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Show I NEIGHBORS By ROBERT STEAD Author of -The Cow Puncher." "The Homesteaders" copTrisht by Robert SteJ VTl TO ? rv1c . u mm. I j WINTER LIFE SYNOPSIS Lured by his four-yur-oid playmate, Jean L:me, b' r;i n It Hull, a yed six. ve n l u rea on the forbidden wa.ll of a dam, in a snia.ll untariu town. He falis into ihe waitr and is saved from possible death by clinging to Jean's ou t s t r'tched arms. Next day Jean Informs him that because be-cause of their adventure of the day before he is in duty bound to marry her. He auree.i when they are "grownups." With Jean's brother, John, also a wed six, Frank begins school. Two years J Inter they are joined by Jean and I Frank's sister, Marjorie. A little j ktiur Jean confides to Frank, in verse, her hopes of some day be-I be-I coming "Mrs. Hall." He accepts I the "proposal." Frank is fourteen four-teen when his mother dies. The boys are eighteen when John's father is killed in an accident. Two years later Frank s father and John's mother are married. Lds.satisiied with conditions, and ambitious, the two boys make plana to go to Manitoba and "homestead," the girls agreeing to go with them. They set out. At Heglna they meet "Jake," who agrees to find them satisfactory homesteads. He does so, and the two friends file claims on Sec-i Sec-i inns Fourteen and Twenty-two. Jake sapely advises the adventurers adven-turers in the purchase of supplies, sup-plies, and in a wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen, and with a cow, the four arrive at their future homes. Construction of "shacks" and the making of a garden are their first occupations. A young Fn 1 is h m an of the name of "Spoof" Is a neighbor. They call on Spoof, who Is living in a tent. Spoof, on his return visit, discloses dis-closes himself as a man of varied social attainments. Frank's Jealousy Jeal-ousy is aroused. Marjorie discovers dis-covers that they have a new neighbor. "He" turns out to be a Mrs. Alton, a widowed Englishwoman, English-woman, who, with her three-year-old son Gerald, has taken up a claim. Frank and John leave the homesteads for a time to do I harvest work for wages on a J longer-established farm. They en- counter Jake, who tells them of ' his adventure Into matrimony, j After two months' absence they , return to their homes. Jean's en-i en-i thusiastic welcome encourages Frank. The land sections begin to fill up with settlers of all nationalities. na-tionalities. Jake and his wife have located In the neighborhood. Mrs. Alton remains strangely aloof. Winter sets In. Frank and Jean enter into a marriage engagement. en-gagement. It is well understood that John and Marjorie are soon to be married. Frank almost loses his 11 e in a snowstorm. '. 1 CHAPTER X Continued 9 As the frost settled down about me I at length, by a great effort, sprang on t of bed and went groping for my clothes. I was not yet pioneer enough to know that it is tine business in very cold weather to sleep with your clothing, cloth-ing, or at least your underwear and socks, under your pillow ; it lessens the ordeal of that first break from the warm blankets into the wintry atmosphere. atmos-phere. At length I found my clothes und scrambled into tl'em, chattering and blowing prodigiously in the opera-; opera-; tion. Ko man still less woman knows what haste he can develop in his dressing operations until he has had a oeiow-zero temperature as u pacemaker. Finding matches I lighted my lamp and sailied fortli into the main room. The boards beneath me creaked dismally dis-mally us my weight came upon them ; a drift of snow several feet in length and the shape of a great fish had formed across the room as a result of a crack in the door; the stove was ice cold; the water pails were frozen over; the little clock on the shelf had stopped. My watch was of better mettle met-tle and revealed the fact that it was seven-thirty. We had slept well. I made shavings from a poplar stick In the wood box and soon had a hue ure roaring. When once it was started the great draft of the storm chew it impetuously up the sheet-iron pipes, und I was obliged to apply the damper. dam-per. N'o more unhappy irony can befall be-fall the homesteader than to burn down his shack in his attempts to warm it. "Good morning. Frank !" said a voice which set the pumps of my heart going to jig music. I think Jean's voice was really her most wonderful quality; she was enough of the artist to appreciate and cultivate the line manners of the voice. It had the lilt of singing birds, the limpidity of purling water, the softness soft-ness of roseleaves in the twilight, the tinkling of silver bells at dawn, and if 1 can think of any other figure it had that, too. for me in those old love-hallowed days of mine. "Good morning, Frank. No word of Jack?" "Xo word. Jean." "ile is ali right. He is over at Fourteen, Four-teen, and not up yet, I'll wager. Now suppose you go into the men's apartments apart-ments and face the wall that lire looks most inviting!" I did as I was hidden, in part at least, while Jean dressed by the fire. After a Utile she gave me tiie "Ail clear!" and I swept out and seized !:cr in my arms. ... It was a very wouaerrul way to begin the day. "There now," she expostulated at length, "let me get the porridge on. That s wore to the purpose" "I'orritlgH is poor business when mpre'- '. v '-p done." I urguetl. "You won't always think so," she replied as though with some strange glimpse of prophecy, and set busily about preparing breakfast. In these operations she discovered that everything every-thing that could freeze had frozen; we melted the butter until it ran over the stove and then we gathered it up and spread it on the toast. We could not afford to be fastidious. We ate and drank, and laughed and were happy and cared not a tuppence for all the storms that ever blew! About midforenoon came a sudden smash at the door, and Jack precipitated precipi-tated himself into our presence. He was masked In snow, but his first glance was at me, and I knew by the sudden drawing of his lips the relief It was to see me safe and well. "1 was afraid for you, Frank," he said; "afraid you'd try it" "I did try it." And then I told him the story of my attempt. "We have a great deal to be thankful thank-ful for," Jack said, soberly, when I had finished. "A very great deal, indeed." in-deed." "Yes, more than you know," I returned, re-turned, joyously, eager to spread the good news. "Jean has consented to be my wife." Jack refused to be excited. "Congratulations, "Con-gratulations, old boy," he said, pressing my hand, "but, really, that is hardly a news item. Jean has been well, on the point of consent for a long, long while." "Oh, Jack, that isn't fair!" "Sorry, sister, perhaps it Isn't quite. But you two have been so beastly slow over this business you've tied up the whole progress of events, and now you want me to be surprised about something some-thing that's long overdue." "Well, it's settled now, anyway," said I, "and as soon as you and Marjorie Mar-jorie can make up your minds we will fix a date." "As soon as Marjorie and I can make up our minds !" Jack exclaimed. "Son, ou minds were made up months ago. We've been waiting, waiting. At last we concluded that we really must speed things up a little, so It was arranged ar-ranged that Marjorie would send you over here last night, and I would accidentally ac-cidentally miss you in the gully and go over to Marjorie's. Of course, we didn't know there was a storm coming. It rather overdid things from a conventional con-ventional point of view, but fortunately fortunate-ly Mrs. Grundy hasn't moved out here yet." "Why, I never thought of such a thing !" cried Jean, indignantly. "How can you ?" "Of course you didn't, you old dear," said Jack, drawing her within his arm, "and, I'll bet a wedding present, neither did Frank. And listen, little woman, you're getting one of the best little chums and one of the whitest men beyond be-yond the Red river and the Rockies and beyond. And as for you, you old son-of-a-gtin," punching me in the ribs, "if there are two angels In the world today one of them Is Jean Lane." Although the storm still raged daylight day-light now struggled through the windswept wind-swept screen of snow, and there was no great danger in making the short trip from Twenty-two to Fourteen. Jack confessed that Marjorie was uneasy un-easy for me so I went home very soon after his arrival. Marjorie flew into my arms as I opened the door. "I was so frightened, Frank, so frightened !" she whispered, In half sobs. "I didn't know it was going to be such a storm. I was almost al-most sure you'd come back nnd when you didn't I couldn't help wondering, and every little while through the night I would waken and see you fighting in the snow ; fighting, and stumbling, and failing." She wrapped her arms about me and pressed her cheek against my face. "Oh Frank, Frank, It's good to have you here!" she murmured. I had never known Marjorie to be so demonstrative. She came of solid old Eastern stock that carries Its heart a long, long way In. I was not psychologist psy-chologist enough to realize that if ever there was to be a time when Marjorie would be very human she was now entering en-tering it. "There, there," I said, comforting her as best I could. "It's all over now. And listen I have great news. Jean and I are r be " "At last !" she interrupted. "Well, that shows what a little planning will do. You dear old silly, did you suppose sup-pose " "I know all about it now. Jack confessed. But your little joke nearly cost me my life," und I went on to tell of my battle with the storm, taking care that it should lose nothing in the telling. In this I hope I measured up to the established standard of the typical Westerner. Marjorie was penitent. "I am so sorry," she said. "I had no idea that might happen. Oh, Frank, wouldn't It have been dreadful?" "it would, but it isn't On the contrary, con-trary, it :s worth it." Spoof drove over one Sunday early in Peeember after an absence of three weens. We saw his oxen breaking trail for an hour or more before they came up to our door. Jack and Jean had also seen them coming, and rushed over to Fourteen to share In extending --eleome. It is only among tne pioneers mat real welcomes occur. Jack wept Spoof into the house, and I turned our own oxen out and put his In the stable. We were soon to learn the cause of Spoofs absence from our threshold for a full three weeks. It seemed that to protect his extensive supply of personal per-sonal effects Spoof had bought a padlock pad-lock for his shack, and one frosty morning this padlock fell to the ground. Spoof picked it up, and, wishing wish-ing to use his hands for some other purpose, thrust the iron link of the lock In his mouth, thinking to hold it there a moment. He had no trouble holding It, but suddenly found to his dismay that he couldn't give it up 1 The frost in the iron had, with an effect very much like fire, seared his tongue and hung on so tenaciously that when at last he wrenched It out It carried some of the flesh of that tender organ with It. "I couldn't speak," Spoof explained, in telling of his misfortune, "and there were so many things I needed to say just then." His predicament had been bad enough. For several days he had been unable to eat. "So I've come over here to make up for It," he added. After the first outburst over Spoofs arrival had subsided an embarrassing silence yawned across the path of our conversation. There were great things to be said and no one to say them. The girls glanced shyly at each other, and at us, and Jack, by pantomime behind Spoof's back, sought to convey the information that I was elected spokesman. So for lack of preparation prepara-tion I plunged In bodily as one may take a cold dip when he lacks the will power to do it slowly. "Jack and I have also had a misfortune, mis-fortune, of a sort," I said. "We, too, have lost the use of our organs of speech, permanently." Spoof narrowed his eyebrows quizzically. quiz-zically. "Then my ears make up for It," he said. "I hear you as usual." "It isn't In effect yet," I explained. "We are to be married at Christmas. Behold the parties of the first part," Mb I -r V V I ill r, That Gaunt Phantom of Doubt Closed In Upon Me. and I waved a hand at Jean and Marjorie Mar-jorie while I turned a phrase of Jake's to good account. Spoof sprang to his feet. "Oh, by Jove, how wonderful! What lucky dogs! Your pardon, ladies, that my first word was to them ; I fear my envy outweighed my good manners If I have any left. A bachelor's shack is not exactly a school of polite behavior. It is my visits at Fourteen which have saved me from becoming quite a sav-ase. sav-ase. I I feel that I should make a speech." He was as good as his word. Mounting Mount-ing a chair he gave us a bantering dissertation dis-sertation on the joys and perils of married mar-ried life, to which we listened with much seriousness. But underneath and running through his words, was something which all his banter did not hide. Spoof was playing the game but I wondered how many little yellow devils were skewering his heart. The practical part of it was Spoors ready offer of his help in arranging details. de-tails. The problems of securing the services of a minister and buying the marriage licenses demanded attention Even so ethereal a thing as marria-e cannot entirely escape the humdrum of the material, but it was a time when we felt strangely incapacitated for the commonplace. We were flying too high for earthworms ; larks or eagles were our prey. Jack suggested that we had thought of driving to the nearest railway bta tion, some thirty miles distant for the ceremony. We understood that a min ister was located there and Unit the young man who ran the poolroom was intrusted with the duty of Is.suin- ,,r riage licenses. He carried a "small stock of tobacco as an auxiliary to his pool business and a small stock of ewelry as an auxiliary to his tobacco business and a small stock of weddim, an auxillury 10 hls -It would take you two days to make that trip with old Buck and Bright, Spoof protested. "Perhaps more; they're soft with being stall-fed and., may quit altogether on the road, and you may not find a convenient armful "of hay with which to fix them. Fancy having to send word, 'Wedding postponed post-poned on account of the indisposition of Buck and Bright!' No, you must leave all these things to me. You bovs are too busy with much more Important business to be worried about details." Spoof made his plans joyously. If he was not happy at heart over the fact that Jean was to marry me no one could have read it In his face. He would have a minister, he would have licenses, he would have wedding rings leave It all to him. A week later he came puffing across the crusted prairie, In broad-soled Canadian Can-adian felts. "Admire my scows," he commanded, as he hove them into view. "Twin schooners of the deep " "Traveling In ballast," Jack Interrupted. Inter-rupted. "Nay, laden with good tidings. Ah, there she breaks out a line of signals," and Spoof started to wig-wig a message mes-sage which none of us could decipher. " T fear thee, Ancient Mariner,' " said Jean, "but what are you driving driv-ing at?" "Just this, that the contract Is let to one John Locke, minister, the lowest, low-est, and, in fact, the only bidder. He will be aided and abetted by an Individual Indi-vidual called Reddy, for reasons which will be obvious when you see him. Reddy, like Jake, appears to harbor no surname, although no doubt for official offi-cial purposes he signs something to the marriage license. They will-be out by miflafternoon Christmas day, and the ceremony will take place In the main drawing room of my country residence on section Two. Carriages at four-thirty. four-thirty. You see, I lost no time In going go-ing to town " "You to town, with those "bullocks' of yours!" Jack exclaimed. "And you libeled Buck and Bright by suggesting" suggest-ing" "I went to town, but not behind my bullocks. There are some things I will not do, even for so great a friendship friend-ship as I bear for thee. I had a driver and a spanking team of mules." "Mules? Whose?" "Our American friend, Burke, lent his team and himself for the occasion. The fact is he had misgivings about lending the team without himself, so he came along. He was afraid I would not treat the mules diplomatically. Nothing, I assure you, was, or is, further fur-ther from my intention. But, my word, such language! Driving bullocks is only a beginner's course compared with the demands made upon a muleteer. mule-teer. . . . Burke rose very greatly In my estimation." So we left the details In Spoofs hands, glad enough to be rid of responsibility re-sponsibility for them. There was much to do, and Jack and I found ourselves banished to Twenty-two while the girls made use of the shanty on Fourteen Four-teen for operations concerning which we were permitted to have nothing but curiosity. Their wedding splendor must, we knew, be designed with such skill as Marjorie and Jean possessed from the best of the clothing they had brought with them from the East. Love may laugh at locksmiths, but It has to bow to dollars and cents when the trousseau Is under consideration. Money, as Marjorie once remarked, may be bad for the heart, but It's good for the appearance. But there was no money to be had for this occasion, and Marjorie and Jcnn cut their cloth accordingly, ac-cordingly, literally as well as figuratively. figura-tively. Also, the news had to be broken to those at home. Each of us wrote a letter, although, to save postage we enclosed them all in one envelope There had been little correspondence since we came to the homesteads mainly because we were as vet thirty miles from a post office, atid letters might lie for a month without a chance of delivery. But this was souiethlm-to souiethlm-to be written about. I recall that there was moonlight Just then, and night on the prairie was a base of Ivory cupped with an intangible in-tangible bowl of blue. Alwavs tl,e4 was the nip of frost in the air, but it was a nip that was not unpleasant mid by no means did it succeed In con-hn.ng con-hn.ng us within doors. Di,rillK th bright nights Jean and I took 1 ,t never-to-he-forgotten walks across he snow pi,ed moon-swept plains l" d feel her firm little llgUn! SWllvm 1th mine in our strong 8trIlle a,V, "s He wmd-packod snow, while mr suuo our sllull0Wi ,'0 m There sc'"e c,"'icature by our side lli.ue were momonls when we were 'ry, verv close to the Inlinily w , , 1 noumleu us on every l,.,n,i , -,der of tllat g,t " .rtnlmt ocean would sm-'o i.,, , ' MUllt 'ko wm, ther -Tf xytr;V :;r: -iua pa.a attention , ' f"1" footprints om nchhu, ' " ' ""V""' -ethatseus0lmlmu,7 b We were so tremendously alone that It seemed the world was full ot our-selves our-selves and God. But gaunt phantom of doubt nd uncertainty stalked us even on thast moonlit walks. CHAPTER XI That gaunt phantom of doubt gratj. ually closed in upon me. I resolved t fight It, but Its very intangibility Daf. fled my efforts to throw It off. When I struck, it was not there. When I gripped it, my fingers closed on spacs. When I challenged Jean's whole-heart-edness she burst Into tears and asked what proof she could give that she had not given. And it was because sh burst into tears that the phantom stalked me all the closer. Had sh laughed and called me a silly boy I would have believed her. Nothing came of it, however, and th days wore on until one forenoon we saw Spoofs tall figure looming D0 across the snow-waste that lay between be-tween Fourteen and Two. We made him welcome, but he would not sit down. "Sorry, but I can't stay," he explained. "Jake is in a bit of ' mess. Just came over to Two to tell me about It. It seems the cogitation nut on his base burner you know tha big coal stove Jake puts on so many airs about bless me if I know what a cogitation nut is; rummy old name, don't you think? but at any rate it has come loose so Jake posted over to borrow a left-hand monkey wrench with which to tighten It. It seems he can't get at It with an ordinary monkey wrench ; must have a left-hand one, I I hadn't such a thing about the place, and of course I told him so. I " 'Dunged unfortunate,' says Jake I excuse the adjective, ladies and he I stuck out his chin and massaged It I in a way that showed he was worried I more than he admitted. I " 'It will be all right, won't ltr said I I, trying to buck him up, and really I knowing nothing about it I " 'Well, It may be, and It may not I be,' said he. 'Lf we're lucky nothing I will come of It' I " 'And In case you're unlucky?" I I queried. I " 'Then the bottom will fall out of I the stove and the shack will burn down I maybe before I get back. We can't I leave It without a fij-6 In this weather, I you know." I "So seeing that old Jake was in t I bit of a mess I volunteered to come I over and borrow the necessary tooli from you. It took quite a weight off j his mind, I assure you." I Jack and Jean, as usual, were wlti I us at the time and from a corner where I he was out of the range of Spoofi I vision Jack was semaphoring me an I improvised hush signal. "Too bad the day Is so dull," Jack I said, looking out of our window In I the direction of Jake's homestead. I "Can't see a thing. His shack may be I burned by this time. Perhaps Jake I and Bella Donna are already on their I way here for shelter." I "Oh, surely not !" exclaimed Jean, j "Surely that would not happen!" j "Quite possible," her brother In- I slsted, with the firmness of one who Is I prepared for the worst "When tie I cogitation nut works loose you never I know what may happen. And the I worst of It Is we haven't a left-hand I wrench on the place." I "You haven't I" said Spoof, plainly I concerned, "I say, that's rather rot- I ten." I "Isn't It? Your best chance is I Burke. Burke has quite a layout of I tools, and, besides, he's an Ingenious I beggar. No doubt he will be able to I fix you up." Marjorie had already drawn a cup I of hot tea, and Spoof drank It while he stood. j "Ah, that's better," said he, as she I took the empty cup from his hand. I "Wonderful how a cup of tea bucks i I fellow up. Isn't It? Now I must get j along. Fancy old Jake on his back j under the stove holding that nut in I place with his fingers !" I "Or with Bella Donna's curling I tongs," Jack suggested. "Burke will I fix you all right," and we waved him I away. I It was one of those gray winter days, j and he faded out of sight in a few mo- I ments. I noticed that Jean's eyes I followed Spoof until the mist had en- j gulfed Mm. Then she turned quickly I to Jack and me. I "If there is nny danger, don't y" I think you should go to Jake's at once!" I she said. I This fool's errand may b I funny, but the result may t I serious. Who can tell? I (TO IS HI CONTINUED.) I |