ned, and
she added quickly: "Do you like the life in the Northwest?"

"It has its charm. There are very few restrictions--one feels free.
The fences haven't reached us yet; you can ride as far as you can see
over miles of grass and through the clumps of bush. There's something
attractive in the wide horizon; the riband of trail that seems to run
forward forever draws you on."

"But the arctic frost and the snow?"

"After all, they're bracing. Our board shacks with the big stoves in
them are fairly warm; and no one can tell what developments may
suddenly come about in such a country. A railroad may be run through,
wheat-land opened up, minerals found, and wooden cities spring up from
the empty plain. Life's rapid and strenuous; one is swept along with
the stream."

"But you were in the wilds!"

Blake laughed.

"We were indeed; but not far behind us the tide of population pours
across the plain, and if we had stayed a year or two in the timber, it
would have caught us up. That flood won't stop until it reaches the
Polar Sea."

"But how can people live in a rugged land covered with snow that melts
only for a month or two?"

"The climate doesn't count, so long as the country has natural
resources. One hears of precious metals, and some are being mined."
He paused and added in a tone of humorous confidence: "My partner
believes in oil."

They were now close to Hazlehurst, and as they left the highway Mrs.
Keith joined them.

"Dick," she said, laying her hand affectionately on his arm, "I have
had a talk with your uncle. You have convinced him thoroughly, and
have taken a great load off his mind." Admiration shone in her eyes.
"None of the Challoners ever did so fine a thing, Dick!"

Blake felt embarrassed, and Millicent's face glowed with pride in him.
No further reference was made to the subject, however, and he spent a
pleasant hour in, the great hall at Hazlehurst, where Mrs. Keith left
him with Millicent when tea was brought in.

That night Blake sat with Challoner in the library at Sandymere. The
Colonel was in a big leather chair near a good fire, but he had a heavy
rug wrapped about him, and it struck Blake that he looked ill.

He turned and regarded Blake affectionately.

"You have been a good nephew, Dick, and since you came home I have felt
that I ought to make some provision for you. That, of course, was my
intention when you were young, but when the break occurred you cut
yourself a