CHAPTER XIV
Would They Be Friends?
When Mrs. Burton had gone, Mary set to work to inspect the littleloghouse, and make things comfortable for the night. But there wasnot very much that needed doing, and their weeks of river travelhad shorn away so many habits which are the outcome of too muchcivilization, that they had come down to a primitive simplicity ofliving. The hut contained two small bedrooms, scarcely bigger thancabins on board ship, one sitting-room, and a lean-to kitchen inthe rear. There was not an atom of paint about the place; it wasall bare, brown wood, restful to the eyes, and in perfect harmonywith the surrounding wilderness.
The boatmen had pitched their tent at the down-river side of thehouse, and were sitting round a fire on the ground smoking theirpipes in great comfort and content. Mary had finished her surveyof the inside of her new home, and now wandered outside the houseto see what manner of country lay in the immediate neighbourhood ofRoaring Water Portage. Her father was sitting on a bench by thehut door, drowsily comfortable with a cigar, and busy withnumberless plans for the future. He was not in a mood for talkingjust then, and Mary was glad to be alone for a while.
It was broad daylight still, although the evening was getting on;but the trees grew so thickly all about the hut that she could seelittle beyond trunks and foliage, so, finding a little path whichled upward, she commenced to climb. Great boulders strewed theground here between the trees, and although by the sound she knewherself to be near the river, she could not see it until after astiff climb of twenty minutes or so she emerged on an open spaceabove the falls. Here indeed was beauty enough to satisfy even herdesire for it. The undulating ground all about and below her wasmostly forest-clad, the larches showed in their vivid green againstthe sombre hue of the pines, while giant cedars stood out blackagainst the evening sky. On one side, right away in the distance,the waters of the bay reached to the horizon, but for to-night Maryturned her back on the sea; it was the land that charmed her most.
Presently, just where the glory of the sunset reflected itself inthe river, she saw a boat coming skimming down the current. It wasjust the touch of life that was necessary to lift the weirdsolemnity from those silent forest reaches. From where she stood,leaning against the trunk of a tree on the hilltop, Mary could seewithout being seen; for she still wore the travelling dress whichso nearly matched the tree stem in colour, and a brown veil wasover her face, a necessary precaution against the mosquitoes whichswarmed everywhere.
There was a girl in the boat, with soft, wavy hair, pretty andfeminine in appearance, but with strength and decision in everymovement, which made Mary whisper to herself: "That must beKatherine; and how graceful she is! I had quite expected her to bea great, clumping creature, because Mrs. Burton said she did aman's work."
There was a boy in the boat as well, but it was the girl whoclaimed Mary's attention now. The boat drew in at a point abovethe falls where a little shed served as boathouse, and then the boyand the girl rapidly unloaded various packages and bundles, whichwere dumped in a heap on the bank, while the boat was drawn in andsecured under the shed.
"Phil, we shall have to make two journeys--we can never do it inone," the girl said, and her voice had a tired ring which made theunseen listener on the hilltop pity her exceedingly.
"Just you sit down for five minutes while I whistle for the dogs,"said the boy. "They will hear if Miles doesn't, and there will besuch a clamour that everyone will know we are close home."
As he spoke he hooked two fingers between his lips, and theresultant whistles were so piercing and shrill that Mary would havebeen glad to thrust her fingers in her ears, only now she would notmove through fear of drawing attention to herself.
The whistles had scarcely ceased to vibrate through the quiet airwhen in the distance there arose a mighty clamour of barking. Marycaught her breath and waited now to see what was coming, and inless than five minutes two huge dogs came bounding down the portagepath to the shed where the girl and boy were waiting.
"I must make friends with those dogs before I am many hours older,or I shall be afraid to stir away from the house," Mary said toherself, with a little shiver, as she watched the big brutescareering round.
But they were wanted for work, not play, so their gambols came to aspeedy end. The boy loaded each one with packages, and, picking upa couple of bundles himself, started up the portage path, closelyfollowed by the dogs, which perfectly understood the work that wasrequired of them.
Then the girl rose to her feet, and stood for a moment gazing atthe golden glories of the setting sun. She stretched her arms outwith a quick, eager movement, as if asking for something sheyearned to possess, then dropped them to her side again, andturning, proceeded to load the remainder of the packages andbundles on to her own shoulders.
If only the river had not flowed between, Mary might have gone toher assistance. As it was, she stood watching the bowed figure goslowly up the portage path to disappear among the bushes, then shealso turned to retrace her steps to the hut. But the tired girlwas very much in Mary's thoughts that evening. Why had shestretched out her arms to the glowing west with such a gesture ofentreaty? Of course it might have been just girlishdissatisfaction with a toilsome, colourless life, or it might bethat there were ambitions and desires which had to be sternlyrepressed.
"I wonder if we shall be friends?" she said presently, speakingaloud because she had entirely forgotten that she was not alone.
"Friends with whom?" asked her father sleepily. He was stillsitting on the bench by the hut door, and Mary was leaning againstthe doorpost. She had been standing so ever since she came downthe hill, and her thoughts were still busy with the girl who hadlooked so tired and carried such heavy burdens.
"I have seen a girl this evening, such a pretty girl, and sograceful in her movements, but she was doing a portage as if shewere a man, and I felt that I should like to know her," Maryanswered, her voice and manner more dreamy than usual. Indeed, itseemed as if the place had laid a spell upon her already.
"Probably you will have what you want, and then you will findyourself disappointed. You must not expect to find much refinementand culture in a wild place like this," Mr. Selincourt said.
"I do not look for it. But however rough or illiterate this girlmay be, I think she has a soul, a longing for something she doesnot possess," went on Mary, who was weaving fancies and theoriestogether in quite a remarkable fashion for her.
"Most women long for what they don't possess, and some men do thesame," replied Mr. Selincourt, laughing a little. Then he rose andstretched himself, saying: "I believe I will go to bed, for I am sotired that I can hardly keep my eyes open. It is so late thatJervis Ferrars will hardly come to-night now, although I shouldhave been glad to see him, for I am really anxious to know how thefishing is going."
"Well, you won't have to wait long, for here he comes, Ifancy--although it seems funny that I should remember his stepafter so many months," said Mary, as a firm tread sounded on thepath coming up through the bushes from the water's edge.
"Is that you, Ferrars?" asked Mr. Selincourt eagerly, hissleepiness vanishing as if by magic.
"Yes, sir," responded a voice, and the next moment Jervis Ferrarsappeared in sight.
"I'm sorry that I was not on hand to welcome you when you arrived,"he said.
"No matter, no matter at all!" exclaimed Mr. Selincourt, shakinghands with him; but Mary only vouchsafed a nod in response to theyoung man's courteous salutation.
"My welcome is only a little belated, but it could not be moresincere. You have come just at the right time, I think," Jerviswent on; and at the suggestion of Mr. Selincourt the two sat downon the bench side by side, while Mary remained leaning against thedoorpost as before.
"How is the fishing?" asked Mr. Selincourt.
"It is going very well indeed, and you will get a very good returnfor your money this year, and a much better one next season. Ihave been away on Akimiski all day, and I have been simply amaz
edat the amount of fish which could be caught, cured, and marketed ifonly we had the necessary plant."
"What sort of fish? Everyone is saying that Hudson Bay is playedout for seal and walrus, while whales are getting scarcer everyyear," said Mr. Selincourt, who had bought out the old companycheaply because of this growing scarcity.
"That may be," replied Jervis, "although, being a stranger to thesewaters, I'm not in a position to give a reliable opinion. But oflesser fish, such as cod, halibut, lobster, salmon, and that sortof thing, there is enough going to waste to feed a nation."
"I tell you what we will do!" exclaimed Mr. Selincourt. "We willorder the necessary plant, and we will start a curing factory. Ofcourse we are out of the world for nine months in every year, butthat won't make much difference in the end; and we got our fishingrights cheaply enough to enable us to make a very good thing indeedout of our venture before we have done."
"Don't you think it is rather grasping of you to want to make moremoney, Daddy, when you have got so much already?" broke in Mary, ina playful tone, yet with some underlying seriousness of purpose.
"Not a bit of it, my dear. Because I have got some money should beno barrier to my getting more, if I get it honestly," her fatheranswered with soothing toleration; for Mary had ideas, and was aptto air them in rather unmeasured language when she was roused.
"It seems so ignoble to spend all one's time and energy in makingmoney when there are so many wrongs which need righting, and somany people who need helping," she said, with a note of pathos inher tone.
"The most effectual way of helping people is to assist them inhelping themselves," broke in Jervis. "If Mr. Selincourt developsthis fishing as it is capable of being developed, he will do morereal good than if he spent hundreds of pounds in charity."
"If you were really a Canadian you would have said dollars, notpounds," she interrupted, with mock gravity, just as if she weremaking fun of him to his face.
"I am an Englishman," he said quietly, too much in earnest justthen to resent her levity, "so it is most natural to me to speak ofpounds. But that makes no difference to the question at issue.When your father gets his factory going he will employ twenty menwhere he now employs one. They in turn will be able to supportwives and families, which will mean employment for storekeepers,school teachers----"
"Oh, spare me any more, I beg!" she implored penitently, "and Ipromise never, never to object to money-making schemes again. Iknow you were going to add that the twenty men's wives would wanttwenty new hats, and so there would be an opening for a first-classmillinery establishment at Roaring Water Portage."
"I had not thought of that, but of course it is quite true," hesaid, adding with a laugh: "and there would be an opening for adressmaker also, don't you see?"
"I don't want to see. I don't want to hear anything more about itat all. It is all too much in the future, too practical andcommonplace altogether to fit such a twilight as this," she said,with a touch of petulance. "I want to know about the people here.What sort of a man is Oily Dave? He looks a veritable old rascal."
"And for once appearances are not deceptive," replied Jervis."Since I have been here he has tried to quietly do for me aboutonce a week upon an average. He so nearly succeeded the first timethat it has encouraged him to persevere."
"How truly horrid!" she cried with a shiver. "But there are nicerpeople to compensate for him, I hope. Who is that delightfullyhospitable woman who lives in the house on the bluff, with aboatlike projection at one end?"
"That is Mrs. Jenkin, my landlady, and the boat-like projection ismy abode. It is very comfortable, too," he answered.
"Then who is the very pretty girl who moves with as much grace asif she had been brought up in drawing-rooms all her life, yet hasto carry heavy burdens over a portage like a man?" asked Maryeagerly, her other questions having been intended only to lead upto this.
Jervis Ferrars stood up with a quick movement, and a feeling thatthe questioning had become suddenly intolerable; but his voice wasquiet and steady as he answered: "That would be Miss Radford, whosefather has the store over the river. But he has been ill for along time, poor man, and with little hope of recovery, so hisdaughter has a very hard life. I am going over to see him now, ifyou will excuse me. There is no doctor here, of course, so I havedone what I could for him."
"It was another daughter, a dear, delightful little person namedMrs. Burton, who was here when we came," said Mary. "I am glad tofind there are such nice people here, and I hope we shall befriends."
Jervis flung up his head with a haughty movement, almost as if heresented the kindly overture, but he replied civilly enough; onlythe thought in his mind as he went down to the river was that poorKatherine, with her hard, drudging life for the good of others, wasso much more noble than this girl, who lived only to pleaseherself, that it would be a condescension on Katherine's part to befriendly with her. When he reached the store it was to find no oneabout but Mrs. Burton and the invalid.
"Ah, I am late to-night!" he said apologetically, and with afeeling of sharp disappointment. "But Mr. Selincourt has come, andI had to go over to report progress to him."
"What very nice people they are!" exclaimed Mrs. Burton withenthusiasm. "I was charmed with Miss Selincourt. She will be agreat acquisition here this summer."
"Yes," Jervis remarked in an abstracted fashion, but not payingmuch heed to what was being said, for he was in perplexity as towhy Katherine was not visible; and seeing no prospect of findingout without a direct question, he made the plunge and asked: "Whereis your sister? Isn't she well?"
"Katherine has gone to bed, because she is so tired to-night. Sheand Phil have done the backache portage, as they call it, and italways wears her so much, poor girl," Mrs. Burton answered with asigh. Then she said, with an involuntary lowering of her voice asshe glanced at her father: "Katherine does not like the idea of ourtelling Father that Mr. Selincourt has come. She says it mayexcite him, and be very harmful. What do you think about it?"
Jervis glanced at the invalid, who sat in a chair by the open door,gazing out at the evening sky, where the twilight still lingered.'Duke Radford was sitting with his head stooped a little forward,and smiling placidly as if his thoughts pleased him.
"I don't think it would hurt him; he takes so little notice," theyoung man answered slowly. Then he added: "But Miss Radford wouldknow better about that than I do, and if she is afraid of theeffect upon him, it would be well to be careful."
"I don't think Katherine knows more about Father than I do, becauseyou see she is not much with him, and I don't think he understandsthe difference between one person and another," said Mrs. Burton."He seems to find as much pleasure in talking to Oily Dave as toAstor M'Kree, and that is certainly different from what he used tobe. But it will be very hard if we have to shut nice people likethe Selincourts out of the house just because it may upset Father,who probably won't even realize that they are strangers at all."
"Well, we can but try him. Let us see if the name brings any worryto him," said Jervis, and going across to the door he began to talkto the invalid. "Mr. Selincourt and his daughter have come tospend the summer here; they live in the hut across the river thatAstor M'Kree has done up so nicely. Would you like them to comeand see you?"
'Duke Radford looked at him curiously, as if not understanding whathe was talking about; then he said slowly: "Oh yes, I like to seepeople, nice people; where do they come from?"
"England," replied the young man.
The invalid shivered, then said more haltingly than before: "Idon't like to think of England, it makes me sad; but Selincourt isa pretty name--a very pretty name indeed!"