The result was beyond cavil10 in its artistic11 simplicity12, for the girl, knowing the significance that trifles have at times, had laid aside every adornment13 that might hint at wealth, and the somber14 draperies alone emphasized the polished whiteness of her face and neck. Still, and she did not know whether she was pleased or otherwise at this, the mirror had shown the stamp which revealed itself even in passive pose and poise15 of head. It was her birthright, and would not be disguised.
Then she drew a low chair towards the stove, and once more the faint color crept into her face as she took up a note. It was laconic16, and requested permission to call at the Grange, but Maud Barrington was not deceived, and recognized the consideration each word had cost the man who wrote it. Afterwards she glanced at her watch, raised it with a little gesture of impatience17 to make sure it had not stopped, and sat still, listening to the moaning of the wind, until the door opened and Miss Barrington came in. She glanced at her niece, who felt that her eyes had noticed each detail of her somewhat unusual dress, but said nothing until the younger woman turned to her.
"They would scarcely come to-night, aunt," she said. Miss Barrington, listening a moment, heard the wind that whirled the snow about the lonely building, but smiled incredulously.
"I fancy you are wrong, and I wish my brother were here," she said. "We could not refuse Mr. Winston permission to call, but whatever passes between us will have more than its individual significance. Anything we tacitly promise, the others will agree to, and I feel the responsibility of deciding for Silverdale."
Miss Barrington went out; but her niece, who understood her smile and that she had received a warning, sat still with a strained expression in her eyes. The prosperity of Silverdale had been dear to her, but she knew she must let something that was dearer still slip away from her, or, since they must come from her, trample18 on her pride as she made the first advances. It seemed a very long while before there was a knocking at the outer door, and she rose with a little quiver when light steps came up the stairway.
In the meanwhile two men stood beside the stove in the hall until an English maid returned to them.
"Colonel Barrington is away, but Miss Barrington, and Miss Maud are at home," she said. "Will you go forward into the morning-room when you have taken off your furs?"
"Did you know Barrington was not here?" asked Winston, when the maid moved away.
Dane appeared embarrassed. "The fact is, I did."
"Then," said Winston dryly, "I am a little astonished you did not think fit to tell me."
Dane's face flushed, but he laid his hand on his comrade's arm. "No," he said, "I didn't. Now, listen to me for the last time, Winston. I've not been blind, you see, and, as I told you, your comrades have decided19 that they wish you to stay. Can't you sink your confounded pride, and take what is offered you?" Winston shook his grasp off, and there was weariness in his face. "You need not go through it all again. I made my decision a long while ago."
"Well," said Dane, with a gesture of hopelessness, "I've done all I could, and, since you are going on, I'll look at that trace clip while you tell Miss Barrington. I mean the younger one."
"The harness can wait," said Winston. "You are coming with me."
A little grim smile crept into Dane's eyes. "I am not. I wouldn't raise a finger to help you now," he said, and retreated hastily.
It was five minutes later when Winston walked quietly into Maud Barrington's presence, and sat down when the girl signed to him. He wondered if she guessed how his heart was beating.
"It is very good of you to receive me, but I felt I could not slip away without acknowledging the kindness you and Miss Barrington have shown me," he said. "I did not know Colonel Barrington was away."
The girl smiled a little. "Or you would not have come? Then we should have had no opportunity of congratulating you on your triumphant20 acquittal. You see, it must be mentioned."
"I'm afraid there was a miscarriage21 of justice," said Winston quietly. "Still, though it is a difficult subject, the deposition22 of the man I supplanted23 went a long way, and the police did not seem desirous of pressing a charge against me. Perhaps I should have insisted on implicating24 myself, but you would scarcely have looked for that after what you now know of me."
Maud Barrington braced25 herself for an effort, though she was outwardly very calm. "No," she said, "no one would have looked for it from any man placed as you were, and you are purposing to do more than is required of you. Why will you go away?"
"I am a poor man," said Winston. "One must have means to live at Silverdale!"
"Then," said the girl with a soft laugh which cost her a good deal, "it is because you prefer poverty, and you have at least one opportunity at Silverdale. Courthorne's land was mine to all intents and purposes before it was his, and now it reverts26 to me. I owe him nothing, and he did not give it me. Will you stay and farm it on whatever arrangement Dane and Macdonald may consider equitable27? My uncle's hands are too full for him to attempt it."
"No," said Winston, and his voice trembled a little. "Your friends would resent it."
"Then," said the girl, "why have they urged you to stay?"
"A generous impulse. They would repent28 of it by and by. I am not one of them, and they know it, now, as I did at the beginning. No doubt they would be courteous29, but you see a half-contemptuous toleration would gall30 me."
There was a little smile on Maud Barrington's lips, but it was not in keeping with the tinge in her cheek and the flash in her eyes.
"I once told you that you were poor at subterfuge31, and you know you are wronging them," she said. "You also know that even if they were hostile to you, you could stay and compel them to acknowledge you. I fancy you once admitted as much to me. What has become of the pride of the democracy you showed me?"
Winston made a deprecatory gesture. "You must have laughed at me. I had not been long at Silverdale then," he said dryly. "I should feel very lonely now. One man against long generations. Wouldn't it be a trifle unequal?"
Maud Barrington smiled again. "I did not laugh, and this is not England, though what you consider prejudices do not count for so much as they used to there, while there is, one is told quite frequently, no limit to what a man may attain32 to here, if he dares sufficiently33."
A little quiver ran through Winston, and he rose and stood looking down on her, with one brown hand clenched34 on the table and the veins35 showing on his forehead.
"You would have me stay?" he said.
Maud Barrington met his eyes, for the spirit that was in her was the equal of his. "I would have you be yourself--what you were when you came here in defiance36 of Colonel Barrington, and again when you sowed the last acre of Courthorne's land, while my friends, who are yours too, looked on wondering. Then you would stay--if it pleased you. Where has your splendid audacity37 gone?"
Winston slowly straightened himself, and the girl noticed the damp the struggle had brought there on his forehead, for he understood that if he would stretch out his hand and take it what he longed for might be his.
"I do not know, any more than I know where it came from, for until I met Courthorne I had never made a big venture in my life," he said. "It seems it has served its turn and left me--for now there are things I am afraid to do."
"So you will go away and forget us?"
Winston stood very still a moment, and the girl, who felt her heart beating, noticed that his face was drawn38. Still, she could go no further. Then he said very slowly, "I should be under the shadow always if I stay, and my friends would feel it even more deeply than I would do. I may win the right to come back again if I go away."
Maud Barrington made no answer, but both knew no further word could be spoken on that subject until, if fate ever willed it, the man returned again, and it was a relief when Miss Barrington came in with Dane. He glanced at his comrade keenly, and then seeing the grimness in his face, quietly declined the white-haired lady's offer of hospitality. Five minutes later the farewells were said, and Maud Barrington stood with the stinging flakes whirling about her in the doorway39, while the sleigh slid out into the filmy whiteness that drove across the prairie. When it vanished, she turned back into the warmth and brightness with a little shiver and one hand tightly closed.
The great room seemed very lonely when, while the wind moaned outside, she and her aunt sat down to dinner. Neither of them appeared communicative, and both felt it a relief when the meal was over. Then Maud Barrington smiled curiously40 as she rose and stood with hands stretched out towards the stove.
"Aunt," she said. "Twoinette has twice asked me to go back to Montreal, and I think I will. The prairie is very dreary41 in the winter."
It was about this time when, as the whitened horses floundered through the lee of a bluff42 where there was shelter from the wind, the men in the sleigh found opportunity for speech.
"Now," said Dane quietly, "I know that we have lost you, for a while at least. Will you ever come back, Winston?"
Winston nodded. "Yes," he said. "When time has done its work, and Colonel Barrington asks me, if I can buy land enough to give me a standing43 at Silverdale."
"That," said Dane, "will need a good many dollars, and you insisted on flinging those you had away. How are you going to make them?"
"I don't know," said Winston simply. "Still, by some means it will be done."
It was next day when he walked into Graham's office at Winnipeg, and laughed when the broker44 who shook hands passed the cigar box across to him.
"We had better understand each other first," he said; "You have heard what has happened to me and will not find me a profitable customer to-day."
"These cigars are the best in the city, or I wouldn't ask you to take one," said Graham dryly. "You understand me, any way. Wait until I tell my clerk that if anybody comes round I'm busy."
A bell rang, a little window opened and shut again, and Winston smiled over his cigar.
"I want to make thirty thousand dollars as soon as I can, and it seems to me there are going to be opportunities in this business. Do you know anybody who would take me as clerk or salesman?"
Graham did not appear astonished. "You'll scarcely make them that way if I find you a berth45 at fifty a month," he said.
"No," said Winston. "Still, I wouldn't purpose keeping it for more than six months or so. By that time I should know a little about the business."
"Got any money now?"
"One thousand dollars," said Winston quietly.
Graham nodded. "Smoke that cigar out, and don't worry me. I've got some thinking to do."
Winston took up a journal, and laid it down again twenty minutes later. "Well," he said, "you think it's too big a thing?"
"No," said Graham. "It depends upon the man, and it might be done. Knowing the business goes a good way, and so does having dollars in hand, but there's something that's born in one man in a thousand that goes a long way further still. I can't tell you what it is, but I know it when I see it."
"Then," said Winston, "you have seen this thing in me?"
Graham nodded gravely. "Yes, sir, but you don't want to get proud. You had nothing to do with the getting of it. It was given you. Now, we're going to have a year that will not be forgotten by those who handle wheat and flour, and the men with the long heads will roll the money in. Well, I've no use for another clerk, and my salesman's good enough for me, but if we can agree on the items I'll take you for a partner."
The offer was made and accepted quietly, and when a rough draft of the arrangement had been agreed upon, Graham nodded as he lighted another cigar.
"You may as well take hold at once, and there's work ready now," he said. "You've heard of the old St. Louis mills back on the edge of the bush country. Never did any good. Folks who had them were short of money, and didn't know how they should be run. Well, I and two other men have bought them for a song, and, while the place is tumbling in, the plant seems good. Now, I can get hold of orders for flour when I want them, and everybody with dollars to spare will plank46 them right into any concern handling food-stuffs this year. You go down to-morrow with an engineer, and, when you've got the mills running and orders coming in we'll sell out to a company, if we don't want them."
Winston sat silent a space turning over a big bundle of plans and estimates. Then he said, "You'll have to lay out a pile of money."
Graham laughed. "That's going to be your affair. When you want them the dollars will be ready, and there's only one condition. Every dollar we put down has got to bring another in."
"But," said Winston, "I don't know anything about milling."
"Then," said Graham dryly, "You have got to learn. A good many men have got quite rich in this country running things they didn't know much about when they took hold of them."
"There's one more point," said Winston. "I must make those thirty thousand dollars soon or they'll be no great use to me, and when I have them I may want to leave you."
"That's all right," said Graham. "By the time you've done it, you'll have made sixty for me. We'll go out and have some lunch to clinch47 the deal if you're ready."
It might have appeared unusual in England, but it was much less so in a country where the specialization of professions is still almost unknown, and the man who can adapt himself attains48 ascendency, and on the morrow Winston arrived at a big wooden building beside a pine-shrouded river. It appeared falling to pieces, and the engineer looked disdainfully at some of the machinery49, but, somewhat against his wishes, he sat up with his companion most of the night in a little log hotel, and orders that occasioned one of Graham's associates consternation50 were mailed to the city next morning. Then machines came out by the carload, and men with tools in droves. Some of them murmured mutinously51 when they found they were expected to do as much as their leader, who was not a tradesman, but these were forth-with sent back again, and the rest were willing to stay and earn the premium52 he promised them for rapid work.
Before the frost grew arctic, the building stood firm, and the hammers rang inside it night and day until, when the ice had bound the dam and lead, the fires were lighted and the trials under steam began. It cost more than water, but buyers with orders from the East were clamoring for flour just then. For a fortnight Winston snatched his food in mouthfuls, and scarcely closed his eyes, while Graham found him pale and almost haggard when he came down with several men from the cities in response to a telegram. For an hour they moved up and down, watching whirring belt and humming roller, and then, whitened with the dust, stood very intent and quiet while one of them dipped up a little flour from the delivery hopper. His opinions on, and dealings in, that product were famous in the land. He said nothing for several minutes, and then brushing the white dust from his hands turned with a little smile to Graham.
"We'll have some baked, but I don't know that there's much use for it. This will grade a very good first," he said. "You can book me the thousand two eighties for a beginning now."
Winston's fingers trembled, but there was a twinkle in Graham's eyes as he brought his hand down on his shoulder.
"Gentlemen," he said, "I was figuring right on this when I brought the champagne53 along. It was all I could do, but Imperial Tokay wouldn't be good enough to rinse54 this dust down with, when every speck55 of it that's on you means dollars by the handful rolling in."
It was a very contented and slightly hilarious56 party that went back to the city, but Winston sat down before a shaded lamp with a wet rag round his head when they left him, and bent57 over a sheaf of drawings until his eyes grew dim. Then he once more took up a little strip of paper that Graham had given him, and leaned forward with his arms upon the table. The mill was very silent at last, for of all who had toiled58 in it that day one weary man alone sat awake, staring, with aching eyes, in front of him. There was, however, a little smile in them, for roseate visions floated before them. If the promise that strip of paper held out was redeemed59, they might materialize, for those who had toiled and wasted their substance that the eastern peoples might be fed would that year, at least, not go without their reward. Then he stretched out his arms wearily above his head.
"It almost seems that what I have hoped for may be mine," he said. "Still, there is a good deal to be done first, and not two hours left before I begin it to-morrow."
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1
casements
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| n.窗扉( casement的名词复数 ) | |
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rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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draughts
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| n. <英>国际跳棋 | |
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flakes
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| 小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人 | |
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tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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lustrous
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| adj.有光泽的；光辉的 | |
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unduly
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| adv.过度地，不适当地 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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surmised
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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cavil
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| v.挑毛病，吹毛求疵 | |
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artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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adornment
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| n.装饰；装饰品 | |
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somber
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| adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的 | |
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poise
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| vt./vi. 平衡，保持平衡；n.泰然自若，自信 | |
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laconic
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| adj.简洁的；精练的 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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trample
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| vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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miscarriage
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| n.失败，未达到预期的结果；流产 | |
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deposition
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| n.免职，罢官；作证；沉淀；沉淀物 | |
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supplanted
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| 把…排挤掉，取代( supplant的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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implicating
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| vt.牵涉，涉及（implicate的现在分词形式） | |
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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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reverts
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| 恢复( revert的第三人称单数 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还 | |
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equitable
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| adj.公平的；公正的 | |
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repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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gall
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| v.使烦恼，使焦躁，难堪；n.磨难 | |
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subterfuge
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| n.诡计；藉口 | |
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attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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audacity
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| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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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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dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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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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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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broker
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| n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排 | |
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berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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plank
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| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
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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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48
attains
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的第三人称单数 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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49
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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50
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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51
mutinously
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| adv.反抗地，叛变地 | |
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52
premium
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| n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的 | |
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53
champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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54
rinse
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| v.用清水漂洗，用清水冲洗 | |
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55
speck
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| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
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56
hilarious
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| adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed | |
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57
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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58
toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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redeemed
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| adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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