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

Consideration; Though It's True.  I'm Interested In Certain

Investigations Which Can Be Carried Out Only In The Tropics.  However,

You'd Better Make Your Offer."

Nevis Did So, And Singleton Pondered For A Few Moments.

"The Remuneration Might Suffice, Provided That I Was Given A Percentage

On The Product And One Or Two Special Allowances; But Before Going Any

Farther I Must Understand Your Intentions.  I'm A Botanist, And Have No

Wish To Be Made Use Of Merely For The Purpose Of Furthering Some

Stock-Jobbing Scheme.  Do You Really Want This Venture Put Upon A

Satisfactory Working Footing?"

"I'll Explain," Said Nevis.  "The Fact Is, Lansing Let Us In Rather

Badly.  We Spent A Good Deal Of Money Over This Concession, And We're

Anxious To Get It Back.  Since We Can't Float The Thing On The Market

At Present, We Have Formed A Small Private Syndicate To Develop The

Property, Though We May Sell Out In A Year Or Two If You Can Make The

Undertaking Commercially Successful.  I Think You Could Count On The

Purchasers' Continuing Operations."

"Have You Considered What Lansing's Attitude May Be?"

"It Won't Matter.  He Has Gone Out Of The Business, Convinced That The

Thing's No Good; He Cleared Off Most Of His Rubber Shares, For A

Similar Reason.  This Raises Another Point--The Original Company's

Possessions Lie In The Same Region, Though Ruled By Another State, And

Things Are Going Badly There.  If You Could Get Across And See What

Could Be Done, We Would Pay An Extra Fee."

Singleton Lighted A Cigar And Leaned Back In His Chair With A

Thoughtful Expression, And For A Minute Or Two They Left Him Alone.

They Were Keen Business Men, But They Knew That Their Usual Methods

Would Not Serve Them With This Shabbily-Dressed, Self-Possessed

Botanist.

"Well," He Said At Length, "Your Suggestion Rather Appeals To Me, But

There's The Difficulty That Another Matter Claims My Attention.  Though

It Isn't Strictly In My Line, I've Been Asked To Go Out To Canada And

Assist In The Production Of A Variety Of Wheat That Will Ripen Quickly;

In Fact, I Was Looking Up Some Information Bearing On The Matter When

You Came In.  It's A Remarkably Interesting Subject."

They Were Clever Enough To See That This Was Not An Attempt To Enhance

The Value Of His Services; The Man Was Obviously A Botanical

Enthusiast, And Nevis Showed Signs Of Attention.  He Had Once Or Twice

Thought That Something Might Be Made Out Of Canadian Land Companies.

"One Could Imagine That," He Said.  "I Understand That It's A Matter Of

High Importance."

"The Development Of The Whole Northern Portion Of The Prairie Country

Depends On The Success Of The Experiments That Are Being Made,"

Singleton Went On.  "Their Summers Are Hot But Short; If They Can Get A

Grain That Ripens Early, They Can Cultivate Vast Stretches Of Land That

Are Now, From Economic Reasons, Uninhabitable, And It Would Make

Farming A More Prosperous Business In Other Tracts.  Crops Growing In

The Favored Parts Are Occasionally Frozen.  It's A Coincidence That A

Day Or Two Ago I Got A Letter Inquiring About That Kind Of Wheat From A

Friend In Canada Who Is, As It Happens, Farming With A Cousin Of

Lansing's."  Then He Laughed.  "All This, However, Has Nothing To Do

With The Object Of Your Visit.  Give Me A Few More Minutes To Think It

Over."

There Was Silence Except For The Rattle Of Wheels Outside While He

Smoked Half A Cigar; Then He Turned To His Companions.

"I'll Go Out And Undertake Your Work.  I Believe You're Acting Wisely,

And That Lansing Will Be Sorry After A While That He Threw Away His

Interest In The Scheme."

They Discussed The Details Of The Project And Then The Business Men

Went Away, Satisfied.  Shortly Afterward Singleton Took A Letter Out Of

A Paper Rack, And When He Had Read It He Leaned Back In His Chair, Lost

In Pleasant Recollections.  Some Years Earlier, He Had By Chance Fallen

In With A Lad Named West When Fishing Among The Scottish Hills.  The

Young Man's Sister And Elder Brother Were Staying With Him At The

Remote Hotel In Which Singleton Had Quarters, And Somewhat To His

Astonishment They Soon Made Friends With Him.

Poverty Had Made Him Reserved; He Knew That He Was A Little Awkward And

Unpolished, But The Wests Had Not Attempted To Patronize Him.  Their

Cordiality Set Him At His Ease; He Liked The Careless, Good-Humored

Lad; Ethel West, Grave-Eyed, Direct, And Candid, Made A Strong

Impression, And He Had Been Drawn To The Quiet Lawyer Who Was Much

Older Than Either.  They Spent Delightful Days Together On The Lake And

Among The Hills; Singleton Told Them Something About His Studies And

Ambitions, And In The Evenings They Persuaded Him To Sing.  Ethel Was A

Musician And Singleton Sang Well.  On Leaving They Had Invited Him To

Visit Them; But, Partly From Diffidence, Singleton Had Not Gone, Though

He Knew These Were Not The People Who Took A Man Up When He Could Be Of

Service And Afterward Dropped Him.

Now He Had Received A Letter From Edgar West, Saying That He Was

Farming In Western Canada And Inquiring If Singleton Could Tell Him

Anything About The Drought-Resisting And Quick-Ripening Properties Of

Certain Varieties Of Wheat.  The Botanist Was Glad To Place His

Knowledge At His Friend's Disposal, And, Taking Up Pen And Paper, He

Spent An Hour On A Treatise On The Subject, Which Was To Save Lansing

Expense And Trouble, And Bring Singleton Further Communications From

Edgar.  Then He Smoked Another Pipe And Went To Bed; And A Fortnight

Later He Sailed For The Tropics.

Shortly After He Had Gone, Herbert Heard Of His Departure, And The

Letter Containing The News Arrived On A Cheerless Afternoon During

Which His Doctor Had Visited Him.  After The Doctor Left, Herbert

Entered The Room Where His Wife And Sylvia Were, And Took His Place In

An Easy Chair By A Window.  Outside, The Lawn Was Covered With

Half-Melted Snow And The Trees Raised Naked, Dripping Branches Above

The Drooping Shrubs.  Farther Back The Hedgerows Ran Somberly Across

The White Fields, And In The Distance The Hills Loomed, Desolate And

Gray, Against A Leaden Sky.

"Ballin Says I'd Better Take It Easy For Some Time Yet," Herbert

Informed His Wife.  "In Fact, He Recommends A Trip Abroad; Algiers Or

Egypt, For Preference."  He Indicated The Dreary Prospect Outside The

Window.  "Though He Didn't Actually Insist On My Going, The Idea's

Attractive."

"Could You Leave Your Business?" Mrs. Lansing Inquired.

Herbert Smiled.

"Yes; I Think So.  I Was Doing Pretty Well When I Got Run Over, And

Things Have Since Slackened Down.  My Manager Can Look After Them While

I Am Away."

This Was Correct, So Far As It Went; But He Had Another Reason For

Deciding Not To Resume Operations For A While.  He Suspected That His

Recent Conduct Had Excited Distrust And Indignation In Certain

Quarters, But This Would, No Doubt, Blow Over Before His Return.

People Forgot, And He Could Avoid Those Whose Confidence In Him Had

Proved Expensive,

"If That's The Case, We May As Well Get Off As Soon As It Can Be

Arranged," Said Mrs. Lansing.  She Turned To Sylvia.  "Of Course, You

Will Come With Us."

Sylvia Hesitated.  She Believed Her Influence Over Bland Would Not

Weaken Much In Her Absence; But, After All, It Was Wiser To Run No

Risk.  Moreover, She Would, To Some Extent, Feel Her Separation From

The Man.

"I Really Don't Know What I Ought To Do," She Answered.  "I Might Be A

Restraint Upon You--You Can't Want Me Always At Hand; And I Could Spend

A Month Or Two With Dorothy.  She Has Several Times Told Me To Come."

"You Would Be Better With Us," Mrs. Lansing Rejoined With Firmness; And

Sylvia Suspected Her Of A Wish To Prevent Her Enjoying Bland's Society.

"I'll Think It Over," She Said.

After They Had Discussed The Projected Journey, Mrs. Lansing Withdrew

On Some Domestic Errand, And Herbert Turned To Sylvia.

"I Needn't Point Out That You'll Be No Trouble To Us, But Perhaps I'd

Better Mention That I Had A Letter From George This Post.  As There's

Very Little To Be Done Until The Spring, He Thinks Of Coming Over.  I

Don't Know How Far That May Affect Your Decision."

Sylvia Was A Little Startled, But She Reflected Rapidly.  The House Of

The Relative She Had Thought Of Visiting Would Be Open To George, As

Would Be One Or Two Others In Which She Might Stay A While.  It Was

Most Undesirable That He Should Encounter Bland, Which Would Be Likely

To Happen.  Then It Struck Her That Herbert Might Derive As Little

Satisfaction From His Cousin's Visit As It Would Afford Her.

"Have You Succeeded In Selling George's Shares Yet?" She Asked, And

Though This Was, On The Face Of It, An Abrupt Change Of Subject, She

Thought Herbert Would Follow The Sequence Of Ideas.

"No," He Answered, With A Smile Of Comprehension.  "It Was Too Late

When I Was Able To Attend To Things; They Have Dropped To Such A Price

That I'll Have To Keep Them.  I'm Afraid It Will Be A Blow To George,

And He's Having Trouble Enough Already With Your Farm; But, Luckily,

Some Other Shares I Bought On His Account Show Signs Of A Marked

Improvement Before Long."

Sylvia Inferred From This That He Had Not Informed His Cousin Of The

State Of His Affairs, And Did Not Wish To See Him Until The Improvement

Mentioned, Or Some Other Favorable Development, Should Mitigate The

Shock Of Discovering What Use Herbert Had Made Of His Powers.  It Was

Clear That It Rested With Her To Decide Whether George Made The Visit