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diff --git a/38635-8.txt b/38635-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..597874a --- /dev/null +++ b/38635-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12515 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Delilah of the Snows, 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: Delilah of the Snows + +Author: Harold Bindloss + +Release Date: January 21, 2012 [EBook #38635] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DELILAH OF THE SNOWS *** + + + + +Produced by Steven desJardins and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was +produced from scanned images of public domain material +from the Google Print project.) + + + + + + +DELILAH OF THE SNOWS + +By HAROLD BINDLOSS + +_Author of "Alton of Somasco," "The Cattle-Baron's +Daughter," "The Dust of Conflict," "Winston of the +Prairie," "For Jacinta," "The Young Traders," etc._ + +[Illustration] + +NEW YORK + +FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY +PUBLISHERS + +COPYRIGHT, 1907, BY +FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY + +_All rights reserved_ +_May 1908_ + + + + +CONTENTS + + CHAPTER PAGE + I INGLEBY FEELS THE BIT 1 + II INGLEBY STANDS BY HIS OPINIONS 11 + III CONFLICTING CLAIMS 21 + IV LEGER'S RESPONSIBILITY 34 + V THE NEW COUNTRY 44 + VI HALL SEWELL 55 + VII HETTY BEARS THE COST 64 + VIII ON THE TRAIL 74 + IX HETTY FINDS A WAY 84 + X UNREST 95 + XI INGLEBY VENTURES A REMONSTRANCE 107 + XII THE MAJOR'S BEAR 117 + XIII ESMOND ACQUIRES INFORMATION 129 + XIV THE NECESSARY INCENTIVE 139 + XV INGLEBY STRIKES IT RICH 147 + XVI AN INVALID RECORD 157 + XVII TROOPER PROBYN'S MISADVENTURE 167 + XVIII INGLEBY GOES AWAY 177 + XIX TROOPER PROBYN COMES BACK 189 + XX ACCESSORIES 199 + XXI A DOUBTFUL EXCHANGE 210 + XXII ALISON'S SAULT 220 + XXIII INGLEBY LOSES HIS HEAD 231 + XXIV THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS 241 + XXV TOMLINSON GETS AWAY 251 + XXVI THE OBVIOUS THING 261 + XXVII THE BLOCKADE 273 + XXVIII SNOWED IN 283 + XXIX ESMOND'S HANDS ARE TIED 295 + XXX SEWELL'S DOWNFALL 305 + XXXI BROKEN IDOLS 316 + XXXII HIS APPOINTED STATION 328 + + + + +DELILAH OF THE SNOWS + + + + +I + +INGLEBY FEELS THE BIT + + +The tennis match was over, and Walter Ingleby stood swinging his racket +impatiently beside an opening in the hazel hedge that overhung the lane. +Wisps of hay were strewn about it, but already the nut bushes were +sprinkled with the honeysuckle's flowers. Beyond the hedge, cornfields +blotched with poppies, and cropped meadows, faded into the cold blueness +of the east. + +Ingleby looked out upon the prospect with a slight hardening of his +face, for he loved the quiet, green country in which there was +apparently no room for him; but a little thrill of expectancy ran +through him as he glanced back across the stile towards the little white +village he had left a few minutes earlier. A broad meadow shining with +the tender green of the aftermath divided it from the lane, and light +laughter and a murmur of voices came faintly across the grass. Again a +trace of grimness, which seemed out of place there, crept into his face, +and it was with a little resolute movement of his shoulders that he +turned and raised his eyes to the dim blue ridge behind which burned the +sunset's smoky red. He vaguely felt that it was portentous and +emblematical, for that evening the brightness of the West seemed to +beckon him. + +He had graciously been permitted to play for a somewhat exclusive club +during the afternoon, as well as to make himself useful handing round +tea and carrying chairs, because he played tennis well, and the +president's wife had said that while there was a risk in admitting that +kind of people, young Ingleby evidently knew his place, and was seldom +guilty of presumption. This was true, for Ingleby was shrewd enough to +realize that there were limits to the toleration extended him, though +the worthy lady would probably have been astonished had she known what +his self-repression occasionally cost him. That a young man of his +position should not esteem it a privilege to teach beginners and submit +to be snubbed by any one of importance who happened to be out of temper +had never occurred to her. Still, he certainly knew his place, and +having played well, to please himself and his partner, had slipped away +when the last game was over, since he understood that the compliments +were not for him. + +Suddenly his heart beat a trifle faster as a figure appeared in the +meadow. It was a girl of about his own age, which did not greatly exceed +twenty, who carried herself well, and moved, it seemed to him, with a +gracefulness he had never noticed in any other woman. She wore a white +hat with red poppies on it, and he noticed that the flowers he had +diffidently offered her were still tucked in the belt of the light grey +dress. She was walking slowly, and apparently did not see him in the +shadow, so that when she stopped a moment with her hand upon the stile +he could, although he felt the presumption of it, look at her steadily. + +There were excuses for him, since any one with artistic perceptions +would have admitted that Grace Coulthurst made a sufficiently attractive +picture as she stood with the white clover at her feet and the glow of +the West upon her face. It was warm in colouring and almost too cleanly +cut, but essentially English, with a suggestion of pride and vigour in +it. The eyes were grey, and, perhaps, a trifle too grave and imperious +considering her age; the clustering hair beneath the white hat shone in +the sunset a gleaming bronze. She was also very dainty, though that did +not detract from the indefinite something in the pose of the shapely +head and figure which the lad vaguely recognized as patrician. The term +did not please him. Indeed, it was one he objected to, but he could +think of nothing more appropriate, and as he watched her he became +almost astonished at his temerity. Ingleby was young, and fancied he +knew his own value, but he was also acquainted with the unyielding +nature of social distinction, and it was wholly respectful homage he +paid Grace Coulthurst. She was Major Coulthurst's daughter, and a young +woman of some local importance. When she saw Ingleby a faint tinge of +warmer colour crept into her face for just a moment. + +He swung off his straw hat, and held it at his knee as he raised a hand +to her, and though his deference was, perhaps, a trifle overdone, it was +redeemed by its genuineness, and did not displease her. + +"I was afraid you would never come," he said. + +The girl descended the stile before she looked at him, and then there +was a suggestion of stiffness in her attitude, for the speech, which +seemed to imply something of the nature of an appointment, was not a +tactful one. + +"Why did you think I would come this way at all?" she said. + +"I don't know," said Ingleby, with a trace of confusion. "Of course, +there wasn't any reason. Still, I hoped you would. That was why I +waited." + +Grace Coulthurst said nothing for a moment. It was, though she would +never have admitted it, not altogether by accident that she had met and +walked home with him somewhat frequently during the past month. + +"As it happened, I was almost going round by the road, with Lilian +Fownes," she said. + +Young Ingleby, as she did not fail to notice, set his lips, for Miss +Fownes had on that and other occasions been accompanied by her +accomplished brother, who was an adept at graceful inanities. + +"Then I should not have seen you--and I especially wanted to," he said. + +His voice had a little uncertain note in it, and Grace glanced at him +sharply. "In that case, why did you run away as soon as the game was +over?" + +"Don't you know?" and Ingleby's laugh had a trace of bitterness in it. +"When it is over they don't want me. Of course, we helped them to win, +but that was what I was there for--that, and nothing more--while you +played splendidly. You see, one depends so much upon his partner." + +"Does he?" + +"Of course!" and Ingleby lost his head. "Now--I don't mean at tennis +only--I could do almost anything with you to encourage me. Still, that +is evidently out of the question--like the rest." + +He concluded somewhat incoherently, for he realized that this was going +too far, and in his embarrassment naturally made matters worse by the +attempted qualification. Still, though the girl's colour was a trifle +higher, she was not altogether displeased, and felt that there was, +perhaps, some excuse for his confidence as she glanced at him covertly. +Walter Ingleby was not remarkably different from most other young +Englishmen, but he had a sturdy, well set-up figure, and an expressive +and by no means unattractive face, with broad forehead, fearless blue +eyes, and a certain suggestive firmness of his mouth. He had also a +trick of looking at one steadily with his head held well erect, and then +speaking with a curious clipped curtness. It was a trifling mannerism +which nevertheless carried with it a suggestion of vigour and +straightforwardness. Just then there was a little scintillation in his +eyes, and he looked like one who had at least the courage to attempt a +good deal. + +"Well," she said, in a non-committal fashion, "we certainly won the +match, and I think you were wrong to slip away. One would almost fancy +that you are unduly sensitive now and then." + +Ingleby laughed. "Perhaps I am, but it isn't so very astonishing that I +should occasionally resent a slight that isn't meant when there are so +many of them that certainly are. No doubt, it's my own fault. I should +have known what to expect when I crept into the exclusive tennis club at +Holtcar." + +"Then I wonder why you joined it at all." + +"So do I at times. Still, I wanted to see what people of position and +refinement were really like, and to learn anything they might be +inclined to teach me. I was ambitious, you see--and besides, I was +really fond of the game." + +"And you were disappointed when you met them?" + +Ingleby made a little expressive gesture. "Chiefly in myself. I thought +I was strong enough not to mind being treated as a professional and +politely ignored except when I was useful. Then I imagined it would be +excellent discipline, and discipline is presumably good for one, as the +worthy vicar, who really appears to have ideas, is fond of observing." + +Again the girl glanced at him sharply, with a faint but perceptible +arching of her brows. + +"Isn't that a trifle patronizing?" she said. "You can't be very much +older than I am, and he has, at least, seen a good deal of the world." + +Ingleby laughed frankly, though there was a little flush in his face. "I +know I very often talk like a fool--and the difference between you and +the others is that you very seldom think it necessary to remind me of +it. That is, of course, one difference. The rest----" + +"I think," said the girl, severely, "we were talking about the vicar." + +"Well," said Ingleby, "I really believe he means well, but he is, after +all, part of the system, and naturally interested in maintaining the +existing state of things. We have in England a few great bolstered-up +professions, one could almost call them professional rings, and the men +fortunate enough to enter them are more or less compelled to play into +one another's hands. The millions who don't belong to them are, of +course, outsiders, and couldn't be expected to count, you see." + +The girl stiffened perceptibly, and really looked very patrician as she +turned and regarded him indignantly. + +"You appear to forget that my father belongs to one of those +professions," she said. + +"He did," corrected Ingleby, and then stopped abruptly, as he remembered +it was reputed that it was not exactly by his own wish Major Coulthurst +no longer actively served his nation. + +"I wonder if you have deliberately made up your mind to offend me?" +asked Grace Coulthurst with icy quietness. + +"You know I would cut my hand off sooner than do anything I thought +would vex you," Ingleby answered. "I'm afraid I talk too much, but I +can't help it now and then. There are, you see, so few people who will +listen to me seriously. Unless you are content to adopt the accepted +point of view, everybody seems to think it his duty to put his foot on +you." + +Grace's anger was usually short-lived, for she had a generous nature as +well as a sense of humour, and the lad's naive admission appealed to the +latter. + +"Well," she said, with a little gleam in her eyes, "I really think I, at +least, have listened to you with patience; but your views are likely to +lead you into trouble. Where did you get them?" + +Ingleby laughed. "To tell the truth, I often wonder myself. In any case, +it wasn't from my father. He was a staunch and consistent churchman, and +kept a little book shop. You can see it in the High Street now. He sold +books--and papers behind the counter; I would like you to remember this. +Still, as I said, he was consistent, and there was literature he would +not handle, nor when they made him a councillor would he wink at certain +municipal jobbery. The latter fact was duly remembered when his lease +fell in, as well as on other occasions, and when he died, when I was +fourteen, there was nothing left for me. He was a scholar, and an +upright man--as well as a Tory of the old school and a high churchman." + +"Is it very unusual for a scholar to be either of the latter then?" + +"Well," said Ingleby, with a little twinkle in his eyes, "one would +almost fancy that it ought to be. However, you can't be in the least +interested in these fancies of mine. Shall I gather you that spray of +blossom?" + +Grace looked curiously at him instead of at the pale-tinted honeysuckle +whose sweetness hung about them. She was quite aware that he had +somewhat eccentric views, and it was perhaps his originality which had +attracted her when, prompted chiefly by pity for the lad who was usually +left out in the cold, she had made his acquaintance; but her interest in +him had increased with suspicious rapidity considering that it was only +a month or two since she had delicately made the first overtures. She +was quite willing to admit that she had made them, for she had +understood, and under the circumstances sympathized with, the lad's +original irresponsiveness, which had vanished when he saw that her +graciousness sprang from a kindly nature and was unspoiled by +condescension; and Grace Coulthurst could afford to do what other young +women of her age at Holtcar would have shrunk from. She had also a +certain quiet imperiousness which made whatever she did appear fitting. + +"I am afraid you are an inveterate radical," she said. + +"I scarcely think that goes quite far enough, as radicalism seems to be +understood by its acknowledged leaders. Blatant is the adjective +usually hurled at us; and no doubt I deserve it, as witness what you +have endured to-night. Still, you see, I wasn't talking quite without a +purpose, because I want you to understand my attitude--and that brings +me to the point. I'm afraid I can't play with you at the tournament, as +was arranged." + +"No?" said Grace, a trifle sharply, for she was very human, and after +somewhat daringly showing favour to the man of low degree it was a +trifle galling to discover that he failed to appreciate it. "You have, +presumably, something that pleases you better to do that day?" + +Ingleby turned partly away from her, and glanced across the valley. +"No," he said with unusual quietness, "I think you know that could not +be. I am, in fact, going away." + +Grace was a trifle startled, as well as more concerned than she would +have admitted, and had Ingleby been looking at her he might have seen +this. It had not been exactly pleasant to hear that he was an advanced +democrat, for, while by no means unduly conventional, she had an inborn +respect for established customs and procedure, and she felt that the +existing condition of affairs, while probably not beyond improvement, +might be made considerably worse, at least, so far as she and her +friends were concerned. Still, it was disconcerting to find that he was +going away, for there would then be no opportunity for teaching +him--indirectly, of course--the erroneous nature of his views. This, at +least, was the reason she offered herself. + +"Where are you going?" she asked, with studied indifference. + +Ingleby swung around, with head tilted a trifle backwards--she knew that +unconscious pose and the little gleam in his eyes which usually +accompanied it--and looked across the cool blue-green meadows towards +the fading splendours of the West. + +"Out there where men are equal, as they were made to be, and the new +lands are too wide for the cramped opinions and prejudices that crush +one here!" Then he turned to the girl with a little laugh. "I wish you +would say something quietly stinging. I deserve it for going off in that +way again. Still, I really felt it." + +"Do you think I could?" and Grace's tone was severe. + +Ingleby was even more contrite than she expected. "It was absurd to +suggest it. You could never say an unkind or cutting thing to anybody. +In fact, your kindness is the one pleasant memory I shall carry away +with me. I--you see----" + +He pulled himself up abruptly, but the colour was in his cheeks, and the +little thrill in his voice again, while it seemed only natural that the +girl should smile prettily. + +"I wonder," she said, "if one might ask you why you are going?" + +The lane was growing dusky now, and Grace, as it happened, held a white +glove and a fold of the silvery grey skirt in an uncovered hand, for the +dew was settling heavily upon the grass between the wheel ruts. Ingleby +did not look at her. + +"I don't think I could make you understand how sordid and distasteful my +life here is--and it can't be changed," he said. "Every door is closed +against the man with neither friends nor money. He must be taught his +place, and stay in it, dragging out his life in hopeless drudgery, while +I----" + +He stopped again, and then looked his companion steadily in the face. "I +have found out in the last month how much life has to offer one who has +the courage to make a bold bid for what he is entitled to." + +"And you expect to make it out there--which presumably means America or +Canada?" + +They had reached an oaken door in a mossy wall, and Ingleby stood still. +"Yes," he said, slowly, "I intend to make it there. Life holds so +much--I did not know how much a little while ago--and there are alluring +possibilities if one has the courage to break away from the groove +prejudice and tradition force him into here. I may never see you +again--unless I am successful I think I never shall. Would it be a very +great presumption if I asked you for something, a trifle, to carry away +with me?" + +He stood looking down upon her with a curious wistfulness in his face, +and Grace afterwards tried to believe that it was by accident she +dropped her glove just then. In any case, next moment young Ingleby +stooped, and when he straightened himself again he not only held the +glove exultantly fast, but the hand she had stretched out for it. Then a +patch of vivid crimson showed in Grace Coulthurst's cheek as they stood +face to face in the summer twilight--the lad of low degree, with +tingling nerves and throbbing heart, and the girl of station rudely +shaken out of her accustomed serenity. In those few moments they left +their youth behind, and crossed the mystic threshold into the ampler +life of man and woman. + +Then Ingleby, swinging off his straw hat, let the little hand go, and +looked at the girl steadily. + +"If that was wrong you will have a long while in which to forgive me," +he said. "If I live and prosper out there I will bring you back the +glove again--and, whatever happens, you cannot prevent my carrying your +memory away with me." + +Then he turned away, looked back, still bareheaded, and with a little +resolute shake of his shoulders swung away down the darkening lane, +while Grace inserted a key in the oaken door with somewhat unsteady +fingers. She was as yet neither pleased nor angry, but bewildered, and +only certain that he had gone, and her face was burning still. + + + + +II + +INGLEBY STANDS BY HIS OPINIONS + + +It was late on Saturday night, and unpleasantly hot in the little dingy +room where Ingleby sat with a companion beneath the slates of a tall, +four-story house in a busy cloth-making town. There were several large +holes in the threadbare carpet, and a portion of the horsehair stuffing +protruded from the dilapidated sofa, while the rickety chairs and +discoloured cloth on the table were equally suggestive of severe +economy. A very plain bookcase hung on the wall, and the condition of +the historical works and treatises on political economy it contained +seemed to indicate that they had been purchased secondhand; while an oil +lamp burned dimly on the mantel, for the room was almost intolerably +stuffy already, and the gas supplied at Hoddam was bad and dear. A +confused murmur of voices came up from the narrow street below, with the +clatter of heavy shoes and the clamour of the cheap-Jacks in the +neighbouring market square. + +Ingleby, who had taken off his jacket, lay in a decrepit arm-chair +holding a slip of paper in his hand. Opposite him sat another young man +with the perspiration beaded on his face, which was sallow and somewhat +hollow. He was watching Ingleby with a faint smile in his eyes. + +"The little excursion doesn't seem to commend itself to you," he said. + +"No," answered Ingleby drily, "I can't say it does. I had looked forward +to spending a quiet day on the moors to-morrow. It will in all +probability be the last Sunday I shall ever pass in this country. +Besides, considering that I don't even belong to the Society, this +notice is a trifle peremptory. Why should the Committee confidently +expect my co-operation in enforcing the right of way through Willow +Dene? I certainly did not tell anybody to keep me a place in the +wagonette, which they are good enough to intimate has been done." + +"Still, after that speech you made you will have to go. You're in +sympathy with the movement, anyway?" + +Ingleby made a little impatient gesture. "I don't know what came over me +that night, and, to tell the truth, Leger, I've been almost sorry I got +up ever since. It was, in one way, an astonishing piece of assurance, +and I can't help a fancy that most of those who heard me must have known +a good deal more about the subject than I did." + +"It's not altogether improbable," and his companion laughed. "In fact, +twice when you made a point I heard a man behind me quoting your +authorities. Still, they didn't expect you to be original." + +"One or two of the others certainly were; but that's not quite the +question. Of course, there is no excuse for the closing of Willow Dene, +but driving out in wagonettes on Sunday doesn't quite appeal to me. It's +over three miles, too, unfortunately. One has, after all, to consider +popular--prejudice--you see." + +Leger was slight of physique and of wholly undistinguished appearance, +as well as shabbily dressed; but there was a hint of rather more than +intelligence in his sallow face, and he had expressive brown eyes. A +little twinkle crept into them just then. + +"I can remember occasions when it seemed to please you to fly in the +face of them, but your thoroughness isn't altogether above suspicion now +and then. One has to be one thing or the other." + +"You know my opinions." + +"Oh, yes," said Leger smiling. "Most of your acquaintances do. It would +be a little astonishing if they didn't. Still, you have a few effete +aristocratic notions clinging about you. Why shouldn't we drive out on +Sunday, with the traditional crimson neckties and clay pipes if it +pleases us, even if our presence is no great improvement to the scenery, +when it ought to be clear that we can't go any other day? Besides, what +is a man of your opinions doing with those luxuries yonder?" + +He pointed to Ingleby's tennis flannels and black swimming costume which +hung behind the door. Ingleby laughed. + +"Are cleanliness and decency quite out of keeping with democratic views? +I'm fond of swimming, and the only place where I can get into the river +now is the big pool beside the Thorndale road. It's a trifle public even +at seven A. M., but my landlady objects to my bathing here, and since I +can't afford the necessary apparatus I don't blame her. She says it +brings the plaster off the lower ceilings, and I really think it does." + +"There is the establishment provided by a beneficent municipality." + +"Where they charge you sixpence." + +Leger nodded. "Sixpence," he said, "is certainly a consideration. Still, +there are days on which one can obtain a sufficiency of water for half +the sum. The plunge bath is, I believe, forty feet long." + +"It is the quality and not the quantity to which I object." + +Leger shook his head reproachfully. "I'm afraid those effete prejudices +are still very strong in you. You play tennis, too. How much does that +cost you?" + +"It's a question I'm not going to answer," and Ingleby flushed hotly. +"Anyway, I've had full value for the money." + +Leger smiled in a curious fashion as he looked at him, but he changed +the subject and pointed to the pamphlet on the floor. "What do you think +of the new apostle's speeches?" + +A little sparkle crept into Ingleby's eyes. "They are," he said slowly, +"almost a revelation. Even on paper one feels the passion and the truth +in them. The man's a genius, and you have to believe in him. I could +fancy him doing anything he liked with you if you came in contact with +him." + +"It is not quite out of the question. It was an Oregon paper that first +printed what he had to say, and I believe that State is on the Pacific +slope where you are going. You evidently still mean to go?" + +"Yes," said Ingleby shortly. "What chance is there for me--or any of +us--here?" + +Leger threw up the window and looked into the street. The lights of a +big gin palace flared down in the narrow gap, and a stream of perspiring +humanity flowed along beneath them, slatternly women, and men with +flattened chests and shoulders bent by unhealthy toil, jostling one +another. The garish brilliancy touched their pallid faces, and the harsh +murmur of their voices came up hollowly between the tall houses with the +reek of gas fumes and other confused odours. There were many poor in +Hoddam, and in hot weather bargains were to be had in the neighbouring +market at that hour; while trade was bad just then, and a little lower +down the street shadowy figures were flitting into a pawnbroker's door. +Leger's face grew a trifle weary as he watched them. + +"At the best it is a poor one," he said. "One feels inclined to wonder +if--this--is to last forever." + +"It's too big a question. Give it up, and come out with me." + +"And let the powers that be have it all their own way?" said Leger. + +"I'm afraid neither you nor I can prevent them. Besides, from what this +American says, there seem to be people with grievances out yonder, too. +A good many of them, in fact. I expect there are everywhere." + +Leger smiled. "I wonder," he said, "whether that has just dawned on you. +Still, I'm not so strong as you are--and there's Hetty. You'll have to +go alone, but you'll leave at least two people behind you who will think +of you often." + +He stopped abruptly, for there was a patter of feet on the stairway, and +Ingleby rose as the door swung open and a girl came in. She carried a +basket, and appeared a trifle breathless, for the stairs were steep, but +her dress was tasteful, and most men would have admitted that she was +pretty. She took the chair Ingleby drew out, and smiled at him. + +"Do you know that the people downstairs would hardly let me in?" she +said. "You seem to be very well looked after, but I knew you wouldn't +mind me. I've come for Tom." + +Ingleby laughed, but it was a trifle uneasily, for he was young, and by +no means the girl's equal in the matter of self-possession. In fact, one +had only to look at Hetty Leger to recognize that she was capable, and +could be, on occasion, a trifle daring, for there was courage as well as +cheerfulness in her clear blue eyes, which met one's glance steadily +from under dark and unusually straight brows. + +"You have been marketing?" he said. + +Hetty nodded. "Yes," she answered. "You can, if you know how to go about +it, get provisions cheap after ten o'clock on Saturday night, and I have +had the usual difficulty in making ends meet this week. Wouldn't it be a +relief to live in a country where there was no rent to pay and you take +a spade and grow what you want to eat?" + +"Ingleby's going where they do something of that kind, though I believe +they now and then dig up gold and silver, too," said her brother. + +Hetty, for no ostensible reason, pulled up one of her little cotton +gloves, which did not seem to need it, and then looked quietly at +Ingleby. + +"Then you are going away?" she asked. + +Her brother nodded. "Yes," he said. "To the Pacific slope of North +America. He was just suggesting that we should come, too." + +Hetty sat silent for several moments. + +"Well?" she said at last. + +"I told him it couldn't be thought of. For one thing, it would cost a +good deal of money." + +Hetty glanced swiftly at Ingleby, and an older man might have noticed +the suppressed intentness in her face. + +"I'm afraid Tom is right--though I wish you could come," he said. "When +I mentioned it I didn't remember that he isn't very strong and that it +must be a very rough country for an Englishwoman. You wouldn't care to +live in a log hut forty miles from anywhere, Hetty?" + +The girl now looked straight in front of her. "No, I suppose not; but as +I shall never get the chance, that doesn't matter. Well, I think you are +wise to go. There are already more of us here than there seems to be any +use for." + +Ingleby almost fancied that there was something slightly unusual in her +voice; but her face was impassive, and she rose with a little smile. + +"It is getting late, Tom," she said. "You are both going to the +demonstration to-morrow?" + +Ingleby said they were, and Hetty waited a moment, apparently doing +something to her hat, when her brother, who took the basket, passed out +of the room. She had a pretty figure, and the pose she fell into with +one rounded arm raised and a little hand busy with the hatpin was not +unbecoming. She was also on excellent terms with Ingleby, who leaned +against the mantel watching her until she shook the hat a trifle +impatiently, when he stepped forward. + +"If you want the thing put straight, let me try," he said. + +Then, to his astonishment, the hand he had laid upon the hat was +snatched away, and next moment Hetty, with a red spot in her cheek, +stood at least a yard away from him. She had moved so quickly that he +was not quite sure how she had got there. + +"Do you think I am less particular than--any one else?" + +"No," answered Ingleby contritely, with a trace of confusion. "Certainly +not. I would never have offered, only we are such old friends; and I +think that when you brought that hat home after buying it you let me put +it on for you." + +Hetty's face was still a trifle flushed, but she laughed. "That," she +said, "was a long time ago; but, after all, we needn't quarrel. In fact, +I let Tom go on because I had something to ask you." + +"Of course, anything I can do----" + +Hetty smiled sardonically. "Oh, yes, I know! Still, it's really very +little--or I wouldn't ask you. Just to look after Tom to-morrow. Now, he +has in most ways a good deal more sense than you----" + +"I can believe it," said Ingleby. "It really isn't very astonishing." + +"Still, you are stronger than he is, and he hasn't been very well since +he took up the night work at the mill. If there should be any trouble +you will look after him?" + +Ingleby promised; and, hearing her brother reascending the stairway, the +girl swiftly flitted out of the room, while Ingleby sat down to +consider, with the warmth still in his face, for he was not quite +pleased with himself, and, as a natural result, a trifle vexed with +Hetty. It was true, he admitted, that the girl had made a somewhat +enticing picture as she stood with face partly turned from him and one +hand raised to her head; but it was, he decided, merely the brotherly +kindness he had always felt for her which had prompted his offer, and it +was unpleasant to feel that he had done anything that might hurt her +self-respect. Still, he could not understand why this should be so, +since she had undoubtedly permitted him to put the hat on and admire her +in it not so very long ago, and he failed to discover any reason why +she should, in the meanwhile, have grown stricter in her views as to +what was fitting. Nor could he understand her question, which suggested +that she considered herself entitled to at least as much deference as a +person she preferred not to name. + +Then, remembering that most young women were subject to unaccountable +fancies now and then, he dismissed the matter as of no importance, after +all, and once more busied himself with the American's speeches. They +were certainly stirring, and made the more impression because he was +unacquainted with Western hyperbole; but there was in them, as wiser men +had admitted, the ring of genuine feeling, as well as a logical +vindication of democratic aspirations. Ingleby was young, and his blood +warmed as he read; while Hetty Leger, as she walked home through the hot +streets of the still noisy town with her brother, was for once curiously +silent, and almost morose, though, considering the life she led, she was +usually a cheerful girl. + +It was not much quieter on the following afternoon when Ingleby, who, +partly as a protest against the decrees of conventionality, wore a soft +cap and his one suit of light summer tweed, met Leger on the doorstep of +the Committee rooms of a certain Society. Several big wagonettes were +already drawn up, and men with pallid faces sat in them, neatly attired +for the most part, though somewhat to Ingleby's annoyance several of +them smoked clay pipes and wore brilliant neckties and hard felt hats. +He was quite aware that it was unreasonable of him to object to this, +but, nevertheless, he could not help it. They were, however, quiet and +orderly enough, and indulged in no more than good-humoured badinage with +the crowd that had assembled to see them off; but Ingleby felt inclined +to protest when Leger led him to a place on the box-seat of the foremost +vehicle, where a man was scattering leaflets among the crowd. + +"Couldn't we sit anywhere else?" he asked. "It's a little conspicuous +here." + +Leger shook his head. "That can't be helped," he said. "It's the penalty +of making speeches. You are considered one of the stalwarts now. There's +no use in objecting to the result when you have been guilty of the +cause, you know." + +"I'll be especially careful another time," said Ingleby, with a little +grimace. "In the meanwhile I'm ready to do anything you can reasonably +expect of me." + +Then there was a cracking of whips and a rattle of wheels, and the +discordant notes of a cornet broke through the semi-ironical cheer; and, +as they rolled across the river, which, foul with the refuse of +tanneries and dye-works, crept out of the close-packed town, a man who +sat on the bridge waved his hat to the leading driver. + +"Take them straight to the lock-up, Jim," he said. "It will save +everybody trouble, and what's the use of going round?" + +Then they wound through dusky woods out of the hot valley, and down the +long white road across a sun-baked moor, where the dust whirled behind +them in a rolling cloud. However, the men in the foremost vehicle got +little of it, and Ingleby felt that the drive would have been pleasant +in different circumstances, as he watched the blue hills that rose in +the dazzling distance, blurred with heat. Only one white fleecy cloud +flecked the sweep of cerulean, and the empty moor lay still under the +drowsy silence of the Sunday afternoon. It seemed to him most unfitting +that the harsh voices of his companions, the clatter of hoofs, and the +doleful tooting of the cornet, should jar upon it. Then as they dipped +into a hollow they came upon other travellers, all heading in the same +direction, who hurled somewhat pointed jests at them as they passed; but +these did not exactly resemble the men in the wagonettes. Their attire +was by no means neat, and they had not in the least the appearance of +men about to discharge a duty, while several of them carried heavy +sticks. + +"I wonder what they mean to do with those bludgeons," said Ingleby a +trifle uneasily. + +Leger laughed. "I have no doubt they would come in handy for killing +pheasants. There are, I believe, a good many young ones down in the +Dene. Of course, the Committee could very well dispense with the company +of those fellows, but we can't prevent any man from asserting his rights +as a Briton." + +"That," said Ingleby, grimly, "is in one respect almost a pity. The +difficulty is that somebody will get the credit of our friends' doings." + +"Of course!" and Leger laughed again. "You can't be a reformer for +nothing; you have to take the rough with the smooth--though there is, as +a rule, very little of the latter." + +Ingleby said nothing further; but it dawned on him, as it had, indeed, +done once or twice before, that even a defective system of preserving +peace and order might be preferable to none at all. Still, he naturally +would not admit his misgivings, and said nothing until the wagonettes +rolled into a little white village gay with flowers and girt about by +towering beeches. The windows of an old grey house caught the sunlight +and flashed among the trees, and, as the vehicles drew up, a trim groom +on a splendid horse swept out through the gate of a clematis-covered +lodge. + +Then there was a hoarse cheer from a group of dilapidated and dusty +loungers as the men swung themselves down outside the black-beamed +hostelry which bore a coat-of-arms above its portal. They were unusually +quiet, and Leger, who glanced at them, touched Ingleby's shoulder. + +"They'll do their work," he said. "Still, I fancy we are expected, and +I'm not sure that I'd be sorry if we had the thing done, and were +driving home again." + + + + +III + +CONFLICTING CLAIMS + + +The sunlight beat down fiercely on the shaven grass, and a drowsy hum of +bees stole through the stillness of the Sunday afternoon when Grace +Coulthurst and Geoffrey Esmond strolled across the lawn at Holtcar +Grange. There were at least two acres of it, flanked by dusky firs and +relieved on two sides by patches of graduated colour, while on the third +side one looked out towards the blue hills across the deep hollow of +Willow Dene into which the beech woods rolled down. A low wall, along +which great urns of scarlet geraniums were set, cut off the lawn from +the edge of the descent, and Grace, seating herself on the broad coping, +glanced down into the cool shadow, out of which the sound of running +water came up. + +"It really looks very enticing on a day like this. Don't you think it is +a little hard on the Hoddam people to shut them out of it?" she said. + +Her companion, who leaned, with his straw hat tilted back, against one +of the flower-filled urns, smiled as he glanced down at her. He was a +young man of slender, wiry frame, with an air of graceful languidness +which usually sat well upon him, though there were occasions on which it +was not readily distinguished from well-bred insolence. + +"I suppose it is, but they brought it upon themselves," he said. "Nobody +would mind their walking quietly through the Dene, even if they did +leave their sandwich papers and their bottles behind them." + +"I have seen wire baskets provided in such places," said Grace. + +The young owner of Holtcar Grange laughed. "So have I. In fact, I tried +it here, and put up a very civil notice pointing out what they were for. +The Hoddam people, however, evidently considered it an unwarrantable +interference with their sacred right to make as much mess of another +person's property as they pleased, for soon after the baskets arrived we +found that somebody had taken the trouble to collect them and deposit +them in the lake." + +"A gardener could, however, pick up a good many papers in an afternoon." + +"It would naturally depend upon how hard he worked, and, as you may have +noticed, undue activity is not a characteristic of anybody at the +Grange. Still, it would be several years before he made a young holly +from which the leading stem had been cut out grow again; besides which +the proletariat apparently consider themselves entitled to dig up the +primroses and daffodils by basketfuls with spades." + +Grace was not greatly interested in the subject, but it at least was +safe, and Geoffrey Esmond's conversation had hitherto taken a rather +more personal turn than she cared about. + +"Still, you could spare them a few wild flowers," she said. + +She turned and glanced across the velvet lawn towards the old grey house +flanked by its ancient trees. The sunlight lay bright upon its +time-mellowed façade, and was flung back from the half-hidden orchid +houses and vineries. Esmond apparently understood her, and for a moment +his eyes rested curiously upon her face. + +"You mean I have rather more than my share of what most people long for? +Still, you ought to know that nobody is ever quite content, and that +what one has only sets one wishing for more." + +Grace laughed. "One would certainly fancy that you had quite enough +already--but I wonder if one might ask you if you have heard from Reggie +lately?" + +Esmond's face hardened a trifle. "You, at least, might. He does not +write often--naturally--though I always had a fancy that Reggie +mightn't, after all, have been so very much to blame as most people seem +to think. Anyway, we had a letter a few weeks ago, and he had got his +commission in the Canadian mounted police. He ought to be thankful--in +the circumstances." + +"I am pleased to hear it," and a just perceptible trace of colour showed +in Grace's cheeks. "It is rather a coincidence that my father, who went +up to London a week ago, came back with the expectation of obtaining a +Government post in Western Canada, a Crown Commissioner on the new +gold-fields I think. He was in charge of a mining district in Western +Africa, you know. I should probably go to Canada with him." + +"Then one would sincerely hope that Major Coulthurst will get a post at +home." + +He stopped, perhaps warned by something in his companion's attitude, and +she deftly turned the subject back to the grievance the Hoddam people +thought they had against him. The fact that they had apparently a good +deal to say to each other had in the meanwhile not escaped attention. A +few lounge chairs had been laid out about a little table in the shadow +of a big chestnut, and from one of them a lady of some importance in +that vicinity watched the pair with distinct disapprobation. Holtcar +Grange was but a portion of young Esmond's inheritance, and she had +several daughters of her own. She frowned as she turned to the lady +nearest her. + +"That girl," she said acidly, "is making excellent use of her +opportunities. It does not appear to matter which one it is, so long as +he belongs to the family." + +Her companion looked up languidly. "The drift of that last remark is not +especially plain." + +"It would have been if you had seen what went on before Reggie Esmond +went, or rather was sent, out to Canada. The major was in Africa then, +and the girl was staying here. She was only just out of the schoolroom, +but that did not prevent her attaching herself to Reggie. It was only +when he was no longer worth powder and shot that she turned her +attention to his cousin." + +This, as it happened, was very little nearer the truth than such +statements usually are, when made by a matron who has an unappreciated +daughter's future to provide for; but the lady who heard it understood +the reason for her companion's rancour. + +"Grace Coulthurst," she said, "is pretty, and has really an excellent +style. Besides, her father evidently has means of his own." + +The first speaker smiled compassionately. "Major Coulthurst thrives upon +his debts; he threw away what little money he had in speculation. Then +he got himself sent out to West Africa, and either allowed the niggers +too much of their own way or worried them unnecessarily, for they turned +out and killed some of their neighbours who worked at the mines. That +resulted in black troops being sent up, and Coulthurst, who led them +into a swamp they couldn't get across, was afterwards quietly placed +upon the shelf. In fact, I believe he pins his hopes upon the men +appointed by the new Government remembering their unfortunate friends." + +"That," remarked her companion drily, "is, after all, what a good many +of us seem to think the Government is there for." + +She might have said more, but a little, black-robed lady and a burly +red-faced man with a merry twinkle in his eyes and a tinge of grey in +his hair, appeared just then. The latter held himself well, and did not +in the least look like a man who had borne much responsibility in +pestilential Africa. As a matter of fact, Major Coulthurst, who was by +no means brilliant either as administrator or soldier, took his cares +lightly. + +"And you fancy you will get the appointment?" asked Mrs. Esmond, looking +up at him. + +"I hope so," said Coulthurst. "I really think the people in office ought +to do something for me. I contrived to save them a good deal of trouble +with the French on the frontier. Still I don't know what to do with +Grace if I get it, though I had thoughts of taking her out to Canada." + +Mrs. Esmond appeared to reflect for a moment or two. + +"Is there any reason why you shouldn't leave her here?" she said. "I +think I took good care of her before." + +They had almost reached the table where the others sat, and Coulthurst +stopped with a shadow of perplexity in his sunburnt face. He was a +widower with insufficient means, and had one or two somewhat pointed +letters from importunate creditors in his pocket then. He had also been +a friend of Mrs. Esmond's for more than twenty years, but, though by no +means fastidious in some respects, there were points on which he +possessed a certain delicacy of sentiment. + +"I almost think there is. Grace, you see, is older now," he said. + +Mrs. Esmond looked up, and, as it happened, Grace Coulthurst and +Geoffrey Esmond came slowly towards them across the lawn just then. The +young man's gaze was fixed upon the girl, but she was looking away from +him, which increased the suggestiveness of his attitude and expression, +for both of those who watched them could see his face. Grace was indeed +distinctly pretty, and that afternoon the indefinite but unmistakable +attribute which the woman who had defended her termed good style was +especially noticeable. It was expressed in the poise of the little head, +the erect carriage, and even the fashion in which the light draperies +hung in flowing lines about the shapely figure. Then the black-robed +lady turned, and looked at Coulthurst steadily. + +"Yes," he said, though she had not spoken. "Her mother would have known +what was right--and fitting, but since she was taken from me I feel +it--a responsibility, to say the least." + +"Could you not trust me?" + +"In everything. That is, unless it was to your own disadvantage--or what +would certainly be regarded so. You mean me to be frank, I think?" + +"Of course! In any case, I am not sure that you are capable of +concealing your sentiments." + +"Then," said Coulthurst gravely, "I should like you to remember that +Grace has nothing." + +Mrs. Esmond smiled. "And Geoffrey has a good deal? Still, we have it on +excellent authority that the value of a good woman is above rubies." + +Major Coulthurst was red-faced and burly, and usually abrupt in his +movements; but his attitude became him as he made his companion a little +grave inclination. + +"Grace is very like her mother--I cannot say more than that." + +Perhaps it was not very tactful; though he did not know what the gossips +had whispered when he was a reckless subaltern long ago. In any case, he +had married a woman with as few possessions as he himself had, and his +life had been a hard one ever since. His companion, however, smiled +somewhat curiously. + +"I think she is in many ways like her father too; but that is scarcely +the point," she said. "I have offered to take care of her for you." + +"Well," said Coulthurst quietly, "when the time comes we will try to +decide, and in the meanwhile I can only thank you." + +Then they joined the others, and for awhile sat talking in the shade, +until Geoffrey Esmond, who had taken his place beside them, looked up +suddenly with a curious contraction of his face. + +"I am almost afraid we are going to have some undesirable visitors," he +said. + +From beyond the trees that shut the lawn off from the village there rose +the tooting of a cornet, which was followed by a cheer and a rattle of +wheels. Then there was a murmur of harsh voices which broke portentously +through the slumbrous quietness, and Esmond, rising abruptly, glanced at +the major, who walked a little apart with him. Esmond looked worried. + +"Yes," he said in answer to the major's questioning glance, "I fancy +they are coming to pull my gates and fences down. Roberts, the groom, +heard enough in Hoddam to suggest that they were plotting something of +the kind, and I told him to have a horse saddled, though I didn't quite +believe it myself. There are, however, evidently several wagonette-loads +of them yonder." + +"The question is," said Coulthurst sharply, "do you mean to let them +in?" + +The young man laughed. "I should almost have fancied it was unnecessary. +Including the keepers, I can roll up six men. That makes eight with you +and me, while Leslie, who is a magistrate, as you know, lives scarcely +two miles away." + +"Then you had better send for him. Eight men with the law behind them +should be quite enough to hold off the rabble--that is, so long as no +blow is struck; but you will excuse my mentioning that you will require +to keep a firm hand on your temper." + +"I'll try, though I have been told it isn't a very excellent one," said +the younger man. "Now, if you will beguile the women into the house, +I'll make arrangements." + +Coulthurst was not a clever man, but he contrived to accomplish it; and +it was some twenty minutes later when he and Esmond walked down a path +beneath the beeches with four or five men behind them. The major +carried a riding whip, and there was a curious little smile in his eyes, +while the rest had sticks, though in accordance with his instructions +they made no display of them. The wood was shadowy and very still, and +there was no sound but that made by startled rabbits, until they came +out into the sunlight, where a spiked railing crossed a narrow glade. +There was a mossy path beyond it chequered with patches of cool shadow, +and a group of dusty men were moving down it towards the padlocked gate. +The foremost of them stopped when they saw the party from the Grange, +and then after a whispered consultation came on again. + +"Where are you going?" asked Esmond. + +"Into the Dene," said one of the strangers. + +"You have been to the lodge to ask permission?" + +"No," said another hot and perspiring man, "we haven't. It isn't +necessary." + +"I'm afraid it is," said Esmond quietly. "In fact, there is a board to +that effect a few yards back. No doubt you noticed it." + +The man laughed. "We did. It isn't there now. We pulled it up." + +Esmond flushed a trifle. "Then if you ever wish to get into the Dene I +think you made a mistake," he said. "Still, as you can't get any farther +to-day, you may as well go back. This gate is locked." + +"That don't count," said somebody. "We'll have it off its hinges inside +five minutes." + +The lad swung round sharply towards the speaker, but Coulthurst laid a +restraining hand upon his arm. "Steady!" he said, and raised his voice a +trifle. "Now, look here, my men, you certainly can't come in, and you'll +only get yourselves into trouble by trying. This is private property." + +"Of course!" said one of the strangers. "Everything is. You've got the +land, and you've got the water--one can't even bathe in the river now. +It's not your fault you can't lay hands on the air and sunshine, too." + +There was an approving murmur from his comrades, and Esmond shook off +the major's grasp. + +"That is rot!" he said. "Willow Dene belongs to me, and you are +certainly not coming in. I don't feel inclined to explain my reasons for +keeping you out of it, and it's quite probable you wouldn't understand +them. Have you brought any responsible person to whom one could talk +along with you?" + +The languid insolence in his even tone had an effect which a flood of +invective might have failed to produce; and once more there was a murmur +from the crowd, while a man with a grim, dust-smeared face held up a +bludgeon. + +"We've brought these, and they're good enough," he said. + +Then the men moved a little, and there were cries of "Let him have a +chance!" as a young man pushed his way through them. He was plainly and +neatly dressed and carried nothing in his hand. + +"I'm sorry our Committee is not here to lay our views before you, Mr. +Esmond, which was what we had intended; but if you will try to look at +the thing sensibly it will save everybody trouble," he said. + +"What has become of the worthy gentlemen? Weren't they capable of +walking from the 'Griffin'?" asked Esmond drily. "It really isn't very +far." + +The young man did not appear to notice the jibe. "The fact is, we had a +little dispute among ourselves," he said. "The views of the Committee +didn't quite coincide with those of the rest, but since the Committee is +not here I should like to point out that the Hoddam people have passed +through the Dene without hindrance for at least twenty years, and as +that gives them a legal right of way they mean to continue doing it. +Now, if you will make no opposition we will promise that no damage +whatever will be done to your property." + +"Don't you worry about the concerned Committee," said a voice from the +crowd. "It's got the sulks. Only two turned out. We're going by what Mr. +Leger says." + +Esmond glanced at the man in front of him, with a little sardonic smile. +"I have only your assurance, and I'm afraid it would scarcely be wise to +place more confidence in your friends than their leaders seem to have +done. Their appearance is, unfortunately, against them." + +There were cries of "Stop it, Leger; you're wasting time! Tell him to +get out of the way! We're coming in!" + +The young man raised his hand. "I believe they mean it, Mr. Esmond. Now, +there are two sensible courses open to you. Unlock that gate and make no +further opposition; or stand aside while we lift it off its hinges, and +then proceed against us for trespassing. You will, if you are wise, make +no attempt to prevent our getting in." + +There was a moment's silence, and the little knot of men behind the gate +and the crowd outside watched each other's faces. One or two were +evidently uneasy, others a trifle grim, but there was a portentous +murmur from the dusty rabble farther back in the shadow. Then young +Esmond laughed in an unpleasant fashion as he drew the lash of his +dog-whip suggestively through his hand. + +"Whoever lays a hand upon this gate will take the consequences," he +said. + +Coulthurst touched his shoulder, and said something in his ear, but the +young man moved away from him impatiently. + +"Am I to be dictated to by this rabble? Let them come!" he said. + +The major made a little gesture of resignation. "Well," he said, "if you +are determined to make trouble I think you will get your wish." + +Then the front of the crowd split up, and several men came out from it +carrying between them what appeared to be the post to which the +notice-board had been nailed. They came on at a ran, and, disregarding +the major's warning, swung it like a battering ram. Next moment there +was a crash. The gate rattled, but still held fast, while the lash of +Esmond's dog-whip curled round one man's hand. He loosed his hold upon +the post with a howl, his comrades recoiled, and there was an angry cry +from the rear of the crowd, while a sod alighted squarely in the major's +face. He wiped it quietly with his handkerchief, and then seizing Esmond +by main force thrust him a few paces aside. + +"Go home, my men, and you have my word that the affair shall go no +further," he said. "It's your last chance. We'll have a magistrate and +several policemen here in a very few minutes." + +"Look out for yourself," said somebody. "We've nothing against you. Now, +pick up your post, boys, and down with the thing!" + +The men with the post came on again; there was a roar from the crowd, +and a crash, as the gate swung open; then as a man with a stick sprang +through the gap Esmond's dog-whip came down upon his face. Next moment +somebody had hurled him backwards, and the crowd rolled through the +opening. + +"Back there! Look after your master, Jenkins!" the major's voice rang +out, and a man dropped suddenly beneath his riding-crop. + +Then nobody knew exactly what happened, but while the sticks rose and +fell Ingleby and Esmond, who had evaded the burly keeper, found +themselves face to face. Esmond, who was flushed and gasping, swung the +dog-whip round his head, but before he struck, Leger sprang straight at +him with empty hands. Then a stick that somebody swung came down, and +Esmond fell just clear of the rest, with a gash on his forehead from +which there spread a crimson smear. Leger staggered forward, and the +major gripped his shoulder and flung him into the arms of a keeper. + +"Hold him fast! That's the lad who did it," he said, and faced round on +the crowd with hand swung up and voice ringing commandingly. + +"You have already done as much as you will care to account for," he +said. "Manslaughter is a somewhat serious thing." + +The tumult ceased for a moment, and everybody saw Esmond lying very +still upon the turf with the ominous smear of crimson on his blanched +face. His eyes were half closed now, and they had an unpleasantly +suggestive appearance. Then Ingleby stepped forward and turned to +Coulthurst. + +"Nobody will interfere with you while you take him away, but the man you +have was not the one who struck him down," he said. "Give him up, and +we'll go back quietly." + +The Major smiled grimly. "I hope," he said, "to hand him to the police +inside five minutes." + +"Look here," said somebody, "it was all Mr. Esmond's own fault, and, so +to speak, an accident. Go and get a doctor for him, and let us have our +man." + +There was a little hard glitter in Coulthurst's eyes. "He will find it +difficult to persuade a jury of that. Stick to the lad, Jenkins, and +pick Mr. Esmond up, two of you. Stand aside there, and it's possible +that we will not proceed against any more of you." + +Ingleby turned to the crowd. "You're not going to let them hand him to +the police for a thing he didn't do?" + +There was a rush and a scuffle, the major's riding-crop was torn from +him, and groom and gardener and keeper were swept away, while Ingleby, +laughing harshly, reeled into the shadow of the trees with his hand on +Leger's shoulder. + +"I think," he said, "there's nothing that need keep us here." + +Then, while some of his companions pursued Esmond's retainers, and the +rest stood still, uncertain what to do next, Ingleby started back +through the woods towards Hoddam, dragging Leger, who seemed a trifle +dazed. + + + + +IV + +LEGER'S RESPONSIBILITY + + +Leger was paler than usual, as well as breathless and very dusty, when +he flung himself down in a dilapidated arm-chair in Ingleby's room. The +window was open, for it was very hot, and Ingleby, who stood near it, +appeared to be listening intently to the patter of feet that came up +from the narrow street, until he moved forward and laid his hand upon +the sash. Then Leger laughed hollowly. + +"I don't think that's necessary, and I wish you would leave it as it is +just now," he said. "Considering that you live on the fourth story +they're scarcely likely to come in that way." + +"I did it without thinking," said Ingleby, who turned to him a trifle +flushed in face. "You're looking faint. I can get you some +water--fortunately it's cheap." + +"I'll be all right in a minute or two," and Leger made a little +deprecatory gesture. "I'm not sure I ever made four miles quite so fast +before, and the blow I got from that fellow's dog-whip, the handle end, +must have shaken me. Never mind the water." + +Ingleby sat down, a trifle limply, and, unconscious of the fact that his +own clothes were badly torn, gazed at his companion. Leger's dusty +disarray heightened the effect of his pallor, and his hair, dank with +perspiration, lay smeared upon his forehead, while there was a big +discoloured bruise upon one cheek. They had come home across the meadow +and through the woodland instead of by the road, and neither of them +remembered how many hedges and thickets they had scrambled through, +since the one thing apparent was the advisability of escaping attention. + +"We made an excellent pace," Ingleby said. "I scarcely think that the +others can have got here yet. They hadn't the same necessity for haste. +Still, I'm almost afraid it was wasted energy. You see, the police +wouldn't be very long in tracing us." + +"I don't suppose so. That big military-looking fellow meant to make sure +of me. No doubt he'll send a groom over with our description. He seemed +to recognize you, too." + +Ingleby rose abruptly and leaned against the mantel with his lips firmly +set. It was several moments before he spoke again. + +"I think he did," he said. "In fact, I'd have done almost anything +sooner than have had this happen; though that doesn't matter now. +There's a more important question--and it has to be faced." + +They looked at each other in silence for a second or two, and both their +faces were very grim with the shadow of fear in them. They were young, +and shrank from the contemplation of what it seemed had been done. The +thing was horrible in itself, quite apart from the consequences, which +promised to be disastrous. + +"You mean," said Leger very quietly, "is he dead?" + +Ingleby made a little gesture, and once more for almost a minute the +heavy silence was intensified by the ticking of his watch and the sounds +in the street below. Both of them listened intently, almost expecting to +hear the tramp of heavy feet upon the stairway. + +"Heaven forbid!" said Ingleby, a trifle hoarsely. "Still, he looked +horribly like it. There's just one thing of which I should like to be +quite certain." + +"Of course!" and Leger met his comrade's gaze. "Suppose I told you I did +it, would it separate us?" + +"No," said Ingleby. "You know that. It might have been I; and, anyway, +we were both in the thing." + +"Then, as you supposed, the military man was mistaken. I had nothing in +my hands, and never even reached him." + +Ingleby, in spite of his protestations, drew a deep breath of relief, +but Leger, who appeared to be recovering now, smiled. + +"Well," he said, "you're satisfied, but it doesn't in the least affect +the position. You see, the military gentleman appeared certain he saw me +strike the blow, and I scarcely think my word would go very far against +his with the usual kind of jury." + +"You know who did it?" + +Leger smiled curiously. "I do, but you ought to understand that the fact +isn't of much use to me." + +"You mean?" + +"I could plead not guilty, but I couldn't point out the man responsible. +You see, I induced him to join the Society, and gave him the American's +pamphlets--I believe the more virulent ones. They seemed to make a +strong impression on him. One can't well back out of his +responsibility--especially when the adversary is always ready to make +the most of the opportunity. Besides, the man has a family." + +Ingleby clenched one hand. "And you have Hetty." + +"Yes," said Leger with an impressive quietness. "And Hetty has only me. +Still, one must do what he feels he has to." + +"But you can't leave Hetty--and what would happen to her if you +were----" + +"If I were in jail?" and Leger's face went awry. "She would be turned +out of her berth to a certainty. It didn't quite strike me until you put +the thing before me. There's the lad's mother too. A little horrible, +isn't it? How long does one usually get for manslaughter?" + +Again there was silence save for Ingleby's groan. Democratic +aspirations were very well as subjects for discussion, but now that he +was brought face to face with the results of attempting to realize them, +they appalled him. He did not remember that usually very little worth +the having can be obtained without somebody's getting hurt; and it would +have afforded him no great consolation if he had remembered, since, for +the time being, he had had quite enough of theories. Then he made a +little abrupt gesture. + +"Tom," he said, "what dolts we are! The thing is perfectly simple. You +have only to come out with me, and the fact that you've made a bolt of +it will be quite enough to divert suspicion from the other man." + +"There is a difficulty. Steamboat fares cost money, and I'm not sure +Hetty and I have five pounds in the treasury." + +Ingleby laughed almost light-heartedly. "I think I have enough to take +us all out at the cheapest rates, and you must let me lend it to you, if +only to prove that what you believe in isn't an impracticable fancy." + +Leger slowly straightened himself. "I don't want to be ungracious--but +it's a difficult thing to do. The money's yours--and you'd have nothing +left." + +Ingleby laid a hand on his shoulder, and gripped it hard. "Are you +willing to see your sister cast adrift to save your confounded pride? +The fact that she has a relative undergoing penal servitude isn't much +of a recommendation to a girl who has to earn her bread. Besides, like a +good many of us, you're not logical. You thought you had a claim on +Esmond's property." + +There was a light step on the stairway, and he stopped suddenly. +"There's Hetty," he said. "We'll leave it to her." + +The door swung open, and the girl came in gasping, with horror in her +eyes. + +"Oh," she said, "its awful! They've come in with the wagonettes, and +Harry told me. How did it happen?" + +"Sit down," said Ingleby gently. "Tom will explain." + +Leger did so concisely, and Hetty clenched the chair-arm hard as she +listened to him. Still, young as she was, she held herself in hand, and +sat very still, with the colour ebbing from her face. + +"What shall we do?" she said. + +"Ingleby has asked us to go out to Canada with him. He offers to lend us +the money." + +The girl's face flushed suddenly, and she glanced at Ingleby, who +appeared embarrassed. + +"How much will you have left if you do that?" she asked. + +"I don't know yet. Anyway, it doesn't matter. If you make any silly +objections, Hetty, Tom will go to jail." + +The girl turned to her brother, with the crimson still in her cheek and +her lips quivering, and it suddenly struck Ingleby that she was really +remarkably pretty, though that appeared of no great moment just then. + +"That would happen, Tom?" she said. + +"Yes," said Leger quietly; "I believe it would." + +Hetty turned again, and looked at Ingleby with a curious intentness. +"You are quite sure you want us?" + +Ingleby, moved by an impulse he did not understand, caught and held fast +one of her hands. "Hetty," he said, "aren't we old friends? There is +nobody I would sooner take with me, but we shall certainly quarrel if +you ask me a question of that kind again." + +The girl's expression perplexed him, and with a sudden movement she drew +her hand away. "Well," she said, "we will come. I would stay--only I +know Tom would not go without me; but whatever happens we will pay you +back the money." + +"I don't think you want to be unpleasant, Hetty," said Ingleby. "Anyway, +you have only about an hour in which to get ready, because if we're not +off by the next train it's quite likely that we shall not have the +opportunity for going at all. Get what you want together, and meet us +behind the booking office on the main line platform. Tom and I will +take the back way to the station." + +Hetty turned and went out without a word, and Leger looked at his +companion. + +"I don't think she meant to hurt you, but what she did mean exactly is a +good deal more than I understand," he said. + +Ingleby made a little impatient gesture. "I don't suppose it matters. +Girls seem to have curious fancies. In the meanwhile it might be as well +if we made a start. I'll lend you a decent jacket, and, as you had a cap +on, it would be advisable to take my straw hat. To carry out the same +notion I'll slip on my one dark suit. They usually make a point of +mentioning one's clothes." + +They were ready in about ten minutes, but when they had descended the +long stairway Ingleby stopped in the dingy hall, and stood still a +moment irresolute. + +"If it wasn't for the harpy downstairs we might get clear away before +anybody was aware that we had gone," he said. "I can't leave her what I +owe her either, for one never does seem to have change when he wants it. +How much have you got on you?" + +"A handful of copper," said Leger, with a little grim smile. + +Ingleby appeared to reflect. "I could send her the few shillings from +wherever we stop." + +"The Post Office people obligingly stamp every envelope with the name of +the place it comes from. I don't think we want to leave a trail behind +us." + +Ingleby stood still a moment longer with a flush in his face. "Nothing +would stop that woman's talking--not even a gag. It's horribly +unfortunate." + +"It usually is," and Leger looked at him with a curious little smile. +"The worst of having a propaganda is that the people who haven't any get +indignant when one doesn't live up to it. They naturally lay part of +the blame on the fallacies he believes in." + +Ingleby swung round. "I'd sooner face a battery--but I'm going down." + +He disappeared down the basement steps, and in another minute a harsh +voice apparently vituperating him rose up, and when he rejoined his +comrade his face was redder than ever. + +"Now," he said, "we'll go; the sooner the better. Everybody in the +neighbourhood will know what she thinks of me inside of ten minutes." + +They slipped out into the street, and Ingleby stopped a moment at the +end of it and looked back with a curious expression in his face. The +sunlight that lay bright upon one side of it emphasized its +unattractiveness. Tall houses, grim in their squalid ugliness, shut it +in, and the hot air that scarcely stirred between them was heavy with +the sour odours from a neighbouring tanyard. A hoarse clamour and a +woman's voice, high-pitched and shrill with fear or anger, came out of a +shadowy alley where unkempt children played in the gutter. The uproar +did not concern them. They were apparently used to it. + +"I've lived five years in the midst of--this--and now I'm almost sorry +to leave it," he said. "There's no reason in us." + +Then he turned again with a little resolute shake of his shoulders. +"Well, we have done with it at last, and if half what one hears is true +there is a chance for such as us in the country we are going to." + +Leger said nothing, and it was silently they threaded their way +deviously in and out of alleys and archways towards the station. Their +life had been a hard one in that squalid town, but the place had, after +all, been home, and they could not tell what awaited them in the +unknown. They had in them the steadfastness which is born of struggle, +but the unthinking courage of youth that has felt no care is quite a +different thing. + +However, nobody appeared desirous of preventing their departure, and +they eventually got away by a steamer for which they had to wait several +days in Liverpool. + +In the meanwhile Geoffrey Esmond lay one evening propped up amidst the +pillows in a darkened room at Holtcar Grange. He was blanched in face, +and his eyes were heavy, while a big wet bandage was still rolled about +his head. Major Coulthurst was by his bedside, and a burly sergeant of +police sat on the very edge of a sofa with a notebook in his hand. The +window was open behind the blind, and a little cool air that brought the +fragrance of flowers with it crept into the room. + +"Major Coulthurst fancied he could recognize the man who assaulted you, +Mr. Esmond, and I have no doubt we will lay hands on him in a day or +two," said the officer. "If you could identify him, too, it would make +the thing more certain, and I would like to read you the description +furnished me before we go any farther." + +"If that is the usual course I don't see why I should object," said +Esmond drily. "Still, isn't it a trifle suggestive?" + +The sergeant did not appear to notice the irony of the inquiry, and +launched out into what was, in the circumstances, a tolerably accurate +description of Leger. Esmond listened quietly, with a little smile in +his half-closed eyes. + +"Major Coulthurst," he said, "is evidently astonishingly quick-sighted +if he saw all that." + +"I'm not sure I understand you, Esmond," and Coulthurst looked up +sharply. + +"Well," said the younger man reflectively, "I always fancied you were a +sportsman, and we had our fun. Of course, while it lasted I would +cheerfully have broken the Socialist fellow's head if I could have +managed it, but just now the odds seem a trifle heavy against him." + +Coulthurst laughed a little, but the sergeant shook his head. "That's +not at all the way to look at it, sir," he said. "In a case of this kind +one has, if I may point it out, a duty to society." + +"And the police?" said Esmond, who made a little gesture. "I really do +not think I should ask the opinion of the latter as to what is incumbent +on me. Still, that is scarcely the point. You want me to identify the +man--and I can't do it." + +"You must have seen him close to, sir." + +Esmond laughed. "Have you ever had incipient concussion of the brain? +You probably haven't. I believe they line your headgear with cork or +cane. Well, in one respect, it's a little unfortunate, since it would +have helped you to understand my position. Now, the major says the man's +hair was light brown, but so far as I can remember it was red. Are you +quite sure it wasn't, Coulthurst?" + +Coulthurst appeared reflective. "He certainly had his hat on." + +"A cap, sir," said the sergeant. + +Esmond glanced at the major reproachfully. "You will notice, sergeant, +how reliable he is." + +"The fact mentioned wouldn't prevent your seeing what kind of man he +was," said the sergeant, tartly. "He is described as little and pale, +and of a delicate appearance." + +"Then if the blow on my head is anything to go by, I really think my +friend was mistaken," said Esmond. "It's my firm opinion the man was +distinctly muscular." + +The sergeant stood up, and closed his book. "The affair is a serious +one, and we naturally look to a gentleman of your position for----" + +Esmond stopped him with a gesture and a little languid smile, under +which, however, the burly sergeant flushed. + +"As I fancy I mentioned, there are matters in which it is hardly the +province of the police to instruct me," he said. "I'm sorry I can't do +anything more for you to-day, sergeant, but if you were to come round +when my head has settled down a little I might be able to recollect the +fellow's appearance rather more distinctly." + +"If we are to lay hands on him we must have a warrant at once." + +"Then if it depends on me I'm very much afraid you will not get it--and +now, as the doctor insists on quietness, you will excuse me. Can you +reach the bell, Major?" + +The sergeant went out fuming inwardly, and Coulthurst laughed. "I'm not +quite sure that I should have let the fellow off," he said. "What made +you do it?" + +"I really don't know, and scarcely think it matters," said Esmond +languidly. "Still, you see, I fancy we went a little farther than the +law would sanction, and that being so one could scarcely expect the +other fellow to pay for everything. Now, if I might remind you, Miss +Coulthurst was kind enough to promise to come in and talk to me." + + + + +V + +THE NEW COUNTRY + + +It was a still evening, and Major Coulthurst and Mrs. Esmond paced +slowly side by side up and down the terrace at Holtcar Grange. The house +looked westward, and the last of the sunshine rested lovingly upon its +weathered front, where steep tiled roof and flaking stone that had +silvery veins in it were mellowed to pale warm tints by age. Beyond it, +orchid house, fernery, and vinery flashed amidst the trees; while the +great cool lawn, shaven to the likeness of emerald velvet, glowing +borders, and even the immaculate gravel that crunched beneath the +major's feet conveyed the same suggestion to him. It was evident that +there was no need of economy at Holtcar Grange, and Coulthurst, who had +faced the world long enough to recognize the disadvantages of an empty +purse, sighed as he remembered the last budget the post had brought him. + +He had served his nation sturdily, according to his lights, which, +however, were not especially brilliant, wherever work was hardest and +worst paid; while now, when it was almost time to rest, he was going out +again to the wilderness on the farthest confines of a new country, where +even those who serve the Government live primitively. He longed to stay +in England and take his ease, but funds were even lower than they +usually were with him. Still, he shrank from exposing his daughter to +the discomforts he was at last commencing to find it hard to bear, and +she had but to speak a word and remain, with all that any young woman +could reasonably look for, the mistress of Holtcar Grange. Though he +roused himself with an effort he felt that his conversation was even +less brilliant than usual and that his companion noticed it. It was +certain that she smiled when she surprised him glancing somewhat +anxiously across the lawn. + +"You have quite decided on going out?" she asked. + +"I have," said Coulthurst simply. "In ten days from to-day. The +commission's in my pocket--I was uncommonly glad to get it." + +"Still," said Mrs. Esmond, "the pay cannot be very high, and it must be +a wild country." + +"It is quite sufficient for a lonely man, and now Grace--" + +He stopped abruptly, a trifle flushed in face, and his companion smiled +at him. + +"Yes," she said, "I understand, and if it happens as we both wish I +shall be content. Geoffrey has been a good son, but I could not expect +to keep him always to myself--and I would rather it should be Grace than +any one else." + +"Thank you!" said Coulthurst simply. "Whether I have done right in +allowing her to come here I do not know. In any case, I never suspected +what might happen until a month ago. Then I was a trifle astonished, but +the mischief was done." + +Mrs. Esmond laughed, "You might have expressed it more happily, though +it is perhaps only natural that there was a day or two when I would not +have found fault with you." + +Coulthurst said nothing further, but his thoughts were busy. He knew +better than most men what life in the newer lands is, and he had no +desire that Grace should share it with him. What she thought of Esmond +he did not know; but the latter had told him what he thought of her, and +his mother was, it seemed, content with the choice he had made. A good +deal depended on the girl's fancy. + +They had turned again when she came towards them across the lawn as +though she did not see them, until, hearing their footsteps, she stopped +abruptly. Nobody spoke for a moment or two, but she felt their eyes upon +her, and the crimson grew deeper in her cheek as she turned to the elder +lady. + +"I see you know," she said, with a little tremor in her voice. "You will +forgive me if he feels hurt over it--but I felt I could not. Geoffrey, +of course, is----" + +The major groaned inwardly when she stopped, and there was a sudden +slight but perceptible change in his companion. Her face lost its usual +gentleness, and became for a moment not hard or vindictive, but +impressively grave. + +"I am glad--because he is my only son--that you had the courage to do +the right thing--now," she said. + +Grace flashed a swift glance at her, and the colour showed a trifle more +plainly in her face, but, saying nothing, she hastily turned away. +Coulthurst stood stiffly still, evidently perplexed at something in the +attitude of both, until Mrs. Esmond looked at him. + +"I am disappointed," she said. + +Coulthurst raised his hand in protest. "It is very good of you to say +so, but, while she is my daughter and I am naturally a trifle proud of +her, the advantages would in one sense have been so much in her +favour----" + +"I don't think you apprehend me. These affairs seldom fall out as one +would wish them, which is, perhaps, now and then fortunate for all +concerned. It is Grace I am disappointed with." + +Coulthurst smiled somewhat grimly. "I'm by no means sure that I do +understand, but one thing, at least, is plain: she has made her own +choice and must abide by it." + +It was ten minutes later, and Mrs. Esmond had left him, when he came +upon Grace sitting where a shrubbery swept round a bend of the lawn. She +looked at him deprecatingly. + +"I am very sorry--but it was out of the question--quite," she said. + +Coulthurst made a little gesture of resignation, for if he seldom +foresaw a difficulty where others would have done so, he, at least, made +no futile protest when it had to be faced. + +"I suppose," he said, "you realize what you have turned your back upon +to-day?" + +"Still, I felt I had to do so." + +Coulthurst checked a groan. "Then, since you presumably know your own +mind, there is nothing more to be said. You will be ready to come out to +the Northwest with me?" + +Grace rose, and slipped her hand through his arm. "Father," she said, +"I'm sorry--dreadfully sorry. I must be a horrid responsibility." + +Coulthurst smiled, somewhat ruefully. "So am I! No doubt we will worry +along as we have already done; but it is a very hard country we are +going to." + +It was scarcely a sufficient expression of what he felt, but Coulthurst +had his strong points, and his daughter knew it was very unlikely he +would ever allude to the subject again. There were, however, as usual, +guests at Holtcar Grange just then, and they had formed a tolerably +correct opinion as to what was happening. It was also natural that they +should discuss it, and on that evening two matrons and the lady who had +taken Grace's part on a previous occasion expressed their views +concerning the conduct of the latter. + +"The girl led him on shamefully," said one of them. "That was evident to +everybody, and one would have fancied the reason was equally so--though, +of course, we know now it wasn't the right one." + +Grace's advocate appeared reflective, and, as it happened, her opinion +was usually listened to. "I have watched the girl, and she is +interesting as a study," she said. "I am, of course, not infallible, but +it seems to me from what I have heard of the major that she has +inherited his disregard of consequences. Coulthurst, one would conclude, +is not a man who ever saved himself or others trouble by anticipating +anything." + +One of her companions signified concurrence. "And the fact that the +opportunity for a flirtation with the most eligible man in the vicinity +appealed to her natural arrogance accounts for the rest?" + +"Not exactly, though you are in a measure right. I should rather call it +love of influence, for, though I'm not sure Grace Coulthurst realizes +it, one could fancy that the opportunity for dominating a man of +position, or more especially character, would prove almost irresistible +to her. Still, one must discriminate between that and the not unusual +fondness for love-making." + +"The distinction is a little difficult. It seems to lead to much the +same thing." + +The previous speaker, who was a woman of discernment, shook her head. +"There is a difference," she said. "The girl has, I think, a +personality--by which I do not altogether mean physical attributes--that +is apt to appeal to a man of character, though I almost fancy she will +sooner or later be sorry she was ever endued with it. There is a good +deal that is admirable in Grace Coulthurst, but unfortunately, in one +respect, perhaps, not--quite--enough." + +It was not evident that the rest altogether understood her, but Mrs. +Esmond appeared just then, and the subject was changed abruptly. + +In the meanwhile there were at least three people who would have found +no fault with Major Coulthurst's description of Western Canada. Having +discovered somewhat to their astonishment that the population of Quebec +and Montreal was already quite sufficient, and that strangers without +means were not greatly desired in either city, these three had, in +accordance with Ingleby's previous purpose, started West again, and on +the fifth day sat spiritlessly in a Colonist car as, with whistle +screaming, the long train rolled into sight of a little desolate station +on the Albertan prairie. + +All the way from Winnipeg a dingy greyness had shrouded the apparently +interminable levels, which lay parched and white beneath an almost +intolerable heat, while the lurching cars swung through a rolling cloud +of dust that blurred the dreary prospect. Now, as they were slowing +down, grimy faces were thrust from the windows and perspiring men leaned +out from the platforms, gazing down the track and inquiring with +expletives why they were stopping again. + +Hetty Leger, however, sat languidly still, where the hot draught that +blew in through an open window scattered the dust upon her. Her face was +damp, and unpleasantly gritty, for the water in the tank had long run +out. Her head ached, as did every bone in her body, for Colonist cars +are not fitted as the Pullmans are, and she had with indifferent success +for four nights essayed to sleep on a maple shelf which pulled out from +the roof above when one wanted it. She had certainly hired a mattress, +but its inch or two of thickness had scarcely disguised the hardness of +the polished wood beneath it; and although the cost of it and the little +green curtain had made a serious inroad on the few dollars left in her +scanty purse they had not solved the problem of dressing; while the +atmosphere of a close-packed Colonist car when the big lamps are lighted +in hot weather is a thing to shudder at. It is also, in view of the fact +that most of the passengers dispense with curtains, somewhat +embarrassing to rise in the morning and wait amidst a group of +half-dressed men and women for a place in the cupboard at the rear of +the car where ablutions may at least be attempted when there is any +water in the tank. + +Presently, however, a big bell commenced to toll, and the jolting of the +air-brakes flung her forward in her seat, while in another few moments +the long cars stopped, and the conductor pushed his way through the +perspiring passengers who surged towards the vestibule. + +"They've had a big washout up the track," he said. "You can light out +and admire the scenery for two hours, anyway, if you feel like it." + +Hetty looked round, but could see nothing of her brother or Ingleby. She +had seen very little to admire at other prairie stations; but anything +seemed better than the close heat of the car, and when the vestibule was +clear at last she went out languidly and stepped down upon the track. + +Beside it rose two desolate frame houses, a crude structure of +galvanized iron, and a towering water tank, but that was all, and beyond +them the gleaming rails ran straight to the rim of the empty wilderness. +Nothing moved on its interminable levels; the dingy sky seemed suffused +with heat, and along the track a smell that was stronger than the reek +of creosote rose from the baked and fissured earth. The withered grass +was of the same tint as the earth save where the clay on the bank of a +_coulée_ showed a harsh red, and the vast stretch of dusty prairie +seemed steeped in the one dreary grey. This, she reflected with a +sinking heart, was the land of promise to which she had journeyed five +thousand miles to find a home; but, though the track was suggestively +littered with empty provision cans, there was as yet very little sign of +the milk and honey. + +Hetty was usually sympathetic, but the sight of the frowsy passengers +and unwashed children wandering aimlessly round the station aroused in +her a curious impatience that was tinged with disgust that hot +afternoon. She wanted to be alone, and noticing an ugly trestle bridge a +mile or so ahead followed the rails until she came to it. A river +swirled beneath it; but it, too, was utterly devoid of beauty, for the +banks of it were crumbling sun-baked clay, and it swept by a dingy, +slatey green, thick with the mud brought down by the Rockies' glaciers. +However, it looked cool, and she climbed down until she found a place +she could stand on, and laved her arms and face in it. Then, as it +happened, a piece of the crumbling clay broke away, and one foot slipped +in above the ankle, while the skirt of her thin dress trailed in the +water too. It was a trifling mishap, but Hetty was overwrought, and when +she had climbed back and taken off and emptied the little shoe she sat +down on the dusty grass and sobbed bitterly. She felt insignificant and +lonely in that great empty land, and its desolation crushed her spirits. + +She did not know how long she sat there, but at last there were +footsteps behind her, and she coloured a little and strove to draw the +shoeless foot beneath the hem of the dripping skirt when she saw Ingleby +smiling down upon her. Then she remembered that the sleeves of the thin +blouse were still rolled back, and the crimson grew plainer in her wet +cheeks as with a little adroit movement she shook them down. Ingleby +smiled again, in a complacent, brotherly fashion which she found +strangely exasperating just then, and sitting down beside her took one +of her hot hands. + +"Crying, Hetty? That will never do," he said. + +Hetty glanced at him covertly. His face was compassionate, but there was +rather toleration than concern in it, and she pulled her hand away from +him. + +"I wasn't--at least, not exactly," she said. "And if I was, it was the +weather--and why don't you go away?" + +Ingleby smiled again, in a manner which while kind enough had yet a lack +of comprehension in it that made her still angrier. + +"People don't generally cry about the weather," he said. + +"Well," said the girl sharply, "some of them say things they shouldn't. +I heard you--in a crowded car, too." + +She stopped abruptly, as she remembered the scanty privacy of the +Colonist train, and that she was supposed to have been asleep about the +time Ingleby had allowed his temper to get the better of him. He, +however, only laughed. + +"Hetty," he said, "what is the matter? I always thought you brave, and I +have almost a right to know." + +"I think you have," and there was a little flash in Hetty's eyes. "It +was you who brought us here, and this is a horrible country. It +frightens me." + +Ingleby was a trifle perplexed, and showed it. He had known Hetty Leger +for four or five years, and had never seen her in a mood of the kind +before. It also occurred to him, as it did every now and then, that, +although she was not to be compared with Miss Coulthurst, Hetty was in +her own way beautiful. Just then a pretty plump arm showed beneath the +unfastened sleeve of the thin blouse, and the somewhat dusty hair with +the tint of pale gold in it, lying low on the white forehead, matched +the soft blue eyes, though there was a hint of more character than is +usually associated with her type in Hetty's white and pink face. Ingleby +noticed all this with impersonal appreciation, as something which did +not greatly concern him. + +"Well," he said, "I'm sorry, and by no means sure I'm very much pleased +with the country myself; but I don't quite see what else I could have +done in the circumstances. Still, it hurts me to see you unhappy." + +Hetty turned to him impulsively. "Never mind me. I'm an ungrateful +little--beast. That's the fact, and you needn't try to say anything +nice--I know I am. If it hadn't been for you Tom would have been in +prison now." + +Ingleby looked out across the endless dusty levels. "I'm sure the +country must be a good deal better than it looks--when one gets used to +it," he said a trifle dubiously. "Anyway, we are three to one against +it, and needn't be afraid of it while we stick together. That is the one +thing we must make up our minds to do." + +"There was a time when you didn't seem very sure you wanted Tom and me." + +"Didn't you feel that I was right a little while ago?" + +Hetty said nothing for a space. She was quick-witted, and not +infrequently understood her companion rather better than he understood +himself, while recollecting the half-shy delicacy which occasionally +characterized him she felt a trifle comforted. It was not, she fancied, +to please himself that he had been willing to leave her behind, and she +watched him covertly as he, too, sat silent, gazing at the prairie with +thoughtful eyes. He was not, she was quite aware, as clever as her +brother, and he certainly had his shortcomings--in fact, a good many of +them; but for all that there was something about him which, so far as +she was concerned, set him apart from any other man. Exactly what it was +she persuaded herself that she did not know, or, at least, made a brave +attempt to do so, for it was evident that he had only a frank, brotherly +regard for her. Still, the silence was getting uncomfortable, and she +flung a question at him. + +"How much have we left?" she asked. + +Ingleby laughed, somewhat ruefully. "Eight dollars, I believe. Still, we +shall cross the Rockies to-morrow, and start at once to heap up riches. +We are certainly going to do it, as others have; and you will never be +frightened any more." + +Hetty had a stout heart of her own, but nevertheless she was glad of the +reassuring grasp he laid upon her shoulder as she looked out across the +muddy river and desolate, grey-white plain. However, she smiled at him, +and once more they sat silent until a curious and unexpected thing +happened. + +Far away on the rim of the prairie there was a stirring of the haze, and +a dim smear of pinewoods grew out of the dingy vapour. Then a vista of +rolling hills rose to view, and was lost in mist again, until high above +them all a great serrated rampart of never-melting snow gleamed +ethereally against a strip of blue. It was a brief, bewildering vision, +sudden as the shifting of a gorgeous transformation scene, and then the +vapours rolled down again; but they felt that they had looked upon an +unearthly glory. Hetty turned to her companion with a little gasp. + +"Oh," she said, "it was wonderful!" + +"It was real, at least," said Ingleby. "Your first glimpse of the +country to which I have brought you. I think we shall be happy +there--and we will remember afterwards that we saw it together." + +Again the little pink tinge crept into Hetty's cheek, but she said +nothing, and Ingleby's glance rested on the shoe, which he had not +noticed before. + +"Hetty," he said severely, "do you want to catch cold? What is that +doing there?" + +Hetty essayed to draw her foot farther beneath the hem of the dusty +skirt, and the colour grew a trifle plainer in her face; but Ingleby +made a little reproachful gesture, and taking up the shoe rubbed it with +his handkerchief. + +"Now," he said, "I'm going to the bridge. Put it on!" + +He turned away; but the leather was stiff with water, and Hetty +struggled fruitlessly with the buttons, and when she rejoined him +Ingleby noticed that she was walking somewhat awkwardly. + +"Stand still a minute," he said. "You can't limp back along the track +like that." + +He dropped on one knee, and Hetty turned her face aside when he looked +up again. + +"It is such a pretty little foot," he said. + +Then as they went back together they met Leger on the trestle. He said +nothing, but though he endeavoured to hide it there was concern in his +sallow face. + + + + +VI + +HALL SEWELL + + +The afternoon was clear and cool, but bright sunlight filled a glade +among the towering pines which creep close up to the western outskirts +of Vancouver City. They are very old and great of girth, and though here +and there a path or carriage drive has been hewn through the strip of +primeval wilderness the municipal authorities have been wise enough to +attempt no improvement upon what nature has done for them, and Stanley +Park remains a pleasance whose equal very few cities possess. It is +scented ambrosially with the odours of balsam and cedar; deep silence +fills the dim avenues between the colonnades of towering trunks; and +from every opening one looks out upon blue water and coldly gleaming +snow. + +On the afternoon in question the stillness was rudely broken by a murmur +of voices, unmodulated and sharp with an intonation which sounds +especially out of place in the wilderness, though it is heard there +often enough, from the redwoods of Oregon to where Alaskan pines spring +from ten feet of snow. A crowd of people were scattered about the glade, +and while some were dressed in "store clothes" and a few in coarse blue +jean the eyes of all were turned towards the stump of a great cedar, +sawn off a man's height above the ground, which formed a natural +platform for a speaker whose address had astonished most of them. +Ingleby and Leger lay a little apart from the rest, where the sunlight +fell faintly warm upon the withered needles, while Hetty was seated near +them upon a fallen fir, displeasure in her eyes and her lips set +together. Her eyebrows also seemed unusually straight, as they often did +when she was angry, and that gave to her delicately pretty face a +curious appearance of severity one would scarcely have expected to find +there. She was dressed tastefully, for she earned a sufficiency as a +boarding-house waitress. + +Ingleby, who lay nearest her, looked up at her with a little smile. + +"You would make rather a striking picture just now, Hetty," he said. +"That is a most attractive frown. I don't know where you got it, but +taken together with your attitude it's--I can't think of a better +comparison--almost Roman." + +Hetty glanced at him sharply. Her education had not been very +comprehensive, and she scarcely understood the allusion; but Ingleby, +who had made it at random, was nevertheless in a measure right, for +there is a recurrent type of feminine beauty, not exactly common, but to +be met with among women of her station in the north of England, while +they are young at least, which approaches the classical. Hetty might +have posed just then as a virgin sitting with turned-down thumb. + +"Well," she said, "I'm vexed with you and Tom, as well as with that man. +I wish he hadn't come now when we are nice and comfortable and you are +both earning good wages--at least when the steamers come in." + +Ingleby shook his head reproachfully. "You have spoiled it," he said. +"Hasn't she, Tom? A young woman who frowns in that imperial fashion +talking of wages!" + +Leger only laughed as, turning over among the fir-needles, he filled his +pipe again; but Hetty was still a trifle angry. + +"Of course, I don't understand you," she said. "I never do, but it's a +good thing I've more sense than either of you. Now, you know what came +of listening to speeches of that kind in England, and you're doing the +same thing again. I've no sympathy with that man. Everybody has enough +to eat and looks contented and comfortable. Why does he come here +worrying them?" + +Leger smiled. "I'm not sure that the contentment of ignorance is the +blessing some people would like us to believe. You see, when one doesn't +know what he's entitled to he's apt to be satisfied with a good deal +less, while when men like Hall Sewell point out that you don't get half +as much as you ought to you are apt to believe them." + +Ingleby laughed, though, as Sewell's writings had stirred him to intense +appreciation, even in England, he was not altogether pleased with the +little twinkle in his comrade's eyes. He was quick to fire with +enthusiasm, while it occurred to him that Leger was a trifle too +addicted to looking at both sides of a question, and occasionally +admitting the weak points of his own case with dry good-humour. He had +also a shrewd suspicion that Leger was a cleverer man than himself. + +"Well," he said, looking at Hetty, "if you are content to carry plates +to saw-mill hands and wharf-labourers, it's more than I am to see you do +so." + +"Why shouldn't I?" and Hetty, who flashed a covert glance at him, +noticed the tinge of heightened colour in his face and was not +displeased at it. "They are all of them very civil to me, and the one +who can get nothing to do as a doctor----" + +"Oh, yes!" said Ingleby curtly, "I've noticed his confounded assurance. +Every time I see you going round with his dinner I feel I'd like to +poison him." + +Leger looked up again with the twinkle in his eyes showing plainer +still. + +"You haven't answered her, and I'm not sure you can," he said. "She put +the whole thing in a nutshell when she asked--why shouldn't she." + +Ingleby was silent, but he fidgeted, and Leger grinned. + +"Don't you find it a little difficult to cling to aristocratic +prejudices--though I don't know how you became possessed of them--and +believe in democratic theories at the same time?" he said. "One would +fancy they were bound to run up against each other occasionally." + +Just then an urchin with a satchel on his back came along. + +"Hall Sewell's latest speeches," he said. "Fourth edition of 'The New +Brotherhood' and 'The Grip of Capital.'" + +"Give me them all," said Ingleby. "How much do you want?" + +"A quarter," said the lad, handing him several flimsy pamphlets, and +while Hetty glanced at him severely Leger laughed. + +"Twenty-five cents!" he said. "It would have purchased a packet of +caramels for Hetty." + +"We might manage both," said Ingleby. "I'm sorry I didn't think of it +earlier, Hetty. But you haven't yet told me your opinion of the man +himself." + +Hetty glanced at the man upon the fire-stump. He was dressed as a +workman in blue jean, which seemed to her a piece of affectation, since +when workmen of that city take their recreation they usually do so +attired in excellent clothing; but he had a lithe, well-proportioned +figure, and it became him, though neither his face, which was bronzed by +exposure, nor his hands were quite in keeping with it. It was a forceful +face, with keen, dark eyes in it, but the mouth was hidden by the long +moustache. Hall Sewell was, in his own sphere, a famous man whose +printed speeches had been read with appreciation in Europe, and he had +not long ago played a leading part in a great labour dispute. He had +just finished speaking and another man was somewhat apologetically +addressing the assembled populace. + +Hetty, who surveyed him critically, shook her head. "If you buy me any +sweets now I'll throw them away," she said. "Well, he's a good-looking +man." + +"Oh," said Ingleby. "He's good-looking! Can't you get beyond that, +Hetty?" + +Hetty pursed her lips up reflectively. "Well, why shouldn't he be? It's +a pleasure to see a man of that kind. There are so few of them. Still, +I'll try to go a little further. Of course, he's clever. At least, +everybody says so, but there's something wanting. I think he's weak." + +"Weak!" said Ingleby indignantly. "You're wide of the mark this time, +Hetty. I've read every line he has had printed, and any one could feel +the uncompromising strength in it. They've put him in prison and tried +to buy him, but nothing could keep a man of that kind from delivering +his message." + +Hetty still pursed her lips up, and when she spoke again she somewhat +astonished Ingleby. + +"If I were a little cleverer and richer I think that I could. That is, +of course, if I wanted to," she said. + +Leger looked up with a little whimsical smile. "I hope she isn't right, +but she now and then blunders upon a truth that is hidden from our +wisdom. Delilah is, after all, a type, you see, and one can't help a +fancy that she has figured even more often than is recorded in history. +Go on, Hetty." + +Hetty put her head on one side. "I never could remember very much +history; but that man's vain, vainer than most of you," she said. "A +girl above him who pretended to believe in him could twist him round her +finger." + +"Above him?" said Ingleby. + +Hetty looked at him curiously. "Yes. You know what everybody means by +that, and it's generally a girl of that kind that men with your notions +fall in love with. It's because you want so much more than is good for +you that you have such notions." + +"Considering that she is a girl and by no means clever, Hetty's +reflections occasionally, at least, display an astonishing +comprehension," said Leger. "I really don't mind admitting it, though I +am her brother." + +Ingleby said nothing, though he felt uncomfortable. He was fond of Hetty +in a brotherly fashion, but as he had never supposed her to be indued +with any intellect worth mentioning, her occasional flashes of +penetration were almost disconcerting. The last one was certainly so, +for there were two people of diametrically opposed opinions whom he +respected above all others: one was Hall Sewell the reformer, and the +other Major Coulthurst's daughter. He was glad of the opportunity for +changing the subject when the man who had been speaking stopped a moment +and looked at the crowd. + +"I guess I'm through, and you have been patient, boys," he said. "Hall +will be quite willing to answer any reasonable questions. I'll get +down." + +There was a little good-humoured laughter, and a man who stood forward +turned to the assembly. + +"Everybody knows Jake Townson, and there's no wickedness in him. He's a +harmless crank," he said. "What I want to ask Hall Sewell is who's +paying him to go round making trouble among people who have no use for +it or him? It's a straight question." + +There was a little growl of disgust as well as sardonic laughter, and +while one or two angry men moved towards the speaker the man with the +dark eyes stood up suddenly. + +"Let him alone, boys. We don't want to use our enemies' methods, and I'm +quite willing to answer him," he said. "Nobody has paid me a dollar for +what I've tried to do for the cause of brotherhood and liberty, but I +was offered a thousand to betray it not a month ago." + +"Name the men who did it," cried somebody. + +"I will," said Sewell, "when I consider the time is ripe--they may count +on that, but in the meanwhile you will have to take my word for it. So +far, I've been found where I was wanted--and that as our friend suggests +was generally where there was trouble--but I never took five cents for +reward or fee." + +There was a murmur of approbation, as well as incredulity, and then a +cry broke through it. + +"How'd you worry along then? A man has got to live." + +Sewell held his hands up, and though small and well-shaped they were +scarred and brown. + +"What I want--and it's very little--I can earn with the shovel and the +drill. I've given your man his answer, but I'm going farther." + +There was a clamour from one part of the crowd. "He's an insect. We've +no use for him! Let up, Hall's talking. We're here to hear him!" + +"What did I get for my pains?" said Sewell. "That's what the question +comes to, and I'll tell you frankly, since, until we or our children +bring in the new era, it's all that the man has to expect who believes +this world can and ought to be made better. I've been ridden over by +U. S. cavalry, and beaten by patrolmen's clubs. I've been hounded out of +cities where I lawfully earned my bread, and sand-bagged by hired +toughs. That would be a little thing if I were the only victim, but you +know--you can read it in your papers almost any day--what happens to the +men who have the grit to work as well as to hope for the dawn of better +days for down-trodden humanity. You're to wait for it--on the other side +of Jordan--your teachers say. Boys, we want it here and now, and it's +coming, a little nearer every day. You have got to believe that, and +when the outlook grows black get a tighter clinch upon your faith. Was +it a shadow and a fancy that the men died for who went down in every +struggle for the last ten years?--we needn't go back farther. Right +across this prosperous continent you'll find their graves--men shot and +sabred, strung to bridges and telegraph poles. Boys, we've been +waiting--waiting a long while----" + +He broke off abruptly, for a little, stolid park-warden and an equally +unimpressed official of the Vancouver police pushed their way through +the crowd. + +"I guess," said the former, "you'll have to light out of this. You can't +hold no meetings here." + +The crowd was a Canadian one, good-humouredly tolerant, respectful of +constituted authority, and, what was more to the purpose, reasonably +contented with their lot. They were also, as usual, somewhat deficient +in the quick enthusiasm which is common across the frontier. Had ample +time been afforded him the orator might have got hold of them and +impressed upon them a due comprehension of their wrongs, but a good many +of them were by no means sure that they had very much to complain of as +yet. Still, there were angry expostulations. + +"Have you any ground for preventing my speaking here?" Sewell asked. + +"Yes, sir," said the warden. "I guess we have. It's down in the park +charter. You can't peddle those papers either. Call your boys in." + +"The men who made those laws, as usual, made them to suit themselves." + +"Well," said the warden, "I guess that don't matter now. There they are. +All you have to do is to keep them, and nobody's going to worry you." + +There was an embarrassing silence for a moment or two, for everybody +felt the tension and realized that the position was rife with unpleasant +possibilities; but the stolid warden stood eyeing the crowd +unconcernedly, and, as usual, the inertia of British officialdom +conquered. Sewell made a little whimsical gesture of resignation, and +raised his hand. + +"I'm afraid we'll have to break up, boys. There's nothing to be gained +for anybody by making trouble now," he said. "If we can hire a big store +of any kind I'll talk to you to-morrow." + +He sprang down from the stump, the crowd melted away, and Hetty laughed +as she glanced at her companions. + +"That man has really a good deal more sense than some people with his +notions seem to have," she said. + +Ingleby shook his head at her. "You mean people who pull gates down on +Sunday afternoons?" he asked. "Still, I scarcely think it was to save +himself trouble he told them to go home, and nobody could have expected +very much sympathy from the men who listened to him. He's wasting his +time on them--they're too well fed. What do you think, Tom?" + +Leger, who did not answer him for a moment, glanced thoughtfully through +an opening between the stately trunks towards the far-off gleam of snow. + +"This Province," he said drily, "is a tolerably big one, and from what +I've heard they may want a man of his kind in the Northern ranges +presently. It isn't the supinely contented who face the frost and snow +there, and the Crown mining regulations don't seem to appeal to the men +who stake their lives on finding a little gold. They appear to be even +less pleased with those who administer them." + + + + +VII + +HETTY BEARS THE COST + + +It was towards the end of the arduous day, and Ingleby was glad of the +respite the breakage of a chain cargo-sling afforded him. The white side +of a big Empress liner towered above the open-fronted shed, and a string +of box cars stood waiting outside the sliding doors behind him. A swarm +of men in blue jean were hurrying across the wharf behind clattering +trucks laden with the produce of China and Japan, for the liner had been +delayed a trifle by bad weather, and the tea and silk and sugar were +wanted in the East. Already a great freight locomotive was waiting on +the side track, and, as Ingleby knew, the long train must be got away +before the Atlantic express went out that evening. He had been promoted +to a post of subordinate authority a few weeks earlier, and both he and +Leger were, in the meanwhile, at least contented with their lot, for the +great railway company treated its servants liberally. + +There was, however, nothing that he could do for a minute or two, and he +leaned against a tier of silk bales with a bundle of dispatch labels and +a slip of paper in his hand, while Leger sat upon the truck behind him. +He had, though it was no longer exactly his business, been carrying +sugar bags upon his back most of that afternoon, partly to lessen the +labour of Leger who had not his physique, and now the white crystals +glittered in his hair and clung, smeared with dust, to his perspiring +face. His sleeves were rolled back to the elbow, showing his brown arms, +which had grown hard and corded since he came to Canada; while his +coarse blue shirt, which was open at the neck and belted tight at the +waist, displayed as more conventional attire would not have done the +symmetry of a well set-up figure. + +"We are still short of a few tea chests," said Leger. "However, if you +would mark the two lots I've got yonder we could clear that car for +dispatch as soon as the rest come out." + +Ingleby glanced at his slip. "I'll wait until I get the others. It will +keep the thing straighter. There's a good deal more in sorting cargo +than I fancied there could be until I tried it, and it's remarkably easy +to put the stuff into the wrong car." + +"Then it might be well to keep your eye on those chests of tea. I can't +keep the boys off them. There's another fellow at them now." + +Ingleby swung round, and signed to a perspiring man who stopped with a +truck beside the cases in question. + +"Leave that lot alone! It's billed straight through, express freight, +East," he said. "Stick this ticket on the cases, Tom." + +Leger moved away, and Ingleby was endeavouring to scrape some of the +sugar off his person when a man, whom he recognized as one of the +leading citizens of Vancouver, and several ladies, came down the +steamer's gangway. Then he started and felt his heart throb as his +glance rested on one of them, who, as it happened, looked up just then. +It was evident that she saw him, and he was unpleasantly sensible that +his face was growing hot. There was, he would have admitted at any other +time, no reason for this, but in the meanwhile it was distinctly +disconcerting that Grace Coulthurst should come upon him in his present +guise, smeared with dust and half-melted sugar. Then he occupied himself +with his cargo slip, for it was in the circumstances scarcely to be +expected that she would vouchsafe him any recognition. + +The longing to see her again, however, became too strong for him, and +looking up a moment he was conscious of a blissful astonishment, for she +was walking straight towards him with a smile in her eyes. She seemed to +him almost ethereally dainty in the dust and turmoil of the big cargo +shed, and for the moment he forgot his uncovered arms and neck, and felt +every nerve in him thrill as he took the little gloved hand she held +out. What she had done was not likely to be regarded as anything very +unusual in that country, where most men are liable to startling +vicissitudes of fortune and there are no very rigid social distinctions; +but Ingleby failed to recognize this just then, and it was not +astonishing that he should idealize her for her courage. + +"You are about the last person I expected to meet. What are you doing +here?" she said, with the little tranquil smile that became her well. + +Ingleby's heart was throbbing a good deal faster than usual, but he held +himself in hand. Miss Coulthurst was apparently pleased to see him, but +there was an indefinite something in her serene graciousness which put a +check on him. It was, he felt, perhaps only because she was patrician to +her finger-tips that she had so frankly greeted him. A girl with less +natural distinction could, he fancied, scarcely have afforded to be +equally gracious to a wharf-labourer. + +"I am at present loading railway cars with tea and silk, though I have +been carrying sugar bags most of the day," he said. + +Grace showed no sign of astonishment as she glanced at his toiling +comrades, and, though this was doubtless the correct attitude for her to +assume, Ingleby was, in spite of his opinions, not exactly pleased until +she spoke again. + +"Don't you find it rather hard work?" she said. "Of course, one cannot +always choose the occupation one likes here, but couldn't you find +something that would be a little more--profitable?" + +Ingleby laughed. "I'm afraid I can't," he said. "In this city the one +passport to advancement appears to be the ability to play in the band, +and I was, unfortunately, never particularly musical. Still, there is no +reason why I should trouble you with my affairs. I wonder if I might +venture to ask you how you came to be here?" + +"It is quite simple. Major Coulthurst was appointed Gold Commissioner in +one of the mining districts, and I came out with him; but he has been +sent to an especially desolate post in the Northern ranges, and I am +staying with friends in the city for a week or two. Then I am going to +join him." + +She stopped a moment, and then looked at him reflectively. "Why don't +you go North and try your fortune at prospecting, too? They have been +finding a good deal of gold lately in the Green River country where my +father is." + +It had seemed to Ingleby almost unnatural that he should be so quietly +discussing his affairs with the girl he had last seen nearly six +thousand miles away. This was not the kind of meeting he would have +anticipated; but as she made the suggestion a little thrill once more +ran through him, for he had heard that the district in question was a +great desolation, and it almost seemed that she desired his company. +However, he shook off the notion as untenable, for there would be, he +knew, a distinction between a placer miner and the Gold Commissioner's +daughter even in that land of rock and snow. + +"I have thought of it," he said. "Some day I may go, but it is at the +far end of the province, and for one who works on a steamboat wharf the +getting there is a risky venture. I don't suppose everybody finds gold." + +"I'm afraid they don't, and the cost of transporting provisions is a +serious matter to those who fail. In fact, some of them have been giving +my father trouble. They appear to lay the blame of everything on the +mining regulations." + +She stopped and glanced at him with a little smile. "From what I +remember of your views, you would no doubt be inclined to agree with +them." + +Ingleby laughed, though it was pleasant to be told that she remembered +anything he had said. "I really fancy I have learned a little sense in +Canada, and I am not going to inflict my crude notions upon you again. +Still, there is a question I should like to ask. Did Mr. Esmond of +Holtcar--recover?" + +Grace noticed the sudden intentness of his tone, and looked at him +curiously. "Of course. In fact, he got better in a week or two, and I +think behaved very generously. The police could not induce him to give +them any information about the men who injured him." + +Ingleby started, and the girl saw the relief in his face. + +"I wonder," he said, "if you ever heard who they were supposed to be?" + +Grace turned a trifle and gazed at him steadily, though there was now a +little flash in her eyes. + +"You," she said, with incisive coldness, "were one of them?" + +Ingleby grew hot beneath her gaze, for he felt that all the pride and +prejudices of her station were arrayed against him. "You will remember +the form of my question. I was supposed to be one of them--but that was +all," he said. + +Grace's face softened, and she glanced at her companions, who, after +waiting a little while, were just leaving the shed. "Of course," she +said, "I should have known it was absurd to fancy that you could do +anything of that kind." + +"I am afraid I have kept you," said Ingleby. "Perhaps I should not have +abused your kindness by letting you stop at all, but the desire to see +you was too strong for me. I wonder whether even you would have dared +to do as much had it been in England?" + +There was a faint flush in the girl's cheek, but she smiled as she held +out her hand. + +"I scarcely think we need go into that, and I can't keep the others +waiting any longer," she said. "Perhaps I shall meet you in the Green +River country." + +She swept away with a soft swish of dainty garments, and Ingleby, whose +face grew curiously intent as he watched her, climbed the slanting +gangway to the deck of the liner when she disappeared. From there he +could see the white tops of the ranges gleaming ethereally as they +stretched back mountain behind mountain towards the lonely North. The +Green River country lay far beyond them, and there were leagues of +tangled forest, and thundering rivers, to be crossed; but that day the +untrodden snow he gazed upon seemed to beckon him, and a sudden longing +to set out upon the long trail grew almost irresistible. There was gold +in the wilderness, and with enough of it a man might aspire to anything, +even the hand of a Crown Commissioner's daughter. + +Then the winch beside him clattered, and he shook off the fancies as a +fresh stream of bales and cases slid down the gangway. Whatever the +future might have in store, there were several more hours of arduous +work in front of him then. One of them had passed when Leger came +hastily up to him. + +"I suppose you got those last few cases?" he said. + +Ingleby started. "I'm afraid I never remembered them until this moment. +Have they pulled the car out, Tom?" + +"It's not there, anyway. I fancied you had made the lot up. Somebody has +put those cases in." + +While they looked at one another the tolling of a locomotive bell broke +through the clatter of the trucks, and Ingleby sped towards the door of +the shed with Leger close behind him. When they reached it the hoot of a +whistle came ringing down the track, and they saw the great locomotive +vanish amidst the piles of lumber outside a big sawmill, with the long +cars lurching through the smoke behind it. Ingleby said nothing then, +but turned back into the shed with his lips set and questioned several +men before he looked at Leger. + +"Nobody seems to know whether they put that tea into the through East +car or not, and it's no use being sorry now we didn't see it done," he +said. "The sooner we have a word with the freight-traffic agent the +better." + +The gentleman in question, had, however, very little consolation to +offer them. + +"The fast freight has got to make Kamloops ahead of the Atlantic +express," he said. "She's not going to be held up more than ten minutes +there, and they'll have the mountain loco ready to rush her up the loops +and over the Selkirks. I'll send a wire along, but so long as the road +is clear it's going to be more than any man's place is worth, to +side-track that train for freight checking." + +Ingleby's face grew anxious. "Well," he said, "what is to be done?" + +"Nothing!" said the traffic manager. "If there's anything wrong with +your sorting you'll probably hear about it in a week or so." + +They went out of the office, and Ingleby turned to his comrade. + +"I'm afraid we'll be adrift again before very long, and while I wish you +had seen nobody moved those cases, it's my fault," he said. "There's +another thing I must mention so that you may realize all you owe me. +That was Miss Coulthurst of Holtcar to whom I was talking, though, of +course, I should have been attending to my business instead, and from +what she told me it seems that I needn't have brought you and Hetty out +here at all. Esmond got better rapidly, and could not even be induced to +prosecute." + +Leger smiled. "Well," he said, "I'm uncommonly glad to hear it; and in +regard to the other question neither of us has any intention of blaming +you. So far, we have been a good deal better off than we probably should +ever have been in England." + +Nothing further was said about the affair, though both of them devoted +more than a little anxious thought to it, until one morning they were +summoned before the head wharfinger. + +"They're raising Cain in the office about a consignment of tea billed +through urgent to the East that's gone down the Soo Line into the +States," he said. "I guess I've no more use for either of you." + +"I can't grumble," said Ingleby, who had almost expected this. "Still I +should like to point out that only one of us is responsible." + +"No," said Leger. "As a matter of fact, there were two, and if there +hadn't been it would have come to the same thing, anyway." + +The wharfinger nodded. "Well," he said, "I'd keep you if I could, but +after the circus that's going on about the thing it's out of the +question. I guess I'd try the Green River diggings if I were you." + +They went out together, and when Ingleby was about to speak Leger +checked him with a gesture. "I think I know what you mean to say--but +there's another question to consider," he said. "Trade's slack in the +city just now, and taking it all round I fancy that man's advice is +good. If we can induce Hetty to stay here we'll try the new mining +country." + +In different circumstances Ingleby would have been exultant at the +prospect, but as it was he recognized his responsibility. It was, +however, late that evening before they were able to lay the state of +affairs before Hetty, and Ingleby was almost astonished at the quietness +with which she listened. + +"Well," she said, "there's no use worrying about it now. All you have +to do is to try the mines. The man who came down with the gold yesterday +said they were offering five and six dollars to anybody who would work +on some of the claims." + +"But you don't seem to realize that we should have to leave you behind," +said Leger. + +Hetty laughed, and flashed a covert glance at Ingleby. "No," she said, +"I'm coming with you." + +The two men looked at each other, and Leger protested. "Hetty," he said, +"it's out of the question. You couldn't face the snow and frost, and I +don't even know how we could get you there. There are forests one can +scarcely drag a pack-horse through, as well as rivers one has to swim +them across, and we should probably have to spend several weeks on the +trail. In fact, it seems to be an appalling country to get through." + +"Go on!" said Hetty drily. "Isn't there anything else?" + +"There are certainly mosquitoes that almost eat you alive. You know you +never could stand mosquitoes!" + +"Are they quite as big as bluebottles?" said Hetty. + +Leger made a little gesture, and glanced at Ingleby, as if to ask for +support, but though Hetty's brows were assuming a portentous +straightness she smiled again. + +"Walter was anxious to leave me behind once before, so you needn't look +at him," she said. "In fact, there's not the least use in talking. I'm +coming." + +Ingleby said nothing. He did not wish to hurt the girl, though he +fancied he knew how hard she would find the life they must lead in the +great desolation into which they were about to venture. That Grace +Coulthurst was going there did not affect the question, for there could +be no comparison between the lot of a prospector's sister and that of +the daughter of the Gold Commissioner. Then he saw that Hetty was +watching him. + +"Of course you don't want me, Walter," she said. + +Ingleby felt his face grow hot. "Hetty," he said simply, "you ought to +know that isn't so. If you must come we shall be glad to have you, and +if you find the life a hard one you must try to forgive me. If I had +known what I was doing I might have spared you this." + +They had decided it all in half an hour, but Ingleby frowned when he and +his comrade were left alone. + +"The whole thing hurts me horribly, Tom," he said. "Of course, we can +worry along, and may do well--but you have read what the country is +like--and Hetty----" + +Leger appeared unusually grave. "It is," he said, "certainly a little +rough on Hetty. She, at least, was not to blame, but she will have to +face the results all the same, and whatever we have to put up with will +be twice as hard on her." + +Ingleby said nothing, for he realized his responsibility. In +compensation for the few minutes he had spent with Grace Coulthurst, +Hetty Leger must drag out months of privation and peril. + + + + +VIII + +ON THE TRAIL + + +Darkness was settling down upon the mountains and the chill of the snow +was in the air when Hetty Leger and Ingleby sat beside a crackling fire. +Down in the great gorge beneath them the white mists were streaming +athwart the climbing pines, and no sound broke the deep stillness but +the restless stamping of the tethered pack-horses and the soft splash of +falling water. Hetty had a brown blanket rolled about her, and there +were hard red blotches where the mosquitoes had left their virus on the +hand she laid upon it. Leger lay not far away, and his face was swollen, +but Ingleby had escaped almost scatheless, as some men seem to do, from +the onslaughts of the buzzing legions which had pursued them through the +swampy hollows. + +A blackened kettle, a spider--as a frying-pan is usually termed in that +country--and a few plates of indurated fibre lay about the fire, for the +last meal of the day was over, and it had been as frugal as any one who +had not undertaken twelve hours' toil in that vivifying air would +probably have found it unappetizing. Where resinous wood was plentiful +Ingleby could make a fire, but he could not catch a trout or shoot a +deer. Indeed, a man unaccustomed to the bush usually finds it +astonishingly difficult even to see one, and provisions were worth a +ransom in the auriferous wilderness into which they were pushing their +way. They had spent several weeks in it now, travelling, where the trail +was unusually good, eight to twelve miles a day, though there were +occasions when they made less than half the distance with infinite +difficulty, and Hetty alone knew what that journey had cost her. + +The white peaks that gleamed ethereally high up in the blue, crystal +lakes, and the endless ranks of climbing pines, scarcely appealed to her +as she floundered through tangled undergrowth and ten-foot fern, or +stumbled amidst the boulders beside thundering rivers. She had lain +awake shivering, with the ill-packed fir twigs galling her weary body, +high up on great hill shoulders, and fared Spartanly on a morsel of +unsavoury salt pork and a handful of flour, while Ingleby set his lips +now and then when he saw the little forced smile in her jaded face. It +was no great consolation to reflect that other women in that country had +borne as much and more. + +"Walter," she said, "you and Tom are very quiet. I expect you're tired." + +Ingleby smiled, though his heart smote him as he saw the weariness in +her eyes. + +"I certainly am," he said. "Still, we can't be half as worn out as you +are. You were limping all the afternoon." + +"If I was it was only the boot that hurt me," said Hetty. "All those +loose stones and gravel made it worse, you see. How many miles have we +come to-day?" + +"I feel that it must have been forty, but you shall have a rest +to-morrow; and you don't look as comfortable as you ought to now. Would +you mind standing up a minute?" + +Hetty rose, hiding the effort it cost her, and when he had shaken up the +cedar twigs into a softer cushion sank gratefully down on them. Then she +turned her face aside that he might not see the little flush that crept +into it as he gravely tucked the coarse brown blanket round her. + +"Now," he said, "I think that ought to be a good deal nicer. You're too +patient, Hetty, and I'm almost afraid we don't take enough care of you." + +The girl saw his face in the firelight, and sighed as she noticed the +gentleness in it. She knew exactly how far his concern for her went. +Leger noticed it, but his shrewdness failed him now and then. + +"He will make somebody a good husband by and by," he said. "She will +have a good deal to thank you for, Hetty." + +Ingleby smiled with an absence of embarrassment which had its +significance for one of the party. + +"There are, after all, a good many advantages attached to being a single +man, and I shall probably have to be content with them," he said. + +"Of course!" said Hetty softly. "It is no use crying for the moon." + +"What do you mean by that?" + +"Nothing in particular," and Hetty glanced reflectively at the fire. +"Still, I don't think you would be content with any girl likely to look +at you, and most of us would like to have a good deal more than we ever +get." + +Ingleby was a trifle disconcerted, though Hetty had an unpleasant habit +of astonishing him in this fashion, but Leger laughed. + +"It probably wouldn't be good for us to have it. At least, that is the +orthodox view, and, after all, one can always do without." + +"Of course!" said Hetty, with a curious little inflection in her voice. +"Still, it is a little hard now and then. Isn't it, Walter?" + +"Is there any special reason why you should ask me?" + +Hetty appeared reflective. "Perhaps there isn't. I really don't know. Do +you hear a sound in the valley, Tom?" + +They listened, and a beat of hoofs came out of the sliding mists below. +For the last week they had met nobody upon the trail, but now several +men and horses were apparently scrambling up the hillside, for they +could hear the gravel rattling away beneath them. The sound grew +louder, and at last a man called to them. + +"Lead that beast of yours out of the trail," he said. + +Ingleby glanced at his comrade, for the voice was English and had a +little imperious ring in it, and Leger smiled. + +"There is no doubt where that man comes from, but I scarcely think +there's any great need of haste," he said. + +"Do you mean to keep us waiting?" the voice rose again sharply. "It's +some of your slouching prospectors, Major. Get down and cut that beast's +tether, trooper." + +Ingleby rose and moved out into the trail, and had just led the +pack-horse clear of it when a horseman rode up. He was dressed in what +appeared to be cavalry uniform and was, Ingleby surmised, that worn by +the Northwest Police, a detachment of which had lately been dispatched +to the new mining districts of the far North. It was also evident that +he held a commission, for the firelight, which forced it up out of the +surrounding gloom, showed the imperiousness in his face. It also showed +Ingleby standing very straight in front of him with his head tilted +backwards a trifle. Then there was a jingle of accoutrements as the +young officer, turning half-round in his saddle with one hand on his +hip, glanced backward down the trail. + +"Look out for the low branch as you come up, sir," he said. + +Ingleby stood still, nettled by the fashion in which the man ignored +him, for no freighter or prospector would have passed without at least a +friendly greeting, and while he waited it happened that Leger stirred +the fire. A brighter blaze sprang up and flashed upon the officer's +accoutrements and spurs, and then there was a pounding of hoofs, and a +horse reared suddenly in the stream of ruddy light. The officer wheeled +his beast with a warning shout, but Ingleby had seen the shadowy form in +the habit, and seized the horse's bridle. + +"Hold fast!" he said. "There's a nasty drop just outside the trail." + +Then for a few seconds man and startled horse apparently went round and +round scattering fir needles and rattling gravel, until the half-broken +cayuse yielded and Ingleby stood still, gasping, with his hand on the +bridle, while a girl who did not seem very much concerned looked down on +him from the saddle. + +"You!" she said. "I fancied the voice was familiar. So you are going to +the mines after all?" + +The firelight still flickering redly upon the towering trunks showed +Hetty Leger the curious intentness in Ingleby's gaze. Then, having done +enough to disturb her peace of mind for that night, at least, it sank a +trifle, and as two more men rode out of the shadow the officer turned to +Ingleby. + +"Have you no more sense than build your fire right beside the trail?" he +asked. + +Ingleby quietly turned his back on him, and patted the still trembling +horse. + +"I hope you were not frightened, Miss Coulthurst," he said. + +Grace smiled at him, but before she could speak the young officer pushed +his horse a few paces nearer Ingleby. + +"I asked you a question," he said. + +Ingleby glanced at him over his shoulder. "Yes," he said drily, "I +believe you did." + +He turned his head again, and Hetty, sitting unseen in the shadow, +failed to see his face as he looked up at the girl whose bridle he held. +She could, however, see the young officer glancing down at him +apparently with astonishment as well as anger, and the police trooper +behind sitting woodenly still with a broad grin on his face, until a +burly man appeared suddenly in the sinking light. Then Grace Coulthurst +laughed. + +"Will you be good enough to ride on, Reggie? I told you my opinion of +this horse," she said. "Father, I really think you ought to thank Mr. +Ingleby." + +Major Coulthurst turned suddenly in his saddle. + +"Ingleby?" he said. "Very much obliged to you, I'm sure. I have a fancy +I've seen you before." + +"I once had the pleasure of handing you a cup of tea at a tennis match +at Holtcar." + +Coulthurst laughed. "Yes," he said. "I remember it now, especially as it +was a remarkably hot day and I would a good deal sooner have had a +whisky-and-soda. Still, I've seen you somewhere since then, haven't I?" + +"Yes, sir," said Ingleby drily. "On a Sunday afternoon--at Willow Dene." + +Coulthurst laughed again, good-humouredly. "Of course I remember that, +too, though I hope you've grown out of your fondness for taking +liberties with other people's property. That kind of thing is still less +tolerated in this country. In the meanwhile we have a good way to go +before we camp. Once more, I'm much obliged to you." + +He touched his horse with the spur, and when he and the troopers melted +into the night Ingleby turned, with one hand closed a trifle viciously, +towards the fire. + +"Major Coulthurst is human, anyway, but the other fellow's insolence +made me long to pull him off his horse," he said. "Is there, after all, +any essential difference between an officer of the Northwest Police and +a mineral claim prospector?" + +"One can't help admitting that in some respects there seems to be a good +deal," said Leger drily. "Still, I should scarcely fancy the Canadian +ones are likely to be so unpleasantly sensible of it. The gentleman in +question was apparently born in England." + +"Where else could you expect a man of his kind to come from?" and +Ingleby kicked a smouldering brand back into the fire, "I fancied we had +left that languid superciliousness behind us. It's galling to run up +against it again here." + +"My uncle's spirit in these stones!" said Leger. "Still, aren't you +getting a little too old now to run a tilt against the defects of the +national character? One feels more sure of doing it effectively when +he's younger." + +Ingleby laughed, for his ill humour seldom lasted long. "I suppose +nobody can help being an ass now and then, and, after all, the best +protest is the sure and silent kick when people who treat you like one +unnecessarily add to your burden. Anyway, that trooper's grin was +soothing. It suggested that there was a good deal of human nature under +his uniform." + +"I was looking at the officer man, and scarcely noticed him. It occurred +to me that the attitude you complain of probably runs in the family." + +"I can't say I understand you." + +"Well," said Leger reflectively, "I can't help a fancy that we once met +somebody very like him on another occasion when we both lost our +temper." + +"At Willow Dene?" + +"Exactly!" said Leger. "You can think it over. I'll wash the plates at +the creek and get some water." + +He turned away, leaving Ingleby considerably astonished and +half-persuaded that he was right. The latter was still looking into the +darkness when Hetty spoke to him. + +"It's not worth worrying about. Come and sit down," she said. "Who was +that girl, Walter?" + +"Miss Coulthurst," said Ingleby. + +Hetty moved a little so that the firelight no longer fell upon her, and +Ingleby noticed that she was silent a somewhat unusual time. Then she +asked, "The girl you used to play tennis with at Holtcar?" + +"Yes." + +Hetty wished that she could see his face. "You have met her before, in +Canada?" + +"Once only. On the Vancouver wharf, the day I let them put the tea into +the wrong car. She was coming from the steamer." + +Hetty's face grew a trifle hard for a moment as she made a tolerably +accurate guess at the cause of his neglect on the afternoon in question. +Then with a sudden change of mood she laid her hand gently on his arm. + +"Don't you think it would have been better for everybody if she had +stayed in England, Walter?" + +"I expect it would have been for Tom and you. If I had remembered what +my business on the wharf was I should never have brought all this upon +you." + +Hetty's hand closed almost sharply on his arm. "No," she said, "I don't +mean that. You see, I was really glad to get away from the boarding +house." + +"You assured me you liked it once," said Ingleby. + +"Well, perhaps I did, but we needn't go into that. I was thinking of you +just now." + +Ingleby would not pretend to misunderstand her. He felt it would +probably be useless, for Hetty, he knew, could be persistent. + +"Men get rich in this country now and then," he said. "It would, at +least, be something to work and hope for." + +He could not see Hetty's face, but he noticed that there was a faint +suggestion of strain in her voice. + +"Do you think she would ever be happy with you even if you found a gold +mine?" she said. + +"What do you mean, Hetty?" and Ingleby turned towards her suddenly with +a flush in his face. + +"I only want to save you trouble. Don't you think when a girl of that +kind found out how much there was that she had been accustomed to think +necessary and that you knew nothing about, she might remember the +difference between herself and you. After all, it's not always the most +important points that count with a girl, you know." + +She stopped somewhat abruptly, but Ingleby made a little gesture. "I +would rather you would go on and say all you mean to." + +"Well," said Hetty reflectively, "if I had been rich I think I should +like the man I married to do everything--even play cards and billiards +and shoot pheasants--as well as my friends did. It wouldn't be nice to +feel that I had to make excuses for him, and I'm not sure I wouldn't be +vexed if he didn't seem to know all about the things folks of that kind +get for dinner." + +Ingleby's laugh was a protest, but it was only half-incredulous, for he +had now and then realized with bitterness the deference paid to +conventional niceties in England. + +"You can't believe that would trouble any sensible woman?" he said. + +"Well," answered Hetty, "perhaps it mightn't, for a little while, or if +there was only one thing, you see--but if you put everything together +and kept on doing what jarred on her?" + +"One could get somebody to teach him." + +Hetty laughed. "To be like the officer man, or Mr. Esmond of Holtcar?" + +Ingleby understood the significance of the question. The little +conventional customs might be acquired, but the constant jarring of +opinion, and absence of comprehending sympathy or a common point of view +was, he realized, quite a different thing. Still, though there was +concern in his face, he had the hope of youth in him. There was silence +for a moment or two, and then Hetty spoke again. + +"Besides," she said, "after all, aren't gold mines a little hard to +find?" + +Just then Leger made his appearance, somewhat to Ingleby's relief, and +ten minutes later Hetty retired to the tent while the men, rolling +themselves in their blankets, lay down upon the cedar twigs beside the +fire. One of them, however, did not sleep as well as usual, and Leger +noticed that his sister appeared a little languid when she rose in the +morning. They were weary still, and it was afternoon when they once more +pushed on into the wilderness along the climbing trail that had for +guide-posts empty provision cans. + + + + +IX + +HETTY FINDS A WAY + + +The day's work was over, and once more the white mists were streaming +athwart the pines when Ingleby lay somewhat moodily outside the tent +that he and Leger occupied on the hillside above the Green River. Just +there the stream swirled, smeared with froth and spume, through a +tremendous hollow above which the mountains lifted high their +crenellated ramparts of ice and never-melting snow. Still, though +usually termed one, that gorge was not a cañon in the strict sense of +the word, for a sturdy climber could scale one side of it through the +shadow of the clinging pines, and there was room for a precarious trail, +the one road to civilization, between the hillside and the thundering +river. + +Farther back, the valley opened out, and up and down it were scattered +the Green River diggings. From its inner end an Indian trail, which as +yet only one or two white men had ever trodden, led on to the still +richer wilderness that stretched back to the Yukon. Above the tent stood +a primitive erection of logs roofed with split cedar and hemlock bark +which served at once as store and Hetty's dwelling. She was busy inside +it then, for Ingleby could hear the rattle of cooking utensils and +listened appreciatively, for he was as hungry as usual, although +dispirited. His limbs ached from a long day's strenuous toil, and the +stain of the soil was on his threadbare jean. He and Leger had spent a +good many weeks now upon a placer claim, and the result of their +labours was a few grains of gold. + +He rose, however, when Hetty came out of the shanty and stood looking +down into the misty valley. She was immaculately neat, as she generally +was, even in that desolation divided by a many days' journey from the +nearest dry-goods store and where the only approach to a laundry was an +empty coal-oil can, and she turned to Ingleby with a little smile in her +eyes. Hetty had her sorrows, and the life she led would probably have +been insupportable to most women reared in an English town, but she had +long been accustomed to turn a cheerful face upon a very hard world, and +Ingleby, though he did not know exactly why, felt glad that she was +there. There are women who produce this effect on those they live among, +and they are seldom the most brilliant ones. Still, he did not speak, +for Hetty Leger was not a young woman who on all occasions demanded +attention. + +"No sign of Tom!" she said. + +"No," said Ingleby. "I only hope he brings something with him, and +hasn't lost the flies again. I gave a man who went out a dollar each for +them, and I couldn't get another if I offered ten. The plain hooks I got +in Vancouver are no use either when there apparently isn't a worm in the +country." + +Hetty smiled, though there were reasons why a trout fly was worth a good +deal to them, and one of them became apparent when she glanced at the +empty spider laid beside the fire, which burned clear and red between +two small logs laid parallel to each other and about a foot apart. + +"If he doesn't you'll have to put up with bread and dried apples. The +pork's done," she said. + +It was, perhaps, not the kind of conversation one would have expected +from a man at an impressionable age and a distinctly pretty girl, +especially when they stood alone in such a scene of wild grandeur as few +men's eyes have looked upon, but Hetty did not appear to consider it in +any way out of place. Indeed, though there had been a time when she had +accepted Ingleby's compliments with a smile and even became a trifle +venturesome in her badinage, there had been a difference since they left +England, and while Ingleby did not realize exactly what that difference +was he felt that it was there. Hetty Leger had not enjoyed any of the +training which is, usually, at least, bestowed upon young women of +higher station; but she had discovered early that, as she expressed it, +there is no use in crying for the moon, and she had a certain pride. It +was also a wholesome one and untainted by petulance or mortified vanity. + +"I don't think," she said reflectively, "I would worry too much about +those flies." + +"No?" said Ingleby. "Nobody could have called that pork good; but dried +apples _ad libitum_ are apt to pall on one." + +Hetty shook her head. "I'm afraid they're not even going to do that," +she said. "There's very few of them left in the bottom of the bag." + +Just then Leger appeared, carrying a fishing-rod which Ingleby had +laboriously fashioned out of a straight fir branch. He had also a string +of trout, but was apparently dripping below the knees and somewhat +disconsolate. The trout were dressed ready, and he laid two or three of +them in the pan, and then sat down upon one of the hearth logs. + +"I expect that's the last we'll get," he said. + +"You haven't whipped those flies off?" said Ingleby. + +Leger nodded ruefully. "I'm afraid I have," he said. "At least, I let +them sink in an eddy and hooked a boulder. It comes to very much the +same thing." + +Hetty laughed as she saw Ingleby's face. "Perhaps I'd better go away," +she said. "Aren't there times when it hurts you to be quiet?" + +"There are," said Ingleby drily. "This is one of them." + +"Well," said Hetty, "you can talk when you break out. I heard you one +night in the car--but we'll get supper, and then if you're very good +I'll show you something." + +She stirred the fire, and laid out the inevitable dried apples and a +loaf of bread which was not exactly of the kind somewhat aptly termed +grindstone in that country. Then when the edge of their hunger was +blunted she took out a very diminutive fluffy object and handed it to +Ingleby. + +"I wonder if the trout would be silly enough to jump at that," she said. +"It's a little plumper than the other ones, but I hadn't any silk to tie +it with." + +Ingleby stared at the fly in blank astonishment, and then gravely passed +it to Leger. + +"Look at that, and be thankful you have a sister," he said. + +"I am," said Leger with a little smile, though something in his voice +suggested that he meant it. "But whatever did you make it out of, +Hetty?" + +"Strips of frayed-out cloth, the blue grouse's feathers, and the very +little threads there are in a piece of cotton when you unwind it." + +"The tail was never made of feathers or cotton," said Ingleby. "No more +was this wing hackle. That's quite sure. Look at it, Tom. You'll notice +the bright colour." + +Hetty unwisely snatched at the fly, but Leger's hand closed upon it, and +a moment or two later he laughed softly. "It certainly won't come out in +the water, and that is presumably more than could be said of everybody's +hair." + +Ingleby took the fly from him, and Leger proceeded. "Now we have got +over that difficulty there is another to consider." + +"There generally is," said Hetty. + +"This one is serious," said her brother. "One can no more live upon +trout and nothing else than he can upon dried apples, and while the +flour is running out we have neither dollars nor dust to buy any more +with. Our friend the freighter cannot be induced to grub-stake +everybody, and I'm not sure one could blame him for asking five or six +times as much for his provisions as they are worth in the cities when +you consider the nature of the trail. Of course, Walter and I could earn +a few dollars at Tomlinson's mine." + +He stopped, and looked at Ingleby, whose face grew a trifle grave. + +"A placer claim," said the latter, "can only be held while you work upon +it continuously." + +"Exactly! Seventy-two hours after we lay down the shovel any other man +who thinks it worth while can seize upon our last chance of making a +fortune. I think you understand that, considering the present cost of +provisions, we are scarcely likely to save as much as would keep us +while we try again, out of what we make on Tomlinson's claim." + +Ingleby realized this and said nothing. The giving up of his claim +implied the parting with certain aspirations which had of late supported +him through long days of feverish toil; but one must live, and he had +discovered that to work as the free miners do in that country a somewhat +ample diet is necessary. He sat near the fire, and Hetty, who saw the +hardness of his face, understood it. + +"You really think there is gold in the claim?" she said. + +"Yes," said Ingleby. "Tomlinson and one or two of the others who have +played this game half their lives admitted that the signs were as good +as any they had seen. Still, I'm by no means sure we can hold out until +we strike it." + +Hetty smiled in a curious fashion. "Especially while you have me to +keep?" + +Even Leger appeared astonished, and Ingleby flushed hotly as he turned +to her. "Hetty," he said sternly, "what do you mean by that?" + +The girl laughed, and pointed to the loaf. "That is nice bread?" + +"It is," said Ingleby. "Still, I don't see what that has to do with it." + +"There's no bread like it in the Green River country," persisted Hetty. +"They taught me to bake at the boarding-house. I made it." + +Ingleby looked at her in astonishment. "Go on," he said. "I'll wait a +little." + +"Well," and though Hetty spoke quietly her voice was not quite her usual +one, "what are you and Tom longing for just now more than anything?" + +"The means to go on working on our claim." + +"Then what would you say if I gave you them?" + +Ingleby gasped. For days he had been haunted by the fear that their +provisions would run out before they found the gold he believed in, for +a little very simple figuring had shown that there was only a faint hope +of their making more than the value of their day's labour once they +relinquished the hitherto unprofitable claim. There was also, it was +evident, no great probability that a mere wielder of pick and shovel +would ever gain the regard of the Gold Commissioner's daughter, though +Miss Coulthurst, whom he met occasionally, had of late been unusually +gracious to him. He had, however, not the faintest notion of the fact +that Hetty Leger read his thoughts. + +"You see, it's quite simple," she said. "I made this bread, and there +are men up the valley who are really finding gold. They don't want to +waste a minute doing anything else, and it takes time to bake. You can't +even make flapjacks in a moment. Now, if I had two or three sacks of +flour I think I could get almost what I liked to ask for every loaf." + +Leger looked up with a little expressive smile. "I believe she has found +the way out of the difficulty." + +It was, however, Ingleby at whom Hetty glanced, though it did not strike +him then--as it did long afterwards--that she must have been quite +aware what she was offering him. + +"Well?" she said. + +Ingleby's lips were set, and his face a trifle grim. To live, even for +the purpose of working for a result by which she would benefit, upon the +yield of a woman's enterprise and toil did not commend itself to him, +though he could not very well tell her so. + +"We haven't got the flour," he said. + +"No," said Hetty. "Still, it can be bought at the settlement, and no +doubt you could find the pack-horses in the bush. You could go down and +get it while Tom holds the claim." + +"There is still the difficulty that I haven't got the money." + +Hetty laughed. "I have. The wages were really good at the +boarding-house. Of course, you and Tom could build the oven and chop the +wood, while I wouldn't mind your kneading the dough either if you wanted +to. That would leave me with nothing to do but watch the bread baking." + +Ingleby still said nothing; but his face, as the firelight showed, was a +trifle flushed, and Leger shook his head at him. "One can't afford to be +whimsical up here," he said. "Anyway, I'm willing to give the thing a +trial, and if we don't strike gold we can always go over to Tomlinson's +or start baking, too. I shouldn't wonder if it should turn out as +profitable as mining, and it is certainly likely to be a good deal more +reliable." + +Hetty once more glanced at Ingleby. "Of course, we can't make you join +us if you don't want." + +At last Ingleby turned to her. "Hetty," he said quietly, "I don't think +you could understand how much you have done for me. I would sooner cut +my hand off than let the claim go." + +Hetty only smiled, and they had almost thrashed out the scheme when a +thud of hoofs came up faintly through the roar of the river from the +gorge below. Then the figure of a horseman became visible, and when he +swung himself very stiffly from the saddle in front of the fire Ingleby +rose hastily and held out his hand. + +"Mr. Sewell!" he said. "I don't mean it conventionally, this--is--a +pleasure." + +The stranger, who swept his wide hat off as he turned to Hetty, laughed. +"I have just come in. I wonder if I could ask--Mrs. Ingleby, isn't +it--for a little supper?" + +The request was a very usual one in a country where the stranger is +rarely turned away unfed; but Hetty, who seemed to draw a little farther +back into the shadow, was a trifle slow in answering it. + +"Miss Leger!" she said. "Of course, you shall have supper. Put on two +more trout and fill the kettle, Tom." + +Sewell gratefully took his place beside the fire, and, for he had an +engaging tongue, had almost gained Hetty's confidence, which was not +lightly given, by the time the meal was over. Then she looked hard at +him. + +"What did you come here for?" she asked. + +"Wouldn't the fame of the Green River mines be excuse enough?" said the +man. + +Hetty shook her head. "No," she said, "I don't think it would. People +who talk as you do aren't generally fond of digging." + +"Then finding I wasn't wanted in Vancouver I went back into the States, +and as usual got into a trifling difficulty there. That was in Colorado, +where the men and the manager of a certain big mine couldn't come to +terms. The manager was, as not infrequently happens, friendly with the +constituted authorities, and between them and the men's executive, with +whom I managed to quarrel, they made that town unpleasant for me. Of +course, one gets accustomed to having his character pulled to pieces and +being hustled in the streets, but they go rather farther than that in +Colorado." + +"And so you ran away?" + +Sewell laughed. "I certainly went when it was evident that I could do no +good. Still, it was in the daylight, and half the populace came with me +to the station." + +"I asked you what brought you here," said Hetty severely. + +Sewell made a little expressive gesture. "Between friends--I think I can +go so far?" he asked, and it was Hetty alone he looked at. "You see, I +met your brother and Mr. Ingleby in Vancouver." + +Hetty regarded him silently for a moment or two. He was a well-favoured +man with a curiously pleasing manner. "Yes," she said. "I think you +can." + +"Then I came here to see what I could do at mining--I have really used +the shovel oftener than you seem to fancy--and, when it is necessary, go +through by the Indian trail to the camps between this country and the +Yukon. Though they will probably work on quietly while the ground is +soft, they're not pleased with the mining regulations yonder." + +He looked out into the soft blue darkness which now veiled the great +white peaks that lay between him and the vast desolation of the +Northwest, and the smile died out of his eyes. A few moments slipped by +before Leger broke the silence. + +"I believe that trail is scarcely practicable to a white man. Only one +or two have ever tried it," he said. + +"That is so much the better. I am, however, certainly going in." + +There was a little silence, and then Ingleby said suggestively, "They +have been sending a good many of the Northwest Police into that +country." + +Sewell smiled. "From one point of view I think they were wise. It's not +the contented that one usually finds mining in the wilderness. The +soil, of course, is British, but that, after all, does not imply very +much." + +"You mean that the men up there have no country?" asked Leger. + +"Some of them, at least, have unpleasantly good memories. They are the +cast-outs and the superfluities; but, as no doubt you know, it is not +their criminals the older lands get rid of now." + +"That," said Hetty sharply, "is all nonsense. If they're really bad they +are put into prison." + +Sewell laughed. "I believe they are, now and then. Now, suppose you tell +me about the Green River country." + +They sat late that night about the crackling fire, though there was a +vague uneasiness upon two of them. Hetty liked the stranger, as a man, +but she had seen that trouble came of following out the theories he +believed in; while all Ingleby wished for just then was an opportunity +for toiling quietly at his claim. + +Sewell naturally slept in their tent, and it was not until he had +breakfasted next morning that he rode into the valley. Ingleby walked +with him a short distance, and as it happened they met Grace Coulthurst +on the trail. She smiled as she passed Ingleby. Sewell, his companion +fancied, looked at her harder than was necessary as he sat still in the +saddle, a somewhat striking figure of a man, with his wide hat in his +hand. + +"Who is that?" he asked. + +"Miss Coulthurst, daughter of the Gold Commissioner." + +"There is no reason why a prospector shouldn't look at a queen, and she +has a striking face. Of course, one would hardly call it +beautiful--still, it is distinctly attractive." + +"You have no doubt met a good many beautiful women of her station?" +asked Ingleby, who was a trifle nettled and could not quite restrain the +ironical question. + +Sewell laughed. "Well," he said, "I have certainly come across one or +two. Besides, I had rather a fancy that I might be an artist once--a +good while ago." + +Ingleby was duly astonished, but no more was said on the subject, and in +another few minutes Sewell rode on up the valley alone. + + + + +X + +UNREST + + +It was as hot as it can be now and then during the fierce brief summer +of the North, and the perspiration rose in beads on the Crown Recorder's +face as he stood on the rude verandah of his log-built dwelling looking +down at the tents and shanties which showed here and there amidst the +pines. He was a little man with a quiet and almost expressionless face, +and attired, although he lived far remote from civilization in the +wilderness, with a fastidious neatness which with the erectness of his +carriage furnished a hint as to his character. There was, however, +nothing that any one could have termed finicking about him. He was +precise, formal, and unemotional, a man of fixed opinions, as little to +be moved by argument as by any attempt at compulsion, for Recorder +Eshelby was one of the Insular Englishmen who, when entrusted with +authority on the outskirts of the Empire, are equally capable of adding +to their nation's credit or involving it in difficulties by their +soulless and undeviating regard for its law. There are a good many of +them, and, while occasionally respected, they are, as a rule, not +greatly loved in any of England's dependencies. + +Sitting in the shadowy room behind him a hard-bitten Canadian of a very +different stamp watched Eshelby with an ironical twinkle in his eyes. He +had won his promotion, on merit, in the Northwest Police, and there was +red dust on his faded uniform, which showed a roughly stitched-up rent +here and there. + +Outside the sunglare was dazzling, and when he turned his eyes from +Eshelby he could see the peaks gleaming with a hard whiteness against +the blue. They were by no means high, for the level of perpetual snow is +low in that country, and it was only on the eastern hand that they rose +to any elevation. West and north a desolation of swamp muskeg, wherein +few living creatures could face the mosquitoes, rock and river, +stretched back to the Yukon, and Eshelby was there to carry out the +mining laws of that district, which are less lenient than those of the +province to the south of it. + +The valley was very still, and the drowsy fragrance of the firs crept +into the dwelling; but Slavin, who would sooner have heard the clatter +of shovels or the crash of a blasting charge, was not in the least +deceived. He knew that unusual quietness now and then presages storm, +and he had felt that there was a tension in the atmosphere for some +little time. He smiled, however, when Eshelby glanced into the room. + +"If they do not turn up in another minute I will walk across to the +outpost with you," said the latter. "The time is up." + +He spoke concisely, with a clean English intonation, and, as usual, +betrayed no impatience; but Slavin fancied he was by no means pleased at +the fact that a band of miners with grievances should presume to keep +him waiting for even a few moments. + +"I guess they'll come," he said. "If I were you I'd promise them +something if it's only to humour them." + +Eshelby glanced at him coldly, for he was not as a rule addicted to +considering any advice that might be offered him. + +"A concession," he said, "is usually regarded as a sign of wavering. In +dealing with a mob of this kind firmness is necessary." + +Slavin made a little gesture, and smiled in a somewhat curious fashion. +He had shepherded the Blackfeet on the plains, as well as put down +whisky-runners and carried out the prohibition laws, and he knew that to +gain an end one must yield a point occasionally. It was, however, not +his business to instruct the Crown Recorder, and Eshelby seldom deviated +a hair's-breadth from the course he had once decided on. + +"Well," Slavin said, "I guess I hear them, and I'll stay right where I +am. They can't see me in the shadow, and if they knew I was hanging +round it might worry them. You don't want to hang out a red rag when you +have a difference of opinion with a bull." + +He moved his chair back a little farther from the door when a murmur of +voices and patter of feet came up through the dimness beneath the +stunted pines, for he was quite aware that his warning was not likely to +restrain Eshelby from a display of the exasperating crimson on the +smallest provocation. Then he leaned forward with a quiet intentness in +his eyes as a group of men came out of the shadows. They were dressed +for the most part in soil-stained jean, and were all of them spare of +flesh and sinewy. They had bronzed faces with a significant grimness in +them, and moved with a certain air of resolution that did not astonish +Slavin. They were hard men--English, Canadians, Americans, Teutons, by +birth--though that meant very little to most of them then; men who had +faced many perils and borne as much privation as flesh and blood is +capable of. To men of their kind all countries are the same, and they +have not as a rule any particular tenderness for the land which had, in +their phraseology, no use for them. + +They had also, or, at least, so they thought, legitimate grievances; for +the exactions of the Crown were heavy, and it is because the opinions of +such as they were are seldom listened to that news now and then reaches +England which is unpleasant to complacent optimists with Imperialistic +views. The wonder is, however, that the latter are not more frequently +disturbed in their tranquillity, for even when peace and prosperity are +proclaimed at St. Stephen's there is usually, and probably must +necessarily be, all round the fringe of the Empire a vague unrest which +is occasionally rife with unpleasant probabilities. The men of the outer +marches have primitive passions, and, or they would in all probability +never have been there at all, an indomitable will. Slavin, at least, +understood them, and knew that while it is well to keep a tight grasp on +the reins, it is not always advisable to make those driven unduly +sensible of it. + +Two who came foremost stopped in front of the veranda, and one of them +was a well-favoured man with restless dark eyes. Slavin fancied he had +seen the picture of somebody very like him in an American paper. The +rest waited a few yards away, and the man with the dark eyes greeted +Eshelby, who responded with the curtest inclination, courteously. + +"We have come for an answer to the request we handed you," he said. + +Eshelby glanced at him coldly. "You are a free miner? What is the name +on your certificate?" + +"Sewell," said the other. "You may, perhaps, have heard of it?" + +Slavin started a little, and then smiled to himself, for there was, at +least, no sign in the Recorder's face that he attached any particular +significance to the announcement. + +"Well," he said, "I have, as I promised, glanced at what you are pleased +to term your request, though it bears a somewhat unfortunate resemblance +to a demand." + +"We're not going to worry 'bout what you call it," said the man who had +not spoken yet. "We have come here so you can tell us what you mean to +do." + +Eshelby smiled a little, though it would have been wiser if he had +refrained from it. + +"Personally," he said, "I can do nothing whatever." + +There was a low murmur with an unpleasant note in it from the rest of +the deputation. The curt _non possumus_ is usually the last resource of +the diplomatist when argument has failed, and it very seldom makes for +peace, as everybody knows. Slavin wondered why the Crown authorities +should have inflicted upon him such a man as Eshelby when his burden was +already sufficiently heavy. + +"Well," said the miner grimly, "something has got to be done. We let you +know what we wanted. Haven't you anything to say?" + +"Only that I shall send your petition to the proper quarter." + +"I wonder," said Sewell drily, "if you would tell us what is likely to +be done with it there?" + +"It will receive attention when the department is at liberty to consider +it." + +Sewell laughed. "Presumably at any time during the next two years! Can +you guarantee that it will not be neatly docketed and put away for +ever?" + +"And," said one of the men who stood behind, "we may be dead by then. +How're we going to worry through when the snow comes and it's going to +cost a fortune to get provisions in when the Crown takes the big share +of what most of us make?" + +Eshelby did not even look at the last speaker as he answered Sewell. + +"I certainly can't guarantee anything," he said. + +There was a little murmur from the men, but Sewell raised his hand +restrainingly. "We had," he said, with a quietness which had, +nevertheless, a suggestion of irony in it, "the honour of pointing out +to you some of our difficulties and suggesting how they could be +obviated. We may now take it that you can give us no assurance that the +matter will even receive the attention we, at least, think necessary?" + +"I am," said Eshelby, "not in a position to promise you anything. The +petition will be submitted to men qualified to deal with it." + +"With a recommendation that as the matter is urgent it should be looked +into?" + +Eshelby straightened himself a trifle. "My views will be explained to +those in authority. I do not recognize any necessity for laying them +before you." + +The rest of the deputation had drawn a little closer to Sewell, and +Slavin was watching their faces intently. He felt that unless they had +confidence in their leader, and he was endued with all the qualities +necessary for the part, there was trouble on hand. Sewell, who made a +little forceful gesture as he glanced at the rest, was, however, +apparently still master of the situation. + +"Then," he said, "there is in the meanwhile nothing you can suggest?" + +"I fancied you understood that already," said Eshelby. "If those whose +business it is think fit to modify the regulations you complain of I +will let you know. Unless that happens they will be adhered to as usual, +rigorously." + +His coldly even voice was in itself an aggravation, and Slavin, who saw +one of the deputation move forward with a little glow in his eyes, rose +sharply to his feet. He, however, sat down again next moment with a +smile, for Sewell quietly laid his hand upon the man's arm, and the rest +stood still in obedience to his gesture. Slavin was not astonished, for +he, too, was a man who understood how to wield authority. + +"Then," said Sewell, "we need not waste any more of your time. We have +heard nothing that we did not expect, boys, and now we at least know +where we stand." + +He turned once more to Eshelby, raising his wide hat, and then moved +back into the shadow of the pines, taking care, as Slavin noticed, that +the others, who did not seem greatly desirous of doing so, went on in +front of him. The Recorder glanced at Slavin complacently when they +disappeared. + +"A little firmness is usually effective in a case of this kind," he +said. "I will, of course, send on the petition, but as I scarcely +suppose it will be referred to again we can consider the affair as +closed." + +Slavin smiled. "I am not quite so sure as you seem to be. The fellow's +last remark was a significant one, and he's not the kind of man to stand +still anywhere very long. Anyway, he and you between you have forced my +hand, and, while I have got to take your lead, the game is going to be a +risky one." + +Eshelby sat down with a little gesture which implied that he had already +given the trifling affair rather more attention than it merited; and +Slavin went out to take such proceedings as appeared advisable, though +it was not until that night that the result of them became evident. + +Sewell was then sitting with eight or nine men in the general room of +Hobson's Oregon Hotel. It had walls of undressed logs, but the roof was +still of canvas, for Hobson had been too busy watching over his +interests in several profitable claims and dispensing deleterious liquor +to split sufficient cedar. There was another room in the building in +which he slept with any newcomer who was rash enough to put his +hospitality to the test. Rather more than a hundred miners were at work +in that valley, but only a few whose views and influence with the rest +were known had been invited to attend the conference. + +The room was foul with tobacco smoke and the reek of kerosene, for the +big lamp smoked when the roof canvas flapped now and then. Sewell sat in +a deer-hide chair with a pipe in his hand, and a man with a grim, +bronzed face and a splendid corded arm showing through the torn sleeve +of his shirt was speaking. He spoke quietly and like a man of education. + +"We have," he said, "as our host has pointed out, done the straight +thing and given constituted authority a show. The constituted authority, +as usual, prefers to do nothing. We naturally consider our grievances +warranted, but I need not go into them again. Some of us risked our +lives to get here; the rest will probably do so by holding on through +the winter, and, considering how we work, it is not exactly astonishing +that we wish to take back a little gold with us--which we are scarcely +likely to do under the present regulations. I, however, fancy the +position is plain enough to everybody." + +"The question, Hobson," said another man, "is how's it going to be +altered?" + +"By kicking," said Hobson drily. "You want to start in hard, and stay +right there with it." + +There was a murmur of approval, and a man stood up. + +"That, I guess, is just the point--who's to begin, and when?" he said. +"There's mighty little use in three or four of us wearing our shoes out +before the rest. No, sir, Slavin would come round with his troopers and +run those men out." + +Sewell nodded. "Our friend has hit it; we have got to go slow," he said. +"There are at least a hundred men in this valley, and a good many more +with the same grievances farther west, without mentioning the Green +River country, where the regulations are easier. Now, it will be your +business to go round and make sure of the men here joining us. A good +many of them are ready, and we'll strike when you can get the rest. The +kick will have to be unanimous." + +"That's so," said another man. "Lie low until we're ready. Well, when +the time comes you'll have your programme?" + +Sewell leaned forward in his chair with a little glow in his eyes. +"Then," he said, "we will, for one thing, show Recorder Eshelby out of +the valley by way of a protest, and, if it appears necessary, as it +probably will do, seize Slavin's armoury. We'll make our regulations and +give the Crown people a hint that they had better sanction them." + +There was a little hum of approbation, and a man stood up. "I guess +that's the platform," he said. "Half the men in this country are +Americans, and Alaska is not so far away. Once we show we mean it +they're coming right in, and when we start in twisting the Beaver's tail +we're going to get some backing at home. Do you know any reason why we +shouldn't send somebody down south to whip up a campaign fund? There was +plenty of money piled up when the Chicago Irishmen were going over to +ask why the British nation threw out the Home Rule Bill." + +Most of the others laughed, but while there was no expression of +sympathy it was significant that there was as little astonishment. +Visionaries talked of founding a new republic in the North just then, +and some of annexation, but still the Beaver flag flapped over every +Government outpost. There were many men with grievances in that country, +but they knew the world and were far from sure that there was anything +to be gained by changing their accustomed burden for what might prove to +be a more grievous one. There were others who, while by no means +contented with the mining regulations, were still characterized by the +sturdy Imperialism which is to be met with throughout most of Canada. + +Hobson turned to the speaker with a whimsical grin. "The Chicago +Irishmen stayed right where they were," he said. "I don't know what they +did with the money, but they bought no rifles--they weren't blame fools. +The moral is that what an Irishman looks at twice is too big a thing for +us. No, sir, you wouldn't raise ten dollars in a month down there. +America has all the trouble she has any use for already. What we want to +do is to put up a good big bluff--and no more than that--on the British +Empire." + +"How's the Empire going to take it?" asked another. + +Sewell smiled. "Patiently, I think. That is, if we go just far enough +and know when to stop. They move slowly in England--I was born +there--and I'm not sure they're very much quicker in Ottawa. In fact, +they rather like an energetic protest, and you very seldom get anything +without it. Once we show we're in earnest they'll send over a special +commissioner with instructions to make any concessions he thinks will +please us." + +"There are Slavin and his troopers to consider," said the man who had +spoken first. "They're not going to sit still, and if any of them got +hurt during the proceedings it's quite likely we might be visited by a +column of Canadian militia." + +Others commenced to speak--two or three together, in fact--but Sewell +raised his hand. + +"That eventuality will have to be carefully guarded against," he said. +"Slavin seems to be a man of ability and sense, and he would never pit +his handful of troopers against a hundred men. In the meanwhile, +everything depends on secrecy, and no move must be made until you are +sure of everybody. I will answer for the Green River men. I am going +back there shortly." + +Then they put their heads together to consider a scheme, and there was +only a low hum of voices until Hobson stood up suddenly. A tramp of feet +and a sharp order rose from outside. + +"Slavin and the troopers!" he said. "We don't want him to know who's +here. Get out through the roof, boys. Put the lamp out." + +It was done, and while a sound of ripping and scrambling became audible +in the black darkness Hobson touched Sewell's arm. + +"You and I have got to see it out. I guess he's sure of us," he said. + +In another moment or two somebody beat upon the door, and getting no +answer drove it open. Then a sulphur match sputtered, and the trooper +who stood in the entrance turned to a man behind him. + +"There are only two men here, sir," he said. + +"Light that lamp," said the other man. "I feel tolerably certain there +were considerably more." + +Hobson stood forward when the feeble light of the blue flame made him +dimly visible. + +"I guess it's broke," he said. + +"Bring Rignauld's lantern!" said the man in the darkness. + +It was at least a minute before another trooper appeared with a light, +and Sewell surmised that his companions had made good use of the time. +Slavin, who, as he quite expected, was standing in the doorway, seemed +to realize it too, for he glanced at the torn canvas. + +"I might have thought of that," he said. "You and Rignauld will start +down the trail and stop any man you come across, though I guess they're +back in their tents or in the bush by now." + +The trooper went out, and Slavin turned to Hobson with a smile on his +face. "We have got you, anyway, and you'll spend to-night, at least, in +the outpost. To-morrow I'll look into the question of the liquor-sale +permits, and it's quite likely this saloon will be closed. I'll have to +take you along as well, Mr. Sewell." + +Sewell made a good-humoured gesture of resignation. "I suppose I'll have +to come. It's a proceeding I'm not altogether unaccustomed to. Still, +I'm not sure there is any charge you can work up against me." + +Slavin looked at him almost appreciatively. "Well," he said, "I fancy +you're not going to make any trouble here. In fact, it's very probable +that you will leave this settlement early to-morrow, though it would +have been a good deal better had I choked you off from coming here. I +would have done it had I known who you were. You will take any steps +that seem necessary if these gentlemen try to get away, Trooper Nixon." + +Sewell spent that night at the outpost, but not in the same room with +Hobson, and when he had breakfasted tolerably well Slavin came in. + +"Your horse is waiting, and you will start at once--for wherever you +like so long as it's outside my boundaries, though I may as well mention +that every officer in the district will be warned against you," he said. +"If you feel yourself aggrieved you can, of course, complain to +Victoria." + +Sewell made no protest. When he knew it would be useless he seldom did, +and Slavin, who handed him several days' provisions, waited until he +swung himself into the saddle. + +"It wouldn't be wise to push your luck too hard by coming back," he +said. + +Sewell smiled from the saddle, and rode away. He knew that the seed was +sown and need only be left to spring and ripen, though he would have +felt easier had he been sure that Slavin did not know it, too. Eshelby +could be trusted to stimulate the growth of the crop, but he had already +grasped the capabilities of the quiet police officer, who, it was +evident, was a very different kind of man. + + + + +XI + +INGLEBY VENTURES A REMONSTRANCE + + +It was late in the afternoon when Ingleby, who led two jaded +pack-horses, limped into the Green River cañon. His long boots, which +were caked with the mire of leagues of travel, galled him cruelly; every +joint was aching; and it was only by an effort he kept himself on his +feet at all. It had rained most of the way from the distant settlement +where he had been for the flour Hetty had asked for, and during the last +week he had slept by snatches amidst the dripping fern while the +pitiless deluge thrashed the fir trunks that indifferently sheltered +him. The few strips of natural prairie in the valleys had turned to +treacherous swamps, where he sank to the knee, and every few miles there +was a furious torrent to be forded perilously. + +Had he been called on to make that journey under such conditions when +fresh from England he would probably never have reached the cañon, but +strenuous toil with pick and shovel and the simple life of the +wilderness had hardened him, and endued him with the strength of will +which holds the worn-out body in due subjection. Man's capacity for +endurance is, as even the hard-handed bushman knows, moral as well as +physical; but Ingleby was making his last effort when he reached the +great rift between the hills. + +The river roared close beneath him, swirling among its boulders, stained +green with the clay of a great glacier, and overhead the sombre pines +were blurred by mist and rain. No laden beast could scale the slope they +clung to, and a treacherous bank of gravel on which a man could +scarcely keep his footing dropped to the river just outside the slushy +trail. Ingleby sank ankle-deep in mire at every step, but he held on +doggedly with a hand on the leading horse's bridle and the rain on his +face, for Leger's camp was not very far away, and he feared that if he +rested now his worn-out limbs might fail him when he came to start +again. + +That was sufficient to account for the sudden hardening of his face when +a thud of hoofs came out of the rain. The trail was especially soft and +narrow just there, and it would evidently be a risky matter to attempt +to lead two horses past each other. Thrusting the leading beast close in +to the inner side he raised his voice as two figures materialized amidst +the trunks in front of him. Down in that great hollow the light was dim, +but the clatter of accoutrements told him it was a couple of police +troopers who were approaching. + +"Stop where you are until I get by. There's scarcely room for both of +us," he said. + +It was evident that the men heard him, for one said something to the +other sharply, but they did not stop. They came on at a floundering trot +instead, until Ingleby saw who the foremost was and pulled the +pack-horse across the trail. Then there was a musical jingling as the +men drew bridle, and Ingleby and the leader looked at each other. He +wore an officer's uniform and there was just then a little sardonic +gleam in his dark eyes. He was also very like the man Ingleby, who now +knew he bore the same name, had faced at Willow Dene. + +"Why didn't you pull up behind there, packer?" he asked. + +"You couldn't have got past, Captain Esmond," said Ingleby. "I was well +into the narrow stretch when I called to you." + +"That," said the policeman, "is a trifle unfortunate--for you. It ought +to be tolerably evident that I can't wheel my horse now." + +It was apparently out of the question, but Ingleby's wet face grew a +trifle grim, for the assurance with which the young officer claimed +precedence was exasperating, and he knew that any miner in the valley +seeing him hampered by two laden beasts would have made way for him. One +of them, it was evident, must leave the trail, but Ingleby felt that the +question which that one would be was by no means decided yet. He glanced +at the swirling pool below, and though he fancied there was no great +depth of water, it was clear to him that even if he could lead the +worn-out beasts down the slippery slope of gravel he could never drag +them up again. + +"You should have foreseen that when I warned you to stop," he said. + +A little flicker of colour showed in Esmond's face, but he sat easily, +and, as it seemed to Ingleby, insolently, still in his saddle, looking +at him with an excellent assumption of ironical incredulity, as though +unwilling to believe that he had heard correctly. This was the more +exasperating because Ingleby had his share of the sturdy English +independence, and an almost unreasoning dislike of anything that +savoured of arrogance. It was, however, consoling to remember that in +the wilderness the patrician is held of no more account than the manhood +inherent in him warrants, and must either waive his claim to superiority +or support it by his own resources. There was also no sign that the +trooper sympathized with his officer. + +"Will you be good enough to get out of my way?" asked Esmond with +portentous quietness. + +There was no answer; and he touched his horse with the spur. The beast +floundered forward splashing in the mire; but Ingleby stood still with a +grim wet face in the middle of the trail, and a faint trace of +astonishment crept into the young officer's eyes, for, as sometimes +happens in the case of men with sufficient belief in themselves, he had +hitherto found the world inclined to take him at his own valuation. Now +he found the position as galling as it was unexpected, for it was +evident that the nerve of the wet and miry man who stood awaiting him +with exasperating quietness was quite equal to his. + +Esmond's blood was up, and it is very probable that he would have risked +the encounter had he been free from official responsibility. As it was, +however, he remembered that an officer of police is not warranted in +riding down an unoffending citizen, and in addition to this the +heavily-laden pack-horse drawn right across the trail promised to prove +an embarrassing obstacle even if Ingleby had not been standing beside it +with a heavy fir staff in his hand. It occurred to Esmond that there was +very little to be gained except damage to his personal dignity by riding +into two bags of flour, while a second pack-horse similarly encumbered +blocked the trail close behind. + +Thus at the last moment he swung himself backwards with a wrench upon +the bridle, and there was a scattering of mire and gravel as his horse +reeled down the slope to the river. The beast was used to the mountains, +and the man had ridden from infancy, so that when they plunged to the +girth in the swirling pool he was still in the saddle, and Ingleby saw +that his face was dark with a flush of anger. How he was to get out was +his own business, and it was evident that he was in no danger, so +Ingleby turned and gazed at the trooper, who sat still with a faint but +suggestive twinkle in his eyes. + +"I don't want to wait here. Both the beasts and I are badly played out," +he said. + +The trooper rubbed his chin with a wet hand, and glanced at his officer, +who had, however, his back to him just then as he picked his way amidst +the boulders. + +"Well," he said, "I guess if I got down and edged out to the off side +you might pass me. The trail's a little wider here." + +"Thanks!" said Ingleby, and looked at the man as he carefully led his +beasts by him. The trooper also looked at him, with a little +comprehending grin. + +"Somebody's going to make trouble if he can find a speck on anything +to-morrow," he said. + +He swung himself into the saddle with all the haste he could contrive, +and with one eye still upon his officer. Ingleby plodded on, and, as +dusk was closing in, limped into sight of a ruddy blaze among the pines. +Leger, who had heard his approach, took the pack-horses' bridles, and +Ingleby stood stupidly still, blinking at him. + +"I've got it," he said, pointing to the flour. "Where is it to go? I'll +give you a hand to heave it down." + +Leger laughed and pointed to the shanty. "Go right in. I'll manage the +bags myself," he said. "Tomlinson and the boys have been up and built us +a new store-shed." + +Ingleby turned towards the shanty, and as he neared the doorway a slim +figure cut against the light, and a hand was stretched out to draw him +in. Then he felt a little thrill run through him as he stood in the +welcome warmth with Hetty looking up at him. There was an almost +maternal gentleness and compassion in her eyes, for Ingleby's face was a +trifle grey and the water ran from him. Then she turned swiftly and +thrust an armful of clothing upon him. + +"Put them on this minute; they're warm and dry. There's a light in the +new shed," she said. "Then come back here. You're not to go outside +again." + +Ingleby was glad to obey her, and when he came back Hetty had drawn a +rude chair of deerhide towards the fire. + +"Sit down, and don't worry about trying to talk," she said. + +Ingleby sank wearily into the chair, and lay there in a state of +blissful content watching her with half-closed eyes. It was an +inestimable luxury to be free from the chill of his saturated clothing +and feel the warmth creep through him, but by degrees he became sensible +that his contentment had more than a physical origin. The soft rustle of +Hetty's dress was soothing as she laid out a simple meal; her quick, +light footsteps suggested a gratifying anxiety to minister to his +comfort; and he found the fashion in which she smiled at him, as she did +once or twice, especially pleasant. Hetty had a spice of temper and a +will of her own, but she was also endued with the kindliness which makes +up for a good many deficiencies. Ingleby turned his head at last and +looked at her languidly. + +"You make this shanty feel like home--though it is a very long while +since I had one," he said. + +Hetty flushed, ever so slightly, and Ingleby naturally did not notice +it. + +"We have been making improvements since you left," she said. "It really +doesn't need very much to make a place look comfortable." + +Ingleby appeared reflective. "Well," he said, "I suppose it doesn't. I +don't know how you manage it, Hetty, but everything seems just as one +would like it when you arrange it. Still, that's not quite what I mean +either. I'm really not sure I know what I do mean--you see, I'm sleepy." + +Hetty stopped close beside him and looked down with a little smile, +though there was just a shade more colour than usual in her face. + +"You are worn out, and needn't worry about it until you have had +supper," she said. "If I had known you would come back like this I would +never have let you go." + +"Still, you wanted the flour." + +"I didn't mean you to wear yourself out to save those lazy miners from +baking their own bread." + +Ingleby shook his head. "I shall be all right to-morrow, and I'm going +to talk," he said, "That wasn't why you sent me. One doesn't start a +bakery out of philanthropy." + +"Well," said Hetty, "you know I wanted the money." + +"For Tom and me!" said Ingleby reproachfully. "I felt horribly mean +about it all the way to the settlement." + +"Is it very unpleasant then to let me do anything for you?" + +"No," said Ingleby. "That is, of course, it's generally very nice. +Still, in this case----" + +Hetty looked at him curiously. "Oh, I know! Still, you seemed quite +angry once because I didn't care to let you lend Tom the money to bring +us out." + +"That, of course, was very different." + +Hetty smiled. "Yes," she said. "When one is a girl it usually is." + +Ingleby, who was very drowsy, did not seem quite sure what to make of +this, and gazed meditatively at the fire. + +"That stone hearth wasn't there when I left," he said. "Who made it, +Hetty?" + +"Tomlinson. Tom went round to tell the boys about the bakery, and +Tomlinson came over to show him how to build the oven." + +"And he made this chair? Now I think of it we hadn't one before, and Tom +certainly didn't make it. It's too comfortable." + +"Yes," said Hetty. + +"And he built the new shed?" + +"He certainly did!" + +Ingleby seemed by no means pleased. "It seems to me," he said severely, +"that Tomlinson has been doing a good deal here. Now, you ought to know +that when you want any improvements made you have only to ask Tom and +me." + +"Could you build a chimney like that one?" + +"No," said Ingleby decisively. "If I must be honest, I don't think I +could. Still, there wasn't the least occasion to ask Tomlinson. He must +have been here more than once?" + +"I believe he was here three or four times." + +"Why did he come so often?" + +Hetty laughed. "He said it was to see how Tom was getting on with the +oven." + +"Of course!" said Ingleby. "Well, I suppose one excuse was as good as +another. One would, however, fancy that Tomlinson had quite enough to do +looking after his mine." + +Hetty flashed a swift glance at him, but Ingleby was not looking at her. +He was too drowsy to be quite sure of what he felt, but the fact that +Tomlinson had been there on several occasions was far from pleasing him. +Just then Tom Leger came in with the kettle which he had boiled on the +fire outside, and Ingleby roused himself. + +"I suppose you have struck nothing on the claim?" he said. + +"No," said Leger. "Only a trace of colour, but I don't want to talk of +that to-night. You can tell us about your journey when you have had +supper." + +Ingleby did so, though the narrative was distinctly tame in its +unvarnished conciseness until he came to his meeting with Esmond. He had +no desire that Hetty should know what he had endured on her account, +while it is, after all, difficult to make another person understand what +one feels like when worn-out to the verge of exhaustion. Ingleby did not +attempt it, but his tone changed a trifle as he tried to picture the +policeman floundering in the river. Leger laughed softly, but the +firelight showed a little flash in Hetty's eyes. + +"Splendid!" she said, and her voice had a little vindictive ring. + +Leger looked up with a whimsical smile. + +"You appear almost as angry with the man as Walter was," he said. + +"Well," replied Hetty sharply, "so I am." + +It did not occur to Ingleby to wonder why the fact that the policeman +had attempted to drive him off the trail should cause her so much +indignation, and when Hetty abruptly asked a question calculated to give +a different trend to the subject Leger answered her. + +"I fancy I should have endeavoured to let him scrape by if I had been +there," he said. "Crowding a police officer of that kind into a river +may be soothing to one's ruffled temper, but I can't help concluding +that it's likely to turn out expensive." + +Ingleby did not answer this, and shortly afterwards retired to the tent, +where he spent the next ten hours in dreamless sleep. He rose a little +later than usual next morning, but did his accustomed work at the mine, +though Leger fancied he was a trifle preoccupied during most of the day. +Shortly before they left their task in the evening they saw Tomlinson +climbing the trail to their camp with a heavy burden on his shoulders. +The miner had apparently got rid of it when they met him coming back, +and smiled in a deprecatory fashion in answer to Ingleby's inquiring +glance. + +"I struck a fir that was full of resin knots when I was chopping props," +he said. "It kind of struck me Miss Leger would have some use for them +at the bakery, and I just took one or two along." + +Ingleby appeared rather more reflective than ever when the big miner +went on, and finally laid his hand on his companion's shoulder. + +"Of course, it's not exactly my business, but are you wise in +encouraging that man to prowl about the shanty continually, Tom?" he +said. + +Leger looked at him in astonishment. "I'm not aware of having done it, +but if it pleases him to come there why shouldn't he?" + +"I suppose it doesn't occur to you that there is anything unusual in +the fact that a man whose time is worth a good deal just now should +spend several hours of it hacking pine knots out of trees and then +scramble two miles with as much as a horse could carry on his back over +an infamous trail?" + +"You mean that he does not do it to please you or me?" + +"Yes," said Ingleby. "That is it exactly. Of course, I know I'm taking +an unwarranted liberty, but if I had felt that Hetty could have had any +liking for him I should not have mentioned it to you. Still, don't you +think it might be better if she didn't see so much of him?" + +Leger laughed. "So far, at least, she hasn't shown the smallest sign of +recognizing the merits of the fortunate Tomlinson." + +Ingleby looked down across the pines. "We are old friends, and you won't +mind my saying that I'm very glad." + +"Well," said Leger, who glanced at him sharply, "I can't quite see why +you should be. The man has an excellent character, and I like him. He +has also, what some folks would consider of as much importance, a +profitable mine." + +"Still, he isn't half good enough for her," persisted Ingleby. + +Leger did not speak for a moment, and during the somewhat embarrassing +silence his face grew a trifle grave. Then, he said quietly, "I fancy +that is a point for Hetty to decide." + + + + +XII + +THE MAJOR'S BEAR + + +Darkness had closed down on the hillside, and supper was over, when +Ingleby and Leger lounged on a cedar log outside the shanty. Hetty lay +close by in the deer-hide chair, and Tomlinson had stretched his long +limbs just clear of the fire. He lay placidly smoking, with no more than +an occasional deferential glance at Hetty. Now and then the flickering +firelight touched his face and showed the harsh lines of its rugged +chiselling and the steadiness of his contemplative eyes. Tomlinson, it +was generally admitted, could do more with axe and shovel than most of +the men in that valley, but a certain deliberateness of speech and +gesture characterized him in repose. He was a man who worked the harder +when it was necessary because he seldom wasted an effort. + +It was slowly he raised his head and glanced at Hetty. "The boys can get +away with another twenty loaves this week," he said. "Jake figured you'd +have seven or eight more of them from the gully workings coming in. They +told him they'd no use for flapjacks or grindstones when they could get +bread like that." + +"Very well," said Hetty. "I'll have an extra batch ready on Saturday." + +She cast a little quick glance at Ingleby, for it was gratifying that he +should have this testimony to the quality of her bakery, though it was +scarcely necessary. The venture had, in fact, been a success from the +commencement, and though Hetty's flour was rapidly running out she found +it just as profitable to bake what the miners brought her at a tariff +which in few other regions would have been thought strictly moderate. +She was also as popular as her bread, for she turned nobody away, though +there were men in that valley with neither money nor provisions left who +had failed to find even the colour of gold. Her boys, she said, would +strike it rich some day, and one must risk a little now and then; but it +is not given to many women to win the faith and homage accorded her by +most of them in return for a handful of flour. Tomlinson, however, had +not delivered all his message yet. + +"I ran up against Wolverine Gordon yesterday," he said. "He wants more +salt in his bread. Says that sweet dough's ruining his digestion, and if +you can't fix it to suit him he'll do his own baking. I guess I'd let +the old insect have his salt by the handful." + +Hetty laughed good-humouredly. "I must try to please him." + +Tomlinson watched her with grave, reflective eyes. "Gordon was 'most +glad to eat cedar bark not long ago," he said. "Did you ever get a +dollar out of him?" + +"That," said Hetty quietly, "is not your business, Mr. Tomlinson." + +The long-limbed miner apparently ruminated over this. + +"Well," he said, "I guess it isn't, but you just let me know when you +want any debts collected. I figure I could be quite smart at it." + +"They do it with a gun in your country?" asked Leger. + +Tomlinson held up a hard and distinctly large-sized hand. "No, sir! If +ever I get that on one of the fakirs who sling ink at us I guess I'll +make my little protest." + +There was silence for a minute or two, and during it the beat of hoofs +came out of the valley. They drew nearer, and Tomlinson laughed softly +as he glanced at the listeners' faces. + +"Hall Sewell! He's coming back," he said. + +"Mr. Sewell is across the divide ever so far away," said Hetty. + +"Well," said the big prospector, "that cayuse of his is coming up the +trail 'most too played out to put its feet down." + +It was five minutes later when Sewell appeared leading the horse, which +was in almost as sorry a case as he was. His jean garments hung about +him torn to rags, and his face was gaunt and drawn with weariness and +hunger. He stood still, smiling at them, in the uncertain light of the +fire. + +"I've come back--warned off by the police as usual," he said. "In the +language of the country, nobody seems to have any use for me." + +The naive admission appealed to Hetty as much as the signs of privation, +which were plain upon him, did, and stirred her more than any account of +a successful mission would have done. Sewell was, perhaps, aware of +this, for he had the gift of pleasing women. + +"Well," she said, "where else would you come to? Whenever you want it +there's room here for you. Walter, take his horse, and then spread his +blankets out near the fire. Tom, you'll get another trout and fill the +kettle." + +They did her bidding, though Ingleby wondered a little as he set about +it, for Hetty had astonished him somewhat frequently of late. He had +long regarded her as a girl devoid of intellectuality, to be petted with +brotherly kindliness and taken care of in case of necessity, and it had +never occurred to him until he came to Canada that there was any depth +of character in Hetty Leger. It was, in fact, almost disconcerting to +find that she had changed into a capable woman who had by her enterprize +alone enabled him and her brother to hold on to their claim. She was +virtually mistress now, as the commands she had given him indicated; +but, while it afforded him a gratification he did not quite understand +to do her bidding, it was a trifle difficult to accustom himself to the +position. + +In the meanwhile Tomlinson, who chafed inwardly because no commands had +been laid on him, lay, with respectful admiration, watching her prepare +Sewell's supper. When it was ready Sewell made an excellent meal, and +then stretched himself out wearily on a pile of branches near the fire. +The red light flickered uncertainly upon the towering trunks behind him, +and now and then fell upon the long-limbed Tomlinson lying in the shadow +and Hetty sitting in her deer-hide chair with Ingleby and Leger +stretched close at her feet. It never occurred to her that there was +anything anomalous in this. They were, in the phraseology of the +country, her boys, and though Hetty Leger was far from clever she had +the comprehension that comes of sympathy, and she understood and ruled +them as a woman with greater intellect probably could not have done. The +night was cool and still, and the hoarse murmur of the river came up in +pulsations across the pines. + +"After a long journey through the bush this is exceptionally nice, even +though it is a little rough on Miss Leger," said Sewell, with a quiet +smile. "Her cares are increasing, for another of her boys has come home +a trifle the worse for wear to-night, but I scarcely think she minds. It +is the women who never do mind that are worth all the rest." + +Once more Ingleby was astonished and gratified. Sewell was, of course, a +speaker by profession, but there was a vibration in his voice which +signified that this was more than a passing compliment. Ingleby believed +implicitly in Sewell, and the fact that the man he looked up to should +regard Hetty as he evidently did had naturally its effect on him, since +it not infrequently needs the appreciation of others to make clear the +value of that which lies nearest to one. Hetty, however, as usual +evinced no originality. + +"When you came in one would have fancied it was quite a long while since +you were a boy," she said. + +"Now and then I feel it is. Men who lead the life I do grow old rapidly, +you see. We are, in fact, nurtured on the storm, but that is really no +reason why we shouldn't occasionally like to rest in the sunshine." + +"It has been dark 'most an hour," said Tomlinson the practical. + +Sewell turned and glanced at him reproachfully. "It is always sunshine +where Hetty Leger is." + +"Well," said Hetty, with a little laugh, "you haven't seen me when the +dough won't rise, and I don't like idle boys. They get into mischief. +What are you going to do?" + +"Peg down a claim and earn my living virtuously. I have, you see, tried +mining already. I like this end of the valley, and because you have made +me one of the family I fancy I'll put up a shanty here. That brings on +the question of provisions, and when I was clambering down the range I +came upon two or three black-tail deer. I'm going back to get one as +soon as the stiffness has worn off me. Will you or Leger come with me, +Ingleby?" + +"Walter will go," said Hetty. + +Ingleby turned towards her slowly, and she noticed the jaded look in his +face, which was a trifle hollow as well as bronzed. He had toiled with a +fierce, feverish impatience for long weeks at two profitless claims, and +mind and body felt the strain. Still, he remembered that it was some +time since he had contributed anything to the common fund. + +"I've ever so much on hand," he said. "Send Tom." + +Hetty made a little authoritative gesture. "Tom couldn't hit a deer to +save his life, and my boys are expected to do what they're told. You +will take him, Mr. Sewell, and if you let him come back to the claim in +less than a week I'll be vexed with you." + +Ingleby, who knew that Hetty could be persistent, permitted Sewell to +arrange the expedition; and when the latter retired shortly afterwards, +Tomlinson, who had said very little, looked up. + +"You like that man?" he asked. + +"Of course!" said Hetty. "If I hadn't I wouldn't have had him here." + +Tomlinson said nothing further, but Hetty laughed when he glanced +inquiringly at Ingleby. + +"You needn't ask Walter. There are two people he believes in before +anybody else, and Mr. Sewell's one of them." + +"And I guess I know who the other is," said Tomlinson, who was a trifle +tactless now and then. + +Hetty looked at him instead of at Ingleby. + +"No," she said reflectively, "I don't think you do. It doesn't matter +who she is, anyway, and you haven't told me what you think of Mr. +Sewell." + +Tomlinson, who watched her with steady eyes, sat silent a moment as +though ruminating over something he could not quite understand. Then he +said, "The man has grit. Still, I haven't much use for his notion of +going round trailing out trouble." + +"It isn't difficult to find it," said Ingleby. + +"Well," said Tomlinson, "I'm not going to light out when it comes along +my way; but I guess I'll wait until it does, like a sensible man, and +just now I have no use for any. Our folks in Oregon are poor, and if my +luck holds out there's an old woman who's had 'bout as much trouble as +she can bear going to have an easy time the rest of her life." + +He stopped a moment and rose leisurely to his feet. "Well, I'll go along +now. I guess Sewell means well. Good night." + +He turned away, and when he lumbered into the shadow of the pines Leger +smiled at Ingleby. + +"It seems to me that Tomlinson's recommendation didn't go very far," he +said. + +Ingleby laughed, a trifle scornfully. "Did you expect anything else? +When a man who could have made himself almost anything he wished gives +himself up to a life of privation for the good of his fellows, it's a +little gained when men of Tomlinson's description are willing to admit +that he probably has good intentions." + +He retired to sleep shortly afterwards, for he and Leger commenced their +labours at sunrise every day. A week later, towards dusk one evening, he +and Sewell stopped near the edge of a deep ravine some distance from +their camp in the ranges. + +The torrent which had worn it out moaned far down in the shadow below, +and the sombre firs rolled up to the edge of it two hundred yards away. +Thickets of tall fern and salmon-berry hung over the brink, and for a +score of yards or so a slope of soil and gravel sprinkled with tufts of +juniper and dwarf firs ran down steeper than a roof. Then it broke off +abruptly, and from where they stood Ingleby could not see the bottom of +the gulf beneath, though he knew that the depth of such cañons is often +several hundred feet. They had left their camp that morning, and one +small black-tail deer, which Sewell had shot, was all they had to show +for a day of strenuous labour. + +"No way of getting across there," said Sewell as he flung himself down +at the foot of a cedar. "It's a little unfortunate, too, because from +what Tomlinson said it's a good bear country on the opposite side. One +deer won't last very long even if we can manage to dry it, and there are +parts of the black bear that are a good deal nicer than you might +suppose." + +"Have you ever tried them?" asked Ingleby. + +Sewell laughed. "I have. In fact, I lived on black bear for rather +longer than I cared about when I was up in the ranges once before. It's +not unlike pork. I mean the kind the Canadian usually keeps for home +consumption." + +That a man, who could probably get nothing else, should have lived on +bear meat is, of course, not necessarily any great recommendation, but +the fact tended to increase Ingleby's respect for his companion. There +was, it seemed, very little that Sewell had not done or borne for the +cause of the Democracy, and Ingleby had already indued him with the +qualities of Garibaldi. Other men, older and shrewder than he was, are, +however, occasionally addicted to idealization; and Sewell could +certainly ride and shoot as well as he could rouse the hopes and +passions of the multitude--which was a good deal. Ingleby, who could do +neither, had the Englishman's appreciation of physical capability, and +it had once or twice been a grief to him to discover that other +exponents of the opinions Sewell held were flabby, soft-fleshed men +whose appearance warranted the belief that the adoption of the simple +laborious life they lauded would promptly make an end of them. + +The hard and wiry Sewell, who, while he preached his gospel, earned his +bread by bodily toil, a man of comely presence and finished courtesy, +Spartanly temperate in everything but speech, with unquestioned physical +as well as moral courage, approached in his opinion the Paulinian ideal. +It was, however, seldom that he permitted it to become apparent, for +Ingleby, like most men who shape their lives by them, kept his deeper +thoughts to himself, and on that occasion he complained about a boot +which had split in an untimely fashion at a seam, until Sewell looked +up. + +"Did you hear anything?" he asked. + +Ingleby, who had not lived very long in the bush, naturally heard +nothing until the sudden crash of a rifle was flung back by the +hillside. Then there was a sharp smashing of undergrowth, and it was +plain to him that a beast of some description was travelling through the +bush. + +"A bear!" exclaimed Sewell. "The small black kind go straight at +everything which lies between them and their covert. I fancy that one's +partly crippled, too. It's your shot. If he breaks cover you might stop +him for the man he belongs to." + +Ingleby took up the rifle he was not greatly accustomed to, and waited, +crouching, with his eyes on the forest and one foot drawn under him +while the snapping and crackling drew nearer, until a shambling form +lurched out of a thicket. Then, while the foresight, which he could not +keep still, wobbled all over it, he pressed the trigger, or, at least, +attempted to do so as the miner to whom the rifle belonged had +instructed him. He felt the butt jar his shoulder, and the smoke blew in +his eyes, while a man burst out of the undergrowth. There was no sign of +the bear, and Ingleby fancied it had plunged over the edge of the +ravine. The man was red in face, and gasped as he brandished his rifle +in their direction. + +"Who the devil are you trying to shoot?" he said. + +He did not stop, however; and Sewell, who recognized him as Major +Coulthurst, sprang to his feet, and sent a warning shout after him. + +"Hold on, sir. There's a big gully right in front of you," he said. + +The major did not seem to hear him, and next moment there was a crash as +he floundered through a thicket. Then he disappeared suddenly, and +Ingleby felt a little shiver run through him as he heard a suggestive +rattle of stones. + +"Gone over!" he said hoarsely. "Still, the top part's not quite so +horribly steep." + +They made for the spot at a floundering run, for it is a trifle +difficult to travel fast in the bush, and came gasping to a rent in the +undergrowth on the edge of the gully. Ingleby set his lips as he looked +down. + +The major, who looked up at them with fear in his eyes, lay full length +on the steepest part of the slope beneath, with both hands clenched +upon a little bush of juniper. Two or three yards beneath him lay a +shadowy gulf, and the dull roar of water that came up suggested its +depth. + +"I think this thing is coming out," he said. + +Ingleby saw a diminutive fir close to the man, and two more between +himself and the edge of the cañon, for in that country the firs will +grow on anything short of an upright wall, and next moment he swung +himself over the edge. However, he did it cautiously, taking care to +drive his feet well into the gravel, and finally contrived to slide down +to the nearest tree. Sewell was evidently coming down behind him, for +the stones went rattling by and struck the upturned face beneath. It was +flushed and distorted, with swollen veins on the forehead, for the man +was evidently feeling the strain. + +"Can you hold on for a minute or two, sir?" Ingleby asked. + +"I might manage one--not more," was the hoarse answer. + +"That should do," said Ingleby reassuringly, and letting himself go +again clutched at the tree close above the brink of the declivity. He +also grasped Sewell, who was coming down backwards amidst a shower of +stones; and, when he arrived safe, lay full length with his comrade's +hand upon his waist and one arm stretched out. Nor did he stop to +consider whether he could get back to the tree again when the major +clutched his hand. + +"Hold fast, and we'll pull you up," he said. + +Next moment a strenuous grip closed upon his hand, and he felt his arm +being drawn out of its socket as he strove to bend his back. Coulthurst +was horribly heavy and apparently incapable of rendering him any +assistance. Indeed, for a moment or two he was far from sure that they +would not slide down into the shadowy gorge together. He could see the +major's suffused face and hear Sewell gasping behind him. + +Then Coulthurst, apparently by a supreme effort, raised himself a +trifle, and he was a foot or two nearer the fir when he lay prone again. +Ingleby fancied he could feel his sinews cracking, and knew they would +not endure that tension long. + +"Reach your left hand back!" said Sewell hoarsely. Ingleby did so, and +felt the bark of the slender tree, while Sewell leaned out recklessly +over him and clutched Coulthurst's shoulder. Then, for a few seconds, +they made a very grim effort, until the major got one foot under him and +seized the tree. After that there was no great difficulty, and when they +dragged him out of peril he lay still, gasping, for almost a minute. +Then he raised himself so that he could sit. + +"I think my rifle went over," he said. "Where's the bear?" + +Sewell's eyes twinkled, and Ingleby laughed, as did the major. + +"Of course!" he said. "Very much obliged, I'm sure. I mean it. +But--where is--the bear?" + +Personal peril was not exactly a new thing to the major, who was also a +man of fixed ideas; but he made a little comprehensive gesture when +Sewell glanced significantly at the edge of the precipice. + +"I don't know, sir, and really don't think an attempt to find out would +be advisable," he said. + +As a matter of fact, they never did discover what became of the bear; +but in the meanwhile nobody said anything further for a moment or two. +Then the major rubbed his leg. + +"We couldn't very well stay here all night--and I've hurt my knee," he +said. + +Ingleby glanced at the almost precipitous descent. "I'm afraid we +couldn't get you up without a rope." + +"I am quite satisfied that you couldn't, and don't propose to let you +try," said the major. "There are, however, the pack-horse lariats at my +camp, and it can't be more than two miles away. I have a police trooper +there. One of you could get up?" + +Ingleby fancied that it was within his powers. + +"I'll try, sir, if it's only because I believe I came very near shooting +you," he said. + +Coulthurst laughed. "You were within an ace of it." + +Ingleby said nothing further, but crawled very cautiously up the slope. + + + + +XIII + +ESMOND ACQUIRES INFORMATION + + +Ingleby contrived to discover Coulthurst's camp, and when a police +trooper carrying a stout lariat accompanied him back to the ravine they +had some little difficulty in transporting the major, who was no light +weight, to the surface. It was, however, safely accomplished, and +Ingleby was not greatly astonished to hear he had in the meanwhile +insisted upon their spending at least that night in his commodious tent. +Sewell possessed the useful faculty of making a good impression upon +almost anybody, and generally exercised it, even when it did not appear +worth while. + +They spent the next day with the major, who extended them a bluff but +cordial invitation to visit him at his official residence, which +Ingleby, for reasons of his own, promised to do. He was, however, a +little astonished that Sewell, who had not his inducement, and could +scarcely be expected to consider Major Coulthurst's patronage any +particular compliment, should evince an equal alacrity. Still, he did +not feel warranted in inquiring his comrade's reasons, and promptly +forgot all about it when a few days later he and Leger bottomed upon +gold. It was not a rich find. Indeed, they laboriously transported and +washed down a good many hundred-weights of débris in return for an +insignificant quantity of the precious metal; but it was sufficient to +fill Ingleby with fresh ardour, and he lengthened his hours of toil +until it was with difficulty he dragged himself back at night to the +camp on the hillside. Every stroke of pick and drill brought him so +much nearer the realization of his aspirations. + +Leger protested now and then, but Hetty, who was wiser, said nothing, +though there were times when she watched Ingleby, who naturally never +suspected it, with anxious eyes. The physical strain and tension were +commencing to tell on him, for even the experienced placer miner seldom +knows whether the next few strokes of the shovel will bring him wealth +or make it evident that he has thrown his toil away. + +There, however, came an evening when Ingleby desisted early in order to +redeem his promise to Coulthurst, and when he had made what he felt was +a very insufficient toilet Sewell, who had pegged out a claim in the +vicinity, arrived at the bakery. Hetty and Leger were sitting, as usual +at that hour, beside the fire, and there was a little twinkle in the +latter's eyes as he glanced at Sewell. + +"I suppose," he said, "Major Coulthurst knows whom he is to have the +pleasure of entertaining." + +Sewell laughed. "I felt it my duty to inform him; but my name did not +seem to convey very much to him. In fact, I don't mind admitting that +one could have fancied he had never heard of it. Then, having a certain +sense of fitness, I endeavoured to make him understand what my views +were. They didn't appear to affect him greatly, either. He was good +enough to predict that I would probably grow out of them." + +"He hasn't told you all," Ingleby broke in. "Major Coulthurst graciously +admitted that most men are occasionally afflicted with fancies of the +kind when they are young. No sensible person minded it. He had even +indulged in them himself when his colonel had been unduly hard on him, +and he seemed quite under the impression that people generally took to +our opinions by way of protest when they fancied themselves badly used." + +For a moment it almost seemed to Ingleby that Sewell's face hardened, +and he remembered that his comrade had appeared faintly disconcerted +when the major expressed this view in camp. It had naturally not +occurred to Ingleby that Major Coulthurst's deductions, like those of +other men with no great appearance of intelligence, might come near the +truth now and then. Hetty, who was looking at Sewell, did not, however, +appear to notice anything unusual. + +"So you told him who you really were?" she asked. + +Sewell, for no very evident reason, stooped and flicked a little dust +off one of his boots, and it was a few moments later when he looked up +with a smile. + +"I think you heard me mention it," he said. "You are ready, Ingleby?" + +Ingleby stood up, with a somewhat rueful glance, not altogether +unwarranted, at his attire. He did not know what Hetty meant, and felt +no great interest in the question, for he had a supreme faith in one man +and one woman, and if he had discovered that Sewell had been charged +with felony it would not have concerned him greatly. He would have +believed in him, almost in spite of the evidences of his senses. + +Coulthurst received them cordially when they reached his little +log-built dwelling, which stood not far from the police outpost beyond +the cañon where a tremendous wall of hillside shut in the adjacent +valley. That region, while unpleasantly remote from civilization, was +still accessible, and the Gold Commissioners' quarters were, considering +their situation, far from uncomfortable. There was even a very artistic +set of chessmen at which Coulthurst glanced during a pause in the +conversation. + +"I was once in a native Indian state, and those pieces are a little +memento," he said. "They played the game rather well there, and I've had +a liking for it ever since." + +Now Ingleby's father had also played chess well, and he knew a little of +the game; but he was accustomed to yield his comrade priority and was +more than usually content to do so that evening. Sewell, who seemed to +understand this, smiled. + +"I'm afraid I should make a very indifferent opponent, sir, but that is +your affair," he said. + +Coulthurst drew out a little table with some alacrity, and Grace and +Ingleby found a place apart from them. The latter made no great attempt +at conversation, for he was worn-out by a long day's toil and quite +content to be there and listen to his companion. Ingleby could talk when +he felt prompted to; but, like other men with the capacity for strenuous +effort, he could be silent without embarrassing himself or those about +him. + +In the meanwhile the surroundings had their effect on him. The soft +light of the big shaded lamp was pleasant after the glare of the +crackling fire; the hangings that hid door and windows conveyed to one +who had lived as he had done a suggestion of comfort and luxury; and his +eyes did not miss the fashion in which each trifle brought up through +long leagues of forest on the pack-saddle had been arranged. Grace +Coulthurst had artistic tastes, and she had also, to some extent, the +means of indulging them. + +It was, however, her propinquity that most affected him. Her daintiness +appealed to his senses, and the faint perfume that hung about her and +the touch of her gown when it brushed against him sent a little thrill +through him. Miss Coulthurst was possibly not unaware of this, but she +was none the less gracious to him. Ingleby was a well-favoured man, and +physical effort and endurance with a wholesome singleness of purpose had +set a stamp on him that almost amounted to distinction. Athletic toil +and plain living, with the moral discipline which binds the worn-out +flesh in obedience to the will, have a refining influence on most men, +and there was in Ingleby's gaunt face, steady eyes, and clear, bronzed +skin the faint suggestion of spirituality which in that country, at +least, not infrequently characterizes even the placer miner of low +degree. Grace Coulthurst, who had quick perceptions, recognized it, but +naturally kept her impressions to herself. + +"Mr. Sewell plays chess very well," she said. "In fact, he made what +seemed to me a really brilliant opening." + +"He is one of the men who do everything that is worth while well," said +Ingleby. "That sounds a little comprehensive, but I almost think it's no +more than the fact." + +Grace asked no very pertinent question that Ingleby could remember; but +she nevertheless induced him to speak of his comrade, which, being +simple of mind in some respects, he had evident pleasure in doing. In +the meanwhile she watched the man at the chess-table, and it seemed to +her that part, at least, of his friend's belief in him was justified. +Sewell's face was expressive and mobile as well as forceful, and there +was a subtle suggestive gracefulness in his speech and gesture which was +not to be found in Ingleby's. Then she smiled, and changed the subject. + +"I wonder," she said, "why he sacrificed the castle?" + +"The knight," said Ingleby gravely, "was certainly not a very good +exchange." + +Grace laughed. "I scarcely think you would ever, as they say in this +country, go back on a friend. My father, as he said, is fond of the +game, but that doesn't go very far, after all." + +"He plays it creditably." + +"And Mr. Sewell, as you are quite aware, plays it exceptionally well. I +wonder if he realizes that the major is not fond of losing." + +Ingleby smiled as he again glanced round the room. Then he turned to +her, the origin and complement of its refinement, and she read his +thoughts without difficulty. + +"I scarcely think that anybody who knows how we live would blame him," +he said. + +Grace laughed. "Then," she said, "as I'm not quite sure that I know, +suppose you tell me." + +Ingleby did so in simple fashion, and it is probable that most young +women would not have found his story entertaining. Grace Coulthurst, who +had lived in the bush, however, had comprehension and could fill in a +good deal that he did not supply. It was also, in its own way, to one +who knew that country, an epic, a recital of man's high endeavour and +herculean grapple with untrammelled nature, for in the struggle for the +subjugation of the wilderness the placer miner leads the van. The +smothering rush of slipping gravel, the crash of shattered props as the +little shaft closed up, and the unexpected fall of half-charred trees +had a place in it, as well as the monotony of toil, and the girl +listened gravely. + +"And you have found the gold?" she said. + +"A little," said Ingleby, "but not half enough. We have failed to bottom +quite on the old creek bed, and are going to sink again or drive an +adit." + +The mention of insufficiency was in itself significant, for though he +had spoken no word in Canada that could afford the slightest hint of the +aspirations that had animated him Grace was quite aware of them. There +are not many women who do not know when a man is in love with them. + +"But there are only two of you, and it will take you ever so long," she +said. + +"Still, we will get it done," and there was a curious brightness in +Ingleby's eyes. + +Grace noticed the hollowness of his quiet face and the leanness of his +hard, scarred hands, and her heart grew soft towards him. The sign of +the strain was plain upon him, though the breaking point had not yet +been reached, and it was for her that he had done so much. + +"And you expect the effort will be warranted?" she said. + +Ingleby turned and looked at her gravely. + +"Men get rich placer mining now and then, and it might happen to me," he +said. "In fact, I almost think from what one or two of the old +prospectors tell me that I am going to be successful. I don't know if +you will understand me, but after a life like mine the probability of +being so is a little overwhelming." + +There was a tension in his voice which had its effect upon the girl, and +she sat silent for a moment or two until the major's voice broke sharply +in on them. + +"Check! I fancied at one time the game was in your hands, but there's +seldom much use in anticipating when there are points you can't +foresee," he said. + +Grace glanced at Ingleby, who smiled. + +"I'm afraid Major Coulthurst is right. One can only wait," he said. + +Just then there was a tapping at the door, and Ingleby moved abruptly +when Esmond came in. The officer, however, showed no sign of +astonishment when he saw who was there, but smiled as he looked at +Grace, and turned to the major. + +"I have just come across for a few minutes, and will not disturb you, +sir," he said. "I don't suppose you have any objections to my looking +over your register?" + +"No," said Coulthurst. "It's yonder. Has anything gone wrong?" + +Esmond's eyes rested for just a moment on Sewell. "Only two or three of +the men talking rather wildly, sir. Somebody has been putting notions +into their heads. It occurred to me I might as well make sure they all +had certificates." + +"Quite right!" said Coulthurst appreciatively. "I have decided +objections to their doing me out of my money." + +Esmond took down the register, which was not remarkably well kept, and +had some little trouble in tracing out the information he desired. At +last, however, he read, "Thomas Leger, Free miner's certificate, Five +dollars; also Five dollars, Walter Ingleby." + +He made a careful note of the date, and then turned over the pages +systematically. Later on he found, "Walter Ingleby, Five dollars," but +there was no further entry for Leger. Then he put the book back, and the +major glanced at him. + +"Check!" he said. "I almost think I've got you, Mr. Sewell. You found +what you wanted, Reggie?" + +"Yes, sir," said Esmond, whose eyes now rested on Grace and Ingleby. "I +fancy I have." + +He crossed the room in a leisurely fashion, and Ingleby rose when Grace +turned to him. + +"You have no doubt come across Mr. Ingleby in the course of your duties, +Reggie, but I should like to present him formally as one of my friends," +she said. + +Esmond made Ingleby, who responded as briefly, a little curt +inclination. + +"I have," he said, "certainly met Mr. Ingleby at least twice already." + +"I believe I remember one occasion," said Grace, with a little twinkle +in her eyes. She had naturally not heard of the second encounter. "I'm +not sure you were in quite as good a temper as usual that night. Still, +you see, circumstances are very different now." + +Esmond laughed, but there was a dryness in his tone which Ingleby +afterwards remembered. + +"Circumstances have a trick of changing somewhat rapidly in this +country," he said. "You have, I believe, bottomed on gold, Mr. Ingleby?" + +"Yes," said Ingleby. + +"You struck it rich?" + +"No," said Ingleby. "Still, the signs are promising. We hope to be more +fortunate when we have driven our adit." + +"How long do you expect to be over it?" + +"It is a little difficult to tell." + +Esmond appeared to reflect, and Grace, who watched him, did not quite +understand his face. + +"Well," he said, "I suppose placer mining is always a trifle uncertain. +One would almost fancy that baking was more profitable. Your friend Miss +Leger seems to be doing well, or is it your venture?" + +Ingleby wondered if this was meant for Miss Coulthurst's enlightenment; +but he could not very well permit his dislike of the man, who would +seize such an opportunity, to become apparent then, and there was also +something in Esmond's tone which suggested that he might, after all, +have a different purpose. Unfortunately, he had no notion of what that +purpose was. + +"She is," he said quietly, "selling a good deal of bread." + +"At excellent prices! Still, she probably deserves all she gains. It +would cost a good deal to bring flour up. How did she get it?" + +Ingleby was a little astonished at the man's persistence, and Grace +noticed it. + +"Are you going to turn baker, too?" she asked. + +Esmond laughed in a fashion which brought the blood to Ingleby's face. +Still, he answered the man's question. + +"I went down for it," he said. + +Just then the major's voice broke in again. "A very good fight, Mr. +Sewell. I scarcely think I could have beaten you if you hadn't let me +see your game. However strong your position is, that is very seldom +wise." + +"Major Coulthurst," said Esmond, "is now and then astonishingly +accurate. One could generalize from such a speech as that. But to resume +the topic, wasn't it a little careless of you, Ingleby? You invalidate +your record when you leave a placer claim." + +Ingleby, secure, as he fancied, smiled. "Leger," he said, "holds a share +with me." + +"Of course!" said Esmond, as though the subject had no longer any +interest to him. "So you left Leger! Well, I must get back to the +outpost now. Grace, you will excuse me." + +He went out, and while Grace entertained Ingleby the major and Sewell, +who lost again, played another game. Then she made and served them +coffee with her own hands, and Ingleby, at least, went back to his tent +filled with the memory of how she did it. + +In the meanwhile Grace, sitting by the fire when he had gone away, +glanced at her father. + +"I wonder," she said, "what you think of Mr. Sewell?" + +"The man," said Coulthurst, "is, in spite of the opinions he seems to +hold, evidently a gentleman; I can't think of a more appropriate word +for it. There is also, I fancy, a good deal more in him than any one who +was not good at reading character might suppose. He plays chess +exceptionally well. In fact, almost as well as I do." + +Grace smiled a little. "I fancied he did," she said. "Were you equally +pleased with his companion?" + +"Yes," said the major reflectively. "He strikes me as sensible and +solid--and one has a fancy that there's often a screw loose somewhere +about brilliant men. They are apt to--double up unexpectedly--when the +strain comes. The other kind I always find are more likely to wear +well." + +Grace laughed, but made no observation. Major Coulthurst, as she was +quite aware, was almost painfully solid himself, but he had, at least, +stood the rough usage of a hard world remarkably well, and she was +disposed to admit the correctness of his opinion. Still, there was, in +spite of his name, something about Sewell that Ingleby did not possess +which appealed to her. + + + + +XIV + +THE NECESSARY INCENTIVE + + +While Ingleby and Sewell made their way back to their tent Esmond sat +thoughtfully in his comfortless room at the outpost, cigar in hand. He +felt distinctly pleased with his astuteness, but he was by no means sure +what use he would make of the information Ingleby had somewhat unwisely +supplied him. Esmond was merely a capable police officer with certain +defects in his character, and not a clever scoundrel. In fact, he had +his good points, or he would not have retrieved his credit, in a service +which demands a good deal from those who would rise in it, after +becoming involved in difficulties in England; but he was arrogant, +vindictive, and apt to be carried away by his passions. + +He disliked Ingleby, and would in any circumstances have found it +difficult to forgive the miner for having twice caused him to appear at +a disadvantage, while the fact that Grace Coulthurst had shown Ingleby +some degree of favour was an almost worse offence. Esmond had the +prejudices that occasionally characterize men of his station, and it +seemed to him distinctly unfitting that the Gold Commissioner's daughter +should patronize, as he expressed it, a placer miner. He was not exactly +in love with her, though he had once come near being so, but he +cherished a tenderness for her which might in favourable circumstances +have ripened. The circumstances were not, however, favourable, for there +was a certain stain on his reputation which he fancied Major Coulthurst, +at least, remembered. + +It was therefore pleasant to feel that he held the whip over the +presumptuous miner, and could apply it when advisable, though he had in +the meanwhile no very definite purpose of doing so. It was not his +business to see that Major Coulthurst carried out the mining laws, and, +in any case, Ingleby had found no gold that would render the +sequestration of his claim a matter of very much moment; besides which +Esmond reflected that it would be considerably more congenial to +humiliate him openly in person instead of inflicting a malicious injury +on him by the hand of another man. An opportunity would no doubt be +forthcoming, and he could afford to wait. With this commendable decision +he flung his cigar away, and went to bed. + +However, he became a little less sure that reticence was advisable when +he saw that Ingleby and Sewell visited the Gold Commissioner every now +and then; and it happened, somewhat unfortunately, that he dismounted to +take up a stirrup leather when riding back to his outpost through the +cañon one evening. Save for the hoarse roar of the river the tremendous +hollow was very still, and the sound of voices came faintly up to him. +Turning sharply, he made out two figures among the pines, and an +expletive rose to his lips as he recognized them. One was a miner in +miry long boots and soil-stained jean, the other a girl in a light +dress. + +Esmond's eyes grew a trifle vindictive as he watched them, and though he +had one foot in the stirrup he did not obey the impulse that prompted +him to swing himself to the saddle and ride away. Instead he led the +horse behind a wide-girthed cedar and stood still, with a trace of +darker colour in his face. It was unfortunate that he did not know Grace +had met Ingleby by accident and that he could not hear their +conversation when they stopped for a few minutes by the edge of the +river. + +"You have not been near us for awhile," said the girl. + +"I have been busy, though I am not sure that is a very good excuse," +said Ingleby. "Besides, one feels a little diffident--in the +circumstances--about presuming too much on Major Coulthurst's kindness." + +Grace laughed, though she understood the qualification. "I am, of +course, not going to press you, but come when you wish. The major, if +one might mention it, rather approves of you, and when he and Mr. Sewell +play chess there is nobody to talk to me." + +Ingleby, who had sense enough to take this admission for what it was +worth, looked thoughtful. + +"Sewell," he asked, "has been there without me?" + +"Once or twice." + +"Then he certainly never mentioned it to me." + +"Does he give you an account of everything he does?" and Grace laughed. +"How is your work at the mine progressing?" + +"Slowly. In fact, considering our appliances, we have had almost +overwhelming difficulties to contend with. Still, one could scarcely +expect you to be interested in them." + +"I am, however," and there was a faint but subtle suggestion of sympathy +in the girl's voice that sent a thrill through him. + +It cost him an effort to hold himself in hand; but Ingleby had been +taught restraint in Canada, one sign of which was that he seldom +inflicted his opinions on other people. He had decided that it would be +time to let his aspirations become apparent when he had found the gold +and made himself a position; it never occurred to him that the girl was +probably quite aware of them already. It was not an easy thing to hide +them, and, though he was growing accustomed to the discipline, the topic +she had suggested was a safe one. + +"Well," he said, "the gold we expect to strike lies in what was +presumably an ancient river bed, though there is, strange to say, very +little of it in the Green River now. It was probably deposited there +thousands of years ago, and it is evident that we have struck only the +outer edge of the patch of sand and gravel containing it. We tried +tunnelling, but twice the soil came in and nearly buried Leger, and at +Tomlinson's advice we sank another shaft. All the work had to be done +again, and we often go on half the night now. It is, I think, only a +question if we can hold out long enough, for winter is coming. Still, +it--must--be done." + +He had not purposed to indulge in more than a very matter-of-fact +narration, and had, in one respect, certainly not exceeded this; but +there was a curious ring in his voice; and Grace understood his thoughts +as she flashed a swift glance at him. His face, which was a trifle +haggard, had grown intent, and the little glint in his eyes had its +meaning. Grace Coulthurst recognized, as Hetty Leger had done some time +earlier, that Ingleby was toiling harder than was wise. She also knew as +well as if he had told her what purpose animated him. Still, she had no +intention of admitting it just then. + +"I think," she said, "you should be careful not to do too much, and if +you are going back to work to-night you must come no farther." + +Ingleby protested, but Grace was resolute, and, turning, left him +standing in the trail. She walked homewards thoughtfully with a faint +trace of colour in her face, for the man's unexpressed devotion had +stirred her. Then, in a somewhat unfortunate moment, she looked up and +saw Esmond waiting beside the trail for her. A glance at his face +sufficed to show her that he was quite aware she had not come there +alone, and roused in her a curious sense of antagonism. It had become +evident to her already that he bore no particular good will toward +Ingleby. + +"The view is really worth even your attention," she said. + +Esmond knew what the suggestion of hardness in her tone meant, and +smiled as he glanced, down the froth-smeared river towards the +tremendous rift in the rocks through which it thundered. Beyond it the +mists were streaming across the deep valley and crawling filmily athwart +the pines that climbed in serried battalions towards the gleaming snow. + +"It is. In fact, I scarcely think I could improve on it; but it was not +the view that kept me here," he said. + +"No?" and Grace's voice was a trifle harder still. + +Esmond looked at her steadily. "I had," he said, "the pleasure of seeing +you coming down the cañon--a little while ago." + +His meaning was very plain, but he had given her an opportunity, for +Grace had noticed that the cedar he stood near was great of girth and +the undergrowth was trampled at one side of it. The man winced as she +moved forward a little and glanced at it. + +"I suppose," she asked, with quiet contempt, "that was why you thought +it necessary to lead your horse out of the trail?" + +Esmond, who had not expected affairs to take this turn, fumed inwardly. +He was not quite sure why he had stayed there at all, but in his +indignation he had become possessed by a vague and very senseless notion +that a friendly remonstrance might be admissible, and, at least, afford +him an opportunity for expressing his opinion of Ingleby. He was, of +course, by no means a clever man, and angry at the time, or he would +never have made that mistake; but his purpose was not altogether a base +or selfish one. Grace Coulthurst, who was of his own station, must, he +felt, be guarded against herself, and, since there was apparently nobody +else available, he undertook the task. He became vindictive, however, +when he realized that it would be difficult to carry out his commendable +purpose. + +"I think we need not go into that," he said. "Perhaps I did wrong, but +it would only lead us away from the topic I want to talk about. Has it +occurred to you that unless you put a stop to his presumption that +miner fellow might get ideas into his head?" + +Grace appreciated his courage in persisting, especially in view of the +result of her previous thrust; but while she was not exactly sure of her +sentiments towards Ingleby, he was, at least, the man who loved her, +which counted a good deal in his favour. Esmond, she was quite aware, +chiefly loved himself. + +"Isn't that a trifle vague? What ideas do you mean?" she asked. + +Esmond stood silent a moment or two, for his task was becoming +unpleasantly difficult; but his bitterness against Ingleby rashly +determined him to go on. + +"I should prefer not to be more definite--and I'm not sure that it is +necessary," he said. "Still, one might, perhaps, venture to warn you +that the miners and my troopers, who, of course, have eyes, have already +found an entertaining topic." + +Grace Coulthurst's face grew a trifle colourless with anger, though she +did not quite believe him. + +"So you can listen while your policemen discuss--me?" she said. + +"No," said Esmond unguardedly. "I would have risked my commission by +thrashing the man I heard mention you." + +A sardonic gleam crept into Grace's eyes. "Then, since you haven't done +it, it is a little difficult to understand how you could be aware of +what they are saying." + +The man's embarrassment was evident, but it lasted only a moment, and he +made a little abrupt gesture. + +"I'm no match for you at this game, Grace," he said. "Of course, I'm +taking a great liberty, but if you think a little you might find some +excuse for me." + +"For playing the spy on me?" + +Esmond's lips set tight, and the bronze in his cheeks took on a still +deeper tinge; but there was, as is usually the case, good as well as +evil in him, and he was to some extent endeavouring just then to +discharge what he considered a duty. + +"I suppose I deserve it, and I am in your hands, but you can be angry +with me afterwards if you will let me speak. We are old friends, and I +feel that implies a certain responsibility. There is nobody else in this +country except the major who would concern himself about you, and he, +with all due respect to him, seldom sees beyond his nose." + +There was a suggestion of genuine solicitude in his voice now, but Grace +was, unfortunately, far from being conciliated. + +"And you possess the faculty of seeing very much farther?" + +Esmond made a little deprecatory gesture. "In this case, at least. You +see, I know the presumption of those half-trained fellows of Ingleby's +description, and I would like to save you the unpleasantness I think you +are courting. There are times when one has to be candid. The fellow is +quite capable of fancying you are in love with him." + +He stopped, for there was a red spot of anger in Grace Coulthurst's +cheek, which was otherwise curiously colourless. + +"I think," she said incisively, "you had better change the topic. You +have gone quite far enough." + +Esmond gazed at her with evident appreciation. She had never seemed so +alluring to him as she did just then while she stood very straight in +front of him quivering a little with ill-suppressed anger. In fact, he +felt very far from sure that he was not in love with her. Still, he +persisted. + +"It would have been less preposterous had he been a man with any +education or nicety of feeling; but you have even to take his +antecedents on trust, and a good many of the men here have a somewhat +astonishing history." + +Grace stopped him with a little imperious gesture. "I have heard +enough," she said. "In fact, a good deal more than I shall probably ever +forgive you. Besides, it was scarcely advisable of you to allude to +other people's antecedents. One would have fancied that you had a better +memory." + +Esmond closed one of his hands, for he had almost hoped that Grace had +not heard of the little discreditable affair in England. The contempt in +her face made the fact that he had deceived himself unpleasantly plain. + +"I scarcely think that is quite what one would have expected from you," +he said. "A little charity is always advisable--and you may find it +indispensable." + +He swung himself into the saddle, and Grace went on alone, well content +that he had gone, but nevertheless wondering whether she had ventured +too far on Ingleby's behalf, for she realized that the rejoinder which +had closed the discussion was not altogether excusable. She did not care +to ask herself why Esmond's insinuations should have stirred her to an +indignation that was stronger than her sense of what was fitting. + +Esmond rode back to the outpost furious, and, since he could not +retaliate on the girl, decided to seize the first opportunity for +injuring the man, and he had reasons for believing that one would +shortly be offered him. It is, however, probable that he would never +have profited by it had not the girl stung him to vindictive passion. It +was, though she was not aware of it, by no means a kindness Grace +Coulthurst had done Ingleby. + + + + +XV + +INGLEBY STRIKES IT RICH + + +It was late at night, but the red light of a fire flickered among the +trunks where a creek swirled across the bottom of the valley, and Leger, +who had just flung fresh branches upon it, leaned against the rude +windlass at the head of the adjacent shaft. The roar of the river seemed +to have sunk to a lower tone that night, and save for its dull +reverberations there was deep silence among the pines across which the +fleecy mists were drifting. It seemed to emphasize the harshness of the +persistent clink of the pick which broke sharply though the stillness of +the night. + +Leger was stiff in every joint, and his limbs were aching from a long +day's labour. He was also wet with the dew and now and then shivered a +little, for the night air was chilled by the snow; but he scarcely +noticed this as he listened to the sound of his comrade's toil below. He +had not Ingleby's incentive, but it is probable that very few men would +have concerned themselves much about weariness or discomfort just then. +The shaft they had painfully driven had at last reached, or was very +close upon, the ancient river bed, and now any stroke of the pick might +make the result of their labour plain to them. It might be disastrous +failure or a competence for the rest of their days, and the oldest +prospector could have done no more than guess at the probabilities. +Placer mining is a gamble in which, in the Northwest, at least, man +stakes the utmost toil of his body, and often his life, on the chance of +finding a very uncertain quantity of the precious metal. + +At last the tension grew almost unendurable, and Leger, worn-out as he +was, felt his courage fail him. His body craved sleep, and he dreaded +the answer to the question which had occupied him ceaselessly for the +last few days. He felt that should it be unfavourable he could hardly +face it then, and even the harrowing uncertainty was better than a +negative. + +"Come up, Walter. I'm getting cold," he said. + +There was a harsh laugh below, and a voice that sounded strained and +hollow rose from the shaft. + +"Then sit by the fire!" it said. + +"Come up!" said Leger sharply. "If you must have the truth, I've borne +about as much as you could expect of me to-day. We'll probably know the +result soon enough." + +"I can't wait," said Ingleby. + +Leger said nothing further. He could not leave his comrade there, and he +sat down by the windlass with his fingers trembling a little on the pipe +he did not light. The faint sighing in the fir tops had died away, and +only the noise of man's petty activity ran on, discordant and, it almost +seemed, presumptuous. A half-moon hung above the shoulder of a towering +peak wrapped in a mantle of everlasting white, the river twinkled in the +gloom below; but it counted for nothing with Leger that earth and sky +were steeped in a profound serenity. He was sensible only of the jar of +the pick below. + +In the meanwhile Ingleby, stripped to the waist, toiled feverishly by +the light of a few blazing resin-knots in the narrow pit. His hands were +bleeding, and the dew of effort dripped from him while he swung with the +clinking pick like an automaton. He was grimed with mire, his long boots +were sodden, and the drip from the shaft side splashed upon his naked +shoulders, while his face was grim and grey with the weariness he did +not feel. At last there was a sharp ringing as the pick went down, and +while his raw hands tingled he flung the implement aside. + +"Bed rock or a boulder!" he said hoarsely. "Send the bucket down." + +It was a bald announcement, but that was not a time for speech, and +Leger fully realized the significance of it. The crazy windlass rattled, +and the rude receptacle of deer-hide stretched on a willow-hoop came +down. Ingleby filled it with the shovel, and then pressed down a further +load of sand and soil and pebbles with quivering hands. + +"Heave!" he said sharply. + +The bucket went up, and it was with a little grim smile Ingleby +struggled into his rent shirt, though the operation cost him at least a +minute. There was, he knew, a necessity for keeping his head now, and, +holding himself in hand by an effort, he crawled slowly up the notched +fir-pole lowered into the little shaft. Then he and Leger, saying +nothing, proceeded to the creek with the heavy bucket and a big +indurated basin. Ingleby went in knee-deep, with the firelight +flickering on him, and with a twirl of his hands washed out half the +lighter contents of the basin. Then he glanced at Leger. + +"Shall we try it now?" he said. + +"No," said Leger, a trifle hoarsely. "Put in the rest." + +Ingleby emptied into a little heap what was left in the basin, after +which he filled it again, and repeated the process several times while +Leger stood still upon the bank watching him. Neither said anything, +though there was a strained expectancy in their faces that showed the +importance of the result. At last there was nothing left in the bucket, +and Leger's hands shook as he scooped up the little heap upon the bank +and flung it into the basin. + +"Get it done!" he said. + +Ingleby stepped back into the stream, and was busy some little time +tilting and twirling the basin, and now and then stirring its contents +with his hand. Then he very carefully let the water run away, and waded +with a curious slowness to the bank. He stood there for a tense moment +while he and Leger looked at each other, until the latter, turning, +stirred the crackling fire. + +"Pour it out!" he said hoarsely. "I can't stand much more of this." + +Ingleby shook out the contents of the basin on a little strip of hide, +and for a moment or two could scarcely discern anything, for his heart +throbbed painfully and his sight was a trifle dim. Then he made out that +there were little yellow grains scattered about the hide, and when he +stirred the fragments of stone and pebbles with his fingers larger +particles of the same hue became visible. He straightened himself slowly +with a little gasp, and the blood surged to his face. + +"I almost think--we've struck it rich!" he said. + +Leger said nothing whatever, for there are times when it is difficult to +express one's feelings articulately, and he stood quite still in the +firelight blinking at Ingleby. Then he sat down, and scraping the +precious grains into a little bag poised it in his hand. + +"There will be no need for any more baking--at this rate. We'll go home +and tell Hetty," he said. + +"She's asleep," said Ingleby, whose voice shook a little. + +"Perhaps she is," said Leger, with a curious smile. "I fancy I shall +rest to-night." + +They climbed the hillside together, Ingleby carrying the little bag; but +he scarcely saw the glow of the fire that still burned outside the +shanty or the clustering pines. His heart no longer throbbed as it had +done, and while a curious lassitude came upon him, alluring visions +floated before him. Then as they stopped in front of the shanty a +shadowy figure slipped out of it, and, for the firelight fell upon them, +Hetty felt her fingers quiver as she glanced at Ingleby's face. + +"Oh!" she said with a little gasp, "you have found the gold!" + +Ingleby gravely held out the bag. "That is the first of it--and it's +yours," he said. "If it hadn't been for you we should never have held +the mine. One third of it all belongs to you." + +Hetty took the gold with a little smile. + +"I am very glad you found it--and remembered me," she said. + +Then she turned away somewhat abruptly, and went back into the shanty. + +"Hetty scarcely seems as delighted as one would have expected," said +Ingleby. + +Leger, whose face had grown a trifle grave, laughed in a fashion which +suggested that it cost him an effort. "One so seldom gets a windfall of +this kind that it's a trifle difficult to know how to express one's +satisfaction. The only thing that occurs to me is to smash all the +cooking utensils, but, considering the distance from the settlement, +that would scarcely be convenient." + +Ingleby, who flung himself down beside the fire, made no answer, but +vacantly drank the coffee and ate the food that Hetty brought him. He +was, in fact, almost oblivious of his surroundings, for again his fancy +was busy with alluring visions, and now that the tension was over his +perceptions were dulled by the weariness of his worn-out body. At last, +however, he became sensible that Leger was no longer there and that +Hetty was sitting alone on the opposite side of the sinking fire. + +"Where's Tom?" he asked. + +"I think he's asleep," said Hetty. "It's no wonder. Aren't you very +tired, Walter?" + +Ingleby laughed drowsily and stretched his aching limbs. "I really +believe I am, though I scarcely felt it until this moment. What are you +sitting up for, Hetty?" + +"I don't quite know. Still, one doesn't come into a fortune every day. I +suppose it is a fortune, Walter?" + +Ingleby's face grew a trifle grave. "It at least looks like it, but +nobody could tell just now. A placer mine often works out unexpectedly." + +"Still, if it doesn't, what are you going to do?" + +"Why don't you say--we?" + +Hetty smiled curiously, and shook her head. "You will not want Tom and +me now." + +"If you fancy I would ever be willing to lose sight of either of you you +are doing me a wrong. Haven't I been living on your bounty--on what you +made by baking with your own little hands? Would we have found the gold +if it hadn't been for you?" + +Hetty flushed a little, but she persisted. + +"I'm not sure the new friends you will make would approve of us," she +said. + +"Then," said Ingleby decisively, "they will not be friends of mine. You +don't seem to understand that you have a third share in the mine, and +Tom holds another. The result of that will be that you will be able to +live as you like and dress as prettily as anybody. Still, don't you +think that old print gown--I suppose it is print--you put on to bake in +is worth all a court-lady's finery?" + +Hetty once more shook her head. "I should still be Hetty Leger--who +waited at a boarding-house, and sold bread to the miners," she said. "If +I pretended to be any one else people would only find me out and laugh, +as well as look down on me. Nothing that I could put on or any one could +teach me would make me quite the same as--Miss Coulthurst--you see." + +Ingleby, who had not expected this, was not exactly pleased. He was very +grateful to Hetty, and thought, which was how he expressed it, a good +deal of her; but since she had raised the point, there was certainly a +difference between her and Grace Coulthurst. It did not occur to him +that the difference might, after all, be in Hetty's favour, and that +there were qualities she possessed which are worth more than many +accomplishments and a reposeful manner. In the meanwhile Hetty appeared +to expect an answer, and he felt that she had placed him in a +difficulty. + +"What you have suggested applies as much to me," he said. + +Hetty laughed. "I was wondering what you would say--and I suppose it +does. Still, nobody seems to mind the little difference so much in a man +when he has plenty of money. You are going to marry Miss Coulthurst if +you get rich, Walter?" + +"Yes," said Ingleby gravely, "if she will have me, which I am afraid is +far from certain; but I must make myself more than a placer miner first. +That is why, if Tom is willing, I shall probably start a contractor's +business and build roads and bridges. They are always wanted in this +Province, and I fancy making them wouldn't be so very difficult. Tom +would stay in the office--he has the brains, you see--and I like the +outside life in the bush. It is a useful profession that everybody looks +up to here, and we could, of course, bring out a young English +engineer." + +He had sunk back a little upon the pile of branches where he lay, and +Hetty noticed that his eyes were heavy; but he roused himself with an +effort. + +"We will go back to Vancouver when the mine works out. You shall choose +the house--one of the pretty ones outside the town with the wooden +pillars and painted scrollwork. We will get a China boy to cook for +you--and you shall have a pair of ponies to drive in Stanley Park. Tom +will keep the books and get the orders while I do the work. Roads and +bridges, flumes and dams, are always wanted--and I must be more than a +placer miner." + +Then his head sank forward, and Hetty, who sat still for a minute, rose +with a little wistful smile, and looked down at him. He lay with eyes +quite closed now, and one arm stretched out, for the needs of the +worn-out body had at last proved stronger than his will. His jacket had +fallen open to the waist, and Hetty noticed how thin he was and the +hollowness of his quiet face. Then she slipped softly into the tent +where Leger lay asleep, and coming out with a coarse brown blanket, +spread it over Ingleby, though as she did it the flickering light showed +a rich damask in her cheek. Then laying fresh wood on the fire she stole +away and left him to sleep. The great branches that met above him kept +off the dew, and one could sleep as well there as in the tent. + +The sun had cleared the redwoods when he opened his eyes again and saw +Leger smiling down at him. + +"It's a very long while since I got up so late, and I don't quite know +how I came to be lying here," he said. "I suppose I fell asleep beside +the fire, but in that case it's a little difficult to understand how I +could have got the blanket and tucked myself in." + +Then he stood up and stretched himself, while Leger glanced at him +curiously. + +"I don't think it matters very much. You looked half-dazed when I left +you, and scarcely likely to remember what you did," he said. "Breakfast +is almost ready, and we have a good deal on hand to-day." + +Within the next half-hour they were at work again, and by afternoon had +satisfied themselves of the richness of the claim. They also, in +accordance with established custom, put up a little flag to show all +whom it might concern that they had bottomed on gold. As it happened, +nobody but a police trooper, who asked them a few questions, saw it, for +the pines were thick and most of the placer workings situated farther up +the valley. The trooper mentioned the matter to Esmond, and the latter +forthwith called upon Major Coulthurst. His opportunity had come. + +"I wonder if you know that your friend Ingleby has struck gold?" he +said. + +"I didn't," said Coulthurst, who did not appear to notice his sardonic +tone. "I'm pleased to hear it." + +Esmond's smile might have meant anything. "It would," he said, "have +been wiser if Ingleby had stayed on his claim. You remember that he left +it for a considerable time." + +"I do," said Coulthurst, who glanced at him inquiringly, with a trace of +dryness. "In different circumstances it might have cost him his title." + +Esmond sat silent for a moment or two. + +"So far as I understand the enactments, one only holds a placer claim on +the condition that the work goes on continuously," he said. + +"In the case you are referring to I believe it did. Ingleby left his +partner in possession." + +Esmond smiled. "It is, one understands, essential that everybody holding +a mineral claim of any kind should have a free miner's certificate." + +"Of course! Ingleby and Leger each took one out. I remember it very +well." + +"All certificates," said Esmond, "expire on the thirty-first of May." + +"Ingleby renewed his," said Coulthurst, and stopped abruptly. + +"Ingleby, as you remember, invalidated his title." + +Coulthurst rose sharply and took down his register. He flicked over +several pages and closed it with a little bang. Then as he turned to +Esmond his face grew a trifle grim. + +"I'm not quite sure how far my authority goes until I look it up," he +said. "I have rather a liking for Ingleby." + +Esmond smiled in a deprecatory fashion. "It is not exactly my business, +but one would fancy that you couldn't very well discriminate, sir. +Anything of the kind would have an undesirable effect upon the other +men." + +"That is my affair," and Coulthurst glanced at him sharply. "It is a +little difficult to understand why you raised the question only when +they had found the gold." + +"I fancy that it is very natural, sir. It is no part of my duty to see +the mining regulations are carried out, and it was not until I heard +they had struck the lead that I remembered the little fact I noticed in +looking over your register. It seemed advisable to let you know. The men +seem inclined to find fault with everything just now, and if it came out +that Ingleby's claim had not been sequestrated when it should have been +they might get it into their heads that you had winked at the +irregularity because you were on good terms with him. That would +naturally increase my difficulties with them." + +Coulthurst stood looking at him with a hardening face. "I am," he said, +"very sorry that this has happened, but it will be gone into. May I +trouble you to send one of your troopers over for Ingleby and Leger?" + + + + +XVI + +AN INVALID RECORD + + +Supper had just been finished, and Ingleby was lying, pipe in hand, +beside the creek waiting until Leger should bring another load of +wash-dirt from the mine. The sunlight was still pleasantly warm, the air +filled with the balsamic odours of the pines, and there was a little +smile of unalloyed content in Ingleby's face as he drank them in. Though +he had toiled since morning, those few minutes would be the only rest he +would enjoy until long after darkness closed in, and once more he +indulged in visions of a roseate future as he made the most of them. + +They had washed up each bucket-load as they brought it to the surface, +and the result had made the richness of the mine increasingly plain. +Ingleby was getting accustomed to the fact that he was now, in all +probability, at least, comparatively rich, and already his brain was +occupied with half-formed projects. They did not include a further +course of prospecting, for he had discovered that placer mines are +addicted to playing out with disconcerting rapidity, and that in case of +the deep lodes it is not as a rule the man who records the claim, but +the capitalist or company-jobber, who takes the profit. + +He would go back to civilization and embark on an industrial career, for +there was, he fancied not altogether incorrectly, wealth awaiting the +resolute and enterprising man with sufficient money who was willing to +play his part in laying the foundations of the future prosperity of +that rich land, and he had a young man's faith in his abilities which +was in his case more or less warranted. Then when he had won a footing +he would boldly ask Major Coulthurst for his daughter's hand. Social +distinctions count for little in Western Canada, and, though the waiting +would be hard, there was consolation in the thought that every bold +venture would bring him so much nearer her. Ingleby was proud, and +content to possess his soul in patience until he had shown that he could +hold his own with his fellows and hew his own way to fortune. + +It was, at least, a wholesome resolution, and there was behind it a +vague participation in the belief held by primitive peoples and +proclaimed in courts in the days of chivalry, that man before he mated +should be required to make his manhood plain by deeds accomplished and +pain endured. It was not fitting, he felt, that the woman should give +everything or stoop too far. He must have something to offer, as well as +the ability to lift himself to her level; and through all there ran the +desire of the democratic Englishman for an opportunity to prove himself +at least the equal of those accounted his betters. + +Before Leger reached him with the bucket there was a rustling in the +tall fern behind him, and Tomlinson came out upon the bank of the creek. +He glanced at the little flag above the mine and the pile of debris at +the water's edge, and then took up the pan Ingleby had laid down and +dipped it in the stream. A whirl of it in his practised hand was enough +for him. + +"Yes," he said quietly, "I guess you've struck it rich!" + +Ingleby laughed and handed him a little bag. + +"I almost think we have. Feel that!" he said. + +Tomlinson poised the bag in one hand, and then sat down with a little +gesture of assent, for he was not by any means a demonstrative man. + +"Well," he said, "it will make it easier for Hetty, and I'm glad of it. +Slaving away at that bakery isn't the kind of thing for her. It's going +to the opera at Vancouver with the best of them she ought to be doing. I +guess that would suit most young women quite as well as baking bread; +but it's a little rough on me that Hetty Leger would sooner stay right +where she is." + +"What do you mean?" asked Ingleby. + +"Tom knows," said Tomlinson, ruefully. "I haven't put it quite straight +to Hetty. Just now, anyway, it wouldn't be any good. She's quite happy +holding on to that blame bakery, though what she wants to do it for is +more than I can figure. It can't be the money, because I've a claim back +yonder that's turning out a pile of it every day, and she could have all +she'd any use for." + +Ingleby found himself in a position of some perplexity. He could not +well admit that there was any reason why an honest man of excellent +character, such as Tomlinson appeared to be, should not marry Hetty, and +yet the mere probability of this was distasteful to him. It was, in +fact, unpleasant to contemplate the possibility of Hetty's marrying +anybody. He remembered that she had by no means displayed the +satisfaction one would have expected when they found the gold, and from +this it appeared that Tomlinson's suggestion that she was quite content +to continue the bakery was warranted. It was, however, difficult to +discover any reason for this, and he was still considering the question +when Leger came up. Tomlinson turned to him. + +"You kept the thing kind of quiet. Told nobody yet?" he said. + +"Only one of the policemen. We were too busy to spend a good deal of the +day coming over to let the boys know, though Ingleby was thinking of +going across to-night. You have a good claim already, and you can't hold +more than one, you know." + +Tomlinson nodded. "That's quite right," he said. "It's kind of +unfortunate Sewell isn't here. You don't know where he is?" + +"No," said Ingleby. "He has been away for two days looking for a deer. I +suppose anybody pegging off a claim next to ours would strike gold?" + +"It's quite likely. He'd get the colour, sure, but when the creek that +washed the metal out was running it dropped the heavy stuff only here +and there. Anyway, the chances would be good enough, I figure. What +policeman was it you told?" + +"Probyn." + +Tomlinson's face hardened suddenly. "Oh, yes!" he said. "He's quite +often hanging around here." + +It occurred to Ingleby now that the trooper in question had certainly +found occasion to visit their mine or the bakery somewhat frequently, +but just then the lad in question appeared and came up to them. He +disregarded Tomlinson, who showed no sign of recognizing him, and looked +at Ingleby. + +"Major Coulthurst would be glad if you and Leger could find it +convenient to see him now," he said. + +"What does he want?" asked Leger sharply. + +"I don't know," said the trooper. "I'm telling you what he said." + +There was a curious silence for a moment or two, and Ingleby felt a +little thrill of apprehension run through him. Then Tomlinson rose with +sudden abruptness. + +"I guess you've got to go. I'm coming along," he said. + +"The Recorder did not mention you. If he'd been anxious for your company +he probably would have done so," said the trooper drily. + +Tomlinson looked at him with a little glint in his eyes, and then laid +his hand on Ingleby's shoulder. + +"I've played this game quite a long while, and I guess I know the +pointers 'most as well as anybody," he said. + +Ingleby said nothing, but his face became suddenly intent, and, though +the pace they made was fast, he grew feverishly impatient as they swung +along the trail to the Gold Commissioner's office. Coulthurst was +awaiting them when they reached it and glanced at Tomlinson inquiringly. + +"You have some business with me?" he said. + +Tomlinson sat down uninvited, with a smile. "Well," he said, "the fact +is, I don't quite know yet. When you've trouble with the Crown folks in +the cities you can take a lawyer along. At this game I'm 'most as good +as one." + +Coulthurst made his indifference apparent by a gesture. "I don't suppose +it matters. Will you sit down, Mr. Leger? There's a seat yonder, +Ingleby." + +Ingleby sat down, and, with a sinking heart, watched him open a book. +There was a difference in Coulthurst's manner. He was precise and formal +and did not appear quite comfortable. One could almost have fancied that +what he was about to do was distasteful to him. + +"You left your claim on or about the twentieth of June, Ingleby," he +said. "You did not return until--" + +"Hold on!" said Tomlinson. "You've got to prove that. I guess there's no +reason why you should admit anything, Walter." + +Just then there were footsteps outside, and Ingleby looked up sharply as +Esmond came in. He appeared a trifle disconcerted when he saw what was +going on, and turned towards the door again. + +"I didn't know you were busy, sir," he said. + +"Sit down," and the major's tone was very dry. "I should prefer you to +hear this affair with me. You remember on what day Mr. Ingleby left his +claim?" + +Tomlinson nodded. "That's the straight thing, Major," he said. "Keep him +right there. I guess the insect's at the bottom of everything." + +"We can dispense with your advice," said Coulthurst, chillingly, though +there was a suggestion of a twinkle in his eyes. + +In the meanwhile Ingleby looked at Esmond, and his face was a trifle +pale, though a faint tinge of darker hue showed in the young officer's +cheek. He was apparently not altogether free from embarrassment. It was +Ingleby who spoke. + +"I have no doubt Captain Esmond remembers exactly when I left the claim, +sir, and there is nothing to be gained by disputing over a day or two," +he said. "I was away a good deal longer than the seventy-two hours the +law permits." + +"Which invalidates your title!" said the major. "You failed to notify me +or claim the privilege which under certain conditions I might have +accorded you." + +Ingleby, who had been anxious hitherto, but by no means dismayed, +gasped. + +"If I understand the regulations, it would be quite sufficient to leave +another miner to carry on the work on my account. Besides, under the +mineral-claim enactments which I think apply, the title would, in any +case, revert to my partner." + +Esmond, who appeared to have recovered his tranquillity, smiled a +little, and there was a curious silence in the room as Coulthurst took +down a book. Ingleby could feel his heart throbbing as he listened to +the sharp rustle of the leaves while the major looked for the clause he +wanted. + +"You hold a free miner's certificate, Leger?" he asked. + +"Yes, sir," said Leger, and then started visibly, while Ingleby, who saw +his face, closed one hand a trifle as he leaned forward in his chair. + +"You can produce it?" said the major. + +Leger dejectedly passed the paper across to him, but Ingleby, who found +the suspense becoming unendurable, turned to him. + +"Tom," he said hoarsely, "you didn't neglect to renew it?" + +Leger did not seem to remember that anybody else was there. He smiled +wryly and made a little gesture. + +"I'm afraid I did," he said. "I hadn't the money when the time came +round. I didn't want you to know that--and I couldn't ask Hetty. We +scarcely expected to find anything, you see. Afterwards, I suppose it +slipped my memory." + +Ingleby said nothing, though his face was very grim, and the little thud +of Coulthurst's hand upon the book broke sharply through the silence. + +"Should a free miner neglect to renew his certificate upon expiry all +mineral-claims held by him under it revert to the Crown," he said. + +Then he stood up, straight and burly, though his face was a trifle +flushed. + +"I'm sorry, Ingleby, but I'm afraid you have thrown away your claim." + +Ingleby sat very still for part of a minute with one hand closed +tightly. Then he also rose. + +"I can't blame you, sir," he said hoarsely. "I don't think there is +anything to be gained by protesting." + +"Well," said Tomlinson, "you're 'way more patient than I would be. Why +did they let you go on working until you had found the gold?" + +Ingleby turned and looked at the police officer with a very unpleasant +glint in his eyes. "That," he said, "is a little kindness for which, I +fancy, I am indebted to Captain Esmond." + +He would have gone out, but Tomlinson laid a hand upon his arm and +turned to the Recorder. + +"Now," he said, "I'm going to do some talking. That claim's Ingleby's, +Major, until you've declared it open, and wiped out his record." + +"Well," said Coulthurst drily, "I am sorry to find myself compelled to +do it. The claim lately held by Walter Ingleby and Thomas Leger, having +reverted to the Crown, is open for relocation. A notice will be issued +to that effect. I may, however, point out--to you--that no free miner +can hold more than one claim in the same vicinity." + +"That's all right," said Tomlinson. "The one I've got is quite enough +for me. You have a certificate, Ingleby. Take out a new one, Leger." + +Leger drew the little bag from his pocket, but Tomlinson waved it aside, +and threw another down before Coulthurst, glancing at Esmond as he did +so. + +"That gold came out of the reverted mine, and they might claim it wasn't +yours. We'll make sure," he said. "There's a man worth keeping your eye +on who has a hand in this deal. More than the necessary amount there, +sir? Let him have his certificate. I'll look in for the rest any time +that suits you." + +Coulthurst's eyes twinkled a little as comprehension dawned on him, and +he passed Leger the paper. + +"I fancy any advice that prospector Tomlinson desires to give you would +be worth considering," he said. + +Tomlinson wasted no further time, but drove Ingleby and Leger before him +out of the room. + +"It's rustle now!" he said. "There's nothing to stop either of you +pegging a new claim down on the lead alongside the old one. It's even +chances you strike it quite as rich there. Get your stakes in!" + +"Where are you going?" asked Leger. + +Tomlinson laughed. "To put the boys on the lead. Still, it's quite +likely that a friend of mine will relocate your old claim a little ahead +of them. He'll be there 'most as soon as the major puts up his notice +that it's open. He may think it worth while to let me in somehow for +telling him." + +He set off at a run, and as he disappeared Ingleby and Leger, leaving +the winding trail, went straight through the undergrowth towards the +cañon. Vigorous movement with a definite purpose was a relief to them, +and they were gasping and dripping with perspiration when at last they +stopped beside the sequestrated claim. Nobody else had reached it, and +the bush was very still, but it was in feverish haste they hewed and +drove in certain square-faced stakes. They were still on the lead, and +once more a little hope sprang up in them. + +In the meanwhile Coulthurst sat at his table looking hard at Esmond. + +"I hope," he said grimly, "that you are now satisfied." + +Esmond met his gaze without embarrassment. "I'm not sure I quite catch +your meaning, sir." + +"In that case," said Coulthurst, "it is a trifle difficult to understand +how you came to hold a commission in a service in which one understands +intelligence is necessary. I have carried out the law, but I don't mind +admitting that I do not appreciate being made use of in this fashion. It +is very evident you do not like Ingleby." + +Esmond, who made no disclaimer, appeared to reflect for a moment or two. + +"Well," he said, "you have, perhaps, some ground for feeling aggrieved, +sir; but I can't help thinking that I have done nothing that was +unnecessary." + +"I am not blaming you for--doing your duty." + +"I scarcely think you would be warranted in considering me very much at +fault for going a little beyond it. I admit that it would please me to +see Ingleby driven out of the valley. The fellow's presumption is almost +insufferable." + +Coulthurst glanced at him sharply, and his face grew a trifle red. +"Ingleby is very young in comparison with myself, but you were once good +enough to allude to him as a friend of mine, and you certainly met him +at my house as my guest. If there was any particular meaning in your +speech, it would be better to come straight to the point. I don't like +hints." + +"I can only offer you my excuses for momentary bad memory, sir. Absurd +as it may seem to you, I'm far from sure that Ingleby is likely to be +content with the status mentioned. A very little reflection should make +the warning clear. In the meanwhile I have a couple of troopers waiting +for me." + +He went out, and Coulthurst sat still at his table gazing vacantly in +front of him with his lips unusually firmly set. Then he rose with a +little shake of his shoulders and a gesture of relief. + +"The thing is quite out of the question. Grace has too much sense," he +said. + + + + +XVII + +TROOPER PROBYN'S MISADVENTURE + + +Nobody blamed Coulthurst for dispossessing Ingleby of his claim. In +fact, the bluff and usually good-humoured major was more or less a +favourite with the miners, who admitted that while it was rough on +Ingleby no other course was open to him. For all that, the affair made +an unfortunate impression when news leaked out of the part Esmond had +played in it, for the latter's arrogance had gone a long way to gain him +the hearty dislike of every man in the valley. + +The Canadian is, as a rule, a sturdy imperialist with democratic +tendencies, a type of citizen which would elsewhere probably be thought +an anachronism. There were, however, as Sewell had pointed out, a good +many men in the North just then who had no country, and a vague unrest +and discontent, that once or twice came near producing unpleasant +results, spread sporadically across the wilderness that season. Nobody +was pleased with the mining regulations, and there were quiet Canadian +bushmen who thought the drafting of detachments of the Northwest Police +into that country not only unnecessary, but a reflection upon them. +There were also other men, who had carried the memory of their wrongs +with them from lands ruled by the mailed fist, to whom this symbol of +imperial authority was as a red rag to a bull, and here and there a +heavy responsibility was laid on the agents of the Crown. + +Major Coulthurst, however, felt very little. He was not a keen-sighted +man, and there were no signs of discontent in the Green River country so +far, at least, as he could discern. It was true that Sewell, who played +chess with him somewhat frequently, now and then made disturbing +recommendations which the major occasionally went so far as to consider; +but the country was apparently quiet, and might have remained so, in +spite of Esmond's insolent tactlessness, had it not been for a little +mistake made by Trooper Probyn. + +He was a reckless stripling with a certain grace of manner which he +could scarcely have acquired in the ranks of the Northwest Police, +though men whose family name is well known in the older country +occasionally join that service for reasons which they do not as a rule +explain. He was comely, and he not infrequently loitered at the bakery, +even when he was supposed to be elsewhere at his duty. It happened that +he stood there one Saturday afternoon, watching Hetty Leger with +undisguised appreciation, when there was nobody else about. He had +perhaps chosen that particular time because Leger, who had shown that he +did not approve of him, was at the mine; but there were smears of flour +upon his uniform which suggested what his occupation had been. + +Hetty, who rather liked the lad, looked distinctly pretty just then, as, +with sleeves rolled to the elbow, she moulded a loaf for the oven. The +bush was very still, and it was pleasantly cool in the shadow of the +pines, which rolled in sombre ranks down the face of the hill. It was, +perhaps, unfortunate that Hetty smiled as she held out the bread. + +"You can put this loaf in and seal up the oven if you're very good," she +said. + +Probyn seized the loaf somewhat clumsily, so that in steadying it +Hetty's fingers left an impression on the plastic dough. + +"Now," said Probyn gravely, "that ought to make it worth another ten +dollars to anybody." + +"Would you think it worth all that?" + +"A hundred," said Probyn, "would not be too much. I'd buy the thing now +only, unfortunately, I haven't a coin of any kind by me. There are, you +see, a good many disadvantages attached to being a police trooper." + +"Are there?" said Hetty. "Then why did you become one, and what would +you have liked to be?" + +"That," answered the lad, with a trace of dryness, "is neither here nor +there." Then his eyes twinkled again. "A baker! Couldn't you give me +that loaf on credit--to keep forever?" + +"I certainly couldn't. Besides, you would eat it the first time you were +hungry. Hold it still while I make it smooth again!" + +She did it with dainty little pats, and the lad watched her, openly +appreciative, with his head on one side, for her pose and the movements +of arm and shoulder effectively displayed a prettily moulded figure. + +"There's a little bit you have left out. Hadn't you better go round it +again?" he said. + +It was, perhaps, not altogether wise of Hetty to laugh provokingly as +she glanced at him; but she was young, and masculine approbation was no +more distasteful to her than it is to most young women. She also +believed--as she had, indeed, once pointed out to Tom Leger--that, +though Trooper Probyn had very little sense, there was not a grain of +harm in him. + +"Why? It's quite smooth enough," she said. + +"You do it so prettily. Of course, that's only what one would expect +from a girl with a hand like that. The wrist runs into it so nicely, +too. When some people try to work their wrists get red, you know." + +"Put the bread into the oven--now," said Hetty severely. + +The lad, who noticed a certain warning tone he had heard before, did as +he was bidden, and luted up the door of the big clay-built oven. When +he returned there was no longer any of Hetty's arm visible beneath her +sleeve. + +"It's getting late, and I have the boys' supper to look after," she said +significantly. + +Probyn knew by the lengthening of the shadows that this was true, and he +had still a long round to make; but he was a trifle more inconsequent +than usual that afternoon, and in place of taking his departure leaned +against a cedar. + +"Well," he said, "I mean to stay a little. It's very pleasant here." + +The statement was perfectly warranted, for the sound of the river came +up soothingly across the pines, and through openings between them one +could see the tremendous ramparts of never-melting snow that cut cold +and white against the blue. Hetty, too, standing with fluffy hair a +trifle disordered, and with the sunlight streaming between the great +branches upon her, was very alluring; but still, it was unfortunate that +Trooper Probyn did not go. He was not aware that Tomlinson, who had had +difficulties with the flume he was building, was just then coming up the +hillside in a somewhat uncertain temper. + +"You have been here quite an hour," said Hetty. + +"A year," said Probyn, "wouldn't be half enough for me. Now, I've a +piece of news I hadn't the heart to tell you--and you'll try to be +brave. Esmond is sending two or three of us South very shortly, and I'm +very much afraid I will be one of them." + +"Is that all?" and Hetty laughed. + +The lad looked at her reproachfully. "You seem to bear up astonishingly +well. It will be different with me. You may even have married one of +those miner fellows by the time I come back again." + +There was no apparent reason why the suggestion should drive the smile +out of Hetty's eyes; but it certainly did; though Probyn did not notice +her sudden change of mood. + +"Yes," he said, "I'm afraid I'll have to go, and that's why I want you +to give me something to remember you by when I'm far away. It needn't be +very much. That pretty little ribbon at your neck would do." + +The request was not out of keeping with the trooper's usual +conversation, which consisted largely of badinage, and Hetty could not +be expected to realize that he now and then meant what he said. It, +however, happened that Ingleby, who said it suited her complexion, had +once laughingly bought her that ribbon in a Vancouver dry-goods store. + +"You certainly can't have it," she said, a trifle sharply. + +Probyn, who perversely fancied her decisiveness was assumed and intended +to be provocative, lost his head. + +"Then you don't mean to give me a trifle of that kind after chopping +wood for you two days every week and kneading an ovenful of bread?" he +said. + +"No," said Hetty, who was by no means anxious to detain him now. "It +wasn't anything like that often, and I told you I was busy. Why don't +you go?" + +"Then I'm afraid I'll have to take it," said Probyn, with a reckless +laugh. + +In another moment his hand was on Hetty's shoulder, and it was +unfortunate he did not see the indignation in her face as she strove to +thrust him away. There was no doubt about the genuineness of it now, for +her cheeks were flushed with anger; but the trooper's persistence was +not lessened by the fact that a pin entered one of his fingers as he +clutched at the little bow. The momentary pain, indeed, drove what +little sense he had out of his head, and he became the more determined +upon obtaining possession of the coveted ribbon. + +Just then a big, long-limbed man with a grim, bronzed face came out of +the shadow of the pines and stopped for a moment with a smothered +expletive. It was not altogether unnatural that he should misunderstand +the situation, and he sprang forward suddenly when he recovered from +his astonishment. Probyn had by this time succeeded in tearing away the +bow, and there was a rustle of draperies as Hetty, who shook off his +relaxing grasp, inconsequently fled; but in another moment a hard hand +fell upon his shoulder and swung him round. In fact, so rude was the +wrench that he reeled backwards for a pace or two, and on recovering his +balance found himself face to face with a big and very angry man who +regarded him out of half-closed eyes in a distinctly unpleasant fashion. + +"It's you, Tomlinson! What the devil did you mean by that?" he said. + +"Well," said the miner drily, "I guess it ought to be quite plain to +you." + +Probyn, who looked around, saw that Hetty had vanished into the shanty. + +"Now, look here, there really isn't the slightest reason why you should +make an ass of yourself," he said. "I am, of course, not telling you +this because I am afraid of anything you can do." + +Tomlinson's face grew a little darker in hue as he glanced at the strip +of crumpled ribbon still in the lad's hand. + +"I want that thing. Pass it across," he said. + +Probyn smiled, for his recklessness was, perhaps, partly accounted for +by the fact that there was what is usually termed good blood in him. + +"I'll have considerable pleasure in seeing you hanged first," he said. + +"Well," said Tomlinson, "we'll fix all that. Now, light out of this. You +don't want the circus right in front of the shanty." + +The lad made a little gesture of comprehension as he swung round, and +Tomlinson gravely walked after him until they could no longer be seen +from the shanty. Then Probyn turned to him again. + +"We're far enough, I think," he said. + +He stood, strung up, but apparently impassive, with his left arm across +him and his right hand clenched at his side, and only a suggestion of +watchfulness in his steady eyes. Tomlinson smiled grimly. + +"If I were to hit you hard I'd kill you, sure. I'm raised to-day," he +said. "I guess a souse in the creek will have to do instead." + +Probyn saw that the issue must be faced, and he was by no means +deficient in courage, or he would not have ridden long with the +Northwest Police. Stepping forward, with a thrust from his right foot, +he feinted with his left hand at the miner's face, and then, swinging +downwards with lowered head, got in a right-hand body blow that would +probably have staggered another man. Tomlinson, however, took it with no +more than a gasp, and flinging out his right hand closed with him, which +was singularly unfortunate for Trooper Probyn. He had been accounted +tolerably proficient with the gloves in another land, but it is not for +pastime that men fight in the wilderness, and there the disablement of +one's opponent by any means available is the object of the game. + +Probyn had the pride which breeds courage and endurance, as well as +vigour; but he had not swung the axe and shovel for twenty years, as +Tomlinson had done, in the strenuous, unceasing grapple with unsubdued +Nature which hardens every muscle and sinew in the men of the Northwest. +They have the pride of manhood in place of the pride of birth, and a +grim optimism which chiefly finds expression in attempting that which is +apparently beyond accomplishment, and in holding on, in spite of frost +and snow and icy gale, until achievement comes. Thus it came about that +in a very few seconds Trooper Probyn recognized that he was no match for +the miner, though he had no intention of admitting it or of being put +into the creek if he could by any means avoid it. + +For several strenuous minutes they reeled, locked together, about the +trail, and fell against the trees, while neither of them concerned +himself greatly about the strict rules of the game. They smote when it +was possible and clinched when they could; but all the time they were +drawing steadily nearer the creek. + +In the meanwhile Leger and Ingleby, as well as one or two miners who +purposed purchasing bread from Hetty, came out from among the pines, and +a corporal of police rode up on the opposite side of the creek. The +miners, who did not notice him, naturally stopped. + +"It's that young ass Probyn," said Ingleby. "No doubt he deserves all he +is apparently getting." + +"He is in uniform, anyway," said Leger. "We'll have to stop them. Let +the lad go, Tomlinson!" + +Tomlinson did not hear him, for just then he swung the trooper off his +feet, and staggering forward a pace or two fell with him into the creek. +They splashed into the water, and apparently rolled over and over in the +midst of it, while confused shouts rose from the miners. + +"Pull him off. No, stand clear. Let them have a show!" + +Then the corporal of police, trotting forward, pulled his horse up at +the edge of the creek. + +"Let up on that man, prospector," he said sharply. + +Tomlinson seemed to hear him, for he relaxed his hold and slowly stood +up, while Trooper Probyn rose in the middle of the creek with the water +draining from him and blood on his cheek. The miners gathered round, but +the corporal sat stiffly in his saddle with expressionless face. + +"Stand off, you," he said, with a glance at them, and then turned to +Probyn. "Now, what in the name of thunder is the meaning of this +circus?" + +"It's a little difference of opinion," said the trooper. "Prospector +Tomlinson felt I'd said something insulting to him." + +The corporal appeared to reflect. "Considering where you were sent to, +I can't quite figure what you were doing here, anyway; but that's not +the point," he said. "I'll trouble you to come along to the outpost, +Tomlinson." + +One of the miners stepped forward. "He's staying where he is," he said. +"I guess the trooper made the trouble and only got what he wanted. +Hadn't both of you better light out of this?" + +There was a little grim murmur of approbation, but the corporal, who +dropped his bridle, looked at the men with steady eyes. + +"I'm not asking your opinions, boys," he said. + +Then Probyn turned to him. "As a matter of fact, they're right in one +respect," he said. "The little row had nothing to do with any question +of duty. It was a private affair of mine. If it appears necessary, you +can report it to Captain Esmond." + +Once more the corporal, who was a shrewd man, appeared to reflect. +"Well," he said, "I saw your grey tethered when I came along the trail. +You'd better get him. If you're wanted we'll come along for you, +Tomlinson." + +Tomlinson turned, and looked at Probyn. "I guess," he said, slowly and +distinctly, "if ever you start the same circus again I'll kill you." + +The corporal, who did not appear to hear him, though everybody else did, +wheeled his horse, and Probyn walked by his stirrup when he rode away. +Then Ingleby turned to Tomlinson. + +"There's a good deal I want to know," he said. + +"Well," said the big miner drily, "there's very little you need worry +about. You see, that young trooper isn't fond of me, and there was a +kind of unpleasantness when we ran up against each other." + +"You were coming down the trail from the bakery when I saw you," said +Leger. + +"Yes," said Tomlinson, "we were." + +"Then," said Leger, "since he ran up against you, Probyn must have been +going there." + +Tomlinson appeared to be considering the point. "Well," he said, "it +looks quite like that." + +There was evidently no more to be got out of him, and Leger and Ingleby +went up the trail together towards the bakery. Tomlinson, however, +stayed behind, and slipped a little crumpled bow of ribbon into his +pocket. + + + + +XVIII + +INGLEBY GOES AWAY + + +It was a week after the sequestration of the claim, and Ingleby leaned +against a cedar with the firelight on his face, which was unusually +resolute, and a bundle of clothing and blankets at his feet. Hetty sat +on one of the hearth-logs in the shadow watching him quietly, and Leger +stood in the doorway of the shanty with something very like anger in his +eyes. He had for the last ten minutes enlarged upon every reason he +could think of why Ingleby should remain with them, and the latter was +still apparently as firmly decided as ever on going away. + +"There's not a grain of sense in your point of view," said Leger. "It's +sentiment run to seed, and sentiment of the most maudlin kind, at that. +Of course, I know all this is useless--nothing would move you--but it's +some small relief to let you know what I think of you. I suppose you +will admit that what you're going to do isn't quite in keeping with the +theories you once professed to believe in." + +Hetty, who had a spice of temper, laughed. "Walter never believed in +them--he only thought he did. He's like the rest of you. You keep your +ideas to talk about and worry people with." + +Ingleby made a little deprecatory gesture. "I've no doubt I deserve it, +Hetty, but you ought to see that I can't stay here. I should, in fact, +have gone away before, but I felt almost sure we would find the gold +sooner or later." + +"Who is responsible for throwing the claim away?" broke in Leger. + +"Both of us, I fancy. Anyway, that's not quite the question." + +Leger made a last effort. "Now," he said, "you know very well that your +chance of finding gold on the new claim is good, and we can very easily +afford to grub-stake you until you strike it. In this country it's quite +a common arrangement. Apart from that--since you seem to be so +abnormally sensitive--there's enough for you and me to do chopping wood +for the oven in the evenings to square the account altogether. I have, +of course, pointed that out already; but if you will make an effort, I +think you will remember that there was a time when you insisted on +lending me what was, in the circumstances, a considerable sum of money." + +"I can remember most clearly that only the fear of seeing you arrested +for manslaughter induced a certain young lady to agree to it." + +Hetty looked up sharply. "I'm not going to answer that--I'm too vexed," +she said. "It isn't the least use trying to persuade him, Tom." + +"No," said Leger, with a little gesture of resignation, "I'm afraid it +isn't. You are going to work for Tomlinson, Walter?" + +"Yes," said Ingleby. "That is, now and then--a day or two to keep me +going while I find out what is in the claim. He wants more water, and is +putting up a flume. I had a five-dollar bill from him yesterday." + +He stopped a moment, and the firelight showed there was a trace of +deeper colour than usual in his face as he held out a little strip of +paper to Hetty. + +"Will you put that to my credit, and let me have two loaves now?" he +said. + +Leger said something viciously that was not very distinct, while Hetty +sat still a moment glancing at the paper without touching it, and then +gravely held out her hand. + +"You will get them in the store," she said. + +Ingleby disappeared into the shadows, and the two who were left said +nothing whatever, but Hetty moved a trifle so that Leger could not see +her face. Then Ingleby came back with the bread, and quietly slung his +traps about him before he held out his hand. + +"I don't want to go, Hetty, but it can't be helped," he said. "Of +course, I'll come back often in the evenings." + +Hetty did not move out of the shadow, and though Ingleby did not seem to +notice it there was a curious hardness in her voice. + +"Well," she said quietly, "I suppose you know best." + +Ingleby turned away, and shook himself in a fashion that suggested +relief as he swung down the trail. He had left a good deal behind him, +and it was a hard thing he had done, much harder, in fact, than he had +ever anticipated; but he could not live on the bounty of a girl. For all +that, he shrank from the loneliness of the life before him, and his +fancy would dwell upon the evenings he had spent with Hetty and Leger +beside the crackling fire. Hetty was by no means clever--at least, in +some respects; but he did not expect her to be so, and where she was +there was also cheerfulness and tranquillity. Now the bush in front of +him seemed very black and lonely. + +He had scarcely disappeared when Hetty, rising slowly, crumpled a strip +of paper in her hand and flung it into the fire. As it happened, it fell +upon the side of one of the logs a little distance from the hottest +blaze, and Leger made a little instinctive movement, and then sat still +again. + +"I suppose you realize what that is?" he said. + +"Yes," said Hetty, whose face showed flushed in the flickering light, +"it is a five-dollar bill." + +Leger looked at her sharply, and then laughed. "Well," he said, "I +suppose you can afford it--and, after all, I'm not sure it isn't the +best thing you could do with it." + +Hetty said nothing but went into the shanty, and it was next morning +before Leger, who looked very thoughtful as he sat beside the fire, saw +any more of her. He had already realized that the possession of a pretty +sister is a responsibility. + +For a week or two afterwards Ingleby alternately assisted Tomlinson in +the building of a flume and worked on his claim, but it was, perhaps, +fortunate that he had now shaken off the fierce impatience which had +driven him to overtax his strength when hope was strong in him. Indeed, +of late a curious lassitude had crept upon him, though he still toiled +on; and it was only the fact that provisions were a consideration which +induced him to accompany Sewell and Tomlinson on an expedition to look +for a black-tail deer. + +Tomlinson brought a tent with him, and Ingleby and Sewell were sitting +outside it one evening when Trooper Probyn and the corporal came up +leading a laden horse. Horses were very little use for riding in that +country, but there were trails they could with some difficulty be led +along, and the few strips of natural prairie afforded them a precarious +sustenance. There was also no other means of transport except the +miner's back. The corporal bade Probyn pull the beast up beside the tent +and loosed the pack-lariat. + +"You can get up when we've hove the traps off, and see if the Indian's +there," he said. "If he is, bring him along. I guess we'll make nothing +by pushing on to-night." + +Trooper Probyn, swinging himself into the saddle, scrambled up the +hillside, which was comparatively clear of undergrowth just there, while +the corporal sat down beside the fire. + +"We've had supper. You don't mind our camping here?" he asked. + +Sewell, who lay, pipe in hand, upon a bundle of withered fern, raised +his head. + +"There's room in the tent. It's a fair-sized one," he said. "You're +going on into the ranges?" + +The corporal looked at him meditatively. "Right through to the +Westerhouse Gully, if we can get there. It appears a blame rough +country; but Captain Esmond has a notion that a trail could be made this +way, and from Westerhouse one could make the Yukon. It's part of his +business to see what can be done to open up communication." + +Sewell turned and glanced towards the snow which stretched in a great +white rampart across the valley. Beneath it a tremendous wall of rock +dropped to the pines below, which crawled round the crests and up the +gullies of a desolation of jumbled crags. Dark forest streaked by filmy +mist filled the devious hollows at their feet. + +"You are right about the country. I should imagine it to be a +particularly rough one," he said. + +"Well," said the corporal, "it seems quite certain the Indians used to +go through after the deer and salmon; and it's believed that one or two +white men have made Westerhouse that way, too." + +He stopped a moment, and glanced at Sewell. "You were away somewhere +quite a while, weren't you?" + +Sewell laughed, and Ingleby, who watched them both, wondered whether the +corporal knew that he was one of the few white men who had traversed the +defiles of the divide. + +"I was," he said. "Still, you see, it really isn't any other person's +business where I go to." + +The corporal nodded with dry good-humour. "I guess it wasn't +Westerhouse, anyway," he said. "I'm not sure we'll get there, though an +Indian came along to the outpost who figured he could take us." + +Ingleby glanced at Sewell with a little smile. The corporal's belief in +the capabilities of the police was admirable, and more or less +warranted, for the wardens of the Northwest are hard-riding men; but he +was, after all, from the prairie, and horses are very little used in the +Green River country. Ingleby, however, fancied he was not quite certain +that communication had not been already effected with the Westerhouse +Gully. Sewell, who apparently understood Ingleby's glance, said nothing. + +"There are only two of you here?" asked the corporal. + +"No," said Ingleby. "Tomlinson is with us. He went out this afternoon to +look for a deer, and should be back any minute now." + +The corporal looked thoughtful. "I'm not quite sure we'd have camped +here if I'd known that," he said. "Still, if you can keep your man in +hand, I guess I can answer for the trooper." + +Ingleby fancied they could promise this, and for a while nothing more +was said. Darkness crept up the valley, though there was still a saffron +light on the towering snow, and the peaks that lay in shadow cut with a +cold, blue whiteness against a wondrous green transparency. Then the dew +began to settle, calling up the drowsy odours of the pines, and an +impressive stillness pervaded the mountain solitude. It grew colder +rapidly, and Ingleby, who rose and flung fresh branches on the fire, +stood looking towards the west, a spare black figure, with outline +clean-cut as a cameo against the flickering light, when the sharp +ringing of a rifle came suddenly down the valley. It rang from rock to +rock, as the hillsides flung it back, and died away among the dimness of +the pines. + +"Tomlinson!" said Sewell. "I fancy he has got that deer. There's +scarcely wood enough to keep the fire in until morning, Walter. If you +don't want to light another for breakfast, hadn't you better cut some +more?" + +Ingleby, who took up an axe, moved back into the bush, and the silence +was broken by a rhythmic thudding that vibrated among the shadowy +trunks, which was unfortunate, because it tended to confuse the +corporal's hearing. He was an opinionated man, and a good deal depended +upon his being able to correctly locate a sound just then. He would, +however, probably have done so, had his attention not been fixed upon +the tobacco he was shredding. A minute or two had passed when the crash +of a rifle came down the valley again, and he laughed. + +"I guess your man didn't get that deer right off," he said. + +Sewell smiled, and waited until Ingleby came back with an armful of +wood. + +"Our friend suggests that Tomlinson has been throwing cartridges away," +he said. + +"Well," said Ingleby, "it's a thing he very seldom does, and I feel +almost sure the last shot came from a different direction, and was +farther off. Probably Trooper Probyn fired at something in the bush." + +It was an unfortunate suggestion, for the corporal, who had spent a good +many years on the lonely levels of the prairie, was, with some reason, +proud of his fine sense of hearing, and it by no means pleased him that +a young man new to the wilderness should presume to throw the least +doubt upon his ability to locate a rifle shot. This naturally confirmed +him in his belief in the correctness of his opinion. + +"It was Tomlinson who fired twice," he said. "I guess Probyn knows +better than to blaze away Government ammunition without permission." + +Ingleby said nothing. The point was, or so it appeared to him, of no +importance; and the three, drawing in closer to the fire, sat smoking in +silence while the pale stars came out above the pines. At last there was +a tramp of feet, and Tomlinson strode out of the shadows carrying a deer +with its forelegs drawn over his shoulders. He threw it down, and stood +flushed and gasping, with the firelight on his face. Ingleby fancied he +did not see the corporal, who could, however, see him. + +"I suppose you didn't meet Trooper Probyn?" asked Sewell. + +Tomlinson started a little, and there was for a moment a curious look in +his face, which did not escape the corporal's attention. + +"No," he said shortly. "I don't know that I want to. What is he doing +here?" + +"He went out to meet an Indian who's to show us a trail across the +divide," said the corporal. "Rode out 'most an hour ago. He'd keep the +range side." + +"Then, as I came down the south fork of the creek, I wouldn't have met +him, anyway," said Tomlinson promptly. He stood still a moment, and then +turned to Ingleby. "Hang that deer up, Walter. I'll have supper, if it's +ready." + +Sewell set food and a can of green tea before him, and he ate in silence +until Ingleby glanced at him. + +"Did you get that deer a little while ago?" he said. + +"No. It was two hours since, anyway." + +"Still, we heard you shooting." + +Tomlinson, who was an excellent shot, and somewhat proud of the fact, +laughed in a slightly embarrassed fashion. + +"Well," he said, "I guess you may have done so, but I didn't get the +deer. It was in the fern, and the light was going. I just got the one +shot, and it was too dark to follow up the trail." + +"One shot?" said Ingleby, with a little smile. "The corporal heard two, +both close together, and there certainly was another." + +"Then it was another man who fired it," said Tomlinson shortly. "I guess +I don't often waste cartridges." + +The corporal, who was usually a trifle persistent, took up Tomlinson's +rifle and pushed back the slide of the magazine. + +"A forty-four Marlin! It was full when you went out?" he said. + +"Yes, sir. Two cartridges gone. You'll find one bullet in yonder deer." + +The corporal, for no particular reason, jerked a cartridge into the +chamber, and then snapped it out. "You use nicked bullets?" + +Tomlinson did not, as everybody noticed, appear exactly pleased. In +fact, it was not difficult to fancy that he was a trifle embarrassed. It +is a little easier to bring down a deer with a bullet that will split up +into a torn strip of metal when it meets a bone than with one that has a +solid nose and makes a clean, punctured wound. + +"Well," he said, "I don't know any reason why I shouldn't, and now and +then I get the hack-saw and cut one or two across. When I go shooting +it's a deer I want." + +Nothing more was said on that point, though Ingleby fancied that the +corporal was a little incredulous still. He rose, and looked up the +trail as though listening. + +"I can't quite figure what is keeping Probyn," he said. "The Indian was +to meet him at sundown, where the North Creek fork twists round the +rocks, and he should have been back by now." + +They sat silent a minute or two, but no sound came out of the silence of +the pines. There was not even the murmur of water. The wilderness was +very still. + +Then Tomlinson laughed. "Perhaps he's not coming back." + +"What do you mean by that?" + +"Well," said the miner, "I've heard Esmond has been worrying the boys +lately. They don't seem quite fond of him, anyway. It kind of seemed to +me Probyn might have lit out without you." + +Now it is not often that a trooper takes the risk of discharging +himself from the ranks of the Northwest Police, but the thing has been +done. It was, however, unfortunate that Tomlinson made the suggestion. +The corporal's face grew a trifle grim as he looked at him. + +"I've no use for that kind of talk," he said. "There's not a man up here +I'm not 'most as sure of as I am of myself." + +"Then he's probably up there with the Indian," said Ingleby. "It would +be a little risky leading a horse down the big gully in the dark." + +Another hour passed, and as there was still no appearance of Trooper +Probyn, the corporal decided that Ingleby was right, and, rolling +themselves in their blankets, they lay down inside the tent. They were +fast asleep when a beat of hoofs came out of the silence of the night as +a jaded horse floundered along the hillside, and the corporal wakened +only when there was a trampling of undergrowth outside the tent. He +shook the blankets from him and stood up. + +"Is that you, Probyn? Tether the beast and come in," he said. + +There was no answer, and the corporal, stooping suddenly, touched +Tomlinson's shoulder. + +"I guess you had better get up. You're awake, Ingleby?" he asked. + +Ingleby, who had been roused by the sound, noticed that he had not asked +Tomlinson this; but they were both on their feet in another moment and +went out of the tent. The fire had almost burned out, but a few red +brands still gave a faint light, and the spires of the pines seemed a +little blacker and sharper than they had been when the men went to +sleep. It was very cold, for dawn was coming, and they shivered a little +as they looked about them. There was nothing to excite apprehension, +only a jaded horse that stood just within the uncertain light with loose +bridle and lowered head, but Ingleby felt a curious uneasiness come +upon him. The sight was unpleasantly suggestive. + +"Probyn!" the corporal called again. + +There was no answer, and, though he scarcely knew why, Ingleby felt that +he did not expect one. Then the horse, moving very lamely, walked up to +the corporal, whom it apparently recognized, and he laid a hand upon the +bridle. + +"Throw on a piece or two of wood and stir the fire," he said. + +Ingleby did it, and nothing more was said until a blaze sprang up. Then +the corporal ran his hand along the horse's coat. There was a smear of +blood on it when he glanced at it. + +"Been travelling quite fast before he dried," he said. "Through some +thick bush, too; here's a scar where a branch ripped the hide. Looks to +me as though he'd been scared and bolted, though I don't quite see what +has lamed him." + +The rest watched him with a curious intentness while he lifted one of +the beast's hoofs. It was plain to all of them that there was something +wrong, but nobody cared to give his misgivings vent. Then as the +firelight blazed up a little more Ingleby touched the corporal. + +"You are looking in the wrong place," he said. + +The corporal raised his head, and saw a deep, red scar. Stooping, he +drew a brand from the fire, and the men looked at one another uneasily +when he held it up. + +"Yes," he said grimly. "That was made by a bullet. I figure the beast +was going away from the man who fired it." + +Again there was silence for almost a minute. The pines were growing a +trifle blacker and clearer in outline, and it was very cold. Ingleby +shivered again, for a curious creepy feeling troubled him. The corporal +stood very still, a tense black figure, apparently gazing fixedly at +Tomlinson. It was the latter who spoke first. + +"I fired once--at the deer," he said. + +"Well," said the corporal, with a curious certainty that jarred on +Ingleby's nerves, "Probyn's back yonder, and it will be daylight in an +hour. We'd better look for him." + +Then he turned towards the jaded horse. "It's kind of unfortunate that +beasts can't talk." + +Nobody said anything further, and they plodded silently into the gloom +that still shrouded all the hillside. It was dusk when they came back +again, but they had found no sign of Trooper Probyn, or anything that +might account for his disappearance, except an empty 44-cartridge lying +not far from his trail. + + + + +XIX + +TROOPER PROBYN COMES BACK + + +It was late next night when the corporal reached the police outpost, and +on the following morning Esmond and Major Coulthurst sat at a little +table in the latter's dwelling. The corporal, who had told his story +concisely, had just gone out, and Coulthurst, who rolled an unlighted +cigar between his fingers, was grave in face. Esmond glanced at him +inquiringly. + +"It is, in one respect, not exactly your business; but you and I are +between us responsible for the tranquillity of the Green River country, +and I should be glad of your opinion, sir," he said. "I don't want to +make a mistake just now. There is no doubt that most of the men are in +an uncertain temper, and they do not seem pleased with me." + +Coulthurst smiled, a trifle drily. "I presume you don't want me to go +into that?" + +"No. The fact is, after all, of no great importance. The point is--what +do you make of the corporal's story?" + +The major appeared to be taxing his brain for a moment or two. "Not +being a detective, I can make nothing at all. I suppose he is +trustworthy?" + +"As reliable a man as there is in the force. Let me try to set out what +we know. Tomlinson thrashed Probyn and pitched him into the creek. +Neither of them would explain the cause of the trouble, which is a +trifle significant; but Tomlinson was heard to say that if the trooper +played the same game again he would kill him. He is apparently not an +impulsive man, and the corporal seems to think it was a warning and not +mere bluster." + +"That," said Coulthurst, "gives you a little to go upon. We can admit +that Tomlinson fancied he had a grievance against the trooper. He is not +the man to say a thing of that kind without sufficient reason." + +"Then Probyn leaves Sewell's camp, and never comes back. Sewell, +Ingleby, and the corporal hear two shots, apparently from the same part +of the range." + +"I understand Ingleby does not admit that." + +Esmond smiled. "One would scarcely expect Ingleby to agree with a +corporal of police. Still, I may point out that he has been less than a +year in the bush, and the corporal has, at least, spent most of his life +on the prairie. You know the effect the life my troopers lead has in +quickening the perceptions. Most of them could locate and tell you the +meaning of a sound I couldn't hear at all." + +Coulthurst made a sign of concurrence. "His view is certainly worth a +good deal more than Ingleby's. Still, admitting that the two shots were +fired from about the same place, it doesn't necessarily follow that they +were fired by the same person." + +"We know that, leaving out Probyn, Tomlinson and the Indian could have +been the only men on that part of the range just then. When Tomlinson +appeared he seemed disconcerted to find the corporal there. He also +showed signs of embarrassment when questioned about the shots, and +persisted that he fired no more than one. When told which way the +trooper had gone he stated that he had come in just the opposite one. It +is significant that he did not mention where he had been until then. +Several hours later Probyn's horse came back grazed by a bullet, and a +forty-four cartridge was found beside the trail. That is the size of +rifle Tomlinson uses." + +"It seems to me the several hours are the difficulty." + +"Not necessarily. Whoever shot Trooper Probyn would naturally be afraid +of his horse doing exactly what it did, and fired at it. The wounded +beast would probably run as long as it was able. It is evident that it +must have smashed through several thickets. Somebody fired at it, and +the man who did so was the one who shot Probyn." + +"You don't know he was shot. I'm not sure I should find it necessary to +keep quite as tight a hand on your troopers as you do," said the major +suggestively. + +Esmond flushed a little. "I feel absolutely certain the lad never +intended to give us the slip." + +"There were two men in the vicinity about that time," said Coulthurst +reflectively. + +"Tomlinson was known to have a grievance against Probyn. The Indian, who +apparently did not turn up at all, had never seen him. Men do not kill +one another without a strong inducement, and nobody would expect to find +much money on a police trooper." + +"His carbine," said the major, "would be worth a little." + +"The man had an excellent rifle of his own." + +"Well," said Coulthurst, "it is tolerably easy to see what all this +points to, but I could never quite believe Tomlinson would do the thing. +There's another point that strikes me." + +Esmond appeared expectant, though he had consulted Coulthurst more from +a sense of duty than because he looked for any brilliant suggestion. + +"It's rather an important one," said the major gravely. "You can't well +have a murder without a corpse, you see." + +Esmond failed to hide a little sardonic smile. "That is a trifle +obvious, sir. You have no advice to offer me?" + +"I have. It's good as far as it goes. Lie low, and keep your eyes open +until you find Probyn." + +Esmond rose. "I suppose that is the only thing, after all, though it +looks very much like wasting time. I feel quite sure there will be a +nicked forty-four bullet in him when I do." + +He went out; but the longer he considered the major's advice the more +reasonable it appeared to him. Esmond, with all his shortcomings, had a +keen sense of duty, and had he consulted his own inclination would have +wasted no time in seizing Tomlinson. He was, however, quite shrewd +enough to recognize that he was not regarded with favour, and that, +although the major did not seem to realize it, the miners were not +likely to content themselves with looking on while he did anything that +did not meet their views. He had reasons for believing that once +Tomlinson's culpability was evident he need expect no trouble from them; +but it was equally plain that unless he had definite proof it would be a +risky thing to lay hands on him. Esmond was arrogant and impulsive, but +he had discovered in the Northwest that it is not always advisable to +run counter to popular opinion, and in this case there was a faint +probability that Tomlinson's friends might be right. He therefore set +himself to wait as patiently as he could until Trooper Probyn should be +found; while the men, who for the most part believed Probyn to be +living, waited for him to come back--which he eventually did, though by +no means in the fashion they had expected. + +There had been a sudden rise of temperature, and a warm wind from the +Pacific had sent the white mists streaming across the mountain land. It +had rained for several days, as it usually does in the northern +wilderness in those circumstances, and the snow on the lower slopes had +melted under the warm deluge. The river swirled by, thick with the +wreckage of the forests the snow had brought down, frothing between its +crumbling banks; and on a certain Saturday evening most of the men in +the valley assembled by the ford where the trail crept perilously down +the opposite side of the cañon. It appeared very doubtful whether any +man or beast could cross it then, but the freighter, with mails and +provisions, was already overdue, and they had awaited him anxiously for +a week or so. It was possible that he might arrive that evening; and, +in any case, the six o'clock supper was over and there was very little +else to do. + +Ingleby, Leger, Hetty, and Tomlinson were there with the rest, and they +sat among the roots of a great cedar where it was a little drier. The +rain had stopped at last, but all the pines were dripping, and the river +came swirling out of a curtain of drifting mist. The hoarse roar it made +filled all the cañon. + +Hetty was vacantly watching the slow whirl of an eddy when a great trunk +that plunged into it held her eye. It had been a stately hemlock well +over a hundred feet in height and great of girth, and now it gyrated +slowly round the pool, a splendid wreck, with far-flung limbs that +thrashed the water as they rose and fell. Then the great butt tilted, +and there was a crash that rang high above the turmoil of the flood as +the branches that smashed and splintered struck a boulder whose wet head +rose just above the foam. The forks held for a moment, and then the +ponderous trunk swung again and, with its shattered limbs whirling about +it, drove madly down the white rush of a rapid. + +It was an impressive sight, and the sound of rending and smashing was +more impressive still; but when the trunk had gone Hetty found her +attention fixed upon the pool. It swirled and lapped upon the rocks with +nothing on its surface now but muddy smears of foam, but she watched it +with a vague sense of expectancy. It seemed to her that she and that +sullen eddy alike were waiting for what should follow. Another trunk, +with branches that heaved out of the turmoil and sank into it again, was +coming down the river, but a dusky, half-submerged object slid on in +front of it. Hetty could scarcely see it save when it was lifted by the +buffeting of the flood, until it plunged into the head of the eddy. Then +she rose suddenly. + +"Look at it," she said. "It's like--a bundle of old clothes!" + +Ingleby, who was nearest her, stood up. The light was growing dim in the +cañon, and it was a moment before he could make out what she pointed to. +Hetty, however, was staring at it with a curious intensity, and there +was, he noticed, apprehension in her eyes. The object drove on quietly, +an insignificant dusky blur, swinging and swaying with the pulsations of +the river, and Ingleby felt the girl's hand close suddenly on his arm. + +"Oh," she said, with a little gasp, "it's coming straight here. I'm +afraid of it, Walter." + +The thing swung in towards them with the whirl of the eddy, and Ingleby +had for a moment a glimpse of a white patch in the water that was +horribly suggestive of a face. Then he seized Hetty's hand, and drew her +with him as he turned away. + +"Stay there!" he said, when a great pine rose between them and the +river, and went scrambling back to the water's edge. + +Two or three other men, among whom was Tomlinson, had reached it by this +time, and Sewell stood on a boulder gazing at the stream, while the +dusky object, drawn almost under now, swung by amidst a rush of foam. +Then he stepped down, and looked steadily at the men about him. + +"I fancy Trooper Probyn has come back," he said. + +Ingleby was close beside him, and for a moment the two men looked into +each other's eyes. In less than another minute the object they had seen +would swing out with the outflow at the tail of the pool, and the long +white rapid would whirl it beyond their reach into the gloom again. +Night was close at hand, and, if they let him pass, Trooper Probyn would +by morning have travelled far into the heart of a wilderness where it +was scarcely likely that any of them would ever overtake him. The rivers +of the North run fast, and that is a country wherein the strongest man +must travel slowly. It seemed to Ingleby that it might be better to let +him go. Then he was ashamed of the doubt that this implied, and Sewell, +who knew what he was thinking, glanced for just a second in Tomlinson's +direction. + +"One can't hide the truth. It will come out," he said, and then raised +his voice. "That's a man we have something to do for. The rapid will +have him in a minute, boys." + +Tomlinson was first into the water, with Ingleby almost at his side, and +the rest floundering and splashing close behind. They went straight, +while the thing that swung with the eddy went round, but they were in +the lip of the rapid before they came up with it. Ingleby gasped as he +braced himself against the flood which broke in a white swirl to his +waist, while the stream-borne gravel smote his legs, and he clutched at +the big miner as Trooper Probyn drove down on them. + +He evaded Tomlinson, but Ingleby, stooping, seized his uniform, and +tightened his hold on his companion as his feet were dragged from under +him. He could almost have fancied that Trooper Probyn struggled to be +free from them, and while the current frothed about him Tomlinson was +dragged backwards by the strain. Ingleby went under, still clinging +fiercely to the sodden tunic, and for a second or two it seemed that all +of them, the dead and the living, must go down the rapid together, in +which case no man could have distinguished between them when they were +washed out at the tail of it. Then a man clinging to his comrade with +one hand seized Tomlinson; there was a straining of hardened muscles, a +wild splashing and floundering, and, while one who leaned across a +boulder gasped and wondered if his arm was leaving its socket, the line +swung into slack water again. Still, Ingleby had driven against a stone +with a thud that drove out most of the little breath left in him. + +They brought Probyn ashore between them, and Sewell, who kept his head, +left them a moment and went straight up the bank, where he came upon +Hetty standing with hands closed at her sides. She could see very little +beyond a group of men bending over something that lay between them. + +"Go back to the shanty. Make a big fire and some coffee," he said. + +Hetty did not seem to understand him. "Tomlinson held on to him, but he +struck a stone," she said. "I couldn't see any more, but--of course--you +brought him out? Is he hurt?" + +Sewell looked astonished. "Hurt!" he said. "You must know that the man +is dead." + +Then comprehension dawned upon him, as he remembered that he had for +several anxious moments fancied that the man who seized Trooper Probyn +would drive with him down the rapid. + +"I scarcely think Tom is any the worse--and Ingleby appears to have got +off with a bruise on his head," he said. + +He saw the sudden relief in Hetty's face, for she had not remembered the +need of reticence then; but she turned away from him silently, and he +went back to the river, where the group made way for him. Sewell, who +held only an unremunerative claim, was already an influence in the Green +River country. + +The light was rapidly failing, but he could still see the faces of the +men, who turned to him as though uncertain what to do. Tomlinson stood +still among the rest, and his voice and attitude were both unmistakably +compassionate. + +"I hove him into the creek. I 'most wish I hadn't now," he said. "He was +young and had no sense, but there was good hard sand in him." + +Sewell turned, and looked down on Trooper Probyn, who lay very still, a +rigid shape in sodden uniform, with the water running from him, and his +face partly turned away from them, which was just as well. + +"Two of you go for Captain Esmond, boys," he said. "It will be some time +before you make the outpost, and I want the rest of you. There is +something we have to do in the meanwhile. The police make mistakes now +and then, and it is, I think, our business as well as Captain Esmond's." + +He knelt down, and presently pointed to a little hole, very small and +cleanly cut, in the soaked tunic. + +"I think you know what made that," he said. "One of you get down. I +can't do what is necessary, alone." + +Nobody seemed very anxious, which was, perhaps, not astonishing, and it +was not until Sewell looked up again that Ingleby, who shivered a +little, knelt down. He wondered when he saw that Sewell's fingers were +very steady as he opened the tunic and saturated vest. Then the latter +signed to the men to draw a little nearer, and pointed to what appeared +to be a folded pad of wet cotton held in place by a strip of hide. He +moved it a little so that all could see it, and then let the tunic fall +again. Ingleby was, however, the only one who noticed that there was +something in Sewell's hand that had not been there before. + +"There is nothing to show whether Trooper Probyn was dead when he +reached the water, though I think he was," he said. "He was certainly +shot, and it is evident that he did not shoot himself. His uniform isn't +charred, you see. Then you saw the pad. Police troopers do not make +their shirts or patch their clothes with cotton flour-bags, and a man +hit where Probyn was would not be very likely to bandage himself. The +man who shot him tried to save his life. Why should he do that if he +meant to kill him?" + +There was no answer, and Sewell stood up. "We don't know what has +happened, boys. Perhaps we never shall; but it seems to me one thing is +certain--it wasn't murder." + +There was a little murmur of concurrence, and then Sewell made a +gesture. + +"It's getting dark, and we're most of us very wet," he said. "One or +two of you cut a few fir boughs, and we'll make a litter." + +It was done, and in another few minutes a line of wet and silent men +plodded behind their comrades who carried Trooper Probyn up the climbing +trail. + + + + +XX + +ACCESSORIES + + +Esmond was not at the outpost when the messengers reached it, nor was +the corporal there, and it was two troopers to whom the miners delivered +the dead lad. This fact, however, appeared to afford Sewell a certain +satisfaction, and he and Tomlinson went back with Ingleby through the +growing darkness to Leger's shanty. It was once more raining hard when +they reached it, and when Hetty had set a kettle of coffee before them +they sat steaming in the little log-walled room with the door shut. Each +of them was aware that there was a good deal to be said, and in all +probability little time in which to say it; but the subject was +difficult, and Hetty had cleared the table when Sewell turned to +Tomlinson. + +"There's a plant in this country whose leaves the Indians believe are +efficacious in stopping blood," he said. "I wonder if you could tell me +where to find it?" + +Tomlinson looked up with evident astonishment. + +"If there is, I never heard of it," he answered. "I've no use for +worrying 'bout any plants just now." + +Then he glanced round at the faces of the rest, and his eyes rested a +moment upon Hetty. "I'm in a tight place, but you don't believe I did +the thing?" + +"Of course not!" said Hetty, with a little flash in her eyes. "Why don't +you answer him, some of you?" + +Ingleby would have spoken, but Sewell held up his hand. "I'm not sure +you know how tight the place is, Tomlinson. If you'll listen I'll try to +show you." + +He spoke for two or three minutes, and even Ingleby, who had long looked +up to him as a man of brilliant ability, was a trifle astonished at the +acumen which marked every point of the tersely logical exposition. It +apparently left no loophole for doubt as to who had killed Trooper +Probyn, and once or twice Leger moved uneasily. There was, however, a +little incredulous smile in Hetty's eyes. + +"Now," said Sewell incisively, "have you anything to tell us?" + +Tomlinson sat gazing at them stupidly, with the veins on his bronzed +forehead swollen, and a dusky hue in his face. Ingleby was troubled as +he watched him, and Leger leaned forward in his seat as though in a +state of tense expectancy, but still the faint smile flickered in +Hetty's eyes. For almost a minute they could hear the wailing of the +pines and the rain falling on the roof. Then Tomlinson spoke. + +"I fired once--at a deer. That's all," he said. + +Ingleby was conscious at once of a certain sense of shame and an intense +relief, for he recognized the truth in the miner's voice, and Sewell had +set out with relentless effectiveness the view the prosecution might be +expected to take. The latter laughed as he glanced at Hetty. + +"You would not have believed he did it if I had talked for hours?" he +asked. + +"No," said Hetty simply. + +Sewell made her a little inclination, and then turned to the rest with a +smile. + +"We have only reason to guide us, and we argue clumsily," he said. +"Women, we are told, have none--in their case it apparently isn't +necessary. They were made differently. Insight, it seems, goes along +with the charity that believes no evil." + +It was not evident that Hetty quite understood him, for she sat looking +at the fire with hands crossed in her lap, and Sewell turned to +Tomlinson. + +"I think the boys would believe you, as we do, but that, after all, +scarcely goes very far. We have Esmond and the corporal to consider, and +they are certainly not troubled with instinctive perceptions or any +excess of charity. What is more to the purpose, they wouldn't try you +here." + +Tomlinson made a little forceful gesture. "Now, if I'd nobody else to +think of I'd stop right where I am; but there's an old woman back there +in Oregon who's had trouble with the rest of us--'most all she could +bear--and half of what I took out of the claim was to go to her. She was +just to sit still and be happy, and never work any more. I guess it +would break her heart if they hung me here in Canada." + +He stopped a moment, and glanced at Hetty. "Still, she'd never believe I +did it. She's like you." + +There was very little on the face of the statement, but a good deal lay +behind it, as Hetty apparently realized, for a flush spread across her +cheek for a moment and then faded away. + +Tomlinson turned to the others with a gesture that was merely clumsy +now. "I'm going away, boys, and I want a partner to hold my claim for +me. If I leave it without an owner it falls to the Crown. You'd do the +square thing by me and a widow woman on a half-share, Mr. Sewell?" + +It was an offer most men would have eagerly closed with, but Sewell +shook his head. + +"You must ask some one else--it wouldn't do," he said. "I have never +taken a dollar I didn't earn, and, you see, I would scarcely have tried +to show you that you must clear out right away if I had meant to make a +profit by your doing so." + +Tomlinson smiled a little. "Is there a man along the Green River who'd +believe that of you?" + +"There are," said Sewell drily, "at least a few in other places who +would be glad to make the most of the story. In fact, if certain papers +got hold of it, I'm not sure I could live it down. That wouldn't matter +greatly, only, you see, a professional agitator's character doesn't +belong to himself alone. Still, you are quite right on one point. You +must have a partner--now. The agreement could, perhaps, be upset if it +was made after it was known that there was a warrant out for you." + +It appeared to all of them that Sewell had thrown away an opportunity +for winning what might amount to a competence for life; but he only +smiled at Tomlinson, who turned to Ingleby. + +"Then it has to be you. A half-share, and you and Leger can work the +thing between you. Neither of you is going to go back on me?" + +Ingleby almost gasped, and his face flushed a little. It had seemed +quite fitting that the offer should be made to Sewell, but there was no +apparent reason why it should be thrust on him. He also saw that Leger +was as little anxious to profit by it as he was himself. + +"Do you suppose I would take advantage of your necessity by making a +bargain of that kind?" he asked. + +Tomlinson made a clumsy gesture. "You'd have to let your own claim go. A +man can't hold two placer claims, and you're on the lead," he said. +"I've got to have a partner, and I guess I'm not offering any more than +the thing's worth to me." + +"He's right in one respect," said Sewell. "There are, of course, men in +the valley who would be glad to take the claim on a smaller share--but +they're not here now, and Esmond and his troopers may turn up at any +minute. Besides, the prospects of your finding gold on the claim you +hold are tolerably good." + +"I'll be gone in 'bout five minutes," said Tomlinson quietly. "If none +of you will have the claim, it falls to the Crown." + +That, at least, was evident, and Leger nodded when Ingleby glanced at +him. + +"A half-share is more than you are entitled to, but what you can do for +Tomlinson is, as he pointed out, worth something, and you would have to +let your own claim go," he said. + +"Then I'll offer him a thousand dollars for a third share, on condition +that he takes a four months' bill for them. I'll divide the risk and +profit with you, Leger." + +Leger smiled. "It seems to me Tomlinson is taking all the risk there is. +If you don't find the money in the mine it's scarcely likely that you +will meet the bill. Still, the notion's a good one. The thing has a more +genuine look when it's based on value received." + +The agreement was drawn up hastily on a scrap of uncleanly paper with +Sewell's fountain pen, but he made it hard and fast, while Hetty flitted +busily between the shed and the shanty. Then Sewell carefully wiped and +put away his pen. + +"Do you know where you're going, Tomlinson?" he asked. + +"No," said the miner simply, "I hadn't quite thought of that." + +"Then if you head south for the settlements you will certainly be +overtaken. In fact, I'm not sure the corporal will not have sent a man +along the trail already. You can't live in the ranges with nothing to +eat, and that only leaves Westerhouse. They would never expect you to +strike out for there, but if you will listen for two minutes I'll tell +you the trail." + +He was scarcely so long, for time was precious, but, though few men +unused to the wilderness would have understood or remembered most of +what he said, it was quite plain to Tomlinson, who nodded. + +"Well," he said, "I'll light out when I've got the major to record the +agreement." + +They pointed out that this was not exactly necessary and entailed a +risk, but Tomlinson was quietly resolute. + +"I'm going away to save my claim, and I'll make quite sure," he said. +"It's an old woman back in Oregon I want the money for. She hasn't +another son--they're all gone but me. Well, I guess I'm ready. The +troopers would pick up my trail if I took a horse along." + +He was scarcely a minute stowing the provisions Hetty thrust upon him +inside two blankets, which he rolled up and lashed with strips of +deer-hide to pack upon his back; and he wasted no time in thanks; but +when Sewell opened the door he walked gravely up to the girl, and laid +both his big hands on the one she held out to him. + +"I guess I'm not going to worry you any more. It's scarcely likely I'll +ever come back," he said. + +Hetty's face flushed a little, and there was a slight tremor in her +voice. + +"It's all my fault," she said. + +Tomlinson slowly shook his head. "You couldn't do anything that wasn't +just right if you tried, and you'll think of me now and then," he said. +"I'm going to remember you while I live." + +He did not wait for her answer, but turned abruptly away, and Hetty +stood still a moment with hot cheeks and misty eyes. Then she moved +hastily forward, and touched Ingleby's arm as he went out of the door. + +"There's one of the horses in the swamp. Couldn't you put the +pack-saddle on him and make a trail down to the ford?" she said. "The +troopers couldn't help seeing it. The ground's quite soft." + +Ingleby laughed. "Of course! It's an inspiration, Hetty." + +He was some little time catching the horse, and when he reached the +commissioner's house Coulthurst was already sitting with a book in front +of him. He looked up with a little dry smile when Ingleby came in. + +"It is after my usual office hours, but I understand from Mr. Sewell +that you are anxious I should register you to-night as one of the +owners of the claim held by Tomlinson?" he asked. + +"Yes, sir," said Ingleby. "There are one or two reasons that make it +advisable." + +He fancied there was a very faint twinkle which might have suggested +comprehension in Coulthurst's eyes as the latter took up a pen. + +"Then I think I can make an exception in your case, especially as +Tomlinson seems equally anxious, and we will get the business done," he +said. + +There was silence for a minute or two, and they waited with an +impatience that was the fiercer because it was suppressed while +Coulthurst turned over the papers in front of him and took down a book. +There was no sound but the splashing of the rain upon the roof and the +snapping of the little stove, but Ingleby felt his nerves tingle as he +listened. Coulthurst, however, closed the book at last and handed him a +paper. + +"That should meet your requirements, and it will be quite in order for +you to carry on the work at the claim should Tomlinson be absent from +any cause," he said, and stopping abruptly looked up as though +listening. "I fancy you were wise in getting the agreement +recorded--now. Delays, as you are aware, are apt to be especially +dangerous in case of a placer claim." + +He appeared to busy himself again with his book; but Tomlinson rose +suddenly, and stood a moment, tense and strung up, with head turned +towards the door, as a sound that suggested men and horses splashing in +the mire reached them faintly through the rain. Then he stepped forward +towards the veranda by which they had entered, but Ingleby seized his +arm and pointed towards the other door at the back of the room. He and +Sewell knew that one could reach the bush that way through the outbuilt +kitchen. + +Coulthurst, who could not see the door from where he sat, looked up from +his book for just a moment, and did not appear to notice that Tomlinson +was no longer in front of him. + +"I presume there is nothing more I can do for you, and that is +apparently Captain Esmond. I think he has some business with me," he +said. + +The hint that he would excuse them was plain enough, even if it went no +further, and he drew another bundle of papers towards him. This, no +doubt, accounted for the fact that he failed to notice that while Leger +and Sewell moved towards the veranda, Ingleby slipped out through the +other door. Sewell, however, gasped with relief when he saw it swing +silently to. Just then there was a tramp of feet outside, and in another +few moments Esmond sprang upon the veranda, splashed with mire and +dripping with rain. Two wet troopers appeared behind him, carbines in +hand. He stopped them with a little gesture of command, and then, +striding past Sewell and Leger into the room, appeared to have some +difficulty in restraining himself when he saw only the major there. + +"You will excuse me for coming in unceremoniously, sir, but I had +reasons for believing Tomlinson was here," he said. + +"He was here," said Coulthurst. "In fact, I don't quite understand how +it was you didn't meet him going away." + +"I certainly did not," and Esmond flashed a keen glance at him. "If I +had done so, I should naturally not have troubled you about him." + +Coulthurst appeared reflective. + +"He was here. In fact, I have just done some business for him," he said, +and stopped; for one of the troopers cried out, and all could hear a +thud of hoofs and the smashing of undergrowth. Coulthurst glanced +suggestively at Esmond. + +"That sounds very much like somebody riding through the bush," he said. + +Esmond certainly wasted no time now in ceremony. He was on the veranda +in another moment and shouting to the trooper, who led up a horse. They +vanished amidst a rustle of trampled fern, and Sewell laughed as he and +Leger turned back towards the shanty. + +"One could fancy Major Coulthurst belonged to the aristocracy some of +our friends are pleased to consider played out; but there are at least +signs of intelligence in him," he said. "He is, by the way, I am +somewhat proud to claim, a friend of mine, though that is, of course, no +compliment to him." + +"Well," replied Leger drily, "it is seldom wise to generalize too +freely, which is a mistake we make now and then. After all, it may be a +little hard on the major to blame him for being a gentleman. He probably +couldn't help it, you see." + +He had spoken lightly to hide his anxiety; but now he stopped a moment +and stood listening intently. A faint sound of splashing and scrambling +came up out of the hollow through the rain. + +"It's not a trail most men would care to ride down in daylight, but they +seem to be facing it," he said. "If they caught Ingleby it would +complicate the thing." + +"It's scarcely likely," said Sewell. "He got away two or three minutes +before they did." + +"The difficulty is that Ingleby can't ride as you and the troopers can." + +Sewell touched his shoulder. + +"Listen," he said, and Leger heard the roar of the river throb across +the dripping pines. "When they get near the ford the troopers are +scarcely likely to hear anything else through that, and they would +naturally not expect the man they're after to double back for the cañon. +If they push on as they seem to be doing, they should be a good way down +the trail by morning." + +They both laughed at this, and were sitting in the shanty half an hour +later when Ingleby limped in, smiling and very miry, with his jean +jacket badly split. + +"Tomlinson got away?" he asked. + +"Presumably," said Leger. "We were almost afraid you hadn't. We haven't +seen him. Where are Captain Esmond and his troopers?" + +Ingleby laughed. "They were riding very recklessly over an infamous +trail with my horse in front of them when I last saw them. I was just +then behind a tree. The beast I couldn't stop simplified the thing by +flinging me off. I hadn't any stirrups, perhaps fortunately." + +"They'd catch the horse eventually," said Sewell. + +"Of course! That is, if they could keep in the saddle long enough, which +is far from certain, considering the state of the trail. Then they would +naturally fancy that Tomlinson had taken to the range. In fact, I +shouldn't wonder if they spent most of to-morrow looking for his trail. +Still, there is a question I should like to ask. Why did you worry +Tomlinson about that plant?" + +Sewell took a little packet from his pocket and opened it. There were +one or two pulpy leaves inside it. + +"Those grew on the plant in question, which Tomlinson had never heard +of. The Indians use them for stopping blood," he said. "I took them from +the body of Trooper Probyn." + +There was silence for a little while, and during it the sound of the +river came up to them in deep pulsations through the roar of the rain. +Then Leger laughed. + +"I'm afraid Captain Esmond and his troopers will be very wet," he said. +"He is a capable officer, but such simple-minded persons as Hetty and +Ingleby are now and then a match for the wise." + +"Haven't you left somebody out?" asked Ingleby. + +"Major Coulthurst," said Leger, "is, of course, the Gold Commissioner, +and could not be expected to have any sympathy with such a man as +Tomlinson. It would, in fact, be unpardonable to suggest that he could +be an accessory. Still, it is, perhaps, not quite out of the question +that people outside the class to which Hetty and Ingleby and I belong +should possess a few amiable qualities." + +"You and Ingleby and Hetty?" said Sewell reflectively. + +Leger looked at him with a little smile. + +"Yes," he said, "you heard me quite correctly. It's not worth +discussing, but I scarcely think one could place you in quite the same +category." + + + + +XXI + +A DOUBTFUL EXCHANGE + + +It was the Monday morning after the flight of Tomlinson when Ingleby +stood beside a pile of debris on the claim which was no longer his. The +rain had stopped, and there was a wonderful freshness in the mountain +air. Overhead the mists were streaming athwart the forest, pierced by +arrows of golden light, and the fragrance of redwood and cedar filled +the hollow. It is a scent that brings sound rest to the jaded body when +night closes down and braces it as an elixir in the coolness of the +dawn. Ingleby drank it in with vague appreciation. There was hope in it +and vigour, and as he stood with the torn blue shirt falling apart from +his bronzed neck, looking out on the forest with steady eyes, there was +something in his attitude which suggested the silent, hasteless strength +of the wilderness. + +The impulsiveness which had afflicted him in England had gone, and +steadfastness had grown in its place. The crude, half-formed thoughts +and theories which had worked like yeast in him had ceased their +ebullition, purging themselves, perhaps, by the froth of speech, and had +left him with a vague optimism too deep for articulate expression. Faith +he had always had, and now the half-comprehending hope that looks beyond +all formulas had also come. So much, at least, the wilderness had done +for him. He laughed as he turned towards Sewell and Leger, who sat on +the pile of thrown-up gravel behind him. + +"I've been standing here almost five minutes, doing nothing--I don't +know why," he said. "One does not, as a rule, get rich that way in this +country." + +Leger grinned at him. "You have just finished a remarkably good +breakfast, for one thing," he said. "Still, haven't you made an +admission? You always knew why you did everything in England." + +Ingleby smiled good-humouredly. "Well," he said, "I'm seldom quite so +sure now. Perhaps, it's because I'm older--or it may be the fault of the +country. Floods and frosts, slides of gravel, and blue-grit boulders are +apt to upset the results one feels reasonably certain of here. That +recalls the fact that I broke out a quantity of promising-looking dirt +the last time I went down this shaft, and didn't try the colour." + +"You have sunk several shafts now, and you're evidently improving," said +Sewell. "The original one wasn't sunk or driven. It was scratched out, +anyhow." + +"Three or four, and I've made some two hundred dollars out of the lot of +them. In fact, I've been spending my labour profitlessly ever since I +came into the country. That is, at least, so far as one can see." + +Sewell smiled. "There's a good deal in the reservation. The whole +country's full of just such holes from Caribou to Kootenay. A few men +took gold out of them. The rest put something in." + +"Buried hopes," said Leger with a grin. + +"Probably," answered Sewell. "Now and then buried men. Still, the +ranches and the orchards came up after them. It was presumably good for +somebody, although a little rough on the prospectors in question." + +Leger appeared reflective. "I wonder if any one could grow plums and +apples on Captain Esmond. In the language of the country it's about the +only use it could have for him. Well, I've smoked my pipe out. Are we +going to stay here and maunder any longer, Ingleby?" + +"I'm going down the mine; though, as it doesn't belong to me now, I +don't know why. Still, it's close on bottom, and I'd like to try the +colour of the dirt I broke out on Saturday." + +He went down the notched pole, and filled the bucket Sewell lowered +after him, and, when the latter hove it up, they proceeded to the creek, +and the others sat down while Ingleby washed out its contents. Neither +of them showed any particular interest in what he was doing. They had +been some time in the gold-bearing region now, and had discovered that +it is generally wise to expect very little. Then Ingleby scrambled up +the bank with a curious look in his face, and gravely held out the pan. + +"Placer mining is a tolerably uncertain thing, but here's a result I +never anticipated two or three days ago," he said. "Look at this!" + +They bent over the pan, and their faces grew intent at the sight of the +little grains of metal in its bottom. Then Leger looked up with a gasp. + +"You've struck it again," he said. "Apparently as rich as ever!" + +Ingleby stood still a moment, gazing straight in front of him with +vacant eyes, and one hand closed a trifle at his side. + +"Yes," he said harshly. "The second time, and once more it's of no use +to me. When I recorded as part-owner of Tomlinson's claim, this one fell +in to the Crown. You're on the lead, Tom, and you'll strike it, too; but +you can get your stakes in, Sewell. Sunday's an off day, or the major +would have had his notice out by now." + +It was a relief to do anything just then, and he cut and drove in two of +the location pegs the law required. Then when the last was driven he +turned to Sewell with grim quietness. + +"Well," he said, "why don't you get away and make your record? There's +no reason you should throw away a fortune, too." + +Sewell smiled a little. "For one thing, Major Coulthurst would certainly +not be up when I reached his office. For another, before I record the +claim there's something to be said. The law, you see, cannot be expected +to cover every contingency, and, if you look at it from one point of +view, the claim is still yours. I'll buy the goodwill of you, if you'll +take my bill." + +Ingleby shook his head impatiently. "I can't sell you what isn't mine," +he answered. "Anybody who thinks it worth while can record that claim. +It belongs to the Crown. I have my share in Tomlinson's mine, and, in +one respect, I'm not sorry to see this one come into your possession. +You, at least, would not consider the gold you took out belonged to +yourself." + +Sewell looked at him with an expression in his face which somewhat +puzzled Leger. + +"No?" he said. "It's not wise to be too sure of anything, Ingleby." + +"I believe you told us you had struck gold once before. What did you do +with it? When we met you in Vancouver you hadn't the appearance of a man +who has a balance at his bank." + +A suggestion of darker colour crept into Sewell's face. "You can't carry +on a campaign of any kind without funds. The one I embarked upon not +long before you came across me was too big for us. It broke the +exchequer, and landed me in jail." + +"Precisely!" said Ingleby. "And what title have I to the money you would +hold in trust? That is the difference between us. I'm not a leader--I'm +glad of it just now--and what gold I find I want for myself." + +Once more Sewell's expression furnished Leger with food for reflection, +though Ingleby did not appear to notice it. It is now and then a trifle +embarrassing to have one's good deeds proclaimed to one's face, and +Leger was aware that all Sewell gained was usually expended on the +extension of his propaganda; but that did not seem to account for +everything, and he fancied the man had winced at his comrade's speech, +as though it had hurt him. Then Sewell made a curious little gesture. + +"It is," he said, "seldom worth while to decide what other people will +do. They don't know themselves very frequently. Well, since nobody ever +persuaded you, I'll get on and record the claim." + +He left them, and neither Ingleby nor Leger broke the silence as they +pushed on up the valley, near the farther end of which Tomlinson's claim +lay. Leger knew that, because his claim adjoined the one his comrade had +allowed to fall to the Crown, he, too, would in all probability find +gold, and, since now it would all be his, that fact alone was sufficient +to occupy him. Still, he was getting accustomed to the dramatic +unexpectedness of the results of placer mining; and he was also sensible +of a certain sympathy for Ingleby, who held no more than a third-share +in Tomlinson's mine. Then he recalled Sewell's face and wondered again. + +The man had certainly appeared embarrassed, and that had its +significance in connection with what Ingleby had said. Sewell was +certainly entitled to use what gold he dug toilfully from the earth as +seemed best to him, and there was no reason why he should devote it to +the liberation or enlightenment of those he might regard oppressed +unless he wished. That he had done so hitherto was, it seemed to Leger, +plain; but he fancied it was to be different now. This led to the +question, what did Sewell, who lived with Spartan simplicity, want the +gold for--and to that there was no answer until he changed the what to +whom. Then a reason suggested itself, for Sewell of late had played +chess with Major Coulthurst frequently, more often, indeed, Leger +fancied, than Ingleby knew. + +It was a relief to both of them when they reached Tomlinson's mine, +which was by no means imposing at first sight, consisting, as it did, of +a little gap in the forest strewn with blackened branches and charred +fir stumps, a shanty, a pile of shattered rock and gravel, and a black +hole with a very rude windlass straddling it. It did not count at all +that it was engirdled by towering trees whose sombre spires, lifted one +beyond the other in climbing ranks, led the wondering vision upwards +ever across the face of a tremendous crag, where they clung dotted +against the grey rock in the fissures, to the ethereal gleam of +never-melting snow. It was sufficient that the clink of the shovel and +clatter of flung-up gravel came out of the scented shadow, in token that +Tomlinson's claim was on the lead, the bed which had been worn out and +left ages ago by the Green River, or some other, which had washed away +the matrix rock. + +Ingleby stopped beside the windlass and rolled the sleeves of his blue +shirt to the elbow as he looked into the shadow beneath him. + +"Exactly what is down there I don't know, and it seems a little +astonishing now that I didn't ask Tomlinson when I bought the mine," he +said. "There should be a thousand dollars, anyway. Tom, are you going to +stand shares with me?" + +Leger looked at the shaft, and for no very apparent reason became +sensible of unpleasant misgivings. + +"No," he said. "You hold only a third-share, anyway, and I'm not sure +that if you split it up there would be enough for two. Still, I'll stay +with you until this evening. You should have some notion how the thing +will work out by then." + +They went down and toiled steadily for several hours in the short +heading Tomlinson had driven. Then Leger ascended and hove up the bucket +Ingleby filled, after which they transported the debris to the rocker at +the adjacent creek. Tomlinson's flume, which would bring the water to +the mine, was not finished yet. By the time this was done the dinner +hour had come, and Leger looked at Ingleby as he took up his axe. + +"Would you like to go on?" he asked. + +"No," said Ingleby, with a little harsh laugh. "There was a time when if +I'd had no food since yesterday I should not have stopped, but one gets +over that. Besides, I almost fancy we shall know quite soon enough what +a third-share in the Tomlinson mine is worth." + +Leger made a fire, and Sewell appeared while they ate. + +"I have made the record. How have you got on?" he inquired. + +Ingleby pointed to the pile of soil and stones and sand. "So far. We are +not going any farther until after dinner. It is not very long since I +turned prospector, but I have twice bottomed on gold and had to let it +go. The last occasion was only two or three hours ago--and I'm not quite +sure I've got over it yet." + +Sewell nodded sympathetically. "There is gold here--though it's +remarkable that nobody seems to know how much," he said. "Tomlinson +apparently was not communicative." + +"That," said Ingleby, "is, of course, the question. If there is not a +good deal a third-share is scarcely likely to recompense me for leaving +the other claim, especially when there is a thousand dollars to come out +of this one. That's one reason I'm getting dinner before I go any +further. I bought a pig in a poke, you see, and now I'm almost afraid to +open it." + +"I wonder why you made the bargain, especially in view of the fact that +Tomlinson told you the chances of striking gold on your own claim were +good." + +Ingleby appeared a trifle confused. "Well," he said, "Tomlinson had +found gold while I hadn't then--and one naturally prefers a certainty. +The man was in a difficulty, too." + +"Tomlinson, in fact, made use of the old woman back in Oregon somewhat +artistically." + +Ingleby flushed a trifle. He was one who, though he had, formerly, at +least, proclaimed his views, nervously concealed his charities. + +"Tomlinson never meant to wrong me of a dollar. He isn't that kind of +man," he said. + +"No," said Sewell, with a little laugh, "I scarcely think he did. Well, +are we to help you with the wash-up?" + +They toiled for awhile knee-deep in very cold water while the rocker +clashed and rattled, and Ingleby, whose face grew a trifle grim as the +time wore on, washed out the residue of its contents in a little pan. +Then, for the others insisted, when there was a good deal of the pile +left, they went back to the mine; and the hour of supper had crept round +again when Ingleby came out of the stream carrying the result of all +that they had done in a little pan. He stood still a moment in the +shadow of the pines, and his lips were set and his eyes unusually grave +as he looked at Sewell. + +"If your new claim turns out dirt equal to what we found this morning +you will go South rich," he said. "I would sooner you had it than +anybody else--and I don't think I grudge it you." + +Sewell took the pan from him and glanced into it. "I'm sorry," he said +simply. "The thing is done now, and I can't make you a partner unless +you let Tomlinson's claim go, which I presume you don't mean to do." + +"That is, of course, quite out of the question. Tomlinson went out +believing it was safe with me." + +"Then we come back to the other suggestion. I still fancy you are +entitled to sell me what one might consider your option on the claim. +There are men in the valley who would have willingly handed you their +bill for a thousand dollars for the information you supplied me." + +Ingleby looked at him steadily, with his head held back a little. + +"It already belonged to the Crown," he said. "Have I ever done anything +that would lead my friends to believe they could bestow alms on me?" + +Sewell smiled. "I fancy there are one or two of them who advocate a +community of property!" + +It occurred to Leger that it might be advisable to change the subject. +"I'm afraid we usually stop there," he said, with a grin. "It has seemed +to me lately that there are two difficulties in the way of bringing an +equitable division, about, though most people only recognize the obvious +one, which is, however, serious enough. I mean inducing the people who +have anything worth having to part with it." + +"And the other?" + +"The other," said Leger reflectively, "would consist in inducing the +people who have very little to receive it. There are a few of them who +wouldn't be willing to do so--at least, in the Colonies. They want to +reap only what they have sown." + +"It isn't quite clear that they will be permitted." + +Leger smiled drily, though he looked hard at Sewell. "Well," he said, "I +almost fancy one could leave it to them. It would be an unfortunate +thing for the men who insisted on getting in the way of the sickle." + +Then he turned to Ingleby, and laid a hand on his shoulder. "It might be +worse," he said. + +"Yes," answered Ingleby, who laughed a little, though it cost him an +effort, "considerably. The man who has what is evidently a very good +living in his hands really doesn't deserve very much sympathy. Still, +you see, I twice threw away what looked like a fortune. Any one would +find the reflection apt to worry him." + +They went away and left him sitting on a blackened cedar stump in the +desolate clearing. The clink of the shovels no longer rose from beyond +the sombre trees, and there was deep stillness in the hollow. The gaps +in the forest grew duskier, and a peak across the valley flung a cold +blue shadow athwart the gleaming snow. The dew was settling heavily; but +Ingleby sat still, grave in face, seeing nothing, until he rose with a +little resolute shake of his shoulders and, slipping down from the +stump, took up his axe. + +He had twice thrown away a fortune, and with it, for a time, at least, +the prospect of realizing a very precious hope; but fortunes are now and +then retrieved suddenly in that country; and, in any case, a man who +would work must eat. + + + + +XXII + +ALISON'S SAULT + + +Some weeks had passed since Ingleby took over Tomlinson's claim, when +one lowering evening Grace Coulthurst pulled up her cayuse pony in the +depths of the Green River valley. Leaden cloud had veiled the peaks +since early morning, and now the pines were wailing dolefully beneath a +bitter breeze. A little dust of snow, fine and dry as flour, whirled +about her, and the trail was hard as adamant beneath her pony's feet. +The beast pricked its ears and stamped impatiently, for it had been bred +in the wilderness and knew what was coming. + +Grace, whose fingers were growing stiff, relaxed her grasp on the +bridle, and looked about her observantly, but without uneasiness. She +was some distance from home, and daylight was dying out unusually early, +while few horses unaccustomed to the mountains could have scrambled over +either of the trails. There were two of them, foot-wide tracks which +climbed up and down steep hollows and twisted round great fallen trees, +and she had stopped at the forking, though there was, she knew, very +little to choose between them. + +The bush was a little thinner just there, but she could see nothing +beyond dim colonnades of towering trunks that were rapidly fading into +the gloom. The cold was nipping, and she shivered when the breeze +dropped a moment. The silence was startling, and she felt it almost a +relief when a low crescendo murmur like the sound of distant surf rose +from the pines as the wind awoke again. Then a puff of powdery snow +stung her tingling cheeks, and she shook the bridle and turned the +cayuse into the lower trail. + +She had ridden to the mines at the head of the valley early in the +afternoon, while her father walked by her stirrup, which, considering +the nature of the trail, he had no difficulty in doing. Indeed, he had +led, and now and then dragged, the horse up parts of it. There had, as +not infrequently happened, been a dispute concerning the boundaries of a +placer claim, and the commissioner had gone over to adjudicate. He was +not a brilliant man, but he showed no one favour, and the whimsically +expressed decisions which he apparently blundered upon gave general +satisfaction and are still remembered in the Green River valley. It was +also characteristic of him that he had saved more than one difficult +situation, in which a logical exposition of the mining laws would +probably have been unavailing, by a little free badinage. + +In the meanwhile his daughter, whom he had bidden ride home, realized +without any undue anxiety that it might be advisable to reach there as +soon as she could. She was at home in the saddle, and rightly thought +herself secure from any difficulty that might not be occasioned by the +weather. The free miner is a somewhat chivalrous person, which is going +far enough by way of appreciation, since the epithet which might suggest +itself to those acquainted with his characteristics has little meaning +in the land to which he belongs, where men have outgrown the need of +meretricious titles. Still, when a thin white haze blotted out the dim +colonnades and obscured the firs beside the trail she strove to quicken +the cayuse's pace a trifle. The beast was apparently already doing what +it could, clambering up slopes of gravel, sliding down them amidst a +great clatter of stones, and turning and twisting amidst tangled +undergrowth. + +Now and then a drooping branch whipped the girl as she went by or shook +the snow that was gathering on it into her face, and the withered fern +smote smears of white powder across her skirt. Winter was closing in +earlier than any one had expected, and that night an Arctic cold +descended suddenly upon the lonely valley. Her hands grew numb on the +bridle, all sense of feeling seemed to go out of the foot in the +stirrup, and at last it was with difficulty she pulled up the cayuse, +which appeared as anxious to get home as she was. They had floundered +round the spreading branches of a great fallen tree, and now there no +longer appeared to be a trail beneath them. + +Grace shivered all through as she looked about her. The pines were +roaring in the sliding haze; the air was thick with dust, not flakes, of +snow. Here and there she could dimly see a tree, but the white powder +obscured her sight and stung her face when she lifted it. She could not +remember having passed that fallen tree when riding out, nor could she +recall how long it was since she had seen the narrow trail in front of +her. Where it was now she did not know, but there was, at least, the +sound of the river on one side of her, when she could hear it across the +moaning of the trees. In heading for it she would probably strike the +trail again, and once more she spoke to the cayuse and shook the bridle. +She was becoming distinctly anxious now. + +Then a hazy object appeared suddenly a few yards in front of her, and +stopped at her cry, while in another moment Ingleby was standing by her +stirrup, and her apprehensions melted away. It was significant that she +was by no means astonished. She felt that it was only fitting that when +she wanted him he should be there. The mere sight of his face, of which +she caught a faint glimpse, was reassuring. + +"Do you know that I am very glad I met you? Where is the trail?" she +said. + +Ingleby did not protest that it afforded him an equal gratification, +and if he had done so it would probably not have pleased her. Grace was +critical, and rather liked the reticence which was, it seemed, in +harmony with his character--that is, since he had, fortunately, grown +out of the evil habit of discussing social economics. + +"I don't think it can be far away. In fact, I was Just trying to cut off +a bend of it," he said, with a little laugh. + +"It isn't exactly a pleasant night for a stroll through the bush," said +Grace suggestively. + +"No," replied Ingleby, who fell into the snare. "Still, you see, they +were expecting me at the bakery." + +Grace was by no means pleased at this. Certain observations Esmond had +once let fall with a purpose had not been without their effect on her, +and she remembered that the girl at the bakery was, it had to be +admitted, pretty. It also appeared likely that she was what is now and +then termed forward. Grace's displeasure, which she did not, of course, +express, might, however, have been greater had there been any delay in +the man's answer. + +"Then if you will show me the trail I will not keep you. I am getting +cold," she said. + +Ingleby took the bridle, and he and the cayuse floundered through what +appeared to be a horrible maze of fallen branches and tangled +undergrowth. In fact, Grace fancied she heard her skirt rip as they +struggled in it. Then the bush became a little clearer, and they went on +more briskly, up and down steep slopes and past dim blurs of trees, +while soil and gravel alike rang beneath the cayuse's feet. How long +this continued Grace did not exactly know, nor had she any notion as to +where they were. The only reassuring thing was the glimpse she had of +Ingleby plodding on beside her horse's head, which was, however, quite +sufficient. Still, civility demanded something, and at last she bade him +stop. + +"I'm afraid I must be taking you away from the bakery," she said. + +Ingleby laughed. "I am, of course, not going there now." + +That should have been sufficient, but Grace was not quite contented. +Compliments on her beauty seldom pleased her, but she liked to feel the +hold she had upon those she attracted, and was not averse to having it +explained to her. + +"No?" she said. "Then where are you going?" + +Ingleby appeared a trifle astonished, as though he considered the +question quite unnecessary, which was naturally gratifying. + +"To the Gold Commissioner's residence," he said. + +"With my permission?" and Grace laughed. + +Ingleby did not look at her. He was apparently staring at the forest, +which loomed through the whirling haze a faint blur of vanishing trees, +and he flung the answer over his shoulder. + +"I think I would venture to go without it to-night," he said. + +This was significant, but although the snow was certainly getting +thicker and the cold struck through her like an icy knife, Grace no +longer felt any apprehension. She was not unaccustomed to physical +discomfort and peril, and there could be, she felt, no doubt of her +reaching home safely while Ingleby plodded at the horse's head. He was +young, and by no means assertive, but there were men in the Green River +valley who shared her confidence in him. Still, the rough flounder +through the brushwood was becoming irksome, and where the trees were +smaller she could not avoid all the drooping branches by swaying in the +saddle, and at last she bade him pull up again. + +"We are a long while striking the trail," she said. + +"Yes," said Ingleby, without turning towards her. + +Grace leaned down and touched him. "Why haven't we found it? I mean you +to tell me." + +The man made a little gesture, for he recognized that tone. + +"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "We have struck it, and didn't recognize +it. In fact, we must have gone straight across and left it behind us." + +Grace sat still and looked at him. She could not see his face; he was no +more than a blurred shadowy shape in the haze of sliding snow. Still, +she could make out that he was standing very straight with slightly +tilted head, and she knew the intentness of gaze and look of tenacity in +the hidden face which usually accompanied that attitude. His answer also +pleased her. There was no attempt at concealing unpleasant +probabilities, for the man spoke frankly as to one whom he regarded as +his equal in courage and everything except, perhaps, bodily strength. In +the meanwhile, however, they were alone in the wilderness, cut off from +all hope of succour by anything but their own resources in a haze of +snow, with their limbs slowly stiffening under the Arctic cold. + +"Then what are we to do?" she asked. + +"Push on," said Ingleby. "The river must be close at hand to the right +of us. That is why I'm keeping to the higher ground. I don't want to +strike until we have passed Alison's Sault." + +He wrenched at the bridle; but Grace had faint misgivings as they +floundered on again. Sault in that country implies a fall or rapid, and +the one in question was called after a prospector who had drowned +himself and a comrade there. It swept down to the mouth of the cañon in +a wild white rush, studded with great boulders that bruised and scarred +the pines the flood hurled down on them; and what made it more perilous +in the dark was the fact that the trail dipped to the brink of the +smaller rapids at the tail of it. Indeed, it was often necessary to +splash knee-deep through the slack of them along the shore; and Alison +had come by his death through mistaking the big sault for one of the +smaller ones on a black night. The man who fished him out of an eddy a +week later said that Alison looked very much as though he had been put +through a threshing mill. + +It was, Grace fancied, half an hour later when they floundered down a +declivity, with the roar of the river growing louder in their ears. It +was with difficulty she kept in the saddle, and she was vaguely +conscious that her skirt was rent to tatters, though she was too stiff +and cold to trouble about that now. Even in the thicker timber the snow +was almost bewildering, and it was only now and then she could see +Ingleby scrambling and floundering in front of her. He was evidently +making his course by sound, for there was nothing that she could discern +to guide him. + +Then somehow they slid down a bank, and there was a splash that told her +the cayuse was in the water. Ingleby seemed to be struggling with the +beast, but she could not make out why he did so. Nor did it seem of any +moment. She was dazed and bewildered and intolerably cold. There was a +further splashing, a plunge, and a flounder; the water rose to her +stirrup, and for a few horrible moments she felt that the beast was +going downstream with her. It was evident by the depth that they were in +the Sault. She fancied she cried out in her terror and that Ingleby +shouted in answer, but the roar of the river drowned the sound. In +another few seconds, however, the horse apparently struck rock with its +hoofs again; then the water that had lapped about her skirt seemed to +fall away, and in a frantic scrambling Ingleby dragged the pony up the +bank. The cayuse stood still, trembling, at the top of it, and Ingleby +was apparently quivering, too, for his voice shook a little as he +answered her half-coherent questions. + +"Alison's Sault!" he said hoarsely. "It should have been behind us. I +never recognized it until the river swept my feet from under me. I +suppose I was dazed by the snow." + +Grace sat silent a moment. She knew that they had looked death in the +face, for nothing made of flesh and blood could carry the life in it +through the mad turmoil of rock and flood in Alison's Sault. The roar of +the river was very impressive now, and the man's voice had shown that he +was shaken by some strong emotion which was not personal fear. Then, as +the crash of a great pine against a stream-swept stone rang through the +deep reverberations, she bent down and touched his shoulder. The contact +was momentary, but she felt a little quiver run through him. + +"Nobody could have recognized it on such a night. It was not your +fault," she said. + +"I can't forgive myself. The cayuse got out of hand--I couldn't hold +him. He was heading out into the stream. If that ledge hadn't been +there----" + +He stopped with a gasp, and Grace was glad to recognize that of the two +she was the one who showed less concern. She guessed what he was +feeling, but could not restrain the desire to make certain. + +"Well," she said. "If the shelf of rock had not been there?" + +Ingleby turned and seemed to be listening to the river. Perhaps he did +it unconsciously, but the hoarse roar of the flood among the boulders +was sufficient answer. + +"You were not cumbered with a horse that had lost its head. There is a +little slack close to the bank," she said. + +The man turned and seemed by his attitude to be gazing at her in +astonishment. + +"You can't suppose I should have scrambled out alone?" he said. + +There was a suggestion of anger in his voice which Grace recognized as +wholly genuine. She had met and formed her own opinion of the +protestations of not a few young men in her time, and it was evident to +her that, while Ingleby's attitude became him, he did not recognize the +fact. + +"You felt yourself responsible then?" she suggested. + +"No," said the man slowly. "I certainly didn't; though it's clear that I +was. I don't think I felt anything except that--you--were in the rapid." + +This was also evidently perfectly sincere, but he seemed to pull himself +up abruptly, and laughed in a fashion that suggested embarrassment. + +"You will not remember that little speech. It's not the kind of thing +one is pleased with afterwards; but, in the circumstances, it was, +perhaps, excusable," he said. + +He gave her no opportunity for answering, but struck the cayuse, and +they went on again. Still, Grace had noticed the tremor in his voice, +and knew that he had meant exactly what he said. Nor was she displeased +at it. + +Then the thoughts and fancies which the moment of peril had galvanized +into activity grew blurred again, and she was only sensible of the +physical pain and weariness and an intolerable cold, as the man and +beast stumbled on. Twice again they dipped to the river, which, however, +scarcely rose to his knee, and after that there was only a sliding past +of snow-dimmed trees, while by a grim effort she kept herself in the +saddle. Then at last a light blinked in front of her through the filmy +haze, the cayuse stopped, and Ingleby, it seemed, lifted her down. At +least, she felt his arm about her, and then found herself standing +beside him before the commissioner's dwelling without any very clear +notion of how she came there. It was only afterwards she remembered, +with tingling cheeks, how she had seen a miner walk away with a +one-hundred-and-forty-pound bag of flour. Then they went into a lighted +room together, and stood still, gasping, a moment, with a distressful +dizziness creeping over both of them. Ingleby apparently roused himself +with an effort, and threw the door open. + +"Keep away from the stove," he said, a trifle faintly. "There's a chair +yonder." + +He stood in the entrance, white with snow, looking at her. The blood +was in her head now, and a most unpleasant tingling ran through her +half-frozen limbs, but Ingleby was a trifle grey in face. + +"You can shut the door in another minute or two. I may come back +to-morrow to make sure you are none the worse?" he asked. + +Grace looked at him with a smile. "You can't go away now." + +Ingleby turned and glanced at the whirling haze that swept athwart the +light in the veranda. + +"I'm afraid I must," he said. "It would be difficult to get off the +trail as far as the bakery, and there is apparently nothing I can do for +you here. Somebody lighted the fire?" + +"One of the police troopers," said Grace. "That doesn't matter. It is +snowing harder than ever. You can't go away." + +She had brushed aside the dictates of conventionality, and the blood was +in her face and a curious sparkle in her eyes. They had been close to +death together a little while ago, and it was a long way to the bakery. +Still, it was not this fact alone that impelled her to bid him stay. + +"I'm afraid I must," he said slowly, as with an effort. "You see, there +is something I have to talk over with Leger. He expects me. Besides, it +would be advisable to send back any of the boys who may be there to see +what has become of the major." + +Then he turned abruptly, and Grace, who had scarcely remembered the +major, laughed curiously when he went out of the door. She knew now, at +least, exactly what she felt for Ingleby, and had he stayed and declared +boldly what his wishes were, it is probable that Coulthurst would have +been astonished when he came home. Ingleby, however, had gone away, and +the girl was left standing, flushed in face, with the melting snow +dripping from her, beside the stove, which she remembered with some +little satisfaction was precisely what he had told her not to do. Then +with a little disdainful gesture she swept into the adjoining room. + + + + +XXIII + +INGLEBY LOSES HIS HEAD + + +A keen frost had followed the snow, but there was warmth and a +brightness in the little inner room of the Gold Commissioner's house. +Its log walls and double casements kept out the stinging cold, the stove +snapped and crackled, and a big lamp diffused a cheerful light. Ingleby, +who had just come in, sat with his back to the logs, with Coulthurst and +Grace opposite him. Grace was in the shadow, but the light shone full +upon the major's weather-darkened face. + +"Grace," he said, "is, as you can see, none the worse, but it was a +fortunate thing you turned up when you did. Very much obliged to you for +taking such good care of her." + +It was evident to Ingleby that Coulthurst did not know what had nearly +happened at Alison's Sault. He had, in fact, already had reasons for +surmising that Miss Coulthurst did not think it advisable to tell her +father everything. + +"I'm not sure it wouldn't have been better if I had not met Miss +Coulthurst, sir," he said. "In that case she would probably have gone +back, and waited with you until daylight, which would have saved you +both a good deal of anxiety. Of course, when we made up our minds to +push on, I had no idea the snow would be so bad." + +"It's questionable whether she could have found the way. I could see +nothing whatever, and scarcely fancy I would have got here if two of +the older prospectors hadn't come with me. In fact, I scarcely remember +a worse night anywhere, and one result of it is an unpleasant twinge in +the shoulder. I never used to get anything of that kind. I suppose I'm +getting old." + +It occurred to Ingleby that Coulthurst was certainly looking older than +he had done in England. There was a good deal of grey in his hair, his +cheeks were hollower, and there were deepening lines about his eyes. +Ingleby felt sorry for the man, who had served his nation for so small a +reward, that after a life of hardship he must bear the burden still, and +yet the fact was in one respect encouraging. Since Coulthurst's means +were scanty, there was less probability of his objecting too strenuously +to the successful miner who aspired to his daughter's hand; and, though +not so rich as the one Ingleby had thrown away, Tomlinson's claim was +yielding well. He, however, said nothing, and Coulthurst went on again. + +"A devil of a night! It would be hard on any one in the ranges. I wonder +where Tomlinson could have gone?" + +"One would naturally expect him to head for the settlements," said +Ingleby indifferently. + +"He left no trail behind him if he did. At least, Esmond's troopers +couldn't find any. There was, however, a good deal it is difficult to +understand about the affair. One point that would strike anybody is how +Tomlinson got away from here without being seen by Esmond, who turned up +almost as he must have gone off the veranda." + +"It really is a trifle hard to understand, sir." + +They looked at each other steadily for a moment or two, and then Ingleby +could have fancied that there was a twinkle in Coulthurst's eyes. + +"Perhaps it was as well he got away after all," he said. "Appearances +were against him, and it might have gone hard with him; but I can't +quite bring myself to believe that Tomlinson did the thing." + +Then Grace, who laughed softly, broke in. "Of course," she said, "you +tried very hard." + +A moment later there was a tramp of feet outside, and the major, who +passed into the outer room, came back in a minute or two. He smiled at +Ingleby somewhat drily. + +"It isn't news of Tomlinson," he said. "Noel has brought the Frenchman +over. They've been burrowing into each other's claims, and if I can't +straighten the thing out they'll probably settle their differences in +their own way with the shovel. I shall probably be half an hour over it, +but don't go." + +He went out, and left Ingleby with Grace. She looked none the worse for +the journey she had made the previous night, and was dressed with +unusual simplicity. Ingleby did not know what the fabric was, or whether +the colour was blue or grey, nor did it occur to him that its severe +simplicity was the result of skill; but he noticed that it enhanced the +girl's beauty and added a suggestion of stateliness to her figure, of +which Miss Coulthurst was probably quite aware. She looked up at him +with a little smile when a murmur of excited voices rose from the +adjoining room. + +"They will, of course, both be disgusted with his decision, whatever it +is," she said. "A Gold Commissioner has really a good deal to put up +with." + +"Major Coulthurst's position is naturally a responsible one," said +Ingleby. + +Grace laughed. "With a very disproportionate emolument--which is a point +one has to consider after all. I'm not sure it wouldn't have been better +if he had been a prospector." + +Ingleby's pulse throbbed a trifle faster. He had no great knowledge of +the gentler sex; but he was not a fool, and it seemed to him that the +girl had not spoken altogether without a purpose. + +"I don't think you really believe that," he said. + +"Perhaps I don't," and Grace appeared to reflect. "At least, I suppose I +shouldn't have done so once, but, of course, a prospector who has done +sufficiently well for himself can take any place that pleases him in +Canada." + +"Still, you don't think that right." + +"It would naturally depend a good deal upon the prospector." + +Ingleby sat still, almost too still, in fact, for a moment or two; but +he could not hide the little gleam in his eyes. He had, it is true, +democratic views, that is, so far as everybody but Grace Coulthurst was +concerned; but he was quite willing to admit that she was a being of a +very different and much higher order than his own. That added to the +attraction she had for him; and now she had suggested that they were, +after all, more or less on the same level. It was almost disconcerting. +He did not know what to make of it; but while he pondered over it she +flashed a quick glance at him. + +"I wonder if you know how Tomlinson got away?" she asked. + +It was apparently an astonishingly abrupt change of subject, but when +Ingleby, who had grown wiser in the meanwhile, afterwards recalled that +night, he was less sure that it might not have been, after all, part of +an instinctive continuity of policy. He had discovered by then that even +very charming and ingenuous women not infrequently have a policy. + +"I don't mind admitting that I do--to you," he said. + +Grace was pleased and showed it. It is gratifying to feel that anybody +has complete confidence in one, and the possession of a common secret of +some importance is not infrequently a bond between the two who share it. +Ingleby realized this and felt with a curious gratification that the +girl recognized it as clearly as he did. Still, she had said nothing +that could lead him to believe so. + +"Then you no doubt know where he went?" she asked. + +"I naturally know that, too." + +Grace smiled. "That means you helped him to get away. Are you wise in +admitting that you were an accessory? Captain Esmond is a friend of +ours." + +Ingleby made her a little whimsical inclination, though there was a look +in his eyes which was not quite in keeping with it. + +"I am," he said, "quite safe in your hands." + +It was a fortunate answer, and worth the more because he was not usually +a very tactful person, as the girl was aware. She was afflicted by a +craving for influence, and it was not the adulation of men she wanted, +but an insight into their thoughts and purposes, and the privilege of +controlling them. Thus Ingleby, who did not know it, could not have done +more wisely than he did in admitting that he had an unquestioning +confidence in her. He was, as she had discovered some time ago, in spite +of his simplicity, a man capable of bold conceptions and resolute +execution, the type of man, in fact, that usually came to the front in +Western Canada. She had the intelligence to realize and weigh all this, +and yet there was a strain of passion in her which he had awakened. + +"I almost think you are," she said. "How is the new claim progressing?" + +"Reasonably well. In fact, although Sewell is apparently getting rich on +the one I threw away, I can't complain. What he makes will, at least, be +spent on what he thinks is doing good, while I want mine for my own +selfish purposes." + +"They are necessarily selfish?" + +Ingleby laughed, though the little glow crept into his eyes again. +"Well," he said, "I suppose so. You see, a third-share in Tomlinson's +claim is not of itself of much value to me. It only provides the money +to make a start with." + +Grace nodded comprehendingly. He was crude in his mode of expression, +but she understood him. + +"That implies a going on?" she asked. + +"It does," and Ingleby laughed. "There is room, I think, in this +Province for men who will take big risks, and boldly stake what they +have on the advancement of its prosperity. I'm not sure there is any +reason I shouldn't be one of them." + +"And gather in the money? More than you are entitled to? Haven't you +been changing your opinions?" + +Ingleby made a little whimsical gesture, which alone sufficed to show +that he had, as the girl expressed it to herself, expanded. + +"I suppose I have--that is, I have modified them. One has to now and +then," he said. "Still, you see, the men I mean don't grind money out of +others. They create it. They take hold of the wilderness, bridge the +rivers, drive the roads through it, and the ranches and the orchards +follow. Every man who makes a new home in the waste owes a little to +them." + +"Still, all that is not done easily. One must have the faith--and, as +you suggest, the money with which to make the start. Even then the +ladder is hard to climb." + +Ingleby involuntarily glanced down at his hands, and the girl noticed +the scars on them, which, however, did not repel her. She also noticed +the spareness of his frame, the curious transparency of his darkened +skin, and the brightness of his eyes, all significant of an intensity of +bodily effort. The man had been purged of grossness, moral and physical, +by toil in icy water and scorching sun, and the light that shone out +through his eyes was the brighter for the hardships he had undergone. He +had gained more than vigour while he swung the shovel and gripped the +drill with hands that bled from the blundering hammer stroke, after +other men's work was done. It is possible that he had also gained more +than tenacity of will. + +"Still," he said slowly, "I think I shall manage it." + +Grace felt that this was likely. She realized the purpose which animated +him, and there suddenly came upon her a desire that he should tell it to +her. She knew that he would do so when he felt the time was ripe; but +she wished to hear it now, or, at least, to see how far his reticence +would carry him. She leaned forward a little and looked him steadily in +the eyes. + +"It will be a struggle," she said. "Is it worth while?" + +Ingleby stirred uneasily beneath her gaze, for it seemed to him that she +had brushed aside every distinction there might be between them. He did +not know how she had conveyed this impression, but he felt it. She was +also very close to him. As she moved, the hem of her skirt had touched +him, and he felt the blood tingle in his veins. + +"It would be worth dying for," he said. + +Grace laughed in a curious fashion. "The money, and the envy of less +fortunate men?" + +Ingleby stood up suddenly, though he scarcely knew why he did so, or how +it came about that he yielded with scarcely a struggle now to the +impulse that swept him away. It is, however, possible that Grace +Coulthurst, who had only looked at him, understood the reason. + +"Success would be worth nothing without another thing," he said. "Like +what I have already, the money wouldn't be mine, you see. I am not poor +now--but I should never have held on here by any strength of purpose +that was in me alone. I borrowed it from another person." + +He stopped abruptly, half-afraid, wondering what had happened to him +that the truth should be wrung from him in this fashion. Then he saw the +clear rose colour creep into the girl's cheeks and the sudden softening +of her eyes, and his courage came back to him. He had ventured too far +to be silent now. + +"Yes," he said, "there is somebody I owe everything to--and it's you." + +Grace do longer looked at him, but sat still now with hands clasped on +her knees, and Ingleby felt the silence becoming intolerable. There was +still a murmur of voices in the adjoining room, and he could hear the +wind outside moaning among the pines. + +"I suppose I have offended past forgiveness. I did not mean to tell you +this to-night," he said. + +Grace looked up for a moment. "Oh," she said softly, "I think I +knew--and you see I am not blaming you." + +Ingleby quivered visibly, and his face grew hot; but while the desire to +kneel beside her and seize the clasped hands was almost irresistible, he +stood still, looking gravely down upon her, which was, perhaps, not wise +of him. + +"You knew?" he said. + +"Is that so difficult to understand, after what happened at Alison's +Sault?" + +Ingleby bent down and took one of her hands, but he did it very gently, +though the signs of the fierce restraint he laid upon himself were in +his face. + +"I should never have told you, Grace--I lost my head," he said. "Still, +the one hope that has led me so far, and will, I think, lead me farther, +has been that I might--one day when the time was ripe--induce you to +listen, and not send me away. Now it must be sufficient that you are not +angry. I can take no promise from you." + +"Is it worth so little?" Grace said softly. + +Ingleby's grasp tightened on her hand until it grew almost painful. "It +would," he said, "be worth everything to me, but I dare not take it now. +What I am, you know--but the claim is yielding well--and I only want a +little time. Until I can ask Major Coulthurst for you boldly you must be +free." + +Grace looked up at him. "And you?" + +"I," said Ingleby with a little grave smile, "was your very willing +bondsman ever so long ago." + +The hot flush had faded from his face, and the girl swept her skirt +aside, and made room for him beside her. There was, she knew, no fear of +his again breaking through the restraint he had laid upon himself. She +was, however, not altogether pleased at this, for while it was evident +that his attitude was warranted, the self-command which now +characterized it was not quite what she had expected. It scarcely +appeared natural under the circumstances. + +"Well," she said, "we will let it be so, and I have something to tell +you. I am going to Vancouver for the winter. In fact, I should have left +already but for the snow." + +Ingleby started visibly. "You are going away?" + +"Yes," said Grace, with a trace of dryness in her smile; "is that very +dreadful? You will go away in due time, too. While you struggle for what +you think will buy my favour, _I_ must wait patiently." + +"I suppose I have deserved it," and Ingleby winced. "Still, it will be +horribly hard to let you go. It is a good deal to know that you are here +even when I may not see you." + +Grace smiled. "Well," she said, "if that would afford you any great +satisfaction, is there any reason why you should not go to Vancouver +too? Most of the placer miners do." + +Ingleby's glance at her suggested that the notion had not occurred to +him. Regular work at the mine would be out of the question until the +spring came round again, and already several of the men were talking of +leaving the valley. He could also readily afford to spend a few months +in Vancouver now. Still, there was one insuperable obstacle. + +"If I had only kept my claim!" he said. "It is horribly unfortunate I +let it go." + +"How does that affect the question?" + +"I made a compact with Tomlinson to hold his claim for him." + +Once more the colour crept into Grace's face. "You do not mean to let +that stop you when there are men you could hire to do what the law +requires?" + +"You don't seem to understand," and there was a trace of astonishment in +Ingleby's eyes. "One could not depend absolutely upon them, and I made a +bargain with Tomlinson. That claim is worth everything to him and his +mother--I think it is--back in Oregon." + +The flush grew plainer in Grace's cheek. She was a trifle imperious, and +now her will had clashed with one that was as resolute as it. She was, +however, sensible that she had blundered. + +"Those men could do almost as much as you could, which would, after all, +be very little just now," she said. "I never meant that you should risk +the claim falling in." + +"They might fall sick, or get hurt." + +"And that might happen to you." + +"I should, at least, have kept my word to Tomlinson," said Ingleby +gravely. + +Grace was too proud to persist. He was right, of course, but the fact +that he would sooner part from her than incur the slightest risk of +breaking faith with Tomlinson had nevertheless its sting. That, however, +she would not show. + +"Then I suppose I must not complain," she said. "You evidently have no +intention of doing so." + +Ingleby made a little gesture. "It will be hard--but it can't be +helped," he replied. "As you said, I must go away too one day. Still, I +think that I, at least, will feel by and by that it was all worth +while." + +Then there was a tramp of feet in the adjoining room, and he raised the +hand he held and just touched it with his lips. It was not what Grace +would have expected from him, but she noticed that he did not do it +awkwardly. + +"That is all I ask until I have won my spurs," he said. "Just now I am +only the squire of low degree." + +Grace said nothing, for the door opened and the major came in. + + + + +XXIV + +THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS + + +It was a bitterly cold night, and Hetty Leger sat close to the fire +which crackled on the big hearth in the bakery shanty. It flung an +uncertain radiance and pungent aromatic odours about the little room, +but there was no other light. Kerosene is unpleasantly apt to impart its +characteristic flavour to provisions when jolted for leagues in company +with them on the same pack-saddle, and the bringing of stores of any +kind into the Green River country was then a serious undertaking. Tom +Leger sat by the little table, and Sewell lay upon a kind of ottoman +ingeniously extemporized out of spruce-twigs and provision bags. + +It was significant that they were assembled in what had been Hetty's +private apartment, for the bakery had grown, and there were two other +rooms attached to it now. Leger had also struck gold a little while ago, +and there was no longer any necessity for Hetty to continue baking, +though she did so. She said she had grown used to it, and would sooner +have something to do; but it had seemed to Leger that while everything +was done with her customary neatness and system there was a change in +her, and he fancied she did her work more to keep herself occupied than +because she took pleasure in it. It had not been so once. In fact, the +change had only become perceptible after Ingleby left the bakery; but +Leger was wise in some respects and made no sign that he noticed this. + +On that particular evening Hetty had not displayed her usual +tranquillity of temper, and she turned to her brother with a little +shiver. + +"Can't you put on some more wood? It's disgustingly cold," she said. "If +I'd known they had weather like this here I'd have stayed in Vancouver." + +Leger remembered that she had once professed herself perfectly contented +with the Green River country, but he did not think it advisable to +mention the fact. He rose and flung an armful of wood upon the fire, and +then stood still smiling. + +"You know you can go back there and stay through the winter, if you +would like to," he said. + +"That's nonsense," said Hetty. "How could I go myself? You and your +friends haven't made everybody nice to everybody yet. I'm not going, +anyway, and if you worry me I'll be cross." + +She looked up sharply and saw that Sewell's face was unnaturally grave. + +"Of course," she said, "you were grinning at Tom a moment ago. Still, I +can't help it if I am a very little cross just now. It's the cold--and +Tom spoiled the last batch of bread. It is cold, isn't it? If it hadn't +been, we shouldn't have seen you." + +"I don't know why you should seem so sure of that," said Sewell. + +Hetty looked at him sharply. "Well," she said, "I am. You would have +gone on to the major's. You know you would. What do you go there so +often for?" + +Sewell had occasionally found Hetty's questions disconcerting, but he +saw that she expected an answer. + +"I am rather fond of chess," he said. + +Hetty smiled incredulously. "That's rubbish!" + +"The major, at least, likes a game, and after pulling him back into this +wicked world from the edge of a gully one naturally feel that he owes +him a little." + +"You didn't pull him. It was Walter. Hadn't you better try again?" + +Sewell appeared a trifle embarrassed, for he saw that Leger was becoming +interested. + +"It is, to some extent, my business to understand the habits of the +ruling classes," he said reflectively. "You see, it's almost necessary. +Unless I know a little about them, how can I persuade anybody how far +they are beneath us, as I'm expected to do?" + +Hetty laughed. "Well," she said, "you haven't tried to do anything of +that kind for a long while now. Anyway, it seems to me that you knew a +good deal about them before you ever saw Major Coulthurst. Of course, +it's not my business, but if I were the major I'd make you tell me +exactly what you were going there for." + +Sewell apparently did not relish this, though he laughed. It happens +occasionally that those most concerned in what is going on are the last +to notice it, and it had not occurred to Coulthurst or Ingleby that +Sewell spent his evenings at the Gold Commissioner's dwelling +frequently. He had, however, not often met Ingleby there, and it was +significant that neither of them ever mentioned Grace Coulthurst to the +other. In any case, Sewell did not answer, and while they sat silent +there was a tramp of feet outside and the corporal came in. He was a +taciturn and somewhat unsociable man, but he smiled as he looked at +Hetty and sat down where the rude chimney Tomlinson had built was +between him and the one small window. + +"It's a bitter night, and there's 'most four foot of snow on the range. +I figured I'd look in to tell you it will be two or three days yet +before you get the flour the folks at the settlements are sending up," +he said. "A trooper has just come in with the mail, and he left the +freighter and his beasts held up by the snow." + +He stopped a moment, and looked at Leger somewhat curiously. "Somebody +has just gone away?" + +"No," said Leger. "We have had nobody here. We are expecting Ingleby, +but he hasn't turned up yet." + +"Quite sure he's not outside there?" + +"It's scarcely likely. It's a little too cold for anybody to stay +outside when he needn't. Ingleby would certainly come in." + +"Well," said the corporal, "I guess I didn't see anybody, after all. It +was quite dark, anyway, in among the trees. Winter's shutting down on us +'most a month before it should have done. It's kind of fortunate we sent +the horses out when we did. I don't know what they wanted to bring them +for. Nobody has any use for horses in this country." + +It was evident that the worthy corporal was bent on getting away from +what he felt to be an awkward topic, and Hetty laughed outright at his +quite unnecessary delicacy. + +"No," she said, "you know you saw somebody, and fancied it was one of +the boys waiting to see me." + +The corporal appeared embarrassed, but was wise enough not to involve +himself further. "Well," he said, "when I was coming along the trail I +saw a man slip in behind a cedar. That kind of struck me as not the +usual thing, and I went round the other way to meet him. It was quite a +big tree, and when I got around he wasn't there. You keep the dust you +get for the bread in the shanty, Leger?" + +"Yes," said Leger. "Most of the boys who come here know where it is. I +really don't think there is any reason why they shouldn't, either." + +"No," said the corporal reflectively, "I guess there isn't. I'll say +that for them. Still, I did see somebody." + +He contrived to glance round at the faces of the rest, unnoticed by any +of them except Hetty, and was satisfied that they knew no more than he +did. The corporal had been a long while a policeman, and had quick +perceptions. He decided to look into the matter later. + +"Well," he said, "I guess it's not worth worrying over." + +He drew a little closer to the fire, and nobody said anything for a +minute or two, though Hetty glanced towards the little window. The room +was dim except when a blaze sprang up, and turning suddenly she stirred +the fire, and then, for no very apparent reason, set herself to listen. +The bush outside was very still, and she could hear the frost-dried snow +fall softly from a branch. Then there was a sharp snapping of resinous +wood in the fire, and it was not until that died away she heard a sound +again. It was very faint, and suggested a soft crunching down of powdery +snow. Nobody else seemed to hear it, not even the corporal, who was +apparently examining a rent in his tunic just then, and she had almost +persuaded herself that she had fancied it when she glanced towards the +window again. A flickering blaze was roaring up the chimney now. + +Then a little shiver ran through her, and closing her hands tight she +stared at the glass in horror. A face was pressed against it, a drawn, +grey face that seemed awry with pain. There was, however, something that +reminded her of somebody in it, and she was about to cry out when she +felt a hand laid restrainingly on her arm. Glancing over her shoulder, +she saw that her brother was also gazing at the window, and then she +knew suddenly to whom the face belonged. It had gone when she looked +round again, and it was evident that neither Sewell nor the corporal had +seen it. Unfortunately, it appeared very unlikely that the man outside +could have seen the latter, and she knew that something must be done, or +in another moment or two Prospector Tomlinson would walk into the arms +of the policeman. Leger appeared incapable of suggesting anything and +was gazing at her with apprehension in his eyes. + +It was a singularly unpleasant moment. Hetty was aware that she and her +brother owed Tomlinson a good deal, and, in any case, it would be +particularly distasteful to see him arrested. She was also by no means +certain that her brother and Sewell would permit it, and the corporal +was a heavily-built man. It very seldom happens that a Northwest +policeman lets a prisoner go; and Hetty was quite aware that the result +of a struggle might be disastrous to everybody. She realized this in a +flash, and then there was a sound of shuffling feet outside in the snow. +They were approaching the doorway, and she knew it would be flung open +in another moment or two. Then the inspiration came suddenly. + +"There's somebody outside," she said, and laughed as she noticed the +bewildered consternation in her brother's eyes. "If it's Ingleby I don't +think I'll let him in." + +Her voice was almost as steady as usual, and apparently Leger alone +noticed the suggestion of strain in it, while next moment she crossed +the room and threw the door open. It was narrow, however, and she stood +carefully in the middle of it. + +"You're not coming in, Walter, until you cut some wood," she said. "You +never touched the axe the last time you came." + +Hetty's nerve almost failed her during the next few moments, and she +felt the throbbing of her heart while the man the others could not see +blinked at her stupidly. She dare venture no plainer warning, and he was +apparently dazed with cold and weariness. + +"I'm not going to stand here. It's too cold," she said. "If you're too +lazy to do what I tell you, I'll ask the corporal." + +Then she banged the door to, and went back to her seat with a little +laugh that sounded slightly hollow to her brother, at least. + +"If there's one thing Walter doesn't like it's chopping wood--and that's +why I wouldn't let him off," she said. "He hasn't troubled to come round +and see me for a week. I'm vexed with him." + +Now, the corporal was, of course, aware that throughout most of Western +Canada visitors to a homestead not infrequently lighten their hostess's +labour by washing the dishes or carrying wood. In the case of the +miners, who were pleased to spend an hour at the bakery, chopping wood +for the oven was the most obvious thing, though those specially favoured +were now and then permitted to weigh out flour or knead the bread. There +was thus nothing astonishing in what Hetty had apparently said to +Ingleby, nor did Sewell, who provoked the corporal into an attempt to +prove that the troopers' carbine was a more efficient weapon than the +miners' Marlin rifle, appear to notice anything unusual, and only Leger +saw that Hetty's colour was fainter than it had been and that she was +quivering a little. + +In the meanwhile there was a tramp of feet outside, which grew less +distinct, until the ringing chunk of the axe replaced it, and Leger +wondered how he could make Sewell understand that it was desirable to +cut the discussion short. He could think of no means of doing it and +glanced at Hetty anxiously, for how long the corporal meant to stay was +becoming a somewhat momentous question. A man accustomed to the axe can +split a good deal of wood in ten minutes, even when he works by +moonlight; and it was evident that the one outside could not continue +his chopping indefinitely without the corporal's wondering what was +keeping him. + +Ten minutes passed, and the regular thud of the axe rang through the +forest outside, while the corporal, who was a persistent man, still +discussed extractors and magazine springs. Leger felt the tension +becoming intolerable. Then Hetty contrived to catch Sewell's attention, +and, looking at him steadily, set her lips tight. The corporal had, as +it happened, turned from the girl; but she saw a gleam of comprehension +in Sewell's eyes. + +"Well," he said reflectively, "I suppose you are right. I like the +easier pull-off of the American rifles. One is less apt to shake the +sights off the mark, but no doubt with men accustomed to the handling +of rifled weapons, as the police troopers are, the little extra pull +required is no great matter." + +The corporal was evidently gratified. "I've shown quite a few men they +were wrong on that point, and now I guess I must be getting on. You'll +excuse me, Miss Leger?" + +He put on his fur-coat and opened the door, but Hetty's heart throbbed +again when he stopped a moment. As it happened, the fire was flashing +brilliantly, and the corporal appeared to be looking down at the +footprints by the threshold. + +"I've seen Ingleby twice since the snow came, and he was wearing +gum-boots," he said. "The man who was outside here had played-out +leather ones on." + +"Walter has an old pair he wore until lately," said Leger. "There's a +good deal of sharp grit in the Tomlinson mine, and he'd probably come +along in the boots he went down in." + +This appeared reasonable, and the corporal made a little gesture as +though to show that he concurred in it, and then, stepping forward, +disappeared into the night. Sewell rose and shut the door, and then +glanced at Hetty, who stood quivering a little in the middle of the +room. + +"I fancy one of you has something to tell me," he said. + +Hetty gasped. "Oh," she said, "I thought he meant to stay until morning! +It was getting awful, Tom." + +Then she looked at Sewell. "Don't you know?" she said. "It's Tomlinson." + +"Now," said Sewell, whose astonishment was evident, "I think I +understand. There can scarcely be many girls capable of doing what you +have done." + +Hetty made a little sign of impatience. "Yes, there are--lots of them. +Of course, you think all women are silly--you're only a man. Besides, +Tom pinched me. But why are you stopping here and talking? Go and bring +him." + +Both Leger and Sewell went, and Tomlinson came back with them. He was +haggard and ragged, and his thin jean garments were hard with the frozen +snow-dust. He dropped into the nearest chair and blinked at them. + +"Yes," he said, "I'm here and 'most starving. Get me something to eat, +and I'll try to tell you." + +They gave him what they had, and he ate ravenously, while Hetty's eyes +softened as she watched him. + +"You have had a hard time?" she said. + +"Yes," answered the man slowly, "I guess I had. I got stuck up in the +range. Couldn't make anything of the gorge in the loose snow. Tried to +crawl up over the ice track and dropped through. Burst the pack-straps +getting out, and don't know where most of the grub and one blanket went +to. It was the bigger packet. That was why I had to come back. I don't +quite know how I made the valley." + +"When did you lose the grub?" asked Sewell. + +Tomlinson shook his head. "I don't quite know," he said. "I guess it +must have been 'most three weeks ago." + +Leger looked at Sewell, for that was quite sufficient to give point to +the bald narrative. + +"What was in the smaller package would scarcely keep a man in health a +week," he said. "I'm not going to keep you talking, Tomlinson, +but--although it's fortunate you did so--why did you stop outside +instead of coming in?" + +"I saw a man," said Tomlinson. "I figured it wouldn't be wise to show +myself until I was sure of him. Then when I crawled up to the shanty I +didn't seem to remember anything. I only wanted to get in." + +He stopped, and looked at Leger. "I can't push on to-night--I'm 'most +used-up, but I'm not going to stay here and make trouble for you. I'll +light out again to-morrow." + +"You are going to lie down and sleep now," said Hetty severely. "We'll +decide what is the wisest thing to do to-morrow, but you shan't leave +the shanty for a day or two, anyway. No, I'm not going to listen to +anything. He's to sleep in the store, Tom." + +Tomlinson appeared desirous of protesting, but Leger laid a hand on his +shoulder and led him into an outbuilt room. + + + + +XXV + +TOMLINSON GETS AWAY + + +The early Canadian supper had been cleared away, and Sewell was sitting +with Grace Coulthurst opposite him by the little stove in the inner room +of the Gold Commissioner's dwelling, as he had done somewhat frequently +of late. The major was apparently occupied with his business in the +adjoining room, for they could hear a rustle of papers, and now and then +the shutting of a book, through the door, which stood partly open. He +closed one a trifle noisily, and the next moment his voice reached them. + +"This thing has kept me longer than I expected, but I must get it +finished before I stop. Esmond's sending a trooper off first thing +to-morrow," he said. "Still, I shall not be much longer, and then we'll +get out the chess." + +Coulthurst had spoken loudly, and as Sewell and Grace did not raise +their voices it appeared probable that he could not hear what they were +saying. Sewell smiled as he glanced at the girl. + +"I am not particularly impatient, or sorry for Major Coulthurst, though +one could fancy that his dislike of official correspondence is quite as +strong as his fondness for chess. He knows exactly what he has to do, +and does it without having to trouble about the results, which in his +case concern the Crown. That naturally simplifies one's outlook." + +"The major," said Grace reflectively, "has arrived at an age when one +does not expect too much, and is content with the obvious, which is +certainly an advantage." + +"And we, being younger, are different in that respect?" + +Grace was a trifle disconcerted, which occasionally happened when Sewell +talked to her, though she looked at him with a little smile in her eyes. +It was, at least, not very clear to her why she found it pleasant to +discuss such questions with him in a confidential voice when she had, to +all intents and purposes, plighted herself to Ingleby. Sewell was always +deferential, but there was something in his attitude which suggested +personal admiration for her, though she was not quite sure that the +vague word "liking" was not a little nearer the mark. How far that +liking went she did not know, but while she had no intention of allowing +it in any way to prejudice her regard for Ingleby, Sewell was, she knew, +of subtler and more complex nature, and the craving for influence was +strong in her. She knew what, under any given circumstances, Ingleby +would probably do, and though this was satisfactory in one respect it +had its disadvantages. She had long been troubled with a fondness for +probing into masculine thoughts and emotions, and it pleased her to find +an opportunity for directing them, which was not often afforded her in +Ingleby's case. His programme was usually cut and dried, and it was, as +a rule, an almost exasperatingly simple one. + +"I suppose we are," she said. "When I know what is expected of me, I +usually want to do something else." + +Now Sewell was not aware how matters stood between her and his comrade, +but he might have guessed what she was thinking, for his next remark was +curiously apposite. + +"I'm not sure that the obvious people are not the most fortunate," he +said, with a little laugh. "They know exactly what they want, which not +infrequently means that what they have to do to get it is equally plain. +It must necessarily save them a good many perplexities. Now take the +case of my very obvious comrade, Ingleby." + +"Well?" + +"Ingleby wants to make a fortune placer mining." + +"Which is, from your point of view, a most reprehensible thing!" + +Sewell laughed. "That is not quite the point. Perhaps he means to do +good with it, and it ought to be quite plain that Ingleby has no real +sympathy with Communist notions. In any case, he sets about it in the +simplest fashion by working most of every day and often half the night +as well. The result is that he has acquired what is apparently a +competence and is more or less contented with everything. Any one can +see it in the way he looks at you lately." + +Grace smiled, for it was evident that there were directions in which +Sewell's penetration was defective. + +"The fortune will probably come later," she said. "And then--" + +"Yes," said Sewell, with a little gesture of comprehension. "Since he +has made his mind up, he will, I fancy, manage that, too. Ingleby is +that kind of person. Then, if he does not do so sooner, he will +naturally marry Hetty Leger." + +Grace turned to him sharply and then directed his attention to the fact +that the door at the bottom of the stove admitted rather too much +draught. He was a moment or two adjusting it, and when he looked up +again she was smiling indifferently. + +"You are sure of that?" she said. + +"I think so. Ingleby invariably does the obvious thing, and she is +eminently suited to him. I'm not sure he recognizes it yet; but it will +certainly become evident, and then he will save himself and everybody +trouble by marrying her off-hand." + +Grace sat silent for almost a minute. It was perfectly clear that +Sewell did not know what his comrade's aspirations were, even as Ingleby +did not know how far her acquaintance with Sewell went. She was not +altogether displeased that it should be so, though she felt that it +would, after all, make no great change in their relations to each other +had they been aware. She did not desire Sewell as a lover, though it was +pleasant to feel that he valued her approbation and that she had his +confidence. + +"There are, of course, advantages in doing the obvious thing," she said, +with a little laugh. "I suppose we are really different from Ingleby in +that respect?" + +Sewell looked at her reflectively. "I think you are. One could almost +fancy you wanted so many things that you couldn't quite decide which was +the most important and give up the rest. The difficulty is that we can't +very often have them all, you see." + +It seemed to Grace that there was some truth in this. "You," she said, +"speak feelingly--as though it were from sympathy." + +"Well," said Sewell, with a curious little smile, "perhaps I do. In +fact, I'm not sure I'm not diagnosing my own case. A little while ago I +had a purpose and believed in it, though the belief naturally cost me a +good deal." + +"The creation of a new Utopia out of the wreck of the present social +fabric?" asked Grace, a trifle maliciously. + +"Something of the kind, though I did not expect to do it all myself. +While I was sure the thing was feasible, the fact that I was, or so I +felt, taking a little share in bringing it about was sufficient for me. +Now, however, I am not quite so sure on any point as I used to be, which +is why I often envy Ingleby." + +Grace felt a little thrill of satisfaction. He had, of course, spoken +vaguely; but she wondered how far she was responsible for the change in +the opinions which he had held until a little while ago. She knew that +he had borne a good deal because of them, for Ingleby had told her so. + +"Then there may be a little good in a few of our institutions as they +stand?" she said. + +"Of course!" answered Sewell, who smiled again. "Most of them are, +however, capable of improvement. I am quite as sure of that as ever. The +question is, whether anybody would gain much if it were effected too +rudely." + +Grace was not greatly interested in the point. She preferred a more +personal topic, but she saw an opportunity for trying how far her +influence went. It had been a trifle painful to find that Ingleby had +not yielded to it when she had desired him to spend the winter in +Vancouver and leave somebody else to hold Tomlinson's claim. Sewell was, +she recognized, a cleverer man than he, and it would be consoling if he +showed himself more amenable. + +"I think not--at least, so far as anybody in the Green River country is +concerned," she said. "It seems to me that its tranquillity depends a +good deal on you." + +"On me?" + +Grace smiled. "Of course! You know it as well as I do. Wouldn't it be +better for your friends to put up with a few little grievances rather +than run the risk of bringing a worse thing upon themselves?" + +"Would we do that?" + +"I think so. The major is a lenient commissioner; and the law would be +too strong for you." + +Sewell laughed. "That," he said, "would have to be proved, and I am not +sure it is a good reason you are offering me." + +Grace nodded. "No," she said, "perhaps it isn't. You rather like +opposition, don't you? Still, I think one could leave it to your good +sense, while I would especially like to see all quiet this winter in the +Green River valley. That, however, could, of course, scarcely be thought +a reason at all." + +Sewell made no disclaimer, but he looked at her with a curious +intensity. + +"Events," he said slowly, "may be too strong for me, and when I am sure +they are right, I cannot go counter to my opinions." + +"Of course!" and the girl leaned forward a little nearer him, resting +one hand on the arm of her chair. "That is more than I would ever ask of +you. Still, perhaps you could----" + +Sewell looked at her gravely, and laid his hand upon the one that rested +on the chair. + +"I will," he said quietly, "with that one reservation, do whatever +appears most likely to preserve tranquillity." + +Grace did not shake his grasp off, as she should have done. Indeed, a +little thrill of triumph ran through her as she realized the +significance of what had happened. The man who held her hand fast had +borne imprisonment for his beliefs, and had also braved hostile mobs, +hired bravos, and detachments of U.S. cavalry, and now she had made him +captive with a smile. It was, from one point of view, a notable +achievement, and it did not dawn on her that if regarded from another +point what she had done might wear a different aspect. Just then a book +in the other room was closed with a bang, and Grace drew her hand away +as Coulthurst came in. + +"Sorry to leave you alone so long, but we can get the chessmen out at +last," he said. + +Sewell set out the pieces, and Grace, who flashed a little smile at him, +which implied that there was now a confidence between them, took up a +book. As it happened, neither of them knew that Prospector Tomlinson was +plodding down the trail that led south through leagues of forest and +snow-blocked defiles towards the settlements just then, though the fact +had its results for both of them. + +A half-moon hung low above the white shoulder of a hill, and here and +there a shaft of silvery light shone down upon the snowy trail which +wound in and out through the gloom of the firs. Tomlinson was one of the +simple-minded persons who content themselves with doing the obvious +thing, and, as it was quite plain to him that he could not stay at the +bakery without probability of being discovered and getting his hosts +into trouble, he had, in spite of Hetty's protests, persisted in setting +out for the settlements, though he was still scarcely capable of the +journey and it had been pointed out that there was a likelihood of his +falling in with the police troopers. The latter fact did not, however, +so far as Tomlinson could see, affect the question. The one thing that +was clear to him was that he could not permit Hetty and Tom Leger to +involve themselves in difficulties. + +He carried two rolled-up blankets and a good many pounds of provisions, +as well as a Marlin rifle, for it was a very long way to the +settlements, and the snow was deep in the passes. He also walked slowly +and with an effort, for the strength he had exhausted had scarcely come +back to him yet, while the dusty snow balled beneath his worn-out boots. + +The bush was very still, for only a low murmur came up across the pines +from the rapids, which were free of ice. The trees rose above him, solid +spires of blackness cut sharp against the white hillside beyond them, +and Tomlinson was glad of their shadow, because the corporal and one of +the troopers had gone down the trail that afternoon, and, uncertain +whether they had come back, he had no wish to meet them. It is scarcely +likely that he would have done so, for he had an excellent sense of +hearing and was making very little noise, had not a trooper stopped to +do something to his newly-issued winter coat, which did not fit him +comfortably. He spent some little time over it, as it was necessary to +take his big mittens off, and the corporal improved the occasion by +sitting down on a fallen tree to light his pipe. They were both a little +outside the trail and in black shadow. + +Tomlinson, in the meanwhile, came to an open space some two or three +score yards across. There were black firs all about it, but the snow +among them seemed deeper, and, as he could hear nothing but the murmur +of the river, he made haste to cross it. It appeared advisable that +nobody should see him. He had almost reached the gloom of the firs again +when he heard a little, scraping sound not unlike that the rubbing of a +sulphur match would make, and he stood still listening until a faint +blue radiance appeared amidst the trees, and then he moved towards the +nearest undergrowth with long and almost noiseless strides. In another +moment he stopped abruptly, and a man in uniform, who came out from the +dark gap of the trail, also stopped and appeared to gaze at him. He +carried a carbine. The men were close together, and the moon, which had +just cleared the dark fir-tops, shone down on both of them. The miner's +face, as the policeman saw, was drawn and grim. + +"Tomlinson!" he gasped and then appeared to shake his astonishment from +him. "Stop right where you are!" + +Tomlinson said nothing but, springing forward, hurled himself into the +undergrowth, which opened with a crash and then closed behind him, while +the trooper, who glanced over his shoulder as if to see where the +corporal was, wasted another moment. Then he, too, sped across the +little gap in the forest, floundering through loose snow; and fell into +a barberry bush, which held him fast. So far, fortune had favoured +Tomlinson; but as he flitted through the bush looking for a little +bye-trail which he knew was near, the corporal appeared suddenly from +behind a tree and threw his carbine up. + +"Hold on!" he said. "I've something to say to you." + +A stray gleam of moonlight that shone down just there flung a patch of +brightness athwart the snow, and Tomlinson could see the white face +pressed down upon the carbine-stock, but he did not pull up. Instead, he +leapt into the shadow, and in another second there was a pale flash, and +a sharp detonation rang among the trunks. Then he whipped behind a +tree, and, seeing two men close behind him now, flung up his rifle. In +his country a man who is shot at usually considers himself warranted in +retaliating, and Tomlinson was accustomed to the rifle. In fact, he +handled it much as an English sportsman does a gun, by the balance of +it, and with an instinctive sense of direction which did not necessitate +the aligning of the sights. The result of this was that as the butt came +home to his shoulder the trooper dropped his carbine with a cry, and +Tomlinson sprang away once more through the smoke. He might have got +away altogether, but the corporal could shoot as well as he could, and a +few seconds later the fugitive felt a stinging pain in one shoulder. + +He staggered but recovered himself again, and running a few yards +farther dropped into a thicket, and wriggled under it on his hands and +knees. Then, while an unpleasant faintness crept over him, he felt for +the long knife which the prospector uses for cutting up an occasional +deer. It did not appear advisable to snap another cartridge into the +rifle-breech just then, and the knife would prove equally serviceable if +his pursuers crawled into the thicket after him. Prospector Tomlinson +was, like most of the men who sojourn in that wilderness, a little +primitive in his notions, and the troopers had fired on him. + +One of them made a good deal of noise floundering through a belt of +undergrowth just then, and only stopped when the corporal called to him. + +"Where's that blame branch-trail?" he asked. + +"It's right here," said the trooper. "I guess our man's lit out along +it." + +Time was of some consequence, and the corporal did not deem it advisable +to stop and consider. A man floundering through the undergrowth would, +he reasoned, be heard a long way off, while a bushman could proceed with +very little noise along a beaten track. Thus, as he could hear nothing, +it appeared very probable that Tomlinson had taken the latter. He and +the trooper pushed on along it for awhile, but there was no sign of the +prospector, and they came back moodily to where they had last seen him, +and proceeded to search every thicket in the vicinity. They spent at +least an hour over it, but there was still no appearance of Tomlinson, +and at last the corporal sat down disgustedly upon the fallen fir. + +"I feel 'most certain I plugged him once," he said. "What d'you let go +your carbine for?" + +The trooper held the weapon up in the moonlight and glanced at the grey +smear down the barrel. Then he held up his left hand, which was stained +with red. + +"I'm not quite sure if the top of one of my fingers is on or not," he +said. "Anyway, my mitten's full of blood." + +The corporal nodded curtly. "I guess it will grow again," he said. +"Well, it seems to me nobody could do anything more to-night. We'll pick +his trail up soon as it's daylight." Then they shook the powdery snow +from them and plodded on towards the outpost. + + + + +XXVI + +THE OBVIOUS THING + + +The stars were paling overhead, and the snow that cut against the sky +was growing white again; but it was very cold among the pines where +Leger was busy about the crackling fire. A column of smoke rose slowly +straight up into the nipping air, and the blaze flickered redly upon the +clustering trunks, while the sound of an unfrozen rapid broke faintly +through the snapping of the fire. Leger, who felt his fingers +stiffening, took up his axe, and the rhythmic thudding rang sharply in +the stillness of the woods when Hetty appeared in the door of the +shanty, shadowy and shapeless in the coarse blanket she had thrown about +her shoulders. She shivered a little as she looked around her. + +"It has been a bitter night--the cold woke me when the fire got low," +she said. "Tomlinson must have felt it horribly. I wonder where he's +getting his breakfast? You shouldn't have let him go." + +Leger laughed and leaned upon his axe. "I couldn't have stopped him, and +I don't think you need worry. The cold is scarcely likely to hurt +him--he's used to it. He is probably three or four leagues away down the +trail by now." + +"That isn't very far." + +"It's tolerably good travelling in this country. Besides, nobody except +Sewell and Ingleby has the faintest notion that he was here." + +Hetty appeared reflective. "I wasn't quite sure about the corporal that +night. He's too quiet and has eyes all over him. Still, I suppose +Tomlinson has got away--of course, he must have done so. His running +away would look very bad if they did get hold of him. Isn't that kettle +boiling, Tom?" + +Leger stooped above the fire, and then, straightening himself, suddenly +stood still listening. He could hear the sound of the rapid, and nothing +else for a moment or two, until a crackle of undergrowth came out of the +gloom below. Then there was a tramp of footsteps coming up the trail, +and Hetty turned to him sharply. + +"Tom," she said, with a little gasp, "who can it be?" + +Leger laid down the kettle he held in his hand. "The troopers, I'm +afraid," he said. + +The light was growing clearer, and they could see each other's faces. +Hetty's was flushed and apprehensive, Leger's portentously quiet. + +"They've come for Tomlinson," she said. "Tom, do you know why he threw +Probyn in the creek?" + +"I fancy I could guess. Tomlinson, however, never mentioned it." + +"He wouldn't," and Hetty gasped again. "Tom, I'll never forgive you if +you let the troopers know anything about him." + +"I really don't think that was necessary," said Leger, with a faint, dry +smile. + +Hetty clenched one hand tight. "Oh," she said, "can't we run away?" + +Leger turned and pointed to a shadowy figure that materialized out of +the gloom among the trees below. There were others behind it, and the +two stood still watching them as they came quickly up the trail. Then +they stopped at a sharp word, and a man in a big fur-coat stepped +forward. Hetty had no difficulty in recognizing him as Esmond. + +"Are you willing to tell me where Prospector Tomlinson is? It would be +the wisest thing," he said. + +"I don't think that is quite the point," answered Leger quietly. "You +see, I don't know." + +"Then I'll ask you where he went when he left here last night?" + +"You fancy he was here?" + +Esmond made a little sign of impatience. "I should like to warn you that +a good deal depends upon the way you answer me. You probably know that +the person who hides a murderer or connives at his escape is liable to +be tried as an accessory." + +Leger stood silent a moment or two. It seemed rather more than probable +that Esmond had only supposed it likely that Tomlinson had visited the +bakery; but that did not greatly matter after all. His course was clear, +and that was to allow the officer to believe as long as possible that +Tomlinson was in the vicinity. Every minute gained would be worth a good +deal to the fugitive. + +"I scarcely think I need worry myself about that," he said. "You see, +before you could charge me as an accessory you would have to prove that +Tomlinson really killed Probyn. It's tolerably clear that you can't have +a trial without a prisoner, and I don't mind admitting that Tomlinson +isn't here." + +Esmond smiled unpleasantly, and signed to one of the troopers, who went +into the shanty. "He certainly isn't very far away. I have no doubt you +could tell me where he would make for; but you do not seem to know that +he was shot, and, we have reason to believe, badly wounded within a +league of your house last night." + +It was growing light now, and he saw the sudden horror in Hetty's eyes. + +"If you have any control over your brother, Miss Leger, I think it would +be wise for you to use it," he said. "You would not like him to get +himself into trouble?" + +Hetty straightened herself a little. "If he knew where Tomlinson was and +told you, I'd be ashamed of him forever--but he doesn't," she said. + +Esmond glanced at her sharply. She stood very straight, regarding him +with a set, white face, and it was evident that she was resolute. Then +he turned to Leger. + +"Are you willing to expose your sister to a very serious charge?" he +asked. + +Again Leger stood silent, but when he glanced at her a little flash +showed in Hetty's eyes. + +"You daren't disgrace us both. Remember, it was all my fault," she said. + +Then Leger turned to the officer. "I do not know where Tomlinson is. +That is all I have to tell you." + +Esmond raised his hand. "Then I arrest you both for concealing +Prospector Tomlinson and contriving his escape. You will hand them over +to Robertson at the outpost, Trooper Grieve, and then come on after us +as fast as you can. I don't wish to submit either of you to any +indignity, Leger, unless you are likely to make it necessary." + +Leger's face turned crimson, but he made a little sign of comprehension. +"We will make no attempt to get away." + +Esmond signed to the trooper, who pointed somewhat shamefacedly to the +shadowy path among the pines as he swung his carbine to the trail. Then +Hetty and Leger moved on in front of him, while Esmond and the others +vanished into the bush. It was almost daylight now, and the troopers +spent some time tracing Tomlinson's footsteps between the trunks. They +also found the thicket where he had flung himself down, but that, after +all, told them very little, and both the bye-trail and the larger one +were tramped too hard for his worn-out boots to leave any recognizable +impression. + +It was, however, evident that Tomlinson could have adopted only one of +two courses. If he had escaped uninjured he would certainly head for +the settlements along the beaten trail, down which a trooper had been +sent already; but no wounded man could face that arduous journey, and +assuming that the corporal's shot had taken effect, he would, as a +matter of course, be lurking somewhere in the valley. In that case the +trailing of him could only be a question of a day or two, for even if he +could face the bitter frost in the open he must have food, and there +would be no difficulty in tracing the footsteps of any one who brought +it to him. The one question was whether Tomlinson was badly hurt, and as +the corporal, who fancied so, could not be quite sure, Esmond pushed on +southwards along the trail. If Tomlinson had not headed in that +direction he was in the valley, and, if so, he certainly could not get +away. + +As a matter of fact, he was just then lying weak from loss of blood in a +little, decrepit shanty on an abandoned claim. He had contrived to reach +one of the miners' dwellings late the previous night, though he was +never quite sure how he accomplished it, and fell in across the +threshold when its astonished owner opened the door. The man, however, +kept his head, and within an hour Tomlinson was carried to the claim in +one of the more distant gorges, where it appeared a little less likely +that Esmond would lay hands on him. Now he was huddled half-sensible, in +his blanket upon a pile of cedar twigs, with Ingleby and a young +American, who had just dug out a carbine-bullet which had badly smashed +his shoulder-blade, sitting by his side. Ingleby did not know whether +his companion was a qualified surgeon; but he had, at least, contrived +to cut out the bullet and stanch the wound. He appeared a trifle anxious +about his patient. + +"The shock would have dropped a man raised in the cities right off, but +I think we'll pull him round," he said. "Still, it's not going to be +done in a day or two." + +The fact was very evident, and Ingleby nodded. "How long do you think +it will be before he can walk again?" he said. + +"A month, anyway, and quite likely six weeks; that is, before you could +let him start out on the trail. I don't quite know what we're going to +do with him in the meanwhile." + +Tomlinson, who appeared to understand him, looked up with his face awry. + +"You're not going to do anything," he said half-coherently. "I'll give +myself up. I can't stay here and make trouble for the boys." + +"You go to sleep!" said the other man severely, and made a little sign +to Ingleby, who sat silent for a minute or two after Tomlinson sank back +again on the twigs. + +"That's just the point," he said. "The boys don't mean to let the police +have him?" + +"No," and Ingleby's manner suggested that the subject was not worth +discussion. "They wouldn't think of it for a minute. I'd have nothing +more to do with them if they did." + +The American nodded. "Well," he said, "I can pull the man round, but I'm +not going to answer for what will happen if the troopers get hold of +him. He's tough, but he wants looking after, and there's no one at the +outpost knows more than enough to pull a stone out of a cayuse's hoof." + +"You can take out a bullet, anyway," said Ingleby suggestively. + +"Oh yes. I'd have had quite a nice practice by this time if it had been +convenient for me to stay in Connecticut. As it happened, it wasn't." + +Ingleby looked at him steadily. "Tomlinson," he said, "is a friend of +mine, and that, of course, implies an obligation. You, so far as I know, +have had very little to do with him, and it seems only reasonable to +warn you that you may get yourself into serious trouble by looking +after him. The law is generally carried out in our country." + +The American laughed. "I can take my chances. I'm not going back on a +sick man, anyway." + +They said nothing more for awhile until a man who had apparently been +running came in. + +"Where's Sewell?" he gasped. + +"I don't know," said Ingleby. "He wasn't at home this morning. Most +likely he's looking for a deer." + +"Then I guess you'll have to do. Esmond has trailed Tomlinson to the +bakery. He has got Hetty and Tom Leger at the outpost now." + +Ingleby rose suddenly to his feet. "You're quite sure?" + +"Well," said the other, "I guess I ought to be. I met them. Trooper +Grieve didn't stop their talking, and they told me. Esmond tried to +bluff where Tomlinson was out of them, and they're to stand in with him +as accessories." + +It was evident to Ingleby that since Sewell was away a heavy +responsibility devolved upon him as a friend of Tomlinson and Leger. He +was expected to do something, and, as usual, he did the obvious thing +without counting what it would cost him. + +"Where is Esmond?" he asked. + +"Hitting the trail to the settlements all he's worth," said the other +man. + +"Then go round and let the boys know what you have told me. They can +meet outside Ransome's shanty. The dinner-hour will do. I'll be there to +meet them." + +The man went out, and at the time appointed Ingleby stood outside a +little hut of bark and logs with a crowd of bronze-faced men about him. +They were somewhat silent, but their manner was quietly resolute. It +suggested that their minds were made up and that they were only waiting +for a leader in whom they had confidence. Ingleby had gained their +liking, but he was young, and they were not quite sure whether he would +be the man or whether they must choose another. In the meanwhile they +were willing to give him a hearing. It was evident that he was equal to +the occasion when he stepped forward and looked at them with steady +eyes. + +"Boys," he said, "do any of you believe Tomlinson killed Trooper +Probyn?" + +There was a general murmur of dissent, and Ingleby made a little sign of +concurrence. "Are you willing to let the troopers have him? You must +remember that the thing looks bad against him, and he will not be tried +by you." + +The murmurs were articulate now, and it was very clear that not a man +there had the least intention of giving up Tomlinson. + +"Then it should be quite plain that you will have to keep the troopers +from him. It is only a question of a day or two at the longest before +they trail him. They may do it to-night. Esmond will very soon find out +that he isn't pushing on in front of him for the settlements." + +A big man stood forward, and glanced at the rest. "There's not a trooper +in this valley going to lay hands on Tomlinson." + +Again the murmurs rose portentously, and Ingleby smiled. + +"Well," he said, "since the trouble can't be shuffled off, we may as +well face it now. We have got to make a stand and maintain it until +Esmond finds he has to humour us. He has Leger and his sister in the +outpost. Do you know any reason why we shouldn't take them out?" + +"I guess not," said the man who had spoken already. "Still, if there's +any shooting, two or three of us are going to smell trouble as well as +Tomlinson." + +"There will not be any," said Ingleby. "Esmond has only two men at the +outpost. Nobody wants to hurt them. The thing can be done without it. In +fact, that's essential. I want three or four determined men." + +They were forthcoming, but one of the rest asked a question. + +"Have you figured what's going to happen when Esmond comes back?" he +said. + +"I have," said Ingleby. "He will have a handful of tolerably active men +under his orders then, but only a handful, after all. Now, the outpost's +outside the cañon, and there's a spot where a log barricade would +effectively block the trail. The troopers will have to be kept outside +it until we can arrive at a compromise. Esmond will probably make it. It +would be two months, anyway, before he could get more troopers in, and +if there's another heavy snowfall it mightn't be done till spring." + +None of those who listened could find fault with the scheme. It was +evidently workable, and they had already decided that Tomlinson was not +to be given up at any cost. That, as Ingleby had pointed out, would +necessarily involve them in difficulties with the police. There was thus +very little further discussion, and the men went back, a trifle +thoughtfully, to their work until the evening. + +It seemed to most of them a long while coming, and to none of them +slower than it did to Hetty Leger, who sat with her brother in a very +little, log-walled room at the outpost as dusk was closing down. Tom +Leger, glancing at her as she sat huddled in a chair by the window, +fancied that she was crying. + +"Why did we come here, Tom?" she said. "Everything has gone wrong since +we left Vancouver." + +"The outlook certainly isn't very cheerful just now," said Leger, with a +rueful smile. "Still, after all, you made a good many dollars at the +bakery, and my claim is doing well. Ingleby will see that while I'm kept +here the work is carried on. One can put up with a good deal of +inconvenience when he's washing out gold-dust." + +"Dollars!" said Hetty. "And gold-dust! Is there nothing else worth +having?" + +"Well," said Leger drily, "when you have no prospect of getting it, it's +as well to content oneself with dollars. If I remember rightly you used +to think a good deal of a shilling in England." + +Hetty glanced at him sharply with hazy eyes. "What do you mean by--no +prospect of getting it?" + +"I don't quite know. You suggested the notion. Anyway, I scarcely think +Esmond can make out very much of a case against us. He doesn't really +know that Tomlinson was at the bakery." + +"It isn't that that's worrying me. It's--everything," said Hetty. + +"I don't think you need cry over Tomlinson. The boys will take care of +him." + +"I wasn't crying about Tomlinson. In fact, I'm not sure I was crying at +all. Still, you see, it was all my fault." + +Leger smiled whimsically. "Well," he said, "I scarcely think that should +afford you any great satisfaction, though it almost seems to do so. No +doubt it's part of a girl's nature to make trouble of the kind." + +Hetty closed one hand. "I'm going to be angry in a minute. That's not +the way to talk to any one who's feeling--what I am just now." + +Leger rose and patted her shoulder. "I'd sooner see you raging than +looking as you do. Shake the mood off, Hetty. It isn't in the least like +you." + +Hetty said nothing but turned from him and looked out of the little +window. A young trooper was leaning over the rude balustrade of the +veranda, and beyond him the sombre pines rolled down the darkening +valley. Night had not quite fallen yet, though a half-moon that showed +red and frosty was growing brighter above the white shoulder of a hill. +Another trooper was apparently busy in the adjoining room, for they +could hear his footsteps as he moved, but that was the only sound. Then +a face rose suddenly into sight above the floor of the veranda where +the trooper could not see it. It was a horrible, grey face, and Hetty +shrank back, while her chair grated harshly on the floor. In another +moment Tom Leger's hand closed tightly on her arm. + +"Keep still!" he said. "It's a masked man. I fancy the boys have come +for us." + +Hetty looked again, and saw that a strip of deer-hide with holes cut in +it was tied across the face. Then she became sensible that there was +something suggestively familiar in the attitude of the man who, moving +noiselessly, raised himself erect and stood watching the trooper, whose +back was towards him. + +"Oh," she gasped, "it's Walter!" + +"Be quiet!" said Leger, and the grasp upon her arm grew tighter. + +Another face appeared between the rails, but the first man had already +swung one leg over them, and in another moment he sprang forward along +the veranda. The trooper heard him and swung round, but even as he did +so the newcomer flung his arms about him and they reeled together down +the little stairway. Then the second trooper flung open the door, but as +he ran out of it two or three men who had apparently crept into the +veranda grappled with him, and Hetty could hear them tumbling up and +down the adjoining room. Then there was a brief silence until somebody +burst open the door of the room in which she was shut. A masked man who +strode in grasped her shoulder, and she struggled vainly as he drew her +towards the door. + +"I won't go. It will only get you into worse trouble," she said. + +The man laughed. "If I had to face it all my life, do you think I would +leave you here?" + +Hetty recognized the tension in his voice, and something that seemed to +answer it thrilled in her; but she still protested, and the man, who +flung an arm about her waist, swung her off her feet. He did not let +her go until he set her down, flushed and gasping, among the pines +outside. + +Then she laughed. "I'm not sure you could have done that in England, +Walter." + +"No," said Ingleby. "Anyway, you wouldn't have let me, but we can't stop +to talk now. Esmond may come back at any time, and there is a good deal +to do." He turned from her suddenly. "You have got those fellows' +carbines?" + +"Oh yes," said another man. "We'd better bring along their cartridges +and heave them in the river too. We haven't hurt either of them much, +considering." + +Ingleby signed to the rest, though he still held Hetty's arm. "Now," he +said, "the sooner we light out of this the better it will be for +everybody." + + + + +XXVII + +THE BLOCKADE + + +The moon was high above the white peaks, and a stinging frost was in the +air, when Ingleby and Leger sat a little apart from a snapping fire +behind a great redwood trunk that had been felled across the trail in +the constricted entrance to the cañon. It was wide of girth, and lay +supported on the stumps of several splintered branches breast-high above +the soil, with the rest of its spreading limbs piled about it in +tremendous ruin. On the side where the fire was some of them had been +hewn away, and a handful of men lounged smoking in the hollow between +them and the trunk. Another man stood upon the tree, apparently looking +down the valley, with his figure cutting blackly against the blueness of +the night. + +Sewell leaned against a shattered branch a few feet away from Ingleby, +gazing about him reflectively. He noticed that the great butt of the fir +was jammed against the slope of rock that ran up overhead, too steep +almost for the snow to rest upon it, and that the top of the tree was in +the river some twenty yards away. The stream frothed and roared about it +in a wild white rapid, though long spears of crackling ice stretched out +behind the boulders, and there was a tremendous wall of rock on the +farther side. It was absolutely unscalable, and from the crest of it +ranks of clinging pines rolled backwards up a slope that was almost as +steep. + +It was evident that nobody coming from the police outpost or the +commissioner's dwelling could approach the fallen tree except by the +trail in front, and on that side the branches formed an entanglement an +agile man would have some difficulty in scrambling through, even if +nobody desired to prevent him, while two or three of the men beside the +fire had rifles with them. The rest had axes. Sewell, who noticed all +this, glanced towards them thoughtfully. He could not see their faces, +but their silence had its significance, and there was a vague suggestion +of resolution in their attitudes. Most of them were men of singularly +unyielding temperament, who had grappled with hard rock and primeval +forest from their youth up. + +"It is a tolerably strong position, and it's the strength of it that +particularly pleases me," he said. "If there were any prospect of his +getting in Esmond would no doubt try it. As it is, he will probably find +it advisable to stop outside and compromise." + +"I'm glad you're satisfied," said Leger. "Still, it's a little +unfortunate you were not here this morning. In that case we might have +found some other means of getting over the difficulty, though I'm not +sure that there was any." + +Ingleby glanced sharply at Leger. His face was clear in the moonlight, +and it was expressionless, but his tone had been suggestively dry, and +for just a moment an unpleasant fancy flashed upon Ingleby. It was +certainly unfortunate that Sewell, whom everybody looked to for +guidance, had been away that day, and the fact might have had +significance for any one who doubted him. Ingleby, however, had unshaken +confidence in the man and thrust the thought from him. Sewell smiled as +he turned to Leger. + +"I was looking for a deer," he said. "Anyway, you had Ingleby." + +"Ingleby," said Leger, "is usually where he's wanted. Some men have that +habit. It's a useful one, though I'm afraid I haven't acquired it. In +fact, I fancy I'm rather like Trooper Probyn. He was addicted to turning +up just when it would have been better for everybody if he had stayed +away." + +He turned from them somewhat abruptly and strolled towards the men about +the fire, while Sewell looked thoughtful as he filled his pipe. + +"Leger doesn't appear to be in a particularly pleasant mood, but he's +right in one respect," he said. "It would have been a good deal better +if he and Hetty had been anywhere else when Esmond turned up at the +bakery. Of course, they couldn't help it, but the result of it is going +to be serious. It is not exactly convenient that the thing should have +happened now." + +Ingleby made a gesture of comprehension as he glanced towards the men +about the fire. Their big axes gleamed suggestively, and the rifle of +the man upon the tree twinkled coldly where the moonlight rested on the +line of barrel. + +"It's all of it unfortunate," he said deprecatingly. "I suppose I'm +responsible--but I don't quite see what else anybody could have expected +me to do. I couldn't leave Hetty in Esmond's hands. It was out of the +question. The police wouldn't have much difficulty in making her out an +accessory." + +Sewell smiled. "That was all that occurred to you?" + +"Yes," said Ingleby. "I think so. I don't seem to remember anything +else. Anyway, it was sufficient." + +He made a little forceful gesture which suggested even more plainly than +what he said that the thought of leaving Hetty exposed to any peril was +intolerable. + +"And you inconsequently decided to put up a bluff of this kind on the +British nation because Esmond might involve in difficulties a girl with +whom you are not in love. I'm presuming you are not in love with her?" + +Ingleby seemed a trifle disconcerted. "No," he said sharply. "Of course +I'm not. What made you suggest it?" + +Sewell laughed. "Well," he said, "for one thing, if you had been in love +with her, you could scarcely have done anything that would have made the +fact clearer." + +There was silence for a minute or two, and Ingleby leaned upon the tree +with his thoughts in confusion. He was not in love with Hetty Leger, but +it was certainly a fact that her arrest had filled him with an almost +unaccountable consternation. He also remembered the curious little laugh +with which she had clung to him, and that it had stirred him as no +trifling favour Grace Coulthurst had ever shown him had done. The +commissioner's daughter had, however, certainly never leaned upon his +shoulder with her arms about him, though he had on one occasion, when +she was half-frozen, practically carried her into her father's dwelling. +The thought of it was, in a curious fashion, almost distasteful, as well +as preposterous. His regard for her was largely that of a devotee, an +æsthetic respect which would have made any display of purely human +proclivities on the part of the goddess a trifle disconcerting. + +There are men like Ingleby whose life is, partly from inclination and +partly from force of circumstances, in some respects one of puritanical +simplicity, especially in the back blocks of England's colonies; and, +startled by Sewell's suggestion, he tried to reason with himself as he +leaned against the tree. He remembered now how he had thrilled to the +girl's touch as, half-crying and half-laughing, she had rested in his +arms a few hours ago, and he could not admit the almost unpleasant +explanation that this was because they were man and woman. Still, he had +felt her heart beating upon his breast, and something in his nature had, +it seemed to him, awakened and throbbed in response to it. It was, he +felt, not sensual passion; it was not love, since it was Grace +Coulthurst he loved; and his confusion grew more confounded as he vainly +strove to classify it. Ingleby, as one who did the obvious thing, and +was usually doing something unless he was asleep, had seldom been led +into any attempt to unravel the complexities of human thought and +emotion. Men of his temperament are as a rule too busy for anything of +the kind. It is material facts that interest them, and their +achievements are usually apparent and substantial, written in that +country on hard rock and forest or on the orchards and wheatfields that +smile where the wilderness has been. + +"Well?" said Sewell at length. + +Ingleby made a little gesture. "The thing is done. Why I did it doesn't, +after all, greatly matter. We have the results of it to face just now." + +"Precisely! That's why I'm pleased you chose a very convenient spot to +chop the tree in. There's one of them becoming apparent already." + +He pointed across the fallen log, and the man who stood upon it made a +little sign. The tree was in the shadow, but beyond it lay a narrow +strip of moonlit snow, upon which the dusky pines closed in again. A man +moved out into the strip, walking cautiously, and carrying a carbine. He +stopped abruptly, dropping the butt of it with a little thud, and, +turning his head, he apparently glanced at somebody behind him. + +"They've chopped a big tree right across the trail," he said. + +His voice rang clearly through the nipping air, and Ingleby almost +envied him as he stood unconcernedly still, a dusky, motionless object, +with a blacker shadow projected in front of him on the gleaming snow. +He, at least, had no responsibility, and was there to do what he was +bidden, while the law would hold him guiltless. The brief and decisive +attempt on the outpost had scarcely given Ingleby cause for thought, but +it was different now. There was nothing exhilarating in standing still +and wondering what course the police would take, while other men have +felt misgivings when brought face to face with constituted authority +with arms in its hand. + +Sewell in the meanwhile moved quietly towards the fire. + +"You will leave this thing to me, boys," he said. "Above all, keep your +hands off those rifles. It's a bluff we're putting up." + +By this time several other men had moved out upon the strip of snow, and +one who came up from behind walked past them and stopped not far from +the tree. Ingleby could see his face in the moonlight, and recognized +him as Esmond. He looked up at the man who, though he had handed his +rifle to a comrade, still stood upon the log regarding him quietly. + +"Well," he said, "what are you doing there?" + +"Seeing that nobody gets over," was the uncompromising answer. + +Esmond laughed, as though he had partly expected this. "There are no +doubt more of you behind there. If you have one, I would prefer to talk +to your recognized leader." + +Sewell sprang up upon the tree. "I think I can venture to claim my +comrades' confidence," he said. "In any case, I am quite willing to +accept the responsibility for anything that has been done." + +"You may be asked to remember that," said Esmond drily. "Do you mind +explaining why you felled this tree?" + +"I think the man who answered you already made that clear. To prevent +anybody's getting over. Once you recognize that it would be difficult to +do it without our permission, we'll go a little further." + +"Then you are deliberately placing obstacles in the way of the police +carrying out their duty? I warn you that it may turn out a serious +matter." + +Sewell laughed. "I'm not sure the question is a very happy one. It is +rather too suggestive of Monday morning in England. Still, I suppose +what we mean to do amounts to that, although we will have pleasure in +permitting you to enter the valley when you wish, on one or two +perfectly reasonable conditions." + +"It remains to be seen whether you can keep us out." Esmond raised his +voice a trifle. "Climb up on that log, Trooper Grieve, and let me know +who Prospector Sewell has with him," he said. "You have authority to +fire on anybody who tries to prevent you." + +It seemed to Ingleby that Esmond had displayed a good deal of tact. He +was aware that in an affair of the kind the right start counts for a +good deal, and that if the miners permitted the trooper to survey their +position it might lead to an unwished-for change in their attitude. If +they did not, it would make them the aggressors, and there was the +further difficulty that they would probably shrink from offering +violence to a single man. + +"The trooper must not be hurt, boys, but he must not get up on the log," +he said, and turned to Sewell with a little gesture of deprecation. + +Sewell nodded. "You're right--if we can manage it," he said. + +In the meanwhile the young trooper was walking towards the barrier. +Ingleby surmised that he had no great liking for his task, but beyond +the fact that he was holding himself unusually straight, and looking +steadfastly in front of him, he showed no sign of it. The moonlight was +on his face, and it was almost expressionless. + +"Stop right where you are," said one of the miners sharply. "I guess +you'd better!" + +The trooper did not stop, nor did he answer. If he had his misgivings as +a human being, he was also a part of the great system by which his +nation's work is done and its prestige maintained; and he went on with +stiff, measured strides which suggested the movements of an automaton. A +handful of men behind the log, and another handful standing in the +moonlight on the gleaming snow, stood silently watching him, and most of +them felt an almost unpleasant sense of tension. + +Then he came to the branches, and stopped a moment, as though uncertain +what to do. His carbine presented the difficulty, since to scramble over +that tangle of branches and twigs both hands would be necessary. Then he +slung it behind him, and every one could hear the sharp snap of the +clip-hook through the bitter air. After that there was a crash as he +plunged into a maze of dusky needles, and he was gasping when he emerged +again. He was, however, still coming on, crawling over branches, +swinging himself under some of them, while two miners waited for him, +intent and strung up, behind the log. When he reached it the top of the +bark was almost level with his head, and, throwing an arm upon it, he +essayed to draw himself up. At the same moment two pairs of sinewy hands +seized his shoulders, and lifted him from his feet. Then there was a +shout and a swing, and he was hurled backwards like a stone. He broke +through the shadowy needles amidst a crash of snapped-off twigs, and +there was a confused floundering in the darkness below. Then a head rose +out of it, and the trooper stood straight in the moonlight upon the fork +of a great limb, looking back towards his officer now. + +"Am I to try again, sir?" he asked. + +There was a burst of approving laughter from the miners, and the trooper +sprang down from the branch and moved towards his comrades when Esmond +made a sign, while a man who had been speaking apart with the latter +suddenly stepped forward. + +"It's the major," said one of the miners. "Give him a show. Come right +along, sir. Nobody going to hurt you!" + +Coulthurst made a little gesture with a lifted hand, and his remarks +were brief. + +"You'll gain nothing by making fools of yourselves, my men," he said. +"The law is a good deal too strong for you. Now, try to tell me sensibly +what is worrying you, and if it comes within my business I'll see what I +can do." + +Sewell stood up upon the log, and took off his big, shapeless hat. +There was silence for a moment while the major looked at him. + +"Mr. Sewell," he said gravely, "I'm sorry to see you here." + +"I'm a little sorry myself, sir," said Sewell. "Still, that's not quite +the point, and if you will listen for a minute or two I will try to make +our views clear. They are really not unreasonable. In the first place we +want Tomlinson tried here by his peers, which, although a little +unusual, could, I think, be done. If Captain Esmond can prove him +guilty, we will give him up, and he can get a regular court to confirm +the verdict. Then we ask immunity for the men who held up the outpost, +and one or two trifling modifications of the mining regulations which +are probably within the discretion afforded you by your commission." + +"It seems to me," said Coulthurst drily, "that you are asking a good +deal. More, in fact, than you are likely to get. You insist on all +that?" + +"We feel compelled to do so, sir." + +Coulthurst made a little sign and moved back to where Esmond stood. They +conferred together, and the major spoke again. + +"Captain Esmond is willing to promise that if you go home straightway no +proceedings will be taken against any man for his share in this night's +work. He will promise you nothing further, and I may say that in this I +quite concur with him. I must warn you that what you are doing is a very +serious thing." + +"Then," said Sewell quietly, "there is nothing more to be said. We have +strength enough effectively to prevent Captain Esmond from going any +further up the valley. It would be better for everybody if he did not +compel us to make use of it." + +Esmond, who had been unusually patient hitherto, apparently lost his +self-command. + +"We will endeavour to whip the insolence out of you," he said. "By the +time the thing is settled your leaders will be exceptionally sorry for +themselves." + +He drew back a little with the major, and they appeared to be talking +earnestly for a space. It seemed to Ingleby that Esmond wished to chance +an attack; but perhaps the troopers were worn-out, or the major +recognized the strength of the miners' position, for at last he made a +little sign, and the men moved back silently into the shadow of the +pines. Then the tension slackened, and Ingleby shivered a little as he +strode towards the fire. + +"It's horribly cold, though I never felt it until a minute or two ago," +he said. "Well, I suppose we are in for it now!" + +Sewell laughed in a curious fashion. "I almost think so. Captain Esmond +is not a very imposing personage in himself, but he stands for a good +deal, you see. Still, it's tolerably evident that he will not trouble us +any more to-night." + +A few minutes later another miner climbed up on the log, and the rest +lay down, rolled in their blankets, about the crackling fire. + + + + +XXVIII + +SNOWED IN + + +Two months passed almost uneventfully after the felling of the tree, for +Esmond found no means of forcing the entrance to the valley. The cañon +furnished the only road to it, and he found a band of determined men +ready to dispute his passage each time he appeared before the tree. A +company of sappers could scarcely have raised them a more efficient +defense than the one they had made at the cost of an hour's labour with +the axe, and Esmond reluctantly recognized that it was practically +unassailable by the trifling force at his command. An attempt to carry +it by assault could only result in his handful of men being swept away, +and strategy proved as useless, for when the troopers floundered +upstream at night through the crackling ice-cake in the slacker flow of +the rapid they came to a furious rush of water, and with difficulty +gained the bank again. An attempt to crawl up to the barrier in the +darkness resulted as unsuccessfully, for a man leapt up upon the log +with a blazing brand almost as they left the shelter of the pines. + +The getting in was also only half the difficulty, for even if he passed +the barrier the miners could muster a score of men for every one he had. +It was thus apparently useless to provoke actual hostilities. The cards +were evidently in Sewell's hand, and it was clear that he recognized +this and had his men in perfect command. Not a shot had been +fired--indeed, no miner had actually been seen with a rifle--and the +only act of overt violence was the hurling of Trooper Grieve from the +log. In the meanwhile Esmond had written to the Provincial authorities +in Victoria, but two different troopers who set out with his letters +came back again. The snowfall had been abnormal, and, though they were +hard men, they admitted that to force a way through the passes was +beyond their ability. As one result of this, Grace Coulthurst had +abandoned all idea of going to Vancouver. + +In the meanwhile work was being carried on slowly and painfully in the +valley, where the men thawed the soil with great fires on the shallow +claims and postponed the washing until the ice should melt again. +Between whiles they mounted guard behind the log, and slept when they +could. They were as far from submission as ever, but the tension had +slackened long ago, and there was nothing but the breastwork to show +that imperial authority was being quietly set at nought in the Green +River valley. It was merely a question whose provisions would hold out +longest now; but the question was a vitally important one and one night +three or four of the leaders sat discussing it in Sewell's shanty. + +"So far, everything has gone very much as one could expect," he said. +"The trouble will naturally come in the spring when Esmond can bring +more troopers in. That is, of course, unless we can make terms before +then, which is, I fancy, quite probable." + +"And if we can't?" asked the American who had attended to Tomlinson. +"That police captain shows very little sign of backing down." + +"Then we'll have to bring over the men from Westerhouse," said Ingleby. +"I think they'll come, and, because it will not be difficult to block +out Slavin, who is in command of the police there, if he comes along +after them, the position will be much the same as before." + +He looked at Sewell, who, however, did not appear to have heard him. + +"What's going to stop the other people from sending a whole regiment +along?" asked the American. + +"The British official character," said Sewell drily. "It wouldn't look +well, you see, and it would hurt somebody's dignity to admit that it was +necessary,--that is, of course, so long as we play our cards cleverly. +This trouble would be regarded from the official point of view as merely +a little temporary friction which could be got over if handled +tactfully. Indeed, I shouldn't wonder if Esmond is quietly reprimanded +for causing it; but one has to remember that if you persist in making +our rulers see what they don't wish to, they're apt to display an +activity that's likely to prove as unpleasant to men in our position as +it is unusual. They don't want to move if they can help it, but somebody +has to smart for it if they're forced to." + +"That's quite right," said another man. "I remember Riel, and they'd +have let him down again if he'd known enough not to aggravate them by +killing that man at Fort Garry. Well, I guess we've no use for that +while Esmond keeps his head, and the one question is what we're going to +eat. It's quite certain I can't live on cedar bark. We want grub, and +we've got to get it. There are men right here who could break a trail to +anywhere." + +"If we try the usual one we'll only clear it for Esmond to bring +troopers in," said Ingleby. + +That was evident to everybody, and there was silence until Sewell spoke +again. + +"I've been well up the south fork of the river looking for deer," he +said. "The valley's level, and I didn't strike a rapid, while with the +snow on the river one could keep clear of the timber. The slight thaw we +had should make a good crust for travelling, and it wouldn't be much +trouble to make a few jumper-sleds for the provisions. The difficulty is +that whoever went would have to cross the divide from headwater and +pick up the usual trail on the other side." + +"Nobody has ever been over," said another man. "I've no use for crawling +up precipices with a big flour-bag on my back." + +"That might be because nobody has ever tried," said Sewell. "One +advantage in going that way is that Esmond wouldn't know you had either +gone out or come back again. We don't want to make a road for him." Then +he turned to the American. "How's Tomlinson to-night?" + +"Going very slow. The frost's against him. Wound won't heal, and +half-rotten pork and bread isn't quite the thing to feed a sick man. He +should have been on his feet quite a while ago." + +There was a brief discussion, and as the result of it twenty men, of +whom Ingleby was one, were fixed upon to make the attempt. They were all +of them willing, and started two days later before the stars had paled, +while every man in the valley, except those on guard behind the log, +assembled to see them go, though Ingleby did not know that Hetty Leger +stood a little apart from them watching the shadowy figures melt into +the gloom beneath the pines. It was, everybody knew, by no means certain +that all of them would come back again. + +They made their way up-river, dragging a few rude sledges with them, and +they crossed the big divide in the face of one of the blinding +snowstorms that rage on the higher ranges most of the winter. That cost +them a week of tremendous labour; and then they floundered through +tangled muskegs, where the stunted pines that grew in summer out of +quaggy mire had been reaped and laid in rows by the Arctic winds. Their +branches were strewn about them, and the men smashed a way through the +horrible maze, making, with infinite pains, scarcely a league a day. +Still, the muskegs were left behind, and the ground was clearer in a big +_brûlée_ where fire had licked up undergrowth and branches and the +great trunks rose gauntly, charred and tottering columns. There they +made as much as four leagues in a day through ashes and dusty snow, and +at last came out on the trail to the settlement, dragging with them one +man whose feet were frost-bitten. Nobody had crossed the divide before; +but that was probably because nobody had hitherto been driven by +necessity into trying, and now, as usually happens in that country, the +thing attempted had been done. + +The settlement was not an especially cheerful spot, consisting as it did +of three or four log-houses roofed with cedar shingles which their +owners had split, a store, and a frame hotel covered in with galvanized +iron, though slabs of bark had been largely used as well. They, however, +rested there several days, and they needed it, while the hearts of most +of them sank a trifle at the contemplation of the journey home. They had +set out light, but the store was crammed with provisions, which the +freighter, who had somehow brought them there, had abandoned all hope of +taking farther. It was evident they must each go back with a load which +a man unaccustomed to the packing necessary in that country could +scarcely carry a mile, and the hardiest prospector among them shrank +from crossing the divide with such a burden. The thing, however, had to +be done, and on the night before their departure they were arranging +their packs in the store when the man who kept it pointed to a pile of +bags and cases in a corner. + +"That's the police lot, and I guess they'll want the grub," he said. "I +can't quite figure why none of them have come in for it, but you could +strike them for transport on anything you took along." + +The reason Esmond had not sent down to inquire about his stores was, of +course, quite plain to the miners; but nobody in that settlement knew +which way they had reached it or what had happened in the Green River +valley, and Sewell laughed. + +"I am not," he said, "a freight-ox or a dromedary, and the rest of us +have already got a good deal more than any one could reasonably expect +them to carry." + +The storekeeper glanced at a stout deal box. "Well," he said, "I guess +there's not much more than twelve pounds in there, and it's for the +major--tea and coffee and some special fixings from Vancouver. If he +don't get it, he and Miss Coulthurst will come right down to drinking +water. The freighter couldn't take more than a half-case of whisky in +for him last time, and I guess that's not going to last the Gold +Commissioner long." + +Ingleby, who was acquainted with the major's habits, surmised that this +was very probable, but it appeared of much less consequence than the +fact that Grace might also have to do without even the few small +comforts it had hitherto been possible to bring into the Green River +country. He no longer remembered the galling of the pack-straps or the +tremendous struggle over the big divide, but laid his hand upon the box. + +"We'll manage this one, anyway," he said. "I'll take it along with me." + +Then, turning at the sound of a step, he saw that Sewell, who had +followed apparently with the same purpose, was looking at him. + +"Well," he said, "what do you want?" + +"You can't take that case," said Sewell. "My pack's lighter." + +Ingleby was a trifle astonished. "I was first," he said. "Is there any +special reason why you should have it instead of me?" + +Sewell laughed, though his tone was not quite his usual one. + +"No," he said. "If one must be candid, I scarcely think there is." + +It had never occurred to Ingleby that his comrade might have set himself +to gain Miss Coulthurst's favour and in a measure succeeded. He would +have thought the notion preposterous in view of Sewell's opinions, and +he smiled good-humouredly. + +"It really doesn't matter. I wouldn't have let you have it, anyway," he +said, and drew the storekeeper aside. + +They started at daybreak next morning, and before they had gone a league +Ingleby found that the extra twelve pounds made his burden almost +insupportable. Still, he set his lips and bore it, taking a grim +pleasure in the nip of the straps that galled his shoulders as he +remembered for whom he was carrying the box. They were raw, and he was +worn-out when the men made camp beneath a towering fir as the coppery +sun went down, but it was very much worse on the morrow when he rose +with aching limbs from the frozen soil to start again. Somehow he kept +his place with the others throughout that weary day and the ones that +dragged by after it, though when he remembered them afterwards the +blurred pictures his fancy called up were like an evil dream of fatigue +and pain. + +They sank ankle-deep in ashes in the _brûlée_, rent their limbs and +garments smashing through the muskeg, melted the snow with their +camp-fires by lakes and streams whose shores even the wandering +prospector's foot had scarcely trodden, and slept, or lay awake +shivering, with boots in the embers and half-frozen bodies radiating +like spokes from the hub of crackling fire, while the smoke, which was +sharp with the sting of the resin, curled about them. Ingleby's +shoulders bled daily and troubled him seriously in the frost at night, a +seam of his boot had fretted a raw place across his foot, and in the +bitter mornings the cold struck deep and keen. Twelve pounds more count +for a good deal when the burden is already all that its bearer is fit to +carry, and the effort drained the store of heat in his worn-out body and +left nothing for the up-keep of its vitality. That heat is the source of +energy everybody knows, but only those who have taxed every muscle in +the cold of the Northwest realize the fact's full significance. The man +who has tried his strength too hard in the Arctic frost may char his +boots in the camp-fire, but he cannot get warm. To add to his troubles, +Ingleby had no proper mittens, and when the one extemporized from a +strip of flour-bag burst, the hand with which he clutched the +pack-straps split at every finger joint and at that temperature a sore +will rarely heal. + +The others were not in much better condition, though day by day the line +of weary men stumbled on in a silence that seemed the grimmer for the +burst of anathemas from the one or two of them who had to be dragged up +from the fire and brutally shaken into wakefulness when the hour to +resume the journey came. Then they came to the tremendous barrier of the +divide, a rampart of ice and snow which even in summer no man new to +that country would attempt to climb. + +It cost them a day to make the first thousand feet or so, and then they +lost count of the rest, during which they dragged themselves upward from +dwarf pine to pine or crawled along scarped slopes with the peaks still +above them. They were waist-deep in snow when they crossed the ridge +through the gap of a ravine down which all the winds of heaven +apparently rioted, but they fought their way foot by foot, and were +floundering down the farther side when Ingleby, who was staggering, grey +in face, behind the rearmost of them, lost his footing and rolled down a +declivity. He brought up with a crash in a juniper, and rising, +half-dazed, recovered his legitimate burden and dragged himself on +again. He could scarcely see the others, for his head was throbbing +intolerably and his sight was dim, but it seemed to him that he was +travelling a little more easily than he had done. It was, however, not +until they lay beside a snapping fire that night with their packs piled +behind them as a barrier to the bitter wind, that the reason for this +became apparent. + +"Where's that case of yours?" asked one of the men. + +Ingleby glanced behind him, and then laid down the blackened can of tea +he held and rose unsteadily. + +"You haven't got it," he asked hoarsely, "none of you?" + +There was a little sardonic laughter, and one of the others said, "I +guess we've got 'most enough without humping another case along for +anybody." + +"Then I must have left it where I fell into that juniper this +afternoon." + +He shook his galled shoulders, which were bleeding through the shirt +that was glued to them, and he winced as the movement tore it from the +wound. Then he turned slowly away from the fire. + +"Hold on. Where are you going?" said one of the men. + +"Back for the case. If I'm fortunate, I may make camp before you start +to-morrow." + +He stopped for just a moment, and looked back at the fire with a fierce +physical longing in his eyes, for all that was animal in him craved for +food and the rest of repletion. Sewell, he saw, was lying half-asleep, +with a partly consumed flapjack fallen from his hand. + +"Now, see here," said somebody, "we can't wait for you. Unless we get +down out of the frost into thick timber by to-morrow night, it's quite +likely one or two of us will stay up here altogether. You've got a +straight warning. Let the blame thing go." + +Ingleby said nothing. He knew that if he dallied his flesh would master +him, and he limped out of the firelight with a groan. The red flicker +faded suddenly, and he was alone on a great sloping waste where a few +dwarf firs and junipers were scattered, black as ink on a ground of +blinking white, under the big coppery moon. There was a pain in every +joint, the rag wound about one hand was stiff, and he dare not move his +shoulders now, while at every step the torturing boot ate into his +flesh. That was all he remembered, for he could never recall afterwards +much of what he felt and did that night. + +He was not back at the camp next morning, and when his comrades had +waited an hour or two they moved on slowly without him. One can live in +the open under a greater cold than they were called upon to face, that +is, if one is provided with costly furs and sleeping bags to suit it; +but there are reasons why the prospector usually has neither, and there +was no more endurance left in the men. Ingleby, however, would, at +least, have no difficulty in picking up their trail, and unless they +made shelter that night it seemed very probable that some of them would +freeze. They found it at the foot of the mountain wall in a thick belt +of young firs where the jumper-sledges and two or three axes had been +left, and that night they lay in comfort about the fire with a kettle of +strong green tea in their midst, and the springy cedar and spruce twigs +piled high about them. Two of them, however, were not there, for Sewell +had gone back in search of Ingleby. + +It was snowing a little, and there was no moon visible, while, though +the rest of the journey down the valley would, by comparison, be easy, +now they had the sledges, the men were curiously silent as they lay +about the fire. Nobody seemed disposed to sleep, and the kettle had been +emptied when one of them glanced round at the rest. + +"If he doesn't come in by to-morrow I'm going back," he said. + +"I guess it mightn't be much use to-morrow," said a comrade. "If I could +get a move on me I'd go to-night, but I'm not sure I can. What d'you say +'he' for, anyway? There's two of them." + +The men were dead-weary, too dazed with fatigue almost to think. Nor was +there one of them anxious to make the effort, which if successful might +drag him from his rest. Thus they were willing to be led away from the +point at issue, which was what might have happened to Ingleby. + +"Well," said the first speaker, "Sewell's a smart man, and he means +well, but I hadn't quite remembered him. When I was broke, and hadn't a +dollar's worth of dust to get the truck I had to have from the +freighter, Ingleby went bond for me. He don't know a good deal more than +he has any use for, like the other man, but he's there when he's wanted. +That's the kind he is. I'll give him another half-hour. Then I'm going +back for him." + +There was a drowsy murmur of concurrence. Sewell was liked in the Green +River valley, and no man doubted his sincerity; but that was, after all, +not quite enough, for it is, though somewhat difficult of comprehension, +a fact that the dwellers in the wilderness, who see fewer of their +fellowmen, have usually a clearer insight into the primitive essentials +of human character than the men of the cities. They do not ask too much +of it, but on certain points their demand is inexorable, and it is very +seldom that a simply meretricious quality goes far with them. Ingleby +was not a genius, he blundered in details, and he had few graces; but +they believed in him. + +The half-hour had almost passed when one of them sharply raised his +head, and, though few other men would probably have heard anything, the +rest shook themselves to attention. High up on the range above them +there was a soft pattering in the snow, which grew louder, until they +could hear two men stumbling down the steep hillside. After that there +was a snapping of twigs among the firs, and Sewell strode into the red +light with his hand on Ingleby's shoulder. The latter's face was grey, +and he staggered until somebody seized him and dragged him down beside +the fire. Then he blinked at them out of half-closed eyes. + +"I got the case," he said. + +"That's all right," said a man soothingly as he loosed the straps about +his shoulders and lifted the case aside, but Ingleby turned upon him +savagely. + +"Put it there, ---- you! I want to see it. It's hers," he said. + +His voice was strained and broken, and Sewell did not hear all he said. + +"Get him some tea and flapjacks. I think he's a little off his head," he +said. + + + + +XXIX + +ESMOND'S HANDS ARE TIED + + +Grace Coulthurst had not long cleared the evening meal away, but she was +already waiting Esmond's departure with an impatience which was somewhat +difficult to hold in check. He had come across from the outpost while +she was occupied with the task, and that in itself would have been +sufficient to displease her, but there were also other causes for the +strain upon her temper. Miss Coulthurst had not expected to fare +luxuriously in the Green River country and had hitherto borne the +necessary discomforts exceptionally well; but of late she had been +actually hungry, which, in her case, was as unpleasant as it was +unusual. + +There was still a store of flour and salt-pork in the Gold +Commissioner's house, but there was practically nothing else, and the +pork was rancid, while Grace had a very rudimentary acquaintance with +the art of cookery. As one result of this, she had risen unsatisfied +from each untempting meal, and, brought up as she had been, the +deprivation had its effect on her physical nature, though she felt the +isolation which had succeeded the blockade even more. Of late the +company of Ingleby or Sewell had become almost a necessity, while she +had naturally not seen either of them since the miners made their +protest. Coulthurst had also been a trifle difficult to get on with. He +was not addicted to indulgence, but neither was he particularly +abstemious, and tea brewed from leaves which had been infused once or +twice already was not a beverage he appreciated or one that tended to +make him more companionable. + +He lay somewhat wearily in a big deck-chair beside the stove with an +unlighted cigar in his hand, while Esmond sat opposite him with an +unpleasant look in his face. + +"There is nothing to be gained by hiding the fact that I'm a little +anxious about the state of affairs, sir," he said. "The scoundrelly +miners are still apparently as far from giving in as ever, and, +unpleasant as it is to admit, they have the upper hand." + +"It looks like it," said the major drily. "I suppose you haven't thought +of making a compromise? Nobody's hurt as yet, and I fancy they would be +satisfied if you met them with regard to Tomlinson. You're not bound to +send a man up for trial unless it's reasonably evident that he's guilty, +and I don't believe Tomlinson did the thing, myself. Couldn't you hold a +kind of informal inquiry, and give the boys an opportunity for proving +him innocent?" + +A vindictive sparkle crept into Esmond's eyes. "And permit a rabble of +that kind to teach me my duty? I'm afraid not. Even if I wasn't sure the +man was guilty, which I am, the thing would be out of the question." + +"You feel warranted in calling all of them--rabble?" asked Grace. + +"I do. Every one of them. Their leaders, in particular, belong to that +most intolerable class to be found anywhere--the half-taught +proletariat, with just enough education to increase their natural +unpleasantness and inspire them with a hatred of their superiors. That, +however, is not quite the point." + +The blood rose to the girl's face, but remembering that the major +occasionally displayed some little penetration she contrived to keep +silent, though this was by no means easy. Coulthurst, however, nodded. + +"I scarcely think it is," he said, with a trace of dryness. "As I +pointed out once before, you do not seem to remember that I +occasionally had Mr. Sewell and Ingleby here." + +"I'm afraid I didn't--I'm sorry, sir," said Esmond. "Of course, I should +have done so. One could almost have fancied that they were here +frequently." + +Again Grace said nothing, though it cost her a stronger effort, and the +major did not appear to notice the younger man's sardonic smile. + +"Since you don't seem to care for my suggestion, have you any notions of +your own?" + +"I haven't, which is partly why I came to you. If I could only find a +way of getting word to Victoria and a few more troopers in, it would be +easy to bring them to reason. As it is, I have sense enough to realize +that nobody would thank me for forcing a contest that could only end in +disaster and the subsequent sending up of a battalion of Canadian +militia. The miners are twenty to one, you see." + +Again Coulthurst nodded. "You are right in one respect," he said. +"Personally, I shouldn't care to undertake the thing with less than +three or four strong companies, and I'm not sure I could get in then. +Well, since a compromise appears out of the question, you can only wait +events." + +"That is the difficulty. I can't wait too long. We're on full rations +still, but stores are getting low and certainly won't last until the +thaw sets in. Of course, if affairs had been different, I could have +hired enough of the fellows to break out a trail." + +Perhaps the major did not intend it, but he looked at Grace, and saw +comprehension of his thoughts in her eyes. They were not on full +rations, or anything approaching it, at the Gold Commissioner's house, +and a few of the comforts Esmond could have spared would have been worth +a good deal to them. He was in some respects not an ungenerous man, but +though he must, Grace fancied, have seen how meagrely they fared, such a +course had evidently never suggested itself to him, and in that fact +lay the sting. He rose to go, in another minute or two, but just then +there was a knocking at the door, which swung open a moment later, and +Grace gasped as she saw Ingleby standing on the threshold with a heavy +case in his hands. + +His garments were ragged, and his gauntness showed through them. His +face was worn, and darkened by exposure to the frost, but his eyes were +steady, and he glanced at the girl with a smile. There was a curious +silence for a moment or two until he turned to the major. + +"May I come in, sir?" he asked. + +Coulthurst regarded him sternly. "You could scarcely expect me to +welcome a man in arms against his country." + +"No," said Ingleby. "Not as a friend. That would be unreasonable. Still, +I have a little explanation to make, and it is a bitter night to keep +the door open. With your permission!" + +He swung round and closed it, after which he laid down the case, and +Grace felt a thrill of appreciation as she watched him. His +self-possession appealed to her. + +"You have come--alone?" asked the major. + +"Of course!" said Ingleby. + +Esmond smiled, though there was no good-humour in his eyes, and, as if +inadvertently, dropped his hand on his hip. His uniform was raised a +trifle there, in a fashion which suggested that a pistol lay beneath it. + +"Wasn't that a little rash?" he asked. "Can you point out any reason why +I shouldn't arrest you?" + +"I fancy I can," and Ingleby made a gesture of impatience. "For one +thing, if you attempted to lay hands on me or reached for your pistol I +should fling you out into the snow. That, of course, isn't in good taste +to say in another man's house; but it may save everybody unpleasantness, +and, in any case, I'm one of the proletariat from whom too much is not +expected." + +There was a harshness in his voice and a glow in his eyes which seemed +to indicate that he was perfectly willing to make his promise good, +while, though his attitude was certainly not all that conventionality +demanded, it was, at least, natural in the circumstances, and Grace was +not displeased by it. Esmond, perhaps because he recognized the +necessity for displaying his superior training, kept his temper, and +Coulthurst watched them both, with a little grim smile. + +"I haven't the least intention of indulging in an exhibition of that +kind, which would be quite unnecessary," said the police officer. "There +is a trooper within call who has a carbine." + +"I saw him, though, being a policeman on duty, he naturally did not see +me. What would you gain by calling him?" + +"I think he and I between us could take you to the outpost." + +"You might. I haven't a weapon of any kind with me, but what then? Two +of my comrades know where I am, and you would have thirty or forty armed +miners inquiring for me before morning. It is, of course, quite plain +that you can't afford to force an outbreak of that kind." + +Esmond realized that this was true. Ingleby, it was evident, held the +cards and was quite aware of it. He wisely said nothing, though his face +grew hot, and there was a wicked look in his eyes. Then Ingleby turned +to the major again. + +"What I have to say is not in the least important, and will not keep you +a minute, sir," he said. "Still, there are reasons why I would sooner +Captain Esmond didn't hear it." + +"I believe he was going when you came in," said Coulthurst reflectively. + +The hint was plain enough, and Esmond moved towards the door, while +Ingleby, who stood between him and his fur-coat, handed the coat to him. +Then as the officer went out he lifted a partly-filled flour-bag in +from the veranda, and, when he had closed the door, laid it with the +case on the table. + +"Won't you sit down?" Grace said quietly. + +Ingleby looked at Coulthurst. "I scarcely think Major Coulthurst would +object to anything you suggest, but I am in his hands." + +"Sit down--and be hanged to you!" said the major, whose face grew +suddenly red. "Do you suppose I enjoy the position you have forced me +into?" + +Ingleby did as he was bidden. "I came across this case at the +settlement, sir, and was told it was for you. From what the storekeeper +said I fancied Miss Coulthurst would be pleased to have it, and that you +wouldn't mind my bringing it up with me." + +"You were at the settlement?" and Coulthurst glanced at him almost +incredibly. "Perhaps you know Esmond sent down two or three troopers, +and they couldn't face the snow?" + +"Yes, sir. You will probably understand why I preferred not to mention +it in Captain Esmond's presence." + +"The box is proof that you were there--but how the devil you managed it +is more than I know. The troopers certainly couldn't." + +"They didn't go the right way," said Ingleby drily. + +"Then there is another one?" and Coulthurst flashed a sharp glance at +him. + +"As a very little reflection would show you that there must be, there is +no use in running away from the question. Besides, I feel I'm safe in +your hands, and, while circumstances continue as they are, Captain +Esmond couldn't profit by any conclusions you might come to. Shall I +open the case for you, sir?" + +The major made a little sign, and Ingleby, crossing to the hearth, +picked up the rock-drill, which served as poker, and contrived to prize +up the lid with it. + +It was a trifling action, but it was characteristic; and Grace noticed +that he made use of the thing that was nearest without troubling anybody +to find him a more suitable implement. Then he laid out the contents of +the box upon the table, and the girl's face softened as she watched him. +The little comforts in themselves were worth a good deal to her just +then, but the fact that he had thought of her was worth far more. The +major, however, appeared a trifle disappointed, and she fancied she knew +what he was looking for. Ingleby seemed to know it, too, for there was a +suggestion of a smile in his eyes. Leaning one elbow on the table she +looked at him with her rounded chin in the palm of one hand. + +"Whichever way you went you must have crossed the range," she said. +"That box was heavy. How did you carry it?" + +"On my back," said Ingleby. "That is the usual way. We had sold all the +horses off to the freighter for a few dollars quite a while ago. Of +course, as I hadn't asked your permission, it was a liberty." + +Grace made a little gesture. "What did you go down to the settlement +for?" + +"Provisions." + +"But nobody could carry many of them over the mountains." + +"I think I managed forty pounds," said Ingleby incautiously. "Most of +the boys had considerably more." + +The clear rose colour crept into Grace's cheeks, and she did not trouble +to prevent his seeing it. She knew what the simple admission meant, and +that it must have cost him toil incredible to make that journey with a +double burden. It was for her he had borne it. + +"And the box?" she asked. + +Ingleby's embarrassment was evident, and she turned to the major with a +curious little laugh and a faint ring in her voice. + +"Do you understand what Mr. Ingleby has done?" she said. "He has carried +that box besides his own load up from the settlement--over the +mountains--so that we should not suffer for anything." + +Coulthurst also appeared embarrassed. In fact, his face was distinctly +red. "I'm very much obliged to him," he said. "It's devilishly +unfortunate you got drawn into that outpost business, Ingleby. Excuse +me, Grace, it is--unfortunate. Can't you see how you have placed me? As +a man who has served his nation, even though he has been kicked for it, +I can't very well----" + +He stopped a moment, still a trifle flushed, and then broke into a +little laugh. "Well," he said, "you're too strong for me--I'll +capitulate. You know the ground I ought to take as well as I do; but +it's more than could reasonably be expected of any man, under the +circumstances. Still, that storekeeper fellow might have put in +something a little more exhilarating than tea." + +Ingleby opened the flour-bag with something as nearly approaching a grin +on his gaunt face as was compatible with the deferential attitude he had +assumed. + +"I feel a little diffident about the next proceeding, sir," he said. "In +fact, it is a piece of almost intolerable presumption on the part of a +man setting constituted authority at defiance, as I'm afraid I am. +Still, you see, people must eat and drink, in any case." + +He took two carefully wrapped bottles out of the bag, and the major's +eyes twinkled, while as he spread out the rest of its contents Grace +felt her heart grow very soft towards him. He had, it seemed, thought of +everything that could minister to her comfort. Then she saw that he had +guessed what she was thinking, and his honesty became apparent. + +"The storekeeper had his wife there," he said. "I had a little talk with +her." + +"It is to be hoped she didn't drink whisky of that kind," said the +major, with a chuckle. "You couldn't get anything better in a Montreal +club." + +Ingleby laughed. "I fancy some of my comrades have belonged to +associations of the kind, and a good many of them have cultivated +tastes," he said. "As a matter of fact, they can afford them." + +"Will you be good enough to tell me how much those things cost?" asked +the major. + +"If you insist. In fact, there's an invoice here. Still, after the +little kindnesses you have shown me I would much sooner not let you see +it." + +Coulthurst looked at him sharply, and then, reaching out, laid his hand +upon the grocery bill. After that he rose and went into the adjoining +room, and when he came back he handed Ingleby a cheque on a Vancouver +bank. Grace watched the miner curiously as he did so. + +"Now you have relieved your feelings, sir, I can make what use I like of +what is my own," he said. + +He crossed the room and flung the paper into the fire, then turned with +a little smile to the major. It was a bold step, and the boldness of it +appealed to the girl. She understood it as an assertion of equality, +something he owed to himself, and withal it was done with deference and +not aggressively. For a moment Coulthurst gazed at him in astonishment. +Then he laughed, and made a little sign of comprehension. + +"I'm not sure I've met many young men with nerve enough to do that, but +I think you're right," he said. "I was pleased to make your +acquaintance, Mr. Ingleby--and it is, perhaps, not altogether your fault +that the present unfortunate circumstances must necessarily lead to a +temporary break in it." + +Ingleby made him a little grave inclination. "I understand, sir, and +there is only one thing I would like to ask," he said. "We may make some +suggestions shortly for a compromise, and, in view of Captain Esmond's +temperament--and our own--they might be considered more dispassionately +if passed through a third party. Would you be willing to receive Sewell +here?" + +He was evidently about to go, and Coulthurst held out his hand. "Send +him as soon as you can. If your ideas are reasonable, I'll do my utmost +with Esmond. This state of affairs can't go on." + +Ingleby turned towards the door, but Grace, who was waiting, opened it +for him, and let her hand rest in his a moment. + +"Walter," she said very softly, "it was exactly what I would have +expected from you." + +Ingleby did not think it advisable to turn round, but he gripped the +little fingers hard as he passed out into the darkness. + + + + +XXX + +SEWELL'S DOWNFALL + + +Sewell went to Major Coulthurst's the following night, and remained some +time in conference with him. He also went there a day or two later to +hear Esmond's answer to the suggestions he had conveyed, and when it was +delivered he found himself no nearer a compromise. There was not a man +in the valley who would agree to what the police officer demanded; and +though Sewell went back with somewhat modified proposals from time to +time, affairs dragged on at a deadlock, while each party hoped to starve +the other into surrender. + +The miners could with difficulty have obtained a temporary and +insufficient supply of provisions, but fearing that Esmond would be +driven to action, their leaders were dubious about sending any number of +their men away again. It was a game of bluff they were playing, and it +had dragged out much longer than any of them had anticipated, while all +could recognize that it was only by holding command of such a force as +would render hopeless any attempt to drive them from their barricade +that they could avoid an actual recourse to arms, which must eventually +prove disastrous to them. + +Finally, after a meeting of all concerned, Sewell was dispatched again +with what practically amounted to an ultimatum, and on the evening on +which he was to deliver it he and Ingleby and Leger discussed the affair +at the bakery. Hetty was not present, for though they were on short +rations, she had gone up the valley with one or two little dainties she +had contrived to make for Tomlinson. He had been a strong and healthy +man, but wounds, complicated by comminuted bones, give trouble in the +cold of that country, and the very indifferent food had further +militated against his recovery. Sewell stood ready to set out, Ingleby +and Leger sat by the hearth, and there was anxiety in the faces of all +of them. + +"I'm afraid it's a fool's errand I'm going on," said Sewell. "It is, of +course, useless to threaten to seize the outpost when Esmond must +realize that we have no intention of doing it. The thing's out of the +question. It was all very well to block the troopers out, but if we shot +one of them it would bring every policeman in the country, and, if +necessary, the whole Canadian militia, down upon our heads." + +"It's almost a pity you didn't realize that before," said Leger. + +Sewell made a little gesture which might have expressed anything. +"Mutual recriminations seldom do much good, and I scarcely think any one +would have expected Esmond to hold out as he has done. I met one of the +troopers the last time I went to Coulthurst's, and he admitted that they +were practically starving. It was a bluff we put up, but we made the +mistake of assuming that the opposition had less nerve than we had. +After all, it's not a very uncommon one." + +"Are you quite sure it was only bluff when you began?" asked Leger +quietly. + +Sewell started, almost imperceptibly, but Leger saw it, and even +Ingleby, who would have believed in him in spite of everything, fancied +that there was embarrassment in his face. + +"Circumstances alter cases, and I've learnt a little about British +official inertia since I've been up here," he said. "It's rather a big +contract to dictate terms to the Dominion of Canada when we have failed +to make any great impression on one police officer. Anyway, I may as +well get on to the commissioner's. Neither of us is, I fancy, in the +most amiable temper." + +He went out, and Ingleby looked at Leger, who shook his head. + +"He's quite right, Walter. It's too big a thing for us, and we have +failed," he said. "If it comes to the worst and Esmond goes down, he'll +beat us still." + +Ingleby said nothing, though his face grew grim, and Leger continued +with a little dry smile, "Sewell will do no good. It's almost a pity we +hadn't chosen another man. His heart isn't in the thing." + +"You can say that--when you know his record?" and there was a flash of +anger in Ingleby's eyes. + +"Don't misunderstand me. Sewell will not actually play us false. He is, +of course, a much more brilliant man than either of us, and he'll handle +our case with his usual ability. Still, that is scarcely enough, and one +has to admit that it's a poor one intrinsically. We started with the +mistake of taking it for granted that Esmond could be bluffed." + +"I'm not sure that we did. To be correct, I started the thing without +thinking of anything. Anyway, you believed as firmly as the rest of us +in Sewell and that the men here and at Westerhouse could make a stand +that would result in their getting what they wanted." + +Leger sat silent a moment or two. "Perhaps I did, though I think I saw +the weak points of the scheme clearly. They, however, didn't count for +so much then. Nobody, you see, can put a big thing through by working it +all out logically beforehand. It appears all difficulties if you look at +it that way. One has to take his chances with the faith that attempts +the impossible and the fire that carries him through an obstacle before +he realizes that it is one. Sewell had the faith and the fire, and the +trouble is that he hasn't now. There has been a big change in the man +since he came into the Green River country." + +Ingleby could not controvert this, but it was evident to Leger, who +watched him closely, that he had still full confidence in Sewell, and +was as far as ever from guessing at any reason that might account for +the change in him. + +"Well," he said slowly, "we can't back down now. What are we to do?" + +"Go on. Play the game out to the bitter end. I think you know that as +well as I do." + +The little sign Ingleby made seemed to imply that there was nothing more +to be said. + +"Isn't it time Hetty was back?" he asked. + +He opened the door, and the cold struck through him like a knife. There +was not a breath of wind astir, and the pines cut sharp and black +against the luminous blueness of the night without the faintest quiver +of a spray, for that afternoon an Arctic frost had descended upon the +valley. + +"I'll go along and meet her," he said. + +It was ten minutes later when he did so. She was plodding somewhat +wearily up the climbing trail, a shapeless figure in a big blanket-coat, +and she took his arm and leaned upon it. It occurred to him that Hetty +had lost some of her brightness, and had been looking a little worn of +late; but that was not astonishing, since the scanty food and strain of +anxiety were telling upon everybody in the Green River valley. It was +also a long way from the bakery to the hut where Tomlinson still lay +helpless, and Ingleby felt very compassionate as the girl, who said very +little, walked by his side. When at last he opened the door for her she +sank into the nearest chair and turned to him with a curiously listless +gesture. + +"Keep it open--wide," she said. + +Ingleby understood her, for the little room was very hot, and the sudden +change of temperature from the frost of the Northwest had once or twice +painfully affected him. Then as he turned again he heard a faint cry and +saw Hetty clutch at the table. In another moment her chair went over +with a crash, and he caught her as she fell. + +"No!" said Leger sharply. "Don't try to lift her. Lay her flat." + +Ingleby stupidly did as he was bidden, and when Hetty lay at his feet, a +pitiful, huddled object with blanched hands and face, beneath the +snow-sprinkled coat, he felt an unnerving thrill of apprehension run +through him as he looked down at her. Leger, however, kept his head. + +"I don't think there's anything to be afraid of, but we must get these +things loose about her neck," he said. "Undo that hook while I lift her +head a little. It's pressed right into her throat." + +Ingleby dropped on one knee, and with clumsy fingers loosed the +blanket-cloak. Then he stopped a moment, and glanced at Leger, who had +slipped one arm under Hetty. As she lay, her garments were drawn tight +about her neck and shoulders. + +"Go on!" said Leger sharply. "Get that collar undone. Be quick. The +thing is choking her." + +Ingleby loosed the collar, though the blood crept to his face as the +bodice fell apart from Hetty's white neck. Leger was, however, not +contented yet. + +"Pull those hooks out, or cut the stuff," he said. "What--are--you +stopping for?" + +Ingleby got the hooks out, that is, one or two of them, and then he +stopped again, while Leger saw the narrow black ribbon pressed into the +white flesh upon which his eyes were fixed. + +"I don't know what that is, but pull it out," he said. "If you can't get +it loose, cut the thing." + +Ingleby did as he was bidden, but there was no need to use the knife, +for, as Leger moved his arm a little, the ribbon slackened, and a little +trumpery locket which, as Ingleby knew, was not even of high-carat +gold, slid out and lay on Hetty's breast. As he saw it all the blood in +his body seemed to rush into his face. Leger, however, apparently did +not notice that. + +"Get me the old jacket yonder. I want it under her shoulders," he said. + +Ingleby got it and then stood leaning on the table, while Leger still +knelt by his sister's side. His face was set and anxious, but it was +evident that he was equal to the occasion, and had not let his +apprehensions master him. It was, however, different with Ingleby, for +now there was no longer anything to do he felt that he was quivering. + +"I'll run for the American who's looking after Tomlinson," he said. + +Leger made a little sign. "No. Don't go. I may want you. She'll come +round in a minute or two. This room must have been seventy, and outside +it's forty below. Where has your nerve gone?" + +Ingleby did not know. It had, however, certainly deserted him, and he +felt for once scarcely capable of doing anything as he leaned upon the +table. Then Leger, who slipped the locket back beneath the dress, looked +up at him. + +"She mightn't like to think we had seen it, and, of course, I didn't +know what the thing was," he said, and then added, without moving his +eyes from Ingleby, "I wonder where she got it?" + +Ingleby said nothing, though he knew. He had bought her the little +trinket in England long ago, but it seemed to him that Hetty might not +like her brother to know it. Apart from that, he was scarcely sensible +of anything clearly, for he was overwhelmed by a horrible confusion, and +he looked down at Leger vacantly until a little shiver seemed to run +through the girl. + +"Now see if you can find the coffee," said his comrade sharply. "There +is a little somewhere. We have nothing else to give her." + +Ingleby waited another moment until he saw a faint tinge of colour creep +into Hetty's face, and then he moved towards the box of stores, dazed +from relief. He was busy for a moment or two, and when he turned again +Hetty was lying in the low hide-chair with her brother's arm about her +and the blanket-coat clutched closely to her neck. Leger flashed a swift +glance at him and pointed towards the door. + +"I think it would be better if you got out of this," he said. + +Ingleby also thought so and went forthwith. He felt that he could not +meet Hetty's eyes just then, and he wanted to be alone and get rid of +the almost insufferable confusion that afflicted him. He had never made +love to Hetty. They had been comrades, almost as brother and sister to +each other; but she had worn his locket hidden on her breast, which was, +he surmised, considerably more than a sister would have done. Brotherly +tenderness could also, he realized, scarcely account for the uneasiness +he had felt and the relief that had replaced it; but it appeared quite +out of the question--in fact, a thought to shrink from--that he could be +in love with two women. It was as unpleasant to contemplate the +probability of two women being in love with him. He could find no +solution of the problem as he swung along beneath the solemn pines, and +when he reached his black and silent shanty his brain was still in a +whirl. One thing alone was clear to him, and that was that Hetty was +alive and apparently recovering. + +In the meanwhile Sewell found that Coulthurst, who, it seemed, had gone +across to the outpost, had not yet come home. Grace told him so standing +in the doorway, with the sweeping lines of her figure cut in black +against the light, and though she could see the admiration in his face +he could not see her curious little smile. Miss Coulthurst had decided +that the struggle between the miners and their rulers had continued long +enough, and it was time she made some attempt to put an end to it. + +"Still, I really think you might come in," she said. "He will be back +before very long." + +Sewell came in, and sat down opposite her across the hearth, and Grace +glanced covertly at her little watch which hung upon the wall. Major +Coulthurst was punctuality in itself, and she realized that she had +about twenty minutes in which to do a good deal. Ingleby's devotion to +her--and it was, perhaps, significant that she felt that was the best +description of it--was evident; but there were points on which he was as +unyielding and impervious to suggestion as a rock; while Sewell, with +his more delicately balanced nature and wider grasp of comprehension, +was, in her hands, at least, as malleable clay. + +"How long is this very unpleasant state of affairs to continue, Mr. +Sewell?" she asked. "You promised me we should have quietness this +winter." + +Sewell made a little deprecatory gesture. "Circumstances were too strong +for me, but I have done what I could. Unpleasant as things are, they +might be worse--considerably." + +"It is a little difficult to see how they could be." + +She had straightened herself a little, and sat looking at him with a +certain quiet and half-scornful imperiousness which she knew became her, +and yet was not altogether affected. Sewell, the democrat, understood +exactly what she meant, and knew that it was not the loneliness or +physical discomfort the blockade entailed that she was thinking of. It +was the humbling of the pride of the ruling caste to which she belonged, +and the bold denial of its prerogative of authority, that she felt the +most. It was curious that he could understand this and sympathize with +her as Ingleby, who only saw and did the obvious thing, could not have +done. + +"Well," he said, "I think this winter might have seen an undreamt-of +overturning of constituted authority and the setting up of what you were +once pleased to call a visionary Utopia. My comrades were almost ready +to undertake it a little while ago. In fact, they only wanted somebody +to show them how." + +Grace laughed a careless, silvery laugh, which would have been wasted on +Ingleby. There was no scorn in it now, only amusement, but Sewell nodded +comprehendingly as he looked up at her. + +"Your friends would naturally never believe it, but I almost think the +inauguration of the Utopia would have been possible," he said. "At +least, we could have cleared the ground for it." + +"There are," said Grace suggestively, "men enough in this valley to make +about one company." + +"And between here and the Arctic sea enough to make such a small +army-corps of marchers and marksmen as no country has ever enrolled +beneath its banner. A very little spark in the right place will kindle a +great blaze, you know; but I only want to show you that the thing might +have happened. I scarcely think you need expect it now." + +Grace looked at him with a curious intensity. "Then," she said, "you +were afraid?" + +"No," answered Sewell slowly. "I was not sure I was strong enough to +control the forces I could set in motion, or that the result of +unloosing them would be--Utopia. It seemed too big a risk. That was one +reason--you can, perhaps, guess the other. After all, one has to admit +that there are certain advantages attached to the direction of affairs +by the more highly trained divisions of society." + +"To which," said Grace, with a soft laugh, "you, of course, belong. What +made--you--a democrat?" + +Sewell made a little gesture. "Ah," he said, "that is a different story, +and one I hardly care to go into, but perhaps the instincts one is born +with can't be entirely rooted out. I am, at least, not the iconoclast I +was when I came into the valley. That, however, really isn't very +astonishing. I now have a good deal to lose." + +He looked at her steadily with grave deference, but as like to like, and +the girl recognized this and what his words implied. She was, however, +playing a game then, and another swift glance at her watch showed her +that she had little time in which to finish it. + +"And so, for fear you should lose it, you did not strike the spark? +Well, I think that was wise. It would certainly have cost you one thing +which you seem to value," she said. + +This was vague, but it seemed to Sewell that there could be only one +meaning to it. What he had feared to lose was not yet beyond his reach. +He did not know that there were in the girl qualities which would have +made her a successful Pompadour. Just then her craving for influence was +irresistible; but she swept away from the topic with a swift smile +expressive only of the indifference which of all the feelings that she +could show he most shrank from. + +"Still, to be practical, how could the blaze have spread?" she said. "It +would have smouldered out in one snow-bound valley, and in the spring +there would have been a very inglorious downfall to the strictly limited +Utopia." + +Sewell was nettled. There was, though it was seldom apparent, vanity in +him, as both Hetty and Grace had guessed. Her blame he could have borne, +but there was a sting in her smile. That she should think him a +visionary schemer led away by his imagination, and without the faculty +of execution, hurt him. + +"The blaze would have leapt the snowy barriers," he said. "In fact, that +was all arranged. Then it would have flashed from range to range across +to the Yukon. One tolerably big bonfire has been waiting some time ready +for lighting. I had only to send the message. I think you know why I +didn't." + +Grace saw his eyes, and understood the look in them. It was suggestive +of passionate admiration. She also knew that a word would dispel it, +perhaps forever, but she was lost in the game now, and what the man +might think of her afterwards did not matter. + +"Then there is a road out--beside the one you made to the settlement? It +must be to Westerhouse?" she said. + +"Yes," answered Sewell simply. "I have been there." + +Grace had just five minutes left, and a task before her which, under +ordinary circumstances, she could scarcely have expected to accomplish; +but she had to deal with a man who was, after all, of her own caste, a +man with a deep vein of vanity in him, who was also in love with her. +The latter fact had been apparent for some little while, and she let him +see now that she recognized it, while during the next few minutes she +used every attribute with which Nature had endowed her, as well as art +of a very delicate description. In fact, Grace had never until then +exactly realized her own capabilities. + +Neither Sewell nor she could afterwards remember all that she said, and +in fact she said very little, though that little was suggestive; there +was no great need for a girl with her patrician beauty to waste words +unduly when she had her eyes. In any case, Sewell was as wax beneath her +hands, and when she had finished with him she knew that the mountain +barrier between the Green River country and Westerhouse was not +impassable, and how the one gorge ran that traversed it. If Sewell +fancied she appreciated the passion which had led him to do so much for +her, that was his affair. There was, however, a curious glow in his eyes +when he rose as the major came in. + + + + +XXXI + +BROKEN IDOLS + + +Coulthurst sat with a big hand clenched on the table and a grim look in +his face when Sewell left him, nor did he turn his head until Grace, who +came softly out of the inner room, sat down close by him. + +"You can't come to terms, father?" she said. + +"We can't," and there was an ominous sparkle in Coulthurst's eyes. "I'm +not sure that I wish to now. In fact, I've borne quite as much as I'm +willing to put up with from both of them, and there's some reason, after +all, in Esmond's plan. He'll give them another week, and then we'll cut +our way in." + +"It's not your affair," and Grace started visibly. "You are the Gold +Commissioner." + +Coulthurst smiled. "I am also entitled to the rank of major, and that, +after all, means a good deal." + +Grace mastered her apprehension, for she realized the major's point of +view and indeed concurred with it. + +"There is no other way than the one you are thinking of?" she asked. + +"There are two," said Coulthurst drily. "We can sit still and starve, or +march out and leave the valley in the possession of the miners while we +try to break through the snow. Neither of them, however, commends itself +to Esmond or me." + +"Of course!" said Grace, with a little flush in her face, which, +however, faded suddenly. "But suppose one or two of the troopers were +killed while you forced the barricade?" + +"Then," said Coulthurst, "our friends Ingleby and Sewell would certainly +be hung." + +The major's terseness was more convincing than a great deal of argument, +and Grace saw what she must do. The pride of station was strong in her, +so strong, in fact, that she would never have come down to Ingleby's +level. It was only because he had shown that he could force his way to +hers--at least, as it was likely to be regarded in that country--that +she had listened to him. When the grapple became imminent that pride +alone would have driven her to take part with constituted authority +instead of what she considered the democratic rabble. Then there was the +peril to her father and to Ingleby. He must be saved--against himself, +if it should be necessary. + +"There are troopers at Westerhouse across the mountains?" she asked. + +"I believe there is a strong detachment and a very capable officer." + +Grace sat silent a moment before she spoke again. "Father," she said, "I +want you to make a bargain with Reggie Esmond for me. On two conditions +I am willing to tell you how he can bring those troopers in. You are to +be the Gold Commissioner and peacemaker, but nothing else. As there will +be two police officers, they will not want you as major. Then there must +be an indemnity for Mr. Sewell and Ingleby." + +Coulthurst gazed at her in blank astonishment. "You are quite serious? +You mean what you say?" + +"Of course! I can tell you--on those two conditions--how to bring the +Westerhouse troopers in." + +Coulthurst banged his hand down on the table. "Then I think there will +be an end of the trouble--and the affair could be arranged to meet your +views. But however did you find the way into the Westerhouse country?" + +Grace looked at him steadily, though there was a little more colour than +usual in her face. "That does not concern Reggie Esmond or you. Hadn't +you better go over and see him?" + +It was getting late, but Coulthurst went straightway; and as the result +of it Esmond and two troopers set out with a hand-sled early next +morning for a certain peak that overhung a gorge through the +barrier-range that cut off the Westerhouse country. He could not pass up +the valley, but that was no great matter since the peak could be seen +leagues away. It was a long journey, and he had intended going no +farther than the gorge with the troopers, but he was not destined to get +even there. + +On the second day they came on a tree lying across their path with its +branches interlocked among the shattered limbs of a neighbor so that the +great trunk was sharply tilted, an obstacle which is frequently to be +met with in that country. As the undergrowth all round was tall and +thick, Esmond and one trooper swung themselves upon the log to see if +they could find an opening, and made their way along it until they came +to a branch where the trunk was high above the ground. The trooper crept +round it, and then, as Esmond came after him, there was a crash and a +shout, and the trooper who had stayed below saw his officer vanish +amidst the rattling twigs. It was several minutes before they could +reach him, and then he was lying, with a grey face, and with one leg +changed in its usual contour and significantly limp. He looked up with a +grin of pain when the first trooper bent over him. + +"Gone at the thigh-bone. I felt it snap," he said. "Simpkin will get me +home on the sled, but you'll go on, Grieve, and tell Captain Slavin how +we are fixed. He will come in with every man available." + +"I guess I'd better see you safe back, sir," said the trooper. + +Esmond stared at him fiercely, though his face was awry with pain. + +"You'll go on," he said. + +Then he winced, and, moving a little, fell over with his face in the +snow, and, because the boughs he had fallen among were thick, it was two +hours before the troopers got him out and on the sled. It was not +altogether astonishing that they managed to compound the fracture during +the operation. After that Grieve pushed on alone, and he was, as it +happened, from the wild bush of Northern Ontario, which, though the +trees and rocks are smaller, is a very similar country. In the meanwhile +Simpkin headed back for the valley with the sled, and it was not his +fault that three nights of bitter frost overtook him on the way. Indeed, +if he had not been an exceptionally resolute man, inured to fatigue, it +is very probable that Esmond would have frozen before they reached the +outpost. On the morning after they got there a trooper appeared before +the miners' barricade without his carbine and hailed the men on guard. + +"Have you brought along the American who fixed up Jackson's foot when he +smashed his toes, boys?" he asked. + +The man who had nursed Tomlinson climbed up on the log. "I'm here," he +said. "Is anybody wanting me?" + +"I guess Captain Esmond does," said the trooper. "He fell off a log two +or three days ago, and his leg-bone has come right through. The corporal +can't get it back inside him. If you can see your way to do anything, +we'd be much obliged to you." + +"Did Captain Esmond send you?" + +"No, sir," said the trooper, "he didn't. He's way too sick to worry +about anything." + +The American smiled at Ingleby, who stood beneath him. "It's very +probable! A compound fracture of the femur is apt to prove rather +serious at this temperature, especially if our friend the corporal has +been trying to reduce it. We don't owe the man anything, but I guess +I'd better go along." + +"Of course!" said Ingleby simply, and in another minute the doctor was +on his way to the outpost with the trooper. + +It was evening when he came back with news of Esmond's condition, which, +it appeared, was serious, and Sewell forthwith set out for the Gold +Commissioner's dwelling. He did not see Grace at all, and Coulthurst +granted him only a two minutes' interview. + +"It is quite out of the question that I should worry Captain Esmond +now," he said. "Unless you are prepared to make an unconditional +surrender, which I should strongly recommend, there is nothing I can do +for you." + +"That," replied Sewell, "is about the last thing we should think of +doing." + +He came back, and related what had passed to Leger and Ingleby. The +latter looked thoughtful when he heard him. + +"One could almost fancy by the change in his attitude that the major had +something up his sleeve," he said. + +"The game thing occurred to me, though I don't see what it could be. The +accident to Esmond has probably upset him. Anyway, we have our own +course to consider now." + +"Since Esmond's not likely to worry us for awhile, we had better send +all the men we can spare down for provisions, for one thing," said +Leger. + +It was decided on, and still Ingleby looked grave. + +"That's all right as far as it goes, but it's only a side issue, after +all," he said. "This state of things can't continue indefinitely, and +Tomlinson doesn't seem to be getting much better, or we could have +simplified the affair by getting him out of the valley. The winter's +wearing through, and if nothing is done before the thaw comes we'll be +in the troopers' hands. In the meanwhile there's an unpleasant +probability of the freighter or somebody else finding his way in now +we've broken out a trail. Have you thought about asking the boys at +Westerhouse to join us?" + +"No," said Sewell, with a momentary trace of embarrassment. "There are a +good many reasons why it wouldn't be convenient." + +"I should like to hear one or two of them," said Leger bluntly. + +Sewell managed to think of several reasons, but none of them appeared +altogether satisfactory when his comrades considered them. It was, +however, evident that he was determined on not sending to Westerhouse, +and they had to be content, though Leger looked very grave when the +conference broke up. + +"One could almost have fancied that Sewell had lost his nerve, and if I +could send Hetty out of the valley it would be a big weight off my +mind," he said. + +The same thought had occurred to Ingleby, and it troubled him again that +night as he kept his watch behind the tree, for he could not altogether +understand the tense anxiety he felt about Hetty. She had scarcely been +out of his thoughts since the night she fainted at the bakery, which, +considering that he was in love with Grace Coulthurst, appeared an +almost unnatural thing. There was no doubt that he was in love with the +commissioner's daughter, he assured himself. All his hopes and projects +for the future were built upon the fact; but he was commencing to +realize vaguely that she appealed, for the most part, to his intellect, +while he felt for Hetty a curious, unreasoning tenderness which was +quite apart from admiration of her or her qualities. He puzzled over it +that night, sitting still while the men slept about him under the stars, +and then gave it up as beyond solution when one of them relieved him. + +In the meanwhile Trooper Grieve had found the gorge through the +barrier-range, and was pushing on through dim fir forests and over snowy +hillsides for Westerhouse. Esmond lay half-insensible in the outpost, +for fever and dangerous inflammation had supervened; but nobody told the +American where the lieutenant was going when he fell from the tree or +anything about Trooper Grieve. There was thus no apparent change in the +state of affairs until one night, when every man who could be spared was +away at the settlement, a stranger worn with travel was brought in by +two miners. Sewell was standing with the others about the fire behind +the tree, and Ingleby saw the colour sink from his face when it was told +them that the stranger was from Westerhouse. + +"You have got to do something right away," said the visitor. "Slavin's +coming in with every trooper he can raise. He went round the way the +trooper came, and I pushed on by the trail Sewell told us of to get in +ahead of him. A few of the boys are coming along behind me." + +There was a murmur of astonishment and consternation, and then a +somewhat impressive silence, which Leger broke. + +"You mean that one of the Green River troopers reached Westerhouse?" he +said. + +"That's just what I do mean. Your man sent him." + +Leger looked hard at Sewell, who stood back a little in the shadow now. + +"It isn't quite clear how he found the way, but, after all, we needn't +worry about that in the meanwhile," he said. "You are still our +acknowledged leader, Mr. Sewell. Hadn't you better ask him a question or +two? We want to understand the thing." + +Sewell stood still for almost a minute, and the men, who were tensely +impatient, wondered at it and the hardness of Leger's voice. Then he sat +down on a branch where the wood-smoke drifted between them and him. + +"Try to tell us as clearly as you can what happened," he said. + +"Well," said the stranger, "one of the Green River troopers came in +badly played out, and when he asked us where the outpost was we took +him along. After what you'd told us we guessed it meant trouble for you. +It was dark then, and one of us crawled round to the little back window; +but a trooper came round the house, and we lit out kind of quietly for +the bush. Then a trooper started out on the trail as hard as he could +hit it, and 'bout half an hour later Slavin came out in front of the +outpost. 'I'm going away by and by--for my health--but I've sent to +Clatterton Creek for two or three more policemen, and if you start any +blame circus while I'm away, I'll see the boys who made it are sorry for +themselves,' he said." + +"The boys took it quietly?" asked Ingleby. + +"Yes," said the stranger. "That's what they did. You see, the folks in +Victoria had moved on Eshelby, and the new man was doing what he could +for us within reason. Anyway, we hadn't heard from you, and the boys +weren't going to make trouble for nothing when Slavin was there." + +Again Leger glanced at Sewell, who said nothing, and then made a little +sign to the speaker. "Nobody would expect it of them," he said. "Get +on." + +"Well," said the stranger, "when Slavin and his troopers lit out quietly +'bout an hour after, we got our packs made and came on after them. That +is, a few of us who hadn't struck any dirt that was worth the washing. +We were willing to take a hand in if we were wanted, because we heard of +Hall Sewell before he came to Westerhouse. If he was in a tight place, +we figured we'd stand behind him. He'd often done what he could for men +like us." + +Sewell made no sign, but leaned back, a shadowy figure, against the +tree, and there was something in his silence that set Ingleby's nerves +on edge. + +"We kept 'most a league behind Slavin, and we had to get a move on at +that," continued the speaker. "He wasn't wasting time. Then when we'd +got through the range he broke off to the north, and we figured that was +the way the trooper came. We let him go, and came right on by the trail +Sewell told us of." + +"How many are there of you?" asked Leger. + +"Eight. They're 'most as cleaned out of grub and money as I am. We'd +have sent you a hundred if you'd wanted them soon after Sewell came." + +Ingleby laughed harshly, a jarring, hopeless laugh, and there was a +murmur from the men. + +"Our hand's played out. The contract was too big for us," said one of +them. "What d'you figure on doing--now--Mr. Sewell?" + +Sewell rose slowly, as though it cost him an effort, and, face to face +with them, stood where the firelight fell upon him. The bronze had faded +from his cheeks, and his glance was vacillating. + +"Nothing in the meanwhile, boys," he said. "In fact, there is nothing we +can do but try to extort some trifling concession from Slavin before we +surrender to-morrow." + +He stopped a moment, and looked at them with steadying eyes. "If we had +Westerhouse behind us I would have asked you to make a fight for it. It +would at least have been an easy way out of the tangle for one of +us--but it would only mean useless bloodshed as it is. I can't get you +into further trouble, boys." + +His voice had been growing hoarser, and there was an uncomfortable +silence when he stopped. This was not what the men had expected, and +everybody seemed to feel that there was something wrong. Then Ingleby +looked at Leger with a little bitter smile. + +"Well," he said, "we have made our protest, and, as any one else would +have foreseen, have found it useless. Established order is too strong +for us. I never felt of quite so little account as I do to-night." + +Leger nodded sympathetically. "That," he said, "isn't, after all, of any +particular consequence--and I scarcely think it was quite our fault. +Why didn't Sewell send over to Westerhouse?" + +"I don't know," said Ingleby. "It doesn't matter now." + +"Have you asked yourself how the trooper found his way across the +range?" + +Ingleby turned round on him suddenly. "What do you mean by that?" + +"If you can't find an answer, I think you should ask Sewell. It seems to +me you are entitled to know." + +Ingleby met his eyes for a moment, and then the blood rushed to his face +as he rose. He said nothing, but he saw Sewell leave the fire, and, +turning abruptly, he moved on behind him up the little trail to the +bakery, though he made no effort to overtake him. It was very dark +beneath the pines, and he felt that he must see the man he had believed +in. It seemed a very long while before he reached the bakery and, going +in quietly, saw Hetty regarding Sewell with a flash of scornful anger in +her eyes. + +"Oh," she said, "it's perfectly plain to me! The girl tricked you. I +knew she would." + +Then she started as she saw Ingleby in the doorway, though the flush in +her cheeks grew deeper and the little vindictive glow in her eyes +plainer still. + +"You heard me, Walter? Well, he knows she did. Look at him," she said. + +"If you will go away for about five minutes, Hetty, I shall be much +obliged to you," said Ingleby quietly. "Mr. Sewell has something to say +to me." + +Hetty swung round and swept out of the room, and, when the door closed +behind her, Sewell sat down at the table, and Ingleby stood in front of +him. His face was grim, and his lips were tightly set. + +"Well?" he said at length. + +Sewell made a little gesture. "I can't admit that Hetty was quite +correct in one respect," he said. "It was my mad impulsiveness misled +me." + +"I want to be quite clear," said Ingleby in a low, even voice. "You told +Miss Coulthurst the way to the Westerhouse Gully?" + +"I did. If I were not sure that you knew it already, I would never have +admitted it to you." + +A little grey patch showed in Ingleby's cheek, and the pain in his face +was unmistakable, while Sewell clenched one hand on the table as he +looked at him. + +"Walter," he said, "what is Miss Coulthurst to you?" + +"I don't know," said Ingleby, with a very bitter laugh. "I am not sure +that she is anything whatever to me. I, however, asked her to marry me +not so very long ago, and she led me to believe that when circumstances +were more propitious she might do so." + +Sewell seemed to gasp, and his hand closed more tightly on the table; +but he said nothing, and Ingleby spoke again. + +"I would," he said, "have believed in you, in spite of everything--but +there is nothing to be gained by reproaching you. Hetty was right, as +usual, and you never belonged to us, you know. There is, however, +something to be done, since it seems to me that it would be better to +keep out of the affair the girl who was apparently willing to look with +favour on both of us. You must be out of the valley before daylight +to-morrow." + +Sewell stood up slowly and took a carefully folded packet from his +pocket. "I will be gone in half an hour," he said. "Take care of these. +They are the leaves that were under the bandage on Probyn's body, and +may go a little way towards clearing Tomlinson. I will not offer to +shake hands with you, Walter; but I would like you to believe that I was +sincere enough when I came into the valley. If it is any consolation to +you, my punishment will be heavy. My name will be a byword after what I +have done, and the work I once believed in must be left to clean-handed +men." + +Ingleby took the packet. "I could have forgiven you for stealing Miss +Coulthurst's favour from me--since I scarcely think it was ever +mine--but, just now, at least, I can't forgive the rest," he said. + +Sewell made no answer, and when he went out Ingleby sat down limply at +the table and, with his chin in his hand, gazed at the fire. For the +time even his physical strength seemed to have gone out of him. All his +faith had been given one man and one woman, and now it was clear that +both had betrayed him, and through him the miners who had placed their +confidence in him. He did not know how long he sat there, but he started +suddenly as he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder and saw Hetty +standing beside him. + +"I am so sorry, Walter. Is it very hard?" she said. + +Ingleby took her hand and held it. + +"I believe you are sorry," he said. "After all, old friends are best. I +have been a colossal idiot, Hetty, and it does hurt a little to have the +recognition of a fact of that kind suddenly forced on one. Still, I must +go back to the boys now. There are several little points that must be +decided before to-morrow." + + + + +XXXII + +HIS APPOINTED STATION + + +A faint light was creeping across the snow when Ingleby rose from his +bed of cedar twigs, behind the log, and stood up shivering. It was very +cold, and most of his companions were still sleeping, though there were +more of them than there had been the night before. During the darkness a +handful of strangers had come limping in, and one of them had told him a +somewhat astonishing story about Trooper Probyn. He could grasp the +significance of it, but that was all, for though the rapid was partly +ice-bound now, one white sluice of water still frothed about the tree, +and the sound it made seemed to keep his thoughts from crystallizing. He +was, however, glad of the distraction. + +A man who flung down an armful of fuel stopped and shook two or three of +his comrades, who got up and stretched themselves before they set about +preparing their morning meal. The pines had grown sharper in outline by +the time it was finished, and the snow beneath them had changed in hue +and was now a flat, lifeless white; and, though most of the men had +risen, the stillness was more impressive than ever. Ingleby had grown +accustomed to the roar of the river and could have heard the slightest +sound through its pulsations; but there was nothing for him to hear +beyond the sharp crackle of the fire and the restless movements of one +or two of his companions. The rest were expectantly watching the man +upon the log; but he stood motionless, with his face turned steadfastly +down the valley. Ingleby, however, felt the tension less than he might +have done under different circumstances. The game was up, and he had no +doubt that the law he had defied would crush him for his contumacy; but +that, after all, seemed of no great moment then. His faith was +shattered, his hopes were gone, and it only remained for him to +exculpate his comrades as far as he could and face his downfall +befittingly. He took out his pipe and lighted it, but the tobacco seemed +tasteless, and he let it go out again, and sat listening until the man +upon the log raised a warning hand, and a faint tramp of feet came out +of the silence. There was a rhythm in it, and he knew that Slavin had +come in with the troopers from Westerhouse. The men also heard it, and +Ingleby stood up as they glanced at him. + +"I'm afraid you have gained very little by listening to Sewell or me, +boys, but it might save confusion if you still leave me to do what I can +for you," he said. "The police will be here in two or three minutes, and +somebody must speak to them." + +There was a little murmur from the men, which suggested sympathy with +and confidence in him. Then one of them, who was an American, waved his +hand. + +"Mr. Ingleby will go right ahead, and he'll find us behind him whatever +he does," he said. "It isn't his fault this thing didn't quite pan out +as we had figured. He's here just where he's wanted, to see it out with +us, and, anyway, it's a big, cold bluff he and the rest of us--a handful +of placer miners of no account--have put up on the British Empire. We're +beat, but the man who wants anything has got to show he means to have +it, and they'll listen to the others because we shut our fist." + +Again there was a murmur, harsh but expressive, and the man upon the log +looked down. + +"They're taking front among the firs," he said. "There's a stranger, who +must be Slavin, with them. I guess they'll be wanting you." + +He sprang down, and Ingleby climbed up on the log. There was a +suggestive jingle and clatter among the trees, where dusty shapes +flitted in the shadows; but two men were moving forward across the open +strip of snow where the light was clearer, and Ingleby recognized one of +them as Coulthurst. The other was a stranger who wore a somewhat ragged +fur-coat over his uniform. They stopped near the barricade, and +Coulthurst looked at Ingleby. The latter stood erect and very still, +with the smoke of the fire rising in a pale blue column behind him. + +"I presume you are there to speak for your comrades?" said the major. + +"Your surmise is quite correct," said Ingleby. + +Coulthurst turned towards his companion. "This is Captain Slavin, in +charge of the police detachment at Westerhouse. He has come in with +enough of his men to make any attempt to oppose him likely to result in +disaster to yourselves. Captain Esmond being quite incapable of duty, +this affair is in his hands." + +Ingleby raised his shapeless hat, and wondered if this had been intended +as a hint that he had no longer Esmond's rancour to fear; but the police +officer, who looked at him sharply, made no sign of noticing the salute. + +"Well," he said, "what does Captain Slavin want?" + +"In the first place, the unconditional surrender of Sewell, Leger, and +yourself." + +"That can be counted on, so far as Leger and I are concerned. Sewell is +no longer in the valley. What comes next?" + +"The dispersing of the men you have with you." + +"Which implies the arrest of Tomlinson?" asked Ingleby. + +"It does, naturally." + +"Well," said Ingleby, "we have heard your demands, and now we would like +to know what you have to offer." + +"That," said Coulthurst, "is simply answered. Nothing whatever. I may, +however, say that, as usual in an affair of the kind, proceedings will +only be taken against the recognized leaders--yourself, Sewell, and +Leger--and that Captain Slavin intends to hold an inquiry on the spot +into the death of Trooper Probyn." + +Slavin, at whom he glanced, made a little gesture of concurrence. + +"Major Coulthurst is correct," he said. "You have, however, to +understand that the inquiry is in no way a concession. I have, as it +happens, some information bearing on the case which has not come into +Captain Esmond's possession. That is all. Now, what are you going to +do?" + +Ingleby spent little time in consideration. The attitude of the two +officers was just what he had expected it would be. They could make no +concession; but Coulthurst had nevertheless conveyed the impression that +they would by no means proceed to extremities. + +"In ten minutes Leger and I will give ourselves up, and you will not +find a man behind the tree," he said. "That is, on condition that you +wait with your men among the firs yonder until the time is up." + +Slavin made a sign of comprehension, and when he moved back with +Coulthurst, Ingleby turned to the miners. + +"It's all fixed now, boys," he said. "Leger and I decided last night to +give ourselves up. You couldn't have prevented us, and all we wanted for +Tomlinson was a straight inquiry on the spot. Now, I want you to slip +away quietly, and hang your rifles up where you keep them. You have to +remember that the police don't know who held up the outpost, and have +nothing definite against anybody but myself and Leger." + +The men went reluctantly, and when the ten minutes had expired Ingleby +and Leger climbed down from the log. Two troopers accompanied them to +the outpost, where, when Ingleby had spoken a few words to Slavin, they +were left to their reflections for several hours. Then there was a tramp +of feet outside, and a trooper led them into the adjoining room where +Coulthurst and Slavin sat. The door was open, and the corporal and a +cluster of miners stood just outside. A carbine lay upon the table in +front of Slavin, who turned to the miners as Ingleby came in. + +"I want you to understand that this is not a trial, boys," he said. +"It's an inquiry into the death of Trooper Probyn, and I expect the +truth from you. I have seen Prospector Tomlinson, and I'll now ask the +corporal to give us his account of what happened the night Probyn +disappeared." + +There was a little movement among the miners, and one or two of them +glanced significantly at Ingleby. Slavin, it seemed, had already gained +their confidence, and they felt that if Tomlinson was sent down for +trial it would be because he was guilty. Then the corporal told his +story briefly, and admitted that Ingleby had differed from him +concerning the locality in which one of the shots had apparently been +fired. After that several of the miners narrated how they had assisted +to draw Probyn from the river, and the discovery of the bullet-wound in +him. + +Slavin, who listened to them quietly, nodded and signed to Ingleby. "You +didn't agree with the corporal that the shots were fired in the same +place?" + +"No, sir," said Ingleby. "One of them, I feel certain, came from quite +an opposite direction. The corporal was busy at the time, or he would +have recognized it." + +"The men who have just spoken were correct in their account of what +Sewell did when Trooper Probyn had been taken out of the water?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Did Sewell remove anything from the body?" + +"He did," and Ingleby took a little packet from his pocket and opened +it. "These leaves. They had evidently been placed upon the wound. He +said Probyn could not have placed them there himself, and they were what +the Indians often used to stanch a flow of blood." + +Slavin glanced at the desiccated fragments, and turned to the miners. +"Have any of you heard of the Indians using a plant for that purpose?" + +"I guess I have," said one. "One of them tried to fix up a partner of +mine, who'd cut himself chopping, with the thing. It didn't seem to work +on a white man." + +Slavin nodded. "I believe there is such a plant," he said. "Now, so far +as we have gone, circumstances seem to point to Probyn having been shot +by a man who afterwards tried to save him. He used a plant that only the +Indians seem to believe in. Come right in, Corporal. Do you recognize +this carbine?" + +A trace of astonishment crept into the corporal's face as he took up the +weapon. + +"Yes, sir," he said. "It's Probyn's. Am I quite sure? I know the number, +and that dint under the barrel. He fell and struck it on a rock one day +when I was with him." + +"Well," said Slavin, who took out a little book, "that's all I want from +you. Now, boys, this inquiry is in my hands; but I don't know of any +reason I shouldn't read you a little statement that was made on oath to +me by a prospector who brought this carbine into Westerhouse Gully. + +"'I was working on a bench-claim back under the range when an Indian +came along,' he said. 'He had a carbine with him. Offered to sell it me +for tea and flour, as he was lighting out of the country. This is just +what he told me. He was hired to take two troopers from Green River +across the range, and was waiting for them just after sundown. He'd +heard a black bear moving round--a black bear doesn't worry much about +the noise he makes--and when something came smashing through a thicket +he loosed off at it. It was getting kind of dark, and when he clawed +into the thicket he found he'd got the trooper, who, as the trail was +steep there, had left his horse. Did what he could to save him, but the +man died, and the Indian got scared that the folks he pitched the tale +to wouldn't believe him. That was why he dragged the trooper under a big +rock by the river and put some stones and branches on him. Somehow the +horse got away from him, though he fired at it. He didn't want that +horse walking round making trouble. I gave him the flour and tea, and +kept the trooper's carbine.'" + +Slavin closed the book, and looked at the men. "Now," he said, "who +would you say killed that trooper?" + +"The Indian, sure!" said somebody, and there was a murmur of concurrence +from the rest. + +"Well," said Slavin drily, "I believe he did. Anyway, no proceedings +will be taken against anybody in this valley. Tell the boys to light +out, Corporal." + +The miners went away contented. They understood, and appreciated, men of +Slavin's kind. Then the latter turned, and looked reflectively at Leger +and Ingleby. + +"It's quite a good thing you had sense enough to keep the boys off their +rifles," he said. "If there had been any shooting, you would have found +yourselves unpleasantly fixed." + +His face was quietly grave, but there was the faintest suggestion of a +twinkle in Coulthurst's eyes. + +"I, at least, saw no weapons among them," he said. + +"Well," said Slavin, "that simplifies the thing. Still, you see, you +can't go holding up police outposts and heaving troopers about with +impunity. Where's the man who set you up to it?" + +"I almost think it was the drift of circumstances rather than Mr. Sewell +that was to blame," said Leger. "Anyway, I expect he is a considerable +distance from the valley by this time. In fact, it's scarcely likely +that you could overtake him, and there's nothing to show which trail he +has taken." + +It occurred to Ingleby that it was somewhat astonishing that such a +capable officer as Slavin appeared to be had allowed so much time to +pass before he asked the question. That, however, was Slavin's business. + +"Well," said the latter, "if I had a little more to go upon, I might +make quite a serious thing out of this. As it is, all I'm very sure +about is that you and your partner conspired to prevent the troopers +getting at Tomlinson; but as Tomlinson didn't kill Probyn, that doesn't +count for so much, after all. Still, we have no use for you up here just +now, and you have two days in which to clear out of the valley. +Tomlinson will get his ticket, too, when he's able to take the trail." + +"That would mean the sequestration of our claims," said Ingleby. + +"Exactly. You're not compelled to go. Stay right here if you'd sooner, +and take your chances of any charge I may be able to work up against +you." + +Ingleby looked at Leger, who made a little sign. + +"I think we'd better go," he said. "Still, while I have no regret for +anything I have done, I should like to thank Major Coulthurst for what +is, from his point of view, a clemency we scarcely expected." + +Slavin smiled somewhat drily. "You don't want to make any mistake. The +major has done what he considers most advisable--just that, and nothing +else. Now, before you light out take a hint from me. Canada's quite a +big country, but the law of the Empire it belongs to is even a bigger +thing. You have come off pretty well this time--but don't try it again." + +Ingleby made Coulthurst a little grave inclination. "In spite of Captain +Slavin's explanation, I feel we owe you a good deal, sir," he said. +"Still, I think he's right in one respect. We attempted too big a thing. +Henceforward we'll go to work, little by little, in a different way. We +have taken the wrong one, but the hope that led us into it is just as +strong as ever." + +Coulthurst smiled a little. + +"Long before it's realized you and I will be dead. If I ever come across +you again under different circumstances it will be a pleasure," he +said. + +Ingleby turned and went out, taking Leger with him, but he left the +latter among the pines and swung into the trail that led past the Gold +Commissioner's dwelling. He did not know whether he wished to see Grace +or not, but, as it happened, she came out on the veranda as he passed +and stopped him with a little sign. + +"You are going away, Walter?" she asked. + +"Yes," said Ingleby. "In all probability I shall never come back." + +The girl's cheeks were flushed, and there was a curious strained look in +her eyes. + +"You seem," she said, "quite willing to go." + +Ingleby looked at her gravely. "It hurts me less than I expected it +would have done. Still, even if I had been permitted, why should I wish +to stay? I am poor again, and it is very likely shall always be so. +There are barriers between you and me which can never be got over." + +"You didn't believe that once." + +"No," said Ingleby. "Still, I am wiser now, and what I may have to +suffer is no more than my desert for believing that any man is warranted +in trying to thrust himself above the station he was meant to occupy. +That, however, isn't, after all, very much to the purpose." + +"I suppose," and there was a tremor in the girl's voice, "you blame me +for all that has happened?" + +Ingleby's eyes were still fixed upon her with disconcerting steadiness. +"It is not my part to reproach you, but I know what you did. You have +wrecked the life of my best friend, and turned into a traitor a man +whose work and words brought hope to thousands. Sewell will never lift +his head again." + +He spoke slowly, and a trifle hoarsely, but there was a hardness and +resolution in his voice which struck a chill through the girl. + +"What did he tell you, Walter?" she said. + +"Very little. In fact, only that he had told you the way to +Westerhouse; but that was quite enough. I do not know whether you told +him that you loved him or not; but it is quite plain to me that you made +him think so. Men of his kind do not betray those who believe in them +without a reason." + +"Walter," said the girl, very softly, "I wonder if--you--ever really +loved me?" + +Ingleby winced, but there was still no wavering in his eyes. "I do not +know," he said. "You are the most beautiful woman I ever met, and I +believed I did. Most likely your beauty and all that you stood for +dazzled me, and I lost my head. It may have been that--I do not +know--for if I had really loved you I should, perhaps, have forgiven you +everything." + +"And that is too much for you?" + +Ingleby stood silent a moment. "If you had loved me, you would never +have betrayed me. I am afraid it is." + +Grace looked at him steadily, with the colour in her cheeks, and her +voice was a little tremulous. + +"Perhaps I wouldn't--like you, I do not know." Then she held out her +hand. "Don't think too hardly of me. Good-bye, Walter." + +Ingleby touched her fingers, for he dared not trust himself further, and +swinging his shapeless hat off abruptly turned away, while Grace stood +very still until the shadows of the pines closed about him. That was the +last she ever saw of him. + +It was half an hour later when he walked quietly into the bakery, and +came upon Hetty getting her few belongings together. + +"I have come back--to the people and the place I belong to. You will not +turn me out?" he said. + +Hetty's eyes shone softly. "We have been waiting for you, Walter--we +knew you would come. Still, I'm not sure you can ever get quite back to +where you were before." + +Ingleby saw her meaning, for he remembered the locket; and it seemed +that Hetty knew what he was thinking, for a little colour crept into her +face. + +"Well," he said, "I will be patient, and try very hard." + +Then he heard footsteps, and, going out, met Leger at the door. The +latter turned and came down the trail with him. + +"We are taking the trail to-morrow. Are you coming with us?" he said. + +"Of course!" said Ingleby, looking at him in blank astonishment. + +"In that case there is something to be said--and it is difficult, but +Hetty is my sister, after all. Do you know who gave her that locket?" + +"I did," said Ingleby, "a long while ago, but I never fancied that she +had kept it. Tom, I do not know what your sister thinks of me, but she +can't think more hardly of me than I do. Still, there may be one or two +other colossal idiots of my description." + +"It's quite likely," said Leger drily. "That, however, isn't very much +to the point, is it?" + +Ingleby stood silent a moment. "Tom," he said, "as you found out, it's +difficult--and I don't understand the thing myself. Perhaps Miss +Coulthurst dazzled me, and I've been off my balance ever since I came +into this valley, but I know now that if I ever marry anybody it will be +Hetty. That's a very indifferent compliment to your sister. She will +probably be a very long while forgiving me, but I may, perhaps, at last +persuade her to believe in me again. Now, are you going to turn me +away?" + +"No," said Leger. "After that I fancy we can face together what comes." + +It was early next morning when they left the valley with an escort of +twenty miners to help them across the divide, and Hetty stood by +Ingleby's side when they turned for a moment to look back from among the +climbing pines. Then, as they turned again, Ingleby met the girl's +clear eyes. + +"It may be a long while, Hetty, but I think I shall get quite back, +after all," he said. "It was in ever wanting to go away that I was +horribly wrong." + + +THE END + + + + +Transcriber's Note: The following typographical errors present in the +original edition have been corrected. + +In Chapter VII, "he realized his responsbility" was changed to "he +realized his responsibility". + +In Chapter XIV, a missing quotation mark was added after "you must come +no farther." + +In Chapter XVI, "the botttom of everything" was changed to "the bottom +of everything". + +In Chapter XVII, "the corporal; who dropped his bridle" was changed to +"the corporal, who dropped his bridle". + +In Chapter XXXII, a quotation mark was deleted after "came down the +trail with him." + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Delilah of the Snows, by Harold Bindloss + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DELILAH OF THE SNOWS *** + +***** This file should be named 38635-8.txt or 38635-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/6/3/38635/ + +Produced by Steven desJardins and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was +produced from scanned images of public domain material +from the Google Print project.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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