not seen.

"I don't want to farm, but if you can stand it for my sake, I must try.
You will need some patience, Sadie--I may break out at times if the
strain gets too hard. One can't help running away when one is something
of a cur. But I'll come back, ashamed and sorry, and pitch in again.
Since you mean to stand by me, perhaps I'll win out in the end."

Bending down suddenly, he kissed her and then went to the door. She
heard it shut, and sat still, but her eyes filled with tears. Bob had
not promised much, but she thought he meant to keep his word now,
and doubts that had troubled her melted away. She did not grudge the
sacrifice she had made, for a ray of hope had begun to shine. It was,
however, characteristic that after musing for a minute or two she took
out some notepaper and began to write. Since the business must be sold,
there was nothing to be gained by delay, and she gave a Winnipeg agent
clear instructions. Then she went out and hid her annoyance when she saw
Charnock sitting languidly on the hotel veranda.

"Has Wilkinson sent back our rig?" she asked.

"He has, but the team has done enough. Where are you going?"

"To look at Donaldson's farm. I want you to come along. Go across and
ask Martin if he'll let you have his team."

Charnock got up with a resigned shrug. "You are a hustler, Sadie. It's
not many minutes since you decided about the thing."

"I don't see what I'd get by waiting, and you may as well make up your
mind that you're going to hustle, too. Now get busy and go for Martin's
team."

CHAPTER XIII

AN UNEXPECTED MEETING

It was a bright afternoon and white-edged clouds rolled across the sky
before a fresh north-west wind when Helen Festing rode up to a birch
bluff on the prairie. The trees made a musical rustling as they tossed
their branches, tufted with opening leaves. The sweep of white grass was
checkered by patches of green that gleamed when the light touched them
and faded as the shadows swept across the plain. There was something
strangely invigorating in the air, but when she reached the bluff Helen
pulled up her horse and looked about.

She missed the soft blue haze that mellowed the landscape among the
English hills. Every feature was sharp and the colors were vivid; ocher,
green, and silver gleaming with light. Distant bluffs stood out
with sharp distinctness. She thought the new country was like its
inhabitants; they were marked by a certain primitive vigor and t