Ranching For Sylvia Volume-554 by Harold Bindloss (chrome ebook reader .TXT) 📕

"She Walked Right Into The Trap; You Couldn't Have Stopped Her.  I'm

Sorry For Hardie.  But We May As Well Get Out Now; There'll Be No

Trouble."

The Street Was Blocked When The Women Left, But A Passage Was Made For

Them; And, Followed By Everybody In The Settlement, They Proceeded To

The Other Hotel, Whose Proprietor Capitulated.  Then Mrs. Nelson Made A

Speech, In Which She Pointed Out That For Once The Festival Would Not

Be Marked By The Orgies Which Had On Previous Occasions Disgraced The

Town.  Her Words, By No Means Conciliatory, And Her Aggressive Air

Provoked The Crowd, Which Had, For The Most Part, Watched The

Proceedings With Amusement.  There Were Cries Of Indignant Dissent,

Angry Shouts, And The Throng Began To Close In Upon The Speaker.  Then

There Was Sudden Silence, And The Concourse Split Apart.  Into The Gap

Rode A Slim Young Man In Khaki, With A Wide Hat Of The Same Color, Who

Pulled Up And Sat Looking At The People With His Hand On His Hip.

George Recognized Him As The Constable Who Shared The Extensive Beat

With Flett.

"Now," He Said Good-Humoredly, "What's All This Fuss About?"

Several Of Them Informed Him And He Listened Gravely Before He Called

One Of The Farmer's Stewards, And Spoke A Few Words To Him.

"It Strikes Me," He Said, "That You Had All Better Go Back To The

Fair-Ground, While I Look Into Things.  There's An Item Or Two On The

Program Mr. Carson Wants To Work Off Before Supper."

He Had Taken The Right Tone, And When They Began To Disperse He Rode On

To The Sachem.

"I Want Your Account Of This Disturbance," He Said To The Proprietor.

Beamish Related What Had Taken Place And The Constable Looked Surprised.

"Am I To Understand That You're Afraid To Open Your Bar Because Of The

Women?" He Asked.

"Yes, Sir," Replied Beamish, Coolly; "That's About The Size Of It.

You'd Have Been Scared, Too; They're A Mighty Determined Crowd."

"Nobody Except The Authorities Has Any Right To Interfere."

"That's My Opinion, But What Am I To Do About It?  Suppose These Women

Come Back, Will You Stand At The Door And Keep Them Out?  They're

Capable Of Mobbing You."

The Constable Looked Dubious, And Beamish Continued:

"Besides, I've Given Them My Word I'd Shut Up--They Made Me."

"Then How Do You Expect Us To Help?"

"So Far As I Can See, You Can Only Report The Matter To Your Bosses."

The Constable Felt Inclined To Agree With This.  He Asked For The Names

Of The Ladies, And Beamish Hesitated.

"I Was Too Taken Up With Mrs. Nelson To Notice The Rest, And The Place

Was Rather Dark.  Anyway, About Half Of Them Were Foolish Girls With

Notions; I Don't Want To Drag Them In."

"You Blame Somebody For Setting Them On?"

"I Do," Said Beamish, Without A Trace Of Rancor.  "There's Mrs.

Nelson--Everybody Knows She's A Crank--And Hardie, The Methodist

Minister.  They've Been Trying To Make Trouble For The Hotels For Quite

A While."

The Constable Made A Note Of This And Presently Called On Hardie, Who

Had Just Returned To Town After Visiting A Sick Farmer.  The Former

Listened To What The Minister Had To Say, But Was Not Much Impressed.

Beamish Had Cleverly Made Him His Partizan.

After Supper George And Grant Called On Hardie And Found Him Looking

Distressed.

"I'm Much Afraid That The Result Of Three Or Four Months' Earnest Work

Has Been Destroyed This Afternoon," He Said.  "Our Allies Have Stirred

Up Popular Prejudice Against Us.  We'll Meet With Opposition Whichever

Way We Turn."

"There's Something In That," Grant Agreed.  "Mrs. Nelson's A Lady Who

Would Wreck Any Cause.  Still, She Has Closed The Hotels."

"For One Night.  As A Result Of This Afternoon's Work, They Will

Probably Be Kept Open Altogether.  You Can Imagine How The Authorities

Will Receive Any Representations We Can Make, After Our Being

Implicated In This Disturbance."

"Have You Thought Of Disowning The Ladies?  You Could Do So--You Had No

Hand In The Thing."

The Young Clergyman Flushed Hotly.

"I'd Have Stopped This Rashness, If I'd Heard Of It; But, After All,

I'm The Real Instigator, Since I Started The Campaign.  I'm Willing To

Face My Share Of The Blame."

"You Mean You'll Let Beamish Make You Responsible?"

"Of Course," Said Hardie.  "I Can't Deny I'm Leader.  The Move Was A

Mistake, Considered Prudentially; But It Was Morally Justifiable.  I'll

Defend It As Strongly As I'm Able."

Grant Nodded, And Flora And Mrs. Nelson Came In.

"Are You Satisfied With What You've Done?" Grant Said To The Girl.

"You Might Have Given Me A Hint Of It."

Flora Smiled.

"I'm Afraid Beamish Was Too Clever For Us.  From An Outsider's Point Of

View, He Behaved Exceptionally Well, And In Doing So He Put Us In The

Wrong.  I Didn't Know What Had Been Planned When I Left Home, But, As

One Of The League, I Couldn't Draw Back When I Heard Of It."

"You Think He Was Too Clever?" Mrs. Nelson Broke In.  "How Absurd To

Say That!  We Have Won A Brilliant Victory!"

Grant Made A Little Gesture.

"If You're Convinced Of That, Ma'am, We'll Leave You To Talk It Over."

He Led George Toward The Door.

"I Like That Man Hardie," He Resumed When They Reached The Street.

"Beamish Has Him Beaten For The Present, But I'm Thankful There'll Be

No Women About When We Come To Grips With His Crowd.  It May Take A

While, But Those Fellows Have Got To Be Downed."

A Fortnight Had Passed Since The Affair At The Settlement When Hardie

Arrived At The Marston Homestead Toward Supper-Time.  After The Meal

Was Over, He Accompanied His Host And Edgar To The Little Room Used For

An Office.

"As I've Been Busy Since Four This Morning, I Don't Mean To Do Anything

More," Said George, "I Suppose You Don't Smoke?"

"No," Hardie Answered.  "It's A Concession I Can Make Without Much

Effort To Our Stricter Brethren.  I'm Inclined To Believe They Consider

Smoking Almost As Bad As Drink.  You Agree With Them About The Latter?"

"We Try To Be Consistent," Edgar Told Him.  "You See, I Couldn't Very

Well Indulge In An Occasional Drink When I've Undertaken To Make Those

Sage Butte Fellows Abstainers.  Anyhow, Though You're By No Means

Liberal In Your View, You're Practical People.  As Soon As I Landed At

Montreal, A Pleasant Young Man, Wearing A Silver Monogram Came Up To

Me, And Offered Me Introductions To People Who Might Find Me A Job.

Though I Didn't Want One, I Was Grateful; And When I Told Him I Wasn't

One Of His Flock, He Said It Didn't Matter.  That Kind Of Thing Makes A

Good Impression."

"How Are You Getting On At The Settlement?"

George Interposed.

Hardie Sat Silent For A Few Moments, And George Saw That His Eyes Were

Anxious And His Face Looked Worn.

"Badly," He Said.  "I Feel I Can Talk To You Freely, And That's Really

Why I Came, Though I Had Another Call To Make."

"You're Having Trouble?"

"Plenty Of It.  I've Had Another Visit From The Police, Though That's

Not A Very Important Matter; And Mrs. Nelson's Action Has Raised A

Storm Of Indignation.  It Would Be Useless To Move Any Further Against

The Sachem.  Even This Is Not The Worst.  Our People Are Split Up By

Disagreements; I've Been Taken To Task; My Staunchest Supporters Are

Falling Away."

"They'll Rally," Said George.  "Leave Those Who Haven't The Courage To

Do So Alone; You're Better Rid Of Them.  I Suppose It's Apt To Make A

Difference In Your Finances."

The Clergyman Colored.

"That's True, Though It's Hard To Own.  It Subjects One To A Strong

Temptation.  After All, We're Expected To Keep Our Churches Full--It's

Necessary."

"The Road To Success," Edgar Remarked, "Is Comparatively Easy.  Always

Proclaim The Popular View, But Be A Little More Emphatic And Go A

Little Farther Than The Rest.  Then They'll Think You A Genius And Make

Haste To Follow Your Lead."

Hardie Looked At Him Quietly.

"There's Another Way, Mr. West, And The Gate Of It Is Narrow.  I Think

It Seldom Leads To Worldly Fame."  He Paused And Sighed.  "It Needs

Courage To Enter, And One Often Shrinks."

"Well," Said Edgar, "I'll Confess That I Find The Popular Idea,

Whatever It May Happen To Be, Irritating; I Like To Annoy The People

Who Hold It By Pointing Out Their Foolishness, Which Is Partly Why I'm

Now Farming In Western Canada.  George, Of Course, Is More Altruistic;

Though I Don't Think He Ever Analyzes His Feelings.  As Soon As He Sees

Anybody In Trouble And Getting Beaten, He Begins To Strip.  I've A

Suspicion That He Enjoys A Fight!"

"If You Would Stop Talking Rot, We'd Get On Better," George Said

Curtly, And Then Turned To His Visitor.  "I Gather That You're Afraid

Of Wrecking Your Church.  It's An Awkward Situation, But I Suppose You

Have