XXVI
WINNING BACK THE FARM
Oh, the magic of the campfire! No unkind feeling long withstands itsglow. For men to meet at the same campfire is to come closer, to havebetter understanding of each other, and to lay the foundations oflasting friendship. "He and I camped together once!" is enough toexplain all cordiality between the men most wide apart, and Woodcraftdays are days of memories happy, bright and lifelong.
To sit at the same camp fireside has always been a sacred bond, andthe scene of twenty years before was now renewed in the Raften woods,thanks to that campfire lit a month before--the sacred fire. How wellit had been named! William and Caleb were camped together in goodfellowship again, marred though it was with awkwardness as yet, butstill good fellowship.
Raften was a magistrate. He sent Sam with an order to the constableto come for the prisoner. Yan went to the house for provisions and tobring Mrs. Raften, and Guy went home with an astonishing account ofhis latest glorious doings. The tramp desperado was securely fastenedto a tree; Caleb was in the teepee lying down. Raften went in for afew minutes, and when he came out the tramp was gone. His bonds werecut, not slipped. How could he nave gotten away without help?
"Never mind," said Raften. "That three-fingered hand is aisy tofollow. Caleb, ain't that Bill Hennard?"
"I reckon."
The men had a long talk. Caleb told of the loss of his revolver--hewas still living in the house with the Pogues then--and of itsrecovery. They both remembered that Hennard was close by at the timeof the quarrel over the Horse-trade. There was much that explaineditself and much of mystery that remained.
But one thing was clear. Caleb had been tricked out of everything hehad in the world, for it was just a question of days now before Poguewould, in spite of Saryann, throw off all pretense and order Calebfrom the place to shift for himself.
Raften sat a long time thinking, then said:
"Caleb, you do exactly as Oi tell ye and ye'll get yer farrum back.First, Oi'll lend ye wan thousand dollars for wan week."
_A thousand dollars!!!_ Caleb's eyes opened, and what was next hedid not then learn, for the boys came back and interrupted, but laterthe old Trapper was fully instructed.
When Mrs. Raften heard of it she was thunderstruck. A thousand dollarsin Sanger was like one hundred thousand dollars in a big city. It wasuntold wealth, and Mrs. Raften fairly gasped.
"A thousand dollars, William! Why! isn't that a heavy strain to put onthe honesty of a man who thinks still that he has some claim on you?Is it safe to risk it?"
"Pooh!" said William. "Oi'm no money-lender, nor spring goslingnayther. Thayer's the money Oi'll lend him," and Raften produced aroll of counterfeit bills that he as magistrate had happened to havein temporary custody. "Thayer's maybe five hundred or six hundreddollars, but it's near enough."
Caleb, however, was allowed to think it real money, and fullyprepared, he called at his own--the Pogue house--the next day,knocked, and walked in.
"Good morning, father," said Saryann, for she had some decency andkindness.
"What do you want here?" said Dick savagely; "bad enough to have youon the place, without forcing yerself on us day and night."
"Hush now, Dick; you forget--"
"Forget--I don't forget nothin'," retorted Dick, interrupting hiswife. "He had to help with the chores an' work, an' he don't do athing and expects to live on me."
"Oh, well, you won't have me long to bother you," said Caleb sadly,as he tottered to a chair. His face was white and he looked sick andshaky.
"What's the matter, father?"
"Oh, I'm pretty bad. I won't last much longer You'll be quit o' mebefore many days."
"Big loss!" grumbled Dick.
"I--I give you my farm an' everything I had--"
"Oh, shut up. I'm sick of hearing about it."
"At least--'most--everything. I--I--I--didn't say nothing about alittle wad o'--o'--bills I had stored away. I--I--" and the old mantrembled violently--"I'm so cold."
"Dick, do make a fire," said his wife.
"I won't do no sich fool trick. It's roastin' hot now."
"'Tain't much," went on the trembling old man, "only fif--fif--teenhundred--dollars. I got it here now," and he drew out the roll ofgreenbacks.
_FIFTEEN HUNDRED DOLLARS!_ Twice as much as the whole farm andstock were worth! Dick's eyes fairly popped out, and Caleb was carefulto show also the handle of the white revolver.
"Why, father," exclaimed Saryann, "you are ill: Let me go get you somebrandy. Dick, make a fire. Father is cold as ice."
"Yes--please--fire--I'm all of--a--tremble--with--cold."
Dick rushed around now and soon the big fire place was filled withblaze and the room unpleasantly warm.
"Here, father, have some brandy and water," said Dick, in a verydifferent tone. "Would you like a little quinine?"
"No, no--I'm better now; but I was saying--I only got a few days tolive, an' having no legal kin--this here wad'd go to the gover'ment,but I spoke to the lawyer, an' all I need do--is--add--a word to thedeed o' gift--for the farm--to include this--an' it's very right youshould have it, too." Old Caleb shook from head to foot and coughedterribly.
"Oh, father, let me send for the doctor," pleaded Saryann, and Dickadded feebly, "Yes, father, let me go for the doctor."
"No, no; never mind. It don't matter. I'll be better off soon. Haveyou the deed o' gift here?"
"Oh, yes, Dick has it in his chest." Dick ran to get the deed, forthese were the days before registration in Canada; possession of thedeed was possession of the farm, and to lose the deed was to lose theland.
The old man tremblingly fumbled over the money, seeming to countit--"Yes--just--fif-teen hun'erd," as Dick came clumping down theladder with the deed.
"Have you got a--pen--and ink--"
Dick went for the dried-up ink bottle while Saryann hunted for_the_ pen. Caleb's hand trembled violently as he took theparchment, glanced carefully over it--yes, this was it--the thing thathad made him a despised pauper. He glanced around quickly. Dick andSaryann were at the other end of the room. He rose, took one stepforward and stuffed the deed into the blazing fire. Holding hisrevolver in his right hand and the poker in the left, he stood erectand firm, all sign of weakness gone; his eyes were ablaze, and withvoice of stern command he hissed "_Stand back!_" And pointed thepistol as he saw Dick rushing to rescue the deed. In a few seconds itwas wholly consumed, and with that, as all knew, the last claim of thePogues on the property, for Caleb's own possessory was safe in a vaultat Downey's.
"Now," thundered Caleb, "you dirty paupers, get out of my house! Getoff my land, and don't you dare touch a thing belonging to me."
He raised his voice in a long "halloo" and rapped three times on thetable. Steps were heard outside. Then in came Raften with two men.
"Magistrate Raften, clear my house of them interlopers, if ye please."
Caleb gave them a few minutes to gather up their own clothes, thenthey set out on foot for Downey's, wild with helpless rage, pennilesswanderers in the world, as they had meant to leave old Caleb.
Now he was in possession of his own again, once more comfortably"fixed." After the men had had their rough congratulations anduproarious laughter over the success of the trick, Raften led up tothe question of money, then left a blank, wondering what Caleb woulddo. The good old soul pulled out the wad.
"There it is, Bill. I hain't even counted it, and a thousand timesobliged. If ever you need a friend, call on me."
Raften chuckled, counted the greenbacks and said "All right!" and tothis day Caleb doesn't know that the fortune he held in his hand thatday was nothing but a lot of worthless paper.
A week later, as the old Trapper sat alone getting his evening meal,there was a light rap at the door.
"Come in."
A woman entered. Turk had sprung up growling, but now wagged his tail,and when she lifted a veil Caleb recognized Saryann.
"What do you want?" he demanded savagely.
"'Tw
asn't my doing, father; you know it wasn't; and now he's left mefor good." She told him her sorrowful story briefly. Dick had notcourted Saryann, but the farm, and now that that was gone he had nofurther use for her. He had been leading a bad life, "far worse thanany one knew," and now he had plainly told her he was done with her.
Caleb's hot anger never lasted more than five minutes. He must havefelt that her story was true, for the order of former days wasreestablished, and with Saryann for housekeeper the old man had acomfortable home to the end of his days.
Pogue disappeared; folks say he went to the States. The three-fingeredtramp never turned up again, and about this time the serious robberiesin the region ceased. Three years afterward they learned that twoburglars had been shot while escaping from an American penitentiary.One of them was undoubtedly Dick Pogue, and the other was described asa big dark man with three fingers on the right hand.
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