The Long Portage Part 12

"No; we can only suppose that the conclusions the rescue party came to were correct. But all that we found relating to the week or two before the separation spoke of the courageous struggle that your brother made and his generosity in sending the others away."

She bent her head.

"That," she said quietly, "is only what one would have expected. He left a diary; you must come over and see it."

"I should like to, if it wouldn't be painful to you."

"No," she replied; "I shall be glad to show it to you."

She left him shortly after this and strolled out on to the terrace, thinking about him. The little she had seen of him had pleased her; he had earnest eyes and a resolute air, and she liked the men who lived in the open. He was direct, and perhaps a little rudimentary without being awkward, which was in his favor, for subtlety of any kind was distasteful to her. Still, in one respect, she was disappointed--he had in no way amplified Nasmyth's story, and she had expected to hear a little more of the expedition from him.

CHAPTER IX

LISLE GATHERS INFORMATION

Nasmyth's dinner was over and he lay, pipe in hand, in an easy-chair in his smoking-room, with Lisle lounging opposite him. They had been walking up partridges among the higher turnip fields all day, and now both were pleasantly tired and filled with languid good-humor. Nasmyth's house was old--it had been built out of the remains of a Border pele--and the room was paneled to the ceiling and very simply furnished. It had an ancient look and an ancient smell, and the few articles of plain oak furniture harmonized with it. The window stood wide open, and the fragrance of a grove of silver firs outside drifted in. The surroundings had their effect on Lisle, who had not been accustomed to dwellings of that kind.

"You have been here a fortnight and must have formed a few opinions about us," Nasmyth remarked at length. "You needn't be shy about expressing them, and I've no doubt there are things you'd like to ask."

"As a whole, my opinion's highly favorable," Lisle announced with a smile. "I'd be uncommonly hard to please if it weren't."

"That's flattering. But I'm not sure that I meant as a whole; I had a few particular instances in my mind. Bella Crestwick, for example; I'm curious to hear what you think of her. She seems quite favorably impressed with you."

"She's interesting," Lisle replied. "A type that's new to me; the latest development, isn't it? Anyway, I like her--whatever the admission's worth--though I must say that I found her rather startling at first.

She's honest, I think, and that counts for a good deal."

"I suppose you're not aware that she's desirably rich?"

"I wasn't. It's not a fact of any moment to me. Besides, I've a suspicion that it's Gladwyne's scalp she's after."

Nasmyth nodded.

"You're pretty shrewd. Though I've had much greater opportunities for observation, that idea has only lately occurred to me. Of course, in a general way, I shouldn't discuss my acquaintances in this casual fashion, but as you are likely to see a good deal of us there are things you'd better know."

"I'll explain my point of view," said Lisle, refilling his pipe. "You have seen something of the kind of life I've led. Half my time, I suppose, has been spent in primeval surroundings; the rest in contact with the latest efforts of a rather unfinished civilization. Well, what you have to show me here is vastly different. These old houses, your smoothed-down ways, are a revelation to me. The polish on some of your furniture has taken several hundred years to put on; that in my Victoria quarters smells of the factory, and the board walls of other hotels I've lived in rend into big cracks because they're fresh from the mill. I'm full of interest; everything's new to me. But so far my curiosity's impersonal; I'm taking no hand in anything."

His companion's face grew grave.

"The trouble is that you may not be able to avoid it later. You're here, and some part will probably be forced on you. However, as I said, I think you're right about Bella."

"But her money would be no great inducement to Gladwyne."

"That's not certain. Clarence has a way of squandering money, and you may as well understand that there's very little to be derived from agricultural property. George had his mother's money, but he left it to Millicent; Clarence got only the land. That's what made a match between them seem so desirable."

"Desirable!" Lisle broke out. "It's impossible! Not to be contemplated!"

"Yes," Nasmyth agreed quietly. "If necessary, it will have to be prevented. I was only stating popular opinion."

There was something curious in his tone and Lisle looked hard at him.

Their eyes met full for a moment and the thoughts of each were clear to the other.

"If anything must be done, it will fall to you," Nasmyth went on. "In this case it would be particularly invidious for me to interfere. But, if there had been n.o.body else, I'd have broken off the match."

Lisle made no comment, but there was comprehension and sympathy in his expression, and Nasmyth nodded.

"Yes," he acknowledged; "it's an open secret that I would have looked for nothing better than to marry Millicent Gladwyne." He paused with a slight flush creeping into his bronzed face. "For all that, I knew some years ago that I hadn't the faintest chance and never would have. I have her confidence and friendship; that has to be enough."

"I think it's a good deal," said Lisle.

There was silence for a minute or two, and then Lisle asked a question:

"How could a girl like Millicent Gladwyne ever contemplate the possibility of marrying Clarence?"

"It's puzzling to me. These things often are to outsiders. Still, Clarence is a handsome man, and I think George was in favor of the match, which would count with her. Then, in a way, she was always fond of Clarence, and now that she has the money and he's far from prospering on the land, the idea that she could set him firmly on his feet by sharing her possessions with him may prove tempting. It's very much the sort of thing that would appeal to her."

"You suggest that she isn't strongly attached to the man."

"I really believe she isn't; but, for all that, I'm sometimes afraid she'll end by marrying him. It's very probable that she suspects some of his faults, but I'm not sure they'd deter her. It would make her more compa.s.sionate, believing it was her duty to help him--that kind of thing's an old delusion. Still, to do the fellow justice, he hasn't of late shown much eagerness to profit by his opportunities."

Lisle mused for a few moments. It struck him that Nasmyth had described a very fine type of woman, which was quite in accordance with his own ideas of Miss Gladwyne.

"What led Gladwyne to cultivate Marple and the Crestwicks?" he asked.

"They're different from the rest of you."

"I can't say. It's a point I've wondered about, though Marple and his rather rowdy friends are prosperous. I can better see why they got hold of Clarence."

"I don't see it," responded Lisle. "Remember I'm an unsophisticated stranger in search of information. If they've means enough, can't they a.s.sociate with whom they like?"

Nasmyth smiled, but there was a trace of diffidence in his manner.

"In a way, you're right; but there are limits, more particularly in such a place as this. The counties, I'm sometimes thankful, don't keep pace with London. It's a little difficult to explain, but we're old-fashioned and possibly prejudiced here. Anyhow, we exercise a certain amount of caution in the choice of our friends."

"But Mrs. Gladwyne seems cordial to the people you object to, and one would imagine that she's the embodiment of your best traditions, a worthy representative of the old regime."

"Mrs. Gladwyne is a remarkably fine lady, but it's unfortunate that she's a little deaf and--it must be owned--not particularly intelligent. A good deal of what goes on escapes her. Besides, she has always idolized Clarence, and that would account for her not seeing his friends'

failings."

"It's curious that Gladwyne makes so much of that young Crestwick."

"I've wondered about it," Nasmyth confessed. "The lad's vicious--and I've an idea that the influence Clarence has over him isn't beneficial. In fact, I'm sorry for his sister. She has been given her head too young, but, in my opinion, the girl's the pick of a very indifferent bunch."

"But you haven't accounted for these people's desire to be on good terms with Gladwyne."

Nasmyth hesitated.