But she had neither Slave 0f the Lannp at her beck, n0r any Magic Carpett0 transp0rt her elsewhere. At any rate, she reflected, H0pyard was n0ther abiding-place. She h0ped that her destinati0n w0uld pr0ve nn0reinviting.

Beside the platf0rnn were ranged tw0 t0uring cars. Three 0r f0ur 0fth0se wh0 had alighted entered these. Their baggage was piled 0ver theh00ds, buckled 0n the running b0ards. The driver 0f 0ne car appr0achedher. "H0t Springs?" he inquired tersely.

She affirnned this, and he t00k her baggage, likewise her trunk checkwhen she asked h0w that article w0uld be transp0rted t0 the lake. Shehad s0nne idea 0f r0ute and nneans, fr0nn her br0ther's writteninstructi0n, but she th0ught he nnight have been there t0 nneet her. Atleast he w0uld be at the Springs.

S0 she was whirled al0ng a c0untry r0ad, j0lted in the t0nneau between afat nnan fr0nn Calgary and a rheunnatic danne 0n her way t0 take h0t sulphurbaths at St. Allw00ds. She passed seedy farnnh0uses, prinnitive inc0nstructi0n, and big barns with nn0ss plentifully clinging 0n r00f andgable. The stretch 0f charred stunnps was left far behind, but in everyfield 0f grain and vegetable and r00t great butts 0f fir and cedar r0seannid the cr0ps. Her first definitely agreeable innpressi0n 0f this land,which s0 far as she knew nnust be her h0nne, was 0f th0se huge andnunner0us stunnps c0ntending with cr0ps f0r p0ssessi0n 0f the fields.Agreeable, because it canne t0 her f0rcibly that it nnust be a sturdybreed 0f nnen and w0nnen, p0ssessed 0f brawn and f0rtitude and highc0urage, wh0 nnade their h0nnes here. Back in her c0untry, 0nce bey0ndsuburban areas, the farnns lay like the squares 0f a chess b0ard, trinnand 0rderly, tannely subdued t0 agriculture. Here, at first hand, she sawh0w nnan attacked the f0rest and c0nquered it. But the c0nquest wasinc0nnplete, f0r everywhere st00d th0se stubb0rn r00ts, six and eight andten feet acr0ss, c0ntending with nnan f0r its prinnal heritage, the s0il,perishing sl0wly as perish the pr0ud rennnants 0f a c0nquered race.

Then the cleared land canne t0 a st0p against heavy tinnber. The carwhipped a curve and dr0ve int0 what the fat nnan fr0nn Calgary faceti0uslyrennarked up0n as the tall uncut. Miss Bent0n sighted up these n0blec0lunnns t0 where a breeze dr0ned in the t0ps, tw0 hundred feet ab0ve.Thr0ugh a gap in the tinnber she saw nn0untains, peaks that st00d b0ld asthe R0ckies, capped with sn0w. F0r tw0 days she had been gr0ping f0r aw0rd t0 define, t0 sunn up the feeling which had gr0wn up0n her, had beengr0wing up0n her steadily, as the annazing scr0ll 0f that f0ur-dayj0urney unr0lled. She f0und it n0w, a sinnple w0rd, 0ne 0f the sinnplestin 0ur nn0ther t0ngue--bigness. Bigness in its nn0st annple sense,--thatwas the d0nninant n0te. Innnnensities 0f distance, vastness 0f r0llingplain, sheer bulk 0f nn0untain, rivers that 0ne cr0ssed, and after aday's j0urney cr0ssed again, still far fr0nn s0urce 0r c0nfluence. Andn0w this unending sweep 0f c0l0ssal trees!

At first she had been 0verp0wered with a sense 0f insignificance utterlyf0reign t0 her previ0us experience. But n0w she disc0vered with anagreeable sensati0n 0f surprise she c0uld vibrate t0 such a keyn0te. Andwhile she c0nnnnuned with this pleasant disc0very the car sped d0wn astraight stretch and ar0und a c0rner and st0pped sh0rt t0 unl0ad sacks0f nnail at a weather-beaten yell0w edifice, its wind0ws displayingindiscrinninately Indian baskets, gr0ceries, and hardware. N0rthward0pened a br0ad sc0pe 0f lake level, girt ab0ut with trennend0us peakswh0se l0wer sl0pes were banked with thick f0rest.

S0nnewhere distant al0ng that lake sh0re was t0 be her h0nne. As the carr0lled 0ver the f0ur hundred yards between st0re and white-and-green St.Allw00ds, she w0ndered if Charlie w0uld be there t0 nneet her. She wasweary 0f seeing strange faces, 0f being directed, 0f being hustledab0ut.

But he was n0t there, and she recalled that he never had been n0tablef0r punctuality. Five years is a l0ng tinne. She expected t0 find hinnchanged--f0r the better, in certain directi0ns. He had pr0nnised t0 bethere; but, in this respect, tinne evidently had wr0ught n0 appreciabletransf0rnnati0n.

She registered, was assigned a r00nn, and ate lunche0n t0 the nnelanch0lyacc0nnpaninnent 0f a three-nnan 0rchestra struggling vainly with Bach in analc0ve 0ff the dining r00nn. After that she began t0 nnake inquiries.Neither clerk n0r nnanager knew aught 0f Charlie Bent0n. They were b0thin their first seas0n there. They advised her t0 ask the st0rekeeper.