T H E H EART O F

C H E R RY MC BA I N
fl N o v e l

BY

D O U G LA S D U R K I N

H A R PE R 8a B R O T H E R S PU BL I S H E R S
N E W Y O R K A ND LO N D O N
 CO NT E N TS

CH A PTm E I G H TEE N

218 5196
 TH E H E A R T O F
CH E R R Y M c BA I N

CH APTER O NE

A
LTH OUGH it wa s late afternoon it wa s
v e r y hot—hot even fo r August The .

horse ambled sleepily up the dusty trail ,

his head low and his eyes not more than half
op en. The rein hung loosely over his neck where
it had been tossed by the rider who s a t dozin g
in the saddle his two hands folded acros s the
,

pommel in front o f him The only al e rt member

.

o f the group for there were three o f these co m

,

p anions of the road was the dog a mongrel collie

, ,

that trotted ahead with tongue hanging or waited ,

panting in the middle o f the trail for the horse

and ri der to come up .

Suddenly the horse stumb led clumsily an d the

&
rider came to him self wi th a start .

“ ”
Steady up you fool he said and then as if
, , ,

he regretted the tone in which he had spoken he ,

leaned fo rward slightly and passed his hand

along the hot neck shinin g with sweat and ,

bru shed away the big brown flies that clustered

’
about the horse s ears .
2 T HE HE A RT OF C HERRY McBAI N

H e picked up the rein and looked about him .

A f e w yards ahead the trail dipped slowly away

to the east in a long Wi nding cu rve that circled
the brow of a little hill B ringing the horse to a
.

stand he turned and glanced behind him To

,
.

the west the trail fell away and lost itself in a

wide valley out o f which he had ridden du rin g the
aftern oon H e got down from the s addl e and
.
,

tossing the rein over the horse s hea d to the ’

ground snapped his fingers to the dog and

,

s crambled up the si d e o f the little hill o n his right

to where a pile of tumbled ta ma r a cs lay j ust a s
they had fallen during a fire that had scorched
the hills a year or two b e fore In a minute he
.

had clambered upon the topmost timber and

stood hat in hand looking down into the valley .

As he stood there in the full light of the late

afternoon s un anyone catching a glim pse o f him
from a distance would have been impressed most
with the bi gness of the man But with all his
.

bigness he was not heavy-footed no r awkward ly ,

poised The ease with which he had sp rung up

.

the side of the hill and had leaped from o ne

,

fallen timber to another until he had reached the

spot where he stood was onl y possible where
,

str ong muscles are well co-o rdinated and work

 TH E HEART OF C HERRY McBAI N 3

together in perfect harmony And yet as he drew

.

hims elf up to hi s full height there was but little

there that bes poke agility H e looked heavy ex
.

cept perhaps about the hips H is broad shoul

, ,
.

ders appeared too broa d partly because of the

,

slight s t00p forward that seemed to lengthen the

line that marked the cu rve fro m shoulder to
shoulder across the back H is face was the face
—
.

of a youth but of a youth grown serious There .

was a s e t to the j a w that s eemed to hint at a p ast

in which grim de te r min a tio n ha d often been his
‘

sole resource and there were lines about the

,

mouth that told of hard living H is eyes were the

.

eyes o f a man who has wondered much abo ut

—
thin gs and was still wondering
Fo r it had occurred to King H owden—as it
.

h a s probably oc curred to every man sometime or

—
other that the game was not wo rth the candle .

’
The significant thing about King s wondering ,

however was the fa ct that it had gone o n for

,

months without leading to any other conclusion .

In a littl e less than a month he would b e twenty

’
eight and he couldn t help feeling that life should
,

be taking shape Te n years ago when he had

.
,

struck o ut into the world alone a serious -faced

,

bo y whose heart swelled at the prospect of livin g

a great free life in the O pen places of the world he ,
4 T HE HEA R T OF C HERRY McBAI N

had thought that by the time he reached twenty

eight he would have seen some o f his dreams ,

at least approaching realization

,
. Now as he
thought it over he knew that he had failed and
, ,

the knowledge had a strange e ff ect upon him .

Down there where the valley lay filled with the

blue haze o f late summer a haze that was
,

touched with silver from the sun—a little village

stood hidden among the trees that lined the
banks o f a small creek that chattered noisily over
its shingly bed It was an odd kind of a village
.
,

that To begin with it had no name

. . It was
known simply as The Town having sprung into
,

being in a single season as the gathering pl ace of

“ ”
the scores of new settlers from the outside the
,

vanguard of the army o f nation-builders ,

eager to secure desirable locations before the rail

road should enter and link up the valley with the
world at large F or months the settlers had gone
.

in over a hill trail o f a hundred and twenty five -

miles or more Gathering their equipment to

.

gether they had hitched their teams of sleepy

,

eyed oxen to prairie schooners and had poked

toilsomely along for days over a trail that only
the bravest hearts would ever have followed for
its entire length But the reward wa s a worthy
o ne—
.

a generous plot o f vi rgin soil as fertile as

 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N 5

a nything the prairies of Western Canada could

show .

And s o the town had S prung into being at a

spot chosen by the men who had blazed the trail .

There was a certain native beauty about the

place in its pretty stream that brought the cool
, ,

fresh water from the sp rings in the hills and in ,

the full bosomed elms and rustling silver poplars

-

’
and fragrant balm o -gilead that dappled with
-

shadows the su rface o f the creek and made a ,

cool retreat for weary travellers coming in hot

and dusty from the long trail Some day—it .

could not be long now— the steel ribbons o f o ne

of
’
Canada s great transcontinental railways
would bind the village to the world that lay b e
yond the hills and then The Town would be no
more Its p roud successor would rise U p some
.

where along the line and the old p l ace woul d be

,

forgotten .

In the meantime the place ha d a distinctive ex

iste n ce o f its own In short as is the manner
.
-

with small town s the world over—it had a way

with it King Howden who had been among the
.
,

first to come had watched it grow and had come

,

to know it very well H e knew that young .

,

though the village was it had its secrets and , ,

when a town talks behind its hand someone must ,

 T HE HEA R T OF C H ERRY McBAI N

needs feel uneasy King s face had grown grave

.
’

o n many occasions during his f e w months of life

in this little frontier town The villagers were

.

evidently concern e d about this big slow moving

-
,

fellow who had nothing much to s a y to anyone ,

and who after delivering his weekly bag of mail

,

into the hands of old man H urley the kindly o ld ,

Government Agen t in the place habitually be at ,

a s hy retreat to the little cabin he had built o n a

q uarter section o f land that lay west o f the town .

’
And King s face w a s grave now as he shaded
“

his eyes with one hand in an eff o rt to pierce the

haze and get a glimpse o f the white tents an d the
roughly-built huts that stood down there amon g
the trees.

H e did not know ex actl y where he shoul d loo k

to find the town for it was his first trip over a
,

n e w trail that led from the railway construction

camp to the town Once every two weeks o r s o

.

du ring the summer he had gone o ut by the long

trail and returned with a bag o f mail slung be
hind him On thos e longer trip s he had often
.

perched himself u pon some hill overlooking the

valley and dreamed away an hour or so a s he
thought o f the future —and o f the pas t .

“
Now he was o n a new tr ail The en d-of the
. q

”
steel had daily crep t closer to the valley and a t
 TH E HEART OF C HE RRY McBAI N 7

l ast he had been notifi ed that future deliveries of

mail for the settlement would be made at the
rail way supply camp at the end o f the line .

King H owden ha d l oitered du ring that s um

mer aftern oon and the loitering wa s not all o n
,

account o f the hea t There is rom a nce in a new

.

trail that ha s b e en fres hly-blazed and newly

cl eared, an d King H owden—though he never
would have admitted it ev en to himself—liked the
rom a n ce that sp rings to m e et o ne at every bend
in a n e wly ma de roadway
-
.

O n a bright day he might have seen the white

tents and lo g cabins o f The Town quite easily .

B ut to-day it wa s quite hidden behind a smoky

blu e-white curtain that obs cu red every thing be
yon d a radius o f only a few miles .

“ ”
Too thick to day Sal he s aid a ddr e s sing th e
-
, , ,

dog as he p r ep ared to get do wn .

At the sound of he r name the dog edged U p a

little closer along the lo g and r ubbed her nos e
a ff ectionately agains t his knee King s mil e d .

slowly and then instead o f gettin g down to th e

,

ground imm e di ately he s q uatte d low and too k

,

the d og s ears i n his hands

’
.

“
S a l yo u o l d cus s
,
”
he said slowly loo k me
, ,

in the eye D yo u r e member the day I took yo u

.
’

in ? Y o u co mm on old purp I s aved your life ,

8 T HE HEA R T OF C HER RY McBAI N
when yo u were nothing but just p lain o rnery ,
’
pup If I hadn t come along that day and given
.

&
promi ses to take you away gunnysack and all
—splash —you d been a dead dog Sal
,
’
.
,

H e turned the dog s head sideways as he spo k e

’

and thrust it downwards violently in imitation

o f W hat might have occurred early in the dog s
’

history and s o have terminated her career s ud

de nly had he not happened along at the criti cal
moment The dog blinked her eyes and licked
.

her j aws by w a y of reply .

“
And a dead dog ain t worth speaking about ’
,
“ ’ ’
Sal he continued
,
But you re a sure nough
.

live dog even if you are common stu ff and not

.
—
much account And I like you Sal sure I like , , ,

yo u I like you for staying round I like yo u

. .

’
because you don t squeal If you were a squealer .

now — I d shoot you in a minute

’ ”
.

He bent over and rubbed hi s head against the

’
animal s face Then he sprang up
. .

“
Come o n you l azy o l d cuss you he ex
, , ,

&
“
claimed quickly Don t you know there s a long
.
’ ’

’ ”
bit 0 trail ahead yet ? Come o n
In a moment he was mounted again and o n his
way About twenty miles of trail lay ahead o f
.

him before he should come to the end of his j our

ney Although the aftern oon was rapidly wear
.

ing away and the westering s un already turning

 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N

red a bove the valley there was no special cause

for hurry King loved the trail in the long
.

no rthern evenings when the scent o f spru ce and

tamarac came down from the hills and mingle d
with the delicate perfume of the prai r ie roses that
came up from the valley H e love d the chang
.

ing colors deepening in the twilight H e loved

.

to hear the night voices awakenin g one after a n

other O ften he had taken the trail late in the
.

evening in midsummer to escape the heat o f the

day and to watch the arc o f daylight gr owing
smaller as it shifted its way round to the north
in the early night until it hung like the edge o f a
huge grey disc j ust showing a t we the no r thern
most point o f the horizon H e had often watched
.

the dis c move eastward and grow again with the

hou rs until it spread o ut into the glorious dawn
o f another d ay and in his o wn way he loved it all
—fo r it made him feel that he was a p art o f the
,

great s cheme o f things Fo r a while then he felt

sure o f himself—and that was a goo d feeling fo r
.

King H owden .

O nly a few miles more and he would be out

o n the right -o f-way w here stood old Keith Mc
’
B ain s construction camp It made a convenient
.

pl ace for a p aus e half-way in the trip and the

,

ca mp in cidentally boasted the best cook o n the

B
10 T HE H EA R T OF C HERRY McBAI N
—
line a fact that might have had some bearing
Upon King s deci sion to make camp about supper
’

ti me.

A short three miles farther o n the trail took a

,

little dip to the left down the slope o f a wooded

ridge and emerged upon the O pen right-o f— wa y .

I t was within half an hour o f general q uitting

time and the teamsters had already begun to
leave the grade their sweating horses hurrying
,

q uickly away in the dust with trace-chains clink

,

ing and harnes s rattling The rest o f the gang

.

were still at work clearing the ground of stumps

and logs and roughly levelling the piles O f earth
,
“ ”
that had been thrown up by the slushers dur
ing the afternoon .

King had stood upon right -o f-

ways before but ,

the p rospect fascinated him as much to -day as it

had done the first day he had ever looked along
the narrowing perspective o f an O pen avenue can
y o ne d between two rows o f trees and in th e
,

centre a long straight line o f grey-brown earth

heaped up into a grade H e slipped down from
.

the s addle and walked l eisurely along the trail

that skirted the side o f the right-o f-way his eyes
,

upon the men who went about their work quietly

and with no more enthusiasm than o ne might
expe ct fro m human beings Whose thanks to a
 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N 11

benevolent Providence found daily e xp ressio n in

“ ”
the formula another day another dollar
, ,
.

King foun d a bit of innocent diversion in the

efforts of four g r unting and expostul ating work
men who ha d lifted a log from the ground and
were stumbling clumsily with it towards the
right-O f-way The log was not so large that fou r
.

m en coul d not have handled it easily King .

s mil ed as he watched them and thought to him

,

self that two men coul d have picked it up and

taken it awa y without great effort Suddenly a
.

veritable to rrent o f p r ofanity broke upon hi s

ears and the forem a n who had been standing
,

near rushed up threw his arms about the log

,

and scattering all four o f them carried it o fi

,
’

alone and th rew it upon a pile o f stump s and

roots that stood a few feet back from the trail .

King found him self all at once wondering what

he himself coul d have d one with a lo g of the same
size.

H e came to hi mself suddenly again at the

sound o f the foreman s voice and l o oke d round
’

j ust in time to s ee Sal leap to o ne side and run

towards him to escape a stick that came hurtling
“

’
along the ground near the dog s feet King
.

steppe d o ut quickly to protect the dog As he .

d id so he s a w th e foreman stan ding a few yards

12 T HE HE AR T OF C HERRY McBAI N

a way his face twisted into a grin Fo r a moment

,
.

the two men eyed each other Then King spoke ; .

“ ”
Quit that he s aid in a voice that trembl ed
,

with rising p assion .

The foreman s only reply was a fe w muttered

’ ’

wor ds o f profanity that King did not hear o r ,

hearing did not consider wo rthy o f any account .

H is concern was for the mongrel collie that had

n a r rowly escaped inj ury and was now fawning ,

and whining about his legs .

“ ’ ’
Don t do that he said She s my dog .

Your dog—what the

, .

&
“
The foreman grinned .

”
devil do I care whose dog it is
King spoke without moving and his voice was
“
now clear and steady You don t need to care
.
’

”
yo u didn t hit her
’
-e
.

“ ” ’
Well I tried didn t I ?
, ,
“
I s a y you didn t hit her King replied
’

—
,
“ ”
slowly and I I don t want yo u to
,
’
.

Fo r a mom ent the two men stood looking at

eac h other silently wi thout movi ng King s face .
’

wa s grave and o ne corner of his mouth twitched

a little in anger The grin never left the face o f
.

the forema n; it was still there when he finally

turned away and strode towards the men who
wer e at work o n the grade a short distance o ff .

King watched him closely fo r a while and then

14 T HE H EA R T OF C HERRY McBAI N

the trail an d dropped it in th e

underbrush .

Measuring it again with his eyes he kicked it ,

it wa s sound to the hea r t .

“ ”
I can do it he s aid a loud to himself and I
,

be liev e i — ’
f anything it s a bigger piece
L -
.

Even as he spoke he became aware o f som e one

watching him Something suspiciously like a
.

chuckle came from the bushes near by and he

r aised his eyes quickly Not more than a do z en
.

p a ces away half-hidden in the shrubbery stood

, ,

a girl knee - deep in the matted vines a sheaf of ,

wild roses in her a r ms .

Fo r a moment King was unable to stir It was .

as if an app arition had suddenly broken in o n his

—
imagination a riotous app arition of d ark hair ,

l aughing eyes and delicate pink roses .

When he came to himself he moved back awk

wa r dly and was in the act o f lifting the bridle
rein when he was arrested by a burst of laughter
that caused him to turn again and stan d looking
at her the bridle-rein hanging loosely in hi s
—
,

hand H is look was a question and her only

.

answer was a laugh a s s he came o ut from the

co ver of the b ushes an d stood upon the log that
King had j ust moved from the other side o f the
trail F rom this position o f advantage s he looked
.

at him her eyes al mo st on a level with his

, .
 T HE HE A R T OF C HERR Y McBAI N 15

I it all s he decl ared and King thought

sa w , ,

the exp ression o n he r face was les s mischievou s

now .

“ ”
What ? he asked .

“
Y o u take a dare from a man and walk aw a y
”
to have it o ut by yourself with a l o g .

There was a flash o f fire m her eyes a s she

spoke and Kin g became the vi ctim o f mingle d
anger a nd self-rep roach While he hesitate d to
.

make a reply the girl hopp e d down from the log

and brushing p ast him, walke d quickly down the
,

trail towards the camp .

When s he had gone almost out o f easy hea r

&
in g distance b e straightened himself su dd enly .

” ’
I di dn t he called after her but s he p ai d no t,

the slightest heed .

A minute l ater he sta rted off for the ca mp '

afo ot hi s hors e following behind him An d a s he

, .

went he thought over the words in which he

found no thing but rep roach, an d worst o f al l
contempt
‘
You too k a dare he repeated an d then to
, ,

&
“
himself he said over and over again I di dn t ,
’

” ’
I didn t
 CH APTE R TW O

LI TTLE more than an hour l ater King

left the cook-camp an d went to the co rral
where his horse well rested from the first
,

half of the j ourney stoo d ready and waiting fo r

,

him .

H e was in the act o f throwing the s addle onto

the horse when he stopped suddenly and listened .

F ro m round the corner of the corral c ame the

sound of voices of men in dispute .

“
Any man who tries to call B ill Mcc artney
”
had better be sure he hol d s a good hand ,

the most empha tic o f the spea k ers d eclared

‘

In aff airs o f this kin d King H owden had a

kind of instinct that he invari ably trusted Som e .

thing told him that the man whose name he heard

wa s the big foreman whom he had seen o n the
gra de before supper H e felt too that he him
.
, ,

s elf was un der dis cussion and l aying the s ad dle

,

down he walke d quietly to the corner an d listene d

fo r a moment H e had no liking for eavesdrop
—
.

ping and yet he had not recovered from the

,

s ting of the words that ha d fallen from the lips

16
 T HE HE AR T OF C H ERRY McBAI N 17

the girl ; the look of reproach in her d a rk eyes

of

wa s still vividly before him B ut those word s .

were the word s o f a girl When men speak dis .

p a r a in l
g g y o f another the case is a di f
f erent ,

o ne .

H e ste p ped round the corner of the corra l an d

stood before a half dozen o f M cB a in s men ’

l ounging upon bales of p r es se d hay smoking ,

after-su p per pi p es .

For moment there was a silence so tense that

a

even Kin g who might have been prepared fo r it

, ,

began to feel uncomfortable .

No use s aid o ne of the grou p at last .

“
We were t alkin about you an Bill M cCa r tne y
’ ’
.

Looked fo r a while like someone was in for a

”
lickin thi s aftern oo n
’
.

Kin g looked at the sp eaker H e was an old .

man too old really to be combatting the rigors

‘

, , ,

o f c amp life His voi c e was thin even high

.
,

pitche d but King coul d not help observing the

,

very apparent effo r t the O ld man was making to

’
be pleasant And yet the line where Ki ng s lips
.
,

met drew straight an d tightened perceptibly .

“ ”
My boy the o ld man went o n very pleas
, ,
“
a ntly but not patronizingly don t bother B ill ’

—
,

M cc a r tney We don t love him non e but we

.
’

”
t al k when he ain t roun d
’
H e wa s speaking
’
.
18 TH E HEART OF CHER RY McBAI N
v ery directly and had begun to fill his pipe
no w
“
deliberately The boys can tell you about him
. .

’
There s a hardy youngster here in camp by the
name o f Lush Curri e
The o ld man was interrupted suddenly by the
l aughter o f the other members o f the group At .

first he seemed ready to join in the choru s he had

unwittingly provoked but he gl anced once at ,

King and checked himself immediately Then .

he turned to the men with a look in which there

wa s a mingling of anger and appeal .

“ ” “
Well he s ai d abruptly what are you
, ,
”
l a ughin a t?
’

’
If the remark relieved the old man s embar
r a s s me nt it certainly did no t check the hilarity of

the men But when King stepped forward and

.

looked at them with a slow smile playing about

the corners o f his lips and drawing the lines of
hi s mouth even more tensely the l aughing ceased ,

at once and the men waited in silence for him to

speak .

“ ’
Don t you go to making p lans for me a nd this
ma n M cCa r tne y Kin g s aid and his steady
,
”
, ,

ga z e seemed to take them all in at once as he

sp o k e .
“
You better get straight on this—Mc
C artney hasn t done me a speck o harm—not
’ ’

”
ye t he hasn t ’
.
 TH E HEA R T OF C HERRY McB AI N 19

Pray go ddle mighty hard he don t replie d ’

& ”

o ne o f the men but the remark elicited scarcely

,

m i —
more than a s le from the others and not even
s o much as a smile from the o l d man .

“
A nd I m no t going to lose time praying a bout
’

”
it either King observed his eyes u p on the
, , ,

speaker .

H e turned an d went bac k to his horse where ,

he proceeded in a leisurely way to adj ust the

s a dd le In a few minutes he was ready to leave
.
,

and wa s o n the point of getting up when he heard

a step approaching and pausing to look behind
,

him observed the o l d man coming round the co r

ner o f the corral H e was alone and as he came
.
,

forward he too k his pip e from his mouth and

tapped the bowl gently against the p alm of his
han d to empty it .

“
lVIy name s Gabe Smi th he s ai d in his high
’

, ,
“ ”
thin voice a n yours ?,
’

King gave him his name .

T he o ld
man extended his hand cordially and ,

King recognizing at once that the ove r tures were

,

meant to be frien d ly could not help feeling ,

wa rm ly towards him They ex chang e d a few .

wo rd s that served to co n fi rm King s opinion o f ’

the sincerity o f o ld Gabe Smith an d then getting , ,

20 T HE HE A R T OF C HERR Y McBAI N
into his s addle King turne d his horse s hea d
,
’

down the trail .

Just once before he u rged his horse into a ga l

&
IOp he turned and looked behind him .

“ ”
Sal you he called to his dog
,
.

A t the summons the do g leaped from the side

o f the trail and the three went o ff toge ther in the
gathering dus k
It wa s p erhaps only natural that King s m
.

ind
’
f
, ,

should dwell more o r less Upon the disturbing ele

ment that du ring the pas t few hours had come
, ,

unbi d den into his life E arly that afternoon his

.

mind had been occupied mainly with me mo r ie s l

o f a p ast that had been woven o ut o f failure an d

disappointment and sha p eles s motive Now .

,

with an O pen trail before him his mind was fi lled

,

with new hopes and strange misgivings .

H is mis givings were not Without good reason ,

had he known the full truth Bill M cCa r tne y

.
,

the big foreman with Keith McBa in s outfit com ’

,

ma nde d the respect whi ch hard-fi s te d men in

variably p ay to those whose reputation for heavy
hitting goes before the m wherev e r they m ove .

When he cam e to Keith McBa in s camp his repu

’
s

ta tion had prece d ed hi m by at least a week By .

so m e mysterio us way for which there is no a c

,
,

counting the men ha d been prepared for days

,
22 T HE H EART OF C HERRY McBAI N

fi rst p roved his ability to live up to his reputation .

B efore McCa rtne y s arrival the name o f Lush

’ “ ”

C urri e, a thick set bony fellow who had carried

-
,

o ff the honors in many a fight to the finish had ,

a lways been mentioned with something o f the

s ame deference that was now accorded the new

foreman In fact Currie was o ne o f the few

.
,

doubters who were unwise enough to have ex

p ressed openly their o wn personal contempt for
reputations that were unproved H e spoke once .
,

however when Mc c artney was within hearing

, .

The small group who had witnessed the affair

“ ”
afterwards s aid that Lush had spoken very un
wi sely No o ne at the time knew exactly what
—
.

had occurred though they worked out all the

details with great care later All agreed that only
.

one blow had been struck and that blow was M c

,

Ca r tne y s B efore Currie ha d a chance to defend

’
.

himself he was lying in a heap o n the ground .

Though M cCa r tn e y waited for him to get up ,

“ ”
Lush could not find his feet without the help
o f a Couple o f men who were standing near who
,

lifted him and helped him o ff to his bunk where ,

fo r a few days he nursed a broken j aw .

The incident had caused no end o f discussion .

Some felt that Currie had not been given a s quare

’

deal there was such a thing as a fair fi ght

-
 T HE H EART OF C HERRY McBAI N 23

Currie shoul d have been given some warning .

The aff air prov ed nothing s o far as Bill McCa rt

nef s fightin g ability was c oncerned ; it shoul d
be fought over again and un doubtedly woul d
, .

O thers protested that Currie had no right to talk

about M cC tne y unless he wanted to fig t that
a r h —
he should have been p repared for what had hap
—
pened H e had been warned h e got only what
.

was coming to him and would probably know

,

better than to seek further trouble .

“ ”
But Lush Currie gave neither promise nor
—
explanation a fact that in the O pinion of the
,

great majority o f Keith McB a in s men prove d ’

,

hi s wisdom if it did not a

,

ta tio n fo r courage .
fi nything to his repu

But thes e were things that King di d not know .

H e only wondered about the man M c Ca r tn e y in

—
whom he found though he could not have told
,

—
why the embodiment of a new and sinister a n
ta go nis m H e could not help feeling that some
.

how powers over which he had no control were

d ealing the cards and he had to play the game
, .

H a d it not been for the fact that another

Hi s mind went back to the l aughing eyes o f
the girl that had spoken to him from the cover
of the bushes hesi d e the tr a il x
.

O verhea d the night-hawks whistle d an d

24 THE H EART O F C HE RRY McBAI N

s wooped down with whirring wings above the

tree— tops The damp scent o f low mist-fi ll e d hol
.

lows came to him o n the motionles s air mingled

,

with the cool fresh fragrance o f the S pruce Little .

waves o f warm air rose from the tr ail that had

l ain all day under a burning s ky The occasional
.

call o f a distant coyote whined across the plains ,

and returned in numberless echoes till it brok e

a nd died into silence .

Sudden ly Sal s top p e d in the tr a il and stoo d

looking back her hea d up her ears pricked for
, ,

ward her tail brushing from side to side King

, .

reined his horse in to a walk and listened H e .

could hear the rhythmi c beat o f hoofs o n the

trail some distance behind him F rom the soun d
.

they made he knew the rider was coming fast .

Curiosity overcame him and he turned about

,
.

and waited at a po int in the trail from which he

could look from cover across a deep hollow to
where the trail was visible windin g along near the
base of the hill H e had been waiting only a fe w
.

moments when the horse and rider came into

vi ew. The light had almost gone by now but ,

there wa s sti ll enough left o f the long n or thern

summer twilight to make it possible fo r him to
follow the di ml y-o utlined fi gures of horse an d
rider unti l they su dd enly v anish e d whr e the &
 TH E HE AR T OF C HERRY McBAI N 25

trail ran hi dden through a stretch of evergreens .

When they emerged they were only a few yards

away and in full sight The rider was none other
.

than the girl whose image he had kept before him

in the failing twilight .

H is first impulse was to turn his horse s head ’

acros s the trail—he could not believe that the girl

he had seen that afternoon was a ctually in con
trol o f the animal s he rode But not more than
.

a dozen paces away the horse planted his feet b e

fore him suddenly stopped with a j erk and rose
, ,

o n his hind legs . Then with front feet still in the

air he pivoted round and bolted away in the O p
po s ite direction . King w a s amazed to s e e the girl
keep her seat but his amazement increased when
, ,

j ust before rea ching the turn the horse stopped

,

suddenly a s he had done before and wheeling ,

about came up the trail towards him again at the

s ame wild pace King s too d aside this time and
.

caught a glimpse o f the girl s face as she shot p ast

’

him The expression he s a w there was enough

.

to dispel any fea rs that he mi ght have enter

ta in e d for her s afety A few yards down the trail
.

the horse turned aga in and he s a w the gi rl strike

,

him across th e nose with her quirt .

Then for fully ten minutes he watch ed a battle

royal between a slender girl and a horse whose
c
26 T HE HE A R T O F C HERRY McB AI N

S pirit had never been broken . H e had seen men

breakin g horses to the s addle and he had thrilled
,

to the excitement o f it But this fight was dif

.

fe r e nt The girl who held her seat in the b attle

.

that was being fought o ut before him did her

work fearlessly firmly and without speaking a
, ,

word and King took o ff his hat and s a t watching

,

in silence .

B ack and forth they went o n the trail the horse ,

l eaping and rearing at the turns the girl wearing ,

him down gradually with sharp strokes o f her

quirt across the nose The horse shook his head
.

at every stroke and came b ack after ea ch turn

with as much app arent determination a s ever .

The girl kept her place without a smile he r eyes ,

steadily before her intent o n every mov e

, .

T he end came suddenly A q ui ck stroke

. ,

caught the animal j ust a s his front feet were

about to leave the ground and he stood quivering
,

in every limb champing his bit and shaking his

,

head in an effort to sla cken the bridle rein that

the girl held firmly in her hand ; Then as he
stood trembling and subdued the girl spoke for
, ,

the first time and turning him slowly round

,

brought him down the trail at a walk .

King wanted to c r y o ut in admiration o f the

'

superb manner in which the girl had conducte d

 T HE HE ART OF CHE RRY McB AI N 27

herself in the struggle but when s he came to

,

where he stoo d S he brought her horse to a stan d

still an d turned to him with a smile—and Kin g
was dumb .

Women ha d never been a concern of King

H owde n s H e had never been able to q uite un
’
.

de r s ta nd their ways and he ha d come to the con

,

e lusion that if success in life depended upon a

man s ability to succeed with women—and he

’

had know n many who had advanced such a

theory in all seriousness—then nothing in the
worl d was more inevitable than that he shoul d
fail , and fail miserably sooner or later H e had
, .

avoided women generally and for years had de,

libe r a te ly sought for conditions o f living in which

he could reasonably hope for a chance to make
goo d without them .

But here was a woman no man could avoid .

In o ne slow glance again he noted the lightning

that pl ayed in her dark eyes ; he caught the wil d
witchery of her tumbled hair an d the beauty o f
her cheeks flushed from the excitement of the
,

fight s he had j ust won and he lost himself in co n

,

te mpl a t i o n o f the smile that lent an indescribable

sweetness to her firm mouth She was dressed
— —
.

plainly even roughly in a waist that reveale d

the soft whitenes s of her neck and throat and the
28 T HE HE ART OF CHERRY McBAI N

firm round curve o f her shoulders and breas t a nd ,

in a skirt that clung closely to her limbs But o f .

thes e things King H owden wa s only vaguely co n

s cious H e could not take his eyes from her face
.
,

with its strange contradiction o f flashing eyes and

gently smiling mouth .

The girl wa s the first to S peak .

“
You must have been ri ding hard s he s aid , .

’ ”
I thought I d never catch U p with you .

“ ”
Catch up ? King thought to himself an d was ,

at a loss to understand .

“ ”
Come o n she said quickly and before he wa s
, ,
“ ’
able to reply I m go ing to ride a little wa y with
,

yo u .

She drew her rein back pulled her horse about,

,

touched him lightly o n the flank with her qui rt ,

and was o ff at an easy canter along the trail ,

leaving King to follow or not a s he pleased With .

a slow s mile o f recognition of the somewhat ano

ma l ous position he w a s in he turned in to the
,

trail and rode after her .

When he came U p with her he drew hi s horse

in a little and together they rode for the next half
hour through little valleys a h d over gently round
'

ing hills dimly outlined in the fail ing twilight .

H ere and there a rabbit started Up in the trail

before them and ran its foolish fri ghtened ra ce
-
30 T HE HEA RT OF C H ERRY McBAI N
I like this S he s aid waving her hand toward
, ,

the valley .

King looked at her but s he ha d not so much ,

a s turned her head towards him Fo r the first .

time he was able to look at her without embar

r a s s me nt H e was no a rtist to analyze the fine
.

points o f symmetry in face and fi gure But he

was a man—and the man in him told him that
.

s h e was beautiful What he liked best about her

.

was the strength o f her beauty H e knew at a .

glance that s he was no t o f the delicate clin ging ,

kind that practise a l anguid air an d never fo rget

their s e x H ere was a girl whose hea rt beat was
.
-

strong with the confidence and the reliance s he

—
had learned t place in herself and every line o f
o

her face every movement o f her body, bore evi

,

dence to the fact An d yet as s he s a t and looked

.
,

o ut over th e valley half hidden under the mists ,

there was a soft wa rmth in her d ark eyes that

made her p resence luminous Fo r King the girl .

who sat before him embodied in tangible form it ,

s eemed all he had ever aspire d to all he had ever

, ,

e v en vaguely dreamed o f .

H er voice when s he spo k e wa s not the voice of

, ,

reproach that S he had used earlier in the after

noo n Now it was soft q uiet even deep
.
, , .

“ ”
I like it, too he s aid in response to her
, ,
 T HE H EA R T O F C HERRY McBAI N 31

S imple expression admi ration for what lay be

of
“ ’
fore them . But you haven t come all this way
”
for that he waved hi s hand gently in the dir e c
-

tion o f the valley

No—I have seen
.

She turned to him quick ly

it before—though I d on t remember when it wa s
.

ever s o beautiful .

“ ”
Nor I thought King though he k ept his
, ,

thoughts to hims elf .

“ ”
What is your name ? s he as k e d suddenly an d
with a directness that brought a smile to King s ’

fa c e
.

H e tol d her .

And I am Cherry M cB a in—my f ather i s

“

—
K ei th McB a in O ld Silent the men call him
‘ ”
,
’
,
“
s he replie d I came to tell you that I need you r
help—not for me for my father —
.

”
.

King looked at her strangely B ut a man .

,

&
“
he s aid slowly a man who takes a dare
,
“ ”
Don t be silly she broke in su dd enl y
’
I .

”
only half believed that .

“ ”
D on t you think that s ha d eno ugh ? rep lie d
’ ’

”
C an you fight ? as k e d the girl abru p tly dis ,

regarding his reply .

The smile that had rested Upon King s face ’

during the convers ation vanished all at once be

32 T HE HEA R T OF C HERRY McB AI N

fore the old grave look that was habitual with

him H e did not answer at o nce he tu rned the
.
h

q uestion over an d over again in his min d .

“
Cherry M cB a in he s aid at last I m not
” “ ’ '

u sed to women—and women s ways

, ,

H is eyes
’
.

were looking o ff across the valley when he spoke ,

and his voice was like that o f a man sp eaking to

himself “
I ve known some women—a few—but
’

no woman ever aske d me if I could fi ght—o nly

.

once—but S he was a foolish woman—s he wasn t ’

good No goo d woman ever asked me that be

.

’
for e f
H e turned his fa ce towards her slowly an d
looked at her with searching eyes .

“ ”
But you he sai d hesitatingly you re goo d
, ,
’
,

C herry M cB a in
”
.

H e wa s sil ent as he looked at her now and hi s ,

“
l ips tightened before he spoke again Years .

“
ago he said at l ast I fought and the man
—
, , ,

—
I struck w e were boys then was a brother
I was not myself—I struck hi m in anger When
.

—
.

I understood what I had done I l eft him left my

home and all—an d came west That wa s ten .

years ago I wrote him a l etter and he asked

.

me to come b ack H e s ai d he had forgotten

but I —I coul d nev er go back
.

”
.

“ ”
Do y o u think that s silly too ? ’
 THE HE AR T OF C HERRY McBAI N 33

She s hook her head .

“
I have not hit any man since that day he ,

s aid with emphasis “

I ca n fi ght—I would fight
—quicker for a good woman than anything else
.

”
.

Cherry McB a in held out her hand to him “

I .

” “
needn t have asked you that s he s aid
’
I didn t
,
.
’

know But promise me that you will come and

.

s e e my father when you are on your way back

o l d Gabe has told me you a re carrying the mail

”
for the settlement .

King pressed her hand gently .

“ ’ ”
I guess I ll come he s aid ,
.

’
A smile brightened the girl s face .

“ ” “
Come s he s aid
,
We ll have rasp b erries for
.
’

If it r a ins Wildcats he d ecl are d a s he released

,

her hand .

“
T morrow afternoon then, she s ai d, and
o -
,

the next moment s he was gone .

King stood and watched her hat in hand until , ,

S he had vanished from his sight When the beat .

of the hoofs o n the hard trail was no longer

au dible he shook his horse s bri d le gently and r e
’

s um ed his way .

King did not cease to think o f his brother when

the last sound o f hoof beats had died in the dis
-

tance H is conversation with Cherry M cB a in

.
34 T HE HEA R T O F C HERRY McBAI N

had sta rte d in his mind a train of thought that

he could not control .

A s long a s King co ul d remember his best ,

frien d in all the world the o ne he had love d the

— ,

most even during that o ne mad regrettable mo

—
ment o f p assion was his younger brother Di ck ,
.

As boys at home in eastern C anada Dick had a l

ways been the lucky o ne —King s pranks had a l
,
’

ways been d iscovere d In the ten long years that

.

had elapsed since King ha d struck wes t in shame

and humiliati on it was the thought of having left
,

Dick that weighe d most heavily upon him It .

was the memo r y o f Dick s laughing face that had

’

made his heart burn with remorse whenever he

remembered how weak how foolish he had been
, .

During those ten years his heart had q uailed be

fore o ne fear only—the fear that something might
happen to Dick before he could see him again .

An d now as he rode alone over the trail that

was all but hidden in the hea vy d usk this fear ,

had gripp e d his heart s o fiercely that he was help

‘

less to s ha ke himself free A nameless dread a

.
,

pressing sadness broode d ov er him H e was ,

sei z ed with a s ense o f utter loneliness .

Some will s a y that there is no such thing as

p resentiment But when King Howden reached
.

the end-o f-the-steel that night and found among

 T HE H EART O F C HERRY McBAI N 35

the mail a letter for himself announcing the death

o f his brother Dick H owden he was convinced
, , ,

whether reasonably o r not, that voices had S poken

to him o ut o f the silence had been S peaking to —
him indeed for years if he ha d only hear d an d
, , ,

tried to understand .

King kn ew no rest tha t night E arly in the .

morning he left the bunkhouse where he had been

lyin g during the night an d went o ut into the O pen
where the light o f another day was growing in an
eastern s ky all rose and gold H e found a path .

l eadin g into the woods and followe d it for some

distance among the trees to a S pot where it led
across a little stream H ere he s a t d own and for
.

a long time looked at the water and the trees and

the changing colors o f the s ky .

When the red sun pushed its wa y at last above

the tr ee-tops there came the sound o f men stir
,

ring in the camp and the distant sharp rattl e o f

,

the wheels of a wagon bumping along over a

rough trail A new da y ha d begun—a day when
.

strong men would go out to work, sin ging and

ba ntering as they went .

King got U p from his pla c e beside the stream

a n d stood with hi s face to the east Slowly he .

lifted his right hand and clos ed hi s fingers Then .

he laid his left hand over it .

36 T HE H EART OF C HERRY McBAI N

In the east the day wa s sp ringing

—
.

In his heart there was a prayer a prayer such

as big men speak when they have seen the wrong
they have done And who shall say that the
.

p rayer was not heard ?

In his face there was a resolve — a resolve that

expressed itself in the tightening o f the fingers

that closed over his right hand And who shall
.

s a y that the resolve was not recorded ?

38 TH E H EA RT OF C H ERRY McBAI N

never shifted their glance when he spoke and its ,

bla ck sardonic smile that made an impenetrable

m ask for a soul that no man ha d ever seen r e
veale d H is men all feared him—some of them
hated him—and yet they never left him once
.

their names h a d be e n placed on the pay roll

'

-
.

O nce onl y in the memory of those who worked

fo r him had the hOpe ever arisen that the old co n
’
tractor s manner might soften and his hard face
rel ax in the presence o f the men Just a year a go
.
,

nearly a hundred miles b ack along the line Keith ,

McB a in had lost his wife after a long illness She .

had lingered for weeks in a p athetic fight fo r life ,

and the o ld camp boss had watched by her bed

side almost continuously leaving the oversight o f
,

the work wholly in the han d s o f his foremen .

Never ha d a gang of men worked so hard as those

men had worke d day after day while O l d Silent
wa s absent from his place not only out of defer
,

ence to the frail woman who was struggling

gamely against too great odds but o ut of sheer re
,

spect fo r their o ld boss whose burden of sorrow

w a s daily growing heavier And when at last the
.

word came that the struggle was over the men ,

had s at about ve r y late into the night and had

spoken in whispers Keith McBa in had made
.

the grave with his own hands j ust off the right
,
 T HE HE A RT OF C HERRY McB AI N 39

of—
way ,
and had marked the spot with a pile of
stones and a rough-hewn cross Then in the days
.

that followed he had been more silent than ever ,

more unremitting in his dealing with the men ,

and if possible more profane And yet every

, ,
.

l ast o ne of his men could not help knowing that

Keith M cB a in s heart was breaking H is light
’

had burned late into the night—and every night

.

—fo r months following the day that had brought

him his great sorrow .

Cherry M cBa in ha d come unannounced into

the camp In fact the men had not known o f
.

her existence until s he rode into camp o ne after

noon a couple o f weeks before the death o f Mrs .

McBa in O nly a few o f the more fortunate among

.

them had had a glimpse of her as s he came up the

trail escorted by M cBa in s timekeep er, who had
’

gone o ut to meet her and bring her to the c amp .

But the few that ha d seen her knew at once that

s he was the daughter o f the woman who was

B i —
dying in Keith Mc a n s cabin so striking was
’

the resemblance between mother and daughter .

During the days that immediately followed her

arrival Cherry was never seen abroad except late
in the evenings when s he walked o ut with her
father and came back with her arms laden with
wild flowers and fern But when Keith M cBa in
.
40 T HE HE AR T OF CHERRY McBAI N

turned again to resume his duties after the dark

est episode o f hi s life had been closed Cherry Mc
,

B ain wandered alone along the new grade o r

saddled her hors e and explored the trails whe r
ever they led in both directions from the camp .

Men who work a whole season in the woods

o r on a right o f way and at the en d o f the season
- -
,

fling their total earnings away in o n e hilariou s

week o r two in the nearest city are likely to
,

classify women roughly and perhap s quickly even ,

if for ten months out o f every twelve they never

hear the sound of a woman s voice The y ma y
’
. _

s ometimes make errors in their cl assifications ,

but not often The first morning that Cherry Mc

.

B ain strolled along the edge o f the works and

p aus ed here and there to watch the men as they
swung their teams round in the ever movi n g circl e
that carried the earth away from both sides of
the right-
o f—way to the centr e where it was graded
up into the first rough form o f a road bed—that
-

morning the men registered their o wn j udgments

concerning the daughter o f O ld Silent In her .

dark e yes there was the fearless look o f her father ,

the look that pierced through the surface and s a w

through the veneer to what lay behind In her .

smil e there was the essence of her mother s gentl e’

nature a nature before which men down

 TH E HEAR T OF C HERRY McB AI N 41

through the centuries have bowed in silent wor

ship .

But there w a s something more somethin g that

,

was her o wn Men saw it in her lightning glance

.

and in the quick tos s s he gave her head when s h e

shook back her wind blown dark brown hair
-
,
-
.

Not o ne o f the men had been able to tell exactly

what it was that was there but all alike were con
,

vin ce d that while Keith M cB a in might command

obedience in hi s men and squelch even his fore

man with a look o r an explosive word or two he ,

had no look that could have served him in a con

test with the will o f Cherry M c B a in .

s ix
’
It wa s o clock by the time King reached
M cB a in s camp on his return trip In the dis
’
.

tance he s a w the men leaving the grade and

making their way towards the camp the sound ,

o f their voices coming to him with heartening e f

fe ct after hi s long silent trip du ring which his

,

mind had gone back irresistibly to the days when

he a nd his brother had romped together a s boys .

When he came to where the p ath led from the

trail to M a cB a in s cabin he turned abruptly and
’

gettin g down from the s addle allowed his hors e

to follow him while he made hi s w a y o n foot along
the narrow p ath The little cabin was built o f
.

D
42 T HE H EART OF C HERRY McBAI N

logs and stood well back from the trail in the ,

p rotecting shade o f a clump o f ta ma r a cs .

Keith M cB a in was sitting by the doorway his ,

pipe in his mouth his eyes turned to the hills that

,

rose Up scraggly and covered with fal len and

,

charred timbers to the south o f the cabin

,
.

King s first feeling was o ne o f pity The o l d

’
.

man who sat there smoking his pi p e an d musing

wa s a broken man an d every line o n his face
,

showed it There was in his eyes the loo k of a

.

man whose power o f will was almost gone There .

was a look o f fear in them a fear lest he should

,

reveal his weakness to others H e had an o dd .

trick of glancing q uickly about him as if he

wished to assure himself that no o ne was co ming
Upon him unannounced H is mouth was tight.

lipped his face covered with a short-clipped beard

,

that once had been black but now showed gray

and p ale against the bloodles s cheeks .

And yet for all the face showed o f wea kness

, ,

King was at once struck by the intensity and the

unswerving directness o f his gaze when Keith
M cB a in turned to look at him At first there .

s eemed to be a shadow of S uspicion in the grizzled

o l d face but King could not help observing the
,

S lO W change to something almost kindly that

 T HE HE ART OF C HERRY McB AI N 43

S howed deep in the o ld

’
man s eyes as he go t Up
and extended his hand .

“
Come and s it down he said The girl told
,
.

me yo u were coming She s o ff somewhere in the ’

hills after berries—c ome and sit down

.

”
.

When they had talked a little King was so

much moved by the note o f p ath os that crept into
the voice o f Keith M cB a in th at b e determined
at once to share with him the news that he had
received only the night before Evidently O ld .

Silent wa s in a pensive mood and King inwardly ,

longed for someone to whom he could speak con

cerning what had lain heavily o n his heart all
day .

Fo r a long time after King had spoken Keith ,

McB a in s a t without uttering a word .

“ ’
Aye boy you ve suffered a great loss he s aid
, , ,

at last and his gaze was straight before him to

,

wards the hill top s in the distance As b e co n

-
.

tinue d he seemed to be talking to himself rather

“ ’
than to King It s hard for men to know what
.

a thing like this means until they have tasted it

thems elves Fo r years I have gone out in the
.

morning with men when the light w a s scarce

showing through the swamp and have come in
again at night tired after the work of the day to
—
sleep and make ready for the next day And .
44 T HE H EA R T OF C HERRY McBAI N

I ve watched them—all ready for the roll o ut

’ ‘ ’

’
when the call came at daybreak And I ve mar .

v e l l e d at their punctuality— and their w illing

ness And then a day would come when one o f
.

them wouldn t be in his pl ace H e d heard the

’
.
’

’
—
call but couldn t go o ut And later perhap s a

—
.

—
few days j ust he didn t hear it—and the rest o f ’

us were quieter for a while a little less given to

talking ; and then things went on very much as

”
usual and we forgot I t s very good to forget .
’
.

King w a s pleased with the complete freedom

from restraint that now marked the o ld man s ’

manner H e talked well with the merest trace o f

.
,

S cotch accent recognizable in the way he rolled

his r s H e p aused a moment and King made no
’
.

attempt to interrupt F inally he began again . .

“
Aye -it s good to forget—when you can B ut
’
.

—
there are times when a man can t forget not a l ’

together Y o u and I know that my boy—we

.
,

know it too well An d we won t talk about it

.
’

—
either except to mention it in pas sing An d in .

passing I want to s a y that I am very sorry

Where s the us e trying to s a y more—a man
.

’ ”
can t .

H e tapped his pipe gently against his hand and

went leisurely about the task o f filling it again
—
.

“ ”
A straight man and a clean man he said ,
 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N

puffed at it vigorously without S peaking a word .

It required only a glance at his face to realize

that a change had come over him Keith Mc .

B ai n w a s O ld Silent again and nothing would

bring him out o f his surly mood .

King go t up slowly and sta rted down the foot

p ath that led to the hills back of the cabin Some .

where back in the shambles of pitched timbers

and broken tree-trunks was Cherry M cB a in .

When he came finally to where the p ath was so

dimly marked that he could follow it no farther
he climbed to the top o f a little knoll and looked
in every direction along the face o f the hill to see
if Cherry were anywhere in sight F inally when
.
,

he had looked for some time in vain he called ,

and waited until the echoes died away in silence .

There was no reply Getting down from the knoll

.

he s crambled further up the hill H e had seen a

.

p atch o f grey ground away to the west where the

fires o f the year before had swept the hills clea r
o f vegetation. In ten minutes he emerged from
the cover o f the evergreens and looked across the
tangled mass of half bu rned and fallen timbers
-
.

The climb ha d not been an easy o ne and it was,

only with slight hope that he gave his call again

and stood tense and motionless as he listened fo r
a reply F rom every side the echoes came back
.
 TH E HEA R T OF C H ERRY McB AI N 47

and gradually died away in faint waves that

finally settled into stillness H e wa s about to .

turn back again and make for the camp but j ust ,

once more he called and waited .

Almost immediately and from a surprisingly

’
short distance away Cherry s voice came clear to
him across the p atch of grey Tu rning at once in
.

the direction o f the voice he looked and s aw her

waving her hand to him In a few moments he
.

was beside her where s he was seated on the

’

ground picking twigs and leaves o ut o f the small

p ail o f berries s he held in her lap She looked .

U p at him and laughed roguishly then offered ,

him a large red berry which she held U p to him

between stained finger and thumb .

“ ”
Didn t you hear me call the fi rs t time ? he
’

asked her .

She dropped her eyes and seemed very intent

Upon rolling the berries about in a vain search for
more leaves H e waited for her answer O rdin
. .

a r ily he would not have asked the question seri

o us ly. Even now he had no thought of accusing

her When s he finally spoke he was at a loss to
.

know what wa s in her mind

“ —
I heard—yo u
.

s he s aid very slowly an d

, , ,

the tone o f her voice wa s strange to King .

H e waited no t knowing what to say in return

,
?
48 TH E HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N

and hO ping too that s he might s a y something

, ,

without his promp ting her When he s a w that .

s h e was not going to speak he asked another ,

question as directly a s he had asked the first .

“ ’ ”
Why didn t you answer ?
The next moment he wished with all his heart
that he had not S poken The look she gave him .

wa s o ne in which appeal and disappointment

were s o deeply mingled that he cursed himself
inwardly for his o wn clumsiness .

“ ”
Don t ask me why s he said Then as s he
’
, .

’
s a w the grave look in King s eyes s he got Up and
“
placed her hand on his a rm O h it has nothing
.
,
”
to do with yo u s he s aid in a voice that was all
I— I didn t know at first that—that it
,
’
softness .

wa s you .

Suddenly her manner changed .

“ ’ ”
Let s go down now s he said quickly picking
, ,

Up her pail o f berries We re going to have tea

.
’
.

Almost a s s he S poke the words she was o ff

“

down the hill at a p ace that made Ki ng exert

himself to keep up with her She ran along the .

s mooth round timbers and leaped from o ne to ,

another o f the fallen logs so lightly and grace
fully that King was put to it to s ave himself from
being completely outstripped She carrie d her .

berries in o ne hand and her hat in the other and ,

 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N 49

her hair blown loo se by the breeze shone in the

sunlight—transparent gold against a mas s of
, ,

black .

As he watched her something of the wonder of

,

their fi rst meeting came back to him H e had .

never s ee n a girl s o lithe so wild so beautiful

, ,
.

T here was exultation in her eve r y movement and ,

her laugh ripple d musically a s s he leaped and

climbed and ran along over the most difficult
ground So metim es s he looked back at him as if
.

to make sure that he was following and he s aw ,

her face radiant with life and youth O nce s he

m
.

waited till he ca e U p to her before venturing

along a dizzy bit o f footing that required care in
p assing When he came to her s he pl aced her
.

hand in hi s and together they went o n .

F rom the look s he gave him he s carcely knew

whether s he wanted help herself o r wished to help
him But the cl asp of her hand w a s s o firm s o
.
,

throbbing with vitality that he wished he might

,

still hold those fingers closed within his o wn a f

ter they had come to level footing The thought
.

of it sent the blood coursing through his veins

and an impulse started U p within him—a n im
,

pulse that came o ut of the very depths o f his b e

ing and made him forget for the time being
everything in the world except thi s mom ent o n a
50 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N

wild hillsid e with beauty and grace and youth

within his reach .

When they reached the evergreens Cherry

bounded ahead and left him to follow The .

ground was level and soft underfoot and carpeted

with cones and needles O nce she stopped sud
.

de nly in a little space open to the sky and stoop ,

ing d own picked a wildflower and held it up to

him .

“
Not often you find them growing in a place
”
so sheltered as this she remarked as s he gave
,

him the flower .

H e took it and looked from the flower pure , ,

white and soft to her face U nconsciously his

,
.

gaze shifted to her throat as pure and white and

,

soft as the flower he held in his hand Then she .

turne d quickly and hurrie d off again into the

cover o f the evergreens .

O nce she stopped s o suddenly and turned s o

unexpectedly to meet him that he had almost run ‘

into her before he could check himself Then as .

he stood in questioning attitude she shook her ,

hair b ack from her face and with a rippl e o f a .

laugh was away again before he could S peak .

AS King followed her an unpleas ant thought

came suddenly to him There was o ne thing he
.

had always dreaded in women H e had never .

 T HE HEA R T OF C HERRY McB AI N 51

been quite un conscious of the subtle power they

exe r ted—but he had always been suspicious o f
their m otives There was somethi ng s o free s o
.
,

healthf ul s o S imple in Cherry s manner that he

,
’

was almost disarmed o f suspicion And yet s he .

was s o coy s o wilful so roguish that instinctively

he felt himself assuming the defensiv e —
, ,

a de fe n

sive too against himself and the impulses that

, ,

arose within him and clamored for expression .

Suddenly S he stopped and looked down at a

small pool o f cool fresh water fed from a little
Sp ring that bubbled o ut of the ea r th j ust a fe w
yards away A half dozen l arge stones l ay touch
.

ing the edge of the water and before King real

,

iz e d what s he was about s he had dropped her

,

berri es and hat and was on her knees with her

two hands resting o n a small boulder her lip s ,

touching the surface o f the water As he looked .

at her he could not help thinking what a child

s he was — and how ve r y much older he w a s No r .

could he think it any less when in a moment S he

rais e d her head and glanced up at him with a rare
flush in her cheeks
Loo k—there s
.

&
“ “
O h this is good S he cried
, , .
’

”
a stone for you
H e smiled S lowly but her s p irit was ir r e sist
,

ibl e H e g ot down beside her his hands Upon a

.
,
 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N

boulder almost touching the stone upon which

s he was leaning for support .

When they had both drun k from the pool in ,

stead of getting up immediately they remai n ed

,

where they were their hands upon the boulders

, ,

their eyes fixed Upon the smooth surface of the

water beneath them For a moment only they
.

looked a moment in which both felt a power like

,

a S pell that held them gazing into the far de pths

that lay mirrored in the quiet pool They were .

gazing like two children deep down into the

depths o f the blue skies reflected far below
where the white clouds floated beyond the down
ward pointing tomo f evergreens .

All at once however King glanced at the face

, ,

o f the girl where it was smiling up at him from the

—
water and in a moment he was conscious o f a
change Though her face was smiling it wa s
.

grave too grave even as his and he knew that in

, ,

the look each gave the other there were depths

that were more unfathomable than the skies
the depths o f life itself in all its myste r y and seri
o us meaning .

They got Up and walked o ff down the p ath to

wards the cabin strangely silent both o f them
, , .

As they emerged from the cover of the woods and

came within sight o f the cabin only a few yards
 CH A PTE R FOU R

N another hour King was ready to take the

trail again Beside him stood Cherry her own
.
,

black horse waiting only a few yards away .

A dark cloud had risen in the north east and -

,

King glanced quickly about him at the skies and

at the trees rustling noisily in the little breeze
that had sprung up .

“ ’ ” “
It s like rain he warned her quietly
,
Per .

’ ”
hap s you d better no t go this time .

The faintest suspicion o f a frown pas sed quick

ly over her face but that was all the reply his
,

warning drew from her B efore he could help her

.

s h e had stepped upon a lo w-cut stump and ha d

sprung lightly into the saddle .

Keith M cB a in watched them from his s eat

near the doo rway .

“’
I ll be looking for you early my girl he s aid
, , .

“’
I ll be back before it begins to rain she r e ,

plied and turning her horse about sta rte d to

,

wards the trail .

King got up at once p ausing a moment to bid

,

the old man good bye before he followed Ch erry

-
.

54
 T HE HEA R T OF C H ER RY McBAI N 55

Look after yourself the o ld fellow replied

, ,
’
and come in next trip It ll be dull for you now
—
.

’ ”
and we d be glad to se e you .

“ ” “ ’
I ll come King replied
’
,
I d like to come .

’ ”
and I d like to hear you talk again .

“
And s end that girl of mi ne bac k before S he
”
gets too far away the o ld fellow called to King
,

who had already started down the p athway .

The clouds that were ga thering behind them

as they rode westward seemed to hasten the
coming o f the darkness although the sun was j ust
,

setting when they started F ar up the right-o f .

wa y along which the trail ran for a little dis

,

tance the western S ky was a blaze o f glo ry b e

,

tween the rows o f tall trees that stood back from ’

the grade o n either S ide O nce or twice as they

.

rode along King turned in his s addle to loo k ‘

again at the storm clouds gathering in the east .

’

There was little fear o f their being overtaken by

—
the storm it was still a long way o ff and wa s
coming up very slowly And yet King wondered
.

'

that the girl should be s o keen upon taking a ride

when at any moment the dark bank o f heavy
thunder clouds might suddenly rush up and force
her to ride back through a drenching rain to s a y
-

nothing o f the thunder and lightning But such .

a possibility apparently never entered the mind

56 T HE H EA R T OF CHERRY McBAI N

of Cherry M cB a in o r if it did S he never S howed

,

the least concern about it She urged her hors e

.

forward at a steady p ace that made King hurry

to keep up Not till they had covered th e whole
.

length of the trail lying along the right o f-way -

and had gone some distance beyond where it

tu rned into the woods and started up the hill did
she draw rein Then she brought her horse
.

S lowly to a walk and turned to look behind her .

She had not spoken since S he left the cabin and ,

a s King drew up with her he ventured to ask if

S he didn t think s he had gone far enough The
’
.

look S he gave him by way of reply was enough to ’

make him wish he had not spoken .

“
Are you really s o anxious to have me go
”
b ack ? she asked .

’
It was King s turn to look at her in surp rise .

There was something more than surp rise in his

voice however when he spoke
, ,
.

“ ’
I guess I must have s aid what wasn t in my
” “
mind to say he replied very quietly
,
I don t .
’

think yo u got me quite ri ght there .

Suddenly S he brought her hors e to a standstill

and slipped out o f the saddle to the ground .

“
Get down and walk for a little while she ,

s aid looking about her as she spoke

, The rain .

’
is a long way off yet and I m not afraid .
 T HE HE ART OF C HE RRY McBAI N 57

King res po nded by getting down at once H e .

stood for a moment with the b ridle in his hand

and waited fo r her to come up to him Then they .

walked S lowly side by side along the trail Fo r a .

few minutes th ey p roceeded in s il e nce King wait

’

ing for her to begin .

I was afraid yo u might want to send me

” ’
back s he began at l ast and I didn t want to
, ,

go I wanted to talk to you I want to tell you

. .

about my father .You s a w him to night and -

you know there is something w rong—you

,

’
couldn t help knowing that as well as I do .

She was not asking a question She was merely .

stating a fact in which s he confidently expected

’
King s concurrence The pause wa s no t to give
.

him an opportunity o f reply ing She wished only .

to collect her thoughts , to marshal the p arts of

the story she was about to tell him .

“
My father is a railway construction contra e
”
to r ,
s h e went o n after s he had walked a fe w yards

T he men love him— and

“
without speaking .

they hate him—both at the same time He s .

’

generous and he s straight and he s good—but

’
,
’

he s hard in his dealings and he cru shes everyone

’

who opposes him F or years he has taken rail

.

way contracts an d worke d in the woo d s I wa s .

born in a mining camp out west where my father ,

58 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N

was prospecting When I began to grow up I

.

w a s allowed to S pend only a few weeks each s um

mer in camp with him and mother The rest of .

the summer I spent wi th my au nt in Winnipeg ,

where I went to school But I n e ver liked it I

. .

always wanted to be with them in the camp I .

loved the life and I loved the men and their rough
ways . Most o f all I loved my father—my
,

mother wa s very quiet and ve r y S weet but my ,

”
father and I have always been chums .

She p aused a moment to pick up a small stic k

from the road which S he s ent whirling along the
trail ahead o f her .

“
O ne day something happened My mother .

told me what S he knew about it and my father

knows that she told me but he has never S poken
,

to me about it Two years ago he left my mother

.

and me in the city and went to the coast with

some others to look for gold O ne o f the men .

wa s B ill M cCa r tn e y who was a teamster for my

,

father during the previous summer In the .

spring they came back unexpectedly F ather had .

written us to tell U S that he had made a goo d

strike hut when he came back there wa s a change
, .

McCa r tne y was with him and one night they sat ,

all night long and there were loud words between

them In the morning my father told us that he
.
 T HE HEART O F C H ERRY McBAI N 59

had lost everything a nd that M cCa r tne y wa s

going back to the coast again H e tol d .

mother something that made her cry but he

s aid A barga in is a bargain—and I count thi s
,
‘
,

a good b a r g a im T hose are the only words I

’

ever heard him spea k about the aff air M cCa r t .

ney left that night After that my mother grew

sick—and she never go t better Later I came to
.

camp to be with her and one night S he tol d me

that s he was dying—she s aid her heart was break
,

—
ing breaking for my father She told me that
some day M cCa r tne y would be back—that s he
.

hoped S he might die before he came She died .

last summer and McCa r tne y came back j ust a

”
few weeks l ater .

’
T he muscles in King s arms grew rigid and his
hands clenched fiercely as his mind rested U pon
the fragmentary story that Cherry M cB a in had
told him Instinctively he felt that Bill Mc c art
.

ney had been in some way the cause of the d eath

o f Keith M cB a in s wife
’
.

“
There wa s something more S he s aid sud , ,

de nly breaking in upon his musing When .

McCa r tne y came back my father made him fore

man o f the camp and ever since then the co n
trol o f the work ha s been gradually p assing out
o f father s hands
’
To make matters worse
.
,
60 TH E HE A R T OF C HERR Y McB AI N

father has b e en drinking until his very mind is

going So me da y I am afraid he will drink
.
, ,

himself to death And it is not all o n account

.

of th e los s of my mother Th re i s something

e .

else The b argain he made with McCa r tne y di d

.
‘

no t work o ut s atisfactorily The claim turned .

o ut badly and M cCa r tne y came back dissatisfie d

—
.

And now though he has never s aid so O penly

he h a s plans of a different kind O nce he met me
alone o n the trail—he had followed me without
.

—
my knowing it and when he tried to be pl easant
to me in his o wn way I told him to leave me H e
—
.
,

grinned and took me by the arm and then I

S truck him with my h a n d across the face H is .
'

expression never change d but he warned me

—
,

never to do th at again and he S poke o f my

father T he next day father came to me —his
.

voice broken—his face haggard ; he ha dn t S lept ’

all night And he told me not to make M cCa r t

.

ney angry H e told me to stay away from him

— —
.

g o back to the city anyt hi ng but to keep out ,

o f his way and give him no cause for anger I

told my father that I would not leave him—and
.

I won t But I can t go anywhere wi thout that

’
.
’

man S hadowing me I can t S p eak to one o f the

.
’

men but he comes and forces his attentions upon

me though he knows that I hate hi m O ne thing
, .
62 T HE H EA RT OF C HERRY McBAI N

a sort o f ravine through which a small stream

,

picked its straggling course between the hill s .

Dusk had already s e t in and the stream w a s only

faintly visible .

Without announcing her intentions Cherry ,

d r opped her bridle rein and left her horse stand

-

ing o n the trail while S he led the w a y to a knoll

that commanded a better view o f the ravine Fo r .

a long time s he stood looking to the westward

where only a faint arc o f light w a s still left low
U pon the horizon H er hat wa s in her hand and
.

the quiet breeze that came from the east blew a

few loose locks of her dark hair about her face .

King gazed at her intently and thought o f ,

M cCa r tn e y.

H e had picked a stout tamarac stic k on his

up
wa y to the knoll .It was almost as thick as his
wrist and was sound and dry Without speak .

ing a word and without twitching a muscle o f his

face he slowly bent the stick i n his two hands
until it began to snap Then he twisted it until
.

the frayed ends p arted and he held the two ragge d

bits o f stick in his hands These he flung
.

into a clump o f bushes o n the slope below .

Cherry looked at him quietly

not that—not that
.

“ ”
No s he s aid slowly
“

Some day it may have to come—some day I may

, , .

”
cal l yo u but not yet
-
.
 TH E H EA R T OF C HERR Y McBAI N 63

King smiled gravely .

“
I told yo u last night about my hrother Dick
—
, ,
“ ”
he said Well Dick is dead
. .

King 1
C‘ 9,

She had never before called him by his first

n ame
Y es—I had a letter last night It was wait
.

“
.

’
ing for me when I got down But that s all gone .

no w — it s p ast and settled But this other thi ng

’
.

’ ’
-
it has mixed me some I didn t think I d ever .

’
want to hit a man again And I m not looking
for McCa r tn e y—not fo r any man he said and
.

”
, ,

hi s eyes turned to the S pot where he had thrown

“
the broken stick But no man ever found me
.

—
running and Bill M cCa r tne y won t ” ’
.

Cherry laid o ne hand o n his a rm and looke d

“
H e has gone to town with a of men to lo t
” “
night s he said They often ride in o n Satur
—
.
,
’
day night that s why we have been able to ride
and talk together H e will be there when you
—
.

get to town and all day to-morrow And listen

—I m not afraid—not afraid fo r yo u nor fo r
.

,
’ ”
me But I don t want you to meet him yet
.
.

’
King s reply came quietly and with great
deliberation .

“ ’
I ve been in that town since the first tent wa s
pitched he observed in a voice that was even
,
64 T HE HEART OF C H ERR Y McBAI N
“
and showed no ex citement I ve watched it ’

grow U p—and I ve gone pretty much where I

.

liked I guess I ll go on in about the s ame way

.
’
.

“ ”
O h I m not afraid o f that Cherr y rep lied
’

I ve told you I m not afraid for you—an d not

.
, ,
“ ’ ’

for myself B ut if the break should come

.

“ ’
I guess you don t need to worry about that ,
“
King remarked There won t be any break be ’

—
.

’
tween me and Mc c artney not till there s a rea
”
s o n for it .

C herry went back again to the trail and taking

the bri dl e -rein in her han d led the way do wn
towards the river King followed her until .

they came to the roughly-made bridge that

spanned the little stream a hurriedly constructed ,

bridge o f tamarac poles that had been thro wn

into place by the advance parties o f railwa y
workers .

“
I have never gone fa rther than this , s aid
Cherry when they had come to the centre o f the
,
“
bridge .I often ride o ut in the evenings a hd
stand here fo r a while before going back Some .

day I am going o n to town j ust to s e e what sort ,

”
o f place you have .

“
This is the White Pine s aid King I have , .

crossed it often higher Up It gets very nasty .

’
after two o r three days rain .
 T HE HE A RT OF CHERRY McBAI N 65

Suddenly a fl ash o f lightn ing reminded them

that the storm was approaching While they .

talked they had all but forgotten the black clouds

rolling Up from the east Cherry got up at once
.

U pon the stout log that ran along the side o f the
bridge to keep the poles in place and putting o ne ,

foot into the stirrup drew herself up lightly into

the s addle When s he wa s seated s he turne d a nd
.

looked at King .

“
We S hall ride out again some time s he s ai d, ,

and gave him her hand .

H e closed his big hand over her fingers for a

moment without speaking When he was about .

to turn away S he clung s till to his hand and

looked at him very ea rnestly .

“
Why don t you sometimes tal k a little ? s he
’ ”

asked .

The a e ptne s s wi th which s he asked the ques

tion brought the slow smile back to King s face ’
.

“’ ” “
I m no t good at talking he replied B esides
, .

-I ”
like to hear you talk .

King had no t venture d before in their sho rt

acq uaintance to ofle r a compliment H e did not .

mean to compliment her now H e was speaking .

his mind simply d irectl y S incerely

, , .

She regarded him strangely fo r a moment in

silence .
66 T HE HE AR T OF CHERRY McB AI N

Sometimes s he said at last sometim es I

, ,

think
She p aused a moment and then withdrew her
han d suddenly and wheeling her horse about went
off at a gallop down the trail leaving him gazing
,

after her in wonderment .

When she had passed out of sight he looked

once at the clouds before getting into the saddle
and then getting up he gave a sharp whistle that
, ,

brought Sal bounding to him and set o ff along ,

the trail that led to town B ehind him the storm

.

was comin g up rapidly .

“’ ”
It s you for it now he said to his horse as he
,

leaned forward an d stroked the warm neck .

O nly once after that did his voice brea k the

S ilence o f the long ride The first drops of rain
.

&
brought him suddenly out of his dreaming .

“ ”
If you coul d only talk he s aid to himself,
and his voi ce w a s full o f impatience .

But King Howden wa s no talker .

 CH A PTE R F I V E

HE town was in a state o f excitement that

was not altogether new In fact the
.
,

few score o f p ermanent residents in the

pla c e always looked to Saturday night to furnish
some littl e change from the humdrum existence
o f the week There is nothing very stirring
about S itting in a villag e —
.

e ven if it is an outpost

—
o f civilization a hundred and twenty-fiv e miles

from anyw here with nothing to do from day to

day ex cept to greet the newcomers who arrive
from the outside to begin their search for land .

B ut when a couple o f red-coated men wea ring

blue breeches strip ed o n either side with gold ,

their heads covered with wide b rimmed Stetsons

-
,

their feet stoutly booted and spurred when two

-

such men ride in from over the Saskatchewan

border an d go clanking down the o ne street in
the pl ace a certain amount of shuffling is al most
inev itable.

No r wa s the flutter of excitement due to any

“ ”
fear that the Mounties were o n business bent .

Sin ce the j u risdiction o f the famous riders o f the

‘

67
68 T HE H EA R T O F CH E RRY McBAI N

plains did not extend any farther than the bo rder ,

their sudden appearance s e t no o ne guessing a s

to who among the men o f the town was being
, ,

entertained a criminal unawares

,
The place
.

had served as a week-en d retreat for the men o f

the force before and all such occasions had
,

turned o ut more o r les s eventful .

N o previous arrangement had been made that

would have explained the sudden influx of men
who came into town from all over the district to
s p end the week end together But small group s
-
.

had begun to arrive before the sun had set—some

o f the settlers had come in du ring the day from

their shacks o n lonely homesteads and made a

fair si z ed reception committee to greet the later
-

arrivals There were men there from R ubble s

.
’

su rvey gang and a dozen o r more from the camp

,

o f Keith M c B a in .

T hat they S houl d make their rende zvous late

’
in the evening at Mike Cheney s was only
natural There wa s M a cM ur r a y s lodging house
.
’
,

o f course that stood at the end o f the street near

,

the river but no o ne came to town to eat

, .

Cheney s place stoo d at the other end of the street

’

—discreetly apart And those who came and

.

went exercised considerable discretion and talked

v e r y little whe n others were in hea rin g .
70 T HE HE A R T OF C H ERR Y McBAI N

and without any invitation the visitors took thei r

,

way when it was late enough to the large roo m

, ,

at the back of Mike C heney s pl ace where they

'

’
,

knew they would be made hea rtily welcome .

And to tell the truth a wel come of some kind was

,

somethin g the men felt the need o f R ain had

begun to fall quite heavily—what had looke d like
.

a mere thunder shower when it appeared first in

the north-eas t had steadied down to an all night
,
-

rain And certainly M a cMur r a y s lodging house

.
’

o ff ered no cheer . No one fu rthermore even

, ,

cast his eyes a secon d tim e in the direction o f

the two large log buildings the government had
erected for immigrants without shelter .

The room at the back o f Cheney s pl ace was

’

blue with smoke that rendered almost useles s the

l arge kerosene lamp that hung from the ceiling .

I n o ne corner o f the room a small group were a l

ready well into a game o f poker Though the ’

stakes were o f necessity low—for what can men

.

—
do o n a dollar a day ? the interest in the game
was sufficiently high to attract a half dozen sp e c
ta tor s who watche d the play in silence an d
smoked incessantly .

In another corner three o r four land-seekers

were exchan ging opinions o f the fine points of the ;
“ ”
law g overning the rights of the squatter a ndj ,
 T HE HEA R T OF C HERRY McB AI N 71

the r ather intricate regulations that made pro

“ ”
vision for what is known as j umping a claim .

In the corner farthest from the door where

Mike Cheney stood at the service o f his custom
ers Big Bill M c Ca r tn e y was listening to what o ne
,

o f the red coated visitors had to s a y about the

-

eff ect o f solitude o n a man s nerves The sub ’

.

j e ct was one that evidently appealed strongly to

o f M a cD o ug a l l s men
’
o ne whose mood w a s ,

rather to o j ovial for s o early in the evening and

whose literary instincts prompted him to atte mp t
the metrical flights of the lines be ginning ,
“
I a m mona r ch of a ll I s ur v e y .
”

M cCa r tne y pushed him back o n the bench

where he had been sitting and tu rned to hear
something that Cheney was offering to the
discussion .

“ ’
There s another thing about this country ,

s aid Mike l eaning towards M cCa r tn e y and the

,
“
I t s a gettin to some o f the boys in
’ ’
red coat
-
.
-

”
a w a y they never expected .

H e paused a moment to wipe up a little water

from the table with his cloth
Now there was old Bob Nason—he was be
.

fore your time here Bill H e wa s o ne o f the first

,
.

to come in here when the trail was opened into

the valley There wa s a good fellow for you
.
72 T HE HE AR T OF C H ERRY McBAI N
’
an a good man too No better ever put foot o n .

the ground Saw him heave a barrel of salt into

.

—
the back end o f his wagon j ust like that ”
.

Mike used approp ri ate gestures to S how how

easily the thing had been done .

“ ’ ’
I d like to have seen you an him together ,
”
Bill he went o n an d a broad smile accompanied
, ,
“ ’ ’
his remarks Could a give you about all you
.

could handle Bill if size counts for anything

, ,
.

Anyhow—poor o l d Bob came in here o ne night

it was a night like this—o nly there w a s a regular
’
howlin wind and the rain was heavy I hears
a poundin at the door—I was all alone a n I —
.

’ ’

gets up and O pens it An there stands O ld Bob ’

— feet bare —shirt gone — hea d bare —pants all in

.

— —
rags a mud an water it was awful
n
’ ” ’
&
H e paused in an e ff ort evi d ently to call the , ,

picture more vividly to mind .

“
An I says Bob what s wrong ? An then I
’ ‘ ’ ’ ’

k new right away what it was—from the grin he

, ,

‘ ’
gave me But I s ays Come in an get some
.
,

thing An poor ol d Bob comes in an sits down

’ ’
.
’

an starts cr yin like a baby An I s ays Bob

’ ‘ ’
.
’
, ,

you re lookin bad but he woul dn t talk I sat

’ ’
,
’ ’
.

’
with him all night an the next day we sent him
”
o ut with a C ouple of boys that was totin freight
’
.

F or a momentMike pause d while he turned to

pick up an empty gl as s and look at it .
 T HE HE AR T OF C HERRY McBAI N 73

My Go d he s aid looking into the glass to

think o f old Bob lo s in his head out there—j ust
, , ,
’

for the sake o f someone to talk to I ll never .

’

”
forget it .

“ ’
It ll get to anyone if he s only left alone long ’

enough commented the policeman and he went

, ,

on to tell of a simi lar case that had come under

his observation in the West .

“ ’
There s j ust one thing this country needs
,
—
right now Mike a n it needs it bad M cCa r t
”
’
,

ney offered by way of S upplementing what had

j ust been s aid As he S poke he held a lighted
.

match in his hand ready to apply to a cigarette he

had j ust rolled .

“
You mean Cheney waited .

Fo r a moment M cCa r tne y wa s silent while he

applied the match to his cigarette .

I mean
The door opened suddenly and a girl stepped
into the roo m
—there s the answer he concluded
.

, .

Several o f the men gl anced Up as the door

closed and the girl came forward to where Cheney
w a s standing on the corner H e greeted her .

quite casually .

“
H ello Anne he said you sure pick e d a
, , ,
”
good night fo r s tr o l lin What s the idea ? ’
.
’

For a moment she s aid nothing by way of rep ly

74 T HE HEA R T OF C H ER RY McB AI N

a s s he shoo k the rain from the cloak that hung

loo sely about her shoulders Then s he looked .

round the room at the men .

“ ” “
No thin s the idea s he remarked
’ ’
,
It s my .

night o ff and—well where can you go in this

pl ace S lingin grub s all right—ten hours a day
,
’ ’

—but yo u want a change don t you ? Give me

.

’
,
”
a smoke .

The request was a ddressed to McCa r tney who ,

p roceeded at once to roll a cigarette while s h e

looked o n .

“
Nobody in this town let s me in if they know ’

s h e remarked in a tone that carried

’
Im
not the slightest trace o f regret She wished .

simply to record the fact merely .

And a fact it wa s for Anne who was the singl e

, ,

waitres s at the lodging house had been placed in

-
,

a class by herself in the town though not a man

in it—O r woman either—had any facts upon
,

which to base their p rej udice .

For a moment only during the process of roll

ing the cigarette the eyes o f M cCa r tn e y and the
girl met No o ne in the room saw the exchange
.

o f glances and no o ne could have detected the

s lightest change of expression in either face .

McCa r tne y smiled oddly as he folded the edge

o f the cigarette paper into place an d tappe d the

ends lightly against his hand .

 T HE HE AR T OF C HERRY McB AI N 75

Shouldn t have any trouble fi ndin a little e n

’ ’

te r ta inme nt in this bunch

”
he observed , .

“
Y o u didn t hear
’
She regarded him coldly .

me s ayin anything about entertainment di d

’
,
”
y o u ? s h e returned .

Without making any immediate reply he gave

her the cigarette and offered his own for a light .

“ ” “
Tell yo u what Anne he s aid at last I v e a
, , ,
’

’
hunch you ve brought me luck to-night an I d ’ ’

like to s it in to a game I d like to know if the

.
’

boys here play the kind o f a game I m u sed to ’

.

” ’
Come o n over Anne an look o n
, , .

They walked over to the corner where the men

were playing cards O n the far side o f the table
.

wa s Lush Currie the pile o f chips before him in

,

dica ting that he had held a few good hands dur

ing the evening As M cCa r tne y took his place
.

at the table Curri e hesitated fo r a moment and

,

acted as if he wanted to withdraw from the game

McCa r tne y received hi s pile o f chips and arranged
.

them in three little piles under his right hand ,

then scanned the faces of the men before him .

For men who take life as it comes o ne day a t ,

a time and little thought o f the morr ow poker is ,

the game o f games It matters little whether it

.

is played in the F ar North where men take fo r

tunes from the beds of frozen creeks o r o n the ,

quieter and les s rugged frontiers where they buil d

76 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N

the nation s highways at a dollar a day and three

’

squar e meals always in si ght In one case the .

stakes are for thousands with a j ack pot s ome ,

-

times growing into s ix figures In the other the .

limits are s e t by the meagre earnings of a season

o f some s ix months o r s o between the sp ring and

the freeze-U p O ne man risks a fortune he may

.

retr ieve in a single month o f good luck with hi s

shovel and pan The other lays a wager that
.

will take him a whole season to pay if he comes

o ff loser .But in any case whatever the circum ,

stances the game is the s ame and the men are

—
, ,

the same playing the game for the game s s a ke ’

f

and despising nothing s o much as a p oo r loser— l

unless it be a crooked winner .

F or the first half hour o r so the game that ‘

M cCa r tn e y had j ust taken a hand in went along ;
—
very quietly like the first rounds o f a match
with the boxers sp arring for an opening The .
,

cards having been cut the deal fell to the man o n

, ,

M cCa r tn e y s left The round found them all

’
.
,

wi thout openers and the p ack was dealt aga 1n .

This time Lush Currie opened the game and the

others stayed .

”
Cards ? s aid the dealer, who was D a n Martin ,
’
o f R ubbl e s gang .

H e came to Currie and looked at him question

ing ly
.
78 T HE H EART O F C H ERRY McBAI N
There was nothing contagious in his pleasant
r ie S he appeared in high spirits his
.
Though
’
,

hilarity was s o obviously artificial that no o ne

paid any particular attention to him—except per ,

hap s Lush Currie who glanced back at Anne

, ,

with his cards still in his hand Then as if a .

,

thought suddenly struck him he closed his hands ,

quickly over his cards and l aid them down .

The girl o n her p art did not even so much as

, ,

look up e ithe r at M cCa r tne y o r at Currie She

m
.

app eared too busy with her own thoughts and

was un aware o f the suspicions that were being
ente rtained regarding her .

When the round was completed M cCa r tne y

drew the chips towards him and reached for the
—
deck h e had wo n o n a show down with three -

fives and a pair o f j acks It was his deal . .

“
No w then you re comin to me see ? he cried
,
’ ” ’
,

a s he slipped the cards o ne by o ne from the p ack

&
“
and slid them to the players That makes fi rst
—
.

’ ” ’
blood a n the night s young
Fo r a few moments there was silence while the
players looked at their cards This time Currie .

opened high and the others stayed They took .

their draws and settled down NO one bet until .

it came round to M cCa r tne y .

“ ’ ’
I ll j ust kick e r along a little bit he s aid , ,

and put in his chips .

 TH E HEA R T OF C HERRY McBAI N 79

Two players threw their cards away l eaving ,

Currie M c Ca r tne y and two others in the game

, .

I t was Cu rrie s turn to bet H e picked Up o ne

’
.

card that had been dealt to him in the draw and

was about to look at it As he did so he hesitated .

and looked acros s the tabl e M cCa r tn e y s eyes .

’

were o n Anne Somethi ng in the latter s face

.
’

made Currie postpone his bet for a moment .

“ ”
Anne he s aid glancing over his shoulder
, , ,
’ ’
you re sittin too close to me It ain t lucky .
’

’ ” ’
an I don t like it .

H is voice betraye d excitement an d the girl wa s

not slow to catch the implication
—
.

“
Say Lush Currie look
, s he protested ,
“ ”
what are you tr yin to te ll me ? ’

“ ”
Nothi n only what I s aid
’
Currie replied , .

”
Don t s it behind me in this game
’
.

H is voice was S haking as he spoke and he

fingered his cards nervously .

“
Sit round here Anne s aid M cCa r tne y hi s
, , ,

voice full o f sarcasm “

H e s j e a lo us—he doesn t .
’ ’

”’
like you lookin at me so often .

’
Mcc artney s efforts to make a j oke o f the
whol e aff air were pathetically inadequ ate an d ,
’
served only to heighten Currie s suspicion But .

the gi rl stoo d up and faced M cCa r tne y with a

look that w a s a s cold as it was direct .

“
Say Bill M cCa r tn e y
,
”
she remarked i n a ,
80 T HE HEA R T O F C H ERRY McBAI N

voice that w a s cutting in its deliberat e ness does ,

’ ’
Lush Currie think I m tippin you o ff to his hand ?
’
Well listen to me I ve been lookin a whole long
, .
’

time for the kind of man I d do that for a n —you ’ ’

—ain t — ’
him ”
.

M c Ca r tne y s expression changed suddenly

’
.

“ ”
What the hell are you anyhow ? he asked ,

with a sneer and turned to Currie,

Your bet .
,
”
Currie .

F or answer Currie threw his cards into the

centre o f the table and got up f rom his chair .

“ ”
This game can go o n without me he s aid , ,

and he moved his chair back and walked away

from the group .

A couple o f the players put out restraining

hands and t r ied to persuade him to go on with
the game Cheney came fo rward and invited
.

him to take a drink but Currie was obstinate , .

“ ’
I don t sit in to no game with a
The epithet he used brought M cCa r tne y to his
feet H e pushed his chair to one S ide with his
.

foot and stepped towards Currie .

“
You ain t big enough to say that to me he
’
,

s ai d tossing his cigarette to one side

, .

The men S howed no desire to i nterfere The .

history o f Currie s previous encounter had gone ’

the rounds and left them all hoping that Currie

 T HE H EA R T OF C H ERRY McB AI N 81

might some day have an opportunity to meet his

man fairly and have it out They had little r e
.

spect for Currie whose untimely accus ations

,

against Anne were they felt sure not only o ut

, ,

o f place but without foundation

’
The girl s r e
.

b uh had rung tru e and no o ne doubted her

though they were convinced that Bill M cCa r tn e y
would have used any advantage had it been ,

offered to him .

They stood back to give room to the two men

w ho O ccupied a space near the centre o f the floo r .

They liked a fight and they wanted to s e e the

much talked—
-
o f foreman in action .

M cCa r tne y bore down steadily o n Currie who ,

relied Upon hi s quick cat like movements as his

,
-

sole means o f defending h imself against the

towering strength o f his opponent B ut wherever .

Currie went M cCa r tn e y followed relentlessly ,

taking the short quick j abs of his antagonist with

o ut sho wi ng the slightest uneasiness H e dis .

played the full confidence o f o ne who knows that

if he can get his man into a corner he can end the
fight in a few seconds But that wa s precisel y
.

what Curri e avoided H e danced about McCa r t

.

ney and landed light blows almost at will .

Finally the big fellow began to S how S igns of ugly

temper and quickened his adv ance in an e ff ort to
 T HE HE A R T OF CHERRY McB AI N

get within fair striking distance As he came .

close Currie crouched near the door and then

leaped and sent his foot o ut in a vicious kick that
barely missed M cCa r tn e y s chin AS it was the
’
.
,

foreman took the full force o f the blow o n his

neck and fo r a few seconds stagger e d backwards ,

shaking his head s avagely and blinking his eyes

a s if to clear his sight H ad Currie followed Up
.

his advantage at once the aff air might have b een

ended right there But while he hesitated Mc
.

Cartney recovered sufficiently to size up the

situation afresh .

H e stood for a few moments looking at Curu c ,

his face twisted into a smile Those who .

saw that smile began to feel p ity for the smaller

man who had put U p a good fight and a plucky
’
one . There w a s a look in Currie s face too that ,

s eemed to reveal for the first time his failing co n

fi de n ce in the outcome .

“
It s go ing to be sti ff tr a ve llin for Lush from
’ ’

”
n ow o n murmured o n e o f the men to Cheney in
,

a voice that was barely audible .

M cCa r tne y w ho w a s near enough to the

,

sp eaker to overhear the remark seemed about to ,

speak but he shut his teeth hard and went to

,

wards Currie crouching in an attitude of cautious

defence H is face was the face o f an animal
. .
 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N 83

Suddenly Cheney pus hed hi s w a y forward a ,

look o f consternation on his face as he watched

Currie vainly shifting his position in a last e ff ort
to get o ut o f the w a y and gain the Open S pace in
the middle o f the floo r .

“
Ai n t someone goin to stop this before it s
’ ’ ’

”
gone too far ? he muttered to o ne o f the men .

No o ne made reply .

There w a s a quick S harp c r y as Anne came o ut

,

o f the semi darkness o f o n e corner and rushed

-

forward in a frantic e ff ort to get between the two

&
men
—
.

&
“
Stop for God s s ake ’
O h you da mned ,
”
fool s s he cried struggling vainly to break the
,

grip of a couple o f men who held her back Then .

s he was pushed gently into her place in the co r

ner where S he s at down on the bench and covered

,

her face with her ha nds .

Currie wa s no w in a narrow space between the

door and the table at which only a few minutes
before they had been playing poker Twice he .

made a quick move to get o ut and twice Mc c a r t,

ney caught him before he was well started and

drove him back In another moment it would
.

all be over .

Then something happened which no o ne among

the onlookers seemed altogether for the moment
84 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N

to understand Currie crouched low as if pre&

—
.

p aring for another sp ring but eve r yone knew it

would be a hopeless attempt Suddenly he
—
.

straightened p his hand came quickly from be

U

hind him and shot towards McCa r tne y—but not

fo r a blow
No —no s ir said Currie his breath coming
.

—
“
, , ,

short and labored no you can t—you can t ’ ’

— — —
,
’
get me like that Get back I ll get you sure
.

a s Go d— I ll bore yo u Now—get back

’ ”
. .

M cCa r tne y sprang back and looked at Currie

who had covered him —
H e knew they all knew
.

—that Lush Currie was fool enough to S hoot if

it came to a show-down And no man can tru st .

a gun in the hands of a fool The big foreman .

turned in mute appeal to o ne o f the mounted

policemen who stoo d near .

Suddenly the door opened and King H owden

stepped into the room took off his hat S hook , ,

the rain from it and then looked aroun d him

, .

H is mind usually slow at taking in a situa

,

tion seemed to react quickly to what he s aw

,

o n this occasion H e took a step fa rther down

.

the room and rubbed his eyes q uickly with o ne

hand as if the light bothered him T hen he .

looked again at the men and turned to Currie ,

who was crouching near him Something like a .

 T HE HEA R T OF CH ERRY McB AI N

temper and stood regarding M cCa r tne y in

S ilence .The latter however realizing that
, ,

Currie was now at his mercy and mastered by an ,

uncontrollable desire to end the a ffair to his

advantage stepped deliberatel y in the direction
,

&
o f Currie who was cowering near the door .

“ ”
Stand back he roared and the words were ,

meant more for King than for the two or three

men who made weak attempts to restrain him .

King recognizing that M cCa r tn e y w a s S pea k

,

ing to him stepped d eliberately between the two

,

men .

“
You d better l eave he s aid gl ancing behi nd
’
, ,

him and even a s he spoke Currie O pene d the

,

door and slipp e d out .

King was about to follow but turne d a s

M cCa r tne y s voice came to him muttering some
’
,

thing he only half heard .

“ ”
You re no ttalking to me are you ? he s aid
’

M cCa r tne y bellowed his reply &I m t a l kin

.
,

&
“ ’ ’

”
to you you son o f a dog
,

King moved slowly towards M cCa r tne y H e .

faced the big foreman for a moment his arms ,

rigid at his sides Suddenly M cCa r tne y s han d

.
’

shot out and King stepped back j ust in time to

avoid the full force o f a blow that as it was , ,

glan ced from his cheek Slowly King s two.

’
 TH E H EA R T OF C HERRY McBAI N 87
i

hands came up and closed in a convulsive g r ip .

While the men waited breathlessly he stood trem

bling from the struggle that was going on within
hi m—then he wheeled q uickly and going to the
door opened it and went o ut
, ,
.

In the darkness King without any thought

, ,

o f picking his way through th e mud and water ,

’
hurried roun d the corner of Cheney s place and
sta rted down the roadway to where his horse
stoo d tethered in front of o ld man H urley s o flice ’
.

O nly once did he p ause Just as he stepped into

.

the street a great burst of loud l aughter came to

him from behind the doo r he had j ust closed .

H e knew what it meant and for a moment hi s

grip Upon himself weakened H e wante d to go
.

back he wanted to fight

-
Fo r a moment he
.

hesitated Then his mind was clear again and

.

he went o n All the way down the street how

.
,

ever he could not help wondering how long he

,

would have to wait .

Then he got U p into the s addle and went o fl

'

along the muddy trail that l ed west about half a

mile to where his little shack stood u p on a low
ridge that ran in U pon his lan d .
 CH APTE R S I &
H EN King H owden awoke next morning
it w a s with a feeling that he w a s begin
ning life in a new worl d The feeling
.

wa s deepened when he looked o ut through the

small window and s aw the pool s of water left
’
by the night s rain glistening in the bright s un
—
light H e had not slept well during the earlier
.

p art of the night he had not sl ept at all There .

had been much to t hink about much that wa s

,

perpl exing and disquieting An d yet a s he

.
,

looked from his window at the new morning and

s a w half a mile away the huts and white te nts o f

The Town flooded with sunlight he was con ,

scious n o t so much of the disappointment s that

the week ha d brought hi m a s he was of the new
,

determi nation the high resolve with whi ch he

,

l ooked into the future

When his mind went back to his brother—a s it
.

—
did fre quently the memory struck pain to hi s
heart but he was not melancholy The lone
, .

line s s he felt caused him to straighten his should

ers and prep are himself to square away before the
as
 TH E HEART OF CH ERRY McB AI N 89

task that lay before him What that task was he

.

could only vaguely define as yet B ut he w a s .

’
beginning to understand that there wa s a man s
work here—and a big man s work it was—await
’

ing the coming o f someone to do it The fact ha d

.

dawned upon him slowly but the first glimmer

,

ings o f light were visible j ust the s ame H e wa s .

coming to s e e that a new countr y even a small

, ,

half-enclosed valley-district such as this one ,

woul d become what the vital energies o f its men

made it H e had not a s yet had any clear vision
.

of what the country would be in years to come ,

when little towns and vil lages would spring up

here and there along the railway when hundreds
,

of men and women and their families would rush

in hopeful that they might build again—and
—
,

strongly build though their o ld lives in other

lands had crumbled into ruins H e had no con
.

crete complete conception o f what lay ahead

, .

H e had nothing but the vague hopes the unce r ,

tain dreams the fleeting fancies that had come to

him often during the past summer—o nly now
,

they were more vivid .

To the events o f the night before he gave littl e

o r no th ought— a t least to the events that had
,

brought him into conflict with Bill M cCa r tne y .

In fa ct in his new mood he wondered how he

G
90 T HE HE A R T OF C HE RRY McBAI N
,

could have come s o nea r to losing hi s temper

’
over an a ff air that didn t amount to anything
after all H e had been in Cheney s before but
.
’
,

not often As he thought it over he quietly de

.

te r mine d that the less he had to do with Ch eney

the better H is determination was sti ff ened as
.

he remembered the group o f men he had seen

there the night before It startled him to think
.

how near they had come to witnessing what

might easily have been a tragedy becaus e one of,

them was bent upon settling a dispute in his own

ill chosen way ; and o ut o f all his t hinking about
-

these things there grew up within him the clear

understanding that only Upon order and good
j udgment could men hope to build for the future
in a new community
In all his wondering about these things—and
.

much o f it was very vague wondering—there was

only one element o f a p ersonal kind H e con .

fessed to himself now fo r the first time that

Cherry M cB a in was as nearly indispensable to
him a s anyone in his l ife had ever been And .

now with the bi r th of a new hO p e he did what any

man would have done under the circumstances
he threw his whole soul into a resolve that in the
g a me o f life he was playing now the p rize was
'

the heart of C her r y M cB a in Perhap s it wa s

.
 T HE HEA R T OF C HERRY McB AI N 91

this thought that helped to ma k e the world a

’

good place for him to live in and the future some ,

thing to s e t store by .

It was something o f this nature at any rate

that he confided to his sole companion in the
shack o ld mongrel Sal who had stood for some
, ,

time looking U p into his face her S haggy body ,

performing all kinds o f contortions in vain a t

tempts to attract her master s attention Su d ’
.

de nly he s a t down on the side of his bed and

grasping h er two ears with his hands drew her
head between his knees and looked into her eyes .

“
Sal you o ld cuss you he said shaking her
, , , ,
“ ’ ’ ”
head there s something I m going to tell you
, .

H e put his face down until his cheek was rest

ing against the side o f her head and mu rmured
something very quietly Then he straightened
.

Up and with his two hands closed the dog s mouth ’

,

holding it shut a moment with o ne han d roun d

her muz z le .

Something in the mood that had come U pon

King caused him to look critically round the
single room that made U p the interior of his
shack O ne golden shaft of sunlight fell from
.

the small window to the floor but the light it gave ,

revealed a condition that fo r some reason o r,

other he had never been more than vagu ely co n

,
92 T HE HEART OF C HERRY McB AI N

s cious o f befo re The place was indes cribably

.

dirty H is few days absence from th e place had

.
’

given it a heavy musty smell that was anything

,

but pleasant A litter o f odd bits o f clothing and

.

o l d p apers lay where he had thrown them prob

ably weeks before The heavy grey bl a nkets o n

.

the bunk which he had built into o ne co rner o f

the S hack had not been washe d for month s —they
had not even been spread out to the s un The .

table that stood near the window was covered

with unwashed tin plates and cups dirty knives , ,

forks and spoons A bit o f b read dried hard

.
, ,

and some butter that had tu r ned to gre a se in the

’
sun s rays lay where he had l eft them when he
went out on his last trip Grey ashes co vered
.

the floor beside the rusted sheet iron stov e -

.

King had once regard e d this as belonging

essentially to the only place he kn ew as home .

It had been perfectly natural and far from te ,

v o lting It had been even cosy But in his p re

. .

s ent mood he found it disquieting H e could not .

help wondering to himself how Ch e rry M cB a in s ’

s enses would react if s he were suddenly ushered

,

into the place .

H e sprang U p and threw O p e n the d oor T he .

fresh Sunday morning air swept in with its frag

rance borne from the balm-O -gileads that stoo d’
94 T HE HEAR T OF C HERRY McBAI N

wa s any competition in the field and had s ecured

what he considered a choice location within easy
distance o f wood and water The soil was ve r y
.

ri ch ,
and the ridge with its clumps o f poplars
offered an excellent S pot for building F rom in .

front o f his S hack he could s e e not only The

Town but beyond it to the blue hills rising to the
,

east and extending southward in a half circle

forming o ne rim o f the valley B etween these .

two ranges lay a wide plain S pread out under the

blue S ky fertile well watered and pleasantly
, ,

wooded It wa s not the kind o f country King

.

“
had been accustomed to hearing called a man s ’

l and in the rugged interior o f B ritish Columbia ,

where he had S pent eight o f the ten years S ince

he had come west I t was q uieter—mil der
—
.

softer maybe an d o f coloring l ess vivid And

, .

’
yet it was a man s country too a country with a
, ,

challenge for anyone who cared to hear it .

It was well on in the afternoon when Kin g go t

back from his tramp over his land F or a few .

minutes he s a t down Upon the door-step and

rested before sta rting for The Town to get some
thing to eat Sal lay down near him p anting
.
,

la z ily in the shade o f the poplars When he was .

about to go the dog gave a sharp little bark and

stood up quickly with her ears pointed in the
direction o f the ridge-trail leading to town .
 TH E HEART OF C HERRY McBAI N 95

King go t U p and looked down the trail .

Soon there emerged from behind the clump o f

willows the figure o f a man coming towards him .

King sat down again and waited In a few .

moments he recognized the fi gure as that o f Lush

Currie AS the l atter approached him King r e
.

garded him with a questioning air There wa s .

’
something in Currie s face that he could not quite
understan d H e off ere d to bring o ut a bench for
.

a seat but Lush protested q uite sincerely and s a t

,

down o n the grass un d er the poplars When .

Currie had rolled himself a fresh cigarette and

lighted it he lifted his eyes to King and looked at
him s quarely fo r the first time .

“ ’ ” ’
I m gettin out he said abruptly , .

’
King did not reply at first but Curr ie s S ilence ,

p rompted him to ask what he meant .

“ ” “
Just that s ai d C urrie I m goin outside ’ ’

—
.
,
”
to-morrow a n I ll not be bac k ’ ’
.

It was no unusual thing for a member of a

railway constru ction gang to p ack up his b e
longings and leave fo r the outside King w a s .

at a loss to know the exact significance o f Currie s ’

announcement .

“
B e fo r e I went I wanted to see you he con ,
“
tinue d
’ ’
a n to tell you I m right sorry about last
,
”
night .

Ther e was some thing so direct and S incere in

96 T HE H EAR T OF CHERRY McBAI N
the way Currie expressed hi mself that King felt
his hea rt warming towards the man in S pite of
his recollections from the night before .

“
An that s the reason I m gettin o ut he sai d
’ ’ ’ ’
,
“
a little sti ffly Howden y ou came in on a bad
mess last night—just about as bad as it could a
.
,
’ ’

’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
been If it hadn t a been for you I d a been
.

f
’
—
lookin o r a place to hide to day wa itin for
-
’

night to come on so I could walk around without

’ ”
bein s cared .

King moved a little impatiently H e didn t .

’

’
wish to have his interference o n Currie s behalf
made s o much o f .

“
For three years I ve been with O ld Silent s ’ ’

” “
outfit Currie went o n
, Y ou know what it .

means fo r a man to hitch up with his gang You

stay—that s all there is to it
.

’
I never did go .

’
lookin fo r trouble An I never went gunnin .
’ ’

before I got that thing when I l eft home back

.

—
east I thought I d mebbe need it I never had
’

trouble with O ld Silent—nor with any o f his men

.

There was a few fi ghts—mostly with boys from

.

—
other camps but they were all o n the square .

This man McCa r tne y was the first man who ever
tried anything like that H e s a four-flush e r ’

I know that—a n I coul d a trimmed him too

.

’ ’

—
,

only now I can t T here won t be another

’
.
’

”
chance fo r me .
98 T HE H E A R T OF C H ERRY McBAI N

against the melan choly that had haunted him

strangely for months It was not his nature to
.

change his mood quickly but the warning that ,

Currie ha d sounded brought Upon him the full

consciousness that he had an enemy who would
never be q uiet until he himself had brought him
to subj ection by noth i ng but brute strength He .

was not afraid, but he had hoped that in the d ays

to come he would only have to take up the
struggle that men wage against nature in their
e ff orts to make a living The thought o f having
.

to fight it o ut with B ill McCa r tne y before he

could have any peace weighe d U pon him in a way
that made him feel impatient with himself H e .

made up his mind however that he would never

, ,

fight until the occasion arose that demanded it

then he would s e e it through to the bitter end .

The thought steadie d him as he walked along the

trail and his voice became more cheerful as he
,

chatted wi th Currie .

ali ilfi 91
6

In the lodging hous e old man R ubble was dis

cussing the affair of the night before with a half
dozen o f the men o f his own party Word had
’

gone round that Lush Currie had decided to

leave an d i t was generally agree d that he wa s
,

doing the only thing reasonable under the cir

 T HE HE A R T O F C H ERRY McB AI N 99

cu ms ta nce s The real point o f interest was the

.

relationship between King Howden and Bill

M cCa r tne y As the l atter with a number of
.
,

Keith M cBa in s men had j ust left fo r camp there

’
,

w a s no reason for postponing a dis cussion that

had been held up during the day merely becaus e ,

the p resence o f Bill M cCa r tne y made any refer

ence to the question a little diffi cult Now that .

M cCa r tne y had gone the question wa s raised at

,

once and the discussion ha d become very spirited .

O ne thing puzzled the m all Why had King .

H owden not taken the challenge when it wa s

given to him and fi nished the fight right there ?
The challenge had certainly been O ffensive
’
enough to have j ustified any man s accepting it at
once And King would never again get an o p
.

p o r tunity to fight M cCa r tn e y when the l atter wa s

j ust finishing o ne struggle The advantage had
.

l ain all with King and to tell the truth the men
, ,

were not a little disappointe d that he had failed

to go in when the conditions were s o much in his
favor It w a s something more to increase the
.

wondering they had already felt concerning King

Howden .

“ ’ ”
There s only o ne way to reason it o ut s aid ,

old man Rubble after various opinions had been

,
“
expressed The fact i s H owden don t want to
.
’
100 T HE HE AR T OF C HERRY McBAI N

mix in with Bill at all NO one ever s a w H owden .

do anything yet H e s j ust a big raw over

.
’
, ,

grown boy H e never did fight and I gu ess he

.

”
never will if he ca n get o ut of it .

Someone in the group murmured a word of

protest .

“ “
Well s aid Rubble I m willing to wait till I
, ,
’

find o ut B ut I m telling you right now that no

.
’

’
man in any gang I ve ever been with would have
let Bill M cCa r tne y get away with it If King
H owde n s got any stomach—and if he s got any
.

’ ’

thing in it—he d a hit B ill McCa r tne y o n the

’ ’ ’

&
j aw before he coul d have got the words out I
may be wrong but—H owde n s no good
.

” ’
,

But R ubbl e wa s not allowed to dismi s s the

aff air s o summarily T here was a somewhat .

thin voice that finally broke the long silence that

followed Rubble s words O ld Gabe Smith who
’
.
,

had been a S ilent spectator during the events o f

the night before and had given S ilent audience to
all the discussion o f the d ay ventured a remark ,

or two that he w a s inclined to think had a bearing

on the subj ect .

“
An what I woul d s ay is this he observed in
’
,

hi s most philosophical manner after he had given ,

due notice that he intended to S peak o n the ques

“ ’
tion a n I have a fe e lin that I m not far wrong
,
’ ’
102 T HE HEA R T O F C HE RRY McBAI N
give him a few weeks longer Mister R ubble we ll
, ,
’

both know pretty well whi ch o ne o f us is right .

But in my O pinion this boy H owden is no coward

—he may have acted a bit strange—but he s not a ’

coward—not to my way o f thinkin —j ust yet ” ’

.

Gabe was sitting with his back to the doo rway

as he S poke and did not s e e the figure that was
standing there while he was engrossed in making
his opinion quite plain to Rubble The other .

men however forgot to listen to Gabe s e xpo si

, ,
’

tion and were sta ring uneasily at King H owden ,

who had appeared while the o ld man w a s talking

and had stopped suddenly o n hearing his ow n
name When Gabe had finished he tu rned con
.
,

fus e dly to discover the cause of the change that

was s o evident in the faces o f the men and met ,

the gaze that fell upon him from eyes that were
cold and unwavering Then he s a w the face
grow serious and the lines o f his lips tighten The .

next moment he seemed conscious most o f the

still nes s that had fallen upon the group of men
who fill ed the room H is attempt to relieve his
.

o wn embarrassment as well as that o f the men

was a little awkward but he felt it w a s better

,

than nothing .

“
No harm meant H owden my boy he s aid
, , , ,

an d his voice was steady and quiet but we ,

’ ”
were talkin about yo u .
 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N 103

’
I gues s it s all right Gab e s aid King and he
, , ,

took a step into the room .

“ ”
Y o u heard what I s aid ? the o l d man asked .

“ ’ ”
That ain t troubling me any King replied ,
—not any at all
,
”
.

But even a s he spoke his face revealed the ,

struggle th at w a s going on within him H e was .

not concerned over the words that he had heard

from Gabe Smi th H e knew however that
.
, ,

someone had spoken words that had pro mpted

Gabe to make a reply ; and it rankled in his
heart that he should come to be looke d upon as a
coward by anyone .

H e went to a chair S tanding back against the

wall and sat down The conversation dragged
.

along without interest old man R ubbl e doing hi s

,

best to carry it into one field after another with

o ut success until he finally gave U p in desp air and

went o ut B efore long the others followed him

.
,

all except Gabe Smith who remained alone with ,

King .

“ ’
I m an older man than yo u he began when
they were left alone —O lder by nearly thirty
,

,
’ ’
ye a rs An I ve had some chances to loo k around
.

’
in the p ast thi rty years An I m go in to tell you
.
’ ’

right here some things you ve got to know I ve ’ ’

—
.

’
watched y o u a n I like y o u An when a man .
’

”
likes another he wants him to get along .
104 T HE HE A R T OF C H ERRY McBAI N
King s smile expressed the gratitude he felt
’
.

“ ’
I watched that business last night in Cheney s
—a n I want to tell you what I think It wasn t
’
.
’

—
your fi ght to begin with Lush and M cCa r tn e y
ha d been layin for each other for quite a little’

while T hey had to settle it o ne way or the other

. .

’
—
It ain t settled yet a h what s wors e you ve got ’ ’ ’

yourself in for a part o f that settlement ,to o .

King leaned fo r ward a little and looked at

Gabe .
“ — ’
It s been settled between them two ”
,

he s aid gravely .

“ ”
H o w settled ?
Lush won t be goin back to wor k a ny more
’ ’
.

’”
H e s goin out to-morrow
’

H e s l e a vin then—for sure ?

.

“ ’ ” ’
,

Y es H e walked up to s e e me this afternoon

—
.

’ ”
he s ays he can t stay here
’
an .

Gabe puckered his lips and was silent a

moment “
Then— that means he s aid very
—
.
,
’
thoughtfully that means he s handed it over
,
”
to yo u .

King made no reply .

“ ”
You ve got to take it up from last night, Gabe
’

remarked again and again King remained ,

S ilent Gabe was silent too for a long time and

.
, , ,

when he spoke his words were s o sudden and

“
direct that King was startled Why didn t yo u .
’

”
finish it last night ?
106 T HE HEA R T OF C HERRY Mc BAI N
I can t get it j ust right That s why I left—that s
’
.
’ ’

why I came here I wanted to get away from it

— —
.

and start in new I wanted to to make that .

”
right with myself .

Gabe Smith seemed puzzled to un d erstan d

clearly what King was saying to him .

“ ” “
Last night continue d King it came back
, ,

again I thought I was strong enough but I

.

guess I ain t When he called me that—it all

,
’

came back I wen t blind again—and I wanted

.

n e y—
.

to kill Bill M cCa r t o nly then I remem

be red and it took the heart o ut of me

, .

“ ’
” “
List en boy s aid Gabe Some day yo u are
goin to forget that—all of it Some day you are
, , .

— a n to fight clean—and to win

.

’
fi h
’
goin o ut to g t .

and I l l tell you why There s some o f U S countin

’ ’ ’
.

on yo u, and you ve got to make good—that s

’ ’

”
why .

King got U p and going over to the o l d man

gripped his shoulder in his large p owerful hand
and looked down into hi s face .

“ ’
You re the first man ever s aid it to me li k e
”
that he s aid very gravely and hi s lip s were tight
a s he S poke and I think—I think you can count
, ,

o n me from now o n .

G abe Smith gave him his han d and s miled .

 CH A PTER S EV EN

LD man H urley s a t in his office alone and

looked o ut of th e single window which the
pl ace boasted No other window was ne
.

c e s s a r y however for it gave a clear V iew o f the

, ,

west over the whole expanse o f valley plain that-

wa s his one concern It was his o ne concern in a

.

busines s way for he had been sent in a s Dominion

,

Land Agent just as soon as the n e w district had

begun to attract settlers and he wa s the sole
,

member o f the new community upon whom the

dignity o f governmental o ffice of any kind rested .

But it was hi s chief concern morally as well for ,

he felt the full weight o f the responsibility that

w a s his to carry the new adventure in settlement
to a gratify ing and success ful issue .

The dignity o f office rested gracefully Upon

Hugh H url ey Geni al and aff able at the s ame
.

time that he was business -like and practical he ,

was an unfailing source o f healthy optimism and

unshaken confidence in the future H e wa s not
.

unaware of the stubborn difli cu ltie s that invar

ia bly attend the building up o f any new settle
107
108 T HE HEA R T OF C H ERRY McBAI N

ment But he had vision and was possesse d of a

.

S pirit o f idealism that read so mething o f roma nce

into eve r ything he did .

In the thick o f daily routine in the mi d st o f a

,

confusion o f maps and blu e p rints and su rvey

’
o r s reports and governmental rules and regul a

tions in his daily meeting with newcomers who

,

had as yet su ffered no disillusionment and with ,

“ ”
Hisgr untl e d o l d-timers who had been in the
distri ct for as long as S ix months or even longer ,

in the thous and and o ne matters of detail that try

the patience of any conscientiou s servant of the
public H ugh H urley constantly cherished a vis
,

ion It was o f a great fe r tile valley flanked o n

.
,

either S ide by rising blue hills teemi ng wi th an

,

eager hea r ted virile population devoted to the

-
,

soil and standing as o ne more outpost of empire

, ,

o ne more living monument to high ende avour .

I n the occasional hour of leisure that came to

him during the day and afforded him an oppo r
tunity o f sitting before his window he gave hi s
,

imagination free rein and allowed it to wander

unchecked Then it was that he s a w the broad
.

fields of grain sw aying in the golden s un H e .

s a w men moving about over ploughed fields with

the rich brown moul d tu rned U p to the light
,
.

H e heard the sin gin g of wome n an d the happy

110 TH E H EA RT OF C HE RRY McBAI N

actual more immediate These men and their

,
.
,

wives and children too would have to live during

,

the next eight o r ten months most o f which would

,

be trying months of fiercely col d weather an d ,

they were without resources of any kind What .

wa s t r ue o f these men was true o f hundreds o f

new s ettlers in the valley except that the Douk
,

hob o rs reliance o n the Al mighty to furnish them

’

with food and S helter was as complete as it was

p athetic H ugh H urley knew that he must im
.

mediately constitute himself the elected agent

o f H eaven itself for these p eople o f a blin d faith
—and for the others a practical p rovi der of
.

means whereby the winter could be met an d

p as sed without regrets .

H e was waiting now for Keith M cBa in with ,

whom he had discussed the problem and from ,

whom he hoped he might get some p ractical s ug

gestio ns .

Keith had pro mised at their last meeting to

, ,

s e e him as soon as he had made some investiga

tions o n his own part O nly half an hour ago he

.

had seen the o l d contractor come to town But

Keith M cB a in s first place of call—as it was also
.

s —
hi last was Mike C heney s and H ugh H urley ’
,

knew that he co ul d only wait till the o ld m an was

ready to co m e .

O ne thing that had given H urley cause fo r

 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N 111

anxiety was the fa ct that during the week a num

ber o f the younger homesteaders had bidden the
place good-bye and ha d left for the outside
, ,

where they were going to remain until it was time

to g o o n the l and again in the S pring H urley .

knew what that meant A little more o f the s ame

.

kind o f thing and the movement woul d become

general The result woul d mean hardship and
.

even su ff ering for the few who remained isolate d

from the outside during the long months of
winter .

Two young fellows entered the O pen d oo rway

behind H urley and he turned to greet them .

”
H ello boys he s aid cheerfully as he got up
, ,
“
and went to meet them Y ou re l ooking go od
.
’

”
homesteading evidently sets a man up eh ? ,

They smiled and shook hands .

“ ”
We re sure fe e lin good s ai d o ne o f them
’ ’
, ,

but we ve had enough of home ste a din fo r a little

“ ’ ’

whil e — it gets o n your nerves We re goin o ut .

’ ’

”
for the winter .

“ ”
Going out fo r the winter ? H urley excla i med
with a smile “
No—no you re not—you re go ’ ’

ing to stay here this winter—an d help o ut

.
,
”

H elp out—a t what ?

.

Sit d own there an d smoke while I tell you a

”
sto ry
.
 112 T HE HEA R T O F C HERRY McBAI N
When they were seated H urley began .

“
This reminds me of an argument I heard once
between a pioneer preacher and a me mhe r o f his
congregation This preacher was holding forth .

o n hell and after the service he met up with o ne

,

o f his freethinking brethren who didn t believe in

’

‘ ’
hell o r heaven either So you don t believe in
, ,
.

’ ‘ ’
hell s aid the preacher Well mister I ll tell
you how I S ize it U p I m betting on hell—a n
.
, , ,
’ ’
.

’ ’
I m betting for two reasons In the first pl ace it s
—
.

’
a good hunch and in the second place I m plum
‘
scared not to I t s like this he said Y o u say .
’
,
’
.

’ ’
there ain t no hell an you put your money o n
that han d Y ou j u st have to d raw o ne card to
.

find o ut I s a y there is a hell an I m pl a yin that

.
’ ’ ’

hand An I draw o ne All right You draw

.
’
. .

’
your card an you turn it up If you ve played .
’

the right hun ch what d o you win ? Nothin If ’

.

there a i n t no hell or heaven you re no better off

’ ’
,

even if you ain t worse off You re j ust where ’

.
’

you were But if you re playing the wrong hunch

.
’

’
an you turn up your card an find there s a sure ’ ’

nough hell—you re stuck Ain t that right ? Y o u

’ ’ ’
.

stand to win nothin an los e everything Now ’ ’

.

look at me I s a y there is a hell an I draw an

.
’ ’

turn up If I don t make it—I don t lose any

.
’ ’

thing anyhow I m no better o ff—but I m sure .

’ ’
114 '

TH E HE A RT OF C H ERRY McBAI N
“
Li v e—yes —an d I ve been working o n that ’
.

’ ’
A nd I ll tell you what I ll do I ll grub- stake the
’
.

whole caboodle of you for s ix months beginning ,

the middle o f O ctober and I ll p ay you a dollar a

,
’

da y fo r eve r y day s work you put in if you hang

’

”
on.

The m en looke d d oubtful but were interested .

”
T hat looks all right o ne o f them off ere d , ,

but
“ “
But nothing interrupte d H urley
,
I ll do .
’

what I s a y and I can make money on it to o I .

’
couldn t pay o ne man a dollar a day for a fore
noon j ust now but listen—this country s got to
,
’

’
p roduce something if it s going to live and it ,

might as well start in this year as next And .

when the rush comes in here next spring— and it s ’

coming strong—there ll be a crowd of people here’

.

I hear about it every time the mail comes in This .

town will be five times a s big in a month The .

’
man who s on the ground with his eyes open will
take the winnings The railway will be in before
.

July and the towns will be springing up and busi

,
’
ness will start and we ll be a p art of the worl d
’
we ve j ust left before we know it And that s .
’

only o ne side of it You boys have registered

.

your claims here and st a rted improvements be

cause you want to live here sometime I f its go .
’
s
 T HE HEART OF C HE RRY McBAI N 115

’
ing to be a fit place to live in we don t want any
s e t-backs Sta rt to stampede fo r the outside now
.

’
and by the time you get back you ll be where yo u
’
were when you first landed here That s not my .

idea I m going to stay right here an d get ready

.
’

fo r the big rush .

All at once they were aware of someone enter

ing the o ff ice and turned to find Keith McB a in
,

coming through the doo r way The young fel .

lows go t up at once and with a word to H urley,

'

promising to drop in the next day left the office , .

“ ”
Do you know what I ve d one ? said H urley
’

as soon as they had gone .

Keith M cB a in merely waited for a reply .

“ ’
I ve promised thos e two boys work for the
winter at a dollar a day and three square meals .

I had to do it Keith—they re good men both of

,
’
,

them and they were o n their way o ut for the win

,

ter We can t let these men go We ve go t to

.
’
.
’

give them something to do an d hold them here till

”
spring .

“ ’
I ve go t it worked o ut said Keith I was
, .

talking last week to M cKe nzie and we ca n put in ,

a camp just a s soon as we can get a goo d location .

They want a q uarter to a half mi llion ties fo r co n

’
struction There s a lot of stuff in there j ust
.

&
’
south of the camp A ll we ve go t to do is to go
.
116 T HE HEA R T OF C HERRY McBAI N
and find 1t a nd sta rt right in Any of your men .

”
here know anything about cruis ing ?
As if by way o f answer to this question King
H owden rode U p to the door and without getting
down called fo r H urley to bring o ut the mail bag .

H urley went to the door and invited him in

’

When King entered his eyes fell Upon Keith Mc

B ain and for a moment he paused and held o ut
,

his hand The o ld contractor s greeting wa s

.
’

pleasant and King went in and stood waiting fo r

,

H urley to speak .

“
You did some work once in the lumber woo ds
”
at the coast King didn t you ? H urley as ked
, ,
’

him .

“
King s loo k exp ressed mild surp rise A little
’
.
,

he s aid .

“ ”
Done some ti mber-c ruising ?
“
About all I did for three years—summer and
”
Wi nter he answered
, .

“ ’
Well you d better spend an extra day o r two
,

o n your trip this time You d better wait over .

’

until to-morrow morning and get ready Take

—
.

b
’
enough gru they ll fix y o u up at the lodging
hous e—and a couple o f blankets and get a goo d ,

sta rt in the morning We d like you to take the

.
’

o ld trail into the hills and then work your way

east the right f way Y o u might aim at co m

to -o -
.
118 T HE HEA R T OF C HERRY McB AI N
”
What do you think of H owden ?
”
H e s a good boy Keith remarked dryly
’
,
.

“
Couldn t he handle that camp for the winter
’

— a little better than anyone around here ?

”

M cB a in did not say anything for some time ,

but sat meditatively smoking his pipe Finally .

he seemed to have reached a conclusion .

“ ”
H e s a good boy H ugh he remarked slowly
’
, , ,
’
but he s got to be more than that before he can

&
handle a gang o f men in a bush H e s got to have
.
’

”
the stomach
H urley went to his window and looked o ut In .

his own mind he was turning over the possibility

o f getting King to p rove himself wo r th y of the

confidence he felt H e had heard the men tal k

.

o f the affair with M cCa r tn e y and he knew pretty

,

well what was in Keith M cB a in s mind ’

.

’
King s preparations were made quickly and ,

by supper time he was ready to tak e the trail next

morning H e had yet to go back to his cabin for
.

a C ouple o f blankets but he waited till later in the

,

evening and decided that he would S pend the

,

night in his shack and start from there early in

the morning H e took S upper at the lodging
.

house in company with Keith M cB a in who was ,

in o ne o f his silent moods having alrea d y spent

,
 TH E H EA R T O F C HERRY McB AI N 119

too much tim e in the company of Mike Cheney

during the afternoon With them was Tom Rick
.

ard as S ilent and uncommunicative as Keith Mc

,

B ain F rom the knowledge that King had o f

.

’
the old contracto r s ways he feared he was o ut o n
another of his length y visits to town And King s .
’

mind went back immediately to Cherry who was ,

probably even then waiting anxiously for her

’
father s return .

Th e first hours of such a visit o n the p art of

Keith M cB a in were U sually spent in se c ret with
Mike Cheney and inva riably produced a mood in
,

whi ch he refused to speak to anyone When they .

s a t down to the table Ki ng asked hi m when he

,

intended go ing back to camp The old man o f

.

fe r e d not a word by way o f reply and the meal ,

went forward without any further convers ation

between the two Anne came and went fr e
.

quently during the S ho rt half hour that King

spent at the table or stoo d a little back from him
,

and off ered a few words now and then whi ch

King responded to b riefly but pl eas antly enough .

The two young fellows who had visited H ur l e yf s

o flice earlier in the afternoon to announ c e their

intention o f going o ut for the winter ha d eaten

earlier in the evening and had app arently S poken
,

o f their plans in Anne s hea ring She ha d some

’
.
120 T HE HE A R T OF C H ERRY McBAI N
thing to say a bout it herself—but s he waited till
Keith M cB a in ha d gone o ut and disappeared up
the street followed by To m Rickard Then S he
,
.

spoke of the thing that was o n her mind .

“ ”
They re sure in luck S h e remarked as if she
’
,
“
were thinking aloud This place gives me the
blues Talk about a dead place—this ain t no
&
’

town it s a graveyard It s worse than that—it s

.

’ ’ ’
,

a prayer me e tin without the s ho utin

-
’ ’

King l aughed quietly to himself and Ann e ,

“
turned to him H onest King it ain t no pl ace
.
, ,
’

’
for white people to live It s been all right thi s .

summer with everybody round and things movin ’

—
a little but the winter—a n everybody awa y
’ ”
God you don t know how I hate the idea
, .

King got up from the table a nd went to the

doorway It had already begun to grow dusk
.
,

and the air was cool and inviting F or a moment .

he stoo d looking into the street with its rambling

houses and squat little cabins on either side .

“ ” “
Anne he s aid slowly some of us have to
—
, ,

—
stay I guess stay here and s e e it through It
, .

’ ’
won t be easy but it s the r ight thing to do
’
that s how I s e e it B esides it may be better
—
.
,
”
than we think wait and s e e .

While he talked his eyes we r e still turned to

wards the street H e did not look at the girl
.
122 T HE HE A R T OF C H ERRY McBAI N
’
go ? They think there s something wrong because
I got into Mike s place the night o f the scrap
’
.

’
They didn t like my way round here before that .

Well it s my way isn t it ? I t s a ff I go t I don t

’ ’ ’ ’

o we anything—I m s quare
.
, ,
r
’
But I want some
o ne that will talk to me — a n talk right—
.

’
not like
a lo t o f these fellows want to talk That s what I .
’

”
want .

King put o ut his hand and took her a rm I .

”
’ “
gues s that s right Anne he said I ve felt like
, , .
’

that .
— ’
We ll talk yo u and I talk together -

sometimes And then mayb e . he began to _

think o f the possibility o f Anne coming to know

Cherry M c B a in .

“ ’
I ve been wa ntin to tal k to yo u often s he ’
,
“
said very quietly and very slowly
, But yo u .

seemed to pass me up like the rest of them O nly .

I liked you because you looked square An I ’

wa s afraid to talk to you—because I wanted yo u

.

to like me .

Fo r a moment King was silent as he weighed

the full meaning o f her words H e felt the pres .

sure o f her hand o n his arm a s she spoke and ,

there crept over him a strange feeling o f fear .

H e liked the girl he had the deepest sympathy fo r

,

her he would do anything in his power to ma k e

—
,

life m ore pleasant for her Ari d yet he sh r ank .

 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N 123

slowly from her touch and was impatient to get

away .

“
I guess it ll be late enough when I get back
’
,
“
he s aid suddenly, And I ve go t to make a goo d’

”
start fo r the hills to-morrow .

H e turned and looked at her for a moment and ,

“
then laid his hand on her shoulder We ve got .
’

“
to face a l o t of things in life Anne he s aid ; a
whole lot o f things It ain t always easy—but it
, ,
’
.

”
pays to face up .

H e stood before her in the doo rway and looked

directly into her face as he spoke F or a moment .

s he returned the look and then suddenly bowed

her head before him Putting his arm about her

.

shoulders he raised her head gently and looke d

at her.

“ “
Anne girl he said slowly I m coming to ’

s e e you —if it would help any—when I get back

, , ,

So long &”
.

She looked at him squarely and he knew S he

understood him The fea r he had ente r tained
.

only a moment before w a s gone now H e was .

con fi dent that eve r ything between them was j ust

a s he wanted it to be In her heart w a s a deep
yearning for companion shi p—
.

in his a feeling o f ,

great pity for the girl who was s truggling against

the d emon of loneliness .
124 T HE HE A R T OF CHERRY McBAI N
King S he s a id at last you re right—and I
, ,
’

like that .

A sound o f hoofs came suddenly from the trail

only a few yards away Anne stepp ed back .

quickly from the doo rway and King turned to

face Cherry M cB a in who had brought her horse
,

to a standstill and wa s already looking down at

him from her pl ace in the s addle H e was about .

to expres s his surprise but the look s h e gave him

,

caused the words to die on his lips .

“ ”
I m looking for my fa ther s he s aid in a voice
’
,
’
that to King s ears s ounded like the voice o f a
stranger .

The sound o f men s voices came from farther

’

Up the street and looking o ut King s aw H ugh

, ,

H urley and Keith M cB a in leavi ng the l and-o f

fi ce Che r r y s a w the men at the same moment
’

.
,

and without a word rode away to j oin her father .

Just once King called after her but received no ,

rep ly H e watched them till all three had van

.

is he d in the direction of H urley s little house that

’

stood under the poplars at the end o f the street .

Then he stepped o ut and went o ff down the trail

to where his hors e wa s tethered outside H urley s ’

o ffi ce .

When he had mounted into hi s s addle he turn e d

 CH APTER EI GHT

ING H O WD EN was at a loss to under

'

stand himself that night Into a few short

.

days had been crowded more emotion more ,

s tirring experience than he had ever known b e

fore The very fact that there h a d been nothing
.

sp ectacular nothing especially thrilling in what

, ,

had occurred only made the effects more far

reaching and real A change had come over him
.

that was the result o f forces working s o deeply

within him that he knew life from this time for
ward was to mean something different something
,

mo re serious than it had ever meant to him .

When he arrived at his cabin after putting his

,

horse away for the night an d ma king a few final

prep arations fo r an early start in the morning ,

he foun d his bunk strangely uninviting Hi s .

mind was U nusually busy turning over an d

,

o ver a host o f thoughts that crowded Upon one

another in a confusion that ma d e sleep impo s
sibl e H e went to the doorway o f his shack an d
.
,

sitting on the doorstep drew his do g down besi d e

him and tried to think hims e lf C lear of the con
'

126
 TH E H EART O F CH ERRY McB AI N 127

fusion H e recalled th e
night he had learned
o f his brother s death—
.

it seem e d as if a year had

’

gone since that nigh t, instead of a week H is .

ima gination dwelt Upon Ch erry M cBa in a s S he

looked that night when s he rode beside hi m o n
the trail H is heart bounded again as he s a w her
.

standing before him o n the little bridge over the

White Pin e — and he felt again a s he had felt a
,

hundred times since the ecstasy o f that moment

,

when Cherry had asked him fo r his help against

a man he already hated H e smiled at the r e co l
.

lection of his meeting with McCa r tne y in

’
C heney s place Then his hea r t froze as he
.

thought o f wha t had happened only within the

last hour .

As he s a t alone o n the doorste p the night came

down o n the hills and the valley but King had ,

no thought of the p assing hours H is mind was .

o n the sudden appearance o f Cherry M cB a in

,

like an app a rition o ut o f the dusk and the coldly ,

a ccusing note in her voice when s he had spoken .

“ ’
She couldn t think he murmured to him
self and then stopp ed .

H e wondered that he ha d not gone o ff to find

he r —to follow her and explain it all And then
it occu rred to him that words—his words p a r ticu
.

l a r ly—were helples s things after all Even if he .

128 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N
had gone and found her and S poken to her what
—
, ,

would his words have done ? And yet he clung

fiercely to a hope — the hope that had so l ately
been born in him .

“ ’ ’
She can t think I m wrong he went on She .

—
,

can t I coul dn t stand that I ve been trying

’ ’
.
’

’
I m not right all through but I m not wrong like
’
,
’
that She s got to believe me
And then it came Upon him—came with crys
. .

tal clearness—that the heart of Cherry M cB a in

could be won and held only by a man that w a s
not afraid of himself a man who had a task s o
,

great that it overshadowed petty problems and

made them insignificant by comparison And so .

King H owden renewed the covenant he had made

with himsel f only a few days before that his ,

pl ace in life was something more than the small

circle drawn about his narrow existence with its ,

little weaknesses and discouragements and fail

ures O nly this time the covenant was made
.

’
s acred because a man s love for a woman had set
its seal o n it .

B y the first strea k o f dawn King was already

well along the trail H e wanted to reach the top
.

of the hills by sunrise and with a climb of some ,

five or s ix miles before him he urged his horse

forward at a good pace F rom the low lying .
-
13 0 T HE HEA R T OF C HERRY McBAI N
po ured the rich glory o f the rising King too k
s un .

o ff his hat and looke d long and silently Then .

facing northward he dismounted and taking the ,

bridle rein in o ne hand left the trail and plunged

,

into the woods .

Early that night he found a circle of ta ma r a cs

heside a little stream o f cold water and decided
to put up for the night The day had been a long
.

on e and had proven ver

,
heavy but he had s uc
y
,

c e e de d in hi s quest and was content with the r e

s ul ts of his eff o r ts.H e was very tired and after ,

removing the s addl e and p ack from his horse he

found a grass y plot not far away and tethered
him for the night Then he prep are d a little
.

smudge at the edge of the plot and retu rned to his

camp When he had eaten his S upper he un
.

strappe d his bl ankets and tossed them in a loose

roll Upon the soft ground where it was covere d
with brown needles and dr y cones Then he .

rolled himself a cigarette and smoked it in S ilence

while he thought over the results of his day s ’

cruising .

The s un had already go ne down when he go t

Up and went again to make sure that his horse
had received all the a ttention necessa ry for the
night When he had sati sfied himself that every-
. o

thing was as it should be and had pa rtly s mo th

,
 T HE HEA R T O F C HERRY McBAI N 13 1

ered the smudge in order that its usefulness might

l ast well through the night he tu rned back up the
,

hill again to roll in for th e night A p assing mood .

caused him to circle about s o that he came out

o n a small elevation clear o f trees that stoo d
, ,

back from his camp .

When he had reached the top o f the hill he

“

could s e e clear away to the west over the broad

valley where lay the town and his o wn littl e
cabin that he had left early that morning H e .

th ought he could make o ut the place o ff to the

no r th where lay the right-o f—
,

,
way and Kei th Mc
’
B ain s construction camp Then as his eyes swept
.

the intervening S pace something a rrested his a t

tention .

Everywhere were the S low-forming mists o f the

early evening But down there to the right—it
.

coul dn t be more than a mil e away— there wa s

’

something that was not mist though it was difli ,

cult to make it out even at s o short a distance

, ,

with the S hadows already beginning to deepen in

the lower places What he s a w was a S lowly
.

rising thin column o f smoke and hi s hea rt beat

, ,

faster a s he began to realize slowly what it might

mean Someone was down there making a camp
.

for the night There wa s no reason in the world

.

for anyone wandering through the hills at such

13 2 T HE H EA R T OF C HERR Y McB AI N

a timw unl e s s it was the same reason that ha d

brought King H owden himself th ere It was no t .

easy to explain but he was not slow in coming to

,

a decision to a ct Merely as a matter o f self

.

d efence he determined that he should at lea st

guard against being discover ed .

H e hurried down the hill sliding leapin g and

, , ,

running by turn s and came in a few seconds to

,

the edge o f the littl e meadow where his horse was

standing in the co mfortable protection o f the
cloud o f smoke rising from the smudge .

“ ”
Y o u poo r o ld cuss he s aid regretfully
, ,

you ll have to us e your tail to keep the mo s

’

q u ito e s o ff to-night No more smoke if they eat

.
,
”
you alive .

With that he kicked the smudge-pile vigor

o us ly s cattering it over the ground and leaving
,

the embers smoking feebly where they lay in the

grass Then he went carefully from one spot to
.

another and stamped out the l ast traces of the

fire Going back to the spot he had chosen for the
.

night he left Sal o n guard with a word of warning

not to follow him and set ofl again in the dir e c
'

tion in which he had discovered the smoke H e .

had no intention o f attempting to s ati sfy hi s

curiosity by spying on strangers H e wanted to .

be reasonably sure that he himself was not being

—
spie d U p on that was all .
 13 4 T HE HEA R T OF C HERRY Mc BAI N

a little ill-natured H e could not help thinking

.

that something was brewing behind it all and ,

right o r wrong his conviction was that the camp

,

down there a mile o r so away had some connec

tion with it all .

Suddenly he was aware of a column o f white

smoke rising o ut of the trees The traveller was
.

apparently making ready for an early start King .

s a t watching the smoke for nearly an hour before

“

anything happened to which he could attach any

s p ecial impo r tance Then the figures o f two men
.

appeared suddenly in the open space beside the

trees They were leading a couple o f horses H e
. .

got to his feet as he s a w them and then squatted

down suddenly and drew Sal towards him lest ,

s he S hould catch a glimp se o f the strangers and

s e t up an alarm .

The figures were heade d southward in the ,

direction f rom which King had come the day b e

fore F or several minutes he watched them with
.

o ut moving from his place Then a s they dis a p

.

p e a r e d from view behind the shoulder o f a hill he

scrambled down the S lope to his camp and went
about leisurely to prepare his breakfast If the .

strangers were o n a s imi lar errand to his own .

he was well ahead of them Before evening he

.

would have completed his cruising in the hills

 TH E HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N 13 5

and with ordinary good luck would reach the end

o f the steel by night-fall When he had break
.

fasted he completed a few preparations necessary

’
for the day s trip and was o n his way again at
sunrise.

Late in the afternoon he emerged Upon the

trail about half-way between M cB a in s camp and ’

the end o f the steel The air wa s heavy with a

.

promise of rain in it Fo r the last mile o r s o he

.

had followed a creek in which only a small stream

o f water tri ckled over the stones and now the
, ,

wearisome p art o f the day s work done he s a t

’
,

down Upon a lo g at the S ide o f the road and sized

up the work he had done du ring the last two days

in the hills The timber wa s there for the pur

.

poses that H urley and Keith M cB a in sought the ,

S upply was more than their needs called for and ,

he had found an admi rabl e site for a camp .

It was with a feeling o f great s atisfa ction ,

therefore that he finally got into the s a d dle and

started for the end o f— the —
,

-
steel .

Late that evening King strolled leisurely in the

direction o f the railway siding where stood a long
line o f cars that served as S leeping q uarters for
the men who were attached to the bridge gang .

Fo r a month o r more they had been busy r e q

placing the o l d tempora ry bridge by a more per

13 6 THE HE A RT OF C HERRY McBAI N

manent structure F rom a distance he had heard

.

the voices o f the men chatting and l aughing

among themselves The two days spent alone in
.

the hills had awakened in him afresh the desire to

be with men and hear them talk .

H e came upon them at an interesting moment .

Two men o f the gan gwere matched in a wrestling

bout the others standing round watching the
,
-

contest closely King waited at some distance

.

until the affair was over before he made his pres

ence known Then he stepped fo rward and e n
.

te r e d the circle of men Good nature pervaded

.

the group and King was the recipient of pleas ant

,

greetings from all sides O n the opposite side o f

.

the circle stood Larkin Keith M CB ain s freighter

,
’
.

“
H ey you outsiders—Larkin and H owden
,
”
,
“
called one of the men ; you fellows can t sit in ’

’
on this game for nothin Give us a little action
. .

Even money that H owden c a n put Larkin on his

”
back in three minutes .

“ ”
Any takers ? asked L a r kin dur ing the p ause ,
'

that followed this outburst .

Almost immediately came a dozen responses ,

whether from lack o f confidence in King s ability ’

o r from sheer desire fo r sport .

King felt himself pushed out into the centre o f

the circle where he stoo d smiling and looking
,

at Larkin .
13 8 T HE HE ART OF C HERRY McBAI N

B ack in the group of men stood one big fel

l ow, aSp aniard o f powerful build and hasty
temper whom no o ne in the gang had ever pre
,

tended to know There was a look in his eyes

.

now however that attracted and even amused

, ,

King Someone else apparently s a w that look at

.

the s ame moment .

“ ”
Y o u Spain ,
came a voice ,
F e e lin pretty .
’

s tro ng ? Get in there and stack up Y o u and .

”
H owden mate Up pretty close
—
.

“ ”
Go n get in S p ain
o came from another , ,

q uarter and at once the big Sp aniard s erious and

, ,

s truggling to control his ex citement became the ,

cen tre of interest With a deal o f urging they

fin ally got him to step out—not very relu ctantly
.
,

it s eeme d for he came toward s King rather

,

e agerly .

“
I don t kn ow young fellow he sai d seriously
’
, ,
“
a s he came forward B y golly, I t ink I lika try
.
’

da t for once anyhow .

H e a dvanced warily an d tried to get his huge

a rms about King s body King however avoided
’
.
, ,

him by moving back a step at a time about the

e nclosure until the look o f seriousness in the

S p a niard s face became o ne of impatience and

’
,

King kn ew that the moment had arrived when he

must cl os e with his antagonis t a nd fi ght i t out .
 TH E H EART OF C HER RY McBAI N 139

H is decision had barely been ma d e howev er , ,

when the Spaniard made a quick movement to

wards him and King had to leap to one side
quickly to avoid the powerful a rms that came o ut
to encircle him The movement left him slightly
.

in the rear and to o n e side of his O pponent and ,

stepping in quickly he sent his a rm forward and

upward and laying his hand o n the back o f the
,
’
Spaniard s neck brought his head down with a
snap In another ten seconds he had doubled him
.

up and thrown him o n the ground .

When the Spani ar d got to his feet his black

eyes were flashing angrily and he was mutte r ing,

incoherently as he l oo ke d at King The latter .

,

however was s mi ling with such genuine good na

,

ture that at last the fire died in the black eyes

an d the big fellow began to smile at his own d e
feat.

“
B y golly young fellow he sai d I lika know
, , ,
”
d at little treek j us once ,
’
.

King found a place fo r himself in the circle o f

m en and moved q uietly to the outside Where he
would be less in evide nce The centre o f the .

circle was taken almost imm ediately by a coupl e

of men who had come out to prove their prowes s
“ —
at s quaw wrestling ”
.

While the interest in the match was a t its

 —
140 T H E HE A RT OF C HERRY McBAI N

height King felt someone touch his a rm and

, ,

looking round found himself face to face with

,

Lush Currie who with o ne finger o n his lips as

, ,

a signal f or silence was beckoning King to come

,

o ut o f the crowd and follow him King withdrew .

at once without attracting any attention and fol ,

lowed Currie until he came up with him j ust a

few yards o ff o n the roadway .

Wh en King had j oined him he walked along in

s il e nce for a short distance ex pecting Currie to ,

speak .

“
I j ust came from up the line said Currie at
I didn t know you were here—where d you
,
“
l a st
’ ’
.

”
come from ?
King hesitated a moment before he replie d .

T he glimpses he had caught early that morning

o f the two men in the hills set him thinking dur

ing the day and he was determined to be careful

, .

”
I came from town he s aid in reply to C ur ,
’
rie s question
—
Yes b ut—but when ?
.

“ ”

“
To -day Got here in time for supper
. .

“
Go t here to -night ? Y o u didn t come from ’

McBa in s camp to-day ?

’ ”

’
King s reply was rea dy No I too k an other .
—
way this time B ut what .

“
I think you d better put ba ck Currie brok e
’
,
 CH A PTER NINE

HERRY Mc BAI N stood in the O pen door

way o f the cabin and looked o ut at the
heavy grey skies and the gathe ring d ark
ness . T he air carrie d a chill reminder that s um
mer was coming ve r y rapidly to a close All day.

long there had been a col d wind an d s cu dding

c louds that d r ifted low a bout the hill tom an d ,

hurri ed before a fitful eastern bree z e that carr i e d

da shes o f mist an d thin rain wi th it .

Now th at ev ening ha d co me the win d ha d gone

down but the d r i zz ling ra in was f a llin g steadily
,

a nd monotonously as i t d o es when it sets in for

,

a long downpour .Th ough it was s till early even

ing it was al mo st d us k esp e cially among the
,
.

h eavy-limbe d ta ma r a cs where the cabin stoo d .

Cherry had lighte d the l a m p ve ry early in an e f

fo rt to b ring some little cheer to the place for the
,

he a vy unbroken gloom o f the ski es now growing

,

dark with the coming night ha d fi lled her with a

,

s e n se of loneliness fro m whi c h sh e coul d not free

h e rs elf .

It was not merely the fa ct that she was twenty

 T HE HEA R T OF C HERRY McBAI N 143

o ne and that the day had been a dull one tho ugh,

p erhap s a gi rl of Cherry M cB a in s temperament

’

nee d s no other excuse for being melancholy She .

was lonely more indescribably lonely than s he

,

had ever been in her life before The distance

.

from happiness to despair i s often a very short

o ne indeed and Cherry had gone from one to
,

the other in what to her wa s an incredibly short

, ,

time The latter weeks o f the summer just

.

coming to a c lose had been the most sup remely

happy tim e of her life But the last two o r three
.

days ha d been like long dreary months to her It .

seemed a s if s he had been given but one s hort

glim pse o f bright hope only to be plunged again
into deepest darkness At first it was wounde d
.

p ride that gave her pain She love d King H ow

—
.

d en what hurt her most was the fact that s he

loved hi m still in spite o f herself Now that s he
.

recalled the wa y she had spoken to King, an d

then recalled what s he had seen when s he came
unexpe ctedly Up on Anne and King stan ding to
gether in the d eeper dus k o f the doo rway—S he
hit her lip a nd cl e nche d her hands in anger a t
'

herself that s he shoul d have allowe d herself to

be such a fool .

It was this wounded pride of hers tha t ha d nu

settled her so that s he was una ble to pla y he r
144 THE HEART O F C H ERRY McBAI N
wonted pa rt when s he had fi nally tried to make
her father come back to her H e had met her
—
.

suggestion with a stormy outburst worse than

any he had ever brought Upon her before —an d
s he had broken miserably before it and had left
,

him and ridden back to the camp alone What .

did it matter that she had walked Up and down

the croo k ed street o f The Town for two days with
a s firm a step a nd as erect a bearing as ever ?

What did it matter that s he had tossed her hea d

p roudly an d passed Anne without s o much as a
word o f recognition whenever the two met ? What
did it m a tter that S he had ridden into camp with
the same air o f indi ff eren ce that s he had always
c arrie d ? O thers might not know—and s he
vowe d they wou ld not know—but she knew th a t
s he ha d s ufle r e d a double d efeat and it hu rt
, .

But C herry McB a in was not one to forget her

d uty even in the hour of keenest disappointment .

He r sense o f defeat had been pa rtly relieve d

during the day in the time-honored way that wo
men have o f relieving their feelings Now as she
.

stood in the doo rway o f her cabin an d l ooked out

at the grey worl d she w
, a s the victim of a feeling

tha t she ha d never really experience d befo re She .

wa s afraid.

During the d ay she ha d spoken with old Gabe

 .

14 6 TH E HE A RT OF C HERRY McBAI N
'

While s he stoo d wondering wha t be st to do s he

s a w Gabe himself coming down the p athway to

ward s her A ll at once her mind was made up

. .

With a word o r two to Gabe s h e went back into

the cabin and dressed herself prep aratory to go
ing o ut In a few minutes s he was back again in
.

the doorway waiting for Gabe who reappeared ,

’
p resently in the p athway leading Cherry s horse
behind him s addled a nd bridled ready for the
, ,

road She allowed Gabe to help her into the

.

s addle an d then leaving him to blow out the

, ,

light and cl o se the door s he s e t o ff to the trail ,

and headed fo r The Town This time she was .

’
determined that her father s will should be no
match for her own She would have her way with .

him no matter what he s aid and he would te

, ,

turn to c amp with her and give commands .

No o ne s a w her as s he rode through the camp ,

no o ne at least spoke to her and in a couple o f

, , ,

minutes s he was s afely through with nothing b e

fore her but a long stretch o f winding trail a l
read y we t from the rain She went forward with .

gre at caution though s he knew every foot of the

trail she was traversing and urged her horse only ,

in the higher stretches where the roa d wa s sandy

a nd stil l dr y The footing was ve r y uncertain
'

in sp ots a nd o n account of the in cr easi n

, g inte n
 T HE HEART O F CH ERRY McBAI N 14 7

s ity o fthe darkn es s she was forced to rely almost

wholly Upon the in stincts o f her hors e to guide
her F ortunately there was but one trail and
.
,

that o ne was fla rike d on either side by bushes and

trees and fallen logs that made an e ffective bar
ri er against her wandering from the beaten way .

O ne thing that caused her some concern a s she

rode along was the fact that the little creeks she
had crossed countles s times before had crossed ,

s carcely twelve hours since as a matter o f fact

, ,

had swollen considerably during the day Every .

time s he attempted a fording she did so with an

in creasing sense of surp ri s e at the swirling of the
’
water abo ut her ho rse s legs She knew it had .

b een rainin g in the hills during the day and she ,

had expected some little change in the size of the

streams but nothing so formidable as th e tur bu
,

lent rushing of thes e li ttle creeks had presented

its elf to her imagin ation They were actually
- .

vicious she thought to herself and once when the

, ,

water reached her foot and her horse stopped a

moment and leaned against the current before he
went o n S he wa s more than a little anxiou s for
,

the outcome o f her mis sion She experienced a

.

S trange th rill o f somethi ng like fear too a s she , ,

looke d down at the water beneath her black un ,

der the darknes s o f the night and swi rling and ,

rus hing crazily onward in headlong haste .

14 8 TH E HEA R T OF C H ERRY McBAI N

She ha d been o n the way fo r nearly three hours

when she came at last to the little ridge overlook
ing White Pine river It was the prospect of hav
.

ing to make this crossing that gave her most co n

cern F rom the top o f the ridge s he could s e e no
.

thing ih the pitchy blackness of the night Cau .

tio us ly s h e urged her horse down the gentle slope

of the ridge towards the ri ver She began to won
.

der whether the little b r idge o f p oles had been

s wept o ut by the current If the water had not
.

risen above the level o f the b r idge there was no

reason why a pe rfectly s afe c rossin g could not be
made With the instinct bo rn o f long contact
with the world out-O f—
.

doo rs s he s trove to mea

sure the distance S he had gone since s he left the
ridge crest The bridge was some distance o ff yet
.
,

probably fifteen or twenty yards when all at Once ,

s he thought s h e heard the soun d o f water running

about her horse s fore-feet S he urged him fo r

’
.

ward a little and found herself stan d ing some ten

,

yards o r s o from the bridge with the water rush

ing j ust beneath her Dimly in the darkness s he
.

could make o ut the form of the bridge It was .

still in its place with the water rushing p ast at

either end though it had not gone over it as yet
, .

F or a moment S he stopped and faced the situa

ti on an d the new problems it presented to her
, .
150 T HE HE AR T O F C HERRY McBAI N
care o f him s he s hrank with fear She recalled
, .

the nights during the summer when his team had

brought hi m s afely home though he himself had
,

never known anything about it until he awoke

the next morning . But good fortune cannot
bring a man through e v erything and Cherr y ,

knew her fa ther could never cros s the White Pine

in its present condition and Under the heavy
darknes s that hid everything within a f e w feet .

Turning her horse s head back s he rode again

’

Up the S lope of the ridge and dismounted when

s h e wa s about half way to the crest H ere she .

found a fallen log in the shelter of a closely grown

c lump o f trees and s a t d own She was far enough
.

from the river to hear quite easily other sounds

than the rushing of the water Above her the .

trees bru shed back an d fo r th in the wind with ,

boughs rustling and crea king and moaning in the

d arkness The sound from the river was like
.

the l ow steady washing of a di stant surf Cherry

, . .

s a t and strained her ears for the least noise from

the other side of the bridge Time after time s he

.

sta rted up at what S he thought w a s the striking

o f a hoof or the scraping o f a wheel Upon a stone .

O nce she got to her feet suddenly her heart ,

thumping with expecta ncy She w a s sure s he

.

’
had heard her father s voice in a gruff word of
 T HE HEAR T OF C HERRY McBAI N 151

command to his team But although she stood

.

wt i h breath held and ears strained for the slight - 1

est sound none came and she s at down aga in

, , ,

feeling that s he might have been dreaming .

When s he at l ast aros e to take the trail back to

the camp it was past midnight Nothing had come
.

o f her long wait and she felt it would be useles s

to remain longer No one would have allowed

.

even Keith M CB ain to leav e town o n such a night

and at an hour that woul d m ake the trip to camp
doubly ha z ardou s .

But as she went over the top of the ridge and

rode along the trail s he had come over earlier in
the night she began to estimate the di ffi culty o f
the problem that awaited her if her fears concern
in g M cCa r tn e y s d esigns had any foundation in
’

fact.

She knew the hour must come sooner o r l ater

when McCa r tn e y would give Up his policy of
q uiet waiting She knew something of his deter
.

mination and recklessness of conse quences She .

knewhe would strike when he thought the mo

ment most opportune And S he was not blind to
.

the fa ct that the moment was perhap s at h a nd

H e woul d carry out hi s threat s ome tim e —why
.

should he not do so to-night ?

Cherry McBa in had never been afraid o f B ill
152 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N

McCa r tne y ; s he
had usually managed to meet
him when the other men were around o r when ,

her father was near and S he had successfully

,

avoided anything but the most casual p assage s

between them H er chief security had lain in the
.

fact that she had always been on the best o f terms

’
with the men of her father s camp She liked .

them and s he knew they liked her But s he did .

not fail to recognize that M cCa r tne y s chief con’

cern du r ing the last few weeks had been to win

for himself the regard o f the men and make them
his followers That he had won a small g r oup
.

through the fear he had inspired by his displ ay

o f brute strength C herry well knew Just how
.

far he had been successful among the more inde

pendent men o f the camp s he did not know Gab e .

Smith had often spoken to her about it and had ,

assured her o f the l oyalty o f the great majority

o f t hem but s h e knew that Gabe s j udgment o n
’
,

such things was not always to be relied upon It .

was thi s uncertainty that made her afraid She .

wa s a ctually afrai d fo r herself Without the a c

.

tive Support of the men in her father s ca m p she ’

woul d be p owerless against a man o f McCa r t

ney s te mper to s ay nothing o f his si z e an d s he
’
, ,

drea d e d the moment when he woul d step up and

d emand that s he shoul d d o her p a r t to m a k e goo d
he r fa ther s b argain
’
.
154 T HE HEA R T OF C H ERRY McBAI N

flaming re mnants o f what had been the cook

camp It had been noth ing but a frame of logs
.

and canvas and had gone up like s o much dry

,

kindling in a fe w minutes What s he saw w a s

.

nothing more than a heap of bu rning debris ,

about which the men were running and S houting

like beings half crazed — .

At first Cherry stood at a distance scarcely ,

knowing what to do Three workless days had

.

produce d the kind o f results that s he had long

since learned to expe ct in constru ction camp s .

With M cCa r tne y on the ground she knew the r e

s ults were inevitable The men were nearly all
.

drunk and many of them s carcely seemed to

know what they were doing .

All at once S he saw the swaggering form of

McCa r tne y in the light from the fire The S ight .

maddened her and wi th a flash of her quirt she

sent her horse flying into the crowd pulling him ,

back suddenly almost upon his haunches at the

very edge o f the fire .

H er sudden appearance like an appari ti on o ut

o f the night struck surp rise into the hearts of the

men They fell back some o f them with terror

.
,

o n their faces as s h e struck first o n o ne side then

, ,

on the other, at a Couple who approached her in

threatening attitude .
 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N 155

, &
Get to your bunks you S he cried in a voice
”

that all could he a r and in a tone that none coul d

mistake .

Moving quickly about s he called to a half

,

dozen men whom s he knew best and liked among ,

them Gabe Smith .

“
Stay here for a littl e while she s aid after s h e
,
“
had got them together . Look round at the
store and the corral and the bunkhouse to make
sure there is no more danger o f fire Gabe you .
,

take charge for to-night and get these men to

,

help Make the others go to bed

. .

In half an hour the camp was in a state o f com

p a r a tiv e quiet Nothing was left o f the cook
.

camp but a heap o f embers smouldering in the

rain which was stil l falling steadily Cherry .

found Gabe in the bunkhouse patiently arguing

with three o r four of the men who ha d ill-tem
p e r e dl y protes ted against going to bed at the co m
man d of anyone much less that o f a woman
, .

She c alled hi m o ut to her .

“
Let them s it U p if th ey like, Gabe S he s aid ,
“
with a smile . The l es s trouble the better Two .

o r three of you had better stay roun d till daylight

anyhow I m going to the cabin I ll take my

’ ’
. .

horse along and tether him under the ta ma r a cs .

If anything happens let me kn ow I ll lie d own .

’
.
156 T HE H EA RT OF C HERRY McB AI N
’
The l amp will be lit and I ll be ready to come ,

o ut at once if you need me Some o ne must go .

to town in the morning .

Gabe came up to her as s he was about to leave .

“ ” “
’
There s o ne thing my girl he said You d
, ,
.
’

better not lea ve your d oor unlocked I can .

knock
“ ’ ”
Don t be silly Gabe she interrupted quickly
, ,
.

“ ’ ”
I m not afraid .

“
Well take this he s aid drawing a revolver
, , ,

from his pocket and holding it towards her .

“ ”
Why Gabe she exclaimed l aughing at him
, , , ,

what in the world are you going to d o with

”
that ?
“
Nothing I hOp e he replied a little sheep
, ,

ishly . Lush Curri e left it with me as a kind of

’
remembrance and I ve been keepin g it by me .

“ ’ ”
But you d never use it Gabe ? ,
“
N he r eplied with a slow smile as he sli p ped
“
it back again into his pocket but it does give a ,

man a comfortable feeling to have it o n him in ,

ca s e f
’

She bade him good night cheerfully and rode -

o ff towards the cabin Although she had been .

amused at what she thought wa s an unnecessary

precaution for Gabe Smith to take she coul d not ,
158 T HE HE AR T OF C HE RRY McB AI N

Qui ckly S he removed her wet garments and

,

having dressed again in warm dry cl othing s he

, ,

l owered the light an d drawing a heavy cover

,

about her lay down on the couch and d r opped to

,

sleep almost instantly

.
 CH APTE R TEN

HER RY awok e with a start and s at U p

quickly blinking her eyes in the dim light
,

and strugglin g to re gain control o f her

s en ses .Some thing had frightened her o ut o f a
heavy S l eep No w that s he wa s awake s he
.

thought s he remembered a sensation o f a cold

breath o f air on her cheek Suddenly her eyes
.

fell upon a shadowy form standing beside the

door At first s h e was not sure but that she had
.

been dreaming Gradually her mind cleared

.
,

however and S he sprang to her feet as S he recog

,

niz e d the face o f Bill M cCa r tn e y looking at her

from where he stood with his hand Still upon the
door-latch .

At the first sight of the intruder her h eart

seemed to S top beating and s he faced him for a
momen t in silence Then s he step ped swiftly to
.

the table and tu rned up the light As she did s o .

McCa r tne y took his hand from the latch and

turn i ng hi s back to the door looked at her stea d
ily s mi ling and folding his arms
,
.

“ ”
What do yo u want here ? Cherry as k e d in a
159
160 T HE HE A RT OF C HERRY McBAI N

voice that betrayed her nervousness in S pite o f

her e ff orts to control herself .

M cCa r tne y remained silent answering her ,

only with a smile .

“
What have yo u come here for at this time of
”
night ? s he asked again H er voice was more .

steady now and s he straightened up defiantly as

“
s h e spoke Get o ut o f here o r I ll have a dozen
.
,
’

men
H e took a step towards her and raised his hand
for silence .

“
Cherry he sai d there ain t any us e of you
, ,
’

an me disa g r e e in Y o u know that j ust as well

’ ’
.

a s me I come here now be cause I want to tell

.

you something you ought to know fo r your own

good You don t let m e talk to you like some
.
’

’ ’
others I ve got to take my own way of doin
.

things or I won t get them done at all s e e ? You

’
,

go back there an s it down I m goin to talk an

’
.
’ ’ ’

I want you to listen .

H e waite d for Cherry to go back to the cou ch

again but s he stood motionless by the table and
,

looked at him for some time before s he spoke .

She knew s he could gain nothing by rousing his

'

anger F rom the look in his eyes and the tone of

.

his voice it was quite clear that he had been d rink

i ng If she vexed him he might resort to ugly
.
162 T HE HE A R T OF CHERRY McB AI N
Cherry gave a little shrug o f imp atience and
lo oked away from him letting her eyes rest Upon ,

the floor at her feet

Y o u asked me what I want—what I came
.

” “
here for he went o n ,
Well what s the us e of
.
,
’

mixin words ? You know—a n I ain t goin to

’ ’ ’ ’

’
tell yo u unless you ve forgot But listen to me .
,
”
Cherry H e lowered his voice as he spoke
. .

“
Bill M cCa r tn e y is the best friend you ve go t ’
.

An he s the best friend Keith M cB a in s got

’ ’ ’
.

Your father s an old man but he s a wise man

’
,
’

an he knows some thi ngs hi s daughter can t

’ ’

understand Y o u ain t go t a better friend than

.
’

’
me an the sooner yo u get that straight the better
,
”
o fl you ll be
’
.

H e p aused as Cherry looke d at him with more

impatience than before .

“
You don t need to tell me all this she s aid
’
, .

“ ’
I ve thought it all over a hundred times I .

want to know what you have come here for to

”
night The rest can wait for some other ti me
. .

The smil e left his face as s he spoke and he ,

seemed o n the point o f getting up from his Chair .

“ ”
Well he began in a voice that was pitched
, ,
“ ’
much higher than before I m here to tell you ,
’
this for one thing There s a kind of arrange
.

ment between you an me Y o u know all a bout ’

.
 TH E HE A R T O F C HERRY McB AI N 163

’ ’
that There s goin to be trouble for anyone who
.

tries to S poil that arrangement Y o u under .

”
s tand ?

Cherry professed ignorance o f the significance

of his words .

“ ’ ’
Don t tell me yo u don t know he protested ,
“ ’ ’ ’
quickl y I ve go t eyes to s e e wi th an if I hadn t
.
,
’ ’ ’ ’
there s lot s more that has an it ain t hard to find ,
’ ’ ’ ’
o ut what s goin o n There s someone breakin .

”
into my game an he s got to get o ut an stay o ut ’ ’ ’
.

“ ”
Who ? Cherry asked in a voice that was a l
most coquettish .

“ ”
Who ? he blustered Fo r Go d s s a k e
’
.

”
who ?
“
Y e s,insisted who ?
s he ,
“
H owden—that s who ’
.

She did not S how the slightest disturbance but ,

laughed a little to herself as s he looked again at

the floo r .

“ ”
No S he said you re wrong King How
, ,
’
.

”
den and I are no t even good friends any more .

“
H e looked at her in surp rise That ain t .
’

”
true he said
, .

“
She raised her eyes quickly Y o u have never .

”
known me to lie over anything s he replied , .

“ ”
Y o u wouldn t expect me to lie over this’
.

H e grunted to himself and regarded her

164 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N
’ ’
strangely Then I m goin ahead with that in
.

” “ ” ’
mind he said
,
Am I doin right ? .

“ ”
I can only speak for myself s h e replied I ,
.

don t know what s in King H owde n s mind

’ ’ ’
.

“
I don t give a ’
H e checked himself in an
’
effort app arently to be polite
,
I don t worry ,
.

” ’ “ ’
about what s in his mind he said I ll look ,
.

after him an I m goin to settle with him my

,
’ ’ ’

”
self .

H e paused for some time and Cherry too k a d

vantage o f the p ause to draw about her shoulders
the cover that lay o n the couch where it had fal
len when she had first got up .

“ ”
And is that all ? S he aske d
—
.

’
That s all o n that just now he said
There s just one more thing I want to say—j ust
.
,
’

’ ’
a little warnin I want to give you I don t want .

you inte r fe r in with things in the camp That s

’
.
’

no place for you Y ou j umped in to -night where .

y u wasn t wanted an yo u go t away with it

’ ’
o
’ ’
but it ain t goin to happen again
“
But my father is away and
’ ”
That s j ust the point now he broke in If , , .

you j ust let things go along in their natural way

’
nothin will happen Everybody knows Keith .

M cBa in ain t goin to last for another year s con

’ ’ ’

tr a ctin
’ ’ ’
Nobody s goin to take his place but the
.
166 T HE HEAR T OF C H ERRY McB AI N .

would fight whatever the consequences and

, ,

bring her father to fight as well .

Mc c a rtn ey got U p an d looked at her wi th his

‘

“
customary sneer Y o u talk that w a y b e ca us e
‘

“
you don t know
’
he sai d slowly because he
, ,
’ ’ ’
ain t here to stop yo u But I ain t goin to be .

foo lish about it When Keith McB a in wants to

.

fight Bill M cCa r tn e y he s welcome But he ’

.

’
—
won t fi ght because he can t fight H e s wante d ’
.
’

’ ’
bad an he knows the right hunch to play An .

you ain t goin to fight Bill M cCa r tne y neither

’ ’
,

for Bill McCa r tne y ain t goin to fight you H e s ’ ’

.
’

’
goin to love you
H e left his pl ace beside the chair and lurched
unsteadily towards her Leaving the couch .

q uickly Cherry moved till she got the table be

,

tween herself and M cCa r tne y and then looked

at him steadily Fo r some reas on her fear her
.
,

nervousness was gone She felt e qual to any .

emergency and quite capable of matching any

,

move he should make She made U p her mind .

that if s he could reach the door s he would make

a dash for the outside and call Gabe But Mc .

Cartney dazed though he was from drinking was

, ,

sufficiently alert to anticip ate any such move on

her part and w a s careful to keep possession of the
,

si d e of the table nearest the door After a Couple .

 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N 167

of futile attempts o n M cCa r tne y s p a rt to reach ’

Cherry he stood for a moment and looked at her

, ,

leaning forward with both hands o n the table .

—
&
“ ’ ’
There ain t a bit 0 use in this a n y ou know
’

”
it he declared and for the first time since he
,

had entered the cabin hi s look w a s sinister and

“ ’
thr eatening Do you want me to go out 0
.

&
”
here ?
“
I do —ge t out Che r ry rep lied
”
.

If I get out Keith M cB a in 11p ay H e knows

,
’
.

” ’
that if you don t
—
.
,

&
“
Y o u can t frigh ten me and you can t
’ ’

”
frighten him Get o ut I tell y ou
.

“
If you mean that he straightened up as he

&
spoke as if he were about to leave
, .

“ ”
Get o ut I tell you
,

Suddenly his manner changed A s mile of co n .

&
tempt curled one corner o f his mouth .

“ ”
Y o u damn little fool he sneered .

Seiz ing the lamp quickly he pl aced it o n the

chair behind him and with on e movement o f hi s
,

powerful a rms he swept the table to o ne side and

lur ched clumsily towards her R ealizing that .

s h e could no t escape Cherry set herself to meet

,

his rush As he put o ut hi s arms to seize her she

.

closed her hand and swung with all the weight of

her body at hi s face The blow went straight and
.
168 T HE HE A R T OF CHERRY McBAI N
quick s o quick that M cCa r tne y recoiled a little
,

in s urprise and p aused a moment to look at her

,
.

O ne moment w a s enough for Cherry B efore he .

could clearly understand what had happened S he

had darted for the door H er hand was on the
.

l atch before he came to himself and in another

,

second she would have been o ut and away But .

M cCa r tne y s heavy hands clutched her shoulders

’

as she was on the point o f O pening the door and ,

s h e felt herself lifted bodily from the floor .

Setting her Upon her feet at a s afe distance

from the door he turned her round, and raisin g

&
her f a c e looked at her with a smile
, .

“
Ain t yo u the little fool
’
I thought you had
”
sense .

H e stopped suddenly and his hold upon Cherry

relaxed .

There was a sound o f foots teps o n the p athway

outside Cherr y listened with indraw
. n breath
the footsteps were familiar When they s topped
.

& &
befo re the door s he turned quickly .

“ ”
Gabe Gabe she called .

T he door opened quickly and ol d Gabe stoo d

in the doorway and blinked wo nderingly as he

&
looked into the cabin .

“ ”
Put this man out Gabe Cherry s aid qui ck
, ,

ly, b re a king away from M cCa r tn e y, whose W hole

17 0 T HE HEA RT OF C HERRY McB AI N

while M cCa r tne y stood as if rooted to the spot

from sheer surprise at the ol d man s nerve That ’
.

moment wa s like an hour to Cherry She did no t .

think Gabe would actu ally carry out what he

threatened if his commands were not obeyed to
the last syllable but there was a note in his voice
,

that was new to her It meant simply that Gabe

.

Smith would stand for no trifling .

The next moment however brought relief

, ,
.

M cCa r tn e y moved round towards the door and

Gabe circled away from it very cautiously By .

the time M cCa r tne y had reached the doorway

Cherry was ready to laugh at the whole pe r for
mance When he turned sulkily and stepped
.

q uickly out followed by Gabe who waited a mo

, ,

ment in the d oorway before he came back into the

cabin and closed the door again behind him S he ,

did l augh .

Gabe stood and looked at her i n silence and

surp ri se until S he w a s through l aughing and then ,

&
s a t down .

“ ”
Gabe you dear o ld silly s h e s aid going over
Y o u might have hit me—o r even your
, ,
“
to him .

self if you had put that thing off

Gabe made no reply H e was too serious to o
.
,

much O ccupied perhap s wi th the import a nce of

, ,

the thing he had done and the things it woul d

probably lead to in the very near future .
 T HE H EA R T OF C HERRY McBAI N 17 1

The new day had already begun to dawn when

Gabe finally stole quietly o ut of the cabin and
took his way down the p ath H e had left Cherry
.

S leeping soundly and was hims elf very weary

after his night s vigil But he knew a fu ll day
’
.

awaited him and he was d etermined to face it

,

with as much courage as his old hea rt could

muster .

Countles s times that night he had prayed in

w a r dl y for help from somewhere Even now as.
,

he plodded wearily from the cabin to the trail he ,

was muttering something to hi mself that might

have p assed fo r a petition to the H eavenly
Powers .

And as if in answer to his pra ye rful mutterings ,

there came trudging heavily towards him round

the bend in the trail just where it left the trees
and entered the camp a man leading a horse by
,

the bridle rein and followed by a tired— looked

&cried Gabe
do g .

”
King boy , ,
and could sa y no
more .
 CH A PTE R E LEV EN

I NG S first en q
uiry was concerning C herry
’
.

For reasons which were perhaps his own ,

Gabe made no reference to what had o c

curred in the cabin du ring the night and after ,

briefly assuring him that s he w a s all right has ,

tened to ask King where he had been and how

he had come to put in an appea rance so une x
p e cte dl y .

King in his tu rn simply smiled at the o l d

, ,

man s curiosity a nd asked Gabe to get him some

’
,

thing to eat at once Gabe met the request by

.

pointing to the pile o f smoking ashes that now

l ay where the cook-camp had stood King made .

no e ff ort to conceal his surp rise As a result of

.

Cu rrie s w a rning o f the night before he was p re

’
,

p ared to m e et difficulty o n a rriving at the camp .

H e had no t lived for the best p art o f his life in

camp s without kn owing something of what a man
o f M cCa r tne y s typ e coul d do if he were given a
’

free hand with a gang o f men H e w a s prep ared

.

to fin d the men carousing and perhaps fighting

among th emsel v es H e expected to find the camp
.

172
1 71 TH E HE A R T OF C HERRY Mc B AI N

those to whom they could appeal for assistance

and the other of the men who had probably bee n
wo n over to the side o f M cCa r tn e y This tas k .

wa s not a difficult one but it was not so easy to

,

organize their dozen or s o of picked men so that

they could e ffectively do the work that would
have to be done during the day .

I n the firs t plac e Keith M cB a in must be

brought from town Both King and Gabe were
.

firmly o f the O pinion that Keith s presence would ’

at once b r ing the men to their senses They b e .

l iev e d moreover that M cCa r tn e y would b a ck

, ,

down when called Upon to face O ld Silent King .

determined that they S hould wait until the after

noo n with the hope that the old contractor might
,

come back o f his own accord In case he did not .

put in an appearance King decided that he should

,

go himself to town while there was yet light

enough to ma k e travelling easy The rain had .

stopped du r ing the night and although the S ky

,

was still heavy the clouds were showing signs o f

breaking .

In the event o f King having to go finally fo r

Keith M cB a in the care o f the camp w a s to be
,

left in the han d s of old Gabe and the f e w men

they ha d picked to help him King insisted u pon
.

special p rovision being ma d e to the end that no

 T HE HEAR T OF C HERRY MCB A I N 175

harm S hould befall Cherry and that the cabin

,

among the ta ma r a cs should be left unmolested .

By the time they had perfected their plans and

were ready to go o ut to put them into effect the ,

s u n w a s already well above the horizon and ,

when they stepped out of th e narrow doorway it

w a s under a sky in which ragged edges of clouds
were torn apart and changed to silver where the
long shafts had broken through The day w a s .

dawning full o f promise at any rate and both ,

men felt its influence strike them as they turned

and walked down the trail .

As matters tu rned o ut the day p assed s o

,

quietly that both King and Gabe were su rp rised .

During the morning scarcely anyone stirred in

camp most o f the men making go od their O p
,

p o r tun ity to sleep o ff the e h e cts o f the night b e

fore Three times King strolled o ff in the dir e c

.

tion o f the cabin to watch for the first indication

that Cherry w a s moving about Not until it w a s
.

noon however did he see the smoke rising from

, ,

the pipe that served a s a chimney and stuck o ut

from under the roof at one end o f the cabin .

H is first impulse wa s to go down and s e e

Ch er r y at once H e wanted to talk to her about
.

the affairs o f the camp and he hoped he might

,

have an opportunity to explain the mis unde r

17 6 T HE H E A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N

standing that existed between them O n second .

tho ught however he decided to get Gabe to go

, ,

with him and to confine whatever convers ation

they might have to the business they had in
hand .

Accordingly the two men went to th e cabin to

gether early in the afternoon to acquaint Cherry
of the plans they had l aid She w a s standing
.

outside among the ta ma r a cs when they arrived .

King noticed that her greeting while cou rteous , ,

wa s without any enthusiasm They went into the .

house and s a t down .

“
We have some help Cherry Gabe said when , ,

they had seated themselves .

“ ”
So I s e e s he responded without concern
, .

Gabe however wa s p robably una ware of any

, ,
’
change in Cherry s manner The change was .

meant fo r King and it wa s not lost Upon him H e .

s a t silently listening to Gabe and Cherry while

they discussed plans .

O nly once did Cherry S how anything o f her

usual manner and that w a s when Gabe
, en m
tio n e d the fact that King wa s about to sta r t for
town to get her father .

“
I w a s j ust getting ready to do that myself ,

S he protes ted .

“
I think King had better go Gabe insisted , .

O f course if you would like to go along

,
17 8 T HE H EA RT OF C HERRY Mc BAI N

f
a n
’
seen her for days and yet you s a t there all
t
”
that time wi thout s p e a kin a word ’
.

The smile that started to King s face vanished ’

“
suddenly Gabe there s little chance for us to
.
,
’

” “
understand a woman he said slowly I never
,
.

could—they were always strange to me .

“
I ain t thi nkin j ust now about her ways
’ ’
,

Gabe replied with a directne ss that he never

achieved except when he was very excited or very
much in earnest “ —
I t s you your w a y ain t what
.
’ ’

”
it always is .

“ ’
I guess you re right Gabe King replied
—
, , .

’
There s been something j ust a misunderstand
—
ing that s all ” ’

m —
Gabe whistled to hi self a very l ong row ,

whistle .

Dinner w a s served in camp that day very much

as usual with the exception that tables had to be
,

s e t in the bunk-house The supply of dishes wa s

.

not all that might have been desired but the ,

’
cook s ingenuity and the exigencies o f the occa
sion in which there was at least a little humour ,

did much to make the dinner hour almost as

pleasant a s it had ever been The S upply of eat .

ables w a s ample with plenty still to S p are in the

,

store And although nothing w a s s aid about it

.

there w a s a tacit recogn ition and it was pretty ,

 T HE HEA R T OF C HERRY Mc B AI N 179

general too that the men had King to thank for

,

the fact that the first meal served since the burn
ing o f the cook camp w a s ample and well
-

o rder ed even if it did come two hours late

,
.

It w a s the middle of the afternoon before King

got away With anything like goo d luck in tra
.

velling he hoped he might reach town before dusk

and if the roads were in a condition that made his
return possible that night he would be o n his
way back again by dawn the next day H e hoped .

that he might be able to return again that night .

H is hopes were not encouraged however as he

, ,

rode along The trail Wa s in bad shape and the

.

rivers had not yet begun to go down A wish he .

had entertained when he set o ut that he might

,

perhaps meet Keith M cB a in somewhere along

the w a y changed quickly to a fear les t the o ld
,

man should have set o ut by himself and have met

disaster o n the w a y For he knew that if the o ld
.

’
contracto r s home coming o n this occasion w a s
-

any thing li k e it had been on other occasions ,

there wa s only o ne chance in a thousand that he

would get through .

There w a s still more than an hour of daylight

left when he reached the White Pine River The .

water had risen until now it wa s running over

the bridge in the middle where the logs that had
18 0 TH E HE A RT OF C HERRY Mc B AI N
been thrown across for main supports sagged
most The b ridge itself however was still intact
.
, ,
.

The embankments that had been thrown up at

either end were still visible and appeared to o ff er
“

good footing although King knew that the s ub

,

merged roadway leading away from the bridge

head o n either side was washed away by the
current The only questio n that gave him any
.

concern w a s whether o r not the poles that did s e r

vice fo r the bridge pla nking were still in their
places So far as he could s e e not o n e o f them
.

had moved o ut o f place Altogether he felt sure

.

that the crossing was wo rth trying at any rate .

The distance w a s not great and if the worst ,

shoul d happen he w a s confident o f his ability to

b ring himself safely to shore somewhere down
stream The attempt to cross w a s not to be made
.

recklessly at any rate and getting down from his

, ,

hors e King made a s careful a su rvey o f the con

ditio n s a s he could o n foot When he had looked .

the place over thoroughly and considered the

di ff e rent emergencies that might arise and what
he should do to meet each he got back again into
,

the s addle and turning his horse towards the

,

bridge head urged him fo r ward gently

-
.

The horse stepped down ve r y cautiously into

the water proceeded a few yards—and then
,
18 2 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N

they were brought to a standstill in a tangle of

branches and underbrush .

All thought of turning back was now impo s

sible fo r King Somewhere along the trail that
.

l ay ahead Keith M cB a in wa s probably lying in

j ured at least perhaps unconscious possibly
, ,

dead A word to his horse and they plunged

.

into the stream at first quickly then more care

, ,

fully as the water became deeper O nce or twice .

when the footing became uncertain King got

ready to dismount and hold to the horn o f the
s addle with o ne hand while the horse brought him
to safety but he realized that his own weight
,

helped the horse to keep its feet Then suddenly.

the ground seemed to give w a y under them and ,

he swung his leg over and slipped into the water .

Just as he did so the horse gave a mad plunge fo r

ward and King had all he could do to keep hi s
hold Upon the saddle But in that one leap the
.

animal found fresh footing and the next moment

wa s standing upon the bridge-head with King
beside him .

King looked back j ust in time to s e e Sal j ump

into the water and come paddling towards him .

But the current was too much fo r the do g In .

spite o f King s whistling and calling to her by

’

way o f encouragement s he w a s carried down

,
 T HE HE A R T O F C HERRY McBAI N 18 3

stream p ast the embankment and King watched

her with grave doubts r 1s 1ng 1n hi s mi nd Where
.

the stream took a quick turn to the right King

lost sight o f the dog among p artly submerged
tree-trunks but in a moment he heard her bark
,

echoing through the woods and before long s he

w a s standing o n the trail beside him S haking her
,

self and yelping at him .

The next stage o f the crossing was no les s u n

certain but King walked ahead and led his horse
, ,

trying every pole with his foot to see that it w a s

secure before he went fo rward At the middle of
.

the bridge the water wa s almost to his knees and

the force o f the current w a s s o great that King
ma rvelled that the bridge held against it .

When he came at last to the end of the bridge

he sent the horse in and walked along beside him
with his hand o n the horn o f the s addle The .

pass age proved easier than before and presented

no special di fficulty .

H aving shaken the water from his C lothes ,

King left his hors e standing in the trail and went

to extricate Keith M cB a in s te a m from the
’

woods The task was not so di fficult as he had

.

anticipated for although the horses were excited

,

an d nervous they seemed almost exhausted and

allowed King to move about them without show
18 4 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N

ing any ill temper In less than fifteen minutes

.

he had unhitched them and led them o ut Upon

the trail where he tethered them securely in a
,

sheltered place under cover o f a clump o f poplars .

Then he brought the badly Shaken buckboard o ut

and left it standing beside the tra il .

This done he adj usted the gi rths o f his own

,

horse and getting into the s addle went o ff at a

,

gallop There was still almost an hour of day

.

light left in whi ch to find Keith M cB a in bring ,

him back an d recross the White Fine

,
The .

knowledge that he might have to go most o f th e

w a y to town before he should find the o l d man ,

a rid the fact that Keith M CB ain w a s in a l l proba

b ility lying in a helples s condition with body
battered and bones broken made King u rge his
,

horse forward as fast as the S lippery trail wo uld

allow .

Fo rtunately however he had not far to go

, , .

Mounting a little hill that he remembered quite

well from having stood there in the evening to
get a glimpse o f the valley below with its little
stream o f water and its wild meadows King ,

thought he heard the sound of voices When he .

got to the to p o f the hill and looked down he wa s ,

surp rised to see the figure o f a girl standing in

the middle o f the trail and waving to him It .

wa s Anne .
18 6 T HE HEA R T OF C HERRY McBAI N

What the hell do I care about everything ? I

”
want to kn ow about my girl .

“
She s all right Mr M cB a in King assured
’
,
.
,

&
him again .

“ ”
That s right eh ? H owden don t lie to me
’
, ,
’

King smiled and put his arm under the old

man to rais e him to a more comfortable position .

“
Where s M cCa r tne y ? he asked as soon a s
” ’

King had made him comfortable .

“ ’ ”
H e s at the camp s ir King s aid and he, , ,

guessed something o f what w a s p assing in Keith

M cB a in s mind ’
.

“
Then get me out o f here - I ve got to get bac k ’

there I ve been too long away—altogether too

.
’

long B ut something happened—the dirty

crooks H ere—get me up
.

. .

King and Anne got him to his feet and helped

him o ut to the trail where he stood for a moment
,

and looked about him .

“ ”’
What s wrong here ? he asked when he had
loo ked round at the roadway and the woods .

“ ’
Where s my team ? Didn t I leave them here a ’

minute ago ? Where are they ? Anne b ring the ,

”
team .

“
Ann e looked at King H e doesn t know .
’

what s happened to him S he said

’
,
.

“ ’
I ve go t the team waiting for you down the
 TH E HEA R T OF C HERR Y McB AI N 18 7

“
trail a little King rep lied , You ll have to get .
’

”
up here and ride .

Without mu rmuring he allowed himself to be

lifted into the s addle King with Anne walking .
,

b eside him helped him to keep his seat and to

, ,

gether the three went back the way King had

j ust come .

O nly twi ce did Keith M cB a in S peak a word

along the w a y Once he addressed An ne
. .

“ ”
Y ou re a good girl Anne he s aid
’
, , .

A littl e later he leaned and touched King s ’

l\
“ ”
shoulder .
/I
y boy he s aid nodding his head , ,

towards Anne s he got me o ut o f this

,
.

And in the meantime Anne was recounting fo r

King the circumstan ces that had led her to bring
Keith M cB a in away from town .

“ ’
There s something crooked about it she told ,
“
King . That s crub R ickard came to town the
s ame day H e s been han gin round ever sinc e
.
’ ’

keepin O ld Sil ent under his eye B ut the o l d

’
.

’
fellow seemed to catch on that he was not goin
to have his little time all alone and he came to me ,
‘
last night and s ays Anne I want to go back in , ,

the morning No matter what happens he said

.
,
’
,

&
‘
no matter what I s a y about it take me back will , ,

yo u ? Promise that I promised and he too k ’

my hand Then he went out Late last night

. .
18 8 TH E H EAR T O F C H ERR Y McB AI N

Mike Cheney and R ickard brought hi m in and

put him to bed When I went to wake him thi s
.

morning I couldn t get him to answer I opened

’

the door and he wa s lyin —dead to the world I

.

’
.

’
didn t s ay anything to the house I j ust worked .

him o ut of it myself an d when he came back a

little I went o ut and go t the team O ld H urley .

came and helped me till we got started away .

H urley didn t like the idea but I told him what

’
,

he d told me th e night before and he didn t s a y

’
,
’

anything against it We slipped out without

.

anyone kno win about it and was gettin o n great

’ ’

until we come to high water back there under the

hill where you found us The team had been .

skittish all the w a y but the high water put them

,
’ ’
Up in the air and I j ust couldn t hold em and
,

look after the o ld man too It might a been all .

’ ’

right at that but we hit some thing in the road

,

and he rolled o ut I did everything I could but

.
,

the team wa s r unnin their fool heads o ff and I ’

’ ’
couldn t stop em So I got ove r the seat and
.

dropped o ff behind and let them go Then I went .

back and f ound him lyin beside the trail I ’

.

thought he wa s dead for honest to God he look , , ,

’
ed it But I rolled him over and go t him lyin o ut
.

fl at and w a s workin over him when I heard you’

co min That s all there is to it

’
.
’ ”
.
190 T HE HE AR T OF C HERRY McBAI N

clothes and then at the strea m rushi ng p ast in the

thickening darkness .

“ ”
Are you goin ba ck there again ? S he asked
’
.

King grunted an a ffi rmative .

“ —
Go ahead I ll do the p r a yin
’
she replied .

A few minutes l ater King was beside Keith

M cB a in helping him into the saddle When he
,
.

got him Up he bo und him securely to the seat

and tied his feet so that they could not come o ut
of the stirrups Then he sent the horse in a n d
.

walked alongside hi s hand on the s addle ho rn

, .

The crossing was made without accident of any

kind and in a fe w minutes they were ready for
the road Anne mounted in the s addl e and Ki ng
, ,

s eated in the buckbo ard with Keith M cB a in b e

side him At a sharp whistle from King S al
.
,

sta rted from the bushes beside the trail and all
s e t o ff together .

A couple o f hou rs l ater as they drove through

,

the camp o n the w a y to Keith M c B a in s cabin

’
,

King n oticed two dark figures o n ho rseback rid

ing into camp from the op posite direction As .

they passed him he look e d them over very care

fully Though it w a s too dark to s e e clearly who
.

’
the men were King s mind naturally reverted to
,

the two riders he had seen in the hills early in the

m or nin g o f the day before .
 TH E HEAR T OF C HERR Y McBAI N 191

And right there he decided th at Anne had been

sent by heaven in a time o f need H e would send
.

her back next day with full instru ctions to O ld

—
man H urley t register the cl aim in the hills if
o

necess a ry un d er Anne s signature

’
.
 CH APTE R TWELV E

IV E minutes later King and Anne stoo d

before the door o f the cabin o n e o n each ,

side of Keith M cB a in The door was .

closed but there wa s a light within and the sound

,

o f someone talking King wa s about to knock

.

when the O ld man put his hand o ut abruptly and

&
pressing the latch pushed the door open .

“ ”
Cherry girl he called
,
.

In a moment Cherry was facing them with her ,

hands o ut to her father the form of o l d Gabe ,

Smith crowding into the doorway beside her .

Gabe app arently did not see that Keith M cB a in

was not alone and expressed his eagerness to
,

a ssist his O ld bos s .

“ ”
Wait s ir he s aid moving Cherry to o ne si d e
, , ,
“ ’ ”
a s he came forward I ll give you a hand
, .

“ ”
Get o ut o f the way commanded Keith Mc
,

B ain in a voice that wa s very much like his o wn .

“ ’ ”
I don t need your help .

Gabe had s een King and Anne and had a l

r eady stepped back into the cabin with C herry .

192
194 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N

S leep . Scarcely a word had been spoken by any

member o f the group but as soon as they realize d
,

that the o l d man had fallen asleep Gabe and King

withdrew quietly leaving Anne with Cherry
,
.

’
As soon as King had heard Gabe s repo r t o n
what had occurre d during his absence he outlined
in brief form what he believed to be M cCa r tne y s ’

plan to register a timber claim in the hills and s e t

up a camp for the winter Fo r the first time he
.

felt it w a s necessary to reveal to Gabe the secrets

that lay behind M cCa r tn e y s power and the ob
’

j e ctiv e s which he knew M cCa r tne y was aiming to

achieve The o l d man listened intently and sur
.

p rise grew in his face a s he heard what King had

to relate The circumstances made it very clear
.

to Gabe that King must stay in camp for a couple

of days at any rate or until such time a s Keith
,

M cB a in could resume control o f a ff airs That .

Anne should be s ent back early in the morning

with instru ctions to H urley seemed at once the
most feasible and the most easily executed plan
,

they could adopt Accordingly after turning the

.
,

horses over to the care o f the corral foreman they ,

went at once to the store where they knew they

would probably be alone where King with the
, ,

help o f roughly-sketched map s and memoranda

he had made during his trip in the hills drew up ,
det ai led information which An ne sho uld pl a ce in
th e hands o f H urley .

When the info rmation w a s cornp l e te and all the

inst ctio ns ca refully work e d o ut King took ,

Gabe with him to make the rounds of the camp

befor e layin g plans for the night The strenuous .

life of the p ast week with its days and many o f its
,

nights crowded wi th a ctivity wa s beginning to ,

tell o n King and he was hOp ing that he might be

,

able to steal a fe w hours rest before anything ’

f ur th er cropped Up to cl aim hi s attenti on .

The camp was in darknes s A sol ita r y light .

shone from the window o f the large b unkhouse

wher e th e men had eaten their m ea ls during the
day Kin g with Gabe following closely behind
.
,

hi m went first to th e corral to s e e that the horse s

,

h a d not be e n neglected They found the foreman

.

sitting o n a bale o f press ed ha y smo king quietl y ,

by h imself H e had attended p ersonally to the

.

comfo rt o f King s horse and Kei th M cB a in s

’ ’

team and s eemed pleased when King looke d his

,

app r oval .

“ ’
They don t look bad at all King remarked , ,

running his hand over the fla nk o f one o f Mc

’
B ain s team
—
.

“ ”
H uh they re all right the foreman replie d
’

They don t do enough to hu r t them No—but

, .

“ ’
.

’
her e s a couple that looks about all in .
196 T HE H EA RT OF C HERRY McBAI N
H e led King and Gabe to two horses that stood
together munching lazily at the wisp o f dr y hay
that the foreman had placed before them .

“ ”
Them horses are too tired to eat he said a s , ,

he went between them and stroked their coats

still matted with rain and sweat .

King looked the horses over in silence H e .

did no t have to be told the reason for their co n

dition When Gabe turned to him with q ues
.

tio ning look King nodded After they had gone

, .

the rounds o f the corral and had found every

thing in good order they left and went out again
to learn if possible what mood the men were in
, , .

They had not gone more than a dozen step s

when the door o f the l arge bunkhous e O pened a nd
a flood o f light fell from the open doorway Upon
the we t ground immediately in front Someone .

appeared in the doorway for a moment and threw

a bottle that fell against a pil e of stones a fe w
yard s away At the sound o f the breaking glass
.

ol d Gabe grunted .

’ ”
They re at it again to-night he s aid with ,

grim emphasis .

“ ’
I gu ess we ll have to go in and look round
“

”
anyhow King replied quietly
, .

As he spoke the sound o f l aughter came from

the bunkhouse and the voices o f two o r three
,

men speaking very loudly .

198 T HE HEA R T OF C HERRY McB AI N

l ine of his
song and s p oke the words in the time
honored manner that camp singers have o f end
ing a song the applause that broke from the m
,
e n

wa s s o generous and their comments s o g ood

natured that King could not help feeling his sense
o f secu rity returning H e w a s confident that he
.

had nothing to fear from these men if they we re

left alone With the exception of three or four,
.

who looked a s if they ha d been drinking a little

too freely du ri ng the even ing the men ha d ,

sobered Up and were almost normal again

‘

King got up and walked the full length of the

open space between the bunks and sat down o n a
bench near a group o f men who were pl aying
cards H e spoke to no o ne except to return the
.

greetings he received here and there a s he p ass ed

among the men and when he had s at down he
,

rolled hims elf a cigar ette and watch e d the gam e

in silence Gabe was still sitting near the doo r
.

talkin g to some o f the men .

Gradually as King sa t wa tching the game he

, ,

became conscious of a change in the atmosphe re

o f general good nature that had pervaded the

bunkhouse The convers ation grew noisy and he

.

thought he heard his o wn na me mentioned once

or twice in a hoarse whisper H e did not even
.

tur n his head however until he felt s o me qne s

, ,
’
 T HE HEA R T OF C HERRY McBAI N 199

hand o n his shoulder and looked round to see

Gabe leaning over him The o ld fellow indicated .

by a shake o f hi s head that he was ready to go ,

a nd King got up to follow him .

Immediately there wa s a disturbance behind

him and he turned to s e e three Of the men
,

st r uggling with a fourth When they had s uc .

ce e de d in pushing him back into his bunk one o f

them turned to King with a l augh .

“
Y o ur life ain t wo rth mor n a bob -tailed flus h
’ ’

“
round here H owden he s aid a n I m givin
, , ,
’ ’ ’

”
yo u odds at that .

“
King looked at the man i n the bun k What s .
’

”
the matter ? he asked .

“
Don t you bother about him Howden sai d
’
, ,
“
another h e s drunk an he don t like yo u
,
’
,
’ ’
,

but
“ ”
H e j ust go t in from the road interrupted the ,

first speaker an he ain t had much to eat A

,
’ ’
.
'

’ ”
Co uple 0 drinks was enough to put him out .

For a moment the hum o f conversation ceased

a nd th e men looked o ut from their bunks with

expe ctancy in their faces And in that moment .

the door opene d and Bill M cCa r tne y s tepped in .

King l oo ked at him from the other e nd o f the ,

long aisle Fo r some time M cCa r tne y a pp ar

.

ently didn t s e e him Suddenly thei r eyes me t

’
.
200 TH E HE A R T O F C HERRY McBAI N
and King noticed that M cCa r tne y swayed un
steadily and putting o ut his hand lai d it U pon
,

the edge of a bunk fo r support .

Someone stan ding C lose to King muttered in a

half whisper &
“
Look out H owden he s d run k a n he s ugly
,
’
,
’
,
’
,
’ ’ ’ ”
an he s goin to get you if he ca n .

But King continued looking at McCa r tne y

without S peaking a word Gabe tugged a mo .

ment at King s arm but King moved him gently

’
,

to o ne side H is whole attention was centred o n

.

M cCa r tn e y who had taken his hand from the

,

bunk and was doing his best to stand erect and

return King s gaze O nce he took a couple o f
’
.

step s towards King but his knees wobbled and ,

he wa s forced to p ut a hand o ut again to keep

himself from falling Then he looked at King .

with a sneer on his lips

What the hell—are you doin —
.

“ ” ’
here ? he
asked in a voice that was thick and unsteady
, .

King did not reply

—
.

“ ’ ’
It won t do you no good comin r ound here
— interferi u between Keith M cB a in an me
’ ” ’
,

M cCa r tne y went on “

That s my a ff ai r an yo u
.
’ ’

”
keep o ut .

Still King did not offer to say a word .

But someone else spoke up from behind King .

202 T HE H E A RT OF C HERR Y McB AI N
’
talk to me like that because you re drunk But .

’
you won t talk like that where I am even if you ,
’
are drunk Some day you ll be sober and I m
.
,
’

’
going to ask you about this Then you ll have to .

’
eat what you s aid But I m going to wait Just
. .

’ ”
now I m going to throw you out .

Even as he S poke he stepped deliberately to

,

wards M cCa r tne y and the latter lurched heavily

,

to meet him aiming a blow with his huge fist as

,

he came The blow was badly directed and King

.

p arried it without e ffort The next moment he.

had M cCa r tne y round the waist and had lifted

him bodily from the floor .

“ ”
O pen the door Gabe he ordered an d a s
, , ,

Gabe s wung the doo r open King half carried half ,

pushed his struggling burden into the open doo r

way and with a final e ff ort into which he put all ,

his stren g th he lifted the drunken foreman and

,

threw him o ut into the darkness where he ,

stumbled and fell clumsily to the ground .

King stood for a moment and watched him

while he scrambled awkwardly to his feet and
s tood cursing H e would have come back at
.

King almost immediately had it no t been fo r a

Couple o f the men who edged their w a y o ut
q uickly past King and led M cCa r tne y away in the
darkn e s s to his own qua r ters cursing and shout ,

ing threa ts as he went .

 HE ART OF CHE RRY McBAI N
_

TH E 203

Then King turne d and looked b ehind hi m a t

the men .

“
I guess we ll be going o n back Gabe he sai d
’
, ,
“ ’
quietly . There won t be any more trouble to
”
night .

Together the two men left the bunkhouse an d

sta r ted off down the trail towards the store .

When they had reached the door King stopped

and looked once round the camp where it l ay in ,

pitch darkness
“
Go o n in Gabe ,
he said to the o l d ma n
,
.

“ ’
I m going to take a walk over to the cabin and
”
s e e that everything is all ri ght .

Gabe hesitated at the thought o f letting King

go away alone but knowing hi s p rotests would
,

be quite usel es s he entered the store and King

,

went ofl ’
.

At first King found it difficult to make Up his

mind to go directly to the cabin In his hea r t o f .

hearts he yea rned fo r o ne look at Ch err y B ut .

he knew Cherry s dispo sition H e knew that s he

’
.

had resolved Upon a cou rse of action in her future

relations with him that he might j ust as well s ave
himself the tr ouble o f trying to change An d .

yet he wanted to hear her voice again ; he wanted

to speak to her and explain H e wondered if
.

Anne might not have already said something tha t

204 T HE HE A RT OF C HERRY McB AI N

wo uld make it easy for him to attempt to restore

’
himself to Cherr y s confidence .

And s o as he strolled along in the darkness his

, ,

mind was divided as to what he should do By .

the time he had come to within a dozen yards o f

the cabin he had decided to allow his course o f
a ction to grow o ut of the dictates of the moment .

O ne step at a time he thought to himself and

, ,

started off again towards the cabin .

The light still shone from the cabin window ,

an d the thought came to King that he might

c reep Up and perhaps get a glimpse o f Cherry
through the window But before he h a d covered
.

half the distance he became instinctively aware

o f the presence of someone behind him At first
.

he had only a vagu e presentiment such as comes

often to o ne moving about alone at night But .

soon the feeling took complete possession o f him ,

and he turned to see if he might not catch sight

o f someone following him . H is first thought
n aturally w a s o f McCa r tne y but he realized on
,

s econ d thought that M cCa r tne y wa s at that mo

m e nt in no condition to j ustify the suspicion .

As a precautionary measure he walked back

S lowly along the p athway . H e had gone not
more than a dozen yards however when he
, ,

stopped suddenly where the p athway w a s o b

206 T HE HEA R T OF C HE RRY McBAI N

hand S lowly to his head a nd ran his fingers

through his hair The sens ation turned him sick
. .

In o ne last remaining moment o f consciousnes s

he realized that the struggle w a s going against
him a nd he summoned all the energy and power
,

o f will that was left him in an effort to reach the

cabin before giving up The noises in his ears

—
.

became suddenly more deafening he found it

impossible to place his feet where they should go
- —
his knees became S ickeningly weak then he
stumbled over nothing and put his hands out
blindly before him as he fell .

In a moment it w a s a s if all the darkness that

brooded over the world had crowded into one
brain an d blotted o ut the last ray o f light
.
 CH APTER TH I RTEEN

ING awoke and looked round him T here .

had been a sound o f a doo r closing some

where and voices coming to him acros s a
great distance H e remembered the p assing o f a
.

cool breeze across hi s cheek with the fresh scent

of w e t pine in it .

R aising himself o n his elbow he turned his

head and took a quick su rvey o f the room in
which he wa s lying Acros s the room the doo r
.

was p artly aj ar—above him the wi ndow w a s

wide O pen letting in a flood o f morning light
, .

H e tried to remember what had occurred—hi s

head was ve r y heavy and hi s temples throbbed
—
with p ain h e became dizzy and the a rm with
,

which he S upported himself became suddenly

weak H e lay back again heavily Upon the co t
. .

F or a moment he lay with his eyes closed ,

st r uggling to he a t o ff the sens e o f utter forgetful

ness that crept into his brain .

Something touched hi s elbo w and he turne d

his head slightly o n the pillow and opened hi s
eyes again Sal was there her two front p aw s
.
,
208 T HE HE A RT OF C HERRY Mc B AI N

U pon the p atch quilt that covered him her eyes

-
,

shining and her ears pricked forward in eager

concern King lifted a hand wearily and placed
.

it Up on the dog s p aws in response to which Sal

’
,

emitted an anxious whine that ended in some

thing l ike a bark .

Immedi ately the door was pushed wide O pen ,

and Gabe Smith stepped into the room H e was .

in his S hirt sleeves but his hat was on his head

-
,

and hi s pipe in his hand ready apparently for , , ,

action of whatever kind the occasion might

p rompt.

H e moved over to the S ide o f the cot an d

looked down at King with an odd smile half of ,

pity and half o f amusement lighting his old face , .

“
Tr yin to kick Off
’
he asked in an attempt to
“
appear cheerful or are you j ist tr yin to scare
,
’

”
the rest o f us to death ?
King s smile was too faint to be very assuring
’
,

and Gabe leaned down and looked more closely

into his face .

“ ”
H o w do you feel ? he asked .

Fo r reply King put o ne o f his hands to his

head and sighed heavily H e seemed to be o n .

the point o f speaking but finding the e flo r t to o

'

great turned his head away impatiently and r e

l a xe d wearily against the pillows .
210 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N

and wrung it dry Then s he stepped again to

.

the S ide o f the cot and brushing the hair back

,
’
gently from King s forehead laid the cold cloth ,

o n his brow .

Fo r a moment s he stood with her hand lying

lightly U pon the cloth and looking into Kin g s ’

face Gabe came closer and stood looking down

.

at them extending o ne of his hands towards Sal

, ,

who wa s moving restlessly about and pawing at

’
Gabe s knees to get his attention .

Slowly King opened his eyes H e looked at .

them a moment in silence .

“ ”
Would you like some more water ? Cherry
aske d him .

H e nodded his head slightly and Gabe filled

the cup and handed it to Cherry This time he .

dran k more slowly and Wa s s atisfied when he

had taken but half o f what was in the cup .

“ —
I guess I m I m worrying you he s aid and
’ ’ ”
, ,

his voice was scarcely more than a hoarse whis

Sorry—but I ll be all right—soon It s
,

“ ’
p er
. .
’

— —
my head I must have been hit hit hard I r e
—
.

—
member I tried not to go down but — I I had
”
to go .

Cherry brushed her hand lightly a cros s his

hair .

“
But you mustn t tal k King s h e s aid quietly
’
, , .

”
You must be quiet for a While .
 T HE HEA RT OF C HERRY McBAI N 211

H e smiled up at her .

“ ” “
’
Don t bother about me he s a id I ll be bet .
’

ter—right away
,
”
.

H is whole body seemed to rel ax suddenly a s

he cease d speaking and he closed his eyes again
,
.

Cherry remained crouching upon o ne knee beside

the co t her eyes Upon his face one o f her hands
, ,

still under his head where s he had placed it when

,

s he helped him to drink the other hand on the

,

coverlet her fingers touching his arm

, .

H alf cons ciously s he allowed her hand to creep

down until her fingers were pressing lightly
against the pulse in his wrist It was very fast .
,

but q uite strong Even after s he had ceased to

.

observe the pulse-beat S he allowed her fingers to

remain half circling his stout wrist Then she .

moved her hand over hi s and caught his fingers

in her o wn She glanced behind her—o ld Gabe
.

had gone o ut of the room Fo r o ne long momen t

.

S he allowed her hand to rest Upon his and then ,

her fingers tightened slowly and her hea d bowed

towards him .

His lips moved and Cherry listened breath

,

l essly for any word he might S peak

I ll g back stay here—Anne he muttered
—
.

“ ’
o

H ere yo u—Sal—come here Steady up—yo u

.
,
“
.

”
fool.

His voi c e trailed o ff into incoherent mutter

 C H E RRY Mc B AI N
-

TH E HEART O F
T

2 12

ings Then he lay still and his breathing became

.

even though Cherry in spite of her inexperience

, , ,

knew that it wa s very quick and weak .

O nce more s he removed the cloth from his

head and washing it in cold water replaced it
, ,

again and pressed it down softly with her fingers .

Then s he went o ut to where o ld Gabe S mi th

wa s standing in the doorway o f the cabin For a .

long time they stood together in silence their ,

eyes turned towards the tr ail where it came o ut

'

o f cover of the shrubbe r y and entered the camp .

“ ’ ”
There s no u s e looking for her yet s aid ,

Cherry .

“
No she ll do well if s he gets here much bef ore
,
’

”
supper Gabe replied
,
.

Cherry and Gabe were thinking of the same

—
thing they had been thinking o f it for hours .

Not long after King had stumbled and fallen un

conscious in the darkness near Keith M cB a in s ’

cabin Gabe had started o ut to learn if possible

, , ,

What w a s delaying hi s retu rn When he came

.

to the cabin and found that King had not been

there a hurried search wa s made in which both
, ,

Anne and Cherry assisted and in a very short

,

time they came across King s form lying a fe w

’

feet from the beaten pathway all but hidden ,

among the grass and low brush into which he had

fallen .
214 T HE H EA R T OF C HE RRY McBAI N

o wn helplessness in the face o f serious develop

ments .

It was Anne who spoke the first words that

“
gave shape to their wondering We ve got to .
’

” “ ’
get the comp any doctor s he s aid I m goin,
’

to the end o f the-line You ca n stay here an d

- -
.

”
look after things .

She asked no help in preparing fo r the trip .

A little after midnight s he w a s o ff alone o n

’
Cherry s horse o n a trail more than half hidden
in darkness a trail moreover that s he had never
, , ,

travelled before After all S he told herself there

.
, ,

wa s only o ne trail and it ended at the supply

camp .

The hours o f waiting that followed p assed very

S lowly Cherry had given her father all the a t
.

tention he required and had left him sleeping

soundly wi th the hope that the morning would
,

fin d him ready a s usual to get up and go about

, ,

the regular duties o f the camp During the hours .

’
that were left between Anne s dep arture and day
break Cherry watched by King s S ide placing ’
,

cold cloths Upon his fevered brow and bathing hi s

wrists and arms in cold water from the sp r ing .

Gabe had stayed with her dozing for a couple of ,

hours on the couch where he was ready to answer

,

he r c all in case she wanted his assistance .

 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N 215

When the s un was well up Keith M cB a in had

got U p from his bed much as he had done every
morning for years After eating hi s breakfast
.

and looking in for a brief moment upon King he ,

had left the cabin Without a word to anyone ex ,

cept Gabe Smith whom he told to stay by Cherry

,

du ring the day and s e e that s h e got some rest .

During the early hours of the mo rning he had

not once come back to the cabin nor sent any
,

one to make inquiries As many men as could

.

be u sed on the grade in work that could be done

in S pite o f the wet ground were sent o ut under a
,

foreman to go about their tasks in the usual

manner H e himself had remained behind with
.
,

a s core o f men and a couple o f teams to repair

,

the damage that had been done the night before .

Though there would be at most only a f e w

weeks during which there could be any us e for a
cook camp Keith M cB a in went about the work
,

o f putting up a new camp with the same cool de

termination and matter-O f fact oversight that he

-

would have given to the building o f a camp that

was to last for the whole summer B efore he .

had been o n the ground an hour the men were

swinging along at their work as evenly and a s r e
gul a r ly as the parts o f a machine .

M cCa r tn e y failed to put in an appearance at

216 TH E HEA R T OF C HERRY McBAI N
—
all during the day but O ld Silent never made
the slightest reference to the fact .

As it tu rned out it wa s already quite dark by

,

the time Anne returned seated in a buckboard , ,

with the company doctor The horse that s he .

had ridden away o n trotted along behind them ,

where they had tethered it to the rear axle .

Keith M cB a in met them at the door and

greeted the doctor with a handshake and a s mi le
th at seemed for the moment to transform hi s
stern grey face lighting it up with a rare s ym
,

p athy and a kindliness that seldom found expres

sion in his work a day life
- -
.

“
The roads must be bad he remarked after , ,

they had exchanged greetings and then when , ,

the do ctor had removed his coat and looked

“
questio ningly at him H e s in there The girl s
,
’
.
’

”
with him .

T he doctor a young energetic chap Whose

, , ,

manner was e flicie ncy its e lf went at once into ,

the room that Keith M cB a in had indicated No .

sooner was he gone than Anne stepped quickly to

the old man and took him eagerly by the arm .

“ ”
H ow is he ? S h e s aid .

Keith M cBa in shook his head doubtfully .

“ ” “
H e may be some better he replied H e has , .

slept all day except now and then when he asked

,
 218 T HE HEA R T OF C HERRY McBAI N

j ust left l ay the man in whom for the first time ,

in her life and for rea sons s he could not un

,
'

de r s ta nd she had imposed her fullest confidence

,

in the face of imp ending disaster But he was .

more than a protector She had realized more .

k eenly than ever while s he watched beside his ,

c o t that a heart hunger had seized her that only

,
-

thi s big boy o f a man could s atisfy She prayed .

for his recove r y for hi s own s ake and for her

fa ther s s ake—but p as sionate ly for the s ake o f
,
’

the woman that s he w a s .

And now a s s he stood by the door s he ha d j ust

closed and looked at Ann e who was talking to ,

her father s he felt a s one who has awakened

,

f rom a happy dream In her p ride s he could not .

fhink o f S howing any but the most casual regard

L
fo r Anne ; but in her riotous young hea rt S he a l
most hated her Even as thes e thoughts flashed
.

a cross her mind she saw he r fa ther place an arm

’
about Anne s shoulders .

“ ” “
Anne he said quietly you ve done your
, ,
’

p a r t girl But you ve got to get some res t ho w

‘

, .
’
.

Cherry make her go to be d as soon a s s he has

- .

”
had a bite to eat .

For the next hour there were fe wwords spoken .

Keith M cBa in sat by himself apa rt and smoked

incessantly O ccasionally the do ctor Op ene d the
.
 T HE HEART OF C HERRY McBAI N 219

doo r o f the room in which he was working and

asked fo r so me thing to be brought hi m But the .

request wa s made without any exchange o f

words be yond what w a s absolutely essential .

Even when Gabe Smith entered after seeing that

the horse s had received the atten tion they r e
quired there wa s littl e more than a questioning
,

look o r two and an exchange of glances .

When a fter a long time the doctor finally

came o ut o f the room the expression on his face
wa s so reassu rin g a s to Change the mood o f every
o ne of them instantly Keith M cB a in w a s the
.

first to spea k H e got up quickly taking his

.
,

pip e f rom his mouth as he steppe d briskly to

war ds the doctor .

“ ” “ ”
Well he s aid what s the verdi ct ?
, ,
’

The do cto r smiled .

“
If the same thing had happened to me Mr , .

M cB a in the doctor replied

”
,
“
my light would
,

have gone out for goo d But this bo y Howden

.
,
’
he ll be o ut again for the mail in a week if he ,

gets anything like ca reful handling in the mean

time There are some men in the world that you
—
.

ca n t kil and he seems to be o ne o f them B ut

’
l .

give me so mething to eat I ca n talk better on

.

”
a full stomach .

The convers atio n tur n e d in to another channel

220 T HE HE A R T OF C HERR Y McBAI N

and fi nally follow e d a cours e that was of interest

only to the men .

The doctor did not stay long after he had eaten

his supper but he gave hi s directions very speci
,

fi ca l ly to Cherry The pa tient had to be kept

.

where he was for a few da ys and Cherry herself

,

would have to give him all the atten tion possible .

H e was not to talk nor become excited The .

dressings were explained thoroughly and all the

,

details o f the treatment he was to receive were

gone into briefly but pointedly And then —. the
doctor wa s gone and they were alone again
, .

The next morning Anne left for town F or .

reasons which Cherr y could not expl ain s he had

been strangely drawn to the girl during the two
nights they had spent together in the cabin .

F ears and hopes that are shared in common are

powerful factors in shaping human lives and
moulding human sympathies And Cherry had
.

actually come to look upon Anne with something

like pity .

It wa s this feeling that prompted her to ride a

—
little distance with her this and her father s s ug ’

gestion that s he should go along to keep the girl

company as well a s to get into the a ir a little
herself.

T heir conversation had never tu rn e d to King

222 T HE HEART OF C HERR Y McBAI N
can t help wa ntin to k e e p him round But
’ ’
.

’ ” ’
Lord Anne s gettin se n timenta l
,
.

She broke o ff suddenly and gave her rein a

shak e and the next moment was o ff along the
,

trail with Cherry following at a n easy lop ing ,

gait behind her .

They rode thus in silence until they came to the

bridge over the White Pin e The water had gone .

down almost as s uddenly a s it had risen and ,

the crossing presented no di fficulty whatever .

Cherry waited till Ann e had got s afely over to

the other S ide and then after an e xchange o f
, ,

farewells turned back towards the camp

, .

-
Cherry s mind was bu sy ev ery moment o f the
’

ride home that morning Anne was a s trange .

girl behind whose j aunty mann e r she felt sure

, , ,

were hidden heart-breaks and disappointments

that the outside world knew nothing o f Cherry .

had talked with her only a ve r y little had never

really come to know her at all in fact—and had
,

never thought o f her as anything more than j ust

Anne the girl in M a cMu r r a y s lodging house
,
’
— .

An d yet in her p resence Cherry felt a subtle

power—the power that comes from long and hard
, ,

experience that made it di ffi cult even to talk

,

much .

But always as Cherry thought about her there

, ,
 T HE HE AR T OF C HE RRY McB AI N 223

a rose in the b a ckgro und an image of King

H owden standing in the O pen doo rway of the
lodging-house wi th his a r m about the girl all ,

b ut hidden in the gathering dusk And some

.

’
how she could not resist the thought that Anne s
words fully confirmed what S he had first feared
that evening when s he rode so unexpectedly to
M a cM ur r a y S door The single hO p e to which
’
.

S he had clung in moments of depression when ,

di saster seemed about to break Upon her world ,

wa s fast slipping away from her and s h e was b e

ing left to fight the battle alone .

And yet
Late that afte r noon Cherry took King s clothes ’

from his room with the intention o f hanging

them outside for an hour before l aying them away
until he should be able to wear them again It .

was a small service and an insignificant one and ,

yet she lingered over the task a fle ctio na te ly ,

shaking the dust from them and sp reading them

o ut flat upon t h e table to smooth away the
,

wri nkl es Gabe Smith gr own garrulous again

.
,

because o f renewed hopes o f King s early r e ’

co v e ry wa s watchi ng the p rocess from beside the

,

doorway .

“ ’
Don t you think you re some tender with that
’

Shake it well—there s a sight

&
”
coat ? he asked .
’

’ ”
0 dust in that o l d j acket
224 T HE HEA R T OF C HERRY McB AI N

Fo r reply s he threw the coat towards him .

“ ” “
H ere Gabe she remarke d dryly why s it
, , ,
”
there and watch me do the di r ty work ?
AS he put o ut his hands to receive the coat
something fell from o ne of the pockets Cherry .

s tooped to pick it up and then held it towards

Gabe It was a small bundle o f folde d papers

. .

Gabe took it and at the first glance hi s old face

,

&
almost went White .

“ ”
My Go d he whispered hoarsely .

” ’
Why Gabe what s wrong ? Cherry asked
, ,
.

”
I forgot he said looking at the p apers in his
, ,

hand “
. It s th e location—the timber claim
’
.

—
A nd M cCa r tne y M cCa r tne y s been away from
’

—
camp S ince I don t know We re beat ’”
.
’
.

An d even as Gabe Smith S poke those words

H ugh H urley wa s sitting in his o ffice in The
Town loo king through hi s little window to where
,

the valley lay smiling under the late afternoon

s un .
—
H e wa s troubled in spirit more troubled
than he had been for a long time Less than an .

hour had elapsed since an unwelcome visitor had

’
come to town But already the visitor s name
.

was scrawled in the big registry book where

,

claims were o ffi cially recorded The cl aim was .

an extensive one in the hills that rose to the

226 T HE H EAR T OF C HERRY McBAI N
’
gettin under way if it ain t already done that s
’
,
— ’

”
why ,
Anne replied .

M cCa r tne y s face still grin ned but his heart

’
,

wa s not in the smile with which he turned to her

—
.

“ ” “ ’
Anne he said
,
you re a female Donse
,

que nce is you can s a y what you please It ain t

’
.

&
nice to say it but I wi sh you was a man
, .

“ ” “ ’
Lord Anne replied ain t I wished the same
,

thing about three million times in two years An .

’

the wishes are all cr owdin each other right now

’
,
”
Bill .

She walked away and M cCa r tne y struc k a

match and touched it to his cigarette without
speaking a word .
 CH APTE R FOU RTEEN

AB E SMITH S concern a fter he had

’
one

discovered his oversight w a s to do eve r y

,

thing in hi s power to minimize the co n s e

que nce s H e went at once in search o f Keith
.

M cB a in The o l d contractor wa s out on the

.

grade looking over the ground in the hope that

operations might be got under way again first
thing in the morning .

Gabe lost no time in unburdening his min d .

H e gave the packet at once to Keith M cB a in and

then a s briefly and a s pointedly as possible ex
, ,

plained to him what King had feared when he

made the papers o ut and what his plan had been
,

in case anything o f an unexpected nature should

o ccur .

Keith M cBa in took the papers and opening ,

them looked through them slowly and quietly

, ,

While Gabe told his s to ry H ad Gabe not been

.

accustomed to the ways of his o ld boss he might

have felt crestfallen at the apparent lack o f effect
which his spirited exposition produced in O ld
Silent It is doubtful whether in Gabe s whole
.
’

227
228 TH E HEART OF C HERRY McBAI N
life he had ever been so excited—his piping voice
wa s thinner and higher than ever But when he .

had finished Keith M cB a in failed to respond by

,

s o much as a single word Fo r some minut e s he

.

continued to look at the roughly drawn maps -

that King had made H e seemed to be reading

.

the S pecifications over and over again to himself .

B ut Gabe fo r all that he wa s excited had not

, ,

failed to catch the look o f concern that grew in

Keith M cB a in s face as he lingered over the
’

p apers.

When the o ld contractor spoke at last his face

‘

was more serious than it had ever been before so ,

’
far as Gabe Smith s memo ry served him and his ,

words came only with difficulty .

“
Y o u ca n leave thes e with me Gabe he said , , ,

folding the papers again very slowly and allowing

his eyes to wander o ff along the narrowing per
s p e ctiv e o f the right-o f way as he spoke
-
.

Keith M cB a in s mind had turned towards

’

things that were beyond Gabe Smith s ken an d ’

,

conversation was at an end .

Gabe turned and took his wa y alone back to

the camp but as he was leaving the r ight-o f—
, way
he looked behind him to see what had become of
his o l d boss H e wa s far up the right o f way
.
- -
,

picking his way carefully along his hand s clasped ,

23 0 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N

about her shoulders and o ne hand upon her

cheek he looked into her face .

“ ”
Cherr y girl he s aid in a whisper that had a
, ,

touch of great t e nderness in it you had a goo d ,

mother .

“
Y es s h e replied and tried to smile at him
, ,
.

Your father he began and then stopped ,

.

”
Yes ?
H e bent low above her and kissed her hair .

Your father loves you girl he spoke at last , , ,

with tears in his voi c e as he spoke .

“ ”
No t more than I love him Cherry replied , ,

with a brave effort to make her voice Cheerful .

“ ”
’ “ ’
That s it girl he replied ,
And we re going
, .

to stand—together ? ”

N ever before had he S poken thus from his heart

to her Cherry tried to speak but her voice
.
,

would not come She put her two arms about

.

his neck and drawing his head down u pon her

shoulder gave up the st r uggle to keep back the
tears .

Fo r a long time they remained thus in each

’
other s arms until at last there was a stirrin g in
,

the room where King l ay and Cherry got up B e , .

fore she left her father s h e pressed his head close

to her and leaning over kissed him on the cheek
, ,
.

Then s he hurried away to answer King s call ’

.
 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N 231

Keith M cB a in got up and putting o n his hat

, ,

went o ut a lone to loo k about the camp before

tu rnin g in for the night Just before he started
.

b ack for the cabin he went to the corral a nd

looked over his team H e p atted their flanks and
.

sides a n d rubbed their necks a ff ectionately and ,

then S poke to the corral foreman .

“ ’
I ll want the little team first thing in the
”
morni ng he s aid and went out a g ain
, , .

When he returned to the cab in Cherry w a s

standing in the doorway .

“ ’
I ll be going to town first thing in the morn
ing he s aid a s he went into the cabin with her
, , .

“
F ather—please
There wa s pleading in her voice the meaning ,

o f which Keith M c B a in could not m i stake .

“ “
N0 he said quickly there ll be nothing this
, ,
’

i
t me to —
trouble you this time o r any other
’ ”
time That s all past my girl
.
, .

Cherry would have kissed her father again had

he not tu r ned away too quickly and gone to his
room .

The next morning Kei th M cBa in was early o n

the grade and stayed long enough to s e e that the
work wa s going o n very much as usual MC .

Ca rtney had come back to camp du ring the night

and was in his place as foreman when the men
232 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N

took their accustomed places O ld Silent slipped

.

away and was not seen again during the day .

Late that night he drove into camp gave his ,

team over to the care o f the corral foreman and

went to his cabin without a word to any o f the
men H is only word w a s to Cherry to en quire
.
,

-somewhat more eagerly than usual s he

thought—concerning King s condition Then he
,
’
.

ate his supper and went to bed .

During the days that followed Cherry watched ,

he r father with growing anxiety The care that .

wa s necess ary to give King w a s growing less each

—
day s o rapid was his recovery and her mind ,

wa s more free to dwell upon other things It .

had become quite clear to her that a change was

coming over her father though s he could not a c
,

count for it Sometimes S he found him unus u

.

ally cheerful ; he became even talkative at times

—especially when he s a t with King in the even
ings after the day s work wa s done O n such o c
’
.

’
casions when her fa ther s spirits were light her
, ,

o wn j oy scarcely kn ew limits .

B ut as a rule he was S ilent even morose at

, ,

times H e ate his meals without S peaking H e

. .

spent his evenings alone outside where he sat ,

near the doo rway and smoked incessantly until ,

it was s o dark he coul d not s e e O ften he left the

.
234 TH E HEART OF C HERRY McBAI N

received the n ews without co mment and Keith ,

M cB a in after lingering a while had l eft and

, ,

gone b ack to where th e men were at work o n the

grade.

Then followed a wee k during which virtually

nothing w a s s aid e xcept what passed betw e en
,

Cherry and King and a word o f quiet greet

,

ing n ow and then whe n the ol d man came in to

eat his meals .

B u t d uring the week King H owden and Cherry

McBa in faced together the strange problem ihat
life had s e t before them not knowing exactly
,

what wa s hidden behind the silent bearing of the

ma n who wa s at the centre o f it conscious only
,

o f the fact that they were pleased to face it to

g e ther
.

King rega ined stren gth very rapidly and was

s oo n abl e to ta ke short walks in the a f ternoons
a nd evenings . H e never went alone except when
,

Cherry Went riding Then he strolled slowly

.

a long the little path that led into the hill s the ,

p a th down whi ch he had come wi th Cherry On

that afternoon when he had found her pi cking
berries and had come back to S upper with her .

O n o ne o f these little strolls he had gon e a s

far as the pool beside which he had knelt with
her for a drink of fresh water O nce again he
.
 THE HEA R T OF CH ERRY McBAI N 23 5

knelt down and pla cing hi s hands Upon a small

,

boulder leaned forward and too k a dri nk Again ‘

.
,

he p aused in the a ct of ge tting U p and looked at

the refl ecti on in the water His face was thin .

and his cheek showed p ale under the tan An d .

yet he wa s gloriously conscio us o f retu rning

vigor The fresh air fragrant wi th the sweetnes s
.
,

of the pine woods fill e d him with n e w strength

,

at eve ry breath and his ve r y blood w a s riotous

,

to be in a ction again and take up the challenge o f

’
life in a young man s l and .

And yet there w a s on e lingering regret The .

days that were j ust co ming to a close had been

days o f sweet companionship with Cherry Now .

those days Were almost at an end In les s than a .

w e e k he would get into his saddl e again and ride

away with nothi ng but a memory to carry with
,

him into the days that lay before him .

H e s a t down on a fallen timb e r that l ay cl ose

to th e pool and afford e d a natu ral resting place -
,

w el l shaded and conven ien tly nea r the p ath In

-
.

th e woods behind him he hea rd S a l leaping and

rushing about gi vin g chas e to an imagina r y rab

,

bit or barking a reply to a sau cy j a y Alrea dy

, .

the birds were beginning to flock A fe w score ,

descended like a r ush of wind and filled the

h
bra nc e s o f -b
a near y poplar that had already
23 6 T HE HE A R T OF C H ERR Y McBAI N
t aken on its autumn colors and stood like a yel
low flame against the dark background o f ever
greens It wa s a day—and it w a s the time o f
year—when youth grows p ensive and the melan
.

c ho ly o f the year creep s into the veins of o ne .

For a long time King s a t and gave himself

’
over to the season s food H O W long he s a t
.

he did not know H e had lost for the time b e

.
,

ing his sense o f p assing hours

, But he was .

awakened suddenly by the sound of someon e

coming and the next moment Cherry appeare d
,

and came r unning down the pathway towards

Isn t it funny s he s a id S itting down beside

’
, ,
“
him o n the log but when I came back and
,

found you gone I knew at once you would be

,

here It seems the v ery place for such a day

. .

’
Isn t it glo rious ?
“ ’
I think I d like to be getting better for a long
” “
time King replied
, Don t you think you could
.
’

have someone hit me o n the head again—j ust

hard enough to lay me o ut for a few d ays and
”
gi ve me a long time to get over it ?
Cherry l aughed
—
.

“ ”
No I want to see you like yourself again
‘

,
“
s he replied You look more li ke yourself to-da y
.

”
than you have yet .
23 8 T HE HEAR T OF C H ERRY McBAI N

a ny s uppe r fo r he r fath er , s he got to her feet te

l ucta ntly e n ou gh a nd wa lk e d away With King
in a strange moo d a n d very silent
,
.

After supp er that night Keith M cB a in ca lle d

hi s daughter to him where he wa s sitting in his
accustomed pl ace j ust ou tside the doorway In
,
.

a moment Cherry entered the cabin again a nd

donned a light j acket .

“
F ather wants me to walk with him a l ittl e ”
,

s h e said to King .
“
We ll be back again s oo n
’ ”
.

King went to the doo rway and watch e d the two

as th ey walked away from the cottage Che r ry ,
’
leaning upon her father s a rm When they had.

disappeared he s a t down and allowed his mi nd

to wander at will over the events of the w e eks
that were now coming to a close H e w a s mo re .

a nxious than ever now that his plans in regard

,

to the timber cl aim in the hills had been frue

tr a te d to get back a s soon as he was able to r ide
, ,

and talk things ove r wi th H ugh H urley .

It was quite dark by the time Cherry and her

father retu rned to the cabin King noticed at
.

once the s e ri ous exp re s sion o n Cherry s face a nd’

the complete abs e nce o f any S ign o f the p l ayful

mood s he displayed before going out with he r
fa ther She appeared not to noti ce King whe re
.

he was sitting a few feet fr om the doo rway a nd ,

walk e d in to the cabin without saying a word

 T HE HEART O F C HE RRY McBAI N 23 9

Kei th McB a in however r emained outside

, , ,

and drawing a chai r towards King s a t down be ,

side him a n d began to talk at once .

“
You are just about Well aga in H owden he , ,

s aid moving a little closer in order that he might

,
“
be able to s e e King s face in the darkness The
’
.

girl tells me that you will be leaving u s in a f ew

days now—about the end of the week
“ ”
I think s o sir King replied
, ,
I have .

wanted to tell you how much I owe

“
Tut tut man—th at s nothin g 1 the o l d man
” ’

No —we all do such things—any o f

, ,

broke in .

u s when the need comes You may have to take

me in some time—who knows ?
.

“
If the time ever comes King began .

”
I know I know , he interrupted again
, .

“
That s partly why I want to talk to yo u H ow
’

d en you re a young man yet—about

.

’
,
“
Just past twenty-eight s ir King interj e cte d
Twenty-eight—aye I didn t thi nk yo u were
, , .

“ ’
.

s o o l d even as that Still that s young enough ’

.

for one o f your experience .

H e paus e d for a moment du ring whi ch he ,

s eemed to be thinking very hard .

“
There w a s something I have thought l ately
”
I d like to tell you he went o n at last
’ “
, I want .

to tell yo u because I thin k o u c a n listen with a

y
’
ma n s ears and un dersta nd with a man s heart .
’
.
240 TH E H EART OF C HERRY McBAI N
Men don t go through life as a rule H owden
’
’

, ,

without carrying a few secrets along with them .

The most of u s have memories that we d gladly ’

—
forget if we could All o f us have o ur secrets
—
.

things we never tell even to o ur best friends

—
.
,

An d there s nothing wrong with that it would

’

be wrong if we tol d it The world is a pretty .

fair s o r t my boy and life is wo r th living in S pite

, , ,
’
of the wrongs we do It isn t such a bad rule
I ve found to keep your mouth shut —
.
,
’
,
if opening
”
it is going to cause trouble for anyone .

H e wa s silent for a while a s if he wished th e ,

truth o f his sta te m ent to s ink deep into King s ’

mind .

“
But there are times when it s best to spea k ’

“
o ut , he went o n A little troubl e sometime s
s aves a d eal more later o n And that s the point .
’

’
I m coming to There wa s a time in my life
.

when I had no secret I went abo ut my wo rk .

eve r y d ay a nd had littl e to worry me besides the

’
day s work a s it came But I grew ambitious . .

When you s e e a man that s over ambitious yo u ’

-

c a n count o n trouble lying somewhere waiting fo r

him There are to o many ambitious men in the

.

world H owd en to m ake it easy for anyone to be

, ,

ambitious an d be Happy T here were two o f us .

a man I thought was a friend—an d I m not

- ’
242 T HE HEART O F C HERRY McBAI N
night I got into camp—they had got in early in
the da y There was a lot o f drinking going o n
.
,
”
and about midnight there was a fight .

Keith M cB a in placed his hand over his e yes

for a moment and then ran his fingers slowly
acros s his forehead .

“
I never knew exactly what happened All I .

remember was som e shots and a man lying o n

the floo r I had a gun in my hand—and it was
.

smoking The thought o f what I had done

.

sobered me at once and my first fear was for my

,

wife and girl H a d it not been for them H ow

.
,

den I swear I d have given myself up right there

,
’
.

B ut I co uldn t do that I asked the other man

’

the m an I thought was my friend—you may as

.

wel l know who —

& it was big Bill M cCa r tne y— I
aske d him to get me out o f it At first he argued
.

with me but at l ast I persuaded him and he

,

helpe d me get away I n a few days be joined me

.

a gain and we came back Then o ne night I made

.

a b argain wi th hi m The a ff air was to remain a

.

s e cr e t between us a nd he wa s to take the claim

a nd ge t what he could from it H e went west
.

aga in and I too k to the constru ction—and have

li ve d the life o f the damne d ever since I told
my wife—and she d ie d Then Mc c artney came
.

bac k Now he wants eve r ything H e knows he

. .
 THE HEART OF C HERRY McBAI N .
243

has my life in hi s hands—a nd he s going to make ’

me pay I made him fo r e man H e s not satis

. .
’

fi e d with that H e wan ted the cl aim in the hills

—and go t it Sometimes I have been glad he did
.

get it I have been afraid to stand before that

.

—
man Howden the on ly man I have ever been
,

afraid o f An d I m not afraid for myself ei ther ’

But the girl there —

.

he wants her—has wanted

.

her for a long time and s ays he s go ing to get her ,

’
.

To-night I told her the whole sto ry j ust as I ve -

’

told it to yo u And s he says if the p rice has to

—
.

’ ’
be p aid she ll pay it That s Cherry my boy .
,
.

The hour has come for me H owden We can t , .

’

’
r un camp very l ate this year The weather s been .

bad When the break up comes there will b e

.
-
,

plans to lay for next yea r Mcc a rtney will spea k

—there will be words th e r e are always words —
.

wh e n we talk business But thi s will be the last

—
. .

&
’
A man s life is nothing he can take me but
—
,
”
Go d in heaven there s a limit
’

H e go t up fr om his chair and stoo d a moment

before King Then he e x ten d ed hi s hand and
.

Ki ng took it .

“
We shall spea k of thi s again H owd en he ”
, ,
“
s aid . No w that there s nothing between u s we ’

can talk with out being afrai d There ll be plans ’

to talk ove —
.

and I d like to tal k them over with

r .
’

”
yo u .
244 T HE H EART OF C H ERRY McBAI N

H e turned and went into the cabin without giv

ing King a chance to speak and King sat down ,

again and went over in his own mind the details

o f the story Keith M cB a in had told him .

It must have been an hou r later—King did not

k now how long he had been there alone— when
’
he heard Cherr y s step in the cabin and lifting ,

his eyes s a w her standing in the doo rway

, .

“ ”
Y ou must go to bed she said and her voice , ,

be tr a yed the fact that s he had been weeping .

H e looked at her a moment without S peaking .

T hen he got U p and tu rned towards her .

“ ”
Come out a minute Cherry he s ai d ve r y
, , ,

softly .

She stepped down an d coming to where he ,

s too d waited for him to S peak Taking her a rm

, .

he led her o ff a short distan c e along the p ath ,

where they had walked together only a few hours

befo re Neither o f them spoke until they had
.

rea ched a point in the p athway from which only

the light o f the cabin wa s visible through the
hea vy low hanging branches o f the trees
,
-
.

Then King stopped and faced her with hi s ,

two hands resting o n her S houlders .

“
Your father has told me the whole story ,
”
C herry he said
, .

Ch erry s head droppe d and her shoulders shook

’

u nder King s han d s

’
‘

.
24 6 T HE HEAR T OF C HERRY McBAI N

to the doubts th at ha d lur k e d there for many

days She wanted to a s k King the question that
.

had been in her mind ever S ince the evenin g s he

had ridden into town in the dusk Then s he
—
.

’
heard King s voi ce again slow resolute and , ,

touched With d e ep emotion

Just now he sa id I d like to kiss you—but
.

“ ” “ ’

I ll wait—I ll wait till I des erve it more Che rry

, ,
’ ’
.

M cBa in I m go ing to fight for you

,
’ ”
.

H e drew her towards him and l ook e d long into

her eyes Then he turned her about and star ted
.

towards the ca bin Together they walked in S i ]

.

ence until they were within a few feet o f the door ,

and then Cherry p aus ed and turned to King .

&
“ ”
King Howden sh e said looki ng up at him
, , ,
’ ” ’
you re - you re stupid
B efore King coul d make reply she threw her
a rms suddenly around his neck and kiss e d him
once impulsively pa ss ionately and then fle d into
, ,

the cabin .

After a while King H owden wondering a gr eat ,

deal abo ut his own stupidi ty, passed into the

cabin and went to bed .
 CH APTER F I FT EEN

CTO B ER in as no other O ctober had

set

done within the memory o f Keith Mc

B ain .

“
It does nothin g but rain in this country from
the looks of things he s aid to ol d Gabe S mi th

—
, ,

who was going over the works with his old boss .

“
There s nothing fo r us but an early close we
’

may as well shut down at once Last night the

—
.

s n s e t clear and
u look at it now .

It was late afternoon and the whole sky was

heavy The s un had broken through the clouds
.

in the west but behind the clouds the s ky wa s

,

re d The breeze that r ustled in the poplars was

chil l—even cold—a n d ca rried th e ye llow leaves
.

before it Or lifted them from the ground in little

,

eddying gusts that whirled S harply in the open for

a moment and then l ost th e ms e lves in the closer
branches of the sh r ubbery .

“ ’
We ve had frost nea rly e ve r y night this
”
week Gabe offere d by way o f corroborating
,

wha t K eith McBa in ha d s ai d A littl e more

.

24 7
24 8 T HE HE A R T OF C HERR Y McBAI N
’ ’
and there ll be no workin with the slushers at
‘

all .

McBa in walke d a short distance in silenc e and

then tu rned back towards the camp .

“ ”
N o u s e going any farther he remarked at ,
“ ’
last as if he were talking to himself ; This j ob s
,

about done anyhow and the next move will be

—
, ,

clear p to the valley j ust north o f town

u .

’
Might as well hustle up the bit that s left here
and move the outfi t into town for the winter .

I t ll give us an early sta rt fo r the spring any

’
,

how .

I t required all of
weeks to complete what
two
wa s still left o f the work Keith McB a in had co n
trac ed for at that point n the right
t i -o f-way
where his camp had stoo d for the months o f
Augu st and September With good weath e r co n
.

ditio ns it would have been completed in three o r

four days But every morning foun d the ground
.

that had been wet the day before frozen into a

hard crust that made work impossible until noon .

The work dragged along at a rate that would

have tried the patience of anyone It kept Keith .

McB a in in a state o f ill-temper from which dur ,

ing the whole o f the two weeks he never te ,

covere d .

During tho se two weeks however the men who , ,

250 T HE HE ART O F C H ERRY McBAI N

their work But the circumstances under whi ch

.

the change had taken place were not ordin ary

—
.

No man in the camp not even Mc c artney

could account for it The explanation was
.

hidden behind O ld Silent s grey inscrutable’

,

countenance As a matter o f fact the dis cussion s

.
,

in which the men engaged during the long chilly

—
, J

evenings were not p rompted solely nor in the

main—by any desire to find the expl anation .

No one would have spoken at any length on

the subj ect had it not been fo r the fact th at
among the men working for Keith M cB a in were
a number who for some ti me had refused to a d
mit that Keith M cB a in wa s recovering from his
long period o f inefficiency and weak manage
ment When they were finally force d to admit
.

what was s o obviou s th at no o ne coul d remain

blind to it they b ecame vi ol ent in their dislike
,

for his harsh methods and intolerant moods .

When they could no longer discredit him they

began to denounce him T he group wa s a for
mida bl e element in camp—and was le d osten
.

sibly by M cCa r tn e y who doubtless s a w o n e of

,

his fondest hopes declining .

O ne incident that occ urred during those two

we e ks marked the tu rning point in all the di s
e ussions that were going on The night ha d
.
 T HE HEART O F C HERR Y McBAI N 25]

b een col d, with r a in a nd a little snow, the firs t

o f the s eason The mo r ning wa s wet, and unde r
.

foot the ground wa s slushy The men had ri sen

.

a t th e usual time and gone to breakfast at th e

sound o f the gong When b reakfast was almo s t

.

over but before any man had yet risen from th e

, .

table Kei th M cB a in appea red in the doorway o f

,

the coo k-ca mp and ordered the men out a s usual .

No word wa s S pok e n in reply and M cB a in after ,

waiting a moment in the doo rwa y o f the camp ,

’
went o ut to prepare for the day s work No .

sooner had he disappea red than p rotests broke

loos e from fully half the m en at once They .

appealed to M cCa r tne y and leaving the table

, ,

went off in a surly mood to the bunk house con ,

fiden t that if anything could be done M cCa r tne y

, ,

woul d do it M cB a in hims elf wa s already o ut

.

o n the grade and Mc ca rtn ey str ode over boldly

,

to app rise him of the tem pe r o f the men .

No t more than thr e e o f the men heard the in

te r vie w between O ld Sil e n t and his foreman
—
.

B ut all three heard alike and the rep orts that

all three brought in concerning what they had
s een were su ffi ci en tly similar to l eave no one in
d oubt as to their being in the main corre ct
, , .

M cCa r tne y s first word had brought Keith M c

’

B ain down o n him li ke a hurricane before which

,
252 T HE H EA R T O F C HERRY McBAI N

the foreman had capitulated even c ri nged an d

, ,

had asked the o ld bos s to speak to the men him

s elf.

And Keith M cB a in had spoken to the men ,

with the result that only two in the whole camp

refused to go to work These he p romptl y
.

handed over to the time-keeper who gave them ,

their time and Keith M cB a in personally super

,

vi sed their depa rture from camp before he went

back to his men o n the grade .

F rom that time forward there w a s no doubt

ing that the o ld rail r oa d boss wa s still to be ‘

seriously reckoned with by any man who ques

tio ne d hi s ability to loo k after his o wn a ff airs .

F rom that time fo r ward moreover the questio n

, ,

w a s not so much o ne o f whether Keith M cB a in

was a s strong a man as Bill Mc c artney It was .

rather a question o f which o f the two me n they

were p repared to follow For Mc c a rtney had
.

sworn in the p resence of everyone that night

that he was going to break Keith M cB a in and
do it so completely that—well they were to
,

watch him and they would s e e for themselves .

T hat night the camp was S plit into two fac

tions The division had been creeping in for
.

months It wa s now complete O n one side were

. .

the men who ha d succumbe d to Mcc a r tney s ’

254; T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N

T he thi rd trip , howe ver Wa s diff erent from the ,

o the rs Cherry ha d se c re tl y been expecti ng Ki ng

.

a l l day long H e a rrived finally l ate in the afte r

.

noon and with him Anne Cherr y received the

,
.

gi r l with as much cordiality as S he could co m

man d The four took supper together and King
.

went at once leaving Anne wi th Cherry until

.

he retu rne d .

That night Keith McB a in retired early and

left the two gi rl s alone together In spite o f her .

self Cher r y found her hea r t wa rmi ng towards

,

Anne a s the evening wore o n .

“
Don t yo u sometimes find 1t hard to be alone
’
,

”
s o mu ch A nne ? s he asked when their conver
, ,

s ation had drifte d into more or less personal

channel s .

’
Anne s reply was at first no n-committal .

“
Ain t yo u alone too ? she asked
’
,

and I feel—some
.

“ ” “
Y es Cherry replied
times—a s if I can t stand it any longer But
, ,
’

—
.

”
th e n I have my father .

“ ” “
Yes Anne responde d it s diff erent An
, ,
’
.
’

when you ask me if I find it hard—I do Some

—
.

times well I j ust don t think about it If I

,
’
.

s tarted thinkin I d go cr a z y ’ ’
But thinkin .
’

’ ”
does n t get you anywhere .

T hey were both silent for some time Cherry ,

 T HE HEART OF C HERRY McB AI N 255

intent upon som e sewing that s he wa s d oin g ,

Anne S itting watching her across the table At .

l ast Cherry made another e ffort .

“
I hop e you won t think it funny o f me Anne
’
, ,

s h e remarked looking up at the girl and s m

,
i ling ,
“
but I have never known yo u by anything othe r
—
than just Anne King neve r introduced us
.

”
properly .

“
There s b e en mighty littl e time for intr o duc m
’ ’

”
anyone Anne replied
, .

“
Yes ; but Ki ng has never even told me your
”
n ame, Cherry continued .

Ann e wa s not quick to answer R eason is .

,
“
s h e s aid slowly afte r a long pause he didn t ’
, ,

know it himself .

’
Cherry s face e xpressed su r pri se .

“
But I thought you and he were good friends
s h e remarked—and something o f the o ld Ev e wa s
,

risin g in her She had been struggling all even

.

ing to keep it down but now s he found herself

,
’
s earching Anne s face for the slightest change o f
color o r expression that would betray her f e el
ings
We are —
.

The girl spo ke ve r y q uietly if you .

”
want to put it like that s he replied , .

There w a s a n ote in Anne s voice that was un ’

mistakably cold and Cherry reproached herself

,

at once .
256 T HE HE A RT O F C HERRY McBAI N

Anne s he s aid and S he turned her

R eally, , ,
“
eyes away a s s he spoke ; I didn t mean to be o e r ’

”
s onal Please forgive me
. .

“
That s nothin ’
replied Anne quickly ’
F act
is —when I came to the settlement I wanted
.

’
nothin better than to be left alone When I .

hired with M cM ur r a y he aske d me my name an ’

‘
I told him Anne If he d aske d what else’
.
’

I d a lied to him But he didn t An no o ne

’ ’ ’ ’ ’
. .

e lse ever asked till j ust now I could lie about

—
it but I m no t goin to When I tell you—
.

’ ’
I ll .
’

”
tell you straight B etter leave it at that
. .

’
Though Anne s voice wa s cold and without
feeling Cherry knew that a t hea rt the girl was
,

tender even aff ectionate When Anne got up

‘

, .

from where s he had been sitting and went to the

window where S he stood looking o ut into the
night Cherry s e t aside her sewing and followed
,

her F or a moment s he stood b e hind Anne

.
,

neither o f them speaking a word .

At last Cherry put her a rms about her and

h eld her in a warm impulsive embrace , .

“ ” “
Anne s he s aid let s be friends
’
I m alone ’

— , , .

and so are yo u But you re older than I am

.
’
,
”
a nd I want you to like me .

A nne turned to her and looked at her very

steadily for a long ti me before s he S poke .
 258 T HE H EART OF CHERRY McBAI N
” “
An then for two d ays Anne continu e d did
’
, ,

yo u act l ike you understood and wanted to be

”
f ri en ds ?
Cherry could stand the ques tioning no longer .

“ ” “
Anne Ann e she pleaded don t talk l ike ’

that Let me tell yo u —

, , ,

c an t you see what it all

’

means Anne I love him—I wa s j ealous —

.

”
. .

“ ”
Jealous ? A nne stood back from her in s ur
p rise .

“
When I S a w you standing
“ ”
You mean King ? Anne asked her suddenly .

Cherry nodded her head .

At first An ne seemed about to l augh but the ,

smil e died o n her lips .

“ ”
Listen to me s he said Where d yo u get , .
’

that ? If I wa s goin to pick som e one right now ’

I d pick Kin g H owden But I ain t pickin a ny

’ ’ ’
.

an I ll tell you why Now you get t his

’ ’
”

o ne , .
,
’
str aight In the first place he wouldn t stand
.

for me that s all there is to that H e never told

,
’
.

—
me b e ca us e w e never talked about it but I
,
’
don t have to be told Anyhow all that do n t .
,
’

—
matter it s nowhere with me There s another
’ ’

—
.

reason I ain t loo kin for a pa r tner I wasn t

’ ’ ’

goin to tell you thi s —but you might as well

.

”
know .

She pau se d a mom ent a nd looked at Ch er ry .

 T HE H EART O F CHERR Y McBAI N 259

“
D yo u know, sh e continued m e dit a tiv e ly ,
’ ‘

Idi dn t want to make th is tr ip down here thi s

’

tim n I wasn t comin only Kin g Howden told

’ ’
,
’
me to come an get on talkin terms with you I ’

di dn t like you—
.

’
but I ca me because he wante d
’
me to That s ho w mu ch I like him an it s a
.
’
,
’ ‘

wh ole l o t But I m glad I c ame I think I ll g et ’ ’

to likin y o u—I like yo u now—

. .

o r I wouldn t tell
’ ’

you what I never told ano ther soul in this part 0 ’

the world The rea s o n I ain t cho o s in a nythin ’ ’ ’

.

’ ’
p arti c ular among the l e gible gents that s hangin ’

round is that I —I made a choice once It wa s

sure a bad o ne but—I m s tandin by it
.

” ’ ’
.
,
“ ”
Y ou re no t married
’
Anne ? exclaimed ,

Ch e rry in su rp rise .

A nne nodded in the affirmative .

“ ”
I was once anyhow she commented with a , ,

Ch erry could s a y nothi ng in reply—s o co m

p l e te wa s her surp rise .

“ ”
Just no w Anne added after a moment of
, ,
“ ’ ’
silence I m doin what most women have to do
s oo ne r o r later—I m sta in round to keep my
,
’ ’
y
o ld m an from makin
’
an ass of himself The .

mosto f em will do it if they re left alone

’ ’
.

“
Then he s here ? Cherr y exclaimed with fresh
” ’

m
su r i se .
2 60 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N

,
—
Lord yes he s here Anne replied ’
,
.

When Cherry did not reply Anne too k her

hands and looked long and steadily i nto her
eyes
—
.

“
My name s he said slowly is Anne Anne
, ,

M cCa r tne y .
”

once Cherry checked herself before s he put

Fo r
her thoughts into words She drew Anne to .

wards her a nd held her close for a long time in

silenc e .

I n her hea rt wa s a riot o f confused emotions .

She could not resist th e overwhelming s a tis fa c

tion s he felt upon learning at last that her s us
picio ns concerning King were foolish and without
foundation She reproached herself inwardly for
.

having entertained su ch fears Then her s elf-r e .

p roach vanished before the supreme j oy that

came to her—he wa s still the man she had known
him to be when first they rode together o n the
trail It wa s only n atural that the hatred s h e
.

had fo r M cCa r tne y should now c ause her some

uneasiness in the presence o f the woman who
bore his name In the end her heart went out in
.

pity to the girl whO wa s struggling through life

‘ ‘

wi th a burden s uch as s he herself knew nothin g

of.
It was this feeling that was strongest 111 her
2 62 T HE HE ART O F C HE RRY McBAI N

come to a deci sion & s he would tell Anne all about

it in th e morning .

When they were alo n e together after th e y ha d

e aten their breakfast Che rry summoned all her
,

coura g e and began her s tor y Anne stopp e d her .

b efore S he had spoken a do zen words .

“
Y ou re not tellin me a thing I don t know
’ ’ ’
,
“
s he said Didn t I say I was here to k e e p Bill
’
.

M cc a rtney from pl a yin the damn fool ? Well ’

—
,

he l l do that in spite o f me but I m not go in to

’ ’ ’

l et him make a s big a fool o f o thers as he has o f

”
me Let s go and lo ok at the horses
.
’
.

Early that fternoo n King arrive d and Anne

a ,

went back to town wi th him Cherry stoo d o n .

the trail at the end o f the pa thway leading from

the cabin and watched them until they were
,

o ut o f s ight She wa s o n the point o f tu rning

.

b a ck a gain to the cabin when she caught sight of

her fath er coming towards her .

“
We ll gi rl s aid Keith M cB a in when he h a d
,
”
,
“
joined her the work s over We begin mowing
,
’
.

”
th e outfit to-morrow .

Cherry had been ex pe cting the announcem e nt

e v ery day f or the p ast week b ut when it a ctua lly

,

ca me at last it found her s a d in the thought o f

leaving the spot where all th a t had ever matu re d
 THE HEART O F C H ERRY McB AI N 263
.

mu ch in her lif e —s ave th

e death o f her mo ther

had occu rred .

“
I ca n get ready any tim e father she r e
But— I ll hate to leave my trees—and
, ,
“ ’
plied
—
.

”
my cabin and my hills .

The o l d man looked down at his daughter and

smiled Then he put his arm about her and the
.

two We nt o ff do wn the p athway together .

 CH APTER S I & TEEN

HE next day Keith McB a in s men beg an ’

to break up the old camp By night the .

fi rst wagons we re loaded and ready for the

trail in the morning M cB a in s decision to store
.
’

his o utfit in The Town rather th a n take it to the

“

e nd-of-the-steel m et wi th the men s approval

’
,
It .

meant a S horter haul a nd it m eant a foregath er

,

ing o f the men from farther Up the line includ ,

’
ing Rubble s gang as a sort o f fi nal wind-up o f
,

the s eason s a ctivities I n three days there wa s

’
.

nothing left o f the ol d camp ex cept a few wall s

an d foun d ations—a nd the littl e log cabin in the
,

s helter o f the ta ma r a cs Keith McB a in had a c

.

“
ce d e d to his daughter s wish to remain just a n
’

”
o ther day ,
and had allowed his men un d er the ,

supervision o f M cCa r tne y and Gabe Smith to go ,

ahea d an d comp l et e the tas k o f putting the outfit

un d e r cover an d p reparing winter s helte r fo r the
horse s.

When Cherry an d her father arrived just a d ay

a fte r the l ast freight team the pla c e had already
,

264
2 66 THE HEART O F C H ERR Y McBAI N

U n til no on the wor k went along quite

s moothly and Keith M cB a in watched King with
,

a pprova l growing in his hea r t Noon however .

, ,

b ro ught th e discovery to M cCa r tne y and to tho s e ,

who had no t responded to M cB a in s call that the

’
,

wor k wa s app arently proceed ing successfully

with out them Fo r an hour or so there we r e
.

p etty councils here a nd th ere in M a cMur r a y s ,

’

a nd Cheney s places pa rticularly and o ne by

’
,

o ne the men stepped away a n d went to work ,

though many o f them took their directions from

King with ill enough grace Keith M cB a in and .

H ugh H urley watched the proces s from the lat

’
te r s office and smiled to themselves at what they
,

sa w B efore night a scant half dozen were all

—
.

that remained al of from the O p erations t hese

o

a nd B ill M cCa r tne y who had stayed discreetl y

,

a p a r t all day .

Ni ghtfall found Cheney s place crowded to the

’

(10013 There wa s a feeling of expectancy in the

.

a ir and the men gathered qu ickly and fell to dis

’

Cu ssing the events of the day But discussion led .

n owh e re There seemed to be general disagree

.

ment o n al most ev ery point that was raised .

M cCa r tne y stood back from the crowd with a

s mile fixed o n his face a p pa rently enj oying the
,

dis cnmfi tur e and allowing the men to develop

 T HE HE AR T OF CHERRY McBAI N 267

their di ff erences a s they wished What he wanted

j ust no w w a s disorganization and con fusion—the
.

more o f it the better Any organization must o f .

necessity centre round Keith M cB a in who wa s ,

the sole embodiment o f authority of any kind in

the place Whe n di so r de r had broken M cB a in s
.
l
’

control M c Ca r tn e y s moment would arrive And ’

.

he w a s confident that the card he would play wa s

sufficiently high to win the game .

The men were not altogether blind to the

strangely quies cent attitude that M cCa r tn e y had
so suddenly a ssumed Late that night when the .
,

discussion w a s at its highest someone sudden ly ,

turned upon hi m .

“
Ain t yo u in on this Bill M cCa r tne y ? asked
’ ”
,

one o f the men who had been a participant in

more than one heated argument during the
eve ning .

“ ’
Sure I m in on it he replied but I m not
, , ,
’

’ ”
talkin j ust now .

“
Not talkin j ust now ? H ell when are you
’
,
’
goin to do your
By this time the men had turned thei r atten
tion to Mc Ca r tne y and stood waiting for his ,

reply .

“ “
Well boys he said with a sneer I ll begin
, , , ,
’

talkin when I m good and ready to talk

’ ’
.
268 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N
’
There wa s a moment s s ilence and then almost ,

in an instant the confusion o f voices w a s as great

,

a s ever
.

When the general hubbub was at its highest

To m R ickard edged his way towards M cCa r tn e y
and touched him on the shoulder In a moment .

the two were back against the wall where they

could talk without being ove r heard .

“
You re p l a yin a fool s game Bill R ickard
’ ’ ’
, ,

s aid in a voice that w a s s carcely more than a

“
whisper . You re lettin go when you could
’ ’

speak one word and the boys would back you up

”
to a man .

M cCa r tne y looked at R ickard a moment with

a puzzled expression H e seemed to be trying to .

s ettle with himself whether or no t R ickard w a s

to be tru sted At last he smiled a little p atron
.
,

izingly and laid a hand upon R ickard s shoulder

,
’
.

To m he said quietly you d better let me

“ ” “ ’
, , ,

pl ay this hand the way I want to I could get

them to night I know that—b ut I want them
.

- —
l ater o n I ve got somethi ng to say— and when
’

the time comes I m goin to say it—don t worry

.

’ ’ ’
.

”
B ut there s something to be done fi rst
’
.

H e paused and gave R ickard another search

ing glance .

Are you still p l a yin this game with m e ? h

” ’
°

a s ked pointedly .
270 T HE HEA RT OF C HERRY McB AI N

a pa s sage-way for the hors es going to water .

F rom where they stood they could see the lantern

in the h ands o f the corral fore man as he went ,

abo ut taking a last look at the horse s before r e tir

ing for the night Besides the s ta m ng o f the .
m
hors es feet on th e ground there wa s not a sound
’
,

excep t the ru nning of the water in the stream

below them now swollen from the rains o f the
,

p ast couple o f weeks .

Mcc artney s at down quietly o n one of th

timbe rs and beckoned R ickard to a pl ace beside
hinL
“T his looks like a bit o f deep Mc
C a rtney s aid when R ickard w a s seated Well .
,

forget th e melodrama Tom It may look stagey

but I m real serious—a n I m goin to be real
.
, ,
’ ’ ’ ’

”
ca r e ful too,
.

Ma cM ur r a y s doo r opened letting o ut a flood

’
,

o f light and M cCa r tne y ceased speaking till the

,

d oo r was cl osed .

“
Y o u were wi th me o n o ne bit o f business a
” “
fe w Weeks ago Tom he co ntin ued I ve go t ’
, ,
.

no kick comin
’
you did all you could an we
-
,
’

ca m e p retty near to gettin away with it at that ’

.

I f th e o ld man could a bee n kept in town a n ’ ’

oth e r da y we d a swung the thing good

’ ’ ’
It .

’ ’ ’
‘

wouldn t a mattered a damn whether he ever

ca me back ”
.
 T HE HEAR T O F C HERR Y McBAI N 271

And w e d a done it too if it hadn t b e en fo r

’ ’ ’ ’

—
—
, ,

j ust o ne thing Anne handed the o ld man a n

ace a n he bobbed up in camp about twenty
’

’
four hours to o s oo n And Anne s goin to que e r .
’

this deal right through unless w e can keep her

o ut . s ,
—
No w li ten to me I know that girl j ust .

between us I knew her before I ever came here

,

an I can tell yo u right now what she s goin

’ ’ ’

to do No use goin into cases— but I know

.
’
.

—
Anne s got to be put away noth in rough y un
’ ’
,
’

de r s ta n d
The sound o f someone approaching from b e
hind them caused M cCa r tn e y to cease S peaking
and get up The corral foreman was returning
.

to M a cM ur r a y s ’
.

“
Come o n ”
McCa r tn e y whispered quickl y
, ,

and led the way with Ri ckard following clos ely ,

behin d hi m They did not exchange a word until

.

they had gone some distance up the street in the

’
dire ction of Cheney s The presence o f a number .

o f men in the street made fu rther convers a tio n

impossible and they entered Cheney s place

,
’
,

where Mcc a rtney sought at once to ma k e

amends for his p revious aloofnes s during the
evening by inviting the me n to come up a nd
“ ”
hav e one on him .
272 T HE H EART O F C H ERRY McBAI N

I n H urley s office the three men Keith Mc

’
,

B ain King Howden and H ugh H urley himself

, ,

s a t late that night reviewing the events of the day

and considering their possible bearing on the im

mediate future For the benefit o f H ugh H urley
.
,

Keith M cB a in had gone to some length in tracing

the cours e o f events du ring the past few weeks
But what s his ide a—what s his plan ? asked
.

“ ’ ’ ”

H urley after M cB a in had completed his account

,
.

Keith McB a in wa s silent a moment before he

replied .

“
Bill McCa r tne y wants more—more tha n I
'

c an tell you H urley—he wants

,

King s a w the struggle that the old ma n w a s

having and came at once to his relief .

“
I gu ess he wants all he can get he broke in
”
, .

There s only o ne thing to do now Mr H urley

’

w e can t have him round this place—he s got

.
,
’ ’
-

”
to get out .

H urley smiled .

“
You re beginning to talk business King te
’

, ,
“
p lied H urley If you believe what you s a y
.

yo u ought to be able to go where your faith

”
l eads you .

King looked at him questioningly .

I mean that M cCa r tne y will stay here till

“

”
he s put o ut the o l d man continued
’
, .
274 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N

p aid and the pric e that he wa s even yet to p ay

for his o wn folly .

T he wee k that followed wa s o ne o f unceasing

l abor and careful vigilance o n the part of H ugh
H urley and Keith M cB a in Ki ng went forwar d
.

with the work he had been given to do by Keith

M cBa in and p aid not the slightest heed to petty
, ,

obstru ction s that were being thrown in his wa y

every day by men who though pretending to
,

s erve their o l d boss were really actuated by the

,

designs o f which M cCa r tne y was the maker and

the inspirer .

No one was unaware o f M cCa r tne y s intr igu ’

ing Signs of it were in evidence everywhere In

. .

S pite o f King s endeavors to hold his men together

’

and secure concerted effort there were little,

breaks and hi ndrances that temporarily off set his

best attempts to direct the work along e ff ective
lines E specially a ctive a mong those who sided
.

with M cCa r tne y wa s Tom R ickard who had

j oined the gang of men under King 3 direction
with no other obj ect whatever than the frustra
tion o f all efforts to pr o d uc e harmony among the
men .

Towards the end o f the week however the di , ,

 T HE HEART OF C HERRY McB AI N 27 5

vision between the two S ides rep res ente d by Mc

,

Ca r tne y s S upporters o n the one hand and o n the

’
,

oth e r by the men who w e re still faithf ul to Keith

M c Ba in and took kindly to Kin g s methods was ’
,

s o marked than a n open brea k s eemed imminent .

The threatening attitude of the opposition to

King was s o apparent that many of his men grew
imp atient with his quiet forbea rance .

To make matters worse the weather that had

, ,

been so unfavorable for almost a month had ,

tu rn e d from bad to wors e The river had risen s o

.

that the men were no longer able to get logs for

building purposes from the opposite side of the
s tream and were forced to make long hauls
,

th r ough we t brush and over rain -soaked g r ound ,

until their spirits were tested almost to the limit

o f endurance .

M cCa r tne y was as much a student of condi

tions a s he wa s an intriguer and w a s not slow to
,

recognize that given a little more work under

,

conditions that were nea rly impossible the brea k ,

that he s o ardently desired wa s inevitable He .

stood to o ne side o r walked about with a smirk

,

o n his face that exp ress ed on ly too well his co n

fide nce in the outcome .

At o ne point however his cal culations failed

, , .

F rida y night found the work almost completed .

276 T HE HEA R T OF CHERRY McB AI N

In spite of all obstacles the end o f another day

,

would see a ll the horses under cover and housed

in buildings that would provide comfortable
qua r ters du ring the weeks that lay between the
closing o f construction work and the O pening o f
the tie-c amp s —fo r nei ther H urley nor King
would admit for a moment that the camp s in the
hills would not be running They did not know
.

how it w a s to be done but they did not allow

-

themselves to ente r tain the slight e st doubt that

the claim now registered in the name of M cCa r t
ney would yet be worked without his permission
o r assistance .

Keith Mc Ba in wa s no t nearly so sanguine

H e knew—as no o ne else knew except King and
.

—
,

Cherry tha t McCa r tn e y still held his high card

an d would play it when the time was ripe What .

the results would be he could not guess—he

could s e e nothi ng but chaos and disintegration
ahead King clung to the ho p &it w a s a sort of
blind fai th with him—that so ewhere somehow m
.

, ,

Keith M cB a in s fears would prove to be ground

’

less Ch erry wa s cheerful even hopeful though

.
, ,

none knew whether her high S pirits were genuine

o r f eigned . She drew some comf ort at least , ,

from the knowle d ge that if Mc c artney had a

card to play so ha d she—and s he would play it
,

when the moment was most oppo rtune .

27 8 T HE HE A R T OF CHE RRY McBAI N
team stopped with a j erk The logs had slipped
.

into an awkward position wedged between two ,

stout po plars that held them as in a vice .

King came up to them and looked for a mo

ment at the muddle without speaking H ad .

Rickard showed the slightest good j udgment he

would never have allowed hims elf to get into the
tangle King knew that—but he stopped the
.

words that were o n his lips Turning to R ick .

ard s companion he directed him to make u s e o f

’

his cant hook and dislodge the timbers H is r e

- .

quest was made in a quiet tone and without any

thing o ff ensive in his manner and he stepped ,

away from the men and started round to the

other side o f the hors es to watch the work .

As he did so he h e ard R ickard muttering some

thing that w a s meant fo r his companion though ,

he did no t conceal the fact that he cared ve r y

little whether King heard it o r no t .

King stopped and came back .

“
Just now R ickard this is a o ne man s j ob
, ,
’
,
“ ”
he s aid You get that straight
. .

’
Rickard s mouth cu rled up into a sneer He .

seemed o n the point of making a reply but he ,

looked at King s face and shrugged his S houlders

’

contemptuously without speaking .

King then tu rned to Rickard s companion and ’

 T HE HEA R T OF C H ERRY McBAI N 27 9

s tood by until the logs were cleared Th en he .

gave Rickard orders to go ahead Letting loose .

a string o f oaths Rickard struck the horses with

,

the knotted ends o f the lines and continued lash

,

ing them a s he drove them at a mad pace down

the trail and round the corner to where the men
were working .

King stood in the trail and wat ched R ickard

abusing his team until the blood wa s hot in his
veins H e made a quick start to overtake him
.

and then suddenly check ed himself Stepping .

back a little among the trees he waited .

In a few minutes R ickard returned for another

load King waited until he came opposite him in
.

the trail and then stepped o ut R ickard s com

, .
’

p anion had no t come bac k as yet and he wa s

&
alone .

“ ”
Whoa King s aid to the horses and he ,

stepped before them in the trail .

Then he faced Rickard .

“
Tie Up here a minute he said indicating , ,

with hi s hand a tree conveniently near to which ,

the team could be made secure .

R ickard looked at King quickly and again gave

a shr ug of contempt .

&
“ ” “
R ickard King s aid that won t get you any
’

—
, ,
”
wh e re Tie U p here
.
28 0 T HE H EART OF C HERRY McBAI N
—
I will d ik ;
e

Rickard never finished his sentence King was .

b e side him with o ne step and had seized him by

&
the shoulder .

“ ”
R ickard he s aid sharply ,
.

R ickard looked at him for a moment and then ,

going to the heads of the horses led his team over ,

to the tree and made them fast .

“ ”
Go in there King commanded and pointed
, ,

into the woods in the direction of the river .

Rickard did not turn to look this time but ,

picked his w a y through the underbru sh with ,

King close at his heels When they came within .

a yard o r two o f the bank o f the river King spoke

again .

“ “ ’
This will do he said I m going to talk
, .

to yo u fo r about o ne minute and I want you to ,

”
listen .

All the quietness had vanished both from

’
King s voice and from his manner H e wa s .

shaking with passion and his face was almost

white H e l aid one han d on Rickard s shoulder
.
’

and closed his fingers in a vice-like grip .

“ ”
Ten minutes a go Rickard he s aid by Go d
, , , ,

I d have killed yo u Just now you di r ty whelp

’
.
,
’
- I ll giv e
yo u about thi rty seconds to make up
your mind to get o ut Leave that team where it .
28 2 T HE HE AR T OF C HERRY McBAI N
ard s side however unti l he had seen him s afely
’
, ,

away from the workers Then he retur n e d and .

wen t o n with his work .

That evening the task was completed and King ,

after taking supper at Ma cMur r a y S and chatting ’

a moment with Anne walked over to H ur ley s to ,

’

talk with Cherry a little bef ore he went to his

shack All day his mind had reverted time and
.

time again to the in cident with Rickard an d ,

more especially to what seemed like a miraculous

escape from what mi ght have meant death to
both Now that the work wa s over and his mind
.

wa s free the whole affair came back U pon him

,

with renewed freshness H e told it all to Cherry .

”

and Mrs H urley and when he had finished

.
, ,

Ch e rry who had l is te ne d th r oughout wi thou t

,
f

speaking a word turned a s e rious face to King

,

and put her hand upon his a rm 1

It looks almo st—as if Go d hims e lf were

.

”
helping us s h e said ,
.

She did not speak ferventl y no r with a ny e mo ,

tion H er voice was quiet and her ton e matter

.

o f fact
-
And yet King wa s struck by the s im
.

p licity o f her ma nner She evidently bel ieved

implicitly in what she had said—and King found
.

himself impelled to share somewhat in her f ai th .

It wa s the last thought t ha t lingered i n his

 TH E HEAR T or ,
CHE R RY McBAI N 28 3

mind that night before he went to sleep to the

sound o f the r ain fa lling Upon the roof of hi s
shack .

H ugh H urley and Keith McBa in s at together

in the la nd c fii ce very late that night No o ne .

in town wa s in any mood fo r going to bed and ,

’
the sounds that came from Cheney s and Mac
’
Mu rray s bo re ample evidence to the fact that the
men were apparently prep a rin g to make a night
of it O ld Gabe Smi th dropped in when it wa s
.

very late and stayed long enough to observe ,

a mong o ther things that if the ra i n didn t soon

,
’

cease in the hills the water in the river would be

over the to p o f the bank .

After Gabe had gone the two men decided upon

,

taking a walk down to the river to look at the ris

ing water What they s a w when they got there
.

struck fear into their hea rts at once Since it had .

grown dark the stream had risen a full foot and ,

wa s now rushing wi th terrific force around the

bend about the outer a n gle of which clustered
‘

the huts and cabins of the little town Already .

the cu rrent h a d swept away large portions o f the

high bank in which there was no rock o r stone
,

o f any account to offer any resistance to the enor

mous weight o f water that swept down like a

vi cious catara ct out o f th e hills .
28 4 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N
Look yonder H urley s aid suddenly
, , .

Keith M cB a in turned to look in the direction

indicated F u rther up stream a little shack stood
.
,

with o n e corner already proj ecting over the edge

o f the bank In a few hours at most the ground
.

U pon which it stood would be swept away and

the shack with it .

Without losing a moment they hurried bac k

to M a cMur r a y s and called out the men who had
’

no t yet retired for the night In less than five

.

minutes more than a score were at work and

, ,

before another ha lf hour had passed the shac k ,

had been moved back upon safe ground .

By the time the excitement wa s over there was

not a man left in either M a cMur r a y s o r ’

Cheney s Everyone w a s o ut either to help o r

’
.
,

look on Keith M cB a in had left and gone back

.

with H urley to the office when the imm e diate

danger wa s past They were not l n the crowd
.

w hen Gabe Smith came running excitedly to the

men to announce that the bank was falling away
j ust above the place where the corral and eq uip
ment sheds had been built during the week .

At once the men hurried toward the corral .

F or a few minutes there w a s much excited and

a imles s running about on the part of t h e men ,

without any organization and without a ny plan

, .
28 6 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N

H urley expressed hi s as tonishment .

“
Well but—a n o l d man ca n live here a s well
,
”
a s anywhere else can t b e ? he protest e d ’
.

“
All depends M cCa r tne y rep lied smiling
, ,
“ ’
cynically We ll settle that some other time
. .

Just now I have busines s with Keith M cB a in ”

.

“ ”
I t s time to se ttle
’
he sa id looking at Mc , ,

B ain who for a moment seemed beaten in the

, ,

struggle that was raging within him .

Suddenly he stood up a n d looked at M cCa r t

ney his eyes burning with the fierce hate that
m
,

wa s in his soul When he S poke his voice see ed

.

a little uncertain as if he wer e struggling to keep,

back the tears from his eyes B ut almost imme .

dia te ly he mastered himself a nd spoke deliber

ately enough if not quietly , .

“
What is it M cCa r tne y ? he a sked
”
, .

Gabe Smith was here to announce to you that

the n e w buildin gs an the outfit is all goin down ’ ’

stream before daybreak un le s s they re moved ” ’

,

Mcc a rtney rep lied .

“ ”
An d is nothi ng going to be done ? ask ed Mc
-

B ain .

“ ’ ” ’
That s just what I m h e r e for retu r ned Mc ,
“
Ca rtney It ll be don e if you re ready to come
.
’ ’

through
—
.

“
Well what will settl e it ? Keith M cBa in
”
 THE HEA R T OF CHERRY McBAI N 28 7

asked in a voice that ha d almost a touch o f

wea ri ness in it
We ve talked abo ut a ll that before —there s no
.

“ ’ ’

change M c Ca r tne y replied

”
,
.

H urley looked from one man to the other in

bewilderment .

“
And if I refuse ? ask e d M cB a in
”
.

“
You re wa s tin time M cCa r tne y snapped
’ ” ’
, .

Keith M cB a in raised his voice a little but ,

spoke with much the s ame deliberateness as

before .

For two years M cCa r tn e y I ve been in hell

“ ’
, ,

expecting th is time to a rrive any day I m past ’

—
.

i
that now I ve settled t and I m going to see
’ ’
.

’
it to the end Don t think you can frighten me
-I m o l d but—I ll pay ”
.

’ ’
.
,

The words seemed to strike M cCa r tne y almost

dumb .

&
“ ”
You ll pay ? he asked
’

—
.

“ ”
Y e s go ahead tell all you know
-

“
By Go d then yo u will p ay M cCa r tne y ex
, , ,

claimed and throwing the doo r O pen went o ut

, , .

H urley stepped over and closing the door , ,

tu r ned to M cB a in
—
.

“ ”
Wha t i s this this bargain Keith ? he asked e
, .

“
For two years he h a s kept a secret that has
held me bo und to him—because I have been
”
afraid to die .
28 8 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N
”
Die ? H urley e xcl aimed .

—
H ugh I have killed a man .

Fo r a moment they stood in S ilence and did

not look at each other Then Keith M cB a in
moved wearily towards the door B efore he went .

o ut he turned and looked back at H urley .

“ ” “
H ugh he said quietly look after the men
—I m going to th e girl
, , ,
’ ”
.

Then he opened the door slowly and went out .

M cCa r tney stood alone in the darknes s by the

riv er and waited for Rickard whos e form was ,

faintly vi sible a few yards Up the river When .

R ickard had j oined him ; Mc c artney caught him

by the a rm .

“ ”
Well ? he asked .

“ ”
All smoo th R icka rd replied
, .

Nothin rough ? M cCa r tn e y prompted

’”

I s aid—all smooth
.

”
R ickard returned a , ,

little impatientl y .

They walked together to wi thin a fe w yards

o f the men and stood looking at them Mcc art .

’
ney s group were in the majority and stood near ,

the corral Some distance back the others stood

.

about in small groups talking angrily among ,

themselves .

A bit of the bank dropped away and fell with

a dull splash into the water .
 CH A PTE R S EV ENTEEN

ING awoke with a start H e had been .

sleeping very soundly and at first after he

, ,

had O pened his eyes he had di fficulty in

,

bringing his senses to bear directly o n what had

disturbed him The faint grey dawn was already
.

at the window Somew here there had been a

.

t humping and—the sound of a voice that even ,

to his sleep fogged consciousness was vaguely

-
,

familiar .

Fo r a moment he waited S itting up in his ,

bunk and rubbing the sleep from his eyes Sud

—
.

de nly the thumping was repeated someone was

at the door Then he heard his name called and
.

the sound o f the voice brought him to his senses

at once It w a s the voice o f Cherry M cB a in
. .

In an instant he w a s at the door .

“ ’ ”
What s wrong ? he asked excitedly .

“
Cherry s voice wa s full o f al arm
’
Get dressed .

” “ ”
quickly King s he replied
, ,
We want yo u
. .

King hurried into his clothes and going to the ,

door again shot the wooden bar back from its

socket and threw the door open A very light .

290
 T HE HEA R T OF C HERRY McBAI N 291

drizzling rain wa s still falling and Cherry shoo k

,

the w e t wrap from her head and shoulders as s he

stepp ed through the doo rway In his hurry King
.

had not taken time to light the lamp but even ,

in the darknes s he could s e e the expression o f fear

o n her face Without waiting to close the door he
.

placed an a rm about her shoulders and drew her

& &
towa r ds him .

“
Oh King
,
”
she c ri ed it s co mH t s come
“
,
’ ” ’

H e did no t need to ask what had come H e .

knew Leading her gently to a seat he left her

.
,

and sitting down o n the edge o f h is bunk drew ,

o n his boots and laced them hurriedly Then he .

got Up quickly and th rowing o n his coat took hi s ,

hat and tu rned to Cherry

—
.

“
All ri ght I m rea dy he announced
”
’
, .

Cher ry got up from her seat and moved to

wards the door She had not S poken while King
.

wa s completing his p rep arations to go o ut and ,

he knew that s h e had been weeping silently .

When s he go t as far as the O p e n doo rway s he

paused and turned to him
“
King—King s he be gan but her voice ,

failed her .

King stepped close to her and took her a rm .

“ ”
Tell me about it as w e go he s aid , .

She moved towards him and reaching Up ,

2 92 T HE HE A R T O F C HERRY McBAI N
placed her hands o n his shoulders King looked .

down at her face white and tense in the dark

,

ness .

“
Y o u must fight Kin g s he s aid with an em
, , ,

phasis that to Kin g seemed almost pathetic .

H e pressed her closer for reply .

“ ”
And you must win s he added ,
.

“
H e smiled faintly I m ready he s aid .
’
, .

H er hands crept slowly about his neck and ,

King with a suddenness that swept her o ff her

,

f e et caught her to him and pressed a kis s upon

,

her mouth a kiss in which all the pent-U p p as

,

sion of weeks found expression at last .

When he released her he stood with his arms

about her for a brief moment trembling before ,

her .

“ ”
’
I don t deserve it he said his voice , ,

trembling with emotion I guess I ll never de ’

—
.

—
serve that but I wanted to win fi r s t to win for
”
yo u .

She leaned a little closer to him and then drew

herself up and clung tightly with her arms about
his neck .

“
King she s aid breathlessly I love you—I
, , ,

love you
Again he put his lips to hers quickly p assion
ately—and then put her back from him
,

.
294 TH E H EART OF C HERRY McBAI N

which the horses were placed before King left

town the n ight before was now standing on the
,

very brink o f the fl ood .

This was in its elf enough to strike fear into

King s hea rt but the movements o f the men were
’
,

what concerned him most H alf drunken still .

-

’
from their night s debauch they seemed to be
rolling about in a kind of ridiculous orgy ,

stumbling and falling and scrambling to their

feet ag a in shouting and cursing and grappl ing
,

each other in frenzi ed disorder .

A glance wa s enough for King to realize fully

what was wrong H e could not see M cCa r tne y
.

anywhere among the men but Cherry had told

him enough—if telling had been at all necessary
,

B a ck a little from the struggling mass stood s ix

o r eight men looking o n quietly and t alking
,

among themselves King recognized them a s

.

some o f his o wn men u pon whom he thought he

,

could rely fo r suppo rt In a moment he wa s .

standing in the middle o f the group .

&
“ ”
What are you standing here for ? he asked .

”
'

Come o n ge t into it
-

In a flash they were into the struggle King ,

leading them a s they bored their w a y through in

an e ff ort to reach the corral King s plan wa s .
’

clear in his own mind O nce with his back to .

 T HE HE A R T OF C HER RY McBAI N 295

the walls o f the corral he could call his men o ne

,

by one about him and having displaced their

,

O pponents drive them o ff by united effort break

, ,

up their organization and beat them into s ub

,

mission .

The pl an easily enough conceived w a s no t s o

, ,
’
easily carried into e ff ect King s appearance it
.
,

is true had raised the spiri ts of the men who

,

were fighting together to settle the s cores they

had accumul ated during weeks o f growing hatred
for M cCa r tne y and his crowd But as their
.

S pirits rose the determination o f their opponents

,

became more grim as they s a w themselves faced

with possible defeat where they had never
dreamed o f anything but an easy victory The .

fight became more and more furious every min

’
ute. Wh ereas before King s coming they had
fought without much h a d temper and with little
evidence o f losing control o f themselves now ,

they struck out madly and grappled with the

fi e r ce ne s s o f men in a battle where life and death
depended Upon the outcome They had fought .

only with their fists before Now sticks and

.

club s began to make their appearance as if by

magi c and in many cases the fight wa s fo r the
,

possession of weapons .

O nce King s a w the flash o f a knife be twe e n j

296 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N
two men who were struggling near him Tum .

ing quickly he struck the fellow who held it ,

s ending him to the ground where he sprawled ,

clumsily in an effo rt to es cape being trampled

under the feet o f the fight e rs The knife had .

fallen to the ground and King placing his foot

, ,

o n it for a moment waited whil e he beat back a

,

struggling pair who were close to him Then .

stoo ping quickly he picked Up the knife and threw

it into the river No sooner had he thrown it
.

away than the owner pushed his way towards

King and accosted him for having attacked him .

H e wa s o ne o f King s me n ’
.

King pushed him back a ngrily .

&
“ ”
Let them start that he cried in a voice that
,
“ ”
rose above the din Get in there
.

H e pointed to where a group o f his men were

now massed against their O pponents and were
driving them ba ck slowly from the corral .

Then his eyes shifted suddenly in a new dir e c

tion Pushing his wa y through the crowd to
.

wards King was M cC a r tne y his huge shoulders

, ,

towering above the other men his dark face seri

'
,

o us a nd totally divested o f its usual cynical

smile Not fa r beh ind him o n the outskirts o f
.
,

the cro wd stood O ld Silent

, .

King wasted no time o n the men about him If .

298 T HE HE ART O F C H ERRY McBAI N
The dawn in th e east had spread upward from
the horizon and filled the s ky still clouded with , ,

a thin grey light There w a s light enough how

.
,

ever to make eve r y move ment easily discernible

, ,

and King watched his opponent from the be

ginning with an alertness that rend ered him proof
against any foul play H e was no t going to be
.

taken unawares at any rate If he were beaten

, .

it would be because he had matched himself

again st a better ma n .

Gradually the other men fell away from them

and left the ground cl ear M cCa r tne y s men had
.
’

been driven back and were beaten B ut friend .

and foe alike came round to watch what they

rightly guessed wa s to be the l ast scene in a play
that had been running for many weeks Keith .

M cB a in hims elf stood o fl to o ne side his face

'

a shen white his ey es set immovably u pon the

,

men who were settling once and for all he hop ed , ,

n o t only their o wn ac counts but his as well O ld, .

Gabe Smith stood directly be hind King calling ,

out words o f encouragement in his little piping

voice a n , d tota lly oblivious to the existence of
anyone else l n the world .

Fo r fully five minutes the two men walked

cautiously about ea ch other striking out quickly ,

but lightly and stepping back immediately to te

,
 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N 299

cover themselves after each advance Though .

the sneer never left M cCa r tn e y s face there was

’
,

behind it a deep se riousnes s that expressed well

the fact that he was fully cons cious o f the magni
tude o f the task before him King s face was
.
’

tense s e t terribly earnest

, ,
.

O nly once w a s there any interference from the

bystanders Mike Cheney who had been an in
.
,

te r e s te d spe ctator during the whole struggle ,

pushed his w a y to the inner p art of the circle o f

men and voiced a feeble p rotest The men near .

him laughed and jo stl ed him o ut of the w a y H e .

wa s content to remain wher e he was though he ,

no doubt felt there w a s somethin g in congruou s

in the fact that when he looked round he was
standing next to H ugh H urley .

After some time had passe d in which the men

had remained wholly o n the defensive M cCa r t ,

ney began to advance persistently against King ,

who stepped back out o f reach whenever he found

McCa r tn e y pressing him too closely King s .
’

wary tactics were testing the p atience of his O p

ponent With an agility that was su rprising in
.

a man o f his size he stepped about the enclosure

, ,

k eeping j ust o ut of reach o f Mc Ca r tne y and ,

starting forward snapping o ut his left hand

,

when an O pportunity presented itself H is blows .

3 00 T HE HEA RT OF C HERRY McBAI N

were not heavy but he Was r e aching M cCa r t

,

ney s face and body almo s t every time he s truck

’
.

M cCa r tn e y s wung a nd lun g ed heavily eve r y time

he struck at King but his b lows were without
,

Growing impatie nt a t las t with following King

from place to place he clo s e d quickly and seized
,

King about the body This time however he .

, ,

had misj udged his ma n As he came forward .

King stepped in and me t him with a blow from

the shoulder that stru ck Mcca rtney on the chin .

H is full weight was be hind the blow and Mc

Ca r tne y s head we nt b ack from the force O f it
’
.

Then his a r ms went round King and he hung o n

dazedl y in a n attempt to gain a little more time
for recovery B ut Ki ng wa s determined to make
.

his recovery a s di ffi cult a s po s sible With Mc .

Ca r tne y s full weight he a r ing him down he se nt

’
,

half a dozen quick short blows to the body that

,

made his oppo nent gasp for breath .

But M cCa r tne y k ept his hold and tightened it ,

s o that King foun d himse lf in a grip that made

striking impo ss ible It wa s j ust this situatio n

.

that King had t rie d no avo id H e knew McCa r t .

’
ney s strength wa s probably more than a match
for his o wn and h e h a d hop ed that he might be
,
r

able to keep him at a distance As he felt the .

3 02 TH E HE AR T O F CHERRY McBAI N
taken the hea rt o ut o f Mc c ar tney The face that .

during the earlier stag es of the struggle had borne

a sneer w a s now painfully s erious .

Even H ugh H urley c aught some o f the excite

ment o f the crowd a s he s a w that a well-direc ted
’
aggressive o n King s p art would bring an end to
the fight in a few minut e s Keith M cB a in s eyes .
’

were fixed upon King s face O nce o r twi ce dur ’

.

ing the short lull in the struggle they ex changed

glances Keith M cBa in s heart s ank within him
.
’
,

and he moved r ound to get clos er to King There .

’
w a s a l o ok in Kin g s eyes that he could not un
de r s ta nd Whe n he found a place directly behind
.

him he stepp ed in a little and put o ne hand on

’
King s shoulder .

“
Just a bit more bo y he s aid encour agingly
, , , .

”
H e s nearly don e
’
.

King seemed o n the point o f tu rning his head

to reply but j ust then Mc Ca r tne y started to
,

Wards him Thi s time King took a half step to

.

wards him and met the rush with out attempting

to step aside B oth men struck at the s ame mo
.

ment and both blows went home Mc c artney s

, .
’

rush wa s checked but the f ull force of his ru sh

,

wa s b ehind the blow that caught King o n the

point o f the chin Fo r a moment King was a l
.

most overcome by a S ickening dizziness that s e t

 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N 3 03

the world spinning about him H is mi n d wen t

.

suddenly back to the night in M cB a in s camp ’

when he had been hit on the head and there ,

started withi n him a terrible fear that th e dark

nes s that h a d overcome him then w a s creeping
upon him now and blotting o ut his senses Fo r
fully a minute—it seemed an hour h e fought to
.

keep his eyes open and his attention centred on

M cCa r tn e y H e threw his weight against him
.

blindly and gripped him in sheer desperation .

Gradually his legs steadied under him and his

sight cleared Still he clung to his man
. .

H ad M cCa r tne y had enough strength in r e

serve to deliver one more blow with any weight
behind it he could have finished the fight in
,

another second H e knew a s much himself and

.
,

he paused j ust a momen t to muster what littl e

strength he had left Then he broke away sud
.

de nly and sent his right hand over as he stepped

’
away King s head went back and his arms went
.

out before him helplessly .

H is men shouted to him in that o ne sickening

moment when the s ense o f utter defeat wa s fc rc
ing itself Upon him H urley and M cB a in called
.

his name frantically but he seemed not to hear

,

them H e sank to the ground o n one knee hold

.
,

ing himself as erect as possible in a last e ff o rt to

3 04 T HE H EART O F C HERRY McBAI N
meet the rush that he kne w was bound to come .

M cCa r tne y s men went wild with ex cite ment

’
.

They called o n him to bo re in and finish it .

Those behind s tepp ed U p and pushed him for

ward When he didn t move they cursed him fo r
.
’

a fool B ut he stood swaying unsteadily wait

.
,

ing app arently for King to f a ll to the ground

, ,
.

B ehind Ki ng there wa s a sudden commotion

in the crowd Gabe Smith s thin voice w a s giv
.
’

ing commands to the men to make way for him .

H e pushed his wa y to the front leading behin d ,

him Cherry McB a in

—
.

“ — ”
F l gbt Y ol k fightl he cried at the top of his
voice .

King g l ance d q ui ckly about at the sound of

’ ’
Gabe s voice a nd his e yes fell Upon Cherry s face .

s —
H er look wa o ne of p atho s a nd appeal b u& t she
‘

was smiling .

At once a chang e pa ss e d o ver King s co unte n ’

an c e Getting up he b rush e d his hand impa

.

tie ntly across his fa ce and step pe d towards Mc

Cartney As he did so Mcc a rtn ey came forward
.

and the two me n me t a t the centre o f the e n

closure .

F rom that mo me nt ne ith e r man gave an inc h

o f ground Fighting furiously at close quar ters
.

they seemed both to have gained sudden strength .

3 06 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N
At every step he took hi s face winced with p ain
r

F inally he asked them to let him stand for a

minute .

“
It s my foot he said in answer to H urley s
’ ’

My ankle —
, ,
“
question something happened
when w e fell—j ust wait a littl e —it ll be all right
.

in a minute .

After a moment s pause they started 05 again

’
,

but King found walking impossible Keith Mc .

B ain called a couple o f men and they carried him

to H ur l e y s cottage where they laid him o n a
’
,

couch and left him in the care o f Cherry and Mrs .

H urley .

M cB a in and H urley went off at once to the

scene o f the early morning struggle Gabe .

lingered a little while with King busying him ,

self with such o dd jobs a s Cherry and Mrs H ur .

ley found fo r him .

In a short time King had recovered suffici ently

from the first ill e ffects o f his battle with Mc
- &

Cartney to give some thought to what was go ing

o n outside .

H e called Gabe to him

—
.

“
H ave they gone back M cB a in and H urley ? ”

he asked .

&
Gabe replied in the a ffirmative An they ll ’ ’

handle it to o —do n tyo u worry he added

.

” ’
, .
 T HE HE A R T OF C HERR Y McBAI N 3 07

King thought s eriously for a moment .

“ ”
Gabe he said ,
.

Gabe took the hand that King extended to hi m

and waited
Ge t Anne —
.

“
and bring he r here he s aid ,
.

Gabe went o ut at once and King looked at

Cherry who wa s standing above him her hand
, ,

resting lightly U pon hi s head .

“ ”
I want to tell Anne he said quietly I ,
.

want her to know I didn t want to do this I ’

want her to understand—it had to come

.

“ ”
Then s he told you too ? Cherry asked , .

King nodded in reply Then he reached up .

and took her hand .

“
Come down here b eside me he said and hi s , ,

face wa s very serious .

Cherry knelt o n the floo r beside th e couch .

“ ”
Cherry he whispered drawing her towards
him I don t deserve it—b ut I wa nt to kiss you
, ,
“ ’ ”
, .

She leaned fo rward and King s arms went ’

ro un d her a s their lip s met .

Keith McBa in and his men went to work a s if

nothing had o ccu rred for days to disturb the
qui e t work a day life they had been liv ing fo r
,
- -

months O nly one building was in imminent

.
3 08 T HE HEA R T OF C HE RRY McBAI N
danger O f being swep t away by the flood and in ,

l es s than ten minute s after the close O f the fight

the men were busily en gaged removing the camp
equipment prep arato r y to taking the logs down
and shifting the buildings back from the water s ’

edge .

Gabe came upon the old contractor gi v ing

orders and directing the work in his customa ry
wa y .

“ ”
Where is s he ? asked Gabe excitedly a s he‘

, ,

came up with M cB a in .

She—w ho
&
“

”
Ann e s he s gone
’
h
Gabe replied .

M cB a in left the me n and accompanied Gabe

back to M a cM ur r a y s They found M cCa r tn e y
’
.

lying o n a be nch where his men ha d placed him .

R ickard was standing beside him talki ng with

M a cM ur r a y
Where s the girl —Anne ?
.

“ ’ ”
McB a in asked
M a cM ur r a y .

H e replied by loo king at M cCa r tn e y and then

at Rickard McCa r tn ey turned and looked at
.

M cB a in an d then allowed his eyes to rest o n

R ickard .

“ ” “
R ick he s aid get her and bring her here
, , .

”
Y o u can tell her I want her .

R ickard wa s gone les s than ten minutes when

3 10 T HE HE ART O F C HER RY McBAI N
King She foun d Anne s eated bes ide M cc a rt
.

ney who h a d fallen as lee p Anne wa s bending

, .

low over him te ars streaming down her cheeks

,
.

W hen s h e s a w Cherry s he go t up quickly and

bru shed the tea rs imp atiently from her eyes .

Then s h e came to C herry where s he w a s stand ,

ing in the doo rway

Anne—Anne Cherry said her voic e soft
,

“ ”
, ,

with pity .

But Anne wa s mistress o f herself now .

“ ”
H ow is King ? she asked in a most m a tter ,

O f-fact tone that expr es sed quite clearl y how .

little s he wanted anyone s sympa thy ’

.

“ ”
H e s all right no w Cherry replied
’
H e has
, .

’
a bad ankle and can t w a lk but it will be all right ,
”
in a day or two H e asked me to bring yo u over
. .

“ ”
What does he want ?
Cherry found it hard to reply to Anne s ques ’

—
tion it was a sk e d with such cold directnes s .

“
I th ink h e wants to expl a in to yo u what he
feels about
“
Anne stopped her a e ptly Tell him it s all .
’

’ ’
right I ain t goin to worr y over a thing that
.

’
I ve been e xp e ctin for weeks Tell him it s all
’
.
’

”
right .

Cherry tu rned to go .

“
W ait a minute Anne called and vanished
”
, ,

into the house .

 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N 3 11

S he Wa s gone a long time and Cherry waited

p atiently fo r her return When s h e appeared .

again s he held a folded p aper in her hand and

her hair wa s in disorder about her face .

“ ” ’
I had a time gettin it s he said coming to , ,

wards Cherry and holding the p aper before her .

“
I had to wake him Up to tell me where it w a s .

b o .
—
B ut he told me O ne thing a ut Bill h e knows
wh e n he s beat—a n that s sayin something for a
’ ’ ’ ’

man that was never beat before—ain t it ? ” ’

She smiled comically a nd Cherry could no t ,

help smiling at her in reply .

“ ”
An yhow here it is S he s aid giving the p aper
, , ,
“
to Cherry I thought of takin it over myself ’
.

I like that boy—but you d better give it to him

’
.

Cherry knew little o r nothing about o fli cia l

documents but s h e could no t help guessing the
,

meaning O f the p aper s he held in her hand She .

opened it and glanced quickly over the written

record O f a timber claim in the hills interj ected ,

between the lines of legally phrased p rinted

matter .

“
Ta ke it to him Anne continued after a
,
“
p au s e H e ll know what to do with it If he
’

don t—ask o l d man H urley

. .

’ ”
.

“
But Anne Cherry protested only to ,

be interrupted again
Don t worry—I ain t stea lin it Ain t I his
.

“ ’ ’ ’ ’
.
3 12 T HE H EA R T OF C HERRY McBAI N
”
wife ? s he as ked with a laugh Anyhow there s .
’

&
somethin g el se I had a cl a im once out west
—
.

”
a goo d claim too never min d
,

She broke o ff a e ptly and gave C herry a littl e

push .

“ ‘
Give it to him an tell him Go d bl es s him for
.
’ ’

”
me s he added
, .

Cherry wal ked off slowly and Anne stood in

the doorway watching her When she had gone .

a f e w yards s he stopp e d and ca me back .

“
But fath e r s he began and p aused a wk

wa r dly
Ann e s fa ce took on a strange loo k&
.

’
3 She

stepped down from the doo rway an d confronted

C herry
—
.

“
Say did Bill spring that man killin joke on -
’

”
O l d Silent ? s he asked .

&
Cherry nodded .

“ ”
Well I m b listered s he exclaimed
’
Leave
it with ru e —
.
,

I ll m ake him straighten that out

’

”
himself .

And Che rr y wen t off with a light heart .

That night Kei th McBa in came into the roo m

where Cherr y a nd King were sitting King wa s
—
.

prepa ring t lea ve for his sha ck l n S pite of the

o

protests of Mrs Hurley— co nfi de nt that he was

.
 CH APTER E I G H TEEN

ING dropped his s cythe upon the win d row

o f freshly cut hay and stood
- a moment
while he wiped the sweat from his brow .

It wa s July and the day had been very hot and

, ,

King had cut a very wide swath in th e tall wild ,

grass A little w a y o ff o n the higher ground O f

.

the ridge stood his first crop o f growing wheat ,

the soft green shoots stretching Upward from the

new soil and bending before a gently moving
breeze B etween the meadow and the wheat lay
.

a stretch o f newly-broken land where only the

,

d ay before King had driven the plough through

,

long furrows o f rich mould Even yet the mellow

.

O dor o f freshly-tu rned soil came to him mingled,

with the cool fragrance o f the meadow .

King looked about him until his eyes fell Upon

S al where s he was working half-buried in a hole
,

s he had dug in a futile attempt to follow a gopher

to its place o f hiding un d er the ground. H e gave

a sharp whistle and crouche d low holding o ut his
,

h an d s a s the d og c ame boun d ing toward s him .

3 14
 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N 3 15

Taking her in his a rms he lifted her from the

ground and then rolled her over playfully o n the
hay .

Getting up he stroll ed off along the edge of the

,

standing grass Sal running before him in a zig

,

zag search for gophers When they came to the.

edge o f a small S lough the dog pounced at once

into the water almost o n to p o f a wild duck
,

and her broo d o f half-grown ducklings They .

sta rted Up suddenly with much S plashing o f water

&
and beating o f wings and loud q uacking .

“
B ack you—lie down King cried and Sal
”
,

retreated from the edge o f the slough and came

towards King wriggling and twisting her shaggy
body in an eff ort to appear apologetic .

I t was a great day and now that the afternoo n

,

was wearing o n King was strongly tempted to be

,

lazy H e had worked hard during the p ast weeks

. .

The land he had prepare d for crop had been sown

b r oadcast by hand H e had cut his hay with a
.

s cythe and would have to rake it by hand

though Cherr y was longing for the hay to cure so
that s he could get into the field with King and
rake the long windrows into coils .

O h yes—Cherry w a s King s helper now O ne

,
’
.

day in sp ring j ust before the men had gone out

,

to begin work o n the railway const r uction again ,

3 16 T HE HEA RT OF C HERRY McB AI N
there had been a final gathering from the whole
valley Cherry and King might have left it until
.

midsummer King wanted to get his land into

shap e and hi s first crop l n—and Cherry wanted
.

to s e e her fa ther sta r te d once again o n his right

o i-way contracts At lea st s o they said The
.
,
.

fa ct o f the matter wa s that O ld Silent wanted to

k eep his daughter by him for just a few wee k s
more and King and Cherry had both agree d to
, ,

humor him a little until the work was well under

wa y .

B ut the men had settled it M cCa r tne y and

his crowd—o r such o f them a s felt themselves un
.

—
able to face Keith McB a n again had with
i
drawn before the snow wa s on the ground The .

s eason in the cam mhad b een hi ghly successful in

every sense a fact by the wa y that reflected
, , ,

much credit Upon King H owden w ho had ,

handled the men and had taken the respo nsi

bility o f condu cting the ca mp du ring the winter .

The work o n the grade wa s waiting and when the ,

men went out to the right-o f way and the young-

—
s ettlers went to their land The Town would be
,

no more There ha d not been a wedding in the

.

place since the first hut had been built The men
—
.

through a committee duly chosen and given

—
full powers made known to Keith M cB a in their
3 18 T HE HEA R T OF C HERRY McBAI N
l ay o n the hay near him and taking his scythe in
,

his hands stepped forward and swung it through

,

the grass .

F rom behind him came a clear call and paus ,

ing at the end o f his stroke he turned with a smile

and waved his hand to Cherry who w a s tripping ,

along down the meadow towards him King .

dropped his s cythe and went to meet her When .

they met he caught her by the arms and lifting ,

her from the ground kissed her o n the lips ,

.

“ ”
Leave the hay King s he said as soon as he
, , ,
’
had s e t her upon her feet again and let s go to ,

the camp fo r supper I t s no t four o clock yet

.
’ ’

”
we have more than two hours .

King glanced at the hay waiting to be put into

coils and then at Cherry whose face w a s full of ,

fresh girlish expectancy H er eyes were as .

roguish as they had been in those first days o f

their meeting nearly a year a go
,
.

She ca ught his si d elong glance and read its

meaning at once
Ah King s he pleaded it won t rain—see
.

&
“ ” “ ’

there is n t a cloud in the s ky B esides—ii it does

, , , ,
’

-
let it There s lots and lots o f hay—and there s
’ ’

only a littl e —j ust s o much summer

.

She pinched the end of a slender finger to give

point to her last statement and looked at King ,

with a smile brightening in her eyes .

 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McB AI N 3 19

“
Y o u little scamp , he s aid going to her and
,
“ ’
taking her head between his hands what s the ,

use o f a man making up his mind to anyt hing

”
where you are ?
H e kissed her again a nd sta r te d towards th e
little cabin o n the ridge with Cherry dancing
,

along beside him clinging to his arm and chatter

,

ing as s he went.

When they came to the cabin they went in for

a few moments to prepare for their trip The .

cabin wa s larger and more comfortable than the

shack in which King had lived during the pre
vion s summer—and infinitely cleaner King had .

brought the logs from the hills during the winter ,

and had built the cabin with the assistance o f a

half dozen of Keith M cB a in s men Cherry did
’
.

the rest— and the place w a s as neat and snug a s

the heart could wish .

In a moment King wa s o ut again and w a s gone

to the corral among the willows below the ridge .

When he returned and st ood before the door of

the cabin he led the horses s addled and bridled
,

and champing their bits King called and Cherry

.

emerged ready fo r the road Sal leaped about

.

them until they had got into the s addles and then ,

all went o ff together .

Keith McB a in S camp lay some twelve o r fif

’

teen miles up the valley to the north and west .

3 20 TH E H EA R T OF C HERRY McBAI N
With two hours ma ke the trip they had ample
to
time wi thout much loitering to reach camp b e
, ,

fore the men should leave the grade fo r S upper .

They followed the freighters trail that wound in ’

and o ut no w skirting the edge of the right-O f

,

wa y now heading into the standing poplars o r

, ,

running o ut acros s open reaches o f green plain .

’
B efore the summer s end the steel gang would
have laid the rails and the first trains would have
steamed into the valley from beyond the hills .

Even now the gang o f engineers and levellers

were close upon the heels o f the graders giving ,

the road-bed its final touch e s b efore the steel was

lai d .

C herry and King ro de along easily without ,

h urrying their horses King listening while

,

Cherry di d most o f the talking H ere and there .

n e w beauties came to mee t them in the curving

trail and waving grass and tall white po plars
with glistening l eaves and white powdered
trunks They crossed a half dozen little S treams
.
-

o f clear water rippling over gravel an d s hale .

F requently they came out where they caught a

distant view O f the hills that lay to the north of
the valley pale bl ue and lying low upon the
horizon like a fri nge o f dark cloud To—
,

, day they .

were a very pale blue and Cherry smiled as s he

,
3 22 T HE HE A R T OF C HERRY McBAI N
H e stretched o ut his arni and swept it about
him as he S poke .

Cherry looked into his face in contemplation , ,

not s o much o f what he was saying but rather o f

what s he s a w in his eyes All that ma d e him a
ma n—all that made him the man s he loved—all
.

that made him the man that men loved wa s —

there in the simple gravity and the deep serious
ne s s of his face .

A few moments l ater they rode down among

the men to where Keith M cB a in wa s standing
alone Smoking his pipe and watching a line o f
teamsters swinging about an endles s chain of,
“ ”
slushers moving the earth from the side o f the
right of-way to the grade in the middle They
-
.

were met on all sides by greetings from the men ,

who paused in their work to give them a welcome .

When they came to Keith M cB a in Cherry ,

spra ng to the ground and kissed her father and ,

King swinging down from the s addle came for

, ,

ward and shook hands with the old contractor .

I n Keith M cB a in s eyes there was a light as o f

’

returning youth The smile o n his face was the

.

smile o f a man who had found the worl d a good

pl ace to live in after all a nd wants nothing more
, ,

than to be left to do his work and fill his remain

ing d ays with achiev ement .
 T HE HE A R T O F C HERRY McBAI N 3 23

There wa s almost a half hour still left before

s ix o clock but Cherry wen t close to her father
’
,

and p atted his cheeks with her two hands .

“ ”
Let s all quit work fo r the day s he s ai d
’
I ,
.

’
don t come to camp often .

O ld Silent looked at her with all the pretense

at being stern that he could co mmand in the
presence of his daughter .

“ ’ ”
Who s going to build thi s railroad ? he asked ,

a smile growing upon hi s fea tures .

Cherry kissed her father and patte d his cheeks

“ ” “
p layfully again O l d Silent is s he said ; but
.
,

his daughter Cherry M cB a in is going to make

, ,

his men gl ad s he came She s go ing to make.

’

them want her back again .

“
Y o u buy your po pularity at a very high
”
p rice he replied
R emember—I have a husband who does as I
.
,
“

” “
tell him Cherry retu rned If yo u don t call the ’

men in—I ll tell him to do it

, .

’
.

Keith M c B a in looked at King and then put his

a rm about his daughter The look ca rr ied a .

meaning and King tu rne d towards the men and

,

&
gave the call .

“ ”
All in
The men responded a s if they had been expect
ing the call and almost at once the works were
,
3 24 T HE HE ART OF CHERRY McBAI N
des erted and the men were trooping o ff in the
dire ction o f the camp The littl e group of three
‘

were the las t to leave the grade They lingered .

a long time talking and lo oking over the work the

men ha d done during the day Then they walked .

o ff together, King a nd Che rry o n either side o f the

o l d man, the two ho rses following behind them

with the b ridl e -reins hanging across their necks ,

Sal l e isurely b ri nging up the rear .

“ ’
And wo n t you be leaving this work soon and
”
coming to stay with us ? King asked of Keith
McB a in when they had come almost to the camp .

“
What—leave this and go puttering round o n
” “
a farm he replie d
? No bo y no As long as I
.

, , .

‘ ’ ’
can give the call to roll o ut in the mornings I ll
stay with it When I m through—I ll quit here
’ ’

—
.
.

with my men
T he remainder of the wal k to camp was made
in silence.

There was a big dinner that evening that l asted

long after the usual hour And there was much
.

talking and laughing and some singing of songs

at the table All ate together with a place at the
.
,

centre o f o ne long table for Cherr y where s he ,

could see all the men from where s h e s a t O n .

o n e side o f her s a t her father and o n the other ,

si d e her husban d And when it was all over the

.