AN UNEXPECTED ESCAPE
On the morning after the accident Colonel Mowbray sat at breakfast with
his wife and daughter. The gale had fallen in the night, and although
the snow lay deep about the house, Gerald had already gone out with a
hired man to see how the range horses, which were left loose in the
winter, had fared during the storm. Lance was feverish, but there was
nothing in his condition to cause anxiety, and he was in charge of a man
whom some youthful escapade had prevented from obtaining a medical
diploma. There were one or two others of his kind at Allenwood whose
careers had been blighted by boyish folly. Breakfast had been well
served, for everything went smoothly at the Grange; in spite of the low
temperature outside, the room was comfortably warm, and the china and
the table appointments showed artistic taste.
Colonel Mowbray looked thoughtfully stern.
"Perhaps it was as well Kenwyne took the Americans home last night," he
remarked.
"You asked them to stay," Beatrice said, with more indignation than she
cared to show; "and after what they did----"
Mowbray cut her short.
"I cannot deny that we are heavily in their debt, and I shall take the
first opportunity for thanking them. In fact, if I can make any return
in the shape of practical help, I shall be glad. All the same, to have
had them here would have meant our putting them on a more intimate
footing than might be wise."
Beatrice smiled, but said nothing. She respected her father, but the
thought of his helping such a man as Harding was amusing.
"From what I've heard about Mr. Harding, I don't think he would have
presumed upon it," Mrs. Mowbray replied. "Besides, it looks as if we
owed Lance's life to him and his companion and I really don't see why
you object to the man. Of course, it was tactless of him to plow up our
trail, but he was within his rights."
Mowbray looked at her sharply. His wife was generally docile and seldom
questioned his decisions, but she now and then showed an unexpected
firmness.
"I don't object to him, personally. For that matter, I know very little
about him, good or bad," he said; and his tone implied that he was not
anxious to learn anything more. "It is rather what he stands for that I
disapprove of."
"What does he stand for?"
"What foolish people sometimes call Progress--the taint of
commercialism, purely utilitarian ideas; in short, all I've tried to
keep Allenwood free from. Look at England! You know how the old friendly
relations between landlord and tenant have been overthrown."
"I wonder whether they were always friendly?" Beatrice interposed.
"They ought to have been friendly, and in most of the instances I can
think of they were. But what can one expect when a rich tradesman buys
up a fine estate, and manages it on what he calls 'business lines'? This
must mean putting the screw of a merciless competition upon the farmer.
On the other hand, you see men with honored names living in extravagant
luxury without a thought of their duty to their land, gambling on the
Stock Exchange--even singing in music halls. The country's in a bad way
when you read of its old aristocracy opening hat shops."
"But what are the poor people to do if they have no money?" Beatrice
asked.
"The point is that they're being ruined by their own folly and the
chaotic way things have been allowed to drift; but the other side of the
picture's worse. When one thinks of wealth and poverty jostling each
other in the towns; oppressive avarice and sullen discontent instead of
helpful cooperation! The community plundered by trusts! Industries
wrecked by strikes! This is what comes of free competition and contempt
for authority; and the false principle that a man must turn all his
talents to the making of money is at the root of it all."
It was a favorite hobby of the Colonel's, and Mrs. Mowbray made no
remark; but Beatrice was pleased to see that he had forgotten Harding.
"You would have made a good feudal baron," she said with a smile. "Your
retainers wouldn't have had many real grievances, but you would always
have been on the king's side."
"The first principle of all firm and successful government is that the
king can do no wrong."
"We don't challenge it at Allenwood, and it really seems to work well,"
Beatrice answered lightly; and then, because Mowbray insisted on formal
manners, she turned to her mother. "And now, with your permission, I had
better go to Lance."
When she left them Mowbray frowned.
"There's another matter I want to talk about," he said. "I'm inclined to
think we'll have to do away with the card tables when the younger people
spend the evening with us."
"But you're fond of a game!"
"Yes. I'll confess that a close game of whist is one of my keenest
pleasures, and if I finish two or three dollars to the good it adds to
the zest. For all that, one must be consistent, and I've grounds for
believing there has been too much high play of late. The offenders will
have to be dealt with if I can find them out."
Mrs. Mowbray knew that her husband's first object was the good of the
settlement, and that he would make any personal sacrifice to secure it.
"We can have music, or get up a dance instead," she suggested; and added
anxiously: "You don't think that Gerald----"
"I'd have grave suspicions, only that he knows what to expect," Mowbray
answered grimly. "Something might be learned from Lance, but it would
not be fair to ask."
"He wouldn't tell," Mrs. Mowbray said stoutly, knowing her husband's
sense of honor. "Do you think it's serious enough to be disturbed
about?"
"I'm afraid so, although at the moment I can hardly judge. A game of
cards in public, for strictly moderate points, or a small wager on a
race, can do the boys no harm; but as soon as the stake gets large
enough to be worth winning for itself, it leads to trouble; and
systematic, secret gambling is a dangerous thing. As a matter of fact, I
won't have it at Allenwood. At present I can do nothing but keep a
careful watch."
An hour later Mrs. Mowbray was sitting with Lance, when word was brought
her that Harding had called.
"Let him come up here, if only for a minute," Lance begged.
"Well, but it must not be longer," his mother consented.
Harding bowed to her respectfully when he entered the room; then he
turned to Lance with a smile.
"Glad to see you looking much better than I expected."
Lance gave him his hand, though he winced as he held it out, and his
mother noticed Harding's quick movement to save him a painful effort.
There was a gentleness that pleased her in the prairie man's face.
"I don't want to embarrass you, but you'll understand how I feel about
what you did for me," said Lance. "I won't forget it."
"Pshaw!" returned Harding. "We all get into scrapes. I wouldn't be here
now if other people hadn't dragged me clear of a mower-knife, and once
out of the way of a locomotive when my team balked in the middle of the
track."
"I don't suppose any of the fellows gave you his clothes with the
thermometer at minus forty. But I won't say any more on that point. Was
my horse killed?"
"On the spot!"
Lance looked troubled.
"Well, it was my own fault," he said slowly. "I was trying a new
headstall, and I wasn't very careful in linking up the bit."
He began to talk about the latest types of harness, and listened with
obvious interest to Harding's views on the subject, but after a while
his voice grew feeble, and his mother interrupted.
"You'll come back and see me when I'm better, won't you?" he asked
eagerly.
Harding made a vague sign of assent, and left the room with Mrs.
Mowbray. When they reached the hall, she stopped him.
"You did us a great service last night--I can find no adequate way of
expressing my gratitude," she said.
Harding saw that she had not spoken out of mere conventional politeness.
"I think you make too much of it. Certainly, it was fortunate we
happened to come along; the rest followed. But I can understand how you
feel--I had a good mother."
She was pleased by his reply, and she had watched him closely while he
talked to Lance. The man was modest and yet quietly sure of himself. He
had shown no awkwardness, and his rather formal deference to herself was
flattering. She somehow felt that he would not have offered it solely on
account of her station.
"I'm glad to see your son looking pretty bright," Harding went on.
"You roused him. He was very listless and heavy until you came."
"I'm afraid I talked too much; it's a way I sometimes have." Harding
smiled. Then he looked at her directly. "He asked me to come back."
Mrs. Mowbray knew he was shrewd enough to take a hint, and that she
could without discourtesy prevent his coming; still, she did not wish to
do so. She had heard her husband's views, to which she generally
deferred; but she liked Harding, and he had saved her son's life.
Moreover, she had a suspicion that his influence would be good for the
boy.
"I hope you will come whenever it pleases you," she said with quiet
sincerity.
"It will please me very much. I'll make use of the privilege as long as
he finds that I amuse him."
Harding went home with a feeling of half-exultant satisfaction. Lance,
for whom he had a rather curious liking, had been unmistakably glad to
see him and, what was more important, Mrs. Mowbray was now his friend.
For all that, he knew that tact was needed: the Colonel, while no doubt
grateful, did not approve of him, and he must carefully avoid doing
anything that might imply a readiness to take advantage of the slight
favor he had been granted. Harding was not an adventurer, and the
situation was galling to his pride, but he was shrewd and was willing to
make some sacrifice if it gave him an opportunity for seeing Beatrice.
When Harding returned a week later he met the girl for a few moments,
and had to be content with this. Lance brightened up noticeably when he
talked to him, and as he was leaving pressed him to come again; but the
unqualified doctor, whom he met in the hall, did not seem satisfied with
the patient's progress.
Harding waited for a while before he went back. He found Mrs. Mowbray
alone on his arrival, and thought she looked anxious when he asked how
Lance was getting on.
"He doesn't seem to improve as quickly as he ought, and Mr. Carson's
puzzled," she said. "He tells me the injury is not serious enough to
account for my boy's low condition, but he keeps restless and feverish,
and doesn't sleep." Then, after a moment, she added confidentially: "One
could imagine that he has something on his mind."
"Have you any suspicion what it is?"
"No--" She hesitated. "That is, nothing definite; and as he has given me
no hint, it's possible that I'm mistaken in thinking that he is
disturbed. But you may go in; you seem to cheer him."
Harding pondered this. He had been used to people who expressed their
thoughts with frank directness, but he saw that Mrs. Mowbray was of a
different stamp. She was most fastidious, yet she had taken him into her
confidence as far as her reserve permitted. After all, there were things
which a boy would confess to a man outside his family sooner than to his
mother.
"Well," he said as meaningly as he thought advisable, "I'll do what I
can."
On entering the sick room he thought her anxiety was justified. Lance
did not look well, although he smiled at his visitor.
"I'm glad you came," he said. "It's a change to see somebody fresh. The
boys mean well but they worry me."
"You'd get tired of me if I came oftener," Harding answered with a
laugh.
They talked for a few minutes about a sheep dog that had been given to
Lance; and then, during a slight pause, the boy closed his eyes with a
sigh. Harding looked at him keenly.
"I'm told you're not sleeping well," he said; "and you don't look as fit
as you ought. I guess lying on your back gets monotonous."
"Yes," Lance answered listlessly. "Then I'm worried about losing my
horse."
"One feels that kind of thing, of course; but it wasn't an animal I'd
get attached to. Hard in the mouth, I guess, a bad buck-jumper, and a
wicked eye. On the whole, you're better off without him."
"Perhaps you're right, and I meant to sell him. I'd had offers, and the
Warrior blood brings a long price."
"Ah! That means you wanted the money?"
Lance was silent for a few moments, and then he answered half
resentfully:
"I did."
It was obvious to Harding that delicacy was required here. Mrs. Mowbray
was right in her suspicions, but if he made a mistake Lance would take
alarm. Harding feared, however, that tact was not much in his line.
"I am an outsider here," he said with blunt directness; "but perhaps
that's a reason why you can talk to me candidly. It's sometimes
embarrassing to tell one's intimate friends about one's troubles. Why
did you want the money?"
Lance flushed and hesitated, but he gathered confidence from Harding's
grave expression.
"To tell the truth, I'd got myself into an awkward mess."
"One does now and then. I've been fixed that way myself. Perhaps I can
help."
"No; you can't," Lance said firmly. "All the same, it's a relief to take
somebody into my confidence. Well, I owed a good deal of money; I'd been
playing cards."
"Do you pay debts of that kind at once?"
"Of course. It's a matter of principle; though the boys wouldn't have
pressed me."
"I'd have let them wait," said Harding. "But I don't play cards. I
suppose you borrowed the money from somebody else, and he wants it back.
Now the proper person for you to go to is your father."
Lance colored and hesitated again.
"I can't!" he blurted out with evident effort. "It's not because I'm
afraid. He'd certainly be furious--I'm not thinking of that. There's a
reason why it would hit him particularly hard. Besides, you know, we're
far from rich."
Having learned something about Gerald Mowbray, Harding understood the
lad's reticence. Indeed, he respected his loyalty to his brother.
"Very well. If you'll tell me what you owe, and where you got the money,
I may suggest something."
He had expected Lance to refuse; but, worn by pain and anxious as he
was, the boy was willing to seize upon any hope of escape. He explained
his affairs very fully, and Harding made a note of the amount and of a
name that was not unfamiliar to him.
When Lance finished his story and dropped back among his pillows with a
flushed face, there was a short silence in the room.
Harding was not, as a rule, rashly generous; but he liked the boy, and
Lance was Beatrice's brother--that in itself was a strong claim on him.
Then, Mrs. Mowbray had been gracious to him; though he was a stranger
and in a sense an intruder, she had taken him into her confidence, and
he felt a deep respect for her. There was in his mind, however, no
thought of profiting by the situation; indeed, he was frankly reluctant
to part with money which could be better employed than in paying
gambling debts.
"So you went to Davies, of Winnipeg--a mortgage broker?" he remarked.
"Who told you about him? These fellows don't lend to people they know
nothing about."
"A man introduced me," Lance said awkwardly; and Harding again suspected
Gerald.
"When you signed his note for the sum you wanted, how much did you
really get?"
Lance smiled ruefully as he told him.
"You seem to know their tricks," he added.
"Some of them," Harding replied dryly. "Now, if you'll give me your word
that you won't stake a dollar on a horse or card again, I'll take up
this debt; but I don't want your promise unless you mean to keep it."
Lance's eyes were eager, though his face was red.
"I've had my lesson. It was the first time I'd really played high, and I
was a bit excited; the room was hot and full of smoke, and they'd
brought in a good deal of whisky." Then he pulled himself up. "But I
can't let you do this; and I don't see----"
"Why I'm willing to help?" Harding finished for him. "Well, one's
motives aren't always very plain, even to oneself. Still--you can take
it that I've a pretty strong grievance against all mortgage brokers.
They've ruined one or two friends of mine, and they're going to make
trouble in this country. I'll give you a few instances."
He meant to frighten the lad, but there was no need to overstate the
truth, and his face grew stern as he related how struggling farmers had
been squeezed dry, and broken in spirit and fortune by the
money-lender's remorseless grasp. Lance was duly impressed, and realized
how narrow an escape he had had.
"Are you willing to leave the thing entirely to me?" Harding concluded.
"You must understand that you're only changing your creditor."
"I can trust you," Lance said with feeling. "I can't tell you what a
relief it is to get out of that fellow's hands! But I ought to warn you
that he's tricky; you may have some trouble."
Harding laughed as he stood up.
"Oh, I can deal with him. Now you go to sleep and don't worry any more."
After he left, Lance lay for a while thinking over the conversation. He
was puzzled to know what had prompted Harding to come to his rescue. The
Allenwood settlers had certainly been none too friendly to the prairie
man, who was considered an outsider because he believed in work and in
progress. Lance thought that there was no selfish motive in Harding's
offer. What, then?
He suddenly shook off the thoughts and, reaching out to a table by his
bedside, rang a small handbell there. Beatrice answered it.
"I want something to eat," he said petulantly. "Not slops this time; I'm
tired of them."
His sister looked at him in surprise.
"Why, you wouldn't touch your lunch!"
"All the more reason I should want something now. You ought to be glad
I'm getting better!"
Beatrice laughed.
"It's a very sudden improvement," she said. "Mr. Harding must be a
magician. What has he done to you?"
"Harding knows a lot," Lance answered somewhat awkwardly; then added
impulsively: "In fact, I think he's a remarkably fine fellow all round."
Beatrice opened her eyes wide. Such an opinion from the son of Colonel
Mowbray was pure heresy; but she made no comment. She kissed Lance
lightly on the forehead and tripped off downstairs to order some food
for him.
Somehow, she was inclined to agree with her brother in his opinion of
the prairie man.