"Going to the Klondike!" said Hammond. "Why, I don't see what he has to go there for. He is the only child, his father owns a fine ranch, and he is always getting big jobs on roads and ditches, making three to four dollars a day, because he can go ahead and knows just what to do and how to do it. He has great muscular strength and can lift about twice as much as any ordinary man."
"Oh, he wants to make a stake," said Saunders. "He is ambitious."
Wescott spoke up and said: "Ben is a rustler; he will get there every time."
Hammond said: "He has lots of vim and pluck; has got sand and backbone to him."
"Yes, he is a hummer," said Saunders.
"I tell you he has got some ambition and grit," said Stearns, admiringly.
It was not long before the news spread all over Orangeville, that Ben West was going to the Klondike, and the abilities which he possessed as a worker and money maker, and an all round good fellow were the theme of conversation in many a household and on many a ranch.
When the news reached the ears of the young ladies of Orangeville, most of them felt a shade of disappointment, because Ben had been good to them.
Not having shown any decided preference for one, he devoted his attentions to many, and having a good fast team he was able to give the young ladies many a pleasant ride to dances, parties and church, so he was a great favorite with them all.
Just previous to Ben West's leaving Orangeville, a great farewell supper and dance was given him. The attendance was very large. The young ladies appeared in their best toilets. Julia looked superb and was very graceful in her deportment. This evening she "played her cards" with evident success, and the result was that as Ben West went home the feeling that had been flickering for some time had now broken out into a flame that fired his blood. Julia did indeed know her power and how to use it, and she intended that some one else should be restless and disturbed as well as herself. So that night there were two persons in Orangeville who tried to sleep but could not. Ben West realized that night that he had become a willing slave. Sometimes the thought seemed pleasant, then again it would be galling in the extreme.