hard and staunch than sprightly.

Still, the manager did his best for us, and said on parting, "Send him
right along. I'll give any friend of yours a show if Jasper will vouch for
him. Pay's no great thing as yet, but he can live on it, and if we
flourish he'll sail ahead with us."

So we brought Thomas Fletcher out from Winnipeg by joint subscription, and
it cost us rather more than we cared about, for he came second class,
while at that time Harry and I would have traveled "Colonist," or on
opportunity would have earned our passage by tending stock. If we could
spare a dollar in those days we wanted it for our land. The old jauntiness
had gone out of Fletcher. He looked worn and thinner, with, I fancied,
signs of indulgence in alcohol, but he professed his willingness to work
hard at anything that would keep a roof over Minnie's head. We drove him
across to the creamery, and the manager seemed disappointed when he saw
him, while on the journey home Jasper said:

"I've been sizing up that young man. Strikes me he's too much like the
trash you British are over-fond of dumping on to us. Why can't your people
understand that if a man's a dead failure over there we don't want him?
Dare say he's honest, but he's got no sand. Let that fellow sit up and
talk over a glass of rye whiskey and a bad cigar and he's right there; set
him wrestling with a tough job and he'll double up."

Jasper posed as a judge of character, and I felt inclined to agree with
him. Fletcher had not the appearance of a vicious or dishonest man, but I
fancied under pressure of circumstances he might become one.

We built a new stable and barn that winter, hauling suitable logs--and
they were very hard to find--ten miles across the prairie, while Harry
nearly lost his hands by frost-bite bringing in one load. Nevertheless,
and there is leisure in that season, we drove over now and then to
Fletcher's humble dwelling beside the creamery, and were both embarrassed
the first time Minnie thanked us with tears in her eyes. Already she was
recovering her good looks and spirits, but as Fletcher's pay would be
scanty until spring the odd bags of potatoes and flour we brought them
were evidently acceptable. We had received help freely when we needed it,
and it seemed only fitting that now we should help others in turn; so we
did what little we could, and, as transpired later, it brought trouble on
us. Also we managed to pay a few visits to other neighbors who li