, industrious folk, and a proportion of the
rest are capable of being useful citizens."

"Then how do you account for the disorder?"

Hardie looked thoughtful.

"I suppose we all have a tendency to follow a lead, which is often
useful in an organized state of society; though it depends on the lead.
By way of counter-balance, we have a certain impatience of restraint.
Granting this, you can see that when the general tone of a place is one
of sobriety and order, people who have not much love for either find it
more or less easy to conform. But, if you set them a different
example, one that slackens restrictions instead of imposing them,
they'll follow it, and it somehow seems to be the rule that the
turbulent element exerts the stronger influence. Anyway, it becomes
the more prominent. You hear of the fellow who steals a horse in a
daring manner; the man who quietly goes on with his plowing excites no
notice."

"One must agree with that," George replied. "Popular feeling's fickle;
a constant standard is needed to adjust it by."

Hardie smiled.

"It was given us long ago. But I can't believe that there's much
general sympathy with these troublesome fellows. What I complain of is
popular apathy; nobody feels it his business to interfere; though this
state of things can't continue. The patience of respectable people
will wear out; and then one can look for drastic developments."

"In the meanwhile, the other crowd are having their fling."

Hardie nodded.

"That's unfortunately true, though the lawbreakers have now and then
come off second-best. A few days ago, Wilkie, the station-agent, was
sitting in his office when a man who had some grievance against the
railroad walked up to the window. Wilkie told him he must send his
claim to Winnipeg, and the fellow retorted that he would have
satisfaction right away out of the agent's hide. With that, he climbed
in through the window; and I must confess to a feeling of satisfaction
when I heard that he left the station in need of medical assistance. A
week earlier, Taunton, of the store, was walking home along the track
in the dark after collecting some of his accounts, when a man jumped
out from behind a stock of ties with a pistol and demanded his wallet.
Taunton, taken by surprise, produced a wad of bills, but the thief was
a little too eager or careless in seizing them, for Taunton grabbed the
pistol and got his money back. After that, he marched the man th