“I suppose we all have a tendency to follow a lead, which is often useful in an organized state of society; though it depends on the lead.  By way of counter-balance, we have a certain impatience of restraint.  Granting this, you can see that when the general tone of a place is one of sobriety and order, people who have not much love for either find it more or less easy to conform.  But, if you set them a different example, one that slackens restrictions instead of imposing them, they’ll follow it, and it somehow seems to be the rule that the turbulent element exerts the stronger influence.  Anyway, it becomes the more prominent.  You hear of the fellow who steals a horse in a daring manner; the man who quietly goes on with his plowing excites no notice.”

“One must agree with that,” George replied.  “Popular feeling’s fickle; a constant standard is needed to adjust it by.”

Hardie smiled.

“It was given us long ago.  But I can’t believe that there’s much general sympathy with these troublesome fellows.  What I complain of is popular apathy; nobody feels it his business to interfere; though this state of things can’t continue.  The patience of respectable people will wear out; and then one can look for drastic developments.”

“In the meanwhile, the other crowd are having their fling.”

Hardie nodded.

“That’s unfortunately true, though the lawbreakers have now and then come off second-best.  A few days ago, Wilkie, the station-agent, was sitting in his office when a man who had some grievance against the railroad walked up to the window.  Wilkie told him he must send his claim to Winnipeg, and the fellow retorted that he would have satisfaction right away out of the agent’s hide.  With that, he climbed in through the window; and I must confess to a feeling of satisfaction when I heard that he left the station in need of medical assistance.  A week earlier, Taunton, of the store, was walking home along the track in the dark after collecting some of his accounts, when a man jumped out from behind a stock of ties with a pistol and demanded his wallet.  Taunton, taken by surprise, produced a wad of bills, but the thief was a little too eager or careless in seizing them, for Taunton grabbed the pistol and got his money back.  After that, he marched the man three miles along the track and into his store.  I don’t know what happened then, but I heard that there were traces of a pretty lively scuffle.”

George laughed, but his companion continued more gravely: 

“Then we have had a number of small disturbances when the men from the new link line came into town—­they’ve graded the track to within a few miles now—­and I hold Beamish responsible; they haven’t encouraged these fellows at the Queen’s.  In fact, I mean to walk over and try to get a few words with them as soon as I leave you.”

“One would hardly think Saturday evening a very good time,” George commented.