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

And Ready To Make Some Sacrifice.  He Had Been Strongly Impressed By

Sylvia On Their First Meeting, But He Had Realized That It Would Be A

Mistake To Marry Her Unless She Had Some Means.  Hitherto He Had Found

It Difficult To Meet His Expenses, Which Were Large.  He Did Not

Believe Now That Sylvia Was Rich, And He Had Seen Enough Of Her To

Suspect That She Was Extravagant, But This Did Not Deter Him.  She Had

Undoubtedly Some Possessions, And He Was Prepared To Retrench And Deny

Himself A Number Of Costly Pleasures.  Indeed, He Had Once Or Twice

Thought Of Leaving The Army.

"Then I Won't Force An Explanation On You," He Said, And Lighting

Another Cigarette, Lazily Watched Her And Tried To Analyze Her Charm.

He Failed To Do So.  Sylvia Was A Born Coquette, And Most Dangerous In

That Her Power Of Attraction Was Natural, And As A Rule She Appealed To

The Better And More Chivalrous Feelings Of Her Victims.  Fragile, And

Delicately Pretty, She Looked As If She Needed Some One To Shelter And

Defend Her From All Troubles.  Bland Decided That, Although She Rarely

Said Anything Brilliant, And He Had Seen More Beautiful Women, He Had

Not Met One Who, Taken All Round, Could Compare With Sylvia.

"What Are You Thinking Of?" She Asked At Length, With A Gleam Of

Mischief In Her Eyes.

"Oh," He Answered, Slightly Confused, "My Mind Was Wandering.  I

Believe I Was Trying To Explain A Thing That's Wrapped In Impenetrable

Mystery."

"One Wouldn't Have Imagined You Were Given To That Kind Of Amusement,

And It's Obviously A Waste Of Time.  Wouldn't It Be Wiser To Accept The

Object That Puzzles You For What It Seems, If It's Nice?"

"It Is," He Declared, Wondering Whether This Was A Random Shot On Her

Part Or One Of The Flashes Of Penetration With Which She Sometimes

Surprised Him.

"Your Advice Is Good."

"I Believe So," Responded Sylvia.  "If A Thing Pleases You, Don't Try

To Find Out Too Much About It.  That's The Way To Disappointment."

She Was A Little Astonished At His Reply.

"Perhaps It's A Deserved Penalty.  One Should Respect A Beautiful

Mystery--Unquestioning Faith Is A Power.  It Reacts Upon Its Object As

Well As Upon Its Possessor."

"Even If It's Mistaken?"

"It Couldn't Be Altogether So," Bland Objected.  "Nothing That Was

Unworthy Could Inspire Real Devotion."

"All This Is Far Too Serious," Said Sylvia, Petulantly; For Her

Companion's Moralizing Had Awakened A Train Of Unpleasant Reflections.

She Did Not Think Unquestioning Faith Was Common, But She Knew Of One

Man Who Was Endowed With It, And He Was Toiling For Her Sake On The

Desolate Western Prairie.  Once Or Twice His Belief In Her Had Roused

Angry Compunction, And She Had Revealed The More Unfavorable Aspects Of

Her Character, But He Had Refused To See Them.

"Then What Shall We Talk About?" Bland Inquired.

"Anything That Doesn't Tax One's Brain Severely.  Yourself, For

Example."

"I'm Not Sure That's Flattering, And It's An Indifferent Topic; But I

Won't Back Out.  As I Gave You Your Choice, I Must Take The

Consequences."

"Are You Always Ready To Do That?"  There Was A Tiny Hint Of

Seriousness In Her Voice.

"Well," He Said With Some Dryness, "I Generally Try."

There Was Something That Reminded Her Of George In His Expression.  The

Man, She Thought, Would Redeem What Pledge He Gave; He Might Be Guilty

Of Rashness, But He Would Not Slink Away When The Reckoning Came.  Then

She Became Conscious Of A Half-Tender Regret.  It Was A Pity That

George Was So Fond Of The Background, And Left It Only When He Was

Needed, While Brand Was A Prominent Figure Wherever He Went, And This

Was, Perhaps, The One Of His Characteristics Which Most Impressed Her.

Then He Rather Modestly Began The Brief Account Of His Career, Adding

Scraps Of Information About His Relatives, Who Were People Of Station.

He Did Not Enlarge Upon Several Points That Were In His Favor, But He

Omitted To State That He Had Now And Then Been On The Verge Of A

Financial Crisis.

Sylvia Listened With Keen Interest, And Asked A Few Questions To Help

Him On; But When He Finished She Let The Subject Drop.  Soon Afterward

She Glanced Down The Road, Which Was Growing Dim.

"I Wish Your Man Would Come.  It's Getting Late," She Said.

"He Can't Be Much Longer.  I Don't Think You Need Be Disturbed."

"I Am Disturbed," Sylvia Declared.  "I Really Shouldn't Have Come

To-Day; You Will Remember I Hesitated."

"Then It Was A Temptation?"

Sylvia Smiled Rather Wistfully.  "That Must Be Confessed; I Need A

Little Stir And Brightness And I So Seldom Get It.  You Know Muriel; I

Owe Her A Good Deal, But She's So Dull And She Makes You Feel That

Everything You Like To Do Is Wrong."

"But You Haven't Been Very Long With Mrs. Lansing.  Wasn't It Different

In Canada?"  Bland Had A Reason For Venturing On The Question, Though

It Was Rather A Delicate One.

"I Can Hardly Bear To Think Of It!  For Four Months In The Year I Was

Shut Up, Half-Frozen, In A Desolate Homestead.  There Was Deep Snow All

Round The Place; Nobody Came.  It Was A Day's Drive To A Forlorn

Settlement; Nothing Ever Broke The Dreary Monotony.  In Summer One Got

Worn Out With The Heat And The Endless Petty Troubles.  There Was Not A

Moment's Rest; The House Was Filled With Plowmen And Harvesters,

Uncouth Barbarians Who Ate At Our Table And Must Be Waited On."

Bland Was Moved To Pity; But He Was Also Consoled.  As She Had Not

Mentioned Marston, She Could Not Greatly Have Felt His Loss.  Sylvia

Must Have Married Young; No Doubt, Before She Knew Her Mind.

"I Wish," He Said Quietly, "I Could Do Something To Make Your Life A

Little Brighter."

"But You Can't.  I've Had One Happy Day--And I'm Grateful.  It Must

Last Me A While."

He Leaned Forward, Looking At Her With An Intent Expression.

"Sylvia, Give Me The Right To Try."

She Shrank From Him With A Start That Was Partly Natural, For She Was

Not Quite Prepared For A Bold Avowal.

"No," She Said In Alarm.  "How Can I Do That?"

"Don't You Understand Me, Sylvia?  I Want The Right To Take Care Of

You."

She Checked Him With A Gesture.

"It Is You Who Can't Understand.  Do You Think I'm Heartless?"

"Nothing Could Make Me Think Hardly Of You," He Declared.

"Then Show Me Some Respect And Consideration.  It Was What I Looked

For; I Felt I Was Safe With You."

Though He Had Not Expected Strong Opposition, He Saw That She Was

Determined.  He Had Been Too Precipitate, And While He Had No Idea Of

Abandoning His Purpose, He Bowed.

"If I've Offended, You Must Forgive Me--I Thought Of Nothing Beyond My

Longing For You.  That Won't Change Or Diminish, But I've Been Rash And

Have Startled You.  I Must Wait."

He Watched Her In Keen Anxiety, But Sylvia Gave No Hint Of Her

Feelings.  As A Matter Of Fact, She Was Wondering Why She Had Checked

And Repulsed Him.  She Could Not Tell.  A Sudden Impulse Had Swayed

Her, But She Was Not Sorry She Had Yielded To It.  Her Hold On The Man

Was As Strong As Ever; The Affair Was Not Ended.

There Was Silence For The Next Few Minutes.  It Was Growing Dark; The

Hills Had Faded To Blurs Of Shadows, And The Moor Ran Back, A Vast, Dim

Waste.  Then A Twinkling Light Moved Toward Them Up The Ascending Road.

Bland Rose And Pointed To It.

"I Dare Say The Man Has Got The Things He Needed.  We'll Be Off Again

Shortly," He Said In His Usual Manner; And Sylvia Was Grateful.

In Another Half-Hour The Car Was Ready, And When Bland Helped Sylvia In

And Wrapped The Furs About Her, There Was Something New In His Care For

Her Comfort.  It Was A Kind Of Proprietary Gentleness Which She Did Not

Resent.  Then They Sped Away Across The Dusky Moor.

Sylvia Finished Her Round Of Visits In A State Approaching Insolvency.

Mrs. Kettering, With Whom She Stayed Some Time, Indulged In Expensive

Amusements, And Though She Would Have Listened With Good-Humor To A

Plea Of Poverty, Sylvia Declined To Make It.  She Would Not Have Bland

Suspect The State Of Her Affairs, And While He Remained In The House

She Took Her Part In All That Went On, Which Included Card-Playing For

High Stakes.  As It Happened, She Had A Steady Run Of Misfortune.

Bland Sympathized With Her And Occasionally Ventured A Remonstrance,

But She Could See