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 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 University of California. 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 Class
 
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 THE 
 
 LADY OF MARK 
 
 BY 
 
 SIDNEY C. KENDALL 
 THE 
 
 Hbbey press 
 
 PUBLISHERS 
 
 114 
 
 FIFTH AVENUE 
 
 XonOon NEW YORK /Dbontreal
 
 Copyriglit, iQoi, 
 
 by 
 
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 abbeg iprees
 
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 URL 
 
 3^o^^'K\\^ 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. " Westward Ho ! " 5 
 
 II. " What Manner of Man is This ? " 11 
 
 III. A Ho.ME IN THE Wilderness 19 
 
 IV. The Settler's First Battle 28 
 
 V. The Stranger's Camp 40 
 
 VI. Helen's Narrative 53 
 
 VII. Return of the " Owl " 69 
 
 VIII. The Earth is the Landlord's and the Ful- 
 ness Thereof 80 
 
 IX. Love's Dilemma 93 
 
 X. A Flight with the " Owl " 102 
 
 XI. " Through Fire and Flood " 119 
 
 XII. " All's Well that Ends Well " 133 
 
 Supplement 172
 
 THE LADY OF MARK. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 " WESTWARD HO ! " 
 
 An ox-wagon heavily laden with settler's 
 effects was lumbering along a rough bush road. 
 A sleek looking cow followed behind, attached 
 by the maternal tie to a calf in the rear end of the 
 wagon. Beside the oxen there strode, English- 
 like, a sturdy Devonshire farmer. On the 
 wagon, with seats composed of bedding, were 
 three won. en and two children. A young man 
 rode in advance on a handsome mare. It was 
 the outfit of a well-equipped and desirable 
 party of emigrants Avho may be introduced as 
 John and Susan Raleigh, their unmarried 
 daughter, Helen, their married son, Peter, his 
 wife and two children. 
 
 It is but ten days since they landed from 
 Plymouth. They have furnished themselves as 
 theirmcans allowed ; they have secured an allot- 
 ment in the Free-Grant Lands and now for 
 two days they have been toiling through the 
 Canadian wilderness toward their new home. 
 
 5
 
 6 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 They needed the courage of their English hearts, 
 for the outlook was cheerless in the extreme. 
 " Roughing it in the Bush," sounds very 
 pleasantly in English magazines, but the re- 
 ality struck them very differently. The ex- 
 pectations they had formed in the office of the 
 Emigration agent were not yet realized. 
 
 There, when the country was spread before 
 them in colored maps it looked very smooth 
 and bright. A colonization road had been 
 opened by the Government through attractive- 
 looking townships whose post-offices and school 
 sections were carefully indicated. As to the 
 reality : The Government road was this mis- 
 erable trail that was racking their wagon ; four 
 posts, twelve miles apart, marked the bounda- 
 ries of a township ; allotment lines were simply 
 marks on the trees ; as for schools and post- 
 offices, alas ! they were only the shadows of 
 good things to come. 
 
 The agent had assured them that it was a 
 magnificent country and all that it needed was a 
 population. But the first comers who settle 
 miles from neighbors and commence a life- 
 long struggle with the stubborn bush find 
 that the lack of a population is a serious 
 matter. So our friends thought as they toiled 
 and creaked along their rugged way. Around 
 them stretched the interminable bush man- 
 tling the swelling hills and smothering the 
 valleys. Sometimes they were for miles over- 
 shadowed with dense foliage, at other times 
 surrounded by dreary reaches of barren and
 
 " Westward Ho ! " 7 
 
 blackened trunks, indicating the ravages of 
 forest fires. Occasionally they passed a clear- 
 ing where a settler would be seen hoeing his 
 crop among the tangled roots, and where the 
 poor cabin and the dismal array of stumps 
 formed a depressing picture. Sometimes the 
 settler would come out to greet them and 
 ply them with questions as to their destina- 
 tion. The eagerness with which the hope 
 was expressed that they might settle near was 
 pathetic evidence of the loneliness of bush 
 life. The testimonies they received from 
 different settlers was very conflicting. Some 
 were desponding and hopeless, others the re- 
 verse. On the whole the words of the agent 
 were confirmed : 
 
 " The soil is good, and as the country fills up 
 you will thrive if you work hard ! " 
 
 They approached a strip of country appar- 
 ently not fit for settlement. A rocky slope 
 covered with juniper bushes, and stunted spruce 
 rose before them. As they paused to rest the 
 oxen before attempting the ascent, they ob- 
 served a house and clearing at a little distance. 
 
 A wretched looking woman was hastening 
 toward them. With rags and dirt the woman 
 looked miserable, but her appearance was not 
 that of one born to poverty and hardship. Her 
 wan and wasted features bore traces of refine- 
 ment that indicated a higher station in life. 
 Oh ! what a tale she had to tell of toil, hard- 
 ship and want, of dreary loneliness, of sickness 
 unrelieved, of the burial of children among the
 
 8 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 stumps of their wretched clearing. The poor 
 woman became almost hysterical as she 
 cried : 
 
 " Go back ! Go back ! You had better have 
 gone to the bottom of the sea than come to 
 this horrible place." 
 
 Just then her husband appeared. He gently { 
 checked her lamentations and remarked : 
 
 " It is not many who are so unfortunate as 
 we have been. We are not adapted to this 
 kind of life. You will do better." 
 
 There was a quiet dignity about him which re- 
 vealed the gentleman. And although he looked 
 worn with toil and want there was a steadiness 
 about his tone and a gleam in his eyes which 
 indicated that with a fair chance he would 
 succeed yet. 
 
 " Where do you propose to settle ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " We are going to the township of Mark," 
 was the reply. 
 
 " The township of Mark," said the stranger, 
 " begins on the top of that ridge and the clear- 
 ings begin at the foot of the farther slope. You 
 must be near your destination." 
 
 " Our lot is Number Twenty-Five in the 
 Second concession," said Raleigh. 
 
 At this the stranger started as though sur- 
 prised. He swept the company and their 
 equipment with a quiet, searching glance and 
 replied : 
 
 " If you are able to secure Number Twenty- 
 Five you will commence with better prospects
 
 " Westward Ho ! " 9 
 
 than most of us. But I shall be glad, for you 
 will be within a mile of us and we are in need 
 of neighbors. The first house you come to 
 will be Dr. Thompson's, he is your nearest 
 neighbor, and I am sure he will be glad to wel- 
 come you." 
 
 Then once more " the oxen strained their 
 strong shoulders to the creaking yoke" and 
 the wagon rumbled forward. The young man 
 in his impatience rode on and was lost to 
 sight. 
 
 There was another incident too pretty to be 
 omitted. The younger of the three women 
 had gathered a variety of articles from their 
 stores and during the conversation she had dis- 
 mounted and poured them into the lap of the 
 poor creature whose piteous tale had touched 
 her heart. But that was not all. Pity is good, 
 help is better, but sympathy is best of all. 
 She put her strong young arms about the 
 wasted form and with a few kind and brave 
 words she soothed the agitated spirit. She 
 said the best things that could have been 
 said : 
 
 " Surely the worst is over now. Every one 
 says the country only needs settlers and the 
 agent's office was crowded when we were there. 
 Others are coming and it won't be so lonely 
 now." 
 
 Then with true womanly tact she added : 
 
 " I am glad we are to have you for a 
 neighbor; it would be dreadful to be alone in 
 thesQ wpodb. You must come over and sec us
 
 10 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 when we are settled. Remember we are to be 
 friends," 
 
 She left the poor woman quietly weeping be- 
 side the track and pushed on after the wagon 
 which was outlined against the sky on the 
 summit of the hill.
 
 "What Manner of Man is This?" ii 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 " WHAT MANNER OF MAN IS THIS ? " 
 
 Half a mile from the ridge the road passed 
 a clearing of about five acres, neatly fenced, 
 although still encumbered with stumps. The 
 house, built of squared logs, was considerably 
 better than the usual cabin. There was also 
 an outbuilding and an unfinished barn. 
 
 At the farther end of the clearing the sound 
 of an ax guides us to a recess in the bush 
 where two men are squaring timber. One of 
 them is a man of about twenty-five, tall and 
 slight, but of a lithe and sinew}'- frame. A 
 heavy black mustache and crisp black hair 
 adorn a somewhat intellectual countenance. 
 He wears the regulation costume of the bush, 
 brown duck pants, stoga boots, coarse woolen 
 shirt and big straw hat. A strap round his 
 loins holds the sheaths of a dirk knife and a 
 hatchet. He stands upon the log and wields 
 the ax with energy and skill. The other 
 man is a negro and the relation between them 
 is evidently that of master and man, although 
 their labors are equally divided. They seem 
 to be getting out timbers for the completion 
 of the barn.
 
 12 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 This young man is the Dr. Thompson re- 
 ferred to in the last chapter. The title was 
 genuine and how an M. D. came to be so lo- 
 cated and so employed must now be explained. 
 
 Richard Thompson was the son of a well-to- 
 do lumber merchant. His father gave him a 
 good education and his prospects were all that 
 a young man could desire. His mother's 
 earnest wish was that he should enter the 
 Christian ministry. This, however, had been 
 overruled by his father Mdio gave him his 
 choice between the professions of Law and 
 Medicine. Richard chose the latter, probably 
 with the view to pleasing both parents, for upon 
 receiving his degree he offered himself to the 
 church for service in the foreiCTn field. At the 
 time of which we write Medical Missions had 
 not attained to their present prominence and 
 the church of his choice was not able to em- 
 ploy him at once. It was proposed to put him 
 on the list of reserves. Against this he ob- 
 jected, protesting that in the Christian warfare 
 there could be no reserves. He was now a 
 qualified physician ; with his ability and social 
 standinfT no doubt a comfortable career awaited 
 him. But his impetuous spirit would not 
 content itself with kid gloves and walking-stick 
 and a genteel city practice. He wanted peril, 
 adventure and sacrifice ; and if the foreign 
 field were denied him he would seek a field at 
 home. Those were the Free-Grant days and 
 the church was hard pushed to overtake 
 the multitudes who were thronging into the
 
 "What Manner of Man is This?" 13 
 
 bush. The need of medical help was still 
 greater, for few of the new townships could 
 offer anything like a paying practice. Many 
 and piteous were the stories of sickness and 
 suffering remote from skilled attention. Minis- 
 ters to preach and doctors to practice were 
 both wanted, and it occurred to Richard 
 Thompson that the man who could both preach 
 and practice would find plenty of good work 
 in the " back settlements." As his practice 
 was not likely to support him he decided to 
 secure a grant of land and occupy it as a set- 
 tler while he did what he could for the bodies 
 .and souls of his neighbors. Strange as it may 
 appear to some this young man surrendered 
 his prospects of wealth and popularity and 
 elected to undergo the hardships of the bush 
 that he might in some measure serve the cause 
 of God and humanity. Had it been in our 
 own time he would have been called a crank, 
 but that convenient word was not then invent- 
 ed, so his friends shrugged their shoulders and 
 called him a fool. 
 
 However, he bought a good saddle-horse 
 and a yoke of oxen, loaded up a wagon with 
 settlers* effects and started for the north. 
 His sole companion was Black Caesar, who for 
 many years had been the cook of his father's 
 lumber camp. Black Caesar vowed that he 
 would follow Doctor Richard to the end of 
 the earth. 
 
 Doctor Thompson's enterprise was not so 
 foolish as some people thought it. City born
 
 14 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 and college trained, he was, like most Canadi- 
 ans, a man of action. The wild, free life of 
 forest, mountain and stream had for him an 
 irresistible charm. In his father's camps he 
 had gained considerable experience of bush 
 life. Pie was at home on horseback, on snow- 
 shoes, or in the bark canoe. Few were more 
 expert with the ax, the rifle and other imple- 
 ments of forest craft. Such a man, with such 
 an effective auxiliary as Black Caesar, needed 
 not to fear that his undertaking was hopeless. 
 On the whole the life he chose with the de- 
 mands it made upon the best resources of his 
 manhood, was far more worthy than the soft, 
 aimless existence that satisfies too many of 
 our city men. 
 
 Be that as it may, three years have passed 
 and Dr. Thompson is not yet discouraged. 
 Three years of hard work and many disap- 
 pointments. Settlement had proceeded very 
 slowly, but by this time his services were in 
 demand by all who were sick and miserable 
 for twenty miles around, so that his practice 
 had grown if his income had not. Such was 
 the destitution of the new settlers that most 
 of his services had to be given freely. It was 
 seldom he received a fee in cash, but many of 
 his patients repaid his services with labor. 
 Thus he had got a good house built and several 
 acres under cultivation. It had come to be 
 understood at last that he had sacrificed better 
 prospects to share the hard lot of the pioneers, 
 so that when on the Sabbath day he called the
 
 "What Manner of Man is This?" 15 
 
 people together to worship God his words had 
 weight as coming from one whose life illus- 
 trated his preaching. Black Caesar kept the 
 house, hunted, fished and pushed on the work 
 of the farm. In fact the negro's trapping 
 yielded more financial results than the Doctor's 
 practise. 
 
 We found Dr. Thompson and Black Caesar 
 getting out timbers for a new barn. 
 
 " Doctor Richard," said Caesar, " Dars a man 
 comin' up dar in de camp." 
 
 The Doctor peered through the trees and 
 remarked : 
 
 " And there's a wagon coming down the 
 ridge. Here are more settlers, Caesar. We 
 must go and meet them." 
 
 Coming to the house they found at the bars 
 a young man whose fresh complexion and 
 corduroys marked him as a newcomer. 
 
 "Is this Dr. Thompson's place ?" he in- 
 quired. 
 
 " Yes," was the reply. " Have you come to 
 stay? Are you looking for land? Do you 
 think of settling about here? " 
 
 All these questions were answered with one 
 word and the young man continued : 
 
 " My name is Raleigh. My folks are on 
 behind. Our lot is somewhere about here. Is 
 there any place where we can stay to-night ? " 
 
 " You can stay here," said the Doctor. 
 " Caisar, take the horse. Come in, Mr. Raleigh, 
 you are welcome." 
 
 He led the way into the house which was
 
 1 6' The Lady of Mark. 
 
 better furnished than most houses in the bush, 
 and contained a medical Hbrary and other in- 
 dications of its owner's craft. 
 
 A few minutes of eager conversation fol- 
 lowed, and the Doctor inquired if the new 
 settlers had selected their location. 
 
 " We have been assigned to Number Twenty- 
 Five," said Raleigh. 
 
 " No ? " said the Doctor in a tone of surprise, 
 wheeling round in his chair. " Are you sure 
 of that?" 
 
 " I believe that is the right number," said 
 Raleigh. 
 
 " Then have you not some communication 
 for me ? " inquired the Doctor, eyeing him 
 sharply. 
 
 " Why, yes," said the young man, fumbling 
 in his pocket with some confusion. "The 
 agent gave me a letter for you, but I declare I 
 had forgotten it." 
 
 The Doctor opened the envelope and read 
 as follows : 
 
 " My dear old Doc. — At last I can sat- 
 isfy you. I am sending you some settlers whom 
 you will be pleased with. You can locate 
 them on your precious Number Twenty-Five 
 without any fear that your neighborhood will 
 suffer either morally or socially. Certainly 
 not socially. By the way, my dear boy, from 
 what I have seen of one member of the party 
 I would not object to have them as neighbors 
 myself. If this increase to the population of
 
 " What Manner of Man is This ? " 17 
 
 Mark will make your life more endurable put 
 it down to the credit of 
 
 " Yours devotedly, 
 
 " Henry Grame." 
 
 After reading this letter over twice in silence 
 the Doctor took another scrutinizing glance 
 at his guest. The opinion that he formed was 
 not expressed, for just then the creaking and 
 groaning of the wagon was heard without. 
 They both moved to the door. The elder 
 Raleigh stood by his oxen surveying his sur- 
 roundings with an air of anxious calculation. 
 The women looked straight at the Doctor 
 with a look of eager, wistful inquiry natural 
 to those who have been traveling for weeks 
 toward the unknown and have at last reached 
 their destination. Dr. Thompson understood 
 that glance and it went to his heart. He 
 knew that they stood in sore need of encour- 
 agement. So he stepped forward and greeted 
 them cordially : 
 
 " You are welcome, Air. Raleigh, a thousand 
 times welcome ! " 
 
 As the men grasped hands their eyes met. 
 Something more than a greeting passed be- 
 tween them. When a man has been quickened 
 by the Spirit of God his exalted soul recog- 
 nizes another similarly endowed. The men 
 understood each other and another hand-pres- 
 sure followed. 
 
 Dr. Thompson then stepped toward the 
 wagon and said in his kindest tone:
 
 i8 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 (( 
 
 You are welcome, ladies. Women are 
 badly wanted here. You will be quite an ac- 
 quisition I assure you." 
 
 He helped them to alight and then in- 
 quired : 
 
 " Is this the whole of your party, Mr. 
 Raleigh ? " 
 
 " Why, no," said Raleigh, in some surprise. 
 *' Mother, where is Helen ? " 
 
 "She got out at that last house and walked 
 over the hill. Here she is." 
 
 As the Doctor advanced to meet the young 
 woman he thought suddenly of a certain ob- 
 scure passage in the letter he had just read. 
 His manner changed all at once from effusive 
 and almost boisterous cordiality to quiet 
 courtesy. The chief thought in his mind was : 
 
 " What a creature to be buried here in the 
 woods ! " 
 
 The corresponding thought in her mind 
 was : 
 
 " Whatever can have induced such a man 
 to adopt such a life!" 
 
 " Now," said the Doctor, when greetings 
 were over, " you must make use of my house 
 until you have had time to look about." 
 
 The ladies were shown into the house and 
 the men busied themselves in caring for the 
 animals.
 
 A Home in the Wilderness. 19 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 A HOME IN THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 Dr. Thompson's house had frequently been 
 filled with company as he had entertained all 
 newcomers until they could look up their al- 
 lotments. Black Caesar was in his glory that 
 evening. His doughnuts and pancakes were 
 at their best ; to crown all he dished up an 
 enormous omelet. To the Raleighs, fresh 
 from the green fields of Devon, everything 
 was novel. The children ran in and out, and 
 within an hour they had explored every inch of 
 the clearing and taken a census of all the live 
 stock. Their excited report included the state- 
 ment that Dr. Thompson was a brick. A black 
 man was to them a phenomenon only heard 
 of in fairy talcs and Black Caesar was regarded 
 with great solemnity. 
 
 The evening was filled with eager conver- 
 sation. News came slowly to that retreat and 
 an active mind was hungry for information. 
 The Raleighs also were full of inquiries con- 
 cerning the prospects of bush life. It was 
 gratifying to learn that their land adjoined the 
 Doctor's. 
 
 "Mr. Raleigh," said Dr. Thompson, "would
 
 5o The Lady of Mark. 
 
 you mind telling me upon what terms you 
 obtained that lot ? " 
 
 " I am not aware that there was any differ- 
 ence," replied Raleigh ; " I paid simply the 
 usual fees." 
 
 " Then you received it as an ordinary Free- 
 Grant lot. I am glad of that. Now my ad- 
 vice is that you never mention to any one what 
 that land cost you. There are reasons for 
 this which you will understand to-morrow." 
 
 The house was well furnished with bunks 
 and beds, so there was no difficulty about 
 entertaining the party at night. 
 
 " I say, Dad," whispered the younger 
 Raleigh as they turned in, " what do you sup- 
 pose is the matter with that there Number 
 Twenty-Five ? " 
 
 " I can't imagine," was the reply. " There 
 seems to be some mystery about it, but we 
 will know to-morrow." 
 
 The next morning all were stirring at day- 
 light. It was a beautiful morning. The mists 
 of night were rapidly dissolving beneath the 
 warm bright rays. The trees were bursting 
 into leaf and the earth bore the pale, green 
 tinge of early spring. The Raleighs were im- 
 patient to explore their location. 
 
 The two men proposed to set out alone, but 
 they were overruled by the Doctor. 
 
 " I propose," said he, " to take over the entire 
 company. There is a good path and I am sure 
 the ladies will enjoy the walk." 
 
 They went through the pasture where the
 
 A Home in the Wilderness. 21 
 
 Doctor's cows were grazing ; past the hollowed 
 log that held the water that was brought in 
 spouts from a passing stream ; across a field 
 where Caesar was hoeing in potatoes and corn ; 
 then over a log fence and into a narrow path 
 through the bush. Here they walked single 
 file, the two Raleighs leading with axes on 
 their shoulders and the Doctor bringing up the 
 rear. 
 
 " Doctor Thompson," said the elder Mrs. 
 Raleigh, in her broad Devonshire dialect, 
 "what have us done to deserve that the Lord 
 should raise us up such a good friend in this 
 wilderness? " 
 
 " On the other hand, Mrs. Raleigh," replied 
 the Doctor, " I might thank the Lord for send- 
 ing me such good company. I have been 
 dreading lest the lot adjoining mine should 
 fall to uncongenial neighbors." 
 
 They came to a stream which they crossed 
 on a log. 
 
 "This stream," said the Doctor, "is the 
 overflow of a spring in the ridge. It flows 
 through your land and mine and gives us an 
 unfailing supply of good water." 
 
 Soon after crossing the stream he called their 
 attention to some marks on the trees. 
 
 "These," said he, "mark the boundary be- 
 tween your lot and mine. Mr. Raleigh, you 
 are now on your own land." 
 
 The information was more important than 
 he thought. lie did not know what owner- 
 ship of land meant to an Englishman who has
 
 22 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 been all his life tilling the land of another. 
 Mr. Raleigh started. He looked at the earth, 
 the trees and the sky. Then he took his wife 
 by the hand and led her a few paces forward. 
 He pointed to the soil and his voice expressed 
 emotion. 
 
 " Mother," said he, " this is our own land. At 
 last we have a bit of God's earth for our own 
 and no landlord to drive us off." 
 
 " Party good soil too, 'pariently," said the 
 practical Peter, kicking up a layer of leaves. 
 He then gave a jerk to his belt and spat on his 
 hands, exclaiming: 
 
 " Well, Dad, where are you going to build ? " 
 
 " Hold on," said the Doctor, " let us look 
 around a little. Follow on the path, please." 
 
 In a few minutes they came to an opening 
 and found, to their surprise, about ten acres 
 of land well cleared and fenced. A still further 
 surprise awaited them when as they emerged 
 from the forest and found at the north end of 
 the clearing a house and barn. It was not 
 the original cabin type, but a house well built 
 of squared logs with a pitched roof and a 
 cellar. 
 
 " Wh6se property is this ? " inquired Raleigh. 
 
 " This is your house," replied the Doctor. 
 
 "There must be some mistake, there was 
 no mention of a house on my papers." 
 
 " Certainly not ; but you are the owner of 
 this land and all upon it. Now listen ; it is 
 quite a story and I have been saving it till 
 now."
 
 A Home in the Wilderness. 23 
 
 The company gathered around with looks of 
 interest, while the Doctor related the following 
 story : 
 
 " When I came here three years ago, the 
 only neighbor I had for several miles was the 
 occupant of this house. He was an eccentric 
 individual, evidently a man of means and ed- 
 ucation. He came here directly from England, 
 bringing with him a serving man from his old 
 home, who, until he died, was his sole com- 
 panion. He appeared to me to be a man whose 
 life was clouded and who had been driven by 
 disappointment or sorrow to bury himself from 
 the world. Here I found him, and naturally, 
 we became friends. He never confided to me 
 the secret of his life ; though I knew that a 
 great sorrow was gnawing at his heart. In 
 fact, I believe it was that which wore away his 
 life. He died in my presence. What prop- 
 erty he had in the old country and how it was 
 disposed of I never knew. Some interested 
 parties there applied to me to certify to his 
 death, and by that means I learned that he 
 was highly connected. He made me sole heir 
 of all the property he had about him. The 
 movable property I took to my house except 
 such furniture as I do not need, which still 
 remains here. The house and land I also 
 regarded as mine. But judge of my surprise 
 when I applied to be put in possession, I found 
 that my deceased friend had never legally pos- 
 sessed himself of this property. He had occu- 
 pied it previous to the survey, so that he held
 
 24 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 it only by a squatter's claim, which is not 
 transferable. So it happened that Number 
 Twenty-Five Avas still on the agent's books as 
 a vacant Free-Grant lot which might be turned 
 over to the first eligible applicant without 
 mention of its improven:icnts. 
 
 " Now the agent is an old schoolfellow and 
 a warm personal friend of mine. He agreed 
 to keep my secret. Seeing that the property 
 had been given to me, he considered, that, 
 although I could not legally own it, I was at 
 least entitled to a voice in its disposal. So he 
 promised that he would assign this lot to no 
 settlers, but such as would be acceptable to 
 me. Now I desire above all things, to build 
 up the moral and spiritual character of this 
 community, and because I believe you will 
 help me in this work I gladly consent to your 
 becoming the owners of this property. And 
 may God bless you. From my heart I con- 
 gratulate you. Bush life is a very different 
 thing when you have a good house and ten 
 acres of cleared land." 
 
 The countenances of the Doctor's hearers 
 during the delivery of this address were a study. 
 The old lady was the first to speak. 
 
 " Oh ! John, John," she said, as the tears 
 gathered in her eyes, "where was our faith? 
 Isn't it better than our prayers? Shall a man 
 serve God for naught ? " 
 
 "Well, mother," said Raleigh,"! did not 
 serve God for any such pay as this ; I was pre- 
 pared for the worst and ready to serve God
 
 A Home in the Wilderness. 25 
 
 still. But I feel fairly confounded and don't 
 know what to make of it." 
 
 " Now come inside," said the Doctor, " and 
 see what you think of your new home." 
 
 The house proved to be well built, com- 
 fortable and spacious. It contained several 
 articles of furniture, including a large cook 
 stove. 
 
 "These belong to me," said Dr. Thompson ; 
 " but as I have no room for them, you must 
 allow me to leave them here until I need them," 
 
 Below was a good cellar, dry, airy and frost- 
 proof, where, to their surprise, they found a sup- 
 ply of roots. The Doctor explained that in 
 preparation for neighbors he had cultivated a 
 field so that they might have something to go 
 on with until their own crops were ready for 
 use. There was a small extension to the house 
 through which a rill flowed, being conveyed 
 from the stream by spouts. The younger 
 women with their Devonshire instincts at once 
 pre-empted this apartment for their dairy. 
 
 " And now," exclaimed the delighted Helen, 
 "all we want is cows." 
 
 " And a market," said the Doctor. " But 
 that is coming, for the country is filling up 
 fast." 
 
 Next they explored the barn. Here above 
 the stable they found about two tons of hay. 
 
 *' You see," explained the Doctor, " in this 
 new settlement we use wild hay and we are 
 fortunate to have it in abundance. There are 
 a number of what are called beaver meadows
 
 26 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 within easy reach, and from them we draw our 
 supply. Last fall while stocking my own barn, 
 I bethought me of putting two loads in here. 
 As it will be some time before your cattle can 
 graze, you will find it acceptable." 
 
 "Dr. Thompson," said Helen, "you have 
 laid us under a world of obligation. I don't 
 know how we can ever thank you. How much 
 brighter our prospects are to-day. I feel as 
 light-hearted as a child." 
 
 Her thanks were very pleasing to the Doctor 
 and he replied with feeling : " I am glad, Miss 
 Raleigli, that what I have done has been for 
 so good a purpose. I have looked forward 
 to the coming of my new neighbors with great 
 curiosity. And I assure you that I am 
 abundantly satisfied. But now I must warn 
 you all that you have a great struggle before 
 you even now. Your undertaking is a great 
 one, and most of those who fail do so through 
 ignorance or incapacity. I don't mind telling 
 you that an occasional suggestion from some 
 one accustomed to the bush will be worth 
 more to you than gold. It is in that way that 
 I shall be able to serve you. 
 
 " Now, Mr. Raleigh, let us plan your next 
 week's work. Here are nine or ten acres of 
 land, cleared, barring the stumps. Some of it 
 is sufficiently open to be worked with the plow. 
 There you must sow your grain and peas. The 
 rest is too full of stumps. There you will have 
 to hoe in corn and roots. It is time this were 
 done. But you have a chance of a crop if the
 
 A Home in the Wilderness. 27 
 
 seed is got in without delay. Now listen to 
 my proposal. There are a number of men who 
 are going to settle their account with me by 
 labor. I have engaged with half a dozen to 
 work for me the day after to-morrow. I had 
 intended to employ them upon my barn, but 
 that can wait better than your sowing can. 
 So I propose to bring those men over here and 
 with a vigorous day's work altogether, with 
 several yoke of oxen, we can get it done. And 
 when your seed is in you can take things more 
 leisurely." 
 
 " But how are we going to pay you for all 
 this. Dr. Thompson?" 
 
 *' Easily enough. About the only currency 
 in this region is elbow-grease. Pay me with 
 your own labor some time when your own 
 affairs are not pressing." 
 
 Such a practical example of bearing one 
 another's burdens was gratifying to all.
 
 28 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE settler's FIRST BATTLE. 
 
 Unloading their goods and setting their 
 house in order occupied the first day. How 
 the children yelled and gamboled with delight 
 at the prospect of living in the forest ! With 
 what thankful hearts the elders worked ! 
 Helen and Grace took possession of the but- 
 tery, cleaned out the spouts and set up the 
 churn as though they meant business. The 
 calf was summarily weaned and the cow, fed 
 on turnips, was milked to the utmost of her 
 capacity. What a commotion there was the 
 next day when Dr. Thompson arrived with six 
 men, two yoke of oxen, plows, log-chains, hoes, 
 axes and all appliances for a big wrestle with 
 the stumps. Caesar was installed at the stove. 
 The women undertook to make a kitchen 
 garden around the house. The children ac- 
 companied the men to the field and took a 
 lively interest in the proceedings. 
 
 "The rich red soil rolled in fat waves from 
 the gliding share." Such a description scarcely 
 applies to a bush farm in its earlier stages. 
 The antics that a plow could play among Cana- 
 dian stumps was a revelation to those Devon-
 
 The Settler's First Battle. 29 
 
 shire farmers. They stirred it up somehow, 
 and with a little trimming from the hoe it was 
 ready for the seed. Oats, rye, buckwheat and 
 peas were sown. There were some fields where 
 the plow could not be used. Here they united 
 their yokes, attached a log chain to the smaller 
 stumps and hauled them out by six-ox power. 
 Corn, potatoes and turnips were put in with 
 the hoe. Around the house a considerable 
 space was planted with light garden stuff, and 
 by sundown the whole was in, in a rough kind 
 of fashion. 
 
 Under the stimulus of owning the land and 
 striking every blow for themselves the Raleighs 
 worked like heroes. They secured a further 
 loan of Black Caesar and worked under his 
 direction for a few days, as the use of the ax 
 in true bush fashion is an art that is only ac- 
 quired in the backwoods. They learned how 
 to fell the trees without a superfluous blow ; 
 how to determine where they should fall and 
 to lay them in their order on the ground ; how 
 to cut them into movable proportions and 
 roll them into piles for burning. Many a labor- 
 saving device Black Caesar taught them, for 
 truly the backwoodsman works with his head 
 as well as with his hands. After several days 
 chopping by the men, the women and children 
 worked gathering limbs and piling brush. 
 Then came the time for burning up, where- 
 at the children were delighted beyond meas- 
 ure. 
 
 So the busy weeks wore on. As the virgin
 
 30 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 soil is pure they were little troubled with weeds 
 and their crops gave promise of abundance. 
 
 They saw little of their neighbors except on' 
 Sunday when they met at different houses for 
 worship. Then they met about fifty people 
 gathered from far and near. Most of them 
 appeared to be dull and depressed as though 
 the toil and want of bush life were crushing 
 their spirits. This hour of devotion appeared 
 to be almost the only thing that tended to lift 
 their minds above the dreary routine of their 
 lonely lives. To Dr. Thompson, in his efforts 
 to lift up the people morally and intellectually, 
 the coming of the Raleighs brought a great 
 reinforcement of hopefulness and courage. 
 Mr. Raleigh was a very acceptable preacher, 
 and they alternately led the meetings. The 
 younger Raleighs were all singers and of great 
 assistance in the services. So Dr. Thompson 
 had reason to think that Number Twenty- 
 Five had been well bestowed. The path to 
 the Doctor's house was well trodden that 
 summer. The children soon learned the way, 
 much to the terror of their grandmother, who 
 imagined that all sorts of " beastes " were prowl- 
 ing about the forest. Occasionally the Doctor 
 would come over in the evening. He gen- 
 erally found them following the good old 
 English custom of resting through the twilight. 
 They would always quit work at sundown, and 
 then after supper they would light a smudge 
 for the mosquitoes and sit for an hour in the 
 open air.
 
 The Settler's First Battle. 31 
 
 Those first evenings in the strange new 
 land were full of interest. Everything was so 
 strange to them. The interminable forest that 
 mantled the hills, notched here and there by 
 clearings; the murmur of a distant cataract, 
 the strange noises of the frogs in the swamp, 
 the weird cry of the whippoorwill, the flutter- 
 ing of the night-hawk, and the hoot of the owl, 
 were all suggestions of a new country. So 
 they sat and talked of the dear old land and 
 sometimes recalled memories that started 
 tears. On those evenings Dr. Thompson was 
 always welcome. He seemed to take a great 
 interest in his new neighbors and he came 
 nearly every evening when not away on busi- 
 ness. As a native Canadian and a student of 
 human nature these newly imported characters 
 were valuable to him. He was impressed with 
 the intelligent philosophy of Mr. Raleigh, the 
 motherly common-sense of Mrs. Raleigh, the 
 practical bluntness of Peter, the genial hospi- 
 tality of Grace, and — but how Avas he im- 
 pressed with the remaining member of the 
 family ? 
 
 Helen Raleigh would impress most men at 
 first meeting as being a very superior person. 
 She was above medium height, of well devel- 
 oped, robust physique, with a pure English 
 complexion and a wealth of auburn hair. 
 Winsomeness is a characteristic of Devonshire 
 maidens; and in addition to this there was a 
 quiet dignity about Miss Raleigh that gave 
 her a commanding influence. It could soon
 
 32 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 be seen that in some respects she was superior 
 to her position. Dr. Thompson was not indif- 
 ferent to the power of her presence. They 
 were on good, friendly terms, but not intimate. 
 While Miss Raleigh's person and character 
 were attractive in the highest degree, there was 
 a reserve in her bearing that did not encourage 
 advances. The young man who had spent 
 three years in the bush thought he saw all the 
 excellencies of womanhood in Miss Raleigh, 
 and there was more of reverence than love in 
 the sentiment with which he regarded her. 
 
 They were often together, there was so much 
 in this wild forest life that Miss Raleigh 
 wanted to know. There was a creek that 
 flowed past the bottom of their land and 
 emptied into the lake about a mile below ; 
 here the Doctor kept his bark canoe and row- 
 boat. Thither they frequently made their 
 way. She was already an expert rower, but 
 the bark canoe was a novelty. In a little 
 while she was as expert with the paddle as 
 with the oars. He taught her the arts of 
 fishing, the use of the rifle and shotgun and 
 many other items of forest craft. 
 
 One evening they came up from the river 
 after sundown, when only the moonbeams 
 lighted up the silent forest aisles. It was one 
 of those delicious midsummer nights when 
 the silvery moonlight, the hovering shadows, 
 and soft breezes produce those effects that are 
 among the sweetest memories of youth and 
 love time. Miss Raleigh was in one of those
 
 The Settler's First Battle. 33 
 
 moods he had sometines observed when the 
 rising memories of the past seemed to have a 
 saddening effect. As they crossed a moon- 
 lighted, fern-clad glade where a shaft of moon- 
 light brought every leaf into view she ex- 
 claimed impulsively : 
 
 " Oh ! Dr. Thompson, why is it that moon- 
 light stirs the memory so?" 
 
 The Doctor had to admit that he did not 
 know. 
 
 " And why is it that moonlight memories are 
 always troublesome ones?" 
 
 " Perhaps you are homesick for dear old 
 England," he replied gently. " This lonely 
 bush life is hardly the thing for you. Do you 
 know I sometimes doubt if it is right for one 
 like you to be buried in this manner," 
 
 " Indeed, Dr. Thompson, I might say the 
 same of you. Who would have thought of 
 meeting a man like you in a country like this. 
 I wonder at your giving yourself up to such a 
 life." 
 
 The Doctor was embarrassed and muttered 
 something about spending his life where it 
 was most needed. 
 
 " Perhaps I may have the same reason for 
 bestowing my talents in this manner," she 
 replied. 
 
 They came to the edge of tlie bush, and 
 before them lay the clearing and the house 
 bathed in brilliant moonlight slightly veiled 
 by the m-'sts that were rising. As they 
 stood looking out upon the peaceful scene 
 
 3
 
 34 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 Miss Raleigh remarked as though thinking 
 aloud : 
 
 " These days of hard work are the happiest 
 I have known for many years." 
 
 The Doctor had often observed that with all 
 her evident superiority she was not too dainty 
 to work with her brother and father in the 
 fields, engaging in tasks more suited to a man. 
 She sometimes toiled with an energy that was 
 almost fierce. Her character seemed to be 
 made up of contradictions. She could dis- 
 pense with equal skill the honors of a court 
 or the pinched economy of a peasant's hut. 
 Sometimes she was overflowing with gaiety. 
 At other times when the Doctor arrived she 
 would be missing from the circle, and there 
 was something in the silence and depression of 
 the others which told him that he had better 
 not inquire after her. 
 
 Old Mrs. Raleigh never got over her dread 
 of wild beasts, snakes and other discreditable 
 cattle with which she surmised the woods 
 were infested. The great burden of her life 
 was the risk that was run by any member of 
 the family who had occasion to enter the 
 forest. Personally she never ventured half 
 her length from the clearing without arm- 
 ing herself with a bludgeon which, in her 
 lusty arms, would have broken the back of a 
 horse. If anv of the children were out of 
 sight for any length of time she was over- 
 whelmed with anxiety. 
 
 Events were about to prove that the old
 
 The Settler's First Battle. 35 
 
 lady's fears were not unfounded, and that there 
 was some possibility of meeting with undesir- 
 able company. We read of One who visits 
 divers portions of the earth in various disguises. 
 He commenced his enterprise in this world in 
 the form of a serpent and got the whole reptile 
 kingdom into bad odor. Since then he has 
 gone about a great deal as a roaring lion. 
 Tradition has painted him with hoofs and 
 horns. When it serves his purpose he can 
 appear as an angel of light. At the very time 
 when Mrs. Raleigh was warning all about her 
 of the perils of the woods, those very woods 
 were being traversed by the individual above- 
 mentioned in his modern and most successful 
 disguise. 
 
 It was in the month of August. The 
 Raleighs had made the pleasant discovery that 
 the woods abounded with several kinds of wild 
 fruit. There was a burnt district about two 
 miles away where raspberries were abundant. 
 Parties of women were made up to visit this 
 locality. Helen Raleigh had joined one of 
 these parties and was on her way home in 
 the evening with a pail of berries. She had 
 parted with the last of her companions and 
 was proceeding alone along the Doctor's path. 
 As she reached the brook she sat down to 
 rest. In the silence she suddenly heard the 
 snapping of twigs under an advancing foot- 
 step. Whoever or whatever was coming was 
 approaching through the woods and not along 
 the path. In a few seconds a man sprang out
 
 36 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 of the bush and stood before her. He was a 
 man in the prime of life with close-cut, iron- 
 gray hair and a heavy, gray mustache. He 
 wore a sporting suit of gray tweed and car- 
 ried a double-barreled rifle. 
 
 Miss Raleigh displayed no outward signs 
 of surprise at this appearance, but if we could 
 by any means enter into her feelings we would 
 find that her heart had almost stopped beat- 
 ing. The shock had made her senses reel and 
 a thrill of horror had paralyzed every limb. 
 The stranger started at the sight of the young 
 woman and the two remained motionless re- 
 garding each other. Miss Raleigh then mur- 
 mured in a tone of reproachful pleading : 
 
 " Sir Edward ! " 
 
 Her face was pale and composed, but there 
 was something in the set expression and the 
 quick darting glance of the eye that betokened 
 an unutterable agony of soul. 
 
 " Miss Raleigh," said the stranger, in tones 
 that were broken with emotion, "this is a 
 most unaccountable event. It is impossible 
 for me to express the surprise I feel." 
 
 " Were you looking for me ? " 
 
 " Why should 1 expect to find you here or 
 in Patagonia ? You took care that I should 
 have no knowledge of your whereabouts." 
 
 " Well, you said that you would follow me 
 to the world's end. Of course I know what it 
 usually amounts to when men like you say 
 such things. But what else has brought you 
 here? "
 
 The Settler's First Battle. 37 
 
 " Miss Raleigh, }'ou know my unhappy fate. 
 I am a vagabond in the earth. I can give no 
 reason for my presence in any place. I am 
 here because I have drifted here ; I know no 
 other reason." 
 
 " It is a singular chance that has tlirown us 
 together again after I had put the world be- 
 tween us." 
 
 " It cannot be chance. Really, I almost 
 believe in Providence. You are striving 
 against fate in attempting to keep us apart." 
 
 " Sir Edward Willougiiby, I shall not listen 
 to another word in that strain." 
 
 " Now, my dear Miss Raleigh, say no more 
 about the difference in our stations, we are 
 equal now ; I have renounced the pride of my 
 house, I have cast off all that raises me above 
 you. I could live forever in these woods if I 
 might share my life with you." 
 
 " I shall ask you to make no such sacrifice, 
 but if you wish me to believe in the sincerity 
 of your devotion I will give you a test." 
 
 " Name your test. I would give my heart's 
 blood to prove my devotion." 
 
 " Return to England, resume the duties of 
 your high estate, dismiss your evil associates, 
 redeem the memories of those you have so 
 cruelly wronged, show justice and mercy to 
 your miserable tenants — do all this if you are 
 a true man. And until you have done this I 
 tell you, once for all, the poorest peasant in 
 Englanrl is d(%'irer to me than Sir Edward 
 Willoughby."
 
 38 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 " Helen ! Helen ! all this will I do and more 
 if you will go with me and strengthen my 
 hand. This is my only salvation. This is the 
 open door of Heaven. If you spurn me away 
 I have no other hope." 
 
 Miss Raleigh lifted up her face and clasped 
 lier hands before her eyes and moaned in an- 
 guish of spirit. Then after an interval of 
 silence she became strangely calm and replied 
 in firm tones : 
 
 " Sir Edward Willoughby, if you will not do 
 right for your own sake you will not do it for 
 mine. Now I ask you at least to have the 
 kindness to leave me." 
 
 " May I not see you again?" 
 
 " Never alone. If you are a gentleman you 
 will not seek it." 
 
 " May I not see you with your friends? " 
 
 "My people are Devonshire folks and no 
 doubt would be glad to see an old neighbor." 
 
 So after all she had not entirely dismissed 
 him, he would see her again. 
 
 Sir Edward Willoughby went toward Dr. 
 Thompson's and Miss Raleigh picked up her 
 pail of berries and hurried home. 
 
 She drew her mother into the bedroom and 
 threw herself where she had been wont to fly 
 for comfort in childhood. Her overstrung 
 nerves gave way, her iron composure was gone, 
 her frame shook with convulsive weeping. She 
 gasped through her sobs : 
 
 " Oh ! mother, mother, he is here, he is 
 here."
 
 The Settler's First Battle. 39 
 
 What a world of trouble those words laid 
 upon that faitiifui mother's heart. She only- 
 said soothingly : 
 
 " My poor, wee lamb." 
 
 She stood in silence looking out of the win- 
 dow. The soul that looked out through those 
 faded blue eyes saw more than the pine tops 
 and the blue sky above them — it saw through 
 the azure veil the Throne of God, and to that 
 throne of Infinite Justice a silent appeal was 
 made.
 
 40 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE stranger's CAMP, 
 
 Dr. Thompson had been away for a couple 
 of days attending to distant patients, and on 
 his return was looking over his little estate 
 when he met at the edge of the bush the 
 stranger who has been described in our last 
 chapter. Greetings passed betweeen them. 
 The stranger then inquired for Dr. Thompson 
 and seemed surprised to learn that that indivi- 
 dual stood before him. 
 
 " Well really, now," he replied, " Beg 
 pardon, but I declare I would not have thought 
 It, 
 
 " I suppose my appearance is not very pro- 
 fessional ? " said the Doctor. 
 
 " My name is Willoughby," said the stranger, 
 " I have a sporting camp on the shore of the 
 lake and I came over to see you on business." 
 
 He was shown into the house. 
 
 " Now," he continued, " I am informed that 
 you have a very desirable negro." 
 
 " I have a colored man in my employ." 
 
 " Ah ! the same, I have no doubt. I am in- 
 formed that he is a genius for cooking, trap- 
 ping, fishing and these arts, and we were desir-
 
 The Stranger's Camp. 41 
 
 ous of getting his services for a few days. 
 Name your price if you can spare him." 
 
 " I should have no objections to his earning 
 a few dollars for himself ; he don't get much in 
 any other way," said the Doctor. 
 
 " I should imagine that money was not very 
 plentiful about here ; the prospects of the 
 country are not enticing just at present." 
 
 " It has nothing to offer any one but the 
 hardest work and the poorest living for a few 
 years," said the Doctor. 
 
 " I am amazed that any one should be 
 satisfied with that in this age of the world," 
 said Willoughby. " And, do you know, it 
 really surprised me to find a man of your 
 quality in such a region. And you seem to be 
 settled here," he glanced as he spoke toward 
 the dispensary and library. 
 
 " Yes, I am settled here, and I find plenty to 
 do," said the Doctor. 
 
 " But you have hardly a good paying prac- 
 tise, I should think." 
 
 " My cash income is very small. I live by my 
 farm," said the Doctor. 
 
 •' You will pardon me. Dr. Thompson for 
 expressing my surprise." 
 
 " I have no doubt, Mr. Willoughby, that 
 my position must seem strange to you, but I 
 have my own reasons for being here." 
 
 Dr. Thompson had been carefully observing 
 his guest, and by tliis time he had made a fairly 
 correct estimate of his character. He knew 
 that it would be useless to explain to such a
 
 42 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 man the object of his voluntary exile. Sir 
 Edward Willoughby was one of those gentle- 
 men of pleasure to whom the idea of self- 
 denial never occurs except as the conception of 
 an extinct or impossible virtue. No one but 
 an idiot (so he reasoned) ever did anything 
 except for his own personal good. Every one 
 judges the world as he finds it: and how he 
 finds it will depend very largely upon what he 
 is. Sir Edward Willoughby was selfishness in 
 the concrete, and the world he lived in was a 
 reflection of his own inner self. His ideas of life 
 in the bush had been gathered from English 
 novels. He had learned that there were often 
 " gentlemen " who had been driven to that life 
 by " circumstances over which they had no con- 
 trol." He was quite sure that whatever Dr. 
 Thompson's reasons were they had to do with 
 his own personal welfare. He would not have 
 been surprised to learn that Dr. Thompson was 
 a released convict or a criminal in hiding, nor 
 would he have thought any the worse of him 
 for such a discovery. David said in his haste, 
 " All men are liars,'" Sir Edward added a few 
 other epithets and said it deliberately. 
 
 A conversation upon general topics followed 
 and they returned to the business of the 
 evening. Finally, Caesar was dispatched to 
 the camp with a few of his effects in a hunting 
 bag. The delight of Black Caesar's heart was 
 to wait on hunting parties, to cook for them, 
 to show them where the big trout lay, to lay 
 the trail of bear or moose, tO stalk the red
 
 V 
 
 The Stranger's Camp. 43 
 
 deer, to trap mink and otter and sell the skins 
 to city sports at high rates, so he started in 
 high glee. The Doctor and his guest then 
 sauntered through the forest to the creek to 
 where Sir Edward had left his canoe. 
 
 Lake Kabiscongue is connected with the 
 great water-ways of Canada by a narrow strait. 
 Through this inlet Sir Edward Willoughby's 
 yacht had made its way. On entering the lake 
 Sir Edward had been observed to become 
 strangely interested in the shores. He fre- 
 quently went ashore unattended and visited 
 settlements to make inquiries. Their course 
 was changed in a most erratic manner. Finally 
 the yacht was brought to anchor at the mouth 
 of a small creek flowing through the township 
 of Mark. Here, to the surprise of the company. 
 Sir Edward announced his intention of staying 
 a few days to hunt and fish. He landed a 
 tent and a store of provisions; selected two 
 companions and dismissed the rest to continue 
 their cruise in the regions beyond. Life in 
 camp had proven very monotonous ; fishing 
 was a complete failure and shooting not much 
 better. Sir Edward had spent most of the 
 time rambling about alone, generally absenting 
 himself most of the day and giving his friends 
 no account of his doings. This camp on the 
 shore now demands our attention. 
 
 About the time that Sir Edward was having 
 his interview with Dr. Thompson his conduct 
 was undergoing discussion at the camp. One 
 young man was attending the fire and the other
 
 44 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 was just arriving from the beach with a fishing- 
 rod. 
 
 " Well, my devoted son of a fwesh water 
 cook, what's for supper, twout or salmon?" 
 
 " It will have to be salmon," replied he of 
 the fire. 
 
 " Then dive into the old hamper once more. 
 There's better fishing there than anywhere 
 else. 1 declare to fortune, I'm completely 
 flabbergasted with our luck. Now, to-day I 
 fell in with an atwocious wascal of a native 
 who undertook for a considewation to show me 
 where there were fish. I bvvibed the scallowag 
 with good cuwent coin of the wealm, and all I 
 got for my money and twubble was that howid 
 slimy weptile with spikes wound his nose. 
 What do you call that wetched cweature ? " 
 
 " Mudcat," suggested the other. 
 
 " Is the chief off on the wampage again ? " 
 
 " He has been gone ever since noon. " 
 
 " What do you suppose he is up to, pwouling 
 about alone in these barbawous woods like 
 this?" 
 
 " Oh ! he is on the shoot, I suppose." 
 
 " Shoot, your gwandmother I What does he 
 ever shoot but those squiwels and that other 
 beast, don't you know, the animal with the 
 vulgar name, the time he came home without 
 his twouscrs having given them to that bwigand 
 of a twapper because they were incuwewably 
 tainted. What do you call that outwagious 
 cweature ? " 
 
 " Skunk," replied the fire-keeper.
 
 The Stranger's Camp. 45 
 
 " Phew ! Don't mention it, the very name 
 is malodowous. Nice work that for an EngHsh 
 bawonet. Now between you and me, my dear 
 Wogers, I don't think much of this affair. 
 I didn't count on any such gwind when we 
 left Montweal. Just tliink of those fellows 
 away on the yacht with all the good things 
 on board and here are we on this desolate 
 coast catching skunks and mudcats. Our 
 alimentawy substance is getting low, our liquid 
 comforts are specially short. And, to cwown 
 all, there is the chief cutting up in that un- 
 accountable fashion. I shall be tempted to get 
 upon his twail some of these days to find out 
 what he is after." 
 
 "If we were in any civilized country," said 
 Rogers, bluntly, " I should say there was a 
 woman in the case." 
 
 " Do you suppose there are no women in 
 this country?" said the other, who was called 
 Somers. 
 
 " What woman can there be that he is in- 
 terested in? " 
 
 By this time it was quite dark and the flickering : 
 light of the leaping flames made their shadows 
 dance among the trees. They were startled 
 to sec a colored man step into the firelight. 
 
 " Hallo ! old Lampblack," said Somers, 
 " where do you come fwom ? " 
 
 " Dis yer camp whut belong to a chap name 
 Willcrby ? " asked the newcomer. 
 
 " Well — er — yes," was the drawling reply, 
 " that's the chap's name."
 
 46 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 " De boss, he hire me for come up here an' 
 cook an' fish." 
 
 " Hurrah! Sooty, that's good news. Unsling 
 your pack, old man, and get to work. We'll 
 take twout for supper wight away." 
 
 " I ain' gittin no trout this time er night. 
 I'll git trout to-morrer. My name's Caesar if 
 you wanterknow." 
 
 " Thanks, most noble Caesar. And might 
 I ask how long you have been in the coun- 
 try?" 
 
 " I ben yer jis free years." 
 
 " Oh ! I say now, does it get a man's com- 
 plexion up to that shade in three years?" 
 
 " Ise black when I come yer, master, jis black 
 es I be now." 
 
 " Well, your complexion is keeping better 
 than mine is." 
 
 Caesar by this time had laid down his pack 
 and was making up the fire. 
 
 Somers drew out a pocket flask and poured 
 out a dram of brandy. 
 
 " Now," said he, " in honor of our meeting 
 will Caesar drink with me? " 
 
 Caesar gave a sniff and gazed longingly at 
 the liquor but he replied sturdily: 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Sohe won't deign todwink with me. Bwutus 
 said he was ambitious." 
 
 " I jined de temp'rance eber since I ben wid 
 Doc. Richard." 
 
 " I admire your abstinence though I don't 
 practice it. I happen to be afiflicted like a cer-
 
 The Stranger's Camp. 47 
 
 tain chawacter in the New Testament. Take 
 coffee, Csesar, or chocolate? " 
 
 " I genelly takes tea, I ain't much on fancy 
 drinks." 
 
 " Very well, Wogers, pass down the tea-can. 
 Take cweam, Caesar?" 
 
 " Whut's in dat dar tin can ? " 
 
 " That's the cweam, Caesar, otherwise the 
 condensed milk. It's good for tea. It's good 
 for the complexion, though I suppose you pwefer 
 Day and Martin's." 
 
 Caesar took the bantering good-naturedly 
 and made a hearty supper. Just as he finished 
 the splash of a paddle was heard and Sir Edward 
 returned. The loquacious Somers was more 
 subdued in the presence of his chief, and, al- 
 though burning with curiosity, he did not 
 venture to ask more than a few general ques- 
 tions. Sir Edward was not in a communicative 
 humor. He ate his supper in moody silence 
 and immediately retired. 
 
 We, too, will take leave of the camp and re- 
 turn to the Raleigh homestead. Helen's en- 
 counter was known to the whole circle within 
 a few minutes of her return. The old people 
 sat together and conversed in whispers as 
 though the shadow of a great cloud had fallen 
 upon them. Grace was with Helen, who sat 
 motionless for an hour with her head bowed 
 upon her arms. Peter paced up and down in 
 front of the house as though on guard, and from 
 the emphatic manner in which he spat on his 
 hands and clenched his fists he was evidently
 
 48 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 getting up steam in true English fashion. The 
 conclusion that he came to was that as they 
 were well out of England where titles did not 
 count he would thrash the baronet out of hand. 
 This decision gave him such comfort that he 
 went about his chores with great serenity of 
 mind. 
 
 " Oh ! Grace," wailed poor Helen, " Is 
 there no place on earth where I can hide from 
 that man ? " 
 
 " Never mind, Helen, dear," said Grace, 
 soothingly, " perhaps you will never see him 
 again." 
 
 " Yes, I shall. He almost compelled me to 
 promise that I would see him again. How is it 
 that a bad man can have such power ? His 
 presence throws a spell about me that I cannot 
 resist. He will come again." 
 
 Sure enough he came again the following 
 evening. He represented himself as an English- 
 man abroad who had unexpectedly fallen in 
 with friends whom he had known in the dear 
 old land. It would have been less than human 
 to have refused to receive him on those terms. 
 So he was greeted with respectful civility and 
 admitted to their evening circle. There is 
 nothing like meeting old acquaintances in a 
 foreign land to stir up one's social nature. Per- 
 sons who at home have but a bowing acquaint- 
 ance would become close friends if they met 
 under another sky. Sir Edward surpassed him- 
 self, his affability, so to speak, carried the 
 house. One must be familiar with English
 
 The Stranger's Camp. 49 
 
 rural life to know the influence which a man of 
 rank can wield upon the tenant farmer class. 
 All this fascination was in full play. He made 
 no allusion to the past that had troubled them, 
 but he acted as though he had concluded that 
 that was all disposed of. He treated Helen 
 with a respectful courtesy that made the hearts 
 of her parents glow wnth pleasure. Helen was 
 on some pretense drawn away from the com- 
 pany and together they rambled around the 
 edge of the clearing. 
 
 "You may trust me, Helen," said Sir Ed- 
 ward ; " I have not forgotten the terms upon 
 which you have granted me this meeting." 
 
 " I am willing to meet you as a friend, Sir 
 Edward," she replied. " But, remember, any 
 reference to any other relationship, and we part 
 forever." 
 
 They rambled through the bars and into a 
 glade which extended into the forest still with- 
 in sight of the group sitting in front of the 
 house. Here they stood for a few minutes 
 conversing in subdued tones. Helen's pulse 
 was tingling. Her animation was expressed in 
 the brightness of her eyes and the flush that 
 mantled her cheeks and brows. Her head was 
 uncovered save for her glorious hair that rolled 
 in golden waves about her snowy neck and 
 temples whose purity had not yet iDcen marred 
 by tile Canadian sun. Her graceful dress of 
 light muslin draped her rounded and vigorous 
 form. She was a woman to set a man's heart 
 bounding. There they parted. Helen tripped 
 
 4
 
 50 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 back to the house, and Sir Edward's heavy 
 tramp resounded as he forced his way toward 
 the creek. 
 
 Scarcely had they parted when a man who 
 had lain concealed in the underbrush within 
 a few feet from where they were standing, 
 arose and dashed off in a direction which 
 brought him to the river considerably below 
 where Sir Edward had left his canoe. 
 
 " Hi ! there, Wogers," he called in an un- 
 dertone. 
 
 There was a man in a boat who replied : 
 
 " Is that you, Somers ? " 
 
 " Hush! push in the boat." 
 
 He stepped quietly on board and the other 
 pulled swiftly along the river about two hun- 
 dred yards ahead of the canoe. 
 
 " What did you make out, Somers ? " asked 
 the man rowing. 
 
 " Wogers, I made out that you and I are a 
 pair of the blamedest fools that ev^er lived." 
 
 "How's that?" 
 
 " Your surmise last night was the cowect 
 one." 
 
 " What, a woman, a native? " 
 
 " A woman, Wogers, but no native. An 
 Englishwoman, a beauty, a woman for whom 
 I should wish a better lover than Sir Edward." 
 
 Is it anything surprising that after the de- 
 parture of Sir Edward Miss Raleigh was in an 
 almost hysterical condition. The fascination 
 which he exercised ceased the moment his pres- 
 ence was withdrawn, and there were mem-
 
 The Stranger's Camp. 51 
 
 ories of the past which justified her in regard- 
 ing him with loathing and scorn. While he 
 was present he filled the whole sphere of her 
 thoughts, but in his absence she could only 
 see him in the light of certain deeds which 
 blasted his name with infamy. So she wept 
 and wailed as before and vov/ed that she would 
 never look upon his face again. During these 
 tempestuous moments Dr. Thompson was very 
 much in her thoughts. She scarcely knew how 
 she regarded him. Certainly he had proven 
 himself a devoted and unselfish friend. He had 
 shown them so much disinterested kindness 
 that she felt inclined to appeal to him in this 
 trouble. She did not know how he could help 
 her, but she was anxious that he should have 
 her version of the matter before he had any 
 other. Sir Edward's presence there would soon 
 be known, the reason would soon follow as a 
 matter of course. And if the character of the 
 man were discovered it would present her in a 
 bad light before the community. She said 
 " the community " but she meant Dr. Thomp- 
 son, and she admitted to herself that she did 
 care somewhat for Dr. Thompson's opinion. 
 
 It happened that the doctor himself soon 
 had occasion for some serious thoughts on the 
 subject. The two conspirators at the camp 
 had plied Caesar with questions concerning this 
 mysterious lady of the woods. Csesar's own 
 suspicions were aroused. He managed to learn 
 more from them than they did from him. 
 Thinking that this information would be inter-
 
 52 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 esting to his employer he had begged leave of 
 absence and come home to lay it before Dr. 
 Thompson. Thus Dr. Thompson learned that 
 Miss Raleigh was the attraction that had drawn 
 an English baronet into this remote locality. 
 
 Ca;sar was of the opinion that judging from 
 the company he kept : 
 
 " Dis yer wheel-barrer ain' no great shakes." 
 
 "Wheel-barrow, Caesar?" inquired Dr. 
 Thompson. 
 
 " Dat's whut dey sez he is, an' dey calls him 
 Sail Edward." 
 
 " Sir Edward. You must mean a baronet, 
 Csesar." 
 
 " Like enough. Sump'n to do wid a barrer, 
 a barrer-net may be." 
 
 Dr. Thompson was very thoughtful after this 
 discovery. It confirmed him in his opinion 
 that Miss Raleigh had memories that troubled 
 her. He scarcely knew how he regarded her. 
 She was a friend whom he highly esteemed and 
 he supposed he could be a friend still though 
 he might not aspire to any higher relationship. 
 Still he wished that her lover might be a worthy 
 man, and his estimate of Sir Edward Willough- 
 by was not encouraging. 
 
 When next he visited the Raleighs he 
 listened to Helen's narrative giving a detailed 
 history of her relationship with Sir Edward 
 Willoughby.
 
 Helen's Narrative. 53 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Helen's narrative. 
 
 " It will be very nearly tlie story of my life, 
 Dr. Thompson. You must know that I spent 
 my childhood and youth on a farm which was 
 a part of the estate of the late Squire Fanshaw. 
 Our house was quite near to the Hall, and we 
 were well acquainted with the members of the 
 Squire's family. In fact the young ladies and 
 I were playmates from infancy. Those were 
 happy days in dear old Devon. In the inno- 
 cence of childhood we knew notiiing of the 
 difference of rank. Their stately home was a 
 wonderful place to me and our rambling old 
 farmhouse and old-fashioned outbuildings were 
 not less so to them. As we grew older the 
 difference in our stations grew upon us. But, 
 it was not embarrassing, for I was so devoted 
 to those ladies that I could readily serve them 
 in a subordinate capacity. 
 
 " They were older than I and came first to 
 womanhood. Then there were great doings at 
 the Hall, — balls, garden-parties with a lot of 
 stylish folk from far and near. Of course I 
 could not attend those festivities. I have 
 reason to know that it was as much to their
 
 54 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 regret as to mine. But I waited on my ladies. 
 I arranged their toilets and dressed their hair 
 and selected lovers for them. Of course there 
 were beaus and love-making and finally, an 
 engagement. Miss Blanche was engaged to a 
 great man, a baronet, who had large estates in 
 a distant part of England. Miss Blanche told 
 me all about it ; it was considered a most bril- 
 liant affair. But I did not approve of it, for I 
 suspected that Sir Charles Cranburne's chief 
 recommendations were his title and his wealth. 
 Miss Blanche noticed my silence and asked why 
 I did not congratulate her. I could only reply 
 that I felt the sorrow of parting with her too 
 much. She then insisted that we should not 
 part ; she would need a maid and no one 
 would suit her as well as I would. She pleaded 
 with my parents till they consented to let me 
 go. So my trunk was packed and I left the 
 home of my childhood. 
 
 " I was then about sixteen. The wedding 
 was a grand affair. It was I who dressed the 
 bride, and on her return from the church she 
 kissed me and told me that she was now 
 Lady Cranburne. But I called her the Lady 
 Blanche, for I loved the old name best. I never 
 liked Sir Charles, and I believe he never liked 
 me, for I was too much in the confidence of 
 his wife. Dr. Thompson, there was no love in 
 that wedding. There were prancing horses, 
 liveried attendants, sparkling jewels, glistening 
 silks and satins, old family plate and all the 
 pomp of wealth and state, but there was no
 
 Helen's Narrative. 55 
 
 love. It was a heartless and soulless affair, 
 and my heart was heavy for my sweet Blanche. 
 After the wedding, we went abroad. We 
 traveled on the continent for several months 
 and visited many foreign countries. Then we 
 returned to the Cranburne country seat the 
 Manor of Mereside. It was situated in a lonely , 
 valley fronting a beautiful lake. There were 
 mountains around, or what are called mountains 
 in England. So the country was beautiful but 
 lonely. In fact the only road in the place was 
 the road to the Manor, so we saw very little of 
 our neighbors. 
 
 "We had a happy life. Sir Charles left us 
 very much to ourselves during the shooting 
 season, our only society being his unmarried 
 sister and the servants of the house. Several 
 of the local grandees called upon us, but we 
 were so remote that there were few of them. 
 For a few weeks we were girls together. We 
 rowed and sailed, and fished in the Mere. 
 We rambled about the forest and rocks and 
 rode or drove about the country. Before the 
 servants I was ' my lady's maid,' but as 
 soon as we were alone we were Blanche and 
 Helen as in the old days. The queer old Tudor 
 mansion was very interesting to us with its 
 stores of old armor and weapons and its ances- 
 tral portrait gallery. The moat and ramparts 
 could still be traced in the terraces of the 
 garden, some of the cellars looked suspiciously 
 like dungeons and the walls still bore marks 
 left by the cannon of Cromwell. There was
 
 56 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 also in the neighborhood the remains of the 
 original castle, an old Norman keep built by 
 Guesclin de Cranburne in the days of the 
 " Conqueror." We were very happy, although 
 my ideas of married life were confused as I 
 saw that my lady was happier in the absence 
 of her husband and seemed to dread his re- 
 appearing. During the bad weather of the fall 
 and early winter we had the honor of his 
 presence for several months. 
 
 " My suspicions were speedily confirmed, 
 Sir Charles was a wretch. I knew very soon 
 that my darling had troubles which she did 
 not confide to me. When he was not diverted 
 by the excitement of travel or the dissipations 
 of his fashionable set his humor was unbearable. 
 Only for my lady's sake I would have returned 
 to Devonshire. Fortunately it did not last 
 long. We went up to London for the ' Season.' 
 We occupied a mansion in the Bayswater 
 Crescent. What a grand life my lady led ! 
 I was positively bewildered at the display. 
 Among other great events she was presented 
 at Buckingham Palace, I prepared her for the 
 reception, and her court costume was the most 
 gorgeous I ever handled. I heard from others 
 that Lady Cranburne was the belle of the 
 occasion. A great deal went on that winter 
 which I could not approve, perhaps more if I 
 could have understood. But gentlefolks have 
 ways that are different from ours and we 
 scarcely know how to judge them. Certainly 
 I could not wonder if there were gentlemen
 
 Helen's Narrative. 57 
 
 whose society was more agreeable to Lady 
 Cranburne than that of her own husband, and 
 certainly he had no reason to complain if such 
 were the case, for he sought his pleasure any- 
 where but in her presence. There was that in 
 the conduct of both of them which I would know 
 how to condemn in people of my own class, 
 but rank, I suppose, has its privileges. 
 
 " Her ladyship's manner toward me was 
 changing as the result of all this ; I became 
 more of a servant and less of a friend. It was 
 a relief when we left the city and returned to 
 the country. Then came another trip to the 
 continent and a wearisome journey from one 
 fashionable resort to another. Sir Charles 
 seemed to be devoured by a craving for excite- 
 ment that nothing could satisfy. How I 
 wearied of this restless life and longed to settle 
 down somewhere. At last Lady Cranburne 
 remained for some time at Florence, while Sir 
 Charles was away on a cruise by himself. 
 When we returned to England we took up 
 our abode, not at Mereside, but at a new 
 house which the Cranburnes owned on the 
 outskirts of a county town. 
 
 " In the meantime Miss Alice was married. I 
 suspected that there was something not satis- 
 factory about her marriage, as it took place 
 quietly and without any display. But she, too, 
 had married well, so people said. That is to 
 say she had married rank and wealth. She 
 was now Lady Willoughby of Pasmore. The 
 old Squire was very much elated that each of
 
 58 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 his daughters should have married into a noble 
 house. Of Sir Harold Willoughly I had no 
 knowledge. But a younger brother of his 
 had been a frequent visitor at the Hall in 
 my time and had paid marked attention to 
 Miss Alice. Between them I knew there was a 
 very tender feeling, and it surprised me that 
 Alice should leave her devoted lover and 
 marry his brother whom she scarcely knew. 
 But Sir Harold had the title and estates and 
 Squire Fanshaw would he unwilling that 
 one daughter should marry below the other. 
 Whoever had her hand I knew where her heart 
 was, and I very much feared that family pride 
 had forced poor Alice into a loveless marriage. 
 Between Sir Harold and his brother there was 
 no love lost. The Pasmore estate, though large, 
 was strictly entailed and there was little for 
 the younger son. He felt the injustice of 
 this keenly, and it rankled in his breast until it 
 was likely to sour his entire nature. Sir Harold 
 was cold, proud and heartless. His brother 
 was hot-blooded and impulsive and naturally 
 of a generous disposition. They seldom met 
 without an outbreak which was marked by 
 cold reproaches on the one side and a fiery 
 ebullition on the other. I trembled when I 
 thought how this deadly feud would be inten- 
 sified by this marriage. 
 
 " Now I come to the crisis of my story. One 
 day a carriage drove up to the house. I did 
 not see who had arrived. But in a few minutes 
 a cry in Lady Cranburne's room caught my
 
 Helen's Narrative. 59 
 
 ear. I hurried to the room. There were 
 voices within and what I saw made me hesitate 
 to enter. Lady Cranburne sat, pale and rigid, 
 as though stunned by some terrible blow. 
 Lady Willoughby was kneeling before her, 
 clasping her waist, sobbing and pleading hys- 
 terically : 
 
 " ' Before God, he is my husband,' she wailed, 
 * We were pledged to each other. I never 
 loved Sir Harold. It was cruel to force me 
 into that hateful marriage. I will not be sac- 
 rificed to pride. I have a right to rebel. Oh ! 
 sister, why can we not marry whom we love 
 as the poor people do ? ' 
 
 " I turned away sick with horror. I had 
 learned enough to informi me that she was 
 traveling, not with her husband, but with her 
 husband's brother, with Edward Willoughby." 
 
 (She noticed the start that Dr. Thompson 
 gave at the mention of this name.) 
 
 "Yes, Dr. Thompson," she continued, " and 
 the presence of Edward Willoughby in this 
 neighborhood is my reason for telling you this 
 story. 
 
 " In the midst of all this distress Sir Charles 
 appeared. He went straight to the room and 
 ordered Lady Willoughby out of the house. 
 Then there was a scene. The ladies wept and 
 pleaded, Sir Charles raved and thundered. 
 Finally he tore the weeping sisters apart and 
 led Lady Willoughby to the door where, with 
 a show of politeness, he handed her into the 
 carriage. As the carriage rumbled off, Lady
 
 6o The Ladj' of Mark. 
 
 Cranburne burst out of a side door and rushed 
 through the shrubbery to intercept it at the gate. 
 Her movement was observed and Sir Charles 
 started after, grinding the gravel beneath his 
 wrathful strides. Full of concern for my lady 
 I too followed the carriage but kept myself 
 concealed in the shrubbery. Sir Charles was 
 holding his wife by the arm and calling to 
 the coachman to drive on. Lady Cranburne 
 said indignantly : 
 
 " ' Sir Charles, you are a brute ! ' 
 
 " With that he struck her. Yes, he struck 
 her, and the sound of that blow I can hear yet. 
 She did not shriek or faint. She drew herself 
 up to her fullest height, gave him a glance of 
 scorn and disdain and walked into the house 
 without a word. Sir Charles caught sight of 
 me and knowing that I must have witnessed 
 his brutality he looked terrified and ashamed. 
 He could infhct the cruelest of wrongs upon 
 his wife without the least compunction, but to 
 strike her was vulgar and he felt ashamed of 
 it. 
 
 " In a few minutes there was another com- 
 motion. Edward Willoughby thrust aside the 
 footman at the door and entered the house 
 calling aloud for Sir Charles Cranburne. Sir 
 Charles appeared, calm and placid, and said in 
 a composed voice : 
 
 " ' Edward Willoughby, if you do not in- 
 stantly retire I shall order you to be expelled.' 
 
 " ' See here, Sir Charles,' thundered the im- 
 petuous intruder, following him into the library,
 
 Helen's Narrative. 
 
 <&>3 
 
 ' I expect you have got something lo say about 
 my conduct, and I have to give you the pleas- 
 ure of saying it in my presence.' 
 
 *" I have nothing to say,' blandly continued 
 Sir Charles ; ' as I happen to be connected with 
 the family I suppose 1 must share the disgrace. 
 In my unfortunate position it becomes me to 
 hold my tongue.' 
 
 " ' Oh ! come now. Sir Charles. It is very 
 fine to hear an old played-out roue talking 
 about disgrace. It is hard spoiling rotten 
 eggs ! • 
 
 " ' Of course, Willoughby,' said the unruffled 
 baronet, ' a gentleman may be allowed his privi- 
 leges so long as he takes his pleasures dis- 
 creetly. But to stir up a dirty scandal among 
 your own folks, to set tongues wagging over 
 all England and half the continent — It is an 
 ill bird that fouls its own nest.' 
 
 "Just then the library door closed and I 
 could not Catch the conversation, though it was 
 loud and long. By and by the door opened 
 and again the voice of Willoughby was heard 
 saying : 
 
 " * I have been all my life the victim of in- 
 justice that perhaps he is not responsible for. 
 But when he practises the most dishonorable 
 treachery to rob me of the woman I love I 
 feel that the time had come for action. And 
 my action will astonish a great many, I 
 fancy.' 
 
 ** ' I must express my regret that you did not 
 take action a little earlier. An elopement
 
 62 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 would have been romantic. But you are run- 
 ning off with another man's wife.* 
 
 "'Why was this marriage consummated in 
 such a stealthy manner, taking advantage of 
 my absence so that I had no knowledge of 
 the event ? ' 
 
 " ' Well, you must know, Willoughby, that 
 you are not a desirable match and your atten- 
 tions were not approved by Squire Fanshaw. 
 He took the first opportunity to secure the 
 interests of his family.' 
 
 " ' Who was it that forged letters to convince 
 poor Alice that I was pledged to another 
 woman before she would consent to this wed- 
 ding? It is this that passes for honor among 
 you men of rank,* 
 
 " I then went to my lady. Her face was 
 bruised and swollen. She gave no explanation 
 and I asked no questions. They were never 
 reconciled. In public they were coldly polite, 
 in private they were apart. She never re- 
 covered from the shock of her sister's disgrace. 
 All the time I was with her she never smiled 
 again. Sir Harold Willoughby took with him 
 a favorite servant and left the country. 
 Several years after, the servant reappeared 
 and said that he had been living with Sir Har- 
 old in an obscure region in America and that 
 his master had recently died. 
 
 " Edward and Lady Willoughby sailed from a 
 northern port for Norway and also vanished, 
 I heard no more about them until about two 
 years later. I found my lady one day in great
 
 Helen's Narrative. 63 
 
 agitation. She called me aside and astounded 
 me with the following information and request. 
 
 " * Helen,' said she, ' I have just heard that my 
 only sister is dying. Our poor little Alice ! 
 Helen, you loved her. She is dying among 
 strangers in a foreign land. There are none of 
 her friends whom she could send for. Helen, 
 you are the only one who could go, you alone 
 would be of any comfort to her, you must go.' 
 
 " It seemed to be the only thing I could do 
 to serve this unhappy family, so I consented. 
 Once more I went abroad, this time to Stock- 
 holm in Sweden. There I found her and I saw 
 at a glance that I would not have long to stay. 
 Lady Willoughby was dying. I verily believe 
 that she was dying of a broken heart. Oh ! it 
 did seem so hard. I suppose her conduct was 
 wrong, but I can't help thinking that she was 
 less to blame than those who had forced her 
 into a loveless marriage. Oh ! the pride of 
 these aristocrats. If people only knew of their 
 hard, joyless, loveless lives no one would envy 
 them. 
 
 " Edward Willoughby was changed. The 
 wine of his generous nature had been turned 
 to vinegar. Knowing, as he had good reason 
 to know, the moral latitude that is allowed a 
 man of rank so long as he does not sin against 
 the traditions of his class, he resented the 
 .stigma that was put upon them. He always 
 insisted that as Alice had been pledged to him 
 and had been entrapped by deception into 
 marrying another, they had a right to consider
 
 64 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 that marriage null. Nevertheless, every door 
 in England was closed against them, while men 
 whom he knew to be steeped in impurity were 
 still held in high favor. He insisted that he 
 had done a good deed in delivering her from 
 such a life and had proved his loyalty by stand- 
 ing by her year after year. For this, the best 
 deed of his life as he termed it, he was visited 
 with a merciless punishment. So he fumed 
 and chafed until he came to the conclusion that 
 all virtue was a folly, that the men were wise 
 who took Machiavel for their prophet and the 
 Manichean deity for their god. His conduct 
 very soon began to express this conclusion, 
 which did not make it any the brighter for poor 
 Alice. Bereft of all her friends and doubtful 
 of even the love of the man for whom she had 
 sacrificed so much, the poor girl was sinking 
 into the grave. She was very low when I 
 arrived and the Swedish nurse was worn out. 
 She knew me as I entered the room and stretch- 
 ing out her arms she said : 
 
 " ' Oh ! Helen, it was kind of you to come to 
 me so far. You will stay with me now and 
 teach me how to die ? ' 
 
 *' I had hard work to keep back my tears. A 
 little later she said : 
 
 " ' Raise me, Helen, you are so strong and so 
 gentle.' 
 
 " I lifted her up in my arms and laid her head 
 upon my breast. 
 
 " ' That is better,' she murmured, ' I can rest 
 now.'
 
 Helen's Narrative. 65 
 
 " I thought she was sleeping, but soon she 
 murmured : 
 
 " ' Helen, are the primroses in bloom? ' 
 
 " ' Yes, darling.' 
 
 " ' Helen, is the lark singing now? ' 
 
 " ' Yes, darling,' 
 
 " ' Helen, is the sun setting on the Dartmore 
 hills?' 
 
 " 'Yes, darling,' 
 
 " Presently she cried out with a wailing tone : 
 
 " ' Oh ! Helen, if I could only go home to 
 die. Heaven is not so far from Devonshire.' 
 
 "So she rambled on full of the memories of 
 home and childhood. And is it not true that 
 Heaven seems farther off as we grow older? 
 During the next day she was quiet and easy. 
 But she became restless toward night and 
 wanted to lie in miy arms. She seemed to be 
 troubled in her mind. 
 
 " * Helen,' she said, ' do you think I have 
 been a dreadful sinner? ' 
 
 " *We are all sinners,' said I. 
 
 " ' I have thought 'so much about it. It has 
 troubled me day and night. Helen, what else 
 could I do ? ' 
 
 " I saw that I had a difificult task. The life 
 we had led had scattered my religion to the 
 winds. I was in no fit state to minister to a 
 mind diseased. 
 
 " ' Helen,' she asked again, ' will you teach 
 me the religion you learned in the little chapel 
 at home, and the hymns you used to sing about 
 the Sweet Eden Shore ? ' 
 
 5
 
 66 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 " My tears were falling fast, and before I 
 knew it I was praying and the poor girl joined 
 in. 
 
 "' Thank you, Helen. Now could you sing 
 to me ? ' 
 
 " It was difficult at first, but a calmness came 
 over me and I sang about the far-away home 
 of the soul. She listened in silence and then 
 asked : 
 
 " ' Is it so far away, Helen ? ' 
 
 " I could make no reply, and so she con- 
 tinued : 
 
 " ' My mother is there, Helen, my mother 
 whom I have never known. But I have often 
 dreamed about her. Not so very far away. 
 Helen, will you stay with me ?' 
 
 " ' Yes, darling.' 
 
 " ' It will be a dreadful moment when I am 
 parted from you. Who else can help me then ? ' 
 
 " * The Saviour, Jesus,' I whispered. 
 
 '"Oh! Helen, can I meet Him?' 
 
 " She lay in silence and I sang gently, * Just 
 as I am, without one plea.' I sang it through 
 to the end and then she looked up with a smile, 
 the first I had seen on her face, and said : 
 
 " ' Thank you, Helen, I will go to Him, I have 
 no fear now.' 
 
 " As I looked through the window of that 
 Swedish house I heard the lark singing his eve- 
 ning song above the green fields of Devon. 
 The primroses were shedding their evening in- 
 cense and the sun was going down on the Dart- 
 moor hills. In the glory of that sunset I
 
 Helen's Narrative. 67 
 
 seemed to see the light of a land that is very 
 far off. Yet not so very far off, for as I turned 
 to my patient she was so very still that I bent 
 over her and found that the end had come." 
 
 The speaker paused with bowed head for a 
 few moments. Then recovering herself by a 
 great effort, she resumed her story. 
 
 '* I returned to Lady Cranburne, but she was 
 not in the house. The servants could give me 
 no information. I sought an interview with 
 Sir Charles, and he told me coolly that Lady 
 Cranburne had no further need of my services. 
 Thus ended mv experiences of high life. I 
 was glad enough to return to the old farm and 
 resume the honest, wholesome labor of milking 
 cows and making butter. Then commenced 
 the troubles that finally led to our coming to 
 Canada. Old Squire Fanshaw died and his 
 surviving daughter succeeded to the estate. 
 So Sir Charles Cranburne became our landlord 
 and our tenure of Moorfields became precar- 
 ious. He seemed to be envenomed against 
 any one who had ever befriended his unhappy 
 wife. The tyranny that we were subjected to 
 finally drove us to relinquish the land that had 
 been tilled by our ancestors for many gener- 
 ations ; such is the power of the English land- 
 lords. 
 
 " But there is another reason. I dread to 
 speak of it, but it is necessary to do so. In 
 the meantime the servant who had accompanied 
 Sir Harold Willoughby into exile suddenly 
 returned. He stated that he had lived several
 
 68 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 years with Sir Harold in an obscure locality 
 in America, and that Sir Harold had recently 
 died. The fact of his death being properly 
 certified, Edward at once succeeded to the 
 title and estate. Immediately every door in 
 England was thrown open to him. He could 
 enter where he would. But he settled down and 
 lived very quietly at home. He made us a 
 visit and spent some time in the neighborhood. 
 He claimed my friendship for the memory of 
 his poor Alice. Perhaps I gave him too much 
 encouragement, for his attentions soon became 
 so marked as to excite comment. It may be 
 that his intentions were honorable. But in 
 England it is hard to believe, that there can be 
 any honorable relation between a baronet and a 
 farmer's daughter. So. we left old England and 
 hoped we had left these troubles behind us. 
 But within the last few days one of them has 
 loomed up again. Sir Edward is here. The 
 sincerity of his motives may be judged when 
 already he has practised deception upon me. 
 He told me that our meeting was accidental, 
 and I learn from you that he has been seeking 
 me for some time. He must either have ob- 
 tained our address from our friends or else he 
 traced us by inquiring at the Emigration of^ce. 
 " Now, Dr. Thompson, I don't know why I 
 should have told you all this. But I was in 
 trouble, and you have been such a good friend 
 to us, I wanted you to hear these things 
 from me before you heard any of them from 
 any one else."
 
 Return of the "Owl." 69 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 RETURN OF THE " OWL." 
 
 Sir Edward Willoughby was a man who 
 had been ruined by the traditions of his class. 
 There can scarcely be a more embarrassing 
 position than that of a younger son of an 
 English aristocrat who occupies a strictly 
 entailed estate. He is born and trained to all 
 the prejudices of wealth and rank without the 
 means of maintaining them. Many of the 
 ideas by which he is dominated are extremely 
 absurd and add to the difficulties. 
 
 While the father lives, he can watch over 
 the interests of his younger sons and fit them 
 for some profession, or for some useful career 
 in the service of the country. But the young 
 Willoughbys were left at an early age without 
 'parental guidance. Edward had nothing to 
 do but to live as he chose upon the allowance 
 that was paid him from the estate. He became 
 the prey of evil passions and evil companions 
 and we have seen the result. Just as this 
 result was consummated he was suddenly 
 endowed with rank and wealth. He was now 
 free to indulge himself in that supreme selfish- 
 ness which he had just concluded was the
 
 70 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 highest wisdom. There was just one good 
 influence remaining. The appearance of Miss 
 Raleigh in Sweden, with her fresh EngHsh 
 beauty, and strong intelligence, had aroused 
 in his sated nature a new interest. He sought 
 her out in Devonshire. He persuaded him- 
 self and half persuaded her that her influence 
 alone stood between him and soul destruction. 
 But he was a baronet, and she was a farmer's 
 daughter. Their friendship was an illustration 
 of Esop's fable of the Iron Pot and the Earthen 
 Pot, one could stand the contact and the other 
 could not. So the Raleighs left the country 
 and we know the rest. Sir Edward is here 
 and the closed chapter is reopened. 
 
 It might be thought, that a love for a pure- 
 minded woman, strong enough to stimulate a 
 careless nature like his to such a persevering 
 search, was a passion that ought to exercise an 
 elevating influence upon him. Perhaps it did, 
 the end will show. He had learned, however, 
 that selfishness was not the highest motive 
 that animated men. 
 
 In the course of his rambles about the 
 neighborhood, he came upon the house on the 
 other side of the ridge which was mentioned in 
 the first chapter. The poor woman was very 
 loquacious, and without much trouble he drew 
 from her a great deal of information about the 
 settlement and its inhabitants. Her favorite 
 theme was Dr. Thompson, his goodness and self- 
 denial. Sir Edward learned that the Doctor 
 had taken up this toilsome lot that he might
 
 Return of the " Owl." 71 
 
 somehow serve liis fellow-men. He learned 
 of services that were given for nothing, of toil- 
 some journeys in all weathers, of kindness and 
 patience that won all hearts. As an example 
 of Christian devotion it was the first that he 
 had ever met with, and it impressed him ex- 
 ceedingly. At one time he would have ex- 
 pected that such a man would be set down as 
 a fool, and universally imposed upon. But he 
 heard of the gratitude which the Doctor's 
 character inspired. He heard tlmt his neigh- 
 bors came readily to his help in return ; how 
 they had built his house, and cleared his fields. 
 He heard of the influence which the Doctor's 
 example had over others, in teaching them to 
 help one another and bear one another's bur- 
 dens. The poor woman shed tears of gratitude 
 as she related how, under the Doctor's guidance, 
 the neighbors had come to their help until they 
 were more comfortable than they had been for 
 years. Much more he learned, and he returned 
 to the camp with strange thoughts in his mind. 
 The next Sabbath, as the people assembled 
 for worship, three strangers appeared who were 
 none other than Willoughby, Somers and 
 Rogers. Caesar being left in charge of the camp. 
 The weather was fine and an unusually large 
 conereg-ation assembled. No room in the 
 house would accommodate them so the service 
 was held in the unfinished barn. The company 
 represented all ages and several nations. The 
 twenty-five families that comprised the settle- 
 ment of Mark were all present. Those who
 
 72 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 know anything of life in the new clearings will 
 understand what a boon this hour of worship 
 was to people who had nothing else to lift 
 their thoughts above the dreary round of toil 
 that filled their lives. They will understand, 
 also, that among people who were so united a 
 very different moral and social state existed 
 than where there was no such tie. Remember- 
 ing that these people came from five miles 
 around, and that they seldom met on any other 
 occasion, one can imagine what a means of 
 refreshing and encouragement it was. 
 
 The settlers of Canada are, as a rule, a moral 
 and orderly class of people, and generally re- 
 ligiously disposed. The writer can testify to 
 efforts to worship God and maintain the sanc- 
 tity of the Sabbath that were pathetic in their 
 simplicity. Sir Edward, as a man of intel- 
 ligence, was prepared to overlook anything that 
 might appear to him discordant and perhaps 
 incongrous in this rustic attempt at worship. 
 It was years since he had attended public wor- 
 ship. His religious experiences were limited 
 to his memories of the formal and cultured 
 services of the established church. Anything 
 like the present he had never witnessed. He 
 was not an infidel. He could scarcely have 
 defined his theological position. Religion he 
 approved as an excellent device for keeping the 
 lower orders in subjection. Of course the 
 upper classes were also religious, after a fashion. 
 But that was simply because it was well for 
 them to lead in so desirable a custom. Prayer
 
 Return of the " Owl." 73 
 
 was an excellent thing to be taught to the peas- 
 antry if it be in harmony with the formula — 
 " God bless the Squire and his relations and 
 keep us in our proper stations." 
 
 Sir Edward's notions were being rudely 
 shaken, and even before the service commenced, 
 he was impressed. Here were neither Squire 
 nor Parson to be conciliated. No favors were 
 to be gained by a show of piety. Yet these 
 people so highly prized the privilege of wor- 
 ship that after a weary week they journeyed 
 to the place of prayer on buckboards, in canoes, 
 and some on foot with children on their 
 backs. 
 
 The service proceeded. The singing was 
 hearty, and if it were not quite harmonious it 
 did not matter so much when it poured through 
 the timbers of an unfinished barn and min- 
 gled with the song of the birds and the rustling 
 of the leaves. During the prayer Sir Edward's 
 eyes were on the trees through the interlacing 
 branches of which the blue sky was gleaming. 
 There came into his mind the words : 
 
 " Father, thy hand hath reared these ven- 
 erable columns. Thou didst weave this ver- 
 dant roof — " 
 
 Then suddenly, returning to a sense of his 
 position, a thrill went through him at the 
 thought of a man addressing the High and 
 Mighty One. The sermon was certainly not 
 a polished production ; it would not have 
 secured the s[)eaker a call to a city church. 
 It vyas not even Ipgical, an a?ute reasoner
 
 74 The Lady of Mark, 
 
 could easily have demolished many of its pro- 
 positions. The power of the speaker's utter- 
 ances lay in the character that illustrated them. 
 Sir Edward felt that power. All the restless 
 passions, the vague yearnings and the unusual 
 thoughts that had been agitating his mind 
 had prepared him for the conviction that the 
 real, the true, the noble life, was the life of 
 self-denial. His Manichean creed was shat- 
 tered at a blow. He had endeavored to live 
 consistently with it. He had used the re- 
 sources of his estate for pleasure. He had 
 surrounded himself with gay companions and 
 had traversed the earth in search of pleasure. 
 All moral restrictions he had ignored, if they 
 stood between him and his desires. The world 
 had nothing in the shape of pleasure that he 
 had not tasted. And now he had to confess 
 that he had never known what real happiness 
 was. The honors of his rank and station began 
 to appear very paltry. What were the hypo- 
 critical attentions of his friends compared with 
 the devotion of these people for Dr. Thomp- 
 son ? As he studied the collection of faces 
 where he thought he could trace the working 
 of an elevating power, he thought of the ten- 
 ants whom he had left to be oppressed and 
 tormented by heartless agents. He thought 
 of the squalid agricultural villages swarming 
 with a besotted population whose only inspi- 
 ration was the beer-shop and whose only 
 divcrson was the drunken brawl. Some un- 
 familiar emotions were stirring within him.
 
 Return of the " Owl." 75 
 
 He had come to that awful moment when a 
 man for the first time finds his soul. He saw 
 very plainly a field of duty which he had most 
 basely and cowardly deserted. It is a great 
 experience when a man falls from a lofty 
 pedestal of self-esteem. He sat with his head 
 bowed and every sentence, however irrelevant, 
 seemed only to increase his self-condemnation, 
 The service was concluded, and amid the hand- 
 shaking and the chatter that followed Somers 
 remarked in his usual airy manner : 
 
 " Pwetty good specimen of an abowiginal 
 meeting." 
 
 The look which Sir Edward gave him did 
 not encourage his trifling. 
 
 Sir Edward then sought an interview with 
 Dr. Thompson, and drew him aside for the 
 purpose. He did not know what he u^anted 
 to say. But he was in that mood in which a 
 man feels the need of advice, and because the 
 longing which we cannot express is not per- 
 ceived and responded to by the Christians 
 around us, we sometimes unreasonably ex- 
 claim " No one careth for my soul." As soon 
 as he felt his embarrassment his pride revived 
 and he said : 
 
 " I merely wished to express my pleasure 
 with this little service. It is very kind of you 
 to take such an interest in these people." 
 
 Dr. Thompson replied : 
 
 " Every man is accountable for doing what 
 he can." 
 
 " Yes, yes, just so, to be sure," said Sir Ed-
 
 76 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 ward nervously. " And for people in their 
 condition I consider it the very thing." 
 
 " What do you mean by their condition ? " 
 asked Dr. Thompson. 
 
 " Why, I mean, of course, the working class. 
 They have so little pleasure, poor things, that 
 if religion is of any comfort to them why, by 
 all means let them have it." 
 
 " What other class is there beside the work- 
 ing class?" asked Dr. Thompson with some 
 sternness in his tone. 
 
 " Oh ! come now, Doctor, don't you know, 
 there is the upper class — or — the er — that is 
 to say, the ornamental class, so to speak." 
 
 He was ashamed of his own words as he 
 thought of the " Owl " and her company, and 
 Dr. Thompson's silence added to his embarrass- 
 ment. In fact Sir Edward was in an uncomfort- 
 able state of mind. Dr. Thompson was aware 
 of this and thought it well to leave him there 
 for a while. 
 
 In the evening of that day Dr. Thompson 
 and Mr. Raleigh were visiting a sick neighbor 
 who lived several miles down the lake. As 
 they were returning after dark they found a 
 yacht moored at the mouth of the creek. 
 There was an unusual blaze at the camp and 
 a great deal of laugliter and loud voices. The 
 "Owl" had returned and the whole company 
 were spending the evening ashore. There 
 were about a dozen persons in all, including 
 two hired men. Several were from England, 
 Sir Edward's friends of the racecourse and
 
 Return of the " Owl." 77 
 
 the club house, just the kind of characters to 
 gather around a fast man with plenty of money. 
 Others were Canadians, scions of that imita- 
 tion aristocracy that is striving to get itself 
 recognized in this country ; all of them sprigs 
 of the " ornamental class." The " Owl " was a 
 handsome, well-appointed yacht fitted with 
 every comfort and stored with every luxury. 
 For several weeks she had been cruising about 
 the upper lakes. The freak of Sir Edward in 
 deserting them had given great dissatisfaction 
 to the company and they had attempted to 
 punish him by staying away longer than 
 agreed upon. Now that they are reunited they 
 have landed a quantity of choice provisions, 
 not omitting champagne and cigars, and are 
 celebrating the event with a regular " jam- 
 boree." 
 
 By sundown several of them were intoxi- 
 cated, but by the light of the fire the wild 
 carnival was continued. The roaring of ribald 
 songs and bursts of soulless laughter broke 
 the silence of the forest and dishonored the 
 Sabbath. 
 
 Just beyond the circle of the firelight our 
 two friends halted the canoe, and after listen- 
 ing for a minute to the sounds of revelry they 
 landed and stole up near enough to get a view 
 of the proceedings. The empty bottles, 
 broken tumblers, and a litter of playing cards 
 which strewed the ground, bore evidence to 
 the character of the exercises. 
 
 Two were helplessly drunk, several others
 
 78 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 were far advanced. Three in a group were 
 having a merry time chanting the requiem of 
 the negro who had no wool on the top of his 
 head. A lantern was standing on a box by 
 the Hght of whicli several were playing cards. 
 Stakes of money were passing between them. 
 There were only two men who appeared to be 
 entirely sober. These, from their continued 
 success at gambling and the meaning glance 
 and expressive winks which they exchanged, 
 were evidently turning their sobriety to good 
 account. They were the kind of English aris- 
 tocrats (?) who occasionally make such havoc 
 with gullible Canadian tuft-hunters. 
 
 The two watchers crouched among the juni- 
 per bushes and surveyed the scene for several 
 minutes without speaking. 
 
 " That is a strange meeting for Sunday eve- 
 ning," said Dr. Thompson, at length. 
 
 " Three of those men were at our meeting 
 this morning," said Raleigh. 
 
 " I am disappointed in Sir Edward," said 
 Dr. Thompson ; " I thought this morning that 
 he seemed disposed to reverence the Sabbath." 
 
 " That yacht coming back has turned him 
 off again," said Raleigh. 
 
 "He seems to be the leader of this party," 
 said Dr. Thompson ; " he will need a large in- 
 come to keep this up." 
 
 " Dr. Thompson," said Raleigh, with some 
 bitterness in his tone, " that money he is 
 squandering in that way is ground out of his 
 miserable tenants. His estate is a disgrace to
 
 Return of the " Owl." 79 
 
 humanity. I would as soon take my chance 
 on a slave plantation as live the life of the Pas- 
 more peasantry. Yon's an English landlord 
 for you." 
 
 " Surely they are not all like that," said the 
 Doctor. 
 
 " No, they are not. Old Squire Fanshaw 
 was different. He lived on the estate and we 
 saw him every day. He was a kind man and 
 took an interest in his tenants. My fathers 
 have served the Fanshaws for many genera- 
 tions and we would continue to do so if things 
 were the same. But when Sir Charles Cran- 
 burne took the estate everything was changed. 
 The hall was occupied by an agent and the 
 rents were screwed up. Sir Charles lived much 
 on the continent, and the money we sweated 
 for went like water. That man is just such 
 another. This is cheap sport for him. Put 
 him down among the casinoes of Baden Baden 
 or Monte Carlo and the price of a good farm 
 would go in a night. No, they are not all 
 alike. There are many like the old Squire. 
 But there are a great many like that man 
 there." 
 
 The watchers then withdrew to their canoe 
 and left the scene.
 
 8o The Lady of Mark. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE EARTH IS THE LANDLORD'S AND THE 
 FULNESS THEREOF. 
 
 Dr. Thompson was aroused the next morn- 
 ing by the familiar sound of the ax and found 
 that black Caesar had returned and had re- 
 sumed his duties. 
 
 " Well, Caesar, have you finished at the 
 camp ? " 
 
 " Yes, sah. I done wid dat crowd an' Ise 
 mighty glad." 
 
 " How did you get along?" 
 
 " Farly well. I catch um trout an' cook um 
 wittles an' git along till yes'day 'bout noon. 
 'Long 'bout sundown yer come dis yer sail- 
 boat wid a gang er rowdies, 'an after dat I ain 
 git no peace so I clar out at daylight. Dey's 
 a bad lot.'' 
 
 "All of them, Caesar?" 
 
 " Dat dar Willerby chap ain' a bad lot. 
 Wharfo he wanter go 'bout wid a boat-load er 
 liquor and a mob er toughs. Dey's all Produ- 
 gal sons. I doan feed um no mo 'out I feed 
 um pig's wittles." 
 
 Caesar did not explain that he had decamped 
 without his dimmittis. That came out later in 
 the day when Sir Edward appeared. The bar-
 
 The Earth is the Landlord's. 8i 
 
 onet interviewed Caesar, whom he endeavored 
 to persuade to return to the camp. Caesar was 
 obdurate and settled the matter by declaring: 
 " The Lord ain' made me ter wait on no sich 
 
 The idea that Sir Edward Willoughby's 
 friends were not good company for a negro 
 was so entertaining that the baronet could afford 
 to take it good-humoredly. He then applied 
 himself to the Doctor. Dr. Thompson's reply 
 was made in quiet but determined tones: 
 
 " Sir Edward Willoughby, I would not send 
 a dog to that camp of yours." 
 
 We must allow the Doctor to judge what 
 was the best thing to say at such a time. And 
 to properly estimate Sir Edward's conduct we 
 must make several considerations. He had 
 been living for several weeks an irregular and 
 unaccustomed mode of life urged on by an ab- 
 sorbing passion to the endurance of great hard- 
 ships and privations. He had, moreover, for 
 many hours, been the subject of emotions of a 
 very exhausting character. To crown all he 
 had attempted to drown his soul in liquor and 
 had well nigh succeeded. He was in the flabby, 
 nerveless condition that follows a drinking 
 bout. The unexpected words of Doctor 
 Thompson acted upon his jaded system like 
 fire upon gunpowder. His habitual self-com- 
 mand was gone. He replied with an oath. 
 
 Silence followed this outburst, and then Dr. 
 Thompson said gently: 
 
 " Sir Edward, you are not well." 
 6
 
 82 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 This brought the baronet to his senses. He 
 was ashamed of himself and was glad to take 
 refuge under the Doctor's suggestion. His 
 overtaxed nerves gave way. He laughed hys- 
 terically, moved with tottering steps and sank 
 down helplessly upon a log. An examination 
 showed that he was in a state of nervous fever. 
 He was assisted to the house and put to bed. 
 Caesar was sent to the camp with word that Sir 
 Edward was unwell and would remain under 
 the Doctor's care. So Sir Edward became Dr. 
 Thompson's guest. In the meantime, pande- 
 monium reigned at the Point. Of the whole 
 soulless crew, Somers was the only one to come 
 over to see if the sick man needed any atten- 
 tion. And Somers was forthwith installed as 
 nurse. As the only way to keep peace in the 
 neighborhood was by keeping the visitors em- 
 ployed, Cassar consented to find them some 
 sport. As soon as the liquor gave out they 
 turned with great gusto to sporting. The as- 
 tute Cssar led them to remote haunts of trout 
 and bass, so the settlement of Mark was spared 
 the contaminating influence of an " ornamental 
 class." 
 
 A few days of rest and quiet restored Sir 
 Edward in body and mind, and during those 
 days he and the Doctor were drawn very 
 closely together. He had acquired an un- 
 bounded respect for Dr. Thompson, who, it 
 may be said, was the first man he had ever had 
 occasion to respect. He admitted that he had 
 on Sunday drank more than was good for him,
 
 The Earth is the Landlord's. 83 
 
 being led to do so by the thoughts that troubled 
 him. In fact he opened his heart in confidence 
 to his new-found friend and entreated his 
 counsel. To one who had lived in an atmos- 
 phere of flattery and despised it all it was 
 wholesome and refreshing to be with a man to 
 whom a baronet was no more than the poorest 
 settler. He had breathed falsehood from his 
 earliest breath, and truth was the air of a purer 
 clime. One thing that drew him to Dr. Thomp- 
 son was the conviction that he would tell him 
 the truth without fear or favor. One afternoon 
 he remarked : 
 
 " I am afraid, Dr. Thompson, that you have 
 a poor opinion of me." 
 
 " Leaving you personally out of the question, 
 Sir Edward, I confess that I have a very poor 
 opinion of your class." 
 
 " To what class do you refer?" 
 
 " The landlord class, that is the hereditary 
 landlords of England. I cannot help thinking 
 that they have come into possession of a great 
 deal that they are not entitled to." 
 
 " I don't understand you. Surely a father 
 may leave his property to his son." 
 
 " Would you mind telling me how your fam- 
 ily became possessed of their estate? " 
 
 " One of my ancestors, assisted in the enter- 
 prise of the Duke of Richmond, afterwards 
 Henry VH., and fought under him at the Bat- 
 tle of Bosworth, for which service he was 
 rewarded by a tract of land in the south 
 country. This land now forms the estate of
 
 84 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 Pasmore and has been held by my family ever 
 since." 
 
 " Was this land a barren, uninhabited 
 waste ? " 
 
 " No, it was cultivated and inhabited, in fact 
 it contained several villages which remain to 
 this day." 
 
 " Then, of course, the King bought out the 
 original occupants before giving away their 
 land ? " 
 
 " N — no, I hardly think so, that was not the 
 custom of the times. Er — you see, every man 
 
 in those times held his land at the will of the 
 
 Ki) 
 mg. 
 
 " I doubt it. And, moreover, every King 
 who preached that doctrine got himself kicked 
 out of his throne. You are thinking of France, 
 Sir Edward, not England." 
 
 The baronet stroked his mustache thought- 
 fully and stared at the Doctor, expressing his 
 astonishment with a long whistle. 
 
 " L'etat c'est Moi, don't you know," was 
 all he could say. 
 
 " The Feudal system under which these 
 large estates originated," continued the Doc- 
 tor, " implied the control of the inhabitants as 
 well as of the land. If the Royal grant gave 
 the landlord the right to the one it did equally 
 to the other. The people were his serfs just 
 as surely as the land was his property. The 
 first claim has been abolished and it is time 
 the other followed. It is quite possible that 
 some of your tenants are the descendants of
 
 The Earth is the Landlord's. 85 
 
 those who cleared the fields and won them 
 from the bush." 
 
 "Quite possible; in some instances it is 
 known to be the case." 
 
 " Then is not their claim to the land better 
 than vours? " 
 
 " Pshaw ! Plague take it, man, Dr. Thomp- 
 son, you have a deucedly uncomfortable way of 
 putting things." 
 
 " You have probably never seen it in that 
 light. But transfer the process to Canada, im- 
 agine any one given authority to collect rents 
 from these lands that we are clearing." 
 
 " Oh ! well, Doctor, make allowance for the 
 difference in the times ; the cases are not anal- 
 ogous." 
 
 " No, they are not, and that is the point I 
 am aiming at. The unrighteousness of the 
 present situation was not contemplated from 
 the first. The sturdy peasantry of England 
 would never have submitted to the present 
 system. They considered that they owned 
 the soil that they tilled and no man could be 
 evicted at the caprice of his lord. Those 
 Royal grants did not imply the absolute 
 ownership of the soil as is now claimed. The 
 landlord no more owned his estate than the 
 King owned England. The Lord of the Manor 
 held the same relation to his estate as the 
 King held to the country at large. He was 
 the representative of Majesty. He was en- 
 trusted with the administration of law such as 
 it was. He contributed to the expenses of
 
 86 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 government and the national defense. To do 
 this he was allowed to raise a revenue from his 
 domain. That was all his right amounted to. 
 His present claim is a fragmentary survival 
 of the doctrine of the Divine right of Kings. 
 What have become of those duties and re- 
 sponsibilities that were once attached to his 
 position ? " 
 
 Sir Edward shrugged his shoulders and was 
 silent. 
 
 " I would regret that my remarks should 
 cause you any embarrassment," continued the 
 Doctor ; " but you seem to desire to hear the 
 truth, so I am speaking plainly." 
 
 " I am not in the least embarrassed, Dr. 
 Thompson. The fact is I myself have long 
 felt a contempt for my position ; but I do not 
 see how to change it. I shall be glad to hear 
 you without reserve." 
 
 " There was a measure of justice about the 
 arrangement at first," continued the Doctor, 
 " or it would not have got itself foisted upon 
 the nation. But you see that up to quite re- 
 cently the land-owning class was also the law- 
 making class. Under forms of law of their 
 own making they have got themselves released 
 of all public responsibilities respecting their 
 estates while their privileges have vastly in- 
 creased. They have been released from the 
 maintenance of the army, the navy, the law, 
 the state and all public expenses. Whoever 
 now hears of an earl or a duke being called 
 upon to furnish a man-of-v/ar, or a lord of a
 
 The Earth is the Landlord's. 87 
 
 manor being required to furnish five hundred 
 men, ' all stout fellows, well harnessed, with sub- 
 stance for the maintenance of the same,' as in 
 the days of Elizabeth ? In those days the 
 rent of the land was available for the public 
 service ; to-day, although it has increased to a 
 fabulous extent, it all goes into private pockets.'' 
 
 A long pause followed this outburst and then 
 the Doctor continued : " In Scotland the in- 
 justice is even more apparent. One hundred 
 and fifty years ago the northern part of that 
 country was divided into tracts occupied by 
 the different clans of the Highlanders. After 
 the Jacobite rebellion, the British government 
 attempted to secure the loyalty of the High- 
 land chiefs by making them dukes, earls, etc. 
 Now I claim that the land occupied by those 
 clans was the property of the clans and not of 
 the chiefs. And yet these chiefs, on being 
 made Duke of Assynt and Rhea, earl of this 
 and marquis of that, immediately began to 
 treat their clansmen as tenants and their de- 
 scendants have ever since been collecting rents 
 from land that they have no honest title to. 
 And what is worse the real owners of the land 
 have been evicted in order that his lordship 
 might have his deer park." 
 
 After an interval of silence Sir Edward asked : 
 
 " What would you recommend to one born 
 heir to a large estate ? " 
 
 " It would be difficult to advise. I am not 
 familiar with the situation in England. What 
 do you think about it yourself ? "
 
 88 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 " Well, Dr. Thompson, I never before felt 
 such an earnest desire to do right. I never 
 sought that estate, it came to me unexpectedly. 
 I have done nothing but receive its revenues 
 from the hand of my agent. That any one 
 would ever question my right to do so never 
 entered my mind." 
 
 " I do not question your right." 
 
 " Dr. Thompson, you are very perplexing." 
 
 " I grant your right to receive the revenues 
 of your estate, under the circumstances. But 
 not to spend them upon yourself. Do you 
 not think that your inheritance brought you 
 some responsibilities as well as privileges? " 
 
 " I begin to think so now. I have learned a 
 great deal in the last few days." 
 
 " How much you could do to improve the 
 condition of those poor people." 
 
 " I have always thought that it was no one's 
 business but their own. But I can think so no 
 longer." 
 
 " It appears to me," said Dr. Thompson, 
 " that no class of men have greater opportun- 
 ities than the British aristocracy. A few years 
 must determine whether they are worthy of 
 their position or whether they must go the 
 way of all things that are weighed in the 
 balance and found wanting. They can only 
 retain their present position by proving them- 
 selves a true nobility.'' 
 
 " Then you do not advocate the abolition of 
 all class distinctions ? " 
 
 " Not in England where they already exist.
 
 The Earth is the Landlord's. 89 
 
 But it would be unfortunate to introduce them 
 into this country. But England can only be 
 judged by those who know England. The 
 nobility is safe so long as it does its duty. 
 Given a considerate and conscientious nobility 
 you will always have a loyal yeomanry and a 
 devoted peasantry." 
 
 " Then you do not think I should give up 
 my estate? " 
 
 " Certainly not. It is a charge given you 
 by Providence and you dare not throw it away," 
 
 " But that I should go back and take care 
 of it?" 
 
 " And do your utmost to better the moral 
 and material condition of your people. Re- 
 ceive the revenues of your estate, develop its 
 resources as far as possible, but do not spend 
 them upon yourself." 
 
 A long silence followed this remark. 
 
 " Once to every man and nation comes a 
 moment to decide." 
 
 That moment had come to Sir Edward 
 Willoughby. A fearful struggle was passing 
 in his mind. Presently he looked up and 
 asked : 
 
 " Dr. Thompson, you are the first honest 
 man I ever met. Will you go with me and 
 teach me my duty ? " 
 
 " Sir Edward, I dare not ; that would be 
 forsaking my own duty." 
 
 Sir Edward again relapsed into moody 
 silence. But the agitation of his mind could 
 be plainly seen in his contenance.
 
 90 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 " Dr. Thompson, it may seem very simple to 
 you, but you do not know my difficulties. 
 You do not know how I am hampered. I see 
 my duty as plainly as I ever saw anything. 
 There is a voice that tells me what I ousjht to 
 do. But all my life, all my character, all my 
 habits, all my associations are against it." 
 
 " How can a man be born again when he is 
 old ? " said the Doctor quietly. 
 
 "I should need to be born again before I 
 can do what I see to be right." 
 
 *' I am old-fashioned enough to believe that 
 the Spirit of God is striving with you," said 
 the Doctor gently. 
 
 " That does sound old-fashioned. But I 
 believe it. Oh ! what a time I have had ! I 
 have been haunted for weeks by a dreadful 
 temptation to let everything drift and go to 
 the Devil." 
 
 "You will never be happy again until you 
 decide for the right. And you will never do 
 that until you surrender your whole soul to 
 God." 
 
 " Oh God ! I wish I knew what that meant." 
 Sir Edward was pacing the room in great 
 agitation. 
 
 "You are not far from the Kingdom," said 
 Dr. Thompson. " The hour is come. Let us 
 pray." . 
 
 They kneeled down, and in Heaven the 
 angels said " Behold he prayeth." Not with 
 audible words for he could not speak. But 
 with sobs and tears and groanings of the spirit
 
 The Earth is the Landlord's. 91 
 
 that could not be uttered. It was fortunate 
 that he knew so definitely what he wanted. 
 He was not seeking the salvation of his soul 
 or the pardon of his sins. His was a far nobler 
 quest. It was not for himself but for others 
 that he prayed and wrestled, for the poor and 
 oppressed who had suddenly become so dear 
 to him. He desired only the power to do 
 ri^ht. Salvation comes to men in different 
 ways. Doing is not a "deadly thing." Doing 
 is healthful and strengthening to the soul. 
 The path of duty is the way into the Kingdom 
 of God. Sir Edward might have been lectured 
 for hours on the theology of Regeneration or 
 Sanctification to no purpose. But when he 
 was led to implore strength to obey the dic- 
 tates of an awakened conscience although he 
 was not aware of it he was praying for what 
 some people call conversion. And when he 
 arose from his knees he was numbered among 
 those who deny themselves and take up their 
 cross that they may follow Christ. 
 
 " Well, my friend, is it all settled ? " inquired 
 Dr. Thompson. 
 
 " Yes, it is," said Sir Edward, " I am going 
 back to Pasmore, and, God help me ! I will 
 atone for these years of selfishness and neglect." 
 
 There was a strange expression on his face ; 
 a light that never shone on land or sea. The 
 soul within him had been born of God, and, 
 although he knew it not, he was a new man in 
 Christ Jesus.
 
 92 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 love's dilemma. 
 
 September had come with golden grain and 
 ripening fruit, with glorious days of mellow 
 sunlight so quiet and peaceful that in these 
 forest solitudes it seemed as though Nature 
 had finished work for the season. The silk 
 was on the corn and the beautiful haze of 
 autumn was gathering on the horizon, and the 
 drowsy drone of the tree locust was in the air. 
 
 The Raleighs had worked hard and success- 
 fully. Most of their planting promised well. 
 Buckwheat and Indian corn were unfamiliar 
 crops to English farmers, but they had both 
 in abundance and were learning their value. 
 They had done considerable chopping and 
 would be able next spring to considerably 
 enlarge their acreage. They had cut their 
 winter's firewood and split a quantity of fence- 
 rails. The calf had grown to a good-sized 
 beast, Peter's mare had foaled and the colt 
 was doing well. They had also secured a 
 couple of pigs and a number of fowls. Better 
 than all every one was in the best of health and 
 work was a pleasure. Mother Raleigh kept 
 house, Grace and Helen took their turn in the 
 fields. They made their hay in the Beaver
 
 Love's Dilemma. 93 
 
 meadows. During the hay-making their din- 
 ners were brought and they held a picnic at 
 noon among the hayricks redolent of sweet 
 flag and pennyroyal. Mrs. Raleigh's equipment 
 for these excursions included a bludgeon of 
 the most ferocious proportions which she 
 carried for the entertainment of casual " war- 
 mints." The hay was stacked in the meadow 
 and left to be brought home on sleighs in the 
 winter. 
 
 Is this picture too idyllic for the Canadian 
 backwoods? 
 
 Then I must mention the intense heat of 
 those midsummer days, the utter weariness 
 that followed those long hours of toil. The 
 torment of those pestilent black flies and mos- 
 quitoes. I must mention the anxiety of those 
 days when Raleigh was prostrated by heat and 
 over-exertion, the terror of that June morning 
 when little Rose came screaming home with 
 a snake bite in her chubby leg, the alarm of 
 that night when Harry had to be hunted for 
 with torches. It may seem small matters to 
 mention that their cow was lost and nearly 
 ruined for want of milking, that a pig was killed 
 by a bear and that half their chickens were 
 killed by foxes. Brighten it as you will there 
 are many shadows in any true picture of back- 
 woods life. 
 
 On the day when Sir Edward became the guest 
 of Dr. Thompson, his condition was so threaten- 
 ing that the Doctor walked over to the Raleighs 
 to inform them of his case and secure one of
 
 94 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 the women for a nurse in case of necessity. 
 H e found them working later than usual getting 
 in their little crop of oats. Peter was on the 
 load, Helen was pitching up. Heavy work for 
 a woman, but she was equal to it. There were 
 other women in Mark who were not too dainty 
 to work in the fields. But they appeared to 
 have lost a great deal of their femininity ; they 
 were coarse, hard-featured, loud-voiced and 
 slovenly in their attire. These English women 
 could engage in the healthful exercise of the 
 harvest field without sacrificing anything 
 womanly. Helen wore a very presentable 
 gown with the skirt pinned up to the waist, 
 exposing a pair of shapely and well booted 
 ankles. Her sleeves were drawn up to the 
 elbows, giving her plump arms full benefit of sun 
 and air. A homemade straw hat with a brim 
 of large dimensions shaded her face. Her figure 
 was as straight as a guardsman's and she tossed 
 up the sheaves with the ease of an athlete. 
 There are many such women in these days of 
 physical culture, but such women were rare then. 
 The last sheaf was thrown on as the Doctor 
 approached. Her back was toward him ; but 
 that she knew of his presence he learned from 
 the fact that she unpinned her skirt and drew 
 down her sleeves before turning round, also 
 from the flush of pleasure that lighted the 
 shadow of the big sun-hat. As Peter steered 
 the oxen toward the gate with vociferous gee- 
 hawing, the Doctor and Helen walked together 
 to the house. As he told her of .Sir Edward's
 
 Love's Dilemma. 95 
 
 sickness her deep concern and eager questions 
 confirmed him in his behef that the baronet 
 had a hold upon her affections. As it hap- 
 pened, the sick man improved so rapidly that 
 a nurse was not needed, and he and the Doctor 
 walked over each evening to spend an hour 
 with the Raleighs. One evening when the 
 Doctor was absent Sir Edward went alone. 
 The Doctor took what he supposed was a hint 
 and went no more. So for several evenings 
 Sir Edward joined the Raleighs at sundown 
 and sat with them in conversation, or rambled 
 about the clearing with Helen in the twilight. 
 Those were pleasant evenings. When the 
 lingering light and purple haze of the autumn 
 day mingled with the weird gleam of the large, 
 red harvest moon, they rambled through the 
 rustling corn and into the moonlighted and 
 shadow-haunted forest glades. And as they 
 walked they recalled the thrilling memories of 
 other days, of scenes so different in far-off 
 lands. So many associations they had in com- 
 mon of gay and brilliant life in the stately 
 capitals of Europe, of Champs Elysees and 
 the gardens of Versailles, of St. James' Park 
 and Somerset House, of the Rue d'Anglais 
 and the forest of Fontainebleau, of the Co- 
 loseum at Rome and St. Mark's at Venice, of 
 the boulevards of Vienna, Unter-den-lindens at 
 Berlin and lastly of quaint old Sweden, All 
 these stirring memories blended with a delight- 
 ful sentiment that made the pulses tingle, the 
 eyes glisten and the cheeks glow.
 
 96 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 Those were happy hours, but they were 
 fraught with danger. Poor Helen was in a 
 sad dilemma. Two lovers were hovering about 
 her. In her calmer moments her heart went 
 out to honest, faithful, prosy Dr. Thompson. 
 She loved him, she told herself again and 
 again. He was a good, true-hearted, self-deny- 
 ing man. He had made no advances to her. 
 But Love has a language of its own. Love had 
 spoken in the tones of his voice, in the glance 
 of his eye and in the grasp of his hand. Helen 
 knew very well that the least encouragement 
 would gladden the heart of one of the noblest 
 of men. That Dr. Thompson had never re- 
 ceived. He found the society of a refined and 
 intelligent woman a feast for his soul in the 
 rugged and toilsome life that he led. Yet they 
 were scarcely so much as on that familiar foot- 
 ing that would justify the term friendship. 
 
 On the other hand, with Sir Edward, Aliss 
 Raleigh was simply fascinated. She knew that 
 she could not with safety and horkor give her 
 heart to such a man whatever pledge of refor- 
 mation he might make. And men of such a 
 character have no right to complain if their pro- 
 fessions of amendment are required to be sup- 
 ported by several years of altered life. Yet 
 such was the glamour of his presence, aided by 
 the arts in which such men are too well skilled, 
 that he exercised over her an influence which 
 she could not resist. All her womanly in- 
 stincts of pleasing were stimulated and she
 
 Love's Dilemma. 97 
 
 was never more glowing and radiant than 
 when Sir Edward was with her. Now that 
 it was understood that their footing was 
 simply that of friendship, and as Sir Edward 
 seemed disposed to keep to the terms of the 
 contract, there was no reason why they might 
 not be on the best of terms. Those ladies who 
 have never had an English baronet at their 
 feet (and some who have) will fancy they see 
 an impropriety in her conduct. But there is 
 this to be said in her behalf, that, much as she 
 knew about Sir Edw^ard, she did not know the 
 worst. 
 
 And how was the case regarded by the two 
 lovers ? 
 
 Dr. Thompson had simply given up the 
 ship. In other words he had concluded that 
 she was not the b'rd for his cage. This wild 
 bush life would not suit her for lono-. A few 
 months in summer she had endured it with ap- 
 parent pleasure. But the novelty would soon 
 wear off. Besides, tlie winter was coming, 
 and, successful as the Raleighs had been, they 
 were likely to find themselves very meagerly 
 furnished for several years. 
 
 There were hardships in store for them. He 
 could not bear to think of such a woman as 
 Helen worn down by poverty anrl loneliness, de- 
 prived of intellectual stimulus until her life be- 
 came barren and her nature hard and joy- 
 less. 
 7
 
 98 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 (e 
 
 No," he thought, " the baronet may take 
 her. She wiU be a help to him in his new 
 hfe." 
 
 So the bright thoughts that once filled his 
 mind became " as a lovely dream when one 
 awakens." 
 
 Sir Edward, on his part, Avas not without 
 hope that his suit might prove successful. He 
 had made up his mind to return to Passmore 
 and take up his long neglected work. He also 
 decided that he would not return to his com- 
 pany at the camp until he was prepared to 
 leave the country. His sickness gave him an 
 excuse for taking up his quarters with the Doc- 
 tor. They held bachelors' hall and got along 
 very well. Somers visited the camp every day 
 and carried instructions from the chief. The 
 young fellows were having a good time. They 
 had made a voyage to the nearest town and 
 brought a supply of provisions and sporting 
 goods. They were now making vigorous war 
 upon everything that breathed. C?esar had 
 come upon the haunts of some bears. Al- 
 though a week of bear hunting yielded no defi- 
 nite result, CcTsar afterwards explained in con- 
 fidence to the Doctor that he — 
 
 " Didn't cal'late ter waste no live bars on dat 
 'scription er people." 
 
 At deer-stalking they apparently did better, 
 for one morning the Raleighs found hanging 
 on the side of the house the carcass of a fine
 
 Love's Dilemma. 99 
 
 buck to which was attached a card on which 
 was written : 
 
 " To the Lady of Mark. CompHments of 
 the ' Owl.' " 
 
 This was followed by several tributes, a 
 string of fine trouts. a bunch of partridges or 
 wild ducks. These gifts were hung at the side 
 of the house at night and were always ad- 
 dressed as above. One of them was accom- 
 panied by a paper which bore the following 
 effusion : 
 
 THE OWL AND THE DOVE. 
 
 The Owl, the Owl is a jovial bird 
 And he never goes home till morning, 
 The midnight air by his flight is stirred 
 For he never goes home till morning. 
 His white wings skim the moonlit hike 
 From set of sun till dawning, 
 He knows full well when the day will break 
 And he hies him home in the morning. 
 Oh ! gentle dove in the forest tree, 
 'Tis fair to give thee warning 
 The Owl, tiie Owl is after thee 
 To carry thee off in the morning. 
 
 The Owl he ranges fount and rill 
 
 All fears of danger scorning, 
 
 He seeks his prey o'er dale and liill 
 
 And bears ft away in the mnrning. 
 
 Oh ! beauteous bird with the golden crast 
 
 Thy snowy plumes adorning, 
 
 The Owl, the Owl will take no rest 
 
 Till he carries thee off in the morning. 
 
 The peculiar haze that quivered on the hori- 
 zon anrl filled the sky with a crimson glow was 
 an unfamiliar phenomenon to newcomers. Tt 
 V/as caused by the prevalence of forest fires.
 
 100 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 A period of several weeks of rainless weather 
 had made everything on the earth as dry as 
 tinder. The opportunity had been seized by 
 the settlers to get their brushwood cleared up 
 and burnt. Every settlement was adding its 
 quota to the thickening veil of smoke that cov- 
 ered the face of the earth. Occasionally these 
 fires broke loose and entered the forest on a 
 career of their own. It was not unusual for 
 the woods to be on fire in half a dozen places 
 at once. As a general thing these fires were 
 comparatively harmless. The flames crept slug- 
 gishly about among the leaves and underbrush 
 doing no particular damage. Careless men 
 have even been known to set fire to their woods 
 to save the trouble of underbrushing. Those 
 disastrous forest conflagrations that have 
 made such red marks on the annals of the 
 backwoods were brought about by a combina- 
 tion of favoring circumstances. A prolonged 
 drought had made the woods unusually in- 
 flammable, several unregarded fires effected a 
 junction, and, unitedly got up a blaze that could 
 not be controlled. It seized upon the cherished 
 groves of resinous pine, and not only the 
 shrubs but the tallest trees were ablaze from 
 top to bottom. A sudden uprising of a high 
 wind completed the mischief. The fire dragon 
 stretched forth his red wings and swooped 
 across the devoted country, terror before, 
 death and ruin behind.
 
 ■^ 
 
 Love's Dilemma. loi 
 
 Headlong for the nearest water sped a 
 panic-stricken herd of animals brute and hu- 
 man, wild and tame, shrieking, bellowing, 
 panting in terrific stampede. Blasted as they 
 run by the hot breath of the fire demon, they 
 sink down and die. Nothing escapes ; fences 
 are licked up, crops, barns and houses are de- 
 voured. So deep a scar is burned in Nature's 
 face that it remains for many years. Such a 
 fire has been known to devastate even a cleared 
 country. One such fire swept to Avithin a 
 mile of Ottawa, destroying everything in its 
 path and threatening even the Capital. The 
 greatest disaster of this kind on record is a 
 fire which originated on the head- waters of the 
 Ottawa and started east, ravaging the north- 
 ern woods for hundreds of miles, till it ex- 
 hausted itself in the dreary wastes of the Lab- 
 rador peninsula.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A FLIGHT WITH THE " OWL." 
 
 One morning Sir Edward proposed to 
 Dr. Thompson that they should invite the 
 younger Raleighs to a sail on the lake. 
 
 " Do you think the company would be agree- 
 able to them? " asked the Doctor. 
 
 " There will be none of the party on board 
 except Somers, Rogers and my sailing master," 
 said Sir Edward. " We can take them down 
 in the skiff and get them on board without go- 
 ing near the camp." 
 
 Dr. Thompson carried the invitation; the 
 afternoon of the next day was the time ap- 
 pointed. Somers conveyed Peter and Grace 
 with the yacht's dingy, leaving Dr. Thompson 
 to bring Helen with his own boat. Helen was 
 a woman, and no true woman is unmindful of 
 the influence of tasteful attire. Her dress 
 was such as she would have worn at some Eng- 
 lish rural fete, and she carried a shawl of In- 
 dia silk to ward off the chilly lake air. They 
 proceeded along the winding forest path now 
 thickly strewn with fallen leaves and came to 
 
 I02
 
 A Flight with the " Owl." 103 
 
 the river. Embarlcing was a matter that re- 
 quired some care. This was before the time 
 when ladies had learned to dress for all occa- 
 sions. The short-skirted, close-clinging boat- 
 ing costume had not been thought of. The 
 flowing, voluminous draperies of the time re- 
 qiiired to be carefully bestowed (within the 
 narrow confines of a leaky skiff. Dr. Thomp- 
 son was very attentive. Such was the charm 
 of her presence that he unconsciously became 
 as gallant as a cavalier. Miss Raleigh was 
 gratified. Delicate attentions from such a 
 man as Sir Edward might be a matter of habit. 
 But from the blunt and honest Doctor they 
 were a tribute indeed. As they glided along 
 the placid stream in alternate sunlight and 
 shade the Doctor told her of the resolution Sir 
 Edward had formed to abandon his life of 
 pleasure and take up the duties of his estate. 
 He gave her an account of the whole affair and 
 expressed his conviction that Sir Edward was 
 in a fair way to become a changed man. Miss 
 Raleigh listened with great interest. 
 
 " If those resolutions are carried out," she 
 replied, " the amount of good that will result 
 is more than you can imagine. If you never 
 do any more than to bring that man to his 
 right mind you have not lived in vain. I al- 
 ways believed ihere was good in Sir Edward 
 and I am sure it will nnpear some dav." 
 
 She was concerned and animated. But
 
 104 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 neither her words nor her manner confirmed 
 the Doctor in the opinion he had formed con- 
 cerning her relation to the baronet. It puz- 
 zled him to hear her speak of the possibility 
 of there being good in the man to whom he 
 supposed she had given her heart and hand. 
 Her subsequent conduct still further disabused 
 his mind. 
 
 " Dr. Thompson," she said, " that is the 
 best news I have heard for many a day. And, 
 do you know, he thinks so much of you. I be- 
 lieve you have more influence over him than 
 any other man he ever met. It really seems 
 providential that you should be here, both on 
 his account and ours." 
 
 Coming to the mouth of the river they saw 
 the graceful outlines of the " Owl " as she lay 
 at anchor. When they were alongside Somers 
 appeared. 
 
 " Gweetings of the ' Owl ' to the Lady of 
 Mark," he exclaimed. 
 / He assisted Helen on board and said : 
 
 " 'Pon me word. Miss Waleigh, this is quite 
 an honor, it is indeed. It is wather early for 
 the ' Owl ' to fly abwoad, but she will spwead 
 her white wings and show you what she 
 can do." 
 
 There were already on board Sir Edward. 
 Rogers, Goodwin the pilot, Peter and Grace. 
 
 Then followed the usual rattling of cords 
 pind creaking and swaying of booms.
 
 A Flight with the " Owl." 105 
 
 " Ready now with the forcb'el. Up she 
 g^oes," shouted Sir Edward, who, dressed in a 
 jaunty yachting suit, was commanding the ves- 
 sel with a great show of authority. 
 
 " Up with the gib. Stand by to up anchor. 
 Clear away the tackle for the mainsle." Or- 
 ders came faster than the scanty crew could 
 get them attended to. And soon she was in 
 motion with a fresh breeze heading up the 
 lake in a northerly direction. 
 
 As soon as she was fairly before the wind 
 Somers came with a great show of hospital- 
 ity to take them over the vessel. She was a 
 craft of about thirty tons. The deck was 
 soon explored. Below she was divided into 
 two cabins. The cabin aft was luxuriously 
 furnished. An upholstered seat ran along each 
 side which at night could be divided into a 
 tier of sleeping berths. At the extreme stern 
 was a tiny cabin, a cosy and elegant apart- 
 ment. 
 
 " This," said Somers, " is the ladies' cabin 
 when there are ladies on board ; otherwise it 
 is occupied by Sir Edward and myself." 
 
 The fore cabin contained a kitchen and 
 pantry and half a dozen extra berths. Coming 
 on deck they founrl that their starting place 
 was far behind. The lake had widened, the 
 .shores had become more rugged. Before them 
 stretched an expanse of white-capped billows 
 "bourjfjed by towe^jt)g Jieadlands and sharp-
 
 io6 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 pointed capes. Sir Edward was steering with 
 the pilot standing by. He sailed so near to 
 the eastern coast that there drifted past them 
 a series of forest vistas whose hues were as 
 varied as the colors of a kaleidoscope. The 
 passengers were left somewhat to themselves 
 as in the fresh wind the vessel needed the at- 
 tention of the crew. Peter was anxious to 
 display his sea legs by walking about. The 
 ladies remained forward watching the curling, 
 foamy billows around the plunging prow. 
 Presently the attentive Somers brought them 
 seats. 
 
 " Make yourselves comfortable ladies," said 
 he; "when we are before the wind and 
 haven't so much of this confounded tacking 
 we shall be able to pay you more atten- 
 tion." Dr. Thompson then joined them, and 
 said : 
 
 " I suppose yachting is nothing new to you, 
 Helen?" 
 
 " No, indeed, we sailed so much on the North 
 Sea." 
 
 " Does this remind you of anything you ever 
 saw before? " 
 
 " Yes, it is very much like the coast of 
 Sweden, only it is much brighter. I never saw 
 such colors. Aren't they gorgeous ? And 
 such a vast lake ! Is it really fresh water? 
 I can scarcely believe it." 
 
 " This is really only a small lake for Amer-
 
 A Flight with the " Owl." 107 
 
 ica, Helen. There are lakes where you lose 
 sight of land while crossing them." 
 
 " This is plenty large enough for me," said 
 poor Grace with her handkerchief at her 
 mouth. 
 
 *' How strange to have the only craft afloat 
 in such water," said Helen; "there is not an- 
 other vessel in sight." 
 
 " The only vessel on this lake larger than a 
 skiff is a small steamer that makes a weekly 
 trip." 
 
 Just here poor Grace had to go below, over- 
 come with freshwater seasickness, and they 
 were left alone. 
 
 " What a wilderness this is ! " said Helen, 
 " Forest as far as we can see and not a sign of 
 civilization." 
 
 " There is nothing in all this region except 
 such clearings as you liave seen at Mark. The 
 nearest point of civilization is a little town at 
 the foot of the lake ten miles away. And here 
 are we in the midst of all this wilderness enjoy- 
 ing all the luxuries of high life. I tell you, 
 Helen, this is an unusual experience in these 
 parts." 
 
 " Yes, indeed, it is quite a handsome yacht, 
 although, of course, I have sailed on much 
 finer." 
 
 " But there will be this difference," said the 
 Doctor, " that when you land you will not be 
 driven in a carriage to a mansion. You will
 
 io8 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 be taken in a leaky punt to a log house in the 
 woods." 
 
 " ' Be it ever so humble, there is no place like 
 home,' " replied Helen. 
 
 " Helen, do you ever think of the future? " 
 " Who does not, Dr. Thompson ? " 
 *' But I mean about your own prospects here 
 in the settlement. Let me tell you that you 
 have had an easy time so far. Not one in a 
 thousand has been as fortunate as you have 
 been. It may not be so always." 
 
 " Dr. Thompson, you may be sure that when 
 we were desperate enough to try our fortunes 
 in a strange land we were prepared for the 
 worst. We have found things much better 
 than our wildest hopes." 
 
 "It is not always summer, Miss Raleigh; 
 what will you do in the winter when the lake 
 is frozen and the country is buried in snow? 
 Have you furs, snow-shoes and sleighs? 
 How will you enjoy life when for weeks to- 
 gether you have no occasion to leave the house ; 
 when you have no society, no church, nothing 
 but the dreary round of monotonous life?" 
 Miss Raleigh was watching him with an 
 amused expression as though wondering what 
 this sudden solicitude might portend. 
 
 "What will you do, Doctor?" she asked. 
 When too late the question appeared pointed, 
 she blushed and looked away in confusion. 
 " What will you do when your good clothes
 
 A Flight with the "Owl." 109 
 
 are gone and all the comforts you have brought 
 with you? It will be hard to replace them in 
 this country." 
 
 Miss Raleigh replied laughing: 
 
 " From your account I shall have small need 
 of silks and laces. The social life of Mark 
 will make small demands upon my wardrobe; 
 it is likely to last me some time." 
 
 ** There won't be any baronets — " 
 
 It was the Doctor's turn to be embarrassed. 
 He pulled up quickly but not in time. Miss 
 Raleigh replied sharply : 
 
 "If the Doctor is there with his imperti- 
 nence it will be entertainment enough. Really, 
 Dr. Thompson, if I did not know you to be 
 a dear, honest, blundering old goose I should 
 take offense at that last remark." 
 
 " Well, if Sir Edward's presence has been 
 any pleasure to you," said the Doctor, floun- 
 dering deeper and deeper in, " his absence is 
 going to add to the monotony of bush life." 
 
 " That will do. Doctor," she replied sharply, 
 " and I must ask you never to mention that 
 subject again." 
 
 They were both annoyed. Dr. Thompson 
 was conscious that in his effort to ascertain 
 what her thoughts of the future were he had 
 displayed an unseemh^ curiosity and a sus- 
 picious amount of sensibility with regard to 
 her relations with the baronet. And Miss 
 Raleigh was reminded that her association with
 
 no The Lady of Mark. 
 
 Sir Edward had been unavoidably misinter- 
 preted by her honest, faithful friend. An un- 
 comfortable silence followed. Both looked 
 over the waste of sunlit waters without speak- 
 
 ing. 
 
 Miss Raleigh felt mortified. With all the 
 influence she could exercise over such men as 
 Sir Edv/ard she could not give the desired en- 
 couragement to the man whom she really loved. 
 Everything combined to make him misunder- 
 stand her. 
 
 Sir Edward gave the wheel to the pilot and 
 came forward. The wind was brisk but the 
 vessel was sufficiently steady for promenading. 
 He gave his arm to Helen and they paced up 
 and down. She soon forgot her annoyance. 
 The Doctor watched them as they came and 
 went, she with an animated expression and 
 her white dress and ribbons fluttering in the 
 breeze ; he in his natty suit and his manner at 
 once respectful, gallant and gay. They con- 
 versed eagerly for several minutes. Helen 
 then incidentally expressed her pleasure with 
 the outing. 
 
 " Must it be the last? " inquired the baronet 
 gently. " Helen, what is your life to be in a 
 country like this ? I almost tremble for you." 
 
 Just at that moment Helen's eyes rested on 
 the unsailorlike form of Dr. Thompson as he 
 sat alone and uncomfortable looking. It must 
 be admitted that his appearance was not heroic
 
 A Flight with the "Owl." iii 
 
 at that moment. Miss Raleigh's silence was 
 the most misleading reply she could have made 
 to such a question. If he ventured to press the 
 hand that lay so confidingly upon his arm it 
 may have been only intended to emphasize his 
 sympathetic remark. 
 
 Just then the wind dropped to a dead calm 
 and Sir Edward moved ofif to attend to the 
 sails. They hoisted a flvino- jib and a spin- 
 naker. They looked all round the heavens and 
 whistled into all points of the compass ; but all 
 in vain — the vessel remained motionless. 
 
 " Good time to take tea," suggested Somers. 
 
 As tea was ready they went below, leaving 
 the pilot on deck. 
 
 Below they were astonished to find Black 
 Caesar arrayed in a dress suit and a frilled 
 shirt which that mischievous Somers had per- 
 suaded him was the correct costume in which 
 to wait on table. With a negro's innate love 
 of style Cspsar would have worn plate armor, 
 in which, perhaps, he would not have been 
 more uncomfortable. 
 
 The repast was a compromise between din- 
 ner and tea, and the fare suggested an ar- 
 rangement between a tavern and a lumber 
 shanty. There were canned meats, potatoes 
 with their skins on, baked beans, fried trout, 
 ship biscuit, fried cakes and shanty bread. 
 \\nien the vessel became motionless Grace ven- 
 tured to appear and the two ladies received all
 
 112 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 the attention that is usually paid to ladies in 
 the cabin of a yacht. Peter had been lending 
 a hand on deck and had got himself a regular 
 sea-going appetite as he termed it. Where can 
 a party be more hilarious than in the cabin 
 of a yacht even though the only beverage is 
 tea? The feast proceeded with much rnerri- 
 ment and many displays of wit. Black Cie- 
 sar tripped about wearing a beaming smile. 
 
 " Wind shifting norrud, >Sor," shouted 
 Goodwin down the companion. 
 
 Fortunately they had just finished tea. 
 "All right," replied Sir Edward, "that 
 will give us a good run home." 
 Presently Goodwin shouted again: 
 " Big wind east-nor'-east, Sor. She'll back 
 in a minute." 
 
 Sir Edward started for the deck followed by 
 his crew. Just then was heard the rattle of 
 cordage, a peculiar bumping and the roar of a 
 squall. The booms swung across the deck and 
 the yacht careened in a manner that sent the 
 dishes flying. Csesar dropped a handful of 
 plates and pressed his back against the side of 
 the cabin that was uppermost in a frantic en- 
 deavor to restore the vessel's equilibrium. 
 At the first movement Grace vanished into the 
 ladies' cabin. The Doctor drew Helen out 
 from under the table and assisted her to the 
 deck. Sir Edward was shouting ordersi as 
 though he had a crew of twenty. A sudden
 
 A Flight with the "Owl". 113 
 
 gust of contrary wind had backed the sails and 
 thrown the yacht almost on her beam ends. 
 By prompt action the danger was averted and 
 she righted. 
 
 " Didn't onghter hev so much sail up with 
 the crew below," said Goodwin. " Youse may 
 be all good seamen, but youse ain't on to these 
 lake winds." 
 
 The wind had swung half round the com- 
 pass and was blowing a gale. 
 
 Sir Edward was now in his element. 
 
 " Get her close hauled fore and aft, Good- 
 win," he shouted; " we'll take the wind abeam 
 and sail her for all she is worth." 
 
 He took the wheel and Goodwin went for- 
 ward to where Somers, Rogers and Peter were 
 pulling in the sheets in a reckless fashion. 
 Soon Sir Edward had the sails to his liking 
 with a man at each sheet ready to slacken 
 away at a word. Somers then came aft and 
 sat with Miss Raleigh and the Doctor. The 
 yacht heeled over at a most unpleasant angle 
 and raced along at a most exhilarating rate 
 of speed. The Doctor then went below and 
 brought up Grace, who still looked very pale 
 and limp. With cushions and wraps a couch 
 was made for her and the color slowly came 
 back to her cheeks from the inlluence of the 
 wind and sunlight. 
 
 Somers and his chief were in their glory, and 
 8
 
 114 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 an occasional glance at each other betrayed 
 their mutual satisfaction. 
 
 "Now you shall see some pwetty sailing; 
 now you shall see what tlie saucy ' Owl ' can 
 do," shouted Somers. 
 
 " You should have named your yacht the 
 ' Sea-gull,' " said Helen, glancmg up admir- 
 ingly at the gleaming sails. 
 
 " What, to sail on fwe. h water, Miss Wa- 
 leigh? No, the 'Owl'or the 'Patwidge or some 
 such chicken. But the ' Owl ' can sail though, 
 you shall see. Go it, old White Wings ! " ' 
 
 They were heading for the open lake and 
 soon they had the benefit of the waves that 
 were every moment growing larger. The 
 yacht was soon plunging and the spray began 
 to fly. Somers went below for waterproofs 
 which he wrapped around Helen and Grace. 
 
 " It is fwesh water, Miss Waleigh," he said; 
 " it is cold, heavy and wet. Some peonle 
 dwink it," he added with a grimace. "If it 
 were salt water, now, good, honest English 
 water, I'd let you take a ducking, such a one 
 as you had on the Solent on the day of the 
 gweat naval we view." 
 
 " Mr. Somers, were you there ? " 
 
 " Indeed I was, and I saw the fun," said he 
 as he walked away leaving her very much puz- 
 zled. Her hair was soon blowing- about her 
 face m spite of her efforts to prevent it. 
 Somers again came to her help. He tied a
 
 A Flight with the "Owl." 115 
 
 highly perfumed silk handkerchief about the 
 golden locks. 
 
 " What delightful perfume," she exclaimed; 
 " is that your choice, Mr. Somers ? " 
 
 " No, it is the chief's," replied Somers. 
 " The chief is expewienced in perfumevvy." 
 
 '' Somers, you rascal," murmured that 
 worthy as he wrestled with the wheel. 
 
 " The chief encountered a commercial gen- 
 tleman who twavels in perfumewy," continued 
 the unabashed Somers, " and the interview 
 cost him the pwice of a new pair of twousers." 
 
 Somers winked at the Doctor who had heard 
 the story, but Helen was mystified. So they 
 chatted and joked as the yacht bowled along 
 and the spray flew about their ears. Somers 
 was exploding with humor and his witty re- 
 marks derived a relish from his drawling man- 
 ner and effeminate lisp. Soon he persuaded 
 Helen to go with him forward to the bow 
 , where the impressions of speed and motion 
 v\'ould be the greater. Away they went; 
 Somers with one hand on the windward gun- 
 wale and his other arm (the cheek of him!) 
 round her waist. But perhaps the sharp angle 
 of the deck and the plunging motion of the 
 boat justified that. Reaching the Ijow they 
 stood on the upper side watching the swelHng 
 sails and the mastheads tracing diagrams 
 against the sky. Did Helen become giddy 
 with the dizzy swooping of the yacht that she
 
 ii6 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 should need so much support? Or was there 
 something suspiciously like a flirtation in 
 progress between these two? On returning 
 they fell and slid across the wet, sloping deck 
 into the lee scuppers. At that moment they 
 were overwhelmed with a drenching douche 
 of spray and came back dripping. Her face 
 was wet and rosy with the wind and spray 
 and she ruefully surveyed her limp ribbons 
 and shook the drops from her glistening 
 skirt. 
 
 " Watered silk is all the go now, Miss Wa- 
 leigh," said Somers, consolingly. 
 
 " That was hardly a suitable dress for such 
 an outing," said Dr. Thompson. 
 
 " Thank you. Doctor," she replied, some- 
 what stiffly, " but you have already reminded 
 me that I shall not need it again." 
 
 The annoyance she felt was not all on ac- 
 count of the accident to her finery. She knew 
 that Dr. Thompson had seen all that had passed 
 and must have put his own construction upon 
 it. She was in that state of mind when a wo- 
 man is reckless and makes liberal provision for 
 future repentance. Somers. supposing that 
 her evident distress was on account of her wet- 
 ting, expressed great regret. 
 
 " But," said he, " the spray won't matter 
 now, for you can't get any worse." 
 
 However the water was fresh and pure and 
 ■the wind and sunlight soon repaired the dam-
 
 A Flight with the "Owl." 117 
 
 age. Helen regained her spirits as her plum- 
 age resumed its luster. 
 
 " We have passed the point by a mile," said 
 Sir Edward, " we shall have to tack to get in." 
 
 The thick pine grove and the white tent at 
 the mouth of the river were seen astern. 
 
 " Stand bv to 'bout ship ! " 
 
 " Aye, aye, Sor ! " 
 
 Sir Edward jammed the wheel down with 
 all his might and the yacht rounded with the 
 sweep of a sea-gull. 
 
 " Let go ! " 
 
 The booms swung inward. 
 
 " Heads below ! " 
 
 The booms swung across the deck. The 
 vessel staggered for a moment as the sails 
 fluttered. 
 
 " Haul away tight and make fast." 
 
 The sails filled and the vessel bounded away 
 on the other tack. 
 
 " Can't do it. Sor," shouted Goodwin from 
 the bow ; " it's in the eye of the wind." 
 
 " Then we'll give her some weather and try 
 it again. She'll make it on the next tack." 
 
 Very soon they passed the point again, this 
 time running up the lake. Again they accom- 
 plished the exciting task of going about in the 
 face of a high wind. A few minutes on this 
 tack brought them abreast of the point on the 
 sheltered side. The vessel was still dasliing 
 ahead as though bent on running aground.
 
 ii8 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 Goodwin was on the lookout. Soon came the 
 cry : 
 
 " Hard a port, Sor ! " 
 
 Over went the wheel and she rounded with 
 a flourish. There was a splash at the bow, 
 the sails came rattling down and the " Owl " 
 had returned to her anchorage. 
 
 Sir Edward took Grace and Peter ashore in 
 the dingy ; Dr. Thompson followed with Helen 
 in his own skiff. 
 
 Thus ended a memorable excursion. In 
 expressing her thanks Helen said : 
 
 " This is a day that I shall long remember." 
 
 Truly it was, and the reasons that made it 
 memorable were yet to come. 
 
 It was not remembered for its romance and 
 flirtation, but for an adventure wild and thrill- 
 ing, a tragedy stark and ghastly, a calamitv 
 that sent a thrill of horror through the land 
 and made another red mark in the annals of the 
 backwoods.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 " THROUGH FIRE AND FLOOD." 
 
 Peter and Grace went directly home on 
 landing-, but Dr. Thompson and Helen saun- 
 tered leisurely along and bore themselves as 
 though private explanations were in order. 
 As soon as they were alone it was evident that 
 there was a cloud between them. Dr. Thomp- 
 son was saddened and disappointed ; his high 
 regard for Miss Raleigh had been lowered. 
 She too was conscious that she had not sus- 
 tained herself and that she must have fallen in 
 the esteem of the man whose regard above all 
 others she desired. Their attention was soon 
 diverted from each other by some surprising 
 phenomena. It grew suddenly dark as though 
 the sky were overcast. The wind increased, 
 the air was filled with a strange roaring which 
 every moment increased. A lurid light per- 
 vadefl the forest and a peculiar blue mist 
 seemed to be forming among the treetops. 
 
 "What is it, Doctor?" she asked in fright- 
 ened tones. 
 
 The Doctor stood like a man paralyzed with 
 horror. 
 
 119
 
 120 The Lady of Mark. i 
 
 " Back to the river, quick, run for your life !" 
 
 " What is it ? " 
 
 " Good God, Helen, it is fire." 
 
 " Is it dangerous? " 
 
 " God help us ! It is death." 
 
 Away he ran like a madman. Was he de- 
 serting her ? He was making the shortest 
 cut to the river in hope of intercepting Sir Ed- 
 ward with the boat. She followed as best she 
 could, loosing her hat and marking her way 
 with strips of fringe and lace. Sir Edward 
 was not in sight. To go up stream for the 
 canoe was to meet death on the way. 
 
 " We must get down stream as fast as we 
 can," said the Doctor; "below here there are 
 some barren rocks where we may find shelter 
 till the fire has passed." 
 
 The river was bordered with thick and in- 
 flammable underbrush and encumbered at the 
 side with sodden drift wood. They walked 
 out on a fallen tree past the debris. Alas ! for 
 neat boots and dainty dress. Her feminine 
 instincts for their preservation almost over- 
 came her terror of the fire. Down they sprang 
 with a plunge. The bottom was firm and 
 smooth and they waded along as fast as Helen 
 could move with her clinging garments. 
 Knee deep for a hundred yards, then waist 
 deep. The fire was following them down the 
 river. Clouds of smoke rolled above them, the 
 flames were in sight crackling among the
 
 "Through Fire and Flood." 121 
 
 bushes. Before them rose the shehering rocks ; 
 could they reach them? The water was of 
 unknown depth. In a minute they were 
 shoulder deep. The Doctor drew Helen to 
 his side and she clung to him in silent terror. 
 Half drowned they reached the rocks and drew 
 themselves along hand over hand until they 
 reached a place where they could raise them- 
 selves above the water. 
 
 For the present they were safe, but for how 
 long? The air was like the blast of a furnace 
 and full of sparks and firebrands. Helen, 
 woman-like, began to wring the water from 
 her clothes. The Doctor, with the expression 
 of a man at bay, watched the advancing fire 
 and gloomily calculated their chances. There 
 was no vegetation within twenty yards of 
 them. But he saw with dismay the long, 
 forked streamers of flame that leaped so far in 
 advance of the burning mass. When the fire 
 was nearest they would be in the track of that 
 belching volcano. It was a question of mo- 
 ments — the moment had come. He crouched 
 to avoid the heat that blistered his hands and 
 face. Miss Raleigh was overpowered and 
 fell prostrate. He felt his senses leaving him 
 and, thinking it would be better to drown than 
 to burn he lifted her off the ledge and leaped 
 again into the river. There was no footing; 
 he grasped the rock with one hand and sup- 
 ported Helen with the other. The cold plunge
 
 122 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 revived her, the air near the water was cooler, 
 and close to the rock they were protected from 
 most of the sparks. The fire blazed, roared, 
 hissed, crackled and whistled; long streamers 
 of flame flapped and fluttered ; whirling show- 
 ers of sparks and brands were swept this way 
 and that, and the falling trees and branches on 
 the brow of the cliff sent a cataract of cinders 
 down upon their heads. How long could they 
 hold out ? He was supporting her weight and 
 his by one hand. Immersed bodies are nor 
 heavy; still the strain was a great one. Al- 
 ready his arm was trembling. Minutes that 
 seemed hours crept slowly past. As they had 
 not perished at the first onset of the flames 
 hope began to arise. 
 
 " Helen," he said, " can you catch hold 
 somewhere and let me change hands ? " 
 
 Helen squeezed her fingers into a crevice and 
 held on while he endeavored to recover the use 
 ot his stiffened arm. Just then a log floating 
 down the stream scraped its butt along the cliff 
 and Helen was thrust aside. Losing her hold 
 of the rock she clung to the log and was borne 
 away. Dr. Thompson who was watching the 
 fire did not notice this. As soon as she found 
 herself swept away she screamed and bp was 
 amazed to miss her from his side. Jt^ut the 
 log was floating to safety, so he attempted to 
 swim after it. But his right arm was still 
 cramped and it was with difficulty that he re-
 
 "Through Fire and Flood." 123 
 
 gained the rock. A swirling blast of hot air 
 covered the river with smoke and he found 
 himself alone. He called to Helen to cling to 
 the log but got no reply. 
 
 Poor Helen was in a sad case. With a 
 strong arm around her and a brave heart to en- 
 courage her she had not been hopeless. But 
 now she found herself alone with the water 
 around, the fire above and nothing to cling to 
 but a wet slippery log that would keep turn- 
 ing round. She floated with upturned face, 
 and whenever the veil above was rent by a hot 
 blast she saw that up to the very zenith the 
 firmament was filled with rolling, wreathing 
 volumes of purple smoke, glowing, quivering 
 and flashing with light as they were shot 
 through and through with lurid flames and 
 scored by a driving tempest of blazing brands. 
 Amid all this dissolution of nature where the 
 elements were melting with fervent heat she 
 was alone ! alone ! The sense of loneliness 
 was like a nightmare. A terror was coming 
 over her which imperiled her self-possession. 
 She gave utterance to a series of shrieks so 
 shrill and piercing that they echoed along the 
 water and sounded above all the uproar. Then 
 .she prayed, and as she prayed a calm came over 
 her. So she continued to pray as she was 
 borne along she knew not whither. 
 
 When Sir Edward returned to the camp he 
 found there a solitary individual who had evi-
 
 124 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 dently been drinking and had probably been 
 left behind on that account. 
 
 " Drunk again, Glenny," he said in a tone of 
 disgust. 
 
 " Some I, Sir Edward, some I," repHed the 
 fellow impudently. 
 
 Sir Edward then went on board. The 
 yacht was secured with her bow to the lake and 
 her stern held to the shore by a line. By the 
 time they had made all snug their comrades 
 returned evidently excited, lliey called aloud 
 for Sir Edward and shouted that the forest 
 was on fire. The forest around them was so 
 tall and dense that it was impossible to see 
 into the northeast, but clouds of red smoke 
 above their heads testified that a serious con- 
 flagration was approaching. 
 
 '' Any danger, Goodwin ? " inquired Sir 
 Edward. 
 
 " Bad fire, Sor ; with this wind it will come 
 on fast and burn to the water's edge. We 
 must get out of here and no time to lose." 
 
 They paid out the cable and hauled ashore 
 as near as the yacht would float. Sir Edward 
 and Somers then went ashore. By this time 
 the roaring of the flames could be heard, the 
 gleam of the fire was visible and fragments 
 of burning tinder fell about them. A veri- 
 table panic prevailed. Some clamored to take 
 down the tent and save their effects, others 
 shouted to let everything go as they had barely
 
 "Through Fire and Flood." 125 
 
 time to save their own lives. Half a dozen 
 tried to crowd into the dingy the moment it 
 touched shore. Glenny in drunken terror bel- 
 lowed : 
 
 " The world is burning up ! The Day of 
 
 Judgment ! " 
 
 " Likely enough, and you are in a pwetty 
 condition, you dwunken wascal," shouted 
 Somers. 
 
 Sir Edward's presence restored order. Said 
 
 he: 
 
 " There will be time to save everythmg if 
 you keep cool and attend to orders." 
 
 He then proceeded to direct the embarka- 
 tion, but was interrupted by a shout from 
 Goodwin. That wretched Glenny with a fud- 
 dled notion of doing something useful had 
 loosed the shore line, and the yacht swinging 
 on her cable had grounded on a sandbar in the 
 middle of the river. Now their peril was 
 great. An inflammable forest surrounded them 
 and a few minutes were all that remained. As 
 quickly as possible a line was got from the 
 yacht. \\''ith a stump for a fulcrum and a 
 cedar pole for a lever she was wrenched off 
 the bar. Then l:)egan the embarking, each 
 man carrying his most cherished goods. Sev- 
 eral trips' had to be made. Somers, Rogers 
 and Sir Edward were the last to come along- 
 side. As they left the beach the trees behind 
 them were on fire at the top.
 
 126 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 " Now don't make the same bkinder again, 
 " shouted the chief, " Pay out tlie stern Hne 
 and haul on your cable until we are clear of 
 the bar." 
 
 He passed the small boat to the stern of 
 the yacht and called out: 
 
 " Let down the blocks and we will hoist 
 the dingy." 
 
 As he bent down to adjust the hooks, when 
 his ear was near the water he heard faintly 
 those shrieks we have mentioned. Had he 
 been standing up he would not have heard 
 them. He knew the voice. He had been 
 anxious about Helen. She was in the river 
 calling for help. 
 
 " Hold on," he shouted, " don't let go yet." 
 
 But too late. They slipped both the shore 
 line and the cable and with frantic speed they 
 were getting up sail. Somers' vigorous tones 
 rang out in protest and he called aloud to Sir 
 Edward to return. 
 
 Sir Edward paid no heed. With a short 
 scull he was screwing the dingy p.long with 
 all his might. The river was enveloped with 
 smoke and arched with flame and a ceaseless 
 hail of brands and cinders fell hissing around. 
 It looked like certain death. Still with 
 clenched teeth, fixed eyes and rigid muscles 
 the brave man drove his boat into the very 
 vortex of the fiery storm. He w?s acting un- 
 der the two most powerful motives that ever
 
 " Through Fire and Flood." 127 
 
 stirred the heart of an Englishman : love of 
 danger and a woman's appeal. Sheets of 
 flame lashed the air above and around, but not 
 one touched him. Burning limbs splashed 
 into the water before and behind, but he 
 passed unscathed. It was a marvel that he 
 lived. He took the south side to keep as far 
 as possible from the fire. What was that fol- 
 lowing that log? A woman's face in a float- 
 ing halo of golden hair. He grasped her 
 with one hand while with the other he pro- 
 pelled the boat to the shore. There he leaped 
 out and raised her from the water. 
 
 " Helen," he said, " have I saved you ? Am 
 I too late ? " 
 
 She was living but exhausted, and half 
 stifled. He bore her through the bush till 
 they reached fresh air. Then he rested her 
 head on his knee, brushed the wet hair from 
 her face and fanned her with his hat. As 
 soon as her voice returned she caught his hand 
 and, pointing to the river, she said in pleading 
 tones : 
 
 " Dr. Thompson is there. Save him ! save 
 him ! " 
 
 " Let me save you first, Helen." 
 
 " I am safe now. But he is perishing. He 
 is clinging to the rocks on the other side of 
 the river. Save him !" 
 
 She wept and beseeched and there was that 
 in her tones and manner which convinced him
 
 128 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 that in saving- her hfe he had done her no 
 kindness unless he also saved Dr. Thompson. 
 Let us not misjudge him if he hesitated. Re- 
 member the training of his selfish and mis- 
 spent life. A few minutes' delay and the only 
 rival for the heart of the woman he loved 
 would be out of the way. He was asked to do 
 at the risk of his life what would put an end 
 to his best hopes. It was one of those fear- 
 ful temptations that beset men at the outset of 
 the new life. There was no perceptible delay. 
 
 " Helen," he said, " I will save him for you. 
 And I owe him a great deal myself. Stay here, 
 and if he still lives I will bring him to you. If 
 I never return remember how I died and let it 
 prove that I loved you." 
 
 He kissed her reverently and rushed away. 
 
 Forth went our hero once again. It was 
 the first real act of voluntary self-denial he had 
 ever performed and his soul already exulted in 
 its victory. A dark space fringed with flame 
 indicated the rocks he was in search of. He 
 shouted and received a faint reply. He then 
 pulled his hat low to protect his face from the 
 fierce heat and ventured across. He found 
 the Doctor clinging to the rock cramped and 
 exhausted. It was with great difficulty that 
 he got him into the boat as he could do so little 
 to help himself. 
 
 " Where is Helen ? " he asked in hoarse 
 tones.
 
 "Through Fire and Flood." 129 
 
 " Helen is safe. I picked her up," was the 
 cheery reply. 
 
 He murmured an expression of thankfulness 
 and sank to the bottom of the boat. They re- 
 crossed the river and found Helen at the wa- 
 ter's edg-e. She had been watching all the 
 time. Now they were safe. The river had 
 checked the momentum of the fire, and al- 
 though it had crossed in several places it did 
 but little damage on the south side. The 
 wind died away at sundown and it began to 
 look as though the fire had reached its bounds. 
 Our rescued friends, faint with exhaustion 
 and trembling with the joy of their escape, 
 hurried through the woods till they were be- 
 yond the smoke, where they sank down to rest 
 their stiffened limbs and relieve their tortured 
 lungs with healing draughts of cool, fresh air. 
 The Doctor eagerly ascertained that Helen was 
 unhurt. Both Sir Edward and himself were 
 badly blistered but Helen was unscathed; her 
 deliverance had been complete. For a while 
 they did nothing but talk, excited by their late 
 peril and wonderful escape. They felt a rap- 
 ture that is only known to those who have 
 come back from the g-ates of death. Still their 
 situation was far from satisfactory. Helen 
 and the Doctor were in wet clothing. Night 
 had come and the air was chilly; the change 
 from the intense heat they were already feel- 
 ing. They were lost in the woods. They 
 
 9
 
 130 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 had nothing to eat. With all the blaze behind 
 them they had no means of making a fire that 
 would comfort them. 
 
 " Let us try to reach the lake and signal the 
 yacht," suggested Sir Edward. 
 
 They started; Sir Edward supported Helen 
 and the Doctor led the way. They reached the 
 shore, but the surface of the lake was covered 
 with smoke and nothing could be seen. 
 
 " There are cabins on the shore ; we must try 
 and reach one," said the Doctor. 
 
 Just then a canoe came round a point con- 
 taining two men, one of whom landed beneath 
 them. 
 
 " That will do," said the man who remained 
 in the canoe, and the voice sounded familiar, 
 " I'll not twouble you to go any farther. I'll 
 not ask any man to wisk his life in my service. 
 But Sir Edward is my fwend and I am bound 
 to hunt that blasted cweek till I bwing him out 
 alive or dead." 
 
 " Somers, old boy," said Sir Edward, step- 
 ping forward. 
 
 In an instant the two men had each other 
 by the hands. 
 
 " Why, you dear old chappie," said Somers. 
 " The Doctor, too and Miss Waleigh ! Why, 
 bless my soul, but this is a wonderful day." 
 
 The honest fellow exhibited some very un- 
 English emotion.
 
 "Through Fire and Flood." 131 
 
 " Were you goinig up that creek to look for 
 me? " asked Sir Edward. 
 
 " Indeed I was. And I would have gone 
 sooner if I could have got off that confounded 
 yacht. They wan her agwound again, dwat 
 'em. What took you up there, anyhow? " 
 
 " He came to save our lives," said Helen. 
 " He heard us calling and came to our help at 
 the risk of his life." 
 
 " Oh ! come, Helen, stow that," said Sir 
 Edward, " you are not saved yet unless we 
 can find shelter very soon." 
 
 " There's a house about a mile down the 
 coast," said the man. 
 
 In a few minutes they were there. 
 
 " Reckon you'll wanter go up at daylight to 
 see what's left," said the man. " Cal'late the 
 hull o' Mark settlement has gone up." 
 
 This produced a scream from Helen and 
 then came the question which the Doctor had 
 been dreading. 
 
 "Oh ! Doctor, is it as bad as that? Our 
 friends : have they perished ? " 
 
 " I have been thinking a great deal about 
 them. Helen. There is one chance; the bar- 
 ren ridge may have protected them. We can- 
 not know till morning. We must hope that 
 God who has been so good to us has not failed 
 them." 
 
 The shock prostrated Helen more than her 
 hardships liad done.
 
 132 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 The house was one which ilhistrated the 
 miseries of bush hfe. It consisted of one 
 room stifling with heat and foul air. There 
 was a bed in one corner but no provision for 
 privacy. The men withdrew to the outside, 
 the Doctor ordering out a great hibberly lout 
 from behind the stove who seemed reluctant 
 to leave the house. When they re-entered 
 Helen was dressed in some clothes of the set- 
 tler's wife, and was lying on the bed. There 
 she sank into a troubled slumber, occasionally 
 starting with a cry as though in her dreams 
 renewing the horrors of the day.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 " all's well that ends well." 
 
 As soon as it was light enough to see, our 
 friends were stirring, full of anxiety for the 
 dear ones whose fate they had not yet learned. 
 A party was made up to penetrate the still 
 smoldering forest and Helen refused to be left 
 behind. With a couple of boats they rowed 
 silently under the canopy of smoke that still 
 overhung the river. The heat, the smoke, the 
 suffocating smell and the clouds of ashes 
 whirled about by every puff of hot wind made 
 it doubtful if they could accom])lish their pur- 
 pose. The road from the settlement to the 
 river ran through a more sparsely wooded 
 strip and here they managed to make some 
 stifling progress. 
 
 It had appeared that the Doctor's surmise 
 was correct. The ridge, presenting half a mile 
 of barren surface, had saved the settlement by 
 hemming the fire into a narrow strip by the 
 river. The track of the fire was from the 
 northeast, and, as th^ settlement of Mark 
 stretched away to the norwest from the 
 ridge, it had escaped. In fact on the evening 
 
 ^33
 
 134 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 before when Flelen and the Doctor had first 
 heard the fire and turned back they were within 
 a few yards of safety. The Raleigh homestead 
 being nearest the ridge had been placed in 
 greatest peril by the shower of sparks and 
 firebrands. Only by the greatest watchful- 
 ness had they kept their little estate from ex- 
 tinction. Peter and Grace had reached home 
 just as the fire was upon them. All night, as- 
 sisted by many of their neighbors, they had 
 been fighting fire, and daylight had come be- 
 fore they felt secure. Then, full of anxiety 
 for Helen and the Doctor, they were making 
 their way along the bush road when the two 
 parties met and Helen was in her mother's 
 arms. It was a joyful meeting. They could 
 see that she had been through fire and flood. 
 
 " Which of these brave men saved you, 
 darling?" was the grateful mother's inquiry. 
 
 The Baronet and the Doctor each attempted 
 to push the other forward as the hero of the 
 hour. 
 
 " They are a wegular pair of bwicks, Mrs. 
 Waleigh," said Somers. 
 
 " And Mr. Somers is another," said Helen, 
 " for he too was coming to our rescue." 
 
 " Only he failed to catch the pwocession," 
 added that worthy. 
 
 Coming to the settlement it was a delight 
 to see the house and barn still standing and to 
 be welcomed by the tearful joy of Grace and
 
 "All's Well That Ends Well." 135 
 
 the shouts of the Httle ones. Burnt patches in 
 the stubble and charred fence rails showed 
 how fierce had been the struggle. But the 
 danger was over now. Settlements to the 
 northeast had been wiped out, but Mark was 
 spared. Peter's fertile brain w^as full of re- 
 sources. 
 
 " Doctor," said he, " we w'on't have to do 
 any underbrushing along that bottom after 
 this." 
 
 The Doctor admitted the truth of that ob- 
 servation. And Peter continued : 
 
 " If w'e clear up that mess this Fall it will 
 give us each a good riverside pasture." 
 
 Peter was the kind of man to succeed in a 
 new country, as he would turn even his mis- 
 fortunes to a good account. 
 
 The day was spent in resting and conversa- 
 tion, and there were many animated recitals 
 of the recent events. In the afternoon Black 
 Ca?sar appeared stating that the yacht was 
 afloat again and moored at the mouth of the 
 creek awaiting Sir Edward's orders. Somers 
 and Cfpsar were sent to the point to inform the 
 party that Sir Edward would not join them 
 again, and also with instructions for Good- 
 win respecting the return of the yacht to its 
 owners in Montreal. This information was 
 not acceptable to the rowdy crew. Sir Ed- 
 ward was the goose who laid the golden ec^-g 
 and his flight gave great displeasure. Loud
 
 136 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 were their murmurs. One swa^ggering blade 
 said in the presence of Somers that Sir Edward 
 was an ass to go tagging about the woods after 
 a red-headed girl who had already more lovers 
 than were good. 
 
 Exactly at this juncture the fellow reeled 
 backward from the impact of a sounding right- 
 hander and spent the subsequent hours nurs- 
 ing a bleeding nose. The only explanation 
 Somers ever offered for the assault was 
 couched in the formula — 
 
 " Indiscweet wemarks." 
 
 The neighborhood was still smoky and a 
 good wind was blowing, so they decided to go 
 down the lake to a more secure anchorage. 
 Somers and Caesar lay ofif in the skiff watch- 
 ing them getting up sail. 
 
 '' Good-by " was shouted from the deck as 
 the " Owl " moved off. 
 
 " Good-by," replied Somers, But he added 
 in an undertone: 
 
 " And a damned good widdance." 
 
 Which, barring the profanity, so say we all. 
 
 Sir Edward and Somers were entertained 
 several days by Dr. Thompson. The baronet 
 wished to be strengthened in his new life by 
 the counsel and influence of his good friend. 
 But there was another reason for his staying. 
 He wished to bring about an understanding 
 between Helen and Dr. Thompson. He had 
 learned, unmistakably, on the night of the fire
 
 "All's Well That Ends Well." 137 
 
 that her heart had been given to Dr. Thompson, 
 and he knew that the Doctor supposed the bar- 
 onet to be the object of her choice. He knew 
 well that either would be too proud to take any 
 step to undeceive the other. Since their ad- 
 venture the Doctor had not seen Helen and 
 seemed to avoid 1 leeting her. At the close of 
 each day Sir Edward, bearing the spoils of the 
 chase, had made his way to the Raleigh home. 
 Each evening was spent Avith Helen, while 
 daylight lasted, in woodland rambles and after 
 dark in the family circle. How to effect his 
 purpose did not appear. He had faltered in 
 every attempt to approach the subject. One 
 day he suggested that they go and see the 
 Raleighs and the Doctor declined. 
 
 " You haven't been there since the fire," 
 said Sir Edward, " and I believe Helen would 
 be especially glad to see you." 
 
 The Doctor's eyes moved uneasily and a 
 pained look came into his face. 
 
 Sir Edward was watching him closely and 
 continued : 
 
 " If you were not looking after every one's 
 interest but your own you would have learned 
 what you ought to know." 
 
 Still no reply. 
 
 " My dear friend," said Sir Edward, laying 
 his hand gently on the Doctor's, " do you im- 
 agine that Miss Raleigh is in love with me ?" 
 
 No reply but a startkrl look.
 
 138 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 " Because if you do let me tell you that you 
 are most ridiculously mistaken. She does not 
 love me; she never did and never will. She 
 would never love any man so unworthy of 
 her, I could never win more than her friend- 
 ship, and for such a man as I am it is a great 
 deal to do that." 
 
 The Doctor's face was a study. 
 
 " I know her well. I am her intimate 
 friend. I have the best reasons for knowing. 
 Dr. Thompson, that her heart is yours for the 
 asking." 
 
 The Doctor got up and after a few uneasy 
 turns about the room walked out of the house 
 and shut the door. 
 
 " Foiled again," said the disgusted baronet. 
 There seemed nothing to do but to get them 
 together and compel them to speak. 
 
 An hour later, about sunset. Dr. Thompson 
 was startled to see coming along the forest 
 path Helen and Sir Edward, and he immedi- 
 ately divined the purpose of this visit. Helen 
 wore the simple white dress he had seen so 
 often that summer and displayed just a little 
 of that coquettish spirit which the presence of 
 Sir Edward always called forth. It is possible 
 that she too divined whither fate was leading 
 her and her apparent gaiety may have been 
 intended to cover a deeper feeling. The sun 
 on the horizon searched out an avenue through 
 the tangled forest along which he reached om
 
 '•All's Well That Ends Well." 139 
 
 of his last rays and laid it upon her golden head 
 with a long, lingering caress as though he 
 loved it. 
 
 So they came to the house. 
 
 " Well, Dr. Thompson, are you never com- 
 ing to see us again? Are you afraid we will 
 thank you? Sir Edward has persuaded me 
 that I owe you a call, so here I am." 
 
 They were shown into the best room which 
 served as study, parlor and office. 
 
 " This is the Doctor's office, I suppose," she 
 said, seating herself in the swivel chair; "a 
 pleasant place if I should ever have a malady 
 and need a consultation." 
 
 " We should consult the Doctor to preserve 
 our health as well as to recover it," said Sir 
 Edward. 
 
 " Very well," she said, playfully, swinging 
 round in the chair to face the Doctor. '' Here, 
 Dr. Thompson, you may feel my pulse, but I 
 hope you will not ask to see my tongue." 
 
 By turning round she had placed her back 
 to Sir Edward, who then arose and, with i 
 meaning glance toward the Doctor, stealthily 
 left the room leaving her unaware that he had 
 done so. Dr. Thompson came to her side and 
 laid his hnnd upon the wrist which she held 
 out to him. There followed a stillness and 
 silence so long and deep that they might have 
 heard each other's heart beat. Perhaps they 
 did. She soon noticed that the iiand on her
 
 140 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 wrist was trembling, and then the wrist began 
 to tremble. 
 
 " Helen," he said, and all his soul was in 
 his voice. 
 
 She said nothing but glanced quickly around. 
 They were alone. She rose to her feet. The 
 hold upon her wrist became a clasp of her 
 hand and the hand was not withdrawn. 
 
 " Dr. Thompson, is this a conspiracy? " she 
 asked, in a tone of composure. 
 
 But he read other language in the eyes that 
 were fast becoming humid. That exchange of 
 glances and that trembling hand clasp were all 
 their plighted troth. 
 
 When they came out a few minutes later 
 they found the baronet meditatively contem- 
 plating infinite space. He faced about as they 
 approached. They both looked at him; he 
 glanced from face to face; the three under- 
 stood and Sir Edward's heart felt a great 
 loneliness. 
 
 They exchanged a few most commonplace 
 and irrelevant remarks and then separated. 
 Sir Edward watched them as they went. 
 When they reached the top of the little slope 
 where the path entered the forest the sun found 
 another long hole through the sea of foliage 
 and. stretching his upper rim above the hori- 
 zon, he sent his positively last beam along it 
 and baptized them both with lEroMen light. So 
 they two went side by side along the shining
 
 "All's Well That Ends Well." 141 
 
 way. Then the shadows fell and the darkness 
 gathered fast. But the darkest spot in all that 
 darkening landscape was the fence corner 
 where stood a baronet of England \vith his 
 face bowed upon his arms.
 
 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 Our story properly closes with the last 
 chapter. But there remain to be related a few 
 tributary incidents which could not be intro- 
 duced without marring the symmetry of the 
 story. 
 
 During Sir Edward's rambles about the 
 woods in the early days of his arrival his at- 
 tention was caught by two gigantic pines which 
 rose high above the forest. All around them 
 were huge stumps showing that the big trees 
 had been removed by the lumbermen, leaving 
 a still dense bush of second rate timber. Those 
 two trees must be veterans of the " forest 
 primeval." They would be worth a nearer 
 view. He made his way toward them and 
 came into an open space studded only with 
 sumach and juniper. Before him in the center 
 of this area rose the trees in stately grandeur. 
 Like twin trees they bore a certain resemblance 
 to each other, an unconscious imitation that 
 is sometimes observed in trees growing near 
 together. Pushing through the scrub he found 
 that around their trunks for a considerable 
 distance the earth was covered only with a 
 
 142
 
 Supplement. 143 
 
 thick matting of fallen needles. Approaching 
 nearer, he was startled to find, midway be- 
 tween the trees, what he at once took to be a 
 grave. It was a huge oval-shaped cairn of 
 stones. At one end two large flat stones had 
 been so placed as to form the rough outlines 
 of a cross. He came to the grave and walked 
 around it. He searched the stones and trees 
 for any inscription and found none. It im- 
 pressed him deeply, this lonely grave in this 
 romantic spot between these sentinel pines. 
 No roving trapper, he argued, would have 
 been buried with so much care and trouble. 
 This pile and cross were the labor of many 
 hands. And these trees would not have been 
 spared by the lumbermen without some induce- 
 ment. He sat down and speculated on the 
 unknown dead. Those were his gloomy days, 
 and when he had withdrawn from the spot he 
 half wished in his disgust with the world and 
 humanity that he might find some such resting 
 place for himself. He came again and again. 
 The place had an interest for him almost 
 amounting to fascination. Soon he began to 
 notice that even without intention his feet 
 would move in that direction, and he was often 
 startled to find himself unexpectedly in the 
 presence of that monitory cross. He often 
 thought of speaking to Dr. Thompson about 
 it. But mystery is so fascinating that he 
 thought that the grave would lose half its in-
 
 144 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 terest if he knew its history. Besides, he felt 
 a dread which he could not understand when- 
 ever he attempted to broach the subject. He 
 visited the grave so often that he felt a sort 
 of proprietary interest in it. Often, on ap- 
 proaching the spot he would pick up as large 
 a stone as he could carry and add it to the cairn. 
 He had made up in his own mind the story of 
 some proud, broken-hearted man who had fled 
 from the world to hide his misery and whose 
 last request of his fellow-men was that thev 
 would bury him in the wilderness in a name- 
 less grave. Perhaps he was right. 
 
 During the days following the fire Sir Ed- 
 ward and Helen were frequently in the woods 
 with shotguns looking- for partridges. Sev- 
 eral times he noticed that they were drawing 
 near to the pines and he at once changed their 
 direction. On one occasion they were so near 
 that Helen insisted on a closer view. She led 
 the way through the fringe of sumach and 
 juniper, making comments on the size and 
 beauty of the trees. As her eyes wandered 
 to the open space between them she started 
 and gave a little cry of surprise. For some 
 seconds they stood in silence beside the grave,^ 
 And then : 
 
 " Who is buried here, Sir Edward? " 
 
 " I do not know." 
 
 " Did you ever see this grave before ? " 
 
 " Yes, I have been here many times."
 
 Supplement. 145 
 
 " And yet you never mentioned it ? " 
 
 " I supposed that you knew more about it 
 than I did." 
 
 " Did you ever ask the Doctor about it? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 Silence again. Helen glanced at the grave, 
 the cross, the trees, the surrounding bush ; the 
 untamed wilderness had never looked so wild 
 and savage. Feeling all the weird influence of 
 the place and scene she shivered and drew 
 closer to lier companion. The day was wind- 
 less. But just at that moment came a slight 
 breath which hissed through the pines with a 
 sound that was like the rustling garments of 
 a wandering spirit. Helen shivered and 
 clasped Sir Edward's arm. 
 
 " I have been here many times," he said, 
 " and once I made a sketch of the scene. See 
 here." 
 
 He drew out a sketch-book. Looking closely 
 she observed that the cross in the picture bore 
 the name of " Willoughby." 
 
 She shuddered and asked : 
 
 " What does that mean ? " 
 
 " I thought it a fitting resting-place for a 
 hopeless and heartless man." 
 
 " But you are not heartless and hopeless." 
 
 " No, I am not, but I was then, and I was 
 tempted to bring tools and cut on that cross 
 the name of ' Willoughbv,' and then — 
 
 "And then?" 
 10
 
 146 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 " And then I would have disappeared and 
 left no trace." 
 
 Again that sough through the trees above 
 them as though the spirit, having completed a 
 circuit, passed once more above the disturbers 
 of its watch as the eagle gyrates around the 
 invaders of its eyrie. 
 
 " Let us go," said Helen, pale with fear, 
 " this is a dreadful place." 
 
 They hurried home. But ever after, sleep- 
 ing or waking, in thought or dream, Helen 
 never saw that grave but the arm of the cross 
 bore the name " Willoughby." Why is it that 
 a nameless grave in which they could neither 
 of them have any interest should have such a 
 powerful influence upon them both ? 
 
 The day after the event recorded in the last 
 chapter Dr. Thompson visited the Raleighs 
 and his engagement to Helen was formally 
 announced. It gave great satisfaction; Sir 
 Edward's magnanimous action was also 
 highly commended. In the course of the con- 
 versation Dr. Thompson made the following 
 remarkable statement : 
 
 " Helen, you have heard me speak of the 
 property which was presented to me by the 
 man who built this house. I have never men- 
 tioned yet that among other things there was 
 a trunk in which he appeared to be particularly 
 interested. When giving me a list of the 
 things I was to take he mentioned this trunk
 
 Supplement. 147 
 
 in a most significant manner. Said he: 'If 
 you ever find a woman with whom you can 
 trust your heart's devotion give her that trunk 
 and its contents just as they are. And may 
 you be happier in such relationship than I have 
 been.' This was the only clue I ever obtained 
 to the mystery of his life. This trunk I have 
 never opened and I do not know what it con- 
 tains. I propose, Helen, that you and Grace 
 come over with me this evening and I will 
 acquit myself of this trust. And perhaps you 
 will indulge our curiosity by opening it in our 
 presence." 
 
 Doctor Thompson and Sir Edward took tea 
 with the Raleighs in honor of the occasion, 
 and at that hour designated in backwoods 
 phrase as " early candle light," they started 
 for home, escorting the two ladies, who were 
 burning with curiosity concerning that mys- 
 terious trunk. 
 
 The trunk stood beside the Doctor's desk. 
 It was a large leather-covered trunk such as 
 are carried about the continent by wealthy 
 English travelers. 
 
 " Let us have plenty of light," said the 
 Doctor as he turned up the second lamp. 
 
 The trunk was drawn into the center of the 
 room and Helen with a bunch of keys kneeled 
 before it. She faltered and her hands trembled 
 as she fitted key after key. It was so dreadful 
 thus to pry into the secret of a broken heart.
 
 148 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 It seemed like opening a tomb. Why did she 
 think so continuously of that grave under the 
 pines? What was this revelation that was 
 coming? What connection had it with her 
 own life? Her heart beat violently and her 
 head swam. At last a key fitted, the lock 
 clicked, the lid started. Helen gave a little 
 scream and shrank back. 
 
 " Oh ! Grace, I can't do it." 
 
 She seated herself in the swivel chair by the 
 desk and Grace took her place. The lid was 
 lifted. On the top lay a light parcel. Remov- 
 ing the wrapper, Grace shook the folds of a 
 beautiful dress of pale gray silk. Its folds 
 shimmered and glistened in the lamplight as 
 she held it at arms' length. 
 
 " Helen," she exclaimed, " here is your wed- 
 ding dress ready made, if it will only fit you." 
 
 Dr. Thompson was looking on with an 
 amused smile, wondering of what use such 
 shining raiment would be in the bush. After 
 spreading the skirt around her form and, 
 womanlike, turning her head this way and 
 that to observe the effect, the glittering gar- 
 ment was laid on a chair and Grace again ex- 
 plored the trunk. Sir Edward's glance had 
 become one of puzzled surprise. Helen had 
 become as pale as death, but her face was ex- 
 pressionless. Several robes and mantles of 
 great richness and elegance were produced. 
 Grace chattered like a delighted child as she
 
 Supplement. 149 
 
 spread out the glossy draperies. But the 
 others observed in silence each with the vague 
 impression that a revelation was at hand. To 
 Helen with her quick intuition the revelation 
 had already come. Her face was bowed and 
 she was silently weeping. But the attention 
 of the others was so fixed upon the trunk that 
 they did not notice her agitation. There were 
 a number of costly toilette articles and all such 
 things as might be found in the boudoir of a 
 lady of fashion. Then came a casket of 
 mother-of-pearl inlaid with gold. It was a 
 jewel case and its costly contents glittered as 
 the lid was raised. Suddenlv the room ransf 
 with a cry, ahtjost a shriek, from Sir Edward : 
 
 " God in Heaven ! What is that ? " 
 
 He snatched from Grace a pearl necklace 
 which fastened with a jeweled pendent. His 
 eyes were wildly distended as he held it 
 to the lamp and examined its antique chasing. 
 The lines of a monogram could be seen con- 
 cealed among the tracery. 
 
 " I knew it." he moaned, " I knew it from 
 the first. Helen ! Helen ! it is Alice, our OAvn 
 little Alice." 
 
 He sank into a chair like one stricken with 
 death. Dr. Thompson went to his assistance; 
 when he sprang from the chair as though fired 
 with a new and terrible thought. His face 
 bore a look of horror as he grasped the Doc- 
 tor's arm. But he could scarcely articulate :
 
 1 50 The Lady of Mark. 
 
 " The pines ! the pines ! That grave — that 
 horrible grave that has haunted me. Dr. 
 Thompson, who — who is buried there?" 
 
 " My poor friend, calm yourself," said the 
 Doctor soothingly. 
 
 " But you don't answer my question. Who 
 lies in that grave ? " 
 
 " I never knew his name. He was called 
 Captain Pasmore. But I believe now that it 
 was Sir Harold Willoughby." 
 
 Sir Edward was like one on the verge of 
 insanity, his anguish was terrible to witness. 
 He had never heard the mystery of the Raleigh 
 house and its unknown occupant. All this 
 dreadful discovery had com^e upon him with- 
 out any preparation. He had thought of his 
 brother as wasting his substance in riotous 
 living in the fashionable and gambling circles 
 of some great city. But to find him instead 
 a broken-hearted recluse hiding himself from 
 the world, it seemed to set forth his own con- 
 duct in a more heinous light. His remorse 
 threatened his reason and they could not calm 
 him. Looking at the trunk, that accusing 
 witness, he wailed : 
 
 " Then he really loved her and he treasured 
 even these poor relics. Fool that I was, I sup- 
 posed that he only married her in spite against 
 me. How blind and dull I have been in my 
 suspicion and selfishness." 
 
 His agitation brought on a relapse of his
 
 Supplement. 151 
 
 sickness and they watched him for many days 
 with great anxiety. He recovered only in 
 time to leave the place by the last boat of the 
 season. The day before his departure he went, 
 accompanied by Dr. Thompson, Helen and 
 Somers, to take a last look at the grave under 
 the pines. There over his brother's grave the 
 repentant man vowed that he would return to 
 England and take up the duties of his high 
 estate. 
 
 Now that the country is cleared and settled 
 those two pines still stand guarding that grave 
 in the midst of a field of wheat. The grave 
 is still unmarked. Those who know its history 
 have kept the secret. Visitors to the neighbor- 
 hood are taken to see the grave and speculate 
 upon its mystery. Many romantic stories 
 hover about it. But no one knows any more 
 than the chattering squirrel that scatters his 
 nut-shells on the stones or the melancholy 
 bird who perches upon the cross and sings an 
 evening requiem for the sad life that ended 
 there.
 
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