bright sunshine streamed down upon the glittering plain, tempering the frost, when wandle stood outside his house one morning, wondering how he should employ himself during the day. he had hauled his wheat in to the elevators, and when that is done the western farmer has now and then some leisure, because the frozen ground renders many of his usual operations impossible. wandle had a stack of cordwood ready cut, and though he needed some logs for an addition to his stable which he meant to build, the thinness of the snow, which had been disturbed by a strong wind, would make the work of hauling them home too difficult. he was, however, an active man, who rarely wasted time or money; and as he looked about, the ash-heap caught his eye. it was rather large and near his house, and he determined to remove it, now that he had nothing better to do.
in a few minutes he was hard at work with a pick, and succeeded, with some difficulty, in breaking through the frozen crust. the moisture, however, had not penetrated far enough into the fine wood-ash for the rest to freeze, so that he was soon able to use the shovel and during the next half-hour he flung a quantity of the stuff into his wagon. as he did so he looked out for jernyngham’s cash-box, and grew surprised when it did not appear. when he had hauled the load away and deposited it in a swampy place he was getting anxious. the box could 228 not have escaped his notice, because he had spread the ash thinly; he had, he thought, dug far enough into the pile to have reached it; but there was still no sign of it. this was disconcerting, and he worked until he had largely reduced the heap, and he scattered the next load so that every bit of rubbish among it could be seen. then he stopped in dismay to think. he had certainly thrown the box among the ash, and it was gone; the only inference was that somebody had afterward dug it up and taken it away.
wandle realized this with a shock, but he was too keen-witted to give way to alarm and leave his task unfinished. he must remove the whole pile, in order to give no cause for suspicion that he had been excavating in search of something; and the sooner it was done the better. it was noon when the work was finished and he entered the house, where there was something else to be done. he was a methodical man and had a place for each of his belongings. he began by examining the position of every article in a cupboard. none seemed to have been disturbed, which was reassuring, and wandle proceeded to empty a chest in which he kept his clothing. he had reached the bottom of it when a pair of light summer shoes caught his eye and his face became intent. they were not where he had placed them; he remembered having fitted them in between some other things at the opposite end of the chest. this confirmed his worst suspicions, but he carefully laid back each garment before he sat down to consider.
it was obvious that the police had searched his house, and had taken the cash-box away, but he was careful not to let his fears overcome his judgment. the box was of a cheap and common pattern; it would be difficult to identify it as having belonged to jernyngham. he was 229 more troubled by the evidence that he was being watched by the police because it might result in their discovering the sale of land he had made. this must be guarded against, as the offense was serious, and would, moreover, connect him with jernyngham’s disappearance; but wandle would not be driven into any rash and precipitate action by his alarm. he was a cool, ready-witted, avaricious man, who had found industry profitable, and he had no intention of leaving the farm he had spent so much work on. flight would mean ruin: he could not dispose of his property before he went without attracting attention, and it would, in all probability, lead to his arrest. he must stay and face the matter out.
first of all, he tried to estimate the risk of his being recognized as the man who had sold jernyngham’s land. if the suspicions of the agent he had dealt with were aroused, he might describe his customer to the police. wandle was glad his appearance was by no means striking. when he sold the land, he had, however, worn a newly made suit of a rather vivid brown, which the man would probably remember. wandle had bought it on a business visit to brandon, which was a long way off, and the police could not have seen it when searching his house, because they had done so in his absence and when he left the farm to drive in to the settlement he had put on the clothes. there was a risk that somebody in sebastian might remember how he was dressed, but, as he had been there only once or twice in the past few months, he did not think it was likely.
the garments would have to be sacrificed, which was unfortunate, because clothing is dear in western canada; but wandle thought of a better means of getting rid of them, than destroying them. it was obvious that the 230 suspicions of the police must fall on himself or prescott, and he preferred that the latter should be implicated. after a while, he saw what could be done, provided there was wind enough to obliterate his footsteps in the snow or there should be another fall.
he had to wait a few days; and then one evening he made up the clothes into a bundle, saddled a horse, and rode off across the prairie toward the prescott homestead. it was very cold and he would have been more comfortable wrapped in a driving-robe in his buggy; but the moon now and then shone through the rifts in the clouds, and a rig could not be hidden or driven in among thick trees.
a long bluff ran close up to the homestead, and when wandle reached its outer end he got down and walked beside his horse, keeping the wood between him and the farm trail. it was important that he should not be seen. the horse would attract no attention, because prescott had a number, and hardy, range-bred horses are often left to run loose through the winter. still, clear moonlight streamed through between the slender trees, and there was a glow from the windows of the house. as wandle drew nearer it he moved with greater caution. he was fortunate in having done so, for he stopped with a start as two black mounted figures cut against the sky not far in front of him. they were clearly visible as they crossed an opening, and though he stood in shadow beside a denser growth of trees his heart beat faster as he watched them. they were riding slowly, keeping out of view of the house, which was significant, because had they been neighbors of prescott’s returning from a visit to him they would have taken no trouble to avoid being seen. these were police troopers, watching the homestead.
presently one of them spoke to the other, and wandle 231 recognized private stanton’s voice. indeed, it was ominously distinct, and wandle, standing very still with a firm hand on the bridle, passed a few anxious moments; a movement of his horse might betray him. the troopers, however, drew abreast without glancing toward him and the tension slackened as they slowly moved away. what they expected to find he could not tell, but he was on the whole pleased to see them hanging round the bluff. he waited a while after the faint sound they had made died away; and then, tying his horse to a branch, he crept quietly into the bluff.
there were belts of shadow among the trees; he got entangled among nut bushes and thickets, but creeping on toward the house, he reached a more open space and found a hollow nearly filled with withered leaves. there he stopped, wondering whether it would be safe to strike a match; but he knew that something must be risked and he got a light and bent down, shielding it with his hands. the leaves lay thickly together, a foot or two in depth, and the place looked suitable for his purpose.
a stream of light suddenly broke out from the door of the homestead and wandle’s hand closed quickly on the match; somebody was crossing from the house to the stable with a lantern. he could see the man’s dark figure plainly, though he could not recognize him, and he waited until a door was noisily opened. then he scraped the leaves aside and laid the brown clothes in the hollow. he stayed beside it until the man with the lantern returned to the house, and then he crept back through the bluff and led his horse toward its end, where he mounted and rode to the next farm. after spending an hour with its owner, arranging for a journey to a bluff where unusually large logs could be found, he rode 232 home content. everything had gone as he wished; there would, he thought, be snow enough before morning to cover any tracks he had left, and he could, if necessary, account for his having been in the neighborhood of the prescott farm.
during the next week, wandle watched the weather, which continued fine after a few snow showers. a heavy fall might hide the clothes until spring, but he could think of no means of leading up to their discovery. to give the police a hint would fix their suspicions on himself, and he wondered how one could be conveyed to them indirectly. chance provided him with an opportunity.
gertrude jernyngham borrowed leslie’s team one afternoon and set out for a drive. troubled as she was, she had of late found the strain of maintaining a tranquil demeanor before her friends growing too much for her, and it was trying to spend the greater portion of her time in muriel’s society. she was filled with a jealous hatred of the girl, and felt that it would be a relief to be alone a while. the air was still, bright sunshine flooded the plain, the thick driving-robe kept her comfortably warm; and, lost in painful thought, she had driven farther than she intended when she turned back. on doing so, she noticed that she had left the beaten trail and she looked about timidly. the sun was low, a gray dimness had crept across the eastern half of the prairie where the homestead lay and a piercing wind was springing up. there was nobody in sight and no sign of a house, and she could not remember which of the bluffs that stretched in wavy lines across the waste she had passed.
she drove on toward the east, eagerly looking for the trail, while the horse broke through the thin snow-crust 233 and the sleigh ran heavily, until she reached a slope leading to a frozen swamp. it was of some extent, and she grew anxious, for she had not seen the spot before. the country ahead was more broken, rolling in low rises with short pines on their summits, and it was with unfeigned satisfaction that she saw a man crossing one of the ridges. he answered when she called and in a few minutes she stopped close beside him. he was a tall man, wearing an old fur coat and dilapidated fur cap; a rancher, she thought.
“can you tell me where leslie’s house is?” she asked.
“sure,” said wandle, pointing toward the east. “but as it will be dark before you get there, you had better let me put you on the trail. you’ll have to cross these sandhills, and as the snow’s blown off in places, it’s rough traveling.”
gertrude thanked him, and she was glad that he led the team as they crossed the broken belt, picking out the smoothest course among the clumps of birches and low steep ridges. at times he had difficulty in urging the horses up a bank of frozen sand, but after a while he looked around at her.
“you’re miss jernyngham?” he said. “guess you must have had a mighty trying time?”
his tone was respectful and, though he was a stranger, gertrude could not resent the allusion to her troubles. she had generally found the western ranchers blunt.
“yes,” she replied; “my father and i have had much to bear.”
wandle made a gesture of sympathy.
“the mystery’s the worst—it’s easier to face a trouble one knows all about. what have the police been doing lately?” 234
“i don’t know; they have told us nothing for some time.”
“you find them kind of disappointing?”
“i believe my father does.”
the man said nothing for a while, and then looked around again.
“well,” he ventured, “it strikes me there’s one man curtis ought to keep his eye on.”
gertrude started and wandle studied her face. he was observant and quick to draw a conclusion, and he read something that surprised him in her eyes. it was, he thought, a deeper feeling than suspicion; miss jernyngham knew whom he meant and had some reason for being very bitter against prescott.
“why do you say that?” she asked.
“all i’ve heard looks black against him,” he answered with an air of reflection. “what does your father think?”
“he is perplexed and distressed,” said gertrude coldly, deciding that the man must not be allowed to go too far.
wandle guessed her thoughts, but he was not to be daunted.
“that’s natural. he must be anxious to learn the truth, and the police haven’t found out much yet—looks as if they were getting tired.”
gertrude hesitated, while he led the horses round a clump of birches. it was painful and undignified to discuss the matter with a stranger, but his manner was suggestive; she felt that he had something to tell. perhaps it was her duty to encourage him, and her suspicions of prescott drove her on. wandle waited, knowing that she would speak. 235
“is there anything that might be useful they have neglected doing?”
“it’s hard to say. i’ll allow that they’ve worked through the muskeg and the bluffs pretty thoroughly; but do you know if they’ve made a good search round prescott’s house?”
“no,” said gertrude eagerly; “i can’t tell you that. but why should they look there?”
wandle considered. it would be awkward if she mentioned that she had had a hint from him, but he did not think this would happen. there was a greater probability of her acting as if the idea had originated with her. he let the team stop and looked at her impressively.
“it strikes me as quite a likely place. i’ve heard of people hiding things they wanted to get rid of in a bluff. you put it to your father and see how the notion strikes him.”
“i’ll think of it,” gertrude replied coldly; but wandle knew that she would do as he had suggested.
he said nothing further until they had crossed another rise or two, when he stopped and pointed to a bluff not far away.
“when you make those trees you’ll strike the trail and it’s pretty well beaten. it will take you straight in to leslie’s.”
gertrude thanked him and drove on. it was getting dark, and a bitter wind swept the waste, but at first she was scarcely conscious of the cold, for her thoughts were busy. she felt that she had done wrong in allowing the man to make the suggestion. somehow it seemed to involve her in a plot against prescott; but of late she had tried to convince herself of his guilt. after all, it was her duty to have the fullest investigation made and the 236 fellow had spoken in a significant manner. one could imagine that he knew more than he had said.
darkness closed in on the empty plain, the wind stung her face, the loneliness grew intense, and she began to shiver in a mood of black depression. the mystery of her brother’s disappearance filled her with keen anxiety; now she could no longer believe prescott’s assurance that he was not dead. a little while ago she had trusted him and her cold nature had suddenly expanded in the warmth of love, but the transforming glow had suddenly died out, leaving her crushed, humiliated, and very bitter. even if her fears about cyril proved unfounded, she had nothing to look forward to except a life that had grown meaningless and dreary; the brief passion she had yielded to would never be stirred again. she was growing hard and cruel; her keenest desire was to punish the man who had, as she thought of it, deceived her.
at length a light began to blink in the gloom ahead and soon afterward she got down at the homestead, feeling very cramped and cold; but an hour or two passed before she had an opportunity for speaking to her father alone. it was easy to lead him on to talk of cyril’s disappearance, and by and by she asked if the neighborhood of prescott’s homestead had been searched. he caught at the idea.
“it’s hard to understand why i didn’t think of that!” he cried. “i have lost all confidence in curtis. what he is doing, or if he means to let the matter drop, i don’t know; but if prescott has hidden anything that might tell against him, it will of course be in the bluff! i’ll go over and examine every hollow among the bushes, without the police.”
his expression grew eager and gertrude, knowing that she had said enough, left him quietly.
