Bearing all this in mind, Joe whipped up his horses and took them at a smart pace across the fields. On every hand lay wooded country, with clearings to right and left, where the industry of the settlers had felled the trees, paying toll to the Government of Canada for them, and had then rooted the land, broken it, and placed therein the seed which was to spring into such bounteous growth. In every case a log hut was erected somewhere on the quarter section, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres; and these log huts often enough disclosed from their outward lines something of the character of the inmates, for in one case the shack was barely twelve feet by twelve.
"Jim Canning"s," Joe told himself, for he had met Jim and liked him.
"A confirmed old bachelor; been in Canada for ten years and more, and seems to like living by himself. He"s a jovial fellow. Hallo, Jim!"
he shouted, seeing that worthy crossing his section towards him.
"How"dy."
Observe the expression, and gather the fact that even his own short residence in the Dominion had already caused Joe to copy those who lived about him. He was becoming quite a Canadian in his speech.
Already one could detect something of that pleasant drawl that marks the st.u.r.dy colonial.
"Hallo, Joe!" shouted the stranger, beaming at our hero and disclosing handsome features, sunburned to a degree, while even his chest was of a deep brown; for Jim wore no collar, and had discarded the customary neckcloth. He was, in fact, a tattered-looking object--a huge patch in the seat of his trousers, a shirt which might have been blue or green or red in its palmy days, but which was now of a curious brown, evidently from much exposure to the sun. "How"dy," he cried. "Where away?"
"Hurley"s, fetching a seeder."
"Huh! Then you look lively back agin," came the answer. "There"s ructions down there. Hurley"s been fighting with his hands, and though I believe they"ve settled the quarrel for the time bein", you never know when it won"t break out again; he ain"t no use ain"t Hurley."
They waved to one another and then parted, Joe jogging along the rough track, now with the wheels on one side deep in an old rut, which threatened to upset the rig, and then b.u.mping over boulders and tree stumps, which made riding anything but comfortable. But what cared Joe? He whistled shrilly; his face was rosy and tanned, his eyes clear, his broad-brimmed hat thrust back on his head, till a lock of hair showed to the front. Nor could his own clothing be very favourably contrasted with Jim"s; for Joe"s shirt had a large rent in it, made that very morning. A portion of the brim of his hat was missing, while the ends of his trousers were threadbare, to say the least of them.
"Clothing don"t make the man, anyhow," Peter had said many a time.
"You ain"t any the wuss fer a rent in yer breeks."
"Hallo, Joe!" came a hail across from another quarter section. "How"s the Strikes?"
Joe shouted back a greeting, and was soon exchanging others with farmers farther on. Indeed, he called at one of the shacks, a magnificent affair, showing the pluck and ability of its owner. It belonged to a city clerk from the city of London, one who had been ignorant of farming conditions, and when Joe was last in this direction it was not entirely finished.
"I thought I"d just drop in and see the house," he said, as he pulled up at the door. "It wouldn"t have been neighbourly to have pa.s.sed without a call."
"That it wouldn"t," laughed a small but active lady, who emerged and shook hands with him. "Hi, Jack, here"s Mr. Joe come to see us! Isn"t the shack a beauty, just?"
She stood away from the shack, regarding it with a proud eye. And Joe eagerly extolled its magnificence; for this city clerk had built a house which none need be ashamed of.
"Not bad by half, eh?" he grinned, as he came up to Joe. "My cousin, who"s farming with me, gave a hand. There"s four rooms inside, and a covered way to the stables and the piggeries. It"s cost us a heap of labour, but it"s done now, and mighty pleased we are. How"s the Strikes? Crops showing well, eh? We"re doing fine; and the wife is making money with her fowls and eggs and such things. My boy, I wouldn"t be back on an office stool for double the pay. I"m free here--free, my boy! I can breathe out in this country. And look at the kids--they"re as healthy as we could wish."
Joe took in his surroundings with an observant eye, and heartily congratulated his friends. Here he saw before him an example of what a man from a city can do in the Dominion, if only he have the pluck and the tenacity to face the difficulties and disappointments which are sure to come along at first, and have the perseverance to work.
"How did you manage?" he asked Jack, the owner of the place.
"Manage! Well, now, like this. I was ill back in the Old Country, and I"ll say this for the people who employed me--they treated me handsomely. They paid my salary for a whole year; then the doctor recommended Canada, and out we came, drawing all our savings. Tom, my cousin, had been here four years working on the farms, and we went into partnership right away. Of course I knew nothing. I trusted to him, and I"ve learned steadily. It"s been uphill work, my boy. But there you are."
He held out an open palm towards the house, eyeing it with supreme satisfaction. And no wonder. Here was a man who through ill-health had failed, more or less, in England. Canada had given him a new lease of life and new opportunities. But let us remember that the Dominion gives nothing without effort on the side of immigrants. Jack had worked--his elaborate shack showed that distinctly--while he had been aided and abetted by a clever wife who fell in at once with the ways of the country, who did not grumble because she was far outside a town, but set to work to master the intricacies of chicken rearing, or b.u.t.ter making, and a thousand and one things, hidden arts to her till that moment. And the result was success--success and happiness.
Joe shouted a farewell, promised to call in for a meal on his way back, and again whipped up his horses. In half an hour the rough track and his rig brought him to the door of the Hurleys, a tumble-down shack, showing obvious slackness on the part of the owner; and as he climbed out of the rig he heard cries and shouts coming from the interior of the shack.
"A ruction," he told himself. "Perhaps I"d better wait; other people"s quarrels have nothing to do with me."
He paused half in and half out of the rig for a little while, till, of a sudden, the door of the shack flew open, and a lad some fifteen years of age dashed out. After him came a burly, bearded fellow, whose knitted brows and scowling face showed that he was in a temper. There was a whip in his hand, and no sooner was he out of the door than he sent the lash curling about the flanks of the lad who had preceded him, causing the latter to give vent to a cry of pain and to take cover by the rig. Then Hurley--for he it was--swung round on our hero.
"Huh!" he growled, drawing in the slack of his lash. "What do you want? You ain"t been asked here. Clear off!"
Joe dropped from the rig and stepped a pace nearer. "I"ve come for Peter Strike"s seeder," he said.
"Strike! Eh? You get off!" came the furious answer, for it seemed as if Joe"s arrival had increased the anger of the individual. "You get right off, or I"ll give yer strike jest as I"m a-going to do with this little rascal. Come you here, Tom; I"ll learn you to leave the door of the stable open of a night and have all the cattle treading over the corn. You ain"t coming? Then I"ll have to fetch you."
The huge bully bore down upon the trembling lad he had addressed, and who seemed too scared to move. He cowered by the side of the rig till Hurley was upon him, and was then dragged towards the door of the shack.
"What! You ain"t gone?" growled Hurley, seeing that Joe had made no movement, but stood beside the rig regarding him, and gripping the b.u.t.t of his whip. "Ef you ain"t away in a jiffy, I"ll give you summat of the same too."
"You"ll give me the seeder first," said Joe, keeping his temper, and showing an unflinching front, "and then you"ll take your hands off Tom.
Even if he did leave the stable door open, he"s sorry, no doubt, and there"s no excuse for treating him so badly. I"d be ashamed if I was a big fellow the same as you."
Hurley let his lower jaw drop with amazement, showing a set of irregular teeth which were all discoloured. He almost foamed at the mouth, while his eyes narrowed with anger and seemed to disappear within their sockets. Joe could see the fingers of his one free hand crushed into the palm, while the man"s muscles hardened and stood out prominently under the skin of his arm. He bellowed when he answered.
"So you"d like to concern yourself with things that ain"t got nothing to do with you," he shouted. "You"re one of the green chaps from over the water that thinks things out here should be run as if the boys was dressed in silk, and every one of them mammy"s darlings. I"m going to lick this kid, and when I"m done, if you ain"t gone, I"ll give you a hiding jest the same."
Joe began to gather the fact that he was in for trouble, and debated what he ought to do. There may be some who, under similar circ.u.mstances, would have clambered into the rig and driven off; but few, very few we imagine. Joe, at any rate, was not to be numbered with them; he clenched the hand not gripping his whip and watched to see what happened. And Hurley did not keep him long waiting. He took the boy Tom by the scruff of his neck, forced him against the doorpost of the shack, and proceeded to bind him to it with a length of cord.
"That"ll do," said Joe curtly, walking towards him. "Let that lad go!"
"Eh? Why, ef I don"t think you"re mad!" declared the bully, opening his mouth in amazement. Indeed, he never once thought seriously that our hero would interpose between him and his victim. For Hurley stood six feet in his socks, and was burly and heavy. Joe perhaps topped the measure at five feet nine, and wanted to fill out a great deal yet before he could compare with this fellow. If he had any advantage over such a man, and that was an extremely doubtful point, it lay in his activity. Joe was light and "nippy" on his feet. In the boxing ring he could dodge round his opponent till the latter was exhausted almost in his efforts to force the battle. Hurley, however, was heavy and fat and unwieldy; besides, the bully"s face bore abundant evidence of indulgence. There were heavy lines beneath the eyes; the healthy tan and colour of the average colonist who works in the open was conspicuous by its absence, and instead his face was deadly pale. His deep and rapid breathing, too, told of his soft condition.
"He"d smash me like an egg," Joe told himself. "This is going to be a nasty business. But I can"t, I really can"t back out of it. Look here, Hurley," he said, attempting to reason with the angry man, "leave Tom alone. You know better than I do that your neighbours would never stand seeing you knocking him about. Bullying don"t go down out in these parts."
There came a roar from Hurley. Reason was thrown away on the maddened ruffian, and if only the truth had been known, he had imbibed a sufficiency of liquor that morning to account for a great deal of violence. Indeed, this was a habit which had grown with him, and which spelled ruin to his farming and to the happiness of his home. The veins in his bull-like neck swelled out prominently, then he launched himself at Joe, and, swinging the whip overhead, sent the lash coiling about his face. Our hero answered with a rapidity that must have been startling. He dashed in with the quickness of lightning and brought the b.u.t.t end of his whip handle down with a crash on the middle of Hurley"s head. A minute later they were locked in one another"s arms and engaged in a desperate struggle. Hurley gripped Joe round the shoulders, compressing his chest and arms. Then Joe managed to wrench his right fist free, and without a particle of hesitation sent it again and again into the bully"s face, till blood streamed down upon him, while Hurley shouted and foamed with rage, and strained as if he would crush the life out of his youthful antagonist. His breath came in gasps, so great were his exertions. His eyes were bloodshot, and altogether he wore anything but a taking appearance.
"Now, let me go, and end the matter," said Joe, keeping his wits, and pressing the man away from him as far as possible.
"Not till I"ve half-killed you," came the grunting answer. "I"ll learn you to interfere; I"ll break yer back, young feller."
And thereupon he proceeded to attempt to put that plan into execution.
He lifted Joe as if he were a feather, swung him round and hurled him against the shack, jarring the breath out of his body. It was only with a great effort that our hero kept his senses and struggled to hold an upright position, then, just as he had got his breath again, the man was on him. Joe let out with his right and left fists in quick succession, getting home on the bully"s face on each occasion. Then, stooping quickly, he picked up his whip, and, gripping the handle again, brought the b.u.t.t heavily across Hurley"s head, sending the man staggering backward. Indeed, the fellow seemed to be incapable of further exertion, for he rested his back against the shack and stood there panting.
Joe went to the boy at once, cut the rope which bound him, and pointed to the shack.
"Get your traps at once," he said, "then climb into the rig. I"ll take you along with me."
He turned once more to see what was happening to Hurley, and was only just in time to spring aside, and thereby escape a sweeping blow from a heavy fork handle with which the ruffian had armed himself.
"I"ll show you who"s master," shouted the fellow, his beard bristling with rage, his hat fallen from his head, and his clothing all awry.
"I"ll show you who"s winner here, I will. I"ll brain you before I"ve done with you."
Up went his formidable stick again, to be swung over his head; then with a rush he advanced on Joe. But the latter dodged behind the rig, and for a while attacker and attacked were separated. Joe, in fact, could have retired. But there was the lad Tom to be considered, for at this moment he emerged from the shack, a huge bundle under his arm.
"Go back, right in," bellowed Hurley. "I"ll finish you too if you"re not careful. Go right in; I"ll give you what you"ve earned when I"ve done with this cub. Eh? You ain"t going to?"
The smallest hesitation on the part of Tom was sufficient to send the blood again rushing to the face of the bully. He looked a terrible object as he sprang at the boy, and there is little doubt that he would have done him a serious injury, had not Joe again pluckily come to the rescue. Darting out from behind the rig, he was just in time to catch the end of the stout handle which Hurley wielded as it swung back over his shoulder. Then, with a howl of rage, the brute turned on him.
"You again!" he shouted. "Then that for you! That, and that, and that!"
He rained blows on our hero, one catching him across the shoulder and almost felling him. The remaining two he was lucky enough to escape by leaping aside. But he realized that such an attack could not last for ever, nor was he likely to escape another time. It was with a quick movement, therefore, that he closed with Hurley. His fists went crash into the man"s face, and then they were once more locked together. But here the bully had all the advantage, and his strength was increased by the rage he felt. It mattered little to him that Tom, with a pluck that did him credit, seized Joe"s whip and struck his tormentor over the head time and again. Hurley did not seem to feel the blows; all his frantic rage was concentrated on Joe.