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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Protector, by Harold Bindloss
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Protector
+
+Author: Harold Bindloss
+
+Release Date: December 12, 2011 [EBook #38286]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PROTECTOR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Canada Team at http://www.pgdpcanada.net
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: "Two steps took him up to the waist, and he had
+trouble in finding solid bottom at the next." (Chap, xvii.)]
+
+
+
+
+                         THE PROTECTOR
+
+                               BY
+
+                        HAROLD BINDLOSS
+
+
+          Author of "The Impostor," "Hawtrey's Deputy,"
+                   "The Pioneer," etc., etc.
+
+
+                   WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED
+                 LONDON, MELBOURNE AND TORONTO
+                              1918
+
+
+
+
+                            CONTENTS
+
+             CHAPTER                              PAGE
+
+                   I. A FRIEND IN NEED               5
+                  II. A BREEZE OF WIND              14
+                 III. AN AFTERNOON ASHORE           24
+                  IV. A CHANGE OF ENVIRONMENT       31
+                   V. THE OLD COUNTRY               39
+                  VI. UPON THE HEIGHTS              46
+                 VII. STORM-STAYED                  54
+                VIII. LUCY VANE                     62
+                  IX. CHISHOLM PROVES AMENABLE      69
+                   X. WITH THE OTTER HOUNDS         75
+                  XI. VANE WITHDRAWS                85
+                 XII. VANE GROWS RESTLESS           95
+                XIII. A NEW PROJECT                101
+                 XIV. VANE SAILS NORTH             109
+                  XV. THE FIRST MISADVENTURE       114
+                 XVI. THE BUSH                     120
+                XVII. VANE POSTPONES THE SEARCH    127
+               XVIII. JESSIE CONFERS A FAVOUR      132
+                 XIX. VANE FORESEES TROUBLE        140
+                  XX. THE FLOOD                    146
+                 XXI. VANE YIELDS A POINT          151
+                XXII. EVELYN GOES FOR A SAIL       161
+               XXIII. VANE PROVES OBDURATE         169
+                XXIV. JESSIE STRIKES               177
+                 XXV. THE INTERCEPTED LETTER       187
+                XXVI. ON THE TRAIL                 196
+               XXVII. THE END OF THE SEARCH        201
+              XXVIII. CARROLL SEEKS HELP           212
+                XXIX. JESSIE'S CONTRITION          222
+                 XXX. CONVINCING TESTIMONY         234
+                XXXI. VANE IS REINSTATED           243
+
+
+
+
+                           THE PROTECTOR
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER I
+
+                          A FRIEND IN NEED.
+
+
+A light breeze was blowing down the inlet, scented with the smell of the
+firs, and the tiny ripples it chased across the water splashed musically
+against the bows of the canoe. There was a thud as the blade struck the
+water, and the long, light hull forged onwards with slightly lifted,
+bird's-head prow, while the two men swung forward for the next stroke
+with a rhythmic grace of motion. They knelt, facing forward, in the
+bottom of the craft; and dissimilar as they were in features and, to
+some extent, in character, the likeness between them was stronger than
+the difference. Both bore the unmistakable stamp of a wholesome life
+spent in vigorous labour in the open. Their eyes were clear, and like
+those of most bushmen singularly steady; their skin was
+weather-darkened, and they were leanly muscular.
+
+On either side of the lane of green water giant firs, Cedars and
+balsams, crept down the rocky hills to the whitened driftwood fringe.
+They formed part of the great coniferous forest which rolls westwards
+from the wet coast range of Canada's Pacific province, and, overleaping
+the Strait, spreads across the rugged and beautiful wilderness of
+Vancouver Island. Ahead, clusters of little frame houses showed up here
+and there in openings among the trees, and a small sloop, towards which
+the canoe was heading, lay anchored near the wharf.
+
+The men had plied the paddle during most of that day, from inclination
+rather than necessity, because they could have hired Siwash Indians to
+undertake the labour for them, had they been so minded. They were,
+though their appearance did not suggest it, moderately prosperous; but
+their prosperity was of recent date, and they had been accustomed to
+doing everything for themselves, as are most of the men who dwell among
+the woods and ranges of British Columbia.
+
+Vane, who knelt nearest the bows, was twenty-seven years of age, and he
+had spent nine of them chopping trees, driving cattle, poling canoes,
+and assisting in the search for useful minerals among the snow-clad
+ranges. He wore a wide, grey felt hat which had lost its shape from
+frequent wettings, an old shirt of the same colour, and blue duck
+trousers, rent in places; but the light attire revealed a fine muscular
+symmetry. He had brown hair and brown eyes, and a certain warmth of
+colouring which showed through the deep bronze of his skin hinted at a
+sanguine and somewhat impatient temperament.
+
+His companion, Carroll, had lighter hair and grey eyes, and his
+appearance was a little less vigorous and a little more refined, though
+he, too, had toiled hard and borne many privations in the wilderness.
+His dress resembled Vane's. The two had located a valuable mineral
+property some months earlier, and though this does not invariably
+follow, had held their own against city financiers during the
+negotiations that preceded the floating of a company to work the mine.
+That they had succeeded in securing a good deal of the stock was largely
+due to Vane's pertinacity, and said something for his acumen; but both
+had been trained in a very hard school.
+
+As the wooden houses ahead rose higher and the sloop's grey hull grew
+into sharper shape upon the clear green shining of the brine, Vane broke
+into a snatch of song.
+
+  "Had I the wings of a dove, I would fly,
+  Just for to-night, to the Old Country."
+
+He stopped and laughed. "It's nine years since I've seen it, but I can't
+get those lines out of my head. Perhaps it's because of the girl who
+sang them. Somehow, I felt sorry for her. She had remarkably fine eyes."
+
+"Sea-blue," said his companion. "I don't grasp the connection between
+the last two remarks."
+
+"Neither do I," Vane admitted. "I suppose there isn't one. But they
+weren't sea-blue, unless you mean the depth of indigo, when you're out
+of sounding. They're Irish eyes."
+
+"You're not Irish. There's not a trace of the Celt in you, unless it's
+your habit of getting indignant with the folks who don't share your
+views."
+
+"No, sir," answered Vane. "By birth, I'm North Country--England, I mean.
+Over there, we're respectable before everything, and smart at getting
+hold of whatever's worth having. As a matter of fact, you Ontario
+Scotsmen are mighty like us."
+
+"You certainly came out well ahead of those city men who put up the
+dollars," said Carroll. "I guess it's in the blood, though I fancied
+they would take the mine from you."
+
+Vane brought his paddle down with a thud. "'Just for to-night, to the
+Old Country,'" he hummed, and added: "It sticks to one."
+
+"Why did you leave the Old Country?"
+
+"That's a blamed injudicious question to ask, but you shall have an
+answer. There was a row at home--I was a sentimentalist then and just
+eighteen--and as the result of it I came out to Canada." His voice
+changed and grew softer. "I hadn't many relatives, and except one
+sister, they're all gone now. That reminds me--she's not going to
+lecture for the county education authorities any longer."
+
+The sloop was close ahead, and, slackening the paddling they ran
+alongside. Vane glanced at his watch when they had climbed on board.
+
+"Supper will be finished at the hotel," he remarked. "You had better get
+the stove lighted. It's your turn, and that rascally Siwash seems to
+have gone off again. If he's not back when we're ready, we'll sail
+without him."
+
+Carroll, accordingly, prepared the meal, and when they had finished it
+they lay on deck smoking with a content which was not altogether
+accounted for by a satisfied appetite. They had spent several anxious
+months, during which they had come very near the end of their slender
+resources, arranging for the exploitation of the mine, and now at last
+the work was over. Vane had that day made his final plans for the
+construction of a road and wharf by which the ore could be economically
+shipped for reduction, or as the alternative to this, for the erection
+of a small smelting plant. They had bought the sloop as a convenient
+means of conveyance and shelter, since they could live in some comfort
+on board. Now they could take their ease for a while, which was a very
+unusual thing to both of them.
+
+"I suppose you're bent on sailing this craft back?" Carroll said at
+length, "We could hire a couple of Siwash to take her home while we rode
+across the island and got the cars to Victoria. Besides, there's that
+steamboat coming down the coast to-night."
+
+"Either way would cost a good deal extra, Vane pointed out.
+
+"That's true," Carroll agreed with an amused look, "You could charge it
+to the Company."
+
+Vane laughed. "You and I have a big stake in the concern, and I haven't
+got used to spending money unnecessarily yet. I've been mighty glad to
+earn 2.50 by working from sun-up until dark, though I didn't always get
+it afterwards. So have you."
+
+"How are you going to dispose of your dollars, then? You have a balance
+in cash, as well as the shares."
+
+"It has occurred to me that I might spend a few months in the Old
+Country. Have you ever been over?"
+
+"I was across some time ago, but if you would sooner I went with you,
+I'll come along. We could start as soon as we've arranged the few
+matters left open in Vancouver."
+
+Vane was glad to hear it. He knew little about Carroll's antecedents,
+but the latter was obviously a man of education, and they had been
+comrades for the last three years. During that time they had learnt to
+trust each other, and to bear with each other's idiosyncrasies. Filling
+his pipe again as he lay in the fading sunlight, Vane looked back on the
+nine years he had passed in Canada; and allowing for the periods of
+exposure to cold and wet, and the almost ceaseless toil, he admitted
+that he might have spent them more unpleasantly.
+
+Having quarrelled with his relatives, he had come out with only a few
+pounds and had promptly set about earning a living with his hands. When
+he had been in the country several years, however, a friend of the
+family had sent him a small sum, and the young man had made a judicious
+use of the money. The lot he bought outside a wooden town doubled in
+value, and the share he took in a new orchard paid him well; but he had
+held aloof from the cities, and his only recklessness had been
+prospecting journeys into the wilderness. Prospecting for minerals is at
+once an art and a gamble, but even in this direction, in which he had
+had keen wits against him, Vane had held his own; but there was one side
+of life with which he was practically unacquainted.
+
+There are no social amenities on the rangeside or in the bush, and women
+are scarce. Vane had lived in Spartan simplicity; his passions had
+remained unstirred, and now he was seven-and-twenty, sound and vigorous
+of body and, as a rule, level of head. At length, however, there was to
+be a change. He had earned an interlude of leisure, and he meant to
+enjoy it, without, as he prudently determined, making a fool of himself.
+
+Presently Carroll took his pipe from his mouth.
+
+"Are you going ashore to the show to-night?" he asked.
+
+"Yes," said Vane lazily. "It's a long while since I've struck another
+entertainment of any kind, and that yellow-haired mite's dancing is one
+of the prettiest things I've seen."
+
+"You've been twice already," Carroll pointed out. "The girl with the
+blue eyes sings her first song rather well."
+
+"I think so," Vane agreed with a significant absence of embarrassment.
+"In this case a good deal depends upon the singing--the interpretation,
+don't they call it? The thing's on the border, and I've struck places
+where they'd have made it gross; but the girl only brought out the
+mischief. Strikes me she didn't see there was anything else in it."
+
+"That's curious, considering the crowd she goes about with," Carroll
+suggested. "Aren't you cultivating a critical faculty?"
+
+Vane disregarded the ironical question. "She's Irish; that accounts for
+a good deal." He paused and looked thoughtful. "If I knew how to do it,
+I'd like to give the child who dances five dollars. It must be a tough
+life, and her mother--the woman at the piano--looks ill. I wonder why
+they came to a place like this?"
+
+"Struck a cold streak at Nanaimo, the storekeeper told me," Carroll
+replied. "Anyway, since we're to start at sun-up, I'm staying here."
+Then he smiled. "Has it struck you that your attendance in the front
+seats is liable to misconception?"
+
+His companion rose without answering and dropped into the canoe.
+Thrusting her off, he drove the craft towards the wharf with vigorous
+strokes, and Carroll shook his head whimsically as he watched him.
+
+"Anybody except myself would conclude that he was waking up at last," he
+said.
+
+A minute or two later, Vane swung himself up on to the wharf and strode
+into the wooden settlement. There were one or two hydraulic mines and a
+pulp mill in the vicinity, and though the place was by no means
+populous, a company of third-rate entertainers had arrived some days
+earlier. On reaching the rude wooden building in which they had given
+their performance and finding it closed, he accosted a lounger.
+
+"What's become of the show?" he asked.
+
+"Busted," replied the man. "Didn't take the boys' fancy, and the crowd
+went out with the stage this afternoon, though I heard that two of the
+women stayed behind."
+
+Vane turned away with a slight sense of compassion. He, however,
+dismissed the matter from his mind, and having been kneeling in a
+cramped position in the canoe most of the day, decided to stroll along
+the waterside before going back to the sloop.
+
+Great firs stretched out their sombre branches over the smooth shingle,
+and now the sun had gone their clean resinous smell was heavy on the
+dew-cooled air. Here and there brushwood grew among out-cropping rock,
+and catching sight of what looked like a stripe of woven fabric beneath
+a brake, he strode towards it. Then he stopped with a start, for a young
+woman lay with her face hidden from him in an attitude of dejected
+abandonment. He was about to turn away softly, when she started and
+looked up at him. Her eyes were wet, but they were of the deep blue he
+had described to Carroll, and he stood still.
+
+"You shouldn't give way like that," he said.
+
+It was all he could think of; but he spoke without obtrusive assurance
+or pronounced embarrassment, and the girl, who shook out her crumpled
+skirt over one little foot with a swift movement, choked back a sob, and
+favoured him with a glance of keen scrutiny as she rose to a sitting
+posture. She was quick at reading character--the life she led had made
+that necessary--and his manner and appearance were reassuring. She,
+however, said nothing, and sitting down on a neighbouring boulder, he
+took out his pipe from force of habit.
+
+"Well," he added, in much the same tone as he would have used to a
+distressed child, "what's the trouble?"
+
+She told him, speaking on impulse. "They've gone off and left me. The
+takings didn't meet expenses."
+
+"That's bad," said Vane gravely. "Do you mean they've left you alone?"
+
+"No," replied the girl; "in a way it's worse than that. I suppose I
+could go--somewhere--but there's Mrs. Marvin and Elsie."
+
+"The child who danced?"
+
+The girl assented, and Vane looked thoughtful.
+
+"The three of you stick together," he suggested.
+
+"Of course. Mrs. Marvin's the only friend I have."
+
+"Then I suppose you've no idea what to do?"
+
+His companion confessed it, and explained that it was the cause of her
+distress and that they had had bad luck of late. Vane could understand
+that as he looked at her; her dress was shabby, and he fancied she had
+not been bountifully fed.
+
+"If you stayed here a few days, you could go out with the next stage,
+and get on to Victoria with the cars," he said. He paused and continued
+diffidently: "It could be arranged with the hotel-keeper."
+
+She laughed in a half-hysterical manner, and he remembered that fares
+were high in the country.
+
+"I suppose you have no money," he added, with blunt directness. "I want
+you to tell Mrs. Marvin that I'll lend her enough to take you all to
+Victoria."
+
+Her face crimsoned, which was not quite what he had expected, and he
+suddenly felt embarrassed.
+
+"No," she replied; "I can't do that. For one thing, it would be too late
+when we got to Victoria. I think we could get an engagement if we
+reached Vancouver in time to get to Kamloops by----"
+
+Vane knitted his brows when he heard the date, and it was a moment or
+two before he spoke.
+
+"Then," he said, "there's only one way you can do so. There's a little
+steamboat coming down the coast to-night, and I had half thought of
+intercepting her and handing the skipper some letters to post in
+Victoria. He knows me. That's my sloop yonder, and if I put you on board
+the steamer, you'd reach Vancouver in good time. We would have sailed at
+sun-up anyway."
+
+The girl hesitated, which struck Vane as natural, and turned partly from
+him. He surmised that she did not know what to make of his offer, though
+her need was urgent. In the meanwhile he stood up.
+
+"Come along and talk it over with Mrs. Marvin," he went on. "I'd better
+tell you I'm Wallace Vane of the Clermont mine. Of course, I know your
+name from the programme."
+
+She rose and they walked back to the hotel. Once more it struck him that
+the girl was pretty and graceful. On reaching the hotel, he sat down on
+the verandah while she went in, and a few minutes later the elder woman
+came out and looked at him much as the girl had done. He grew hot under
+her gaze and repeated his offer in the curtest terms.
+
+"If this breeze holds, we'll put you on board the steamer soon after
+daybreak," he explained.
+
+The woman's face softened, and he recognised now that there had been
+suspicion in it. "Thank you," she added, "we'll come." Then she added
+with an eloquent gesture: "You don't know what it means to us."
+
+Vane merely took off his hat and turned away, but a minute or two
+afterwards he met the hotel-keeper.
+
+"Do these people owe you anything?" he asked.
+
+"Five dollars," answered the man.
+
+Vane handed him a bill. "Take it out of this, and make any excuse you
+like. I'm going to put them on board the steamboat."
+
+The man made no comment, and Vane, striding down to the beach, sent a
+hail ringing across the water. Carroll appeared on the sloop's deck and
+answered him.
+
+"Hallo!" he cried. "What's the trouble?"
+
+"Get ready the best supper you can manage for three people as quick as
+you can."
+
+Then he turned away in a hurry, wondering rather uneasily what Carroll
+would say when he grasped the situation.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+A BREEZE OF WIND.
+
+
+There were signs of a change in the weather when Vane walked down to the
+wharf with his passengers, for a cold wind which had sprung up struck an
+eerie sighing from the sombre firs and sent the white mists streaming
+along the hillside. There was a watery moon in the sky, and on reaching
+the end of the wharf Vane fancied that the singer hesitated; but the
+elder woman laid her hand upon the girl's arm reassuringly and she got
+into the canoe. In a few minutes Vane ran the craft alongside the sloop
+and saw the amazement in Carroll's face by the glow from the cabin
+skylight. He, however, fancied that his comrade would rise to the
+occasion and he handed his guests up.
+
+"My partner, Carroll. Mrs. Marvin and her daughter; Miss Kitty Blake.
+You have seen them already," he said. "They're coming down with us to
+catch the steamer."
+
+Carroll bowed, and Vane, who thrust back the cabin slide, motioned the
+others below. The place was brightly lighted by a nickelled lamp, though
+it was scarcely four feet high and the centreboard trunk occupied the
+middle of it. A wide, cushioned locker ran along each side a foot above
+the floor, and a swing table, fixed above the trunk, filled up most of
+the space between. There was no cloth upon the table, but it was
+invitingly laid out with canned fruit, coffee, hot flapjacks, and a big
+lake trout.
+
+"You must help yourselves while we get sail upon the boat," said Vane.
+"The saloon's at your disposal, my partner and I have the fo'c'sle. You
+will notice there are blankets yonder, and as we'll have smooth water
+most of the way you should get some sleep."
+
+He withdrew, closing the slide, and went forward with Carroll to shorten
+in the cable; but when they stopped beside the bitts his companion broke
+into a soft laugh.
+
+"Is there anything to amuse you?" Vane asked curtly.
+
+"Well," said Carroll with an air of reflection, "it strikes me you're
+making a rather unconventional use of your new prosperity, and it might
+be prudent to consider how your friends in Vancouver may regard the
+adventure."
+
+Vane sat down upon the bitts and took out his pipe. "One trouble in
+talking to you is that I never know whether you're in earnest or not.
+You trot out your cold-blooded worldly wisdom, and then you grin at it."
+
+"I think that's the only philosophic attitude," replied Carroll. "It's
+possible to grow furiously indignant with the restraints stereotyped
+people lay on one; but on the whole it's wiser to bow to them and
+chuckle. After all, they've some foundation."
+
+Vane looked up at him sharply.
+
+"You've been right in the advice you have given me more than once: you
+seem to know how prosperous and what you call stereotyped folks look at
+things. But you've never explained where you got the knowledge."
+
+"That," said Carroll, "is quite another matter."
+
+"Anyway," continued Vane, "there's one remark of yours I'd like to
+answer. You would, no doubt, consider I made a legitimate use of my
+money when I entertained that crowd of city people--some of whom would
+have plundered me if they could have managed it--in Vancouver. I didn't
+grudge it, but I was a little astonished when I saw the wine and cigar
+bill. It struck me that the best of them scarcely noticed what they
+got--I think they'd been up against it at one time, as we have; and it
+would have done the rest of the guzzlers good if they'd had to work all
+day with the shovel on pork and flapjacks. But we'll let that go. What
+have you and I done that we should swill in champagne, while a girl with
+a face like that one below and a child who dances like a fairy haven't
+enough to eat? You know what I paid for the last cigars. What confounded
+hogs we are!"
+
+Carroll laughed outright. There was not an ounce of superfluous flesh
+upon his comrade, who was hardened and toughened by determined labour,
+and the term hog appeared singularly inappropriate.
+
+"Well," said Carroll, "you'll no doubt get used to the new conditions by
+and by, and in regard to your latest exploit there's a motto on your
+insignia of the Garter which might meet the case. But hadn't we better
+heave her over her anchor?"
+
+They seized the chain and as it ran below a sharp, musical rattle rang
+out, for the hollow hull flung back the metallic clinking like a
+sounding board. When the cable was short-up, they grasped the halyards
+and the big gaff mainsail rose flapping up the mast. They set it and
+turned to the headsails, for though, strictly speaking, a sloop only
+carries one, the term is loosely applied in places, and as Vane had
+changed her rig there were two of them.
+
+"It's a fair wind, and I expect we'll find more weight in it lower
+down," said Carroll. "We'll let the staysail lie and run her with the
+jib."
+
+They set the jib and broke out the anchor. Vane took the helm, and the
+sloop, slanting over until her deck on one side dipped close to the
+frothing brine, drove away into, the darkness. The lights of the
+settlement faded among the trees, and when Carroll coming aft flung a
+strip of canvas over the skylight, his comrade could see the black hills
+and climbing firs on both sides slip by. Sliding vapours streaked them,
+a crisp splashing sound made by the curling ripples followed the vessel;
+the canoe surged along noisily astern, and the frothing and gurgling
+grew louder at the bows. They were running down one of the deep,
+forest-shrouded inlets which, resembling the Norwegian fiords, pierce
+the Pacific littoral of Canada.
+
+"I wonder how the wind is outside," Vane said.
+
+Carroll looked round and saw the white mists stream athwart the pines on
+a promontory they were skirting. "That's more than I can tell. In these
+troughs among the hills it either blows straight up or directly down,
+and I dare say we'll find it different when we reach the sound. One
+thing's certain--there's some weight in it now."
+
+Vane nodded agreement, though an idea that troubled him crept into his
+mind. "I understand the steamboat skipper will run in to land some
+Siwash he's bringing down. It will be awkward in the dark if the wind's
+onshore."
+
+Carroll made no comment, and they drove on, until as they swept round
+the point the sloop, slanting sharply, dipped her lee rail in the froth.
+
+"We'll have to tie down a reef," he said.
+
+Vane told him to take the tiller and scrambling forward, rapped upon the
+cabin side, which he flung back. Mrs. Marvin lay upon the leeward locker
+with a blanket across her and the little girl at her feet; Miss Blake
+sat on the weather one with a book in her hand.
+
+"We're going to take some sail off the boat," he said. "You needn't be
+disturbed by the noise."
+
+"When do you expect to meet the steamer?" Miss Blake inquired.
+
+"Not for two or three hours, anyway," Vane answered, with a hint of
+uncertainty in his voice. Then, as he fancied the girl had noticed it,
+he closed the slide.
+
+"Down helm!" he said to Carroll, and there was a banging and thrashing
+of canvas as the sloop came up into the wind. They held her there, with
+the jib aback, while they hauled the canoe on board, which was not an
+easy task, and then with difficulty hove down a reef in the mainsail. It
+was heavy work, because there was nobody at the helm, and the craft
+falling off once or twice as they leaned out upon the boom with toes on
+her depressed lee rail, threatened to hurl them into the frothing water.
+Neither of them were trained sailors, but on that coast with its inlets
+and sounds and rivers the wanderer learns to handle sail and paddle and
+canoe-pole.
+
+They finished their task, and when Vane seized the helm Carroll sat down
+under the shelter of the coaming, out of the flying spray.
+
+"We'll probably have some trouble putting your friends on board the
+steamer, even if she runs in," he remarked. "What are you going to do if
+there's no sign of her?"
+
+"It's a question I've been shirking for the last half-hour," Vane
+confessed.
+
+"I'd like to point out that it would be very slow work beating back up
+this inlet, and if we did so there isn't a stage across the island for
+several days. No doubt you remember you have to see that contractor on
+Thursday, and there's the directors' meeting."
+
+"It's uncommonly awkward," Vane answered dubiously.
+
+Carroll laughed. "It strikes me your guests will have to stay where they
+are, whether they like it or not; but there's one consolation--if this
+wind is from the north-west, which is most likely, it will be a fast run
+to Victoria. And now I'll try to get some sleep."
+
+He disappeared down a scuttle forward, leaving Vane somewhat disturbed
+in mind. He had merely contemplated taking his guests for a few hours'
+run, but to have them on board for, perhaps, several days was a very
+different thing. Besides, he was far from sure that they would
+understand the necessity for the latter, in which case the situation
+might become difficult. In the meanwhile, the sloop drove on, until at
+last towards morning the beach fell back on each hand and she met the
+long swell tumbling in from the Pacific. The wind was from the
+north-west and blowing moderately hard; there was no light yet in the
+sky above the black heights to the east of him, and the swell grew
+higher and steeper, breaking white here and there. The sloop plunged
+over it wildly, hurling the spray aloft, and it cost him a determined
+effort to haul his sheets in as the wind drew ahead. Shortly afterwards,
+the beach faded altogether on one hand, and he saw that the sea was
+piled up into foaming ridges. It seemed most improbable that the steamer
+would run in to land her Indian passengers, and he drove the sloop on
+with showers of stinging brine beating into her wet canvas and whirling
+about him.
+
+By and by he noticed that a stream of smoke was pouring from the short
+funnel of the stove, and soon afterwards the cabin slide opened. Miss
+Blake crept out and stood up in the well, gazing forward while she
+clutched the coaming.
+
+Day was now breaking, and Vane could see that her thin dress was blown
+flat against her. There was something graceful in her pose, and it
+struck him that she had a very pretty slender figure.
+
+"Where's the steamer?" she asked.
+
+It was a question Vane had dreaded; but he answered it honestly: "I
+can't tell you. It's very likely that she has gone straight on to
+Victoria."
+
+He read suspicion in her suddenly hardening face.
+
+"You expected this when you asked us to come on board!" she cried.
+
+"No," said Vane, whose face grew hot. "On my honour, I did nothing of
+the kind. There was only a moderate breeze when we left, and when it
+freshened enough to make it unlikely that the steamer would run in, I
+was as vexed as you seem to be. As it happened, I couldn't go back. I
+must get on to Victoria as soon as possible."
+
+She looked at him searchingly.
+
+"Then what are we to do?" she asked.
+
+There was distress in the cry, but Vane answered it in his most
+matter-of-fact tone: "So far as I can see, you can only reconcile
+yourself to staying on board. We'll have a fresh fair wind for Victoria
+once we're round the next head, and with luck we ought to get there late
+to-night."
+
+"You're sure you'll be there, then?"
+
+"I'm sorry I can't even promise that: it depends upon the weather," he
+replied. "But you mustn't stand up in the spray. You're getting wet
+through."
+
+She still clung to the coaming, but he fancied that her misgivings were
+vanishing; and he spoke again: "How are Mrs. Marvin and the little girl?
+I see you have lighted the stove."
+
+The girl sat down, shivering, in the partial shelter of the coaming, and
+at last a gleam of amusement which he thought was partly compassionate
+shone in her eyes.
+
+"I'm afraid they're--far from well. That was why I lighted the fire; I
+wanted to make them some tea. I thought you wouldn't mind."
+
+Vane smiled. "Everything's at your service. Go and get your breakfast,
+and put on a coat you'll find below if you come out again."
+
+She disappeared, and Vane felt relieved. Though the explanation had
+proved less difficult than he had anticipated, he was glad that it was
+over. Half an hour later she appeared again, carrying a loaded tray, and
+he wondered at the ease of her movements, for the sloop was plunging
+viciously.
+
+"I've brought you some breakfast. You have been up all night," she said.
+
+Vane laughed. "As I can only take one hand from the helm, you will have
+to cut up the bread and canned stuff for me. Draw that box out and sit
+down beneath the coaming if you mean to stay."
+
+She did as he told her. The well was some four feet long, and the bottom
+of it about half that distance below the level of the deck. As the
+result of this, she sat close to his feet, while he balanced himself on
+the coaming, gripping the tiller. He noticed that she had brought an
+oilskin jacket with her.
+
+"Hadn't you better put this on first? There's a good deal of spray," she
+said.
+
+Vane struggled into the jacket with some difficulty, and she smiled as
+she handed him up a slice of bread and canned meat. "I suppose," she
+said, "you can only manage one piece at once?"
+
+"Thank you. That's about as much as you could expect one to be capable
+of, even allowing for the bushman's appetite. I'm surprised to see you
+looking so fresh."
+
+"Oh!" said the girl, "I used to go out with the mackerel boats at home;
+we lived at the ferry. It was a mile across the lough, and with the wind
+westerly the sea worked in."
+
+"The lough?" said Vane. "I told Carroll you were from the Green Isle."
+
+It struck him that this was, perhaps, imprudent, since it implied that
+they had been discussing her; but, on the other hand, he thought the
+candour of the statement was in his favour. Then he added: "Have you
+been long out here?"
+
+Her face grew wistful. "Four years," she answered. "I came out with
+Larry--he's my brother. He was a forester at home, and he took small
+contracts for clearing land. Then he married--and I left him."
+
+Vane made a sign of comprehension. "I see. Where's Larry now?"
+
+"He went to Oregon. There was no answer to my last letter; I've lost
+sight of him."
+
+"And you go about with Mrs. Marvin? Is her husband alive?"
+
+Sudden anger flared up in the girl's blue eyes, though, he knew it was
+not directed against him.
+
+"Yes," she said. "It's a pity he is. Men of his kind always seem to
+live."
+
+It occurred to Vane, that Miss Blake, who had evidently a spice of
+temper, could be a staunch partisan; and he also noticed that now he had
+inspired her with some degree of trust in himself, her conversation was
+marked by an ingenious candour. For all that, she changed the subject.
+
+"Another piece, or some tea?" she asked.
+
+"Tea first," said Vane, and they both laughed when she afterwards handed
+him a double slice of bread.
+
+"These sandwiches strike me as unusually nice," he informed her. "It's
+exceptionally good tea, too."
+
+The blue eyes gleamed with amusement, "You have been in the cold all
+night--but I was once in a restaurant." She watched the effect of this
+statement on him. "You know I really can't sing--I was never taught,
+anyway, though there were some of the settlements where we did rather
+well."
+
+Vane hummed a few bars of a song. "I don't suppose you realise what one
+ballad of yours has done. I'd almost forgotten the Old Country, but the
+night I heard you I felt I must go back and see it again. What's more,
+Carroll and I are going shortly; it's your doing."
+
+This was a matter of fact, but Kitty Blake had produced a deeper effect
+on him, although he was not aware of it yet.
+
+"It's a shame to keep you handing me things to eat," he added
+disconnectedly. "Still, I'd like another piece."
+
+She smiled, delighted, as she passed the food to him. "You can't help
+yourself and steer the boat. Besides--after the restaurant--I don't mind
+waiting on you."
+
+Vane made no comment, but he watched her with satisfaction while he ate,
+and as one result of it the sloop plunged heavily into the frothing sea.
+There was no sign of the others, and they were alone on the waste of
+tumbling water in the early dawn. The girl was pretty, and there was a
+pleasing daintiness about her.
+
+She belonged to the people--there was no doubt of that; but then Vane
+had a strong faith in the people, native-born and adopted, of the
+Pacific slope. It was from them he had received the greatest kindnesses
+he could remember. They were cheerful optimists; indomitable grapplers
+with forest and flood, who did almost incredible things with axe and saw
+and giant-powder. They lived in lonely ranch houses, tents, and rudely
+flung up shacks; driving the new roads along the rangeside, risking life
+and limb in wild-cat adits. They were quick to laughter and reckless in
+hospitality.
+
+Then with an effort he brushed the hazy thoughts away. Kitty Blake was
+merely a guest of his; in another day he would land her in Victoria, and
+that would be the end of it. He was assuring himself of this when
+Carroll crawled up through the scuttle forward and came aft to join
+them. In spite of his prudent reflections, Vane was by no means certain
+that he was pleased to see him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+AN AFTERNOON ASHORE.
+
+
+Half the day had slipped by, when the breeze freshened further and the
+sun broke through. The sloop was then rolling wildly as she drove along
+with the peak of her mainsail lowered before a big following sea. Vane
+looked thoughtful as he gripped the helm, because a head ran out from
+the beach he was following three or four miles way, and he would have to
+haul the boat up to windward to get round it. This would bring the
+combers upon her quarter, or, worse still, abeam. Kitty Blake was below;
+Mrs. Marvin had made no appearance yet, and he spoke to Carroll, who was
+standing in the well.
+
+"The sea's breaking more sharply, and we'd get uncommonly wet before we
+hammered round yonder head," he said. "There's an inlet on this side of
+it where we ought to find good shelter."
+
+"The trouble is that if you stay there long you'll be too late for the
+directors' meeting," Carroll answered.
+
+"They can't have the meeting without me, and, if it's necessary, they
+can wait," Vane pointed out. "I've had to. Many an hour I've spent
+cooling my heels in offices before the head of the concern could find
+time to attend to me. No doubt it was part of the game, and done to
+impress me with a due sense of my unimportance."
+
+"It's possible," Carroll agreed, smiling.
+
+Kitty Blake made her appearance in the cabin entrance just then, and
+Vane smiled at her.
+
+"We're going to give you a rest," he announced. "There's an inlet close
+ahead where we should find smooth water, and we'll put you all ashore
+until the wind drops."
+
+There was no suspicion in the girl's face now, and she gave him a
+grateful glance before she disappeared below with the consoling news.
+
+Soon afterwards, Vane luffed into a tiny bay, where the sloop rode
+upright in the sunshine, with loose canvas flapping softly in a faint
+breeze while the cable rattled down.
+
+They got the canoe over, and when he had landed Mrs. Marvin and her
+little girl, both of whom looked very woebegone and the worse for the
+voyage, into her, Vane glanced round.
+
+"Isn't Miss Blake coming?" he asked.
+
+Mrs. Marvin, who was suggestively pallid, smiled. "She's changing her
+dress." She glanced at her own crumpled attire and added: "I'm past
+thinking of such things as that."
+
+They waited some minutes, and then Vane called to Kitty, who appeared in
+the entrance to the cabin, "Won't you look in the locker, and bring
+anything you think would be nice? We'll make a fire and have supper on
+the beach; if it isn't first-rate, you'll be responsible."
+
+A few minutes later they paddled ashore, and Vane landed them on a strip
+of shingle with a wall of rock behind it, to which dark firs clung in
+the rifts and crannies. The sunshine streamed into the hollow, the wind
+was cut off, and not far away a crystal stream came splashing down a
+ravine.
+
+Vane, who had brought an axe, made a fire of resinous wood, and Carroll
+and Kitty prepared a bountiful supper. After it was finished Carroll
+carried the plates away to the stream, towards which Mrs. Marvin and the
+little girl followed him, and Vane and Kitty were left beside the fire.
+She sat on a log of driftwood, and he lay on the warm shingle with his
+pipe in his hand. The clear green water splashed and tinkled upon the
+pebbles close at his feet, and a faint, elfin sighing fell from the firs
+above them. It was very old music, the song of the primeval wilderness,
+and though he had heard it often, it had a strange, unsettling effect
+upon him as he languidly watched his companion. There was no doubt that
+she was pleasant to look upon; but although he failed to recognise this
+clearly, it was to a large extent an impersonal interest he took in her.
+She was not so much an attractive young woman with qualities that
+pleased him, as a type of something that had so far not come into his
+life; something which he vaguely felt that he had missed. One could have
+fancied that by some deep-sunk intuition she surmised this fact, and
+felt the security of it.
+
+"So you believe you can get an engagement if you reach Vancouver in
+time," he said at length. Kitty assented, and he asked, "How long will
+it last?"
+
+"I can't tell. Perhaps a few weeks. It depends upon how the boys are
+pleased with the show."
+
+"It must be a hard life," Vane broke out. "You must make very
+little--scarcely enough, I suppose, to carry you on from one engagement
+to another. After all, weren't you as well off at the restaurant? Didn't
+they treat you properly?"
+
+She coloured a little at the question. "Oh, yes; at least, I have no
+fault to find with the man who kept it, or his wife."
+
+Vane made a hasty sign of comprehension. He supposed that the difficulty
+had arisen from the conduct of one or more of the regular customers. He
+felt he would very much like to meet the man whose undesired attentions
+had driven his companion from her occupation.
+
+"Did you never try to learn keeping accounts or typewriting?" he asked.
+
+"I tried it once, but the mill shut down."
+
+"I've an idea that I could find you a post," Vane made the suggestion
+casually, though he was troubled by an inward diffidence.
+
+He saw a tinge of warmer colour creep into the girl's cheeks.
+
+"No," she said decidedly. "It wouldn't do."
+
+The man knitted his brows, though he fancied that she was right. "Well,"
+he replied, "I don't want to be officious--but how can I help?"
+
+"You can't help at all."
+
+Vane, who saw that she meant it, lay smoking in silence for a minute or
+two. Then Carroll came up with Mrs. Marvin and the child, and he felt
+strongly stirred when the little girl walked up to him shyly with a
+basket filled with shells. He drew her down beside him, with an arm
+about her waist, while he examined her treasures, and then glancing up
+met Kitty's eyes and felt his face grow hot with an emotion he failed to
+analyse. The child was delicate; life had scanty pleasure to offer her,
+but now she was happy.
+
+"They're so pretty, and there are lots of them," she said. "Can't we
+stay here longer and gather some more?"
+
+"Yes," said Vane, conscious that Carroll, who had heard the question,
+was watching him. "You shall stay and get as many as you want. I'm
+afraid you don't like the sloop."
+
+"No," replied the child gravely, "I don't like it when it jumps. After I
+woke up it jumped all the time."
+
+"Never mind," said Vane. "The boat will keep still to-night, and I don't
+think there'll be any waves to roll her about to-morrow. We'll bring you
+ashore first thing in the morning."
+
+He talked to her for a few minutes, and then strolled along the beach
+with Carroll.
+
+"Why did you promise that child to stay here?" Carroll asked.
+
+"Because I felt like doing so."
+
+"I needn't remind you that you've an appointment with Horsfield about
+the smelter, and there's a meeting of the board next day. If we started
+now and caught the first steamer across, you wouldn't have much time to
+spare."
+
+"That's correct. I shall have to wire from Victoria that I've been
+detained."
+
+Carroll laughed expressively. "Do you mean to keep your directors
+waiting to please a child?"
+
+"I suppose that's one reason. Anyway, I don't propose to hustle the
+little girl and her mother on board the steamer helpless with sea
+sickness," He paused and a gleam of humour crept into his eyes. "As I
+told you, I've no objection to letting the directors wait my pleasure."
+
+"But they set the concern on its feet."
+
+"Just so," said Vane coolly. "On the other hand, they got excellent
+value for their services--and I found the mine. What's more, during the
+preliminary negotiations most of them treated me very casually."
+
+"Well?" said Carroll.
+
+"There's going to be a difference now, I've a board of directors; one
+way or another, I've had to pay for the privilege pretty dearly; but I
+don't intend that they should run the Clermont mine."
+
+Carroll glanced at him with open amusement. There had been a marked
+change in Vane since he had floated the company, but it was one that did
+not astonish his comrade. Carroll had long suspected him of latent
+capabilities, which had suddenly sprung to life.
+
+"You ought to see Horsfield before you meet the board," he pointed out.
+
+"I'm not sure," Vane answered. "In fact, I'm uncertain whether I'll give
+Horsfield the contract, even if we decide about the smelter. I don't
+want a man with too firm a hold up against me."
+
+"But if he put his money in with the idea of getting certain pickings?"
+
+"He didn't explain his intentions, and I made no promises," Vane
+answered dryly. "He'll get his dividends; that'll satisfy him."
+
+They rejoined the others, and when the white mists crept lower down from
+the heights above and the chill of the dew was in the air, Vane launched
+the canoe.
+
+"It's getting late, and there's a long run in front of us to-morrow," he
+informed his passengers. "The sloop will lie as still as if moored in a
+pond, and you'll have her all to yourselves. Carroll and I are going to
+camp ashore."
+
+He paddled them off to the boat, and coming back with some blankets cut
+a few armfuls of spruce twigs in a ravine and spread them out beside the
+fire. Then sitting down just clear of the scented smoke, he lighted his
+pipe and asked an abrupt question: "What do you think of Kitty Blake?"
+
+"Well," said Carroll cautiously, "I must confess that I've taken some
+interest in the girl; partly because you were obviously doing so. In a
+general way, what I noticed rather surprised me. It wasn't what I
+expected."
+
+"You smart folks are as often wrong as the rest of us. I suppose you
+looked for cold-blooded assurance, tempered by what one might call
+experienced coquetry?"
+
+"Something of the kind," Carroll agreed. "As you say, I was wrong. There
+are only two ways of explaining Miss Blake, and the first's the one that
+would strike most people. That is, she's acting a part, possibly with an
+object; holding her natural self in check, and doing it cleverly."
+
+Vane laughed scornfully. "I wouldn't have entertained that idea for five
+minutes."
+
+"Then," said Carroll, "there's the other explanation. It's simply that
+the girl's life hasn't affected her. Somehow she has kept fresh and
+wholesome."
+
+"There's no doubt of it," said Vane shortly.
+
+"You offered to help her in some way?"
+
+"I did; I don't know how you guessed it. I said I'd find her a
+situation. She wouldn't hear of it."
+
+"She was wise," said Carroll. "Vancouver isn't a very big place yet, and
+the girl has more sense than you have. What did you say?"
+
+"Nothing. You interrupted us. But I'm going to sleep."
+
+He rolled himself up in his blanket and lay down among the soft spruce
+twigs, but Carroll sat still in the darkness and smoked his pipe out.
+Then he glanced at his comrade, who lay still, breathing evenly.
+
+"No doubt you'll be considered fortunate," he said, apostrophizing him
+half aloud. "You've had power and responsibility thrust upon you. What
+will you make of them?"
+
+Then he, too, lay down, and only the soft splash of the tiny ripples
+broke the silence while the fire sank lower.
+
+They sailed next morning and eventually arrived in Victoria after the
+boat which crossed the Strait had gone, but the breeze was fair from the
+westwards, and after dispatching a telegram Vane put to sea again. The
+sloop made a quick passage, and for most of the time her passengers
+lounged in the sunshine on her gently-slanted deck. It was evening when
+they ran through the Narrows into Vancouver's land-locked harbour.
+
+Half an hour later, Vane landed his passengers, and it was not until he
+had left them they discovered that he had thrust a roll of paper
+currency into the little girl's hand. Then he and Carroll set off for
+the C.P.R. hotel.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+A CHANGE OF ENVIRONMENT.
+
+
+On the evening after his arrival in Vancouver, Vane, who took Carroll
+with him, paid a visit to one of his directors and, in accordance with
+the invitation, reached the latter's dwelling some little time before
+the arrival of other guests, whose acquaintance it was considered
+advisable that he should make.
+
+Vane and his companion were ushered into a small room with an uncovered
+floor and simple, hardwood furniture. It was obviously a working room,
+for, as a rule, the work of the Western business man goes on
+continuously except when he is asleep; but a somewhat portly lady with a
+good-humoured face reclined in a rocking-chair. A gaunt, elderly man of
+rugged appearance rose from his seat at a writing-table as his guests
+entered.
+
+"So ye have come at last," he said. "I had you shown in here, because
+this room is mine, and I can smoke when I like. The rest of the house is
+Mrs. Nairn's, and it seems that her friends do not appreciate the smell
+of my cigars. I'm not sure that I can blame them."
+
+Mrs. Nairn smiled placidly. "Alec," she explained, "leaves them lying
+everywhere, and I do not like the stubs on the stairs. But sit ye down
+and he will give ye one."
+
+Vane felt at home with both of them. He had met people of their kind
+before, and, allowing for certain idiosyncrasies, considered them the
+salt of the Dominion. Nairn had done good service to his adopted
+country, developing her new industries, with some profit to himself, for
+he was of Scottish extraction; but while close at a bargain he could be
+generous afterwards. When his guests were seated he laid two cigar boxes
+on the table.
+
+"Those," he said, pointing to one of them, "are mine. I think ye had
+better try the others; they're for visitors."
+
+Vane, who had already noticed the aroma of the cigar that was
+smouldering on a tray, decided that he was right, and dipped his hand
+into the second box, which he passed to Carroll.
+
+"Now," said Nairn, "we can talk comfortably, and Clara will listen.
+Afterwards it's possible she will favour me with her opinion."
+
+Mrs. Nairn smiled at them encouragingly, and her husband proceeded: "One
+or two of my colleagues were no pleased at ye for putting off the
+meeting."
+
+"The sloop was small, and it was blowing rather hard," Vane explained.
+
+"Maybe," said Nairn. "For all that, the tone of your message was not
+altogether conciliatory. It informed us that ye would arrange for the
+postponed meeting at your earliest convenience. Ye didna mention ours."
+
+"I pointed that out to him, and he said it didn't matter," Carroll broke
+in, laughing.
+
+Nairn spread out his hands in expostulation, but there was dry
+appreciation in his eyes. "Young blood must have its way." Then he
+paused. "Ye will not have said anything to Horsfield yet about the
+smelter?"
+
+"No. So far, I'm not sure it would pay us to put up the plant, and the
+other man's terms were lower."
+
+"Maybe," Nairn answered, and he made the word very expressive. "Ye have
+had the handling of the thing; but henceforward it will be necessary to
+get the sanction of the board. However, ye will meet Horsfield to-night.
+We expect him and his sister."
+
+Vane thought he had been favoured with a hint, but he also fancied that
+his host was not inimical and was merely reserving his judgment. The
+latter changed the subject.
+
+"So ye're going to England for a holiday," he remarked. "Ye'll have
+friends who'll be glad to see ye?"
+
+"I've one sister and no other near relatives, but I expect to spend some
+time with folks you know. The Chisholms are old family friends and, as
+you will remember, it was through them I first approached you." Then
+obeying one of the impulses which occasionally swayed him he turned to
+Mrs. Nairn. "I'm grateful to them for sending me the letter of
+introduction to your husband. He didn't treat me as the others did when
+I first went round this city with a few mineral specimens."
+
+He had expected nothing when he spoke, but there was a responsive look
+in the lady's face which hinted that he had made a friend; and as a
+matter of fact, he owed a good deal to his host.
+
+"So ye are meaning to stay with Chisholm," Nairn exclaimed. "We had
+Evelyn here two years ago and Clara said something about her coming out
+again."
+
+"I never heard of that, but it's nine years since I saw Evelyn."
+
+"Then there's a surprise in store for ye," said Nairn. "I believe
+they've a bonny place, and there's no doubt Chisholm will make ye
+welcome."
+
+The slight pause was expressive. It implied that Nairn, who had a
+somewhat biting humour, could furnish a reason for Chisholm's
+hospitality if he desired, and Vane was confirmed in this supposition
+when he saw the warning look which his hostess cast at her husband.
+
+"It's likely that we'll have Evelyn again in the fall," she broke in.
+"It's a very small world, Mr. Vane."
+
+"It's a far cry from Vancouver to England," said Vane. "How did you come
+to know Chisholm?"
+
+Nairn answered him. "Our acquaintance began with business, and he's a
+kind of connection of Colquhoun's."
+
+Colquhoun was a man of some importance, who held a Crown appointment,
+and Vane felt inclined to wonder why Chisholm had not sent him a letter
+to him. Afterwards he guessed at the reason, which was not flattering to
+himself or his host. The latter and he chatted awhile on business
+topics, until there was a sound of voices below, and going down in
+company with Mrs. Nairn they found two or three new arrivals in the
+entrance hall. More came in, and when they sat down to supper, Vane was
+given a place beside a lady whom he had already met.
+
+Jessie Horsfield was about his own age; tall and slight of figure, with
+regular features, a rather colourless face, and eyes of a cold, light
+blue. There was, however, something which Vane considered striking in
+her appearance, and he was gratified by her graciousness to him. Her
+brother sat almost opposite to them, a tall, spare man, with an
+expressionless countenance, except for the aggressive hardness in his
+eyes. Vane had noticed this look in them, and it had roused his dislike;
+but he had not observed it in those of Miss Horsfield, though it was
+present now and then. Nor did he realise that while she chatted, she was
+unobtrusively studying him; She had not favoured him with much notice
+when she was in his company on a previous occasion; he had been a man of
+no importance then.
+
+"I suppose you are glad you have finished your work in the bush," she
+remarked presently. "It must be nice to get back to civilisation."
+
+"Yes," Vane assented; "it's remarkably nice after living for nine years
+in the wilderness."
+
+A fresh dish was laid before him, and his companion smiled. "You didn't
+get things of this kind among the pines."
+
+"No," said Vane. "In fact, cookery is one of the chopper's trials. You
+come back dead tired, and often very wet, to your lonely tent, and then
+there's a fire to make and supper to get before you can rest. It happens
+now and then that you're too played out to trouble, and go to sleep
+instead."
+
+"Dreadful," said the girl, sympathetically. "But you have been in
+Vancouver before."
+
+"Except on the last occasion, I stayed down near the water-front. We
+were not provided with luxurious quarters or suppers of this kind then."
+
+Jessie nodded. "It's romantic, and though you must be glad it's over,
+there must be some satisfaction in feeling that you owe the change to
+your own efforts. Doesn't it give you a feeling that in some degree
+you're master of your fate? I fancy I should like that."
+
+It was subtle flattery, and there were reasons why it appealed to the
+man. He had wandered about the province in search of employment, besides
+being beaten down at many a small bargain by more fortunately situated
+men. Now, however, he had resolved that there should be a difference:
+instead of begging favours, he would dictate terms.
+
+"I should have imagined it," he said, in answer to her last remark, and
+he was right, for Jessie Horsfield was a clever woman, who loved power
+and influence. Then she abruptly changed the subject.
+
+"It was you who located the Clermont mine, wasn't it?" she asked. "I
+read something about it in the papers; I think they said it was copper."
+
+This vagueness was misleading, because her brother had given her a good
+deal of information about the mine.
+
+"Yes," said Vane, who was willing to take up any subject she suggested;
+"it's copper, but there's some silver combined with it. Of course, the
+value of any ore depends upon two things--the percentage of the metal,
+and the cost of extracting it."
+
+She waited with flattering interest, and he added: "In both respects,
+Clermont produce is promising."
+
+After that he did not remember what they talked about; but the time
+passed rapidly and he was surprised when Mrs. Nairn rose and the company
+drifted away by twos and threes towards the verandah. Left by himself a
+moment, he came upon Carroll sauntering down a corridor, and the latter
+stopped him.
+
+"I've had a chat with Horsfield," he remarked.
+
+"Well?" said Vane.
+
+"He may have merely meant to make himself agreeable, and he may have
+wished to extract information about you. If the latter was his object,
+he was not successful."
+
+"Ah!" said Vane thoughtfully. "Nairn's straight, anyway, and to be
+relied upon. I like him and his wife."
+
+"So do I," Carroll agreed.
+
+He moved away, and a few moments later Horsfield joined Vane, who had
+strolled out on to the verandah.
+
+"I don't know if it's a very suitable time to mention it, but are you
+any nearer a decision about that smelter yet?" he said. "Candidly, I'd
+like the contract."
+
+"No," said Vane. "I can't make up my mind, and I may postpone the matter
+indefinitely. It might prove more profitable to ship the ore out for
+reduction."
+
+Horsfield examined his cigar. "Of course, I can't press you; but I may
+perhaps suggest that as we'll have to work together in other matters, I
+might be able to give you a quid pro quo."
+
+"That occurred to me," said Vane, "On the other hand, I don't know how
+much importance I ought to attach to the consideration."
+
+His companion laughed with apparent good-humour. "Oh, well!" he
+answered, "I must wait until you're ready."
+
+He strolled away, and presently joined his sister.
+
+"How does Vane strike you?" he asked. "You seem to get on with him."
+
+"I've an idea that you won't find him easy to influence, and the girl
+looked at her brother pointedly.
+
+"I'm inclined to agree with you," said Horsfield. "In spite of that,
+he's a man worth cultivating."
+
+He passed on to speak to Nairn, and by and by Vane sat down beside
+Jessie in a corner of a big room. It was simply furnished, but spacious
+and lofty and looked out across the verandah. It was pleasant to lounge
+there and feel that Miss Horsfield had good-naturedly taken him under
+her wing, which seemed to describe her attitude.
+
+"As Mrs. Nairn tells me you are going to England, I suppose we shall not
+see you in Vancouver for some months," she said presently. "This city
+really isn't a bad place to live in."
+
+Vane felt gratified. She implied that he would be an acquisition and
+included him among the number of her acquaintances. "I fancy I shall
+find it a particularly pleasant one," he responded. "Indeed, I'm
+inclined to be sorry I've made arrangements to leave it very shortly."
+
+"That is pure good-nature," his companion laughed.
+
+She changed the subject, and Vane found her conversation entertaining.
+She said nothing of any consequence, but she knew how to make a glance
+or a changed inflection expressive. He was sorry when she left him, but
+she smiled at him before she moved away.
+
+"If you and Mr. Carroll care to call, I am generally at home in the
+afternoon," she said.
+
+She crossed the room, and Vane, who joined Nairn, remained near him
+until he took his departure.
+
+It was late the next afternoon, and an Empress liner from China and
+Japan had arrived an hour or two earlier, when he and Carroll reached
+the C.P.R. station. The Atlantic train was waiting, and an unusual
+number of passengers were hurrying about the cars. They were, for the
+most part, prosperous people, business men and tourists from England,
+going home that way, and when Vane found Mrs. Marvin and Kitty, he was
+once more conscious of a stirring of compassion. Kitty smiled at him
+diffidently.
+
+"You have been so kind," she began, and, pausing, added with a tremor in
+her voice: "But the tickets----"
+
+"Pshaw!" said Vane. "If it will ease your mind, you can send me what
+they cost after the first full house you draw."
+
+"How shall we address you?"
+
+"Clermont Mineral Exploitation. I don't want to think I'm going to lose
+sight of you."
+
+Kitty turned away from him a moment, and then looked back.
+
+"I'm afraid you must make up your mind to that," she said.
+
+Vane could not remember his answer, though he afterwards tried; but just
+then an official strode along beside the cars calling to the passengers,
+and when a bell began tolling Vane hurried the girl and her companions
+on to a platform. Mrs. Marvin entered the car, Elsie held up her face to
+kiss him before she disappeared, and he and Kitty were left alone. She
+held out her hand, and a liquid gleam crept into her eyes.
+
+"We can't thank you properly," she said. "Good-bye."
+
+"No," Vane protested. "You mustn't say that."
+
+"Yes," said Kitty firmly. "It's good-bye. You'll be carried on in a
+moment."
+
+Vane gazed down at her, and afterwards wondered at what he did; but she
+looked so forlorn and desolate, and the pretty face was so close to him.
+Stooping swiftly, he kissed her, and had a thrilling fancy that she did
+not recoil; then the cars lurched forward, and he swung himself down.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE OLD COUNTRY.
+
+
+A month had passed since Vane said good-bye to Kitty, when he and
+Carroll alighted one evening at a little station in the north of
+England.
+
+The train went on, and Vane stood still, looking about him with a
+poignant recollection of how he had last waited on that platform, sick
+at heart, but gathering his youthful courage for the effort that he must
+make. It all came back to him; the dejection, the sense of loneliness;
+for he was then going out to the Western Dominion in which he had not a
+friend. Now he was returning prosperous and successful. But once again
+the feeling of loneliness was with him--most of those whom he had left
+behind had made a longer journey than his.
+
+Then he noticed an elderly man in livery approaching, and held out his
+hand with a smile of pleasure.
+
+"You haven't changed a bit, Jim," he said.
+
+"A bit stiffer in the joints, and maybe a bit sourer," was the answer;
+then the man's wrinkled face relaxed. "I'm main glad to see thee, Mr.
+Wallace. Master wad have come, only he'd t' gan t' Manchester suddenly."
+
+Vane helped him to place their baggage in the trap, and then, gathering
+up the reins, bade him sit behind. After half an hour's ride through a
+country rolled in ridge and valley, Vane pulled up where a stile path
+led across a strip of meadow.
+
+"You can drive round; we'll be there before you," he said to the groom
+as he got down.
+
+Carroll and he crossed the meadow, and passing round a clump of larches,
+came suddenly into sight of an old grey house with a fir wood rolling
+down the hillside close behind it. The building was long and low,
+weather-worn and stained with lichens where the creepers and climbing
+roses left the stone exposed. The bottom row of mullioned windows opened
+upon a terrace, and in front of the latter ran a low wall with a mossy
+coping on which was placed urns bright with geraniums. It was pierced by
+an opening approached by shallow stairs on which a peacock stood, and
+between them and the two men stretched a sweep of lawn. A couple of
+minutes later a lady met them in the hall, and held out her hand to Vane
+effusively. She was middle-aged, and had once been handsome, Carroll
+thought, but there were wrinkles about her eyes, which had a hint of
+hardness in them.
+
+"Welcome home, Wallace," she said. "It should not be difficult to look
+upon the Dene as that--you were here so often once upon a time."
+
+"Thank you," said Vane. "I felt tempted to ask Jim to drive me round by
+the Low Wood; I wanted to see the place again."
+
+"I'm glad you didn't," and the lady smiled sympathetically. "The house
+is shut up and going to pieces. It would have been depressing to-night."
+
+Vane presented Carroll. Mrs. Chisholm's manner was gracious; but for no
+particular reason Carroll wondered if she would have extended the same
+welcome to either, had his comrade not come back the discoverer of a
+mine.
+
+"Tom was sorry he couldn't wait to meet you, but he had to leave for
+Manchester on some urgent business," she informed Vane, and looked round
+as a girl with disordered hair came up to them.
+
+"This is Mabel," she said. "I hardly think you will remember her."
+
+"I've carried her across the meadow," smilingly remarked Vane.
+
+The girl greeted the strangers demurely, and favoured Vane with a
+critical gaze. "So you're Wallace Vane--who found the Clermont mine.
+Though I don't remember you, I've heard a good deal about you lately.
+Very pleased to make your acquaintance."
+
+Vane's eyes twinkled as he shook hands with her. Her manner was quaintly
+formal, but he fancied there was a spice of mischief hidden behind it,
+and in the meanwhile Carroll, watching his hostess, surmised that her
+daughter's remarks had not altogether pleased her. She, however, chatted
+with them until the man who had driven them appeared with their baggage,
+when they were shown their respective rooms.
+
+Vane was the first to go down, and reaching the hall found nobody there,
+though a clatter of dishes and clink of silver suggested that a meal was
+being laid out in an adjoining room. Sitting down near the hearth, he
+looked about him.
+
+His eyes rested on many objects that he recognised, but as his glance
+travelled to and fro it occurred to him that much of what he saw
+conveyed a hint that economy was needful.
+
+By and by he heard a patter of feet, and looking up saw a girl
+descending the stairs in the fading stream of light. She was clad in
+trailing white, which gleamed against the dark oak and rustled softly as
+it flowed about a tall, finely-outlined and finely-poised figure. She
+had hair of dark brown with paler lights in its curling tendrils,
+gathered back from a neck that showed a faintly warmer whiteness, than
+the snowy fabric beneath it. It was, however, her face which seized
+Vane's attention; the level brows, the quiet, deep brown eyes, the
+straight, cleanly-cut nose, and the subtle suggestion of steadfastness
+and pride which they all conveyed. He rose with a cry that had pleasure
+and eagerness in it: "Evelyn!"
+
+She came down, moving lightly but, as he noticed, with a rhythmic grace,
+and laid a firm, cool hand in his.
+
+"I'm glad to see you back, Wallace," she said. "But you have changed."
+
+"I'm not sure that's kind. In some ways you haven't changed at all; I
+would have known you anywhere."
+
+"Nine years is a long time to remember any one."
+
+Vane had seen few women during that period; but he was not a fool, and
+he recognised that this was no occasion for an attempt at gallantry.
+There was nothing coquettish in Evelyn's words, nor were they ironical.
+She had answered in the tranquil, matter-of-fact manner which, as he
+remembered, usually characterised her.
+
+"It's a little while since you landed, isn't it?" she added.
+
+"A week," said Vane. "I'd some business in London, and then I went on to
+look up Lucy. She had just gone up to town, and I missed her. I shall go
+up again to see her as soon as she answers my note."
+
+"It won't be necessary. She's coming here for a fortnight very soon."
+
+"That's kind," said Vane. "Whom have I to thank for suggesting it?"
+
+"Does it matter? It was a natural thing to ask your only sister--who is
+a friend of mine. We have plenty of room, and the place is quiet."
+
+"It used not to be. If I remember, your mother generally had it full
+part of the year."
+
+"Things have changed," said Evelyn quietly.
+
+Vane was baffled by something in her manner. Evelyn had never been
+effusive--that was not her way--but now, while she was cordial, she did
+not seem disposed to resume their acquaintance where it had been broken
+off. After all, he could hardly have expected this.
+
+"Mabel is like you, as you used to be," he said. "It struck me as soon
+as I saw her; but when she began to talk there was a difference."
+
+"Yes," she said. "I think you're right in both respects. Mopsy has the
+courage of her convictions. She's an open rebel."
+
+There was no bitterness in her tone. Evelyn's manner was never pointed,
+but Vane fancied that she had said a meaning thing, one that might
+explain what he found puzzling in her attitude, when he held the key to
+it. Then she went on: "Mopsy was dubious about you before you arrived,
+but I'm pleased to say she now seems reassured."
+
+Then Carroll came down, and a few moments later Mrs. Chisholm appeared
+and they went in to dinner in a low-ceilinged room. Nobody said anything
+of importance, but by and by Mabel turned to Vane.
+
+"I suppose you have brought your pistols with you," she said.
+
+"I never owned one," Vane informed her.
+
+The girl looked at him with an excellent assumption of incredulity.
+"Then you have never shot anybody in British Columbia?"
+
+Carroll laughed, as if this greatly pleased him, but Vane's face was
+rather grave as he answered her.
+
+"No," he said. "I'm thankful I haven't."
+
+"Then the West must be getting what the Archdeacon--he's Flora's
+husband, you know--calls decadent," the girl retorted.
+
+"She's incorrigible," Mrs. Chisholm interposed with a smile.
+
+Carroll, who was sitting next to Mabel, leaned towards her
+confidentially. "In case you feel badly disappointed, I'll let you into
+a secret," he said. "When we feel real savage, we take the axe instead."
+
+Evelyn fancied that Vane winced at this, but Mabel looked openly
+regretful.
+
+"Can either of you pick up a handkerchief going at full gallop on
+horseback?" she inquired.
+
+"I'm sorry I can't, and I've never seen Wallace do so," Carroll
+answered, laughing, and Mrs. Chisholm shook her head at her daughter.
+
+"Miss Clifford complained of your inattention to the study of English
+last quarter," she said severely.
+
+Mabel made no answer, though Vane thought it would have relieved her to
+grimace, and by and by the meal came to an end. Some time afterwards,
+Mrs. Chisholm rose from her seat in the drawing-room.
+
+"We keep early hours at the Dene, but you will retire when you like,"
+she said. "As Tom is away, I had better tell you that you will find
+syphons and whisky in the smoking-room. I have had the lamp lighted."
+
+"Thank you," Vane replied with a smile. "I'm afraid you have taken more
+trouble on our account than you need have done. Except on special
+occasions we have generally confined ourselves to strong green tea."
+
+Mabel looked at him in amazement. "Oh!" she said, "the West is certainly
+decadent. You should be here when the otter hounds are out. Why, it was
+only----"
+
+She broke off abruptly beneath her mother's withering glance, and when
+they were left alone, Vane and Carroll strolled out upon the terrace,
+pipe in hand.
+
+"I suppose you could put in a few weeks here," Vane remarked.
+
+"I could," Carroll replied. "There's an--atmosphere--about these old
+houses that appeals to me, perhaps because we have nothing like it in
+Canada. Besides, I think your friends mean to make things pleasant."
+
+"I'm glad you like them."
+
+Carroll understood that his comrade would not resent a candid expression
+of opinion. "I do; the girls in particular. They interest me. The
+younger one's of a type that's common in our country, though it's
+generally given room for free development into something useful there.
+Mabel's chaffing at the curb. It remains to be seen if she'll kick, and
+hurt herself in doing so, presently."
+
+Vane, who remembered that Evelyn had said something to the same effect,
+had already discovered that Carroll possessed a keen insight in certain
+matters.
+
+"And her sister?" he suggested.
+
+"You won't mind my saying that I'm inclined to be sorry for her? She has
+learned repression--been driven into line. That girl has character, but
+it's being cramped and stunted. You live in walled-in compartments in
+this country."
+
+Vane strolled along the terrace thoughtfully. He was not offended, and
+he understood his companion's attitude. Like other men of education and
+good upbringing, driven by unrest or disaster to the untrammelled life
+of the bush, Carroll had gained sympathy as well as knowledge. Facing
+facts candidly, he seldom indulged in decided protest against any of
+them. On the other hand, Vane was on occasion liable to outbreaks of
+indignation.
+
+"Well," said the latter at length, "I guess it's time to go to bed."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+UPON THE HEIGHTS.
+
+
+Vane rose early next morning, as he had been accustomed to do, and
+taking a towel with him made his way across dewy meadows and between
+tall hedgerows to the tarn. Stripping where the rabbit-cropped sward met
+the mossy boulders, he swam out joyously, breasting the little ripples
+which splashed and sparkled beneath the breeze that had got up with the
+sun. Coming back where the water lay in shadow beneath a larch wood,
+which as yet had not wholly lost its vivid green, he disturbed the
+paddling moor-hens and put up a mallard from a clump of swaying reeds.
+Then he dressed and turned homewards.
+
+Scrambling over a limestone wall tufted thick with parsley fern, he
+noticed Mabel stooping down over an object which lay among the heather
+where a rough cartroad approached a wooden bridge. On joining her, he
+saw that it was a finely-built canoe with a hole in one bilge she was
+examining. She looked up at him ruefully, as she said, "Very sad, isn't
+it? That stupid Little did it with his clumsy cart."
+
+"I think it could be mended," Vane replied.
+
+"Old Beavan--he's the wheelwright--said it couldn't, and dad said I
+could hardly expect him to send the canoe back to Kingston. He bought it
+for me at an exhibition." Then a thought seemed to strike her. "Perhaps
+you had something to do with canoes in Canada?"
+
+"I used to pole one loaded with provisions up a river, and carry the lot
+round several falls. You're fond of paddling."
+
+"I love it. I used to row the fishing-punt, but it's too old to be safe,
+and now the canoe's smashed I can't go out."
+
+"Well," said Vane, "we'll walk across and see what we can find in
+Beavan's shop."
+
+They crossed the heath to a tiny hamlet nestling in a hollow of a
+limestone crag. There Vane made friends with the wheelwright, who
+regarded him dubiously at first, and obtained a piece of larch board
+from him. The grizzled North countryman watched him closely as he set a
+plane, which is a delicate operation, and then raised no objection when
+Vane made use of his work bench. After that, Vane, who had sawn up the
+board, borrowed a few tools and copper nails, and he and Mabel went back
+to the canoe. On the way she glanced at him curiously.
+
+"I wasn't sure old Beavan would let you have the things," she remarked.
+"It isn't often he'll lend even a hammer, but he seemed to take to you;
+I think it was the way you handled his plane."
+
+"It's strange what little things win some people's good opinion, isn't
+it?"
+
+"Oh! don't," she exclaimed. "That's how the Archdeacon talks. I thought
+you were different."
+
+The man acquiesced in the rebuke, and after an hour's labour at the
+canoe, scraped the red lead he had used off his hands, and sat down
+beside the craft. By and by he became conscious that his companion was
+regarding him with what seemed to be approval.
+
+"I really think you'll do, and we'll get on," she informed him. "If you
+had been the wrong kind you would have worried about your red hands.
+Still, you could have rubbed them on the heather, instead of on your
+socks."
+
+"I might have thought of that," Vane agreed. "But, you see, I've been
+accustomed to wearing old clothes. Anyway, you'll be able to launch the
+canoe as soon as the joint's dry."
+
+"There's one thing I should have told you," the girl replied. "Dad would
+have sent the canoe away to be mended if it hadn't been so far. He's
+very good when things don't ruffle him; but he hasn't been fortunate
+lately. The lead mine takes a good deal of money."
+
+Vane admired her loyalty, and refrained from taking advantage of her
+candour, though there were one or two questions he would have liked to
+ask. When he was last in England, Chisholm had been generally regarded
+as a man of means, though it was rumoured that he was addicted to
+hazardous speculations. Mabel, who did not seem to mind his silence,
+went on:
+
+"I heard Stevens--he's the gamekeeper--tell Beavan that dad should have
+been a rabbit because he's so fond of burrowing. No doubt, that meant he
+couldn't keep out of mines."
+
+Vane made no comment, and to change the subject, reminded her: "Don't
+you think it's getting on for breakfast time?"
+
+"It won't be for a good while yet. We don't get up early, and though
+Evelyn used to, it's different now. We went out on the tarn every
+morning, even in the rain; but I suppose that's not good for one's
+complexion, though bothering about such things doesn't seem to be worth
+while. Aunt Julia couldn't do anything for Evelyn, though she had her in
+London for some time. Flora is our shining light."
+
+"What did she do?" Vane inquired.
+
+"She married the Archdeacon, and he isn't so very dried up. I've seen
+him smile when I talked to him."
+
+"I'm not astonished at that, Mabel."
+
+His companion looked up at him demurely. "My name's not Mabel--to you.
+I'm Mopsy to the family, but my special friends call me Mops. You're one
+of the few people one can be natural with, and I'm getting sick--you
+won't be shocked at that--of having to be the opposite."
+
+Half an hour later, Vane, who had seldom had to wait so long for it, sat
+down to breakfast. All he saw spoke of ease and taste and leisure.
+Evelyn, who sat opposite him, looked wonderfully fresh in her white
+dress. Mopsy was as amusing as she dared to be; but he felt drawn back
+to the restless world again as he glanced at his hostess and saw the
+wrinkles round her eyes and a hint of cleverly-hidden strain in her
+expression. He fancied a good deal could be inferred from the fragments
+of information her youngest daughter had let drop.
+
+It was the latter who suggested that they should picnic upon the summit
+of a lofty hill, from which there was a striking view; and as this met
+with the approval of Mrs. Chisholm, who excused herself from
+accompanying them, they set out an hour later. The day was bright, with
+glaring sunshine, and a moderate breeze drove up wisps of ragged cloud
+that dappled the hills with flitting shadow.
+
+Vane carried the provisions in a fishing-creel, and on leaving the head
+of the valley they climbed leisurely up easy slopes, slipping on the
+crisp hill grass now and then. By and by they plunged into tangled
+heather on a bolder ridge, which was rent by black gullies, down which
+at times wild torrents poured. This did not trouble either of the men,
+but Vane was surprised at the ease with which Evelyn threaded her way
+across the heath. She wore a short skirt, and he noticed the supple
+grace of her movements and the delicate colour the wind had brought into
+her face. She had changed since they left the valley. She seemed to have
+flung off something, and her laugh had a gayer ring; but while she
+chatted with him he was still conscious of a subtle reserve in her
+manner.
+
+Climbing still, they reached the haunts of the cloud-berries and brushed
+through broad patches of the snowy blossoms that open their gleaming
+cups among the moss and heather.
+
+Then turning the flank of a steep ascent, they reached the foot of a
+shingly scree, and sat down to lunch in the warm sunshine, where the
+wind was cut off by the peak above. Beneath them a great rift opened up
+among the rocks, and far beyond the blue lake in the depths of it they
+caught the silver gleam of the distant sea.
+
+The creel was promptly emptied, and when Mabel afterwards took Carroll
+away to see if he could get up a chimney in some neighbouring crags,
+Vane lay resting on one elbow not far from Evelyn. She was looking down
+the long hollow, with the sunshine upon her face.
+
+"You didn't seem to mind the climb," he said.
+
+"I enjoyed it. I am fond of the mountains, and I have to thank you for a
+day among them."
+
+On the surface, the words offered an opening for a complimentary
+rejoinder, but Vane was too shrewd to seize it. He had made one venture,
+and he surmised that a second one would not please her.
+
+"They're almost at your door," he said. "One would imagine you could
+indulge in a scramble among them whenever if pleased you."
+
+"There are a good many things that look so close and still are out of
+reach," Evelyn answered with a smile that somehow troubled him. Then her
+manner changed. "You are content with this?"
+
+Vane gazed about him; at purple crags in shadow, glistening threads of
+water that fell among the rocks, and long slopes that lay steeped in
+softest colour, under the summer sky.
+
+"Content is scarcely the right word for it," he assured her. "If it
+wasn't so still and serene up here, I'd be riotously happy. There are
+reasons for this quite apart from the scenery: for one, it's pleasant to
+feel that I need do nothing but what I like for the next few months."
+
+"The sensation must be unusual. I wonder if, even in your case, it will
+last so long."
+
+Vane laughed and stretched out one of his hands. It was lean and brown,
+and she could see the marks of old scars on the knuckles.
+
+"In my case," he answered, "it has only come once in a lifetime, and if
+it isn't too presumptuous, I think I've earned it." He indicated his
+battered fingers. "That's the result of holding a wet and slippery
+drill, but those aren't the only marks I carry about with me--though
+I've been more fortunate than many fine comrades."
+
+"I suppose one must get hurt now and then," said Evelyn, who had noticed
+something that pleased her in his voice as he concluded. "After all, a
+bruise that's only skin-deep doesn't trouble one long, and no doubt some
+scars are honourable. It's slow corrosion that's the deadliest." She
+broke off with a laugh, and added: "Moralising's out of place on a day
+like this, and they're not frequent in the North. In a way, that's their
+greatest charm."
+
+Vane nodded.
+
+"Yes," he said. "On the face of it, the North is fickle, though to those
+who know it that's a misleading term. To some of us it's always the
+same, and its dark grimness makes you feel the radiance of its smile.
+For all that, I think we're going to see a sudden change in the
+weather."
+
+Half of the wide circle their view would have commanded was cut off by
+the scree, but long wisps of leaden cloud began to stream across the
+crags above, intensifying, until it seemed unnatural, the glow of light
+and colour on the rest.
+
+"I wonder if Mopsy is leading Mr. Carroll into any mischief; they have
+been gone some time," said Evelyn. "She has a trick of getting herself,
+and other people into difficulties. I suppose he is an old friend of
+yours, unless, perhaps, he's acting as your secretary."
+
+Vane's eyes twinkled. "If he came in any particular capacity, it's as
+bear-leader. You see, there are a good many things I've forgotten in the
+bush, and as I left this country young, there are no doubt some I never
+learned."
+
+"And so you make Mr. Carroll your confidential adviser. How did he gain
+the necessary experience?"
+
+"That," replied Vane, "is more than I can tell you, but I'm inclined to
+believe he has been at one of the universities; Toronto, most likely.
+Anyhow, on the whole he acts as a judicious restraint."
+
+"But don't you really know anything about him?"
+
+"Only what some years of close companionship have taught me."
+
+Evelyn looked surprised, and he spread out his hands in a humorous
+manner. "A good many people have had to take me in that way, and they
+seemed willing to do so; the thing's not uncommon in the West. Why
+should I be more particular than they were?"
+
+Just then Mabel and Carroll appeared. The latter's garments were stained
+in places as if he had been scrambling over mossy rocks, and his pockets
+bulged.
+
+"We've found some sundew and two ferns I don't know, as well as all
+sorts of other things," she announced.
+
+"That's correct," said Carroll; "I've got them. I guess they're going to
+fill up most of the creel."
+
+Mabel superintended their transfer, and then addressed the others
+generally: "I think we ought to go up the Pike now, when we have the
+chance. It isn't much of a climb from here. Besides, the quickest way
+back to the road is across the top and down the other side."
+
+Evelyn agreed, and they set out, following a sheep-path which skirted
+the screes, until they left the bank of sharp stones behind, and faced a
+steep ascent. Parts of it necessitated a breathless scramble, and the
+sunlight faded from the hills as they climbed, while thicker wisps of
+cloud drove across the ragged summit. They reached the latter at length
+and stopped, bracing themselves against a rush of chilly breeze, while
+they looked down upon a wilderness of leaden-coloured rock. Long trails
+of mist were creeping in and out among the crags, and here and there
+masses of it gathered round the higher slopes.
+
+"I think the Pike's grandest in this weather," Mabel declared. "Look
+below, Mr. Carroll, and you'll see the mountain is like a starfish. It
+has prongs running out from it."
+
+Carroll did as she directed him, and noticed three diverging ridges
+springing off from the shoulder of the peak. Their crests, which were
+narrow, led down towards the valley, but their sides fell in rent and
+fissured crags to great black hollows.
+
+"You can get down two of them," Mabel went on. "The first is the nearest
+to the road, but the third's the easiest. It takes you to the Hause;
+that's the gap between it and the next hill."
+
+A few big drops began to fall, and Evelyn cut her sister's explanations
+short.
+
+"We had better make a start at once," she said.
+
+They set out, Mabel and Carroll leading and drawing farther away from
+the two behind; and the rain began in earnest as they descended. Rock
+slope and scattered stones were slippery, and Vane found it difficult to
+keep his footing on some of their lichened surfaces. He, however, was
+relieved to see that his companion seldom hesitated, and they made their
+way downwards cautiously, until, near the spot where the three ridges
+diverged, they walked into a belt of drifting mist. The peak above them
+was suddenly blotted out, and Evelyn bade Vane hail Carroll and Mabel,
+who had disappeared. He sent a shout ringing through the vapour, and
+caught a faint and unintelligible reply, after which a flock of sheep
+fled past and dislodged a rush of sliding stones. Vane heard the latter
+rattle far down the hillside, and when he called again a blast of chilly
+wind whirled his voice away. There was a faint echo above him, and then
+silence again.
+
+"It looks as if they were out of hearing, and the slope ahead of us
+seems uncommonly steep by the way those stones went down," he remarked.
+"Do you think Mabel has taken Carroll down the Stanghyll ridge?"
+
+"I can't tell," said Evelyn. "It's comforting to remember that she knows
+it better than I do. I think we ought to make for the Hause; there's
+only one place that's really steep. Keep up to the left a little; the
+Scale Crags must be close beneath us."
+
+They moved on cautiously, skirting what seemed to be a pit of profound
+depth in which dim vapours whirled, while the rain, which grew thicker,
+beat into their faces.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+STORM-STAYED.
+
+
+The weather was not the only thing that troubled Vane as he stumbled on
+through the mist. Any unathletic tourist from the cities could have gone
+up without much difficulty by the way they had ascended, but it was
+different coming down on the opposite side of the mountain. There, their
+route laid across banks of sharp-pointed stones that rested lightly on
+the steep slope, interspersed with out-cropping rocks which were growing
+dangerously slippery; and a wilderness of crags pierced by three great
+radiating chasms lay beneath.
+
+After half an hour's arduous scramble, he decided that they must be
+close upon the top of the last rift, and stood still for a minute
+looking about him. The mist was now so thick that he could scarcely see
+thirty yards ahead, but the way it drove past him indicated that it was
+blowing up a hollow. On one hand a rampart of hillside loomed dimly out
+of it; in front there was a dark patch that looked like the face of a
+dripping rock; and between the latter and the hill a boggy stretch of
+grass ran back into the vapour. Then he turned, and glanced at Evelyn
+with some concern. Her skirt was heavy with moisture, and the rain
+dripped from the brim of her hat, but she smiled at him reassuringly.
+
+"It's not the first time I've got wet," she said.
+
+Vane felt relieved on one account. He had imagined that a woman hated to
+feel draggled and untidy, and he was willing to own that in his case
+fatigue usually tended towards shortness of temper. Though the scramble
+had scarcely taxed his powers, he fancied that Evelyn, had already done
+as much as one could expect of her.
+
+"I must prospect about a bit," he said. "Scardale's somewhere below us;
+but if I remember, it's an awkward descent to the head of it, and I'm
+not sure of the right entrance to the Hause."
+
+"I've only once been down this way, and that was a long while ago,"
+Evelyn replied.
+
+Vane left her, and plodded away across the grass. When he had grown
+scarcely distinguishable in the haze, he turned and waved his hand.
+
+"I know where we are; the head of the beck's close by," he cried.
+
+Evelyn joined him at the edge of a trickle of water splashing in a peaty
+hollow, and they followed it down, seeing only odd strips of hillside
+amidst the vapour, until at length the ground grew softer and Vane,
+going first, sank among the long green moss almost to his knees.
+
+"That won't do. Stand still, please," he said. "I'll try a little to the
+right."
+
+He tried in one or two directions; but wherever he went he sank over his
+boots, and, coming back, he informed his companion that they had better
+go straight ahead.
+
+"I know there's no bog worth speaking of; the Hause is a regular tourist
+track," he added, and suddenly stripped off his jacket. "First of all,
+you'll put this on; I'm sorry I didn't think of it before."
+
+Evelyn demurred, and he rolled up the jacket. "You have to choose
+between doing what I ask and watching me pitch it into the beck," he
+declared. "I'm a rather determined person, and it would be a pity to
+throw the thing away, particularly as the rain hasn't got through it
+yet."
+
+She yielded, and after he had held up the garment while she put it on,
+he spoke again:
+
+"There's another thing; I'm going to carry you for the next hundred
+yards, or possibly farther."
+
+"No," said Evelyn firmly. "On that point my determination is as strong
+as yours."
+
+Vane made a sign of acquiescence. "You can have your way for a minute; I
+expect it will be long enough."
+
+He was correct, Evelyn moved forward a pace or two, and then stopped
+with the skirt she had gathered up brushing the quivering emerald moss,
+and her boots, which were high ones, hidden in the latter. She had some
+difficulty in pulling them out. Then Vane coolly picked her up.
+
+"All you have to do is to keep still for the next few minutes," he
+informed her in a most matter-of-fact voice.
+
+Evelyn did not move, though had he shown any sign of self-conscious
+hesitation she would at once have shaken herself loose. He was conscious
+of a thrill and a certain stirring of his blood, but this, he decided,
+must be sternly ignored, and his task occupied most of his attention. It
+was not an easy one, and he stumbled once or twice, but he accomplished
+it and set the girl down safely on firmer ground.
+
+"Now," he said, "there's only the drop to the dale, but we must
+endeavour to keep out of the beck."
+
+His voice and air were unembarrassed, though he was breathless, and
+Evelyn fancied that in this and the incident of the jacket he had
+revealed the forceful, natural manners of the West. It was the first
+glimpse she had had of them, though she had watched for one, and she was
+not displeased. The man had merely done what was most advisable, with
+practical sense.
+
+A little farther on, a shoot of falling water swept out of the mist
+above and came splashing down a crag, spread out in frothing threads. It
+flowed across their path, reunited in a deep gully which they sprang
+across, and then fell tumultuously into the beck, which was now ten or
+twelve feet below on one side of them. They clung to the rock as they
+traced it downwards, stepping cautiously from ledge to ledge. At times a
+stone plunged into the mist beneath them, and Vane grasped the girl's
+arm or held out a steadying hand, but he was never fussy or needlessly
+concerned. When she wanted help, it was offered at the right moment; but
+that was all, and she thought that had she been alarmed, which was not
+the case, her companion's manner would have been more comforting than
+persistent solicitude. He was, she decided, one who could be relied upon
+in an emergency.
+
+Though caution was still necessary, the next stage of the journey was
+easier, and by and by they reached a winding dale. They followed it
+downwards, splashing through water part of the time, and at length came
+into sight of a cluster of little houses standing between a river and a
+big fir wood.
+
+"It must be getting on towards evening," said Evelyn. "Mopsy and Carroll
+probably went down the Ridge, and as it runs out lower down the valley,
+they'll be almost at home."
+
+"It's six o'clock," said Vane, glancing at his watch. "You can't walk
+home in the rain, and it's a long while since lunch. If Adam Bell and
+his wife are still at the 'Golden Fleece,' we'll get something to eat
+there and borrow you dry clothes. He'll drive us home afterwards."
+
+Evelyn made no objections. She was very wet and beginning to feel weary,
+and they were some distance from home. She restored him his jacket, and
+a few minutes later they entered an old hostelry which, like many others
+among these hills, was a farm as well as an inn. The landlady, who
+recognised Vane with pleased surprise, took Evelyn away with her, and
+afterwards provided Vane with some of her husband's clothes. Then she
+lighted a fire, and when she had laid out a meal in the guest-room,
+Evelyn came in, attired in a dress of lilac print.
+
+"It's Maggie Bell's," she explained demurely. "Her mother's things were
+rather large. Adam is away at a sheep auction, and they have only the
+trap he went in, but they expect him back in an hour or so."
+
+"Then we must wait," said Vane. "Worse misfortunes have befallen me."
+
+They made an excellent meal, and then Vane drew up a wicker chair to the
+fire for Evelyn and sat down opposite to her. Outside, the rain dripped
+from the mossy flagstone eaves, and the song of the river stole in
+monotonous cadence into the room.
+
+Evelyn was silent and Vane said nothing for a while. He had been in the
+air all day, and though this was nothing new to him, he was content to
+sit lazily still and leave the opening of conversation to his companion.
+In the meanwhile it was pleasant to glance towards her now and then. The
+pale-tinted dress became her, and he felt that the room would have
+looked less cheerful had she been away.
+
+The effect she had on him was difficult to analyse, though he lazily
+tried. She appealed to him by the grace of her carriage, the poise of
+her head, her delicate colouring, and the changing lights in her eyes;
+but behind these points something stronger and deeper was expressed
+through them. He fancied she possessed qualities he had not hitherto
+encountered, which would become more precious when they were fully
+understood. He thought of her as wholesome in mind; one who sought for
+the best; but she was also endowed with an ethereal something that could
+not be defined.
+
+Then a simile struck him: she was like the snow that towers high into
+the empyrean in British Columbia; in which he was wrong, for there was
+warm human passion in the girl, though it was sleeping yet. By and by,
+he told himself, he was getting absurdly sentimental, and he
+instinctively fumbled for his pipe and stopped. Evelyn noticed this and
+smiled.
+
+"You needn't hesitate," she said. "The Dene is redolent of cigars, and
+Gerald smokes everywhere when he is at home."
+
+"Is he likely to turn up?" Vane asked. "It's ever so long since I've
+seen him."
+
+"I'm afraid not. In fact, Gerald's rather under a cloud just now. I may
+as well tell you this, because you are sure to hear of it sooner or
+later. He has been extravagant, and, as he assures us, extraordinarily
+unlucky."
+
+"Stocks and shares?" suggested Vane, who was acquainted with some of the
+family tendencies.
+
+Evelyn hesitated a moment. "That would have been more readily forgiven
+him. I believe he has speculated on the turf as well."
+
+Vane was surprised, since he understood that Gerald Chisholm was a
+barrister, and betting on the turf was not an amusement he would have
+associated with that profession.
+
+"Then," he said thoughtfully, "I must run up and see him later on."
+
+Evelyn felt sorry she had spoken. Gerald needed help, which his father
+was not in a position to offer. She was not censorious of other people's
+faults; but it was impossible to be blind to some aspects of her
+brother's character, and she would have preferred that Vane should not
+meet Gerald while the latter was embarrassed by financial difficulties.
+She changed the subject.
+
+"Several of the things you told me about your life in Canada interested
+me," she said. "It must have been bracing to feel that you depended upon
+your own efforts and stood on your own feet, free from all the hampering
+customs that are common here."
+
+"The position has its disadvantages. You have no family influence behind
+you; nothing to fall back upon. If you can't make good your footing you
+must go down. It's curious that just before I came over here a lady I
+met in Vancouver expressed an opinion very like yours. She said it must
+be pleasant to feel that one was, to some extent at least, master of
+one's fate."
+
+"Then she merely explained my meaning more clearly than I have done."
+
+"One could have imagined that she has everything she could reasonably
+wish for. If I'm not transgressing, so have you. It's strange you should
+both harbour the same idea."
+
+"I don't think it's uncommon among young women nowadays. There's a
+grandeur in the thought that one's fate lies in the hands of the high
+unseen powers; but to allow one's life to be moulded by--one's
+neighbours' prejudices and preconceptions is a different matter.
+Besides, if unrest and human striving were sent, was it only that they
+should be repressed?"
+
+Vane sat silent a moment or two. He had noticed the brief pause and
+fancied that she had changed one of the words that followed it. He did
+not think it was her neighbours' opinions she most chafed against.
+
+"It's not a point I've been concerned about," he replied at length. "In
+a general way, I did what I wanted."
+
+"Which is a privilege that is denied to us." Evelyn spoke without
+bitterness, and added a moment later: "What do women who are left to
+their own resources do in Western Canada?"
+
+"Some of them marry; I suppose that's the most natural thing," said Vane
+with an air of reflection that amused her. "Anyway, they have plenty of
+opportunities. There's a preponderating number of unattached young men
+in the newly-opened parts of the Dominion."
+
+"Things are different here, or perhaps we want more than they do across
+the Atlantic," said Evelyn. "What becomes of the others?"
+
+"They wait in the hotels; learn stenography and typewriting, and go into
+offices and stores."
+
+"And earn just enough to live upon meagrely? If their wages are high,
+they must pay out more. That follows, doesn't it?"
+
+"To some extent."
+
+"Is there nothing better open to them?"
+
+"No," said Vane thoughtfully; "not unless they're trained for it and
+become specialised. That implies peculiar abilities and a systematic
+education with one end in view: you can't enter the arena to fight for
+the higher prizes unless you're properly armed. The easiest way for a
+woman to acquire power and influence is by a judicious marriage. No
+doubt it's the same here."
+
+"It is," replied Evelyn smiling. "A man is more fortunately situated."
+
+"I suppose he is. If he's poor, he's rather walled in, too; but he
+breaks through now and then. In the newer countries he gets an
+opportunity."
+
+Vane abstractedly examined his pipe, which he had not lighted yet. It
+was clear that the girl was dissatisfied with her surroundings, and had
+for some reason temporarily relaxed the restraint she generally laid
+upon herself; but he felt that if she were wise, she would force herself
+to be content. She was of too fine a fibre to plunge into the struggle
+that many women had to wage, and though he did not doubt her courage,
+she had not been trained for it. He had noticed that among men it was
+the cruder and less developed organisations that proved hardiest in
+adverse situations; one needed a strain of primitive vigour. There was,
+it seemed, only one means of release for her, and that was a happy
+marriage. But a marriage could not be happy unless the suitor was all
+that she desired, and Evelyn would be fastidious, though her family
+would, no doubt, only look for wealth and station. He imagined that this
+was where the trouble lay. He would wait and keep his eyes open. Shortly
+after he arrived at this decision, there was a rattle of wheels outside
+and the landlord, who came in, greeted him with rude cordiality. In
+another minute or two Vane handed Evelyn into the gig, and Bill drove
+them home through the rain.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+LUCY VANE.
+
+
+Bright sunshine streamed down out of a cloudless sky when Vane stood
+talking with his sister upon the terrace in front of the Dene one
+afternoon shortly after his ascent of the Pike in Evelyn's company. He
+leaned against the low wall, frowning, for Lucy had hitherto avoided a
+discussion of the subject which occupied their attention, and now, as he
+would have said, he could not make her listen to reason.
+
+She stood in front of him, with the point of her parasol pressed firmly
+into the gravel, and her lips set, though there was a smile which
+suggested forbearance in her eyes. Lucy was tall and spare of figure; a
+year younger than her brother, and of somewhat determined character. She
+earned her living in a northern manufacturing town by lecturing on
+domestic economy for the public authorities. Vane understood that she
+also took part in Suffrage propaganda. She had a thin, forceful face,
+which was seldom characterised by repose.
+
+"After all," Vane broke out, "what I've been urging is a very natural
+thing. I don't like to think of your being forced to work as you are
+doing, and I've tried to show that it wouldn't cost me any self-denial
+to make you an allowance. There's no reason why you should be at the
+beck and call of those committees any longer."
+
+Lucy's smile grew plainer. "I don't think that describes my position
+very accurately."
+
+"It's possible," Vane agreed with a trace of dryness. "No doubt you
+insist on the chairman or lady president giving way to you; but that
+doesn't affect the question. You have to work, anyway."
+
+"But I like it, and it keeps me in some degree of comfort."
+
+The man turned half impatiently and glanced about him. The front of the
+old grey house was flooded with light, and the lawn below the terrace
+glowed luminously green. The shadows of the hollies and cypresses were
+thin and unsubstantial, but where a beach overarched the grass, Evelyn
+and Mrs. Chisholm, attired in light draperies, reclined in basket
+chairs. Carroll, who wore thin grey tweed, stood close by, talking to
+Mabel, and Chisholm sat a little apart upon a bench with a newspaper in
+his hand. He looked half asleep, and a languorous, stillness pervaded
+the whole scene.
+
+"Wouldn't you like this kind of thing as well?" he asked. "Of course, I
+mean what it implies--the power to take life easily and get as much
+enjoyment as possible out of it. It wouldn't be difficult, if you would
+only take what I'd be glad to give you." He indicated the languid
+figures in the foreground. "You could, for instance, spend your time
+among folks like these; and, after all, it's what you were meant to do."
+
+"Well," said Lucy, "I believe I'm more at home with the other kind of
+folks--those in poverty, squalor, and ignorance. I've an idea they've a
+stronger claim on me, but that's not a point I can urge. The fact is,
+I've chosen my career, and there are practical reasons why I shouldn't
+abandon it. I had a good deal of trouble in getting a footing, and if I
+fell out now, it would be harder still to take my place in the ranks
+again."
+
+"But you wouldn't require to do so."
+
+"I can't be sure. I don't want to hurt you; but, after all, your success
+was sudden, and one understands that it isn't wise to depend upon an
+income derived from mining properties."
+
+"None of you ever did believe in me."
+
+"I suppose there's some truth in that; you really did give us some
+trouble. Somehow you were different--you wouldn't fit in--though I
+believe the same thing applied to me, for that matter."
+
+"And now you don't expect my prosperity to last?"
+
+The girl hesitated, but she was candid by nature. "Perhaps I had better
+answer. You have it in you to work determinedly and, when it's
+necessary, to do things that men with less courage would shrink from;
+but I doubt if yours is the temperament that leads to success. You
+haven't the huckster's instincts; you're not cold-blooded enough. You
+wouldn't cajole your friends or truckle to your enemies."
+
+"If I adopted the latter course, it would be very much against the
+grain," Vane confessed.
+
+Lucy laughed. "Well," she said, "I mean to go on earning my living; but
+you can take me up to London for a few days and buy me some hats and
+things. Then I don't mind you giving something to the Emancipation
+Society."
+
+"I don't know if I believe in emancipation or not, but you can have ten
+guineas."
+
+"Thank you," said Lucy, glancing round towards Carroll, who was
+approaching them with Mabel. "I'll give you a piece of advice--stick to
+that man. He's cooler and less headstrong than you are; he'll prove a
+useful friend."
+
+Carroll came up just then. "What are you two talking about?" he asked.
+"You look animated."
+
+"Wallace has just promised me ten guineas to assist the movement for the
+emancipation of women," Lucy answered pointedly. "I may mention that our
+society's efforts are sadly restricted by the lack of funds."
+
+"He's now and then a little inconsequential in his generosity," Carroll
+rejoined. "I didn't know he was interested in that kind of thing, but as
+I don't like to be outdone by my partner, I'll subscribe the same."
+
+"Thanks," said Lucy, who made an entry in a pocket-book in a
+businesslike manner.
+
+They strolled along the terrace together, and as they went down the
+steps to the lawn, Carroll inquired with a smile, "Have you tackled
+Chisholm yet?"
+
+"I would have done so had it appeared likely to have been of any use,
+but I never waste powder and shot," Lucy replied. "A man of his
+restricted views would sooner subscribe handsomely to put us down."
+
+Carroll turned to his comrade. "Are you regretting the ten guineas? You
+don't look pleased."
+
+"No," said Vane; "the fact is, I wanted to do something which wasn't
+allowed. I've met with the same disillusionment here as I did in British
+Columbia."
+
+Lucy looked up at her brother. "Did you attempt to give somebody money
+there?"
+
+"I did," said Vane shortly. "It's not worth discussing, and anyway she
+wouldn't listen to me."
+
+They strolled on, Vane frowning, while Carroll, who had seen signs of
+suppressed interest in Lucy's face, smiled unobserved. Neither he nor
+the others had noticed Mabel, who was following them.
+
+They joined the rest, and some time afterwards, Mrs. Chisholm addressed
+Carroll, who was lying back in a deep chair with his eyes, which were
+half closed, turned in Lucy's direction.
+
+"Are you asleep, or thinking hard?" she asked.
+
+"Not more than half asleep," Carroll protested. "I was trying to
+remember 'A Dream of Fair Women.' It struck me as a suitable occupation
+for a drowsy summer afternoon in a place like this, but I must confess
+that it was Miss Vane who put it into my head. She reminded me of one or
+two of the heroines not long ago, when she was championing the cause of
+the suffragist."
+
+"You mustn't imagine that English women in general sympathise with her,
+or that such ideas are popular at the Dene," Mrs. Chisholm rejoined.
+
+Carroll smiled reassuringly. "I wouldn't have imagined the latter for a
+moment. But, as I said, on an afternoon of this kind one can be excused
+for indulging in romantic fancies; and don't you see what brought those
+old-time heroines into my mind--I mean the elusive resemblance to their
+latter-day prototype?"
+
+Mrs. Chisholm looked puzzled. "No," she declared. "One of them was
+Greek, another early English, and the finest of all was the Hebrew maid.
+As they couldn't even have been like one another, how could they have
+collectively borne a resemblance to anybody else?"
+
+"That's logical, on the surface. To digress, why do you most admire
+Jephthah's daughter, the gentle Gileadite?"
+
+His hostess affected surprise. "Isn't it evident, when one remembers her
+patient sacrifice, her fine sense of family honour?"
+
+Carroll felt that this was much the kind of sentiment one could have
+expected from her; and he did her justice in believing that it was
+genuine and that she was capable of acting up to her convictions. His
+glance rested on Vane for a moment, and the latter was startled as he
+guessed his comrade's thought.
+
+Evelyn sat near him, reclining languidly in a wicker chair. She had been
+silent and, now her face was in repose, the signs of reserve and
+repression were plainer than ever. There was, however, pride in it, and
+he felt that she was endowed with a keener and finer sense of family
+honour than her mother. Her brother's career was threatened by the
+results of his own imprudence, and though her father could hardly be
+compared with the Gileadite warrior, there was, Vane imagined, a
+disturbing similarity between the two cases. It was unpleasant to
+contemplate the possibility of this girl's being called upon to bear the
+cost of her relations' misfortunes or follies. Carroll, however, looked
+across at Lucy with a smile.
+
+"You don't agree with Mrs. Chisholm?" he suggested.
+
+"No," said Lucy firmly. "Leaving the instance in question out, there are
+too many people who transgress and then expect somebody else--a woman as
+a rule--to serve as a sacrifice."
+
+"I don't agree, either," Mabel broke in. "I'd sooner have been Cleopatra
+or Joan or Arc--only she was burned, poor thing."
+
+"That was only what she might have expected. An unpleasant fate
+generally overtakes people who go about disturbing things," Mrs.
+Chisholm said severely.
+
+The speech was characteristic, and the others smiled. It would have
+astonished them had Mrs. Chisholm sympathised with the rebel idealist
+whose beckoning visions led to the clash of arms. Then Vane turned to
+his comrade.
+
+"Aren't you getting off the track?" he asked. "I don't see the drift of
+your previous remarks."
+
+"Well," said Carroll, with an air of reflection, "there must be, I
+think, a certain distinctive stamp upon those who belong to the leader
+type; I mean the folks who are capable of doing striking and heroic
+things. Apart from this, I've been studying you English--and it has
+struck me that there's occasionally something imperious, or rather
+imperial, in the faces of your women in the most northern counties. I
+can't define the thing, but it's there--in the line of nose, the mouth,
+and I think most marked in the brows. It's not Saxon, or Norse, or
+Danish. I'd sooner call it Roman."
+
+Vane was slightly astonished. He had seen that look in Evelyn's face,
+and now, for the first time, he recognised it in his sister's.
+
+"I wonder if you have hit it," he said with a laugh. "You can reach the
+Wall from here in a day's ride."
+
+"The Wall?"
+
+"The Roman Wall; Hadrian's Wall. I believe one authority states they had
+a garrison of 100,000 men to keep it."
+
+Chisholm joined the group. He was a tall, rather florid-faced man with a
+formal manner, dressed immaculately in creaseless clothes.
+
+"The point Carroll raises is interesting," he remarked. "While I don't
+know how long it takes for a strain to die out, there must have been a
+large civil population living near the wall, and we know that the
+characteristics of the Teutonic peoples, who followed the Romans, still
+remain."
+
+Nobody else had any comment to make, and when by and by the group broke
+up, Evelyn was left alone for a few minutes with Mabel.
+
+"Gerald should have been sent to Canada instead of Oxford," she said.
+"Then he might have got as rich as Wallace Vane and Mr. Carroll."
+
+"What makes you think they're rich?" Evelyn asked with reproof in her
+tone.
+
+"Oh!" said Mabel, "we all knew they were rich before they came, and they
+were giving Lucy guineas for the suffragists an hour ago. They must have
+a good deal of money to waste it like that. Besides, I think Wallace
+wanted her to take some more, and he seemed quite vexed when he said
+he'd tried to give money to somebody else in Canada, who wouldn't have
+it. As he said--she--it must have been a woman--but I don't think he
+meant to mention that. It slipped out."
+
+"You had no right to listen," Evelyn retorted severely; but the
+information sank into her mind, and she afterwards remembered it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+CHISHOLM PROVES AMENABLE.
+
+
+Vane spent a month at the Dene with quiet satisfaction, and when at last
+he left for London and Paris he gladly promised to come back for another
+few weeks before he sailed for Canada. He stayed some time in Paris,
+because Carroll insisted on it, but it was with eagerness he went north
+again. For one reason--and he laid some stress upon this--he longed for
+the moorland air and the rugged fells, though he also admitted that
+Evelyn's society enhanced their charm for him.
+
+At last, shortly before setting out on the journey, he took himself to
+task and endeavoured to determine what his feelings towards her were,
+but he signally failed to elucidate the point. It was only clear that he
+was more contented in her presence, and that, apart from her physical
+comeliness, she had a stimulating effect upon his mental faculties,
+although so far as he could remember she seldom said anything
+remarkable. Then he wondered how she regarded him, and to this question
+he could find no answer. For the most part there was a reserve he found
+more piquant than deterrent about her, and he was conscious that while
+willing to talk with him freely she was still holding him off at arm's
+length.
+
+On the whole, he could not be absolutely sure that he desired to get
+much nearer. Though he failed to admit this clearly, his attitude was
+largely one of respectful admiration with a vein of compassion in it.
+Evelyn was unhappy, and out of harmony with her relatives, which he
+could understand more readily because their ideas often jarred on him.
+
+He had been back at the Dene a fortnight, when one morning he walked out
+of the hamlet where the wheelwright's shop was with a telegram in his
+hand. Sitting down on the wall of a bridge close by, he turned to
+Carroll, who had accompanied him.
+
+"I think you have Nairn's code in your wallet," he said. "We'll decipher
+the thing."
+
+Carroll laid the message upon a smooth stone and set to work with a
+pencil.
+
+"'Situation highly satisfactory,'" he read aloud, and commented: "It
+must be, if Nairn paid for another word; 'highly's' not in the code."
+Then he went on with the deciphering: "'Result of reduction exceeds
+anticipations. Stock, 30 premium. Your presence not immediately
+required.'"
+
+"That's distinctly encouraging," said Vane. "Now they're getting farther
+in, the ore must be carrying more silver."
+
+"It's fortunate. I ran through the bank account last night, and you have
+spent a lot of money. It confirms my opinion that you have expensive
+friends."
+
+Vane frowned at this, but Carroll continued undeterred: "You want
+pulling up after the way you have been indulging in a reckless
+extravagance, which I feel compelled to point out is new to you. The
+cheque drawn in favour of Gerald Chisholm rather astonished me. Have you
+said anything about it to his relatives?"
+
+"I haven't," Vane answered shortly.
+
+"Then, judging by the little I saw of him, I should consider it most
+unlikely that he has made any allusion to the matter. The next cheque
+was more surprising; I mean the one you gave his father."
+
+"They were both loans."
+
+"Have you any expectation of getting the money back?"
+
+"What has that to do with you?"
+
+Carroll spread out his hands. "Only this--I think you need looking
+after. We can't stay here indefinitely. Hadn't you better get back to
+Vancouver before your English friends ruin you?"
+
+"I'll go in three or four weeks, not before."
+
+Carroll sat silent a minute or two; and then he looked his companion
+squarely in the face.
+
+"Is it your intention to marry Evelyn Chisholm?"
+
+"I don't know what has put that into your mind."
+
+"I should be astonished if it hadn't suggested itself to her family,"
+Carroll retorted.
+
+"I'm far from sure it's an idea they'd entertain with any great favour.
+For one thing, I can't live here."
+
+"Try them, and see. Show them Nairn's telegram when you mention the
+matter."
+
+Vane swung himself down from the wall.
+
+"It's very possible that I may do so," he informed his comrade. "But
+we'll get along."
+
+His heart beat more rapidly than usual as they turned back towards the
+house, but he was perfectly composed when, some little time later, he
+sat down beside Chisholm, who was lounging away the morning on the lawn.
+
+"I've been across to the village for a telegram I expected," he
+announced. "The news is encouraging."
+
+He read it to Chisholm, who had determined on the line he meant to
+follow.
+
+"You're a fortunate man," he said. "There's probably no reasonable wish
+that you can't gratify."
+
+"There are things one can't buy with dollars," Vane replied.
+
+"That is very true. They're often the most valuable. On the other hand,
+some of them may now and then be had for the asking. Besides, when one
+has a sanguine temperament, it's difficult to believe that anything one
+sets one's heart upon is quite unattainable."
+
+Vane wondered if he had been given a hint. Chisholm's manner was
+suggestive and Carroll's remarks had had an effect on him. He sat
+silent, and Chisholm spoke again: "If I were in your place, I should
+feel I had all I could desire within my reach."
+
+Vane was becoming sure that his comrade had been right. Chisholm would
+not have harped upon the same idea unless he had intended to convey some
+particular meaning, but the man's methods roused Vane's dislike. He
+could face opposition, and he would sooner have been discouraged than
+judiciously prompted.
+
+"Then if I offered myself as a suitor for Evelyn, you would not think me
+presumptuous?" he said.
+
+Chisholm was somewhat surprised at his abruptness, but he smiled
+reassuringly.
+
+"No," he said; "I can't see why I should do so. You are in a position to
+maintain a wife in comfort, and I don't think anybody could take
+exception to your character." He paused a moment. "I suppose you have
+some idea of how Evelyn regards you?"
+
+"I haven't the faintest notion," Vane confessed. "That's the trouble."
+
+"Would you like me to mention the matter?"
+
+"No," said Vane decidedly. "In fact, I must ask you not to do anything
+of the kind. I only wished to make sure of your good will, and now I'm
+satisfied on that point, I'd sooner wait, and speak--when it seems
+judicious."
+
+Chisholm nodded. "Yes," he said indulgently, "I dare say that would be
+wisest."
+
+Vane, who thanked him, waited. He fancied that the transaction, which
+seemed the best name for it, was not complete yet; but he meant to leave
+what should follow to his companion. He would not help the man.
+
+"There's a matter which had better be mentioned now, distasteful as it
+is," Chisholm said at length. "I can settle nothing upon Evelyn. As you
+must have guessed, my affairs are in a far from promising state. Indeed,
+I'm afraid I may have to ask your indulgence when the loan falls due,
+and I don't mind confessing that the prospect of Evelyn's making what I
+think is a suitable marriage is a relief to me."
+
+Vane's feelings were somewhat mixed, but contempt figured prominently
+among them. He could find no fault with Chisholm's desire to safeguard
+his daughter's future, but he was convinced that the man looked for more
+than this. He felt he had been favoured with a delicate hint, to which
+his companion expected an answer.
+
+"Well," he said curtly, "you need not be concerned about the loan. To go
+a little farther, I should naturally take an interest in the welfare of
+my wife's relatives. I don't think I can say anything more in the
+meanwhile."
+
+He knew that he might have spoken more plainly without offence, when he
+saw Chisholm's smile, but the latter looked satisfied.
+
+"Those are the views I expected you to hold," he declared. "I believe
+Mrs. Chisholm will share my gratification if you find Evelyn disposed to
+listen to you."
+
+Vane left him shortly afterwards with a sense of shame. He felt he had
+bought the girl and that, if she ever heard of it, she would find it
+hard to forgive him for the course he had taken. By and by he met
+Carroll, who looked at him inquiringly.
+
+"I've had a talk with Chisholm," said Vane. "It has upset my temper--I
+feel mean. There's no doubt that you were right."
+
+Carroll smiled and showed that he could guess what was in his comrade's
+mind. "I wouldn't worry too much about the thing," he replied. "The girl
+probably understands the situation. It's not pleasant, but I expect
+she's more or less resigned to it. She can't help herself."
+
+Vane gazed at him with anger. "Does that make it any better? Is it any
+comfort to me?"
+
+"Take her out of it. If she has any liking for you, she'll thank you for
+doing so afterwards."
+
+Vane, who made no answer, strode away, and nobody saw any more of him
+for an hour or two.
+
+He had her father's consent, but he felt he could not plead his cause
+with Evelyn just then. With her parents on his side, she was at a
+disadvantage, and he shrank from the thought that she might be forced
+upon him against her will. This was not what he desired, and she might
+hate him for it afterwards. She was very alluring; there had been signs
+of an unusual gentleness in her manner, but he wanted time to win her
+favour, aided only by such gifts as he had been endowed with. It cost
+him a determined effort, but he made up his mind to wait.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+WITH THE OTTER HOUNDS.
+
+
+A week or two had slipped away since Vane's eventful interview, when he
+lounged upon the terrace after breakfast chatting with Carroll.
+
+Suddenly a long, faint howl came up the valley, and was answered by
+another in a deeper note. Then a confused swelling clamour, which
+slightly resembled the sound of chiming bells, broke out, softened by
+the distance. Carroll stopped and listened.
+
+"What in the name of wonder is that?" he asked. "The first of it
+reminded me of a coyote howling, but the rest's more like the noise the
+timber wolves make in the bush at night."
+
+"You haven't made a bad shot," Vane laughed. "It's a pack of otter
+hounds hot upon the scent."
+
+The sound ceased as suddenly as it had begun, but a few moments later
+Mabel came running towards the men.
+
+"I knew the hounds met at Patten Brig, but Jim was sure they'd go
+down-stream," she cried breathlessly. "They're coming up, and I think
+they're at the pool below the village. Get two poles--you'll find some
+in the tool-shed--and come along at once."
+
+She clambered into the house through a window, calling for Evelyn, and
+Carroll smiled.
+
+"We have our orders," he remarked. "I suppose we'd better go."
+
+"It's one of the popular sports up here," said Vane. "You may as well
+see it."
+
+They set out a few minutes later, accompanied by Evelyn, while Mabel
+hurried on in front and reproached them for their tardiness.
+
+At length, after crossing several wet fields, they came into a rushy
+meadow on the edge of the river, which spread out into a wide pool,
+fringed with alders which had not yet lost their leaves and the barer
+withes of osiers. There was a swift stream at the head of it, and a long
+rippling shallow at the tail, and a very mixed company was scattered
+along the bank and in the water.
+
+A red-coated man with whip and horn stood in the tail outflow, and three
+or four more with poles in their hands were spread out across the stream
+behind him. These and one or two in the head stream appeared by their
+dress to belong to the hunt, but the rest, among whom were a few women,
+were attired in everyday garments and of different walks in life:
+artisans, labourers, people of leisure, and a belated tourist or two.
+
+Three or four big hounds were swimming aimlessly up and down the pool; a
+dozen more or thereabouts trotted to and fro along the water's edge,
+stopping to sniff and give tongue in an uncertain manner now and then;
+but there was no sign of an otter.
+
+Carroll looked round with a smile when his companions stopped. "There'll
+be very little work done in this neighbourhood to-day," he said. "I'd no
+idea there were so many folks in the valley with time to spare. The only
+thing that's missing is the beast they're after."
+
+"An otter is an almost invisible creature," Evelyn explained, "You very
+seldom see one, unless it's hard pressed by the dogs. There are a good
+many in the river, but even the trout fishers, who are about at sunrise
+in the hot weather and wade in the dusk, rarely come across them. Are
+you going to take a share in the hunt?"
+
+"No," replied Carroll, glancing humorously at his pole. "I don't know
+what I brought this thing for, unless it was because Mopsy sent me for
+it. I'd sooner stay and watch with you. Splashing through a river after
+a little beast which I don't suppose they'd let an outsider kill doesn't
+interest me, and I don't see why I should want to kill it, anyway. Some
+of you English people have sporting ideas I can't understand. I struck a
+young man the other day--a well-educated man by the look of him--who was
+spending the afternoon happily with a ferret by a corn stack, killing
+rats with a club. He seemed uncommonly pleased with himself because he'd
+got four of them."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Mabel, "you're as bad as the silly people who call
+killing things cruelty. I wouldn't have thought it of you."
+
+"I've seen him," said Vane, "drop a deer going almost as fast as a
+locomotive through thick brush, with a single-shot rifle, and I believe
+he once assisted in killing a panther in a thicket you couldn't see two
+yards ahead in. The point is, that he meant to eat the deer, and the
+panther had been taking a rancher's hogs."
+
+"Then I'm sorry I brought him," said Mabel decidedly. "He's not a
+sportsman."
+
+"I really think there's some excuse for the more vigorous sports,"
+Evelyn declared. "Of course, you can't eliminate a certain amount of
+cruelty; but admitting that, isn't it just as well that men who live in
+a luxurious civilisation should be willing to plod through miles of
+heather after grouse, risk their limbs on horseback, or spend hours in
+cold water? These are bracing things; they imply moral discipline. It
+can't be nice to ride at a dangerous fence, or flounder down a rapid
+after an otter when you're stiff with cold. The effort to do so must be
+wholesome."
+
+"A sure thing," Carroll agreed. "The only drawback is that when you've
+got your fox or otter, it isn't worth anything. A good many of the folks
+in the newer lands have to make something of the kind of effort you
+described every day. In their case, the results are waggon-trails,
+valleys cleared for orchards, new branch railroads. I suppose it's a
+matter of opinion, but if I'd put in a season's risky work I'd sooner
+have a piece of land to grow fruit on, or a share in a mineral
+claim--you get plenty of excitement in prospecting--than a fox's tail.
+But there are people in Canada who wouldn't agree with me."
+
+He strolled along the water's edge with Evelyn, and presently looked
+round.
+
+"Mopsy's gone, and I don't see Vane," he said.
+
+"After all, he's one of us. If you're born in the North Country, it's
+hard to keep out of the river when you hear the otter hounds."
+
+They took up their station behind a growth of alders, and for a while
+the dogs went trotting by in twos and threes or swam about the pool, but
+nothing else broke the surface of the leaden-coloured water. Then there
+was a cry, an outbreak of shouting, a confused baying, and half a dozen
+hounds dashed past. Evelyn stretched out her hand.
+
+"Look!" she said.
+
+Carroll saw a small grey spot--the top of the otter's head--moving
+across the slacker part of the pool, with a very slight, wedge-shaped
+ripple trailing away from it. It sank next moment; a bubble or two rose,
+and then there was nothing but the smooth flow of water.
+
+A horn called shrilly, a few whip-cracks rang out like pistol shots, and
+the dogs took to the water, swimming slowly here and there. Men
+scrambled along the bank and while some, entering the river, reinforced
+the line spread out across the head rapid, others joined the second row,
+wading steadily up-stream, and splashed about as they advanced with
+iron-tipped poles. Nothing rewarded their efforts; the dogs turned and
+went down-stream; and then suddenly everybody ran or waded towards the
+tall outflow. A clamour of shouting and baying broke out, and
+floundering men and swimming dogs went down the stream together in a
+confused mass. Then there was silence, and the hounds came out and
+trotted to and fro along the bank, up which dripping men clambered after
+them. Evelyn laughed as she pointed to Vane, who looked wetter than
+most, among the leading group.
+
+"I don't suppose he meant to go in. It's in the blood," she said.
+
+"There's no reason why he shouldn't, if it amuses him," Carroll replied.
+
+A little later, the dogs were driven in again, and this time the whole
+of the otter's head was visible as it swam, up-stream. The animal was
+flagging, and on reaching shoaler water it sprang out altogether now and
+then, rising and falling in the stronger stream with a curious
+serpentine motion. In fact, as head and body bent in the same sinuous
+curves, it looked less like an animal than a plunging fish. The men
+guarding the rapid stood ready with their poles, and more were wading
+and splashing up both sides of the pool. The otter's pace was getting
+slower; sometimes it seemed to stop, and now and then it vanished among
+the ripples. Carroll saw that Evelyn's face was intent, though there
+were signs of shrinking in it.
+
+"Now," he said, "I'll tell you what you are thinking--you want that poor
+little beast to get away."
+
+"I believe I do," Evelyn confessed.
+
+They watched with strained attention. The girl could not help it,
+though, she dreaded the climax. Her sympathies were now with the hard
+pressed, exhausted creature that was making a desperate fight for life.
+The pursuers were close behind it, the swimming dogs leading them; and
+ahead lay a foaming rush of water which did not seem more than a foot
+deep with men spread out across it. The shouting from the bank had
+ceased, and everybody waited in tense expectancy, when the otter
+disappeared.
+
+The dogs reached the rapid, where they were washed back a few yards
+before they could make head up-stream. Men who came splashing close upon
+their tails left the river to scramble along its edge; and then stopped
+abruptly, while the dogs swam in an uncertain manner about the still
+reach beyond. They came out in a few minutes, and scampered up and down
+among the stones, evidently at fault, for there was no sign of the otter
+anywhere. The hunted creature had crept up the rush of water among the
+feet of those who watched for it, and vanished unseen into the
+sheltering depths beyond.
+
+Evelyn sighed with relief. "I think it will escape," she said. "The
+river's rather full after the rain, which is against the dogs, and there
+isn't another shallow for some distance. Shall we go on?"
+
+They strolled forward behind the dogs, which were again moving
+up-stream; but they turned aside to avoid a wood, and it was some time
+later when they came out upon a rocky promontory dropping steeply to the
+river. The hunt was now widely scattered about the reach. Men crept
+along slippery ledges above the water, and moved over steeply-slanting
+slopes, half hidden among the trees.
+
+A few were in the river, and three or four of the dogs were swimming;
+the rest, spread out in twos and threes, trotted to and fro among the
+undergrowth, Carroll did not think they were following any scent, but a
+figure creeping along the foot of the rock not far away presently seized
+his attention.
+
+"It's Mopsy," he said. "The foothold doesn't look very safe among those
+stones, and there seems to be deep water below."
+
+He called out in warning, but the girl did not heed. The willows were
+thinner at the spot she had reached, and, squeezing herself through
+them, she leaned down, clinging to an alder branch.
+
+"He's gone to holt among the roots," she cried.
+
+Three or four men came running along the opposite bank and apparently
+decided that she was right, for the horn was sounded and here and there
+a dog broke through the underbrush; then, just as the first-comers
+reached the rapid, there was a splash. It was a moment or two before
+Evelyn or Carroll, who had been watching the dogs, realised what had
+happened, and then the blood ebbed from the girl's face. Mabel had
+disappeared.
+
+Running a few paces forward, Carroll saw what looked like a bundle of
+spread-out garments swing round in an eddy. It washed in among the
+willows, and he heard a faint cry.
+
+"Somebody help me, quick; I've caught a branch."
+
+He could not see the girl now, but an alder bough was bending sharply,
+and he flung a rapid glance around him. The summit of the rock he stood
+upon rose above the trees, and though he would have faced the risky fall
+had there been a better landing, it seemed impossible to alight among
+the stones without a broken leg. Further down-stream he might reach the
+water by a reckless jump, because the promontory sloped towards it
+there; but he would not be able to swim back against the current. His
+position was a painful one; it looked as if there was nothing that he
+could do.
+
+Next moment men and dogs went scrambling and swimming down the rapid;
+but they were in hot pursuit of the otter, which had left its
+hiding-place, and it was evident that the girl had escaped their
+attention. Carroll shouted savagely as his comrade appeared among the
+tail of the hunt below. The others were too occupied to heed, or perhaps
+concluded that he was urging them on; but Vane, who was in the water,
+seemed to understand. In another few minutes he was swimming down the
+pool along the edge of the alders. Then Carroll saw that Evelyn expected
+him to take some part in the rescue.
+
+"Get down before it's too late!" she cried.
+
+Carroll spread out his hands, as if to beg her forbearance, and while
+every impulse urged him to the leap he endeavoured to keep his head.
+
+"I can't do any good just now," he answered, knowing he was right and
+yet feeling horribly ashamed. "She's holding on, and Wallace will reach
+her in a moment or two."
+
+Evelyn broke out on him in an agony of fear and anger. "You coward!" she
+cried. "Will you let her drown?"
+
+She turned and ran forward, but Carroll, dreading that she meant to
+attempt the descent, seized her shoulder and held her fast. While he
+grappled with her, Vane's voice rose from below, and he let his hands
+drop.
+
+"Wallace has her! There's no more danger," he said.
+
+Evelyn suddenly recovered some degree of calm.
+
+Standing, breathless, a pace or two apart, they saw Vane and the girl
+appear from beneath the willows and wash away down-stream. The man was
+swimming but he was hampered by his burden, and once he and Mabel sank
+almost from sight in a whirling eddy. Carroll said nothing, but he
+turned and ran along the sloping ridge, until where the fall was less
+and the trees were thinner he leaped out into the air. He broke through
+the alders amidst a rustle of bending boughs and disappeared; but a
+moment later his head rose out of the water close beside Vane, and the
+two men went down-stream with Mabel between them.
+
+Evelyn scrambled wildly along the ridge, and when she reached the foot
+of it Vane was helping Mabel up the sloping bank of gravel. The girl's
+drenched garments clung about her, her wet hair was streaked across her
+face; but she seemed able to stand, and she was speaking in jerky gasps.
+The hunt had swept on through shoaler water, but there was a cheer from
+the stragglers across the river. Evelyn clutched her sister, half
+laughing, half sobbing, and incoherently upbraided her. Mabel shook
+herself free, and her first remark was characteristic.
+
+"Oh!" she said, "don't make a silly fuss." Then she tried to shake out
+her dripping skirt. "I'm only wet through, Wallace, take me home."
+
+Vane picked her up, which was what she seemed to expect, and the others
+followed when he pushed through the underbush towards a neighbouring
+meadow. Evelyn, however, was still a little unnerved, and when they
+reached a gap in a wall she stopped, and leaning against the stones
+turned to Carroll.
+
+"I think I'm more disturbed than Mopsy is," she said. "What I felt must
+be some excuse for me. I'm sorry for what I said; it was unjustifiable."
+
+"Anyway, it was perfectly natural; but I must confess that I felt some
+temptation to make a fool of myself. I might have jumped into those
+alders, but it's most unlikely that I could have got out of them."
+
+Evelyn looked at him with a faint respect. She had not troubled to point
+out that he had not flinched from the leap, when it seemed likely to be
+of service.
+
+"How had you the sense to think of that?" she asked.
+
+"I suppose it's a matter of practice," Carroll answered with amusement.
+"One can't work among the ranges and rivers without learning to make the
+right decision rapidly. When you don't, you get badly hurt. The thing
+has to be cultivated, it's not instinctive."
+
+Evelyn was struck by the explanation. This acquired coolness was a finer
+thing, and undoubtedly more useful than hot-headed gallantry, though she
+admired the latter.
+
+"Wallace was splendid in the water," she broke out, uttering part of her
+thoughts aloud.
+
+"I thought rather more of him in the city," Carroll replied. "That kind
+of thing was new to him, and I'm inclined to believe I'd have let the
+folks he had to negotiate with have the mine for a good deal less than
+what he eventually got for it. But I've said something about that
+before, and after all I'm not here to play Boswell."
+
+The girl was surprised at the apt allusion; it was not what she would
+have expected from the man. Since she had not recovered her composure,
+she forgot what Vane had told her about him, and her comment was an
+incautious one. "How did you hear of him?"
+
+Carroll parried this with a smile.
+
+"Oh!" he said, "you don't suppose you can keep those old fellows to
+yourselves--they're international. But hadn't we better be getting on?
+Let me help you through the gap."
+
+They reached the Dene some time later, and Mabel, very much against her
+wishes, was sent to bed, while shortly afterwards Carroll came across
+Vane, who had changed his clothes, strolling up and down among the
+shrubberies.
+
+"What are you doing here?" he asked.
+
+Vane looked embarrassed. "For one thing, I'm keeping out of Mrs.
+Chisholm's way; she's inclined to be effusive. For another, I'm trying
+to decide what I ought to do. We'll have to pull out very shortly, and I
+had meant to have had an interview with Evelyn to-day. That's why I feel
+uncommonly annoyed with Mopsy for falling in."
+
+Carroll made a grimace. "If that's how it strikes you, any advice I
+could offer would be wasted. A sensible man would consider it a
+promising opportunity."
+
+"And trade upon it."
+
+"Do you really want the girl?"
+
+"That impression's firmly in my mind," said Vane, curtly.
+
+"Then you had better pitch your quixotic notions overboard, and tell her
+so."
+
+Vane made no answer, and Carroll, seeing that his comrade was not
+inclined to be communicative, left him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+VANE WITHDRAWS.
+
+
+Dusk was drawing on when Vane strolled along the terrace in front of the
+Dene.
+
+He was preoccupied and eager, but fully aware of the need for coolness,
+because it was very possible that he might fail in the task he had in
+hand. By and by he saw Evelyn, whom he had been waiting for, cross the
+opposite end of the terrace, and moving forward he joined her at the
+entrance to a shrubbery walk. A big, clipped yew with a recess in which
+a seat had been placed stood close by.
+
+"I've been sitting with Mopsy," said Evelyn. "She seems very little the
+worse for her adventure--thanks to you." She hesitated, and her voice
+grew softer. "I owe you a heavy debt--I am very fond of Mopsy."
+
+"It's a great pity she fell in," Vane declared.
+
+Evelyn looked at him with surprise. She scarcely thought he could regret
+the efforts he had made on her sister's behalf, but that was what his
+words implied.
+
+"The trouble is that the thing might seem to give me some claim on you,
+and I don't want that," he explained. "It cost me no more than a
+wetting; I hadn't the least difficulty in getting her out."
+
+His companion was still puzzled. She could find no fault with him for
+being modest about his exploit, but that he should make it clear that he
+did not require her gratitude seemed to her unnecessary.
+
+"For all that, you did bring her out," she persisted.
+
+"I don't seem to be beginning very fortunately," Vane replied. "What I
+mean is, that I don't want to urge my claim, if I have one. I'd sooner
+be taken on my merits." He paused a moment with a smile. "That's not
+much better, is it? But it partly expresses what I feel. Leaving Mopsy
+out altogether, let me try to explain--I don't wish you to be influenced
+by anything except your own idea of me. I'm saying this because one or
+two points that seem in my favour may have a contrary effect."
+
+Evelyn made no answer, and he indicated the seat. "Won't you sit down, I
+have something more to say."
+
+The girl did as he suggested, and his smile faded. "Now," he went on,
+"you won't be astonished if I ask if you will marry me?"
+
+He stood looking down on her with an impressive steadiness of gaze. She
+could imagine him facing the city men, from whom he had extorted the
+full value of his mine, in the same fashion, and in a later instance, so
+surveying the eddies beneath the osiers when he had gone to Mabel's
+rescue. She felt that they had better understand one another.
+
+"No," she said; "if I must be candid, I am not astonished." Then the
+colour crept into her cheeks, is she met his gaze. "I suppose it is an
+honour and it is undoubtedly a--temptation."
+
+"A temptation?"
+
+"Yes," said Evelyn, mustering her courage to face a crisis she had
+dreaded. "It is only due to you that you should hear the truth--though I
+think you suspect it. I have some liking for you."
+
+"That is what I wanted you to own," Vane broke in.
+
+She checked him with a gesture. Her manner was cold, and yet there was
+something in it that stirred him more than her beauty.
+
+"After all," she answered, "It does not go very far, and you must try to
+understand. I want to be quite honest, and what I have to say
+is--difficult. In the first place, things are far from pleasant for me
+here; I was expected to make a good marriage, and I had my chance in
+London; I refused to profit by it, and now I'm a failure. I wonder if
+you can realise what a temptation it is to get away."
+
+"Yes," he said; "it makes me savage to think of it. I can, at least,
+take you out of all this. If you hadn't had a very fine courage, you
+wouldn't have told me."
+
+Evelyn smiled a curious wry smile.
+
+"It has only prompted me to behave, as most people would consider,
+shamelessly; but there are times when one must get above that point of
+view. Besides, there's a reason for my candour. Had you been a man of
+different stamp, it's possible that I might have been driven into taking
+the risk. We should both have suffered for a time, but through open
+variance we might have reached an understanding--not to intrude on one
+another. As it is, I could not do you that injustice, and I should
+shrink from marrying you with only a little cold liking."
+
+The man held himself firmly in hand. Her calmness had infected him, and
+he felt that this was not an occasion for romantic protestations, even
+had he felt capable of making them, which was not the case. As a matter
+of fact, such things were singularly foreign to his nature.
+
+"Even that would go a long way with me, if I could get nothing better,"
+he declared. "Besides, you might change. I could surround you with some
+comfort; I think I could promise not to force my company upon you; I
+believe I could be kind."
+
+"Yes," assented Evelyn; "I shouldn't be afraid of harshness from you;
+but it seems impossible that I should change. You must see that you
+started handicapped from the beginning. Had I been free to choose, it
+might have been different; but I have lived for some time in shame and
+fear, hating the thought that some one would be forced on me."
+
+He said nothing, and she went on. "Must I tell you? You are the man."
+
+His face grew hard and for a moment he set his lips tight. It would have
+been a relief to express his feelings concerning his host just then.
+
+"If you don't hate me for it now, I'm willing to take the risk," he said
+at length. "It will be my fault if you hate me in the future; I'll try
+not to deserve it."
+
+He imagined she was yielding, but she roused herself with an effort.
+
+"No," she said. "Love on one side may go a long way, if it is strong
+enough--but it must be strong to overcome the many clashes of thought
+and will. Yours"--she looked at him steadily--"would not stand the
+strain."
+
+Vane started. "You are the only woman I ever wished to marry." He paused
+with a forcible gesture. "What can I say to convince you?"
+
+She smiled softly. "I'm afraid it's impossible. If you had wanted me
+greatly, you would have pressed the claim you had in saving Mopsy, and I
+would have forgiven you that; you would have urged any and every claim.
+As it is, I suppose I am pretty"--her lips curled scornfully--"and you
+find some of your ideas and mine agree. It isn't half enough. Shall I
+tell you that you are scarcely moved as yet?"
+
+It flashed upon Vane that he was confronted with the reality. Her beauty
+had appealed to him, but without rousing passion, for there was little
+of the sensual in this man. Her other qualities, her reserved
+graciousness, which had a tinge of dignity in it; her insight and
+comprehension, had also had their effect; but they had only awakened
+admiration and respect. He desired her as one desires an object for its
+rarity and preciousness; but this, as she had told him, was not enough.
+Behind her physical and mental attributes, and half revealed by them,
+there was something deeper: the real personality of the girl. It was
+elusive, mystic, with a spark of immaterial radiance which might
+brighten human love with its transcendent glow; but, as he dimly
+realised, if he won her by force, it might recede and vanish altogether.
+He could not, with strong ardour, compel its clearer manifestation.
+
+"I think I am as moved as it is possible for me to be," he said.
+
+Evelyn shook her head. "No; you will discover the difference some day,
+and then you will thank me for leaving you your liberty. Now I beg you
+to leave me mine and let me go."
+
+Vane stood silent a minute or two, for the last appeal had stirred him
+to chivalrous pity. He was shrewd enough to realise that if he persisted
+he could force her to come to him. Her father and mother were with him;
+she had nothing--no common-place usefulness or trained abilities--to
+fall back upon if she defied them. But it was unthinkable that he should
+brutally compel her.
+
+"Well," he said at length, "I must try to face the situation; I want to
+assure you that it is not a pleasant one to me. But there's another
+point. I'm afraid I've made things worse for you. Your people will
+probably blame you for sending me away."
+
+Evelyn did not answer this, and he broke into a little grim smile.
+"Now," he added, "I think I can save you any trouble on that
+score--though the course I'm going to take isn't flattering, if you look
+at it in one way. I want you to leave me to deal with your father."
+
+He took her consent for granted, and leaning down laid a hand lightly on
+her shoulder. "You will try to forgive me for the anxiety I have caused
+you. The time I've spent here has been very pleasant, but I'm going back
+to Canada in a few days. Perhaps you'll think of me without bitterness
+now and then."
+
+He turned away, and Evelyn sat still, glad that the strain was over, and
+thinking earnestly. The man was gentle and considerate as well as
+forceful, and she liked him. Indeed, she admitted that she had not met
+any man she liked as much, but that was not going very far. Then she
+began to wonder at her candour, and to consider if it had been
+necessary. It was curious that this was the only man she had ever taken
+into her confidence; and her next suitor would probably be a much less
+promising specimen. On the other hand, it was consoling to remember that
+eligible suitors for the daughter of an impoverished gentleman were
+likely to be scarce.
+
+It had grown dark when she rose and, entering the house, went up to
+Mabel's room. The girl looked at her sharply as she came in.
+
+"So you have got rid of him," she said. "I think you're very silly."
+
+"How did you know?" Evelyn asked with a start.
+
+"I heard him walking up and down the terrace, and I heard you go out.
+You can't walk over raked gravel without making a noise. He went along
+to join you, and it was a good while before you came back at different
+times. I've been waiting for this the last day or two."
+
+Evelyn sat down with a strained smile. "Well," she said, "I have sent
+him away."
+
+Mabel regarded her indignantly. "Then you'll never get another chance
+like this one. If you had only taken him I could have worn decent
+frocks. Nobody could call the last one that."
+
+This was a favourite grievance and Evelyn ignored it; but Mabel had more
+to say. "I suppose," she went on, "you don't know that Wallace has been
+getting Gerald out of trouble?"
+
+"Are you sure of that?" Evelyn asked sharply.
+
+"Yes," said Mabel; "I'll tell you what I know. Wallace saw Gerald in
+London--he told us that--and we all know that Gerald couldn't pay his
+debts a little while since. You remember he came down to Kendal and went
+on and stayed the next night with the Claytons. It isn't astonishing
+that he didn't come here after the row there was on the last occasion."
+
+"Go on," said Evelyn. "What has his visit to the Claytons to do with
+it?"
+
+"Well," said Mabel, "you don't know that I saw Gerald in the afternoon.
+After all, he's the only brother I've got; and as Jim was going to the
+station with the trap I made him take me. The Claytons were in the
+garden; we were scattered about, and I heard Frank and Gerald, who had
+strolled off from the others, talking. Gerald was telling him about some
+things he'd bought; they must have been expensive, because Frank asked
+him where he got the money. Gerald laughed, and said he'd had an
+unexpected stroke of luck that had set him straight again. Now, of
+course, Gerald got no money from home, and if he'd won it he would have
+told Frank how he did so. Gerald always would tell a thing like that."
+
+Evelyn was filled with confusion and hot indignation. She had little
+doubt that Mabel's surmise was correct.
+
+"I wonder if he has told anybody, though it's scarcely likely," she
+said.
+
+"Of course he hasn't. We all know what Gerald is. Wallace ought to get
+his money back, now you have sent him away," Mabel, who had waited a
+moment or two, went on. "But, of course, that's most unlikely. It
+wouldn't take Gerald long to waste it."
+
+Evelyn rose, and, making some excuse, left the room. A suspicion which
+had troubled her more than Gerald's conduct had lately crept into her
+mind, and it now thrust itself upon her attention--several things
+pointed to the fact that her father had taken a similar course to that
+which her brother had taken. She felt that had she heard Mabel's
+information before the interview with Vane, she might have yielded to
+him in an agony of humiliation. Mabel had summed up the situation with
+stinging candour and crudity--Vane, who had been defrauded, was entitled
+to recover the money he had parted with. For a few moments Evelyn was
+furiously angry with him, and then, growing calmer, she recognised that
+this was unreasonable. She could not imagine any idea of a compact
+originating with the man, and he had quietly acquiesced in her decision.
+
+Soon after she left her sister, Vane walked into the room which Chisholm
+reserved for his own use. Chisholm was sitting at the table with some
+papers in front of him and a cigar in his hand, and Vane drew out a
+chair and lighted his pipe before he addressed him.
+
+"I've made up my mind to sail on Saturday, instead of next week," he
+said.
+
+"You have decided rather suddenly, haven't you?"
+
+Vane knew that what his host wished to inquire about was the cause of
+his decision, and he meant to come to the point. He was troubled by no
+consideration for the man.
+
+"The last news I had indicated that I was wanted," he replied. "After
+all, there was only one reason why I have abused Mrs. Chisholm's
+hospitality so long."
+
+"Well?" said Chisholm, with an abruptness which hinted at anxiety.
+
+"You will remember what I asked you some time ago. I had better say that
+I abandon the idea."
+
+Chisholm started, and his florid face grew redder while Vane, in place
+of embarrassment, was conscious of a somewhat grim amusement. It seemed
+strange that a man of Chisholm's stamp should have any pride, but he
+evidently possessed it.
+
+"What am I to understand by that?" he asked with some asperity.
+
+"I think what I said explained it. Bearing in mind your and Mrs.
+Chisholm's influence, I've an idea that Evelyn might have yielded, if
+I'd strongly urged my suit; but that was not by any means what I wanted.
+I'd naturally prefer a wife who married me because she wished to do so.
+That's why, after thinking the thing over, I've decided to--withdraw."
+
+Chisholm straightened himself in his chair, in fiery indignation, which
+he made no attempt to conceal.
+
+"You mean that after asking my consent and seeing more of Evelyn, you
+have changed your mind. Can't you understand that it's an unpardonable
+confession; one which I never fancied a man born and brought up in your
+station could have brought himself to make."
+
+Vane looked at him with an impassive face. "It strikes me as largely a
+question of terms--I mayn't have used the right one. Now you know how
+the matter stands, you can describe it in any way that sounds nicest. In
+regard to your other remark, I've been in a good many stations, and I
+must admit that until lately none of them were likely to promote much
+delicacy of sentiment."
+
+"So it seems," Chisholm was almost too hot to sneer. "But can't you
+realise how your action reflects upon my daughter?"
+
+Vane held himself in hand. He had only one object: to divert Chisholm's
+wrath from Evelyn to himself and he thought he was succeeding in this.
+For the rest, he cherished a strong resentment against the man.
+
+"It can't reflect upon her, unless you talk about it, and both you and
+Mrs. Chisholm have sense enough to refrain from doing so," he answered
+dryly. "I can't flatter myself that Evelyn will grieve over me." Then
+his manner changed. "Now we'll get down to business. I don't purpose to
+call that loan in, which will, no doubt, be a relief to you."
+
+He rose leisurely and, strolling out of the room, met Carroll shortly
+afterwards in the hall. The latter glanced at him sharply.
+
+"What have you been doing?" he inquired. "There's a look I seem to
+remember in your eye."
+
+"I suppose I've been outraging the rules of decency, but I don't feel
+ashamed. I've been acting the uncivilised Westerner, though it's
+possible that I rather strained the part. To come to the point, however,
+we pull out for the Dominion first thing to-morrow."
+
+Carroll asked no further questions. He did not think it would serve any
+purpose, and he contented himself with making arrangements for their
+departure, which they took early on the morrow. Vane had a brief
+interview with Mabel, who shed some tears over him, and then by her
+contrivance secured a word or two with Evelyn alone.
+
+"Now," he said, "it's possible that you may hear some hard things of me,
+and I count upon your not contradicting them. After all, I think you owe
+me that favour. There's just another matter--as I won't be here to
+trouble you, try to think of me leniently."
+
+He held her hand for a moment and then turned away, and a few minutes
+later he and Carroll left the Dene.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+VANE GROWS RESTLESS.
+
+
+Vane had been back in Vancouver a fortnight when he sat one evening on
+the verandah of Nairn's house in company with his host and Carroll,
+lazily looking down upon the inlet.
+
+Nairn referred to one of the papers in his hand.
+
+"Horsfield has been bringing up that smelter project again, and there's
+something to be said in favour of his views," he remarked. "We're paying
+a good deal for reduction."
+
+"We couldn't keep a smelter going at present," Vane objected.
+
+"There are two or three low-grade mineral properties in the
+neighbourhood of the Clermont that have only had a little development
+work done on them," Nairn pointed out. "They can't pay freight on their
+raw product; but I'm thinking we'd encourage their owners to open up the
+mines, and get their business, if we had a smelter handy."
+
+"It wouldn't amount to much," Vane replied. "Besides, there's another
+objection--we haven't the dollars to put up a thoroughly efficient
+plant."
+
+"Horsfield's ready to find part of them and do the work."
+
+"I know he is," said Vane. "He's suspiciously eager. The arrangement
+would give him a pretty strong hold upon the company; there are ways in
+which he could squeeze us."
+
+"It's possible. But, looking at it as a personal matter, there are
+inducements he could offer ye. Horsfield's a man who has the handling of
+other folks' dollars, as weel as a good many of his own. It might be
+wise to stand in with him."
+
+"So he hinted," Vane answered shortly.
+
+"Your argument was about the worst you could have used, Mr. Nairn,"
+Carroll broke in, laughing.
+
+"Weel," said Nairn, good-humouredly, "I'm no urging it. I would not see
+your partner make enemies for the want of a warning."
+
+"He'd probably do so, in any case; it's a gift of his," said Carroll.
+"On the other hand, it's fortunate he has a way of making friends: the
+two things sometimes go together."
+
+Vane turned to Nairn with signs of impatience. "It might save trouble if
+I state that while I'm a director of the Clermont I expect to be content
+with a fair profit on my stock in the company."
+
+"He's modest," Carroll commented. "What he means is that he doesn't
+propose to augment that profit by taking advantage of his position."
+
+"It's a creditable idea, though I'm no sure it's as common as might be
+desired. While I have to thank ye for it, I would not consider the
+explanation altogether necessary," said Nairn, whose eyes twinkled. Then
+he addressed Vane: "Now we come to another point--the company's a small
+one, the mine is doing satisfactorily, and the moment's favourable for
+the floating of mineral properties. If we got an option on the
+half-developed claims near the Clermont and went into the market, it's
+likely that an issue of new stock would meet with investors' favour."
+
+"I suppose so," said Vane. "I'll support such a scheme, when I can see
+how an increased capital could be used to advantage and I am convinced
+about the need for a smelter. At present, that's not the case."
+
+"I mentioned it as a duty--ye'll hear more of it; for the rest, I'm
+inclined to agree with ye," Nairn replied.
+
+A few minutes later he went into the house with Carroll, and as they
+entered it he glanced at his companion. "In the present instance, Mr.
+Vane's views are sound," he said. "But I see difficulties before him."
+
+"So do I. When he grapples with him it will be by a frontal attack."
+
+"A bit of compromise is judicious now and then."
+
+"In a general way it's not likely to appeal to my partner. When he can't
+get through by direct means, there'll be something wrecked. You had
+better understand what kind of man he is."
+
+"It's no the first time I've been enlightened upon the point."
+
+Shortly after they had disappeared, Miss Horsfield came out of another
+door, and Vane rose when she approached him.
+
+"Mrs. Nairn told me I would find you and the others in the verandah,"
+she informed him. "She said she would join you presently, and it was too
+fine to stay in."
+
+"I think she was right," Vane replied. "As you see, I'm alone. Nairn and
+Carroll have just deserted me, but I can't complain. What pleases me
+most about this house is that you can do what you like in it,
+and--within limits--the same thing applies to this city."
+
+Jessie laughed, and sank gracefully into the chair he drew forward.
+
+"Yes," she said. "I think that would please you. But how long have you
+been back?"
+
+"A fortnight, since yesterday."
+
+There was a hint of reproach in the glance Jessie favoured him with.
+"Then I think Mrs. Nairn might have brought you over to see us."
+
+Vane wondered if she meant she was surprised he had not come of his own
+accord, and he was mildly flattered.
+
+"I was away at the mine a good deal of the time," he replied
+deprecatingly.
+
+"I wonder if you are sorry to get back?"
+
+Turning a little, Vane indicated the climbing city, rising tier on tier
+above its water front; and then the broad expanse of blue inlet and the
+faint white line of towering snow.
+
+"Wouldn't anything I could say in praise of Vancouver be trifle
+superfluous?" he asked.
+
+Jessie recognised that he had parried her question neatly, but this did
+not deter her. She was anxious to learn if he had felt any regret in
+leaving England, or, to be more concise, if there was anybody in that
+country whom he had reluctantly parted from. She admitted that the man
+attracted her. There was a breezy freshness about him, and though she
+was acquainted with a number of young men whose conversation was
+characterised by snap and sparkle, they needed toning down. This miner
+was set apart from them by something which he had doubtless acquired in
+youth in the older land.
+
+"That wasn't quite what I meant," she said. "We don't always want to be
+flattered, and I'm in search of information. You told me you had been
+nine years in this country, and life must be rather different yonder.
+How did it strike you after the absence?"
+
+"It's difficult to explain," Vane replied with an air of amused
+reflection which hinted that he meant to get away from the point. "On
+the whole, I think I'm more interested in the question how I struck
+them. It's curious that whereas some folks insist upon considering me
+English here, I've a suspicion that they looked upon me as a typical
+colonial there."
+
+"One wouldn't like to think you resented it."
+
+"How could I? This land sheltered me when I was an outcast, and set me
+on my feet."
+
+"Ah!" said Jessie, "you are the kind we don't mind taking in. The rest
+go back and abuse us. But you haven't given me very much information
+yet."
+
+"Then," said Vane, "the best comparison is supplied by my first
+remark--that in this city you can do what you like. You're rather fenced
+in yonder, which, if you're of a placid disposition, is, no doubt,
+comforting, because it shuts out unpleasant things. On the other hand,
+if you happen to be restless and active, the fences are inconvenient,
+because you can't always climb over, and it is not considered proper to
+break them down. Still, having admitted that, I'm proud of the old land.
+It's only the fences that irritate me."
+
+"Fences would naturally be obnoxious to you. But we have some here."
+
+"They're generally built loose, of split-rails, and not nailed. An
+energetic man can pull off a bar or two and stride over. If it's
+necessary, he can afterwards put them up again, and there's no harm
+done."
+
+"Would you do the latter?"
+
+Vane's expression changed. "No," he said. "I think if there were
+anything good on the other side, I'd widen the gap so that the less
+agile and the needy could crawl through." He smiled at her. "You see, I
+owe some of them a good deal. They were the only friends I had when I
+first tramped, jaded and footsore, about the province."
+
+Jessie was pleased with his answer. She had heard of the bush choppers'
+free hospitality, and she thought it was a graceful thing that he should
+acknowledge his debt to them.
+
+"Now at last you'll be content to rest a while," she suggested. "I dare
+say you deserve it."
+
+"It's strange you should say that, because just before you came out of
+the house I was thinking that I'd sat still long enough," Vane answered
+with a laugh. "It's a thing that gets monotonous. One must keep going
+on."
+
+"Then," said Jessie, "take care you don't walk over a precipice some day
+when you have left all the fences behind. But I've kept you from your
+meditations, and I had better see if Mrs. Nairn is coming."
+
+She left him, and he was lighting a cigar when he noticed a girl whose
+appearance seemed familiar in the road below. Moving along the verandah,
+he recognised her as Kitty, and hastily crossed the lawn towards her.
+She was accompanied by a young man whom Vane had once seen in the city,
+but she greeted him with evident pleasure.
+
+"Tom," she said, when they had exchanged a few words, "this is Mr.
+Vane," Then turning to Vane she added: "Mr. Drayton."
+
+Vane, who liked the man's face and manner, shook hands with him, and
+then looked back at Kitty.
+
+"What are you doing now, and how are little Elsie and her mother?" he
+inquired.
+
+Kitty's face clouded. "Mrs. Marvin's dead. Elsie's with some friends at
+Spokane, and I think she's well looked after. I've given up the stage.
+Tom"--she explained shyly--"didn't like it. Now I'm with some people at
+a ranch near the Fraser on the Westminster road. There are two or three
+children and I'm fond of them."
+
+Drayton smiled. "She won't be there long. I've wanted to meet you for
+some time, Mr. Vane. They told me at the office that you were away."
+
+"Ah!" said Vane, "I suppose my congratulations won't be out of place.
+Won't you ask me to the wedding?"
+
+Kitty blushed. "Will you come?"
+
+"Try," said Vane, and Drayton broke in:
+
+"There's nobody we would sooner see. I'm heavily in your debt, Mr.
+Vane."
+
+"Oh, pshaw!" rejoined Vane. "Come and see me any time: to-morrow, if you
+can manage it."
+
+Drayton said he would do so, and shortly afterwards he and Kitty moved
+away, but Vane, who turned back across the lawn, was not aware that
+Jessie had watched the meeting from the verandah and had recognised
+Kitty, whom she had once seen at the station. She had already
+ascertained that the girl had arrived at Vancouver in his company,
+which, in view of the opinion she had formed about him, somewhat puzzled
+her; but she said one must endeavour to be charitable. Besides, having
+closely watched the little group, she was inclined to believe from the
+way Vane shook hands with the man that there was no danger to be
+apprehended from Kitty.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+A NEW PROJECT.
+
+
+Vane was sitting alone in the room set apart for the Clermont Company in
+Nairn's office, when Drayton was shown in. He took the chair Vane
+pointed to and lighted a cigar the latter gave him.
+
+"Now," he began with some diffidence, "you cut me off short when I met
+you the other day, and one of my reasons for coming over was to get
+through with what I was saying then. It's just this--I owe you a good
+deal for taking care of Kitty; she's very grateful, and thinks no end of
+you, I want to say I'll always feel you have a claim on me."
+
+Vane smiled at him. It was evident that Kitty had taken her lover into
+her confidence with regard to her trip on board the sloop, and, that she
+had done so said a good deal for her.
+
+"It didn't cost me any trouble," Vane replied. "We were coming down to
+Vancouver, anyway."
+
+Drayton's embarrassment became more obvious. "It cost you some dollars;
+there were the tickets. Now I feel I have to----"
+
+Vane stopped him. "When you are married to Miss Blake you can pay me
+back, if it will be a relief to you. When's the wedding to be?"
+
+"In a couple of months," said Drayton, who saw it would be useless to
+protest. "I'm a clerk in the Winstanley mills, and, as one of the staff
+is going, I'll get a move up then. We are to be married as soon as I
+do."
+
+He said a little more on the same subject, and then, after a few
+moments' silence added: "I wonder if the Clermont business keeps your
+hands full, Mr. Vane."
+
+"It doesn't. It's a fact I'm beginning to regret."
+
+Drayton appeared to consider. "Well," he said, "folks seem to regard you
+as a rising man with snap in him, and there's a matter I might, perhaps,
+bring before you. Let me explain. I've taken an interest, outside my
+routine work in the lumber trade of this province and its subsidiary
+branches. I figured any knowledge I could pick up might stand me in some
+dollars some day. So far"--he smiled ruefully--"it hasn't done so."
+
+"Go on," said Vane, whose curiosity was aroused.
+
+"Well, I think that pulping spruce--paper spruce--is likely to be scarce
+soon. The supply's not unlimited and the world's consumption is going up
+by jumps."
+
+"There's a good deal of timber you could make pulp of in British
+Columbia alone," Vane interposed.
+
+"Sure. But there's not a very great deal of spruce that could be milled
+into high-grade paper pulp; and it's rapidly getting worked out in most
+other countries. Then, as a rule, it's mixed up with the firs, cedars
+and cypresses; and that means the cutting of logging roads to each
+cluster of milling trees. There's another point--a good deal of the
+spruce lies back from water or a railroad, and it would be costly to
+bring in milling plant or pack the pulp out."
+
+"That's obvious," said Vane: "for you might have to haul every pound of
+freight over a breakneck divide."
+
+Drayton leaned forward confidentially. "Then if one struck high-grade
+paper spruce--a valley full of it--with water power and easy access to
+the sea, there ought to be dollars in the thing?"
+
+"Yes," said Vane, with growing interest. "That is very probable."
+
+"I could put you on the track of such a valley," Drayton replied.
+
+"We had better understand each other. Do you want to sell me the
+information, and have you offered it to anyone else?"
+
+His companion answered with the candour he had expected. "The one or two
+folks I've spoken to don't seem anxious to consider it. It's mighty hard
+for a small man to launch a project."
+
+"As a rule, it is."
+
+"Then," Drayton continued, "the idea's not my own. It was a mineral
+prospector--a relative of mine--who struck the valley on his last trip.
+He's an old man, and he came down played out and sick. Now I guess he's
+slowly dying." He paused a moment. "Would you like to see him?"
+
+"I'll go with you now, if it's convenient," Vane replied.
+
+They crossed the city to where a row of squalid frame shacks stood on
+its outskirts. In one which they entered, a gaunt man, with grizzled
+hair lay upon a rickety bed. A glance showed Vane that the man was very
+frail. Drayton, who explained the cause of his visit, motioned Vane to
+sit down, and the prospector fixed his eyes upon the latter.
+
+"I've heard of you. You're the man who located the Clermont--and put the
+project through," he said. "You had the luck. I've been among the ranges
+half my life, and you can see how much I've made of it. When I struck a
+claim worth anything, somebody else got the money."
+
+Vane had reasons for believing that this was not an uncommon experience;
+but the man went on again: "Well, you look straight, and I've got to
+take some chances; it's my last stake. We'll get down to business; I'll
+tell you about that spruce."
+
+He spoke for a few minutes, and then asked abruptly: "What are you going
+to offer?"
+
+Vane had not been certain that he would make any offer at all; but, as
+had befallen him before, the swift decision flashed instinctively into
+his mind.
+
+"If I find that the timber and its location come up to your account of
+it, I'll pay you so many dollars down--whatever we can agree upon--when
+I get my lease from the land office," he said. "Then I'll make another
+equal payment the day we start the mill. But I don't bind myself to
+record the timber or put up a mill, unless I'm convinced it's worth
+while."
+
+"I'd sooner take less dollars and a small share in the concern; and
+Drayton must stand in."
+
+"It's a question of terms," Vane replied. "I'll consider your views."
+
+They discussed it for a while, and when they had at length arrived at a
+provisional understanding, the prospector made a sign of acquiescence.
+"We'll let it go at that; but the thing will take time, and I'll never
+get the money. If you exercise your option, you'll sure pay it down to
+Seely?"
+
+"Celia's his daughter," Drayton explained. "He has no one else. She's a
+waitress at the ---- House in the city." He named an hotel of no great
+standing. "Comes home at nights and looks after him."
+
+Vane glanced round the room. It was evident that Celia's earnings were
+small; but he noticed several things which suggested that she had
+lavished loving care upon the sick man, probably at the cost of severe
+self-denial.
+
+"Yes," he answered; "I'll promise that. But, as I pointed out, while we
+have agreed upon the two payments, I reserve the right of deciding what
+share your daughter and Drayton are to take afterwards within the limits
+sketched out. I can't fix it definitely until I've seen the
+timber--you'll have to trust me."
+
+The prospector once more looked at him steadily, and then implied by a
+gesture that he was satisfied.
+
+The man fumbled under his pillow, and produced a piece cut out from a
+map of the province, with rough pencil notes on the back of it.
+
+"It was on my last prospecting trip I found the spruce," he said. "I'd
+been looking round for the Company I was with, and I figured I'd strike
+the coast over the range. The creeks were full of snow-water, and as I
+was held up here and there before I could get across, provisions began
+to run short. By and by I fell sick; but I had to get out of the
+mountains, and I was pushing on for the Strait when I struck the place
+where the spruce is. After that, I got kind of muddled in the head, but
+I went down a long valley on an easy grade and struck some Siwash curing
+the last of the salmon. The trouble is, I was too sick to figure exactly
+where the small inlet they were camped by lies. They took me back with
+them to their rancherie--you could find that--and sailed me across to
+Comox by and by. I came down on a steamboat, and the doctor told me I'd
+made my last journey."
+
+Vane expressed his sympathy. The narrative has been crudely
+matter-of-fact, but he had been out on the prospecting trail often
+enough to fill in the details the sick man omitted.
+
+"How far was the valley from the inlet?" he asked.
+
+"I can't tell you. I think I was four days on the trail, but it might
+have been more. I was too sick to remember. Anyway, there was a creek
+you could run the logs down."
+
+Vane nodded. "Well," he said, "how far was the inlet from the
+rancherie?"
+
+"I was in the canoe part of one night and some of the next day. Guess
+thirty miles wouldn't be far out."
+
+"That's something to go upon."
+
+Vane rose. "If Drayton will come along with me, I'll send him back with
+a hundred dollars. It's part of the first payment--but your getting it
+now should make things a little easier for Celia."
+
+"But you haven't located the spruce yet."
+
+"I'm going to locate it, if the thing's anyway possible." Vane shook
+hands with the man. "I expect to get off up the Strait very shortly."
+
+The prospector looked at him with relief and gratitude in his eyes,
+"You're white--and I guess you'd be mighty hard to beat."
+
+Vane touched Drayton's arm, and when they reached the street, his
+companion glanced at him with open admiration.
+
+"I'm glad I brought you across," he broke out. "You have a way of
+getting hold of folks, making them believe in you. Hartley hasn't a word
+in writing, but he knows you mean to act square with him. Kitty felt the
+same thing--it was why she came down in the sloop with you."
+
+Vane smiled, though there was a trace of embarrassment in his manner.
+"Now you mention it, you were equally confiding. We have only arrived at
+a rather indefinite understanding about your share yet."
+
+"We'll leave it at that," said the other. "I haven't struck anybody else
+in this city who would hear about the thing. Anyway, I'd prefer a few
+shares in the concern, as mentioned, instead of money. If you get the
+thing on foot, I guess it will go."
+
+During the rest of the day Vane was busy on board the sloop, but in the
+evening he walked over to Horsfield's house with Mrs. Nairn, and found
+Jessie and her brother at home. Horsfield presently took him to his
+smoking-room.
+
+"About that smelter," he said. "Haven't you make your mind up yet?"
+
+"Isn't it a matter for the board?" Vane asked suggestively. "There are
+several directors."
+
+Horsfield laughed. "We'll face the fact; they'll do what you decide
+upon."
+
+Vane did not reply to this. "Well," he said, "at present we couldn't
+keep a smelter big enough to be economical going, and I'm doubtful if we
+would get much ore from the other properties you were talking to Nairn
+about."
+
+"Did he say it was my idea?"
+
+"He didn't: I'd reasons for assuming it. Those properties, however, are
+of no account."
+
+Horsfield waited expectantly, and Vane went on: "If it seems possible
+that we can profitably increase our output later by means of further
+capital, we'll put up a smelter. But in that case it might be economical
+to do the work ourselves."
+
+"Who would superintend it?"
+
+"I would, if necessary."
+
+Horsfield smiled in a significant manner. "Aren't you inclined to take
+hold of too much? When you have plenty in your hands, it's good policy
+to leave a little for somebody else. Sometimes the person who benefits
+is willing to reciprocate."
+
+The hint was plain, and Nairn had said sufficient on another occasion to
+make it clearer; but Vane did not respond.
+
+"If we gave the work out, it would be an open tender," he said. "There
+would be no reason why you shouldn't make a bid."
+
+Horsfield found it difficult to conceal his disgust. He had no desire to
+bid on an open tender, which would prevent his obtaining anything beyond
+the market price.
+
+"The question must stand over until I come back," Vane resumed. "I'm
+going up the west coast shortly and may be away some little time."
+
+They left the smoking-room soon afterwards, and when they strolled back
+to the other, Vane sat down near Jessie.
+
+"I hear you are going away," she began.
+
+"Yes," said Vane; "I'm going to look for pulping timber."
+
+"But why do you want pulping timber?"
+
+"It can sometimes be converted into dollars."
+
+"Isn't there every prospect of your obtaining a good many already? Are
+you never satisfied?"
+
+"I suppose I'm open to take as many as I can get," Vane answered with an
+air of humorous consideration. "The reason probably is that I've had
+very few until lately. Still, I don't think it's altogether the dollars
+that are driving me."
+
+"If it's the restlessness you once spoke of, you ought to put a check on
+it and try to be content. There's danger in the longing to be always
+going on."
+
+"It's a common idea that a small hazard gives a thing an interest."
+
+Jessie shot a swift glance at him, and she had, as he noticed,
+expressive eyes.
+
+"Be careful!" she said. "After all, it's wiser to keep within safe
+limits, and not climb over too many fences." She hesitated, and her
+voice grew softer. "You have friends who would be sorry if you got
+hurt."
+
+The man was a little stirred; she was alluring physically, while
+something in her voice had its effect on him. Evelyn, however, still
+occupied his thoughts, and he smiled at his companion.
+
+"Thank you," he said. "I like to believe it."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+VANE SAILS NORTH.
+
+
+It was growing dusk on the evening of Vane's departure when he walked
+out of Nairn's room. His host was with him, and when they entered an
+adjacent room, where a lamp was burning, the older man's face relaxed
+into a smile as he saw Jessie Horsfield talking to his wife. Vane
+stopped a few minutes to speak to them, and it was Jessie who gave the
+signal for the group to break up.
+
+"I must go," she said to Mrs. Nairn. "I've already stayed longer than I
+intended. I'll let you have those patterns back in a day or two."
+
+"Mair patterns!" Nairn exclaimed with dry amusement. "It's the second
+lot this week; ye're surely industrious, Jessie. Women"--he addressed
+Vane--"have curious notions of economy. They will spend a month knitting
+a thing to give to somebody who does not want it, when they could buy it
+for half a dollar done better by machinery. I'm no saying, however, that
+it does not keep them out of mischief."
+
+Jessie laughed. "I don't think many of us are industrious in that, way
+now. After all, isn't it a pity that so many of the beautiful old
+handicrafts are dying out? No loom, for instance, could turn out some of
+the things your wife makes. They're matchless."
+
+"She has an aumrie--ye can translate it trunk--full of them," said
+Nairn. "It's no longer customary to scatter them ower the house."
+
+Mrs. Nairn's smile was half a sigh. "There were no books, and no mony
+amusements, when I was young," she said to Jessie. "We sat through the
+long winter forenights, counting stitches, at Burnfoot, under the
+Scottish moors. That, my dear, was thirty years ago."
+
+She shook hands with Vane, who left the house with Jessie, and watched
+them cross the lawn.
+
+"I'm thinking ye'll no see so much of Jessie for the next few weeks,"
+Nairn, who had accompanied her to the door, remarked. "Has she shown ye
+any of yon knick-knacks when she finished them."
+
+His wife shook her head at him reproachfully. "Alec," she said, "ye're
+now and then hasty in jumping at conclusions."
+
+"Maybe," replied Nairn. "I'm no infallible, but the fault ye mention is
+no common in the land where we were born. I'm no denying that Jessie has
+enterprise, but how far it will carry her in this case is mair than I
+can tell."
+
+He smiled as he recalled a scene at the station some time ago, and Mrs.
+Nairn looked up at him.
+
+"What is amusing ye, Alec?" she asked.
+
+"It was just a bit idea no worth the mentioning," said Nairn. "I think
+it wouldna count." He paused, and resumed with an air of reflection: "A
+young man's heart is whiles inconstant and susceptible."
+
+Mrs. Nairn, who ignored the last remark, went into the house, and in the
+meanwhile Jessie and Vane walked down the road until they stopped at a
+gate, Jessie held out her hand.
+
+"I'm glad I met you to-night," she said. "You will allow me to wish you
+every success?"
+
+"Thank you," he replied. "It's nice to feel one has the sympathy of
+one's friends."
+
+He turned away, and Jessie stood watching him as he strode down the
+road. There was, she thought, something that set him apart from other
+men in his fine poise and swing. She was, however, forced to confess
+that, although he had answered her courteously, there had been no warmth
+in his words.
+
+As it happened, Vane was just then conscious of a slight relief. He
+admired Jessie, and he liked Nairn and his wife; but they belonged to
+the city, which he was on the whole glad to leave behind. He was going
+back to the shadowy woods, where men lived naturally, and the lust of
+fresh adventure was strong in him.
+
+On reaching the wharf he found Kitty and Celia Hartley, whom he had not
+met hitherto, awaiting him with Carroll and Drayton. A boat lay at the
+steps, and he and Carroll rowed the others off to the sloop. The moon
+was just rising from behind the black firs at the inlet's inner end, and
+a little cold wind faintly scented with resinous fragrance, that blew
+down across them, stirred the water into tiny ripples that flashed into
+silvery radiance here and there.
+
+A soft glow shone out from the skylights to welcome them as they
+approached the sloop, and when, laughing gaily, they clambered on board,
+Carroll led the way to the tiny saloon, which just held them all. It was
+brightly lighted by two nickelled lamps; flowers were fastened against
+the panelling, and clusters of them stood upon the table, which was
+covered with a spotless cloth. Vane took the head of it and Carroll
+modestly explained that only part of the supper had been prepared by
+him. The rest he had obtained in the city, out of regard for the guests,
+who, he added, had not lived in the bush.
+
+Carroll started the general chatter, which went on after the meal was
+over, and nobody appeared to notice that Kitty sat with her hand in
+Drayton's amidst the happy laughter. Even Celia, who had her grief to
+grapple with, smiled bravely. Vane had given them champagne, the best in
+the city, though they drank sparingly; and at last, when Celia made a
+move to rise, Drayton stood up with his glass in his hand.
+
+"We must go, but there's something to be done," he said. "It's to thank
+our host and wish him success. It's a little boat he's sailing in, but
+she's carrying a big freight if our good wishes count for anything."
+
+They emptied the glasses, and Vane replied: "My success is yours. You
+have all a stake in the venture, and that piles up my responsibility. If
+the spruce is still in existence, I've got to find it."
+
+"And you're going to find it," said Drayton confidently.
+
+Then Vane divided the flowers between Celia and her companion, but when
+they went up on deck Kitty raised one bunch and kissed it.
+
+"Tom won't mind," she said. "Take that one back from Celia and me."
+
+They got down into the boat. Then, while the girls called back to Vane,
+Drayton rowed away, and the boat was fading out of sight when Kitty's
+voice reached the men on board. She was singing a well-known Jacobite
+ballad.
+
+"Considering what his Highland followers suffered on his account and
+what the women thought of him," said Carroll, "some of the virtues they
+credited the Young Chevalier with must have been real," He raised his
+hand. "You may as well listen."
+
+Vane stood still a moment with the blood hot in his face, and the
+refrain rang more clearly across the sparkling water:
+
+  "Better lo'ed ye cannot be,
+  Will ye no come back again?"
+
+"I don't know if you feel flattered, but I've an idea that Kitty and
+Celia would go into the fire for you, and Drayton seems to share their
+confidence," Carroll resumed, in his most matter-of-fact tone.
+
+Vane began to shake the mainsail loose. "I believe we both talked rather
+freely to-night; but we have to find the spruce."
+
+"So you have said already," Carroll pointed out. "Hadn't you better
+heave the boom up with the topping lift?"
+
+They got the mainsail on to her, broke out the anchor and set the jib;
+and as the boat slipped away before a freshening breeze Vane sat at the
+helm, while Carroll stood on the foredeck, coiling up the gear. The moon
+was higher now; the broad sail gleamed a silvery grey; the ripples,
+which were getting bigger, flashed and sparkled as they streamed back
+from the bows, and the lights of the city dropped fast astern. Vane was
+conscious of a keen exhilaration. He had started on a new adventure; he
+was going back to the bush, and he knew that no matter how his life
+might change, the wilderness would always call to him. In spite of this,
+however, he was, as he had said, conscious of an unusual responsibility.
+Hitherto he had fought for what he could get for himself; but now
+Kitty's future partly depended upon his efforts, and his success would
+be of vast importance to Celia.
+
+He had a very friendly feeling towards both the girls. Indeed, all the
+women he had met of late had attracted him in different ways, but Evelyn
+stood apart from all.
+
+She appealed less to his senses and intellect than she did to a
+sublimated something in the depths of his nature; and it somehow seemed
+fitting that her image should materialise before his mental vision as
+the sloop drove along under the cloudless night sky, while the moonlight
+poured down glamour on the shining water. Evelyn harmonised with such
+things as these.
+
+It was true that she had repulsed him; but that, he remembered, once
+more with a sense of compunction, was what he deserved for entering into
+an alliance against her with her venial father. He was glad now that he
+had acquiesced in her dismissal of him, since to have stood firm and
+broken her to his will would have brought disaster upon both of them. He
+felt that she had not wholly escaped him, after all: by and by he would
+go back and seek her favour by different means. Then she might, perhaps,
+forgive him and listen.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE FIRST MISADVENTURE.
+
+
+The breeze freshened fiercely with the red and fiery dawn, and Vane, who
+had gone below, was advised of it by being flung off the locker on which
+he sat with coffee and biscuits before him, in the saloon. The jug,
+overturning, spilled its contents upon his person, the biscuits were
+scattered, but he picked himself up in haste and scrambled out into the
+well. He found the sloop slanted over with a good deal of her lee deck
+submerged in rushing foam, and Carroll bracing himself against the
+strain upon the tiller.
+
+"I'll let her come up when you're ready," Carroll remarked. "We had
+better get some sail off her, if we mean to hold on to the mast."
+
+He put down his helm, and the sloop, forging round to windward, rose
+upright, with her heavy mainboom banging to and fro. After that, they
+were desperately busy for the next few minutes, and Vane wished they had
+engaged a hand in Vancouver, instead of waiting to hire a Siwash
+somewhere up the coast. There was a headsail to haul to windward, which
+was difficult, and the mainsheet to get in; and then the two men,
+standing on the slippery inclined deck, struggled hard to haul the
+canvas down to the boom. The jerking spar smote them in the ribs; once
+or twice the reefing tackle beneath it was torn from their hands; but
+they mastered the sail, tying two reefs in it, to reduce its size, and
+the craft afterwards drove away with her lee rail just awash.
+
+"You had better go down and get some biscuits," Vane said to his
+comrade. "You mayn't have an opportunity later."
+
+"It looks like that," Carroll agreed. "The wind's backing northwards,
+and that means more of it before long. You can call if you want me."
+
+He disappeared below, and Vane sat at the helm with a frown on his face.
+He knew that the breeze would increase and draw ahead, which was
+unfortunate, because they would have to beat, fighting for every fathom
+they slowly made. There was no help for it, and he buttoned his jacket
+against the spray, while by the time Carroll came up the sloop was
+plunging sharply; pitching showers of stinging brine all over her when
+the bows went down. They drove her at it stubbornly most of the day,
+making but little to windward, while the seas got bigger and whiter,
+until they had some trouble to keep the light boat they carried upon the
+deluged deck. At last, when she came bodily aft amidst a frothing
+cascade which poured into the well, Vane brought the sloop round, and
+they stretched away to the eastwards, until they could let go the anchor
+in smooth water beneath a wall of rock. They were very wet, and stiff
+with cold, for winter was drawing near.
+
+"We'll get supper," said Vane. "If the breeze drops at dusk, we'll go on
+again."
+
+Having eaten little since dawn, they enjoyed the meal, and Carroll would
+have been content to remain at anchor afterwards. The tiny saloon was
+comfortably warm, and it would be pleasanter to lounge away the evening
+on a locker with his pipe, instead of sitting amidst the bitter spray at
+the helm. But Vane was proof against his companion's hints.
+
+"With a head wind, we'll be some time working up to the rancherie, and
+then we have thirty miles of coast to search for the inlet Hartley
+reached," he said. "After that, there's the valley to locate; he was
+uncertain how far it lay from the beach."
+
+"It couldn't be very far. You wouldn't expect a man who was sick to make
+any great pace."
+
+"I can imagine a man who knew he must reach the coast before he started
+making a pretty vigorous effort. Do you remember the time we crossed the
+divide in the snow?"
+
+"I could remember it, if I wanted," said Carroll with a shiver. "It's
+about the last thing I'm anxious to do."
+
+"The trouble is that there are many valleys in this strip of country,
+and we may have to try a number before we strike the right one," Vane
+went on. "I can't spend very much time over this search. As soon as the
+man we put in charge of the mine has tried his present system long
+enough to give us something to figure on, I want to see what can be done
+to increase our output. We haven't marketed very much refined metal
+yet."
+
+"There's no doubt it would be advisable," Carroll, who looked after
+their finances, answered. "As I've pointed out, you have spent a good
+deal of the cash you got when you turned the Clermont over to the
+company. In fact, that's one reason why I didn't try to head you off
+this timber-hunting scheme. You can't spend many dollars over it, and if
+the spruce comes up to expectations, you ought to get them back. It
+would be a fortunate change, after your extravagance in England."
+
+"That is a subject I don't want to talk about. We'll go up and see what
+the weather's like."
+
+Carroll shivered when they stood in the well. A nipping wind came down
+across the darkening firs ashore, but there was no doubt that it had
+fallen somewhat, and he resigned himself when Vane began to pull the
+tiers off the mainsail.
+
+In a few minutes they were under way, the sloop heading out towards open
+water with two reefs down in her mainsail; a great and ghostly shape of
+slanted canvas that swept across the dim, furrowed plain of sea. By
+midnight the breeze was as strong as ever, but they had clear moonlight
+and they held on; the craft plunging with flooded decks through the
+white combers, while Carroll sat at the helm, battered by spray and
+stung with cold.
+
+When Vane came up an hour or two later, the sea was breaking viciously.
+They held on and, soon after day broke with its first red flush
+ominously high in the eastern sky, stretched in towards the land, with a
+somewhat sheltered bay opening up beyond a foam-fringed point ahead of
+them. Carroll glanced dubiously at the white turmoil, in the midst of
+which black fangs of rock appeared, before he turned to his companion.
+
+"Will she weather the point on this tack?" he asked.
+
+"She'll have to," said Vane, who was steering.
+
+They stood on, though it occurred to Carroll that they were not opening
+up the bay very rapidly. The light was growing, and he could now discern
+the orderly phalanxes of white-topped combers that crumpled into chaotic
+spouting on the point's outer end. The sloop would not last long if she
+touched bottom there; but once more, after a glance at his companion's
+face, he kept silent. After all, Vane was leader, and when he looked as
+he did then he usually resented advice. The mouth of the bay grew wider,
+until Carroll could see most of the forest-girt shore on one side of it;
+but the surf upon the point was also growing unpleasantly near. Wisps of
+spray whirled away from it and vanished among the scrubby firs clinging
+to the fissured crags behind. The sloop, however, was going to windward,
+for Vane was handling her with skill, and she had almost cleared the
+point when there was a bang, and the sloop stopped suddenly. The comber
+to windward that should have lifted her up broke all over her; flinging
+the boat on deck upon the saloon skylight, and pouring inches deep over
+the coaming into the well. Vane was hurled from the tiller and cut his
+forehead, for his wet face was smeared with blood, but he had seized a
+big oar to shove her off when she swung upright, moved, and struck
+again. The following sea hove her up; there was another less violent
+crash, and while Vane dropped the oar and grasped the helm she suddenly
+shot ahead.
+
+"She'll go clear," he shouted, "Jump below and see if she's damaged."
+
+Carroll got no farther than the scuttle, for the saloon floorings on the
+depressed side were already awash and he could hear an ominous splashing
+and gurgling.
+
+"It's pouring into her," he reported.
+
+Vane nodded. "You'll have to pump."
+
+"We passed an opening some miles to lee. Wouldn't it be better if you
+ran back there?" Carroll suggested.
+
+"No," said Vane; "I won't run a yard. There's another inlet not far
+ahead, and we'll stand on until we reach it. I'd put her on the beach
+here, only that she'd go to pieces with the first shift of wind to the
+westward."
+
+Carroll agreed with this opinion; but there is a great difference
+between running to leeward with the sea behind the vessel, and thrashing
+to windward when it is ahead, and he hesitated.
+
+"Get the pump started. We're going on," Vane said shortly.
+
+The pump was, fortunately, a powerful one, and they had nearly two miles
+of smoother water before they stretched out of the bay upon the other
+track; but when they did so Carroll, who glanced down again through the
+scuttle, could not flatter himself that he had reduced the water.
+
+After half an hour of it, he was breathless and exhausted, and Vane took
+his place. The sea was higher, the sloop wetter than she had been, and
+there was no doubt that the water was rising fast inside her. Carroll
+wondered how far ahead the inlet his companion had mentioned lay, and
+the next two hours were anxious ones to both of them. Turn about, they
+pumped with savage determination and went back, gasping, to the helm, to
+thrash the boat on. They drove her remorselessly; and she went through
+the combers, swept and streaming, while the spray scourged the
+helmsman's face as he gazed to weather. Their arms and shoulders ached
+from working in a cramped position, but since there was no help for it,
+they toiled doggedly, until at last the crest of a crag they were
+heading for sloped away in front of them.
+
+A few minutes later, they drove past the end of it into a broad lane of
+water with long ranks of firs dropping steeply to its edge. The wind was
+suddenly cut off; the combers fell away, and the sloop crept slowly up
+the inlet, which wound, green and placid, among the hills. Vane strode
+to the scuttle and looked down at the flood which splashed languidly to
+and fro below.
+
+"It's fortunate that we're in. Another half-hour would have seen the end
+of her," he said. "Let her come up a little. There's a smooth beach to
+yonder cove."
+
+She slid in quietly, scarcely rippling the smooth surface of the tiny
+basin, about which there rose great black firs, and Carroll laid her on
+the beach.
+
+"Now," said Vane, "drop the boom on the shore side, to keep her from
+canting over; and then we'll get breakfast. We'll see where she's
+damaged when the tide ebbs."
+
+Since most of their stores had lain in the flooded lockers, from which
+there had been no time to extricate them, the meal was not an appetising
+one. They were, however, glad of it, and, rowing ashore afterwards, they
+lay on the shingle in the sunshine while the sloop was festooned with
+their drying clothes.
+
+"If she has only split a plank or two we can patch her up," Vane
+remarked, "There are all the tools we'll want in the locker."
+
+"Where will you get new planks from?" Carroll inquired. "I don't think
+we have any spikes that would go through the frames."
+
+"That," said Vane, "is the trouble. I expect I'll have to make a trip
+across to Comox for them in a sea canoe. We're sure to come across a few
+Siwash somewhere in the neighbourhood. I can't say that this expedition
+is beginning fortunately."
+
+"There's no doubt on that point," Carroll agreed.
+
+"Well," said Vane, "she has to be patched up, and until I find that
+spruce I'm going on."
+
+Carroll made no comment. It was not worthwhile to object when Vane was
+obviously determined.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+THE BUSH.
+
+
+It was a quiet evening, nearly a fortnight after the arrival of the
+sloop, and pale sunshine streamed into the cove. Little glittering
+ripples lapped lazily along the shingle, and the placid surface of the
+inlet was streaked with faint blue lines where wandering airs came down
+from the heights above. Now and then an elfin sighing fell from the
+ragged summits of the tall black firs, but it died away again, and
+afterwards the silence was only broken by the pounding of a heavy hammer
+and the crackle of a fire.
+
+Carroll sat beside the latter, alternately holding a stout plank up to
+the blaze and dabbing its hot surface with a dripping mop. A big sea
+canoe lay drawn up near the spot, and one of its copper-skinned Siwash
+owners sat amongst the shingle, stolidly watching the white men. His
+comrade was inside the sloop, holding a big stone against one of her
+frames, while Vane crouched outside her, swinging a hammer.
+
+Vane, who was stripped to shirt and trousers, had arrived from Comox
+across the Strait at dawn that morning in the sea canoe. It was a long
+trip and they had had wild weather on the outward journey, but he had
+set to work with characteristic energy as soon as he landed. Now, though
+the sun was low, he was working rather harder than ever, with the flood
+tide, which would shortly compel him to desist, creeping up to his feet.
+
+Carroll, who watched him with quiet amusement, was on the whole content
+that the tide was rising, because his comrade had firmly declined to
+stop for dinner, and he was conscious of a sharpened appetite. It was
+comforting to reflect that Vane would be unable to get the plank into
+place before the evening meal, because if there had been any prospect of
+his doing so, he would certainly have postponed the latter.
+
+By and by he stopped a moment and turned to Carroll. "If you were any
+use in an emergency, you'd be holding up for me instead of that wooden
+image inside," he remarked. "He will back the stone against any frame
+except the one I'm nailing."
+
+"The difficulty is that I can't be in two places at the same time,"
+Carroll pointed out. "Shall I leave this plank? You can't get it in
+to-night."
+
+"I'm going to try," Vane answered grimly.
+
+He turned round to direct the Siwash and then cautiously hammered in one
+of the wedges a little farther, after which, swinging back the hammer,
+he struck a heavy blow. The result was disastrous, for there was a crash
+and one of the shores shot backwards, striking him on the knee. He
+jumped with a savage cry, and next moment there was a sharp snapping,
+and the end of the plank sprang out. Then another shore gave way, and
+when the plank fell clattering at his feet he whirled the hammer round
+his head, and hurled it violently into the bush. This appeared to afford
+him some satisfaction, and he strode up the beach, with the blood
+dripping from the knuckles of one hand.
+
+"That's the blamed Siwash's fault," he said. "I couldn't get him to back
+up when I put the last spike in."
+
+"Hadn't you better tell him to come out?" Carroll suggested.
+
+"No," said Vane. "If he hasn't sense enough to see that he isn't wanted,
+he can stay where he is all night. Are you going to get supper, or must
+I do that, too?"
+
+Carroll set about preparing the meal, which the two Siwash partook of
+and afterwards departed, with some paper currency. Then Vane, walking
+down the beach, came back with the plank, and after lighting his pipe,
+pointed to one or two broken nails in it.
+
+"That's the cause of the trouble," he said. "It cost me a week's journey
+to get the package of galvanised spikes--I could have managed to split a
+plank or two out of one of these firs. The storekeeper fellow assured me
+they were specially annealed for heading up. If I knew who the
+manufacturers were, I'd have pleasure in telling them what I think of
+them. If they set up to make spikes, they ought to make them, and empty
+every keg that won't stand the test on to the scrap heap."
+
+Carroll smiled. The course his partner had indicated was the one he
+would have adopted. He was characterised by a somewhat grim idea of
+efficiency, and never spared his labour to attain it, though the latter
+fact had now and then its inconveniences for those who had co-operated
+with him, as Carroll had discovered. The latter had no doubt that Vane
+would put the planks in, if he spent a month over the operation.
+
+"I wouldn't have had this trouble if you'd been handier with tools," he
+resumed.
+
+"My abilities aren't as varied as yours, and the thing is bad economy,"
+Carroll replied. "Skill of the kind you mentioned is worth about three
+dollars a day."
+
+"You were getting two dollars for shovelling in a mining ditch, when I
+first met you."
+
+"I was," Carroll assented good-humouredly; "I believe another month or
+two of it would have worn me out. It's considerably pleasanter and more
+profitable to act as your understudy; but a fairly proficient carpenter
+might have bungled the latter."
+
+Vane looked embarrassed. "Let it pass; I've a pernicious habit of
+expressing myself unfortunately. Anyhow, we'll start again on those
+planks first thing to-morrow."
+
+He stretched out his aching limbs beside the fire, and languidly watched
+the firs grow dimmer and the mists creep in ghostly trails down the
+steep hillside, until Carroll broke the silence.
+
+"Wallace," he said, "wouldn't it be wiser if you met that fellow
+Horsfield to some extent?"
+
+"No," said Vane decidedly. "I have no intention of giving way an inch.
+It would only encourage the man to press me on another point, if I did.
+I'm going to have trouble with him, and the sooner it comes the better.
+There's only room for one controlling influence in the Clermont mine."
+
+"In that case it might be as well to stay in Vancouver as much as
+possible and keep your eye on him."
+
+"The same idea has struck me since we sailed," Vane said. "The trouble
+is that until I've decided about the pulp mill he'll have to go
+unwatched, for the same reason that prevented you from holding up for me
+and steaming the plank."
+
+"If any unforeseen action of Horsfield's made it necessary, you could
+let this pulp project drop."
+
+"No," said Vane, "You ought to understand why that's impossible.
+Drayton, Kitty and Hartley count upon my exertions. They're poor folks
+and I can't go back on them. If we can't locate the spruce or it doesn't
+seem likely to pay for working up, there's nothing to prevent my
+abandoning the undertaking; but I'm not at liberty to do so just because
+it would be a convenience to myself. Hartley got my promise before he
+told me where to search."
+
+He strolled away to the tent they had pitched on the edge of the bush,
+but Carroll sat a while smoking beside the fire. He was suspicious of
+Horsfield, and foresaw trouble, more particularly now his comrade had
+undertaken a project which seemed likely to occupy a good deal of his
+attention. Hitherto, Vane had owed part of his success to his faculty of
+concentrating all his powers upon one object.
+
+They rose at dawn next morning, and by sunset had fitted the new planks.
+Two days later, they sailed to the northwards, and eventually found the
+rancherie Hartley had mentioned, where they had expected to hire a
+guide. The rickety wooden building, however, was empty, and Vane pushed
+on again. He had now to face an unseen difficulty because there were a
+number of openings in that strip of coast, and Hartley's description was
+of no great service in deciding which was the right one.
+
+During the next day or two, they looked into several bights, and seeing
+no valleys opening out of them, went on again, until one evening they
+ran into an inlet with a forest-shrouded hollow at the head of it. Here
+they moored the sloop close in with a sheltered beach, and after a
+night's rest got ready their packs for the march inland.
+
+They had a light tent without poles, which could be cut when wanted; two
+blankets, an axe, and one or two cooking utensils, besides their
+provisions.
+
+In front of them a deep trough opened up in the hills, but it was filled
+with giant forest, through which no track led, and only those who have
+traversed the dim recesses of the primeval bush can fully understand
+what this implies. The west winds swept through that gateway, reaping as
+they went, and here and there tremendous trees lay strewn athwart each
+other with their branches spread abroad in horrible tangles. Some had
+fallen amidst the wreckage left by previous gales, which the forest had
+partly made good, and there was scarcely a rod of the way that was not
+obstructed by half rotten trunks. Then there were thick bushes, and an
+undergrowth of willows where the soil was damp with thorny brakes and
+matted fern in between. In places, the growth was almost like a wall,
+and the men, who skirted the inlet, were glad to scramble forward among
+the rough boulders and ragged driftwood at the water's edge for some
+minutes at a time, until it was necessary to leave the beach behind.
+
+After the first few minutes, there was no sign of the gleaming water.
+They had entered a region of dim green shade, where the moist air was
+heavy with resinous smells. The trunks rose about them in tremendous
+columns; thorns clutched their garments, and twigs and brittle branches
+snapped beneath their feet. The day was cool, but the sweat of tense
+effort dripped from them, and when they stopped for breath at the end of
+an hour, Vane estimated that they had gone a mile.
+
+"I'll be content if we can keep this up," he said.
+
+"It isn't likely," Carroll, who glanced down at a big rent in his
+jacket, replied with a trace of dryness.
+
+A little farther on, they waded with difficulty through a large stream,
+and Carroll, who stopped, glanced round at a deep rift in a crag on one
+side of them.
+
+"I don't know if that could be considered a valley, but we may as well
+look at it," he suggested.
+
+They scrambled towards it, and reaching gravelly soil, where the trees
+were thinner, Vane surveyed the opening. It was very narrow, and
+appeared to lose itself among the rocks. The size of the creek which
+flowed out of it was no guide, because those ranges are scored by
+running water.
+
+"We won't waste time over that ravine," he said. "I noticed a wider one
+farther on, and we'll see what it's like, though Hartley led me to
+understand that he came down a straight and gently-sloping valley. The
+one we're in answers the description."
+
+It was two hours before they reached the second opening, and then Vane,
+unstrapping his packs, clambered up the steep face of a crag. When he
+came back his face was thoughtful and, sitting down, he lighted his
+pipe.
+
+"This search seems to take us longer than I expected," he said. "To
+begin with, there are a number of inlets, all of them pretty much alike,
+along this part of the coast; but I needn't go into the reasons for
+supposing that this is the one Hartley visited. Taking it for granted
+that we're right, we're up against another difficulty. So far as I could
+make out from the top of that rock, there's a regular series of ravines
+running back into the hills."
+
+"Hartley told you he came straight down to tidewater, didn't he?"
+
+"That's not much of a guide," Vane replied. "The slope of every fissure
+seems to run naturally from the inland watershed to this basin. Hartley
+was sick, and it was raining all the time; and coming out of any of
+these ravines he'd only have to make a slight turn to reach the water.
+What's more, he could only tell me he was heading roughly west and
+allowing that there was no sun visible, that might have meant either
+north-west or south-west, which gives us the choice of searching the
+hollows on either side of the main valley. Now, it strikes me as most
+probable that he came down the latter; but we have to face the question
+whether we should push straight on, or search every opening that might
+be called a valley?"
+
+"What's your idea?" Carroll rejoined.
+
+"That we ought to go into the thing systematically and look at every
+ravine we come to."
+
+"I guess you're right, but I don't move another step to-night."
+
+"I've no wish to urge you. There's hardly a joint in my body that
+doesn't ache." Vane flung down his pack and stretched himself with an
+air of relief. "That's what comes of civilisation and soft living. It
+would be nice to sit still while somebody brought me my supper."
+
+As there was nobody to do so, he took up the axe and set about hewing
+chips off a fallen trunk, while Carroll made a fire. Then he cut the
+tent poles, and a few armfuls of twigs for a bed, and in half an hour
+the camp was pitched and a meal prepared. They afterwards lay a while,
+smoking and saying little, beside the sinking fire, the red light of
+which flickered upon the massy trunks and fell away again. Then they
+crawled into the tent and wrapped their blankets round them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+VANE POSTPONES THE SEARCH.
+
+
+When Vane rose early next morning, there was frost in the air, and when
+breakfast was ready the men ate hastily, eager for the exertion that
+would put a little warmth into them.
+
+"We had it a good deal colder on other trips; I suppose I've been
+getting luxurious, since I seem to resent it now," said Vane. "There's
+no doubt that winter's beginning earlier than I expected up here; As
+soon as you can strike the tent, we'll move on."
+
+The valley grew wilder and more rugged as they proceeded. In places, its
+bottom was filled with muskegs, cumbered with half-submerged, decaying
+trunks of fallen trees; and when they could not spring from one falling
+log to another they sank in slime and water to the knee. They entered
+transverse valleys, and after hours of exhausting labour, abandoned the
+search of each in turn and plodded back to the one they had been
+following. Their boots and clothing suffered; their packs were rent upon
+their backs, and, since men engaged in such work must be generously fed,
+their provisions diminished rapidly.
+
+At length, one lowering afternoon, they were brought to a standstill by
+the river, which forked into two branches, one of which came foaming out
+on a cleft in the rocks. This would have mattered less had it flowed
+across the level; but just there it had scored itself out a deep hollow,
+from which the roar of its turmoil rose in long reverberations. Carroll,
+who was aching all over, stood upon the brink, and first of all gazed
+ahead. He surmised from the steady ascent and the contours of the hills
+that the valley was dying out, and that they should reach the head of it
+in another day's journey. The higher summits, however, were veiled in
+leaden mist, and there was a sting in the cold breeze that blew down the
+hollow and set the ragged firs wailing. Then he glanced dubiously at the
+dim, green water, which swirled in deep eddies and boiled in white
+confusion among the fangs of rock sixty or seventy feet below. Not far
+away the stream was wider and he supposed in consequence shallower,
+though it ran furiously.
+
+"It doesn't look encouraging, and we have no more food left than will
+take us back to the sloop if we're economical," he said. "Do you think
+it's worth while going on?"
+
+"I haven't a doubt about it," Vane declared. "We ought to reach the head
+of the valley and get back here in two or three days."
+
+"Three days will make a big hole in the provisions."
+
+"Then we'll have to put up with short rations," Vane rejoined.
+
+"If you're determined, we may as well get on."
+
+He stepped cautiously over the edge of the descent, and went down a few
+yards with a run, while loosened soil and stones slipped away under him.
+Then he clutched a slender tree, and proceeded as far as the next on his
+hands and knees. After that, it was necessary to swing himself over a
+ledge, and he was on the whole astonished when he alighted safely on one
+below, from which he could scramble down to the narrow strip of gravel
+between rock and water. He was standing, breathless, looking at the
+latter, when Vane joined him. The stones dipped sharply, and two or
+three large boulders, ringed about with froth, rose near the middle of
+the stream, which seemed to be running slacker on the other side of
+them.
+
+There was nothing to show how deep it was, but Carroll braced himself
+for an effort and sturdily plunged in.
+
+Two steps took him up to the waist, and he had trouble in finding solid
+bottom at the next, because the gravel rolled and slipped away beneath
+his feet in the strong stream. The current also dragged hard at his
+limbs, and he set his lips tight when it crept up to his ribs. Then he
+lost his footing, and was washed away, plunging and floundering, with
+now and then one toe resting momentarily upon the bottom, until he was
+hurled against the first of the boulders with a crash that almost drove
+the little remaining breath out of his body. He clung to it desperately,
+gasping hard; and then with a determined struggle contrived to reach the
+second stone, against which the stream pressed him, without finding any
+support for his feet. A moment or two later, Vane was washed down
+towards him, and grabbing at the boulder held on by it. They said
+nothing to each other, but they looked at the sliding water between them
+and the opposite bank. Carroll was getting horribly cold, and felt the
+power ebbing out of him; he thought if he must swim across he had better
+do so at once.
+
+Launching himself forward, he felt the flood lap his breast, but as his
+arms went in he struck something violently with one leg and found that
+he could stand up on a submerged ledge. This carried him a yard or two,
+and though he stepped over the end of the ledge into deeper water, he
+reached a strip of shelving shingle, up which he staggered. Vane
+overtook him, and they scrambled up the slope ahead, which was a little
+less steep than the one they had descended. The work warmed them
+slightly, and they needed it, but as they strode on again, keeping to
+the foot of the hillside where the timber was less dense, a cold rain
+drove into their faces. It grew steadily thicker; the straps began to
+gall their wet shoulders, and their saturated clothing clung heavily
+about their limbs. In spite of this, they went on until nightfall, when
+it was difficult to make a fire, and after a reduced supper found a
+little humid warmth in their wet blankets.
+
+The next day's work was much the same, only that they crossed no rivers
+and it rained harder; and, when evening came, Carroll, who had burst one
+boot, was limping badly. They made camp among the dripping firs which
+partly sheltered them from the bitter wind, and shortly after supper
+both fell asleep.
+
+At evening next day they reached the head of the valley. It was still
+raining and heavy mists obscured the summits of the hills, but above the
+lower slopes of rocks glimmering snow ran up into the vapour. There were
+a few balsams and hemlocks about them, but no sign of a spruce.
+
+"Now," said Carroll, "I expect you'll be satisfied."
+
+Vane was no nearer to owning himself defeated than he had been when they
+first set out. "We know there's no spruce in this valley; and that's
+something," he replied. "When we come back again we'll try the next
+one."
+
+"It has cost us a good deal to make sure of the fact."
+
+Vane's expression changed. "We haven't ascertained the cost just yet. As
+a rule, you don't make up the bill until you're through with the
+undertaking; and it may be a longer one than either of us think. Now
+we'll turn upon our tracks."
+
+Carroll recalled his speech afterwards, but just then he only hitched
+his burden a little higher on his aching shoulders as he plodded after
+his comrade down the rain-swept hollow, and he had good cause to
+remember the march to the inlet. It rained most of the way, and their
+clothes were never dry; parts of them, indeed, flowed in tatters about
+their aching limbs, and before they had covered half the distance their
+boots were dropping to pieces. What was more important, their provisions
+were rapidly running out, and they marched on a few handfuls of food,
+carefully apportioned twice daily. At last one night they lay down
+hungry, with empty bags, to sleep shelterless in the rain, for they had
+thrown their tent away; and Carroll had some difficulty in getting on
+his feet next morning.
+
+"I believe I can hold out until sundown, though I'm far from sure of
+it," he said. "You'll have to leave me behind if we don't strike the
+inlet then."
+
+"We'll strike it in the afternoon," Vane assured him.
+
+They set out as soon as they had reslung their packs, and Carroll limped
+and stumbled. He managed, however, to keep pace with Vane, and some time
+after noon the latter cried out as a twinkling gleam among the trees
+caught his eye. Then the shuffling pace grew faster, and they were
+breathless when at last they stopped and dropped their burdens beside
+the boat. It was only at the third or fourth attempt they got her down
+to the water, and the veins were swollen high on Vane's flushed forehead
+when at last he sat down, panting heavily, on her gunwale.
+
+"We ran her up quite easily, though we had the slope to face then," he
+remarked.
+
+"You could scarcely expect to carry boats about without trouble, after a
+march like the one we've made," Carroll pointed out.
+
+They ran her in and pulled off to the sloop. When they sat down in the
+little saloon, in which there was a mirror, Vane grinned.
+
+"I knew you looked a deadbeat, but I'd no idea I was quite so bad," he
+said. "Anyhow, we'll get the stove lighted and some dry things on. The
+next question is--what shall we have for supper?"
+
+"That's simple," Carroll answered. "Everything that's most tempting and
+the whole of it."
+
+Some little time later, they flung their boots and rent garments
+overboard and sat down to a feast. The plates were empty when they rose,
+and in another hour both of them were wrapped in heavy slumber.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+JESSIE CONFERS A FAVOUR.
+
+
+It was blowing fresh next morning from the south-east, which was right
+ahead, and Vane's face was hard when he and Carroll got the boat on deck
+and set about tying down two reefs in the mainsail.
+
+They got sail upon the sloop and drove her out into a confused head sea,
+through which she laboured with flooded decks, making very little to
+windward. When night came, a deluge killed the breeze, and next day she
+lay rolling wildly in a heavy calm, while light mist narrowed in the
+horizon and a persistent drizzle poured down upon the smoothly-heaving
+sea. Then they had light variable winds, and their provisions were once
+more running out when they drew abreast of a little coaling port.
+Carroll suggested running in and going on to Victoria by train, but they
+had hardly decided to do so when the fickle breeze died away, and the
+tide-stream bore them past to the south. They had no longer a stitch of
+dry clothing left, and they were again upon reduced rations.
+
+Still bad fortune dogged them, for that night a fresh head wind sprang
+up and held steadily while they thrashed her south, swept by stinging
+spray. Their tempers grew shorter under the strain, and their bodies
+ached from the chill of their soddened garments and sitting hour by hour
+at the helm. At last the breeze fell, and shortly afterwards a trail of
+smoke and a half seen strip of hull emerged from the creeping haze
+astern of them.
+
+"A lumber tug," said Vane. "She seems to have a raft in tow, and it will
+probably be for Drayton's people. If you'll edge in towards her, I'll
+send him word that we're on the way."
+
+There was very little wind just then and presently the tug was close
+alongside, pitching her bows out of the slow swell, while a mass of
+timber, wonderfully chained together, surged along astern. A shapeless
+oil-skinned figure stood outside her pilot-house, balancing itself
+against the heave of the bridge, which slanted and straightened.
+
+"Winstanley?" Vane shouted.
+
+The figure waved an arm, as if in assent, and Vane raised his voice
+again. "Report us to Mr. Drayton. We'll come along as fast as we can."
+
+The man turned and pointed to the misty horizon, astern. "You'll get it
+from the north before to-morrow."
+
+Then the straining tug and long wet line of working raft drew ahead,
+while the sloop crawled on, close-hauled, towards the south. Late that
+night, however, the mists melted away, and a keen rushing breeze that
+came out of the north crisped the water. She sprang forward when the
+ripples reached her; the flapping canvas went to sleep, and while each
+slack rope tightened a musical tinkle broke out at the bows. It grew
+steadily louder, and when the sun swung up red above the eastern hills,
+she had piled the white froth to her channels and was driving forward
+merrily, with little sparkling seas tumbling, foam-tipped, after her.
+The wind fell light as the sun rose higher, but she ran on all day, and
+the western sky was still blazing with a wondrous green when she stole
+into Vancouver harbour.
+
+The light faded as they crept across the inlet before a faint breeze,
+but when they had got the anchor over and the boat into the water,
+Carroll made out two dim figures standing on the wharf and waved a hand
+to them.
+
+"It's Drayton, I think," he said. "Kitty's with him."
+
+They pulled ashore, and Drayton shook hands with them.
+
+"I've been looking out for you since noon," he said. "What about that
+spruce?"
+
+There was eagerness in his voice, and Vane's face clouded. "We couldn't
+find a trace of it."
+
+Drayton's disappointment was obvious, though he tried to hide it.
+"Well," he said resignedly, "I've no doubt you did all you could."
+
+"Of course," Kitty broke in. "We're quite sure of that."
+
+Vane thanked her with a glance; he felt sorry for her and Drayton. They
+were strongly attached to each other, and he had reason for believing
+that even with the advanced salary the man expected to get they would
+find it needful to study strict economy.
+
+"I'm going to make another attempt. I expect some of our difficulties
+will vanish after I've had a talk with Hartley," he said.
+
+Kitty looked grave. "That's impossible," she answered softly. "Hartley
+died a week ago."
+
+Vane started.
+
+"I'm sorry," he said. "How's Celia?"
+
+"She's very sick." There was concern in Kitty's voice. "Hartley got
+worse soon after you left, and she sat up all night with him after her
+work for the last two weeks. Now she's broken down, and she doesn't seem
+to know if they'll take her back again at the hotel."
+
+"I must go and see her," said Vane. "But won't you and Drayton come with
+us and have dinner?"
+
+Drayton explained that this was out of the question--Kitty's employer,
+who had driven in that afternoon, was waiting with his team; and the
+party left the wharf together. A few minutes later, Vane shook hands
+with the girl and her companion.
+
+"Don't lose heart," he said. "We're far from beaten yet."
+
+They separated, and after dinner Vane, who rejoiced in the unusual
+luxury of clean, dry clothes, walked across to call on Nairn. He was
+shown into a room where Jessie Horsfield was sitting, but she rose with
+a slight start when he came in. Vane, who had been preoccupied since he
+had heard Kitty's news, did not notice it, and Jessie's manner was
+reposeful and quietly friendly when she held out her hand.
+
+"So you have come back?" she said. "Have you succeeded in your search?"
+
+Vane was gratified. It was pleasant to feel that she was interested in
+his undertaking.
+
+"No," he confessed. "I'm afraid I have failed."
+
+"Then," said Jessie, with reproach in her voice, "you have disappointed
+me."
+
+It was skilful flattery, since she had conveyed the impression that she
+had expected him to succeed, which implied that she held a high opinion
+of his abilities.
+
+"After all, you must have had a good deal against you," she resumed
+consolingly. "Won't you sit down and tell me about it? Nairn, I
+understand, is writing some letters, and he sent for Mrs. Nairn just
+before you came in."
+
+She indicated a chair beside the open hearth and Vane sat down opposite
+her, where a low screen cut them off from the rest of the room. Vane,
+who was still stiff and aching from exposure to the cold and rain,
+revelled in the unusual sense of comfort. In addition to this, his
+companion's pose was singularly graceful, and the ease of it and the
+friendly smile with which she regarded him somehow implied that they
+were on excellent terms.
+
+"It's very nice to be here again," he said.
+
+Jessie looked up at him languidly. He had spoken as he felt, on impulse,
+which was more gratifying than an obvious desire to pay her a compliment
+would have been.
+
+"I suppose you wouldn't get many comforts in the bush," she suggested.
+
+"No," said Vane. "Comforts of any kind are remarkably scarce up yonder.
+As a matter of fact, I can't imagine a country where the contrasts
+between the luxuries of civilisation and the other thing are sharper.
+But that wasn't exactly what I meant."
+
+"Then what did you mean?"
+
+"I don't know that it's worth explaining," Vane answered with an air of
+consideration. "We have rather luxurious quarters at the hotel, but this
+room is somehow different. It's restful--I think it's homely--in-fact,
+as I said, it's nice to be here."
+
+Jessie understood that he had been attempting to analyse his feelings,
+and had failed clearly to recognise that her presence contributed to the
+satisfaction he was conscious of. She had no doubt that if he were a man
+of average susceptibility, the company of an attractive woman would have
+some effect on him after his sojourn in the wilds; but whether she had
+produced any deeper effect she could not determine. Nor did it appear
+judicious to prompt him unduly.
+
+"But won't you tell me your adventures?" she said.
+
+It required a few leading questions to start him, but at length he told
+the story.
+
+"You see," he said in conclusion, "it was lack of definite knowledge as
+much as the natural obstacles that brought us back--and I've been
+troubled about the thing since we landed."
+
+Jessie's manner invited his confidence. "I wonder," she said softly, "if
+you would care to tell me why?"
+
+"Hartley's dead, and I understand his daughter has broken down after
+nursing him. It's doubtful if her situation can be kept open, and it may
+be some time before she's strong enough to look for another." He
+hesitated. "In a way, I feel responsible for her."
+
+"You really aren't responsible in the least," Jessie declared. "Still, I
+can understand the idea troubling you. Would you like me to help you?"
+
+"I can hardly ask it, but it would be a relief to me," Vane answered
+with obvious eagerness.
+
+"Then, if you'll tell me her address, I'll go to see her, and we'll
+consider what can be done."
+
+Vane leaned forward impulsively. "You have taken a weight off my mind.
+It's difficult to thank you properly."
+
+"I don't suppose it will give me any trouble. Of course, it must be
+embarrassing to feel you had a helpless young woman on your hands."
+
+Then a thought flashed into her mind, as she remembered what she had
+seen at the station some months ago. "I wonder if the situation is an
+altogether unusual one to you," she continued. "Have you never let your
+pity run away with your judgment before?"
+
+"You wouldn't expect me to proclaim my charities," Vane objected
+humorously which was the only means of parrying the question that
+occurred to him.
+
+"I think you are trying to put me off. You haven't given me an answer."
+
+"I believe I was able to make things easier for somebody else not very
+long ago," Vane confessed, reluctantly, but without embarrassment. "I
+now see that I might have done harm without meaning to do so. It's
+sometimes extraordinarily difficult to help folks--which is why I'm so
+grateful for your offer."
+
+For the next few moments Jessie sat silent. It was clear that she had
+misjudged him, for although she was not one who demanded too much from
+human nature, the fact that Kitty Blake had arrived in Vancouver in his
+company had undoubtedly rankled in her mind. Now she acquitted him of
+any blame, and it was a relief to do so. She changed the subject
+abruptly.
+
+"I suppose you will make another attempt to find timber?" she suggested.
+
+"Yes," said Vane. "In a week or two."
+
+He had hardly spoken when Mrs. Nairn came in and welcomed him with her
+usual friendliness.
+
+"I'm glad to see ye, though ye're looking thin," she said. "Why did ye
+not come straight to us, instead of going to the hotel? Ye would have
+got as good a supper as they would give ye there."
+
+"I haven't a doubt of it," Vane declared. "On the other hand, I hardly
+think even one of your suppers would quite have put right the defect in
+my appearance you mentioned. You see, the cause of it has been at work
+for some time."
+
+Mrs. Nairn regarded him with half-amused compassion. "If ye'll come ower
+every evening, we'll soon cure that. I would have been down sooner if
+Alec, who's writing letters, had not kept me. There was a matter or two
+he wanted to ask my opinion on."
+
+"I think that was very wise of him."
+
+His hostess smiled. "For one thing, we had a letter from Evelyn Chisholm
+this afternoon. She'll be out to spend some time with us in about a
+month."
+
+"Evelyn's coming here?" Vane exclaimed, with a sudden stirring of his
+heart.
+
+"And why should she not come?" Mrs. Nairn inquired. "I told ye some time
+ago that we partly expected her. Ye were-na astonished then."
+
+She appeared to expect an explanation of the change in his attitude, and
+as he volunteered none she drew him a few paces aside.
+
+"If I'm no betraying a confidence; Evelyn writes that she'll be glad to
+get away a while. Now, I've been wondering why she should be anxious to
+leave home."
+
+She looked at him fixedly, and to his annoyance he felt his face grow
+hot. Mrs. Nairn had quick perceptions, and was now and then painfully
+direct.
+
+"It struck me that Evelyn was not very comfortable there," he replied.
+"She seemed out of harmony with her people."
+
+Mrs. Nairn glanced at him again with amusement in her eyes. "It's no
+unlikely. The reason may serve--for the want of a better." Then she
+changed her tone. "Ye'll away up to Alec; he told me to send ye."
+
+Vane went out of the room, but he left Jessie in a thoughtful mood. She
+had seen him start at the mention of Evelyn, and it struck her as
+significant, since she had heard that he had spent some time with the
+Chisholms; On the other hand there was the obvious fact that he had been
+astonished to hear that Evelyn was coming out, which implied that their
+acquaintance had not progressed far enough to warrant the girl's
+informing him. Besides, Evelyn would arrive for a month, and Jessie
+reflected that she would probably see a good deal of Vane in the
+meanwhile. She now felt glad that she had promised to look after Celia
+Hartley, which would, no doubt, necessitate her consulting with him
+every now and then.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+VANE FORESEES TROUBLE.
+
+
+Nairn was sitting at a writing-table when Vane entered his room, and
+after a few questions about his journey, he handed the younger man one
+of the papers that lay in front of him.
+
+"It's a report from the mine," he said.
+
+Vane carefully studied the document.
+
+"It only brings us back to our last conversation on the subject," he
+remarked when his host glanced at him inquiringly. "We have the choice
+of going on as we are doing, or extending our operations by an increase
+of capital. In the latter case, our total earnings might be larger, but
+I hardly think there would be as good a return on the money actually
+sunk. Taking it all round, I don't know what to think; but if it
+appeared that there was a moral certainty of making a satisfactory
+profit on the new stock, I should consent."
+
+Nairn chuckled. "A moral certainty is no a very common thing in mining."
+
+"I believe Horsfield's in favour of the scheme. How far would you trust
+that man?" Vane inquired.
+
+"About as far as I could fling a bull by the tail. The same thing
+applies to both of them."
+
+"He has some influence. He'd find supporters."
+
+Nairn saw that the meaning of his last remark which implied that he had
+no more confidence in Jessie than he had in her brother, had not been
+grasped by his companion, but he did not consider it judicious to make
+it plainer. Instead, he gave Vane another piece of information:
+"Horsfield and Winter work into each other's hands."
+
+"But Winter has no interest in the Clermont."
+
+Nairn smiled sourly. "He holds no shares in the mine, but there's no
+much in the shape of mineral developments yon man has no an interest in.
+Since ye do not seem inclined to yield Horsfield a point or two, it
+might pay ye to watch the pair of them."
+
+Vane, who was aware that Winter was a person of some importance in
+financial circles, remained silent for a couple of minutes. "Now," he
+said, at length, "every dollar we have in the Clermont is usefully
+employed and earning a satisfactory profit. Of course, if we put the
+concern on the market, we might get more than it is worth from
+investors; but that doesn't greatly appeal to me."
+
+"It's unnecessary to point out that a director's interest is no
+invariably the same as that of his shareholders," Nairn rejoined.
+
+"It's an unfortunate fact. But I'd be no better off if I only got the
+same actual return on a larger amount of what would be watered stock."
+
+"There's sense in that. I'm no urging the scheme--there are other points
+against it," answered Nairn.
+
+"Well," said Vane, "I'll go up and look round the mine and then we'll
+have another talk about the matter."
+
+They changed the subject, but Vane walked back to his hotel in a
+thoughtful frame of mind, and finding Carroll in the smoking-room
+related his conversation with Nairn.
+
+"I'm a little troubled about the situation," he concluded. "The Clermont
+finances are now on a sound basis, but it might after all prove
+advantageous to raise further capital, and in such a case we would,
+perhaps, lie open to attack. Nairn's inclined to be cryptic in his
+remarks; but he seems to hint that it would be advisable to make
+Horsfield some concession--in other words, to buy him off."
+
+"Which is a course you have objections to?"
+
+"Yes," said Vane, "very decided ones."
+
+"I think that, in a general way, Nairn's advice is sensible. Where
+mining and other schemes are floated, there are men who make a good
+living out of the operations. They're trained to the business; they've
+control of the dollars; and when a new thing's put on the market, they
+consider they've the first claim on the pickings."
+
+"You needn't elaborate the point," Vane broke in impatiently.
+
+"You made your appearance in this city as a poor and unknown man with a
+mine to sell," Carroll went on. "Disregarding tactful hints, you laid
+down your terms and stuck to them. Launching your venture without
+considering their views, you did the gentlemen I've mentioned out of
+their accustomed toll, and I've no doubt that some of them were
+indignant. It's a thing you wouldn't expect them to sanction. Now,
+however, one who has probably others behind him is making overtures to
+you. You ought to consider it a compliment; a recognition of ability.
+The question is--Do you mean to slight these advances and go on as you
+have begun?"
+
+"That's my present intention," Vane answered.
+
+"Then you needn't be astonished if you find yourself up against a
+determined opposition by and by," said Carroll.
+
+"I think my friends will stand by me." Vane looked at him steadily.
+
+"Thanks. I've merely been pointing out what you may expect, and hinting
+at the most judicious course--though the latter's rather against my
+natural inclinations. I'd better add that I've never been particularly
+prudent, and the opposite policy appeals to me. If we're forced to clear
+for action, we'll nail the flag to the mast."
+
+It was spoken lightly; because the man was serious, but Vane knew he had
+an ally who would support him with unflinching staunchness.
+
+"I'm far from sure it will be needful," he replied, and they talked
+about other matters until they strolled off to their rooms.
+
+They spent the next week in the city, where Vane was kept occupied;
+after which they sailed once more for the north; and pushed inland until
+they were stopped by snow among the ranges, without finding the spruce.
+The journey proved as toilsome as the previous one, and both the men
+were worn out when they reached the coast. Vane was determined on making
+a third attempt, but he informed Carroll that they would visit the mine
+before proceeding to Vancouver. They had heavy rain during the voyage
+down the Strait, and when on the day after reaching port, the jaded
+horses they had hired plodded up the sloppy trail to the mine, a
+pitiless deluge once more poured down on them.
+
+The light was growing dim among the dripping firs, and a deep-toned roar
+came throbbing across their shadowy ranks. By and by Vane; who was
+leading, turned and glanced back at Carroll.
+
+"I've never heard the river so plainly before," he said. "It must be
+unusually swollen."
+
+Since the mine was situated on a narrow level flat between the hillside
+and the river, Carroll understood the anxiety in his comrade's voice;
+and urging the wearied horses they pressed on a little faster. It was
+almost dark when they reached the edge of an opening in the firs, and
+saw a cluster of iron-roofed, wooden buildings and a tall chimney stack,
+in front of which the unsightly ore-dump extended. Wet and chilled and
+worn out as the men were, there was comfort in the sight; but Vane
+noticed that a shallow lake stretched between him and the buildings. On
+one side of it there was a broad strip of tumbling foam, which rose and
+fell in confused upheavals and filled the forest with the roar it made.
+Vane drove his horse into the water, and dismounting among the stumps
+before the ore-dump, found a wet and soil-stained man awaiting him. A
+long trail of smoke floated away from the iron stack behind him, and
+through the sound of the river there broke the clank and thud of
+hard-driven pumps.
+
+"You have got a big head of steam up, Salter," he said.
+
+The man nodded. "We want it. It's taking me all my time to keep the
+water out of the workings. Leave your horses--I'll send along for
+them--and I'll show you what we've been doing after supper."
+
+"I'd sooner go now, while I'm wet," Vane answered.
+
+They went down into the mine. The approach looked like a canal, and they
+descended the shallow shaft amidst a thin cascade. The tunnel they
+reached slanted, for the lode dipped, and the lights that twinkled here
+and there among the timbering showed shadowy, half-naked figures toiling
+in water which rose well up their boots. Further streams of it ran in
+from fissures, and Vane's face grew grave as he plodded through the
+flood with a lamp in his hand. He spent an hour in the workings, asking
+Salter a question now and then, and afterwards went back with him to one
+of the sheds, where he dressed in dry clothes and sat down to a meal.
+
+When it was over and the table had been cleared, he lay in a canvas
+chair beside the stove, in which resinous billets snapped and crackled
+cheerfully. The deluge roared upon the iron roof; the song of the river
+rose and fell, filling the place with sound; and now and then the
+pounding and clanking of the pumps broke in.
+
+Vane examined the sheet of figures Salter handed him. Then he carefully
+turned over some of the pieces of stone the table was partly covered
+with.
+
+"There's no doubt those specimens aren't so promising, and the cost of
+extraction is going up," he said at length. "I'll have a talk with Nairn
+when I get back, but in the meanwhile it looks as if we were going to
+have trouble with the water."
+
+"It's a thing I've been afraid of for some time," Salter answered. "We
+can keep down any leakage that comes in through the rocks, though it
+means driving the pumps hard, but an inrush from the river would beat
+us."
+
+Vane let the matter drop, and an hour later he retired to his wooden
+berth. In a few minutes he was fast asleep, but was awakened by a shrill
+note, which he recognised as the whistle of the engine. It was sounding
+the alarm, and next moment he was struggling into his clothing; then the
+door swung open and Salter stood in the entrance, lantern in hand, with
+water trickling from him. There was keen anxiety in his expression.
+
+"Flood's lapping the bank top now," he said. "There's a jamb in the
+narrow place at the head of the rapid, and the water's backing up. I'm
+going along with the boys."
+
+He vanished as suddenly as he had appeared, and Vane dragged on his
+jacket. If the mine were drowned, operations might be stopped for a
+considerable time. What was more, it would precipitate a crisis in the
+affairs of the company and necessitate an increase of its capital, which
+he would sooner avoid.
+
+He was outside in less than a minute and stood still looking about him,
+while the deluge lashed his face and beat his clothing against his
+limbs. He could only make out a blurred mass of climbing trees on one
+side, and a strip of foam cutting through the black level which he
+supposed was water, in front of him. His trained ears, however, gave him
+a little information, for the clamour of the flood was broken by a sharp
+snapping and crashing, which he knew was made by driftwood driving
+furiously against the boulders. In that region, the river banks are
+encumbered here and there with great logs, partly burned by forest
+fires, reaped by gales, or brought down from the hill-sides by falls of
+frost-loosened soil. A flood higher than usual sets them floating, and
+on subsiding sometimes leaves them packed in a gorge or stranded in a
+shallow to wait for the next big rise. Now they were driving down and,
+as Salter had said, jambing at the head of the rapid.
+
+Suddenly a column of fierce white radiance leaped up lower down-stream
+and Vane knew that a big compressed air lamp had been carried to the
+spot where the driftwood was gathering. Even at a distance, the
+brightness of the glare dazzled him, so that he could see nothing else
+when he headed towards it. He collided with a fir stump and struck it
+with his knee, and in another minute the splashing about his feet warned
+him that he was entering the water. Having no wish to walk into the main
+stream, he floundered to one side. He was, however, getting nearer to
+the blaze, and by and by he made out a swarm of figures scurrying about
+beneath it. Some of them had saws or axes, for he caught the gleam of
+steel, and broke into a run; and presently Carroll, whom he had
+forgotten, came up, calling to him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+THE FLOOD.
+
+
+When he reached the blast lamp, which was raised on a tall tripod, Vane
+stood with his back to the pulsating blaze while he grasped the details
+of a somewhat impressive scene. A little up-stream of him the river
+leaped out of the darkness, breaking into foaming waves, and a wall of
+dripping firs flung back the roar it made, the first rows of serried
+trunks standing out hard and sharp in the fierce white light. Nearer
+where he stood, a projecting spur of rock narrowed in the river, which
+boiled tumultuously against its foot, while about half-way across the
+top of a giant boulder rose above the flood.
+
+Vane could only just see it, because a mass of driftwood, which was
+momentarily growing, stretched from bank to bank. A big log, drifting
+down sideways, had brought up upon the boulder and once fixed had seized
+and held fast each succeeding trunk. Some had been driven partly out
+upon those that had preceded them; some had been drawn beneath the
+latter, and catching the bottom had jambed. Then the rest had been
+wedged by the current into the gathering mass; trunks, branches, and
+brushwood all finding a place. When the stream is strong, a jamb, as it
+is called, usually extends downwards, as well as rises, as the water it
+pens back increases in depth, until it forms a solid barrier from
+surface to bed. If it occurs during a log-drive, the river is choked
+with lumber. Bent figures were at work with axes at the shoreward end of
+the mass; others had crawled out along the logs, in search of another
+point where they could advantageously be attacked; but Vane, watching
+them with practised eyes, decided that they were largely throwing their
+toil away. Next, he glanced down-stream; but powerful as the light was,
+it did not pierce far into the darkness and the rain, and the mad white
+rush of the rapid vanished abruptly into the surrounding gloom. Then he
+caught the clink of a hammer on a drill, and seeing Salter not far away
+strode towards him.
+
+"How are you getting to work?" he asked.
+
+Salter pointed to the foot of the rock they stood upon. "I reckoned if
+we could put a shot in yonder, we might cut out stone enough to clear
+the butts of the larger logs that are keying up the jamb."
+
+"You're wasting time--starting at the wrong place."
+
+"It's possible, but what am I to do? I'd sooner split that boulder or
+chop down to the king log there, but the boys can't get across."
+
+"I think I could," Vane answered. "I'll try, if it's necessary."
+
+Salter expostulated, "I want to point out that you're the boss director
+of this company. I don't know what you're making out of it, but you can
+hire men to do the kind of work you think of undertaking for three
+dollars a day."
+
+"We'll let the boys try it, if they're willing." Vane raised his voice.
+"Are any of you open to earn twenty dollars? I'll pay that to the man
+who'll put a stick of giant-powder in yonder boulder, and another twenty
+to whoever can find the king log and chop it through."
+
+Three or four of them crept cautiously along the driftwood bridge. It
+heaved and worked beneath them; the foam sluiced across it, and the
+stream forced the thinner tops of shattered trees above the barrier. It
+was obvious that the men were risking life and limb, and there was a cry
+from the rest when one of them went down and momentarily disappeared. He
+scrambled to his feet again, but those behind him stopped, bracing
+themselves against the stream, knee-deep in rushing froth. Most of them
+had followed rough and dangerous occupation in the bush; but they were
+not professional river-Jacks trained to high proficiency in log-driving,
+and one turning shouted to the watchers on the bank.
+
+"This jamb's not solid," he explained. "She's working open and shutting;
+and you can't tell where the breaks are." He stooped and rubbed his leg,
+and Vane understood him to add: "Figured I had it smashed."
+
+Vane swung round towards Carroll, who was standing close by. "We give
+them a lead."
+
+Salter ventured another remonstrance: "Stay where you are. How are you
+going to manage if the boys can't tackle the thing?"
+
+"They haven't as much at stake as I have," was Vane's reply. "I'm a
+director of the company as you pointed out. Give me two sticks of
+giant-powder, some fuse, and detonators."
+
+After cramming the blasting material into his pocket, Vane called to
+Carroll: "Are you coming with me?"
+
+"Since I can't stop you, I suppose I'd better go," Carroll replied.
+
+They sprang down the bank. Vane crawled out on the working timber, with
+Carroll, who carried a heavy hammer, a few feet behind him. The perilous
+bridge they traversed groaned beneath their feet, but they had joined
+the other men before they came to any particularly troublesome opening.
+Then the cluster of wet figures was brought up by a gap filled with
+leaping foam, in the midst of which brushwood swung to and fro and
+projecting branches ground on one another. Whether there was solid
+timber a foot or two beneath, or only the entrance to some cavity by
+which the stream swept through the barrier, there was nothing to show,
+but Vane set his lips and jumped. He alighted on something that bore
+him, and when the others followed, floundering and splashing, the
+deliberation which had hitherto characterised their movements suddenly
+deserted them. They had reached the limit beyond which it was no longer
+useful.
+
+When they had crossed the gap, Vane and those behind him blundered on in
+hot fury. They had risen to the demand on them, and the curious psychic
+change had come; now they must achieve success or face annihilation. But
+in this there was nothing unusual; it is the alternative offered to many
+a log-driver, miner, and sailor-man.
+
+Neither Vane nor Carroll, nor any of those who assisted them, had any
+clear recollection of what they did. Somehow they reached the boulder;
+somehow they plied axe or iron-hooked peevie, while the unstable,
+foam-lapped platform rocked beneath their feet. Every movement entailed
+a peril no one could calculate, but they savagely toiled on. When Vane
+began to swing a hammer above a drill, or whom he got it from, he did
+not know, any more than he remembered when he had torn off and thrown
+away his jacket, though the sticks of giant-powder, which had been in
+his pocket, lay close by upon the stone. Sparks sprang from the drill
+which Carroll held and fell among the coils of snaky fuse; but that did
+not trouble either, and it was only when Vane was breathless that he
+changed places with his companion.
+
+About them, bowed figures that breathed in stertorous gasps grappled
+desperately with grinding, smashing logs. Sometimes they were forced up
+in harsh distinctness by a dazzling glare; sometimes they faded into
+blurred shadows as the pulsating flame upon the bank sank a little or
+was momentarily blown aside; but all the while gorged veins rose on
+bronzed foreheads and toil-hardened muscles were taxed to the uttermost.
+At last, when a trunk rolled beneath him, Carroll missed a stroke and
+realised with a shock of dismay that it was not the drill he had brought
+his hammer down upon.
+
+"I couldn't help it," he gasped. "Where did I hit you?"
+
+"Get on," Vane said hoarsely. "I can hold the drill."
+
+Carroll struck for a few more minutes, after which he flung down the
+hammer and inserted the giant-powder into the holes sunk in the stone.
+Next he lighted the fuse; and, warning the others, they hastily
+recrossed the dangerous bridge. They had reached the edge of the forest
+when a flash sprang up amidst the foam and a sharp crash was followed by
+a deafening, drawn-out uproar. Rending, grinding, smashing, the jamb
+broke up, hammered upon the partly shattered boulder, and carrying it
+away or driving over it washed in tremendous ruin down the rapid. When
+the wild clamour had subsided, Salter gave the men some instructions,
+and then as they approached the lamp noticed Vane's reddened hand.
+
+"That looks a nasty smash; you want to get it seen to," he remarked.
+
+"I'll get it dressed at the settlement; we'll make an early start
+to-morrow," said Vane. "We were lucky in breaking the jamb; but you'll
+have the same trouble over again any time a heavy flood brings down an
+unusual quantity of driftwood."
+
+"It's what I'd expect," agreed Salter.
+
+"Then something will have to be done to prevent it. I'll go into the
+matter when I reach the city."
+
+Carroll and Vane walked back to the shack, where the former bound up his
+comrade's injured hand, and, after a rest, left the mine early next
+morning. Vane got his hand dressed when they reached the little mining
+town at the head of the railroad, and on the following day they arrived
+in Vancouver.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+VANE YIELDS A POINT.
+
+
+The short afternoon was drawing towards its close when Vane came out of
+a building in Hastings Street, Vancouver.
+
+"The meeting went satisfactorily, taking it all round," he remarked to
+Carroll, who was with him.
+
+"I think so," agreed his companion. "But I'm far from sure that
+Horsfield was pleased with the stockholders' decision."
+
+Vane nodded in a thoughtful manner. After returning from the mine, he
+had gone inland to examine a new irrigation property he had been asked
+to take an interest in, and had only got back in time for a meeting of
+the Clermont shareholders, which Nairn had arranged in his absence. The
+meeting was just over, and though Vane had been forced to yield to a
+majority on some points, he had secured the abandonment of a proposition
+he considered dangerous.
+
+"Though I don't see what the man could have gained by it, I'm inclined
+to believe that if Nairn and I had been absent he'd have carried his
+reconstruction scheme," he said. "That wouldn't have pleased me."
+
+"I thought it injudicious," Carroll commented.
+
+"It was only because we must raise more money I agreed to the issue of
+the new shares," Vane went on. "We ought to pay a fair dividend on such
+a moderate sum."
+
+"You think you'll get it?"
+
+"I've not much doubt."
+
+Vane was capable and forceful; but his abilities were rather of a
+practical than a diplomatic order, and he was occasionally addicted to
+headstrong action. Knowing that he had a very cunning antagonist
+intriguing against him, his companion had misgivings.
+
+"Shall we walk back to the hotel?" he asked.
+
+"No," said Vane; "I'll go across and see how Celia Hartley's getting on.
+I'm afraid I've been forgetting her."
+
+"Then I'll come too. You may need me; there are matters you're not to be
+trusted with alone."
+
+Just then Nairn came down the steps and waved his hand to them. "Ye will
+no forget that Mrs. Nairn is expecting both of ye this evening."
+
+He passed on, and they set off together across the city towards the
+district where Celia lived. Though the quarter in question may have been
+improved out of existence since, some little time ago rows of low-rented
+shacks stood upon mounds of sweating sawdust which had been dumped into
+a swampy hollow. Leaky, frail, and fissured, they were not the kind of
+places any one who could help it would choose to live in; but Vane found
+the sick girl still installed in one of the worst of them. She looked
+pale and haggard; but she was busily at work upon some millinery, and
+the light of a tin lamp showed Drayton and Kitty Blake sitting near her.
+
+"You oughtn't to be at work; you don't look fit," Vane said to Celia,
+and hesitated a moment before he continued: "I'm sorry we couldn't find
+that spruce; but, as I told Drayton, we're going back to try again."
+
+The girl smiled bravely. "Then you'll find it next time. I'm glad I'm
+able to do a little; it brings a few dollars in."
+
+"But what are you doing?"
+
+"Making hats. I did one for Miss Horsfield, and afterwards friends of
+hers sent me some more to trim. She said she'd try to get me some work
+from one of the big stores."
+
+"But you're not a milliner, are you?" said Vane, who felt grateful to
+Jessie for the practical way in which she had kept her promise to
+assist.
+
+"Celia's something better," Kitty broke in. "She's a genius."
+
+The others laughed, and Vane, anxious to turn the conversation away from
+Miss Horsfield's action, led them on to general chatter, under cover of
+which he drew Drayton to the door.
+
+"The girl looks far from fit," he said. "Has the doctor been over
+lately?"
+
+"Two or three days ago," answered Drayton. "We've been worried about
+her. It's out of the question that she should go back to the hotel, and
+she can only manage to work a few hours daily. There's another
+thing--the clerk of the fellow who owns these shacks has just been along
+for his rent. It's overdue."
+
+"Where's he now?"
+
+Drayton laughed, for the sounds of a vigorous altercation rose from
+farther up the unlighted street. "I guess he's yonder, having some more
+trouble with his collecting."
+
+"I'll fix that matter, anyway," said Vane, who disappeared into the
+darkness.
+
+It was some time later when he re-entered the shack, and waited until a
+remark of Celia's gave him a lead.
+
+"You're really a partner in the lumber scheme," he said. "I can't see
+why you shouldn't draw some of your share of the proceeds beforehand."
+
+"The first payment isn't to be made until you find the spruce and get
+your lease," the girl reminded him. "You've already paid a hundred
+dollars we had no claim upon."
+
+"That doesn't matter; I'm going to find it."
+
+"Yes," said Celia, with a look of confidence, "I think you will. But,"
+and a flicker of colour crept into her thin face--"I can't take any more
+money until it's done."
+
+Vane, failing in another attempt to shake her resolution, dropped the
+subject, and soon afterwards he and Carroll took their departure. They
+were sitting in their hotel, waiting for dinner, when Carroll, who lay
+in a luxurious chair, looked up lazily.
+
+"What are you thinking about so hard?" he inquired.
+
+Vane glanced meaningly round the elaborately furnished room. "There's a
+contrast between all this and that rotten shack. Did you notice that
+Celia never stopped sewing while we were in?"
+
+"I did," said Carroll. "I suppose you're going to propound another
+conundrum of a kind I've heard before--why you should have so many
+things you don't particularly need while Miss Hartley must go on sewing,
+when she's hardly able for it, in her most unpleasant shack? I don't
+know if the fact that you found a mine answers the question; but if it
+doesn't the thing's beyond your philosophy."
+
+"Come off," Vane bade him with signs of impatience. "Your moralising
+gets on one's nerves. Anyhow, I straightened out one difficulty--I found
+the rent man, who'd been round worrying her, and got rid of him."
+
+Carroll groaned in mock dismay, which covered some genuine annoyance
+with himself.
+
+"What's the matter?" Vane inquired. "Do you want a drink?"
+
+"I'll get over it," Carroll informed him. "It isn't the first time I've
+suffered from the same complaint. But I'd like to point out that your
+chivalrous impulses may be the ruin of you some day. Why didn't you let
+Drayton settle with the man? You gave him a cheque, I suppose?"
+
+"I did; I'd only a few loose dollars on me. Now I see what you're
+driving at, and I want to say that any little reputation I possess can
+pretty well take care of itself."
+
+"Just so. No doubt it will be necessary; but you're not the only person
+concerned."
+
+"But who's likely to take notice of the thing?"
+
+"I can't tell; but you make enemies as well as friends, and you're
+walking in slippery places which you're not altogether accustomed to.
+You can't meet your difficulties with the axe here."
+
+"That's true," assented Vane, and they went in to dinner.
+
+After the meal, they walked across to Nairn's, and when they had been
+ushered into a room in which several other guests were assembled, Vane
+sat down on a sofa, beside Jessie Horsfield.
+
+"I want to thank you; I was over at Miss Hartley's this afternoon," he
+began.
+
+"I understood you were at the mining meeting."
+
+"So I was; your brother would tell that----"
+
+Vane broke off, remembering that he had defeated Horsfield.
+
+"You were opposed to him; but it doesn't follow that I share all his
+views. Perhaps I ought to be a stauncher partisan."
+
+"If you'll be just to both of us, I'll be satisfied."
+
+"I suppose that means you're convinced of the equity of your cause," she
+suggested.
+
+"I expect I deserve the rebuke, but aren't you trying to switch me off
+the subject?" Vane answered with a laugh. "It's Celia Hartley I want to
+talk about."
+
+He did her injustice; Jessie felt that she had earned his gratitude, and
+she had no objection to his expressing it.
+
+"It was a happy thought of yours to give her hats and things to make;
+I'm ever so much obliged to you. I felt you could be trusted to think of
+the right thing. An ingenious idea of that kind would never have
+occurred to me."
+
+"It was very simple; I noticed a hat and dress of hers which she owned
+she had made. The girl has some talent; I'm only sorry I can't keep her
+busy."
+
+"Couldn't you give her an order for a dozen hats? I'd be glad to be
+responsible."
+
+"The difficulty would be the disposal of them. They would be of no use
+to you, and I couldn't allow you to present them to me."
+
+"I wish I could," Vane declared. "You certainly deserve them."
+
+This was satisfactory, so far as it went, though Jessie would have
+preferred that his desire to bestow the favour should have sprung from
+some other motive than a recognition of her services to Celia Hartley.
+She was, however, convinced that his only feeling towards the girl was
+one of compassion. Then she saw that he was looking at her with
+half-humorous annoyance in his face.
+
+"Are you grieved I won't take those hats?" she asked.
+
+"I am," Vane confessed and proceeded to explain with unnecessary
+ingenuousness: "I'm still more vexed with the state of things its
+typical of--I suppose I mean the restrictedness of this civilised life.
+When you want to do anything in the bush, you take the axe and set about
+it; but here you're continually running up against some artificial
+obstacle."
+
+"One understands that it's worse in England," said Jessie. "But in
+regard to Miss Hartley, I'll recommend her to my friends as far as I
+can."
+
+Just then Vane made an abrupt movement, and Jessie realised by his
+expression that he had suddenly become oblivious of her presence. She
+had no doubt about the reason for this, because Evelyn Chisholm entered
+the room. The lamplight fell upon her as she crossed the threshold, and
+Jessie recognised unwillingly that she looked surprisingly handsome.
+Handsome, however, was not the word Vane would have used. He thought
+Evelyn looked exotic, highly cultivated, strangely refined, as though
+she had grown up in a rarefied atmosphere in which nothing rank could
+thrive. Though Evelyn had her faults, the impression she made on him
+was, perhaps, more or less justifiable.
+
+Then he remembered that the girl had been offered to him and he had
+refused the gift. He wondered how he had exerted the necessary strength
+of will, for he was conscious that admiration, respect, pity, had now
+changed and melted into sudden passion. His blood tingled and, as it
+happened, no change of his expression was lost upon his companion.
+
+Laying a check upon his thoughts, he resumed a desultory conversation
+with Jessie, though he betrayed himself several times during it, and at
+length she let him go. It was, however, some time before he secured a
+place beside Evelyn. He was now quiet and self-contained.
+
+"Nairn promised me a surprise this evening, but it has exceeded all my
+expectations," he said. "How are your people?"
+
+Evelyn informed him that their health was satisfactory, and added,
+watching him the while: "Gerald sent his best remembrances."
+
+"Ah!" said Vane in a casual manner, "I'm glad to have them."
+
+Evelyn was now convinced that Mabel had been correct in concluding that
+he had assisted Gerald financially, though she was aware that nothing
+would induce either of the men to acquaint her with the fact.
+
+"I understood from Mrs. Nairn that you were away in the bush," she said.
+
+He turned and regarded her steadily. "That was the case, and I'm shortly
+going off again. Perhaps it's fortunate that I may be away some time. It
+will leave you more at ease."
+
+The last remark was more of a question than an assertion, and Evelyn
+knew the man could be direct. She also esteemed candour.
+
+"No," she said; "I wouldn't wish you to think that--and I wouldn't like
+to believe that I had anything to do with driving you away."
+
+Vane saw a faintly warmer tone show through the clear pallor of her
+skin; but while his heart beat faster than usual he felt that she meant
+just what she said and nothing more. He must proceed with caution, which
+was, on the whole, foreign to him; and shortly afterwards he left her.
+
+When he had gone, Evelyn sat thinking about him. She had shrunk from the
+man in rebellious alarm when her parents would have bestowed her hand on
+him; but even then, and undoubtedly afterwards, she had felt that there
+was something in his nature which would have attracted her, had she been
+willing to allow it to do so. Now, though he had said nothing to rouse
+it, the feeling was stronger. Then she remembered with a rather curious
+smile her father's indignation when Vane had withdrawn from the field.
+He had done this because she had appealed to his generosity, and she had
+been grateful to him; but, unreasonable as she admitted the faint
+resentment she was conscious of to be, the recollection of the fact that
+he had yielded to her wishes was somehow bitter.
+
+In the meanwhile, Carroll had taken his place by Jessie's side.
+
+"I understand you steered your comrade satisfactorily through the
+meeting to-day," she began.
+
+"No," objected Carroll, "I can't claim any credit for doing so. In
+matters of the kind, Vane takes full control, and I'm willing to own
+that he drove us all, including your brother, on the course he chose."
+
+"Then it's in other matters you exercise a little judicious pressure on
+the helm?"
+
+The man looked at her in well-assumed admiration of her keenness. "I
+don't know how you guessed it, but I suppose it's a fact. It's, however,
+an open secret that Vane's now and then unguardedly ingenuous; indeed,
+there are respects in which he's a babe by comparison, we'll say, with
+either of us."
+
+"That's rather a dubious compliment," Jessie informed him. "What do you
+think of Miss Chisholm? I suppose you saw a good deal of her in
+England?"
+
+"I spent a month or two in her company; so did Vane. I fancy she's
+rather like him in several ways; and there are reasons for believing
+that he thinks a good deal of her."
+
+Having watched Vane carefully when Evelyn came in, Jessie was inclined
+to agree with him, and she glanced round the room. One or two people
+were moving about and the rest were talking in little groups; but there
+was nobody very near, and she fancied that she and her companion were
+safe from interruption.
+
+"What were some of the reasons?" she asked.
+
+Carroll had expected some question of this description, and had decided
+to answer it plainly, because it seemed probable that Jessie would get
+the information out of him in one way or another. He had also another
+motive, which he thought a commendable one. Jessie had obviously taken a
+certain interest in Vane, but it could not have gone very far as yet,
+and Vane did not reciprocate it. The latter was, however, impulsive,
+while Jessie was calculating and clever, and Carroll, who was slightly
+afraid of her, foresaw that complications might follow any increase of
+friendliness between her and his comrade. He thought it would be better
+if she left Vane alone.
+
+"Well," he said, "since you have asked, I'll try to tell you."
+
+He proceeded to recount what had passed at the Dene and Jessie listened,
+with an expressionless face.
+
+"So he gave her up--because he admired her?" she said at length.
+
+"That's my view of it," Carroll agreed.
+
+Jessie made no comment, but he felt that she was hardly hit, which was
+not what he had anticipated. He began to wonder if he had acted
+judiciously and he glanced about the room. It did not seem considerate
+to study her expression then. A few moments later she turned to him with
+a smile in which there was the faintest hint of strain.
+
+"I daresay you are right; but there are one or two people I haven't
+spoken to," she said and moved away from him.
+
+Some time after this Mrs. Nairn came upon Carroll standing for the
+moment alone. "It's no often one sees ye looking moody," she informed
+him. "Was Jessie no gracious?"
+
+"That," said Carroll, smiling, "is not the difficulty. I'm an
+unsusceptible and somewhat inconspicuous person, not worth powder and
+shot, so to speak, for which I'm sometimes thankful. I believe it saves
+me a good deal of trouble."
+
+"Then, is it something Vane has done that is on your mind? Doubtless, ye
+feel him a responsibility?"
+
+"He's all that," Carroll confessed. "Still, you see, I've constituted
+myself his guardian; I don't know why, because he'd probably be very
+vexed if he suspected it."
+
+"The gods give ye a good conceit o' yourself!" Mrs. Nairn exclaimed.
+
+"I need it," said Carroll humbly. "This afternoon I let him do a most
+injudicious thing, and now I've done another which I fear is worse. On
+the whole, I think I'd better take him away to the bush. He'd be safer
+there."
+
+"Ye will not, no just now," declared his hostess firmly.
+
+Carroll made a sign of resignation. "Oh, well," he said, "if you say so,
+I'm quite willing to stand out and let things alone. Too many cooks are
+apt to spoil the kail."
+
+Mrs. Nairn left him, but she afterwards once or twice glanced
+thoughtfully at Vane and Evelyn, who had once more drawn together.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+EVELYN GOES FOR A SAIL.
+
+
+It was about the middle of the morning and Vane sat in Nairn's office.
+Specimens of ore lately received from the mine were scattered about a
+table, and Nairn had some papers in his hand.
+
+"Weel?" he said, when Vane, after examining two or three of the stones
+abruptly flung them down.
+
+"The ore's running poorer," Vane admitted. "On the other hand, I partly
+expected this, and there's better stuff in the reef. We're a little too
+high; I look for more encouraging results when we start the lower
+heading."
+
+He went into details of the new operations and, when he had finished,
+Nairn, who had been jotting down some figures, looked up.
+
+"Yon workings will cost a good deal," he pointed out. "Ye'll no be able
+to make a start until we're sure of the money."
+
+"We ought to get it."
+
+"A month or two ago I would have agreed with ye, but general investors
+are kittle cattle, and the applications for the new stock are no
+numerous."
+
+"The plain English of it is that the mine is not so popular as it was,"
+said Vane impatiently.
+
+"I'm thinking something of the kind," Nairn agreed, and then proceeded
+with a cautious explanation: "The result of the first reduction and the
+way ye forced the concern on the market secured ye notice. Folks put
+their money on ye, looking for sensational developments, and when the
+latter are no forthcoming they feel a bit sore."
+
+"There's nothing discouraging in our accounts. Even if the ore all ran
+as poor as that"--Vane pointed to the specimens on the table--"the mine
+could be worked on a paying basis. We have issued no statements that
+could spread alarm."
+
+"Just so," said Nairn. "What was looked for was mair than a paying
+basis--ye have no come up to expectations. Forby, it's my opinion that
+damaging reports have somehow leaked out from the mine. I see clouds on
+the horizon."
+
+"Bendle pledged himself to take up a big block of the shares," pointed
+out Vane. "If Howitson does the same, as he said he would, our position
+would be secure. As soon as it was known that they were largely
+interested, others would follow them."
+
+"Now ye have it in a nutshell--it would put a wet blanket on the project
+if they both backed down. In the meanwhile we cannot hurry them."
+
+Vane rose. "We'll leave it at that. I've promised to take Mrs. Nairn and
+Miss Chisholm for a sail."
+
+He went out and had got rid of the slight uneasiness the interview had
+occasioned him before he reached the water-front, where he found Mrs.
+Nairn and Evelyn awaiting him with Carroll in attendance. In another few
+minutes they were rowing off to the sloop, and as they approached her
+the elder lady glanced with approval at the craft, which swam, a
+gleaming ivory shape, upon the shining green brine.
+
+"Ye have surely been painting the boat," she said. "Was that for us?"
+
+Vane disregarded the last question. "She wanted it, and paint's
+comparatively cheap."
+
+It was a little thing, but Evelyn was pleased. The girls had not been
+greatly considered at the Dene, and it was flattering to recognise that
+the man had thought it worth while to decorate his craft in her honour.
+She did not ask herself if he had wished to please her; he had invited
+her for a sail some days ago, and he was thorough in everything he did.
+He handed her and Mrs. Nairn on board and when they sat down in the
+well, he and Carroll proceeded to hoist the mainsail. It looked
+exceedingly large as it thrashed and fluttered above their heads, and
+there seemed to be a bewildering quantity of ropes, but Evelyn was
+chiefly interested in watching Vane.
+
+He was wonderfully quick, but no movement was wasted. His face was
+intent, his glances sharp, and she liked the crisp, curt way in which he
+spoke to Carroll. The man's task was, in one sense, not important, but
+he was absorbed in it. Then, while Carroll slipped the moorings, he ran
+up the headsails, and springing aft, seized the tiller as the boat,
+slanting over, began to forge through the water. It was the first time
+Evelyn had ever travelled under sail and, receptive as she was of all
+new impressions, she sat silent a few minutes rejoicing in the sense of
+swift and easy motion. The inlet was crisped by small white ripples, and
+the boat with her boom broad off on her quarter drove through them; a
+sparkling wedge of foam on her lee bow and a stream of froth sluicing
+past her sides. Overhead, the great inclined sail cut, sharply white,
+against the dazzling blue, and close by her Vane sat gripping the
+tiller.
+
+They swept out through the gate of the Narrows, and Vane luffed the boat
+up to a moderately fresh breeze. "It's off the land, and we'll have
+fairly smooth water," he explained, and added: "How do you like
+sailing?"
+
+"It's glorious on a day like this," she declared and looked back towards
+the distant snow. "If anything more were wanted, there are the
+mountains, too."
+
+Vane smiled, but there was a suggestive sparkle in his eyes. "Yes," he
+said; "we have them both, and that's something to be thankful for. The
+sea and the mountains: the two grandest things in this world."
+
+"If you think that, how did you reconcile yourself to the city?"
+
+"I'm not sure I've done so." He indicated the gleaming heights. "I'm
+going back up yonder very soon."
+
+Mrs. Nairn glanced at Carroll, who affected to be busy with a rope; then
+she turned to Vane. "It will no be possible with winter coming on."
+
+"It's not really so bad then," Vane declared. "Besides, I expect to get
+my work done before the hardest weather's due."
+
+"But ye cannot leave Vancouver until ye have settled about the mine."
+
+"I don't want to," Vane admitted. "That's not quite the same thing."
+
+"It is with a good many people," Carroll interposed with a smile.
+
+In the meanwhile, they were driving out to the southwards, opening up
+the Strait, with the forests to port growing smaller and the short seas
+increasing in size. The breeze was cold, but the girl was warmly clad
+and the easy motion in no way troubled her. The rush of keen salt air
+stirred her blood, and all round her were spread wonderful harmonies of
+silver-laced blue and green, through which the straining fabric that
+carried her swept on. The mountains were majestic, but except when
+tempests lashed their crags or torrents swept their lower slopes they
+were wrapped in eternal repose; the sea was filled with ecstatic motion.
+
+"The hills have their fascination; it's a thing I know," she said, to
+draw the helmsman out. "I think I should like the sea, too; but at first
+sight its charm isn't quite so plain."
+
+"You have started him," interposed Carroll. "He won't refuse that
+challenge!"
+
+Vane accepted it with a smile which meant more than good-humoured
+indulgence. "Well," he began, "the sea's the same everywhere, unbridled,
+unchanging; a force that remains as it was in the beginning. Once you're
+out of harbour, under sail, you have done with civilisation. It has
+possibly provided you with excellent gear, but it can do no more; you
+stand alone, stripped for the struggle with the elements."
+
+"Is it always a struggle?" Evelyn asked, to prompt him.
+
+"Always. The sea's as treacherous as the winds that vex it; pitiless,
+murderous. When you have only sail to trust to, you can never relax your
+vigilance; you must watch the varying drift of clouds and the swing of
+the certain tides. There's nothing and nobody to fall back upon when the
+breeze pipes its challenge; you have sloughed off civilisation and must
+stand or fall by the raw natural powers man is born with, and chief
+among them is the capacity for brutal labour. The thrashing sail must be
+mastered; the tackle cracking with the strain must be hauled in. Perhaps
+that's the charm of it for some of us whose lives are pretty smooth--it
+takes one back, as I said, to the beginning."
+
+"But haven't human progress and machines made everybody's lives more
+smooth?"
+
+Vane laughed somewhat grimly. "Oh, no; I think that can never be done.
+So far, somebody pays for the other's ease. At sea, in the mine, and in
+the bush, man still grapples with a rugged, naked world."
+
+The girl was pleased. She had drawn him out, and she thought he had in
+speaking kept a fair balance between too crude a mode of colloquial
+expression and poetic elaboration. There was, she knew, a vein of poetic
+conception in him, and the struggle he had hinted at could only be
+described fittingly in heroic language. It was, in one sense, a pity
+that those who had the gift of it and cultivated imagination had, for
+the most part, never been forced into the fight; but that was, perhaps,
+not a matter of much importance. There were plenty of men, such as her
+companion, endowed with endurance, who if they seldom gave their
+thoughts free rein, rejoiced in the struggle; and by them the world's
+sternest work was done.
+
+"After all," she said, "we have the mountains in civilised England."
+
+Vane did not respond with the same freedom this time. He was inclined to
+think he had spoken too unrestrainedly.
+
+"Yes," he agreed, smiling; "you can walk about them--where you won't
+disturb the grouse--and they're grand enough; but if you look down you
+can see the motor dust trails and the tourist coaches in the valleys."
+
+"But why shouldn't people enjoy themselves in that way?"
+
+"I can't think of any reason. No doubt, most of them have earned the
+right to do so. But you can't rip up those hills with giant-powder where
+you feel inclined, or set to work to root out some miles of forest. The
+Government encourages that kind of thing here."
+
+"And that's the charm?"
+
+"Yes," said Vane. "I suppose it is."
+
+"I'd better explain," Carroll broke in. "Men of a certain temperament
+are apt to fall a prey to fantasies in the newer lands; any common sense
+they once possessed seems to desert them. After that they're never
+happy, except when they're ripping things--such as big rocks and
+trees--to pieces, and though they'll tell you it's only to get out
+minerals or clear a ranch, they're wrong. Once they get the mine or
+ranch they don't care about it, and set to work wrecking things again.
+Isn't that so, Mrs. Nairn?"
+
+"There are such crazy bodies," agreed the-lady. "I know one or two, but
+if I had my way with them they should find one mine, or build one
+saw-mill."
+
+"And then," said Carroll, "you would chain them up for good by marrying
+them."
+
+"I would like to try, but I'm no sure it would act in every case. I have
+come across some women as bad as the men; they would drive their
+husbands on. Maybe"--and she smiled in a half-wistful manner--"it's as
+well to do something worth the remembering when ye are young. There's a
+long time to sit still in afterwards."
+
+Half in banter, and half in earnest, they had given Evelyn a hint of the
+master passion of the true colonist, whose pride is in his burden.
+Afterwards, Mrs. Nairn led the conversation, until Carroll laid out in
+the saloon a somewhat elaborate lunch which he had brought from the
+hotel. Then the others went below, leaving Vane at the helm; and Carroll
+looked at him ruefully when they came up again.
+
+"I'm afraid Miss Chisholm's disappointed," he explained.
+
+"No," said Evelyn; "that would be most ungrateful. I only expected a
+more characteristic example of sea cookery. After what Mr. Vane told us,
+a lunch like the one you provided, with glass and silver, struck me as
+rather an anachronism."
+
+"It's better to be broken in to sea cookery gently," Vane interposed
+with some dryness.
+
+"It's a poor compliment to take it for granted that we're afraid of a
+little hardship. Besides, I don't think you're right."
+
+Vane, who left the helm to Carroll, went below, and the latter smiled at
+Evelyn.
+
+"He won't be long," he informed her. "He hasn't got rid of his primitive
+habits yet."
+
+Vane came up satisfied in about ten minutes, and glancing about him
+before he resumed the helm, noticed that it was blowing fresher, but it
+did not inconvenience the party, and as they ran homewards the breeze
+gradually died away. The broad inlet lay still in the moonlight when
+they crept across it with the water lapping very faintly about the bows,
+and it was over a mirror-like surface they rowed ashore. Nairn was
+waiting at the foot of the steps, and Evelyn walked back with him,
+feeling, she could not tell exactly why, that she had been drawn closer
+to the sloop's helmsman.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+VANE PROVES OBDURATE.
+
+
+Vane spent two or three weeks very pleasantly in Vancouver, for Evelyn,
+of whom he saw a good deal, was gracious to him. The embarrassment both
+had felt on their first meeting in the Western city had speedily
+vanished; they had resumed their acquaintance on what was ostensibly a
+purely friendly footing, and, since both avoided any reference to what
+had taken place in England, it had ripened into a mutual confidence.
+
+This would have been less probable in the older country, where they
+would have been continually reminded of what the Chisholm family had
+expected of them; but the past seldom counts for much in the new and
+changeful West, whose inhabitants look forward to the future. Indeed,
+there is something in its atmosphere which banishes regret and
+retrospection; and when Evelyn looked back at all, she felt inclined to
+wonder why she had once been so troubled by the man's satisfaction with
+her company. She decided that this could not have been the result of any
+aversion from him, and that it was merely an instinctive revolt against
+the part her parents had wished to force upon her. Chisholm and his wife
+had blundered as such people often do, for it is possible that had they
+adopted a perfectly neutral attitude everything would have gone as they
+desired.
+
+Their mistake was nevertheless a natural one. Somewhat exaggerated
+reports of Vane's prosperity had reached them; but while they coveted
+the advantages his wealth might offer their daughter, in their secret
+hearts they looked upon him as something of a barbarian, which idea the
+opinions he occasionally expressed in their hearing did not dispel. Both
+feared that Evelyn regarded him in the same light, and it accordingly
+became evident that a little pressure might be required. In spite of
+their prejudices, they did not shrink from applying it.
+
+In the meanwhile, several people in Vancouver watched the increase of
+friendliness between the girl and Vane. Mrs. Nairn and her husband did
+so with benevolent interest, and it was by the former's adroit
+management, which Evelyn did not often suspect, that they were thrown
+more and more into each other's company. Jessie Horsfield, however,
+looked on with bitterness. She was a strong-willed young woman who had
+hitherto generally contrived to obtain what she had set her heart upon,
+and she had set it upon this man. Indeed, she had fancied that he
+returned the feeling, but disillusionment had come on the evening when
+he had unexpectedly met Evelyn. Her resentment against the girl grew
+steadily stronger, until it threatened to prove dangerous on
+opportunity.
+
+There were, however, days when Vane was disturbed in mind. Winter was
+coming on, and although it is rarely severe on the southern seaboard, it
+is by no means the season one would choose for an adventure among the
+ranges of the northern wilderness. Unless he made his search for the
+spruce very shortly, he might be compelled to postpone it until the
+spring, at the risk of being forestalled; but there were two reasons
+which detained him. He thought he was gaining ground in Evelyn's esteem,
+and he feared the effect of absence; while there was no doubt that the
+new issue of the Clermont shares was in very slack demand. To leave the
+city might cost him a good deal, but he had pledged himself to go.
+
+The latter fact was uppermost in his mind one evening when he set off to
+call upon Celia Hartley, and, as it happened, Evelyn and Mrs. Nairn were
+driving past as he turned off from a busy street towards the quarter in
+which she lived. It had been dark some little time, but Evelyn had no
+difficulty in recognising him. Indeed, she watched him for a few moments
+while he passed on into a more shadowy region, where the gloom and
+dilapidation of the first small frame houses were noticeable, and she
+wondered what kind of people inhabited it. She did not think Mrs. Nairn
+had noticed Vane.
+
+"You have never taken me into the district on our left," she said.
+
+"I'm no likely to," was the answer. "We're no proud of it."
+
+"I suppose the Chinese and other aliens live there," Evelyn suggested.
+
+"They do," said Mrs. Nairn with some dryness. "I'm no sure, however,
+that they're the worst."
+
+"But one understands that you haven't a criminal population."
+
+"We have folks who're on the fringe of it, only we see they live all
+together. People who would be respectable live somewhere else, except, a
+few who have to consider cheapness, but it's no a recommendation to be
+seen going into yon quarter after dark."
+
+This left Evelyn thoughtful, since she had undoubtedly seen Vane going
+there. She considered herself a judge of character and generally trusted
+her intuitions, and she believed the man's visit to the neighbourhood in
+question admitted of some satisfactory explanation. On the other hand,
+she felt that her friends should be beyond suspicion. Taking it all
+round, she was rather vexed with Vane, and it cost her some trouble to
+drive the matter out of her mind, though she succeeded in doing so.
+
+She did not see Vane next day, but the latter called upon Nairn at his
+office during the afternoon.
+
+"Have you had any more applications for the new stock?" he asked.
+
+"I have not," said Nairn. "Neither Bendle nor Howiston has paid up yet."
+
+"Investors are shy; that's a fact," Vane confessed. "It's unfortunate.
+I've already put off my trip north as long as possible; I wanted to see
+things on a satisfactory basis before I went."
+
+"A prudent wish. I would advise ye to carry it out."
+
+"What do you mean by that?"
+
+"Something like this: If the money's no forthcoming, we may be compelled
+to fall back upon a different plan, and, unless ye're to the fore, the
+decision of a shareholders' meeting might not suit ye. Considering the
+position and the stock ye hold, any views ye might express would carry
+mair weight than mine could do in your absence."
+
+Vane drummed with his fingers on the table. "I suppose that's the case;
+but I've got to make the journey. With moderately good fortune it
+shouldn't take me long."
+
+"Ye would be running some risk if anything delayed ye and we had to call
+a meeting before ye got back."
+
+"I see that, but it can't be helped. I expect to be back before I'm
+wanted. Anyway, I could leave you authority to act on my behalf."
+
+After a further attempt to dissuade him, Nairn spread out one hand
+resignedly. "He who will to Cupar maun be left to gang," he said.
+"Whiles, I have wondered why any one should be so keen on getting there,
+but doubtless a douce Scottish town has mair attractions for a sensible
+person than the rugged North-West in winter time."
+
+Vane, who smiled at this, went out and left him; and when he reached
+home Nairn briefly recounted the interview to his wife over his evening
+meal. Evelyn, who was with them, listened attentively.
+
+"Yon man will no hear reason," Nairn concluded. "He's thrawn."
+
+Evelyn had already noticed that her host, for whom she had a strong
+liking, spoke broader Scots when he was either amused or angry, and she
+supposed that Vane's determination disturbed him.
+
+"But why should he persist in leaving the city, when it's to his
+disadvantage to do so, as you lead one to believe it is?" she asked.
+
+"If the latter's no absolutely certain, it's very likely," Nairn
+informed her.
+
+"You have only answered half my question," Evelyn pointed out.
+
+Mrs. Nairn smiled. "Alec," she said, "is reserved by nature, but if
+ye're anxious for an answer I might tell ye."
+
+"Anxious hardly describes it," Evelyn replied.
+
+"Then we'll say curious. The fact is, Vane made a bargain with a sick
+prospector, in which he undertook to locate some timber the man had
+discovered away among the mountains. He was to pay the other a share of
+its value when he got his Government licence."
+
+"Is the timber very valuable?"
+
+"No," broke in Nairn. "One might make a fair business profit out of
+pulping it, though the thing's far from certain."
+
+"Then why is Mr. Vane so keen on finding it?"
+
+The question gave Mrs. Nairn a lead, but she decided to say no more than
+was necessary. "The prospector died, but that bound the bargain tighter,
+in Vane's opinion. The man died without a dollar, leaving a daughter
+worn-out and ill with nursing him. According to the arrangement, his
+share will go to the girl."
+
+"Then," said Evelyn, "Mr. Vane is really undertaking the search in order
+to keep his promise to a man who is dead; and he will not even postpone
+it, because if he did so this penniless girl might, perhaps, lose her
+share? Isn't that rather fine of him?"
+
+"On the whole, ye understand the position," Nairn agreed, "If ye desire
+my view of the matter, I would merely say that yon's the kind of man he
+is."
+
+Evelyn made no further comment, though the last common phrase struck her
+as a most eloquent tribute. She had heard Vane confess that he did not
+want to go north at present, and she now understood that to do so might
+jeopardise his interests in the mine; but he was undoubtedly going. He
+meant to keep his promise--this was what one would expect of him.
+
+As it happened, he took her for a drive among the Stanley pines one mild
+afternoon a few days later, and though she knew she would regret his
+departure she was unusually friendly. Vane rejoiced at it, but he had
+already decided that he must endeavour to proceed with caution and
+content himself in the meanwhile with the part of trusted companion. For
+this reason, he chatted lightly, which he felt was safer, during most of
+the drive, but he once or twice responded without reserve when, by
+chance or design, she asked a leading question.
+
+"I wonder if you ever feel any regret at having left England for this
+country," she said.
+
+"I did so pretty often when I first came out," he answered. "In those
+days, I had to work in icy water, and carry massive lumps of rock."
+
+"I dare say regret was a very natural feeling then; but that wasn't
+quite what I meant."
+
+"So I supposed," Vane confessed. "Well, I'd better own that when I spent
+a week or two in England--at the Dene--I began to think I missed a good
+deal by not staying at home. It struck me that the life you led had a
+singular charm. Everything went so smoothly there among the sheltering
+hills. One felt that care and anxiety could not creep in. Somehow the
+place reminded me of Avalon."
+
+"The impression was by no means correct," said Evelyn. "But I don't
+think you have finished. Won't you go on?"
+
+"Then if I get out of my depth you mustn't blame me. By and by I
+discovered that charm wasn't the right word--the place was permeated
+with a narcotic spell."
+
+"Narcotic?" said Evelyn. "Do you think the term's more appropriate?"
+
+"I do," Vane declared, "Narcotics, one understands, are insidious
+things. If you take them regularly, in small doses, they increase their
+hold on you, until you become wrapped up in dreams and unrealities. If,
+however, you get too big a dose at the beginning, it leads to a vigorous
+revulsion. It's nature's warning and remedy."
+
+"You're not flattering," said Evelyn. "But I almost fancy you are
+right."
+
+"We are told that man was made to struggle; to use all his powers. If he
+rests too long beside the still backwaters of life in fairylike dales,
+they're apt to atrophy, and he finds himself slack and nerveless when he
+goes out to face the world again."
+
+Evelyn nodded, for she had felt and striven against the insidious
+influence he spoke of. She had now and then left the drowsy dale for a
+while; but the life she had then caught glimpses of was equally
+sheltered, one possible only to the favoured few. Even the echoes of the
+real tense struggle seldom passed its boundaries.
+
+"But you confessed not long ago that you loved the Western wilderness,"
+she said. "You have spent a good deal of time in it; you expect to do so
+again. After all, isn't that only exchanging one beautiful, tranquil
+region for another? The bush must be even quieter than the English
+dales."
+
+"I expect I haven't made the point quite clear. When one goes up into
+the bush it's not to lounge and dream there, but to make war upon it
+with the axe and drill." He pulled up his team and pointed to a clump of
+giant trees. "Look here. That's Nature's challenge to man in this
+country."
+
+Evelyn confessed that it was a very impressive one. The great trunks ran
+up far aloft, tremendous columns, before their higher portions were lost
+in the vaulted roof of sombre greenery. They dwarfed the rig and team;
+she felt herself a pigmy by comparison.
+
+"They're rather bigger than the average," her companion resumed. "Still,
+that's the kind of thing you run up against when you buy land to make a
+ranch of or clear the ground for a mine. Chopping, sawing up, splitting
+those giants doesn't fill one with languorous dreams; the only ones our
+axe-men indulge in materialise. It's a bracing struggle. There are
+leagues and leagues of trees, shrouding the valleys in a shadow that has
+lasted since the world was young; but you see the dawn of a wonderful
+future breaking in as the long ranks go down."
+
+Once more, without clearly intending it, he had stirred the girl. He had
+not spoken in that rather fanciful style to impress her; she thought he
+had, trusting in her comprehension, merely given his ideas free rein.
+But in doing so he had somehow made her hear the clear trumpet-call to
+action, which, for such men, rings through the roar of the river and the
+song of the tall black pines.
+
+"Ah!" she said, "I dare say it's a fine life in many ways, but it must
+have its drawbacks. The flesh must shrink from them."
+
+"The flesh?" he said and laughed. "In this land it takes second
+place--except, perhaps, in the cities." Then he turned and looked at her
+curiously. "Why should you talk of shrinking? The bush couldn't daunt
+you; you have courage."
+
+The girl's eyes sparkled, but it was not at the compliment. His words
+rang with freedom, the freedom of the heights, where heroic effort was
+the rule in place of luxury. She longed now, as she had often done, to
+escape from bondage, to break away.
+
+"Ah, well," she said, half-wistfully, "I expect it's fortunate that such
+courage as I have may never be put to the test."
+
+Though reticence was difficult, Vane made no comment. He had spoken
+unguardedly already, and he had decided that caution was desirable. As
+it happened, an automobile came up when he restarted his team, and he
+looked round as he drove on again.
+
+"It's curious that I never heard the thing," he said.
+
+"I didn't either," said Evelyn, and added, as if any explanation were
+needed: "I was too engrossed in the trees. But I think Miss Horsfield
+was in it."
+
+"Was she?" said Vane in a very casual manner, and Evelyn, for no reason
+that she was willing to admit, was pleased.
+
+She had not been mistaken. Jessie Horsfield was in the automobile, and
+she had had a few moments in which to study Vane and his companion. The
+man's look and the girl's expression had struck her as significant; and
+her lips set ominously tight as the car sped on. She felt she almost
+hated Vane, and there was no doubt that she entirely hated the girl at
+his side.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+JESSIE STRIKES.
+
+
+It was the afternoon before Vane's departure for the north, and Evelyn,
+sitting alone for the time being in Mrs. Nairn's drawing-room, felt
+disturbed by the thought of it. She sympathised with his object, but she
+supposed there was a certain risk attached to the journey, and that
+troubled her. In addition to this there was another point on which she
+was not altogether pleased. She had twice seen Vane acknowledge a bow
+from a very pretty girl whose general appearance suggested that she did
+not belong to Evelyn's own walk of life, and that very morning she had
+noticed him crossing a street in the young woman's company. Vane, as it
+happened, had met Kitty Blake by accident and had asked her to accompany
+him on a visit to Celia.
+
+Evelyn did not think she was of a jealous disposition, and jealousy
+appeared irrational in the case of a man whom she had dismissed as a
+suitor; but the thing rankled in her mind. While she considered it,
+Jessie Horsfield entered the room.
+
+"I'm here by invitation, to join Vane's other old friends in giving him
+a good send-off," she explained.
+
+Evelyn noticed that Jessie laid some stress upon her acquaintance with
+Vane, and wondered if she had any motive for doing so.
+
+"I suppose you have known him for some time," she said.
+
+"Oh, yes," was the careless answer. "My brother was one of the first to
+take him up when he came to Vancouver."
+
+The phrase jarred on Evelyn. It savoured of patronage; besides, she did
+not like to think that Vane owed anything to the Horsfields.
+
+"Though I don't know much about it, I understood they were opposed to
+each other," she said coldly.
+
+"Their business interests don't coincide; but it doesn't follow that
+they should disagree about anything else. My brother did all he could to
+dissuade Vane from going on with his search for the timber until the
+winter was over."
+
+"I think it is rather fine of him to persist in it," Evelyn declared.
+
+Jessie smiled, though she felt venomous just then. "Yes," she agreed;
+"one undoubtedly feels that. Besides, the thing's so characteristic of
+him; the man's impulsively generous and not easily daunted. He possesses
+many of the rudimentary virtues, as well as some of the corresponding
+weaknesses, which is very much what one would look for."
+
+"What do you mean by that?" Evelyn inquired, suppressing her resentment.
+Though she was not prepared to pose as Vane's advocate, she was
+conscious of a growing antagonism against her companion.
+
+"It's difficult to explain, and I don't know that the subject's worth
+discussing," said Jessie. "However, what I think I meant was
+this--Vane's of a type that's not uncommon in the West, and it's a type
+one finds interesting. He's forcibly elementary, which is the only way I
+can express it; the restraints the rest of us submit to don't bind him;
+he breaks through them."
+
+This, so Evelyn fancied, was more or less correct. Indeed, the man's
+disregard of hampering customs had pleased her, but she allowed that
+some restraints were needful. As it happened, her companion followed up
+the same train of thought.
+
+"When one breaks down or gets over fences, it's necessary to
+discriminate," she went on lightly. "Men of the Berserker type, however,
+are more addicted to going straight through the lot. In a way, they're
+consistent--having smashed one barrier, why should they respect the
+next?"
+
+Jessie, as she was quite aware, was playing a dangerous game; one that
+might afterwards be exposed. Still, the latter possibility was of less
+account because detection would come too late if she were successful.
+She was acquainted with the salient points of Evelyn's character.
+
+"They're consistent, if not always very logical," she concluded after a
+pause. "One endeavours to make allowances for men of that description."
+
+Something in her tone roused Evelyn to sudden imperious anger. It was
+intolerable that this woman should offer excuses for Vane.
+
+"What particular allowances do you feel it needful to make in Mr. Vane's
+case?" she asked.
+
+Now she was faced by the direct question, Jessie hesitated. As a rule,
+she was subtle, but she could be ruthlessly frank, and she was possessed
+by a hatred of the girl beside her.
+
+"You have forced me to an explanation," she expostulated. "The fact is
+that while he has a room at the hotel he has an--establishment--in a
+different neighbourhood. Unfortunately, what you could best describe as
+a Latin quarter is a feature of some Western towns."
+
+It was a shock to Evelyn; one she found it hard to face, though she was
+not convinced. The last piece of information agreed with something Mrs.
+Nairn had told her; but although she had on one occasion had the
+testimony of her eyes in support of it, Jessie's first statement sounded
+incredible.
+
+"It's impossible," she declared.
+
+Jessie smiled in a bitter manner. "It's unpleasant, but it can't be
+denied. He undoubtedly pays the rent of a shack in the neighbourhood I
+mentioned."
+
+Evelyn sat tensely still for a moment or two. She dared not give rein to
+her feelings, she would not betray herself; but composure was extremely
+difficult.
+
+"If that is so, how is it that he is received everywhere--at your house
+and by Mrs. Nairn?" she asked.
+
+Jessie shrugged her shoulders. "People in general are the more or less
+charitable in the case of a successful man. Apart from that, Mr. Vane
+has a good many excellent qualities. As I said, one has to make
+allowances."
+
+Just then, to Evelyn's relief, Mrs. Nairn came in, and though the girl
+suffered during the time, it was half an hour before she could find an
+excuse for slipping away alone. Then, sitting in the gathering darkness,
+in her own room, she set herself to consider, as dispassionately as
+possible, what she had heard. It was exceedingly difficult to believe
+the charge; but Jessie's assertion was definite enough, and one which,
+if incorrect, could be readily disproved. Nobody would say such a thing
+unless it could be substantiated, and that led Evelyn to consider why
+Jessie had given her the information. She had obviously done so with at
+least a trace of malice; but this could hardly have sprung from
+jealousy, because Evelyn could not think that a woman would vilify a man
+for whom she had any tenderness. Besides, she had seen Vane entering the
+part of the town indicated, where he could not have had any legitimate
+business. Hateful as the suspicion was, it could not be contemptuously
+dismissed. Then she granted that she had no right to censure the man; he
+was not accountable to her for his conduct; but calm reasoning carried
+her no farther. She was once more filled with intolerable disgust and
+burning indignation. Somehow she had come to believe in Vane, and he had
+turned out an impostor.
+
+It was about an hour later when Vane and Carroll entered the house with
+Nairn and proceeded to the latter's room, where he offered them cigars.
+
+"So ye're all ready to sail the morn?" he said.
+
+Vane, who nodded, handed him some papers. "There's your authority to act
+in my name if it's required. I expect to be back before there's much
+change in the situation; but I'll call at Nanaimo, where you can wire me
+if anything turns up during the three days it may take us to get there."
+
+"I suppose there's no use in my saying anything more now; but I can't
+help pointing out that, as head of the concern, you have a certain duty
+to the shareholders which you seem inclined to disregard," Carroll
+remarked.
+
+"I've no doubt their interests will be as safe in Nairn's hands as in
+mine," Vane rejoined.
+
+"I fail to see why ye could no have let the whole thing stand over until
+the spring," said Nairn. "The spruce winna run away."
+
+"I'd have done so had it been a few years earlier, but the whole country
+is overrun with mineral prospectors and timber-righters now. Every
+month's delay gives somebody else a chance of getting in ahead of me."
+
+"Weel," said Nairn resignedly. "I can only wish ye luck, but should ye
+be detained up yonder, if one of ye could sail across to Comox to see if
+there's any mail there, it would be wise to do so." He waved his hand.
+"No more of that; we'll consider what tactics I had better adopt in case
+of delay."
+
+An hour had passed before they went down to join the guests who were
+arriving for the evening meal. As a rule, the Western business man, who
+is more or less engrossed in his occupation, except when he is asleep,
+enjoys little privacy; and his friends sometimes compared Nairn's
+dwelling to the rotunda of an hotel. The point of this was that people
+of all descriptions who have nothing better to do are addicted to
+strolling into the combined bazaar and lounge which is attached to many
+Canadian hostelries.
+
+As it happened, Vane sat next to Evelyn at table; but after a quiet
+reply to his first observation, she turned and talked to the man on her
+other side. Since the latter, who was elderly and dull, had only two
+topics--the most efficient means of desiccating fruit and the lack of
+railroad facilities--Vane was somewhat astonished that she appeared
+interested in his conversation, and by and by he tried again. He was not
+more successful this time, and his face grew warm as he realised that
+Evelyn was not inclined to talk to him. Being a very ordinary mortal and
+not particularly patient, he was sensible of some indignation, which was
+not diminished when, on looking round, Jessie Horsfield, who sat
+opposite, favoured him with a compassionate smile. He took his part in
+the general conversation, however, and the meal was over and the guests
+were scattered about the adjoining rooms, when, after impatiently
+waiting for the opportunity, he found Evelyn alone. She was standing
+with one hand on a table, looking rather thoughtful.
+
+"I've come to ask what I've done," he began.
+
+Evelyn, who was not prepared for this blunt directness, felt
+disconcerted, but she broke into a chilly smile.
+
+"The question's rather indefinite, isn't it?" she said. "Do you expect
+me to be acquainted with all your recent actions?"
+
+"Then I'll put the thing in another way--do you mind telling me how I
+have offended you?"
+
+The girl almost wished that she could do so. Appearances were badly
+against him, but she felt that if he declared himself innocent she could
+take his word in the face of overwhelming testimony to the contrary,
+Unfortunately, however, it was unthinkable that she should plainly state
+the charge.
+
+"Do you suppose I should feel warranted in forming any opinion upon your
+conduct?" she retorted.
+
+"But you have formed one, and it isn't favourable."
+
+The girl hesitated a moment, but she had the courage of her convictions,
+and she felt impelled to make some protest.
+
+"That," she said, looking him in the eyes, "is perfectly true."
+
+He looked more puzzled than guilty, and once more she chafed against the
+fact that she could give him no opportunity of defending himself.
+
+"Well," he said, "I'm sorry; but it brings us back to my first
+question."
+
+The situation was becoming painful as well as embarrassing, and Evelyn,
+perhaps unreasonably, grew more angry with the man.
+
+"I'm afraid," she said "you are either clever at dissembling or have no
+imagination."
+
+Vane held himself in hand with an effort, "I dare say you're right on
+the latter point," he informed her. "It's a fact I'm sometimes thankful
+for. It leaves one more free to go straight ahead. Now, as I see the
+dried-fruit man coming in search of you, and you evidently don't mean to
+answer me, I can't urge the matter."
+
+He turned away and left her wondering why he had abandoned his usual
+persistency, unless it was that an uneasy conscience had driven him from
+the field. It did not occur to her that the man had, under strong
+provocation, merely yielded to the prompting of a somewhat hasty temper.
+In the meanwhile, he crossed the room in an absent-minded manner, and
+presently found himself near Jessie, who made room for him at her side.
+
+"It looks as if you were in disgrace to-night," she said, and waited
+with concealed impatience for his answer. If Evelyn had been clever or
+bold enough to give him a hint as to what he was suspected of, Jessie
+foresaw undesirable complications.
+
+"I think I am," he owned without reflection. "The trouble is, that while
+I may deserve it on general grounds, I'm unconscious of having done
+anything very reprehensible in particular."
+
+Jessie was sensible of considerable relief. The man was sore and
+resentful; he would not press Evelyn for an explanation, and the breach
+would widen. In the meanwhile she must play her cards skilfully.
+
+"Then that fact should sustain you," she rejoined. "We shall miss you
+after to-morrow; more than one of us. Of course, it's too late to tell
+you that you were not altogether wise in resolving to go."
+
+"Everybody has been telling me the same thing for the last few weeks,"
+Vane informed her.
+
+"Then I'll only wish you every success. It's a pity Bendle and the other
+man haven't paid up yet."
+
+She met his surprised look with an engaging smile. "You needn't be
+astonished. There's not very much goes on in the city that I don't hear
+about--you know how men talk business here; and it's interesting to look
+on, even when one can't actually take a hand in the game. It's said the
+watchers sometimes see most of it."
+
+"To tell the truth, it's the uncertainty as to what those two men might
+do that has been chiefly worrying me."
+
+"I believe I understand the position; they've been hanging fire, haven't
+they? But I've reasons for believing they'll come to a decision before
+very long."
+
+Vane looked troubled, "That's interesting, but I ought to warn you that
+your brother----"
+
+"I've no intention of giving him away, and, as a matter of fact, I think
+you are a little prejudiced against him. After all, he's not your
+greatest danger. There's a cabal against you among your shareholders."
+
+She knew by the way he looked at her that he admired her acumen. "Yes,"
+he agreed; "I've suspected that."
+
+"There are two courses open to you; the first is to put off your
+expedition."
+
+The answer was to the effect she had anticipated. "I can't do so, for
+several reasons."
+
+"The other is to call at Nanaimo and wait until, we'll say, next
+Thursday. If there's need for you to come back, I think it will arise by
+then; but it might be better if you called at Comox too--after you leave
+the latter you'll be unreachable. Well, if it seems necessary, I'll send
+you a warning. If you hear nothing, you can go on."
+
+Vane reflected hastily. Jessie, as she had told him, had opportunities
+of picking up valuable information about the business done in that city,
+and he had confidence in her.
+
+"Thank you," he said. "It will be the second service you have done me,
+and I appreciate it. Anyway, I promised Nairn I'd call at Nanaimo, in
+there was a wire from him."
+
+"It's a bargain, and now we'll talk of something else," said Jessie, and
+she drew him into an exchange of badinage, until noticing that Evelyn
+once or twice glanced at her with some astonishment she presently got
+rid of him. She could understand Evelyn's attitude and did not wish her
+friendliness with the offender to appear unnatural after what she had
+said about him.
+
+At length the guests began to leave, but most of them had gone when Vane
+rose to take his departure. His host and hostess went with him to the
+door, but though he once or twice glanced round eagerly, there was no
+sign of Evelyn. He lingered a few moments on the threshold after Mrs.
+Nairn had given him a kindly send-off; but nobody appeared in the
+lighted hall, and after another word with Nairn he went moodily down the
+steps to join Jessie and Carroll, who were waiting for him below. As the
+group walked down the garden path, Mrs. Nairn looked at her husband.
+
+"I do not know what has come over Evelyn this night," she remarked.
+
+Nairn followed Jessie's retreating figure with distrustful eyes. "Weel,"
+he said, "I'm thinking yon besom may have had a hand in the thing."
+
+Then he turned, and they went in.
+
+A few minutes later, Jessie, standing where the light of a big lamp
+streamed down upon her through the boughs of a leafless maple, bade Vane
+farewell at her brother's gate.
+
+"If my good wishes can bring you success, it will most certainly be
+yours," she said; and there was something in her voice which faintly
+stirred the man, who was feeling very sore.
+
+"Thank you," he said, and she did not immediately withdraw the hand she
+had given him. He was grateful to her, and thought she looked unusually
+pretty with the sympathy shining in her eyes.
+
+"You will not forget to wait at Nanaimo and Comox?" she went on.
+
+"No," said Vane. "If you recall me, I'll come back at once; if not, I'll
+go on with a lighter heart, knowing that I can safely stay away."
+
+Jessie said nothing further, and he moved on. She felt that she had
+scored, and she knew when to stop. The man had given her his full
+confidence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+THE INTERCEPTED LETTER.
+
+
+The wind was fresh from the north-west when Vane drove the sloop out
+through the Narrows in the early dawn and saw a dim stretch of
+white-flecked sea in front of him. Landlocked as they are by Vancouver
+Island, the long roll of the Pacific cannot enter those waters; but they
+are now and then lashed into short, tumbling seas, sufficient to make
+their passage difficult for a craft no larger than the sloop. Carroll
+frowned when a comber struck the weather bow and a shower of stinging
+spray whipped his face.
+
+"Right ahead again," he remarked. "But as I suppose you're going on,
+we'd better stretch straight across on the starboard tack; we'll get
+smoother water along the island shore."
+
+They let her go, and Vane sat at the helm, hour after hour, drenched
+with spray, hammering her mercilessly into the frothy seas. They could
+have done with a second reef down, for the deck was swept and sluicing,
+and most of the time the lee rail was buried deep in rushing foam; but
+Vane showed no intention of shortening sail. Nor did Carroll, who saw
+that his comrade was disturbed in temper, suggest it: resolute action
+had, he knew, a soothing effect on Vane. As a matter of fact, the latter
+needed soothing. Of late, he had felt that he was making steady progress
+in Evelyn's favour, and now she had most unexplainably turned against
+him; but, rack his brain as he would, he could not discover the reason.
+That he was conscious of no offence only made the position more galling.
+
+In the meanwhile, the boat engrossed more and more of his attention. It
+was a relief to drive her hard at some white-topped sea, and watch her
+bows disappear in it with a thud, while it somehow eased his mind to see
+the smashed-up brine fly half the height of her drenched mainsail. There
+was also satisfaction in feeling the strain on the tiller when, swayed
+down by a fiercer gust, she plunged through the combers with the froth
+swirling, perilously close to the coaming, along her half-submerged
+deck.
+
+The day was cold; the man, who was compelled to sit almost still in a
+nipping wind, was soon wet through, but this in some curious way further
+tended to restore his accustomed optimism and good-humour. He had partly
+recovered both, when, as the sloop drove through the whiter turmoil
+whipped up by a vicious squall, there was a crash forward.
+
+"Down helm!" shouted Carroll. "The bobstay's gone."
+
+He scrambled towards the bowsprit, which, having lost its principal
+support, swayed upward, in peril of being torn away by the sagging jib.
+Vane, who first rounded up the boat into the wind, followed him; and for
+several minutes they had a struggle with the madly-flapping sail, before
+they flung it, bundled up, into the well. Then they ran in the bowsprit,
+and Vane felt glad that, although the craft had been rigged in the usual
+Western fashion, he had changed that by giving her a couple of headsails
+in place of one.
+
+"She'll trim with the staysail, if we haul another reef down," he said.
+
+It cost them some labour, but they were warmer afterwards, and when they
+went on again Vane glanced at the bowsprit.
+
+"We'll try to get a bit of galvanised steel in Nanaimo," he said. "I
+can't risk another smash."
+
+"You had better be prepared for one, if you mean to drive her as you
+have been doing." Carroll flung back the saloon scuttle. "You'd have
+swamped her in another hour or two; the cabin floorings are all awash."
+
+"Then hadn't you better pump her out?" retorted Vane. "After that, you
+can light the stove. It's beginning to dawn on me that it's a long while
+since I had anything to eat."
+
+By and by they made a bountiful if somewhat primitive meal, in turn,
+sitting in the dripping saloon, which was partly filled with smoke, and
+Carroll sighed for the comforts he had abandoned. He did not, however,
+mention his regrets, because he did not expect his comrade's sympathy.
+
+The craft, being under reduced sail, drove along more easily during the
+rest of the afternoon, and they ran into a little colliery town on the
+following day. There Vane replaced the broken bobstay with a solid piece
+of steel, and then sat down to write a letter, while Carroll stretched
+his cramped limbs ashore.
+
+The letter was addressed to Evelyn, and he found it difficult to express
+himself as he desired. The spoken word, as he had discovered, is now and
+then awkward to use, but the written one is more evasive still, and he
+shook his head ruefully over the production when he laid down his pen.
+This was, perhaps, unnecessary, for, having grown calm, he had framed a
+terse and forcible appeal to the girl's sense of justice, which would in
+all probability have had its effect on her had she received it. Though
+he hardly realised it, the few simple words were convincing.
+
+Having received no news from Nairn or Jessie, they sailed again in a day
+or two, bound for Comox, farther along the coast, where there was a
+possibility of communications overtaking them; but in the meanwhile
+matters which concerned them were moving forward in Vancouver.
+
+It was rather early one afternoon when Jessie called upon a friend of
+hers and found her alone. Mrs. Bendle was a young and impulsive woman
+from one of the eastern cities, and she had not made many friends in
+Vancouver yet, though her husband, whom she had lately married, was a
+man of some importance there.
+
+"I'm glad to see you," she said, greeting Jessie eagerly. "It's a week
+since anybody has been in to talk to me and Tom's away again."
+
+Jessie made herself comfortable in an easy-chair, before she referred to
+one of her companion's remarks.
+
+"Where has Mr. Bendle gone now?" she asked.
+
+"Into the bush to look at a mine. He left this morning, and it will be a
+week before he's back. Then he's going across the Selkirks with that
+Clavering man about some irrigation scheme."
+
+This suggested one or two questions, which Jessie desired to ask, but
+she did not frame them immediately. "It must be dull for you," she said
+sympathetically.
+
+"I don't mean to complain," her companion informed her. "Tom's
+reasonable; the last time I said anything about being left alone he
+bought me the pair of ponies."
+
+"You're fortunate in several ways; there are not a great many people who
+can make such presents. But while everybody knows how your husband has
+been successful lately, I'm a little surprised that he's able to go into
+Clavering's irrigation scheme. It's an expensive one; but I understand,
+they intend to confine it to a few, which means that those interested
+will have to subscribe handsomely."
+
+"Tom," said her companion, "likes to have a number of different things
+in hand. He told me it was wiser when I said I couldn't tell my friends
+back East what he really is, because he seemed to be everything at once.
+But your brother's interested in a good many things too, isn't he?"
+
+"I believe so," answered Jessie. "Still, I'm pretty sure he couldn't
+afford to join Clavering and at the same time take up a big block of
+shares in Mr. Vane's mine."
+
+"But Tom isn't going to do the latter now."
+
+Jessie was almost startled; this was valuable information which she
+could scarcely have expected to obtain so easily. There was more she
+desired to ascertain, but she had no intention of making any obvious
+inquiries.
+
+"It's generally understood that Mr. Vane and your husband are on good
+terms," she said. "You know him, don't you?"
+
+"I've met him at one or two places, and I like him, but when I mention
+him, Tom smiles. He says it's unfortunate Mr. Vane can only see one
+thing at once, and that the one which lies right in front of his eyes.
+For all that I've heard him own that the man is likeable."
+
+"Then it's a pity he's unable to stand by him now."
+
+"I really believe Tom was half sorry he couldn't do so last night. He
+said something that suggested it. I don't understand much about these
+matters, but Howitson was here, talking business, until late."
+
+Jessie was satisfied. Her hostess's previous incautious admission had
+gone a long way, but to this was added the significant information that
+Bendle was inclined to be sorry for Vane. The fact that he and Howitson
+had decided on some joint action after a long private discussion implied
+that there was trouble in store for the absent man, unless he could be
+summoned to deal with the crisis in person. Jessie wondered if Nairn
+knew anything about the matter yet, and decided that she would try to
+sound him. In the meanwhile, she led her companion away from the
+subject, and they discussed millinery and such matters until she took
+her departure.
+
+It was early in the evening when she reached Nairn's house, which she
+had thought it better to arrive at a little before he came home, and was
+told that Mrs. Nairn and Miss Chisholm were out but were expected back
+shortly. Evelyn had been by no means cordial to her since their last
+interview, and Mrs. Nairn's manner had been colder; but Jessie decided
+to wait, and for the second time that day fortune seemed to play into
+her hands.
+
+It was dark outside, but the entrance hall was brightly lighted, and she
+could see into it from where she sat. Highly-trained domestics are
+generally scarce in the West, and the maid had left the door of the room
+open. By and by there was a knock at the outer door and a young lad came
+in with some letters in his hand. He explained to the maid that he had
+been to the post office and had brought his employer's private mail.
+Then he withdrew, and the maid, who first laid the letters carelessly on
+a little table, also retired, banging a door behind her. The concussion
+shook down the letters, and several, fluttering forward with the sudden
+draught, fell near the threshold of the room. Jessie rose to replace
+them.
+
+When she reached the door, she stopped abruptly, for she recognised the
+writing on one envelope. There was no doubt it was from Vane, and she
+noticed that it was addressed to Miss Chisholm. Jessie picked it up, and
+when she had laid the others upon the table stood with it in her hand.
+
+"Has the man no pride?" she said, half aloud.
+
+Then she looked about her, listening, greatly tempted, and considering.
+There was no sound in the house; Evelyn and Mrs. Nairn were out, and she
+was cut off from its other occupants by a closed door. Nobody would know
+that she had entered the hall, and if the letter were subsequently
+missed it would be unlikely that any question regarding its
+disappearance would ever be asked. If there was no response from Evelyn,
+Vane, she thought, would not renew his appeal. Jessie had no doubt that
+the letter contained an appeal of some kind, which might lead to a
+reconciliation, and she knew that silence is often more potent than an
+outbreak of anger. She had only to destroy the letter, and the breach
+between the two people whom she desired to separate would widen
+automatically.
+
+There was little risk of detection, but standing tensely still, with set
+lips and her heart beating faster than usual, she shrank from the
+decisive action. She could still replace the letter, and look for other
+means of bringing about what she wished. She was self-willed, and
+endowed with few troublesome principles, but until she had poisoned
+Evelyn's mind against Vane she had never done anything flagrantly
+dishonourable. Then, while she waited, irresolute, a fresh temptation
+seized her in the shape of a burning desire to learn what the man had to
+say. He would reveal his feelings in the message, and she could judge
+the strength of her rival's influence over him.
+
+Yet she hesitated, with a half-instinctive recognition of the fact that
+the decision she must make was an eventful one. She had transgressed
+grievously in one recent interview with Evelyn, but, while she had no
+idea of making reparation, she could, at least, stop short of a second
+offence. She had perhaps, not gone too far yet, but if she ventured a
+little farther, she might be driven on against her will and become
+inextricably involved in an entanglement of dishonourable treachery.
+
+The issue hung in the balance--the slightest thing would have turned the
+scale--when she heard footsteps outside and the tinkle of a bell. Moving
+with a start, she slipped back into the room just before the maid opened
+the adjacent door. In another moment or two, she thrust the envelope
+inside her dress, and gathered her composure as Mrs. Nairn and Evelyn
+entered the hall. The former approached the table and turned over the
+handful of letters.
+
+"Two for ye from England, Evelyn, and one or two for me," she said, and,
+as Jessie noticed, flashed a quick glance at her companion. "Nothing
+else," she added. "I had thought Vane would maybe send a bit note from
+one of the Island ports to say how he was getting on."
+
+Then Jessie rose to greet her hostess. The question was decided; it was
+too late to replace the letter now. She could not remember what they
+talked about during the next half-hour, but she took her part until
+Nairn came in, and contrived to have a word with him before leaving.
+Mrs. Nairn had gone out to give some instructions about supper and, when
+Evelyn followed her, Jessie turned to Nairn.
+
+"Mr. Vane would be at Comox now," she said. "Have you any idea of
+recalling him? Of course, I know a little about the Clermont affairs."
+
+Nairn glanced at her with thoughtful eyes. "I'm no acquainted with any
+reason that would render such a course necessary."
+
+Evelyn reappeared shortly after this, and on the whole Jessie was glad
+of it, but she excused herself from staying for the evening meal, and
+walked home thinking hard. It was needful that Vane should be recalled,
+and though he had written to Evelyn, she still meant to send him word.
+He would be grateful to her, and, indignant and wounded as she was, she
+would not own herself beaten. She would warn the man, and afterwards,
+perhaps allow Nairn to send him a second message.
+
+On reaching her brother's house she went straight to her own room and
+tore open the envelope. The colour receded from her face as she read,
+and sinking into a chair she sat still with hands clenched. The message
+was terse, but it was stirringly candid, and even where the man did not
+fully reveal his feelings in his words she could read between the lines.
+There was no doubt that he had given his heart unreservedly into her
+rival's keeping.
+
+For a while she sat still, and then, stooping swiftly, seized the
+letter, which she had dropped, and rent it into fragments. Her eyes had
+grown hard and cruel; love of the only kind she was capable of had
+suddenly turned to hate. What was more, it was a hate that could be
+gratified.
+
+A little later, Horsfield came in, and though she was very composed now,
+she noticed that he looked at her in an unusual manner once or twice
+during the meal that followed.
+
+"You make me feel you have something on your mind," she said at length.
+
+"That's a fact," Horsfield confessed. The man was attached to and rather
+proud of his sister.
+
+"Well?"
+
+Horsfield leaned forward confidentially. "See here," he said, "I've
+always imagined that you would go far, and I'm anxious to see you do so.
+I wouldn't like you to throw yourself away."
+
+His sister could take a hint, but there was information she desired, and
+the man was speaking with unusual reserve.
+
+"Oh!" she said, with a slight show of impatience, "you must be plainer."
+
+"Then you have seen a good deal of Vane, and, in case you have any
+hankering after his scalp, I think I'd better mention that there's
+reason to believe he won't be worth powder and shot before very long."
+
+"Ah!" said Jessie, with a calmness which was difficult to assume, "you
+may as well understand that there is nothing between Vane and me. I
+suppose you mean that Howitson and Bendle are turning against him?"
+
+"Something like that," Horsfield agreed in a tone which implied that her
+answer had afforded him relief. "The man has trouble in front of him."
+
+Jessie changed the subject. What she had gathered from Mrs. Bendle was
+fully confirmed, but she had made up her mind. Evelyn's lover might wait
+for the warning which could save him, but he should wait in vain.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+ON THE TRAIL.
+
+
+It was a long, wet sail up the coast with the wind ahead, and Carroll
+was content, when, on reaching Comox, Vane announced his intention of
+stopping there until the mail came in. Immediately after its arrival,
+Carroll went ashore, and came back empty-handed.
+
+"Nothing," he said. "Personally, I'm pleased. Nairn could have advised
+us here if there had been any striking developments since we left the
+last place."
+
+"I wasn't expecting to hear from him," Vane replied.
+
+Carroll read keen disappointment in his face, and was not surprised,
+although the absence of any message meant that it was safe for them to
+go on with their project, which should have afforded his companion
+satisfaction.
+
+They got off shortly afterwards and stood out to the northwards.
+
+Most of that day and the next two they drifted with the tides through
+narrowing waters, though now and then for a few hours they were wafted
+on by light and fickle winds. At length they crept into the inlet where
+they had landed on the previous voyage, and on the morning after their
+arrival set out on the march. There was on this occasion reason to
+expect more rigorous weather, and the load each carried was an almost
+crushing one. Where the trees were thinner, the ground was frozen hard,
+and even in the densest bush the undergrowth was white and stiff with
+frost, while, when they could see aloft through some chance opening, a
+forbidding grey sky hung over them.
+
+On approaching the rift in the hillside which he had glanced at when
+they first passed that way, Vane stopped a moment.
+
+"I looked into that place before, but it didn't seem worth while to
+follow it up," he said. "If you'll wait, I'll go a little farther along
+it."
+
+Though the air was nipping, Carroll, who was breathless, was content to
+remain where he was, and he spent some time sitting upon a log before a
+faint shout reached him. Then he rose, and making his way up the hollow,
+found his comrade standing upon a jutting ledge.
+
+"I thought you were never coming," the latter remarked. "Climb up; I've
+something to show you."
+
+Carroll joined him with difficulty, and Vane stretched out his hand.
+
+"Look yonder," he said.
+
+Carroll looked and started. They stood in a rocky gateway with a river
+brawling down the chasm beneath them; but a valley opened up in front.
+Filled with sombre forest, it ran back almost straight between
+stupendous walls of hills.
+
+"It answers Hartley's description," he said. "After all, I don't think
+it's extraordinary we should have taken so much trouble to push on past
+the right place."
+
+"How's that?" Vane demanded.
+
+Carroll sat down and filled his pipe. "It's the natural result of
+possessing a temperament like yours. Somehow, you've got it firmly fixed
+into your mind that everything worth doing must be hard."
+
+"I've generally found it so."
+
+"I think," said Carroll, grinning, "you've generally made it so. There's
+a marked difference between the two. If any means of doing a thing looks
+easy, you at once conclude it can't be the right way, which is a mode of
+reasoning that has never convinced me. In my opinion, it's more sensible
+to try the easiest method first."
+
+"As a rule, that leads to your having to fall back upon the other one;
+and a frontal attack on a difficulty's often quicker than considering
+how you can work round its flank. In this case I'll own we have wasted a
+lot of time and taken a good deal of trouble that might have been
+avoided. But are you going to sit here and smoke?"
+
+"Until I've finished my pipe," Carroll answered. "I expect we'll find
+tobacco, among other things, getting pretty scarce before this
+expedition ends."
+
+He carried out his intention, and they afterwards pushed on up the
+valley during the rest of the day. It grew more level as they proceeded,
+and in spite of the frost, which bound the feeding snows, there was a
+steady flow of water down the river, which was free from rocky barriers.
+Vane, who now and then glanced at the latter attentively, stopped when
+dusk was drawing near, and fixed his gaze on the long ranks of trees
+that stretched away in front of him; fretted spires of sombre greenery
+lifted high above a colonnade of mighty trunks.
+
+"Does anything in connection with this bush strike you?" he asked.
+
+"Its stiffness, if that's what you mean," Carroll suggested, smiling.
+"These big conifers look as if they'd been carved. They're impressive,
+in a way, but they're too artificial."
+
+"That's not what I mean," Vane informed him impatiently.
+
+"To tell the truth," said Carroll, "I didn't suppose it was. Anyway,
+these trees aren't spruce. They're red cedar, the stuff they make the
+roofing shingles of."
+
+"Precisely. Just now, shingles are in good demand in the Province, and
+with the wooden towns springing up on the prairie, Western millers can
+hardly send roofing material across the Rockies fast enough. Besides
+this, I haven't struck a creek more adapted for running logs down, and
+the last sharp drop to tidewater would give power for a mill. I'm only
+puzzled that none of the timber-lease prospectors has recorded the
+place."
+
+"That's easy to understand," said Carroll. "Like you, they'd no doubt
+first search the most difficult spots to get at."
+
+They went on in another minute, and pitched their light tent beside the
+creek when darkness fell.
+
+"By the by, I thought you were disappointed when you got no mail at
+Comox," Carroll remarked at length, feeling that he was making something
+of a venture.
+
+"I was," said Vane.
+
+This was not encouraging, but Carroll persisted. "That's strange,
+because your hearing nothing from Nairn left you free to go ahead,
+which, one would suppose, was what you wanted."
+
+Vane, as it happened, was in a confidential mood; though usually averse
+from sharing his troubles, he felt he needed sympathy. "I'd better
+confess I wrote Miss Chisholm a few lines from Nanaimo."
+
+"Ah!" said Carroll softly; "and she didn't answer you. Now, I couldn't
+well help noticing that you were rather in her bad graces that night at
+Nairn's. No doubt, you're acquainted with the reason?"
+
+"I'm not," Vane replied. "That's just the trouble."
+
+Carroll reflected. He had an idea that Miss Horsfield was somehow
+connected with the matter, but this was a suspicion he could not
+mention.
+
+"Well," he said, "as I pointed out, you're addicted to taking the
+hardest way. When we came up here before, you marched past this valley,
+chiefly because it was close at hand; but I don't want to dwell on that.
+Has it occurred to you that you did something of the same kind when you
+were at the Dene? The way that was then offered you was easy."
+
+"This is not the kind of subject one cares to talk about; but you ought
+to know I couldn't allow them to force Miss Chisholm upon me against her
+will. It was unthinkable! Besides, looking at it in the most
+cold-blooded manner, it would have been foolishness, for which we'd both
+have to pay afterwards."
+
+"I'm not so sure of that," said Carroll thoughtfully. "There were the
+Sabine women among other instances. Didn't they cut off their hair to
+make bow-strings for their abductors?"
+
+His companion made no answer, and Carroll, deciding that he had ventured
+as far as was prudent, talked of something else until they crept into
+the little tent, and soon afterwards they fell asleep.
+
+They started with the first of the daylight next morning, but the timber
+grew denser and more choked with underbrush as they proceeded, and for
+several days they wearily struggled through it and the clogging masses
+of tangled, withered fern. Besides this, they were forced to clamber
+over fallen trunks, when the ragged ends of the snapped-off branches
+caught their loads. Their shoulders ached, their boots were ripped,
+their feet were badly galled; but they held on stubbornly, plunging
+deeper into the mountains all the while.
+
+Soon after setting out one morning, they climbed a clearer hillside to
+look about them. High up ahead, the crest of the white range gleamed
+dazzlingly against leaden cloud in a burst of sunshine; below, dark
+forest, still wrapped in gloom, filled all the valley; and in between,
+on the middle slopes, a belt of timber touched by the light shone with a
+curious silvery lustre. Though it was some distance off, probably a
+day's journey, allowing for the difficulty of the march, Vane gazed at
+it earnestly. The trees were bare--there was no doubt of that, for the
+dwindling ranks, diminished by the distance, stood out against the
+snow-streaked rock like rows of rather thick needles set upright. Their
+straightness and the way they glistened suggested the resemblance.
+
+"Ominous, isn't it?" Carroll said at length. "If this is the valley
+Hartley came down, and everything points to that, we should be getting
+near the spruce."
+
+Vane's face grew set. "Yes," he agreed. "There has been a big fire up
+yonder; but whether it has swept the lower ground or not is more than I
+can tell. We'll find out early to-morrow."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+THE END OF THE SEARCH.
+
+
+The two men made a hurried breakfast in the cold dawn and not long
+afterwards they were struggling through thick timber, when the light
+suddenly grew a little clearer. Carroll remarked upon the fact and
+Vane's face hardened.
+
+"We're either coming to a swamp, or the track the fire has swept is
+close in front," the latter said.
+
+A thicket lay before him, but he smashed savagely through the midst of
+it, the undergrowth snapping and crackling about his limbs. Then there
+was a network of tangled branches to be crossed, and afterwards,
+reaching slightly clearer ground, he broke into a run. Three or four
+minutes later, he stopped, breathless and ragged, with his rent boots
+scarcely clinging to his feet; and Carroll, who came up with him, gazed
+eagerly about.
+
+The living forest rose behind them, an almost unbroken wall, but ahead
+the trees ran up in detached and blackened spires. Their branches had
+vanished; every cluster of sombre-green needles and delicate spray had
+gone; the great rampikes, as they are called, looked like shafts of
+charcoal. About their feet lay crumbling masses of calcined wood which
+grew more and more numerous where there were open spaces farther on and
+then the bare, black columns ran on again, up the valley and the steep
+hill benches on either hand. It was a weird scene of desolation;
+impressive to the point of being appalling in its suggestiveness of
+widespread ruin.
+
+For the space of a minute the men gazed at it; and then Vane, stretching
+out his hand, pointed to a snow-sheeted hill.
+
+"That's the peak Hartley mentioned," he said in a voice which was
+strangely incisive. "Give me the axe."
+
+He took it from his comrade and, striding forward, attacked the nearest
+rampike. Twice the keen blade sank noiselessly overhead, scattering a
+black dust in the frosty air; and then there was a clear, ringing thud.
+After that, Vane smote on with a determined methodical swiftness, until
+Carroll grabbed his shoulder.
+
+"Look out!" he cried. "It's going."
+
+Vane stepped back a few paces; the trunk reeled and rushed downwards:
+there was a deafening crash, and they were enveloped in a cloud of
+gritty dust. Through the midst of it they dimly saw two more great
+trunks collapse; and then somewhere up the valley a series of thundering
+shocks, which both knew were not echoes, broke out. The sound jarred
+upon Carroll's nerves, as the thud of the felled rampike had not done,
+but Vane picked up one of the chips and handed it to him.
+
+"We have found Hartley's spruce," he said.
+
+Carroll did not answer for a minute. After all, when defeat must be
+faced, there was very little to be said, though his companion's
+expression troubled him. Its grim stolidity was portentous.
+
+"I suppose," he remarked at length, "nothing could be done with it?"
+
+Vane pointed to the butt of the tree, which showed a space of clean wood
+surrounded by a blackened rim.
+
+"You can't make marketable pulp of charcoal, and the price would have to
+run pretty high before it would pay for ripping most of the log away to
+get at the residue," he answered harshly.
+
+"But there may be some unburned spruce farther on," Carroll urged.
+
+"It's possible," said Vane. "I'm going to find out."
+
+This was a logical determination; but, in spite of his recent
+suggestion, Carroll realised that he would have abandoned the search
+there and then, had the choice been left to him, in which he did not
+think he was singular. After all they had undergone, the shock of the
+disappointment was severe. He could have faced a failure to locate the
+spruce with some degree of philosophical calm; but to find it at last,
+useless, was very much worse. But he did not expect his companion to
+turn back yet: before he desisted, Vane would seek for and examine every
+unburned tree. What was more, Carroll, who thought the search could
+serve no purpose, would have to accompany him. Then the latter noticed
+that Vane was waiting for him to speak, and he decided that this was a
+situation which he had better endeavour to treat lightly.
+
+"I think I'll have a smoke," he said. "I'm afraid any remarks I could
+make wouldn't do justice to the occasion. Language has its limits."
+
+He sat down on the charred log and took out his pipe before he
+proceeded: "A brûlée's not a nice place to wander about in when there's
+any wind, and I've an idea there's some coming, though it's quiet now."
+
+Shut in, as they were, in the deep hollow with the towering snows above
+them, it was impressively still; and in conjunction with the sight of
+the black desolation the deep silence reacted upon Carroll's nerves. He
+longed to escape from it, to make a noise, though this, if done
+unguardedly, might bring more of the rampikes thundering down. He could
+hear tiny flakes of charcoal falling from them, and though the fire had
+long gone out, a faint and curious crackling, as if the dead embers were
+stirring. He wondered if this were some effect of the frost; it struck
+him as disturbing and weird.
+
+"We'll work right round the brûlée," said Vane. "Then I suppose we had
+better head back for Vancouver, though we'll look at that cedar as we go
+down. Something might be made of it; I'm not sure we've thrown our time
+away."
+
+"You wouldn't be sure of such a thing," said Carroll. "It isn't in you."
+
+Vane disregarded this. A new constructive policy was already springing
+up out of the wreck of his previous plans. "There's a good mill site on
+the inlet, but as it's a long way from the railroad we'll have to
+determine whether it would be cheaper to tow the logs down or split them
+up on the spot," he went on. "I'll talk it over with Drayton; he'll no
+doubt be useful, and there's no reason why he shouldn't earn his share."
+
+"Do you believe the arrangement you made with Hartley applies to the
+cedar?"
+
+"Of course," said Vane. "I don't know that the other parties could
+insist upon the original terms--we can discuss that later; but, though
+it may be modified, the arrangement stands."
+
+His companion considered the matter dispassionately, as an abstract
+proposition. Here was a man, who, in return for certain information
+respecting the whereabouts of a marketable commodity, had undertaken to
+find and share it with his informant. The commodity had proved to be
+valueless, but during the search for it he had incidentally discovered
+something else. Was he under any obligation to share the latter with his
+informant's heirs?
+
+Carroll decided that the question could only be answered in the
+negative; but he had no intention of disputing his comrade's point of
+view. In the first place, this would probably only make Vane more
+determined or ruffle his temper; and in the second Carroll, who felt
+very dubious about the prospect of working the cedar profitably, was
+neither a covetous nor an ambitious person, which was, perhaps, on the
+whole, fortunate for him.
+
+Vane, as his partner realised, was ambitious; but in place of aspiring
+after wealth or social prominence--the latter of which had, indeed, of
+late began to pall on him--his was a different aim; to rend the hidden
+minerals from the hills, to turn forests into dressed lumber, to make
+something grow. Dollars are often, though not always, made that way; but
+while he affected no contempt for them, in Vane's case their acquisition
+was undoubtedly not the end. Fortunately, he was not altogether singular
+in this respect.
+
+When he next spoke, there was, however, no hint of altruistic sentiment
+in his curt inquiry: "Are you going to sit there until you freeze?"
+
+Carroll got up, and they spent the rest of the day plodding through the
+brûlée, with the result that when darkness fell Vane had abandoned all
+idea of working the spruce. Next morning, they set out for the inlet,
+and one afternoon during the journey they came upon several fallen logs
+lying athwart each other with their branches spread in a horrible tangle
+between. Vane proceeded to walk along one log, which was tilted up
+several yards above the ground, balancing himself carefully upon the
+rounded surface; and Carroll followed until the end of a broken branch,
+which he evidently had not noticed, caught in the leader's clothes. Next
+moment there was a sharp snapping, and Vane plunged down into the tangle
+beneath, while Carroll stood still and laughed. It was not an uncommon
+accident.
+
+Vane, however, did not reappear; nor was there any movement among the
+half-rotten boughs and withered sprays, and Carroll, moving forward
+hastily, looked down into the hole. He was disagreeably surprised to see
+his comrade lying, rather white in face, upon his side.
+
+"I'm afraid you'll have to chop me out," he said, and his voice was
+hoarse. "Get to work; I can't move my leg."
+
+Moving farther along the log, Carroll dropped to the ground, which was
+less encumbered there, and spent the next quarter of an hour hewing a
+passage to his comrade. Then as he stood beside him, hot and panting,
+Vane looked up.
+
+"It's my lower leg; the left," he said. "Bone's broken; I felt it snap."
+
+Carroll turned from him for a moment in consternation. Looking out
+between the branches, he could see the lonely hills tower, pitilessly
+white, against the blue of the frosty sky, and the rigid firs running
+back as far as his vision reached upon their lower slopes. There was no
+touch of life in all the picture; everything was silent and motionless,
+and its desolation came near to appalling him. When he looked round
+again, Vane smiled wryly.
+
+"If this had happened farther north, it would have been the end of me,"
+he said. "As it is, it's awkward."
+
+The word struck Carroll as singularly inadequate, but he made an effort
+to gather his courage when his companion broke off with a groan of pain.
+
+"It's lucky we helped that doctor when he set Pete's leg at Bryant's
+mill," he said. "Can you wait a few minutes?"
+
+Vane's face was beaded with damp now, but he tried to smile. "It strikes
+me," he answered, "I'll have to wait a mighty long time."
+
+Carroll turned and left him. He was afraid to stand still and think, but
+action was a relief. It was some time before he returned with several
+strips of fabric cut from the tent curtain, and the neatest splints he
+could extemporise from slabs of stripped-off bark, and the next
+half-hour was a trying one to both of them. Sometimes Vane assisted him
+with suggestions--once he reviled his clumsiness--and sometimes he lay
+silent with his face awry and his lips tight set; but at length it was
+done, and Carroll stood up, breathing hard.
+
+"I'll fasten you on to a couple of skids and pull you out," he said.
+"Then I'll make camp."
+
+He managed it with difficulty, pitched the tent above Vane, whom he
+covered with their blankets, and made a fire outside.
+
+"Are you comfortable now?" he inquired.
+
+Vane looked up at him with a somewhat ghastly grin. "I suppose I'm about
+as comfortable as could be expected. Anyhow, I've got to get used to the
+thing. Six weeks is the shortest limit, isn't it?"
+
+Carroll confessed that he did not know, and presently Vane resumed:
+"It's lucky that the winters aren't often very cold so near the coast."
+
+The temperature struck Carroll as low enough, but he made no answer. To
+his disgust, he could think of no cheering observation, for there was no
+doubt that the situation was serious. They were cut off from the sloop
+by leagues of tangled forest which a vigorous man would find it
+difficult to traverse, and it would be weeks before Vane could use his
+leg; no human assistance could be looked for, and they had only a small
+quantity of provisions left. Besides this, it would not be easy to keep
+the sufferer warm in rigorous weather.
+
+"I'll make supper. You'll feel better afterwards," he said at length.
+
+"Then don't be too liberal," Vane warned him.
+
+The latter fell into a restless doze after the meal, and it was dark
+when he opened his eyes again.
+
+"I can't sleep any more, and we may as well talk--there are things to be
+arranged," he said. "In the first place, as soon as I feel a little
+easier, you'll have to sail across to Comox and hire some men to pack me
+out. When you've sent them off, you'll make for Vancouver, and get a
+timber licence and find out how matters are going on."
+
+"That," said Carroll firmly, "is out of the question. Nairn can look
+after our mining interests--he's a capable man--and if the thing's too
+much for him they can go to smash. Besides, they won't give you a timber
+licence without full particulars of area and limits, and we've blazed no
+boundaries. Anyhow, I'm staying right here."
+
+Vane began to protest, but Carroll raised his hand. "Argument's not
+conducive to recovery. You're on your back, unfortunately, and I'll give
+way to you, as usual, as soon as you're on your feet again, but not
+before."
+
+"I'd better point out that we'll both be hungry by then. The provisions
+won't last long."
+
+"Then I'll look for a deer as soon as I think you can be left. And now
+we'll try to talk of something more amusing."
+
+"Can you see anything humorous in the situation?"
+
+"I can't," Carroll confessed. "Still, there may be something of that
+description which I haven't noticed yet. By the way, the last time we
+were at Nairn's, I happened to cross the room near where you and Miss
+Horsfield were sitting, and I heard her ask you to wait for something at
+Nanaimo or Comox. I thought it curious."
+
+"She told me to wait, so she could send me word to come back, if it was
+needful."
+
+"Ah!" said Carroll; "I won't ask why she was willing to do so--it
+concerns you more than me--but I fancy that as regards your interests in
+the Clermont a warning from her would be worth as much as one from
+Nairn; that is, if she could be depended on."
+
+"Have you any doubt upon the subject?"
+
+"Don't get angry. Perhaps I've talked too much. We have to think of your
+injury."
+
+"I'm not likely to forget it," Vane informed him. "But I dare say you're
+right in one respect--as an amusing companion you're a dead failure, and
+talking isn't as easy as I imagined."
+
+He lay silent afterwards, and, though he had disclaimed any desire for
+sleep, worn by the march and pain, as he was, his eyes presently closed.
+Carroll, however, sat long awake, and afterwards admitted that he felt
+badly afraid. Deer are by no means numerous in some parts of the bush;
+they had not seen one during the journey; and though there was a little
+food left on board her, it was a long way to the sloop.
+
+Once or twice, for no obvious reason, he drew aside the tent flap and
+looked out. The sky was cloudless and darkly blue, and a sickle moon
+gleamed in it, keen and clear with frost. Below, the hills were washed
+in silver, majestic, but utterly cheerless; and lower still the serrated
+tops of the rigid firs cut against the dreary whiteness. After each
+glimpse of them, Carroll drew his blanket tighter round him with a
+shiver. Very shortly, when the little flour and pork were gone and their
+few cartridges had been expended, he would be reduced to the condition
+of primitive man. Cut off from all other resources, he must then wrest
+what means of subsistence he could from the snowy wilderness by brute
+strength and cunning and such instruments as he could make with his
+unassisted hands, except that an axe of Pennsylvania steel was better
+than a stone one. Civilisation has its compensations, and Carroll longed
+for a few more of them that night.
+
+On rising next morning, he found the frost keener, and he spent the day
+and a number of those that followed in growing anxiety, which was only
+temporarily lessened when he once succeeded in killing a deer. There was
+almost a dearth of animal life in the lonely valley. Sometimes at first,
+Vane was feverish; often he was irritable, and the recollection of the
+three or four weeks he spent with him afterwards haunted Carroll like a
+nightmare. At last, when he had spent several days in vain search for a
+deer and the provisions were almost exhausted, he and his companion held
+a council of emergency.
+
+"There's no use in arguing," Vane declared. "You'll rig me a shelter of
+green boughs outside the tent and close to the fire. I can move from the
+waist upwards, and if it's necessary, drag myself with my hands. Then
+you can chop enough cord-wood to last a while, cook my share of the
+eatables, and leave me while you go down to the sloop. There's half a
+bag of flour and a few other things I'd be uncommonly glad of on board
+her."
+
+Carroll expostulated; but it was evident that his companion was right,
+and next morning he started for the inlet, taking with him the smallest
+possible portion of their provisions. So long as he had enough to keep
+him from fainting on the way, it was all he required, because he could
+renew his stores on board the boat. The weather broke during the march;
+driving snow followed him down the valley, and by and by gave place to
+bitter rain. The withered underbush was saturated, the soil was soddened
+with melting snow, and after the first scanty meal or two he dare risk
+no delay. He felt himself flagging from insufficient food, and it was
+obvious that he must reach the sloop before he broke down. He had
+tobacco, but that failed to stay the gnawing pangs, and before the march
+was done he was on the verge of exhaustion; forcing himself onward,
+drenched, and grim of face; scarcely able to keep upon his bleeding
+feet.
+
+It was falling dusk and blowing fresh when he limped down the beach and
+with a last effort launched the light dinghy and pulled off to the
+sloop. She rode rather deep in the water, but that did not trouble him.
+Most wooden craft leak more or less, and it was a considerable time
+since he had pumped her out. Clambering wearily on board, he made the
+dinghy fast; and then stood still a moment or two, looking about him
+with his hand on the cabin side. Thin flakes of snow drifted past him;
+the firs were rustling eerily ashore, and ragged wisps of cloud drove by
+low down above their tops. Little frothy ripples flecked the darkening
+water with streaks of white and splashed angrily against the bows of the
+craft. The prospect was oppressively dreary, and the worn-out man was
+glad that he was at last in shelter and could snatch a few hours' rest.
+
+Thrusting back the slide, he stepped below and lighted the lamp. The
+brightening glow showed him that the boat's starboard side was wet high
+up, and, though there was a good deal of water in her, this puzzled him,
+until an explanation suggested itself. They had moored the craft
+carefully, but he supposed she must have dragged her anchor or kedge and
+swung in near enough the shore to ground towards low-tide. Then, as the
+tide left her, she would fall over on her starboard bilge, because they
+had lashed the heavy boom down on that side, and the water in her would
+cover the depressed portion of her interior. This reasoning was probably
+correct; but he did not foresee the result, until after lighting the
+stove and putting on the kettle, he opened the provision locker, which
+was to starboard. Then he saw with a shock of dismay that the stock of
+food they had counted on was ruined. The periodically submerged flour
+bag had rotted and burst, and most of its contents had run out into the
+water as the boat righted with the rising tide; the prepared cereals,
+purchased to save cooking, had turned to mouldy pulp; and the few other
+stores were in much the same condition. There were only two sound cans
+of beef, and a few ounces of unspoiled tea in a canister.
+
+Carroll's courage failed him as he realised it, but he felt that he must
+eat and sleep before he could grapple with the situation. He would allow
+himself a meal and a few hours' rest; and crawling out while the kettle
+boiled, he shortened in the cable and plied the pump. Then he went
+below, and feasted on preserved beef and tea, gauging the size of each
+slice with anxious care, until he reluctantly laid the can aside. After
+that, he filled his pipe and, stretching out his aching limbs on the
+port locker, which was comparatively dry, soon sank into heavy sleep.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+CARROLL SEEKS HELP.
+
+
+Carroll slept for several hours before he awakened and sat up on the
+locker, shivering. He had left the hatch slightly open, and a confused
+uproar reached him from outside--the wail of wind-tossed trees; the
+furious splash of ripples against the bows; and the drumming of the
+halliards upon the mast. There was no doubt that it was blowing hard;
+but the wind was off the land, and the sloop in shelter.
+
+Filling his pipe, he set himself to think, and promptly decided that it
+would have been better had he gone down to the sloop in the beginning,
+before the provisions had been spoiled, instead of in the end.
+Reluctance to leave his helpless companion had mainly prevented him from
+doing this, but he had also been encouraged by the possibility of
+obtaining a deer now and then. It was clear that he had made a mistake
+in remaining, but it was not the first time he had done so, and the
+point was unimportant. The burning question was: What must he do now?
+
+It would obviously be useless to go back with rations that would barely
+suffice for the march: Vane still had food enough to keep life in one
+man for a little while. On the other hand, it would not be a long sail
+to Comox with a strong northerly wind; and if the sloop would face the
+sea that was running he might return with assistance before his
+comrade's scanty store was exhausted. Getting out the mildewed chart, he
+laid off his course, carefully trimmed and lighted the binnacle lamp,
+and going up on deck hauled in the kedge anchor. He could not break the
+main one out, though he worked savagely with a tackle, and deciding to
+slip it, he managed to lash three reefs in the mainsail and hoist it
+with the peak left down. Then he sat down to gather breath--for the work
+had been cruelly heavy--before he let the cable run and hoisted the jib.
+
+She paid off when he put up his helm, and the black loom of trees ashore
+vanished. He thought he could find his way out of the inlet, but he only
+knew that he had done so when the angry ripples that splashed about the
+boat suddenly changed to confused tumbling combers. They foamed up in
+swift succession on her quarter, but he fancied she would withstand
+their onslaught, so long as he could prevent her from screwing up to
+windward when she lifted. It would need constant care, and if he failed,
+the next comber would, no doubt, break on board. His task was one that
+would have taxed the vigilance of a strong, well-fed man, and Carroll
+had already nearly reached the limit of his powers.
+
+His case, however, was by no means an unusual one. The cost of the
+subjugation of the wilderness is the endurance of hunger and thirst,
+cold and crushing fatigue; and somebody pays to the uttermost farthing.
+Carroll, sitting drenched, strung up, and hungry, at the helm, was
+merely playing his part in the struggle, though he found it cruelly
+hard.
+
+It was pitch dark, but he must gaze ahead and guess the track of the
+pursuing seas by the angle of the spouting white ridge abreast of the
+weather shrouds. He had a compass, but when his course did not coincide
+with safety it must be disregarded. The one essential thing was to keep
+the sloop on top, and to do so he had frequently to let her fall off
+dead before the mad white combers that leaped out of the dark. By and
+by, his arms began to ache from the strain of the tiller, and his wet
+fingers grew stiff and claw-like. The nervous strain was also telling,
+but that could not be helped; he must keep the craft before the sea or
+go down with her. There was one consolation--she was travelling at a
+furious speed.
+
+At length, morning broke over a leaden sea that was seamed with white;
+and he glanced longing at the meat-can on the locker near his feet. He
+could reach it by stooping, though he dare not leave the helm, but he
+determined to wait until noon before he broke his fast again. It could
+not be very far to Comox, but the wind might drop. Then he began to
+wonder how he had escaped the perils of the night. He had come down what
+was really a wide and not quite straight sound passing several unlighted
+islands. Before starting, he had decided that he would run so long and
+then change his course a point or two, but he could not be sure that he
+had done so. He had a hazy recollection of seeing surf, and once a faint
+loom of land, but he supposed he had avoided it half-consciously or that
+chance had favoured him.
+
+In the afternoon, the wind changed a little, backing to the north-west;
+the sky grew brighter, and he made out shadowy land over his starboard
+quarter. By and by he recognised it with a start. It was the high ridge
+north of Comox, and as he had run farther than he had expected, he must
+try to hoist the peak of the mainsail and haul her on the wind. There
+was danger in rounding her up, but it must be faced, though a sea foamed
+across her as he put down his helm. Another followed, but he scrambled
+forward and struggled desperately to hoist the downhanging gaff. The
+halliards were swollen; he could scarcely keep his footing on the
+deluged deck that slanted steeply under him. He thought he could have
+mastered the banging canvas had he been fresh; but, worn out as he was,
+drenched with spray, and buffeted by the shattered tops of the seas, the
+task was beyond his power. Giving it up, he staggered back, breathless
+and almost nerveless, to the helm.
+
+He could not reach Comox, which lay to windward, with the sail half-set,
+but it was only seventy miles or thereabouts to Nanaimo and not very
+much farther to Vancouver. The breeze would be fair to either, and he
+could charter a launch or tug for the return journey. Letting her go
+before the sea again, he ate some canned meat ravenously, tearing it
+with one hand.
+
+Shortly afterwards, a grey mass rose out of the water to port and he
+supposed it was Texada. There were mines on the island, and he might be
+able to engage a rescue party; but he reflected that he could not beat
+the sloop back to windward unless the breeze fell, which it showed no
+signs of doing. It would be more prudent to go on to Vancouver, where he
+would be sure of getting a steamer, but he closed with the long island a
+little, and dusk was falling when he made out a boat in the partial
+shelter of a bight. Standing in closer, he saw that there were two men
+in the craft, and driving down upon her he backed the jib and ran
+alongside.
+
+There was a crash as he struck the boat, and an astonished and angry man
+clutched the sloop's rail.
+
+"Now what in the name of thunder?" he began, and stopped, struck by
+Carroll's ragged appearance.
+
+"Can you take this sloop to Vancouver?" the latter inquired.
+
+"I could if it was worth while," was the cautious answer. "It will be a
+mighty wet run."
+
+"Seven dollars a day, until you're home again," said Carroll. "A bonus
+if you can sail her with the whole reefed mainsail up--I won't stick at
+a few dollars. Can your partner pull that boat ashore alone? If not,
+cast her adrift, I'll buy her."
+
+"He'll make the beach," said the other, jumping on board. "Seven dollars
+sounds a square deal. I won't put the screw on you."
+
+"Then help me hoist the peak," Carroll bade him. "After that, you can
+take the helm; I'm played out."
+
+The man, who shouted something to his companion, seized the halliards;
+and the sloop drove on again furiously; with an increased spread of
+canvas, while Carroll stood holding on by the coaming while the boat
+dropped back.
+
+"I'll leave you to it," he informed the new helmsman. "It's twenty-four
+hours since I've had more than a bite or two of food, and some weeks
+since I had a decent meal."
+
+"You look like it," the other informed him. "Been up against it
+somewhere?"
+
+Carroll, who did not reply, crawled below and managed to light the stove
+and make a kettleful of tea. He drank a good deal of it, and nearly
+emptied the remaining small meat-can, which he presently held out for
+his companion's inspection, standing beneath the hatch.
+
+"There's some tea left, but this is all there is to eat on board the
+craft," he said. "You're hired to take her to Vancouver--and you'd
+better get there as soon as you can."
+
+The bronzed helmsman nodded. "She won't be long on the way if the mast
+holds up."
+
+"Have you seen any papers lately?" Carroll inquired. "I've been up in
+the bush and I'm interested in the Clermont mine. It looked as if there
+might be some changes in the company's prospects when I went away."
+
+"I noticed a bit about it in the Colonist a while back," was the answer.
+"They sold out to another concern, or amalgamated with it; I don't
+remember which."
+
+Carroll was not astonished. The news, which implied that he must be
+prepared to face a more or less serious financial reverse struck him as
+a fitting climax to his misadventures.
+
+"It's pretty much what I expected, and I'm going to sleep," he said. "I
+don't want to be wakened before it's necessary."
+
+He crawled below, and he had hardly stretched himself out upon the
+locker before his eyes closed. When he opened them, feeling more like
+his usual self, he saw that the sun was above the horizon, and
+recognised by the boat's motion that the wind had fallen. Going out, he
+found her driving through the water under her whole mainsail and the
+helmsman sitting stolidly at the tiller. The man stretched out a hand
+and pointed to the hazy hills to port.
+
+"We'll fetch the Narrows some time before noon," he said. "If you'll
+take the helm, I guess we'll halve that meat for breakfast."
+
+His prediction proved correct, for Carroll reached his hotel about
+midday, and hastily changing his clothes, set off to call on Nairn. He
+had not recovered his mental equipoise, and in spite of his long, sound
+sleep, he was still badly jaded physically. On arriving at the house, he
+was shown into a room where Mrs. Nairn and her husband were sitting with
+Evelyn, waiting for the midday meal. The elder lady rose with a start of
+astonishment when he walked in.
+
+"Man," she said, "what's wrong? Ye're looking like a ghost."
+
+It was not an inapt description. Carroll's face was worn and haggard,
+and his clothes hung slack on him.
+
+"I've been feeling rather unsubstantial of late, as the result of a
+restricted diet," he answered with a smile, and sat down in the nearest
+chair, while Nairn regarded him with carefully suppressed curiosity.
+
+"Ye're ower lang in coming," he remarked. "Where did ye leave your
+partner?"
+
+Carroll sat silent a moment or two, his eyes fixed on Evelyn. It was
+evident that his sudden appearance unaccompanied by Vane, which he felt
+had been undesirably dramatic, had alarmed her. At first he felt
+compassionate, and then he was suddenly possessed by hot indignation.
+This girl, with her narrow prudish notions and cold-blooded nature, had
+presumed to condemn his comrade, unheard, for an imaginary offence. The
+thing was at once ludicrous and intolerable; if his news brought her
+dismay, let her suffer. His nerves, it must be remembered, were not in
+their normal condition.
+
+"Yes," he said, in answer to his host's first remark; "I've gathered
+that we have failed to save the situation. But I don't know exactly what
+has happened; you had better tell me."
+
+Mrs. Nairn made a sign of protest, but her husband glanced at her
+restrainingly.
+
+"Ye will hear his news in good time," he informed her, and turned to
+Carroll. "In a few words, the capital wasna subscribed; it leaked out
+that the ore was running poor and we held an emergency meeting. With
+Vane away, I could put no confidence into the shareholders--they were
+anxious to get from under--and Horsfield brought forward an amalgamation
+scheme: his friends would take the property over, on their valuation. I
+and a few others were outvoted; the scheme went through, and when the
+announcement steadied the stock, which had been tumbling down, I
+exercised the authority given me and sold your shares and Vane's at
+considerably less than their face value. Ye can have particulars later.
+What I have to ask now is: Where is Vane?"
+
+The man's voice grew sharp; the question was flung out like an
+accusation, but Carroll still looked at Evelyn. He felt very bitter
+against her.
+
+"I left him in the bush with no more than a few days' provisions and a
+broken leg," he said.
+
+Then, in spite of Evelyn's efforts to retain her composure, her face
+blanched; and Carroll's anger vanished, because the truth was clear.
+Vane had triumphed through disaster; his peril and ruin had swept his
+offences away. The girl, who had condemned him in his prosperity, would
+not turn away from him in misfortune. In the meanwhile, the others sat
+silent, gazing at the bearer of evil news, until he spoke again.
+
+"I want a tug to take me back at once, if she can be got," he said.
+"I'll pick up a few men along the water-front."
+
+Nairn rose and went out of the room. The tinkle of a telephone bell
+reached those who remained, and he came back a minute or two later.
+
+"I've sent Whitney round," he announced. "He'll come across if there's a
+boat to be had, and now ye look as if ye needed lunch."
+
+"It's several weeks since I had one," said Carroll with a smile.
+
+The meal was brought in, but for a while he talked as well as ate;
+relating his adventures in somewhat disjointed fragments, while the rest
+sat listening. He was also pleased to notice something which suggested
+returning confidence in him in Evelyn's intent eyes as the tale
+proceeded. When at last he had made the matter clear, he added: "If I
+keep you waiting, you'll excuse me."
+
+His hostess watched his subsequent efforts with candid approval, and,
+looking up once or twice, he saw sympathy in the girl's face, instead of
+the astonishment or disgust he had half expected. When he had finished,
+his hostess rose and Carroll stood up, but Nairn signed to him to resume
+his place.
+
+"I'm thinking ye had better sit still a while and smoke," he said.
+
+Carroll was glad to do so, and he and Nairn conferred together, until
+the latter was called to the telephone.
+
+"Ye can have the Brodick boat at noon to-morrow," he said on his return.
+
+"That won't do," Carroll objected heavily. "Send Whitney round again; I
+must sail to-night."
+
+He had some difficulty in getting out the words, and when he rose his
+eyes were half closed. Walking unsteadily, he crossed the room and sank
+into a big lounge.
+
+"I think," he resumed, "if you don't mind, I'll go to sleep."
+
+Nairn merely nodded, and when, after sitting silent a minute or two, he
+went softly out, the worn-out man was already wrapped in profound
+slumber. As it happened, Nairn received another call by telephone and
+left in haste for his office, without speaking to his wife; with the
+result that the latter and Evelyn, returning to the room by and by in
+search of Carroll, found him lying still. The elder lady raised her hand
+in warning as she bent over the sleeper, and then, taking up a light
+rug, spread it gently over him, Evelyn, too, was stirred to sudden pity,
+for the man's attitude was eloquent of exhaustion.
+
+They withdrew gently and had reached the corridor when Mrs. Nairn turned
+to the girl.
+
+"When he first came in, ye blamed that man for deserting his partner,"
+she said.
+
+Evelyn confessed it, and her hostess smiled meaningly. "Are ye no rather
+ready to blame?"
+
+"I'm afraid I am," said Evelyn, with the colour creeping into her face,
+as she remembered an instance in which she had condemned another person
+hastily.
+
+"In this case," said her companion, "ye were very foolish. The man came
+down for help, and if he could not get it, he would go back his lone; if
+all the way was barred with ice and he must walk on his naked feet. Love
+of woman's strong and the fear of death is keen, but ye will find now
+and then a faith between man and man that neither would sever." She
+paused and looked at the girl fixedly as she asked: "What of him that
+could inspire it?"
+
+Evelyn did not answer. She had never seen her hostess in this mood, and
+she was also stirred; but the elder lady went on again: "The virtue of a
+gift lies in part, but no altogether, with the giver. Whiles, it may be
+bestowed unworthily, but I'm thinking it's no often. The bond that will
+drag Carroll back to the North again, to his death if it is needful, has
+no been spun from nothing."
+
+Evelyn had no doubt that Mrs. Nairn was right. Loyalty, most often,
+demanded a worthy object to tender service to; it sprang from implicit
+confidence, mutual respect, and strong appreciation. It was not without
+a reason Vane had inspired it in his comrade's breast; and this was the
+man she had condemned. The latter fact, however, was by comparison a
+very minor trouble. Vane was lying, helpless and alone, in the snowy
+wilderness, in peril of his life, and she knew that she loved him. She
+realised now, when it might be too late, that had he in reality been
+stained with dishonour, she could have forgiven him. Indeed, it had only
+been by a painful effort she had maintained some show of composure since
+Carroll had brought the disastrous news and she felt she could not keep
+it up much longer.
+
+What she said to Mrs. Nairn she could not remember, but escaping from
+her, she retired to her own room, to lie still and grapple with an agony
+of fear and contrition.
+
+It was two hours later when she went down and found Carroll, who still
+looked drowsy, about to go out. His hostess had left him for a moment in
+the hall, and meeting the girl's eyes, he smiled at her reassuringly.
+
+"Don't be anxious; I'll bring him back," he said.
+
+Then Mrs. Nairn appeared, and in a few moments Carroll went out without
+another word to Evelyn. She did not ask herself why he had taken it for
+granted that she would be anxious; she was beyond any petty regard for
+appearances. It was consoling to remember that he was Vane's tried
+comrade; one of the men who kept their word.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+JESSIE'S CONTRITION.
+
+
+After leaving Mrs. Nairn, Carroll walked towards Horsfield's residence
+in a thoughtful mood, because he felt it incumbent upon him to play a
+part he was not particularly fitted for in a somewhat delicate matter.
+Uncongenial as his task was, it was one which could not be left to Vane,
+who was even less to be trusted with the handling of such affairs; and
+Carroll had resolved, as he would have described it, to straighten out
+things.
+
+His partner had somehow offended Evelyn, and though she was now disposed
+to forgive him, the recollection of his suppositious iniquity might
+afterwards rankle in her mind. Though Vane was innocent of any conduct
+she could with reason take exception to, it was first of all needful to
+ascertain the exact nature of the charge against him. Carroll, who had
+for several reasons preferred not to press this question upon Evelyn,
+had a strong suspicion that Jessie Horsfield was at the bottom of the
+trouble. There was also a clue to follow--Vane had paid the rent of
+Celia Hartley's shack; and he wondered if Jessie could by any means have
+heard of it. If she had done so the matter would be simplified, because
+he had a profound distrust of her. A recent action of hers was, he
+thought, sufficient to justify this attitude.
+
+He found her at home, reclining gracefully in an easy-chair in her
+drawing-room, and though she did not seem astonished to see him, he
+fancied her expression hinted at suppressed concern.
+
+"I heard you had arrived alone, and I intended to come over and make
+inquiries as soon as I thought Mrs. Nairn would be at liberty," she
+informed him.
+
+Carroll had found the direct attack effective in Evelyn's case, and he
+determined to try it again. "Then," he began, "it says a good deal for
+your courage." He had never doubted that she possessed the latter
+quality, and she displayed it now.
+
+"So," she said calmly, "you have come as an enemy."
+
+"Not exactly; it didn't seem worth while. Though there's no doubt you
+betrayed us--Vane waited for the warning you could have sent--so far as
+it concerns our ruined interests in the Clermont, the thing's done and
+can't be mended. We'll let that question go. The most important point is
+that if you had recalled us, as you promised, Vane would now be safe and
+sound."
+
+This shot told. The girl's face became less imperturbable; there was
+eagerness and a suggestion of fear in it. "Then has any accident
+happened to him?" she asked sharply.
+
+"He's lying in the bush, helpless, in imminent peril of starvation."
+
+"Go on," said the girl, with signs of strain clearly perceptible in her
+voice.
+
+Carroll was brief, but he made her understand the position, after which
+she turned upon him imperiously. "Then why are you wasting your time
+here?"
+
+"It's a reasonable question. I can't get a tug to take me back until
+noon to-morrow."
+
+"Ah!" said Jessie, and added: "You will excuse me for a minute."
+
+She left him astonished. He had not expected her to take him at a
+disadvantage, as she had done with her previous thrust, and now he did
+not think she had slipped away to hide her feelings. That did not seem
+necessary in Jessie's case, though he believed she was more or less
+disturbed. She came back presently, looking calm, and sat down again.
+
+"My brother will be here in a quarter of an hour," she informed him.
+"Things are rather slack, and he had half promised to take me for a
+drive; I have called him up through the telephone."
+
+Carroll did not see how this bore upon the subject of their
+conversation, but he left her to take the lead.
+
+"Did Vane tell you I had promised to warn him?" she asked.
+
+"To do him justice, he let it out before he quite realised what he was
+saying. I'd better own that I partly surprised him into giving me the
+information."
+
+"The expedient seems a favourite one with you," said Jessie. "I suppose
+no news of what has happened here can have reached him?"
+
+"None. If it's any consolation, he has still an unshaken confidence in
+you." Carroll assured her with blunt bitterness.
+
+The girl showed faint signs of confusion, but she sat silent for the
+next few moments, and during them it flashed upon her companion with
+illuminating light that he had heard Celia Hartley say Miss Horsfield
+had found her orders for millinery. This confirmed his previous
+suspicion that Jessie had discovered who had paid the rent of Celia's
+shack, and that she had with deliberate malice informed Evelyn,
+distorting her account so that it would tell against Vane. There were
+breaks in the chain of reasoning which led him to this conclusion, but
+he did not think Jessie would shrink from such a course, and he
+determined to try a chance shot.
+
+"Vane's inclined to be trustful and his rash generosity has once or
+twice got him into trouble," he remarked, and went on as if an
+explanation were needed: "It's Miss Hartley's case I'm thinking about
+just now. I've an idea he asked you to look after her. Am I right?"
+
+As soon as he had spoken he knew he had hit the mark. Jessie did not
+openly betray herself, but there are not many people who can remain
+absolutely unmoved when unexpectedly asked a startling question.
+Besides, the man was observant, and had strung up all his faculties for
+the encounter. He saw one of her hands tighten on the arm of her chair
+and a hint of uneasiness in her eyes, and it sufficed him.
+
+"Yes," she said; "I recommended her to some of my friends. I understand
+she is getting along satisfactorily."
+
+Carroll felt compelled to admire her manner. He believed she loved his
+comrade and had nevertheless tried to ruin him in a fit of jealous rage.
+She was now keenly regretting her success, but though he thought she
+deserved to suffer, she was bravely facing the trying situation. It was
+one that was rife with dramatic possibilities, and he was grateful to
+her for avoiding them.
+
+"You are going back to-morrow," she said after a brief silence. "I
+suppose you will have to tell your partner what you have discovered here
+as soon as you reach him?"
+
+Carroll had not intended to spare her, but now he felt almost
+compassionate, and he had one grain of comfort to offer. "I must tell
+him that his shares in the Clermont have been sacrificed. I wonder if
+that is all you meant?"
+
+Jessie met his inquiring gaze with something very like an appeal; and
+then spread out her hands in a manner to indicate that she threw herself
+upon his mercy.
+
+"It is not all I meant," she confessed.
+
+"Then, if it's any relief to you, I'll confine myself to telling him
+that he has been deprived of his most valuable property. I dare say the
+news will hit him hard enough; but though he may afterwards discover
+other facts for himself, on the whole I shouldn't consider it likely. As
+I said, he's confiding and slow to suspect."
+
+He read genuine gratitude, which he had hardly expected, in the girl's
+face; but he raised his hand and went on in the rather formal manner
+which he felt was the only safe one to assume. "I had, however, better
+mention that I am going to call upon Miss Hartley. After that I shall be
+uncommonly thankful to start back for the bush." He paused, and
+concluded with a sudden trace of humour: "I'll own that I feel more at
+home with the work that waits me there."
+
+Jessie made a little gesture which, while it might have meant anything,
+was somehow very expressive, and just then there were footsteps outside.
+Next moment Horsfield walked into the room.
+
+"So you're back," he said.
+
+"Yes," said Carroll shortly. "Beaten at both ends--there's no use in
+hiding it."
+
+Horsfield showed no sign of satisfaction, and Carroll afterwards
+admitted that the man behaved very considerately.
+
+"Well," he said, "though you may be surprised to hear it, I'm sorry.
+Unfortunately, our interests clashed, and I naturally looked after mine.
+Once upon a time, I thought I could have worked hand in hand with Vane;
+but our ideas did not coincide, and your partner is not the man to yield
+a point or listen to advice."
+
+Carroll was aware that Horsfield had by means which were far from
+honourable deprived him of a considerable portion of his possessions. He
+had also betrayed his fellow shareholders in the Clermont mine, selling
+their interests, doubtless for some benefit to himself, to another
+company. For all that, Carroll recognised that since he and Vane were
+beaten, as he had confessed, recriminations and reproaches would be
+useless as well as undignified. He preferred to face defeat calmly.
+
+"It's the fortune of war," he replied. "What you say about Vane is
+correct; but although it is not a matter of much importance now, it was
+impossible from the beginning that your views and his ever should
+agree."
+
+"Too great a difference of temperament? I dare say you're right. Vane
+measures things by a different standard--mine's perhaps more adapted to
+the market-place. But where have you left him?"
+
+"In the bush. Miss Horsfield will, no doubt, give you particulars; I've
+just told her the tale."
+
+"She called me up at the office and asked me to come across at once.
+Will you excuse us for a few minutes?"
+
+They went out together, and Jessie, who came back alone, sat down and
+looked at Carroll in a diffident manner.
+
+"I suppose," she said, "one could hardly expect you to think of either
+of us very leniently; but I must ask you to believe that I am sincerely
+distressed to hear of your partner's accident. This was a thing I could
+never have anticipated; but there are amends I can make. Every minute
+you can save is precious, isn't it?"
+
+Carroll agreed, and she resumed: "Then I can get you a tug. My brother
+tells me the Atlin's coming across from Victoria and should be here
+early this evening. He has gone back to the office to secure her for
+you, though she was fixed to go off for a log boom."
+
+"Thank you," said Carroll. "It's a great service."
+
+Jessie hesitated. "I think my brother would like to say a few words when
+he returns. Can I offer you some tea?"
+
+"I think not," said Carroll, smiling. "For one thing, if I sit still
+much longer, I shall, no doubt, go to sleep again, as I did at Nairn's,
+which would be neither seemly nor convenient, if I'm to sail this
+evening. Besides, now we've arranged an armistice, it might be wiser not
+to put too much strain on it!"
+
+"An armistice?"
+
+"I think that describes it." Carroll's manner grew significant. "The
+word implies a cessation of hostilities--on certain terms."
+
+Jessie could take a hint, and his meaning was clear. Unless she forced
+him to do so, he would not betray her to his comrade, who might never
+discover the part she had played; but he had given her a warning, which
+might be bluntly rendered as, "Hands off." There was only one course
+open to her--to respect it. She had brought down the man she loved, but
+it was clear that he was not for her, and now the unreasoning fury which
+had driven her to strike had passed, she was troubled with contrition.
+There was nothing left except to retire from the field, and it was
+better to do so gracefully. For all that, there were signs of strain in
+her expression as she capitulated.
+
+"Well," she said, "I have given you a proof that you have nothing to
+fear from me. My brother is the only man in Vancouver who could have got
+you that tug for this evening; I understand the saw-mill people are very
+much in need of the logs she was engaged to tow."
+
+She held out her hand and Carroll took it, though he had not expected to
+part from her on friendly terms.
+
+"I owe you a deal for that," he said and turned away.
+
+His task, however, was only half complete when he left the house, and
+the remaining portion was the more difficult, but he meant to finish it.
+He preferred to take life lightly; he had trifled with it before
+disaster had driven him out into the wilds; but there was resolution in
+the man, and he could force himself to play an unpleasant part when it
+was needful. Fortune also favoured him, as she often does those who
+follow the boldest course.
+
+He had entered Hastings Street when he met Kitty and Celia. The latter
+looked thin and somewhat pale, but she was moving briskly, and her face
+was eager when she shook hands with him.
+
+"We have been anxious about you--there was no news," she said. "Is Mr.
+Vane with you? How have you got on?"
+
+"We found the spruce," said Carroll. "It's not worth milling--a forest
+fire has wiped most of it out--but we struck some shingling cedar we may
+make something of."
+
+"But where's Mr. Vane?"
+
+"In the bush; I've a good deal to tell you about him, but we can't talk
+here. I wonder if we could find a quiet place in a restaurant, or if the
+park would be better."
+
+"The park," said Kitty decidedly.
+
+They reached it in due time and Carroll, who had refused to say anything
+about Vane on the way, found the girls a seat in a grove of giant firs
+and sat down opposite to them. Though it was winter, the day, as is
+often the case near Vancouver, was pleasantly mild.
+
+"Now," he began, "my partner is a singularly unfortunate person. In the
+first place, the transfer of the Clermont property, which you have no
+doubt heard of, means a serious loss to him, though he is not ruined
+yet. He talks of putting up a shingling mill, in which Drayton will be
+of service, and if things turn out satisfactory you will be given an
+interest in it."
+
+He added the last sentence as an experiment, and was satisfied with the
+result.
+
+"Never mind our interests," cried Kitty. "What about Mr. Vane?"
+
+For the third time since his arrival, Carroll made the strongest appeal
+he could to womanly pity, drawing with a purpose a vivid picture of his
+comrade's peril and suffering. Nor was he disappointed, for he saw
+consternation, compassion, and sympathy in the girls' faces. So far, the
+thing had been easy, but now he hesitated, and it was with difficulty he
+nerved himself for what must follow.
+
+"He has been beaten out of his stock in the mine; he's broken down in
+health and in danger; but, by comparison, that doesn't count for very
+much with him," he continued. "He has another trouble, and though I'm
+afraid I'm giving things away in mentioning it, if it could be got over,
+it would help him to face the future and set him on his feet again."
+
+Then he briefly recounted the story of Vane's regard for Evelyn, making
+the most of his sacrifice in withdrawing from the field, and again he
+realised that he had acted wisely. A love affair appealed to his
+listeners, and there was a romance in this one that heightened the
+effect of it.
+
+"But Miss Chisholm can't mean to turn from him now," said Celia.
+
+Carroll looked at her meaningly. "No; she turned from him before he
+sailed. She heard something about him."
+
+His companions appeared astonished. "But she couldn't have heard
+anything that anybody could mind," Kitty exclaimed indignantly. "He's
+not that kind of man."
+
+"It's a compliment," said Carroll. "I think he deserves it. At the same
+time, he's a little rash, and now and then a man's generosity is open to
+misconception. In this case, I don't think one could altogether blame
+Miss Chisholm."
+
+Kitty glanced at him sharply and then at Celia, who at first looked
+puzzled and afterwards startled. Then the blood surged into Kitty's
+cheeks. "Oh!" she said, as if she were breathless, "I was once afraid of
+something like this. You mean we're the cause of it?"
+
+The course he followed was hateful to Carroll, but the tangle could not
+be straightened without somebody's feelings being hurt, and it was his
+comrade he was most concerned about.
+
+"Yes," he said quietly; "I believe you understand the situation."
+
+He saw the fire in Kitty's eyes and that Celia's face was also flushed,
+but he did not think their anger was directed against him. They knew the
+world they lived in, and, for that matter, he could share their
+indignation. He resented the fact that a little thing should bring such
+swift suspicion upon them. He was, however, not required to face any
+disconcerting climax.
+
+"Well," said Celia, "why did you tell us this?"
+
+"I think you both owe Vane something, and you can do him a great favour
+now," Carroll informed her.
+
+Kitty looked up at him. "Don't ask me too much, Mr. Carroll. I'm Irish,
+and I feel like killing somebody."
+
+"It's natural," said Carroll, with a sympathetic smile. "I've now and
+then felt much the same thing; it's probably unavoidable in a world like
+this. However, I think you ought to call upon Miss Chisholm, after I've
+gone, though you had better not mention that I sent you. You can say you
+came for news of Vane--and add anything you consider necessary."
+
+The girls looked at one another, and at length, though it obviously cost
+her a struggle, Kitty said to Celia firmly: "We will have to go." Then
+she faced round towards Carroll. "If Miss Chisholm won't believe us
+she'll be sorry we came."
+
+Carroll made her a slight inclination. "She'll deserve it, if she's not
+convinced. But it might be better if you didn't approach her in the mood
+you're in just now."
+
+Kitty rose, signing to Celia, and he turned back with them towards the
+city, feeling a certain constraint in their company and yet conscious of
+a strong relief. It had grown dark when he returned to Nairn's house.
+
+"Where have ye been?" his host inquired. "I had a clerk seeking ye all
+round the city. I cannot get ye a boat before the morn."
+
+Carroll saw that Mrs. Nairn shared her husband's desire to learn how he
+had been occupied. Evelyn was also in the room.
+
+"There were one or two little matters that required attention, and I
+managed to arrange them satisfactorily," he said. "Among other things,
+I've got a tug and I expect to sail in an hour or two. Miss Horsfield
+found me the vessel."
+
+He noticed Evelyn's interest, and was rather pleased to see it. If she
+were disposed to be jealous of Jessie, it could do no harm. Nairn,
+however, frowned.
+
+"I'm thinking it might have been better if ye had not troubled Jessie,"
+he commented.
+
+"I'm sorry I can't agree with you," Carroll retorted. "The difference
+between this evening and noon to-morrow is a big consideration."
+
+"Weel," said Nairn resignedly, "I canna deny that."
+
+Carroll changed the subject, but some time later Mrs. Nairn sat down
+near him in the temporary absence of her husband and Evelyn.
+
+"We will no be disturbed for two or three minutes," she said. "Ye
+answered Alec like a Scotsman before supper and put him off the track,
+though that's no so easy done."
+
+"You're too complimentary," he declared. "The genuine Caledonian caution
+can't be acquired by outsiders. It's a gift."
+
+"I'll no practise it now," said the lady. "Ye'er no so proud of yourself
+for nothing. What have ye been after?"
+
+Carroll crossed his finger tips and looked at her over them. "Since you
+ask the question, I may say this: If Miss Chisholm has two lady visitors
+during the next few days, you might make sure she sees them."
+
+"What are their names?"
+
+"Miss Hartley, the daughter of the prospector who sent Vane off to look
+for the timber; Miss Blake who, as you have probably heard, once came
+down the west coast with him, in company with an elderly lady and
+myself."
+
+Mrs. Nairn started; then she looked thoughtful, and finally broke into a
+smile of open appreciation.
+
+"Now," she said, "I understand. I did not think it of ye. Ye're no far
+from a genius."
+
+"Thanks," said Carroll modestly. "I believe I succeeded better than I
+could have expected, and perhaps than I deserved."
+
+Then they were interrupted, for Nairn walked hastily into the room.
+
+"There's one of the Atlin's deck hands below," he announced. "He's come
+on here from Horsfield's to say the boat's ready with a full head of
+steam up, and the packers ye hired are waiting on the wharf."
+
+Carroll rose and became in a moment intent and eager. "Tell him I'll be
+down almost as soon as he is," he said. "You'll have to excuse me."
+
+Two minutes later, he left the house, and fervent good wishes followed
+him from the party on the stoop. He did not stop to acknowledge them,
+but shortly afterwards the blast of a whistle came ringing across the
+roofs from beside the water-front.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+CONVINCING TESTIMONY.
+
+
+One afternoon three or four days after Carroll had sailed, Evelyn sat
+alone in Mrs. Nairn's drawing-room, a prey to confused regrets and keen
+anxiety. She had recovered from the first shock caused by Carroll's
+news, but though she could face the situation more calmly, she could
+find no comfort anywhere--Vane was lying helpless and famishing, in the
+frost-bound wilderness. She knew she loved the man; indeed, she had
+really known it for some time, and it was that which had made Jessie's
+revelation so bitter. Now, fastidious in thought and feeling as she was,
+she wondered if she had been too hard upon him; it was becoming more and
+more difficult to believe that he could have justified her disgust and
+anger, but this was not what troubled her most. She had sent him away
+with cold disfavour; he was threatened by many dangers; it was horrible
+to think of what might befall him before assistance arrived, and yet she
+could not drive the haunting dread out of her mind.
+
+She was in this mood when a maid announced that two visitors wished to
+see her; and when they were shown in, she found it difficult to hide her
+astonishment as she recognised in Kitty the very attractive girl she had
+once seen in Vane's company. It was this which prompted her to assume a
+chilling manner, though she asked her guests to be seated. Neither of
+them appeared altogether at her ease, and there was, indeed, a rather
+ominous sparkle in Kitty's blue eyes. The latter began the conversation.
+
+"Mr. Carroll was in town not long ago," she said. "Have you had any news
+of him since he sailed?"
+
+Evelyn did not know what to make of the question, and she answered
+coldly: "No; we do not expect any word for some time."
+
+"I'm sorry," said Kitty. "We're anxious about Mr. Vane."
+
+On the surface, the announcement appeared significant, but the girls'
+boldness in coming to her for news was unexplainable to Evelyn. Puzzled
+as she was, her attitude became more discouraging.
+
+"You know him, then?" she said.
+
+Something in her tone made Celia's cheeks burn and she drew herself up.
+
+"Yes," she said; "we know him, both of us; I guess it's astonishing to
+you; but I met him first when he was poor, and getting rich hasn't
+spoiled Mr. Vane."
+
+Evelyn was once more puzzled--the girl's manner savoured less of
+assurance than of wholesome pride which had been injured. Kitty,
+however, broke in:
+
+"We had no cards to send in; but I'm Kathleen Blake, and this is Celia
+Hartley--it was her father sent Mr. Vane off to look for the spruce."
+
+"Ah!" said Evelyn, a little more gently, addressing Celia; "I understand
+your father died."
+
+Kitty flashed a commanding glance at Celia, who spoke: "Yes; that is
+correct. He left me ill and worn out, without a dollar, and I don't know
+what I should have done if Mr. Vane hadn't insisted on giving Drayton a
+little money for me, on account, he said, because I was a partner in the
+venture. Then Miss Horsfield got me some work to do at home among her
+friends. Mr. Vane must have asked her to: it would be like him."
+
+Evelyn sat silent for a few moments. Celia had given her a good deal of
+information in answer to a very simple remark; but she was most
+impressed by the statement that Jessie, who had prejudiced her against
+Vane, had helped the girl at his request. It was difficult to believe
+she would have done so had there been any foundation for her
+insinuations. If Celia spoke the truth, and Evelyn somehow felt this was
+the case, the whole thing was extraordinary.
+
+"Now," said Celia, "it's no way surprising I'm grateful to Mr. Vane and
+anxious to hear if Mr. Carroll has reached him." This was spoken with a
+hint of defiance, but the girl's voice changed. "I am anxious. It's
+horrible to think of a man like him freezing in the bush."
+
+Her concern was so genuine and yet somehow so innocent that Evelyn's
+heart softened.
+
+"Yes," she said; "it's dreadful." Then she asked a question: "Who's the
+Mr. Drayton you mentioned?"
+
+Kitty blushed becomingly; this was her lead. "He's a kind of partner in
+the lumber scheme; I'm going to marry him. He's as firm a friend of Mr.
+Vane's as any one. There's a reason for that--I was in a very tight
+place once, left without money in a desolate settlement where there was
+nothing I could do, when Mr. Vane helped me. But, perhaps, that wouldn't
+interest you."
+
+For a moment her doubts still clung to their hold in Evelyn's mind; and
+then she suddenly drove the last of them out, with a stinging sense of
+humiliation. She could not distrust this girl; it was Jessie's
+suggestion that was incredible.
+
+"It would interest me very much," she said.
+
+Kitty told her story effectively, but with caution, laying most stress
+upon Vane's compassion for the child and her invalid mother. She was
+rather impressed by Miss Chisholm, but she supposed the latter was
+endowed with some of the failings common to human nature.
+
+Evelyn listened to her with confused emotions and a softened face. She
+was convinced of the truth of the simple tale, and the thought of Vane's
+keeping his monied friends and directors waiting in Vancouver in order
+that a tired child might rest and gather shells upon a sunny beach
+stirred her deeply. It was so characteristic; exactly what she would
+have expected him to do.
+
+"Thank you," she said quietly when Kitty had finished; and then,
+flinging off the last of her reserve, she asked a number of questions
+about Drayton and Celia's affairs. Before her visitors left all three
+were on friendly terms, but Evelyn was glad when they took their
+departure.
+
+She wanted to be alone to think, though, in spite of the relief she was
+conscious of, her thoughts were far from pleasant, and foremost among
+them figured a crushing sense of shame. She had wickedly misjudged a man
+who had given her many proofs of the fineness of his character; the evil
+she had imputed to him was born of her own perverted imagination. She
+was no better than the narrow-minded, conventional Pharisees she
+detested, who were swift to condemn out of the uncleanness of their
+self-righteous hearts. Then, as she began to reason, it flashed upon her
+that she was, perhaps, wronging herself. Her mind had been cunningly
+poisoned by an utterly unscrupulous and wholly detestable woman, and she
+flamed out into a fit of imperious anger against Jessie. She had a hazy
+idea that this was not altogether reasonable, since she was to some
+extent fastening the blame she deserved upon another person; but it did
+not detract from the comfort the indulgence in her indignation brought
+her.
+
+When she had grown calmer, Mrs. Nairn came in, and Mrs. Nairn was a
+discerning lady. It was not difficult to lead Evelyn on to speak of her
+visitors, for the girl's pride was broken and she felt in urgent need of
+sympathy; but when she had described the interview she felt impelled to
+avoid any discussion of its more important issues.
+
+"I was surprised at the girl's manner," she concluded. "It must have
+been embarrassing to them; but they were really so delicate over it, and
+they had so much courage."
+
+Mrs. Nairn smiled. "Although one has travelled with third-rate strolling
+companies and the other has waited in an hotel? Weel, maybe your
+surprise was natural. Ye cannot all at once get rid of the ideas and
+prejudices ye were brought up with."
+
+"I suppose that was it," said Evelyn thoughtfully.
+
+Her companion's eyes twinkled. "Then, if ye're to live among us happily,
+ye'll have to try. In the way ye use the words, some of the leading men
+in this country were no brought up at all."
+
+"Do you imagine that I'm going to live here?"
+
+Mrs. Nairn gathered up one or two articles she had brought into the room
+with her and moved towards the door, but before she reached it she
+looked back at the girl.
+
+"It occurred to me that the thing was no altogether impossible," she
+said.
+
+An hour afterwards, Evelyn went down into the town with her, and in one
+of the streets they came upon Jessie leaving a store. The latter was not
+lacking in assurance and she moved forward to meet them, but Evelyn
+gazed at her with a total disregard of her presence and walked quietly
+on. There was neither anger nor disdain in her attitude; to have shown
+either would have been a concession she could not make. The instincts of
+generations of gently-reared Englishwomen were aroused, as well as the
+revulsion of an untainted nature from something unclean.
+
+Jessie's cheeks turned crimson and a malevolent light flashed into her
+eyes as she crossed the street. Mrs. Nairn noticed her expression and
+smiled at her companion.
+
+"I'm thinking it's as weel ye met Jessie after she had got the boat for
+Carroll," she said.
+
+The remark was no doubt justified, but the fact that Jessie had been
+able to offer valuable assistance failed to soften Evelyn towards her.
+It was merely another offence.
+
+In the meanwhile the tug had steamed northwards, towing the sloop which
+would be required, and, after landing the rescue party at the inlet,
+steamed away again. Before she had disappeared Carroll began his march,
+and his companions long remembered it. Two of them were accustomed to
+packing surveyors' stores through the seldom-trodden bush, and the
+others had worked in logging camps and chopped new roads; but though
+they did not spare themselves, they lacked their leader's stimulus.
+Carroll, with all his love of ease, could rise to meet an emergency, and
+he wore out his companions before the journey was half done. He scarcely
+let them sleep; he fed them on canned stuff to save delay in lighting
+fires, and he grew more feverishly impatient with every mile they made.
+He showed it chiefly by the tight set of his lips and the tension in his
+face, though now and then, when fallen branches or thickets barred the
+way, he fell upon the obstacles with the axe in silent fury. For the
+rest, he took the lead and kept it, and the others, following with
+shoulders aching from the pack straps, and laboured breath, suppressed
+their protests.
+
+Like many another made in that country, it was an heroic journey, one in
+which mind and body were taxed to the limit. Delay might prove fatal;
+the loads were heavy. Fatigue seized the shrinking flesh, but the
+unrelenting will, trained in such adventures, mercilessly spurred it on.
+Toughened muscle is useful and in the trackless North can seldom be
+dispensed with; but man's strength does not consist of that alone; there
+are occasions when the stalwart fall behind and die.
+
+In front of them, as they progressed, lay the unchanging forest,
+tangled, choked with fallen wreckage, laced here and there with stabbing
+thorns; appalling and almost impenetrable to the stranger. They must
+cleave their passage, except where they could take to the creek for an
+easier way and wade through stingingly cold water or flounder over
+slippery fangs of rock and ice-encrusted stones. There was sharp frost
+among the ranges and the brush they broke through was generally burdened
+with clogging snow. They went on, however, and on the last day Carroll
+drew away from those who followed him. It was dark when he discovered
+that he had lost them, but that did not matter, for now and then faint
+moonlight came filtering down and he was leaving a plain trail behind.
+His shoulders were bleeding beneath the biting straps; he was on the
+verge of exhaustion; but he struggled forward, panting heavily, and
+rending his garments to rags as he smashed through the brakes in the
+darkness.
+
+The night--it seemed a very long one--was nearly over, when he
+recognised the roar of a rapid that rang in louder and louder pulsations
+across the snow-sprinkled bush. He was not far from the end now, and he
+became conscious of an unnerving fear. The ground was ascending sharply
+and when he reached the top of the slope the question he shrank from
+would be answered for him; if there was no blink of light among the
+serried trunks, he would have come too late.
+
+He reached the summit and his heart jumped; then he clutched at a
+drooping branch to support himself, shaken by a reaction that sprang
+from relief. A flicker of uncertain radiance fell upon the trees ahead
+and down the bitter wind there came the reek of pungent smoke. After
+that, for the bush was slightly more open, Carroll believed he ran, and
+presently came crashing and stumbling into the light of the fire. Then
+he stopped, too stirred and out of breath to speak, for Vane lay where
+the red glow fell upon his face, smiling up at him.
+
+"Well," he said, "you've come. I've been expecting you, but on the whole
+I got along not so badly."
+
+Carroll flung off his pack and sat down beside the fire; then he fumbled
+for his pipe and began to fill it hurriedly with trembling fingers.
+
+"Sorry I couldn't get through sooner," he explained. "The stores on
+board the sloop were spoiled; I had to go on to Vancouver. But there are
+things to eat in my pack."
+
+"Hand it across," said Vane. "I haven't been faring sumptuously the last
+few days. No, sit still; I'm supple enough from the waist up."
+
+He proved it by the way he leaned to and fro as he opened the pack and
+distributed part of its contents among the cooking utensils, while
+Carroll, who assisted now and then, did not care to speak. The sight of
+the man's gaunt face and the eagerness in his eyes prompted him to an
+outbreak of feeling which was rather foreign to his nature and which he
+did not think Vane would appreciate. When the meal was ready, the latter
+looked up at him.
+
+"I've no doubt this journey cost you something, partner," he said.
+
+Then they ate cheerfully, and Carroll, who watched his friend's efforts
+with appreciation, told his story in broken sentences--sometimes with
+his mouth rather full, for he had not troubled about much cooking since
+he left the inlet. Afterwards, they lighted their pipes, but by and by
+Carroll's fell from his relaxing grasp.
+
+"I can't get over this sleepiness," he explained. "I believe I disgraced
+myself in Vancouver by going off in the most unsuitable places."
+
+"I dare say it was natural," said Vane with some dryness. "Anyway,
+hadn't you better hitch yourself a little farther from the fire?"
+
+Carroll did so and lay still afterwards, but Vane kept watch during the
+rest of the night, until in the dawn the packers appeared.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+VANE IS REINSTATED.
+
+
+Breakfast was over and the two men, wrapped in blankets, lay on opposite
+sides of the fire. Now that they had a supply of provisions, haste was
+not a matter of importance, and the rescue party needed a rest. Carroll
+was aching all over his body and somewhat disturbed in mind, because he
+had not said anything about their financial affairs to his comrade yet,
+and the subject must be mentioned.
+
+"What about the Clermont?" Vane asked at length. "You needn't trouble
+about breaking the news; come right to the point."
+
+"Then to all intents and purposes the company has gone under; it's been
+taken over by Horsfield's friends. Nairn has sold our stock--at
+considerably less than its face value"; and Carroll added a brief
+account of the absorption of the concern.
+
+"Ah!" said Vane, whose face set hard. "I anticipated something of the
+kind last night; I saw how you kept clear of the matter."
+
+"But you said nothing."
+
+"No," said Vane. "I'd had time to consider the thing while I lay here,
+and it didn't look as if I could have got an intelligible account out of
+you. But you may as well mention how much Nairn got for the shares."
+
+He lay smoking silently for a few minutes after Carroll told him, and
+the latter was strongly moved to sympathy since he thought it was not
+his financial reverse but one indirect result of it which would hit his
+comrade hardest.
+
+"Well," said Vane grimly, "I suppose I've done what my friends would
+consider a mad thing in coming up here, and I must face the reckoning."
+
+Carroll wondered if their conversation could be confined to the surface
+of the subject, because there were depths it would be better to leave
+undisturbed.
+
+"After all, you're far from broke," he said as cheerfully as he could.
+"You have what the Clermont stock brought in, and you may make something
+out of this shingle-splitting scheme."
+
+There was bitterness in Vane's laugh. "When I left Vancouver for
+England, I was generally supposed to be well on the way to affluence,
+and there was some foundation for the idea. I had floated the Clermont
+in the face of opposition; people believed in me; I could have raised
+what dollars I required for any new undertaking. Now a good deal of my
+money and my prestige is gone: folks have very little confidence in a
+man who has shown himself a failure. Besides, I may be a cripple."
+
+Carroll could guess his companion's thoughts. There was a vein of
+stubborn pride in him, and he had, no doubt, decided it was unfitting
+that Evelyn's future should be linked to that of a ruined man. This was
+an exaggerated view, because Vane was in reality far from ruined, and
+even if he had been so, he had in him the ability to recover from his
+misfortunes. Still, the man was obstinate and generally ready to make a
+sacrifice for an idea. Carroll, however, consoled himself with the
+reflection that Evelyn would probably have something to say upon the
+subject if she were given an opportunity, and he thought Mrs. Nairn
+would contrive that she had one.
+
+"I can't see any benefit in making things out as considerably worse than
+they are," he said.
+
+"Nor can I," Vane agreed. "After all, I was getting pretty tired of the
+city, and I suppose I can raise enough to put up a small-power mill. It
+will be a pleasant change to take charge for a year or two in the bush.
+I'll make a start at the thing as soon as I'm able to walk."
+
+This was significant, because it implied that he did not intend to
+remain in Vancouver, where he would have been able to enjoy Evelyn's
+company; but Carroll made no comment, and by and by Vane spoke again.
+
+"Didn't you mention last night that it was through Miss Horsfield you
+got the tug?" he asked. "I was thinking about something else at the
+time."
+
+"Yes," said Carroll. "She made Horsfield put some pressure on the people
+who had previously hired the boat."
+
+"Ah!" said Vane, "that's rather strange."
+
+For a moment he looked puzzled, but almost immediately his face grew
+impassive, and Carroll knew that he had some idea of Jessie's treachery.
+He was, however, sure that any suspicions his comrade entertained would
+remain locked up in his breast.
+
+"I'm grateful to her, anyway," the latter resumed. "I believe I could
+have held out another day or two, but it wouldn't have been pleasant."
+
+Carroll began to talk about the preparations for their return, which he
+soon afterwards set about making, and early next morning they started
+for the sloop, carrying Vane upon a stretcher they had brought. Though
+they had to cut a passage for it every here and there, they reached the
+vessel safely, and after some trouble in getting him below and on to a
+locker, Carroll decided to sail straight for Vancouver. They were
+favoured with moderate fair winds, and though the boat was uncomfortably
+crowded, she made a quick passage and stole in through the Narrows as
+dusk was closing down one tranquil evening.
+
+As it happened, Evelyn had spent part of the afternoon on the
+forest-crested rise above the city, up which new dwellings were then
+creeping, though they have, no doubt, spread beyond it and back into the
+bush by now. From there she could look down upon the inlet and she had
+visited the spot frequently during the last few days, watching eagerly
+for a sail that did not appear. There had been no news of Carroll since
+the skipper of the tug reported having landed him, and the girl was
+tormented by doubts and anxieties. She had just come back and was
+standing in Mrs. Nairn's sitting-room, when she heard the tinkle of the
+telephone bell. A moment or two later her hostess entered hastily.
+
+"It's a message from Alec," she cried. "He's heard from the wharf:
+Vane's sloop's crossing the harbour. I'll away down to see Carroll
+brings him here."
+
+Evelyn turned to follow her, but Mrs. Nairn waved her back. "No," she
+said firmly, "ye'll bide where ye are. See they get plenty lights on--at
+the stair-head and in the passage--and the room on the left of it
+ready."
+
+She was gone in another moment and Evelyn, who carried out her
+instructions, afterwards waited with what patience she could assume. At
+last there was a rattle of wheels outside, followed by a voice giving
+orders, and then a tramp of feet. The sounds brought her a strange
+inward shrinking, but she ran to the door, and saw two tattered men
+awkwardly carrying a stretcher up the steps, while Carroll and another
+assisted them. Then the light fell upon its burden, and half prepared as
+she was, she started in dismay. Vane, whom she had last seen in vigorous
+health, lay partly covered with an old blanket which had slipped off him
+to the waist, and his jacket looked a mass of rags. His hat had fallen
+aside, and his face showed hollow and worn and pinched. Then he saw her
+and a light sprang into his eyes, but next moment Carroll's shoulder hid
+him, and the men plodded on towards the stairs. They ascended them with
+difficulty, and the girl waited until Carroll came down.
+
+"I noticed you at the door, and I expect you were a little shocked at
+the change in Vane," he said. "What he has undergone has pulled him
+down, but if you had seen him when I first found him, you'd have been
+worse startled. He's getting on quite satisfactorily."
+
+Evelyn was relieved to hear it; but Carroll, who had paused, continued:
+"As soon as the doctor comes, we'll make him more presentable; but as
+I'm not sure about the last bandages I put on, he can't be moved till
+then. Afterwards, he'll no doubt hold an audience."
+
+There was nothing to do but wait, and Evelyn again summoned her
+patience. Before long a doctor arrived, and Carroll followed him to
+Vane's room alone. The latter's face was very impassive, though Carroll
+waited in tense suspense while the doctor stripped off the bandages and
+bark supports from the injured leg. He examined it attentively, and then
+looked round at Carroll.
+
+"You fixed that limb when it was broken in the bush?" he said.
+
+"Yes," said Carroll, with a desperate attempt to treat the matter
+humourously. "But I really think we both had a hand in the thing. My
+partner favoured me with his views; I disclaim some of the
+responsibility."
+
+"Then I guess you've been remarkably fortunate, which is perhaps the
+best way of expressing it."
+
+Vane raised his head and fixed his eyes upon the speaker. "It won't have
+to be rebroken? I'll be able to walk without a limp?"
+
+"I should say the latter's very probable."
+
+Vane's eyes glistened and he let his head fall back.
+
+"It's good news; better than I expected. Now if you could fix me up
+again, I'd like to get dressed. I've felt like a hobo long enough."
+
+The doctor nodded indulgently. "We can venture to change that state of
+affairs, but I'll superintend the operation."
+
+It was some time before Vane's toilet was completed, and then Carroll
+surveyed him with humorous admiration.
+
+"You do us credit, and now I suppose I can announce that you'll
+receive?" he said.
+
+Nairn and his wife and Evelyn came in, and the former, who shook hands
+with Vane very heartily, afterwards looked down at him with twinkling
+eyes.
+
+"I'd have been glad to see ye, however ye had come," he said, and Vane
+fully believed him. "For a' that, this is no the way I could have wished
+to welcome ye."
+
+"When a man won't take his friends' advice, what can he expect?" said
+Vane.
+
+"Let it be a warning. If the making of your mark and dollars is your
+object, ye must stick to it and think of nothing else. Ye cannot
+accumulate riches by spreading yourself, and philanthropy's no
+lucrative, except maybe to a few."
+
+"It's good counsel, but I'm thinking that's a pity," his wife remarked.
+"What would ye say, Evelyn?"
+
+The girl was aware that the tone of light banter had been adopted to
+cover deeper feelings, which those present shrank from expressing; but
+she ventured to give her thoughts free rein.
+
+"I agree with you in one respect," she said. "But I can't believe that
+the object mentioned is Mr. Vane's only one. He would never be willing
+to pay the necessary price."
+
+It was a delicate compliment, uttered in all sincerity, and Vane's worn
+face grew warm. He was, however, conscious that it would be safer to
+avoid being serious, and he smiled.
+
+"Well," he said, "looking for timber rights is apt to prove expensive,
+too. I had a haunting fear I might be lame, until the doctor banished
+it. I'd better own that I'd no great confidence in Carroll's surgery."
+
+Carroll, keeping strictly to the line the others had chosen, made him an
+ironical bow, but Evelyn was not to be deterred.
+
+"It was foolish of you to be troubled," she declared. "It isn't a fault
+to be wounded in an honourable fight, and even if the mark remains there
+is no reason why one should be ashamed of it."
+
+Mrs. Nairn glanced at the girl rather sharply, but Carroll came to his
+comrade's assistance.
+
+"Strictly speaking, there wasn't a wound," he pointed out. "Fortunately
+it was what is known as a simple fracture. If it had been anything else,
+I'm inclined to think I couldn't have treated it."
+
+Nairn chuckled, as if this met with his approval, but his wife turned
+round and they heard a patter of footsteps on the stairs.
+
+"Yon bell has kept on ringing since we came up," she said. "I left word
+I was no to be disturbed. Weel"--as the door opened--"what is it,
+Minnie?"
+
+"The reception-room's plumb full," announced the maid, who was lately
+from the bush. "If any more folks come along, I won't know where to put
+them."
+
+Now the door was open, Evelyn could hear a murmur of voices on the floor
+below, and next moment the bell rang violently again, which struck her
+as a testimonial to the injured man. Vane had not spent a long time in
+Vancouver, but he had the gift of making friends. Having heard of the
+sloop's arrival, they had come to inquire for him, and there was
+obviously a number of them.
+
+Mrs. Nairn glanced interrogatively at Carroll. "It does not look as if
+they could be got rid of by a message."
+
+"I guess he's fit to see them," Carroll answered. "We'll hold the levée.
+If he'd only let me, I'd like to pose him a bit."
+
+Mrs. Nairn, with Evelyn's assistance, did so instead, rearranging the
+cushions about the man, in spite of his confused and half-indignant
+protests; and during the next half hour the room was generally full.
+People walked in, made sympathetic inquiries, or exchanged cheerful
+banter, until Mrs. Nairn forcibly dismissed the last of them. After this
+she declared that Vane must go to sleep, and paying no heed to his
+assertion that he had not the least wish to do so, she led her remaining
+companions away.
+
+A couple of hours had passed when she handed Evelyn a large tumbler
+containing a preparation of whipped-up eggs and milk.
+
+"Ye might take him this and ask if he would like anything else," she
+said. "I'm weary of the stairs and I would not trust Minnie. She's
+handiest at spilling things."
+
+"It's the third and I'd better say firmly, the limit," Carroll remarked.
+Then he assumed an aggrieved expression as Evelyn moved off with a tray.
+"I can't see why I couldn't have gone. I believe I've discharged my
+duties as nurse satisfactorily."
+
+Evelyn shared his suspicions. Her hostess's artifice was a transparent
+one, but she nevertheless fell in with it. She had only seen Vane in the
+company of others; this might be the same again to-morrow, and there was
+something to be said. By intuition as much as reason, she knew that
+there was something working in his mind, something that troubled him and
+might trouble her. It excited her apprehension and animated her with a
+desire to combat it. That she might be compelled to follow an
+unconventional course did not matter. This man was hers--and she could
+not let him go.
+
+She entered his room collectedly. He was lying, neatly dressed, upon a
+couch, with his shoulders raised against the end of it, for he had
+thrown the cushions which had supported him upon the floor. As she came
+in, he leaned down in an attempt to recover them, and finding himself
+too late, looked up guiltily. The fact that he could move with so much
+freedom was a comfort to the girl. She set down the tray on a table near
+him.
+
+"Mrs. Nairn has sent you this," she said, and the laugh they both
+indulged in drew them together.
+
+Then her mood changed, and her heart yearned over him. He had gone away
+a strong, self-confident, prosperous man, and he had come back defeated;
+broken in health and fortune and terribly worn. Her pity shone in her
+softening eyes.
+
+"Do you wish to sleep?" she asked.
+
+"No," Vane assured her; "I'd a good deal sooner talk to you."
+
+"Well," said Evelyn, "I have something to say. I'm afraid I was rather
+unpleasant to you the evening before you sailed. I was sorry for it
+afterwards; it was flagrant injustice."
+
+"Then I wonder why you didn't answer the letter I wrote at Nanaimo."
+
+"For a very good reason; I never got it."
+
+Vane considered this for a few moments. "After all," he said, "it
+doesn't matter now. I'm acquitted?"
+
+"Absolutely."
+
+"Do you know," he said, "I've still no idea of my offence?"
+
+Evelyn was exceedingly glad to hear it, but a warmth crept into her
+face, and as the blood showed through the delicate skin he fixed his
+eyes intently upon her.
+
+"It was all a mistake; I'm sorry still," she declared penitently.
+
+"Oh," he said in a different tone; "I wouldn't trouble about it. The
+satisfaction of being acquitted outweighs everything else. Besides, I've
+made a number of rather serious mistakes myself. The search for that
+spruce, for instance, is supposed to be one."
+
+"No," said Evelyn decidedly; "whoever thinks that is wrong. It is a very
+fine thing you have done. It doesn't matter in the least that you were
+unsuccessful."
+
+"You believe that?"
+
+"Of course. How could I believe anything else?"
+
+The man's face changed again, and once more she read the signs. Whatever
+doubts and half-formed resolutions--and she had some idea of them--had
+been working in his mind were dissipating.
+
+"Well," he said, "I've sacrificed the best of my possessions and
+destroyed the confidence of folks who, to serve their ends, would have
+helped me on. Isn't that a serious thing?"
+
+"No; it's really a most unimportant one; I"--and the slight pause gave
+the assertion force--"I really mean it."
+
+Vane partly raised himself with one arm and there was no doubting the
+significance of his intent gaze.
+
+"I believe I made another blunder--in England. I should have had more
+courage and have faced the risk. But you might have turned against me
+then."
+
+"I don't think that's likely," said Evelyn, lowering her eyes.
+
+The man leaned forward towards her, but the hand he stretched out fell
+short, and the trivial fact once more roused her compassion for his
+helplessness.
+
+"You can only mean one thing," he said. "You wouldn't be afraid to face
+the future with me now?"
+
+"I wouldn't be afraid at all," said Evelyn quietly.
+
+By and by Mrs. Nairn tapped at the door and smiled rather broadly when
+she came in; then she shook her head in reproach.
+
+"Ye should have been asleep a while since," she said to Vane, and turned
+to Evelyn. "Is this the way ye intend to look after him?"
+
+She waved the girl towards the door and when she joined her in the
+passage kissed her effusively.
+
+"Ye've got the man I would have chosen for ye," she said.
+
+                                THE END.
+
+                     London: Ward, Lock & Co., Ltd.
+
+
+
+
+WARD, LOCK & CO.'S
+
+TWO-SHILLING FICTION
+
+Crown 8vo. Cloth Gilt. With Illustrations. 2/. net.
+
+      1 Lawrence Clavering                  A. E. W. Mason
+      3 Limitations                         E. F. Benson
+      7 Roger Trewinion                     Joseph Hocking
+      8 Half a Hero                         Anthony Hope
+     10 A Study in Scarlet                  A. Conan Doyle
+     12 To Leeward                          F. Marion Crawford
+     13 Comedies of Courtship               A. Hope
+     16 Lady Barbarity                      J. C. Snaith
+     17 As We Forgive Them                  Wm. Le Queux
+     18 Hawtrey's Deputy                    Harold Bindloss
+     19 The Peer and the Woman              E. P. Oppenheim
+     21 Mr. Witt's Widow                    Anthony Hope
+     22 The Unknown Lady                    Justus M. Forman
+     24 Lord Stranleigh, Philanthropist     Robert Barr
+     25 The Master Mummer                   E. P. Oppenheim
+     28 The Postmaster of Market Deignton   E. P. Oppenheim
+     29 The Sign of the Stranger            Wm. Le Queux
+     32 False Evidence                      E. P. Oppenheim
+     33 The Tickencote Treasure             Wm. Le Queux
+     34 Mirabel's Island                    Louis Tracy
+     35 White Walls                         Max Pemberton
+     36 The Lovers                          Eden Phillpotts
+     38 The Vow                             Paul Trent
+     39 The Purple Robe                     Joseph Hocking
+     40 The Trustee                         Harold Bindloss
+     41 Expiation                           E. P. Oppenheim
+     42 Mysteries                           Wm. Le Queux
+     43 The Foundling                       Paul Trent
+     44 The Betrayal                        E. P. Oppenheim
+     45 The Wastrel                         Harold Bindloss
+     46 The Room of Secrets                 Wm. Le Queux
+     47 The Opening Door                    Justus M. Forman
+     48 Lest We Forget                      Joseph Hocking
+     49 The Long Arm                        E. P. Oppenheim
+     52 The Allinson Honour                 Harold Bindloss
+     53 The Open Road                       Halliwell Sutcliffe
+     54 The Master of Merripit              Eden Phillpotts
+     55 Max Logan                           Paul Trent
+     56 An Enemy Hath Done This             Joseph Hocking
+     57 Mysterious Mr. Sabin                E. P. Oppenheim
+     59 The Heir to the Throne              A. W. Marchmont
+     60 Blake's Burden                      Harold Bindloss
+     61 A Daughter of the Marionis          E. P. Oppenheim
+     63 The White Lie                       Wm. Le Queux
+     64 Uncle Peter's Will                  Silas K. Hocking
+     65 Lord Stranleigh Abroad              Robert Barr
+     66 The Six Rubies                      Justus M. Forman
+     67 Leila and Her Lover                 Max Pemberton
+     68 The Secret of the Reef              Harold Bindloss
+     69 The Blind Spot                      Justus M. Forman
+     70 Nesbit's Compact                    Paul Trent
+     73 The White Horses                    Halliwell Sutcliffe
+     74 A Lovers' Tale                      Maurice Hewlett
+     75 Delia Blanchflower                  Mrs. Humphry Ward
+     76 The Coming of the King              Joseph Hocking
+     77 The Admirable Carfew                Edgar Wallace
+     82 A Chateau in Picardy                Halliwell Sutcliffe
+     85 Bentley's Conscience                Paul Trent
+     88 Frey and His Wife                   Maurice Hewlett
+     90 The Crimson Field                   Halliwell Sutcliffe
+     91 The Flying Girl                     Richard Marsh
+     94 The Annexation Society              J. S. Fletcher
+     97 A Prince of this World              Joseph Hocking
+     98 Sir Vincent's Patient               Headon Hill
+    100 The Comlyn Alibi                    Headon Hill
+    101 Weapons of Mystery                  Joseph Hocking
+    102 The Gay Hazard                      Halliwell Sutcliffe
+    103 His One Talent                      Harold Bindloss
+
+WARD, LOCK & Co., London, Melbourne & Toronto.
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+     RUDYARD KIPLING            CUTCLIFFE HYNE
+     SIR H. RIDER HAGGARD       HAROLD BINDLOSS
+     ANTHONY HOPE               A. E. W. MASON
+     MAURICE HEWLETT            SIR A. CONAN DOYLE
+     SIR GILBERT PARKER         JEROME K. JEROME
+     W. J. LOCKE                MARY CHOLMONDELEY
+     H. G. WELLS                JUSTUS MILES FORMAN
+     HALL CAINE                 E. F. BENSON
+     I. ZANGWILL                MRS. F. A. STEEL
+     MAARTEN MAARTENS           GERTRUDE PAGE
+     H. B. MARRIOTT WATSON      EDEN PHILLPOTTS
+     H. A. VACHELL              BARONESS ORCZY
+     W. W. JACOBS               HALLIWELL SUTCLIFFE
+     BARRY PAIN                 KEBLE HOWARD
+     BEATRICE HARRADEN          CHARLES G. D. ROBERTS
+     ARNOLD BENNETT
+
+The WINDSOR holds the Record For the Best Fiction, Articles and Pictures
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+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Protector, by Harold Bindloss
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