THE GREATER POWER

BY SAME AUTHOR

 The Cattle Baron's Daughter Alton Of Somasco Dust Of Conflict Winston Of The Prairie For Jacinta Delilah Of The Snows By Right Of Purchase Lorimer Of The Northwest

[Illustration: "I AM AFRAID I'M GOING TO LOSE HIM, AFTER ALL. "_Page 174_]

THE GREATER POWER

BY HAROLD BINDLOSS

Author of "The Cattle Baron's Daughter, " "By Right of Purchase, ""Lorimer of the Northwest, " "Thrice Armed, " etc. 

With Frontispiece in Colours by

W. HERBERT DUNTON

NEW YORK

FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY

PUBLISHERS

Copyright, 1909, By

FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY

All Rights Reserved

September, 1909

CONTENTS

 CHAPTER PAGE I Overburdened 1 II The Trail 11 III Waynefleet's Ranch 22 IV Laura Waynefleet's Wish 34 V The Flood 45 VI The Breaking of the Dam 56 VII Laura Makes a Dress 66 VIII By Combat 78 IX Gordon Speaks His Mind 89 X The Calling Cañon 99 XI The Great Idea 109 XII Wisbech Makes Inquiries 118 XIII On the Trestle 127 XIV In the Moonlight 138 XV Martial's Misadventure 149 XVI Acton's Warning 162 XVII An Eventful Day 174 XVIII Tranquillity 186 XIX Nasmyth Hears the River 195 XX Nasmyth Goes Away 208 XXI The Men of the Bush 218 XXII Nasmyth Sets to Work 228 XXIII The Derrick 239 XXIV Realities 251 XXV Nasmyth Decides 260 XXVI One Night's Task 269 XXVII Timber Rights 278 XXVIII A Painful Duty 287 XXIX A Futile Scheme 297 XXX Second Thoughts 309 XXXI The Last Shot 318

THE GREATER POWER

CHAPTER I

OVERBURDENED

It was winter in the great coniferous forest which rolls about therocky hills and shrouds the lonely valleys of British Columbia. Abitter frost had dried the snow to powder and bound the frothingrivers; it had laid its icy grip upon the waters suddenly, and thesound of their turmoil died away in the depths of the rock-walledcañons, until the rugged land lay wrapped in silence under a sky ofintense, pitiless blueness that seemed frozen too. Man and beastshrink from the sudden cold snaps, as they call them, in that country, and the rancher, who has sheep to lose, sits shivering in his loghouse through the long forenights with a Marlin rifle handy, while thefamished timber wolves prowl about his clearing. Still, it is theloggers toiling in the wilderness who feel the cold snaps most, forthe man who labours under an Arctic frost must be generously fed, orthe heat and strength die out of him, and, now and then, it happensthat provisions become scanty when no canoe can be poled up therivers, and the trails are blocked with snow. 

There were four loggers at work in a redwood forest, one Januaryafternoon, rolling a great log with peevies and handspikes out of achaos of fallen trunks. The Bush, a wall of sombre green, spangledhere and there with frost, and impressively still, closed in about thelittle gap they had made. Not a sound came out of the shadowy avenuesbetween the tremendous colonnades of towering trunks, and the topmostsprays of the cedars and Douglas firs cut motionless against the bluehigh above. There was no wind, and the men's breath went straight up, a thin white vapour, into the biting air. Still, they were warm andcomparatively well fed, which was a good deal to be thankful for, andthree of them toiled contentedly, with now and then a glance at theircompanion, who realized at length that he was beaten. In fact, it wasonly by calling up all the resolution that was in him that this fourthman, Derrick Nasmyth, had held himself to his task since earlymorning, for there is no occupation which demands from man moremuscular effort and physical courage than logging, as it is generallycarried on in the forest of Western Canada. 

Nasmyth was a tall man, apparently under thirty, and leanly muscular, as were his companions, for those who swing the axe from dawn to duskin that wilderness seldom put on flesh. His bronzed face was alsolean, and a trifle worn. Considering his occupation, it was, perhaps, too finely chiselled, and there was a certain elusive suggestion ofrefinement in it. He had clear blue eyes, and the hair beneath hisbattered fur cap was brown. For the rest, he wore a black leatherjacket with several rents in it, ragged duck trousers, and long boots. His companions were the usual Bush choppers--simple, strong-armed menof kindly nature--and Nasmyth was quite aware that they had undertakenmost of his share in the work during the last few hours. 

"Another heave!" said one of the woodsmen. "Hit her hard, boys, andaway she goes!"

They strained sinewy backs and splendid arms. The great log rolled atrifle farther, canted, as one of them slipped a handspike under thebutt of it, and landed on the skids, which were laid like railwaysleepers down the slope of a steep declivity. The snow was ground downand rammed back about the skids, and the worn-out hollow gleamed afaint blue-grey in the shadow of the firs. The men made anotherstrenuous effort as the log started, but in another moment it rushedaway, and, like a toboggan, sped downwards through the forest to theriver-ice below. The skids screamed beneath it, the snow flew up likesmoke, and then there was a thunderous crash and stillness again. Nasmyth gasped heavily, and dropped his handspike. 

"Boys, " he said, "I'm used up. I'll go along to the shanty and get mytime. "

He generally expressed himself much as his comrades did, but now hisclean English intonation was a little more noticeable than usual. Oneof the others nodded sympathetically, as he answered:

"Well, I guess I've seen the trouble trailing you for quite a while. Got to let up or play out. It's one I've been up against myself. " Hemade a vague gesture. "A little rough on you. "

Then he and one of his comrades took up a big crosscut saw, while theother swung a gleaming axe. Nasmyth walked back wearily through thesilent Bush towards the camp. His back ached, his head ached, and hefelt a trifle dazed. The strength seemed to have gone out of him, andhe fancied that he was not very far from a physical collapse. He wasglad when he reached the shanty, where, after he had shaken the snowfrom his dilapidated boots, he sat down by the glowing stove, andsmiled wryly as he looked about him. The shed was rudely built oflogs, and a row of bunks packed with swamp-grass and spruce-twigs, from some of which there hung portions of greasy blankets, ran downone side of it. It smelt horribly of acrid tobacco and cookery, but atleast, it was warm, which counted for much, and, during the last fewmonths, Nasmyth had grown to look on it as home. He knew, also, thatit would cost him something to leave it now, especially as he hadnowhere else to go. 

Lying back listlessly in a lounge an ingenious chopper had made outof a few branches and a couple of sacks, Nasmyth vaguely recalled thecomfort of his London chambers and the great pillared smoking-room ofa certain exclusive club, for he was a man acquainted with thesmoother side of life. He had various gifts which were apparently ofno account in British Columbia, and he had enjoyed an education thathad, it seemed, unfitted him for anything strictly utilitarian. Thereare a great many men of his description chopping trees and drivingcattle in Western Canada. Indeed, his story was one which, with slightvariations, may be heard frequently in that country. Financialdisaster had overtaken his family. Friends in high places had regardedhim coldly, and he had been too proud to ask for favours, or to profitby those that were grudgingly offered him. That was why he had goneout to Canada and spent several years there earning his board, and, now and then, a few dollars as well, by bodily labour, until he wentup into the Bush with the loggers. 

For a time he had somehow contrived to hold his own with the otherworkers, though logging in heavy timber is one of the tasks one couldalmost fancy that man was never meant for, and the logger, whoseovertaxed muscle fails him for a moment, is very likely to have thelife crushed out of him by some ponderous, slipping trunk. Perhaps, his lack of endurance was due to the excessive strain, or theill-cooked food, but during the last few weeks he had been consciousthat a slackness was creeping over him. Once or twice the handspike orpeevie had been torn from his grasp, and the lives of his comrades hadbeen placed in peril. He had found it more and more difficult to draghimself out to his work each morning, but he had held on until thatafternoon when his strength had suddenly failed him. 

Nasmyth was half-asleep when the cook and the leader of the gang camein. The latter, who was a big, gaunt man with grizzled hair, stoppedclose by the stove and looked at him. 

"Well, " said the gang leader, "what do you figure you're doing here?"

Nasmyth explained with some difficulty, for in the Bush, menacquire a certain pride in their physical manhood, and it is nevera pleasant thing to own oneself defeated. The logger, however, noddedcomprehendingly. He was a reticent, grim-faced person from Ontario, where they breed hard men, though some have, also, kindly hearts inthem. 

"That's quite right. I've noticed it myself, " he commented. "In fact, I've been figuring on asking you to get out the last week or two. "

Nasmyth smiled. Like other men of his description in that country, hehad become accustomed to hearing such remarks addressed to him. 

"I wonder, " he answered reflectively, "why you didn't. "

The logger appeared to consider. It was characteristic of him and thestock he sprang from that he would never have admitted that he hadborne with Nasmyth as long as possible out of kindness. The thingwould have hurt him. 

"Well, " he said, "it seemed to me we might start you teaming, if Icould have got a span or two of oxen in, but I'm most afraid I can'tget them at my figure. " He changed the subject abruptly. "Where areyou heading for?"

"I don't quite know, though I shall probably land in Victoria sooneror later. I might strike something a little easier than logging there. Still, it would be most of a week's march before I could reach therailroad, and there's not a ranch anywhere near the trail. "

The logger nodded. "Well, " he said, "I'd head West instead. There'llbe nothing going on along the railroad just now, and the mines arerunning easy, while you ought to fetch the settlement south of ButteLake on the third day. Guess you might pick up a dollar or two in thatneighbourhood, and, any way, there's a steamer running down the WestCoast to Victoria. Seems to me quite likely one of those Bush-rancherswould take you in a while, even if he didn't exactly want a hired man;but they don't do that kind of thing in the city. "

Nasmyth smiled. Experience had already taught him that, as a rule, thestranger who is welcomed in the cities arrives there with money in hispockets, and that it is the hard-handed men with the axes from whomthe wanderer in that country is most likely to receive a kindness. Still, though he was naturally not aware of it, a great deal was todepend upon the fact that he followed the advice of the logger, whotraced out a diagram on the bench upon which they sat. 

"There's an Indian trail up the river for the first four leagues, " saidthe logger. "Then you strike southwest, across the divide--here--and youcome to the Butte River. She's running in a little cañon, and you can'tget over 'cept where a prospector or somebody has chopped a big fir. "

The log span across a stream is an old device, and was probablyprimitive man's first attempt at bridge-building, though it is onefrequently adopted on the Pacific slope, where a giant tree growsconveniently close to an otherwise impassable river. It was, however, important that Nasmyth should be able to find the tree. 

"You know exactly where that fir is?" he asked. 

"Southwest of the highest ridge of the divide. Once you're over, you'll fetch the Butte Lake in a long day's march. When d'you figureyou'll start?"

"To-night, " said Nasmyth, "after supper. If there's sickness of anykind hanging round me--and I feel like it--you don't want me here, and I dare say they'd take me into the hospital at Victoria. Walking'seasier than logging, anyway, and it seems wiser to try for that fir indaylight. "

The logger nodded as if he concurred in this, and, taking a littlebook from his pocket, he turned it over, wrinkling his brows whileNasmyth watched him with a smile. 

"Well, " he said at length, "we'll count you full time to-day, butthere's the four days off when you got crushed by that redwood, andthe week when you chopped your leg. Then, counting the amount for yourboard, that's thirty-six dollars I'm due to you. "

"Not quite, " answered Nasmyth. "There was the day or two after I fellthrough the ice and had the shivers. I'd sooner you knocked off thefew dollars. "

The logger was said to be a hard man, and in some respects this wascertainly the case; but a faint flush crept into his grim face. Perhaps he had noticed the weariness in Nasmyth's voice or thehollowness of his cheeks. 

"All right, " he said awkwardly. "Jake will put you up grub for fourdays, and we'll call it square. "

He counted out the money, which Nasmyth slipped into the receptacleinside his belt. When the logger moved away the weary man crossed overto his bunk. Nasmyth had brought his few possessions up in a canoe, and now, knowing that he could not take them all away, he turned themover with a curious smile. There were one or two ragged pairs of ducktrousers stained with soil, a few old tattered shirts, and a jacket ofmuch the same description. He remembered that he had once beenfastidious about his tailoring, as he wondered when he would be ableto replace the things that he left behind. Then he rolled up some ofthe garments and his two blankets into a pack that could be strappedupon his shoulders, and, as he did this, his comrades came troopingin, stamping to shake the snow off their leggings. 

There were about a dozen of them--simple, strenuous, brown-facedBush-ranchers for the most part--and they ate in haste, voraciously, when the abundant but rudely served supper was laid out. Nasmyth hadnot much appetite, and the greasy salt pork, grindstone bread, desiccated apples, flavoured molasses, and flapjacks hot from the pan, did not tempt him. He preferred to watch his companions, and now andthen his glance was a trifle wistful. He had worked and eaten withthem; they had slept about him, and he knew he had their rudegood-will. When his strength had begun to give way, some of them hadsaddled themselves with more than their share of the tasks they wereengaged in, and he knew that it was possible he might not fall in withcomrades of their kind again. Now that the time had come, he, who hadonce been welcomed at brilliant London functions, felt that it wouldcost him an effort to part with these rough comrades. Perhaps this wasnot so astonishing, for, after all, strenuous, valiant manhood andrude kindliness count for much. 

The shanty was cheerfully lighted and cosily warm. Nasmyth had sleptsoundly there on the springy spruce-twigs, and there was at leastabundance when the mealtimes came round. Now he was about to be castadrift again to face a three days' march in the open, under the bitterfrost, and what might await him at the end of it he did not know. Atlength, the meal was cleared away, and when the pipes were lighted, hetold his comrades that he was going. They were not demonstrative intheir expressions of regret, but they thrust upon him little plugs oftobacco, which could not well be replaced there, and several of themtold him that, if he struck nothing he liked better, all he had to dowas to present himself at this ranch or the other beside blue lake orfrothing river when they went back in the spring. What was more to thepurpose, they meant it. 

Among those Western pines men are reared who, in point of primitivevigour, slow endurance, and the dogged courage that leads them toattempt, and usually to accomplish, the apparently impossible, are amatch for any in the world, and no wanderer who limps up to theirlonely ranches is turned away. Those who have no claim on them arehonoured with their hospitality, and now and then one new to thatcountry looks with wonder on their handiwork. Down all the longPacific coast, from lonely Wrangel, wrapped in the Northern snow, toShasta in the South, it is written on hewn-back forest, rent hillside, and dammed river. The inhabitants are subduing savage Nature; but, astime will surely show, their greatest achievement is the rearing offearless men. 

Though it cost him an effort, Nasmyth contrived to smile as he shookhands with the loggers. Then he set his lips tight as, with his packstrapped on his shoulders, he opened the door and looked out at thedimly shining snow. It was only natural that he hesitated for amoment. After all, brutal as the toil had been, he at least knew whathe was leaving behind, and his heart sank as he drew the door to. Thecold struck through him to the bone, though there was not a breath ofair astir, and the stillness was almost overwhelming. The frostcramped his muscles and drove the courage out of him, and, as heplodded down the trail, he heard Jacques, the French-Canadian cook, tuning his battered fiddle. A little burst of laughter broke throughthe twanging of the strings, and Nasmyth closed one hand hard as hestrode on faster into the darkness. There was as much of the animal inhim as there is in most of us, and he longed for the cheerful lightand the warmth of the stove, while one learns the value of humancompanionship when the Frost King lays his grip on that lonely land. He was once more homeless--an outcast--and it was almost a relief tohim when at length the twanging of the fiddle was lost in the silenceof the pines. 

The trees rose about him, towering high into the soft darkness inserried ranks, and the snow gleamed a cold blue-grey under them. Not atwig stirred; the tall spires were black, and motionless, and solemn, and he felt that their stateliness emphasized his own feebleness andinconsequence. In the meanwhile, though the snow was loose andfrost-dried, it was not much above his ankles, and the trail wascomparatively good. It seemed to him advisable to push on as fast aspossible, for he had only four days' provisions, and he was not sureof his strength. There was no doubt as to what the result would be ifit failed him in the wilderness that lay between him and thesettlement. 

CHAPTER II

THE TRAIL

A half-moon rose above the black tops of the pines, and a faint light, which the snow flung back, filtered down between the motionlessbranches upon the narrow trail that wound sinuously in and out amongfallen trunks and thickets draped with withered fern, for the SiwashIndians passed that way when the salmon came up the rivers, and thepath an Indian makes is never straight. Over and over again, an Indianwill go around an obstacle through which the Bush-rancher would hew apassage. This is essentially characteristic of both, for the primitivepeoples patiently fit their lives to their environment, while thewhite man grapples with unfavourable conditions, and resolutelyendeavours to alter them. 

Until daylight Nasmyth made a tolerable pace. He had been troubledwith a curious lassitude and an unpleasant dizziness, but walking isconsiderably easier than rolling ponderous logs, and he knew that itwas advisable for him to push on as fast as possible. At length, thedawn broke high up in a dingy grey sky, and he stopped to build afire. It did not take long to boil a can of strong green tea, and toprepare a piece of doughy bread, with a little salt pork, for hisbreakfast. Then he wrapped one of his blankets around him and took outhis pipe. He did not remember how long he sat there, but it was cleardaylight when he noticed that the fire was burning out, and, somewhatto his annoyance, he felt curiously reluctant to get up again. 

Though it cost him an effort, he rose, and stood a minute or twoshivering in the bitter wind, which now set the dark firs sighing. Hecould see the trees roll upwards before him in sombre ranks untiltheir topmost sprays cut in a thin filigree very high up against thesky, and he knew that he must now leave the easy trail and cross thebig divide. When he set out he was a little annoyed to find that thepack-straps hurt his shoulders, and that one of his boots galled hisfoot. Knee-boots are not adapted for walking long distances, but theonly other ones that Nasmyth possessed were so dilapidated that he hadleft them behind. 

He went up for several hours through withered fern and mattedundergrowth, and over horrible tangles of fallen tree-trunks, some ofwhich were raised high above the snow on giant splintered branches. The term "virgin forest" probably conveys very little to the averageEnglishman, since the woods with which he is acquainted are, for themost part, cleaned and dressed by foresters; but Nature rulesuntrammelled in the pine-bush of the Pacific slope, and her wastematerial lies piled in tremendous ruin until it rots away. There areforests in that country, through which a man accustomed to them canscarcely make a league in a day. Still, Nasmyth crossed the divide, struggling against a bitter wind, and then went down the other side, floundering over fallen branches, and smashing through thickets ofundergrowth and brakes of willows. He wanted to find the river, and, more especially, the tree that bridged it, as soon as possible. Itwas, however, noon when he reached the river, and it frothed androared a hundred feet below him in a smooth walled cañon, which hadapparently kept the frost out, for there were only strips of cracklingice in the eddies. 

It was clearly out of the question for him to get down to the river, even if he had wished to make the descent, and without stopping tomake another fire, he plodded along the bank until the afternoon wasalmost spent. There were a good many fallen trees, as he discovered tohis cost, since each one had to be painfully clambered over, but noneof them spanned the chasm. Then, as his foot was becoming very sore, he decided to camp where a big cedar lay across a little ravine thatrent the bank. It promised to afford him a partial shelter. He had noaxe, but he tore off an armful or two of the thinner branches, withthe twigs attached to them, to form a bed, and then, crawling down tothe river, filled his smoke-blackened can and came back wearily tomake a fire. Man needs very little in those solitudes, but there aretwo things he must have, and those are food to keep the strength inhim, and warmth, though there are times when he finds it singularlydifficult to make the effort to obtain them. The most unpleasant hourof the long day of persistent toil is often the one when worn-outmuscle and jaded intelligence must be forced to the task of providingthe evening meal and shelter for the night. 

Nasmyth ate his supper, so far as it went, voraciously, but with aprudent check upon his appetite, for he had set out with only fourdays' provisions, and he could not find the tree. When he had eaten, he took out his pipe, and crouched a while beside the fire, shivering, in spite of the blankets wrapped about him. The heat dies out of theman who has marched for twenty hours, as those who have done it know. In the meanwhile, darkness crept up from the east, and the pines fadedinto sombre masses that loomed dimly against a leaden sky. A mournfulwailing came out of the gloom, and the smoke whirled about theshivering man in the nipping wind, while the sound of the river'sturmoil and the crash of stream-driven ice drifted up out of thecañon. Nasmyth listened drowsily, while his thoughts wandered back tothe loggers' shanty. He could see the men with bronzed faces sittingsmoking about the snapping stove, two or three of them dancing, whileJacques coaxed music full of fire from his battered fiddle. 

Then his thoughts went farther back to the chambers that he had onceoccupied in London, and he saw himself and Frobisher, who shared themwith him, sitting at a little table daintily furnished with choiceglass and silver covers. There were big candles upon it--Frobisher, who was a fastidious man, had insisted upon them. After that, theartistically furnished room faded out of his memory, and he recalled alarger one in which he had now and then dined. He could picture thewine, and lights, and costly dresses, the smiling faces of those whohad at that time expected a great deal from him, and he saw the girlwho usually sat at his side. She had a delicate beauty and a daintymind, and he had sometimes fancied they might be drawn closer when hehad made his mark, which in those days appeared a very probable thing. He wondered vaguely what she was doing then, or if she ever thought ofhim. After all, as she had not answered the one letter which he wrote, it scarcely seemed likely that she remembered him. Those who fail, hereflected, are soon forgotten. 

Then, as he was falling forward into the fire, he roused himself, andsmiled wryly. He was once more an outcast, shivering, half-asleep inthe wilderness, worn out, ragged, and aching, with a foot that was nowdistinctly painful. It is, however, fortunate for such men as he, andothers among the heavily burdened, that the exhaustion of the body hasits deadening effect upon the mind. Rolling the blankets round him, helay down on the cedar branches and went to sleep. 

He did not hear the timber wolves howling in the blackness of thenight, though several that got wind of him flitted across the ravineafter the fire burned low, and, when at length he awakened, it waswith the fall of a wet flake upon his face, and he saw the dim dawnbreaking through a haze of sliding snow. It seemed a little warmer, and, as a matter of fact, it was so, for the cold snaps seldom lastvery long near the coast; but the raw damp struck through him as heraked the embers of the fire together. Again he felt singularlyreluctant to start when he had finished breakfast, and he found thathe could hardly place one foot upon the ground; but haste wasimperative now, so he set off limping, with the pack-straps gallinghis shoulders cruelly. He also felt a little dizzy, but he pushed onall that day beside the river through a haze of snow without comingupon the tree. The dusk was creeping up across the forest when atlength the river emerged from the cañon, and he ventured out upon theice in a slacker pool. The ice heaved and crackled under him with thepulsations of the stream, but he got across, and roused himself withdifficulty for the effort to make another fire. He was an hourgathering fuel, and then, after a sparing supper, he lay down in hiswet clothing. 

The snow that eddied about him whitened his spongy blankets, but hegot a little sleep, and, awakening, found the fire out. He tried tolight it and failed. His fingers seemed useless. He was cramped andchilled all through, and there was in one hip-joint the gnawing painthat those who sleep on wet ground are acquainted with. Sometimes itgoes away when one gets warmed up, but just as often it does not. Nasmyth, who found it a difficult matter to straighten himself, ate alittle damp bread, and then, strapping his pack upon his shoulders, stumbled on into the forest. He afterwards fancied it did not snowvery much that day, but he was not sure of anything except that hefell over many rotten branches, and entangled himself frequently inlabyrinths of matted willows. Night came and he went to sleep withouta fire. He contrived to push on next day, walking during most of ithalf asleep. Indeed, now and then he would stagger along for minutesafter consciousness of what he was doing had deserted him, for thereare men in that Bush, at least, who know what it is to stop withsuddenly opened eyes on the verge of a collapse, and find that theyhave wandered from the path--only in Nasmyth's case there was no pathat all. 

He was never sure whether it was that day or the next when, floundering through an undergrowth of willows, he came upon a break inthe forest that was covered with sawn-off stumps. As he made for it, he fell into a split-rail fence, some of which he knocked down untilhe could climb over it. There was a faint smell of burning fir-wood inthe air, and it was evident to him that there was a house somewhere inthe vicinity. The snow was not deep in the clearing, and he ploddedthrough it, staggering now and then, until he came to a little slope, and fell down it headlong. This time he did not seem able to get upagain, and it was fortunate that, when he flung the split fence down, the crash made by the falling rails rang far through the silence ofthe woods. 

While Nasmyth lay in the slushy snow, a girl came out from among thefirs across the clearing, and walked down the little trail that ledto a well. She was tall, and there was something in her face andthe way she held herself which suggested that she was not a native ofthe Bush, though everything she wore had been made by her ownfingers--that is, except the little fur cap, whose glossy brownenhanced the lustre of her hair. This was of a slightly lightertint, and had gleams of ruddy gold in it. Her eyes were large andbrown, and there was a reposeful quietness in the face, whichsuggested strength. It was significant that her hands were a triflehard, as well as shapely, and that her wrists were red. 

She came to the top of the slope near the foot of which Nasmyth, whohad now raised himself on one elbow, lay, and though this might wellhave startled her, she stood quietly still, looking down on him. Nasmyth raised himself a trifle further, and blinked at her stupidly, and she noticed that his face was drawn and grey. 

"I heard the rails fall, " she said. "What are you doing there?"

It did not appear strange to Nasmyth that she should speak inwell-modulated English, for there are probably as many insular Englishas Canadians in parts of that country. Besides, he was scarcely in acondition to notice a point of that kind just then. 

"I think I upset the fence, " he answered. "You see, I couldn't getover. Then I must have fallen down. "

It naturally struck the girl as significant that he did not seem sureof what had happened, but the explanation that would have suggesteditself to anyone fresh from England did not occur to her. There wasnot a saloon or hotel within eight or nine miles of the spot. 

"Can you get up?" she asked. 

"I'll try, " said Nasmyth; but the attempt he made was not a completesuccess, for, although he staggered to his feet, he reeled when hestood upon them, and probably would have fallen had she not run downthe slope and taken hold of him. 

"You can rest on me, " she said, laying a firm and capable hand uponhis shoulder. 

With her assistance, Nasmyth staggered up the slope, and there wereafterwards times when he remembered the next few minutes with somewhatmixed feelings. Just then, however, he was only glad to have someoneto lean upon, and her mere human presence was a relief, since Naturehad come very near to crushing the life out of him. 

"This is your ranch?" he inquired, looking at her with half-closedeyes, when at length she moved away from him, a pace or two, and, gasping a little, stood still, beneath a colonnade of towering firs. 

"It is, " she said simply; and a moment or two later he saw a littlehouse of logs half hidden among the trees. 

They reached it in another minute, and, staggering in, he sank intothe nearest chair. A stove snapped and crackled in the middle of thelittle log-walled room, which in spite of its uncovered, split-boardedfloor, seemed to possess a daintiness very unusual in the Bush. He didnot, however, know what particular objects in it conveyed thatimpression, for the whole room seemed to be swinging up and down; buthe was definitely conscious of a comforting smell of coffee and pork, which came from the stove. He sat still, shivering, and blinking atthe girl, while the water trickled from his tattered clothing. Hefancied from the patter on the shingle roof, that it was rainingoutside. 

"I wonder if you would let me camp in the barn to-night, " he said. 

The girl's eyes had grown compassionate as she watched him, for therewas a suggestive greyness in his face. It was evident to her that hewas utterly worn-out. 

"Go in there, " she said, pointing to a door. "You will find some dryclothes. Put them on. "

Nasmyth staggered into a very small room, which had a rude wooden bunkin it, and with considerable difficulty sloughed off his wet thingsand put on somebody else's clothing. Then he came back and sank into adeer-hide lounge at the table. The girl set a cup of coffee, as wellas some pork and potatoes, before him. He drank the coffee, butfinding, somewhat to his astonishment, that he could scarcely eat, helay back in his chair and looked at the girl deprecatingly withhalf-closed eyes. 

"Sorry I can't do the supper justice. I think I'm ill, " he said. 

Then his head fell back against the deer-hide lounge, and, while thegirl watched him with a natural consternation, he sank into sleep orunconsciousness. She was not sure which it was, but he certainlylooked very ill, and, being a capable young woman, she remembered thatwithin the next hour, the weekly mail-carrier would strike a trailwhich passed within a mile of the ranch. Rising, she touched Nasmyth'sshoulder. 

"Stay there, and don't try to get up until I come back, " she commandedin a kindly tone. 

Nasmyth, as she had half-expected, said nothing, and, slipping intoanother room--there were three in the house--she returned, wearinga jacket of coarse fur, and went quietly out into the rain. It wasdark now, but she had, as it happened, not long to wait for themail-carrier. 

"I want you to call at Gordon's ranch, Dave, " she told the man. "Tellhim he is to come along as soon as he can. There's a stranger here whoseems very ill. "

The mail-carrier would have asked questions, but she cut him short. 

"How long will it be before you can tell Gordon?" she asked. 

"Well, " answered the man reflectively, "I'm heading right back for thesettlement, but it's a league to Gordon's, anyway. He could be here intwo hours, if he starts right off, and, considering what the trail'slike, that's blamed fast travelling. "

He disappeared into the darkness, and the girl went back to the ranch. It was, perhaps, significant that she should feel sure that the manshe had sent for would obey the summons, but she grew anxious whilethe two hours slipped by. At last, a man opened the door and walkedin, with the water dripping from the long outer garment he flung off. He was a young man, with a bronzed face and keen grey eyes, and he hadswung the axe, as one could see by his lithe carriage and the hardnessof his hands, but there was something professional in his manner as hestooped down, regarding Nasmyth closely while he gripped thestranger's wrist. Then he turned to the girl. 

"He's very sick, " Gordon said. "Guess you have no objections to myputting him in your father's bunk. First, we'll warm the blankets. "

The girl rose to help him, and--for she was strong--they stripped offmost of Nasmyth's garments and lifted him into the bunk in the nextroom. Then Gordon sent her for the blankets, and, when he had wrappedthem round Nasmyth, he sat down and looked at her. 

"Pneumonia, " he said. "Anyway, in the meanwhile, I'll figure on it asthat, though there's what one might call a general physical collapseas well. Where did he come from?"

"I don't know, " said the girl. 

"Your father won't be back for a week?"

"It's scarcely likely. "

The man appeared to reflect for a moment or two. Then he made a littleexpressive gesture. 

"Well, " he said, "it's up to us to do what we can. First thing's apoultice. I'll show you how to fix it; but while we're here, I guesswe might as well run through his things. "

"Is that needful?" and the girl glanced at Nasmyth compassionately. 

"Well, " said the man with an air of reflection, "it might be. Thisthing's quick. Leaves you or wipes you out right away. There's verylittle strength in him. "

He turned out the pockets of Nasmyth's clothes, which were, however, empty of anything that might disclose his identity. 

"Not a scrap of paper, not a dollar; but I guess that wasn't alwaysthe case with him--you can see it by his face, " he said. Then helaughed. "He's probably like a good many more of us--not very anxiousto let folks know where he came from. "

The girl, though he did not notice it, winced at this; but next momenthe touched her shoulder. 

"Get some water on, " he said. "After we've made the poultice, I'lltake charge of him. We may get Mrs. Custer round in the morning. "

The girl merely smiled and went out with him. She was aware that itwas in some respects an unusual thing which she was doing, but thatdid not greatly trouble her. They are not very conventional people inthat country. 

CHAPTER III

WAYNEFLEET'S RANCH

Though he afterwards endeavoured to recall them, Nasmyth had nevermore than a faint and shadowy recollection of the next few days. During most of the time, he fancied he was back in England, and thegirl he had left there seemed to be hovering about him. Now and then, she would lay gentle hands upon him, and her soothing touch would sendhim off to sleep again; but there was a puzzling change in herappearance. He remembered her as slight in figure--sylph-like he hadsometimes called her--fastidious and dainty, and always artisticallydressed. Now, however, she seemed to have grown taller, stronger, morereserved, and, as he vaguely realized, more capable, while hergarments were of a different and coarser fashion. What was still morecurious, she did not seem to recognize her name, though he addressedher by it now and then. He pondered over the matter drowsily once ortwice, and then ceased to trouble himself about it. There were severalother things that appeared at least as incomprehensible. 

After a long time, however, his senses came back to him, and oneevening, as he lay languidly looking about him in his rude woodenbunk, he endeavoured to recall what had passed since he left theloggers' camp. The little room was comfortably warm, and a plain tinlamp burned upon what was evidently a home-made table. There wasnothing, except a rifle, upon the rough log walls, and nothing uponthe floor, which was, as usual, rudely laid with split boards, fordressed lumber is costly in the Bush. Looking through the open doorinto the general living-room, which was also lighted, he could see ared twinkle beneath the register of the stove, beside which a womanwas sitting sewing. She was a hard-featured, homely person in coarselyfashioned garments, which did not seem to fit her well, and Nasmythfelt slightly disconcerted when he glanced at her, for she was not thewoman whom he had expected to see. Then his glance rested on a man, who had also figured in his uncertain memories, and now sat not faraway from him. The man, who was young, was dressed in plain blue duck, and, though Nasmyth noticed that his hands were hard, and that he hadbroken nails, there was something in his bronzed face that suggestedmental capacity. 

"I suppose, " the sick man said, "you are the doctor who has evidentlytaken care of me?"

He was not quite himself yet, and he spoke clean colloquial English, without any trace of the Western accentuation he usually considered itadvisable to adopt, though, as a matter of fact, the accent usuallyheard on the Pacific slope is not unduly marked. The other mannaturally noticed it, and laughed somewhat curiously. 

"I have some knowledge of medicine and surgery, " Gordon answered. "Nowand then I make use of it, though I don't, as a rule, get a fee. " Thenhe looked rather hard at Nasmyth. "Quite a few of us find it advisableto let our professions go when we come to this country. "

Nasmyth nodded, for this was a thing he had discovered already. Manyof the comrades he had made there were outcasts--men outside thepale--and they were excellent comrades, too. 

"Well, " he said, "I have evidently been very sick. How did I get here?I don't seem to remember. "

"Miss Waynefleet found you lying in the snow in the clearing. "

"Ah!" said Nasmyth--"a tall girl with a quiet voice, big brown eyes, and splendid hair?"

Gordon smiled. "Well, " he said, "that's quite like her. "

"Where is she now?" asked Nasmyth; and though he was very feeblestill, there was a certain expectancy in his manner. 

"In the barn, I believe. The working oxen have to be fed. It's veryprobable that you will see her in the next half-hour. As to your otherquestion--you were very sick indeed--pneumonia. Once or twice itseemed a sure thing that you'd slip through our fingers. Where wereyou coming from when you struck the clearing?"

Nasmyth, who had no reason for reticence, and found his mind rapidlygrowing clearer, briefly related what had led him to set out on hisjourney through the Bush, and his companion nodded. 

"It's very much as I expected, " he said. "They paid you off before youleft that logging camp?"

"They did, " said Nasmyth, who was pleased to recall the fact. "I hadthirty-two dollars in my belt. "

His companion looked at him steadily. "When you came here you hadn't abelt on. There was not a dollar in your pockets, either. "

This was naturally a blow to Nasmyth. He realized that it wouldprobably be several weeks at least before he was strong enough to workagain, and he had evidently been a charge upon these strangers forsome little time. Still, he did not for a moment connect any of themwith the disappearance of his belt. He was too well acquainted withthe character of the men who are hewing the clearings out of the greatforests of the Pacific slope. As a matter of fact, he never diddiscover what became of his belt. 

"Well, " he said, "I suppose I forgot to put it on, one of thosemornings on the march. Still, it's not very astonishing that thething should worry me. I can't expect to stay on at this ranch. Whendo you think I can get up and set out again?"

"How long have you been out here?"

"Been out?"

Gordon laughed. "You're from the Old Country--that's plain enough. "

"Several years. "

"In that case I'm not going to tell you we're not likely to turn youout until you have some strength in you. I believe I'm speaking forMiss Waynefleet now. "

Nasmyth lay still and considered this. It was, at least, quite evidentthat he could not get up yet, but there were one or two other pointsthat occurred to him. 

"Does the ranch belong to Miss Waynefleet?" he inquired. "She can'tlive here alone. "

"She runs the concern. She has certainly a father, but you'llunderstand things more clearly when you see him. He's away inVictoria, which is partly why Mrs. Custer from the settlement is nowin yonder room. Her husband is at present building a trestle on theDunsmore track. I come up here for only an hour every day. "

Nasmyth afterwards discovered that this implied a journey of three orfour miles either way over a very indifferent trail, but at the momenthe was thinking chiefly of Miss Waynefleet, who had given himshelter. 

"You practise at the settlement?" he asked. 

"Yes, " said his companion dryly, "chopping big trees. I've a ranchthere. Still, I don't know that you could exactly call it practising. By this time, I've acquired a certain proficiency in the thing. "

Nasmyth fancied that he must have gone to sleep soon after this, forwhen he opened his eyes again there was no sign of the doctor, and agirl was quietly moving about the room. She sat down, when she sawthat he was awake, and looked at him with a little smile, and it wasonly natural that Nasmyth should also look at her. It struck him oncemore that she had wonderful hair. In the lamp-light, it seemed to glowwith curious red-gold gleams. She had also quiet brown eyes, and aface that was a trifle darkened by sun and wind. He guessed that shewas tall. She looked so as she moved about the room with a supplegracefulness that had a suggestion of strength in it. That was all henoticed in detail, for he was chiefly conscious of the air of quietcomposure that characterized her. He was a trifle fanciful that night, and, while he looked her, he felt as he had sometimes felt when hestood at sunset in the silence of the shadowy Bush, or gazed down intothe depths of some still river pool. Only her gleaming red-gold hairand her full red lips slightly counteracted this impression. There wasin them at least a hint of fire and passion. 

"You are much better, " she said, and her softly modulated voice fellpleasantly on his ears. He contrived to raise himself a trifle. 

"I believe I am, " he answered, "In any case, I know I owe it to youthat I'm alive at all. Still"--and he hesitated--"I can't help feelinga bit uncomfortable. You see, I have really no claim on you. "

Laura Waynefleet laughed. "Did you expect me to leave you out in thesnow?"

"If you had, I couldn't have complained. There wasn't the leastobligation upon you to look after a penniless stranger. "

"Ah!" said the girl, with a little smile which was curiouslyexpressive, "after all, many of us are in one sense strangers in theBush. "

Nasmyth pondered over this, for, in view of what he had noticed in hervoice and manner, he fancied he understood her meaning. 

"Well, " he said, "it's evident that I can do nothing in return for allyour kindness, except take myself off your hands as soon as possible. That's partly why I'm particularly anxious to get better. "

He stopped a moment, with a faint flush in his hollow face. "It soundsvery ungracious, doesn't it? But, after all, it's sense. Besides, Iscarcely feel up to expressing myself very neatly. "

The girl moved across the room, and gently pressed him down again onthe pillow. 

"Go to sleep again at once, " she said. 

Nasmyth did as he was bidden, which, since he felt that he wanted tolie awake and watch her, was in one way significant. As a matter offact, what Laura Waynefleet considered advisable was usually done. Nasmyth's head was clearer next morning, and, during the week thatfollowed, he grew stronger rapidly, until one night, as he sat besidethe stove, he realized that he could, in all probability, set outagain on his journey in a day or two. While he talked to LauraWaynefleet, there were footsteps outside, and she ran towards the dooras a man came into the room. Nasmyth fancied the newcomer was herfather, for he was grey-haired and elderly, but he did not look in theleast like a Bush-rancher. Beneath the fur coat, which he flung offwhen he had kissed his daughter, he was dressed as one who lived inthe cities, though his garments were evidently far from new. He wastall, but his spareness suggested fragility, and his face, whichemphasized this impression, had a hint of querulous discontent in it. 

"I didn't expect to get through until to-morrow, but they've alteredthe running of the stage, " he said. "Wiston drove me up from thesettlement, and said he'd send my things across to-morrow. I was gladto get out of Victoria. The cooking and accommodation at the hotel Istayed at were simply disgusting. "

Nasmyth glanced at the speaker in amused astonishment, for theBush-ranchers of the Pacific slope are not, as a rule, particular. They can live on anything, and sleep more or less contentedly amongdripping fern, or even in a pool of water, as, indeed, they notinfrequently have to do, when they go up into the forests surveying, or undertake a road-making contract. Laura Waynefleet directed herfather's attention to her convalescent guest. 

"This is Mr. Nasmyth, " she said. "You will remember I mentioned him inmy letter. "

Waynefleet made the young man a little inclination that was formallycourteous. "I am glad to see you are evidently recovering, " he said. "I hope they have made you at home here. " Then he turned to hisdaughter. "If you could get me some supper----"

Laura busied herself about the stove, while Waynefleet sat down andtalked to Nasmyth about generalities. Waynefleet appeared to be apolitician, and he criticized the Government, which, in his opinion, was neglecting the Bush-ranchers shamefully. It was evident that heconsidered it the duty of the Government to contribute indirectlytowards the support of settlers. Then the supper was laid out. As heate fastidiously, he made a few faintly sardonic observations aboutthe cookery, and, after the girl had brought in a pot of coffee, hefrowned at the cup he put down. 

"There is one place in Victoria where you can get coffee, as it oughtto be, but this is merely roasted wheat, " he said. "You will excuse mefrom drinking any more of it. As you have probably discovered, Mr. Nasmyth, one has to put up with a good deal in this country. It is inmany respects a barbarous land. "

Nasmyth saw the faint flush in Laura Waynefleet's face, and saidnothing. He fancied that he knew the establishment in Victoria towhich Waynefleet referred, but it was not one which he had evervisited, or which the smaller Bush-ranchers usually frequented. 

Soon after supper, Nasmyth withdrew to the bed, which he had insistedon preparing for himself in the loft above the stables, and it wasnext day when he spoke to Laura Waynefleet alone. 

"I can't abuse your kindness any longer, " he said. "I must go away. "

The girl looked at him quietly. "You are far from strong yet, and--itmust be mentioned--there was not a dollar in your pockets. "

"That is certainly the case;" and Nasmyth flushed a little. "Still, Ican get as far as the settlement, and I dare say somebody, who won'tbe too hard on me at first, may want a hand. I am really rather a goodchopper. "

Laura smiled as she glanced at his face, but it was not its hollownessshe was thinking of. Nasmyth had not the appearance of the averagechopper. 

"Well, " she said, "perhaps you had better see my father. I think hehas something to say to you. "

She left him, and, half an hour later, Waynefleet came up to Nasmyth, who was sunning himself outside the ranch-house. Like many otherhouses in that country, it stood beneath a few great firs on the edgeof a desolate clearing, round which the primeval forest rose in anunbroken wall. Behind it, and a little farther back among the trees, was the rude barn, built of big notched logs, and roofed with cedarshingles. In front there lay some twenty acres of cleared land, out ofwhich rose the fir-stumps, girdled with withered fern, for a warm windfrom the Pacific had swept the snow away. Beyond that, in turn, andoutside the split-rail fence, rows of giant trunks lay piled in thetremendous ruin usually called the "slashing. " Some day, these wouldbe sawn up and burnt, and the clearing driven farther back into theBush. The little gap into which the sunlight shone, however, had beenhewn out at the cost of several years of strenuous labour, andNasmyth, who was aware of this, felt inclined to smile as the man whoowned it strolled up to him. It was a little difficult to imagine thathe had had any great share in the making of that clearing. 

Waynefleet was dressed in duck, but it was whole and unsoiled, andNasmyth made his own deductions from a glance at the delicate hands. As a rule, Waynefleet's expression was discontented and querulous, butfor the time being his manner was gracious. In fact, he was generallymore or less courteous to Nasmyth. 

"Miss Waynefleet tells me you are thinking of going away, " said theowner of the ranch. 

Nasmyth replied that he intended to leave the ranch, and wasexplaining that he felt he had already abused his host's kindness, when Waynefleet cut him short. 

"We have been glad to have you here, " he said; "in fact, I have beenwondering if you might feel disposed to stay. It is probably evidentto you that I cannot do all that is necessary about this place withone pair of hands. "

Nasmyth knew, from what he had seen on other and larger ranches, thatone man could do the work, though he felt that it was more than onecould reasonably have expected from Waynefleet. It was, however, clearthat somebody did a great deal, and he fancied that it was therancher's daughter. 

"Well, " continued Waynefleet, "I am disposed to spend a little uponthe ranch. They are talking of building a pulp-mill near thesettlement. That will make land more valuable, and probably lead to ademand for produce. With that in view, I wish to raise a larger crop, and I'm open to hire somebody. " He made a little gesture. "My strengthscarcely permits me to undertake any severe physical effort, and Imay confess that my faculty is rather that of administration. Now Iwill make you an offer. "

Nasmyth considered it gravely. As it happened, he was feeling sorryfor the rancher's daughter, and it was this fact chiefly which led himto come to terms with the man, since it seemed to him that there weretasks the girl must shrink from--tasks of which he could relieve her. Though he was quite aware that when his strength came back, he couldprobably earn more than Waynefleet offered him, he accepted the chanceto stay at the ranch. Moreover, the varied work was likely to be mucheasier than logging. 

"It's a bargain. I'll make a start now, and haul one or two of thoselogs out with the oxen, " he said. "Still, I'm afraid you must notexpect too much from me for a week or two. "

Waynefleet made no objections. There was, as a matter of fact, a greatdeal to be done, and Nasmyth went back to his new quarters over thestable almost too weary to hold himself upright that night. He, however, gathered strength rapidly, and a few days later he waschopping a great tree, standing on a narrow plank notched into thetrunk of it several feet from the ground as he swung the axe, when theman who had instructed Miss Waynefleet how to nurse him came up thetrail. Gordon sat down on a log close by, and looked at Nasmyth. 

"I was coming round to make sure I was quite through with your case, but it's tolerably evident you have no more use for me, " he said. "Stopping here?"

Nasmyth said he was, and Gordon nodded. 

"Well, " he said, "in several ways I'm rather glad. It's going to makethings easier for Miss Waynefleet. Guess you understand what I meantwhen I said she ran the ranch?"

Nasmyth said he thought he did, and then, with a certain diffidence, he changed the subject. 

"You must have spent a good deal of time looking aftermen--professionally, " he said. 

Gordon laughed in a somewhat curious fashion. "We'll let that go. Inone sense, I've dropped my profession. I had to, and it's scarcelylikely that I shall take it up again. "

"I wonder, " said Nasmyth reflectively, "if it's admissible for me tomention that I had fancied something of the kind. You see, in theBush, I have naturally come across a good many men who have turnedtheir backs upon the cities. "

Gordon made a little gesture. "It's a sure thing you'll hear a gooddeal about me at the settlement, where, though the boys don't cast itup to me, I'm credited with having killed somebody back East, and asI've had an idea that I could hit it rather well with you, I'd soonertell you the thing myself. Well, I was making my mark in a big city, several years ago, when I lost my head. When success comes tooquickly, it's a thing you're rather apt to do. The trouble is that youhave usually to face the results of it. "

He broke off for a moment with a little wry smile. "In my case theywere serious. There was a woman of hysterical temperament with adiseased imagination. I was overworked and a trifle overwrought, andhad a glass of brandy too much at a certain committee lunch. Thenthere was a rather delicate operation in a hospital, and though I'mnot sure yet that I blundered, it was suggested that I did, and thething was complicated by what the woman said when the committee tookit up. It didn't matter that the patient recovered, for when he tookaction against the woman, the thing made a sensation in the Easternpapers. "

He looked at Nasmyth with a question in his eyes. 

"Now, " he said, "you more or less understand my reasons for ranchinghere. How's it going to affect you?"

Nasmyth gazed reflectively towards the East. "I think, " he replied, "there are more of us who have left a good deal behind back yonder. Perhaps it's fortunate that the thing is possible. "

Then he swung his axe again, and Gordon, who saw Waynefleetapproaching, strolled away towards the ranch-owner. 

CHAPTER IV

LAURA WAYNEFLEET'S WISH

It was a hot summer evening, and a drowsy, resinous fragrance stoleout of the shadowy bush when Nasmyth, who had now spent six months atWaynefleet's ranch, lay among the wineberries by the river-side. Across the strip of sliding water the sombre firs rose in a greatcolonnade from the grey rock's crest, with the fires of sunset blazingbehind their wide-girthed trunks. The river was low and very clear, and the sound of it seemed to intensify the solemn stillness of theBush. Nasmyth had come there to fish, after a long day of tolerablyarduous labour, but he did not expect much success, though the troutrise freely just after sunset in those rivers. Indeed, he had almostforgotten that the rod and net lay near his side, for his employer'sdaughter sat on a fallen cedar not far away from him. 

She had laid her hat aside, and, as it happened, two humming-birdsthat flashed, bejewelled, in a ray of ruddy light hung poised oninvisible wings about the clustered blossoms of an arrow-bush thatdrooped above her head. She was, however, not looking at them, butwatching Nasmyth with thoughtful eyes. Everything she wore was thework of her own fingers, but the light print dress became hercuriously well. 

"You have been here six months now, " she said. 

"I have, " answered Nasmyth, with a little laugh. "I almost venture tothink I do you credit, in view of the state I was in when I reachedthe ranch. If you hadn't taken me in hand, two or three days wouldprobably have been the length of my stay. "

The girl made no disclaimer. She was one who admitted facts, evenwhen they did not chime with her wishes, and she still regardedNasmyth thoughtfully. He certainly did her credit, so far as hisphysical appearance went, for his strength had fully come back to him, and, as he lay among the wineberries in an easy pose, his thin duckgarments displayed the fine proportions of a figure that had beentrained almost to muscular perfection by strenuous labour. The lightof the paling sunset was on his bronzed face, and it revealed theelusive delicacy that characterized it. Nasmyth was certainly awell-favoured man, but there were respects in which his companion wasnot altogether satisfied with him. She had, as she admitted, restoredhim to bodily health, but, after all, that was only going so far, andshe felt it was possible that she might accomplish a little more, though there was no very evident reason why she should wish to do so. Still, she was conscious of the wish. 

"I was wondering, " she said, "how long you would be content to stay. "

Nasmyth gazed at her in evident astonishment. "Stay!" he exclaimed. "Oh, you can call it twenty years, if one must be precise. "

"Ah!" replied Laura, "in one sense, that is an admission I'm notexactly pleased that you should make. "

The man raised himself slowly, and his face became intent as he stroveto grasp her meaning. He was not in the least astonished that sheshould speak to him as she did, for there are few distinctions drawnbetween the hired man and those who employ him on the Pacific slope, and he had discovered already that the girl was at least his equal inintelligence and education. In fact, he had now and then a suspicionthat her views of life were broader than his. In the meanwhile it wasin one respect gratifying to feel that she could be displeased atanything he might think or do. 

"I'm not quite sure I see the drift of that, " he said. 

"You would be content to continue a ranch-hand indefinitely?"

"Why not?" Nasmyth asked, with a smile. 

Laura once more looked at him with an almost disconcerting steadiness, and she had, as he was already aware, very fine eyes. She, however, noticed the suggestive delicacy of his face, which had, as ithappened, more than once somewhat displeased her, and a certainlanguidness of expression, with which she had also grown almostimpatient. This man, she had decided, was too readily acquiescent. 

"That, " she continued, "is rather a big question, isn't it?"

"Ah!" said Nasmyth reflectively. "Now I begin to understand. Well, Idon't mind admitting that I once had ambitions and the means ofgratifying them, as well as an optimistic belief in myself. That, however, was rudely shattered when the means were withdrawn, and a manvery soon learns of how little account he is in Western Canada. Whyshouldn't I be content to live as the ranch-hands do, especially whenit's tolerably evident that I can't do anything else?"

"You are forgetting that most of them were born to it. That counts fora good deal. Have you noticed how far some of the others drift?" Afaint trace of heightened colour crept into her cheeks. "Perhaps onecouldn't blame them when they have once acquired the whisky habit anda Siwash wife. "

Nasmyth lay very still for a few moments, resting on one elbow amongthe wineberries, for she had, after all, only suggested a questionthat had once or twice troubled him. It was, however, characteristicof him that he had temporized, and, though he knew it must be answeredsome day, had thrust it aside. 

"Ah!" he exclaimed, "you want to send me away. Now, I had almostfancied I had made things easier in various ways for you, and we havebeen good comrades, haven't we? One could call it that?"

"Yes, " agreed Laura slowly; "I think one could call it that. "

"Then, " returned Nasmyth, "why do you want me to go?"

It was difficult to answer, and, to begin with, Laura did not exactlyknow she desired him to leave the ranch--in fact, she was willing toadmit that there were several reasons why she wished him to stay. Still, perhaps because she had watched over him in his sickness, and, so Gordon said, had snatched him back to life again, she had a certainpride in him, and vaguely felt that. In one sense, he belonged to her. She would not have him throw away the life she had saved, and she hadrecognized, as many of his English friends had not, the perilouslyacquiescent side of his character. He was, she feared, one who had anunfortunate aptitude for drifting. 

"That, " she said, "is rather more than I could explain either tomyself or to you, but I will tell you something. They are going tobuild the pulp-mill down the valley, and they are now asking fortenders for the construction of the dam. The thing, I have heard, isnot big enough to interest contractors from the cities, and most ofthe men round here have their hands full with their ranches. "

Nasmyth became a trifle more intent. "Still, " he remarked, "I havenever built a dam. "

"You told me you were rather a good chopper, and I think you are. Youhave made roads, too, and know how to handle giant-powder in therock-cutting, and how to use the drill. "

"There are shoals of men in this country who know considerably moreabout those things than I do. "

Laura made a little impatient gesture. "Yes, " she admitted, "thereare, but they are simple Bushmen for the most part; and does intellectcount for nothing at all? Are a trained understanding and a quickcomprehension of no use when one builds a dam?"

Nasmyth frowned, though she saw a little glow kindle in his eyes. "I'mby no means sure that I possess any of those desirable qualities. Besides, there's a rather serious objection--that of finance. "

Then Laura Waynefleet made it clear that she had considered thequestion, and she favoured the man with a glimpse of the practicalside of her character. 

"The stores give long credit, and partial payments are generally madeas a work of that kind goes on. Then it is not a very unusual thingfor workmen to wait for their wages until the contract is carriedthrough. "

Nasmyth lay still for at least another minute. He had gradually losthis ambition during the few years he had wandered through the Bush ofBritish Columbia. The aimless life was often hard, but it had itscompensations, and he had learned to value its freedom fromresponsibility and care. When he did not like a task he hadundertaken, he simply left it and went on again. Still, he had hadmisgivings now and then when he noticed how far some of his comradeshad drifted. Presently he rose slowly to his feet. 

"Well, " he said, "you're right, I think, and, if I'm given anopportunity, I'll undertake the thing. The credit will be yours if I'msuccessful. "

The girl rose. "Then, " she admonished, with a faint smile, "don't tellme that you have failed. "

She turned away and left him somewhat abruptly, but Nasmyth did notresume his fishing, though he could hear the big trout splashing inthe pool as the sunset light faded off the water. He lay down amongthe wineberries, which were scattered among the glossy leaves likelittle drops of blood, to think harder than he had thought for aconsiderable time. An hour ago, as he had told Laura Waynefleet, hewould have been well content to stay on at the ranch, and, though shehad roused him, he knew that it would cost him an effort to leave it. He was not, he fancied, in love with her. Indeed, he now and thenadmitted that she would probably look for more from the man who wonher favour than there was in him, but the camaraderie--he could thinkof no better word for it--that had existed between them had been verypleasant to him. 

He realized that he was in one sense hers to dispose of. She had, inall probability, saved his life, and now she was endeavouring toarouse his moral responsibility. She was sending him out to play aman's part in the battle of life. He admitted that he had shrunk fromit, of late, or, at least, had been content to sink back among therank and file. He had made the most of things, but that, he wasbeginning to realize, was, after all, a somewhat perilous habit. LauraWaynefleet evidently considered that a resolute attempt to alterconditions was more becoming than to accept them, even though one waslikely to be injured while making it. He heard footsteps, and, lookingup, saw Gordon sit down upon the cedar-log. 

"I came to look at Wiston's hand, and walked across when I heard thatWaynefleet hadn't been about, " he explained. "I don't think you needfeel any particular anxiety about your employer. "

Nasmyth grinned at this. Waynefleet had spent part of one day choppinga big balsam, and was apparently feeling the effects of the veryunusual exertion. Then Gordon took out his pipe. 

"I guess you're fishing?" he observed. 

"I came here to get a trout for breakfast. "

"You look like it. " Gordon smiled. "As it happened, I saw MissWaynefleet crossing the clearing. It occurs to me that she may havesaid something that set you thinking. "

"I wonder, " said Nasmyth reflectively, "what made you fancy that?"

Gordon regarded him with a little twinkle in his eyes. "Well, " hereplied, "I have the honour of Miss Waynefleet's acquaintance, andhave some little knowledge of her habits. "

Men make friends with one another quickly in the Western forests, andNasmyth had acquired a curious confidence in his companion, in spiteof the story Gordon had told him. As the result of this he relatedpart, at least, of what the girl had said. Gordon nodded. 

"It's quite likely you'll get that contract if you apply for it. Thefolks about the settlement haven't sent an offer in, " he said. "Thenotion is naturally Miss Waynefleet's. It's the kind of thing thatwould appeal to her, and, in a way, it's fortunate you have falleninto her hands. She's one of the protesters. "

"The protesters?"

"Yes, " answered Gordon; "I can't think of a better name for them, though it doesn't exactly convey all I mean. To make the thing alittle clearer, we'll take the other kind--in this country they'rebest typified by the Indians. The Siwash found it a wilderness, andmade the most of it as such. They took their toll of the salmon, andfed their ponies on the natural prairie grass. If we'd left it to themfor centuries it would have remained a wilderness. We came, and foundNature omnipotent, but we challenged her--drove the steel road downthe great cañon to bring us provisions in, dyked the swamp meadows, ploughed up the forest, and rent the hills. We made our protest, and, quite often, it was no more than that, for the rivers were too strongfor us, and the Bush crept back upon our little clearings. Still, wenever let go, and it's becoming evident that we have done more thanhold our own. "

He paused, and laughed in a deprecatory fashion before he went onagain. "Now and then I have an outbreak of this kind, " he addedlightly. "The thing would make an epic, but, if one could write it, itwouldn't be worth while. The protest that counts in this land is madewith the axe and drill. "

The outbreak was comprehensible, for it must be remembered that theaverage Westerner, either by birth or adoption, is seldom a reticentman. He is, in fact, usually characterized by a daring optimism, andnot infrequently filled to overflowing with the clean pride ofachievement. One can hear this new-world enthusiasm bubble over onpublic platforms and at brilliant functions, as well as in second-ratesaloons, but it is most forcibly expressed where men toil waist-deepin icy water building dyke and dam, or blast their waggon roads out ofthe side of the gloomy cañons. Their handiwork is not alwaysbeautiful, but one wonders to see what they have made of that greatdesolation. 

Nasmyth lay still among the wineberries, for a minute or two, and, though a cold green transparency had replaced the fires of sunsetbehind the tall trunks now, and the trout were splashing furiously inthe pool, he forgot all about the rod beside him as he pondered over aquestion which had often occurred to him. 

"How is it that Miss Waynefleet is content to stay here?" he asked. 

"You would hardly expect her to leave her father. "

"No, " said Nasmyth. "Any way, that is scarcely an answer. What keepsWaynefleet here? One wouldn't fancy he likes living in the Bush. "

"It's a little curious that you haven't heard. Anyway, somebody isbound to tell you. Waynefleet had to get out of the Old Country. Sometrouble about trust-money. He came out to Victoria and set up in theland agency business, but it was his misfortune that he couldn't keepout of politics. There are folks like that. When they can't handletheir own affairs, they're anxious to manage those of the community. Somebody found out the story and flung it in his face. The man hadn'tthe grit in him to live it down; he struck up into the Bush and boughtthe half-cleared ranch. "

For the next minute or two Nasmyth gazed straight in front of him witha very thoughtful face, for he had now a vague recollection of hearingor reading of the affair in which his employer had played adiscreditable part. He had already decided that he was not in lovewith Laura Waynefleet--in fact, it was perhaps significant that he haddone so more than once, but he had a warm regard for the girl who hadsaved his life, and, after all, his ideas were not quite so liberal ashe fancied they had become in the Western forest. It was a trifledisconcerting to discover that she was the daughter of a swindler. 

"It hurts?" inquired Gordon dryly. 

Nasmyth rose. "To be frank, " he admitted, "it does. Still, though thesubject's a rather delicate one, I don't want you to misunderstand me. After all, Miss Waynefleet is not in the least responsible foranything her father may have done. "

"That, " said Gordon, "is a sure thing. Well, I must be hitting thetrail home. Aren't you going to try for some of those trout in thepool?"

"No, " answered Nasmyth, and his smile was a trifle grim; "I don'tthink I am. "

He watched Gordon stride away through the undergrowth, and then, inthe creeping dusk, went slowly back to the ranch. Waynefleet was outwhen he reached it, but Laura was sitting sewing by the lamp, and shelooked at him sharply when he came in. He was unpleasantly consciousthat the light was on his face. Then the girl laid down her sewing andturned fully towards him. 

"I saw Mr. Gordon cross the clearing. He has told you why we areliving here?" she said. 

"I think, " said Nasmyth, with a slowness that was very expressive, "itwas not done out of unkindness. "

"Oh, no, " and Laura smiled in a rather curious fashion, "he hadprobably quite another motive. " Then she leaned forward a little, looking at him steadily. "I knew that he would tell you. "

Nasmyth stood still, with his forehead deeply furrowed, and an unusualgravity in his eyes. The girl's courage and serenity appealed to him, and he was conscious that his heart was beating rapidly. He saidnothing, for a moment or two, and afterwards remembered how still thelittle room was, and how the sweet, resinous scent of the firs flowedin through the open window. Then he made a vague gesture. 

"There is, perhaps, a good deal one could say; but I fancy most of itwould savour of impertinence, " he said. "After all, the thing doesn'taffect you in any way. "

Laura glanced down at her hands, and Nasmyth guessed what she wasthinking, for they were hard, and work-roughened. The toil that herhands showed was, as he realized, only a part of her burden. 

"I think it affects me a very great deal, " she declared slowly. 

Then a curious compassion for her troubled the man. She was young andvery comely, and it was, he felt, cruelly hard on her that, bearingher father's shame, she must lead a life of hard labour at thatdesolate ranch. He felt an almost uncontrollable desire to comforther, and to take her cares upon himself, but that was out of thequestion, since he was merely a ranch-hand, a Bush-chopper, who owedeven the food he ate and the clothes he wore to her. There is, as herealized then, after all, very little one can do to lighten another'sload, but in that moment the half-formed aspirations that she hadcalled into existence in his mind expanded suddenly. There was, hefelt, no reason why he should not acquire money and influence, once hemade the effort. 

"Miss Waynefleet, " he said haltingly, "I can only offer you my sinceresympathy. Still"--and perhaps he did not recognize how clear theconnection of ideas was--"I am going down to see about thatdam-building contract to-morrow. "

Then Laura smiled, and took up her sewing again. Her burden, as sherealized, was hers alone, but she knew that this man would no longerdrift. She had called up his latent capacities, and he would prove hismanhood. 

CHAPTER V

THE FLOOD

The autumn afternoon was oppressively hot when Gordon, flounderingamong the whitened driftwood piled along the river-bank, came uponNasmyth, who lay upon a slope of rock, with his hands, which werebadly bruised, clenched upon a drill. Another man, who stood upon aplank inserted into a crevice, swung a hammer, and its ponderous headcame ringing down upon the drill, which Nasmyth jerked round at everystroke, so many times to the minute, with rhythmic regularity. AsNasmyth was apparently too busily engaged just then to trouble abouthim, Gordon sat down on a big log, and taking out his pipe, lookedabout him when he had lighted it. 

The river had made a gap for itself in the great forest that filledthe valley, and the sombre firs that rose in serried ranks upon itsfarther bank rolled back up the hillside, streaked here and there witha little thin white mist. A mile or so away, and lower down thevalley, there was an opening in their shadowy masses, out of whichrose the ringing of hammers and a long trail of smoke, for workmenfrom the cities were building the new wood-pulp mill there. In theforeground the river swirled by, frothing at flood level, for a week'sfierce sunshine had succeeded a month of torrential rain, and the snowhigh up on a distant peak was melting fast. 

Nobody about the little settlement at the head of the deep inlet hadseen the water quite so high at that season, and Gordon noticed how itfrothed and boiled about the row of stone-backed piles that stretchedout from either bank. As he listened to the hoarse roar of the pent-uptorrent, he understood what that partly completed dam must have costNasmyth. After a little time Nasmyth rose, and, stepping on the plank, wearily straightened his back. 

"We're down far enough, " he announced. "Let me have the two sticks ofgiant-powder, and then tell the boys to jump for cover. "

The other man, who sprang down from his perch, handed him whatappeared to be two thick sticks of yellow wax, and Gordon watched himas he carefully nipped a copper detonator down on a length of snakyfuse, and embedded it in the plastic material. Then he cautiouslytamped the two yellow rolls down into the drilled-out hole. After thathe lighted the fuse, and, clambering down the slope of rock, sawGordon. 

"We'll get out of this. It's a short fuse, " he said. 

Gordon, who was acquainted with the action of giant-powder, had nodesire to stay, and they floundered as fast as possible over thedriftwood and masses of shattered rock until Nasmyth drew hiscompanion behind a towering fir. Then there was a sharp detonation, acrash, and a shower of flying stones went smashing through the forestand into the river. One, which Gordon fancied must have weighed abouttwo hundred pounds, drove close past them, and struck a young cedar, which snapped off beneath the impact. Then there was a sudden silence, and Nasmyth stretched out his arms with a suggestive weariness beforehe sat down and took out his pipe. 

"No one could have expected that stone to come this way, " he remarked, with a little laugh. "It's an example of how contrary things can be. In fact, they've been about as contrary as it's possible the lastmonth or so. As no doubt you have noticed, one very seldom gets muchencouragement when he takes the uphill trail. It's very rarely madeany easier for him. "

Gordon grinned, though he realized that the trail his companion hadset out upon was very steep indeed. He had secured the dam-buildingcontract, which was not astonishing, since nobody else appearedanxious to undertake it, and he had already acquired a certainproficiency with the axe and drill. There is as yet very littlespecialization in that land, which is in many respects fortunate forthose who live in it, and the small rancher cheerfully undertakes anykind of primitive engineering that seems likely to provide him with afew dollars, from building timber bridges to blasting waggon roads outof the hardest rock. What is more, he usually makes a success of it. In Nasmyth's case, however, the rise of water had made his task almostinsuperably difficult, and it had already left a certain mark on him. Gordon, who was, after all, a doctor, naturally noticed this as hewatched him. 

Nasmyth was very lean now, but he was also hard and muscular, and theold blue shirt, which hung open at the neck, and torn duck trousers, which clung about him still wet with river-water, accentuated the wirysuppleness of his frame; but it was in his face that Gordon noticedthe greatest change. The good-humoured, tolerant indifference heremembered had melted out of it, the lips seemed set more firmly, andthe eyes were resolute and keen. Nasmyth, so Gordon noticed, had grownsince he first took up his duties as Waynefleet's hired hand. Still, though it was less apparent, the stamp of refinement and what Gordoncalled, for want of a better term, "sensibility, " clung to him, and itseemed to the trained observer that the qualities it suggested mightyet handicap his comrade in a country where the struggle withprimitive forces chiefly demands from man an unreasoning animalcourage. In that land the small contractor and Bush-rancher must bearthe brunt on his body every day, toiling waist-deep in icy waters, orgripping the drill with bleeding hands, while each fresh misfortunethat follows flood and frost is met with a further strain on wearymuscles and sterner resolution. It is a fight that is usually hardestfor the man who thinks, and in which the one thing that counts is thebrutal, bulldog valour that takes hold and holds on in spite of eachcrushing blow. 

"This high water, " said Gordon, "has kept you back considerably. "

"It has, " Nasmyth replied with emphasis. "It has cost me more moneythat I care to figure up the last month, and we're considerablybehind. The dam's still at the mercy of the next big flood. "

"It's a little curious that you seem to stand it better than you didthe logging, " said Gordon, with a quick glance at him. 

Nasmyth appeared to consider this. "I do, and that's a fact. For onething, I'm fighting for my own hand, and no doubt that counts, though, perhaps, it doesn't go quite far enough. After all, it's a point youought to know more about than I do. "

His companion smiled. "I can describe the mechanical connectionbetween the thought in a man's brain and the movement of his muscles. It's comparatively simple; but when you understand that, you're onlybeginning. There's much more behind. To particularize, if you had donewhat you're doing now when you were logging, it would, in allprobability, have broken you up again. "

Nasmyth fancied that this was correct, though, as he had admitted, hecould give no reason for it. He was only conscious that he was beingconstrained by some new influence, and, under the pressure it laidupon him, he became almost insensible to physical weariness. He hadnow a motive for fighting, in place of drifting, that no mere hiredhand can possess. His indolent content had been rudely dissipated, andsomething that had lain dormant in the depths of his nature had comeuppermost. It was certainly Laura Waynefleet who had given it thefirst impulse, but why he had permitted her to impose her will on himwas a matter that was still incomprehensible to him. Seeing that hedid not answer, Gordon changed the subject. 

"Some of the boys and I have been wondering how you contrived tofinance the thing, " he said. 

Nasmyth smiled, though there was just a trace of darker colour in hisface. "Well, " he replied, "one can get tolerably long credit from mostof the Bush stores, and Clipton has let me have provisions for theboys on quite reasonable terms. Besides, as it happens, there is moneyin the family. There was a time when one might have considered italmost the duty of certain relatives of mine to give me a lift, but Ididn't offer them the opportunity. I came out here and set aboutdriving cows and chopping trees instead. "

"You felt you'd sooner cut your hand off than give them a gentlehint, " remarked Gordon. "It's not an uncommon feeling, but, when yougive way to it, it clears the other people. Won't you go on?"

"When I undertook this affair, I laid the opportunity before them, andone--the last I expected anything of that kind from--sent me out adraft. He kindly pointed out that there appeared to be in me certaincapabilities, which he had never supposed I possessed, and added that, if I ever really succeeded in building a dam or anything else useful, he would be pleased to take a share in my next venture. In themeanwhile, he would charge me interest on the amount of that draft. Perhaps I may mention that the man in question was naturally the onethe rest of them rather looked down upon. "

Gordon laughed. "Oh, yes, " he said, "I like that, naturally. I guessyou would have taken their view of him once. Well, since you can putyour pride in your pocket, you're evidently growing. There's just oneway of putting anything through here, and that's to take hold and hangright on, no matter what it costs. I guess there's one of the boyswanting you. "

A man stood knee-deep in the river waving his hand. Nasmyth rose andstretched himself. 

"They seem to want me all the time from sun-up until it's dark, " hesaid. "In one way it's a little curious, since there's reason tobelieve that most of them know a good deal more about what we're doingthan I do myself. You'll excuse me. "

Gordon smiled as his comrade strode away. He was one who had studiedhuman nature, and because he was well acquainted with the Bushman'scapabilities, he knew that there were also limitations to them. Evenin such matters as the splitting of hard rock and the driving ofmassive piles into the river-bed, the higher intelligence of the manof intellect had its effect. Gordon smoked his pipe out as he watchedNasmyth flounder into the stream among the other men, pushing a littlecar loaded with broken rock that apparently ran along a submergedtrack. Then he strolled back toward the settlement. 

Nasmyth toiled on in the river until the camp-cook hammered upon asuspended iron sheet as a signal that supper was ready. The summonswas answered without delay. With the water running from their clothingNasmyth and his men went back to the little log shanty. One or twochanged their dripping garments, but the rest left their clothes todry upon them, as their employer did. When the plentiful, warm supperhad been eaten, Nasmyth went back to the little hut that served him asstore and sleeping quarters. A big, grizzled man from Mattawa, Ontario, went in with him, and lounged upon the table while he sat inhis bunk, which was filled with fresh spruce twigs. 

"I'm pretty well played out, and if I'm to work to-morrow, I've got tosleep to-night, " said Nasmyth. 

The grizzled axeman nodded. "Well, " he volunteered, "I'll stand watch. I was in the last two nights, and I guess it's up to me to see youthrough. We're going to have trouble, if one of those big logs fetchesup across the sluiceway. The river's full of them, and she's risen'most a foot since sun-up. "

Nasmyth held up one hand, and both heard the deep roar of frothingwater that came in with the smell of the firs through the open door. The Bush was very still outside, and that hoarse, throbbing note flungback by the rock slope and climbing pines filled the valley. Nasmythsmiled grimly, for it was suggestive of the great forces against whichhe had pitted his puny strength. Then there was a crash, and, a fewmoments later, a curious thud, and both men listened, intent andstrung up, until the turmoil of the river rose alone again. 

"A big log, " said the older man. "She has gone through the run. Guesswe'll get one by-and-by long enough to jamb. Now, if you'd run outthose wing-frames I was stuck on, she'd have took them straightthrough, every one. "

"The trouble was that I hadn't the money, Mattawa, " said Nasmythdryly. 

His companion nodded, for this was a trouble he could understand. "Well, " he answered, "when you haven't got it you have to face theconsequences. I'll roust you out if a big log comes along. "

Mattawa went out, and soon afterwards Nasmyth, whose clothes were nowpartly dry, lay down, dressed as he was, in his twig-packed bunk, withhis pipe in his hand. It was growing a little colder, and a keen air, which had in it the properties of an elixir, blew in, but that was athing Nasmyth scarcely noticed, and the dominant roar of the riverheld his attention. He wondered again why he had been drawn into theconflict with it, or, rather, why he had permitted Laura Waynefleet toset him such a task, and the answer that it was because he desired tohold her good opinion, and, as he had said, to do her credit, did notseem to go far enough. It merely suggested the further question why heshould wish to keep her friendship. Still, there was no disguising thefact that, once he had undertaken the thing, it had got hold of him, and he felt he must go on until his task was successfully accomplishedor he was crushed and beaten. It seemed very likely, then, that utterdefeat would be his fate. While he pondered, the pipe fell from hishand, and the river's turmoil rang in deep pulsations through hisdreams. He was awakened suddenly by a wet hand on his shoulder, and, scrambling out of his bunk on the instant, he saw Mattawa with alantern in his hand. 

"Log right across the sluice-run, " said the watcher. "More comingalong behind it. They'll sure get piling up. "

Nasmyth did not remember that he gave any directions when he sprang, half asleep, out of the shanty. The roar of water had a different notein it, and the clangour of the iron sheet one of the men was poundingrang out harshly. A half-moon hung above the black pines, anddimly-seen men were flitting like shadows toward the waterside. Theyappeared to know what it was advisable to do, but they stopped just amoment on the edge of the torrent, for which nobody could have blamedthem. The water, streaked with smears of froth and foam, swirled by, and there was a tumultuous white seething where the flood boiledacross the log in the midst of the stream. The log blocked the gapleft open to let the driftwood through, and, as Nasmyth knew, greattrees torn up in distant valleys were coming down with the flood. Itseemed to him that he could not reasonably have expected to clear thatobstacle with a battalion of log-drivers, and he had only a handful ofweary men. Still the men went in, floundering knee-deep in the flood, along the submerged pile of stone and clutching at the piles thatbound it to save themselves when the stream threatened to sweep theirfeet from under them, until they came to the gap where the great tree, rolling in the grip of the torrent, thrashed its grinding branchesagainst the stone. 

Then, though it was difficult to see how a man of them found afoothold, or kept it on the heaving trunk, the big axes flashed andfell, while a few shadowy figures ran along the top of the log toattack the massy butt across the opening. It would have been arduouslabour in daylight and at low-water, but these were men who had facedthe most that flood and frost could do. They set about their task inthe dark, for that land would have been a wilderness still if the menin it had shown themselves unduly careful of either life or limb. 

The great branches yielded beneath the glinting blades, and went ondown river again, but Nasmyth, who felt the axe-haft slip in hisgreasy hands, did not try to lead. It was sufficient if he could keeppace with the rest of the wood-choppers, which was, after all, a thingmost men, reared as he had been, would certainly not have done. Thelust of conflict was upon him that night, and, balancing himselfankle-deep in water on the trunk that heaved and dipped beneath him, he swung the trenchant steel. He felt that he was pitted against greatprimeval forces, and, with the gorged veins rising on his forehead andthe perspiration dripping from him, man's primitive pride and passionsurged him to the struggle. 

How long it was before they had stripped the tree to a bare log he didnot know, but twice, as they toiled on, he saw a man splash into theriver, and, rising in the eddy beneath the submerged dam, crawl, dripping, out again, and at length he found himself beside Mattawa, whirling his axe above a widening notch, and keeping rhythmic stroke. He knew he was acquitting himself creditably then, for Mattawa hadswung the axe since he could lift it, and there are men, andmechanics, too, who cannot learn to use it as the Bushmen do in alifetime; but he also knew that he could not keep pace with hiscomrade very long. In the meanwhile, he held his aching muscles totheir task, and the gleaming blades whirled high above their shouldersin the pale light of the moon. As each left the widening gap the othercame shearing down. 

The other men were now plying peevie and handspike at the butt of thelog, and he and Mattawa toiled on alone, two dim and shadowy figuresin the midst of the flood, until at last there was a rending offibres, and Mattawa leapt clear. 

"Jump!" he gasped. "She's going. "

Nasmyth jumped. He went down in four or five feet of water, and hadthe sense to stay there while the log drove over him. Then he came up, and clutching it, held on while it swept downstream into a slackereddy. There were several other figures apparently clinging to the buttof it, and when he saw them slip off into the river one by one, he letgo, too. He was swung out of the eddy into a white turmoil, whichhurled him against froth-lapped stones, but at length he found surefooting, and crawled up the bank, which most of his companions hadreached before him. When the others came up, he found that he wasaching all over, and evidently was badly bruised. He stood still, shivering a little, and blinked at them. 

"You're all here?" he said. "Where are those axes?"

It appeared that most of them were in the river, which was not veryastonishing, for a man cannot reasonably be expected to swim through aflood with a big axe in his hand, and when somebody said so, Nasmythmade a little gesture of resignation. 

"Well, " he said, "the logs will just have to pile up, if another bigone comes along before the morning. "

This was evident. They were all dead weary, and most of them werebadly bruised, as well, and they trooped back to the shanty, whileNasmyth limped into his hut. Nasmyth sloughed off his drippinggarments, and was asleep in five minutes after he had crawled into hisbunk. 

CHAPTER VI

THE BREAKING OF THE DAM

A faint grey light was creeping into the shanty when Nasmyth awokeagain, and lay still for a minute or two, while his senses came slowlyback to him. The first thing of which he was definitely conscious wasa physical discomfort that rendered the least movement painful. Hefelt sore all over, and there was a distressful ache in one hip andshoulder, which he fancied was the result of falling on the log, orperhaps of having been hurled against the boulders by the rapidsthrough which he had reached the bank. His physical condition did nottrouble him seriously, for he had grown more or less accustomed tomuscular weariness, and the cramping pains which spring from toilinglong hours in cold water, and, although he made a grimace, as heraised himself a trifle, it was the sound outside that occupied mostof his attention. 

The door stood open, as he had left it, and a clean, cold air thatstirred his blood came in, with the smell of fir and cedar, but whathe noticed was the deeper tone in the roar of the river that seemedflung back in sonorous antiphones by the climbing pines. It hadoccurred to him on other occasions when he was in a fanciful moodthat they were singing a majestic _Benedicite_, but just then hewas uneasily conscious that there was a new note in the greatreverberating harmonies. Stately pine and towering cedar had raisedtheir voices, too, and a wild wailing fell through the long waves ofsound from the highest of them on the crest of the hill. It wasevident that a fresh breeze was blowing down the valley, and, as itmust have swept the hollow farther up among the ranges, which wasfilled with a deep blue lake, Nasmyth realized that it would driveat least another foot of water into the river as well as set adriftthe giant logs that lay among the boulders. Even then they were, hefancied, in all probability driving down upon his half-finished dam. 

Rousing himself with an effort, he clambered out of his bunk, and thengripped the little table hard, for his hip pained him horribly as hisweight came upon it. Then, as he struggled into his clothing, therewas a heavy thud outside, that was followed by a crashing andgrinding, and a gasping man appeared in the door of the shanty. 

"Big log across the run, " he cried, "three or four more of them comingalong. "

Nasmyth, who said nothing, set his lips tight, and was out of theshanty in another moment or two. A glance at the river showed him thatany effort he could make would, in all probability, be futile; but heand the others waded out into the flood and recommenced the struggle. That, at least, was a thing they owed to themselves, and they toiledfor an hour or two very much as they had done in the darkness; onlythat fresh logs were now coming down on them every few minutes, and atlast they recognized that they were beaten. Then they went backdejectedly, and Nasmyth sat down to breakfast, though he had verylittle appetite. He felt that all the strength he had would be neededthat day. 

After breakfast he lay among the boulders gnawing his unlighted pipeand watching the growing mass of driftwood that chafed and groundagainst the piles of the dam. Nothing, he recognized, could save thedam now. It was bound to go, for the piles were only partly backedwith stone, and, in any case, men do not build in that new country asthey do in England. Their needs are constantly varying, and theirworks are intended merely to serve the purpose of the hour. It is agrowing country, and the men in it know that the next generation willnot be content with anything that they can do, and, what is more tothe purpose, they themselves will want something bigger and moreefficient in another year or two. Hence the dam was a somewhat frailand temporary structure of timber as well as stone, but it wouldprobably have done what was asked of it had it been completed beforethe floods set in. As it was, Nasmyth knew that he would see the endof it before another hour slipped by. 

It came even sooner than he had expected. There was a dull crash; thepiles that rose above the flood collapsed, and the mass of grindingtimber drove on across the ruined dam. Then Nasmyth rose, and, stretching himself wearily, went back to his shanty. He felt he couldnot face the sympathy of his workmen. He was still sitting there in astate of utter physical weariness and black dejection, when, towardsthe middle of the afternoon, the door was quietly opened, and LauraWaynefleet came in. She looked at him as he remembered she had doneonce or twice at the ranch, with compassion in her eyes, and he was alittle astonished to feel that, instead of bringing him consolation, her pity hurt him. Then he felt the blood rise to his face, and helooked away from her. 

"You have heard already?" he asked. 

"Yes, " said the girl softly. "I was at the settlement, and they toldme there. I am so sorry. "

Nasmyth winced, but he contrived to say, "Thank you, " and then glancedround the untidy shanty, which was strewn with dripping clothes. "Ofcourse, " he added, "it is something to know that I have your sympathy;but I must not keep you here. "

It was not a tactful speech, but Laura smiled. "I meant to take youout, " she said. "You have been sitting here brooding since the damwent, and from what Mattawa told me, you haven't had any dinner. "

"No, " said Nasmyth; "now I come to think of it, I don't believe Ihave. I'm not sure it's very astonishing. "

"Then we'll go away somewhere and make tea among the pines. "

Nasmyth glanced suggestively at his attire. His duck jacket had shrunkwith constant wetting, and would not button across the old blue shirt, which fell apart at his bronzed neck. The sleeves had also drawn upfrom his wrists, and left the backs of his hands unduly prominent. Hishands were scarred, and the fingers were bruised where the hammer-headhad fallen on them in wet weather as it glanced from the drill. Thegirl was immaculate in a white hat and a dress of light floweredprint. 

"Do I look like going on a picnic with you?" he said. "The few otherthings I possess are in much the same condition. "

Laura had naturally noticed the state of his attire, but it was hisface that troubled her. It was haggard and his eyes were heavy. As shehad decided long before, it was a face of Grecian type, and she wouldsooner have had it Roman. This man, she felt, was too sensitive, andapt to yield to sudden impulses, and just then her heart ached overhim. Still, she contrived to laugh. 

"Pshaw!" she said. "I told Mattawa to get me a few things ready. "

Nasmyth followed her out of the shanty, and when he had picked up thebasket and kettle somebody had left at the door, she turned to him. 

"Where shall we go?" she asked. 

"Anywhere, " said Nasmyth, "that is, as long as it's away from theriver. "

Laura saw the shrinking in his eyes as he gazed at the swirling flood, and though she was sorry for him, it roused in her a momentary sparkof anger. Then she went with him up the hillside beneath the climbingpines until they reached a shadowy hollow near the crest of it, out ofwhich a little stream trickled down. 

"Now light a fire, while I see what there is in the basket, " shesaid. 

She found a splendid trout, a packet of tea, and a little bag ofself-raising flour, among other sundries, and for the next half-hourshe kept Nasmyth busy making flapjacks and frying the trout. Then theysat down to a simple meal, and when it was over, Nasmyth laughed. 

"It's a little astonishing, in view of how I felt at breakfast, butthere's nothing left, " he sighed. "In one way the admission's a littlehumiliating, but I almost feel myself again. "

"It's supposed to be a very natural one in the case of a man, " saidLaura. "You can smoke if you like. I want to talk to you. "

Nasmyth stretched himself out on the other side of the fire, andLaura, leaning forward a little, looked at him. Without knowingexactly why, he felt somewhat uneasy beneath her gaze. 

"Now, " she said, "I would like to hear what you are going to do. "

The man made a little rueful gesture. "I don't know. Chop trees againfor some rancher, most probably--in fact, I was wondering whether youwould have me back as a ranch-hand. "

"Ah!" cried the girl sharply, while a trace of hardness crept into hereyes, "that is very much what I expected. As it happens, I am far fromsatisfied with the man we have, but I should not think of replacinghim with you just now. "

Nasmyth winced, and it was characteristic of him that he endeavouredto beguile her away from the object she evidently had in view. 

"What's the matter with the man?" he asked. 

"A diversity of gifts. Among other things, he appears to possess anextensive acquaintance with Colonial politics, and he and my fatherdiscuss the regeneration of the Government when they might withadvantage be doing something else. "

Nasmyth frowned. "I understand. That's one reason why I wanted to comeback. After all, there is a good deal I could save you from. In fact, I get savage now and then when I think of what you are probably beingleft to do upon the ranch. I ventured a hint or two to your father, but he seemed impervious. " He hesitated for a moment. "No doubt it's adelicate subject, but it's a little difficult quietly to contemplatethe fact that, while those men talk politics, you--"

"I do their work?" suggested Laura with a lifting of her archedeyebrows. "After all, isn't that or something like it what generallyhappens when men turn their backs upon their task?"

Nasmyth flushed. "I admit that I was trying to break away from mine, but it seems you have undertaken to head me off and drive me back toit again. "

"That was more or less what I wished, " said Laura quietly. 

"Well, " Nasmyth replied, "as I think you're a little hard on me, I'lltry to put my views before you. To begin with, the dam is done for. "

"You are quite sure? You built it so far once. Is it altogether out ofthe question for you to do as much again?"

Nasmyth felt his face grow hot. She was looking at him with quieteyes, which had, however, the faintest suggestion of disdain in them. 

"The question is why I should want to do it, " he said. 

"Ah!" rejoined Laura, "you have no aspirations at all? Still, I'm notquite sure that is exactly what I mean--in fact, I think I meanconsiderably more. You are quite content to throw away yourbirthright, and relinquish all claim to the station you were bornin?"

The man smiled somewhat bitterly. "I think you understand that it's acustom of this country not to demand from any man an account of whathe may have done before he came out to it. In my particular case itwas, however, nothing very discreditable, and I once had myaspirations, or, as you prefer to consider it, I recognized myobligations. Then the blow fell unexpectedly, and I came out here andbecame a hired man--a wandering chopper. After all, one learns to becontent rather easily, which is in several ways fortunate. Then youinstilled fresh aspirations--it's the right word in this case--intome, and I made another attempt, only to be hurled back again. Theredoesn't seem to be much use in attempting the impossible. "

"Then a thing is to be considered impossible after one fails twice?There are men who fail--and go on again--all their lives long. "

"I'm afraid, " Nasmyth declared in a dull tone, "I am not that kind ofman. After all, to be flung down from the station you were bornto--I'm using your own words--and turned suddenly adrift to labourwith one's hands takes a good deal of the courage out of one. I almostthink if you could put yourself in my place you would understand. "

Laura smiled in a suggestive fashion, and looked down at the hands shelaid upon her knee. They were capable, as well as shapely, and, as hehad noticed more than once, the signs of toil were very plain onthem. 

"I never did an hour's useful work before I came out West, " she said. 

She had produced the effect she probably desired, for in the midst ofhis sudden pity for her Nasmyth was troubled with a sense of shame. This girl, he realized, had been reared as gently as he had beenhimself, and he knew that she now toiled most of every day at what inthe older country would have been considered most unwomanly tasks. Still, she had borne with it cheerfully, and had courage to spare forothers whose strength was less than hers. 

He sat silent for almost a minute, looking down between the greatpines into the valley, and, as he did so, he vaguely felt theinfluence of the wilderness steal over him. The wind had fallen now, and there was a deep stillness in the climbing forest which the roarof the river emphasized. Those trees were vast of girth, and they werevery cold. In spite of whirling snow, and gale, and frost, they hadgrown slowly to an impressive stateliness. In Nature, as herecognized, all was conflict, and it was the fine adjustment ofopposing forces that made for the perfection of grace, and strength, and beauty. Then it seemed to him that his companion was like theforest--still, and strong, and stately--because she had been throughthe stress of conflict too. These were, however, fancies, and heturned around again to her with a sudden resolution expressed in hisface and attitude. 

"There's an argument you might have used, Miss Waynefleet, " he toldher. "I said I would try to do you credit, and it almost seems as if Ihad forgotten it. Well, if you will wait a little, I will try again. "

He rose, and, crossing over, stood close beside her, with his handlaid gently on her shoulder, looking down on her with a quiet smile. "After all, " he added, "there's a good deal you might have said thatyou haven't--in fact, it's one of your strong points that, as a rule, you content yourself with going just far enough. Well, because youwish it, I am somehow going to build that dam again. "

She looked up at him swiftly with a gleam in her eyes, and Nasmythstooped a little, while his hand closed hard upon her shoulder. 

"You saved my life, and you have tried to do almost as much in adifferent way since then, " he went on. "It is probably easier to bringa sick man back to health than it is to make him realize hisobligations and to imbue him with the courage to face them when it'sevident that he doesn't possess it. Still, you can't do things of thatkind without results, and I think you ought to know that I belong toyou. "

There was a trace of colour in Laura Waynefleet's face, and shequivered a little under his grasp, but she looked at him steadily, andread his mind in his eyes. The man was stirred by sudden, evanescentpassion and exaggerated gratitude, while pity for her had, shefancied, also its effect on him; but that was the last thing shedesired, and, with a swift movement, she shook off his hand. 

"Ah!" she said; "don't spoil things. "

Her tone was quiet, but it was decisive, and Nasmyth, whose faceflushed darkly, let his hand fall back to his side. Then she rose, andturned to him. 

"If we are to be friends, this must never happen again, " she added. 

Then they went down the hillside and back to the settlement, whereNasmyth harnessed the team, which the rancher who lived nearoccasionally placed at Waynefleet's disposal, to a dilapidated waggon. When she gathered the reins up, Laura smiled down on him. 

"After all, " she reminded him, "you will remember that I expect you todo me credit. "

She drove away, and Nasmyth walked back to his camp beside the dam, where the men were awaiting the six o'clock supper. He leaned upon apine-stump, looking at them gravely, when he had called themtogether. 

"Boys, " he said, "the river, as you know, has wiped out most of thedam. Now, it was a tight fit for me to finance the thing, and Idon't get any further payment until the stone-work's graded to acertain level. Well, if you leave me now, I've just enough money inhand to square off with each of you. You see, if you go you're sure ofyour pay. If you stay, most of the money will go to settle thestorekeeper's and the powder bills, and should we fail again, you'llhave thrown your time away. I'd like you to understand the thing;but whether you stay or not, I'm holding on. "

There was silence for half a minute, and then the men, gathering intolittle groups, whispered to one another, until Mattawa stood forward. 

"All you have to do is to go straight ahead. We're coming along withyou solid--every blame one of us, " he said. 

A red flush crept into Nasmyth's face. 

"Thank you, boys. After that I've got to put this contract through, "he answered. 

CHAPTER VII

LAURA MAKES A DRESS

The frost had grown keener as darkness crept over the forest, and thetowering pines about the clearing rose in great black spires into thenipping air, but it was almost unpleasantly hot in the little generalroom of Waynefleet's ranch. Waynefleet, who was fond of physicalcomfort, had gorged the snapping stove, and the smell of hot ironfilled the log-walled room. There was also a dryness in its atmospherewhich would probably have had an unpleasant effect upon anyone notused to it. The rancher, however, did not appear to feel it. He laydrowsily in a big hide chair, and his old velvet jacket and eveningshoes were strangely out of harmony with his surroundings. Waynefleetmade it a rule to dress for the six o'clock meal, which he persistedin calling dinner. 

He had disposed of a quantity of potatoes and apples at the settlementof late, and had now a really excellent cigar in his hand, while alittle cup of the Mocha coffee, brought from Victoria for his especialuse, stood on the table beside him. Waynefleet had cultivated tastes, and invariably gratified them, when it was possible, while it had notoccurred to him that there was anything significant in the fact thathis daughter confined herself to the acrid green tea provided by thesettlement store. He never did notice a point of that kind, and, ifanyone had ventured to call his attention to it, he would probablyhave been indignant as well as astonished. As a rule, however, nobodyendeavours to impress unpleasant facts upon men of Waynefleet'scharacter. In their case it is clearly not worth while. 

"Do you intend to go on with that dressmaking much longer?" he askedpetulantly. "The click of your scissors has an irritating effect onme, and, as you may have noticed, I cannot spread my paper on thetable. It cramps one's arms to hold it up. "

Laura swept part of the litter of fabric off the table, and it wasonly natural that she did it a trifle abruptly. She had been busy withrough tasks, from most of which her father might have relieved her hadhe possessed a less fastidious temperament, until supper, and therewere reasons why she desired an hour or two to herself. 

"I will not be longer than I can help, " she said. 

Waynefleet lifted his eyebrows sardonically as he glanced at thescattered strips of fabric. "This, " he said, "is evidently inpreparation for that ridiculous pulp-mill ball. In view of theprimitive manners of the people we shall be compelled to mix with, Ireally think I am exercising a good deal of self-denial in consentingto go at all. Why you should wish to do so is, I confess, altogetherbeyond me. "

"I understood that you considered it advisable to keep on good termswith the manager, " said Laura, with a trace of impatience. "He hasbought a good deal of produce from you to feed his workmen with. "

Her father made a gesture of resignation. "One has certainly to put upwith a good deal that is unpleasant in this barbarous land--in fact, almost everything in it jars upon one, " he complained. "You, however, I have sometimes wondered to notice, appear almost content here. "

Laura looked up with a smile, but said nothing. She, at least, had thesense and the courage to make the most of what could not be changed. It was a relief to her when, a minute or two later, the hired manopened the door. 

"If you've got the embrocation, I guess I'll give that ox's leg arub, " he said. 

Waynefleet rose and turned to the girl. "I'll put on my rubberovershoes, " he announced. "As I mentioned that I might have to go out, it's a pity you didn't think of laying out my coat to warm. "

Laura brought the overshoes, and he permitted her to fasten them forhim and to hold his coat while he put it on, after which he went outgrumbling, and she sat down again to her sewing with a strainedexpression in her eyes, for there were times when her father tried herpatience severely. She sighed as she contemplated the partly rigged-updress stretched out on the table, for she could not help rememberinghow she had last worn it at a brilliant English function. Then she hadbeen flattered and courted, and now she was merely an unpaid toiler onthe lonely ranch. Money was, as a rule, signally scarce there, buteven when there were a few dollars in Waynefleet's possession, itseldom occurred to him to offer any of them to his daughter. It isalso certain that nobody could have convinced him that it was onlythrough her efforts he was able to keep the ranch going at all. Shenever suggested anything of the kind to him, but she felt now and thenthat her burden was almost beyond her strength. 

She quietly went on with her sewing. There was to be a dance at thenew pulp-mill, which had just been roofed, and, after all, she wasyoung, and could take a certain pleasure in the infrequent festivitiesof her adopted country. Besides, the forest ranchers dance well, andthere were men among them who had once followed other occupations;while she knew that Nasmyth would be there--in fact, having at lengthraised his dam to the desired level, he would be to a certain extentan honoured guest. She was not exactly sure how she regarded him, though it was not altogether as a comrade, and she felt there was, inone sense, some justice in his admission that he belonged to her. Shehad, in all probability, saved his life, and--what was, perhaps, asmuch--had roused him from supine acquiescence, and inspired him with asustaining purpose. After the day when she had saved him from abjectdespair over his ruined dam, he had acquitted himself valiantly, andshe had a quiet pride in him. Moreover, she was aware of a naturaldesire to appear to advantage at the approaching dance. 

There was, however, difficulty to be grappled with. The dress was old, and when remade in a later style would be unfortunately plain. The fewpairs of gloves she had brought from England were stained and spottedwith damp, and her eyes grew wistful as she turned over the stock listof a Victoria dry goods store. The thing would be so easy, if she hadonly a little more money, but she sighed as she glanced into herpurse. Then she took up the gloves and a strip of trimming, and lookedat them with a little frown, but while she did so there were footstepsoutside, and the door was opened. A man, whom she recognized as ahired hand from a ranch in the neighbourhood, stood in the entrancewith a packet in his hand. 

"I won't come in, " he said. "I met Nasmyth down at the settlement. He'd just come back from Victoria, and he asked me to bring thisalong. "

He went away after he had handed her the packet, and a gleam ofpleasure crept into Laura's eyes when she opened it. There was firstof all a box of gloves of various colours, and then inside anotherpacket a wonderful piece of lace. The artistic delicacy of the laceappealed to her, for though she possessed very few dainty things shewas fond of them, and she almost fancied that she had not seenanything of the kind more beautiful in England. 

As she unfolded it a strip of paper fell out, and the warm bloodswept into her face as she read the message on it. 

"Considering everything, I really don't think you could regard it as aliberty, " it ran. "You have given me a good deal more than this. "

Then for just a moment her eyes grew hazy. In proportion to the man'smeans, it was a costly gift, and, except for him, nobody had shown hermuch consideration since she had left England. She was a trifleperplexed, for she did not think there was lace of that kind on saleoften in Victoria, and, in regard to the gloves, it was not evidenthow he had known her size. Then she remembered that one of the cottonones she sometimes wore had disappeared some little time before, andonce more the flush crept into her cheeks. That almost decided her notto wear his lace, but she felt that to refrain from doing so wouldraise the question as to how they stood with regard to one another, which was one she did not desire to think out closely then; and, afterall, the lace was exactly what she wanted to complete the dress. Sherolled it together, and put it and the gloves away, but she treasuredthe little note. 

It was a week later when her father drove her to the pulp-mill in ajolting waggon, and arrived there a little earlier than he hadexpected. A dance usually begins with a bountiful supper in thatcountry, but Waynefleet, who was, as a rule, willing to borrowimplements or teams from his Bush neighbours, would seldom eat withthem when he could help it. He was accordingly not quite pleased tofind the supper had not yet been cleared away, but Laura, whounderstood what he was feeling, contrived to lead him into a vacantplace at one of the tables. Then she sat down, and looked about her. 

The great room was hung with flags and cedar boughs, and the benchesdown the long uncovered tables were crowded. The men's attire wasmotley--broadcloth and duck; white shirts, starched or limp, and blueones; shoes with the creeper-spikes filed down, and long boots to theknees. There were women present also, and they wore anything fromlight print, put together for the occasion, to treasured garments madein Montreal or Toronto perhaps a dozen years before, but for all thatthe assembly was good to look upon. There was steadfast courage in thebronzed faces, and most of those who sat about the long tables hadkindly eyes. The stamp of a clean life of effort was upon them, andthere was a certain lithe gracefulness in the unconscious poses of thestraight-limbed men. There was no sign of limp slovenliness aboutthem. Even in their relaxation they were intent and alert, and, as shewatched them, Laura realized something of their restless activity anddaring optimism. They believe in anything that is good enough in thatcountry, and are in consequence cheerfully willing to attemptanything, even if to other men it would appear altogether visionaryand impossible, and simple faith goes a long way when supplemented bypatient labour. Laura suddenly became conscious that the manager ofthe pulp-mill, a little wiry man, in white shirt and store clothes, was speaking at the head of the table. 

"In one way, it's not a very big thing we have done, boys, " he said;and Laura was quick to notice the significance of the fact, which wasalso characteristic of the country, that he counted himself as one ofthem. "We've chopped a hole in the primeval forest, held back theriver, and set up our mill. That's about all on the face of it, butthere's rather more behind. It's another round with Nature, and we'vegot her down again. It's a thing you have to do west of the Rockies, or she'll crush the life out of you. There are folks in the Easterncities who call her beneficent; but they don't quite understand whatwas laid on man in Eden long ago. Here he's up against flood and frostand snow. Well, I guess we've done about all we can, and now thatI've paid my respects to the chopper and carpenter-gang, there'sanother man I want to mention. He took hold of the contract to put usup our dam, and kept hold through the blamedest kind of luck. There'shard grit in him and the boys he led, and the river couldn't wash itout of them. Well, when the big turbines are humming and the mill'sgrinding out money for all of you, I guess you're going to rememberthe boys who built the dam. "

There was a shout which shook the wooden building, and Laura sat verystill when Nasmyth stood up. There was no doubt that he was afavourite with everybody there, and she knew that she had nerved himto the fight. He did not appear altogether at ease, and she waitedwith a curious expectancy for what he had to say. It was very little, but she appreciated the tact which made him use the speech hisaudience was accustomed to. 

"I had a good crowd, " he said. "With the boys I had behind me Icouldn't back down. " Then his voice shook a little. "Still, I wasmighty near it once or twice. It was the boys' determination to holdon--and another thing--that put new grit in me. "

Without being conscious of what he was doing, he swept his glance downthe long table until it rested on Laura Waynefleet's face. She feltthe blood creep into her cheeks, for she knew what he meant, but shelooked at him steadily, and her eyes were shining. Then he spread hishands out. 

"I felt I daren't shame boys of that kind, " he said, and hastily satdown. 

His observations were certainly somewhat crude, but the little quiverin his voice got hold of those who heard him, and once more the bigbuilding rang with cheering. As the sound of hearty acclamation diedaway there was a great clatter of thrust-back benches through whichthe tuning of a fiddle broke. Then out of the tentative twang ofstrings rose, clear and silvery, the lament of Flora Macdonald, thrilling with melancholy, and there were men and women there whosehearts went back to the other wild and misty land of rock and pine andfrothing river which they had left far away across the sea. It may bethat the musician desired a contrast, or that he was merely feelingfor command of the instrument, for the plaintive melody that ran fromshift to shift into a thin elfin wailing far up the sobbing stringsbroke off suddenly, and was followed by the crisp jar of crashingchords. Then "The Flowers of Edinburgh" rang out with Caledonian vervein it and a mad seductive swing, and the guests streamed out to themiddle of the floor. That they had just eaten an excellent supper wasa matter of no account with them. 

Nasmyth, in the meanwhile, elbowed his way through the crowd ofdancers until he stood at Laura's side, and as he looked at her, therewas a trace of embarrassment in his manner. She wore his lace, butuntil that moment her attire had never suggested the station to whichshe had been born. Now she seemed to have stepped, fresh andimmaculate, untouched by toil, out of the world to which he had oncebelonged. She was, for that night at least, no longer an impoverishedrancher's daughter, but a lady of station. With a twinkle in his eyes, he made her a little formal inclination, and she, knowing what he wasthinking, answered with an old-world curtsey, after which a grinningox-teamster of habitant extraction turned and clapped Nasmyth'sshoulder approvingly. 

"V'la la belle chose!" he said. "Mamselle Laura is altogetherravissante. Me, I dance with no one else if she look at me like dat. "

Then Nasmyth and Laura laughed, and glided into the dance, though, inthe case of most of their companions, "plunged" would have been thebetter word for it. English reserve is not esteemed in that land, andthe axemen danced with the mingled verve of grey Caledonia andlight-hearted France, while a little man with fiery hair from themisty Western Isles shrieked encouragement at them, and maddened themwith his fiddle. Even Nasmyth and Laura gave themselves up to thethrill of it, but as they swung together through the clashing of themeasure, which some of their companions did not know very well, confused recollections swept through their minds, and they recalleddances in far different surroundings. Now and then they even fell backinto old tricks of speech, and then, remembering, broke off with aringing laughter. They were young still, and the buoyancy of thecountry they had adopted was in both of them. 

The dance ended too soon, and, when the music broke off with a crashof clanging chords, Nasmyth led his partner out of the press into alittle log-walled room where the half-built dynamos stood. It waslighted, but a sharp cool air and the fret of the river came inthrough a black opening in one wall. Laura sat upon a large deal case, and Nasmyth, looking down upon her, leaned against a dynamo. He smiledas he recognized that she grasped the significance of the throbbingroar of water. 

"It was very pleasant while it lasted, but--and it's a pity--the musichas stopped, " he said. "What we are now listening to is the turmoil ofa Canadian river. "

Laura laughed, though there was a wistfulness in her eyes. "Oh, Iunderstand, but couldn't you have let me forget it just for to-night?"she said. "I suppose that privilege was permitted to Cinderella. "

The man felt curiously sorry for her as he remembered how hard herlife was at the lonely ranch, but he knew she would not be pleased ifhe expressed his thoughts. 

"Well, " he observed reflectively, "a thing often looks mostattractive when it's forbidden you, or a long way off, and, you see, there are always compensations. In fact, I'm beginning to come acrossquite a few of them. "

He broke off for a moment, and Laura, who noticed that he looked ather, fancied she understood in what direction his thoughts weredrifting; but he went on again with a laugh. 

"After all, " he said, "there are exiles who realize that they are invarious ways better off than in all probability they would have beenhad they stayed in the land they were driven out of. "

"Ah, " answered Laura, "would you go back if you were given theopportunity?"

"No, " Nasmyth asserted slowly, "I don't think I should do that--now. "

Again she understood him, the more clearly because she saw by theslight wrinkling of his forehead, during the significant pause, thathe had grappled with the question. She did not think he was altogetherin love with her, but she knew, at least, that he did not wish to goaway while she was left behind in Canada. It seemed desirable tochange the subject, and she touched the lace. 

"I have to thank you for this, " she said. "It has given me pleasure. "Then--and the words were wholly unpremeditated--she added: "I wantedto look well--just for once--to-night. "

She was sorry, a moment later, when she saw the quick change in theman's expression, for she remembered that they had always seemed tounderstand what the other meant. It was clear that the qualificationjust for once had not misled him, but, after all, it seemed to herthat he must presently realize that the admission was not one areticent woman really in love with him would have made. 

"Oh, " he said, "you are always beautiful. " Then his manner becamedeprecatory. "I didn't think you'd mind. In one way what I owe youmakes me a privileged person. I felt that I could venture----"

This, too, was clear to her, and though she considered his attitudethe correct one, it jarred a little upon her. She was content thatthey should be merely comrades, or, at least, that was what she hadendeavoured to convince herself, but, after all, there was no reasonwhy he should emphasize the fact. 

"Yes, " she replied quickly, "I think I understand. " Then once more shechanged the subject. "I want to compliment you on building the dam. "

Nasmyth laughed, but there was a light in his eyes. "I should neverhave built it, if it hadn't been for you. Still"--and he made her areverent bow--"I owe you a good deal more than that. "

Laura made no response to this. She had thrilled at his achievement, when she had heard the manager's speech, and it became still plainerthat there was a certain hazard in dwelling upon his success. Shecould also be practical. 

"In one way, " she said, "I suppose the result was not quite sosatisfactory?"

"It certainly wasn't. Of course, the work is not quite completed yet, but after settling up everything, the interim payment left me withabout fifteen dollars in hand. "

Laura was not astonished at this, but she was more than a littleperplexed, for she fancied that the lace she was wearing must havecost a good deal more than fifteen dollars. Still, she had no wish tomake it evident that he had been extravagant; and, while sheconsidered the matter, a man appeared in the doorway. 

"I guess you two have got to come right out, " he said. "What d'youfigure you were asked here for?"

Nasmyth held his arm out, but when Laura would have laid her handupon it, the man broke in with a grin. 

"No, sir, " he said severely, "Miss Waynefleet's going right round. Nowyou're coming along with me, and we'll show them how to waltz. "

Laura smiled good-humouredly, and he swept her into the dance, whileNasmyth was seized upon by a girl, who drove him through it much asshe did her brother's steers in the Bush. 

"A bump or two don't count for much. What you want to do is to humpyourself and make things hum, " said Nasmyth's partner, when anothercouple jostled them. 

Nasmyth expressed his concurrence in a gasp, and contrived to save herfrom another crash, but when the dance was over, he felt limp, and wasconscious that his partner was by no means satisfied with him. 

"I'm sorry, " he said. "Still, I really think I did what I could. "

The girl regarded him half compassionately. "Well, " she said, "itwasn't very much, but I guess you played yourself out building thatblamed dam. "

CHAPTER VIII

BY COMBAT

Nasmyth's partner condescended, as she said, to give him another show, but he escaped from that dance with only a few abrasions, and, thoughhe failed to obtain another with Laura, he contrived to enjoy himself. All his Bush friends were not primitive. Some of them had once playedtheir parts in much more brilliant functions. They had cultivatedtastes, and he had learned to recognize the strong points of those whohad not. After all, kindly hearts count for much, and it was notunnatural that, like other exiles who have plodded up and down thatrugged land, he should think highly of the hard-handed men and patientwomen who willingly offer a night's shelter and a share of their driedapples, salt pork, and grindstone bread to the penniless wanderer. 

What was more to the purpose, a number of the guests at the dance hadswung the axe by his side, and fought the river with him when thevalley was filled with the roar of water. 

They had done their work gallantly, when it seemed out of the questionthat they would ever receive the money he had promised them, fromsheer pride in their manhood, and to keep their word, and now theydanced as determinedly. 

There are no cramping conventions and very few shams--and the shams inthose forests, it must be confessed, are as a rule imported ones. Infact, there was that evening, among all those in the pulp-mill, onlyone man who seemed to disassociate himself from the general good-will. That man was Waynefleet. He wore his old velvet jacket as a cloak ofsuperciliousness--or, at least, that was how it seemed to theBush-ranchers, who recognized and resented an effete pride in thesqueak of his very ancient lacquered shoes. It is possible that he didnot mean to make himself in any way offensive, and merely desired toindicate that he was graciously willing to patronize their bucolicfestivities. There would have been something almost pathetic in hiscarefully preserved dignity had it not been so obtrusively out ofplace; and when they stood watching him for a moment or two, Gordonexpressed Nasmyth's thoughts. 

"How a man of that kind ever came to be Laura Waynefleet's father ismore than I can figure out!" he said. "It's a question that worries meevery time I look at him. Guess she owes everything to her mother; andMrs. Waynefleet must have been a mighty patient woman. "

Nasmyth smiled, but Gordon went on reflectively: "You folks show yoursense when you dump your freaks into this country, " he said. "It neverseems to strike you that it's a little rough on us. What's the matterwith men like Waynefleet is that you can't teach them sense. I'd havetold him what I thought of him once or twice when I saw the girl doinghis work up at the ranch if I'd figured it would have made anyimpression. "

"I expect it would have been useless, " remarked Nasmyth. "After all, I'm not sure that it's exactly your business. "

Gordon watched Laura Waynefleet as she swung through a waltz on thearm of a sinewy rancher, and his eyes softened curiously. 

"Only on the girl's account, " he admitted. "I'm sorry for her. Stillsthe blamed old image isn't actively unkind. "

Then he saw the sudden contraction of Nasmyth's face, and turnedtoward him. "Now, " he said, "I want you to understand this thing. Ifit would be any comfort to her, I'd let Miss Waynefleet wipe her bootson me, and in one way that's about all I'm fit for. I know enough torealize that she'd never waste a moment thinking of a man like me, even if I hadn't in another way done for myself already. "

"Still, " Nasmyth replied quietly, "some women can forgive a gooddeal. "

Gordon's face hardened, and he seemed to straighten himself. "Well, there are men--any way, in this country--who have too much grit inthem to go crawling, broken, to any woman's feet, and to expect her topick them up and mend them. Now you have heard me, and I guess youunderstand. "

Nasmyth merely made a little gesture of sympathy. After all, he hadthe average Englishman's reticence, and the free speech of thatcountry still jarred upon him now and then. He knew what Gordon hadmeant to impress on him, and he was touched by generosity of themotive, but for all that he felt relieved when Gordon abruptly movedaway. He danced another dance, and then sauntered towards the dynamoroom, where the manager had set up a keg or two of heady Ontariocider. Several men were refreshing themselves there, but they did notsee him when he approached the door. 

"The only thing that's out of tone about this show is Waynefleet, "said one of them who had once worked for the rancher. "What do we wantthat blamed old dead-beat round here for, when he can't speak toanyone but the Crown land-agent and the mill manager?"

One of the others laughed, but Nasmyth saw venomous hatred in the bigaxeman's face. It was, however, not his business, and Waynefleet was aman for whom he had no great liking. He was about to turn away whenthe chopper went on again. 

"Waynefleet's a blamed old thief, as everybody knows, " he said. "Himbeing what he is, I guess you couldn't blame his daughter----"

Nasmyth, whom they had not noticed yet, could not quite hear whatfollowed; but when somebody flung a sharp, incredulous question at thespeaker, he stood fast in the doorway, with one hand clenched. 

"Well, " said the man, with a suggestive grin, "what I mean's quiteplain. Is there any other girl, round this settlement who'd make up tothat dam-builder as she's doing, and slip quietly into his shantyalone?"

Nasmyth never learned what grievance against Waynefleet or hisdaughter had prompted this virulence, nor did it appear to matter. There was just sufficient foundation for the man's insinuation torender it perilous if it was once permitted to pass unchallenged, andNasmyth realized that any attempt to handle the affair delicately wasnot likely to be successful. He was afterwards greatly astonished thathe could think clearly and impose a certain command upon himself; buthe understood exactly what it was most advisable for him to do, and heset about it with a curious cold quietness which served his purposewell. 

There was a gasp of astonishment from one of the group as he steppedforward into the light and looked with steady eyes at the man who hadspoken. 

"Jake, " he said, "you are a d---- liar. "

It was what the others had expected, and they rose and stood back alittle from the pair, watching expectantly; for they recognized thatthe affair was serious, and, though Nasmyth had their sympathy, animpartial attitude was the correct one now. Jake was tall and lean andmuscular; but perhaps the dam-builder's quietness disconcerted him, orhis bitterness had only extended to the rancher. 

"Now, " Jake growled, "you light out of this. I don't know that I'veanything against--you. "

Nasmyth had his back to the door, and he did not see the grizzledMattawa, who was supposed to be one of the strongest choppers aboutthe settlement, standing a little behind him, and watching him andJake attentively. Still, one of the others did, and made a sign toMattawa that any support he might feel disposed to offer his employerwould not be tolerated in the meanwhile. Nasmyth, however, realizedthat there was only one course open to him, and he drew back one handas he met the uneasy eyes of the man in front of him. 

"You are going to back down on what you said?" he asked, with incisivequietness. 

"Not a d---- word, " the other man assured him. 

"Then, " said Nasmyth, "you must take the consequences. "

He swung forward on his left foot, and there was a thud as his scarredknuckles landed heavily in the middle of the detractor's face. Hestruck with an unexpected swiftness and all the force that was in him, for he had learned that the rules of the trial by combat are by nomeans so hard and fast in British Columbia as they are in England. Asa matter of fact, it is not very frequently resorted to there; butwhen men do fight, their one object is to disable their opponents assoon as possible and by any means available. 

Jake reeled backwards a pace or two, and the spectators saidafterwards there was no reason why Nasmyth should have permitted himto recover himself, as he did. Two axes which the carpenters had beenusing stood against the wall, and Jake caught up the nearest of them. He swung the gleaming blade high, while the blood trickled from hiscut lips and the swollen veins rose on his forehead. This, however, was going further than the others considered admissible, and there wasa protesting shout, while one sturdy fellow cautiously slid along thewall to get in behind the man who had the axe. 

Still, for a second or two, which might have proved fatal to him, Nasmyth had only his own resources to depend upon, and he did the onething that was possible. The Canadian axe-haft is long, and he sprangstraight in at the man. As he did so, the big blade came down, andflashed by a hand's breadth behind his shoulders. He felt a burningpain on the outside of his thigh, but that did not seem to matter, andhe was clutching at his opponent's throat when he was bodily flungaside. Then, as he fell against the log wall, he had a momentaryglimpse of Jake bent backwards in Mattawa's arms. There was a brieffloundering scuffle as the two men reeled towards the black opening inthe wall, and after that a splash in the darkness outside, and Mattawastepped back into the room alone. 

"The d---- hog is in the flume, " he said. 

That did not appear to trouble any of the others. The sluice was notdeep, and, though it was certainly running hard, it was scarcelylikely that a stalwart Bushman would suffer greatly from being washedalong it. 

"Guess it will cool him off, " said one of them. "If it doesn't, and hecomes back to make a fuss, we'll heave him in again. "

Then they turned and looked at Nasmyth, who sat down somewhat limplyon a cider keg. The blood, which was running down his leg, made alittle pool at his feet. Mattawa, who crossed over to him, asked for aknife, and when a man produced one, he slit Nasmyth's trousers up tothe hip. Then he nodded. 

"Boys, " he said, "one of you will slip out kind of quiet and bring Mr. Gordon along. Two more of you will stand in the door there and not letanybody in. "

They obeyed him, and Mattawa looked down at Nasmyth again. 

"I guess the thing's not serious, " he commented. 

"Well, " said Nasmyth ruefully, "in one way, I think it is. You see, store clothes are dear, and this is the only pair of trousers I'vegot. "

There was a little laugh from the others, and he knew he had donewisely, when they clumsily expressed their satisfaction at his escape. He had, at least, discredited Jake, and it was evident that if the manmade any more assertions of a similar nature, which was very unlikely, no one would listen to them. 

In the meanwhile, nobody else seemed to be aware that anything unusualwas going on. All had happened in a minute or two, and the clanging ofthe fiddle and the patter of the dancers' feet had drowned any soundthat rose from the dynamo-room. Nasmyth had not long to wait beforeGordon stepped in and quietly set about his surgical work, aftersomeone had dipped up a little water from the sluice. 

"Yes, " said Gordon, "it's quite a nice clean slice, and I guess it'snot going to trouble you much, though you won't walk very far for aweek or two. As soon as we can get you to the dam, I'll put a properdressing on. " Then he looked up sharply. "In the meanwhile, I don'tquite see how you cut yourself like that. "

"As a matter of fact, I didn't, " said Nasmyth, with evidentreluctance. "I suppose you will have to be told. " He looked round atthe others. "Boys, I particularly don't want this thing to go anyfurther. "

He related what had happened, and one of the men stood up. "I wouldn'tworry over that, " he replied. "We're not going to talk, and if Jakedoes, one of us will pound a little sense into him. Now I'll slip outand get Highton's team. "

After that they gave Nasmyth some cider, and a few minutes later helimped out through the opening in the wall and across the plank theylaid above the sluice to the waiting waggon. It was not far to thedam, and before very long Gordon was back again at the mill. Itnaturally happened, though he was anxious to avoid her, that LauraWaynefleet was the first person who accosted him. 

"Have you seen Mr. Nasmyth?" she asked. 

"Oh, yes, " said Gordon. "I saw him a little while ago. You are wantinghim?"

Laura laughed. "I believed I promised him another dance. It's a littlecurious he hasn't come for it. "

"In one way it's deplorably bad taste. "

The girl was quick to notice that his gaze was not quite frank, and hewinced when for a moment she laid her hand upon his arm, for he sawthe veiled anxiety in her eyes. 

"Something has been going on, " she said. "You don't want to tell mewhere Mr. Nasmyth is. "

"He has just gone back to the dam. He got hurt--a trifling cut--nothingmore than that. Still, I insisted on tying it up. "

"Ah, " cried Laura sharply, "you evidently don't wish me to know how hegot it!"

"It is just what I don't mean to do. Any way, it's not worth whiletroubling about. Nasmyth's injury isn't in the least serious. "

"It doesn't seem to strike you that I could ask him myself. "

Gordon would have liked to warn her to keep away from the dam, but hedid not see how it could be done unless he offered some reason, andthat was a thing he shrank from. 

"Oh, yes, " he said, "you certainly could. " Then he glanced down at herhands. "Those are unusually pretty gloves you have on. "

His answer was, as it happened, almost as injudicious as he could haverendered it, since it left the girl determined to sift the matterthoroughly. She, however, only smiled just then. 

"I think there isn't a nicer pair of gloves in Canada than these, " shesaid. 

Gordon took himself away, wondering what she could have meant by that;and Laura waited until next day, when, although there was, as usual, agood deal to be done about the ranch, she went down to find out whatwas the matter with Nasmyth. 

The injured man was sitting in his shanty, with his foot upon a chair, but he rose when she came in, and stood leaning rather hard upon thetable. 

"It is very kind of you to come, " he said, taking her hand. He madeshift to limp to the door, whence he called for Mattawa. 

"Bring those two chairs out, Tom, and put them in the sun, " he said. 

The old axeman shook his head severely. "You sit right down again. What in the name of wonder are you on your legs for, any way?" heasked. Then he saw Laura, and made a little gesture of resignation. "Well, I guess it will have to be done. "

The sudden change in his attitude was naturally not lost upon thegirl, but she kept her astonishment to herself, and waited untilMattawa had made Nasmyth as comfortable as possible. Then she turnedto him. 

"I am very sorry you are hurt, " she said. "I understand it was an axecut. How did it happen?"

Nasmyth appeared to reflect. "Well, " he answered, "I suppose I was alittle careless--in fact, I must have been. You see, some of thebuilding gang had left their axes in the dynamo-room. "

"That, " said Laura dryly, "certainly accounts for the axe being there. I'm not sure it goes very much further. "

"It really wasn't very much of a cut. " Nasmyth's desire to escapefrom the topic was a trifle too plain, as he added, "Isn't it nice outhere?"

It occurred to Laura that it was uncomfortably cold, for there was anip of frost in the air, though the sun hung coppery red above thesombre pines. 

"I almost fancied you were not overjoyed to see me, " she remarked. 

Nasmyth appeared momentarily embarrassed, but his expression suddenlychanged, and Laura felt a faint thrill when he laid his hand upon herarm. 

"That, " he said, "is a fancy you must never entertain again. "

In one respect Laura was fully satisfied, and, though there was stilla great deal upon which she meant to be enlightened, she talked aboutother matters for almost half an hour, and then rose with a littleshiver. 

"I must get back to the settlement, where I have left the team, " shesaid, and glanced down at him for a moment with solicitude in hereyes. "You will be very careful. "

Nasmyth let her go, but he did not know that she signed to Mattawa, who was then busy hewing out a big redwood log. The axeman strolledafter her into the Bush, and then stopped to look hard at her as heuttered an inquiring, "Well?"

"Tom, " said the girl, "can't you understand that it would be very muchwiser if somebody told me exactly how Mr. Nasmyth got hurt?"

The axeman nodded. "Yes, " he admitted, with a wink, "that's just howit strikes me, and I'm going to. The boss has no more arms and legsthan he's a use for anyway. "

Laura gazed at him in bewilderment, but the man's expression wasperfectly grave. "Now, " he added, "I guess one can talk straight senseto you, and the fact is I can't have you coming round here again. Justlisten about two minutes, and I'll try to make the thing clear toyou. "

He did so with a certain graphic force that she had not expected fromhim, and the colour crept into her cheeks. Then, to Mattawa'sastonishment, she smiled. 

"Thank you, " she said simply. "But the other man?"

"Well, " replied Mattawa, "if he goes round talking, somebody will'most pound the life out of him. "

Then he swung round abruptly, for he was shrewd, and had his primitivenotions of delicacy; and Laura went on through the stillness of theBush, with a curious softness in her eyes. Mattawa had been terse, and, in some respects, his observations had not been tactful, butnobody could have impressed her more in Nasmyth's favour. Indeed, atthe moment, she scarcely remembered how the aspersions Jake had mademight affect herself. As it happened, she met Gordon near thesettlement, and he stopped a moment. He had come upon her suddenly, and had looked at her with a suggestive steadiness, but she smiled. 

"Yes, " she said, "I have been to the dam. After the way in which youmade it evident that you didn't want me to go there, it was, perhaps, no more than you could have expected. "

"Ah!" rejoined Gordon, with a look of anxiety, "you probably got holdof Mattawa. Well, after all, I guess he has done the wise thing. " Thenafter a pause he observed, "There is very little the matter with yourcourage. "

"I fancy, " observed Laura half wistfully, "that is, in severalrespects, fortunate. "

Then she went on again, and though Gordon felt exceedingly compassionate, he frowned and closed one hand. 

"It's a sure thing I'll have to tell Waynefleet what kind of a man heis, " he said. 

CHAPTER IX

GORDON SPEAKS HIS MIND

It was a nipping morning, and the clearing outside the ranch wasflecked with patches of frozen snow, when Waynefleet sat shivering ina hide chair beside the stove. The broken viands upon the table infront of him suggested that he had just made a tolerable breakfast, but his pose was expressive of limp resignation, and one could havefancied from the look in his thin face that he was feeling very sorryfor himself. Self-pity, in fact, was rather a habit of his, and, perhaps, because of it, he had usually very little pity to spare foranybody else. He looked up when, flushed and gasping, his daughtercame in with two heavy pails of water. She shivered visibly. 

"It would be a favour if you would shut that door as soon as you can, "said Waynefleet. "As I fancy I have mentioned, this cold goes rightthrough me. It occurred to me that you might have come in a littleearlier to see if I was getting my breakfast properly. "

Laura, who glanced at the table, thought that he had acquitted himselfreasonably well, but she refrained from pointing out the fact, and, after shutting the door, crossed the room to her store-cupboard, andtook out a can of fruit which she had set aside for another purpose. Waynefleet watched her open it and made a little sign of impatience. 

"You are very clumsy this morning, " he said. 

The girl's hands were wet and stiff with cold, but she quietly laidanother plate upon the table before she answered him. 

"Charly is busy in the slashing, and I don't want to take him away, but there are those logs in the wet patch that ought to be hauled outnow the ground is hard, " she said. "I suppose you don't feel equal todoing it to-day?"

"No, " said Waynefleet with querulous incisiveness, "it is quite out ofthe question. Do I look like a man who could reasonably be expected toundertake anything of that kind just now?"

It occurred to Laura that he did not look as if there was very muchthe matter with him, and she stood still a minute considering. AsGordon had said, it was she who managed the ranch, and she recognizedthat it was desirable that the trees in question should be dragged outof the soft ground while the frost lasted. Still, there was the bakingand washing, and it would be late at night before she could accomplishhalf she wished to do, if she undertook the task in question. Whileshe thought over it her father spoke again. 

"I wish you would sit down, " he said. "I feel I must have quietness, and your restless habits jar upon me horribly. "

That decided her, and slipping into her own room, she put on an oldblanket coat, and went out quietly. She walked through the orchard tothe little log stable where the working oxen stood, and, after pattingthe patient beasts, shackled a heavy chain to the yoke she laid upontheir brawny necks. Then, picking up a handspike, she led them out, and for an hour walked beside them, tapping them with a long pointedstick, while they dragged the big logs out of the swamp. Now and thenit taxed all her strength to lift the thinner end of a log on thechain-sling with a handspike, but she contrived to do it until atlength one heavier than the others proved too much for her. She couldhear the ringing of the hired man's axe across the clearing, but therewas a great deal for him to do, and, taking up the handspike again, she strained at it. 

She heard footsteps behind her, and she straightened herself suddenly. She turned and saw Gordon watching her with a curious smile. Tall andstraight and supple, with a ruddy, half-guilty glow on her face, shestood near the middle of the little gap in the Bush, the big dappledoxen close at her side. The wintry sunlight, which struck upon her, tinted the old blanket dress a shining ochre, and the loose tress ofred-gold hair, which had escaped from beneath her little fur cap, struck a dominant tone of glowing colour among the pale reds andrussets of the fir-trunks and withered fern. 

Gordon shook his head reproachfully. "Sit down a minute or two, andI'll heave that log on to the sling, " he said. "This is not the kindof thing you ought to be doing. "

Laura, who was glad of the excuse, sat down on one of the logs, whilethe man leaned against a fir and gravely regarded her. 

"The work must be done by somebody, and my father is apparently notvery well again, " she explained. "Charly has his hands full in theslashing. We must get it cleaned up, if it is to be ploughed thisspring. "

"Nasmyth contrived to look after all these things. Why didn't you keephim? The man didn't want to go away. "

The colour deepened in Laura's face, and Gordon, who saw it, made asign of comprehension. "Well, " he added, "I suppose that wasn't athing one could expect you to tell me, though I don't quite see whyyou shouldn't think of yourself now and then. You know it wasn't onyour own account you sent him away. "

"How does this concern you?" she asked. 

Gordon flung one hand out. "Ah, " he said, "how does it concern me?"Then he seemed to lay a restraint upon himself. "Well, it does in onesense, anyway. After all, I am a doctor, and a friend of yours, andI'm going to warn you against attempting things women weren't meantto do. If that doesn't prove efficacious, I'll say a word or two toNasmyth, and you'll have him back here again. It's a sure thing yourfather would be glad to get him. "

"If you do, I shall never forgive you, " warned Laura, with a flash inher eyes. 

She was sorry she had spoken so plainly when she saw that Gordonwinced. She had guessed more or less correctly what the man felt forher, and she had no wish to pain him. Except for that, however, theadmission she had made did not greatly matter, since she fancied thathe was quite aware why she had sent Nasmyth away. Gordon changed thesubject abruptly. 

"There are very few of those blanket dresses this side of theRockies, " he said. "You probably got it back East. "

The girl's eyes had a wistful look as she answered: "We spent ourfirst winter in Montreal, and we had some friends who were very kindto us. I like to look back upon those first few months in Canada. "

Gordon nodded. "Oh, yes, " he replied. "I know--sleigh-rides, snowshoemeets, skating-rinks, toboggan-slides. Quite as lively as a Londonseason, and considerably more invigorating; I guess you've beenthrough that, too. In one way it's a pity you didn't stay inMontreal. "

He saw her sudden embarrassment, and fancied that she could havestayed there, if she had wished to do so, but he felt that he mustspeak frankly, and he shook his head severely. 

"Do you never think of your own advantage at all?" he inquired. "Haveyou none of the ambitions that most women seem to have?"

"Aren't you forgetting?" Laura asked with sudden quietness. "My fatherfound it would not be advisable for him to settle in Montreal--for thesame reason that afterwards led us to leave Victoria--and we wentWest. Perhaps he could have faced the trouble and lived it down, but Icould not leave him alone. "

Gordon sat silent a moment or two. He knew, though she very rarelymentioned it, how heavy was the burden that had been laid upon her, and he was divided between a great pity for her and anger against herfather. Then he rose slowly to his feet. 

"Miss Waynefleet, " he said, "if I have said anything that hurt you, I'm sorry, but there are times when I must talk. I feel I have to. Inthe meanwhile I'll heave those logs up on a skid so that you can slipthe chain round them. "

For the next half-hour he exerted himself savagely, and when at lasthe dropped the handspike, his face was damp with perspiration. Hesmiled grimly when Laura, who had hauled one or two of the logs away, came back tapping the plodding oxen. 

"Now, " he said, "I'm going in to see your father. Custer happened totell me he was feeling low again, and it's going to afford me a gooddeal of pleasure to prescribe for him. "

He swung off his wide hat, and, when he turned away, Laura wonderedwith a few misgivings what had brought the little snap into his eyes. Three or four minutes later he entered the house, where Waynefleet laybeside the stove with a cigar in his hand. 

"I ran across Custer at the settlement, and I came along to see howyou were keeping, " said Gordon. 

Waynefleet held out a cigar-box. "Make yourself comfortable, " heanswered hospitably. "We'll have dinner a little earlier than usual. "

The sight of the label on the box came near rousing Gordon to anoutbreak of indignation. "I'm not going to stay, " he declared. "Itseems to me Miss Waynefleet has about enough to do already. "

He saw Waynefleet raise his eyebrows, and he added: "I guess it's notworth while troubling to point out that it's not my affair. Now, ifyou'll get ahead with your symptoms. "

Waynefleet looked hard at him for a moment. The older man was notaccustomed to being addressed in that brusque fashion, and it jarredupon him, but, as a matter of fact, he was not feeling well, and, ashe not infrequently pointed out, he had discovered that one had to putup with many unpleasant things in that barbarous country. He describedhis symptoms feelingly, and was rather indignant when Gordon expressedneither astonishment nor sympathy. 

"That's all right, " said Gordon. "The thing's quite plain--especiallythe general lassitude you complain of. The trouble is that if youdon't make an effort it's going to become chronic. "

Again Waynefleet looked at him in astonishment, for Gordon's tone wasvery suggestive. 

"Yes, " added the medical adviser, "it's a complaint a good many men, who haven't been raised to work, are afflicted with. Well, I'll mixyou up a tonic, and you'll drive down for it yourself. The thing won'tbe half as efficacious if you send the hired man. Then you'll set toevery morning soon as breakfast's over, and do a couple of hours'smart chopping for a week. By that time you'll find it easy, and youcan go on an hour or two in the afternoon. Nobody round here willrecognize you, if you keep it up for the next three months. "

Waynefleet's thin face grew red, but Gordon's imperturbable demeanourrestrained him from betraying his indignation. 

"You don't understand that I couldn't swing an axe for five minutestogether, " he objected. 

"The trouble, " answered Gordon, "is that you don't want to. "

Waynefleet made an attempt to rise, but his companion laid a handupon his arm and pressed him down again. 

"You were anxious for my advice, and now I'm going to prescribe, "Gordon continued. "Two hours' steady chopping every day, to be raisedby degrees to six. Then I'd let up on smoking cigars of that kind, andpractise a little more self-denial in one or two other respects. Youcould make things easier for Miss Waynefleet with the money yousave. "

He rose with a laugh. "Well, I'm going. All you have to do is to carryout my suggestions, and you may still make yourself and your ranch acredit to the district. In the meanwhile, this place would beconsiderably improved by a little ventilation. "

He went out, and left Waynefleet gazing in indignant astonishment atthe door he carefully fixed open. It seemed to Waynefleet almostincredible that such words should have been spoken to him, and thesuggestion that at the cost of a painful effort he should endeavour tomake himself a credit to that barbarous neighbourhood rankled most ofall. He had felt, hitherto, that he had conferred a favour on thecommunity by settling there. He lay still until his daughter came inand glanced at him inquiringly. 

"You have seen Mr. Gordon?" she queried. 

"I have, " answered Waynefleet with fine disdain. "You will understandthat if he comes back here, he must be kept away from me. The man isutterly devoid of refinement or consideration. "

In the meanwhile Gordon was riding, circumspectly, down the ruttedtrail, and it was an hour later when he dismounted at the shanty ofNasmyth's workmen, and shared a meal with the gang employed on thedam. After that he sat with Nasmyth, who still limped a little, in thehut, from which, as the door stood open, they could see the men streamup into the Bush and out along the dam. The dam now stood high abovethe water-level, for the frost had bound fast the feeding snow uponthe peaks above, though the stream roared and frothed through the twobig sluice-gates. By-and-by, the ringing of axes and the clink ofdrills broke through the sound of the rushing waters. Gordon, whostretched himself out on a deer-hide lounge, smiled at Nasmyth as helighted his pipe. 

"I've been talking a little sense to Waynefleet this morning. I felt Ihad to, though I'm afraid it's not going to be any use, " heannounced. 

"Whether you were warranted or not is, of course, another matter, "said Nasmyth. "Perhaps you were, if you did it on Miss Waynefleet'saccount. Anyway, I don't altogether understand why you should be sureit will have no effect. "

Gordon looked at him with a grin. "Well, " he remarked oracularly, "it's easy to acquire an inflated notion of one's own importance, though it's quite often a little difficult to keep it. Something'svery apt to come along and prick you, and you collapse flat when itlets the inflation out. In some cases one never quite gets one'sself-sufficiency back. The scar the prick made is always there, butit's different with Waynefleet. He is made of self-closing jelly, andwhen you take the knife out the gap shuts up again. It's quite hard tofancy it was ever there. "

Nasmyth nodded gravely, for there was an elusive something in hiscomrade's tone that roused his sympathy. 

"Gordon, " he said, "is it quite impossible for you to go back Eastagain?"

Gordon leaned back in his chair, and glanced out across the toilingmen upon the dam, at the frothing river and rugged hillside, with alook of longing in his eyes. 

"In one way it is, but I want you to understand, " he replied. "I mightbegin again in some desolate little town--but I aimed higher--and wasonce very nearly getting there. As it is, if I made my mark, the thingI did would be remembered against me. We'll let it go. As a surgeon ofany account I'm done for. "

"Still, it's a tolerably big country, and folks forget. You might, atleast, go so far, and that would, after all, give you a good deal--acompetence, the right to marry. "

Gordon laughed, but his voice was harsh. 

"This is one of the days on which I must talk. I feel like that, nowand then, " he said. Then he looked at Nasmyth hard. "Well, I've seenthe one woman I could marry, and it's certain that, if I dare make herthe offer, she would never marry me. "

"Ah, " said Nasmyth, "you seem quite sure of that?"

"Quite, " declared Gordon, and there was, for a moment or two, analmost uncomfortable silence in the shanty. 

Then he made a little forceful gesture as he turned to his companionagain. 

"Well, " he said, "after all, what does it count for? Is it man's oneand only business to marry somebody? Of course, we have folks backEast, who seem to act on that belief, and in your country half of themappear to spend their time and energies philandering. "

"I don't think it's half, " said Nasmyth dryly. 

"It's not a point of any importance, and we'll let it go. Anyway, itseems perilously easy for a man who gets the woman he sets his mindupon to sink into a fireside hog in the civilized world. Now and then, when things go wrong with folks of that kind, they come out here, andnobody has any use for them. What can you do with the man who getssick the first time he sleeps in the rain, and can't do without hisdinner? Oh, I know all about the preservation of the species, butwest of the Great Lakes we've no room for any species that isn't toughand fit. "

He broke off for a moment. "After all, this is the single man'scountry, and--we--know that it demands from him the best that he wasgiven, from the grimmest toil of his body to the keenest effort of hisbrain. Marriage is a detail--an incident; we're here to fight, tograpple with the wilderness, and to break it in, and that burdenwasn't laid upon us only for the good of ourselves. When we've flungour trestles over the rivers, and blown room for the steel track outof the cañon's side, the oat-fields and the orchards creep up thevalleys, and the men from the cities set up their mills. Prospector, track-layer, chopper, follow in sequence here, and then we're ready tohold out our hands to the thousands you've no use or food for backyonder. I'm not sure it matters that the men who do the work don'toften share the results of it. We bury them beside our bridge trestlesand under tons of shattered rock, and, perhaps, when their time comes, some of them aren't sorry to have done with it. Anyway, they've stoodup to man's primeval task. "

He rose with another half-deprecatory laugh, but his eyes snapped. "You don't talk like that in your country--it would hurt some ofyou--but if we spread ourselves now and then, you can look round andsee the things we do. " Then he touched Nasmyth's shoulder. "Oh, yes, you understand--for somebody has taught you--and by-and-by, you'regoing to feel the thing getting hold of you. "

He moved towards the doorway, but turned as he reached it. "Talking'scheap, and I have several dozen blamed big firs to saw up, as well asWaynefleet's tonic to mix. He'll come along for it when that prick Igave him commences to heal. "

CHAPTER X

THE CALLING CAÑON

There were four wet and weary men in the Siwash canoe that Nasmyth, who crouched astern, had just shot across the whirling pool with theback feathering stroke of his paddle which is so difficult to acquire. Tom from Mattawa, grasping a dripping pole, stood up in the bow. Gordon and Wheeler, the pulp-mill manager, knelt in the middle of theboat. Wheeler's hands were blistered from gripping the paddle-haft, and his knees were raw, where he had pressed them against the bottomof the craft to obtain a purchase. It was several years since he hadundertaken any severe manual labour, though he was by no means unusedto it, and he was cramped and aching in every limb. He had plied poleor paddle for eight hours, during which his companions had painfullypropelled the craft a few miles into the cañon. He gasped with reliefwhen Mattawa ran the bow of the canoe in upon the shingle, and thenrose and stretched himself wearily. The four men stepped ashore. Curiously they looked about them, for they had had little opportunityfor observation. Those who undertake to pole a canoe up the rapids ofa river on the Pacific slope usually find it advisable to confinetheir attention strictly to the business in hand. 

Immediately in front of them the river roared and seethed amid giantboulders, which rose out of a tumultuous rush of foam, but while itwas clearly beyond the power of flesh and blood to drive the canoe upagainst the current, a strip of shingle, also strewn with boulders andbroken by ledges of dripping rock, divided the water from the wall ofthe cañon. The cañon, a tremendous slope of rock with its dark crestoverhanging them, ran up high above their heads; but they could seethe pines clinging to the hillside which rose from the edge of theother wall across the river, so steep that it appeared impossible tofind a foothold upon it. 

The four men were down in the bottom of a great rift in the hills, and, though it would be day above for at least two hours, the lightwas faint in the hollow and dimmed by drifting mist. It was a spotfrom which a man new to that wild country might well have shrunk, andthe roar of water rang through it in tremendous, nerve-taxingpulsations. Nasmyth and his companions, however, had gone there withno particular purpose--merely for relaxation--though it had cost themhours of arduous labour, and the journey had been a more or lesshazardous one. Wheeler, the pulp-mill manager, was waiting for hismachinery, and, Nasmyth had finished the dam. When they planned thejourney for pleasure, Mattawa and Gordon had gone with them ostensiblyon a shooting trip. There are game laws, which set forth when andwhere a man may shoot, and how many heads he is entitled to, but itmust be admitted that the Bush-rancher seldom concerns himself greatlyabout them. When he fancies a change of diet, he goes out and kills adeer. Still, though all the party had rifles no one would have caredvery much if they had not come across anything to shoot at. 

Now and then a vague unrest comes upon the Bushman, and he sets offfor the wilderness, and stays there while his provisions hold out. Heusually calls it prospecting, but as a rule he comes back with hisgarments rent to tatters, and no record of any mineral claim or timberrights, but once more contentedly he goes on with his task. It may bea reawakening of forgotten instincts, half-conscious lust ofadventure, or a mere desire for change, that impels him to make thejourney, but it is at least an impulse with which most men who toilin those forests are well acquainted. 

Nasmyth and Mattawa pulled the canoe out, and when they sat down andlighted their pipes, Wheeler grinned as he drew up his duck trousersand surveyed his knees, which were raw and bleeding. Then he held upone of his hands that his comrades might notice the blisters upon it. He was a little, wiry man with dark eyes, which had a snap in them. 

"Well, " he observed, "we're here, and I guess any man with senseenough to prefer whole bones to broken ones would wonder why we are. It's most twelve years since I used to head off into the Bush this wayin Washington. "

Gordon glanced at him with a twinkle in his eyes. "Now, " he observed, "you've hit the reason the first time. When you've done it once, you'll do it again. You have to. Perhaps it's Nature's protest againstyour axiom that man's chief business is dollar-making. Still, I'madmitting that this is a blamed curious place for Nasmyth to figure onkilling a wapiti in. Say, are you going to sleep here to-night, Derrick?"

It was very evident that none of the big wapiti--elks, as the Bushmanincorrectly calls them--could have reached that spot, but Nasmythlaughed. 

"I felt I'd like to see the fall--I don't know why, " he said. "It'sscarcely another mile, and I've been up almost that far with an Indianbefore. There's a ravine with young spruce in it where we couldsleep. "

"Then, " announced Wheeler resolutely, "we're starting right now. WhenI pole a canoe up a place of this kind I want to see where I'm going. I once went down a big rapid with the canoe-bottom up in front of mein the dark, and one journey of that kind is quite enough. "

They dumped out their camp gear, and took hold of the canoe, abeautifully modelled, fragile thing, hollowed out of a cedar log, andfor the next half-hour hauled it laboriously over some sixty yards ofboulders and pushed it, walking waist-deep, across rock-strewn pools. Then they went back for their wet tent, axes, rifles, blankets, and abag of flour, and when they had reloaded the canoe, they took up thepoles again. It was the hardest kind of work, and demanded strengthand skill, for a very small blunder would have meant wreck upon somefroth-lapped boulder, or an upset into the fierce white rush of theriver, but at length they reached a deep whirling pool, round whichlong smears of white froth swung in wild gyrations. The smooth rockrose out of the pool without even a cranny one could slip a hand into, and the river fell tumultuously over a ledge into the head of it. Thewater swept out of a veil of thin white mist, and the great rift rangwith a bewildering din. One felt that the vast primeval forces wereomnipotent there. As the men looked about them with the spray on theirwet faces and the white mist streaming by, Mattawa, who stood upforward, dropped suddenly into the bottom of the canoe. 

"In poles, " he said. "Paddle! Get a move on her!" Nasmyth, who felthis pole dip into empty water, flung it in and grabbed his paddle, forthe craft shot forward suddenly with the swing of the eddy towards thefall. He did not know whether the stream would sweep them under it, but he was not desirous of affording it the opportunity. For perhaps aminute they exerted themselves furiously, gasping as they strainedaching arms and backs, and meanwhile, in spite of them, beneath thetowering fall of rock, the canoe slid on toward the fall. It also drewa little nearer to the middle of the pool, where there was a curiousbevelled hollow, round which the white foam spun. It seemed to Nasmyththat the stream went bodily down. 

"Paddle, " said Mattawa hoarsely. "Heave her clear of it. "

They drove furiously between the white-streaked shoot of the fall andthat horribly suggestive whirling; then, as they went back towards theoutrush from the pool, they made another desperate, gasping effort. For several moments it seemed that they must be swept back again, andthen they gained a little, and, with a few more strokes, reached theedge of the rapid. They let the canoe drive down the rapid while theboulders flashed by them, for there was the same desire in all ofthem, and that was to get as far as possible away from that horriblepool. At last Mattawa, standing up forward, poled the canoe in where adeep ravine rent the dark rock's side, and the party went ashore, wetand gasping. Wheeler looked back up the gorge and solemnly shook hishead. 

"If you want to see any more of it, you've got to do it alone. I'vehad enough, " he declared. "A man who runs a pulp-mill has no use forpaddling under that kind of fall. I'm not going back again. "

Mattawa and Gordon set the tent up in the hollow of the ravine, whileWheeler hewed off spruce branches with which to make the beds; butNasmyth did nothing to assist any of them. Thinking hard, he sat on aboulder, with his unlighted pipe in his hand. The throbbing roar ofwater rang about him; and it was then that the great project creptinto his mind. It was rapidly growing dark in the bottom of the greatrift, but he could still see the dim white flashing of the fall andthe vast wall of rock and rugged hillside that ran up in shadowygrandeur, high above his head, and as he gazed at it all he felt hisheart throb fast. He was conscious of a curious thrill as he watchedand listened to that clash of stupendous forces. The river had spentcountless ages cutting out that channel, hurling down mighty bouldersand stream-driven shingle upon the living rock; but it was, it seemedto him, within man's power to alter it in a few arduous months. Hesat very still, astonished at the daring of his own conception, untilWheeler strolled up to him. 

"How much does the river drop at the fall?" he asked. 

"About eight feet in the fall itself, " answered Wheeler. "Seems to meit falls much more in the rush above. Still, I can't say I noticed itparticularly--I had something else to think about. "

"It's a short rapid, " remarked Nasmyth reflectively. "There is, nodoubt, a great deal of the hardest kind of rock under it, which is, inone or two respects, unfortunate. I suppose you don't know very muchabout geology?"

"I don't, " confessed the pulp-miller. "Machines are my specialty. "

"Well, " said Nasmyth, "I'm afraid I don't either, and I believe one ortwo of these cañons have puzzled wiser folks than I. You see, thegeneral notion is that the rivers made them, but it doesn't seem quitereasonable to imagine a river tilting at a solid range and splittingit through the middle. In fact, it seems to me that some of the cañonswere there already, and the rivers just ran into them. One or twoIndians have come down from the valley close to the fall, and theytold me the river was quite deep there. The rock just holds it up atthe fall. It's a natural dam--a dyke, I think they call it. "

"I don't quite understand what all this is leading to, " observedWheeler. 

Nasmyth laughed, though there was, as his companion noticed, a curiouslook in his eyes. "I'll try to make it clearer when we get into thevalley. We're going there to-morrow. "

It was almost dark now, and they went back together to the little firethat burned redly among the spruces in the ravine. There Mattawa andGordon had a simple supper ready. The others stretched themselvesout, rolled in their blankets, soon after they had eaten, but Nasmythlay propped up on one elbow, wide awake, listening to the roar ofwater until well into the night. The stream drowned the faint rustlingof the spruces in a great dominant note, and he set his lips as herecognized its depth of tone and volume. He had once more determinedto pit all his strength of mind and body against the river. Still, hewent to sleep at last, and awakening some time after it was dawn onthe heights above, roused his comrades. When breakfast was over hestarted with them up the ravine to cross the range. 

It was afternoon before they accomplished the climb, though the heightwas not great and a ravine pierced the crest, and they had rent mostof their clothes to tatters when they scrambled down the slope intothe valley. Those pine-shrouded hillsides are strewn with mightyfallen trees, amid which the tangled underbrush grows tall and rank, and, where the pines are less thickly spaced, there are usually mattedgroves of willows, if the soil is damp. They pitched camp on the edgeof the valley, and Gordon and Nasmyth prepared supper, while Wheelercut firewood and Mattawa went out to prospect for the tracks offeeding deer. The axeman came back to say there were no signs of anywapiti, though the little Bush deer were evidently about, and it wasdecided to try for one that night with the pitlight, a mode ofshooting now and then adopted when the deer are shy. 

They ate their supper, and afterwards lay down with their blanketsrolled about them, for it grew very cold as darkness crept up thevalley. Like most of the other valleys, this one was walled in bysteep-sided, pine-shrouded hills; but in this case there were no treesin the bottom of it, which, while very narrow, appeared several mileslong. It was also nearly level, and the river wound through it indeep, still bends. There are not many valleys in that country inwhich heavy timber fails to grow, and those within reach of a markethave been seized upon; for all ranch produce is in excellent demand, and the clearing of virgin forest is a singularly arduous task. Infact, there was only one reason why this strip of natural prairie hadnot already been claimed. Most of it was swamp. Nasmyth, who wasquieter than usual, watched the filmy mist creep about it as the softdarkness rolled down the hillsides. 

Gordon rose and hooked a pitlight into his hat. This pitlightconsists simply of a little open miner's-lamp, which has fixed beneathit a shield cut out of any convenient meat-can. The lamp is filledwith seal oil. Once a man has fastened it upon his head, the light iscut off from his person, so that he stands invisible, and the littleflame appears unsupported. Deer of any kind are endued with aninquisitiveness which frequently leads to their destruction, andwhen they notice the twinkling light flitting through the air theyapproach it to ascertain the reason for such an unusual thing. Thenthe rancher shoots, as soon as their shining eyes become visible. 

The party divided. Gordon and Nasmyth, who kept near each other, fellover several rotting trees, and into what appeared to be crumblingdrains. They floundered knee-deep through withered timothy, which isnot a natural grass. For an hour or two nobody saw any deer. ThenGordon, who was cautiously skirting another drain, closed in onNasmyth until he touched his comrade. Nasmyth heard a crackling rustleamong the withered grass. Gordon made a little abrupt movement. 

"If we both blaze off, we double the odds on our getting it, " hesaid. 

Nasmyth only just heard him, for his heart was beating withexcitement; but as he stood knee-deep in the grass, with both handsready to pitch the heavy rifle up, it seemed to him that Mattawa couldnot have been correct when he said that there were only the Bush deerabout. Judging by the noise it was making, the approaching beast, hethought, must be as big as a wapiti. Then he saw two pale spots oflight, which seemed curiously high above the ground. 

"I'm shooting, " he said, and in another moment the butt was into hisshoulder. 

He felt the jar of it, but, as usual in such cases, he heard nodetonation, though the pale flash from Gordon's rifle was almost inhis eyes. He, however, heard the thud of the heavy bullet, and amoment or two later, a floundering amidst the grass. 

"That can't be a Bush deer!" he cried. 

"It sounds 'way more like an elephant, " said Gordon, with a gasp. 

They ran forward until they stopped a few yards short of somethingvery big and shadowy that was still struggling in the grass. Gordoncautiously crept up a little nearer. 

"Those aren't deer's horns, anyway, " he announced. "Plug it quick. Theblamed thing's getting up. "

Nasmyth flung the rifle up to his shoulder, and twice jerked a freshcartridge into the chamber, but this time there was silence when thecrash of the heavy Marlin died away among the woods. They creptforward a little further circumspectly, until Gordon stopped againwith a gasp of consternation. 

"Well, " he said, "I guess it couldn't be either a Bush deer or awapiti. "

They were still standing there when their comrades came running up, and Mattawa, who took down his light, broke into a great hoarselaugh. 

"A steer!" he said, and pointed to a mark on the hide. "One ofCuster's stock. Guess he'll charge you quite a few dollars for killingit. "

Nasmyth smiled somewhat ruefully, for he was by no means burdenedwith wealth, but he was, after all, not greatly astonished. Few of thesmall ranchers can feed their stock entirely on their little patchesof cleared land, and it is not an unusual thing for most of the herdto run almost wild in the Bush. Now and then, the cattle acquire asomewhat perilous fondness for wrecking road-makers' and prospectors'tents, which explains why a steer occasionally fails to be found andsome little community of axemen is provided with more fresh meat thancan well be consumed. 

"I'm afraid it's rather more than likely I'll have to pay a goodprice, " said Nasmyth. "Do you feel anxious for any more shootingto-night, Wheeler?"

"No, " said the pulp-miller, with a grin, as he surveyed his bemiredclothes. "Guess it's going to prove expensive, and I've had 'mostenough. I don't feel like poling that canoe any farther up-river, either. What's the matter with camping right where we are until we eatthe steer?"

There was, however, as Mattawa pointed out, a good deal to be donebefore they could make their first meal off the beast, and none ofthem quite relished the task, especially as they had only an axe and acouple of moderately long knives. Still, it was done, and when theycarried a portion of the meat out of the swamp, and had gone down towash in the icy river, they went wearily back to their tent among thefirs. 

CHAPTER XI

THE GREAT IDEA

The night was cold, and a frost-laden wind set the fir branchessighing as Nasmyth and his comrades sat about a snapping fire. The redlight flickered upon their faces, and then grew dim again, leavingtheir blurred figures indistinct amid the smoke that diffused pungent, aromatic odours as it streamed by and vanished between the toweringtree-trunks. 

The four men were of widely different type and training, though it wascharacteristic of the country that they sat and talked together onterms of perfect equality. Two of them were exiles, by fault andmisfortune, from their natural environment. One had forced himselfupwards by daring and mechanical genius into a station to which, inone sense, he did not belong, and Mattawa, the chopper, alone, pursuedthe occupation which had always been familiar to him. Still, it was ascomrades that they lived together in the wilderness, and, what wasmore, had they come across one another afterwards in the cities, theywould have resumed their intercourse on exactly the same footing. After all, they were, in essentials, very much the same, and, whenthat is the case, the barriers men raise between themselves do notcount for much in the West, at least. Wheeler, the pulp-mill builder, who had once sold oranges on the railroad cars, led up to aconversation that gave Nasmyth an opportunity for which he had beenwaiting. 

"You and Mattawa are about through with that slashing contract, " hesaid. "You will not net a great pile of money out of it, I suppose?"

"My share is about thirty, " answered Nasmyth, with a little laugh. "Mypartner draws a few dollars more. He got in a week when the big logthat rolled on my cut leg lamed me. I seem to have a particularlyunfortunate habit of hurting myself. Are you going back to Ontariowhen we get that money, Mattawa?"

"No, " the big axeman replied slowly; "anyway, not yet, though I wasthinking of it. The ticket costs too much. They've been shoving uptheir Eastern rates. "

"You ought to have a few dollars in hand, " remarked Nasmyth, who wasquite aware that this was not exactly his business. "Are you going tostart a ranch?"

Mattawa appeared to smile. "I have one half cleared back in Ontario. "

"Then what d'you come out here for?" Gordon broke in. 

"To give the boy a show. He's quite smart, and we were figuring wemight make a doctor or a surveyor of him. That costs money, and wagesare 'way higher here than they are back East. "

It was a simple statement, made very quietly by a simple man, but itappealed forcibly to those who heard it, for they could understandwhat lay behind it. Love of change or adventure, it was evident, hadnothing to do with sending the grizzled Mattawa out to the forestsof the West. He had, as he said, merely come there that his son mightbe afforded opportunities that he had never had, and this wascharacteristic, for it is not often that the second generation stayson the land. Though teamsters and choppers to the manner born are busyhere and there, the Canadian prairie is to a large extent broken andthe forest driven back by young men from the Eastern cities and byexiled Englishmen. Their life is a grim one, and when they marry theydo not desire their children to continue it. Yet, they do notoften marry, since the wilderness, in most cases, would crush thewives they would choose. The men toil on alone, facing flood, anddrought, and frost, and some hate the silence of the winter nightsduring which they sit beside the stove. 

"Then, " inquired Wheeler, "who runs the ranch?"

"The wife and the boy. That is, when the boy's not chopping orploughing for somebody. "

There were reasons why Nasmyth was stirred by what he had heard, andwith his pipe he pointed to Mattawa, as the flickering firelight fellupon the old axeman's face. 

"That, " he said, "is the man who didn't want his wages when I offeredthem to him, though he knew it was quite likely he would never getthem afterwards unless I built the dam. He'd been working for me twoor three months then, in the flooded river, most of the while. Now, isthere any sense in that kind of man?"

Mattawa appeared disconcerted, and his hard face flushed. "Well, " heexplained, "I felt I had to see you through. " He hesitated for amoment with a gesture which seemed deprecatory of his point of view. "It seemed up to me. "

"You've heard him, " said Gordon dryly. "He's from the desolate Bushback East, and nobody has taught him to express himself clearly. Themen of that kind are handiest with the axe and drill, but it hasalways seemed to me that the nations are going to sit round and listenwhen they get up and speak their mind some day. "

He saw the smile in Nasmyth's eyes, and turned to Wheeler, who wasfrom the State of Washington. "It's a solid fact that you, at least, can understand. It's not so very long since your folks headed Westacross the Ohio, and it's open to anyone to see what you have done. "Then he flung his hand out towards the east. "They fancy back yonderwe're still in the leading-strings, and it doesn't seem to strike themthat we're growing big and strong. "

It was characteristic that Wheeler did not grin, as Nasmyth certainlydid. What Gordon had said was, no doubt, a trifle flamboyant, but itexpressed the views of others in the West, and after all it was moreor less warranted. Mattawa, however, gazed at them both as if suchmatters were beyond him, and Wheeler, who turned to Nasmyth, changedthe subject. 

"Well, " he said, "what are you going to strike next?"

Nasmyth took out his pipe, and carefully filled it before he answered, for he knew that his time had come, and he desired greatly to carryhis comrades along with him. 

"I have, " he said quietly, "a notion in my mind, or, anyway, the germof one, for the thing will want some worrying out. It's quite aserious undertaking. To begin with, I'll ask Gordon who cut thesedrains we've been falling into, and what he did it for?"

"An Englishman, " Gordon answered. "Nobody knew much about him. He wasprobably an exile, too. Anyway, he saw this valley, and it seemed tostrike him that he could make a ranch in it. "

"Why should he fix on this particular valley?"

"The thing's plain enough. How many years does a man usually spendchopping a clearing out of the Bush? Isn't there a demand for anythingthat you can eat from our miners and the men on our railroads and inour mills? Why do we bring carloads of provisions in? Can't you gethold of the fact that a man can start ranching right away on naturalprairie, if he can once get the water out of it?"

"Oh, yes, " assented Nasmyth. "The point is that one has to get thewater out of it. I would like Mattawa and Wheeler to notice it. Youcan go on. "

"Well, " said Gordon, "that man pitched right in, and spent most of twoyears cutting four-foot trenches through and dyking up the swamp. Hewent on every day from sun-up to dark, but every time the floods camethey beat him. When he walked over the range to the settlement, theboys noticed he was getting kind of worn and thin, but there was cleangrit in that man. He'd taken hold of the contract, and he stayed withit. Then one day a prospector went into the valley after a big freshetand came across his wrecked shanty. The river had got him. "

Wheeler nodded gravely. "It seems to me this country was made by menlike that, " he commented. "They're the kind they ought to put upmonuments to. "

There was silence for a moment or two after that, except for thesighing of the wind among the firs and the hoarse murmur that came up, softened by the distance, from the cañon. It was not an unusual story, but it appealed to those who heard it, for they had fought with rockand river and physical weariness, and they could understand the grimpatience and unflinching valour of the long struggle that hadresulted, as such struggles sometimes do, only in defeat. Still, themen who take those tasks in hand seldom capitulate. Gordon glanced atNasmyth. 

"Now, " he said, "if you have anything to say, you can get it out. "

Nasmyth raised himself on one elbow. "That Englishman put up a goodfight, but he didn't start quite right, " he said. "I want to point outthat, in my opinion, the river has evidently just run into the cañon. It's slow and deep until you reach the fall, where it's merely held upby the ridge of rock the rapid runs across. Well, we'll call thechange of level twelve to sixteen feet, and, as Gordon has suggested, a big strip of natural prairie is apt to make a particularly desirableproperty, once you run the water out of it. You can get rid of a lotof water when you have a fall of sixteen feet. "

"How are you going to get it?" asked Wheeler. 

"By cutting the strip of rock that holds the river up at the fall. Ithink one could do it with giant-powder. "

Again there was silence for a few moments, and Nasmyth looked at hiscomrades quietly, with the firelight on his face and a gleam in hiseyes. They sat still and stared at him, for the daring simplicity ofhis conception won their admiration. Mattawa slowly straightenedhimself. 

"It's a great idea, " he declared. "Seen something quite like it inOntario; I guess it can be done. " He turned to Nasmyth. "You can countme in. "

Wheeler made a sign of concurrence. "It seems to me that Mattawa isright. In a general way, I'm quite open to take a share in the thing, but there's a point you have to consider. Most of the work could bedone only at low water, and a man might spend several years on it. "

"Well?" said Nasmyth simply. 

Wheeler waved his hand. "Oh, " he said, "you're like that otherEnglishman, but you want to look at this thing from a business pointof view. Now, as you know, the men who do the toughest work on thisPacific slope are usually the ones who get the least for it. Well, ifyou run the river down, you'll dry out the whole valley, and you'llhave every man with a fancy for ranching jumping in, or some d----land agency's dummies grabbing every rod of it. It's Crown land. Anybody can locate a ranch on it. "

"You have to buy the land, " said Nasmyth. "You can't pre-empt ithere. "

"How does that count?" Wheeler persisted. "If you started clearing aBush ranch, you'd spend considerably more. "

Nasmyth smiled. "I fancy our views coincide. The point is that theCrown agents charge the usual figure for land that doesn't requiremaking, which is not the case in this particular valley. Well, beforeI cut the first hole with the drill, they will either have to sell meall I can take up on special terms, or make me a grant for the work Ido. "

Gordon laughed. "Are you going to hammer your view of the matter intothe Crown authorities? Did you ever hear of anyone who got them tosanction a proposition that was out of the usual run?"

"Well, " said Nasmyth, "I'm going to try. If they won't hear reason, I'll start a syndicate round the settlement. "

Wheeler, leaning forward, dropped a hand on his shoulder. "Count on mefor a thousand dollars when you want the money. " He turned and lookedat Gordon. "It's your call. "

"I'll raise the same amount, " said Gordon, "though I'll have to put amortgage on the ranch. "

Mattawa made a little diffident gesture. "A hundred--it's the most Ican do--but there's the boy, " he said. 

Nasmyth smiled in a curious way, for he knew this offer was, afterall, a much more liberal one than those the others had made. 

"You, " he said severely, "will be on wages. Yet, if we put the thingthrough, you will certainly get your share. "

He looked round at the other two, and after they had expressed theirapproval, they discussed the project until far into the night, andfinally decided to recross the range, and look at the fall again, early next morning. It happened, however, that Mattawa, who went downto the river for water, soon after sunrise, found a Siwash canoeneatly covered with cedar branches. This was not an astonishing thing, since the Indians, who come up the rivers in the salmon season, oftenhew out a canoe on the spot where they require it, and leave it thereuntil they have occasion to use it again. After considering the matterat breakfast, the four men decided to go down the cañon. They knewthat one or two Indians were supposed to have made the hazardoustrip, but that appeared sufficient, for they were all accustomed tohandling a canoe, and an extra hazard or two is not often a greatdeterrent to men who have toiled in the Bush. 

They had a few misgivings when the hills closed about them as theyslipped into the shadowy entrance of the cañon. No ray of sunlightever streamed down there, and the great hollow was dim and cold andfilled with a thin white mist, though a nipping wind flowed throughit. For a mile or two the hillsides, which rose precipitously abovethem, were sprinkled here and there with climbing pines, that on theirfar summits cut, faintly green, against a little patch of blue. By-and-by, however, the canoe left these slopes behind, and driftedinto a narrow rift between stupendous walls of rock, though there wasa narrow strip of shingle strewn with whitened driftwood between theside of the cañon and the river. Then this disappeared, and there wasonly the sliding water and the smooth rock, while the patch of skyseemed no more than a narrow riband of blue very high above. 

Fortunately, the river flowed smoothly between its barriers of stone, and, sounding with two poles lashed together, the men got no bottom, and as the river swept them on, they began to wonder uneasily how theywere to get back upstream. Once, indeed, Wheeler suggested somethingof the kind, but none of the others answered him, and he went on withhis paddling. 

At last a deep, pulsating roar that had been steadily growing louder, swelled suddenly into a bewildering din, and Mattawa shouted as theyshot round a bend. There was a whirling haze of spray into which thewhite rush of a rapid led close in front of them, and for the nextminute they paddled circumspectly. Then Mattawa ran the canoe inbetween two boulders at the head of the rapid, and they got out andstood almost knee-deep in the cold water. The whirling haze of spraywhich rose and sank was rent now and then as the cold breeze sweptmore strongly down the cañon, and it became evident that the rapid wasa very short one. The walls of rock stood further apart at this point, and there was a strip of thinly-covered shingle and boulders betweenthe fierce white rush of the flood and the worn stone. Mattawa grinnedas the others looked at him. 

"I'm staying here to hang on to the canoe, " he said. "Guess you don'tfeel quite like going down that fall. "

They certainly did not, and they hesitated a moment until Nasmythsuddenly moved forward. 

"We came here to look at the fall, and I'm going on, " he said. 

They went with him, stumbling over the shingle, and now and thenfloundering among the boulders, with the stream that frothed abouttheir thighs almost dragging their feet from under them. Each of themgasped with sincere relief when he scrambled out of the whirling pool. They reached a strip of uncovered rock that stretched across part ofthe wider hollow above the fall, and stood there drenched andshivering for several minutes, scarcely caring to speak as they gazedat the channel which the stream had cut through the midst of it. Wheeler dropped his hand on Nasmyth's shoulder. 

"Well, " he said--and Nasmyth could just hear him through the roar ofthe fall--"it seems to me the thing could be done if you have nerveenough. Still, I guess if they let you have the whole valleyafterwards, you'd deserve it. " Then he seemed to laugh. "I'll make myshare one thousand five hundred dollars. In the meanwhile, if you haveno objections, we'll get back again. "

CHAPTER XII

WISBECH MAKES INQUIRIES

A little pale sunshine shone down into the opening between the greatcedar trunks when Laura Waynefleet walked out of the shadowy Bush. Thetrail from the settlement dipped into the hollow of a splashing creek, just in front of her, and a yoke of oxen, which trailed along a rudejumper-sled, plodded at her side. The sled was loaded with a big sackof flour and a smaller one of sugar, among other sundries which arancher who lived farther back along the trail had brought up from thesettlement in his waggon. Waynefleet's hired man was busy thatmorning, and as her stores were running out, Laura had gone for thegoods herself. Other women from the cities have had to accustomthemselves to driving a span of oxen along those forest trails. 

The beasts descended cautiously, for the slope was steep, and Laurawas half-way down it when she saw that a man, who sat on the littlelog bridge, was watching her. He was clearly a stranger, and, when sheled the oxen on to the bridge, tapping the brawny neck of one with along stick, he turned to her. 

"Can you tell me if Waynefleet's ranch is near here?" he asked. 

Laura glanced at him sharply, for there was no doubt that he wasEnglish, and she wondered, with a faint uneasiness, what his businesswas. In the meanwhile the big, slowly-moving beasts had stopped andstood still, blowing through their nostrils and regarding the strangerwith mild, contemplative eyes. One of them turned its head towards thegirl inquiringly, and the man laughed. 

"One could almost fancy they wondered what I was doing here, " heremarked. 

"The ranch is about a mile in front of you, " said Laura in answer tohis question. "You are going there?"

"I am, " said the man. "I want to see Miss Waynefleet. They told me toask for her at the store. "

Laura looked at him again with some astonishment. 

He was a little man, apparently about fifty, plainly dressed in whatappeared to be English clothing. Nothing in his appearance suggestedthat he was a person of any importance, or, indeed, of much education, but she liked the way in which he had laughed when the ox had turnedtowards her. 

"Then, " she replied, "as that is my name, you need not go anyfurther. "

The man made a little bow. "Mine's Wisbech, and I belong to theBirmingham district, England, " he explained. "I walked over from thesettlement to make a few inquiries about a relative of mine calledDerrick Nasmyth. They told me at the store that you would probablyknow where he is, and what he is doing. "

Laura was conscious of a certain resentment against the loquaciousstorekeeper. It was disconcerting to feel that it was generallyrecognized that she was acquainted with Nasmyth's affairs, especiallyas she realized that the fact might appear significant to his Englishrelative. It would scarcely be advisable, she decided, to ask thestranger to walk on to dinner at the ranch, since such an invitationwould probably strengthen any misconceptions he might have formed. 

"Mr. Nasmyth is expecting you?" she asked. 

"No, " said Wisbech--and a little twinkle, which she found vaguelyreassuring, crept into his eyes--"I don't think he is. In allprobability he thinks I am still in England. Perhaps, I had bettertell you that I am going to Japan and home by India. It's a trip agood many English people make since the C. P. R. Put their new Empresssteamers on, and I merely stopped over at Victoria, thinking I wouldsee Derrick. He is, as perhaps I mentioned, a nephew of mine. "

There was a certain frankness and something whimsical in his mannerwhich pleased the girl. 

"You have walked from the settlement?" she asked. 

"I have, " answered Wisbech. "It is rather a long time since I havewalked as much, and I found it quite far enough. A man is bringing ahorse up to take me back, but I am by no means at home in the saddle. That"--and he laughed--"is, I suppose, as great an admission in thiscountry as I have once or twice found it to be at home. "

Laura fancied she understood exactly what he meant. Most of her ownmale friends in England were accustomed to both horses and guns, andthis man certainly did not bear the unmistakable stamp that was uponhis nephew. 

"Then my father and I would be pleased if you will call at the ranchand have dinner with us, " she said, and continued a trifle hastily:"Anyone who has business at a ranch is always expected to wait untilthe next meal is over. "

Wisbech, who declared that it was evidently a hospitable land, andthat he would be very pleased, went on with her; but he asked hernothing about Nasmyth as they walked beside the plodding oxen. Instead, he appeared interested in ranching, and Laura, who foundherself talking to him freely and naturally, supplied him withconsiderable information, though she imagined once or twice that hewas unobtrusively watching her. He also talked to Waynefleet and thehired man, when they had dinner together at the ranch, and it was notuntil the two men had gone back to their work that he referred to theobject he had in hand. 

"I understand that my nephew spent some time here, " he said. 

Laura admitted that this was the case, and when he made furtherinquiries, related briefly how Nasmyth had first reached the ranch. She saw the man's face grow intent, as he listened, and there was apuzzling look in his eyes, which he fixed upon her. 

"So you took him in and nursed him, " he said. "I wonder if I might askwhy you did it? He had no claim on you. "

"Most of our neighbours would have done the same, " Laura answered. 

"That hardly affects the case. I presume he was practicallypenniless?"

"I wonder why you should seem so sure of that. As a matter of fact, hehad rather more than thirty dollars in his possession when he set outfrom the logging camp, but on the journey he lost the belt he kept themoney in. "

A queer light crept into Wisbech's eyes. "That is just the kind ofthing one would expect Derrick Nasmyth to do. You see, as I pointedout, he is my nephew. "

"You would not have lost that belt?"

Wisbech laughed. "No, " he said, "I certainly would not. What I meantto suggest was that I am naturally more or less acquainted withDerrick Nasmyth's habits. In fact, I may admit I was a littleastonished to hear he had contrived to accumulate those thirtydollars. "

Laura did not know exactly why she felt impelled to tell him about thebuilding of the dam, but she did so, and made rather a stirring storyof it. She was, at least, determined that the man should realize thathis nephew had ability, and it is possible that she told him a littlemore than she had intended, for Wisbech was shrewd. Then it suddenlyflashed upon her that he had deliberately tricked her into settingforth his nephew's strong points, and was pleased that she had madethe most of them. 

"The dam seems to have been rather an undertaking, and I am glad hecontrived to carry it through successfully, " he commented. Then helooked at her with a twinkle in his eyes. "I do not know yet where hegot the idea from. "

The girl flushed. This was, she felt, regrettable, but she could nothelp it, for the man's keenness was disconcerting, and she was, also, a little indignant with him. She had recognized that Derrick Nasmyth'scharacter had its defects, but she was by no means prepared to admitit to his relatives. 

"Then it didn't occur to you that an idea of that kind was likely toappeal to your nephew?" she said. 

"No, " declared Wisbech, "to be candid, it didn't. " He smiled again. "After all, I don't think we need trouble about that point, especiallyas it seems he has acquitted himself very well. I, however, can't helpfeeling it was in some respects fortunate that he fell into yourhands. "

Laura was usually composed, but he saw her face harden, for she wasangry at his insistence. "It is evident, " he went on, "that he wouldnot have had the opportunity of building the dam unless you had nursedhim back to health and taken him into your employment. "

"It was my father who asked him to stay on at the ranch. "

"I am not sure that the correction has any very great significance. One would feel tempted to believe that your father is, to some extent, in the habit of doing what you suggest. "

Laura sat still a moment or two. She was certainly angry with thestranger, and yet, in spite of that fact, she felt that she liked him. There was a candour in his manner which pleased her, as hisgood-humoured shrewdness did, though she would have preferred not tohave the shrewdness exercised upon herself. It may be that he guessedwhat she was thinking, for he smiled. 

"Miss Waynefleet, " he said, "I almost fancy we should make excellentfriends, but there is a point on which I should like you to enlightenme. Why did you take the trouble to make me understand that you weredoing nothing unusual when you asked me to dinner?"

Laura laughed. "Well, " she said, "if one must be accurate, I do notexactly know. I may have been a little unwise in endeavouring toimpress it on you. Why did you consider it worth while to explain youhad very seldom been in the saddle?"

Wisbech's manner became confidential. "It's a fact that has countedagainst me now and then. Besides, I think you noticed my accent--it'sdistinctly provincial, and not like yours or Derrick's--as soon as Itold you I was a relative of his. You see, I know my station. In fact, I'm almost aggressively proud of it. " He spread out his hands in aforceful fashion. "It's a useful one. "

He reached out, and, to the girl's surprise, took up a bowl from thetable, and appeared to weigh it in his hands. It was made of theindurated fibre which is frequently to be met with in the Bushranches. 

"This, " he said, "is, I suppose, the kind of thing they are going toturn out at that wood-pulp mill. You have probably observed thethickness of it?"

"I believe it is, though they are going to make paper stock, too. "

"Well, " pursued Wisbech; "it may meet the requirements of the country, but it is a very crude and inartistic production. I may say that it ismy business to make enamelled ware. The Wisbech bowls and cups andbasins are justly celebrated--light and dainty, and turned out toresemble marble, granite, or the most artistic china. They willwithstand any heat you can subject them to, and practically last forever. "

He broke off for a moment with a chuckle. "I can't detach myself frommy business as some people seem to fancy one ought to do. After all, it is only by marriage that Derrick Nasmyth is my nephew. " His mannerbecame grave again. "I married his mother's sister--very much againstthe wishes of the rest of the family. As Derrick has lived some timehere, the latter fact will probably not astonish you. "

Laura said nothing, though she understood exactly what he meant. Shewas becoming more sure that she liked the man, but she realized thatshe might not have done so had she met him before she came out toCanada, where she had learned to recognize the essential points incharacter. There were certainly respects in which his manner wouldonce have jarred upon her. 

Her expression was reassuring when he turned to her again. 

"I was a retail chemist in a little pottery town when I discovered theproperties of one or two innocuous fluxes, and how to make a certainleadless glaze, " he said. "Probably you do not know that there werefew more unhealthy occupations than the glazing of certain kindsof pottery. I was also fortunate enough to make a good deal of moneyout of my discovery, and as I extended its use, I eventuallystarted a big enamelling works of my own. After that I married; butthe Nasmyths never quite forgave me my little idiosyncrasies andsome of my views. They dropped me when my wife died. She"--his facesoftened curiously--"was in many ways very different from the restof them. "

He broke off, and when he sat silent a moment or two Laura felt acurious sympathy for him. 

"Won't you go on?" she said. 

"We had no children, " said the man. "My own folks were dead, but Icontrived to see Derrick now and then. My wife had been very fond ofhim, and I liked the lad. Once or twice when I went up to London heinsisted on making a fuss over me--took me to his chambers and hisclub, though I believe I was in several ways not exactly a credit tohim. "

Laura liked the little twinkle that crept back into his eyes. Itsuggested the genial toleration of a man with a nature big enough tooverlook many trifles he might have resented. 

"Well, " he continued, "his father died suddenly, and, when it becameevident that his estate was deplorably involved, Derrick went out toCanada. None of his fastidious relatives seemed inclined to hold out ahand to him. Perhaps this was not very astonishing, but I was a littlehurt that he did not afford me the opportunity. In one way, however, the lad was right. He was willing to stand on his own feet. There waspluck in him. "

He made an expressive gesture. "Now I'm anxious to hear where he isand what he is doing. "

Laura was stirred by what he had said. She had imagination, and couldfill in many of the points Wisbech had only hinted at. Nevertheless, she was not quite pleased to recognize that he seemed to consider heras much concerned about his nephew as he was himself. 

"He is"--she tried to speak in an indifferent tone--"He is at presentengaged in building a difficult trestle bridge on a railroad. It isnot the kind of work any man, who shrank from hazardous exertion, would delight in; but I believe there is a reason why the termsoffered were a special inducement. He has a new project in his mind, though I do not know a great deal about it. "

"I think you might tell me what you do know. "

Laura did so, though she had never been in the cañon. The man listenedattentively. 

"Well, " he said, "I fancy I can promise that he shall, at least, havean opportunity of putting that project through. You haven't, however, told me where the railroad bridge is. "

The girl made him understand how he could most easily reach it, and, while she was explaining the various roads he must follow, there was abeat of hoofs outside. Wisbech rose and held out his hand. 

"I expect that is the man with my horse, and I'm afraid I have keptyou talking a very long while. " He pressed her hand as he halfapologized. "I wonder if you will permit me to come back again sometime?"

Laura said it would afford her and her father pleasure, and she didnot smile when he went out and scrambled awkwardly into his saddle. The man who had brought the horse up grinned broadly as he watchedWisbech jolt across the clearing. 

"I guess that man's not going to make the settlement on that horse. Herides 'most like a bag of flour, " he remarked, with evident enjoymentof the stranger's poor horsemanship. 

CHAPTER XIII

ON THE TRESTLE

It was with difficulty that Wisbech reached the railroad track uponwhich Laura Waynefleet had told him Nasmyth was occupied. From thewinding waggon-road, he was forced to scramble down several hundredfeet through tangled undergrowth, and over great fallen logs. Then hehad to walk along the ties, which were spaced most inconvenientlyapart, neither far enough for a long stride nor close enough for ashort one. It is, in fact, unless one is accustomed to it, aparticularly wearying thing to walk any distance along a Westernrailroad track; since local ticket rates are usually high on thePacific slope, and roads of any other kind are not always available, the smaller ranchers and other impecunious travellers frequently trampmiles upon the ties. 

Wisbech, however, had not very far to go, and, though it entailed anoccasional stumble, he endeavoured to look about him. He wasprogressing along the side of the wonderful Fraser gorge, which is thegreat channel clearly provided by Nature for the commerce of themountain province, and he was impressed by the spectacle upon which hegazed. In front of him rose great rocky ramparts, with here and therea snow-tipped peak cutting coldly white against the glaring blue. Beneath these the climbing pines rolled down in battalions to thebrink of a vast hollow, in the black depths of which the river roaredfar below. Wisps of gauzy mist clung to the hillside, and out of themthe track came winding down, a sinuous gleaming riband that links thenations with a band of steel. There were, as he knew, fleet steamersready at either end of it, in Vancouver Inlet, and at Montreal, twothousand four hundred odd miles away, for this was the all-Britishroute round half the world from London to Yokohama and Hong-Kong. 

That fact had its effect on Wisbech as he plodded painfully along theties. He had Democratic notions, but he was an Imperialist, too, whichwas, perhaps, after all, not surprising, for he knew something ofEngland's great dependencies. There are a good many men with similarviews in the Dominion, and they have certainly lived up to them. Menundoubtedly work for money in Western Canada, but one has only tolisten to their conversation in saloon and shanty to recognize theclean pride in their manhood, and their faith in the destiny of theland to which they belong. They have also proved their faith bypitting their unshrinking courage and splendid physical strengthagainst savage Nature, and, among their other achievements, that trackblown out of the living rock, flung over roaring rivers, and driventhrough eternal snow, supplies a significant hint of what they canbear and do. They buried mangled men in roaring cañon and by giddytrestle, but the rails crept always on. 

Wisbech came to the brink of a gorge which rent the steep hillside. Hecould not tell how deep it was, but it made him dizzy to look downupon the streak of frothing water far below. The gorge was spanned bythe usual Western trestle bridge, an openwork fabric of timber justwide enough to carry the single track rising out of the chasm ontapering piers that looked ethereally fragile in that wilderness oftowering trees and tremendous slopes of rock. The chunk of axes andringing of hammers jarred through the roar of the stream, and he couldsee men clinging in mid-air to little stages slung about the piers, and moving among the pines below. A man in a ragged duck suit strodeby him with an axe on his shoulder, and Wisbech half-diffidentlyventured to inquire if he could tell where Derrick Nasmyth could befound. The man, who paid no attention to him, stopped close by, andshouted to some of his comrades below. 

"You ought to get that beam fixed before the fast freight comesthrough, boys. There's no sign of her yet, " he called in a loudvoice. 

Somebody answered him, and the man turned to Wisbech. 

"Now, sir, " he replied tardily, "you were asking for Nasmyth?"

Wisbech said he wished to see Derrick Nasmyth, and the man nodded. 

"Well, " said he, "you'll have to wait a few minutes, I guess he'sbusy. There's a log they want to put into the trestle before the traincomes along. It's not his particular business, but we're ratheranxious to get through with our contract. "

"Ah, " returned Wisbech, "then I fancy I know who you must be. In fact, I'm rather glad I came across you. You are evidently the man wholooked after my nephew when he was ill, and from what Miss Waynefleettold me, Derrick owes you a good deal. "

Gordon looked at Wisbech with a little smile, as he recalled whatNasmyth had said about the man who had sent him the draft. 

"Well, " he remarked, as he pointed to the hillside, "it would be quitehard to fancy there was very much the matter with him now. "

Wisbech agreed with Gordon when he saw a man, who was running hard, beside four brawny oxen that were hauling a great dressed fir-log by achain. They came from an opening between the pines, and rushed alongthe rude trail, which had a few skids across it. The trail leddownhill just there, and man and oxen went down the slope furiously inthe attempt to keep ahead of the big log that jolted over the skidsbehind them. Wisbech had never seen cattle of any kind progress inthat fashion before, but he naturally did not know that the Bush-bredox can travel at a headlong pace up and down hills and amidst thicketsa man would cautiously climb or painfully crawl through. As theyapproached the level at the foot of the slope, the man who drove themran back, and slipping his handspike under it, swung the butt of thelog round an obstacle. Wisbech gazed at his nephew with astonishmentwhen Nasmyth came up with the beasts again. His battered wide hat wasshapeless, his duck trousers were badly rent, and the blue shirt, which was all he wore above the waist, hung open half-way down hisbreast. He was flushed and gasping, but the men upon the trestle wereevidently urging him to fresh exertion. 

"Oh, hit her hard!" shouted one of them; and a comrade clinging to abeam high above the river broke in: "We're waiting. Get a hump on. Bring her right along. "

It was evident that Nasmyth was already doing all that reasonablycould have been expected of him, and in another moment or two, fourmore men, who ran out of the Bush, fell upon the log with handspikes, as the beasts came to a long upward slope. They went up it savagely, and Wisbech was conscious of a growing amazement as he watched thefloundering oxen and gasping men. 

"Do you always work--like this?" he asked. 

Gordon laughed. "Well, " he answered, "it isn't the bosses' fault whenwe don't. As it happens, however, a good many of us are putting acontract through, and the boys want to get that beam fixed before thefast freight comes along. If they don't, it's quite likely she'llshake it loose or pitch some of them off the bridge. It has stood afew years, and wants stiffening. "

"A few years!" said Wisbech. "There are bridges in England that haveexisted since the first railways were built. I believe they don'trequire any great stiffening yet. "

"Oh, yes, " said Gordon. "It's quite what one would expect. We dothings differently. We heave our rails down and fill up thecountry with miners and farmers while you'd be worrying over yourparliamentary bills. We strengthen our track as we go along, and we'llhave iron bridges over every river just as soon as they're wanted. "

Wisbech smiled. It seemed to him that these men would probably getexactly what they set their minds upon in spite of every obstacle. 

"Why don't they stop the train while they get the beam into place?" heinquired. 

"Nothing short of a big landslip is allowed to hold that fast freightup, " Gordon replied. "It's up to every divisional superintendentbetween here and Winnipeg to rush her along as fast as possible. Halfthe cars are billed through to the Empress liner that goes outto-morrow. "

In the meanwhile the men and oxen had conveyed the big log up theslope, and, while Nasmyth drove the beasts back along the skiddedtrack, it swung out over the chasm at the end of a rope. Men leaningout from fragile stages clutched at and guided it, and when one ofthem shouted, Nasmyth cast the chain to which the rope was fastenedloose from his oxen. Then little lithe figures crawled out along thebeams of the trestle, and there was a ringing of hammers. Gordon, whogazed up the track, swung his arm up in warning. 

"You've got to hump yourselves, boys, " he admonished. 

The faint hoot of a whistle came ringing across the pines, and alittle puff of white smoke broke out far up the track from among theirsombre masses. It grew rapidly larger, and the clang of the hammersquickened, while Wisbech watched the white trail that swept along thesteep hillside until there was a sudden shouting. Then he turned andsaw his nephew running across the bridge. 

"Somebody has forgotten a bolt or a big spike, " said Gordon. 

Wisbech felt inclined to hold his breath as he watched Nasmyth climbdown the face of the trestle, but in another minute or two he wasclambering up again with several other men behind him. There wasanother hoot of the whistle, and, as Wisbech glanced up the track, agreat locomotive broke out from among the pines. It was veiled inwhirling dust and flying fragments of ballast, and smoke that was greyinstead of white, for the track led down-grade, and the engineer hadthrottled the steam. The engine was a huge one, built for mountainhauling, and the freight cars that lurched out of the forest behind itwere huger still. Wisbech could see them rock, and the roar which theymade and which the pines flung back grew deafening. Most of the carshad been coupled up in the yards at Montreal, and were covered thickwith the dust that had whirled about them along two thousand fourhundred miles of track, and they were still speeding on through theforests of the West, as they had done through those of far-offOntario. 

It seemed to Wisbech as he gazed at the cars that they ran pigmyfreight trains in the land he came from, and he was conscious ofsomething that had a curious stirring effect on him in the clang andclatter of that giant rolling stock, as the engineer hurled his greattrain furiously down-grade. It was man's defiance of the wilderness, asymbol of his domination over all the great material forces of theworld. The engineer, who glanced out once from his dust-swept cab, held them bound and subject in the hollow of the grimy hand heclenched upon the throttle. With a deafening roar, the great trainleapt across the trestle, which seemed to rock and reel under it, andplunged once more into the forest. A whistle sounded--a greeting tothe men upon the bridge--and then the uproar died away in a longdiminuendo among the sombre pines. 

It was in most respects a fortuitous moment for Wisbech's nephew tomeet him, and the older man smiled as Nasmyth strode along the trackto grasp his outstretched hand. 

"I'm glad to see you, Derrick, " said Wisbech, who drew back a pace andlooked at his nephew critically. 

"You have changed since I last shook hands with you in London, mylad, " he continued. "You didn't wear blue duck, and you hadn't handsof that kind then. "

Nasmyth glanced at his scarred fingers and broken nails. 

"I've been up against it, as they say here, since those days, " hereplied. 

"And it has done you a world of good!"

Nasmyth laughed. "Well, " he said, "perhaps it has. Any way, that's nota point we need worry over just now. Where have you sprung from?"

Wisbech told him, and added that there were many things he would liketo talk about, whereupon Nasmyth smiled in a deprecatory manner. 

"I'm afraid you'll have to wait an hour or two, " he said. "You see, there are several more big logs ready for hauling down, and I have tokeep the boys supplied. I'll be at liberty after supper, and you can'tget back to-night. In the meanwhile you might like to walk along towhere we're getting the logs out. "

Wisbech went with him and Gordon, and was impressed when he saw howthey and the oxen handled the giant trunks. He, however, kept histhoughts to himself, and, quietly smoking, sat on a redwood log, alittle, unobtrusive, grey-clad figure, until Gordon, who haddisappeared during the last hour, announced that supper was ready. Then Wisbech followed Nasmyth and Gordon to their quarters, which theyhad fashioned out of canvas, a few sheets of corrugated iron, andstrips of bark, for, as their work was on the hillside, they livedapart from the regular railroad gang. The little hut was rudelycomfortable, and the meal Gordon set out was creditably cooked. Wisbech liked the resinous scent of the wood smoke that hung about thespot, and the faint aromatic odour of the pine-twig beds androofing-bark. When the meal was over, they sat a while beneath thehanging-lamp, smoking and discussing general topics, until Nasmythindicated the canvas walls of the hut and the beds of spruce twigswith a wave of his hand. 

"You will excuse your quarters. They're rather primitive, " he said. 

Wisbech's eyes twinkled. "I almost think I shall feel as much at homeas I did when you last entertained me at your club, and I'm not surethat I don't like your new friends best, " he said. "The others were atrifle patronizing, though, perhaps, they didn't mean to be. In fact, it was rather a plucky thing you did that day. "

A faint flush crept into Nasmyth's bronzed face, but Wisbech smiledreassuringly as he glanced about the hut. 

"The question is what all this is leading to, " he observed withinquiry in his tone. 

Gordon rose. "I'll go along and talk to the boys, " he announced. "Iwon't be back for an hour or two. "

Nasmyth glanced at Wisbech before he turned to his comrade. 

"I would sooner you stayed where you are, " he said. Then he answeredWisbech. "In the first place, if we are reasonably fortunate, itshould lead to the acquisition of about a couple of hundred dollars. "

"Still, " said Wisbech, "that will not go very far. What will be thenext thing when you have got the money?"

"In a general way, I should endeavour to earn a few more dollars bypulling out fir-stumps for somebody or clearing land. "

Wisbech nodded. "No doubt they're useful occupations, but one wouldscarcely fancy them likely to prove very remunerative, " he said. "Youhave, it seems to me, reached an age when you have to choose. Are youcontent to go on as you are doing now?"

Nasmyth's face flushed as he saw the smile in Gordon's eyes, for itwas evident that Wisbech and Laura Waynefleet held much the same viewsconcerning him. They appeared to fancy that he required a lot of whatmight be termed judicious prodding. This was in one sense not exactlyflattering, but he did not immediately mention his great project fordrying out the valley. He would not hasten to remove a wrongimpression concerning himself. 

"Well, " resumed Wisbech, seeing he did not answer, "if you care to goback and take up your profession in England again, I think I cancontrive to give you a fair start. You needn't be diffident. I canafford it, and the thing is more or less my duty. "

Nasmyth sat silent. There was no doubt that the comfort and refinementof the old life appealed to one side of his nature, and there wererespects in which his present surroundings jarred on him. It is alsoprobable that, had the offer been made him before he had had a certaintalk with Laura Waynefleet, he would have profited by it, but she hadroused something that was latent in him, and at the same time enduedhim with a vague distrust of himself, the effect of which was largelybeneficial. He had realized then his perilous propensity for what shehad called drifting, and, after all, men of his kind are likely todrift fastest when everything is made pleasant for them. It wascharacteristic that he looked inquiringly at Gordon, who nodded. 

"I think you ought to go, if it's only for a year or two, " saidGordon. "It's the life you were born to. Give it another trial. Youcan come back to the Bush again if you find it fails. "

Nasmyth appeared to consider this, and the two men watched himintently, Wisbech with a curious expression in his shrewd eyes. Then, somewhat to their surprise, Nasmyth broke into a little harsh laugh. 

"That there is a possibility of my failing seems sufficient, " he said. "Here I must fight. I am, as we say, up against it. " He turned toWisbech. "Now if you will listen, I will tell you something. "

For the next few minutes he described his project for running thewater out of the valley, and when he sat silent again there wassatisfaction in Wisbech's face. 

"Well, " said Wisbech, "I am going to give you your opportunity. It's athing I insist upon, and, as it happens, I'm in a position to do itmore or less effectually. I have letters to folks of some importancein Victoria--Government men among others--and you'll go down there andlive as you would have done in England just as long as appearsadvisable while you try to put the project through. It is quiteevident that you will have to get one of the land exploitationconcerns to back you, and no doubt a charter or concession of somekind will have to be obtained from the Crown authorities. The time youspend over the thing in Victoria should make it clear where yourcapacities lie--if it's handling matters of this kind in the cities, or leading your workmen in the Bush. I purpose to take a share in yourventure, and I'm offering you an opportunity of making sure which isthe kind of life you're most fitted for. "

"I guess you ought to go, " remarked Gordon quietly. 

Nasmyth smiled. "That, " he agreed, "is my own opinion. "

"Then we'll consider it as decided, " said Wisbech. "It seems to me Icould spend a month or two in this province very satisfactorily, andwe'll go down to Victoria together, as soon as you have carried outthis timber-cutting contract. "

They talked of other matters, while now and then men from the railroadgang dropped in and made themselves pleasant to the stranger. It mustbe admitted that there are one or two kinds of wandering Englishmen, who would not have found them particularly friendly, but the littlequiet man with the twinkling eyes was very much at home with them. Hehad been endued with the gift of comprehension, and rock-cutter andaxeman opened their minds to him. In fact, he declared his fullsatisfaction with the entertainment afforded him before he lay downupon his bed of springy spruce twigs. 

CHAPTER XIV

IN THE MOONLIGHT

There was a full moon in the clear blue heavens, and its silvery lightstreamed into the pillared veranda where Nasmyth sat, cigar in hand, on the seaward front of James Acton's house, which stood about anhour's ride from Victoria on the Dunsmer railroad. Like many othersuccessful men in that country, Acton had begun life in a three-roomedshanty, and now, when, at the age of fifty, he was in possession of acomfortable competence, he would have been well content to retire tohis native settlement in the wilderness. There was, however, thedifficulty that the first suggestion of such a course would have beenvetoed by his wife, who was an ambitious woman, younger than he, and, as a rule, at least, Acton submitted to her good-humouredly. That waswhy he retained his seat on several directorates, and had builtBonavista on the bluff above the Straits of Georgia, instead of theranch-house in the Bush he still hankered for. 

Bonavista had cost him much money, but Mrs. Acton had seen that it waswisely expended, and the long wooden house, with its colonnades ofslender pillars, daintily sawn scroll-work, shingled roof, and wideverandas, justified her taste. Acton reserved one simply furnishedroom in it for himself, and made no objections when she filled therest of it with miscellaneous guests. Wisbech had brought him a letterfrom a person of consequence, and he had offered the Englishman andhis nephew the freedom of his house. He would not have done this toeverybody, though they are a hospitable people in the West, but he hadrecognized in the unostentatious Wisbech one or two of thecharacteristics that were somewhat marked in himself, and his wife, asit happened, extended her favour to Nasmyth as soon as she saw him. She had been quick to recognize something she found congenial in hisvoice and manner, though none of the points she noticed would in allprobability have appealed to her husband. Acton leaned upon theveranda balustrade, with a particularly rank cigar in his hand, agaunt, big-boned man in badly-fitting clothes. It was characteristicof him that he had not spoken to Nasmyth since he stepped out from oneof the windows five minutes earlier. 

"It's kind of pretty, " he said, indicating the prospect with a littlewave of his hand. 

Nasmyth admitted that it was pretty indeed, and his concurrence wasjustified. Sombre pinewoods and rocky heights walled in the woodendwelling, but in front of it the ground fell sharply away, and beyondthe shadow of the tall crags a blaze of moonlight stretched eastwardsathwart the sparkling sea. 

"Well, " said Acton, "it's 'most as good a place for a house as I couldfind anywhere the cars could take me into town, and that's partly whywe raised it here. "

Then he glanced down at the little white steamer lying in the inletbelow. "That's one of my own particular toys. You're coming up thecoast with us next week for the salmon-trolling?"

Nasmyth said that he did not know what his uncle's intentions were, but he was almost afraid they had trespassed on their host's kindnessalready. Acton laughed. 

"We have folks here for a month quite often--folks that I can't talkto and who don't seem to think it worth while to talk to me. Now I canget along with your uncle; I can mostly tell that kind of man when Isee him. You have got to let him stay some weeks yet. It would be inone way a kindness to me. What makes the thing easier is the fact thatMrs. Acton has taken to you, and when she gets hold of anyone shelikes, she doesn't let him go. "

Nasmyth was content to stay, and he felt that it would be a kindnessto his host. Acton appeared willing to fall in with the views of hiswife, but Nasmyth fancied that he was now and then a little lonely inhis own house. 

"Both of you have done everything you could to make our staypleasant, " Nasmyth declared. 

"It was quite easy in your case, " and a twinkle crept into his host'seyes. "Your uncle's the same kind of a man as I am, and one can seeyou have been up against it since you came to this country. That's oneof the best things that can happen to any young man. I guess it's notour fault we don't like all the young men they send us out from theOld Country. " He glanced down at his cigar. "Well, I've pretty wellsmoked this thing out. It's the kind of cigar I was raised on, but I'mnot allowed to use that kind anywhere in my house. "

In another moment Acton swung round, and stepped back through anopen window. He generally moved abruptly, and was now and thenpainfully direct in conversation, but Nasmyth had been long enoughin that country to understand and to like him. He was a man with agrip of essential things, but it was evident that he could beargood-humouredly with the views of others. 

Nasmyth sat still after Acton left him. There were other guests in thehouse, and the row of windows behind him blazed with light. One or twoof the big casements were open, and music and odd bursts of laughterdrifted out. Somebody, it seemed, was singing an amusing song, but thesnatches of it that reached Nasmyth struck him as pointless and inane. He had been at Bonavista a week, but, after his simple, strenuous lifein the Bush, he felt at times overwhelmed by the boisterous vivacitywith which his new companions pursued their diversions. There are notmany men without an occupation in the West, but Mrs. Acton knew whereto lay her hands on them, and her husband sometimes said that it wasthe folks who had nothing worth while to do who always made thegreatest fuss. But Nasmyth found it pleasant to pick up again thethreads of the life which he had almost come to the conclusion that hehad done with altogether. It was comforting to feel that he couldsleep as long as he liked, and then rise and dress himself in whole, dry garments, while there was also a certain satisfaction in sittingdown to a daintily laid and well-spread table when he remembered howoften he had dragged himself back to his tent almost too worn out tocook his evening meal. On the whole, he was glad that Acton had urgedhim to remain another week or two. 

Then he became interested as a girl stepped out of one of the lightedwindows some little distance away, and, without noticing him, leanedupon the veranda balustrade. The smile in her eyes, he fancied, suggested a certain satisfaction at the fact that what she had donehad irritated somebody. Why it should do so he did not know, but itcertainly conveyed that impression. In another minute a man appearedin the portico, and the manner in which he moved forward, after he hadglanced along the veranda, was more suggestive still. The girl wholeaned on the balustrade no doubt saw him, and she walked towardsNasmyth, whom, apparently, she had now seen for the first time. Nasmyth thought he understood the reason for this, and, though it wasnot exactly flattering to himself, he smiled as he rose and drewforward another chair. He believed most of Mrs. Acton's guests wereacquainted with the fact that he was an impecunious dam-builder. 

The girl, who sat down in the chair he offered, smiled when he flunghis half-smoked cigar away, and Nasmyth laughed as he saw the twinklein her eyes, for he had stopped smoking with a half-consciousreluctance. 

"It really was a pity, especially as I wouldn't have minded in theleast, " she observed. 

Nasmyth glanced along the veranda, and saw that the man, who haddiscovered that there was not another chair available, was standingstill, evidently irresolute. Probably he recognized that it would bedifficult to preserve a becoming ease of manner in attempting to forcehis company upon two persons who were not anxious for it, and weresitting down. Nasmyth looked at the girl and prepared to undertake thepart that he supposed she desired him to play. She was attired in whathe would have described as modified evening dress, and her arms andneck gleamed with an ivory whiteness in the moonlight. She was slightin form, and curiously dainty as well as pretty. Her hair was black, and she had eyes that matched it, for they were dark and soft, withcurious lights in them, but, as she settled herself beside him in thepale moonlight it seemed to him that "dainty" did not describe hervery well. She was rather elusively ethereal. 

"I really don't think you could expect me to make any admission ofthat kind about my cigar, Miss Hamilton, " he said. "Still, it wouldperhaps have been excusable. You see, I have just come out of theBush. "

Violet Hamilton smiled. "You are not accustomed to throw anything awayup there?"

"No, " answered Nasmyth, with an air of reflection; "I scarcely thinkwe are. Certainly not when it's a cigar of the kind Mr. Acton supplieshis guests with. "

He imagined that his companion satisfied herself that the man sheevidently desired to avoid had not gone away yet, before she turned tohim again. 

"Aren't you risking Mrs. Acton's displeasure in sitting out herealone?" she inquired. "You are probably aware that this is not whatshe expects from you?"

"I almost think the retort is obvious. " And Nasmyth wondered whetherhe had gone further than he intended, when he saw the momentaryhardness in his companion's eyes. It suggested that the last thing herhostess had expected her to do was to keep out of the way of the manwho had followed her on to the veranda. He accordingly endeavoured todivert her attention from that subject. 

"Any way, I find all this rather bewildering now and then, " he said, and indicated the lights and laughter and music in the house behindhim with a little movement of his hand. "This is a very differentworld from the one I have been accustomed to, and it takes some timeto adapt oneself to changed conditions. "

He broke off as he saw the other man slowly turn away. He looked atthe girl with a smile. "I can go on a little longer if it appearsworth while. "

Violet Hamilton laughed. "Ah, " she said, "one should never put one'ssuspicions into words like that. Besides, I almost think one of yourobservations was a little misleading. There are reasons for believingthat you are quite familiar with the kind of life you were referringto. "

It was clear to Nasmyth that she had been observing him, but he didnot realize that she was then watching him with keen, half-covertcuriosity. He was certainly a well-favoured man, and though hisconversation and demeanour did not differ greatly from those of otheryoung men she was accustomed to; there was also something about himwhich she vaguely recognized as setting him apart from the rest. Hewas a little more quiet than most of them, and there were a certainsteadiness in his eyes, and a faint hardness in the lines of his face, which roused her interest. He had been up against it, as they say inthat country, which is a thing that usually leaves its mark upon aman. It endues him with control, and, above all, with comprehension. 

"Oh, " he said, "a man not burdened with money is now and then forcedto wander. He naturally picks up a few impressions here and there. Iwonder if you find it chilly sitting here?"

The girl rose, with a little laugh. "That, " she said, "was evidentlymeant to afford me an opportunity. I think I should like to go down tothe Inlet. "

Nasmyth, who understood this as an invitation, went with her, and, five minutes later, they strolled out upon the crown of the bluff, down the side of which a little path wound precipitously. Nasmyth heldhis hand out at the head of it, and they went down togethercautiously, until they stood on the smooth white shingle close bywhere the little steamer lay. The girl looked about her with a smileof appreciation. 

A lane of dusky water, that heaved languidly upon the pebbles, raninland past them under the dark rock's side, and it was very still inthe shadow of the climbing firs. On the further shore a flood ofsilvery radiance, against which the dark branches cut black as ebony, streamed down into the rift, and beyond the rocky gateway there wasbrilliant moonlight on the smooth heave of sea. The girl glanced at itlongingly, and then, though she said nothing, her eyes rested on alittle beautifully modelled cedar canoe that lay close by. In anothermoment Nasmyth had laid his hands on it, and she noticed how easily heran it down the beach, as she had noticed how steady of foot he waswhen she held fast to his hand as they came down the bluff. With acurious little smile that she remembered afterwards, he glancedtowards the shadowy rocks which shut in the entrance to the Inlet. 

"Shall we go and see what there is out yonder beyond those gates?" heasked. 

"Ah, " replied the girl, "what could there be? Aren't you taking anunfair advantage in appealing to our curiosity?"

Nasmyth made a whimsical gesture as he answered her, for he saw thatshe could be fanciful, too. "Unsubstantial moonlight, glamour, mystery--perhaps other things as well, " he said. "If you are curious, why shouldn't we go and see?"

She made no demur, and helping her into the canoe, he thrust the lightcraft off, and, with a sturdy stroke of the paddle, drove it out intothe Inlet. It was a thing he was used to, for he had painfully drivenruder craft of that kind up wildly-frothing rivers, and the girlnoticed the powerful swing of his shoulders and the rhythmic splash ofhis paddle, though there were other things that had their effect onher--the languid lapping of the brine on shingle, and the gurgle roundthe canoe, that seemed to be sliding out towards the moonlight througha world of unsubstantial shadow. She admitted that the man interestedher. He had a quick wit and a whimsical fancy that appealed to her, but he had also hard, workman's hands, and he managed the canoe as sheimagined one who had undertaken such things professionally would havedone. 

When the shimmering blaze of moonlight lay close in front of them, helet his paddle trail in the water for a moment or two, and, turning, glanced back at the house on the bluff. Its lower windows blinkedpatches of warm orange light against the dusky pines. 

"That, " he said, "in one respect typifies all you are accustomed to. It stands for the things you know. Aren't you a little afraid ofleaving it behind you?"

"I think I suggested that you were accustomed to them, too!"

Nasmyth laughed. "Oh, " he said, "I was turned out of that world a longwhile ago. We are going to see a different one together. "

"The one you know?"

"Well, " returned the man reflectively, "I'm not quite sure that I do. It's the one I live in, but that doesn't go very far after all. Nowand then I think one could live in the wilderness a lifetime withoutreally knowing it. There's an elusive something in or behind it thatevades one--the mystery that hides in all grandeur and beauty. Still, there's a peril in it. Like the moonlight, it gets hold of you. "

The girl fancied that she understood him, but she wondered how far itwas significant that they should slide out into the flood of radiancetogether when he once more drove the light craft ahead. 

The smooth sea shimmered like molten silver about the canoe, and ranin sparkling drops from the dripping paddle. The bluff hung high abovethem, a tremendous shadowy wall, and the sweet scent of the firs cameoff from it with the little land breeze. They swung out over thesmooth levels that heaved with a slow, rhythmic pulsation, and Nasmythwondered whether he was wise when he glanced at his companion. She satstill, looking about her dreamily, very dainty--almost ethereal, hethought--in that silvery light, and it was so long since he had talkedconfidentially to a woman of her kind, attired as became her station. Laura Waynefleet's hands, as he remembered, were hard and sometimesred, and the stamp of care was plain on her; but it was very differentwith Violet Hamilton. She was wholly a product of luxury andrefinement, and the mere artistic beauty of her attire, which seemed apart of her, appealed to his imagination. 

He did not remember how she set him talking, but he told herwhimsical, and now and then grim, stories of his life in the shadowyBush, and she listened with quick comprehension. She seemed to endowhim with that quality, too, since, as he talked, he began to realize, as he had never quite comprehended before, the something that laybehind the tense struggle of man with Nature and all the strenuousendeavour. Perhaps he expressed it in a degree, for now and then thegirl's eyes kindled as he told of some heroic grapple with giant rockand roaring river, gnawing hunger, and loneliness, and the beatenman's despair. He found her attention gratifying. It was certainlypleasant, though he had not consciously adopted the pose, to figure inthe eyes of such a girl as one who had known most of the hardshipsthat man can bear and played his part in the great epic struggle forthe subjugation of the wilderness. As it happened, she did not knowthat those who bear the brunt of that grim strife are for the mostpart dumb. Their share is confined to swinging the axe and grippingthe jarring drill. 

It was an hour after they left the Inlet when the land breeze camedown a little fresher, and swinging the canoe round, he drove it backover a glittering sea that commenced to splash about the polished sideof the light craft. Then both of them ceased talking until, as theyapproached the shadowy rift in the rock, the girl looked back with alaugh. 

"It is almost a pity to leave all that behind, " she said softly. 

Nasmyth nodded as he glanced up at the lighted windows of the house. "In one sense it is. Still, it's rather curious that I think I neverappreciated it quite so much before. " He let his paddle trail as hewondered whether he had gone too far. "I suppose you are going up thecoast with Mrs. Acton in the steamer?" he inquired. 

"Yes, " answered Violet Hamilton, with an air of reflection; "I was notquite sure whether I would or not, but now I almost think I will. "

Nasmyth was sensible of a little thrill of satisfaction, for he knewit was understood at Bonavista that he was going too. He decided thathe could certainly go. He dipped his paddle strongly, and laughed asthey slid forward into the shadow. 

"Now, " he said, "you are safely back in your own realm again. "

"You called it a world a little while ago, " said the girl. 

"I did, " replied Nasmyth. "Still, I almost think the word Isubstituted is justifiable. "

Violet Hamilton said nothing as they climbed the bluff, but shewondered how far the change he had made was significant. All the menat Bonavista were her subjects, but until that night, at least, Nasmyth had in that sense stood apart from them, and it is always moreor less gratifying to extend one's sovereignty. 

CHAPTER XV

MARTIAL'S MISADVENTURE

There was not a breath of wind, and the night was soft and warm, whenNasmyth lay stretched upon the _Tillicum's_ deck, with his shoulderagainst the saloon skylights and a pipe in his hand. The littlesteamer lay with her anchor down under a long forest-shadowed point, behind which a half-moon hung close above the great black pines. Somedistance astern of her, a schooner lay waiting for a wind with theloose folds of her big mainsail flapping black athwart the silverylight, and her blinking anchor-light flung a faint track of brightnessacross the sliding tide. There was only the soft lap of the wateralong the steamer's side and the splash of the little swell upon thebeach to break the stillness, for the sea was smooth as oil. 

The _Tillicum_ would not have compared favourably with an Englishsteam-yacht. She had been built for the useful purpose of towingsaw-logs, and was sold cheap when, as the mill she kept supplied grewlarger, she proved too small for it. Acton, however, was by no means afastidious person, and when he had fitted her with a little saloon, and made a few primitive alterations below, he said she was quite goodenough for him. For that matter, anyone fond of it might navigate theland-locked waters of Puget Sound and the Straits of Georgia in anopen whaleboat with satisfaction in summer-time. There are islandseverywhere, wonderful rock-walled inlets that one can sail into, beaches to which the primeval forest comes rolling down, and alwaysabove the blue waters tower tremendous ramparts of never-meltingsnow. 

On the evening in question, Acton was not on board. He had taken hiswife and guests ashore that morning for an excursion to a certainriver where there was excellent trout-fishing, and, as a hotel hadlately been built for the convenience of sportsmen visitors, it wasuncertain whether they would return that night. Nasmyth had not madeone of the party because there was scarcely room for everybody in thegig, and six miles, which was the distance to the river mouth, wasrather far to row in the dinghy. Another guest called Martial also hadbeen left behind, and afterwards had been rowed ashore to visit aranching property somewhere in the neighbourhood. He was the man whohad followed Miss Hamilton out on to the veranda one night, andNasmyth, who did not like him, understood that he was connected with abig land exploitation agency. 

Nasmyth felt more or less contented with everything, as he lay uponthe _Tillicum's_ deck listening to the faint murmur of the swell uponthe boulder beach. He had made certain propositions to the Crown landsauthorities, which he believed they would look into, and while hewaited he found the customs and luxuries of civilization pleasant. Hefound the society of Violet Hamilton more pleasant still, and thedemeanour of the man, Martial, was almost the only thing that ruffledhim. Martial had constituted himself Miss Hamilton's specialattendant, and though Nasmyth fancied Mrs. Acton connived at this, itwas by no means as evident that the girl was pleased with it. Indeed, he surmised that she liked the man as little as he did. Martial wasbrusque in mariner, and, though that is not usually resented inBritish Columbia, he now and then went even further than is consideredpermissible in that country, and he had gained the sincere dislike ofthe red-haired George, who acted as the _Tillicum's_ deck-hand, cook, and skipper. 

George sat upon the skylights sucking at his pipe, and it presentlybecame evident that his thoughts and Nasmyth's were very much alike. There was nobody else on board, for the man who fired and drove theengines was ashore. 

"I guess you can catch trout?" the skipper remarked. 

"Oh yes, " answered Nasmyth indifferently. "As a matter of fact, I'vehad to, when there was very little else to eat. "

George, who was big and lank, and truculent in appearance, nodded. 

"Juss so!" he rejoined. "You've been up against it in the Bush. Anybody could figure on that by the look of you and the way you useyour hands. A city man takes holds of things as if they were going tohurt him. That's kind of why I froze on to you. "

Nasmyth took this as a compliment, and smiled his acknowledgment, forGeorge was a privileged person, and most of his recent companions helddemocratic views. He, however, said nothing, and George went onagain. 

"Mrs. Acton's a mighty smart woman, but she plays some fool tricks, "he commented. "Where's the blame use in taking a boatload of folksafter trout when none of them but the boss knows how to fish?" Then hechuckled. "You'd have gone with the rest this morning if she wantedyou to. Guess the gig would have carried another one quite nicely. "

Nasmyth fancied that this was possible, though he naturally would notadmit it to his companion. The fact that his hostess had somewhatcleverly contrived to leave him behind had its significance, since itseemed to indicate that she recognized that Miss Hamilton regarded himwith a certain amount of favour. 

"Well, " said George reflectively, "the boss is quite smart, too! Mrs. Acton crowded you out of the gig. The boss says nothing, but he knocksoff that blame Martial. That makes the thing even, and, unless hedoes it, none of them gets any fish. Now, it kind of seems to me thatfor a girl like Miss Hamilton to look at a man like Martial is athrowing of herself away. I guess it strikes you like that, too?"

This was rather too pointed a question for Nasmyth to answer, but, sofar as it went, he could readily have agreed with the skipper. As amatter of fact it suggested the query why he should object to MissHamilton throwing herself away. 

"Well, " he observed, "I'm not quite sure that it's any concern ofmine. "

George's grin was expressive of good-natured toleration. "Oh!" hereplied, "I guess that's plain enough for me. You're not going to talkabout the boss's friends. Still, one man's as good as another in thiscountry, and, if I wasn't way better than Martial, I'd drown myself. That's the kind of pernicious insect a decent man has no use for. What's he come on board for with three bags ram full of clothes, whenmany a better man humps his outfit up and down the Bush in an oldblanket same as you have done? It's a sure thing that no man with aconscience wants to get into the land agency business. It's aninstitution for selling greensuckers ranching land that's rock andgravel and virgin forest. Besides, I heard the blame insect tellingMiss Hamilton that nobody not raised in the hog-pen could drink mycoffee. "

It seemed to Nasmyth that there was a little reason in the skipper'sobservations, though he thought that Martial's strictures upon thecoffee accounted for most of them. 

"I guess it might have been wiser if Martial had kept on good termswith the skipper, " he laughingly rejoined. 

George chuckled softly. "Well, " he declared, "when anyone up and saysmy coffee's only fit for the hog-pen, I'm going to get even with him. I kind of feel I have to. It's up to me. "

He said nothing further for some little time, and Nasmyth, who fanciedthat he would sooner or later carry out his amiable intentions, layprone upon the deck smoking placidly. Nasmyth was one who adaptedhimself to his environment with readiness, and on board the _Tillicum_the environment was particularly comfortable. Through Acton'shospitality, he was brought into contact with the luxuries ofcivilization without the galling restraints. Miss Hamilton had beengracious to him of late. That was a cause for satisfaction in itself. The days when he swung the heavy axe, or, drenched with icy water, stood gripping the drill had slipped far away behind him. For thetime, at least, he could bask in the sunshine with ears stoppedagainst the shrill trumpet-call to action that he had heard in thecrash of rent trees and the turmoil of the wild flood. 

A faint cry came from the shore out of the stillness of the woods, andGeorge listened carefully. 

"That can't be the boss. Guess he's stopping at the hotel, " he said. "It's quite likely it's that blame insect Martial coming back. Thoseranchers he has been trying to freeze off their holding have no usefor him. "

The cry rose again, a trifle louder, and George nodded complacently. 

"Oh, yes, " he exulted, "it's Martial sure! We'll let him howl. Anyway, he can walk down the beach until he's abreast of us. When anybodyexpects me to hear him, he has got to come within half a mile. "

It seemed to Nasmyth that Martial would not have a pleasant walk inthe dark, for most of the beach lay in the black shadow of the pines, and beneath highwater mark was covered with the roughest kind ofboulders. Above the tide-line, a ragged mass of driftwood interspersedwith undergrowth separated the water from the tangled Bush. BothGeorge and Nasmyth were aware that one could readily tear one'sclothes to pieces in an attempt to struggle through such a labyrinth. Judging by the shouts he uttered at intervals, Martial appeared to befloundering along the beach, and presently Nasmyth laughed. 

"He appears to be getting angry, " he said. "After all, it's onlynatural that he doesn't want to sleep in the woods all night. "

George filled his pipe, apparently with quiet satisfaction, but, sometime later, he stood up suddenly with an exclamation. 

"The blame contrary insect means swimming off, " he announced. 

Nasmyth, glancing shorewards, saw a dim white object crawling onall-fours towards the water where the moonlight streamed down upon ajutting point, and it was then that the idea which had results thatneither of them anticipated first dawned on the skipper, who brokeinto a hoarse chuckle. 

"I guess he wouldn't want Miss Hamilton to see him like that, " hesaid. "Some folks look considerably smarter with their clothes on. "

"How's she going to see him when she isn't here?"

George grinned again. "Her dresses are, so's her hat and her littlemandolin. If you were pulled in tight you'd have quite a figure. "

It was clear to Nasmyth that the scheme was workable, though he wasquite aware that the thing he was expected to do was a triflediscreditable. Still, he had lived for some time in the Bush, wherehis comrades' jests were not particularly delicate, and Martial onceor twice had been aggressively unpleasant to him. What was more to thepurpose, he felt reasonably sure that Miss Hamilton would be by nomeans sorry to be free of Martial, and it was probable that theirvictim would never relate his discomfiture, if their schemesucceeded. 

As the result of these reflections he went down with George to thelittle saloon. The skipper, who left him there a few minutes, camehack with an armful of feminine apparel. They had no great difficultyin tying on the big hat with the veil, but when Nasmyth had strippedhis jacket off there was some trouble over the next proceeding. Indeed, Derrick did not feel quite comfortable about appropriatingMiss Hamilton's garments, but he had committed himself, and it wasquite clear that his companion would not appreciate his reasons fordrawing back. 

"Hold your breath while I get this blame hook in, " said the skipper. 

Nasmyth did so; but he could not continue to hold it indefinitely, andin a few moments there was a suggestive crack, and George desisted inevident dismay. 

"Come adrift from the stiffening quite a strip of it, " he said. "Well, I guess I can somehow fix the thing up so as nobody will notice it. Itshould be easier than putting a new cloth in a topsail, and I've amending outfit in the locker. "

Nasmyth was by no means sure of George's ability to make the damagegood, but he permitted the skipper to tie on the loose skirt, and thento hang the beribboned mandolin round his neck. When this was doneGeorge surveyed him with a grin of satisfaction. 

"Well, " said George, "I guess you'll do. Now you'll keep behind theskylights, and only get up and bang that mandolin when Martial wantsto come on board. Guess when he sees you he'll feel 'most like jumpingright out of his skin. Miss Hamilton's not going to mind. I've seenher looking at him as if she'd like to stick a big hatpin into him. "

They went up, and Nasmyth, who felt guilty as he crouched in theshadow, could see a black head and the flash of a white arm that swungout into the moonlight and disappeared again. Martial was swimmingpluckily, and the tide was with him, for his head grew larger everyminute, and presently the gleam of his skin became visible through thepale shining of the brine. His face dipped as his left arm came out atevery stroke, and the water frothed as his feet swung together like aflail. He paddled easily while the tide swept him on until he reachedthe _Tillicum_. Then his voice rose, breathless and cautious. 

"Anchor watch, " he called. "Anybody else on board?"

George, who kept out of sight, did not answer. Martial called again. 

"Don't let anybody out of the companion while I get up, " hecommanded. 

The _Tillicum_ had a high sheer forward, and he could not reach herrail, but as the tide swept him along he raised himself to clutch atit where it was lower abreast of the skylights. 

"Now, " said George softly, "you can play the band. "

Nasmyth rose and swept his knife-haft across the strings of themandolin. For a moment he saw something like horror in Martial's wetface, and then the man, who gasped, went down headforemost into thewater. Martial was nearly a dozen yards astern when his head came outagain, and he slid away with the tide, with his white arm swingingfuriously. George sat down upon the deck, and expressed hissatisfaction by drumming his feet upon the planking while he laughed. 

"He's off, " he said. "Might have a high-power engine inside of him. Guess he's going to scare those schooner men 'most out of their lives. It's quite likely they won't keep anchor watch when they're lying snugin a place of this kind. "

Nasmyth managed to control his laughter, and went down to divesthimself of his draperies. When he came up again, George reported thathe had just seen Martial crawling up the schooner's cable, and inanother few moments what appeared to be a howl of terror rose fromthe vessel. It was not repeated, and shortly afterwards Nasmyth wentto sleep. 

Martial remained on board the schooner that night, and Nasmyth was notsurprised when he failed to appear next morning. Acton had come backwith his party when a man dropped into the boat astern of theschooner, and pulled towards the _Tillicum_ leisurely. Everybody wason deck when he slid alongside, and, standing up in his boat, laidhold of the rail. 

"I've a message for Mr. Acton, " he said, holding up a strip of paper. 

Acton, who took the paper from him, was a trifle perplexed when heglanced at it. 

"It seems that Martial didn't stay at that ranch last night as Ithought he had done, " he remarked. 

Mrs. Acton, who sat next to Miss Hamilton, looked up sharply. She wasa tall woman with an authoritative manner. 

"Where is he?" she inquired. 

"Gone back to Victoria, " said her husband, who handed her the note. "It's kind of sudden, and he doesn't worry about saying why he went. There's a little remark at the bottom that I don't quite like. "

George naturally had been listening, and Nasmyth saw his subduedgrin, but he saw also Mrs. Acton's quick glance at Miss Hamilton, which seemed to suggest that she surmised the girl could explain whyMartial had departed so unceremoniously. There was, however, onlyastonishment, and, Nasmyth fancied, a trace of relief in VioletHamilton's face. Mrs. Acton turned to her husband with a flush ofresentment in her eyes. 

"I should scarcely have believed Mr. Martial would ever write such anote, " she said. "What does he mean when he says that he does notappreciate being left to sleep in the woods all night?"

"That, " answered Acton, "is what I don't quite understand. If he'dhailed anchor watch loud enough, George would have gone off for him. Still, we're lying quite a way out from the beach. "

Then he remembered the man from the schooner, who still gripped therail. 

"How did you come to get this note?" he asked. 

"The man who came off last night gave it to the skipper, " said theschooner's deck-hand with a very suggestive grin. 

"How'd he come off?" Acton asked. "Did you go ashore for him?"

"We didn't!" said the man. "He must have swum off and crawled up thecable. Any way, when he struck the skipper he hadn't any clothes onhim. "

There was a little murmur of astonishment, and Mrs. Acton straightenedherself suddenly, while Nasmyth saw a gleam of amusement creep intoActon's eyes. The schooner man evidently felt that he had aninterested audience, for he leaned upon the rail as he began to tellall he knew about the incident. 

"I was asleep forward, when the skipper howled as if he was mostscared out of his life, " he said. "I got up out of the scuttle just asquick as I could, and there he was crawling round behind thestern-house with an axe in his hand, and the mate flat up against therail. 

"'Shut that slide quick, ' says the skipper. 'Shut it. He's crawling upthe ladder. '

"'I guess you can shut it yourself if you want it shut. ' He asked forwhisky. 'Tell him where it is, ' says the mate. "

There was no doubt that the listeners were interested, and the manmade an impressive gesture. "It was kind of scaring. There was a softflippety-flop going on in the stern-house, and I slipped out ahandspike. Then the skipper sees me. 

"'There's a drowned man crawling round the cabin with water runningoff him, ' he says. 

"Then a head came out of the scuttle and a wet arm, and a voice thatdidn't sound quite like a drowned man's says, 'Oh you----'"

Acton raised his arm restrainingly, and the narrator made a sign ofcomprehension. 

"He called us fools, " the man explained, "and for 'most a minute theskipper was going to take the axe to him. Then he hove it at the matefor being scared instead, and they all went down together, and I heardthem light the stove. After that I went back and dropped off to sleep, and the skipper sent me off at sun-up to fetch the stranger's clothes. We set him ashore as soon as he'd got some breakfast into him. "

The man rowed away in another minute or two, and, as he had evidentlytold his story with a relish, Nasmyth wondered whether Martial hadcontrived to offend him by endeavouring to purchase his silence. Thereare, of course, men one can offer a dollar to on that coast, but suchan act requires a certain amount of circumspection. 

Acton's eyes twinkled, and the men who were his guests looked at oneanother meaningly. 

"Well, " answered one of them, "I guess there is an explanation, thoughI didn't think Martial was that kind of man. "

Nasmyth said nothing, but he saw Mrs. Acton's face flush with angerand disdain, and surmised that it was most unlikely that she wouldforgive the unfortunate Martial. The women in the party evidently feltthat it would not be advisable to say anything further about thematter, and when George broke out the anchor the _Tillicum_ steamedaway. 

It was after supper that night, and there was nobody except thehelmsman on deck, when Miss Hamilton approached the forward scuttlewhere Nasmyth sat with his pipe in his hand. Nasmyth rose and spreadout an old sail for her, and she sat down a little apart from him. The_Tillicum_ was steaming northwards at a leisurely six knots, with hermastheads swaying rhythmically through the soft darkness, and adeep-toned gurgling at her bows. By-and-by Nasmyth became consciousthat Miss Hamilton was looking at him, and, on the whole, he was gladthat it was too dark for her to see him very well. 

"I wonder if you were very much astonished at what you heard about Mr. Martial?" she asked. 

"Well, " said Nasmyth reflectively, "in one way at least, I certainlywas. You see, I did not think Martial was, as our friend observed, that kind of man. In fact, I may admit that I feel reasonably sure ofit still. "

"I suppose you felt you owed him that?"

"I didn't want to leave you under a misapprehension. "

There was silence for half a minute, and then Nasmyth turned towardsthe girl again. 

"You are still a little curious about the affair?" he suggested. 

"I am. I may mention that I found a certain dress of mine, which I donot remember tearing, had evidently been repaired by somebody quiteunaccustomed to that kind of thing. Now there were, of course, onlythe skipper and yourself on board while we were away. "

Nasmyth felt his face grow hot. "Well, " he replied, "if it's anyconsolation to you, I am quite prepared, in one respect at least, tovindicate Martial's character. In any case, I think I shall have aninterview with Mrs. Acton to-morrow. "

His heart beat a little faster, for the girl laughed. 

"It really wouldn't be any consolation at all to me, " she admitted. 

"Ah, " said Nasmyth, "then, although you may have certain fancies, youare not dreadfully vexed with me?"

Violet Hamilton appeared to reflect. "Considering everything, I almostthink you can be forgiven. "

After that, they talked about other matters for at least an hour, while the _Tillicum_, with engines throbbing softly, crept on throughthe darkness, and Acton, who happened to notice them as he loungedunder the companion scuttle with a cigar in his hand, smiledsignificantly. Acton had a liking for Nasmyth, and though he was notsure that Mrs. Acton would have been pleased had she known where MissHamilton was, the matter was, he reflected, after all, no concern ofhis. 

CHAPTER XVI

ACTON'S WARNING

It was with somewhat natural misgivings, the next afternoon, thatNasmyth strolled forward along the _Tillicum's_ deck toward the placewhere Mrs. Acton was sitting. Immaculately dressed, as usual, shereclined in a canvas chair with a book, which she had been reading, upon her knee. As Nasmyth approached her he became conscious that shewas watching him with a curious expression in her keen, dark eyes. Thesteamer had dropped anchor in a little land-locked bay, and Nasmythhad just come back in the dinghy, after rowing one or two of the partyashore. Mrs. Acton indicated with a movement of her hand that he mightsit upon the steamer's rail, and then, turning towards him, looked athim steadily. She was a woman of commanding personality, andimperiously managed her husband's social affairs. If he had permittedit, she probably would have undertaken, also, to look after hiscommercial interests. 

"I wonder why you decided not to visit the Indian settlement with theothers?" she inquired. 

Nasmyth smiled. "I have been in many places of the kind, " he answered. "Besides, there is something I think I ought to tell you. "

"I almost fancied that was the case. "

"Then I wonder if you have connected me with Martial's disappearance?"

"I may admit that my husband evidently has. "

"He told you, then?" And Nasmyth realized next moment that the faintastonishment he had displayed was not altogether tactful. 

"No, " said Mrs. Acton, with a smile, "he did not. That was, I think, what made me more sure of it. James Acton can maintain a judicioussilence when it appears advisable, and there are signs that he ratherlikes you. "

Nasmyth bowed. "I should be very pleased to hear that you shared hisviews in this respect, " he observed. 

"I am, in the meanwhile, somewhat naturally rather uncertain upon thepoint, " she returned. 

"Well, " confessed Nasmyth humbly, "I believe I am largely responsiblefor your guest's sudden disappearance. It was, of course, almostinexcusable, and I could not complain if you were very angry withme. "

"I should, at least, like to know exactly what you did. "

"That, " said Nasmyth, "is a thing I would sooner you did not urge meto explain. After all, I feel I have done Martial sufficient injury, and I do not think he would like you to know. There are, " he addedsomewhat diffidently, "one or two other reasons why I should prefernot to say anything further, but I would like to assure you that theexplanation one of your friends suggested is not the correct one. Iventured to make this, at least, clear to Miss Hamilton. "

Mrs. Acton regarded him with a suggestive smile. "Mr. Martial was noteffusively pleasant to you. The affair was premeditated?"

"My one excuse is that the thing was done on the spur of the moment. Ishould never have undertaken it if I had reflected. " Nasmyth made agesture of submission. "I am in your hands. "

Mrs. Acton sat silent for perhaps a minute gazing at the woods thatswept round three sides of the little bay. Great cedars and pines andhemlocks rolled down to the water's edge, and the stretch of smoothgreen brine between them and the steamer flashed like a mirror. 

"Well, " she said, after a long pause, "I must admit that at first Iwas angry with you. Now"--and her eyes grew a bit scornful--"I amangry with Martial, instead. In fact, I think I shall wash my hands ofhim. I have no sympathy with a man who allows himself to be placed ina ludicrously painful position that reflects upon his friends. "

"Especially when he has the privilege of your particular favour, "added Nasmyth. 

Mrs. Acton laughed. "That, " she returned, "was a daring observation. It, at least, laid a certain obligation on Martial to prove itwarranted, which he has signally failed to do. I presume you know whyhe took some little pains to make himself unpleasant to you?"

Nasmyth fancied that she was really angry with Martial, and that heunderstood her attitude. She was a capable, strong-willed woman, andhad constituted herself the ally of the unfortunate man who hadbrought discredit on her by permitting himself to be shamefully drivenfrom the field. It was also evident that she resented the fact that aguest from her husband's yacht should have been concerned in anyproceedings of the nature that the schooner's deck-hand haddescribed. 

"I think I suspect why he was not cordial to me, " Nasmyth admitted. "Still, the inference is so flattering that one would naturally feel alittle diffident about believing that Martial's suppositions werecorrect. "

"That, " replied Mrs. Acton, "was tactfully expressed. " She looked atthe young man fixedly, and her next remark was characterized by thedisconcerting frankness which is not unusual in the West. "Mr. Nasmyth, " she said, "unless you have considerable means of your own, it would be wiser of you to put any ideas of the kind you have hintedat right out of your head. "

"I might, perhaps, ask you for one or two reasons why I should adoptthe course you suggest. "

"You shall have them. Violet Hamilton is a lady with possessions, andI look upon her as a ward of my own. Any way, her father and motherare dead, and they were my dearest friends. "

"Ah, " agreed Nasmyth, "that naturally renders caution advisable. Well, I am in possession of three or four hundred dollars, and a projectwhich I would like to believe may result to my advantage financially. Still, that is a thing I cannot be very sure about. "

Mrs. Acton gazed at him thoughtfully. "Your uncle is a man of means. "

"I believe he is. He may put three or four thousand dollars into theventure I mention, if he continues pleased with me. That is, I think, the most I could expect from him. "

Mrs. Acton sat silent a while, and, though Nasmyth was not aware ofit, favoured him with one or two glances of careful scrutiny. He was, as she had naturally noticed, a well-favoured man, and the flannelsand straw hat he wore were becoming to him. What was more to thepurpose, there was a certain graceful easiness in his voice and mannerwhich were not characteristic of most of her husband's friends. Indeed, well-bred poise was not a characteristic of her own, thoughshe recognized her lack. The polish that she coveted suggested anacquaintance with a world that she had not as yet succeeded inpersuading her husband to enter. Acton was, from her point of view, regrettably contented with his commercial status in the new andcrudely vigorous West. 

"Well, " she remarked thoughtfully, "none of us knows what there is inthe future, and there are signs that you have intelligence and grit inyou. " Then she dismissed the subject. "I think you might take me for arow, " she said. 

Nasmyth pulled the dinghy alongside, and rowed her up and down thebay, but his intelligence was, after all, not sufficient for him torecognize the cleverness with which she led him on to talk about hisuncle and England. He was not aware that he had been particularlycommunicative, but when he rowed back to the yacht Mrs. Acton was inpossession of a great deal of information that was more or lesssatisfying. 

The _Tillicum_ steamed away again when the remainder of the partyarrived, and she was leisurely swinging over a little froth-fleckedsea that night, with the spray flying at her bows, when Acton cameupon Nasmyth leaning on the rail. 

"I wasn't quite certain what view Mrs. Acton might take of Martial'sdisappearance, " said Acton. "Just now, however, I think that she israther pleased with you. "

"The fact, " replied Nasmyth, "is naturally a cause for satisfaction. "

Acton appeared amused. "Well, " he said, "to some extent it dependsupon what views she has for you. Mrs. Acton is a capable woman. "

Acton strolled forward, leaving Nasmyth thoughtful. The hint wasreasonably plain, but the younger man was not quite sure that he wouldbe willing to fall in with the strong-willed woman's views. There wasno doubt that Violet Hamilton attracted him--he admitted that withouthesitation--for she had grace and wit and beauty, but she had, also, large possessions, which might prove a serious obstacle. Besides, hewas sensible of a tenderness for the woman who had given him shelterand a great deal more than that in the lonely Bush. Laura, however, was still in the wilderness, and Miss Hamilton, whose society he foundvery pleasant, was then on board the _Tillicum_, facts that had theirsignificance in the case of a man liable to be swayed by the impulsesof the moment. By-and-by, he started, for while he thought about her, Miss Hamilton came out of the little companion-way, and stood lookinground her, with her long light dress rustling in the breeze, untilshe moved forward as her eyes rested on him. 

Nasmyth fancied that there was a particular significance in the factthat she appeared just then. He walked to meet her, and, drawing a lowcanvas chair into the shelter of the skylights, sat down with his backagainst them close at her feet. He did not remember what they talkedabout, and it was in all probability nothing very material, but theyhad already discovered that they had kindred views and likes, and theysat close together in the shelter of the skylights with a brighthalf-moon above them, while the _Tillicum_ lurched on over aglittering sea. Both of them were surprised to discover that an hourhad slipped by when their companions came up on deck, and Nasmyth wasonce more thoughtful before he went to sleep that night. 

Next day the _Tillicum_ brought up off a little mining town, andGeorge, who went ashore, came back with several letters. Among theletters was a note for Nasmyth from a man interested in landexploitation. This man, with whom Nasmyth had been in communication, was then in the mining town, and he suggested that Nasmyth should callupon him at his hotel. Nasmyth showed Acton the letter. 

"I understand these folks are straight?" the younger man remarked withinquiry in his tone. 

Acton smiled dryly. "Any way, " he said, "they're as straight as most. It's not a business that's conducive to unswerving rectitude. Huttonhas come up here to see you about the thing?"

"He says he has some other business. "

"Well, " replied Acton, "perhaps he has. " Then he turned to Wisbech, who sat close by. "I'll go ashore with Nasmyth. Will you come along?"

"No, " said Wisbech; "I almost think I'll stay where I am. If Derrickcan hold out any reasonable prospect of making interest on the money, it's quite possible I may put three or four thousand dollars into thething, but I go no further. It's his affair. He must handle ithimself. "

Acton nodded. "That's sensible, in one way, " he declared, and onecould have fancied there was a certain suggestiveness in thequalification. 

Wisbech appeared to notice it, for he looked hard at Acton. Then hemade an abrupt gesture. 

"It's my nephew's affair, " he said. 

"Oh, yes!" returned Acton, significantly. "Any way, I'll go ashorewith him, as soon as George has the gig ready. "

Acton and Nasmyth were rowed off together half an hour later, and theywalked up through the hot main street of the little colliery town. Itwas not an attractive place, with rickety plank sidewalks raisedseveral feet above the street, towering telegraph-poles, woodenstores, and square frame houses cracked by the weather, and mostlydestitute of any adornment or paint. Blazing sunshine beat down uponthe rutted street, and an unpleasant gritty dust blew along it. 

There was evidently very little going on in the town that afternoon. Here and there a man leaned heavy-eyed, as if unaccustomed to thebrightness, on the balustrade in front of a store, and raucous voicesrose from one or two second-rate saloons, but there were few othersigns of life, and Nasmyth was not sorry when they reached the woodenhotel. Acton stopped a moment in front of the building. 

"Hutton's an acquaintance of mine, and if you have to apply to men ofhis kind, he is, perhaps, as reliable as most, " he said. "Still, youwant to remember that in this country it's every man for himself, especially when you undertake a deal in land. " He smiled suggestively. "And now we'll go in and see him. "

They came upon a man who appeared a little older than Nasmyth. He wassitting on the veranda, which was spacious, and had one or two woodenpillars with crude scroll-work attached to them in front. Acton noddedto the stranger. 

"This is Mr. Nasmyth, " he said. "He came up with me. Doing much roundhere?"

The question was abrupt, but the man smiled. 

"Oh, " he answered, "we endeavour to do a little everywhere. "

"Then I'll leave you to it, and look round again by-and-by. I guess Imay as well mention that Mr. Nasmyth is coming back with me. "

Acton looked hard at Hutton, who smiled again. "Oh, yes, " repliedHutton, "I understand that. It's quite likely we'll have the thingfixed up in half an hour or so. A cigar, Mr. Nasmyth?"

Nasmyth took a cigar, and went with Hutton to the little table whichhad been set out, on the inner side of the veranda, with a carafe ofice-water and a couple of bottles. They sat down at it, and Huttontook out two letters and glanced at them. 

"Now, " he said, "we'll get to work. I understand your proposition isto run the water out of the Cedar Valley. What's the area?"

"About four thousand acres available for ranching land, though it hasnever been surveyed. "

"And you want to take up as many acres beforehand as you can, andcan't quite raise the capital?"

Nasmyth said that was very much the state of affairs, and Huttondrummed his fingers on the table. He was a lean-faced man, dressedquietly and precisely, in city fashion, but he wore a big stone in aring on one hand, which for no very evident reason prejudiced hiscompanion against him. 

"Well, " he averred, "we might consider going into the thing andfinding part of the capital. It's our business, but naturally we wouldwant to be remunerated for the risk. It's rather a big one. You see, you would have to take up the whole four thousand acres. "

"Then, " replied Nasmyth, "what's your proposition?"

"We'll put up what money you can't raise, and our surveyor will locateland at present first-class Crown land figure. We'll charge you bankrate until the land's made marketable when you have run the water out. In a general way, that's my idea of the thing. "

Nasmyth laid down his cigar and looked at him. "Isn't it a littleexorbitant? You get the land at cost value, and a heavy charge onthat, while I do the work?"

Hutton laughed. "Well, " he said, "it's money we're out for, and unlessyou take it all up, your claim's no good. Anybody else could jumpright in and buy a few hundred acres. Then he could locate waterrights and stop you running down the river, unless you bought himout. "

"The difficulty is that the Crown authorities haven't been sellingland lately, and would sooner lease. They seem inclined to admit thatthis is a somewhat exceptional case; in fact, they have granted me oneor two privileges. "

"What you would call a first option?"

Nasmyth remembered Acton's manner when he had mentioned hisacquaintance with his companion, and one or two things he had said. 

"No, " he said, "not exactly that. I merely mentioned certainprivileges. "

"Then, what's to stop me or anybody going right down to Victoria andbuying the whole thing up to-morrow?"

"I'm inclined to fancy you would discover one or two things that wouldmake it difficult, " answered Nasmyth dryly. "For another thing, Ihardly think you would get any of the regular rock-cutting ormine-sinking people to undertake the work about the fall at a figurethat wouldn't make the risk too big. It's not a place that lendsitself to modern methods or the use of machinery. Besides, afterapproaching you to a certain extent in confidence, it wouldn't bequite the thing. "

Hutton waved the hand which bore the ring. "Well, " he said, "we'll getback to our original offer. If it isn't good enough, how much more doyou want?"

Nasmyth explained his views, and they discussed each proposition pointby point, gradually drawing nearer to an agreement. Nasmyth was quiteaware that in a matter of this kind the man who provides the capitalusually takes the lion's share, but, after all, the project was his, and he naturally wanted something for himself. At length Hutton leanedforward with both elbows on the table, and a certain intentness in hislean face. 

"Now, " he said, "I've gone just about as far as I can. You have eithergot to close with my proposition or let it go. "

Nasmyth said nothing, and there was silence for almost a minute whilehe lay back in his chair gazing at the weather-cracked front of thestore across the street, and thinking hard. There was, he was quiteaware, a very arduous task in front of him--one that he shrank from attimes, for it could only be by strenuous toil that he could succeed inlowering the level of the river, and it was clear that if he acceptedMutton's offer, his share of the proceeds would not be a large one. Still, he must have more capital than he could see the means ofraising, and once or twice he was on the point of signifying hisconcurrence. His face grew grimmer, and he straightened himself atrifle, but he did not see that the man who could supply the money waswatching him with a smile. 

Then it seemed to Nasmyth that he heard a footstep in the room behindhim, but it was not particularly noticeable, and Hutton touched hisarm. 

"Well, " said the promoter, "I'll just run over our terms again. " Hedid so rapidly, and added: "If that doesn't take you, we'll call itoff. "

Nasmyth made a gesture which was vaguely expressive of resignation, and in another moment would have closed the bargain, but the footstepsgrew plainer, and, as he turned round, Acton appeared at the openwindow close behind them. He stood still, looking at them withamusement in his shrewd eyes, and then, stepping out, dropped heavilyinto the nearest chair. 

"Not through yet? I want a drink, " he said. 

It was probably not often that Hutton was disconcerted, but Nasmythsaw his fingers close sharply on his cigar, which crumpled under them, and that appeared significant to him. Acton looked round again as hefilled his glass. 

"When you're ready we'll go along, " he suggested. "You can worry outanything Hutton has put before you to-night. When I've a matter ofconsequence on hand, I generally like to sleep on it. "

Nasmyth rose and turned to Hutton. "I don't want to keep Mr. Acton, and I'm afraid I can't decide just yet, " he said. "I'll let you knowwhen I make up my mind. "

Hutton made a sign of concurrence, but there was a suggestive frown onhis face, when he leaned upon the balustrade, as Nasmyth and Actonwent down the stairway together. When they were half-way down thestreet, Acton looked at Nasmyth with a dry smile. 

"Well, " he commented, "you have still got most of the wool on you?"

Nasmyth laughed, but there was relief in his voice. 

"I was very nearly doing what I think would have been an unwisething, " he said. "It was fortunate you came along when you did. "

Acton waved his hand. "I'm open to admit that Hutton has a voice likea boring bit. It would go through a door, any way. It's a thing heought to remember. "

"There is still a point or two I am not very clear upon;" and Nasmythlooked at him steadily. 

Acton smiled again. "The fact is, Mrs. Acton gave me some instructionsconcerning you. She said I was to see you through. " He made anexpressive gesture. "She seemed to figure it might be advisable. "

"Well, " said Nasmyth reflectively, "I fancy she was right. "

They said nothing further, but Nasmyth was unusually thoughtful asthey proceeded towards the water-front. 

CHAPTER XVII

AN EVENTFUL DAY

It was about eleven o'clock on a cloudy, unsettled morning whenNasmyth stood knee-deep in a swirling river-pool, holding alanding-net and watching Miss Hamilton, who stood on a neighbouringbank of shingle with a light trout-rod in her hand. The rod was bent, and the thin line, which was drawn tense and rigid, ripped through thesurface of the pool, while there was also a suggestion of tension inthe pose of the girl's figure. She was gazing at the moving line, witha fine crimson in her cheeks and a brightness in her eyes. 

"Oh, " she cried, "I'm afraid I'm going to lose it, after all. "

Nasmyth smiled reassuringly. "Keep the butt well down, and your thumbupon the reel, " he continued. "You have only to keep on a steadystrain. "

A big silvery object broke the surface a dozen yards away, and then, while the reel clinked, went down again; but the line was movingtowards Nasmyth now, and, in another minute or two, he flung a sharpwarning at the girl as he made a sweep with the net. Then hefloundered ashore, dripping, with the gleaming trout, which he laid ather feet. 

"You ran that fish very well, " he told her. "In fact, there were oneor two moments when I never expected you to hold it. "

The colour grew a little plainer in his companion's face, thoughwhether this was due to his commendation or to elation at her ownsuccess was a question. As she had just caught her first big fish, itwas, perhaps, the latter. 

"Oh, " she said complacently, "it isn't so very difficult after all. But I wonder what can have become of the others of our party?"

It was at least an hour since Nasmyth had last seen their companionsconsiderably lower down the river. He and Miss Hamilton had pushed onahead of them into the Bush, which was a thing they had fallen intothe habit of doing. The girl sat down on a boulder and seemed to belistening, but there was nothing to indicate the presence of any ofthe party. Except for the murmur of the river and the sighing amongthe pine-sprays high overhead, the Bush was very still, but it seemedto Nasmyth that there was more wind than there had been. 

"I suppose we had better go back to them, " observed the girl. Themanner in which she spoke conveyed the impression that she would havebeen more or less contented to stay where she was with him; but nextmoment she added: "After all, they have the lunch with them, and itmust have been seven o'clock when we breakfasted. "

"Yes, " said Nasmyth, "I think it was. Still, until this minute I hadquite forgotten it. "

"I certainly hadn't, " said Violet Hamilton. "I don't think I ever hadbreakfast at seven o'clock in my life until this morning. "

The fact had its significance to Nasmyth. It was one of the manylittle things that emphasized the difference between his life andhers, but he brushed it out of his mind, and they went back togetherdown the waterside. Their progress was slow, for there was no trail atall, and while they laboriously plodded over the shingle, or crept inand out among the thickets, the wail of the breeze grew louder. Halfan hour had passed when the faint hoot of the _Tillicum's_ whistlereached them among the trees. 

"What can the skipper be whistling for?" asked the girl. 

"I fancy the wind is setting inshore moderately fresh, and he wants usto come off before it roughens the water, " said Nasmyth. 

They went on as fast as possible after that, though it was remarkablyrough travelling; but they saw no sign of their companions, and thewhistle, which had shrieked again, was silent, which evidently meantthat the gig had already gone off. When they reached the inlet theriver fell into, and found only the _Tillicum's_ dinghy lying on theshingle, Nasmyth, looking down the lane of smooth green water somewhatanxiously, noticed that the sea was flecked with white. The_Tillicum_, as he remembered, was also lying well out from the beach. 

"We had better get off at once, " he said. "The breeze is freshening, and this dinghy isn't very big. "

He helped the girl into the boat, and when he had thrust the littlecraft off sent her flying down the riband of sheltered water; but heset his lips and braced himself for an effort when they slid out pasta point of froth-lapped shingle. There was already a white-topped searunning, and the spray from the oar-blades and the dinghy's bows blewaft into his companion's face in stinging wisps as he drove theplunging craft over it. Now and then an odd bucketful of brine came inand hit him on the back, while Miss Hamilton, who commenced to getvery wet, shivered and drew her feet up as the water gathered deeperin the bottom of the boat. 

"I'm afraid I must ask you to throw some of that water out, " he said. "There is a can to scoop it up with. "

The girl made an attempt to do so, but it was not surprising that in afew minutes, when the dinghy lurched viciously, she let the can slipfrom her fingers. Nasmyth set his lips tighter, and his face wasanxious as he glanced over his shoulder. The sea was white-fleckedbetween him and the _Tillicum_, which lay rolling wildly farther downthe beach, at least half a mile away. It already taxed all Nasmyth'sstrength to drive the dinghy off shore, and every sea that broke alittle more sharply than the rest splashed into the boat. He held onfor another few minutes, glancing over his shoulder and pullingcautiously, for it was evident that he might fill the dinghy up orroll her over if he failed to swing neatly over the crest of sometumbling comber. In spite of his efforts, a wave broke on board, andsitting ankle-deep in water, he waited until there was a slightlysmoother patch in front of him, and then swung the dinghy round. 

"I'm afraid we'll have to make for the beach, " he announced. 

He would have preferred to head for the inlet, but that would havebrought the little white seas, which were rapidly getting steeper, dangerously on her beam, and the thrust of one beneath her sideprobably would have been sufficient to turn the diminutive craft over. He accordingly pulled straight for the beach before the wind, and theperspiration dripped from his set face as he strove to hold the dinghystraight, when, with the foam boiling white about her, she swung up onthe crest of a comber. Once or twice Nasmyth glanced at VioletHamilton reassuringly, but she sat, half-crouching, against thetransom, gazing forward, white in face, with her wet hair whippingabout her. Nasmyth had not noticed it before, but her hat hadevidently gone over. Speech was out of the question. He wanted all hisbreath, and recognized that it was not advisable to divert hisattention for a moment from his task, for it depends very largely uponthe man at the oars whether a diminutive dinghy keeps right sideuppermost in any weight of breeze. Once or twice he risked a glance atthe approaching land. 

Sombre forest rolled down to the water's edge, and he could see thatthere was already a broad ribbon of frothy whiteness beneath it, whileso far as he had noticed that beach consisted of rock ledges and verylarge boulders. It was about the last place he would have chosen tomake a landing on, in a light and fragile dinghy. 

After that, he looked resolutely astern over his companion's shouldersas she swung up between him and the sea with the slate-green ridgesand tumbling white tops of the combers behind her. At length ahazarded glance showed him that they were close inshore, and hewondered for a moment whether he could swing the dinghy round withoutrolling the boat over. He did not think it could be done, and set hislips as he let her go, careering on a comber's crest, with at leasthalf her length out of the water. 

Then there was a white upheaval close alongside, and for a moment ablack mass of stone appeared amidst the leaping foam. They swept byit, and he gasped with relief as he looked at Miss Hamilton. 

"Get hold of me when she strikes, " he said. 

The dinghy swung round, twisting broadside-on with the brine pouringinto her in spite of all that he could do; and while he tore at oneoar, another white sea that curled menacingly rose up astern. It brokeright into the boat, and in another moment there was a crash, andNasmyth, who let the oars drop, stretched out his arms to the girl. Hejumped when she clutched him, and found himself standing amid theswirling froth on what seemed to be a ledge of very slippery stone, with both arms about her, while the crushed-in dinghy swept up amongthe foam-lapped boulders. He sprang down from the stone as another seacame in, and floundered ashore waist-deep with it, after which he sethis dripping companion down upon the beach. 

"I'm afraid you're rather wet, " he said, when he got his breath again. "Still, I really couldn't help it. There was a good deal more sea thanI had expected. "

Miss Hamilton, who sat down on a boulder with the water dripping fromher skirt, looked ruefully at him and the dinghy, which was rollingover in the surf. 

"How are we going to get off?" she inquired. 

"Not in that dinghy, any way, " answered Nasmyth. "She has knocked allone bilge in. They'll probably send the _Tillicum's_ gig ashore for usby-and-by. "

"But she's going away!" said the girl, with a gasp of consternation. 

Nasmyth, who turned round, saw that this was certainly the case. Acloud of steam blew away from beside the yacht's funnel, and inanother moment the shriek of a whistle reached him. 

"I don't think we need worry about that, " he remarked. "They evidentlywatched us get ashore. You see, with the breeze freshening shecouldn't very well lie where she was. Still, if I remember, there's aninlet a couple of leagues or so away along the coast where she'd findshelter. "

"But why didn't they send for us first?"

"The trouble is that there is really a nasty sea, and they couldn'tvery well take us off if they knocked a big hole in the gig. I fancythe wisest thing would be to walk towards that inlet along thebeach. "

They set off, when Nasmyth had pulled the dinghy out, but the beachwas strewn with driftwood which was difficult to flounder over, aswell as very rough. They made no greater progress when they tried theBush. Fallen trees lay across one another, and there were thornythickets in between, while, here and there, the undergrowth seemed asimpenetrable as a wall. By-and-by it commenced to rain, and for anhour or two they plodded on dejectedly through the pitiless deluge. Itrains exceedingly hard in that country. At last the girl sat down on afallen tree. She had already lost her hat, and the water soaked out ofNasmyth's jacket, which he had tied by the arms about her shoulders. Her drenched skirt clung about her, rent to tatters, and one of herlittle shoes was caked with mire. The other gaped open. 

"How far have we gone?" she asked. 

"About a league, " answered Nasmyth quietly. "I think we could make theinlet in another two hours. That is, if the beach isn't very muchrougher. "

The girl leaned against a branch wearily. "I'm afraid I can't go astep further, " she replied with trembling lips. 

The rain beat upon them, and Nasmyth stood still a moment looking ather. 

"Well, " he said, "we really can't stay here. Since there seems noother way, I think I could carry you. "

His diffidence was evident, and Violet smiled. "Have you ever carriedanybody--a distance--before?" she asked. 

"No, " said Nasmyth, "I certainly haven't. "

"Then I don't think there would be much use in trying. You couldn'tcarry me for more than four or five minutes. That wouldn't be worthwhile, would it?"

Nasmyth said nothing for a minute or two, for he felt compassionate aswell as a trifle confused. He had, in fact, already discovered thatthere are occasions when a young woman is apt to show greaterself-possession and look facts in the face more plainly than a man. Then he set to work furiously with a branch which he tore from thefallen tree, ripping off rough slabs of bark, and in the course ofhalf an hour had constructed a shelter about the base of a cedar. It, at least, kept the rain off when Violet sat under it. 

"It might be as well if I pushed on for the inlet and brought Georgeor Acton back with me, " he suggested. "We could make something tocarry you in, if there was too much sea for the gig. "

A flush crept into the girl's face, and she looked at him reproachfully. 

"How could I stay here alone?" she asked. "Don't say those foolishthings. Come in out of the rain. "

The bark shelter would just hold the two of them, and Nasmyth, dripping, sat down close beside her. She looked very forlorn. 

"I'm sorry for you, " he said awkwardly. 

The girl showed faint signs of temper. "You have told me that before. Why don't you do something? You said you had lived in the Bush, andnow you have only been a few hours in it. It was seven o'clock when wehad breakfast. Can't you even make a fire?"

"I'm afraid I can't, " answered Nasmyth deprecatingly. "You see, onehas usually an axe and some matches, as well as a few other odds andends, when one lives in the Bush. A man is a wretchedly helpless beingwhen he has only his hands. "

The fact was borne in upon Violet forcibly as she glanced out at thewet beach, tumbling sea, and dreary, dripping Bush. The Bush rolledback, a long succession of straggling pines that rose one behind theother in sombre ranks, to the rugged hills that cut against the hazysky. There was, no doubt, all that man required to provide him withwarmth and food and shelter in that forest, but it was certain that itwas only by continuous and arduous toil that he could render itavailable. Indeed, since he could not make himself an axe or a saw ora rifle, it was also evident that his efforts would be fruitlessunless backed by the toil of others who played their part in the greatscheme of human co-operation. 

It is, however, probable that Violet did not concern herself with thisaspect of the matter, but she had led a sheltered life, and it wascuriously disconcerting to find herself brought suddenly face to facewith primitive realities. She was wet through and worn out, andalthough evening was not far away, she had eaten nothing since seveno'clock that morning. The momentary petulance deserted her. 

"Oh!" she cried, "they mayn't be able to send off for us for perhaps aday or two. "

"It is quite likely that the breeze will drop at sunset, " Nasmythreplied cheerfully. "These westerly breezes often do. Anyway, the rainseems to be stopping, and I may be able to dry my matches. In themeanwhile I might come across something to eat. There are oysters onsome of these beaches. "

Violet glanced at the Bush apprehensively, and once more it wasevident that she did not wish him to leave her. This sent a littlethrill of satisfaction through him, and although he half-consciouslycontrasted her with Laura Waynefleet, it was not altogether to herdisadvantage. It is a curious fact that some men, and probably women, too, feel more drawn to the persons upon whom they confer a benefitthan to those from whom they receive one. Laura Waynefleet, herealized, would have urged him to make some attempt to reach the_Tillicum_, and in all probability would have insisted on taking ashare in it, while his companion desired only to lean on him. Afterall, Laura's attitude was more pleasant to the subconscious vanitythat was in his nature, and in this respect he probably differed butlittle from most of his fellows. 

"You won't be very long away?" she said. 

Nasmyth reassured her upon this point, and floundered down to thebeach, where he carefully laid out to dry the little block of sulphurmatches that he carried. Then he crawled among the boulders nearlow-water mark, and, since oysters are tolerably plentiful along thosebeaches, succeeded in collecting several dozen of them. After that hesat down and gazed seaward for a minute or two. There was no sign ofthe _Tillicum_, only a strip of dingy, slate-green sea smeared withstreaks of froth, which shone white beneath a heavy, lowering sky. Close in front of him the sea hove itself up in rows of foam-crestedridges, which fell upon the boulders and swirled over them and amongthem a furious white seething. He fancied that it was near sunset, andit was clear that the breeze was a little lighter. It seemed to himjust possible that four capable seamen might keep the gig afloat closeenough to the beach for one to wade out to her, though there would bea certain peril in such a proceeding. Still, there were not fourcapable seamen on board the _Tillicum_!

Gathering up his matches, which had dried, Nasmyth went back to thebark shelter. He was pleasantly conscious of the relief in MissHamilton's eyes when he reached it, and fancied that she was toooverwrought and anxious to care whether he noticed it or not; but heset about making a fire, and she helped him to collect brittleundergrowth and fallen branches. Then they sat down and ate theoysters that he had laid among the embers. He thought they were not inseason, and they were certainly burnt and shrivelled, as well assomewhat gritty; but one is glad to eat anything after a long day ofexertion, and Nasmyth watched his companion with quiet appreciation asshe handled the rough shells daintily with little delicate fingers. Her evident reliance upon him had its effect. 

He carried an armful of branches to the beach, and started anotherfire where it could be seen from seawards, after which he went backand sat outside the shelter near Miss Hamilton, while darkness creptup from the eastwards across the Bush. It grew dim and solemn, and thedoleful wailing of the pines was curiously impressive. The girlshivered. 

"The wind is very chilly, " she said, with a tremor in her voice. "Youwill stay here where I can see you. You won't go away?"

"Only to keep up the fire on the beach, " Nasmyth answered reassuringly. 

She crept into the shelter, and he could see her dimly when theflickering light blazed up, but he could never remember how manyjourneys he made to the fire upon the beach before his eyes grew heavyas he sat amid the whirling smoke. He endeavoured to keep awake, andresolutely straightened himself once or twice, but at last his eyesclosed altogether, and he did not hear the shriek of the _Tillicum's_whistle ring far across the shadowy Bush. Indeed, he did not wakenwhen Acton and Wisbech came floundering into the light of the fire;and the two men looked at each other when they stopped beside it andsaw him lying there, and then discovered the girl inside the shelter. Acton raised his hand warningly, while a faint twinkle crept into hiseyes. 

"I guess there's no reason why anybody else should hear of this, " hesaid. "It seems to me that Miss Hamilton would be just as well pleasedif we were not around when she awakens. "

He stooped and shook Nasmyth's shoulder as Wisbech disappeared amongthe shadows. 

"Get up, " said Acton. "Wait until I get away, and then waken her. "

It was a minute before Nasmyth, who stood up stiffly, quite understoodhim, and then the blood rose to his face as he crept into the shelterand touched the girl. She sprang to her feet with a little cry andclutched his arm. Then she suddenly let her hand fall back, and hercheeks flushed crimson. 

"The steamer's close by, " said Nasmyth reassuringly. "They have sentfor us at last. "

They went out together, and it was a minute or two later when theycame upon Wisbech and Acton in the Bush. Nasmyth entered into confusedexplanations as they proceeded towards the beach. The sky was a littlelighter when they reached it, and standing near the sinking fire, they could dimly see the gig plunging amidst the froth and spray. ThenGeorge's voice reached them. 

"Can't you let us have them, Mr. Acton? It's most all we can do tokeep her off the beach, " he said. 

Acton glanced at the strip of tumbling foam--through which he hadwaded waist-deep--between them and the boat, and Nasmyth turnedtowards Miss Hamilton, who, to his astonishment, recoiled from him. Acton, however, made him a sign of command. 

"I guess, " he said, "she'd be safer with you. "

Nasmyth said nothing, but he picked the girl up, as unconcernedly ashe could, for the second time that day, and staggered down the roughbeach with her. He contrived to keep his footing when a frothing seabroke against him, and, floundering through the seething water, reached the lurching boat. George seized his burden, and gentlydeposited it in one of the seats. Scrambling on board, Nasmyth gropedfor an oar, and in another minute or two they laboriously drove thegig out towards the blinking lights of the _Tillicum_. 

CHAPTER XVIII

TRANQUILLITY

The afternoon was very hot when Nasmyth plodded down a steep hillsidethrough the thick red dust of the waggon trail. A fire had swept theundergrowth away, and there was no shade among the trees which, stripped of their branches, towered about him, great charred andblackened columns. Close ahead the primeval Bush rose in an unbrokensombre mass, and Nasmyth, who quickened his pace a trifle, sat downwith a gasp of satisfaction when he reached the first of the shadow. It was fresh and cool there. The Bush was scented with the odours ofpine and cedar, and filled with the soft murmur of falling water, while he knew that just beyond it Bonavista stood above the sparklingsea. 

He was on his way from the railroad depôt. It was just a fortnightsince he had left the _Tillicum_ at the little mining town, on the dayafter the one he and Violet Hamilton had spent on the beach, and hehad not seen her before he went. Now he fancied that a welcome awaitedhim, and he felt sincerely pleased to be back again. As he sat beneatha great cedar filling his pipe, it seemed to him only appropriate thathe should approach Bonavista through that belt of cool, sweet-scentedBush. It made it easier to feel that he had left behind him all thatassociated him with the strife and bustle of the hot and noisy cities. At Bonavista were leisure, comfort, and tranquillity, which were, after all, things that made a strong appeal to one side of his nature, and he had made no progress in the city. There was also no doubt thatboth Mr. And Mrs. Acton were glad to entertain him for a time. He satstill a few minutes, and then went on slowly beneath the toweringredwoods and cedars until he came out of the forest, and saw thesunlight stream down on the shingled roof of Bonavista close ahead. 

The house appeared to be empty, and he had shed his dusty city clothesin his room and had dressed again before he came upon Mrs. Acton, sitting half asleep on a secluded strip of veranda. She roused herselfand smiled when she saw him. 

"So you have come back at last. We have been expecting you all thepast week, " she said. 

"That, " returned Nasmyth, "was remarkably good of you. In fact, I havewondered now and then, with some misgivings, whether you have not seentoo much of me already. "

Mrs. Acton laughed. "You needn't worry yourself on that point. We haveall our little hobbies. My husband's is the acquisition of dollars andthe opening of mines and mills. Mine is the amusing of my friends, or, rather, the permitting them to amuse themselves, which is why I hadBonavista built. I make only one stipulation--it is that when you staywith us, you are amused. "

With a little sigh of content, Nasmyth settled himself in a canvaschair, and glanced out between the slender pillars of the cool verandaat the wall of dusky forest and the flashing sea. 

"Ah, " he replied, "can you doubt it, my dear lady? After logging campand mine and city, this is an enchanted land. I think it is alwayssummer afternoon at Bonavista. "

Mrs. Acton smiled at him graciously. "That, " she observed, "was quitenice of you. Things haven't gone just as you would have liked them togo, in the city?"

"They haven't, " admitted Nasmyth whimsically. "As a matter of fact, they very seldom do. Still, I wouldn't like you to think that was theonly reason I am glad to get back. "

Mrs. Acton's eyes twinkled. "I imagine I am acquainted with the other. You were rather tactful in going away. "

"I went because Mr. Acton handed me a letter which said that abusiness man in Victoria would like a talk with me. "

"In any case, Miss Hamilton seems to be under the impression that itwas nice of you. "

"Nice of me to go away?" and Nasmyth's tone was mildly reproachful. 

"One would not resent a desire to save one any little embarrassment. "

"Still, " observed Nasmyth, with an air of reflection, "the trouble isthat I couldn't contrive to keep out of her sight continually even ifI wanted to, and"--he lowered his voice confidentially--"as ithappens, I don't. "

Mrs. Acton laughed. "I don't know of any particular reason why youshould do that. Violet has probably quite recovered her equanimity anddecided on her attitude towards you. " Then she changed the subjectabruptly. "I wonder if I may point out that there has been a change inyou, since my husband brought you here. For one thing, you are muchmore amusing. Even your voice is different. "

Nasmyth bowed. "But not my hands, " he said; and as he held up onehand, she noticed the scars on it and the coarseness of his nails. "That tells a tale, I think. My dear lady, I scarcely think you quiterealize all that you have given me. You have never seen how we livedin the lonely logging camps--packed like cattle in a reeking shed--andyou do not know the grim side of our life in the Bush. It would be nogreat use to tell you that I have now and then limped for daystogether over the ballast of a railroad track, wondering where my nextdollar was to come from. These are the things one could not expect youto understand. "

Mrs. Acton's face softened a little. "Still, I think my husband does, "she replied. Then she smiled at him. "It almost seems to me that youneed never go back to that life again unless you like it. I mean, ofcourse, that, for one thing, your uncle has his views concerning you. He has to some extent taken Mr. Acton into his confidence. "

Nasmyth made no comment, and Mrs. Acton sank down a little furtherinto her long chair. "The others are down on the beach, " she announceddrowsily. "I really think I was going to sleep when you made yourappearance. "

Nasmyth could take a hint, and he strolled away down the verandastairway and around the edge of the wide clearing in the shadow of theBush, until he stood looking down upon the sea from the crown of thebluff. Then he felt a little thrill, for some twenty or thirty feetbeneath him was a patch of something white in the shadow of theshrubbery. He went down quietly until he stopped, and, stooping, touched Violet Hamilton's shoulder. She looked around with a start, and a faint trace of embarrassment crept into her face at the sight ofhim. 

"Oh, " she said, "I thought you were in Victoria. "

Nasmyth stretched himself out upon a ledge of rock near her feet. "Mrs. Acton was good enough to imply that she had been expecting memore or less anxiously for several days, " he rejoined in a tone ofreproach. "In fact, she used the plural pronoun, which led me tobelieve that somebody else must have shared her anxiety. She did not, however, point out who it was that she meant. "

"Her husband, in all probability. She could, at least, speak forhim. "

Nasmyth appeared to ponder over this, though his heart was beatingfaster than usual, for the suggestion of confusion which he hadnoticed in the girl's manner had its significance for him. 

"Well, " he conceded, "it may have been Acton, but I almost ventured tobelieve she meant somebody else. In any case, I shouldn't like tothink you were displeased at my reappearance. If you are, I can, ofcourse, go away again. "

"I am not the only person at Bonavista. Wouldn't anybody else's wishescount--Mr. Acton's, for instance?"

"No, " asserted Nasmyth reflectively. "At least, not to anything likethe same extent. "

Violet laughed. "The difficulty is that nobody can tell how much youreally mean. You are so seldom serious. " She cast a quick glance athim. "You were not like that when you first came here. "

"Then, " said Nasmyth, "you can blame it on Bonavista. As I have beentrying to explain to Mrs. Acton, who made a similar observation, thereis glamour in this air. It gets hold of one. I was, no doubt, atediously solemn person when I left the Bush, but you will rememberthat soon after I arrived here, you and I sailed out together into therealms of moonlight and mystery. I sometimes feel that I must havebrought a little of the latter back with me. "

Violet said nothing for half a minute, during which she lay resting onone elbow, looking down upon the cool, green flashing of the water ahundred feet below, and again Nasmyth felt a little thrill run throughhim. She was so very dainty in speech and thought and person, a womanof the world he had once belonged to, and which it now seemed he mightenter again. Her delicately chiselled, half-averted face matched theslight but finely moulded figure about which the thin white draperiesclung. She turned and looked at him. 

"You certainly can't be serious now, " she declared. 

"I assure you that when I mentioned the glamour and mystery, I wasnever half so serious in my life. They are, after all, very realthings. "

He was, as a matter of fact, grimly serious for the moment as hewondered at the change that had come over him. His life in the silentBush, the struggle with the icy river, and even Laura Waynefleet, whohad encouraged him in his work of rehabilitation, had by degreesbecome no more than a dim, blurred memory. He knew that he couldrecall it all, but he had no wish to make the effort, for it was morepleasant to hear the sighing of the summer wind about the firs ofBonavista, and wonder languidly what his companion thought. 

"I haven't thanked you for taking care of me the day we were leftbehind on the beach, " said Violet. 

Nasmyth made a sign of protest. "I don't think you are under any verygreat obligation to me. As a matter of fact, my efforts on your behalfnearly resulted in my drowning you. Besides, you see, there was reallynot the slightest cause for uneasiness. Acton certainly would havesent for us when the wind dropped. "

"But it might have blown for days. "

"Then, " said Nasmyth, with a twinkle in his eyes, "we would have livedon salmon and berries until it stopped. One really can live on themfor a considerable time, though they are not remarkably palatable whenone has anything else to eat; in fact, it's a thing I've done. "

Salmon is not esteemed in that country, except for the purpose ofsending East in cans, and it is seldom that anybody eats it except theIndians. There is probably no diet that more rapidly grows satiating. 

"Ah, " exclaimed the girl, with a shiver, "it would have beenhorrible. "

She was evidently not thinking of the salmon, but of the dreary, dripping Bush, and Nasmyth looked at her with reproach in his eyes. 

"I really don't think it would have been, " he said. "In fact, I believewe could have lived there for a little while very contentedly--that is, when I had fixed things up a bit. After all, there is a certainglamour in the Bush when one gets used to it. "

He saw the faint colour creep into her face, and, though it cost himan effort, laid a restraint upon himself. 

"Well, " he said, "I at least would not have felt that I had any causeto complain, though, no doubt, it would have been different with you. You see"--and he made an expressive gesture--"I have had a long toughtussle since I came to Canada, and experiences of that sort have theireffect on one. In fact, they set one apart from those who haven'tundergone them. It seems to have struck you that I was prematurelysolemn and serious when I came to Bonavista. "

He thought he saw sympathy in Violet Hamilton's eyes, and her nextobservation made it clear that her mind was busy with the suggestionthat he had conveyed. 

"After all, " she said softly, "you cannot be very much older than Iam. "

"Four years, perhaps, " returned Nasmyth, with a trace of grimness. "That is, in one sense. In another, I think I am double your age. Yousee, you have never been brought into contact with the realities oflife. If you had been, you would probably not be so ready to take mefor what you think I am, as I believe you have graciously done. Afterall, you know so very little about me. "

He felt that he was doing no more than discharging an obligation ingiving her this warning. He desired to afford her every opportunity ofsatisfying herself concerning him, for he was not a fool, and he hadseen for a moment or two a suggestive softness in her face. It ispossible that she did not know it had been there, but he felt that ifhe roused himself and made the effort, he might sweep away thebarriers between them. 

Violet appeared troubled by his words. She sat silent, while Nasmythwondered what she would say. He was aware that a good deal dependedupon her next remark. Then there were footsteps on the slope behindthem, and, turning suddenly, he saw Acton and another man approachingthem. He rose with a little start when he recognized the second man asGordon, who was neatly attired in city clothes. Gordon looked down atNasmyth with a faint sardonic smile. 

"Mr. Gordon turned up half an hour ago, " Acton said. "It appears thathe was going into the city, and got off the cars to talk over thingswith you. I believe he had a notion of going on again to-night, butMrs. Acton won't hear of it. "

Gordon bowed in the direction of his host. 

"I'd have put up a more vigorous protest against troubling Mrs. Actonthan I did, if I had felt it would have been of any use, " he said. 

"Well, " replied Acton, smiling, "I guess they'll be getting supperready, and we were sent here to bring our friend and Miss Hamiltonin. "

They went back to the house together, where they found the long tablespread. It was characteristic of the owner of Bonavista that he stillcalled the evening meal supper. There were, besides Nasmyth andWisbech, five or six other guests from Victoria and one of the risingcities on Puget Sound, and Gordon speedily made himself very much athome. Most of his new acquaintances found what he had to sayentertaining, but Miss Hamilton was, as Nasmyth noticed, somewhatsilent. Nasmyth, on his part, felt slightly restless, for his oldcomrade's presence had an unsettling effect on him. It was, however, not until an hour or two later that he and Gordon were able to discusstheir own affairs. They sat on the veranda looking down upon the sea, while the dusk slowly crept up from the east. 

"Now, " said Gordon, "I should like to hear what you have done. "

"I'm afraid it's not a great deal, " replied Nasmyth. "The Crown landauthorities appear disposed to sell the land instead of leasing it, which of late has been the more usual course; but they insist oncounting a certain proportion of the hillside and big timber in. I mayget one or two concessions, and I'm still keeping the affair beforethem. In the meanwhile I've been seeing what can be done to raiseenough capital to take up all the land, but haven't met with any greatsuccess. The folks I've been in communication with, as usual, want allthe profit; in fact, I almost fancy it might be as well to raise whatmoney we can around the settlement, and content ourselves withlocating a portion of the valley. "

Gordon nodded. "You can't do much about the fall until after theautumn freshets, anyway, and there's a good deal you can't get atuntil the frost sets in, " he declared. "In the meanwhile the offersWheeler and I made you hold. "

They discussed the matter until Mrs. Acton appeared on the veranda andshook her head at them. 

"What are you two doing here when there are pretty girls in the housewaiting for a dance?" she inquired. 

"I'm afraid we have been very remiss, " apologized Nasmyth, when theyjoined her. "Still, we didn't know, and we had some business to talkabout. "

"There will be plenty of time for that to-morrow. "

"The trouble is that I shall be in the city then, " said Gordon. 

Mrs. Acton laughed. "Oh, no!" she contradicted. "We are all going fora sail on the straits to-morrow, and we certainly expect you to joinus. In the meanwhile, I believe there are two young women waiting forpartners. "

She silenced Gordon's objections as they turned back towards thehouse. They found the dancing had commenced, and Nasmyth failed tosecure Miss Hamilton as a partner for any time in the evening. Hecould not help a fancy that she had taken some little trouble to bringabout this result. 

CHAPTER XIX

NASMYTH HEARS THE RIVER

Darkness had settled down on Bonavista next evening when Nasmyth layin a canvas chair on the veranda, while Gordon leaned against thebalustrade in front of him with a cigar in his hand. A blaze of lightstreamed out from one of the long open windows a few yards away, andsomebody was singing in the room behind it, while the splash of thegentle surf came up from the foot of the promontory in a deepmonotone. Now and then a shadowy figure strolled into the veranda orcrossed it to the terrace below, but for the time being nobodydisturbed the two men. 

"I haven't had a word with you since last night, " said Nasmyth. "Howare the boys at the settlement?"

"Hustling along as usual. " Gordon laughed. "Is there anybody else youfeel inclined to ask about?"

"Yes, " said Nasmyth, "there certainly is. How is Miss Waynefleet?"

Gordon looked down at his cigar. "Well, " he said, "I'm a littleworried on her account. She was attempting to do a great deal morethan was good for her when I last saw her. They have no longer a hiredman at the ranch. Waynefleet, I understand, is rather tightly fixedfor money, and, as you know, he isn't the kind of man who would denyhimself. He was talking of selling some stock. "

Nasmyth suddenly straightened himself, and closed one hand rather hardon the arm of his chair. 

"What right have you and I to be lounging here when that girl isworking late and early on the ranch?" he asked. "Gordon, you willhave to buy two or three head of that stock at double value for me. "

"It's rather a big question;" and Gordon's tone was serious. "In fact, I fancy it's one that neither you nor I can throw much light upon. Anyway, I may as well point out that I arrived here only yesterday, and I'm going on again in the morning. As to the other matter, LauraWaynefleet has friends who will stand by her. "

"Don't you count me one of them?" Nasmyth demanded. "That girl savedmy life for me. "

Gordon glanced round sharply, for there were light footsteps on theveranda, and he almost imagined that a white figure in filmy draperiesstopped a moment. It, however, went on again and vanished in theshadow. 

"I believe she did, " he admitted. "Well, if there's anything that canbe done, you may rely on me. " He made an abrupt gesture, and as heturned, the light from the window fell upon his face, showing thecurious smile on it. "What are you doing here?"

He flung the question at his comrade, and Nasmyth, who knew what hemeant, sat for a moment or two with wrinkled forehead. There was noreason why he should not stay there so long as Mr. And Mrs. Actondesired his company, but it did not seem fitting that he should spendthose summer days in luxurious idleness while Laura Waynefleet toiledlate and early at the lonely ranch. Again, he seemed to see her steadyeyes with the quiet courage in them, and the gleam of her red-goldhair. Even then she was, he reflected, in all probability occupiedwith some severe drudgery. It was a thing he did not like tocontemplate, and he almost resented the fact that Gordon should havebrought such thoughts into his mind. His comrade had broken in uponhis contentment like a frosty wind that stung him to action. Still, heanswered quietly. 

"I am within easy reach of the city here, " he explained. "Acton, whohas once or twice given me good advice, is acquainted with most of thefolks likely to be of any use to us, and has laid the scheme beforeone or two of them. That, at least, is one reason why I am staying atBonavista. It's perfectly evident that it wouldn't be any benefit toMiss Waynefleet if I went back to the Bush. "

"No, " agreed Gordon grimly; "if you were likely to be of any use orconsolation to her, you'd go, if I had to drag you. "

Nasmyth smiled. He was too well acquainted with his comrade's mannerto take offence at this remark, and the man's devotion to the girlwho, he knew, would never regard him as more than a friend also hadits effect. 

"Well, " he said, "since plain speaking seems admissible, you areprobably aware that Laura Waynefleet has nothing beyond a kindlyinterest in me. She is, I needn't point out, a remarkably sensibleyoung lady. "

He stopped somewhat abruptly, for Wisbech emerged from the shadowsbeneath the pillars, and sat down in a chair close by. 

"Yes, " said Wisbech, "I heard, and it seems to me Derrick's right inone respect. Though I don't know how far it accounts for the otherfact he has just impressed on you, Miss Waynefleet certainly possessesa considerable amount of sense. She is also a young lady I have a highopinion of. Still, if he had gone back to the Bush merely because youinsisted on it, I think I should have cast him off. "

Gordon appeared to ponder over this, and he then laughed softly. "It'squite natural, and I guess I sympathize with you, " he remarked. "Inone way, however, your nephew's acquitting himself creditably, considering that there are apparently three people anxious to exert abeneficent influence upon him. The effect of that kind of thing is aptto become a trifle bewildering, especially as it's evident their viewscan't invariably coincide. "

"Three?" said Wisbech, with a twinkle in his eyes. "If you count mein, I almost fancy there are four. "

Nasmyth said nothing, though he felt his face grow hot. Gordonsmiled. 

"As a matter of fact, " he admitted, "I had a notion that Miss Hamiltonresented my being here. Any way, she didn't take any very noticeabletrouble to be pleasant to me to-day. No doubt she considers anyinfluence she may choose to exert should be quite sufficient. "

"It should be, " said Nasmyth. "That is, to any man who happened to bea judge of character, and had eyes in his head. "

Gordon waved one hand. "Oh, " he averred, "she's very dainty, and Ithink there's a little more than prettiness there, which is a veryliberal admission, since I'm troubled with an impression that sheisn't quite pleased with me. Still, when the woods are full of prettygirls, I guess it's wisest of a man who has anything worth while to doin front of him to keep his eyes right on the trail, and go steadilyahead. " He turned to Wisbech deprecatingly. "We don't mind you, sir. We regard you as part of the concern. "

"Thanks, " said Wisbech, with a certain dryness. "I believe I aminterested in it--at least, financially. "

"Well, " said Gordon, "when I break loose, as I do now and then, Iquite often say a little more than is strictly advisable withoutmeaning to. It's a habit some folks have. Your observation, however, switches us off on to a different matter. I've been telling yournephew we leave him to handle the thing and stand by our offers. "

"That is precisely what I mean to do. The affair is Derrick's. He musttake his own course, " declared Wisbech. 

Gordon grinned as he turned to Nasmyth. "There will be no reinforcements. You have to win your spurs. " Then he looked at Wisbech. "If you willnot be offended, sir, I would like to say I'm pleased to notice thatyour ideas coincide with mine. He'll be the tougher afterwards if youlet him put up his fight alone. "

"The assurance is naturally satisfactory, " said Wisbech with quietamusement. Then he held up one hand. "It seems to me the person at thepiano is playing exceptionally well. "

They sat silent while the crashing opening chords rang out from thelighted room, and then Nasmyth, who was a lover of music, foundhimself listening with a strained attention as the theme stole out ofthem, for it chimed with his mood. He had been restless and disturbedin mind before Gordon had flung his veiled hints at him, and thereality underlying his comrade's badinage had a further unsettlingeffect. He did not know what the music was, but it seemed in keepingwith the throb of the sea against the crag and the fitful wailing ofthe pines. There was a suggestion of effort and struggle in it, and, it seemed to him, something that spoke of a great dominant forcesteadily pressing on; and, as he listened, the splash of the sea grewfainter, and he heard instead the roar of the icy flood and the crashof mighty trees driving down upon his half-built dam. These weresounds which sometimes haunted him against his will, and once or twicehe had been a little surprised to find that, now that they were past, he could look back upon the months of tense effort with a curious, half-regretful pleasure. He was relieved when the music, that swelledin a sonorous crescendo, stopped, and he saw Gordon glance atWisbech. 

"I think that man has understanding and the gift of expressing what hefeels, " said Wisbech. "The music suggested something to you?"

"The fast freight, " confessed Gordon. --"When she's coming down the bigcañon under a full head of steam. I don't know if that's quite anelegant simile, in one way. Still, if you care to think how thattrack was built, it's not difficult to fancy there's triumph in thewhistles and the roar of the freight-car wheels. "

Wisbech made a sign of comprehension, and Gordon looked hard atNasmyth. "It's your call. "

"I heard the river, " said Nasmyth. "In fact, I often hear it, and nowand then wish I didn't. It's unsettling. "

Gordon laughed in a suggestive fashion. "Well, " he declared, "most ofus hear something of that kind at times, and no doubt it's just aswell we do. It's apt to have results if you listen. You have been mostof a month in the city one way or another. You took to it kindly?"

"I didn't, " Nasmyth answered, and it was evident that he was serious. "I came back here feeling that I had had quite enough of it. "

"Bonavista is a good deal more pleasant?" And there was a certainmeaning in Gordon's tone. "You seemed to have achieved some socialsuccess here, too. "

He saw the flush in Nasmyth's face, and his gaze grew insistent. "Well, " he said, "you're not going to let that content you, now youcan hear the river. You'll hear it more and more plainly frothing inthe black cañon where the big trees come down. You have lived with theexiles, and the wilderness has got its grip on you. What's more, Iguess when it does that it never quite lets go. "

He broke off abruptly, and just then Acton stepped out from thewindow. "Mr. Gordon, " he said, "it's my wife's wish that you shouldcome in and sing. "

Gordon said that he was in Mrs. Acton's hands, and then turned toNasmyth. 

"I've had my say, " he observed. "If there's any meaning in my remarks, you can worry it out. "

He went away with Acton, and Wisbech looked at his nephew over hiscigar. 

"Mr. Gordon expresses himself in a rather extravagant fashion, but I'mdisposed to fancy there is something in what he says, " he commented. 

Nasmyth did not answer him. He was, on the whole, glad that Gordon hadgone, but he still seemed to hear the river, and the restlessness thathad troubled him was becoming stronger. He retired somewhat early, buthe did not sleep quite so soundly as usual that night. As it happened, Gordon rose before him next morning. Gordon went out of doors, andpresently came upon Miss Hamilton, who was strolling bareheaded wherethe early sunshine streamed in among the pines. It struck him that hewas not the person whom she would have been most pleased to see, butshe walked with him to the crown of the promontory, where she stoppedand looked up at him steadily. 

"Mr. Gordon, " she inquired, "what is Laura Waynefleet?"

Gordon started, and the girl smiled. 

"I crossed the veranda last night, " she told him, when he hesitatedbefore answering her. 

The man looked down on her with an unusual gravity. "Well, " he saidsimply, "Laura Waynefleet is quietness, and sweetness, and courage. Infact, I sometimes think it was to make these things evident that shewas sent into this world. "

He thought he saw a gleam of comprehension in the girl's eyes, andmade a gesture of protest. "No, " he assured her, "I'm not fit to brushher little shoes. For that matter, though he is my comrade, Nasmythisn't either. What is perhaps more to the purpose, I guess he is quiteaware of it. "

A delicate tinge of colour crept into Violet Hamilton's face, and theman realized that in case his suppositions were correct, what he hadimplied could hardly be considered as a compliment. He could alsofancy that there was a certain uneasiness in her eyes. 

"Ah, " she said, "perhaps it is a subject I should not have ventured toinquire into. "

Gordon smiled reassuringly. "I don't know of any reason why youshouldn't have done so, but I have scarcely told you anything abouther yet. Miss Waynefleet lives at a desolate ranch in the Bush. Sometimes she drives oxen, and I believe she invariably makes her ownclothes. I don't think Nasmyth would feel any great diffidence inspeaking about her. "

He believed this, or at least he strove to convince himself that hedid, but he was relieved when the appearance of Acton, who strolledtowards them, rendered any further confidential conversation out ofthe question. Gordon set out for Victoria that afternoon, and Nasmyth, who went with him to the railroad, returned to Bonavista in a restlessmood, and almost disposed to be angry with his comrade for havingrudely broken in upon his tranquillity. In fact, he felt disinclinedto face his fellow-guests, which was one reason why he was saunteringtowards the inlet when he came upon Wisbech sitting with a book in theshadow of the pines. Wisbech looked up at his moody face. 

"You are annoyed because Gordon wouldn't stay?" he suggested. 

"No, " said Nasmyth. "In fact, I'm a little relieved that he has goneaway. I naturally like Gordon, but just now he has an unsettlingeffect on me. "

Wisbech made a gesture of comprehension. "That man, " he said, "is insome respects fortunate. He has a simple programme, and is evidentlymore or less content with it. His work is plain in front of him. Youare not quite sure about yours yet. To some extent, you feel yourselfadrift?"

"I have felt something of the kind. "

Wisbech thought for a moment. "I suppose, " he said, "it hasn'toccurred to you that your classical features--they're Nasmythfeatures--might be of some assistance to you in your career?"

Nasmyth felt the blood rise into his face, but he laughed. "Theycertainly haven't proved of any great benefit to me hitherto. It isscarcely likely that they will do so either in the cañon. "

"Then you are still determined on directing operations in person? Iwas commencing to wonder if you had any reason for modifying yourplans. "

The man's tone was dry, but Nasmyth met his gaze, which was nowinquisitive. 

"If it is in my power to do it, I shall certainly run the water out ofthe valley, " said Nasmyth. 

Then he swung round and strolled away, while Wisbech smiled in afashion which suggested that he was pleased. It was some little timelater when Nasmyth, pacing moodily over the white shingle beside thewinding inlet, came upon Violet Hamilton sitting in the shadow of agreat boulder. The girl's light dress matched the rock's pale tinting, and he did not see her until he was within a yard or two of her. Hestopped abruptly, with a deepened colour in his face. Violet made asign, which seemed to invite him to sit down, and he stretched himselfout upon the shingle close in front of her. 

"It is very hot in the house this afternoon, but it is cool and quiethere, " she observed. 

Nasmyth glanced at the still water and the shadow that the pines whichclung in the crevices flung athwart the dark rock's side. 

"Stillness sometimes means stagnation. Miss Hamilton, " he said. 

The girl flashed a quick glance at him. "Well, " she rejoined, "Isuppose it does; but, after all, that is a question we need notdiscuss. What were you thinking of so hard as you came along? Youdidn't see me until you almost stepped upon my dress. "

"That, " said Nasmyth, with a laugh, "is proof that I was thinking veryhard indeed. It's not a thing I often indulge in, but I was thinkingof the Bush. "

"You sometimes feel you would like to be back there?"

"No, " answered Nasmyth reflectively; "I suppose I ought to feel that, but I'm not sure that I do. "

"Ah, " Violet remarked, "you have told me a good deal at one time oranother about your life and friends there, but I almost fancied nowand then that you were keeping something back. After all"--and shesmiled at him--"I suppose that would have been only natural. "

Nasmyth raised himself on one elbow, and looked hard at her. "Well, "he admitted, "there was one thing I did not tell you, though I hadmeant to do so sooner or later. You see, there was nothing to warrantit in the meanwhile. "

"Ah, " queried the girl, "it concerns Miss Waynefleet?"

Nasmyth's face grew suddenly grave. He did not ask himself how shecame to know. Indeed, for the time being, that did not seem to matter. There was, it seemed, only one course open to him, and he adopted it. 

"Yes, " he answered, "I will tell you about her. "

He had meant to be brief and matter-of-fact in his narrative, but ashe proceeded, the subject carried him away. Indeed, he was scarcelyconscious that Miss Hamilton was intently watching him, for once morehe seemed to feel Laura Waynefleet's eyes fixed upon his face, andthey were clear and brave and still. He spoke with a certain dramaticforce, and it was a somewhat striking picture he drew of the girl. Violet could realize her personality and the self-denying life thatshe led. It is possible that Nasmyth had told her more than heintended, when he broke off for a moment with a startling abruptness. 

"I believe she saved my life, " he added. "She certainly gave me backmy courage, and set me on my feet again. "

Violet looked at him with a strained expression in her eyes. "Andbecause of that she will have a hold upon you while you live. "

Nasmyth seemed to consider this. "I think I shall always realize whatI owe to her. Still--and how shall I say it?--that recognition is themost I would venture to offer, or that she would accept from me. "

He stopped for a moment, and then went on a trifle hastily. "LauraWaynefleet could never have taken more than a half-compassionateinterest in me, " he asserted. "There could scarcely be any doubt uponthat point. "

"You said half-compassionate?"

"Yes, " replied Nasmyth; "I almost think that describes it. You see, Iam naturally aware of my own disabilities. "

"Still, " persisted Violet, "she nursed you when you were very ill, and, as you said, set you on your feet again. That would probablycount for a good deal with her. "

Nasmyth made a hasty gesture. "You don't understand. She would nodoubt have taken pity on any dumb creature. She did it because shecould not help it. One could fancy that kind of thing was born inher. "

Violet did not speak for a moment or two. Although it still remaineduncertain whether the girl in the Bush had any tenderness for the manshe had set upon his feet again, he had spoken of her in a mannerwhich did not quite please Violet. 

"Well, " she ventured, with a little diffident glance at him, "some dayyou will go back into the Bush. "

Nasmyth nodded. "Yes, " he said, "I think that's certain. In fact, it'sprobable that I shall go back very soon. As it happens, I haveundertaken a big and rather difficult thing, which will give me aconsiderable lift up if I am successful. "

He lay silent for a minute before he turned to her again. "You see, Ihave been some time in this country, and never have done anythingworth mentioning. Chopping trees and driving cattle are no doubtuseful occupations, but they don't lead to anything. I feel that I am, so to speak, on my probation. I have still to win my spurs. "

"I wonder if that is one of the ideas Miss Waynefleet gave you?"

Nasmyth smiled. "I really believe it originated with her, but, as amatter of fact, it might have gone no further, which is an admission. Still, the desire to win those spurs has been growing so strong oflate that I can't resist it. In one way, I scarcely think that is veryastonishing. "

Violet looked away from him, for she saw the gleam in his eyes, andfancied she understood what the new motive he had hinted at might be. Still, he did not appear disposed to mention it. 

"Then you would have to go away?" she asked. 

A flush crept into Nasmyth's face. She was a woman of his own caste, and probably without intending it, she had shown him in many ways thatshe was not averse from him. He felt his heart beat fast when for amoment she met his gaze. 

"The trouble is that if I do not go I shall never have the right tocome back again, " he told her. 

"Then, " replied the girl very softly, "you wish to come back?"

"That is why I am going. There are those spurs to win. I have to makemy mark. "

"But it is sometimes a little difficult to make one's mark, isn't it?You may be ever so long, and it must be a little hazardous in thathorrible cañon. "

"If it gives me the right to come back, I think it will be very wellworth while. "

"But suppose you don't succeed, after all?"

"That, " admitted Nasmyth, "is a thing I daren't contemplate, because, if it happened, it is scarcely likely that any of my friends atBonavista would ever be troubled with me again. "

Violet looked away from him. "Ah, " she said, "don't you think thatwould be a little hard on them? Is it very easy for you to go away?"

The restraint Nasmyth had imposed upon himself suddenly deserted him. He moved a little nearer to her, and seized one of her hands. She satstill, and made no effort to draw it away from him. 

"I had never meant to say what I am going to say just now, " hedeclared. "I had meant to wait until there was something successfullyaccomplished to my credit. I am, you see, a thriftless, wanderingadventurer--one who has taken things as they came, and never has beenserious. When I have shown that I can also be something else, I shallask you formally if you will marry me. Until then the thing is, ofcourse, out of the question. "

He broke off for a moment, and held her silent by a gesture until hewent on again. "I have been swept away, and even if you were willingto make it, I would take no promise from you. Until I have won theright to come back you must be absolutely free. Now you know this, itwould be very much wiser if I went away as soon as possible. "

"Ah, " the girl answered with a thrill in her voice, "whenever you comeback you will find me ready to listen to you. "

Nasmyth let her hand go. "Now, " he asserted, "I think I cannot fail. Still, it must be remembered that you are absolutely free. "

He would have said something more, but there was just then a laugh anda patter of feet on the path above, and, looking up, he saw two ofMrs. Acton's guests descending the bluff. 

CHAPTER XX

NASMYTH GOES AWAY

Mrs. Acton was sitting on the veranda next morning when Nasmyth, fresh from a swim in the deep cold water of the inlet, came upacross the clearing. It had brought a clear glow into his bronzedskin and a brightness to his eyes, and as he flung a word to a manwho greeted him, his laugh had a clean, wholesome ring. He walkedstraight toward the veranda, and Mrs. Acton, sitting still, favouredhim with a very keen and careful scrutiny. He was dressed in lightflannels, which, she admitted, became him rather well; but it wasthe lithe gracefulness of his movements that she noticed most. Hiseasy, half-whimsical manner had their effect on her; they won herfavour. He was the kind of guest she had pleasure in welcoming atBonavista. 

He went up the veranda stairway, and, stopping near where she wassitting, looked down at her with a curious little glow in his eyes. She started, for she had not expected to see it there so soon. 

"You seem unusually satisfied with everything this morning, " sheobserved. "There is probably some cause for it?"

Nasmyth laughed. "I believe I am. As I dare say you have noticed, tranquil contentment is one of my virtues. It is, however, one that isremarkably easy to exercise at Bonavista. "

"Still, contentment does not, as a rule, carry a young man very far inthis country. In fact, it is now and then a little difficult todistinguish between it and something else that is less creditable tothe man who possesses it. "

Nasmyth smiled good-humouredly. "Well, " he replied, "I have discoveredthat if you worry Fortune too much she resents it, and flies away fromyou. It seems to me there is something to be said for the quietlyexpectant attitude. After all, one is now and then given much morethan one could by any effort possibly deserve. "

Mrs. Acton noticed the faint ring in his voice. "Ah, " she said, "thensomething of that kind has befallen you? Hadn't you better come to thepoint?"

Nasmyth became grave. "Madam, " he said, "I have a confession to make. I am very much afraid I lost my head yesterday, and I should not beastonished if you were very angry with me. "

He spoke with a certain diffidence, and Mrs. Acton, who straightenedherself in her chair, watched him steadily while he made hisconfession. He paused with a gesture of deprecation. 

"In one sense, it is a preposterous folly, but I am not quite surethat folly is not now and then better than wisdom, " he added. "It hascertainly proved to be so in my case. "

"No doubt. " Mrs. Acton's tone was suggestive. "It is, however, MissHamilton I am most interested in. "

Nasmyth spread one hand out forcibly. "I want you to understand thatshe is absolutely free. I have only told you because you oncementioned that you considered her a ward of yours. Nothing will besaid to anybody else, and, if she should change her mind, I will notcomplain. In fact, I have decided that it would be most fitting for meto go away. "

"I think, " asserted Mrs. Acton, "you have been either too generous ornot quite generous enough. The trouble with men of your kind is thatwhen for once they take the trouble to reflect, they become toocautious. "

"I'm afraid I don't quite grasp the point of that. "

"You should either have said nothing, which is the course you ought tohave adopted, or a little more. I fancy Violet would have been just aspleased if you had shown yourself determined to make sure of her. "

Nasmyth stood silent, and Mrs. Acton, who surveyed him again withthoughtful eyes, was not surprised that he should have appealed to thegirl's imagination. The man was of a fine lean symmetry, and straightof limb. The stamp of a clean life was on him, showing itself in thebrightness of his eyes and his clear bronzed skin, while he had, asWisbech had said, the classical Nasmyth features. These things, asMrs. Acton admitted, counted for something, while the faint lines uponhis face, and the suggestive hardness that now and then crept into it, were, she decided, likely to excite a young woman's curiosity. 

"Well, " she said, "I feel myself considerably to blame, and I mayadmit that I had at first intended to make my husband get rid of you. I really don't know why I didn't. You can make what you like ofthat. "

Nasmyth bowed with a deferential smile, and she laughed. 

"Still, " she said, "you must go away. Violet must be free to changeher mind, and, after all, it's consoling to reflect that she has notseen so very much of you yet. In one way, it would please me if shedid. It would free me of a rather heavy responsibility. "

She stopped a moment, and looked at him with softening eyes. "Go andrun the water out of that valley, or do anything else that will make amark, " she advised. 

Nasmyth's face was set as he replied: "If the thing is in any waypossible, it shall be done. I think I will go into Victoria againto-day. "

He turned away and left her, and it was an hour later when she cameupon Violet sitting alone in a shady walk beneath the pines. Shelooked at the girl severely. 

"If I had been quite sure of what was going on, I should have sentthat young man away, " she remarked. "As it is, I am very glad that heis going to Victoria. "

Violet slipped an arm about Mrs. Acton's neck and kissed her shyly. "You would never have been so cruel, and now you are going to be myfriend, " she said. "I don't want him to go back to that horriblecañon. "

Mrs. Acton smiled. "I almost feel that I could shake both of you, butI suppose I shall have to marshal my forces on your behalf. "

She set about her plans that evening, when she invaded Acton'ssmoking-room, and her husband listened to her with a little drysmile. 

"I guess this is about the first time I have ever known you to do areal foolish thing, " he observed. 

"Well, " said Mrs. Acton, "it is, perhaps, to my credit that I havedone one now. Anyway, I like the man. "

Acton nodded. "Oh, yes;" he agreed, "that's quite comprehensible. There's a good deal of tone about him, but except with women that'snot a thing that counts in this country. It's the bulldog grip andgrit that goes farthest here--anyway, when a man has no money behindhim. "

"You wouldn't consider Nasmyth a weak man?"

"Not in one way. When he's right up against it, he'll stiffen himselfand fight, but when the strain slackens a little his kind are apt tolet go too easily. "

This, as a matter of fact, was more or less correct, but Mrs. Acton'sintention was not to discuss Nasmyth's character, and she smiled ather husband. 

"Well, " she announced; "I expect you to take a hand in the thing. "

Acton's gesture was expressive of resignation. "I guessed it. However, it seems to me that young man has quite enough friends to give him ashove here and there already. To begin with, there's Wisbech. "

"What would Wisbech do?"

"Not much. " And Acton smiled understandingly. "He means to let hisnephew feel his own feet. He's a sensible man. Then there's that manGordon from the Bush, and it seems I'm to do my share, too. Guess if Iwas Nasmyth, I'd say 'thank you, ' and go right ahead without listeningto one among the crowd of us. "

"That, " Mrs. Acton said, "isn't quite the question. I think I pointedout what I expect from you. "

Acton's eyes twinkled. "You did, " he assured her. "I'll try to setthings in train the first time I go down to the city. "

This was somewhat vague, but Mrs. Acton was satisfied. Nevertheless, she said nothing to Nasmyth on the subject, and next afternoon he leftBonavista for Victoria. A day or two later he called by appointment atthe office of a certain land exploitation agency, and found Huttonwaiting for him. Hutton, who sat with his elbows on the table, pointedto a chair. 

"You have taken my view of the thing?" he said in a questioning tone. "If you'll sit down a minute, I'll call my clerk in, and he'll get thepapers ready. "

Nasmyth smiled. "I don't think you need trouble to do that just yet. You see, I haven't the least intention of closing with your offer. "

It is just possible that Hutton had expected this, but, in any case, he betrayed no astonishment. He leaned forward, regarding his visitorwith an almost expressionless face. 

"Then, " he returned, "I'll hear your proposition. "

"What do you think of the one I had the pleasure of making you sometime ago?" Nasmyth inquired. 

"Quite out of the question. "

Nasmyth smiled. "That, " he remarked, "is in one sense a pity, as Icouldn't repeat it to-day. If we are to do business together, I shouldhave to ask you for a considerably larger share of the profit. Infact, I was wondering if you could see your way to offer half as muchagain. "

Hutton gazed at him with sardonic amusement. "Oh, " he replied, "hassomebody left you a fortune, or are they going to run a railroadthrough that valley?"

Nasmyth sat silent a moment or two, and it happened that his easyindifference served him tolerably well. Had he been a keener man, theanxiety to get about his work in the cañon, of which he was certainlysensible, might have led to his undoing; but he was not one who oftenerred through undue precipitancy. The waiting fight was, perhaps, theone for which he was particularly adapted. If anything, he was rathertoo much addicted to holding out his hand, and he realized that itbehooves the man without capital to be particularly wary in hisnegotiations with the one in possession of money. His recent interviewwith Violet Hamilton also had a stirring effect on him, and now he satquietly prepared to hold his own. 

"No, " he declared, "there has been no particular change in my affairs. I have only been thinking things over, and it seems to me I ought toget the terms I mentioned. "

"Then you had better try. It won't be from any of the accredited landagencies. "

Nasmyth noticed the faint ring in his companion's voice. This, itseemed to him, was not bluff. The man, he believed, meant what hesaid. 

"You seem quite sure of it, " he observed. 

As a matter of fact, Hutton was, but he felt annoyed with himself. 

"Well, " he said, "I naturally know what they would think of anyproposition like the one you made me. Anyway, as I suggested, all youhave to do is to try them. "

Again Nasmyth, conscious that his companion was unobtrusivelywatching him, sat silent a moment or two. He knew that if he brokewith Hutton he might have considerable difficulty in raising the moneyhe required from any corporation interested in such matters in thatcity; but he had also another plan in his mind. He was far from surethat the scheme would prove successful, and it was at least certainthat it would cost him a good deal of trouble to carry it out. 

"Then I don't think I need keep you any longer, " he told Hutton aftera long pause. "I'll leave the thing over for a day or two, and you cansend across to my hotel if you wish to discuss it again. "

He rose and reached out for his hat, and Hutton, who watched him crossthe room, was once or twice on the point of calling him back. Huttondid not speak, however, since he fancied that Nasmyth would presentlyreturn of his own accord--which was an expectation that provedunwarranted. 

The office was on the second floor of a big stone building, and, as hedescended the stairway, Nasmyth fancied he caught sight of Martial inthe entrance-hall. Before he could be quite sure, the man turned downa corridor, and Nasmyth, who did not trouble himself about the matter, went out into the street. He was not altogether satisfied that he haddone wisely, but he meant, at least, to wait until events should provehim wrong. 

A few minutes later, Martial strolled into the office where Huttonsat, and smiled at him suggestively. He was also, as Acton had oncetold Nasmyth, interested in the land exploitation business, and it wasevident that Hutton had expected him. 

"Nasmyth has been here, " Martial observed; "I saw him on the stairway. I suppose you got hold of him?"

Hutton's gesture was forcibly expressive of annoyance. "As a matter offact, I didn't, " he confessed. "The man's either considerably smarterthan I gave him credit for being, or a thick-headed, obstinate fool. The one's as hard to handle as the other. I don't know which he is, and it doesn't greatly matter. The result's the same. "

"I guess it's the latter;" and Martial laughed. "Well, since you can'tcome to terms, have you any notion what his programme is?"

"It's not a sure thing that he has one. Anyway, he didn't mention it. We'll let him wait a day or two. It's quite likely he'll try theCharters people. "

Both of them smiled, for it was then not an unusual thing for the meninterested in such affairs to put their heads together and take ajoint hand in any deal that seemed to warrant it, and when they didso, the results were not, as a rule, encouraging to the outsider. 

Martial looked at his comrade suggestively. 

"I had a talk with Charters yesterday, " he said. "He told me that ifthere was anything in it, he didn't expect us to let the thing go. "

Hutton thought for a moment. "One could sell quite a few ranches inthe valley; but it's going to cost considerable to run the water out, and I can't quite put my hand on anybody I'd feel like trusting withthe work in the cañon. It's going to be difficult. Besides, Nasmythhas what you might call a first option on the land. Nobody else seemsto want it, and the Crown people have evidently given way on a pointor two. It's a sure thing they'd make no concession if we show ourhands. " He broke off for a moment, and flung a quick glance at hisvisitor. "You don't like the man?"

"I don't, " said Martial--"that's a solid fact. Still, it's not goingto count for much. This"--and he waved his hand--"is a matter ofbusiness. "

He sat still for a moment or two, with a curious look in his face; forhe had called at the hotel Acton's party had visited on the night thathe had endeavoured to crawl unobserved on board the _Tillicum_. He hadno difficulty in discovering that Mrs. Acton and Miss Hamilton hadspent the night there, which made it evident that the girl could nothave been on board the steamer. He had, however, not made theinquiries until business took him to the hotel several weeksafterwards, and Acton's manner, when they met in the city, convincedhim that the schooner men had been communicative. On thinking thematter over, it became clear that Nasmyth and the skipper had played atrick on him; and, since it had cost him Mrs. Acton's good-will, without which he could not approach Miss Hamilton, he cherished abitter grievance against Nasmyth. 

"Well, " he inquired, "in case he tries to raise the money elsewhere, what do you suggest?"

"I guess we'll let him try, " answered Hutton. "He's not going to raisemuch when things are humming and every man with capital is putting itinto mines and mills. Besides, the work in the cañon's evidently a bigundertaking, and it's going to run into a long bill for labour. Athing of that kind usually costs four times as much as the man whostarts it figures. Well, we'll leave him to it, and when his moneyruns out we'll chip in. "

Martial laughed. "That's very much my notion. Let him do the work, andthen jump in and put up our dummies to locate all the land he can'ttake hold of. Once we get a ranch or two recorded, there would be adozen ways we could get a grip on him. Between us and Charters, weought to break him. "

They smiled at each other, but in a moment or two Hutton lookedthoughtful again. 

"You want to understand, " he said, "it's not my business to breakNasmyth. It's the money I'm out for. In fact, if there's an easier waythan the one I suggested, I'm going to take it; and with that in view, I'll send up a man or two I can rely on to investigate. "

"If they get crawling round that cañon and up and down the valley, itwill set the blame settlers talking. We want the thing run quietly, "Martial cautioned. 

"I guess it can be done, " replied Hutton. "They'll go camping out forpleasure. In fact, to make the thing more like it, I'll send themfishing. " Martial rose. "Anyway, " he said, "I'll leave it with you inthe meanwhile. "

CHAPTER XXI

THE MEN OF THE BUSH

A cool shadow fell upon the descending trail that wound in among thetowering firs, and Nasmyth checked his jaded horse as he entered onthe last league of his long ride from the railroad. The red dust hadsettled thick upon his city clothes, and for the first time he foundthe restraint of them irksome. The band of his new hat had tightenedunpleasantly about his forehead, and in scrambling up the side of thelast high ridge which he had crossed, one neatly-fitting boot hadgalled his foot, while he smiled with somewhat sinister amusement ashe felt the grip of the tight jacket on his shoulders. These were, ashe recognized, petty troubles, and he was rather astonished that heshould resent them, as he certainly did. He remembered that a littlewhile before he had made no complaint against the restraints ofcivilization, and had, indeed, begun to shrink from the prospect ofgoing back to the untrammelled life of the wilderness. 

But, as he straightened himself in his saddle and gazed down the deepvalley through which the trail twisted, he felt the shrinking meltaway. After all, there was something in the wilderness that appealedto him. There was vigour in the clean smell of it, and the littlebreeze that fanned his face was laden with the scent of the firs. Thetrees rolled away before him in sombre battalions that dwindled far upthe rocky sides of the enfolding hills, and here and there a flood ofsunlight that struck in through the openings fell in streams ofburning gold upon their tremendous trunks. Beyond them the ruggedheights rose, mass on mass, against the western sky. 

He rode into the shadow, and, though he thought of her, it was curiousthat Violet Hamilton seemed to become less real to him as he pushed ondown the valley. He vaguely felt that he could not carry her with himinto the wilderness. She was a part of the civilization upon which hehad once more, for a time at least, turned his back, and he could notfit her into the environment of that wild and rugged land. Indeed, heremembered with a compassionate tenderness how she had shrunk from itand clung to him--a forlorn, bedraggled object, in her tattereddress--the day they floundered through the dripping Bush, and hesubconsciously braced himself for conflict as he thought of it. Thesooner his work was over, the sooner he could go back to her; butthere was, as he remembered, a great deal to be accomplished first. 

Wrapped in thought as he was, he was surprised when he saw a faintblue cloud of wood-smoke trailing out athwart the sombre firs in thehollow beneath him. Then two figures became visible, moving upwardsalong the strip of trail, and he drove the jaded horse forward as herecognized them. He lost sight of them for a few minutes as he turnedaside to avoid a swampy spot, but when he had left it behind they wereclose ahead in the middle of the trail, and it was with a thrill ofpleasure that he swung himself stiffly from the saddle. 

With a smile on his bronzed face, Gordon stood looking at him. Gordonwas dressed in soil-stained garments of old blue duck, with a patchcut from a cotton flour-bag on one of them. Laura Waynefleet stood alittle nearer, and there was also a welcome in her eyes. Nasmythnoticed how curiously at home she seemed amidst that tremendouscolonnade of towering trunks. He shook hands with her, but it wasGordon who spoke first. 

"You have come back to us. We have been expecting you, " he said. "After all, store clothes and three well-laid meals a day are apt topall on one. "

Nasmyth turned to Laura. "I should like to point out that this is theman who urged me to go, " he said. "One can't count on him. "

"Oh, yes, " admitted Gordon, "I certainly did urge you, but I guess Iknew what the result would be. It was the surest way of quieting you. Anyway, you don't seem sorry to be back again?"

Nasmyth glanced at Laura. 

"No, " he said; "in some respects I'm very glad. "

He became suddenly self-conscious as he saw Gordon's significantsmile. It suggested that he had, perhaps, made too great an admission, and he wondered for the first time, with a certain uneasiness, whetherGordon had mentioned Miss Hamilton to Laura, and, if that was thecase, what Miss Waynefleet thought about the subject. 

Laura talked to him in her old friendly fashion as they walked ontowards the settlement, until Gordon broke in. 

"I've called the boys together, as you suggested, and fixed up themeeting for to-night, " he said. "They'll be ready to give you ahearing, after supper, in the hotel. "

Laura left them on the outskirts of the settlement, and Gordon, stopping a moment, looked hard at Nasmyth. 

"I suppose you pledged yourself to that girl at Bonavista before youcame away?" he said. 

"I did, " Nasmyth admitted. 

Gordon was silent for a moment or two. "Of course, I partly expectedit, " he observed. "In fact, when I was talking to Miss Waynefleetabout you, I ventured to predict something of the kind. "

The two men looked at each other for a moment, and then Nasmythsmiled. 

"You haven't anything else to say, " he suggested. 

"No, " answered Gordon, --"at least, nothing that's very material. Anyway, until we're through with the business we have on hand, you'llhave to put that girl right out of your mind. "

They went on towards the little wooden hotel, and Nasmyth feltunusually thoughtful as he walked beside his jaded horse. Herecognized that his comrade's last observation was more or lesswarranted, and it was to some extent a relief to him when they reachedthe veranda stairway and Gordon led the horse away toward thestables. 

It was rather more than an hour later when a specially invited companyof men who had, as they said, a stake in the district assembled in thebig general room of the hotel. There was about a dozen of them, men ofdifferent birth and upbringing, though all had the same quiet brownfaces and steadiness of gaze. For the most part, they were dressed induck, though Waynefleet and the hotel-keeper wore city clothes. Theroom was barely furnished, and panelled roughly with cedar-boards; butit had wide casements, from which those who sat in it could look outupon a strip of frothing river and the sombre forest that rolled upthe rocky hills. The windows were wide open, and the smell ofwood-smoke and the resinous odours of the firs flowed in. A look ofexpectancy crept into the men's faces, and the murmur of theirconversation suddenly fell away, when Nasmyth sat down at the head ofthe long table with Gordon at one side of him. 

"Boys, " said Nasmyth, "one or two of you know why Gordon asked youhere to meet me, but I had better roughly explain my project before Igo any further. I'll ask you to give me your close attention for thenext three or four minutes. "

When he stopped speaking there was a very suggestive silence for amoment. Those who heard him had not the quick temperament of the menof the Western cities. They lived in the stillness of the Bush, andthought before they undertook anything, though, when they moved, itwas usually to some purpose. One of the men stood up with adeprecatory gesture. 

"Well, " he declared, "it's a great idea. Boys, wouldn't you call usblame fools for not thinking of it before?"

He sat down suddenly, before anybody answered him, and the men werestill again until another of them rose. 

"Nasmyth's not quite through yet, " he said. "We'll ask him to goahead. "

Gordon leaned forward, and touched his comrade's arm. 

"Pitch it to them strong. You're getting hold, " he whisperedencouragingly. 

For another five minutes Nasmyth spoke as he felt that he had neverspoken before. He was intent and strung up, and he knew that a greatdeal depended upon the effect he could make. He had failed with themen of the cities, who wanted all the profit. He felt sure that hewould henceforward have one or two of them against him, and it wasclear that he must either abandon his project or win over thesehard-handed men of the Bush. With them behind him, there was, he felt, little that he need shrink from attempting. A ring crept into hisvoice as he went on, for he knew that he was getting hold as he sawtheir lips set and the resolute expression of their eyes. They weremen who, by strenuous toil, wrung a bare living out of the forest, andnow there was laid before them a scheme that in its sheer daringseized upon their attention. 

"Boys, " Nasmyth concluded, "I am in your hands. This thing is too bigfor me to go into alone. Still, it's due to you to say that, while Imeant to give you an option of standing in, it seemed to me it wouldsimplify the thing if I raised most of the money before I came to you. Money is usually scarce in the Bush. "

"That's a fact, " agreed the shrewd-faced hotel-keeper, who alsoconducted the store. "Anyway, when you have to trade with folks whotake twelve months to square up their bills in. "

Nobody seemed to heed him, and Nasmyth added:

"Well, I found I couldn't do it--that is, if I wanted to keep anythingfor myself. I want you to come in, and as soon as I hear you're readyto give it your attention, I'll lay a proposition before you. "

He sat looking at them, in a state of tense anxiety, until one of themrose to his feet. 

"I guess you can count upon every one of us, " he announced. 

A reassuring murmur ran along the double row of men, and Nasmyth felta thrill of exultation. 

"Thank you, boys, " he said with evident gratitude. "Now, there aredifficulties to be grappled with. To begin with, the Crown authoritieswould sooner have leased the valley to me, and it was some time beforethey decided that as a special concession they would sell it in sixhundred and forty acre lots at the lowest figure for first-classlands. The lots are to be laid off in rectangular blocks, and as thevalley is narrow and winding, that takes in a proportion of heavytimber on the hill bench, and will not include quite a strip ofnatural prairie, which remains with the Crown. The cost of the landalone runs close on twenty thousand dollars, of which, one way oranother, I can raise about eight thousand. "

He looked at Wheeler, who sat near the lower end of the table, and henodded. 

"My offer stands, " he said. 

"You want another twelve thousand dollars, " said the hotel-keeperdubiously. "It's quite a pile of money. "

There was a little laughter from the men. "Well, " said one of them, "Iguess we can raise it somehow among us, but it's going to be a pull. "

"Then, " said Nasmyth, "we have provided for the cost of the land, butbefore we lower the fall and cut the drainage trenches in the valleywe will run up a big bill--that is, if we hire hands. My notion isthat we undertake the work ourselves, and credit every man with hisshare in it to count as a mortgage on the whole land that belongs tous. "

Waynefleet stood up and waved his hand. "I want to point out that thisis very vague, " he objected. "The question will arise where the labouris to be applied. It would, for instance, be scarcely judicious togive a man a claim on everybody else for draining his own land. "

He would have said more, but that Tom of Mattawa laid a hard hand onhis shoulder and jerked him back into his chair. 

"Now, " Tom admonished, "you just sit down. When Nasmyth takes thisthing in hand he'll put it through quite straight. What you'd do in amonth wouldn't count for five dollars, anyway. "

Everybody laughed, and Wheeler spoke again. "We'll get over thattrouble by cutting so many big trenches only for the general benefit. In the meanwhile Mr. Nasmyth said something about trustees. "

"I did, " said Nasmyth. "The Crown will sell in rectangular six hundredand forty acre blocks. My proposition is that we take them up in threeseparate names. You have to understand that the man who registers inthe Crown deed is legal owner. "

"Then we're sure of two of them, " declared the hotel-keeper. "Nasmythtakes the first block, and Wheeler the other. "

Wheeler laughed. "I guess I stand out. As a United States citizen, I'mnot sure I'm eligible to record Crown lands. Still, since Nasmyth andI are putting up a good many of the dollars, I'll nominate Gordon. "

As one man they decided on that, but there appeared to be a difficultyabout the third trustee until Nasmyth turned to them. 

"As you don't seem sure about him, I would like to suggest Mr. Waynefleet, boys, " he said. "He is a man who has an extensiveacquaintance with business and legal affairs. "

There was dead silence for several moments, and the men looked at oneanother uneasily. It was evident that the suggestion was unwelcome tomost of them, and Nasmyth was quite aware that he was doing anunpopular thing. In the meanwhile dusk had crept up the valley, andthe room was growing dim. Perhaps Waynefleet could not see hiscompanions' faces very well, but it is also possible that, had he beenable to do so, he would not have troubled himself about the hesitationin most of them. There are men of his kind who appear incapable ofrecognizing the fact that they are not regarded with general favour. 

Finally one of the men spoke. "Seeing that the scheme is Nasmyth's, Iguess it's only reasonable to fall in with his views as far as wecan, " he said. "We'll fix on Waynefleet. "

There was a murmur of very dubious agreement, and Waynefleet, whostood up, smiled on the assembly patronizingly. His manner suggestedthat he was about to confer a favour. 

"Our friend was warranted in mentioning that I have been accustomed tohandling affairs of a somewhat similar nature, but of considerablygreater magnitude, " he said. "I have pleasure in placing whatabilities I possess at your disposal, gentlemen. "

Though it was growing dark, Nasmyth saw the amused light in Gordon'seyes. "I'm with you in this, " said Gordon. "Still, I scarcely figuredthe boys would have stood him. "

They discussed the scheme at length, and when the assembly broke up, Waynefleet approached the table where Gordon, Nasmyth and Wheeler satunder a big lamp. 

"There is a point I did not mention at the time. It seemed to me itwas one that could, perhaps, be arranged, " said Waynefleet. "It is, ofcourse, usual for a director of any kind to hold a certain financialinterest in the scheme. "

He looked at Nasmyth, and made a significant gesture. "Unfortunatelythere are not at the moment more than a very few dollars at mydisposal. The fact, you will recognize, is likely to hamper my effortsin an administrative capacity. "

"Precisely!" said Nasmyth. "It is a matter I have provided for. Youwill be placed in possession of a holding of the size the others fixedupon as convenient when the blocks are divided off. "

"No larger?"

"No, " answered Nasmyth; "I am afraid you will have to be content withthat. "

Waynefleet went out, and Gordon turned to Nasmyth. "It's going to costyou something, " he said. "You can't charge it on the scheme. I'lldivide it with you. "

There was a slight restraint in Nasmyth's manner. "I'm afraid I can'tpermit it. It will be charged against my claim. Consideringeverything, it was a thing I felt I had to do. "

Then Wheeler, who had been quietly watching them, broke in. 

"What did you put that image up for, anyway?" he asked. 

Gordon smiled in a significant fashion. "It's our friend's affair, andI guess he's not going to tell you why he did it. Still, in one sense, I 'most think it was up to him. "

Wheeler let the matter drop, and in a few more minutes they went out, and Nasmyth and Gordon turned into the trail that led to Gordon'sranch. 

CHAPTER XXII

NASMYTH SETS TO WORK

It was a scorching afternoon on the heights above, where rocky slopeand climbing firs ran far up towards the blue heavens under a blazingsun, but it was dim and cool in the misty depths of the cañon. Therewas eternal shadow in that tremendous rift, and a savage desolationrolled away from it; but on this afternoon the sounds of humanactivity rang along its dusky walls. The dull thud of axes fell from agully that rent the mountain-side, and now and then a mass ofshattered rock came crashing down, while the sharp clinking of thedrills broke intermittently through the hoarse roar of the fall. Wetwith the spray of the fall, Nasmyth, stripped to blue shirt and oldduck trousers, stood swinging a heavy hammer, which he brought downupon the head of the steel bar that his companion held so many times aminute with rhythmic precision. Though they changed round now andthen, he had done much the same thing since early morning, and hisback and arms ached almost intolerably; but still the great hammerwhirled about his head, and while he gasped with the effort, came downwith a heavy jar upon the drill. So intent was he that he did notnotice the three figures scrambling along the narrow log-work stagingpinned against the rocky side above the fall, until his companionflung a word at him. Turning with a start, he dropped his hammer. 

He saw Gordon hold out a hand to Laura Waynefleet, who sprang downfrom the staging upon the strip of smooth-worn stone that stretchedout from the wall of the cañon above the fall. Wheeler was a fewpaces behind them. Nasmyth looked around for his jacket, and, remembering that he had left it in the gully, he moved forward toshake hands with his visitors. 

"I scarcely expected to see any of you here. You must have had a hardscramble, " he said. 

Gordon waved his hand. "You don't say you're pleased, though after thetrouble we've taken, it's a sure thing that you ought to be, " hedeclared. "Anyway, I'm not going back up that gully until I've hadsupper. Wheeler's held up because his folks haven't sent him somemachines, and I came along to see if I'd forgotten how to hold adrill. I don't quite know what Miss Waynefleet came for. "

Laura laughed good-humouredly. "Oh, " she said, "I have my excuse. Myfather is at Victoria, and I have been staying with Mrs. Potter for aday or two. She lent me a cayuse to ride over to Fenton's ranch, andthe trail there leads close by the head of the gully. "

Mattawa looked up at Gordon with a grin. "If you want to do somedrilling, you can start right now, " he remarked. "Guess Nasmythdoesn't know he has a back on him. "

Gordon took up the hammer, and, when Wheeler went back to the gully toinquire whether one of the men at work there would undertake sometimber-squaring he wanted done at the mill, Laura Waynefleet andNasmyth were left together. It was wetter than was comfortable nearthe fall, and, scrambling back across the staging, they sat down amongthe boulders near the foot of the rapid that swirled out of the pool. Nasmyth looked at Laura, who smiled. 

"I am afraid I have taken you away from your work, and I haven'tGordon's excuse, " she said. "He, at least, is able to drill. "

Nasmyth laughed. "I observe that Tom seems very careful of hishands, " he returned. "As to the other matter, I am very glad you didcome. After all, drilling isn't exactly a luxurious occupation; andwhile, as Tom remarked, I'm a little uncertain about my back, I'mquite sure I'm in possession of a pair of arms, because they acheabominably. Besides"--and his gaze was whimsically reproachful--"doyou really think any excuse is needed for coming to see me?"

"In any case, I have one; there is something I want to say. You see, Ihave not come across you since the meeting at the settlement. "

"I suppose you object to your father taking any share in our crazyventure?"

A faint flicker of colour crept into Laura's cheek. "You know Idon't, " she replied. "It is the one thing I could have wished for him;indeed, I shall be thankful if he takes a sustaining interest in thescheme, as he seems disposed to do. It will be of benefit to him inmany ways. He grows moody and discontented at the ranch. "

She broke off for a moment, and her voice had changed when she went onagain. "There is one point that troubles me--you provided my fatherwith the money to take his share in the venture. "

"No, " explained Nasmyth; "I think I can say that I didn't. I havemerely set apart for him so many acres of swamp and virgin forest. Hewill have to earn his title to them by assisting in what we may callthe administration, as well as by physical labour. "

Laura looked at Nasmyth with quiet eyes. "Would you or Gordon considerit a good bargain to part with a single acre for all the advice he canoffer you?" she asked. 

Nasmyth sat silent a moment, gravely regarding her. There was a littlemore colour in her face, but her composure and her fearless honestyappealed to him. She was attired very plainly in a print dress, made, as he knew, by her own fingers. The gown had somehow escaped seriousdamage in the scramble down the gully. It harmonized with thepale-tinted stone, and it seemed to him that its wearer fittedcuriously into her surroundings. He had noticed this often before, andit had occurred to him that she had acquired something of the strengthand unchangeableness of the wilderness. Perhaps she had, though it isalso possible that the quiet steadfastness had been born in her, andperfected slowly under stress and strain. 

"Well, " Nasmyth broke out impulsively, "if it had been you to whom wemade that block over, I could have abdicated with confidence and haveleft it all to you. "

Laura smiled, and Nasmyth became sensible that his face had grown adeeper red. 

"Whatever made you say that?" she asked. 

"I don't quite know. " Nasmyth's manner was deprecatory. "After all, it's hardly fair to hold a man accountable for everything he maychance to say. Anyway, I think I meant it. "

Something in his voice suggested that he was of the same mind still, but Laura glanced at him again. 

"Aren't we getting away from the subject?" she queried. "The land youmade over to my father must have cost you something. It is a thing Irather shrink from mentioning, but have you any expectation of evergetting the money back?"

Nasmyth did not exactly understand, until a considerable timeafterwards, why he was so deeply stirred by what she had said, and hewas quite mistaken in fancying that it was merely her courage thattouched his heart. In the meanwhile, he was clearly sensible of atleast a great pity for her. 

"Well, " he told her, "we can look at things openly, and not try topersuade ourselves that they're something else. I think that is one ofthe things that you have taught me. Now, suppose I haven't anyexpectation of the kind you mention. How does that count? Didn't youtake me in when you found me lying in the snow? Isn't it practicallycertain that I owe my life to you? Admitting all that, is there anyreason why you shouldn't permit me to offer you a trifling favour, notfor your own sake, but your father's?"

He broke off for a moment with a forceful gesture. "I might, no doubt, have suppressed all this and made some conventional answer, but, yousee, one has to be honest with you. Can you persuade yourself that Idon't know what you have to bear at the ranch, and how your father'smoody discontent must burden you? Isn't it clear that if he takes aninterest in this project and forgets to worry about his littletroubles, it will make life easier for both of you?"

Laura looked at him curiously. "After all, it is my life. Why shouldyou be so anxious to make it easier?"

The question troubled Nasmyth. It seemed to go beyond the reason hehad offered her a moment or two earlier. Indeed, it flashed upon himthat the fact that he certainly owed a good deal to her was not initself quite sufficient to account for the anxiety he felt. 

"Well, " he answered, "if the grounds I mentioned don't appear towarrant my doing what I did, I can't at the moment think of anythingmore convincing. It's one consolation that you couldn't upset thelittle arrangement now, if you wanted to. Your father's going into thething headlong. "

Somewhat to his astonishment the girl appeared embarrassed as sheglanced away from him. It was a moment or two before she looked aroundagain. 

"Ah!" she exclaimed, "I don't want to upset it. He has not been sowell and contented for several years. It has lifted him out of hismoodiness. " Then she leaned a little toward him. "I dare not refusethis favour from you. "

Nasmyth was puzzled by a vague something in her manner. 

"I certainly can't see why you should want to; but we'll talk ofsomething else, " he replied. "As you have noticed, I have set to work, though I expect it will be winter before we make any very greatimpression. "

Laura glanced up the gloomy cañon, which was filled with the river'sclammy, drifting mist. "Winter, " she said, "will be terrible here. Then you are not going back to the coast or Victoria for some time?"

"Certainly not, if I can help it. "

Nasmyth spoke without reflection, but he felt what he said, and it wasa moment before he realized that he might have expressed himself lessdecisively. He saw the smile on Laura's lips. 

"So you have heard?" he asked. "There was, of course, no reason whyGordon shouldn't have told you. It was a thing I had meant to domyself, only, as it happened, I haven't seen you. After that lastspeech of mine, I must explain that I feel there is a certainobligation on me to stay away. Miss Hamilton, as a matter of fact, isnot engaged to me. Nothing can be settled until I carry out thisproject successfully. "

Laura Waynefleet's face was very quiet, and he sat silent a moment ortwo, wondering somewhat uneasily what she was thinking. He was alsoslightly surprised at himself, for he realized that, after all, he hadfound it considerably easier to stay away than he had expected. Indeed, during the last few weeks, when every moment of his time hadbeen occupied, he had thought of nothing except the work before him. It occurred to him for the first time that it was curious that he hadbeen able to do so. 

"You see, " he made haste to explain, "in the meanwhile I mustendeavour to put everything except this scheme out of my mind. "

Again he was troubled by Laura Waynefleet's little smile. 

"Yes, " she said; "in one way, no doubt, that would be the wisestcourse. I'm not sure, however, that everybody would have sufficientstrength of will. "

Nasmyth said nothing further for a while, but--though he was probablynot aware of this--his face grew thoughtful as he gazed at the riveruntil his companion spoke again. 

"Was it Miss Hamilton's wish that you should make your mark first?"she inquired. 

"No, " answered Nasmyth decisively; "I want you to understand that itwas mine. She merely concurred in it. "

He changed the subject abruptly. "Tell me about yourself. "

"There is so little to tell. One day is so much like another with me, only I have been rather busier than usual lately. My father has had tocut down expenses. We have no hired man. "

Nasmyth set his lips and half-consciously closed one hand. It seemedto him an almost intolerable thing that this girl should waste heryouth and sweetness dragging out a life of unremitting toil in thelone Bush. Still, while her father lived, there was nothing else shecould look forward to, and he could imagine how the long colourlessyears would roll away with her, while she lost her freshness and grewhard and worn with petty cares and labour that needed a stronger armthan hers. She might grow discontented, he fancied, and perhaps atrifle bitter, though he could not imagine her becoming querulous. 

As yet there was a great patience in her steady eyes. Then it becameevident that she guessed what he was thinking. 

"Sometimes I feel the prospect in front of me is not a very attractiveone, " she responded in answer to his thoughts. "Still, one can getover that by not regarding it as a prospect at all. It simplifies thething when one takes it day by day. "

She smiled at him. "Derrick, you have done wisely. I think you need asustaining purpose and a woman to work for. "

Nasmyth's face paled. "Yes, " he agreed dryly; "it is, perhaps, rathera significant admission, but I really think I do. "

It was a relief to both of them that Wheeler came floundering alongthe shingle just then with a box and a coil of wire in his hand. 

"I've brought you a little present, Nasmyth, " he announced. "Firing byfuse is going to be uncertain when there's so much spray about, and Isent down for this electric fixing. We can charge it for you at anytime at the mill. Have you put in any giant-powder yet?"

Nasmyth said they had not fired a heavy charge about the fall, butthat there were several holes ready for filling, and Wheeler's eyestwinkled. 

"I'm quite anxious to try this little toy, " he said. "When I wasyoung, a rancher gave me an old played-out shot-gun, and I was out atsun-up next morning to shoot something. That's the kind of being a manis, Miss Waynefleet. Put any kind of bottled-up power in his hands, and he feels he must get up and make a bang with it. After all, Iguess it's fortunate that he does. "

"Are all men like that?" Laura asked with a strange undertone in hervoice. 

"Most of them, " said Wheeler, with an air of reflection. "Of course, you do run across one here and there who would put the bottled powercarefully away for fear that, when it went off, it might hurt him orsomebody. The trouble is that when a man of that kind at last makes uphis mind to use it he's quite likely to find that the power hasgradually leaked out of the bottle. Power's a very curious thing. Ifyou don't use it, it has a way of evaporating. "

Gordon had joined them in the meanwhile, and Laura looked at him. 

"You agree with that?" she asked. 

Gordon's smile was suggestively grim. "Oh, yes, " he said. "I guess ourfriend now and then says some rather forceful things. Anyway, he hashit it with this one. For instance, there was that little matter ofthe man who was sick at his mill. A surgeon with nerve and hands couldhave fixed him up. We"--and he made an expressive gesture--"packed himout to Victoria. "

He laughed harshly as he went on: "Well, that's partly why we're goingto set our mark on this cañon, if it's only to make it clear thatwe're not quite played out yet. You'll ram that hole full of yourstrongest powder, Derrick. "

Nasmyth turned and waved his hand to a man at the foot of the gully. 

"Bring me down the magazine!" he ordered. "We're going to split thatrock before supper. "

The man, who disappeared, came back again with an iron box, and forthe next few minutes Nasmyth, who scrambled about the rocks above thefall, taking a coil of thin wire with him, was busy. When he rejoinedhis companions, he led them a little further down the cañon until hepointed to a shelf of rock from which they had a clear view of thefall. A handful of men had clambered down the gully, and now theystood in a cluster upon the strip of shingle. Nasmyth indicated themwith a wave of his hand before he held a little wooden box with brasspegs projecting from it up to Laura. 

"It's the first big charge we have fired, and they seem to feel it'ssomething of an event, " he said. "In one way, it's a declaration ofwar we're making, and there is a good deal against us. You fit thisplug into the socket when you're ready. "

"You mean me to fire the charge?" inquired Laura. 

"Yes, " answered Nasmyth quietly. "It's fitting that you should be theone to set us at our work. If it hadn't been for you, I shouldcertainly not have taken this thing up, and now I want to feel thatyou are anxious for our success. "

A faint flush of colour crept into Laura Waynefleet's face. For onething, Nasmyth's marriage to the dark-eyed girl whom Gordon haddescribed to her depended on the success of this venture, and that wasa fact which had its effect on her. Still, she felt, the scheme wouldhave greater results than that, and, turning gravely, she glanced atthe men who had gathered upon the shingle. They looked very little andfeeble as they clustered together, in face of that almost overwhelmingmanifestation of the great primeval forces against which they hadpitted themselves in the bottom of the tremendous rift. It seemedcurious that they did not shrink from the roar of the river which rangabout them in sonorous tones, and then, as she looked across the madrush of the rapid and the spray-shrouded fall to the stupendous wallsof rock that shut them in, the thing they had undertaken seemed almostimpossible. Wheeler appeared to guess her thoughts, for he smiled ashe pointed to the duck-clad figures. 

"Well, " he declared, "in one way they're an insignificant crowd. Verylittle to look at; and this cañon's big. Still, I guess they'resomehow going through with the thing. It seems to me"--and he noddedto her with sudden recognition of her part in the project--"it was apretty idea of Nasmyth's when he asked you to start them at it. "

Laura remembered that the leader of the men had once said that hebelonged to her. She smiled, and raised the hand that held the firingkey. 

"Boys, " she said, "it's a big thing you have undertaken--not thegetting of the money, but the beating of the river, and the raising oftall oats and orchards where only the sour swamp-grasses grew. " Sheturned and for a moment looked into Nasmyth's eyes, as she addedsimply: "Good luck to you. "

She dropped her hand upon the little box, and in another moment or twoa rent opened in the smooth-worn stretch of rock above the fall. Outof it there shot a blaze of light that seemed to grow in brilliancewith incredible swiftness, until it spread itself apart in a dazzlingcorruscation. Then the roar of the river was drowned in thedetonation, and long clouds of smoke whirled up. Through the smokerose showers of stones and masses of leaping rock that smote with ajarring crash upon the walls of the cañon. After that came a greatsplashing that died away suddenly, and there was only the hoarse roarof the river pouring through the newly opened gap. Laura turned andhanded the box to Nasmyth. 

"Now, " she said, "I have done my part, and I am only sorry that it issuch a trifling one. "

Nasmyth looked at her with a gleam in his eyes. 

He answered softly: "You are behind it all. It is due to you that I ammaking some attempt to use the little power in my possession, insteadof letting it melt away. "

CHAPTER XXIII

THE DERRICK

A bitter frost had crept down from the snow-clad heights that shut thecañon in, and the roar of the river had fallen to a lower tone, whenNasmyth stood one morning shivering close by the door of his rude logshanty at the foot of the gully. The faint grey light was growingslightly clearer, and he could see the clustering spruces, in thehollow, gleam spectrally where their dark masses were streaked withdelicate silver filigree. Across the river there was a dull glimmerfrom the wall of rock, which the freezing spray had covered with aglassy crust. Though it had not been long exposed to the nippingmorning air, Nasmyth felt his damp deer-hide jacket slowly stiffening, and the edge of the sleeves, which had been wet through the daybefore, commenced to rasp his raw and swollen wrists. 

He stood still for a minute or two listening to the river andstretching himself wearily, for his back and shoulders ached, andthere was a distressful stiffness in most of his joints that hadresulted from exposure, in spray-drenched clothing, to the stingingfrost. This, however, did not greatly trouble him, since he had longrealized that physical discomfort must be disregarded if the work wasto be carried on. Men, for the most part, toil strenuously in thatwild land. Indeed, it is only by the tensest effort of which flesh andblood are capable that the wilderness is broken to man's domination, for throughout much of it costly mechanical appliances have not as yetdisplaced well-hardened muscle. 

In most cases the Bushman who buys a forest ranch has scarcely anymoney left when he has made the purchase. He finds the land coveredwith two-hundred-feet firs, which must be felled, and sawn up, androlled into piles for burning by his own hand, and only those who havehandled trees of that kind can form any clear conception of the laboursuch work entails. It is a long time before the strip of cleared landwill yield a scanty sustenance, and in the meanwhile the Bushman must, every now and then, hire himself out track-grading on the railroads orchopping trails to obtain the money that keeps him in tea and pork andflour. As a rule, he expects nothing else, and there are times when hedoes not get quite enough work. Men reared in this fashion grow hardand tireless, and Nasmyth had been called upon to lead a band of them. He had contrived to do it, so far, but it was not astonishing that thetoil had left a mark on him. 

He heard the drifting ice-cake crackle, as it leapt the fall, and thesharp crash of it upon the boulders in the rapid. It jarred on theduller roar of the river in intermittent detonations as each heavymass swept down. There was, however, no other sound, and seizing ahammer, he struck a suspended iron sheet until a voice fell across thepines from the shadowy gully. 

"Guess we'll be down soon as it's light enough, " it said. 

Then another voice rose from the shanty. 

"The boys won't see to make a start for half an hour, " it said. "Idon't know any reason why you shouldn't shut the door and come rightin. Breakfast's ready. "

Nasmyth turned and went into the shanty, conscious that it would costhim an effort to get out of it again. A stove snapped and crackled inthe one room, which was cosily warm. Gordon and Waynefleet sat beforethe two big empty cases that served for table, and Mattawa was ladlingpork on to their plates from a blackened frying-pan, Nasmyth sat downand ate hastily, while the light from the lamp hanging beneath theroof-beams fell upon his face, which was gaunt and roughened by thesting of bitter spray and frost. His hands were raw and cracked. 

"I want to get that rock-dump hove out of the pool before it's dark, "he said. "One can't see to crawl over those ice-crusted rocks byfirelight. "

Gordon glanced at Mattawa, who grinned. "Well, " said Mattawa, "it wasonly yesterday when I fell in, and I figured Charly was going rightunder the fall the day before. Oh, yes, I guess we'd better get thething through while it's light. "

"I have felt inclined to wonder if it wouldn't be advisable to suspendoperations if this frost continues, " said Waynefleet reflectively. 

"Our charter lays it down that the work is to be carried oncontinuously, " answered Gordon. "Still, on due notice being given, itpermits a stoppage of not exceeding one month, owing to stress ofweather or insuperable natural difficulties. As a matter of fact, evenwith the fire going, it's practically impossible to keep the frost outof the stone. "

Nasmyth looked up sharply. "The work goes on. There will be nostoppage of any kind. We can't afford it. The thing already has costus two or three times as much as I had anticipated. "

Gordon looked amused, though he said nothing further. Nasmyth was upagainst it, with his back to the wall, but that fact had roused allthe resolution there was in him, and he had shown no sign offlinching. It was evident that he must fight or fail ignominiously, and he had grown grimmer and more determined as each fresh obstaclepresented itself while the strenuous weeks rolled on. There wassilence for a few minutes, and then Mattawa grinned at Waynefleet. 

"I guess you've got to keep that rock from freezing, and the fire waskind of low when I last looked out, " he remarked. 

With a frown of resignation Waynefleet rose wearily and went out, forit was his part to keep a great fire going day and night. This was oneof the few things he could do, and, though it entailed a good deal ofsturdy labour with the axe, he had, somewhat to his comrades'astonishment, accomplished it reasonably well. In another minute ortwo Nasmyth followed him, and when the rest of the men came clatteringdown from the shanty, higher up the gully, they set to work. 

There was just light enough to see by, and no more, for, though thefrost was bitter, heavy snow-clouds hung about the hills. Shingle andboulders were covered with frozen spray, and long spears of icestretched out into the pool below the fall. Now and then a block ofice drove athwart them with a detonating crackle. The pool was lowerthan it had been in summer, and the stream frothed in angry eddies inthe midst of it, where shattered masses of rock rent by the blastingcharges lay as they had fallen. It was essential that the rock shouldbe cleared away, and a great redwood log with a rounded foot let intoa socket swung by wire rope guys above the pool. Another wire ropewith a pair of iron claws at the end of it ran over a block at thehead of the log to the winch below, and the primitive derrick and itsfittings had cost Nasmyth a great deal of money, as well as a week'sarduous labour. 

They swung the apparatus over the pile of submerged rock, and, whenthe claws fell with a splash, they hove at the winch, two of them ateach handle, until a mass of stone rose from the stream. Then one guywas slackened, and another hauled upon, until the rock swung over theshingle across the river, where they let it fall. Part of the growingpile would be used to build the road by which they brought suppliesdown the gully. 

In itself the work was arduous enough, since four men alone could toilat the winch, and some of the masses they raised were ponderous. Indeed, there was scarcely room for four persons on the shelf hewn outabove the tail of the pool, and the narrow strip of stone was slipperywith ice. Fine spray that froze on all it touched whirled about theworkers, and every now and then a heavy fragment that slipped from theclaws fell with a great splash. Nasmyth's wrists grew raw from therasp of the hide jacket, and wide cracks opened in his fingers. 

"I remember it as cold as this only once before, " he said. "It wasduring the few days I spent between the logging camp and Waynefleet'sranch. "

Mattawa, who hove on the same handle, grinned. "Well, " he said, "thisis a tolerable sample of blame hard weather while it lasts, but we getmonths of it back East. Still, I guess we don't work then. No, sir, unless we're chopping, we sit tight round the stove. "

Mattawa was right in this. Excepting the loggers and the NorthwestPolice, men do not work in the open at that temperature back East, norwould they attempt it on the Pacific Slope were the cold continuous. In the western half of British Columbia, however, long periods ofsevere weather are rare. It is a variable zone, swept now and then bydamp, warm breezes, and men tell of sheltered valleys where flowersblow the year round, though very few of those who ramble up and downthe Mountain Province ever chance upon them. But there are times whenthe devastating cold of the Polar regions descends upon the lonelyranges, as it had done upon the frost-bound cañon. 

Those who toiled with Nasmyth were hardened men, and they held onwith cracked hands clenched on the winch-handles, or they splashedthrough the icy shallows with the water in their boots, until, alittle before their dinner-hour, when three of them stood straining byNasmyth's side beneath the derrick as a mass of rock rose slowly tothe surface of the pool. Mattawa glanced at this weight dubiously, andthen up at the wire guy that gleamed with frozen spray high above hishead. 

"I guess we've dropped on to a big one this time, " he said. "She'sgoing to be heavier when we heave her clear of the river. "

This, of course, was correct, and it was clear to Nasmyth that it wasonly by a strenuous effort that his comrades were raising the stonethen. Still, it must be lifted, and he tightened his grasp upon thehandle. 

"Heave! Lift her out!" he said. 

The veins rose swollen on their foreheads, and they gasped as theyobeyed him, but as the stone rose dripping there was an ominouscreaking overhead. 

"Guess she's drawing the anchor-bolts, " cried one. "We'll fetch thewhole thing down. Shall I let her run?"

Nasmyth flung a sharp glance at the big iron holdfast sunk in the rockabove. There would, he knew, be trouble if that or the wire guy gaveway, but it was only at some hazard that anything could be done in thecañon. 

"Hold on!" he said hoarsely. "Slack that guy, and let her swing. "

There was a clink and jar as the clutch took the weight off them; awire rope set up a harsh rasping, and as Gordon jerked a guiding-lineacross the river, the great boom swung, trailing the heavy stone justabove the water. Then the ominous creak grew sharper, and one of themshouted. 

"Jump!" he said. "She's going!"

Two of them sprang on the instant into the pool, and washed out withthe crackling ice-cake into the rapid at the tail of it. It wasprecisely what most men who could swim would have done, but Nasmythstayed, and Mattawa stayed with him. Nasmyth did not think veryclearly, but he remembered subconsciously what the construction ofthat derrick had cost him. There was a lever which would release theload and let it run. He had his hand on it when he turned to hiscompanion. 

"Strip that handle, Tom, " he said. 

The iron crank that would have hurled him into the river as its spanfell with a rattle, and that was one peril gone; but the lever hegrasped was difficult to move, and his hands were stiff and numb. Still he persisted, and Mattawa watched him, because there was onlyroom for one, until there was a crash above them, and the tilted topof the great boom came down. Mattawa, flattened against the rock side, held his breath as the mass of timber rushed towards the pool, andnext moment saw that Nasmyth was no longer standing on the shelf. Nasmyth lay partly beneath the shattered winch, and his face was grey, except for a red scar down one side of it. His eyes, however, wereopen, and Mattawa gasped with relief when he heard the injured manspeak. 

"It cleared my body. I'm fast by the hand, " said Nasmyth. 

Three or four minutes had slipped by before the rest scrambled uponthe ledge with handspikes, and then it cost them a determined effortbefore they moved the redwood log an inch or two. Gordon, kneeling byNasmyth's side, drew the crushed arm from under it. Nasmyth raisedhimself on one elbow, and lifted a red and pulpy hand that hung fromthe wrist. With an effort that set his face awry, he straightened it. 

"I can move it, " he said. "I don't know how it got under the thing, orwhat hit me in the face. "

"It doesn't matter, either, " said Gordon quietly. "Can you get up?"

Nasmyth blinked at him. "Of course, " he answered. "As a general thing, I walk with my legs. They're not hurt. "

Nasmyth staggered to his feet, and, while Gordon grasped his shoulder, floundered over the log staging laid athwart the fall and back to theshanty. Gordon was busy with him there for some time. After thecrushed hand had been bound up Gordon flung the door open and spoke tothe men outside. 

"It's only his hand, and there's nothing broken, " he announced. "Youcan get your dinner. We'll see about heaving the derrick up whenyou've eaten. "

He went back and filled Nasmyth's pipe. 

"I expect it hurts, " he said. 

Nasmyth nodded. "Yes, " he replied, "quite enough. "

"Well, " said Gordon, "I don't know that it's any consolation, but ifyou expose it at this temperature, it's going to hurt you considerablymore. You can't do anything worth while with one hand, and that theone you don't generally use, either. There's a rip upon your face thatmay give you trouble, too. I'm going to pack you out to-morrow. "

"The difficulty is that I'm not disposed to go. "

"Your wishes are not going to be consulted. If there's no other way, I'll appeal to the boys. I'd let you stay if you were a reasonableman, and would lie quiet beside the stove until that hand got better;but since it's quite clear that nobody could keep you there, you'restarting to-morrow for Waynefleet's ranch. "

Gordon turned to Waynefleet. "We'll lay you off for a week. There's alittle business waiting at the settlement, anyway, and you can seeabout getting the new tools and provisions in. "

Waynefleet's face was expressive of a vast relief. The few bitterweeks spent in the cañon had taken a good deal of the keenness he hadonce displayed out of him. 

"I certainly think the arrangement suggested is a very desirable one, "he agreed "I am quite sure that Miss Waynefleet will have muchpleasure in looking after Nasmyth. "

Gordon turned to Nasmyth. "Now, " he said, "you can protest just asmuch as you like, but still, as you'll start to-morrow if we have totie you on to the pack-horse, it's not going to be very much use. Youcan nurse your hand for a week, and then go on to Victoria and see ifyou can pick up a boring-machine of the kind we want cheap. "

Nasmyth, who was aware that the machine must be purchased before verylong, submitted with the best grace he could, and, though his hand waspainful, he contrived to sleep most of the afternoon. Now that he wasdisabled and could not work, he began to feel the strain. He set outwith Waynefleet at sunrise next morning, and they passed the dayscrambling over the divide, and winding in and out among withered fernand thickets as they descended a rocky valley. Here and there theyfound an easier pathway on the snow-sheeted reaches of a frozenstream, and only left it to plunge once more into the undergrowth whenthe ice crackled under them. They had a pack-horse with them, for nowand then one of the men made a laborious journey to the settlement forprovisions, and in places a fallen tree had been chopped through or athicket partly hewn away. That, however, did little to relieve thedifficulties of the march, for the trail was rudimentary, and thefirst two leagues of it would probably have severely taxed thestrength of a vigorous man unaccustomed to the Bush. 

But they pushed on, Waynefleet riding when it was possible, whileNasmyth plodded beside the horse's head, until a cloud of whirlingsnow broke upon them as they floundered through a belt of thinnerBush. The snow wrapped them in its filmy folds, gathering thick upontheir garments and filling their eyes, and Nasmyth grew anxious as thedaylight suddenly died out. They were in a valley, out of which theycould not very well wander without knowing it, and they stumbled on, smashing into thickets and swerving round fallen trees, until theystruck a clearer trail, and it was with relief that Nasmyth saw a tallsplit-rail fence close in front of him. He threw a strip of it down, and then turned to Waynefleet when he dimly made out a blink of lightin the whirling haze of snow. 

"If you will go in and tell Miss Waynefleet, I'll try to put the horseup, " he said. 

Waynefleet swung himself down stiffly and vanished into the snow. Hewas half frozen, and it did not occur to him that Nasmyth had only onehand with which to loose the harness. It is also possible that hewould have made no protest if it had. 

Nasmyth reached the stable, and contrived to find and to light thelantern, but he discovered that it would be difficult to do anythingmore. His sound hand was numbed. His fingers would not bend, and thebuckles of the harness held, in spite of his efforts, but hepersisted. The struggle he was waging in the cañon had stirred himcuriously, and each fresh obstacle roused him to a half-savagedetermination. Though the action sent a thrill of pain through him, helaid his bound-up hand upon the headstall, and set his lips as he toreat a buckle. He felt that if the thing cost him hours of effort hewould not be beaten. 

He had, however, let his hand fall back into the bandage that hungfrom his neck, when the door opened and Laura Waynefleet came in. Shesaw him leaning against the side of the stall, with a greyness in hisface, which had an angry red scar down one side of it, and her eyesshone with compassion. 

"Sit down, " she said. "I will do that. "

Nasmyth, who straightened himself, shook his head. "I can manage it ifyou will loose the buckles, " he said. "One feels a little awkward withonly one hand. "

They did it together, and then Nasmyth sat down, with his face drawnand lined. Laura stood still a moment or two with the lantern in herhand. 

"The snow must be deep on the divide, and it is a very rough trail. Isuppose you walked all the way?" she said. 

Nasmyth contrived to smile. "As it happens, I am used to it. "

There was a flash of indignation in the girl's eyes, for she had, after all, a spice of temper, and she was naturally acquainted withher father's character. Her anger had, however, disappeared nextmoment. 

"You are looking ill, " she remarked anxiously. 

Nasmyth glanced down at the bandage. "I've been working rather hard oflate, and this hand is painful. " He made a deprecatory gesture. "Idon't know what excuse to offer for troubling you. Gordon insisted onsending me. "

"You fancy I require one from you?"

Nasmyth looked at her with heavy eyes. "No, " he answered, "it isevident that you don't. After all, perhaps I shouldn't have wished tomake any excuse. It seems only natural that when I get hurt, or findmyself in any trouble, I should come to you. "

He did not see the colour that crept into her face, for hisperceptions were not clear then; but he rose with an effort, andtogether they went back to the house through the snow. There Nasmythchanged his clothes for the dry garments he had brought in a valisestrapped to the pack-saddle, and an hour after supper he fell quietlyasleep in his chair. Then Laura turned to her father. 

"You let him walk all the way when he is worn-out and hurt!" she saidaccusingly. 

Waynefleet waved his hand. "He insisted on it; and I would like topoint out that there is nothing very much the matter with him. We haveall been working very hard at the cañon; in fact, I quite fail tounderstand why you should be so much more concerned about him than youevidently are about me. I am, however, quite aware that there would beno use in my showing that I resented it. "

Laura said nothing further. She felt that silence was wiser, for, after all, her patience now and then almost failed her. 

CHAPTER XXIV

REALITIES

Though there was bitter frost in the ranges, it had but lightlytouched the sheltered forests that shut in Bonavista. The snow seldomlay long there, and only a few wisps of it gleamed beneath thenorthern edge of the pines. Mrs. Acton, as usual, had gathered anumber of guests about her, and Violet Hamilton sat talking with oneof them in the great drawing-room one evening. The room wasbrilliantly lighted, and the soft radiance gleamed upon the polishedparquetry floor, on which rugs of costly skins were scattered. A fireof snapping pine-logs blazed in the big English hearth, and a faintaromatic fragrance crept into the room. 

Miss Hamilton leaned back in a softly padded lounge that was obviouslyonly made for two, and a pleasant-faced, brown-eyed young Englishman, who had no particular business in that country, but had gone theremerely for amusement, sat at the other end of it, regarding her with asmile. 

"After all, " he said reflectively, "I really don't think I'm verysorry the snow drove us down from our shooting camp in the ranges. "

Violet laughed. She had met the man before he went into the mountains, and he had been at Bonavista for a week or two now. 

"It was too cold for you up there?" she queried. 

"It was, " answered the man, "at least, it was certainly too cold forJardine, who came out with me. He got one of his feet nipped sittingout one night with the rifle on a high ledge in the snow, and when Ileft him in Vancouver the doctor told him it would be a month beforehe could wear a boot again. "

He laughed. "I have a shrewd suspicion that one has to get hardened tothat kind of thing, and, surely, this is considerably nicer. "

"This, " repeated Violet, who fancied she understood what he meant, "isvery much the same thing as you are accustomed to in London, exceptthat the houses are, no doubt, more luxuriously furnished, and thecompany is more brilliant and entertaining. "

"You would not expect me to make any admission of that kind?" and theman looked at her reproachfully. "In any case, it wouldn't bewarranted. "

"Then, " said Violet, "I must have some very erroneous notions of yourEnglish mansions. "

The man smiled. "Ah!" he said, "I was referring to the company. "

He had expressed himself in a similar fashion once or twice before, but Violet did not resent it. She admitted that she rather liked him, and she did not know that, although he had been a week or two atBonavista, he had only intended to stay there a few days. It hadnaturally occurred to Mrs. Acton that there might be a certainsignificance in this, but she was misled by the open manner in whichanother young woman had annexed him. 

There were other guests in the room, and among them was a littlebald-headed man, whom Violet had heard had philanthropic tendencies, and was connected with some emigration scheme. This man was talking toActon. He spoke in a didactic manner, tapping one hand with hisgold-rimmed spectacles, and appeared quite content that the restshould hear him. 

"There is no doubt that this country offers us a great field, " hesaid. "In fact, I have already made arrangements for settling a numberof deserving families on the land. What I am particularly pleasedwith is the manner in which the man who makes his home here is broughtinto close contact with Nature. The effect of this cannot fail to bewhat one might term recuperative. There is a vitality to be drawn fromthe soil, and I have of late been urging the manifold advantages ofthe simple life upon those who are interesting themselves in thesesubjects with me. "

Violet glanced at her companion, and saw the amusement in his eyes. 

"Do you all talk like that in England?" she inquired. 

The man raised his hand reproachfully. "I'm afraid some of us talk agood deal of rubbish now and then. Still, as a matter of fact, wedon't round up our sentences in that precise fashion, as he does. Justnow we're rather fragmentary. Of course, he's right to some extent. I'm fond of the simple life--that is, for a month or so, when I knowthat a two days' ride will land me in a civilized hotel. The troubleis that most of the folks who recommend it would certainly go all tobits in a few weeks after they tried it personally. Can you fancy ourfriend yonder chopping tremendous trees, or walking up to his knees insnow twelve hours with a flour-bag on his back?"

Violet certainly could not. The man was full-fleshed, plethoric, andheavy of foot, and he spoke with a throaty gasp. 

"The tilling of the soil, " he went on, apparently addressing anybodywho cared to listen, "is man's natural task, and I think Nature'sbeneficent influences are felt to their fullest extent in the primevalstillness of these wonderful Western woods. "

Violet's companion looked up at her with a smile. 

"The primeval stillness sounds rather nice, only it isn't still exceptyou go up into the snow upon the peaks, " he said. "In most of theother places my trail led through you can hear the rivers, and theymake noise enough for anything. Now, there's a man yonder I haven'tseen before, who, I fancy, could tell us something about it if heliked. His face suggests that he knows. I mean the one talking to Mrs. Acton. "

Violet followed his glance, and saw a man standing beside Mrs. Actonnear the great English hearth; but his face was turned away from her, and it was a moment or two before he looked round. Then she started, and the blood crept into her cheeks as she met Nasmyth's gaze. 

He had changed since she last saw him--changed, she felt, in an almostdisconcerting fashion. He wore plain city clothes, and they hung abouthim with a suggestive slackness. His face was darkened and roughenedby exposure to the winter winds; it had grown sharp and stern, andthere was a disfiguring red scar down one side of it. His eyes werekeen and intent, and there was a look in them that she did notremember having noticed before, while he seemed to have lost hiscareless gracefulness of manner. Even his step seemed different as hemoved towards her. It was, though neither exactly understood why, adifficult moment for both of them when he stopped close by her side, and it was made no easier by the fact that they were not alone. Violetturned to her companion, who rose. 

"Mr. Carshalton, from the Old Country, " she said. "This is Mr. Nasmyth. "

Carshalton nodded. "Glad to meet you. Won't you sit down?" he said. "As it happens, I had just pointed you out to Miss Hamilton. We weretalking about the wilderness--or, to be more precise, the greatprimeval stillness. I ventured to suggest that you could tell ussomething about it. "

Nasmyth smiled significantly. "Well, " he replied, "I have certainlyspent a few months in the wilderness. That is one of the results. "

He meant to indicate the hand that hung by his side in a thick, softglove by the gesture he made, but it was the other one that Violet andCarshalton glanced at. It was scarred and battered, and had opened inraw red cracks under the frost. 

"Ah!" said Carshalton, "I think I was quite warranted in assuring MissHamilton that it was a good deal nicer here. You see, I was up in theranges for a week or two. I had to come down with my comrade, who satout one night in the snow. The primeval stillness didn't agree withhim. "

He met Violet's eyes, and next moment glanced across the room. 

"I don't think I've spoken to Mr. Acton this evening, " he said. "We'llhave a talk about the wilderness by-and-by, Mr. Nasmyth. "

He strolled away, and Nasmyth sat down by Violet's side. 

"I fancied the man meant to stay, " he remarked. 

Violet leaned back in the lounge, and looked at him a moment or twosilently. Her thoughts were confused, and she was uneasy. In the firstplace, she almost wished it had not been so easy to make Carshaltonunderstand that she wished him to go away; for the fact that she hadbeen able to do so by merely looking at him suggested that there wasat least a certain confidence between them, and she was unwilling toadmit that such was the case. That, however, was only a minor point. While Carshalton had spoken of the simple life, and admitted that afew weeks of it was quite enough for him, she had thought with acertain tenderness of the man who had spent months of strenuous toilin the misty depths of the cañon. She was glad of this, and felt aslight compunction over the fact that she had seldom thought of himof late. Still, when she saw him bearing the marks of those months ofeffort on his body and in his worn face, she was sensible that sheshrank from him, as she had once done from the dreary, drippingwilderness. This was disconcerting, but she could not drive out thefeeling. His worn face vaguely troubled her, and she was sorry forhim, but she would not have liked to touch his scarred and roughenedhands. She glanced at the injured hand inquiringly. 

"It is almost well again. It was crushed beneath a mass of timber, " hetold her briefly. 

Conscious that the meeting so far left a good deal to be desired, Violet sat still a moment. It certainly had not afforded her thepleasure she might reasonably have expected, and she subconsciouslyresented the fact. There was also, as she noticed, a suggestion ofuneasiness in the man's scarred face. 

"I have been in Victoria a few days, " he explained. "There was amachine I had to buy, and one or two other matters had to be attendedto. Then I got a letter forwarded from Waynefleet's ranch, from whichit appeared that Mr. Acton wished to see me. "

A faint sparkle crept into Violet Hamilton's eyes. "It is evident, "she observed, "that we both find it a little difficult to say theright thing. "

"I'm afraid I am now and then a little remiss in that respect. Still, how have I offended?"

Violet contrived to smile. "I'm not sure it was particularly judiciousof you to explain so fully what brought you here. Couldn't you haveleft me to suggest another reason that would have been a little moresatisfactory?"

Nasmyth laughed. "My dear, you know I have been longing to see you. "

"Ah!" exclaimed Violet, "I am not altogether sure. Indeed, I couldalmost fancy that you have been thinking of nothing beyond what youare doing in that horrible cañon. "

Nasmyth raised his hand in protest, though Violet was quick to noticethe uneasiness in his face; but now the worn look in it roused herpity. 

"Well, " she said, "you can show how anxious you were by staying hereat least a week. I want you to stay. Besides, you must for anotherreason--you are looking almost ill. "

There was, for the first time, a softness in her voice that stirredthe man, but the uneasiness that had troubled him did not disappear. Indeed, it seemed to grow stronger as he glanced about the room, whichwas furnished artistically, and flooded with light. Mrs. Acton'sguests were of the station to which he had belonged, and he would oncehave found the sound of their voices and their light laughterpleasant. These, however, were things that no longer appealed to him, and he was conscious of a feverish impatience to get back to his workagain in the misty cañon. 

"I'm afraid, " he replied gravely, "it will be out of the question forme to stay just now. There is so much to do at the cañon; and I thinkyou know why I am so anxious to carry the work through. "

The girl looked at him in a curious fashion, and though she wasprobably not aware of it, there was doubt in her eyes. For the momentshe was troubled with a sense of comprehension, and she could not bequite sure whether it was only on her account that he was sodetermined to carry out the project. 

"Well, " she told him, "I know that Mr. Acton and your uncle areanxious to see you. In fact, I believe they have some suggestions toput before you, and though I do not know exactly what it is, I imaginethat you need not go back to the Bush if you will do what they wish. "She broke off and glanced at him wistfully. "Derrick, you won't deciderashly. I don't want you to stay away from me. "

Nasmyth smiled reassuringly; but one of Violet's companionsapproached them just then, and when she leaned upon the back of thelounge and spoke to the girl, Nasmyth rose. He crossed the room, and afew minutes later, in the big cedar hall, came upon a man connectedwith the Crown land agency. There was an open fire in the hall, andthe man, who sat down by it, offered Nasmyth a cigar. 

"Mrs. Acton will excuse us for a few minutes, " the Stranger remarked. "You are evidently fresh from the Bush. How are you getting onthere?"

Nasmyth told him, and the man looked thoughtful. 

"You don't hold all the valley, " the man said. "I wonder if youknow that folks are taking an interest in the land that's stillunrecorded?"

"I don't, " said Nasmyth. "It's mostly heavy timber that would cost adeal to clear. Any way, as we couldn't take up any more than we hold, it doesn't appear to affect me at all. "

"Well, " returned his companion, "that's a point I'm not quite sureabout. You only hold a provisional charter to lower the river. There'sonly one unworked holding near the valley, and, as you couldn't injureanybody's property, we permitted you to go ahead. Still, if anyparties supplied us with a sufficient reason for withdrawing thatpermission, we might have to listen to them. " He broke off for amoment and waved his hand. "Of course, I'm not speaking officially. I'm merely giving you a hint that may be useful. Some persons mighttake up that land with the object of putting the screw on you. Yousee, it would be possible to get over any difficulty they might raiseby buying them out. "

Nasmyth's lips closed firmly. He was quite aware that, in view of thestate of his finances, the course suggested was not one that he couldadopt. 

"What kind of people are they?" he inquired. 

His companion laughed in an ominous fashion. "Small ranchers, thoughit's just possible that there may be some of the big men connectedwith the land business behind them. The big promoters occasionallyprefer to act through a dummy. Our object is, of course, to get menwho will cultivate the land, and keep it out of the hands of anyonewho merely wants to hold it. Now, while I'm far from sure my superiorswould be pleased to hear I'd said so much to you, there's one piece ofadvice I can offer. " He leaned forward and looked at Nasmythconfidentially. "Get that work through as soon as you can. Once youlower the level of the river, nobody could compel you to put it backagain. Any man who wanted land would have to buy it as it was. "

"A man who wished to start a ranch would naturally prefer it with thewater run out of it. "

"Precisely!" argued Nasmyth's informant. "That is why you got thecharter. Still, I wasn't contemplating the man who merely wished toranch. "

His smile suggested that he intended to say no more upon that subject, and when he turned and glanced through the doorway into the lightedroom, Nasmyth saw that he was looking at Violet Hamilton. Nasmyth alsonoticed that Carshalton was once more seated beside the girl. 

"I rather like that Englishman, " declared the stranger. "Actonapparently gets on with him, too. He seems to have been here sometime. In fact, while it's nobody else's business, I've been inclinedto wonder what Miss Hamilton thinks of him. "

Nasmyth made no reply, but the observation slightly troubled him. Alittle later Acton crossed the hall. 

"If you can give us a few minutes, your uncle and I have something toput before you, " he said. "I'll go along with you to my room. "

CHAPTER XXV

NASMYTH DECIDES

A shaded lamp stood on the table of Acton's room, and, as Nasmythentered, he saw Wisbech, whom he had not met since his arrival, sitting just inside the light of it in a lounge-chair. He strodeforward and shook hands with his uncle. 

"Until I got your letter I almost fancied you were in Japan, " hesaid. 

Wisbech smiled at him. "I shall probably start very shortly. In fact, I never expected to stay here half so long as I have done, but I founda good deal to interest me in this country, and it's twenty yearssince I have been away from business for more than a week or two. Theworks were mine until very recently, but there are times now when I'mnot altogether sorry I'm merely a director of the company. "

Acton laid a handful of cigars on the table, and drew out a chair forNasmyth. 

"Well, " he replied reflectively, "there is a good deal in this countrythat would interest a sensible man, but I'm not sure that's exactlywhat has kept Mr. Wisbech so long in Victoria. I've a point or two tomention later, but I'll let him speak first. It's his affair. "

Nasmyth sat down, and he did not immediately notice that while Actonhad placed his chair where the light struck full upon his face, Wisbech sat a little farther back in the shadow cast by the shade ofthe lamp. After a moment Acton sought the dimmer part of the room. Wisbech turned to Nasmyth. 

"I understand that you expect to marry Miss Hamilton by-and-by, " hesaid. "No doubt you have thought over the question of what you'regoing to keep a wife on?"

"I admit that it's one that has caused me a good deal of anxiety;" andNasmyth leaned forward, with his elbows on the table. "Still, ithasn't troubled me quite so much of late. If I succeed with the schemeI have in hand, it will bring me money enough to make a start with alarger venture of the kind, or to enable me to undertake ranching on areasonably extensive scale. When the land is ready for cultivation, and you haven't to face the initial cost of getting rid of heavytimber, the business is a profitable one. "

"It is possible that Miss Hamilton would not care to live at even atolerably extensive ranch. She has been accustomed to comfort of everykind and cheerful society, and there can't be very much of either inthe Bush; while, if you undertake any further work of the kind yousuggest, it would be a few years before you made your mark. Now, I'mnot sure it would be reasonable to expect a young woman like MissHamilton to wait indefinitely. "

Nasmyth flushed a little. "I think, " he replied, "that is a questionwhich concerns Miss Hamilton and me alone. "

Acton leaned forward in his chair. "Mrs. Acton seems to fancy itconcerns her, too. In fact, that's one reason why I wrote to you. Well, I'm going to lay before you a business proposition. You haveprobably heard of the Hecla Mineral Exploitation concern? It's run bytwo friends of mine, who have made a great deal of money out of theirclaims. They're getting elderly, and are open to take in a youngerman--a man of education, who has some acquaintance with the workthat's done in the Bush. He must take hold now, and hold stock in theconcern. Here's the last letter they wrote me. "

He passed it across to Nasmyth, whose face grew eager, and thensuddenly hardened again. The concern in question was, as he had heard, one of excellent repute, and supposed to be carrying on a profitablemining business. 

"It's out of the question that I should raise the capital, " he said. 

"The money can be raised, " Wisbech broke in quietly. "I'll buy thatstock for you, and, if you insist on it, you can treat it as a loan. "

Nasmyth sat very still for a moment or two, and slowly closed one hardhand. He had never expected such an offer from Wisbech, and herecognized that it would free him of all his difficulties if heaccepted it. There was, however, an obstacle in the way. 

"Well, " asked Wisbech very dryly, "isn't the Hecla Minerals goodenough for you?"

Nasmyth looked at Acton. "I must go there--now?"

"That is one of the conditions. They want to fix the thing beforeKekewich, who hasn't been well lately, starts East on a trip toMontreal. I promised to wire if you were willing to go down and seethem to-morrow. "

Nasmyth turned to Wisbech, and his voice was strained. 

"I am under many obligations to you already, sir, but I'm sorry Ican't profit by your generosity in this case, " he said. 

"Why?" queried Wisbech sharply. 

"It's a little difficult to explain. You see, the idea of lowering theriver was mine. Some of the boys up yonder have mortgaged theirranches, and put every dollar they could raise in that way into thescheme. They look to me to put the thing through; so that they may gettheir money back again. "

"Is there no one else who could do that?" Acton asked. "It seems to methere's nothing wrong with that man Gordon. I guess you could leave itto him. "

Nasmyth felt that Wisbech was watching him with a curious intentness. 

"Gordon, " he answered slowly, "is at least as well fitted to lead theboys as I am. In fact, I might go farther than that. After all, however, there is a little more to be said. "

He stopped abruptly, and sat silent a moment or two, leaning with oneelbow on the table, and the light full upon his face. There wastrouble in his expressive eyes, but his mouth was tense and grimlyresolute. He remembered the pleasant summer days that he and VioletHamilton had spent together, but he also heard the roar of the riverin the misty depths of the cañon, and the crash of stream-drivenpines. The familiar sounds rang in his ears, rousing him to action, and something in his nature responded. In the meanwhile there was aheavy silence in the room. His companions watched him closely, andActon, who looked round for a moment, noticed the suggestive glint inWisbech's eyes. 

Nasmyth straightened himself suddenly. "I know what I am turning myback upon, " he added. "It is very probable that I shall never getanother opportunity of this kind again. Still, I owe the boyssomething, and I feel I owe a little to myself. This scheme in thecañon is the first big thing I have ever undertaken. I can't quitemake the way that I look at it clear to you, but"--and he brought onehand down on the table in an emphatic fashion--"I feel that I must goon until it breaks me or I put it through. "

Wisbech noisily thrust his chair back, and Acton laughed--a laugh thathad a faint ring in it. 

"Well, I guess I partly expected this, " said Acton. "Mr. Nasmyth, it'sa sure thing that river's not going to break you. "

Nasmyth looked embarrassed, but next moment Wisbech laid a hand uponhis shoulder. 

"Derrick, " he said simply, "if you had closed with my offer, Iwouldn't have blamed you, but I'd have felt I had done my duty then, and I'd never have made you another. As it is, when things are goingwrong, all you have to do is to send a word to me. "

Then, to the relief of his companions, Acton, whose expression changedsuddenly, broke in again. "Well, " he commented, "I'm not quite surethat Miss Hamilton will look at the thing from Nasmyth's point ofview. I guess we'll leave him to explain it to her and Mrs. Acton. "

Nasmyth fancied that the explanation would not be an easy task. Infact, it was one he shrank from, but it had to be undertaken, and, leaving the others, he went back to the drawing-room. Violet Hamiltonwas surrounded by several companions, and he did not approach heruntil she glanced at him as she slipped out into the big cedar hall. She sat down on a lounge near the fire, and he leaned upon the arm ofit, looking down on her with grave misgivings. He recognized that itwas scarcely reasonable to expect that she would be satisfied with thedecision he had made. 

"You have seen your uncle and Acton?" she asked. 

"Yes, " answered Nasmyth; "I have something to tell you. "

The girl turned towards him quickly. "Ah!" she said, "you are notgoing to do what they proposed?"

"I'm sorry the thing they suggested was out of the question. You willlet me tell you what it was?"

Violet made a sign of assent, and Nasmyth spoke quietly for a minuteor two. Then a faint flush crept into the girl's cheeks and a sparkleinto her eyes. 

"You said no!" she interrupted. 

"I felt I had to. There seemed no other course open to me. "

Violet looked at him in evident bewilderment, and Nasmyth spoke againdeprecatingly. "You see, " he explained, "I felt I had to keep faithwith those ranchers. "

"Didn't it occur to you that you had also to keep faith with me?" sheinquired sharply. 

"I think that was the one thing I was trying to do. "

Violet showed no sign of comprehension, and it was borne in uponNasmyth then that, in her place, Laura Waynefleet would haveunderstood the motives that had influenced him, and applauded them. 

"My dear, " he said, "can't you understand that you have laid anobligation on me to play a creditable part? I couldn't turn my back onmy comrades now that they have mortgaged their possessions, and, though I think Gordon or one of the others could lead them as well asI could, when I asked them to join me, I tacitly pledged myself tohold on until we were crushed or had achieved success. "

He looked at her wistfully when he stopped speaking; but she made agesture of impatience. 

"The one thing clear to me is that if you had done what Mr. Actonsuggested you could have lived in Victoria, and have seen me almostwhenever you wished, " she declared. "Some of those ranchers must knowa good deal more about work of the kind you are doing than you do, and, if you had explained it all to them, they would have releasedyou. "

Nasmyth sighed. Apart from the obligation to his comrades, there wereother motives which had influenced him. He vaguely felt that it wasincumbent on him to prove his manhood in this arduous grapple withNature, and, after a purposeless life, to vindicate himself. Thewilderness, as Gordon had said, had also gotten hold of him, and thatdescribed what had befallen him reasonably well. There are many men, and among them men of education, in those Western forests who, havingonce taken up the axe and drill, can never wholly let them go again. These men grow restless and morose in the cities, which seldom holdthem long. The customs of civilization pall on them, and content comesto them only when they toil knee-deep in some frothing rapid, or hewthe new waggon-road through a stupendous forest. Why this should bethey do not exactly know, and very few of them trouble themselvesabout the matter. Perhaps it is a subconscious recognition of thefirst great task that was laid on man to subdue the earth and to makeit fruitful. Nasmyth, at least, heard the river. Its hoarse roar ranginsistently in his ears, and he braced himself for the conflict thatmust be fought out in the depths of the cañon. These, however, werefeelings that he could not well express, and once more he doubtedViolet's comprehension. 

"My dear, " he told her humbly, "I am sorry; but there was, I think, only one thing I could do. "

Violet, looking up, saw that his face was stern, and became sensibleof a faint and perplexing repulsion from him. His languid gracefulnesshad vanished, and he was no longer gay or amusing. A rugged elementalforcefulness had come uppermost in him, and this was a thing she didnot understand. Involuntarily she shrank from this grave, serious man. There was a disfiguring newly healed cut on one of his cheeks, and hishand was raw and horribly scarred. 

"You have changed since you were last here, " she said, looking at himwith disapproval. "Perhaps you really are a little sorry to leave me, but I think that is all. At least, you will not be sorry to get backto the cañon. "

Nasmyth started a little. It was a thing that he would at one timecertainly not have expected, but he realized now that he was driven bya fierce impatience to get back to the work he had undertaken. 

"I think that is not astonishing in one respect, " he replied. "I toldyou why I feel that I must carry the project through. The sooner I amsuccessful, the sooner I can come back to you. "

The girl laughed somewhat bitterly. "If you would only be sensible, you need not go away. Are you quite sure it is not the project thatcomes first with you?" she questioned. 

Nasmyth felt the blood creep into his face, for it suddenly dawned onhim that the suggestion she had made was to some extent warranted. 

"My dear, " he answered quietly, "you must try to bear with me. "

Violet rose. "Well, " she said, "when do you go away?"

"In the morning. "

There was resentment in the girl's expression. "Since you have made upyour mind to go, I will make no protest, " she declared. Then, with aswift change of manner, she turned and laid her hand upon his arm. "After all, I suppose you must go. Derrick, you won't stay away verylong!"

They went into the drawing-room together, and half an hour had passedwhen Mrs. Acton beckoned to Nasmyth, and he followed her into anadjoining alcove. She sat down and looked at him reproachfully. 

"I am very angry with you, " she asserted; "in fact, I feel distinctlyhurt. You have not come up to my expectations. "

"I'm sorry, " replied Nasmyth quietly. "Still, I'm not astonished. Yourindignation is perfectly natural. I felt at the time Mr. Acton made methe offer that he had been prompted by you. That"--and he made adeprecatory gesture--"is one reason why I'm especially sorry Icouldn't profit by it. "

Mrs. Acton sat silent a moment or two, regarding him thoughtfully. "Well, " she declared, "from now I am afraid you must depend uponyourself. I have tried to be your friend, and it seems that I havefailed. Will you be very long at the cañon?"

"If all goes as I expect it, six months. If not, I may be a year, orlonger. I shall certainly not come back until I am successful. "

"That is, of course, in one sense the kind of decision I should expectyou to make. It does you credit. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that it'swise. "

Nasmyth looked at her with quick apprehension. "I wonder, " he said, "if you would tell me why it isn't?"

Mrs. Acton appeared to weigh her words, "My views are, naturally, notalways correct, " she answered. "Even if they were, I should scarcelyexpect you to be guided by them. Still, I think it would not be wiseof you to stay away very long. "

She rose, and smiled at him. "It is advice that may be worth taking. Now I must go back to the others. "

Nasmyth pushed aside the portieres for her, and then sauntered intothe hall, where in a very thoughtful mood, he sat down by the fire. 

CHAPTER XXVI

ONE NIGHT'S TASK

Daylight was dying out in a flurry of whirling snow, when Nasmyth, wholed a jaded horse, floundered down from the steep rock slopes of thedivide into the shelter of the dark pines about the head of the gully. It was a little warmer there, and he was glad of it, for he waschilled, in spite of the toilsome climb. The dark boughs wailed abovehim, tossing athwart his path a haze of sliding snow, but he caught afaint and reassuring clink of drills, and straightened himself as heclambered down between the trees. The sound had a bracing effect onhim, and he felt a curious little thrill as the clamour of the rivercame up to him in long pulsations. The sound of the waters was growinglouder when Gordon, with a big axe in his hand, materialized out ofthe shadows, and strode forward impulsively at the sight of him. 

"Hand better? We're glad to see you; but you might have stayed anotherday or two, " he said. 

Nasmyth laughed. "Well, " replied he, "perhaps it's a little curious, considering everything, but I was impatient to get back again. Infact, I feel more at home each time I scramble down from the divide. "

He glanced round through the sliding snow at the dim white range andranks of towering pines, and, as he did so, the roar of the river andthe wail of trees that swayed beneath a fierce wind filled therock-walled hollow. Then the persistent clink of drills and thud ofaxes broke out again, while here and there the blurred white figure ofa toiling man emerged from the snow. It was a picture that a manunused to the wilderness might have shrunk from, but Gordon understoodhis comrade. They were engaged in a great struggle, with the powers ofsavage Nature arrayed against them; but it was with a curiousquickening of all the strength that was in them, mental and physical, that they braced themselves for the conflict. 

"I have a thing or two to tell you, but we'll get into the shanty andhave supper first. The boys are just quitting work, " remarked Gordon. 

They clambered down over a practicable trail, though part of it wascovered deep with snow, crept in and out among the boulders by thelight of a great fire that blazed above the fall, and found Mattawalaying a meal out when they reached the shanty. Neither Nasmyth norGordon said anything of consequence until after the meal, and thenNasmyth, who had put on his deer-hide jacket and duck trousers, flunghimself down in an empty packing-case that was stuffed with softspruce twigs, and looked about him with a smile of contentment. A lamphung above him, and its light gleamed upon axes, drills, iron wedges, and crosscut saws, and made a chequered pattern of brightness andshadow on the rude log walls. A glowing stove diffused a cosy warmth, and the little room was filled with the odours of tobacco and dryingboots and clothes. 

"I suppose you saw Wisbech?" observed Gordon. "Miss Waynefleet toldone of the boys, who was through at the settlement, that she had anote from him asking if she'd get a letter he or Acton had writteninto your hands as soon as possible. He seems to be making quite astay in this country. "

"He has stayed several months longer than he intended, " repliedNasmyth. "I believe he did it on my account; but he's going on againin a week or two. I saw him at Bonavista. Where's Waynefleet?"

"I guess he's in Victoria. "

"I didn't come across him. What took him there?"

Gordon laughed. "He said it was business. Wanted to see if we couldn'tget our tools and powder cheaper. As a matter of fact, it would be arelief if that could be done. Any way, he has been working quite hard, and has hung on rather longer than I expected. Administration's hisstrong point. He doesn't like chopping. " Gordon's face grew grave. "Inone way it's rather a pity he's fond of talking. I'm 'most afraidsomebody may start him discoursing on what we're doing over a glass ofwine and a cigar. I like a man of that kind where I can put my hand onhim. He's one of our weak spots. "

Nasmyth nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't know he was in the city, " he said. "How are you getting on?"

"Satisfactorily, so far as the work goes. We have pushed the blastingheading well under the fall, but there's a thing that has beenworrying me. I'd gone across the range to see what the boys in thevalley had done, when a man came in. It appears he resented our tryingto lower the river. Mattawa saw him. "

Mattawa looked up with a grin. "He said he'd a claim up at the head ofthe valley, and we had got to quit work right away. If we didn't he'dget the Crown people or the court to stop us. He liked plenty of waterround his ranch. Some of the boys got a little riled with him, andthey took him up the gully and put him on his horse. "

"I never heard of a claim up yonder, " declared Nasmyth gravely. 

"Well, " said Gordon, "I believe there is one. Somebody recorded it along while ago, and did nothing on it, but, as it was bought land, histitle stands. Potter says he understood the man was dead. It may be anattempt to get some money out of us. "

Nasmyth sat thoughtfully silent a moment or two. 

"One of the Crown people hinted at something of the kind, " he said. "Now I scarcely think any of the boys would go back on us by sellingout his land?"

"Not one. Any way, I guess they could hardly do it without the consentof the trustees. You and I are not likely to give ours. " He paused fora moment. "Well, " he added, "I guess Waynefleet could be dependedon. "

Nasmyth said nothing for almost a minute, and both recognized that thesilence was significant. Then he rose abruptly. 

"In one shape or other the trouble you suggested is one we will haveto face, " he commented. "That's why I'm going to fire a big charge inthe blasting heading to-night. You can bring the giant-powder along, Tom. "

Mattawa appeared to be amazed, and Gordon stared at his comradecuriously. 

"If you fire that charge now, you'll naturally make an end of theheading, and I understood your notion was to drive right under thefall and blow the whole ledge out at one time, " objected Gordon. "Guess if you just rip the top of the rock off, as far as we havegone, it will take us quite a while to make another tunnel, and money, as I needn't remind you, is running out. "

"Exactly!" agreed Nasmyth. "That extra work will have to be faced, butif I can get a big charge in to-night I can cut down the ridge a footor two. Two feet less water will count for something in the valley, and I'm going to make sure of it. It seems certain that somebody willtry to stop us by-and-by. "

Gordon noticed the hard glint in Nasmyth's eyes, and knew that nowwhen he was being pushed back to the wall he meant to fight, and wouldnot shrink from a sacrifice. They had driven that uncompleted headingat a heavy cost, cutting at first an open gallery in the face of therock, drenched with the spray of the fall. Then they had crawled intothe dripping tunnel hewn out by sheer force of muscle, for it wasseldom that powder could be used, and they had only a worn-outmachine, and had toiled crouching with scarcely room to bring a hammerdown on wedge or to hold the drill, while from odd fissures the icyriver poured in on them. Now, it seemed, all that severe effort was tobe practically thrown away, but he recognized that his comrade wasright. It was wiser to make sure of two feet than to wait untilsomebody set the law in motion and stopped the work. 

"Yes, " he assented simply; "I guess it has to be done. "

Mattawa entered with the magazine, and Nasmyth laid out several sticksof giant-powder near the stove. There was a certain risk in this, butgiant-powder freezes, and when that happens one must thaw it out. Itis a singularly erratic compound of nitro-glycerine, which requires tobe fired by a powerful detonator, and, if merely ignited, burnsharmlessly. One can warm it at a stove, or even flatten it with ahammer, without stirring it to undesired activity--that is, as arule--but now and then a chance tap with a pick-handle or a littlejolt suffices to loose its tremendous potentialities. In such casesthe men nearest it are usually not shattered, but dissolved into theircomponent gases. 

Nasmyth was quite aware of this as he sat by the stove kneading thedetonators into the sticks that he held up to warm. His lips were set, but his scarred hands were steady, for another risk more or less didnot count for very much in the cañon. Once, however, Mattawa ventureda protest. 

"I guess that stick's quite hot enough, " he observed. 

Nasmyth said nothing, but went on with his work, until at length helaid the sticks and fuses in the magazine, and signalling to theothers, moved towards the door. The snow beat into their faces whenthey went outside, and the glare of the fire above the fallemphasized the obscurity. Now the flames flung an evanescent flash ofradiance across the whirling pool and the dark rock's side, and thensank again to a dim smear of yellow brightness while a haze of vapourwhirled amidst the snow, for a high wind swept through the cañon. Sometimes they could see the boulders among which they stumbled, andthe river frothing at their feet, but for the most part they sawnothing, and groped onward with dazzled eyes, until at last Nasmythswung himself up on the narrow staging that overhung the pool beneaththe fall, and Gordon heard the sticks of giant-powder jolt against theside of the magazine. That alone would have sufficed to indicate thestate of his comrade's temper, for so far as it is possible, menhandle giant-powder very tenderly. 

There was no rail to the narrow staging, which was glazed with frozenspray, and when Gordon was half-way along it, the fire flung out agush of radiance and sank suddenly. Then thick smoke whirled abouthim, and for a moment or two he stopped and gasped, feeling for therock with a cautious hand. He was aware that the man who slipped fromthe staging would be whirled round with the eddy and drawn downbeneath the fall. A harsh voice came out of the darkness. 

"Am I to wait here half the night?" it asked. 

Gordon went on circumspectly, bruising his numbed fingers now and thenupon the stone, until once more a blaze broke out, and he saw Nasmythfloundering in haste over a pile of shattered rock. The magazine wasslung over his shoulder, and now and then it struck his back or theside of the rock. While Gordon would have been relieved had hiscomrade acted more circumspectly, he was not surprised. There were, heknew, times when men under strain broke out into an unreasoning fury. He had seen one hewing savagely on the perilous side of a tremendoustottering tree, and another grimly driving the bolts that could notsave it into the stringers of a collapsing wooden bridge. It was, ashe recognized, not exactly courage that they had displayed, but theelemental savagery that in the newer countries, at least, now and thenseizes on hard-driven men ground down by mortgage-holders, or ruinedby flood and frost. With man and Nature against them they would maketheir last grim protest before they were crushed. Gordon once or twicehad been conscious of the same fierce desire. He could sympathize withNasmyth, but, after all, he wished he would not bang the giant-powderabout in that unceremonious fashion. 

"Leave the magazine yonder, and we'll bring it along, " he cried. 

Nasmyth made no answer, but he waited until Gordon and Mattawa joinedhim, and they lowered themselves down from a rock shelf on to a pileof broken rock, about which the eddy swirled. The spray of the fallbeat upon them, and the roar of it was bewildering, but the noise wassoftened when they crawled into the entrance of a narrow tunnel. Mattawa, with considerable difficulty, struck a match, and a palelight streamed out from the little metal lamp he fastened in his hat. The light showed the ragged roof of the tunnel and the rivulet of icywater that flowed in the bottom of it. They crawled forward throughthe water for a few yards, vainly trying to avoid the deluge whichbroke upon them from the fissures, and finally sat down dripping on apile of broken rock. Nasmyth took out his pipe, and was lighting itwhen Gordon drew the magazine away from him. 

"You might just as well have done that before you opened the thing, "he remarked. "Anyway, if you merely want to sit down, it would havebeen quite as comfortable in the shanty. "

Nasmyth was silent for several moments; then he turned to the othertwo men with a wry smile. 

"I don't quite know how we drove this heading with the tools we had, but I can't think of any means of saving it, " he said. "There are menwith money--Martial, and more of them--in the cities waiting to takeaway from us what we expect to get, and since we have to fight them, it seems to me advisable to strike where it's possible. " He laughedharshly. "There'll be two feet less water in the valley before themorning. "

"But no heading, " cried Mattawa. 

"Well, " replied Nasmyth simply, "we'll start another one. I notice twoholes yonder. We'll drill a third one, Tom. "

Nasmyth had been in the saddle since sunrise, in bitter frost andwhirling snow, but he picked up a hammer, and Mattawa seized a drill. There was no room to swing the hammer, and Nasmyth struck halfcrouching, while, chilly as the heading was, the perspiration drippedfrom him, and the veins rose swollen on his forehead. He was upagainst it, and a man strikes hardest when he is pressed back to thewall. Gordon sat and watched them, but--for the rock rang with eachjarring thud--he wrapped the magazine in his wet jacket, and it was arelief to him when Nasmyth finally dropped the hammer. 

"Now, " said Nasmyth, "we'll fill every hole ram to the top. "

Mattawa placed the giant-powder in the holes, and they crawled back, trailing a couple of thin wires after them, until they reached thestrip of shingle near the gully, when Nasmyth made the connection withthe firing-plug. 

A streak of vivid flame leapt out of the rock, and the detonation wasfollowed by the roar of the river pouring through the newly openedgap. Nasmyth turned without a word and plodded back to the shanty. Agroup of men who had scrambled down the gully met him. 

"You were a little astonished to see me, boys?" he said with aquestion in his voice. Then he laughed. 

"I've fired a big charge, and I guess you'll have to start anotherheading as soon as it's sun-up. "

It was evident that the men were disconcerted, and an expostulatorymurmur rose from them. It ceased, however, when Nasmyth waved hishand. 

"I had to do it, boys, " he declared. 

It had cost them strenuous toil to drive that heading, but one couldhave fancied that they were satisfied with the terse assurance heoffered them. He had proved himself fit to lead them, and they had asteadfast confidence in him. 

"Well, " commented one of the men, "in that case, I guess all we haveto do is to start right off at the other one. "

Nasmyth opened the door of the shanty. "I felt you'd look at it thatway, boys, " he said. "I'll explain the thing later. I'm a littleplayed out to-night. "

The men plodded away up the gully, and in another few minutes Nasmythwas sound asleep. 

CHAPTER XXVII

TIMBER RIGHTS

They set to work on the new heading at sunrise next morning, but itwas a week or two before they had made much of an opening in the rockbeneath the fall. Though Nasmyth had lowered the level of the river alittle, the smooth-worn stone still rose sheer from the depths of thewhirling pool, and the blasting had obliterated every trace of theirprevious operations. They were compelled to make new approaches, andthey toiled, drenched with the icy spray, on frail, slung stages, cutting sockets for the logs to hold a heavier platform for the littleboring-machine Nasmyth had purchased in Victoria. When the platformwas built, the working face was narrow, and the rock of a kind thatyielded very slowly to the cutting-tool. They had no power but that ofwell-hardened muscle, and none of the workers had any particularknowledge of engineering. 

They pushed the new heading toilsomely beneath the fall, working inrock fissured by the last explosion, through which the water poured inon them, while the river rose when the frost broke up and wassucceeded by a week or two of torrential rain. The water swirled highamong the boulders, and had crept almost to the mouth of the heading, when one evening Wheeler walked into the shanty. He said nothing ofany consequence until supper was over, and he then took a newspaperout of his pocket. 

"Have you had any strangers round?" he asked. 

"No, " answered Nasmyth, with a dry smile. "That is, they didn't getany farther than the head of the gully. Two of them turned up one wetday, and when they found they couldn't get down, they explained ratherforcibly what they thought of me. "

Wheeler nodded, and handed the paper across to him. 

"I guess you did quite right, " he said. "This should make it clearthat some of the city men with money are on our trail. "

Nasmyth glanced at the paper, and saw a notification that certaintimber rights in the forest belt surrounding the valley had beenapplied for. 

"The Charters people!" he declared. "When I was in Victoria I had atalk with them. I partly expected something of the kind. By the way, Igot a notification from the rancher I mentioned that, if I continuedoperations, proceedings would be begun against me. "

"They mean business, " commented Wheeler, with a snap in his dark eyes. "It seems to me there are several of them in the thing, and theyevidently expect to get their hands on the valley one way or another. In all probability their idea is to let you get most of the work in, and then scare you into selling out for what they like to offer. Haveyou had any big trees coming along lately?"

"Yes, " answered Mattawa, "one or two went over the fall thisafternoon. "

"Drift logs?"

"Two had the branches chopped off them. "

Wheeler made a sign of comprehension. "Well, " he predicted, "you'regoing to see a good many more of that kind before very long. " Heturned to Nasmyth. "I'm going to stay over to-morrow. The mill's heldup again. We had an awkward break, and I can't get the new fixings in. You can tell me how you're getting on. "

They talked until late that night, and on awakening next morning foundthe river higher and thick with shattered ice. It had also crept intothe heading, and the men who worked in it were knee-deep in water. They, however, went on as usual, and it was in the afternoon thatseveral great trees leapt the fall, and, driving down the rapid, whirled away into the black depths of the cañon. Wheeler, who stoodwatching attentively, nodded as the trees drove by. 

"Hemlock. That's not going to count for milling purposes, " heobserved. 

Nasmyth, who came up dripping wet, sat down on a boulder and took outhis pipe. 

"Did you expect anything else?" he asked. 

Wheeler laughed. "I'm not sure that I did. It seems to me the men whowant those timber rights don't figure on doing much milling. " Helooked up sharply. "This one's red cedar. "

Another great trunk leapt the fall, swept round the pool, and thenbrought up with a crash upon the pile of shattered rock which stilllay athwart the head of the rapid. Nasmyth rose and straightenedhimself wearily. 

"It's a trifle unfortunate I hadn't hove that rock out with thederrick. We'll have to take hold if the log won't swing clear, " hesaid. 

The tree swung a little, and then the thinner head of it drove inamong the boulders and stuck fast. In another moment a shout rose froma man standing on the ledge above the fall. 

"Quite a batch of big logs coming along!" he called. 

Nasmyth thrust his pipe into his pocket, and Wheeler, who watched him, nodded. 

"They'll jam and pile up, " said Wheeler. "I guess that's what theother folks wanted. You have got to keep them clear. "

In another few moments Nasmyth was beating a suspended iron sheet, andwhile its clangour broke through the roar of the river the menfloundered towards him over the shingle. One or two of them had axes, and the rest, running into the shanty, brought out saws andhandspikes. In the meanwhile a huge log crashed upon the one heldfast, and there was no need to tell any of the men that those whichfollowed would rapidly pile up into an inextricable confusion ofinterlocked timber. There was only one thing to be done, and that wasto cut away the first log, which would hold them back, as soon aspossible. 

The men set to work, two or three of them running recklessly along therounded top of the slippery trunk, which rolled a little as ithammered upon the rock. Mattawa, with a big crosscut saw, crouched onthe half-submerged pile of stone, and a comrade, who seized itsopposite handle, held himself somehow on the second trunk by hisknees. It was difficult to understand how they could work at all, butthey were accustomed to toiling under embarrassing conditions. The sawhad hardly bitten through the bark when another log drove grindingagainst the rest, and Mattawa's companion, who let the handle go, fellforward on his face. He was up again in a moment, and after that stuckfast while log after log drove smashing upon the growing mass. Sometimes the one he clung to rose up under him, and sometimes it sankuntil he crouched in the water while another great butt crept up uponit, and it seemed that he must be crushed between them. Still, the sawrasped steadily through the heaving, grinding timber. It was perilouswork, but it was clear to all of them that it had to be done. 

In the meanwhile Nasmyth and Gordon stood knee-deep amidst the whitefoam of the rapid. The water was icy cold, and it was with difficultythey kept their feet, while every now and then a shower of spray thatleapt out from among the timber fell upon them. The logs were alreadytwo deep at that spot, and one great top ground steadily forward overthe others as its pressed-down butt was driven on by those behind. One could almost have fancied it was bent on escaping from thehorrible confusion of piled-up trunks that moved on one another underthe impact of the flood. More were sweeping on, and crash after crashrang through the hoarse clamour of the fall. 

Nasmyth felt very feeble as he whirled the heavy axe about his head, for that mass of timber was impressively big. He had torn off hisdeer-hide jacket, and his soaked blue shirt gaped open to his waist atevery heave of his shoulders. He stood in icy water, but theperspiration dripped from him as he swung with every blow. Though somemen with good thews and sinews can never learn to use the axe to anypurpose, he could chop, and the heavy blade he whirled rang with arhythmic precision in the widening notch, then flashed about his head, and fell with a chunk that was sharp as a whip-crack into the gapagain. In between Gordon's axe swept down, and the blades flashedathwart each other's orbits without a check or clash. It requiresyears to acquire that kind of proficiency with the axe, but the resultis a perfecting of the co-operation between will and hardened muscle. 

It was fortunate that both could chop, for the men with the crosscutappeared in difficulties. The tree bent on the pile of rock, and instraining closed the cut upon the saw. Another man who had joined themwas endeavouring to hammer a wedge in, but with that crushing weightagainst him the attempt seemed futile. He persisted, however, andstood above the white froth of the rapid, a puny figure dwarfed by thetremendous rock wall, whirling what appeared to be a whollyinsignificant hammer. His comrades were scattered about the grindingmass making ineffective efforts to heave a butt or top clear of theothers with their handspikes, but there was clearly only onevulnerable point of attack, and that was the one Nasmyth and Gordonwere hewing at. Wheeler, who felt the tension, watched them, clutchinghard upon an unlighted pipe. He was aware that if the mass of timber, which grew rapidly larger, once wedged itself fast, it might be amonth or two before a flood broke it up; but he had also sense enoughto recognize that, since most of the men's efforts were futile, hemight just as well sit still. 

The trunk was partly hewn through when the top of it bent outwards, and Gordon flashed an anxious glance at it. It was evident that ifnone of the others wedged themselves in upon and reinforced it theweight behind would shortly rend the trunk apart. Then the positionwould become a particularly perilous one, for the whole mass wouldbreak away in chaotic ruin, and he and his comrade stood close infront of it; but he could not tell how much further strain the treewould bear, and he recognized that it was desirable to hew the notchas deep as possible before he relinquished chopping. The axes rang foranother two minutes, and then there was a sudden crash, and a cry fromWheeler that was drowned in the tumult of sound that rose from theliberated timber. 

Great logs reared their butts or tops out of the heaving mass. Somerolled round and disappeared beneath those that crept upon them, butfor a moment or two the shattered trunk, jammed down by the weightupon it, held them back from the plunge into the rapid. It smashedamong the rocks that ground and rent it as it slowly gave way, andWheeler ran his hardest towards a strip of shingle that projected alittle into the river. He saw Nasmyth, who had evidently lost hisfooting, driving downstream towards it, and knew that in anothermoment or two the logs would be upon him. 

Nasmyth was not exactly swimming. In fact, strictly speaking, onecannot swim in a rapid, nor when there is only three or four feet ofwater can one get upon one's feet. He rolled over and over, went downand came up again, until Wheeler, floundering into the foaming water, clutched him, and held on desperately, though he felt that his arm wasbeing drawn out of its socket. He would probably have been swept away, too, had not somebody grabbed his jacket, and he heard a hoarse voicebehind him. 

"Heave!" it said--"heave!"

The strain on Wheeler's arm became intolerable, but somehow he heldfast, and just then there was an appalling crash and roar. He felthimself being dragged backwards, and in another moment fell heavilyupon the shingle with Nasmyth across his feet. Blinking about him halfdazed, he saw the logs drive by, rolling, grinding, smashing, andfalling on one another. Then, as they whirled down the rapid, and theroar they made began to die away, he looked round, and saw severalgasping men standing close behind him. 

"Guess that was quite a near thing, " said one of them. "Any way, inthis kind of contract you can sure figure on trouble. "

This, as a matter of fact, was perfectly correct, for it is only atconsiderable peril to life and limb that saw-logs are driven down therivers to a Western mill. They must be guided through each awkwardpass and frothing rapid, and the men who undertake it spring with pikeand peevie from one to another while the rolling trunks tumultuouslycharge on. 

Nobody, however, troubled himself any further about the matter, and ina few more minutes the men had set to work again heaving the rocksthat had held up the first log out of the river with the derrick. Itwas not until supper was over, and he sat with his companions in theshanty, that Wheeler referred to the affair again. He looked atNasmyth with a smile. 

"I guess it's fortunate you got those logs away, " he said. "It'sprobably a little more than the men who turned them loose on youfigured you could do. "

"That, " agreed Nasmyth, "is very much my own opinion. "

Wheeler filled his pipe. "Now, " he said reflectively, "anybody canapply for timber rights, and bid for them at public auction, but theman who secures them must cut up so many thousand feet every month. Since that's the case, it's quite evident that nobody is likely to bidfor timber rights round the valley, except the Charters people, whohave a little mill on the Klatchquot Inlet, and they'd probably getthe timber rights 'most for nothing, though they might have to put ina new saw or two with the object of satisfying the Legislature. "

"It's rather difficult to see how they expect to make a profit onhemlock in view of what it would cost them to get the logs there, "Gordon broke in. 

"They don't want to make a profit. " Wheeler smiled. "Seems to me it'stheir programme to get hold of the rights cheap, and then worry youbecause they can't run the logs through this cañon. The Legislaturewon't give you land or rights to do nothing with, and it's quitelikely the Charters people will file a notification that your workingsare the obstacle. Still, they'd probably make you an offer first. Ifyou let them in on the ground-floor--handed them a big slice of thevalley or something of the kind--they'd let up on their timber rights. I'm not sure they could run good milling fir to that mill at aprofit. "

A grim look crept into Nasmyth's face. Difficulties were crowdingthick upon him, and though he was as determined as ever on proceedingwith the work, he almost felt that it would be only until they crushedhim. 

"It seems to me we are in the hands of the Charters people, unless Ican keep the cañon clear, " he commented. 

Wheeler's eyes twinkled. "Well, " he returned, "they're smart. Ihave, however, come across smart folks who missed a point or twooccasionally. Now, I saw a couple of red cedar logs among thathemlock. "

He glanced at Mattawa. "Tom, you've been round the head of the valley. Did you strike any trees of that kind up yonder?"

"A few, " answered Mattawa. "It's quite likely there are more. "

"A sure thing. You and I are going out timber-right prospecting atsun-up to-morrow. Just now they can't get red cedar shingles fastenough on to the Eastern markets. "

Nasmyth looked up and Gordon laughed a soft laugh, while Wheeler wavedhis hand. 

"Anyone can bid for timber rights, " he declared. "Now, our folks areopen for any business, and we have got a mill. It's not going to costmuch to put a shingle-splitting plant in. We have easy water-carriageto the Inlet, where a schooner can load, and the Charters people wouldhave to tow their raw material right along to their mill. Besides, that Inlet's a blame awkward place to get a schooner in. It's quiteclear to me we could cut shingles way cheaper than they could. " Hepaused for a moment. "Yes, " he said, "if there's milling cedar nearthe valley, our folks will make their bid. If Charters wants thoserights, he'll have to put up the money, and it's quite likely we'lltake them up in spite of him if I'm satisfied with my prospecting. Inthat case, we're not going to worry you about the cañon. In fact, wewould probably make you a proposition at so much the log for runningthe trees down for us. "

He filled his pipe again, and Nasmyth looked at him with relief in hiseyes. 

CHAPTER XXVIII

A PAINFUL DUTY

Three months had slipped away since the evening on which Wheeler haddiscussed the subject of shingle-splitting with his companions. Nasmyth stood outside the shanty in the drenching rain. He was verywet and miry, and his face was lined and worn, for the three months ofunremitting effort had left their mark on him. Wheeler had secured thetimber rights in question, and that was one difficulty overcome, butNasmyth had excellent reasons for believing that the men who had castcovetous eyes upon the valley had by no means abandoned the attempt toget possession of at least part of it. 

He had had flood and frost against him, and his money was rapidlyrunning out. A wild flood swept through the cañon. The heading wasfilled up, so that no one could even see the mouth of it, and half therock he had piled upon the shingle had been swept into the rapid, where it had formed a dam among the boulders that could be removedonly at a heavy expenditure of time and powder when the water fell. Hewas worn out in body, and savage from being foiled by the swollenriver at each attempt he made, but while the odds against him wererapidly growing heavier he meant to fight. 

A Siwash Indian whom he had hired as messenger between the cañon andthe settlement had just arrived, and Gordon, who stood in the doorwayof the shanty, took a newspaper out of the wet packet he had brought. Gordon turned to Nasmyth when he opened it. 

"Wheeler's getting ahead, " he said. "Here's his announcement that hisconcern is turning out a high-grade cedar shingle. That's satisfactoryso far as it goes. I don't quite know how we'd have held out if ithadn't been for the money we got from him for running the logs down. "Then his voice grew suddenly eager. "Try to get hold of thesignificance of this, Derrick: 'We have got it on reliable authoritythat certain propositions for the exploitation of the virginforest-belt beyond the Butte Divide will shortly be laid before theLegislature. It is expected that liberal support will be afforded to aproject for the making of new waggon-roads, and we believe that if thescheme is adopted certain gentlemen in this city will endeavour toinaugurate a steamboat service with the Western inlets. '" He waved hishand. "When this particular paper makes an assertion of that kind, there's something going on, " he added. "It's a sure thing that ifthose roads are made, it will put another thirty or forty cents on toevery dollar's worth of land we're holding. "

"Exactly, " replied Nasmyth, whose tense face did not relax. "That is, it would, if we had run the water out of the valley; but, as ithappens, we haven't cut down very much of the fall yet, and this thingis going to make the men we have against us keener than ever. They'reprobably plotting how to strike us now. Get those letters open. "

There was anxiety in his voice, and Gordon started when he had rippedopen one or two of the envelopes. 

"This looks like business, " he remarked, as he glanced at a letterfrom a lawyer who had once or twice handled Nasmyth's affairs in thecity. "It's from Phelps. He says he has been notified that, unless anagreement can be arrived at, proceedings will be taken by a man calledHames, who claims to hold one hundred acres on the western side of thevalley, to restrain you from altering the river level. Atterly--he'sthe man we've heard from already--it seems, is taking action, too. "

"Hames?" repeated Nasmyth. "I've never heard of him. Any way, he can'thold land on the western side. We haven't sold an acre. " He stopped amoment, and looked hard at Gordon. "That is, I haven't sanctioned it, and I believe there's nobody holding a share in the project who wouldgo back on us. "

Gordon made a gesture indicating his doubt in the subject, and theylooked at each other for half a minute. 

"I'm afraid I can't go quite as far as that, " he replied, and laughedharshly. "As it stands recorded, the land could be transferred toanyone by Waynefleet. Any way, it seems to be in his block. Phelpscites the boundary-posts. "

Nasmyth closed one hand tight. Waynefleet, who had found the constantwetting too much for him, had left the cañon a week or two before thismorning, on which it was evident a crisis of some sort was near. Hehad complained of severe pains in his back and joints, and had sentthem no word after his departure. 

"Is there anything from him?" asked Nasmyth. 

Gordon picked out an envelope and opened it. "Here's a note from MissWaynefleet. She desires you to ride across at once. "

With a troubled face Nasmyth stood still in the rain another minute. 

"I'll take the pack-horse and start now, " he said after a briefsilence. "When I have seen Miss Waynefleet, I'll go right on toVictoria. " He turned and gazed at the river. "If one could get intothe heading by any means, I'd fire every stick of giant-powder in itfirst. Unfortunately, the thing is out of the question. "

In a few moments he was scrambling up the gully, and Gordon, who wentinto the shanty and lighted his pipe, sat gazing at the letters verythoughtfully. They had no money to spare for any legal expenses. Indeed, he was far from sure they had enough to supply them withpowder and provisions until their task was accomplished. During thelong grim fight in the cañon they had borne almost all that could beexpected of flesh and blood, and it was unthinkable that the city man, who sat snug in his office and plotted, should lay grasping hands uponthe profit. Still, that seemed possible now that somebody had betrayedthem. 

Meantime, Nasmyth had swung himself into the pack-saddle, and, in therain, was scrambling up the rocky slopes of the divide. He had notchanged his clothing, and it would have availed him little if he had, since there was a long day's ride before him. The trail was a littleeasier than it had been, for each man who led the pack-horse along ithad hewn through some obstacle, but it was still sufficientlydifficult, and every here and there a frothing torrent swept acrossit. There were slopes of wet rock to be scrambled over, severalleagues of dripping forest thick with undergrowth that clung about thenarrow trail to be floundered through, and all the time the greatsplashes from the boughs or torrential rain beat upon him. In placeshe led the pack-horse, in places he rode, and dusk was closing in whenhe saw a blink of light across Waynefleet's clearing. In another fewminutes he had led the jaded horse into the stable, and then, splashedwith mire, and with the water running from his clothes, had limped tothe homestead door. 

Nasmyth opened the door and saw Laura Waynefleet sitting by the stove. She started as he came in. 

"I have been expecting you, " she said. She gave him her hand and hereyes met his with a look of anxiety. She noticed his appearance ofweariness and the condition of his clothing. "I can get you somethingdry to put on, " she added. 

"No, " said Nasmyth, "you must not trouble. I would be quite as wetagain, soon after I leave here. If I can borrow a horse, I must pushon to the railroad in an hour. "

"To-night?" asked Laura. "After riding in from the cañon, it's out ofthe question. Besides, you could never get through the Willow Ford. Listen to the rain. "

Nasmyth sank wearily into the nearest chair, and heard the deluge lashthe shingled roof. 

"I'm afraid it must be done, " he declared. 

Laura laid supper upon the table, and insisted that he should eatbefore she made any reference to the object she had in hand. Then, while he sat beside the stove with his clothes steaming, she looked athim steadily, and a little colour crept into her face. 

"I wonder if you can guess why I sent for you?" she said. 

"Where is your father?" Nasmyth asked abruptly. 

"In Victoria. He left six days ago. I suppose he sent you no word thathe was going. "

"No, " answered Nasmyth very dryly, "he certainly didn't. I don't thinkI could have expected it from him. "

He sat silent for almost a minute, looking at her with a troubled air, and though Laura was very quiet, her manner was vaguely suggestive oftension. It was Nasmyth who broke the silence. 

"I believe you have something to tell me, Miss Waynefleet, " he said. "Still, I would sooner you didn't, if it will hurt you. After all, it's rather more than possible that I can arrive at the information bysome other means. "

The tinge of colour grew plainer in Laura's face, but it was evidentthat she laid a firm restraint upon herself. "Ah!" she cried, "it hashurt me horribly already. I can't get over the shame of it. But thatisn't what I meant to speak of. I feel"--and her voice grew tense andstrained--"I must try to save you and the others from a piece ofwicked treachery. "

She straightened herself, and there was a flash in her eyes, butNasmyth raised one hand. 

"No, " he protested, almost sternly, "I can't let you do this. Youwould remember it ever afterwards with regret. "

The girl seemed to nerve herself for an effort, and when she spoke hervoice was impressively quiet. 

"You must listen and try to understand, " she said. 

"It is not only because it would hurt me to see you and the otherstricked out of what you have worked so hard for that I feel I musttell you. If there was nothing more than that, I might, perhaps, neverhave told you, after all. I want to save my father from a shamefulthing. " Her voice broke away, and the crimson flush on her facedeepened as she went on again. "He has been offering to sell land thatcan't belong to him, " she asserted accusingly. 

Nasmyth felt sorry for her, and he made an attempt to offer her agrain of consolation. 

"A few acres are really his, " he said. "I made them over to him. "

"To be his only if he did his share, and when the scheme provedsuccessful, " Laura interrupted. "I know, if he has sold them, what anopportunity of harassing you it will give the men who are plottingagainst you. Still, now you know, you can, perhaps, break off thebargain. I want you to do what you can"--and she glanced at him with atense look in her eyes--"if it is only to save him. "

"That, " replied Nasmyth quietly, "is, for quite another reason, theobject I have in view. I would like you to understand that I haveguessed that he had failed us already. It may be some littleconsolation. Now, perhaps, you had better tell me exactly what youknow. "

Laura did so, and it proved to be no more than Nasmyth had suspected. Letters had passed between Waynefleet and somebody in Victoria, andthe day after he left for that city two men, who had evidently crossedhim on the way, arrived at the ranch. One said his name was Hames, andhis conversation suggested that he supposed the girl was acquaintedwith her father's affairs. In any case, what he said made it clearthat he had either purchased, or was about to purchase fromWaynefleet, certain land in the valley. After staying half an hour, the men had, Laura understood, set out again for Victoria. 

When she had told him this, Nasmyth sat thoughtfully silent a minuteor two. Her courage and hatred of injustice had stirred him deeply, for he knew what it must have cost her to discuss the subject of herfather's wrongdoing with him. He was also once more overwhelminglysorry for her. There was nobody she could turn to for support orsympathy, and it was evident that if he succeeded in foiling Hames, itwould alienate her from her father. Waynefleet, he felt, was notlikely to forgive her for the efforts she had made to save him frombeing drawn into an act of profitable treachery. 

"Well, " he said after a moment's thought, "I am going on to Victoriato see what can be done, but there is another matter that is troublingme. I wonder if it has occurred to you that your father will find itvery difficult to stay on at the ranch when the part he has playedbecomes apparent. I am almost afraid the boys will be vindictive. "

"I believe he has not expected to carry on the ranch much longer. Itis heavily mortgaged, and he has been continually pressed for money. "

"Has he any plans?"

Laura smiled wearily. "He has always plans. I believe he intends to goto one of the towns on Puget Sound, and start a land agency. " Shemade a dejected gesture. "I don't expect him to succeed in it, butperhaps I could earn a little. "

Nasmyth set his lips tight, and there was concern in his face. Shelooked very forlorn, and he knew that she was friendless. He couldhardly bring himself to contemplate the probability of her being castadrift, saddled with a man who, it was evident, would only involve herin fresh disasters, and, he fancied, reproach her as the cause ofthem. A gleam of anger crept into his eyes. 

"If your father had only held on with us, I could have saved youthis, " he observed. 

There was a great sadness in Laura's smile. 

"Still, " she replied, "he didn't, and perhaps you couldn't haveexpected it of him. He sees only the difficulties, and I am afraidnever tries to face them. "

Nasmyth felt his self-control deserting him. He was conscious of analmost overwhelming desire to save the girl from the results of herfather's dishonesty and folly, and he could see no way in which itcould be done. Then it was borne in upon him that in another moment ortwo he would probably say or do something that he would regretafterwards, and she would resent, and, rising stiffly, he held out hishand. 

"I must push on to the railroad, " he said, and he held the hand shegave him in a firm clasp. "Miss Waynefleet, you saved my life, and Ibelieve I owe you quite as much in other ways. It's a fact thatneither of us can attempt to disregard. I want you to promise that youwill, at least, not leave the ranch without telling me. "

Laura flashed a quick glance at him, and perhaps she saw more than hesuspected in his insistent gaze, for she strove to draw her hand away. He held it fast, however, while his nerves thrilled and his heartbeat furiously. He remembered Violet Hamilton vaguely, but there cameupon him a compelling desire to draw this girl to whom he owed so muchinto his arms and comfort her. They both stood very still a moment, and Nasmyth heard the snapping of the stove with a startlingdistinctness. Then--and it cost him a strenuous effort--he let herhand go. 

"You will promise, " he insisted hoarsely. 

"Yes, " answered Laura, "before I go away I will tell you. "

Nasmyth went out into the blackness and the rain, while Laura sattrembling until she heard the beat of his horse's hoofs. Then she sanklower, a limp huddled figure, in the canvas chair. The stove snappednoisily, and the pines outside set up a doleful wailing, but, exceptfor that, it was very still in the desolate ranch. 

Nasmyth rode on until he borrowed a fresh horse from a man who lived afew miles along the trail. There was a cheerful light from the windowsas he rode into a little settlement, and the trail to the railroad ledthrough dripping forest and over a towering range, but he did not drawbridle. He was aching all over, and the water ran from his garments, but he scarcely seemed to feel his weariness then, and he pushed onresolutely through the rain up the climbing trail. 

He remembered very little of that ride afterwards, or what he thoughtabout during it. The strain of the last few minutes he had passedat Waynefleet's ranch had left him dazed, and part of his numbness, at least, was due to weariness. Several times he was almost flungfrom the saddle as the horse scrambled down a slope of rock. Willow-branches lashed him as he pushed through the thickets, and inone place it was only by a grim effort that he drove the frightenedbeast to ford a flooded creek. Then there was a strip of hillside tobe skirted, where the slope was almost sheer beneath the edge of thewinding trail, and the rain that drove up the valley beat into hiseyes. Still he held on, and two hours after sunrise rode half asleepinto the little mining town. There was a train in the station, and, turning the horse over to a man he met, he climbed, dripping as hewas, into a car. 

CHAPTER XXIX

A FUTILE SCHEME

There was bright sunshine at Bonavista when Nasmyth, who had been toldat the station that Acton had arrived from Victoria the day before, limped out from the shadow of the surrounding Bush, and stood still amoment or two, glancing across the trim lawn and terrace towards thewooden house. The spacious dwelling, gay with its brightly paintedlattice shutters, dainty scroll-work, and colonnades of woodenpillars, rose against the sombre woods, and he wondered with someanxiety whether Mrs. Acton had many guests in it. He had no desire tofall in with any strangers, for he was worn out and aching, and hestill wore the old duck clothing in which he had left the cañon. Itmight, he fancied, be possible to slip into the house and changebefore he presented himself to Mrs. Acton, though he was by no meanssure that the garments in the valise he carried in his hand were dry. He could see nobody on the terrace, and moved forward hastily until hestopped in consternation as he crossed one of the verandas. Thesunlight streamed in, and Mrs. Acton and Violet Hamilton sat upon theseat which ran along the back of it. The girl started when she sawhim, and Nasmyth stood looking down on her, worn in face andheavy-eyed, with his workman's garb clinging, tight and mire-stained, about his limbs. There was, however, a certain grimness in his smile. He had seen the girl's start and her momentary shrinking, and itoccurred to him that there was a significance in the fact that it hadnot greatly hurt him. 

"I must make my excuses for turning up in this condition, " heapologized. "I had to start for the railroad at a moment's notice, andit rained all the way, while, when I reached it, the train was in thedepôt. You see, my business is rather urgent. "

Mrs. Acton laughed. "Evidently, " she said. "I think we were both atrifle startled when we saw you. I should be sorry to hear thatanything had gone seriously wrong, but you remind one of the man whobrought the news of Flodden. "

Nasmyth made a quick gesture of denial. "Well, " he announced bravely, "our standard is flying yet, and I almost think we can make anotherrally or two. Still, I have come for reinforcements. Mr. Acton isin?"

"He is. As it happened, he came up from Victoria yesterday. I believehe is discussing some repairs to the steamer with George just now. I'll send you out a plate of something and a glass of wine. You can'thave had any lunch. "

Mrs. Acton rose, and Nasmyth, who sat down, looked at Violet with asmile. She was evidently not quite at ease. 

"You really haven't welcomed me very effusively, " he remarked. 

The girl flushed. "I don't think I could be blamed for that, " shereturned. "I was startled. "

"And perhaps just a little annoyed?"

The colour grew plainer in Violet's cheeks. "Well, " she averred, "thatisn't so very unnatural. After all, I don't mind admitting that I wishyou hadn't come like this. "

Nasmyth glanced down at his attire, and nodded gravely. "It'scertainly not altogether becoming, " he admitted. "I made that holedrilling, but I fancied I had mended the thing. Still, you see, I hadto start on the moment, and I rode most of twenty-four hours in therain. I suppose"--and he hesitated while he studied her face--"I mighthave tidied myself at the depôt, but, as it happened, I didn't thinkof it, which was, no doubt, very wrong of me. "

"It was, at least, a little inconsiderate. "

Nasmyth laughed good-humouredly, though he recognized that neither hisweariness nor the fact that it must manifestly be business of someconsequence that had brought him there in that guise had any weightwith her. He had, after all, a wide toleration, and he acknowledged tohimself that her resentment was not unreasonable. 

"I've no doubt that I was inconsiderate, " he said. "Still, you see, Iwas worried about our affairs in the cañon. "

"The cañon!" repeated Violet reproachfully. "It is always the cañon. Iwonder if you remember that it is at least a month since you havewritten a line to me. "

Nasmyth was disconcerted, for a moment's reflection convinced him thatthe accusation was true. 

"Well, " he confessed, "I have certainly been shamefully remiss. Ofcourse, I was busy from dawn to sunset, but, after all, I'm afraidthat is really no excuse. "

The girl frowned. "No, " she said, "it isn't. "

It was a slight relief to Nasmyth that a maid appeared just then, andhe took a glass of wine from the tray she laid upon a little table. 

"To the brightest eyes in this Province!" he said, when the servanthad gone, and, emptying the glass, he fell upon the food voraciously. 

It was unfortunate that in such unattractive guise he had come uponViolet, and the fashion in which he ate also had its effect on her. Inthe last thirty hours he had had only one hasty meal, and he showed avoracity that offended her fastidious taste. He was worn out andanxious, and since all his thoughts were fixed upon the business thathe had in hand, he could not rouse himself to act according to themanner expected of a lover who returns after a long absence. It was, however, once more borne in upon him that this was significant. 

Violet, on her part, felt repelled by him. He was gaunt and lean, andthe state of his garments had shocked her. His hands were hard andbattered. She was very dainty, and in some respects unduly sensitive, and it did not occur to her that it would have been more natural if, in place of shrinking, she had been sensible only of a tender pity forhim. Perhaps there were excuses for her attitude. She had never beenbrought into contact with the grim realities of life, and it is onlyfrom those whom that befalls that one can expect the wide sympathywhich springs from comprehension. Nasmyth, lounging at Bonavista withamusing speeches on his lips and his air of easy deference, had been asomewhat romantic figure, and the glimpses of the struggle in the Bushthat he had given her had appealed to her imagination. She could feelthe thrill of it when she saw it through his eyes with all theunpleasantly realistic features carefully wiped out, but it wasdifferent now that he had come back to her with the dust and stain ofthe conflict fresh upon him. The evidences of his strife were onlyrepulsive, and she shrank from them. She watched him with a growingimpatience until he rose and laid his empty plate aside. 

"Well, " he observed, "you will excuse me. I must see Mr. Acton as soonas I can. "

It was not in any way a tactful speech, and Violet resented it. Theman, it seemed, had only deferred the business he had on hand for ameal. She looked at him with her displeasure flashing in her eyes. 

"In that case, " she said, "I should, of course, be sorry to keep youaway from him. "

Nasmyth gazed at her curiously, but he did not reply. He went awayfrom her. A few minutes later when he entered Acton's room he wasattired in conventional fashion. His host shook hands with him, andthen leaned back in a chair, waiting for him to speak, which he didwith a trace of diffidence. 

"My object is to borrow money, " he explained frankly. "I couldn'tresent it in the least if you sent me on to somebody else. "

"I'll hear what you have to say in the first case, " replied Acton. "You had better explain exactly how you stand. "

Nasmyth did so as clearly as he could, and Acton looked at himthoughtfully for a moment or two. 

"I've been partly expecting this, " he observed. "It's quite clear thatone or two of the big land exploitation people have a hand in thething. I guess I could put my finger right down on them. You said theman's name was Hames?"

Nasmyth said it was, and Acton sat thinking for several minutes. 

"It seems to me that the folks I have in my mind haven't been quitesmart enough, " he declared at length. "They should have put up asounder man. As it happens, I know a little about the one they fixedupon. Mr. Hames is what you could call a professional claim-jumper, and it's fortunate that there's a weak spot or two in his career. "

Acton paused, and Nasmyth waited in tense expectancy until the olderman turned to him again, with a twinkle in his eyes. 

"I almost think I can take a hand in this thing, and to commence with, we'll go down to Victoria this afternoon and call on Mr. Hames, " headded. "If he has bought that land, it will probably be registered inhis name. The men you have against you are rather fond of working inthe dark. Then we come to another point--what it would be wisest todo with Waynefleet, who went back on you. You said he had a mortgageon his ranch. You know who holds it?"

Nasmyth said he did not know, and Acton nodded. "Any way, " herejoined, "we can ascertain it in the city. Now, I guess you wouldlike that man run right out of the neighbourhood? It would be safest, and it might perhaps be done. "

Nasmyth was startled by this suggestion, and with a thoughtful face hesat wondering what was most advisable. He bore Waynefleet very littlegood-will, but it was clear that Laura must share any trouble thatbefell her father, and he could not at any cost lay a heavier loadupon her. He was conscious that Acton was watching him intently. 

"No, " he objected, "I don't want him driven out. In fact, I should besatisfied with making it impossible for him to enter into anyarrangement of the kind again. "

"In that case, I guess we'll try to buy up his mortgage, " remarkedActon. "Land's going to be dearer in that district presently. "

Nasmyth looked at him with a little confusion. "It is very kind, but, after all, I have no claim on you. "

"No, " agreed Acton, with a smile, "you haven't in one way. This is, however, a kind of thing I'm more at home in than you seem to be, andthere was a little promise I made your uncle. For another thing"--andhe waved his hand--"I'm going to take a reasonable profit out ofyou. "

Nasmyth made no further objections, and they set out for Victoria thatafternoon. Hames was, however, not readily traced; and when, on thefollowing morning, they sat in Acton's office waiting his appearance, Nasmyth was conscious of a painful uncertainty. Acton, with a smile onhis face, leaned back in his chair until Hames was shown in. Hames wasa big, bronze-faced man, plainly dressed in city clothes, but therewas, Nasmyth noticed, a trace of half-furtive uneasiness in his eyes. Acton looked up at him quietly, and let him stand for several moments. Then he waved his hand toward a chair. 

"Won't you sit down? We have got to have a talk, " said Acton. "I'llcome right to the point. You have have been buying land. "

Hames sat down. "I can't quite figure how that concerns you, " hereplied. "I'm not going to worry about it, any way. "

"I want that land--the block you bought from Waynefleet. "

"It's not for sale, " asserted Hames. "If you have nothing else to putbefore me, I'll get on. I'm busy this morning. "

Acton leaned forward in his chair. "When I'm in the city, I'm usuallybusy, too, " he said; "in fact, I've just three or four minutes tospare for you, and I expect to get through in that time. To beginwith, you sent Mr. Hutton a note from your hotel when my clerk camefor you. He never got it. You can have it back unopened. I can guesswhat's in the thing. " He handed Hames an envelope. "Now, " he went on, "you can make a fuss about it, but I guess it wouldn't be wise. Huttondoesn't know quite as much about you as I do. I've had a finger inmost of what has been done in this Province the last few years, andit's not often I forget a man. Well, I guess I could mention one ortwo little affairs that were not altogether creditable which you had ashare in. "

Hames laughed. "It's quite likely. "

"Still, what you don't know is that I'm on the inside track of whatwas done when the Hobson folks jumped the Black Crag claim. There wasconsiderable trouble over the matter. "

Nasmyth saw Hames start, but he apparently braced himself with aneffort. 

"Any way, " replied Hames, "that was 'most four years ago, and there'snot a man who had a hand in it in this Province now. "

Acton shook his head. "There's one. I can put my hand on your partnerOkanagon Jim just when I want to. "

There was no doubt that Hames was alarmed. 

"Jim was drowned crossing the river the night the water broke into theBlack Crag shaft, " he declared. 

"His horse was, and the boys found his hat. That, however, is quite aplayed-out trick. If you're not satisfied, I can fix it for you tomeet him here any time you like. "

Hames made a motion of acknowledgment. "I don't want to seehim--that's a sure thing! I guess you know it was fortunate that Jimand two or three of the other boys got out of the shaft that night. Well, I guess that takes me. If Jim's around, I'll put down mycards. "

"It's wisest, " advised Acton. "Now, I'm going to buy that landWaynefleet sold from you--or, rather, he's going to give you yourmoney back for it. You can arrange the thing with Hutton--who, Ibelieve, supplied the money--afterwards as best you can. "

Nasmyth fancied Hames was relieved that no more was expected fromhim. 

"I guess I'm in your hands, " observed Hames. 

"Then, " Acton said, "you can wait in my clerk's office until I'm readyto go over with you to Waynefleet's hotel. "

Hames went out, and Acton turned to Nasmyth. "He was hired with a fewothers to jump the claim he mentioned, and there was trouble over it. As usual, just what happened never quite came out, but that man lefthis partner to face the boys, who scarcely managed to escape withtheir lives that night. The man who holds Waynefleet's mortgage shouldbe here at any moment. "

The man arrived in a few minutes. After he had sat down and had takenthe cigar Acton offered him, he was ready to talk business. 

"You have a mortgage on Rancher Waynefleet's holding in the Bush, "said Acton. "I understand you've had some trouble in getting what heowes you. "

The man nodded. "That's certainly the case, " he said. "I bought upquite a lot of land before I laid down the mill, but after I did thatI let most of it go. In fact, I'm quite willing to let up onWaynefleet's holding, too. I can't get a dollar out of him. "

"Have you offered to sell the mortgage to anybody?"

"I saw Martial and the Charters people not long ago. They'd give abouteighty cents on the dollar. Hutton said he'd make me a bid, but hedidn't. "

"Well, " said Acton, "my friend here wants that ranch for a particularpurpose. He'd bid you ninety. "

"I can't do it. If the new roads that have been suggested are made, the ranch ought to bring me a little more. Still, I don't mind lettingyou in at what I gave for it. "

Acton looked at Nasmyth. 

"Then, " said Acton, "we'll call it a bargain. You can write me a noteto that effect, and I'll send my clerk across with the paperspresently. "

The man went out a few minutes later, and Acton rose. 

"I'll charge you bank interest; but if you care to put the mortgage upfor sale, you'll get your money back 'most any time after they startthose roads, " Acton said to Nasmyth. "Now we'll go along and call onWaynefleet. "

They went out with Hames, and a little while later came uponWaynefleet sitting on the veranda of a second-rate hotel. He wasdressed immaculately, and with a cigar in his hand, lay in a bigchair. He started when he saw them. Hames grinned, and sat down closein front of him. 

"I'm going back on my bargain. I want my money and you can keep yourland, " he said. "The fact is Mr. Acton has got on my trail, and he'snot the kind of man I have any use for fighting. "

There was consternation in Waynefleet's face, but he straightenedhimself with an effort. 

"I suppose you have brought this man, Mr. Nasmyth, and I scarcelythink it is quite what one would have expected from you--at least, until you had afforded me the opportunity of offering you anexplanation, " he blustered. 

"Can you offer me one that any sensible man would listen to?" Nasmythasked sharply. 

"He can't, " Acton broke in. "We're out on business. You may as wellmake it clear that we understand the thing. "

Waynefleet turned and looked at Acton with lifted brows, and had hebeen less angry, Nasmyth could have laughed at his attitude. Waynefleet's air of supercilious resentment was inimitable. 

"You have some interest in this affair?" he inquired. 

"Oh, yes, " answered Acton cheerfully. "Still, you needn't worry aboutme. All you have to do is to hand this man over the money and recordthe new sale. We don't want any unpleasantness, but it has to bedone. "

Waynefleet appeared to recognize that there was no remedy. 

"In that case there is the difficulty that I can't quite raise theamount paid, " he said. "Travelling and my stay in the city have costme something. "

"How much are you short?"

"About a hundred dollars. "

"Then, " replied Acton, "I'll take a bill for the money. We'll go alongand record the sale as soon as Mr. Nasmyth's ready. I expect he hassomething to say to you. "

Acton went into the hotel with Hames, and there was an awkward silencewhen they had disappeared. Nasmyth leaned against a wooden pillar, andWaynefleet sat still, waiting for him to speak. Nasmyth turned tohim. 

"It would, perhaps, be preferable to regard this affair from astrictly business point of view, " said Nasmyth. "You are, of course, in our hands, but to save your credit and to protect Miss Waynefleetfrom any embarrassment, we shall probably not insist upon your handingover the land to anybody else. I think we are safe in doing that. Nowthat you have signally failed, you will not have nerve enough toattempt to betray us again. "

Waynefleet waved his hand. "I resent the attitude you have adopted. Itis not by any means what I am accustomed to, or should have expectedfrom you. "

Nasmyth felt a faint, contemptuous pity for the man, who stillendeavoured to retain his formality of manner. 

"I'm afraid that hasn't any great effect on me, and my attitude is, atleast, a natural one, " he said. "I believe that Gordon and I canarrange that the boys do not hear of your recent action, and thoughyou will take no further part in our affairs, you will stay on at theranch. I may mention that I have just bought up your mortgage. "

A flush of anger showed in Waynefleet's cheeks. 

"Is it in any way your business where I live?" he asked. 

"No, " answered Nasmyth, "not in the least--that is, as far as itaffects yourself. Still, I am determined that Miss Waynefleet shallhave no fresh cause for anxiety. I don't mind admitting that I owe agreat deal to her. " He paused for a moment, and then turned toWaynefleet with a forceful gesture. "When you have bought back theland from Hames, I don't suppose you will have a dollar in yourpossession, and the ranch belongs to me. As I said, you will stay--atleast, until you can satisfy me that you can maintain yourself andMiss Waynefleet in some degree of comfort if you go away. Now Ibelieve the others are waiting. We will go along and get the salerecorded. "

CHAPTER XXX

SECOND THOUGHTS

It was getting dusk when Wheeler swung himself from the saddle nearthe head of the gully and, with the bridle of the jaded horse in hishand, stood still a few moments looking about him. A wonderful greentransparency still shone high up above the peaks, whose jagged edgescut into it sharply with the cold blue-white gleam of snow, but uponthe lower slopes there was a balmy softness in the air, which washeavy with the odours of fir and cedar. Summer was breaking suddenlyupon the mountain-land, but Wheeler, who had crossed the divide inbright sunshine, was sensible of a certain shrinking as he glanceddown into the depths of the cañon. A chilly mist streamed up out ofit, and the great rift looked black and grim and forbidding. 

Wheeler noticed a dusky figure beneath the firs, and, moving towardsit, came upon a man with a pipe in his hand, sitting upon a fallentree. In view of the strenuous activity that was the rule in thecañon, such leisure was unusual. 

"Well, " he remarked, "you don't seem busy, any way. "

The man grinned. "I'm looking out, " he replied. "Guess I've had my eyeon you for the last few minutes, and a stranger wouldn't have gotquite so far. You haven't got any papers from the courts on you?"

"No, " said Wheeler, who noticed that there was a rifle lying near theman, "I haven't. Still, if I'd looked like a lawyer or a courtofficer----"

"Then, " asserted the man, "it's a sure thing you wouldn't have got in. The boys have enough giant-powder rammed into the heading to lift thebottom right out of the cañon two minutes after any suspiciousstranger comes along. "

Wheeler laughed, for it was evident to him that Nasmyth had beentaking precautions, and, turning away, he led his horse down thegully. It grew colder as he proceeded, and a chilly breeze swept thewhite mist about him. The trees, that shook big drops of moisture downon him, were wailing, but he could hear them only faintly through theclamour of the fall. He left the horse with a man he came upon lowerdown, and, reaching the shingle at the water's edge, saw the greatderrick swing black athwart the glare of a big fire. The smoke whirledabout the dark rock wall, and here and there dusky figures weretoiling knee-deep amid the white froth of the rapid. The figuresemerged from the blackness and vanished into it again, as theflickering radiance rose and fell. Scrambling to the ledge above thefall, Wheeler found two men standing near the mouth of the heading, which was just level with the pool. 

"Where's Nasmyth, boys?" he inquired. 

"Inside, " answered one of the men. "Guess he's wedging up the heading. If you want him, you'd better crawl right in. "

Wheeler glanced down at the black mouth of the tunnel, on which thestreaming radiance fell. He fancied that the river flowed into it, andthe man's suggestion did not appeal to him. 

"Won't you tell him that I'd like a talk with him?" he asked. 

The man laughed. "Guess that's not going to bring him. It will bedaylight, any way, before he lets up. You'll have to go right in. "

Wheeler dropped cautiously upon a slippery staging, across which thewater flowed, and, crawling into the heading, with a blinking light inhis eyes, fell into a sled that was loaded with broken rock. He creptround the obstruction, and a few moments later found himself knee-deepin water before a little dam that had been thrown across the heading. The heading dipped sharply beyond it, which somewhat astonished him, and when he had climbed over the barricade, he descended cautiously, groping towards another light. Big drops of water fell upon him, andhere and there a jet of it spurted out. At last he stopped, and sawNasmyth lying, partly raised on one elbow, in an inch or two of water, while he painfully swung a heavy hammer. The heading was lined withstout pillars, made of sawn-up firs, and Nasmyth appeared to bedriving a wedge under one of them. Two or three other men were puttingheavy masses of timber into place. 

The smoky flame of a little lamp flared upon the rock above, whichtrickled with moisture, and the light fell upon Nasmyth's wet face, which was deeply flushed. Nasmyth gasped heavily, and great splashesof sand and mire lay thick upon his torn, drenched shirt. He appearedto see Wheeler, for he looked up, but he did not stop until he haddriven the wedge in. Then he rose to his knees and stretched himselfwearily. 

"The rock's badly fissured. We've got to get double timbers in as soonas we can, " he explained. "I'm going to do some boring. We'll goalong. "

Wheeler crept after him down the inclined heading until they reachedthe spot where Gordon sat crouched over a machine. Gordon did not moveuntil Nasmyth seized his shoulders. 

"You can get back to the wedging, and send two or three boys along toheave the water out. I'll keep this thing going, " he said. 

Gordon, who greeted Wheeler, floundered away, and Wheeler sat down inthe dryest spot he could find, while Nasmyth grasped the handle of themachine. 

"There's no reason why you shouldn't smoke, " he said. 

"That, " replied Wheeler, "is a point I'm not quite sure about. Howmany sticks of giant-powder have you rammed into this heading? As youknow, it's apt to be a little uncertain. "

Nasmyth laughed as he glanced at the flaring lamp above his head. "There's a hole with a stick in it just at your elbow. I've beenfilling the holes as we made them. In view of what I expect thosefolks in the city are arranging, it seemed advisable. "

Wheeler was sensible of a certain uneasiness as he listened to thecrunch of the boring tool and the jarring thud of the hammers. 

"What are you going so far down for?" he asked. 

"To get into sounder rock. It's costing us considerable time that wecan badly spare, but once or twice I fancied the whole river wascoming in on us. Now we're getting almost through, I want to makequite sure. "

Wheeler nodded. "I guess that's wise. So far, we have come out aheadof Hutton and the rest of them, " he asserted. "Our people hold thetimber rights, and we have got the shingle-splitting plant in. Youheaded him off in Waynefleet's case, and there only remains the manwith the old Bush claim. There's, unfortunately, no doubt about histitle to the ranch, and it's a sure thing the folks in the city willput him up again. Have you heard from him lately?"

"I have, " answered Nasmyth, with a smile. "As you know, I made himhalf a dozen different offers to buy him out. He naturally didn'tclose with them, but he wrote trying to raise me, and kept the thingup rather well. Of course, it was evident that his friends were quitewilling to let me get most of the work done before they showed theirhand too visibly. I scarcely fancy they know how near we are togetting through, though that rancher man's lawyer said somethingabout taking proceedings a little while ago. "

"Suppose they went to court, and served you with a notice to quit whatyou're doing?"

Nasmyth, turning, pointed with a wet, scarred hand to several holes inthe side of the heading, from which a wire projected. 

"Well, " he said, "they'd have to serve it, and while their man wastrying to get down the gully I'd rip most of the bottom out of thisstrip of cañon. I'm not sure we haven't gone far enough already tosplit up the whole ridge that's holding back the river. Still, I'mgoing on a little. I mean to make sure. " He bent over the machine. "You have brought up some letters? The man has, perhaps, been tryingto worry me again. "

"Two or three, " replied Wheeler. "I called at the settlement for them. One is evidently from a lady. "

Nasmyth swung round again and took the little dainty envelope fromhim. He smeared it with his wet hands as he opened it, and then hisvoice broke sharply through the thud of the hammers. 

"Can't you move? I'm too far from that lamp, " he said. 

He scrambled by Wheeler and crouched close beneath the smoky, flickering flame, dripping, spattered with mire, and very grim inface. The note was from Violet Hamilton, and it was brief. 

"I should like to see you as soon as you can get away, " it read. "There is something I must say, and since it might spare both of uspain, I feel almost tempted to try to explain it now. That, however, would perhaps be weak of me, and I think you will, after all, notblame me very greatly. "

He flung the note down in the water, and straightened himselfwearily. 

"I am invited to go down to Bonavista, and it's tolerably clear thatI have another trouble to face, " he announced in a dull tone. "In themeanwhile there's this heading to be pushed on, and it seems to methat the thing that counts most is what I owe the boys. "

Wheeler, who had heard something from Gordon, looked at him with gravesympathy, but Nasmyth made an expressive gesture as he glanced down athis attire. 

"Well, " he remarked, "I probably look very much what I am--aplayed-out borer of headings and builder of dams, who has just noweverything against him. Still, I was fool enough to indulge in somevery alluring fancies a little while ago. " He turned to Wheeler with asudden flash in his eyes. "You can take those letters to Gordon andtell him to open them. I've a little trouble to grapple with, and Idon't feel inclined for conversation. "

Wheeler could take a hint, and he crawled away along the heading, while Nasmyth toiled for the next half-hour strenuously at themachine. The perspiration dripped from him. He gasped as he ripped thehandle around; then he let it go suddenly, and his face became softeras he picked up the letter again. 

"Well, " he told himself, "I don't think I can blame her, after all, and with what she has to say it would hurt if I kept her waiting. "

He sat down again at the machine, and the boring tool crunched onsteadily into the rock until after some time, a man took his place, and, crouching in the narrow heading, swung the heavy hammer as theywedged the extra timbers fast. A faint grey light was creeping intothe eastern sky when Nasmyth crawled out of the heading and scrambledback to the shanty. Gordon, who was getting up when he entered, lookedat him curiously. 

"I'm going into Bonavista after breakfast, " Nasmyth said. "I don'twant to leave the boys now, but I can't help it. "

Gordon asked no injudicious questions, for Wheeler had mentioned theletter, and his comrade's voice had its significance for him. 

"Then, " he said, "I'll tell Mattawa to have the horse ready. "

Nasmyth slept soundly until the meal was laid out. He rode into thesettlement a little before dark that night. It was the next afternoonwhen he reached Bonavista, and he found Violet Hamilton sitting uponthe veranda alone. She appeared embarrassed when she saw him, and heleaned against one of the pillars, quietly looking down on her. For amoment or two neither of them said anything, and it was Nasmyth whobroke the awkward silence. 

"I felt very bitter when I got that note, " he said. "When I grappledwith the thing, however, I commenced to realize that you might beright. Of course, I quite realized all you wished to imply. "

"Ah!" answered the girl softly, "then you are not very angry with me. "She leaned forward and met his gaze. "I think we were both very nearlymaking a terrible mistake. "

"I scarcely think that is a thing you could expect me to admit--thatis, at least, as far as my part in it goes, " said Nasmyth. 

"Still, " replied Violet, "you admitted that you felt I might beright. "

She looked anxious, and Nasmyth realized that, since she might havewritten what she had to say, it must have cost her a good deal tobreak with him personally. The courage which had prompted her tosummon him appealed to him, and, in place of anger, he was consciousof a certain sympathy for her. 

"In one sense you were certainly right, " he said. "We belong todifferent worlds, and I should never have spoken to you as I did. Thatis a thing you must try to forgive me, and you have no reason toblame yourself. As I told you at the time, you were free. "

"Ah!" cried Violet, "you are very generous. After all, I expected thatfrom you, and I think it will not hurt you very much to give me up. "

"I wonder why?" asked Nasmyth gravely. 

Violet sat silent a moment or two, and then looked up at him quietly. 

"Oh, " she said, "you owe so much to that girl in the Bush! She wouldalways have come between us. I think you made me recognize it when youtold me about her, though it was only by degrees I came to understandit clearly. "

Nasmyth's face flushed. "That, " he queried, "is your reason forwishing to get rid of me?"

Violet looked away from him, and there was a telltale self consciousnessin her manner when she turned to him again. Nasmyth, who noticed it, winced. 

"Well, " he hazarded, "it was, perhaps, not the only one. "

"No, " confessed Violet very softly, "there was another thing whichinfluenced me rather more. "

Nasmyth, who understood her, stood silent a moment or two, with onehand tightly closed. "In that case there is nothing to be said, and Imust try to face it gracefully, " he told her. "Reproaches are notexactly becoming in the case of a discarded man. " He took off his widehat as he held out his hand. "Miss Hamilton, the thing naturally hurtsme, but perhaps I cannot reasonably blame you. I'm not sure you couldexpect me to go any further now. "

"Ah!" exclaimed Violet, "you have made it easy. I would like to assureyou of my good-will. "

He held her hand a moment and swung abruptly away. He met Mrs. Actonas he went down a corridor. He stopped in front of her, and shelooked at him questioningly when she saw his face. 

"I have not come up to expectations. It is, perhaps, fortunate MissHamilton found it out when she did, " he said. 

"Oh!" Mrs. Acton replied, "I told you it would not be well to stayaway very long. "

"I scarcely think the result would have been different in any case, "Nasmyth declared. 

Mrs. Acton was silent for a moment. Then she looked at him sharply. 

"Where are you going now?" she asked. 

"Back to the world I belong to, " answered Nasmyth, --"to the railroad, in the first case. I'm not sure that Miss Hamilton would like to feelthat I was in the house. "

Mrs. Acton made no protest, and ten minutes later he had crossed theclearing and plunged into the Bush. 

Mrs. Acton, crossing the veranda, laid her hand on the girl'sshoulder. 

"I naturally don't know what he said to you, but I can't helpbelieving that he acquitted himself rather well, " she observed. "Afterall, it must have been a little painful to him. "

"Perhaps it was, " replied Violet. "Still, I don't think it hurt himdreadfully. "

She was more or less correct in this surmise, for, as Nasmyth walkedon through the Bush, he became conscious of a faint relief. 

CHAPTER XXXI

THE LAST SHOT

Laura Waynefleet was preparing breakfast, and the door of the ranchstood open, when she heard the sharp clatter of the flung-downslip-rails in the fence across the clearing jar upon the stillness ofthe surrounding woods. It was early in the morning, and since it wasevident that, if the strangers who were approaching came from thesettlement, they must have set out as soon as it was light, shedecided that their business was probably urgent. Laying down thefrying-pan in which she was making flapjacks, she moved toward thedoor, and stood watching two men ride across the clearing in thedirection of the house. They did not belong to the settlement, for shehad never seen either of them before, a fact which made it clear thatthey had not ridden in from the cañon. She had quick eyes, and shenoticed that, although they could not have ridden very far thatmorning, their horses appeared jaded, which suggested that they hadmade a long journey the previous day. The men appeared weary, too, andshe imagined that they were not accustomed to the Bush. 

As she watched them she wondered with a trace of uneasiness what theirbusiness could be, and decided that it was, perhaps, as well that herfather was busy in the stable, where he could not hear them arrive. Since Gordon usually called at the ranch when he went down to thesettlement, she was more or less acquainted with what was being doneat the cañon and with Nasmyth's affairs, and she was on her guard whenone of the strangers pulled his horse up close in front of her. 

"Can we hire a couple of horses here?" he asked. "Ours are playedout. "

There was then a cayuse pony in Waynefleet's stable, but it belongedto a neighbouring rancher, and Laura had no intention of handing itover to the strangers. 

"I'm afraid not, " she answered. "The only horse on the ranch does notbelong to us, and I wouldn't care to hire it out unless I hadpermission. Besides, I may want it myself. You could have obtainedhorses at the settlement hotel. "

"We didn't put up there. "

"But you must have come through the settlement. You have evidentlyridden in from the railroad. "

The man laughed. "Well, " he admitted, "we certainly did, but we gotoff the trail last night, and they took us in at Bullen's ranch. Soonafter we started out a chopper told us we could save a league byriding up the valley instead of by the settlement. Does the man yousaid the horse belonged to live in the neighbourhood?"

Laura did not answer immediately. She was quick-witted, and sherecognized that, while the man's explanation was plausible, there wereweak points in it. For one thing, the previous night had not beendark, and it was difficult to understand how anyone could havewandered off the wide trail to the settlement into the one which ledthrough thick undergrowth to Bullen's ranch. She guessed that thestrangers must have had an object in not visiting the settlement. Thenthere was, it seemed to her, something suggestive in the fact thatBullen, who had a share in Nasmyth's project, and owned severalhorses, had not seized upon the opportunity to aid the travellers, for, if he had not been willing to lend his horses, it could only havebeen because he was a little dubious about the strangers. 

"The man who owns the horse lives at least an hour's ride away, " sheinformed the stranger. "You are going on into the Bush?"

"Yes, " answered the man. "Can you tell us the easiest way to reach thecañon?"

Laura was glad that he had asked for the easiest route, for soon afterthe snow had gone, Nasmyth had broken out a shorter and somewhatperilous trail over the steepest part of the divide. Only thepack-horses now went round by the longer way. She thought hard for amoment or two, and then told the man how to find the old trail. 

He rode away with his companion, and Laura's face was thoughtful whenshe sat down again. She made a hasty breakfast, and went out to thestable. Waynefleet was still busy when she reached it, and she tookdown the side-saddle before she turned to him. 

"I have left your breakfast ready, but you must excuse me, " sheannounced; "I am going to the cañon. "

Waynefleet raised his brows and looked at her with his mostprecise air, but, seeing that had no effect, he made a gesture ofresignation. 

"Very well, " he said. "I presume you do not, as usual, think it worthwhile to acquaint me with your object. "

Laura laughed. "I'm not exactly sure of it myself. I may tell you alittle more when I come back. "

She led the horse out, and, crossing the clearing, rode hard for aleague or so, and then made sure by the prints of their horses' feetthat the strangers had followed her instructions before she struckinto the shorter trail. It was scarcely wide enough to ride along, andfor a while dense thickets of fern and undergrowth closed in on it. Further on, it skirted a quaggy swamp, and led through several rapidcreeks, while here and there great fallen trees compelled her to turnaside, and there were groves of willows to be painfully struggledthrough. The cayuse she rode was, however, more or less accustomed tothat kind of work, and she made tolerable progress until she reachedthe foot of the big divide. There she dismounted, and led the cayuseup a steep gully through which a torrent poured. They stumbled amidstbig boulders and over slippery shingle until they reached the head ofthe gully, and then there were almost precipitous slopes of rock to befaced. They climbed for a couple of hours, and Laura gasped withrelief when at last she stood upon the crest of the divide. 

The descent was perilous, but already the sun hung low above thewestern hills, and she went down in the saddle with the cayuseslipping and stumbling horribly, until the roar of the river camefaintly up to her. Then she drew bridle, and glanced ruefully at herattire. Her skirt was rent in places, and one little shoe had burst. Abranch that had torn her hat off had loosened a coil of gleaming hair, and, anxious as she was, she stopped for several minutes to set thesematters straight as far as it was possible. There was, she felt, afterall, no reason why Nasmyth should see her in that state. Then she rodeon, and a little later a man appeared among the pines at the head ofthe gully. She was very weary when she got down beside him. 

"Have two strangers arrived here yet?" she asked. 

"They haven't, " answered the man. 

Laura was glad she had undertaken the journey when she saw the suddenintentness of his face. 

"Two of them are on the trail?" he inquired sharply. 

"Yes, " said Laura. "They have gone round by the pack-horse trail. Irode in by the new one. "

The man was astonished that she had accomplished the trip, and she sawthat he was troubled. 

"Well, " he advised, "you had better go right on and tell Nasmyth asquick as you can. It's my business to see no strangers get in, or I'dgo with you. "

Laura left the horse with him, and, descending the gully, found anunusual number of men busy beside the river. In fact, she believedthat all those who had been at work in the valley must have crossedthe range to the cañon. It was also evident from their faces that mostof them were in a state of eager expectation. Something out of theusual course was clearly going on. She asked for Nasmyth, and a fewmoments later he came scrambling towards her along the log staging. There was, she was quick to notice, a strained look in his eyes, buthe shook hands with her, and then, remembering the state of herattire, she coloured a little. 

"Do you expect two men from the city to-night?" she asked. 

Nasmyth started. "I have, at least, been wondering when they wouldturn up, " he answered. "There are two men of that kind on the trail?"

His voice was sharp and insistent, and Laura told him hastily aboutthe men who had called at the ranch. 

"From what you say, they can't well be here for another hour or two, "he said, and there was a determined glint in his eyes. "I fancy we'llbe through by then. "

He swung around, and raised a hand to the men. "Boys, you'll get thelast holes filled with giant-powder as quick as you can, and couple upthe firing battery. We'll lift that rock right out when you'reready. "

He turned again to Laura. "I'm not sure you understand all that youhave done, " he said. "For one thing, I think, you have saved us frombeing beaten when what we have fought for was almost in our hand. "

He paused for a moment, and then his voice became hoarse as heindicated the clustering men with a little forceful gesture. 

"They have come in to see the last shot fired. We had arranged to putin a few more sticks of powder, and then lower the river once for allin another hour or two. Some of the boys are now getting a big supperready to celebrate the occasion, but if you hadn't brought us thewarning, it's scarcely likely that any of us would have felt muchinclined for festivity. In all probability, those strangers arebringing an order to restrain me from going any further. Once it wasin my hands, I could not have fired the shot. All we have done wouldhave been thrown away. "

"Ah!" cried Laura, "that would be intolerable!"

Nasmyth laughed significantly. 

"Any way, " he declared, "until the papers are served on me, my charterstands. We'll have scattered the last strip of rock when those menride in. "

He made her a grave little bow. "You set us to work, " he said. "It isonly fitting that you should once more hold the firing battery. "

He moved away abruptly from her and crawled into the heading. It washalf an hour later when he came back, and almost every man who had ashare in the undertaking gathered upon the strip of shingle. Nobodyspoke, however, and there was tense expectancy in the bronzed faces. Nasmyth beckoned to Laura and moved forward with Gordon, and Wheeler, who carried the battery. Nasmyth swung his battered hat off as he heldout his hand, and Laura, clinging to him, climbed to a shelf of rockwhere she stood still a moment or two, looking about her. 

In front the white spray of the fall whirled beneath the tremendouswall of rock, and about her stood groups of hard-handed men, who haddriven the heading with strenuous, insistent toil. She knew what thework had cost them, and could understand the look in their steadyeyes. They had faced the river in the depths of the tremendous rift, borne with the icy winter, and patiently grappled with obstacle afterobstacle. Their money had not sufficed to purchase them costlymachines. They had pitted steadfast courage and hardened muscleagainst the vast primeval forces of untrammelled Nature. Laura feltdeeply stirred as she glanced at them. They were simple men, but theyhad faced and beaten roaring flood and stinging frost, caring littlefor the hazard to life or limb as they played their part in thattremendous struggle with axe and drill. 

Suddenly Laura became conscious that Nasmyth, who held up a little boxfrom which trailed a couple of wires, was speaking. 

"Our last dollars bought that powder. Wish us good luck, " he said. 

Laura stretched out her hands for the box, and standing upon the rockshelf, with one shoe burst and her skirt badly rent, raised her voiceas she had done in that spot once before. 

"Boys, " she said, "you have stood fast against very heavy odds. Mayall that you can wish for--orchards, oat-fields, wheat, and cattle--beyours. The prosperity of this country is founded on such efforts asyou have made. "

With a little smile in her eyes, she fitted in the firing-plug, and inanother moment a streak of flame that seemed to expand into abewildering brilliancy flashed through the spray of the fall. Theflash of light was lost in rolling smoke and a tremendous eruption offlying rock that rang with deafening detonations against the side ofthe cañon. The smoke rolled higher, and still great shatteredfragments came whirling out of it, striking boulder and shingle with aheavy crash, until the roar of the liberated river rose in tumultuousclamour and drowned all other sound. 

A great foaming wave swept forward, washing high along the bank, andpoured seething down the rapid. Shingle and boulder were lost in it. It drove on tumultuously, and a mad turgid flood came on behind. Thenit slowly fell away again, and a man, clambering out, in peril ofbeing swept away, beneath the dripping rock, flung up a hand. Hisvoice rang harsh and exultant through the sinking roar of the beatenriver. 

"We've cut the last ledge clean away, " he said. 

A great shout went up, and Nasmyth held out his hand to Laura. 

"I owe it all to you, " he said with a curious gleam in his eyes. 

The men trooped about them both, and, though they were not as a ruleeffusive, some of them thumped Nasmyth's shoulder and some wrung hishand. Half an hour had slipped by before he was free of them. 

He and Laura went slowly back up the climbing gully. It was growingdark, but a light still streamed down between the pines, and Nasmyth, who pointed to a tree that had fallen, stood close by, looking downupon the girl. 

"I will ride back with you presently, but you must rest first; and Ihave something to say, though if we had not beaten the river I think Ishould never have had courage enough, " he said. "When you found melying in the snow, you took me in; you nursed me back to life, gave mea purpose, and set me on my feet again. "

He paused for a moment. A flush dyed his worn face, and his voice wasstrained when he went on again. 

"One result was that I went back to the world I once belonged to--itwas really you who sent me--and you know what befell me there, " hesaid. "I don't think I quite forgot what I owed to you, but I wascarried away. Still, she recognized her folly and discarded me. "

He stopped again, and Laura looked at him steadily with a tinge ofcolour in her face. 

"Well, " he continued, "that was when I commenced to understand exactlywhat you had been all along to me. I don't know what came upon me atBonavista; but though the thing must seem preposterous, I believe Iwas in love with you then. Now I have nothing to bring you. You knowall my weak points, and I could not complain if you would not listento me. But I have come back to you again. "

"Ah!" answered Laura very softly, "after all, it was fortunate thatyou went away. I think it was a relief to me when Wisbech took you tothe city. "

Nasmyth looked at her in surprise, and she smiled at him. "Derrick, "she said, "once or twice when you were building the dam you fanciedthat you loved me. I, however, didn't want you to fancy. That was onlygoing far enough to hurt me. "

Nasmyth stooped toward her. "In the height of my folly I had an uneasyconsciousness that I belonged to you. Afterwards I was sure. It was avery real thing, but I naturally shrank from coming to you. I don'tquite know how I have gathered the courage now. "

Laura sat still, and he laid a hand on her shoulder. Then she turnedand looked up at him. 

"Well, " she confessed very simply, "I think I loved you in the dayswhen you were building the dam. "

He bent down and kissed her, and neither of them ever rememberedexactly what they said. 

A few minutes later there was a clatter in the shadow above them, andtwo men came scrambling down, each leading a jaded horse. Nasmyth roseand turned toward them when they stopped close in front of him. 

"You have some business with me?" he inquired. 

One of them handed him a sealed paper, and he opened it withdeliberation. 

"I may as well tell you that I expected this, " he said. He glanced atLaura. "I am summoned to attend in Victoria and show cause why Ishould not be restrained from injuring the holding of a rancher at thehead of the valley. In the meantime I am instructed to carry on theoperations in the cañon no further. "

He turned to the men. "You should have come along an hour or two ago. I don't propose to do anything further in the cañon; in fact, I haveaccomplished the purpose I had in hand. "

As his meaning dawned on them, the men gazed at each other in evidentconsternation, until one of them turned to Laura. 

"Well, " he commented, "in that case I guess it's quite a pity wedidn't, but I begin to understand the thing. This is the young ladywho told us the trail. She must have taken a shorter way. "

Laura smiled at him. "You, " she reminded him, "seemed anxious to go bythe easiest one. "

The other man looked at Nasmyth. "I'm acting for Hutton, and it seemsyou have got ahead of him, " he observed. "Still, we're both out onbusiness, and I don't bear you any ill-will. In fact, if you're opento make any arrangement, I should be glad to talk to you. "

Nasmyth smiled as he answered: "You can at least come and get somesupper. I expect the boys will fix you and your horses for thenight. "

They went down the gully together, and a few minutes later walked intothe flickering light of a great fire, near which a rudely bountifulsupper had been laid out. Nasmyth pointed to the strangers. 

"Boys, " he said, "these are the men we expected, but I don't thinkthey mean to worry us now, and they've had a long ride. " He turned tothe strangers. "Won't you sit down?"

There was a great burst of laughter, and one of the strangers smiled. 

"We're in your hands, but I don't know any reason why you shouldn't begenerous, boys, " he said. 

He sat down, but for a moment or two Nasmyth and Laura stood still inthe glare of the fire, and the eyes of everyone were fixed upon them. Laura's face was flushed, but Nasmyth was calm with a new dignity. 

"We have a little more to do, boys, but we have left the toughest ofour troubles behind, " Nasmyth spoke in confident tones. "We'll haveanother supper when we're through with it, and I'll expect every oneof you at the biggest event in my life. "

There was a great shout that rang through the roar of the rapid andfar across the climbing pines. Then the men sat down, and it was alittle while later when their leader and the girl quietly slipped awayfrom them. Those who noticed this said nothing, and the men still satround the snapping fire when Nasmyth and Laura crossed the ridge ofthe divide. 

There was a moon above them, and the night was soft and clear, whilethe Bush rolled away beneath, shadowy and still. Only the turmoil ofthe river came faintly up to them. The muffled sound sent a curiousthrill through both of them, but they were silent as they went downthe long slope among the climbing pines. Laura sat in the saddle, looking out on the silent forest with eyes that shone softly in themoonlight, and Nasmyth walked beside her, with his hand on thepack-horse's bridle. They had both borne the stress and strain, butnow as the pack-horse plodded on they were conscious only of a deepcontentment. 

THE END