River of Strangers by Frank Parker Day

Author:Frank Parker Day [Day, Frank Parker]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Published: 2020-05-05T00:00:00+00:00

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Alex never forgot the day of the wedding. Everyone came to him for advice; they seemed to regard him as the promoter of the affair. Mary spoke to him in the morning; she had been thinking of what her people at home would say and had begun to falter.

“Are you sure it is all right?” she said, appealing to him.

“I’m not at all sure. You remember I advised you both to wait until August; it is only four months.”

“I’m willing to wait, but I am really afraid of Edward’s health. He has never been strong. He looks so worn and might become ill if I stopped now.”

“Then you’d better go through with it.”

“Do you think so?”

“Yes, if you think Mr. Sedding’s health is in danger.”

“I’ll do it, I’ll do it. There shall be no more question.”

Later on, Sedding approached him with doubts and fears, but he hardly listened to him; Mary’s opinion was all that counted. Sedding got the licence from the local justice of the peace, while Alex spent the afternoon with old Salters, drilling him on the service and keeping him sober. The old man pleaded for whisky, but Alex was relentless. He allowed him only one little drink during the whole afternoon. Just before the hour of the ceremony, Alex gave him a double whisky and drank one himself. Both he and Salters needed a little Dutch courage.

The wedding took place in the big room downstairs, which Mrs. Morris closed early, putting the bar of oak timber across the door. In the rôle of chief bridesmaid, Mrs. Morris, the abandoned mistress, stood up with Mary, while Alex acted as best man to the parson. Instead of a surpliced priest and the stained glass of a chancel was old Salters with the background of the bar and a row of whisky bottles. The girls from the kitchen peeped through the cracks and giggled in spite of Mrs. Morris’s frowns. She was tied to her post and could not get at them to drive them back. In the midst of the service, some lumberjacks came thundering at the door, demanding drink. Old Salters mumbled through the service creditably. To Alex, the whole thing was a fantastic nightmare. Sedding looked miserable and frightened; only Mary, with her calm and inscrutable womanliness, seemed to see nothing incongruous in the affair.

Next day, they left in two canoes for River of Strangers. Alex had hired reliable boatmen, and Roxy took the dogs home by the overland trail. In nine days, they made the journey up the river that had taken them thirty-five days to descend. Every day was fine and clear, and they arrived at the Post without mishap.

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