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One Day's Courtship By: Robert Barr (1850-1912) |
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COURTSHIP AND THE HERALDS OF FAME
BY ROBERT BARR AUTHOR OF "A WOMAN INTERVENES," "IN THE MIDST OF ALARMS," "THE FACE AND
THE MASK," "FROM WHOSE BOURNE," ETC.
WITH FRONTISPIECE BY E. FREDERICK 1896
CHAPTER I.
John Trenton, artist, put the finishing touches to the letter he was
writing, and then read it over to himself. It ran as follows: "MY DEAR ED., "I sail for England on the 27th. But before I leave I want to have
another look at the Shawenegan Falls. Their roar has been in my ears
ever since I left there. That tremendous hillside of foam is before my
eyes night and day. The sketches I took are not at all satisfactory,
so this time I will bring my camera with me, and try to get some
snapshots at the falls. "Now, what I ask is this. I want you to hold that canoe for me against
all comers for Tuesday. Also, those two expert half breeds. Tell them
I am coming, and that there is money in it if they take me up and back
as safely as they did before. I don't suppose there will be much
demand for the canoe on that day; in fact, it astonishes me that
Americans, who appreciate the good things of our country better than
we do ourselves, practically know nothing of this superb cataract
right at their own doors. I suppose your new canoe is not finished
yet, and as the others are up in the woods I write so that you will
keep this particular craft for me. I do not wish to take any risks, as
I leave so soon. Please drop me a note to this hotel at Quebec, and I
will meet you in Le Gres on Tuesday morning at daybreak. "Your friend, "JOHN TRENTON." Mason was a millionaire and a lumber king, but every one called him
Ed. He owned baronial estates in the pine woods, and saw mills without
number. Trenton had brought a letter of introduction to him from
a mutual friend in Quebec, who had urged the artist to visit the
Shawenegan Falls. He heard the Englishman inquire about the cataract,
and told him that he knew the man who would give him every facility
for reaching the falls. Trenton's acquaintance with Mason was about a
fortnight old, but already they were the firmest of friends. Any one who
appreciated the Shawenegan Falls found a ready path to the heart of the
big lumberman. It was almost impossible to reach the falls without the
assistance of Mr. Mason. However, he was no monopolist. Any person
wishing to visit the cataract got a canoe from the lumber king free
of all cost, except a tip to the two boatmen who acted as guides and
watermen. The artist had not long to wait for his answer. It was "My DEAR JOHN, "The canoe is yours; the boatmen are yours: and the Shawenegan is
yours for Tuesday. Also, "I am yours, "E. MASON." On Monday evening John Trenton stepped off the C. P. R. train at Three
Rivers. With a roughing it suit on, and his camera slung over his
shoulders, no one would have taken him for the successful landscape
artist who on Piccadilly was somewhat particular about his attire. John Trenton was not yet R. A., nor even A. R. A., but all his friends
would tell you that, if the Royal Academy was not governed by a clique,
he would have been admitted long ago, and that anyhow it was only a
question of time. In fact, John admitted this to himself, but to no one
else. He entered the ramshackle 'bus, and was driven a long distance through
very sandy streets to the hotel on the St. Lawrence, and, securing a
room, made arrangements to be called before daybreak. He engaged the
same driver who had taken him out to "The Greys," as it was locally
called, on the occasion of his former visit. The morning was cold and dark. Trenton found the buckboard at the door,
and he put his camera under the one seat a kind of a box for the
holding of bits of harness and other odds and ends. As he buttoned up
his overcoat he noticed that a great white steamer had come in the
night, and was tied up in front of the hotel. "The Montreal boat," explained the driver. As they drove along the silent streets of Three Rivers, Trenton called
to mind how, on the former occasion, he thought the Lower Canada
buckboard by all odds, the most uncomfortable vehicle he had ever ridden
in, and he felt that his present experience was going to corroborate
this first impression... Continue reading book >>
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