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

Volume 554 Chapter 23 (A Harmless Conspiracy) Pg 176

"Your Partner," She Said, "Compels One's Sympathy."

 

"And One's Liking.  I Don't Know How He Does So, And It Isn't From Any

Conscious Desire.  I Suppose It's A Gift Of His."

 

Seeing She Was Interested, He Went On With A Thoughtful Air:

 

"You See, George Isn't Witty, And You Wouldn't Consider Him Handsome.

In Fact, Sometimes He's Inclined To Be Dull, But You Feel That He's The

Kind Of Man You Can Rely On.  There's Not A Trace Of Meanness In Him,

And He Never Breaks His Word.  In My Opinion, He Has A Number Of The

Useful English Virtues."

 

"What Are They, And Are They Peculiarly English?"

 

"I'll Call Them Teutonic; I Believe That's Their Origin.  You People

And Your Neighbors Across The Frontier Have Your Share Of Them."

 

"Thanks," Smiled Flora.  "But You Haven't Begun The Catalogue."

 

"Things Are Often Easier To Recognize Than To Describe.  At The Top Of

The List, And Really Comprising The Rest Of It, I'd Place, In The

Language Of The Country, The Practical Ability To 'Get There.'  We're

Not In The Highest Degree Intellectual; We're Not As A Rule Worshipers

Of Beauty--That's Made Obvious By The Prairie Towns--And To Be Thought

Poetical Makes Us Shy.  In Fact, Our Artistic Taste Is Strongly

Defective."

 

"If These Are Virtues, They're Strictly Negative Ones," Flora Pointed

Out.

 

"I'm Clearing The Ground," Said Edgar.  "Where We Shine Is In Making

The Most Of Material Things, Turning, For Example, These Wilds Into

Wheatfields, Holding On Through Your Arctic Cold And Blazing Summer

Heat.  We Begin With A Tent And An Ox-Team, And End, In Spite Of

Countless Obstacles, With A Big Brick Homestead And A Railroad Or An

Automobile.  Men Of The Lansing Type Follow The Same Course

Consistently, Even When Their Interests Are Not Concerned.  Once Get An

Idea Into Their Minds, Convince Them That It's Right, And They'll

Transform It Into Determined Action.  If They Haven't Tools, They'll

Make Them Or Find Something That Will Serve; Effort Counts For Nothing;

The Purpose Will Be Carried Out."

 

Flora Noticed The Enthusiastic Appreciation Of His Comrade Which His

Somewhat Humorous Speech Revealed, And She Thought It Justified.

 

"One Would Imagine Mr. Lansing To Be Resolute," She Said.  "I Dare Say

It's Fortunate; He Had A Heavy Loss To Face Last Year."

 

"Yes," Returned Edgar.  "As You See, He's Going On; Though He Never

Expected Anything For Himself."

 

"He Never Expected Anything?" Flora Repeated Incredulously.  "What Are

Volume 554 Chapter 23 (A Harmless Conspiracy) Pg 177

You Saying?"

 

Edgar Realized That He Had Been Injudicious.  Flora Did Not Know That

Sylvia Marston Was Still The Owner Of The Farm And He Hesitated To

Enlighten Her.

 

"Well," He Said, "George Isn't Greedy; It Isn't In His Nature."

 

"Do You Mean That He's A Rich Man And Is Merely Farming For Amusement?"

 

"Oh, No," Said Edgar; "Far From It!"  He Indicated The Miry Wagons And

The Torn-Up Trails.  "You Wouldn't Expect A Man To Do This Kind Of

Thing, If It Wasn't Needful.  The Fact Is, I Don't Always Express

Myself Very Happily; And George Has Told Me That I Talk Too Much."

 

Flora Smiled And Drove Away Shortly Afterward, Considering What He Had

Said.  She Had Noticed A Trace Of Confusion In His Manner And It Struck

Her As Significant.

 

When The Buggy Had Grown Small In The Distance, Edgar Called To

Grierson And They Went On Again.

 

Volume 554 Chapter 24 (George Feels Grateful) Pg 178

When George Returned From Winnipeg, Edgar Took Him To The Granary.

 

"You May As Well Look At The Seed Grant Sent You, And Then You'll Be

Able To Thank Him For It," He Said.  "It's In Here; I Turned Out The

Common Northern Stuff You Bought To Make Room."

 

"Why Didn't You Put It Into The Empty Place In The Barn?" George Asked.

 

"I Wasn't Sure It Would Go In; There's Rather A Lot Of It," Edgar

Explained, With A Smile.

 

George Entered The Granary And Stopped, Astonished, When He Saw The

Great Pile Of Bags.

 

"Is All Of That The New Seed?" He Asked Incredulously.

 

"Every Bag," Said Edgar, Watching Him.

 

George's Face Reddened.  He Was Stirred By Mixed Emotions: Relief,

Gratitude, And A Feeling Of Confusion He Could Not Analyze.

 

"Grant Must Have Sent The Whole Carload!" He Broke Out.

 

"As A Matter Of Fact, He Sent Most Of It.  Grierson And I Hauled It In;

And A Tough Job We Had Of It."

Volume 554 Chapter 24 (George Feels Grateful) Pg 179

"And You Took It All, Without Protesting Or Sending Me Word?"

 

"Yes," Said Edgar Coolly; "That's Precisely What I Did.  You Need The

Stuff; Grant Meant You To Have It, And I Didn't Want To Offend Him."

 

"I Suppose You Have Some Idea What That Seed Is Worth?"

 

"I Dare Say I Could Guess.  Our People At Home Once Experimented With

Some American Seed Potatoes At Three Shillings Each.  But Aren't You

Putting The Matter On A Rather Low Plane?"

 

George Sat Down And Felt For His Pipe.

 

"I Feel That You Have Played A Trick On Me.  If You Had Only Let Me

Know, I Could Have Objected."

 

"Just So; That's Why I Kept Quiet," Edgar Laughed.  "The Seed's Here

And You Ought To Be Thankful.  Anyway, Grant Won't Take It Back."

 

"What Have I Done That I Should Get This Favor?" George Said Half Aloud.

 

"That's So Characteristic!" Edgar Exclaimed.  "Why Must You Always Be

Doing Things?  Do You Imagine That Whatever One Receives Is The Result

Of So Much Exertion?"

 

"I Don't Feel The Least Interest In Such Quibbles."

 

"I Can't Believe It," Edgar Rejoined.  "You're More At Home When You

Have A Fence To Put Up, Or A Strip Of New Land To Break."  Then He

Dropped His Bantering Tone.  "There's Nothing To Be Distressed About.

Grant Has Been Pretty Generous, And I Think He And Flora Need Thanking."

 

"That's True; They've Made Me Feel Half Ashamed.  I Never Expected

This."

 

"In My Opinion, The Sensation's Quite Unnecessary.  You Have Given A

Few People A Lift In Your Time, And I've An Optimistic Notion That

Actions Of The Kind Recoil On One, Even Though It's A Different Person

Who Makes You Some Return."

 

"I Wish You Would Stop Talking!" George Exclaimed Impatiently.

 

Edgar Mentally Compared Flora Grant With Sylvia, In Whom He

Disbelieved, And Found It Hard To Restrain Himself.  It Was, He Felt, A

Great Misfortune That George Could Not Be Made To See.

 

"Oh, Well!" He Acquiesced.  "I Could Say A Good Deal More, If I Thought

It Would Do Any Good, But As That Doesn't Seem Likely I'll Dry Up."

 

"That's A Comfort," George Said Shortly.

 

He Left The Granary In A Thoughtful Mood, And On The Following Evening

Drove Over To The Grant Homestead.  Its Owner Was Busy Somewhere

Volume 554 Chapter 24 (George Feels Grateful) Pg 180

Outside When He Reached It, But Flora Received Him And He Sat Down With

Satisfaction To Talk To Her.  It Had Become A Pleasure To Visit The

Grants; He Felt At Home In Their House.  The Absence Of All Ceremony,

The Simple Canadian Life, Had A Growing Attraction For Him.  One Could

Get To Know These People, Which Was A Different Thing From Merely

Meeting Them, And George Thought This Was To Some Extent The Effect Of

Their Surroundings.  He Had Always Been Conscious Of A Closer And More

Intimate Contact With His Friends Upon The Mountain-Side Or The Banks

Of Some Salmon River Than He Had Ever Experienced In A Club Or

Drawing-Room.  For All That, Flora Sometimes Slightly Puzzled Him.  She

Was Free From The Affectations And Restraints Of Artificial

Conventionality, But There Was A Reserve About Her Which He Failed To

Penetrate.  He Wondered What Lay Behind It And Had A Curious Feeling

That Edgar Either Guessed Or Knew.

 

"Did You Enjoy Your Visit To Winnipeg?" She Asked.

 

"It Was A Pleasant Change And I Got Through My Business Satisfactorily.

Of Course, I Didn't Go For Amusement."

 

Flora Laughed.

 

"So I Supposed; You're Growing More Canadian Every Day.  But You Meant

To Make A Visit To England, Which Couldn't Have Had Any Connection With

Business, Last Winter, Didn't You?"

 

George's Face Grew Serious.  He Had, She Thought, Not Got Over His

Disappointment.

 

"Yes," He Said.  "But There Was Nothing To Be Done Here Then."

 

"So The Things That Should Be Done Invariably Come First With You?"

 

"In This Case--I Mean As Far As They Concern The Farm--It's Necessary."

 

Flora Considered His Answer, Studying Him Quietly, Though She Had Some

Sewing In Her Hands.  Supposing, As She Had Once Thought, There Was

Some English Girl He Had Longed To See, He Could Have Made The Journey

Later, When His Crop Had Been Sown, Even Though This Entailed Some

Neglect Of Minor Operations That Required His Care.  He Received, As

She Had Learned With Interest, Few English Letters, So There Was Nobody

To Whom He Wrote Regularly; And Yet His Disappointment When Forced To

Abandon His Visit Had Obviously Been Keen.  There Was, Flora Thought, A

Mystery Here.

 

"After All," She Said, "The Feeling You Have Indicated Is Pretty Common

In The Canadian Wheat-Belt."

 

"Then Why Should You Expect Me To Be An Exception?  As A Matter Of

Fact, I'm At Least As Anxious As My Neighbors To Be Successful.  That's

Partly Why I've