Ranching For Sylvia Volume-554 - Harold Bindloss (best black authors TXT) 📗

Check When He Likes.  Then Bring Out The

Flour And Groceries."

 

"I Suppose I Won't Be Going In Again For A While; We'll Be Too Busy?"

 

"It's Very Likely," Said Edgar, Knowing His Comrade's Temperament.

 

"Then I Wonder If I Could Draw A Pound Or Two?" Asked Grierson

Diffidently.

 

"Why?" George Questioned Him.  "The Immigration People Would See That

You Had Some Money Before They Let You In."

 

"I've Four Pounds Now; I Want To Send Something Home At Once."

 

"Ah!" Said George.  "I See.  How Much Did You Leave Your Wife?"

 

"About Three Pounds, Sir; I Had To Bring Enough To Pass Me At Quebec."

 

"Then If You Give Me What You Have, I'll Let You Have A Check For Twice

As Much On An English Bank.  Better Get Your Letter Written."

 

Grierson's Look Was Very Expressive As He Turned Away With A Word Of

Thanks; And Edgar Smiled At George.

 

"You Have Bought That Fellow--For An Advance Of Four Pounds," He Said.

Volume 554 Chapter 6 (George Gets To Work) Pg 39

George Showed A Little Embarrassment.

 

"I Was Thinking Of The Woman," He Explained.

 

Then He Pointed To The Prairie.

 

"There's A Rig Coming.  It Looks Like Visitors."

 

Soon Afterward, Grant, Whom They Had Met On The Train, Drew Up His Team

And Helped His Daughter Down.

 

"We Were Passing And Thought We'd Look In," He Said.  "Found Out

Yesterday That You Were Located Here."

 

George Called Grierson To Take The Team, And Leading The New Arrivals

To The House, Which Was Still In Disorder, He Found Them Seats In The

Kitchen.  It Was Rather Roughly And Inadequately Furnished, And Edgar

Had Decided That Sylvia Had Spent Little Of Her Time There.  After They

Had Talked For A While, A Man, Dressed In Blue Duck Trousers, A

Saffron-Colored Shirt, And An Old Slouch Hat, Which He Did Not Remove,

Walked In, Carrying A Riding Quirt.  Grant Returned His Greeting

Curtly, And Then The Man Addressed George.

 

"I Heard You Were Running This Place," He Said.

 

"That's Correct."

 

"Then I Put In The Wheat On Your Summer Fallow; Mrs. Marston Told Me

To.  Thought I'd Come Along And Let You Have The Bill."

 

His Manner Was Assertively Offhand, And George Did Not Ask Him To Sit

Down.

 

"It's A Very Second-Rate Piece Of Work," George Said.  "You Might Have

Used The Land-Packer More Than You Did."

 

"It's Good Enough.  Anyway, I'll Trouble You For The Money."

 

Edgar Was Sensible Of Indignation Mixed With Amusement.  This

Overbearing Fellow Did Not Know George Lansing.

 

"I Think You Had Better Take Off Your Hat Before We Go Any

Farther--It's Customary.  Then You May Tell Me What I Owe You."

 

The Man Looked Astonished, But He Complied With The Suggestion, And

Afterward Stated His Charge, Which Was Unusually High.  Edgar Noticed

That Grant Was Watching George With Quiet Interest.

 

"I Suppose You Have A Note From Mrs. Marston Fixing The Price?"

 

The Other Explained That The Matter Had Been Arranged Verbally.

 

"Was Anybody Else Present When You Came To Terms?" George Asked.

Volume 554 Chapter 6 (George Gets To Work) Pg 40

"You Can Quit Feeling, And Pay Up!" Exclaimed The Stranger.  "I've Told

You How Much It Is."

 

"The Trouble Is That You're Asking Nearly Double The Usual Charge Per

Acre."

 

Grant Smiled Approvingly, But The Man Advanced With A Truculent Air To

The Table At Which George Was Sitting.

 

"I've Done The Work; That's Good Enough For Me."

 

"You Have Done It Badly, But I'll Give You A Check Now, Based On The

Regular Charge, Which Should Come To"--George Made A Quick Calculation

On A Strip Of Paper And Handed It To The Man.  "This Is Merely Because

You Seem In A Hurry.  If You're Not Satisfied, You Can Wait Until I Get

An Answer From Mrs. Marston; Or I'll Ask Some Of My Neighbors To

Arbitrate."

 

The Man Hesitated, With Anger In His Face.

 

"I Guess I'll Take The Check," He Said Sullenly.

 

Crossing The Floor, George Took A Pen And Some Paper From A Shelf.

 

"Sit Here," He Said, When He Came Back, "And Write Me A Receipt."

 

The Other Did As He Was Bidden, And George Pointed Toward The Door.

 

"That's Settled; I Won't Keep You."

 

The Man Looked Hard At Him, And Then Went Quietly Out; And Grant Leaned

Back In His Seat With A Soft Laugh.

 

"You Fixed Him," He Remarked.  "He Has The Name Of Being A Tough."

 

"I Suppose An Englishman Newly Out Is Considered Lawful Prey."

 

"A Few Of Them Deserve It," Grant Returned Dryly.  "But Let That Go.

What Do You Think Of The Place?"

 

George Felt That He Could Trust The Farmer.  He Had Spent A Depressing

Day, During Which All He Saw Had Discouraged Him.  Marston Had Farmed

In A Singularly Wasteful Manner; Fences And Outbuildings Were In Very

Bad Repair; Half The Implements Were Useless; And It Would Be A Long

And Costly Task To Put Things Straight.

 

"I Feel That I'll Have My Hands Full.  In Fact, I'm A Little Worried

About It; There Are So Many Changes That Must Be Made."

 

"Sure.  Where Are You Going To Begin?"

 

"By Getting As Much Summer Fallowing As Possible Done On The Second

Quarter-Section.  The First Has Been Growing Wheat For Some Time; I'll

Volume 554 Chapter 6 (George Gets To Work) Pg 41

Sew Part Of That With Timothy.  There's One Bit Of Stiff Land I Might

Put In Flax.  I've Thought Of Trying Corn For The Silo."

 

"Timothy And A Silo?" Commented Grant.

 

"You're Going In For Stock, Then?  It Means Laying Out Money, And A

Slow Return."

 

"I'm Afraid So.  Still, You Can't Grow Cereals Year After Year On This

Light Soil.  It's A Wasteful Practise That Will Have To Be Abandoned,

As People Here Seem To Be Discovering.  Grain Won't Pay At Sixteen

Bushels To The Acre."

 

"A Sure Thing," Grant Agreed.  "I'm Sticking Right To Wheat, But That's

Because I'm Too Old To Change My System, And I'm On Black Soil, Which

Holds Out Longer."

 

"But You're Taking The Nature Out Of It."

 

"It Will See Me Through If I Fallow," Said Grant.  "When I've Done With

It And Sell Out, Somebody Else Can Experiment With Mixed Crops And

Stock-Raising.  That's Going To Become The General Plan, But It's

Costly At The Beginning."  Then He Rose.  "I'll Walk Round The Place

With You."

 

They Went Out, And The Girl Fell Behind With Edgar.  He Had Learned

That Her Name Was Flora.

 

"Mr. Lansing Seems To Understand Farming," She Remarked.  "He Didn't

Tell Us He Had Been On The Prairie Before."

 

"He Hasn't Told You Now," Edgar Pointed Out.

 

"George Never Does Tell Things About Himself Unless There's A Reason."

 

"He Soon Got Rid Of The Fellow Who Sowed The Crop."

 

Edgar Laughed.

 

"I Knew The Man Would Meet With A Surprise.  George's Abilities Are

Not, As A Rule, Obvious At First Sight.  People Find Them Out By

Accident, And Then They're Somewhat Startled."

 

"You're Evidently An Admirer Of His.  Do You Mean To Go In For Farming?"

 

"I Am, Though I Wouldn't Have Him Suspect It," Said Edgar.  "In Answer

To The Other Question, I Haven't Made Up My Mind.  Farming As It's

Carried On In This Country Seems To Be A Rather Arduous Occupation.  In

The Meanwhile, I'm Undergoing What English People Seem To Think Of As

The Canadian Cure; That Is, I've Been Given A Chance For Readjusting My

Ideas And Developing My Character."

 

"Under Mr. Lansing's Guidance?"

 

Volume 554 Chapter 6 (George Gets To Work) Pg 42

Edgar Realized That The Girl Was Less Interested In Him Than In George,

But He Did Not Resent This.

 

"You're Smart.  I Believe My People Entertained Some Idea Of That

Nature; George Is Considered Safe.  Still, To Prevent Any

Misapprehension, I'd Better Point Out That My Chief Failings Are A

Fondness For Looking At The Amusing Side Of Things And A Slackness In

Availing Myself Of My Opportunities.  As An Instance Of The Latter

Defect, I'm Boring You By Talking About Lansing."

 

Flora Regarded Him With A Quiet Smile.

 

"It Struck Me That You Were Saying Something About Yourself."

 

"I Suppose That's True," Edgar Admitted.  "It Clears The Ground."

 

"For What?"

 

"For An Extension Of Our Acquaintance, Among Other Things."

 

"Do You Want It Extended?"

 

They Had Stopped At The Edge Of A Hollow Filled With Tall, Harsh Grass,

And Edgar Studied Her While He Considered His Answer.  There Was

Nothing That Suggested Coquetry In The Faint Amusement She Displayed;

This Was A Girl With Some Depth Of Character, Though He Realized That

She Was Pretty.  She Carried Herself Well; She Was Finely And Strongly

Made; Her Gray Eyes Were Searching; And She Had A Rather Commanding

Manner.  Her Hair Was A Warm Brown, Clustering Low On A Smooth

Forehead; Nose And Lips And Chin Were Firmly Molded.

 

"Yes," He Answered Candidly; "I'm Feeling The Strangeness Of The

Country, And I've An Idea That Both George And I May Need Friends In

It.  It Strikes Me That You And Your Father Would Prove Useful Ones."

 

"Well," She Said, "He's Sometimes Called Hard, And He's A Little

Prejudiced On Certain Points, But He Can Be Very Staunch To Those He

Takes A Liking To."

 

"I Believe," Edgar Rejoined, "That Also Applies To You; I Don't Mean

The First Of It."

 

Flora Changed The Subject.

 

"I Gather That You're Not Favorably Impressed With The Place."

 

"I'm Not.  If I Had To Farm It, I'd Feel Scared; And I Don't Think

George Is Happy.  It's Hard To Understand How Marston Let It Get Into

Such A State."

 

"He Was Unfitted For The Work, And He Was Further Handicapped."

 

"How?" Edgar Asked.