A GENEROUS OFFER
It was late in the afternoon of the next day when Harry and I sat figuring
in our shanty, while Johnston lay on a heap of cedar twigs sucking at his
pipe and encouraging us languidly.
"I never could stand figures, and that's perhaps why I'm poor," he said.
"Go on, you are doing famously, and, though Ralph can't add up correctly
to save his life, I'll take your word for it."
He formed a characteristic picture of the free lance as he lay there,
bronzed and blonde-bearded, with his massy limbs disposed in an attitude
of easy grace, awaiting the result with a careless unconcern until Harry
flung a long boot at him as a signal for silence.
"As the surveyor told you, Ralph, we can't well lose money on this last
venture, even if we wanted to," said Harry at length. "You'll observe I'm
almost getting superstitious. Now, on cashing the order, we can repay your
loan, keeping back sufficient to meet emergencies, while with the rest one
of us could return to Fairmead and plough every available acre for next
spring's sowing. Many things suggest that you are the one to go. Johnston
and I with the others could get the timber out during the winter--we have
worked in the snow before--and I would join you in the spring. That,
however, again raises a point that must be settled once for all. Are we to
hold on to our first ambition, or turn contractors?"
Again there was a silence through which the roar of the river reached us
brokenly, and for some minutes I breathed the smell of hot dust and
resinous twigs that entered the open doorway.
"I hold on to the first," I said finally.
"And I stand by you," answered Harry.
Simultaneously we glanced at Johnston, who looked up with the same gay
indifference he had manifested when we floundered half-fed, knee-deep in
slush of snow. "I'll save you unpleasant explanations," he said. "I'm a
stormy petrel, and the monotonous life of a farmer would pall on me, so
I'll see you through the railroad contract, and then--well, I'll thank you
for a space of pleasant comradeship, and go on my way again. The mountain
province is sufficiently good for me, and some day I'll find either a gold
mine in it, or, more likely, a grave. If not, you can count on a visit
whenever I am hard up and hungry."
The words were typical of the man, though their undercurrent of melancholy
troubled me; but, for we knew he spoke the truth in regard to the farming,
the matter was settled so. I should much have preferred that Harry return
to Fairmead, but it was clear that the task most suited me. Perhaps
Johnston guessed my reluctance, for he said playfully: "Is not banishment
worse than snow slides or the high peak's frost, and what are all the
flowers of the prairie to the blood-red rose of the valley that was
grafted from Lancastrian stock?"
Thereupon Harry deftly dropped an almost-empty flour bag on his head, and
the consultation broke up amid a cloud of white dust.
"This," remarked Johnston, "is the beginning of riches. Two days ago, he
would have carefully swept up the fragments to make flapjacks."
Thus it came about that the next morning I boarded the main line express,
and traveled first-class with a special pass, while as luck would have it
the conductor, who evinced an unusual civility when he glanced at the
autograph thereon, was the same man I had worsted the memorable night when
I arrived a penniless stranger on the prairie. "If you want anything in
these cars, just let me know," he said.
"I will," I answered, thrusting back the wide-brimmed hat as I looked at
him. "The last time we traveled together you were not so accommodating. We
had a little dispute at Elktail one night in the snow."
"General Jackson!" exclaimed the conductor. "But you didn't travel with
that name on your ticket then. Say, it was all a mistake and in the way of
business. You won't bear malice?"
He vanished without awaiting an answer, and I leaned back on the cushions
chuckling softly, after which, fishing out my pipe, I sank into a soothing
reverie. There was no doubt that this kind of traveling had its
advantages, and it appeared equally certain that I had earned a few days'
luxurious holiday, while, as the blue wreaths curled up, the towering
pines outside the windows changed into the gaunt chimneys of smoky
Lancashire. Then they dwindled to wind-dwarfed birches, and I was lashing
the frantic broncos as they raced the hail for the shelter of a bluff,
until once more it seemed to be autumn and a breadth of yellow wheat stood
high above the prairie, while the rhythmic beat of wheels changed to the
rattle of the elevators lifting in the golden grain. Here, however, roused
by a scream of the whistle as the long train swept by a little station, I
found that the pipe lay among feathery ashes on my knee, and an hour had
passed, while I knew that under the touch of sleep my thoughts had turned
mechanically into the old channel.
It was toward noon when I left the cars at a station looking down upon a
broad reach of sunlit river which wound past maples, willows, and a few
clearings through a deep valley. Martin Lorimer and Alice met me on the
platform, and his greeting was hearty.
"We have watched every train since we last saw you," he said. "Alice,
though she won't own it, has been anxious, too. Never spent such an
interesting time as I did up yonder, and we're going to make it pleasant
for you here. Of course, you'll stay with us a week or two?"
The old man's face fell as I answered that time was pressing, and I must
return the following day, while for some reason Alice turned her face
aside, but she laughed pleasantly.
"Your uncle has been talking of nothing else the last two days," she said.
"I am glad I did not leave him with those wild men in the rejoicing city.
Some of them, however, seemed very nice. Meanwhile, I think lunch is
waiting for us."
We reached the pretty chalet hotel, which was hardly completed then,
though it is a famous resort now, and it was a new experience, after
faring hardly on doughy flapjacks and reistit pork of our own cooking, to
sit at a well-ordered table covered with spotless linen. Still better did
it seem to see Alice smiling upon me across the flowers in the glasses and
sparkling silver, and Martin Lorimer's cheery face as, while he pressed
the good things upon me, we chatted of old times and England. It is only
through adversity and hardship that one learns to appreciate fully such an
interlude.
My uncle had, however, not yet recovered his strength, and when later his
eyes grew heavy Alice whispered that he usually slept in the heat of the
afternoon, and I was glad to follow her into a garden newly hewn out of
the forest. We sat there in scented shadow under the branches of giant
redwoods, with the song of rippling water in our ears, and I remember
taking Alice into my confidence about the mysterious loan. She listened
with interest, and once more I noticed how ill she looked.
"You have more good friends than you think, Ralph; and it was of service
to you, was it not?"
"Yes," I answered with emphasis. "Of the greatest service! Perhaps it
saved us from ruin, but at first I almost decided not to touch it."
Alice laughed, a clear laugh that mingled musically with the call of a
wood pigeon in the green dimness above.
"You need hardly tell me that--all great men have their weaknesses; but
seriously, Ralph, don't you think if the good friend desired to keep it a
secret it is hardly fair to try to find him out? No, from what you tell
me, I hardly think you will unravel the mystery while the donor--lender, I
mean--lives. Besides, even if you never do, you can repay it by assisting
some hard-pressed comrade in distress. Yes, I should fancy the person who
lent it would prefer that way. However, I want to tell you about your
sister Aline. She has grown into a handsome young woman, too handsome
almost to fight her own way unprotected in the world, but she is like
yourself in some respects, and will neither live with us nor let your
uncle help her. She is teaching now--do you know what women are paid for
teaching in some private schools? And I don't think she is happy. The last
time I saw her I almost cried afterward, though she would only tell me
that she was choking for sunlight and air. Even her dress was worn and
shabby. Ralph, you know how old friends we are, and I have been
wondering--you really must be sensible--whether I could help her through
you?"
Something stung me to the quick, and I clenched one hand savagely, for in
the grim uphill battle I had nearly forgotten Aline. It was so long since
I had seen her, and when each day's hard work was done we were almost too
tired to think. Still, my brow was crimson with shame when I remembered
that my sister went, it might be, scantily fed, while what plans I made
were all for my own future and Grace.
"That is my part," I answered hotly. "She should have written frankly to
her brother."
Alice stopped me. "You do not understand women, Ralph, and she knew that
you too were struggling. Neither do I see how you can help her now, and it
would be a favor to me. It is beyond the power of any vigorous man with a
task for every moment to realize what it means to sit still weak and
helpless and know that even wealth cannot bring respite from constant
pain. Active pleasure, work and health have been denied me by fate, and my
life cannot be a long one. It may be very short, though your uncle will
not allow himself to believe it, and I long to do a little good while I
can. Ralph, won't you help me?"
With a shock, I realized that she spoke only the plain truth. Indeed, her
thin eager face contracted then, and ever afterward I was glad that moved
by some impulse I stooped and reverently kissed the fragile hand.
"You were always somebody's good angel, cousin," I said; "but I am her
brother, and this time I can help. I am going back to the farm at
Fairmead, and, if she is longing for open air, do you think she would come
and keep house for me?"
Alice blushed as she drew away the white fingers, but she showed her
practical bent by a cross-examination, and eventually she agreed that
though there were objections the plan might be feasible.
"You write to her by the next mail," she said, "and I will write too--no,
it would be better if I waited a little. Why? You must trust my
discretion--even your great mind cannot grasp everything. Now I want you
to tell me all about Miss Carrington."
Alice had a way with her that unlocked the secrets of many hearts, and the
shadows had lengthened across the lawn before the narrative was finished.
I can still picture her lying back on the lounge with hands clasped before
her, a line of pain on her brow, and the humming birds flashing athwart
the blossoms of the arrowhead that drooped above her. Then, glancing
straight before her toward the ethereal snows, she said with a sigh:
"I can see trouble in store for both of you, but I envy her. She has
health and strength, and a purpose to help her to endure. Ralph, there is
always an end to our trials if one can wait for it, and you both have
something to wait for. Hold fast, and I think you will win her--and you
know who will wish you the utmost happiness."
Presently we went down together to the boulders of the river, and watched
the steelhead salmon pass on in shadowy battalions as they forced their
way inland against the green-stained current, while Alice, whose store of
general knowledge was surprising, said meditatively:
"Theirs is a weary journey inland from the sea, over shoal, against white
rapid, and over spouting fall, toward the hidden valleys among the
glaciers--and most of them die, don't they, when they get there? There's a
symbol of life for you, but I sometimes think that, whether it's men or
salmon, the fighters have the best of it."
We talked of birds and fishes, and of many other things, while once a big
blue grouse perched on a fir bough and looked down fearlessly within reach
of her, though when the wrinkles of pain had vanished Alice seemed happy
to sit still in the warm sunshine speaking of nothing at all. Still, even
in the silence, the bond of friendship between us was drawn tighter than
it ever had been, and I knew that I felt better and stronger for my
cousin's company.
It was some time after dinner, and the woods were darkening, when Martin
Lorimer and I sat together on the carved veranda. There was wine on the
table before us, and the old man raised his glass somewhat hurriedly,
though his face betokened unmistakable surprise when again I mentioned the
loan. Then he lit a very choice cigar, and when I had done the same he
leaned forward looking at me through the smoke, as changing by degrees
into the speech of the spinning country, he said:
"You'll listen and heed well, Ralph. You went out to Canada against my
will, lad, and I bided my time. 'He'll either be badly beaten or win his
footing there, and either will do him good,' I said. If you had been
beaten I should have seen to it that my only brother's son should never go
wanting. Nay, wait 'til I have finished, but it would not have been the
same. I had never a soft side for the beaten weakling, and I'm glad I
bided. Now, when you've proved yourself what Tom's son should be, this is
what I offer thee. There's the mill; I'm old and done, and while there's
one of the old stock forward I would not turn it over to be moiled and
muddled by a limited company. Saving, starving, scheming, I built it bit
by bit, and to-day there's no cotton spun in Lancashire to beat the Orb
brand. There'll be plenty of good men under thee, and I'm waiting to make
thee acting partner. Ay, it's old and done I'm growing, and, Ralph
Lorimer, I'm telling thee what none but her ever guessed before--I would
have sold my soul for a kind word from thy mother."
For a time, almost bewildered by the splendid offer, I stared blankly into
the eddying smoke, while my thoughts refused to concentrate themselves,
and I first wondered why he had made it to me. Now I know it was partly
due to the staunch pride of race and family that once held the yeomen of
the dales together in foray and feud, and partly to a fondness for myself
that I had never wholly realized. Then it became apparent that I could
not accept it. Grace would pine in smoke-blackened Lancashire, as she had
told me, and I knew that the life of mill and office would grow
intolerable, while the man who acted as Martin Lorimer's partner would
have small respite from it. There was Harry also, who had linked his
future with my great project. But the offer was tempting after the
constant financial pressure, and for another minute the words failed me.
"I am awaiting thy answer, lad," said Martin Lorimer.
Then I stood up before him as I said slowly: "You are generous,
uncle--more than generous, and it grieves me that the answer can only
be--no. Give me a few moments to explain why this must be so. I could
never settle down to the shut-in life; and half-hearted work would only be
robbery. You would demand his best from your partner, wouldn't you?"
"I should; brain and body," said the old man, grimly watching me with
hawk-like eyes, for there was a steely underside to his character.
I leaned one elbow on the back of a chair as I continued: "I could not
give it. Besides, I have set my heart on winning my own fortune out of the
prairie--I am in honor bound to my partner Lorraine in this, and--I can
never leave Canada until the lady I hope to marry some day goes with me.
You saw her at the opening ceremony--Miss Carrington."
Martin Lorimer smote the table, which, when excited, was a favorite trick
of his.
"Thy wife!" he said stupidly. "Art pledged to marry Miss Carrington of all
women, lad? And does she care for thee?"
"I trust so," I answered slowly, as I watched the frown deepen on the old
man's face. I dreaded the next question, which came promptly:
"And what does the iron-fisted Colonel say as to thee for a son-in-law?"
It took me at least five minutes to explain, and I felt my anomalous
position keenly during the process, while, when the story was finished,
Martin Lorimer laughed a harsh dry laugh.
"Ralph, thou'rt rash and headstrong and a condemned fool besides," he
said. "Thee would never have made a partner in the Orb mill. Thou'rt Tom's
bairn all through, but I like thy spirit. Stand up there, straight and
steady, so, while I look at thee. Never a son of my own, lad; thou'rt the
last of the Lingdale folk, and I had set my heart on thee. Ay, I'm the
successful spinner, and I paid for my success. It's hard to keep one's
hands clean and be first in the business; but there's no one better knows
the sign; and travel, and maybe Miss Carrington, has put that sign on
thee. Once I hoped--it's past and done with, I'm foolish as well as old;
but as that can never be, I'm only wishing the best of luck to thee."
He gulped down a glass of the red wine and wiped his forehead, while his
voice had a hard note in it as he continued: "Her father's a man of iron,
but there's iron, too, in thee. I had my part in the people's struggle
when Lancashire led the way, and then after a trick at the election I
hated him and all his kind. I've a better reason since for hating him. We
can beat them in brain and muscle, our courage is as good as theirs, and
yet, if you weld the two kinds together, there's not their equal in the
world. He's proud of his robber forbears, but there was one of thine drew
a good bow with the archers at Crecy. Ralph, thy news has stirred me into
vaporing, and the man who built the Orb mill is prating like a child. Ay,
I'm grieved to the heart--and I'm glad. Fill up thy glass to the brim,
lad--here's God bless her and thee."
There followed a clink of glasses, and some of the wine was spilt. I could
see the red drops widen on the snowy tablecloth, and then Martin Lorimer
gripped my hand in a manner that showed no traces of senile decay, saying
somewhat huskily as he turned away:
"I want time to think it over, but I'll tell thee this. Hold fast with
both hands to thy purpose, take the thrashings--and wait, and if ever
thou'rt hard pressed, with thy back right on the wall, thou'lt remember
Martin Lorimer--or damn thy mulishness."
They gave me the same advice all round, and perhaps it was as well, for of
all the hard things that fall to the lot of the man who strives with his
eyes turned forward the hardest is to wait. Still, it was something to
have won Martin Lorimer's approval, for I had hitherto found him an
unsympathetic and critical man, who bore in his person traces of the
battle he had fought. There were those who called him lucky; but these had
lain softly and fared well while he starved and wrought, winning his way
by inches until he built up out of nothing the splendid trade of the Orb
mill.
None of us was talkative that evening, but fervent good wishes followed me
when I went out with the east-bound train the next day, and until the
dusky pines hid her, closing round the track, I saw cousin Alice's slight
figure with her face turned toward the departing train.