The Prospector: A Tale of the Crow's Nest Pass

Set against a crisp November day in late‑autumn Toronto, the story opens on a sun‑kissed university lawn where sisters Betty and Helen mingle with their friend Lloyd, a studious young man eager to share the campus’s architectural splendors. Their lively chatter about football, rivalry with McGill, and the looming presence of the enigmatic “Don” paints a vivid portrait of collegiate life, while the surrounding greenery and the gentle purple haze give the scene an almost dream‑like quality.

Through this bright, socially charged tableau, the narrator introduces a cast of characters whose ambitions and grudges hint at deeper conflicts beneath the campus’s genteel façade. As the sisters watch the football team warm up, the undercurrents of competition and personal longing begin to surface, setting the stage for a tale that will follow the characters from the academic halls to the rugged expanses of the Crow’s Nest Pass.