RANCHING 
 FOR SILVIA 
 
 HAROLD b,';DLOSS
 
 '
 
 jKIYi LY, LOS AKGELES 
 
 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA
 
 BY THE SAME A UTHOR 
 
 ALTON OF SOMASCO 
 LORIMER OF THE NORTHWEST 
 THURSTON OF ORCHARD VALLEY 
 WINSTON OF THE PRAIRIE 
 THE GOLD TRAIL 
 SYDNEY CARTERET 
 A PRAIRIE COURTSHIP 
 VANE OF THE TIMBERLANDS 
 THE LONG PORTAGE 
 THE DUST OF CONFLICT 
 THE GREATER POWER 
 MASTERS OF THE WHEATLANDS 
 DELILAH OF THE SNOWS 
 BY RIGHT OF PURCHASE 
 THE CATTLE BARON'S DAUGHTER 
 THRICE ARMED 
 FOR JACINTA
 
 Ranching For Sylvia 
 
 By Harold Bindloss 
 
 Author of 
 
 ' ' Vane of the Timber lands, " " Alton of Somasco, ' ' 
 
 1 ' Thurston of Orchard Valley," " Masters of 
 
 the Wheatlands," Etc. 
 
 A. L. BURT COMPANY 
 PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION 
 INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY 
 PUBLISHED IN ENGLAND UNDER THE TITLE, "THB TRUSTEE" 
 
 January, 1913
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I A STRONG APPEAL i 
 
 II His FRIENDS' OPINION 12 
 
 III A MATTER OF DUTY 23 
 
 IV GEORGE MAKES FRIENDS 36 
 
 V THE PRAIRIE 46 
 
 VI GEORGE GETS TO WORK 58 
 
 VII A CATTLE DRIVE 69 
 
 VIII CONSTABLE FLETT'S SUSPICIONS 80 
 
 IX GEORGE TURNS REFORMER go 
 
 X THE LIQUOR-RUNNERS 100 
 
 XI DIPLOMACY in 
 
 XII GEORGE FACES DISASTER 126 
 
 XIII SYLVIA SEEKS AMUSEMENT 139 
 
 XIV BLAND GETS ENTANGLED 151 
 
 XV HERBERT MAKES A CLAIM 164 
 
 XVI A FORCED RETIREMENT 175 
 
 XVII HERBERT Is PATIENT 185 
 
 XVIII BLAND MAKES A SACRIFICE 195 
 
 XIX AN OPPOSITION MOVE 206 
 
 XX A BLIZZARD 219 
 
 XXI GRANT COMES TO THE RESCUE 230 
 
 XXII THE SPREAD OF DISORDER 242 
 
 XXIII A HARMLESS CONSPIRACY 255 
 
 XXIV GEORGE FEELS GRATEFUL 266 
 
 XXV A COUNTERSTROKE 277 
 
 XXVI THE QJMAX , . 288 
 
 2126113
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XXVII A SIGN FROM FLETT 298 
 
 XXVIII THE LEADING WITNESS 311 
 
 XXIX FLORA'S ENLIGHTENMENT 323 
 
 XXX THE ESCAPE 336 
 
 XXXI THE REACTION 350 
 
 XXXII A REVELATION 363 
 
 XXXIII GEORGE MAKES UP His MIND ......... 375
 
 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA
 
 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 A STRONG APPEAL 
 
 f T was evening of early summer. George Lansing 
 * sat by a window of the library at Brantholme. 
 The house belonged to his cousin ; and George, having 
 lately reached it after traveling in haste from Norway, 
 awaited the coming of Mrs. Sylvia Marston in an 
 eagerly expectant mood. It was characteristic of him 
 that his expression conveyed little hint of his feelings, 
 for George was a quiet, self-contained man; but he 
 had not been so troubled by confused emotions since 
 Sylvia married Marston three years earlier. Marston 
 had taken her to Canada; but now he was dead, and 
 Sylvia, returning to England, had summoned George, 
 who had been appointed executor of her husband's 
 will. 
 
 Outside, beyond the broad sweep of lawn, the quiet 
 English countryside lay bathed in the evening light : 
 a river gleaming in the foreground, woods clothed in 
 freshest verdure, and rugged hills running back 
 through gradations of softening color into the dis- 
 tance. Inside, a ray of sunlight stretched across the 
 polished floor, and gleams of brightness rested on the 
 rows of books and somber paneling. Brantholme was 
 
 I
 
 2 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 old, but modern art had added comfort and toned down 
 its austerity; and George, fresh from the northern 
 snow peaks, was conscious of its restful atmosphere. 
 
 In the meanwhile, he was listening for a footstep. 
 Sylvia, he had been told, would be with him in two or 
 three minutes; he had already been expecting her for 
 a quarter of an hour. This, however, did not sur- 
 prise him: Sylvia was rarely punctual, and until she 
 married Marston, he had been accustomed to await 
 her pleasure. 
 
 She came at length, clad in a thin black dress that 
 fitted her perfectly; and he rose and stood looking at 
 her while his heart beat fast. Sylvia was slight of 
 figure, but curiously graceful, and her normal expres- 
 sion was one of innocent candor. The somber gar- 
 ments emphasized the colorless purity of her com- 
 plexion ; her hair was fair, and she had large, pathetic 
 blue eyes. Her beauty was somehow heightened by a 
 hint of fragility : in her widow's dress she looked very 
 forlorn and helpless ; and the man yearned to comfort 
 and protect her. It did not strike him that she had 
 stood for some moments enduring his compassionate 
 scrutiny with exemplary patience. 
 
 " It's so nice to see you, George," she said. " I 
 knew you would come." 
 
 He thrilled at the assurance; but he was not an 
 effusive person. He brought a chair for her. 
 
 " I started as soon as I got your note," he answered 
 simply. " I'm glad you're back again." 
 
 He did not think it worth while to mention that he 
 had with difficulty crossed a snow-barred pass in order 
 to save time, and had left a companion, who resented 
 his desertion, in the wilds ; but Sylvia guessed that he
 
 A STRONG APPEAL 3 
 
 had spared no effort, and she answered him with a 
 smile. 
 
 " Your welcome's worth having, because it's sin- 
 cere." 
 
 Those who understood Sylvia best occasionally said 
 that when she was unusually gracious it was a sign 
 that she wanted something; but George would have 
 denied this with indignation. 
 
 "If it wouldn't be too painful, you might tell me a 
 little about your stay in Canada," he said by and by. 
 " You never wrote, and " he hesitated " I heard 
 only once from Dick." 
 
 Dick was her dead husband's name, and she sat 
 silent a few moments musing, and glancing unobtru- 
 sively at George. He had not changed much since she 
 last saw him, on her wedding-day, though he looked 
 a little older, and rather more serious. There were 
 faint signs of weariness which she did not remember 
 in his sunburned face. On the whole, however, it 
 was a reposeful face, with something in it that sug- 
 gested a steadfast disposition. His gray eyes met one 
 calmly and directly; his brown hair was short and 
 stiff; the set of his lips and the contour of his jaw 
 were firm. George had entered on his thirtieth year. 
 Though he was strongly made, his appearance was in 
 no way striking, and it was seldom that his conversa- 
 tion was characterized by brilliancy. But his friends 
 trusted him. 
 
 " It's difficult to speak of," Sylvia began. " When, 
 soon after our wedding, Dick lost most of his money, 
 and said that we must go to Canada, I felt almost 
 crushed; but I thought he was right." She paused 
 and glanced at George. " He told me what you
 
 4 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 wished to do, and I'm glad that, generous as you arc, 
 he wouldn't hear of it." 
 
 George looked embarrassed. 
 
 " I felt his refusal a little," he said. " I could have 
 spared the money, and I was a friend of his." 
 
 He had proved a staunch friend, though he had 
 been hardly tried. For several years he had been 
 Sylvia's devoted servant, and an admirer of the more 
 accomplished Marston. When the girl chose the lat- 
 ter it was a cruel blow to George, for he had never re- 
 garded his comrade as a possible rival; but after a 
 few weeks of passionate bitterness, he had quietly 
 acquiesced. He had endeavored to blame neither; 
 though there were some who did not hold Sylvia 
 guiltless. George was, as she well knew, her faithful 
 servant still; and this was largely why she meant to 
 tell him her tragic story. 
 
 " Well," she said, " when I first went out to the 
 prairie, I was almost appalled. Everything was so 
 crude and barbarous but you know the country." 
 
 George merely nodded. He had spent a few years 
 in a wheat-growing settlement, inhabited by well-bred 
 young Englishmen. The colony, however, was not 
 conducted on economic lines; and when it came to 
 grief, George, having come into some property on the 
 death of a relative, returned to England. 
 
 " Still," continued Sylvia, " I tried to be content, 
 and blamed myself when I found it difficult. There 
 was always so much to do cooking, washing, bak- 
 ing one could seldom get any help. I often felt 
 worn out and longed to lie down and sleep." 
 
 " I can understand that," said George, with grave 
 sympathy. " It's a very hard country for a woman."
 
 A STRONG APPEAL 5 
 
 He was troubled by the thought of what she must 
 have borne for it was difficult to imagine Sylvia en- 
 gaged in laborious domestic toil. It had never oc- 
 curred to him that her delicate appearance was de- 
 ceptive. 
 
 " Dick," she went on, " was out at work all day ; 
 there was nobody to talk to our nearest neighbor 
 lived some miles off. I think now that Dick was 
 hardly strong enough for his task. He got restless 
 and moody after he lost his first crop by frost. Dur- 
 ing that long, cruel winter we were both unhappy: I 
 never think without a shudder of the bitter nights we 
 spent sitting beside the stove, silent and anxious about 
 the future. But we persevered ; the next harvest was 
 good, and we were brighter when winter set in. I 
 shall always be glad of that in view of what came 
 after." She paused, and added in a lower voice: 
 " You heard, of course? " 
 
 "Very little; I was away. It was a heavy blow." 
 
 " I couldn't write much," explained Sylvia. " Even 
 now, I can hardly talk of it but you were a dear 
 friend of Dick's. We had to burn wood ; the nearest 
 bluff where it could be cut was several miles away ; and 
 Dick didn't keep a hired man through the winter. It 
 was often very cold, and I got frightened when he 
 drove off if there was any wind. It was trying to 
 wait in the quiet house, wondering if he could stand 
 the exposure. Then one day something kept him so 
 that he couldn't start for the bluff until noon ; and near 
 dusk the wind got up and the snow began to fall. It 
 got thicker, and I could not sit still. I went out now 
 and then and called, and was driven back, almost 
 frozen, by the storm. I could scarcely see the lights
 
 6 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 a few yards away ; the house shook. The memory of 
 that awful night will haunt me all my life! " 
 
 She broke off with a shiver, and George looked very 
 compassionate. 
 
 " I think," he said gently, " you had better not go 
 on." 
 
 " Ah ! " replied Sylvia, " I must grapple with the 
 horror and not yield to it ; with the future to be faced, 
 I can't be a coward. At last I heard the team and 
 opened the door. The snow was blinding, but I could 
 dimly see the horses standing in it. I called, but Dick 
 didn't answer, and I ran out and found him lying 
 upon the load of logs. He was very still, and made 
 no sign, but I reached up and shook him I couldn't 
 believe the dreadful thing. I think I screamed; the 
 team started suddenly, and Dick fell at my feet. Then 
 the truth was clear to me." 
 
 A half-choked sob broke from her, but she went on. 
 
 " I couldn't move him ; I must have gone nearly 
 mad, for I tried to run to Peterson's, three miles away. 
 The snow blinded me, and I came back again; and 
 by and by another team arrived. Peterson had got 
 lost driving home from the settlement. After that, 
 I can't remember anything; I'm thankful it is so I 
 couldn't bear it ! " 
 
 Then there was silence for a few moments until 
 George rose and gently laid his hand on her shoul- 
 der. 
 
 " My sympathy's not worth much, Sylvia, but it's 
 yours," he said. " Can I help in any practical way ? " 
 
 Growing calmer, she glanced up at him with tear- 
 ful eyes. 
 
 " I can't tell you just yet ; but it's a comfort to
 
 A STRONG APPEAL 7 
 
 have your sympathy. Don't speak to me for a little 
 while, please," 
 
 He went back to his place and watched her with a 
 yearning heart, longing for the power to soothe her. 
 She looked so forlorn and desolate, too frail to bear 
 her load of sorrow. 
 
 " I must try to be brave," she smiled up at him at 
 length. " And you are my trustee. Please bring 
 those papers I laid down. I suppose I must talk to 
 you about the farm." 
 
 It did not strike George that this was a rather sud- 
 den change, or that there was anything incongruous 
 in Sylvia's considering her material interests in the 
 midst of her grief. After examining the documents, 
 he asked her a few questions, to which she gave ex- 
 plicit answers. 
 
 " Now you should be able to decide what must be 
 done," she said finally ; " and I'm anxious about it. 
 I suppose that's natural." 
 
 " You have plenty of friends," George reminded her 
 consolingly. 
 
 Sylvia rose, and there was bitterness in her ex- 
 pression. 
 
 " Friends ? Oh, yes ; but I've come back to them 
 a widow, badly provided for that's why I spent 
 some months in Montreal before I could nerve my- 
 self to face them." Then her voice softened as she 
 fixed her eyes on him. " It's fortunate there are one 
 of two I can rely on." 
 
 Sylvia left him with two clear impressions: her 
 helplessness, and the fact that she trusted him. While 
 he sat turning over the papers, his cousin and co- 
 trustee came in. Herbert Lansing was a middle-aged
 
 8 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 business man, and he was inclined to portliness. His 
 clean-shaven and rather fleshy face usually wore a 
 good-humored expression ; his manners were easy and, 
 as a rule, genial. 
 
 " We must have a talk," he began, indicating the 
 documents in George's hand. " I suppose you have 
 grasped the position, even if Sylvia hasn't explained 
 it. She shows an excellent knowledge of details." 
 
 There was a hint of dry ness in his tone that escaped 
 George's notice. 
 
 " So far as I can make out," he answered, " Dick 
 owned a section of a second-class wheat-land, with 
 a mortgage on the last quarter, some way back from 
 a railroad. The part under cultivation gives a poor 
 crop." 
 
 " What would you value the property at? " 
 
 George made a rough calculation. 
 
 " I expected something of the kind," Herbert told 
 him. " It's all Sylvia has to live upon, and the in- 
 terest would hardly cover her dressmaker's bills." 
 He looked directly at his cousin. " Of course, it's 
 possible that she will marry again." 
 
 " She must never be forced to contemplate it by 
 any dread of poverty," George said shortly. 
 
 " How is it to be prevented ? " 
 
 ^ George merely looked thoughtful and a little stern. 
 Getting no answer, Herbert went on : 
 
 ' So far as I can see, we have only two courses 
 to choose between. The first is to sell out as soon 
 as we can find a buyer, with unfortunate results if 
 your valuation's right; but the second looks more 
 promising. With immigrants pouring into the coun- 
 try, land's bound to go up, and we ought to get a
 
 A STRONG APPEAL 9 
 
 largely increased price by holding on a while. To 
 do that, I understand, the land should be worked." 
 . " Yes. It could, no doubt, be improved ; which 
 would materially add to its value." 
 
 "I see one difficulty: the cost of superintendence 
 might eat up most of the profit. Wages are high on 
 the prairie, are they not ? " 
 
 George assented, and Herbert continued: 
 
 " Then a good deal would depend on the man in 
 charge. Apart from the question of his honesty, he 
 would have to take a thorough interest in the farm." 
 
 " He would have to think of nothing else, and be 
 willing to work from sunrise until dark," said George. 
 " Successful farming means determined effort in west- 
 ern Canada." 
 
 " Could you put your hands upon a suitable per- 
 son?" 
 
 " I'm very doubtful. You don't often meet with a 
 man of the kind we need in search of an engagement 
 at a strictly moderate salary." 
 
 " Then it looks as if we must sell out now for 
 enough to provide Sylvia with a pittance." 
 
 " That," George said firmly, " is not to be thought 
 of!" 
 
 There was a short silence while he pondered, for 
 his legacy had not proved an unmixed blessing. At 
 first he had found idleness irksome, but by degrees he 
 had grown accustomed to it. Though he was still 
 troubled now and then by an idea that he was wasting 
 his time and making a poor use of such abilities as 
 he possessed, it was pleasant to feel that, within cer- 
 tain limits, he could do exactly as he wished. Life 
 in western Canada was strenuous and somewhat prim-
 
 io RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 itive; he was conscious of a strong reluctance to re- 
 sume it; but he could not bear to have Sylvia, who 
 had luxurious tastes, left almost penniless. There 
 was a way in which he could serve her, and he de- 
 termined to take it. George was steadfast in his de- 
 votion, and did not shrink from a sacrifice. 
 
 " It strikes me there's only one suitable plan," he 
 said. " I know something about western farming. 
 I wouldn't need a salary; and Sylvia could trust me 
 to look after her interests. I'd better go out and take 
 charge until things are straightened up, or we come 
 across somebody fit for the post." 
 
 Herbert heard him with satisfaction. He had de- 
 sired to lead George up to this decision, and he sus- 
 pected that Sylvia had made similar efforts. It was 
 not difficult to instil an idea into his cousin's mind. 
 
 " Well," he said thoughtfully, " the suggestion 
 seems a good one; though it's rather hard on you, if 
 you really mean to go." 
 
 " That's decided," was the brief answer. 
 
 ' Then, though we can discuss details later, you 
 had better give me legal authority to look after your 
 affairs while you are away. There are those Kaffir 
 shares, for instance; it might be well to part with 
 them if they go up a point or two." 
 
 " I've wondered why you recommended me to buy 
 them," George said bluntly. 
 
 Herbert avoided a direct answer. He now and then 
 advised George, who knew little about business, in 
 the management of his property, but his advice was 
 not always disinterested or intended only for his 
 cousin's benefit. 
 
 " Oh," he replied, " the cleverest operators now and
 
 A STRONG APPEAL n 
 
 then make mistakes, and I don't claim exceptional 
 powers of precision. It's remarkably difficult to fore- 
 cast the tendency of the stock-market." 
 
 George nodded, as if satisfied. 
 
 " I'll arrange things before I sail, and I'd better 
 get off as soon as possible. Now, suppose we go down 
 and join the others."
 
 CHAPTER II 
 HIS FRIENDS' OPINION 
 
 ON the afternoon following his arrival, George 
 stood thoughtfully looking about on his cousin's 
 lawn. Creepers flecked the mellow brick front of 
 the old house with sprays of tender leaves; purple 
 clematis hung from a trellis; and lichens tinted the 
 low terrace wall with subdued coloring. The grass 
 was flanked by tall beeches, rising in masses of bright 
 verdure against a sky of clearest blue; and beyond 
 it, across the sparkling river, smooth meadows ran 
 back to the foot of the hills. It was, in spite of the 
 bright sunshine, all so fresh and cool : a picture that 
 could be enjoyed only in rural England. 
 
 George was sensible of the appeal it made to him ; 
 now, when he must shortly change such scenes for the 
 wide levels of western Canada, which are covered dur- 
 ing most of the year with harsh, gray grass, alter- 
 nately withered by frost and sun, he felt their charm. 
 It was one thing to run across to Norway on a fishing 
 or mountaineering trip and come back when he 
 wished, but quite another to settle down on the prairie 
 where he must remain until his work should be done. 
 Moreover, for Mrs. Lansing had many friends, the 
 figures scattered about the lawn young men and 
 women in light summer attire enhanced the attrac- 
 tiveness of the surroundings. They were nice peo- 
 
 12
 
 HIS FRIENDS' OPINION 13 
 
 pie, with pleasant English ways; and George con- 
 trasted them with the rather grim, aggressive plains- 
 men among whom he would presently have to live : 
 men who toiled in the heat, half naked, and who would 
 sit down to meals with him in dusty, unwashed clothes. 
 He was not a sybarite, but he preferred the society of 
 Mrs. Lansing's guests. 
 
 After a while she beckoned him, and they leaned 
 upon the terrace wall side by side. She was a good- 
 natured, simple woman, with strongly domestic habits 
 and conventional views. 
 
 " I'm glad Herbert has got away from business for 
 a few days," she began. " He works too hard, and 
 it's telling on him. How do you think he is look- 
 ing?" 
 
 George knew she was addicted to displaying a need- 
 less anxiety about her husband's health. It had 
 struck him that Herbert was getting stouter; but he 
 now remembered having noticed a hint of care in his 
 face. 
 
 " The rest will do him good," he said. 
 
 Mrs. Lansing's conversation was often discon- 
 nected, and she now changed the subject. 
 
 " Herbert tells me you are going to Canada. As 
 you're fond of the open air, you will enjoy it." 
 
 " I suppose so," George assented rather dubiously. 
 
 "Of course, it's very generous, and Sylvia's for- 
 tunate in having you to look after things " Mrs. 
 Lansing paused before adding " but are you alto- 
 gether wise in going, George? " 
 
 Lansing knew that his hostess loved romance, and 
 sometimes attempted to assist in one, but he would 
 have preferred another topic.
 
 I 4 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " I don't see what else I could do," he said. 
 
 " That's hardly an answer. You will forgive me 
 for speaking plainly, but what I meant was this 
 your devotion to Sylvia is not a secret." 
 
 " I wish it were ! " George retorted. " But I don't 
 intend to deny it." 
 
 His companion looked at him reproachfully. 
 
 " Don't get restive ; I've your best interests at heart. 
 You're a little too confiding and too backward, George. 
 Sylvia slipped through your fingers once before." 
 
 George's brown face colored deeply. He was 
 angry, but Mrs. Lansing was not to be deterred. 
 
 " Take a hint and stay at home," she went on. " It 
 might pay you better." 
 
 " And let Sylvia's property be sacrificed? " 
 
 " Yes, if necessary." She looked at him directly. 
 " You have means enough." 
 
 He struggled with his indignation. Sylvia hated 
 poverty, and it had been suggested that he should turn 
 the fact to his advantage. The idea that she might 
 be more willing to marry him if she were poor was 
 most unpleasant. 
 
 ''Sylvia's favor is not to be bought," he said. 
 
 Mrs. Lansing's smile was half impatient. 
 
 " Oh, well, if you're bent on going, there's nothing 
 to be said. Sylvia, of course, will stay with us." 
 
 The arrangement was a natural one, as Sylvia was 
 a relative of hers; but George failed to notice that 
 her expression grew thoughtful as she glanced to- 
 ward where Sylvia was sitting with a man upon whom 
 the soldier stamp was plainly set. George followed 
 her gaze and frowned, but he said nothing, and his 
 companion presently moved away. Soon afterward he
 
 HIS FRIENDS' OPINION 15 
 
 crossed the lawn and joined a girl who waited for him. 
 Ethel West was tall and strongly made. She was 
 characterized by a keen intelligence and bluntness of 
 speech. Being an old friend of George's, she occa- 
 sionally assumed the privilege of one. 
 
 " I hear you are going to Canada. What is taking 
 you there again? " she asked. 
 
 " I am going to look after some farming property, 
 for one thing." 
 
 Ethel regarded him with amusement. 
 
 "Sylvia Marston's, I suppose?" 
 
 " Yes," George answered rather shortly. 
 ' Then what's the other purpose you have in view ? " 
 
 George hesitated. 
 
 " I'm not sure I have another motive." 
 
 " So I imagined. You're rather an exceptional man 
 in some respects." 
 
 "If that's true, I wasn't aware of it," George re- 
 torted. 
 
 Ethel laughed. 
 
 " It's hardly worth while to prove my statement ; 
 we'll talk of something else. Has Herbert told you 
 anything about his business since you came back? I 
 suppose you have noticed signs of increased pros- 
 perity ? " 
 
 " I'm afraid I'm not observant, and Herbert isn't 
 communicative." 
 
 " Perhaps he's wise. Still, the fact that he's put- 
 ting up a big new orchard-house has some signifi- 
 cance. I understand from Stephen that he's been 
 speculating largely in rubber shares. It's a risky 
 game." 
 
 " I suppose it is," George agreed. " But it's most
 
 16 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 unlikely that Herbert will come to grief. He has a 
 very long head; I believe he could, for example, buy 
 and sell me." 
 
 " That wouldn't be very difficult. I suspect Her- 
 bert isn't the only one of your acquaintances who is 
 capable of doing as much." 
 
 Her eyes followed Sylvia, who was then walking 
 across the grass. Sylvia's movements were always 
 graceful, and she had now a subdued, pensive air 
 that rendered her appearance slightly pathetic. Ethel's 
 face, however, grew quietly scornful. She knew what 
 Sylvia's forlorn and helpless look was worth. 
 
 " I'm not afraid that anybody will try," George re- 
 plied. 
 
 "Your confidence is admirable," laughed Ethel; 
 " but I mustn't appear too cynical, and I've a favor to 
 ask. Will you take Edgar out with you ? " 
 
 George felt a little surprised. Edgar was her 
 brother, a lad of somewhat erratic habits and ideas, 
 who had been at Oxford when George last heard of 
 him. 
 
 ; ' Yes, if he wants to go, and Stephen approves," 
 he said ; for Stephen, the lawyer, was an elder brother, 
 and the Wests had lost their parents. 
 
 " He will be relieved to get him off his hands for a 
 while; but Edgar will be over to see you during the 
 afternoon. He's spending a week or two with the 
 Charltons." 
 
 " I remember that young Charlton and he were 
 close acquaintances." 
 
 ' That was the excuse for the visit ; but you had 
 better understand that there was a certain amount of 
 friction when Edgar came home after some trouble
 
 HIS FRIENDS' OPINION 17 
 
 with the authorities. In his opinion, Stephen is too 
 fond of making mountains out of molehills; but I 
 must own that Edgar's molehills have a way of in- 
 creasing in size, and the last one caused us a good 
 deal of uneasiness. Anyway, we have decided that 
 a year's hard work in Canada might help to steady 
 him, even if he doesn't follow up farming. The main 
 point is that he would be safe with you." 
 
 " I'll have a talk with him," George promised ; and 
 after a word of thanks Ethel turned away. 
 
 A little later she joined Mrs. Lansing, who was sit- 
 ting alone in the shadow of a beech. 
 
 " I'm afraid I've added to George's responsibilities 
 he has agreed to take Edgar out," she said. " He 
 has some reason for wishing to be delivered from his 
 friends, though I don't suppose he does so." 
 
 " I've felt the same thing. Of course, I'm not re- 
 ferring to Edgar his last scrape was only a trifling 
 matter." 
 
 " So he contends," laughed Ethel. " Stephen 
 doesn't agree with him." 
 
 " Well," said Mrs. Lansing, " I've often thought 
 it's a pity George didn't marry somebody nice and 
 sensible." 
 
 " Would you apply that description to Sylvia? " 
 
 " Sylvia stands apart," Mrs. Lansing declared. 
 " She can do what nobody else would venture on, and 
 yet you feel you must excuse her." 
 
 " Have you any particular exploit of hers in your 
 mind?" 
 
 " I was thinking of when she accepted Dick Mar- 
 ston. I believe even Dick was astonished." 
 
 " Sylvia knows how to make herself irresistible,"
 
 18 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 said Ethel, strolling away a few moments later, some- 
 what troubled in mind. 
 
 She had cherished a half-tender regard for George, 
 which, had it been reciprocated, might have changed 
 to a deeper feeling. The man was steadfast, chival- 
 rous, honest, and she saw in him latent capabilities 
 which few others suspected. Still, his devotion to 
 Sylvia had never been concealed, and Ethel had ac- 
 quiesced in the situation, though she retained a strong 
 interest in him. She believed that in going to Canada 
 he was doing an injudicious thing; but as his confi- 
 dence was hard to shake, he could not be warned 
 her conversation with him had made that plainer. 
 She would not regret it if Sylvia forgot him while he 
 was absent; but there w r ere other ways in which he 
 might suffer, and she wished he had not chosen to 
 place the management of his affairs in Herbert's 
 hands. 
 
 In the meanwhile, her brother had arrived, and he 
 and George were sitting together on the opposite side 
 of the lawn. Edgar was a handsome, dark-haired 
 lad, with a mischievous expression, and he sometimes 
 owned that his capacity for seeing the humorous side 
 of things was a gift that threatened to be his ruin. 
 Nevertheless, there was a vein of sound common sense 
 in him, and he had a strong admiration for George 
 Lansing. 
 
 " Why do you want to go with me ? " the latter 
 asked, pretending to be a bit stern, but liking the 
 youngster all the while. 
 
 ' That," Edgar laughed, " is a rather euphemistic 
 way of putting it. My wishes have not been con- 
 sulted. I must give my relatives the credit for the
 
 HIS FRIENDS' OPINION 19 
 
 idea. Still, one must admit they had some provoca- 
 tion." 
 
 " It strikes me they have had a good deal of pa- 
 tience," George said dryly. " I suppose it's ex- 
 hausted." 
 
 " No," replied Edgar, with a confidential air ; " it's 
 mine that has given out. I'd better explain that being 
 stuffed with what somebody calls formulas gets monot- 
 onous, and it's a diet they're rather fond of at Ox- 
 ford. Down here in the country they're almost as 
 bad; and pretending to admire things I don't believe 
 in positively hurts. That's why I sometimes protest, 
 with, as a rule, disastrous results." 
 
 " Disastrous to the objectionable ideas or cus- 
 toms ? " 
 
 " No," laughed the lad ; " to me. Have you ever 
 noticed how vindictive narrow-minded people get 
 when you destroy their pet delusions ? " 
 
 " I can't remember ever having done so." 
 
 " Then you'll come to it. If you're honest it's un- 
 avoidable ; only some people claim that they make the 
 attack from duty, while I find a positive pleasure in the 
 thing." 
 
 " There's one consolation you won't have much 
 time for such proceedings if you come with me. 
 You'll have to work in Canada." 
 
 " I anticipated something of the sort," the lad re- 
 joined. Then he grew serious. " Have you decided 
 who's to look after your affairs while you are away? 
 If you haven't, you might do worse than leave them 
 to Stephen. He's steady and safe as a rock, and, 
 after all, the three per cent, you're sure of is better 
 than a handsome dividend you may never get."
 
 20 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " I can't give Herbert the go-by. He's the obvious 
 person to do whatever may be needful." 
 
 " I suppose so," Edgar assented, with some reluc- 
 tance. " No doubt he'd feel hurt if you asked any- 
 body else; but I wish you could have got Stephen." 
 
 He changed the subject; and when some of the 
 others came up and joined them, he resumed his hu- 
 morous manner. 
 
 " I'm not asking for sympathy," he said, in answer 
 to one remark. " I'm going out to extend the bounds 
 of the empire, strengthen the ties with the mother 
 country, and that sort of thing. It's one of the privi- 
 leges that seem to be attached to the possession of a 
 temperament like mine." 
 
 " How will you set about the work ? " somebody 
 asked. 
 
 " With the plow and the land-packer," George 
 broke in. " He'll have the satisfaction of driving 
 them twelve hours a day. It happens to be the most 
 effective way of doing the things he mentions." 
 
 Edgar's laughter followed him as he left the group. 
 
 After dinner that evening Herbert invited George 
 into the library. 
 
 " Parker has come over about my lease, and his 
 visit will save you a journey," he explained. " We 
 may as well get things settled now while he's here." 
 
 George went with him to the library, where the 
 lawyer sat at a writing-table. He waited in silence 
 while Herbert gave the lawyer a few instructions. 
 A faint draught flowed in through an open window, 
 and gently stirred the litter of papers; a shaded lamp 
 stood on the table, and its light revealed the faces of
 
 HIS FRIENDS' OPINION 21 
 
 the two men near it with sharp distinctness, though 
 outside the circle of brightness the big room was al- 
 most dark. 
 
 It struck George that his cousin looked eager, as if 
 he were impatient to get the work finished ; but he re- 
 flected that this was most likely because Herbert 
 wished to discuss the matter of the lease. Then he 
 remembered with a little irritation what Ethel said 
 during the afternoon. It was not very lucid, but he had 
 an idea that she meant to warn him; and Edgar had 
 gone some length in urging that he should leave the 
 care of his property to another man. This was curi- 
 ous, but hardly to be taken into consideration. Her- 
 bert was capable and exact in his dealings; and yet 
 for a moment or two George was troubled by a faint 
 doubt. It appeared irrational, and he drove it out of 
 his mind when Herbert spoke. 
 
 "The deed's ready; you have only to sign," he 
 said, indicating a paper. Then he added, with a 
 smile : " You quite realize the importance of what you 
 are doing? " 
 
 The lawyer turned to George. 
 
 " This document gives Mr. Lansing full authority to 
 dispose of your possessions as he thinks fit. In ac- 
 cordance with it, his signature will be honored as if it 
 were yours." 
 
 Parker's expression was severely formal, and his 
 tone businesslike; but he had known George for a 
 long while, and had served his father. Again, for a 
 moment, George had an uneasy feeling that he was 
 being warned; but he had confidence in his friends, 
 and his cousin was eminently reliable.
 
 22 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " I know that," he answered. " I've left matters 
 in Herbert's hands on other occasions, with fortunate 
 results. Will you give me a pen ? " 
 
 The lawyer watched him sign with an inscrutable 
 face, but when he laid down the pen, Herbert drew 
 back out of the strong light. He was folding the 
 paper with a sense of satisfaction and relief.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 A MATTER OF DUTY 
 
 ON the evening before George's departure, Sylvia 
 stood with him at the entrance to the Brantholme 
 drive. He leaned upon the gate, a broad-shoul- 
 dered, motionless figure; his eyes fixed moodily upon 
 the prospect, because he was afraid to let them dwell 
 upon his companion. In front, across the dim white 
 road, a cornfield ran down to the river, and on one 
 side of it a wood towered in a shadowy mass against 
 a soft green streak of light. Near its foot the water 
 gleamed palely among overhanging alders, and in the 
 distance the hills faded into the grayness of the east- 
 ern sky. Except for the low murmur of the stream, 
 it was very still ; and the air was heavy with the smell 
 of dew-damped soil. 
 
 All this had its effect on George. He loved the 
 quiet English country; and now, when he must leave 
 it, it strongly called to him. He had congenial 
 friends, and occupations in which he took pleasure 
 sport, experiments in farming, and stock-raising. It 
 would be hard to drop them ; but that, after all, was 
 a minor trouble. He would be separated from Sylvia 
 until his work should be done. 
 
 " What a beautiful nijjht ! " she said at length. 
 
 Summoning his resolution, he turned and looked at 
 her. She stood with one hand resting on the gate, 
 
 23
 
 24 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 slender, graceful, and wonderfully attractive, the 
 black dress emphasizing the pure whiteness of her 
 face and hands. Sylvia was an artist where dress 
 was concerned, and she had made the most of her 
 somber garb. As he looked at her a strong tempta- 
 tion shook the man. He might still discover some 
 excuse for remaining to watch over Sylvia, and seize 
 each opportunity for gaining her esteem. Then he 
 remembered that this would entail the sacrifice of her 
 property; and a faint distrust of her, which he had 
 hitherto refused to admit, seized him. Sylvia, threat- 
 ened by poverty, might yield without affection to the 
 opportunities of a suitor who would bid high enough 
 for her hand; and he would not have such a course 
 forced upon her, even if he were the one to profit. 
 
 " You're very quiet ; you must feel going away," 
 she said. 
 
 " Yes," George admitted ; " I feel it a good deal." 
 
 " Ah ! I don't know anybody else who would have 
 gone I feel selfish and shabby in letting you." 
 
 " I don't think you could stop me." 
 
 " I haven't tried. I suppose I'm a coward, but until 
 you promised to look after matters, I was afraid of 
 the future. I have friends, but the tinge of contempt 
 which would creep into their pity would be hard to 
 bear. It's hateful to feel that you are being put up 
 with. Sometimes I thought I'd go back to Canada." 
 
 " I've wondered how you stood it as long as you 
 did," George said incautiously. 
 
 "Aren't you forgetting? I had Dick with me 
 then." Sylvia paused and shuddered. "It would be 
 so different now." 
 
 George felt reproved and very compassionate.
 
 A MATTER OF DUTY 25 
 
 " Yes," he said, " I'm afraid I forgot; but the whole 
 thing seems tanreal. It's almost impossible to imagine 
 your living on a farm in western Canada." 
 
 " I dare say it's difficult. I'll confess I'm fond of 
 ease and comfort and refinement. I like to be looked 
 after and waited on; to have somebody to keep un- 
 pleasant things away. That's dreadfully weak, isn't 
 it? And because I haven't more courage, I'm 
 sending you back to the prairie." 
 
 " I'm quite ready to go." 
 
 " Oh, I'm sure of that ! It's comforting to remem- 
 ber that you're so resolute and matter-of-fact. You 
 wouldn't let troubles daunt you perhaps you would 
 scarcely notice them when you had made up your 
 mind." 
 
 The man smiled, rather wistfully. He could feel 
 things keenly, and he had his romance; but Sylvia re- 
 sumed : 
 
 " I sometimes wonder if you ever felt really badly 
 hurt?" 
 
 " Once," he said quietly. " I think I have got over 
 it." 
 
 " Ah ! " she murmured. " I was afraid you would 
 blame me, but now it seems that Dick knew you better 
 than I did. When he made you my trustee, he said 
 that you were too big to bear him malice." 
 
 The blood crept into George's face. 
 
 " After the first shock had passed, and I could rea- 
 son calmly, I don't think I blamed either of you. You 
 had promised me nothing; Dick was a brilliant man, 
 with a charm everybody felt. By comparison, I was 
 merely a plodder." 
 
 Sylvia mused for a few moments.
 
 26 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " George," she said presently, " I sometimes think 
 you're a little too diffident. You plodders who go 
 straight on, stopping for nothing, generally gain your 
 object in the end." 
 
 His heart beat faster. It looked as if she meant 
 this for a hint. 
 
 " I can't thank you properly," she continued ; 
 " though I know that all you undertake will be thor- 
 oughly carried out. I wish I hadn't been forced to 
 let you go so far away ; there is nobody else I can rely 
 on." 
 
 He could not tell her that he longed for the right to 
 shelter her always it was not very long since the 
 Canadian tragedy but silence cost him an effort. 
 At length she touched his arm. 
 
 " It's getting late, and the others will wonder where 
 we are," she reminded him. 
 
 They went back to the house; and when Sylvia 
 joined Mrs. Lansing, George felt seriously annoyed 
 with himself. He had been deeply stirred, but he 
 had preserved an unmoved appearance when he might 
 have expressed some sympathy of tenderness which 
 could not have been resented. Presently Ethel West 
 crossed the room to where he was rather moodily 
 standing. 
 
 " I believe our car is waiting, and, as Edgar won't 
 let me come to the station to-morrow, I must say 
 good-by now," she told him. " Both Stephen and I 
 are glad he is on your hands." 
 
 " I must try to deserve your confidence," George 
 said, smiling. " It's premature yet." . 
 
 " Never mind that. We're alike in some respects :
 
 A MATTER OF DUTY 27 
 
 pretty speeches don't appeal to us. But there's one 
 thing I must tell you don't delay out yondei, come 
 back as soon as you can." 
 
 She left him thoughtful. He had a high opinion of 
 Ethel's intelligence, but he would entertain no doubts 
 or misgivings. They were treasonable to Herbert 
 and, what was worse, to Sylvia. 
 
 Going to bed in good time, he had only a few words 
 with Sylvia over his early breakfast in the morning. 
 Then he was driven to the station, where Edgar 
 joined him; and the greater part of their journey 
 proved uneventful. 
 
 Twelve days after leaving Liverpool they were, 
 however, awakened early one morning by feeling the 
 express-train suddenly slacken speed. The big cars 
 shook with a violent jarring, and George hurriedly 
 swung himself down from his upper berth. He had 
 some difficulty in getting into his jacket and putting 
 on his boots, but he pushed through the startled pas- 
 sengers and sprang down upon the track before the 
 train quite stopped. He knew that accidents were 
 not uncommon in the wilds of northern Ontario. 
 
 Ragged firs rose, dripping, against the rosy glow 
 in the eastern sky, with the narrow gap, hewed out 
 for the line, running through their midst. Some had 
 been stripped of their smaller branches by fire, and 
 leaned, dead and blackened, athwart each other. Be- 
 neath them, shallow pools gleamed in the hollows of 
 the rocks, which rose in rounded masses here and 
 there, and the gravel of the graded track was seamed 
 by water channels. George remembered having 
 heard the roar of heavy rain and a crash of thunder
 
 28 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 during the night, but it was now wonderfully still 
 and fresh, and the resinous fragrance of the firs filled 
 the chilly air. 
 
 Walking forward, clear of the curious passengers 
 who poured from the cars, he saw a lake running 
 back into the woods. A tall water-tank stood on the 
 margin with a shanty, in which George imagined a 
 telegraph operator was stationed, at its foot. Ahead, 
 the great locomotive was pouring out a cloud of sooty 
 smoke. When George reached it he waited until the 
 engineer had finished talking to a man on the line. 
 
 " What are we stopping for ? Has anything gone 
 wrong? " he asked. 
 
 " Freight locomotive jumped the track at a wash- 
 out some miles ahead," explained the engineer. 
 " Took the fireman with her ; but I don't know much 
 about it yet. Guess they'll want me soon." 
 
 George got the man to promise to take him, and 
 then he went back until he met Edgar, to whom he 
 related what he had heard. 
 
 " I'm not astonished," remarked the lad, indicating 
 one of the sleepers. " Look at that the rail's only 
 held down by a spike or two ; we fasten them in solid 
 chairs. They're rough and ready in this country." 
 
 It was the characteristic hypercritical attitude of 
 the newly-arrived Englishman; and George, knowing 
 that the Canadians strongly resent it, noticed a look of 
 interest in the eyes of a girl standing near them. 
 She was, he imagined, about twenty-four years of 
 age, and was dressed in some thin white material, 
 the narrow skirt scarcely reaching to the tops of her 
 remarkably neat shoes. Her arms were uncovered 
 to the elbows ; her neck was bare, but this displayed a
 
 A MATTER OF DUTY 29 
 
 beautiful skin; and the face beneath the turned-down 
 brim of the big hat was attractive. George thought 
 she was amused at Edgar's comment. 
 
 !< Well," he said, " while we put down a few miles 
 of metals they'd drive the track across leagues of 
 new country and make a start with the traffic. They 
 haven't time to be particular, with the great western 
 wheat-land waiting for development" 
 
 The girl moved away ; and when word went around 
 that there would be a delay of several hours, George 
 sat down beside the lake and watched the Colonist 
 passengers wash their children's clothes. It was, he 
 thought, rather a striking scene the great train 
 standing in the rugged wilderness, the wide stretch of 
 gleaming water running back among the firs, and the 
 swarm of jaded immigrants splashing bare-footed 
 along the beach. Their harsh voices and hoarse 
 laughter broke discordantly on the silence of the 
 woods. 
 
 After a while an elderly man, in badly-fitting clothes 
 and an old wide-brimmed hat, sauntered up with the 
 girl George had noticed, and stopped to survey the 
 passengers. 
 
 " A middling sample ; not so many English as 
 usual," he remarked. " If they keep on coming in 
 as they're doing, we'll get harvest hands at a reason- 
 able figure." 
 
 " All he thinks about ! " Edgar commented, in a 
 lowered voice. " That's the uncivil old fellow who 
 smokes the vile leaf tobacco; he drove me out of the 
 car once or twice. It's hard to believe he's her father ; 
 but in some ways they're alike." 
 
 " I can't help feeling sorry for them," the girl re-
 
 30 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 plied. " Look at those worn-out women, almost too 
 limp to move. It's hot and shaky enough in our cars ; 
 the Colonist ones must be dreadful." 
 
 " Good enough for the folks who're in them ; they're 
 not fastidious," said the man. 
 
 They strolled on, and George felt mildly curious 
 about them. The girl was pretty and graceful, with a 
 stamp of refinement upon her ; the man was essentially 
 rugged and rather grim. Suddenly, however, a 
 whistle blast rang out, and George hurried toward 
 the engine. It was beginning to move when he 
 reached it but, grasping a hand-rail, he clambered up. 
 The cab was already full of passengers, but he had 
 found a place on the frame above the wheels when he 
 saw the girl in the light dress running, flushed and 
 eager, along the line. Leaning down as far as pos- 
 sible, he held out his hand to her. 
 
 " Get hold, if you want to come," he called. 
 " There's a step yonder." 
 
 She seized his hand and smiled at him when he drew 
 her up beside him. 
 
 " Thanks," she said. " I was nearly too late." 
 
 " Perhaps we had better make for the pilot, where 
 there'll be more room," George suggested, as two more 
 passengers scrambled up. 
 
 They crept forward, holding on by the guard-rail, 
 while the great engine began to rock as it gathered 
 speed. The girl, however, was fearless, and at length 
 they reached the front, and stood beneath the big 
 head-lamp with the triangular frame of the pilot run- 
 ning down to the rails at their feet. The ledge along 
 the top of it was narrow, and when his companion sat 
 down George felt concerned about her safety. Her
 
 A MATTER OF DUTY 31 
 
 hat had blown back, setting free tresses of glossy 
 hair; her light skirt fluttered against the sooty pilot. 
 
 " You'll have to allow me," he said, tucking the 
 thin fabric beneath her and passing an arm around her 
 waist. 
 
 He thought she bore it well, for her manner was 
 free from prudish alarm or coquettish submission. 
 With sound sense, she had calmly acquiesced in the 
 situation; but George found the latter pleasant. His 
 companion was pretty, the swift motion had brought 
 a fine warmth into her cheeks, and a sparkle into- her 
 eyes; and George was slightly vexed when Edgar, ap- 
 pearing round the front of the engine, unnoticed by 
 the girl, surveyed him with a grin. 
 
 "Is there room for me?" he asked. "I had to 
 leave the place where I was, because my fellow pas- 
 sengers didn't seem to mind if they pushed me off. A 
 stranger doesn't get much consideration in this coun- 
 try." 
 
 The girl looked up at him consideringly and an- 
 swered, through the roar of the engine: 
 
 ' You may sit here, if you'll stop criticizing us." 
 
 " It's quite fair," Edgar protested, as he took his 
 place by her side. " I've been in Canada only three 
 days, but I've several times heard myself alluded to 
 as an Englishman, as if that were some excuse for 
 me." 
 
 " Are you sure you haven't been provoking people 
 by your superior air ? " 
 
 " I didn't know I possessed one ; but I don't see 
 why I should be very humble because I'm in Canada." 
 
 The girl laughed good-humoredly, and turned to 
 George.
 
 32 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " I'm glad I came. This is delightful," she said. 
 
 It was, George admitted, an exhilarating experi- 
 ence. The big engine was now running at top speed, 
 rocking down the somewhat roughly laid line. Banks 
 of trees and stretches of gleaming water sped past. 
 The rails ahead came flying back to them. The sun 
 was on the firs, and the wind that lashed George's face 
 was filled with their fragrance. Once or twice a tress 
 of his companion's hair blew across his cheek, but 
 she did not appear to notice this. He thought she 
 was conscious of little beyond the thrill of speed. 
 
 At length the engine stopped where the line crossed 
 a lake on a high embankment. A long row of freight- 
 cars stood near a break in the track into which the 
 rails ran down, and a faint cloud of steam rose from 
 the gap. 
 
 George helped the girl down, anticipating Edgar, 
 who seemed anxious to offer his assistance, and they 
 walked forward until they could see into the pit. It 
 was nearly forty feet in depth, for the embankment, 
 softened by heavy rain, had slipped into the lake. In 
 the bottom a huge locomotive lay shattered and over- 
 turned, with half a dozen men toiling about it. The 
 girl stopped with a little gasp, for there was something 
 strangely impressive in the sight of the wreck. 
 
 " It's dreadful, isn't it? " she exclaimed. 
 
 Then the men who had come with them gathered 
 round. 
 
 " Where's the fireman ? " one of them asked. " He 
 was too late when he jumped. Have they got him 
 out?" 
 
 " Guess not," said another. " See, they're trying 
 to jack up the front of her."
 
 A MATTER OF DUTY 33 
 
 " Aren't you mistaken about the man ? " George 
 asked, looking at the first speaker meaningly. 
 
 "Why, no," replied the other. "He's certainly 
 pinned down among the wreck. They'll find him be- 
 fore long. Isn't that a jacket sleeve? " 
 
 He broke off with an exclamation, as Edgar drove 
 an elbow hard into his ribs ; but it was too late. The 
 girl looked around at George, white in face. 
 
 "Is there a man beneath the engine? Don't try 
 to put me off." 
 
 " I'm afraid it's the case." 
 
 "Then why did you bring me?" she cried with a 
 shudder. " Take me away at once ! " 
 
 George explained that he had forgotten the serious 
 nature of the accident. He hastily helped her up and 
 turned away with her, but when they had gone a little 
 distance she sat down on a boulder. 
 
 " I feel badly startled and ashamed," she exclaimed. 
 " I was enjoying it, as a spectacle, and all the time 
 there was a man crushed to death." Then she re- 
 covered her composure. " Go back and help. Be- 
 sides, I think your friend is getting into trouble." 
 
 She was right. The man Edgar tried to silence 
 had turned upon him, savage and rather breathless. 
 
 " Now," he said, " I'll fix you mighty quick. Think 
 I'm going to have a blamed Percy sticking his elbow 
 into me? " 
 
 Edgar glanced at the big and brawny man, with a 
 twinge of somewhat natural uneasiness; but he was 
 not greatly daunted. 
 
 " Oh, well," he retorted coolly. " if that's the way 
 you look at it ! But if you're not in a desperate hurry, 
 I'll take off my jacket."
 
 34 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 "What did you prod him for, anyway?" another 
 asked. 
 
 " I'm sorry I didn't jab him twice as hard; though 
 I'd have wasted my energy," Edgar explained. " The 
 fellow has no sense, but that's no reason why he 
 should be allowed to frighten a pretty girl." 
 
 His antagonist looked as if a light had suddenly 
 dawned on him. 
 
 " Is that why you did it? " 
 
 "Of course ! Do you think I'd attack a man of 
 nearly twice my weight without some reason ? " 
 
 The fellow laughed. 
 
 " We'll let it go at that. You're all right, Percy. 
 We like you." 
 
 " Thanks," said Edgar ; " but my name isn't Percy. 
 Couldn't you think of something more stylish for a 
 change? " 
 
 They greeted this with hoarse laughter ; and George, 
 arriving on the scene, scrambled down into the pit 
 with them to help the men below. It was some time 
 later when he rejoined the girl, who was then gather- 
 ing berries in the wood. She saw that his face and 
 hands were grimy and his clothes were soiled. 
 
 " I heard that you found the unfortunate man. It 
 was very sad," she said. " But what have you been 
 doing since ? " 
 
 " Shoveling a ton or two of gravel. Then I assisted 
 in jacking up one side of the engine." 
 
 "Why? Did you enjoy it ?" 
 
 George laughed; he had, as it happened, experi- 
 enced a curious pleasure in the work. He was accus- 
 tomed to the more vigorous sports ; but, after all, they 
 led to no tangible results, and in this respect his re-
 
 A MATTER OF DUTY 35 
 
 cent task was different one, as he thought of it, 
 could see what one had done. He had been endowed 
 with some ability of strictly practical description, 
 though it had so far escaped development. 
 
 " Yes," he responded. " I enjoyed it very much." 
 
 The girl regarded him with a trace of curiosity. 
 
 " Was that because work of the kind is new to 
 you?" 
 
 " No," George answered. " It isn't altogether a 
 novelty. I once spent three years in manual labor ; 
 and now when I look back at them, I believe I was 
 happy then." 
 
 She nodded as if she understood. 
 
 " Shall we walk back ? " she suggested. 
 
 They went on together, and though the sun was now 
 fiercely hot and the distance long, George enjoyed 
 the walk. Once they met a ballast train, with a steam 
 plow mounted at one end of it, and a crowd of men 
 riding on the open cars ; but when it had passed there 
 was nothing to break the deep silence of the woods. 
 The dark firs shut in the narrow track except when 
 here and there a winding lake or frothing river filled 
 a sunny opening. 
 
 Soon after George and his companion reached the 
 train, the engine came back with a row of freight - 
 cars, and during the afternoon the western express 
 pulled out again, and sped furiously through the shad- 
 owy bush.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 GEORGE MAKES FRIENDS 
 
 IT was nearing midnight when George walked im- 
 patiently up and down the waiting-room in Winni- 
 peg station, for the western express was very late, 
 and nobody seemed to know when it would start. 
 George was nevertheless interested in his surround- 
 ings, and with some reason. The great room was 
 built in palatial style, with domed roof, tessellated 
 marble floor, and stately pillars; it was brilliantly 
 lighted; and massively- framed paintings of snow- 
 capped peaks and river gorges adorned the walls. An 
 excursion-train from Winnipeg Beach had just come 
 in, and streams of young men and women in summer 
 attire were passing through the room. They all 
 looked happy and prosperous: he thought the girls' 
 light dresses were gayer and smarter than those usually 
 seen among a crowd of English passengers; but there 
 was another side to the picture. 
 
 Rows of artistic seats ran here and there, and each 
 was occupied by jaded immigrants, worn out by their 
 journey in the sweltering Colonist cars. Piles of 
 dilapidated baggage surrounded them, and among it 
 exhausted children lay asleep. Drowsy, dusty women, 
 with careworn faces, were huddled beside them; 
 men bearing the stamp of ill-paid toil sat in dejected 
 apathy ; and all about each group the floor, which was 
 
 36
 
 GEORGE MAKES FRIENDS 37 
 
 wet with drippings from the roof, was strewn with 
 banana skins, crumbs, and scraps of food. There had 
 been heavy rains, and the atmosphere was hot and hu- 
 mid. It wats, however, the silence of these newcomers 
 that struck George most. There was no grumbling 
 among them they scarcely seemed vigorous enough 
 for that but as he passed one row he heard a wom- 
 an's low sobbing and the wail of a fretful child. 
 
 After a while the girl he had met on the train ap- 
 peared and intimated by a smile that he might join 
 her. They found an unoccupied seat, and a smartly- 
 attired young man who was approaching it stopped 
 when he saw them. 
 
 " Well," he said coolly, " I guess I won't intrude." 
 George felt seriously annoyed with him, but he was 
 reassured when his companion laughed with candid 
 amusement. Though there was no doubt of her pretti- 
 ness, he had already noticed that she did not impress 
 one most forcibly with the fact that she was an at- 
 tractive young woman. It seemed to sink into the 
 background when one spoke to her. 
 
 " It was rather tedious waiting in the hotel," she 
 explained. " There was nobody I could talk to ; my 
 father is busy with a grain broker." 
 " Then he is a farmer? " 
 " Yes," said the girl, " he has a farm." 
 " And you live out in the West with him ? " 
 "Of course," she said, smiling. <; Still, I have 
 been in Montreal, and England." Then she turned 
 and glanced at the jaded immigrants. " One feels 
 sorry for them ; they have so much to bear." 
 
 George felt that she wished to change the subject 
 and he followed her lead.
 
 38 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " I feel inclined to wonder where they all go to 
 and how you employ them. Your people still seem 
 anxious to bring them in." 
 
 " Yes," she replied thoughtfully. " It's rather a 
 difficult question. Of course, we pay high wages 
 people who say they must dispense with help and can't 
 carry out useful projects would like to see them lower 
 - but there's the long winter when, out West at least, 
 very few men can work. Then what the others have 
 earned in summer rapidly melts." 
 
 " But what do the Canadian farm-hands and me- 
 chanics think? It wouldn't suit them to have wages 
 broken down." 
 
 West had come up a few moments earlier. 
 
 " It doesn't matter," he laughed ; " they won't be 
 consulted. It's the other people who pull the Strings, 
 and they're adopting a forward policy rush them 
 all in; it's their lookout when they get here. That's 
 my opinion; though I'll own that I know remarkably 
 little about western Canada." 
 
 " You won't admit he's right," George said to the 
 girl. 
 
 She looked grave. 
 
 " Sometimes," she answered, " I wonder." 
 
 Then she turned to West. 
 
 " You don't seem impressed with the country," she 
 said. 
 
 " As a rule, I try to be truthful. The country 
 strikes me as being pretty mixed, full of contrasts. 
 There's this place, for instance; one could imagine 
 they had meant to build a Greek temple, and now it 
 looks more like a swimming-bath. After planning
 
 GEORGE MAKES FRIENDS 39 
 
 the rest magnificently, why couldn't they put on a 
 roof that wouldn't leak ? " 
 
 " It has been an exceptionally heavy rain," the girl 
 reminded him. 
 
 " Just so. But couldn't somebody get a broom and 
 sweep the water out? Our unimaginative English 
 folk could rise as far as that." 
 
 She laughed good-humoredly, and her father saun- 
 tered up to them. 
 
 " Any news of the train yet ? " he asked. 
 
 " Xo, sir," said Edgar. " In my opinion, any at- 
 tempt to extract reliable information from a Canadian 
 railroad-hand is a waste of time. No doubt, it's so 
 scarce that it hurts them to part with it." 
 
 The Westerner looked at him with a little hard 
 -smile. He was tall and gaunt and dressed in baggy 
 clothes, but there was a hint of power in his face, 
 which was lined, and deeply bronzed by exposure 
 to the weather. 
 
 " Well," he retorted, " what do you expect, Percy, 
 if yon talk to them like that? But I want to thank 
 you and your partner for taking care of my girl when 
 she went to see the wreck. Fellow on the cars told 
 me said you were a gritty pup ! " 
 
 Edgar looked confused, but the man drew an old 
 skin bag out of his pocket. 
 
 " It's domestic leaf; take a smoke." 
 
 " No, thanks," said Edgar quickly. " I've no 
 doubt it's excellent, but I really prefer the common 
 Virginia stuff." 
 
 " Matter of habit," replied the other. " I don't 
 carry cigars; they're expensive. Going far West?"
 
 40 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " We get off at Sage Butte." 
 
 " It's called Butte. I'm located in that district." 
 
 " Then I wonder if you knew an Englishman named 
 Marston?" George interposed. 
 
 " I certainly did ; he died last winter. Oughtn't to 
 have come out farming; he hadn't the grip." 
 
 George felt surprised. He had always admired 
 Marston, who had excelled in whatever he took in 
 hand. It was strange and disconcerting to hear 
 him disparaged. 
 
 " Will you tell me what you mean by that ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " Why, yes. I've nothing against the man. I 
 liked him guess everybody did but the contract 
 he was up against was too big for him. Had his 
 first crop frozen, and lost his nerve and judgment 
 after that the man who gets ahead here must have 
 the grit to stand up against a few bad seasons. Mar- 
 ston acted foolishly; wasted his money buying ma- 
 chines and teams he could have done without, and then 
 let up when he saw it wouldn't pay him to use them 
 right off; but that was part his wife's fault. She 
 drove him pretty hard though, in some ways, I 
 guess he needed it." 
 
 George frowned. Sylvia, he admitted, was am- 
 bitious, and she might have put a little pressure upon 
 Marston now and then ; but that she should have urged 
 him on toward ruin in her eagerness to get rich was 
 incredible. 
 
 " I think you must be mistaken about his wife," he 
 remarked. 
 
 " Well," drawled the Canadian, " I'm not always 
 right-
 
 GEORGE MAKES FRIENDS 41 
 
 Then a bell tolled outside, an official shouted the 
 names of towns, and there was a sudden stir and 
 murmur of voices in the great waiting-room. Men 
 seized their bags and bundles, women dragged sleepy 
 children to their feet, and a crowd began to press 
 about the outlet. 
 
 " Guess that's our train. She's going to be pretty 
 full," said the Canadian. 
 
 The party joined a stream of hurrying passengers, 
 and regretted their haste when they were violently 
 driven through the door and into a railed-off space 
 on the platform, where shouting railroad-hands were 
 endeavoring to restrain the surging crowd. Nobody 
 heeded them ; the immigrants' patience was exhausted, 
 and they had suddenly changed from a dully apathetic 
 multitude waiting in various stages of dejection to 
 a savage mob fired by one determined purpose. Near 
 by stood a long row of lighted cars, and the immi- 
 grants meant to get on board them without loss of 
 time. There were two gates, guarded by officials who 
 endeavored to discriminate between the holders of 
 first and second class tickets, but the crowd was in no 
 mood to submit to the separation. 
 
 It raged behind the barrier, and when one gate was 
 rashly pushed back a little too far, a clamorous, jos- 
 tling mass of humanity stormed the opening. Its 
 guardians were flung aside, helpless, and the foremost 
 of the mob poured out upon the platform, while the 
 pressure about the gap grew insupportable. Women 
 screamed, children were reft away from their 
 mothers, panting men trampled over bags and bundles 
 torn from their owners' hands, and George and the 
 elderly Canadian struggled determinedly to prevent
 
 42 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 the girl's being badly crushed. Edgar had disap- 
 peared, though they once heard his voice, raised in 
 angry protest. 
 
 They were forced close up to the outlet, when there 
 was a check. More officials had been summoned; 
 somebody had dropped a heavy box which obstructed 
 the passage, and a group of passengers began a sav- 
 age fight for its recovery. George seized a man who 
 was jostling the girl and thrust him backward; but 
 the next moment he was struck by somebody, and he 
 saw nothing of his companions when, after being vio- 
 lently driven to and fro, he reached the gate. A 
 woman with two screaming children clinging to her 
 appeared beside him, and he held a man so that she 
 might pass. He was breathless, and almost ex- 
 hausted, but he secured her a little room; and then 
 the pressure suddenly slackened. The crowd swept 
 out like a flood from a broken dam, and in a few 
 more moments George stood, gasping, on the plat- 
 form amid a thinner stream of running people. There 
 was no sign of the Canadian or his daughter; the 
 cars were besieged; and George waited until Edgar 
 joined him, flushed and disheveled. 
 
 " I suppose I was lucky in getting through with 
 only my jacket badly torn," said the lad. " I won- 
 dered why the railroad people caged up their pas- 
 sengers behind iron bars, but now I know." 
 
 George laughed. 
 
 " I don't think this kind of thing is altogether usual. 
 Owing to the accident, they've no doubt had two train- 
 loads to handle instead of one. But the platform's 
 emptying; shall we look for a place?" 
 
 They managed to enter a car, though the stream of
 
 GEORGE MAKES FRIENDS 43 
 
 passengers, pouring in by the two vestibules, met 
 within in dire confusion, choking up the passage with 
 their baggage. Order was, however, restored at last ; 
 and, with the tolling of the bell, and a jerk that flung 
 those unprepared off their feet, the great express got 
 off. 
 
 " Nobody left behind," Edgar announced, after a 
 glance through the window. " I can't imagine where 
 they put them all; though I've never seen a train like 
 this. But what has become of our Canadian 
 friends?" 
 
 George said he did not know, and Edgar resumed : 
 
 " I'm rather taken with the girl strikes me as 
 intelligent as well as fetching. The man's a grim old 
 savage, but I'm inclined to think he's prosperous; 
 when a fellow says he can't afford cigars I generally 
 suspect him of being rich. It's a pity that stinginess 
 is one of the roads to affluence." 
 
 The car, glaringly lighted by huge lamps, was 
 crowded and very hot, and after a while George went 
 out on to the rear platform for a breath of air. The 
 train had now left the city, and glancing back as it 
 swung around a curve, he wondered how one loco- 
 motive could haul the long row of heavy cars. Then 
 he looked out across the wide expanse of grass that 
 stretched away in the moonlight to the dim blur of 
 woods on the horizon. Here and there clumps of 
 willows dotted the waste, but it lay silent and empty, 
 without sign of human life. The air was pleasantly 
 fresh after heavy rain; and the stillness of the vast 
 prairie was soothing by contrast with the tumult from 
 which they had recently escaped. 
 
 Lighting his pipe, George leaned contentedly on the
 
 44 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 rail. Then remembering what the Canadian had 
 said, he thought of his old friend Marston, a man 
 of charm and varied talents, whom he had long ad- 
 mired and often rather humbly referred to. It was 
 hard to understand how Dick had failed in Canada, 
 and harder still to see why he had made his plodding 
 comrade his executor ; for George, having seldom had 
 occasion to exert his abilities, had no great belief 
 in them. He had suffered keenly when Sylvia mar- 
 ried Dick, but the homage he had offered her had al- 
 ways been characterized by diffidence, springing from 
 a doubt that she could be content with him; and 
 after a sharp struggle he succeeded in convincing him- 
 self that his wound did not matter if she were happier 
 with the more brilliant man. He had entertained no 
 hard thoughts of her: Sylvia could do no wrong. 
 His love for her sprang rather from respect than pas- 
 sion; in his eyes she was all that a woman ought to 
 be. 
 
 In the meanwhile his new friends were discussing 
 him in a car farther back along the train. 
 
 " I'm glad I had that Englishman by me in the 
 crowd," the man remarked. " He's cool and kept his 
 head, did what was needed and nothing else. I al- 
 low you owe him something for bringing you 
 through." 
 
 ; ' Yes," said the girl; " he was quick and resolute." 
 Then reserving the rest' of her thoughts, she added : 
 " His friend's amusing." 
 
 " Percy? Oh, yes," agreed her father. " Nothing 
 to notice about him he's just one of the boys. The 
 other's different. What that fellow takes in hand 
 he'll go through with."
 
 GEORGE MAKES FRIENDS 45 
 
 " You haven't much to form an opinion on." 
 
 " That doesn't count. I can tell if a man's to be 
 trusted when I see him." 
 
 " You're generally right," the girl admitted. 
 " You were about Marston. I was rather impressed 
 by him when he first came out." 
 
 Her father smiled. 
 
 " Just so. Marston had only one trouble he 
 was all on top. You saw all his good points in the 
 first few minutes. It was rough on him that they 
 weren't the ones that are needed in this country." . 
 
 " It's a country that demands a great deal," the girl 
 said thoughtfully. 
 
 " Sure," was the dry reply. " The prairie breaks 
 the weak and shiftless pretty quick; we only have 
 room for hard men who'll stand up against whatever 
 comes along." 
 
 "And do you think that description fits the Eng- 
 lishman we met ? " 
 
 " Well," said her father, " I guess he wouldn't 
 back down if things went against him." 
 
 He went out for a smoke, and -the girl considered 
 what he had said. It was not a matter of much 
 consequence, but she knew he seldom made mistakes, 
 and in this instance she agreed with him. As it 
 happened, George's English relatives included one or 
 two clever people, but none of them held his talents 
 in much esteem. They thought him honest, rather 
 painstaking, and good-natured, but that was all. It 
 was left for two strangers to form a juster opinion; 
 which was, perhaps, a not altogether unusual thing. 
 Besides, the standards are different in western Canada. 
 There, a man is judged by what he can do.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE PRAIRIE 
 
 AFTER a hot and tedious journey, George and 
 his companion alighted one afternoon at a little 
 station on a branch line, and Edgar looked about with 
 interest when the train went on again. A telegraph 
 office with a baggage-room attached occupied the mid- 
 dle of the low platform, a tall water-tank stood at 
 the end, and three grain elevators towered high above 
 a neighboring side-track. Facing the track, stood a 
 row of wooden buildings varying in size and style : 
 they included a double-storied hotel with a veranda in 
 front of it, and several untidy shacks. Running back 
 from them, two short streets, thinly lined with small 
 houses, led to a sea of grass. 
 
 " Sage Butte doesn't strike one as a very exhilarat- 
 ing place," George remarked. " We'll stroll round it, 
 and then see about rooms, since we have to stay the 
 night." 
 
 They left the station, but the main street had few 
 attractions to offer. Three stores, with strangely- 
 assorted, dusty goods in their windows fronted the 
 rickety plankwalk ; beyond these stood a livery stable, 
 a Chinese laundry, and a few dwelling-houses. 
 Several dilapidated wagons and buggies were scat- 
 tered about the uneven road. In the side street, 
 disorderly rows of agricultural implements surrounded 
 
 46
 
 THE PRAIRIE 47 
 
 a store, and here and there little board dwellings with 
 wire mosquito-doors and net-guarded windows, stood 
 among low trees. Farther back were four very small 
 wooden churches. It was unpleasantly hot, though a 
 fresh breeze blew clouds of dust through the place. 
 
 " I've seen enough," said Edgar. " The Butte isn't 
 pretty; we'll assume it's prosperous, though I haven't 
 noticed much sign of activity yet. Let's go to the 
 hotel." 
 
 When they reached it, several untidy loungers sat 
 half asleep in the shade of the veranda, and though 
 they obstructed the approach to the entrance none of 
 them moved. Passing behind them, George opened a 
 door filled in with wire-mesh, and they entered a hot 
 room with a bare floor, furnished with a row of plain 
 wooden chairs. After they had rung a bell for 
 several minutes, a man appeared and looked at them 
 with languid interest from behind a short counter. 
 
 " Can you put us up ? " George inquired. 
 
 " Sure," was the answer. 
 
 The man flung down a labeled key, twisted round 
 his register, which was fitted in a swivel frame, and 
 handed George a pen. 
 
 " We want two rooms," Edgar objected. 
 
 " Can't help that. We've only got one." 
 
 " I suppose we'd better take it. Where can one 
 get a drink?" 
 
 " Bar," replied the other, indicating a gap in a 
 neighboring partition. 
 
 ' They're laconic in this country," Edgar remarked. 
 " Ever since I arrived in it, I've felt as if I were a 
 mere piece of baggage, to be hustled along anyway 
 without my wishes counting."
 
 48 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " You'll get used to it after a while," George con- 
 soled him. 
 
 Entering the dark bar, Edgar refreshed himself with 
 several ice-cooled drinks, served in what he thought 
 were unusually small glasses. He felt somewhat 
 astonished when he paid for them. 
 
 " Thirst's expensive on the prairie," he commented. 
 
 " Pump outside," drawled the attendant. " It's 
 rather mean water." 
 
 They went upstairs to a very scantily furnished, 
 doubled-bedded room. George, warned by previous 
 experience, glanced around. 
 
 " There's soap and a towel, anyway ; but I don't 
 see any water," he remarked. "I'll take the jar; 
 they'll have a rain-tank somewhere about." 
 
 Edgar did not answer him. He was looking out 
 of the open window, and now that there was little to 
 obstruct his view, the prospect interested him. It had 
 been a wet spring, and round the vast half-circle he 
 commanded the prairie ran back to the horizon, 
 brightly green, until its strong coloring gave place in 
 the distance to soft neutral tones. It was blotched 
 with crimson flowers ; in the marshy spots there were 
 streaks of purple; broad squares of darker wheat 
 checkered the sweep of grass, and dwarf woods strag- 
 gled across it in broken lines. In one place was the 
 gleam of a little lake. Over it all there hung a sky 
 of dazzling blue, across which great rounded cloud- 
 masses rolled. 
 
 Edgar looked around as George came in with the 
 water. 
 
 " That's great ! " he exclaimed, indicating the 
 prairie; and then, turning toward the wooden town,
 
 THE PRAIRIE 49 
 
 he added : " What a frightful mess man can make 
 of pretty things! Still, I've no doubt the people who 
 built the Butte are proud of it." 
 
 "If you talk to them in that style, you'll soon dis- 
 cover their opinion," George laughed ; " but I don't 
 think it would be wise." 
 
 Soon afterward a bell rang for supper, and going 
 down to a big room, they found seats at a table which 
 had several other occupants. Two of them, who ap- 
 peared to be railroad-hands, were simply dressed in 
 trousers and slate-colored shirts, and when they 
 rested their elbows on the tablecloth, they left grimy 
 smears. George thought the third man of the party, 
 who was neatly attired, must be the station-agent ; the 
 fourth was unmistakably a newly-arrived Englishman. 
 As soon as they were seated, a very smart young 
 woman came up and rattled off the names of various 
 unfamiliar dishes. 
 
 " I think I'll have a steak ; I know what that is," 
 Edgar told her. 
 
 She withdrew, and presently surrounded him with 
 an array of little plates, at which he glanced dubi- 
 ously before he attacked the thin, hard steak with 
 a nickeled knife which failed to make a mark on it. 
 When he made a more determined effort, it slid away 
 from him, sweeping some greasy fried potatoes off his 
 plate, and he grew hot under the stern gaze of the 
 girl, who reappeared with some coffee he had not 
 ordered. 
 
 " Perhaps you had better take it away before I do 
 more damage, and let me have some fish," he said 
 humbly. 
 
 " Another time you'll say what you waat at first.
 
 50 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 You can't prospect right through the menu," she re- 
 buked him. 
 
 In the meanwhile George had been describing his 
 companions on the train to one of the men opposite. 
 
 " He told me he was located in the district, but I 
 didn't learn his name, and he didn't get off here," he 
 explained. " Do you know him ? " 
 
 "Sure," said the other. "It's Alan Grant, of 
 Poplar, 'bout eighteen miles back. Guess he went on 
 to the next station a little farther, but it's easier 
 driving, now they're dumping straw on the trail." 
 
 "Putting straw on the road?" Edgar broke in. 
 "Why are they doing that?" 
 
 " You'll see, if you drive out north," the man an- 
 swered shortly. Then he turned to his better-dressed 
 companion. " What are you going to do with that 
 carload of lumber we got for Grant ? " 
 
 " Send the car on to Benton." 
 
 " She's billed here." 
 
 " Can't help that the road's mistake. Grant or- 
 dered all his stuff to Benton. What he says goes." 
 
 This struck George as significant it was only a 
 man of importance whose instructions would be treated 
 with so much deference. Then the agent turned to 
 Edgar. 
 
 " What do you think of this country? " 
 
 " The country's very nice. So far as I've seen 
 them, I can't say as much for the towns; they might 
 be prettier." 
 
 "Might be prettier?" exclaimed the agent. "If 
 they're not good enough for you, why did you come 
 here ? " 
 
 " I'm not sure it was a very judicious move. But,
 
 THE PRAIRIE 51 
 
 you see, I didn't know what the place was like; and, 
 after all, an experience of this kind is supposed to be 
 bracing." 
 
 The agent ignored Edgar after this. He talked to 
 George, and elicited the information that the latter 
 meant to farm. Then he got up, followed by two 
 of the others, and the remaining man with the Eng- 
 lish appearance turned to George diffidently. 
 
 " Do you happen to want a teamster ? " he asked. 
 
 " I believe I'll want two," was the answer. " But 
 I'm afraid I'll have to hire Canadians." 
 
 The man's face fell. He looked anxious, and 
 George remembered having seen a careworn woman 
 tearfully embracing him before their steamer sailed. 
 Her shabby clothes and despairing face had roused 
 George's sympathy. 
 
 " Well," said the man dejectedly, " that's for you to 
 decide; but I've driven horses most of my life, and 
 until I get used to things I'd be reasonable about the 
 pay. I was told these little places were the best to 
 strike a job in; but, so far as I can find out, there's 
 not much chance here." 
 
 George felt sorry for him. He suddenly made up 
 his mind. 
 
 " What are farm teamsters getting now? " he asked 
 a man who was leaving an adjacent table. 
 
 ' Thirty dollars a month," was the answer. 
 
 ' Thanks," said George, turning again to the Eng- 
 lishman. " Be ready to start with us to-morrow. 
 I'll take you at thirty dollars; but if I don't get my 
 value out of you, we'll have to part." 
 
 " No fear of that, sir," replied the other, in a tone 
 of keen satisfaction.
 
 52 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 When they got outside, Edgar looked at George 
 with a smile. 
 
 " I'm glad you engaged the fellow," he said ; " but 
 considering that you'll have to teach him, were you 
 not a little rash ? " 
 
 " I'll find out by and by." George paused, and 
 continued gravely : " It's a big adventure these peo- 
 ple make. Think of it the raising of the passage 
 money by some desperate economy, the woman left 
 behind with hardly enough to keep her a month or 
 two, the man's fierce anxiety to find some work! 
 When I saw how he was watching me, I felt I had to 
 hire him." 
 
 " Just so," responded Edgar. " I suppose I ought 
 to warn you that doing things of the kind may get 
 you into trouble some day ; but cold-blooded prudence 
 never did appeal to me." He took one of the chairs 
 in front of the building and filled his pipe before he 
 continued : " We'll sit here a while, and then we 
 might as well stroll across the plain. The general- 
 room doesn't strike me as an attractive place to spend 
 the evening in." 
 
 An hour later they left the tall elevators and strag- 
 gling town behind, and after brushing through a belt 
 of crimson flowers, they followed the torn-up black 
 trail that led into the waste. After a mile or two it 
 broke into several divergent rows of ruts, and they 
 went on toward a winding line of bluff across the short 
 grass. Reaching that, they pushed through the thin 
 wood of dwarf birch and poplar, skirting little pools 
 from which mallard rose; and then, crossing a long 
 rise, they sat down to smoke on its farther side. Sage 
 Butte had disappeared, the sun had dipped, and the
 
 THE PRAIRIE 53 
 
 air .was growing wonderfully fresh and cool. Here 
 and there a house or barn rose from the sweep of 
 grass; but for the most part it ran back into the 
 distance lonely and empty. It was steeped in strong, 
 cold coloring, but on its western rim there burned a 
 vivid flush of rose and saffron. Edgar was impressed 
 by its vastness and silence. 
 
 "This," he said thoughtfully, "makes up for a 
 good deal. Once you get clear of the railroad, it's a 
 captivating country." 
 
 " Have you decided yet what you're going to do 
 in it?" 
 
 " It's too soon," Edgar rejoined. " The family 
 idea was that I should stay about twelve months, and 
 then go back and enter some profession. Ethel seems 
 quite convinced that a little roughing it will prove 
 beneficial. I might, however, stop out and try farm- 
 ing, which is one reason why you can have my serv- 
 ices for nothing for a time. Considering what local 
 wages are, don't you think you're lucky ? " 
 
 " That," laughed George, " remains to be seen." 
 
 " Anyhow, there's no doubt that Sylvia Marston 
 scores in ' securing you on the same favorable terms. 
 It has struck me that she's a woman who gets things 
 easily." 
 
 " She hasn't always done so. Can you imagine, 
 for instance, what two years on a prairie farm must 
 have been to a delicate, fastidious girl, brought up in 
 luxury ? " 
 
 " I've an idea that Sylvia would manage to avoid 
 a good many of the hardships." 
 
 " Sylvia would never shirk a duty," George de- 
 clared firmly.
 
 54 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 Edgar refilled his pipe. 
 
 " I've been thinking about Dick Marston," he said. 
 " After the way he was generally regarded at home, 
 it was strange to hear that Canadian's opinions; but 
 I've a notion that this country's a pretty severe touch- 
 stone. I mean that the sort of qualities that make one 
 popular in England may not prove of much use here." 
 
 " Dick lost his crop; that accounts for a good deal," 
 George said shortly. 
 
 Edgar, knowing how staunch he was to his friends, 
 changed the subject; and when the light grew dim 
 ^hey went back to the hotel. Breakfasting soon after 
 six the next morning, they took their places in a light, 
 four-wheeled vehicle, for which three persons' bag- 
 gage made a rather heavy load, and drove away with 
 the hired man. The grass was wet with dew, the 
 air invigoratingly cool, and for a time the fresh team 
 carried them across the waste at an excellent pace. 
 When he had got used to the frantic jolting, Edgar 
 found the drive exhilarating. Poplar bluffs, little 
 ponds, a lake shining amid tall sedges, belts of dark- 
 green wheat, went by; and while the horses plunged 
 through tall barley-grass or hauled the vehicle over 
 clods and ruts, the same vast prospect stretched away 
 ahead. It filled the lad with a curious sense of free- 
 dom : there was no limit to the prairies one could 
 go on and on, across still wider stretches beyond the 
 horizon. 
 
 By and by, however, they ran in among low sandy 
 hills, dotted with dwarf pines here and there, and the 
 pace slackened. The grass was thin, the wheels sank 
 in deep, loose sand, and the sun was getting un- 
 pleasantly hot. For half an hour they drove on ; and
 
 THE PRAIRIE 55 
 
 then the team came to a standstill, flecked with spume, 
 at the foot of a short, steep rise. Edgar alighted and 
 found the heat almost insupportable. There was 
 glaring sand all about him, and the breeze which swept 
 the prairie was cut off by the hill in front. 
 
 " You'll have to help the team," George told him, 
 as he went to the horses' heads. 
 
 Edgar and the hired man each seized a wheel and 
 endeavored to start the vehicle, while the horses 
 plunged in the slipping sand. They made a few 
 yards, with clouds of grit flying up about them, and 
 afterward came to a stop again. Next they tried 
 pushing; and after several rests they arrived, breath- 
 less and gasping, at the crest of the rise. There was 
 a big hollow in front, and on the opposite side a ridge 
 which looked steeper than the last one. 
 
 " How much do you think there is of this? " Edgar 
 inquired. 
 
 " I can't say," George answered. " I know of one 
 belt that runs for forty miles." 
 
 Even walking downhill was laborious, for they 
 sank ankle-deep, but it was very much worse when 
 they faced the ascent. Short as the hill was, it took 
 them some time to climb; and, with the hired man's 
 assistance, Edgar carried a heavy trunk up the last 
 part of it. Then he sat down. 
 
 " I'm not sure I can smoke, but I intend to try," 
 he said. " If you mean to rush the next hill right 
 off, you will go without me." He turned to the hired 
 man. " What do you think of these roads, Grier- 
 son?" 
 
 " I've seen better, sir," the other answered cau- 
 tiously. " Perhaps the hills don't go on very far."
 
 56 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 Edgar ruefully glanced ahead at scattered pines, 
 clumps of brush, and ridges of gleaming sand. 
 
 " It's my opinion there's no end to them ! Hauling 
 a load of wheat through this kind of country must 
 be a bit of an undertaking.*' 
 
 After a short rest, they toiled for an hour through 
 the sand ; and then rode slowly over a road thickly 
 strewn with straw, which bore the wheels. It led 
 them across lower ground to a strong wire fence, 
 where it forked : one branch skirting the barrier along 
 the edge of a muskeg, the other running through the 
 enclosed land. Deciding to take the latter, George 
 got down at the entrance, which was barred by several 
 Strands of wire, firmly fastened. 
 
 " Half an hour's work here," Edgar commented. 
 " Driving's rather an arduous pastime in western 
 Canada." 
 
 They crossed a long field of barley, a breadth of 
 wheat, and passed an empty house: then wound 
 through a poplar wood until they reached the grass 
 again. It was long and rank, hiding the ruts and 
 hollows in the trail; but after stopping a while for 
 dinner in the shadow of a bluff, they jolted on, and 
 in the afternoon they reached a smoother track. 
 Crossing a low rise, they saw a wide stretch of wheat 
 beneath them, with a house and other buildings near its 
 margin. 
 
 " That," said George, " is Sylvia's farm." 
 
 Half an hour later, they drove through the wheat, at 
 which George glanced dubiously ; and then, traversing 
 a belt of light sandy clods partly grown with weeds, 
 they drew up before the house. It was double-storied, 
 roomy, and neatly built of wood; but it was in very
 
 THE PRAIRIE 57 
 
 bad repair, and the barn and stables had a neglected 
 and half-ruinous look. Implements and wagons 
 which had suffered from exposure to the weather, 
 stood about outside. Edgar noticed that George's 
 face was grave. 
 
 " I am afraid we have our work cut out," he said. 
 " We'll put up the team, and then look round the 
 place and see what needs doing first"
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 GEORGE GETS TO WORK 
 
 rT was an oppressive evening, after a day of 
 unusual heat. Edgar sat smoking outside the home- 
 stead. He had been busy since six o'clock that morn- 
 ing, and he felt tired and downcast. Massed thunder- 
 clouds brooded over the silent prairie, wheat and grass 
 had faded to dingy green and lifeless gray, and Edgar 
 tried to persuade himself that his moodiness was the 
 effect of the weather. This was partly the case, but 
 he was also suffering from homesickness and a shrink- 
 ing from what was new and strange. 
 
 The wooden house had a dreary, dilapidated look; 
 the weathered, neglected appearance of barns and 
 stables was depressing. It was through a neighbor- 
 ing gap in the fence that Marston's team had brought 
 their lifeless master home; and Edgar had seen enough 
 to realize that the man must have grown slack and 
 nerveless before he had succumbed. The farm had 
 broken down Marston's strength and courage, and 
 now another man, less gifted in many ways, had taken 
 it in charge. Edgar wondered how he would suc- 
 ceed ; but in spite of a few misgivings he had confidence 
 In George. 
 
 After a while the latter, who had been examining 
 Marston's farming books, came out, looking grave; 
 he had worn a serious air since their arrival. 
 
 58
 
 GEORGE GETS TO WORK 59 
 
 " There'll have to be a change," he said. " Dick's 
 accounts have given me something to think about. 
 I believe I'm beginning to understand now how 
 his money went." 
 
 " I suppose you haven't got the new program cut 
 and dried yet ? " Edgar suggested. 
 
 George was seldom precipitate. 
 
 " No," he answered. " I've a few ideas in my 
 mind." 
 
 " Won't you have some trouble about finances, if 
 the alterations are extensive? " 
 
 " I'll have to draw on my private account, unless 
 Herbert will assist." 
 
 " Herbert won't do anything of the kind," said Ed- 
 gar decidedly. 
 
 George, making no answer, called Grierson from 
 the stable. 
 
 " You'll drive in to the settlement after breakfast 
 to-morrow, Tom," he said. " Tell the man I'll keep 
 the team, if he'll knock off twenty dollars, and he can 
 have his check when he likes. Then bring out the flour 
 and groceries." 
 
 " I suppose I won't be going in again for a while ; 
 we'll be too busy? " 
 
 " It's very likely," said Edgar, knowing his com- 
 rade's temperament. 
 
 " Then I wonder if I could draw a pound or two? " 
 asked Grierson diffidently. 
 
 "Why?" George questioned him. "The Immi- 
 gration people would see that you had some money be- 
 fore they let you in." 
 
 " I've four pounds now ; I want to send something 
 home at once,"
 
 60 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " Ah ! " said George. " I see. How much did you 
 leave your wife?" 
 
 " About three pounds, sir ; I had to bring enough to 
 pass me at Quebec." 
 
 " Then if you give me what you have, I'll let you 
 have a check for twice as much on an English bank. 
 Better get your letter written." 
 
 Grierson's look was very expressive as he turned 
 away with a word of thanks; and Edgar smiled at 
 George. 
 
 " You have bought that fellow for an advance 
 of four pounds," he said. 
 
 George showed a little embarrassment. 
 
 " I was thinking of the woman," he explained. 
 
 Then he pointed to the prairie. 
 
 " There's a rig coming. It looks like visitors." 
 
 Soon afterward, Grant, whom they had met on 
 the train, drew up his team and helped his daughter 
 down. 
 
 " We were passing and thought we'd look in," he 
 said. " Found out yesterday that you were located 
 here." 
 
 George called Grierson to take the team, and lead- 
 ing the new arrivals to the house, which was still in 
 disorder, he found them seats in the kitchen. It was 
 rather roughly and inadequately furnished, and Edgar 
 had decided that Sylvia had spent little of her time 
 there. After they had talked for a while, a man, 
 dressed in blue duck trousers, a saffron-colored shirt, 
 and an old slouch hat, which he did not remove, 
 walked in, carrying a riding quirt. Grant returned 
 his greeting curtly, and then the man addressed 
 George.
 
 GEORGE GETS TO WORK 61 
 
 " I heard you were running this place," he said. 
 
 " That's correct." 
 
 " Then I put in the wheat on your summer fallow ; 
 Mrs. Marston told me to. Thought I'd come along 
 and let you have the bill." 
 
 His manner was assertively offhand, and George 
 did not ask him to sit down. 
 
 " It's a very second-rate piece of work," George 
 said. " You might have used the land-packer more 
 than you did." 
 
 " It's good enough. Anyway, I'll trouble you for 
 the money." 
 
 Edgar was sensible of indignation mixed with 
 amusement. This overbearing fellow did not know 
 George Lansing. 
 
 " I think you had better take off your hat before we 
 go any farther it's customary. Then you may tell 
 me what I owe you." 
 
 The man looked astonished, but he complied with 
 the suggestion, and afterward stated his charge, which 
 was unusually high. Edgar noticed that Grant was 
 watching George with quiet interest. 
 
 " I suppose you have a note from Mrs. Marston 
 fixing the price ? " 
 
 The other explained that the matter had been ar- 
 ranged verbally. 
 
 " Was anybody else present when you came to 
 terms?" George asked. 
 
 ' You can quit feeling, and pay up ! " exclaimed the 
 stranger. " I've told you how much it is." 
 
 " The trouble is that you're asking nearly double 
 the usual charge per acre." 
 
 Grant smiled approvingly, but the man advanced
 
 62 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 with a truculent air to the table at which George was 
 sitting. 
 
 " I've done the work ; that's good enough for me." 
 
 " You have done it badly, but I'll give you a check 
 now, based on the regular charge, which should come 
 to" George made a quick calculation on a strip of 
 paper and handed it to the man. " This is merely 
 because you seem in a hurry. If you're not satisfied, 
 you can wait until I get an answer from Mrs. Mar- 
 ston; or I'll ask some of my neighbors to arbitrate." 
 
 The man hesitated, with anger in his face. 
 
 " I guess I'll take the check," he said sullenly. 
 
 Crossing the floor, George took a pen and some 
 paper from a shelf. 
 
 " Sit here," he said, when he came back, " and 
 write me a receipt." 
 
 The other did as he was bidden, and George pointed 
 toward the door. 
 
 " That's settled ; I won't keep you." 
 
 The man looked hard at him, and then went quietly 
 out; and Grant leaned back in his seat with a soft 
 laugh. 
 
 " You fixed him," he remarked. " He has the name 
 of being a tough." 
 
 " I suppose an Englishman newly out is considered 
 lawful prey." 
 
 " A few of them deserve it," Grant returned dryly. 
 " But let that go. What do you think of the place ? " 
 
 George felt that he could trust the farmer. He 
 had spent a depressing day, during which all he saw 
 had discouraged him. Marston had farmed in a 
 singularly wasteful manner; fences and outbuildings 
 were in very bad repair; half the implements were
 
 GEORGE GETS TO WORK 63 
 
 useless ; and it would be a long and costly task to put 
 things straight. 
 
 " I feel that I'll have my hands full. In fact, I'm 
 a little worried about it; there are so many changes 
 that must be made." 
 
 " Sure. Where are you going to begin? " 
 
 " By getting as much summer fallowing as possible 
 done on the second quarter-section. The first has 
 been growing wheat for some time; I'll sew part of 
 that with timothy. There's one bit of stiff land I 
 might put in flax. I've thought of trying corn for 
 the silo." 
 
 " Timothy and a silo ? " commented Grant. 
 " You're going in for stock, then ? It means laying 
 out money, and a slow return." 
 
 " I'm afraid so. Still, you can't grow cereals year 
 after year on this light soil. It's a wasteful practise 
 that will have to be abandoned, as people here seem 
 to be discovering. Grain won't pay at sixteen bushels 
 to the acre." 
 
 " A sure thing," Grant agreed. " I'm sticking right 
 to wheat, but that's because I'm too old to change 
 my system, and I'm on black soil, which holds out 
 longer." 
 
 " But you're taking the nature out of it." 
 
 " It will see me through if I fallow," said Grant. 
 " When I've done with it and sell out, somebody else 
 can experiment with mixed crops and stock-raising. 
 That's going to become the general plan, but it's 
 costly at the beginning." Then he rose. " I'll walk 
 round the place with you." 
 
 They went out, and the girl fell behind with Edgar. 
 He had learned that her name was Flora.
 
 64 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " Mr. Lansing seems to understand farming," she 
 remarked. " He didn't tell us he had been on the 
 prairie before." 
 
 " He hasn't told you now," Edgar pointed out. 
 " George never does tell things about himself unless 
 there's a reason." 
 
 " He soon got rid of the fellow who sowed the 
 crop." 
 
 Edgar laughed. 
 
 " I knew the man would meet with a surprise. 
 George's abilities are not, as a rule, obvious at first 
 sight. People find them out by accident, and then 
 they're somewhat startled." 
 
 " You're evidently an admirer of his. Do you mean 
 to go in for farming? " 
 
 " I am, though I wouldn't have him suspect it," said 
 Edgar. " In answer to the other question, I haven't 
 made up my mind. Farming as it's carried on in 
 this country seems to be a rather arduous occupation. 
 In the meanwhile, I'm undergoing what English peo- 
 ple seem to think of as the Canadian cure ; that is, 
 I've been given a chance for readjusting my ideas and 
 developing my character." 
 
 " Under Mr. Lansing's guidance ? " 
 
 Edgar realized that the girl was less interested in 
 him than in George, but he did not resent this. 
 
 " You're smart. I believe my people entertained 
 some idea of that nature; George is considered safe. 
 Still, to prevent any misapprehension, I'd better point 
 out that my chief failings are a fondness for looking 
 at the amusing side of things and a slackness in avail- 
 ing myself of my opportunities. As an instance of
 
 GEORGE GETS TO WORK 65 
 
 the latter defect, I'm boring you by talking about Lan- 
 sing." 
 
 Flora regarded him with a quiet smile. 
 
 " It struck me that you were saying something about 
 yourself." 
 
 " I suppose that's true," Edgar admitted. " It 
 clears the ground." 
 
 "For what?" 
 
 " For an extension of our acquaintance, among 
 other things." 
 
 " Do you want it extended? " 
 
 They had stopped at the edge of a hollow filled with 
 tall, harsh grass, and Edgar studied her while he con- 
 sidered his answer. There was nothing that suggested 
 coquetry in the faint amusement she displayed; this 
 was a girl with some depth of character, though he 
 realized that she was pretty. She carried herself 
 well ; she was finely and strongly made ; her gray eyes 
 were searching; and she had a rather commanding 
 manner. Her hair was a warm brown, clustering low 
 on a smooth forehead; nose and lips and chin were 
 firmly molded. 
 
 "Yes," he answered candidly; "I'm feeling the 
 strangeness of the country, and I've an idea that both 
 George and I may need friends in it. It strikes me 
 that you and your father would prove useful ones." 
 
 " Well," she said, " he's sometimes called hard, and 
 he's a little prejudiced on certain points, but he can be 
 very staunch to those he takes a liking to." 
 
 " I believe," Edgar rejoined, " that also applies to 
 you ; I don't mean the first of it." 
 
 Flora changed the subject.
 
 66 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " I gather that you're not favorably impressed with 
 the place." 
 
 " I'm not. If I had to farm it, I'd feel scared; and 
 I don't think George is happy. It's hard to under- 
 stand how Marston let it get into such a state." 
 
 " He was unfitted for the work, and he was further 
 handicapped." 
 
 "How?" Edgar asked. 
 
 " You may have noticed that while economy ruled 
 outside, the house is remarkably well furnished. The 
 money Marston spent in Winnipeg stores should have 
 gone into the land." 
 
 Edgar nodded; he did not agree with George's 
 opinion of Sylvia. 
 
 " You don't seem to approve of the way Mrs. Mar- 
 ston managed things. It's rather curious. I always 
 thought her pretty capable in some respects." 
 
 " That's very possible," said Flora with a hint of 
 dryness. 
 
 " After all, it may not have been her fault," Edgar 
 suggested. " Marston was a generous fellow ; he may 
 have insisted on thinking first of her comfort." 
 
 " Then she ought to have stopped him," said Flora 
 firmly. " Do you think a woman should let a man 
 spoil his one chance of success in order to surround 
 her with luxury ? " 
 
 " The answer's obvious." 
 
 A dazzling flash of lightning leaped from the mass 
 of somber cloud overhead, and they turned back to- 
 ward the house, which George and Grant reached soon 
 afterward. Grant said that he must get home before 
 the storm broke, and Grierson brought out his spir- 
 ited team. It had grown nearly dark; a curious
 
 GEORGE GETS TO WORK 67 
 
 leaden haze obscured the prairie; and when the man 
 was getting into his light, spring-seated wagon, a 
 jagged streak of lightning suddenly reft the gloom 
 and there was a deafening roll of thunder. The horses 
 started, Grant fell backward from the step, dropping 
 the reins; and while the others stood dazzled by the 
 flash, the terrified animals backed the vehicle with 
 a crash against the stable. Then they plunged madly 
 forward toward the fence, with the reins trailing along 
 the ground. Flora had got in before her father, and 
 she was now helpless. 
 
 It was too late when Grant got up; Grierson and 
 Edgar were too far away, and the latter stood still, 
 wondering with a thrill of horror what the end would 
 be; he did not think the horses saw the thin wire 
 fence, and the gap in it was narrow. If they struck 
 a post in going through, the vehicle would overturn. 
 Then George, running furiously, sprang at the horses' 
 heads, and went down, still holding on. He was 
 dragged along a few yards, but the pace slackened, 
 and Edar ran forward with Grierson behind him. 
 For a few moments there was a savage struggle, but 
 they stopped and held the team, until Grant coolly 
 cleared the reins and flung them to his daughter. 
 
 " Stick tight while I get up, and then watch out," he 
 said to the others. 
 
 He was seated in another moment, the girl quietly 
 making room for him ; then, to Edgar's astonishment, 
 he lashed the frantic horses with the whip, and, plung- 
 ing forward, they swept madly through the opening 
 in the fence, with the wagon jolting from rut to rut. 
 A minute or two afterward they had vanished into 
 the thick obscurity that veiled the waste of grass, and
 
 68 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 there was a dazzling flash and a stunning roll of thun- 
 der. George, flushed and breathless, looked around 
 with a soft laugh. 
 
 " Grant has pretty good nerve," he said. 
 
 " That's so, sir," Grierson agreed. " Strikes me 
 he'll take some of the wickedness out of his team be- 
 fore he gets them home. I noticed that Miss Grant 
 didn't look the least bit afraid." 
 
 Then a deluge of rain drove them into the house, 
 where Edgar sat smoking thoughtfully; for what 
 Flora Grant had said about Sylvia had a disturbing 
 effect on him. It looked as if her selfish regard for 
 her comfort had hampered Marston in his struggle; 
 and though Edgar had never had much faith in Sylvia, 
 this was painful to contemplate. Moreover, George 
 cherished a steadfast regard for her, which compli- 
 cated things; but Edgar prudently decided that the 
 matter was a delicate one and must be left to the peo- 
 ple most concerned. After all, Miss Grant might be 
 mistaken.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 A CATTLE DRIVE 
 
 GEORGE was summer fallowing, sitting in the 
 iron saddle of a plow which a heavy Clydesdale 
 team hauled through the stubble. The work should 
 have been done earlier, for the soil on the Marston 
 farm was very light, and, as it had already grown 
 several crops of cereals, George was anxious to ex- 
 pose it to the influence of sun and wind as soon as 
 possible. It was about the middle of the afternoon 
 and very hot. Rounded cloud-masses overhung the 
 plain, but dazzling sunshine fell on grass and stubble, 
 and a haze of dust surrounded the team, while now 
 and then the fine soil and sand, blown from the rest 
 of the fallow by the fresh breeze, swept by in streams. 
 George wore motor-goggles to protect his eyes, but 
 his face and hands felt scorched and sore. Farther 
 back, Edgar plodded behind a 'lighter team, making 
 very poor progress. 
 
 Presently George looked up and saw Flora Grant 
 riding toward him. She sat astride, but her skirt fell 
 in becoming lines, and he thought the gray blouse and 
 wide Stetson hat, with a red band round it, most 
 effective. She reined up her horse near the plow, and 
 George got down. 
 
 " I was passing going on to Forsyth's place 
 
 69
 
 70 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 and my father asked me to call," she said. " You 
 were talking about buying cattle, and a man at Dun- 
 blane has some good Herefords to sell. Father thinks 
 they would suit you." 
 
 " His recommendation carries weight," said George. 
 " I'll go and see them. I must thank you for bringing 
 me word." 
 
 " I've another message. It's this when you're 
 buying stock, be cautious how you bid." 
 
 " As I'm not well up in local prices, I wish Mr. 
 Grant had been a little plainer." 
 
 " He went farther than I expected. You see, as a 
 friend of the seller, he's awkwardly fixed." 
 
 " Just so," said George. " But, if you're not in the 
 same position, you might give me a hint. How much 
 is the value of Canadian cattle usually below the price 
 likely to be asked of a new arrival ? " 
 
 " In this case, I should say about fifty per cent," 
 Flora answered, with a laugh. 
 
 " Thank you," responded George. " I am sure 
 your opinion's to be relied on." 
 
 Edgar stopped his team near by, and Flora regarded 
 him with amusement as he came toward them, his red 
 face streaked with dust. 
 
 " You look a good deal more like a western farmer 
 than you did when I saw you last," she laughed. 
 
 Edgar removed his goggles and surveyed his work- 
 ing attire somewhat disgustedly. 
 
 " I wonder whether that's a compliment ; but now 
 that I've made the first plunge, I'd better go through 
 with it get a flappy hat and a black shirt, or one 
 of those brilliant orange ones." 
 
 '' The latter are more decorative. But, as you are
 
 A CATTLE DRiyE 71 
 
 going on a two days' journey to drive some cattle, I'll 
 tell you how to find the way." 
 
 " You had better tell George. I can only remem- 
 ber the things that interest me." 
 
 Flora gave them clear instructions, and when she 
 rode away George turned to Edgar. 
 
 " You'll have to come, and we'll start at once. 
 Grierson can go on plowing with the Clydesdales, 
 which is more than you could do." 
 
 " I'm afraid I must admit it," said Edgar, glancing 
 at his ragged furrow. " But I'm going to have my 
 supper and put up some provisions before I leave the 
 place." 
 
 They set out an hour later, and safely reached their 
 destination, where George purchased a dozen cattle. 
 They were big, red and white, long-horned animals, 
 accustomed to freedom, for fences are still scarce on 
 tracts of the prairie, and they ranged about the corral 
 in a restless manner. Edgar, leaning on the rails, 
 watched them dubiously. 
 
 " They look unusually active," he remarked. " I'm 
 not an expert at cattle-driving, but I suppose two of 
 us ought to take them home." 
 
 The rancher laughed. 
 
 " Two's quite a good allowance for that small bunch, 
 but if you keep north among the scrub poplar, you 
 won't be bothered by many fences. It's pretty dry 
 in summer, but you'll get good water in Baxter's 
 well, if you head for the big bluff you'll see to- 
 morrow afternoon. We'll let them out when you're 
 ready." 
 
 As soon as the rails were flung down, the cattle 
 rushed out tumultuously, as if rejoicing in their re-
 
 72 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 stored freedom. Then, \vhile George and his com- 
 panion mounted, they started off across the prairie at 
 a steady trot. 
 
 " A mettlesome lot ; seem to be in good training," 
 Edgar commented. " Have you any idea where 
 they're going ? " 
 
 " Guess they're heading for a creek two miles back ; 
 water's scarce," explained the rancher. " As it's near 
 the trail, you had better let them go. You'll round 
 them up quite easy when they've had a drink." 
 
 George and Edgar rode after the cattle. The sun 
 was getting low, but the temperature showed no signs 
 of falling, and the men were soon soaked in perspira- 
 tion. The herd went on at a good pace, making for 
 a wavy line of timber, and on reaching it, plunged 
 down the side of a declivity among little scattered 
 trees. A stream trickled through willow bushes and 
 tall grass in the bottom of the hollow, and the men 
 had trouble in forcing the cattle to leave the water. 
 Before they accomplished it, Edgar had got very wet 
 and had scratched himself badly in scrambling through 
 the brush. 
 
 " Driving stock is by no means so easy as it looks," 
 he grumbled, when they had climbed the opposite as- 
 cent, leading their horses. " The way these beasts 
 jump about among the bushes confuses you; I'd have 
 sworn there were forty of them in the ravine." 
 
 " I see only nine now," George said pointedly. 
 
 Edgar looked back into the hollow. 
 
 " There are three of the brutes slipping away up- 
 stream as fast as they can go! You're smarter at 
 the thing than I am hadn't you better go after 
 them?"
 
 A CATTLE DRIVE 73 
 
 " I expect I'll be needed to keep this bunch to- 
 gether," George rejoined. 
 
 Edgar strode away, but it was half an hour later 
 when he came back, hot and angry, with the cattle 
 crashing through the brush in front of him. Then 
 the reunited herd set off at a smart pace across the 
 plain. 
 
 " They seem fond of an evening gallop," Edgar 
 remarked. " Anyhow, they're going the right way, 
 which strikes me as something to be thankful for." 
 
 They rode on, and it was getting dark when they 
 checked the herd near a straggling poplar bluff. The 
 grass was good, the beasts began to feed quietly, and 
 after picketing their horses the men lay down on their 
 blankets. It was growing cooler, a vivid band of 
 green still flickered along the prairie's rim, and the 
 deep silence was intensified by the soft sound the cat- 
 tle made cropping the dew-damped herbage. 
 
 " I wonder if they go to sleep," mused Edgar. " I'm 
 beginning to think this kind of thing must be rather 
 fine when one gets used to it. It's a glorious 
 night." 
 
 By and by he drew his blanket round him and sank 
 into slumber; but for a while George, who had paid 
 a high price for a Hereford bull, lay awake, thinking 
 and calculating. It would cost a good deal more than 
 he had anticipated to work the farm; Sylvia had no 
 funds that could be drawn upon, and his means were 
 not large. Economy and good management would 
 be needed, but he was determined to make a success 
 of his undertaking. At last, seeing that the herd 
 showed no signs of moving, he went to sleep. 
 
 Awakening at sunrise George found that, except for
 
 74 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 the horses, there was not a beast in sight. For an 
 hour he 'and West hunted them through the bluff; and 
 then, after making a hurried breakfast, they went on 
 their way again. It rapidly got hotter, the stock trav- 
 eled quietly, and, with a halt or two where a clump 
 of poplars offered a little shade, they rode, scorched 
 by dazzling sunshine, across the limitless plain. In 
 the afternoon George began to look eagerly for the 
 bluff that the rancher mentioned. They had found 
 no water, and the cattle seemed distressed. The glare 
 and heat were getting intolerable, but the vast, gradual 
 rise in front of them ran on, unbroken, to the sky- 
 line. Its crest, however, must be crossed before even- 
 ing; and they toiled on. 
 
 At last, the long ascent was made, and George felt 
 relieved when he saw a dark line of trees in the wide 
 basin below him. 
 
 " That must be the big bluff where the well is ; 
 though I don't see a house," he said. 
 
 They had some trouble in urging the herd down the 
 slope, but after a while they reached the welcome 
 shadow of the trees, and Edgar broke into a shout 
 when he saw a rude wooden platform with a windlass 
 upon it and a trough near by. 
 
 " Ride ahead with the horses and water them," said 
 George, dismounting. 
 
 Edgar did as he was bidden, but presently the herd, 
 attracted by the sight of water, came surging round 
 the trough, savagely jostling one another. The lad 
 worked hard with the windlass, but he could not keep 
 them supplied, and they crowded on the low platform 
 covering the well, with heads stretched out eagerly 
 toward the dripping bucket. After being flung
 
 A CATTLE DRIVE 75 
 
 against the windlass by a thirsty beast, Edgar called 
 to his companion. 
 
 "They'll break through if you're not quick! It's 
 my opinion they're bent on getting down the well ! " 
 
 George came to his assistance with his riding quirt, 
 but when they were supplying the last two or three 
 unsatisfied animals, a man ran out of the bluff. 
 
 " What in thunder are you doing with our water? " 
 he. cried. 
 
 " He looks angry," Edgar commented. " When 
 that rancher fellow told us about the well, he didn't 
 mention the necessity of asking Mr. Baxter's permis- 
 sion." Then he waved his hand to the stranger. 
 " Come here and have a talk! " 
 
 The man came on at a quicker run. His face was 
 hot with indignation, and on reaching them he broke 
 into breathless and pointed expostulations. 
 
 " When you're quite through, we'll assess the dam- 
 ages," George quietly told him. 
 
 The farmer's anger began to dissipate. 
 
 " No," he said ; " that would be taking a pretty 
 mean pull on you; but water's scarce, and you can't 
 have any more." 
 
 " Well," requested George, " have you a paddock or 
 corral you could let me put this bunch of cattle into 
 until the morning? I'm willing to pay for the accom- 
 modation." 
 
 " I can't do it," replied the other. " I want all the 
 fenced grass I've got. Take them right along, and 
 you'll strike a creek about six miles ahead. Then 
 you ought to make the river to-morrow night." 
 
 It was obvious that he desired to be rid of them; 
 and as it was getting cooler George resumed his
 
 7 6 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 journey. He found the creek early the next morn- 
 ing, and as the day promised to be unusually hot he 
 delayed only until he had watered the stock. In an 
 hour or two the sun was hidden by banks of leaden 
 cloud, but the temperature did not fall and there was 
 an oppressive heaviness in the air. The prairie had 
 faded to a sweep of lifeless gray, obscured above its 
 verge. The men made progress, however; and late 
 in the afternoon a winding line of timber that marked 
 the river's course appeared ahead. Shortly afterward, 
 Edgar looked around. 
 
 " That's a curious streak of haze in the distance," 
 he remarked. 
 
 " It's smoke," said George. " Grass fires are not 
 uncommon in hot weather. It looks like a big one." 
 
 They urged the cattle on a little faster, but it was 
 evening when they reached the first of the trees. 
 George rode forward between them and pulled up his 
 horse in some concern. The ford had been difficult 
 when they crossed it on the outward journey, but now 
 the space between bank and bank was filled by an 
 angry flood. It rolled by furiously, lapping in frothy 
 ripples upon the steep slope that led down to it. 
 
 " Nearly an extra three feet of water; there'd be a 
 risk in crossing," he said, when Edgar joined him. 
 " We couldn't make the place where the trail runs in, 
 and the landing down-stream from it looks bad." 
 
 " Then what ought we to do ? " Edgar inquired. 
 
 " Wait until to-morrow. There's no doubt been a 
 heavy thunderstorm higher up, but the water should 
 soon run down." George glanced back toward the 
 prairie dubiously. " I'm a little anxious about the 
 fire; but, after all, it may not come near us."
 
 A CATTLE DRIVE 77 
 
 The cattle did not wander far after drinking, and 
 the men ate their supper. It grew dark, but the heat 
 did not lessen, and the oppressive air was filled with a 
 smell of burning. Looking back between the trees, 
 they could see a long streak of yellow radiance leaping 
 up, and growing dim when the view was obstructed 
 by clouds of smoke. 
 
 " It's an awkward situation, and, as if it were not 
 bad enough, there's a big thunderstorm brewing," Ed- 
 gar said at length. " I'll go along and look at the 
 mark you made upon the bank." 
 
 He strode away among the trees. It was very dark. 
 The tethered horses were moving restlessly; but, so 
 far as Edgar could make out, the cattle were bunched 
 together. After lighting a match he came back. 
 
 " The water's falling, but only slowly," he reported. 
 " Should we try to drive the stock along the bank? " 
 
 " We couldn't herd them in the dark. Besides, it's 
 an extensive fire, and I'm doubtful whether we could 
 get down to the water farther along." 
 
 They waited for an hour, keeping the cattle to- 
 gether with some trouble, and watching the blaze, 
 which grew brighter rapidly. At last, wisps of pun- 
 gent smoke rolled into the bluff. 
 
 " The beasts are ready to stampede ! " George sud- 
 denly called to Edgar. " We'll have to make a start ! 
 Get into the saddle and drive them toward the ford ! " 
 
 They were very busy for a while. Their horses 
 were hard to manage, the timber was thick, and the 
 herd attempted to break away through it; but at last 
 they reached the steep dip to the waterside. One 
 beast plunged in and vanished, more followed, and 
 George, plying his quirt and shouting, rode in among
 
 78 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 the diminishing drove. He felt the water lapping 
 about his boots, and then the horse lost its footing. 
 George dropped from the saddle and seized a stirrup. 
 For some minutes he could see a few dark objects 
 about him, but they disappeared, and he and the horse 
 were swept away down-stream. 
 
 He kept hold the animal was swimming strongly 
 and after a time a lurid flash of lightning showed 
 him a black mass of trees close ahead. They van- 
 ished, the succeeding darkness was impenetrable, and 
 the crash of thunder was deadened by the roar of 
 water. For a moment or two his head was driven 
 under, but when he got it clear, another dazzling flash 
 revealed a high bank only a few yards away, and when 
 thick darkness followed he felt the horse rise to its 
 feet. Then he touched soft bottom, and a little later 
 scrambled up an almost precipitous slope with the 
 bridle in his hand and the horse floundering behind 
 him. They reached the summit, and, stopping among 
 thin timber, it was with strong relief that he heard 
 Edgar's shout. Shortly afterward the lad appeared, 
 leading his horse. 
 
 " There's some of the drove on this side ; I don't see 
 the rest," he said, glancing toward the opposite bank, 
 where dark trees stood out against a strong red glare. 
 " It strikes me we only got across in time." 
 
 Then torrential rain broke upon them, and while 
 they stood, unable to move forward, a cry reached 
 them faintly through the roar of the deluge. It came 
 again \vhen George answered, and was followed by 
 a crackling and snapping of underbrush. Then, as a 
 blaze of lightning filled the bluff with radiance, two 
 men appeared for a moment, leading their horses
 
 A CATTLE DRIVE 79 
 
 among the slender trunks. They were immediately 
 lost to sight again, but presently they came up, and 
 George recognized Grant by his voice. 
 
 " So you have got through, Lansing," he cried. " I 
 met Constable Flett on the trail, and, as he told me the 
 river was rising and there was a big fire west, I figured 
 you must be up against trouble." 
 
 He asked a few questions and then resumed: 
 
 " As you got the stock started, they'll have swum 
 across; but we can't round them up until it's light. 
 There's a deserted shack not far off, and I guess we'll 
 head for it." 
 
 The constable agreed; and, mounting when they 
 had got out of the timber, they rode off through the 
 rain.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 CONSTABLE FLETT's SUSPICIONS 
 
 IT was nearly six o'clock in the evening when George 
 and his companions, who had spent part of the day 
 looking for the straying stock, rode up to the Grant 
 homestead through a vast stretch of grain. This 
 grew on the rich black soil they call " gumbo " in 
 the West; but here and there a belt of dark-colored 
 summer fallow checkered the strong green of the 
 wheat and oats. Though he clung to the one-crop 
 system, Alan Grant was careful of his land. The 
 fine brick house and range of smart wooden buildings, 
 the costly implements, which included a gasoline trac- 
 tor-plow, all indicated prosperity, and George recog- 
 nized that the rugged-faced man beside him had made 
 a marked success of his farming. 
 
 When the cattle had been secured, Flora Grant wel- 
 comed the new arrivals graciously, and after a while 
 they sat down to supper with the hired men in a big 
 room. It was plainly furnished, but there was every- 
 thing that comfort demanded, for the happy mean 
 between bareness and superfluity had been cleverly 
 hit, and George thought Miss Grant was responsible 
 for this. He sat beside her at the foot of the long 
 table and noticed the hired hands' attitude toward her. 
 It was respectful, but not diffident. The girl had no 
 need to assert herself ; she was on excellent terms with 
 
 80
 
 CONSTABLE FLETT'S SUSPICIONS 81 
 
 the sturdy toilers, who nevertheless cheerfully sub- 
 mitted to her rule. 
 
 When the meal was over, Grant led his guests into 
 a smaller room, and produced a bag of domestic to- 
 bacco. 
 
 " The stock have gone far enough," he said. 
 " You'll stay here to-night." 
 
 Flett looked doubtful, though it was obvious that 
 he wished to remain. He was a young, brown-faced 
 man, and his smart khaki uniform proclaimed him a 
 trooper of the Northwest Mounted Police. 
 
 " The trouble is that I'm a bit late on my round al- 
 ready," he protested. 
 
 " That's soon fixed," said Grant 
 
 He opened a roll-top desk, and wrote a note which 
 he read out : 
 
 " ' Constable Flett has been detained in the neigh- 
 borhood of this homestead through having rendered, 
 at my request, valuable assistance in rounding up a 
 bunch of cattle, scattered in crossing the flooded 
 river.' " 
 
 " Thanks," said Flett. " That kind of thing counts 
 when they're choosing a corporal." 
 
 Grant turned to George with a smile. 
 
 " Keep in with the police, Lansing I've known a 
 good supper now and then go a long way. They may 
 worry you about fireguards and fencing, but they'll 
 stand by you when you're in trouble, if you treat them 
 right. If it's a matter of straying stock, a sick horse, 
 or you don't know how to roof a new barn, you have 
 only to send for the nearest trooper." 
 
 " Aren't these things a little outside their duties? " 
 Edgar asked.
 
 82 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 The constable grinned. 
 
 " Most anything that wants doing badly is right in 
 our line." 
 
 " Sure," said Grant. " It's not long since Flett went 
 two hundred miles over the snow with a dog-team to 
 settle a little difference between an Indian and his 
 wife. Then he once brought a hurt trapper a fort- 
 night's journey on his sledge, sleeping in the snow, in 
 the bitterest weather. They were quite alone, and the 
 hurt man was crazy most of the time." 
 
 " Then you're supposed to look after the settlers, as 
 well as to keep order? " suggested Edgar, looking ad- 
 miringly at the sturdy young constable. 
 
 " That's so," replied Flett. " They certainly need 
 it. Last winter we struck one crowd in a lonely shack 
 up north man, woman, and several children huddle^ 
 on the floor, with nothing to eat, and the stove out 
 at forty degrees below. There was a bluff a few miles 
 off, but they hadn't a tool of any kind to cut cord- 
 wood with. Took us quite a while to haul them up 
 some stores, though we made twelve-hour marches 
 between our camps in the snow. We had to hustle 
 that trip." 
 
 He paused and resumed : 
 
 " Better keep an eye on that bunch of young horses, 
 Mr. Grant; bring them up nearer the house when the 
 nights get darker. Those Clydesdales are mighty fine 
 beasts and prices are high." 
 
 Grant looked astonished. 
 
 " I've been here a good many years, and I've never 
 lost a horse," he declared. 
 
 " It doesn't follow you'll always be as lucky," the 
 trooper said pointedly.
 
 83 
 
 " I was told that property is as safe in the West as 
 it is in England," Edgar broke in. 
 
 " Just so," remarked the trooper. " They say that 
 kind of thing. I never was in the old country, but 
 young mavericks aren't the only stock to go missing 
 in Alberta, which isn't a long way off. The boys 
 there have their hands full now and then, and we have 
 three or four of the worst toughs I've struck right in 
 Sage Butte." 
 
 Grant leaned forward on the table, looking steadily 
 at him. 
 
 " Hadn't you better tell me what you have in your 
 mind?" 
 
 " I can't give you much information, but we got a 
 hint from Regina to keep our eyes open, and from 
 things I've heard it's my idea that now that the boys 
 have nearly stopped the running of Alberta cattle 
 across the frontier, some of the toughs they couldn't 
 track mean to start the same game farther east. Some 
 of you ranchers run stock outside the fences, and I 
 guess one could still find a lonely trail to the American 
 border." 
 
 " Well," said Grant, " I'm glad you told me." He 
 turned to George. " Be careful, Lansing; you would 
 be an easier mark." 
 
 They strolled outside; and after a while George 
 joined Flora, and sauntered away across the grass with 
 her. It was a clear, still evening, and the air was 
 wonderfully fresh. 
 
 " Though he wouldn't let me thank him, I feel I'm 
 seriously indebted to your father, Miss Grant," he 
 said. " Our horses were worn out, and the stock 
 had all scattered when he turned up with the trooper."
 
 84 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " I believe he enjoyed the ride, and the night in the 
 rain," replied Flora. " You see, he had once to work 
 very hard here, and now that things have changed, 
 he finds it rather tame. He likes to feel he's still 
 capable of a little exertion." 
 
 " I shouldn't consider him an idle man." 
 
 Flora laughed. 
 
 " That would be very wrong; but the need for con- 
 tinual effort and the strain of making ends meet, with 
 the chance of being ruined by a frozen crop, have 
 passed. I believe he misses the excitement of it." 
 
 " Then I gather that he built up this great farm ? " 
 
 " Yes ; from a free quarter-section. He and my 
 mother started in a two-roomed shack. They were 
 both from Ontario, but she died several years ago." 
 The girl paused. " Sometimes I think she must have 
 had remarkable courage. I can remember her as al- 
 ways ready in an emergency, always tranquil." 
 
 George glanced at her as she stood, finely posed, 
 looking out across the waste of grass with gravely 
 steady eyes, and it occurred to him that she resembled 
 her mother in the respects she had mentioned. Never- 
 theless, he felt inclined to wonder how she had got 
 her grace and refinement. Alan Grant was forceful 
 and rather primitive. 
 
 " Have you spent much of your time here ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " No," she answered. " My mother was once a 
 school-teacher, and she must have had ambitious views 
 for me. When the farm began to prosper, I was sent 
 to Toronto. After that I went to Montreal, and 
 finally to England." 
 
 " You must be fond of traveling."
 
 CONSTABLE FLETT'S SUSPICIONS 85 
 
 " Oh," she said, with some reserve, " I had thought 
 of taking up a profession." 
 
 " And you have abandoned the idea ? " 
 
 She looked at him quietly, wondering whether she 
 should answer. 
 
 " I had no alternative," she said. " I began to real- 
 ize it after my mother's death. Then my father was 
 badly hurt in an accident with a team, and I came 
 back. He has nobody else to look after him, and he 
 is getting on in life." 
 
 Her words conveyed no hint of the stern struggle 
 between duty and inclination, but George guessed it. 
 This girl, he thought, was one not to give up lightly 
 the career she had chosen. 
 
 Then she changed the subject with a smile. 
 
 " I suspect that my father approves of you, per- 
 haps because of what you are doing with the land. 
 I think I may say that if you have any little difficulty, 
 or are short of any implements that would be useful, 
 you need only come across to us." 
 
 " Thank you," George responded quietly. 
 
 " Mr. West mentioned that you were on a farm 
 in this country once before. Why did you give it 
 up?" 
 
 " Somebody left me a little money." 
 
 'Then what brought you back?" 
 
 She was rather direct, but that is not unusual in the 
 West, and George was mildly flattered by the interest 
 she displayed. 
 
 " It's a little difficult to answer. For one thing, I 
 was beginning to feel that I was taking life too easily 
 in England. It's a habit that grows on one." 
 
 He had no desire to conceal the fact that he had
 
 86 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 come out on Sylvia's behalf it never occurred to 
 him to mention it. He was trying to analyze the feel- 
 ings which had rendered the sacrifice he made in leav- 
 ing home a little easier. 
 
 " I don't think the dread of acquiring that habit is 
 common among your people," Flora said mischie- 
 vously. " It doesn't sound like a very convincing 
 reason." 
 
 " No," replied George, with a smile. " Still, it had 
 some weight. You see, it isn't difficult to get lazy and 
 slack, and I'd done nothing except a little fishing and 
 shooting for several years. I didn't want to sink into 
 a mere lounger about country houses and clubs. It's 
 pleasant, but too much of it is apt to unfit one for any- 
 thing else." 
 
 " You believe it's safer, for example, to haul stove- 
 wood home through the Canadian frost or drive a 
 plow under the scorching sun ? " 
 
 " Yes; I think I feel something of the kind." 
 
 Flora somewhat astonished him by her scornful 
 laugh. 
 
 " You're wise," she said. " We have had sports- 
 men here from your country, and" I've a vivid memory 
 of one or two. One could see by their coarse faces 
 that they ate and drank too much; and they seemed 
 determined to avoid discomfort at any cost. I sup- 
 pose they could shoot, but they could neither strip a 
 gun nor carry it on a long day's march. The last 
 party thought it needful to take a teamload of supplies 
 when they went north after moose. It would have 
 been a catastrophe if they had missed their dinner." 
 
 " Going without one's dinner has its inconveniences," 
 said George.
 
 CONSTABLE FLETT'S SUSPICIONS 87 
 
 " And thinking too much about it has its perils," 
 she retorted. 
 
 George nodded. He thought he knew what she 
 meant, and he agreed with it. He could recall com- 
 panions who, living for pleasure, had by degrees lost 
 all zest for the more or less wholesome amusements 
 to which they had confined their efforts. Some had 
 become mere club loungers and tattlers; one or two 
 had sunk into gross indulgence. This had had its ef- 
 fect on him : he did not wish to grow red- faced, sloth- 
 ful, and fleshy, as they had done, nor to busy himself 
 with trivialities until such capacities for useful work 
 as he possessed had atrophied. 
 
 " Well," he said, " nobody could call this a good 
 country for the pampered loafer." 
 
 Flora smiled, and pointed out across the prairie. 
 In the foreground it was flecked with crimson flowers ; 
 farther back willow and poplar bluffs stretched in 
 bluish smears across the sweep of grass that ran on 
 beyond them toward the vivid glow of color on the 
 skyline. It was almost beautiful in the soft evening 
 light, but it conveyed most clearly a sense of vastness 
 and solitude. The effect was somehow daunting. 
 One thought of the Arctic winter and the savage 
 storms that swept the wilds. 
 
 " I've heard it called hard," she said. " It un- 
 doubtedly needs hard men ; there is nothing here that 
 can be easily won. That's a fact that the people 
 you're sending over ought to recognize." 
 
 ' They soon discover it when they get out. When 
 they've had a crop hailed or frozen, the thing becomes 
 obvious." 
 
 " Did you lose one? "
 
 88 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " I did," George rejoined rather gloomily. " I've a 
 suspicion that if we get much dry weather and the 
 usual strong winds, I may lose another. The wheat's 
 getting badly cut by driving sand; that's a trouble we 
 don't have to put up with in the old country." 
 
 " I'm sorry," said Flora, ; and he knew she meant it. 
 " But you won't be beaten by one bad season? " 
 
 " No," George answered with quiet determination. 
 " I must make a success of this venture, whatever it 
 costs." 
 
 She was a little puzzled by his manner, for she did 
 not think he was addicted to being needlessly em- 
 phatic; but she asked no questions, and soon after- 
 ward the others joined them and they went back to 
 the house. Early on the following morning, George 
 started homeward with his cattle, and as they rode 
 slowly through the barley-grass that fringed the trail, 
 Edgar looked at him with a smile. 
 
 " You spent some time in Miss Grant's company," 
 he remarked. " How did she strike you ? " 
 
 " I like her. She's interesting I think that's the 
 right word for it. Seems to understand things; talks 
 to you like a man." 
 
 " Just so," Edgar rejoined, with a laugh. " She's a 
 lady I've a high opinion of; in fact, I'm a little afraid 
 of her. Though I'm nearly as old as she is, she makes 
 me feel callow. It's a sensation that's new to me." 
 
 " And you're a man of experience, aren't you? " 
 
 " I suppose I was rather a favorite at home," Edgar 
 owned with humorous modesty. " For all that, I 
 don't feel myself quite up to Miss Grant's standard." 
 
 " I didn't notice any assumption of superiority on 
 her part."
 
 CONSTABLE FLETT'S SUSPICIONS 89 
 
 " Oh, no," said Edgar. " She doesn't require to as- 
 sume it ; the superiority's obvious ; that's the trouble. 
 One hesitates about offering her the small change of 
 compliments that generally went well at home. If 
 you try to say something smart, she looks at you as if 
 she were amused, not at what you said, but at you. 
 There's an embarrassing difference between the 
 things." 
 
 " The remedy's simple. Don't try to be smart." 
 
 " You would find that easy," Edgar retorted. 
 " Now, in my opinion, Miss Grant is intellectual, 
 which is more than anybody ever accused you of be- 
 ing, but I suspect you would make more progress with 
 her than I could do. Extremes have a way of meet- 
 ing, and perhaps it isn't really curious that your direct 
 and simple views should nov,- and then recommend 
 you to a more complex person." 
 
 " I notice a couple of beasts straying yonder," 
 George said dryly. 
 
 Edgar rode off to drive the animals up to the herd. 
 George, he thought, was painfully practical ; only such 
 a man could break off the discussion of a girl like Miss 
 Grant to interest himself in the movements of a wan- 
 dering steer. For all that, the beasts must be turned, 
 and they gave Edgar a hard gallop through willow 
 scrub and tall grass before he could head them off and 
 afterward overtake the drove.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 GEORGE TURNS REFORMER 
 
 GEORGE was working in the summer fallow a 
 few days after his return from Grant's home- 
 stead, when a man rode across the plowing and pulled 
 up his horse beside him. He was on the whole a 
 handsome fellow, well mounted and smartly dressed, 
 but there was a hint of hardness in his expression. 
 George recognized him as the landlord of a hotel at the 
 settlement. 
 
 " Your crop's not looking too good," the stranger 
 greeted him. 
 
 " No," returned George. " It was badly put in, 
 ajid we've had unusually dry weather." 
 
 " I forgot," the other rejoined. " You're the fel- 
 low Jake Gillet had the trouble with. Beat him down 
 on the price, didn't you? He's a bad man to bluff." 
 
 " The point that concerned me was that he asked a 
 good deal more than his work was worth." 
 
 The man looked at George curiously. 
 
 " That's quite possible, but you might have let him 
 down more gently than you did. As a newcomer, you 
 don't want to kick too much or run up against things 
 other folks put up with." 
 
 George wondered where the hint he had been given 
 led. 
 
 90
 
 GEORGE TURNS REFORMER 91 
 
 " I rode over to bring this paper for you to sign," 
 the man went on. 
 
 Glancing through it, George saw that it was a peti- 
 tion against any curtailment of the licenses at Sage 
 Butte, and a testimonial to the excellent manner in 
 which the Sachem Hotel was conducted by its owner, 
 Oliver Beamish. George had only once entered the 
 place, but it had struck him as being badly kept and 
 frequented by rather undesirable customers. 
 
 " Some fool temperance folks are starting a cam- 
 paign want to shut the hotels," his visitor explained. 
 " You'll put your name to this." 
 
 " I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me, Mr. Beamish. 
 I can't form an opinion; I haven't heard the other 
 side yet." 
 
 " Do you want to hear them ? Do you like that 
 kind of talk?" 
 
 George smiled, though he was not favorably im- 
 pressed by the man. His tone was too dictatorial; 
 George expected civility when asked a favor. 
 
 " After all," he said, " it would only be fair." 
 
 " Then you won't sign ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 Beamish sat silent a moment or two, regarding 
 George steadily. 
 
 " One name more or less doesn't matter much, but 
 I'll own that the opinion of you farmers who use my 
 hotel as a stopping-place counts with the authorities," 
 he told him. " I've got quite a few signatures. You 
 want to remember that it won't pay you to go against 
 the general wish." 
 
 There was a threat in his manner, and George's 
 face hardened.
 
 92 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " That consideration hasn't much weight with me," 
 he said. 
 
 " Well," returned Beamish, " I guess you're wrong; 
 but as there's nothing doing here, I'll get on." 
 
 He rode away, and George thought no more of the 
 matter for several days. Then as he was riding home 
 with Edgar from a visit to a neighbor who had a team 
 to sell, they stopped to rest a few minutes in the shade 
 of a poplar bluff. It was fiercely hot on the prairie, 
 but the wood was dim and cool, and George followed 
 Edgar through it in search of saskatoons. The red 
 berries were plentiful, and they had gone farther than 
 they intended when George stopped waist-deep in the 
 grass of a dry sloo, where shallow water had lain in 
 the spring. He nearly fell over something large and 
 hard. Stooping down, he saw with some surprise that 
 it was a wooden case. 
 
 " I wonder what's in it ? " he said. 
 
 " Bottles," reported Edgar, pulling up a board of 
 the lid. " One of the cure-everything tonics, accord- 
 ing to the labels. It strikes me as a curious place to 
 leave it in." 
 
 George carefully looked about. He could distin- 
 guish a faint track, where the grasses had been dis- 
 turbed, running straight across the sloo past the spot 
 he occupied; but he thought that the person who had 
 made the track had endeavored to leave as little mark 
 as possible. Then he glanced out between the poplar 
 trunks across the sunlit prairie. There was not a 
 house on it ; scarcely a clump of timber broke its even 
 surface. The bluff was very lonely; and George re- 
 membered that a trail which ran near by led to an
 
 GEORGE TURNS REFORMER 93 
 
 Indian reservation some distance to the north. While 
 he considered, Edgar broke in : 
 
 " As neither of us requires a pick-me-up, it might 
 be better to leave the thing where it is." 
 
 ' That," replied George, " is my own idea." 
 
 Edgar looked thoughtful. 
 
 ' The case didn't come here by accident ; and one 
 wouldn't imagine that tonics are in great demand in 
 this locality. I have, however, heard the liquor laws 
 denounced; and as a rule it's wise to leave matters 
 that don't concern you severely alone." 
 
 " Just so," said George. " We'll get on again, if 
 you have had enough berries." 
 
 On reaching the homestead, they found a note from 
 Miss Grant inviting them to come over in the evening ; 
 and both were glad to comply with it. When they 
 arrived, the girl led them into a room where a lady of 
 middle-age and a young man in clerical attire were 
 sitting with her father. 
 
 " Mrs. Nelson has come over from Sage Butte on 
 a mission," she said, when she presented them. " Mr. 
 Hardie, who is the Methodist minister there, is anx- 
 ious to meet you." 
 
 The lady was short and slight in figure but was 
 marked by a most resolute expression. 
 
 " The mission is Mr. Hardie's," she said. " I'm 
 merely his assistant. I suppose you're a temperance 
 reformer, Mr. Lansing?" 
 
 " No," George answered meekly ; " I can't say I 
 am." 
 
 ' Then you'll have to become one. How long is it 
 since you indulged in drink ? "
 
 94 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 George felt a little embarrassed, but Edgar, see- 
 ing Flora's smile and the twinkle in her father's eyes, 
 hastily came to his rescue. 
 
 " Nearly a month, to my knowledge. That is, if 
 you don't object to strong green tea, consumed in large 
 quantities." 
 
 " One should practise moderation in everything. 
 Everything!" 
 
 " It has struck me," said Edgar thoughtfully, " that 
 moderation is now and then desirable in temperance 
 reform." 
 
 Mrs. Nelson fixed her eyes on him \vith a severe 
 expression. 
 
 " Are you a scoffer ? " 
 
 " No," said Edgar ; " as a matter of fact, I'm open 
 to conviction, especially if you intend to reform the 
 Butte. In my opinion, it needs it." 
 
 " Well," responded the lady, " you're a signature, 
 anyway; and we want as many as we can get. But 
 we'll proceed to business. Will you state our views, 
 Mr. Hardie?" 
 
 The man began quietly, and George was favorably 
 impressed by him. He had a pleasant, sun-burned 
 face, and a well-knit but rather thin figure, which sug- 
 gested that he was accustomed to physical exertion. 
 As he could not afford a horse, he made long rounds 
 on foot to visit his scattered congregation, under 
 scorching sun and in the stinging frost. 
 
 " There are four churches in Sage Butte, but I some- 
 times fear that most of the good they do is undone in 
 the pool room and the saloons," he said. "Of the 
 latter, one cannot, perhaps, strongly object to the 
 Queen's."
 
 GEORGE TURNS REFORMER 95 
 
 " One should always object to a saloon," Mrs. 
 Nelson corrected him. 
 
 Hardie smiled good-humoredly. 
 
 " After all, the other's the more pressing evil. 
 There's no doubt about the unfortunate influence of 
 the Sachem." 
 
 " That's so," Grant agreed. " When I first came 
 out from Ontario, there wasn't a loafer in the town. 
 When the boys were through with their day's job, 
 they had a quiet talk and smoke and went to bed ; they 
 came here to work. Now the Sachem bar's full of 
 slouchers every night, and quite a few of them don't 
 do anything worth speaking of in the daytime, except 
 make trouble for decent folks. If the boys try to put 
 the screw on a farmer at harvest or when he has extra 
 wheat to haul, you'll find they hatched the mischief at 
 Beamish's saloon. But I've no use for giving those 
 fellows tracts with warning pictures." 
 
 " That," said Mrs. Nelson, " is by no means what 
 we intend to do." 
 
 " I'm afraid that admonition hasn't had much ef- 
 fect, and I agree with Mr. Grant that the Sachem is 
 a gathering place for doubtful characters," Hardie 
 went on. " What's worse, I've reasons for supposing 
 that Beamish gets some of them to help him in sup- 
 plying the Indians on the reservation with liquor." 
 
 This was a serious offense, and there was a pause, 
 during which Edgar glanced meaningly at George. 
 Then he made a pertinent remark. 
 
 " Four churches to two saloons is pretty long odds. 
 Why do you think it needful to call in the farmers? " 
 
 Hardie looked troubled, but he showed that he was 
 honest.
 
 96 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " The churches are thinly attended ; I'm the only 
 resident clergyman, and I'm sorry I must confess that 
 some of our people are indifferent: reluctant, or per- 
 haps half afraid, to interfere. They want a clear 
 lead ; if we could get a big determined meeting it might 
 decide the waverers." 
 
 " Then you're not sure of winning? " asked Grant. 
 
 " No," replied Hardie. " There'll be strong and 
 well-managed opposition; in fact, we have nearly ev- 
 erything against us. I've been urged to wait, but the 
 evil's increasing; those against us are growing 
 stronger." 
 
 "If you lose, you and your friends will find the 
 Butte pretty hot. But you feel you have a chance, a 
 fighting chance, and you mean to take it? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Then I'm with you," Grant declared with a grim 
 smile. " Don't mistake me : I take my glass of lager 
 when I feel like it there's some right here in the 
 house but, if it's needful, I can do without. I'm 
 not going into this thing to help you in preaching to 
 whisky-tanks and toughs it's the law I'm standing 
 for. If what you suspect is going on, we'll soon have 
 our colts rebranded and our calves missing. We have 
 got to clean out Beamish's crowd." 
 
 " Thanks," said Hardie, with keen satisfaction. 
 
 He turned to George. 
 
 " I'd be glad of your support, Mr. Lansing." 
 
 George sat silent a moment or two while Flora 
 watched him. Then he said quietly: 
 
 " My position's much the same as Mr. Grant's I 
 can do without. After what you have said about the 
 Sachem, I'll join you."
 
 GEORGE TURNS REFORMER 97 
 
 "And you?" Hardie asked Edgar. 
 
 The lad laughed. 
 
 " I follow my leader. The loungers about the 
 Sachem weren't civil to me; said unpleasant things 
 about my appearance and my English clothes. To 
 help to make them abstainers strikes me as a happy 
 thought." 
 
 Flora glanced at him in amused reproof, and Hardie 
 turned to Grant. 
 
 " What about your hired men ? " 
 
 " Count them in ; they go with me. If you have 
 brought any memorial along, I'll see they sign it." 
 
 " I wish all our supporters had your determination," 
 Mrs. Nelson remarked approvingly. 
 
 Hardie ventured a protest. 
 
 " I don't want any pressure put upon them, Mr. 
 Grant." 
 
 "Pressure?" queried the farmer. "I'll just ask 
 them to sign." 
 
 " I wonder if you're quite satisfied with the purity 
 of all your allies' motives, Mr. Hardie?" Edgar 
 inquired. 
 
 A smile crept into the clergyman's face. 
 
 " I don't think a leader's often in that position, Mr. 
 West; and considering what I'm up against, I can't 
 refuse any support that's offered me. It's one reason 
 why I've taken yours." 
 
 " Now that I've joined you, I'd better mention a lit- 
 tle discovery West and I made this afternoon," said 
 George. 
 
 Hardie's expression grew eager as he listened. 
 
 " It's certainly liquor for the reservation In- 
 dians," he broke out. "If we can fix the thing on
 
 98 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 Beamish I haven't a doubt that he's responsible 
 we can close the Sachem. " 
 
 " Then we had better decide how it's to be done," 
 Grant said curtly. 
 
 He ruled out several suggestions, and finally said : 
 
 " I expect the case will be sent for to-night, and we 
 want two witnesses who'll lie by in the sloo. One 
 of them ought to be a farmer ; but we'll see about that. 
 Guess your part is to find out how the liquor left the 
 Butte, Mr. Hardie. What do you think of the plan, 
 ma'am? " 
 
 " I leave it to you," said Mrs. Nelson, half re- 
 luctantly. " But be warned if the men can't close 
 the Sachem, the women of Sage Butte will undertake 
 the thing." 
 
 " Then we have only to decide who is to watch the 
 bluff," said Hardie. 
 
 " As I first mentioned the matter, I'll go, for one," 
 George volunteered. 
 
 " You're the right man," declared Grant. " As a 
 newcomer who's never been mixed up with local af- 
 fairs, your word would carry more weight with the 
 court. The opposition couldn't make you out a par- 
 tizan. But you want to recognize what you're doing 
 after this, you'll find yourself up against all the 
 Sachem toughs. It's quite likely they'll make trouble 
 for you." 
 
 " I wonder whether such reasons count for much 
 with Mr. Lansing? " Flora said suggestively. 
 
 George made no reply, but Edgar laughed. 
 
 " They don't, Miss Grant ; you can set your mind 
 at rest on that. You don't seem curious whether they 
 count with me."
 
 GEORGE TURNS REFORMER 99 
 
 " You're not going," Grant told him. " We must 
 have two men who can be relied on, and I can put 
 my hand on another who's younger and a little more 
 wiry than I am." He turned to George. " What 
 you have to do is to lie close in the sloo grass until the 
 fellows come for the liquor, when you'll follow them 
 to the reservation, without their seeing you. Then 
 you'll ride up and make sure you would know them 
 again. They should get there soon after daylight, as 
 they won't strike the bluff until it's dark, but there's 
 thick brush in the ravine the trail follows for the last 
 few miles. It won't matter if they light out, because 
 Flett will pick up their trail. I'll send for him right 
 off, but he could hardly get through before morning." 
 
 The party broke up shortly afterward, and George 
 rode home, wondering why he had allowed himself to 
 become involved in what might prove to be a trouble- 
 some matter. His ideas on the subject were not very 
 clear, but he felt that Flora Grant had expected him to 
 take a part. Then he had been impressed in Hardie's 
 favor ; the man was in earnest, ready to court popular 
 hostility, but he was nevertheless genial and free from 
 dogmatic narrow-mindedness. Behind all this, there 
 was in George a detestation of vicious idleness and 
 indulgence, and a respect for right and order. Since 
 he had been warned that the badly-kept hotel sheltered 
 a gang of loafers plotting mischief and willing to prey 
 upon men who toiled strenuously, he was ready for an 
 attempt to turn them out. He agreed with Grant : the 
 gang must be put down.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE LIQUOR-RUNNERS 
 
 T"\USK was closing in when George and the hired 
 -*-^ man whom Grant had sent with him reached 
 the bluff and tethered their horses where they would 
 be hidden among the trees. This done, George stood 
 still for a few moments, looking about. A dark, 
 cloud-barred sky hung over the prairie, which was 
 fast fading into dimness; the wood looked desolate 
 and forbidding in the dying light. He did not think 
 any one could have seen him and his companion enter 
 it. Then he and the man floundered through the 
 undergrowth until they reached the sloo, where they 
 hid themselves among the grass at some distance from 
 the case, which had not been removed. 
 
 There was no moon, and a fresh breeze swept 
 through the wood, waking eerie sounds and sharp 
 rustlings among the trees. Once or twice George 
 started, imagining that somebody was creeping 
 through the bushes behind him, but he was glad of 
 the confused sounds, because they would cover his 
 movements when the time for action came. His com- 
 panion, a teamster born on the prairie, lay beside him 
 amid the tall harsh grass that swayed to and fro with 
 a curious dry clashing. He broke into a soft laugh 
 when George suddenly raised his head. 
 
 " Only a cottontail hustling through the brush. 
 IOO
 
 THE LIQUOR-RUNNERS 101 
 
 Whoever's coming will strike the bluff on the other 
 side," he said. " Night's kind of wild ; pity it won't 
 rain. Crops on light soil are getting badly cut." 
 
 George glanced up at the patch of sky above the 
 dark mass of trees. Black and threatening clouds 
 drove across it ; but during the past few weeks he had 
 watched them roll up from the west a little after noon 
 almost every day. For a while, they shadowed the 
 prairie, promising the deluge he eagerly longed for; 
 and then, toward evening, they cleared away, and 
 pitiless sunshine once more scorched the plain. Grain 
 grown upon the stiff black loam withstood the drought, 
 but the light soil of the Marston farm was lifted by 
 the wind, and the sharp sand in it abraded the tender 
 stalks. It might cut them through if the dry weather 
 and strong breeze continued ; and then the crop which 
 was to cover his first expenses would yield him noth- 
 ing. 
 
 " Yes," he returned moodily. " It looks as if it 
 couldn't rain. We ought to go in more for stock- 
 raising; it's safer." 
 
 " Costs quite a pile to start with, and the ranchers 
 farther west certainly have their troubles. We had a 
 good many calves missing, and now and then prime 
 steers driven off, when I was range-riding." 
 
 " I haven't heard of any cattle-stealing about here." 
 
 " No," said the teamster. " Still, I guess we may 
 come to it ; there are more toughs about the settlement 
 than there used to be. Indians have been pretty 
 good, but I've known them make lots of trouble in 
 other districts by killing beasts for meat and picking 
 up stray horses. But that was where they had mean 
 whites willing to trade with them."
 
 102 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 George considered this. It had struck him that the 
 morality of the country had not improved since he had 
 last visited it; though this was not surprising in view 
 of the swarm of immigrants that were pouring in. 
 Grant had pithily said that once upon a time the boys 
 had come there to work; but it now looked as if a cer- 
 tain proportion had arrived on the prairie because no- 
 body could tolerate them at home. Flett and the 
 Methodist preacher seemed convinced that there were 
 a number of these undesirables hanging about Sage 
 Butte, ready for mischief. 
 
 " Well," he said, " I suppose the first thing to be 
 done is to stop this liquor-running." 
 
 They had no further conversation for another hour. 
 The poplars rustled behind them and the grass rippled 
 and clashed, but now and then the breeze died away 
 for a few moments, and there was a curious and al- 
 most disconcerting stillness. At last, in one of these 
 intervals, the Canadian, partly rising, lifted his hand. 
 
 " Listen ! " he said. " Guess I hear a team." 
 
 A low rhythmic drumming that suggested the beat 
 of hoofs rose from the waste, but it was lost as the 
 branches rattled and the long grass swayed noisily 
 before a rush of breeze. George thought the sound 
 had come from somewhere half a mile away. 
 
 " If they're Indians, would they bring a wagon ? " 
 he asked. 
 
 " It's quite likely. Some of the bucks keep smart 
 teams ; they do a little rough farming on the reserva- 
 tion. It would look as if they were going for sloo 
 hay, if anybody saw them." 
 
 George waited in silence, wishing he could hear the 
 thud of hoofs again. It was slightly daunting to lie
 
 THE LIQUOR-RUNNERS 103 
 
 still and wonder where the men were. It is never 
 very dark in summer on the western prairie, and 
 George could see across the sloo, but there was no 
 movement that the wind would not account for 
 among the black trees that shut it in. Several min- 
 utes passed, and George looked around again with 
 strained attention. 
 
 Suddenly a dim figure emerged from the gloom. 
 Another followed it, but they made no sound that 
 could be heard through the rustle of the leaves, and 
 George felt his heart beat and his nerves tingle as he 
 watched them flit, half seen, through the grass. Then 
 one of the shadowy objects stooped, lifting something, 
 and they went back as noiselessly as they had come. 
 In a few more moments they had vanished, and the 
 branches about them clashed in a rush of wind. It 
 died away, and there was no sound or sign of human 
 presence in all the silent wood. George, glad that the 
 strain was over, was about to rise, but his companion 
 laid a hand on his arm. 
 
 " Give 'em time to get clear. We don't want to 
 come up until there's light enough to swear to them 
 or they make the reservation." 
 
 They waited several minutes, and then, traversing 
 the wood, found their horses and mounted. The 
 grass stretched away, blurred and shadowy, and 
 though they could see nothing that moved upon it, a 
 beat of hoofs came softly back to them. 
 
 " Wind's bringing the sound," said the teamster. 
 " Guess they won't hear us." 
 
 They rode out into the gray obscurity, losing the 
 sound now and then. They had gone several leagues 
 when they came to the edge of a dark bluff. Draw-
 
 104 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 ing bridle, they sat and listened, until the teamster 
 broke the silence. 
 
 "There's a trail runs through; we'll try it." 
 
 The trail was difficult to find and bad to follow, for 
 long grass and willow-scrub partly covered it, and in 
 spite of their caution the men made a good deal of 
 noise. That, however, seemed of less importance, for 
 they could hear nothing ahead, and George looked 
 about carefully as they crossed a more open space. 
 The trees were getting blacker and more distinct; he 
 could see their tops clearly against the sky, and 
 guessed that dawn was near. How far it was to the 
 reservation he did not know, but there would be light 
 enough in another hour to see the men who had car- 
 ried off the liquor. Then he began to wonder where 
 the latter were, for there was now no sign of them. 
 
 Suddenly, when the wind dropped for a moment, a 
 faint rattle of wheels reached them from the depths of 
 the wood, and the teamster raised his hand. 
 
 " Pretty close," he said. " Come on as cautious as 
 you can. The reservation's not far away, and we 
 don't want them to get there much before us." 
 
 They rode a little more slowly ; but when the rattle 
 of wheels and thud of hoofs grew sharply distinct 
 in another lull, the man struck his horse. 
 
 " They've heard us ! " he cried. " We've got to run 
 them down ! " 
 
 George urged his beast, and there was a crackle of 
 brush about him as the black trees streamed past. 
 The thrill of the pursuit possessed him ; after weeks of 
 patient labor, he felt the exhilaration of the wild night 
 ride. The trail, he knew, was riddled here and there 
 with gopher holes and partly grown with brush that
 
 THE LIQUOR-RUNNERS 105 
 
 might bring his horse down, but this did not count. 
 He was glad, however, that the teamster was behind 
 him, because he could see the dim gap ahead between 
 the mass of trees, and he thought that it was rapidly 
 becoming less shadowy. The sound of hoofs and 
 wheels was growing louder ; they were coming up with 
 the fugitives. 
 
 " Keep them on the run ! " gasped the man behind. 
 " If one of us gets thrown, the other fellow will hold 
 right on ! " 
 
 A few minutes later George's horse plunged with a 
 crash through a break. 
 
 " We're off the trail ! " his companion cried. 
 " Guess it switches round a sloo ! " 
 
 They floundered through crackling brushwood until 
 they struck the track, and afterward rode furiously to 
 make up the lost time, with the sound of wheels lead- 
 ing them on. Then in the gap before them they saw 
 what seemed to be the back of a wagon which, to 
 George's surprise, suddenly disappeared. The next 
 moment a figure carrying something crossed the trail. 
 
 " To the right ! " cried the teamster. 
 
 George did not think his companion had seen the 
 man. He rode after him into the brush, and saw the 
 fellow hurrying through it with a load in his arms. 
 The man looked around. George could dimly make 
 out his dark face ; and his figure was almost clear. He 
 was an Indian and unusually tall. Then he plunged 
 into a screen of bushes, and George, riding savagely, 
 drove his horse at the obstacle. 
 
 He heard the twigs snap beneath him, a drooping 
 branch struck him hard ; and then he gasped with hor- 
 ror. In front there opened up a deep black rift in
 
 106 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 which appeared the tops of trees. Seeing it was too 
 late to pull up, he shook his feet clear of the stirrups. 
 He felt the horse plunge down, there was a shock, 
 and he was flung violently from the saddle. He 
 struck a precipitous slope and rolled down it, clutch- 
 ing at twigs, which broke, and grass, until he felt a 
 violent blow on his head. After that he knew noth- 
 ing. 
 
 It was broad daylight when consciousness returned, 
 and he found himself lying half-way down a steep 
 declivity. At the foot of it tall reeds and sedges in- 
 dicated the presence of water, and he realized that 
 he had fallen into a ravine. There was a small tree 
 near by, against which he supposed he had struck 
 his head ; but somewhat to his astonishment he could 
 not see his horse. It had apparently escaped better 
 than he had, for he felt dizzy and shaky and averse 
 to making an effort to get up, though he did not think 
 he had broken any bones. 
 
 After a while he fumbled for his pipe and found 
 some difficulty in lighting it, but he persevered, and 
 lay quiet while he smoked it out. The sunlight was 
 creeping down the gully, it was getting pleasantly 
 warm, and George felt dull and lethargic. Some 
 time had passed when he heard the teamster's shout 
 and saw the man scrambling down the side of the 
 ravine. 
 
 "Badly hurt?" he asked, on reaching George. 
 
 " No," said George ; " I don't think it's serious ; I 
 feel half asleep and stupid. Suppose that's because I 
 hit my head." 
 
 The other looked at him searchingly. His eyes 
 were heavy and his face had lost its usual color.
 
 THE LIQUOR-RUNNERS 107 
 
 " You want to get back to your homestead and lie 
 quiet a while. I didn't miss you until I'd got out of 
 the bluff, and then the wagon was close ahead." 
 
 " How was it you avoided falling in after me? " 
 
 " That's easy understood in the daylight. The trail 
 twists sharply and runs along the edge of the ravine. 
 I stuck to it; instead of turning, you went straight 
 on." 
 
 " Yes," said George, and mentioned having seen the 
 Indian who left the wagon. Then he asked : " But 
 what about the fellow you followed? " 
 
 His companion hesitated. 
 
 " Guess I've been badly fooled. I came up with him 
 outside the bluff when it was getting light, and he 
 stopped his team. Said he was quietly driving home 
 when he heard somebody riding after him, and as he'd 
 once been roughly handled by mean whites, he tried 
 to get away. Then as I didn't know what to do, 
 I allowed I'd keep him in sight until Constable Flett 
 turned up, and by and by we came to a deserted shack. 
 There's a well in the bluff behind it, and the buck 
 said his team wanted a drink; they certainly looked 
 a bit played out, and my mare was thirsty. He found 
 an old bucket and asked me to fill it." 
 
 " You didn't leave him with the horses ! " 
 
 " No, sir ; but what I did was most as foolish. I 
 let him go and he didn't come back. See how I was 
 fixed? If I'd gone into the bluff to look for him, 
 he might have slipped out and driven off, so I stood 
 by the beasts quite a while. It strikes me that team 
 wasn't his. At last Flett rode up with another 
 trooper. It seems Steve met them on the trail." 
 
 George nodded. Flett had arrived before he was
 
 io8 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 expected, because Grant's messenger had been saved a 
 long ride to his station. 
 
 "Well?" he said. 
 
 " When we couldn't find the buck, Flett sent his 
 partner off to pick up his trail, and then said we'd 
 better take the team along and look for you. I left 
 where the trail forks ; he was to wait a bit. Now do 
 you think you can get up? " 
 
 George did so, and managed with some assistance 
 to climb the slope, where his companion left him and 
 went off for the constable. Flett arrived presently, 
 and made George tell his story. 
 
 " The thing's quite plain," he said. " The fellow 
 you saw jumped off with the liquor, though one 
 wouldn't expect him to carry it far. You say he was 
 tall; did he walk a little lame? " 
 
 " It was too dark to tell. I'm inclined to think I 
 would know him again." 
 
 " Well," explained Flett, " this is the kind of thing 
 Little Ax is likely to have a hand in, and he's the 
 tallest buck in the crowd. I'll stick to the team until 
 we come across somebody who knows its owner. The 
 first thing we have to do is to find that case of liquor." 
 
 Half an hour later the teamster came back carrying 
 it, and set it down before the constable with a grin. 
 
 " Guess it's your duty to see what's in these bottles," 
 he remarked. " Shall I get one out ? " 
 
 " You needn't ; I've a pretty good idea," answered 
 Flett ; adding meaningly, " besides, it's the kind of 
 stuff a white man can't drink." Then he turned to 
 George. " I'd better take you home. You look kind 
 of shaky." 
 
 " What about my horse ? " George asked.
 
 THE LIQUOR-RUNNERS 109 
 
 " Guess he's made for home," said the teamster. 
 " I struck his trail, and it led right out of the woods." 
 
 George got into the wagon with some trouble, and 
 the teamster rode beside it when they set off. 
 
 " You haven't much to put before a court," he said 
 to Flett. 
 
 " No," the constable replied thoughtfully. " I'm 
 not sure our people will take this matter up ; anyway, 
 it looks as if we could only fix it on the Indians. This 
 is what comes of you folks fooling things, instead of 
 leaving them to us." 
 
 " The police certainly like a conviction," rejoined 
 the teamster, grinning. " They feel real bad when 
 the court lets a fellow off; seem to think that's their 
 business. Guess it's why a few of their prisoners 
 escape." 
 
 Flett ignored this, and the teamster turned to 
 George. 
 
 " I'll tell you what once happened to me. I was 
 working for a blamed hard boss, and it doesn't matter 
 why I quit without getting my wages out of him, but 
 he wasn't feeling good when I lit out behind a freight- 
 car. By bad luck, there was a trooper handy when a 
 train-hand found me at a lonely side-track. Well, 
 that policeman didn't know what to do with me. It 
 was quite a way to the nearest guard-room; they 
 don't get medals for corraling a man who's only stolen 
 a ride, and he had to watch out for some cattle 
 rustlers ; so wherever he went I had to go along with 
 him. We got quite friendly, and one night he said 
 to me, ' There's a freight that stops here nearly due. 
 I'll go to sleep while you get out on her.' ' 
 
 The teamster paused and added with a laugh :
 
 no RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " That's what I did, and I'd be mighty glad to set 
 the drinks up if I ever meet that man off duty. We'd 
 both have a full-size jag on before we quit." 
 
 " And you're one of the fellows who're running 
 Hardie's temperance campaign ! " Flett said dryly.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 DIPLOMACY 
 
 Tj^LETT left the team at George's homestead. Bid- 
 * ding him take good care of it, and borrowing a 
 fresh team, he drove away with the wagon. When 
 he reached Sage Butte it was getting dusk. He hitched 
 the horses outside of the better of the two hotels and 
 entered in search of food, as he had still a long ride 
 before him. Supper had long been finished, and Flett 
 was kept waiting for some time, but he now and then 
 glanced at the wagon. It was dark when he drove 
 away, after seeing that the case lay where he had left 
 it, and he had reached his post before he made a 
 startling discovery. When he carried the case into 
 the lamplight, it looked smaller, and on hastily open- 
 ing it he found it was filled with soil ! 
 
 He sat down and thought; though on the surface 
 the matter was clear he had been cleverly out- 
 witted by somebody who had exchanged the case while 
 he got his meal. This, as he reflected, was not the 
 kind of thing for which a constable got promoted ; 
 but there were other points that required attention. 
 The substitution had not been effected by anybody con- 
 nected with the Queen's; it was, he suspected, the 
 work of some of the frequenters of the Sachem ; and 
 he and his superiors had to contend with a well- 
 Ill
 
 ii2 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 organized gang. News of what had happened in the 
 bluff had obviously been transmitted to the settlement 
 while he had rested at Lansing's homestead. He had, 
 however, made a long journey, and as he would have 
 to ride on and report the matter to his sergeant in 
 the morning, he went to sleep. 
 
 The next day George was setting out on a visit to 
 Grant when a man rode up and asked for the team. 
 
 " Flett can't get over, but he wants the horses at 
 the post, so as to have them handy if he finds any- 
 body who can recognize them," he explained. 
 
 That sounded plausible, but George hesitated. The 
 animals would be of service as a clue to their owner 
 and a proof of his complicity in the affair. As they 
 had not been identified, it would embarrass the police 
 if they were missing. 
 
 " I can only hand them over to a constable, unless 
 you have brought a note from Flett," he replied. 
 
 " Then, as I haven't one, you'll beat me out of a 
 day's pay, and make Flett mighty mad. Do you think 
 he'd get anybody who might know the team to waste 
 a day riding out to your place? Guess the folks 
 round here are too busy, and they'd be glad of the 
 excuse that it was so far. They won't want to mix 
 themselves up in this thing." 
 
 George could find no fault with this reasoning, but 
 he thought the fellow was a little too eager to secure 
 the horses. 
 
 " Well," he said, " as I'm going to call on Mr. 
 Grant, I'll see what he has to say. If I'm not back 
 in time, Mr. West will give you supper." 
 
 " Then Grant's standing in with you and the tem- 
 perance folks ? "
 
 DIPLOMACY 113 
 
 It struck George that he had been incautious, but 
 he could not determine whether the man had blun- 
 dered or not. His question suggested some knowl- 
 edge of the situation, but an accomplice of the 
 offenders would, no doubt, have heard of the part 
 Grant's hired man had played. 
 
 " I don't see how that concerns you," he replied. 
 " You'll have to wait until I return if you want the 
 team." 
 
 He rode on, but he had not gone far when he met 
 Beamish, of the Sachem. 
 
 " I was coming over to see you," the man told him. 
 " You bought that young Hereford bull of Brough- 
 ton's, didn't you ? " 
 
 George was surprised at the question, but he an- 
 swered that he had done so. 
 
 " Then would you sell him ? " 
 
 " I hadn't thought of it." 
 
 " Guess that means I'll have to tempt you," Beam- 
 ish said. " I want the beast." 
 
 He named a price that struck George as being in 
 excess of the animal's value ; and then explained : 
 
 " I've seen him once or twice before he fell into 
 Broughton's hands; the imported Red Rover strain 
 is marked in him, and a friend of mine, who's go- 
 ing in for Here fords, told me not to stick at a few 
 dollars if I could pick up such a bull." 
 
 This was plausible, but not altogether satisfactory, 
 and George, reflecting that a buyer does not really 
 praise what he means to purchase, imagined that 
 there was something behind it. 
 
 " I'm not likely to get a better bid," he admitted. 
 " But I must ask if the transaction would be com-
 
 114 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 plete? Would you expect anything further from me 
 in return ? " 
 
 Beamish regarded him keenly, with a faint smile. 
 
 " Well," he said, " I certainly want the bull, but you 
 seem to understand. Leave it at that; I'm offering 
 to treat you pretty liberally." 
 
 " So as to prevent my assisting Flett in any way 
 or taking a part in Hardie's campaign ? " 
 
 " I wouldn't consider it the square thing for you 
 to do," Beamish returned quietly. 
 
 George thought of the man who was waiting at 
 the homestead for the team. It was obvious that an 
 attempt was being made to buy him, and he strongly 
 resented it. 
 
 " Then I can only tell you that I won't make this 
 deal. That's the end of the matter." 
 
 Beamish nodded and started his horse, but he looked 
 back as he rode off. 
 
 " Well," he called, in a meaning tone, " you may 
 be sorry." 
 
 George rode on to Grant's homestead, and finding 
 him at work in the fallow, told him what had passed. 
 
 " I fail to see why they're so eager to get hold of 
 me," he concluded. 
 
 Grant, sitting in the saddle of the big plow, thought- 
 fully rilled his pipe. 
 
 " Of course," he said, " it wasn't a coincidence that 
 Beamish came over soon after the fellow turned up 
 for the horses. It would have been worth while buy- 
 ing the bull if you had let them go especially as I 
 believe it's right about a friend of his wanting one 
 and nobody could have blamed you for selling. 
 The fact is, your position counts. The bluff would
 
 DIPLOMACY 115 
 
 make a handy place for a depot, and, while there's 
 nobody else near, you command the trails to it and 
 the reservation. Nobody could get by from the set- 
 tlement without being seen, unless they made a big 
 round, if you watched out." 
 
 " I'm beginning to understand. What you say im- 
 plies that they're doing a good trade." 
 
 " That's so," Grant assented. " I wouldn't have 
 believed it was so big before Hardie put me on the 
 track and I began to look around. But you want to 
 remember that what you're doing may cost you some- 
 thing. I'm your nearest neighbor, you're running 
 stock that are often out of sight, and you're up against 
 a determined crowd." 
 
 " It's true," George admitted. " Still, I can't back 
 out." 
 
 Grant cast a keen, approving glance at him. George 
 sat quietly in his saddle with a smile on his brown 
 face ; his pose was easy but virile : there was a stamp 
 of refinement and old country breeding upon him. His 
 eyes were suggestively steady; his skin was clear; he 
 looked forceful in an unemphatic manner. The 
 farmer was to some extent prejudiced against the 
 type, but he could make exceptions. He had liked 
 Lansing from the beginning, and he knew that he 
 could work. 
 
 "No," he said; "I guess you're not that kind of 
 man. But won't you get down and go along to the 
 house? Flora will be glad to talk with you, and I'll 
 be in for supper soon." 
 
 George thanked him, and did as he suggested. He 
 was beginning to find pleasure in the conversation of 
 Flora Grant.
 
 ii6 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 It was two hours later when he took his leave 
 and the farmer went out with him. 
 
 " I don't know what Hardie's doing, but I've an 
 idea that Mrs. Nelson means to make some move at 
 the Farmers' Club fair," he said. " She's a mighty 
 determined and enterprising woman. If you can 
 spare the time, you'd better ride in and see w-hat's go- 
 ing on." 
 
 On reaching home, George was not surprised to find 
 that the man w-ho had come for the horses had de- 
 parted without waiting for his answer. The next day 
 he received an intimation that the annual exhibition of 
 the Sage Butte Farmers' Club would shortly be held ; 
 and one morning a fortnight later he and Edgar rode 
 off to the settlement. 
 
 They found the little town rudely decorated with 
 flags and arches of poplar boughs, and a good-humored 
 crowd assembled. The one-sided street that faced the 
 track was lined with buggies, wagons, and a few auto- 
 mobiles; horses and two or three yoke of oxen were 
 tethered outside the overfull livery stables. 
 
 A strong breeze drove blinding dust-clouds through 
 the place, but even in the wind the sunshine was 
 scorching. 
 
 As he strolled toward the fair-ground, George be- 
 came interested in the crowd. It was largely com- 
 posed of small farmers, and almost without excep- 
 tion they and their wives were smartly attired; they 
 looked contented and prosperous. Mingling with 
 them were teamsters, many as neatly dressed as their 
 masters, though some wore blue-jean and saffron-col- 
 ored shirts ; and there were railroad-hands, mechanics, 
 and store-keepers. All of them were cheerful; a few
 
 DIPLOMACY 117 
 
 good years, free from harvest frost and blight, had 
 made a marked improvement in everybody's lot. 
 
 Yet, there was another side to the picture. Odd 
 groups of loungers indulged in scurrilous jests; hoarse 
 laughter and an occasional angry uproar issued from 
 the hotels, and shabby men with hard faces slouched 
 about the veranda of one. George noticed this, but 
 he presently reached the fair-ground, where he in- 
 spected the animals and implements ; and then, toward 
 supper-time, he strolled back with Grant. They were 
 walking up one of the side-streets when shouts broke 
 out behind them. 
 
 George looked around but for a moment he could 
 see very little through the cloud of dust that swept 
 the street. When it blew away it revealed a row of 
 women advancing two by two along the plank sidewalk. 
 They were of different ages and stations in life, but 
 they all came on as if with a fixed purpose, and they 
 had resolute faces. Mrs. Nelson led them, carrying 
 a riding quirt, and though George was not astonished 
 to see her, he started when he noticed Flora Grant 
 near the end of the procession. She was paler than 
 usual, and she walked quietly with a rather strained 
 expression. 
 
 Grant touched George's shoulder. 
 
 " This is certainly more than I figured on," he said ; 
 " but I guess there's .no use in my objecting. Now 
 she's started, she'll go through with it. They're mak- 
 ing for the Sachem ; we had better go along." 
 
 Shortly afterward, a gathering crowd blocked the 
 street. 
 
 " Speech ! " somebody cried ; and there was ironical 
 applause.
 
 Ii8 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 Mrs. Nelson raised her hand, and when the proces- 
 sion stopped, she looked sternly at the men before her. 
 
 " No," she answered ; " speeches are wasted on such 
 folks ; we're here to act ! " 
 
 She waved the quirt commandingly. 
 
 " Let us pass ! " 
 
 She was obeyed. The women moved on; and 
 George and Grant managed to enter the hotel behind 
 them before the throng closed in. The big general- 
 room was hot and its atmosphere almost intolerably 
 foul; the bar, which opened off it, was shadowy, and 
 the crowded figures of lounging men showed dimly 
 through thick cigar smoke. The hum of their voices 
 died away and there was a curious silence as the 
 women came in. Edging forward, George saw Beam- 
 ish leaning on his counter, looking quietly self-pos- 
 sessed and very dapper in his white shirt and well- 
 cut clothes. 
 
 " Well," he said, " what do you ladies want with 
 me?" 
 
 Their leader faced him, a small and yet command- 
 ing figure, with an imperious expression and sparkling 
 eyes. 
 
 " You got a notice that from supper-time this bar 
 must be shut ! " 
 
 " I did, ma'am. It was signed by you. Now, so 
 far as I know, the magistrates are the only people who 
 can close my hotel." 
 
 " That's so ! " shouted somebody ; and there were 
 confused murmurs and harsh laughter which sug- 
 gested that some of the loungers were not quite sober. 
 
 " Fire them out! " cried another man. " Guess this 
 is why Nelson gets cold potatoes for his supper.
 
 DIPLOMACY 119 
 
 Ought to be at home mending socks or washing their 
 men's clothes." 
 
 The lady turned sternly on the last speaker. 
 
 " Yes," she said ; " that's the kind of idea you would 
 hold. It's getting played out now." 
 
 George was conscious of slight amusement. The 
 affair had its humorous side, and, though he was ready 
 to interfere if the women were roughly handled, he did 
 not think they ran any serious risk. Beamish looked 
 capable of dealing with the situation. 
 
 " You don't require to butt in, boys," he said. 
 " Leave me to talk to these ladies ; I guess their in- 
 tentions are good." He bowed to Mrs. Nelson. 
 " You can go on, ma'am." 
 
 " I've only this to say you must close your bar 
 right now ! " 
 
 " Suppose I'm not willing? It will mean a big loss 
 to me." 
 
 " That," answered Mrs. Nelson firmly, " doesn't 
 count; the bigger the loss, the better. You will stop 
 the sale of drink until to-morrow, or take the conse- 
 quences." 
 
 Another woman, who looked careworn and hag- 
 gard, and was shabbily dressed, stood forward. 
 
 " We and the children have borne enough ! " she 
 broke out. " We have to save the cord-wood in the 
 bitter cold ; we have to send the kiddies out in old, thin 
 clothes, while the money that would make home worth 
 living in goes into your register. Where are the boys 
 our husbands and sons who once held steady 
 jobs and did good work?" She raised an accusing 
 hand, with despair in her pinched face. " Oh ! I 
 needn't tell you they're rebranding farmers' calves
 
 120 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 or hiding from the police! Don't you know of one 
 who walked to his death through the big trestle, dazed 
 with liquor? For these things the men who tempted 
 them will have to answer!" 
 
 " True, but not quite to the point," Mrs. Nelson 
 interposed. " We have found remonstrance useless ; 
 the time for words has passed. This fellow has had 
 his warning; we're waiting for him to comply with 
 it." 
 
 There was an uproar outside from the crowd that 
 was struggling to get in and demanding to be told 
 what was going on; but Beamish made a sign of 
 resignation. 
 
 " It looks as if I couldn't refuse you; and anyway 
 it wouldn't be polite." He turned to his customers. 
 " Boys, it's not my fault, but you'll get no more drinks 
 to-day. For all that, I must make a point of asking 
 you to treat these ladies with respect." 
 
 " Smart," Grant remarked to George. " He has 
 handled the thing right. This means trouble for 
 Hardie." 
 
 Then Beamish once more addressed the intruders. 
 
 " Now that I've given in, has it struck you that there 
 isn't much use in closing my place if you leave the 
 Queen's open?" 
 
 " We'll shut them both ! " Mrs. Nelson declared. 
 
 " Then there's just another point I've folks who 
 have driven a long way, staying the night with me, and 
 there's quite a crowd coming in for supper. How am 
 I to treat them?" 
 
 " They can have all they want to eat," Mrs. Nelson 
 told him graciously ; " but no liquor."
 
 DIPLOMACY 121 
 
 " I can't refuse to supply them without a reason. 
 What am I to say?" 
 
 " Tell them that the Women's Reform League has 
 compelled you to close your bar." 
 
 " And I've been given the orders by their acknowl- 
 edged secretary ? " 
 
 " Yes. I'm proud of being their leader, and of the 
 duty I've discharged." 
 
 Beamish turned to his customers. 
 
 " You'll remember what she has told me, boys ! " 
 
 Grant drew George away. 
 
 " She walked right into the trap ; you couldn't have 
 stopped her. I'm sorry for Hardie. But we may as 
 well get out now ; there'll be no trouble." 
 
 The street was blocked when the women left, but a 
 passage was made for them ; and, followed by every- 
 body in the settlement, they proceeded to the other 
 hotel, whose proprietor capitulated. Then Mrs. Nel- 
 son made a speech, in which she pointed out that for 
 once the festival would not be marked by the orgies 
 which had on previous occasions disgraced the town. 
 Her words, by no means conciliatory, and her aggres- 
 sive air provoked the crowd, which had, for the most 
 part, watched the proceedings with amusement. There 
 were cries of indignant dissent, angry shouts, and the 
 throng began to close in upon the speaker. Then there 
 was sudden silence, and the concourse split apart. 
 Into the gap rode a slim young man in khaki, with a 
 wide hat of the same color, who pulled up and sat 
 looking at the people with his hand on his hip. 
 George recognized him as the constable who shared the 
 extensive beat with Flett.
 
 122 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " Now/' he said good-humoredly, " what's all this 
 fuss about ? " 
 
 Several of them informed him and he listened 
 gravely before he called one of the farmer's stewards, 
 and spoke a few words to him. 
 
 " It strikes me," he said, " that you had all better 
 go back to the fair-ground, while I look into things. 
 There's an item or two on the program Mr. Carson 
 wants to work off before supper." 
 
 He had taken the right tone, and when they began 
 to disperse he rode on to the Sachem. 
 
 " I want your account of this disturbance," he said 
 to the proprietor. 
 
 Beamish related what had taken place and the con- 
 stable looked surprised. 
 
 " Am I to understand that you're afraid to open 
 your bar because of the women? " he asked. 
 
 " Yes, sir," replied Beamish, coolly ; " that's about 
 the size of it. You'd have been scared, too; they're 
 a mighty determined crowd." 
 
 " Nobody except the authorities has any right to 
 interfere." 
 
 " That's my opinion, but what am I to do about 
 it? Suppose these women come back, will you stand 
 at the door and keep them out? They're capable of 
 mobbing you." 
 
 The constable looked dubious, and Beamish con- 
 tinued : 
 
 " Besides, I've given them my word I'd shut up 
 they made me." 
 
 " Then how do you expect us to help ? " 
 
 " So far as I can see, you can only report the mat- 
 ter to your bosses."
 
 DIPLOMACY 123 
 
 The constable felt inclined to agree with this. He 
 asked for the names of the ladies, and Beamish hesi- 
 tated. 
 
 " I was too taken up with Mrs. Nelson to notice the 
 rest, and the place was rather dark. Anyway, about 
 half of them were foolish girls with notions; I don't 
 want to drag them in." 
 
 " You blame somebody for setting them on ? " 
 
 " I do," said Beamish, without a trace of rancor. 
 " There's Mrs. Nelson everybody knows she's a 
 crank and Hardie, the Methodist minister. 
 They've been trying to make trouble for the hotels 
 for quite a while." 
 
 The constable made a note of this and presently 
 called on Hardie, who had just returned to town after 
 visiting a sick farmer. The former listened to what 
 the minister had to say, but was not much impressed. 
 Beamish had cleverly made him his partizan. 
 
 After supper George and Grant called on Hardie and 
 found him looking distressed. 
 
 " I'm much afraid that the result of three or four 
 months' earnest work has been destroyed this after- 
 noon," he said. " Our allies have stirred up popular 
 prejudice against us. We'll meet with opposition 
 whichever way we turn." 
 
 " There's something in that," Grant agreed. " Mrs. 
 Nelson's a lady who would wreck any cause. Still, 
 she has closed the hotels." 
 
 " For one night. As a result of this afternoon's 
 work, they will probably be kept open altogether. You 
 can imagine how the authorities will receive any rep- 
 resentations we can make, after our being implicated 
 in this disturbance."
 
 124 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " Have you thought of disowning the ladies ? You 
 could do so you had no hand in the thing." 
 
 The young clergyman flushed hotly. 
 
 " I'd have stopped this rashness, if I'd heard of it ; 
 but, after all, I'm the real instigator, since I started 
 the campaign. I'm willing to face my share of the 
 blame." 
 
 " You mean you'll let Beamish make you respon- 
 sible?" 
 
 " Of course," said Hardie. " I can't deny I'm 
 leader. The move was a mistake, considered pru- 
 dentially; but it was morally justifiable. I'll defend 
 it as strongly as I'm able." 
 
 Grant nodded, and Flora and Mrs. Nelson came in. 
 
 " Are you satisfied with what you've done? " Grant 
 said to the girl. " You might have given me a hint 
 of it." 
 
 Flora smiled. 
 
 " I'm afraid Beamish was too clever for us. From 
 an outsider's point of view, he behaved exceptionally 
 well, and in doing so he put us in the wrong. I 
 didn't know what had been planned when I left home, 
 but, as one of the league, I couldn't draw back when 
 I heard of it." 
 
 " You think he was too clever? " Mrs Nelson broke 
 in. " How absurd to say that ! We have won a 
 brilliant victory ! " 
 
 Grant made a little gesture. 
 
 "If you're convinced of that, ma'am, we'll leave you 
 to talk it over." 
 
 He led George toward the door. 
 
 " I like that man Hardie," he resumed when they
 
 DIPLOMACY 125 
 
 reached the street. " Beamish has him beaten for the 
 present, but I'm thankful there'll be no women about 
 when we come to grips with his crowd. It may take 
 a while, but those fellows have got to be downed."
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 GEORGE FACES DISASTER 
 
 A FORTNIGHT had passed since the affair at the 
 settlement when Hardie arrived at the Marston 
 homestead toward supper-time. After the meal was 
 over, he accompanied his host and Edgar to the little 
 room used for an office. 
 
 " As I've been busy since four this morning, I don't 
 mean to do anything more," said George. " I suppose 
 you don't smoke?" 
 
 " No," Hardie answered. " It's a concession I can 
 make without much effort to our stricter brethren. 
 I'm inclined to believe they consider smoking almost as 
 bad as drink. You agree with them about the latter ? " 
 
 " We try to be consistent," Edgar told him. " You 
 see, I couldn't very well indulge in an occasional drink 
 when I've undertaken to make those Sage Butte fel- 
 lows abstainers. Anyhow, though you're by no means 
 liberal in your view, you're practical people. As soon 
 as I landed at Montreal, a pleasant young man, wear- 
 ing a silver monogram came up to me, and offered me 
 introductions to people who might find me a job. 
 Though I didn't want one, I was grateful ; and when 
 I told him I wasn't one of his flock, he said it didn't 
 matter. That kind of thing makes a good impres- 
 sion." 
 
 126
 
 GEORGE FACES DISASTER 127 
 
 "How are you getting on at the settlement?" 
 George interposed. 
 
 Hardie sat silent for a few moments, and George saw 
 that his eyes were anxious and his face looked worn. 
 
 " Badly," he said. " I feel I can talk to you freely, 
 and that's really why I came, though I had another 
 call to make." 
 
 " You're having trouble ? " 
 
 " Plenty of it. I've had another visit from the 
 police, though that's not a very important matter; 
 and Mrs. Nelson's action has raised a storm of in- 
 dignation. It would be useless to move any further 
 against the Sachem. Even this is not the worst. Our 
 people are split up by disagreements ; I've been taken 
 to task; my staunchest supporters are falling away." 
 
 " They'll rally," said George. " Leave those who 
 haven't the courage to do so alone; you're better rid 
 of them. I suppose it's apt to make a difference in 
 your finances." 
 
 The clergyman colored. 
 
 " That's true, though it's hard to own. It subjects 
 one to a strong temptation. After all, we're expected 
 to keep our churches full it's necessary." 
 
 " The road to success," Edgar remarked, " is com- 
 paratively easy. Always proclaim the popular view, 
 but be a little more emphatic and go a little farther 
 than the rest. Then they'll think you a genius and 
 make haste to follow your lead." 
 
 Hardie looked at him quietly. 
 
 " There's another way, Mr. West, and the gate of 
 it is narrow. I think it seldom leads to worldly fame." 
 He paused and sighed. " It needs courage to enter, 
 and one often shrinks."
 
 128 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " Well," said Edgar, " I'll confess that I find the 
 popular idea, whatever it may happen to be, irritating ; 
 I like to annoy the people who hold it by pointing out 
 their foolishness, which is partly why I'm now farming 
 in western Canada. George, of course, is more al- 
 truistic; though I don't think he ever analyzes his 
 feelings. As soon as he sees anybody in trouble and 
 getting beaten, he begins to strip. I've a suspicion that 
 he enjoys a fight! " 
 
 "If you would stop talking rot, we'd get on better," 
 George said curtly, and then turned to his visitor. 
 " I gather that you're afraid of wrecking your church. 
 It's an awkward situation, but I suppose you have 
 made up your mind ? " 
 
 " Yes ; I must go on, if I go alone." 
 
 The man, as the others recognized, had no intention 
 of being dramatic, but his quiet announcement had its 
 effect, and there was silence for a moment or two. 
 Then Edgar, who was impatient of any display of 
 strong feeling, made an abrupt movement. 
 
 " After all," he said cheerfully, " you'll have Mrs. 
 Nelson beside you, and I'm inclined to think she would 
 enliven any solitude." 
 
 Hardie smiled, and the lad continued : 
 
 " Now we had, perhaps, better be practical and con- 
 sider how to get over the difficulties." 
 
 He grew less discursive when they fell in with his 
 suggestion. George possessed sound sense and some 
 power of leading, and for a while they were busy elab- 
 orating a plan of campaign, in which his advice was 
 largely deferred to. Then there was an interruption, 
 for Grierson, his hired man, came in. 
 
 " I was hauling hay from the big sloo when I saw
 
 GEORGE FACES DISASTER 129 
 
 the Hereford bull," he said. " He was by himself 
 and bleeding from the shoulder. Thought I'd better 
 bring him home, though he walked very lame." 
 
 " Ah ! " exclaimed George sharply. " I'll corne and 
 look at him." 
 
 The others followed and on reaching the wire-fenced 
 corral they found the animal lying down, with its 
 forequarter stained with blood. George sent for 
 some water, and he soon found the wound, which was 
 very small and round. 
 
 " It's a curious mark," Hardie commented. 
 
 " Yes," said George; " it's a bullet hole." 
 
 The surprise of the others was obvious. 
 
 "I think it's a hint," George explained. "We'll 
 try to get him on his feet." 
 
 They succeeded, and when the beast had been led 
 into a stall, George turned to Hardie. 
 
 " As you said you wouldn't stay the night, would 
 you mind starting for the settlement now? The 
 livery stable fellow is said to be clever at veterinary 
 work; you might send him out, and mail a note I'll 
 give you to the police." 
 
 Hardie professed his willingness to be of service, and 
 on getting into his buggy said, with some hesitation : 
 
 " I'm afraid you're right in your suspicions, and I'm 
 particularly sorry. In a way, I'm responsible for 
 this." 
 
 George smiled, rather grimly. 
 
 " One can't go into a fight without getting hurt ; 
 and we haven't come to the end of it yet. This affair 
 won't cost you my support." 
 
 The clergyman's eyes sparkled as he held out his 
 hand.
 
 130 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " I never imagined it you have my sympathy, 
 Mr. Lansing. It would give me the greatest pleas- 
 ure to see the cowardly brute who fired that shot 
 brought to justice." 
 
 He drove away, and George went moodily back to 
 the house with Edgar. 
 
 " That's a man who has had to choose between his 
 duty and his interest," George said ; " but just now 
 we have other things to think about. It's a pity I 
 can't get the bullet out until help arrives." 
 
 The livery man turned up on the following day and 
 succeeded in extracting it ; and Flett made his ap- 
 pearance the morning after. He examined the 
 wounded animal. 
 
 " It may have been done by accident; but, if so, it's 
 curious the beast should have been hit close to a place 
 where it would have killed him," he remarked. 
 
 " What's your private opinion? " George asked. 
 
 The constable smiled. 
 
 " As we haven't gone very far yet, I'll reserve it." 
 He fook up the bullet. " Winchester or Marlin ; 
 usual caliber; nothing to be made of that. Now let's 
 go and take a look at the place where the shot was 
 fired." 
 
 They traced back the path of the wounded beast 
 from the spot where Grierson had found it, by the red 
 splashes that here and there stained the short grass 
 of the unfenced prairie. At last they stopped where 
 the ground was broken by a few low sandy ridges 
 sprinkled with small birches and poplars, and Flett 
 pointed to the mark of hoofs in a strip of almost bare, 
 light soil. 
 
 " This is where he was hit," he said. " You can see
 
 GEORGE FACES DISASTER 131 
 
 how he started off, going as hard as he could. Next, 
 we've got to find the spot the man fired from." 
 
 It proved difficult. The dry grass revealed nothing, 
 and they vainly searched several of the neighboring 
 hillocks, where it grew less thickly. Scorching sun- 
 shine beat down on them and a strong breeze blew 
 the sand about. At length Flett pointed to a few 
 half-obliterated footprints on the bare summit of a 
 small rise. 
 
 ' The fellow stopped here with his feet well apart. 
 He'd stand like that while he put up his gun. Sit 
 down and smoke while I copy these marks." 
 
 He proceeded to do so carefully, having brought 
 some paper from the homestead. 
 
 " Have you any reason for thinking it was a stand- 
 ing shot he took? " George asked. 
 
 " I haven't ; I wish I had. Quite a lot depends upon 
 his position." 
 
 George nodded. 
 
 " So it struck me. We'll look round for some more 
 conclusive signs when you have finished." 
 
 Before this happened, Flora Grant rode up. 
 
 " I was going back from Forster's when I noticed 
 you moving about the hills," she explained. " I made 
 this round to find out what you were doing." 
 
 George told her, and her sympathy was obvious. 
 
 "I'm very sorry; but my father warned you," she 
 said. " I'm afraid you're finding this an expensive 
 campaign." 
 
 " I can put up with it, so long as I have my friends' 
 support." 
 
 " I think you can count on that," she smiled. " But 
 what is Flett's theory?"
 
 132 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 "If he has one, he's clever at hiding it," Edgar 
 broke in ; " but I'm doubtful. In my opinion, he 
 knows the value of the professional air of mystery." 
 
 " When I see any use in it, I can talk," retorted 
 Flett. "What's your notion, Mr. Lansing? You 
 don't agree that the fellow shot your beast from 
 here?" 
 
 " No," answered George. "Of course, there are 
 only two explanations of the thing, and the first is 
 that it was an accident In that case, the fellow must 
 have been out after antelope or cranes." 
 
 "There's an objection: it's close season; though I 
 wouldn't count too much on that. You farmers aren't 
 particular when there's nobody around. Now, it's 
 possible that a man who'd been creeping up on an 
 antelope would work in behind this rise and take a 
 quick shot, standing, when he reached the top of it. 
 If so, I guess he'd have his eyes only on what he 
 was firing at. Suppose he missed, and your beast 
 happened to be in line with him ? " 
 
 Flora smiled. 
 
 " It's not convincing, Mr. Flett. Seen from here, 
 the bull would be in the open, conspicuous against 
 white grass and sand." 
 
 " I didn't say the thing was likely. Won't you go 
 on, Mr Lansing? " 
 
 " The other explanation is that the fellow meant to 
 kill or mark the bull ; the place where it was hit points 
 to the former. If that was his intention, he'd lie down 
 or kneel to get a steadier aim. We had better look 
 for the spot." 
 
 They spent some time before Flett thought he had 
 found it.
 
 GEORGE FACES DISASTER 133 
 
 n Somebody lay down here, and the bull would be 
 up against a background of poplar scrub," he said. 
 " I'll measure off the distance and make a plan." 
 
 He counted his paces, and had set to work with his 
 notebook, when Flora interrupted. 
 
 " Wouldn't a sketch be better? Give me a sheet of 
 paper ; and has anybody another pencil ? " 
 
 George gave her one, and after walking up and 
 down and standing for a few moments on a low 
 mound, she chose a position and began the sketch. It 
 was soon finished, but it depicted the scene with dis- 
 tinctness, with the bull standing in the open a little 
 to one side of the clump of scrub. George started as 
 he saw that she had roughly indicated the figure of a 
 man lying upon the little mound with a rifle in his 
 hand. It struck him that she was right. 
 
 " It's a picture," said the constable; "but why did 
 you put that fellow yonder ? " 
 
 " Come and see." 
 
 They followed her to the mound, and after an in- 
 spection of it, Flett nodded. 
 
 " You'd make a mighty smart tracker, Miss Grant. 
 I was against this mound being the firing place, be- 
 cause, to get to it, the fellow would have to come 
 out into the open." 
 
 " Would that count ? It was a bull he was after." 
 
 " It was," Flett agreed. " This fixes the thing." 
 
 George looked at him meaningly. 
 
 " Have you made up your mind about anything 
 else?" 
 
 " Oh, yes," said Flett. " It was done with malicious 
 mischief. If a poor white or an Indian meant to kill a 
 beast for meat, he wouldn't pick a bull worth a pile
 
 134 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 of money, at least while there was common beef 
 stock about." 
 
 " Then what do you mean to do? " 
 
 Flett smiled. 
 
 " Sooner or later, I'm going to put handcuffs on the 
 man who did this thing. If you'll give me the sketch, 
 Miss Grant, I'll take it along." 
 
 Flora handed it to him, and he and Edgar went 
 away shortly afterward, leaving George with the girl. 
 She sat still, looking down at him when he had helped 
 her to the saddle. 
 
 " I'm afraid you have a good many difficulties to 
 face," she said. 
 
 " Yes," assented George. " A dry summer is bad 
 for wheat on my light soil, and that is why I thought 
 of going in for stock." He paused with a rueful smile. 
 " It doesn't promise to be a great improvement, if 
 I'm to have my best beasts shot." 
 
 She pointed to the west. The grass about them was 
 still scorched with fierce sunshine, but leaden cloud- 
 masses, darkly rolled together with a curious bluish 
 gleam in them, covered part of the sky. 
 
 " This time it will rain," she said. " We will be 
 fortunate if we get no more than that. Try to re- 
 member, Mr. Lansing, that bad seasons are not the 
 rule in western Canada, and one good one wipes out 
 the results of several lean years." 
 
 Then she rode away, and George joined Edgar. He 
 felt that he had been given a warning. On reaching 
 home, he harnessed a team and drove off to a sloo 
 to haul in hay, but while he worked he cast anxious 
 glances at the clouds. They rolled on above him in 
 an endless procession, opening out to emit a passing
 
 GEORGE FACES DISASTER 135 
 
 blaze of sunshine, and closing in again. The horses 
 were restless, he could hardly get them to stand; the 
 grasses stirred and rustled in a curious manner; and 
 even the little gophers that scurried away from the 
 wagon wheels displayed an unusual and feverish activ- 
 ity. Yet there was not a drop of rain, and the man 
 toiled on in savage impatience, wondering whether he 
 must once more resign himself to see the promised 
 deluge pass away. 
 
 It was a question of serious import. A night's 
 heavy rain would consolidate the soil that blew about 
 with every breeze, revive the suffering wheat and 
 strengthen its abraded stalks against any further at- 
 tack by the driving sand. Indeed, he thought it would 
 place the crop in security. 
 
 He came home for supper, jaded, dusty, and morose, 
 and found that he could scarcely eat when he sat down 
 to the meal. He could not rest when it was over, 
 though he was aching from heavy toil; nor could he 
 fix his attention on any new task; and when dusk 
 was getting near he strolled up and down before the 
 homestead with Edgar. There was a change in the 
 looks of the buildings all that could be done had 
 been effected but there was also a change in the 
 man. He was leaner, his face was getting thin, and 
 he looked worn; but he maintained a forced tran- 
 quillity. 
 
 The sky was barred with cloud now; the great 
 breadth of grain had faded to a leaden hue, the prairie 
 to shadowy gray. The wind had dropped, the air was 
 tense and still ; a strange, impressive silence brooded 
 over everything. 
 
 Presently Edgar looked up at the clouds.
 
 136 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " They must break at last," he said. " One can't 
 help thinking of what they hold endless carloads of 
 grain, wads of dollar bills for the storekeepers, pros- 
 perity for three big provinces. It's much the same 
 weather right along to the Rockies." 
 
 " I wasn't considering the three provinces," said 
 George. 
 
 " No," retorted Edgar. " Your attention was con- 
 fined to the improvement the rain would make in 
 Sylvia- Marston's affairs. You're looking forward to 
 sending her a big check after harvest." 
 
 " So far, it has looked more like facing a big def- 
 icit." 
 
 " You mean your facing it." 
 
 George frowned. 
 
 " Sylvia has nothing except this land." 
 
 " It strikes me she's pretty fortunate, in one way. 
 You find the working capital and bear the loss, if there 
 is one. I wonder what arrangements you made about 
 dividing a surplus." 
 
 " That," said George, " is a thing I've no intention 
 of discussing with anybody but my co-trustee." 
 
 Edgar smiled ; he had hardly expected to elicit much 
 information upon the point, having failed to do so once 
 or twice already. 
 
 " Well," he said, " I believe we'll see the rain before 
 an hour has passed." 
 
 Soon after he had spoken, a flash leaped from over- 
 head and the prairie was flooded with dazzling ra- 
 diance. It was followed by a roll of thunder, and a 
 roar as the rain came down. For a few moments 
 the dust whirled up and there was a strong smell of 
 earth; then the air was filled with falling water.
 
 GEORGE FACES DISASTER 137 
 
 George stood still in the deluge, rejoicing, while the 
 great drops lashed his upturned face, until Edgar 
 laughingly pushed him toward the house. 
 
 " As I'm wet through, I think I'll go to bed. At 
 last, you can rest content." 
 
 George, following his example, lay down with a 
 deep sense of thankfulness. His cares had gone, the 
 flood that roared against the board walls had banished 
 them. Now that relief had come, he felt strangely 
 weary, and in a few minutes he was sound asleep. 
 He did not hear the thunder, which broke out again, 
 nor feel the house shake in the rush of icy wind that 
 suddenly followed; the ominous rattle on roof and 
 walls, different from and sharper than the lashing of 
 the rain, began and died away unnoticed by him. He 
 was wrapped in the deep, healing slumber that follows 
 the slackening of severe mental and bodily strain; he 
 knew nothing of the banks of ragged ice-lumps that 
 lay melting to lee of the building. 
 
 It was very cold the next morning, though the sun 
 was rising above the edge of the scourged plain, when 
 Edgar, partly dressed and wearing wet boots and leg- 
 gings, came into the room and looked down at George 
 compassionately. 
 
 The brown face struck him as looking worn; 
 George had flung off part of the coverings, and there 
 was something that suggested limp relaxation in his 
 attitude; but Edgar knew that his comrade must bear 
 his load again. 
 
 " George," he said, touching him, " you had better 
 get up." 
 
 The man stirred, and looking at him became at once 
 intent as he saw his face.
 
 138 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " Ah ! " he exclaimed. " Something else gone 
 wrong? " 
 
 Edgar nodded. 
 
 " I'm sorry," he answered simply. " Put on your 
 things and come out. You had better get it over 
 with." 
 
 In three or four minutes George left the house. 
 Holding himself steadily in hand, he walked through 
 the drenched grass toward the wheat. On reaching 
 it, he set his lips tight and stood very still. The 
 great field of grain had gone; short, severed stalks, 
 half-buried in a mass of rent and torn-up blades, cov- 
 ered the wide stretch of soil where the wheat had been. 
 The crop had been utterly wiped out by the merciless 
 hail. Edgar did not venture to speak; any sympathy 
 he could express would have looked like mockery ; and 
 for a while there was strained silence. Then George 
 showed of what tough fiber he was made. 
 
 " Well," he said, " it has to be faced. After this, 
 we'll try another plan; more stock, for one thing." 
 He paused and then resumed : " Tell Grierson to 
 hurry breakfast. I must drive in to the Butte; 
 there's a good deal to be done." 
 
 Edgar moved away, feeling relieved. George, in- 
 stead of despairing, was considering new measures. 
 He was far from beaten yet.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 SYLVIA SEEKS AMUSEMENT 
 
 IT was a fine September afternoon and Sylvia re- 
 clined pensively in a canvas hammock on Herbert 
 Lansing's lawn with one or two opened letters in her 
 hand. Bright sunshine lay upon the grass, but it was 
 pleasantly cool in the shadow of the big copper beech. 
 A neighboring border glowed with autumn flowers: 
 ribands of asters, spikes of crimson gladiolus, ranks 
 of dahlias. Across the lawn a Virginia creeper draped 
 the house with vivid tints. The scene had nothing of 
 the grim bareness of the western prairie of which 
 Sylvia was languidly thinking ; her surroundings shone 
 with strong color, and beyond them a peaceful English 
 landscape stretched away. She could look out upon 
 heavily-massed trees, yellow fields with sheaves in 
 them, and the winding streak of a flashing river. 
 
 Yet Sylvia was far from satisfied. The valley was 
 getting dull; she needed distraction, and her letters 
 suggested both the means of getting it and a difficuky. 
 She wore black, but it had an artistic, almost coquet- 
 tish, effect, and the big hat became her well, in spite 
 of its simple trimming. Sylvia bestowed a good deal 
 of thought upon her appearance. 
 
 After a while Mrs. Lansing came out and joined 
 her. 
 
 " Is there any news in your letters? " she asked. 
 
 139
 
 140 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " Yes," answered Sylvia ; " there's one from George 
 it's a little disappointing, but you can read it. As 
 usual, he's laconic." 
 
 George's curtness was accounted for by the fact that 
 he had been afraid of saying too much, but Sylvia 
 carelessly handed the letter to her companion. 
 
 " After all, he shows a nice feeling," Mrs. Lansing 
 remarked. " He seems to regret very much his in- 
 ability to send you a larger check." 
 
 " So do I," said Sylvia with a petulant air. 
 
 " He points out that it has been a bad season and 
 he has lost his crop." 
 
 " Bad seasons are common in western Canada ; I've 
 met farmers who seemed to thrive on them." 
 
 " No doubt they didn't do so all at once." 
 
 " I dare say that's true," Sylvia agreed. " It's very 
 likely that if I give him plenty of time, George will 
 get everything right he's one of the plodding, per- 
 sistent people who generally succeed in the end but 
 what use will there be in that? I'm not growing 
 younger I want some enjoyment now!" She 
 spread out her hands with a x gesture that appealed for 
 sympathy. " One gets so tired of petty economy and 
 self-denial." 
 
 " But George and Herbert arranged that you should 
 have a sufficient allowance." 
 
 " Sufficient," said Sylvia, " is a purely relative term. 
 So much depends upon one's temperament, doesn't it? 
 Perhaps I am a little extravagant, and that's why I'm 
 disappointed." 
 
 " After all, you have very few necessary expenses." 
 
 Sylvia laughed. 
 
 " It's having only the necessary ones that makes it
 
 SYLVIA SEEKS AMUSEMENT 141 
 
 so dull. Now, I've thought of going to stay a while 
 with Susan Kettering; there's a letter from her, ask- 
 ing when I'll come." 
 
 Mrs. Lansing was a lady of strict conventional 
 views, and she showed some disapproval. 
 
 " But you can hardly make visits yet! " 
 
 " I don't see why I can't visit Susan. She's a rel- 
 ative, and it isn't as if she were entertaining a number 
 of people. She says she's very quiet; she has hardly 
 asked anybody, only one or two intimate friends." 
 
 " She'll have three or four men down for the par- 
 tridge shooting." 
 
 " After all," said Sylvia, " I can't make her send 
 them away. You have once or twice had men from 
 town here." 
 
 " Susan leads a very different life from mine," Mrs. 
 Lansing persisted. " She's a little too fond of amuse- 
 ment, and I don't approve of all her friends." She 
 paused as an idea struck her. " Is Captain Bland go- 
 ing there for the shooting ? " 
 
 " I really can't tell you. Is there any reason why 
 she shouldn't invite him ? " 
 
 Mrs. Lansing would have preferred that Sylvia 
 should not see so much of Bland as she was likely to 
 do if she stayed in the same house with him, though 
 she knew of nothing in particular to his discredit. He 
 had served without distinction in two campaigns, he 
 lived extravagantly, and was supposed to be something 
 of a philanderer. Indeed, not long ago, an announce- 
 ment of his engagement to a lady of station had been 
 confidently expected ; but the affair had, for some un- 
 known reason, suddenly fallen through. Mrs. Lan- 
 sing was puzzled about him. If the man were look-
 
 142 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 ing for a wealthy wife, why should he be attracted, 
 as she thought he was, by Sylvia, who had practically 
 nothing. 
 
 " I'd really rather have you remain with us ; but 
 of course I can't object to your going," she said. 
 
 " I knew you would be nice about it," Sylvia ex- 
 claimed. " I must have a talk with Herbert ; you said 
 he would be home this evening." 
 
 Lansing's business occasionally prevented his nightly 
 return from the nearest large town, but he arrived 
 some hours later, and after dinner Sylvia found him in 
 his smoking-room. He looked up with a smile when 
 she came in, for their relations were generally pleasant. 
 They understood each other, though this did not lead 
 to mutual confidence or respect. 
 
 "Well?" he said. 
 
 Sylvia sat down in an easy chair, adopting, as she 
 invariably did, a becoming pose, and handed him 
 George's letter. 
 
 " He hasn't sent you very much," Herbert re- 
 marked. 
 
 " No," said Sylvia, " that's the difficulty." 
 
 " So I anticipated. You're not economical." 
 
 Sylvia laughed. 
 
 " I won't remind you of your failings. You have 
 one virtue you can be liberal when it suits you ; and 
 you're my trustee." 
 
 Lansing's rather fleshy, smooth-shaven face grew 
 thoughtful, but Sylvia continued : 
 
 " I'm going to Susan's, and I really need a lot of 
 new clothes." 
 
 " For a week or two's visit ? " 
 
 " I may, perhaps, go on somewhere else afterward."
 
 SYLVIA SEEKS AMUSEMENT 143 
 
 " I wonder whether you thought it necessary to tell 
 Muriel so ? " 
 
 Sylvia sighed. 
 
 " I'm afraid I didn't. I can hardly expect Muriel 
 to quite understand or sympathize. She has you, and 
 the flowers she's so fond of, and quiet friends of the 
 kind she likes; while it's so different with me. Be- 
 sides, I was never meant for retirement." 
 
 " That/' laughed Lansing, " is very true." 
 
 " Of course," Sylvia went on ; "I shall be very 
 quiet, but there are things one really has to take part 
 in." 
 
 " Bridge is expensive unless you're unusually lucky, 
 or an excellent player," Lansing suggested. " How- 
 ever, it would be more to the purpose if you men- 
 tioned what is the least you could manage with." 
 
 Sylvia told him, and he knit his brows. 
 
 " Money's tight with me just now," he objected. 
 
 " You know it's only on account. George will do 
 ever so much better next year; and I dare say, if I 
 pressed him, he would send another remittance." 
 
 " His letter indicates that he'd find it difficult." 
 
 " George wouldn't mind that. He rather likes do- 
 ing things that are hard, and it's comforting to think 
 that self-denial doesn't cost him much. I'm thankful 
 I have him to look after the farm." 
 
 Lansing regarded her with ironical amusement; he 
 knew what her gratitude was worth. 
 
 " Yes," he agreed significantly, " George seldom ex- 
 pects anything for himself. I'm afraid I'm different 
 in that respect." 
 
 Sylvia sat silent for a few moments, because she 
 understood. If Herbert granted the favor, he would
 
 144 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 look for something in return, though she had no idea 
 what this would be. She was conscious of a certain 
 hesitation, but she did not allow it to influence her. 
 
 " I don't doubt it," she rejoined with a smile. 
 " Can't you let me have a check ? That will make 
 you my creditor, but I'm not afraid you'll be very ex- 
 acting." 
 
 " Well," was the response, " I will see what I can 
 do." 
 
 She went out and Lansing filled his pipe with a feel- 
 ing of satisfaction. He was not running much risk 
 in parting with the money, and Sylvia might prove 
 useful by and by. 
 
 Sylvia left Brantholme shortly afterward and, 
 somewhat to her annoyance, found Ethel West a guest 
 at the house she visited. Ethel had known Dick; she 
 was a friend of George's, and, no doubt, in regular 
 communication with her brother in Canada. It was 
 possible that she might allude to Sylvia's doings when 
 she wrote; but there was some consolation in remem- 
 bering that George was neither an imaginative nor a 
 censorious person. 
 
 Sylvia had spent a delightful week in her new sur- 
 roundings, when she descended the broad stairway one 
 night with a shawl upon her arm and an elegantly 
 bound little notebook in her hand. A handsome, 
 dark-haired man whose bearing proclaimed him a sol- 
 dier walked at her side. Eland's glance was quick 
 and direct, but he had a genial smile and his manners 
 were usually characterized by a humorous boldness. 
 Still, it was difficult to find fault with them, and Sylvia 
 had acquiesced in his rather marked preference for her
 
 SYLVIA SEEKS AMUSEMENT 145 
 
 society. She was, however, studying the little book as 
 she went down the shallow steps and her expression 
 indicated dissatisfaction. 
 
 " I'm afraid it was my fault, though you had very 
 bad luck," said the man, noticing her look. " I'm 
 dreadfully sorry." 
 
 " It was your fault," Sylvia rejoined, with some 
 petulance. " When I held my best hand I was de- 
 ceived by your lead. Besides, as I told the others, I 
 didn't mean to play; you shouldn't have come down 
 and persuaded me." 
 
 Bland considered. On the whole Sylvia played a 
 good game, but she was obviously a little out of prac- 
 tise, for his lead had really been the correct one, though 
 she had not understood it. This, however, was of 
 no consequence; it was her concluding words that 
 occupied his attention. They had, he thought, been 
 spoken with a full grasp of their significance ; his com- 
 panion was not likely to be guilty of any ill-considered 
 admission. 
 
 ' Then I'm flattered that my influence goes so far, 
 though it's perhaps unlucky in the present instance," 
 he said boldly. " I'll own that I'm responsible for 
 our misfortunes and I'm ready to take the conse- 
 quences. Please give me that book." 
 
 " No," Sylvia replied severely. " I feel guilty for 
 playing at all, but the line must be drawn." 
 
 " Where do you feel inclined to draw it ? " 
 
 They had reached the hall and Sylvia turned and 
 looked at him directly, but with a trace of coquetry. 
 
 " At allowing a comparative stranger to meet my 
 losses, if I must be blunt."
 
 146 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " The arrangement isn't altogether unusual. In 
 this case, it's a duty, and the restriction you make 
 doesn't bar me out. I'm not a stranger." 
 
 " A mere acquaintance then," said Sylvia, 
 
 " That won't do either. It doesn't apply to me." 
 
 " Then I'll have to alter the classification." She 
 broke into a soft laugh. " It's difficult to think of a 
 term to fit; would you like to suggest something? " 
 
 Several epithets occurred to the man, but he feared 
 to make too rash a venture. 
 
 " Well," he said, " would you object to confiden- 
 tial friend?" 
 
 Sylvia's smile seemed to taunt him. 
 
 " Certainly ; it goes too far. One doesn't become 
 a confidential friend in a very limited time." 
 
 " I've known it happen in a few days." 
 
 " Friendships of that kind don't last. In a little 
 while you find you have been deceived. But we won't 
 talk of these things. You can't have the book, and 
 I'm going out." 
 
 He held up the shawl, which she draped about her 
 shoulders, and they strolled on to the terrace. The 
 night was calm and pleasantly cool ; beyond the black 
 line of hedge across the lawn, meadows and harvest 
 fields, with rows of sheaves that cast dark shadows 
 behind them, stretched away in the moonlight. After 
 a while Sylvia stopped and leaned upon the broad- 
 topped wall. 
 
 " It's really pretty," she remarked. 
 
 " Yes," returned Bland ; " it's more than pretty. 
 There's something in it that rests one. I sometimes 
 wish I could live in such a place as this altogether." 
 
 Sylvia was astonished, because she saw he meant it.
 
 SYLVIA SEEKS AMUSEMENT 147 
 
 " After your life, you would get horribly tired of it 
 in three months." 
 
 "After my life? Do you know what that has 
 been?" 
 
 " Race meetings, polo matches, hilarious mess din- 
 ners." 
 
 He laughed, rather shortly. 
 
 " I suppose so ; but they're not the only army duties. 
 Some of the rest are better, abroad; but they're fre- 
 quently accompanied by semi-starvation, scorching heat 
 or stinging cold, and fatigue ; and it doesn't seem to be 
 the rule that those who bear the heaviest strain are re- 
 membered when promotion comes." 
 
 Sylvia studied him attentively. Bland was well and 
 powerfully made, and she liked big men there was 
 more satisfaction in bending them to her will. In 
 spite of his careless good-humor, he bore a certain 
 stamp of distinction ; he was an excellent card-player, 
 he could dance exceptionally well, and she had heard 
 him spoken of as a first-class shot. It was unfortu- 
 nate that these abilities were of less account in a mili- 
 tary career than she had supposed ; but, when properly 
 applied, they carried their possessor some distance in 
 other fields. What was as much to the purpose, Bland 
 appeared to be wealthy, and took a leading part in 
 social amusements and activities. 
 
 " I suppose that is the case," she said sympathet- 
 ically, in answer to his last remark. " You have never 
 told me anything about your last campaign. You 
 were injured in it, were you not? " 
 
 The man had his weaknesses, but they did not in- 
 clude any desire to retail his exploits and sufferings to 
 women's ears. He would not speak of his wounds,
 
 148 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 honorably received, or of perils faced as carelessly as 
 he had exposed his men. 
 
 " Yes," he answered. " But that was bad enough 
 at the time, and the rest of it would make a rather 
 monotonous tale." 
 
 " Surely not ! " protested Sylvia. " The thrill and 
 bustle of a campaign must be wonderfully exciting." 
 
 " The novelty of marching steadily in a blazing 
 sun, drinking bad water, and shoveling trenches half 
 the night, soon wears off," he said with a short laugh, 
 and changed the subject. " One could imagine that 
 you're not fond of quietness." 
 
 Sylvia shivered. The memory of her two years in 
 Canada could not be banished. She looked back on 
 them with something like horror. 
 
 " No," she declared ; " I hate it ! It's deadly to me." 
 
 " Well, I've an idea. There's the Dene Hall charity 
 gymkana comes off in a few days. It's semi-private, 
 and I know the people ; in fact they've made me enter 
 for some of the events. It's a pretty ride to the place, 
 and I can get a good car. Will you come? " 
 
 " I don't know whether I ought," said Sylvia, with 
 some hesitation. 
 
 " Think over it, anyway," he begged her. 
 
 One or two people came out, and when somebody 
 called her name Sylvia left him, without promising. 
 Bland remained leaning on the wall and thinking hard. 
 Sylvia strongly attracted him. She was daintily 
 pretty, quick of comprehension, and, in spite of her 
 black attire, which at times gave her a forlorn air 
 that made him compassionate, altogether charming. 
 It was, however, unfortunate that he could not marry 
 a poor wife, and he knew nothing about Sylvia's
 
 SYLVIA SEEKS AMUSEMENT 149 
 
 means. To do him justice, he had shrunk from any 
 attempt to obtain information on this point; but he 
 felt that it would have to be made before things went 
 too far. His thoughts were interrupted by Ethel 
 West, who strolled along the terrace and stopped close 
 at hand. 
 
 " I didn't expect to find you wrapped in contem- 
 plation," she remarked. 
 
 " As a matter of fact, I've been talking/' 
 
 " To Mrs. Marston ? She's generally considered 
 entertaining." 
 
 Bland looked at her with a smile. He liked Ethel 
 West. She was blunt, without being tactless, and her 
 conversation was sometimes piquant. Moreover, he 
 remembered that Ethel and Sylvia were old ac- 
 quaintances. 
 
 " I find her so," he said. " Though she has ob- 
 viously had trouble, she's very bright. It's a sign of 
 courage." 
 
 " In Sylvia Marston's case, it's largely a reaction. 
 She spent what she regards as two harrowing years in 
 Canada." 
 
 " After all, Canada doesn't seem to be a bad place," 
 said Bland. " Two of my friends, who left the Serv- 
 ice, went out to take up land and they evidently like 
 it. They got lots of shooting, and they've started a 
 pack of hounds." 
 
 Ethel considered. She could have told him that 
 Sylvia's husband had gone out to make a living, and 
 had not been in a position to indulge in costly amuse- 
 ments, but this did not appear advisable. 
 
 " I don't think Marston got a great deal of sport," 
 she said. " He had too much to do."
 
 150 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " A big place to look after? I understand it's wise 
 to buy up all the land you can." 
 
 Ethel's idea of the man's views in respect to Sylvia 
 was confirmed. He was obviously giving her a lead 
 and she followed it, though she did not intend to en- 
 lighten him. 
 
 " Yes," she answered ; " that's the opinion of my 
 brother, who's farming there. He says values are 
 bound to go up as the new railroads are built, and 
 Marston had a good deal of land. Sylvia is pru- 
 dently keeping every acre and farming as much as 
 possible." 
 
 She saw this was satisfactory to Bland, and she had 
 no hesitation in letting him conclude what he liked 
 from it. It was not her part to caution him, and it 
 was possible that if no other suitor appeared, Sylvia 
 might fall back on George, which was a risk that must 
 be avoided at any cost. Ethel did not expect to gain 
 anything for herself; she knew that George had never 
 had any love for her ; but she was determined that he 
 should not fall into Sylvia's hands. He was too fine a 
 man, in many ways, to be thus sacrificed. 
 
 " But how can Mrs. Marston carry on the farm ? " 
 Bland inquired. 
 
 " I should have said her trustees are doing so," 
 Ethel answered carelessly. " One of them went out to 
 look into things not long ago." 
 
 Then she moved away and left Bland with one diffi- 
 culty that had troubled him removed.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 BLAND GETS ENTANGLED 
 
 WHEN Mrs. Kettering heard of Sylvia's inten- 
 tion to attend the gymkana, she gave her con- 
 sent, and said that, as she had an invitation, she would 
 make up a party to go. This was not what Bland 
 required. It was, however, a four-seated car that he 
 had been promised the use of; and counting Sylvia 
 and himself and the driver, there was only one place 
 left. While he was wondering to whom it would be 
 best to offer it, Sylvia thought of Ethel West, who 
 had announced that she would not attend the func- 
 tion. By making a short round, they could pass 
 through a market town of some importance. 
 
 " You mentioned that you wished to buy some 
 things ; why not come with us ? " she said to Ethel. 
 " We could drop you going out and call for you com- 
 ing home. Susan will have the big car full, so she 
 couldn't take you, and it's a long drive to the station 
 and the trains run awkwardly." 
 
 Sylvia's motive was easy to discern, but Ethel 
 agreed. She was, on the whole, inclined to pity Cap- 
 tain Bland ; but he was a stranger and George was a 
 friend. If Sylvia must choose between them, it would 
 be much better that she should take the soldier. For 
 all that, Ethel had an uncomfortable feeling that she 
 was assisting in a piece of treachery when she set
 
 152 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 off soon after lunch on a fine autumn day ; and the car 
 had gone several miles before she began to enjoy the 
 ride. 
 
 For a while the straight white road, climbing stead- 
 ily, crossed a waste of moors. The dry grass gleamed 
 gray and silver among the russet fern ; rounded, white- 
 edged clouds floated, scarcely moving, in a sky of 
 softest blue. The upland air was gloriously fresh, 
 and the speed exhilarating. 
 
 By and by they ran down into a narrow dale in the 
 depths of which a river brawled among the stones, 
 and climbed a long ascent, from which they could see 
 a moving dust-cloud indicating that Mrs. Kettering's 
 car was only a mile or two behind. After that there 
 was a league of brown heath, and then they sped down 
 to a wide, wooded valley, in the midst of which rose 
 the gray walls of an ancient town. On reaching it, 
 Ethel alighted in the market-square, hard by the lofty 
 abbey, and turned to Bland. 
 
 " I have one or two calls to make after I've finished 
 shopping, but if it takes longer than I expected or 
 you can't get here in time, I'll go back by train," she 
 said. " In that case, you must bring me home from 
 the station." 
 
 Bland promised, and Ethel watched the car with a 
 curious expression until it vanished under a time-worn 
 archway. She was vexed with herself for playing 
 into Sylvia's hands, though she had only done so in 
 what she regarded as George's interest. If Sylvia 
 married Bland, the blow would no doubt be a heavy 
 one to George, but it would be better for him in the 
 end. 
 
 In the meanwhile, the car sped on up the valley until
 
 BLAND GETS ENTANGLED 153 
 
 it reached an ancient house built on to a great square 
 tower, where Bland was welcomed by a lady of high 
 importance in the district. Afterward he was famil- 
 iarly greeted by several of her guests, which Sylvia, 
 who had strong ambitions, duly noticed; these people 
 occupied a different station from the one in which 
 she had hitherto moved. When Bland was called away 
 from her, she was shown to a place at some distance 
 from Mrs. Kettering's party, and she sat down and 
 looked about with interest. From the smooth lawn 
 and still glowing borders before the old gray house, a 
 meadow ran down to the river that wandered, gleam- 
 ing, through the valley, and beyond it the brown moors 
 cut against the clear blue sky. In the meadow, a large, 
 oval space was lined with groups of smartly-dressed 
 people, and in its midst rose trim pavilions outside 
 which grooms stood holding beautiful glossy horses. 
 Everything was prettily arranged; the scene, with 
 its air of gayety, appealed to Sylvia, and she enjoyed 
 it keenly, though she was now and then conscious of her 
 somber attire. 
 
 Then the entertainment began, and she admitted that 
 Bland, finely-mounted, was admirable. He took his 
 part in several competitions, and through them all 
 displayed a genial good-humor and easy physical grace. 
 He had for the most part younger men as antagonists, 
 but Sylvia thought that none of them could compare 
 with him in manner or bearing. 
 
 After a while Sylvia noticed with a start of surprise 
 and annoyance that Herbert Lansing was strolling to- 
 ward her. He took an unoccupied chair at her side. 
 
 " What brought you here ? " she asked. 
 
 " That," he said, " is easily explained. I got a kind
 
 156 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 Bland with some details that Sylvia found unintelligi- 
 ble. 
 
 " You must get her along another mile ; then you 
 can go back on a bicycle for what you want," Bland 
 told him, and turned to Sylvia. " We'll be delayed 
 for an hour or so, but he can leave word for Miss 
 West, and there's an inn not far off where they'll give 
 us tea while we're waiting." 
 
 They reached it after turning into another road, 
 though the car made alarming noises during the jour- 
 ney. Sylvia viewed the old building with appreciation. 
 It stood, longtand low and cleanly white-washed, on 
 the brink of a deep ghyll filled with lichened boulders 
 and russet ferns, with a firwood close behind it, and 
 in front a wide vista of moors and fells that stood 
 out darkly blue against the evening light. Near the 
 stone porch, a rustic table stood beside a row of tall 
 red hollyhocks. 
 
 " It's a charming spot," Sylvia exclaimed. " Can't 
 we have tea outside? " 
 
 Bland ordered it and they sat down to a neatly- 
 served meal. The evening was warm and very still 
 and clear. A rattle of wheels reached them from 
 somewhere far down the road and they could hear the 
 faint splash of water in the depths of the ravine. 
 
 " This is really delightful," murmured Sylvia, when 
 the table had been cleared. " I like the quietness of 
 the country when it comes as a contrast, after, for 
 example, such an afternoon as we have spent." 
 
 " Then you're not sorry you came ? " 
 
 " Sorry ? You wouldn't suggest it, if you knew 
 how dull my days often are. But I mustn't be dole- 
 ful. You may smoke, if you like."
 
 BLAND GETS ENTANGLED 157 
 
 Bland did not particularly wish to smoke, but he 
 lighted a cigarette. It seemed to banish formality, to 
 place them on more familiar terms. 
 
 " What is the matter with the car?" Sylvia asked. 
 
 " I'm afraid I can't tell you. It can't be got along 
 without something the man has gone back for." 
 
 " They do stop sometimes. Is this one in the habit 
 of doing so? " 
 
 " I can't say, as it isn't mine. Why do you ask ? " 
 
 " Oh ! " said Sylvia, " I had my suspicions. The 
 man didn't seem in the least astonished or annoyed, 
 for one thing. Then it broke down in such a conveni- 
 ent place." 
 
 Bland laughed; her boldness appealed to him. 
 
 "Well," he declared, "I'm perfectly innocent; 
 though I can't pretend I'm sorry." 
 
 " You felt you had to say that." 
 
 " No," he declared, with a direct glance; " I meant 
 it." 
 
 Sylvia leaned back in her chair and glanced appre- 
 ciatively at the moor. 
 
 " After all," she said, " it's remarkably pretty here, 
 and a change is nice. Ill confess that I find Susan's 
 friends a little boring." 
 
 The implication was that she preferred Eland's so- 
 ciety, and he was gratified. 
 
 " That struck me some time ago," he rejoined. " I 
 wonder if you can guess why I thought it worth while 
 to put up with them?" 
 
 Sylvia smiled as she looked at him. She liked the 
 man; she thought that he had a good deal she valued 
 to offer her ; but as yet she desired only his captivation. 
 She must not allow him to go too far.
 
 158 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " You might have had a number of motives," she 
 said carelessly. " I don't feel much curiosity about 
 them." 
 
 Bland bore the rebuff good-humoredly. Patience 
 was one of his strong points, and since his conversa- 
 tion with Ethel West on the terrace he had made up 
 his mind. In arriving at a decision, the man was hon- 
 est and ready to make some sacrifice. He had been 
 strongly impressed by Sylvia on their first meeting, but 
 he had realized that it would be a mistake to marry 
 her unless she had some means. Hitherto he had 
 found it difficult to meet his expenses, which were 
 large. He did not believe now that Sylvia was rich, 
 and he had seen enough of her to suspect that she was 
 extravagant, but this did not deter him. She had un- 
 doubtedly some possessions, and he was prepared to 
 retrench and deny himself a number of costly pleas- 
 ures. Indeed, he had once or twice thought of leaving 
 the army. 
 
 " Then I won't force an explanation on you," he 
 said, and lighting another cigarette, lazily watched her 
 and tried to analyze her charm. 
 
 He failed to do so. Sylvia was a born coquette, and 
 most dangerous in that her power of attraction was 
 natural, and as a rule she appealed to the better and 
 more chivalrous feelings of her victims. Fragile, and 
 delicately pretty, she looked as if she needed some one 
 to shelter and defend her from all troubles. Bland 
 decided that, although she rarely said anything bril- 
 liant, and he had seen more beautiful women, he had 
 not met one who, taken all round, could compare with 
 Sylvia.
 
 BLAND GETS ENTANGLED 159 
 
 " What are you thinking of? " she asked at length, 
 with a gleam of mischief in her eyes. 
 
 " Oh," he answered, slightly confused, " my mind 
 was wandering. I believe I was trying to explain a 
 thing that's wrapped in impenetrable mystery." 
 
 " One wouldn't have imagined you were given to 
 that kind of amusement, and it's obviously a waste of 
 time. Wouldn't it be wiser to accept the object that 
 puzzles you for what it seems, if it's nice? " 
 
 " It is," he declared, wondering whether this wa^ 
 a random shot on her part or one of the flashes of 
 penetration with which she sometimes surprised him. 
 " Your advice is good." 
 
 " I believe so," responded Sylvia. "If a thing 
 pleases you, don't try to find out too much about it. 
 That's the way to disappointment." 
 
 She was a little astonished at his reply. 
 
 " Perhaps it's a deserved penalty. One should re- 
 spect a beautiful mystery unquestioning faith is a 
 power. It reacts upon its object as well as upon its 
 possessor." 
 
 "Even if it's mistaken?" 
 
 " It couldn't be altogether so," Bland objected. 
 " Nothing that was unworthy could inspire real devo- 
 tion." 
 
 " All this is far too serious," said Sylvia, petulantly ; 
 for her companion's moralizing had awakened a train 
 of unpleasant reflections. 
 
 She did not think unquestioning faith was common, 
 but she knew of one man who was endowed with it, 
 and he was toiling for her sake on the desolate west- 
 ern prairie. Once or twice his belief in her had roused
 
 160 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 angry compunction, and she had revealed the more 
 unfavorable aspects of her character, but he had re- 
 fused to see them. 
 
 " Then what shall we talk about ? " Bland inquired. 
 
 " Anything that doesn't tax one's brain severely. 
 Yourself, for example." 
 
 " I'm not sure that's flattering, and it's an indiffer- 
 ent topic ; but I won't back out. As I gave you your 
 choice, I must take the consequences." 
 
 "Are you always ready to do that?" There was 
 a tiny hint of seriousness in her voice. 
 
 " Well," he said with some dryness, " I generally 
 try." 
 
 There was something that reminded her of George 
 in his expression. The man, she thought, would re- 
 deem what pledge he gave ; he might be guilty of rash- 
 ness, but he would not slink away when the reckoning 
 came. Then she became conscious of a half-tender 
 regret. It was a pity that George was so fond of the 
 background, and left it only when he was needed, 
 while Brand was a prominent figure wherever he went, 
 and this was, perhaps, the one of his characteristics 
 which most impressed her. Then he rather mod- 
 estly began the brief account of his career, adding 
 scraps of information about his relatives, who were 
 people of station. He did not enlarge upon several 
 points that were in his favor, but he omitted to state 
 that he had now and then been on the verge of a 
 financial crisis. 
 
 Sylvia listened with keen interest, and asked a few 
 questions to help him on ; but when he finished she let 
 the subject drop. Soon afterward she glanced down 
 the road, which was growing dim.
 
 BLAND GETS ENTANGLED 161 
 
 " I wish your man would come. It's getting late," 
 she said. 
 
 " He can't be much longer. I don't think you need 
 be disturbed." 
 
 " I am disturbed," Sylvia declared. " I really 
 shouldn't have come to-day ; you will remember I hes- 
 itated." 
 
 "Then it was a temptation?" 
 
 Sylvia smiled rather wistfully. " That must be con- 
 fessed; I need a little stir and brightness and I so 
 seldom get it. You know Muriel; I owe her a good 
 deal, but she's so dull and she makes you feel that 
 everything you like to do is wrong." 
 
 " But you haven't been very long with Mrs. Lan- 
 sing. Wasn't it different in Canada?" Bland had 
 a reason for venturing on the question, though it was 
 rather a delicate one. 
 
 " I can hardly bear to think of it ! For four months 
 in the year I was shut up, half-frozen, in a desolate 
 homestead. There was deep snow all round the place ; 
 nobody came. It was a day's drive to a forlorn settle- 
 ment; nothing ever broke the dreary monotony. In 
 summer one got worn out with the heat and the end- 
 less petty troubles. There was not a moment's rest; 
 the house was filled with plowmen and harvesters, un- 
 couth barbarians who ate at our table and must be 
 waited on." 
 
 Bland was moved to pity ; but he was also consoled. 
 As she had not mentioned Marston, she could not 
 greatly have felt his loss. Sylvia must have married 
 young; no doubt, before she knew her mind. 
 
 " I wish," he said quietly, " I could do something to 
 make your life a little brighter."
 
 162 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " But you can't. I've had one happy day and 
 I'm grateful. It must last me a while." 
 
 He leaned forward, looking at her with an intent 
 expression. 
 
 " Sylvia, give me the right to try." 
 
 She shrank from him with a start that was partly 
 natural, for she was not quite prepared for a bold 
 avowal. 
 
 " No," she said in alarm. " How can I do that ? " 
 
 " Don't you understand me, Sylvia ? I want the 
 right to take care of you." 
 
 She checked him with a gesture. 
 
 " It is you who can't understand. Do you think I'm 
 heartless ? " 
 
 " Nothing could make me think hardly of you," he 
 declared. 
 
 " Then show me some respect and consideration. 
 It was what I looked for ; I felt I was safe with you." 
 
 Though he had not expected strong opposition, he 
 saw that she was determined. He had been too pre- 
 cipitate, and while he had no idea of abandoning his 
 purpose, he bowed. 
 
 "If I've offended, you must forgive me I thought 
 of nothing beyond my longing for you. That won't 
 change or diminish, but I've been rash and have 
 startled you. I must wait." 
 
 He watched her in keen anxiety, but Sylvia gave no 
 hint of her feelings. As a matter of fact, she was 
 wondering why she had checked and repulsed him. 
 She could not tell. A sudden impulse had swayed her, 
 but she was not sorry she had yielded to it. Her hold 
 on the man was as strong as ever; the affair was not 
 ended.
 
 BLAND GETS ENTANGLED 163 
 
 There was silence for the next few minutes. It 
 was growing dark; the hills had faded to blurs of 
 shadows, and the moor ran back, a vast, dim waste. 
 Then a twinkling light moved toward them up the 
 ascending road. Bland rose and pointed to it. 
 
 " I dare say the man has got the things he needed. 
 We'll be off again shortly," he said in his usual man- 
 ner; and Sylvia was grateful. 
 
 In another half-hour the car was ready, and when 
 Bland helped Sylvia in and wrapped the furs about 
 her, there was something new in his care for her com- 
 fort It was a kind of proprietary gentleness which 
 she did not resent. Then they sped away across the 
 dusky moor.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 HERBERT MAKES A CLAIM 
 
 SYLVIA finished her round of visits in a state 
 approaching insolvency. Mrs. Kettering, with 
 whom she stayed some time, indulged in expensive 
 amusements, and though she would have listened with 
 good-humor to a plea of poverty, Sylvia declined to 
 make it. She would not have Bland suspect the state 
 of her affairs, and while he remained in the house 
 she took her part in all that went on, which included 
 card-playing for high stakes. As it happened, she 
 had a steady run of misfortune. Bland sympathized 
 with her and occasionally ventured a remonstrance, but 
 she could see that the cheerful manner in which she 
 faced her losses had its effect on him. 
 
 On the evening of her return, Herbert was strolling 
 along the platform at a busy junction, in the gather- 
 ing dusk, when he noticed Bland speaking to a porter. 
 Soon afterward, Bland came toward him, and Herbert 
 asked him if he were staying in the neighborhood. 
 
 " No," said Bland ; " I'm passing through ; only been 
 here half an hour. We're probably on the same er- 
 rand." 
 
 " I came to meet Mrs. Marston," Herbert told him. 
 
 " And I broke my journey to town with the idea of 
 being of some assistance when she changed." 
 
 164
 
 HERBERT MAKES A CLAIM 165 
 
 " They don't give one much time here, and it's an 
 awkward station," Herbert said, with a careless air. 
 
 It struck him that Sylvia's acquaintance with the 
 man must have ripened rapidly, for he was well in- 
 formed of her movements ; but this was no concern of 
 his. He had thought for some time that a match 
 between her and George would be unsuitable. For a 
 while he and Bland talked about indifferent matters, 
 and then the latter turned to him with a smile. 
 
 " I was very lucky at a small steeplechase," he said. 
 " Backed a rank outsider that only a few friends of 
 mine believed in. Do you know of anything that's 
 bound to go up on the Stock Exchange ? It's in your 
 line, I think." 
 
 " I don't. Such stocks are remarkably scarce. If 
 there's any strong reason for a rise in value, buyers 
 anticipate it." 
 
 " Then perhaps you know of something that has a 
 better chance than the rest ? I expect your tip's worth 
 having." 
 
 " You might try rubber ! " 
 
 " Rubber? Hasn't that been a little overdone? " 
 
 Herbert considered, for this remark confirmed his 
 private opinion. Rubber shares had been in strong 
 demand, but he thought they would not continue in 
 general favor. The suggestion made by an outsider 
 might be supposed to express the view held by small 
 speculators, which had its effect on the market. 
 
 " I gave you my idea, but I can't guarantee suc- 
 cess," he said. " You must use your judgment, and 
 don't blame me if things go wrong." 
 
 " Of course not; the risk's mine," returned Bland; 
 and Herbert thought he meant to follow his advice.
 
 1 66 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 A few minutes later, the train which they were 
 waiting for came in, and Herbert tactfully stood aside 
 when Bland helped Sylvia to alight. Watching her 
 face, he concluded by the absence of any sign of sur- 
 prise that the meeting had been arranged. Bland, 
 however, had little opportunity for conversation amid 
 the bustle; and the train was on the point of starting 
 before Sylvia saw Herbert. He got in as it was mov- 
 ing, and she looked at him sharply. 
 
 " I didn't expect you would meet me." 
 
 " So I supposed," he told her. 
 
 " Oh, well," she said, smiling, " you might have 
 been useful." 
 
 Herbert thought she might have thanked him for 
 coming, considering that he had, by his wife's orders, 
 made an inconvenient journey; but gratitude was not 
 one of Sylvia's virtues. 
 
 " Did you enjoy yourself? " he asked. 
 
 " Yes, on the whole, but I've been dreadfully un- 
 lucky. In fact, I'm threatened by a financial crisis." 
 
 Herbert made a rueful grimace. 
 
 " I know what that means ; I'm getting used to it. 
 But we'll talk the matter over another time. I sup- 
 pose I'm neglecting my duties; I ought to lecture 
 you." 
 
 " Isn't Muriel capable of doing all that's necessary 
 in that line?" 
 
 " She's hampered by not knowing as much as I do," 
 Herbert retorted with a meaning smile. 
 
 Nothing of moment passed between them during the 
 rest of the journey, but some time after they reached 
 home Herbert turned to Sylvia, who was sitting near 
 him, in the absence of his wife.
 
 HERBERT MAKES A CLAIM 167 
 
 " You're short of funds again? " he asked. 
 
 Sylvia explained her embarrassments, and Herbert 
 looked thoughtful. 
 
 " So," he said, " you have spent what George sent, 
 as well as what I advanced you in anticipation of his 
 next remittance. This can't go on, you know." 
 
 " I'll be very economical for the next few months," 
 Sylvia promised penitently. 
 
 "If you're not, you'll find very stern economy im- 
 perative during those that follow ; but I'll let you have 
 a small check before I leave." 
 
 Sylvia thanked him and they talked about other 
 matters for a while. Then he said carelessly: 
 
 " There's a favor you could do me. It won't cost 
 you any trouble. A young man is coming down here 
 next week, and I want you to be as pleasant as you 
 can and make him enjoy his visit. I'm inclined to 
 think he'll appreciate any little attention you can show 
 him." 
 
 ' The last's a cheap compliment," Sylvia rejoined. 
 " Aren't you asking me to undertake your wife's 
 duty?" 
 
 Herbert smiled. 
 
 " Not altogether. Muriel's an excellent hostess ; 
 she will do her part, but I want you to assist her. 
 You have exceptional and rather dangerous gifts." 
 
 " Don't go too far," Sylvia warned him. " But I'd 
 better understand the situation. How long do you 
 expect me to be amiable to the man ? " 
 
 " Only for a couple of days. He might come down 
 again, but that's not certain." 
 
 Sylvia considered, for she saw what Herbert re- 
 quired. She was to exert her powers of fascination
 
 168 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 upon the visitor, in order to make him more pliable in 
 his host's hands. The task was not a disagreeable 
 one, and she had foreseen all along that Herbert, in in- 
 dulging her in various ways, would look for some re- 
 turn. 
 
 " After all," she said, " there's no reason why I 
 should be ungracious to him, so long as he's pleas- 
 ant." 
 
 Herbert carelessly nodded agreement, but Sylvia 
 knew that he expected her to carry out his wishes; 
 and she did not find it difficult when the guest ar- 
 rived. 
 
 Paul Singleton was young, and perhaps unusually 
 susceptible to the influences brought to bear upon him 
 during his visit. Born with some talents, in very 
 humble station, he had by means of scholarships ob- 
 tained an excellent education, and had devoted himself 
 in particular to the study of botany. A prosperous 
 man who took an interest in him sent him out to a 
 tropical plantation, where he wrote a work on the 
 vegetable product of equatorial regions, which secured 
 him notice. Indeed, he was beginning to make his 
 mark as an authority on the subject. So far, how- 
 ever, his life had been one of economy and self-de- 
 nial, and although Lansing's dwelling was not charac- 
 terized by any very marked signs of culture or luxury, 
 it was different from the surroundings to which Single- 
 ton was accustomed. His hostess was staidly cordial 
 and at once set him at his ease; Sylvia was a revela- 
 tion. Her piquant prettiness and her charm of man- 
 ner dazzled him. She played her part well, not 
 merely because she had agreed to do so, but because it 
 was one that strongly appealed to her nature.
 
 HERBERT MAKES A CLAIM 169 
 
 On the second evening of Singleton's visit, he was 
 talking to Sylvia rather confidentially in the drawing- 
 room, where Mrs. Lansing had left them, while Her- 
 bert was seated at a table in his library with a cigar 
 in his hand and a litter of papers in front of him. He 
 was thinking hard, and rubber occupied the foremost 
 place in his mind. He was a director of a company, 
 formed to exploit a strip of rubber-bearing territory 
 in the tropics, which had hitherto been successful; 
 but he felt that it was time to retire from the position 
 and realize the profit on his shares. There was an- 
 other company he and some associates had arranged 
 to launch, but he was now very doubtful whether this 
 would be wise. Rubber exploitations were overdone ; 
 there were signs that investors were losing their con- 
 fidence. Withdrawal, however, was difficult, for it 
 must be quietly effected without breaking prices by 
 any unusual sales. It was therefore desirable that 
 other holders should cling to their shares, and any 
 fresh buying by outsiders would, of course, be so much 
 the better. This was one reason why he had sug- 
 gested a purchase to Bland. 
 
 Opening a book, he noted the amount of stock stand- 
 ing in George's name. This had been purchased by 
 Herbert, who had been given such authority by his 
 cousin at a time when the directors' position needed 
 strengthening, though it had been necessary to dispose 
 of sound shares, yielding a small return. The prompt 
 sale of this stock would secure George a moderate 
 profit, but after some consideration Herbert decided 
 that it should remain. He had no wish that George 
 should suffer, but his own interests stood first. Then 
 he carefully studied several sheets of figures, which
 
 170 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 confirmed his opinion that a drop in the value of the 
 stock he owned might be looked for shortly, though he 
 thought very few people realized this yet. It was 
 time for effective but cautious action. He must un- 
 load as soon as possible. 
 
 By and by he rang a bell, and passed across the 
 cigar box when Singleton came in and sat down op- 
 posite him. He was a wiry, dark-haired man with an 
 intelligent face which had grown rather white and 
 haggard in the tropics. Just now he felt grateful to 
 his host, who had made his stay very pleasant and had 
 given him an opportunity for meeting Sylvia. 
 
 " I suppose you have read my report on your new 
 tropical property? " he said. 
 
 " Yes," answered Herbert, picking up a lengthy doc- 
 ument. " I've given it some thought. On the whole, 
 it isn't optimistic," 
 
 Singleton pondered this. He had learned a little 
 about company floating, and was willing to oblige his 
 host as far as he honestly could. Lansing had enabled 
 him to undertake a search for some rare examples of 
 tropical flora by paying him a handsome fee for the re- 
 port. 
 
 " Well," he said, " there is some good rubber in your 
 territory, as I have stated." 
 
 " But not readily accessible? " 
 
 " I'm afraid I can't say it is." 
 
 Herbert smiled at him. 
 
 " I'm not suggesting such a course. In asking a 
 man of your character and attainments to investigate, 
 I was prompted by the desire to get a reliable re- 
 port." 
 
 Singleton did not know what to make of this ; so far
 
 HERBERT MAKES A CLAIM 171 
 
 as his experience went, gentlemen who paid for an 
 opinion on the property they meant to dispose of did 
 not want an unfavorable one. 
 
 " The rubber's scattered and grows in awkward 
 places," he explained. 
 
 " Precisely." Herbert glanced at the paper. " You 
 mentioned something of the kind. But what about 
 planting and systematic cultivation ? " 
 
 " Soil and climate are eminently suitable." 
 
 " I gather that there's a difficulty in the way of ob- 
 taining native labor? " 
 
 Singleton broke into a grim smile. 
 
 " It's a serious one. The natives consider strangers 
 as their lawful prey, and they lately managed to give 
 a strong punitive expedition a good deal of trouble. 
 In fact, as they're in a rather restless mood, the au- 
 thorities were very dubious about letting me go in- 
 land, and in spite of the care I took, they got two of 
 my colored carriers. Shot them with little poisoned 
 arrows." 
 
 "Ah!" ejaculated Herbert. "Poisoned arrows? 
 That should have a deterrent effect." 
 
 " Singularly so. A slight prick is enough to wipe 
 you out within an hour. It's merciful the time is so 
 s^ort." 
 
 " That," said Herbert, " was not quite what I meant. 
 I was thinking of the effect upon the gentlemen who 
 wish to launch this company." 
 
 " The risk isn't attached to their end of the busi- 
 ness," Singleton dryly pointed out. 
 
 Herbert did not answer. While he sat, with knitted 
 brows, turning over some of the papers in front of 
 him, Singleton looked about. Hitherto his life had
 
 172 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 been spent in comfortless and shabby English lodgings, 
 in the sour steam of tropic swamps, and in galvanized 
 iron factories that were filled all day with an intoler- 
 able heat. As a result of this, his host's library im- 
 pressed him. It was spacious and furnished in ex- 
 cellent taste; a shaded silver lamp stood on the table, 
 diffusing a restricted light that made the room look 
 larger; a clear wood fire burned in the grate. The 
 effect of all he saw was tranquilizing ; and the house 
 as a whole, inhabited, as it was, by two charming, 
 cultured women, struck him as a delightful place of 
 rest. He wondered with longing whether he would 
 have an opportunity for coming back to it. 
 
 Then his host looked up. 
 
 " Have you any strong objections to recasting this 
 report ? " he asked. " Don't mistake me. I'm not 
 asking you to color things in any way ; I want simple 
 facts. After what you have told me, I can't consider 
 the prospects of our working the concessions very fa- 
 vorable." 
 
 Singleton was surprised; Lansing's attitude was 
 puzzling, considering that he had suggested the flota- 
 tion of the projected company. 
 
 " Do you want the drawbacks insisted on ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 Herbert smiled. 
 
 " I don't want them mitigated ; state them clearly. 
 Include what you told me about the trouble with the 
 natives, and the poisoned arrows." 
 
 Then a light broke in upon Singleton. He had not 
 placed his host in the same category with Mrs. Lan- 
 sing and Sylvia. It looked as if he had changed his
 
 HERBERT MAKES A CLAIM 173 
 
 plans and wished to prevent the company from being 
 formed. This caused Singleton to consider how far 
 he would be justified in assisting him. He could hon- 
 estly go some length in doing so, and, having fallen a 
 victim to Sylvia's charm, he was willing to do his 
 utmost. 
 
 " There's no doubt that some of the facts are dis- 
 couraging," he said. 
 
 Herbert looked at him keenly. 
 
 " That is what struck me. Suppose you think the 
 thing over and bring me down a fresh report a week 
 from to-day. Stay a day or two, if you're not busy ; I 
 can get you some shooting, and we can talk over any 
 points that seem to require it at leisure." 
 
 Singleton sat silent a moment. He wanted to come 
 back, and he did not believe the concession could be 
 profitably worked by any usual methods. For all that, 
 he thought he could make something of the property ; 
 it was not altogether worthless, though it would re- 
 quire exceptional treatment. 
 
 " Perhaps that would be better," he replied. " I 
 should be delighted to make another visit." 
 
 Herbert took up the paper and looked at Singleton 
 with a smile as he flung it into the fire. 
 
 " Now I think we'll go down," he said. " Mrs. 
 Lansing will be waiting for us." 
 
 Singleton spent the remainder of the evening with 
 great content, talking to Sylvia. When she left him, 
 Herbert met her in the hall. 
 
 ' Thanks," he smiled meaningly. " Did you find the 
 man interesting?" 
 
 "To some extent," returned Sylvia; "he's a type
 
 174 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 that's new to me. Still, of course, he's a little raw, 
 and inclined to be serious. I think one could see too 
 much of him." 
 
 " He's coming down again in a week." 
 
 " Oh ! " said Sylvia, with signs of protest " And 
 after that?" 
 
 Herbert laughed. 
 
 " I don't think he'll make a third visit."
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 A FORCED RETIREMENT 
 
 SIXGLETON came down again to Brantholme, 
 bringing his amended report, which met with 
 Herbert's approval. He spent one wet day walking 
 through turnip fields and stubble in search of part- 
 ridges, and two delightful evenings with Mrs. Lan- 
 sing and Sylvia, and then he was allowed to depart. 
 He had^eerved his purpose, and Herbert was glad to 
 get rid of him. Lansing generally found it desirable 
 to drop men for whom he had no more use ; but he had 
 not done with Singleton. 
 
 A day or two later, after his guest had left. Herbert 
 sat in his office in a busy town with an open ledger in 
 front of him. He looked thoughtful, and, as a matter 
 of fact, he was reviewing the latter part of his business 
 career, which had been marked by risks, boldly faced, 
 but attended by keen anxiety. Though his wife had 
 some money, Lansing had been hampered by lack of 
 capital, and George's money had been placed at his dis- 
 posal at a very opportune time. It had enabled him 
 to carry the rubber company over what might have 
 proved a crisis, and thus strengthen his position as di- 
 rector, by purchasing sufficient shares on George's ac- 
 count to keep the price from falling and defeat the 
 intrigues of a clique of discontented investors. Now, 
 however, the strain had slackened; Herbert's schemes 
 
 175
 
 176 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 had succeeded, and he had only to take his profit by 
 selling out as quietly as possible. He had already 
 given a broker orders to do so. He rather regretted 
 that he could not dispose of George's shares, but these 
 must be kept a little longer; to throw a large quantity 
 upon the market would have a depressing effect and 
 might arouse suspicion. 
 
 Presently a man with whom he had dealings was 
 shown in and sat down. His appearance indicated 
 some degree of prosperity, but he looked disturbed 
 and anxious. 
 
 " I met Jackson yesterday, and after what he told 
 me of his interview with you, I thought I'd better run 
 up and see you at once," he explained. 
 
 Herbert had expected the visit. 
 
 " I'm at your service," he said. 
 
 " What about the new company ? I understand you 
 haven't come to any decision yet about the suggestions 
 we sent you for its flotation." 
 
 " No," replied Herbert. " In fact, I've reasons for 
 believing it wouldn't be wise to go any farther in the 
 matter." 
 
 The other looked at him in astonishment. 
 
 " Well," he said, " I heard that you were not so 
 enthusiastic as you were not long ago, which is why 
 I came down; but I never expected this! Anyway, 
 after what we have done, you are bound to go on with 
 the thing. Our success with the first company will 
 help the shares off." 
 
 ' That's not certain." Herbert handed him a paper. 
 " You haven't seen Singleton's report." 
 
 The man read it hastily, his face changing. Then 
 he looked up with signs of strong indignation.
 
 A FORCED RETIREMENT 177 
 
 " You let him give you a thing like this ? Paid 
 him for it?" 
 
 "What could I do? The man's honest. He de- 
 clares the country's dangerous; he had two carriers 
 killed. There's no prospect of our obtaining the need- 
 ful native labor." 
 
 " Send somebody else out at once ! " 
 
 " With the same result. Besides, it's expensive. 
 Singleton's fee wasn't so big, because he shared the 
 cost of his orchid collecting or something of the kind 
 with us. Then he might talk, and there would always 
 be the risk of somebody's challenging us with suppress- 
 ing his report. If things went wrong, that would lead 
 to trouble." 
 
 " Would there be any use in my seeing him ? " 
 
 Herbert smiled. Singleton would not turn against 
 him ; Sylvia had made her influence felt. 
 
 " Not the slightest," he answered. " You can take 
 that for granted." 
 
 His visitor pondered for a moment or two ; and then 
 he crumpled the report in his hand, growing red in the 
 face. 
 
 " You seem content with this production. It looks 
 as if you had meant to back out." 
 
 Herbert looked at him tranquilly. 
 
 " Well," he said, " that's my intention now ; and I 
 don't think that you can induce me to alter it. I can't 
 see that we would be justified in floating the concern." 
 
 " But it was you who suggested it and led us on ! 
 What about the money we have already spent ? " 
 
 " It's gone. I'm sorry, but things don't always turn 
 out right. When I first mentioned the matter, the. 
 prospects looked good ; investigation places them in a
 
 178 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 less favorable light, for which you can hardly hold me 
 responsible. You took a business risk." 
 
 The other man angrily flung the report on the table. 
 
 " This has been a blow to me, and I'm far from ap- 
 preciating the course you've taken. But what about 
 the older concern? Though we don't seem to have 
 turned out much rubber yet, I suppose its position is 
 still satisfactory? " 
 
 Herbert saw suspicion in the man's face and he rang 
 a bell. 
 
 " I think you had better satisfy yourself; I have the 
 necessary particulars here." 
 
 He indicated some books on a neighboring shelf; 
 and then added, when a clerk appeared : 
 
 " Will you bring me the extract of our working ex- 
 penses that I asked you to make out? " 
 
 The clerk came back with a sheet of figures, which 
 Herbert handed to his visitor with one of the books, 
 and the man spent some time carefully examining 
 them. 
 
 "Everything looks satisfactory; I've no fault to 
 find," he said at length. " But I feel very sore about 
 your giving up the new undertaking." 
 
 " It can't be helped," explained Herbert. " If it's 
 any comfort to you, I dropped as much money over 
 preliminary expenses as you did." 
 
 After a little further conversation, his visitor left 
 and Herbert resumed his work. On the whole, the 
 interview had been less embarrassing than he expected, 
 and though it was likely that the rest of his colleagues 
 would call and expostulate, he was ready to meet them. 
 His excuse for abandoning the project was, on the face 
 of it, a good one; but he had no thought of giving
 
 A FORCED RETIREMENT 179 
 
 these men, who were largely interested in the original 
 company, a word of warning. It was undesirable 
 that they should sell their shares until he had disposed 
 of his. They had, he argued, the same opportunities 
 for forecasting the course of the market and gaging 
 the trend of investors' ideas as he enjoyed, and if they 
 did not make use of them, it was their fault. The 
 stock had reached a satisfactory premium, which was 
 all that he had promised ; he could not be expected to 
 guarantee its remaining at the high level. 
 
 During the next three or four weeks his broker sold 
 out his shares in small blocks, and when the quantity 
 had been largely reduced, Herbert decided that he 
 would dispose of those he had purchased on George's 
 account. Though there were signs of a diminishing 
 interest in such stock, values had scarcely begun to fall, 
 and having made his position secure, he did not wish 
 his cousin to incur a loss. Accordingly he sent in- 
 structions to sell another lot of shares. 
 
 He was very busy the next day when a telegram 
 was brought him, but he sat still for some minutes con- 
 sidering it. The market, it stated, had suddenly fallen 
 flat, and as prices were giving way sharply, further 
 orders were requested. The change Herbert had 
 foreseen had come a little sooner than he had ex- 
 pected. He still held some shares, which he had 
 thought of keeping, because it might, after all, prove 
 judicious to retain a degree of control in the company, 
 and having sold the rest at a good profit, a moderate 
 fall in their value would be of less consequence. The 
 drop, however, was marked, and he decided to further 
 reduce the quantity standing in his name, instead of 
 realizing those belonging to his cousin. George must
 
 178 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 less favorable light, for which you can hardly hold me 
 responsible. You took a business risk." 
 
 The other man angrily flung the report on the table. 
 
 " This has been a blow to me, and I'm far from ap- 
 preciating the course you've taken. But what about 
 the older concern? Though we don't seem to have 
 turned out much rubber yet, I suppose its position is 
 still satisfactory ? " 
 
 Herbert saw suspicion in the man's face and he rang 
 a bell. 
 
 " I think you had better satisfy yourself; I have the 
 necessary particulars here." 
 
 He indicated some books on a neighboring shelf; 
 and then added, when a clerk appeared : 
 
 " Will you bring me the extract of our working ex- 
 penses that I asked you to make out? " 
 
 The clerk came back with a sheet of figures, which 
 Herbert handed to his visitor with one of the books, 
 and the man spent some time carefully examining 
 them. 
 
 "Everything looks satisfactory; I've no fault to 
 find," he said at length. " But I feel very sore about 
 your giving up the new undertaking." 
 
 " It can't be helped," explained Herbert. " If it's 
 any comfort to you, I dropped as much money over 
 preliminary expenses as you did." 
 
 After a little further conversation, his visitor left 
 and Herbert resumed his work. On the whole, the 
 interview had been less embarrassing than he expected, 
 and though it was likely that the rest of his colleagues 
 would call and expostulate, he was ready to meet them. 
 His excuse for abandoning the project w r as, on the face 
 of it, a good one; but he had no thought of giving
 
 A FORCED RETIREMENT 179 
 
 these men, who were largely interested in the original 
 company, a word of warning. It was undesirable 
 that they should sell their shares until he had disposed 
 of his. They had, he argued, the same opportunities 
 for forecasting the course of the market and gaging 
 the trend of investors' ideas as he enjoyed, and if they 
 did not make use of them, it was their fault. The 
 stock had reached a satisfactory premium, which was 
 all that he had promised ; he could not be expected to 
 guarantee its remaining at the high level. 
 
 During the next three or four weeks his broker sold 
 out his shares in small blocks, and when the quantity 
 had been largely reduced, Herbert decided that he 
 would dispose of those he had purchased on George's 
 account. Though there were signs of a diminishing 
 interest in such stock, values had scarcely begun to fall, 
 and having made his position secure, he did not wish 
 his cousin to incur a loss. Accordingly he sent in- 
 structions to sell another lot of shares. 
 
 He was very busy the next day when a telegram 
 was brought him, but he sat still for some minutes con- 
 sidering it. The market, it stated, had suddenly fallen 
 flat, and as prices were giving way sharply, further 
 orders were requested. The change Herbert had 
 foreseen had come a little sooner than he had ex- 
 pected. He still held some shares, which he had 
 thought of keeping, because it might, after all, prove 
 judicious to retain a degree of control in the company, 
 and having sold the rest at a good profit, a moderate 
 fall in their value would be of less consequence. The 
 drop, however, was marked, and he decided to further 
 reduce the quantity standing in his name, instead of 
 realizing those belonging to his cousin. George must
 
 i8o RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 take his chance; and the market might rally. As a 
 result of these reflections he wired his broker to sell, 
 and in a few hours received an answer. 
 
 " Sale effected within limit given, market since 
 broken badly, expect slump." 
 
 Herbert saw that he had acted with prudence, 
 though it was evident that his cousin had incurred a 
 serious loss. He was sorry for this, but it could not 
 be helped. 
 
 A few days later he was sitting beside the fire at 
 home after his evening meal when Sylvia entered the 
 room in his wife's absence. She stood near the hearth, 
 examining some embroidery in her hand, but she 
 looked up presently, and it became evident that she 
 had been reading the papers. 
 
 " There seems to be a sharp fall in rubber shares," 
 she said. " Will it affect you ? " 
 
 " No," replied Herbert, " not seriously." 
 
 " I suppose that means you must have anticipated 
 the fall and sold out unloaded, I think you call it 
 in time ? " 
 
 Herbert did not wish to discuss the matter. He 
 had already had one or two trying interviews with his 
 business colleagues, and the opinions they had ex- 
 pressed about him still rankled in his mind. He was 
 not particularly sensitive, but the subject was an un- 
 pleasant one. 
 
 " Something of the kind," he answered. " One has 
 to take precautions." 
 
 Sylvia laughed. 
 
 " One could imagine your taking them. You're not 
 the man to be caught at a disadvantage, are you? "
 
 A FORCED RETIREMENT 181 
 
 " Well," he said dryly, " it's a thing I try to avoid." 
 
 Sylvia sat down, as if she meant to continue the 
 conversation, which was far from what he desired, but 
 he could not be discourteous. 
 
 " Had George any shares in your company ? " she 
 asked. 
 
 There was no way of avoiding a reply, without 
 arousing her suspicions; Herbert knew that she was 
 keen-witted and persistent. 
 
 " Yes," he said, " he had a quantity." 
 
 " Have those shares been sold ? " 
 
 This was a more troublesome question, but Herbert 
 was compelled to answer. 
 
 " No ; not yet. It's unfortunate that the market 
 broke before I could get rid of them, but it may rally. 
 I'm rather disturbed about the matter; but, after all, 
 one has to take one's chance in buying shares. Deal- 
 ing in the speculative sorts is to a large extent a game 
 of hazard." 
 
 " I suppose so, but then somebody must win." 
 
 " No," returned Herbert, " now and then everybody 
 loses." 
 
 Sylvia glanced at him with a mocking smile. 
 
 "Even those in the inside ring? When that hap- 
 pens, it must be something like a catastrophe. But 
 I'm sorry for George; he doesn't deserve this." 
 
 Herbert could not deny it; but, to his surprise, the 
 girl leaned forward, speaking in an authoritative tone. 
 
 " I don't know what you can do, but you must do 
 something to get George out of the difficulty. It's 
 obvious that you led him into it he isn't the man 
 to go in for rash speculation; he would have chosen 
 something safe."
 
 182 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 It was a relief to Herbert that his wife came in just 
 then; but, as he had reason for believing that she 
 would not remain, he decided that he would go out and 
 post some letters. Sylvia seemed to be in an inquisi- 
 tive mood, and he did not wish to be left alone with 
 her. 
 
 The night was fine but dark; in places a thin, low- 
 lying mist that hung over the meadows obscured the 
 hedgerows, and it grew more dense as Herbert ap- 
 proached the river, which brawled noisily among the 
 stones. The man, however, scarcely noticed this ; his 
 mind was occupied with other matters. Sylvia's atti- 
 tude had disturbed him. She was useful as an ally, 
 but she could not be allowed to criticize his conduct 
 or to give him orders. Moreover, he had reasons for 
 believing that investors in his company might share 
 her views, and he looked for serious trouble with two 
 or three gentlemen who blamed him for their losses, 
 and had so far incivilly refused to be pacified by his 
 explanations. 
 
 Herbert was of a philosophic disposition, and real- 
 ized that one must not expect too much. Having 
 made a handsome profit, he felt that he ought to be 
 content, and bear a certain amount of suspicion and 
 contumely with unruffled good-humor. For all that, 
 he found it disagreeable to be looked upon as a trick- 
 ster, and it was worse when his disgusted associates 
 used more offensive epithets in his presence. 
 
 He was considering how he should deal with them 
 when he entered a thicker belt of mist. It shut him in 
 so that he could see nothing ahead, but there was a 
 strong fence between him and the river, and he went 
 on, lost in thought, until the mist was suddenly il-
 
 A FORCED RETIREMENT 183 
 
 luminated and a bright light flashed along the road. 
 The hoot of a motor-horn broke out behind him, and, 
 rudely startled, he sprang aside. He was too late; 
 somebody cried out in warning, and the next moment 
 he was conscious of a blow that flung him bodily for- 
 ward. He came down with a crash; something 
 seemed to grind him into the stones ; there was a stab- 
 bing pain in his side, and he lost consciousness. 
 
 Fortunately, the big car was promptly stopped, and 
 two men sprang down. An indistinct object lay just 
 behind the forward pair of wheels, and in anxious 
 haste they dragged it clear and into the glare of the 
 lamps. Herbert's hat had fallen off; he was scarcely 
 breathing, and his face was ghastly white; but one of 
 the men recognized him. 
 
 " It's Lansing," he exclaimed. " Seems badly hurt, 
 though I'd nearly pulled her up when she struck him." 
 
 " He was dragged some way ; jacket must have 
 caught the starting crank or something; but that 
 doesn't matter now." He raised his voice. " Dread- 
 fully sorry, Mr. Lansing; can you hear me? " 
 
 There was no answer, and the man shook his head. 
 
 " I'm afraid this is serious." 
 
 His companion looked unnerved, but he roused him- 
 self with an effort. 
 
 " It is, and we're behaving like idiots, wasting time 
 that may be valuable. Get hold and lift him in; his 
 house is scarcely a mile away." 
 
 They had some difficulty in getting the unconscious 
 man into the car; and then its owner backed it twice 
 into a bank before he succeeded in turning round, but 
 in three or four minutes they carried Herbert into 
 Brantholme, and afterward drove away at top speed
 
 184 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 in search of assistance. It was, however, an hour later 
 when they returned with a doctor, and he looked grave 
 after he had examined his patient. 
 
 " Your husband has two ribs broken," he told Mrs. 
 Lansing. " In a way, that's not very serious, but he 
 seems to be prostrated by the shock. There are a 
 few things that must be done at once ; and then we'll 
 have to keep him as quiet as possible." 
 
 It was two hours later when he left the house, prom- 
 ising to return early the next day with a nurse; and 
 Herbert lay, still and unconscious, in a dimly lighted 
 room.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 HERBERT IS PATIENT 
 
 the second morning after the accident, Herbert, 
 lying stiffly swathed in bandages, opened his eyes 
 in a partly darkened room. A nurse was standing 
 near a table, and when the injured man painfully 
 turned his head, the doctor, who had been speaking to 
 her, came toward him. 
 
 " I think we can let you talk a little now," he said. 
 "How do you feel?" " 
 
 Herbert's face relaxed into a feeble smile. 
 
 " Very far from happy. I suppose I've been badly 
 knocked about ? " 
 
 " I've treated more serious cases, and you'll get over 
 it. But you'll have to reconcile yourself to lying quiet 
 for a long while." 
 
 Herbert made no reply to this, but his expression 
 suggested that he was trying to think. 
 
 " Has the thing got into the papers ? " he asked. 
 
 The doctor was a little surprised ; it seemed a curious 
 point for his patient to take an interest in, but he was 
 willing to indulge him. 
 
 " It's early yet, but one of the Courier people stopped 
 me as I was driving out and I gave him a few particu- 
 lars. You can't hush the matter up." 
 
 "No," said Herbert. "You did quite right. 
 
 185
 
 1 86 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 Hadn't you better mention exactly what's the matter 
 with me ? " 
 
 " If I did, you wouldn't understand it," said the 
 doctor, who generally adopted a cheerful, half-humor- 
 ous tone. " In plain English, you have two ribs 
 broken, besides a number of contusions, and I'm in- 
 clined to suspect your nervous system has received a 
 nasty shock." 
 
 "And the cure?" 
 
 " Complete rest, patience, and perhaps a change of 
 scene when you're able to get about." 
 
 " That means I'll have to drop all active interest in 
 my business for some time? " 
 
 " I'm afraid so ; by and by we'll consider when you 
 can resume it." 
 
 It struck the doctor that Herbert was not displeased 
 with the information; and that seemed strange, con- 
 sidering that he was a busy, energetic man. He lay 
 silent a while with an undisturbed expression. 
 
 " I wonder if you would write a telegram and a let- 
 ter for me ? " he asked at length. 
 
 " With pleasure, if you don't think you have talked 
 enough. Can't you wait until to-morrow? " 
 
 " I'll feel easier when I've got it off my mind." 
 
 The doctor thought this likely. He made a sign of 
 acquiescence and took out his notebook; and Herbert 
 give him the rubber company's London address and 
 then dictated: 
 
 " Regret I am incapacitated for business for indefi- 
 nite period by motor accident. If advisable appoint 
 nerv director in my place before shareholders' meeting, 
 'which cannot attend. Compelled to remain in strict 
 quietness"
 
 HERBERT IS PATIENT 187 
 
 " You might send these people a short note," he 
 added, " stating that I'm submitting to your advice, 
 and giving them a few particulars about my injuries." 
 
 " I'll be glad to do so." 
 
 " Then there's only another thing. I'd like some 
 notice of the accident put into a leading London paper 
 it will explain my retirement to people who would 
 soon begin to wonder why I wasn't at my post." 
 
 " It shall be attended to ; but I scarcely think Mr. 
 Phillips and his motoring friend will appreciate the 
 notoriety you will confer on them." 
 
 Herbert smiled. 
 
 " There's no reason why I should consider Phillips. 
 If he will drive furiously in the dark and run over 
 people this isn't his first accident he must take 
 the consequences. But you can tell him, with my 
 compliments, that I'll let him off, if he'll be more cau- 
 tious in future. Now I feel that I'd like to rest or go 
 to sleep again." 
 
 The doctor went out somewhat puzzled his pa- 
 tient seemed singularly resigned to inaction and glad 
 to escape from commercial affairs, instead of chafing 
 at his misfortune. After exchanging a few words 
 with Mrs. Lansing, he met Sylvia in the hall. 
 
 " How is he this morning? " she asked. 
 
 " Better than I expected, able to take an interest in 
 things. I was glad to find him so acquiescent it 
 isn't usual. He didn't seem disturbed when he asked 
 me to write a telegram expressing his willingness to 
 give up his director's post." 
 
 He had not mentioned this matter to Mrs. Lansing. 
 In several ways Sylvia struck him as being the more 
 capable woman, though this was not the impression
 
 188 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 her appearance had upon the less practised observers. 
 She looked thoughtful at his news. 
 
 " I suppose such a course is necessary," she re- 
 marked. 
 
 " I believe it's advisable; that is, if there's any like- 
 lihood that his duties will make much demand on him 
 for some time to come." 
 
 Sylvia changed the subject. 
 
 " Have you any particular instructions ? " 
 
 " None beyond those I've given the nurse. Quiet- 
 ness is the great thing; but it doesn't look as if he'll 
 cause you much trouble." 
 
 The prediction was justified. With the exception 
 of a few complaints about his physical discomfort, 
 Herbert displayed an exemplary patience and soon be- 
 gan to improve, for his recovery was assisted by the 
 tranquil state of his mind. The accident had hap- 
 pened at a very opportune time : it furnished an excel- 
 lent excuse for withdrawing from an embarrassing 
 situation and it would save his credit, if, as seemed 
 probable, difficulties shortly threatened the rubber 
 company. It would look as if any trouble that might 
 fall upon the concern was the result of his having been 
 forced to relinquish control, and nobody could ration- 
 ally blame him for being run over. 
 
 He was lying in a sunny room one afternoon when 
 two gentlemen were shown in. One was the caller 
 with whom he had an interview in his office before the 
 accident. They inquired about his progress with 
 rather forced courtesy ; and then one of them said : 
 
 " We looked in on the doctor who wrote to us about 
 your injury before we came here, and he told us you
 
 HERBERT IS PATIENT 189 
 
 were strong enough for a little quiet conversation. 
 We haven't appointed another director yet." 
 
 " Then you had better do so," Herbert advised. 
 
 " You mean to stick to your withdrawal ? You're 
 the only person who can pull the company out of its 
 difficulties." 
 
 " Has it got into any difficulties ? " Herbert inquired. 
 " You see^ I've been compelled to give orders for all 
 correspondence to be dealt with at the London office, 
 and I'm advised not to read the financial papers or any- 
 thing that might have a disturbing effect." 
 
 The man who had not yet spoken betrayed some 
 impatience. 
 
 " We're up to the eyes in trouble, as you must have 
 guessed. Have you asked yourself what the body of 
 the shareholders are likely to think ? " 
 
 " It's fairly obvious. They'll consider it a misfor- 
 tune that I was knocked over shortly before a crit- 
 ical time; possibly they'll attribute everything un- 
 satisfactory in the company's affairs to my not being 
 in charge." 
 
 One of the visitors glanced meaningly at his com- 
 panion. There was truth in what Lansing said. The 
 angry shareholders would not discriminate carefully; 
 they would blame the present directors, who would 
 have to face a serious loss while Lansing had made a 
 profit. It was a galling situation; and what made it 
 worse was that Lansing's expression hinted that he 
 found it somewhat humorous. 
 
 ' The f^ct that you sold out so soon before the fall 
 will have its significance," said the first man. " The 
 thing has a suspicious look."
 
 190 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " I must risk a certain amount of misconception," 
 Herbert replied languidly. " I may as well point out 
 that I still hold the shares required as a director's 
 qualification, which is all it was necessary for me to 
 do. Was it your intention to keep the stock you hold 
 permanently ? " 
 
 They could not answer him, and he smiled. 
 
 " As a matter of fact, we all intended to sell off a 
 good portion as soon as the premium justified it; the 
 only difference of opinion was about the point it must 
 reach, and that, of course, was a matter of tempera- 
 ment. Well, I was lucky enough to get rid of part 
 of my stock at a profit ; and there was nothing to pre- 
 vent your doing the same. Instead of that, you held 
 on until the drop came; it was an imprudence for 
 which you can't blame me." 
 
 " Our complaint is that you foresaw the fall and 
 never said a word." 
 
 " Granted. Why didn't you foresee it ? You had 
 the right of access to all the information in my hands ; 
 you could inspect accounts in the London office; I 
 suppose you read the financial papers. It would have 
 been presumptuous if I'd recommended you to sell, 
 and my forecast might have proved incorrect. In 
 that case you would have blamed me for losing your 
 money." 
 
 This was incontestable. Though they knew he had 
 betrayed them, Lansing's position was too strong to be 
 assailed. 
 
 '* You might have mentioned that you contemplated 
 retiring from the board," one remarked. " Then we 
 would have known what to expect." 
 
 " A little reflection will show the futility of your
 
 HERBERT IS PATIENT 191 
 
 suggestion. How could I contemplate being run over 
 by a motor-car? " 
 
 " \Yell," said the second man in a grim tone, " you 
 can't deny the accident was in some respects a for- 
 tunate one for you." 
 
 " I'm doubtful whether you would have appreciated 
 it, in my place. But you don't seem to realize that 
 I'm withdrawing from the board because I'm incapac- 
 itated for the duties." 
 
 Then the nurse, to whom Herbert had given a hint, 
 came in; and he made a sign of resignation, quite as 
 though overpowered by regret. 
 
 " I'm sorry I'm not allowed to talk very much yet. 
 Will you have a cigar and some refreshment before 
 you leave- " 
 
 His visitors rose, and one of them turned to him 
 with a curious expression. 
 
 " No, thanks," he said pointedly. " Considering 
 everything. I don't think we'll give you the trouble." 
 
 "With a few conventional words they withdrew, and 
 Herbert smiled at the nurse. 
 
 " I believe Dr. Rallin was most concerned about the 
 injury to my nerves," he said. " Have you noticed 
 anything wrong with them?" 
 
 " Not lately. They seem to be in a normal state." 
 
 " That." said Herbert. " is my own opinion. You 
 wouldn't imagine that Fnad just finished a rather try- 
 ing interview ? " 
 
 " No ; you look more amused than upset.'* 
 
 " There was something humorous in the situation ; 
 that's often the ease \\hen you see greedy people wast- 
 ing effort and ingenuity. Perhaps you heard my vis- 
 itors expressing their anxiety about my health, though
 
 I 9 2 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 I've a suspicion that they felt more like wishing the 
 car had made an end of me." 
 
 The nurse laughed and told him that he had better 
 rest; and Herbert lay back upon the cushions she ar- 
 ranged, with calm content. 
 
 During the evening, Sylvia entered the room, 
 dressed a little more carefully than usual, and Herbert 
 glanced at her with appreciation. 
 
 " You look charming, though that's your normal 
 state," he said. " Where are you going? " 
 
 " With Muriel, to dine with the Wests ; have you 
 forgotten? But I came in because Muriel told me 
 you had a letter from George by the last post." 
 
 " So you're still interested in his doings," Herbert 
 rejoined. 
 
 "Of course. Does that surprise you? " 
 
 " I was beginning to think there was some risk of 
 your forgetting him, which, perhaps, wouldn't be al- 
 together unnatural. He's a long way off, which has 
 often its effect, and there's no denying the fact that in 
 many respects you and he are different." 
 
 " Doesn't the same thing apply to you and Muriel ? 
 Everybody knows you get on excellently in spite of 
 it" 
 
 Herbert laughed. He was aware that his friends 
 had wondered why he had married Muriel, and sus- 
 pected that some of them believed her money had 
 tempted him. Nevertheless, he made her an affection- 
 ate as well as a considerate husband. In business mat- 
 ters he practised the easy morality of a hungry beast 
 of prey, but he had his virtues. 
 
 " Yes," he said, " that's true. Do you find it en- 
 couraging?"
 
 HERBERT IS PATIENT 193 
 
 Sylvia had felt a little angry, though she had known 
 that it was seldom wise to provoke her host. 
 
 Without waiting for her answer he continued, half 
 seriously : ' There's often one person who thinks 
 better of us than we deserve, and I dare say I'm 
 fortunate in that respect. In such a case, one feels it 
 an obligation not to abuse that person's confidence." 
 
 A slight flush crept into Sylvia's face. George be- 
 lieved in her and she was very shabbily rewarding his 
 trust. 
 
 " I'm surprised to hear you moralizing. It's not a 
 habit of yours," she remarked. 
 
 "No," said Herbert, pointedly; "though it may 
 now and then make one feel a little uncomfortable, it 
 seldom does much good. But we were talking about 
 Gorge. He tells me that winter's beginning unusu- 
 ally soon; they've had what he calls a severe cold 
 snap and the prairie's deep with snow. He bought 
 some more stock and young horses as an offset to the 
 bad harvest, and he's doubtful whether he has put up 
 hay enough. West and he are busy hauling stove- 
 wood home from a bluff ; and he has had a little trou- 
 ble with some shady characters as a result of his taking 
 part in a temperance campaign. I think that's all he 
 has to say." 
 
 Sylvia broke into half-incredulous merriment. 
 
 " It's hard to imagine George as a temperance re- 
 former. Think of him, making speeches!" 
 
 " Speeches aren't much in George's line," Herbert 
 admitted. " Still, in one way, I wasn't greatly aston- 
 ished at the news. He's just the man to be drawn 
 into difficulties he might avoid, provided that somebody 
 could convince him the thing needed doing."
 
 194 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " Then you think he has been convinced ? " 
 
 " I can hardly imagine George's setting out on a 
 work of the kind he mentioned without some persua- 
 sion," said Herbert with a smile. " The subject's not 
 one he ever took much interest in, and he's by no 
 means original." 
 
 Sylvia agreed with him, but she was silent a few 
 moments, reclining in an easy chair before the cheerful 
 fire, while she glanced round the room. It was com- 
 fortably furnished, warm, and brightly lighted; a 
 strong contrast to the lonely Canadian homestead to 
 which her thoughts wandered. She could recall the 
 unpolished stove, filling the place with its curious, un- 
 pleasant smell, and the icy draughts that eddied about 
 it. She could imagine the swish of driving snow 
 about the quivering wooden building when the dreaded 
 blizzards raged; the strange, oppressive silence when 
 the prairie lay still in the grip of the Arctic frost ; and 
 George coming in with half- frozen limbs and snow- 
 dust on his furs, to spend the dreary evening in try- 
 ing to keep warm. The picture her memory painted 
 was vivid and it had a disturbing effect. It was in 
 her service that the man was toiling in western Can- 
 ada. 
 
 " Well," she said, rising with some abruptness, " it's 
 time we got off. I'd better see if Muriel is ready."
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 BLAND MAKES A SACRIFICE 
 
 C YLVIA was sitting by the hearth in Ethel West's 
 ^ drawing-room, her neatly shod feet on the fender, 
 her low chair on the fleecy rug, and she made a very 
 dainty and attractive picture. She felt the cold and 
 hated discomfort of any kind, though it was charac- 
 teristic of her that she generally succeeded in avoiding 
 it. Ethel sat near by, watching her with calmly curi- 
 ous eyes, for Sylvia was looking pensive. Mrs. Lan- 
 sing was talking to Stephen West on the opposite side 
 of the large room. 
 
 " How is Edgar getting on ? " Sylvia asked. " I 
 suppose you hear from him now and then." 
 
 Ethel guessed where the question led and responded 
 with blunt directness. 
 
 " Doesn't George write to you ? " 
 
 " Not often. Herbert has just got a letter, but 
 there was very little information in it; George is not 
 a brilliant correspondent. I thought Edgar might 
 have written by the same mail." 
 
 " As it happens, he did," said Ethel. " He describes 
 the cold as fierce, and gives some interesting details of 
 his sensations when the warmth first comes back to his 
 half-frozen hands or limbs; then he adds a vivid ac- 
 count of a blizzard that George and he nearly got lost 
 in." 
 
 195
 
 196 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " Things of that kind make an impression on a new- 
 comer," Sylvia languidly remarked. " One gets used 
 to them after a while. Did he say anything else? " 
 
 " There was an enthusiastic description of a girl he 
 has met ; he declares she's a paragon. This, of course, 
 is nothing new, but it's a little astonishing that he 
 doesn't seem to contemplate making love to her in his 
 usual haphazard manner. She seems to have inspired 
 him with genuine respect." 
 
 " I can't think of any girl who's likely to do so." 
 
 " He gives her name Flora Grant." 
 
 Sylvia betrayed some interest. 
 
 " I knew her I suppose she is a little less impos- 
 sible than the rest. But go on." 
 
 " One gathers that George is having an anxious 
 time; Edgar goes into some obscure details about 
 crops and cattle-raising. Then he hints at some ex- 
 citing adventures they have had as a result of support- 
 ing a body that's trying to close the hotels." 
 
 This was what Sylvia had been leading up to. She 
 agreed with Herbert that it was most unlikely George 
 would take any part in such proceedings without some 
 prompting, and she was curious to learn who had in- 
 fluenced him. 
 
 " There was a word or two in Herbert's letter to 
 the same effect," she said. " The thing strikes one 
 as amusing. George, of course, does not explain why 
 he joined these people." 
 
 A smile of rather malicious satisfaction crept into 
 Ethel's eyes. " According to Edgar, it was because 
 his neighbors, the Grants, urged it The father of 
 the girl he mentioned seems to be a leader in the move- 
 ment."
 
 BLAND MAKES A SACRIFICE 197 
 
 Sylvia carefully suppressed any sign of the annoy- 
 ance she felt. It was, of course, impossible that 
 George should be seriously attracted by Flora, but his 
 action implied that he and the Grants must be good 
 friends. No doubt, he met the girl every now and 
 then, and they had much in common. Sylvia did not 
 mean to marry George ; but it was pleasant to feel that 
 she could count on his devotion, and she resented the 
 idea of his falling under the influence of anybody else. 
 She had never thought of Flora as dangerous 
 George was so steadfast but she now realized that 
 there might, perhaps, be some slight risk. A girl situ- 
 ated as Flora was would, no doubt, make the most of 
 her opportunities. Sylvia grew somewhat angry; she 
 felt she was being badly treated. 
 
 " After all," she said calmly, " I suppose there's no 
 reason why George shouldn't set up as a reformer if it 
 pleases him. It must, however, be rather a novelty 
 for your brother." 
 
 Ethel laughed. 
 
 " I believe it's the excitement that has tempted him. 
 Still, if George is taking any active part in the matter, 
 Edgar will probably find it more than a light diver- 
 sion." Then she changed the subject. " Did I tell 
 you that we expect Captain Bland to-night ? " 
 
 Sylvia started slightly. She was aware that Ethel 
 took what could best be described as an unsympathetic 
 interest in her affairs, but the sudden reference to 
 Bland threw her off her guard. 
 
 " No," she said. " Though you have met him, I 
 didn't think you knew him well." 
 
 " I believe it's chiefly a business visit. Stephen, you 
 know, has some reputation as a commercial lawyer,
 
 198 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 and Bland couldn't arrange to see him in town. Any- 
 way, he should be here soon." 
 
 Bland arrived half an hour later, but was unable to 
 do more than shake hands with Sylvia before West 
 took him away to another room. It was some time 
 before they returned; and then West kept the party 
 engaged in general conversation until it broke up. 
 
 " I'll walk down the road with you," he said to 
 Mrs. Lansing, and afterward turned to Bland. " How 
 are you going to get back ? " 
 
 Bland said that the man who had driven him from 
 the station was waiting in the neighboring village, 
 and when they left the house he walked on with Syl- 
 via, leaving Mrs. Lansing and West to follow. It 
 was a clear night, with a chill of frost in the air. A 
 bright half-moon hung above the shadowy hills, and 
 the higher boughs of the bare trees cut in sharp tracery 
 against the sky. Dead leaves lay thick upon the road 
 and here and there a belt of mist trailed across a 
 meadow. Sylvia, however, did not respond when her 
 companion said something about the charm of the 
 walk. 
 
 " Why didn't you send me word you were coming? " 
 she asked. 
 
 " I didn't know until this morning, when I got a 
 note from West, and I must be back in time for to- 
 morrow's parade. Besides, you told me at the junc- 
 tion that I was not to be allowed to meet you again 
 for some time." 
 
 Sylvia smiled at him. 
 
 " Haven't you found out that you needn't take 
 everything I say too literally? " 
 
 Bland stopped, pressing the hand on his arm.
 
 BLAND MAKES A SACRIFICE 199 
 
 " Does that apply to all you said on the evening 
 when we sat outside the inn ? " 
 
 " No," answered Sylvia firmly. " It does not ; 
 please understand that. I must stick to what I told 
 you then." She paused, and they heard the soft fall 
 of approaching feet before she resumed with a laugh : 
 " Go on, if you don't want the others to think we are 
 waiting for them." 
 
 Bland obeyed, a little soothed, though he saw she 
 was not yet ready to allow a renewal of his pleading. 
 Sylvia had obviously meant that she wished to be left 
 alone with him. 
 
 " Why did you call on Stephen West? " she asked, 
 presently. 
 
 " I'd meant to tell you. But, first of all, is Lansing 
 still connected with the rubber company ? West didn't 
 seem very well informed upon the point." 
 
 " Neither am I," replied Sylvia thoughtfully. " I 
 only know he hasn't the large interest in it that he 
 had." 
 
 " Then I'll have to explain, because I don't know 
 what to do. Lansing gave me a tip to buy some 
 shares, and when some friends said I'd got a good 
 thing, I went to him again. I must say he was pretty 
 guarded, but I got a hint and acted on it, with the re- 
 sult that I have dropped a good deal of money. This," 
 he added deprecatingly, " is not the kind of thing I 
 should talk to you about, but I was told that Lansing 
 couldn't receive any callers, and you'll see why you 
 should know." 
 
 " I'm beginning to understand." 
 
 " Well," said Bland, " shortly after Lansing's acci- 
 dent, I wrote to the secretary, asking some questions,
 
 200 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 and he doesn't seem to have been cautious enough in 
 his answer I have it here. There has been trouble 
 about the company, and I attended a meeting of some 
 disgusted people who had put their money into it. 
 They think they might get part of it back by attacking 
 the promoters, and I'm told that my letter would help 
 them materially." 
 
 " Do you want to help them ? " 
 
 " In a way, it's natural," said Bland with signs of 
 warmth. " I don't see why those fellows should be 
 allowed to get off after tricking people out of the 
 money they've painfully earned." 
 
 " How much money have you ever earned ? " 
 
 Bland laughed. 
 
 " You have me there ; I haven't been able to buy 
 shares out of my pay. But I made a pot by taking 
 long chances when I backed an outside horse. It 
 comes to much the same thing." 
 
 " I don't think it does," said Sylvia, with a smile. 
 " But it strikes me that your explanation isn't quite 
 complete." 
 
 " I went to West, instead of to another lawyer, be- 
 cause I thought he would be acquainted with Lansing's 
 present position; but, while he agreed that the letter 
 might be valuable to the objectors, he couldn't help me. 
 The end of it is that I don't want to do anything that 
 might hurt Lansing." 
 
 Sylvia reflected. She hardly thought his loss would 
 seriously embarrass Bland; she owed Herbert some- 
 thing and might need his aid, and she did not wish any 
 discredit to be cast upon a connection of hers. 
 
 "Well," she said, "I believe Herbert is still to 
 some extent connected with the company ; he can hardly
 
 BLAND MAKES A SACRIFICE 201 
 
 have withdrawn altogether. Anyway, he had a large 
 interest in it, and I think its management was in his 
 hands. He might suffer, so to speak, retrospectively." 
 
 " Yes," said Bland, " that didn't strike me. You're 
 right ; there's only one course open." He took a paper 
 from his pocket and handed it to her. " Give that to 
 Lansing, and tell him he may do what he thinks fit 
 with it." 
 
 " You're very generous," said Sylvia, coloring as 
 she took the letter. 
 
 " I'm afraid I've behaved badly in not keeping the 
 thing from you ; but you see how I was situated, and 
 you'll have to forgive me." 
 
 " That isn't difficult," Sylvia told him. 
 
 They walked on in silence for a while; and then 
 Bland looked around at her. 
 
 " There's a thing I must mention. I've had a hint 
 to ask for a certain post abroad. It is not a very de- 
 sirable one in some respects, but the pay's pretty good, 
 and it would bring the man who took it under the no- 
 tice of people who arrange the better Government 
 appointments. I should have to stay out at least two 
 years." 
 
 Sylvia was startled, and annoyed. Now that the 
 man owned her sway, she did not mean to accede to 
 his wishes too readily. Some obscure reason made 
 her shrink from definitely binding herself to him, but 
 his intimation had forced on something of the nature 
 of a crisis. 
 
 " Do you wish to go?" she asked. 
 
 " No," he said hotly ; " you know that." 
 
 " Then," said Sylvia s&ftly, " I think you had bet- 
 ter stay at home."
 
 202 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 He stopped again and faced her. 
 
 " You must tell me what you mean ! " 
 
 " It ought to be clear/' she murmured. " Don't 
 you think I should miss you? " 
 
 With restrained quietness he laid his hand on her 
 shoulder. 
 
 " You must listen for a minute, Sylvia. Up to the 
 present, I've been passed over by the authorities; but 
 now I've been given my chance. If I can hammer 
 the raw native levies into shape and keep order along 
 a disturbed frontier, it will lead to something better. 
 Now, I'm neither a military genius nor altogether a 
 careless idler I believe I can do this work; but, 
 coming rather late, it has less attraction for me. Well, 
 I would let the chance slip, for one reason only; but 
 if I'm to go on continually repressing myself and only 
 allowed to see you at long intervals, I might as well 
 go away. You must clearly understand on what terms 
 I remain." 
 
 She made a little appealing gesture. 
 
 " Yes," she said ; " but you must wait and not press 
 me too hard. I am so fenced in by conventions; so 
 many people's susceptibilities have to be considered. 
 I haven't a girl's liberty." 
 
 Bland supposed this was as far as she ventured in 
 allusion to her widowed state; but, stirred as he was 
 by her implied submission, it struck him as significant 
 that she should so clearly recognize the restrictions 
 conventionality imposed on her. 
 
 " I think," he returned, " the two people who de- 
 serve most consideration are you and myself." 
 
 " Ah ! " said Sylvia, " you deserve it most. You 
 have been very forbearing; you have done all I asked.
 
 BLAND MAKES A SACRIFICE 203 
 
 That is why I know you will bear with a little delay, 
 when it's needful." 
 
 He made a sign of reluctant assent ; and then, to his 
 annoyance, two figures emerged from the shadow of 
 the trees not far away. There was nothing to do ex- 
 cept to move on, but he thrilled at the slight, grateful 
 pressure of Sylvia's hand upon his arm. 
 
 " My dear," he said, " I wish most devoutly that 
 West or Mrs. Lansing had been lame." 
 
 Sylvia broke into a ripple of laughter, which some- 
 how seemed to draw them closer. At Herbert's gate 
 they separated, and Bland walked on in an exultant 
 mood which was broken by fits of thoughtfulness. 
 Sylvia had tacitly pledged herself to him, but he was 
 still her unacknowledged lover and the position was 
 irksome. Then he remembered her collectedness. 
 which had been rather marked, but he had learned that 
 emotion is more frequently concealed than forcibly ex- 
 pressed. Moreover, he had never imagined that Syl- 
 via was wholly free from faults; he suspected that 
 there was a vein of calculating coldness in her, though 
 it caused him no concern. Bland was a man of ex- 
 perience who had acquired a good-humored toleration 
 with the knowledge that one must not expect too much 
 from human nature. 
 
 While Bland was being driven to the station, Sylvia 
 entered the room where Herbert lay, and handed him 
 the letter. 
 
 " Captain Bland came in during the evening to see 
 Stephen and sent you this," she said. " He told me 
 you were to do what you thought fit with it." 
 
 Herbert perused the letter, and then reaching out 
 with some difficulty, flung it into the fire.
 
 204 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " I've taken him at his word," he said. " Have you 
 read the thing?" 
 
 " No ; I fear the details would have puzzled me ; 
 but I understand its general import. How was it your 
 secretary was so careless ? " 
 
 Herbert smiled. 
 
 " The man's smart enough, as a rule ; but we all have 
 our weak moments. This, however, is not the kind of 
 thing that's likely to lead to his advancement." He 
 lay quiet for a moment or two; and then went on: 
 " I'm grateful to you. Had you much trouble in per- 
 suading Bland to let you have the letter ? " 
 
 " No; he offered it voluntarily." 
 
 " Then the man must have been desperately anxious 
 to please you. It looks as if his condition were get- 
 ting serious." 
 
 " I resent coarseness," exclaimed Sylvia. 
 
 Herbert laughed. 
 
 " Oh," he said, " you and I can face the truth. As 
 West's a lawyer, Eland's visit to him is, of course, 
 significant ; the man knew that letter might have been 
 worth something in hard cash to him, as well as af- 
 fording him the satisfaction of making things hot for 
 the directors of the company, among whom I was in- 
 cluded. He would hardly have parted with it unless 
 he had a strong inducement." 
 
 " His motives don't concern you," retorted Sylvia. 
 " You ought to appreciate his action." 
 
 " I appreciate it as sincerely as I do yours, because 
 you must have shown that you didn't want him to use 
 the letter, though I'm inclined to think your motives 
 were rather mixed ; one could scarcely expect them all 
 to be purely benevolent."
 
 BLAND MAKES A SACRIFICE 205 
 
 Sylvia smiled. He was keen-witted and she found 
 something amusing in the ironical good-humor which 
 often characterized him. 
 
 " Anyhow," he continued, " you're a staunch and 
 capable ally, and as that gives you a claim on me, you 
 won't find me reluctant to do my part whenever the 
 time comes." 
 
 Then Mrs. Lansing came in, and on the whole Sylvia 
 was glad of the interruption. Herbert's remarks were 
 now and then unpleasantly suggestive. He had called 
 her his ally, but she felt more like his accomplice, 
 which was much less flattering.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 AN OPPOSITION MOVE 
 
 ft 
 
 TT was a wet and chilly night, and Singleton sat in 
 -* an easy chair beside the hearth in his city quarters 
 with an old pipe in his hand. The room was shabbily 
 furnished, the hearthrug had a hole in it, the carpet 
 was threadbare, and Singleton's attire harmonized 
 with his surroundings, though the box of cigars and 
 one or two bottfes and siphons on the table suggested 
 that he expected visitors. The loose Tuxedo jacket 
 he had bought in America was marked by discolored 
 patches; his carpet slippers were dilapidated. His 
 means, though long restricted, would have warranted 
 better accommodations; but his clothes were comfort- 
 able and he did not think it worth while to put on 
 anything smarter. There was a vein of rather bitter 
 pride in the man, and he would not, out of deference 
 to any other person's views, alter conditions that suited 
 him. 
 
 A notebook lay beside him and several bulky 
 treatises on botany were scattered about, but he had 
 ceased work and was thinking. After the shadow and 
 silence of the tropical bush, to which he was most ac- 
 customed, the rattle of the traffic in the wet street be- 
 low was stimulating; but his reflections were not pleas- 
 ant. He had waited patiently for another invitation 
 to Lansing's house, which had not arrived, and a day 
 
 206
 
 AN OPPOSITION MOVE 207 
 
 or two ago he had met Sylvia Marston, upon whom 
 his mind had steadily dwelt, in a busy street. She had 
 bowed to him courteously, but she had made it clear 
 that she did not expect him to stop and speak. It had 
 been a bitter moment to Singleton, but he had calmly 
 faced the truth. He had served his purpose, and he 
 had been dropped. Now, however, a letter from one 
 of the people he was expecting indicated that he might 
 again be drawn into the rubber-exploiting scheme. 
 
 The two gentlemen who had called on Herbert were 
 shown in presently. 
 
 " It was I who wrote you," the first of them said; 
 " this is my colleague, Mr. Nevis." 
 
 Singleton bowed. 
 
 "Will you take that chair, Mr. Jackson?" He 
 turned to the other man. " I think you had better 
 have this one; it's comparatively sound." 
 
 He was aware that they were looking about his 
 apartment curiously, and no doubt inferring something 
 from its condition; but this was of no consequence. 
 He had learned his value and meant to insist on it, 
 without the assistance of any signs of prosperity. 
 
 " I couldn't get up to town, as you suggested," he 
 resumed when they were seated. " I've been rather 
 busy of late." 
 
 " That's generally the case with us," Jackson said 
 pointedly. 
 
 He was a thin man, very neatly and quietly dressed, 
 with a solemn face and an air of importance. Nevis 
 was stouter and more florid, with a brisker manner, but 
 the stamp of the city was plainly set on both. 
 
 " Well," said Singleton, " I'm at your service, now 
 you're here. The cigars are nearest you, Mr. Nevis,
 
 208 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 and I can recommend the contents of the smaller bottle. 
 It's a Southern speciality and rather difficult to get in 
 England." 
 
 Nevis hesitated. He thought it better that the inter- 
 view should be conducted on strictly business lines, 
 while to accept the proffered hospitality would tend to 
 place him and the man he wished to deal with on a 
 footing of social equality. But it was desirable not to 
 offend Singleton, and he lighted a cigar. 
 
 " To begin with, I must ask if you are still in any 
 way connected with Mr. Lansing? " he said. 
 
 " No," answered Singleton with some grimness. 
 " You can take it for granted that he has done with 
 me." 
 
 " That clears the ground. We have been consider- 
 ing the report you wrote for him. In our opinion, it 
 was, while not encouraging, hardly sufficient to war- 
 rant his abandoning the project, in which, as you have 
 been told, we were associated with him," 
 
 " He may have had other motives," Singleton sug- 
 gested. 
 
 Nevis nodded gravely, as if in appreciation of his 
 keenness. 
 
 " That," he said, " is what occurred to us. But what 
 is your idea of the scheme ? " 
 
 " It's clearly stated in the report." 
 
 Jackson made a sign of impatience. 
 
 '* We'll leave the report out and come to the point. 
 Can the rubber, which you say is really to be found, 
 be collected and brought down to the coast without in- 
 curring a prohibitive expense? " 
 
 ' Yes," said Singleton. " But you must understand 
 me. The methods generally adopted in such cases
 
 AN OPPOSITION MOVE 209 
 
 would be bound to fail. You would require an over- 
 seer with rather exceptional technical knowledge, who 
 must, besides this, be quite free from the usual preju- 
 dices on the native question. They would, no doubt, 
 be a little difficult to avoid, since at first he would have 
 to put up with a few attempts upon his life; but, if 
 he could combine resolution and strict justice with a 
 conciliatory attitude, the attempt would cease, and I 
 think he could earn you a fair return on a moderate 
 outlay." 
 
 Jackson laughed. 
 
 " So far as my experience goes, such men are scarce. 
 But I'd better say that we had you in mind when we 
 made this visit. Do you think you could do anything, 
 if we sent you out? " 
 
 "Yes," said Singleton quietly: "I believe I could 
 make the venture pay. Whether I'd think it worth 
 while is another matter." 
 
 *' Then," Nevis interposed, " it's simply a question 
 of terms?" 
 
 " Oh, no. You may be surprised to hear that pay- 
 ment is not the first consideration; though it's true. 
 I'm interested in certain investigations which can be 
 carried out only in the tropics. However, you'd better 
 make your offer." 
 
 Nevis did so, and Singleton pondered for a few mo- 
 ments. 
 
 ' The remuneration might suffice, provided that I 
 was given a percentage on the product and one or two 
 special allowances; but before going any farther I 
 must understand your intentions. I'm a botanist, and 
 have no wish to be made use of merely for the purpose 
 of furthering some stock-jobbing scheme. Do you
 
 210 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 really want this venture put upon a satisfactory work- 
 ing footing? " 
 
 " I'll explain," said Nevis. " The fact is, Lansing 
 let us in rather badly. We spent a good deal of money 
 over this concession, and we're anxious to get it back. 
 Since we can't float the thing on the market at present, 
 we have formed a small private syndicate to develop 
 the property, though we may sell out in a year or two 
 if you can make the undertaking commercially suc- 
 cessful. I think you could count on the purchasers' 
 continuing operations." 
 
 " Have you considered what Lansing's attitude may 
 be?" 
 
 " It won't matter. He has gone out of the busi- 
 ness, convinced that the thing's no good; he cleared 
 off most of his rubber shares, for a similar reason. 
 This raises another point the original company's 
 possessions lie in the same region, though ruled by an- 
 other state, and things are going badly there. If you 
 could get across and see what could be done, we would 
 pay an extra fee." 
 
 Singleton lighted a cigar and leaned back in his chair 
 with a thoughtful expression, and for a minute or 
 two they left him alone. They were keen business 
 men, but they knew that their usual methods would 
 not serve them with this shabbily-dressed, self-pos- 
 sessed botanist. 
 
 " Well," he said at length, " your suggestion rather 
 appeals to me, but there's the difficulty that another 
 matter claims my attention. Though it isn't strictly 
 in my line, I've been asked to go out to Canada and 
 assist in the production of a variety of wheat that will 
 ripen quickly; in fact, I was looking up some informa-
 
 AN OPPOSITION MOVE 211 
 
 tion bearing on the matter when you came in. It's a 
 remarkably interesting subject." 
 
 They were clever enough to see that this was not an 
 attempt to enhance the value of his services ; the man 
 was obviously a botanical enthusiast, and Nevis showed 
 signs of attention. He had once or twice thought that 
 something might be made out of Canadian land com- 
 panies. 
 
 " One could imagine that," he said. " I understand 
 that it's a matter of high importance." 
 
 ' The development of the whole northern portion of 
 the prairie country depends on the success of the ex- 
 periments that are being made," Singleton went on. 
 " Their summers are hot but short; if they can get a 
 grain that ripens early, they can cultivate vast stretches 
 of land that are now, from economic reasons, uninhab- 
 itable, and it would make farming a more prosperous 
 business in other tracts. Crops growing in the favored 
 parts are occasionally frozen. It's a coincidence that 
 a day or two ago I got a letter inquiring about that 
 kind of wheat from a friend in Canada who is, as it 
 happens, farming with a cousin of Lansing's." Then 
 he laughed. " All this, however, has nothing to do 
 with the object of your visit. Give me a few more 
 minutes to think it over." 
 
 There was silence except for the rattle of wheels out- 
 side while he smoked half a cigar; then he turned to 
 his companions. 
 
 " I'll go out and undertake your work. I believe 
 you're acting wisely, and that Lansing will be sorry 
 after a while that he threw away his interest in the 
 scheme." 
 
 They discussed the details of the project and then
 
 212 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 the business men went away, satisfied. Shortly after- 
 ward Singleton took a letter out of a paper rack, and 
 when he had read it he leaned back in his chair, lost in 
 pleasant recollections. Some years earlier, he had by 
 chance fallen in with a lad named West when fishing 
 among the Scottish hills. The young man's sister 
 and elder brother were staying with him at the re- 
 mote hotel in which Singleton had quarters, and some- 
 what to his astonishment they soon made friends with 
 him. 
 
 Poverty had made him reserved ; he knew that he 
 was a little awkward and unpolished, but the Wests 
 had not attempted to patronize him. Their cordiality 
 set him at his ease ; he liked the careless, good-humored 
 lad; Ethel West, grave-eyed, direct, and candid, made 
 a strong impression, and he had been drawn to the 
 quiet lawyer who was much older than either. They 
 spent delightful days together on the lake and among 
 the hills; Singleton told them something about his 
 studies and ambitions, and in the evenings they per- 
 suaded him to sing. Ethel was a musician and Single- 
 ton sang well. On leaving they had invited him to 
 visit them; but, partly from diffidence, Singleton had 
 not gone, though he knew these were not the people 
 who took a man up when he could be of service and 
 afterward dropped him. 
 
 Now he had received a letter from Edgar West, say- 
 ing that he was farming in western Canada and in- 
 quiring if Singleton could tell him anything about the 
 drought-resisting and quick-ripening properties of cer- 
 tain varieties of wheat. The botanist was glad to 
 place his knowledge at his friend's disposal, and, tak-
 
 AN OPPOSITION MOVE 213 
 
 ing up pen and paper, he spent an hour on a treatise 
 on the subject, which was to save Lansing expense and 
 trouble, and bring Singleton further communications 
 from Edgar. Then he smoked another pipe and went 
 to bed ; and a fortnight later he sailed for the tropics. 
 
 Shortly after he had gone, Herbert heard of his 
 departure, and the letter containing the news arrived 
 on a cheerless afternoon during which his doctor had 
 visited him. After the doctor left, Herbert entered 
 the room where his wife and Sylvia were, and took his 
 place in an easy chair by a window. Outside, the lawn 
 was covered with half-melted snow and the trees raised 
 naked, dripping branches above the drooping shrubs. 
 Farther back the hedgerows ran somberly across the 
 white fields, and in the distance the hills loomed, deso- 
 late and gray, against a leaden sky. 
 
 " Ballin says I'd better take it easy for some time 
 yet," Herbert informed his wife. " In fact, he recom- 
 mends a trip abroad; Algiers or Egypt, for prefer- 
 ence." He indicated the dreary prospect outside the 
 window. " Though he didn't actually insist on my 
 going, the idea's attractive." 
 
 "Could you leave your business?" Mrs. Lansing 
 inquired. 
 
 Herbert smiled. 
 
 ' Yes ; I think so. I was doing pretty well when 
 I got run over, and things have since slackened down. 
 My manager can look after them while I am away." 
 
 This was correct, so far as it went ; but he had an- 
 other reason for deciding not to resume operations 
 for a while. He suspected that his recent conduct had 
 excited distrust and indignation in certain quarters, but
 
 214 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 this would, no doubt, blow over before his return. 
 People forgot, and he could avoid those whose confi- 
 dence in him had proved expensive. 
 
 "If that's the case, we may as well get off as soon 
 as it can be arranged," said Mrs. Lansing. She turned 
 to Sylvia. "Of course, you will come with us." 
 
 Sylvia hesitated. She believed her influence over 
 Bland would not weaken much in her absence; but, 
 after all, it was wiser to run no risk. Moreover, she 
 would, to some extent, feel her separation from the 
 man. 
 
 " I really don't know what I ought to do," she an- 
 swered. " I might be a restraint upon you you can't 
 want me always at hand ; and I could spend a month 
 or two with Dorothy. She has several times told me 
 to come." 
 
 " You would be better with us/' Mrs. Lansing re- 
 joined with firmness; and Sylvia suspected her of a 
 wish to prevent her enjoying Eland's society. 
 
 " I'll think it over," she said. 
 
 After they had discussed the projected journey, Mrs. 
 Lansing withdrew on some domestic errand, and Her- 
 bert turned to Sylvia. 
 
 " I needn't point out that you'll be no trouble to us, 
 but perhaps I'd better mention that I had a letter from 
 George this post. As there's very little to be done until 
 the spring, he thinks of coming over. I don't know 
 how far that may affect your decision." 
 
 Sylvia was a little startled, but she reflected rap- 
 idly. The house of the relative she had thought of 
 visiting would be open to George, as would be one or 
 two others in which she might stay a while. It was 
 most undesirable that he should encounter Bland,
 
 AN OPPOSITION MOVE 215 
 
 which would be likely to happen. Then it struck her 
 that Herbert might derive as little satisfaction from 
 his cousin's visit as it would afford her. 
 
 " Have you succeeded in selling George's shares 
 yet ? " she asked, and though this was, on the face of 
 it, an abrupt change of subject, she thought Herbert 
 would follow the sequence of ideas. 
 
 " No," he answered, with a smile of comprehension. 
 " It was too late when I was able to attend to things ; 
 they have dropped to such a price that I'll have to 
 keep them. I'm afraid it will be a blow to George, 
 and he's having trouble enough already with your 
 farm ; but, luckily, some other shares I bought on his 
 account show signs of a marked improvement before 
 long." 
 
 Sylvia inferred from this that he had not informed 
 his cousin of the state of his affairs, and did not wish 
 to see him until the improvement mentioned, or some 
 other favorable development, should mitigate the shock 
 of discovering what use Herbert had made of his 
 powers. It was clear that it rested with her to decide 
 whether George made the visit or not, because if she 
 went to Egypt he would remain in Canada. But she 
 was not quite ready to give her companion an answer. 
 
 " Did I tell you that I met Singleton a little while 
 ago ? " she said. " I think he wished to speak, but I 
 merely bowed. I was in a hurry, for one thing." 
 
 " It's the first I've heard of it, but you did quite 
 right. Since he was here, one or two of the other 
 directors who tried to give me some trouble have got 
 hold of him. They have sent him out to see what can 
 be done with the rubber property." 
 
 " Was that worth while? "
 
 216 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " I shouldn't think so. It strikes me they're wasting 
 their money." 
 
 This was Herbert's firm belief, but his judgment 
 while generally accurate, had, in this instance, proved 
 defective. He had failed properly to estimate Single- 
 ton's capabilities. It was, however, obvious to Sylvia 
 that he had had no part in the undertaking, and had 
 abandoned his rubber schemes, which implied that 
 George's loss would be serious. There was no doubt 
 that it would suit both Herbert and herself better if 
 George did not come back too soon. 
 
 " Well," she said, " that is not a matter of any con- 
 sequence to me. After all, I think I'll go south with 
 you and Muriel." 
 
 Herbert had foreseen this decision. 
 
 " It's the most suitable arrangement," he responded. 
 " When I write, I'll mention it to George." 
 
 Sylvia went out a little later with a sense of guilt; 
 she felt that in removing the strongest inducement for 
 George's visit she had betrayed him. She was sorry 
 for George, but she could not allow any consideration 
 for him to interfere with her ambitions. Then she 
 resolutely drove these thoughts away. The matter 
 could be looked at in a more pleasant light, and there 
 were several good reasons for the course she had 
 adopted. 
 
 Entering the library, she carefully wrote a little note 
 to Captain Bland, and then went in search of Mrs. 
 Lansing. 
 
 " I think I'll go over to Susan's for the week-end," 
 she announced. " I promised her another visit, and 
 now I can explain that I'm going away with you." 
 
 Mrs. Lansing made no objection, and three or four
 
 AN OPPOSITION MOVE 217 
 
 days afterward Sylvia met Bland at Mrs. Kettering's. 
 house. He arrived after her, and as there were other 
 guests, she had to wait a little while before she could 
 get a word with him alone. She was standing in the 
 big hall, which was unoccupied, rather late in the eve- 
 ning, when he came toward her. 
 
 " I thought I should never escape from Kettering ; 
 but he's safe for a while, talking guns in the smoking- 
 room," he said. 
 
 Sylvia thought that they would be safe from inter- 
 ruption for a few minutes, which would serve her pur- 
 pose. 
 
 " So you have managed to get here," she said. 
 
 "Had you any doubt of my succeeding?" Bland 
 asked reproachfully. " Kettering once gave me a 
 standing invitation, and, as it happens, there's a famous 
 horse dealer in this neighborhood with whom I've had 
 some business. That and the few Sunday trains 
 formed a good excuse. I, however, don't mind in the 
 least if Mrs. Kettering attaches any significance to the 
 visit." 
 
 Sylvia did not wish to arouse the suspicions of her 
 hostess, but she smiled. 
 
 " I expected you, and I'm glad you came," she said. 
 
 " That's very nice to hear." 
 
 " Don't take too much for granted. Still, I thought 
 I'd like to see you, because I'm going to Egypt with 
 Muriel for some time. Indeed, I shall not be back 
 until the spring." 
 
 The man displayed dismayed surprise, and Sylvia 
 waited for his answer with some eagerness. She did 
 not wish to enter into a formal engagement it was a 
 little too early to make an announcement yet but she
 
 218 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 thought it wise to bind him in some degree before she 
 left. 
 
 " Until the spring?" he broke out. "You expect 
 me to let you go ? " 
 
 " You must," said Sylvia firmly, and added in a 
 softer voice, " I'm rather sorry." 
 
 He saw that he could not shake her decison. 
 
 " Then we must have a clear understanding," he re- 
 joined hotly. " You know I want you when is this 
 waiting to end ? Tell me now, and let me tell all who 
 care to hear, that you belong to me." 
 
 Sylvia made a gesture of protest and coquettishly 
 looked down. 
 
 " You must still have patience," she murmured ; 
 " the time will soon pass." 
 
 " And then? " he asked with eagerness. 
 
 She glanced up at him shyly. 
 
 "If you will ask me again when I come back, I will 
 give you your answer." 
 
 She left him no reason for doubting what that an- 
 swer would be ; and, stretching out his arms, he drew 
 her strongly to him. In a minute or two, however, 
 Sylvia insisted on his returning to his host, and soon 
 afterward Mrs. Kettering came in to look for her.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 A BLIZZARD 
 
 A BITTER wind searched the poplar bluff where 
 * ^ George and his hired man, Grierson, were cut- 
 ting fuel. Except in the river valleys, trees of any size 
 are scarce on the prairie, but the slender trunks and 
 leafless branches were closely massed and afforded a 
 little shelter. Outside on the open waste, the cold was 
 almost too severe to face, and George once or twice 
 glanced anxiously across the snowy levels, looking for 
 some sign of Edgar, who should have joined them 
 with the team and sledge. It was, however, difficult 
 to see far, because a gray dimness narrowed in the 
 horizon. George stood, dressed in snow-flecked furs, 
 in the center of a little clearing strewn with rows of 
 fallen trunks from which he was hewing off the 
 branches. The work was hard; his whole body 
 strained with each stroke of the heavy ax, but it failed 
 to keep him warm, and the wind was growing more 
 bitter with the approach of night. 
 
 " I don't know what can be keeping West," he said 
 after a while. " We haven't seen the mail-carrier 
 either, and he's two hours late ; but he must have had 
 a heavy trail all the way from the settlement. I ex- 
 pect he'll cut out our place and make straight for 
 Grant's. We'll have snow before long." 
 
 There was an empty shack not far away where, by 
 219
 
 220 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 George's consent, the mail-carrier left letters when 
 bad weather made it desirable to shorten his round. 
 
 Grierson nodded as he glanced about. The stretch 
 of desolate white prairie had contracted since he had 
 last noticed it, the surrounding dimness was creeping 
 nearer in, and the ranks of poplar trunks were losing 
 their sharpness of form. Now that the men had ceased 
 chopping, they could hear the eerie moaning of the 
 wind and the sharp patter of icy snow-dust among the 
 withered brush. 
 
 " It will take him all his time to fetch Grant's ; I wish 
 Mr. West would come before it gets dark," Grierson 
 said with a shiver, and fell to work again. 
 
 Several minutes passed. George was thinking more 
 about the mail-carrier's movements than about Ed- 
 gar's. The English letters should have arrived, and 
 he was anxiously wondering if there were any for 
 him. Then, as he stopped for breath, a dim moving 
 blur grew out of the prairie, and he flung down his 
 ax. 
 
 " Here's West ; we'll have light enough to put up the 
 load," he said. 
 
 A little later Edgar led two powerful horses up the 
 narrow trail, and for a while the men worked hard, 
 stacking the logs upon the sledge. Then they set off 
 at the best pace the team could make, and the cold 
 struck through them when they left the bluff. 
 
 " Stinging, isn't it ? " Edgar remarked. " I couldn't 
 get over earlier; Flett turned up, half frozen, and he 
 kept me. Seems to have some business in this neigh- 
 borhood, though he didn't say what it is." 
 
 George, walking through the snow to leeward of 
 the loaded sledge, where it was a little wanner, be-
 
 A BLIZZARD 221 
 
 trayed no interest in the news. Temperance reform 
 was languishing at Sage Butte and its leaders had re- 
 ceived a severe rebuff from the authorities. The 
 police, who had arrested an Indian suspected of con- 
 veying liquor to the reservation, had been no more 
 successful, for the man had been promptly acquitted. 
 They had afterward been kept busy investigating the 
 matter of the shooting of George's bull, which had re- 
 covered; but they had found no clue to the offender, 
 and nothing of importance had happened for some 
 time. 
 
 It had grown dark and the wind was rapidly increas- 
 ing. Powdery snow drove along before it, obscuring 
 the men's sight and lashing their tingling faces. At 
 times the icy white haze whirled about them so thick 
 that they could scarcely see the blurred dark shape of 
 the sledge, but as they had hauled a good many loads of 
 stovewood home, the trail was plainly marked. It 
 would be difficult to lose it unless deep snow fell. With 
 lowered heads and fur caps pulled well down, they 
 plodded on, until at length George stopped where the 
 shadowy mass of a bluff loomed up close in front of 
 them. 
 
 " I'll leave you here and make for the shack," he 
 said. " I want to see if there are any letters." 
 
 " It's far too risky," Edgar pointed out " You'll 
 get lost as soon as you leave the beaten trail." 
 
 " I'll have the bluff for a guide, and it isn't far from 
 the end of it to the small ravine. After that I 
 shouldn't have much trouble in striking the fallow." 
 
 " It's doubtful," Edgar persisted. " Let the letters 
 wait until to-morrow." 
 
 " No," said George, resolutely. " I've waited a
 
 222 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 week already; the mail is late. Besides, we'll have 
 worse snow before morning." 
 
 Seeing that he had made up his mind, Edgar raised 
 no more objections, and in another few moments 
 George disappeared into a haze of driving snow. When 
 he left the trail he found walking more difficult than he 
 had expected, but though it was hard to see beyond a 
 few yards, he had the bluff to guide him and he kept 
 along the edge of it until the trees vanished suddenly. 
 Then he stopped, buffeted by the wind, to gather breath 
 and fix clearly in his mind the salient features of the 
 open space that he must cross. 
 
 If he could walk straight for half a mile, he would 
 strike a small hollow and by following it he would 
 reach a tract of cultivated ground. This, he thought, 
 should be marked by the absence of the taller clumps 
 of grass and the short willow scrub which here and 
 there broke through the snow. There would then be 
 a stretch of about two hundred acres to cross before 
 he found the little shack, whose owner had gone away 
 to work on the railroad during the winter. He ex- 
 pected to have some trouble in reaching it, but he must 
 get the letters, and he set off again, breaking through 
 the snow-crust in places, and trying to estimate the time 
 he took. 
 
 A quarter of an hour passed and, as there was no 
 sign of the ravine, he began to wonder whether he had 
 deviated much from his chosen line. In another few 
 minutes he was getting anxious ; and then suddenly he 
 plunged knee-deep into yielding snow. It got deeper 
 at the next step and he knew that he had reached the 
 shallow depression, which had been almost filled up 
 by the drifts. He must cross it, and the effort this
 
 A BLIZZARD 223 
 
 entailed left him gasping when he stopped again on the 
 farther side. 
 
 It was still possible to retrace his steps, because he 
 could hardly fail to strike the bluff he had left, but 
 there was no doubt that to go on would be perilous. 
 If he missed the shack, he might wander about the 
 prairie until he sank down, exhausted; and after a day 
 of fatiguing labor he knew that he could not long face 
 the wind and frost. There was, however, every sign 
 of a wild storm brewing; it might be several days be- 
 fore he could secure the letters if he turned back, and 
 such a delay was not to be thought of. 
 
 He went on, following the ravine where he could 
 trace its course, which was not always possible, until 
 he decided that he must have reached the neighborhood 
 of the farm. There was, however, nothing to indicate 
 that he had done so. He could see only a few yards ; 
 the snow had all been smooth and unbroken near the 
 hollow, he could distinguish no difference between any 
 one part of it and the rest ; and he recognized the risk 
 he took when he turned his back on his last guide and 
 struggled forward into the waste. 
 
 Walking became more difficult, the wind was getting 
 stronger, and there was no sign of the shack. Per- 
 haps he had gone too far to the south. He inclined to 
 the right, but that brought him to nothing that might 
 serve as a guide ; there was only smooth snow and the 
 white haze whirling round him. He turned more to 
 the right, growing desperately afraid, stopped once or 
 twice to ascertain by the way the snow drove past 
 whether he was wandering from his course, and 
 plodded on again savagely. At last something began 
 to crackle beneath his feet. Stooping down, he saw
 
 224 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 that it was stubble, and he became sensible of a vast 
 relief. He could not be more than a few minutes' 
 walk from the shack. 
 
 It was only three or four yards off when he saw it, 
 and on entering he had difficulty in closing the rickety 
 door. Then, when he had taken off his heavy mittens, 
 it cost him some trouble to find and strike a match 
 with his half- frozen hands. Holding up the light, he 
 glanced eagerly at a shelf and saw the two letters he 
 had expected ; there was no mistaking the writing and 
 the English stamps. He thrust them safely into a 
 pocket beneath his furs when the match went out and 
 struck another, for his next step required considera- 
 tion. 
 
 The feeble radiance traveled round the little room, 
 showing the rent, board walls and the beams rough 
 from the saw that supported the cedar roofing shingles. 
 A little snow had sifted in and lay on the floor; there 
 was a rusty stove at one end, but no lamp or fuel, and 
 the hay and blankets had been removed from the 
 wooden bunk. Still, as George was warmly clad and 
 had space to move about, he could pass the night there. 
 ^The roar of the wind about the frail building rendered 
 the prospects of the return journey strongly discour- 
 aging. He might, however, be detained all the next 
 day by the snow; but what chiefly urged him to face 
 the risk of starting for the homestead was his inability 
 to read his letters. The sight of them had sent a thrill 
 through him, which had banished all sense of the sting- 
 ing cold. He had eagerly looked forward to a brief 
 visit to the old country, and Sylvia had, no doubt, 
 bidden him come. It was delightful to picture her 
 welcome, and the evenings they would spend in
 
 A BLIZZARD 225 
 
 Muriel Lansing's pretty drawing-room while he told 
 her what he had done and unfolded his plans for the 
 future. He could brook no avoidable delay in reading 
 her message, and, nerving himself for a struggle, he 
 set out again. 
 
 The shack vanished the moment he left it. The 
 snow was thicker; and, floundering heavily through 
 the storm, George had almost given up the attempt to 
 find the ravine, when he fell violently into a clearer 
 part of it. Then he gathered courage, for the bluff 
 was large and would be difficult to miss; but it did 
 not appear when he expected it. He was breathless, 
 nearly blinded, and on the verge of exhaustion, when 
 he crashed into a dwarf birch and, looking up half 
 dazed, saw an indistinct mass of larger trees. He had 
 now a guide, but it was hard to follow, with his 
 strength fast falling and the savage wind buffeting 
 him. He had stopped a moment, gasping, when 
 something emerged from the driving snow. It was 
 moving ; it looked like a team with a sledge or wagon, 
 and he thought that his companions had come in search 
 of him. He cried out, but there was no answer, and 
 though he tried to run, the beasts vanished as strangely 
 as they had appeared. 
 
 They had, however, left their tracks, coming up from 
 the south, where the settlement lay, and this convinced 
 him that they had not been driven by Edgar or Grier- 
 son. He made an attempt to overtake them and, fall- 
 ing, went on again, wondering a little who the stran- 
 gers could be ; though this was not a matter of much 
 consequence. If they had blankets or driving-robes, 
 they might pass the night without freezing in the bluff, 
 where there was fuel; but George was most clearly
 
 226 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 conscious of the urgent need for his reaching the home- 
 stead before his strength gave out. 
 
 At last he struck the beaten trail which had fortu- 
 nately not yet been drifted up, and after keeping to it 
 for a while he saw a faint twinkle of light in front 
 of him. A voice answered his shout and when he 
 stopped, keeping on his feet with difficulty and utterly 
 worn out, a team came up, blurred and indistinct, out 
 of the driving snow. After that somebody seized him 
 and pushed him toward an empty sledge. 
 
 " Get down out of the wind ; here's the fur robe ! " 
 cried a voice he recognized. " We came back as soon 
 as we had thrown off the load." 
 
 George remembered very little about the remainder 
 of the journey, but at last the sledge stopped where 
 a warm glow of light shone out into the snow. Get- 
 ting up with some trouble he reached the homestead 
 door and walked heavily into the room where he sank, 
 gasping, into a chair. He felt faint and dizzy, he 
 could scarcely breathe; but those sensations grew less 
 troublesome as he recovered from the violent change 
 of temperature. Throwing off his furs, he noticed 
 that Flett sat smoking near the stove. 
 
 " Here's some coffee," said the constable. " It's 
 pretty lucky Grierson found you. I can't remember a 
 worse night." 
 
 George drank the coffee. He still felt heavy and 
 partly dazed ; his mind was lethargic, and his hands and 
 feet tingled painfully with the returning warmth. He 
 knew that there was something he ought to tell Flett, 
 but it was a few minutes before he could think clearly. 
 
 " I met a team near the bluff and lost it again almost 
 immediately," he mumbled finally.
 
 A BLIZZARD 227 
 
 Flett's face became intent. 
 
 " Did the men who were with it see you ? Which 
 way were they going ? " 
 
 " No," said George sleepily. " Anyway, though I 
 called I didn't get an answer. I think they were going 
 west." 
 
 " And there's no homestead for several leagues, ex- 
 cept Langside's shack. They'll camp there sure." 
 
 " I don't see why they shouldn't," George remarked 
 with languid indifference. 
 
 " Hasn't it struck you why those fellows should be 
 heading into waste prairie on a night like this ? Guess 
 what they've got in the wagon's a good enough reason. 
 If the snow's not too bad, they'll pull out for the Indian 
 reservation soon as it's light to-morrow." 
 
 " You think they have liquor with them ? " asked 
 George. 
 
 Flett nodded and walked toward the door, and 
 George felt the sudden fall of temperature and heard 
 the scream of the wind. In a minute or two, however, 
 the constable reappeared with Edgar. 
 
 " I'd get them sure ; they're in the shack right now," 
 Flett declared. 
 
 " You would never find it," Edgar remonstrated. 
 " We had hard enough work to strike the homestead, 
 and we were on a beaten trail, which will have drifted 
 up since then. You'll have to drop the idea it's 
 quite impossible." 
 
 " It's blamed hard luck," grumbled Flett. " I may 
 trail the fellows, but I certainly won't get them with 
 the liquor right in the wagon, as it will be now, and 
 without something of that kind it's mighty hard to 
 secure a conviction. I've no use for the average jury ;
 
 228 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 what we want is power to drop on to a man without 
 any fuss or fooling and fix him so he won't make more 
 trouble." 
 
 " It's fortunate you'll never get it," Edgar re- 
 marked. " I've a notion it would be a dangerous thing 
 to trust even a Northwest policeman with. You're not 
 all quite perfect yet." 
 
 Then George, recovering from his lethargy, remem- 
 bered the letters and eagerly opened the one from 
 Sylvia. It consisted of a few sentences in which she 
 carelessly told him that if he came over he would not 
 see her, as she was going to Egypt with Herbert and 
 Muriel. The hint of regret that her journey could 
 not be put off looked merely conventional, but she said 
 he might make his visit in the early summer, as she 
 would have returned by then. 
 
 George's face hardened as he read it, for the disap- 
 pointment was severe. He thought that Sylvia might 
 have remembered that he could not leave the farm after 
 spring had begun. The man felt wounded and, for 
 once, inclined to bitterness. His optimistic faith, 
 which idealized its object, was bound to bring him 
 suffering when dispelled by disillusion; offering sin- 
 cere homage to all that seemed most worthy, he had 
 not learned tolerance. Though his appreciation was 
 quick and generous, he must believe in what he ad- 
 mired, and it was, perhaps, a misfortune that he was 
 unable to recognize shortcomings with cynical good- 
 humor. He could distinguish white from black the 
 one stood for spotless purity, the other was very dark 
 indeed but his somewhat restricted vision took no 
 account of the more common intermediate shades. 
 
 For all that, he was incapable of seriously blaming
 
 A BLIZZARD 229 
 
 Sylvia. Her letter had hurt him, but he began to 
 make excuses for her, and several that seemed satis- 
 factory presented themselves ; then, feeling a little com- 
 forted, he opened the letter from Herbert with some 
 anxiety. When he read it, he let it drop upon the 
 table and set his lips tight. His cousin informed him 
 that it would be most injudicious to raise any money 
 just then by selling shares, as he had been requested 
 to do. Those he had bought on George's account had 
 depreciated in an unexpected manner and the markets 
 were stagnant George, he said, must carry on his 
 farming operations las economically as possible, until 
 the turn came. 
 
 " Bad news? " said Edgar sympathetically. 
 
 ' Yes. I'll have to cut out several plans I'd made 
 for spring; in fact, I don't quite see how I'm to go on 
 working on a profitable scale. We'll have to do with- 
 out the extra bunch of stock I was calculating on; and 
 I'm not sure I can experiment with that quick-ripening 
 wheat. There are a number of other things we'll have 
 to dispense with." 
 
 " We'll pull through by some means," Edgar re- 
 joined encouragingly, and George got up. 
 
 " I feel rather worn out," he said. " I think I'll go 
 to sleep." 
 
 He walked wearily from the room, crumpling up the 
 letters he had risked his life to secure.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 GRANT COMES TO THE RESCUE 
 
 THE storm had raged for twenty-four hours, but 
 it had now passed, and it was a calm night when 
 a little party sat in George's living-room. Outside, the 
 white prairie lay still and silent under the Arctic frost, 
 but there was no breath of wind stirring and the 
 room was comfortably warm. A big stove glowed 
 in the middle of it, and the atmosphere was permeated 
 with the smell of hot iron, stale tobacco, and the ex- 
 udations from resinous boards. 
 
 Grant and his daughter had called when driving 
 back from a distant farm, and Trooper Flett had re- 
 turned to the homestead after a futile search for the 
 liquor smugglers. He was not characterized by men- 
 tal brilliancy, but his persevering patience atoned for 
 that, and his superior officers considered him a sound 
 and useful man. Sitting lazily in an easy chair after 
 a long day's ride in the nipping frost, he discoursed 
 upon the situation. 
 
 " Things aren't looking good," he said. " We've 
 had two cases of cattle-killing in the last month, be- 
 sides some horses missing, and a railroad contractor 
 knocked senseless with an empty bottle ; and nobody's 
 locked up yet." 
 
 " I don't think you have any reason to be proud of 
 it," Edgar broke in. 
 
 230
 
 GRANT COMES TO THE RESCUE 231 
 
 Flett spread out his hands in expostulation. 
 
 " It's not our fault. I could put my hands on half 
 a dozen men who're at the bottom of the trouble ; but 
 what would be the use of that, when the blamed jury 
 would certainly let them off? In a case of this kind, 
 our system of justice is mighty apt to break down. 
 It's a pet idea of mine." 
 
 " How would you propose to alter it? " Edgar asked, 
 to lead him on. 
 
 "If we must have a jury, I'd like to pick them, and 
 they'd be men who'd lost some stock. You could de- 
 pend on them." 
 
 " There's something to be said for that," Grant ad- 
 mitted with a dry smile. 
 
 " This is how we're fixed," Flett went on. " We're 
 up against a small, but mighty smart, hard crowd; we 
 know them all right, but we can't get after them. You 
 must make good all you say in court, and we can't get 
 folks to help us. They'd rather mind the store, have 
 a game of pool, or chop their cordwood." 
 
 " I can think of a few exceptions," Edgar said. 
 " Mrs. Nelson, for example. One could hardly con- 
 sider her apathetic." 
 
 ' That woman's dangerous ! When we were work- 
 ing up things against Beamish, she must make him 
 look like a persecuted victim. She goes too far; the 
 others won't go far enough. Guess they're afraid of 
 getting hurt." 
 
 " You couldn't say that of Mr. Hardie," Flora ob- 
 jected. 
 
 " No. But some of his people would like to fire him, 
 and he's going to have trouble about his pay. Any- 
 how, this state of things is pretty hard on us. There's
 
 232 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 no use in bringing a man up when you've only got un- 
 willing witnesses." 
 
 " What you want is a dramatic conviction," said 
 Edgar sympathetically. 
 
 " Sure. It's what we're working for, and we'd get 
 it if everybody backed us up as your partner and Mr. 
 Grant are doing." He turned to George. " My com- 
 ing back here is a little rough on you." 
 
 George smiled. 
 
 " I dare say it will be understood by the opposition, 
 but I don't mind. It looks as if I were a marked man 
 already." 
 
 A few minutes later Flett went out to attend to his 
 horse; George took Grant into a smaller room which 
 he used for an office; and Edgar and Flora were left 
 alone. The girl sat beside the stove, with a thought- 
 ful air, and Edgar waited for her to speak. Flora in- 
 spired him with an admiration which was largely 
 tinged with respect, though, being critical, he some- 
 times speculated about the cause for this. She was 
 pretty, but her style of beauty was rather severe. She 
 had fine eyes and clearly-cut features, but her face was 
 a little too reposeful and her expression usually some- 
 what grave; he preferred animation and a dash of co- 
 quetry. Her conversation was to the point she had 
 a way of getting at the truth of a matter but there 
 was nevertheless a certain reserve in it and he thought 
 it might have been more sparkling. He had discov- 
 ered some time ago that adroit flattery and hints that 
 his devotion was hers to command only afforded her 
 calm amusement. 
 
 " Mr. Lansing looks a little worried," she said at 
 length.
 
 GRANT COMES TO THE RESCUE 233 
 
 " It strikes me as only natural," Edgar replied. 
 " He has had a steer killed since the rustlers shot the 
 bull : we have foiled one or two more attempts only by 
 keeping a good lookout, and he knows that he lies open 
 to any new attack that may be made on him. His po- 
 sition isn't what you could call comfortable.'' 
 
 " I hardly think that would disturb your comrade 
 very much." 
 
 Edgar saw that she would not be put off with an 
 inadequate explanation, and he was a little surprised 
 that she did not seem to mind displaying her interest 
 in George. 
 
 " Then." he said, " for another thing, he's disap- 
 pointed about having to give up an English visit he 
 had looked forward to." 
 
 He saw a gleam that suggested comprehension in 
 her eyes. 
 
 " You mean that he is badly disappointed ? " 
 
 " Yes," said Edgar; " I really think he is." 
 
 He left her to make what she liked of this, and he 
 imagined that there was something to be inferred from 
 it. He thought it might be wise to give her a hint that 
 George's affections were already engaged. 
 
 " Besides," he resumed, " it's no secret that the loss 
 of his harvest hit him pretty hard. We'll have to cur- 
 tail our spring operation in several ways and study 
 economy." 
 
 Flora glanced toward the door of the room her 
 father had entered with George. Edgar thought she 
 had done so unconsciously; but it was somewhat sug- 
 gestive, though he could not see what it implied. 
 
 " Well," she said, " I'm inclined to believe that he'll 
 get over his difficulties."
 
 234 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " So am I," Edgar agreed. " George isn't easy to 
 defeat" 
 
 In the meanwhile Grant sat in the next room, smok- 
 ing thoughtfully and asking George rather direct ques- 
 tions about his farming. 
 
 " I've made some inquiries about that new wheat 
 your English botanist friend reported on," he said at 
 length. " Our experimental farm people strongly rec- 
 ommend it, and there's a man I wrote to who can't say 
 enough in its favor. You'll sow it this spring? " 
 
 " I'm afraid I'll have to stick to the common kinds," 
 George said gloomily. " I've a pretty big acreage to 
 crop and that special seed is remarkably dear." 
 
 " That's so," Grant agreed. " As a matter of fact, 
 they haven't quite made their arrangements for put- 
 ting it on the market yet, and the surest way to get 
 some is to bid for a round lot. After what I'd heard, 
 I wired a Winnipeg agent and he has promised to send 
 me on what looks like more than I can use. Now I'll 
 be glad to let you have as much as you want for your 
 lightest land." 
 
 George felt grateful. He did not think that this 
 methodical man had made any careless mistake over 
 his order ; but he hesitated. 
 
 " Thanks," he said. " Still, it doesn't get over the 
 main difficulty." 
 
 " I guess it does. You would have had to pay 
 money down for the seed, and I'll be glad to let the 
 thing stand over until you have thrashed out. The 
 price doesn't count; you can give me back as many 
 bushels as you get." 
 
 " Then," said George with a slight flush, " you're 
 more generous than wise. They haven't produced a
 
 GRANT COMES TO THE RESCUE 235 
 
 wheat yet that will stand drought and hail. Suppose 
 I have another year like last ? I'm sorry I can't let you 
 run this risk." 
 
 " We'll quit pretending. I owe a little to the coun- 
 try that has made me what I am, and these new hardy 
 wheats are going to play a big part in its development. 
 I want to see them tried on the poorest land." 
 
 " That's a good reason. I believe it goes some way, 
 but I hardly think it accounts for everything." 
 
 His companion looked at him with fixed directness. 
 
 " Then, if you must be satisfied, you're my neigh- 
 bor; you have had blamed hard luck and I like the 
 way you're standing up to it. If anybody's on meaner 
 soil than yours I want to see it. Anyway, here's the 
 seed; take what you need, pay me back when you're 
 able. Guess you're not too proud to take a favor that's 
 gladly offered." 
 
 " I'd be a most ungrateful brute if I refused," 
 George replied with feeling. 
 
 " That's done with," Grant said firmly ; and soon 
 afterward he and George returned to the other room. 
 
 After a while he went out with Edgar to look at a 
 horse, and George turned to Flora. 
 
 " Your father has taken a big weight off my mind, 
 and I'm afraid I hardly thanked him," he said. 
 
 " Then it was a relief? " she asked, and it failed to 
 strike him as curious that she seemed to know what he 
 was alluding to. 
 
 " Yes," he declared ; " I feel ever so much more con- 
 fident now that I can get that seed. The fact that it 
 was offered somehow encouraged me." 
 
 'You never expected anything of the kind? I've 
 sometimes thought you're apt to stand too much alone.
 
 236 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 You don't attach enough importance to your friends." 
 
 " Perhaps not," admitted George. " I've been very 
 wrong in this instance ; but I suppose one naturally pre- 
 fers to hide one's difficulties." 
 
 " I don't think the feeling's universal. But you 
 would, no doubt, be more inclined to help other people 
 out of their troubles." 
 
 George looked a little embarrassed, and she changed 
 the subject with a laugh. 
 
 " Come and see us when you can find the time. On 
 the last occasion, you sent your partner over." 
 
 " I'd made an appointment with an implement man 
 when I got your father's note. Anyway, I should have 
 fancied that Edgar would have made a pretty good 
 substitute." 
 
 " Mr. West is a favorite of ours ; he's amusing and 
 excellent company, as far as he goes." 
 
 Her tone conveyed a hint that Edgar had his limita- 
 tions and he was not an altogether satisfactory ex- 
 change for his partner; but George laughed. 
 
 " He now and then goes farther than I would care to 
 venture." 
 
 Flora looked at him with faint amusement. 
 
 " Yes," she said. " That's one of the differences 
 between you; you're not assertive. It has struck me 
 that you don't always realize your value." 
 
 " Would you like one to insist on it ? " 
 
 " Oh," she said, " there's a happy medium ; but I'm 
 getting rather personal, and I hear the others com- 
 ing." 
 
 She drove away a little later, and when Flett had 
 gone to bed George and Edgar sat talking a while be- 
 side the stove.
 
 GRANT COMES TO THE RESCUE 237 
 
 " Grant's a staunch friend, and I'm more impressed 
 with Flora every time I see her," said the lad. " She's 
 pleasant to talk to, she can harness and handle a team 
 with any one ; but for all that, you recognize a trace of 
 what I can only call the grand manner in her. Though 
 I understand that she has been to the old country, it's 
 rather hard to see how she got it." 
 
 George signified agreement. Miss Grant was un- 
 doubtedly characterized by a certain grace and now 
 and then by an elusive hint of stateliness. It was a 
 thing quite apart from self-assertion; a gracious qual- 
 ity, which he had hitherto noticed only in the bearing 
 of a few elderly English ladies of station. 
 
 " I suppose you thanked her for that seed? " Edgar 
 resumed. 
 
 " I said I was grateful to her father." 
 
 "I've no doubt you took the trouble to mark the 
 distinction. It might have been more considerate if 
 you had divided your gratitude." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " It's hardly likely that the idea of helping you in 
 that particular way originated with Alan Grant, 
 though I shouldn't be surprised if he had been allowed 
 to think it did." 
 
 George looked surprised and Edgar laughed. 
 
 " You needn't mind. It's most improbable that 
 Miss Grant either wished or expected you to under- 
 stand. She's a very intelligent young lady." 
 
 " It strikes me that you talk too much," George said 
 severely. 
 
 He went out, feeling a little disturbed by what 
 Edgar had told him, but unable to analyze his sensa- 
 tions. Putting on his furs, he proceeded to look
 
 238 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 around the stable, as he had fallen into a habit of do- 
 ing before he went to rest. There was a clear moon 
 in the sky, and although the black shadow of the build- 
 ings stretched out across the snow, George on ap- 
 proaching one noticed a few footprints that led toward 
 it. There were numerous other tracks about, but he 
 thought that those he was looking at had been made 
 since he had last entered the house. This, however, 
 did not surprise him, for Flett had recently visited the 
 stable. 
 
 On entering the building, George stopped to feel 
 for a lantern which was kept on a shelf near the door. 
 The place was very dark and pleasantly warm by con- 
 trast with the bitter frost outside, and he could smell 
 the peppermint in the prairie hay. Familiar sounds 
 reached him the soft rattle of a shaking rope, the 
 crackle of crushed straw but they were rather more 
 numerous than usual, and while he listened one or two 
 of the horses began to move restlessly. 
 
 The lantern was not to be found ; George wondered 
 whether Flett had carelessly forgotten to replace it. 
 He felt his way from stall to stall, letting his hand 
 fall on the hind quarters of the horses as he passed. 
 They were all in their places, including Flett's gray, 
 which lashed out at him when he touched it; there 
 was nothing to excite suspicion, but when he reached 
 the end of the row he determined to strike a match and 
 look for the lantern. He was some time feeling for 
 the match-box under his furs, and while he did so he 
 heard a soft rustling in the stall nearest the door. 
 This was curious, for the stall, being a cold one, was 
 unoccupied, and there was something significantly 
 stealthy in the sound; but it ceased, and while he lis-
 
 GRANT COMES TO THE RESCUE 239 
 
 tened with strained attention a horse moved and 
 snorted. Then, while he fumbled impatiently at a 
 button of his skin coat which would not come loose, 
 an icy draught stole into the building. 
 
 It was obvious that the door was open ; he had left 
 it shut. 
 
 Breaking off his search for the matches, he made 
 toward the entrance and sprang out. There was no- 
 body upon the moonlit snow, and the shadows were 
 hardly deep enough to conceal a lurking man. He 
 ran toward the end of the rather long building; but, 
 as it happened, he had to make a round to avoid a 
 stack of wood and a wagon on the way. When he 
 turned the corner, the other side of the stable was 
 clear in the moonlight and, so far as he could see, the 
 snow about it was untrodden. It looked as if he had 
 made for the wrong end of the building, and he re- 
 traced his steps toward a barn that stood near its op- 
 posite extremity. Running around it, he saw nobody, 
 nor any footprints that seemed to have been recently 
 made; and while he stood wondering what he should 
 do next, Grierson appeared between him and the 
 house. 
 
 "Were you in the stables a minute or two ago?" 
 George called to him. 
 
 " No," said the other approaching. " I'd just come 
 out for some wood when I saw you run round the 
 bam." 
 
 George gave him a brief explanation, and the man 
 looked about. 
 
 " Perhaps we'd better search the buildings ; if there 
 was any stranger prowling round, he might have 
 dodged you in the shadow. It's hardly likely he'd
 
 240 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 make for the prairie; the first clump of brush big 
 enough to hide a man is a quarter of a mile off." 
 
 They set about the search, but found nobody, and 
 George stopped outside the last building with a puz- 
 zled frown on his face. 
 
 " It's very strange," he said. " I left the door shut ; 
 I couldn't be mistaken." 
 
 " Look ! " cried Grierson, clutching his arm. 
 " There's no mistaking about that ! " 
 
 Turning sharply, George saw a dim mounted figure 
 cross the crest of a low rise some distance away and 
 vanish beyond it. 
 
 " The fellow must have run straight for the poplar 
 scrub, keeping the house between you and him," Grier- 
 son explained. " He'd have left his horse among the 
 brush." 
 
 " I suppose that was it," George said angrily. " As 
 there's no chance of overtaking him, we'll have a look 
 at the horses, with a light, and then let Flett know." 
 
 There was nothing wrong in the stable, where they 
 found the lantern George had looked for flung down 
 in the empty stall, and in a very short space of time 
 after they had called him Flett appeared. He walked 
 round the buildings and examined some of the foot- 
 prints with a light, and then he turned to George. 
 
 " Looks like an Indian by his stride," he said. 
 " Guess I'll have to saddle up and start." 
 
 " You could hardly come up with the fellow ; he'll 
 have struck into one of the beaten trails, so as to leave 
 no tracks," Edgar pointed out. 
 
 " That's so," said Flett. " I don't want to come up 
 with him. It wouldn't be any use when your partner 
 and Grierson couldn't s^'ear to the man."
 
 GRANT COMES TO THE RESCUE 241 
 
 " What could have been his object? " George asked. 
 " He seems to have done no harm." 
 
 " He wanted to see if my gray was still in the sta- 
 ble," Flett said dryly. " His friends have some bus- 
 iness they'd sooner I didn't butt into fixed up some- 
 where else." 
 
 " But you have no idea where? " 
 
 " I haven't; that's the trouble. There are three or 
 four different trails I'd like to watch, and I quite ex- 
 pect to strike the wrong one. Then, if the man knows 
 you saw him, he might take his friends warning to 
 change their plans. All the same, I'll get off." 
 
 He rode away shortly afterward, and as the others 
 went back toward the house Edgar laughed. 
 
 " I don't think being a police trooper has many at- 
 tractions in winter," he remarked. " Hiding in a 
 bluff for several hours with the temperature forty de- 
 grees below, on the lookout for fellows who have 
 probably gone another way, strikes me as a very un- 
 pleasant occupation."
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 THE SPREAD OF DISORDER 
 
 T7LETT spent a bitter night, keeping an unavailing 
 * watch among the willows where a lonely trail 
 dipped into a ravine. Not a sound broke the stillness 
 of the white prairie, and realizing that the men he 
 wished to surprise had taken another path, he left his 
 hiding-place shortly before daylight. He was almost 
 too cold and stiff to mount ; but as his hands and feet 
 tingled painfully, it was evident that they had escaped 
 frostbite, and that was something to be thankful for. 
 Reaching an outlying farm, he breakfasted and 
 rested a while, after which he rode on to the Indian 
 reservation, where he found signs of recent trouble. 
 A man to whom he was at first refused access lay with 
 a badly battered face in a shack which stood beside a 
 few acres of roughly broken land; another man suf- 
 fering from what looked like an ax wound sat hud- 
 dled in dirty blankets in a teepee. It was obvious that 
 a fight, which Flett suspected was the result of a 
 drunken orgy, had been in progress not long before; 
 but he could find no liquor nor any man actually under 
 its influence, though the appearance of several sug- 
 gested that they were recovering from a debauch. He 
 discovered, however, in a poplar thicket the hide of a 
 steer, from which a recent breeze had swept its cov- 
 ering of snow. This was a serious matter, and though 
 
 242
 
 THE SPREAD OF DISORDER 243 
 
 the brand had been removed, Flett identified the skin 
 as having belonged to an animal reported to him as 
 missing. 
 
 He had now, when dusk was approaching, two 
 charges of assault and one of cattle-killing to make, 
 and it would not be prudent to remain upon the reser- 
 vation during the night with anybody he arrested. 
 The Indians were in a sullen, threatening mood ; it was 
 difficult to extract any information, and Flett was 
 alone. He was, however, not to be daunted by angry 
 looks or ominous mutterings, and by persistently 
 questioning the injured men he learned enough to 
 warrant his making two arrests; though he decided 
 that the matter of the hide must be dropped for the 
 present. 
 
 It was in a state of nervous tension that he mounted 
 and drove his prisoners on a few paces in front of him. 
 If he could get them into the open, he thought he 
 would be safe, but the reservation was, for the most 
 part, a tract of brush and bluff, pierced by ravines, 
 among which he half expected an attempt would be 
 made to facilitate their escape. For all that, he was, 
 so far as appearances went, very calm and grim when 
 he set out, and his prisoners, being ahead, did not no- 
 tice that he searched each taller patch of brush they 
 entered with apprehensive glances. Nor did they see 
 his hand drop to his pistol-butt when something moved 
 in the bushes as they went down the side of a dark 
 declivity. 
 
 There was, however, no interference, and he felt 
 more confident when he rode out into the moonlight 
 which flooded the glittering prairie. Here he could 
 deal with any unfavorable developments; but it was
 
 244 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 several leagues to the nearest; shelter, and the Indians 
 did not seem imrimrd to travel fast. The half-frozen 
 constable would gladly have walked, only that he felt 
 more master of the situation upon his horse. Mile 
 after mue, they crossed the vast white waste, without 
 a word being spoken, except when the shivering man 
 sternly hade his prisoners, "Get on!" 
 
 Hand-raffed as they were, he dare not relax his 
 vigilance nor let them fall back too near him: and he 
 bad spent the previous night in the bitter frost. At 
 times be fdt painfully diom>y, but he had learned to 
 overcome most bodily weaknesses, and his eyes only 
 left the dark, plnAin^r figures in front of him when 
 he swept a *rinliiiig glance across the plain. Moth- 
 ing moved on it, and only the soft crunch of snow 
 broke the dreary silence. At last, a duster of low 
 rose out of the waste, and soon afterward 
 
 Flett got down with difficulty and demanded shelter. 
 The rudely awakened fjinif i gave htm the u^e of his 
 kitrhrn, in which a stove was burning; and while the 
 Indians went to sleep on the floor, Flett, choosing an 
 comfortable upright chair. lighted his pipe and sat 
 down to keep another vigfl. When dawn broke, his 
 eyes were still open, though his face was a little hag- 
 gard and very weary. 
 
 He obtained a conviction for assault; but, as the 
 cluiges of catdc-kilhug and being in possession of 
 liquor had to be dropped, this was small consolation, 
 It left the men he considered responsible absolutely 
 
 -~jt ____ ^_ , fl 
 
 HB MKBBBj 
 
 Afterward, be played a part in other somewhat 
 similar affairs, for offenses were rapidly becoming 
 more uomeiuus among both Indian* and mean whites;
 
 THE SPREAD OE DISORDER 245 
 
 bat in spite of his efforts the gang he suspected man- 
 aged to evade the grip of the law. Fktt, however, 
 was far from despairing; he waited his time and 
 watched. 
 
 While he did so, spring came, unusually early. A 
 warm west wind swept the snow away and for a week 
 or two the softened prairie was almost impassable to 
 vehicles. Then the wind veered to the northwest with 
 bright sunshine, the soil began to dry, and George set 
 out on a visit to Brandon where he had some business 
 to transact. 
 
 Reaching Sage Botte in the afternoon, he found it 
 suffering from the effects of the thaw. A swollen 
 creek had converted the ground on one side of the 
 track into a shallow lake; die front street resembled 
 a muskeg, furrowed deep by sinking wheels. The 
 vehicles outside the hotels were covered with sticky 
 mire ; the high, plank sidewalks were slippery with it, 
 and foot passengers when forced to leave them sank 
 far up their long boots ; one or two of the stores were 
 almost cut off by the pools. It rained between gleams 
 of sunshine, and masses of dark cloud rolled by above 
 the dripping town and wet prairie, which had turned 
 a dingy gray. 
 
 As he was proceeding along one sidewalk, George 
 met Hardie, and it struck him that the man was look- 
 ing dejected and worn. 
 
 " Win you come back with me and wait for sup- 
 per?" he asked. " I'd be glad of a talk/* 
 
 " I think not," said George. "You're on the far 
 side of the town and there are two streets to cross; 
 you see, I'm going to Brandon, and 111 take enough 
 gumbo into the cars with me, as it is. Then my train
 
 246 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 leaves in half an hour. I suppose I mustn't ask you 
 to come into the Queen's? " 
 
 " No," said the clergyman. " Our old guard won't 
 tolerate the smallest compromise with the enemy, and 
 there's a good deal to be said for their point of view. 
 After all, half-measures have seldom much result; a 
 man must be one thing or another. But we might 
 try the new waiting-room at the station." 
 
 The little room proved to be dry and comparatively 
 clean, besides being furnished with nicely made and 
 comfortable scats. Leaning back in one near the 
 stove, George turned to his companion. 
 
 " How are things going round here ? " he asked. 
 
 " Very much as I expected ; we tried and failed to 
 apply a check in time, and of late we have had a regu- 
 lar outbreak of lawlessness. At first sight, it's curi- 
 ous, considering that three-fourths of the inhabitants 
 of the district are steady, industrious folk, and a pro- 
 portion of the rest are capable of being useful citi- 
 zens." 
 
 ' Then how do you account for the disorder ? " 
 
 Hardie looked thoughtful. 
 
 " I suppose we all have a tendency to follow a lead, 
 which is often useful in an organized state of society; 
 though it depends on the lead. By way of counter- 
 balance, we have a certain impatience of restraint. 
 Granting this, you can see that when the general tone 
 of a place is one of sobriety and order, people who 
 have not much love for either find it more or less easy 
 to conform. But, if you set them a different example, 
 one that slackens restrictions instead of imposing them, 
 they'll follow it, and it somehow seems to be the 
 rule that the turbulent element exerts the stronger in-
 
 THE SPREAD OF DISORDER 247 
 
 fluence. Anyway, it becomes the more prominent. 
 You hear of the fellow who steals a horse in a daring 
 manner; the man who quietly goes on with his plow- 
 ing excites no notice." 
 
 " One must agree with that," George replied. 
 " Popular feeling's fickle : a constant standard is 
 needed to adjust it by." 
 
 Hardie smiled. 
 
 " It was given us long ago. But I can't believe that 
 there's much general sympathy with these troublesome 
 fellows. What I complain of is popular apathy; no- 
 body feels it his business to interfere ; though this state 
 of things can't continue. The patience of respectable 
 people will wear out ; and then one can look for drastic 
 developments." 
 
 " In the meanwhile, the other crowd are having their 
 fling." 
 
 Hardie nodded. 
 
 " That's unfortunately true, though the lawbreakers 
 have now and then come off second-best. A few days 
 ago, Wilkie, the station-agent, was sitting in his of- 
 fice when a man who had some grievance against the 
 railroad walked up to the window. Wilkie told him 
 he must send his claim to Winnipeg, and the fellow 
 retorted that he would have satisfaction right away 
 out of the agent's hide. With that, he climbed in 
 through the window; and I must confess to a feeling 
 of satisfaction when I heard that he left the station 
 in need of medical assistance. A week earlier, Taun- 
 ton, of the store, was walking home along the track 
 in the dark after collecting some of his accounts, when 
 a man jumped out from behind a stock of ties with a 
 pistol and demanded his wallet. Taunton, taken by
 
 248 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 surprise, produced a wad of bills, but the thief was 
 a little too eager or careless in seizing them, for Taun- 
 ton grabbed the pistol and got his money back. After 
 that, he marched the man three miles along the track 
 and into his store. I don't know what happened then, 
 but I heard that there w r ere traces of a pretty lively 
 scuffle." 
 
 George laughed, but his companion continued more 
 gravely : 
 
 " Then we have had a number of small disturbances 
 when the men from the new link line came into town 
 
 they've graded the track to within a few miles now 
 
 and I hold Beamish responsible; they haven't 
 encouraged these fellows at the Queen's. In fact, I 
 mean to walk over and try to get a few words with 
 them as soon as I leave you." 
 
 " One would hardly think Saturday evening a very 
 good time," George commented. 
 
 His train came in shortly afterward, and when it 
 had gone Hardie went home for a rubber coat, and 
 then took the trail leading out of the settlement. He 
 was forced to trudge through the tangled grass beside 
 it because the soft gumbo soil stuck to his boots in 
 great black lumps, and the patches of dwarf brush 
 through which he must smash made progress labori- 
 ous. After a while, however, he saw a long trail of 
 black smoke ahead, and sounds of distant activity grew 
 steadily louder. 
 
 There was an angry red glare on the western hori- 
 zon, though the light was beginning to fade, when 
 he reached the end of the new line and found a crowd 
 of men distributing piles of gravel and spiking down 
 the rails which ran back, gleaming in the sunset, lurid,
 
 THE SPREAD OF DISORDER 249 
 
 straight and level, across the expanse of grass, until 
 they were lost in the shadowy mass of a bluff. Near 
 the men stood a few jaded teams and miry wagons; 
 farther on a row of freight-cars occupied a side-track, 
 a little smoke rising from the stacks on the roofs of 
 one or two. Their doors were open, and on passing, 
 Hardie noticed the dirty blue blankets and the litter 
 of wet clothing in the rude bunks. As he approached 
 the last car, which served as store and office, a man 
 sprang down upon the line. He wore wet long boots 
 and an old rubber coat stained with soil, but there was 
 a stamp of authority upon his bronzed face. 
 
 " How are you getting on, Mr. Farren ? " Hardie 
 inquired. 
 
 "Slowly," said the other; "can't catch up on 
 schedule contract time. We've had rain and heavy 
 soil ever since we began. The boys have been giving 
 me some trouble, too." 
 
 " You won't mind my having a few words with 
 them?" 
 
 " Why, no," said Farren. " Guess they need it ; 
 but I'm most afraid you'll be wasting time. The 
 Scandinavians, who're quiet enough and might agree 
 with you, can't understand, and it's quite likely that 
 the crowd you want to get at won't listen. Anyway, 
 you can try it after they've dubbed the load off the 
 gravel train; she's coming now." 
 
 He pointed toward a smear of smoke that trailed 
 away across the prairie. It grew rapidly blacker and 
 nearer, and presently a grimy locomotive with a long 
 string of clattering cars behind it came down the un- 
 even track. It had hardly stopped when the sides of 
 the low cars dropped, and a plow moved forward from
 
 250 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 one to another, hurling off masses of gravel that fell 
 with a roar. Then the train, backing out, came to a 
 standstill again, and a swarm of men became busy 
 about the line. Dusk was falling, but the blaze of the 
 great electric light on the locomotive streamed along 
 the track. While Hardie stood watching, half a 
 dozen men dropped their tools and walked up to his 
 companion. 
 
 " We're through with our lot," announced one. 
 " We're going to the Butte and we'll trouble you for a 
 sub of two dollars a man." 
 
 " You won't get it," said Farren shortly. " I want 
 the ties laid on the next load." 
 
 " Then you can send somebody else to fix them. 
 We're doing more than we booked for." 
 
 " You're getting paid for it." 
 
 " Shucks ! " said the other contemptuously. " What 
 we want is an evening at the Butte; and we're going 
 to have it! Hand over the two dollars." 
 
 " No, sir," said Farren. " I've given in once or 
 twice and I've got no work out of you for most two 
 days afterward. You can quit tie-laying, if you in- 
 sist; but you'll get no money until pay-day." 
 
 One of the men pulled out his watch. 
 
 " Boys," he said, " if we stop here talking, there 
 won't be much time left for a jag when we make the 
 Butte. Are you going to let him bluff you ? " 
 
 The growl from the others was ominous. They had 
 been working long hours at high pressure in the rain, 
 and had suffered in temper. One of them strode for- 
 ward and grasped Farren's shoulder. 
 
 " Now," he demanded, " hand out ! It's our 
 money."
 
 THE SPREAD OF DISORDER 251 
 
 There was only one course open to Farren. His 
 position was not an easy one, and if he yielded, his 
 authority would be gone. 
 
 His left arm shot out and the man went down with 
 a crash. Then the others closed with him and a sav- 
 age struggle began. 
 
 Hardie laid hold of a man who had picked up an 
 iron bar, and managed to wrest it from him, but 
 another struck him violently on the head, and he had 
 a very indistinct idea of what went on during the next 
 minute or two. There was a struggling knot of men 
 pressed against the side of the car, but it broke up 
 when more figures came running up and one man cried 
 out sharply as he was struck by a heavy lump of gravel. 
 Then Hardie found himself kneeling beside Farren, 
 who lay senseless near the wheels with the blood run- 
 ning down his set white face. Behind him stood the 
 panting locomotive engineer, trying to hold back the 
 growing crowd. 
 
 " Looks pretty bad," he said. " What's to be done 
 with him ? " 
 
 " We had better get him into his bunk," directed 
 Hardie. " Then I'll make for the Butte as fast as I 
 can and bring the doctor out." 
 
 " It would take two hours," objected the engineer, 
 as he gently removed Farren's hat. " Strikes me as 
 a mighty ugly gash ; the thing must be looked to right 
 away. If I let her go, throttle wide, we ought to make 
 Carson in half an hour, and they've a smart doctor 
 there." He said something to his fireman and added : 
 " Get hold ; we'll take him along." 
 
 It looked as if the outbreak had nut met with general 
 approval, for a number of the bystanders offered their
 
 252 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 t 
 
 help and the injured man was carefully carried to the 
 locomotive. 
 
 " I'll run the cars along as far as the gravel pit ; 
 then I can book the journey," the engineer said to 
 Hardie. " But as I can't get off at the other end, 
 you'll have to come along." 
 
 Hardie wondered how he would get back, but that 
 was not a matter of great consequence, though he had 
 to preach at Sage Butte in the morning, and he climbed 
 up when Farren had been lifted into the cab. Then 
 he sat down on the floor plates and rested the uncon- 
 scious man's head and shoulders against his knees as 
 the engine began to rock furiously. Nothing was said 
 for a while; the uproar made by the banging cars 
 would have rendered speech inaudible, but when they 
 had been left behind, the engineer looked at Hardie. 
 
 " In a general way, it's not the thing to interfere 
 in a row with a boss," he said. " Still, four to two, 
 with two more watching out for a chance to butt in, 
 is pretty steep odds, and Farren's a straight man. I 
 felt quite good when I hit one of those fellows with 
 a big lump of gravel." 
 
 Hardie could understand his sensations and did not 
 rebuke him. So far as his experience went, the west- 
 ern locomotive crews were of an excellent type, and 
 he was willing to admit that there were occasions when 
 the indignation of an honest man might be expressed 
 in vigorous action. 
 
 " It was really four to one, which makes the odds 
 heavier," he said. 
 
 " I guess not," rejoined the engineer with a smile. 
 " You were laying into one of them pretty lively as I 
 ran up."
 
 THE SPREAD OF DISORDER 253 
 
 Hardie felt a little disconcerted. Having been 
 partly dazed by the blow he had received, he had no 
 clear recollection of the part he had taken in the scrim- 
 mage, though he had been conscious of burning anger 
 when Farren was struck down. It was, however, dif- 
 ficult to believe that the engineer had been mistaken, 
 because the locomotive lamp had lighted the track 
 brilliantly. 
 
 " Anyway, one of them put his mark on you," re- 
 sumed his companion. " Did you notice it, Pete? " 
 
 " Sure," said the grinning fireman ; " big lump on 
 his right cheek." He fumbled in a box and handed a 
 tool to Hardie. " Better hold that spanner to it, if 
 you're going to preach to-morrow. But how's Far- 
 ren?" 
 
 " No sign of consciousness. The sooner we can get 
 him into a doctor's hands, the better." 
 
 " Stir her up," ordered the engineer, and nodded 
 when his comrade swung back the fire-door and hurled 
 in coal. Then he turned to Hardie. " We're losing 
 no time. She's running to beat the Imperial Limited 
 clip, and the track's not worked down yet into its 
 bed." 
 
 Hardie, looking about for a few moments, thought 
 the speed could not safely be increased. There was 
 a scream of wind about the cab, though when he had 
 stood upon the track the air had been almost still; a 
 bluff, which he knew was a large one, leaped up, hung 
 over the line, and rushed away behind; the great en- 
 gine was rocking and jolting so that he could hardly 
 maintain his position, and the fireman shuffled about 
 with the erratic motion. Then Hardie busied himself 
 trying to protect Farren from the shaking, until the
 
 254 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 scream of the whistle broke through the confused 
 sounds and the pace diminished. The bell began to 
 toll, and, rising to his feet, Hardie saw a cluster of 
 lights flitting back toward him. Shortly afterward 
 they stopped beside a half-built row of elevators. 
 
 " Guess you'll have to be back to-morrow," the en- 
 gineer said. 
 
 Hardie nodded. 
 
 " I've been rather worried about it. It would take 
 me all night to walk." 
 
 " That's so," agreed the other. " All you have to 
 do is to see Farren safe in the doctor's hands and 
 leave the rest to me. I've got to have some water, for 
 one thing." He turned to his fireman. " We'll put in 
 that new journal babbit; she's not running sweet." 
 
 The clergyman was inclined to believe that the re- 
 pair was not strictly needed, though it would account 
 for a delay; but one or two of the station hands had 
 reached the engine and, following instructions, they 
 lifted Farren down, and wheeled him on a baggage 
 truck to the doctor's house. The doctor seemed to 
 have no doubt of the man's recovery but said that he 
 must not be moved again for a day or two ; and Hardie 
 went back to the station, reassured and less troubled 
 than he had been for some time. The attitude of the 
 engineer, fireman, and construction gang, was en- 
 couraging. It confirmed his belief that the lawless 
 element was tolerated rather than regarded with 
 sympathy, and the patience of the remainder of the 
 community would become exhausted before long. 
 Though he admitted the influence of a bad example, 
 he had firm faith in the rank and file.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 A HARMLESS CONSPIRACY 
 
 the evening that George left for Brandon, Ed- 
 gar drove over to the Grant homestead. 
 
 " It's Saturday night, my partner's gone, and I felt 
 I deserved a little relaxation," he explained. 
 
 " It's something to be able to feel that ; the men 
 who opened up this wheat-belt never got nor wanted 
 anything of the kind," Grant rejoined. " But as sup- 
 per's nearly ready, you have come at the right time." 
 
 Edgar turned to Flora. 
 
 " Your father always makes me feel that I belong 
 to a decadent age. One can put up with it from him, 
 because he's willing to live up to his ideas, which is 
 not a universal rule, so far as my experience of moral- 
 izers goes. Anyhow, I'll confess that I'm glad to 
 arrive in time for a meal. The cooking at our place 
 might be improved; George, I regret to say, never 
 seems to notice what he eats." 
 
 ' That's a pretty good sign," said Grant. 
 
 " It strikes me as a failing for which I have to bear 
 part of the consequences." 
 
 Flora laughed. 
 
 "If you felt that you had to make an excuse for 
 coming, couldn't you have made a more flattering 
 one?" 
 
 " Ah ! " said Edgar, " you have caught me out. 
 
 255
 
 256 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 But I could give you a number of better reasons. It 
 isn't my fault you resent compliments." 
 
 Flora rose and they entered the room where the 
 hired men were gathering for the meal. When it was 
 over, they returned to the smaller room and found 
 seats near an open window, Grant smoking, Flora 
 embroidering, while Edgar mused as he watched her. 
 Dressed in some simple, light-colored material, which 
 was nevertheless tastefully cut, she made an attractive 
 picture in the plainly furnished room, the walls of 
 which made an appropriate frame of uncovered native 
 pine, for he always associated her and her father with 
 the land to which they belonged. There was nothing 
 voluptuous in any line of the girl's face or figure; the 
 effect was chastely severe, and he knew that it con- 
 veyed a reliable hint of her character. This was not 
 marked by coldness, but rather by an absence of su- 
 perficial warmth. The calmness of her eyes spoke of 
 depth and balance. She was steadfast and consistent; 
 a daughter of the stern, snow-scourged North. 
 
 Then he glanced at the prairie, which ran west, 
 streaked with ochre stubble in the foreground, then 
 white and silvery gray, with neutral smears of poplar 
 bluffs, to the blaze of crimson where it cut the sky. It 
 was vast and lonely; at first sight a hard, forbidding 
 land that broke down the slack of purpose and drove 
 out the sybarite. He had sometimes shrunk from it, 
 but it was slowly fastening its hold on him, and he 
 now understood how it molded the nature of its in- 
 habitants. For the most part, they were far from ef- 
 fusive ; some of their ways were primitive and perhaps 
 slightly barbarous, but there was vigor and staunch- 
 ness in them. They stuck to the friends they had
 
 A HARMLESS CONSPIRACY 257 
 
 tried and were admirable in action; it was when, as 
 they said, they were up against it that one learned 
 most about the strong hearts of these men and women. 
 
 " Lansing will be away some days," Grant said 
 presently. " What are you going to do next week? " 
 
 " Put up the new fence, most likely. The land's a. 
 little soft for plowing yet." 
 
 " That's so. As you'll have no use for the teams, 
 it would be a good time to haul in some of the seed 
 wheat. I've a carload coming out." 
 
 " A carload ! " exclaimed Edgar in surprise, remem- 
 bering the large carrying capacity of the Canadian 
 freight-cars. " At the price they've been asking, it 
 must have cost you a pile." 
 
 " It did," said Grant. " I generally try to get 
 down to bed-rock figure, but I don't mind paying it. 
 The fellow who worked up that wheat deserves his 
 money." 
 
 " You mean the seed's worth its price if the crop 
 escapes the frost ? " 
 
 ' That wasn't quite all I meant. I'm willing to pay 
 the man for the work he has put into it. Try to figure 
 the cross fertilizations he must have made, the varie- 
 ties he's tried and cut out, and remember it takes time 
 to get a permanent strain, and wheat makes only one 
 crop a year. If the stuff's as good as it seems, the 
 fellow's done something he'll never be paid for. Any- 
 way, he's welcome to my share." 
 
 ' There's no doubt about your admiration for hard 
 work," declared Edgar. " As it happens, you have 
 found putting it into practise profitable, which may 
 have had some effect." 
 
 Grant's eyes twinkled.
 
 258 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " Now you have got hold of the wrong idea. You 
 have raised a different point." 
 
 " Then, for instance, would you expect a hired man 
 who had no interest in the crop to work as hard as you 
 would?" 
 
 " Yes," Grant answered rather grimly ; " I'd see he 
 did. Though I don't often pay more than I can help, 
 I wouldn't blame him for screwing up his wages to 
 the last cent he could get; but if it was only half the 
 proper rate, he'd have to do his share. A man's re- 
 sponsible to the country he's living in, not to his em- 
 ployer; the latter's only an agent, and if he gets too 
 big a commission, it doesn't affect the case." 
 
 " It affects the workman seriously." 
 
 " He and his master must settle that point between 
 them." Grant paused and spread out his hands forci- 
 bly. " You have heard what the country west of old 
 Fort Garby it's Winnipeg now was like thirty 
 years ago. Do you suppose all the men who made it 
 what it is got paid for what they did? Canada 
 couldn't raise the money, and quite a few of them got 
 frozen to death." 
 
 It struck Edgar as a rather stern doctrine, but he 
 admitted the truth of it; what was more, he felt that 
 George and this farmer had many views in common. 
 Grant, however, changed the subject. 
 
 ' You had better take your two heavy teams in to 
 the Butte on Monday; I've ordered my freight there 
 until the sandy trails get loose again. Bring a couple 
 of spare horses along. We'll load you up and you 
 can come in again." 
 
 " Two Clover-leaf wagons will haul a large lot of 
 seed in a double journey."
 
 A HARMLESS CONSPIRACY 259 
 
 " It's quite likely you'll have to make a third. Don't 
 you think you ought to get this hauling done before 
 Lansing comes home? " 
 
 A light broke in on Edgar. Grant was, with some 
 reason, occasionally called hard; but he was always 
 just, and it was evident that he could be generous. 
 He meant to make his gift complete before George 
 could protest. 
 
 " Yes," acquiesced Edgar ; " it would be better, be- 
 cause George might want the teams, and for other 
 reasons." 
 
 The farmer nodded. 
 
 " That's fixed. The agent has instructions to de- 
 liver." 
 
 Edgar left the homestead an hour later and spent 
 the Sunday resting, because he knew that he would 
 need all of his energy during the next few days. At 
 dawn on the following morning he and Grierson 
 started for Sage Butte, and on their arrival loaded the 
 wagons and put up their horses for the night. They 
 set out again before sunrise and were glad of the 
 spare team when they came to places where all the 
 horses could scarcely haul one wagon through the soft 
 black soil. There were other spots where the graded 
 road sloped steeply to the hollow out of which it had 
 been dug, and with the lower wheels sinking they had 
 to hold up the side of the vehicle. Great clods clung 
 to the wheels ; the men, plodding at the horses' heads, 
 could scarcely pull their feet out of the mire, and they 
 were thankful when they left the fences behind and 
 could seek a slightly sounder surface on the grass. 
 
 Even here, progress was difficult. The stalks were 
 tough and tangled and mixed with stiff, dwarf scrub,
 
 260 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 which grew in some spots almost to one's waist. 
 There were little rises, and hollows into which the 
 wagons jolted violently, and here and there they must 
 skirt a bluff or strike back into the cut-up trail which 
 traversed it. Toward noon they reached a larger 
 wood, where the trees crowded thick upon the track. 
 When Edgar floundered into it, there appeared to be 
 no bottom. Getting back to the grass, he surveyed 
 the scene with strong disgust; he had not quite got 
 over his English fastidiousness. 
 
 Leafless branches met above the trail, and little bays 
 strewn with trampled brush which showed where 
 somebody had tried to force a drier route, indented 
 the ranks of slender trunks. Except for these, the 
 strip of sloppy black gumbo led straight through the 
 wood, interspersed with gleaming pools. Having seen 
 enough, Edgar beckoned Grierson and climbed a low 
 hillock. The bluff was narrow where the road pierced 
 it, but it was long and the ground was rough and cov- 
 ered with a smaller growth for some distance on its 
 flanks. 
 
 " There's no way of getting round," he said. " I 
 suppose six horses ought to haul one wagon through 
 that sloo." 
 
 " It looks a bit doubtful," Grierson objected. " We 
 mightn't be able to pull her out if she got in very deep. 
 We could dump half the load and come back for it." 
 
 " And make four journeys? It's not to be thought 
 of; two's a good deal too many." 
 
 They yoked the three teams to the first wagon, 
 which promptly sank a long way up its high wheels, 
 and while the men waded nearly knee-deep at their 
 heads, the straining horses made thirty or forty yards.
 
 A HARMLESS CONSPIRACY 261 
 
 Then Edgar sank over the top of his long boots and the 
 hub of one wheel got ominously low. 
 
 " They've done more than one could have expected ; 
 I hate to use the whip, but we must get out of this be- 
 fore she goes in altogether," he said. 
 
 Grierson nodded. He was fond of his horses, 
 which were obviously distressed, and flecked with 
 spume and lather where the traces chafed their wet 
 flanks; but to be merciful would only increase their 
 task. 
 
 The whip-cracks rang out like pistol-shots; and, 
 splashing, snorting, struggling, amid showers of mire, 
 they drew the wagon out of its sticky bed. They 
 made another dozen yards; and then Grierson turned 
 the horses into one of the embayments where there 
 was brush that would support the wheels. Edgar sat 
 down, breathless, upon a fallen trunk. 
 
 " People at home have two quite unfounded ideas 
 about this country," he said disgustedly. " The first 
 is that money is easily picked up here which doesn't 
 seem to need any remark ; the second is that they have 
 only to send over the slackers and slouchers to reform 
 them. In my opinion, a few doses of this kind oi 
 thing would be enough to fill them with a horror of 
 work." He replaced the pipe he had taken out. 
 , " It's a pity, Grierson, but we can't sit here and 
 smoke." 
 
 They went on and nearly capsized the wagon in a 
 pool, the bottom of which was too soft to give them 
 foothold while they held up the vehicle, but they got 
 through it and one or two others, and presently came 
 out, dripping from the waist down, on to the drier 
 prairie. Then Edgar turned and viewed their track.
 
 262 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " It won't bear much looking at ; we had better un- 
 yoke," he said. " If anybody had told me in England 
 that I'd ever flounder through a place like that, 
 I'd " 
 
 He paused, seeking for words to express himself 
 fittingly. 
 
 " You'd have called him a liar," Grierson sug- 
 gested. 
 
 " That hardly strikes me as strong enough," Edgar 
 laughed. 
 
 They had spent two hours in the bluff when they 
 brought the last load through, and sitting down in a 
 patch of scrub they took out their lunch. After a 
 while Edgar flung off his badly splashed hat and 
 jacket and lay down in the sunshine. 
 
 " The thing's done ; the pity is it must be done again 
 to-morrow," he remarked. " In the meanwhile, we'll 
 forget it; I'll draw a veil over my feelings." 
 
 They had finished lunch and lighted their pipes 
 when a buggy appeared from behind a projecting 
 clump of trees and soon afterward Flora Grant pulled 
 up her horse near by. Edgar rose and stood beside 
 the vehicle bareheaded, looking slender and handsome 
 in his loose yellow shirt, duck overalls, and long boots, 
 though the marks of the journey were freely scattered 
 about him. Flora glanced at the jaded teams and the 
 miry wagons and smiled at the lad. She had a good 
 idea of the difficulties he had overcome. 
 
 " The trail must have been pretty bad," she said. 
 " I struck off to the east by the creek, but I don't think 
 you could get through with a load." 
 
 " It was quite bad enough," Edgar assured her. 
 
 Flora looked thoughtful.
 
 A HARMLESS CONSPIRACY 263 
 
 " You have only two wagons ; we must try to send 
 you another, though our teams are busy. Didn't you 
 say Mr. Lansing would be back in a day or two ? " 
 
 " I did, but I got a note this morning saying he 
 thought he had better go on to Winnipeg, if I could 
 get along all right. I told him to go and stop as long 
 as he likes. Considering the state of the trails, I 
 thought that was wise." 
 
 Flora smiled. She knew what he meant, since they 
 had agreed that all the seed must be hauled in before 
 his comrade's return. 
 
 " I'm not going to thank you ; it would be difficult, 
 and George can ride over and do so when he comes 
 home," Edgar resumed. " I know he'll be astonished 
 when he sees the granary." 
 
 " If he comes only to express his gratitude, I'm 
 inclined to believe my father would rather he stayed 
 at home." 
 
 " I can believe it ; but I've an idea that Mr. Grant 
 is not the only person to whom thanks are due." 
 
 Flora looked at him sharply, but she made no direct 
 answer. 
 
 " Your partner," she said, " compels one's sympa- 
 thy." 
 
 " And one's liking. I don't know how he does so, 
 and it isn't from any conscious desire. I suppose it's 
 a gift of his." 
 
 Seeing she was interested, he went on with a 
 thoughtful air: 
 
 " You see, George isn't witty, and you wouldn't 
 consider him handsome. In fact, sometimes he's in- 
 clined to be dull, but you feel that he's the kind of 
 man you can rely on. There's not a trace of mean-
 
 264 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 ness in him, and he never breaks his word. In my 
 opinion, he has a number of the useful English vir- 
 tues." 
 
 " What are they, and are they peculiarly English ? " 
 
 "I'll call them Teutonic; I believe that's their ori- 
 gin. You people and your neighbors across the fron- 
 tier have your share of them." 
 
 " Thanks," smiled Flora. " But you haven't begun 
 the catalogue." 
 
 " Things are often easier to recognize than to de- 
 scribe. At the top of the list, and really comprising 
 the rest of it, I'd place, in the language of the country, 
 the practical ability to ' get there.' We're not in the 
 highest degree intellectual; we're not as a rule wor- 
 shipers of beauty that's made obvious by the prai- 
 rie towns and to be thought poetical makes us shy. 
 In fact, our artistic taste is strongly defective." 
 
 "If these are virtues, they're strictly negative ones," 
 Flora pointed out. 
 
 " I'm clearing the ground," said Edgar. " Where 
 we shine is in making the most of material things, 
 turning, for example, these wilds into wheatfields, 
 holding on through your Arctic cold and blazing sum- 
 mer heat. We begin with a tent and an ox-team, 
 and end, in spite of countless obstacles, with a big 
 brick homestead and a railroad or an automobile. 
 Men of the Lansing type follow the same course con- 
 sistently, even when their interests are not concerned. 
 Once get an idea into their minds, convince them that 
 it's right, and they'll transform it into determined ac- 
 tion. If they haven't tools, they'll make them or find 
 something that will serve; effort counts for nothing; 
 the purpose will be carried out."
 
 A HARMLESS CONSPIRACY .265 
 
 Flora noticed the enthusiastic appreciation of his 
 comrade which his somewhat humorous speech re- 
 vealed, and she thought it justified. 
 
 " One would imagine Mr. Lansing to be resolute," 
 she said. " I dare say it's fortunate ; he had a heavy 
 loss to face last year." 
 
 " Yes," returned Edgar. " As you see, he's going 
 on; though he never expected anything for himself." 
 
 "He never expected anything?" Flora repeated 
 incredulously. " What are you saying? " 
 
 Edgar realized that he had been injudicious. Flora 
 did not know that Sylvia Marston was still the owner 
 of the farm and he hesitated to enlighten her. 
 
 " Well," he said, " George isn't greedy ; it isn't in 
 his nature." 
 
 " Do you mean that he's a rich man and is merely 
 farming for amusement ? " 
 
 "Oh, no," said Edgar; " far from it!" He indi- 
 cated the miry wagons and the torn-up trails. " You 
 wouldn't expect a man to do this kind of thing, if it 
 wasn't needful. The fact is, I don't always express 
 myself very happily; and George has told me that I 
 talk too much." 
 
 Flora smiled and drove away shortly afterward, 
 considering what he had said. She had noticed a 
 trace of confusion in his manner and it struck her as 
 significant. 
 
 When the buggy had grown small in the distance, 
 Edgar called to Grierson and they went on again.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 GEORGE FEELS GRATEFUL 
 
 TT7HEN George returned from Winnipeg, Edgar 
 took him to the granary. 
 
 ' You may as well look at the seed Grant sent you, 
 and then you'll be able to thank him for it," he said. 
 " It's in here ; I turned out the common northern stuff 
 you bought to make room." 
 
 " Why didn't you put it into the empty place in the 
 barn ? " George asked. 
 
 " I wasn't sure it would go in ; there's rather a lot 
 of it," Edgar explained, with a smile. 
 
 George entered the granary and stopped, astonished, 
 when he saw the great pile of bags. 
 
 "Is all of that the new seed?" he asked incredu- 
 lously. 
 
 " Every bag," said Edgar, watching him. 
 
 George's face reddened. He was stirred by mixed 
 emotions : relief, gratitude, and a feeling of confusion 
 he could not analyze. 
 
 " Grant must have sent the whole carload ! " he 
 broke out. 
 
 " As a matter of fact, he sent most of it. Grierson 
 and I hauled it in; and a tough job we had of it." 
 
 " And you took it all, without protesting or sending 
 me word ? " 
 
 266
 
 GEORGE FEELS GRATEFUL 267 
 
 " Yes," said Edgar coolly ; " that's precisely what 
 I did. You need the stuff ; Grant meant you to have 
 it, and I didn't want to offend him." 
 
 " I suppose you have some idea what that seed is 
 worth?" 
 
 " I dare say I could guess. Our people at home 
 once experimented with some American seed potatoes 
 at three shillings each. But aren't you putting the 
 matter on a rather low plane? " 
 
 George sat down and felt for his pipe. 
 
 " I feel that you have played a trick on me. If you 
 had only let me know, I could have objected." 
 
 " Just so ; that's why I kept quiet," Edgar laughed. 
 " The seed's here and you ought to be thankful. Any- 
 way, Grant won't take it back." 
 
 " What have I done that I should get this favor ? " 
 George said half aloud. 
 
 " That's so characteristic ! " Edgar exclaimed. 
 " Why must you always be doing things ? Do you 
 imagine that whatever one receives is the result of so 
 much exertion ? " 
 
 " I don't feel the least interest in such quibbles." 
 
 " I can't believe it," Edgar rejoined. " You're 
 more at home when you have a fence to put up, or a 
 strip of new land to break." Then he dropped his 
 bantering tone. " There's nothing to be distressed 
 about. Grant has been pretty generous, and I think 
 he and Flora need thanking." 
 
 " That's true ; they've made me feel half ashamed. 
 I never expected this." 
 
 " In my opinion, the sensation's quite unnecessary. 
 You have given a few people a lift in your time, and 
 I've an optimistic notion that actions of the kind re-
 
 268 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 coil on one, even though it's a different person who 
 makes you some return." 
 
 " I wish you would stop talking! " George exclaimed 
 impatiently. 
 
 Edgar mentally compared Flora Grant with Sylvia, 
 in whom he disbelieved, and found it hard to restrain 
 himself. It was, he felt, a great misfortune that 
 George could not be made to see. 
 
 " Oh, well ! " he acquiesced. " I could say a good 
 deal more, if I thought it would do any good, but as 
 that doesn't seem likely I'll dry up." 
 
 " That's a comfort," George said shortly. 
 
 He left the granary in a thoughtful mood, and on 
 the following evening drove over to the Grant home- 
 stead. Its owner was busy somewhere outside when 
 he reached it, but Flora received him and he sat down 
 with satisfaction to talk to her. It had become a 
 pleasure to visit the Grants; he felt at home in their 
 house. The absence of all ceremony, the simple Ca- 
 nadian life, had a growing attraction for him. One 
 could get to know these people, which was a different 
 thing from merely meeting them, and George thought 
 this was to some extent the effect of their surround- 
 ings. He had always been conscious of a closer and 
 more intimate contact with his friends upon the moun- 
 tain-side or the banks of some salmon river than he 
 had ever experienced in a club or drawing-room. For 
 all that, Flora sometimes slightly puzzled him. She 
 was free from the affectations and restraints of arti- 
 ficial conventionality, but there was a reserve about 
 her which he failed to penetrate. He wondered what 
 lay behind it and had a curious feeling that Edgar 
 either guessed or knew.
 
 GEORGE FEELS GRATEFUL 269 
 
 "Did you enjoy your visit to Winnipeg?" she 
 asked. 
 
 " It was a pleasant change and I got through my 
 business satisfactorily. Of course, I didn't go for 
 amusement." 
 
 Flora laughed. 
 
 " So I supposed ; you're growing more Canadian 
 every day. But you meant to make a visit to England, 
 which couldn't have had any connection with business, 
 last winter, didn't you ? " 
 
 George's face grew serious. He had, she thought, 
 not got over his disappointment. 
 
 " Yes," he said. " But there was nothing to be 
 done here then." 
 
 " So the things that should be done invariably come 
 first with you ? " 
 
 " In this case I mean as far as they concern the 
 farm it's necessary." 
 
 Flora considered his answer, studying him quietly, 
 though she had some sewing in her hands. Suppos- 
 ing, as she had once thought, there was some English 
 girl he had longed to see, he could have made the 
 journey later, when his crop had been sown, even 
 though this entailed some neglect of minor operations 
 that required his care. He received, as she had learned 
 with interest, few English letters, so there was nobody 
 to whom he wrote regularly; and yet his disappoint- 
 ment when forced to abandon his visit had obviously 
 been keen. There was, Flora thought, a mystery here. 
 
 "After all," she said, "the feeling you have indi- 
 cated is pretty common in the Canadian wheat-belt." 
 
 ' Then why should you expect me to be an excep- 
 tion ? As a matter of fact, I'm at least as anxious as
 
 270 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 my neighbors to be successful. That's partly why I've 
 come over to-night." His voice grew deeper and softer 
 as he continued. " I want to thank you and your fa- 
 ther for your surprising generosity." 
 
 " Surprising? " responded Flora lightly, though she 
 was stirred by the signs of feeling he displayed. " Do 
 you know you're not altogether complimentary?" 
 
 He smiled. 
 
 " You'll forgive the slip ; when one feels strongly, 
 it's difficult to choose one's words. Anyway, to get 
 that seed, and so much of it, is an immense relief. 
 I'm deeply grateful; the more so because your action 
 was so spontaneous. I haven't a shadow of a claim on 
 you." 
 
 Flora put down her sewing and looked at him di- 
 rectly. 
 
 " I don't think you ought to say that do you wish 
 to be considered a stranger?" 
 
 " No," George declared impulsively. " It's the last 
 thing I want. Still, you see " 
 
 She was pleased with his eagerness, but she checked 
 him. 
 
 " Then, as you have a gift of making friends, you 
 must take the consequences." 
 
 "I didn't know I had the gift. My real friends 
 aren't plentiful." 
 
 "If you begin to count, you may find them more 
 numerous than you think." 
 
 " Those I have made in Canada head the list." 
 
 The girl felt a thrill of satisfaction. This was not a 
 compliment ; he had spoken from his heart. 
 
 " After all, I don't see why you should insist on 
 thanking me as well as my father, who really sent you
 
 GEORGE FEELS GRATEFUL 271 
 
 the seed." She paused. " You didn't do so on the 
 last occasion; I mean at the time when it was prom- 
 ised to you." 
 
 This was correct, and George was conscious of some 
 embarrassment. 
 
 " Well," he said firmly, " I think I'm justified." 
 
 Flora could not contradict him, and she was glad he 
 felt as he did. She liked his way of sticking to the 
 point ; indeed, she was sensible of a strong liking for 
 the man. 
 
 During the next minute or two her father came in. 
 He cut short George's thanks, and then took out his 
 pipe. 
 
 " I was in at the Butte yesterday," he said. " The 
 police have got the men who knocked Farren out, and 
 Flett says they mean to press for a smart penalty. It's 
 about time they made an example of somebody. When 
 I was in, I fixed it up to turn Langside off his hold- 
 ing." 
 
 Flora looked up with interest. 
 
 " But how had you the power ? " George asked. 
 
 ' The man owes me four hundred dollars for a horse 
 and some second-hand implements I let him have nearly 
 three years ago." 
 
 " But he has broken a big strip of his land ; it's worth 
 a good deal more than you lent him." 
 
 "Just so. He owes everybody money round the 
 Butte. I saw Taunton of the store and the implement 
 man and told them Langside had to quit." 
 
 ;< You seem to have found them willing to agree." 
 
 Grant broke into a grim smile. 
 
 " What I say to those men goes. Then I've got se- 
 curity ; they know I could pull Langside down."
 
 272 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 George looked at Flora and was slightly surprised at 
 her acquiescent manner. 
 
 " It sounds a little harsh ; a good harvest might have 
 set him straight," he said. " However, I suppose you 
 have a reason for what you're doing." 
 
 " That's so. Langside's the kind of man I've no 
 use for ; he takes no interest in his place. After he has 
 put in half a crop, he goes off and spends his time do- 
 ing a little railroad work and slouching round the sa- 
 loons along the line." 
 
 " It doesn't seem sufficient to justify your ruining 
 him." 
 
 " I've got a little more against the man. Has it 
 struck you that somebody round here, who knows the 
 trails and the farmers' movements, is standing in with 
 the liquor boys." 
 
 A light broke in upon George. Now that the matter 
 had been put before him, he could recollect a number of 
 points that seemed to prove the farmer right. When 
 cattle had been killed, their owners had been absent; 
 horses had disappeared at a time which prevented the 
 discovery of their loss from being promptly made. It 
 looked as if the offenses could only have been com- 
 mitted with the connivance of somebody in the neigh- 
 borhood who had supplied their perpetrators with in- 
 formation. 
 
 " I believe you've got at the truth," he replied. 
 " Still, it must be largely a matter of suspicion." 
 
 Grant leaned forward on the table and his face grew 
 stern. 
 
 " You'll remember what Flett said about our system 
 of justice sometimes breaking down. In this matter, 
 I'm the jury, and I've thought the thing over for the
 
 GEORGE FEELS GRATEFUL 273 
 
 last six months, weighing up all that could be said for 
 Langside, though it isn't much. What's more, I've 
 talked to the man and watched him ; giving him every 
 chance. He has had his trial and he has to go ; there's 
 no appeal." 
 
 George could imagine the thoroughness with which 
 his host had undertaken his task. Grant would be just, 
 deciding nothing without the closest test. George felt 
 that the man he meant to punish must be guilty. For 
 all that, he looked at Flora. 
 
 " Have you been consulted? " he asked. 
 
 " I understood," said Flora. " And I agreed." 
 
 Her face was as hard as her father's and George was 
 puzzled. 
 
 " I should have thought you would have been in- 
 clined to mercy." 
 
 Flora colored a little, but she looked at him steadily. 
 
 " Langside deserves the punishment he has so far 
 escaped. He's guilty of what my father thinks, but 
 there's another offense that I'm afraid will never be 
 brought home to him." 
 
 George admired her courage as he remembered a 
 very unpleasant story he had heard about a pretty 
 waitress at the settlement. As a matter of fact, he had 
 doubted it. 
 
 " Flora w r ent to see the girl at Regina. They found 
 her there pretty near dying," Grant explained quietly. 
 
 Recollecting a scene outside the Sachem, when Flora 
 had accompanied Mrs. Nelson, George realized that he 
 had rather overlooked one side of her character. She 
 could face unpleasant things and strive to put them 
 right, and she could be sternly just without shrinking 
 when occasion demanded it. This, however, was not
 
 274 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 V 
 
 an aspect of hers that struck one forcibly ; he had gen- 
 erally seen her compassionate, cheerful, and consider- 
 ate. Then he told himself that there was no reason 
 why he should take any interest in Flora Grant's qual- 
 ities. 
 
 " I suppose Langside will be sold up," he said. 
 
 " Open auction, though I guess there won't be much 
 bidding. Folks round here don't know the man as I 
 do, but they've good reason to believe the money will 
 go to his creditors, and there'll be nothing left for 
 him." 
 
 "The foreclosure won't meet with general favor," 
 George said pointedly. 
 
 " That doesn't count. It strikes one as curious that 
 people should be ready to sympathize with the slouch 
 who lets his place go to ruin out of laziness, and never 
 think of the storekeepers' just claim on the money he's 
 wasted. Anyway, there's nothing to stop people from 
 bidding; but, in case they hold off, we have fixed up 
 how we'll divide the property." 
 
 It was obvious to George that the position of Grant's 
 associates was unassailable. If any friends of Lang- 
 side's attempted to run prices up, they would only put 
 the money into his creditor's pockets; if, as seemed 
 more probable, they discouraged the bidding, the cred- 
 itors would secure his possessions at a low figure and 
 recoup themselves by selling later at the proper value. 
 George realized that Grant had carefully thought out 
 his plans. 
 
 " I don't think you have left him any way of escape," 
 he said. 
 
 " No," replied Grant ; " we have got him tight. You
 
 GEORGE FEELS GRATEFUL 275 
 
 had better come along to the auction you'll get no- 
 tice of it and see how the thing goes." 
 
 George said that he would do so, and shortly after- 
 ward drove away. On reaching home he told Edgar 
 what he had heard, and the lad listened with a thought- 
 ful expression. 
 
 " One can't doubt that Grant knows what he's do- 
 ing, but I'm not sure he's wise," he said. " Though 
 Langside's a regular slacker, he has a good many 
 friends, and as a rule nobody has much sympathy with 
 exacting creditors. Then it's bound to come out that 
 it was Grant who set the other fellows after Langside ; 
 and if he buys up much of the property at a low figure, 
 the thing will look suspicious." 
 
 " I tried to point that out." 
 
 " And found you had wasted words ? Grant would 
 see it before you did, and it wouldn't have the least 
 effect on him. You wouldn't expect that man to yield 
 to popular opinion. Still, the thing will make trouble, 
 though I shall not be sorry if it forces on a crisis." 
 
 George nodded. 
 
 " I'm getting tired of these continual petty worries, 
 and keeping a ceaseless lookout. I want to hit back." 
 
 " You'll no doubt get your chance. What about 
 Miss Grant's attitude?" 
 
 " She agreed with her father completely ; I was a 
 little surprised." 
 
 ;< That was quite uncalled for," said Edgar with a 
 smile. " It looks as if you didn't know the girl yet. 
 These Westerners are a pretty grim people." 
 
 George frowned at this, though he felt that there 
 was some truth in what his companion said. On the
 
 276 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 whole, he was of the same mind as Grant ; there were 
 situations in which one must fearlessly take a drastic 
 course. 
 
 " The sooner the trouble begins, the sooner it will be 
 over," he said. " One has now and then to run the 
 risk of getting hurt"
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 A COUNTERSTROKE 
 
 LANGSIDE'S farm was duly put up at auction, to- 
 gether with a valuable team which he hired out 
 to his neighbors when he left the place, a few imple- 
 ments and a little rude furniture. The. sale was held 
 outside, and when George arrived upon the scene dur- 
 ing the afternoon a row of light wagons and buggies 
 stood behind the rickety shack, near which was an un- 
 sightly pile of broken crockery, discarded clothes and 
 rusty provision cans. It was characteristic of Lang- 
 side that he had not taken the trouble to carry them as 
 far as the neighboring bluff. In front of the bluff, 
 horses were picketed; along the side ran a strip of 
 black soil, sprinkled with the fresh blades of wheat; 
 and all round the rest of the wide circle the prairie 
 stretched away under cloudless sunshine, flecked with 
 brightest green. 
 
 A thin crowd surrounded the auctioneer's table, but 
 the men stood in loose clusters, and George, walking 
 through them, noticed that the undesirable element was 
 largely represented. There were a number of small 
 farmers, attracted by curiosity, or perhaps a wish to 
 buy; but these kept to themselves, and men from the 
 settlement of no fixed profession who worked spas- 
 modically at different tasks, and spent the rest of their 
 time in the Sachem, were more plentiful. Besides 
 
 277
 
 278 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 these, there were some strangers, and George thought 
 the appearance of several was far from prepossessing. 
 
 It was a glorious day. There was vigor in the warm 
 breeze that swept the grassy waste; the sunshine that 
 bathed the black loam where the green blades were 
 springing up seemed filled with promise ; but as the sale 
 proceeded George became sensible of a vague com- 
 punction. The sight of the new wheat troubled him 
 Langside had laboriously sown that crop, which some- 
 body else would reap. Watching the battered domestic 
 utensils and furniture being carried out for sale had the 
 same disturbing effect. Poor and comfortless as the 
 shack was, it had, until rude hands had desecrated it, 
 been a home. George felt that he was consenting to 
 the ruin of a defenseless man, assisting to drive him 
 forth, a wanderer and an outcast. He wondered how 
 far the terrors of loneliness had urged Langside into 
 his reckless courses homesteaders scattered about 
 the wide, empty spaces occasionally became insane 
 but with an effort he overcame the sense of pity. 
 
 Langside had slackly given way, and, choosing an 
 evil part, had become a menace to the community ; as 
 Grant had said, he must go. This was unavoidable, 
 and though the duty of getting rid of him was painful, 
 it must be carried out. George was usually unsus- 
 picious and of easy-going nature up to a certain point, 
 but there was a vein of hardness in him. 
 
 Once or twice the auctioneer was interrupted by 
 jeering cries, but he kept his temper and the sale went 
 on, though George noticed that only a few strangers 
 made any purchases. At length, when the small sun- 
 dries had been cleared off, there was a curious silence
 
 A COUNTERSTROKE 279 
 
 as the land was put up. It was evident that the ma- 
 jority of those present had been warned not to bid. 
 
 The auctioneer made a little speech in praise of the 
 property, and paused when it fell flat; then, while 
 George wondered what understanding the creditors 
 had arrived at with Grant, a brown-faced stranger 
 strode forward. 
 
 " I've been advised to let this place alone," he said. 
 " I suppose you have a right to sell ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir," replied the auctioneer. " Come along, 
 and look at my authority, if you want. It's mortgaged 
 property that has been foreclosed after the creditors 
 had waited a long while for a settlement, and I may 
 say that the interest demanded is under the present 
 market rate. Everything's quite regular; no injustice 
 has been done. If you're a purchaser, I'll take your 
 bid." 
 
 " Then I'll raise you a hundred dollars," said the 
 man. 
 
 There was a growl of dissatisfaction, and the stran- 
 ger turned to the part of the crowd from which it pro- 
 ceeded. 
 
 ' This is an open auction, boys. I was born in the 
 next province, and I've seen a good many farms seized 
 in the years when we have had harvest frost, but this 
 is the first time I ever saw anybody try to interfere 
 with a legal sale. Guess you may as well quit yapping, 
 unless you mean to bid against me." 
 
 There was derisive laughter, and a loafer from Sage 
 Butte threw a clod. Then another growl, more angry 
 than the first, broke out as Grant, moving forward into 
 a prominent place, nodded to the auctioneer. His
 
 28o RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 rugged face was impassive, and he ignored the crowd. 
 A number of the farmers strolled toward him and 
 stood near by with a resolute air which had its effect 
 on the others, though George saw by Grant's loeir of 
 surprise that he had not expected this. Another man 
 made a bid, and the competition proceeded languidly, 
 but except for a little mocking laughter and an occa- 
 sional jeer, nobody interfered. In the end, the stran- 
 ger bought the land ; and soon afterward Grant walked 
 up to George. 
 
 " I want the team, if I can get it at a reasonable 
 figure; they're real good beasts with the imported 
 Percheron strain strong in them," he said. " It will 
 be a while before they're put up, and I'd be glad if you 
 could ride round and let Flora know what's keeping 
 me. I'd an idea she expected there might be some 
 trouble to-day." 
 
 "I'll get off; but there's a mower yonder I would 
 like. Will you buy it for me, if it goes at a fair 
 price ? " 
 
 " Certainly," promised Grant. " Tell Flora to give 
 you supper; and if you ride back afterward by the 
 trail, you'll meet me and I'll let you know about the 
 mower." 
 
 George rode away shortly afterward, and Grant 
 waited some time before he secured the team, after 
 rather determined opposition. Finding nobody will- 
 ing to lead the horses home, he hitched them to the 
 back of his light wagon and set off at a leisurely pace. 
 When he had gone a little distance, he overtook a man 
 plodding along the trail. The fellow stopped when 
 Grant came up. 
 
 " Will you give me a lift? " he asked.
 
 A COUNTERSTROKE 281 
 
 The request is seldom refused on the prairie, and 
 Grant pulled up his team. 
 
 " Get in," he said. " Where are you going? " 
 
 " North," answered the other, as he clambered up. 
 "Looking for a job; left the railroad yesterday and 
 spent the night in a patch of scrub. Heard there was 
 stock in the bluff country ; that's my line." 
 
 Grant glanced at the fellow sharply as he got into 
 the wagon and noticed nothing in his disfavor. His 
 laconic account of himself was borne out by his appear- 
 ance. 
 
 " It's quite a way to the first homestead, if you're 
 making for the big bluffs," he said. " You had better 
 come along with me and go on in the morning." 
 
 " I'll be glad," responded the other. " These nights 
 are pretty cold, and my blanket's thin." 
 
 They drove on, and after a while the stranger 
 glanced at the team hitched behind the vehicle. 
 
 " Pretty good beasts," he remarked. " That mare's 
 a daisy. Ought to be worth a pile." 
 
 " She cost it," Grant told him. " I've just bought 
 her at a sale." 
 
 " I heard the boys talking about it when I was get- 
 ing dinner at the settlement," said the stranger care- 
 lessly. " Called the fellow whose place was sold up 
 Langside, I think. There's nothing much wrong with 
 the team you're driving." 
 
 Grant nodded; they were valuable animals, for he 
 was fond of good horses. He was well satisfied with 
 his new purchases and knew that Langside had bought 
 the mare after a profitable haulage contract during the 
 building of a new railroad. His companion's flatter- 
 ing opinion made him feel rather amiable toward him.
 
 282 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 It was getting near dusk when they entered a strip 
 of broken country, where the ground was sandy and 
 lolled in low ridges and steep hillocks. Here and 
 there small pines on the higher summits stood out 
 black against the glaring crimson light; birches and 
 poplars straggled up some of the slopes ; and the trail, 
 which wound through the hollows, was loose and 
 heavy. The moist sand clogged the wheels and the 
 team plodded through it laboriously, until they came 
 to a spot where the melted snow running into a de- 
 pression had formed a shallow lake. This had dried 
 up, but the soil was very soft and marshy. Grant 
 pulled up and glanced dubiously at the deep ruts cut 
 in the road. 
 
 " There's a way round through the sand and scrub, 
 but it's mighty rough and I'm not sure we could get 
 through it in the dark," he said. 
 
 " S'pose you double-yoke and drive straight ahead," 
 suggested the other. " I see you have some harness 
 in the wagon." 
 
 Grant considered. The harness, which had been 
 thrown in with his purchase, was old and short of one 
 or two pieces ; it would take time and some contriving 
 to hitch on the second team, and the light was failing 
 rapidly. When he had crossed the soft place, there 
 would still be some rough ground to traverse before 
 he reached the smoother trail by which George would 
 be riding. 
 
 " It might be as quick to go round," he replied. 
 
 " No, sir," said his companion, firmly. " There's a 
 blamed steep bit up the big sandhill." 
 
 Suspicion flashed on Grant; the man had led him 
 to believe he was a stranger to the locality, and it was
 
 A COUNTERSTROKE 283 
 
 significant that he should insist upon their stopping 
 and harnessing the second team. 
 
 " That's so," he returned. " Guess you had better 
 get down and see if it's very soft ahead." 
 
 The fellow rose with a promptness which partly 
 disarmed Grant's suspicions, and put his foot on the 
 edge of the vehicle, ready to jump down. Then he 
 turned swiftly and flung himself upon the farmer, 
 crushing his soft felt hat down to his chin. Grant 
 could see nothing, and while he strove to get a grip 
 on his antagonist he was thrown violently backward 
 off the driving seat. The wagon was of the usual 
 high pattern, and he came down on the ground with 
 a crash that nearly knocked him unconscious. Be- 
 fore he got up, he was seized firmly and held with his 
 shoulders pressed against the soil. He struggled, 
 however, until somebody grasped his legs and his 
 arms were drawn forcibly apart. It was impossible 
 to see, because the thick hat was still over his face and 
 somebody held it fast, but he had an idea that three 
 or four men had fallen upon him. They had, no 
 doubt, been hidden among the brush; the affair had 
 been carefully arranged with his treacherous com- 
 panion. 
 
 " Open his jacket ; try the inside pocket," cried 
 one; and he felt hands fumbling about him. Then 
 there was a disappointed exclamation. "Check-book; 
 that's no good ! " 
 
 The farmer made a last determined effort. After 
 having long ruled his household and hired men as a 
 benevolent but decidedly firm-handed autocrat, it was 
 singularly galling to be treated in this unceremonious 
 fashion, and if he could only shake off the hat and get
 
 284 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 a glimpse of his assailants he would know them again. 
 Moreover, he had brought a roll of bills with him, in 
 case he should make some small purchases. He was, 
 however, held firmly, and the hands he had felt dived 
 into another pocket. 
 
 " Got it now ! " cried a hoarse voice. " Here's his 
 wallet ; seems to have a good wad in it ! " 
 
 Grant, though he was generally sternly collected, 
 boiled with fury. He felt no fear, but an uncontrol- 
 lable longing to grapple with the men who had so 
 humiliated him. 
 
 " Guess, I'll fix you up ! " came an angry voice when 
 Grant managed to fling off one pair of hands. 
 
 Then he received a heavy blow on the head. Some- 
 body had struck him with the butt of a whip or riding 
 quirt. The pain was distressing; he felt dazed and 
 stupid, disinclined to move, but he retained conscious- 
 ness. There were sounds to which he could attach a 
 meaning: a rattle of harness which indicated that his 
 driving team was being loosened, a thud of hoofs as 
 the heavier Percherons were led away. In the mean- 
 while he could still feel a strong grasp on his shoulder, 
 holding him down, and once or twice a man near him 
 gave the others sharp instructions. Grant made a 
 languid effort to fix the voice in his memory, but this 
 was difficult because his mind worked heavily. 
 
 At length the driving team was unyoked he 
 could hear it being led away but the ache in his 
 head grew almost intolerable and his lassitude more 
 intense. For a while he had no idea what was going 
 on ; and then a hoarse cry, which seemed one of alarm, 
 rang out sharply. There was a patter of running 
 feet, a thud of hoofs on the soft soil, and, breaking
 
 A COUNTERSTROKE 285 
 
 through these sounds, a rhythmic staccato drumming. 
 Somebody was riding hard across the uneven ground. 
 
 Gathering his languid senses, Grant suddenly moved 
 his head, flinging the hat from his face, and raised 
 himself a little, leaning on one elbow. There was no 
 longer anybody near him, but he could see a man rid- 
 ing past a shadowy clump of trees a little distance off, 
 leading a second horse. Closer at hand, another man 
 was running hard beside one of the Percherons, and 
 while Grant watched him he made an effort to scram- 
 ble up on the back of the unsaddled animal, but 
 slipped off. Both these men were indistinct in the 
 dim hollow, but on a sandy ridge above, which still 
 caught the fading light, there was a sharply-outlined 
 mounted figure sweeping across the broken ground at 
 a reckless gallop. It must be Lansing, who had come 
 to the rescue. Grant sent up a faint, hoarse cry of 
 exultation. He forgot his pain and dizziness, he even 
 forgot he had been assaulted; he was conscious only 
 of a burning wish to see Lansing ride down the fellow 
 who was running beside the Percheron. 
 
 There was a patch of thick scrub not far ahead 
 which it would be difficult for the horseman on the 
 rise to break through, and if the fugitive could suc- 
 ceed in mounting, he might escape while his pursuer 
 rode round; but Lansing seemed to recognize this. 
 He swept down from the ridge furiously and rode to 
 cut off the thief. Grant saw him come up with the 
 fellow, with his quirt swung high, but the figures of 
 men and horses were now indistinct against the shrub. 
 There was a blow struck; one of the animals reared, 
 plunged and fell ; the other went on and vanished into 
 the gloom of the dwarf trees.
 
 286 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 Then Grant, without remembering how he got up, 
 found himself upon his feet and lurching unsteadily 
 toward the clump of brush. When he reached it, 
 Lansing was standing beside his trembling horse, 
 which had a long red gash down its shoulder. His 
 hands were stained and a big discolored knife lay 
 near his feet. There was nobody else about, but a 
 beat of hoofs came back, growing fainter, out of the 
 gathering dusk. 
 
 George looked around when the farmer joined him, 
 and then pointed to the wound on the horse. 
 
 " I think it was meant for my leg," he said. " I 
 hit the fellow once with the thick end of the quirt, 
 but he jumped straight at me. The horse reared 
 when he felt the knife and I came off before he fell. 
 When I got up again, the fellow had gone." 
 
 Grant felt scarcely capable of standing. He sat 
 down heavily and fumbled for his pipe, while George 
 turned his attention to the horse again. 
 
 " Though it's only in the muscle, the cut looks deep," 
 he said at length. " I'd better lead him back to your 
 place ; it's nearer than mine." 
 
 " I'd rather you came along; I'm a bit shaky." 
 
 " Of course," said George. " I was forgetting. 
 Those fellows had you down. Are you hurt? " 
 
 " They knocked me out with something heavy 
 my whip, I guess but I'm getting over it. Cleaned 
 out my pockets; went off with both teams." 
 
 George nodded. 
 
 " It's pretty bad; quite impossible to get after them. 
 They'll head for Montana as fast as they can ride." 
 
 " Did you see any of them clearly? " 
 
 " One fellow looked like Langside, though I
 
 A COUNTERSTROKE 287 
 
 couldn't swear to him; but I'd know the man who 
 knifed my horse. Remembered that would be de- 
 sirable, in case he escaped me; and I got a good look 
 at him. Now, if you feel able shall we make a start? 
 I'm afraid the horse is too lame to carry you." 
 
 He picked up the knife, Grant rose, and they set 
 off, leading the horse, which moved slowly and pain- 
 fully. It had grown dark and the trail was rough, 
 but the farmer plodded homeward, stopping a few mo- 
 ments now and then. The path, however, grew 
 smoother when they had left the sandy ridges behind, 
 and by and by the lights of the homestead commenced 
 to twinkle on the vast shadowy plain. Soon after 
 they reached it, George rode away, mounted on a 
 fresh horse, in search of Constable Flett.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 THE CLIMAX 
 
 GEORGE was tired and sleepy when he reached 
 the settlement early in the morning, and found 
 Flett at Hardie's house. It transpired from their con- 
 versation that there had been a disturbance at the 
 Sachem on the return of a party which had driven 
 out to the sale, and one man, who accused a compan- 
 ion of depriving him of a bargain, had attacked and 
 badly injured him with a decanter. Flett, being sent 
 for, had arrested the fellow, and afterward called 
 upon the clergyman for information about his ante- 
 cedents and character. He listened with close atten- 
 tion while George told his tale; and then examined 
 the knife he produced. 
 
 " This is about the limit ! " he exclaimed. " You 
 wouldn't have persuaded me that the thing was pos- 
 sible when I was first sent into the district. It isn't 
 what one expects in the wheat-belt, and it certainly 
 has to be stopped." 
 
 " Of course," said George, with some impatience. 
 " But wouldn't it be wiser to consider the ways and 
 means? At present the fellows are no doubt pushing 
 on for the frontier with two valuable teams and a 
 wad of stolen bills." 
 
 Flett smiled at him indulgently. 
 
 " This isn't a job that can be put through in a hurry. 
 288
 
 THE CLIMAX 289 
 
 If they're heading for the boundary and I guess 
 they are they'll be in Dakota or Montana long be- 
 fore any of the boys I'll wire to could come up with 
 them. Our authority doesn't hold on American soil." 
 
 " Is that to be the end of it ? " 
 
 " Why, no," Flett answered dryly. " As I guess 
 you have heard, they have had trouble of this kind in 
 Alberta for a while; and most every time the boys 
 were able to send back any American mavericks and 
 beef-cattle that were run into Canada. As the result 
 of it, our chiefs at Regina are pretty good friends with 
 the sheriffs and deputies on the other side. They're 
 generally willing to help us where they can." 
 
 " Then you shouldn't have much difficulty in trail- 
 ing your men. Suppose a fellow turned up with four 
 exceptionally good horses and offered them to an 
 American farmer or dealer, wouldn't it arouse suspi- 
 cion?" 
 
 " It might," said Flett, with a meaning smile. 
 " But the thing's not so simple as it looks. We all 
 know that Canadian steers and horses have been run 
 off and disposed of across the frontier; and now and 
 then a few from that side have disappeared in Can- 
 ada. This points to there being a way of getting rid 
 of them; some mean white on a lonely holding will 
 take them at half -value, and pass them along. What 
 we have to do is to send a man over quietly to investi- 
 gate, and get the sheriffs and deputies to keep their 
 eyes open. I'm going to beg the Regina people to 
 let me be that man." 
 
 '' You may as well understand that it isn't the re- 
 turn of the horses Grant wants so much as the convic- 
 tion of the men who waylaid him."
 
 290 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " Then," said Flett, pointedly, " he must be mighty 
 mad." 
 
 Hardie joined in George's laugh; but the constable 
 went on: 
 
 " I believe we're going to get them ; but it will take 
 time all summer, perhaps. I've known our boys 
 lay hands on a man they wanted, eighteen months 
 afterward." 
 
 " In one way, I don't think that's much to their 
 credit," the clergyman remarked. 
 
 Taking up the knife George had handed him, 
 Flett pointed to some initials scratched on the bone 
 haft. 
 
 " Kind of foolish thing for the fellow to put his 
 name on his tools ; but I don't know anybody those let- 
 ters might stand for. Now you describe him as 
 clearly as you can, while I put it down." 
 
 George did as he was bidden, and added : ' There 
 were two more one of them looked like Langside 
 and I believe a fourth man, though I may be mis- 
 taken in this. They were moving about pretty rap- 
 idly and the light was bad." 
 
 Flett got up. 
 
 " I'll have word sent along to Regina, and then try 
 to locate their trail until instructions come. I want 
 to get about it right away, but there's this blamed fel- 
 low who knocked out his partner at the Sachem, and 
 it will take me most of a day's ride before I can hand 
 him on to Davies. It's a charge that nobody's going 
 to worry about, and it's a pity he couldn't have es- 
 caped. Still, that's the kind of thing that can't hap- 
 pen too often."
 
 THE CLIMAX 291 
 
 He went out and George turned to Hardie. 
 
 " How does the matter strike you? " 
 
 " I've an idea that Flett was right in saying it was 
 the limit. There was a certain romance about these 
 disturbances when they began; they were a novelty in 
 this part of Canada. People took them lightly, glad 
 of something amusing or exciting to talk about. It 
 was through popular indifference that the gang first 
 gained a footing, but by degrees it became evident 
 that they couldn't be dislodged without a vigorous ef- 
 fort. People shrank from making it; and, with 
 Beamish backing them, the fellows got steadily bolder 
 and better organized. All the time, however, they 
 were really at the mercy of the general body of or- 
 derly citizens. Now they have gone too far ; this last 
 affair can't be tolerated. Instead of apathy, there'll 
 be an outbreak of indignation ; and I expect the people 
 who might have stopped the thing at the beginning 
 will denounce the police." 
 
 George nodded. 
 
 " That's my idea. What's our part ? " 
 
 " I think it's to assist in the reaction. Your 
 story's a striking one. We had better get it into a 
 newspaper as soon as possible. I suppose it would be 
 correct to say that Grant was cruelly beaten ? " 
 
 " His face is blue from jaw to temple. They 
 knocked him nearly senseless with the butt of a whip, 
 while he was lying, helpless, on the ground." 
 
 " And your horse was badly wounded ? " 
 
 " I wish it weren't true ; there's a gash about eight 
 inches long. If it will assist the cause, you can say 
 the stab was meant for me."
 
 292 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " Well," said Hardie, " I think it will make a mov- 
 ing tale. I'm afraid, however, I'll have to lay some 
 stress upon the single-handed rescue." 
 
 George looked dubious. 
 
 " I'd rather you left that out." 
 
 " We must impress the matter on people's thoughts, 
 make it command attention; a little diplomacy is al- 
 lowable now and then," said Hardie, smiling. 
 " Since you don't mind getting yourself into trouble, 
 I don't see why you should object to being held up to 
 admiration, and it's in an excellent cause. Now, 
 however, I'll order breakfast for you, and then you 
 had better get some sleep." 
 
 During the afternoon, George set off for home, 
 and he was plowing for the summer fallow a week 
 later when Flora Grant rode up to him. 
 
 " I suppose you have got your mail and have seen 
 what the Sentinel says about you ? " she asked mis- 
 chievously. 
 
 George looked uncomfortable, but he. laughed. 
 
 " Yes," he confessed. " It seemed to afford Ed- 
 gar some amusement." 
 
 " Who's responsible for that flattering column ? It 
 doesn't read like the work of the regular staff." 
 
 " I'm afraid that I am, to some extent, though Har- 
 die's the actual culprit. The fact is, he thought the 
 course was necessary." 
 
 " Well, I suspected something of the kind ; so did 
 my father. It was a wise move, and I think it will 
 have its effect." 
 
 George made no comment and she sat silent a mo- 
 ment or two while he watched her with appreciation. 
 She was well-mounted on a beautiful, carefully-
 
 THE CLIMAX 293 
 
 groomed horse; the simple skirt and bodice of pale 
 gray emphasized the pure tinting of her face and 
 hands and the warm glow of her hair, in which the 
 fierce sunshine forced up strong coppery gleams. 
 Her lips formed a patch of crimson, there was a red 
 band on her wide Stetson hat, and her eyes shone a 
 deep blue as she looked down at George, who stood 
 in the sandy furrow leaning against the heavy plow. 
 He was dressed in old overalls that had faded with 
 dust and sun to the indefinite color of the soil, but 
 they displayed the fine lines of a firmly knit and mus- 
 cular figure. His face was deeply bronzed, but a 
 glow of sanguine red shone through its duskier col- 
 oring. Behind them both ran a broad sweep of stub- 
 ble, steeped in strong ochre, relieved by brighter 
 lemon hues where the light blazed on it. 
 
 " Though I couldn't resist the temptation to tease 
 you, I quite agree with the Sentinel," she resumed. 
 " It really was a very gallant rescue, and I suppose 
 you know I recognize my debt to you. I was a little 
 too startled to speak about it when you brought my 
 father home, and you went away so fast." 
 
 " The fellows were afraid of being identified; they 
 bolted as soon as they saw me." 
 
 "One didn't," Flora pointed out. "A knife- 
 thrust, like the one you avoided, or a pistol-shot would 
 have obviated any risk they ran. But of course you 
 hate to be thanked." 
 
 " No," George replied impulsively; "not by you." 
 
 " I wonder," she said with an amused air, " why 
 you should make an exception of me? " 
 
 " I suppose it lessens my sense of obligation. I feel 
 I've done some little thing to pay you back."
 
 294 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " I'm not sure that was very happily expressed. Is 
 it painful to feel that you owe anything to your neigh- 
 bors?" 
 
 George flushed. 
 
 " That wasn't what I meant. Do you think it's 
 quite fair to lay traps for me, when you can count 
 on my falling into them ? " He turned and pointed to 
 the great stretch of grain that clothed the soil with 
 vivid green. " Look at your work. Last fall, all 
 that plowing was strewn with a wrecked and mangled 
 crop; now it's sown with wheat that will stand the 
 drought. I was feeling nearly desperate, wondering 
 how I was to master the sandy waste, when you came 
 to the rescue and my troubles melted like the dust in 
 summer rain. They couldn't stand before you; you 
 banished them." 
 
 She looked at him rather curiously, and, George 
 thought, with some cause, for he was a little aston- 
 ished at his outbreak. This was not the kind of 
 language that was most natural to him. 
 
 " I wonder," she* said, " why you should take so 
 much for granted I mean in holding me account- 
 able?" 
 
 " It's obvious," George declared. " I understand 
 your father; he's a very generous friend, but the idea 
 of sending me the seed didn't occur to him in the first 
 place; though I haven't the least doubt that he was 
 glad to act on it." 
 
 " Ah ! " said Flora, " it looks as if you had been 
 acquiring some penetration; you were not so explicit 
 the last time you insisted on thanking me. Who can 
 have been teaching you ? It seems, however, that I'm 
 still incomprehensible."
 
 THE CLIMAX 295 
 
 George considered. It would be undesirable to ex- 
 plain that his enlightenment had come from Edgar, 
 and he wanted to express what he felt. 
 
 " No," he said, in answer to her last remark; " not 
 altogether; but I've sometimes felt that there's a bar- 
 rier of reserve in you, beyond which it's hard to get." 
 
 " Do you think it would be worth while to make 
 the attempt ? Suppose you succeeded and found there 
 was nothing on the other side? " 
 
 He made a sign of negation, and she watched him 
 with some interest; the man was trying to thrash out 
 his ideas. 
 
 " That couldn't happen," he declared gravely. 
 " Somehow you make one feel there is much in you 
 that wants discovery, but that one will learn it by and 
 by. After all, it's only the shallow people you never 
 really get to know." 
 
 " It would seem an easy task, on the face of it." 
 
 " As a matter of fact, it isn't. They have a way 
 of enveloping themselves in an air of importance and 
 mystery, and when they don't do so, they're casual 
 and inconsequent. One likes people with, so to speak, 
 some continuity of character. By degrees one gets to 
 know how they'll act and it gives one a sense of re- 
 liance." He paused and added, diffidently : " Any- 
 thing you did would be wise and generous." 
 
 " By degrees ? " smiled Flora. " So it's slowly, 
 by patient sapping, the barriers go down ! One could 
 imagine that such things might be violently stormed. 
 But you're not rash, are you, or often in a hurry? 
 However, it's time I was getting home." 
 
 She waved her hand and rode away, and George, 
 getting into the saddle, started his team, and thought
 
 296 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 about her while he listened to the crackling of the 
 stubble going down beneath the hoofs, and the soft 
 thud of thrown-back soil as the lengthening rows of 
 clods broke away from the gleaming shares. What 
 she might have meant by her last remark he could not 
 tell, though so far as it concerned him, he was ready 
 to admit that he was addicted to steady plodding. 
 Then his thoughts took a wider range, and he began 
 to make comparisons. Flora was not characterized 
 by Sylvia's fastidious refinement; she was more virile 
 and yet more reposeful. Sylvia's activities spread 
 bustle around her; she required much assistance and 
 everybody in her neighborhood was usually impressed 
 into her service, though their combined efforts often 
 led to nothing. Flora's work was done silently; the 
 results were most apparent. 
 
 Still, the charm Sylvia exerted was always obvious ; 
 a thing to rejoice in and be thankful for. Flora had 
 not the same effect on one, though he suspected there 
 was a depth of tenderness in her, behind the barrier. 
 It struck him as a pity that she showed no signs of in- 
 terest in West, who of late seemed to have been at- 
 tracted by the pretty daughter of a storekeeper at the 
 settlement; but, after all, the lad was hardly old or 
 serious enough for Flora. There was, however, no- 
 body else in the district who was nearly good enough 
 for her; and George felt glad that she was reserved 
 and critical. It would be disagreeable to contemplate 
 her yielding to any suitor unless he were a man of ex- 
 ceptional merit. 
 
 Then he laughed and called to his horses. He was 
 thinking about matters that did not concern him; his 
 work was to drive the long furrow for Sylvia's benefit,
 
 THE CLIMAX 297 
 
 and he found pleasure in it. Bright sunshine smote 
 the burnished clods; scattered, white-edged clouds 
 drove across the sky of dazzling blue, flinging down 
 cool gray shadows that sped athwart the stubble; 
 young wheat, wavy lines of bluff, and wide-spread 
 prairie were steeped in glowing color. The man re- 
 joiced in the rush of the breeze; the play of straining 
 muscles swelling and sinking on the bodies of the 
 team before him was pleasant to watch; he felt at 
 home in the sun and wind, which, tempered as they 
 often were by gentle rain, were staunchly assisting 
 him. By and by, all the foreground of the picture 
 he gazed upon would be covered with the coppery ears 
 of wheat. He had once shrunk from returning to 
 Canada; but now, through all the stress of cold and 
 heat, he was growing fond of the new land. What 
 was more, he felt the power to work at such a task as 
 he was now engaged in to be a privilege.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 A SIGN FROM FLETT 
 
 OUMMER drew on with swift strides. Crimson 
 ^ flowers flecked the prairie grass, the wild barley 
 waved its bristling ears along the trails, saskatoons 
 glowed red in the shadows of each bluff. Day by day 
 swift-moving clouds cast flitting shadows across the 
 sun-scorched plain, but though they shed no moisture 
 the wheat stood nearly waist-high upon the Marston 
 farm. The sand that whirled about it did the strong 
 stalks no harm. 
 
 Earlier in the season there had been drenching 
 thunder showers, and beyond the grain the flax spread 
 in sheets of delicate blue that broke off on the verge 
 of the brown-headed timothy. Still farther back lay 
 the green of alsike and alfalfa, for the band of red 
 and white cattle that roamed about the bluffs; but 
 while the fodder crop was bountiful George had de- 
 cided to supplement it with the natural prairie hay. 
 There was no pause in his exertions; task followed 
 task in swift succession. Rising in the sharp cold of 
 the dawn, he toiled assiduously until the sunset splen- 
 dors died out in paling green and crimson on the far 
 rim of the plain. 
 
 The early summer was marked by signs of ap- 
 proaching change in Sage Butte affairs. There were 
 
 298
 
 A SIGN FROM FLETT 299 
 
 still a few disturbances and Hardie had troubles to 
 face, but he and his supporters noticed that the indif- 
 ference with which they had been regarded was giv- 
 ing place to sympathy. When Grant first visited the 
 settlement after his misadventure, he was received 
 with expressions of indignant commiseration, and he 
 afterward told Flora dryly that he was astonished 
 at the number of his friends. Mrs. Nelson and a few 
 of the stalwarts pressed Hardie to make new and more 
 vigorous efforts toward the expulsion of the offenders, 
 but the clergyman refrained. Things were going as 
 he wished ; it was scarcely wise to expose such a ten- 
 der thing as half- formed opinion to a severe test, and 
 the failure that might follow a premature attempt 
 could hardly be recovered from. It seemed better to 
 wait until Grant's assailants should be arrested, and the 
 story of their doings elicited in court, to rouse general 
 indignation, and he thought this would happen. Flett 
 had disappeared some weeks ago and nothing had 
 been heard of him, but Hardie believed his chiefs had 
 sent him out on the robbers' trail. The constable 
 combined sound sense with dogged pertinacity, and 
 these were serviceable qualities. 
 
 It was a hot afternoon when George brought home 
 his last load of wild sloo hay, w r alking beside his team, 
 while Flora curbed her reckless horse a few yards off. 
 She had ridden over with her father, and finding that 
 George had not returned, had gone on to prevent a 
 hired man from being sent for him. They had met 
 each other frequently of late, and George was sensible 
 of an increasing pleasure in the girl's society; though 
 what Flora felt did not appear. Behind them the 
 jolting wagon strained beneath its high-piled load that
 
 300 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 diffused an odor of peppermint; in front the shadow 
 of a bluff lay cool upon the sun-scorchea prairie. 
 
 " I suppose you heard that Baxter lost a steer last 
 week," she said. " Most likely, it was killed ; but, 
 though the police searched the reservation, there was 
 no trace of the hide. We have had a little quietness, 
 but I'm not convinced that our troubles won't break 
 out again. Nobody seems to have heard anything of 
 Flett." 
 
 " He's no doubt busy somewhere." 
 
 " I'm inclined to believe so, and, in a way, his 
 silence is reassuring. Flett can work without making 
 a disturbance, and that is in his favor. But what has 
 become of Mr. West? We haven't seen much of him 
 of late." 
 
 " He has fallen into a habit of riding over to the 
 settlement in his spare time, which isn't plentiful." 
 
 " Ah ! " exclaimed Flora ; " that agrees with some 
 suspicions of mine. Don't you feel a certain amount 
 of responsibility? " 
 
 " I do," George admitted. " Still, he's rather head- 
 strong, and he hasn't told me why he goes to the 
 Butte ; though the girl's father gave me a hint. I like 
 Taunton he's perfectly straightforward and I'd 
 almost made up my mind to ask your opinion about 
 the matter, but I was diffident." 
 
 " I'll give it to you without reserve there's no 
 ground for uneasiness on West's account; he might 
 fall into much worse hands. If Helen Taunton has 
 any influence over him, it will be wisely used. Be- 
 sides, she has been well educated; she spent a few 
 years in Montreal."
 
 A SIGN FROM FLETT 301 
 
 " She has a nice face ; in fact, she's decidedly 
 pretty." 
 
 " And that would cover a multitude of shortcom- 
 ings?" 
 
 " Well," said George, thoughtfully, " mere physical 
 beauty is something to be thankful for; though I'm not 
 sure that beauty can be, so to speak, altogether physi- 
 cal. When I said the girl had a nice face, I meant 
 that its expression suggested a wholesome character." 
 
 " You seem to have been cultivating your powers 
 of observation," Flora told him. " But I'm more dis- 
 posed to consider the matter from Helen's point of 
 view. As it happens, she's a friend of mine and I've 
 reasons for believing that your partner's readily sus- 
 ceptible and inclined to be fickle. Of course, I'm not 
 jealous." 
 
 George laughed. 
 
 " He's too venturesome now and then, but he has 
 been a little spoiled. I've an idea that this affair is 
 likely to be permanent. He has shown a keen interest 
 in the price of land and the finances of farming, which 
 struck me as having its meaning." 
 
 They had now nearly reached the bluff and a horse- 
 man in khaki uniform rode out of it to meet them. 
 
 " I've been over to your place," he said to George, 
 when he had dismounted. " I was sent to show you 
 a photograph and ask if you can recognize anybody in 
 it?" 
 
 He untied a packet and George studied the picture 
 handed him. It showed the rutted main street of a 
 little western town, with the sunlight on a row of 
 wooden buildings. In the distance a band of cattle
 
 302 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 were being driven forward by two mounted men ; 
 nearer at hand a few wagons stood outside a livery 
 stable; and in the foreground three or four figures 
 occupied the veranda of a frame hotel. The ease of 
 their attitudes suggested that they did not know they 
 were being photographed, and their faces were dis- 
 tinct. George looked triumphantly excited and un- 
 hesitatingly laid a finger on one face. 
 
 " This is the man that drove off Mr. Grant's Per- 
 cheron and stabbed my horse." 
 
 The trooper produced a thin piece of card and a 
 small reading-glass. 
 
 " Take another look through this ; it came along 
 with the photograph. Now, would you be willing to 
 swear to him ? " 
 
 " I'll be glad to do so, if I have the chance. Shall 
 I put a mark against the fellow ? " 
 
 " Not on that ! " The trooper handed George the 
 card, which proved to be a carefully drawn key-plan 
 of the photograph, with the figures outlined. :< You 
 can mark this one." 
 
 George did as he was told, and then handed the 
 photograph to Flora. 
 
 " How did your people get it ? " he asked the 
 trooper. 
 
 " I can't say; they don't go into explanations." 
 
 " But what do you think ? Did Flett take the pho- 
 tograph ? " 
 
 " No, sir ; I heard him tell the sergeant he knew 
 nothing about a camera. He may have got somebody 
 to take it or may have bought the thing." 
 
 " Do you know where he is ? " 
 
 " I only know he got special orders after Mr.
 
 A SIGN FROM FLETT 303 
 
 Grant was robbed. It's my idea he was somewhere 
 around when the photograph was taken." 
 
 "I wonder where it was taken? In Alberta, per- 
 haps, though I'm inclined to think it was on the other 
 side of the frontier." 
 
 " That is my opinion," said Flora. " There's not 
 a great difference between us and our neighbors, but 
 the dress of the mounted men and the style of the 
 stores are somehow American. I'd say Montana, or 
 perhaps Dakota." 
 
 " Montana," said the trooper. " The big bunch of 
 cattle seems to fix it." 
 
 " Then you think Flett is over there ? " asked 
 George. " I'm interested, so is Miss Grant, and you 
 needn't be afraid of either of us spreading what you 
 say." 
 
 " It's my notion that Flett has spotted his men, but 
 I guess he's now watching out near the boundary in 
 Canada. These rustler fellows can't do all their 
 business on one side; they'll have to cross now and 
 then. Flett's in touch with some of the American 
 sheriffs, who'll give him the tip, and the first time the 
 fellows slip over the frontier he'll get them. That 
 would suit everybody better and save a blamed lot of 
 formalities." 
 
 Flora nodded. 
 
 "It strikes me as very likely; and Flett's perhaps 
 the best man you could have sent. But have you 
 shown the photograph to my father? " 
 
 " I did that before I left the homestead. There's 
 nobody in the picture like the fellow who drove with 
 Mr. Grant, and he tells me he saw nobody else. Now 
 I must be getting on."
 
 304 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 He rode away, and Flora reverted to the topic she 
 and George had been discussing. 
 
 " So you believe Mr. West is thinking of living 
 here altogether! I suppose he would be able to take 
 a farm of moderate size? " 
 
 " It wouldn't be very large ; he can't have much 
 money, but his people would help him to make a start 
 if they were satisfied. That means they would con- 
 sult me." 
 
 Flora smiled. 
 
 " And you feel you would be in a difficult position, 
 if you were asked whether it would be wise to let him 
 marry a prairie girl? Have you formed any decision 
 about the matter? " 
 
 She spoke in an indifferent tone, but George im- 
 agined that she was interested. 
 
 " I can't see why he shouldn't do so." 
 
 " Think a little. West has been what you call well 
 brought up, he's fastidious, and I haven't found Eng- 
 lish people free from social prejudices. Could you, 
 as his friend, contemplate his marrying the daughter 
 of a storekeeper in a rather primitive western town? 
 Taunton, of course, is not a polished man." 
 
 " I don't think that counts ; he's a very good type 
 in spite of it. The girl's pretty, she has excellent 
 manners, and she strikes me as having sense and in 
 some respects Edgar has very little. I'll admit that 
 at one time I might not have approved of the idea, 
 but I believe I've got rid of one or two foolish opin- 
 ions that I brought out with me. If Miss Taunton 
 is what she appears to be, he's lucky in getting her. 
 Don't you think so?" 
 
 He had spoken with a little warmth, though, as
 
 A SIGN FROM FLETT 305 
 
 Flora knew, he was seldom emphatic; and a rather 
 curious expression crept into her face. He did not 
 quite understand it, but he thought she was pleased 
 for some reason or other! 
 
 " Oh," she said lightly, " I have told you my opin- 
 ion." 
 
 Nothing further was said about the subject, but 
 George walked beside his team in a state of calm con- 
 tent. His companion was unusually gracious; she 
 made a picture that was pleasant to watch as she sat, 
 finely poised, on the big horse, with the strong sun- 
 light on her face. Her voice was attractive, too; it 
 reached him, clear and musical, through the thud of 
 hoofs and the creak of slowly-turning wheels, for he 
 made no attempt to hurry his team. 
 
 When they reached the homestead, the conversa- 
 tion centered on the constable's visit; and when the 
 Grants left, Edgar stood outside with George, watch- 
 ing the slender mounted figure grow smaller beside the 
 jolting buggy. 
 
 " George," he said, " I've met very few girls who 
 could compare with Flora Grant, taking her all 
 round." 
 
 " That's correct," George told him. " As a mat- 
 ter of fact, I'm doubtful whether you have met any 
 who would bear the comparison. It was the sillier 
 ones who made a fuss over you." 
 
 " I know of one," Edgar resumed. " As it hap- 
 pens, she's in Canada." 
 
 " I'd a suspicion of something of the kind," George 
 said dryly. 
 
 Edgar made no answer, but presently he changed 
 the subject.
 
 306 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " What's the least one could take up a farm here 
 with, and have a fair chance of success? " 
 
 " One understands it has been done with practically 
 nothing on preempted land, though I'm rather dubi- 
 ous. In jour case, I'd fix five thousand dollars as the 
 minimum; more would be decidedly better." 
 
 " Yes," said Edgar thoughtfully ; " that's about my 
 idea; and I suppose it could be raised, though my 
 share of what was left us has nearly all been spent in 
 cramming me with knowledge I've no great use for. 
 Stephen, however, has done pretty well, and I think 
 he always realized that it would be his privilege to 
 give me a lift ; I've no doubt he'll write to you as soon 
 as I mention the matter, and your answer will have its 
 effect." He looked at George with anxious eyes. " I 
 venture to think you'll strain a point to say what you 
 can in my favor ? " 
 
 " In the first place, I'll ride over to the Butte and 
 have supper with Taunton, as soon as I can find the 
 time." 
 
 " Thanks," responded Edgar gratefully ; " you 
 won't have any doubts after that." Then he broke 
 into laughter. " You'll excuse me, but it's really 
 funny, George." 
 
 " I don't see the joke," George said shortly. 
 
 Edgar tried to look serious, and failed. 
 
 " I can imagine your trying to weigh up Helen ; 
 starting a subtle conversation to elucidate her charac- 
 ter, and showing what you were after and your pro- 
 found ignorance with every word ; though you mustn't 
 suppose I'd be afraid of submitting her to the severest 
 test. Why, you wouldn't even know when a girl was 
 in love with you, unless she told you so. Perhaps it's
 
 A SIGN FROM FLETT 307 
 
 some excuse that your mind's fixed on one woman to 
 the exclusion of all the rest, though one could im- 
 agine that, as you think of her, she's as unreal and as 
 far removed from anything made of flesh and blood 
 as a saint in a picture. After all, I dare say it's a 
 very proper feeling." 
 
 George left him, half amused and half disturbed. 
 He did not resent Edgar's freedom of speech, but the 
 latter had a way of mixing hints that were not alto- 
 gether foolish with his badinage, and his comrade was 
 inclined to wonder what he had meant by one sug- 
 gestive remark. It troubled him as he strolled along 
 the edge of the tall green wheat, but he comforted 
 himself with the thought that, after all, Edgar's con- 
 versation was often unworthy of serious considera- 
 tion. 
 
 A week later George rode over to the store at the 
 settlement, feeling a little diffident, because he had 
 undertaken the visit only from a sense of duty. He 
 was cordially received, and was presently taken in to 
 supper, which was served in a pretty room and pre- 
 sided over by a very attractive girl. She had a pleas- 
 ant voice and a quiet face; though he thought she 
 must have guessed his errand, she treated him with a 
 composure that set him at his ease. Indeed, she was 
 by no means the kind of girl he had expected Edgar 
 to choose; but this was in her favor. George could 
 find no fault in her. 
 
 Shortly after the meal was finished his host was 
 called away, and the girl looked up at George with a 
 flush of color creeping, most becomingly, into her face. 
 
 " Edgar told me I needn't be afraid of you," she 
 said.
 
 308 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 George smiled. 
 
 " I can understand his confidence, though it had a 
 better foundation than my good-nature. I wonder 
 whether I might venture to say that he has shown re- 
 markably good sense ? " 
 
 " I'm glad you don't think he has been very fool- 
 ish," replied the girl, and it was obvious to George 
 that she understood the situation. 
 
 He made her a little grave bow. 
 
 " What I've said, I'm ready to stick to. I'm a 
 friend of Edgar's, and that carried an obligation." 
 
 " Yes," she assented, " but it was because you are 
 a friend of his and, in a way, represent his people in 
 England, that I was a little uneasy." 
 
 Her speech implied a good deal and George ad- 
 mired her candor. 
 
 " Well," he said, " so far as I am concerned, you 
 must never feel anything of the kind again. But I 
 think you should have known it was quite unneces- 
 sary." 
 
 She gave him a grateful glance and soon afterward 
 her father came in. 
 
 " Guess we'll take a smoke in the back office," he 
 said to George. 
 
 George followed him, and thought he understood 
 why he was led into the little untidy room strewn 
 with packets of goods, though his host had a fine com- 
 modious house. Taunton would not attempt to dis- 
 sociate himself from his profession; he meant to be 
 taken for what he was, but he knew his value. He 
 was a gaunt, elderly man: as far as his general ap- 
 pearance went, a typical inhabitant of a remote and 
 half -developed western town, though there was a hint
 
 A SIGN FROM FLETT 309 
 
 of authority in his face. Giving George an excellent 
 cigar, he pointed to a chair. 
 
 " Now," he began, " we must have a talk. When 
 your partner first came hanging round my store, buy- 
 ing things he didn't want, I was kind of short with 
 him. Helen helps me now and then with the books, 
 and he seemed to know when she came in." 
 
 " I noticed he came home in a rather bad temper 
 once or twice," George said with a laugh. " I used to 
 wonder, when he produced sardine cans at supper, 
 but after a while I began to understand." 
 
 " Well," continued Taunton, " I didn't intend to 
 have any blamed Percy trying to turn my girl's head, 
 until I knew what he meant. I'd nobody to talk it 
 over with I lost her mother long ago so I kind 
 of froze him out, until one day he came dawdling in 
 and asked if he might take Helen to Jim Haxton's 
 dance. 
 
 ' Does she know you have come to me about it ? ' 
 I said. 
 
 " ' Can't say,' he told me coolly, with a cigarette 
 hanging out of his month. ' I haven't mentioned the 
 matter yet ; I thought I'd ask you first.' 
 
 "'S'pose I object?' I said. 
 
 " ' Then,' he allowed quite tranquil, ' the thing will 
 have to be considered. There's not the slightest rea- 
 son why you should object.' 
 
 " I'd a notion I could agree with him I liked the 
 way he talked and I told him Helen could go, but 
 the next time he called he was to walk right into the 
 office instead of hanging round the counter. I asked 
 him what he'd done with all the canned truck he'd 
 bought, and he said he was inclined to think his part-
 
 310 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 ner had eaten most of it. Since then he's been over 
 pretty often, and I figured it was time I gave you a 
 hint." 
 
 " Thanks," responded George. " He was, in a way, 
 placed in my hands, but I've no real control over him." 
 
 "That's so; he's of age. What I felt was this 
 I've nothing against West, but my girl's good enough 
 for anybody, and I can't have his people in England 
 looking down on her and making trouble. If they're 
 not satisfied, they had better call him back right now. 
 There's to be no high-toned condescension in this mat- 
 ter." 
 
 " I don't think you need be afraid of that," said 
 George. " It would be altogether uncalled for. It's 
 very likely that I shall be consulted, and I'll have 
 pleasure in telling his people that I consider him a 
 lucky man." 
 
 " There's another point has West any means ? " 
 
 " I believe about five thousand dollars could be 
 raised to put him on a farm." 
 
 Taunton nodded. 
 
 " It's not very much, but I don't know that I'm sorry. 
 I'll see they're fixed right; whatever West gets I'll 
 beat. My girl shan't be indebted to her husband's 
 folks. But there's not a word to be said about this yet. 
 West must wait another year before we decide on 
 anything." 
 
 George thought the storekeeper's attitude could not 
 be found fault with, and when he drove home through 
 the soft dusk of the summer night, he was glad to 
 feel that there was no need for anxiety about the 
 choice Edgar had made.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 THE LEADING WITNESS 
 
 / "T" V HREE or four weeks passed quietly without any 
 * news from Flett until one evening when Edgar 
 sat talking to Miss Taunton in the office of her 
 father's store at Sage Butte. The little, dusty room 
 was unpleasantly hot and filled with the smell of resin- 
 ous pine boards; there was a drawl of voices and an 
 occasional patter of footsteps outside the door; and 
 a big book, which seemed to have no claim on her at- 
 tention, lay open on the table in front of the girl. 
 
 She was listening to Edgar with a smile in her 
 eyes, and looking, so he thought, remarkably attractive 
 in her light summer dress which left her pretty, round 
 arms uncovered to the elbow and displayed the pol- 
 ished whiteness of her neck. He was expressing his 
 approval of the current fashions, which he said were 
 rational and particularly becoming to people with 
 skins like ivory. Indeed, he was so engrossed in his 
 subject that he did not hear footsteps approaching 
 until his companion flashed a warning glance at him; 
 and he swung round with some annoyance as the door 
 opened. 
 
 " I guessed I would find you here," said the station- 
 agent, looking in with an indulgent smile. 
 
 " You're a thoughtful man," retorted Edgar. 
 " You may as well tell me what you want." 
 
 3"
 
 312 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " I've a wire from Flett, sent at Hatfield, down the 
 line." 
 
 " What can he be doing there ? " Edgar exclaimed ; 
 and Miss Taunton showed her interest. 
 
 " He was coming through on the train. Wanted 
 Mr. Lansing to meet him at the station, if he was in 
 town. Hadn't you better go along?" 
 
 " I suppose so," said Edgar resignedly, glancing at 
 his watch. " It looks as if your men had taken their 
 time. Flett should be here in about a quarter of an 
 hour now." 
 
 " Operator had train orders to get through ; we 
 have two freights side-tracked," the agent explained. 
 " Don't be late ; she's coming along on time." 
 
 He hurried out, and a few minutes later Edgar 
 crossed the street and strolled along the low wooden 
 platform, upon which a smart constable was waiting. 
 A long trail of smoke, drawing rapidly nearer, 
 streaked the gray and ochre of the level plain, and 
 presently the big engine and dusty cars rolled into 
 the station amid the hoarse tolling of the bell. As 
 they ran slowly past him, Edgar saw a police trooper 
 leaning out from a vestibule, and when the train 
 stopped the constable on the platform hurried toward 
 the car. A hum of excited voices broke out and 
 Edgar had some difficulty in pushing through the 
 growing crowd to reach the steps. A constable, who 
 had hard work to keep the others back, let him pass, 
 and he found Flett standing on the platform above, 
 looking rather jaded, with a pistol loose in his holster. 
 
 " Isn't Mr. Lansing here ? " Flett asked eagerly, 
 and then turned to the trooper. " Keep those fel- 
 lows off!"
 
 THE LEADING WITNESS 313 
 
 "No," answered Edgar; "he hasn't come into 
 town. But what's the cause of this commotion? 
 Have you got your men ? " 
 
 " Three of them," said Flett, with a look of pride. 
 " I expect we'll get the fourth. But come in a min- 
 ute, out of the noise." 
 
 The car was besieged. Curious men were clamber- 
 ing up the side of it, trying to peer in through the win- 
 dows; others disputed angrily with the trooper who 
 drove them off the steps. Eager questions were 
 shouted and scraps of random information given, and 
 groups of people were excitedly running across the 
 street to the station. It was, however, a little quieter 
 in the vestibule when Flett had banged the door. He 
 next opened the inner door that led to the smoking 
 compartment of the Colonist car. In spite of its 
 roominess, it was almost insufferably hot and very 
 dirty; the sunlight struck in through the win- 
 dows; sand and fine cinders lay thick upon the floor. 
 A pile of old blue blankets lay, neatly folded, on one 
 of the wooden seats, and on those adjoining sat three 
 men. Two wore brown duck overalls, gray shirts, 
 and big soft hats ; one was dressed in threadbare cloth ; 
 but there was nothing that particularly suggested 
 the criminal in any of their sunburned faces. They 
 looked hot and weary with the journey, and though 
 their expression was perhaps a little hard, they looked 
 like harvest hands traveling in search of work. One, 
 who was quietly smoking, took his pipe from his 
 mouth and spoke to Flett. 
 
 "Can't you get us some ice?" he asked. "The 
 water in the tank isn't fit to drink." 
 
 " They haven't any here. You'll have to wait until
 
 314 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 we get to the junction," Flett told him, and drew Ed- 
 gar back into the vestibule. 
 
 " We're taking them right along to Regina," he 
 explained. " I'm sorry I couldn't see Mr. Lansing, 
 but I'll ride over as soon as I'm sent back. If he's 
 likely to be away, he'd better send word to the sta- 
 tion." 
 
 " I don't expect he'll leave the farm during the next 
 few weeks," said Edgar. 
 
 Then one of the constables looked in. 
 
 " Conductor says he can't hold up the train." 
 
 "I'll be off," said Edgar, with a smile at Flett. 
 " This should mean promotion ; it's a fine piece of 
 work." 
 
 He jumped down as the train pulled out and hur- 
 ried back to the store where Miss Taunton was eagerly 
 awaiting news. Soon afterward he left; and as he 
 rode up to the homestead day was breaking, but he 
 found George already at work in the stable. 
 
 " It's lucky we don't need your horse. If you're 
 going to keep up this kind of thing, you had better 
 buy an automobile," he remarked. 
 
 Edgar laughed. 
 
 " I don't feel remarkably fresh, but I'll hold out 
 until to-night. There's the fallowing to be got on 
 with; I suppose nothing must interfere with that. 
 But aren't you up a little earlier than usual ? " 
 
 " I want to haul in the posts for the new fence. 
 Grierson has his hands full, and now that there are 
 four of us, Jake spends so much time in cooking." 
 
 " A reckless waste of precious minutes ! " Edgar 
 exclaimed ironically. " If one could only get over 
 these troublesome bodily needs, you could add hours
 
 THE LEADING WITNESS 315 
 
 of work to every week and make Sylvia Marston rich. 
 By the way, Jake's cooking is getting awful." 
 
 He put up his horse and busied himself with several 
 tasks before he went in to breakfast. When it was 
 finished, and the others went out, he detained 
 George. 
 
 " What did vou think of that meal? " he asked. 
 
 / 
 
 " Well," said George, " it might have been better." 
 
 Edgar laughed scornfully. 
 
 " It would take some time to tell you my opinion, 
 but I may as well point out that you're paying a big 
 bill for stores to Taunton, though we never get any- 
 thing fit to eat. Helen and I were talking over your 
 account, and she wondered what we did with the 
 things, besides giving me an idea. It's this why 
 don't you tell Grierson to bring out his wife? " 
 
 " I never thought of it. She might not come; and 
 she may not cook much better than Jake." 
 
 " She certainly couldn't cook worse ! I expect she 
 would save her wages, and she would set a hired man 
 free. Jake can drive a team." 
 
 " It's a good idea," George agreed. " Send Grier- 
 son in." 
 
 The man came a few minutes later. 
 
 " We get on pretty well ; I suppose you are willing 
 to stay with me ? " George said to him. 
 
 Grierson hesitated and looked disturbed. 
 ' The fact is, I'd be very sorry to leave ; but I'm 
 afraid I'll have to by and by. You see, I've got to 
 find a place I can take my wife to." 
 
 "Can she cook?" 
 
 ' Yes," said Grierson, indicating the remnants on 
 the table with contempt. " She would do better than
 
 316 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 this with her eyes shut! Then," he continued 
 eagerly, " she can wash and mend clothes. I've no- 
 ticed that you and Mr. West throw half your things 
 away long before you need to." 
 
 " That's true," Edgar admitted. " It's the custom 
 of the country; time's too valuable to spend in mend- 
 ing anything, though I've noticed that one or two of 
 the people who tell you about the value of time get 
 through a good deal of it lounging round the Sachem. 
 Anyway, amateur laundering's an abomination, and 
 I'm most successful in washing the buttons and wrist- 
 bands off." He turned to his companion. " George, 
 you'll have to send for Mrs. Grierson." 
 
 The matter was promptly arranged, and when 
 Grierson went out with a look of keen satisfaction. 
 Edgar laughed. 
 
 " I feel like pointing out how far an idea can go. 
 Helen only thought of making me a little more com- 
 fortable, and you see the result of it Grierson and 
 his wife united, things put into shape here, four peo- 
 ple content! Of course, one could cite a more strik- 
 ing example; I mean when Sylvia Marston thought 
 you had better go out and look after her farm. 
 There's no need to mention the far-reaching conse- 
 quences that opinion had." 
 
 " I volunteered to go out," George corrected him. 
 
 " Well," said Edgar, " I quite believe you did so. 
 But you're no doubt pining to get at the fence." 
 
 They went off to work, but Edgar, driving the 
 gang-plow through the stubble under a scorching sun, 
 thought that Sylvia's idea might bear more fruit than 
 she had calculated on, and that it would be bitter to 
 her. His mind, however, was chiefly occupied with
 
 THE LEADING WITNESS 317 
 
 a more attractive person, and once when he turned 
 the heavy horses at the end of the furrows he said 
 softly, "May I deserve her!" and looked up with a 
 tense expression in his hot face, as if making some 
 firm resolve, which was a procedure that would have 
 astonished even those who knew him well. 
 
 A week passed, each day growing brighter and hot- 
 ter, until the glare flung back by sandy soil and whi- 
 tening grass became painful, and George and his 
 assistants discarded most of their clothing when they 
 went about their tasks. The oats began to show a 
 silvery gleam as they swayed in the strong light; the 
 wheat was changing color, and there were warm cop- 
 pery gleams among the heavy ears; horses and cattle 
 sought the poplars' shade. Then one evening when 
 the Grants had driven over, Flett arrived at the home- 
 stead, and, sitting on the stoop as the air grew cooler, 
 related his adventures. 
 
 " I guess my chiefs wouldn't be pleased to hear me; 
 we're not encouraged to talk, but there's a reason for 
 it, as you'll see when I'm through," he said, and 
 plunged abruptly into his narrative. 
 
 It proved to be a moving tale of weary rides in 
 scorching heat and in the dusk of night, of rebuffs 
 and daunting failures. Flett, as he admitted, had 
 several times been cleverly misled and had done some 
 unwise things, but he had never lost his patience nor 
 relaxed his efforts. Slowly and doggedly, picking up 
 scraps of information where he could, he had trailed 
 his men to the frontier,- where his real troubles had 
 begun. Once that he crossed it, he had no authority, 
 and the American sheriffs and deputies were not in- 
 variably sympathetic. Some, he concluded, were un-
 
 318 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 duly influenced by local opinion, which was not in 
 favor of interfering with people who confined their 
 depredations to Canadian horses. Others, who ac- 
 knowledged past favors from Regina, foresaw trouble- 
 some complications before he could be allowed to 
 deport the offenders; but some, with a strong sense of 
 duty, offered willing help, and that was how he had 
 been able to make the arrests on Canadian soil. 
 
 " Now," he concluded, " we tracked these men from 
 point to point and I've evidence to prove most of their 
 moves, but they never had the four horses in a bunch 
 until they made Montana, which is a point against us. 
 We can show they were working as a gang, that they 
 were altogether with the horses on American soil, but 
 as we haven't corralled the only man Mr. Grant could 
 swear to, there's only one way of proving how they 
 got them. You see where all this leads ? " 
 
 " It looks as if you depended on my evidence for a 
 conviction," said George. 
 
 Flett nodded. 
 
 " You saw Mr. Grant attacked and the horses run 
 off. You can identify one man, and we'll connect him 
 with the rest." 
 
 He took out a paper and handed it to George. 
 
 " It's my duty to serve you with this ; and now that 
 it's done, I'll warn you to watch out until after the 
 trial. If we can convict these fellows, we smash the 
 crowd, but we'd be helpless without you." 
 
 George opened the document and found it a formal 
 summons to attend the court at Regina on a date spe- 
 cified. Then he produced another paper and gave it 
 to Flett with a smile.
 
 THE LEADING WITNESS 319 
 
 " The opposition seem to recognize my importance, 
 and they move more quickly than the police." 
 
 The trooper took the letter, which was typed and 
 bore no date or name of place. 
 
 " ' Keep off this trial and you'll have no more 
 trouble,' " he read aloud. " ' Back up the police and 
 you'll be sorry. If you mean to drop them, drive over 
 to the Butte, Thursday, and get supper at the 
 Queen's/ " 
 
 " Yesterday was Thursday, and I didn't go," 
 George said after a moment's silence. 
 
 The quiet intimation was not a surprise to any of 
 them, and Flett nodded as he examined the letter. 
 
 " Not much of a clue," he remarked. " Toronto 
 paper that's sold at every store; mailed two stations 
 down the line. Nobody would have met you at the 
 Queen's, but most anybody in town would know if 
 you had been there. Anyway, I'll take this along." 
 He rose. " I can't stop, but I want to say we're not 
 afraid of your backing down." 
 
 He rode off in a few more minutes and after a 
 while the Grants took their leave, but Flora walked 
 down the trail with George while the team was being 
 harnessed. 
 
 " You'll be careful, won't you? " she said. " These 
 men are dangerous; they know yours is the most im- 
 portant evidence. I shall be anxious until the trial." 
 
 There was something in her eyes and voice that 
 sent a curious thrill through George. 
 
 " I don't think that's needful ; I certainly won't be 
 reckless," he said. 
 
 Then Flora got into the vehicle; and during the
 
 320 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 next week or two George took precautions. Indeed, 
 he now and then felt a little uncomfortable when he 
 had occasion to pass a shadowy bluff. He carried a 
 pistol when he went around the outbuildings at night, 
 and fell into a habit of stopping to listen, ready to 
 strike or shoot, each time he opened the door of one 
 in the dark. 
 
 For all that, nothing occurred to excite suspicion, 
 and after a while he felt inclined to smile at his nerv- 
 ousness. At length, one day when the trial was 
 close at hand, and Edgar had gone to the Butte, the 
 mail-carrier brought him a note from Grant. 
 
 It consisted of a couple of lines asking him to come 
 over during the evening, and as supper had been fin- 
 ished two hours before, George realized that there was 
 not much time to spare. Laying down the note, he 
 walked to the door and called his Canadian hired man. 
 
 " Put the saddle on the brown horse, Jake ; I'm go- 
 ing to Grant's." 
 
 The man did as he was bidden, and when George 
 was about to mount handed him a repeating rifle. 
 
 "Better take this along; cylinder's full," he said. 
 " It will be dark before you get there." 
 
 George hesitated. The rifle was heavy, but it was 
 a more reliable weapon than a pistol, and he rode off 
 with it. The sun had dipped when he started, the 
 air was rapidly cooling, and after spending the day 
 sinking holes for fence posts in the scorching sun, he 
 found the swift motion and the little breeze that 
 fanned his face pleasant. To the northwest, a flush 
 of vivid crimson glowed along the horizon, but the 
 sweep of grass was growing dim and a bluff he reached 
 at length stood out, a sharp-cut, dusky mass, against
 
 THE LEADING WITNESS 321 
 
 the fading light. He pulled up his horse on its out- 
 skirts. A narrow trail led through the wood, its en- 
 trance marked by a dark gap among the shadowy 
 trees, and it somehow looked forbidding. The bluff, 
 however, stretched across his path ; it was getting late, 
 and George was a little impatient of the caution he 
 had been forced to exercise. Laying his rifle ready 
 across the saddle, he sent his horse forward. 
 
 It was quite dark in the bluff, though here and 
 there he could see a glimmer of faint red and orange 
 between the trees, and the stillness had a slightly dis- 
 turbing effect on him. Not a leaf moved, the beat of 
 his horse's hoofs rang sharply down the narrow trail 
 above which the thin birch branches met. He wanted 
 to get out into the open, where he could see about, as 
 soon as possible. There was, however, no ostensible 
 cause for uneasiness and he rode on quietly, until he 
 heard a soft rustling among the slender trunks. Pull- 
 ing up the horse, he called out, and, as he half expected, 
 got no answer. Then he cast a swift glance ahead. 
 There was a gleam of dim light not far away where 
 the trail led out of the bluff. Throwing the rifle to his 
 shoulder, George fired into the shadows. 
 
 The horse plunged violently and broke into a fright- 
 ened gallop. George heard a whistle and a sharper 
 rustling, and rode toward the light at a furious pace. 
 Then his horse suddenly stumbled and came down. 
 The rifle flew out of George's hand, and he was hurled 
 against a tree. The next moment he felt himself 
 rudely seized, and what he thought was a jacket was 
 wrapped about his head. Shaken by his fall, he could 
 make no effective resistance, and he was dragged a 
 few yards through the bush and flung into a wagon.
 
 322 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 He tried to pull the jacket from his face, and failed ; 
 somebody brutally beat him down against the side of 
 the vehicle when he struggled to get up. He heard a 
 whip crack, the wagon swayed and jolted, and he knew 
 the team was starting at a gallop.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 FLORA'S ENLIGHTENMENT 
 
 TT was nearly midnight when Edgar returned from 
 the settlement and saw, to his surprise, lights still 
 burning in the homestead. Entering the living-room, 
 he found Grierson sitting there with Jake, and it struck 
 him that they looked uneasy. 
 
 " What's keeping you up? " he asked. 
 
 " I thought I'd wait for the boss," said the Canadian. 
 " He went over to Grant's after supper, and he's not 
 come back." 
 
 " That's curious. He said nothing about going." 
 
 " A note came by the mail. It's lying yonder." 
 
 Edgar picked it up and brought it near the lamp. 
 The paper was good and printed with Grant's postal 
 address, which was lengthy. 
 
 " I figured I'd go and meet him," Jake resumed. 
 " Took the shot-gun and rode through the bluff. 
 Didn't see anything of him, and it struck me Grant 
 might have kept him all night, as it was getting late. 
 He's stayed there before." 
 
 Edgar examined the note, for he was far from sat- 
 isfied. George had only twice spent a night at 
 Grant's, once when he was driving cattle, and again 
 when it would have been risky to face the weather. 
 The paper was undoubtedly Grant's, but Edgar could 
 
 323
 
 324 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 not identify the farmer's hand; the notes that had 
 come over had been written by Flora. Then he re- 
 membered that George had bought some implements 
 from Grant, and had filed the rancher's receipt. Ed- 
 gar hurriedly found it and compared it with the letter. 
 Then his face grew troubled, for the writing was not 
 the same. 
 
 " I'm afraid Mr. Lansing never got to Grant's," he 
 said. " I'll ride over at once." 
 
 "Then I'm coming," Jake said shortly. " I'll bring 
 the gun along." 
 
 Grierson lifted a clenched brown hand. 
 
 " So am I ! If Mr. Lansing's hurt, somebody's got 
 to pay!" 
 
 Edgar was stirred by something in their looks and 
 voices ; George had gained a hold on these men's loy- 
 alty which the regular payment of wages could never 
 have given him. He merely signified assent, and, 
 running out, sprang into the saddle. The others had 
 evidently had their horses ready, for he heard them 
 riding after him in a minute or two, though he was 
 galloping recklessly through the bluff when they came 
 up. The homestead was dark when they reached it, 
 and they shouted once or twice before Grant came 
 down. 
 
 "Is George here ? " Edgar asked. 
 
 " No," said Grant, " we didn't expect him." 
 
 " Then get on your clothes quick ! There's work 
 on hand ! " 
 
 Grant brought him in and struck a light, then hur- 
 riedly left the room; and Flora came with him, fully 
 dressed, when he reappeared. Edgar supposed she 
 had heard his sharp inquiry at the door, and he no-
 
 FLORA'S ENLIGHTENMENT 325 
 
 ticed that her expression was strained. He threw 
 the note on the table. 
 
 " After what you said, I needn't ask if you wrote 
 that." 
 
 " I didn't," Grant told him. " It's not like my 
 hand. I suppose Lansing started when he got it and 
 has not come back ? " 
 
 " You have guessed right. Where are they likely 
 to have waylaid him, and where will they probably take 
 him?" 
 
 " The bluff, sure. They might head north for 
 empty country, or south for the frontier." 
 
 " The frontier," Flora broke in. 
 
 " It's what I think," said Edgar. " Shall I send a 
 man for Flett, or will you ? " 
 
 " That's fixed, anyway," said a voice outside the 
 open door. " We're not going." 
 
 It was obvious that the hired men had followed 
 them as far as the passage, for Grierson, entering the 
 room, explained: 
 
 " He means we've made up our minds to look for 
 Mr. Lansing." 
 
 Grant nodded in assent. 
 
 " Then my man goes. Turn out the boys, Jake ; 
 you know the place. I want three horses saddled 
 quick." 
 
 " Four," said Flora, firmly. " I'm coming." 
 
 Grant did not try to dissuade her. 
 
 " Write to Flett," he said. 
 
 He went out hastily in search of blankets and pro- 
 visions, and when he returned, his hired men had 
 gathered about the door and the note was finished. 
 He threw it to one of them.
 
 326 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " Ride with that as hard as you can," he said, and 
 called another. " You'll come with us." 
 
 " We're a strong party already," Edgar broke in. 
 " You're leaving the place poorly guarded, and the 
 rustlers may have counted on something of the kind. 
 Suppose they finish their work by driving off every 
 beast that's left as soon as we have gone." 
 
 " I've got to take my chances; we'll want the boys 
 to make a thorough search." 
 
 Grant swung round toward the remaining men. 
 
 '' You two will watch out behind the woodstack or 
 in the granary. No stranger's to come near house or 
 stable." 
 
 " The woodpile," said Flora, with a hard white 
 face and an ominous sparkle in her eyes. " You 
 would command the outbuildings there. If anybody 
 tries to creep up at night, call once, and then shoot to 
 kill." 
 
 Edgar saw that she meant her instructions to be 
 carried out ; but he forced a smile. 
 
 " And this is the Canadian wheat-belt, which I was 
 told was so peaceful and orderly! " 
 
 " It looks as if you had been misinformed," Flora 
 rejoined with a cold collectedness which he thought 
 of as dangerous. " One, however, now and then 
 hears of violent crime in London." 
 
 They were mounted in a few minutes, and after 
 a hard ride the party broke up at dawn, dispersing so 
 that each member of it could make independent search 
 and inquiries at the scattered homesteads. Meeting 
 places and means of communication were arranged; 
 but Flora and her father rode together, pushing on 
 steadily southward over the vast gray plain. Little
 
 FLORA'S ENLIGHTENMENT 327 
 
 was said except when they called at some outlying 
 farm, but Grant now and then glanced at the girl's 
 set face with keenly scrutinizing eyes. In the middle 
 of the scorching afternoon he suggested that she 
 should await his return at a homestead in the distance, 
 but was not surprised when she uncompromisingly 
 refused. They spent the night at a small ranch, bor- 
 rowed fresh horses in the morning, and set out again ; 
 but they found no trace of the fugitives during the 
 day, and it was evening when Edgar and Grierson 
 joined them, as arranged, at a lonely farm. The two 
 men rode in wearily on jaded horses, and Flora, who 
 was the first to notice their approach, went out to 
 meet them. 
 
 " Nothing? " she said, when she saw their dejected 
 faces. 
 
 " Nothing," Edgar listlessly answered. "If the 
 people we have seen aren't in league with the rustlers 
 and I don't think that's probable the fellows 
 must have gone a different way." 
 
 " They've gone south! " Flora insisted. " We may 
 be a little too far to the east of their track." 
 
 ' Then, we must try a different line of country to- 
 morrow." 
 
 The farmer's wife had promised to find Flora quar- 
 ters, the men were offered accommodation in a barn, 
 and when the air cooled sharply in the evening, Edgar 
 walked out on to the prairie with the girl. She had 
 kept near him since his arrival, but he was inclined to 
 believe this was rather on account of his association 
 with George than because she found any charm in his 
 society. By and by, they sat down on a low rise from 
 which they could see the sweep of grass run on, chang-
 
 328 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 ing to shades of blue and purple, toward the smoky 
 red glare of sunset on its western rim. To the south, 
 it was all dim and steeped in dull neutral tones, con- 
 veying an idea of vast distance. 
 
 Flora shivered, drawing her thin linen jacket to- 
 gether while she buttoned it, and Edgar noticed some- 
 thing beneath it that broke the outline of her waist. 
 
 " What's that at your belt ? " he asked. 
 
 " A magazine pistol," she answered with a rather 
 harsh laugh, producing the beautifully made weapon. 
 
 " It's a pretty thing. I wonder whether you can 
 use it ? " 
 
 " Will you stand up at about twenty paces and hold 
 out your hat? " 
 
 " Certainly not ! " said Edgar firmly. " I wouldn't 
 mind putting it on a stick, only that the shot would 
 bring the others out. But I've no doubt you can han- 
 dle a pistol; you're a curious people." 
 
 He thought the last remark was justified. Here 
 was a girl, as refined and highly trained in many ways 
 as any he had met, and yet who owned a dangerous 
 weapon and could use it effectively. Then there was 
 her father, an industrious, peaceable farmer, whose 
 attention was, as a rule, strictly confined to the amass- 
 ing of money, but who was nevertheless capable of 
 riding or shooting down the outlaws who molested 
 him or his friends. What made the thing more strik- 
 ing was that neither of them had been used to alarms ; 
 they had dwelt in calm security until the past twelve 
 months. Edgar, however, remembered that they 
 sprang from a stock that had struggled sternly for 
 existence with forest and flood and frost; no doubt, 
 in time of stress, the strong primitive strain came
 
 FLORA'S ENLIGHTENMENT 329 
 
 uppermost. Their nature had not been altogether 
 softened by civilization. The thought flung a useful 
 light upon Flora's character. 
 
 " If the trial's a lengthy one and these fellows hold 
 him up until it's over, it will be a serious thing for 
 George," he resumed, by way of implying that this 
 was the worst that could befall his comrade. " The 
 grain's ripening fast, and he hasn't made his arrange- 
 ments for harvest yet. Men seem pretty scarce 
 around here, just now." 
 
 " It's a good crop ; I'm glad of that," said Flora, 
 willing to avoid the graver side of the topic. " Mr. 
 Lansing was anxious about it, but this harvest should 
 set him on his feet. I suppose he hasn't paid off the 
 full price of the farm." 
 
 " As a matter of fact, he hasn't paid anything at 
 all." 
 
 " Then has he only rented the place ? " 
 
 There was surprise and strong interest in the girl's 
 expression and Edgar saw that he had made a telling 
 admission. However, he did not regret it. 
 
 " No," he said ; " that's not the case, either. The 
 farm is still Mrs. Marston's." 
 
 " Ah ! There's something I don't understand." 
 
 Edgar was sorry for her, and he felt that she was 
 entitled to an explanation. Indeed, since George was 
 strangely unobservant, he thought it should have been 
 made earlier; but the matter had appeared too deli- 
 cate for him to meddle with. Now, however, when 
 the girl's nature was strongly stirred, there was a risk 
 that, supposing his comrade was discovered wounded 
 or was rescued in some dramatic way, she might be 
 driven to a betrayal of her feelings that would seri-
 
 330 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 ously embarrass George and afterward cause her dis- 
 tress. 
 
 " George," he explained, " is merely carrying on the 
 farm as Mrs. Marston's trustee." 
 
 " But that hardly accounts for his keen eagerness 
 to make his farming profitable. It strikes one as 
 springing from something stronger than his duty as 
 trustee." 
 
 Edgar nodded. 
 
 " Well, you see, he is in love with her ! " 
 
 Flora sat quite still for a moment or two, and then 
 laughed a little bitter laugh ; she was overstrained 
 and could not repress it. A flood of hot color surged 
 into her face, but in another moment she had recovered 
 some degree of composure. 
 
 " So that is why he came out ? " she said. 
 
 "Yes; he was in love with her before she married 
 Marston. At least, that's his impression." 
 
 " His impression ? " echoed Flora, keenly anxious 
 to cover any signs of the shock she had received and 
 to learn all that could be told. " Do you mean that 
 Mr. Lansing doesn't know whether he is in love with 
 her or not? " 
 
 " No, not exactly ! " Edgar felt that he was on 
 dangerous ground. " I'm afraid I can't quite explain 
 what I really do mean. George, of course, is con- 
 vinced about the thing; but I've a suspicion that he 
 may be mistaken; though he'd be very indignant if he 
 heard me say so." 
 
 He paused, doubtful whether he was handling the 
 matter prudently, but he felt that something must be 
 done to relieve the strain, and continued : 
 
 " George has the faculty of respectful admiration
 
 FLORA'S ENLIGHTENMENT 331 
 
 highly developed, but he doesn't use it with much 
 judgment; in fact, he's a rather reckless idealist. 
 There are excuses for him ; he was never much thrown 
 into women's society." 
 
 "You think that explains it?" Flora forced a 
 smile. " But go on." 
 
 " My idea is that George has been led by admira- 
 tion and pity, and not by love at all. I don't think he 
 knows the difference; he's not much of a psychologist. 
 Then, you see, he's thorough, and having got an idea 
 into his mind, it possesses him and drives him to ac- 
 tion. He doesn't stop to analyze his feelings." 
 
 " So he came out to look after Mrs. Marston's prop- 
 erty because he felt sorry for her, and believed her 
 worthy of respect? What is your opinion of her?'' 
 
 " I'll confess that I wish she hadn't captivated 
 George." 
 
 Flora's face grew very scornful. 
 
 " I haven't your chivalrous scruples ; and I know 
 Mrs. Marston. She's utterly worthless! What is 
 likely to happen when your comrade finds it out? " 
 
 Then she rose abruptly. 
 
 " After all, that's a matter which chiefly concerns 
 Mr. Lansing, and I dare say the woman he believes in 
 will be capable of dealing with the situation. Let's 
 talk of something else." 
 
 They turned back toward the farm, but Edgar 
 found it difficult to start a fresh topic. All the work- 
 ings of his mind centered upon George, and he sus- 
 pected that his companion's thoughts had a similar 
 tendency. It was getting dark when they rejoined 
 the rest of the party, and the next morning Flett and 
 another constable rode in. They had discovered
 
 332 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 nothing, but as they were ready to take up the trail, 
 Grant left the task to them and turned back with his 
 men. 
 
 Flora long remembered the dreary two day's ride, 
 for although she had borne it with courage, Edgar's 
 news had caused her a painful shock. She had, from 
 the beginning, been strongly drawn to George, and 
 when he had been carried off the knowledge that she 
 loved him had been brought home to her. Now, look- 
 ing back with rudely opened eyes, there was little com- 
 fort in recognizing that he had made no demands on 
 her affection. Bitter as she was, she could not blame 
 him; she had been madly foolish and must suffer for 
 it. She called her pride to the rescue, but it failed 
 her. The torturing anxiety about the man's fate re- 
 mained, and with it a humiliating regret, which was 
 not altogether selfish, that it was Sylvia Marston he 
 had chosen. Sylvia, who was clever, had, of course, 
 tricked him; but this was no consolation. It was, 
 however, needful to hide her feelings from her father 
 and assume an interest in his remarks, though, when 
 he spoke, it was always of Lansing and what had 
 probably befallen him. 
 
 The prairie was dazzlingly bright, the trail they fol- 
 lowed was thick with fine black dust, and most of the 
 day the heat was trying; the girl felt utterly jaded and 
 very heavy of heart, but when it appeared desirable 
 she forced herself to talk. Her father must never 
 suspect her folly, though she wondered uneasily how 
 far she might have betrayed it to West. Reaching the 
 homestead at length, she resumed her duties, and anx- 
 iously waited for news of George. Once that she
 
 FLORA'S ENLIGHTENMENT 333 
 
 heard he was safe, it would, she thought, be easier to 
 drive him out of her mind forever. 
 
 As it happened, George had received only a few 
 bruises in the bluff, and, after realizing that there was 
 no chance of escape for the present, he lay still in the 
 bottom of the wagon. He blamed himself for riding 
 so readily into the trap, since it was obvious that his 
 assailants had known he was going to visit Grant, and 
 had stretched a strand of fence wire or something of 
 the kind across the trail. They would have removed 
 it afterward and there would be nothing left to show 
 what had befallen him. This, however was a matter 
 of minor consequence and he endeavored to determine 
 which way his captors were driving. Judging the 
 nature of the trail by the jolting, he decided that they 
 meant to leave the wood where he entered it, which 
 suggested that they were going south, and this was 
 what he had anticipated. Though he was sore from 
 the effect of his fall and the rough handling which had 
 followed it, he did not think he would suffer any fur- 
 ther violence, so long as he made no attempt to get 
 away. The men, no doubt, only intended to prevent 
 his giving evidence, by keeping him a prisoner until 
 after the trial. 
 
 When morning came, the wagon was still moving 
 at a good pace, though the roughness of the motion 
 indicated that it was not following a trail. This was 
 all George could discover, because one of the men tied 
 his arms and legs before removing the jacket which 
 had muffled his head. 
 
 " I guess you can't get up, but it wouldn't be wise 
 to try," the fellow pointed out significantly.
 
 334 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 George took the hint. He meant to escape and at- 
 tend the court, but he had no wish to ruin any chance 
 of his doing so by making a premature attempt. His 
 captors meant to prevent his seeing which way they 
 were going, but he could make out that the sky was 
 brightest on the left side of the wagon, which indi- 
 cated that they were heading south. They stopped at 
 noon in a thick bluff, from which, when he was re- 
 leased and allowed to get down, he could see nothing 
 of the prairie. Only one man remained to watch 
 him; but as he was armed, and George could hear the 
 others not far away, he decided that his escape must 
 be postponed. 
 
 During the afternoon, they went on again, George 
 occupying his former position in the bottom of the 
 wagon, where it was unpleasantly hot ; but the strong- 
 est glare was now on his right side, which showed 
 him that they were still holding south. Their des- 
 tination was evidently the American frontier. In the 
 evening they camped near a thicket of low scrub, and 
 after supper George was permitted to wander about 
 and stretch his aching limbs. It was rolling country, 
 broken by low rises, and he could not see more than a 
 mile or two. There was nothing that served as a 
 landmark, and as soon as he began to stroll away 
 from the camp he was sharply recalled. In the end, 
 he sat down to smoke, and did not move until he was 
 told to get into the wagon, where a blanket was thrown 
 him. So far, he had been permitted to see only one 
 of his captors near at hand. 
 
 The next morning they set out again. George 
 thought that fresh horses had been obtained in the 
 night, because they drove at a rapid pace most of the
 
 FLORA'S ENLIGHTENMENT 335 
 
 day ; and he was tired and sore with the jolting when 
 they camped in another bluff at sunset. Two more 
 days were spent in much the same way ; and then late 
 at night they stopped at a little building standing in 
 the midst of an unbroken plain, and George was re- 
 leased and told to get out. One of the men lighted 
 a lantern and led him into an empty stable, built of 
 thick sods. It looked as if it had not been occupied 
 for a long time, but part of it had been roughly 
 boarded off, as if for a harness room or store. 
 
 " You have got your blanket," said his companion. 
 " Put it down where you like. There's only one door 
 to this place, and you can't get at it without passing 
 me. I got a sleep in the wagon and don't want any 
 more to-night." 
 
 George heard the vehicle jolt away, and sat down 
 to smoke while the beat of hoofs gradually sank into 
 the silence of the plain. Then he wrapped his 
 blanket about him and went to sleep on the earthen 
 floor.
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 THE ESCAPE 
 
 EORGE got up the next morning feeling cramped 
 and sore after his journey, and carefully looked 
 about. The building had solid walls of sod; such 
 rude stalls as it had been fitted with had been re- 
 moved, perhaps for the sake of the lumber. He could 
 not reach the door without alarming his jailer, who 
 had taken up his quarters behind the board partition ; 
 and there was only one small window, placed high up 
 and intended mainly for ventilation. The window 
 was very dusty, but it opened and George could see 
 out by standing up, though the aperture was not large 
 enough to squeeze through. 
 
 Outside stood some timbers which had once formed 
 part of a shack, and a few strands of fence wire, trail- 
 ing from tottering posts, ran into the grass. The 
 place appeared to have been a farm, whose owner 
 had, no doubt, abandoned it after finding the soil too 
 light, or after losing a crop by frost; but George was 
 more curious to discover if there were any other home- 
 steads in the vicinity. His view was restricted, but 
 there was no sign of life on the quarter-circle it com- 
 manded. A flat, grassy waste, broken only by a few 
 clumps of brush, ran back to the horizon, and by the 
 cold blue of the sky and the drift of a few light clouds 
 floating before the prevalent westerly wind, he knew 
 
 336
 
 THE ESCAPE 337 
 
 he was looking north. This was the way he must 
 take if he could escape, but there was no house in 
 which he could seek refuge, and scarcely any cover. 
 It was clear that he must obtain a good start before 
 he was missed. He had an idea that he would escape, 
 though he admitted that it was more optimistic than 
 rational. 
 
 Then he turned with a start, to see his jailer stand- 
 ing beside him, grinning. The man had a hard, de- 
 termined face. 
 
 " Guess you can't get out that way; and it wouldn't 
 be much use, anyhow," he drawled. " The country's 
 pretty open; it would take you a mighty long while 
 to get out of sight." 
 
 " That's how it struck me," George confessed with 
 an air of good-humored resignation. " Do you mean 
 to keep me here any time ? " 
 
 " Until the trial," the other answered, standing a 
 little away from him with his hand thrust suggestively 
 into a pocket. " We'll be glad to get rid of you when 
 it's finished, but you certainly can't get away before 
 we let you go." 
 
 George cast a glance of keen but unobtrusive scru- 
 tiny at the man. They were, he thought, about equal 
 in physical strength; the other's superiority con- 
 sisted in his being armed, and George had no doubt 
 that he was proficient with his weapons. He had seen 
 a rifle carried into the building, the man's hand was 
 now resting on a pistol, and there was a light ax out- 
 side. It looked as if an attempt to escape would be 
 attended with a serious risk, and George realized that 
 he must wait until chance or some slackening of vigi- 
 lance on his custodians' part equalized matters.
 
 338 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 He was given breakfast, and afterward told that he 
 could go out and split some wood, which he was glad 
 to do. There was a pile of branches and a few rotten 
 boards that had once formed part of the shack, and 
 he set to work to break them up, while the rustler sat 
 and smoked in the doorway. The man ran no risk 
 in doing so; there was not a bush within a quarter of 
 a mile, and George knew that a bullet would speedily 
 cut short his flight. He could see nothing that 
 promised a secure hiding place all the way to the sky- 
 line, and he thought that the plain ran on beyond it, 
 as little broken. When he had cut some wood, he 
 turned back toward the door, and the man regarded 
 him with a meaning smile. 
 
 " Come in, if you want ; but leave the ax right 
 there," he said. 
 
 He moved back a few paces, out of reach of a sud- 
 den spring, as George entered, and the latter realized 
 that he did not mean to be taken by surprise. During 
 the afternoon, another man arrived on horseback with 
 some provisions and remained until George went to 
 sleep. The following morning, the stranger had dis- 
 appeared, but he came again once or twice, and this 
 was all that broke the monotony of the next few days. 
 George, however, was beginning to feel the strain; 
 his nerves were getting raw, the constant watchfulness 
 was wearing him. The trial would now be beginning, 
 and it was time the binders were driven into his grain ; 
 the oats would be ripe, and his neighbors would pick 
 up all the Ontario hands who reached the settlement. 
 Another day passed, and he was feeling desperate 
 when the relief watcher arrived in the afternoon. 
 Listening with strained attention, he heard the men
 
 THE ESCAPE 339 
 
 talking outside. Only a few words reached him, but 
 one was " adjourned," and it filled him with fresh de- 
 termination. If he could escape, it might not be too 
 late. 
 
 It was an oppressive afternoon ; the fresh northwest 
 breeze had dropped, the sky was clouded, the air hot 
 and heavy. Both men remained about the building, 
 but George sat quietly on the earth floor, smoking and 
 waiting for night. A few large drops of rain fell, 
 splashing upon roof and grass while he ate his supper, 
 but it stopped, and the evening was marked by a deep 
 stillness. He felt listless and disinclined to move ; his 
 guards, to judge by their voices, for they were playing 
 cards outside, were languidly irritable. 
 
 Dusk came and a thick obscurity, unlike the usual 
 clearness of the summer nights, shut in the lonely 
 building. It was intensely dark in the stable ; George 
 could not see the relief man's horse, though he could 
 now and then hear it move. Voices rose at intervals 
 from beyond the partition, but they ceased at last and 
 only an occasional crackle of the dry grass that served 
 for seats and bedding told that one at least of the 
 rustlers was keeping watch. George felt his limbs 
 quiver while he waited, and he was conscious of an 
 unpleasant tension on his nerves. There was thun- 
 der brewing, and he thought the storm might offer 
 him an opportunity for getting out. 
 
 At length it struck him that the silence was unu- 
 sually deep. Rising to his feet he moved about. 
 There was no challenge; and by way of further ex- 
 periment, he kicked his tin plate so that it rattled. 
 Still nobody called to him, though the horse made a 
 little noise in moving. George sat down and took off
 
 340 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 his boots while his heart throbbed painfully. It 
 looked as if his guards had gone to sleep. He moved 
 a few yards, stopped to listen, and went on for sev- 
 eral paces more. There was no sound yet beyond 
 the partition, and he crept softly past the horse; he 
 longed to lead it out, but decided that the risk would 
 be too great. 
 
 Then he stood in the gap between the wall and the 
 partition, straining eyes and ears, and wondering 
 where the rifle lay. He could see nothing, however; 
 and, creeping on cautiously, with tingling nerves and 
 an intolerable feeling of suspense, he drew level with 
 the doorway. It was hard to refrain from leaping 
 out, but this might make some noise. Crossing the 
 threshold with careful movements, he made for the 
 spot where he had cut the wood. He struck some- 
 thing that rattled, but he found the ax and the feel of 
 it sent a thrill through him. It was light enough to 
 be carried easily; and he did not mean to be recap- 
 tured. 
 
 For some minutes he moved straight on, hurting 
 his feet on the stronger grass stalks ; and then, sitting 
 down, he hastily put on his boots. After that he 
 broke into a steady run, which he meant to keep up 
 as long as possible. He was now anxious that the 
 threatened storm should not break, because if the 
 rustlers had gone to sleep, the longer they remained 
 so the better. He failed to understand how he had 
 escaped ; perhaps his guards had been lulled into false 
 security by his tranquil demeanor; perhaps they had 
 trusted to each other; or one, rendered listless by the 
 tension in the air, had relaxed his watchfulness for 
 a few moments. This, however, did not matter.
 
 THE ESCAPE 341 
 
 George was free ; and he only wished that he had some 
 idea as to where he was heading. He wanted to place 
 a long distance between him and the stable by morn- 
 ing. 
 
 Dripping with perspiration, breathing hard, he kept 
 up a steady pace for, so he thought, an hour, after 
 which he walked a mile or two, and then broke into 
 a run again. The grass was short; he struck no 
 brush, and the ax did not encumber him. He im- 
 agined that dawn must be getting near when a daz- 
 zling flash swept the prairie and there was a long 
 reverberatory rumbling overhead. He was almost 
 blinded and bewildered, doubly uncertain where he 
 was going; and then a great stream of white fire fell 
 from the zenith. The thunder that followed was 
 deafening, and for the next few minutes blaze suc- 
 ceeded blaze, and there was a constant crashing and 
 rumbling overhead. After that came a rush of chilly 
 wind and the air was filled with falling water. 
 
 A hot, steamy smell rose about him; but George, 
 who had been walking again, began to run. He must 
 use every exertion, for if he were right in concluding 
 that he had been detained on American soil, his pur- 
 suers would follow him north, and when daylight 
 came a mounted man's view would command a wide 
 sweep of level prairie. The storm passed away, mut- 
 tering, into the distance; the rain ceased, and the air 
 was fresh and cool until the sun sprang up. It was 
 on his right hand, he thought he had kept his line; 
 but he stopped to consider on the edge of a ravine. 
 The sides of the hollow were clothed with tall, wet 
 grass and brush; it would offer good cover, but he 
 could hardly avoid leaving a track if he followed it,
 
 342 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 and his pursuers would search such spots. It seemed 
 wiser to push on across the plain. 
 
 Descending through the thinnest brush he could 
 find, he stopped for a drink from the creek at the bot- 
 tom, and then went on as fast as possible. He was 
 becoming conscious of a pain in his left side ; one foot 
 felt sore; and as the sun got hotter a longing to lie 
 down a while grew steadily stronger. Still, he could 
 see nothing but short, gray grass ahead ; he must hold 
 on ; there might be bluffs or broken country beyond the 
 skyline. 
 
 At length a small square block cut against the daz- 
 zling brightness and slowly grew into a lonely home- 
 stead. After some consideration, George headed for 
 it, and toward noon reached a little, birch-log dwell- 
 ing, with a sod stable beside it. Both had an uncared- 
 for appearance, which suggested their owner's pov- 
 erty. As George approached the door, a gaunt, 
 hard-faced man in dilapidated overalls came out and 
 gazed at him in surprise. George's clothing, which 
 had been torn when he was seized in the bluff, had fur- 
 ther suffered during the deluge. He looked a weary, 
 ragged outcast. 
 
 " Can you give me something to eat and hire me a 
 horse ? " he asked. 
 
 The farmer seemed suspicious. 
 
 " Guess I want my horses for the binder ; I'm har- 
 vesting oats.", 
 
 " I'll pay you well for the time you lose," George 
 broke out. 
 
 "How much?" 
 
 Thrusting his hand into his pocket, George found
 
 THE ESCAPE 343 
 
 with dismay that his wallet, which contained some 
 bills, was missing. 
 
 " Anything you ask in reason, but you'll have to 
 take a check on a Brandon bank. Have you got a pen 
 and paper in the house ? " 
 
 " How am I to know your check's good ? " The 
 farmer laughed ironically. 
 
 George was doubtful of the man, but he must take 
 a risk. 
 
 " My name's Lansing, from the Marston home- 
 stead, beyond Sage Butte. It's a pretty big place; 
 any check I give you will be honored." 
 
 The farmer looked at him with growing interest. 
 
 " Well," he said, " you can't have my horse." 
 
 It was evident from his manner that reasoning 
 would be useless. 
 
 " How does Sage Butte lie from here ? " George 
 asked him. 
 
 " Can't tell you ; I've never been in the place." 
 
 George realized that he had blundered, both in call- 
 ing at the homestead and in mentioning his name, 
 which had figured in the newspaper account of the 
 attack on Grant. The farmer, it seemed, had a good 
 idea of the situation, and if not in league with the 
 rustlers, was afraid of them. George was wasting 
 time and giving information that might put his pur- 
 suers on his trail. In the meanwhile he noticed a face 
 at the window and a voice called to the man, who 
 stepped back into the house and appeared again with a 
 big slab of cold pie. 
 
 " Take this and light out," he said. 
 
 Having eaten nothing since his supper, George was
 
 344 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 glad of the food; but he walked on smartly for an 
 hour before he sat down in a clump of brush and 
 made a meal. Then he lighted his pipe and spent a 
 couple of hours in much needed rest. Haste \vas 
 highly desirable; he had no doubt that he was being 
 followed, but he could go no farther for a while. 
 
 It was very hot when he got up; he was sore all 
 over, and his foot was paining, but he set off at a run 
 and kept it up until he had crossed a rise two miles 
 away. The country was getting more broken, which 
 was in his favor, because the clumps of bush and the 
 small elevations would tend to hide him. He went 
 on until dusk, without rinding any water; and then 
 lay down among some tall grass in the open. There 
 was a little bluff not far off, but if the rustlers came 
 that way, he thought they would search it. It grew 
 cold as darkness crept down ; indeed he imagined that 
 the temperature had fallen to near freezing-point, as 
 it sometimes does on the plains after a scorching day. 
 
 Part of the night he lay awake, shivering; but dur- 
 ing the rest he slept; and he rose at dawn, very cold 
 and wet with dew. His foot was very sore, and he 
 had a sharp pain in his side. For the first hour, walk- 
 ing cost him an effort; but as he grew warmer it be- 
 came less difficult, and his foot felt easier. Then, as 
 he crossed a slight elevation, he saw a faint gray smear 
 on the far horizon and it sent a thrill through him. 
 Canadian locomotives burning native coal pour out 
 clouds of thick black smoke which can be seen a long 
 way in the clear air of the prairie. George was thirty 
 or forty feet, he thought, above the general level of 
 the plain, the light was strong, and he imagined that 
 it would take him most of the day to reach the spot
 
 THE ESCAPE 345 
 
 over which the smoke had floated. He was, how- 
 ever, heading for the track, and he gathered his cour- 
 age. 
 
 He saw no more smoke for a long time the in- 
 creasing brightness seemed to diminish the clarity of 
 the air. Before noon the pain in his side had become 
 almost insupportable, and his head was swimming; 
 he felt worn out, scarcely able to keep on his feet, but 
 again a gray streak on the horizon put heart into him. 
 It did not appear to move for a while, and he thought 
 it must have been made by a freight-engine working 
 about a station. Then, as he came down the gradual 
 slope of a wide depression, a long bluff on its opposite 
 verge cut the skyline, a hazy smear of neutral color. 
 He determined to reach the wood and lie down for a 
 time in its shadow. 
 
 It scarcely seemed to grow any nearer, and an hour 
 had passed before it assumed any regularity of out- 
 line. When it had grown into shape, George stopped 
 and looked about. It was fiercely hot, the grass was 
 dazzlingly bright, there was no house or sign of culti- 
 vation as far as his sight ranged ; but on glancing back 
 he started as he saw three small mounted figures on 
 the plain. They had not been there when he last 
 turned around, and they were moving, spread out 
 about a mile apart. It was obvious that the rustlers 
 were on his trail. For another moment he looked at 
 the bluff, breathing hard, with his lips tight set. If 
 he could reach the wood before he was overtaken, it 
 would offer him cover from a bullet, and if he could 
 not evade his enemies, he might make a stand with the 
 ax among the thicker trees. It was an irrational 
 idea, as he half recognized ; but he had grown savage
 
 346 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 with fatigue, and he had already suffered as much as 
 he was capable of bearing at the hands of the cattle 
 thieves. Now he meant to turn on them; but he 
 would be at their mercy in the open. 
 
 His weariness seemed to fall away from him to 
 give place to grim fury as he broke into a run, and he 
 did not look back for a while. When he did so, the 
 figures had grown larger ; one could see that they were 
 moving swiftly; and the bluff was still far away. 
 George believed that he had been noticed and he strove 
 to quicken his pace. The beat of hoofs was in his 
 ears when he next looked around ; the three horsemen 
 were converging, growing more distinct ; and the bluff 
 was still a mile ahead. He was stumbling and reeling, 
 his hat fell off, and he dared not stop to pick it up. 
 
 A mile was covered ; he would not look back again, 
 though the thud of hoofs had swelled into a sharp 
 staccato drumming. With face fiercely set and the 
 perspiration dripping from him, he held on, scorched 
 and partly dazzled by the glare. The wood was get- 
 ting closer; he thought it was scarcely a quarter of a 
 mile off. His heart throbbed madly, the pain in his 
 side had grown excruciating; but somehow he must 
 keep going. His eyes smarted with the moisture that 
 ran into them, his lips and mouth were salty; he was 
 suffering torment ; but he kept on his feet. 
 
 At length, when the trees were close ahead, a faint 
 smudge of smoke appeared on the edge of them; there 
 was a report like a whipcrack, and he stopped in de- 
 spair. His last refuge was held against him. Then, 
 as he turned in savage desperation to meet the rustlers' 
 onslaught with the ax, he saw there were only two 
 horsemen, who pulled up suddenly, about sixty yards
 
 THE ESCAPE 347 
 
 away. The third was not visible, but his horse, which 
 had fallen, was struggling in the grass. As the mean- 
 ing of this dawned on George he broke in a wild, 
 breathless yell of exultation; there was another crack 
 behind him, and the two horsemen wheeled. They 
 were not too soon, for a mounted man in khaki with 
 something that flashed across his saddle was riding 
 hard from behind the bluff to cut them off. Another 
 appeared, going at a furious gallop, and George stood 
 watching while the four figures grew smaller upon 
 the prairie. 
 
 Turning at a shout he saw Flett and Edgar walking 
 toward him, and he went with them to the fallen 
 horse. A man lay, gray in face, among the grass, held 
 down by the body of the animal which partly rested 
 upon him. 
 
 " Get me out," he begged hoarsely. " Leg's broke." 
 
 George felt incapable of helping. He sat down 
 while the other two extricated the man; then Flett 
 placed his carbine against the horse's head, and after 
 the report it ceased its struggling. 
 
 " She came down on me sudden ; couldn't get my 
 foot clear in time," the rustler explained. 
 
 " You had to be stopped. I sighted at a hundred ; 
 a quick shot," Flett remarked. " Is there anything 
 else the matter except your leg? " 
 
 " I guess it's enough," said the helpless man. 
 
 Flett turned to George. 
 
 " Walk into the bluff and you'll strike our camp. 
 West must stay with me until we put on some fixing 
 that will hold this fellow's leg together." 
 
 George did as he was bidden, and sat down again 
 limply when he reached an opening in the wood where
 
 348 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 a pile of branches, with a kettle suspended over them, 
 had been laid ready for lighting. Presently the others 
 rejoined him. 
 
 " The fellow can't be moved until we get a wagon," 
 said Flett. " We've been looking for you all over the 
 country, but it was quite a while before we got a hint 
 that sent us down this way. We had stopped in the 
 bluff when we saw a fellow running with three 
 mounted men after him, and we lay close, expecting 
 to get the bunch. It's unfortunate they got too near 
 you and I had to shoot, but I guess the boys will bring 
 them back." 
 
 Edgar looked at his comrade reproachfully. 
 
 "If you could only have sprinted a little and kept 
 ahead, we would either have outflanked them or have 
 had the finest imaginable ride with every chance of 
 running the fellows down. As things turned out, I 
 couldn't go off with the troopers until I found that 
 you had got through unhurt." 
 
 " I'm sorry," George told him, with a little dry 
 laugh. " But I don't think I spared any effort during 
 the last quarter of a mile." 
 
 Then he related his adventures, and answered a 
 number of questions. 
 
 " You'll take my horse," said Flett, " and start for 
 the railroad as soon as you feel able. Get on to Re- 
 gina by the first train ; judging by the last wire I got. 
 you'll still be in time. West had better go with you 
 to the station, and he can send a wagon for the man 
 who's hurt. Now I guess we'll get you something to 
 eat." 
 
 " I shouldn't mind," said George. " It's twenty-
 
 THE ESCAPE 349 
 
 four hours since my last meal, and that one was re- 
 markably small." 
 
 He drank a canful of cold tea, and then went sud- 
 denly to sleep while the others lighted the fire.
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 THE REACTION 
 
 THE trial at Regina proved sensational. Crimes 
 attended with violence were not unknown in the 
 vicinity, and cattle were now and then stolen in the 
 neighboring province of Alberta; but that such things 
 as the prosecutor's tale revealed should happen aroused 
 wide-spread astonishment and virtuous indignation. 
 Nevertheless, they were proved, for Flett had pro- 
 cured a number of witnesses and, what was more, 
 had secured their attendance. 
 
 In addition to this, other offenses were hinted at; 
 the doings of an organized gang of desperadoes and 
 their accomplices were detailed, and facts were brought 
 to light which made the withdrawal of the Sachem 
 license inevitable. The defense took strong exception 
 to this mode of procedure, pointing out that the court 
 was only concerned with a specified offense, and that 
 it was not permissible to drag in extraneous and 
 largely supposititious matter. During the sweltering 
 days the trial lasted, there were brisk encounters be- 
 tween the lawyers, and several points the prosecution 
 sought to prove were ruled irrelevant. As a climax, 
 came George's story, which caused a sensation, though 
 the close-packed assembly felt that he scarcely did 
 justice to his theme. 
 
 In concluding, the Crown prosecutor pointed out 
 
 350
 
 THE REACTION 351 
 
 how rapidly the outbreaks of turbulent lawlessness had 
 spread. They were all, he contended, connected with 
 and leading up to the last outrage, of which the men 
 before him were accused. It was obvious that this 
 unruliness must be sternly stamped out before it spread 
 farther, and if the court agreed with him that the 
 charge was fully proved, he must press for a drastic 
 and deterrent penalty. 
 
 The odds were heavily against the defense from the 
 beginning. The credibility of Flett's witnesses could 
 not be assailed, and cross-examination only threw a 
 more favorable light upon their character. Inside the 
 court, and out of it as the newspapers circulated, Grant 
 stood revealed as a fearless citizen, with a stern sense 
 of his duty to the community; George, somewhat to 
 his annoyance, as a more romantic personage of the 
 same description, and Hardie, who had been brought 
 in to prove certain points against which the defense 
 protested, as one who had fought and suffered in a 
 righteous cause. 
 
 In the end, the three prisoners were convicted, and 
 when the court broke up the police applied for several 
 fresh warrants, which were issued. 
 
 As George was walking toward his hotel, he met 
 Flett, to whom he had not spoken since they separated 
 in the bluff. 
 
 " I was waiting for you," said the constable. " I'm 
 sorry we'll have to call you up again as soon as the 
 rustler's leg is better. He's in the guard-room, and 
 the boys got one of the other fellows ; but we can talk 
 about it on the train. I'm going back to my post." 
 
 George arranged to meet him, and they were sitting 
 in a roomy smoking compartment as the big express
 
 352 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 sped across wide gray levels and past vast stretches 
 of ripening grain, when the next allusion was made to 
 the matter. 
 
 " I suppose you'll be sergeant shortly," George re- 
 marked. 
 
 " Corporal comes first," said Flett. " They stick to 
 the regular rotation." 
 
 " That's true, but they seem to use some discretion 
 in exceptional cases. I hardly think you'll remain a 
 corporal." 
 
 Flett's eyes twinkled. 
 
 " I did get something that sounded like a hint I'll 
 confess that I felt like whooping after it." 
 
 " You have deserved all you'll get," George declared. 
 
 They spent the night at a junction, where Flett had 
 some business, and it was the next evening when the 
 local train ran into Sage Butte. The platform was 
 crowded and as George and Flett alighted, there was a 
 cheer and, somewhat to their astonishment, the reeve 
 of the town advanced to meet them. 
 
 " I'm here to welcome you in the name of the cit- 
 izens of the Butte," he said. "We have to request the 
 favor of your company at supper at the Queen's." 
 
 " It's an honor," George responded. " I'm sensible 
 of it; but, you see, I'm in a hurry to get back to work 
 and I wired for a team. My harvest should have been 
 started a week ago." 
 
 " Don't you worry 'bout that," said the reeve. " It 
 wasn't our wish that you should suffer through dis- 
 charging your duty, and we made a few arrangements. 
 Four binders have been working steady in your oats, 
 and if you don't like the way we have fixed things, you 
 can alter them to-morrow."
 
 THE REACTION 353 
 
 Then West touched George's arm. 
 
 " You'll have to come. They've got two other vic- 
 tims Hardie and Grant and the supper's ready." 
 
 The reeve looked at him in stern rebuke. 
 
 " That isn't the way to speak of this function, 
 Percy. If you feel like a victim, you can drop right 
 out." 
 
 George was touched by the man's intimation. He 
 expressed his satisfaction, and the whole assembly es- 
 corted him to the hotel. There he and Grant and 
 Hardie were seated at the top of a long table near the 
 reeve, who made a short opening speech. 
 
 " Business first, and then the supper, boys," he said. 
 " Corporal Flett can't come ; his bosses wouldn't ap- 
 prove of it; but I'll see it put in the Sentinel that he 
 was asked, and we won't mind if that has some effect 
 on them. There's another thing out of deference 
 to Mr. Hardie and the change in opinion he has ably 
 led you'll only get tea and coffee at this entertain- 
 ment. Those who haven't signed his book, must hold 
 out until it's over." 
 
 An excellent meal had been finished when he got up 
 again, with three illuminated strips of parchment in 
 his hand. 
 
 " I'll be brief, but there's something to be said. Our 
 guests have set us an example which won't be lost. 
 They saw the danger of letting things drift; one of 
 them warned us plainly, although to do so needed grit, 
 and some of us rounded on him, and if the others 
 didn't talk, it was because that wasn't their end of the 
 job. They knew their duty to the country and they 
 did it, though it cost them something. We owe it to 
 them that the police have smashed the rustler
 
 354 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 and that from now on no small homesteader can be 
 bluffed or tempted into doing what's sure to bring him 
 into trouble, and no man with a big farm need fear to 
 let his cattle run. What's more, instead of a haunt of 
 toughs and hobos, we're going to have a quiet and 
 prosperous town. I'm now proud that it's my duty to 
 hand our guests the assurance of our grateful appre- 
 ciation. Corporal Flett's will be sent on to him." 
 
 He handed them the parchments, and George felt 
 inclined to blush as he glanced at the decorated words 
 of eulogy; while a half-ironical twinkle crept into 
 Grant's eyes. Then Hardie rose to reply, and faltered 
 once or twice with a sob of emotion in his voice, for 
 the testimonial had a deeper significance to him than 
 it had to the others. His audience, however, encour- 
 aged him, and there was a roar of applause when he sat 
 down. Soon after that the gathering broke up. 
 
 George went to the parlor, which served as writing- 
 room, and found Flora there. She smiled as she no- 
 ticed the end of the parchment sticking out of his 
 pocket. 
 
 " I dare say you're relieved that the ceremony's 
 over," she said. 
 
 " It was a little trying," George confessed. " I was 
 badly afraid I'd have to make a speech, but luckily we 
 had Hardie, who was equal to the task." 
 
 " After all, you needn't be ashamed of the testi- 
 monial. I really think you deserved it, and I suppose 
 I must congratulate you on the fortunate end of your 
 dramatic adventures." 
 
 George stood looking at her. He was somewhat 
 puzzled, for there was a hint of light mockery in her 
 voice.
 
 THE REACTION 355 
 
 " I'll excuse you if you feel that it requires an ef- 
 fort," he said. 
 
 " Oh, you have had so much applause that mine can 
 hardly count." 
 
 " You ought to know that it's my friends' good opin- 
 ion I really value." 
 
 Flora changed the subject. 
 
 " You will be driving out in the morning? " 
 
 " I'm starting as soon as Edgar has the team ready. 
 There's a good moon and I must get to work the first 
 thing to-morrow." 
 
 The girl's face hardened. 
 
 " You seem desperately anxious about your crop." 
 
 " I think that's natural. There's a good deal to be 
 done and I've lost some time. I came in to write a 
 note before I see what Edgar's doing." 
 
 " Then I mustn't disturb you, and it's time I went 
 over to Mrs. Nelson's she expects me to stay the 
 night. I was merely waiting for a word with my 
 father." She stopped George, who had meant to ac- 
 company her. " No, you needn't come it's only a 
 few blocks away. Get your note written." 
 
 Seeing that she did not desire his escort, George let 
 her go; but he frowned as he sat down and took out 
 some paper. Soon afterward Edgar came in, and they 
 drove off in a few more minutes. 
 
 " Did you see Miss Grant ? " Edgar asked when they 
 were jolting down the rutted trail. 
 
 " I did," George said shortly. 
 
 " You seem disturbed about it." 
 
 " I was a little perplexed," George owned. 
 " There was something that struck me as different in 
 her manner. It may have been imagination, but I
 
 356 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 felt she wasn't exactly pleased with me. I can't un- 
 derstand how I have offended her." 
 
 " No," said Edgar. " It would have been remark- 
 able if you had done so. I suppose you told her you 
 couldn't rest until you got to work at the harvest? " 
 
 " I believe I said something of the kind. What has 
 that to do with it?" 
 
 " It isn't very obvious. Perhaps she felt tired or 
 moody ; it has been a blazing hot day. There's every 
 sign of its being the same to-morrow. I suppose 
 you'll make a start after breakfast? " 
 
 " I'll make a start as soon as it's daylight," George 
 told him. 
 
 He kept his word, and for the next few weeks toiled 
 with determined energy among the tall white oats and 
 the coppery ears of wheat. It was fiercely hot, but 
 from sunrise until the light failed, the plodding teams 
 and clinking binders moved round the lessening 
 squares of grain, and ranks of splendid sheaves length- 
 ened fast behind them. The nights were getting 
 sharp, the dawns were cold and clear, and George rose 
 each morning, aching in every limb, but with a keen 
 sense of satisfaction. Each day's work added to the 
 store of money he would shortly hand to Sylvia. He 
 saw little of Flora, but when they met by chance, as 
 happened once or twice, he was still conscious of some- 
 thing subtly unfamiliar in her manner. He felt they 
 were no longer on the old confidential footing; a 
 stronger barrier of reserve had risen between them. 
 
 Before the last sheaves were stacked, the days were 
 growing cool. The fresh western breezes had died 
 away, and a faint ethereal haze and a deep stillness 
 had fallen upon the prairie. It was rudely broken
 
 THE REACTION 357 
 
 when the thrashers arrived and from early morning 
 the clatter of the engine filled the air with sound. 
 Loaded wagons crashed through the stubble, the voices 
 of dusty men mingled with the rustle of the sheaves, 
 and a long trail of sooty smoke stained the soft blue of 
 the sky. 
 
 This work was finished in turn, and day by day the 
 wagons, loaded high with bags of grain, rolled slowly 
 across the broad white levels toward the elevators. 
 Many a tense effort was needed to get them to their 
 destination, for the trails were dry and loose; but 
 markets were strong, and George had decided to haul 
 in all the big crop. Sometimes, though the nights 
 were frosty, he slept beside his jaded team in the shel- 
 ter of a bluff; sometimes he spent a day he grudged 
 laying straw on a road; rest for more than three or 
 four hours was unknown to him, and meals were 
 snatched at irregular intervals when matters of more 
 importance were less pressing. For all that, he was 
 uniformly cheerful; the work brought him the great- 
 est pleasure he had known, and he had grown fond of 
 the wide, open land, in which he had once looked for- 
 ward to dwelling with misgivings. The freedom of 
 its vast spaces, its clear air and its bright sunshine, ap- 
 pealed to him, and he began to realize that he would 
 be sorry to leave it, which he must shortly do. Sylvia, 
 it was a pity, could not live in western Canada. 
 
 At length, on a frosty evening, he saw the last load 
 vanish into the dusty elevator, and a curious feeling of 
 regret crept over him. It was very doubtful if he 
 would haul in another harvest, and he wondered 
 whether the time would now and then hang heavily 
 on his hands in England. There was a roar of ma-
 
 358 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 chinery above him in the tall building that cut sharply 
 against the sky; below, long rows of wagons stood 
 waiting their turn, and the voices of the teamsters, 
 bantering one another, struck cheerfully on his ears. 
 Side-track and little station were bathed in dazzling 
 electric glare, two locomotives were pushing in wheat 
 cars, and lights had begun to glimmer in the wooden 
 houses of the Butte, though all round there was the 
 vast sweep of prairie. 
 
 There was a touch of rawness in the picture, a hint 
 of incompleteness, with a promise of much to come. 
 Sage Butte was, perhaps, a trifle barbarous; but its 
 crude frame buildings would some day give place to 
 more imposing piles of concrete and steel. Its in- 
 habitants were passing through a transition stage, 
 showing signs at times of the primitive strain, but, as a 
 rule, reaching out eagerly toward what was new and 
 better. They would make swift progress, and even 
 now he liked the. strenuous, optimistic, and somewhat 
 rugged life they led; he reflected that he would find 
 things different in sheltered England. 
 
 After giving Grierson a few instructions, George 
 turned away. His work was done ; instead of driving 
 home through the sharp cold of the night, he was to 
 spend it comfortably at the hotel. 
 
 A week later, he and West drove over to the Grant 
 homestead and found only its owner in the general- 
 room. Grant listened with a rather curious expres- 
 sion when George told him that he was starting for 
 England the following day; and then they quietly 
 talked over the arrangements that had been made for 
 carrying on the farm until Edgar's return, for George's 
 future movements were uncertain. Edgar, however,
 
 THE REACTION 359 
 
 was sensible of a constraint in the farmer's manner, 
 which was presently felt by George, and the conversa- 
 tion was languishing when Flora came in. Shortly 
 afterward George said that they must go and Flora 
 strolled toward the fence with him while the team was 
 being harnessed. 
 
 " So you are leaving us to-morrow and may not 
 come back? " she said, in an indifferent tone. 
 
 " I can't tell what I shall do until I get to England." 
 
 Flora glanced at him with a composure that cost her 
 an effort. She supposed his decision would turn upon 
 Mrs. Marston's attitude, but she knew Sylvia well, 
 and had a suspicion that there was a disappointment in 
 store for Lansing. Edgar had explained that he was 
 not rich, and he was not the kind of man Sylvia was 
 likely to regard with favor. 
 
 " Well," she said lightly, " when I came in, you 
 really didn't look as cheerful as one might have ex- 
 pected. Are you sorry you are going away? " 
 
 " It's a good deal harder than I thought. The prai- 
 rie seems to have got hold of me ; I have good friends 
 here." 
 
 " Haven't you plenty in England? " 
 
 " Acquaintances ; only a few friends. I can't help 
 regretting those I must leave behind. In fact " he 
 spoke impulsively, expressing a thought that had 
 haunted him " it would be a relief if I knew I should 
 come back again." 
 
 " After all, this is a hard country and we're a rather 
 primitive people." 
 
 " You're reliable ! Staunch friends, determined 
 enemies; and even among the latter I found a kind of 
 sporting feeling which made it a little easier for one
 
 360 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 to forget one's injuries." He glanced at the prairie 
 which stretched away, white and silent, in the clear 
 evening light. " It's irrational in a way, but I'd be 
 glad to feel I was going to work as usual to-morrow." 
 
 " I suppose you could do so, if you really wanted 
 to," Flora suggested. 
 
 George turned and looked fixedly at her, while a 
 mad idea crept into his mind. She was very alluring; 
 he thought he knew her nature, which was altogether 
 wholesome, and it flashed upon him that many of the 
 excellent qualities she possessed were lacking in Syl- 
 via. Then he loyally drove out the temptation, won- 
 dering that it had assailed him, though he was still 
 clearly conscious of his companion's attractiveness. 
 
 " No," he said in a somewhat strained voice ; " I 
 hardly think that's possible. I must go back." 
 
 Flora smiled, though it was difficult. She half be- 
 lieved she could shake the man's devotion to her rival, 
 but she was too proud to try. If he came to her, he 
 must come willingly, and not because she had exerted 
 her utmost power to draw him. 
 
 " Well," she responded, " one could consider the 
 reluctant way you spoke the last few words as flatter- 
 ing. I suppose it's a compliment to Canada ? " 
 
 He failed to understand the light touch of mocking 
 amusement in her tone; it had not dawned on him 
 that this was her defense. 
 
 " It's a compliment to the Canadians, though my 
 appreciation can't be worth very much. But I don't 
 feel in a mood to joke. In fact, there's a feeling of 
 depression abroad to-night; even your father seems 
 affected. I'd expected a pleasant talk with him, but 
 we were very dull."
 
 THE REACTION 361 
 
 " What made you think he was less cheerful than 
 usual? " Flora cast a quick and rather startled glance 
 at him. 
 
 " I don't know, but something seemed wrong. Ed- 
 gar's the only one who looks undisturbed, and if he 
 talks much going home, he'll get on my nerves." 
 
 " It's hardly fair to blame him for a depression 
 that's your fault," said Flora. " You deserve to feel 
 it, since you will go away." 
 
 Then Edgar came up with the wagon and George 
 took Flora's hands. 
 
 " I shall think of you often," he told her. " It will 
 always be with pleasure. Now and then you might, 
 perhaps, spare a thought for me." 
 
 " I think I can promise that," Flora replied quietly. 
 
 Then he shook hands with Grant and got into the 
 wagon. Edgar cracked the whip and the team 
 plunged forward. With a violent jolting and a rattle 
 of wheels they left the farm behind and drove out on 
 to the prairie. Flora stood watching them for a while ; 
 and then walked back to the house in the gathering 
 dusk with her face set hard and a pain at her heart. 
 
 Grant was sitting on the stoop, filling his pipe, but 
 when she joined him he paused in his occupation and 
 pointed toward the plain. The wagon was scarcely 
 discernible, but a rhythmic beat of hoofs still came 
 back through the stillness. 
 
 " I like that man, but he's a blamed fool," he re- 
 marked. 
 
 Strong bitterness was mingled with the regret in 
 his voice, and Flora started. She was glad that the 
 light was too dim for him to see her clearly. 
 
 " I wonder what makes you say that? "
 
 362 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " For one thing, he might have done well here." 
 Flora suspected that her father was not expressing all 
 he had meant. " He's the kind of man we want ; and 
 now he's going back to fool his life away, slouching 
 round playing games and talking to idle people, in the 
 old country. Guess some girl over there has got a 
 hold on him." Then his indignation flamed out un- 
 checked. " I never could stand those Percy women, 
 anyway; saw a bunch of them, all dress and airs, when 
 I was last in Winnipeg. One was standing outside a 
 ticket-office at Portage, studying the people through 
 an eyeglass on an ivory stick, as if they were some 
 strange savages, and making remarks about them to 
 her friends, though I guess there isn't a young woman 
 in the city with nerve enough to wear the clothes she 
 had on. It makes a sensible man mighty tired to hear 
 those creatures talk." 
 
 Flora laughed, rather drearily, though she guessed 
 with some uneasiness the cause of her father's out- 
 break. It appeared injudicious to offer him any en- 
 couragement. 
 
 " After all, one must be fair," she said. " I met 
 some very nice people in the old country." 
 
 He turned to her abruptly. 
 
 " Do you know who has taken Lansing back? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " I believe, from something West said, it is Mrs. 
 Marston." 
 
 " That trash ! " Grant's sharp cry expressed in- 
 credulity. " The man can't have any sense ! He's go- 
 ing to be sorry all the time if he gets her." 
 
 Then he knocked out his pipe, as if he were too in- 
 dignant to smoke, and went into the house.
 
 CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 A REVELATION 
 
 was a winter evening and Sylvia was standing 
 near the hearth in Mrs. Kettering's hall, where the 
 lamps were burning, though a little pale daylight still 
 filtered through the drizzle outside. Sylvia was fond 
 of warmth and brightness, but she was alone except 
 for Ethel West, who sat writing at a table in a recess, 
 although her hostess had other guests, including a few 
 men who were out shooting. After a while Ethel 
 looked up. 
 
 " Have you or Herbert heard anything from George 
 during the last few weeks? " she asked. 
 
 Sylvia turned languidly. Her thoughts had been 
 fixed on Captain Bland, whom she was expecting every 
 moment. Indeed, she was anxious to get rid of Ethel 
 before he came in. 
 
 " No," she said with indifference. " I think his last 
 letter came a month ago. It was optimistic." 
 
 '* They seem to have had a good harvest from what 
 Edgar wrote; he hinted that he might make a trip 
 across." 
 
 " It's rather an expensive journey." 
 
 ' That wouldn't trouble Edgar, and there's a reason 
 for the visit. He has made up his mind to start farm- 
 ing and wants to talk over his plans. In fact, he 
 thinks of getting married." 
 
 363
 
 364 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 Sylvia showed some interest. 
 
 " To whom? Why didn't you tell me earlier? " 
 
 " I only arrived this morning, and I wrote some time 
 ago, asking if you could meet Stephen and me. You 
 were with the Graysons then, but you didn't answer." 
 
 " I forgot ; I don't always answer letters. But who 
 is the girl? Not Miss Grant?" 
 
 " Helen Taunton. Do you know her? " 
 
 Sylvia laughed. 
 
 " The storekeeper's daughter ! She's passably good- 
 looking and her father's not badly off, but that's about 
 all one could say for her." 
 
 " Do you know anything against the girl ? " 
 
 " Oh, no ! " said Sylvia languidly. " She's quite 
 respectable in fact, they're rather a straight-laced 
 people; and she doesn't talk badly. For all that, I 
 think you'll get a shock if Edgar brings her home." 
 
 " That is not George's opinion. We wrote to him." 
 
 Sylvia laughed. 
 
 " He would believe in anybody who looked innocent 
 and pretty." 
 
 Ethel's expression hardened; Sylvia had not been 
 considerate. 
 
 " I don't think that's true. He's generous, and 
 though he has made mistakes, it was only because his 
 confidence was misled with a highly finished skill. 
 One wouldn't look for the same ability in a girl 
 brought up in a primitive western town." 
 
 " After all," said Sylvia tranquilly, " she is a girl, 
 and no doubt Edgar is worth powder and shot from 
 her point of view." 
 
 " It doesn't seem to be a commercial one," Ethel 
 retorted. " Stephen had a very straightforward letter
 
 A REVELATION 365 
 
 from this storekeeper. But I'm inclined to think I had 
 better go on with my writing." 
 
 Sylvia moved away. She had no reason for being 
 gracious to Ethel, and she took some pleasure in irri- 
 tating her. 
 
 In a few minutes Bland came in. The hall was 
 large, and Ethel was hidden from him in the recess. 
 He strode toward Sylvia eagerly, but she checked him 
 with a gesture. 
 
 " You have come back early," she said. " Wasn't 
 the sport good? What has become of Kettering and 
 the others ? " 
 
 The man looked a little surprised. This was hardly 
 the greeting he had expected, after having been prom- 
 ised a quiet half-hour with Sylvia; but, looking round, 
 he saw the skirt of Ethel's dress and understood. Had 
 it been George she wished to warn, she would have 
 used different means; but Bland, she was thankful, 
 was not hypercritical. 
 
 " The sport was poor," he told her. " The pheas- 
 ants aren't very strong yet, and it was hard to drive 
 them out of the covers. As I'd only a light water- 
 proof, I got rather wet outside the last wood and I 
 left the others. Kettering wanted to see the keeper 
 about to-morrow's beat, but I didn't wait." 
 
 " Since you have been in the rain all day, you had 
 better have some tea," said Sylvia. " They'll bring it 
 here, if you ring." 
 
 He followed her to a small table across the hall, 
 and after a tray had been set before them they sat 
 talking in low voices. Presently Bland laid his hand 
 on Sylvia's arm. , ' 
 
 " You know why I came down," he said. " I must
 
 366 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 go back to-morrow and I want the announcement made 
 before I leave." 
 
 Sylvia blushed and lowered her eyes. 
 
 " Oh, well," she conceded, " you have really been 
 very patient, and perhaps it would be hardly fair to 
 make you wait any longer." 
 
 Bland took her hand and held it fast. 
 
 " You are worth waiting for ! But there were times 
 when it was very hard not to rebel. I'd have done so, 
 only I was afraid." 
 
 " You did rebel." 
 
 " Not to much purpose. Though no one would sus- 
 pect it from your looks, you're a very determined per- 
 son, Sylvia. Now I don't know how to express my 
 feelings ; I want to do something dramatic, even if it's 
 absurd, and I can't even speak aloud. Couldn't you 
 have got rid of Miss West by some means ? " 
 
 " How could I tell what you wished to say ? " Syl- 
 via asked with a shy smile. " Besides, Ethel wouldn't 
 go. She stuck there in the most determined fashion ! " 
 
 " Then we'll have to disregard her. It must be 
 early next year, Sylvia. I'll see Lansing to-morrow." 
 
 He continued in a quietly exultant strain, and Syl- 
 via felt relieved that her fate was decided. She had 
 some time ago led him to believe she would marry him ; 
 but she had, with vague misgivings and prompted by 
 half -understood reasons, put off a definite engagement. 
 Now she had given her pledge, and though she thought 
 of George with faint regret, she was on the whole con- 
 scious of satisfaction. Bland, she believed, had a 
 good deal to offer her which she could not have en- 
 joyed with his rival. 
 
 Presently a servant brought Ethel something on a
 
 A REVELATION 367 
 
 salver, and a few moments later she approached the 
 other two with a telegram in her hand. 
 
 " I thought I had better tell you, Sylvia," she ex- 
 plained. " Stephen has just got a letter from Edgar, 
 written a day or two before he sailed. He should ar- 
 rive on Saturday, and George is with him." 
 
 Sylvia had not expected this and she was off her 
 guard. She started, and sat looking at Ethel incredu- 
 lously, with something like consternation. 
 
 "It's quite true," said Ethel bluntly. "He'll be 
 here in three more days." 
 
 Then Sylvia recovered her composure. 
 
 " In that case, I'll have to let Muriel know at once ; 
 he'll go straight there, and she's staying with Lucy. 
 Perhaps I had better telegraph." 
 
 She rose and left them; and Bland sought Mrs. Ket- 
 tering and acquainted her of his engagement, and 
 begged her to make it known, which she promised to 
 do. He failed to find Sylvia until she was coming 
 down to dinner, when she beckoned him. 
 
 " Have you told Susan yet ? " she asked. 
 
 "Yes," Bland beamed; "I told her at once. I 
 should have liked to go about proclaiming the delight- 
 ful news!" 
 
 Sylvia looked disturbed; Bland could almost have 
 fancied she was angry. As a matter of fact, troubled 
 thoughts were flying through her mind. It was ob- 
 vious that she would shortly be called upon to face a 
 crisis. 
 
 " After all," she said, with an air of resignation 
 which struck him as out of place, '' I suppose you had 
 to do so; but you lost no time." 
 
 "Not a moment!" he assured her. "I felt I
 
 3 68 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 couldn't neglect anything that brought you nearer to 
 me." 
 
 Then they went on, and meeting the other guests in 
 the hall, Sylvia acknowledged the shower of congratu- 
 lations with a smiling face. She escaped after dinner, 
 however, without a sign to Bland, and did not reap- 
 pear. During the evening, he found Ethel West sit- 
 ting alone in a quiet nook. 
 
 " Mrs. Marston seemed a little disturbed at the news 
 you gave her," he remarked. 
 
 "So I thought," said Ethel. 
 
 " I suppose the George you mentioned is her trustee, 
 who went to Canada and took your brother? You 
 once told me something about him." 
 
 " Yes," said Ethel. " You seem to have the gift of 
 arriving at correct conclusions." 
 
 " He's an elderly man a business man of his 
 cousin's stamp I presume?" 
 
 Ethel laughed. 
 
 " Oh, no ; they're of very different type. I should 
 imagine that he's younger than you are. He was at 
 Herbert's one afternoon when you called." 
 
 " Ah ! " said Bland. " I shall, no doubt, get to know 
 him when next I come down." 
 
 Then he talked about other matters until he left 
 her, and after a while he found Kettering alone. 
 
 " Did you ever meet George Lansing? " he asked. 
 
 " Oh, yes," said his host. " I know his cousin bet- 
 ter." 
 
 " He has been out in Canada, hasn't he? " 
 
 " Yes ; went out to look after Mrs. Marston's prop- 
 erty. I understand he has been more or less success- 
 ful."
 
 A REVELATION 369 
 
 " When did he leave England ? " 
 
 Kettering told him, and Bland considered. 
 
 " So Lansing has been out, and no doubt going to a 
 good deal of trouble, for two years," he said. " That's 
 something beyond an ordinary executor's duty. What 
 made him undertake it ? " 
 
 Kettering smiled. 
 
 " It's an open secret you're bound to hear it 
 that he had an admiration for Sylvia. Still, there's 
 no ground for jealousy. Lansing hadn't a chance 
 from the beginning." 
 
 Bland concealed his feelings. 
 
 " How is that ? He must be an unusually good fel- 
 low if he stayed out there to look after things so long." 
 
 " For one reason, he's not Sylvia's kind. It was 
 quite out of the question that she should ever have mar- 
 ried him." 
 
 Feeling that he had, perhaps, said too much, Ket- 
 tering began to talk of the next day's sport ; and soon 
 a'fterward Bland left him and went out on the terrace 
 to smoke and ponder. Putting what he had learned 
 together, he thought he understood the situation, and 
 it was not a pleasant one, though he was not very in- 
 dignant with Sylvia. It looked as if she made an un- 
 fair use of Lansing's regard for her, unless, in spite 
 of Kettering's opinion, she had until lately been unde- 
 cided how to choose between them. Nevertheless, 
 Bland could not feel that he had now been rudely un- 
 deceived, for he had always recognized some of Syl- 
 via's failings. He did not expect perfection; and he 
 could be generous, when he had won. 
 
 He asked Sylvia no injudicious questions when they 
 met the next morning, and during the day he called on
 
 370 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 Herbert Lansing, who was back in his office. The 
 latter heard him explain his errand with somewhat 
 mixed feelings, for there were certain rather trouble- 
 some facts that must be mentioned. 
 
 " Well," he said, " I have, of course, no objections 
 to make; but, as one of her trustees, it's my duty to 
 look after Sylvia's interests. As you know, she is not 
 rich." 
 
 " I suppose these points must be talked over," Bland 
 said, with indifference. 
 
 " It's usual, and in the present case, necessary. 
 What provision are you able to make ? " 
 
 Bland looked a little uncomfortable. " As a mat- 
 ter of fact, I'd find it difficult to make any provision. 
 I get along fairly well, as it is, but I've only about four 
 hundred a year besides my pay." 
 
 " How far does your pay go? " Herbert asked dryly. 
 
 " It covers my mess bills and a few expenses of that 
 nature." 
 
 Herbert leaned back in his chair with a smile. 
 
 " Hasn't it struck you that you should have chosen 
 a wife with money? " 
 
 " Now," said Bland rather sternly, " I don't want to 
 lie open to any misconception, but I understood that 
 Mrs. Marston had some means. I'm quite prepared 
 to hear they're small." 
 
 (< That's fortunate, because it may save you a shock. 
 Sylvia owns a farm in Canada, which did not repay 
 the cost of working it last year. During the present 
 one there has been an improvement, and we expect a 
 small surplus on the two years' operations. The place 
 has been valued at but perhaps I had better give 
 you a few figures, showing you how matters stand."
 
 A REVELATION 371 
 
 Opening a drawer, he handed a paper to Bland, who 
 studied it with a sense of dismay. 
 
 " I'll confess that this is an unpleasant surprise," he 
 said at length; and then, while Herbert waited, he 
 pulled himself together with a laugh. " After that 
 admission, I must add that the mistake is the result of 
 my having a sanguine imagination; Sylvia scarcely 
 mentioned her Canadian property. Now, however, 
 there's only one thing to be done to face the situa- 
 tion as cheerfully as possible." 
 
 " It can't be an altogether attractive one." Herbert 
 admired his courage and the attitude he had adopted. 
 
 " I shall certainly have to economize," Bland ad- 
 mitted ; " and that is a thing I'm not accustomed to ; 
 but I may get some appointment, and by and by a small 
 share in some family property will revert to me. 
 Though I must go straight back to my garrison duties 
 now, I'll come down for an hour or two and explain 
 things to Sylvia, as soon as I can." He paused and 
 broke into a faint smile. " I dare say the surprise will 
 be mutual; she may have believed my means to be 
 larger than they are." 
 
 " I should consider it very possible," replied Her- 
 bert dryly. " As I must see Sylvia, I'll give her an 
 idea how matters stand and clear the ground for you." 
 
 Bland said that he would be glad of this; and after 
 some further conversation he took his leave and walked 
 to the station, disturbed in mind, but conscious of a 
 little ironical amusement. There was no doubt that 
 Sylvia had cleverly deluded him, but he admitted that 
 he had done much the same thing to her. Had he 
 realized the true state of her affairs at the beginning 
 he would have withdrawn ; but he had no thought of
 
 372 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 doing so now. It was obvious that Sylvia's princi- 
 ples were not very high, and he regretted it, although 
 he could not claim much superiority in this respect. 
 He was tolerant and, after all, she had a charm that 
 atoned for many failings. 
 
 It was three or four days later when he arrived at 
 Mrs. Kettering's house one evening and found Sylvia 
 awaiting him in a room reserved for her hostess's use. 
 She was very becomingly dressed and looked, he 
 thought, even more attractive than usual. She sub- 
 mitted to his caress with an air of resignation, but he 
 augured a good deal from the fact that she did not 
 repulse him. As it happened, Sylvia had carefully 
 thought over the situation. 
 
 " Sit down," she said ; " I want to talk with you." 
 
 " I think I'll stand. It's more difficult to feel peni- 
 tent in a comfortable position. It looks as if you had 
 seen Herbert Lansing." 
 
 " I have." Sylvia's tone was harsh. " What have 
 you to say for yourself?" 
 
 " Not a great deal, which is fortunate, because I 
 haven't much time to say it in," Bland told her with a 
 smile. " To begin with, I'll state the unflattering 
 truth it strikes me that, in one way, we're each as 
 bad as the other. I suppose it's one of my privileges 
 to mention such facts to you, though I'd never think of 
 admitting them to anybody else." 
 
 " It's a husband's privilege," Sylvia rejoined point- 
 edly. " Don't be premature." 
 
 " Well," said Bland, " I can only make one defense, 
 but I think you ought to realize how strong it is. We 
 were thrown into each other's society, and it isn't in 
 the least surprising that I lost my head and was carried
 
 A REVELATION 373 
 
 away. My power of reasoning went when I fell in 
 love with you." 
 
 " That sounds pretty, but it's unfortunate you didn't 
 think of me a little more," pouted Sylvia. 
 
 " Think of you ? " Bland broke out. " I thought of 
 nothing else ! " 
 
 " Then it wasn't to much purpose. Don't you see 
 what you want to bring me to? Can't you realize 
 what I should have to give up? How could we ever 
 manage on the little we have? " 
 
 The man frowned. He was sorry for her and 
 somewhat ashamed, but she jarred on him in her pres- 
 ent mood. 
 
 " I believe people who were sufficiently fond of each 
 other have often^ot along pretty satisfactorily on less, 
 even in the Service. It's a matter of keen regret to 
 me that you will have to make a sacrifice, but things 
 are not quite so bad as they look, and there's reason 
 for believing they may get better. You will have as 
 pleasant society as you enjoy now; my friends will 
 stand by my wife." A look of pride crept into his 
 face. " I dare say they have their failings, but they'll 
 only expect charm from you, and you can give it to 
 them. They won't value you by the display you make 
 or your possessions. We're free from that taint." 
 
 " But have you considered what you must give up ? " 
 
 Bland had hardly expected this, but he smiled. 
 
 " Oh, yes. I spent an evening over it and I was a 
 little surprised to find how many things there were I 
 could readily do without. In fact, it was a most in- 
 structive evening. The next day I wrote a bundle 
 of letters, resigning from clubs I rarely went to, and 
 canceling orders for odds and ends I hadn't the least
 
 374 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 real use for. But I'll confess that I've derived a good 
 deal more pleasure from thinking of how much I shall 
 get." 
 
 Sylvia was touched, but she did not mean to yield 
 too readily. 
 
 " It would be dreadfully imprudent." 
 
 " Just so ; one has often to take a risk. It's rather 
 exciting to fling prudence overboard. I want to fix 
 my whole attention on the fact that we love each 
 other ! " Bland glanced at his watch. " Now it 
 strikes me that we have been sufficiently practical, and 
 as I must start back to-night, I haven't much time left. 
 Don't you think it would be a pity to waste it ? " 
 
 He drew her down beside him on a lounge and Syl- 
 via surrendered. After all, the man had made a good 
 defense and, as far as her nature permitted, she had 
 grown fond of him.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 GEORGE MAKES UP HIS MIND 
 
 was closing in when George and Edgar 
 alighted at a little English station. Casting an 
 eager glance about, George was disappointed to see 
 nobody from his cousin's house waiting to meet him. 
 In another moment, however, he was warmly greeted 
 by Ethel West. 
 
 " A very hearty welcome, George," she said. 
 " You're looking very fit, but thinner than you were 
 when you left us. Stephen's waiting outside. He 
 told Muriel we would drive you over; Herbert's away 
 somewhere." 
 
 " How's everybody ? " George inquired. 
 
 " Sylvia looked as charming as ever when I last saw 
 her a few days ago," Ethel answered with a smile, 
 which George was too eager to notice was somewhat 
 forced. " The rest of us are much as usual. But 
 come along; we'll send over afterward for your heavy 
 things." 
 
 They turned toward the outlet, and found Stephen 
 having some trouble with a horse that was startled by 
 the roar of steam. Edgar got up in front of the high 
 trap, George helped Ethel to the seat behind, and they 
 set off the next moment, flying down the wet road 
 amid a cheerful hammer of hoofs and a rattle of 
 wheels. For the first few minutes George said little 
 
 375
 
 376 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 as he looked about. On one side great oaks and ashes 
 raised their naked boughs in sharp tracery against the 
 pale saffron glow in the western sky. Ahead, across 
 a deep valley, which was streaked with trains of mist, 
 wide moors and hills rolled away, gray and darkly blue. 
 Down the long slope to the hollow ran small fields with 
 great trees breaking the lines of hedgerows; and the 
 brawling of a river swollen by recent rain came sharply 
 up to him. 
 
 It was all good to look upon, a beautiful, well-cared- 
 for land, and he felt a thrill of pride and satisfaction. 
 This was home, and he had come back to it with his 
 work done. A roseate future stretched away before 
 him, its peaceful duties brightened by love, and the 
 contrast between it and the stress and struggle of the 
 past two years added to its charm. Still, to his as- 
 tonishment, he thought of the sterner and more strenu- 
 ous life he had led on the western plains with a faint, 
 half-tender regret. 
 
 By and by Edgar's laugh rang out. 
 
 " The change in my brother is remarkable," Ethel 
 declared. " It was a very happy thought that made 
 us let him go with you." 
 
 " I'm not responsible," George rejoined. " You 
 have the country to thank. In some way, it's a hard 
 land ; but it's a good one." 
 
 " Perhaps something is due to Miss Taunton's in- 
 fluence." 
 
 Edgar leaned over the back of the seat. 
 
 " That," he said, " is a subject of which I've a mo- 
 nopoly; and I've volumes to say upon it as soon as 
 there's a chance of doing it justice. George, I hear 
 that Singleton, who told us about the wheat, is home
 
 GEORGE MAKES UP HIS MIND 377 
 
 on a visit. Stephen has asked him over; you must 
 meet him." 
 
 George said he would be glad to do so, and turned 
 to Ethel when Edgar resumed his conversation with his 
 brother. 
 
 " I wired Herbert to have everything ready at my 
 place, though I shall spend the night at Brantholme." 
 
 " The Lodge is let. Didn't you know ? " 
 
 " I understood that the man's tenancy ran out a few 
 weeks ago." 
 
 " He renewed it. Herbert didn't know you were 
 coming over ; the terms were good." 
 
 " Then I'm homeless for a time." 
 
 " Oh, no ! " said Ethel. " Stephen wanted me to in- 
 sist on your coming with us now, but I know you will 
 want to see Muriel and have a talk with her. How- 
 ever, we'll expect you to come and take up your quar- 
 ters with us to-morrow." 
 
 George looked at her in some surprise. 
 
 " I'd be delighted, but Herbert will expect me to 
 stay with him, and, of course " 
 
 "Sylvia hadn't arrived this afternoon; she was at 
 Mrs. Kettering's," Ethel told him. " But remember 
 that you must stay with us until you make your ar- 
 rangements. We should find it hard to forgive you 
 if you went to anybody else." 
 
 " I wouldn't think of it, only that Herbert's the ob- 
 vious person to entertain me," George replied, though 
 he was a little puzzled by the insistence, and Ethel 
 abruptly began to talk of something else. 
 
 Darkness came, but there were gleams of cheerful 
 light from roadside cottages, and George found the 
 fresh moist air and the shadowy woods they skirte(|
 
 378 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 pleasantly familiar. This was the quiet English 
 countryside he loved, and a sense of deep and tranquil 
 content possessed him. He failed to notice that Ethel 
 cleverly avoided answering some of his questions and 
 talked rather more than usual about matters of small 
 importance. At length they reached the Brantholme 
 gates, and Stephen looked down as George alighted. 
 
 " We'll expect you over shortly ; I'll send for your 
 baggage," he said as he drove off. 
 
 George, to his keen disappointment, found only Mrs. 
 Lansing waiting for him in the hall, though she re- 
 ceived him very cordially. 
 
 " Herbert had to go up to London ; he didn't get 
 your wire in time to put off the journey," she ex- 
 plained. " I'm sorry he can't be back for a few days." 
 
 " It doesn't matter ; he has to attend to his business," 
 George rejoined. " But where's Sylvia? " 
 
 " She hasn't come back from Susan's," said Mrs. 
 Lansing, quickly changing the subject and explaining 
 why Herbert had re-let the Lodge. After that, she 
 asked George questions until she sent him off to pre- 
 pare for dinner. 
 
 George was perplexed as well as disappointed. 
 Neither Ethel nor Muriel seemed inclined to speak 
 about Sylvia it looked as if they had some reason 
 for avoiding any reference to her; but he assured him- 
 self that this was imagination, and during dinner he 
 confined his inquiries to other friends. When it was 
 over and Muriel led him into the drawing-room, his 
 uneasiness grew more keen. 
 
 " Herbert thought you would like to know as soon 
 as possible how things were going," Muriel said, as she 
 took a big envelope from a drawer and gave it to him.
 
 GEORGE MAKES UP HIS MIND 379 
 
 " He told me this was a rough statement of your busi- 
 ness affairs." 
 
 " Thanks," said George, thrusting it carelessly into 
 his pocket. " I must study it sometime. But I've 
 been looking forward all day to meeting Sylvia. 
 Wouldn't Susan let her come? " 
 
 Mrs. Lansing hesitated, and then, leaning forward, 
 laid her hand on his arm. 
 
 " I've kept it back a little, George ; but you must be 
 told. I'm afraid it will be a shock Sylvia is to 
 marry Captain Bland in the next few weeks." 
 
 George rose and turned rather gray in the face, as 
 he leaned on the back of a chair. 
 
 " I suppose," he said hoarsely, " there's no doubt of 
 this?" 
 
 " It's all arranged." Mrs. Lansing made a compas- 
 sionate gesture. " I can't tell you how sorry I am, 
 or how hateful it was to have to give you such news." 
 
 " I can understand why Sylvia preferred to leave it 
 to you," he said slowly. " How long has this matter 
 been going on ? " 
 
 Mrs. Lansing's eyes sparkled with anger. 
 
 " I believe it began soon after you left. I don't 
 know whether Sylvia expects me to make excuses for 
 her, but I won't do anything of the kind; there are 
 none that could be made. She has behaved shame- 
 fully !" 
 
 " One must be just," George said with an effort. 
 " After all, she promised me nothing." 
 
 " Perhaps not in so many words. But she knew 
 what you expected, and I have no doubt she led you to 
 believe " 
 
 George raised his hand.
 
 380 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " I think there's nothing to be said the thing 
 must be faced somehow. I feel rather badly hit ; you 
 won't mind if I go out and walk about a little? " 
 
 Mrs. Lansing was glad to let him go; the sight of 
 his hard-set face hurt her. In another minute he was 
 walking up and down the terrace, but he stopped pres- 
 ently and leaned on the low wall. Hitherto he had 
 believed in Sylvia with an unshaken faith, but now a 
 flood of suspicion poured in on him; above all, there 
 was the telling fact that as soon as he had gone, she 
 had begun to lead on his rival. The shock he had suf- 
 fered had brought George illumination. Sylvia could 
 never have had an atom of affection for him; she had 
 merely made his loyalty serve her turn. She had done 
 so even before she married Dick Marston; though he 
 had somehow retained his confidence in her then. He 
 had been a fool from the beginning! 
 
 The intense bitterness of which he was conscious 
 was wholly new to him, but it was comprehensible. 
 Just in all his dealings, he expected honesty from 
 others, and, though generous in many ways, he had 
 not Eland's tolerant nature; he looked for more than 
 the latter and had less charity. There was a vein of 
 hardness in the man who had loved Sylvia largely be- 
 cause he believed in her. Trickery and falseness were 
 abhorrent to him, and now the woman he had wor- 
 shiped stood revealed in* her deterrent reality. 
 
 After a while he pulled himself together, and, going 
 back to the house, entered Herbert's library where, 
 less because of his interest in the matter than as a re- 
 lief from painful thoughts, he opened the envelope 
 given him and took out the statement. For a few mo- 
 ments the figures puzzled him, and then he broke into
 
 GEORGE MAKES UP HIS MIND 381 
 
 a bitter laugh. The money that he had entrusted to his 
 cousin's care had melted away. 
 
 During the next two or three minutes he leaned 
 back, motionless, in his chair ; then he took up a pencil 
 and lighted a cigar. Since he was ruined, he might as 
 well ascertain how it had happened, and two facts be- 
 came obvious from his study of the document : Her- 
 bert had sold sound securities, and had mortgaged 
 land ; and then placed the proceeds in rubber shares. 
 This was perhaps permissible, but it did not explain 
 what had induced an astute business man to hold the 
 shares until they had fallen to their remarkably low 
 value. There was a mystery here, and George in his 
 present mood was keenly suspicious. He had no doubt 
 that Herbert had left the statement because it would 
 save him the unpleasantness of giving a personal ex- 
 planation; moreover, George believed that he had left 
 home with that purpose. Then he made a few rough 
 calculations, which seemed to prove that enough re- 
 mained to buy and stock a farm in western Canada. 
 This was something, though it did not strike him as a 
 matter of much consequence, and he listlessly smoked 
 out his cigar. Then he rose and rejoined Mrs. Lan- 
 sing. 
 
 " If you don't mind, I'll go over to Wests' to-mor- 
 row," he said. " They pressed me to spend some 
 time with them, and there are arrangements to be 
 made on which they want my opinion. Edgar is 
 taking up land in Canada." 
 
 Mrs. Lansing looked troubled. 
 
 " Was there anything disturbing in the paper Her- 
 bert gave me for you? He doesn't tell me much about 
 his business, but I gathered that he was vexed about
 
 382 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 some shares he bought on your account. I should be 
 sorry if they have gone down." 
 
 " You would hardly understand ; the thing's a little 
 complicated," George said with reassuring gentleness. 
 " I'm afraid I have lost some money; but, after all, it 
 isn't my worst misfortune. I'll have a talk with Her- 
 bert as soon as he comes home." 
 
 He left Brantholme the next morning and was re- 
 ceived by Ethel when he arrived at Wests'. 
 
 " We have been expecting you," she said cordially. 
 
 " Then you know ? " 
 
 " Yes. I'm very sorry ; but I suppose it will hardly 
 bear talking about. Stephen is waiting for you; he's 
 taking a day off and Edgar's friend, Singleton, ar- 
 rives to-night." 
 
 Singleton duly made his appearance, but he was not 
 present when George and Stephen West sat down for 
 a talk after dinner in the latter's smoking-room. 
 Presently George took out the statement and handed 
 it to his host. 
 
 " I want advice badly and I can't go to an outsider 
 for it," he said. " I feel quite safe in confiding in 
 you." 
 
 West studied the document for a while before he 
 looked up. 
 
 " The main point to be decided is whether you 
 should sell these shares at once for what they will 
 bring, or wait a little? With your permission, we'll 
 ask Singleton ; he knows more about the matter than 
 anybody else." 
 
 Singleton came in and lighted a cigar, and then 
 listened carefully, with a curious little smile, while 
 West supplied a few explanations.
 
 GEORGE MAKES UP HIS MIND 383 
 
 " Hold on to these shares, even if you have to make 
 a sacrifice to do so," he advised. 
 
 " But they seem to be almost worthless," George 
 objected. 
 
 " Perhaps I had better go into the matter fully," said 
 Singleton. " I'll do so on the understanding that what 
 I'm about to tell you reaches nobody else." 
 
 George looked at West, who nodded. 
 
 " Well," explained Singleton, " I've come over on a 
 flying visit about this rubber business. The original 
 company the one in which you hold shares was 
 got up mainly with the idea of profiting by the rather 
 reckless general buying of such stock. Its tropical 
 possessions were badly managed, though a little good 
 rubber was shipped, and when prices reached their 
 highest point Mr. Lansing sold out." 
 
 " If he had sold my shares at the same time, there 
 should have been a satisfactory margin?" 
 
 " Undoubtedly. Extensive selling, however, shakes 
 the confidence of speculators, and a man desirous of 
 unloading would accordingly prefer everybody else to 
 hold on." 
 
 " I think I am beginning to understand now," 
 George said grimly. 
 
 " Then," Singleton went on, " a new company was 
 projected by the promoters of the first one, and I was 
 sent out to report on its prospects. At the last mo- 
 ment Mr. Lansing withdrew, but his associates sent 
 me south again. The slump he had foreseen came; 
 nobody wanted rubber shares in any but firmly es- 
 tablished and prosperous companies. Lansing had 
 cleared out in time and left his colleagues to face a 
 crushing loss."
 
 384 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " I don't see how all this bears upon the subject," 
 George interrupted. 
 
 " Wait. You may be thankful Lansing didn't sell 
 your shares. I found that the company could be 
 placed upon a paying basis, and, what is more, that 
 the older one possessed resources its promoters had 
 never suspected. In fact, I discovered how its out- 
 put could be greatly increased at an insignificant cost. 
 I came home at once with a scheme which has been 
 adopted, and I've every reason to believe that there 
 will be marked rise in the shares before long. Any- 
 way, there's no doubt that the company will be able 
 to place high-class rubber on the market at a cost 
 which will leave a very satisfactory margin." 
 
 George was conscious of strong relief. It looked 
 as if his loss would be small, and there was a chance 
 of his stock becoming valuable; but another thought 
 struck him. 
 
 " When was it that Herbert sold his shares ? " 
 
 " At the beginning of last winter." 
 
 " Shortly before we mentioned that you might come 
 home," West interposed pointedly. 
 
 This confirmed George's suspicions; he could read- 
 ily understand Herbert's preferring that he should 
 stay away, but he remembered that it was Sylvia's let- 
 ter which had decided him to remain in Canada. In 
 the statement left him, he had been charged with hall 
 of certain loans Herbert had made to her, and he won- 
 dered whether this pointed to some collusion between 
 them. He thought it by no means improbable. 
 
 " I understand that Herbert knows nothing about 
 these new developments, and has no idea that the fu- 
 ture of the two undertakings is promising? " he said.
 
 GEORGE MAKES UP HIS MIND 385 
 
 Singleton laughed. 
 
 " Not the slightest notion. If he suspected it, there 
 would be nothing to prevent his buying shares; noth- 
 ing will transpire until the shareholders' meeting, 
 which will not be held for some time. Lansing re- 
 tired and sold out, because he was convinced that both 
 companies were worthless." He paused and added 
 dryly : " I can't see why we should enlighten him." 
 
 " Nor can I," responded George ; and West nodded. 
 
 " Then," said Singleton, " when Lansing learns the 
 truth, it will be too late for him to profit by the knowl- 
 edge. I believe he has thrown away the best chance 
 he ever had." 
 
 Shortly afterward Edgar came in and they talked 
 of something else; but two days later Herbert returned 
 and George went over to Brantholme. He was shown 
 into the library where Herbert was sitting, and the lat- 
 ter was on his guard when he saw his cousin's face. 
 He greeted him affably, however, and made a few in- 
 quiries about his farming. 
 
 George stood looking at him with a fixed expres- 
 sion. 
 
 "I think," he said shortly, "we had better talk 
 business." 
 
 " Oh, well," replied Herbert. " I suppose you have 
 studied my statement. I needn't say that I regret the 
 way matters have turned out; but one can't foresee 
 every turn of the market, or avoid a miscalculation 
 now and then. It would hurt me if I thought this 
 thing had anything to do with your going to Ste- 
 phen's." 
 
 " We won't discuss that. I gave you authority to 
 look after my affairs; I want it back."
 
 386 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 Herbert took a document from a drawer and laid it 
 on the table. 
 
 " Here it is. But won't you let me try to straighten 
 matters out ? " 
 
 " Can they be straightened out? " 
 
 " Well," said Herbert with some embarrassment, 
 " I'm afraid there's a serious loss, but it would be 
 wiser to face it and sell off the shares." 
 
 " I can do what seems most desirable without any 
 further assistance." 
 
 George leaned forward and, as he picked up the 
 document, a flush crept into his cousin's face. 
 
 " I hardly expected you would take this line. Do 
 you think it's right to blame me because I couldn't an- 
 ticipate the fall in value?" 
 
 " It strikes me that the situation is one that had 
 better not be discussed between us," George rejoined, 
 with marked coldness. " Besides, my opinion won't 
 count for much in face of the very satisfactory finan- 
 cial results you have secured. I'm sorry for what has 
 happened, on Muriel's account." 
 
 He turned and went out ; and met Ethel on reaching 
 West's house. 
 
 " I must try to arrange for an interview with Syl- 
 via and Captain Bland," he told her. " There are 
 matters that should be explained to them." 
 
 "Won't it be painful?" 
 
 " That can't be allowed to count." 
 
 " After all," said Ethel thoughtfully, " it's no doubt 
 the proper course." 
 
 A week later he visited Mrs. Kettering's, and was 
 shown into a room where Sylvia awaited him alone. 
 After the first glance at him, she turned her eyes away.
 
 GEORGE MAKES UP HIS MIND 387 
 
 " George," she said, " I'm afraid I've behaved 
 badly. Can you forgive me ? " 
 
 " I think so," he answered with a forced smile. 
 " Anyway, I'll try, and I'd like you to be happy. But 
 it wouldn't be flattering if I pretended that I wasn't 
 hurt." 
 
 " Ah," she exclaimed, " you were always so gener- 
 ous!" 
 
 He stood silent a moment or two looking at her. 
 She had cunningly tricked him and killed his love ; but 
 she was very attractive with her pretty, helpless air. 
 He knew this was false, but there was no profit in bit- 
 terness ; he would not cause her pain. 
 
 " It's more to the purpose that I'm hard, which is 
 fortunate in several ways. But I came to talk about 
 the farm ; that is why I suggested that Captain Bland 
 should be present." 
 
 " The farm ? " Sylvia regarded him with a trace 
 of mockery. " That you should think of it is so 
 characteristic of you! " 
 
 George smiled. 
 
 " I can't help my matter-of-fact nature, and I've 
 found it serviceable. Anyway, the farm must be 
 thought of." He laid a hand gently on her shoulder. 
 "Sylvia, I'm told that Bland isn't rich. If he loves 
 you, take him fully into your confidence." 
 
 She blushed, which he had scarcely expected. 
 
 " I have done so at least, I allowed Herbert to 
 explain there is nothing hidden." Then her tone 
 changed to one of light raillery. " You were always 
 an extremist, George; you can't hit the happy medium. 
 Once you believed I was everything that was most 
 admirable, and now "
 
 388 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " I think you have done right and wisely in letting 
 Bland know how things stand. It was only my inter- 
 est in your future that warranted w r hat I said." 
 
 " Well," she replied, " we will go up and talk to 
 him; he's waiting. You can give your account to 
 him." 
 
 George followed her, but for a while he was con- 
 scious of a certain restraint, which he fancied was 
 shared by Bland. It was difficult to talk about indif- 
 ferent subjects, and he took out some papers. 
 
 " I came to explain the state of Sylvia's Canadian 
 affairs; she wished you to know," he said. " If you 
 will give me a few minutes, I'll try to make things 
 clear." 
 
 Bland listened gravely, and then made a sign of sat- 
 isfaction. 
 
 " It's obvious that Sylvia placed her property in 
 most capable hands. We can only give you our sin- 
 cere thanks." 
 
 " There's a point to be considered," George re- 
 sumed. " Have you decided what to do with the 
 property ? " 
 
 " Sylvia and I have talked it over; we thought of 
 selling. I don't see how we could carry on the farm." 
 
 "If you will let the matter stand over for a few 
 weeks, I might be a purchaser. The land's poor, but 
 there's a good deal of it, and I believe that, with proper 
 treatment, it could be made to pay." 
 
 Sylvia looked astonished, Bland slightly embar- 
 rassed. 
 
 " We never contemplated your buying the place," 
 he said. 
 
 " I've grown fond of it; I believe I understand how
 
 GEORGE MAKES UP HIS MIND 389 
 
 it should be worked. There's no reason why either of 
 you should object to my becoming a purchaser." 
 
 " I suppose that's true," Bland agreed. " Anyway, 
 I can promise that we'll do nothing about the matter 
 until we hear from you ; I don't think there's any like- 
 lihood of our disputing about the price. You can fix 
 that at what it's worth to you." 
 
 George changed the subject ; and when he went out, 
 Sylvia smiled at Bland. 
 
 ' You needn't have been so sensitive about his buy- 
 ing the farm," she said. " It will have to be sold." 
 
 " I suppose so, but I wish we could have given it to 
 him." 
 
 Sylvia touched his cheek caressingly. 
 
 " Don't be foolish ; it's out of the question. You 
 will have to be economical enough as it is, but you 
 shan't make any sacrifice that isn't strictly necessary." 
 
 During the next few weeks George made some vis- 
 its among his friends, but he returned to the Wests 
 shortly before Edgar sailed for Canada. On the night 
 preceding his departure they were sitting together 
 when Edgar looked at him thoughtfully. 
 
 " George," he remarked, " I wonder if it has ever 
 struck you that you're a very short-sighted person? 
 I mean that you don't realize where your interest 
 lies." 
 
 " It's possible," said George. " What particular 
 oversight are you referring to? " 
 
 " It isn't easy to answer bluntly, and if I threw out 
 any delicate suggestions, they'd probably be wasted. 
 You saw a good deal of Flora Grant, and if you had 
 any sense you would have recognized what kind of 
 girl she is."
 
 390 RANCHING FOR SYLVIA 
 
 " Miss Grant doesn't need your praise." 
 
 " I'm glad you admit it ; appreciation's sometimes 
 mutual. Now I can't undertake to say what Flora 
 implied from your visits, but I've no doubt about what 
 her father expected." 
 
 The blood crept into George's face as he remem- 
 bered Grant's manner during their last interview. 
 
 " I did nothing that could have led him to be- 
 lieve " 
 
 " Oh, no ! " said Edgar. " You behaved with the 
 greatest prudence; perhaps frigid insensibility would 
 describe it better. Of course this is a deplorable in- 
 trusion, but I feel I must point out that it may not be 
 too late yet." 
 
 " I've felt greatly tempted to buy Sylvia's farm," 
 George said thoughtfully. 
 
 " That's good news. If you're wise, you'll consider 
 what I've said." 
 
 George did so after Edgar's departure, though the 
 idea was not new to him. He had long been sensible 
 of Flora's charm, and had now and then felt in Can- 
 ada that it would not be difficult to love her. Since 
 he had learned the truth about Sylvia, Flora had oc- 
 cupied a prominent place in his mind. By degrees a 
 desire for her had grown stronger; he had seen how 
 admirable in many ways she was, how staunch and 
 fearless and upright. Still, he feared to go back ; she 
 was proud and might scorn his tardy affection. He 
 grew disturbed and occasionally moody, and then one 
 day a cablegram was delivered to him. 
 
 " Believe you had better come back," it read, and 
 was signed by Helen Taunton. 
 
 George understood what it was intended to convey,
 
 GEORGE MAKES UP HIS MIND 391 
 
 and before night he had arranged to purchase Sylvia's 
 farm. 
 
 Three days later he was crossing the Atlantic with 
 an eager and thankful heart. 
 
 THE END
 
 .