Harold Edward Bindloss

“ Men great in the mining world had smiled compassionately at his story, others with money to invest had coldly turned their backs on him, and it had been given to a railroad hand and a surveyor, who had longed for an opportunity for splitting roofing shingles in return for enough to eat, to prove that, after all, the skill he had once been proud of had not deserted him. ”

“ Then Devine took out his pipe, and lying with his back against a fir, turned to his comrade as the soft dusk settled.
"Whether Grenfell knew where he was going when he started out last night, or was led by some blind impulse or subconscious memory, is more than I can tell, and, anyway, it's not a point that greatly matters now," he said. "The cold fact is that you struck the water on the creek where, as he told you, he once got a drink."
"But things don't fit in," objected Weston.
"Oh," said his companion, "you let me talk. You've been in this country a few years. I was raised in it. ”

“ He lay still, however, in the blissful content that only the worn-out know when, for a few hours, they can cease from toil. Presently he heard the willows rustle, and, though it cost him an effort, he stood up when Devine strode into camp. The latter glanced toward the hole they had dug to reach the water.
"You've let the horse break the sides down and stand in it," he said. "We'll clean it down to the gravel and pitch the soil out."
"Is it worth while?" Weston asked.
"Yes," said Devine, dryly, "as we'll probably be here a day or two, I guess it is. I'll tell you about it when we get supper." ”

“ Then Devine put down his shovel and turned to Weston.
"This thing has had its effect on me, and I guess you feel it too. He was your partner quite a while," he said. "We want to get a move on and work this depression out of us. Well, you can make camp—a little farther back—while I crawl along between the willows and the range. I want to see what's back of them. There's an idea in my mind." ”

“ I ought to get it there or in Victoria."
"No," said the storekeeper, "you go on to Montreal. They've more money yonder, and it's good policy to strike for the place you're likely to get the most."
"One understands that it's difficult for the little man who has a claim to sell to get much for it anywhere," said Weston, with a smile.
The storekeeper straightened himself resolutely in his chair.
"That's a cold fact, but in this case it has to be done. I got my money hard." In proof of it he held up one hand from which three fingers were missing. ”

“ Finally, the beavers either died off or something drove them out. It was probably after that that the dam broke down and the water ran off. Then the snowslide cut off the creek, and as the hollow dried out the willows spread across it."
Weston could find no fault with this train of reasoning, which made comparatively plain Grenfell's long and unsuccessful search.
"Yes," he admitted, "it's logical, and I think it's correct. I believe, from what Grenfell once said, that he crossed the range to the east of us, not far away, some years ago with another man, and he must have noticed this valley. ”