STRANGE'S STORY


After Allott's departure Thirlwell went to Montreal and spent two
depressing days transacting some business for his employers. Quebec was
quiet and picturesque, and a cool, refreshing breeze blew up the river
from the Laurentian wilds, but Montreal, shut in by the wooded mountain,
sweltered in humid heat. Then the streets were being torn up to lay
electric mains, and sand and cement blew about from half-finished
concrete buildings. Thirlwell did not like large cities, and after the
silence of the bush, the bustle of the traffic jarred.

He had, however, better grounds for feeling depressed. His employers
trusted him, and actuated by loyalty as well as professional pride, he
had resolved to make their rather daring venture a success. Now this
looked difficult. Money was scarce, and he found credit strangely hard
to get. The mining speculators he called upon received him coldly, and
although he had a warmer welcome from the manufacturers of giant-powder
and rock-boring machines, they demanded prompt payment for their goods.
When Thirlwell stated that this was impossible they told him to come
again.

It was known that there was silver in the rocks that run back into the
North-West Territories, but nobody had found ore that would pay for
refining. The rich strike in Ontario had not been made yet, and the
prospectors who pushed into the forests with drill and dynamite were
regarded as rash enthusiasts. Bankers were cautious, and declined to
accept rusty mining plant and a shaft in the wilderness as good
security.