Mrs. Malone set down the tea and shortbread and returned to the kitchen at Merinda’s bidding.
Benny used this interruption to clear his throat. “Ever since we were children, my cousin Jonathan Arnasson and I were going to be Mounties. Our grandfather fought with Sam Steele in the Boer conflict. But it started long before that.
“We were as close as brothers, and every summer Jonathan and his family would come stay across the river at the neighboring homestead. I lived for those summers. We’d sleep outside with bedrolls under the stars, and when Grandfather came to put out the campfire, he told us the legend of Samuel Steele, who never once fired a gun, who rather was able to intimidate settlers with the mention of his name and ironclad reputation.
“We were always taking turns as Steele or the bad guy or the Indians on the prairies—everything was straight out of a Robert Service poem: a man finding his fortune and running into the law. Whiskey runners! Murderous men set on revenge. The brave Metis warriors.
“We blood-swore down by the creek that we would join the Force when we were grown and be dispatched together. Hopefully North, where the wolves and the moose roamed and the northern lights made the night bright as day. Everything was going to be an adventure!
“Jonathan was especially adept at everything Grandfather taught him about polishing his boots and laying out his kit. Grandfather told us all about his tales of survival out when there was nothing on the land but himself and the buffalo and the wind squalls on the prairies. Jonathan picked up anything he was taught: from tying an unwieldy horse to using a flint to strike a spark and make a fire. He took it further and became skilled at chemistry and playing with wires. He used to make firecrackers in the backyard on Queen Victoria’s birthday. All the kids would come from Riverton to see.”
Benny stopped and watched the girls: Jem’s chin was in her cupped palm as she listened intently. Merinda’s head was cocked to the side, those cat eyes of hers staring at him straight on. He took a sip of tea. Was the room suddenly warm?
Then he continued: “I should have been jealous of him, but I didn’t know how to be. I was in awe of him. When he started formal training in Regina, he was always getting in trouble. But he was charming and so gifted, I could tell even the staff sergeant hated punishing him. He was never discharged, just sent to clean the stables or scrub at the lavatories with a toothbrush.
“Jonathan was always the top student in class, but he’d sneak out of the barracks at night and find some local amusement, usually involving cards and liquor. He was an ace at gambling.
“Grandfather died right before Christmas, and Jonathan was devastated. I had never seen him so unlike himself. He canceled his trip and failed to show for the funeral. It broke my aunt’s heart. At this point, he made little more than seventy-five cents a day on top of his room and board. We always sent as much as we could home, saving a bit for a lark on the weekends and a trip to the nickelodeon. But soon Grandmother was receiving paychecks that didn’t quite add up. She was buying new dresses and choicer cuts of meat. Jonathan had found a way to make a little extra on the side.
“Of course, at home they just thought he was promoted. I knew better, and I confronted him on it. By now he was spending too many nights away, barely staying awake at reveille, and I knew they were going to sack him if he didn’t get his act together. I begged him. I entreated him. This was what we always wanted, and he was so naturally gifted at it! He would make inspector someday. But he didn’t listen to me, and we had a loud row about it. He said he had found something else. Something more important than just riding around the prairies. He told me that those glory days were over and the real law now was made of everyday men. No ranks! Just equals. He handed me a pamphlet from an anarchist group holding a rally in Saskatoon and recruiting in Regina. He found a few of them and told them he could make things blow up. It was how they were making a statement. If no one is going to listen to your words, he told me, he would have to make a louder noise.”