“mr. rayner is going to the north?” questioned miss la farge.
“yes, he is going to canada—and so am i, as early as possible. you will not mind accompanying me, babette.”
“mind! i shall be more than glad to get back to the silent north. this noisy london gets on my nerves, and the smell of the streets is horrible. it is petrol everywhere. the place reeks of it, and after the aromatic spruce woods the air here is like poison. i shall rejoice to go, and to hear the bell of the moose again in place of hideous motor horns.”
she looked at joy, as she spoke, and there was a question in her eyes. joy nodded.
“yes, i will tell you why we go. my cousin adrian has just asked me to marry him—”
“indeed! but i am not surprised. the signs of the weather have been unmistakable for a little time. and of course he does not know of dick bracknell!”
“but he does! he has known all the time. he even stooped to use his knowledge so as to bring pressure upon me.”
“how shameful!”
[155]
“yes! but that is of small moment. don’t you see the significance of the fact that he had knowledge of my marriage? he was aware of it all the time, and as you know he made love to me. even at north star——”
“yes! yes! but you do not think that he fired the shot which——”
“i do not know what to think! i am going to find out. of one thing i am sure, and that is that cousin adrian is afraid of what corporal bracknell may discover. and corporal bracknell has disappeared. he may have learned much that i want to know, and something may have befallen him. he may even be dead, but if he is alive we must find him before cousin adrian does. do you understand?”
“yes, i think i do! you have grown afraid of what mr. rayner may do.”
“i do not trust him. i cannot after—” she broke off. “i am my own mistress now. there is no need that i should consult any one as to my comings and goings. we will go down to the steamship offices at once. we will not waste even a moment.”
an hour later they entered the office of a famous shipping company in cockspur street, and there inquired for a boat sailing for the dominion.
“there is the argonaut. she sails from liverpool in three days. i believe there are vacancies.” the clerk turned away and presently came back with a list in his hand.
“the accommodation is limited, i find. there are only a couple of cabins-de-luxe——”
“we will take them!” said joy promptly.
[156]
“thank you! what names, miss?”
the names were given, and within ten minutes the transaction was completed, and joy left the office with the tickets in her handbag. just as her car started a taxi approached from the opposite direction, almost collided with it, and it was only by a decidedly dangerous swerve that an accident was averted. the taxi-driver glanced round at his passenger as if expecting a rebuke, but to his relief the man was leaning far back in the corner as if anxious to avoid observation. the vehicle drew up at the shipping offices, and the passenger left the taxi and entered the offices. he was adrian rayner.
the clerk who had completed joy’s business attended to him and listened to his request.
“sorry, sir! the last two cabins on the argonaut have just been taken. there isn’t a vacant berth in the ship.”
rayner considered. he had not the slightest doubt that joy gargrave and her foster-sister had taken those cabins, for he had seen them leaving the offices. a dark frown came on his face, which the clerk misinterpreted for disappointment. an idea occurred to him.
“you are in a hurry, sir?” he inquired
“yes,” answered rayner shortly.
“well, sir, if i may venture to suggest it to you, the maple leaf sails at six o’clock from southampton. she is not a full boat, and if there is a train you might yet catch her.”
“look at the time table, quick!” was the reply. the clerk obeyed. “there is a train in three quarters[157] of an hour, sir. it is a slow train, but it is due in southampton five and twenty minutes before sailing time. you should be able to do it easily, sir.”
“then i’ll book a cabin, please. as quick as you can. i’ve some luggage to pack.”
a few minutes later he left the office, and raced to his chambers, where he kept the taxi waiting whilst he packed a small portmanteau. then he rang up sir joseph rayner at the office. it was the head clerk’s voice that replied.
“no, mr. adrian, sir joseph is out. he will not return today. any message, sir?”
“yes. let him know somehow that i’m going to america this evening. tell him i will write, and—er—benson—remember that this piece of news is strictly private.”
“yes, mr. adrian.”
he hung up the receiver, lit a cigar, and five minutes after was on his way to waterloo.
.......
“what are you going to do, joy, when we land?” as she asked the question, miss la farge turned from contemplating the greyness of the winter seascape and looked at her foster-sister.
“i am going straight through to regina to find out if anything has been heard of roger bracknell. if they have no news of him at the barracks, then we will go north and ourselves try and learn what has befallen him. he may have news for me, as i certainly have news for him.”
[158]
“do you mean that we shall set out to search for him?”
“just that, babette. we know that he was going up the river, and i have a fancy he was following a trail which i myself noticed. you and i know the country well, and with the indian george, we could look for him. at least we may learn something about him.”
“yes,” replied babette thoughtfully. “and if we find him, as you say, he may have news. you may learn what really happened to your hus——”
“please! please, babette. don’t call dick bracknell that. i can’t bear to think that i am bound to him at all.”
“no, and if he is dead, you are released! what do you really think, joy?”
“i am in doubt. i have always been in doubt since that night. it was so strange that he should disappear. sometimes i hope that——” she stopped, and after a pause continued, “it seems too dreadful a thing to say, but i cannot help feeling it. dick bracknell behaved shamefully to me. apart from all that has happened since, i can never forgive the humiliation of my marriage. it is the simple truth that i should be glad to know that i was free, even if it were by dick’s death. but i cannot feel that he is dead. something tells me that he is alive. that we shall yet meet—”
“i devoutly hope not,” broke in babette fervently, “for if we do i shall be tempted to—to—”
“to what?” asked joy sharply.
“to shoot him myself,” answered the other grimly.
[159]
“babette!”
“oh, you need not look so shocked,” continued babette. “you and i have lived in the north, and we know that justice does not always follow the forms of law. and what is it that man kipling says, ‘there’s never a law of god or man runs north of fifty-three.’ we’re north of fifty-three at north star, and a law unto ourselves. if dick bracknell is still alive, and came worrying you, i think that i could—”
“babette, you must not say it.”
“very well, i will not. but all the same i feel that i could, for the man is worthless, mere vermin like the wolves in the north. and that woman lady alcombe, of whom you told me—”
“she is dead! i learned that in england. she was killed in a motor accident.”
“it was too merciful an end for her!” said babette quickly. “she ought to have lived to feel remorse gnawing at her heart day by day and hour by hour—”
“lady alcombe was not the kind of woman to suffer that way,” said joy slowly. “she had no heart.... but here comes the rain. we shall have to go below.”
nine days later joy gargrave walked across the snow to the headquarters of the mounted police at regina, and asked, to see the commissioner. he, as it appeared, was absent, and the only official immediately available was an inspector, a pleasant soldier-like man in the early thirties. to him she addressed her question.
[160]
“can you tell me anything as to the whereabouts of corporal bracknell?”
the inspector looked up from her card, and flashed a keen glance at her, then shook his head.
“i am sorry, miss gargrave. we should be glad of news of bracknell ourselves. he went on a journey several weeks ago, and a patrol that has come through the district where he was likely to be has heard nothing of him, though a sled was found which was unquestionably his. there were the bones of dogs also, so that things look rather black. the timber-wolves may have got him. reports from two or three districts state they have been very savage this winter.”
joy’s face went white, but she kept herself in hand.
“still i suppose there is a possibility that he may have escaped?”
“a bare possibility,” answered the inspector in a voice that betrayed he had little hope. then he asked suddenly, “i wonder why you wish to find him, miss gargrave?”
joy flushed at the question which to her seemed to border on impertinence.
“it is a private matter,” she answered shortly.
“please do not be offended, miss gargrave. i had a reason for asking. you are the second person to make inquiry about corporal bracknell this week.”
“indeed?” said joy, growing suddenly alert.
“yes, a gentleman came here with the same question four days ago.”
[161]
“did you see him? would you mind telling me what he was like?”
the inspector laughed. “there is no reason why i should not, as it is not a police matter. i can do better than give you his description. i can give you his name, for i have his card somewhere.” he fumbled among some papers on the desk, and in a moment found what he sought. “here it is! adrian rayner, albany chambers, london.”
“adrian rayner!”
as joy echoed the name, the inspector glanced at her keenly. “you knew him?”
“yes,” she replied slowly. “he is my cousin—”
“indeed!” said the officer politely, and then added, “mr. rayner was anxious to learn where corporal bracknell was, but on learning that bracknell was missing, he did not seem greatly perturbed. i gathered that mr. rayner was a lawyer and that it was on legal business that he wished to see bracknell.”
to joy it seemed as if the inspector was openly fishing for information, and for one brief moment she hesitated. should she take him into her confidence, and tell him all? she was strongly tempted to do so, but in the end decided against it.
“yes,” she said, rising from her chair, “he is a lawyer, and as corporal bracknell’s cousin has been killed in england, it is possible that legal business had brought him here. i am greatly obliged to you, inspector graham.” she paused, and then added, “i have a little request to make. if you[162] receive any news of corporal bracknell will you send it to me at north star?”
“yes,” answered the inspector. “but i am afraid you will be some time in receiving it.” he smiled. “as you know, it is something more than a crow’s flight from here to your home.”
“i was thinking of a special courier,” said joy quickly. “there will be men to be found, and the expense is nothing to me.”
“very well,” answered the inspector, “i will see that you get whatever news reaches us at the earliest moment! we of the force are too much indebted to your late father and yourself to refuse a trifling request of that kind. there is nothing else that i can do for you, miss gargrave?”
again joy hesitated. should she tell him what she thought was the real object of adrian rayner’s journey? sitting there in that quiet room, she suddenly felt that her suspicions would sound ridiculous if put into words. after all, she had so very little to go upon.
“thank you! there is nothing.”
a moment later, inspector graham stood at his window watching her cross the snow. he smiled a little to himself.
“um!” he muttered, “if bracknell is still alive he is in the way of being a lucky fellow.”
ten minutes later joy found miss la farge in their room at the hotel.
“babette,” she said, “we shall have to hurry. adrian rayner is already here. he is four days ahead of us. we must leave regina within an hour.”
[163]
“yes,” answered her foster-sister, “as mr. rayner is evidently in a hurry, we must hurry also. is there any news of corporal bracknell?”
“none, except that his sled has been found.”
“ah! that is bad, very bad!”
“you must not think that, babette,” cried joy a little wildly. “we must search. i will not give up hope. i will find him.”
her voice quivered and broke, and suddenly she buried her face in her hands. miss la farge looked at her for a moment with eyes brimming with sympathy. then she took a step forward and placed her hand on her foster-sister’s shoulder.
“joy, my dear, what is the corporal to you?”
“to me,” joy looked up with confusion in her bearing. “how can he be anything to me? how can any man——”
“yet if we do not find him, it will be very bitter?”
“as bitter as death!” answered joy, hiding her face once more.
“then we must certainly find him,” answered miss la farge gravely. “and by way of a start, i will talk to the clerk about trains.”
she turned and passed from the room, leaving her foster-sister in tears. after a little time joy looked up. an absent gaze came in her tear-stained eyes.
“if i only knew!” she whispered to herself, “if i only knew!”
