The Lure of the North

The Lure of the North

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Title: The Lure of the North
Author: Harold Bindloss
Release Date: December 2, 2004 [eBook #14234]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
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THE LURE OF THE NORTH
by
HAROLD BINDLOSS
Author of _THE GIRL FROM KELLER'S_, _CARMEN'S MESSENGER_, BRANDON OF THE ENGINEERS, JOHNSTONE OF THE BORDER, PRESCOTT OF SASKATCHEWAN, WINSTON OF THE PRAIRIE, ETC.
Published in England under the Title _Agatha's Fortune_
New York Frederick A. Stokes Company Publishers
1918

BY THE SAME AUTHOR
ALTON OF SOMASCO LORIMER OF THE NORTHWEST THURSTON OF ORCHARD VALLEY WINSTON OF THE PRAIRIE THE GOLD TRAIL SYDNEY CARTERET, RANCHER A PRAIRIE COURTSHIP VANE OF THE TIMBERLANDS THE LONG PORTAGE RANCHING FOR SYLVIA PRESCOTT OF SASKATCHEWAN THE DUST OF CONFLICT THE GREATER POWER MASTERS OF THE WHEATLANDS DELILAH OF THE SNOWS BY RIGHT OF PURCHASE THE CATTLE BARON'S DAUGHTER THRICE ARMED FOR JACINTA THE INTRIGUERS THE LEAGUE OF THE LEOPARD FOR THE ALLISON HONOR THE SECRET OF THE REEF HARDING OF ALLENWOOD THE COAST OF ADVENTURE JOHNSTONE OF THE BORDER BRANDON OF THE ENGINEERS CARMEN'S MESSENGER THE GIRL FROM KELLER'S THE LURE OF THE NORTH
[Illustration: "SHE SAW A LOOK OF FEAR IN HIS STARING EYES."]

CONTENTS

CHAPTER
I THIRLWELL MAKES HIS CHOICE
II STRANGE'S STORY
III AGATHA MAKES A PROMISE
IV STRANGE'S PARTNER
V A NIGHT'S WATCH
VI FATHER LUCIEN'S ADVENTURE
VII AGATHA'S RESOLVE
VIII THE BURGLAR
IX AGATHA ASKS ADVICE
X THIRLWELL GETS A LETTER
XI STORMONT FINDS A CLUE
XII ON THE TRAIL
XIII THE PROSPECTORS' RETURN
XIV STORMONT DISOWNS A DEBT
XV THE GRAND RAPID
XVI THE PIT-PROP
XVII DRUMMOND OFFERS HELP
XVIII THE HAND IN THE WATER
XIX A LOST OPPORTUNITY
XX THE PLUNGE
XXI THE WILDERNESS
XXII BEFORE THE WIND
XXIII STRANGE'S LEGACY
XXIV AGATHA RESUMES HER JOURNEY
XXV THE BROKEN RANGE
XXVI THE LODE
XXVII THIRLWELL'S DULLNESS
XXVIII STORMONT TRIES A BRIBE
XXIX GEORGE REPROACHES HIMSELF
XXX A CHANGE OF LUCK
XXXI THIRLWELL'S REWARD

CHAPTER I
THIRLWELL MAKES HIS CHOICE
Dinner was nearly over at the big red hotel that stands high above the city of Quebec, and Thirlwell, sitting at one of the tables, abstractedly glanced about. The spacious room was filled with skilfully tempered light that glimmered on colored glasses and sparkled on silver; pillars and cornices were decorated with artistic taste. A murmur of careless talk rose from the groups of fashionably dressed women and prosperous men, and he heard a girl's soft laugh.
All this struck a note of refined luxury that was strange to Thirlwell, who had spent some years in the wilds, where the small, frost-bitten pines roll across the rocks and muskegs of North Ontario. One lived hard up there, enduring arctic cold, and the heat of the short summer, when bloodthirsty mosquitoes swarm; and ran daunting risks on the lonely prospecting trail. Now it looked as if chance had offered him an easier lot; he could apparently choose between the privations of the wilderness and civilized comfort, but while he grappled with a certain longing he knew this was not so. He had adopted the pioneers' Spartan code; one must stand by one's bargain, and do the thing one had undertaken.
For a few moments he was silent, lost in rather gloomy thought, with a frown on his brown face, and Mrs. Allott, his English relative, studied him across the table. On the whole, Jim Thirlwell had improved in Canada, and she thought he would be welcomed if he returned to England. She had been his mother's friend, and during the week or two they had now spent together, had decided that if he proved amenable she would help him to make a career. Indeed, it was largely on Thirlwell's account she had accompanied her husband on his American tour.
Jim had certain advantages. He was not clever, but his remarks were sometimes smarter than he knew. Then he had a quiet voice and manner that impressed one, even when one differed from him, as one often did. He was not handsome, and his face was rather thin, but his features were well-defined, and she liked his firm mouth and steady look. His figure was good and marked by a touch of athletic grace. Then she was, on the whole, satisfied with the way he chose and wore his clothes. His mother had held a leading place in the exclusive society of a quiet cathedral town, until her husband lost his small fortune. Mrs. Allott understood that something might have been saved had Tom Thirlwell been less scrupulous; but Tom had unconventional views about money, and Jim was like his father in many ways. Mrs. Allott, having done