“I was passing and thought I’d come in,” Prescott explained. “Where’s Mrs. Jernyngham? The look of the place gives one the idea that she’s not at home.”
“It’s never remarkably7 tidy.” Jernyngham broke into a rueful smile. “I believe she started for the settlement when I was at work in the summer fallow this morning. The fact that the horse and buggy are missing points to it.”
“But don’t you know whether she has gone or not?”
“I don’t,” said Jernyngham. “She didn’t acquaint me with her intentions. As I see she has taken some things along, it looks as if she meant to visit Mrs. Harvey at the store. They’re friends now and then.”
His manner was suggestive, though he looked more resigned than disturbed, and Prescott, glancing at the 46 shattered crock, ventured a question which he feared was not quite judicious8:
“How did you break that thing?”
“It ought to be a warning. I didn’t break it; it was meant to break on me. Ellice flung it at my head a day or two ago, and fortunately missed, though as a rule she’s a pretty good shot. I suppose it’s significant that neither of us troubled to pick up the pieces.”
Prescott looked sympathetic, and hesitated, with his half-filled pipe in his hand.
“Shall I go, Cyril? I want to make Sebastian before it’s dark.”
“Sit still,” Jernyngham told him. “I’m in an expansive mood, and I’ve a notion that I’m not far off a crisis in my affairs. Ellice has been fractious lately; I seem to have been getting on her nerves, which perhaps is not surprising.”
Prescott made no comment and after sitting silent a few moments Jernyngham resumed:
“I was rather rash when I ventured to remonstrate9 about a bill. Ellice pointed10 out, with justice, that so long as I slouched round and let Wandle rob me, I’d no right to grumble11 at her for buying a few things. Most unwisely I maintained my point and”—he indicated the broken crock and littered table—“you see the consequences.”
“Wandle is a bit of a rogue,” said Prescott, choosing the safest topic. “I’ve told you so.”
“You have. For all that, he’s useful and I don’t mind being robbed in moderation; I’m a man who’s accustomed to losing things.” His half-mocking tone grew serious. “I wrote to my people, as soon as Colston left, telling them I’d determined12 to remain in Canada; but if it wasn’t for Ellice, I think I’d quit farming.” 47
Prescott smoked in silence for a while. Jernyngham had made a costly13 sacrifice, chiefly on the woman’s account, and Prescott felt sorry for him.
“Perhaps I’d better get on,” he said after a while.
For a few moments Jernyngham looked irresolute14, and then he got up.
“I’ll come with you to Sebastian. I think I’d have gone earlier, only Ellice had the horse and rig, and Wandle’s using the wagon15 team. It’s no doubt my duty to sue for peace.”
They set out shortly afterward16 and reaching Sebastian late in the evening drove to the livery-stable, where Jernyngham called the man who took Prescott’s team.
“I suppose you have my horse?” he asked.
“Sure,” said the fellow, looking at him curiously17. “Mrs. Jernyngham said we’d better keep him until you came in. She left a note for you with the boss; he’s in the hotel.”
Jernyngham crossed the street, followed by his companion, and Prescott noticed that the loungers in the bar seemed interested when they came in. Two of them put down their glasses and turned to fix their eyes on Jernyngham, a third paused in the act of lighting18 his pipe and dropped the match. Then the owner of the livery-stable looked up in a hesitating manner as Jernyngham approached him.
“I believe you have a message for me,” Jernyngham said abruptly19.
“That’s so,” the man rejoined gravely. “I’ll give it to you outside.”
They left the bar, and when they stood under the veranda20, Jernyngham tore open the envelope handed him. A moment later he firmly crumpled21 up the note it had held. 48
“When did she leave?” he asked in a harsh voice.
The liveryman regarded him sympathetically.
“By the afternoon East-bound. I’m mighty22 sorry, Cyril—guess you know it isn’t a secret in the town.”
Jernyngham’s face grew darkly flushed.
“Then you can tell me whom she went with?”
“The drummer who was selling the separators. Bought tickets through to St. Paul. Told Perkins he wasn’t coming back here; nothing doing on this round.”
The man tactfully moved away and Jernyngham turned to Prescott, speaking rather hoarsely23.
“She’s gone—that’s the end of it!”
He dropped into one of the chairs scattered about and a few moments later broke into a bitter laugh.
“It would have been more flattering if she had chosen you or Wandle instead of that blasted weedy drummer. Still, there the thing is, and it has to be faced.” Then he surprised his companion, for his voice and expression became suddenly normal. “Go in and get me a cigar.”
He lighted it carefully when it was brought to him and leaned back in his chair.
“Jack24,” he said, “I’ve got to hold myself in hand—if I start off on the jag now, it will be a dangerous one. Have you noticed that I’ve been practising strict abstinence since Colston left?”
Prescott, not knowing how to regard his ironic25 calmness, said nothing, and Jernyngham continued:
“It’s a bitter pill. I was very fond of her once, and there’s not much consolation26 in reflecting that she’ll probably scare the fellow out of his wits the first time she breaks out in one of her rages.” Then his voice grew regretful. “Ellice’s far from perfect, but she’s much too good for him.” 49
Remembering that it was on the woman’s account his friend had remained on the prairie, Prescott made a venture:
“Since she has gone, it’s a pity she didn’t go a few weeks earlier.”
“That doesn’t count,” declared Jernyngham. “She has cause to blame me as much for marrying her—one must try to be just. I thought of her when I determined to stay, but my own weaknesses played as big a part in deciding me.”
He sat silent a while, and then indicated his surroundings with a contemptuous sweep of his hand—the dirty sidewalk strewn with cigar ends and banana peelings, the straggling houses with their cracked board walls and ugly square fronts, the rutted street down which drifted clouds of dust.
“Jack,” he said, “I’m very sick of all this, and I can’t face the lonely homestead now Ellice’s gone. I must have a change and something to brace27 me; something that has a keener bite than drink. Think I’ll take a haulage job on the new railroad, where there ought to be rough and risky28 work, and I’ll leave this place to-night. Come across with me to Morant’s, and I’ll see what I can borrow on the land.”
The sudden unreasoning decision was characteristic of him, but Prescott expostulated.
“You can’t clear out in this eccentric fashion; there are a number of things to be settled first.”
“I think I can,” Jernyngham retorted dryly. “It’s certain that I can’t stay here.”
He took his companion with him to call on a land-agent and mortgage-broker, and when they left the office Jernyngham had a bulky roll of bills in his pocket. 50
“Jack,” he requested, “you’ll run my place and pay Morant off after harvest; if Wandle gets his hands on it, there’ll be very little left when I come back. You may have trouble with him, but you must hold out. Charge me with all expenses and pay as much of the surplus as you think I’m entitled to into my bank when you have sold the crop. Now if you’ll come into the hotel, I’ll give you a written authority and get Perkins to witness it.”
Prescott demurred29 at first, but eventually yielded because he believed his friend’s interest would need looking after in his absence. After some discussion they agreed on a workable scheme, which was put down in writing and witnessed by the hotel-keeper. Then Jernyngham borrowed a saddle and sent for his horse.
“I’ll pull out for the railroad now; it’s cooler riding at night and there’s a good moon,” he said. “As I’ll pass close to your place, you may as well drive so far with me.”
They set off, Prescott seated on the front of his jolting30 wagon, Jernyngham riding as near it as the roughness of the trail permitted, with a blanket and a package of provisions strapped31 to his saddle. He was wearing a hat of extra-thick felt and uncommon32 shape which had been given him by a man who had broken his journey for the purpose of seeing the country when returning from Hong Kong by the Canadian Pacific route. Soon after they left Sebastian, a young trooper of the Northwest Police dressed in khaki uniform came trotting33 up in the moonlight and joined them.
“Where are you off to, Jernyngham?” he asked, glancing at the rolled up blanket. “Looks as if you meant to camp on the trail.”
“I’ll have to, most likely,” said Jernyngham. “I’m 51 leaving the farm to Prescott for a while and heading for Nelson’s Butte on the new road.”
“What are you going to do there?”
“Thought I’d pick up a horse or two at one of the ranches34 I’ll pass and apply for a teaming job. Contractor35 was asking for haulage tenders; he’s having trouble among the sandhills and muskegs.”
“Then you’ll be taking a wad of money along?”
Jernyngham assented37 and the trooper looked thoughtful.
“Now,” he cautioned, “there’s a pretty tough crowd at Nelson, and though we stopped any licenses39 being issued, we’ve had trouble over the running-in of liquor. Then you have a long ride before you through a thinly-settled country. You want to be careful about that money.”
“The settlers are to be trusted.”
“That’s so, but we have reason to believe the rustlers are at work in the district; seem to have been going into the liquor business, and I’ve heard of horses missing. Now that the boys have stopped their branding other people’s calves40 in Alberta and corralled their leaders, it looks as if the fellows were beginning the game in this part of the country.”
“Thanks,” said Jernyngham. “I may as well take precautions. How would you recommend my carrying the money?”
The trooper made one or two ingenious suggestions as to the safest way of secreting41 the bills, and Jernyngham, dismounting, carried them out. Soon afterward the trooper struck off across the plain, and the others, riding on, met a farmer who spoke42 to them as he passed. At length Prescott pulled up his team at the spot where his companion must leave the trail. 52
“I’ll do what I can with the land, Cyril, and keep an account,” he said. “You might write and let me know how you are getting on.”
They shook hands and Jernyngham trotted43 away, while Prescott sat watching him for a minute or two. Man and horse were sharply outlined against the moonlit grass. Jernyngham looked very lonely as he rode out into the wilderness44. He could hardly have been happy, Prescott thought, in his untidy and comfortless house at the farm; but, after all, it had been a home, and now he was rudely flung adrift. It was true that the man was largely responsible for the troubles that had fallen upon him, but this was no reason for refusing him pity, and Cyril had his strong points. He had staunchly declined to profit by a felicitous45 change of fortune out of consideration for the relatives who had once disowned and the woman who had deserted46 him. Jernyngham had been a careless fool, and Prescott suspected that he was not likely to alter much in this respect, but he did not expect others to pay for his recklessness when the reckoning came. Then Prescott started his team.
Two days later, he was busy in front of his homestead putting together a new binder47 which had just arrived from the settlement. It was the latest type of harvesting implement48 and designed to cut an unusually broad swath. While he was engaged, the trooper he had met when accompanying Jernyngham rode up with a corporal following. He stopped his horse and glanced at the binder with admiration49.
“She’s a daisy, Jack; I guess she cost a pile,” he said. “Where did you get the money to buy a machine of that kind?”
“It wasn’t easy to raise it,” Prescott replied. “But 53 I’ll save something in labor—harvest wages are high—and I’ve long wanted this binder. When Trant came round from the implement store yesterday morning I thought I’d risk the deal. Will you wait for dinner?”
“No, thanks,” the corporal broke in. “We’re making a patrol north; just called to look at your guards. Several big grass fires have been reported in the last few days.”
Prescott pointed to the rows of plowed50 furrows51 which cut off his holding from the prairie. The strip of brown clods, which was two or three yards in width, seemed an adequate defense52, and after a glance at it the corporal nodded his satisfaction.
“Good enough,” he said. “We’ll take the trail.”
He trotted away with his companion and it was evening when they rode along the edge of a ravine which pierced a high tract36 of rolling country. The crest53 of the slope they followed commanded a vast circle of grass that was changing in the foreground from green to ocher and silvery white. Farther back, it ran on toward the sunset, a sweep of blue and neutral gray, flecked with dusky lines of bluffs55, interspersed56 with gleaming strips of water, but nowhere in the wide landscape was there a sign of human habitation. Small birches and poplars, with an undergrowth of nut bushes, clothed the sides of the ravine, but some distance ahead it broadened out and the stream that flowed through it turned the hollow into a muskeg. There harsh grass and reeds grew three or four feet high, hiding the stretch of mire57.
The police were young men with deeply bronzed faces, dressed in smart khaki uniform with broad Stetson hats of the same color.
“What’s that?” exclaimed Corporal Curtis, pointing 54 to an indistinct object lying among a patch of scrub some distance off.
“Looks like a hat,” replied Private Stanton. “Some settler prospecting58 for a homestead location must have lost it.”
“You jump at things!” said the corporal. “How’d the man lose it? Guess it wouldn’t drop off without his knowing it, and with the sun we’ve been having he’d want it pretty bad. He wouldn’t throw it away, when he knew he couldn’t get another. We’ll go along and see.”
They dismounted a minute or two later and made a startling discovery. The hat was a good one, but in one place the soft gray felt had been crushed and partly cut as though by a heavy blow. On turning it over, they saw that the inside was stained a dull red.
“Blood!” said Curtis significantly, and swept a searching glance about. “More of it,” he added. “See here—on the brush.”
Moving forward, they found a succession of crimson59 spots and splashes on the leaves of the willow60 scrub and withering61 grass.
“Picket the horses. Stanton; we’ve got to look into this,” the corporal said.
“I’d better lead them back a piece,” responded his companion. “We don’t want to muss up things by making fresh tracks.”
When he had done so, they set about the examination systematically62. They were men who lived, for the most part, in the open, and made long journeys through the wilds, sleeping where they could find shelter in ravine or bluff54. Such things as a broken twig63, a bruised64 tuft of grass, or a mark in loose soil had a meaning to them, 55 and here they had plentiful65 material to work upon. Counting footprints and hoofmarks, measuring distances, they constructed bit by bit the drama that had taken place, but half an hour had passed before they sat down to talk it over and took out their pipes. The afterglow shone about them; their hands and thoughtful faces showed the same warm color as the brown grass in the ruddy light. In the hat lay a five-dollar bill and a coat button.
“There were two men here,” Curtis remarked. “Both were mounted and came up the trail from the settlement, but it looks as if the first one had picketed66 his horse and started to make camp when the other joined him.”
“That’s so,” Private Stanton agreed.
“Then there was trouble, but the men didn’t clinch67. One fellow hit the other with something heavy enough to drop him in his tracks, then got into the saddle and rode off, leading the other horse.”
The evidence on which he arrived at this conclusion was slender, but Stanton signified assent38.
“Well,” he said, “where’s the hurt man?”
“I’ve a notion he’s in yonder muskeg. The other fellow could have packed him there on the led horse—the blood spots point to it—though he might have hid him farther on in a bluff. It’s getting too dark to search now; we’ll try to-morrow. But I guess we know who he is.”
“Sure,” said Stanton. “I’ll swear to the hat. Chaffed Jernyngham about it one day, and he put it in my hands and said there wasn’t another of the kind in the country. A man from Hong Kong gave it to him.”
Curtis took up the bill.
“Five dollars, Merchants’ Bank, and quite clean; not 56 been issued long. We’ll find out if they’ve a branch at Regina or Saskatoon and trace up the fellow they paid it to. The button doesn’t count—quite a common pattern. Now if you’ll fill the kettle at the creek68, I’ll start a fire. We’ll camp near the birch scrub yonder.”
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1
moodily
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| adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地 | |
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chaotic
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| adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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4
strewed
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| v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满 | |
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5
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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judicious
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| adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的 | |
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remonstrate
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| v.抗议，规劝 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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grumble
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| vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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14
irresolute
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| adj.无决断的，优柔寡断的，踌躇不定的 | |
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15
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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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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veranda
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| n.走廊；阳台 | |
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crumpled
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| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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ironic
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| adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的 | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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brace
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| n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 | |
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risky
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| adj.有风险的，冒险的 | |
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demurred
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| v.表示异议，反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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jolting
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| adj.令人震惊的 | |
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strapped
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| adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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33
trotting
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| 小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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ranches
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| 大农场， （兼种果树，养鸡等的）大牧场( ranch的名词复数 ) | |
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contractor
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| n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌 | |
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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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assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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licenses
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| n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 ) | |
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40
calves
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| n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解 | |
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41
secreting
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| v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的现在分词 )；隐匿，隐藏 | |
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42
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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43
trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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44
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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45
felicitous
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| adj.恰当的，巧妙的；n.恰当，贴切 | |
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46
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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47
binder
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| n.包扎物，包扎工具；[法]临时契约；粘合剂；装订工 | |
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48
implement
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| n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行 | |
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49
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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50
plowed
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| v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过 | |
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51
furrows
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| n.犁沟( furrow的名词复数 )；（脸上的）皱纹v.犁田，开沟( furrow的第三人称单数 ) | |
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52
defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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53
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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54
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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interspersed
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| adj.[医]散开的；点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词 | |
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mire
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| n.泥沼，泥泞；v.使...陷于泥泞，使...陷入困境 | |
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prospecting
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| n.探矿 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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withering
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| 使人畏缩的，使人害羞的，使人难堪的 | |
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systematically
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| adv.有系统地 | |
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twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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picketed
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| 用尖桩围住（picket的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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clinch
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| v.敲弯，钉牢；确定；扭住对方 [参]clench | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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