ght here."

Murray shook his head.

"No," he said. "Guess that desk's been closed down since the season
opened. He's brought in half a hundred pelts to his own gun, and
guesses he's carrying on his father's work." There was a biting irony
in the man's tone.

Ailsa Mowbray sighed.

"He doesn't seem to like settling to the work here."

It was some moments before Murray replied. His big eyes were deeply
reflective. The fire in their depths seemed to come and go under
varying emotions. His eyes were at all times expressive, but their
expressions could rarely be read aright.

"He's troubled with youth, ma'am," he said, as though at last arrived
at a definite conclusion, "and he needs to get shut of it before he can
be of use to himself, or--to us. You'll excuse me if I talk plain.
I've got to talk plain, right here and now. Maybe it hasn't occurred
to either of us before just what it means to our enterprise Allan being
gone. It means a mighty big heap, so almighty big I can only just see
over the top. I take it you'll get me when I say this thing can't be
run by a woman. It needs to be run by a man, and, seeing Alec don't
figger to set around in this store, I've got to do most of it--with
your help. Y'see, ma'am, there's just two sides to this proposition.
Either we run it together, or you sell out to me. Anyway, I'm not
selling. I'll take it you'll say we run it together. Good. Then it's
up to me to do the man's work, while you, I guess, won't have forgotten
the work you had to do before I came. If you feel like fixing things
that way I guess we can make good till this boy, Alec, forgets he's a
kid, and we can hand him all Allan didn't choose to hand him during his
life. Get me? Meanwhile we're going to help the boy get over his
youth by letting him get his nose outside this region, and see a live
city where things happen plenty, and money buys a good time. That way
we'll bridge over what looks like a pretty awkward time. I take up the
work where Allan quit it, and you--well, it's all here same as it was
before I got around. I want you to feel I figger Allan left me with a
trust which I'm mighty glad to fulfil. He let me in on the ground
floor of this thing, and I don't forget it. I want to do all I know to
fix it right for those he left behind him. Maybe you'll find me rough
sometimes, maybe I don't happen to have a patience like old Job. But
I'm going to put things through, same as I know