The Woman from Outside

by Hulbert Footner

  EPILOGUE

  In a bare and spotless company-room in headquarters in Regina eightuneasy troopers in fatigue uniform were waiting. Down one side of theroom a row of tall windows looked out on the brown parade-ground, andbeyond the buildings on the other side they could see a longTranscontinental train slowly gathering way up the westward grade.

  "Hey, boys!" cried one. "How'd you like to be aboard her with yourshoulder-straps and spurs?"

  They cast unfriendly glances at the speaker and snorted.

  "Don't try to be an ass, Carter," said one. "It doesn't require theeffort."

  They evinced their nervousness in characteristic ways. Several werepolishing bits of brass already dazzling; one sat voraciously chewinggum and staring into vacancy; one paced up and down like a caged animal;another tried to pick a quarrel with his mates, and the eighth, SergeantStonor--the hero of Swan River they called him when they wished to annoyhim--sat in a corner writing a letter.

  To the eight entered a hardened sergeant-major, purpled-jowled andsoldierly. All eight pairs of eyes sprang to his face in a kind of agonyof suspense. He twirled his moustache and a wicked, dancing lightappeared in his little blue eyes.

  "You're a nice set of duffers!" he rasped. "Blockheads all eight of you.Why they ever sent you down beats me. I've seen some rum lots, but neveryour equal. Flunked, every man of you!"

  The eight pairs of eyes were cast down. Nobody said anything. Each wasthinking: "So that dream is over. I mustn't let anything on before theothers": those who were polishing brass gave an extra twirl to thechamois.

  Stonor, suddenly suspicious, narrowly searched the sergeant-major'sface. "Fellows, he's joshing!" he cried. "It isn't possible that everyone of us has flunked! It isn't reasonable!"

  The sergeant-major roared with laughter. "Wonderful penetration,Sherlock! When I saw your faces I couldn't help it. You were asking forit. All passed! That's straight. Congrats!" He passed on down thecorridor.

  There was a silence in the company-room. They looked shyly at each otherto see how the news was being taken. Each felt a sudden warmth of hearttowards all his mates. All of them displayed an elaborate and perfectlytransparent assumption of indifference. Stonor added a postscript to hisletter, and sedately folded it.

  Then speech came, at first softly. "Damn old Huggins, anyway. Almostgave me heart-failure!... Wot t'hell, Bill! Poor old Hugs, it was hislast chance. Sure, we'll have him where we want him now.... Think ofbeing able to call Hugs down!... Lordy, Lordy, am I awake!"

  Suddenly the unnatural tension broke, and a long-limbed trooper jumpedto his feet with his arms in the air. "Boys! Are you dumb! We've passed!We've got the straps! All together now, Mumbo-Jumbo!"

  They marched around the room with their hands on each other's shoulders,singing:

  "For I've got rings on my fingers And bells on my toes; Elephants to ride upon----"

  In a little house in Vancouver, embowered in such greenery as only themild, moist airs of Puget Sound can produce, a young woman sat in herdrawing-room regarding a letter she had just read with a highlydissatisfied air. It was a pretty little room, not rich nor fussy, butexpressing the charm of an individual woman no less than the clothes shewore.

  To the mistress entered the maid, to wit, a matronly Indian woman withan intelligent face. She looked from her mistress' face to the letter,and back to her mistress again. When the latter made no offer to speakshe said, for she was a privileged person:

  "You hear from Stonor?"

  Clare nodded.

  "He not pass his 'xamination, I guess?"

  "Certainly he has passed!" said Clare sharply. "If anybody can passtheir examinations he can."

  "Why you look so sorry then?"

  "Oh--nothing. I didn't expect him to write it. A five-word postscript atthe end of a matter-of-fact letter."

  "Maybe he couldn't get leave."

  "He said he'd get leave if he passed."

  "Maybe he comin' anyhow."

  "He never says a word about coming."

  "You ask him to come?"

  "Of course not!"

  "Don't you want him come?"

  "I don't know whether I do or not."

  Mary looked perplexed.

  Clare burst out, "I can't ask him. He'd feel obliged to come. A man--manlike that anyway, would feel after what we've been through together thatI had a claim on him. Well, I don't want him to come out of a sense ofduty. Don't you understand?"

  Mary shook her head. "If I want something I ask for it."

  "It's not so simple as all that!"

  "Maybe he think he not wanted here."

  "A man's supposed to take that chance."

  "Awful long way to come on a chance," said Mary. "Maybe I write to him."

  Clare jumped up. "Don't you dare!" she cried. "If I thought for amoment--if I thought he had been _brought_, I should be perfectlyhateful to him. I couldn't help myself--Is that a motor at the gate?"

  "Yes, Miss, a taxi-cab."

  "Stopping here?"

  "Yes, Miss,"--with absolute calm: "Stonor is gettin' out."

  "What!--Oh, Mary!--It can't be!--It is!"

  A bell rang.

  "Oh, Mary! What shall I do? Don't go to the door! Let him wait a minute.Let me think what I must do. Let me get upstairs!"

  * * * * *

  Stonor got up and sat down, and got up again. He walked to the windowand back to the door. He listened for sounds in the house, and then wentback to his chair again. He heard a sound overhead and sprang to thedoor once more. He saw her on the stairs, and retreated back into theroom. She came down with maddening deliberation, step by step. She didnot look through the door, but paused a second to straighten a picturethat hung askew on the wall. Stonor's heart was beating like atrip-hammer.

  She came into the room smiling in friendly fashion with a little gush ofspeech--but her eyes did not quite meet his.

  "Well, Martin! Congratulations! I just got your letter this morning. Ididn't expect you to follow so soon. So it's Inspector Stonor now, eh?Very becoming uniform, sir! Was the examination difficult? You must tellme all about it. I suppose you are just off the train. What kind of atrip did you have? Sit down."

  He was a little flabbergasted by her easy flow of speech. "I don't wantto sit down," he muttered huskily. He was staring at her from a whiteface.

  She sat; glanced out of the window, glanced here and there about theroom, and rattled on: "Haven't we got a jolly little place here? But Iexpect we'll be ordered on directly. Mary and I were talking about youthe moment you rang the bell. Mary is so good to me, but her heart isalready turning to Fort Enterprise and her children, I'm afraid."

  He found his tongue at last. "Clare, don't!" he cried brokenly. "Ididn't come eight hundred miles to hear you make parlour conversation.What's the matter? What have I done? If you've changed towards me tellme so plainly, and let me get out. I can't stand this!"

  Panic seized her. "I must see about lunch. Excuse me just a moment," shesaid, making for the door.

  He caught her as she tried to pass. "Damn lunch! Look me in the eye,woman!"

  She relaxed. Her eyes crept imploringly up to his. "Bear!" shewhispered. "You might at least have given me a moment's respite!--Oh, Ilove you! I love you! I love you!"

  THE END

  [Transcriber's Note: The following changes have been made from theoriginal text:

  Pg. 27: heart-strings --> heartstrings (... plucked at his heartstrings with a ...) Pg. 44: strain ... --> strain.... (I've been under a strain....) Pg. 54: bambye --> bam-bye (... but bam-bye he rise up again ...) Pg. 85: storeroom --> store-room (... a work-room and store-room.) Pg. 85: Snow-shoes --> Snowshoes (Snowshoes, roughly-fashioned fur garments ...) Pg. 105: backwater --> back-water (... out of the back-water alongshore ...) Pg. 105: along-shore --> alongshore (... out of the back-water alongshore ...) Pg. 133: redskin --> red-skin
(Some red-skin mumbo-jumbo.) Pg. 172: horseflesh --> horse-flesh (... horse-flesh, fresh into the bargain.) Pg. 174: singlehanded --> single-handed (... brave him single-handed ...) Pg. 219: get's --> gets (And if she gets a knife ...) Pg. 256: headwaters --> head-waters (... on the head-waters of the Stanley River ...) Pg. 260: downstream --> down-stream (... travelled with them down-stream ...) Pg. 267: hunk --> hung (... picture that hung askew ...)]