Graham guardian., 1922-07-04
SYNOPSIS

CHAR Ely l.-LOOhluB ONoE E@E taub-
keg. a seemingly impossible swamp in
the path Of the Mssatibi railroad, Joe
Bostock, builder OF the line. and Wilton
Carruthers, chief OF engineers, are con-
sidering the di. .cultieB rifle shot in
stantiy kills Bostock and breaks Car
ruthers' arm. Handicapped as he iss Car
ruthers determines to carry the body TO
q station of the Hudsons Bay company.
where one Mcdonald is the factor.
CHAPTER II.-McDonald's daughter.
Molly, sees Carruthers struggling In the
muskeg and diags him from the swamp,
with his burden. Unaccountably, her
father objects TO her saving Carruthers.
CHAPTER IIr.--Weakened by his wound
and exertionR Carruthers is disturbed BY
the appearance OF Tom Bowysr, Bostoek's
fvs ea sRs
him. After Bowyer leaves, Carruthers
declares his love for Molly. She prom
ises to be his wife.
"She was as true as steel to joe"
said Molly. kitty and Joe were very
good to me when / was In Winnipeg
Inst winter But what do you think
Mr.. BOwyer meant by his suggestion
about coal on your lands?'
"There Is no coal" said Wilton.
Molly, dear, III tell you what our Sc
cret is. Iswas pledged to Joe-but
the secrets mine now, and I can tell
you. II isn't coal--it's clay"
"Clay, WiltonT
"Clay, It's more valuable than coal
or gold. It's clay land that the wheat
grows on. or rather In the rich topsoil
of loan, with the clay subsoil to seal
and preserve the rainfall, yet easily
drained with little labor.
II discovered 1t when l was pros
pecting up this way four years ago.
It's probably an extension of the New
Ontario clay belt and. IL 80. It runs
for hundreds of miles through this
part of northern Manitoba. 1t means
that the wheat area of Canada will
be increased by thousands Of square
miles. It means homes and prosper
ity for thousands who are now strug-
Cling for bare living in our cities.
THAT appealed to Joe. He was a
man, IL ever there was one. He saw
tie money In It, and TIE value Of the
line but he saw further than that. He
was looking ahead, years after he was
gone. He wanted to do good in his
own way. He'd had hard time when
he was young man. And because peo-
pie believed In Joe. though he dared
not tell them his secret, they lent him
the capital, and took up his shares.
That was Joe's dreGm--and it's mine;
Molly"
She listened breathlessly as he re-
vealed his dream to her, and yet, per-
haps, wOmanlike, she was happy rath-
er in the revelation of himself than
in the altruism Of the dead man.
"That's what the Mlssatibi meant to
joe" said Wilton. That's why we
mean to fight to keep 1t out of Bow
yer's hands. Molly, dear, when
realized that Joe WAS dead everything
seemed ended for the line couldn't
see how we were going to carry on
without him. It's only now--now that
] have found something as well as lost
everything-that / can begin to pick
up my courage"
She laughed and put her face down
on his shoulder.
"When Joe's death came home to
me I thought things over In there,
and 1t seemed to me that the only
thing possible for me would be to go
before the shareholders and tell them
frankly what lay behind the enter
prfse-I mean the clay lands and their
development.
swell, Molly, I've changed my mind.
/ won't tell them. I'll keep control
for Kitty. And I'll advise the share
holders to proceed with the route
we've planned. I'll take the respon-
sibility. Big Muskeg can be crossed.
1t shall be.
"And I'll do more than that, Molly.
I'll get the shareholders authorize
tion before they know Joe's dead. If
they knew that, It'd be all up with the
line. Bowyer doesn't know. Nobody
knows except ourselves.
"rve told you all this, Molly, be-
cause you have the right to know.
And Just as soon as we've won I shall
De III pOSltlUH W hSh you u Dt iuy
wife. VIII you, dear7"
Molly turned and put her hands on
his shoulders.
"Yes, WILL" she answered. "And !
hope with all my heart that you sue
coed In carrying out Joe's plans. And
l believe you will. And believe you
will find a way to cross Big Muskeg
] see now that l must let you go,
though can't bear to, VIII. But now
/ must say something. You know my
father"
Doesn't altogether approve of me
as son.in-law, TO put 1t mildly an
swered Wilton. ~ can't make out the
reason for his dislike Of me. The
first time l came here we struck up a
friendship that looked as If It would
be good for all time. Do you know
what the trouble Is, MollyT"
I'm afraid Tom Bowyer has been
influencing him against you. He has
strong power over father He helped
him I'm anna UNIV yuhnn hp first rnma