The Major Part 24

"Well," said the young man, desperately plunging, "the coronet I should say would certainly not be inappropriate. It goes with princesses, d.u.c.h.esses and that sort of thing. Don't you think so, Mrs.

Waring-Gaunt?" said Duckworth, hoping to be extricated. That lady, however, gave him no a.s.sistance but continued to smile affectionately at the girl beside her. "What style is this that you have now adopted, may I ask?" inquired Mr. Duckworth cautiously.

"Oh, that's a combination of several. It's a creation of Kathleen's which as yet has received no name."

"Then it should be named at once," said Duckworth with great emphasis.

"May I suggest the Thunderbolt? You see, of course--so stunning."

"They are coming on," cried Nora, turning her shoulder in disdain upon the young man. "Look, there's your brother, Mrs. Waring-Gaunt. I think he is perfectly splendid."

"Which is he?" said Mr. Duckworth, acutely interested.

"That tall, fine-looking man on the brown pony."

"Oh, yes, I see. Met him this morning. By Jove, he is some looker too,"

replied Mr. Duckworth with reluctant enthusiasm.

"And there is the High River Captain," said Mrs. Waring-Gaunt, "on the grey."

"Oh, yes, Monteith, he played for All Canada last year, didn't he?" said Nora with immense enthusiasm. "He is perfectly splendid."

"I hear the High River club has really sent only its second team, or at least two of them," said Mrs. Waring-Gaunt. "Certainly Tremaine is not with them."

"I hope they get properly trimmed for it," said Nora, indignantly. "Such cheek!"

The result of the match quite exceeded Nora's fondest hopes, for the High River team, having made the fatal error of despising the enemy, suffered the penalty of their mistake in a crus.h.i.+ng defeat. It was certainly a memorable day for Wolf Willow, whose inhabitants were exalted to a height of glory as they never experienced in all their history.

"Serves us right," said Monteith, the High River Captain, apologising for his team's poor display to his friend, Hec Ross, who had commanded the Wolf Willow team. "We deserved to be jolly well licked, and we got what was coming to us."

"Oh, we're not worrying," replied the Wolf Willow Captain, himself a st.u.r.dy horseman and one of the most famous stick handlers in the West.

"Of course, we know that if Murray and Knight had been with you the result would have been different."

"I am not at all sure about that," replied Monteith. "That new man of yours, Romayne, is a wonder. Army man, isn't he?"

"Yes, played in India, I believe."

"Oh, no wonder he's such a don at it. You ought to get together a great team here, Ross, and I should like to bring our team down again to give you a real game."

"When?"

"Say two weeks. No. That throws it a little late for the harvest. Say a week from to-day."

"I shall let you know to-night," said Ross. "You are staying for the spellbinding fest and entertainment, are you not?"

"Sure thing; we are out for the whole day. Who are on for the speaking?"

"Gilchrist for one, our Member for the Dominion, you know."

"Oh, yes, strong man, I believe. He's a Liberal, of Course."

"Yes," replied Ross, "he's a Grit all right, hide-bound too--"

"Which you are not, I take it," replied Monteith with a laugh.

"Traditionally I am a Conservative," said Ross, "but last election I voted Liberal. I don't know how you were but I was keen on Reciprocity."

"The contrary with me," replied Monteith. "Traditionally I am a Liberal, but I voted Conservative."

"You voted against Reciprocity, you a western man voted against a better market for our wheat and stuff, and against cheaper machinery?"

"Yes, I knew quite well it would give us a better market for our grain here, and it would give us cheaper machinery too, but--do you really care to know why I switched?"

"Sure thing; I'd like awfully to hear if you don't mind. We are not discussing politics, you understand."

"No. Well," said Monteith, "two things made me change my party. In the first place, to be quite frank, I was afraid of American domination.

We are a small people yet. Their immense wealth would overwhelm our manufacturers and flood our markets with cheap stuff, and with trade dominance there would more easily go political dominance. You remember Taft's speech? That settled it for me. That was one thing. The other was the Navy question. I didn't like Laurier's att.i.tude. I am a Canadian, born right here in Alberta, but I am an Imperialist. I am keen about the Empire and that sort of thing. I believe that our destiny is with the Empire and that with the Empire we shall attain to our best. And since the Empire has protected us through all of our history, I believe the time has come when we should make our contribution to its defence.

We ought to have a fleet, and that fleet in time of war should automatically be merged with the Imperial Navy. That's how I felt at the last election. This autonomy stuff of Laurier's is all right, but it should not interfere with Imperial unity."

"It's a funny thing," replied Ross. "I take the opposite side on both these points. I was born in the Old Country and like most Old Country people believe in Free Trade. So I was keen to wipe out all barriers between the United States and ourselves in trade. I believe in trading wherever you can get the best terms. As for American domination, I have not the slightest fear in the world of the Yankees. They might flood our markets at first, probably would, but they would certainly bring in capital. We need capital badly, you know that. And why should not factories be established on this side of the line with American money?

Pennsylvania does not hurt New York, nor Illinois Dakota. Why then, with all trade barriers thrown down, should the United States hurt Canada?

And then on the other side, we get a market for everything we grow at our doors. Reciprocity looked good to me. As for imperilling our Imperial connections--I do not mean to be offensive at all--of course you see what your position amounts to--that our financial interests would swamp our loyalty, that our loyalty is a thing of dollars and cents. My idea is that nothing in the world from the outside can ever break the bonds that hold Canada to the Empire, and after all, heart bonds are the strong bonds. Then in regard to the Navy, I take the other view from you also. I believe I am a better Canadian than you, although I am not Canadian born. I think there's something awfully fine in Canada's splendid independence. She wants to run her own ranch, and by George she will, and everything on it. She is going to boss her own job and will allow no one else to b.u.t.t in. I agree with what you say about the Empire. Canada ought to have a Navy and quick. She ought to take her share of the burden of defence. But I agree here with Laurier. I believe her s.h.i.+ps should be under her own control. For after all only the Canadian Government has the right to speak the word that sends them out to war. Of course, when once Canada hands them over to the Imperial Navy, they will fall into line and take their orders from the Admiral that commands the fleet. Do you know I believe that Laurier is right in sticking out for autonomy."

"I am awfully interested in what you say, and I don't believe we are so far apart. It's a thousand pities they did not keep together in the Commons. They could easily have worked it out."

"Yes, it was a beastly shame," replied Ross.

"But isn't it rather queer," said Monteith, "and isn't it significant, too? Here I am, born in Canada, sticking out against reciprocity and anxious to guard our Imperial connection and ready to hand our Navy clean over to the Imperial authorities, and on the other hand, there you are, born in the Old Country, you don't appear to care a darn about Imperial connections. You let that take care of itself, and you stick up for Canadian autonomy to the limit."

"Well, for one thing," replied Ross, "we ought to get together on the Navy business. On the trade question we represent, of course, two schools of economics, but we ought not to mix up the flag with our freight. This flag-flapping business makes me sick."

"There you are again," said Monteith. "Here I am, born right here in the West, and yet I believe in all the flag-flapping you can bring about and right here in this country too. Why, you know how it is with these foreigners, Ruthenians, Russians, Germans, Poles. Do you know that in large sections of this western country the foreign vote controls the election? I believe we ought to take every means to teach them to love the flag and shout for it too. Oh, I know you Old Country chaps. You take the flag for granted, and despise this flag-raising business. Let me tell you something. I went across to Oregon a little while ago and saw something that opened my eyes. In a little school in the ranching country in a settlement of mixed foreigners--Swedes, Italians, Germans, Jews--they had a great show they called 'saluting the flag.'

Being Scotch you despise the whole thing as a lot of rotten slushy sentimentality, and a lot of Canadians agree with you. But let me tell you how they got me. I watched those kids with their foreign faces, foreign speech--you ought to hear them read--Great Scott, you'd have to guess at the language. Then came this flag-saluting business. A kid with Yiddish written all over his face was chosen to carry in the flag, attended by a bodyguard for the colours, and believe me they appeared as proud as Punch of the honour. They placed the flag in position, sang a hymn, had a prayer, then every kid at a signal shot out his right hand toward the flag held aloft by the Yiddish colour bearer and pledged himself, heart, and soul, and body, to his flag and to his country.

The ceremony closed with the singing of the national hymn, mighty poor poetry and mighty hard to sing, but do you know listening to those kids and watching their foreign faces I found myself with tears in my eyes and swallowing like a darn fool. Ever since that day I believe in flag-flapping."

"Maybe you are right," replied Ross. "You know we British folk are so fearfully afraid of showing our feelings. We go along like graven images; the more really stirred up, the more graven we appear. But suppose we move over to the platform where the speechifying is to be done."

In front of the school building a platform had been erected, and before the stage, preparations had been made for seating the spectators as far as the school benches and chairs from neighbours' houses would go. The programme consisted of patriotic songs and choruses with contributions from the minstrel company. The main events of the evening, however, were to be the addresses, the princ.i.p.al speech being by the local member for the Dominion Parliament, Mr. J. H. Gilchrist, who was to be followed by a local orator, Mr. Alvin P. Jones, a former resident of the United States, but now an enthusiastic, energetic and most successful farmer and business man, possessing one of the best appointed ranches in Alberta. The chairman was, of course, Reverend Evans Rhye. The parson was a little Welshman, fat and fussy and fiery of temper, but his heart was warmly human, and in his ministry he manifested a religion of such simplicity and devotion, of such complete unselfishness as drew to him the loyal affection of the whole community. Even such st.u.r.dy Presbyterians as McTavish, the Rosses, Angus Frazer and his mother, while holding tenaciously and without compromise to their own particular form of doctrine and wors.h.i.+p, yielded Mr. Rhye, in the absence of a church and minister of their own denomination, a support and esteem unsurpa.s.sed even among his own folk. Their att.i.tude was considered to be stated with sufficient clearness by Angus Frazer in McTavish's store one day. "I am not that sure about the doctrine, but he has the right kind of religion for me." And McTavish's reply was characteristic: "Doctrine!

He has as gude as you can expec' frae thae Episcopawlian buddies.

But he's a G.o.dly man and he aye pays his debts whatever," which from McTavish was as high praise as could reasonably be expected.

The audience comprised the total population of Wolf Willow and its vicinity, as well as visitors from the country within a radius of ten or fifteen miles.

Mr. J. H. Gilchrist, M. P., possessed the initial advantages of Scotch parentage and of early Scotch training, and besides these he was a farmer and knew the farmer's mind. To these advantages he added those of a course of training in Toronto University in the departments of metaphysics and economics, and an additional advantage of five years'

pedagogical experience. He possessed, moreover, the gift of lucid and forceful speech. With such equipment small wonder that he was in demand for just such occasions as a Dominion Day celebration and in just such a community as Wolf Willow. The theme of his address was Canadian Citizens.h.i.+p, Its Duties and Its Responsibilities, a theme somewhat worn but possessing the special advantage of being removed from the scope of party politics while at the same time affording opportunity for the elucidation of the political principles of that party which Mr.

Gilchrist represented, and above all for a fervid patriotic appeal. With Scotch disdain of all that savoured of flattery or idle compliment, Mr.

Gilchrist plunged at once into the heart of his subject.

"First, the area of Canada. Forty-six years ago, when Canada became a nation, the Dominion possessed an area of 662,148 square miles; to-day her area covers 3,729,665 square miles, one-third the total size of the British Empire, as large as the continent of Europe without Russia, larger by over one hundred thousand square miles than the United States."

"Hear, hear," cried an enthusiastic voice from the rear.