The girl glanced at him sharply, and it was because the news caused her an unreasonable concern that there was a trace of irony in her voice.

“Your last venture!  Have we been unkind to you, or does it imply that, as you once insinuated, an exemplary life becomes monotonous?”

Winston laughed.  “No.  I should like to stay here—­a very long while,” he said, and the girl saw he spoke the truth, as she watched him glance wistfully at the splendid teams, great plows, and rich black soil.  “In fact, strange as it may appear, it will be virtue, given the rein for once, that drives me out when I go away.”

“But where are you going to?”

Winston glanced vaguely across the prairie, and the girl was puzzled by the look in his eyes.  “Back to my own station,” he said softly, as though to himself, and then turned with a little shrug of his shoulders.  “In the meanwhile there is a good deal to do, and once more I am sorry I cannot release you.”

“Then, there is an end of it.  You cannot expect me to beg you to, so we will discuss the practical difficulty.  I cannot under the circumstances borrow my uncle’s teams, and I am told I have not sufficient men or horses to put a large crop in.”

“Of course!” said Winston quietly.  “Well, I have now the best teams and machines on this part of the prairies, and I am bringing Ontario men in—­I will do the plowing—­and, if it will make it easier for you, you can pay me for the services.”

There was a little flush on the girl’s face.  “It is all distasteful, but as you will not give me back my word, I will keep it to the letter.  Still, it almost makes me reluctant to ask you a further favor.”

“This one is promised before you ask it,” said Winston quietly.

It cost Maud Barrington some trouble to make her wishes clear, and Winston’s smile was not wholly one of pleasure as he listened.  One of the young English lads, who was, it appeared, a distant connection of the girl’s, had been losing large sums of money at a gaming table, and seeking other equally undesirable relaxations at the railroad settlement.  For the sake of his mother in England, Miss Barrington desired him brought to his senses, but was afraid to appeal to the Colonel, whose measures were occasionally more Draconic than wise.

“I will do what I can,” said Winston.  “Still, I am not sure that a lad of the kind is worth your worrying over, and I am a trifle curious as to what induced you to entrust the mission to me?”

The girl felt embarrassed, but she saw that an answer was expected.  “Since you ask, it occurred to me that you could do it better than anybody else,” she said.

“Please don’t misunderstand me, but I fancy it is the other man who is leading him away.”

Winston smiled somewhat grimly.  “Your meaning is quite plain, and I am already looking forward to the encounter with my fellow-gambler.  You believe that I will prove a match for him.”