\"There’splentytotellaboutCanada,\"hesaid,\"butnotnow。Whatstartedme?Oh,democracy。Yes,itwasyouthatbeganit。
Democracy?Afterall,itisworthwhilethatthepeoplewhoareonedaytofillthiswidelandshouldbetrulydemocratic,trulyfree,andtrulygreat。\"
Oncemorethelightbegantoburninhiseyesandinhisface。
\"Ah,tohaveahandinthat!\"
\"Andyou,\"shesaidinalowvoice,\"youwithallthatinyou,areonlyapreacher。\"
\"Amissionary,\"hecorrected。
\"Well,amissionary。Onlyamissionary。\"
Disappointmentandscornwerealltooevidentinhervoice。
\"ONLYamissionary。Ah,ifIcouldonlybeone。Amissionary!
Withamissionandamessagetomypeople!IfonlyIhadthegiftoftongues,offlaming,burning,illuminatingspeech,ofheart—
compellingspeech!Totellmypeoplehowtomakethiscountrytrulygreatandtrulyfree,howtokeepitfreefromthesordidthings,thecruelthings,theunjust,theunclean,theloathsomethingsthathavedebasedanddegradedtheoldernations,thataredebasinganddegradingevenyouryoung,greatnation。Ah,tobeamissionarywithatongueoffire,withamessageoflight!A
missionarytomypeopletohelpthemtohighandworthyliving,tohelpthemtoGod!ONLYamissionary!Whatwouldyouhaveme?A
money—maker?\"
Heturnedswiftlyuponher,amagnetic,compellingpersonality。
Fromthefuriousscorninhisvoiceandinhisflamingfaceshevisiblyshrank,almostasifhehadstruckher。
\"No!\"shebreathed。\"Nothingelse。Onlyamissionary。\"
Silentshestood,asifstillunderthespellofhiswords,hereyesdevouringhisface。
\"Howyourmotherwouldhavelovedyou,wouldhavebeenproudofyou,\"shesaidinalowtone。\"Is——istherenooneelseto——torejoiceinyou?\"sheaskedshyly,buteagerly。
Helaughedaloud。\"There’sdad,dearolddad。\"
\"Andnooneelse?\"Stillwithshy,eagereyessheheldhim。
\"Oh,heaps,\"hecried,stilllaughing。
Shesmileduponhim,aslightlyuncertainsmile,andyetasifhisanswersomehowsatisfiedher。
\"Good—bye,\"shesaidimpulsively,offeringherhand。
\"Butyouarenotgoing!You’restayingafewdays!\"hegasped。
\"No,we’regoing。We’regoingrightaway。Goodbye,\"shesaid。\"I
don’twantthoseotherstosee。Goodbye。Oh,it’sbeenawonderfulmorning!And,——and——afriendisawonderfuldiscovery。\"
Herhandheldhisinastrong,warmgrasp,buthereyessearchedhisfaceasifseekingsomethingshegreatlydesired。
\"Good—bye。Iamsorryyouaregoing,\"hesaid,simply。\"Iwanttoknowyoubetter。\"
\"Doyou?\"shecried,withasuddeneagernessinhervoiceandmanner。Then,\"No。Youwouldbedisappointed。Iamnotofyourworld。Butyoushallseemeagain,\"sheadded,asiftakinganewresolve。\"Wearecomingbackonabighunt,andyouandyourfatheraretojoinus。Won’tyou?\"
\"Dadsaidweshould,\"saidtheyouth,smilingattheremembrance。
\"Andyou?\"shesaid,withatouchofimpatience。
\"Ifthingscansoarrangethemselves——mywork,Imean,anddad’s。\"
\"But,doyouwantto?Doyoureallywantto?\"sheasked。\"IwishIknew。Ihatenottounderstandpeople。Youarehardtoknow。I
don’tknowyou。Butyouwillcome?\"
\"Ithinkso,\"saidtheyoungman。\"Ofcourseafellow’sworkcomesfirst,youknow。\"
\"Work?\"shecried。\"Yourwork?Oh,yourmissionarywork。Oh,yes,yes。Ishouldliketoseeyouatit。Come,letusgo。\"
Mr。CornwallBrandtheyfoundinafeverofimpatience。Hehadthetripscheduledtoatimetable,andhehatedtobeforcedtochangehisplans。HisimpatienceshoweditselfinsnappycommandsandinquiriestohisIndianguides,who,however,merelygruntedreplies。Theyknewtheirjobanddiditwithoutcommandoradvice,andwithcompleteindifferencetoanythingthewhitemanmighthavetosay。ToPaulatheonlychangeinhismannerwasanexcessofpoliteness。
Herfather,however,metherwithremonstrances。
\"Why,Paula,mydear,youhavekeptuswaiting。\"
\"What’stherush,pater?\"sheenquired,coolly。
\"Why,mydear,wearealreadybehindourschedule,andyouknowCornwallhatesthat,\"hesaidinalowvoice。
\"Cornwall!\"saidPaula,inaloudvoiceofunmistakableilltemper。
\"DoesCornwallrunthisoutfit?\"
\"MydearPaula!\"againremonstratedherfather。
Sheturnedtohimimpatiently,withanangrywordatherlips,caughtuponBarry’sfacealookofsurprise,pausedmidwayinherpassion,thenmovedslowlytowardhim。
\"Well,\"sheasked,inaneven,coldvoice,\"whatdoyouthinkaboutit?Andanyway,\"shedroppedhervoicesothatnoneheardbuthimself,\"whyshouldyouhaltme?Whoareyou,togivemepausethisway?\"
\"Onlyamissionary,\"heanswered,inanequallylowtone,butwithasmilegentle,almostwistfulonhisface。
Aswithaflashthewrathfulcloudvanished。
\"Amissionary,\"sherepliedsoftly。\"GodknowsIneedone。\"
\"Youdo,\"hesaidemphatically,andstillhesmiled。
\"Come,Paula,\"calledCornwallBrand。\"Weareallwaiting。\"
Herfacehardenedathiswords。
\"Good—bye,\"shesaidtoBarry。\"Iamcomingbackagainto——toyourwonderfulCanada。\"
\"Ofcourseyouare,\"saidBarry,heartily。\"Theyalldo。\"
Hewentwithhertothecanoe,steadiedherasshetookherplace,andstoodwatchingtillthebendintherivershutthemfromview。
\"Nicepeople,\"saidhisfather。\"Veryfine,jollygirl。\"
\"Yes,isn’tshe?\"repliedhisson。
\"Handsome,too,\"saidhisfather,glancingkeenlyathim。
\"Isshe?Yes,Ithinkso。Yes,indeed,very,\"headded,asifponderingthematter。\"Whendowemove,dad?\"
Alookofreliefcrossedthefather’sface。
\"Thisafternoon,Ithink。Wehaveonlyafewdaysnow。WeshallrunupBuffaloCreekintotheFoothillsforsometrout。Itwillbealittlestiff,butyouarefitenoughnow,aren’tyou,Barry?\"
Hisvoicewastingedwithanxiety。
\"Fitforanything,dad,thankstoyou。\"
\"Nottome,Barry。Toyourselflargely。\"
\"No,\"saidtheboy,throwinghisarmroundhisfather’sshoulder,\"thankstoyou,dearolddad,——andtoGod。\"
CHAPTERII
ONTHEREDPINETRAIL
OntheRedPinetrailtwomenweredrivinginabuckboarddrawnbyapairofhalf—brokenpintobronchos。Theoutfitwasaratherramshackleaffair,andthedriverwaslikehisoutfit。StewartDuffwasarancher,oncea\"remittanceman,\"butsincehismarriagethreeyearsagohehadlearnedself—relianceandwasdisciplininghimselfinself—restraint。Abig,leanmanhewas,histhickshouldersandlarge,hairymuscularhandssuggestinggreatphysicalstrength,hisswarthyface,heavyfeatures,coarseblackhair,keendarkeyes,deepsetundershaggybrows,suggestingforceofcharacterwithapossibilityofbrutalityinpassion。Yetwhenhesmiledhisheavyfacewasnotunkindly,indeedthesmilegaveitakindofruggedattractiveness。Hewaspasthisfirstyouth,andonhisfacewerethemarksofthestormywaybywhichhehadcome。
Hedrovehisjibingbronchoswithsteadyhands。Nolighttouchwashisuponthereins,andthebronchos’wildplungingmetwithacheckfromthosemuscularhandsofsuchironrigidityastoflingthembackhelplessandamazedupontheirhocks。
Hiscompanionwashisoppositeinphysicalappearance,andinthosefeaturesandlinesthatsounmistakablyrevealthenatureandcharacterwithin。Shortandstout,inclinedindeedtofat,tohisgreatdistress,histhick—setfigureindicatedstrengthwithoutagility,soliditywithoutresilience。Hehadapleasant,openface,withakindly,twinklingblueeyethatgoeswithamerryheart,withagenial,sunnysoul。Buttherewasintheblueeyeandintheopenface,forallthetwinklesandthesmiles,acertainalertshrewdnessthatproclaimedthekeenmanofbusiness,andinthecleancutlipslaythesuggestionofresolutestrength。
Alikablemanhewas,withaninfinitecapacityforhumour,butwithabedrockofunyieldingdeterminationinhimthatalwayssurprisedthosewhojudgedhimlightly。
Themenwerefriends,andhadbeencomradesmoreorlessduringthosepioneerdaysthatfollowedtheirarrivalinthecountryfromScotlandsomedozenyearsago。Oftentheyhadfallenoutwitheachother,forDuffwasstormyoftemperandhadahabitoflettinghimselfswingoutuponitsgustsofpassion,recklessofconsequences;buthewasevertheonetoofferamendsandtoseekrenewalofgoodrelations。Hehadfewfriends,andsoheclungthemorecloselytothosehehad。Atsuchtimestheotherwouldwaitincool,good—temperedbutdeterminedaloofnessforhisfriend’sreturn。
\"Youcanchewyourcudtillyou’recoolagain,\"hewouldsaywhentheoutbreakwouldarise。Butinvariablytheirdifferenceswerecomposedandtheirfriendshipremainedunbroken。
Themensatinthebuckboard,leaningforwardwithhunchedshoulders,swayingeasilytothepitchingofthevehicleasitrattledalongthetrailwhich,especiallywhereitpassedovertheroundtoppedridges,wasthicklystrewnwithstones。Beforethem,nowonthetrailandnowrangingwideovertheprairie,ranabeautifulblackandwhiteEnglishsetter。
\"Greatdogthat,Sandy,\"saidDuff。\"Icouldhavehadadozenbirdsthisafternoon。Awonderfulnose,andsteadyasarock。\"
\"Agooddog,Stewart,\"assentedSandy,butwithslightinterest。
\"Thereain’tanotherlikehiminthiswesterncountry,\"saidtheownerofthedogwithemphasis。
\"Oh,Idon’tknowaboutthat。Therearesomeverygooddogsaroundhere,Stewart,\"repliedSandylightly。
\"ButIknow。Andthat’swhyI’msayingthereain’thislikeinthiswesterncountry,andthat’sastrueasyournameisSandyBayne。\"
\"Well,mynameisSandyBayne,allright,buthowdidhecomeoutattheCalgarytrials?\"
\"Aw,thosedamnedgawks!Theydon’tknowagooddogfromahe—
goat!Theydon’tknowwhatadogisfor,orhowtousehim。\"
\"Oh,now,Stewart,\"saidSandy,\"IguessWillocksknowsadogwhenheseesone。\"
\"Willocks!\"saidhisfriendwithscorn。\"There’swhereyou’rewrong。DoyouknowwhyhecutSlipperoutoftheBlueRibbon?
Becausehewouldn’trangeamileaway。Darnedoldfool!What’sthegoodofapointamileaway!Keepsyourunningoverthewholecreation,makesyoulosetime,tiresyourselfandtiresyourdog;
andmorethanthat,inninecasesoutoftenyouloseyourbird。
Givemeacloseranger。Hecleansupashegoes,keepsyourgamerightatyourhand,andgetsyouallthesportthereis。\"
\"Whobeatyou,Stewart,inthetrials?\"
\"ThatbitchofSnider’s。\"
\"Man!Stewart,that’sabeautifulbitch!Iknowherwell。She’sabeautifulbitch!\"Sandybegantoshowenthusiasm。
\"Oh,thereyougo!That’sjustwhatthosefooljudgessaid。
’Beautifuldog!Beautifuldog!’Supposesheis!Looksain’teverything。They’resomething,butthequestionis,doesshegetthebirds?Now,Slippertheregotthreebirdstoherone。Got’emwithinrange,too。\"
\"Ah,butStewart,yon’sagoodbitch,\"saidSandy。
\"Lookhere!\"criedhisfriend,\"Ihavebredmoredogsintheoldcountrythanthosemeneversawintheirlives。\"
\"Thatmaybe,Stewart,butyon’sagoodbitch,\"persistedSandy。
ForamilemoretheydiscussedthemeritsofSlipperandofhisrivals,Sandywithhissemi—humorouschaffextractingquietamusementfromhisfriend’swrath,andthelatter,thoughsuspectingthathewasbeingdrawn,unabletorestrainhispassionatechampionshipofhisdog。
AtlengthSandy,wearyingofthediscussion,caughtsightofafigurefarbeforethemonthetrail。
\"Whoisthatwalkingalongthere?\"heenquired。
Togethertheyranoverthenamesofallwhointhishorsecountrywereunfortunateenoughtobedoomedtoapedestrianformoflocomotion。
\"Guessit’sthepreacher,\"saidDufffinally,whoseeyeswerelikeahawk’s。
\"He’sbeenoutatmyplaceSundayafternoon,\"saidSandy,\"butI
haven’tmethimmyself。Whatsortishe?\"
\"Don’taskme。Isometimesgowiththemadametochurch,butgenerallyIfallasleep。He’snoalarmclock。\"
\"Thenyoucan’ttellwhatsortofapreacherheis,\"saidSandywithatwinkleinhiseye。\"Youcan’thearmuchwhenyouareasleep。\"
\"Ihearenoughtoknowthathe’snogoodasapreacher。Ihearthey’regoingtofirehim。\"
\"Itellyouwhatitis,Stewart,\"saidSandy,\"Idon’tbelieveyouwouldknowagoodsermonifyouheardone。\"
\"What’sthatyousay?I’veheardthebestpreachersinthecountrythatbreedspreachers,inthecountrywherepreachersgrowliketheberriesonthebramblebushes。Iknowpreaching,andIlikegoodpreaching,too。\"
\"Oh,comeoff,Stewart!Youmaybeagoodjudgeofdogs,butI’mblowedifIamgoingtotakeyouasajudgeofpreachers。\"
\"Thesamequalitiesinallofthem,dogs,horses,preachers,\"
insistedDuff。
\"Howdoyoumakethatout?\"
\"Well,takeahorse。Hemustbeagood—looker。Thispreacherisagood—looker,allright,butlooksain’teverything。Mustbequickatthestart,musthavegoodaction,goodstyle,stayingpower,andgoodatthefinish。Mostpreachersneverknowwhentofinish,andthat’sthewaywiththisman。\"
\"Areyougoingtotakehimup?\"inquiredSandy,fortheywerenowcloseuponthemanwalkingbeforethem。
\"Oh,Iguessnot,\"repliedDuff。\"Ihaven’tmuchuseforhim。\"
\"Say,what’sthematterwithhim?Helooksratherpuffedout,\"
saidSandy。\"Bettertakehimup。\"
\"Allright,\"repliedDuff,pullinguphisbronchos。\"Goodday。
Willyouhavearide?Mr。BarryDunbar,myfriendMr。Bayne。\"
\"Gladtomeetyou,Mr。Bayne,\"saidBarry,whowaspaleandpantinghard。\"Thanksforthelift。Thetruth——is——I’mrather——doneup。
Atouchofasthma——thefirst——infiveyears。Anoldtroubleofmine。\"
\"Getuphere,\"saidSandy。\"There’sroomforthreeintheseat。\"
\"No——thankyou,——Ishould——crowdyou,——allrightbehindhere。
Beastlybusiness——thisasthma。Worsewhen——thepollen——fromtheplants——isfloating——about——sotheysay。Idon’tknow——nobodydoes——Ifancy。\"Theydroveon,bumpingoverthestones,Barrygraduallygettingbackhiswind。Thetalkofthemeninthefrontseathadfallenagainondogs,Stewartmaintainingwitheverincreasingvehemencehisexpertknowledgeofdogs,ofhuntingdogs,andveryespeciallyofsetterhuntingdogs;hisfriend,whilegrantinghisknowledgeofdogsingeneral,questioningtheunprejudicednatureofhisjudgmentasfarasSlipperwasconcerned。
AsDuff’sdeclarationsgrewinviolencetheybecamemoreandmoreelaboratelydecoratedwithprofanity。Inthefulltideoftheirconversationaquietvoicebrokein:
\"Toomany’damns。’\"
\"What!\"exclaimedDuff。
\"Ibegyourpardon!\"saidSandy。
\"Toomany’damns,’\"saidBarry,lookingquietlyatDuff。
\"Dams?Where?\"saidDuff,lookingabout。
\"Beaverdams,doyoumean?\"enquiredSandy。\"Idon’tseeany。\"
\"Toomany’damns,’\"reiteratedBarry。\"Youdon’tneedthem。Youreallydon’tneedthem,youknow,andbesides,theyarenotright。
Profanityisquiteuseless,andit’swicked。\"
\"Well,I’llbedamned!\"saidStewartinalowvoicetohisfriend。
\"Hemeansus。\"
\"Andquiteright,too,\"saidSandysolemnly。\"YouknowyourEnglishisrottenbad。Yes,sir,\"hecontinued,turningroundtoBarry,\"Iquiteagreewithyou。Myfriendisquiteunnecessarilyfreeinhisspeech。\"
\"Yes,butyouarejustthesame,youknow,\"saidBarry。\"Notquitesomany,butthenyouarenotquitesoexcited。\"
\"Gotyouthere,oldsport,\"gruntedDuff,highlyamusedatSandy’sdiscomfiture。ButtoBarryhesaid,\"Iguessit’sourownbusinesshowweexpressourselves。\"
\"Yes,itis,but,pardonme,notentirelyso。Thereareothersintheworld,youknow,andyoumustconsiderothers。Thehabitisabadhabit,arottenhabit,andquiteuseless——silly,indeed。\"
Duffturnedhisbackuponhim。Sandy,givinghisfriendanudge,burstintoaloudlaugh。
\"Youareright,sir,\"hesaid,turningtoBarry。\"Youarequiteright。\"
AtthispointSlippercreatedadiversion。
\"Hello!\"saidDuff。\"Say!Lookathim!\"Hepointedtothedog。
\"Ain’theapicture!\"
AhundredyardsawaystoodSlipper,rigid,everymuscle,everyhairtaut,onefootarrestedinair。
\"I’lljustgetthose,\"saidDuff,slippingoutofthebuckboardanddrawingthegunfrombeneaththeseat。\"Steady,oldboy,steady!
Holdthelines,Sandy。\"
Hemovedquicklytowardthedogwho,quiveringwiththatmysteriousinstinctfoundinthehuntingdog,stillheldthepointwithtautmuscles,noseandtailinline。
\"Hello!\"Barrycalledout。\"Itisn’ttheseasonyetforchicken。
Isay,Mr。Duff,\"heshouted,\"itisn’tthechickenseason,youknow。\"
\"Betterleavehimalone,\"saidSandy。
\"Butitisn’ttheseasonyet!Itisagainstthelaw!\"protestedBarryindignantly。
MeantimeStewartDuffwasclosingupcautiouslybehindSlipper。
\"Forward,oldboy!Ste—e—e—ady!Forward!\"Thedogrefusedtomove。\"Forward,Slipper!\"
Stillthedogremainedrigid,asifnailedtotheground。
\"On,Slipper!\"
Slowlythedogturnedhisheadwithinfinitecautionhalfroundtowardhismaster,asifinprotest。
\"Hello,there!\"shoutedBarry,\"youknow——\"
Justashecalledtherewasonallsidesagreatwhirringofwings。
AdozenchickenflewupfromunderDuff’sfeet。Bang!Bang!wenthisgun。
\"Missed,asI’masinner!\"exclaimedSandy。\"Ithoughthewasabettershotthanthat。\"
BackcameDuffstridingwidetowardthebuckboard。Fiftyyardsawayheshouted:
\"Say!whatthedevildoyoumeancallinglikethatatamanwhenhe’sonthepointofshooting!\"Hisfacewasblackwithanger。Helookedreadytostrike。Barrylookedathimsteadily。
\"But,Iwasjustremindingyouthatitwasnottheseasonforchickenyet,\"hesaidinthetoneofamanpreparedtoreasonthematter。
\"What’sthatgottodowithit!Andanyway,whosebusinessisitwhatIdobutmyown?\"
\"Butit’sagainstthelaw!\"
\"Oh,blankthelaw!Besides——\"
\"Besidesitisn’t——well,youknow,itisn’tquitesportingtoshootoutofseason。\"Barry’smannerwasasifdealingwithafractiouschild。
Duff,speechlesswithhispassion,lookedathimasifnotquitesurewhatformhisvengeanceshouldtake。
\"He’squiteright,Stewart,\"saidhisfriendSandy,whowashugelyenjoyinghimself。\"Youknowwellenoughyouaredownonthefarmerchapswhogopothuntingbeforeseason。It’srottensport,youknow。\"
\"Oh,hell!Willyoushutup!Can’tIshootovermydogwhenhepoints?I’mnotoutshooting。IfIwanttogivemydogalittleexperienceanoddbirdortwodon’tmatter。Besides,whatthe——\"
\"Oh,comeon,Stewart!Getin,andgetamoveon!Youknowyouareinthewrong。ButIthoughtyouwereabettershotthanthat,\"
addedSandy。
HisremarkdivertedDuff’srage。
\"Bettershot!\"hestormed。\"Whocouldshootwitha——a——a——\"hewasfeelingroundhelplesslyforaproperlyeffectiveword,——\"withafellowyellingatyou?\"heconcludedlamely。\"I’dhavehadabraceofthemifithadn’tbeenforhim。\"
\"Inthatcase,\"saidBarrycoolly,\"Isavedyoufromthelaw。\"
\"Savedmefromthelaw!Whatthedevildoyoumean,anyway?\"saidStewart。\"IfIwanttopickupabirdwho’stohinderme?Andwhat’sthelawgottodowithit?\"
\"Well,youknow,I’mnotsurebutitmighthavebeenmydutytoreportyou。Ifeelthatallwhobreakthegamelawsshouldbereported。Itistheonlywaytostopthelawlessdestructionofthegame。\"
Barryspokeinavoiceofquietdeliberation,asifponderingtheproperactioninthepremises。
\"Quiteright,too,\"saidSandygravely,butwithatwinkleinhisblueeye。\"Theyoughttobereported。Ihavenouseforthosepoachers。\"
Duffmadenoreply。Hisrageanddisgust,mingledwiththesenseofhisbeinginthewrong,heldhimsilent。Nomaninthewholecountrywasharderuponthegamepoachersthanhe,buttobeheldupinhisactionandtobethreatenedwiththelawbythisyoungpreacher,whomheratherdespisedanyway,seemedtoparalysehismentalactivities。Itdidnothelphisself—controlthathewasawarethathisfriendwashavinghisfunofhim。
Atthismoment,fortunatelyfortheharmonyoftheparty,theirattentionwasarrestedbytheappearanceofamotorcardrivenatafuriousratealongthetrail,andwhichalmostbeforetheywereawarecamehonkinguponthem。Withawildlurchthebronchoshurledthemselvesfromthetrail,upsettingthebuckboardandspillingitsload。
Duff,cumberedwithhisgun,whichhehadreloaded,allowedoneofthereinstodropfromhishandsandtheteamwentplungingaboutinacircle,butBarry,thefirsttogettohisfeet,rushedtotherescue,snatchedthereinsandheldontillhehaddraggedtheplungingbronchostoahalt。
TheragewhichhadbeenboilinginDuff,andwhichwithdifficultyhadbeenheldwithinbounds,suddenlyburstallbondsofcontrol。
Withafierceoathhepickedupthegunwhichhehadthrownasideinhisstrugglewiththehorses,andlevelleditatthespeedingmotorcar。
\"ForGod’ssake,Stewart,stop!\"shoutedBayne,springingtowardhisfriend。
Barrywasnearerandquicker。Theshotwentoff,buthishandhadknockedupthegun。
\"MyGod,Stewart!Areyoucleancrazy!\"saidBayne,grippinghimbythearm。\"Doyouknowwhatyouaredoing?Youarenotfittocarryagun!\"
\"I’dhavebusthisblankedtiresforhim,anyway!\"blusteredDuff,thoughhisfaceandvoiceshowedthathehadreceivedashock。
\"Yes,andyoumighthavebeenamurdererbythistime,andheadingforthepen,butforDunbarhere。Youowehimmorethanyoucaneverpay,youblankedfool!\"
Duffmadenoreply,butbusiedhimselfwithhishorses。Nordidhespeakagaintilleverythingwasinreadinessfortheroad。
\"Getin,\"hethensaidgruffly,andthatwashislastworduntiltheydroveintothevillage。
Atthestorehedrewup。
\"Thankyouforthelift,\"saidBarry。\"Ishouldhavehadatoughjobtogetbackintime。\"