Harold Bindloss

“ He gave Gardner a small wallet, made of fine russia leather, but worn and spoiled by damp.
"Black is a rough bushman; one would not expect him to buy a thing like that," he said, and took out a few small stones. "I found these in his shack. Perhaps you can tell me what they are."
"I can," said Gardner, looking hard at him. "They are silver ore."
There was silence for a minute or two, while the roar of the rapid throbbed about the shack, and then Father Lucien remarked: "He may have stolen them from Ogilvie." ”

“ Gardner's face was rather hard, but he said he was glad she was satisfied, and returned to drill another shot-hole in the vein. At sunset Marian joined him as he stood alone among the battered pines.
"What do we do next?" she asked.
"Break camp when we have put in our stakes, and go south as fast as possible to record your claim."
"My claim?" she said. "Well, after it is recorded?"
"You must find a man to represent you and see the necessary development work done, in order to get your patent. But there are lots of regulations; you had better get a good lawyer to show you what to do." ”

“ Father Lucien shook his head. "I think not. There is no successful defaulter; one must pay. Fear may come without remorse, and its lash is keen."
Gardner pondered, but thought the priest was right. He suspected treachery, but Black would, no doubt, keep his secret. After all, the fellow had not found the mine, and there was nothing to put before the police. Still, he thought of Marian, and resolved to watch. Then he threw fresh wood into the stove and lay down to sleep.
Next morning Black was better and Gardner left the shack. ”

“ In fact, I imagine Ogilvie found the mine."
"Yes," said Father Lucien quietly, "I have thought so, too. For all that, we shall never know all that the other did." He paused and gazed at the foaming rapid. "Justice is not always swift and dramatic, to our ideas, but in one way or another the wrongdoer pays. What will you tell the girl?"
"If she learns that her father's partner was drowned, it will be enough," Gardner replied.
They pitched camp farther up stream, but in the early morning Gardner went back to the tail of the rapid. ”

“ Gardner had spent some years in the wilds between Hudson's Bay and Lake Winnipeg, surveying for mining companies and afterwards for a new railroad. With the exception of Father Lucien and Black, he knew more than anybody else about Ogilvie's death, but sometimes suspected that the others knew more than he. Marian, as he learned by degrees, had won honours at a famous college, and now occupied a post at a big Toronto school. ”

“ What are you going to do about it?"
"Nothing, I think. He is a sick man; I came as doctor. If he asks help from my other office, my message is plain—restitution must follow penitence."
"And in the meantime he escapes the consequences." ”

“ Father Lucien glanced at Black, who was fast asleep. "Our knowledge is limited. There are some who think intense human emotions leave their impress on the scene. I cannot tell if it is true, but the brain is mysteriously sensitive, and now and then works unconsciously, reproducing things one has seen or done. ”