"This is about the limit!" he exclaimed. "You wouldn't have persuaded me that the thing was possible when I was first sent into the district. It isn't what one expects in the wheat-belt, and it certainly has to be stopped."
"Of course," said George, with some impatience4. "But wouldn't it be wiser to consider the ways and means? At present the fellows are no doubt pushing on for the frontier with two valuable teams and a wad of stolen bills."
Flett smiled at him indulgently.
"This isn't a job that can be put through in a hurry. If they're heading for the boundary—and I guess they are—they'll be in Dakota or Montana long before any of the boys I'll wire to could come up with them. Our authority doesn't hold on American soil."
"Is that to be the end of it?"
"Why, no," Flett answered dryly. "As I guess you have heard, they have had trouble of this kind in Alberta for a while; and most every time the boys were able to send back any American mavericks5 and beef-cattle that were run into Canada. As the result of it, our chiefs at Regina are pretty good friends with the sheriffs and deputies on the other side. They're generally willing to help us where they can."
"Then you shouldn't have much difficulty in trailing your men. Suppose a fellow turned up with four exceptionally good horses and offered them to an American farmer or dealer6, wouldn't it arouse suspicion?"
"It might," said Flett, with a meaning smile. "But the thing's not so simple as it looks. We all know that Canadian steers7 and horses have been run off and disposed of across the frontier; and now and then a few from that side have disappeared in Canada. This points to there being a way of getting rid of them; some mean white on a lonely holding will take them at half-value, and pass them along. What we have to do is to send a man over quietly to investigate, and get the sheriffs and deputies to keep their eyes open. I'm going to beg the Regina people to let me be that man."
"You may as well understand that it isn't the return of the horses
Grant wants so much as the conviction of the men who waylaid8 him."
"Then," said Flett, pointedly10, "he must be mighty11 mad."
Hardie joined in George's laugh; but the constable12 went on:
"I believe we're going to get them; but it will take time—all summer, perhaps. I've known our boys lay hands on a man they wanted, eighteen months afterward."
"In one way, I don't think that's much to their credit," the clergyman remarked.
Taking up the knife George had handed him, Flett pointed9 to some initials scratched on the bone haft.
"Kind of foolish thing for the fellow to put his name on his tools; but I don't know anybody those letters might stand for. Now you describe him as clearly as you can, while I put it down."
George did as he was bidden, and added: "There were two more—one of them looked like Langside—and I believe a fourth man, though I may be mistaken in this. They were moving about pretty rapidly and the light was bad."
Flett got up.
"I'll have word sent along to Regina, and then try to locate their trail until instructions come. I want to get about it right away, but there's this blamed fellow who knocked out his partner at the Sachem, and it will take me most of a day's ride before I can hand him on to Davies. It's a charge that nobody's going to worry about, and it's a pity he couldn't have escaped. Still, that's the kind of thing that can't happen too often."
He went out and George turned to Hardie.
"How does the matter strike you?"
"I've an idea that Flett was right in saying it was the limit. There was a certain romance about these disturbances13 when they began; they were a novelty in this part of Canada. People took them lightly, glad of something amusing or exciting to talk about. It was through popular indifference14 that the gang first gained a footing, but by degrees it became evident that they couldn't be dislodged without a vigorous effort. People shrank from making it; and, with Beamish backing them, the fellows got steadily15 bolder and better organized. All the time, however, they were really at the mercy of the general body of orderly citizens. Now they have gone too far; this last affair can't be tolerated. Instead of apathy16, there'll be an outbreak of indignation; and I expect the people who might have stopped the thing at the beginning will denounce the police."
George nodded.
"That's my idea. What's our part?"
"I think it's to assist in the reaction. Your story's a striking one. We had better get it into a newspaper as soon as possible. I suppose it would be correct to say that Grant was cruelly beaten?"
"His face is blue from jaw17 to temple. They knocked him nearly senseless with the butt18 of a whip, while he was lying, helpless, on the ground."
"And your horse was badly wounded?"
"I wish it weren't true; there's a gash19 about eight inches long. If it will assist the cause, you can say the stab was meant for me."
"Well," said Hardie, "I think it will make a moving tale. I'm afraid, however, I'll have to lay some stress upon the single-handed rescue."
George looked dubious20.
"I'd rather you left that out."
"We must impress the matter on people's thoughts, make it command attention; a little diplomacy21 is allowable now and then," said Hardie, smiling. "Since you don't mind getting yourself into trouble, I don't see why you should object to being held up to admiration22, and it's in an excellent cause. Now, however, I'll order breakfast for you, and then you had better get some sleep."
During the afternoon, George set off for home, and he was plowing24 for the summer fallow a week later when Flora25 Grant rode up to him.
"I suppose you have got your mail and have seen what the Sentinel says about you?" she asked mischievously26.
George looked uncomfortable, but he laughed.
"Yes," he confessed. "It seemed to afford Edgar some amusement."
"Who's responsible for that flattering column? It doesn't read like the work of the regular staff."
"I'm afraid that I am, to some extent, though Hardie's the actual culprit. The fact is, he thought the course was necessary."
"Well, I suspected something of the kind; so did my father. It was a wise move, and I think it will have its effect."
George made no comment and she sat silent a moment or two while he watched her with appreciation27. She was well-mounted on a beautiful, carefully-groomed horse; the simple skirt and bodice of pale gray emphasized the pure tinting28 of her face and hands and the warm glow of her hair, in which the fierce sunshine forced up strong coppery gleams. Her lips formed a patch of crimson29, there was a red band on her wide Stetson hat, and her eyes shone a deep blue as she looked down at George, who stood in the sandy furrow30 leaning against the heavy plow23. He was dressed in old overalls31 that had faded with dust and sun to the indefinite color of the soil, but they displayed the fine lines of a firmly knit and muscular figure. His face was deeply bronzed, but a glow of sanguine32 red shone through its duskier coloring. Behind them both ran a broad sweep of stubble, steeped in strong ochre, relieved by brighter lemon hues33 where the light blazed on it.
"Though I couldn't resist the temptation to tease you, I quite agree with the Sentinel," she resumed. "It really was a very gallant34 rescue, and I suppose you know I recognize my debt to you. I was a little too startled to speak about it when you brought my father home, and you went away so fast."
"The fellows were afraid of being identified; they bolted as soon as they saw me."
"One didn't," Flora pointed out. "A knife-thrust, like the one you avoided, or a pistol-shot would have obviated35 any risk they ran. But of course you hate to be thanked."
"No," George replied impulsively36; "not by you."
"I wonder," she said with an amused air, "why you should make an exception of me?"
"I suppose it lessens37 my sense of obligation. I feel I've done some little thing to pay you back."
"I'm not sure that was very happily expressed. Is it painful to feel that you owe anything to your neighbors?"
George flushed.
"That wasn't what I meant. Do you think it's quite fair to lay traps for me, when you can count on my falling into them?" He turned and pointed to the great stretch of grain that clothed the soil with vivid green. "Look at your work. Last fall, all that plowing was strewn with a wrecked38 and mangled39 crop; now it's sown with wheat that will stand the drought. I was feeling nearly desperate, wondering how I was to master the sandy waste, when you came to the rescue and my troubles melted like the dust in summer rain. They couldn't stand before you; you banished40 them."
She looked at him rather curiously41, and, George thought, with some cause, for he was a little astonished at his outbreak. This was not the kind of language that was most natural to him.
"I wonder," she said, "why you should take so much for granted—I mean in holding me accountable?"
"It's obvious," George declared. "I understand your father; he's a very generous friend, but the idea of sending me the seed didn't occur to him in the first place; though I haven't the least doubt that he was glad to act on it."
"Ah!" said Flora, "it looks as if you had been acquiring some penetration42; you were not so explicit43 the last time you insisted on thanking me. Who can have been teaching you? It seems, however, that I'm still incomprehensible."
George considered. It would be undesirable44 to explain that his enlightenment had come from Edgar, and he wanted to express what he felt.
"No," he said, in answer to her last remark; "not altogether; but I've sometimes felt that there's a barrier of reserve in you, beyond which it's hard to get."
"Do you think it would be worth while to make the attempt? Suppose you succeeded and found there was nothing on the other side?"
He made a sign of negation45, and she watched him with some interest; the man was trying to thrash out his ideas.
"That couldn't happen," he declared gravely. "Somehow you make one feel there is much in you that wants discovery, but that one will learn it by and by. After all, it's only the shallow people you never really get to know."
"It would seem an easy task, on the face of it."
"As a matter of fact, it isn't. They have a way of enveloping46 themselves in an air of importance and mystery, and when they don't do so, they're casual and inconsequent. One likes people with, so to speak, some continuity of character. By degrees one gets to know how they'll act and it gives one a sense of reliance." He paused and added, diffidently: "Anything you did would be wise and generous."
"By degrees?" smiled Flora. "So it's slowly, by patient sapping, the barriers go down! One could imagine that such things might be violently stormed. But you're not rash, are you, or often in a hurry? However, it's time I was getting home."
She waved her hand and rode away, and George, getting into the saddle, started his team, and thought about her while he listened to the crackling of the stubble going down beneath the hoofs47, and the soft thud of thrown-back soil as the lengthening48 rows of clods broke away from the gleaming shares. What she might have meant by her last remark he could not tell, though so far as it concerned him, he was ready to admit that he was addicted49 to steady plodding50. Then his thoughts took a wider range, and he began to make comparisons. Flora was not characterized by Sylvia's fastidious refinement51; she was more virile52 and yet more reposeful53. Sylvia's activities spread bustle54 around her; she required much assistance and everybody in her neighborhood was usually impressed into her service, though their combined efforts often led to nothing. Flora's work was done silently; the results were most apparent.
Still, the charm Sylvia exerted was always obvious; a thing to rejoice in and be thankful for. Flora had not the same effect on one, though he suspected there was a depth of tenderness in her, behind the barrier. It struck him as a pity that she showed no signs of interest in West, who of late seemed to have been attracted by the pretty daughter of a storekeeper at the settlement; but, after all, the lad was hardly old or serious enough for Flora. There was, however, nobody else in the district who was nearly good enough for her; and George felt glad that she was reserved and critical. It would be disagreeable to contemplate55 her yielding to any suitor unless he were a man of exceptional merit.
Then he laughed and called to his horses. He was thinking about matters that did not concern him; his work was to drive the long furrow for Sylvia's benefit, and he found pleasure in it. Bright sunshine smote56 the burnished57 clods; scattered58, white-edged clouds drove across the sky of dazzling blue, flinging down cool gray shadows that sped athwart the stubble; young wheat, wavy59 lines of bluff60, and wide-spread prairie were steeped in glowing color. The man rejoiced in the rush of the breeze; the play of straining muscles swelling61 and sinking on the bodies of the team before him was pleasant to watch; he felt at home in the sun and wind, which, tempered as they often were by gentle rain, were staunchly assisting him. By and by, all the foreground of the picture he gazed upon would be covered with the coppery ears of wheat. He had once shrunk from returning to Canada; but now, through all the stress of cold and heat, he was growing fond of the new land. What was more, he felt the power to work at such a task as he was now engaged in to be a privilege.
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1
transpired
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| （事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生 | |
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disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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mavericks
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| 未烙印的牲畜( maverick的名词复数 )； 标新立异的人，不合常规的人 | |
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dealer
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| n.商人，贩子 | |
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steers
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| n.阉公牛，肉用公牛( steer的名词复数 )v.驾驶( steer的第三人称单数 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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8
waylaid
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| v.拦截，拦路( waylay的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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pointedly
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| adv.尖地，明显地 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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constable
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| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
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disturbances
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| n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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apathy
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| n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡 | |
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jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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18
butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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19
gash
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| v.深切，划开；n.(深长的)切(伤)口；裂缝 | |
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20
dubious
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| adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的 | |
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diplomacy
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| n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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plow
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| n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough | |
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24
plowing
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| v.耕( plow的现在分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过 | |
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flora
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| n.(某一地区的)植物群 | |
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mischievously
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| adv.有害地；淘气地 | |
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appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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tinting
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| 着色，染色（的阶段或过程） | |
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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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furrow
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| n.沟；垄沟；轨迹；车辙；皱纹 | |
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overalls
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| n.（复）工装裤；长罩衣 | |
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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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33
hues
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| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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obviated
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| v.避免，消除（贫困、不方便等）( obviate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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impulsively
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| adv.冲动地 | |
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lessens
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| 变少( lessen的第三人称单数 )； 减少（某事物） | |
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wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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mangled
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| vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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40
banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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42
penetration
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| n.穿透，穿人，渗透 | |
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43
explicit
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| adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的 | |
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44
undesirable
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| adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子 | |
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45
negation
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| n.否定；否认 | |
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46
enveloping
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的现在分词 ) | |
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47
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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48
lengthening
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的现在分词 )； 加长 | |
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49
addicted
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| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
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50
plodding
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| a.proceeding in a slow or dull way | |
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51
refinement
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| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
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52
virile
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| adj.男性的；有男性生殖力的；有男子气概的；强有力的 | |
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53
reposeful
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| adj.平稳的，沉着的 | |
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54
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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55
contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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56
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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57
burnished
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| adj.抛光的，光亮的v.擦亮（金属等），磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 )；被擦亮，磨光 | |
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58
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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59
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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60
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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61
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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