CHAPTER XXIV

A SECRET TRIBUNAL

Some little time had elapsed since my acquittal, when, one pleasant summer morning, I rode out from the railroad settlement bound for Bonaventure. The air was soft and balmy, the sunshine brilliant, and the prairie sod, which, by that time, had in most years grown parched and dry, formed a springy green carpet beneath the horse's feet. There had but once before been such a season within my memory, and my spirits were almost as buoyant as the wallet in my pocket was heavy. The lean years had pa.s.sed and left us, perhaps a little more grave in face and quiet in speech, to look forward to a brightening future, while the receipts I had brought back from the nearest town meant freedom at least.

I was also unwearied in body, for the roll of paper money in the wallet had made a vast difference to me, and instead of riding all night after a long railroad journey, I had slept and breakfasted well at the wooden hotel. Indeed, I almost wondered whether I were the same man who had previously ridden that way in a state of sullen desperation, spurred on by hatred and dogged obstinacy instead of hope. Now I was, however, rather thankful than jubilant, for my satisfaction was tempered by a perhaps unusual humility. Steel, Thorn, and I had, in our own blundering fashion, made the best fight we could, but it was the generosity of others and the winds of heaven which had brought us the victory.

Distance counts for little in these days, when the steel track and the modern cargo steamer together girdle the face of the globe; and the loss of others had been our gain. There had been scarcity in Argentina, and Australian gra.s.s was shriveling for want of rain. Famine had smitten India, and the great cattle-barons beyond our frontier had been overbusily engaged, attempting the extermination of the smaller settlers, to attend their legitimate business; so buyers in Europe were looking to Canada for wheat and cattle. Our own beasts had flourished, and before the usual season we had driven every salable head in to the railroad, riding in force behind them. That drive and the events which followed it were worth remembering.

I sold the cattle in Winnipeg for excellent prices, and deducting my own share of the proceeds, took the first train westward to visit Lane, and paid him down three-fourths of the balance of the loan. Having bought wisdom dearly, I took a lawyer with me. Lane showed neither surprise nor chagrin, though he must have felt both, and I could almost admire the way he bore defeat. He was less a man than a money-making machine, and the more to be dreaded for his absence of pa.s.sion. Rage was apparently as unknown to him as pity, and, though he knew he had lost Crane Valley, and with it the completion of a well-laid scheme, he actually pushed a cigar-box towards me as he signed the receipt. I drew a deep breath of relief as I pa.s.sed the papers to the lawyer, for the harvest would more than cover what remained of the debt, and then I laid down certain sums on behalf of others. Lane smiled almost affably as he tossed the quittances upon the table.

"They're all in order, Rancher. A capable man don't need to use second-rate trickery, and I'm open to allow that the bull-frog was hard to squash," he said.

I pocketed the doc.u.ments and went out in silence. Speech would have been useless, because the man had no sensibilities that could be wounded; but the interview struck me as a grotesquely commonplace termination of a struggle which had cost me months of misery. Indeed, I found it hard to convince myself that what had happened was real, and the heavy burden flung off at last. Being by no means a mere pa.s.sionless money-making machine, I had, nevertheless, not finished with Lane.

It was evening the next day when I reached Bonaventure, and was shown into the presence of its owner, who had lately returned there from the East. He looked haggard, and did not rise out of the chair he lounged in, though his voice was cordial. "You have been successful, Ormesby. I can see it by your face," he said.

"I have, sir," I answered. "More so than I dared to hope, and I fancy you will be astonished when you count these bills. The Bonaventure draft played a leading part in my release, and now I find it difficult to realize that the luck has changed at last."

It was not quite dark outside, but the curtains were drawn, and Haldane sat beside a table littered with papers under a silver reading-lamp. His face looked curiously ascetic and thin, but the smile in his keen eyes was genial. Boone sat opposite him smoking, and nodded good-humoredly to me.

"You will soon get used to prosperity, and there is no occasion for grat.i.tude," Haldane said, tossing the roll of paper money across the table, but taking up the account I laid beside it. "I notice that you have earned me a profit of twenty per cent. You have tolerable business talents in your own direction, Ormesby, and I shall expect your good counsel in the practical management of Bonaventure which I have undertaken."

"The management of Bonaventure?" I said, and Haldane's forehead grew wrinkled as he nodded.

"Exactly. The verdict has been given. No more exciting corners or supposit.i.tious heaping up of unearned increments for me. I am sentenced by the specialists to a dormant life and open-air exercise, and have accordingly chosen the rearing of cattle on the salubrious prairie."

I guessed what that sentence meant to a man of his energies; but he had accepted it gracefully, and I was almost startled when he said: "Do you know that I envied you, Ormesby, even when things looked worst for you?"

I could only murmur a few not overappropriate words of sympathy, though I fancied that had Haldane been under the same grip he might have envied me less.

"It takes time to grow used to idleness, which is why I sent for you to-night," he said, with a swift resumption of his usual tone. "I purpose to teach Lane that he is not altogether so omnipotent as he believes himself--partly by way of amus.e.m.e.nt and to forward certain views of my own, and partly because my younger daughter insists that he is a menace to every honest man on the prairie. Boone appears inclined to agree with her."

"I might even go a little further, sir," said Boone.

Haldane ignored the comment, and pointed to the papers, of which there appeared to be a bushel. "I have been posting myself in my new profession, and conclude that the prospects for grain and live stock are encouraging," he said. "News from Chile, California, and the Austral, all confirm this view; and, remembering it, we will consider Lane's position. Boone has taken considerable pains to discover that, as I expected, his resources are far from inexhaustible, and circ.u.mstances point to the fact that he has set his teeth in too big a morsel. At present neither the speculative public nor would-be emigrants have grasped the position, and therefore Lane would get little if he realized on his stolen lands just now."

"That is plain; but what results from it?" I said.

"Prosperity to poor men, according to my daughter;" and Haldane's smile was not wholly cynical. "We purpose that he should realize as soon as possible. Boone discovered that he is raising money to carry on by quietly selling out his stock in the Investment Company which has consistently backed him, and I feel inclined for a speculation in that direction, especially as the public will shortly be invited to increase the company's capital. Lastly, I am in possession of accurate information, while Lane is not. Contrary to general opinion, the railroad will be hurried through very shortly."

It was great news, and the possible downfall of my enemy perhaps the least of it. It implied swift prosperity for all that district, and while I stared at the speaker the blood surged to my forehead. Though fate had robbed me of the best, part of what I had toiled, and fought, and suffered for was to come about at last; and the calmness of the others appeared unnatural. Haldane's eyes were keen, but he showed no sign of unusual interest; Boone's face was merely grim, and I guessed that the man whose heel had been on my neck would fare ill between them.

"If he had used legitimate weapons one could almost be sorry for him," I said. "It will try even his nerve to lose all he has plotted for when the prize is actually, if he knew it, within his grasp."

"He deserves no mercy," Boone broke in. "This is justice, Ormesby, neither more nor less; and unless we cripple him once for all he will take hold again with the first bad season. What you will shortly hear should demonstrate the necessity for decisive measures; but our host forgot to mention that he declines to profit individually by this opportunity."

"If anyone wishes to learn my virtues he can apply to certain company promoters in Montreal," said Haldane languidly. "Boone will remember that I came here to farm for my health, and have been coerced into a.s.sisting at this Vehmgericht. Those wheels, however, give warning that the first sitting will commence."

A minute or two later I started wrathfully to my feet as Niven was ushered into the room. He on his part seemed equally astonished, and, I think, would have backed out again, but that Boone adroitly slammed the door behind him. It may be mentioned that he had been tried in my place, and, to the disgust of Sergeant Mackay, just escaped conviction.

"I need not introduce Mr. Ormesby, who will kindly resume his place,"

said Haldane pleasantly. "Sit down and choose a cigar if you feel like it. You sent word you wanted to talk to me?"

"I didn't want to talk to that man;" and Niven scowled at me, while Haldane shrugged his shoulders.

"I can't turn him out, you see. Now hadn't you better explain what you want with me?"

There was a languid contempt beneath the speaker's surface good-humor which was not lost on the fidgeting man; but he lighted a cigar with an air of bravado, and commenced:

"Thinking over things, I figured both you and Adams had your knife in Lane;" and Haldane's mild surprise was excellently a.s.sumed. "Well, I've got my own knife in him, too. It's this way. Lane put up the money for me to buy out Ormesby, and made a mighty close bargain, thinking I daren't kick. It would have been inconvenient, and I didn't mean to; but when those blame police ran me in for a thing I never done, he just turns his back, and wouldn't put up a dollar to defend me! 'I've no use for blunderers of your kind,' says he."

"One could understand that it is necessary for him to make sure of his subordinates' abilities," said Haldane reflectively; and Niven, who stared hard at him, appeared to gulp down something before he proceeded.

"Well, he can't fool with me, and it comes to this. I'm recorded owner of Gaspard's Trail; paid for it with my own check--Lane fixed that up.

Now, what I want to ask you is, how's Lane going to turn me out if I hold on to the place? Strikes me he can't do it."

In spite of this a.s.surance the speaker looked distinctly eager until Haldane answered: "We need not discuss the moral aspect of the case, because it apparently hasn't one, and you might not understand it if it had. Speaking from a purely business point of view, I feel tolerably certain that, in the circ.u.mstances, he would not take legal proceedings against you, though I have no doubt he might arrange the affair in some other way."

"Feel quite sure?" asked Niven. And Haldane answered: "I may say I do."

Niven's grin of triumph would have sickened any honest man, but I was not sorry for his employer. "I guess I'll take my chances of the other way, and I'm coming straight to business. Will you stand behind me? It's not going to be a charity. There is money in Gaspard's Trail, and I'm open to make a fair deal with the man who sees me through."

I saw Haldane's lips set tightly for a moment, and my hand itched for a good hold of Niven's collar; but the master of Bonaventure next regarded him with a quiet amus.e.m.e.nt which appeared disconcerting.

"I fancy your worthy master was correct when he described you as a blunderer," he said. "It would be quite impossible for me to make a bargain of that--or any other--kind with you. You might also have added that he inspired you to more than the buying of Gaspard's Trail."

There was pluck in Niven, for he laughed offensively. "I got my verdict, and if you won't deal I may as well be going. Anyhow, you've told me what I most wanted to know."

He departed without further parley, and Haldane smiled at me. "It would have been a pity to detain him, and Lane was wrong in choosing an understudy he could not scare into submission. That rascal will hold on to Gaspard's Trail, and the loss of it will further hamper his master."

Some little time pa.s.sed, and Boone, who appeared impatient, said at last: "She is late; but Gordon may have been too busy to drive her over earlier, and she promised me faithfully that she would come."

Haldane said nothing, though he seemed dubious until there was another sound of wheels, and I had a second surprise when a lady was ushered into the room, for I could scarcely believe my eyes when I saw that it was Redmond's daughter. She had changed greatly from the girl who called down vengeance on the oppressor when we brought her father home, although the glitter in her eyes and the intentness of her face showed the strain of emotional nature in her. Still, she was handsomely and tastefully dressed, and carried herself with dignity.

"This is Mr. Haldane, Miss Redmond, and I am sure he will be grateful to you for coming," said Boone, who I noticed appeared relieved when the new arrival laid a packet on the table. "I may explain for Ormesby's benefit that Miss Redmond, who is winning fame as a singer, has something of importance to show him," he added.

The girl's hand was very cold when it touched my own, and her movements nervous as she drew a book in tattered binding out of its wrappings.

"I hope Mrs. Gordon will spare you as long as possible, and that your visit to the prairie will do you good," said Haldane, placing a chair for her.

"Once I fancied I could never look at the prairie without a shudder, but of late I have been longing for sunshine and air, and shall perhaps be happier when this is over," said the girl. "It is a very hard thing I have to do, and I must tell you the whole painful story."

"We can understand that it must be," said Haldane gently.

"When I left home for Winnipeg I joined a second-rate variety company. I had inherited a gift for singing, and those who heard me were pleased with the old Irish ballads my mother taught me. So there was soon no fear of poverty, and I was trying to bury the past, when, the night I first sang to a packed audience in Winnipeg, it was once more dragged up before me. I came home from what the newspapers said was a triumph, and because one critic had questioned a verse of an old song I looked for a book of my mother's among the relics I had brought from the prairie. I found--this--instead."