"So you want to get married, lad. Well, you're not the
first. But where, may I ask, will you take a wife, and what will you feed
her on?"
"I thought I would take up land, Angus. There's good
Crown land left in the township."
"Aye, you could take up land, but that's a far cry from
having a home and something to eat. And the lass ye have picked out, what
will she think of it?"
"She would think but little of it, I fear, but she's a
brave girl, Angus, and far above me. I cannot ask her until I have
something about me. I must start at once."
"You could start this instant and it might take five
years. You worked with me at the clearing; 'tis back-breaking work and I
wonder if it is worth it. Those who come after will profit when we are
worn out and forgotten. I would not go about it that way if it were me."
"How then?"
"Best see Andrew Murdoch. He is a clever man of
business. He buys farms cheap from foolish men like you who wear
themselves out by a year or two of chopping and give their places up just
when they are ready to produce. Have ye any money saved, Jamie?"
"Almost two hundred dollars."
"I can add one hundred to that. And the girl, has she
ought?"
"I would not ask her for any."
"And you might be right, but there are many things she
would need for the house and for herself. Best to talk it over."
Andrew Murdoch spent the winters at his home in
Kincardine. In this young country his house passed as a mansion. It sat
well back from the street on a little rise of ground where trees had been
planted that gave promise of a dignity to come. The brick house, of the
style known as Georgian, was square and well proportioned. There was a
small porch and a fanlight over the front door. Four sides of the roof met
at a small platform surrounded by an iron grille, and the many chimneys
showed that fireplaces were in use.
The front door opened on a dark hall from which stairs
led to the upper floor. The wood of the floor, the banister, and the trim
for doorways and walls was of the best, but darkly varnished. And while
the workmanship was excellent, for old country carpenters had shaped it
with unhurried hands, there was a chill air of gloomy dignity that was not
particularly welcoming to the nervous young man. A maid met Jim at the
door.
"Mr. Murdoch? Yes, he is in. If you will step inside I
will inform him. May I ask who it is, sir?"
Jim answered in a hushed voice and stood cap in hand.
Mr. Murdoch himself came down the hall to greet his former
employee.
"Ah, James McGregor. I have not seen you for a time. There
was a wound on the head, I believe; better now, I trust?"
"Yes, Mr. Murdoch, I'm fine now, thanks. I'm thinking
of a farm, sir. My brother Angus said I should see you."
"Well, well, it might be I could help you. Come back to my
office, man. We will look into it."
Jim followed Murdoch's long, straight back to a small
room, well lighted, bare of ornament, and completely foreign to the hushed
elegance of the rest of the house.
"Sit down, James; we will have a drink to start." The
frosty blue eyes lighted with a twinkle. "I was casting about for an
excuse for a dram. I never drink before noon unless there is business at
hand."
They sat over the brandy and Jim relaxed, the tenseness
flowing out of his limbs. "I plan to marry, Mr. Murdoch, and I want a
place of my own to take a wife. I have but little and I must make a
start."
"If it is the English girl who nursed you, then you are
a fortunate man, James; but frankly I wonder if the girl knows what life
in this bush country is like."
"I wonder too, and the fact is I have not asked her
yet. But I have a feeling sir, if you know what I mean, a feeling that she
will say yes."
"Ah well then, I can help you. However, there is little
that can be done until the spring. There is a good deal to choosing a
farm, James, that is not widely known. There are farms being cleared now
that will never be profitable. People will rush in and take up land, any
kind of land, hills or swamp or whatever, just so they have land. But I
think you know that you can trust me, James. See me in three months and we
will work out something profitable for us both. Another dram just to keep
out the chill?"
Jim wrote a letter to Toronto.
Dear Janet-i take pen and paper to tell you that i am
well and hope you are the same. i have found
employment and i am working for Frederick Bauman at his saw mill. There
are a lot of logs come in and very good timber. Some is pine and some is
maple which he will sell the lumber to the furniture factory in
Wingham. We have had a lot of cold weather and much snow but we can look
forward to spring because i saw a crow yesterday. i am not good at
writing but i hope you will write soon.
Yours affectly,
James H. McGregor
Janet fumed when she got the letter. "How can a man
with such a smooth tongue write a letter like that? Him and his crow. I
wonder what the H stands for - probably hopeless. I didn't know he had a'
middle name. And not a word of anything important. I could be his maiden
aunt!"
"That will make him think. I suppose I should have
mentioned that Baldy Winters has a wife and two children. Anyway, it will
take his mind off the logs, the pine, and the maple."
On Good Friday evening she opened the door to see an
uncertain giant standing, fur cap in hand. Before she could utter more
than a word of greeting he came straight to the point.
"Janet, before we say any more I will ask you what I
should have asked you long ago. Will you marry me?"
She flushed and looked at him silently, then took him
by the hand and led him inside. "Grand father, this man wants to marry me.
What do you say?"
Mr. Ellis rose from his chair, surprised. He took off
his glasses and regarded them both for a moment. "I think, Jannie, it
wouldn't much matter what I said, for you made up your mind about that
long ago. But you have my blessing, the both of you. I can see she has
been giving you a bad time. Jim. It's something we men have to endure from
time to time. But there are compensations, you know. Come now, we'll all
have a drink together to celebrate - and welcome to the family, Jim.