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

Wouldn't Pay Him To Use Them Right Off; But That Was Part His Wife's

Fault.  She Drove Him Pretty Hard--Though, In Some Ways, I Guess He

Needed It."

George Frowned.  Sylvia, He Admitted, Was Ambitious, And She Might Have

Put A Little Pressure Upon Marston Now And Then; But That She Should

Have Urged Him On Toward Ruin In Her Eagerness To Get Rich Was

Incredible.

"I Think You Must Be Mistaken About His Wife," He Remarked.

"Well," Drawled The Canadian, "I'm Not Always Right."

Then A Bell Tolled Outside, An Official Shouted The Names Of Towns, And

There Was A Sudden Stir And Murmur Of Voices In The Great Waiting-Room.

Men Seized Their Bags And Bundles, Women Dragged Sleepy Children To

Their Feet, And A Crowd Began To Press About The Outlet.

"Guess That's Our Train.  She's Going To Be Pretty Full," Said The

Canadian.

The Party Joined A Stream Of Hurrying Passengers, And Regretted Their

Haste When They Were Violently Driven Through The Door And Into A

Railed-Off Space On The Platform, Where Shouting Railroad-Hands Were

Endeavoring To Restrain The Surging Crowd.  Nobody Heeded Them; The

Immigrants' Patience Was Exhausted, And They Had Suddenly Changed From

A Dully Apathetic Multitude Waiting In Various Stages Of Dejection To A

Savage Mob Fired By One Determined Purpose.  Near By Stood A Long Row

Of Lighted Cars, And The Immigrants Meant To Get On Board Them Without

Loss Of Time.  There Were Two Gates, Guarded By Officials Who

Endeavored To Discriminate Between The Holders Of First And Second

Class Tickets, But The Crowd Was In No Mood To Submit To The Separation.

It Raged Behind The Barrier, And When One Gate Was Rashly Pushed Back A

Little Too Far, A Clamorous, Jostling Mass Of Humanity Stormed The

Opening.  Its Guardians Were Flung Aside, Helpless, And The Foremost Of

The Mob Poured Out Upon The Platform, While The Pressure About The Gap

Grew Insupportable.  Women Screamed, Children Were Reft Away From Their

Mothers, Panting Men Trampled Over Bags And Bundles Torn From Their

Owners' Hands, And George And The Elderly Canadian Struggled

Determinedly To Prevent The Girl's Being Badly Crushed.  Edgar Had

Disappeared, Though They Once Heard His Voice, Raised In Angry Protest.

They Were Forced Close Up To The Outlet, When There Was A Check.  More

Officials Had Been Summoned; Somebody Had Dropped A Heavy Box Which

Obstructed The Passage, And A Group Of Passengers Began A Savage Fight

For Its Recovery.  George Seized A Man Who Was Jostling The Girl And

Thrust Him Backward; But The Next Moment He Was Struck By Somebody, And

He Saw Nothing Of His Companions When, After Being Violently Driven To

And Fro, He Reached The Gate.  A Woman With Two Screaming Children

Clinging To Her Appeared Beside Him, And He Held A Man So That She

Might Pass.  He Was Breathless, And Almost Exhausted, But He Secured

Her A Little Room; And Then The Pressure Suddenly Slackened.  The Crowd

Swept Out Like A Flood From A Broken Dam, And In A Few More Moments

George Stood, Gasping, On The Platform Amid A Thinner Stream Of Running

People.  There Was No Sign Of The Canadian Or His Daughter; The Cars

Were Besieged; And George Waited Until Edgar Joined Him, Flushed And

Disheveled.

"I Suppose I Was Lucky In Getting Through With Only My Jacket Badly

Torn," Said The Lad, "I Wondered Why The Railroad People Caged Up Their

Passengers Behind Iron Bars, But Now I Know."

George Laughed.

"I Don't Think This Kind Of Thing Is Altogether Usual.  Owing To The

Accident, They've No Doubt Had Two Trainloads To Handle Instead Of One.

But The Platform's Emptying; Shall We Look For A Place?"

They Managed To Enter A Car, Though The Stream Of Passengers, Pouring

In By The Two Vestibules, Met Within In Dire Confusion, Choking Up The

Passage With Their Baggage.  Order Was, However, Restored At Last; And,

With The Tolling Of The Bell, And A Jerk That Flung Those Unprepared

Off Their Feet, The Great Express Got Off.

"Nobody Left Behind," Edgar Announced, After A Glance Through The

Window.  "I Can't Imagine Where They Put Them All; Though I've Never

Seen A Train Like This.  But What Has Become Of Our Canadian Friends?"

George Said He Did Not Know, And Edgar Resumed:

"I'm Rather Taken With The Girl--Strikes Me As Intelligent As Well As

Fetching.  The Man's A Grim Old Savage, But I'm Inclined To Think He's

Prosperous; When A Fellow Says He Can't Afford Cigars I Generally

Suspect Him Of Being Rich.  It's A Pity That Stinginess Is One Of The

Roads To Affluence."

The Car, Glaringly Lighted By Huge Lamps, Was Crowded And Very Hot, And

After A While George Went Out On To The Rear Platform For A Breath Of

Air.  The Train Had Now Left The City, And Glancing Back As It Swung

Around A Curve, He Wondered How One Locomotive Could Haul The Long Row

Of Heavy Cars.  Then He Looked Out Across The Wide Expanse Of Grass

That Stretched Away In The Moonlight To The Dim Blur Of Woods On The

Horizon.  Here And There Clumps Of Willows Dotted The Waste, But It Lay

Silent And Empty, Without Sign Of Human Life.  The Air Was Pleasantly

Fresh After Heavy Rain; And The Stillness Of The Vast Prairie Was

Soothing By Contrast With The Tumult From Which They Had Recently

Escaped.

Lighting His Pipe, George Leaned Contentedly On The Rail.  Then

Remembering What The Canadian Had Said, He Thought Of His Old Friend

Marston, A Man Of Charm And Varied Talents, Whom He Had Long Admired

And Often Rather Humbly Referred To.  It Was Hard To Understand How

Dick Had Failed In Canada, And Harder Still To See Why He Had Made His

Plodding Comrade His Executor; For George, Having Seldom Had Occasion

To Exert His Abilities, Had No Great Belief In Them.  He Had Suffered

Keenly When Sylvia Married Dick, But The Homage He Had Offered Her Had

Always Been Characterized By Diffidence, Springing From A Doubt That

She Could Be Content With Him; And After A Sharp Struggle He Succeeded

In Convincing Himself That His Wound Did Not Matter If She Were Happier

With The More Brilliant Man.  He Had Entertained No Hard Thoughts Of

Her: Sylvia Could Do No Wrong.  His Love For Her Sprang Rather From

Respect Than Passion; In His Eyes She Was All That A Woman Ought To Be.

In The Meanwhile His New Friends Were Discussing Him In A Car Farther

Back Along The Train.

"I'm Glad I Had That Englishman By Me In The Crowd," The Man Remarked.

"He's Cool And Kept His Head, Did What Was Needed And Nothing Else.  I

Allow You Owe Him Something For Bringing You Through."

"Yes," Said The Girl; "He Was Quick And Resolute."  Then Reserving The

Rest Of Her Thoughts, She Added: "His Friend's Amusing."

"Percy?  Oh, Yes," Agreed Her Father.  "Nothing To Notice About

Him--He's Just One Of The Boys.  The Other's Different.  What That

Fellow Takes In Hand He'll Go Through With."

"You Haven't Much To Form An Opinion On."

"That Doesn't Count.  I Can Tell If A Man's To Be Trusted When I See

Him."

"You're Generally Right," The Girl Admitted.  "You Were About Marston.

I Was Rather Impressed By Him When He First Came Out."

Her Father Smiled.

"Just So.  Marston Had Only One Trouble--He Was All On Top.  You Saw

All His Good Points In The First Few Minutes.  It Was Rough On Him That

They Weren't The Ones That Are Needed In This Country."

"It's A Country That Demands A Great Deal," The Girl Said Thoughtfully.

"Sure," Was The Dry Reply.  "The Prairie Breaks The Weak And Shiftless

Pretty Quick; We Only Have Room For Hard Men Who'll Stand Up Against

Whatever Comes Along."

"And Do You Think That Description Fits The Englishman We Met?"

"Well," Said Her Father, "I Guess He Wouldn't Back Down If Things Went

Against Him."

He Went Out For A Smoke, And The Girl Considered What He Had Said.  It

Was Not A Matter Of Much Consequence, But She Knew He Seldom Made

Mistakes, And In This Instance She Agreed With Him.  As It Happened,

George's English Relatives Included One Or Two Clever People, But None

Of Them Held His Talents In Much Esteem.  They Thought Him Honest,

Rather Painstaking, And Good-Natured, But That Was All.  It Was Left

For Two Strangers To Form A Juster Opinion; Which Was, Perhaps, A Not

Altogether Unusual Thing.  Besides, The Standards Are Different In

Western Canada.  There, A Man Is Judged By What He Can Do.

After A Hot And Tedious Journey, George And His Companion Alighted One

Afternoon At A Little Station On A Branch Line, And Edgar Looked About

With Interest When The Train Went On Again.  A Telegraph Office With A

Baggage-Room Attached Occupied The Middle Of The Low Platform, A Tall