CHAPTER VI
WINNIPEG BEACH
Lister went to the opera with his hosts and was moved by the music andthe feeling that he was one of a careless, pleasure-seeking crowd. Forthe most part, his life had been strenuous and the crowds he knew wererude. His home was a bare shack, sometimes built on the wind-sweptalkali plains, and sometimes in the tangled woods. From daybreak untildusk fell, hoarse shouts, the clank of rails, the beat of heavy hammersfilled his ears, and often the uproar did not stop at dark. When a softmuskeg swallowed the new track, he must watch, by the flaringblast-lamps, noisy ploughs throw showers of gravel from the ballastcars.
Labor and concentration had left their mark. Lister's muscles were hard,but his body and face were thin. He looked fine-drawn and alert; histalk was direct and quick. As a rule, his skin was brown, but now thebrown was gone, and the lines on his face were deeper. His injuryaccounted for something and he felt the reaction from a strain he hadhardly noted while it must be borne. Although he had not altogetherhidden his bandage and his clothes were not the latest fashion, RuthDuveen was satisfied. Somehow he looked a finer type than the businessmen in the neighboring stalls. One felt the man's clean virility and gota hint of force.
Lister was highly strung. The music stirred his imagination, and whenthe curtain went down the light and glitter, the perfume that driftedabout, the women's dress, and the society of his attractive companiongave him a curious thrill. He began to see he had missed much; ambitionsthat had forced him to struggle for scope to use fresh efforts tookanother turn. Life was not all labor. Ruth Duveen had enlightened him.
He studied her. She had grace and charm; it was much to enjoy, for oneevening, the society of a girl like this. Duveen went off between theacts to meet his friends, but Ruth stopped and talked. Her smile wasgracious and Lister let himself go. He told her about adventures on thetrack and asked about her life in the cities. Perhaps it was strange,but she did not look bored, and when the curtain went down for the lasttime he felt a pang. The evening was gone and in a day or two he mustresume his labor in the wilds. Lister did not cheat himself; he knew thestrange, romantic excitement he had indulged would not be his again.When they went down the passage Ruth gave him a smiling glance and sawhis mouth was firm.
"You look rather tired," she said. "Have we tired you?"
Lister turned and his eyes were thoughtful. She had stopped to fastenher cloak, and the people pushing by forced her to his side. An electriclamp burned overhead and her beauty moved him. He noted the heavy coilsof her dark hair, her delicate color, and the grace of her form.
"I'm not at all tired," he said. "I feel remarkably braced and keen, asif I'd waked up from sleep. In fact, I think I have awakened."
Ruth laughed. She saw he was not smiling and his graveness gave her asense of power. He had owned, with typical frankness, that she had movedhim.
"Sometimes to wake up suddenly gives one a jolt," she said. "However,you will soon get calm again in the woods."
He sensed something provocative and challenging in her voice, but hewould not play up.
"I wonder--" he said quietly. "In a way, the proper line's to go tosleep again."
"Sometimes one dreams! I expect you dream about locomotives breakingthrough trestles and dump-cars plunging into muskegs?"
He laughed. "They're things I know, and safe to dream about. All thesame, I rather expect I'll be haunted by lights and music, prettydresses and faces--"
He stopped, and Ruth remarked: "If these have charm, there are no veryobvious grounds for your going without. You can command a locomotive andWinnipeg's not very far from your camp. But we're stopping the people,and I can't fix this clasp."
She moved, and the opera cloak fell back from her arm, which wasuncovered but for the filmy sleeve that reached a little below theshoulder. He noted its fine curves and the silky smoothness of her skin.Although he fastened the clasp with a workman's firm touch, he thrilled.Then the crowd forced them on and they found Duveen waiting by the car.When they stopped at Lister's hotel Ruth said, "We are going to WinnipegBeach, Saturday. Would you like to come?"
Duveen nodded. "A happy thought! I've got to talk to some businesspeople who make Ruth tired. If you come along, I needn't bother abouther."
"That's how one's father argues!" Ruth exclaimed.
Lister hesitated. "I was told to lie off because I was hurt. If I'm fitto enjoy an excursion, I'm fit to work."
"You're too scrupulous, young man. Have a good time when it's possible,or you'll be sorry afterwards. I reckon you're justified to take all thecompany will give."
"It was caution, not scruples. Suppose I meet one of the railroadchiefs?"
"I'll fix him," Duveen rejoined. "Your bosses won't get after you whenyou belong to my party. Anyhow, we'll look out for you."
The car rolled off, and Lister, going to the rotunda, lighted acigarette and mused. Ruth Duveen had beauty, he liked her but must usecaution, since he imagined the friendship she had given him wassomething of an indulged girl's caprice. Then he began to think aboutthe girl he had met on board the train. Now he was able, undisturbed, todraw her picture, he saw she, too, had charm, but she was not at alllike Ruth. The strange thing was, one did not note if she were beautifulor not. In a way, this did not matter; her pluck and firmness fixedone's interest.
Lister threw away his cigarette. He was poor and not romantic. The girlhe had helped had vanished, and after their excursion he hardly expectedto see Ruth again. Ruth was kind, but she would soon forget him when hewas gone. He would go to Winnipeg Beach with her, and then return to thewoods and let his job absorb him. In the meantime, his head had begun toache and he went to bed.
The Saturday morning was typical of Winnipeg in summer. The freshnorthwest breeze that sweeps the Manitoba plains had dropped. Darkthunder-clouds rolled about the sky, but the sun was hot and anenervating humidity brooded over the town. The perspiring crowd in MainStreet moved slackly, the saloon bars were full, and the groups ofholiday-makers flocking to the station wore a languid look.
Lister met his hosts in the marble waiting hall where a gold-framedpanorama of Canadian scenery closes the view between the rows of statelypillars. Duveen had brought three or four keen-eyed, nervous businessmen, a rather imposing lady, and Ruth, and they got on board a localtrain soon after Lister arrived. Winnipeg Beach was then beginning toattract holiday-makers from the prairie town. One could row and fish insheltered bays, and adventure on board a gasoline launch into thenorthern wilds. Boating, however, had no charm for Duveen's friends. Theexcursion was an opportunity for friendly business talk, and when lunchwas over Ruth and Lister went out on the lawn in front of the hotel.
There was no wind. A few dark clouds floated motionless overhead, butoutside their shadow the lake shone like glass, running back until itmelted into faint reflections on the horizon. A varnished launch flashedin the sun and trailed a long white wake across the water.
"Do you want to stay and talk to Mrs. Knapp?" Ruth asked.
"I do not," said Lister. "Anyhow, I imagine Mrs. Knapp doesn't want totalk to me. I'm not a big-business man."
Ruth laughed. "Oh, well, when you speculate at the Board of Trade, arailroad engineer is not a useful friend. I suppose I ought to stay, butthe things one ought to do are tiresome. Let's go on the lake."
Lister got a canoe, and fixing a cushion for Ruth, picked up the paddle.
"Where shall we go?"
"North, as far as you can. Let's get away from the boats and trippersand imagine we're back in the woods where you helped me catch the biggray trout."
"Then you liked it at the construction camp?" Lister remarked. "It was apretty rude spot."
"For an indulged city girl?" Ruth said, smiling. "Well, perhaps I'd gotall the satisfaction dinner parties and dances and the society at hotelscan give. I knew the men who handle finance and work the wires behindthe scenes, but I wanted to know the others who do the strenuous thingsand keep the country going. I came, and you helped me to understand th
eromance of the lakes and woods."
Lister did not remember if he had tried to do so and thought he had not.All the same, the girl was keen and interested. In summer, it was nothard to feel the lonely sheets of water and tangled bush were touched byromance. Then, perhaps, everybody felt at times a vague longing for therude and primitive. But he was not a philosopher, and dipping thepaddle, he drove the canoe across the tranquil lake.
In the meantime, he imagined Ruth studied him with quiet amusement, andwondered whether she thought he was not playing up. He did not mean toplay up; the game was intricate, and, if he were rash, might cost himmuch. He had taken off his hat and jacket and effort had brought backthe color to his skin. His thin face had the clean bronze tint of anIndian's; the soft shirt showed the fine-drawn lines of his athleticfigure; but Lister was not conscious of this. He knew his drawbacks, butnot all his advantages.
When he had gone some distance and the hotel and houses began to meltinto the background, he stopped and let the canoe drift.
"How far shall we go?" he asked.
Ruth indicated a rocky point, cut off by the glimmering reflection, thatseemed to float above the horizon.
"Let's see what is on the other side. Now and then one wants to know.Exploration's intriguing. Don't you think so?"
"Sometimes; in a practical sense. When a height of land cuts thelandscape, I wonder whether one could find an easy down-grade for thetrack across the summit. That's about as far as my imagination goes."
"Oh, well," said Ruth, "exploration like that is useful and one doesn'trun much risk. But risk and adventure appeal to some people."
Lister resumed paddling. The girl had charm and he was young; if he werenot cautious, there might be some risk for him. He was not a cleverphilanderer, and Ruth and Duveen had been kind. By and by a puff of coolwind touched his hot skin and he looked round. A black cloud had rolledup and there were lines on the water.
"We may get a blow and some thunder," he remarked. "Shall we go back?"
"Not yet. We'll make the point first. If it does thunder, summer stormsdon't last."
He paddled harder and a small white wave lapped the canoe's bows. Thesky was getting dark, and now the lines that streaked the lake werewhite, but the wind was astern and they were going fast. The glimmeringreflections had vanished and the rocks ahead rose sharply from theleaden water. The point was some distance off, but Lister knew he mustreach it soon.
A flash of forked lightning leaped from the sky and touched the lake,there was a long, rumbling peal, and then a humming noise began astern.Angry white ripples splashed about the canoe and lumps of hail beatLister's head. Then, while the thunder rolled across the sky, the canoeswerved. It was blowing hard, the high bow and stern caught the wind,the strength was needed to hold her straight with the single paddle. Ifhe brought her round, he could not paddle to windward, and to steeracross the sea that would soon get up might be dangerous. They must makethe point and land. He threw Ruth his jacket, for spray had begun to flyand the drops from the paddle blew on board.
"Put on the thing; I've got to work," he said.
In a few minutes his work was hard. Short, white waves rolled past, thecanoe lurched and swerved, and Lister knew if she swung off across windand sea she might capsize. He must keep her running and let the comberssplit against her pointed stern. The combers were getting large andtheir hissing tops surged by some height above the gunwale, but so longas he could keep her before them they would not come on board. When herbows went up she sheered, as if she meant to shoot across the hollowleft by the sea that rolled by. He stopped her with a back-stroke andthen drove hard ahead, for he must have speed to steer when the next seacame on. In the meantime, the lightning flickered about the lake andbetween the flashes all was nearly dark. The tops of the waves tossedagainst leaden cloud and he could hardly see the rocks for which hesteered.
By and by, however, the point stood out close ahead. The trees on thesummit bent in the wind; spray leaped about the bowlders where the whitefoam rolled. He must go round and find a landing to lee, but to go roundhe must cross the belt of breaking water, with the savage wind abeam.The canoe shipped some water, and riding in on a comber's crest,narrowly missed a rock that lifted its top for a moment out of the foam.Then Lister drove her in behind the point and helped Ruth to land on agravel beach. Her eyes sparkled and he saw she had not been daunted.
"We're all right now, but we have got to stay until the storm blowsout," he said.
They found shelter in a hollow of the cliff and sat among the driftwoodwhile the rain that blotted out the lake drove overhead. The deluge didnot reach them and the cold was going.
"You go back on Monday?" Ruth said at length.
Lister smiled with humorous resignation. "I must. The strange thing is,when I left my job before I was keen to get back. Now I'd rather stopand loaf."
"Then you were not bored at Winnipeg?"
"Not at all," Lister declared. "If it would give me a holiday like this,I'd get hurt again."
"I expect the woods get dreary. Then, perhaps, one doesn't make muchprogress by sticking to the track? Don't you want to get into the officewhere the big plans are made?"
"I don't know," said Lister thoughtfully. "On the track you're all rightif you know your job; at headquarters you need qualities I don't knoware mine. Anyhow, I'm not likely to get there, if I want or not."
Ruth gave him a curious glance. "Sometimes one's friends can help. Wouldyou really like a headquarters post?"
Lister moved abruptly and his mouth got firm. Perhaps Ruth exaggeratedher father's importance, but it was possible Duveen could get himpromotion. All the same, Lister saw what his taking the job implied; hemust give up his independence and be Duveen's man. Moreover, if the girlmeant to help, she had some grounds for doing so. He thrilled and wastempted, but he thought hard. It looked as if she liked him and wasperhaps willing to embark upon a sentimental adventure, but he thoughtthis was all. She would not marry a poor man.
"No," he said, with a touch of awkwardness. "I reckon I had better stickto the track. To know where you properly belong is something, and if Itook the other job, my chiefs would soon find me out."
"You're modest," Ruth remarked. "One likes modest people, but don't youthink you're obstinate?"
"When the trail you hit goes uphill, obstinacy's useful."
"If you won't take help, you may be long reaching the top, but we'll letit go. The wind hasn't dropped much. How can we get back?"
"We must wait," Lister replied with a twinkle. "The trouble about anadventure is, when you start you're often forced to stay with it and putit over. That sometimes costs more than you reckon."
Ruth's eyes sparkled, but she forced a smile. "Logical people make metired. But why do you imagine I haven't the pluck to pay?"
"I don't," said Lister. "I've no grounds to imagine anything like that.My business was to take care of you and I ought to have seen the stormwas coming. Now I'm mad because I didn't watch out."
"Sometimes you're rather nice," Ruth remarked. "You know I made you goon. All the same, we must start as soon as possible."
Lister got up presently and launched the canoe. The thunder had gone,but the breeze was strong and angry white waves rolled up the lake. Todrive the canoe to windward was heavy labor, and while she lurchedslowly across the combers the sun got low. Lister's wet hands blisteredand his arms ached, but he swung the paddle stubbornly, and at lengththe houses and hotel stood out from the beach. When they got near thelanding Ruth looked ahead.
"The train's ready to pull out!" she exclaimed. "Can you make it?"
Lister tried. His face got dark with effort and his hands bled, but in afew minutes he ran the canoe aground. Ruth jumped out and they reachedthe station as the bell began to toll. Duveen waved to them from thetrack by the front of the train and then jumped on board, and Listerpushed Ruth up the steps of the last car. The car was second-class andcrowded by returning holiday-makers, but the conductor, who did not knowLister and Miss Du
veen, declared all the train was full and they muststay where they were. When he went off and locked the vestibule Listerlooked about.
All the seats and much of the central passage were occupied, for themost part by young men and women. Some were frankly lovers and did notlook disturbed by the banter of their friends. Lister was embarrassed,for Ruth's sake, until he saw with some surprise that she studied theothers with amused curiosity. Looking down he met her twinkling glanceand thought it something like a challenge. His embarrassment got worse.One could not talk because of the noise and to shout was ridiculous. Hemust stand in a cramped pose and try not to fall against Ruth when thecars rocked. He admitted that his proper background was the rudeconstruction camp, and it was something of a relief when they rolledinto Winnipeg.
Duveen's car was at the station, and Ruth stopped for a moment beforeshe got on board.
"You start on Monday and we will be out of town to-morrow. I wish yougood luck."
Lister thanked her, and when she got into the car she gave him a curioussmile. "I think I liked you better in the woods," she said, and the carrolled off.