So far, Muriel Hurst had taken life lightly and had foiled Mrs. Colston’s attempts to make a suitable match for her. The daughter of a man of taste who had died in difficulties, she had not a penny beyond the allowance provided by her sister’s generosity8. Nevertheless, she 13 was happy and had a strong liking9 and respect for her prosperous brother-in-law, though his restricted views sometimes irritated her.
She was now trying to arrange her impressions of Canada, which were mixed. She had looked down on Montreal with its great bridge and broad river from the wooded mountain, and from there it had struck her as a beautiful city. Then she had seen the handsome stone houses with their lawns at the foot of the hill, and afterward10 the magnificent commercial buildings round the postoffice. These could scarcely be equaled in London, but the rest of the town had not impressed her. It was strewn with sand and cement-dust: they seemed to be pulling down and putting up buildings and tearing open the streets all over it.
Afterward the Western Express had swept her through a thousand miles of wilderness11, a vast tract5 of forest filled with rocks and lakes and rivers; and then she had spent two days in Winnipeg on the verge12 of the prairie. This city she found perplexing. The station hall was palatial13, part of wide Main Street and Portage Avenue with their stately banks and offices could hardly be too much admired, and there were pretty wooden houses running back to the river among groves14 of trees. But apart from this, the place was somehow primitive15. There were numerous hard-faced men hanging about the streets, and it jarred on her to see the rows of well-dressed loungers in the hotels lolling in wooden chairs close against the great windows, a foot or two from the street. It gave her a hint of western characteristics; the people were abrupt17, good-naturedly so, perhaps, but devoid18 of delicacy19.
Last had come the prairie—the land of promise—which 14 seemed to run on forever, flooded with brilliant sunshine under a sky of dazzling blue. Banded with miles of wheat, flecked with crimson20 flowers, it stretched back, brightly green, until it grew gray and blue on the far horizon. It was relieved by the neutral purple of poplar bluffs22, and little gleaming lakes; its vastness and openness filled the girl with a sense of liberty. Narrow restraints, cramping23 prejudices, must vanish in this wide country; one’s nature could expand and become optimistic here.
Then Colston began to talk.
“We should arrive in the next half-hour and I’ll confess to a keen curiosity about Cyril Jernyngham. He was an amusing and eccentric scapegrace when I last saw him, though that is a very long time ago.”
“You object to eccentricity24, don’t you?” laughed Muriel.
“Oh, no! Call it originality25, and I’ll admit that a certain amount is useful; but it should be kept in check. Indulged in freely, it’s apt to rouse suspicion.”
“Which is rather unfair.”
“I don’t know,” Mrs. Colston broke in. “Considered all round, it’s an excellent rule that if you won’t do what everybody in your station does, you must take the consequences.”
Colston nodded.
“I agree. One must think of the results to society as a whole.”
“Cyril Jernyngham seems to have taken the consequences,” Muriel pointed26 out. “Isn’t there something to be said for the person who does so uncomplainingly? I understand he never recanted or asked for help.”
Mrs. Colston shot a quick glance at her. She did not 15 wish her sister’s sympathy to be enlisted27 on the black sheep’s behalf.
“I believe that’s true,” she replied. “Perhaps it’s hardly to his credit. His father is an old man who had expected great things of him. If he had come home, he would have been forgiven and reinstated.”
“Yes,” said Colston, “though Jernyngham seldom shows his feelings, I know he has grieved over his son. There can be no question that Cyril should have returned; I’ve told him so in my letters.”
“I suppose they’d have insisted on a full and abject28 surrender?”
“Not an abject one,” answered Colston. “He would have been expected to fall in with the family ideas and plans.”
“And he wouldn’t?” suggested Muriel with a mischievous29 smile. “I think he was right.” Reading disapproval30 in her sister’s expression, she continued: “You dear virtuous31 people are a little narrow in your ideas; you can’t understand that there’s room for the greatest difference of opinion even in a harmonious32 family, and that it’s very silly to drive the nonconformer into rebellion. Variety’s a law of nature and tends to life.”
Colston glanced meaningly at his wife. He was not a hypercritical person, but it did not please him that his sister-in-law, of whom he was fond, should champion Jernyngham.
“I don’t wish to be severe on Cyril,” he rejoined. “As a matter of fact, I know nothing good or bad about his Canadian life; but he must be regarded as, so to speak, on probation33 until he has proved that he deserves our confidence.”
Muriel made no answer. She was looking out of the 16 window toward the west, and the glow on the vast plain’s rim16 seized her attention. The sunset flush had faded, but the sky shone a transcendent green. The air was very clear; every wavy34 line of bluff21 was picked out in a wonderful deep blue. Muriel thought she had never seen such strength and vividness of color. Then she glanced round the long car. It was comfortable except for the jolting; the silvery gray of its cane-backed seats contrasted with the paneling of deep brown. The big lamps and metal fittings gleamed with nickel. All the girl saw connected her with luxurious35 civilization, and she wondered with a stirring of curiosity what awaited her in the wilds, where man still grappled with nature in primitive fashion.
“Sebastian in three or four minutes!” announced the conductor; and while Muriel and Mrs. Colston gathered together a few odds36 and ends a scream of the whistle broke out.
Prescott heard it on the station platform and with strong misgivings37 braced38 himself for his task. A bright light was speeding down the track, blending with that flung out by a freight locomotive crossing the switches. Then amid the clangor of the bell the long cars rolled in and he saw a man standing39 on the platform of one. There was no doubt that he was an Englishman and Prescott hurried toward the car.
“Mr. Henry Colston?” he asked.
The man held out his hand.
“I think Harry40 is sufficient. Come and speak to Florence; she has been looking forward to meeting you with interest.” He turned. “My dear, this is Cyril.”
Prescott shook hands with the lady on the car platform, and then looked past her in confused surprise. A girl stood in the vestibule, clad in garments of pale lilac tint41 17 which fell about her figure in long sweeping42 lines, emphasizing its fine contour against the dark brown paneling. She had a large hat of the same color, and it enhanced the attractiveness of her face, which wore a friendly smile. She was obviously one of the party, though Jernyngham had not mentioned her, and Prescott pulled himself together when Colston presented him.
“My sister-in-law, Muriel Hurst,” he added.
When they had alighted, Prescott asked for the checks and moved toward the baggage car. While he waited, watching the trunks being flung out, Ellice passed him talking to a smartly dressed man. This struck Prescott as curious, but he knew the man as a traveling salesman for an American cream-separator, and as he must have called at Jernyngham’s homestead on his round and was no doubt leaving by the train, there was no reason why Ellice should not speak to him. He thought no more of the matter and proceeded to carry several trunks and valises across the platform to his wagon43, while his new friends watched him with some surprise. It was a novel experience in their walk of life to see their host carrying their baggage, and when Prescott lifted the heaviest trunk Colston hurried forward to protest.
“Stand aside, please,” said the rancher, walking firmly across the boards with the big trunk on his shoulders. When he had placed it in the wagon he turned to the ladies with a smile.
“I had thought of putting you up for the night at the hotel, but they’re full, and with good luck we ought to make my place in about three hours. I dare say this isn’t the kind of rig you have been accustomed to driving in; and somebody will have to sit on a trunk. There’s only room for three on the driving-seat.” 18
Mrs. Colston surveyed the vehicle with misgivings. It was a long, shallow box set on four tall and very light wheels, and crossed by a seat raised on springs. Two rough-coated horses were harnessed to it with a pole between them. She saw this by the glare of the freight locomotive’s head-lamp when the train moved out, and noticed that her husband was looking at their host in surprise.
“I’ll take the trunk,” said Colston. “We had dinner down the line not long ago.”
Prescott helped the ladies up and seating himself next to the younger started his horses. They set off at a rapid trot45 and the wagon jolted46 unpleasantly as it crossed the track. Then the horses broke into a gallop47, raising a dust-cloud in the rutted street, while the light vehicle rocked in an alarming fashion, and Prescott had some trouble in restraining them when they ran out on to the dim waste of prairie. Then the wonderful keen air, faintly scented48 with wild peppermint49, reacted upon the girl with a curious exhilarating effect. She felt stirred and excited, expectant of new experiences, perhaps adventures. The wild barley50 brushed about the wheels with a silky rustle51; the beat of hoofs53 rang in a sharp staccato through the deep silence; and the touch of the faint night wind brought warmth into Muriel’s face.
“They’re pretty fresh; been in the stable of a farm near here most of the day,” Prescott explained. “Not long off the range, anyhow, and they’re bad to hold.”
There was a shrill54 scream from a dusky shape flitting through the air as they skirted a marshy55 pool, and the team again broke into a furious gallop. The trail was grown with short scrub which smashed beneath the hoofs, and the vehicle lurched sharply when the wheels left the 19 ruts and ran through tall, tangled56 grass. Prescott with some diffidence slipped his arm round Muriel’s waist, while Colston jolted up and down with his trunk.
“You have still the same taste in horses, Cyril,” he remarked. “I suppose you remember Wildfire?”
“Wildfire?” queried57 Prescott, and then, having the impression that young English lads were sometimes given a pony58, ventured: “Quite a cute little beast.”
“Little!” exclaimed Colston. “How many hands make a big horse in this country? I’m speaking of the hunter you cajoled the second groom59 into saddling when your father was away. Can’t you remember how you insisted on putting her at the Newby brook60?”
“I don’t seem to place it somehow,” said Prescott in alarm, seeing that if he were called upon to share any more reminiscences it might lead him into difficulties. “You know I’ve been out here a while.”
“Long enough to forget, it seems.”
Prescott made a bold venture.
“That’s so; perhaps it’s better. This is a brand new country. One starts afresh here, looking forward instead of back.”
Muriel considered this. The idea was, she thought, appropriate, but the man’s tone and air were not what one would have expected of a reformed rake. There was no hint of contrition61; he spoke62 with optimistic cheerfulness.
“Of course,” Colston agreed. “I wonder if I might say that you have grown more Canadian than I expected to find you?”
“More Canadian?” Prescott checked himself in time and laughed. “Is it surprising? You drive and starve out many a good man who dares to be original—I’ve 20 met a number of them. Can you wonder that when they’re welcomed here they’re willing to forget you and become one with the people who took them in?”
“In a way, that’s a pity,” said Mrs. Colston. “We like to think we haven’t lost you altogether.”
Disregarding his horses, Prescott turned toward her with a bow.
“Face the truth, ma’am. If you’re ever in a tight place, we’ll send you what help we can, hard men, such as can’t be raised in your cities, to keep the flag flying, but we stop there. Don’t think we belong to you—we stand firm on our own feet, a new free nation. I”—he paused in an impressive manner—“am a Canadian.”
Muriel felt a responsive thrill. His ideas were certainly not English, nor was his mode of expressing them, but his boldness appealed to her. Her companions were frankly63 astonished and rather hurt, which he seemed to realize, for he resumed with a laugh:
“But we won’t talk politics. Things I’ve heard English people say out here make one tired.”
Then he turned toward the girl, adding softly:
“Was that a very bad break I made?”
“I think it could be forgiven,” she told him.
“The years you have spent in Canada seem to have had their full effect on you,” Colston remarked dryly.
Prescott turned his attention to his team, slightly checking their pace.
“What did you mean when you said we should reach your ranch44 in three hours, if we had good luck?” Muriel asked.
“Oh,” he said, “there are badger64 burrows65 about, and a little beast called a gopher makes almost as bad a hole; they’re fond of digging up the trail. If a horse steps 21 into one of those holes, it’s apt to bring him down. Besides, we trust a good deal to our luck in this country—one has to run risks that can’t be estimated: harvest frost, rust52, dry seasons, winds that blow destroying sand about. I’ve lost two crops in the eight years I’ve been here.”
“Can it be eight?” Colston broke in. “If I remember right, you spent three years in Manitoba.”
“It’s the same kind of country and the same climate,” Prescott rejoined, conscious that he had nearly betrayed himself again. He felt angry with Jernyngham for giving him such a difficult part to play.
After this, he carefully avoided any personal topic and talked about Canadian farming, sitting silent when he could, while Muriel gazed about with pleasurable curiosity. It is never quite dark on those wide levels in summertime, and, for there was no moon, the prairie stretched away before them shadowy, silent, and mysterious. Now they passed a sheet of water, gleaming wanly66 among thin willows67; then they plunged68 into the deep gloom of a poplar bluff; and later, lurching down a steep declivity69, swept through a shallow creek70. The air was filled with the smell of dew-damped soil and unknown aromatic71 scents72, the loneliness was impressive, the half-obscurity emphasized the strangeness of everything. Muriel felt as if she had left all that was stereotyped73 and matter-of-fact far behind. It was the unexpected and romantic that ought to happen in this virgin74 land.
Then, worn by several days’ journey in the jolting cars, she grew drowsy75. The steady drumming of hoofs, the slapping of the traces, and the rattle76 of wheels were strangely soothing77. She fancied that once or twice when they sped furiously down an incline, the driver held her fast, but she did not resent the support of his arm: it was 22 a steady, reassuring78 grasp. At last, as they swung round a poplar bluff, she roused herself, for dim black buildings loomed79 up ahead, and one which had lighted windows took the shape of a small house. The team stopped, there were voices speaking with a curious accent which reminded her of Norway, and the rancher helped her down.
Afterward she followed her sister into a simply furnished, pine-boarded room with a big stove at one end of it, where a middle-aged80 woman set food and coffee before them. She spoke English haltingly, but her lined face lighted up when Muriel thanked her in Norse. Then there followed a flow of eager words, a few of which the girl caught, until the woman broke off when their host came in. He was silent, for the most part, during the meal, and shortly afterward Muriel was shown into a small room where she went to sleep in a few minutes.
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1
jolting
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| adj.令人震惊的 | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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ingenuous
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| adj.纯朴的，单纯的；天真的；坦率的 | |
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tract
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| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
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sanguine
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| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
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temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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9
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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10
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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palatial
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| adj.宫殿般的，宏伟的 | |
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14
groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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15
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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20
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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bluffs
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| 恐吓( bluff的名词复数 )； 悬崖； 峭壁 | |
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23
cramping
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| 图像压缩 | |
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eccentricity
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| n.古怪，反常，怪癖 | |
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originality
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| n.创造力，独创性；新颖 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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mischievous
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| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
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disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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harmonious
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| adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的 | |
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probation
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| n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期) | |
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wavy
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| adj.有波浪的，多浪的，波浪状的，波动的，不稳定的 | |
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luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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braced
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| adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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41
tint
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| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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ranch
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| n.大牧场，大农场 | |
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trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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46
jolted
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| （使）摇动， （使）震惊( jolt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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48
scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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49
peppermint
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| n.薄荷，薄荷油，薄荷糖 | |
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50
barley
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| n.大麦，大麦粒 | |
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51
rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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52
rust
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| n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退 | |
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53
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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54
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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marshy
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| adj.沼泽的 | |
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56
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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queried
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| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
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pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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groom
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| vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁 | |
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brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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contrition
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| n.悔罪，痛悔 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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64
badger
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| v.一再烦扰，一再要求，纠缠 | |
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burrows
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| n.地洞( burrow的名词复数 )v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的第三人称单数 )；翻寻 | |
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wanly
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| adv.虚弱地；苍白地，无血色地 | |
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willows
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| n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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declivity
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| n.下坡，倾斜面 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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aromatic
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| adj.芳香的，有香味的 | |
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scents
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| n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉 | |
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stereotyped
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| adj.(指形象、思想、人物等)模式化的 | |
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virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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reassuring
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| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
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loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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