ts when the price drops
again."

"I fancy it would be wiser to cut my losses now," said Barrington dryly.

Then Winston did a somewhat daring thing, for he raised his voice a
trifle, in a fashion that seemed to invite the attention of the rest of
the company.

"The more certain the advance seems to be, the fiercer will be the
bears' last attack," he said. "They have to get from under, and will
take heavy chances to force prices back. As yet they may contrive to
check or turn the stream, and then every wise man who has sold down
will try to cover, but no one can tell how far it may carry us, once it
sets strongly in!"

The men understood, as did Colonel Barrington, that they were being
warned, as it were, above their leader's head, and his niece, while
resenting the slight, admitted the courage of the man. Barrington's
face was sardonic, and a less resolute man would have winced under the
implication as he said:

"This is, no doubt, intuition. I fancy you told us you had no dealings
on the markets at Winnipeg."

Winston looked steadily at the speaker, and the girl noticed with a
curious approval that he smiled.

"Perhaps it is, but I believe events will prove me right. In any case,
what I had the honor of telling you and Miss Barrington was the fact,"
he said.

Nobody spoke, and the girl was wondering by what means the strain could
be relieved, which, though few heard what Barrington said, all seemed
to feel, when out of the darkness came a second beat of hoofs, and by
and by a man swaying on the driving-seat of a jolting wagon swept into
the light from the windows. Then, there were voices outside, and a
breathless lad came in.

"A big grass fire coming right down on Courthorne's farm!" he said.
"It was tolerably close when I got away."

In an instant there was commotion, and every man in Silverdale Grange
was on his feet. For the most part, they took life lightly, and looked
upon their farming as an attempt to combine the making of dollars with
gentlemanly relaxation; but there were no laggards among them when
there was perilous work to be done, and they went out to meet the fire
joyously. Inside five minutes scarcely a horse remained in the
stables, and the men were flying at a gallop across the dusky prairie
laughing at the risk of a stumble in a deadly badger-hole. Yet, in the
haste of saddling, they found time to arrange a twenty-dollar
sweepstake and the allowance for weight.

Up the long r