But he was always on his guard, always on the
alert against these pitfalls of speech. He was never sure whether they
were deliberate traps, or merely the half-regretful, backward looking
of a woman to whom life lately had not been kind.
Nevertheless it kept his nerves on edge. For he valued his peace and
his home that was in the making. There was a restfulness and a
satisfaction in Doris Cleveland which he dreaded to imperil because he
had the feeling that he would never find its like again. He felt that
Myra's mere presence was like a sword swinging over his head. There
was no armor he could put on against that weapon if it were decreed it
should fall.
Hollister soon perceived that if he were not to lose ground he must
have labor. Men would not come seeking work so far out of the beaten
track. In addition, there were matters afoot that required attention.
So he took Doris with him and went down to Vancouver. Almost the first
man he met on Cordova Street, when he went about in search of bolt
cutters, was Bill Hayes, sober and unshaven and a little crestfallen.
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