diff options
Diffstat (limited to '29695-8.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 29695-8.txt | 10932 |
1 files changed, 10932 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/29695-8.txt b/29695-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4c940c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/29695-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10932 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hound From The North, by Ridgwell Cullum + +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: The Hound From The North + +Author: Ridgwell Cullum + +Illustrator: Charles Livingston Bull + +Release Date: August 15, 2009 [EBook #29695] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HOUND FROM THE NORTH *** + + + + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + +THE HOUND FROM THE NORTH + + + + +[Illustration: "AND EVERY NOW AND THEN IT WOULD CEASE ITS HEALING +OPERATION TO THROW UP ITS LONG MUZZLE AND EMIT ONE OF THOSE DRAWN-OUT +HOWLS."] + + + + +THE HOUND FROM THE NORTH + +By RIDGWELL CULLUM + +Author of + +"In the Brooding Wild," "The Story of the Foss River Ranch," +"The Law Breakers," "The Way of the Strong," Etc. + +With Frontispiece + +By CHARLES LIVINGSTON BULL + +A. L. BURT COMPANY + +Publishers New York + +Published by Arrangement with The Page Company + + + + +Copyright, 1904 + +By L. C. Page & Company + +(INCORPORATED) + +All rights reserved + + + + +CONTENTS + + CHAPTER PAGE + I. IN THE MOUNTAINS 1 + II. MR. ZACHARY SMITH 15 + III. MR. ZACHARY SMITH SMOKES 29 + IV. 'YELLOW BOOMING--SLUMP IN GREY' 46 + V. THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL 65 + VI. THE PROGRESSIVE EUCHRE PARTY 81 + VII. LESLIE GREY FULFILS HIS DESTINY 98 + VIII. GREY'S LAST WORDS 115 + IX. LONELY RANCH AT OWL HOOT 133 + X. THE GRAVEYARD AT OWL HOOT 157 + XI. CANINE VAGARIES 181 + XII. THE BREAKING OF THE STORM 202 + XIII. BLACKMAIL 226 + XIV. A STAB IN THE DARK 240 + XV. THE MAGGOT AT THE CORE 257 + XVI. AN ECHO FROM THE ALASKAN MOUNTAINS 273 + XVII. THE LAST OF LONELY RANCH 286 + XVIII. THE FOREST DEMON PURSUES 306 + XIX. THE AVENGER 321 + IN CONCLUSION 341 + + + + +THE HOUND FROM THE NORTH + +CHAPTER I + +IN THE MOUNTAINS + + +A pallid sun, low, gleaming just over a rampart of mountain-tops. +Sundogs--heralds of stormy weather--fiercely staring, like sentries, +upon either hand of the mighty sphere of light. Vast glaciers +shimmering jewel-like in the steely light of the semi-Arctic evening. +Black belts of gloomy pinewoods on the lower slopes of the mountains; +the trees snow-burdened, but black with the darkness of night in their +melancholy depths. The earth white; snow to the thickness of many feet +on all. Life none; not a beast of the earth, nor a fowl of the air, +nor the hum of an insect. Solitude. Cold--grey, pitiless cold. Night +is approaching. + +The hill ranges which backbone the American continent--the northern +extremity of the Rocky Mountains. The barrier which confronts the +traveller as he journeys from the Yukon Valley to the Alaskan +seaboard. Land where the foot of man but rarely treads. And +mid-winter. + +But now, in the dying light of day, a man comes slowly, painfully into +the picture. What an atom in that infinity of awful grandeur. One +little life in all that desert of snow and ice. And what a life. The +poor wretch was swathed in furs; snow-shoes on his feet, and a long +staff lent his drooping figure support. His whole attitude told its +own tale of exhaustion. But a closer inspection, one glance into the +fierce-burning eyes, which glowered from the depths of two cavernous +sockets, would have added a sequel of starvation. The eyes had a +frenzied look in them, the look of a man without hope, but with still +that instinct of life burning in his brain. Every now and again he +raised one mitted hand and pressed it to nose and cheeks. He knew his +face was frozen, but he had no desire to stop to thaw it out. He was +beyond such trifles. His upturned storm-collar had become massed with +icicles about his mouth, and the fur was frozen solidly to his chin +whisker, but he gave the matter no heed. + +The man tottered on, still onward with the dogged persistence which +the inborn love of life inspires. He longed to rest, to seat himself +upon the snow just where he happened to be, to indulge that craving +for sleep which was upon him. His state of exhaustion fostered these +feelings, and only his brain fought for him and clung to life. He knew +what that drowsy sensation meant. He was slowly freezing. To rest +meant sleep--to sleep meant death. + +Slowly he dragged himself up the inclining ledge he was traversing. +The path was low at the base of one of the loftiest crags. It wound +its way upwards in such a fashion that he could see little more than +fifty yards ahead of him ere it turned away to the left as it skirted +the hill. He was using his last reserve of strength, and he knew it. +At the top he stood half dazed. The mountain rose sheer up to dizzy +heights on one side, and a precipice was on the other. He turned his +dreadful eyes this way and that. Then he scanned the prospect before +him--a haze of dimly-outlined mountains. He glanced back, tracing his +uneven tracks until they disappeared in the grey evening light. Then +he turned back again to a contemplation of what lay before him. +Suddenly his staff slipped from his hand as though he no longer had +the strength to grip it. Then, raising his arms aloft, he gave vent to +one despairing cry in which was expressed all the pent-up agony of his +soul. It was the cry of one from whom all hope had gone. + +"God! God have mercy on me! I am lost--lost!" + +The despairing note echoed and re-echoed among the hills. And as each +echo came back to his dulled ears it was as though some invisible +being mocked him. Suddenly he braced himself, and his mind obtained a +momentary triumph over his physical weakness. He stooped to recover +his staff. His limbs refused to obey his will. He stumbled. Then he +crumpled and fell in a heap upon the snow. + +All was silent, and he lay quite still. Death was gripping him, and he +knew it. Presently he wearily raised his head. He gazed about him with +eyelids more than half closed. "Is it worth the struggle?" he seemed +to ask; "is there any hope?" He felt so warm, so comfortable out there +in the bitter winter air. Where had been the use of his efforts? Where +the use of the gold he had so laboriously collected at the new +Eldorado? At the thought of his gold his spirit tried to rouse him +from the sleep with which he was threatened. His eyelids opened wide, +and his eyes, from which intelligence was fast disappearing, rolled in +their gaunt sockets. His body heaved as though he were about to rise, +but beyond that he did not move. + +As he lay there a sound reached his numbed ears. Clear through the +crisp night air it came with the keenness and piercing incision which +is only obtained in the still air of such latitudes. It was a human +cry: a long-drawn "whoop." Like his own cry, it echoed amongst the +hills. It only needed such as this to support the inclinations of the +sufferer's will. His head was again raised. And in his wild eyes was a +look of alertness--hope. He listened. He counted the echoes as they +came. Then, with an almost superhuman effort, he struggled to his +feet. New life had come to him born of hope. His weakened frame +answered to his great effort. His heart was throbbing wildly. + +As he stood up the cry came to him again, nearer this time. He moved +forward and rounded the bend in the path. Again the cry. Now just +ahead of him. He answered it with joy in his tone and shambled on. Now +two dark figures loomed up in the grey twilight. They were moving +swiftly along the ledge towards him. They cried out something in a +foreign tongue. He did not understand, but his joy was no less. They +came up, and he saw before him the short, stout figures of two +fur-clad Eskimos. He was saved. + + * * * * * + +Inside a small dugout a dingy oil lamp shed its murky rays upon +squalid surroundings. The place was reeking with the offensive odours +exhaled from the burning oil. The atmosphere was stifling. + +There were four occupants of this abode, and, stretched in various +attitudes on dusty blankets spread upon the ground, they presented a +strange picture. Two of these were Eskimos. The broad, flat faces, +sharp noses, and heavy lips were unmistakable, as were their dusky, +greasy skins and squat figures. A third man was something between the +white-man and the redskin. He was in the nature of a half-breed, and, +though not exactly pleasant to look upon, he was certainly interesting +as a study. He was lying with limbs outstretched and his head propped +upon one hand, while his gaze was directed with thoughtful intensity +towards a small, fierce-burning camp-stove, which, at that moment, was +rendering the hut so unbearably hot. + +His face was sallow, and indented with smallpox scars. He had no hair +upon it, except a tuft or two of eyebrows, which the ravages of +disease had condescended to leave to him. His nose, which was his best +feature, was beaky, but beautifully aquiline; but his mouth was wide, +with a lower lip that sagged loosely from its fellow above. His head +was small, and was burdened with a crown of lank black hair which had +been allowed to grow Indian-like until it hung upon his shoulders. He +was of medium height, and his arms were of undue length. + +The other occupant of the dugout was our traveller. He was stretched +upon a blanket, on which was spread his fur coat; and he was +alternating between the disposal of a bowl of steaming soup and +groaning with the racking pains caused by his recently thawed-out +frost-bites. + +The soup warmed his starving body, and his pain increased proportionately. +In spite of the latter, however, he felt very much alive. Occasionally +he glanced round upon his silent companions. Whenever he did so one or +the other, or both of the Eskimos were gazing stolidly at him. + +He was rather a good-looking man, notwithstanding his now unkempt +appearance. His eyes were large--very large in their hollow sockets. +His nose and cheeks were, at present, a mass of blisters from the +thawing frost-bites, and his mouth and chin were hidden behind a +curtain of whisker of about three weeks' growth. There was no +mistaking him for anything but an Anglo-Saxon, and a man of +considerable and very fine proportions. + +When his soup was finished he set the bowl down and leaned back with a +sigh. The pock-marked man glanced over at him. + +"More?" he said, in a deep, not unmusical, tone. + +The half-starved traveller nodded, and his eyes sparkled. One of the +Eskimos rose and re-filled the bowl from a tin camp-kettle which stood +on the stove. The famished man took it and at once began to sup the +invigorating liquid. The agonies of his frost-bites were terrible, but +the pangs of hunger were greater. By and by the bowl was set down +empty. + +The half-breed sat up and crossed his legs, and leant his body against +two sacks which contained something that crackled slightly under his +weight. + +"Give you something more solid in an hour or so. Best not have it too +soon," he said, speaking slowly, but with good enunciation. + +"Not now?" said the traveller, in a disappointed tone. + +The other shook his head. + +"We're all going to have supper then. Best wait." Then, after a pause: +"Where from?" + +"Forty Mile Creek," said the other. + +"You don't say! Alone?" + +There was a curious saving of words in this man's mode of speech. +Possibly he had learned this method from his Indian associates. + +The traveller nodded. + +"Yes." + +"Where to?" + +"The sea-coast." + +The half-breed laughed gutturally. + +"Forty Mile Creek. Sea-coast. On foot. Alone. Winter. You must be +mad." + +The traveller shook his head. + +"Not mad. I could have done it, only I lost my way. I had all my +stages thought out carefully. I tramped from the sea-coast originally. +Where am I now?" + +The half-breed eyed the speaker curiously. He seemed to think well +before he answered. Then-- + +"Within a few miles of the Pass. To the north." + +An impressive silence followed. The half-breed continued to eye the +sick man, and, to judge from the expression of his face, his thoughts +were not altogether unpleasant. He watched the weary face before him +until the eyes gradually closed, and, in spite of the burning pains +of the frost-bites, exhaustion did its work, and the man slept. He +waited for some moments listening to the heavy, regular breathing, +then he turned to his companions and spoke long and earnestly in a +curious tongue. One of the Eskimos rose and removed a piece of bacon +from a nail in the wall. This he placed in the camp-kettle on the +stove. Then he took a tin billy and dipped it full from a bucket +containing beans that had been set to soak. These also went into the +camp-kettle. Then the fellow threw himself down again upon his +blankets, and, for some time, the three men continued to converse in +low tones. They glanced frequently at the sleeper, and occasionally +gurgled out a curious throaty chuckle. Their whole attitude was +furtive, and the man slept on. + +An hour passed--two. The third was more than half gone. The hut reeked +with the smell of cooking victuals. The Eskimo, who seemed to act as +cook, occasionally looked into the camp-kettle. The other two were +lying on their blankets, sometimes conversing, but more often silent, +gazing stolidly before them. At length the cook uttered a sharp +ejaculation and lifted the steaming kettle from its place on the +stove. Then he produced four deep pannikins from a sack, and four +greasy-looking spoons. From another he produced a pile of biscuits. +"Hard tack," well known on the northern trails. + +Supper was ready, and the pock-marked man leant over and roused the +traveller. + +"Food," he said laconically, as the startled sleeper rubbed his eyes. + +The man sat up and gazed hungrily at the iron pot. The Indian served +out the pork with ruthless hands. A knife divided the piece into four, +and he placed one in each pannikin. Then he poured the beans and soup +over each portion. The biscuits were placed within reach, and the +supper was served. + +The sick man devoured his uncouth food with great relish. The soup +which had been first given him had done him much good, and now the +"solid" completed the restoration so opportunely begun. He was a +vigorous man, and his exhaustion had chiefly been brought about by +lack of food. Now, as he sat with his empty pannikin in front of him, +he looked gratefully over at his rescuers, and slowly munched some dry +biscuit, and sipped occasionally from a great beaker of black coffee. +Life was very sweet to him at that moment, and he thought joyfully of +the belt inside his clothes laden with the golden result of his +labours on Forty Mile Creek. + +Now the half-breed turned to him. + +"Feeling pretty good?" he observed, conversationally. + +"Yes, thanks to you and your friends. You must let me pay you for +this." The suggestion was coarsely put. Returning strength was +restoring the stranger to his usual condition of mind. There was +little refinement about this man from the Yukon. + +The other waived the suggestion. + +"Sour-belly's pretty good tack when y' can't get any better. Been many +days on the road?" + +"Three weeks." The traveller was conscious of three pairs of eyes +fixed upon his face. + +"Hoofing right along?" + +"Yes. I missed the trail nearly a week back. Followed the track of a +dog-train. It came some distance this way. Then I lost it." + +"Ah! Food ran out, maybe." + +The half-breed had now turned away, and was gazing at the stove as +though it had a great fascination for him. + +"Yes, I meant to make the Pass where I could lay in a fresh store. +Instead of that I wandered on till I found the empty pack got too +heavy, then I left it." + +"Left it?" The half-breed raised his two little tufts of eyebrows, but +his eyes remained staring at the stove. + +"Oh, it was empty--clean empty. You see, I didn't trust anything but +food in my pack." + +"No. That's so. Maybe gold isn't safe in a pack?" + +The pock-marked face remained turned towards the glowing stove. The +man's manner was quite indifferent. It suggested that he merely wished +to talk. + +The traveller seemed to draw back into his shell at the mention of +gold. A slight pause followed. + +"Maybe you ain't been digging up there?" the half-breed went on +presently. + +"It's rotten bad digging on the Creek," the traveller said, clumsily +endeavouring to evade the question. + +"So I've heard," said the half-breed. + +He had produced a pipe, and was leisurely filling it from a pouch of +antelope hide. His two companions did the same. The stranger took his +pipe from his fur coat pocket and cut some tobacco from a plug. This +he offered to his companions, but it was rejected in favour of their +own. + +"The only thing I've had--that and my fur coat--to keep me from +freezing to death for more than four days. Haven't so much as seen a +sign of life since I lost the dog track." + +"This country's a terror," observed the half-breed emphatically. + +All four men lit their pipes. The sick man only drew once or twice at +his, then he laid it aside. The process of smoking caused the blisters +on his face to smart terribly. + +"Gives your face gyp," said the half-breed, sympathetically. "Best not +bother to smoke to-night." + +He pulled vigorously at his own pipe, and the two Indians followed +suit. And gradually a pleasant odour, not of tobacco but some strange +perfume, disguised the reek of the atmosphere. It was pungent but +delightful, and the stranger remarked upon it. + +"What's that you are smoking?" he asked. + +For one instant the half-breed's eyes were turned upon him with a +curious look. Then he turned back to the contemplation of the stove. + +"Kind o' weed that grows around these wilds," he answered. "Only stuff +we get hereabouts. It's good when you're used to it." He laughed +quietly. + +The stranger looked from one to the other of his three companions. He +was struck by a sudden thought. + +"What do you do here? I mean for a living?" + +"Trap," replied the Breed shortly. + +"Many furs about?" + +"Fair." + +"Slow work," said the stranger, indifferently. + +Then a silence fell. The wayfarer was getting very drowsy. The pungent +odour from his companions' pipes seemed to have a strangely soothing +effect upon him. Before he was aware of it he caught himself nodding, +and, try as he would, he could not keep his heavy eyelids open. The +men smoked on in silence. Three pairs of eyes watched the stranger's +efforts to keep awake, and a malicious gleam was in the look with +which they surveyed him. He was too sleepy to observe. Besides, had he +been in condition to do so, the expression of their eyes would +probably have been different. Slowly his head drooped forward. He was +dreaming pleasantly already, although, as yet, he was not quite +asleep. Now he no longer attempted to keep his eyes open. Further his +head drooped forward. The three men were still as mice. Then suddenly +he rolled over on one side, and his stertorous breathing indicated a +deep, unnatural slumber. + + * * * * * + +The hut was in darkness but for a beam of light which made its way in +through a narrow slit over the door. The sunlight shone down upon the +huddled figure of the traveller, who still slept in the attitude in +which he had rolled over on his fur coat when sleep had first overcome +him. Otherwise the hut was empty. The half-breed and his companions +had disappeared. The fire was out. The lamp had burned itself out. The +place was intensely cold. + +Suddenly the sleeper stirred. He straightened himself out and turned +over. Then, without further warning, he sat up and found himself +staring up at the dazzling streak of light. + +"Daylight," he murmured; "and they've let the stove go out. Gee! but I +feel queer about the head." + +Moving his head so that his eyes should miss the glare of light, he +gazed about him. He was alone, and as he realized this he scrambled to +his feet, and, for the moment, the room--everything about him--seemed +to be turning topsy-turvy. He placed his hand against the post which +supported the roof and steadied himself. + +"I wonder where they are?" he muttered. "Ah! of course," as an +afterthought, "they are out at their traps. They might have stoked the +fire. It's perishing in here. I feel beastly queer; must be the +effects of starvation." + +Then he moved a step forward. He brought up suddenly to a standstill. +His two hands went to his waist. They moved, groping round it +spasmodically. Undoing his clothes he passed his hand into his shirt. +Then one word escaped him. One word--almost a whisper--but conveying +such a world of fierce, horror-stricken intensity-- + +"Robbed!" + +And the look which accompanied his exclamation was the look of a man +whose mind is distracted. + +So he stood for some seconds. His lips moved, but no words escaped +them. His hand remained within his shirt, and his fingers continued to +grope about mechanically. And all the time the dazed, strained look +burned in his great, roving eyes. + +It was gone. That broad belt, weighted down with the result of one +year's toil, gold dust and nuggets, was gone. Presently he seated +himself on the cold iron of the stove. Thus he sat for an hour, +looking straight before him with eyes that seemed to draw closer +together, so intense was their gaze. And who shall say what thoughts +he thought; what wild schemes of revenge he planned? There was no +outward sign. Just those silent moving lips. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +MR. ZACHARY SMITH + + +"Rot, man, rot! I've been up here long enough to know my way about +this devil's country. No confounded neche can teach me. The trail +forked at that bush we passed three days back. We're all right. I wish +I felt as sure about the weather." + +Leslie Grey broke off abruptly. His tone was resentful, as well as +dictatorial. He was never what one might call an easy man. He was +always headstrong, and never failed to resent interference on the +smallest provocation. Perhaps these things were in the nature of his +calling. He was one of the head Customs officials on the Canadian side +of the Alaskan boundary. His companion was a subordinate. + +The latter was a man of medium height, and from the little that could +be seen of his face between the high folds of the storm-collar of his +buffalo coat, he possessed a long nose and a pair of dark, keen, yet +merry eyes. His name was Robb Chillingwood. The two men were tramping +along on snow-shoes in the rear of a dog-train. An Indian was keeping +pace with the dogs in front; the latter, five in number, harnessed in +the usual tandem fashion to a heavily-laden sled. + +"It's no use anticipating bad weather," replied Chillingwood, quietly. +"But as to the question of the trail----" + +"There's no question," interrupted Grey, sharply. + +"Ah, the map shows two clumps of bush. The trail turns off at one of +them. My chart says the second. I studied it carefully. The +'confounded neche,' as you call him, says 'not yet.' Which means that +he considers it to be the second bush. You say no." + +"The neche only knows the trail by repute. You have never been over it +before. I have travelled it six times. You make me tired. Give it a +rest. Perhaps you can make something of those nasty, sharp puffs of +wind which keep lifting the ground snow at intervals." + +Robb shrugged his fur-coated shoulders, and glanced up at the sun. It +seemed to be struggling hard to pierce a grey haze which hung over the +mountains. The sundogs, too, could be seen, but, like the sun itself, +they were dim and glowed rather than shone. That patchy wind, so well +known in the west of Canada, was very evident just then. It seemed to +hit the snow-bound earth, slither viciously along the surface, sweep +up a thin cloud of loose surface snow, then drop in an instant, but +only to operate in the same manner at some other spot. This was going +on spasmodically in many directions, the snow brushing up in hissing +eddies at each attack. And slowly the grey mist on the hills was +obscuring the sun. + +Robb Chillingwood was a man of some experience on the prairie, +although, as his companion had said, he was new to this particular +mountain trail. To his trained eye the outlook was not encouraging. + +"Storm," he observed shortly. + +"That's my opinion," said Grey definitely. + +"According to calculations, if we have not got off the trail," +Chillingwood went on, with a sly look at his superior, "we should +reach Dougal's roadside hostelry in the Pass by eight o'clock--well +before dark. We ought to escape the storm." + +"You mean we shall," said Grey pointedly. + +"If--" + +"Bunkum!" + +The two men relapsed into silence. They were very good friends these +two. Both were used to the strenuous northern winter. Both understood +the dangers of a blizzard. Their argument about the trail they were on +was quite a friendly one. It was only the dictatorial manner of Leslie +Grey which gave it the appearance of a quarrel. Chillingwood +understood him, and took no notice of his somewhat irascible remarks, +whilst, for himself, he remained of opinion that he had read his +Ordnance chart aright. + +They tramped on. Each man, with a common thought, was watching the +weather indications. As the time passed the wind "patches" grew in +size, in force, and in frequency of recurrence. The haze upon the +surrounding hills rapidly deepened, and the air was full of frost +particles. A storm was coming on apace. Nor was Dougal's wayside +hostelry within sight. + +"It's a rotten life on the boundary," said Robb, as though continuing +a thought aloud. + +"It's not so much the life," replied Grey vindictively, "it's the +d----d red tape that demands the half-yearly journey down country. +That's the dog's part of our business. Why can't they establish a +branch bank up here for the bullion and send all 'returns' by mail? +There is a postal service--of a kind. It's a one-horsed lay +out--Government work. There'll come a rush to the Yukon valley +this year, and when there's a chance of doing something for +ourselves--having done all we can for the Government--I suppose +they'll shift us. It's the way of Governments. I'm sick of it. I +draw four thousand dollars a year, and I earn every cent of it. +You--" + +"Draw one thousand, and think myself lucky if I taste fresh vegetables +once a week during the summer. Say, Leslie, do you think it's possible +to assimilate the humble but useful hog by means of a steady diet of +'sour-belly'?" + +Grey laughed. + +"If that were possible I guess we ought to make the primest bacon. +Hallo, here comes the d----d neche. What's up now, I wonder? Well, +Rainy-Moon, what is it?" + +The Indian had stopped his dogs and now turned back to speak to the +two men. His face was expressionless. He was a tall specimen of the +Cree Indian. + +"Ugh," he grunted, as he came to a standstill. Then he stretched out +his arm with a wide sweep in the direction of the mountains. "No good, +white-men--coyote, yes. So," and he pointed to the south and made a +motion of running, "yes. Plenty beef, plenty fire-water. White-man +store." His face slowly expanded into a smile. Then the smile died out +suddenly and he turned to the north and made a long 'soo-o-o-sh' with +rising intonation, signifying the rising wind. "Him very bad. +White-man sleep--sleep. Wake--no." And he finished up with a shake of +the head. + +Then his arm dropped to his side, and he waited for Grey to speak. For +a moment the Customs officer remained silent. Chillingwood waited +anxiously. Both men understood the Indian's meaning. Chillingwood +believed the man to be right about the trail. As to the coming storm, +and the probable consequences if they were caught in it, that was +patent to all three. + +But Grey, with characteristic pig-headedness, gave no heed to the +superior intelligence of the Indian where matters of direction in a +wild country were concerned. He _knew_ he was on the right trail. That +was sufficient for him. But he surveyed the surrounding mountains well +before he spoke. They had halted in a sort of cup-like hollow, with +towering sides surmounted by huge glaciers down which the wind was now +whistling with vicious force. There were only two exits from this vast +arena. The one by which the travellers had entered it, and the other +directly ahead of them; the latter was only to be approached by a wide +ledge which skirted one of the mountains and inclined sharply upwards. +Higher up the mountain slope was a belt of pinewoods, close to which +was a stubbly growth of low bush. This was curiously black in contrast +with the white surroundings, for no snow was upon its weedy branches +and shrivelled, discoloured leaves. Suddenly, while Grey was looking +out beyond the dog-train, he observed the impress of snow-shoes in the +snow. He pointed to them and drew his companion's attention. + +"You see," he said triumphantly, "there has been some one passing +this way just ahead of us. Look here, neche, you just get right on and +don't let me have any more nonsense about the trail." + +The Indian shook his head. + +"Ow," he grunted. "This little--just little." Then he pointed ahead. +"Big, white--all white. No, no; white-man no come dis way. Bimeby +neche so," and Rainy-Moon made a motion of lying down and sleeping. He +meant that they would get lost and die in the snow. + +Grey became angry. + +"Get on," he shouted. And Rainy-Moon reluctantly turned and started +his dogs afresh. + +The little party ascended the sloping path. The whipping snow lashed +their faces as the wind rushed it up from the ground in rapidly +thickening clouds. The fierce gusts were concentrating into a steady +shrieking blast. A grey cloud of snow, thin as yet, but plainly +perceptible, was in the air. The threat it conveyed was no idle one. +The terror of the blizzard was well known to those people. And they +knew that in a short space they would have to seek what shelter they +might chance to find upon these almost barren mountains. + +The white-men tightened the woollen scarves about the storm-collars of +their coats, and occasionally beat their mitted hands against their +sides. The gathering wind was intensifying the cold. + +"If this goes on we shall have to make that belt of pinewoods for +shelter," observed Robb Chillingwood practically. "It won't do to take +chances of losing the dogs--and their load--in the storm. What say?" + +They had rounded a bend and Grey was watchfully gazing ahead. He did +not seem to hear his companion's question. Suddenly he pointed +directly along the path towards a point where it seemed to vanish +between two vast crags. + +"Smoke," he said. And his tone conveyed that he wished his companion +to understand that he, Grey, had been right about the trail, and that +Robb had been wrong. "That's Dougal's store," he went on, after a +slight pause. + +Chillingwood looked as directed. He saw the rush of smoke which, in +the rising storm, was ruthlessly swept from the mouth of a piece of +upright stove-pipe, which in the now grey surroundings could just be +distinguished. + +"But I thought there was a broad, open trail at Dougal's," he said, at +last, after gazing for some moments at the tiny smoke-stack. + +"Maybe the road opens out here," answered Grey weakly. + +But it didn't. Instead it narrowed. And as they ascended the slope it +became more and more precipitous. The storm was now beating up, +seemingly from every direction, and it was with difficulty that the +five great huskies hauled their burden in the face of it. However, +Rainy-Moon urged them to their task with no light hand, and just as +the storm settled down to its work in right good earnest they drew up +abreast of a small dugout. The path had narrowed down to barely six +feet in width, bordered on the left hand by a sharp slope upwards +towards the pinewood belt above, and on the right by a sheer +precipice; whilst fifty feet further on there was no more path--just +space. As this became apparent to him, Robb Chillingwood could not +help wondering what their fate might have been had the storm overtaken +them earlier, and they had not come upon the dugout. However, he had +no time for much speculation on the subject, for, as the dogs came to +a stand, the door of the dugout was thrown back and a tall, +cadaverous-looking man stood framed in the opening. + +"Kind o' struck it lucky," he observed, without any great show of +enthusiasm. "Come right in. The neche can take the dogs round the side +there," pointing to the left of the dugout. "There's a weatherproof +shack there where I keep my kindling. Guess he can fix up in that till +this d----d breeze has blown itself out. You've missed the trail, I +take it. Come right in." + +Half-an-hour later the two Customs officers were seated with their +host round the camp-stove which stood hissing and spluttering in the +centre of the hut. The dogs and Rainy-Moon were housed in the +woodshed. + +Now that the travellers were divested of their heavy furs, their +appearance was less picturesque but more presentable. Robb Chillingwood +was about twenty-five; his whole countenance indexed a sturdy honesty +of thought and a merry disposition. There was considerable strength too +about brow and jaw. Leslie Grey was shorter than his companion. A +man of dapper, sturdy figure, and with a face good-looking, +obstinate, and displaying as much sense of humour as a barbed-wire +fence post. He was fully thirty years of age. + +Their host possessed a long, attenuated, but powerful figure, and a +face chiefly remarkable for its cadaverous hollows and a pair of +hungry eyes and a dark chin-whisker. + +"Yes, sir," this individual was saying, "she's goin' to howl good and +hard for the next forty-eight hours, or I don't know these parts. +Maybe you're from the valley?" + +Chillingwood shook his head. + +"No. Fort Cudahy way," he said. "My name's Chillingwood--Robb +Chillingwood. This is Mr. Leslie Grey, Customs officer. I am his +assistant." + +The long man glanced slowly at his guests. His great eyes seemed to +take in the details of each man's appearance with solemn curiosity. +Then he twisted slowly upon the upturned box on which he was seated +and crossed his legs. + +"I'm pleased to meet you, gentlemen. It's lonely in these parts--lonely." +He shuddered as though with cold. "I've been trapping in these latitudes +for a considerable period, and it's--lonely. My name is Zachary Smith." + +As the trapper pronounced his name he glanced keenly from one to the +other of the two men beside him. His look was suggestive of doubt. He +seemed to be trying to re-assure himself that he had never before +crossed the paths of these chance guests of his. After a moment of +apprehensive silence he went on slowly, like one groping in darkness. +His confidence was not fully established. + +"You can make up your minds to a couple of days in this shanty--anyhow. +I mostly live on 'sour-belly' and 'hard tack.' Don't sound inviting, +eh?" + +Chillingwood laughed pleasantly. + +"We're Government officials," he said with meaning. + +"Yes," put in Grey. "But we've got plenty of canned truck in our +baggage. I'm thinking you may find our supplies a pleasant change." + +"No doubt--no doubt whatever. Cat's meat would be a delicacy +after--months of tallowy pork." + +This slow-spoken trapper surveyed his guests thoughtfully. The +travellers were enjoying the comforting shelter and warmth. Neither of +them seemed particularly talkative. + +Presently Grey roused himself. Extreme heat after extreme cold always +has a somnolent effect on those who experience it. + +"We'd best get the--stuff off the sleigh, Chillingwood," said he. +"Rainy-Moon's above the average Indian for honesty, but, nevertheless, +we don't need to take chances. And," as the younger man rose and +stretched himself, "food is good on occasions. What does Mr. Zachary +Smith say?" + +"Ay, let's sample some white-man's grub. Gentlemen, this is a +fortunate meeting--all round." + +Chillingwood passed out of the hut. As he opened the door a vindictive +blast of wind swept a cloud of snow in, and the frozen particles fell +crackling and hissing upon the glowing stove. + +"And they call this a white-man's country," observed Mr. Smith +pensively, as the door closed again. He opened the stove and proceeded +to knock the embers together preparatory to stoking up afresh. + +"Guess you were making for the Pass," he said conversationally. + +"Yes," replied Grey. + +"Missed the trail," the other said, pitching a cord-wood stick +accurately into the centre of the glowing embers. + +Grey made no answer. + +"'Tisn't in the way of Governments to show consideration to their +servants," Mr. Smith went on, filling the stove with fuel to the limit +of its holding capacity. "It's a deadly season to be forced to travel +about in." + +"Consideration," said Grey bitterly. "I'm forced to undertake this +journey twice a year. Which means I am on the road the best part of my +time. And merely because there is no bank or authorized place for +depositing----" + +"Ah, gold," put in Mr. Zachary Smith quietly. + +"And reams of 'returns.'" + +"They reckon that the 'rush' to the Yukon'll come next year. Maybe +things will alter then." + +Smith straightened himself up from his occupation. His face displayed +but the most ordinary interest in the conversation. + +At that moment Chillingwood returned bearing two small brass-bound +chests. The Indian followed him bringing a number of packages of +tinned food. Smith glanced from the chests--which were as much as +Chillingwood could carry--to the angular proportions of the Indian's +burden, then back again to the chests. He watched furtively as the +officer deposited the latter; then he turned back to the stove and +opened the damper. + +Then followed a meal of which all three partook with that heartiness +which comes of an appetite induced by a hardy open-air life. They +talked but little while they ate, and that little was of the +prospects of the new Eldorado. Leslie Grey spoke with the bitterness +of a disappointed man. In reality he had been successful in the +business he had adopted. But some men are born grumblers, and he was +one. It is probable that had he been born a prince he would have +loudly lamented the fact that he was not a king. Chillingwood was +different; he accepted the situation and enjoyed his life. He was +unambitious whilst faithfully doing that which he regarded as his +duty, first to himself, then to his employers. His method of life was +something like that of the sailor. He fully appreciated the motto of +the seafaring gentry--one hand for himself and one for his employers. +When in doubt both hands for self. He meant to break away from his +present employment when the Yukon "rush" came. In the meantime he was +on the spot. Mr. Zachary Smith chiefly listened. He could eat and +watch his guests. He could study them. And he seemed in no way +inclined to waste his time on words when he could do the other two +things. He said little about himself, and was mainly contented with +comprehensive nods and grunts, whilst he devoured huge portions of +tinned tongue and swallowed bumpers of scalding tea. + +After dinner the travellers produced their pipes. Grey offered his +tobacco to their host. Mr. Zachary Smith shook his head. + +"Given up tobacco--mostly," he said, glancing in the direction of the +door, which groaned under a sudden attack from the storm which was now +howling with terrible force outside. "It isn't that I don't like it. +But when a man gets cooped up in these hills he's like to run out of +it, and then it's uncomfortable. I've taken on a native weed which +does me for smoking when I need it--which isn't often. It grows +hereabouts and isn't likely to give out. Guess I won't smoke now." + +Grey shrugged and lit his pipe. If any man could be fool enough to +reject tobacco, Leslie Grey was not the sort of man to press him. He +was intolerant of ideas in any one but himself. Chillingwood sucked +luxuriously at his pipe and thought big things. + +The blue smoke clouds curled insinuatingly about the heads of the +smokers, and rose heavily upon the dense atmosphere of the hut. The +two men stretched themselves indolently upon the ground, sometimes +speaking, but, for the most part, silent. These wayfarers thought +little of time. They had a certain task to perform which, the elements +permitting, they would carry out in due course. In the meantime it was +storming, and they had been fortunate in finding shelter in these +wastes of snow and ice; they were glad to accept what comfort came +their way. This enforced delay would find a simple record in Leslie +Grey's report to his superiors. "Owing to a heavy storm, etc." They +were Government servants. The routine of these men's lives was all +very monotonous, but they were used to it, and use is a wonderful +thing. It so closely borders on content. + +Cards were produced later on. Mr. Zachary Smith resisted the +blandishments of "cut-throat" euchre. He had no money to spare for +gambling, he informed his guests; he would look on. He sat over the +stove whilst the others played. Later on the cards were put away, and +the travellers, curling themselves into their blankets, composed +themselves to sleep. + +The lean figure sat silently blinking at the red sides of the +fire-box. His legs were crossed, and he nursed his knee in a restful +embrace. For nearly an hour he sat thus, and only the slow movement of +his great rolling eyes, and an occasional inclination of his head told +of the active thought which was passing behind his mask-like +features. + +As he sat there he looked older by half a score of years than either +of his companions, but, in reality, he was a young man. The furrows +and hollows upon his face were the marks of privation and exposure, +not of age. His bowed figure was not the result of weakness or +senility, it was chiefly the result of great height and the slouching +gait of one who has done much slow tramping. Mr. Zachary Smith made an +interesting study as he sat silently beside his stove. + +His face was the face of an honest man--when his eyes were concealed +beneath their heavy lids. It was a good face, and refined; tough, +vigorous, honest, until the eyelids were raised. Then the expression +was utterly changed. A something looked out from those great rolling +eyeballs which was furtive, watchful, doubtful. They were eyes one +sometimes sees in a madman or a great criminal. And now, as he sat +absorbed in his own reflections, their gaze alternated between the two +brass-bound chests and the recumbent figure of Leslie Grey. + +So he sat, this self-styled Zachary Smith, trapper. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +MR. ZACHARY SMITH SMOKES + + +It was the third morning of the travellers' sojourn in Mr. Smith's +dugout. Two long idle days had been spent in the foetid atmosphere of +the trapper's half-buried house. During their enforced stay neither +Grey nor his subordinates had learnt much of their reticent host. It +is doubtful if they had troubled themselves much about him. He had +greeted them with a sort of indifferent hospitality, and they were +satisfied. It was not in the nature of their work to question the +characters of those whom they encountered upon their journey. To all +that he had Mr. Zachary Smith had made them welcome; they could expect +no more, they needed no more. Now the day had arrived for their +departure, for the storm had subsided and the sun was shining with all +its wintry splendour. + +The three men leisurely devoured an early morning breakfast. + +Mr. Smith was quite cheerful. He seemed to be labouring under some +strange excitement. He looked better, too, since the advent of his +guests. Perhaps it was the result of the ample supplies of canned +provisions which the two men had lavished unsparingly upon him. His +face was less cadaverous; the deep searing furrows were less +pronounced. Altogether there was a marked improvement in this solitary +dweller in the wild. Now he was discussing the prospects of the +weather, whilst he partook liberally of the food set before him. + +"These things aren't like most storms," he said. "They blow themselves +out and have done with it. They don't come back on you with a change +of wind. That isn't the way of the blizzard. We've got a clear spell +of a fortnight and more before us--with luck. Now, which way may you +be taking, gentlemen? Are you going to head through the mountains for +the main trail, or are you going to double on your tracks?" + +"We are going back," said Grey, with unpleasant emphasis. Any allusion +to his mistake of the road annoyed him. + +Chillingwood turned his head away and hid a smile. + +"I think you will do well," replied the trapper largely. "I know these +hills, and I should be inclined to hark back to where you missed the +trail. I hope to cover twenty miles myself to-day." + +"Your traps will be buried, I should say," suggested Robb. + +"I'm used to that," replied the tall man quietly. "Guess I shan't have +much difficulty with 'em." He permitted himself the suspicion of a +smile. + +Grey drew out his pipe and leisurely loaded it. Robb followed suit. +Mr. Zachary Smith pushed his tin pannikin away from before him and +leaned back. + +"Going to smoke?" he asked. "Guess I'll join you. No, not your plug, +thanks. I'm feeling pretty good. My weed'll do me. You don't fancy to +try it?" + +"T. and B.'s good enough for me," said Grey, with a smile. "No, I +won't experiment." + +Smith held his pouch towards Chillingwood. + +"Can I?" + +Robb shook his head with a doubtful smile. + +"Guess not, thanks. What's good enough for my chief is good enough for +me." + +The trapper slowly unfolded an antelope hide pouch of native +workmanship. He emptied out a little pile of greenish-brown flakes +into the palm of his hand. It was curious, dusty-looking stuff, +suggestive of discoloured bran. This he poured into the bowl of a +well-worn briar, the mouthpiece of which he carefully and with +accuracy adjusted into the corner of his mouth. + +"If you ever chance to have the experience I have had in these +mountains, gentlemen," he then went on slowly, as gathering into the +palm of his hand a red-hot cinder from the stove he tossed it to and +fro until it lodged on the bowl of his pipe, "I think you'll find the +use of the weed which grows on this hillside," with a jerk of his head +upwards to indicate the bush which flourished in that direction, "has +its advantages." + +"Maybe," said Grey contemptuously. + +"I doubt it," said Robb, with a pleasant smile. + +The lean man knocked the cinder from his pipe and emitted a cloud of +pungent smoke from between his lips. The others had lit up. But the +odour of the trapper's weed quickly dominated the atmosphere. He +talked rapidly now. + +"You folks who travel the main trails don't see much of what is going +on in the mountains--the real life of the mountains," he said. "You +have no conception of the real dangers which these hills contain. Yes, +sir, they're hidden from the public eye, and only get to be known +outside by reason of the chance experience of the traveller who +happens to lose his way, but is lucky enough to escape the pitfalls +with which he finds himself surrounded. I could tell you some queer +yarns of these hills." + +"Travellers' tales," suggested Grey, with a yawn and a disparaging +smile. "I have heard some." + +"Yes," said Robb, "there are queer tales afloat of adventures +encountered by travellers journeying from the valley to the coast. But +they're chiefly confined to wayside robbery, and are of a very sordid, +everyday kind. No doubt your experiences are less matter-of-fact and +more romantic. By Jove, I feel jolly comfy. Not much like turning +out." + +"That's how it takes me," said Smith quietly, but with a quick glance +at the speaker. "But idleness won't boil my pot. It's a remarkable +thing that I've felt wonderfully energetic these last few days, and +now that I have to turn out I should prefer to stop where I am. I +s'pose it's human nature." + +He gazed upon his audience with a broad smile. + +At that moment the loud yelping of the dogs penetrated the thick sides +of the dugout. Rainy-Moon was preparing for the start. Doubtless the +brilliant change in the weather had inspired the savage burden-bearers +of the north. + +"That's curious-smelling stuff you're smoking," said Grey, rousing +himself with an effort after a moment's dead silence. "What do you +call it?" + +"Can't say--a weed," said Zachary Smith, glancing down his nose towards +the bowl of his pipe. "Not bad, is it? Smells of almonds--tastes like +nutty sherry." + +Grey stifled a yawn. + +"I feel sleepy, d----d sleepy. Wonder if Rainy-Moon has got the sleigh +loaded." + +Smith emitted another dense cloud of smoke from between his pursed +lips; he seemed wrapt in the luxurious enjoyment of his smoke. Robb +Chillingwood's eyelids were drooping, and his pipe had gone out. Quite +suddenly the trapper's eyes were turned on the face of Grey, and the +smoke from his pipe was chiefly directed towards him. + +"There's time enough yet," he said quietly. "Half-an-hour more or less +won't make much difference to you on the road. You were talking of +travellers' tales, and I reckon you were thinking of fairy yarns that +some folks think it smart to spin. Well, maybe those same stories have +some foundation in fact, and ain't all works of imagination. Anyhow, +my experience has taught me never to disbelieve until I've some good +sound grounds for doing so." + +He paused and gazed with a far-off look at the opposite wall. Then a +shadowy smile stole over his face, and he went on. His companions' +heads had drooped slowly forward, and their eyes were heavy with +sleep. Grey was fighting against the drowsiness by jerking his head +sharply upwards, but his eyes would close in spite of his efforts. + +"Well, I never thought that I'd get caught napping," continued Smith, +with a chuckle. "I thought I knew these regions well enough, but I +didn't. I lost my way, too, and came near to losing my life----" + +He broke off abruptly as Robb Chillingwood slowly rolled over on +his side and began to snore loudly. Then Smith turned back to Leslie +Grey, and leaning forward, so that his face was close to that of +the officer, blew clouds of the pungent smoke right across the +half-stupefied man's mouth and nostrils. + +"I lost other things," he then went on meditatively, "but not my life. +I lost that which was more precious to me. I lost gold--gold! I lost +the result of many weary months of toil. I had hoarded it up that I +might go down to the east and buy a nice little ranch, and settle down +into a comfortable, respectable man of property. I didn't even wait +until the spring opened so that I could take the river route. No, that +wasn't my way, because I knew it would cost a lot of money and I +wasn't overburdened with wealth. I had just enough----" + +He puffed vigorously at his pipe. Grey's head was now hanging forward +and his chin rested on his chest. + +There came the sound of Rainy-Moon's voice adjuring the dogs outside +the door of the dugout. The trapper's eyes flashed evilly in the +direction of the unconscious Indian. + +"----to do what I wanted," he resumed. "No more--no less; and I set +out on foot." He was anxiously watching for Grey's collapse. "Yes, I +was going to tramp to the sea-coast through these mountains. I hit the +wrong trail, decoyed by a false track carefully made by those who +waited for me in these hills."--Grey was swaying heavily and his +breathing was stertorous.--"I met my fate and was robbed of my gold. +I was drugged--as you poor fools are being drugged now. When it was +too late I discovered how it was done, and determined to do the same +thing by the first victim that fell into my clutches. I tried the weed +and soon got used to its fumes. Then I waited--waited. I had set my +decoy at the cross-roads, and you--you--came." + +As the trapper ceased speaking Grey slowly rolled over, insensible. + +In a moment the watching man was upon his feet. His whole face was +transfigured. Alertness was in every movement, in every flash of his +great eyes. He moved quickly across the floor of the hut and took two +shallow pannikins from the sack which lay upon the floor, dropped some +of the flaky weed into the bottom of each one, and then from the stove +he scraped some coals of fire into them. The fire set the dry weed +smouldering, and the thick smoke rose heavily from the two tins. These +he placed upon the ground in such a position that his hard-breathing +victims should thoroughly inhale the fumes. Thus he would make doubly +sure of them. + +This done he stood erect and gazed for some seconds at the result of +his handiwork; he was satisfied, but there was no look of pleasure on +his face. He did not look like a man of naturally criminal instincts. +There was nothing savage about his expression, or even callous. His +look merely seemed to say that he had set himself this task, and, so +far, what he had done was satisfactory in view of his object. He +turned from the heavy-slumbering men and his eyes fell upon the two +small gold chests. Instantly his whole expression changed. Here was +the keynote to the man's disposition. Gold! It was the gold he +coveted. At all costs that gold was to be his. His eyes shone with +greed. He moved towards the boxes as though he were about to handle +them; but he paused abruptly before he reached them. The barking of +the dogs and the strident tones of the Indian's voice outside arrested +him. He suddenly remembered that he had not yet completed his work. + +Now he moved with unnecessarily stealthy steps over to the darkest +corner of the hut, to where a pile of rough skins stood. The steady +nerve which had hitherto served him seemed in a measure to have +weakened. It was a phase which a man of his disposition must +inevitably pass through in the perpetration of a first crime. He was +assailed by a sensation of watching eyes following his every movement; +with a feeling that another presence than those two slumbering forms +moved with him in the dim light of the dugout. He was haunted by his +other self; the moral self. + +From beneath the pile of furs he drew a heavy revolver which he +carefully examined. The chambers were loaded. + +Again came the sound of the dogs outside. And he even fancied he heard +the shuffling of Rainy-Moon's moccasins over the beaten snow just +outside the door. He turned his face in the direction. The expression +of his great hungry eyes was malevolent. Whatever moral fear might +have been his, there could be no doubt that he would carry his purpose +out. He gripped his pistol firmly and moved towards the door. + +As his hand rested on the latch he paused. Just for one instant he +hesitated. It seemed as though all that was honest in him was making +one final appeal to the evil passions which swayed him. His eyelids +lowered suddenly, as though he could not even face the dim light of +that gloomy interior. It was the attitude of one who fully realizes +the nature of his actions, of one who shrinks from the light of honest +purpose and prefers the obscure recesses of his own moral darkness. +Then with an effort he pulled himself together; he gripped his nerve. +The next moment he flung wide the door. + +A flood of wintry sunshine suffused the interior of the dugout. The +glare of the crystal white earth was dazzling to a degree, and the +hungry-looking trapper stood blinking in the light. His pistol was +concealed behind him. The sleigh was before the door. Rainy-Moon stood +on the far side of the path in the act of hitching the dogs up. One of +the animals, the largest of them all, was already harnessed, the +others were standing or squatting around, held in leash by the +Indian. + +When he heard the door open Rainy-Moon looked up from his work. He was +standing with his back to the precipice which bordered the narrow +ledge. His great stolid face expressed nothing but solemn gravity. He +grunted and turned again to his work. + +Like a flash the trapper's pistol darted from behind him, and its +report rang out echoing and re-echoing amongst the surrounding hills. +There was an answering cry of pain from the harnessed dog, and +Rainy-Moon with a yell stood erect to find himself gazing into the +muzzle of the revolver. The expression of the trapper's face was +relentless now. His first shot had been fired under the influence of +excitement, and he had missed his object and only wounded the dog. Now +it was different. + +Again the pistol rang out. Rainy-Moon gave one sharp cry of pain and +sprang backwards--into space. In one hand he still gripped the leashes +of the dogs. The other clutched wildly at the air. For one instant his +fall was broken by his hold upon the four dogs, then the suddenness of +his precipitation and his weight told, and the poor beasts were +dragged over the side of the chasm after him. + +The whole dastardly act was but the work of a moment. + +The next all was silence save for the yelping of the wounded dog lying +upon the snow. + +The trapper stood for a moment framed in the doorway. The horror of +his crime was upon him. He waited for a sound to come up to him from +below. He longed to, but he dared not, look over the side of the +yawning chasm. He feared what awful sight his eyes might encounter. +His imagination conjured up pictures that turned him sick in the +stomach, and a great dread came over him. Suddenly he turned back into +the hut and slammed the door. + +The wounded dog had not changed its attitude. The moments sped by. +Suddenly the poor beast began to struggle violently. It was a huge +specimen of the husky breed, exceptionally powerful and wolfish in its +appearance. The wretched brute moaned incessantly, but its pain only +made it struggle the harder to free itself from its harness. At length +it succeeded in wriggling out of the primitive "breast-draw" which +held it. Then the suffering beast limped painfully away down the path. +Fifty yards from the hut it squatted upon its haunches and began to +lick its wounded foot. And every now and then it would cease its +healing operation to throw up its long muzzle and emit one of those +drawn-out howls, so dismal and dispiriting, in which dogs are able to +express their melancholy feelings. + +At length the hut door opened again and the trapper came out; he was +equipped for a long journey. Thick blanket chaps covered his legs, and +a great fur coat reached to his knees. His head was buried beneath a +beaver cap, which, pressed low down over his ears, was overlapped by +the collar of his coat. He carried a roll of blankets over his +shoulder and a pack on his back. As he came out into the sunshine he +looked fearfully about him. There stood the loaded sleigh quite +undisturbed. The harness alone was tumbled about by reason of the +wounded dog's struggles. And there was a pool of canine blood upon the +snow, and a faint trail of sanguinary hue leading from it. The man +eyed this and followed its direction until he saw the dog crouching +down further along the path. But he was not thinking of the dog. He +turned back to the sleigh, and his eyes wandered across, beyond it, to +the brink of the precipice. The only marks that had disturbed the +smooth white edge of the path were those which had tumbled the snow +where the dogs had been dragged to their fate. Otherwise there was no +sign. + +The man stepped forward as though to look down to the depths below, +but, as he neared the edge, he halted shudderingly. Nor did his eyes +turn downwards, he looked around him, above him--but not down. He +gazed long and earnestly at the hard, cold, cloudless sky. His brow +frowned with unpleasant thought. Then his lips moved, and he muttered +words that sounded as though he were endeavouring to justify his acts +to himself. + +"The gold was mine--honestly mine. It was wrested from me. It may be +Christian to submit without retaliation. It is not human. What is a +neche's life--nothing. Pooh! An Indian life is of no value in this +country. Come on, let's go." + +He spoke as though he were not alone. Perhaps he was addressing that +moral self of his which kept reminding him of his misdeeds. Anyhow, he +was uncomfortable, and his words told of it. + +He stooped and adjusted his snow-shoes, after which he gripped his +long staff and slowly began his journey down the hill. + +He quickly got into his stride, that forward, leaning attitude of the +snow-shoer; nor did he glance to the left or right. + +Straight ahead of him he stared, over the jagged rampart of mountains +to the clear steely hue of the sky above. He was leaving the scene of +his crime; he wished also to leave its memory. He gave no heed to the +trail of blood that stained the whiteness of the snow beneath his +feet; his thoughts were not of the present--his present; his mind was +travelling swiftly beyond. The whining of the dog as he passed him +fell upon ears that were deaf to all entreaty. + +The crystal-covered earth glided by him; the long, reaching stride of +the expert snow-shoer bore him rapidly along. + +He paused in the valley below and took fresh bearings. He intended to +strike through the heart of the mountains. The Pass was his goal, for +he knew that there lay the main trail he sought. + +He cast about for the landmarks which he had located during his long +tenancy of the dugout. Not a branch of a tree rustled. Not a breath of +air fanned the steaming breath which poured from his lips. His mind +was centred on his object, but the nervous realization of loneliness +was upon him. + +Suddenly the awful stillness was broken. The man bent his head in a +listening attitude. The sound came from behind and he turned sharply. +His movement was hurried and anxious. His nerves were not steady. A +long-drawn-out wail rose upon the air. Fifty yards behind stood the +wounded hound gazing after him as if he, too, were endeavouring to +ascertain the right direction. The creature was standing upon three +legs, the fourth was hanging useless, and the blood was dripping from +the footless limb. + +The man turned away with an impatient shrug and stepped out briskly. +He knew his direction now, and resolutely centred his thoughts upon +his journey. Past experience told him that this would tax all his +energy and endurance, and that he must keep a clear head, for he was +not a native of the country, nor had he the instinct of one whose life +had been passed in a mountainous world. Once he turned at the sound of +a plaintive whining, and, to his annoyance, he saw that the dog was +following him. A half-nervous laugh escaped him, but he did not pause. +He had hitherto forgotten the creature, and this was an unpleasant +reminder. + +An hour passed. The exhilarating exercise had cleansed the atmosphere +of the murderer's thoughts. Once only he looked back over his shoulder +as some memory of the dog flashed across his brain. He could see +nothing but the immaculate gleam of snow. Something of the purity of +his surroundings seemed to communicate itself to his thoughts. He +found himself looking forward to a life, the honest, respectable life, +which the burden he carried in his pack would purchase for him. He saw +himself the owner of vast tracts of pasture, with stock grazing upon +it, a small but comfortable house, and a wife. He pictured to himself +the joys of a pastoral life, a community in which his opinions and +influence would be matters of importance. He would be looked up to, +and gradually, as his wealth grew, he would become interested in the +world of politics, and he would---- + +He was dragged back to the present by a memory of the scene at the +dugout, and quite suddenly he broke into a cold perspiration. He +increased his pace, nor did those pleasant visions again return to +him. It was well past noon when at last he halted for food and rest. + +He devoured his simple fare ravenously, but he gained no enjoyment +therefrom. He was moody. At that moment he hated life; he hated +himself for his weak yielding to the pricks of conscience; he hated +the snow and ice about him for their deadening effect upon the world +through which he was passing; he hated the dreadful solitude with +which he was surrounded. + +Presently he drew out a pipe. He looked at it for one instant, then +raised it to his nose. He smelt it, and, with a motion of disgust and +a bitter curse, he threw it from him. It reeked of the weed he had +found at the dugout. + +Now he was seized with a feverish restlessness and was about to rise +to his feet. Suddenly, out on the still, biting air wailed the +familiar long-drawn note of misery. To his disturbed fancy it came +like a dreadful signal of some awful doom. It echoed in undulating +waves of sound, dying away hardly, as though it were loth to leave its +mournful surroundings. He turned in the direction whence it proceeded, +and slowly into view limped the wounded husky, yelping piteously at +every step. + +At that moment the man was scarcely responsible for what he did. He +was beside himself with dread. The solitude was on his nerves, this +haunting dog, his own reflections, all had combined to reduce him to +the verge of nervous prostration. With the last dying sound his heavy +revolver was levelled in the direction of the oncoming hound. There +was a moment's pause, then a shot rang out and the dog stood quite +still. The bullet fell short and only kicked up the snow some yards in +front of the animal, nor did the beast display the least sign of fear. +The man prepared to take another shot, but, as he was about to fire, +his arm dropped to his side, and, with a mirthless laugh, he put the +pistol away. + +"The d----d cur seems to know the range of a gun," he muttered, with +an uneasy look at the motionless creature. His words were an apology +to himself, although perhaps he would not have admitted it. + +The dog remained in its rigid attitude. Its head was slightly lowered, +and its wicked grey eyes glared ferociously. Its thick mane bristled, +and it looked like a gaunt, hungry wolf following upon the trail of +some unconscious traveller. So long as the man stood, so long did the +dog remain still and silent. But as the former returned to his seat, +and began to pack up, the dog began to whine and furtively draw +nearer. + +Although he did not look up the man knew that the animal was coming +towards him. When he had finished packing he straightened himself; the +dog was within a few paces of him. He called gently, and the animal +responded with a whimper, but remained where it was. Its canine mind +was evidently dubious, and the man was forced to take the initiative. +Whatever may have been his intention in the first place, he now +exhibited a curious display of feeling for one who could plan and +perpetrate so dastardly a crime as that which he had committed at the +dugout. Human nature is a strange blending of good and evil passions. +Two minutes ago the man would, without the least remorse, have shot +the dog. Now as he reached him, and he listened to the beast's +plaintive cries, he stretched out his arm and stroked its trembling +sides, and then stooped to examine the wounded limb. And, stranger +still, he tore off a portion of the woollen scarf that circled his +waist and proceeded to bandage up the shattered member. The dog +submitted to the operation with languid resignation. The foot of one +hind leg had been entirely torn away by a revolver shot, and only the +stump of the leg was left. The poor beast would go on three legs for +the rest of his life. + +When the man had finished he rose to his feet, and a bitter laugh +shocked the silence of the snow-bound world. + +"There, you miserable cur. It's better like that than to get the cold +into it. I've had some; besides, I didn't intend to damage you. If +you're going to travel with me you'd best come along, and be d-----d +to you." + +And he walked back to where his pack and blankets lay, and the dog +limped at his heels. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +'YELLOW BOOMING--SLUMP IN GREY' + + +The days are long since gone when the name of the midland territory of +the great Canadian world, Manitoba, suggested to the uninitiated +nothing but Red Indians, buffalo and desperadoes of every sort and +condition. Now-a-days it is well known, even in remote parts of the +world, as one of the earth's greatest granaries; a land of rolling +pastures, golden cornfields and prosperous, simple farm folk. In a +short space of time, little more than a quarter of a century, this +section of the country has been elevated from the profound obscurity +of a lawless wilderness to one of the most thriving provinces of a +great dominion. The old Fort Garry, one of the oldest factories of the +Hudson's Bay Company, has given place to the magnificent city of +Winnipeg, with its own University, its own governing assembly, its own +clubs, hotels, its own world-wide commercial interests, besides being +the great centre of railway traffic in the country. All these things, +and many other indications of splendid prosperity too numerous to +mention, have grown up in a little over twenty-five years. And with +this growth the buffalo has gone, the red-man has been herded on to a +limited reservation, and the "Bad-man" is almost an unknown quantity. +Such is the Manitoba of to-day. + +But during the stages of Manitoba's transition its history is +interesting. The fight between law and lawlessness was long and +arduous, the pitched battles many and frequent. Buffalo could be +killed off quickly, the red-man was but a poor thing after the +collapse of the Riel rebellion, but the "Bad-man" died hard. + +This is the period in the history of Manitoba which at present +interests us. When Winnipeg was building with a rapidity almost +rivalling that of the second Chicago, and the army of older farmers in +the land was being hastily augmented by recruits from the mother +country. When the military police had withdrawn their forces to the +North-West Territories, leaving only detachments to hold the American +border against the desperadoes which both countries were equally +anxious to be rid of. + +In the remote south-eastern corner of the province, forty-five +miles from the nearest town--which happened to be the village of +Ainsley--dumped down on the crest of a far-reaching ocean-like swell +of rolling prairie, bare to the blast of the four winds except for +the insignificant shelter of a small bluff on its northeastern side, +stood a large farm-house surrounded by a small village of barns and +outbuildings. It was a typical Canadian farm of the older, western +type. One of those places which had grown by degrees from the one +central hut of logs, clay and thatch to the more pretentious +proportions of the modern frame building of red pine weather-boarding, +with shingled roofing to match, and the whole coloured with paint +of a deep, port-wine hue, the points and angles being picked out +with a dazzling white. It was a farm, let there be no mistake, and +not merely a homestead. + +There were abundant signs of prosperity in the trim, well-groomed +appearance of the place. The unmistakable hall-mark was to be found in +the presence of a steam-thresher, buried beneath a covering of +tarpaulin and snow, in the array of farming machinery, and in the maze +of pastures enclosed by top-railed, barbed-wire fencing. All these +things, and the extent of the buildings, told of years of ceaseless +industry and thrift, of able management and a proper pride in the +vocation of its owner. + +Nor were these outward signs in any way misleading. Silas Malling in +his lifetime had been one of those sound-minded men, unimaginative and +practical, the dominant note of whose creed had always been to do his +duty in that state of life in which he found himself. The son of an +early pioneer he had been born to the life of a farmer, and, having +the good fortune to follow in the footsteps of a thrifty father, he +had lived long enough to see his farm grow to an extent many times +larger and more prosperous than that of any neighbour within a radius +of a hundred miles. But at the time of our story he had been gathered +to his forefathers for nearly three years, and his worthy spouse, +Hephzibah Malling, reigned in his stead. She ruled with an equally +practical hand, and fortune had continued to smile upon her. Her bank +balance had grown by leaps and bounds, and she was known to be one of +the richest women in Southern Manitoba, and her only daughter, +Prudence, to be heiress to no inconsiderable fortune. There was a son +in the family, but he had eschewed the farm life, and passing out of +the home circle, as some sons will, had gone into the world to seek +his own way--his own experiences of life. + +In spite of the wealth of the owners of Loon Dyke Farm they were +very simple, unpretentious folk. They lived the life they had always +known, abiding by the customs of childhood and the country to which +they belonged with the whole-hearted regard which is now becoming so +regrettably rare. Their world was a wholesome one which provided them +with all they needed for thought, labour and recreation. To +journey to Winnipeg, a distance of a hundred and twenty-six miles, +was an event which required two days' preparation and as many weeks of +consideration. Ainsley, one of those little border villages which +dot the international boundary dividing Canada from the United +States, was a place rarely visited by them, and when undertaken +the trip was regarded as a notable jaunt. + +Just now Mrs. Malling was a prey to the wildest excitement. An event +was about to happen which disturbed her to a degree. It is doubtful as +to what feeling was uppermost in her motherly bosom. She was torn +between many conflicting emotions--joy, grief, pleasurable excitement. +Her daughter, her only child, as she was wont to confide to her +matronly friends--for her boy, whom she loved as only a mother can +love a son, she believed she would never see again--was about to be +married. + +No visit to town, not even a sea voyage across the ocean could +possibly compare with this. It was a more significant event in her +life even than when she went into Winnipeg to choose the monument +which was to be erected over the grave of her departed Silas. That she +had always had in her mind's eye, not because she looked forward to +his demise, but because she hoped some day to share with him its +sheltering canopy. But somehow this forthcoming marriage of her +daughter was in the nature of a shock to her. She was not mercenary, +far from it, she was above any such motive as that, but she had hoped, +when the time came for such matters to be considered, that Prudence +would have married a certain rancher who lived out by the Lake of the +Woods, a man of great wealth, and a man whom Mrs. Malling considered +desirable in every way. Instead of that Prudence had chosen for +herself amongst her many suitors, and worst of all she had chosen an +insignificant official in the Customs department. That to Hephzibah +Malling was the worst blow of all. With proper motherly pride she had +hoped that "her girl" would have married a "some one" in her own +world. + +The winter evening shadows--it was the middle of January and winter +still held sway upon the prairie--were falling, and the parlour at the +farm was enveloped in a grey dusk. The room was large, low-ceiled, and +of irregular shape. + +It was furnished to serve many purposes, principally with a view to +solid comfort. There was no blatant display of wealth, and every +article of furniture bore signs of long though careful use. The +spotless boarded floor was bare of carpet, but was strewn with +rough-cured skins, timber-wolf, antelope, coyote and bear, and here +and there rugs of undoubted home make; these latter of the patchwork +order. The centre table was of wide proportions and of solid mahogany, +and told of the many services of the apartment; the small chairs were +old-fashioned mahogany pieces with horse-hair seats, while the +easy-chairs--and there were several of these--were capacious and of +divers descriptions. A well-worn sofa was stowed away in an obscure +angle, and a piano with a rose-silk front and fretwork occupied +another of the many dark corners which the room possessed. + +The whole atmosphere of the place was of extreme comfort. The bare +description of furniture conveys nothing, but the comfort was there +and showed out in the odds and ends of family possessions which were +in evidence everywhere--the grandfather's clock, the sewing-machine, +the quaint old oil-lamps upon the mantel-board over the place where +the fire should have been but was not; the soft hangings and curious +old family pictures and discoloured engravings; the perfect femininity +of the room. In all respects it was a Canadian farm "best parlour." + +There were four occupants of the room. Two old ladies, rotund, and +garbed in modest raiment of some sort of dark, clinging material, were +gathered about the monster self-feeding stove, seated in arm-chairs in +keeping with their ample proportions. One was the widow of the late +Silas Malling, and the other was the school-ma'am from the Leonville +school-house. This good lady rejoiced in the name of Gurridge, and +Mrs. Gurridge was the oldest friend of Hephzibah Malling, a fact which +spoke highly for the former good dame's many excellent qualities. +Hephzibah was not a woman to set her affections on her sex without +good reason. Her moral standard was high, and though she was ever +ready to show kindliness to her fellow-creatures, she was far too +practical and honest herself to take to her motherly bosom any one who +was not worthy of regard. + +As was natural, they were talking of the forthcoming marriage, and the +tone of their lowered voices indicated that their remarks were in the +nature of confidences. Mrs. Malling was sitting bolt upright, and her +plump, rather rough hands were folded in her broad lap. Mrs. Gurridge +was leaning towards the stove, gazing into the fire through the mica +sides of the fire-box. + +"I trust they will be happy," said Mrs. Gurridge, with a sigh. Then as +an afterthought: "He seems all right." + +"Yes," Mrs. Malling said, with a responsive exhalation, "I think +so. He has few faults. But he is not the man to follow my Silas on +this farm. I truly believe, Sarah, that he couldn't tell the +difference between a cabbage-field and a potato-patch. These +what-d'you-call-'ems, Civil servants, are only fit to tot up +figures and play around with a woman's wardrobe every time she +crosses the border. Thank goodness I'm not of the travelling kind; +I'm sure I should hide my face for very shame every time I saw a +Customs officer." + +The round, rosy face of the farm-wife assumed a deeper hue, and her +still comely lips were pursed into an indignant _moue_. Her smooth +grey head, adorned by a black lace cap trimmed with pearl beads, was +turned in the direction of the two other occupants of the room, who +were more or less buried in the obscurity of a distant corner. + +For a moment she gazed at the dimly-outlined figure of a man who was +seated on one of the horse-hair chairs, leaning towards the sofa on +which reclined the form of her daughter, Prudence. His elbows were +resting on his knees and his chin was supported upon his two clenched +fists. He was talking earnestly. Mrs. Malling watched him for some +moments, then her eyes drifted to the girl, the object of her +solicitude. + +Although the latter was in the shadow her features were, even at this +distance, plainly discernible. There was a strong resemblance between +mother and daughter. They were both of medium dark complexion, with +strong colouring. Both were possessed of delightfully sweet brown +eyes, and mouths and chins firm but shapely. The one remarkable +difference between them was in the nasal organ. While the mother's was +short, well-rounded, and what one would call pretty though ordinary, +the girl's was prominent and aquiline with a decided bridge. This +feature gave the younger woman a remarkable amount of character to her +face. Altogether hers was a face which, wherever she went, would +inevitably attract admiring attention. Just now she was evidently +teasing the man before her, and the mother turned back to the stove +with a merry twinkle in her eyes. + +"I think Prudence will teach him a few lessons," she murmured to her +friend. + +"What--about the farm?" + +"Well, I wasn't just thinking of the farm." + +The two ladies smiled into each other's faces. + +"She is a good child," observed Mrs. Gurridge affectionately, after +awhile. + +"Or she wouldn't be her father's child." + +"Or your daughter, Hephzibah," said Sarah Gurridge sincerely. + +The two relapsed into silence. The glowing coals in the stove shook +lower and received augmentation from the supply above. Darkness was +drawing on. + +Prudence was holding the _Free Press_ out towards the dying light and +the man was protesting. The latter is already known to us. His name +was Leslie Grey, now an under-official of the Customs department at +the border village of Ainsley. + +"Don't strain your eyes in this light, dear," he was saying. "Besides, +I want to talk to you." He laid his hand upon the paper to take it +from her. But the girl quickly withdrew it out of his reach. + +"You must let me look at the personal column, Leslie," she said +teasingly, "I just love it. What do you call it? The 'Agony' column, +isn't it?" + +"Yes," the man answered, with some show of irritation. "But I +want----" + +"Of course you do," the girl interrupted. "You want to talk to +me--very right and proper. But listen to this." + +Grey bit his lip. Prudence bent her face close to the paper and read +in a solemn whisper-- + +"'Yellow booming--slump in Grey'! Now I wonder what that means? Do you +think it's a disguised love message to some forlorn damsel in the +east, or does it conceal the heartrending cry of a lost soul to some +fond but angry parent?" Then, as the man did not immediately answer, +she went on with a pucker of thought upon her brow. "'Yellow'--that +might mean gold. 'Booming'--ah, yes, the Kootenai mines, or the Yukon. +There is going to be a rush there this year, isn't there? Oh, I +forgot," with real contrition, "I mustn't mention the Yukon, must I? +That is where your disaster occurred that caused you to be banished to +the one-horsed station of Ainsley." + +"Not forgetting the reduction of my salary to the princely sum of two +thousand dollars per annum," Grey added bitterly. + +"Never mind, old boy, it brought us together, and dollars aren't +likely to trouble us any. But let me get on with my puzzle. 'Slump in +Grey.' That's funny, isn't it? 'Slump' certainly has to do with +business. I've seen 'Slump' in the finance columns of the Toronto +_Globe_. And then 'Grey.' That's your name." + +"I believe so." + +"Um. Guess I can't make much of it. Seems to me it must be some +business message. I call it real disappointing." + +"Perhaps not so disappointing as you think, sweetheart," Grey said +thoughtfully. + +"What, do you understand it?" The girl at once became all interest. + +"Yes," slowly, "I understand it, but I don't know that I ought to tell +you." + +"Of course you must. I'm just dying of curiosity. Besides," she went +on coaxingly, "we are going to be married, and it wouldn't be right to +have any secrets from me. Dear old Gurridge never lost an opportunity +of firing sage maxims at us when I used to go to her school. I think +the one to suit this occasion ran something like this-- + + 'Secrets withheld 'twixt man and wife, + Infallibly end in connubial strife.' + +"She always made her rhymes up as she went along. She's a sweet old +dear, but so funny." + +But Grey was not heeding the girl's chatter. His face was serious and +his obstinate mouth was tight-shut. He was gazing with introspective +eyes at the paper which was now lying in the girl's lap. Suddenly he +leaned further forward and spoke almost in a whisper. + +"Look here, Prue, I want you to listen seriously to what I have to +say. I'm not a man given to undue hopefulness. I generally take my own +way in things and see it through, whether that way is right or wrong. +So far I've had some successes and more failures. If I were given to +dreaming or repining I should say Fate was dead against me. That last +smasher I came in the mountains, when I lost the Government bullion, +nearly settled me altogether, but, in spite of it all, I haven't given +up hope yet, and what is more, I anticipate making a big coup shortly +which will reinstate me in favour with the heads of my department. My +coup is in connection with the notice you have just read out from the +'Agony' column." + +The girl nodded. She was quite serious now. Grey paused, and the +ticking of the grandfather's clock on the other side of the room +pounded heavily in the twilight The murmur of the old ladies' voices +occasionally reached the lovers, but it did not interrupt them or +divert their attention from their own affairs. + +"That notice," Grey went on, "has appeared at regular intervals in the +paper, and is a message to certain agents from a certain man, to say +that certain illicit work has been carried out. I have discovered who +this man is and the nature of his work. It does not matter who he is +or what the work; in fact, it would be dangerous to mention either, +even here; the point is that I have discovered the secret, and I, +alone, am going to benefit by my discovery. I am not going to let any +one share the reward with me. I want to reinstate myself with the +authorities, and so regain my lost position, then no one will be able +to say things about my marriage with you." + +"No one had better say anything against you in my hearing, anyway, +Leslie," the girl put in quickly. "Because I happen to be rich--or +shall be--is nothing to do with any one but myself. As far as I can +see it will be a blessing. Go on." + +"No doubt it is as you say, dear," the man pursued; "but there are +plenty of people unkind enough to believe that I am marrying you for +your money. However, I am going to get this man red-handed, and, I +tell you, it will be the greatest coup of my life." + +"I hope you will succeed, Leslie," the girl said, her brown eyes fixed +in admiration upon her lover. "Do you know, I never thought you were +such a determined fellow," she added impulsively. "Why, I can almost +believe that you'd learn to farm if you took the notion." + +Grey's sense of humour was not equal to the occasion, and he took her +remark quite seriously. + +"A man must be a fool if he can't run a farm," he said roughly. + +"Many folks labour under that mistake," the girl replied. Then: "Say, +when are you going to do this thing?" + +"Strangely enough, the critical moment will come two days after our +marriage. Let's see. This is Monday. We are to be married to-morrow +week. That will make it Thursday week." + +The girl sat herself up on the sofa, and her young face expressed +dismay. + +"Right in the middle of our honeymoon. Oh, Leslie!" + +"It can't be helped, dearest. I shall only be away from you for that +afternoon and the night. Think of what it means to me. Everything." + +"Ah, yes." She sank back again upon the sofa. There was the faintest +glimmer of a smile in the depths of her dark eyes. "I forgot what it +meant to you." + +The unconscious irony of her words fell upon stony ground. + +Prudence Malling was deeply in love with Leslie Grey. How few men +fully appreciate the priceless treasure of a good woman's regard. + +"If I bring this off it means immediate promotion," Grey went on, in +his blindly selfish way. "I must succeed. I hate failure." + +"They will take you off the border, then," said the girl musingly. +"That will mean--leaving here." + +"Which also means a big step up." + +"Of course--it will mean a big step up." + +The girl sighed. She loved the farm; that home which she had always +known. She changed the subject suddenly. + +"It must be nearly tea-time. We are going to have tea early, Leslie, +so that we can get through with it comfortably before the people +come." + +"Oh yes, I forgot you are having a 'Progressive Euchre' party +to-night. What time does it begin? I mean the party." + +"Seven o'clock. But you are going to stay to tea?" + +Grey glanced up at the yellow face of the grandfather's clock and +shook his head. + +"Afraid not, little girl. I've got some work to do in connection with +Thursday week. I will drop in about nine o'clock. Who're coming?" + +"Is it really necessary, this work?" There was a touch of bitterness +in Prudence's voice. But the next moment she went on cheerfully. +She would not allow herself to stand in her lover's way. "The usual +people are coming. It will be just our monthly gathering of +neighbouring--moss-backs," with a laugh. "The Turners, the +Furrers--Peter Furrers, of course; he still hopes to cut you +out--and the girls; old Gleichen and his two sons, Harry and Tim. +And the Ganthorns from Rosebank and their cousins the Covills of +Lakeville. And--I almost forgot him--mother's flame, George Iredale +of Lonely Ranch." + +"Is Iredale coming? It's too bad of you to have him here, Prue. Your +mother's flame--um, I like that. Why, he's been after you for over +three years. It's not right to ask him when I am here, besides----" +Grey broke off abruptly. Darkness hid the angry flush which had spread +over his face. The girl knew he was angry. His tone was raised, and +there was no mistaking Leslie Grey's anger. He was very nearly a +gentleman, but not quite. + +"I think I have a perfect right to ask him, Leslie," she answered +seriously. "His coming can make no possible difference to you. +Frankly, I like him, but that makes no difference to my love for you. +Why, you dear, silly thing, if he asked me from now till Doomsday I +wouldn't marry him. He's just a real good friend. But still, if it +will please you, I don't mind admitting that mother insisted on his +coming, and that I had nothing to do with it. That is why I call him +mother's flame. Now, then, take that ugly frown off your face and say +you're sorry." + +Grey showed no sign of obedience; he was very angry. It was believed +and put about by the busy-bodies of the district, that George Iredale +had sought Prudence Malling in marriage ever since she had grown up. +He was a bachelor of close upon forty. One of those quiet, determined +men, slow of speech, even clumsy, but quick to make up their minds, +and endowed with a great tenacity of purpose. A man who rarely said he +was going to do a thing, but generally did it. These known features in +a man who, up to the time of the announcement of Prudence's engagement +to Grey, had been a frequent visitor to the farm, and who was also +well known to be wealthy and more than approved of by Mrs. Malling, no +doubt, gave a certain amount of colour to the belief of those who +chose to pry into their neighbours' affairs. + +"Anyway I don't think there is room for both Iredale and myself in +the house," Grey went on heatedly. "If you didn't want him you should +have put your foot down on your mother's suggestion. I don't think I +shall come to-night." + +For one moment the girl looked squarely into her lover's face and her +pretty lips drew sharply together. Then she spoke quite coldly. + +"You will--or I'll never speak to you again. You are very foolish to +make such a fuss." + +There was along silence between the lovers. Then Grey drew out his +watch, opened it, glanced at the time, and snapped it closed again. + +"I must go," he said shortly. + +Prudence had risen from the sofa. She no longer seemed to heed her +lover. She was looking across the darkened room at the homely picture +round the glowing stove. + +"Very well," she said. And she moved away from the man's side. + +The two old ladies pausing in their conversation heard Grey's +announcement and the answer Prudence made. Sarah Gurridge leaned +towards her companion with a confidential movement of the head. The +two grey heads came close together. + +The school-ma'am whispered impressively-- + + "'Maid who angers faithful swain + Will shed more tears and know mere pain + Than she who loves and loves in vain.'" + +Hephzibah laughed tolerantly. Sarah's earnestness never failed to +amuse her. + +"My dear," the girl's mother murmured back, when her comfortable laugh +had gurgled itself out, "young folks must skit-skat and bicker, or +where would be the making up? La, I'm sure when I was a girl I used to +tweak my poor Silas's nose for the love of making him angry--Silas had +a long nose, my dear, as you may remember. Men hate to be tweaked, +especially on their weak points. My Silas was always silly about his +nose. And we never had less than half-an-hour's making up. I wonder +how Prudence has tweaked Mr. Grey--I can't bring myself to call him +Leslie, my dear." + +Prudence had reached her mother's side. The two old heads parted with +guilty suddenness. + +"Oh, my dear," exclaimed Mrs. Malling, "how you did startle me." + +"I'm sorry, mother," the girl said, "but I wanted to tell you that +Leslie is not coming to-night." Prudence turned a mischievous face +towards her lover. + +Mrs. Malling wrinkled up her smooth forehead. She assumed an air of +surprise. + +"Why not, my child?" + +"Oh, because you have asked Mr. Iredale. Leslie says it isn't right." + +Prudence was still looking in her lover's direction. He had his back +turned. He was more angry than ever now. + +"My dears," said her mother with an indulgent smile, "you are a pair +of silly noodles. But Mr. Grey--I mean Leslie--must please himself. +George Iredale is coming because I have asked him. This house is yours +to come and go as you like--er--Leslie. George Iredale has promised to +come to the cards to-night. Did I hear you say you were going now? I +should have taken it homely if you would have stayed to tea. The +party begins at seven, don't forget." + +Three pairs of quizzical eyes were fixed upon Grey's good-looking but +angry face. His anger was against Prudence entirely now. She had made +him look foolish before these two ladies, and that was not easily to +be forgiven. Grey's lack of humour made him view things in a ponderous +light. He felt most uncomfortable under the laughing gaze of those +three ladies. + +However, he would not give way an inch. + +"Yes, I must go now," he said ungraciously. "But not on account of +George Iredale," he added blunderingly. "I have some important work to +do----" + +He was interrupted by a suppressed laugh from Prudence. He turned upon +her suddenly, glared, then walked abruptly to the door. + +"Good-bye," he exclaimed shortly, and the door closed sharply behind +him. + +"Why, Prudence," said Mrs. Malling, turning her round laughing face to +her daughter and indicating the door. "Aren't you----" + +"No, I'm not, mother dear," the girl answered with a forced laugh. + +Sarah Gurridge patted her late pupil's shoulder affectionately. But +her head shook gravely as though a weight of worldly wisdom was hers. + +"I don't think he'll stay away," said the mother, with a tender glance +in the girl's direction. + +"He hasn't chin enough," said Sarah, who prided herself upon her +understanding of physiognomy. + +"Indeed he has," retorted Prudence, who heard the remark. + +Mrs. Malling was right, Leslie Grey was not going to stay away. He had +no intention of doing so. But his reasons were quite apart from those +Hephzibah Malling attributed to him. He wished to see George Iredale, +and because of the man's coming Grey would forego his angry desire to +retaliate upon Prudence. He quite ignored what he was pleased to call +his own pride in the matter. He would come because he had what he +considered excellent reasons for so doing. + +Prudence lit the lamps and laid the table for tea. Her mother ambled +off to the great kitchen as fast as her bulk would allow her. There +were many things in that wonderful place to see to for the supper, and +on these occasions Mrs. Malling would not trust their supervision even +to Prudence, much less to the hired girl, Mary. Sarah Gurridge +remained in her seat by the stove watching the glowing coals dreamily, +her mind galloping ahead through fanciful scenes of her own +imagination. Had she been asked she would probably have stated that +she was looking forward into the future of the pair who were so soon +to be married. + +Prudence went on quietly and nimbly with her work. Presently Sarah +turned, and after a moment's intent gaze at the trim, rounded figure, +said in her profoundest tone-- + + "'Harvest your wheat ere the August frost; + One breath of cold and the crop is lost.'" + +"Oh, bother--there, I've set a place for Leslie," exclaimed Prudence +in a tone of vexation. "What is that about 'frost' and 'lost'?" + +"Nothing, dear, I was only thinking aloud." And Sarah Gurridge +relapsed into silence, and continued to bask in the warm glow of the +stove. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL + + +Grey strode away from the house in no very amiable frame of mind. A +fenced-in patch, planted with blue-gums and a mass of low-growing +shrubs, formed a sort of garden in front of the farm. + +This enclosure was devoid of all artistic effect, but in summer-time it +served as a screen to break the rigour of the wooden farm-buildings. +It was a practical but incongruous piece of man's handiwork, divided +down the centre by a pathway bordered with overlapped hoopings of bent +red willow switches, which, even in winter, protruded hideously +above the beaten snow. The path led to a front gate of primitive and +bald manufacture, but stout and serviceable, as was everything else +about the farm. And this was the main approach to the house. + +It was necessary for Grey, having taken his departure by the front +door, to pass out through this gate in order to reach the barn where +he had left his saddle-horse. He might have saved himself this trouble +by leaving the house by the back door, which opened out directly +opposite the entrance to the great barn. But he was in no mood for +back doors; the condition of his mind demanded nothing less than a +dignified exit, and a dignified exit is never compatible with a back +door. Had he left Loon Dyke Farm in an amiable frame of mind, much +that was to happen in his immediate future might have been different. + +But the writing had been set forth, and there was no altering it. + +He walked with a great show of unnecessary energy. It was his nature +to do so. His energy was almost painful to behold. Too much vigour and +energy is almost worse than chronic indolence; sooner or later people +so afflicted find themselves in difficulties. + +It was more than a year since his misadventure in the mountains. He +had suffered for his own wrong-headedness over that matter, but he had +not profited by his experience; he was incapable of doing so. His +length of service and reputation for hard work had saved him from +dismissal, but Chillingwood was less fortunate; subordinates in +Government service generally are less fortunate when their superiors +blunder. + +However, Grey had outlived that unpleasantness. He was not the man to +brood over disaster. Soon after he had been transferred to Ainsley the +Town Clerkship fell vacant. He did what he could for Chillingwood, +with the result that the younger man eventually secured the post, and +thus found himself enjoying a bare existence on an income of $500 per +annum. + +Halfway down the path Grey became aware of a horseman approaching the +farm. The figure was moving along slowly over the trail from Ainsley. +In the dusk the horse appeared to be jaded; its head hung down, and +its gait was ambling. The stranger was tall, but beyond that Grey +could see nothing, for the face was almost entirely hidden in the +depths of the storm-collar of his coat. The officer looked hard at the +new-comer. It was part of his work to know, at least by sight, every +inhabitant of his district. This man was quite a stranger to him. The +horse was unknown to him, and the fur coat was unfamiliar. In winter +these things usually mark a man out to his acquaintances. The horse +shows up against the snow, and the prairie man does not usually +possess two fur coats. + +On the stranger's first appearance Grey's thoughts had at once flown +to George Iredale, but now, as he realized that the man was unknown to +him, his interest relaxed. However, he walked slowly on to the gate so +that he might obtain a closer inspection. Horse and rider were about +twenty-five yards off when Grey reached the gate, and he saw that they +were followed at some distance by a great wolfish-looking hound. + +The evening shadows had grown rapidly. The grey vault of snow-clouds +above made the twilight much darker than usual. Grey waited. The +traveller silently drew up his horse, and for a moment sat gazing at +the figure by the gate. All that was visible of his face was the +suggestion of a nose and a pair of large dark eyes. + +Grey opened the gate and passed out. + +"Evening," said the horseman, in a voice muffled by the fur of his +coat-collar. + +"Good-evening," replied Grey shortly. + +"Loon Dyke Farm," said the stranger, in a tone less of inquiry than of +making a statement. + +Grey nodded, and turned to move away. Then he seemed to hesitate, and +turned again to the stranger. Those eyes! Where had he seen just such +a pair of eyes before? He tried to think, but somehow his memory +failed him. The horseman had turned his face towards the house and so +the great roving eyes were hidden. But Grey was too intent upon the +business he had in hand to devote much thought to anything else. + +There was no further reason for remaining; he had satisfied his +curiosity. He would learn all about the stranger later on. + +He hurried round to the stables. When he had gone the stranger +dismounted; for a moment or two he stood with one hand on the gate and +the other holding the horse's reins, gazing after the retreating form +of the Customs officer. He waited until the other had disappeared, +then leisurely hitched his horse's reins on to the fence of the +enclosure, and, passing in through the gate, approached the house. +Presently he saw Grey ride away, and a close observer might have +detected the sound of a heavy sigh escaping from between the embracing +folds of the fur collar as the man walked up the path and rapped +loudly upon the front door with his mitted fist. The three-footed +hound had closed up on his master, and now stood beside him. + +Prudence opened the door. Tea was just ready; and she answered the +summons, half expecting to find that her lover had thought better of +his ill-humour and had returned to share the evening meal. She drew +back well within the house when she realized her mistake. The stranger +stood for one second as though in doubt; then his voice reached the +waiting girl. + +"Prudence, isn't it?" + +The girl started. Then a smile broke over her pretty, dark face. + +"Why, it's Hervey--brother Hervey. Here, mother," she called back into +the house. "Quick, here's Hervey. Why, you dear boy, I didn't expect +you for at least a week--and then I wasn't sure you would come. You +got my letter safely then, and you must have started off almost at +once--you're a real good brother to come so soon. Yes, in here; tea is +just ready. Take off your coat. Come along, mother," she called out +again joyously. "Hurry; come as fast as you can; Hervey is here." And +she ran away towards the kitchen. Her mother's movements were far too +slow to suit her. + +The man removed his coat, and voices reached him from the direction of +the kitchen. + +"Dearie me, but, child, you do rush one about so. Where is he? There, +you've left the door open; and whose is that hideous brute of a dog? +Why, it looks like a timber-wolf. Send him out." + +Mrs. Malling talked far more rapidly than she walked, or rather +trotted, under the force of her daughter's bustling excitement. Hervey +went out into the hall to meet her. Standing framed in the doorway he +saw his dog. + +"Get out, you brute," he shouted, and stepping quickly up to the +animal he launched a cruel kick at it which caught it squarely on the +chest. The beast turned solemnly away without a sound, and Hervey +closed the door. + +The mother was the first to meet him. Her stout arms were outstretched, +while her face beamed with pride, and her eyes were filled with tears +of joy. + +"My dear, dear boy," she exclaimed, smiling happily. Hervey made no +reciprocal movement. He merely bent his head down to her level and +allowed her to kiss his cheek. She hugged him forcefully to her ample +bosom, an embrace from which he quickly released himself. Her words +then poured forth in a swift, incoherent flow. "And to think I +believed that I should never see you again. And how you have grown and +filled out. Just like your father. And where have you been all this +time, and have you kept well? Look at the tan on his face, Prudence, +and the beard too. Why, I should hardly have known you, boy, if I +hadn't 'a known who it was. Why, you must be inches taller than your +father for sure--and he was a tall man. But you must tell me all about +yourself when the folks are all gone to-night. We are having a party, +you know. And isn't it nice?--you will be here for Prudence's +wedding----" + +"Don't you think we'd better go into the parlour instead of standing +out here?" the girl interrupted practically. Her mother's rambling +remarks had shown no sign of cessation, and the tea was waiting. +"Hervey must be tired and hungry." + +"Well, I must confess I am utterly worn out," the man replied with a +laugh. "Yes, mother, if tea is ready let's come along. We can talk +during the meal." + +They passed into the parlour. As they seated themselves at the table, +Sarah Gurridge joined them from her place beside the stove. Hervey +had not noticed her presence when he first entered the room, and the +good school-ma'am, quietly day-dreaming, had barely awakened to the +fact of his coming. Now she, too, joined in the enthusiasm of the +moment. + +"Ah, Hervey," she said, with that complacent air of proprietorship +which our early preceptors invariably assume, "you haven't forgotten +me, I know. + + 'Though the tempest of life will oft shut out the past, + The thoughts of our school-days remain to the last.'" + +"Glad to see you, Mrs. Gurridge. No, I haven't forgotten you," the man +replied. + +A slight pause followed. The women-folk had so much to say that they +hardly knew where to begin. That trifling hesitation might have been +accounted for by this fact. Or it might have been that Hervey was less +overjoyed at his home-coming than were his mother and sister. + +Prudence was the first to speak. + +"Funny that I should have set a place more than I intended at the +tea-table," she said, "and funnier still that when I found out what +I'd done I didn't remove the plate and things. And now you turn up." +She laughed joyously. + +Sarah Gurridge looked over in the girl's direction and shook an +admonitory forefinger at her. + +"Mr. Grey, my dear--you were thinking of Mr. Grey, in spite of your +lover's tiff." + +"Who did you say?" asked Hervey, with a quick glance at Prudence. + +"Leslie Grey," said his mother, before the old school-ma'am could +reply. "Didn't our Prudence tell you when she wrote? He's the man +she's going to marry. I must say he's not the man I should have set +on for her; but she's got her own ploughing to seed, and I'm not the +one to say her 'nay' when she chooses her man." + +Hervey busied himself with his food, nor did he look up when he +spoke. + +"That was Grey, I s'pose, I saw riding away as I came up? Good, +square-set chunk of a man." + +"Yes, he left just before you came," said Prudence. "But never mind +about him, brother. Tell us about yourself. Have you made a fortune?" + +"For sure, he must," said their mother, gazing with round, proud eyes +upon her boy, "for how else came he to travel from California to here, +just to set his eyes on us and see a slip of a girl take to herself a +husband? My, but it's a great journey for a boy to take." + +"Nothing to what I've done in my time," replied Hervey. "Besides, +mother, I've got further to go yet. And as for sister Prudence's +marriage, I'm afraid I can't stay for that." + +"Not stay?" exclaimed his mother. + +"Do you mean it?" asked his sister incredulously. + +Sarah Gurridge contented herself with looking her dismay. + +"You see, it's like this," said Hervey. He had an uncomfortable habit +of keeping his eyes fixed upon the table, only just permitting himself +occasional swift upward glances over the other folk's heads. "When I +got your letter, Prudence, I was just preparing to come up from Los +Mares to go and see a big fruit-grower at Niagara. The truth is that +my fruit farm is a failure and I am trying to sell it." + +"My poor boy!" exclaimed his mother; "and you never told me. But +there, you were always as proud as proud, and never would let me help +you. Your poor father was just the same; when things went wrong he +wouldn't own up to any one. I remember how we lost sixty acres of +forty-bushel, No. 1 wheat with an August frost. I never learned it +till we'd taken in the finest crop in the district at the next +harvesting. But you didn't put all your savings into fruit?" + +"I'm afraid I did, mother, worse luck." + +"All you made up at the Yukon goldfields?" asked Prudence, alarm in +her voice. + +"Every cent." + +There followed a dead silence. + +"Then----" Mrs. Malling could get no further. + +"I'm broke--dead broke. And I'm going East to sell my land to pay off +my debts. I've had an offer for it, and I'm going to clinch the deal +quick. Say, I just came along here to see you, and I'm going on at +once. I only got into Winnipeg yesterday. I rode out without delay, +but struck the Ainsley trail, or I should have been here sooner. Now, +see here, mother," Hervey went on, as a woe-begone expression closely +verging on tears came into the old dame's eyes, "it's no use crying +over this business. What's done is done. I'm going to get clear of my +farm first, and maybe afterwards I'll come here again and we'll talk +things over a bit." + +Prudence sat staring at her brother, but Hervey avoided her gaze. Mrs. +Malling was too heartbroken to speak yet. Her weather-tanned face had +blanched as much as it was possible for it to do. Her boy had gone +out upon the world to seek his fortune, and he had succeeded in +establishing himself, he had written and told her. He had found gold +in quantities in the Yukon valley, and now--now, at last, he had +failed. The shock had for the moment crushed her; her boy, her proud +independent boy, as she had been wont to consider him, had failed. She +did not ask herself, or him, the reason of his failure. Such failure, +she felt, must be through no fault of his, but the result of adverse +circumstances. + +She never thought of the gambling-table. She never thought of reckless +living. Such things could not enter her simple mind and be in any way +associated with her boy. Hephzibah Malling loved her son; to her he +was the king who could do no wrong. She continued to gaze blankly in +the man's direction. + +Sarah Gurridge alone of the trio allowed herself sidelong, speculative +glances at the man's face. She had seen the furtive overhead glances; +the steady avoidance of the loving observation of his womankind. She +had known Hervey as well, and perhaps just a shade better than his +mother and sister had; and long since, in his childish school-days, +she had detected a lurking weakness in an otherwise good character. +She wondered now if he had lived to outgrow that juvenile trait, or +had it grown with him, gaining strength as the greater passions of +manhood developed? + +After the first shock of Hervey's announcement had passed, Mrs. +Malling sought refuge in the consolation of her own ability to help +her son. He must never know want, or suffer the least privation. She +could and would give him everything he needed. Besides, after all, she +argued with womanly feeling, now perhaps she could persuade him to +look after the farm for her; to stay by her side. He should be in no +way dependent. She would install him as manager at a comfortable +salary. The idea pleased her beyond measure, and it was with +difficulty she could keep herself from at once putting her proposal +into words. However, by a great effort, she checked her enthusiasm. + +"Then when do you think of going East?" she asked, with some +trepidation. "You won't go at once, sure." + +"Yes, I must go at once," Hervey replied promptly. "That is, to-morrow +morning." + +"Then you will stay to-night," said Prudence. + +"Yes; but only to get a good long sleep and rest my horse. I'm +thoroughly worn out. I've been in saddle since early this morning." + +"Have you sent your horse round to the barn?" asked Sarah Gurridge. + +"Well, no. He's hitched to the fence." The observing Sarah had been +sure of it. + +Prudence rose from her seat and called out to the hired girl-- + +"Mary, send out and tell Andy to take the horse round to the barn. +He's hitched to the fence." Then she came back. "You'll join our party +to-night, of course." + +"Hoity, girl, of course not," said their mother. "How's the lad going +to get rest gallivanting with a lot of clowns who can only talk of +'bowers' and 'jokers'? You think of nothing but 'how-de-doin' with +your neighbours since you're going to be married. Things were +different in my day. I'll look after Hervey," she continued, turning +to her son. "You shall have a good night, lad, or my name's not +Hephzibah Malling. Maybe you'll tell me by and by what you'd like to +do." + +"That's right, mother," replied Hervey, with an air of relief. "You +understand what it is for a man to need rest. I'll just hang around +till the folks come, and then sneak off to bed. You don't mind, Prue, +do you? I'm dead beat, and I want to leave at daybreak." + +"Mind?" answered Prudence; "certainly not, Hervey. I should have liked +you to meet Mr. Grey, but you must get your rest." + +"Sure," added her mother, "and as for meeting Mr. Grey--well, your +brother won't sicken for want of seeing him, I'll wager. Come along, +Hervey, we'll go to the kitchen; Prudence has to get her best parlour +ready for these chattering noodles. And, miss," turning to her +daughter with an expression of pretended severity, "don't forget that +I've got a batch o' layer cakes in the ice-box, and you've not told me +what you want in the way of drinks. La, young folks never think of the +comforts. I'm sure I don't know what you'll do without your mother, +girl. Some o' these times your carelessness will get your parties made +a laughing-stock of. Come along, Hervey." + +The old lady bustled out, bearing her son off in triumph to the +kitchen. She was quite happy again now. Her scheme for her son's +welfare had shut out all thought of his bad news. Most women are like +this; the joy of giving to their own is perhaps the greatest joy in +the life of a mother. + +In the hall they met the flying, agitated figure of the hired girl, +Mary. + +"Oh, please, 'm, there's such a racket going on by the barn. There's +Andy an' the two dogs fighting with a great, strange, three-legged dog +wot looks like a wolf. They're that mussed up that I don't know, I'm +sure." + +"It's that brute Neche of mine," said Hervey, with an imprecation. +"It's all right, girl; I'll go." + +Hervey rushed out to the barn. The great three-legged savage was in +the midst of a fierce scrimmage. Two farm dogs were attacking him. +They were both half-bred sheep-dogs. One was making futile attempts to +get a hold upon the stranger, and Neche was shaking the other as a +terrier would shake a rat. And Andy, the choreman, was lambasting the +intruder with the business end of a two-tine hay-fork, and shouting +frightful curses at him in a strong American accent. + +As Hervey came upon the scene, Neche hurled his victim from him, +either dead or dying, for the dog lay quite still where it fell upon +the snow. Then, impervious to the onslaught of the choreman, he seized +the other dog. + +"Come out of it, Andy," cried Hervey. + +The hired man ceased his efforts at once, glad to be done with the +savage. Hervey then ran up to the infuriated husky, and dealt him two +or three terrible kicks. + +The dog turned round instantly. His fangs were dripping with blood, +and he snarled fiercely, his baleful eyes glowing with ferocity. But +he slunk off when he recognized his assailant, allowing the second +dog to run for its life, howling with canine fear. + +Andy went over to the dog that was stretched upon the snow. + +"Guess 'e's done, boss," he said, looking up at Hervey as the latter +came over to his side. "Say, that's about the slickest scrapper round +these parts. Gee-whizz, 'e went fur me like the tail end o' a cyclone +when I took your plug to the barn. It was they curs that kind o' +distracted his attention. Mebbe thar's more wolf nor dog in him. +Mebbe, I sez." + +"Yes, he's a devil-tempered husky," said Hervey. "I'll have to shoot +him one of these days." + +"Wa'al, I do 'lows that it's a mercy 'e ain't got no more'n three +shanks. Mackinaw! but he's handy." + +The four women had watched the scene from the kitchen door. Hervey +came over to where they were standing. + +"I'm sorry, mother," he said. "Neche has killed one of your dogs. He's +a fiend for fighting. I've a good mind to shoot him now." + +"No, don't go for to do that," said his mother. "We oughtn't to have +sent Andy to take your horse. I expect the beast thought he was doing +right." + +"He's a brute. Curse him!" + +Prudence said nothing. Now she moved a little away from the house and +talked to the dog. He was placidly, and with no show of penitence, +lying down and licking a laceration on one of his front legs. He +occasionally shook his great head, and stained the snow with the blood +which dripped from his fierce-looking ears. He paused in his operation +at the sound of the girl's voice, and looked up. Her tone was gentle +and caressing. Hervey suddenly called to her. + +"Don't go near him. He's as treacherous as a dogone Indian." + +"Come back," called out her mother. + +The girl paid no attention. She called again, and patted her blue +apron encouragingly. The animal rose slowly to his feet, looked +dubiously in her direction, then, without any display of enthusiasm, +came slowly towards her. His limp added to his wicked aspect, but he +came, nor did he stop until his head was resting against her dress, +and her hand was caressing his great back. The huge creature seemed to +appreciate the girl's attitude, for he made no attempt to move away. +It is probable that this was the first caress the dog had ever known +in all his savage life. + +Hervey looked on and scratched his beard thoughtfully, but he said +nothing more. Mrs. Malling went back to the kitchen. Sarah Gurridge +alone had anything to say. + +"Poor creature," she observed, in tones of deep pity. "I wonder how he +lost his foot. Is he always fighting? A poor companion, I should +say." + +Hervey laughed unpleasantly. + +"Oh, he's not so bad. He's savage, and all that But he's a good +friend." + +"Ah, and a deadly enemy. I suppose he's very fond of you. He lets you +kick him," she added significantly. + +"I hardly know--and I must say I don't much care--what his feelings +are towards me. Yes, he lets me kick him." Then, after a pause, "But +I think he really hates me." + +And Hervey turned abruptly and went back into the kitchen. He +preferred the more pleasant atmosphere of his mother's adulation to +the serious reflections of Sarah Gurridge. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE PROGRESSIVE EUCHRE PARTY + + +The Mallings always had a good gathering at their card parties. Such +form of entertainment and dances were the chief winter amusement of +these prairie-bred folks. A twenty-mile drive in a box-sleigh, clad in +furs, buried beneath heavy fur robes, and reclining on a deep bedding +of sweet-smelling hay, in lieu of seats, made the journey as +comfortable to such people as would the more luxurious brougham to the +wealthy citizen of civilization. There was little thought of display +amongst the farmers of Manitoba. When they went to a party their +primary object was enjoyment, and they generally contrived to obtain +their desire at these gatherings. Journeys were chiefly taken in +parties; and the amount of snugness obtained in the bottom of a +box-sleigh would be surprising to those without such experience. There +was nothing _blasé_ about the simple country folk. A hard day's work +was nothing to them. They would follow it up by an evening's enjoyment +with the keenest appreciation; and they knew how to revel with the +best. + +The first to arrive at Loon Dyke Farm were the Furrers. Daisy, +Fortune, and Rachel, three girls of round proportions, all dressed +alike, and of age ranging in the region of twenty. They spoke well and +frequently; and their dancing eyes and ready laugh indicated spirits +at concert pitch. These three were great friends of Prudence, and were +loud in their admiration of her. Peter Furrer, their brother, was with +them; he was a red-faced boy of about seventeen, a giant of flesh, and +a pigmy of intellect--outside of farming operations. Mrs. Furrer +accompanied the party as chaperon--for even in the West chaperons are +recognized as useful adjuncts, and, besides, enjoyment is not always a +question of age. + +Following closely on the heels of the Furrers came old Gleichen and +his two sons, Tim and Harry. Gleichen was a well-to-do "mixed" +farmer--a widower who was looking out for a partner as staid and +robust as himself. His two sons were less of the prairie than their +father, by reason of an education at St. John's University in +Winnipeg. Harry was an aspirant to Holy Orders, and already had charge +of a mission in the small neighbouring settlement of Lakeville. Tim +acted as foreman to his father's farm; a boy of enterprising ideas, +and who never hesitated to advocate to his steady-going parent the +advantage of devoting himself to stock-raising. + +Others arrived in quick succession; a truly agricultural gathering. +Amongst the latest of the early arrivals were the Ganthorns; mother, +son, and daughter, pretentious folk of considerable means, and +recently imported from the Old Country. + +By half-past seven everybody had arrived with the exception of George +Iredale and Leslie Grey. The fun began from the very first. + +The dining-table had disappeared from the parlour, as had the rugs +from the floor, and somehow a layer of white wax, like an incipient +fall of snow, lay invitingly on the bare white pine boarding. And, +too, it seemed only natural that the moment she came into the room +ready for the fray, Daisy Furrer should make a rush for the ancient +piano, and tinkle out with fair execution the strains of an old waltz. +Her efforts broke up any sign of constraint; everybody knew everybody +else, so they danced. This was the beginning; cards would come later. + +They could all dance, and right well, too. Faces devoid of the +absorbing properties of powder quickly shone with the exercise; +complexions innocent of all trace of pigments and the toilet arts +glowed with a healthy hue and beamed with perfect happiness. There +could be no doubt that Prudence and her mother knew their world as +well as any hostess could wish. And it was all so easy; no formality, +few punctilios to observe--just free-and-easy good-fellowship. + +Mrs. Malling emerged from the region of the kitchen. She was a little +heated with her exertions, and a stray wisp or two of grey hair +escaping from beneath her quaint lace cap testified to her culinary +exertions. She had been stooping at her ovens regardless of her +appearance. She found her daughter standing beside the door of the +parlour engaged in a desultory conversation with Peter Furrer. +Prudence hailed her mother with an air of relief, and the monumental +Peter moved heavily away. + +"Oh, mother dear, it's too bad of you," exclaimed the girl, gazing at +her critically. "And after all the trouble I took with your cap! Look +at it now. It's all on one side, and your hair is sticking out +like--like--Timothy grass. Stand still while I fix it." + +The girl's deft fingers soon arranged her mother afresh, the old lady +protesting all the while, but submitting patiently to the operation. + +"There, there; you children think of nothing but pushing and patting +and tittivating. La, but one 'ud think I was going to sit down at +table with a King or a Minister of the Church. Nobody's going to look +at me, child--until the victuals come on. Besides, what does it matter +with neighbours? Look at old Gleichen over there, bowing and scraping +to Mrs. Ganthorn; one would think it wasn't his way to do nothing +else. He's less elaborate when he's trailing after his plough. My, but +I can't abide such pretending. Guess some folks think women are blind. +And where's George Iredale? I don't see him. Now there'd be some +excuse for his doing the grand. He's a gentleman born and bred." + +"Ah, yes, mother, we all know your weakness for Mr. Iredale," replied +Prudence, with an affectionate finishing pat to the grey old head. +"But then he just wouldn't 'bow and scrape,' as you call it, to Mrs. +Ganthorn or anybody else. He's not the sort for that kind of thing. He +hasn't come yet. I'll bring him to you at once, dear, when he +arrives," she finished up with a laugh. + +"You're a saucy hussy," her mother returned, with a chuckle. Then: +"But I'd have taken to him as a son. Girls never learn anything +now-a-days until they're married to the man they fancy." + +"Nothing like personal experience, lady mother. Did you ask any one's +advice when you married father?" + +"That I didn't for sure, child, but it was different. Your father, +Silas, wasn't the man to be put off with any notions. He just said he +was going to marry me--and he did marry me. I was all sort of swept +off my feet." + +"But still you chose him yourself," persisted the girl, laughing. + +"Well, maybe I did, child, maybe I did." + +"And _you_ didn't regret your own choice, mother; so why should I?" + +"Ah, it was different with me--quite different. Ah, there's some one +coming in." Hephzibah Malling turned as she spoke, glad to be able to +change the subject. The front door was opened, and a fur-clad figure +entered. "It's George Iredale," she went on, as the man removed his +cap and displayed a crown of dark-brown hair, tinged here and there +with grey, a broad high forehead and a pair of serious eyes. + +"Come along, George." Mrs. Malling bustled forward, followed by her +daughter. "I thought you couldn't get, maybe. The folks are all +dancing and dallying. You must come into the kitchen first and have +something warm. It's a cold night." + +"I meant to come earlier," replied the new arrival, in a deep, quiet +voice. "Unfortunately, just as I was going to start, word was brought +in to me that a suspicious-looking horseman was hovering round. You +see my place is so isolated that any arrival has to be inquired into. +There are so many horse-thieves and other dangerous characters about +that I have to be careful. Well, I rode out to ascertain who the +intruder was, but I lost him. That delayed me. How are you, and +Prudence too? Why, it's ages since I've seen either of you. Yes, +something hot is always welcome after a long winter's ride." + +George Iredale had divested himself of his coat and over-shoes, and +now followed his hostess to the kitchen. He was a man of considerable +inches, being little short of six feet in height. He was powerfully +built, although his clothes disguised the fact to a large extent, and +his height made him look even slim. He had a strong, keen, plain face +that was very large-featured, and would undoubtedly have been +downright ugly but for an expression of kindly patience, not unmixed +with a suspicion of amused tolerance. It was the face of a man in whom +women like to place confidence, and with whom men never attempt to +take liberties. He had, too, a charm of manner unusual in men living +the rough life of the prairie. + +The tinkling strains of the waltz had ceased, and Prudence went back +to the parlour. She felt that it was high time to set the tables for +"progressive euchre." It was past eight and Grey had not turned up. +She began to think he intended carrying out his threat of staying +away. Well, if he chose to do so he could. She wouldn't ask him to do +otherwise. She felt unhappy about him in spite of her brave thoughts. + +Her announcement of cards was hailed with delight, and the guests +departed with a rush to search the house for a sufficient number of +small tables to cope with the requirements of the game. + +In the kitchen George Iredale was slowly sipping a steaming glass of +rye whisky toddy. He was seated in a rigid, high-backed arm-chair, +well away from the huge cook-stove, at which Hephzibah Malling was +presiding. Many kettles and saucepans stood steaming upon the black +iron top, and the occasional opening and shutting of the ovens told of +dainties which needed the old farm-wife's most watchful care. Mrs. +Malling's occupation, however, did not interrupt her flow of +conversation. George Iredale was a great favourite of hers. + +"He's like his poor father in some things," she was saying, as she +lifted a batch of small biscuits out of the oven and moved towards the +ice-box with them. "He never squealed about his misfortune to me. Not +one letter did I get asking for help. He's proud, is Hervey. And now I +don't know, I'm sure." + +She paused with her hand on the open door of the refrigerator and +looked back into the man's face. + +"Did he tell you any details of his failure? What was responsible for +it?" Iredale asked, poising his glass on one of the unyielding arms of +his chair. + +"No, that he didn't, not even that," in a tone of pride. "He just +said he'd failed. That he was 'broke.' He's too knocked up with +travelling--he's come from Winnipeg right here--or you should hear it +from his own lips. He never blamed no one." + +"Ah--and you are going to help him, Mrs. Malling. What are you going +to do?" + +"That's where I'm fixed some. Money he can have--all he wants." + +Iredale shook his head gravely. + +"Bad policy, Mrs. Malling--until you know all the facts." + +"What, my own flesh and blood, too? Well, there----" + +"I mean nothing derogatory to your boy, believe me," interrupted +Iredale, as he noted the heightened colour of face and the angry +sparkle that flashed in the good dame's eyes "I simply mean that it is +useless to throw good money after bad. Fruit farming is a lottery in +which the prizes go to those who take the most tickets. In other +words, it is a question of acreage. A small man may lose his crop +through blight, drought, a hundred causes. The larger man has a better +chance by reason of the extent of his crop. Now I should take it, you +could do better for your son by obtaining all the facts, sorting them +out and then deciding what to do. My experience prompts me to suggest +another business. Why not the farm?" + +All signs of resentment had left Mrs. Malling's face. She deposited +her biscuits and returned to the stove, standing before her guest with +her hands buried deep in her apron pockets and a delighted smile on +her face. + +"That's just what I thought at once," she said. "You're real smart, +George; why not the farm? I says that to myself right off. I couldn't +do better, I know, but there's drawbacks. Yes, drawbacks. Hervey isn't +much for the petticoats--meaning his own folks. He's not one to play +second fiddle, so to speak. Now while I live the farm is mine, and I +learned my business from one who could teach me--my Silas. Now I'd +make Hervey my foreman and give him a good wage. He'd have all he +wants, but he'd have to be _my_ foreman." The old lady shook her head +dubiously. + +"And you think Hervey wouldn't accept a subordinate position?" + +"He's that proud. Just like my poor Silas," murmured the mother. + +"Then he's a fool. But you try him," Iredale said dryly. + +"Do you think he might?" + +"You never can tell." + +"I wonder now if you--yes, I'll ask him." + +"Offer it to him, you mean." George Iredale smiled quietly. + +"Yes, offer it to him," the old lady corrected herself thoughtfully. +"But I'm forgetting my stewing oysters, and Mistress Prudence will get +going on--for she had them sent up all the way from St. John's--if +they're burned." She turned to one of the kettles and began stirring +at once. "Hervey is coming back after he's been to Niagara, and I'll +talk to him then. I wish you could have seen him before he went, but +he's abed." + +"Never mind, there's time enough when he comes back. Ah, Prudence, how +is the euchre 'progressing'?" Iredale turned as the girl came +hurriedly in. + +"Oh, here you are. You two gossiping as usual. Mother, it's too bad of +you to rob me of my guests. But I came to ask for more lemonade." + +"Dip it out of yonder kettle, child. And you can take George off at +once. It's high time he got at the cards." + +"He's too late, the game is nearly over. He'll have to sit out with +Leslie. He, also, was too late. Come along, Mr. Iredale,"--she had +filled the lemonade pitcher,--"and, mother, when shall you be ready +with the supper? Remember, you've got to come and give out the prizes +to the winners before that." + +"Also to the losers," put in Iredale. + +"Yes, they must all have prizes. What time, mother?" + +"In an hour. And be off, the pair of you. Mary! Mary!" the old lady +called out, moving towards the summer kitchen. "Bustle about, girl, +and count down the plates from the dresser. La, look at you," she went +on, as the hired girl came running in; "where's the cap I gave you? +And for good-a-mussey's sake go and scrub your hands. My, but girls be +jades." + +Iredale and Prudence went off to the parlour. The game was nearly +over, and the guests were laughing and chattering noisily. The +excitement was intense. Leslie Grey sat aloof. He was engaged in a +pretence at conversation with Sarah Gurridge, but, to judge by the +expression of his face, his temper was still sulky or his thoughts +were far away. The moment Iredale entered the room Grey's face lit up +with something like interest. + +Prudence, accompanying the rancher, was quick to observe the change. +She had been prepared for something of the sort, although the reason +she assigned to his interest was very wide of the mark. She smiled to +herself as she turned to reply to something Iredale had just said. + +The evening passed in boisterous jollification. And after the prizes +had been awarded supper was served. A solid supper, just such a repast +as these people could and did appreciate. The delicacies Mrs. Malling +offered to her guests were something to be remembered. She spared no +pains, and even her enemies, if she had any, which is doubtful, +admitted that she could cook; such an admission amongst the prairie +folks was a testimonial of the highest order. + +After supper George Iredale, whose quiet manner and serious face +debarred him from the revels of the younger men, withdrew to a small +work-room which was usually set aside on these occasions for the use +of those who desired to smoke. Leslie Grey, who had been talking to +Mrs. Malling, and who had been watching for this opportunity, quickly +followed. + +He fondly believed that Iredale came to the farm to thrust his +attentions upon Prudence. This was exasperating enough in itself, but +when Grey, in his righteous indignation, thought of other matters +pertaining to the owner of Lonely Ranch, his indignation rose to +boiling pitch. He meant to have it out with him to-night. + +Iredale had already adjusted himself into a comfortable chintz-covered +arm-chair when Grey arrived upon the scene. A great briar pipe hung +from the corner of his strong, decided mouth, and he was smoking +thoughtfully. + +Grey moved briskly to another chair and flung himself into its depths +with little regard for its age. Nor did he attempt to smoke. His mind +was too active and disturbed for anything so calm and soothing. + +His first words indicated the condition of his mind. + +"Kicking up a racket in there," he said jerkily, indicating the +parlour. "Can't stand such a noise when I've got a lot to think +about." + +"No." Iredale nodded his head and spoke without removing the pipe from +his mouth. + +"We are to be married to-morrow week--Prudence and I." + +"So I've been told. I congratulate you." + +Iredale looked at his companion with grave eyes. They were quite alone +in the room. He had met Grey frequently and had learned to understand +his ways and to know his bull-headed methods. Now he quietly waited. +He had a shrewd suspicion that the man had something unpleasant to +say. Unconsciously his teeth closed tighter upon his pipe. + +Grey raised his eyebrows. + +"Thanks. I hardly expected it." + +"And why not?" Iredale was smiling, his grey eyes had a curious look +in them--something between quizzical amusement and surprise. + +"Oh, I don't know," the other retorted with a shrug. "There is no +telling how some men will take these things." + +Iredale removed his pipe, and pressed the ash down with his little +finger. The operation required the momentary lowering of his eyes from +his companion's face. + +"I don't think I understand you." + +Grey laughed unpleasantly. + +"There's not much need of comprehension. If two men run after the same +girl and one succeeds where the other fails, the successful suitor +doesn't usually expect congratulations from his unfortunate rival." + +"Supposing such to be the case in point," Iredale replied quietly, but +with an ominous lowering of his eyelids. "Mark you, I only say +'supposing.' I admit nothing--to you. The less successful man may +surely be honest enough, and man enough, to wish his rival well. I +have known such cases among--men." + +Grey twisted himself round in his chair and assumed a truculent +attitude. + +"Notwithstanding the fact that the rival in question never loses an +opportunity of seeking out the particular girl, and continuing his +attentions after she is engaged to the other? That may be the way +among--men. But not honest men." + +The expression of Iredale's face remained quite calm. Only his +eyes--keen, direct-gazing eyes--lit up with an angry sparkle. He drew +a little more rapidly at his pipe, perhaps, but he spoke quietly +still. He quite understood that Grey intended forcing a quarrel upon +him. + +"I shall not pretend to misunderstand you, Grey. Your manner puts that +out of the question. You are unwarrantably accusing me of a most +ungentlemanly proceeding. Such an accusation being made by any +one--what shall I say?--more responsible than you, I should take +considerable notice of; as it is, it is hardly worth my consideration. +You are at best a blunderer. I should pause before I replied had I the +misfortune to be you, and try to recollect where you are. If you wish +to quarrel there is time and place for so doing." + +Iredale's words stung Leslie Grey to the quick. His irresponsible +temper fairly jumped within him, his eyes danced with rage, and he +could scarcely find words to express himself. + +"You may sneer as much as you like," he at length blurted out, "but +you cannot deny that your visits to this house are paid with the +object of addressing my affianced wife. You are right when you +describe such conduct as ungentlemanly. You are no gentleman! But I do +not suppose that the man who owns Lonely Ranch will feel the sting of +being considered a--a--cad or anything else." + +"Stop!" Iredale was roused, and there was no mistaking the set of his +square jaw and the compression between his brows. "You have gone a +step too far. You shall apologize or----" + +"Stop--eh? You may well demand that I should--stop, Mr. George +Iredale. Were I to go on you would have a distinctly bad time of it. +But my present consideration is not with the concerns of Lonely Ranch, +but only with your visits here, which shall cease from to-day out. And +as for apologizing for anything I have said, I'll see you damned +first." + +There was a pause; a breathless pause. The two men confronted each +other, both held calm by a strength which a moment ago would have +seemed impossible in at least one of them. + +Grey's face worked painfully with suppressed excitement, but he +gripped himself. George Iredale was calm under the effort of swift +thought. He was the first to break the silence, and he did so in a +voice well modulated and under perfect control. But the mouthpiece of +his pipe was nearly bitten through. + +"Now I shall be glad if you will go on. You apparently have further +charges to make against me. I hardly know whether I am in the presence +of a madman or a fool. One or the other, I am sure. You may as well +make your charges at once. You will certainly answer for all you have +already said, so make the list of your accusations complete +before----" + +"You fool!" hissed Grey, goaded to the last extremity of patience. His +headlong nature could not long endure restraint. Now his words came +with a blind rush. + +"Do you think I'd speak without being sure of my ground? Do you think, +because other men who have occupied the position which is mine at +Ainsley have been blind, that I am? Lonely Ranch; a fitting title for +your place," with a sneer. "Lonely! in neighbourhood, yes, but not as +regards its owner. You are wealthy, probably the wealthiest man in the +province of Manitoba; why, that alone should have been sufficient to +set the hounds of the law on your trail. I know the secret of Lonely +Ranch. I have watched day after day the notice you have inserted in +the _Free Press_--'Yellow booming--slump in Grey.' Nor have I rested +until I discovered your secret. I shall make no charge here beyond +what I have said, but----" + +He suddenly broke off, awakening from his blind rage to the fact of +what he was doing. His mouth shut like a trap, and beads of +perspiration broke out upon his forehead. His eyes lowered before the +ironical gaze of his companion. Thus he sat for a moment a prey to +futile regrets. His anger had undone him. The sound of a short laugh +fell upon his ears, and, as though drawn by a magnet, his eyes were +once more turned on the face of the rancher. + +"I was not sure which it was," said Iredale dryly; "whether you were a +fool or a madman. Now I know. I had hoped that it was madness. There +is hope for a madman, but none for a fool. Thank you, Grey, for the +information you have supplied me with. Your folly has defeated your +ends. Remember this. You will never be able to use the 'Secret'--as +you are pleased to call it--of Lonely Ranch. I will take good care of +that. And now, as I hear sounds of people running up-stairs, we will +postpone further discussion. This interview has been prolonged +sufficiently--more than sufficiently for you." + +Iredale rose from his chair; to all appearance he was quite +undisturbed. Grey's condition was exactly the reverse. + +He, too, rose from his seat. There was a sound of some one approaching +the door. Grey stepped up to his companion and put his mouth close to +his ear. + +"Don't forget that you cannot conceal the traces that are round +your--ranch. Traces which are unmistakable to those who have an +inkling of the truth." + +"No, but I can take steps which will effectually nullify the exertions +you have been put to. Remember you said I was wealthy. I am tired of +your stupid long-winded talk." + +Iredale turned away with a movement of disgust and irritation just as +the door opened and Prudence came in. + +"Ah, here you are, you two. I have been wondering where you were all +this time. Do you know the people are going home?" + +The girl ceased speaking abruptly and looked keenly at the two men +before her. Iredale was smiling; Grey was gazing down at the stove, +and apparently not listening to her. + +Prudence saw that something was wrong, but she had no suspicion of the +truth. She wondered; then she delivered a message she had brought and +dismissed Iredale. + +"Mother wants to see you, Mr. Iredale; something about Hervey." + +"I will go to her at once." And the owner of Lonely Ranch passed out +of the room. + +The moment the door closed behind him the girl turned anxiously to her +lover. + +"What is it, Leslie dear? You are not angry with me still?" + +The man laughed mirthlessly. + +"Angry? No, child. I wonder if I--no, better not. It's time to be off. +Give me a kiss, and I'll say good-night." + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +LESLIE GREY FULFILS HIS DESTINY + + +It was early morning. Early even for the staff of the Rodney House +Hotel. And Leslie Grey was about to breakfast. The solitary waitress +the hotel boasted was laying the tables for the eight-o'clock meal. +The room had not yet assumed the spick-and-span appearance which it +would wear later on. There was a suggestion of last night's supper +about the atmosphere; and the girl, too, who moved swiftly here and +there arranging the tables, was still clad in her early morning, +frowsy print dress, and her hair showed signs of having been hastily +adjusted without the aid of a looking-glass. A sight of her suggested +an abrupt rising at the latest possible moment. + +From the kitchen beyond a savoury odour of steak and coffee penetrated +the green baize swing-door which stood at one end of the room. + +"Is that steak nearly ready?" asked Grey irritably, as the girl +flicked some crumbs from the opposite end of his table on to the +floor, with that deft flourish of a dirty napkin which waitresses +usually obtain. + +She paused in her work, and her hand went up consciously to the screws +of paper which adorned her front hair. + +"Yessir, it'll be along right now." + +Then she continued to flick the table in other directions. + +"I ordered breakfast for six o'clock. This is the slackest place I +ever knew. I shall talk to Morton and see if things can't be altered. +Just go and rouse that cook up. I've got to make Leonville before +two." + +The girl gave a final angry flick at an imaginary crumb and flounced +off in the direction of the kitchen. The next moment her shrill voice +was heard addressing the cook. + +"Mr. Grey wants his breakfast--sharp, Molly. Dish it up. If it ain't +done it's his look-out. There's no pleasing some folks. I s'pose Mr. +Chillingwood'll be along d'rectly. Better put something on for him or +there'll be a row. What's that--steak? That ain't no good for Mr. +Robb. He wants pork chops. He never eats anything else for breakfast. +Says he's used to pork." + +The girl returned to the breakfast room bearing Grey's steak and some +potatoes. Coffee followed quickly, and the officer attacked his +victuals hungrily. Then Robb Chillingwood appeared. + +Leslie Grey was about to rate the girl for her remarks to the cook, +but Robb interrupted him. + +"Well, how does the bridegroom feel?" he asked cheerily. + +"Shut up!" + +"What's the matter? Cranky on your wedding morning?" pursued the town +clerk irrepressibly. + +"I wish to goodness you'd keep your mouth shut. Why don't you go and +proclaim my affairs from the steps of your beastly Town Hall?" Grey +glanced meaningly in the direction of the waitress standing in +open-mouthed astonishment beside one of the tables. + +Robb laughed and his eyes twinkled mischievously. He turned sharply on +the girl. + +"Why, didn't you know that Mr. Grey was going to be married to-day?" +he asked, with assumed solemnity. "Well, I'm blessed," as the girl +shook her head and giggled. "You neglect your duty, Nellie, my girl. +What are you here for but to 'sling hash' and learn all the gossip and +scandal concerning the boarders? Yes, Mr. Grey is going to get married +to-day, and I--I am to be his best man. Now be off, and fetch my +'mutton'--which is pork." + +The girl ran off to do as she was bid, and also to convey the news to +her friends in the kitchen. Robb sat down beside his companion and +chuckled softly as he gazed at Grey's ill-humoured face, and listened +to the shrieks of laughter which were borne on the atmosphere of +cooking from beyond the baize door. + +Grey choked down his indignation. For once he understood that protest +would not serve him. Everything about his marriage had been kept quiet +in Ainsley up till now, not because there was any need for it, but +Robb had acceded to his expressed wishes. The latter, however, felt +himself in no way bound to keep silence on this, the eventful day. +Robb attacked some toast as a preliminary, while the other devoured +his steak. Then Grey looked up from his plate. His face had cleared; +his ill-humour had been replaced by a look of keen earnestness. + +"It's a beastly nuisance that this is my wedding day," he began. "Yes, +I mean it," as Robb looked up in horrified astonishment. "I don't +mean anything derogatory to anybody. I just state an obvious fact. You +would understand if you knew all." + +"But, damn it, man, you ought to be ashamed of yourself for saying +such a thing. You are marrying one of the best and sweetest girls in +Southern Manitoba, and yet--why, it's enough to choke a man off his +feed." Chillingwood was angry. + +"Don't be a fool. You haven't many brains, I know, but use the few you +possess now, and listen to me. A week ago, yes; a week hence, yes. But +for the next three days I have some dangerous work on hand that must +be done. Work of my department." + +"Ah, dirty work, I suppose, or there'd be no 'must' or 'danger' about +it." + +Grey shrugged. + +"Call it what you like. Since you've left the service I notice you +look at things differently," he said. "Anyway, it's good enough for me +to be determined to see it through in spite of my wedding. Damn it, +there's always some obstacle or other cropping up at inopportune +moments in my life. However--I wish I knew whether I could still trust +you to do something for me. It would simplify matters considerably." + +Robb looked serious. He might not be possessed of many brains, as Grey +had suggested--although Grey's opinions were generally warped--but he +thought well before he replied. And when he spoke he showed +considerable decision and foresight. + +"You can trust me all right enough if the matter is clean and honest. +I'll do nothing dirty for you or anybody else. I've seen too much." + +"Oh, it's clean enough. I don't dirty my hands with dishonest +dealings. I simply do my duty." + +"But your sense of duty is an exaggerated one--peculiar. I notice that +it takes the form of any practices which you consider will advance +your personal interests." + +"It so happens that my 'personal interests' are synonymous with the +interests of those I serve. But all I require is the delivery of a +letter in Winnipeg, at a certain time on a given date. I can't trust +the post for a very particular reason, and as for the telegraph, that +wouldn't answer my purpose. I could employ a messenger, but that would +not do either--a disinterested messenger could be got at. You, I know, +couldn't be--er--influenced. If you fail me, then I must do it myself, +which means that I must leave my bride shortly after the ceremony +to-day, and not return to her until Friday, more than two days hence. +That's how the matter stands. I will pay all your expenses and give +you a substantial present to boot. Just for delivering a letter to the +chief of police in Winnipeg. I will go and write it at once if you +consent." + +Robb shook his head doubtfully. + +"I must know more than that. First, I must know, in confidence of +course, the object of that letter. And, secondly, who is to be the +victim of your machinations. Without these particulars you can count +me 'out.' I'll be no party to anything I might afterwards have cause +to regret." + +"That settles it then," replied Grey resentfully. "I can't reveal the +name of my 'victim,' as you so graphically put it. You happen to know +him, I believe, and are on a friendly footing with him." He finished +up with a callous laugh. + +Robb's eyes shone wickedly. + +"By Jove, Grey, you've sunk pretty low in your efforts to regain your +lost position. I always knew that you hadn't a particle of feeling in +your whole body for any one but yourself, but I didn't think you'd +treat me to a taste of your rotten ways. Were it not for the sake of +Alice Gordon's chum, the girl you are going to marry, I wouldn't be +your best man. You have become utterly impossible, and, after to-day's +event, I wash my hands of you. Damn it, you're a skunk!" + +Grey laughed loudly, but there was no mirth in his hilarity. It was a +heartless, nervous laugh. + +"Easy, Robb, don't get on your high horse," he said presently. Then he +became silent, and a sigh escaped him. "I had to make the suggestion," +he went on, after a while. "You are the only man I dared to trust. +Confound it, if you must have it, I'm sorry!" The apology came out +with a jerk; it seemed to have been literally wrung from him. "Try and +forget it, Robb," he went on, more quietly, "we've known each other +for so many years." + +Robb was slightly mollified, but he was not likely to forget his +companion's proposition. He changed the subject. + +"Talking of Winnipeg, you know I was up there on business the other +day. I had a bit of a shock while I was walking about the depôt +waiting for the train to start." + +"Oh." Grey was not paying much attention; he was absorbed in his own +thoughts. + +"Yes," Robb went on. "You remember Mr. Zachary Smith?" + +His companion looked up with a violent start. + +"Well, I guess. What of him? I'm not likely to forget him easily. +There is just one desire I have in life which dwarfs all others to +insignificance, and that is to stand face to face with Mr. Zachary +Smith," Grey finished up significantly. + +"Ah! So I should suppose," Robb went on. "Those are my feelings to +a nicety. But I didn't quite realize my desire, and, besides, I +wasn't sure, anyhow. A man appeared, just for one moment, at the +booking-office door as I happened to pass it. He stared at me, and I +caught his eye. Then he beat a retreat before I had called his face +to mind--you see, his appearance was quite changed. A moment later +I remembered him, or thought I did, and gave chase. But I had lost +him, couldn't discover a trace of him, and nearly lost the train into +the bargain. Mind, I am not positive of the fellow's identity, but +I'd gamble a few dollars on the matter, anyway." + +"Lord! I'd have missed fifty trains rather than have lost sight of +him. Just our luck," Grey exclaimed violently. + +"Well, if he's in the district, we'll come across him again. Perhaps +you will have the next chance." Robb pushed his chair back. + +"I hope so." + +"It was he, right enough," Robb went on meditatively, his cheery face +puckered into an expression of perplexity. "He was well dressed, too, +in the garb of an ordinary citizen, and looked quite clean and +respectable. His face had filled out; but it was his eyes that fixed +me. You remember those two great, deep-sunken, cow-eyes of his----" +Robb broke off as he saw Grey start. "Why, what's up?" + +Grey shook himself; then he gazed straight before him. Nor did he heed +his companion's question. A strongly-marked pucker appeared between +his eyebrows, and a look of uncertainty was upon his face. Robb again +urged him. + +"You haven't seen him?" he asked. + +"I don't know," replied Grey. + +"What do you mean?" + +"I have just remembered something. I came across a--stranger the other +day. He was wrapped in furs, and I could only see his eyes. But those +eyes were distinctly familiar--'cow'-eyes, I think you said. I was +struck with their appearance at the time, but couldn't just realize +where I had seen eyes like 'em before." Then he went on reflectively: +"But no, it couldn't have been he. Ah----" He broke off and glanced in +the direction of the window as the jangle of sleigh-bells sounded +outside. "Here's our cutter. Come on." + +Robb rose from his seat and brushed the crumbs from his trousers. +There came the sound of voices from the other side of the door. + +"Some of the boys," said Robb, with a meaning smile. "It's early for +'em." + +"I believe this is your doing," said Grey sulkily. + +Robb nodded in the direction of the window. "You've got a team. This +is no 'one-horsed' affair." + +The door opened suddenly and two men entered. + +"Oh, here he is," said one, Charlie Trellis, the postmaster, with a +laugh. "Congratulate you, Grey, my friend. Double harness, eh? Tame +you down, my boy. Good thing, marriage--for taming a man." + +"You're not looking your best," said the other, Jack Broad, the +telegraph operator. "Why, man, you look as though you were going to +your own funeral. Buck up! Come and have a 'Collins'; brace you up for +the ordeal." + +"Go to the devil, both of you," said Grey ungraciously. "I don't swill +eye-openers all day like you, Jack Broad. Got something else to do." + +"So it seems. But cheer up, man," replied Broad imperturbably, "it's +not as bad as having a tooth drawn." + +"Nor half as unpleasant as a funeral," put in Trellis, with a grin. + +Grey turned to Robb. + +"Come on," he said abruptly. "Let's get. I shall say things in a +minute if I stay here." + +"That 'ud be something new for you," called out Broad, as the two men +left the room. + +The door closed on his remark and he turned to his companion. + +"I'm sorry for the poor girl," he went on. "The most can-tankerous pig +I ever ran up against--is Grey." + +"Yes," agreed the other; "I can't think how a decent fellow like +Robb Chillingwood can chum up with him. He's a surly clown--only +fit for such countries as the Yukon, where he comes from. He's not +particularly clever either. Yes," turning to the waitress, "the +usual. How would you like to be the bride?" + +The girl shook her head. + +"No, thanks. I like candy." + +"Ah, not vinegar." + +"Nor--nor--pigs." + +Broad turned to the grey-headed postmaster with a loud guffaw. + +"She seems to have sized Grey up pretty slick." + +Outside in the hall the two men donned their furs and over-shoes. +Fortunately for Grey's peace of mind there was no one else about. The +bar-tender was sweeping the office out, but he did not pause in his +work. Outside the front door the livery-stable man was holding the +horses. Grey took his seat to drive, and wrapped the robes well about +him. It was a bitterly cold morning. Robb was just about to climb in +beside him when a ginger-headed man clad in a pea-jacket came running +from the direction of the Town Hall. He waved one arm vigorously, +clutching in his hand a piece of paper. Robb saw him first. + +"Something for me, as sure as a gun. Hold on, Grey," he said. "It's +Sutton, the sheriff. I wonder what's up?" + +The ginger-headed man came up breathlessly. + +"Thought I was going to miss you, Chillingwood. A message from the +Mayor. 'Doc' Ridley sends word that the United States marshal has got +that horse-thief, Le Mar, over the other side. You'll have to make out +the papers for bringing him over. I've got to go and fetch him at +once." + +"But, hang it, man, I can't do them now," exclaimed Robb. + +"He's on leave of absence," put in Grey. + +"Can't be helped. I'm sorry," said the sheriff. + +"It's business, you know. Besides, it won't take you more than an +hour. I must get across to Verdon before noon or it'll be too late to +get the papers 'backed' there. Come on, man; you can get another +cutter and follow Grey up in an hour. You won't lose much time." + +"Yes, and who's going to pay the damage?" said Robb, relinquishing his +hold on the cutter's rail. + +The sheriff shrugged his shoulders. + +"You'll have to stay," he said conclusively. + +"I suppose so. Grey, I'm sorry." + +"Oh, it doesn't matter," replied Grey coldly. "It's not your fault. +Well, good-bye. Don't bother to follow me up." + +"Damn!" ejaculated the good-hearted Robb, as the cutter moved away. + +"Going to get married, ain't he?" said the sheriff shortly, as Grey +departed. + +"Yes." And the two men walked off in the direction of Chillingwood's +office. + +And Grey drove off to his wedding alone. He was denied even the +support of the only man who, out of sheer good-heartedness, would have +accompanied him. The life of a man is more surely influenced by the +peculiarities of his own disposition than anything else. When a man +takes to himself a wife, it is naturally a time for the well-wishes of +his friends. This man set out alone. Not one God-speed went with him. +And yet he was not disturbed by the lack of sympathy. He looked at +life from an uncommon standpoint, measuring its scope for the +attainment of happiness by his own capacity for doing, not by any +association with his kind. He was one of those men who need no +friendship from his fellows, preferring rather to be without it. Thus +he considered he was freer to follow his own methods of life. Position +was his goal--position in the walk of life he had chosen. Could he not +attain this solely by his own exertions, then he would do without it. + +The crisp, morning air smote his cheeks with the sting of a whip-lash +as he drove down the bush-lined trail which led from the Rodney House +to the railway depôt. It was necessary for him to cross the track at +this point before he would find himself upon the prairie road to the +Leonville school-house, at which place the ceremony was to be +performed. The "gush" of the horses' nostrils sounded refreshingly in +his ears as the animals fairly danced over the smooth, icy trail. The +sleigh-bells jangled with a confused clashing of sounds in response to +the gait of the eager beasts. But Grey thought little of these things. +He thought little of anything just now but his intended despoiling of +the owner of Lonely Ranch. All other matters were quite subsidiary to +his one chief object. + +Once out in the open, the horses settled down into their long-distance +stride. Here the trail was not so good as in the precincts of the +village. The snow was deeper and softer. Now and then the horses' +hoofs would break through the frozen crust and sink well above the +fetlocks into the under-snow. + +Now the thick bush, which surrounded the village, gave place to a +sparser covering of scattered bluffs, and the grey-white aspect of the +country became apparent. The trail was well marked as far as the eye +could reach--two great furrows ploughed by the passage of horses and +the runners of the farmers' heavy "double-bobs." Besides this, the +colour was different. There was a strong suggestion of earthiness +about the trail which was not to be observed upon the rolling +snow-fields of the surrounding prairie. + +The air was still though keen, and the morning sun had already risen +well above the mist of grey clouds which still hovered above the +eastern horizon. There was a striking solemnity over all. It was the +morning promise of a fair day, and soon the dazzling sunshine upon the +snow would become blinding to eyes unused to the winter prairie. + +But Grey was no tenderfoot. Such things had no terrors for him. His +half-closed eyes faced the glare of light defiantly. It is only the +inexperienced who gaze across the snow-bound earth, at such a time, +with wide-open eyes. + +The bluffs became scarcer as mile after mile was covered by the long, +raking strides of the hardy horses. Occasionally Grey was forced to +pull off the trail into the deep snow to allow the heavy-laden +hay-rack of some farmer to pass, or a box-sleigh, weighted down with +sacks of grain, toiling on its way to the Ainsley elevator. These +inconveniences were the rule of the road, the lighter always giving +way to the heavier conveyance. + +Ten miles from Ainsley and the wide open sea of snow proclaimed the +prairie in its due form. Not a tree in sight, not a rock, not a hill +to break the awful monotony. Just one vast rolling expanse of snow +gleaming beneath the dazzling rays of a now warming sun. A hungry +coyote and his mate prowling in search of food at a distance of +half-a-mile looked large by reason of their isolation. An occasional +covey of prairie chicken, noisily winging their way to a far-distant +bluff, might well be startling both to horses and driver. A dark +ribbon-like flight of ducks or geese, high up in the heavens, speeding +from the south to be early in the field when the sodden prairie should +be open, was something to distract the attention of even the most +pre-occupied. But Grey was oblivious to everything except the trail +beneath him, the gait of his team, and his scheme for advancement. The +sun mounted higher, and the time passed rapidly to the traveller. And, +as the record of mileage rose, the face of the snow-clad earth began +again to change its appearance. The undulations of the prairie assumed +vaster proportions. The waves rose to the size of hills, and the +gentle hollows sank deeper until they declined into gaping valleys. +Here and there trees and small clumps of leafless bush dotted the +view. A house or two, with barn looming largely in the rear, and +spidery fencing, stretching in rectangular directions, suggested +homesteads; the barking of dogs--life. These signs of habitation +continued, and became now more frequent, and now, again, more rare. +The hills increased in size and the bush thickened. Noon saw the +traveller in an "up-and-down" country intersected by icebound streams +and snow-laden hollows. The timber became more heavy, great pine trees +dominating the more stunted growths, and darkening the outlook by +reason of their more generous vegetation. On the eastern extremity of +this belt of country stood the school-house of Leonville; beyond that +the undulating prairie again on to Loon Dyke Farm. + +Leslie Grey looked at his watch; the hands indicated a near approach +to the hour of one. He had yet three miles to go to reach his +destination. He had crossed a small creek. A culvert bridged it, but +the snow upon either side of the trail was so deep in the hollow that +no indication of the woodwork was visible. It was in such places as +these that a watchful care was needed. The smallest divergence from +the beaten track would have precipitated the team and cutter into a +snow-drift from which it would have been impossible to extricate it +without a smash-up. Once safely across this he allowed the horses to +climb the opposite ascent leisurely. They had done well--he had +covered the distance in less than six hours. + +The hill was a mass of redolent pinewoods. It was as though the +gradual densifying of this belt of woodland country had culminated +upon the hill. The brooding gloom of the forest was profound. The dark +green foliage of the pines seemed black by contrast with the snow, and +gazing in amongst the leafless lower trunks was like peering into a +world of dayless night The horses walked with ears pricked and wistful +eyes alertly gazing. The darkness of their surroundings seemed to have +conveyed something of its mysterious dread to their sensitive nerves. +Tired they might be, but they were ready to shy at each rustle of the +heavy branches, as some stray breath of air bent them lazily and +forced from them a creaking protest. + +As the traveller neared the summit the trail narrowed down until a +hand outstretched from the conveyance could almost have brushed the +tree-trunks. + +Grey's eyes were upon his horses and his thoughts were miles away. +Ahead of him gaped the opening in the trees which marked the brow of +the hill against the skyline. He had traversed the road many times on +his way to Loon Dyke Farm and knew every foot of it. It had no +beauties for him. These profound woods conveyed nothing to his +unimpressionable mind; not even danger, for fear was quite foreign to +his nature. This feeling of security was more the result of his own +lofty opinion of himself, and the contempt in which he held all +law-breakers, rather than any high moral tone he possessed. Whatever +his faults, fear was a word which found no place in his vocabulary. A +nervous or imaginative man might have conjured weird fancies from the +gloom with which he found himself surrounded at this point. But Leslie +Grey was differently constituted. + +Now, as he neared the summit of the hill, he leant slightly forward +and gathered up the lines which he had allowed to lie slack upon his +horses' backs. A resounding "chirrup" and the weary beasts strained at +their neck-yoke. Something moving in amongst the trees attracted their +attention. Their snorting nostrils were suddenly thrown up in startled +attention. The off-side horse jumped sideways against its companion, +and the sleigh was within an ace of fouling the trees. By a great +effort Grey pulled the animals back to the trail and his whip fell +heavily across their backs. Then he looked up to discover the cause of +their fright. A dark figure, a man clad in a black sheepskin coat, +stood like a statue between two trees. + +His right arm was raised and his hand gripped a levelled pistol. For +one brief instant Grey surveyed the apparition, and he scarcely +realized his position. Then a sharp report rang out, ear-piercing in +the grim silence, and his hands went up to his chest and his eyes +closed. + +The next moment the eyes, dull, almost unseeing, opened again, he +swayed forward as though in great pain, then with an effort he flung +himself backwards, settling himself against the unyielding back of the +seat; his face looked drawn and grey, nor did he attempt to regain the +reins which had dropped from his hands. The horses, unrestrained, +broke into a headlong gallop; fright urged them on and they raced down +the trail, keeping to the beaten track with their wonted instinct, +even although mad with fear. A moment later and the sleigh disappeared +over the brow of the hill. + +All became silent again, except for the confused, distant jangle of +the sleigh-bells on the horses' backs. The dark figure moved out on to +the trail, and stood gazing after the sleigh. For a full minute he +stood thus. Then he turned again and swiftly became lost in the black +depths whence he had so mysteriously appeared. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +GREY'S LAST WORDS + + +Rigid, hideous, stands the Leonville school-house sharply outlined +against the sky, upon the summit of a high, rising ground. It stands +quite alone as though in proud distinction for its classic vocation. +Its flat, uninteresting sides; its staring windows; its high-pitched +roof of warped shingles; its weather-boarding, innocent of paint; its +general air of neglect; these things strike one forcibly in that +region of Nature's carefully-finished handiwork. + +However, its cheerless aspect was for the moment rendered less +apparent than usual by reason of many people gathered about the +storm-porch, and the number and variety of farmers' sleighs grouped +about the two tying-posts which stood by the roadside in front of it +An unbroken level of smooth prairie footed one side of the hill, +whilst at the back of the house stretched miles of broken, hilly +woodland. + +The wedding party had arrived from Loon Dyke Farm. Hephzibah Malling +had gathered her friends together, and all had driven over for the +happy event amidst the wildest enthusiasm and excited anticipation. +Each girl, clad in her brightest colours beneath a sober outer +covering of fur, was accompanied by her attendant swain, the latter +well oiled about the hair and well bronzed about the face, and glowing +as an after-effect of the liberal use of soap and water. A wedding was +no common occurrence, and, in consequence, demanded special mark of +appreciation. No work would be done that day by any of those who +attended the function. + +But the enthusiasm of the moment had died out at the first breath of +serious talk--talk inspired by the non-appearance of the bridegroom. +The hour of the ceremony was close at hand and still he had not +arrived. He should have been the first upon the scene. The elders were +agitated, the younger folk hopeful and full of excuses for the belated +groom, the Minister fingered his great silver timepiece nervously. He +had driven over from Lakeville, at much inconvenience to himself, to +officiate at the launching of his old friend's daughter upon the high +seas of wedded life. + +The older ladies had rallied to Mrs. Malling's side. The younger +people held aloof. There was an ominous grouping and eager whispering, +and eyes were turned searchingly upon the grey trail which stretched +winding away towards the western horizon. + +The Rev. Charles Danvers, the Methodist minister of Lakeville, was the +central figure of the situation, and at whom the elder ladies fired +their comments and suggestions. There could be no doubt, from the +nature and tone of these remarks, that a panic was spreading. + +"It's quite too bad, you know," said Mrs. Covill, an iron-grey haired +lady of decided presence and possessing a hooked nose. "I can't +understand it in a man of Mr. Grey's business-like ways. Now he's +just the sort of man whom I should have expected would have been here +at least an hour before it was necessary." + +"It is just his sort that fail on these occasions," put in Mrs. +Ganthorn pessimistically. "He's just too full of business for my +fancy. What is the time now, Mr. Danvers?" + +"On the stroke of the half-hour," replied the parson, with a gloomy +look. "My eyesight is not very good; can I see anything on the trail, +or is that black object a bush?" + +"Bush," said some one shortly. + +"Ah," ejaculated the parson. Then he turned to Mrs. Malling, who stood +beside him staring down the trail with unblinking eyes. Her lips were +pursed and twitching nervously. "There can have been no mistake about +the time, I suppose?" + +"Mistake? No," retorted the good lady with irritation. "Folks don't +make no mistake about the hour of their wedding. Not the bridegroom, +anyway. No, it's an accident, that's what it is, as sure as my name's +Hephzibah Malling. And that's what comes of his staying at Ainsley +when he ought to have been hereabouts. To think of a man driving forty +odd miles to get married. La' sakes! It just makes me mad with him. +There's my girl there most ready to cry her eyes out on her wedding +morning, and small blame to her neither. It's a shame, and I'm not the +one to be likely to forget to tell him so when he comes along. If he +were my man he'd better his ways, I know." + +No one replied to the old lady's heated complaint. They all too +cordially agreed with her to defend the recalcitrant bridegroom. Mr. +Danvers drew out his watch for at least the twentieth time. + +"Five minutes overdue," he murmured. Then aloud and in a judicial +tone: "We must allow him some margin. But, as you say, it certainly +was a mistake his remaining at Ainsley." + +"Mistake--mistake, indeed," Mrs. Malling retorted, with all the scorn +she was capable of. "He's that fool-headed that he won't listen to no +reason. Why couldn't he have stopped at the farm? Propriety-- +fiddlesticks!" Her face was flushed and her brow ominously puckered; +she folded her fat hands with no uncertain grip across the slight +frontal hollow which answered her purpose for a waist. Her anger was +chiefly based upon alarm, and that alarm was not alone for her +daughter. She was anxious for the man himself, and her anxiety found +vent in that peculiar angry protest which is so little meant by those +who resort to it. The good dame was on pins and needles of nervous +suspense. Had Grey suddenly appeared upon the scene doubtless her +kindly face would have at once wreathed itself into a broad expanse of +smiles. But the moments flew by and still the little group waited for +the coming which was so long delayed. + +Three of the young men approached the agitated mother from the +juvenile gathering. Their faces were solemn. Their own optimism had +given way before the protracted delay. Tim Gleichen and Peter Furrers +came first, Andy, the choreman, brought up the rear. + +"We've been thinking," said Tim, feeling it necessary to explain the +process which had brought them to a certain conclusion, "that maybe we +might just drive down the trail to see if we can see anything of him, +Mrs. Malling. Ye can't just say how things have gone with him. Maybe +he's struck a 'dump' and his sleigh's got smashed up. There's some +tidy drifts to come through, and it's dead easy to get dumped in 'em. +Peter and Andy here have volunteered to go with me." + +"That's real sensible of you, Tim," replied Mrs. Malling, with an air +of relief. She felt quite convinced that an accident had happened. She +turned to the minister. In this matter she considered he was the best +judge. Like many of her neighbours, she looked to the minister as the +best worldly as well as spiritual adviser of his flock. "Like as not +the boys will be able to help him?" she suggested, in a tone of +inquiry. + +"I don't think I should let them go yet," the man of the cloth +replied. "I should give him an hour. It seems to me it will be time +enough then. Ah, here's Mrs. Gurridge," as that lady appeared in the +doorway. "There's no sign of him," he called out in anticipation of +her inquiry. "I hope you are not letting the bride worry too much." + +"It's too dreadful," said Mrs. Ganthorn, as her thoughts reverted to +Prudence waiting in the school-ma'am's sitting-room. + +"Whatever can have happened to him?" + +"That's what's been troubling us this hour and more," snapped the +girl's mother. She was in no humour to be asked silly questions, +however little they were intended to be answered. + +She turned to Sarah. In this trouble the peaceful Sarah would act as +oil on troubled waters. + +Sarah understood her look of inquiry. + +"She's bearing up bravely, Hephzibah. She's not one of the crying +sort. Too much of your Silas in her for that. I've done my best to +console her." + +She did not say that she had propounded several mottos more or less +suitable to the occasion, which had been delivered with great unction +to the disconsolate girl. Prudence had certainly benefited by the good +woman's company, but not in the way Sarah had hoped and believed. It +was the girl's own sense of humour which had helped her. + +Mrs. Malling turned away abruptly. Her red face had grown a shade +paler, and her round, brown eyes were suspiciously watery. But she +gazed steadily down the trail on which all her hopes were set. The +guests stood around in respectful silence. The party which had arrived +so light-heartedly had now become as solemn as though they had come to +attend a funeral. The minister continued to glance at his watch from +time to time. He had probably never in his life so frequently referred +to that faithful companion of his preaching hours. Tim Gleichen and +Peter Furrers and Andy had moved off in the direction of the sleighs. +The others followed Mrs. Malling's example and bent their eyes upon +the vanishing point of the trail. + +Suddenly an ejaculation escaped one of the bystanders. Something +moving had just come into view. All eyes concentrated upon a black +speck which was advancing rapidly in a cloud of ground snow. Hope rose +at a bound to wild, eager delight. The object was a sleigh. And the +speed at which it was coming down the trail told them that it was +bearing the belated bridegroom, who, conscious of his fault, was +endeavouring to make up the lost time. Mrs. Malling's round face shone +again in her relief, and a sigh of content escaped her. Word was sent +at once to the bride, and all was enthusiasm again. Then followed a +terrible shock. Peter Furrer, more long-sighted than the rest, +delivered it in a boorish fashion all his own. + +"Ther' ain't no one aboard of that sleigh," he called out. "Say, them +plugs is just boltin'. Gum, but they be comin' hell-belt-fer-leckshuns." +Every one understood his expression, and faces that a moment before +had been radiant with hope changed their expression with equal +suddenness to doubt, then in a moment to apprehension. + +"You don't say----" Mrs. Malling gasped; it was all she could say. + +"It can't----" The minister got no further, and he fingered his watch +from force of habit. + +"It's----" some one said and broke off. Then followed an excited +murmur. "What's Peter going to do?" + +The young giant had darted off down the trail in the direction of the +approaching sleigh. He lurched heavily over the snow, his ungainly +body rolling to his gait, but he was covering ground in much the same +way that a racing elephant might. His stride carried him along at a +great pace. The onlookers wondered and exclaimed, their gaze +alternating in amazement between the two objects, the oncoming sleigh +and the huge lurching figure of the boy. + +Now the sleigh was near enough for them to note the truth of Peter's +statement. The horses, ungoverned by any guiding hand, were tearing +along at a desperate pace. The cutter bumped and swayed in a +threatening manner; now it was lifted bodily from the trail as its +runners struck the banked sides of the furrows; now it balanced on one +side, hovering between overturning and righting itself, now on the +other; then again it would jerk forward with a rush on to the heels of +the affrighted horses with maddening effect. The poor brutes stretched +themselves wildly to escape from their terror. On they came amidst a +whirl of flying snow, and Peter had halted beside the trail awaiting +them. + +Those who were watching saw the boy move outside the beaten track. +Already the panting of the runaways could be heard by those looking +on. If the animals were not stayed in their mad career they must +inevitably crash into the school-house or collide with the sleighs at +the tying-posts. There was no chance of their leaving the beaten +trail, for they were prairie horses. + +Some of the men, as the realization of this fact dawned upon them, +hurried away to remove their possessions to some more secure position, +but most of them remained gaping at the runaway team. + +Now they saw Peter crouch down, beating the snow under his feet to +give himself a firm footing. Barely fifty yards separated him from the +sleigh. He settled himself into an attitude as though about to spring. +Nearer drew the sleigh. The boy's position was fraught with the +greatest danger. The onlookers held their breath. What did he +contemplate? Peter had methods peculiar to himself, and those who +looked wondered. Nearer--nearer came the horses. A moment more and the +boy was lost in the cloud of snow which rose beneath the horses' +speeding feet. A sigh broke from many of the ladies as they saw him +disappear. Then, next, there came an exclamation of relief as they saw +his bulky figure struggling wildly to draw himself up over the high +back of the sleigh. It was no easy task, but Peter's great strength +availed him. They saw him climb over and stand upon the cushion, then, +for a moment, he looked down as though in doubt. + +At last he leaned forward, and, laying hold of the rail of the +incurved dashboard, he climbed laboriously out on to the setting of +the sleigh's tongue. The flying end of one of the reins was waving +annoyingly beyond his reach. He ventured out further, still holding to +the dashboard, which swayed and bent under the unaccustomed weight. +Suddenly he made a grab and caught the elusive strap and overbalanced +in the effort. He came within an ace of falling, but was saved by +lurching on to the quarters of one of the horses. With a struggle he +recovered himself and regained the sleigh. The rest was the work of a +few seconds. + +Bracing himself, he leant his whole weight on the single rein. The +horses swerved at once, and leaving the trail plunged into the deep +snow. The frantic animals fell, recovered themselves, and floundered +on, then with a great jolt the sleigh turned over. Peter shot clear of +the wreck, but with experience of such capsizes, he clung tenaciously +to the rein. He was dragged a few yards; then, trembling and ready to +start off again at a moment's notice, the jaded beasts stood. + +There was a rush of men to Peter's assistance. The women followed. But +the latter never reached the sleigh. Something clad in the brown fur +of the buffalo was lying beside the trail where the cutter had +overturned. Here they came to a stand, and found themselves gazing +down upon the inanimate form of Leslie Grey. + +It was a number of the younger ladies of the party who reached the +injured man first; the Furrer girls and one of the Miss Covills. They +paused abruptly within a couple of yards of the fur-clad object and +craned forward, gazing down at it with horrified eyes. The next minute +they were thrust aside by the parson. He came, followed by Mrs. +Malling. + +In a moment he had thrown himself upon his knees and was looking into +the pallid face of the prostrate man, and almost unconsciously his +hand pushed itself in through the fastenings of the fur coat. He +withdrew it almost instantly, giving vent to a sharp exclamation. It +was covered with blood. + +"Stand back, please, everybody," he commanded. + +He was obeyed implicitly. But his order came too late. They had seen +the blood upon his hand. + +Miss Ganthorn began to faint and was led away. Other girls looked as +though they might follow suit. Only Hephzibah Malling stood her +ground. Her face was blanched, but her mouth was tightly clenched. She +uttered no sound. All her anger against the prostrate man had +vanished; a world of pity was in her eyes as she silently looked on. + +The parson summoned some of the men. + +"Bear a hand, boys," he said, in a business-like tone which deceived +no one. "We'd better get him into the house." Then, seeing Mrs. +Malling, he went on, "Get Prudence away at once. She must not see." + +The old farm-wife hurried off, and the others gently raised the body +of the unconscious man and bore it towards the house. + +Thus did Leslie Grey attend his wedding. + +The body was taken in by a back way to Sarah Gurridge's bedroom and +laid upon the bed. Tim Gleichen was dispatched at once to Lakeville +for the doctor. Then, dismissing everybody but Harry Gleichen, Mr. +Danvers proceeded to remove the sick man's outer clothing. + +The room was small, the one window infinitely so. A single sunbeam +shone coldly in through the latter and lit up the well-scrubbed bare +floor. There was nothing but the plainest of "fixings" in the +apartment, but they had been set in position by the deft hand of a +woman of taste. The bed on which the unconscious man had been placed +was narrow and hard. Its coverlet was a patchwork affair of depressing +hue. + +Mr. Danvers bent to his work with a full appreciation of the tragedy +which had happened. His face was solemn, and expressive of the most +tender solicitude for the injured man. In a whisper he dispatched his +assistant for warm water and bandages, whilst he unfastened and +removed the fur coat. Inside the clothing was saturated with still +warm blood. The minister's lips tightened as the truth of what had +happened slowly forced itself upon his mind. + +So absorbed was he in his ministrations that he failed to heed the +sound of excited whisperings which came to him from beyond the door. +It was not until the creaking of the hinges had warned him that the +door was ajar, that he looked up from his occupation. At that moment +there was a rustle of silk, the noise of swift footsteps across the +bare boards, and Prudence was at the opposite side of the bed. + +The soft oval of the girl's face was drawn, and deep lines of anxious +thought had broken up the smooth expanse of her forehead. Her eyes +seemed to be straining out of their sockets, and the whites were +bloodshot. She did not speak, but her look displayed an anguish +unspeakable. Her eyes were turned upon the face of the prostrate man; +she did not appear to see the minister. Her look suggested some mute +question, which seemed to pass from her troubled eyes to the silent +figure. Watching her, Danvers understood that, for the present, it +would be dangerous to break the dreadful silence that held her. He +stooped again and drew back the waistcoat and began to cut away the +under-garments from Grey's chest. + +Swiftly as the minister's deft fingers moved about the man's body, his +thoughts travelled faster. He was not a man given to morbid +sentimentality; his calling demanded too much of the practical side of +human nature. He was there to aid his flock, materially as well as +spiritually, but at the moment he felt positively sick in the stomach +with sorrow and pity for the woman who stood like a statue on the +other side of what he knew to be this man's deathbed. He dared not +look over at her again. Instead, he bent his head lower and +concentrated his, mind on the work before him. + +The silence continued, broken only by an occasional heavy gasp of +breath from the girl. The dripping shirt was cut clear of the man's +chest, and the woollen under-shirt was treated in a similar manner. +The exposed flesh was crimson with the blood which was slowly oozing +from a small wound a few inches higher up in the chest than where the +heart was so faintly beating. One glance sufficed to tell the parson +that medical aid would be useless. The wound was through the lungs. + +For a moment he hesitated. His better sense warned him to keep +silence, but pity urged him to speak. Pity swayed him with the +stronger hand. + +"He is alive," he said. And the next moment he regretted his words. + +The tension of the girl's dreadful expression relaxed instantly. It +was as the lifting of a dead weight which had crushed her heart within +her. She had been numbed, paralyzed. Actual suffering had not been +hers, she had experienced a suspension of feeling which had resulted +from the shock. But that suspension was far more dreadful than the +most acute suffering. Her whole soul had asked her senses, "What is +it?" and the waiting for the answer had been to her in the nature of a +blank. + +The minister's low murmured sentence had supplied her with an answer. +"He is alive." The words touched the springs of life within her and a +glad flush swept over her straining nerves. Reason once more resumed +its sway, and thought flowed through her brain in an unchecked torrent +It seemed to Prudence as though some barrier had suddenly shut off +the simple life which had always been hers, and had opened out for her +a fresh existence in which she found herself alone with the still, +broken body of her lover. For one brief instant her lips quivered, and +a faint in-catching of the breath told of the woman, which, at the +first return of feeling, had leapt uppermost in her. But before the +maturity of emotion brought about the breakdown, a calm strength came +to her aid and steadied her nerves and checked the tears which had so +suddenly come into her eyes. Women are like this. At a crisis in +sickness they rise superior to all emotion. When the crisis is past, +whether for good or ill, it is different. + +The water was brought, and the minister set about cleaning the +discoloured flesh, while Prudence looked on in silence. She was very +pale, and her eyes were painfully bright. While her gaze followed the +gentle movements of the minister, her thoughts were running swiftly +over the scenes of her life in which the wounded man had played his +part. She remembered every look of the now closed eyes, and every +expression of his well-loved features. She called to mind his words of +hope, and the carefully-laid plans for his advancement. Nor was there +any taint of his selfishness in her recollection of these things. +Everything about him, to her, was good and true. She loved him with +all the passionate intensity of one who had only just attained to +perfect womanhood. He had been to her something of a hero, by reason +of his headstrong, dominating ways--ways which more often attract the +love of woman in the first flush of her youth than in her maturer, +more experienced years. + +The sponging cleaned the flesh of the ghastly stain, and the small +wound with its blackened rim lay revealed in all its horrid +significance. The girl's eyes fixed themselves on it, and for some +seconds she watched the blood as it welled up to the surface. The +meaning of the puncture forced itself slowly upon her mind, and she +realized that it was no accident which had laid her lover low. Her +eyes remained directed towards the crimson flow, but their expression +had changed, as had the set of her features. A hard, relentless look +had replaced the one of tender pity--a look which indexed a feeling +more strong than any other in the human organism. She was beginning to +understand now that a crime had been committed, and a vengeful hate +for some person unknown possessed her. + +She pointed at the wound, and her voice sounded icily upon the +stillness of the room. + +"That," she said. "They have murdered him." + +"He has been shot." The parson looked up into the girl's face. + +Then followed a pause. Sarah Gurridge and Prudence's mother stole +softly in and approached the bedside. The former carried a tumbler of +brandy in her hand and came to Mr. Danvers's side; Mrs. Malling ranged +herself beside her daughter, but the latter paid no heed to her. + +The farm-wife lifted the girl's hand from the bedpost and caressed it +in loving sympathy. Then she endeavoured to draw her away. + +"Come, child, come with me. You can do no good here." + +Prudence shook her off roughly. Nor did she answer. Her mother did not +renew her attempt. + +All watched while Danvers forced some of the spirit between Grey's +tightly-closed lips and then stood up to note the effect. + +He was actuated by a single thought. He knew that the man was doomed, +but he hoped that consciousness might be restored before the tiny +spark of life burnt itself out. There was something to be said if +human aid could give the dying man the power to say it. Prudence +seemed to understand the minister's motive, for she vaguely nodded her +approval as she saw the spirit administered. + +All waited eagerly for the sign of life which the stimulating +properties of the spirit might reveal. The girl allowed her +thoughts to drift away to the lonely trail over which her lover had +driven. She saw in fancy the crouching assailants firing from the +cover of some wayside bluff. She seemed to hear many shots, to see +the speeding horses, to hear the dull sound of the fatal bullet as +her man was hit. She pictured to herself the assassins, with callous +indifference, as the cutter passed out of view, mounting their horses +and riding away. Her thoughts had turned to the only criminals she +understood--horse-thieves. + +The sign of life which had been so anxiously awaited came at last. It +was apparent in the flicker of the wax-like eyelids; in the faintest +of sighs from between the colourless lips. Danvers bent again over the +dying man and administered more of the spirit It took almost +instantaneous effect. The eyelids half opened and the mouth distinctly +moved. The action was like that of one who is parched with thirst. +Grey gasped painfully, and a strange rattle came from his throat. + +Danvers shook his head as he heard the sound. Prudence, whose eyes had +never left the dying man's face, spoke sharply. She voiced a common +thought "Who did it, Leslie?" + +The minister nodded approval. For a moment his eyes rested admiringly +on the girl's eager face. Her courage astonished him. Then, as he read +her expression aright, his wonder lessened. The gulf is bridged by a +single span at the point of transition from the girl to the woman. He +understood that she had crossed that bridge. + +Grey struggled to speak, but only succeeded in uttering an inarticulate +sound. The minutes dragged. The suspense was dreadful. They all realized +that he was fast sinking, but in every heart was a hope that he would +speak, would say one word which might give some clue to what had +happened. + +The minister applied the rest of the brandy. The dying man's breathing +steadied. The eyes opened wider. Prudence leaned forward. Her whole +soul was in the look she bestowed upon the poor drawn face, and in the +tones of her voice. + +"Leslie, Leslie, speak to me. My poor, poor boy. Tell me, how did it +happen? Who did it?" + +The man gasped in response. He seemed to be making one last great +struggle against the overwhelming weakness which was his. His head +moved and a feeble cough escaped his lips. The girl put her arm under +his head and slightly raised it, and the dying eyes looked into hers. +She could no longer find words to utter; great passionate sobs shook +her slight frame, and scalding tears coursed down her cheeks and fell +upon the dingy coverlet. + +A whistling breath came from between the dying man's parted lips, and +culminated in a hoarse rattling in his throat. Then his body moved +abruptly, and one arm lifted from the elbow-joint, the head half +turned towards the girl, and words distinct, but halting, came from +the working lips. + +"He--he--did--it. _Free--P--Press_. Yell--ow--G----" The last word +died away to a gurgle. A violent fit of coughing seized the dying man, +then it ceased suddenly. His head weighed like lead upon the girl's +supporting hand, and a thin trickle of blood bubbled from the corners +of his mouth. Prudence withdrew her arm from beneath him and replaced +the head upon the pillow. Her tears had ceased to flow now. + +"He is dead," she said with studied calmness, as she straightened +herself up from the bed. + +She moved a step or two away. Then she paused uncertainly and gazed +about her like one dazed. Her mother went towards her, but before she +reached her side Prudence uttered a strange, wild cry and rushed from +the room, tearing wildly at the fastenings of her silk dress as though +to rid herself of the mocking reminder of that awful day. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +LONELY RANCH AT OWL HOOT + + +In spite of the recent tragic events the routine of the daily life at +Loon Dyke Farm was very little interfered with. Just for a few weeks +following upon the death of Leslie Grey the organization of Mrs. +Malling's household had been thrown out of gear. + +The coming of the police and the general scouring of the country for +the murderers of the Customs officer had entailed a "nine days' +wonder" around the countryside, and had helped to disturb the wonted +peace of the farm. But the search did not last long. Horse-thieves do +not wait long in a district, and the experience of the "riders of the +plains" taught them that it would be useless to pursue where there was +no clue to guide them. The search was abandoned after a while, and the +dastardly murder remained an unsolved mystery. + +The shock to Prudence's nervous system had been a terrible one, and a +breakdown, closely bordering upon brain fever, had followed. The +girl's condition had demanded the utmost care, and, in this matter, +Sarah Gurridge had proved herself a loyal friend. Dr. Parash, with +conscientious soundness of judgment, had ordered her removal for a +prolonged sojourn to city life in Toronto; a course which, in spite +of heartbroken appeal on the girl's part, her mother insisted upon +carrying out with Spartan-like resolution. + +"Broken hearts," she had said to Sarah, during a confidential chat +upon the subject, "are only kept from mending by them as talks +sympathy. There isn't nothin' like mixing with folks what's got their +own troubles to worrit over. She'll get all that for sure when she +gets to one o' them cities. Cities is full of purgat'ry," she added +profoundly. "I shall send her down to sister Emma, she's one o' them +hustlin' women that'll never let the child rest a minute." + +And Sarah had approved feelingly. + +So Prudence was safely dispatched eastwards for an indefinite period +before the spring opened. But Hephzibah Malling had yet to realize +that her daughter had suddenly developed from a child, who looked to +her mother's guidance in all the more serious questions of life, into +a woman of strong feelings and opinions. This swift casting off of the +fetters of childhood had been the work of those few passionate moments +at the bedside of her dying lover. + +Prudence had submitted to the sentence which her mother, backed by the +doctor's advice, had passed, and she went away. But in complying with +the order she had performed the last act which childhood's use had +prompted. The period of her absence was indefinite. The fiat demanded +no limitation to her stay with "sister" Emma. She could return when +she elected so to do. Bred in the pure air of the prairie, no city +could claim her for long. And so she returned to the farm against all +opposition within two months of leaving it. + +The spring brought another change to the farm, a change which was as +welcome to the old farm-wife as the opening of the spring itself. +Hervey returned from Niagara, bringing with him the story of the +failure of his mission. True to herself and the advice of Iredale, +Hephzibah made her proposition to her son, with the result that, with +some show of distaste, he accepted the situation, and with his +three-legged companion took up his abode at the farm. + +And so the days lengthened and the summer heat increased; the hay in +the sloughs ripened and filled the air with its refreshing odours; the +black squares of ploughed land were quickly covered with the deepening +carpet of green, succulent grain; the wild currant-bushes flowered, +and the choke-cherries ripened on the laden branches, and the deep +blue vault of the heavens smiled down upon the verdant world. + +George Iredale again became a constant and welcome visitor at the +farm, nor in her leisure did Sarah Gurridge seek relaxation in any +other direction. + +The morning was well advanced. The air was still and very hot. There +was a peaceful drowsiness about the farm buildings and yard which was +only broken by the occasional squeal of the mouching swine routing +amongst any stray garbage their inquisitive eyes happened to light +upon. The upper half of the barn door stood open, and in the cool +shade of the interior could be seen the outline of dark, well-rounded +forms looming between the heel-posts of the stalls which lined the +side walls. An occasional impatient stamp from the heavily-shod hoofs +told of the capacity for annoyance of the ubiquitous fly or +aggravating mosquito, whilst the steady grinding sound which pervaded +the atmosphere within, and the occasional "gush" of distended nostrils +testified to healthy appetites, and noses buried in mangers well +filled with sweet-smelling "Timothy" hay. + +The kitchen doorway was suddenly filled with the ample proportions of +Hephzibah Malling. She moved out into the open. She was carrying a +large pail filled with potato-parings and other fragments of culinary +residuum. A large white sun-bonnet protected her grey head and shaded +her now flaming face from the sun, and her dress, a neat study in +grey, was enveloped in a huge apron. + +She moved out to a position well clear of the buildings and began to +call out in a tone of persuasive encouragement-- + +"Tig--tig--tig! Tig--tig--tig!" + +She repeated her summons several times, then moved on slowly, +continuing to call at intervals. + +The swine gathered with a hungry rush at her heels, and their chorus +of acclamation drowned her familiar cry. Passing down the length of +the barn she reached a cluster of thatched mud hovels. Here she opened +the crazy gate to admit her clamorous flock, and then deposited the +contents of her pail in the trough provided for that purpose. The pigs +fell-to with characteristic avidity, complaining vociferously the +while as only pigs will. + +She stood for a few moments looking down at her noisy charges with +calculating eyes. It was a fine muster of young porkers, and the old +lady was estimating their bacon-yielding capacity. + +Suddenly her reflections were interrupted by the sound of footsteps, +and turning, she saw Hervey crossing the yard in the direction of the +creamery. She saw him disappear down the steps which led to the door, +for the place was in the nature of a dugout She sighed heavily and +moved away from her porkers, and slowly she made her way to the +wash-house. The sight of this man had banished all her feelings of +satisfaction. Her son was a constant trouble to her; a source of grave +worry and anxiety. Her hopes of him had been anything but fulfilled. + +In the meantime Hervey had propped himself against the doorway of the +creamery and was talking to his sister within. The building, like all +dugouts, was long and low; its roof was heavily thatched to protect +the interior from the effects of the sun's rays. Prudence was moving +slowly along the two wide counters which lined the walls from one end +to the other. Each counter was covered with a number of huge +milk-pans, from which the girl was carefully skimming the thick, +yellow cream. She worked methodically; and the rich fat dropped with a +heavy "plonk" into the small pail she carried, in a manner which +testified to the quality of the cream. + +She looked a little paler than usual; the healthy bloom had almost +entirely disappeared from her cheeks, and dark shadows surrounded her +brown eyes. But this was the only sign she displayed of the tragedy +which had come into her young life. The trim figure was unimpaired, +and her wealth of dark hair was as carefully adjusted as usual. Hervey +watched his sister's movements as she passed from pan to pan. + +"Iredale wants me to ride over to Owl Hoot to-day," he said slowly. +"We're going to have an afternoon's 'chicken shoot.' He says the +prairie-chicken round his place are as thick as mosquitoes. He's a +lucky beggar. He seems to have the best of everything. I've scoured +our farm all over and there's not so much as a solitary grey owl to +get a pot at. I hate the place." + +Prudence ceased working and faced him. She scornfully looked him up +and down. At that moment she looked very picturesque with her black +skirt turned up from the bottom and pinned about her waist, displaying +an expanse of light-blue petticoat. Her blouse was a simple thing in +spotless white cotton, with a black ribbon tied about her neck. + +"I think you are very ungrateful, Hervey," she said quietly. "I've +only been home for a few months, and not a day has passed but what +I've heard you grumble about something in connection with your home. +If it isn't the dulness it's the work; if it isn't the work it's your +position of dependence, or the distance from town, or the people +around us. Now you grumble because of the shooting. What do you want? +We've got a section and a half, nearly a thousand acres, under wheat; +we've got everything that money can buy in the way of improvements in +machinery; we've got a home that might fill many a town-bred man with +envy, and a mother who denies us nothing; and yet you aren't +satisfied. What _do_ you want? If things aren't what you like, for +goodness' sake go back to the wilds again, where, according to your +own account, you were happy. Your incessant grumbling makes me +sick." + +"A new departure, sister, eh?" Hervey retorted, smiling unpleasantly. +"I always thought it was everybody's privilege to grumble a bit. +Still, I don't think it's for you to start lecturing me if even it +isn't. Mother's treated me pretty well--in a way. But don't forget +she's only hired me the same as she's hired Andy, or any of the rest +of the hands. Why, I haven't even the same position as you have. I am +paid so many dollars a month, for which I have to do certain work. Let +me tell you this, my girl: if I had stayed on this farm until father +died my position would have been very different. It would all have +been mine now." + +"Well, since you didn't do so, the farm is mother's." Prudence's pale +cheeks had become flushed with anger. "And I think, all things +considered, she has treated you particularly well." + +And she turned back to her work. + +The girl was very angry, and justifiably so. Hervey was lazy. The work +which was his was rarely done unless it happened to fall in with his +plans for the moment. He was thoroughly bearish to both his mother and +herself, and he had already overdrawn the allowance the former had +made him. All this had become very evident to the girl since her +return to the farm, and it cut her to the quick that the peace of her +home should have been so rudely broken. Even Prudence's personal +troubles were quite secondary to the steady grind of Hervey's +ill-manners. + +Curiously enough, after the first passing of the shock of Grey's +death she found herself less stricken than she would have deemed it +possible. There could be no doubt that she had loved the man in her +girlish, adoring fashion. + +She had thought that never again could she return to the place which +had such dread memories for her. Thoughts of the long summer days, and +the dreary, interminable winter, when the distractions of labour are +denied the farmer, had been revolting to her. To live within a few +miles of where that dreadful tragedy had occurred; to live amongst the +surroundings which must ever be reminding her of her dead lover; these +things had made her shrink from the thought of the time when she would +again turn westward to her home. + +But when she had once more taken her place in the daily life at the +farm, it was, at first with a certain feeling of self-disgust, and +later with thankfulness, that she learned that she could face her old +life with perfect equanimity. The childish passion for her dead lover +had died; the shock which had suddenly brought about her own +translation from girlhood to womanhood had also dispelled the +illusions of her girlish first love. + +She confided nothing to anybody, but just went about her daily round +of labours in a quiet, pensive way, striving by every means to lighten +her mother's burden and to help her brother to the path which their +father before them had so diligently trodden. + +Her patience had now given way under the wearing tide of Hervey's +dissatisfaction, and it seemed as though a rupture between them were +imminent. + +"Oh, well enough, if you consider bare duty," Hervey retorted after a +deliberate pause. + +"Bare duty, indeed!" Prudence's two brown eyes flashed round on him in +an instant. "You are the sort of man who should speak of duty, Hervey. +You just ought to be ashamed of yourself. Your mother's debt of duty +towards you was fulfilled on the day you left the farm years ago. She +provided you with liberal capital to start you in life. Now you have +come back, and she welcomes you with open arms--we both do--glad that +you should be with us again. And what return have you made to her for +her goodness? I'll tell you; you have brought her nothing but days of +unhappiness with your lazy, grumbling ways. If you are going to +continue like this, for goodness' sake go away again. She has enough +on her shoulders without being worried by you." + +The man looked for a moment as though he were going to give +expression to some very nasty talk. Prudence had returned to her +pans and so lost the evil glance of his expressive eyes. Then his +look changed to a mocking smile, and when he spoke his words were +decidedly conciliating. + +"I'm afraid I've done something to offend you, Prue. But you shouldn't +use hard words like that I know I'm not much of a farmer, and I am +always a bit irritable when I am not my own master. But don't let's +quarrel. I wanted to talk to you about George Iredale. He seems a +jolly decent fellow--much too good to be kicking his heels about in +such a district as Owl Hoot. He's extremely wealthy, isn't he?" + +The girl felt angry still, but Hervey's tone slightly mollified her. +She answered shortly enough, and the skimming of the milk was not done +with the adeptness which she usually displayed. + +"Rich? Yes, he's one of the richest men in Manitoba. Why?" + +"Oh, I don't know. He seems very interested in--us. He's always over +here. And he never by any chance loses an opportunity of ingratiating +himself with mother. I wonder what his object is?" + +Prudence bent over her work to hide the tell-tale flush which had +spread over her face, and the skimming was once more done with the +utmost care. + +"Mother is very fond of Mr. Iredale," she replied slowly. "He is a +good man, and a good friend. We, as you know, are his nearest +neighbours. Are you going over there to-day?" + +"I think so. Why?" + +"Oh--it doesn't matter--I was going to ask you to ride over to +Lakeville to ask Alice Gordon to come here during the harvesting. +She's staying with the Covills. But it doesn't matter in the least, I +can send one of the boys." + +"Yes, better send one of the boys. I'm going over to Lonely Ranch. I +shall cultivate Iredale; he's the only man I care about round here." + +Prudence had nearly completed her operations and was salting the cream +in the pail. + +"Say, sis, did it ever strike you that Iredale's dead sweet on you?" +Hervey went on coarsely. + +The girl suddenly turned and looked her brother squarely in the face. +Her brow was again flushed, but now with anger. + +"You'll lose the best of your shooting if you don't hurry. You've got +ten miles to ride. And--I am going to lock up." + +Her brother didn't offer to move. + +"Why do you do all this work?" he went on calmly. "Why don't you send +all the milk to the Government creamery? It'll save labour, and you +get market price for the produce." + +"Because Government creameries are for those who can't afford to send +their stuff to market, or make their cheese on their farms." + +"Ah, that's the worst of being large farmers, it entails so much work. +By Jove! Iredale doesn't work like we 'moss-backs' have to, and he's +made a fortune. I guess if there were a Mrs. George Iredale she'd have +a bully time. No cheese- or butter-making, eh, sis?" And, with a grin, +Hervey turned on his heel, and, passing up the steps, walked away +towards the barn. + +Prudence waited until her brother had disappeared within the stables; +then she locked up. As she turned from the door she heard her mother's +voice calling. + +"Girl--girl, where are you?" + +"Here I am, mother dear, at the creamery." + +Mrs. Malling trundled round the corner of the house. + +"Prudence, there's young Peter Furrer come over, and I haven't time to +stop and gossip with him. Like as not he don't want to talk to a body +like me, anyway. Just drop that skirt o' yours, girl, and go and see +him. A nice time o' day to come a-courtin'. He'll be a-follerin' you +to the grain fields when we're harvesting." + +Prudence smiled. + +"Never mind, mother. He's come at an opportune moment. I want a +messenger to go over to Lakeville. He'll do. I'm sending word to Alice +Gordon. I want her to come here for the harvesting. Alice must get +very sick of living at Ainsley, in spite of the fact of her beau +living there. I've a good mind to tell her to bring him out here. +Shan't be long, dear; I'll join you directly. Where are you? In the +wash-house?" + +The girl ran off, letting her skirt fall as she went The mother passed +on to the wash-house, muttering to herself as she went. + +"La, if he were only like her. But there, the Lord ordains, and them +as brings their offspring into the world must abide the racket. But it +goes hard with a man about the house who idles. Mussy-a-me, he ain't +like his poor father. And I'm not goin' to give him no extra dollars +to fling around in Winnipeg. He's too fond of loose company." + +The old lady continued to mutter audibly until she reached the +wash-house door, where she disappeared just as the object of her +thoughts led his horse out of the barn, jumped on its back, and rode +away. + +It was noon when Hervey reached Owl Hoot. He had been there several +times lately, sometimes at George Iredale's invitation, but generally +at his own. He had his own particular reasons for cultivating the +owner of Lonely Ranch, and those reasons he kept carefully to himself. +This unworthy son had only been at Loon Dyke Farm for little more than +four months, and during that brief period he had plainly shown what +manner of man he was. + +Even the doting affection of his mother had not blinded that simple +soul to his shortcomings. Each month since his coming he had steadily +overdrawn his allowance to no inconsiderable extent. His frequent +visits to Winnipeg had always ended in his return home with pockets +empty, and an accumulation of debts, of which he said nothing, left +behind him. Then came the inevitable request for money, generally +backed up by some plausible excuse, and Hephzibah's cheque-book was +always forthcoming on these occasions. But though, hitherto, she had +not failed him, he saw by her manner that the time was not far distant +when her sweet old face would become curiously set, and the comely +mouth would shut tight, and the cheque-book would remain locked in her +wardrobe, while he poured his flimsy excuses on stone-deaf ears. + +He understood his mother. She would do much, perhaps far too much for +her children, but she would not allow herself to be preyed upon; she +was too keen a business woman for that. Besides, his accumulation of +debts was now so great that all he was able to bleed her for would be +but a drop in the ocean. In Winnipeg he posed as the owner of Loon +Dyke Farm, and as such his credit was extensive. But now there were +clamourings for settlements, and Hervey knew that gaming debts and +hotel bills must be met in due course. Tradesmen can wait, they have +redress from owners of property, but the others have no such means of +repaying themselves, therefore they must be paid if he wished to +remain in the district. Now he meant to raise what he required from +Iredale. He had recognized the fact that Iredale was in love with +Prudence, nor was he slow to appreciate the possibilities which this +matter suggested as a money-raising means. Yes, Hervey intended that +Iredale should pay for the privilege of enjoying his sister's society. +Money he must have, and that at once. + +It was a wild, desolate region which he rode through on his way to +Lonely Ranch. No one, finding themselves suddenly dropped into the +midst of those wood-covered crags and clean-cut ravines, the +boulder-strewn, grassless land, would have dreamed that they were +within half-a-dozen miles of the fertile prairie-lands of Canada. It +was like a slum hidden away in the heart of a fashionable city. The +country round the mysterious Lake of the Woods is something utterly +apart from the rest of the Canadian world, and partakes much of the +nature of the Badlands of Dakota. It is tucked away in the extreme +south-eastern corner of Manitoba, and the international boundary runs +right through the heart of it. + +Lonely Ranch was situated in an abrupt hollow, and was entirely lost +to view in a mammoth growth of pinewoods. Years ago a settlement had +existed in this region, but what the nature of that settlement it +was now impossible to tell. Local tradition held that, at some +far-distant period, the place had been occupied by a camp of +half-breed "bad-men" who worked their evil trade upon the south +side of the American border, and sought security in the shelter of +this perfect hiding-place. Be that as it may, it was now the abode +of George Iredale, rancher. He had built for himself a splendid house +of hewn logs, and his outbuildings--many of them the restored +houses of the early settlers--and corrals formed a ranch of very +large dimensions. + +And it was all hidden away in black woods which defied the keenest +observation of the passer-by. And the hollow was approached by a +circuitous road which entered the cutting at its northern end. Any +other mode of ingress was impossible for any beast of burden. + +As Hervey entered the valley and became lost to view in the sombre +woods, he was greeted by the woeful cry of a screech-owl. So sudden +and unexpected was the ear-piercing cry that both horse and rider +started. The horse threw up its head and snorted, and stood for an +instant trembling with apprehension. Hervey looked about him keenly. +He could see nothing but the crowd of leafless tree-trunks, and a bed +of dry pine-cones which covered the surrounding earth. The owl was +probably hidden in the hollow of some dead tree, for there were many +about. He pressed his horse forward. The animal moved cautiously, +dancing along in its nervous apprehension. + +Presently another cry split the air. Again some owl had protested at +his intrusion. + +So suddenly did the cry come that Hervey felt a slight superstitious +quiver pass down his back, but he rode on. He had nearly a mile of the +valley to travel before he came to the house, and, during the journey, +seven times came the hideous screech of the owls. Now he began to +understand why this place was called "Owl Hoot." + +It was with a feeling of relief that he at length saw the ranch +through the trees, and he greeted Iredale, who was standing in his +doorway when he dismounted, with genuine pleasure. + +"Well," he said, after shaking his host by the hand, "another mile of +this d----d valley and I should have turned tail and fled back to the +open. Why, you must have a regular colony of owls in the place. Man, I +never heard such weird cries in my life. How is it that I haven't +heard them before when I came here?" + +Iredale took his visitor's horse. He was dressed in moleskin. +Underneath his loose, dun-coloured vest he wore a soft shirt, and in +place of a linen collar he had a red bandana tied about his neck. His +headgear was a Stetson hat. In this garb he looked much more burly and +powerful than in the tweeds he usually wore when visiting at the farm. +His strong, patient face was lit by a quiet smile. He was a man whose +eyes, and the expression of his features, never betrayed his thoughts. +A keen observer would have noticed this at once, but to such people as +he encountered he merely appeared a kindly man who was not much given +to talking. + +"Colony of owls, eh?" he said, leading the horse in the direction of +the barn. "Those cries you have heard are what this cheerful place +takes its name from. It only needs one cry to set the whole valley +ringing with them. Had not the first creature seen you approach you +might have reached your destination without hearing one disturbing +sound. As a rule, in the daytime, they are not heard, but at night no +one can enter these woods without the echoes being aroused. When they +begin to shriek there is no sleep for any one in my house." + +"So I should say. Well, never mind them now, we have other matters on +hand. What coverts are we going to shoot over first?" + +Hervey had followed his host to the stable. A strange-looking little +creature came from the obscurity within. He was an undersized man with +a small face, which seemed somehow to have shrivelled up like a dead +leaf. He had a pair of the smallest eyes Hervey had ever seen, and not +a vestige of hair on his face. His head was covered with a crown of +bristly grey hair that seemed to grow in patches, and his feet were +both turned in one direction--to the right. + +"Take this plug and give him a rub down, Chintz," said Iredale. "When +he's cool, water and feed him. Mr. Malling won't need him until about +eight o'clock." + +Then he turned towards the house. + +"He don't waste words," observed Hervey, indicating the man, who had +silently disappeared into the stable, taking the horse with him. + +"No; he's dumb," replied Iredale. "He's my head boy." + +"Boy?" + +"Yes. Sixty-two." + +The two men passed into Iredale's sitting-room. It was plainly but +comfortably furnished in a typical bachelor manner. There were more +signs of the owner's sporting propensities in the room than anything +else, the walls being arranged with gun-racks, fishing-tackle, and +trophies of the chase. + +"We'll draw the bush on the other side of the Front Hill, otherwise +known as the 'Haunted Hill,'" said Iredale, pointing to a gun-rack. +"Select your weapon. I should take a mixed bore--ten and twelve. We +may need both. There are some geese in a swamp over that way. The +cartridges are in the bookcase; help yourself to a good supply, and +one of those haversacks." + +Hervey did as his host suggested. + +"Why 'Haunted Hill'?" he asked curiously. + +Iredale shrugged. + +"By reason of a little graveyard on the side of it. Evidently where +the early settlers buried their dead. It is a local name given, I +suppose, by the prairie folk of your neighbourhood. Come on." + +The two men set out. Nor did they return until six o'clock. Their +shoot was productive of a splendid bag--prairie chicken and geese. +Both men were excellent shots. Iredale was perhaps the better of the +two, at least his bag numbered two brace more than that of his +companion; but then, as Hervey told himself, he was using a strange +gun, whilst Iredale was using the weapon he most favoured. Supper was +prepared by the time they returned to the house. Iredale, healthily +hungry and calmly contented, sat down to the meal; Hervey, famished by +his unusual exercise, joined him in the loudest of good spirits. + +Towards the close of the meal, when the whisky-and-water Hervey +had liberally primed himself with had had due effect, he broached +the subject that was ever uppermost in his thoughts. He began +expansively-- + +"You know, George,"--he had already adopted the familiarity, and +Iredale had not troubled to show disapproval, probably he remembered +the relationship between this man and Prudence,--"I'm sick of +farming. It's too monotonous. Not only that; so long as mother lives I +am little better than a hired man. Of course she's very good," he went +on, as he noted a sudden lowering of his companion's eyelids; "does no +end for me, and all that sort of thing; but my salary goes nowhere +with a man who has--well--who has hitherto had considerable resources. +It's no easy thing under the circumstances to keep my expenses down. +It seems such nonsense, when one comes to think of it, that I, who +will eventually own the farm, subject, of course, to some provision +for Prue, have to put up with a trifling allowance doled out to me +every month; it's really monstrous. Who ever heard of a fellow living +on one hundred dollars a month! That's what I'm getting. Why, I owe +more than five months' wages at the Northern Union Hotel in Winnipeg. +It can't be done; that's all about it." + +Iredale looked over at the dark face opposite him. Nor could he help +drawing a comparison between the man and the two ladies who owned him, +one as brother, the other as son. How utterly unlike them he was in +every way. There was not the smallest resemblance in mind, face, or +figure. His thoughts reverted to Silas Malling, and here they paused. +Here was the resemblance of outward form; and he wondered what +unfathomed depths had lain in the nature of the old farmer which could +have communicated themselves in such developed form to the son. It was +inconceivable that this indolent, selfish spendthrift could have +inherited his nature from Silas Malling. No; he felt sure that some +former ancestor must have been responsible for it. He understood the +drift of Hervey's words in a twinkling. He had experienced this sort +of thing before from other men. Now he did not discourage it. + +"A hundred a month on the prairie should be a princely--er--wage," he +said in his grave way. "Of course it might be different in a city." + +"It is," said Hervey decidedly. "I don't know, I'm sure," he went on, +after a moment's pause. "I suppose I must weather through somehow." + +He looked across at Iredale in such a definitely meaning way that the +latter had no hesitation in speaking plainly. He knew it was money, +and this was Prudence's brother. + +"Got into a--mess?" he suggested encouragingly. + +Hervey felt that he had an easy victim, but he smoked pensively for a +moment before he spoke, keeping his great eyes turned well down upon +the table-cover. + +"Um--I lost a lot of money at poker the last time I was in the city. I +was in an awful streak of bad luck; could do nothing right. Generally +it's the other way about. Now they're pressing me to redeem the +I.O.U.s. When they owe me I notice they're not so eager about it." + +"That's bad; I'm sorry to hear it." Iredale's eyes were smiling, +whilst in their depths there was the faintest suspicion of irony. He +was in no way imposed upon by the breadth of the fabrication. It was +the old story. He, too, lit his pipe and leant back in his chair. "I +hope the amount is not too overwhelming. If I can--er--be----" + +Hervey interrupted him eagerly. He brought his hand down heavily upon +the table. + +"By Jove! you are a good sort, George. If you could--just a loan, of +course--you see I can offer you security on my certain inheritance of +the farm----" + +But Iredale had no wish to hear anything about his future possibilities +of inheritance. He interrupted him sharply, and his tone was unusually +icy. + +"Tut--tut, man. Never mind about that. In spite of your need of money, +I hope it will be many a year before your mother leaves our farming +world." + +"I trust so," murmured Hervey, without enthusiasm. + +"How much will appease your creditors?" + +Iredale spoke with such indifference about the amount that Hervey +promptly decided to double the sum he originally intended to ask for. + +"Five thousand dollars," he said, with some show of diffidence, but +with eyes that gazed hungrily towards this man who treated the loaning +of a large amount in such a careless manner. + +Iredale offered no comment. He merely rose from his seat, and opening +a drawer in his bookcase, produced a cheque-book and a pen and ink. He +made out a cheque for the amount named, and passed it across the +table. His only remark was-- + +"Your luck may change. Pay me when you like. No, don't bother about a +receipt." + +Hervey seized upon the piece of paper. He was almost too staggered to +tender his thanks. Iredale in his quiet way was watching, nor was any +movement on his companion's part lost to his observant eyes. He had +"sized" this man up, from the soles of his boots to the crown of his +head, and his contempt for him was profound. But he gave no sign. His +cordiality was apparently perfect. The five thousand dollars were +nothing to him, and he felt that the giving of that cheque might save +those at Loon Dyke Farm from a world of anxiety and trouble. Somehow +behind that impassive face he may have had some thoughts of the coming +of a future time when he would be able to deal with this man's mode of +life with that firmness which only relationship could entitle him +to--when he could personally relieve Hephzibah of the responsibility +and wearing anxiety of her worthless son's doings. In the meantime, +like the seafaring man, he would just "stand by." + +"I can't thank you enough, George," said Hervey at last. "You have got +me out of an awkward situation. If I can do you a good turn, I will." +Iredale detected a meaning emphasis in the last remark which he +resented. "Some day," the man went on; "but there--I will say no +more." + +"No, I shouldn't say anything. These things happen in the course of a +lifetime, and one mustn't say too much about them." The two men then +smoked on in silence. + +Presently Hervey rose to go. It was nearly eight o'clock. + +"Well," said Iredale, as he prepared to bid his guest good-bye, "we +have had a good afternoon's sport. Now you know my coverts you must +come over again. Come whenever you like. If I am unable to go with +you, you are welcome to shoot over the land by yourself. There are +some grand antelope about the place." + +"Thanks. I shall certainly come again. And--well, when are you coming +over to us again? I can't offer you any shooting." + +"Don't trouble," smiled Iredale. + +Hervey saw the "boy" Chintz leading his horse round. + +"You might tell your mother," the rancher went on, "that I'll come +to-morrow to read over that fencing contract she spoke about for +her." + +Hervey leered round upon him. + +"Will it do if I tell Prue instead?" + +"Certainly not." Iredale's face was quite expressionless at that +moment. "You will please do as I ask." + +Hervey gulped down his chagrin; but his eyes were alight with the +anger from which his lips refrained. He mounted his horse. + +"Well, good-bye, George," he said, with a great display of cordiality. +"I hope those owls of yours will permit me to ride in peace." + +"I have no doubt they will," replied Iredale, with an inscrutable +smile. "Good-bye." + +Hervey rode away. The man he had left remained standing at his front +door. The horseman half turned in his saddle as the bush closed about +him. + +"Curse the man for his d----d superiority," he muttered. "I suppose he +thinks I am blind. Well, Mr. Iredale, we've made a pleasant start from +my point of view. If you intend to marry Prudence you'll have to pay +the piper. Guess I'm that piper. It's money I want, and it's money +you'll have to pay." + +The mysterious owner of Lonely Ranch was thinking deeply as he watched +his guest depart. + +"I believe he's the greatest scoundrel I have ever come across," he +said to himself. "Money? Why, he'd sell his soul for it, or I'm no +judge of men of his kidney, and, worse luck, I know his sort well +enough. I wonder what made me do it? Not friendship. Prudence? No, not +exactly. And yet--I don't know. I think I'd sooner have him on my side +than against me." Then he turned his eyes towards the corrals and +outbuildings which were dotted about amongst the trees, and finally +they settled upon a little clearing on the side of Front Hill. It was +a graveyard of the early settlers. "Yes, I must break away from it +all--and as soon as possible. I have said so for many a year, but the +fascination of it has held me. If I hope to ever marry Prudence I must +give it up. I must not--dare not let her discover the truth. The +child's goodness drives me to desperation. Yes--it shall all go." + +His gaze wandered in the direction Hervey had taken, and a troubled +look came into his calm eyes. A moment later he turned suddenly with a +shiver and passed into the house. Somehow his thoughts were very +gloomy. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE GRAVEYARD AT OWL HOOT + + +Prudence and Alice Gordon surveyed the wild scene that suddenly opened +out before them. They had drawn their horses up to a standstill on the +brow of no inconsiderable hill, and beyond stretched a panorama of +strikingly impressive beauty. Nature in one of her wildest moments, +verdant and profound, was revealed. + +Alice was a pretty girl, rather ordinary, and ever ready for laughter, +which helped to conceal an undercurrent of serious thought. She was +an old pupil of Sarah Gurridge's, and consequently Prudence's +school-friend. But Alice lived in Ainsley, where, report had it, she +was "keeping company" with Robb Chillingwood, and now the two girls +only met when Alice visited the farm at such seasons of the year as +the present. + +"Do you think it will be safe to go further?" asked Alice, in a tone +of awestruck amazement. "You say you are sure of the way. Would it not +be better to turn off here and make for Lonely Ranch, and seek +Chintz's guidance? There is time enough, and it is so easy to get +lost." + +The girls had set out to visit Lonely Ranch, to enjoy a ramble and a +sort of picnic in the surrounding woods. Iredale was away on business, +and the two friends, availing themselves of the opportunity, were +taking a day off from the duties of the farm. They had started with +the intention of riding over and leaving their horses with Iredale's +man, Chintz, and then proceeding on foot. At the last moment Prudence +had changed her mind and decided on a visit to the great Lake of the +Woods, which was two miles further on to the south-west of the ranch. +They carried their provisions in their saddle-bags, and had made up +their minds to find some suitable break in the woods on the shore of +the lake where they could tether their horses and idle the afternoon +away. + +Instead of turning into the valley of Owl Hoot they had crossed the +mouth of it, and were now at the summit of its eastern slope, gazing +out upon the mysteries of the almost uninhabited regions beyond. + +"Of course it's safe, you silly," said Prudence. "Why, suppose we were +to lose ourselves, that old mare you are riding would take you home +straight as the crow flies. Besides, I have no fancy for that +ferret-faced Chintz becoming one of our party. We could never talk +freely in front of him." + +"All right, then," said Alice, with a sigh. "You are leader of this +expedition. Don't the woods look gloomy? And look out beyond. There +seems to be no end to them. Shall we stop and have dinner here, and +ride on afterwards?" + +"Certainly not, madam," Prudence said briskly. "No shirking; besides, +we want water to make our tea. There's none here." + +Prudence understood her friend's fears, which were not without +reason. It was a simple thing to get lost in such a forest. But +anyway, as she had said, the old prairie horses they were riding would +carry them home should they mistake the road. There was really no +danger. + +It was a gorgeous day. The sun was shining with unabated splendour; as +yet it wanted an hour to noon. The brilliant daylight was somehow +different here to what it was on the prairie. The fierce sunlight +poured down upon an unbroken carpet of dull green, which seemed to +have in it a tinge of the blackness of the heavy tree-trunks which it +concealed beneath. The result was curiously striking. The brightness +of the day was dulled, and the earth seemed bathed in a peculiar light +such as a vault of grey rain-clouds above it bestows. The girls, +gazing into the valley which yawned at their feet, were looking into a +shadowed hollow of sombre melancholy--unchanging, unrelieved. + +Beyond stretched a vista of hills, growing steadily greater as the +hazy distance was reached. Behind where they stood was the Owl Hoot +valley and woodlands, equally sombre, until the prairie was reached. + +The moments passed, and they made no effort to move. They were both +lost in thought, and looked out across the wild woodlands with eyes +which beheld only that which was most profoundly beautiful. Prudence +was enjoying the scene, the redolent air which rose from the woods +below, the solitary grandeur of the world about her, with all the +appreciation of a prairie-bred girl. Alice merely saw and marvelled at +the picture before her. She was less enthusiastic, less used to such +surroundings than her companion. They affected her differently. She +marvelled, she wondered, but a peculiar nervousness was inspired by +what she beheld. At length Prudence took the initiative. She lifted +her reins and her horse moved forward. + +"Come along, Alice," she said. And the two disappeared down the slope +into the giant forest below. + +Once on their way Alice recovered her good spirits again. Within the +forest the world did not seem so vast, so confusing to the eye. On +either hand, ahead, were to be seen only bare tree-trunks beneath the +ponderous green canopy which shut out the sunlight from above. The +scrunch of the pine-cones crushing under the hoofs of the horses +carried a welcome sense of companionship to the riders. Alice found +the reality much less fearful than the contemplation from the heights +above. In a few moments both girls were chattering gaily, all thoughts +of losing themselves, or of other dangers which these virgin forests +might conceal, having passed from their minds. + +Whatever doubts may have assailed Alice they were soon set at rest, +for, in a short time, after ascending another rather sharp slope, they +found themselves gazing down upon a long, narrow sheet of water. It +was one of the many inlets with which the shores of the mysterious +Lake of the Woods abound. From where the girls first caught sight of +it, it looked as though the forest had been cleanly rent by the +glistening water which had cut its way into the dense growth, +demolishing every sign of vegetation in its path, but leaving +everything which grew even down to its very edge. This inlet widened +out between two hills, and, beyond that, in a dazzling haze, the vast +body of the lake, like a distant view of the sea, was just visible. It +was a perfect picture. + +"Isn't it gorgeous?" said Prudence enthusiastically. "Isn't it worth a +few miles' ride to see it? I'm glad we didn't go and bother that +horrid little Chintz. It would have taken half the pleasure away to +have had his ferrety face with us." + +"Lovely--lovely," exclaimed Alice rapturously. Her bright eyes were +dancing with delight, and her breath came and went rapidly. "Just +fancy, Prue; I have lived all these years within reach of this place +and this is the first time I have ever set eyes upon the lake." + +Her companion laughed. + +"That is not to be wondered at. There are very few people who ever +come this way. Why, I couldn't say, unless it is that the country is +bad to travel through on this side. Mind, although there are few +habitations on the western shore, there are plenty to the east and +south. I never could understand why George Iredale selected Owl Hoot +for the site of his ranch. Just think how delightful it would be to +have your home built on this hill." The girl indicated their position +with her riding-whip. "Wouldn't it be delightful to wake each morning +and gaze out upon such a scene?" + +"Perfect," said Alice, whilst her eyes glanced mischievously in her +friend's direction. "Summer or winter?" + +"Summer, of course, you goose," exclaimed Prudence. + +"Of course; winter would be different, wouldn't it?" Alice was +laughing, but Prudence was quite serious. + +"Yes; that's the worst of all Nature's finest handiwork. There's +always some drawback to it. Ugh, winter in this place would be too +dreadful to contemplate. These wilds are only fit for Indians and +coyotes and wolves when the summer is over." + +"But it's a heavenly spot now," said Alice. Suddenly she raised her +whip and pointed. Far down, out upon the surface of the silvery belt +of water, a tiny speck was slowly moving. At first so distant was it +that it appeared to be stationary, but after a while it was distinctly +to be seen moving. "What is it?" she questioned sharply. + +"Looks like a boat," replied Prudence. "I wonder whose?" + +"I give it up. Does Mr. Iredale keep a boat?" + +Although Prudence was the elder of the two girls she was much the +simpler. She was essentially of the prairie. She had no suspicion of +the apparently innocent inquiry. + +"I don't think so. I never really heard. No; I should think that must +belong to some Indians or half-breed fishermen. There are some of +those people about, I believe." + +She continued to watch the boat for some moments. The less serious +girl beside her allowed her attention to wander. Prudence saw the boat +approach the near shore. Then it disappeared under the shadow of the +towering pines. An exclamation from Alice drew her attention. + +"Look over the other side, Prue; there's another boat. It has just +shot out from that great clump of undergrowth. Why, there are a dozen +people in it. Look! they are racing along. Where's the other gone?" + +"It disappeared under this bank. Ah, the other one is following in its +wake. Yes, I should say those are Indians." + +"Let us go on down. We can see better from the bank. My curiosity is +aroused. I didn't know there was so much fishing done here. Mr. +Iredale never speaks of it." + +"I don't think Mr. Iredale sees much of the lake. His land--that is, +his grazing--lies to the west of the house. But he rarely talks about +his work. As he says, so few people care about this wild district that +he does not like to worry folks by reminding them of its existence." + +"All the same," replied Alice, "one of these fine days some +enterprising American will come along and find out some, at present, +unknown wealth in the place, and then the settlers round the district +will kick themselves. Trust a Canuk for sitting down on his hundred +and sixty acres and never moving beyond the limits of his fencing. I +like this weird place, with its woods, its hills and valleys, its lake +and its mysterious boats. You should draw George--I mean Mr. +Iredale--out. There must be a deal that is of interest here." + +"Why should I draw him out?" asked Prudence innocently, as the horses +ambled down the hill towards the shore of the lake. "You ask him. I +believe he'd like to tell some one all about it." + +"No, thanks, friend Prue," said Alice cheerfully. "I'm not what you +might call a 'free agent.' There is a young man, to wit, a certain +Robb, who might object. Besides, I have not turned poacher yet." + +"What on earth do you mean?" + +Prudence turned a pair of astonished brown eyes on her companion. +Alice didn't answer, and the two looked squarely into each other's +faces. The elder girl read the meaning which Alice did not attempt to +conceal, and a warm flush mounted quickly and suffused her sun-tanned +face. + +Then followed a long silence, and the crackling of the pine-cones +beneath the horses' feet alone aroused the echoes of the woods. +Prudence was thinking deeply. A thoughtful pucker marred the perfect +arch of her brows, and her half-veiled eyes were turned upon her +horse's mane. + +George Iredale. What of him? He seemed so to have grown into her life +of late that she would now scarcely recognize Loon Dyke Farm without +him. This sudden reminder made her look back over the days since her +return from "down East," and she realized that George, since that +time, had literally formed part of her life. He was always in her +thoughts in some way or other. Every one on the farm spoke of him as +if he belonged to it. Hardly a day passed but what some portion of it +was spent by him in her company. His absence was only when his +business took him elsewhere. + +And what was the meaning of it all? What was he to her that her friend +should talk of "poaching" when regarding her own intercourse with this +man? Prudence's face grew hotter. The awakening had come. At that +moment she knew that George Iredale was a good deal to her, and she +felt a certain maidenly shame at the discovery. He had never uttered +a word of love to her--not one, in all the years she had known him, +and, unbidden, she had given him her love. In those first moments of +realization her heart was filled with something like dismay which was +not wholly without a feeling of joy. She felt herself flushing under +the thoughts conjured by her friend's implication, and her feelings +became worse as Alice went on. + +"Ah, Prue, you can't hide these things from me. I have always intended +to say something, but you are such an austere person that I was afraid +of getting a snub. Mr. Iredale is a charming man, and--well--I hope +when it comes off you'll be very, very happy." + +"Don't be absurd, Alice." Prudence had recovered herself now. + +"My dear Prue," the girl retorted emphatically, and imitating the +other's lofty tone, "George Iredale just worships the ground you walk +on. One word of encouragement from you, if you haven't already given +it to him, and in a short time you will be the mistress of Lonely +Ranch." + +"Nothing of the sort" + +"My dear girl, I know." + +"You know less than you think you do, and I am not going to listen to +any more of your nonsense." + +Prudence touched her horse's flank with her heel and trotted on ahead +of her companion. But in her heart she knew that what Alice had said +was true. + +Alice called after her to wait. The trees were so closely set that she +had difficulty in steering clear of them; but Prudence was obdurate +and kept right on. Nor did she draw rein until the shore of the lake +was reached, and then only did she do so because of the impassable +tangle of undergrowth which confronted her. Just as Alice came up with +her she started off again at right angles to the direction they had +come, riding parallel with the bank. Alice, breathless and laughing, +followed in her wake, until at length a break in the trees showed them +a grassy patch which sank slowly down in a gentle declivity to the +water's edge. By the time this was reached Prudence's good-humour was +quite restored. + +"A nice dance you've led me," expostulated Alice, as they dismounted +and began to off-saddle. + +"Serves you right for your impertinence," Prudence smiled over at the +other. + +"All the same I'm right." + +"Now keep quiet, or I'll ride off again and leave you." + +"So you can if you like; this old mare I'm riding will take me home +straight as the crow flies. What's that?" + +Out across the water came a long-drawn cry, so weird yet so human that +the two girls stood still as statues, their faces blanching under +their tan. The echoes seemed to die hard, growing slowly fainter and +fainter. Alice's eyes were widely staring and filled with an +expression of horror. Prudence recovered herself first. She laughed a +little constrainedly, however. + +"We are in the region of Owl Hoot," she said significantly. "That was +one of the screech-owls." + +"O-oh! I thought it was some one being murdered." + +"We shall probably hear lots of strange cries; these regions are +renowned for them. You've got the kettle on your saddle, Al. Get all +the things out whilst I gather some kindling and make a fire." + +"For goodness' sake don't leave me here alone for long," Alice +entreated. "I won't mention George's name again, sure." + +But Prudence had tethered her horse and set off on her quest. Alice, +left alone, secured her horse and proceeded to disgorge the contents +of her saddle-bags, and also those on her friend's saddle. This done, +she stepped down to the water's edge, and, pushing the reedy +vegetation on one side, filled the kettle. As she rose from her task +she looked out down the wide inlet. The view was an enchanting one. +The wooded banks opposite her rose abruptly from the water, +overshadowing it, and throwing a black reflection upon its still +surface. There was not a breath of air stirring; the world seemed +wondrously still. + +Away to the left the water widened out, and was overhung by a haze of +heat. She was about to turn away when, from out of the distance, there +appeared another long boat. Instantly the girl was all attention. This +boat was not travelling in the same direction as were those they had +first seen, but was making for the point where the others had +appeared. She had a much better view down here at the bank of anything +moving on the lake than from the higher land, and she could not help +being struck by the fact that, whoever the occupants of the strange +craft, they were not Indians. One man was standing in the stern +steering the boat by the aid of a long paddle, and this man was garbed +in white-man's attire. The distance she was away from the object of +her curiosity prevented her distinguishing the features of these +people of the lake; but that which was apparent to her was the fact +that they were not fishermen, nor was their boat a fishing-boat. It +was long, and built with the narrowness of a rice-lake canoe, and so +low in the water that its gunwale looked to be within an inch of the +glassy surface. + +So intent was the girl upon this strange appearance that she did not +notice Prudence's return, and as the strange craft disappeared within +the undergrowth of the opposite shore, she turned with a start at the +sound of her friend's voice beside her. + +"Another boat," asked Prudence, "or the one we saw before?" + +"Another." + +There was a silence; then the two turned away and prepared their +dinner. + +They pitched their camp in the shade, and the meal was quickly +prepared. The smoke from their fire helped to keep off the few late +summer mosquitoes that hummed drowsily upon the sultry air. Everything +was wonderfully peaceful and sleepy about their little encampment. Not +a leaf stirred or a bough creaked; there was the stillness of death +over all. Gradually the silence communicated itself to the girls, and +the pauses in their chatter grew longer and their eyes more +thoughtful. Even their horses for the most part stood idly by. The +green grass had but a passing attraction for them. They nibbled at it +occasionally, it is true, but with apparently little appetite. After +dinner the two friends spread their saddle-blankets upon the grass, +and stretched themselves thereon in attitudes of comfort, from which +they could look out across the shining surface of the lake; and soon +their talk almost entirely ceased. Then, for a while, they lay +dreaming the time away in happy waking dreams of the future. + +Alice had bridged for a moment the miles which divided Owl Hoot +from Ainsley, and her thoughts were with her sturdy lover, Robb +Chillingwood. She was contemplating their future together, that +future which would contain for them, if no great ease and luxury, at +least the happiness of a perfect love and mutual assistance in +times of trial. Her practical mind did not permit her to gaze on +visionary times of prosperity and rises to position, but rather she +considered their present trifling income, and what they two could +do with it. Now and again she sighed, not with any feeling of +discontent, but merely at the thought of her own inability to +augment her future husband's resources. She was in a serious mood, +and pondered long upon these, to her, all-important things. + +Prudence's thoughts were of a very different nature, although she too +was dreaming of the man whom her sudden realization had brought so +pronouncedly into her life. Her round dark face was clouded with a +look of sore perplexity, and at first the dominant note of her +reflections was her blindness to the real state of her own feelings. +Now everything was clear to her of the manner in which George Iredale +had steadily grown into her daily life, and how her own friendly +liking for him had already ripened into something warmer. He was so +quiet, so undemonstrative, so good and kind. She saw now how she had +grown accustomed to look for and abide by his decisions in matters +which required more consideration than she could give--matters which +were beyond her. She understood the strong, reliant nature which +underlaid the quiet exterior. And now, when she came to think of it, +in all the days of her grown womanhood he had ever been near her, +seeking her society always. There was just that brief period during +which Leslie Grey had swayed her heart with his tempestuous manner, +for the rest it was Iredale. She tried to shut him out; to contemplate +his removal from the round of her daily life. Instantly the picture of +that life lost its brightness and colouring, and her world appeared to +her a very dreary smudge of endless toil. Yes, Alice had sounded the +keynote, and Prudence's heart had responded with the chord in +sympathy. She knew now that she loved George Iredale. + +This realization was not wholly pleasurable, for with it came a sudden +grip of fear at her simple heart. Her thoughts went back to some +eight months before. And she found herself again looking into the +death-chamber at the Leonville school-house. That scene had no +longer power to move her; at least not in the way one might have +expected. She no longer loved the dead man; he had passed from her +thoughts as though she had never cared for him. But a new feeling had +sprung up in her heart which the realization of this indifference had +brought. And this feeling filled her with an utter self-loathing. +She shuddered as she thought of her own heartlessness, the shallow +nature which was hers. She remembered her feelings at that bedside +as she listened to the dying man's last words. Worst of all, she +remembered how, in the paroxysm of her grief, she had sworn to +discover the murderer of Leslie Grey and see justice administered. Now +she asked herself, What had she done? And the answer came in all its +callous significance--Nothing! + +She roused herself; her face was very pale. Her thoughts framed +themselves into unspoken words. + +"If this is the way I have fulfilled my promise to the dead, if this +is the extent and depth of my love, then I am the most worthless woman +on earth. What surety can I give that my love for George is a better +thing than was my affection for Leslie Grey?" + +She sat herself up, she looked over at her companion and noted the +drooping eyelids. Her features were strangely set, and her smooth +forehead wore a disfiguring frown. Then she spoke in a sharp tone that +startled the girl beside her. + +"Alice, do you think it is possible to imagine you are in love with a +man--I mean, that you honestly believe you love him at the time and +really do not?" + +Alice endeavoured to collect her wandering thoughts. + +"Why, yes, I suppose so. I've been in love with a dozen men at one +time and another, never longer than a month with any one of them. I +never go to a dance but what I fall in love with at least two of my +partners, and my undying affection for both just lasts the evening +out. Imagination is strongly developed in some people--when they're +young." + +"No, be serious." + +Alice gazed at the other curiously. Then-- + +"Out with it, Prue. What is it that's troubling you? Your face is +significant of some dire tragedy." + +"How long have you been engaged to Robb Chillingwood?" + +"Nearly six months. Why?" + +"And you've never thought of any other man?" + +Alice shook her head. For once she was quite serious. + +"Couldn't look at another man. Robb hasn't got two cents to his name, +but I'm going to marry him or--or--die an old maid." + +For a moment the expression of Prudence's face relaxed, but a moment +later it set itself into more stern lines than ever. + +"Alice, you were right in what you said about George," she went on +slowly. "I can hardly believe it myself yet. Leslie Grey has only been +dead eight months, and yet here I am thinking all day long of another +man. I believe I am utterly heartless--worthless." + +"Well?" + +"Well, it's just this. I am not worth an honest man's love. I used to +think I worshipped the ground poor Leslie walked on--I'm sure I loved +him to distraction," the girl went on passionately. "Very well; +suppose George asked me to marry him and I consented. In all +probability, in the light of what has gone before, I should be tired +of him in a year, and then--and then----" + +"You're talking nonsense now, Prue," said Alice. She was alarmed at +the other's tone. The beautiful face of her friend was quite pale, and +sharp lines were drawn about the mouth. + +"I'm not talking nonsense," the other went on in a tense, bitter tone. +"What I say is true. In less than eight months I have forgotten the +dead. I have done nothing to discover the murderer who robbed me of a +husband and lover. I have simply forgotten--forgotten him. Put +yourself in my place--put your Robb in Leslie's place. What would you +have done?" + +Alice thought seriously before she answered. + +"I should never have rested until I had avenged his death," she said +at last, and a hard glitter shone in her eyes. Then a moment after she +smiled. "But it is different. I don't think you really loved Leslie +Grey. You merely thought you did." + +"That only makes it worse," the other retorted. Prudence's face was +alight with inflexible resolve. "My debt to the dead must be paid. +I see it now in a light in which it has never presented itself to me +before. I must prove myself to myself before--before----" She broke +off, only to resume again with a fierce and passionate earnestness of +which Alice had never believed her capable. "I can never marry +George Iredale with Leslie's unavenged death upon my conscience. I +could never trust myself. George may love me now; I believe I love +him, but----No, Alice, I will never marry him until my duty to +Leslie Grey is fulfilled. This shall be my punishment for my +heartless forgetfulness." + +Alice surveyed her friend for some seconds without speaking. Then she +burst out into a scathing protest-- + +"You are mad, Prue,--mad, mad, utterly mad. You would throw away a +life's happiness for the mere shadow of what you are pleased to +consider a duty. Worse, you would destroy a man's happiness for a +morbid phantasm. What can you do towards avenging Leslie's death? You +hold no clue. What the police have failed to fathom, how can you hope +to unravel? If I were a man, do you know what I'd do to you? I'd take +you by the shoulders and shake you until that foolish head of yours +threatened to part company with your equally foolish body. You should +have thought of these things before, and not now, when you realize how +fond you are of George, set about wrecking two healthy lives. Oh, +Prue, you are--are--a fool! And I can scarcely keep my temper with +you." Alice paused for want of breath and lack of vocabulary for +vituperation. Prudence was looking out across the water. Her +expression was quite unchanged. With all the warped illogicalness of +the feminine mind she had discovered the path in which she considered +her duty to lie, and was resolved to follow it. + +"I have a better clue than you suppose, Alice," she said thoughtfully, +"the clue of his dying words. I understood his reference to the +Winnipeg _Free Press_. That must be the means by which the murderer is +discovered. They were not horse-thieves who did him to death. And I +will tell you something else. The notice in that paper to which he +referred--you know--is even now inserted at certain times. The man or +men who cause that notice to be inserted in the paper were in some way +responsible for his death." + +There was a moment's pause. Then Alice spoke quite calmly. + +"Tell me, Prue, has George proposed yet?" + +"No." + +"Ah!" And Alice smiled broadly and turned her eyes towards the +setting sun. When she spoke again it was to draw attention to the +time. As though by common consent the matter which had been under +discussion was left in abeyance. + +"It is time to be moving," the girl said. "See, the sun will be down +in an hour. Let us have tea and then we'll saddle-up." + +Tea was prepared, and by the time the sun dipped below the horizon the +horses were re-saddled and all was ready for the return journey. They +set out for home. Alice was in the cheeriest of spirits, but Prudence +was pre-occupied, even moody. That afternoon spent in the peaceful +wilds of the "back" country had left its mark upon her. All her +life--her world--seemed suddenly to have changed. It was as though +this second coming of love to her had brought with it the banking +clouds of an approaching storm. The two rode Indian fashion through +the woods, and neither spoke for a long time; then, at last, it was +Alice who ventured a protest. + +"Where are you leading us to, Prue?" she asked. "I am sure this is not +the way we came." + +Prudence looked round; she seemed as though she had only just awakened +from some unpleasant dream. + +"Not the way?" she echoed. Then she drew her horse up sharply. She was +alert in an instant. "I'm afraid you're right, Al." Then in a tone of +perplexity, "Where are we?" + +Alice stared at her companion with an expression of dismay. + +"Oh, Prue, you've gone and lost us--and the sun is already down." + +Prudence gazed about her blankly for a few moments, realizing only too +well how truly her companion had spoken. She had not the vaguest +notion of the way they had come. The forest was very dark. The +day-long twilight which reigned beneath the green had darkened with +the shadows of approaching night. There was no opening in view +anywhere; there was nothing but the world of tree-trunks, and, beneath +their horses' feet, the soft carpet of rotting vegetation, whilst +every moment the gloom was deepening to darkness--a darkness blacker +than the blackest night. + +"What shall we do?" asked Alice, in a tone of horror. Then: "Shall we +go back?" + +Prudence shook her head. Her prairie instincts were roused now. + +"No; come along; give your mare her head. Our horses will find the +way." + +They touched the animals sharply, and, in response, they moved forward +unhesitatingly. The old mare Alice was riding took the lead, and the +journey was continued. The gloom of the forest communicated something +of its depressing influence to the travellers. There was no longer any +attempt at talk. Each was intent upon ascertaining their whereabouts +and watching the alert movements of the horses' heads and ears. The +darkness had closed in in the forest with alarming suddenness, and, in +consequence, the progress was slow; but, in spite of this, the +assurance with which the horses moved on brought confidence to the +minds of the two girls. Prudence was in no way disturbed. Alice was +not quite so calm. For an hour they threaded their way through the +endless maze of trees. They had climbed hills and descended into +valleys, but still no break in the dense foliage above. They had just +emerged from one hollow, deeper and wider than the rest, and were +slowly ascending a steep hill. Prudence was suddenly struck by an +idea. + +"Alice," she said, "I believe we are heading for the ranch. The +valleys all run north and south hereabouts. We are travelling +westwards." + +"I hope so," replied the other decidedly; "we shall then be able to +get on the right trail for home. This is jolly miserable. O--oh!" + +The girl's exclamation was one of horror. A screech-owl had just sent +its dreadful note in melancholy waves out upon the still night air. It +started low, almost pianissimo, rose with a hideous crescendo to +fortissimo, and then died away like the wail of a lost soul. It came +from just ahead of them and to the right. Alice's horse shied and +danced nervously. Prudence's horse stood stock still. Then, as no +further sound came, they started forward again. + +"My, but those owls are dreadful things," said Alice. "I believe I +nearly fainted." + +"Come on," said Prudence. "After all they are only harmless owls." Her +consolatory words were as much for the benefit of her own nerves as +for those of her friend. + +The brow of the hill was passed and they began to descend the other +side. Suddenly they saw the twinkling of stars ahead. Alice first +caught sight of the welcome clearing. + +"An opening at last, Prue; now we shall find out where we are." A +moment later she turned again. "A light," she said. "That must be the +ranch. Quick, come along." + +The blackness of the wood gave place to the starlit darkness of the +night. They were about to pass out into the open when suddenly Alice's +horse came to a frightened stand. For an instant the mare swerved, +then she reared and turned back whence she had come. Prudence checked +her horse and looked for what had frightened the other animal. + +A sight so weird presented itself that she suddenly raised one hand to +her face and covered her eyes in nervous terror. Alice had regained +the mastery of her animal and now drew up alongside the other. She +looked, and the sharp catching of her breath told of what she saw. +Suddenly she gripped Prudence's arm and drew the girl's hand from +before her face. + +"Keep quiet, Prue," she whispered. "What is this place?" + +"The Owl Hoot graveyard. This is the Haunted Hill." + +"And those?" Alice was pointing fearfully towards the clearing. + +"Are----Oh, come away, I can't stand it." + +But neither girl made a move to go. Their eyes were fixed in a gaze of +burning fascination upon the scene before them. Dark, almost black, +the surrounding woods threw up in relief the clearing lit by the +stars. But even so the scene was indistinct and uncertain. A low +broken fence surrounded a small patch of ground, in the middle of +which stood a ruined log-hut. Round the centre were scattered +half-a-dozen or more tumbled wooden crosses, planted each in the +centre of an elongated mound of earth. Here and there a slab of stone +marked the grave of some dead-and-gone resident of Owl Hoot, and a few +shrubs had sprung up as though to further indicate these obscure +monuments. But it was not these things which had filled the spectators +with such horror. It was the crowd of silent flitting figures that +seemed to come from out of one of the stone-marked graves, and pass, +in regular procession, in amongst the ruins of the log-hut, and there +disappear. To the girls' distorted fancy they seemed to be shrouded +human forms. Their faces were hidden by reason of their heads being +bent forward under the pressure of some strange burden which rested on +their shoulders. Forty of these gruesome phantoms rose from out of the +ground and passed before their wildly-staring eyes and disappeared +amidst the ruins. Not a sound was made by their swift-treading feet. +They seemed to float over the ground. Then all became still again. +Nothing moved, nor was there even the rustle of a leaf upon the boughs +above. The stars twinkled brightly, and the calm of the night was +undisturbed. Alice's grip fell from her companion's arm. Her horse +reared and plunged, then, taking the bit between its teeth, it set off +down the hill in the direction of Iredale's house. The light which had +burned in one of the windows had suddenly gone out, and there was +nothing now to indicate the way, but the mare made no mistake. +Prudence gave her horse its head and followed in hot pursuit. + +Both animals came to a stand before the door of the barn behind the +house, where, to the girls' joy, they found the ferret-faced Chintz +apparently awaiting them. + +Alice was almost in a fainting condition, but Prudence was more +self-possessed. She merely told the little man that they had lost +their way, and asked his assistance to guide them out of the valley to +where the trail to Loon Dyke Farm began. Such was the unexpected +ending of their picnic. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +CANINE VAGARIES + + +The last stage of the girls' journey--the ride home from the +ranch--was like some horrible nightmare. It was as though recollection +had suddenly turned itself into a hideous, tangible form which was +pursuing them over the dark expanse of prairie. Even their horses +seemed to share something of their riders' fears, for their light +springing stride never slackened during that ten miles' stretch, and +they had to be literally forced down to a walk to give them the +necessary "breathing." Like their riders, the animals' one idea seemed +to be to reach the security of the farm with all possible dispatch. + +The farm dogs heralded their approach, and when the girls slid down +from their saddles Hephzibah was at the threshold waiting for them. +The rest of the evening was spent in recounting their adventures. +Hephzibah listened to their narrative, filled with superstitious +emotion whilst endeavouring to treat the matter in what she deemed a +practical, common-sense manner. She was profoundly impressed. Hervey +was there, but chose to treat their story with uncompromising +incredulity. So little was he interested, although he listened to what +was said, as to rouse the indignation of both girls, and only his +sudden departure to bed saved a stormy ending to the scene. + +It was not until the house was locked up, and Prudence and Alice were +preparing to retire--they shared the same bedroom--that Hephzibah +Malling dropped her mask of common-sense and laid bare the quaintly +superstitious side of her character. The good farm-wife had not lived +on the prairie all her life without contracting to the full the +superstitions which always come to those whose lives are spent in such +close communion with Nature. She could talk freely with these two +girls when no one else was present. She had heard a hundred times the +legends pertaining to the obscure valley of Owl Hoot, but this was the +first time that she had heard the account of these things from +eye-witnesses. + +She came into the girls' bedroom arrayed in a red flannel dressing-gown, +which had shrunk considerably under the stress of many washings, and +her night-cap with its long strings, white as driven snow, enveloped her +head like a miniature sun-bonnet. She came with an excuse upon her +lips, and seated herself in a rigid rush-bottomed chair. Prudence was +brushing her hair and Alice was already in bed. + +"My dears," she said, as she plumped herself down; she was addressing +them both, but her round eyes were turned upon Alice, who was +sitting up in bed with her hands clasped about her knees, "I've been +thinking that maybe we might ask young Mr. Chillingwood out here. +It's quite a time since I've seen him. He used to come frequent-like +before--before--" with a sharp glance over at her daughter, "a few +months back. He's a good lad, and I thought as he'd make quite a +companion for Hervey. An' it 'ud do 'em a deal of good to air them +spare rooms. I'm sure they're smelling quite musty. What say?" + +Alice blushed and Hephzibah's old eyes twinkled with pleasure. +Prudence answered at once-- + +"That's a good idea, mother, I'll write to him at once for you." Then +she turned her smiling face upon the old lady and shook a forefinger +at her. "You're an arch-plotter, lady mother. Look at Alice's face. +That's not sunburn, I know." + +"Maybe it isn't--maybe it isn't," replied Mrs. Malling, with a +comfortable chuckle, whilst her fat face was turned up towards a +gorgeous wool-worked text which hung directly over the head of the +bed, "though I'll not say but what a day in the sun like she's just +had mightn't have redded the skin some." + +"I am very sun-burnt," said Alice consciously. + +"Why, we've been in the forest, where there's no sun, nearly all day," +exclaimed Prudence quickly. + +"Ah, them forests--them forests," observed Hephzibah, in a pensive +tone of reflection. "Folks says strange things about them forests." + +"Yes," put in Alice, glad to turn attention from herself, "usually +folks talk a lot of nonsense when they attribute supernatural things +to certain places. But for once they're right, mother Hephzy; I shall +never disbelieve in ghosts again. Oh, the horror of it--it was awful," +and the girl gave a shudder of genuine horror. + +"And could you see through 'em?" asked the old lady, in a tone of +suppressed excitement. + +"No, mother," chimed in Prudence, leaving the dressing-table and +seating herself on the patchwork coverlet of the bed. "They seemed +quite--solid." + +"But they wore long robes," said Alice. + +"Did they now?" said Mrs. Malling, wagging her head meaningly. "But +the lore has it that spectres is flimsy things as ye can see +through--like the steam from under the lid of a stewpan." + +"Ye--es," said Alice thoughtfully. + +"All I can say is, that I wonder George Iredale can live beside that +graveyard. I tell you, mother, there's no arguing away what we saw. +They came up out of one of those graves and marched in a procession +into the ruined dead-house," said Prudence seriously. + +"And my mare nearly threw me in her fright." Alice's face had paled at +the recollection. + +Hephzibah nodded complacently. She was thoroughly enjoying herself. + +"True--true. That's just how 'tis. Animals has an instinct that ain't +like to human. They sees more. Now maybe your horses just stood of a +tremble, bimeby like? That's how it mostly takes 'em." + +Under any other circumstances the two girls would probably have +laughed at the good lady's appreciation of the supposed facts. But +their adventures were of too recent a date; besides, they believed +themselves. The gloom of the forest seemed to have got into their +bones, and the horrid picture was still with them. + +"The Haunted Hill," said Prudence musingly. "I don't think I ever +heard in what way the valley was haunted. Have you, mother?" + +"Sakes alive, girl, yes. It's the way you have said, with fantastic +fixin's added accordin' to taste. That's how it come I never believed. +Folks disagreed about the spooks. They all allowed as the place was +haunted, but their notions wasn't just alike. Your poor father, child, +was a man o' sense, an' he argued as plain as a tie-post. He said +there was fabrications around that valley 'cause of the variating +yarns, and I wouldn't gainsay him. But, as Sarah says, when the +washing don't dry white there's mostly a prairie fire somewheres +around. Your father was that set on his point that he wouldn't never +go an' see for himself, although, I do say, I urged him to it for the +sake of truth." + +Prudence yawned significantly and Alice had snuggled down on to her +pillow. The former clambered in beneath the clothes. + +"Well, mother, all I can say is, that never again, unless I am forced +to, will I visit Owl Hoot. And under any circumstances I will never +run the risk of getting benighted there." + +"Well, well," said the farm-wife, rising heavily to her feet and +preparing to depart, "maybe George would like to hear about the thing +you've seen when he comes back." She paused on her way to the door, +and turned an earnest face upon the two girls. "Say, children, you +didn't see no blue lights, did ye?" + +"No, mother Hephzy," said Alice sleepily. "There were no blue +lights." + +"Ah," in a tone of relief. "There's no gainsaying the blue lights. +They're bad. It means death, children, death, does the blue +light--sure." And the good lady passed out of the room with the +shuffling gait which a pair of loose, heelless slippers contrived to +give her. + +"Prue," said Alice, when the door had closed, "when are you going to +ask Robb to come?" + +"As soon as possible, if you like." + +"Thanks. Good-night, dear; mother Hephzy is a sweet old thing." + +The two girls turned over, and in a few moments were sleeping soundly. +It would have taken more than the recollections of their adventures to +banish sleep from their tired eyes. They slept the sweet refreshing +sleep of those who have passed their waking hours in the strong, +bracing air of the prairie. + +Two days later Hervey was abroad early. He was cleaning his guns +outside the back door of the house. Two weapons were lying upon a +large dust sheet which was spread out upon the ground. The guns were +in pieces, and each portion had been carefully oiled and wiped. He was +now devoting his attention to a heavy revolver. + +Prudence was standing in the kitchen doorway watching her brother. +Andy was over by the barn superintending the dispatch of the teams to +the harvest fields; the hands were preparing to depart to their work. +Prudence's early morning work was in the creamery. + +Hervey looked up from the weapon he was cleaning, and turned his great +eyes upon his sister. + +"When is this fellow coming out here?" he asked in a tone of +irritation. His question was merely the result of his own train of +thought. He had not been speaking of any one in particular. + +"Who? Robb Chillingwood?" + +"Yes, of course. I've not heard of any one else's coming." + +"We've asked him for a fortnight to-day. Why?" + +Hervey ran the cleaning-rod through a couple of the chambers of the +pistol before he spoke again. The rag jammed in the barrel and +entailed a hard pull to extract it. + +"Who asked him to come?" he went on, as he re-adjusted the piece of +rag in the eye of the rod. + +"Mother did. He's a very nice fellow." Prudence looked over at the +parade of "Shire" teams as they started for the fields. "Alice and he +are engaged to be married, you know." + +"And I suppose he's coming out here to 'spoon' her--ugh! It's +sickening." + +"Don't be so brutal," the girl replied sharply. + +"Brutal?" Hervey laughed coarsely. "You're getting particular. The +house won't be a fit place to live in with an engaged couple in it. I +should have thought mother would have known better than to have asked +him." + +"Don't be absurd." + +Prudence moved from her stand. The dog, Neche, had slowly emerged from +round the corner of the barn, and was now mouching leisurely towards +her. She went over to meet him and caress his great ugly head. + +"I'm not absurd." Hervey followed her movements with no very friendly +gaze. He hated with an unreasonable hatred to see her go near the dog. +"I know what engaged couples are. Look at the way some of the clowns +around here carry on with their girls. When Mr. Robb Chillingwood +takes up his abode here, I shall depart, I tell you straight. I think +mother should have consulted me first. But, there, I suppose that +little vixen Alice arranged it all. I hate that chum of yours." + +"There's nothing like mutual regard, whatever its quality," laughed +Prudence; but there was a look of anger in her deep brown eyes. "You +are at liberty to please yourself as to your goings or comings--they +make no difference to the work of the farm." + +The girl's face was turned defiantly upon her brother. Hervey spun +the chambers of the pistol round. His eyes remained upon the +weapon, and his forefinger pressed sharply upon the trigger. He +looked thoughtfully over the fore-sight and rested the pistol in the +crook of his upraised, bent left arm. His attitude was one of taking +steady aim. He made no reply. + +Suddenly Prudence felt the bristling of Neche's mane under her hand. +And she sought to soothe him. This dog's displays of sudden temper +were as unaccountable as they were fierce. + +"What are you going to do to-day?" she asked, as her brother did not +speak and the dog quietened. + +"Going over to Iredale's place. Why?" + +"When shall you return?" + +"Don't know." Hervey turned; his pistol was pointing towards his +sister. + +"Well, what about the 'thresher'? You and Andy were going to get +it----Look out!" + +Her exclamation came with a shriek. The great husky had dashed from +her side and made a charge towards its master. Its lips were drawn up, +and its fearful, bared fangs gleamed in the morning light. Hervey +lowered his weapon with a laugh. The dog paused irresolute, then, with +a wicked growl, it turned back and sought again the girl's caressing +hand. + +"One of these days I'll give you something to snarl at, you d----d +cur," Hervey said, between his clenched teeth. Then he turned at the +sound of his mother's voice. The old lady was standing in the kitchen +doorway. + +"What's all the fuss about?" she asked, turning her round eyes from +one to the other. "Quarrelling again, I'll be bound. Breakfast's +ready, so just come in, both of you, or the 'slap-jacks' 'll all be +spoiled." + +Prudence glanced covertly in the dog's direction as she obeyed the +summons. She was fearful that the brute contemplated a further attack +upon its master. In spite of the constant bickerings which took place +between these two, the girl had no desire that her brother should be +hurt. + +Hervey spoke not a word during the morning meal, except to demand the +food he required, and his surliness had a damping effect on those +about him, and it was with a sigh of relief that his mother at last +rose from the table and began to gather the plates preparatory to +clearing away. Once, as Hervey moved slowly towards the door to return +to his guns, she looked as though she were going to speak. But the +words died on her lips, and she ambled off to the wash-house without +speaking. + +The atmosphere cleared when Hervey mounted his horse and rode off. His +mother looked after him, sighed and shrugged; then she went on with +her work with a touch of her old cheerful manner about her. No +complaint ever passed her lips, but, to those who knew the kindly old +face, the change that had come over it was very apparent. The smooth +forehead was ploughed deeply with wrinkles which were new to it, and +the eyes had lost something of their expression of placid content. + +But Hervey travelled his own road at his own gait. His thoughts he +kept to himself. The man was more or less inscrutable to those about +him. + +To-day he had taken his dog with him. He had at length made up his +mind to rid himself of the brute. The exhibition of that morning had +decided him upon a course which he had long meditated, but had always +failed to carry out when the critical moment arrived. + +The hound limped along beside its master's horse as they plunged into +the deep woods of the Owl Hoot Valley. Nor did he show the least sign +of wishing to wander from "heel." He followed on the beaten track, +stubbornly keeping pace with the horse in spite of the fact of only +possessing three legs. + +Arrived at the ranch Hervey handed over his horse to Chintz and +proceeded into the woods on foot. To-day he meant to move out in a new +direction. The valley beyond the Haunted Hill had been done regularly +by him; now he was intent upon the hills on the south. Access to this +region was obtained by the one other practicable exit from the valley; +namely, the Haunted Hill, and then by bearing away to the right. He +breasted the steep slopes of the hill and soon came upon the narrow +overgrown trail which at some period had been hewn by the early +settlers of the district. + +Here he tramped along steadily, the hound limping at his heels. He +walked slowly, with that long, lazy gait of a man accustomed to +walking great distances. He gave little heed to his surroundings as +far as the beauties of the place were concerned. He was not the man to +regard Nature's handiwork in the light of artistic effects. His great +roving eyes were never still; they moved swiftly from side to side, +eagerly watching for the indication of game either furred or +feathered. It seemed as though this sport was as the breath of life to +him. Now and again his gaze would turn upon the hound behind him, and, +on these occasions, the movement was evidently the result of some +sudden, unpleasant thought, and had nothing to do with the sportsman's +watchfulness which makes him seek to discover, in the alert canine +attitude, some keener instinct of the presence of game than is +possessed by the human being. + +Almost without forewarning the road, after rounding an abrupt +bend, suddenly opened out on to the graveyard clearing. It was the +first time in Hervey's many wanderings in these regions that he had +actually come across this obscure little cemetery. For a moment, as +he gazed upon it, he hardly realized what it was. Then, as he noted +the ruined hut in the middle, the wooden fencing broken and tumbled +about the place, and the armless and sadly leaning crosses and the +various-shaped slabs of stone which marked the graves, he remembered +the weird story his sister and her friend had told, and, advancing, +he leant upon one of the fence posts and looked about him curiously. + +He stood for some moments quite still. The place was silent with the +peaceful calm of a sweltering August day. Hervey's eyes moved from one +vaguely outlined grave to another, and unconsciously he counted them. +Thirteen graves in all were visible amongst the long grass. Then his +eyes turned upon the ruined hut. The roof had fallen in, and broken +rafters protruded above the still standing walls of pine logs. The +casing of the doorway remained, but the door had gone, and in its +place hung a piece of tattered sacking. There was one small window, +but this had been boarded over. The building was largely covered with +lichen, and weeds had grown out of the mud-filling daubed in between +the logs. There was something very desolate but wondrously peaceful +about the place. + +The master's curiosity seemed to have communicated itself to the +hound, for the animal slowly, and with uncertain tread, moved off +within the enclosure. Neche's movements were furtive; strangely so. +But though Hervey's eyes now followed the dog's actions, it was merely +the result of the attraction of the one moving object within the range +of his vision, and not with any purpose of his own. In fact, it is +doubtful if, at first, the animal's movements conveyed any meaning to +the watching man. The moments slipped away and the dog snuffed +inquiringly at the various curious objects its wolfish eyes beheld. + +It stretched out its neck across one grave and snuffed at the +projecting arm of a wooden cross. Then it drew back sharply with its +little upstanding ears twitching with a motion of attention and canine +uncertainty. Then the wolf head was turned in the direction of its +master, and its unblinking gaze was fixed upon his face. The animal +stood thus with ears constantly moving, turning this way and that, +listening for any strange sound that might chance upon the air. Then +with a dignified movement, so expressive of ill-concealed curiosity, +it turned away to continue investigations in other directions. + +The dog's show of indifference only lasted for a moment. In limping +towards the central hut the animal stepped on to the only path which +was not overgrown with rank vegetation. The instant its foot touched +the sandy soil its head went down until its nose touched the ground. +Then followed a loud snuff. The dog's great mane bristled ominously, +and a low growl sounded significantly upon the still air. Now Hervey's +gaze instantly became one of keen intelligence. His thoughts no longer +wandered, but were of the present. He watched the movements of the +hound with the profoundest interest. + +The dog moved a step or two forward. Its attitude was as though it +wished to make no mistake. The snuffing came short, quick and +incisive. Then the great head was raised, and the snuffing continued +upon the air. Now the nose turned in the direction of the hut, then it +turned back to the opposite direction of the path. Hervey remained +motionless where he stood, and his thoughts were filled with wondering +speculation. + +Suddenly the dog darted off down the path, away from the hut. There +was something very like the sleuth in its attitude. Nor did it pause +until the path terminated at a stone-covered grave. Here the brute's +eagerness was displayed to the full. Its excitement was intense. The +low growls became more frequent and tense. The bristling mane, so +thick and wolfish, fairly quivered in its rigidity. Balancing itself +on its one hind foot it tore away at the baked earth around the stone +with its huge fore-paws, as though it would tear up the whole grave +and lay bare the mouldering bones it contained. + +Hervey encouraged the eager hound. + +"See--ek 'em," he hissed, in an undertone. + +The dog responded, making the earth fly beneath its sharp claws. +The animal's excitement had communicated itself to its master, and +the man's great eyes glowed strangely. He now moved from his position +and came over to the dog's side. He stooped down and examined the +place where the dog had been working. He pushed his fingers deep into +the hollow which the vigorous claws had made. The next instant he +drew them back sharply, and a faint ejaculation escaped him. He +straightened himself up and pushed the dog roughly away from the +spot. + +"Come here, you cur," he muttered. "Come over to the hut." + +The dog obeyed with reluctance, and Hervey had to keep a clutch upon +the beast's mane to hold him to his side. He half dragged him and half +led him up the path until they neared the ruin. Then with a bound the +dog leapt forward and rushed in beneath the sacking which covered the +doorway, giving tongue to little yelps of eagerness as he went. + +Hervey was about to follow, but a strange sound beneath his feet +attracted him and made him pause. He listened. The noise went on. It +was very faint but quite distinct, and very like the regular fall of a +hammer. He called instantly to the dog. Neche's head appeared from +beneath the canvas, but he showed unusual signs of disobedience. +Instantly, Hervey seized him by the mane, then, subdued and sulky, the +animal allowed himself to be dragged from the building. Hervey did not +relax his hold until he and the dog were well clear of the place, and +were once more buried from view within the depths of the woods. + +For a moment, when the hound regained its freedom, it stood still and +turned its head back towards the place they had just left, but a +threatening command from the man brought him to heel at once, and +there was no further bother. It was strange the relations which +existed between this curiously-assorted pair. There could be no doubt +that Hervey hated the dog, and the dog's regard for its master was of +doubtful quality. As a rule, it would fawn in a most servile manner, +but its attitude, the moment its master's back was turned, was always +morose and even truculent. Hervey had told his sister that the dog was +as treacherous as an Indian. But Hervey was not a keen observer, or he +would have added, "and as wicked as a rattlesnake." + +The two tramped on all that day, but there was little shooting done. +Hervey also seemed to have utterly forgotten his intention to shoot +the dog. Time after time jack-rabbits got up and dashed off into the +woods, but there followed no report of the gun. Prairie chicken in +the open glades whirred up from the long succulent grass, but Hervey +paid no heed, and when several deer trotted across the man's path, and +the gun remained tucked under his arm, it plainly showed the +pre-occupied state of his mind. + +The truth was that Hervey was thinking with a profundity that implied +something which must very nearly affect his personal interests. And +these personal interests, at the moment, centred round George Iredale +and--the graveyard. He had discredited the story the girls had told as +he would discredit anything which pertained to the supernatural. But +now he had learned something which put an entirely different meaning +to the adventures the two girls had related. It is easy enough to +mystify the simple human mind, but dogs' instincts are purely +practical, and, as Hervey argued, ghosts do not leave a hot scent. +Neche had lit upon a hot scent. At first the man had been doubtful as +to what that scent was. Graveyards on the prairie are places favoured +by the hungry coyote, and he had been inclined to believe that such +was the trail which the dog had discovered. But his own investigations +had suggested something different. + +The grave which the dog had attacked so furiously was no ordinary +grave, for, in thrusting his hand into the hole the dog had made at +the edge, he had found that beneath the stone was a cavity. Then had +come the recollection of the faint pounding he had distinctly heard +beneath the ground. And instantly the story the girls had related +assumed a human aspect. Without hesitation he told himself that they +had not seen spectres marching in procession through the mysterious +graveyard, but real, live, human beings. What, he asked himself, was +the meaning of it? What strange occupation was George Iredale's in +this lonely valley? Where was Iredale now? Where did he go to when he +moved out of the district on business, and what was the nature of the +business? To Hervey it was no great step from questions of this sort +to a general answer. And, when he reviewed the isolation, the secret +nightly doings, the unsuitability of the district to cattle-raising, +and the great wealth of the owner, all made since his sojourn in the +country, it was no difficult task for his thoughts to suggest some +felonious undertaking. But the one question for which he could find no +reasonable reply was that which asked the nature of the doings which +seemed to go on at night in the shadow of those dense forests. + +He tramped on heedless of the passing time. His discovery had roused +him to a pitch of excitement which swayed his thoughts in the +direction they would naturally incline. In what manner could he turn +his discovery to account? His sense of proportion quickly balanced his +ideas. He must at all costs learn the secret of the graveyard, and if +it was, as he believed, some "crooked" dealings upon which Iredale was +engaged, the rest would be easy. All he wanted was money, and the +owner of Lonely Ranch had plenty and to spare. + +The sun was quite low over the horizon when he at length turned his +steps again in the direction of the ranch. He was hungry; he had eaten +nothing since breakfast. + +Hervey was not the man to be disturbed by any scruples with regard to +the hospitality of the owner of Lonely Ranch. He partook of the ample +supper which Chintz had prepared for him without the slightest +compunction. And when it was finished he idled the time away smoking +one of Iredale's best cigars with the utmost enjoyment. He watched the +shadows grow and deepen. He waited until the blue vault of the sky had +changed its hue to the indescribable shadow which follows in the wake +of the daylight, and the sparkling diamonds of night shone out upon +its surface; then he called for his horse and set out ostensibly for +Loon Dyke. + +He rode away down the valley until he was clear of the woods; then, +leaving the prairie trail, he turned away to the right, and, +describing a wide semi-circle, doubled back into the woods again, +taking a course which lay to the eastwards, parallel to the valley of +the ranch. Now he quickened his pace, and the hound, limping +laboriously at his horse's heels, had difficulty in keeping up with +him. Nor did he draw rein until he reached the wide hollow which +backed the graveyard hill. Here, however, he dismounted, and secured +his horse to a tree. Then he removed the reins from his horse's +bridle, and proceeded to secure the hound in an adjacent position. The +night had quite closed in and the darkness of the woods was profound +when he started to make his way up the side of the hill in the +direction of the graveyard. + +Hervey paused for nothing. His mind was clearly made up. Whatever +weakness may have been his there was none to be traced in his actions +now. He saw ahead of him the possibilities of furthering his own +interests, and he revelled in the thought of George Iredale's wealth. +The despicable methods he was adopting troubled him not in the least. +Iredale should pay dearly if his work partook of the nature of crime. + +Hervey entertained no friendship for any one. The greed of gold was +his ruling passion. He cared nothing from whom it was obtained, or by +what means. If things were as he believed them to be, then was this a +truly golden opportunity. And he would bleed Iredale to the very +limits of his resources. + +He reached the outskirts of the clearing, but he did not leave the +obscurity of the forest. The black recesses served him for a +hiding-place from which he could obtain a perfect view of the ghostly +enclosure. The tumbled hut and the weirdly-outlined graves with their +crowning monuments showed up distinctly in the starlight. And he +settled himself for a long vigil. + +An hour passed without result. It was weary work, this waiting. He +dared not move about, for at every movement of his feet upon the +ground the rotting vegetation crunched and crackled loudly in the +profundity of silence. The man's patience, however, was long-enduring +under such circumstances. He told himself that the result would more +than recompense him for the trouble. He had everything to gain, and +the task appealed to him. Two hours passed and still not a sound broke +the awful stillness. Then came the first sign. Suddenly a bright light +shone out down in the valley in the direction where Iredale's house +stood. It gleamed luridly, almost red, in its depth of yellow. Hervey +held his breath, so deep was his excitement and the feeling of +anticipation. + +The sudden appearance of the light was the signal for further +demonstration. The prolonged screech of an owl replied to it. The +screech, so shrill and ear-piercing, gave the watcher such a +nerve-racking moment as to almost urge him to beat a hasty retreat. +But the cry died away, and, as the echoes grew fainter and eventually +became silent, he recovered himself. A moment passed and another cry +split the air, only this time it came from across the valley on the +opposite heights. Hervey stood with ears straining. He had detected +something curious in the sound of those cries. Then as the second died +away a single word muttered below his breath voiced his discovery. + +"Human!" he said to himself, and a feeling of unholy joy swept over +him, and he drew a pistol from his pocket and his hand gripped its +butt significantly. + +His eyes were still turned in the direction of the house where the +light was burning when a scraping noise suddenly drew his attention +to the graveyard before him. The scraping continued, and sounded like +the grinding of an axe upon a whetstone. It distinctly came from +one of the graves, and, for a moment, he experienced a shudder of +superstitious fear. The next moment he suppressed a chuckle as he +realized that the sound came from the grave at the side of which Neche +had made such a demonstration that morning. He gazed in the direction, +his great eyes burning with the lurid fires of pent-up excitement and +speculation. What was the secret he was about to learn? He longed +to draw closer to the spot, but he knew that he dared not move. + +Suddenly a vague shadow loomed up from amongst the grass which grew so +rankly in the cemetery. Up, up it rose, black even against the +background of utter darkness in which the forest was bathed. Hervey +leaned forward, his eyes straining and every nerve tense-drawn. What +was this--thing? + +The shadow paused. Then it rose higher. It seemed to suddenly +straighten up, and Hervey permitted a deep breath to escape him. The +black figure had assumed the shape of a man, and the form moved +forward towards the log dead-house. Then the waiting man saw that +other figures were following the first in rapid succession. Each +figure was bearing its burden. Some seemed to be carrying bundles, +some carried that which appeared to be boxes, and others carried small +square packages. As Hervey's eyes became used to the strange scene he +was able to distinguish something of the habiliments of these denizens +of the grave. He noted the long, dark, smock-shaped garment each +figure wore, and, after a while, in the starlight, he was able to note +that most of them wore on their heads little skull-caps. Then a +muttered exclamation broke from his lips, and in his tone was a world +of satisfaction. + +"Chinese!" he whispered. Then: "Traffic in yellow, by all that's +holy!" + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE BREAKING OF THE STORM + + +The master of Lonely Ranch was seated before the table in his +unpretentious sitting-room. Before him were piled a number of open +account-books, and books containing matters relating to the business +of his ranch. + +He was not looking at them now, but sat gazing at the blank wall in +front of him with thoughtful, introspective eyes. His chin was resting +upon his clenched hands, and his elbows were propped upon the table. +He was sitting with his shirt-sleeves rolled up above his elbows, for +the day was hot and the air was close and heavy. On one hand the +window was wide open, but no jarring sounds came in to disturb the +thinker. The door on the other side was also open wide. George Iredale +showed no desire for secrecy. His attitude was that of a man who feels +himself to be perfectly safe-guarded against any sort of surprise. +Thus he sat in the quiet of the oppressive heat thinking of many +things which chiefly concerned his life in the valley of Owl Hoot. + +He had been going over the accounts which represented his fifteen +years of labour in that quiet corner of the great Dominion, and the +perusal had given him a world of satisfaction. Fifteen years ago he +had first settled in the valley. He had acquired the land for a mere +song; for no one would look at the region of Owl Hoot as a district +suitable either for stock-raising or for the cultivation of grain. But +he had seen possibilities in the place--possibilities which had since +been realized even beyond his expectations. His sense of humour was +tickled as he thought of the cattle he had first brought to the +ranch--a herd of old cows which he had picked up cheap somewhere out +West at the foot of the Rockies. He almost laughed aloud as he thought +of the way in which he had fostered and added to the weird, stupid +legends of the place, and how he had never failed to urge the +undesirability of his neighbourhood for any sort of agriculture. And +thus for fifteen years he had kept the surrounding country clear of +inquisitive settlers. Life had been very pleasant, quiet, monotonous, +and profitable for him, and, as he thought of it all, his eyes drooped +again to his books before him, and he gazed upon a sea of entries in a +long, thick, narrow volume which bore on the cover the legend-- + + OPIUM. + +Yes, he never attempted to disguise from himself the nature of his +calling. He plastered neither himself nor his trade with thick +coatings of whitewash. He knew what he was, and faced the offensive +title with perfect equanimity. He was a smuggler, probably the largest +operator in the illicit traffic of opium smuggling, and the most +successful importer of Chinese along the whole extent of the American +border. He knew that the penitentiary was yearning for him; and he +knew that every moment of his life was shadowed by the threat of penal +servitude. And in the meantime he was storing up his wealth, not in +driblets, dependent upon the seasons for their extent, but in huge +sums which were proportionate to the risks he was prepared to run. + +And his risks had been many, and his escapes narrow and frequent. But +he had hitherto evaded the law, and now the time had come when he +intended to throw it all up--to blot out at one sweep the traces of +those fifteen prosperous years, and settle down to enjoy the proceeds +of his toil. + +It was only after much thought and after months of deliberation that +he had arrived at this decision. For this man revelled in his calling +with an enthusiasm which was worthy of an honest object. He was not a +man whose natural inclinations leant towards law-breaking; far from +it. Outside of his trade he lived a cleaner life than many a so-called +law-abiding citizen. The risks he ran, the excitement of contraband +trade had a fatal fascination which was as the breath of life to him; +a fascination which, with all his strength of mind in every other +direction, he was as powerless to resist as were the consumers +powerless to resist the fascinations of the drug he purveyed. + +But now he stood face to face with a contingency he had never taken +into his considerations. He had fallen a victim to man's passion for a +woman; and he had been forced to a choice between the two things. +Either he must renounce all thoughts of Prudence Malling, or he must +marry her, and break from all his old associations. To a man of +Iredale's disposition the two things were quite incompatible. The +steady growth of his love for this girl, a love which absorbed all +that was best in his deep, strong nature, had weighed heavily in the +balance; and, reluctant though the master of Lonely Ranch was to sever +himself from the traffic which had afforded him so much wealth, and so +many years of real, living moments, his decision had been taken with +calm deliberation; the fiat had gone forth. Henceforth the traffic in +yellow would know him no more. + +He rose from his seat, and crossing the room stood gazing out of the +open window. Finally his eyes were turned up towards the heavy banking +of storm-clouds which hovered low over the valley. + +Already the greater portion of his plans had been carefully laid. They +had been costly for many reasons. His agents were men who required to +be dealt with liberally. However, everything had been satisfactorily +settled. Now only remained the disposal of the ranch. This was rather +a delicate matter for obvious reasons. He wished to effectually +obliterate all traces of the traffic he had carried on there. + +He went back to the table and picked up an official-looking letter. It +was a communication from Robb Chillingwood, written on the municipal +notepaper of Ainsley. + +He read the letter carefully through. + + "MY DEAR MR. IREDALE," + + "There is a man named Gordon Duffield stopping at the hotel here, + who has lately arrived from Scotland. I have effected the sale of + the Dominion Ranch--you know, the German, Grieg's, old place--to + him. He is a man of considerable means, and is going in largely + for stock-raising. He has commissioned me to buy something like + five thousand head of cows and two-year-old steers for him. His + bulls he brought out with him. You will understand the difficulty + I shall have in obtaining such a bunch of suitable animals; and I + thought you might have some surplus stock that you wish to dispose + of at a reasonable price. You might let me know by return if such + is the case, always bearing in mind when you make your quotations + that the gentleman hails from old Scotia. There is shortly to be a + great boom in emigration from both the old country and the States, + and I am now combining the business of land agent with my other + duties, and I find it a paying concern. Let me know about the + cattle at your earliest convenience. + + "Yours truly, + "ROBB CHILLINGWOOD." + +Iredale smiled as he read the letter over. + +"Comes at an opportune moment," he said to himself. "Surplus stock, +eh? Well, I think I can offer him all the stock he needs at a price +which will meet with the approval of even a canny Scot. I'll write him +at once." + +He seated himself at his table and wrote a long letter asking +Chillingwood to come out and see him, and, at the same time, offering +to dispose of the stock of Lonely Ranch. He sealed the letter, and +then returned his account-books to their hiding-place behind the +bookcase. Then he went to the door and summoned his head man. + +In spite of the habit of years, Iredale was not without a strong sense +of relief as he reviewed the progress of the disestablishment of the +ranch. He remembered how narrowly he had escaped from Leslie Grey less +than a year ago, and now that he had begun to burn his boats he was +eager to get through with the process. + +The ferret-faced Chintz framed himself in the doorway. + +"My horse!" demanded his master. "And, Chintz, I want you to take this +letter to Lakeville and post it with your own hands. You understand?" + +The little man nodded his head. + +"Good!" Iredale paused thoughtfully. "Chintz," he went on a moment +later, "we've finished with opium. We retire into private life from +now out--you and I. We are going to leave Owl Hoot. How does that suit +you?" + +The little man cheerfully nodded, and twisted his face into a +squinting grimace intended for a pleasant smile. Then his eyebrows +went up inquiringly. Iredale took his meaning at once. + +"I don't know where we are going as yet. But you'll go with me. I want +you to remain my 'head man.'" + +Chintz nodded. There could be no doubt from his expression that he was +devoted to his master. + +"Right. Send my horse round at once. I am going to Loon Dyke, and +shall be back for supper." + +The man departed, and the rancher prepared for his ride. + +When George Iredale set out for Loon Dyke the valley was shrouded in +the gloom of coming storm. But he knew the peculiarities of the +climate too well to be alarmed. The storm, he judged, would not break +until nearly sundown, and then it would only be short and sharp. In +the meantime he would have reached the farm. There was a curious, +unconscious rapidity in his way of settling up his affairs. It was as +though some strange power were urging him to haste. This may have been +the result of the man's character, for he was of a strikingly vigorous +nature. He had put the machinery in motion, and now he primed it with +the oil of eager desire to see the work swiftly carried out. + +As his horse galloped over the prairie--he took the direct route of +the crow's flight--his thoughts centred upon the object of his visit. +He saw nothing of the pleasant fields and pastures through which his +journey took him. The threat of coming storm was nothing to him. For +all heed he paid to it the sky might have been of a tropical blue. The +ruffling prairie chicken rose lazily in their coveys, with their crops +well filled with the gleanings of the harvested wheat fields, but he +scarcely even saw them. All he saw was the sweet, dark face of the +girl to whom he intended to put the question which women most love to +hear; whether it be put by the man of their choice or by some one for +whom they care not a cent. He had always longed for this day to come, +but, until now, had never seen how such could ever dawn for him. It +had been a great wrench to sever himself from the past, but his +decision once taken his heart was filled with thankfulness, and never +had he felt so free from care as now. He realized all that a lover +may realize of his own unworthiness, but he allowed himself no +extravagances of thought in this direction. Prudence was a good woman, +he knew, and he intended, if Fate so willed, to devote the rest of his +life to her happiness. As he drew near to his destination his heart +beat a shade faster, and doubts began to assail him. He found himself +speculating upon his chances of success. He believed that the daughter +of Hephzibah Malling regarded him with favour, but nothing had gone +before to give him any clue to her maiden feelings. He wondered +doubtfully, and, in proportion, his nervousness increased. + +Out upon the trail, at a distance, he saw a horseman riding away from +the farm; he did not even trouble about the rider's identity. The +strong, reckless nature, concealed beneath his quiet exterior, urged +him on to learn his fate. Nothing mattered to him now but his sentence +as pronounced by the child of the prairie whose love he sought. + +There were three occupants of the sitting-room at the farm. Prudence +and Alice Gordon were at the table, which was covered by a litter of +tweed dress material and paper patterns. Prudence was struggling with +a maze of skirt-folds, under which a sewing-machine was almost buried. +Alice was cutting and pinning and basting seams at the other end of +the table. Sarah Gurridge was standing beside the open window watching +the rising of the storm. + +Conversation came spasmodically. The girls were intent upon their +work. + +"It's all very well to have new dresses," said Prudence, with an +impatient tug at the material on which the machine was operating, +"but I'm afraid half the pleasure of them is absorbed by the process +of 'making.' Oh, these endless seams! And I don't believe a single one +of them is straight. I feel quite hopeless." + +"Cheer up, Prue," said Alice, without looking up. She herself was +endeavouring to set a wristband pattern upon a piece of stuff so that +she could get the two bands out of barely enough cloth for one. "You +should use more dash when working a machine. When you are turning it, +imagine you are driving a 'through mail' to the coast and have to make +up time. The seams will come all right." + +"Yes; and break cotton and needles, and--and land the engine over the +side of a cut-bank, or run down a gang of plate-layers or something. +There now, I've run clean off the cloth. I wish you wouldn't talk so +much." + +The two girls laughed whilst they joined efforts in righting the +catastrophe. + +"Isn't it getting dark?" said Alice, when Prudence had once more +settled to work. + +Sarah spoke without turning from the window. + +"The storm's banking, child. The lightning is already flashing over +Owl Hoot way. Hervey will only just escape it." + +"What did he want to go over to the ranch for?" asked Prudence. "He +never seems to go anywhere else now. I should think Mr. Iredale will +get sick of having him always round." + +"My dear," observed Sarah, with unction, "when two men enjoy +destroying the harmless life which the good God has set upon the +prairie, they never tire of one another's society. Men who would +disdain to black a pair of boots would not hesitate to crawl about in +the mud and damp reeds of a swamp at daybreak to slaughter a few +innocent ducks. There is a bond amongst sportsmen which is stronger +than all the vows made at any altar. Hervey's delight in destroying +life is almost inhuman. I trust he never shoots sitting game." + +"I should hope not," said Prudence. "I would never own him as a +brother if he did. Hello, Neche," as the door was pushed slowly open +and the great husky limped heavily into the room. The animal looked +round him in a dignified, unblinking way, and then came over to +Prudence's side and leisurely curled himself up on the skirt of her +dress. "Say, old boy," she added, looking down at the recumbent form, +"if mother comes in and finds you here you'll leave the room +hurriedly." + +Alice laid her scissors down and looked over at her friend. + +"Hervey seems quieter than ever lately. He won't even take the trouble +to quarrel." + +"And a good thing too," said Prudence shortly. + +Sarah turned and surveyed the two girls for a moment, an amused +expression was in her dreamy eyes. Then she turned back to the window +as the first distant growl of the coming storm made itself heard. + +"Hervey only quarrels when his mind is in a state of stagnation. The +mind of a man is very like a pool of water. Let it stand, and it +corrodes with matter which throws off offensive odours. The longer it +stands the worse state it gets into. Set the water in motion, turn it +into a running stream, and it at once cleanses itself. Hervey's mind +has been lately set in motion. I have noticed the change." + +"He has certainly become less offensive of late," said Alice. "I +wonder what has changed him." + +"Food for mental occupation," said Sarah. + + "'A life monotonous, unrelieved, breeds selfish discontent, + Dead'ning a mind to lofty thought for which by nature meant.'" + +Prudence brought the machine to a standstill, and propping one elbow +upon the table rested her chin upon her hand. + +"I believe you are right, Aunt Sarah," she said slowly. "Hervey's +certainly found something which has set him thinking. I rather fancy I +know--or can guess--what it is that has roused him." + +The old lady turned from the window and gazed curiously at her pupil. +She was keenly interested. The recreation of her life was the +observation of her kind. Her logic and philosophy may not always have +been sound, but she never failed to arrive somewhere in the region of +the truth. The recent change in Hervey had puzzled her. + +"He asked me yesterday to let him see that notice in the _Free Press_ +which appeared when Leslie was murdered," Prudence went on. "He also +asked me what Leslie's dying words were. He insisted on the exact +words." + +"The storm will break soon," observed Sarah. She had turned away to +the window. + +"I wonder," said Alice; "perhaps he has discovered----" She broke off +meaningly. + +"That's what I think," said Prudence. + +Sarah shook her head; but what she meant to convey was uncertain, for +she had her back turned and she said nothing at the moment. Prudence +restarted her machine and Alice reluctantly bent over her patterns. +Sarah moved back from the window. She saw a horseman galloping over +the prairie in the direction of the house. She had recognized +Iredale. + +"Girls," she said, her soft eyes turning on Prudence's bent head, "I +really think some one should be helping the mother. This is baking +day." Prudence looked up with an expression of contrition. "No--no, +not you, child. You stay here and get on with your fandangles and +dressmaking. I'll go and help her." + +Without waiting for a reply she darted off. She had no intention of +having her innocent little scheme upset. The moment after her +departure the clatter of horse's hoofs came in through the open +window. Alice, looking up, saw Iredale dismounting from his horse. She +jumped up to go to the front door. + +"Here's Mr. Iredale!" she exclaimed. Then: "So he's returned home. I'm +so glad. One scarcely knows the place without him." + +She dashed out to meet him, and, a moment later, returned ushering him +in. + +"Mr. George Iredale," she announced, with mock ceremony. Then she +stood aside to allow him to pass, bowing low as he entered the room. +She stood for a moment smiling upon the burly figure. She noted how +the plain features lit up at the sight of the girl bending over the +sewing-machine. Then she gave herself an obvious cue. + +"I'll go and call mother Hephzy," she said, and retreated hastily to +the bake-house. + +Iredale moved over to where Prudence was sitting She had ceased work +to greet him, but she did not rise from the table. Neche surveyed the +intruder, grunted and closed his eyes again. Prudence was half +inclined to resent Alice's sudden departure. Alice was in her +confidence; she knew her feelings as regarded George Iredale. She +considered her friend's action was unkind. + +"You mustn't let me disturb you, Prudence," Iredale said in his low, +pleasant voice. "What is this"--fingering the material--"a new fall +dress? Wonderful how you can cope with the intricacies of the +manufacture of such things. It would be a very sorry day for me if I +were left to cut my own coats." He laughed nervously. + +Prudence detected an unusual eagerness in his voice, and something +warned her that this man had come over that afternoon to see her +alone. She joined in the laugh, but her eyes remained quite serious. + +"When did you come back from town?" she asked, after a pause. + +"I haven't been to town. I've been across the border. My business took +me into Minnesota." + +"Oh, I thought you had been to Winnipeg." She stooped and caressed the +great dog at her feet. + +Iredale shook his head. A vivid flash of lightning shot across the +open window, and a crash of thunder followed it immediately. The storm +was breaking at last. + +"I'll close the window." Iredale moved across the room to do so. +Prudence looked after him. When he returned he sat himself in Alice's +chair, having brought it nearer to the machine. Then followed a long +silence while the machine rattled down a seam. The man watched the +nimble fingers intently as they guided the material under the needle. +The bent head prevented him seeing more than the barest outline of the +girl's cheek, but he seemed content. Now that the moment had arrived +for him to speak, he was quite master of himself. + +"Prudence," he began, at last, "I am giving up my ranch. I have been +making the necessary arrangements. I have done with money-making." + +"Really." The girl looked up sharply, then down again at her work. She +had encountered the steady gaze of the man's earnest eyes. "Are you +going to--to leave us?" She was conscious of the lameness of her +question. + +"I don't quite know. That depends largely upon circumstances. I am +certainly about to seek pleasant places, but I cannot tell yet where +those pleasant places will be found. Perhaps you will help me." + +"How?" The seam swerved out into a great bow, and Prudence was forced +to go back over it. + +"Easily enough, if you will." + +The girl did not answer, but busied herself with the manipulation of +her machine. Her face had paled, and her heart was thumping in great +pulsations. Iredale went on. He had assumed his characteristic +composure. What fire burned beneath his calm exterior, it would have +needed the discerning eyes of Sarah Gurridge to detect, for, beyond +the occasional flashing of his quiet grey eyes, there was little or no +outward sign. + +"I have known you for a good many years, child; years which have +helped to put a few grey hairs on my head, it is true, but still years +which have taught me something which I never dreamed of learning out +here on the prairie. They have taught me that such a thing as love +exists for every man on this earth, and that somewhere in this world +there is a woman who can inspire him with feelings which make the +pettinesses of his own solitary existence seem very small indeed. I +have learned that man was not made to live alone, but that a certain +woman must share his life with him, or that life is an utterly +worthless thing. I have learned that there is but one woman in the +world who can help me to the better, loftier aspirations of man, and +that woman is--you, Prudence." + +The girl had ceased to work, and was staring straight in front of her +out of the window, where the vivid lightning was now flashing +incessantly. As Iredale pronounced the last words she shook her head +slowly--almost helplessly. The man had leaned forward in his chair, +and his elbows rested on his parted knees, and his hands were tightly +clasped. + +"Don't shake your head, dear," he went on, with persuasive earnestness. +"Hear me out first, and then you shall give me your decision. I know I +am much older than you, but surely that disparity need not stand in +our way. I dare say I have many more years of life yet left than lots of +younger men. Besides, I am rich--very rich. With me you can live the +life you choose. If you wish to stay here on the prairie, why, you +shall have the most perfect farm that money can buy; if, on the +other hand, you choose to see the world, you only have to say the word. +Prudence, I know I am not a very attractive man. I have little to +recommend me, and my life has not always been spent as perhaps it +should have been; but I love you very dearly, and my future shall be +devoted to your happiness. Will you be my wife?" + +There was a deafening crash of thunder which seemed to come from +directly overhead. The dog started up with a growl. Then he stood +looking up into the girl's face. The dying reverberations slowly +rolled away and left the room in deathly silence. The serious light in +the girl's eyes was augmented by the decided set of her mouth. She +kept her face studiously turned from Iredale, who, observing with all +the intuition of a man in deadly earnest, read in her expression +something of what his answer was to be. + +"Can you not--do you not care for me sufficiently?" + +The words contained such a world of appeal that Prudence felt herself +forced to turn in his direction. She now looked squarely into his +eyes, nor was there the faintest suspicion of embarrassment in her +manner. The moment had come when she must choose between herself and +her self-imposed duty. She knew that she loved Iredale, but--she +checked something which sounded very like a sigh. She had listened to +the precepts of Sarah Gurridge all her life, and, in consequence, she +had learned to regard her duty before all things. She now conceived +she had a great duty to perform. She felt so helpless--so feeble in +the matter; but the voice of conscience held her to her mistaken +course. + +"I believe I love you; I am sure I care for you very, very much, +but----" + +"Then you will marry me." The man reached out to take her hand, but +she drew it back. His eager eyes shone in the stormy darkness in +which the room was bathed. + +She shook her head. + +"When Leslie Grey was murdered I made a vow that I would not rest +until the murderer was brought to justice. My vow is unfulfilled. I +could not marry you and be happy while this is so. Do you know what +marriage with you would mean? Simply that I should make no effort to +fulfil my vow to the dead. I cannot marry you now." + +Iredale was staggered by the woeful wrong-mindedness under which he +considered she was labouring. For a moment he could scarcely find +words to express himself. + +"But--but surely, child, you are not going to let this phantom of duty +come between us? Oh, you can never do such a thing! Besides, we would +work together; we would not leave a stone unturned to discover the +wretch who did him to death----" + +He broke off. Prudence answered swiftly, and the set of her face +seemed to grow harder as she felt the difficulty of abiding by her +resolve. + +"This is no phantom of duty, George. It is very much a reality. I +cannot marry you--until--until----" + +Iredale was smiling now. The shock of the girl's strange decision had +passed. He saw something of the motive underlying it. Her sense of +duty seemed to have warped her judgment, and, with quiet firmness, he +meant to set it aside. + +"And this is the only reason for refusing me?" he asked. He had become +serious again; he seemed merely to be seeking assurance. + +"Yes. Oh, George, can't you see how it is?" She gazed appealingly +into his face. And the man had to keep a very tight hold upon his +feelings. + +"I am afraid I am a little dense, child," he said gravely. + +"I must make you understand," Prudence went on with nervous haste. Her +conscience urged her forward, whilst her love prompted her to set +aside all recollection of the dead and to bask in the love this man +offered her. She was a simple, womanly soul, trying with all the +strength of her honest purpose to resist the dictates of her love, and +to do that which seemed right in her own eyes. The task she had set +herself had seemed easy when she had spoken of it to Alice, but now in +the face of this man's love, in the face of her own self-realization, +it seemed beyond her strength. "Listen to me, and you will see for +yourself that I must not marry you--yet. I believed that I loved +Leslie Grey truly, fondly. As I look back now I am sure I did. I was +never happy but when I was with him. He seemed so strong and resolute. +I never had a moment in which to doubt myself. Then, when he died, the +agony I suffered was something too dreadful to contemplate. As he lay +on the little bed with his life slowly ebbing, and I watched him dying +by inches, I was filled with such horror and despair that I thought +surely I should go mad. Then it dawned on me that he had been +murdered, and my anguish turned to a dreadful feeling of rage and +longing to avenge him. Never in my life did I experience such terrible +passion as at that moment. I believe at the time I really was mad. The +one thought in my mind was, 'Who--who has done this thing?' Then +Leslie died, and in his death agony he spoke and told me, as well as +his poor gasping faculties could tell me, what had happened. His words +were unintelligible to every one except me. And those words formed a +clue to the assassin's identity. By his bedside I swore to avenge him. +Never would I rest until my oath was carried out. As you know, after +that I became ill and went away. And, oh, the shame of it, during +those months of rest and illness I forgot Leslie Grey, I forgot my +vow. I forgot everything that claimed my duty. Think of it--the shame, +the shallow heartlessness, the fickle nature which is mine. I, who had +loved him as I believed no girl had ever loved, had forgotten him as +though he had never come into my life." + +Iredale nodded comprehensively as the girl paused. + +"Then you came into my life," Prudence went on. Her face was turned +towards the window now, outside of which she saw the tongues of +lightning playing across the sky. "Time went on, and slowly something +crept into my heart which made me realize my shortcomings. Gradually +my conduct was revealed to me in its true colours, and I saw myself as +I really was--a heartless, worthless creature, so despicable, even to +myself, as to make me shudder when I contemplated the future. Let me +be honest now, at least. I knew that I loved you, George, that +is"--bitterly--"as far as I was capable of love; but what sort of +affection was mine to give to anybody? I could not trust myself--I +despised myself. My conscience cried out. Leslie's unavenged death +still remained. My vow was still unfulfilled. Knowing this, how could +I believe in this new love which had come to me? No, I could not. And +it was then that I saw what I must do. Before I could ever dream of +love I must redeem the pledge I made at Leslie's deathbed. That alone +could restore my faith in myself. I know that it is almost impossible +to convey to you all that I have thought upon the matter; but, believe +me, I can never marry while Leslie remains unavenged." + +Tears stood in the girl's eyes as she finished up her curiously +twisted self-accusations. And the sincerity of her words was not to be +doubted for a moment. Iredale had listened wonderingly, and he +marvelled to himself at the wonders of perspective in a woman's mind. + +"And you are prepared to undertake the matter--alone?" + +"Mother is helping me--it costs money." + +"Just so. But would not a man's help be of greater importance than +your mother's? Don't you think that your husband's assistance might +help you far more? That it might be able to lighten the burden of this +self-imposed labour. Tut, tut, child. Because of your vow it should +not deter you from marriage, especially when your husband is not only +ready, but most willing to assist you in clearing up the mystery, and +avenging Leslie Grey. As regards the quality"--with a quiet smile--"of +your regard, well, come, you love me, little girl, on your own +confession, and if you have no graver scruples than you have offered, +then you must--marry me." + +Iredale leant forward and took the girl's two hands in his. This time +she made no resistance. She allowed them to rest in his broad palms, +and, in spite of all her protests, felt ineffably happy. + +At last she drew them away and shook her head weakly. + +"No, it is no good, George. You must not be burdened with my +undertaking. I cannot consent to such a thing. It is only your +generosity and kindness which make you look at the matter so lightly. +You would regret your decision later on, and then----No, mother and I +will see the matter through. We have already secured the services of +the smartest detective in Winnipeg, and he is working upon the only +clue we possess." + +"But I insist," said Iredale, with a smile which made his plain +features almost handsome. "And, Prue, I am going to tell your mother +that you have engaged yourself to me, and that I am a new recruit, +fortune as well, in the work. No--" holding up his hand as the girl +was about to protest again--"no objections, sweetheart. And, before we +go further, tell me of this clue." + +Prudence smiled happily. She had done her duty; she had laid bare her +heart to this man. She had spared herself in no way. She had let him +see, she told herself, the sort of girl she was. He still cared for +her; he still wished to marry her. She bowed her will to his quiet +decision. + +"It is not much to go upon, but, as Deane, that is the detective, +says, it is a decided clue." + +She rose from her seat and walked over to a small work-table. At that +moment the house shook to its very foundations with a dreadful crash +of thunder. Neche, who had moved with her, leapt fiercely at the +window as though flying at some invisible enemy. The girl called him +to her side, then she stood trembling. Flash after flash of lightning +blazed in the heavens, and she covered her eyes with her hands, whilst +the thunder seemed as though it would rend the earth from end to end. +Iredale was at her side in an instant, and his arm was about her, and +he drew her head upon his shoulder. Instantly her nerve was restored, +and, as the noise passed, she quietly released herself. Then, +stooping, she opened the drawer of the table and produced a torn copy +of the Winnipeg _Free Press_. She held out the paper and pointed to +the personal column. + +"See," she said, with her index finger upon the second line of the +column. "'Yellow booming--slump in Grey.' Those who are responsible +for that message, whatever it may mean, are also responsible for +Leslie's death." + +Iredale's eyes were fixed with a terrible fascination upon the print. +A breath escaped him which sounded almost like a gasp. His hands +clenched at his sides, and he stood like one turned into stone. + +"How--how do you know this?" he asked, in a tense, hoarse voice. + +"Leslie said so with his last dying breath." + +There came no answering word to the girl's statement. Iredale did not +move. His eyes were still upon the paper. The silence of death reigned +in the room. Even the storm seemed suddenly to have ceased; only was +there the incessant swish of the torrential rain outside. + +"That is the clue poor Leslie gave me." + +"Ah!" + +"What do you think?" + +"You must give me time to think." + +Iredale's mouth was parched. His voice sounded strange in his own +ears. For the moment he could scarcely realize his position. An +overwhelming horror was upon him. Suddenly he turned. + +"What is the date of that paper?" + +"A few days before Leslie's death. But this notice has appeared many +times since--which will make our task the easier." + +"Yes, it will make our task the easier." + +Another pause, which was protracted until the silence could almost be +felt. Then Prudence spoke. + +"You will stay to tea?" + +Iredale pulled himself together. + +"No, I think not. The storm has passed, the rain is ceasing. I had +better hurry back home. It will come back on us--the storm, I mean." + +The girl looked out of the window. + +"Yes, I think it will. Oh, I forgot to tell you. Hervey went over to +see you this afternoon." + +Iredale's eyes turned sharply upon the girl. + +"Ah, yes, I will go at once. I will call to-morrow and see Mrs. +Malling. Good-bye." + +He turned away and abruptly left the room. Prudence looked after him. +She saw him pass out; she saw him go out by the front door and hurry +down the little path which bisected the front garden. She saw him go +round to the stables, and he seemed not to heed the rain which was +still falling lightly. But it was not until she saw him riding away +down the trail that she realized the suddenness of his departure and +the fact that he hadn't even attempted to kiss her. + +Iredale's horse received little consideration at its master's hands +on that homeward journey. The animal was ridden almost at racing pace +over the long ten miles of country. And all the way home the words the +girl had spoken were running in his ears with maddening insistence-- + +"And when we find the author of those words we find his murderer." + +She had virtually accused him of murder. For he alone was the author +of those words in the paper. Truly his sins were finding him out. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +BLACKMAIL + + +As Hervey entered the valley of the ranch he listened for the warning +owl cries. To-day, however, there were none. He smiled to himself as +he noted the fact, for he knew their origin; he knew their object. He +understood that these cries were the alarm of sentries stationed at +certain points to warn those at the ranch of the approach of +strangers. He knew, too, that they were used as signals for other +things. And he admired the ingenuity of Iredale in thus turning the +natural features of the valley to his own uses. Rain was beginning to +fall in great drops, and the thunder of the rising storm had already +made itself heard. He urged his horse forward. + +Few men can embark on a mission of hazard or roguery without some +feelings of trepidation. And Hervey was no exception to the rule. He +experienced a feeling of pleasurable excitement and anticipation. +There was sufficient uncertainty in his mission to make him think hard +and review his powers of attack with great regard for detail. There +must be no loophole of escape for his victim. + +On the whole he was well satisfied. But he was not unprepared for +failure. During his acquaintance with Iredale he had learned that the +master of Lonely Ranch was not easily trifled with, neither was he the +man to accept a tight situation without making a hot fight for it. It +was just these things which gave Hervey the gentle qualms of +excitement as he meditated upon the object of his journey. He thought +of the large sums of money he had borrowed from this man, and the ease +with which they had been obtained. He remembered the kindly ways and +gentle manner of this reserved man, and somehow he could not get away +from the thought of the velvet glove. + +But even as he thought of it he laughed. There was no getting away +from the facts he possessed, and if it came to anything in the shape +of physical resistance, well, he was not unprepared. There was a +comfortable feeling about the heavy jolt of the six-chambered "lawyer" +in his pocket. + +The valley seemed much more lonely than usual. The horrid screeching +of the watchful sentries would almost have been welcome to him. The +forest was so dark and still. Even the falling raindrops and the deep +rolling thunder had no power to give the place any suggestion of life. +There was a mournful tone over everything that caused the rider to +glance about him furtively, and wish for a gleam of the prairie +sunlight. + +At length he drew up at the house. There was no one about. A few +cattle were calmly reposing in the corrals. There was not even the +sharp bark of a dog to announce his arrival. As Hervey drew up he +looked to see Iredale come to the door, for he knew the rancher had +returned from his wanderings; but the front door remained shut, and, +although the window of the sitting-room was wide open, there was no +sign of any occupant within the room. He dismounted and stood thinking +for a moment. Then he raised his voice and called to Chintz. + +His summons was repeated before the man's ferret face appeared round a +corner of the building. The little fellow advanced with no show of +alacrity. Iredale had told him nothing about any expected visitor. He +was not quite sure what to do. + +By dint of many questions and replies, which took the form of nods and +shakes of the head on the part of Chintz, Hervey learnt that Iredale +had gone over to Loon Dyke, but that he would be back to supper. + +"Then I'll wait for him," he said decidedly. "You can take my horse. +I'll go inside." + +The head man took the horse reluctantly and Hervey passed into the +house. + +For a long time he stood at the open window watching the storm. How it +raged over the valley! The rain came down in one steady, hissing +deluge, and the hills echoed and re-echoed with the crashing thunder. +The blinding lightning shot athwart the lowering sky till the nerves +of the watcher fairly jumped at each successive flash. And he realized +what a blessing the deluge of rain was in that world of resinous +timber. What might have been the consequences had the storm preceded +the rain? Hardened as he was to such things, even Hervey shuddered to +think. + +Wild as was the outlook, the waiting man's thoughts were in keeping +with his surroundings, for more relentless they could not well have +been. Iredale's money-bags should surely be opened for him that night +before he returned home. He would levy a heavy toll for his silence. + +His great dark eyes, so indicative of the unrestrained nature which +was his, burned with deep, cruel fires as he gazed out upon the scene. +There was a profoundness, a capacity for hellishness in their +expression which scarcely belonged to a sanely-balanced mind. It was +inconceivable that he could be of the same flesh and blood as his +sister, and yet there was no doubt about it. Perhaps some unusually +sagacious observer would have been less hard to convince. Hervey was +bad, bad all through. Prudence was good. Swayed by emotion the girl +might have displayed some strange, hidden, unsuspected passionate +depths, as witness her feelings at her dying lover's bedside. Her rage +at the moment when she realized that he had been murdered was +indescribable. The hysterical sweep of passion which had moved her at +that moment had been capable of tragic impulse, the consequences of +which one could hardly have estimated. But her nature was thoroughly +good. Under some sudden stress of emotion, which for the moment upset +the balance of reason, a faint resemblance to the brother might be +obtained. But while Hervey's motives would be bad, hers would have for +their primary cause a purpose based upon righteousness. The man needed +no incentive to sway his dispositions. He had let go his hold upon the +saving rock, now he floated willingly upon the tide of his evil +disposition. He preferred the broad road to Hell to the narrow path of +Righteousness. It may not always have been so. + +The storm abated with the suddenness of its kind. During Hervey's long +wait Chintz did not leave him entirely alone. Several times, on some +trivial pretext the little man visited the sitting-room. And his +object was plainly to keep an eye upon his master's unbidden guest. At +last there came a clatter of galloping hoofs splashing through the +underlay of the forest, and presently Iredale pulled up at the door. + +Hervey watched the rancher dismount. And his survey was in the nature +of taking the man's moral measure. He looked at the familiar features +which he had come to know so well; the easy, confident movements which +usually characterized Iredale; the steady glance, the quiet +undisturbed expression of his strong face. The watching man saw +nothing unusual in his appearance, nothing to give him any clue; but +Hervey was not a keen observer. Only the most apparent change would +have been seen by him; the subtler indications of a disturbed mind +were beyond his ken. Iredale seemed to be merely the Iredale he knew, +and as he watched his lips parted with a sucking sound such as the +gourmand might make in contemplating a succulent dish. + +Iredale came in. Hervey met him at the door of the sitting-room, and +his greeting was cordial, even effusive. + +"How are you, George? I knew you were to be back to-day. Jolly glad +you've returned. Quite missed you, you know. By Jove! what a storm. +Wet?" + +"A bit; nothing to speak of. They told me at the farm you were over +here." + +Iredale looked quickly round the room. His survey was not lost upon +his visitor. Then he went on-- + +"Chintz looked after you? Had any refreshment? Whisky?" + +"Chintz looked after me! He looked in every now and then to see what I +was doing." Hervey laughed unpleasantly. "Yes, I can do with a gentle +'four-fingers'; thanks." + +Iredale produced a decanter and glasses and a carafe of water. Then he +excused himself while he went to change his clothes. While he was gone +Hervey helped himself to a liberal measure of the spirit. He felt that +it would be beneficial just then. His host's unconcerned manner was a +little disconcerting. The rancher seemed much harder to tackle when he +was present. + +Presently Iredale returned, and, seating himself in a deck-chair, +produced a pipe, and pushed his tobacco jar over to his visitor. He +was wondering what Hervey had come over for. He had no wish for his +company just then. He had hoped to spend this evening alone. His mind +was still in a state of feverish turmoil. However, he decided that he +would get rid of the man as quickly as the laws of hospitality would +allow. + +A silence fell whilst the rancher waited to hear the object of the +visit. The other refused to smoke, but Iredale lit his pipe and smoked +solemnly. His face was, if possible, more serious than usual. His eyes +he kept half veiled. Hervey cast about in his mind for the opening of +his attack. He seated himself on the edge of the table and looked out +of the window. He raised his eyes to the leaden sky, then he withdrew +his gaze and looked upon the floor. He swung one leg to and fro, as he +leant sideways and supported his attitude with a hand resting upon the +table. At length, as the silence continued, and Iredale presently +raised his eyes and stared straight at him, he turned to the decanter +and helped himself to another drink. Then he set his glass down with a +heavy hand. + +"Good tack, that," he observed. "By the bye, where have all your owls +departed to? Are they like the ducks, merely come, pause, and proceed +on their migratory way? Or perhaps"--with a leer--"they only stand on +sentry in the valley when--when you require them to." + +Iredale permitted the suspicion of a smile. But there was no geniality +in it; on the contrary, it was the movement of his facial muscles +alone. Hervey had touched upon delicate ground. + +"Did they not welcome you with their wonted acclamation?" he asked, +removing his pipe from his lips, and gently pressing the ash down into +the bowl with his finger-tip. + +The other grinned significantly. He had plunged, and now he felt that +things were easier. Besides, the spirit had warmed him. + +"That's a real good game you play, George, old man. The imitation is +excellent. I was deceived entirely by it. It was only the other night +that I learned that those fearful screech-owls were human. Most +ingenious on your part. You are well served." + +Iredale never moved. He smoked quite calmly. His legs were crossed and +the smile still remained about his mouth. Only his eyes changed their +expression, but this was lost upon Hervey, for they were half +closed. + +"I don't think I quite understand. Will you explain?" The rancher +spoke very deliberately, his voice was well modulated but cold. + +Hervey laughed boisterously to cover a slight nervousness. This +attitude of Iredale's was embarrassing. He had anticipated something +different. + +"Is there any need of explanation?" he asked, when his forced hilarity +had abruptly terminated. "The only thing which puzzles me is that +you've kept it up so long without being discovered." + +There was a long pause. Then Iredale removed his pipe from his mouth, +knocked it out upon the heel of his boot, and returned it to his +pocket. Then he rose from his seat and stood squarely before the +other. + +"Don't let us beat about the bush," he said. "I think plain speaking +is best--in some cases. Now, what have you to say?" + +Hervey shrugged his shoulders. His dark eyes avoided the other's gaze; +the steely flash in Iredale's grey eyes was hard to confront. + +"A good deal," he said, with raucous intonation. "The smuggling of +Chinese and consequently opium is a profitable trade. There's room for +more than one in it." + +"Go on." + +Iredale's tone was icy. + +"Of course I am not the man to blow a gaff like this. There's too much +money in it, especially when worked on extensive lines, and when one +is possessed of such an ideal spot as this from which to operate That +was a positive stroke of genius of yours in selecting the graveyard as +a hiding-place. I suppose now that place is honeycombed with cellars +for the storage of--of--yellow. Must be, from the number of +'yellow-devils' I saw come out of the grave the other night. My, but +you're slick, Iredale; slick as paint. I admire you immensely. Who'd +have thought of such a thing? I tell you what, you were never intended +for anything but defeating the law, George, my boy. We could do a lot +together. I suppose you aren't looking for a partner?" + +Iredale's face wore an almost genial expression as he replied. The +rancher's tones were so cordial that Hervey congratulated himself upon +the manner in which he had approached the subject. + +"Well, to tell you the truth, I wasn't," he said. "As a matter of +fact, you must have seen me despatching my last cargo of--yellow. Why? +Were you thinking of starting in the business?" + +"That _is_ my intention." + +"Is?" + +"Yes, is." Hervey's tone was emphatic, and his attitude truculent. + +"Ah! are you prepared to buy this place?" Iredale went on. "I can +easily hand you over my connection." + +"Buy?" Hervey thought this man was dense. "Why, I haven't two cents to +my name to buy anything with. No, I don't think there will be any +buying and selling between us, George Iredale." + +"Then what do you propose? We may as well come to a definite +arrangement." + +The rancher's tone was peculiar. + +"We'll run this thing for all it's worth. Hang to it as long as +there's a cent to be made." + +Hervey helped himself to more whisky. His self-satisfaction was +immense. He had not thought that Iredale would have been so easy to +handle. + +"Um. A very nice, comfortable arrangement--for you." Iredale moistened +his lips slowly. "You'll sup the juice while I squeeze the orange for +you. No, friend Hervey, I'm not dealing." + +"But you must!" + +"Must?" + +"Yes; don't be a fool. It means more money to you, and I shall share +in the profits." + +"If I wanted to make more money I could continue in the business +alone. I am not here to make money for you." + +Iredale stared straight into the face before him. His grey eyes seemed +to pierce through and through his companion. Hervey moved from his +position. Iredale's attitude was coldly uncompromising. + +"Then you refuse my offer?" + +"Most emphatically." + +Hervey was inclined to show his teeth. However, he checked the impulse +and spoke in a conciliating tone. + +"There is another alternative. Your fortune is very large. I want +fifty thousand dollars." + +Iredale's face relaxed into a genuine smile. + +"Your demands are too modest," he said ironically, "Anything else?" + +The other's eyes looked dangerous. The lurid depths were beginning to +glow. + +"The money I am going to have before I leave here to-night." + +"Ah! blackmail. I thought so." + +Iredale's contempt was biting. + +"Call it what you like, Mr. George Iredale. I tell you this, you are +in my power and you will have to buy my silence. You like plain +speaking; and now you've got it. Refuse compliance, and I leave here +to expose you." + +"Pooh," said Iredale, leisurely turning to the window. "Do you think +I'm a babe? How are you going to prove your charge? Why, you must be +the veriest simpleton to think I am unprepared. By the time you can +bring the law about me there will not remain a trace of--my work. You +can never bring your charge home." + +"Ah, you think not." Hervey's words sounded like a snarl. The +whisky he had drunk had worked him to a proper pitch. He had not done +yet. His next shot was to be a long one and a bold one, and he was not +sure where it would hit. He was not sure that it might not rebound +and--but his was the nature which makes for success or disaster +without a second thought. For him there was no middle course. His +temperament was volcanic and his actions were largely governed by the +passionate nature which was his. Iredale had not turned from the +window, or he would have seen the evil working of that face. His own +great, broad shoulders were set squarely before Hervey's gaze, and +the uncompromising attitude only added fuel to the latter's already +superheated feelings. "Perhaps you might find it interesting to know +that they are hot upon the trail of the man who shot Leslie Grey." + +Iredale swung round like a flash. Nor were the storm-clouds which but +now frowned in the heavens more black than the expression of his +face. + +"You miserable hound!" he cried, his eyes sparkling, and his jaw +muscles fairly quivering with the force of his clenching teeth. "What +hellish crime would you attempt to fix on me now?" + +Hervey grinned with all the ferocity of a tiger. + +"I wish to fix no crime on you. I merely mention a fact. Leslie Grey +was the only accuser of his murderer. He stated before he died that +the man who inserted the notice in the paper which ran, 'Yellow +booming--slump in Grey,' was the man who murdered him. I suppose you +don't happen to know who was responsible for that enigmatical line? +You did not inspire it?" + +The look that accompanied the man's words was fiendish. The great eyes +shone with a savage light They expressed a hatred which no words could +describe. Iredale's hands clenched and unclenched. His fingers seemed +as though they were clutching at something which they longed to tear +to atoms, and his thoughts centred upon the man before him. + +Twice that day he had heard this challenge. Once uttered in all +unconsciousness of its significance, but now with hideous meaning. His +powers of self-restraint were great, but he had reached their limit. +This man had accused him of a dastardly murder. Suddenly his voice +rang out through the room like the bellow of a maddened bull. His +great figure quivered with the fury of his passion. Hervey had done +his worst; now he shrank before the storm he had provoked. + +"Out of my house, you scum!" Iredale roared. + +"God! but if you stay here an instant longer, I'll smash you as I +would a louse." + +The rancher stood panting at the door. His flashing eyes never left +the face of the man before him. Hervey moved; he hesitated. The grin +had left his face and a look of dread had replaced it. Then he moved +on, forgetful of all but his moral and physical fear of the commanding +figure of enraged manhood that seemed to tower over him. He even +forgot the weapon which lay concealed in his pocket. He slunk on out +of the door amidst a profound silence, out into the soft twilight of +the valley. + +The door stood open; the window stood open. Iredale looked after him. +He watched the tall, drooping figure; then, as Hervey passed from +view, Iredale turned back and flung himself into his chair, and his +laugh sounded through the stillness of the room. + +But there was no mirth in that laugh. It was like the hysterical laugh +of a man whose nerves are strained to breaking tension. + +He knew he had made a terrible mistake. His rage had placed a deadly +weapon in his enemy's hands. He had practically admitted his +authorship of the notice in the Winnipeg paper. What would be the +result? he asked himself. Again that strained laugh sounded through +the room. + +As Hervey rode away from the valley his fear of George Iredale fell +from him as might a cloak. His face wore full expression of the evil +in his heart. + +He, too, laughed; but his laugh was an expression of triumph. + +"You're less clever than I thought, George Iredale," he muttered. +"You would have done better to have bought my silence. Now I can sell +my discovery elsewhere. Money I want, and money I mean to have." + +But he spurred his horse on as an anxious thought came to him. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +A STAB IN THE DARK + + +Mrs. Malling fumbled her glasses out of her pocket and adjusted them +on her nose. She had paused in her work to receive her letters, which +had just been brought from Lakeville. The girls stood by waiting to +learn the news. + +The summer kitchen was stifling hot. The great cook-stove, throwing +off a fearful heat, helped to heighten the brilliancy of the +farm-wife's complexion, and brought beads of perspiration out upon her +forehead. Prudence and Alice looked cool beside "Mother Hephzy," but +then they were never allowed to do any work in the kitchen. Mrs. +Malling loved her kitchen better than any part of the house. She had +always reigned supreme there, and as long as she could work such would +always be the case. + +Now she was preparing the midday meal for the threshing gang which was +at work in the fields. Great blocked-tin canteens stood about upon the +floor waiting to receive the hot food which was to be sent down to the +workers. Hephzibah was a woman of generous instincts where the inner +man was concerned. The wages she paid were always board wages, but no +hired man was ever allowed to work for her and pay for his keep. She +invariably insisted that every labourer should be fed from her +kitchen, and she took care that his food was the best she could +provide. + +"Alice, girl," the old lady said, as she tore open the first letter, +"go and see if Andy is hitching-up yet. Tell him that the dinner boxes +will be ready in quarter-hour. Maybe you'll find him in the bean +patch, I sent him to gather a peck o' broad beans. Who's this from?" +she went on, turning to the last page of her letter to look at the +signature. "H'm--Winnipeg--the bank. Guess I'll read that later." + +Alice ran off to find Andy, and Mrs. Malling picked up another +envelope. + +"Prudence, my girl," went on the farm-wife, as soon as Alice's back +was turned, "just open that other," pointing to a blue envelope. "The +postmark reads Ainsley. I take it, it's from young Robb Chillingwood. +Maybe it's to say as he'll be along d'rectly." + +Prudence picked the last letter up. + +"It is hot in here, mother; I wonder you can stand it." + +Her mother looked up over her spectacles. + +"Stand it, child? It's a woman's place, is the kitchen. I can't trust +no one at the stove but myself. I've done it for over forty summers, +an' I don't reckon to give it up now. This is from that p'lice feller. +He ain't doing much, I'm thinking. Seems to me he spends most of his +time in making up his bills of expenses. Howsum, you look into it. +What's Master Robb say?" + +She put her glasses back into their broad old-fashioned case and +turned back to the stove. She could never allow anything to keep her +long from her cooking. She lifted a lid and stabbed her cooking fork +gently into a great boiler full of potatoes. Then she passed round to +the other side and shook up the fire. + +"Oh, what a shame, mother! Won't Al be disappointed? Robb can't come +out here, at least not to stay." Prudence had finished her letter and +now looked disappointedly over at her mother. + +"And how be that?" asked the old lady, standing with a shovel of +anthracite coal poised in her hand. + +"He says that the rush of emigrants to the district keeps him at work +from daylight to dark. It's too bad. Poor old Al!" + +Mrs. Malling dumped the coal into the stove with a clatter and +replaced the circular iron top. She said nothing, and Prudence went +on. + +"He's coming out this way on business shortly, and will call over here +if possible. But he can't stay. Says he's making money now, and is +writing to Al and giving her all particulars. I _am_ sorry he can't +come." + +"Well, well; maybe it's for the best," said her mother, in a +consolatory manner. "Seemingly his coming would only 'a caused +bickerings with Hervey, and, good-sakes, we get enough of that now. +I'm not one for underhand dealings, but I'm thinking it would be for +the best not to say anything to your brother about his coming at all. +If he asks, just say he can't come to stop. I'd sooner keep Hervey +under my eye. If he goes off, as he said, you never know what mischief +he'll be getting up to. He just goes into Winnipeg and gets around +with them scallywags, and--and you never know. I have heard +tell--though he never lets on--as he's too fond o' poker. Leastways, I +do know as he spends more money than is good for him. Sarah and me was +talking only the other day. Sarah's pretty 'cute, and she declares +that he's got gaming writ in his lines. Maybe it's so. I'll not +dispute. He won't have no excuse for leaving now." And she sighed +heavily and took up the vegetables from the stove. + +Alice returned, and the sound of wheels outside told the farm-wife +that the buckboard was ready for the men's dinner. + +The two girls and the old lady portioned out the food into the great +canteens, and Andy lifted them on to the buckboard. Then the choreman +drove away. + +By the time the farm dinner was ready Alice had quite got over her +disappointment. Prudence had told her the contents of the letter, and +also her mother's wishes on the subject. Alice was naturally too +cheerful to think much of the matter; besides, she was glad that +Robb's business was improving. + +Hervey came up from the fields in Andy's buckboard. He always came +home for his dinner, and to-day he brought an atmosphere of unwonted +cheerfulness with him. He had spent much thought and consideration +upon his relations with George Iredale, and the result of his +reflections was displayed in his manner when he returned from the +fields. Never in his life had he held such a handful of trumps. His +hand needed little playing, and the chances of a cross ruff looked to +him remote. + +After the meal he went out to the barn, where he smoked for awhile in +pensive solitude. He thought long and earnestly, and was so absorbed +that he looked up with a start at the sound of his mother's voice +calling to him from the open kitchen window. + +"Bestir yourself, Hervey, boy. There's work to be done down in the +fields, which is your share in the day's doings." + +And the man, removing the pipe from his mouth, forgot to grumble back +a rough retort, and answered quite cheerfully-- + +"All right, mother. Is Prudence there?" + +"Where should she be, if not?" replied his mother, turning back from +the window to tell his sister that she was wanted. + +Prudence came out. Hervey watched her as she approached. He could not +but admit to himself the prettiness of her trim figure, the quiet +sedateness of her beautiful, gentle face. Gazing intently, he failed +to observe the faint shadow in the expression of her soft brown eyes. +There was no sympathy in his nature, and without sympathy it would +have been impossible to read the expression. But Prudence was feeling +a little sad and a little hurt. Iredale had not fulfilled his promise. +Two days had passed since he had told her that he loved her and had +asked her to be his wife; nor, since then, had he been over to the +farm, nor had she heard a word from him. Fortunately, she told +herself, she had said nothing of what had passed between them, not +even to her friend Alice; thus she was spared the sympathy of her +friends. She had waited for his coming with a world of eager delight +in her heart, and each moment of the day on which he was to have come +to see her mother had been one of unalloyed happiness to her. Then as +the evening drew on she became anxious. And again as night came, and +still no sign from him, her anxiety had given place to alarm. That +night she slept little, but she kept her trouble to herself. Alice was +all eagerness to ask questions of her friend, but Prudence gave her no +opportunity. The next morning a note had arrived. Business detained +him, but he would be over at the earliest possible moment. And now the +third day was well advanced and he still remained away. She did not +doubt him, but she felt hurt and a little rebellious at the thought of +his allowing himself to be detained by business. Surely his first duty +was to her. It was not like him, she told herself; and she felt very +unhappy. + +Hervey greeted her with an assumption of kindness, almost of +affection. + +"Are you busy, Prue? I mean, I want to have a little talk with you. +I've been working in your interests lately. You may guess in what +direction. And I have made a strange discovery. We haven't hit it off +very well, I know, but you must forgive me my shortcomings. I have +lived too long in the wilds to be a pleasant companion. Can you spare +me a few minutes?" + +The dark eyes of the man were quite gentle in their expression, and in +the girl's present state of mind his apparent kindliness had a strong +effect upon her. She was surprised, but she smiled up into his face +with a world of gratitude. In spite of all, her love for her brother +was very deeply rooted. The simplicity of her nature and the life she +lived made her an easy victim to his villainous wiles. + +"Why, yes, Hervey; as long as you like." + +"Good; I'm going down to the threshing. Will you walk some part of the +way with me? Mother has just reminded me that my work must not be +neglected. Another two days and we shall be ready for the fall +ploughing." + +The sun was pouring down with fervid intensity. The yard was very +still and quiet. Everything that had leisure was resting drowsily in +the trifling shade obtainable. The swine had ceased to make themselves +heard and were sleeping upon each other's abdomens. The fowls were +scratching with ruffled feathers in the sandy hollows of the parched +earth, which they had made during the hours of morning energy. The +pigeons had departed for the day to the shelter of a distant bluff. +Even the few horses remaining within the barn were dozing. The dog, +Neche, alone seemed restless. He seemed to share with his master the +stormy passions of a cruel heart, for, with infinite duplicity, he was +lying low, pretending to be occupied with a great beef shin-bone, +while his evil eyes watched intently the movements of half-a-dozen +weary milch cows, which were vainly endeavouring to reach the shelter +of their sheds. But the dog would not have it. With a refinement of +torture he would allow them to mouch slowly towards their yard, then, +just as they were about to enter, he would fly into a dreadful +passion, and, limping vigorously at their heels, would chase them out +upon the prairie and then return once more to his bone, only to await +his opportunity of repeating the operation. + +Hervey and Prudence moved away and passed down the trail. Neche +reluctantly left his bone--having satisfied himself in a comprehensive +survey that no canine interloper was about who could steal his +treasure during his absence--and followed them. He walked beside the +girl without any sign of pleasure. He was a dog that seemed to find no +joy in his master's or mistress's company. He seemed to have no +affection in him, and lived a life of mute protest. + +Hervey did not speak for a few minutes. It was Prudence who broke the +silence. + +"I suppose it is something to do with Leslie's death that you want to +talk to me about. I wondered what your object was when you questioned +me so closely upon his dying words. Have you discovered a fresh +clue?" + +"Something more than a fresh clue." Hervey had relapsed into his old +moroseness. + +"Ah!" The girl's face lit with an almost painful eagerness. For a +moment her own immediate troubles were forgotten. A wild feeling +surged up in her heart which set the blood tingling in her veins, and +she waited almost breathlessly for her brother's next words. + +Hervey displayed no haste. Rather he seemed as though he would gain +time. + +"That message or advertisement in the paper. Did you ever attempt to +fathom its meaning? It was something of a puzzle." + +Prudence gazed up at the dark face beside her. Hervey was looking down +upon the dusty trail. His look was one of profound thought. In reality +he was calculating certain chances. + +"I tried, but failed dismally. To me it conveyed nothing beyond the +fact that its author shot Leslie." + +"Just so. But before I tell you what I have discovered you must +understand the argument. That line contained a message, a message so +significant that once read with understanding the mystery of Grey's +death became one that a child might solve." + +"Yes--yes. But the reading of it," Prudence exclaimed impatiently. + +"It is intelligible to me." + +"And----" + +It was a different girl to the one we have hitherto seen who awaited +the man's next words. The old, gentle calmness, the patient, even +disposition had given place to a world of vengeful thought. There was +a look in those usually soft brown eyes which bore a strange +resemblance to her brother's. A moment had arrived in her life when +circumstances aroused that other side of her character of which, +perhaps, even she had been ignorant. She learned now of her own +capacity for hatred and revenge. Some preliminary warnings of these +latent passions had been given when Grey had died, but the moment had +passed without full realization. Now she felt the ruthless sway of a +wave of passionate hatred which seemed to rise from somewhere in her +heart and creep over her faculties, locking her in an embrace in which +she felt her good motives and love being crushed out of all +recognition. There could be no doubt as to the resemblance between +these two people in that one touch of nature. Hervey was a long time +in answering. He had not only to tell her of his discovery, but there +were his personal interests to consider. He wished to re-assure +himself of his own advantage. + +"See here, Prue, what are you offering--or rather, is mother +offering--to that detective chap if he discovers the murderer of Grey? +Let us quite understand one another. I don't intend to part with my +discovery for nothing. I want money as badly as anybody can want it. +For a consideration I'll tell you, and prove to you, who murdered your +man. Provided, of course, the consideration is sufficiently large. +Otherwise I say nothing." + +For a moment Prudence looked up from beneath her sun-bonnet into her +brother's face. The scorn in her look was withering. She had long +since learned the selfish nature of this man, but she had not realized +the full depths to which he had sunk until now. He would sell his +information. And the thought scorched her brain with its dreadful +significance. + +"How much will buy you?" she asked at last. And words fail to express +the contempt she conveyed in her tone. + +Hervey laughed in a hollow fashion. + +"You don't put it nicely," he said. "Ah, how much will buy me?" he +added thoughtfully. + +"When a man chooses the methods of Judas it seems to me there need be +no picking or choosing of words. What do you want? How much?" + +His answer came swiftly. He spoke eagerly, and his tone was quite +different from that which his companion was used to. It was as if some +deep note in his more obscure nature had been struck, and was now +making itself heard above the raucous jangling of discord by which his +life was torn. His words were almost passionate, and there was a ring +of truth in them which was astonishing, coming from such a man. + +"Look here, Prue, I want to get away from here. I want to get out +upon the world again, alone, to make my life what I choose. I can't +stand this place; the quiet surroundings; the people with whom I +come in contact. It isn't living; it's existence, and a hellish +one at that. Look around; prairie--nothing but prairie. In the +winter, snow, endless snow; in the summer, the brown, scorched +prairie. The round of unrelieved, monotonous labour. Farming; can +mind of man conceive a life more deadly? No--no! I want to get +away from it all; back to the life in which I was my own master, +unfettered by duties and distasteful labours for which I am +responsible to others. From the beginning my life has been a failure. +But that was not originally my fault. I worked hard, and my ideals +were sound and good. Then I met with misfortune. My life was my own +to make or mar after that; what I chose to do with it was my own +concern. But here I do not live. I want the means to get away; to +make a fresh start in different surroundings. Sooner or later I must +go, or I shall become a raving maniac. You can help me in this, even +as I can help you in the cause in which you are now spending and +wasting a lot of money. Get mother to give me fifteen thousand +dollars, not only as the price of my information, but also to help +me, as your brother, to make another start. I am not wanted here, +neither do I want to remain." + +He ceased speaking. The truth had died out of his tone when he +mentioned the money, and his words were the specious wheedling of one +who knows the generous kindliness of those with whom he is dealing. +But Prudence gave no heed to anything but that which found an +answering chord in the passionate emotion which swayed her. Hervey's +appeal to get away drew from her some slight proportion of sympathetic +understanding, but her main feeling was a desire to learn the truth +which he had discovered. + +"Yes, yes; but the clue--discovery." + +"First, the money. First, you must show me that you will do this thing +for me." + +"I can only answer for myself. I can promise nothing in mother's +name." + +"Yes, but for yourself. You have an interest in the farm." + +"Yes, I will give you all I have--all--all--if you can prove to me, +and in a court of law, who was the man who shot Leslie Grey. I have +saved nearly everything I have made out of creamery. It is not as +large a sum as you require, but I can raise the rest from mother. You +shall have all you ask if you can tell me this thing. But bear this in +mind, Hervey, you will have to prove your words. I give you my word of +honour that the money will be forthcoming when you have accomplished +this thing." + +Prudence spoke earnestly. But there was caution in what she said. She +did not trust her brother. And though she was ready to pay almost +anything for the accomplishment of her purpose, she was not going to +allow herself to be tricked. + +Hervey didn't like these stipulations. He had calculated to extort a +price for his information only. The proving of his charge was a +matter which would entail time and trouble, and something else which +he did not care to contemplate; besides, he wanted to get away. His +recollection of his recent interview with Iredale was still with him. +And he remembered well the rancher's attitude. It struck him that +George Iredale would fight hard to prove his innocence. He wondered +uncomfortably if he could establish it. No, he must make a better +bargain than the girl offered. + +"See here, Prue, this is a matter of business. There is no sentiment +in it as far as I am concerned. Your conditions are too hard. You pay +me half the money down when I give you the story. You can pay the rest +when I have carried out your further conditions. It is only fair. +Establishing a case in the law courts is a thing that takes time. And, +besides, I have known guilty people to get off before now. I can +convince you of the truth of my case. A jury is different." + +Prudence thought for a moment. They were already within earshot of the +thresher. And the droning of the machine and the jerky spluttering of +the traction engine sounded pleasantly in the sultry atmosphere. The +dog hobbled lazily at her heels, nor did he show the least sign of +interest in his surroundings. The wagons loaded with bountiful sheaves +were drawing up to the thresher from half-a-dozen directions, whilst +those already emptied were departing for fresh supplies. Everywhere +was a wondrous peace; only in those two hearts was an ocean of +unrest. + +"Very well. If you can convince me, it shall be as you say. You shall +have the money. The rest shall remain until after the jury's verdict. +I am not prepared to give you the money I have saved for any tale you +choose to concoct. Now let me have your story. You have shown me too +much of your sordid craving to make me a ready believer." + +"You will believe me before I have finished, Prue," the man retorted, +with a bitter laugh. "You will find corroboration for what I have to +tell in your own knowledge of certain facts." + +"So much the better for you. Go on." + +In spite of her cautious words Prudence waited with nerves tingling +and with rapidly beating heart for her brother's story. She did not +know herself. She did not understand the feelings which swayed her. +Hervey had an easier task than either of them believed. Of late she +had dwelt so long--so intently--upon the matter under discussion that +she was ready to believe almost anything which offered a solution to +the ghastly mystery. But she did not know this. Hervey told his story +with all the cunning of a man who appreciates the results which attach +to the effect of his words. He lost no detail which could further his +ends. + +"Grey, on his deathbed, alluded to the notice in the paper. He did so +in answer to your question as to who had shot him?" + +"Yes." + +"He was perfectly conscious?" + +"Yes." + +"Some time before he died you and he had discussed this notice, and he +told you he was meditating a coup in which that notice had afforded +him his principal clue." The girl nodded, and Hervey went on. "Grey +was a Customs officer. All his works centred round contraband. No +other work came into his sphere of operations. Very well, the clue +which that notice afforded had to do with some illicit traffic. The +question is, What was the nature of that traffic? Here is the obvious +solution. 'Yellow booming.' What traffic is known by such a title as +'Yellow' in this country? There is only one. Traffic in Chinese! The +smuggling of Chinese across the border. And this traffic was booming. +Operations were being successfully carried out. Where? The rest is +easy. Somewhere in Grey's district. 'Slump in Grey' could only mean, +under the circumstances, that Grey's supervision was avoided; that the +work was carried out in spite of him. You know--everybody knows that +Chinese are smuggled into Canada at many points along the border, and +that opium is brought in at the same time. Thus the poll tax and the +opium tax are avoided by men who make a living out of this traffic. +The profit is worth the risk. There is a fortune in smuggling opium. +The authorities are endeavouring to put it down. It is well known that +our cities are swarming with Chinese for whom no poll tax has been +paid. And yet the legitimate importation of opium does not increase. +Rather has it decreased in consequence of the prohibitive tax imposed +upon it. Still, these Chinese must have their opium. This then was the +coup poor Grey meditated. He had discovered a hotbed of opium +smuggling. If he succeeded in rounding the smugglers up, it meant a +great deal to his future prospects. Is that all plain?" + +"Yes, yes; go on." + +The girl's eyes were gleaming strangely. She followed every word her +brother said with an intentness which boded well for the result of his +efforts. The careful array of arguments was speciously detailed. Now +she waited for what was still to come without any attempt at +concealing her impatience. For the time everything was forgotten while +she learned of the murderer of her first love. The peaceful scene +about her was set before eyes which no longer gazed with intelligence +upon their surroundings. She was back in the farm parlour listening to +Leslie's story of his hopes--his aspirations. Every detail of that +evening was brought vividly back to her memory. She remembered, too, +that that was the night on which Hervey had returned. There was a +significance in the thought that was not lost upon her. + +Hervey had come to a stand, and Prudence placed herself before him. +Neche squatted beside her, and as he sat his head reached up to her +waist. + +"Very well. The question alone remains, who along the border in this +part of the country is smuggling Chinese? And having found your man, +did he insert the notice in question?" + +"Yes--and you----" + +"Chance pointed out the man to me. And I have ascertained the rest." + +"And who is the murderer of Leslie?" + +There was an impressive pause. Hervey gazed down into the eager +upturned face. The dog beside the girl moved restlessly, and as he +moved he made a curious whining noise. His nose was held high in the +air, and his greenish eyes looked up towards the spotless sun-bonnet. + +"The owner of Lonely Ranch. George Iredale!" + +Hervey turned abruptly away. Neche had moved a little way back along +the trail and stood looking about him. Then out on the still air rang +a piercing, hysterical laugh. And Prudence stretched out her arm and +clutched at the barbed-wire fence-post as though her mirth had +overcome her. + +Hervey looked sharply round upon her. Neche gave a low growl, the +noise seemed to have offended him; then he limped off down the trail +back to the house. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE MAGGOT AT THE CORE + + +Hervey's look of surprise quickly changed to one of displeasure. To +him his sister's attitude merely suggested incredulity, nothing more. + +"Well?" he said at last, as her laugh died out suddenly. + +Prudence turned upon him with a strange fierceness. + +"Go on. You must tell me more than that to convince me. George +Iredale--smuggler, murderer! You must be mad!" + +Hervey kept himself well in hand. He was playing for a great stake. He +would lose nothing through any ill-advised bluster. + +"I was never more sane in my life," he answered coldly. "I am ready to +prove my words." + +"Prove them." + +Prudence's face and the tone of her voice were icy. Her mouth was set +firmly, the declined corners testifying to the hard setting of her +jaws. She looked straight into her brother's face with an intentness +which made him lower his eyes. He had no conception of the fires which +he had stirred within her. One unconquerable desire swayed her. This +man must tell her all he knew. Then she would refute every word, tell +him what manner of man he was, and have him driven from the farm. She +hated him at that moment as she might hate a rattlesnake. She was +filled with a longing to strike him, her own brother, to the earth. + +Hervey spoke in measured, even tones. + +"You know the ranch and its surroundings well. You have been there. +You have heard the so-called owl cries which greet the visitor +upon entering the valley. Those are not owl cries at all, but the +work of human sentries always on the watch, ready to give immediate +alarm at the approach of danger. The secret of the ranch lies in the +graveyard." Prudence started. "That is where I made my first +discovery, a discovery of which I should not have understood the +significance but for your experiences when picnicking in that region +two or three days before. At the time I speak of I had come upon the +cemetery for the first time. I had Neche with me. I paused at the +broken fence which surrounded it, and surveyed the overgrown +graves. While I did so, Neche mouched about among them with canine +inquisitiveness. Suddenly he became agitated, and showed signs of +having hit upon a hot scent. I watched him curiously. He ran up a +path and then paused at one of the stone-marked graves. Here he +began to tear wildly at the edge of it. I followed him up and saw that +he had dug a hole below the stone. I dragged him away, and found that +beneath the stone the grave was hollow. Then I moved hastily away, +and, taking the dog to the ruined dead-house, put him on the scent +again. He dashed in, whining excitedly as he went. It was while I +stood watching for his return that I discovered the most significant +point. Directly under my feet, somewhere under the ground, I heard a +sound of hammering. Then I knew that the graveyard was no longer the +resting-place of the dead, but the abode of the living. Instantly I +remembered all the details of your ghost story, and determined to +witness for myself the scenes you had observed. Settle it for once +and all in your mind. I was troubled with no superstitious fears +upon the matter. I guessed the truth." Hervey broke off, but resumed +quickly. "That evening I returned to the graveyard surreptitiously, +and took up a position in the black shelter of the surrounding +woods. I saw all you saw. But the robed figures were not the ghosts +which you thought them to be; they were Chinese, carrying their boxes +and bundles of personal luggage, and, I have no doubt, a cargo of +opium. Then I understood that the graveyard was honeycombed with +cellars, and that this place formed the central depôt of Iredale's +traffic and his distributing station. I can understand how these +'yellow-devils' are distributed by means of loaded hayracks and +such things. The point I have not fathomed is the means by which +the 'goods' are brought into the country. I suggest the only means I +can think of as being almost without risk, and that is the lake." + +Hervey paused to watch the effect of his story. Prudence gave no sign. +She no longer looked at her companion, but away across the harvested +fields in the direction of Iredale's ranch. As he waited for her +comment her lips moved. + +"Go on," was all she said; and the man proceeded. + +"It was an unconscious expression which, in the first flush of +discovery I made use of which ultimately gave me a clue to the rest. +As realization of Iredale's doings came to me I thought of the +notorious 'Traffic in Yellow.' That night I pondered long over the +whole thing. I had learned to like Iredale better than any man I have +ever known. He had always seemed such an honest, straightforward +man. And all of you folks were so fond of him. It was a painful +awakening; but there was worse to come, for, as I lay awake +thinking, there flashed through my brain the recollection of what +you had told me of Grey's death and his reference to the notice in +the paper. Instantly the interpretation of that line came to me. It +related to the yellow traffic. And I shuddered as I reviewed the +possibilities which my discovery opened up. I couldn't rest. A +feverish desire to know the worst assailed me. I questioned you as +you may remember, and, with every reply you gave me, my fears +received confirmation. In the end I could no longer keep silence, +and my anger drove me to a course which I have since almost regretted, +for it has destroyed the last vestige of the regard I entertained for +the man you have all so liked and respected. I went over to the +ranch and challenged George Iredale----" + +"On the night of the storm. The night he visited me. Go on." +Prudence's face was ghastly in its pallor. She gave no other sign of +emotion. + +"Yes, on the night of the storm. I taxed him with smuggling. He +admitted it. I taxed him with the authorship of that notice----" + +"Well?" The girl leant forward in her eagerness. + +"He did not contradict it. His attitude was a tacit admission. That is +my evidence." + +Hervey ceased speaking, and a long pause followed. The man waited. He +did not wish to hurry her. He was not blind to the fact that she +regarded Iredale with something more than mere friendly feeling, and, +with fiendish cunning, he had played upon the knowledge by his +allusions to his own regard for the man and the trust which they all +placed in him. This woman's love for Iredale he knew would help him; +for, gradually, as the damning evidence he had produced filtered +through her armour of loyal affection, her hatred for the man would be +doubled and trebled. In this Hervey displayed a knowledge of human +nature which one would scarcely have credited him with. + +At last Prudence turned. The pallor of her face was unchanged. Only +the look in her eyes had altered. The horror which had shone there had +become a world of piteous appeal. All her soul shone forth in those +sweet, brown eyes. Surely it must have needed a heart of stone to +resist her. Her body was leaning forward, her two brown hands were +held out towards him. + +"I don't believe it! I can't believe it! George is no--murderer." + +Hervey's great eyes lowered before that heartful look. His face was a +study in hopelessness. From his expression of deep sorrow Iredale +might have been his own brother who was accused of murder. + +"I'm afraid there is no hope of what you say, Prue. Leslie was +conscious; he knew what he was saying. _Iredale had every reason for +shooting him_. The circumstantial evidence is damning. The most +sceptical jury would be convinced." + +"O God! O God! And he has asked me to be his wife." Prudence covered +her face with her hands, and her body heaved with great, passionate +sobs. + +Hervey started at the words. His face lit up with a wicked joy. This +was better than he had expected. George should pay dearly for his +refusal to buy his silence. + +"You say he dared to propose to you with that foul crime upon his +soul? He is a worse villain than I had believed. By heavens, he shall +swing for his crime! I had hoped that my news had come in time to save +you this cruel wrong. The scum! The foul, black-hearted scum!" + +Hervey's rage was melodramatic. But the girl, even in the depths of +her misery and distraught feelings, was impressed. Her heart cried out +for her lover, and proclaimed his innocence in terms which would not +be silenced. His image rose before her mind's eye, and she looked upon +that kindly, strong face, the vigorous bearing of that manly figure, +and the story she had just listened to became dwarfed as her faith in +him rose superior to the evidence of her senses. It could not be. Her +quivering lips struggled to frame the words she longed to utter, but +no sound came. Hervey's words, his attitude, his appearance of deep, +honest sorrow for his sister paralyzed her faculties and hope died +down in her heart. + +The man moved forward to her side, and touched her gently on the +shoulders. + +"Come, Prue, we had best go back to the house. I can do no work +to-day. You, too, need quiet for reflection. The heartless villain!" +And he harped upon the information his sister had provided him with. + +Prudence allowed herself to be led. She did not care whither she went +or what happened. She was incapable of reasoning. She was stunned by +the cruel blow that had fallen. Later she would recover herself, for +all such blows are but passing; in waking moments mind and reason +cannot long remain inert and sanity obtain. For the present she was a +mere automaton. + +Hervey grew uncomfortable at the girl's prolonged silence. He cared +nothing for her feelings; he cared nothing for the heart he had +broken. He cared only for the money he had not yet secured. He +realized only too well that, whatever protest his sister might offer, +he had convinced her of Iredale's guilt; it was only a question of +time before she admitted it openly. But some feeling of doubt prompted +him to secure his wage without delay. Thus his greed rushed him on to +a false trail. + +Halfway to the house he broke the silence. + +"Well, Prue, you cannot refute my evidence. Iredale is the man you +have all been seeking. I have served you well. You yourself have +escaped a course which would have brought you lifelong regret. Think +of it! What would it have meant to you had you married the man? +Terrible! Terrible!" + +The girl looked up. There was a wild, hunted look in her eyes. Her +brother's words had in some way driven her at bay. He had struck a +chord which had set her every nerve on edge, and in doing so had upset +all his best-laid schemes. A flood of passionate protest surged to her +lips and flowed forth in a seething torrent. She remembered what his +story had been told for; she had forgotten for the moment, so well had +he acted his part, and had thought only that what he had said was the +outcome of his regard for her. Now she turned upon him like a +tigress. + +"Judas!" she cried, a flush of rage sweeping up into her face as the +words hissed from between her teeth. "You have come to sell this man. +Your thoughts have nothing to do with the meting out of human justice. +You want a price for your filthy work. I loathe you! What curse is on +our family that you should have been born into it? You shall have your +money; do you hear? You shall have it, and with it goes my curse. But +not yet. My conditions are not fulfilled. I do not believe you; your +story has not convinced me; I can see no reason in it. Ha, ha!" and +she laughed hysterically. "You cannot make me believe it because I +will not. You shall have your money, I will not go back on my word; +but you must fulfil the conditions. You must convince me of the reason +in your story. You will earn your pay as you have never earned +anything in your life. Shall I tell you how you will earn it? You will +prove your story before judge and jury. When you have convinced them +you will have convinced me. Then I will pay you. My God, what taint +has brought such blood into the veins of our flesh? If Iredale is the +murderer he shall pay the extreme penalty, and you--whether you like +it or not--shall be instrumental in that punishment. You shall be his +accuser; you shall see him to the scaffold. And after it is over, +after you have received the sum of your blood-money, I will tell the +world of your doings. That you--my brother--demanded a price for your +work. They--the world--shall know you; shall loathe you as I loathe +you. You shall be an outcast wherever you go, stamped with the brand +of Judas--the most despised of all men. Better for you if you stood in +George Iredale's place on the scaffold than face the world so branded. +Oh, you wretched man, you have destroyed my life--my all! Go, and +bring the police. Go to those whose duty it is to listen to such +stories as yours. Now I will drive you to it; you shall go, whether +you like it or not. Refuse, and I will lay the information and force +you to become a witness. You thought you were dealing with a soft, +silly woman; you thought to cajole the price out of me, and then, +having obtained what you desired, to leave me to do the work. Fool! +You will face George Iredale, the accuser and the accused. You shall +earn your money. I know the ways of such men as you. Do you know what +you are doing? Do you know the name that such work as yours goes by? +It is blackmail!" + +The girl paused for breath. Then she went on with a bitterness that +was almost worse than the contempt in all she had said before. + +"But rest content. Every penny you have asked for shall be yours when +Iredale's crimes are expiated. Nor shall I give to the world the story +of my brother's perfidy until such time as you have gone out of our +world for ever. Go, go from me now; I will not walk beside you." + +Hervey's face was a study in villainous expression as he listened to +his sister's hysterical denunciation. He knew the reason of her +tirade. He knew that she loved Iredale. He had convinced her of this +lover's crimes; he knew this. And now, woman-like, she turned upon +him--for his hand, his words had destroyed her happiness. But her +words smote hard. The lowest natures care not what others think of +them, but those others' spoken thoughts have a different effect. So it +was with Hervey. It mattered nothing to him what the girl thought of +him--what the world thought of him. But words--abuse--had still power +to move him. + +She struck the right note when she said the money down was what he +wanted. Now he saw that he had over-reached himself, and he cursed +himself for having trusted to a woman's promise. There was but one +thing left for him to do. He controlled himself well when he replied. + +"Very well, sister," he said. "In spite of what you say, you are going +back on your word. You should have thought to fling dirt before you +entered into a compact with me. However, I care nothing for all your +threats. As you have said, I want money. Nothing else matters to me. +So I will go to Winnipeg and see this thing through." + +"You certainly will have to do so. Andy shall drive you into town +to-night, and I could find it in my heart to wish that I might never +see your face again." + +"Very well." Hervey laughed harshly. "As you wish. I accept your +commands. See you as readily fulfil your part of the contract when the +time comes. You do not hoodwink me again with impunity." + +And so brother and sister parted. The girl walked on to the house, +her feet dragging wearily over the dusty trail. Hervey paused +irresolutely. His burning eyes, filled with a look of bitter hatred, +gazed after the slight figure of his sister, whose life he had so +wantonly helped to wreck. Then he laughed cruelly and turned abruptly +back on his tracks and returned once more to the harvesters. + +Prudence gained the house and went straight to her room. She wanted to +be alone. She wanted to straighten out the chaos of her thoughts. She +heard the cheery voices of her mother and Alice talking in the +kitchen. She heard the clatter of plates and dishes, and she knew that +these two were washing up. But beyond that she noticed nothing; she +did not even see the plump figure of Sarah Gurridge approaching the +house from the direction of Leonville. + +Once in her own little room she flung herself into an arm-chair and +sat staring straight in front of her. Her paramount feeling was one of +awful horror. The mystery was solved, and George Iredale was the +murderer. The metal alarm clock ticked away upon the wooden top of her +bureau, and the sound pervaded the room with its steady throb. Her +feelings, her thoughts, seemed to pulsate in concert with its rhythm. +The words which expressed her dominant emotions hammered themselves +into her brain with the steady precision of the ticking-- + +"George Iredale, the murderer of Leslie Grey!" + +The moments passed, but time brought the girl no relief. All thought +of the man who had told her of this thing had passed from her. Only +the fact remained. Slowly, as she sat with nerves tingling and +whirling brain, a flush of blood mounted to her head, her brain became +hot, and she seemed to be looking out on a red world. The ticking of +the clock grew fainter and more distant. The room seemed to diminish +in size, while the objects about her drew nearer and nearer. A sense +of compression was hers, although she seemed to be gazing out over +some great distance with everything around her in due perspective. + +Mechanically she rose and opened the window; then she returned to her +chair with something of the action of an automaton. + +And as she sat the blood seemed to recede from her brain and an icy +dew broke out upon her forehead. She was numbed with a sort of +paralysis now, and the measured beat of the clock no longer pounded +out the words of her thought. Only her heart beat painfully, and she +was conscious of a horrible void. Something was wrong with her, but +she was incapable of realizing what it was. + +She moved, the chair creaked under her, and again thought flowed +through her brain. It came with a rush; the deadly numbness had gone +as quickly as it had come, and once more her faculties worked +feverishly. Now she realized pain, horror, despair, hopelessness in a +sudden, overwhelming flood. She shrank back deeper into the chair as +though to avoid physical blows which were being rained upon her by +some unseen hand. + +Presently she started up with a faint cry. She walked across the room +and back again. She paused at the bureau, muttering-- + +"It can't be! It can't be!" she said to herself, in an agony of +terror. "George is too good, too honest. Ah!" + +Her love cried out for the man, but reason checked her while her heart +tried to rush her into extravagant hopefulness. Iredale had admitted +the smuggling. She had seen with her own eyes the doings at the +graveyard. And therein lay the key to everything. Leslie had said so +with his dying breath. But as this thought came to her it was chased +away by her love in a fresh burst of fervour. She could not believe +it. There must be some awful, some horrible mistake. + +Slowly her mind steadied itself; the long years of calmness which she +had spent amidst the profound peace of the prairie helped her. She +gripped herself lest the dreadful thought of what she had heard should +drive her to madness. She went over what she had been told with a keen +examination. She listened to her own arguments for and against the man +she loved. She went back to the time when Leslie had told her of his +"coup." She remembered everything so well. She paused as she +recollected her dead lover's anger at George's coming to the party. +And, for a moment, her heart almost stood still. She asked herself, +had she misinterpreted his meaning? Had there been something +underlying his expressed displeasure at George's coming which related +to what he knew of his, George Iredale's, doings at the ranch? Every +word he had said came back to her. She remembered that he had finished +up his protest with a broken sentence. + +"--And besides----" + +There was a significance in those words now which she could not help +dwelling upon. Then she put the thought from her as her faith in her +lover re-asserted itself. But the effort was a feeble one; her love +was being overwhelmed by the damning evidence. + +She moved restlessly from the bureau to the window. The curtained +aperture looked out upon the far-reaching cornfields, which were now +only a mass of brown stubble. In the distance, beyond the dyke, she +could see the white steam of the traction-engine and the figures of +many men working. The carts and racks were moving in the picture, but +for all else the view was one of peaceful, unbroken calm. + +Her mind passed on to the time when the party had broken up. She +remembered how in searching for Iredale she had found the two men +quarrelling, or something in that nature. Again Leslie had been on the +verge of telling her something, but the moment had gone by and he had +kept silence. She tried to deny the significance of these things, but +reason checked her, and her heart sank to zero. And she no longer +tried to defend her lover. + +Then came the recollection of that picnic. The screech-owls; the boats +laden with their human freight moving suspiciously over the waters of +the great lake. She thought of the graveyard and the ghostly +procession. And all the time her look was hardening and the protests +of her heart slowly died out. If she had doubted Hervey's words, all +these things of which she now thought were facts evident to her own +senses. The hard light in her eyes changed to the bright flash of +anger. This man had come to her with his love, she reminded herself, +and she had yielded to him all that she had power to bestow. The brown +eyes grew darker until their glowing depths partially resembled those +of her brother. + +As the anger in her heart rose her pain increased, and she recoiled in +horror at the thought that this man had dared to offer her his love +while his hands were stained with black crime. At best he was a +law-breaker; at the worst he was---- + +She paced her room with agitated steps. The blood rose to her head +again, and she felt dizzy and dazed. What could she do? What must she +do? She longed for some one to whom she could tell all that was in her +heart, but she could not speak of it--she dared not. She felt that she +must be going mad. Through all her agony of mind she knew that she +loved this man who was--a murderer. + +She told herself that she hated him, and she knew that she lied to +deceive herself. No, no, he was not guilty. He had not been proved +guilty, and no man is guilty until he is proved so. Thoughts crowded +thick and fast on her sorely-taxed brain, and again and again her +hands went up to her head with the action of one who is mentally +distracted. But in spite of the conflict that raged within her the +angry light in her eyes grew, and a look which was out of all keeping +with the sweet face was slowly settling itself upon her features. +Again she cried in her heart, "What shall I do?" + +Suddenly a light broke through her darkness and revealed to her a +definite course. This man must not be judged, at least by her, without +a hearing. Why should she not go to him? Why not challenge him with +the story? If he were the murderer, perhaps he would strike her to the +earth, and add her to the list of his victims. She laughed bitterly. +It would be good to die by his hand, she thought. Under any +circumstances life was not worth living. The thought fascinated her. +Yes, she would do it. Then her spirit of justice rose and rebelled. +No. He would then go unpunished. Leslie's death would remain +unavenged. The murderer would have triumphed. + +She thought long; she moved wildly about the room. And as the hours +passed a demon seemed to come to her and take hold of her. It was the +demon which looked out of her brother's eyes, and which now looked out +of hers. He whispered to her, and her willing ears listened to all he +said. Her heart, torn by conflicting passions, drank in the cruel +promptings. + +"Why not kill him? Why not kill him?" suggested the demon. "If he is +guilty, kill him, and your life will not have been lived in vain. If +he be a murderer it were but justice. You will have fulfilled your +promise of vengeance. After that you could turn your hand against +yourself." + +And her heart echoed the question, "Why not?" + +For nearly an hour she continued to pace her room. Yes, yes! Hers was +the right, she told herself. If he were the murderer she did not care +to live. They should die together; they should journey beyond +together. She thought over all the details, and all the time the demon +looked out of her eyes and jogged her with fresh arguments when her +heart failed. She knew where her brother kept his pistols. She would +wait until he had set out for Winnipeg. Then, on the morrow, she would +ride over to Lonely Ranch. + +She nursed her anger; she encouraged it at every turn. And she longed +for the morrow. But outwardly she grew calm. Only her eyes betrayed +her. And they were not the eyes of perfect sanity. They glowed with a +lurid fire, the fire which shone in the fierce, dark eyes of her +brother. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +AN ECHO FROM THE ALASKAN MOUNTAINS + + +Alice searched all over the farm for her friend. The last place in +which she thought of looking was the little bedroom the two girls +shared. Here at length she arrived, and a shock awaited her. + +Prudence was sitting beside the window. She was gazing out at the +bare, harvested fields, nor did she turn at her friend's approach. It +was not until Alice spoke that she looked round. + +"Here you are, Prue! Why, whatever is the matter?" she exclaimed, as +she noted the grey pallor of the face before her; the drawn lines +about the mouth, the fiercely burning eyes. "You poor soul, you are +ill; and you never told me a word about it. I have been looking +everywhere for you. It is tea-time. What is it, dear?" + +"Do I look ill?" Prudence asked wearily. She passed her hand across +her forehead. She was almost dazed. Then she went on as she turned +again to the window: "I'm all right; my head is aching--that's all. I +don't think I want any tea." The next moment she was all alertness. +"Has Hervey returned from the fields?" + +"Hervey? Yes; why? He's returned and gone away again; gone into +Winnipeg. He nearly frightened poor mother Hephzy out of her wits. +Came in all of a sudden and declared he must hurry off to Winnipeg at +once, and he wanted Andy to drive him. You know his way. He wouldn't +give any explanation. He was like a bear to his mother. My fingers +were just itching to slap his face. But come along, dear, you must +have some tea. It'll do your head good." + +While she was speaking Alice's eyes never left her friend's face. +There was something about Prudence's expression she didn't like. Her +mind at once reverted to thoughts of fever and sunstroke and such +things, but she said nothing that might cause alarm. She merely +persisted when the other shook her head. + +Eventually her persuasions prevailed. + +"Mother Hephzy's fretting away down-stairs and Sarah is backing her +up. The long-suffering Mary has been catching it in consequence. So +come along and be your most cheerful self, Prue. The poor old dears +must be humoured." + +And Alice with gentle insistence led her companion down to the +parlour. + +"And where, miss, have you been all this precious time?" asked Mrs. +Malling, when the two girls reached the parlour. "Sleeping, I'll be +bound, to judge by them spectacles around your eyes. There's no git-up +about young folk now-a-days," she went on, turning to Sarah. "Six +hours' sleep for healthy-minded women, I says; not an hour more nor an +hour less. Sister Emma was allus one o' them for her sy-esta." Then +she turned back to Prudence. "Maybe she learned you, my girl." + +"I haven't been sleeping, mother," Prudence protested, taking her +place at the table. "I don't feel very well." + +"Ah, you don't say so," exclaimed the old lady, all anxiety at once. +"An' why didn't you tell me before? Now maybe you've got a touch o' +the sun?" + +"Have you been faint and giddy?" asked Sarah, fixing her quiet eyes +upon the girl's face. + +"No, I don't think so. I've got a headache--nothing more." + +"Ah; cold bath and lemon soda," observed her mother practically. + +"Tea, and be left alone," suggested Sarah. + + "'Nature designs all human ills, but in the making Suggests the + cure which best is for the taking.'" + +Her steady old eyes seemed able to penetrate mere outward signs. + +"Quite right, 'Aunt' Sarah," said Alice decidedly. "Leave the nostrums +and quackeries alone. Prue will be all right after a nice cup of tea. +Now, mother Hephzy, one of your best for the invalid, and, please, +I'll have some more ham." + +"That you shall, you flighty harum-scarum. And to think o' the likes +o' you dictating to me about nostrums and physickings," replied the +farm-wife, with a comfortable laugh. "I'll soon be having Mary +teaching me to toss a buckwheat 'slap-jack.' Now see an' cut from the +sides o' that ham where the curin's primest. I do allow as the hams +didn't cure just so, last winter. Folks at my board must have of the +best." + +"I never knew any one to get anything else here," laughed Alice. Then +she turned her head sharply and sat listening. + +Mrs. Malling looked over towards the window. Prudence silently sipped +her tea, keeping her eyes lowered as much as possible. She knew that, +in spite of their talk, these kindly people were worried about her, +and she tried hard to relieve their anxiety. + +"Some one for us," said Alice, as the sound of horse's hoofs came in +through the open window. + +"Some one from Lakeville, I expect," said Mrs. Malling, making a +guess. + +"That's George Iredale's horse," said Sarah, who had detected the +sound of a pacer's gait. + +Prudence looked up in a startled, frightened way. Sarah was looking +directly at her. She made no further comment aloud, but contented +herself with a quiet mental note. + +"Something wrong," she thought; "and it's to do with him. Poor child, +poor child. Maybe she's fretting herself because----" + +Her reflections were abruptly broken off as the sound of a man's voice +hailing at the front door penetrated to the parlour. + +"Any one in?" cried the voice; and instantly Alice sprang to her +feet. + +"It's Robb!" she exclaimed. There was a clatter as her chair fell back +behind her; she nearly fell over it, reached the door, and the next +moment those in the parlour heard the sound of joyous exclamations +proceeding from the hall. + +Prudence's expression was a world of relief. Her mother was +overjoyed. + +"This is real good. Bring him in! Bring him in, Miss Thoughtless! +Don't keep him there a-philandering when there's good fare in the +parlour!" + + "'Love feeds on kisses, we read in ancient lay; Meaning the love + of yore; not of to-day,'" + +murmured Sarah, with a pensive smile, while she turned expectantly to +greet the visitor. + +Radiant, her face shining with conscious happiness, Alice led her +fiancé into the room. And Robb Chillingwood found himself sitting +before the farm-wife's generous board almost before he was aware of +it. While he was being served he had to face a running fire of +questions from, at least, three of the ladies present. + +Robb was a cheerful soul and ever ready with a pleasant laugh. This +snatched holiday from a stress of under-paid work was like a "bunk" to +a schoolboy. It was more delightful to him by reason of the knowledge +that he would have to pay up for it afterwards with extra exertions +and overtime work. + +"You didn't tell us when you were coming," said Alice. + +"Didn't know myself. Thought I'd ride over from Iredale's place on +spec'." + +"And you're come from there now?" asked Mrs. Malling. + +Prudence looked up eagerly. + +"Yes; I've just bought all his stock for a Scotch client of mine." + +"Scotch?" Sarah turned away with a motion of disgust. + +"What, has George sold all his beasties at last?" exclaimed the +farm-wife. + +"Why, yes. Didn't you know? He's giving up his ranch." + +Robb looked round the table in surprise. There was a pause. Then Mrs. +Malling broke it-- + +"He has spoken of it--hinted. But we wasn't expectin' it so soon. He's +made his pile." + +"Yes, he must have done so," said Robb readily. "The price he parted +with his cattle to me for was ridiculous. I shall make a large profit +out of my client. It'll all help towards furnishing, Al," he went on, +turning to his fiancée. + +"I'm so glad you are doing well now, Robb," the girl replied, with a +happy smile. + +"Yes." Then the man turned to Mrs. Malling. "We're going to get +married this fall. I hope Alice has been learning something of +housekeeping"--with a laugh. + +"Why, yes. Alice knows a deal more than she reckons to let on, I +guess," said the farm-wife, with a fat chuckle. + +Prudence now spoke for the first time since Robb's arrival. She looked +up suddenly, and, though she tried hard to speak conversationally, +there was a slightly eager ring in her voice. + +"When is George Iredale going to leave the ranch?" + +Robb turned to her at once. + +"Can't say. Not yet, I should think. He seems to have made no +preparations. Besides, I've got to see him again in a day or two." + +"Then you will stay out here?" asked Alice eagerly. + +"Well, no." Robb shook his head with a comical expression of chagrin. +"Can't be done, I'm afraid. But I'll come over here when I'm in the +neighbourhood, if possible." Then to Mrs. Malling, "May I?" + +"Why, certainly," said the farm-wife, with characteristic heartiness. +"If you come to this district without so much as a look in here, well, +you can just pass right along for the future." + +When the meal was over the old lady rose from the table. + +"Alice," said she, "you stay right here. Sarah and I'll clear away. +Prudence, my girl, just lie down and get your rest. Maybe you'll feel +better later on. Come along, Sarah; the young folks can get on +comfortably without us for once." + +Prudence made no attempt to do as her mother suggested. She moved +about the room, helping with the work. Then the two old ladies +adjourned to the kitchen. Robb and Alice had moved over to the +well-worn sofa at the far end of the room, and Prudence took up her +position at the open window. She seemed to have no thought of leaving +the lovers together; in fact, it seemed as though she had forgotten +their existence altogether. She stood staring out over the little +front garden with hard, unmeaning eyes. From her expression it is +doubtful if she saw what her eyes looked upon. Her thoughts were of +other matters that concerned only herself and another. + +The low tones of the lovers sounded monotonously through the room. +They, too, were now wrapt in their own concerns, and had forgotten the +presence of the girl at the window. They had so much to say and so +little time in which to say it; for Robb had to make Ainsley that +night. + +The cool August evening was drawing on. The threshing gang was +returning from the fields, and the purple haze of sundown was rising +above the eastern horizon; Prudence did not move. Her hands were +clasped before her; her pale face might have been of carved stone. +There was only the faintest sign of life about her, and that was the +steady rise and fall of her bosom. + +A cool breeze rustled in through the open window and set the curtains +moving. Then all became still again. Two birds squabbled viciously +amongst the branches of a blue-gum in the little patch of a garden, +but Prudence's gaze was still directed towards the horizon. She saw +nothing; she felt nothing but the pain which her own thoughts brought +her. + +Suddenly the sound of something moving outside became audible. There +was the noisy yawn of some large animal rising from its rest. Then +came the slow, heavy patter of the creature's feet. Neche approached +the window. His fierce-looking head stood well above the sill. His +greenish eyes looked up solemnly at the still figure framed in the +opening. His ears twitched attentively. There was no friendly motion +of his straight, lank tail; but his appearance was undoubtedly +expressive of some sort of well-meaning, canine regard. Whether the +dog understood and sympathized with the girl at the window it would +have taken something more than a keen observer to have said. But in +his strangely unyielding fashion he was certainly struggling to +convey something to this girl from whom he was accustomed to receive +nothing but kindness. + +For some moments he stood thus, quite still. His unkempt body rose and +fell under his wiry coat. He was a vast beast, and the wolf-grey and +black of his colouring was horribly suggestive of his ancestry. +Presently he lifted one great paw to the window. Balancing his weight +upon his only serviceable hind-leg, he lifted himself and stood with +both front feet upon the sill, and pushed his nose against the girl's +dress. She awoke from her reverie at the touch, and her hands +unclasped, and she slowly caressed the bristly head. The animal seemed +to appreciate the attention, for, with his powerful paws, he drew +himself further into the room. + +The girl offered no objection. She paid no heed to what he was doing. +Her hand merely rested on his head, and she thought no more about him. +Finding himself unrebuffed Neche made further efforts; then, suddenly, +he became aware of the other occupants of the room. Quick as a flash +his nose was directed towards the old sofa on which they were seated, +and his eyes, like two balls of phosphorescent light, gleamed in their +direction. He became motionless at once. It seemed as though he were +uncertain of something. + +He was inclined to resent the presence of these two, but the caress of +the soft, warm hand checked any hostile demonstration beyond a whine, +half plaintive, half of anger. + +The disturbing sound drew Alice's attention, and she looked over to +where Prudence was standing; it was then she encountered the +unblinking stare of the hound's wicked eyes. The sight thrilled her +for a moment, nor could she repress a slight shudder. She nudged her +companion and drew his attention without speaking. Robb followed the +direction of her gaze, and a silence followed whilst he surveyed the +strange apparition. + +He could only see the dog's head--the rest of the creature was hidden +behind the window curtain--and its enormous size suggested the great +body and powerful limbs which remained concealed. To Robb there was a +suggestion of hell about the cruel lustre of the relentless eyes. + +At last he broke into a little nervous laugh. + +"By Jove!" he said. "I thought for the moment I'd got 'em. Gee-whizz! +The brute looks like the devil himself. What is it? Whose?" + +Without replying, Alice called to her friend. + +"Let Neche come in, Prue," she said. "That is"--dubiously--"if you +think it's safe." Then she turned to Robb. "He's so savage that I'm +afraid of him. Still, with Prue here, I think he'll be all right; he's +devoted to her." + +At the sound of the girl's voice Prudence turned back from the window +like one awakening from a dream. Her eyes still had a far-away look in +them, and though she had heard the voice it seemed doubtful as to +whether she had taken the meaning of the words. For a moment her eyes +rested on Alice's face, then they drooped to the dog at her side, but +Alice was forced to repeat her question before the other moved. Then, +in silence, she stepped back and summoned the dog to her with an +encouraging chirrup. Neche needed no second bidding. There was a +scramble and a scraping of sharp claws upon the woodwork, then the +animal stood in the room. And his attitude as he eyed the two seated +upon the sofa said as plainly as possible, "Well, which one is it to +be first?" + +Robb felt uneasy. Alice was decidedly alarmed at the dog's truculent +appearance. + +But the tension was relieved a moment later by the brute's own strange +behaviour. Suddenly, without the slightest warning, Neche plumped down +upon his hind-quarters. His pricked ears drooped, and his two fore +paws began to beat a sort of tattoo upon the floor. Then followed a +broken whine, tremulous and blandishing, and the great head moved from +side to side with that curious movement which only dogs use to express +their gladness. Then the strange, three-legged beast went further. +Down he threw himself full length upon the floor and grovelled +effusively, whining and scraping the boards in a perfect fervour of +abject delight. + +Robb looked hard at the dog. Then he laughed and turned to Alice. + +"What is the creature's name? I didn't catch it." + +"Neche," she replied. + +Robb held out his hand encouragingly and called the dog by name. The +animal continued to squirm but did not offer to come nearer. Every now +and then its head was turned back, and the green eyes looked up into +Prudence's face. At last Robb ceased his efforts. His blandishments +were ineffectual beyond increasing the dog's effusive display. + +"A husky," he said, looking across at Prudence. "A bad dog to have +about the house. He reminds me of the animals we had up north in our +dog-train. They're devils to handle and as fierce as wild cats. We had +one just like him. Unusually big brute. He was our 'wheeler.' The most +vicious dog of the lot. The resemblance is striking. By Jove!" he went +on reminiscently, "he was a sulky, cantankerous cuss. His name was +'Sitting Bull,' after the renowned Sioux Indian chief. We had to be +very careful of the other dogs on account of his 'scrapping' +propensities. He killed one poor beast I think we nicknamed him rather +appropriately. He was affectionately dubbed 'Bully.'" + +As Robb pronounced the name he held out his hand again and flicked his +fingers. The dog rose from his grovelling posture and came eagerly +forward, wagging his lank tail. He rubbed his nose against the man's +hand and slowly licked the sun-tanned skin. + +Robb's brows drew together in a pucker of deep perplexity. He looked +the animal over long and earnestly, and slowly there crept into his +eyes an expression of wondering astonishment. He was interrupted in +his inspection by the girl at his side. + +"Why, he's treating you like an old friend, Robb." + +The man sat gazing down upon the wiry coat of the beast. + +"Yes," he said shortly. Then he looked over at Prudence. "Yours?" he +went on. + +The girl shook her head. + +"No, he belongs to Hervey." + +"Um! I wonder where he got him from," in a meditative tone. + +"Somewhere out in the wilds of the Yukon," put in Alice. + +"Ah! The Yukon." And Robb's face was serious as he turned towards the +window and looked out at the creeping shadows of evening. + +There was a pause. Prudence was thinking of anything but the subject +of Robb's inquiries. Alice was curious, but she forbore to question. +She had heard her lover's account of his misadventure in the Alaskan +hills, but she saw no connection between the hound and that disastrous +affair. But the man's thoughts were hard at work. Presently he rose to +depart. + +He bade Prudence good-bye and moved towards the door. The dog remained +where he had been standing and looked after him. At the door Robb +hesitated, then he turned and looked back. + +"Poor old Bully," he said. + +With a bound the dog was at his side. Then the man turned away, and, +accompanied by Alice, left the room. In the passage he paused, and +Alice saw an expression on his face she had never seen before. He was +nervous and excited, and his eyes shone in the half-light. + +"Al," he said slowly, "I know that dog. _And his name is Bully_. Don't +say anything to anybody. Hervey may be able to tell me something of +those who robbed us up in the hills. But on no account must you say +anything to him; leave it to me. I shall come here again--soon. +Good-bye, little woman." + +That evening as Robb Chillingwood rode back to Ainsley he thought of +many things, but chiefly he reviewed the details of that last +disastrous journey when he and Grey had traversed the snow-fields of +Alaska together. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE LAST OF LONELY RANCH + + +There are moments which come in all lives when calm reflection is +powerless to influence the individual acts; when calmness, even in the +most phlegmatic natures, is impossible; when a tide of impulse sweeps +us on, giving us not even so much as a breathless, momentary pause in +which to consider the result of our headlong career. We blunder on +against every jagged obstacle, lacerated and bleeding, jolting cruelly +from point to point, whither our passions irresistibly drive us. It is +a blind, reckless journey, from which there is no escape when the tide +sets in. We see our goal ahead, and we fondly believe that because it +is ahead we must come to it. We do not consider the awful road we +travel, nor the gradual exhaustion which is overtaking us. We do not +realize that we must fall by the wayside for lack of strength, nor +even, if our strength be sufficient to carry us on to the end, do we +ask ourselves, shall we be able to draw aside out of the raging +torrent when our goal is reached? or shall we be swept on to the +yawning Beyond where, for evermore, we must continue to struggle +hopelessly to return? Once give passion unchecked sway, and who can +say what the end will be? + +It was at such a moment in her life at which Prudence had arrived. Her +mind was set upon an object which absorbed all her faculties, all her +brain, all her feelings. Had she been able to pause, even for one +moment, reason must have asserted itself and she would have understood +the folly of what she was doing. But that moment was denied her. All +the latent passions of a strong nature had been let loose and she was +swept on by their irresistible tide. She believed that she was the +appointed avenger of the man she had once loved, and that this duty +unfulfilled would be a crime, the stain of which nothing could wipe +out. Iredale must be confronted, challenged, and---- + +And so she came to Lonely Ranch on her self-imposed errand of +justice. + +The man she sought was not in the house when she came. The valley +seemed to be devoid of life as she rode up. But the solitude was +almost instantly broken by the appearance of Chintz from the region of +the barn. She dispatched him in search of his master and passed into +the bachelor sitting-room to await his coming. + +She was restless and her nerves were strung to a great tension. Her +eyes still shone with that peculiar light which ever seemed to look +out of her brother's. There was no yielding in the set of her mouth. +Her resolve disfigured the sweetness which usually characterized her +beautiful features. + +She stood before the window, looking out upon the shadow-bathed +valley. She saw before her the dark wall of foliage which rose to the +heights of the Front Hill. Not a living soul was about, only was there +a rising wind which disturbed the unbroken forest of pines. She +turned abruptly from the view as though she could not bear the +solitude which was thus made so apparent. She crossed over to where +the bookcase stood against the wall, and glanced in through the glazed +doors. But she comprehended nothing of what she saw. She was thinking, +thinking, and her mind was in a tumult of hysterical fancies. And she +was listening too; listening for a sound--any sound other than that +which the wind made. Mechanically she came over to the table and leant +against it in an attitude of abstraction. She shivered; she stood up +to steady herself and she shivered again. And all the time the +frenzied eyes gleamed in their beautiful oval setting, the lips were +drawn inwards, and there remained only a sharply-defined line to mark +the sweet mouth. Presently her lips parted and she moistened them with +her tongue. A fever seemed to be upon her, and mouth and throat were +parched. + +Suddenly the sound for which she waited came. She darted eagerly to +the window and saw Chintz pass round in the direction of the barn. +Then she saw the burly figure of the man she was awaiting appear in +the clearing fronting the house. + +George Iredale came along at a robust gait. He was clad in moleskin +riding-breeches, much stained with clay, as though he had been +digging; a soft shirt, the sleeves of which were rolled up above the +elbow; his Stetson hat was adjusted at the correct angle upon his +head; and he wore a pair of tan-coloured field boots, much smeared +with the signs of toil. He came rapidly towards the house. There was +nothing furtive, nothing guilty about this man's bearing; he came +readily to meet his visitor, and his appearance was the confident +bearing of a man who has little to fear. + +She saw him look towards the window where she stood, and his +smile of welcome set her nerves tingling with a sensation she +failed to understand. Her hand went round to the pocket of her linen +riding-skirt and remained there. She heard his step in the hall; +she heard him approach and turn the door handle. As he came into +the room she faced him. + +"Why, Prudence, this is a delightful----" he began. But she +interrupted him coldly. + +"One moment," she said, and her voice was hoarse with the dryness of +her throat. "I have not come over for any visit of pleasure, but +strictly upon a matter of--of--business. There are some explanations +which we both need to make, but more especially you." + +"Yes." + +Iredale was gazing earnestly into the face before him. He was trying +to fathom the meaning of her coldness. For the moment he wondered; +then, slowly, he began to understand that Hervey had been at work. + +"You got my note," he said, choosing to ignore the result of his +observations. "My delay in calling at the farm was unavoidable. I am +in the midst of disposing of my ranch. I had not expected that I +should have been called upon to do so so soon. I beg that you will +forgive me what must seem an unwarrantable delay." + +Prudence's nerves were so strung that she felt as though she could +strike him for his calm words. Her condition demanded the opposition +of passion equal to her own. His coolness maddened her. So long had +she dwelt upon the accusation Hervey had brought against him that she +believed in this man's guilt. The evidence of her own senses had +militated against him, and now she steeled herself in an armour of +unbelief. But, in spite of herself, the dictates of her heart were +struggling hard to find the joints of her armour. Nor were the +struggles lessened now that she stood confronting him. His coolness, +though maddening to her, was not without effect. The moral influence +he wielded was great. + +She backed to the table; then she plunged into the subject of her +mission without further preamble. Her eyes stared straight into his, +and her tones sounded incisively in the stillness of the room. + +"I little knew the man whom I was listening to when he offered me his +life, nor had I an idea of how near I was to the man who inspired the +words which have appeared in the paper--the words which were the last +Leslie Grey ever uttered. What must have been your feelings when I +told you that I knew their author to be a murderer?" Then, with +scathing bitterness: "But your feelings must have long since been +dead--dead as the poor creature you so wantonly sent to his reckoning. +The time has come for you to defend yourself; that is, if defence you +can offer. No flimsy excuse or extenuation will cover you. Even the +Scriptures teach us that the penalty is 'a life for a life.' Yours is +the hand that struck Leslie down, and now you must face the +consequences of your wanton act." + +Iredale's quiet eyes never attempted to avoid the girl's direct +gaze, nor did he flinch as the accusation fell from her lips. +Never was he more alert, never more gently disposed towards this +half-demented creature than at that moment. He recognized the hand +that had been at work, and he laid no blame upon her. His feelings +were of sorrow--sorrow for the woman he loved, and sorrow for +himself. But his thoughts were chiefly for her. He knew, as she had +said, that his time had come. + +"So Hervey has been to you to sell the discovery which I rejected at +the price he asked. He told you that I was a smuggler; that the +announcement in the paper was mine. And did he tell you that I was the +murderer of Leslie Grey? Or did your heart prompt you to that +conclusion?" + +The girl supported herself against the table with one hand, and the +other was still in the pocket behind her. Iredale noted these things +without moving his eyes from her face. + +"Hervey told me the facts and the inevitable proof they bore. Nor was +his statement exaggerated. My own reason told me that." + +The man sighed. He had hoped that the work had been only of the +brother's doings. He had hoped that she had come bearing Hervey's +accusation and not her own. + +"Go on," he said. + +"I know you for what you really are, George Iredale. And now I have +come to you to give you the chance of defending yourself. No man must +be condemned without a hearing. Neither shall you. The evidence +against you is overwhelming; I can see no escape for you. But speak, +if you have anything to say in your defence, and I will listen. I +charge you with the murder of Leslie Grey." + +Just for one brief moment Iredale felt a shiver pass through his body. +The icy tones of the girl's voice, the seemingly dispassionate words +filled him with a horror unspeakable. Then he pulled himself together. +He was on his defence before the one person in the world from whose +condemnation he shrank. He did not answer at once. He wished to make +no mistake. When at last he spoke his words came slowly as though he +weighed well each syllable before he gave it utterance. + +"With one exception all that Hervey has doubtless said of me is true. +I am a smuggler; I inspired that line in the paper; but I am +no--murderer. Leslie Grey's life was sacred to me at the time if only +for the reason that he was your affianced husband. I loved you at that +time as I have loved you for years, and all my thoughts and wishes +were for your happiness. It would have made you happy to have married +Grey, therefore I wished that you should marry him. I am quite +unchanged. I will tell you now what neither you nor Hervey knows, even +though it makes my case look blacker. I knew that Grey was on my +track. I knew that he had discovered my secret. How he had done so I +cannot say. He quarrelled with me, and, in the heat of his anger, told +me of his intentions. It was late one night at a card-party at your +house, and just before he was so foully murdered. No doubt you, or any +right-minded person for that matter, will say that this evidence only +clinches the case against me. But, in spite of it, I assert my +innocence. Amongst my many sins the crime Hervey charges me with"--he +purposely avoided associating the charge with her--"is not numbered. +Can I hope that you will believe me?" + +The gentle tones in which the burly man spoke, the earnest fearlessness +which looked out from his quiet eyes, gave infinite weight to all he +said. Prudence shook her head slowly, but the fire in her eyes was +less bright, and the voice of her own heart crying out began to make +itself heard in the midst of her chaotic thought. + +She tried to stiffen herself for the task she had undertaken, but the +result was not all she sought Still, she replied coldly-- + +"How can I believe with all the black evidence against you? You, in +all this region, were the one man interested in Leslie's death. His +life meant penitentiary to you; his death meant liberty. Your own +words tell me that. How can I believe such a denial as you now make? +Tell me, have you no proof to offer? Account for the day on which +Leslie met his death; prove your movements upon that day." + +The girl's denial of belief was belied by the eagerness in her voice. +For one brief instant a flash of hope rose in her. She saw a loophole +for her lover. She longed to believe him. But the hope died down, +leaving her worse distracted for its coming. + +For Iredale did not speak, and his face assumed a look of gloom. + +"Ah, you cannot--you cannot," she went on hysterically. "I might have +known, I did know." A world of passion again leapt into her eyes. Then +something of the woman broke through her anger, and a heart-breaking +piteousness sounded in her voice. "Oh, why, why did you do this thing? +Why did you stain your hands with such a crime as murder? What would +his living have meant to you? At worst the penitentiary. Was it worth +it to destroy thus the last chance of your immortal soul? Oh, God! And +to think of it! A murderer!" Then the fierce anger became dominant +once more. "But you shall not escape. Your crime shall be expiated as +far as human crimes can be expiated. The gallows awaits you, George +Iredale, and your story shall be told to the world. You shall hang +unless you can give to judge and jury a better denial than you have +given to me." She suddenly broke off. A whistling indrawn breath +startled the man before her. She gazed round her wildly; she had +remembered what she had come for. She had forgotten when she had +talked of "judge and jury." Her face assumed a ghastly hue at the +recollection. Her eyes alone still told of the madness that possessed +her. + +Nor was Iredale without an uneasy feeling at what he saw--that catch +of breath; that hunted look as she gazed about the room. Intuition +served him in the moment of crisis. What was the meaning? Why was that +hand concealed in her dress? There was only one possible answer to +such questions, and he read the answer aright. + +"Prudence," he said, in his deep musical voice, whilst his keen eyes +riveted her attention, "I can prove my innocence of the crime you +charge me with. Listen to me patiently, and I will tell you how. Do +not let your anger drive you to any rash act which might bring +you--lifelong regret." + +The girl made a sharp ejaculation. But she did not attempt to +interrupt him. + +"I can prove that I was not within three hundred miles of this place +on the day of Leslie's death," the man went on. "That I was in a city +to the west of here distributing"--bitterly--"my wares. I can prove +all this--to you. And I intend that before you leave me to-day you +shall be a witness to my innocence, even against all prejudice. But +before judge and jury it will be different--very different." He +sighed. "There I cannot prove my innocence, for to do so would be to +betray my comrades--those who have traded with me and trusted me--and +send them to the penal servitude which also awaits me." His eyes had +become reflective. He seemed to be talking to himself now rather than +to the woman before him. "No, I cannot save myself at such a cost. +Even to escape the gallows I will not play the part of Judas." + +The woman made no reply. She stood staring at him with all that was +best in her shining in her eyes. She was trying to follow his every +word and to take his meaning, and the one thought which dominated her +whole mind was his expressed ability to prove his innocence to her. + +He seemed to awake from some melancholy reverie, and again his eyes +sought hers. + +"Do you wish me to prove my innocence?" + +"Yes; you must--you shall!" + +The girl moved from the table; and, for the first time during the +interview, her hand was removed from the pocket in her skirt. Hope +filled the heart in which but now the fires of hell had seemed to +burn. She drank in his words with a soul-consuming thirst The proof! +That was what she required. + +Iredale went on with grave gentleness. + +"The proof is in here." He moved to the bookcase and opened a secret +recess in the back of it, "In this cupboard." + +He produced a pile of books and brought them to the table. Picking out +one he opened it at the date of Grey's death. It was a diary. He read +out the entries for the entire week, all of which bore out his +testimony. Every one was dated at a different town or village, and +related to his sales of opium. He then opened another book and showed +the entries of his sales and the figures. He went through the whole +pile, book after book, and all of them bore out his statement as to +his whereabouts. Then he produced several contracts; these were deeds +between himself and various traders, and were dated at the towns at +which they were signed. Each book and paper he passed on to Prudence +for her scrutiny, drawing her attention to the corroboration in the +evidence. There could be no doubt as to the genuineness of these +facts, and the girl's last shadowy doubts of his innocence evaporated +before the overwhelming detail. The hope which had filled her heart +was now replaced by a triumphant joy. This man had shown her, had +convinced her, and she wanted nothing more at that moment. + +She looked up into his face, hoping to see a reflection of her own +happiness in it. But there was no happiness there. His face was calm, +but the melancholy had deepened in his eyes. What she saw came like an +icy douche to her, and the happy expression died upon her lips. She +suddenly remembered that he had said he could not use this evidence to +publicly declare his innocence. + +"But----" she began. + +He shook his head. He knew that she wished to protest. For a moment +they looked into each other's eyes. Then the woman, the weaker, broke +down under the strain. Tears came to her eyes, and she poured out all +the pent-up grief of her hours of misery. + +"Oh, George," she cried, "can you ever forgive my wickedness? I ought +never to have believed. My heart told me that you were innocent; but +the evidence--oh, the evidence. I could see no loophole. Everything +pointed to you--you. And I, wretch that I am, I believed." And the +girl sobbed as though her heart would break. Iredale made no attempt +to soothe her; he felt that it would be good for her to weep. She +leant against the table, and after a while her sobs quietened. Then +the man touched her upon the shoulder. + +"Don't cry, Prue; my heart bleeds for you when I listen to your sobs. +You're not to blame for believing me guilty. Twelve jurymen will +shortly do the same, and who can blame them?" He shrugged. "I must +face the 'music' and take my chance. And now, child," he added, his +hand still resting upon her shoulder, and smiling down upon her from +his superior height, "give me that which you have concealed in your +pocket. We will throw it away." + +Prudence sprang up and moved beyond his reach. + +"No, no! I can't! Don't ask me. Spare me the shame of it. As you love +me, George, don't ask me for it." + +"As you will, dear; I merely wished to rid ourselves of an ugly +presence. While we are together--and it may not be for long +now--nothing should come between us, least of all that." + +The girl's tears had dried. She looked over at her lover. His +compelling influence was upon her. She paused irresolute; then she +plunged her hand into her pocket and drew forth a large revolver. + +"Here, take it. Take it, and do what you like with it" Then she +laughed bitterly. "You know me as I am now. I brought that to shoot +you with, and afterwards to shoot myself. You see, I am a murderess at +heart." And she smiled bitterly. + +Iredale took the weapon and placed it in his bookcase. Then he came to +the girl's side and put his arm tenderly about her shoulders. + +"Forget it, child; forget it as you would a hideous dream. Your +feelings were forced upon you by--well, through my wretched doings. +That which I have done to gain wealth has brought only what might have +been expected in its train. No work of evil is without its sting, and, +as is always the case, that sting seeks out the most sensitive part of +its victim. The chastisement for my wrongdoing has been inflicted with +cruel cunning, for you, Prue, have been made to suffer; thus is my +punishment a hundredfold greater." + +He drew her to him as he spoke, and gently smoothed her dark hair. +Under the influence of his touch and the sound of his voice, the girl +calmed. She nestled close to his side, and for a moment abandoned +herself to the delight of being with him. But her thoughts would not +remain idle for long. Suddenly she released herself and moved to +arm's length from him. + +"George," she said, in a tone of suppressed eagerness, "they cannot +try you for--for murder. You will tell them. You will show them +all--these. For my sake, for the sake of all your friends, you will +not let them--condemn you. Oh, you can't allow it. Think," she went +on, more passionately; "no men would willingly let you be declared +guilty when they know you to be innocent. It must not be." + +Iredale gave no outward sign. He had turned his face away and was +gazing in the direction of the window. His reflective eyes looked out +upon the valley, but his resolve was written plainly in them. + +"Do not tempt me, Prue," he said quietly. "Were I to do otherwise than +I have resolved, and obtained an acquittal thereby, I should live a +life of utter regret. I should despise myself; I should loathe my own +shadow. Nothing could be more revolting to me than the man who plays +the part of a traitor, and were I that man life would be impossible to +me. Think of it only for one moment, sweetheart, and your own good +heart will tell you how impossible is that which you ask me to do. It +cannot be. All the world would despise me. But even so, its utmost +execration would be nothing compared with my own feelings at the +thought that I had saved myself by such methods." He withdrew his hand +from her embrace. "No, when the time comes and I am forced to stand my +trial for Grey's murder, I shall face it. Nor shall I betray my +friends by one single word. And, too, when that time comes there will +not remain one single trace of the traffic which has hitherto been +part of my very existence. There shall be no possible chance of +discovery for those who have trusted me. Your brother Hervey will +never hold his hand. I know that. I realized that when he left me +after seeking 'blackmail.' His vindictive nature will see this +through. And perhaps I would rather have it so. It will then be +settled once and for all. I may get off, but I fear that it will be +otherwise." + +At the mention of her brother's name, Prudence started, and the blood +receded from her anxious face, leaving it ghastly in its pallor. She +had forgotten that he was even now on his way to Winnipeg for the +express purpose of denouncing Iredale. For one instant she shook like +an aspen. Then she recovered herself. What was to be done? She tried +to think. This matter of Hervey was of her doing. She had driven him +to it; urged him to it. Now she realized the full horror of what her +foolish credulity had led her into. It had been in her power to stay +his hand, at least to draw his fangs. Now it was too late. Suddenly +she turned upon her lover in one final appeal. At that moment it +seemed the only chance of saving him. + +"George, there is a way out of it all; one last resource if you will +only listen to me. You love me even in spite of the way I have wronged +you. You belong to me if only by reason of our love. You have no right +to throw your life away when you are innocent. God knows I honour you +for your decision not to betray your companions. If it were possible, +I love you more than ever. But the sin would be as great to throw your +life away for such a shadow as it would be to deliver your friends up +to justice. You can save yourself; you must. The border is near. We +are right on it. Surely the way you have brought the Chinese into the +country should provide an exit for us. Oh, my poor love, will you not +listen to me? Will you not give me the life I crave? George, let us +go--together." + +Her words came passionately. She had stepped forward and placed her +two brown hands upon his great shoulders, and her dark, earnest eyes +gazed lovingly up into his. + +The temptation was a sore one, and the man found it hard to resist. He +experienced a sudden rush of blood to the brain. His body seemed to be +on fire. He was pulsating with a mad passion. The thought of what she +suggested came near to overthrowing his sternest resolve. To go with +her. To have her evermore by his side. The thought was maddening. +Surely he had never realized until that moment how dearly he loved +this woman. But his strong nature came to his rescue in time. The +passion had died down as swiftly as it had risen and left him cold and +collected. + +He gazed down into the brown eyes ever so kindly, ever so lovingly; +and his answer came in a tone so gentle that the girl felt that +whatever the future might hold for them, this moment had been worth +living for. + +"No, no, sweetheart. Not flight, even though you would be my +companion. We love one another dearly, and for that very fact I could +never allow myself to remain under this cloud. At all costs we will +have the matter cleared. I owe it to you, to those at the farm, and to +myself." + +The girl's hands dropped to her sides and she turned away. Then all +the agony of her soul found vent in one exclamation. + +"Oh, God!" she cried. And with that last cry came the revealing flash +which answered the question she had so repeatedly asked herself. She +turned back to her lover, and the agonized expression of her face had +changed, and in her eyes was the eager light of excitement. Iredale +saw the change, but did not recognize its meaning. He felt that she +must no longer remain there. + +"Child, I want you to go back to the farm and tell them of the +accusation that has been brought against me. Tell them all the +circumstances of it. Tell them that I have clearly convinced you of my +innocence; but, as you love me, I charge you not to reveal the manner +in which it was done. Tell your mother that I shall come over +to-morrow, and she shall hear the whole story from my own lips. I wish +to do this that she may hear my version before she reads of what must +happen in the papers. After that I shall go into Winnipeg and set the +law in motion. I will clear myself or--otherwise. But on your honour +you must promise that all I have shown you to-day remains a secret +between us." + +Prudence listened intently to all he said, but a quiet look of resolve +slowly crept into her eyes. + +"I promise," she said, and Iredale thanked her with a look. + +There was the briefest of pauses; then she went on-- + +"On one condition." + +"What do you mean?" + +Iredale looked his surprise. + +"Now you must hear me, George," she went on eagerly. "You have +charged me with this thing. You must abide by my time. A day more or +less can make little difference to you." + +"But I wish to give myself up before others can make the charge." + +"Just so. And in the meantime I want your promise not to come to the +farm until the"--she paused to make a swift mental calculation--"day +after to-morrow at four o'clock in the afternoon." + +"Tell me your reason." + +"That is my own." The girl was smiling now. Then she again became +excited. "Promise, promise, promise! There is no time to lose. Even +now I fear we are too late." + +Iredale looked dubiously at her. Suddenly he saw her face darken. + +"Promise!" she demanded almost fiercely, "or I will not abide by my +promise to you." + +"I promise." + +An expression of relief came into Prudence's eyes, and she stepped +towards him and looked up into his face. + +"Good-bye, George, dearest." + +The man suddenly clasped her in a bear-like embrace and rained +passionate, burning kisses on her upturned lips. Then quietly she +released herself. She stood away from him holding one of his great +hands in both of hers. + +"Quick! Now my horse." + +Iredale departed, and Prudence was left alone. She stood looking after +him thinking, thinking. + +"Can I do it?" she asked herself. + +Damside City was the nearest telegraph station. It lay nearly +thirty-five miles due west of Owl Hoot It was merely a grain station +for the district and in no sense a village. She must make that point +and so intercept Hervey with a telegraphic message. It was her one +chance. In spite of her lover she would buy Hervey's silence, and +trust to the future to set the rest straight. She was strong and her +horse was good. She must reach the office before it was closed at six +o'clock that evening. She calculated it up; she had just three hours +in which to cover the distance. She looked out of the window. The wind +was blowing from the east; that was good, it would ease the horse. She +looked up at the sky, there were a few clouds scudding westwards. + +"Yes, I'll do it," she said at last, "if it kills poor Kitty." + +A moment later Iredale returned with the mare. The girl waited not a +second. Her lover assisted her into the saddle reluctantly. He did not +approve this sudden activity on the part of the girl. When she had +settled herself she bent down, and their lips met in one long, +passionate kiss. + +"Good-bye, George." + +The man waved his adieu. His heart was too full to speak. She swung +her mare round and galloped down the valley to the north. Her object +was to clear the valley and then turn off to the west on the almost +disused trail to Damside. + +Iredale looked after her until the sound of the mare's hoofs died away +in the distance. He was filled with wonder at her strange request and +her hurried departure. But his speculations brought him to no definite +conclusions, and he turned abruptly and called to his man, Chintz. + +The man hurried from the stable. + +"We have been a little delayed. Is everything ready?" Iredale looked +up at the sky, then down at the grizzled face before him. + +Chintz nodded. + +"Good. Then get to work. Start the first fire directly beyond the +graveyard to the east. The wind is getting up steadily. You are sure +there are no farms to the west of us, between here and Rosy River?" + +The man gave a negative shake of the head. + +"That's all right then. There will be no damage done. And the river +will cut the fire off. This time to-morrow we shall be homeless +wanderers, Chintz--you and I." And the smuggler laughed bitterly. + +Then his laugh died out. + +"Well, to work. Set the fires going." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +THE FOREST DEMON PURSUES + + +Prudence swung her mare out on to the overgrown trail to Damside City. +Kitty was a trim-built little "broncho," compact, well-ribbed, and +with powerful shoulders and chest. She was just the animal to "stay" +and travel fast. The road cut through the heart of the Owl Hoot bush, +and ran in a diagonal direction, south-west towards the border. Then +it converged with the border trail which skirted the great southern +muskeg, and, passing through a broken, stony country, went on to +Damside. + +The wind was rapidly freshening, and the scudding clouds were quickly +changing from white to grey, which, to the girl's practised mind, +indicated an immediate change of weather. But she thought little of +the matter beyond being thankful that the wind was well behind her, +she wished to travel fast, and a "fair" wind is as necessary to the +horseman, under such circumstances, as it is to the mariner. + +For a time the roughness of the road required her attention. Kitty was +surefooted, but the outstanding roots with which her path was lined +needed careful negotiation. Presently the trail became wider and its +surface more even, and signs of recent usage became apparent. The +roots were worn down and the projecting stones had been removed. +Neither did it take the girl long to decide whose servants had done +these things. On this obscure trail were to be seen many signs of the +traffic upon which the owner of Lonely Ranch had been engaged. Now +Prudence gave Kitty her head, and the mare travelled at a great pace. + +The breeze had chastened the laden air of the pine world. The redolent +woods no longer scented the air, which had in consequence become fresh +and bracing. For the moment the emergency of her journey had dulled +the girl's sensibilities to her surroundings. She looked out upon the +beautiful tinted world, but she heeded nothing of what her eyes +beheld. Her mind was set upon the object of her journey, and her +thoughts were centred round the players in the drama of her life. + +How different her life seemed to have suddenly become from that which +she had contemplated that morning. A great triumphant joy was with her +since her lover had established his innocence to her. Her troubles and +anxieties were still many, and the least thing might upset every hope +she entertained, but there was always with her the remembrance that +George Iredale was innocent, and in that thought she felt a wonderful +security. That he was a smuggler was a matter of insignificance. She +loved him too well to let such knowledge narrow her estimation of him. +She was too essentially of the prairie to consider so trifling a +matter. Half the farmers in the country were in the habit of breaking +the Customs regulations by cutting wood and hay on Government lands +without a permit, and even hauling these things from across the border +when such a course suited them, and in every case it was "contraband"; +but they were thought no less of by their friends. Iredale was no +worse than they, in spite of the fact that his offence carried with it +a vastly heavier sentence. + +But for the dread that she might be too late to intercept her brother, +Prudence would almost have been happy as she raced along that +westward-bound trail. She knew her brother's nature well. She knew +that he was vindictive, and no doubt her own treatment of him had +roused his ire and all the lower instincts of his malignant nature; +but she also knew that he loved money--needed money. His greed for +gold was a gluttonous madness which he was incapable of resisting, and +he would sacrifice any personal feeling provided the inducement were +sufficiently large. She meant that the inducement should be as large +as even he could wish, and she knew that in this direction his ideas +were extensive. Her one trouble, the one thought which alarmed her, +was the question of time. If the office were closed when she arrived, +her journey would have been in vain, for the operator lived in Ainsley +and would have gone home; Hervey would have arrived in Winnipeg, and, +by the time the office opened the following morning, the mischief +would have been done. + +She flicked her mare with the end of her reins and touched her flank +with her heel. Kitty responded with a forward bound. The increased +speed was all too slow for the rapid thought and deadly anxiety of the +girl, but she was too good a horsewoman to press the willing beast +beyond a rational gait. + +The hardy mare "propped" jerkily as she passed down the sharp side of +a dried-out slough. She plunged through a thicket of long grass, and a +grey cloud of mosquitoes rose and enveloped horse and rider. The +vicious insects settled like a grey cloth upon the heated mare, and +Prudence's soft flesh was punctured by hundreds of venomous needles at +once. The girl swept the insects from neck and face, heedless of the +torturing stings. The mare fretted and raced up the opposite slope, +while the girl leant forward in her saddle and sought to relieve the +staunch little creature's agony by sweeping the poisonous insects from +her steaming coat. + +The mare pressed on. Suddenly she threw up her head and snorted +violently. Prudence was startled. Something had distracted Kitty's +attention, and her wide-set ears were cocked in alarm. Her nose was +held high, and again and again she snorted. In consequence her pace +was slackened and became awkward. She no longer kept a straight line +along the trail, but moved from side to side in evident agitation. +Prudence was puzzled and endeavoured to steady the creature. But Kitty +was not to be easily appeased. She rattled her bit and mouthed it +determinedly, grabbing at the side-bar with an evident desire to +secure it in her teeth. The girl kept a tight rein and attempted to +soothe her with the tender caress of her hand; but her efforts were +unavailing. The ears were now turned backwards, and had assumed that +curiously vicious inclination which in a horse is indicative of bad +temper or equine terror. Kitty had no vice in her, and Prudence +quickly understood the nature of her mare's feelings. + +The failure of her soothing efforts alarmed the girl. She sat up and +looked about her. In the dense forest there seemed to be no unusual +appearance. The trees were waving and bending in the wind, and their +groanings had a sadly mournful effect, upon the scene, but otherwise +there was nothing strange to be observed. The sky had assumed a leaden +hue, and in this direction the prospect was not alluring, but the +clouds were fairly high and there was no suggestion of immediate +storm. + +Suddenly a couple of jack-rabbits darted across the road. The mare +"propped," reared, and swung round towards the trees. Prudence brought +her up to her work sharply. Then she saw that the rabbits were racing +on ahead, down the trail. For the moment her patience gave way, and +she dug her heel hard against Kitty's side and the mare plunged +forward. But her gait remained unsteady, and in her agitation she kept +changing her stride, and once even tripped and nearly fell. + +A coyote followed by his mate and two young ones ran out on to the +trail and raced along ahead of her. They did not even turn their heads +to look at her. Further on a great timber-wolf appeared and trotted +along the edge of the woods, every now and then turning its head +furtively to glance back. + +Then quite suddenly Prudence became conscious of something unusual. +She raised her face to the grey vault of the sky and sniffed at the +air. A pungent scent was borne upon the wind. The odour of resinous +wood, so strong as to be sickly, came to her, and its pungency was not +the ordinary scent of the forest about her. + +Half-a-dozen kit-foxes dashed out on to the trail and joined in the +race, and the "yowl" of the prairie dog warned her that other animals +were about. The resinous odour grew stronger every moment, and at last +Prudence detected the smell of smoke. She turned her head and looked +back; and behind her, directly in her wake, she saw a thin grey haze +which the wind was sweeping along above the trees. + +She drew her mare up to a stand, and as she sat looking back, a deadly +fear crept into her eyes. Kitty resented the delay and reared and +plunged in protest The restraint maddened her. And all the time the +girl saw that the smoke haze was thickening, and some strange distant +sounds like the discharge of heavy ordnance reached her. + +The sweet oval face wore a strained expression; her eyes were wide +open and staring, and the fear which looked out of them was fear of no +ordinary danger. She watched the dull haze as it thickened and rolled +on towards her. She saw it rise like great steam-jets and wreath +itself upwards as fresh volumes displayed the lower strata. She saw +the dull brown tint creep into it as it densified, and she knew that +_it was smoke_. The rest needed no explanation beyond the evidence of +her senses. The sickly resinous smell told her what had happened. The +forest was on fire! + +The thought found vent in a muttered exclamation. Then came an +afterthought-- + +"And the wind is blowing it straight along behind me." + +For a moment she gazed about her wildly. She looked to the right and +left The forest walls were impassable. She looked back along the +trail. The narrow ribbon-like space was filled with a fog of smoke +which was even now enveloping her. What should she do? There was +nothing for it but to go on. But the fire must be travelling apace in +the high wind. Still she stood. It seemed as though for the moment her +faculties were paralyzed with the horror of her discovery. + +But at last she was moved to action. The mare became troublesome. The +girl could no longer keep her still. The distracted animal humped her +back and began to show signs of "bucking." Then came a rush of animals +along the trail; they came racing for dear life, and their numbers +were augmented from the wooded depths which lined their route. + +Antelope led the way; with heads thrown up and antlers pressed low +down upon their backs they seemed to fly over the sandy soil. Then +came the "loping" dogs, coyotes, prairie wolves. Birds of all sorts +assembled in one long continuous flight. The animal kingdom of that +region of forest seemed to have become united in their mutual +terror--wolf and hare, coyote and jack-rabbit, hawks and blackbird, +prairie chicken and grey-owl; all sworn enemies in time of calm +prosperity, but now, in their terror, companions to the last. And all +the time, in the growing twilight of smoke, came the distant booming +as of the discharge of great cannon. + +The girl leaned forward. She clapped her heel hard against the mare's +side, and with a silent prayer joined in the race for life. + +She had no exact knowledge of how far these woods extended, or where +the break would come which should cut off the fire. The wild beasts +were speeding on down the trail, and, with the instinct of her +prairie world, she reasoned that in this direction alone must lie +safety. + +The smoke grew denser and more choking. Her eyes became sore. Under +her she felt the mare stretching herself to the utmost of her gait. +She came up with many of the racing denizens of the forest, but they +did not attempt to move off the trail at her approach. They were +beyond the fear of human presence. A more terrible enemy was behind +them, pursuing with gigantic strides which demolished space with +incredible swiftness. + +Every moment the air grew hotter in spite of the mare's best efforts, +and Prudence knew that the fire was gaining. Hill or dale made no +difference now. It must be on--on, or the devouring monster would be +upon them. Kitty never flagged, and with increasing speed her footing +became even more sure. A loose line, with body bent well forward to +ease the animal, Prudence did all she knew to assist her willing +companion; but for every stride the faithful mare took, she knew that +the fire was gaining many yards. + +The booming had increased to a steady roar, in the midst of which the +deep, thunderous detonations came like the peals of a raging storm; +the wind rushed headlong forward, the fire bringing with it an almost +cyclonic sweep of heated air. The mighty forest giants about her bent +like reeds under the terrible force, and shrieked aloud their fears at +the coming of the devouring demon. + +The mare rushed down into a wide hollow. A culvert bridged a reedy +slough. The affrighted beast raced across it. The stream of the animal +world swept on about her. She breasted the steep ascent opposite, and +Prudence was forced to draw rein. She dared not allow the horse to +race up such an incline, even though the fire were within a quarter of +a mile of her; she would have been mad to exhaust the faithful +creature, which was now her only hope. Even the poor forest creatures, +mad as they were with terror, slackened their gait. + +At length the hilltop was gained, and a long descent confronted them. +Kitty showed no signs of exhaustion yet, and faced her work amidst the +rush of refugees with all her original zest. Down into the valley they +tore, for the worst of all perils was in pursuit. + +The valley stretched away far into the distance; ahead, here, in this +hollow, the air was clearer. The hill had shut off the fog of smoke +for the moment The refugees now had a smooth run, and a faint glimmer +of hope gladdened the heart of the girl. + +Without slackening her speed, she looked back at the hill, fearing to +see the ruthless flames dart up over the path which her mare's feet +had so recently trodden. But the flames had not yet reached the brow, +and she sighed her satisfaction. The smoke was pouring over the +tree-tops, and, circling and rolling in a tangled mass, was creeping +down in her wake, but as yet there were no flames. She looked this way +and that at the dark green of the endless woods, the gracious fields +of bending pines. She thought of the beauty which must so soon pass +away, leaving behind it only the charred skeletons, the barren, +leafless trunks, which for years would remain to mark the cruel path +of flame. + +Suddenly the roar, which had partly died away into a vague distant +murmur beyond the hill, burst out again with redoubled fury. Again she +looked round, and the meaning was made plain to her. She saw the +yellow fringe of flame as it came dancing, chaotic, a tattered ribbon +of light upon the brow of the hill; she saw the dense pall of smoke +hovering high above it like the threat of some dreadful doom. The +black of the forest upon the summit remained for a second, then over +swept the red-gold fire, absorbing all, devouring all, in an almost +torrential rush down to the woods below. + +And now she beheld a sea of living fire as the hills blazed before her +eyes. It was as though the whole place had been lit at one touch. The +sea rolled on with incredible swiftness, as the tongues of flame +licked up the inflammable objects they encountered. The efforts of her +mare became puerile in comparison with the fearful pace of the flames. +How could she hope to outstrip such awful speed? + +On, on raced the mare, and on came the molten torrent. Now the heat +was intolerable. The girl leant limply over her faithful horse's neck; +she was dizzy and confused. Every blast of the wind burnt her more +fiercely as the fire drew nearer. She felt how utterly hopeless were +her horse's efforts. + +The mare faltered in her stride; it was her first trip. The girl +shrieked wildly. She screamed at the top of her voice like one +demented. Her nerves were failing, and hysteria gripped her. Kitty +redoubled her efforts. The fear of the fire was aggravated by the +girl's wild cries, and she stretched herself as she had never done +before. + +Now it seemed as though they were racing in the heart of a furnace. +The whole country was in flames, and the roar and crashing of falling +timber was incessant, and the yellow glow was everywhere--even ahead. + +Blinded, dazed, the girl was borne on by the faithful Kitty. She no +longer thought of what was so near behind her. What little reason was +left to her she centred upon keeping her seat in the saddle. An awful +faintness was upon her, and everything about her seemed distant. + +Kitty alone fought out the battle of that ride; her mistress was +beyond all but keeping upon the faithful animal's back. Had she been +less exhausted, the girl would have seen what the mare saw. She would +have seen the broad stream of the Rosy river ahead, and less than a +quarter of a mile away. But she saw nothing; she felt nothing; she +cared for nothing but her hold upon the saddle. Thus it was that when +she came to the riverside, and the mare plunged from the steep bank +into the deep, quick-flowing stream, she knew not what had happened, +but, with a strange tenacity, she held to the pummels of her saddle, +while her loyal friend breasted the waters. + +How they got out of the river Prudence never knew, nor did she fully +realize all that had happened when at last the horse and rider again +stood on firm ground. And the tough little broncho had covered another +mile or more before the girl awoke to the fact that they were now in +an open prairie country, and skirting the brink of the great southern +muskeg. Then it all came back to her, and, as Kitty kept steadily on, +she looked fearfully about her. She saw away in the distance the awful +pall, the lurid gleam of the flames; and a heartfelt prayer of +thanksgiving went up from that lonely trail for the merciful escape +which had been hers. The girl leant over her mare's shoulder and +caressed the foaming neck. + +"Good Kitty, faithful little mare," she exclaimed emotionally. Then +she looked ahead and she remembered all. "But on, girl, on. There is +more to do yet." + + * * * * * + +The telegraph operator at Damside was closing up his little shack. He +had just disconnected his instrument and was standing in his doorway +gazing out across the prairie to the east, watching the vast clouds of +smoke belching from the direction of the woods. All about him was a +heavy haze, and a nasty taste of smoke was in his mouth. He looked +across to the only other buildings which formed the city of Damside, +the grain elevator and the railway siding buildings. His own hut was +close beside the latter. The men were leaving their work. Then +presently he looked back in the direction of the distant fire. + +"'Tain't the prairie," he muttered. "Too thick. Guess the woods are +blazin'. That's beyond the Rosy. Can't cross there, so I reckon +there's no danger to us. The air do stink here; guess I'll go and git +my hand-car and vamoose." + +He turned back to the room and put on his hat. Just as he left his +doorway to pass over to where his hand-car was standing on the railway +track, he brought up to a halt A horse and rider were racing up the +trail towards him. + +"Hullo, what's this?" he exclaimed sharply. "Maybe it _is_ the +prairie." + +Prudence drew rein beside him. She had seen her man, and she knew that +she was in time. Her joy was written in her face. + +"My, but I've had a time," she exclaimed, as she slid down from her +saddle. "I thought that fire had got me. Call up Winnipeg, please, Mr. +Frances." + +"Why, Miss Mailing, have you ridden through that?" asked the operator, +pointing to the distant smoke. + +"Not through it, but with it distinctly hot upon my heels--or rather +my mare's," the girl laughed. "But I want you to send a message for +me. It isn't too late for Winnipeg?" + +"Late, bless you, no. But what is it? Prairie or forest?" + +"Forest," replied the girl shortly. "Where's a form?" + +They passed into the hut. Prudence proceeded to write out her +message while the man connected up Winnipeg and carried on a short +conversation. + +"Bad fire," he said. + +"Very." + +Prudence began to write. + +"Just where?" + +"Owl Hoot." + +"River'll stop it" + +"Yes." + +"Good." + +Prudence went on writing. + +"Iredale's ranch burnt out?" + +The girl started. + +"Don't know." + +"Must be." + +"Oh!" Then: "Here you are; and do you mind if I wait for an answer?" + +"Pleasure." And the man read the message-- + + "To Hervey Malling, Northern Union Hotel, + Winnipeg. + + "Return at once. Money awaiting you. Willing to pay the price on + your arrival. Do not fail to return at once. The other matter can + rest. + + "PRUDENCE." + +The operator tapped away at the instrument. + + * * * * * + +Hervey was sitting in the Northern Union Hotel smoking-room. He was +talking to a burly man, with a red face and a shock of ginger-grey +hair. This was the proprietor of the hotel. + +"How long can you give me? I can settle everything by this day month. +The harvesting is just finished. I only need time to haul the grain to +the elevator. Will that satisfy you?" + +The big man shrugged. + +"You've put me off so often, Mr. Malling. It's not business, and you +know it," he replied gutturally. "Will you give me an order on--your +crop?" + +He looked squarely into the other's face. Hervey hesitated. He knew +that he could not do this, and yet he was sorely pressed for money. +However, he made up his mind to take the risk. He thought his mother +would not go back on him. + +"Very well." + +He turned as the bell-boy approached. + +"Telegram for you, sir; 'expressed.'" + +Hervey took the envelope and tore it open. He read his sister's +message, and a world of relief and triumph lit up his face. + +"Good," he muttered. Then he passed it to his companion. "Read that. +Do you still need a mortgage? I shall set out to-night." + +The hotel proprietor read the message, and a satisfied smile spread +over his face. It did not do for him to press his customers too hard. +But still he was a business man. He, too, felt relieved. + +"This relates to----?" + +"An ouylying farm of mine which I have now sold." + +"Your promise will be sufficient, Mr. Malling. I thought we should +find an amicable settlement for our difficulty. You start to-night?" + +"Yes." + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE AVENGER + + +Alice was standing at the gate of the little front garden. She was +talking to her lover, who had just ridden up from the direction of Owl +Hoot. Robb had not dismounted, and his face was very serious as he +leant down towards her. + +"And I never knew a word about it. It's a jolly good thing I obtained +the delivery of his bunch of cattle when I did, or goodness knows what +would have happened. Well, anyhow I've lost a nice lump. My client, +when he heard about the place being for sale, wanted to buy it for a +back country for his beeves to winter in. Just my confounded luck. I +knew there was a big fire out this way, but I never thought that +Iredale was the unfortunate victim. Now I've got to go over to +Lakeville to see him--he's staying there, you know, since he was burnt +out. I'll come back this way, and if Mrs Malling can put me up for the +night, I'll be grateful. My 'plug' won't stand the journey back home. +You say Hervey will be along this evening?" + +"Yes," replied the girl Then seriously, "What are you going to do?" + +"Interview him. There are things about that dog that want explaining. +I take it he can explain 'em. I don't easily forget. And I owe some +one a deal more than I've yet been able to pay. P'r'aps that dog'll +help me to discharge my debt. Good-bye, Al; I must be off or I shan't +get back this afternoon." + +Robb turned away in his cheerful, debonair manner and rode off. +Troubles sat lightly on his stout heart. His effervescent nature never +left him long depressed when Fortune played her freakish tricks upon +him. He had lost his commission upon the sale of Iredale's land, but +he had secured the better deal of the cattle. Therefore he was +satisfied. But Robb was a very persistent man in his seemingly +haphazard fashion. He had promised himself an interview with Hervey +about his dog. He had never forgotten or forgiven the disaster in the +mountains, and he believed that Hervey would be able to set him on the +track of Zachary Smith, whom he felt certain he had seen at the +Winnipeg depôt. He hoped so; and, for this purpose, he intended to +spend the night at Loon Dyke Farm. + +As her lover rode away Alice turned back to the house. The anxious +look was still upon her face. She knew that there was serious trouble +in the family, and she could see no way of helping these people she +loved. Prudence was in sad disgrace with her mother; she had been +absent from the farm for two days and had only returned that morning. +Mrs. Malling had been distracted with anxiety and grief until the +re-appearance of her daughter, and then, when she saw that she was +well and that no accident had happened to her, she had flown into such +a terrible passion that even Prudence had quailed before her. Never +in her life had Alice seen the kindly old soul give way to such rage. +No disparaging epithet had been too bad for her child, and she had +literally chased the girl from the room in which they had met. Since +then Prudence had retreated to her bedroom, and Hephzibah had poured +out the vials of her wrath upon an empty kitchen, for even the +long-suffering hired girl had feared to face her. + +Now, as Alice approached the front door again, she heard the sound of +high-pitched voices coming from the kitchen. Sarah Gurridge had come +over while the farm-wife's rage was at its height; and, as Alice +listened, she thought that these two old cronies were quarrelling. But +her ears quickly told her that her surmise was wrong. She heard +Prudence's voice raised in angry protest, and, instead of entering the +house, she discreetly withdrew, passing round to the farmyard +instead. + +In the kitchen a stormy scene was being enacted. + +Prudence was standing just inside the door. Her mother was beside a +long table on which were laid out the necessaries for pastry-making. +She had faced round upon the girl and stood brandishing a rolling-pin +in one hand, and in the other she held a small basket of eggs. Sarah +was seated in a high-backed Windsor chair. Her arms were folded across +her waist, and her face expressed perplexed alarm. Prudence's face was +aflame; nor were her eyes one whit less angry than her mother's. + +"But I say you shall hear me, mother, whether you like it or not. I'll +not let you or any one else call me the filth which you did this +morning for nothing." + +The girl's voice was hoarse with nervous feeling, Mrs Mailing shook +her rolling-pin in a perfect fury. + +"Out of this kitchen, you baggage! Out of it, do you hear me? Go an' +get your garments packed up, and out ye go into the street. Child o' +my flesh, are ye? Out of my house, you drab, or maybe I'll be doing +you a harm. I'll teach the like o' you to be stoppin' out o' nights +an' then to come back wi'out a word of explainin'. I'll teach you." + +"Give the child a hearing, Hephzibah," said Sarah, in her soft even +tones, as there came a lull in the angry mother's tirade. + +Prudence shot a grateful glance in her preceptor's direction. + +Hephzibah turned swiftly on the peaceful Sarah. But the words of anger +which hovered upon her lips remained unspoken. Sarah was an influence +in the old lady's life, and long association was not without effect. +She visibly calmed. Prudence saw the change and took advantage of it. + +"How could I explain when you wouldn't listen to me?" she exclaimed +resentfully. "Almost before I could say a word you called me all the +shameful things you could think of. You drove me to silence when I was +willing to tell you all--I was more than willing. You _must_ know all, +for the story I have to tell as nearly affects you as it does me. I +stayed away from home to save an innocent man from the dreadful charge +of murder, and your son from perpetrating the most wanton act of his +worthless life." + +A dead silence followed her words. Hephzibah stared at her with an +expression of stupefied amazement, while Sarah turned in her chair +with a movement which was almost a jolt. The silence was at last +broken by the girl's mother. + +"Murder? Hervey?" + +And there was no understanding in her tone. Her mind seemed to be +groping blindly, and she merely repeated the two words which struck +her most forcibly. + +"Yes, 'murder' and 'Hervey,'" Prudence retorted. "Hervey has accused +George Iredale of the murder of Leslie Grey. Now will you listen to my +explanation?" + +Hephzibah precipitated herself into a chair. The rolling-pin was +returned to its place upon the dough-board with a clatter, and the +basket of eggs was set down with a force that sorely jeopardized its +contents. + +"Yes, girl. Tell me all. Let me hear what devil's work my Hervey's +been up to. La sakes! an' George Iredale a murderer!" + +And Prudence, her anger evaporated as swiftly as her mother's, told +the two old ladies of her love for Iredale, and how he had asked her +to be his wife. She told them how Hervey had come to her with the +story of his discovery; how, after attempting to blackmail his victim, +he had offered his information to her at a price. How she forced him +to prove his case, and had sent him to Winnipeg with that object; how +she had been nearly distracted, and eventually made up her mind to go +and see Iredale himself; how the accused man had established to her +his innocence beyond any doubt, and how he had shown her how +impossible it would be for him to use the same means of clearing +himself in a court of law. She dwelt upon each point, so that these +two, who were so dear to her, should not fail to understand as she +understood. Then she told them how, recognizing George's danger, she +had resolved to intercept Hervey, and, with her mother's assistance, +pay him off; and, finally, how she had been overtaken by the forest +fire; and how, her mare exhausted, she had arrived at Damside in time +to send her message to her brother; and how, failing any other means +of returning home, she had taken shelter with the elevator clerk's +wife until her mare had recovered and she was able to resume her +journey to the farm. + +It was a long story, and the many interruptions of her mother gave the +girl much extra trouble in the telling; but with a wonderful patience, +born of her anxiety for her lover, she dealt with every little point +that puzzled her audience. + +When the story was finished its effect was made curiously manifest. +The one thing which seemed to have gripped her mother's intensest +feeling was the part her boy had played. Her round eyes had grown +stern, and her comely lips had parted as her breath came heavy and +fast. At last she burst out with a curious mixture of anger and sorrow +in her words. + +"Bone of my Silas; flesh of my flesh; an' to think o' the like. My +Hervey a whelp of hell; a bloodsucker. Oh, that I should ha' lived to +see such a day," and she rocked herself, with her hand supporting her +head and her elbows planted upon her knees. "Oh, them travellin's in +foreign parts. My poor, poor Silas; if he'd jest lived long 'nough to +git around our boy with a horsewhip we might ha' been spared this +disgrace. Prudence, girl, I'm that sorry for what I've said to you." + +Tears welled in the old eyes, which had now become very wistful, and +slowly rolled down the plump cheeks. Suddenly she gathered up her +apron and flung it up over her head, and the rocking continued +dismally. Prudence came over to her and knelt at her side, caressing +her stout figure in sympathy. Sarah sat looking away towards the +window with dreamy eyes. The old school-mistress made no comment; she +was thinking deeply. + +"Don't cry, mother," said Prudence, with an ominous catch in her +voice. "Whatever Hervey's faults, he will reap his own punishment. I +want you to help me now, dear. I want you to give me the benefit of +your experience and your sound, practical sense. I must see this +through. I have a wicked brother and an obstinate lover to deal with, +and I want you to help me, and tell me what is best to do." + +The apron was removed from Mrs. Malling's head, and her eyes, red and +watery, looked at the girl at her side with a world of love in their +depths. + +"These two men will be here this afternoon," the girl went on. "George +is coming to tell you his story himself, that you may judge him. He +declares that, come what may, he will not rest with this shadow upon +him. In justice to us, his friends, and to himself, he must face the +consequences of his years of wrongdoing. Hervey will be here for his +money. This is the position; and, according to my reckoning, they will +arrive at about the same time. I don't quite know why, but I want to +confront Hervey with the man he accuses. Now tell me what you think." + +"I'm thinking you make the third of a pack of fool-heads," said the +farm-wife gently. "George is no murderer, he's not the killin' sort. +He's a man, he is. Then why worrit? An' say, if that boy o' mine comes +along he'll learn that them Ar'tic goldfields is a cooler place for +his likes than his mother's farm." The old woman's choler was rising +again with tempestuous suddenness. "Say, he's worse'n a skunk, and a +sight more dangerous than a Greaser. My, but he'll learn somethin' +from them as can teach him!" + +"Yes, mother," replied the girl, a little impatiently; "but you don't +seem to see the seriousness of what he charges----" + +"That I do, miss. Am I wantin' in understandin'? George is as innocent +as an unborn babe, so what's the odds along o' Hervey's accusin'? It +don't amount to a heap o' corn shucks. That boy ain't responsible, I +tell ye. He's like to get locked up himself in a luny 'sylum. I'll +give him accusin'!" + +"But, mother, that won't do any good. He must be paid off." + +"An' so he shall--and so he shall, child. There's more dollars in this +farm than he reckons on, and they're ready for usin' when I say the +word. If it's pay that's needed, he shall be paid, though I ain't just +understandin' the need." + +Sarah's voice broke in at this point. + +"The child's right, Hephzibah; there's money to be spent over this +thing, or I'm no judge of human nature. Hervey's got a strong case, +and, from what the story tells us, George is a doomed man if he goes +before the court. Innocent he may be--innocent he is, I'll wager; but +if he's obstinate he's done for." + +The farm-wife made no reply, but sat gazing wistfully before her. + +"Yes, yes," Prudence said earnestly. "It is just the money--nothing +more. We must not let an innocent man suffer. And, 'Aunt' Sarah, we +must prevail upon George to let us stop Hervey's mouth. That is our +chief difficulty. You will help me--you and mother. You are so clever, +'Aunt' Sarah. George will listen to you. Oh, we must--must save him, +even against himself." + +Sarah nodded her head sagely; she was deeply affected by all she had +heard, but she gave no outward sign. + +"Child," she replied, "we will all do our best--for him--for you; but +yours is the tongue that will persuade him best. He loves you, child, +and you love him. He will not persist, if you are set against it." + +"I hope it will be as you say," replied Prudence dubiously. "But when +he comes you will let him tell his story in his own way. You will +listen patiently to him. Then you can laugh at his determination and +bring your arguments to bear. Then we will keep him until Hervey +arrives, and we will settle the matter for ever. Oh, mother, I dread +what is to come." + +Mrs. Mailing did not seem to be paying much heed, but, as the girl +moved away from her side, she spoke. There was no grief, no anger in +her voice now. She spoke quite coldly, and Sarah Gurridge looked +keenly over at her. + +"Yes, girl, we'll settle this rumpus, and--Hervey." + +Prudence moved towards the door. She turned at her mother's words. + +"I will go up-stairs," she said. "I want to think." + +She opened the door and nearly fell against the dog Neche, who was +standing outside it. There was a fanciful suggestion of the +eavesdropper about the creature; his attitude was almost furtive. He +moved slowly away, and walked with the girl to the foot of the stairs, +where he laid himself down with a complacent grunt. The girl went up +to her room. + +"This day's doin's will be writ on my heart for ever," said the +farm-wife plaintively, as the door closed behind her daughter. + +"An' see you, Hephzibah, and let no eyes read of them, for there will +be little credit for anyone in those same doings," said Sarah +solemnly. + +Mrs. Malling hugged herself, and again began to rock slowly. But there +were no signs of tears in her round, dark eyes. Now and again her lips +moved, and occasionally she muttered to herself. Sarah heard the name +"Hervey" pass her lips once or twice, and she knew that her old friend +had been sorely stricken. + +As the time for Iredale's arrival drew near, Prudence became restless. +Her day had been spent in idleness as far as her farm work was +concerned. She had chosen the companionship of Alice, and had +unburdened her heart to her. But sympathetic and practical as her +friend was, she was quite unable to help her. + +As four o'clock drew near, however, Alice did the only thing possible. +She took herself off for a walk down the Lakeville trail. She felt +that it was better for everybody that she should be away while the +trouble was on, and, besides, she would meet her lover on his way to +the farm, and give him timely warning against making his meditated +stay for the night. + +At the appointed hour there came the clatter of a pacer's hoofs at the +front gate, and a moment later Prudence led her lover into the +parlour. After a few brief words she hurriedly departed to summon her +mother and Sarah. There was a significant solemnity in this +assembling; nor was it lessened by the smuggler's manner. Even the +wolfish Neche seemed impressed with what was happening, for he clung +to the girl's heels, following her wherever she went, and finally laid +down upon the trailing portion of her skirt when she took up her +position beside her lover and waited for him to begin. + +The opening was a painful one for everybody. Iredale scarcely knew how +to face those gentle folk and recount his disgraceful story. He +thought of all they had been to him during his long years upon the +prairie. He thought of their implicit trust and faith in him. He +almost quailed before the steady, honest eyes of the old people. +However, he at last forced himself to his task, and plunged into his +story with uncompromising bluntness. + +"I am accused of murder," he said, and paused, while a sickly feeling +pervaded his stomach. + +Mrs. Malling nodded her head. She was too open to remain silent long. + +"Of Leslie Grey," she said at once. "And ye needn't to tell us nothin' +more, George. We know the yarn you are about to tell us. An' d'ye +think we're goin' to believe any addle-pated scalliwag such as my +Hervey, agin' you? Smuggler you may be, but that you've sunk to +killin' human flesh not even a minister o' the Gospel's goin' to +convince me. Here, I respects the man I give my hand to. Shake me by +the hand, George--shake me by the hand." And the farm-wife rose from +her chair and ambled across the room with her hand outstretched. + +Iredale clasped it in both of his. And never in his life had he +experienced such a burst of thankfulness as he did at that moment. His +heart was too full to speak. Prudence smiled gravely as she watched +this whole-hearted token of her mother's loyalty to a friend. Nor was +Sarah backward in her expression of goodwill. + +"Hephzibah's right, George, and she speaks for both of us. But there's +work to be done for all that. Hervey's to be dealt with." + +"To be bribed," said Hephzibah uncompromisingly, as she returned to +her seat. + +Iredale shook his head and his face set sternly. Prudence saw the look +she feared creep into her lover's eyes. She opened her lips to +protest, but the words remained unspoken. She had heard the rattle of +a buckboard outside. The sound died away, and she knew that the +vehicle had passed round to the barn. She waited in an agony of +suspense for her brother's appearance. + +"You needn't to shake your head," went on the farm-wife. "This +matter's my concern. It's my dollars as is goin' to pay Master +Hervey--an' when he gets 'em may they blister his fingers, I sez." + +Prudence heard a footstep in the hall. The crucial moment had arrived, +and her heart palpitated with nervous apprehension. Before Iredale +could reply the door was flung open, and Hervey stood in their midst. +Instantly every eye was turned upon him. He stood for a moment and +looked round. There was a slight unsteadiness in his attitude. His +great eyes looked wilder than ever, and they were curiously bloodshot. +At least one of the three ladies possessed an observant mind. Sarah +saw that the man had been drinking. To her the signs, though slight, +were unmistakable. The others did not seem to notice his condition. + +"Ah," he said, with an attempt at pleasantry, "a nice little party. +Well, I've come for the dibs." + +His eyes lit upon the figure of George Iredale, and he broke off. The +next moment he went on angrily-- + +"What's that man doing in this house?" he cried, his eyes fairly +blazing with sudden rage. "Is the place turned into a refuge +for--murderers?" + +The man's fury had set fire to the powder train. His mother was on her +feet in a twinkling. Her comfortable body fairly shook in her +indignation. Her face was a flaming scarlet, and her round eyes +sparkled wickedly. + +"And who be you to question the calling of my house, Hervey Malling?" +she cried; "since when comes it that you've the right to raise your +voice against my guests? An' by what right d'ye dare to accuse an +innocent man? Answer me, you imp of Evil," she demanded. But she gave +him no time to speak, and went on, her voice rising to a piercing +crescendo. "Spare your wicked tongue, which should be forked by reason +of the lies as has fallen from it. Oh, that you should be able to call +me 'mother.' I'd rather mother the offspring of a rattlesnake than +you. What have you done by us all your life but bring sorrow an' +trouble upon those who've done all that which in them is to help you? +Coward! Traitor! An' you come now with lies on your tongue to harm an +innocent man what's done you no harm." She breathed hard. Then her +wrath swept on, and the room rang with the piercing pitch of her +voice. "You've come for your blood-money--your thirty pieces. You +villain; if your poor father were alive this day he should lay a raw +hide about you till your bones were flayed. Sakes! I've a mind to set +about you myself. Look at him, the black-heart! Look at him all! Was +ever such filth of a man? and him my son. Blood-money! Blood-money! +And to think that I'm living to know it." + +She paused. Hervey broke in-- + +"Silence, you old fool! You don't know what you're talking about. That +man," pointing over at Iredale, who sat waiting for an opportunity to +interfere, "is the murderer of Leslie Grey. I suppose he has been +priming you with blarney and yarns. But I tell you he murdered Grey. +I'm not here for any tomfoolery. I got Prudence's message to say the +money was forthcoming. Where is it? Fifteen thousand dollars buys me, +and that I want at once. If I have any more yapping I'll make it +twenty thousand." + +He looked about him savagely, and his eyes finally paused at George +Iredale, seated beside Prudence. He cared nothing for his mother's +vituperation, but he was watchful of the smuggler. + +Suddenly the burly rancher sprang to his feet. He stepped up to +Hervey. The latter moved a pace back. + +"Not one cent, you cowardly hound!" he roared. "Not one cent shall you +have; do you hear? I thank God that I am here to stop you robbing +these, your mother and sister." Mrs. Malling tried to interfere, but +he waved her back. "I've come at the right time, and I tell you that +you shall not take one cent of the money. I will never leave you lest +you should wheedle it from them. I will spoil your game. This is what +I intend to do. You and I will set out for Winnipeg to-night, and +together we will interview the Commissioner of Police. Do you +understand me? I have the whip hand now. And I promise you your +silence shall _not_ be bought." + +Prudence interfered. + +"Listen to me, George. I implore you not to do this thing. Hervey can +have all he wants--everything. You are innocent we know, but you +cannot prove your innocence. Why should you break my heart when there +is a way out of the difficulty? There is but one person who can +denounce you, and his silence we can purchase. Oh, George," the girl +went on passionately, "as you love me, listen. My heart will break if +this thing you meditate comes to pass. Oh, my love, say you won't do +it! Let mother pay the man off that he may pass out of our lives for +ever. See, mother is going for the money now. It is so easy; so +simple." + +Mrs. Mailing had risen from her seat and moved away to the door. +Hervey stood at the far end of the parlour facing the open window. He +saw his mother pass out, and a great look of satisfaction came into +his eyes. After all, these women meant to treat him fairly, he +thought. + +He grinned over at Iredale. + +"Better drop it, Iredale, and don't play the fool. When I get the +money I shall forget that I ever knew you." + +The smuggler was about to fire a swift retort when the sound of voices +coming in at the open window interrupted him. The voices were a man's +and a woman's. Prudence recognized Alice's tones. The other's she did +not recognize at once. + +Sarah Gurridge, who had been a silent observer of the scene, had heard +the sound too, but she was absorbed in what was being enacted about +her. Her eyes were upon Hervey. She saw him start, and his great +haunting eyes were turned upon the window. Suddenly he rushed forward +towards it. He had to pass round the table, close to where Prudence +was now standing. In doing so he kicked against the dog, which was +standing with its ears pricked up and its head turned in the direction +whence the voices sounded. + +The man's evil face was blanched. A wild, hunted look was in his eyes. +Iredale saw, was startled, and his reply died upon his lips as he +wondered at this sudden change. + +"Shut the window. Do you hear?" cried Hervey excitedly. "Don't let +them hear. Don't let them----" + +He had reached the window to carry out his own instructions. His hands +were upon the casements, and he was about to fling the glass frames +together. But suddenly his arms dropped to his sides. He stood face to +face with the figure of Robb Chillingwood! + +There was a dreadful silence. Then slowly Hervey backed away; his +glaring eyes were fixed upon the stern countenance of the ex-Customs +officer. Slowly he backed, backed from the apparition; and the +onlookers noted the pallid cheeks and blazing eyes, and they wondered +helplessly. Nor did Hervey pause until he reached the wall furthest +from the window. Then he stood, and his lips silently moved. + +Suddenly there was a cry, and it rang with vengeful triumph. It came +from the man at the window--Robb Chillingwood. + +"By God! it's Zachary Smith!" + +The next instant and he was in the room. + +The onlookers gazed blankly from one to the other of the two men. What +did it mean? Who was Zachary Smith? And why did Robb so call Hervey? +Then their eyes settled on the man against the wall. The cheeks were +no longer pallid; they were flushed with a hectic colouring, and those +strange eyes were filled with an awful, murderous light. The lips +continued to move, but he did not speak; only his right hand slipped +round behind him. + +Then Robb's voice sounded through the room again. + +"So, Mr. Zachary Smith, we meet again. And, by the Lord Harry, you +shall swing for what you did in the mountains! Highway robbery of the +Government bullion under the charge of Leslie Grey, and the murder of +our Indian guide, Rainy-Moon." Then he turned--"Hold that door!" he +shouted; and Iredale sprang to obey. + +"But----" Prudence rushed forward, but Sarah stopped her and drew her +back. + +A wild laugh came from Hervey's direction. + +"And who's going to take me?" he cried. "You, Robb Chillingwood, you? +Ha, ha!" and his maniacal laugh rang out again. "Look to yourself, you +fool. Grey crossed my path, and he paid for it with his life. You +shall follow him." + +While his words yet rang upon the air his hand shot out from behind +him, gripping a heavy revolver. The pistol was raised, and a shriek +went up from the two ladies. + +Suddenly there was a rush, a snarl; and a great body seemed to +literally hurl itself through the air. A shot rang out; simultaneously +a cry echoed through the room; Hervey staggered as something seized +him by the throat and tore away the soft flesh; another shot +followed. + +It all happened in a twinkling. Hervey fell to the ground with a +gurgling cry, and Neche, the dog, until then forgotten by everybody, +rolled over by his side with one dying yelp of pain. Then silence +reigned throughout the room and all was still. + +Iredale returned his smoking pistol to his pocket, and went over to +Hervey's side. His movements seemed to release the others from the +spell under which they had been held. Robb, unharmed by Hervey's shot, +came forward, and Sarah and Prudence followed in his wake. But Iredale +waved the ladies back. + +"Stand away, please," he said quietly. "The dog had finished him +before I got my shot in to save him. The brute has literally torn his +throat out." Then he looked over at the dead hound. "It's awful; I +wonder what made the dog turn upon him?" + +"Are they both dead?" asked Robb, in an awestruck voice. + +Iredale nodded. + +"It must have been the sight of Hervey's levelled pistol that made the +dog rush at him," said Prudence. "I've seen him do so before." + +"Strange, strange," murmured Iredale. + +"That dog feared firearms," said Sarah. + +"Perhaps he had reason," observed Robb significantly, "he only has +three sound legs. My God! And not content with his victims in the +mountains, he----But, yes, I see it. This man came here without +expecting to meet Grey or me." Robb broke off and looked at Prudence. +"Of course, I am beginning to understand. You and Grey were to have +been married." Then he turned back to the contemplation of the dead +bodies. + +"Yes, the murderer of Grey lies confessed," said Iredale quietly, "and +I think that his motives were even stronger than those attributed +to----" + +Prudence placed a hand over his mouth before he could complete his +sentence. + +They were startled from their horrified contemplation of the work of +those last few moments by the sound of Hephzibah's voice calling from +her bedroom. The sitting-room door had been opened by Alice, who had +entered the moment Iredale had released the handle. Now they could +hear the farm-wife moving about overhead, evidently on her way +down-stairs. + +Sarah was the first to recover her presence of mind. She turned upon +Robb. + +"Not a word to her about--about----" + +Robb shook his head. + +Iredale snatched the pistol from the dead man's hand. + +Mrs. Malling's footsteps came creaking down the stairs. Suddenly +Prudence's hands went up to her face as she thought of the shock +awaiting her mother. Alice dragged her away to a chair. Iredale and +Robb stood looking down at the two objects on the floor. Master and +hound were lying side by side. + +Sarah ran to the door and met the farm-wife. She must never know that +her son was a murderer--a double murderer. + +Those within the room heard the school-ma'am's gentle tones. + +"No, no, Hephzibah, you must not go in there yet. There are +things--things which you must not see. The hound has killed him. +Hervey enraged the dog, and the wretched beast turned upon him--and he +is dead." + +Then there came the sound of a scuffle. The next moment mother Hephzy +pushed her way into the room. She looked about her wildly; one hand +was clutching a bundle of hundred-dollar bills. Suddenly her round, +staring eyes fell upon the two objects lying side by side upon the +ground. She looked at the hound; then she looked upon her son. Iredale +had covered the torn throat with pocket-handkerchiefs. + +The bills slowly fell in a shower from her hand, and her arms folded +themselves over her breast. Then she looked in a dazed fashion upon +those about her, muttering audibly. + +"He's dead--he's dead," she repeated to herself over and over again. +Then suddenly she ceased her repetitions and shook her head. +"Mussy-a-me, mussy-a-me! The Lord's will be done!" + +And she slowly fell in a heap by her dead son's side. + + + + +IN CONCLUSION + + +Time, the great healer of all sufferings, all sorrows, can do much, +but memory clings with a pertinacity which defies all Time's best +efforts. Time may soften the poignancy of deep-rooted sorrow, but it +cannot shut out altogether the pain of a mother's grief at the loss of +an only son. In spite of all Hervey's crimes he was "the only son of +his mother, and she was a widow." The story of his villainies was +rigidly kept from her, and so she thought of him only as a prodigal, +as a boy to be pitied, as one whose offences must be condoned; she +sought for his good points, and, in her sweet motherly heart, saw a +wonderful deal in him on which to centre her loving memory, which, had +he lived, even she could never have discovered. It is something that +erring man has to be humbly grateful for, that women are like this; so +full of the patient, enduring love which can see no wrong in the +object of their affections. + +But Loon Dyke Farm became intolerable to Hephzibah Malling after the +ghastly tragedy of her son's death; and when Robb and Alice saw fit to +marry, urged on to that risky experiment by the two older ladies, she +insisted upon leasing the place to them on ridiculously easy terms. +She would have given it to them only for their steady refusal to +accept such a magnificent wedding gift from her. + +The old lady was rich enough for her needs and her daughter's, and, +business woman as she was, she was generous to a fault where her +affections were concerned. Prudence too was satisfied with any +arrangement which would take her away from the farm. Knowing what she +knew of her brother, Loon Dyke could never again be her home. So +mother and daughter retired to Ainsley, and only once again did they +return to their old home on the briefest of visits, and that was to +assist at the function of christening the son and heir of the +Chillingwoods. + +Later on Prudence induced her mother to make Winnipeg her home, but +though, for her daughter's sake, she acceded to the request, she was +never quite at ease among her new surroundings. Nor was Sarah +Gurridge, when she visited her old friend during her holidays, slow to +observe this. "My dear," she told Alice, one day after her summer +vacation, "Hephzibah is failing fast. She's quite old, although she is +my junior by two years and three months. An idle life doesn't suit +her; and as for Prudence, she wears fine clothes, and goes out in +society all day and most of the night, but she's that thin and +melancholy that you wouldn't know her for the same child. It's my +opinion that she's pining--they are both pining. I found a letter from +Hamilton when I got back home. It was from George Iredale, and I'm +going to answer it at once." + +"And what are you going to say in your reply?" laughed Alice. "I know +your matchmaking propensity. So does Robb." + +The quiet, dreamy face of the old school-mistress smiled over at the +happy mother. + +"Say?" she exclaimed. "I'm going to give George a piece of my mind for +staying away so long. I know why he's doing so, and my belief as to +the cause of his absence is different from what Prudence is beginning +to imagine. She thinks he has left her because of her brother's +doings, and it's that that's driving her to an early grave. I shall +certainly tell George what I think." And Sarah wagged her head +sagely. + +And she was as good as her word. She had not seen fit to tell Alice +that she had been in constant communication with George Iredale ever +since the day of the tragedy, or that she was in his confidence as +regarded Prudence. George had left the district to give both Prudence +and her mother time to recover from the shock. And now that a year or +more had passed away, he had written appealing to Sarah to tell him if +she thought the time auspicious for his return. + +In a long, carefully-worded letter Sarah advised him not to delay. + +"By dint of much perseverance," she wrote, "I have persuaded the child +out of her absurd notions about the reflections her brother's doings +have cast upon her. She looks at things from a healthier standpoint +now. Why should she not marry? What has she done to debar her from +fulfilling the mission which is appointed for every woman? Nothing! +And I am sure if a certain man should return and renew the appeal +which he made at the time when the Lord's anger was visited upon her +brother, she would give him a different reply. However, I must not +waste all my space upon the silly notions of a child with a +misdirected conscience." + +And how her letter bore fruit, and how George Iredale returned and +sought Prudence in the midst of the distractions of Winnipeg's social +whirl, and how the girl's answer, when again he appealed to her, +turned out to be the one Sarah had prophesied for him, were matters of +great satisfaction to the sage old school-mistress. + +She assisted at the wedding which followed, she saw the bride and +bridegroom off at the railway depôt, she remained to console her old +friend for the loss of her daughter. Then she hied her off once more, +back to the bleak, staring school-house, where she continued to +propound sage maxims for the young of the district until her allotted +task was done, and the tally of her years complete. + +THE END + + + + +POPULAR COPYRIGHT NOVELS + +AT MODERATE PRICES + +Ask Your Dealer for a Complete List of A. L. Burt Company's Popular +Copyright Fiction + +Abner Daniel. By Will N. Harben. +Adventures of Gerard. By A. Conan Doyle. +Adventures of a Modest Man. By Robert W. Chambers. +Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. By A. Conan Doyle. +Adventures of Jimmie Dale, The. By Frank L. Packard. +After House, The. By Mary Roberts Rinehart. +Alisa Paige. By Robert W. Chambers. +Alton of Somasco. By Harold Bindloss. +A Man's Man. By Ian Hay. +Amateur Gentleman, The. By Jeffery Farnol. +Andrew The Glad. By Maria Thompson Daviess. +Ann Boyd. By Will N. Harben. +Anna the Adventuress. By E. Phillips Oppenheim. +Another Man's Shoes. By Victor Bridges. +Ariadne of Allan Water. By Sidney McCall. +Armchair at the Inn, The. By F. Hopkinson Smith. +Around Old Chester. By Margaret Deland. +Athalie. By Robert W. Chambers. +At the Mercy of Tiberius. By Augusta Evans Wilson. +Auction Block, The. By Rex Beach. +Aunt Jane. By Jeanette Lee. +Aunt Jane of Kentucky. By Eliza C. Hall. +Awakening of Helena Richie. By Margaret Deland. + +Bambi. By Marjorie Benton Cooke. +Bandbox, The. By Louis Joseph Vance. +Barbara of the Snows. By Harry Irving Green. +Bar 20. By Clarence E. Mulford. +Bar 20 Days. By Clarence E. Mulford. +Barrier, The. By Rex Beach. +Beasts of Tarzan, The. By Edgar Rice Burroughs. +Beechy. By Bettina Von Hutten. +Bella Donna. By Robert Hichens. +Beloved Vagabond, The. By Wm. J. Locke. +Beltane the Smith. By Jeffery Farnol. +Ben Blair. By Will Lillibridge. +Betrayal, The. By E. Phillips Oppenheim. +Better Man, The. By Cyrus Townsend Brady. +Beulah. (Ill. Ed.) By Augusta J. Evans. +Beyond the Frontier. By Randall Parrish. +Black Is White. By George Barr McCutcheon. + + + + +POPULAR COPYRIGHT NOVELS + +AT MODERATE PRICES + +Ask Your Dealer for a Complete List of A. L. Burt Company's Popular +Copyright Fiction + +Blind Man's Eyes, The. By Wm. MacHarg & Edwin Balmer. +Bob Hampton of Placer. By Randall Parrish. +Bob, Son of Battle. By Alfred Ollivant. +Britton of the Seventh. By Cyrus Townsend Brady. +Broad Highway, The. By Jeffery Farnol. +Bronze Bell, The. By Louis Joseph Vance. +Bronze Eagle, The. By Baroness Orczy. +Buck Peters, Ranchman. By Clarence E. Mulford. +Business of Life, The. By Robert W. Chambers. +By Right of Purchase. By Harold Bindloss. + +Cabbages and Kings. By O. Henry. +Calling of Dan Matthews, The. By Harold Bell Wright. +Cape Cod Stories. By Joseph C. Lincoln. +Cap'n Dan's Daughter. By Joseph C. Lincoln. +Cap'n Eri. By Joseph C. Lincoln. +Cap'n Warren's Wards. By Joseph C. Lincoln. +Cardigan. By Robert W. Chambers. +Carpet From Bagdad, The. By Harold MacGrath. +Cease Firing. By Mary Johnson. +Chain of Evidence, A. By Carolyn Wells. +Chief Legatee, The. By Anna Katharine Green. +Cleek of Scotland Yard. By T. W. Hanshew. +Clipped Wings. By Rupert Hughes. +Coast of Adventure, The. By Harold Bindloss. +Colonial Free Lance, A. By Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. +Coming of Cassidy, The. By Clarence E. Mulford. +Coming of the Law, The. By Chas. A. Seltzer. +Conquest of Canaan, The. By Booth Tarkington. +Conspirators, The. By Robt. W. Chambers. +Counsel for the Defense. By Leroy Scott. +Court of Inquiry, A. By Grace S. Richmond. +Crime Doctor, The. By E. W. Hornung. +Crimson Gardenia, The, and Other Tales of Adventure. By Rex Beach. +Cross Currents. By Eleanor H. Porter. +Cry in the Wilderness, A. By Mary E. Waller. +Cynthia of the Minute. By Louis Jos. Vance. + +Dark Hollow, The. By Anna Katharine Green. +Dave's Daughter. By Patience Bevier Cole. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Hound From The North, by Ridgwell Cullum + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HOUND FROM THE NORTH *** + +***** This file should be named 29695-8.txt or 29695-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/6/9/29695/ + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.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. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +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 + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |