and this +I owe to you. It was you who insisted that I should clear myself." + +She started. + +"Remember that I know nothing, except that you went away." + +Prescott told her briefly what he had learned at Navarino and of Wandle's +capture; and her deep satisfaction was obvious. + +"I'm so glad!" she exclaimed. "This will make it easier for the others, +though it doesn't affect me. If I had had any doubts, I couldn't have +loved you. But I'm pleased you told me before you were really cleared. To +have waited until everybody knew you were innocent would have looked as +if you were afraid to test my faith in you." + +"No," he said; "that couldn't be. I was afraid of your having to make too +heavy a sacrifice; and, unfortunately, there's some risk of that still." + +"Go on, Jack." + +"I'm far from a rich man, though I never regretted it much until of late. +You know how we live here; I can guess what you have enjoyed at home. +Life's strenuous on the prairie, and though I think it's good, it makes +demands on one you can't have felt in England. There's so much that you +must give up, many things that you will miss. I am anxious when I think +of it." + +Muriel looked far across the plain which ran back; glistening in the +sunlight, until it faded into cold blues and purples toward the skyline. +The gray bluffs, standing one behind the other, and the long straggling +line of timber by a ravine marked its vast extent. It filled the girl +with a sense of freedom; its wideness uplifted her. + +"Jack," she said, "I wonder whether you can understand why I made you +take me out? The prairie has drawn me from the beginning, and I felt it +would be easier to make a great change in this wonderful open space; I +wanted to adopt the country, to feel it belonged to me. Now that I've +made my choice, my home is where you are; I want nothing but to be loved +and cared for, as you must care for me." + +Prescott drew her toward him, but there was more of respect than passion +in his caress. + +"My dear," he said gravely, "I feel very humble as well as thankful. It's +a great thing I've undertaken, to make you happy; and I think you'll try +to forgive me if I sometimes fail." + +Muriel laughed and shook herself free. + +"I'm not really hard to please, and even if you make mistakes now and +then, good intentions count for a good deal. But you are dreadfully +solemn, and there's so much that is pleasant to talk about." + +They walked on briskly, for it had been possible to stand still only in +the shelter of the bluff with bright sunshine streaming down on them; the +cold they had forgotten now made itself felt. + +"I can't understand Jernyngham," Prescott said after a while. "One can't +blame him for persecuting me, but there's something in his conduct that +makes one think him off his balance." + +Muriel's eyes sparkled with indignation. + +"I suppose he ought to be pitied, but I can't forgive him, and I'll tell +you what I think. He has led a well-regulated life, but his virtues are +narrow and petty. Indeed, I think they're partly habits. He is not a +clever or a really strong man; but because of his money and position, +which he never ventured out of, he found people to obey him and grew into +a domineering autocrat. I believe he was fond of Cyril and felt what he +thought of as his loss; but that was not all. The shock brought him a +kind of horrified anger that anything of a startling nature should happen +to him--he felt it wasn't what he deserved. Then his desire for justice +degenerated into cruelty and when he came out here, where nobody gave way +to him, he somehow went to pieces. His nature wasn't big enough to stand +the strain." + +It was a harsh analysis, but Muriel was not inclined to be charitable. +Jernyngham had made things very hard for her lover. + +"I dare say you're right," responded Prescott. "But the morning after he +reached my place in the blizzard I had a talk with him and found him +reasonable. I think he half believed in my innocence, but soon afterward +he was more savage than before." + +"Isn't it possible that you took too much for granted? He couldn't be +rude to you when you had saved him from freezing." + +"I don't think I did. He was pretty candid at first and I wasn't cordial, +but he listened to me, and I feel convinced that before he left he was +beginning to see that he might have been mistaken. What I don't +understand is why he changed again, when nothing fresh turned up to +account for it." + +A light dawned on Muriel. She saw Gertrude's work in this and her face +flushed with anger, but it was not a subject she meant to discuss with +the man she loved. + +"Well," she said, "it's scarcely likely that you will learn the truth. +After all, much of Jernyngham's conduct can't be explained." She smiled +at Prescott. "If he'd had any reason in him, he would never have doubted +you." + +They turned back to the homestead presently and on reaching it Prescott +found that Colston had arrived. The latter gave him an interview in the +barn, which was the only place where they could be alone, and listened +with a thoughtful air to what he had to say. This included an account of +his meeting with Laxton and the pursuit of Wandle. + +"I'm in an unfortunate position," Colston remarked when Prescott had +finished. "You see, every prudential consideration urges me to oppose +you--looked at from that point of view the match is most undesirable--but +I must admit my sympathy with you, and I don't suppose my opposition +would have much effect." + +"It certainly wouldn't," Prescott replied. + +"After all," Colston resumed, "I have no real authority; Muriel's of age +and she has no property. Still, I'm fond of the girl and am anxious about +her future. I think you ought to satisfy me that you're able to take care +of her." + +"I'll try." + +Prescott gave him a concise account of his means, his farming operations, +and his plans for the future; and Colston listened with satisfaction. The +man was more prosperous than he had supposed and had carefully considered +what could be done to secure the comfort of his wife; his schemes +included the rebuilding of his house. It was obvious that Muriel need not +suffer greatly from the change. Moreover, Colston had liked Prescott from +the beginning and had found it hard to distrust him, even when +appearances were blackest against him. + +"All this," he said frankly, "is a relief to me. But there's another and +more important point." He paused a moment before he continued: "To my +mind your name is cleared, but you must agree that the mystery isn't +unraveled yet. Although I have no power to interfere, Muriel is my wife's +sister and I think she owes my views some deference. Neither of us can +countenance an engagement or your meeting Muriel often while a doubt +remains. The matter must stand over." + +"I must yield to that; you have been more liberal than I could have +expected." Then Prescott smiled. "There's only one thing which could +really clear me--the reappearance of my victim; and I don't despair of +it. The police are trying to trace him on the Pacific Slope, but it would +be quite in accordance with his character if he suddenly turned up here." + +They went out together, shivering a little, for the barn was very cold, +but they were on friendly terms and were mutually satisfied. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +PRESCOTT'S VINDICATION + + +On the day after Prescott's avowal, Muriel found Gertrude alone and sat +down opposite her. + +"Don't you think you ought to insist on your father's going home?" she +asked. "The strain is wearing him out; he may lose his reason if he +stays." + +Gertrude looked up sharply. There was no sympathy in the girl's tone and +her eyes were hard. Muriel might have forgiven a wrong done to herself, +but she was merciless about an injury to one she loved. + +"Ah!" exclaimed Gertrude. "You wish to get rid of us?" + +"No; my suggestion was really generous, because I would much rather you +both remained and saw Mr. Prescott proved innocent." + +Not knowing what had prompted her rival, Gertrude gave her jealous anger +rein. + +"I'm afraid we couldn't wait. Even my father's patience would hardly hold +out." + +"It wouldn't be long tried; but in a way you're right. It's dangerous for +him to stay here, and you're responsible for his condition." + +"I'm responsible?" cried Gertrude with a start. + +"Of course! You knew Mr. Prescott went away to look for your brother and +you kept it secret; when he saved your father from freezing, he almost +convinced him that he had nothing to do with Cyril's disappearance. You +must have known how it would have eased his mind to get rid of his +dreadful suspicions, but you worked upon him and brought them back." + +Gertrude sank down in her chair with a shiver. A denial would serve no +purpose and she was conscious of her guilt. + +"Could you expect me to be indifferent to the loss of my brother?" + +"You knew you had not lost him. You believed what Mr. Prescott told you, +until we came." Muriel flushed and hesitated, for this was as far as she +would go. Even in her anger, she would not taunt her beaten rival with +defeat. "Now," she continued, "you must see what you have done. You have +made your father suffer terribly; I think you have weakened his mind, +and, if I hadn't turned the pistol, you would have made him kill an +innocent man. He seems too dazed and shaken to realize what he meant to +do, but the thing was horrible." + +Gertrude sat silent for a few moments, her face drawn and colorless. Then +she looked up. + +"I couldn't see what it would lead to. Do the others know what you have +told me? Does Mr. Prescott?" + +She looked crushed and defenseless and Muriel's resentment softened. + +"No," she said. "Nobody knows, and Mr. Prescott will never suspect; he's +not the man to think hard things of a woman. But I'm going to insist on +your taking your father away." + +"But how can I?" cried Gertrude. "You know how determined he is!" + +"You have influenced him already; you must do so again. You will regret +it all your life if you let him stay." + +"Well," Gertrude promised desperately, "I will try." Then a thought +struck her and her expression grew gentler. "Muriel, have you realized +that if we leave here soon, the Colstons will accompany us and you will +have to go with them?" + +"No," Muriel replied with a resolute smile; "I will stay." + +Gertrude turned her head and there was silence for a while. Then she said +with an effort: + +"I can't ask your forgiveness; it would be too much, and I'm not sure +that I wish to have it. But I feel that you are generous." + +"Take your father home," Muriel responded, and getting up went quietly +out. + +During the next fortnight, Gertrude exerted all her powers of persuasion, +without much success. Jernyngham was apathetic, moody, and morose, and +his companions found the days pass heavily. Then one evening Prescott +drove over with the excuse of a message for Leslie, and Muriel, putting +on her furs, slipped out to speak to him before he left. They stood near +the barn, talking softly, until there was a pause and Muriel looked out +across the prairie. It was a clear, cold evening; a dull red glow blazed +above the great plain's rim, and the bluffs stood out in wavy masses with +sharp distinctness. The snow had lost its glitter and was fading into +soft blues and grays. + +The darker line of the trail caught the girl's eye and, following it, she +noticed a horseman riding toward the homestead. + +"Nobody has been here for a while," she said. "I wonder who it can be?" + +Prescott's team, which had been growing impatient of the cold, began to +move, and he was occupied for the next minute in quieting them. Then he +looked around, started violently, and stood very still, his eyes fixed on +the approaching man. + +"Jernyngham, by all that's wonderful!" he gasped, and sent a shout +ringing across the snow: "Cyril!" + +The man waved his hand, and Prescott, turning at a sound, saw Muriel lean +weakly against the side of the sleigh. The color had faded from her face, +but her eyes were shining. + +"O Jack!" she said breathlessly. "Now everything will be put straight!" + +Prescott realized from the greatness of her relief what she had borne on +his account; but there was something that must be done and he ran to the +stable, where Leslie was at work. + +"Get into my sleigh, and drive to Harper's as hard as you can!" he said. +"Curtis was there when I passed; bring him here at once!" + +Leslie came out with him and understood when he saw the newcomer. Jumping +into the vehicle, he drove off, while Prescott ran to meet Cyril, who +dismounted and heartily shook hands with him. + +"It's good to see you, Jack," he said, and indicated the galloping team. +"The sensation I seem to make shows no signs of lessening." + +"Haven't you heard!" Prescott exclaimed. "Don't you understand?" + +"Not much," Cyril replied with a careless laugh. "When I got off the +train at the settlement, everybody stared at me, and there were anxious +inquiries as to where I'd been. I promised to tell them about it another +time, and at the livery-stable Kevan said something about my being +killed. I told him it didn't look like it; and as the boys seemed +determined on hearing my adventures; I rode off smartly. When I reached +your place, Svendsen looked scared, and all I could get out of him was +that you were here." + +Prescott made a gesture of comprehension. It was typical of Cyril that he +had not taken the trouble to find out the cause of the excitement his +appearance had aroused. + +"Who is the lady?" Cyril asked. + +"Miss Hurst. You had, perhaps, better know that she has promised to marry +me." + +Cyril looked at him in frank astonishment, and then laughed. + +"I suppose my surprise isn't complimentary, but I wasn't prepared for +your news. Jack, you're rather wonderful, but you have my best wishes, +and you can tell me what brought Miss Hurst back by and by. No doubt she +expects me to speak to her." + +"Thanks," said Prescott dryly. "Whatever my capabilities of making a +sensation are, they're a long way behind yours." + +They walked toward the girl and Prescott led up his companion. + +"Muriel," he said, "Cyril Jernyngham wishes to be presented to you." + +She gave him her hand, and he realized that she was studying him +carefully. + +"I'm glad we have met," she said. "I have heard a good deal about you." + +Cyril bowed with a mischievous smile. + +"Nothing very much to my credit, I'm afraid. As an old friend of Jack's, +it's my privilege to wish you every happiness and assure you that you +have got a much better man than the one you at first took him for." + +Muriel colored. + +"Jack stands on his own merits." + +Then she turned to Prescott. + +"Does he know? Have you told him?" + +"Not yet. I've news for you, Cyril. Your father and sister are here." + +"What brought them?" There was astonishment in Cyril's face, but he +looked more disturbed than pleased. + +"They thought you dead," Muriel told him. + +"Then I'm sorry if they've been anxious, but I can't understand the +grounds for it. In fact, everybody I've met seems to have gone crazy, +except you and Jack." + +"We knew the truth," said Muriel. "There are a number of explanations you +will have to make, but you had better go in." + +The next moment the door opened and Gertrude appeared, as if in search of +Muriel. She saw the group and broke into a startled cry. + +"Cyril!" + +He ran toward her and Prescott suggested that it might be advisable for +him to retire, but Muriel would not agree. + +"Give them a few minutes, Jack, and then we'll go in together; you are +one of us now and must be acknowledged. Besides, you have a right to hear +what Cyril has to say." + +They walked briskly up the trail and when they turned to come back Muriel +glanced at Prescott with a smile. + +"Jack dear, I like him, but he said something that was true. I should +never have fallen in love with the real Cyril Jernyngham." + +They found the others in the large sitting-room. Cyril was talking gaily, +though Prescott concluded from one remark that he had not yet given a +full account of his adventures. Jernyngham sat rather limply in an +easy-chair, as if the relief of finding his son safe had shaken him, but +his eyes were less troubled and his manner calmer. He rose when he saw +Prescott. + +"Mr. Prescott," he said, "I must own before these others, who have heard +me speak hardly of you, that I have done you a grievous wrong. I have no +excuse to urge in asking you to forgive it. There is nothing that now +seems to mitigate my folly." + +"All you thought and did was very natural, sir," Prescott answered +quietly. "I tried not to blame you and I feel no resentment." + +"What's this?" Cyril glanced up sharply, and as he noticed the guilty +faces of the others and Gertrude's strained expression, the truth dawned +on him. + +"Oh!" he cried, "it's preposterous! You all suspected my best friend!" + +"If it's any consolation, we're very much ashamed of it," Colston +replied. "And there was one exception; Muriel never shared our views." + +Cyril still looked disturbed. + +"Its obvious that I've given everybody a good deal of trouble, but I feel +that you deserved it for your foolishness. May I ask on what grounds you +suspected Jack?" + +Seeing that none of them was ready to answer, Prescott interposed. + +"Perhaps I had better explain; I think you ought to know." + +He related the events that had followed his friend's disappearance, and +when he had finished, Cyril turned to the others. + +"After all, you were not so much to blame as I thought at first--you +don't know Jack as I do, and things undoubtedly looked bad. Now I'll give +you an account of my adventures and clear up the mystery." + +"Not yet," said Prescott with a smile. "You don't seem to realize that +instead of excusing people for suspicions they could hardly avoid, you're +expected to make some defense for the carelessness that gave rise to +them. Anyway, Curtis is entitled to an explanation, and as I sent him +word, he should be here soon." + +"You did right," Jernyngham broke in with a trace of asperity. "It's +proper that the blundering fellow who misled us all should have his +stupidity impressed on him!" + +They waited, talking about indifferent matters, until Curtis arrived. At +Cyril's request he made a rough diagram of the tracks he had discovered +in the neighborhood of the muskeg and stated his theory of what had +happened there. + +"A clever piece of reasoning," Cyril remarked. "There's scarcely a flaw +in it, as you'll see by my account of the affair. After saying good-by to +Prescott on the night I left the settlement, I went on until I was near +the muskeg and had dismounted to camp when a stranger rode up. We sat +talking for a while and I foolishly told him I meant to buy some horses +and apply for a railroad haulage contract, from which he no doubt +concluded I was carrying some money. Soon afterward, he went off to +hobble his horse, and I suppose he must have crept up behind me and +knocked me out with the handle of his quirt, for I fell over with a +stupefying pain in my head. This was the last thing I was clearly +conscious of until the next morning, when I found myself lying close to +the water, but at some distance from where I met the man. My hat had gone +and my head was cut; my horse had disappeared, and I afterward discovered +I had been robbed." + +Cyril paused and glanced at Curtis. + +"There's a point to be accounted for--how I reached the spot where I was +lying, and this is my suggestion: The fellow thought he had killed me and +in alarm determined to throw me into the muskeg. As I had a hazy +recollection of being roughly lifted, I imagine he laid me across his +saddle and after a while I must have moved or groaned. Then, having no +doubt only meant to stun me, he left me on the ground. All this fits in +with your theory." + +"What was the man like?" Curtis asked. + +Cyril described him, explaining that there was a good moon; and the +corporal nodded, as if satisfied. + +"Then I'm glad to say that, as I half expected, we have got the fellow; +corralled him for horse-stealing a while ago, and he'll be charged with +robbing you in due time. But go on." + +"I felt horribly thirsty, and crawling to the edge of the sloo, tumbled +in. There was more slime than water, but I could see a cleaner pool some +way out, and being up to my knees already, I tried to reach it. It was +hardly fit to drink, but I felt better and clearer-headed after +swallowing some; and then I noticed thick grass in front of me. This +implied that the swamp was shallower there and I made for the other bank, +instead of going back. The grass and reeds that I disturbed would soon +straighten, which accounts for your losing my tracks. You wouldn't have +expected me to wade across the muskeg?" + +"No," admitted Curtis; "I didn't." + +"Why did you not return to Sebastian after being robbed of your horse and +money?" Jernyngham asked. + +"Ah!" said Cyril with some constraint in his manner, "that's more +difficult to explain. To some extent it was a matter of temperament. I +had left the settlement after a painful and rather humiliating discovery; +you can understand that I was anxious to avoid my neighbors. Then I'd +been knocked out and robbed by the first rascal I fell in with. I hadn't +the courage to crawl back in my battered state and face the boys' +amusement; and there was something that appealed to me in the thought of +cutting loose and going on without a dollar, to see what I could do." He +smiled at his father and sister. "You know I had always rather eccentric +ideas." + +Then he recounted his adventures along the railroad under the name of +Kermode, until Prescott interrupted him. + +"I followed you to the abandoned claim in the mountains, where I had to +give it up. How did you make out after you struck south with the +prospector crank?" + +"That was the most interesting part of the trip, but I could hardly +describe it. We crawled up icy rocks, found a river we could travel on +here and there, scrambled through brush that ripped our clothes and over +stones that cut our boots to bits, and finally came down by Quesnelle to +the Canadian Pacific main track." + +"Loaded with worthless mineral specimens?" + +Cyril laughed. + +"They were pretty heavy, Jack. Once or twice I thought of dumping my +share of them, but it's fortunate that Hollin, who seemed to suspect my +intentions, kept his eye on me when I got played out. You see, an assayer +we took them to found that they were rich in lead and silver." + +Prescott's astonishment was obvious and Cyril frankly enjoyed it. + +"Well," he said, "the end of it was that I called on some of the mining +people in Vancouver--it seems they knew Hollin and had had enough of +him--but I left one office with a check for a thousand dollars, besides +retaining an interest in the claim. Hollin has gone back to see about its +development." + +His father and sister looked as surprised as Prescott. One could imagine +that they found it difficult to conceive of Cyril's financial success, +but they offered him their congratulations, and soon afterward Curtis +took his leave. Prescott stayed another hour, and when he went Muriel +walked to the door with him. + +"Jack," she murmured, with her head on his shoulder, "I'm inexpressibly +glad it has all come right; but you must remember that I knew it would." + +Prescott gently turned her face toward him. + +"I'm so thankful that it makes me grave. It's a pretty big task to repay +your confidence, but I'll try." + +"You'll succeed," she said smiling. "You're rather a determined man and +I'm not dreadfully exacting; I couldn't be to you." + +Prescott drove off, grateful for Mrs. Colston's permission to come back +the next day. + +When he drove up on the following afternoon, he found Muriel dressed in +furs. + +"It's beautifully fine and you may take me for a drive," she said, and +added with a smile: "That is, unless you would rather talk to Harry." + +"I think Colston and I are going to be good friends, but I didn't come +over to see him," Prescott retorted lightly. "I have something to say to +Cyril, but it will do when we get back." + +"You can't see him now," said Muriel, moving toward the sleigh. "He's +engaged with Gertrude and his father, and I think they have something +important to talk about. Cyril looked very serious, and one would imagine +that's not often the case with him." + +Prescott laughed as he helped her in. + +"I dare say he has his thoughtful moments; it would be surprising if he +hadn't, considering his capacity for getting into scrapes." + +They drove away, but Muriel's supposition was well founded, for Cyril was +feeling unusually grave as he sat opposite to his father and sister in a +room of the homestead. A brief silence had fallen upon the group, +emphasized by the crackle of poplar billets in the stove. Jernyngham, in +whose appearance there had been a marked improvement since his son's +return, wore an eager expression; Gertrude was watching her brother with +troubled eyes. + +"You have heard my suggestions about your return to England," Jernyngham +said at length. "I think they are fair." + +"They are generous," Cyril answered, and added slowly: "But I cannot go." + +Jernyngham leaned back in his chair as if he were weary, with keen +disappointment in his face. + +"I have no other son, Cyril. We will wipe out the past--there is +something to regret on both sides--and try to make everything pleasant +for you. I feel that you ought to come." + +"No," Cyril persisted with signs of strain. "I'm strongly tempted, but it +would not be wise." + +Jernyngham looked hard at him and then made a sign of resignation. + +"You will, at least, give us your reasons." + +"I'll try, though I'm not sure you will understand them; it's unfortunate +we're so different that we cannot find a common viewpoint from which to +look at things. I believe I've overcome what bitterness I once felt, but +in all that's essential I haven't changed. After the first few weeks, I +should jar on you, or I should have to be continually on my guard, until +the repression got too much for me and the inevitable outbreak came." + +"Why should there be an outbreak?" his father asked with some asperity. + +Cyril glanced at Gertrude, noticing her rather weary smile, and fancied +that she could sympathize with him, which was more than he had expected. +She had somehow gained comprehension in Canada. + +"I suppose I must explain. I'm not thinking of my worst faults, but, you +see, I'm a careless trifler, impatient of restraint. To have to do things +in stereotyped order distresses me; I must go where my fancy leads. When +I'm cooped up and confined, I feel I must break loose, even if it leads +to havoc." He laughed. "Of course, such a frame of mind is beyond your +imagining." + +"I must confess that it is," Jernyngham replied dryly. + +Gertrude cast a half-applauding glance at her brother. With all his +failings, which she recognized and deplored, Cyril was to her something +of a romantic hero. He took risks, and did daring and perhaps somewhat +discreditable things, but, narrow as her decorous life had been, she +envied his reckless gallantry. Once she had ventured to break through the +safe rules of conduct and grasp at romance, but it had eluded her and +left her humiliation and regret. She must go back to the dreary routine +wherein lay security, but she admired him for standing out. + +"Well," said Cyril, "I'm talking at large; but we must thrash out the +matter once for all. I may do something useful here--make wheat grow; +perhaps help in developing the mine--which I couldn't do at home." He +paused and concluded whimsically: "It's even possible that I may turn +into a successful rancher." + +"But that means working like an English field laborer!" + +"For a higher pay. When the crop escapes drought and frost, and there's +no hail or rust, western farming's fairly profitable." + +"In short," said Jernyngham, "you have made up your mind not to come home +with us." + +"I'm sorry it is so," Cyril responded gravely. "Try to understand. If I +stay here, we will be good friends and you will think well of me. If I go +home there will be trouble and regret for you. I want to save you that." + +"Father," Gertrude broke in softly, "though it's hard to say, I know that +Cyril's right." + +Jernyngham got up wearily. + +"There is nothing more that I can urge. You must do as you think best, my +son, but while I shall never quite grasp your point of view, you will +always be in our thoughts." + +They were glad to separate, for the interview had been trying to them +all. + +Some time had passed when Cyril, hearing a beat of hoofs, went out and +found Prescott pulling up his team. + +"We have been talking over matters while you were out," he told him. "As +I've decided to stay here, my people are going home soon--in a week or +two, I think; and I expect Colston will leave with them. I thought you +might like to know." + +He saw the color creep into Muriel's face; and when he turned back to the +house Prescott lifted the girl down from the sleigh. + +"Dear, I can't let them take you away," he said. + +Muriel glanced across the snowy plain to the blaze of fading color upon +its western rim. It was growing shadowy, the woods were blurred and +vague, but its wideness fired her imagination and she felt the +exhilaration that was in the nipping air. + +"Jack," she smiled up at him, "my home is here! I'm learning to love the +prairie, and it has brought me happiness. I'm glad to stay with you!" + +THE END + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Prescott of Saskatchewan, by Harold Bindloss + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRESCOTT OF SASKATCHEWAN *** + +***** This file should be named 25916.txt or 25916.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/5/9/1/25916/ + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Canada Team at http://www.pgdpcanada.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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