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YOU NEVER KNOW YOUR LUCK
[BEING THE STORY OF A MATRIMONIAL DESERTER]
By Gilbert Parker
Volume 1.
CONTENTS:
Volume 1.PROEMI. "PIONEERS, O PIONEERS"II. CLOSING THE DOORSIII. THE LOGAN TRIAL AND WHAT CAME OF ITIV. "STRENGTH SHALL BE GIVEN THEE"V. A STORY TO BE TOLD
Volume 2.VI. "HERE ENDETH THE FIRST LESSON"VII. A WOMAN'S WAY TO KNOWLEDGEVIII. ALL ABOUT AN UNOPENED LETTERIX. NIGHT SHADE AND MORNING GLORYX. "S. O. S."XI. IN THE CAMP OF THE DESERTER
Volume 3.XII. AT THE RECEIPT OF CUSTOMXIII. KITTY SPEAKS HER MIND AGAINXIV. AWAITING THE VERDICTXV. "MALE AND FEMALE CREATED HE THEM"XVI. "'TWAS FOR YOUR PLEASURE YOU CAME HERE, YOU GO BACK FOR MINE"XVII. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT?EPILOGUE
INTRODUCTION
This volume contains two novels dealing with the life of prairie peoplein the town of Askatoon in the far West. 'The World for Sale' and thelatter portion of 'The Money Master' deal with the same life, and 'TheMoney Master' contained some of the characters to be found in 'WildYouth'. 'The World for Sale' also was a picture of prairie country withstrife between a modern Anglo-Canadian town and a French-Canadian town inthe West. These books are of the same people; but 'You Never Know YourLuck' and 'Wild Youth' have several characters which move prominentlythrough both.
In the introduction to 'The World for Sale' in this series, I drew adescription of prairie life, and I need not repeat what was said there.'In You Never Know Your Luck' there is a Proem which describes brieflythe look of the prairie and suggests characteristics of the life of thepeople. The basis of the book has a letter written by a wife to herhusband at a critical time in his career when he had broken his promiseto her. One or two critics said the situation is impossible, because noman would carry a letter unopened for a long number of years. My replyis: that it is exactly what I myself did. I have still a letter writtento me which was delivered at my door sixteen years ago. I have neverread it, and my reason for not reading it was that I realised, as Ithink, what its contents were. I knew that the letter would annoy, andthere it lies. The writer of the letter who was then my enemy is now myfriend. The chief character in the book, Crozier, was an Irishman, withall the Irishman's cleverness, sensitiveness, audacity, and timidity; forboth those latter qualities are characteristic of the Irish race, and asI am half Irish I can understand why I suppressed a letter and whyCrozier did. Crozier is the type of man that comes occasionally to theDominion of Canada; and Kitty Tynan is the sort of girl that the greatWest breeds. She did an immoral thing in opening the letter that Crozierhad suppressed, but she did it in a good cause—for Crozier's sake; shemade his wife write another letter, and she placed it again in theenvelope for Crozier to open and see. Whatever lack of morality therewas in her act was balanced by the good end to the story, though it meantthe sacrifice of Kitty's love for Crozier, and the making of his wifehappy once more.
As for 'Wild Youth' I make no apology for it. It is still fresh in theminds of the American public, and it is true to the life. Some criticsfrankly called it melodramatic. I do not object to the term. I knownothing more melodramatic than certain of the plots of Shakespeare'splays. Thomas Hardy is melodramatic; Jose