Ranching For Sylvia Volume-554 - Harold Bindloss (best black authors TXT) 📗
- Author: Harold Bindloss
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Deserves His Money."
"You Mean The Seed's Worth Its Price If The Crop Escapes The Frost?"
"That Wasn't Quite All I Meant. I'm Willing To Pay The Man For The
Work He Has Put Into It. Try To Figure The Cross Fertilizations He
Must Have Made, The Varieties He's Tried And Cut Out, And Remember It
Takes Time To Get A Permanent Strain, And Wheat Makes Only One Crop A
Year. If The Stuff's As Good As It Seems, The Fellow's Done Something
He'll Never Be Paid For. Anyway, He's Welcome To My Share."
"There's No Doubt About Your Admiration For Hard Work," Declared Edgar.
"As It Happens, You Have Found Putting It Into Practise Profitable,
Which May Have Had Some Effect."
Grant's Eyes Twinkled.
"Now You Have Got Hold Of The Wrong Idea. You Have Raised A Different
Point."
"Then, For Instance, Would You Expect A Hired Man Who Had No Interest
In The Crop To Work As Hard As You Would?"
"Yes," Grant Answered Rather Grimly; "I'd See He Did. Though I Don't
Often Pay More Than I Can Help, I Wouldn't Blame Him For Screwing Up
His Wages To The Last Cent He Could Get; But If It Was Only Half The
Proper Rate, He'd Have To Do His Share. A Man's Responsible To The
Country He's Living In, Not To His Employer; The Latter's Only An
Agent, And If He Gets Too Big A Commission, It Doesn't Affect The Case."
"It Affects The Workman Seriously."
"He And His Master Must Settle That Point Between Them," Grant Paused
And Spread Out His Hands Forcibly. "You Have Heard What The Country
West Of Old Fort Garby--It's Winnipeg Now--Was Like Thirty Years Ago.
Do You Suppose All The Men Who Made It What It Is Got Paid For What
They Did? Canada Couldn't Raise The Money, And Quite A Few Of Them Got
Volume 554 Chapter 23 (A Harmless Conspiracy) Pg 174Frozen To Death."
It Struck Edgar As A Rather Stern Doctrine, But He Admitted The Truth
Of It; What Was More, He Felt That George And This Farmer Had Many
Views In Common. Grant, However, Changed The Subject.
"You Had Better Take Your Two Heavy Teams In To The Butte On Monday;
I've Ordered My Freight There Until The Sandy Trails Get Loose Again.
Bring A Couple Of Spare Horses Along. We'll Load You Up And You Can
Come In Again."
"Two Clover-Leaf Wagons Will Haul A Large Lot Of Seed In A Double
Journey."
"It's Quite Likely You'll Have To Make A Third. Don't You Think You
Ought To Get This Hauling Done Before Lansing Comes Home?"
A Light Broke In On Edgar. Grant Was, With Some Reason, Occasionally
Called Hard; But He Was Always Just, And It Was Evident That He Could
Be Generous. He Meant To Make His Gift Complete Before George Could
Protest.
"Yes," Acquiesced Edgar; "It Would Be Better, Because George Might Want
The Teams, And For Other Reasons."
The Farmer Nodded.
"That's Fixed. The Agent Has Instructions To Deliver."
Edgar Left The Homestead An Hour Later And Spent The Sunday Resting,
Because He Knew That He Would Need All Of His Energy During The Next
Few Days. At Dawn On The Following Morning He And Grierson Started For
Sage Butte, And On Their Arrival Loaded The Wagons And Put Up Their
Horses For The Night. They Set Out Again Before Sunrise And Were Glad
Of The Spare Team When They Came To Places Where All The Horses Could
Scarcely Haul One Wagon Through The Soft Black Soil. There Were Other
Spots Where The Graded Road Sloped Steeply To The Hollow Out Of Which
It Had Been Dug, And With The Lower Wheels Sinking They Had To Hold Up
The Side Of The Vehicle. Great Clods Clung To The Wheels; The Men,
Plodding At The Horses' Heads, Could Scarcely Pull Their Feet Out Of
The Mire, And They Were Thankful When They Left The Fences Behind And
Could Seek A Slightly Sounder Surface On The Grass.
Even Here, Progress Was Difficult. The Stalks Were Tough And Tangled
And Mixed With Stiff, Dwarf Scrub, Which Grew In Some Spots Almost To
One's Waist. There Were Little Rises, And Hollows Into Which The
Wagons Jolted Violently, And Here And There They Must Skirt A Bluff Or
Strike Back Into The Cut-Up Trail Which Traversed It. Toward Noon They
Reached A Larger Wood, Where The Trees Crowded Thick Upon The Track.
When Edgar Floundered Into It, There Appeared To Be No Bottom. Getting
Back To The Grass, He Surveyed The Scene With Strong Disgust; He Had
Not Quite Got Over His English Fastidiousness.
Leafless Branches Met Above The Trail, And Little Bays Strewn With
Volume 554 Chapter 23 (A Harmless Conspiracy) Pg 176Trampled Brush Which Showed Where Somebody Had Tried To Force A Drier
Route, Indented The Ranks Of Slender Trunks. Except For These, The
Strip Of Sloppy Black Gumbo Led Straight Through The Wood, Interspersed
With Gleaming Pools. Having Seen Enough, Edgar Beckoned Grierson And
Climbed A Low Hillock. The Bluff Was Narrow Where The Road Pierced It,
But It Was Long And The Ground Was Rough And Covered With A Smaller
Growth For Some Distance On Its Flanks.
"There's No Way Of Getting Round," He Said. "I Suppose Six Horses
Ought To Haul One Wagon Through That Sloo."
"It Looks A Bit Doubtful," Grierson Objected. "We Mightn't Be Able To
Pull Her Out If She Got In Very Deep. We Could Dump Half The Load And
Come Back For It."
"And Make Four Journeys? It's Not To Be Thought Of; Two's A Good Deal
Too Many."
They Yoked The Three Teams To The First Wagon, Which Promptly Sank A
Long Way Up Its High Wheels, And While The Men Waded Nearly Knee-Deep
At Their Heads, The Straining Horses Made Thirty Or Forty Yards. Then
Edgar Sank Over The Top Of His Long Boots And The Hub Of One Wheel Got
Ominously Low.
"They've Done More Than One Could Have Expected; I Hate To Use The
Whip, But We Must Get Out Of This Before She Goes In Altogether," He
Said.
Grierson Nodded. He Was Fond Of His Horses, Which Were Obviously
Distressed, And Flecked With Spume And Lather Where The Traces Chafed
Their Wet Flanks; But To Be Merciful Would Only Increase Their Task.
The Whip-Cracks Rang Out Like Pistol-Shots; And, Splashing, Snorting,
Struggling, Amid Showers Of Mire, They Drew The Wagon Out Of Its Sticky
Bed. They Made Another Dozen Yards; And Then Grierson Turned The
Horses Into One Of The Embayments Where There Was Brush That Would
Support The Wheels. Edgar Sat Down, Breathless, Upon A Fallen Trunk.
"People At Home Have Two Quite Unfounded Ideas About This Country," He
Said Disgustedly. "The First Is That Money Is Easily Picked Up
Here--Which Doesn't Seem To Need Any Remark; The Second Is That They
Have Only To Send Over The Slackers And Slouchers To Reform Them. In
My Opinion, A Few Doses Of This Kind Of Thing Would Be Enough To Fill
Them With A Horror Of Work." He Replaced The Pipe He Had Taken Out.
"It's A Pity, Grierson, But We Can't Sit Here And Smoke."
They Went On And Nearly Capsized The Wagon In A Pool, The Bottom Of
Which Was Too Soft To Give Them Foothold While They Held Up The
Vehicle, But They Got Through It And One Or Two Others, And Presently
Came Out, Dripping From The Waist Down, On To The Drier Prairie. Then
Edgar Turned And Viewed Their Track.
"It Won't Bear Much Looking At; We Had Better Unyoke," He Said. "If
Anybody Had Told Me In England That I'd Ever Flounder Through A Place
Volume 554 Chapter 23 (A Harmless Conspiracy) Pg 177Like That, I'd--"
He Paused, Seeking For Words To Express Himself Fittingly.
"You'd Have Called Him A Liar," Grierson Suggested.
"That Hardly Strikes Me As Strong Enough," Edgar Laughed.
They Had Spent Two Hours In The Bluff When They Brought The Last Load
Through, And Sitting Down In A Patch Of Scrub They Took Out Their
Lunch. After A While Edgar Flung Off His Badly Splashed Hat And Jacket
And Lay Down In The Sunshine.
"The Thing's Done; The Pity Is It Must Be Done Again To-Morrow," He
Remarked, "In The Meanwhile, We'll Forget It; I'll Draw A Veil Over My
Feelings."
They Had Finished Lunch And Lighted Their Pipes When A Buggy Appeared
From Behind A Projecting Dump Of Trees And Soon Afterward Flora Grant
Pulled Up Her Horse Near By. Edgar Rose And Stood Beside The Vehicle
Bareheaded, Looking Slender And Handsome In His Loose Yellow Shirt,
Duck Overalls, And Long Boots, Though The Marks Of The Journey Were
Freely Scattered About Him. Flora Glanced At The Jaded Teams And The
Miry Wagons And Smiled At The Lad. She Had A Good Idea Of The
Difficulties He Had Overcome.
"The Trail Must Have Been Pretty Bad," She Said. "I Struck Off To The
East By The Creek, But I Don't Think You Could Get Through With A Load."
"It Was Quite Bad Enough," Edgar Assured Her. Flora Looked Thoughtful.
"You Have Only Two Wagons; We Must Try To Send You Another, Though Our
Teams Are Busy. Didn't You Say Mr. Lansing Would Be Back In A Day Or
Two?"
"I Did, But I Got A Note This Morning Saying He Thought He Had Better
Go On To Winnipeg, If I Could Get Along All Right. I Told Him To Go
And Stop As Long As He Likes. Considering The State Of The Trails, I
Thought That Was Wise."
Flora Smiled. She Knew What He Meant, Since They Had Agreed That All
The Seed Must Be Hauled In Before His Comrade's Return.
"I'm Not Going To Thank You; It Would Be Difficult, And George Can Ride
Over And Do So When He Comes Home," Edgar Resumed. "I Know He'll Be
Astonished When He Sees The Granary."
"If He Comes Only To Express His Gratitude, I'm Inclined To Believe My
Father Would Rather He Stayed At Home."
"I Can Believe It; But I've An Idea That Mr. Grant Is Not The Only
Person To Whom Thanks Are Due."
Flora Looked At Him Sharply, But She Made No Direct Answer.
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