"
"At what University?" struck in the lumber-king. "Oh, Laval! I wouldn't
go to McGill. I wanted to know French, so I went to Laval. There I came
to know Father Labasse. He was a great man, Father Labasse. He helped me.
I was there three years, and then was told I was going to die. It was
Labasse who gave me this tip. He said, 'Go into the woods; put your teeth
into the trees; eat the wild herbs, and don't come back till you feel
well.' Well, I haven't gone back, and I'm not going back."
"What do you do with your wages?" asked the lumber-king.
"I bought land. I've got a farm of four hundred acres twenty miles from
here. I've got a man on it working it."
"Does it pay?"
"Of course. Do you suppose I'd keep a farm that didn't pay?"
"Who runs it?"
"A man that broke his leg on the river. One of Belloc's men. He knows all
about farming. He brought his wife and three children up, and there he
is--making money, and making the land good. I've made him a partner at
last. When it's good enough by and by, I'll probably go and live there
myself. Anybody ought to make farming a success, if there's water and
proper wood and such things," he added.
There was silence for a few moments. Then John Grier looked Tarboe up and
down sharply again, noting the splendid physique, the quizzical,
mirth-provoking eye, and said: "I can give you a better job if you'll
come to Montreal.
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