THE LURE OF THE NORTH
by
HAROLD BINDLOSS
Author of _THE GIRL FROM KELLER'S_, _CARMEN'S MESSENGER_, _BRANDON OF
THE ENGINEERS_, _JOHNSTONE OF THE BORDER_, _PRESCOTT OF SASKATCHEWAN_,
_WINSTON OF THE PRAIRIE_, ETC.
Published in England under the Title _Agatha's Fortune_
New York
Frederick A. Stokes Company
Publishers
1918
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
ALTON OF SOMASCO
LORIMER OF THE NORTHWEST
THURSTON OF ORCHARD VALLEY
WINSTON OF THE PRAIRIE
THE GOLD TRAIL
SYDNEY CARTERET, RANCHER
A PRAIRIE COURTSHIP
VANE OF THE TIMBERLANDS
THE LONG PORTAGE
RANCHING FOR SYLVIA
PRESCOTT OF SASKATCHEWAN
THE DUST OF CONFLICT
THE GREATER POWER
MASTERS OF THE WHEATLANDS
DELILAH OF THE SNOWS
BY RIGHT OF PURCHASE
THE CATTLE BARON'S DAUGHTER
THRICE ARMED
FOR JACINTA
THE INTRIGUERS
THE LEAGUE OF THE LEOPARD
FOR THE ALLISON HONOR
THE SECRET OF THE REEF
HARDING OF ALLENWOOD
THE COAST OF ADVENTURE
JOHNSTONE OF THE BORDER
BRANDON OF THE ENGINEERS
CARMEN'S MESSENGER
THE GIRL FROM KELLER'S
THE LURE OF THE NORTH
[Illustration: "SHE SAW A LOOK OF FEAR IN HIS STARING EYES."]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I THIRLWELL MAKES HIS CHOICE
II STRANGE'S STORY
III AGATHA MAKES A PROMISE
IV STRANGE'S PARTNER
V A NIGHT'S WATCH
VI FATHER LUCIEN'S ADVENTURE
VII AGATHA'S RESOLVE
VIII THE BURGLAR
IX AGATHA ASKS ADVICE
X THIRLWELL GETS A LETTER
XI STORMONT FINDS A CLUE
XII ON THE TRAIL
XIII THE PROSPECTORS' RETURN
XIV STORMONT DISOWNS A DEBT
XV THE GRAND RAPID
XVI THE PIT-PROP
XVII DRUMMOND OFFERS HELP
XVIII THE HAND IN THE WATER
XIX A LOST OPPORTUNITY
XX THE PLUNGE
XXI THE WILDERNESS
XXII BEFORE THE WIND
XXIII STRANGE'S LEGACY
XXIV AGATHA RESUMES HER JOURNEY
XXV THE BROKEN RANGE
XXVI THE LODE
XXVII THIRLWELL'S DULLNESS
XXVIII STORMONT TRIES A BRIBE
XXIX GEORGE REPROACHES HIMSELF
XXX A CHANGE OF LUCK
XXXI THIRLWELL'S REWARD
CHAPTER I
THIRLWELL MAKES HIS CHOICE
Dinner was nearly over at the big red hotel that stands high above the
city of Quebec, and Thirlwell, sitting at one of the tables,
abstractedly glanced about. The spacious room was filled with skilfully
tempered light that glimmered on colored glasses and sparkled on silver;
pillars and cornices were decorated with artistic taste. A murmur of
careless talk rose from the groups of fashionably dressed women and
prosperous men, and he heard a girl's soft laugh.
All this struck a note of refined luxury that was strange to Thirlwell,
who had spent some years in the wilds, where the small, frost-bitten
pines roll across the rocks and muskegs of North Ontario. One lived hard
up there, enduring arctic cold, and the heat of the short summer, when
bloodthirsty mosquitoes swarm; and ran daunting risks on the lonely
prospecting trail. Now it looked as if chance had offered him an easier
lot; he could apparently choose between the privations of the wilderness
and civilized comfort, but while he grappled with a certain longing he
knew this was not so. He had adopted the pioneers' Spartan code; one
must stand by one's bargain, and do the thing one had undertaken.
For a few moments he was silent, lost in rather gloomy thought, with a
frown on his brown face, and Mrs. Allott, his English relative, studied
him across the table. On the whole, Jim Thirlwell had improved in
Canada, and she thought he would be welcomed if he returned to England.
She had been his mother's friend, and during the week or two they had
now spent together, had decided that if he proved amenable she would
help him to make a career. Indeed, it was largely on Thirlwell's account
she had accompanied her husband on his American tour.
Jim had certain advantages. He was not clever, but his remarks were
sometimes smarter than he knew. Then he had a quiet voice and manner
that impressed one, even when one differed from him, as one often did.
He was not handsome, and his face was rather thin, but his features were
well-defined, and she liked his firm mouth and steady look. His figure
was good and marked by a touch of athletic grace. Then she was, on the
whole, satisfied with the way he chose and wore his clothes. His mother
had held a leading place in the exclusive society of a quiet cathedral
town, until her husband lost his small fortune. Mrs. Allott understood
that something might have been saved had Tom Thirlwell been less
scrupulous; but Tom had unconventional views about money, and Jim was
like his father in many ways. Mrs. Allott, having done her best to
enlighten him, hoped he would now see where his advantage lay.
"You are not very talkative, Jim," she said.
Thirlwell looked up with an apologetic smile, but his eyes rested on
the girl by Mrs. Allott's side. Evelyn Grant was young and attractive,
but there was something tame about her beauty that harmonized with her
character. Thirlwell had not always recognized this; indeed, when they
were younger, he had indulged a romantic tenderness for the girl. This,
however, was long since, and the renewal of their friendship in Canada
left him cold. Evelyn was gracious, and he sometimes thought she had not
forgotten his youthful admiration, but she did not feel things much, and
he suspected that she had acquiesced in Mrs. Allott's rather obvious
plot because she was too indolent to object. For all that, he imagined
that if he took a bold line she would not repulse him, and by comparison
with his poverty Evelyn was rich. Then he banished the thought with an
unconscious frown.
"Oh, well, I suppose it's our last evening together, and one feels
melancholy about that," he said.
"But I thought you were coming to New York with us," Mrs. Allott
objected.
Evelyn was talking animatedly to a young American, but looked round with
languid carelessness.
"Are you really not coming, Jim?" she asked.
Then, without waiting for Thirlwell's answer, she resumed her talk, and
Mrs. Allott wondered whether the girl had not overdone her part. After
all, she must have known why she had been brought.
"I think not," said Thirlwell. "Very sorry, of course, but there's only
a week of my holiday left and I have some business in South Ontario.
Then I must go back to the bush."
"That's ridiculous, Jim," Mrs. Allott rejoined. "You know you needn't
go back to the bush at all. Besides, we hoped you had decided to come to
England." She paused and touched Evelyn. "Do you hear what he says?
Can't you persuade him to be sensible?"
Evelyn turned and looked at Thirlwell with a careless smile. She was
very composed, but Mrs. Allott thought she noted a trace of heightened
color.
"Oh, no; it would be useless for me to try. Nobody could persuade Jim to
do what he does not want."
"Aren't you taking something for granted?" asked Allott, who sat with
the others, but had been silent. "Jim hasn't admitted that he doesn't
want to come."
The girl gave Thirlwell a tranquil glance in which there was a hint of
mockery.
"He has only a week left, and I imagine knows better than we do what
will please him best," she replied, and turned to her companion.
"What have you to say to that?" Allott asked Thirlwell, with a twinkle.
"It looks as if Evelyn knew my character--I suppose I am obstinate. But
I don't think she has stated the case correctly. It isn't that I don't
want to come. Unfortunately, I can't."
The other guests were leaving the tables and Mrs. Allott, getting up,
gave her husband a meaning glance.
"Then I must let Stephen talk to you. You may listen to his arguments; I
have exhausted mine."
"You could not expect me to succeed where you have failed," Allott
remarked, and touched Thirlwell as Mrs. Allott and Evelyn went away.
"Shall we go upstairs for a smoke?"
A lift took them up, and Allott lighted a cigarette when they entered an
unoccupied room. The evening was hot, and Thirlwell sat on the ledge of
the open window and looked out upon the river across the climbing town.
Church spires, the steep roofs of old houses, and the flat tops of
modern blocks, rose in the moonlight through a thin gray haze of smoke.
Lower down, a track of glittering silver ran across to the shadowy Levis
ridge, along the crest of which were scattered twinkling lights.
Presently Allott, who was well preserved and rather fat, turned to
Thirlwell.
"I hope you won't be rash, Jim, and throw away the best chance you may
ever get."
"You mean Sir James's offer of the post with the big engineering firm?"
"I mean that and other things," said Allott dryly. "Perhaps I have
spoken plainly enough; you are not a fool!"
"Thanks! I don't claim much wisdom and I am sometimes rash. But perhaps
we had better stick to Sir James's offer. Why does he make it now, after
standing off when I needed help some years since?"
"We'll take the offer first," Allott agreed. "Sir James had not been
knighted and pulled off the big business combine then. He hadn't as much
influence, and perhaps wanted to see what you could do. I expect he was
surprised when you got and kept the mining job in Canada. Anyhow, you're
his namesake and nearest relative. My wife, you know, comes next."
"He left my father alone in his trouble," said Thirlwell grimly. "I
wonder why they gave him his title. There were things done when the
combine was made the shareholders didn't know, besides injustices to
the staffs. You see, I had friends--"
"What has that to do with you? He offers you a good post, with a hint
about favors to come."
"The post is good," Thirlwell agreed, with a thoughtful look. "In a way,
I'd have been glad to take it; but I can't very well."
"Your engagement at the little wild-cat mine is an obstacle? After all,
there are other engineers in Canada; I don't suppose your employers
would suffer much inconvenience if you gave up the job."
"There's a year yet to go, besides an understanding that I'd stay until
we got down to the deep vein."
"For very small pay? Much less than you're now offered, and with no
prospects?"
"My employers are straight people and pay me as much as they can afford.
They treat me well, though they're a small firm and the mine is not
prospering. In fact, I expect they'll have some trouble to hold out
until we reach good ore."
"The risk of their not holding out is rather a curious argument for your
staying."
Thirlwell was silent for a few moments, and his face was hard when he
resumed: "I know something about the combine's methods--Masters, who's
still with one of the companies Sir James bought up, writes to me. I
suppose one mustn't be too fastidious, but there are things the man who
takes the post I'm offered will be expected to do; things I haven't done
yet and mean to leave alone. You have often to throw your scruples
overboard when you pay big dividends."
Allott chuckled. "The combine does not pay big dividends. It's a
grievance of the shareholders'."
"Oh, well; Sir James was knighted, and I hear about another director
building a hospital. One doesn't get honors for nothing. They're
expensive."
"Jim," said Allott reproachfully, "you're talking like your father, and
while airing one's views may be harmless, trying to live up to them
doesn't always pay. Taking that line cost him much; I thought you
wiser."
Thirlwell colored. "My father was an honest man. If I can live as he
did, I shall be satisfied."
"Well, for some reason, Sir James is keen about bringing you back, and
if you state the terms on which you'll come, I imagine he'll agree. This
should make things easier, and I believe he'll be responsible if you pay
your employers a fine to let you off."
Thirlwell was silent and looked out of the window. The hum of traffic
came up from the dark gaps between the buildings and he heard a
locomotive bell and the clash of freight-cars by the wharf. Then the
hoot of a deep whistle rang across the town, and red and white flashes
pierced the darkness down the river. A big liner, signaling her tug, was
coming up stream, and presently her long hull was marked by lights that
rose in tiers above the water. He watched her as she swung in to the
wharf with her load of cheering immigrants.
It reminded him of his landing in Canada, and he looked back upon the
disappointments and hardships he had borne in the country. He had soon
found there was no easy road to wealth, and life had so far been an
arduous struggle. He had known poverty, hunger, and stinging cold, and
now his pay left little over when he had satisfied his frugal needs. All
would be different if he went back to England, and he pondered over
Allott's specious arguments. There was no reason he should not take the
offered post if he could do so on his terms, and it was possible that
his employers would release him. He was thirty years of age, had long
practised self-denial, and would soon get old. Why should he not enjoy
some prosperity before it was too late? Allott had said enough, but did
not know this and had not finished yet.
"There's another matter, Jim," he resumed. "You can't think about
marrying while you stay in the bush."
"I don't know that I want to marry. I couldn't support a wife."
"Why not, if you chose a wife with money?"
"Then she'd have to support me. Besides, I expect it would be hard to
find a rich girl willing to marry a poor engineer."
Allott made a sign of impatience. "Let's be frank! The matter's
delicate, and perhaps requires a lighter touch than mine, but I
understand that Helen has given you a hint."
"She has," said Thirlwell, with some grimness. "I hoped you'd both let
the thing go when she saw my attitude."
"We'll let it go after the next few minutes, if you like, but there is
something to be said. Evelyn is an attractive girl, and has some money;
besides which, Sir James would approve her marrying you. He has hinted
that he'll give you a chance of making your mark in England if he is
satisfied. Evelyn's relations know this, and it was significant that
they agreed when Helen invited her to join us. As the girl consented, I
might perhaps go farther--"
Thirlwell stopped him. "Why is Sir James anxious to help me?"
"We can only guess. Perhaps he feels you have a claim and he has
neglected you. Then he may think you will do him credit and realize the
ambitions he's getting too old to carry out. He has noted that you have
inherited your father's character, and I've heard him remark that while
Tom Thirlwell had extravagant notions, he certainly had brains. However,
we were talking about Evelyn."
Thirlwell, exercising some self-control, lighted a cigarette and gave
Allott a steady look.
"Then we'll finish the talk. Evelyn is a charming girl; amiable, pretty,
tranquil, but there's no ground for believing she has contemplated
marrying me."
"Suppose we admit that's possible?" said Allott, with a meaning smile.
"I imagine, because I know you both, that if you were firm enough, you
could, so to speak, carry her away. Since you own that she's charming,
why don't you try?"
"If you are curious, you can take it that Sir James's gratuitous
approval is an obstacle. I shall not marry to please him or let him plan
my career. I mean to stand on my own feet and not be ruled by a greedy
old man's caprices. Now you understand this, we'll say no more about the
thing."
Allott shrugged. "Very well! I've done my best, and since you mean to
take your own line, wish you success. Perhaps we had better go
downstairs."
Evelyn was talking to the young American when they crossed the big hall
and she smiled as they passed, but an hour later Thirlwell saw her
alone. She beckoned him carelessly and indicated a place near her in a
corner seat.
"So Allott has not persuaded you to come with us!" she remarked.
"No," said Thirlwell. "Very sorry, but there are matters I can't
neglect."
"We shall miss you," she said, with a side glance. "I suppose you are
not coming to England afterwards?"
"I'm afraid not," Thirlwell answered.
Then, to his surprise, she gave him a rather curious smile. "From the
beginning I didn't think you would come."
"Ah!" said Thirlwell. "Still I don't see why--"
"That doesn't matter," she answered calmly. "After all, I dare say it's
better in many ways that you should stay in Canada, and I wish you
luck." She paused a moment and resumed: "I want you to feel that I do
wish it. But Mrs. Allott is waiting for me. We shall, no doubt, see you
before we start."
She left him puzzled but relieved. Next morning he stood on the platform
of the Grand Trunk station, and Evelyn, leaning on the rails of a
vestibule, smiled and waved her hand as the train rolled away.