"There’splentytotellaboutCanada,"hesaid,"butnotnow。Whatstartedme?Oh,democracy。Yes,itwasyouthatbeganit。
Democracy?Afterall,itisworthwhilethatthepeoplewhoareonedaytofillthiswidelandshouldbetrulydemocratic,trulyfree,andtrulygreat。"
Oncemorethelightbegantoburninhiseyesandinhisface。
"Ah,tohaveahandinthat!"
"Andyou,"shesaidinalowvoice,"youwithallthatinyou,areonlyapreacher。"
"Amissionary,"hecorrected。
"Well,amissionary。Onlyamissionary。"
Disappointmentandscornwerealltooevidentinhervoice。
"ONLYamissionary。Ah,ifIcouldonlybeone。Amissionary!
Withamissionandamessagetomypeople!IfonlyIhadthegiftoftongues,offlaming,burning,illuminatingspeech,ofheart—
compellingspeech!Totellmypeoplehowtomakethiscountrytrulygreatandtrulyfree,howtokeepitfreefromthesordidthings,thecruelthings,theunjust,theunclean,theloathsomethingsthathavedebasedanddegradedtheoldernations,thataredebasinganddegradingevenyouryoung,greatnation。Ah,tobeamissionarywithatongueoffire,withamessageoflight!A
missionarytomypeopletohelpthemtohighandworthyliving,tohelpthemtoGod!ONLYamissionary!Whatwouldyouhaveme?A
money—maker?"
Heturnedswiftlyuponher,amagnetic,compellingpersonality。
Fromthefuriousscorninhisvoiceandinhisflamingfaceshevisiblyshrank,almostasifhehadstruckher。
"No!"shebreathed。"Nothingelse。Onlyamissionary。"
Silentshestood,asifstillunderthespellofhiswords,hereyesdevouringhisface。
"Howyourmotherwouldhavelovedyou,wouldhavebeenproudofyou,"shesaidinalowtone。"Is——istherenooneelseto——torejoiceinyou?"sheaskedshyly,buteagerly。
Helaughedaloud。"There’sdad,dearolddad。"
"Andnooneelse?"Stillwithshy,eagereyessheheldhim。
"Oh,heaps,"hecried,stilllaughing。
Shesmileduponhim,aslightlyuncertainsmile,andyetasifhisanswersomehowsatisfiedher。
"Good—bye,"shesaidimpulsively,offeringherhand。
"Butyouarenotgoing!You’restayingafewdays!"hegasped。
"No,we’regoing。We’regoingrightaway。Goodbye,"shesaid。"I
don’twantthoseotherstosee。Goodbye。Oh,it’sbeenawonderfulmorning!And,——and——afriendisawonderfuldiscovery。"
Herhandheldhisinastrong,warmgrasp,buthereyessearchedhisfaceasifseekingsomethingshegreatlydesired。
"Good—bye。Iamsorryyouaregoing,"hesaid,simply。"Iwanttoknowyoubetter。"
"Doyou?"shecried,withasuddeneagernessinhervoiceandmanner。Then,"No。Youwouldbedisappointed。Iamnotofyourworld。Butyoushallseemeagain,"sheadded,asiftakinganewresolve。"Wearecomingbackonabighunt,andyouandyourfatheraretojoinus。Won’tyou?"
"Dadsaidweshould,"saidtheyouth,smilingattheremembrance。
"Andyou?"shesaid,withatouchofimpatience。
"Ifthingscansoarrangethemselves——mywork,Imean,anddad’s。"
"But,doyouwantto?Doyoureallywantto?"sheasked。"IwishIknew。Ihatenottounderstandpeople。Youarehardtoknow。I
don’tknowyou。Butyouwillcome?"
"Ithinkso,"saidtheyoungman。"Ofcourseafellow’sworkcomesfirst,youknow。"
"Work?"shecried。"Yourwork?Oh,yourmissionarywork。Oh,yes,yes。Ishouldliketoseeyouatit。Come,letusgo。"
Mr。CornwallBrandtheyfoundinafeverofimpatience。Hehadthetripscheduledtoatimetable,andhehatedtobeforcedtochangehisplans。HisimpatienceshoweditselfinsnappycommandsandinquiriestohisIndianguides,who,however,merelygruntedreplies。Theyknewtheirjobanddiditwithoutcommandoradvice,andwithcompleteindifferencetoanythingthewhitemanmighthavetosay。ToPaulatheonlychangeinhismannerwasanexcessofpoliteness。
Herfather,however,metherwithremonstrances。
"Why,Paula,mydear,youhavekeptuswaiting。"
"What’stherush,pater?"sheenquired,coolly。
"Why,mydear,wearealreadybehindourschedule,andyouknowCornwallhatesthat,"hesaidinalowvoice。
"Cornwall!"saidPaula,inaloudvoiceofunmistakableilltemper。
"DoesCornwallrunthisoutfit?"
"MydearPaula!"againremonstratedherfather。
Sheturnedtohimimpatiently,withanangrywordatherlips,caughtuponBarry’sfacealookofsurprise,pausedmidwayinherpassion,thenmovedslowlytowardhim。
"Well,"sheasked,inaneven,coldvoice,"whatdoyouthinkaboutit?Andanyway,"shedroppedhervoicesothatnoneheardbuthimself,"whyshouldyouhaltme?Whoareyou,togivemepausethisway?"
"Onlyamissionary,"heanswered,inanequallylowtone,butwithasmilegentle,almostwistfulonhisface。
Aswithaflashthewrathfulcloudvanished。
"Amissionary,"sherepliedsoftly。"GodknowsIneedone。"
"Youdo,"hesaidemphatically,andstillhesmiled。
"Come,Paula,"calledCornwallBrand。"Weareallwaiting。"
Herfacehardenedathiswords。
"Good—bye,"shesaidtoBarry。"Iamcomingbackagainto——toyourwonderfulCanada。"
"Ofcourseyouare,"saidBarry,heartily。"Theyalldo。"
Hewentwithhertothecanoe,steadiedherasshetookherplace,andstoodwatchingtillthebendintherivershutthemfromview。
"Nicepeople,"saidhisfather。"Veryfine,jollygirl。"
"Yes,isn’tshe?"repliedhisson。
"Handsome,too,"saidhisfather,glancingkeenlyathim。
"Isshe?Yes,Ithinkso。Yes,indeed,very,"headded,asifponderingthematter。"Whendowemove,dad?"
Alookofreliefcrossedthefather’sface。
"Thisafternoon,Ithink。Wehaveonlyafewdaysnow。WeshallrunupBuffaloCreekintotheFoothillsforsometrout。Itwillbealittlestiff,butyouarefitenoughnow,aren’tyou,Barry?"
Hisvoicewastingedwithanxiety。
"Fitforanything,dad,thankstoyou。"
"Nottome,Barry。Toyourselflargely。"
"No,"saidtheboy,throwinghisarmroundhisfather’sshoulder,"thankstoyou,dearolddad,——andtoGod。"
CHAPTERII
ONTHEREDPINETRAIL
OntheRedPinetrailtwomenweredrivinginabuckboarddrawnbyapairofhalf—brokenpintobronchos。Theoutfitwasaratherramshackleaffair,andthedriverwaslikehisoutfit。StewartDuffwasarancher,oncea"remittanceman,"butsincehismarriagethreeyearsagohehadlearnedself—relianceandwasdisciplininghimselfinself—restraint。Abig,leanmanhewas,histhickshouldersandlarge,hairymuscularhandssuggestinggreatphysicalstrength,hisswarthyface,heavyfeatures,coarseblackhair,keendarkeyes,deepsetundershaggybrows,suggestingforceofcharacterwithapossibilityofbrutalityinpassion。Yetwhenhesmiledhisheavyfacewasnotunkindly,indeedthesmilegaveitakindofruggedattractiveness。Hewaspasthisfirstyouth,andonhisfacewerethemarksofthestormywaybywhichhehadcome。
Hedrovehisjibingbronchoswithsteadyhands。Nolighttouchwashisuponthereins,andthebronchos’wildplungingmetwithacheckfromthosemuscularhandsofsuchironrigidityastoflingthembackhelplessandamazedupontheirhocks。
Hiscompanionwashisoppositeinphysicalappearance,andinthosefeaturesandlinesthatsounmistakablyrevealthenatureandcharacterwithin。Shortandstout,inclinedindeedtofat,tohisgreatdistress,histhick—setfigureindicatedstrengthwithoutagility,soliditywithoutresilience。Hehadapleasant,openface,withakindly,twinklingblueeyethatgoeswithamerryheart,withagenial,sunnysoul。Buttherewasintheblueeyeandintheopenface,forallthetwinklesandthesmiles,acertainalertshrewdnessthatproclaimedthekeenmanofbusiness,andinthecleancutlipslaythesuggestionofresolutestrength。
Alikablemanhewas,withaninfinitecapacityforhumour,butwithabedrockofunyieldingdeterminationinhimthatalwayssurprisedthosewhojudgedhimlightly。
Themenwerefriends,andhadbeencomradesmoreorlessduringthosepioneerdaysthatfollowedtheirarrivalinthecountryfromScotlandsomedozenyearsago。Oftentheyhadfallenoutwitheachother,forDuffwasstormyoftemperandhadahabitoflettinghimselfswingoutuponitsgustsofpassion,recklessofconsequences;buthewasevertheonetoofferamendsandtoseekrenewalofgoodrelations。Hehadfewfriends,andsoheclungthemorecloselytothosehehad。Atsuchtimestheotherwouldwaitincool,good—temperedbutdeterminedaloofnessforhisfriend’sreturn。
"Youcanchewyourcudtillyou’recoolagain,"hewouldsaywhentheoutbreakwouldarise。Butinvariablytheirdifferenceswerecomposedandtheirfriendshipremainedunbroken。
Themensatinthebuckboard,leaningforwardwithhunchedshoulders,swayingeasilytothepitchingofthevehicleasitrattledalongthetrailwhich,especiallywhereitpassedovertheroundtoppedridges,wasthicklystrewnwithstones。Beforethem,nowonthetrailandnowrangingwideovertheprairie,ranabeautifulblackandwhiteEnglishsetter。
"Greatdogthat,Sandy,"saidDuff。"Icouldhavehadadozenbirdsthisafternoon。Awonderfulnose,andsteadyasarock。"
"Agooddog,Stewart,"assentedSandy,butwithslightinterest。
"Thereain’tanotherlikehiminthiswesterncountry,"saidtheownerofthedogwithemphasis。
"Oh,Idon’tknowaboutthat。Therearesomeverygooddogsaroundhere,Stewart,"repliedSandylightly。
"ButIknow。Andthat’swhyI’msayingthereain’thislikeinthiswesterncountry,andthat’sastrueasyournameisSandyBayne。"
"Well,mynameisSandyBayne,allright,buthowdidhecomeoutattheCalgarytrials?"
"Aw,thosedamnedgawks!Theydon’tknowagooddogfromahe—
goat!Theydon’tknowwhatadogisfor,orhowtousehim。"
"Oh,now,Stewart,"saidSandy,"IguessWillocksknowsadogwhenheseesone。"
"Willocks!"saidhisfriendwithscorn。"There’swhereyou’rewrong。DoyouknowwhyhecutSlipperoutoftheBlueRibbon?
Becausehewouldn’trangeamileaway。Darnedoldfool!What’sthegoodofapointamileaway!Keepsyourunningoverthewholecreation,makesyoulosetime,tiresyourselfandtiresyourdog;
andmorethanthat,inninecasesoutoftenyouloseyourbird。
Givemeacloseranger。Hecleansupashegoes,keepsyourgamerightatyourhand,andgetsyouallthesportthereis。"
"Whobeatyou,Stewart,inthetrials?"
"ThatbitchofSnider’s。"
"Man!Stewart,that’sabeautifulbitch!Iknowherwell。She’sabeautifulbitch!"Sandybegantoshowenthusiasm。
"Oh,thereyougo!That’sjustwhatthosefooljudgessaid。
’Beautifuldog!Beautifuldog!’Supposesheis!Looksain’teverything。They’resomething,butthequestionis,doesshegetthebirds?Now,Slippertheregotthreebirdstoherone。Got’emwithinrange,too。"
"Ah,butStewart,yon’sagoodbitch,"saidSandy。
"Lookhere!"criedhisfriend,"Ihavebredmoredogsintheoldcountrythanthosemeneversawintheirlives。"
"Thatmaybe,Stewart,butyon’sagoodbitch,"persistedSandy。
ForamilemoretheydiscussedthemeritsofSlipperandofhisrivals,Sandywithhissemi—humorouschaffextractingquietamusementfromhisfriend’swrath,andthelatter,thoughsuspectingthathewasbeingdrawn,unabletorestrainhispassionatechampionshipofhisdog。
AtlengthSandy,wearyingofthediscussion,caughtsightofafigurefarbeforethemonthetrail。
"Whoisthatwalkingalongthere?"heenquired。
Togethertheyranoverthenamesofallwhointhishorsecountrywereunfortunateenoughtobedoomedtoapedestrianformoflocomotion。
"Guessit’sthepreacher,"saidDufffinally,whoseeyeswerelikeahawk’s。
"He’sbeenoutatmyplaceSundayafternoon,"saidSandy,"butI
haven’tmethimmyself。Whatsortishe?"
"Don’taskme。Isometimesgowiththemadametochurch,butgenerallyIfallasleep。He’snoalarmclock。"
"Thenyoucan’ttellwhatsortofapreacherheis,"saidSandywithatwinkleinhiseye。"Youcan’thearmuchwhenyouareasleep。"
"Ihearenoughtoknowthathe’snogoodasapreacher。Ihearthey’regoingtofirehim。"
"Itellyouwhatitis,Stewart,"saidSandy,"Idon’tbelieveyouwouldknowagoodsermonifyouheardone。"
"What’sthatyousay?I’veheardthebestpreachersinthecountrythatbreedspreachers,inthecountrywherepreachersgrowliketheberriesonthebramblebushes。Iknowpreaching,andIlikegoodpreaching,too。"
"Oh,comeoff,Stewart!Youmaybeagoodjudgeofdogs,butI’mblowedifIamgoingtotakeyouasajudgeofpreachers。"
"Thesamequalitiesinallofthem,dogs,horses,preachers,"
insistedDuff。
"Howdoyoumakethatout?"
"Well,takeahorse。Hemustbeagood—looker。Thispreacherisagood—looker,allright,butlooksain’teverything。Mustbequickatthestart,musthavegoodaction,goodstyle,stayingpower,andgoodatthefinish。Mostpreachersneverknowwhentofinish,andthat’sthewaywiththisman。"
"Areyougoingtotakehimup?"inquiredSandy,fortheywerenowcloseuponthemanwalkingbeforethem。
"Oh,Iguessnot,"repliedDuff。"Ihaven’tmuchuseforhim。"
"Say,what’sthematterwithhim?Helooksratherpuffedout,"
saidSandy。"Bettertakehimup。"
"Allright,"repliedDuff,pullinguphisbronchos。"Goodday。
Willyouhavearide?Mr。BarryDunbar,myfriendMr。Bayne。"
"Gladtomeetyou,Mr。Bayne,"saidBarry,whowaspaleandpantinghard。"Thanksforthelift。Thetruth——is——I’mrather——doneup。
Atouchofasthma——thefirst——infiveyears。Anoldtroubleofmine。"
"Getuphere,"saidSandy。"There’sroomforthreeintheseat。"
"No——thankyou,——Ishould——crowdyou,——allrightbehindhere。
Beastlybusiness——thisasthma。Worsewhen——thepollen——fromtheplants——isfloating——about——sotheysay。Idon’tknow——nobodydoes——Ifancy。"Theydroveon,bumpingoverthestones,Barrygraduallygettingbackhiswind。Thetalkofthemeninthefrontseathadfallenagainondogs,Stewartmaintainingwitheverincreasingvehemencehisexpertknowledgeofdogs,ofhuntingdogs,andveryespeciallyofsetterhuntingdogs;hisfriend,whilegrantinghisknowledgeofdogsingeneral,questioningtheunprejudicednatureofhisjudgmentasfarasSlipperwasconcerned。
AsDuff’sdeclarationsgrewinviolencetheybecamemoreandmoreelaboratelydecoratedwithprofanity。Inthefulltideoftheirconversationaquietvoicebrokein:
"Toomany’damns。’"
"What!"exclaimedDuff。
"Ibegyourpardon!"saidSandy。
"Toomany’damns,’"saidBarry,lookingquietlyatDuff。
"Dams?Where?"saidDuff,lookingabout。
"Beaverdams,doyoumean?"enquiredSandy。"Idon’tseeany。"
"Toomany’damns,’"reiteratedBarry。"Youdon’tneedthem。Youreallydon’tneedthem,youknow,andbesides,theyarenotright。
Profanityisquiteuseless,andit’swicked。"
"Well,I’llbedamned!"saidStewartinalowvoicetohisfriend。
"Hemeansus。"
"Andquiteright,too,"saidSandysolemnly。"YouknowyourEnglishisrottenbad。Yes,sir,"hecontinued,turningroundtoBarry,"Iquiteagreewithyou。Myfriendisquiteunnecessarilyfreeinhisspeech。"
"Yes,butyouarejustthesame,youknow,"saidBarry。"Notquitesomany,butthenyouarenotquitesoexcited。"
"Gotyouthere,oldsport,"gruntedDuff,highlyamusedatSandy’sdiscomfiture。ButtoBarryhesaid,"Iguessit’sourownbusinesshowweexpressourselves。"
"Yes,itis,but,pardonme,notentirelyso。Thereareothersintheworld,youknow,andyoumustconsiderothers。Thehabitisabadhabit,arottenhabit,andquiteuseless——silly,indeed。"
Duffturnedhisbackuponhim。Sandy,givinghisfriendanudge,burstintoaloudlaugh。
"Youareright,sir,"hesaid,turningtoBarry。"Youarequiteright。"
AtthispointSlippercreatedadiversion。
"Hello!"saidDuff。"Say!Lookathim!"Hepointedtothedog。
"Ain’theapicture!"
AhundredyardsawaystoodSlipper,rigid,everymuscle,everyhairtaut,onefootarrestedinair。
"I’lljustgetthose,"saidDuff,slippingoutofthebuckboardanddrawingthegunfrombeneaththeseat。"Steady,oldboy,steady!
Holdthelines,Sandy。"
Hemovedquicklytowardthedogwho,quiveringwiththatmysteriousinstinctfoundinthehuntingdog,stillheldthepointwithtautmuscles,noseandtailinline。
"Hello!"Barrycalledout。"Itisn’ttheseasonyetforchicken。
Isay,Mr。Duff,"heshouted,"itisn’tthechickenseason,youknow。"
"Betterleavehimalone,"saidSandy。
"Butitisn’ttheseasonyet!Itisagainstthelaw!"protestedBarryindignantly。
MeantimeStewartDuffwasclosingupcautiouslybehindSlipper。
"Forward,oldboy!Ste—e—e—ady!Forward!"Thedogrefusedtomove。"Forward,Slipper!"
Stillthedogremainedrigid,asifnailedtotheground。
"On,Slipper!"
Slowlythedogturnedhisheadwithinfinitecautionhalfroundtowardhismaster,asifinprotest。
"Hello,there!"shoutedBarry,"youknow——"
Justashecalledtherewasonallsidesagreatwhirringofwings。
AdozenchickenflewupfromunderDuff’sfeet。Bang!Bang!wenthisgun。
"Missed,asI’masinner!"exclaimedSandy。"Ithoughthewasabettershotthanthat。"
BackcameDuffstridingwidetowardthebuckboard。Fiftyyardsawayheshouted:
"Say!whatthedevildoyoumeancallinglikethatatamanwhenhe’sonthepointofshooting!"Hisfacewasblackwithanger。Helookedreadytostrike。Barrylookedathimsteadily。
"But,Iwasjustremindingyouthatitwasnottheseasonforchickenyet,"hesaidinthetoneofamanpreparedtoreasonthematter。
"What’sthatgottodowithit!Andanyway,whosebusinessisitwhatIdobutmyown?"
"Butit’sagainstthelaw!"
"Oh,blankthelaw!Besides——"
"Besidesitisn’t——well,youknow,itisn’tquitesportingtoshootoutofseason。"Barry’smannerwasasifdealingwithafractiouschild。
Duff,speechlesswithhispassion,lookedathimasifnotquitesurewhatformhisvengeanceshouldtake。
"He’squiteright,Stewart,"saidhisfriendSandy,whowashugelyenjoyinghimself。"Youknowwellenoughyouaredownonthefarmerchapswhogopothuntingbeforeseason。It’srottensport,youknow。"
"Oh,hell!Willyoushutup!Can’tIshootovermydogwhenhepoints?I’mnotoutshooting。IfIwanttogivemydogalittleexperienceanoddbirdortwodon’tmatter。Besides,whatthe——"
"Oh,comeon,Stewart!Getin,andgetamoveon!Youknowyouareinthewrong。ButIthoughtyouwereabettershotthanthat,"
addedSandy。
HisremarkdivertedDuff’srage。
"Bettershot!"hestormed。"Whocouldshootwitha——a——a——"hewasfeelingroundhelplesslyforaproperlyeffectiveword,——"withafellowyellingatyou?"heconcludedlamely。"I’dhavehadabraceofthemifithadn’tbeenforhim。"
"Inthatcase,"saidBarrycoolly,"Isavedyoufromthelaw。"
"Savedmefromthelaw!Whatthedevildoyoumean,anyway?"saidStewart。"IfIwanttopickupabirdwho’stohinderme?Andwhat’sthelawgottodowithit?"
"Well,youknow,I’mnotsurebutitmighthavebeenmydutytoreportyou。Ifeelthatallwhobreakthegamelawsshouldbereported。Itistheonlywaytostopthelawlessdestructionofthegame。"
Barryspokeinavoiceofquietdeliberation,asifponderingtheproperactioninthepremises。
"Quiteright,too,"saidSandygravely,butwithatwinkleinhisblueeye。"Theyoughttobereported。Ihavenouseforthosepoachers。"
Duffmadenoreply。Hisrageanddisgust,mingledwiththesenseofhisbeinginthewrong,heldhimsilent。Nomaninthewholecountrywasharderuponthegamepoachersthanhe,buttobeheldupinhisactionandtobethreatenedwiththelawbythisyoungpreacher,whomheratherdespisedanyway,seemedtoparalysehismentalactivities。Itdidnothelphisself—controlthathewasawarethathisfriendwashavinghisfunofhim。
Atthismoment,fortunatelyfortheharmonyoftheparty,theirattentionwasarrestedbytheappearanceofamotorcardrivenatafuriousratealongthetrail,andwhichalmostbeforetheywereawarecamehonkinguponthem。Withawildlurchthebronchoshurledthemselvesfromthetrail,upsettingthebuckboardandspillingitsload。
Duff,cumberedwithhisgun,whichhehadreloaded,allowedoneofthereinstodropfromhishandsandtheteamwentplungingaboutinacircle,butBarry,thefirsttogettohisfeet,rushedtotherescue,snatchedthereinsandheldontillhehaddraggedtheplungingbronchostoahalt。
TheragewhichhadbeenboilinginDuff,andwhichwithdifficultyhadbeenheldwithinbounds,suddenlyburstallbondsofcontrol。
Withafierceoathhepickedupthegunwhichhehadthrownasideinhisstrugglewiththehorses,andlevelleditatthespeedingmotorcar。
"ForGod’ssake,Stewart,stop!"shoutedBayne,springingtowardhisfriend。
Barrywasnearerandquicker。Theshotwentoff,buthishandhadknockedupthegun。
"MyGod,Stewart!Areyoucleancrazy!"saidBayne,grippinghimbythearm。"Doyouknowwhatyouaredoing?Youarenotfittocarryagun!"
"I’dhavebusthisblankedtiresforhim,anyway!"blusteredDuff,thoughhisfaceandvoiceshowedthathehadreceivedashock。
"Yes,andyoumighthavebeenamurdererbythistime,andheadingforthepen,butforDunbarhere。Youowehimmorethanyoucaneverpay,youblankedfool!"
Duffmadenoreply,butbusiedhimselfwithhishorses。Nordidhespeakagaintilleverythingwasinreadinessfortheroad。
"Getin,"hethensaidgruffly,andthatwashislastworduntiltheydroveintothevillage。
Atthestorehedrewup。
"Thankyouforthelift,"saidBarry。"Ishouldhavehadatoughjobtogetbackintime。"