Rivers West Read Online Free PDF Page A

south, and we have England on the north. I know that many of the English and most of the Canadians are our friends. But some are not.
    â€œWhat we have most to fear, I believe, are those within our own borders who think less of country than of themselves, who are ambitious for money, for power, for land. Some of these men would subvert anything, anything at all, my dear sir, for their own profit. They would even twist the laws of their own country in their desire to acquire wealth or power. Such men are always prepared to listen to a smooth-talking man with a proposal.
    â€œAre you going to stay among us, Mr. Talon?”
    â€œI do not know,” I said frankly. “I have come to this country because there seems to be opportunity. I am looking for honest work, success. Money, perhaps. I have heard they are building boats at Pittsburgh. I am a builder.”
    He nodded. “Good! Very good! We need builders, sir. We need them very much, but we need builders who build not only for themselves and for profit—and I certainly believe in profit—but for the future. Are you that kind of a builder, Mr. Talon?”
    I hoped I was. Political matters of which this man spoke had never entered my life or my thinking. Nor had it ever seemed that the government of a people was any part of my consideration. Suddenly, uneasily, I began to realize that it might be…that it was.
    â€œI hope so, Mr. Tate.”
    â€œExactly. You must remember, my friend, that if we leave the governing to others, then others will govern, and possibly not as we would like. In a country such as this, none of us is free of responsibility.”
    â€œYes, sir.”
    â€œWhat I am getting at, Mr. Talon, is that you have inadvertently come upon something that may be of great importance, and in which you are already involved. It might be very helpful if you would keep an eye on the situation…tactfully, of course.”
    â€œI don’t see how I could do that. My immediate concern is to go west and find a job building boats for the western waters. I’m no politician.”
    He studied me for a moment, then shrugged. “So be it. However, young man, you find yourself involved. If what you have told me is true, the murderer of the young officer may be someone very close to you. He may suspect you have or had these papers. He may attempt murder to recover them.
    â€œIt has been said that the guilty flee when no man pursueth, Mr. Talon, but the guilty often suspect others of knowing more than they do. Your own life may be in jeopardy.”
    â€œI must risk that.”
    â€œAnd remember, sir, that whether or not you’re a citizen of the United States, you cannot achieve success if there is turmoil or revolution or war. Good government is everybody’s business.”
    I shrugged. “I know naught of government. I am just a builder.”
    He got to his feet. “I hope you continue to build, Mr. Talon. Good luck to you.”
    When I had closed the door behind me, I stood for a minute, pondering. There was much to what Tate had said. Good government
was
the responsibility of all. Even me, an alien and a stranger, if I was to make my home here.
    Jambe-de-Bois was waiting outside the inn soaking up the morning sunlight. He squinted up at me, one lid half-lowered. “They left. Rode off down the road.”
    â€œThey?”
    â€œMacklem and them. He asked about you.”
    Macklem was gone, yet how far had he gone? It was not him so much as the snake-eyed man of whom I thought. Were they a team? Or did they, like Jambe-de-Bois and myself, simply travel together?
    My thoughts returned to my tools. Perhaps I should get a horse or a mule…or a horse
and
a mule.
    The tools had grown very heavy, and the distance was far. Yet, if I could reach a river, I could put together my own boat and float down to Pittsburgh or its vicinity. I had only a general idea of where Pittsburgh was.
    I considered my finances