"I'm all in a flutter and scarcely know how to begin," commenced Mrs.
Mason, stroking down the folds of her dress, and looking timidly at Sir
George.
"Well, what is it about, Marion?" Colonel Mason asked, surprised at such
an unusual exhibition of feeling on the part of his wife.
"Oh! it's about that dear young creature you brought over with you, Sir
George. She tells me that she is going with her husband and the troops
right through that dreadful forest. The idea is terrible. Perhaps I have
no right to; but I beg to intercede. Can not the plan be changed?"
"Did Mrs. Manning wish you to intercede?" Sir George quietly asked.
"No, indeed! I did not even tell her what I thought, but waited until I
could obtain your permission to speak."
"Do you know, Mrs. Mason, that it is by her own desire that she is
going?" said Sir George, gravely.
"But she doesn't know," protested Mrs. Mason, emphatically. "It would be
a shame to take such a young girl out and let her freeze to death on
that terrible journey."
"No danger of that, I think," was the smiling rejoinder. "The officers
of the 100th Regiment are too gallant to allow such a thing to occur."
"Oh! I know you will do what you can," returned Mrs. Mason, changing her
attitude a little; "but when you think of the snow and the ice and the
intense cold, and all the terrors of the trip, would it not be better to
let her stay with us for the winter, and have her go on to the new fort
in the summer after it is built?"
"Ah! That is an entirely different matter, and very kind of you to
propose it. But if I know Mrs. Manning aright, she will be the last
person in the world to consent to a change in the programme."
"But may I not speak to her? I know Colonel Mason will consent."
"Certainly, my dear," assented that gentleman.
"May I ask her to remain with us for a few months then?" she said again,
turning to Sir George.
"Undoubtedly you may. And if she is willing to stay in Halifax for the
winter, with her husband's consent, of course, I shall be very happy to
leave her to your care."
Thanking Sir George for acceding to her request, Mrs. Mason withdrew.
"It is a dilemma," said Colonel Head, after the door had closed. "And
probably a more serious one than I imagined when I sanctioned it. Still
I think the pros and contras will balance each other. The presence of a
lady in our midst may render our march a little more troublesome,
possibly make our speed a little slower, as well as necessitate greater
care in our appointments on the road. But it will have a good effect,
too. Mrs. Manning is a true lady and is thoroughly in love with her
husband. So it will put the fellows on their honor and make them show a
bit of genuine chivalry as well. She is as bright as a fairy, has lots
of pluck, and what is more, has a capital voice. We can take care of her
and I don't think we'll be out in the end."
"From your view of the case, I don't think you will," was Mason's
comment. "Still the thing is so unprecedented that it will be impossible
to eliminate the element of risk."
"Life would not be worth living if we could," returned Sir George. "We
always have it."
"Well, here's to a successful march and happy ending, whether you take
the lady with you or not."
And the two gentlemen touched their glasses and drank the toast.
* * * * *
By this time Mrs. Mason had returned to her own little parlor where
Helen was still resting. Extending both hands she exclaimed: "I have got
it beautifully arranged, my dear; you are to stay with us for the
winter. Sir George Head has given his consent."
"But, my dear Mrs. Mason----"
"Now, no objecting at all," interrupted that lady with great vivacity,
as she held Helen's hands tightly within her own. "You need not say a
word but accept the conditions. The idea of you going in January on that
desolate trip is terrible. It is appalling. Now, you must stay with me
and enjoy Halifax while your husband with the rest of the men cut the
road through the woods and build the fort; then you ----"
"This will not do, Mrs. Mason," Helen in turn interrupted. Her face was
already flushed with excitement. "It is very good of you; but really you
do not understand the conditions. My going with the troops is
imperative. I am sorry you spoke upon this subject to Sir George, for
the only reason I had in crossing the ocean was to go with my husband
and the soldiers on this journey."
"But the intense cold?"
"I have lots of woollen things and furs."
"For hundreds of miles there is not a house."
"The men will build shanties and heat them with big fires."
"But the wolves! In winter they are intensely savage and hunt in large
packs."
Here Helen discomfited her hostess by a ringing peal of laughter.
"Pity if two companies of soldiers cannot keep a pack of wolves from
eating up a poor lone woman!" she exclaimed. "No, no, Mrs. Mason,
argument is out of the question. I came to go with them and go I will."
"I suppose I must give in then," said Mrs. Mason, pensively. "You are
incomprehensible. To think of a girl giving up home and friends and
undertaking such a journey in the dead of winter beats me."
"Ah! but there's something at the end of it, Mrs. Mason," returned Helen
warmly, "which will repay one for all the difficulties and fatigues by
the way."
"And what is that, pray?"
"They say that Penetanguishene, and all the islands there, make one of
the most beautiful pictures in the wide world. The old Jesuit Fathers
used to declare that the rocky islands of the bay were in summer just
like Paradise."
"And to prove it," exclaimed Mrs. Mason, "they froze to death in the
winter to be sure of the comparison; but never mind, my dear, if you are
determined to go, we must do our best to make the trip comfortable for
you. You shall have a little break in the tedium of travel anyway. Our
annual military ball takes place here on Friday night, and you must be
our honored guest. It will not be as large as usual, for some of our
officers have been killed in the war, and others have been wounded.
Still it will be nice and the Governor, Sir John Sherbrooke, and his
wife will both be there."
"I am afraid I have not anything to wear," said Helen. "You know I did
not expect to attend balls in my new life in the woods."
"But what of your wedding dress?"
"That was of white satin; but, of course, it was high neck and with long
sleeves."
"Still you must have had lace and ornaments of one sort or another with
you?"
"Oh, yes! I have some rare old Indian lace of my mother's and a white
crepe veil that my grandmother wore at her wedding."
"Well, you have the materials. That is very fortunate. And as there are
two more days, we'll see what my own dressmaker can do for you."
"And where is the ball to be?" Helen asked with growing interest.
"In the Grand Hall at the Citadel. And let me whisper in your ear: We
will see that you are the belle of the evening."
"You forget that I am an old married woman!" exclaimed Helen with a
laugh.
"Perhaps you are," commented Mrs. Mason, raising her eyebrows, "but
nevertheless you will conquer the hearts of the men--every one of them."
Just then Harold entered the room, and hearing Mrs. Mason's statement,
he laughingly declared that he was already jealous. But when she told
him of the discussion relative to the prospective overland journey, he
folded his wife in his arms and kissed her--not once nor twice--but many
times. Whereupon Mrs. Mason put on her spectacles and commenced to
count over the names of the invited guests.